Shayera looked up to see Batman walked enter the conference room. Her cheeks began to warm. Last night's (or this morning) conversation was still fresh in her brain. Martian Manhunter was the last to arrive…with Shri. "Can we begin?" Batman asked impatiently as he stood across from Shayera.
"I'm sorry, Batman," Superman said, "do you have some place better to be?" Batman folded his arms and glared at his friend.
"As I was explaining before," Shayera continued, "there's a hierarchy to Thanagar's army. The ones we should focus the most on, are the ones commanding the ships that will stay in the air. The Thanagarians who fly close to the ground, the first wave of the attack, are pawns. They're expendable. The higher ranked officers will stay in the airships. They'll watch from above and only appear if the battle seems lost."
"So it's like chess," Flash stated. "We take out the ones in charge, the battle is over."
"Not quite," Shayera said slowly. "If this is a mors voluntaria mission, the soldiers may have orders to not stop fighting no matter what. They'll fight to the death. Almost like kamikazes."
"We won't kill anyone, Shayera," Superman reassured her.
"Even though they will be trying to kill us," Wonder Woman muttered.
"Diana," Superman growled.
"Any weaknesses we can exploit?" Batman asked. A small snort came from the back of the room. Shri. Shayera rolled her eyes. "As skilled as we are at ground combat, we do our best fighting in the sky."
"What are you doing?" Shri shouted in Thanagarian. Shayera didn't respond. "You need to approach us from behind or above."
"You are a traitor!" Shri shouted as she sprang from her seat, but J'ohnn immediately grabbed her and forced her to sit down. "If she's going to be privy to this, could you please shut her up?" Green Lantern asked in annoyance.
"Maybe this wasn't a good idea," Superman said. J'ohnn muttered something into Shri's ear. She set her mouth into a thin line and crossed her arms. Shayera pointed to her old helmet. "These helmets are made to protect our head. No metal can pierce it, also it takes away our peripheral."
"In what way?" Batman asked. He had studied her helmet in depth after the invasion. He found no imperfections. "We can't see things right beside us when we wear our helmet." One of the reasons Shayera hated that helmet. "Don't aim for the center of the breastplate. It'll do nothing. You have to go under and up. Also, the joints. Our joints aren't protected." The room went silent. "Also, the Nth metal in our armor enables us to heal pretty fast."
"Why can't we just go for the wings?" Wonder Woman asked. Shri snickered. Shayera could sense Batman tense at Wonder Woman's mention of wings from across the table.
"Yes," Shayera said stiffly. "Go for the wings. But it will not be easy unless they are grounded. But not all Thanagarians have wings attached to their bodies."
"What do you mean?" Green Lantern asked.
"On Thanagarian body arm, there is this big, red jewel in the middle of the breastplate. If you look closely, some have a very thin silver strip around the jewel. That means their wings are fake. There is a tiny button in the back, if you press it, their wings will disconnect from their bodies. They won't be able to fly."
"Hmm," Superman said in deep thought, "not many weaknesses."
"Superman," Shayera said, "their armor shouldn't be a problem for you. You can fly faster than any Thanagarian. All you have to do is catch one and forcibly tear the armor plating off."
"Wait," Superman turned to Shayera, "they don't know about kryp-"
"I didn't tell them any of your weaknesses," Shayera interrupted. Superman couldn't hide his surprise, while Wonder Woman's hard face softened. "You didn't? Why?" Wonder Woman asked. "I thought…wasn't that the whole point of you spying on us anyway?" Shayera shrugged. "They don't know…anything?"
"They know what I wanted them to know," Shayera answered. "They don't know your real names or identities. They know what you can do. They just don't know how to pick any of you apart." The Leaguers, save Batman and Martian Manhunter, stared at her in confusion, wonder, and more confusion. "See?" Flash spoke up with a smile. "I told you she was one of us."
"You bitch!" Shri shouted as she stood to her feet. J'ohnn reached for her, but Shayera mentally told him not to do anything. "You bring dishonor to Thanagar! You are weak! And you are a fool!" Shayera, annoyed with this girl and itching for a fight, and Shri lunged at each othjer simultaneously. The league members began to run to Shayera's aid, but J'ohnn held up one hand, causing them to stop in their tracks.
Shayera immediately went on the defensive, blocking every kick, punch, and elbow thrown at her. Shri was good, but nowhere as talented as Shayera. This would be a short fight, Shayera landed a punch in Shri's gut. She could have punched her in the liver, but Shayera had not desire to hurt Shri. Shri doubled over in pain but recovered immediately. "I used to look up to you!" Shri screamed as she continued her attack on Shayera. "I wanted to be you! But all you did was bring shame and dishonor on Thanagar!" Shayera dodged another punch before flipping over Shri, landing directly behind her. Before Shri could turn to face her, Shayera placed her in a standing rear-naked choke. "Calm down!" Shayera demanded. "I don't want to hurt you, but I will." Shri continued to fight, but the more she moved, the tighter Shayera's grip became. "Do you really want to pass out? In front of them? You would show them how weak you really are?"
