War World
Shayera was frustrated. She was itchy and sore. Her wings had begun to molt again this year because of her fight against the robotic monster of Luthor. After ARGUS tracked down the codes, they managed to find Luthor in a stolen yacht five miles out of the Midway Harbor in his own makeshift control room. He was quickly placed into custody and was sent back to Stryker's Prison. Shayera shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Her wings often twitched involuntarily in itchiness and it took a tremendous amount of willpower in Shayera's part not to scratch the living daylights out of her wings. Ever since she first experienced her molting, her mother always said that it was unhealthy if she ever tried to force her feathers off her wings. Shayera groaned and allowed a frustrated growl escape her throat.
Emmett had already given her time off from the Midway city Police Department regarding her molting due to an incident three years ago when she was helping fight back armed thugs at the bank. Her loose feathers were what actually saved the day as they provided a good distraction to the goons, but Shayera was the topic of every joke ever made regarding feathers and what the humans so eloquently call, "That time of the month". Shayera was thankful that her molting wasn't a monthly issue and instead a yearly burden. Nonetheless, Emmett had told Shayera that during her molting sessions she was relieved of her duties in the police department until her molting stopped. Shayera often took advantage of her forced absence by spending time in the National Park, where she can freely flap her wings around without having to worry about breaking things. She had no such luck this year though as it was her turn for Monitor Duty. Diana and Flash were both abroad in missions while Bruce had several meetings to attend to as Bruce Wayne. It was Lantern's day off from the League and J'onn and Superman were supposed to show up two hours ago but they have yet to show up and Shayera remained in her seat, trying to ignore her situation and opted to try and think about other things.
Her trip to the alternate universe of the Grey Ghost was a fond enough memory to look back on. She often wondered that if there were alternate Earths, then perhaps there were alternate Thanagars too. Perhaps another Shayera of another universe lived a different life. Maybe in one universe she actually joined with her childhood friends in the military. These thoughts though were bringing back her homesickness with a fury. She sometimes felt guilty on some days when she would think of her family and not feel the pain as intense as it was five years ago. Shayera tried to distract herself from such thoughts, but her mind immediately went to her wings when they began to itch again, much to her displeasure.
Deep in in her own misery, she didn't notice J'onn and Superman enter until J'onn laid a hand on her shoulder. Shayera jumped in surprise and turned to see J'onn behind her as Superman headed to one of the computers on the other side of the room. She let loose a breath and said, "Omar almighty, J'onn. You're lucky I turned around."
"I imagine the outcome would have been terrible?" asked J'onn.
"You tell me, I had about three different scenarios running in my head." said Shayera.
"I cannot read your mind." confessed J'onn. Shayera turned in surprise and said, "Really? You always knew what was on my mind though."
"You and I are both aliens in this planet, Shayera," said J'onn, "We both lost homes and a family, it wasn't hard to understand what you're thinking about because I too often have these thoughts."
Shayera smiled at J'onn's words and said, "Thanks J'onn."
"Shayera, J'onn! We have an asteroid alert from NASA." said Superman, capturing the other two's attention.
"How far is it? Do we have time to intercept it?" asked Shayera.
"It's far enough that we can intercept it." said Superman. Not far was right, they had less than eighteen hours to divert the asteroid's path to Earth.
"Two of us needs to go to the asteroid and another needs to run the helm here and run surveillance." said Superman. Shayera was about to volunteer at staying behind when another itch passed through her.
"Omar!" she cursed, surprising the other two, "I'm going. None of you two can stop me, I need a distraction. Let's go!"
Superman and J'onn gave each other amused looks as Superman followed Shayera to the Javelin, while J'onn sat down on the Monitor Chair. He stood up in surprise and smiled in mirth when he saw a jumble of feathers strewn about in the chair.