"I will not…" Shri gasped for air, "surrender. Surrender is weakness."
"There is no shame in surrender! There is no shame in compassion! And there is no shame in mercy," Shayera finished softly. "What am I doing?" Shayera asked herself. She immediately released her hold on Shri and backed away. Shri glared at Shayera while rubbing her neck. "What are you doing?" Shri demanded. "You had me!" Shayera said nothing. She only stared at Shri with recognition and pity. "Why'd you let me go!" Shri demanded.
"What good would have come from me knocking you out?" Shayera asked. Shri did not know the answer. "You are weak," Shri said.
"If caring about others makes me weak, then yes, I am very weak."
"Why would you choose them over us?" Shri cried.
"Because we were wrong. We were lied to. Why were you told to invade Earth?" The two hawks entered into a conversation completely forgetting about their audience.
"We were told that Earth had entered into an alliance with the Gordanians."
"That was a lie," Shayera said. Shri didn't react. "What do you mean?"
"I was sent to Earth to be a spy. I was told to report what I saw. That was it. Then Earth was attacked. That's when I met their heroes. My assignment began to change. I was just too naïve to notice," Shayera said bitterly. "First it was little things. Defense information, military tactics. And I willingly provided it. I even told them how to break into the Hall of Justice and surpass every alarm. I didn't realize that Earth was just one more world, one more planet for Thanagar to conquer until it was too late," Shayera paused briefly. "I saw the plans they had for Earth. I saw what they were planning to do. Earth was to become just one more military outpost. And I could have obeyed my orders. I could have fallen in line, but I chose not to."
"Why?" Shri asked not understanding.
"Because it was wrong," Shayera said. And suddenly, she felt free. This wave of peace covered her. All of the self-doubt; the questioning of what she should do, what she shouldn't do, was gone. She knew where she belonged. Here. On Earth. "We've been trained to fight since day one. But when does the fighting stop? Our grandparents fought; our great-grandparents fought. All Thanagar does is fight. And there's more to life than just fighting. And I did not learn that until I came here. You've been here, looking for me for a little over 3 months, correct?" Shri nodded. "Was it not nice to finally be able to get more than 2 hours asleep; to not have to worry about being attacked in your sleep for a stupid drill? Wasn't it nice to just soar?" Shayera reminisced briefly with tears in her eyes. "Not tactical training flying, but flying for pure enjoyment?" Shri's body slowly began to relax. It had been nice, flying and not having to avoid a random spear being shot at her to test alertness. Shri looked at J'ohnn. If she was honest, she was expecting to be tortured for information when she was first caught. And she was interrogated. But she wasn't tortured within an inch of her life. They didn't pour boiling lava on her wings as an incentive to loosen her tongue. Her cell wasn't standing room only. There was a comfortable bed. She was given food…multiple times a day. She didn't have to do anything or fight anyone to earn it. They just gave it to her. Shri looked down at her arms, more specifically, her skin. There weren't too many dark-skinned Thanagarians. But Earth had a lot of people with her coloring. And people didn't throw rocks at them for no good reason. Instead of being encouraged, that behavior was actually frowned upon in Gotham. Nobody cared about the color of her skin. They didn't see "a DNA mistake made by the gods." Actually, they didn't stare at her at all when she walked among them wingless. Maybe…just maybe this traitor – Shayera was right. "I don't know about you, but I am so tired of fighting – physically, mentally, and emotionally. I am tired of pushing the ones who want to help me away. You see the guy wearing all black?" Shayera motioned to Batman with her head.
"The imposing one with the horns coming out of his head?" Shri asked. Shayera smiled at that description. "I don't think he's blinked once…or moved a muscle at all. I don't even know if he's breathing."
"He is," Shayera reassured her. "He likes me. He kissed me. On the mouth." Shri's face scrunched in disgust. "Why?" Shri asked. "Did someone tell him to? Was he ordered by someone to take care of you?"
"No," Shayera answered with a shake of her head. "He did it because he wanted to."
"Really? Like, he willingly chose to put his mouth on yours? It wasn't arranged?"
"It was not arranged. And I've been pushing him away because I don't think I deserve him. And maybe I don't, but I don't want to fight my feelings for him anymore," Shayera glanced over at Bruce fondly. Only the slight twitch of his lips told her he saw her glance at him. "So?" Shayera asked Shri. Shri thought for few seconds. "It's not like I have anyone waiting for me on Thanagar. My family is dead, and I am not spoken for," she walked closer to Shayera. "If the entire army comes here, Earth may lose."
"Maybe, but won't it be nice to fight just because you want to protect something that's yours? Fight for something that matters to you?" Shri thought about that, too. It would be nice to fight, not because someone told her to, but because it was something she wanted to do. "So, will you help us?" Shayera asked, holding her hand out. Shri looked at Shayera's hand in confusion. "I will help you," she said, "but why are you holding your hand out? Do you want me to hold it?"
"No," Shayera said with a laugh, "it's something they do when they have an agreement. Put your opposite hand in mine." Shri obeyed. "And then we move our hands up and down."
"How…weird?"
"It is called a handshake."
"I don't like it," Shri said, releasing Shayera's hand.
"Neither do I. Come on, you should meet everyone, and I think we should start speaking English."
"Wait," Shri said, causing Shayera to stop abruptly. Shayera looked at her worriedly. "The green guy, the Martian," Shri paused. Shayera patiently waited for her to continue. "My stomach does weird things everytime he talks to me. I get really nervous, and I want to throw up. Am I allergic to him or something?"
"No," Shayera said with a laugh. "But I'll explain later." Shri nodded as she followed Shayera over to the league members who had been watching the exchange the entire time. Awkward.
Shayera and Shri attacking each other had not surprised Batman. Green Lantern and Flash, however, were prepared to rush to Shayera's aid, but J'ohnn immediately held them both back with his powers. "No," he said, "this needs to happen." Batman watched the two fight while his teammates made quips here and there. Shri had solid form, good footwork, hard punches. But she was nowhere as good as Shayera, who was going easy on the smaller hawk. She had yet to throw a single punch. She didn't want to hurt the smaller hawk. "Ooh," Flash said as Shayera's fist made contact with Shri's ribs. But instead of taking her down, Shayera allowed the young hawk to recover and attack. A moment later, the fight ended when Shayera placed her opponent in a chokehold. "You go Shay," Flash said loudly. But instead of finishing the hawk off, Shayera slowly released her. "That's it? That's all we get?" Flash asked.
"You are so immature," Green Lantern muttered.
"What are they doing now? Are they having a conversation? They do know we're 20 feet away, right?"
"Let them talk, Barry," J'ohnn said. A few moments later, Flash asked Green Lantern, "Do you know what they're saying?"
"No," Green Lantern answered back.
"Can't you use your ring to translate?"
"I can. But I won't."
"Why?"
"Flash," Wonder Woman said in annoyance, "if they wanted us to know what they were saying, they would speak English."
"You guys do know that us standing here while they debate… or whatever is very, very weird."
"Shut up, Flash," Wonder Woman and Green Lantern growled at the same time. Batman continued to watch the two hawks. He saw Shayera motion their away a couple of times. Then she started sneaking glances at them…or him? Interesting. A moment later, the two were shaking hands and walking to rejoin the group.
"You guys stood here and just stared at us the entire time?" Shayera asked with a raised brow.
"What else were we supposed to do?" Flash asked with a grin.
"I trust everything has been sorted," Batman said in a monotone voice, looking at the two girls. Shri glanced at him before covering a smile with her hand. "Yes, everything is okay," Shayera said, "Shri will help us."
"I'll bring the other league members up to speed," Superman said. "We need to prepare for the attack."
"I already have a plan," Batman said.
"Of course you do," Flash muttered. Batman glared at the speedster. "I'll bring you guys up to speed later. But right now, Shayera and I need to get back," he said glancing at he comm in his hand. "Something has come up. I'm needed in Gotham ASAP."
"Anything we can help with?" Superman asked.
"No," Batman said before turning on his heel and walking out the door. Shayera gave a small wave before following him.
"I can provide more information," Shayera heard Shri say as she and Batman walked out.
"What's wrong?" Shayera asked Batman after teleporting from the Watchtower to the batcave.
"Ah, Master Bruce," Alfred greeted them upon arrival. "Miss Shayera."
"He is here," Batman said stiffly.
"In the gym, sir." Batman gave a nod before saying, "Let's go, Shayera."
"Wha-" Shayera followed not understanding what was going on. "What is going on? Who are we meeting?"
"You'll see," he responded, his voice not giving anything away. Shayera entered the training gym behind Batman and saw a male hawk standing in the gym, inspecting it closely. "This is the hawkman you were telling me about?" Shayera asked. Carter turned. "Hey, Bats," he greeted.
"Do you have them?" Batman said.
"I do," Carter said. He placed a wide, thick briefcase on the bench and opened it. Shayera's brain didn't register what she was seeing until Carter held. "Here they are," he said proudly. Something white was draped over his forearms. "For you," Carter said to Shayera, holding his arms out towards her. Shayera moved closer to inspect the item in Carter's arms. It took her five seconds to realize what was being given to her. Her mouth dropped open in awe; she was speechless. Draped over Carter's arms were a pair of white, Thanagarian faux wings.