Shayera and Superman flew out of the Watchtower in the Javelin and proceeded to make their way towards the incoming asteroid. Shayera piloted the Javelin while Superman checked their storage to make sure that they had the proper equipment that was needed to destroy the asteroid. They needed a gas monitor, a drill, and one set of charges in order to properly blow the asteroid apart. Depending on the type of gasses that the asteroid might carry, they carried one set just in case.
The flight was relatively short as the Javelin's engines helped speed up the process. Shayera knew that it had to do with the shared knowledge of Thanagarian Space mechanics that she shared with Bruce. Much of the advanced technology that was in the Watchtower and even in the Javelins were because of the shared knowledge. Shayera had quietly patted herself on the back in her hand in helping the humans evolve quickly regarding space travel. Her knowledge might be basic regarding Thanagarian standards, but she was glad to know that she would be considered a genius on Earth.
As they approached the asteroid, Shayera and Superman got into their spacesuits to get ready for landing. Each Javelin carried its own set of space suits regarding each member of the Justice League. Shayera's spacesuit came with a cover for her wings, for which she was grateful as the smooth material helped ease away the itch and the soreness in her wings.
As they approached the asteroid, Shayera was amazed at the size it was. She estimated it to be around 120 meters, a deadly size for the planet. Shayera could see that it can potentially create an atomic fallout on Earth, but that was just a guess. They first needed to determine the type of gasses that the asteroid held in order to properly destroy it though. The wrong level of charges and they could potentially create an atomic blast in space. Shayera and Superman put the Javelin in neutral and allowed it to float in peace a good distance away from the asteroid. Shayera carried the gas monitor while Superman carried the set of charges and the drill.
They both floated to the asteroid and landed on its rough surface. Shayera was careful not walk by the sharpened edges of the surface and followed Superman to a smooth part of the asteroid. Shayera waited patiently as Superman used the drill to carefully open up the asteroid and when he was done, he removed the drill and allowed Shayera to place the gas monitor in the hole. She turned the detector on and began to list off the gasses in the asteroid, "12% Hexane, 1% Isophorone, .09% neopotine... can you imagine the type of damage this asteroid could bring if it actually hit the Earth?"
"Not on our watch." said Superman as he began to fly around the asteroid with the drill and opening up new holes left and right. Shayera followed behind him with the charges and began to place one in each new hole. By the time they finished, the asteroid was rigged and ready to blow. Shayera pressed the charge button and the asteroid suddenly had several red blinking lights, indicating that the timer was set. Superman and Shayera flew off the asteroid and floated a good distance away from the asteroid. Shayera left behind the gas detector on the asteroid as they left the surface, having discovered that the bottom part was stuck on the asteroid.
J'onn was monitoring the gases when a red alert suddenly flashed across his screen. The detector must not have picked it up until now and J'onn's eyes widened in horror as he read through the new reports. 46% of Hydrogen was listed in the screen and J'onn knew he had seconds to warn Hawkgirl and Superman.
"Hawkgirl! Superman! Get into the Javelin now!" he yelled. Superman and Shayera glanced at each other in surprise as they never once heard J'onn yell before. They both turned to try and fly back to the Javelin but the charges exploded, creating an intense fireball to hurl at the two heroes. The force knocked Shayera and Superman into the Javelin, both hitting the side of the ship and knocking them unconscious.
"Superman! Hawkgirl!" cried out J'onn when he wasn't receiving any response. The tracker to the Javelin was gone off the radar, indicating that it was no longer functioning. J'onn slowly stood from his seat and looked at the silent screen. He quickly snapped out of his own horror and called in the Lantern,
The Interstar
"Sir! We have picked up two life signals!" cried out the first mate of Interstar. The captain looked over at the radar to see that two life forms were indeed showing up and said, "Lead us to them."
As they approached the two life forms, he could see that they had been the unfortunate victims of a nearby explosion. The Captain ordered the first mate to bring them onboard. When they were contained in their own pods, the Captain was surprised to see just who they picked up.
"A Thanagarian? A Kryptonian?" he questioned.
"Yes, it really is amazing to have such a find," remarked the first mate, "The last Kryptonian in our custody. And a Thanagarian so far from home? What do you suppose her business is?"
"It is not our business to wonder these things," said the Captain, "We can appease Mongul with the Kryptonian find, but we can make business with the Thanagarian."
"Business sir?"
"Thanagarian feathers will sell for a high price in the black market." said the Captain. The crew transported the unconscious victims in their own respective cells and they began their journey back to War World.
Watchtower
"Do you know how explosive the blast was?" asked Lantern, as he and J'onn flew through space in a bubble construct.
"The hydrogen level wasn't spotted until it was too late. I could only hear the explosion but I wasn't able to connect with Superman's mind after the explosion. He was unconscious and I can only imagine the state Hawkgirl is in." said J'onn.
"Imagine?" questioned Lantern.
"I cannot read her mind. She has a natural mental shield that keeps me out." explained J'onn. Lantern cursed in his head. They were blocked at every turn in trying to find out the state of Superman and Hawkgirl. Lantern only hopes that they would be able to reach to their location in time. He prays that their spacesuits were really endurable and nothing was ruptured. He had seen many enemies and friends die in his time in the Lantern Corps because they were left to the unmerciful vacuum of space.
They neared the location of the explosion and they were both shocked at the debris that was spread around. They flew in and out of the debris trying to find any sign of the two heroes. When they couldn't see any physical evidence that their friends were around, Lantern quickly formed a search light from the bubble in order to find any form of evidence they can't see. An ion trail was a surprising find.
"Whoever passed by here might have found them," theorized J'onn, "I now have a faint grasp on Superman's mind, but I don't know where, he's unconscious."
"Let's follow the trail and you tell me if you have a stronger connection. That way, we know we are heading in the right direction." said Lantern. They sped through space, hoping to find their friends on time.
War World
Superman awoke groggily and looked around the room. He was tired and a little weak. He has yet to recharge his cells from whatever sun was present on this planet. He looked around the room to find several aliens in chains. He wondered where he was taken when the doors from across the room burst open. A hideous looking, gray skinned humanoid walked in and began to berate the prisoners, "Pathetic. All of you. There isn't a true warrior among you that can even last five minutes in the ring."
The humanoid hulked his way over to Superman and said, "I bet you will be just another disappointment."
With that, he spat on Superman's face and walked away. Superman kept a stoic face until he knew for sure that he was far away from the cells when, using the bit of strength he had, he easily tore through the chains and freed himself.
"Why didn't you fight back when Draaga insulted you?" questioned one of the prisoners.
"Violence doesn't solve everything." said Superman. He freed all the prisoners from their chains and asked, "Have you seen another prisoner come here with me? She has red hair and wings on her back."
"The Thanagarian?" asked the prisoner. Superman was shocked and said, "You know about her people?"
"Know about them? Yes. If I ever met one before your friend showed up? No. We have heard about the Thanagarian and Gordanian War. A lot of planets in these areas are supplying either side, finding a good market in the war." said the puce-colored plant-hybrid.
"Wouldn't it benefit the good if anybody tried to stop the war?" asked Superman.
"Perhaps, but then dictators like Mongul wouldn't be able to profit from it. He distracts the population that they are losing their natural resources to the Gordanians by having this War tournament." said the prisoner.
"Well, do you know where they took my friend?" asked Superman.
"Yes, there was talk about sending her to the General Goods store near the docking bay, Juxton."
"Why would they take her there?" asked Superman.
"You don't know? Gordanians like to have their mattresses and pillows softened by Thanagarian feathers." said the prisoner. Superman felt the blood leave his face and asked, "Where is the General Goods store?"
"It's a mile down the street from the arena." said the prisoner and he watched in awe and Superman easily tore through the cell doors and left.
Superman quickly flew down the hallway, intending to rescue Shayera from whatever torture she might be going through. Her molting might help keep the black market vendors at bay from cutting her wings off. As he sped down the hallway, he used his super hearing and x-ray vision to help him navigate better in the building. The words 'check the forcefield around the building' caught his attention and Superman quickly flew in the direction. If there was a force-field around the city, then he needed to have that down first. He sped into the room and the unsuspecting staff were quickly knocked unconscious, allowing Superman to take the shields down. One of the best things about knowing the system language was that it was spoken by all forms in this solar system. English really was in a way, the universal language.
Once the shields were down, Superman quickly flew out of the building and was in the clear once he reached an alleyway. He glanced around and noticed that many of the inhabitants of this planet wore dull grey or brown cloaks. He waited for an opportunity and snagged an unsuspecting alien, knocking him unconscious and feeling a little guilty, left him a little in the open so someone can spot him. Superman walked through the crowd in his new cloak and made his way to the direction the prisoner said Shayera would be at. He hoped that he would be able to make it there in time to help Shayera.
Kilrun's General Goods
Shayera groaned as she felt the trader pluck her feathers off her wings. She woke up chained to the table with her wings spread out and having her feathers removed. The trader removed the feathers that were already falling out but then he began to pluck out the ones that haven't even began to molt and her new feathers. If she wasn't drugged right now, this sleaze would be on the receiving end of her talon hand. Another inconvenience on her part. This creep had removed her armor, mace, and talon-hand before he had strapped her to the table. Shayera could see that they were placed in a box, possibly for him to sell later. She caught brief parts of the conversation this trader had with her captors. Superman was sent to a fighting arena and she would have been sent there too if it hadn't been for this planet's dealings with the Gordanians.
Shayera felt fury burn within her when she discovered that this planet was helping prolong the war between the Gordanians and Thanagarians. When she gets out of this, she will look for a way to free Superman and then stop the planet's dealings with the Gordanians. She may have lost contact with her world, but that doesn't mean she shouldn't try to help out. Shayera growled when the trader plucked out five feathers at a time and struggled against her confinements to try and bash the guy's head in. The trader merely grunted in amusement and just to spite her, grabbed a fistfull of feathers and yanked them off. Shayera screamed in frustrations and fought against her chains. The trader laughed and said, "After I sell your feathers you filthy vermin, perhaps I can sell you to Despero. He always has an interest in the exotic. Maybe you can give me a taste before I do, huh?"
Shayera saw nothing but red. One minute she was struggling against her chains and the next, she snapped them off and turned to the trader in fury. She grasped his neck in one hand and with the other began to punch the living daylights out of him. She kept going and going, not bothering to restrain herself from crying out in rage with each beating. She didn't know how long she kept going when a strong hand grasped her fist and pulled her back.
"Shayera!" cried out Superman. He had tried to quickly move in the crowd to the General Goods store when he heard Shayera's cry. It wasn't like her warcry that she normally lets loose in their battles on Earth. This was something that was more beastial than anything. He had pushed people to side and burst through the door, unhinging it. He heard her from the back and saw her beating the trader. When he heard the trader give a watery groan, he stepped in quickly and snapped her out of it.
The trader was lying on the floor, with bruises decorating his face and blood trickling out of his mouth. Shayera was gasping in horror when she saw the trader bleeding and shakily released herself from Superman's grip. She slid down the wall and placed her head between her knees to try and calm her racing heart. Superman examined the trader and after concluding that he wasn't seriously injured and only had his head decked in by Shayera. He looked to see Shayera shaking on the wall and cautiously patted her shoulder, not wanting to distraught her even more. Shayera managed to stop her shaking and quietly said, "I'm sorry."
"It's alright, you stopped. That's all that mattered." said Superman, "What happened?"
"He… He said that after he sold my feathers… he was going to sell me." said Shayera quietly, "And that he was going 'to get a taste' before he did."
Superman felt sick hearing that and carefully hugged her. Shayera hugged him back and said, "Thanks Clark."
This gave Superman pause and he pulled back and said, "You know?"
"It really isn't hard to connect the clues," said Shayera with a smile as she stood up, "You just put on a hat and glasses and keep your voice quiet so people don't make the connection."
"You know you're the first since Bruce to have discovered my identity this way." remarked Superman. It was obvious to him that J'onn knows his identity based on his mind-reading but did the others know too? Shayera smiled at Bruce's name to herself and said, "I'm not surprised. I guess it's the glasses and the coats you wear. People just think you're big and the glasses really hide your blue eyes."
Superman chuckled and said, "That's exactly what ma said!"
The two friends walked out of the General Goods store after Shayera put her armor and talon hand back on and clipped her mace back on, they searched the store and found a cloak for Shayera to blend with in. After propping the trader up near the entrance so someone can find him they left the General Goods. They walked until they found an abandoned building where they began to discuss what to do next.
"How will we contact J'onn? He must be worried and have called the others." said Shayera.
"We need to figure a way of contact first and if you're up for it, I also want to try and help these people." said Superman.
"Decided to play the hero again?" teased Shayera.
"Not quite, these people deserve to fight for a better life. This Mongul character is slowly killing this planet and these people don't even know it." said Superman.
"I'm with you," said Shayera, "This planet is supplying the Gordanians to further the war and if we can stop the supply then maybe it will help weaken the Gordanians."
Superman and Shayera began to set up barriers on the doors and windows so they can have some peace for the night when Superman said, "You know, the prisoners said that there are nearby planets that actually help the Thanagarians. We might be able to contact your people."
Shayera felt her heart flutter in hope and longing, a way home? Could it really be?
"Are you sure? Maybe-"
"Hawkgirl! Superman!" said a familiar voice. Shayera and Superman turned in surprise to find J'onn and Lantern walking in the building. Lantern used his ring to fortify their barrier before walking back to the group. Shayera's wings flapped happily without her knowledge and she hugged J'onn who said, "I'm sorry I haven't been able to find you sooner."
"It's alright," said Superman, "You found us, which means we need to find a way to stop Mongul from slowly killing this planet."
A plan was formed between the four of them. J'onn and Lantern left to ask around and came back with new information regarding why most planets would align with Mongul and the Gordanians: a death ray.
"I know of spaceships that require at least seventeen chambers of rachton cells to even have the power to kill whole worlds. This? This guy is sick." said Shayera, "Thirty-Five chambers of rachton cells? No wonder this planet is deteriorating, that much rachton should have actually contaminated the population." said Shayera.
"Rachton? Is that like radiation?" asked Lantern.
"No, well… it's kind of like it. I'd say it's more lethal however because even if you wear the best protective suit that ever existed in this universe, rachton can still burn through it. Rachton has an absorbing ability where it basically sucks away the life of the area surrounding it to keep itself alive, like fire to oxygen. In Thangar we tested it against many types of metals and so far Nth, Kryptonite, and Jersyth are the only three metals that can resist against it." said Shayera.
"Kryptonite? Your people have that?" asked Superman. Shayera shrugged and said, "We had a meteor shower back in Thanagar when I was still learning how to fly. It caused quite significant damage but nobody was seriously injured. We found out it was Kryptonite later and decided to perform tests on it."
Superman nodded in understanding. When his birth planet blew up, pieces of kryptonite were discovered to have traveled across the universe so it makes sense that some of the pieces would also land on Thanagar.
"What's Jersyth?" asked Lantern.
"It's sort of like Earth's diamonds. It's light green in color and it is mostly used for jewelry from my system." said Shayera.
"And Nth?" asked J'onn. Shayera briefly hesitated before she said, "Nth is a very volatile metal. My homeworld uses it for weaponry and as far as I can tell, we basically ran out of that resource years ago."
"Is your mace Nth?" asked Lantern.
"Yeah, it's actually the last of its kind. I might be the only officer on Thanagar to actually have an Nth metal weapon… when I'm not supposed to." said Shayera, muttering the last part. Superman smirked at her and said, "Breaking the law, Detective?"
Shayera scowled and said, "Hey, I earned this mace. This mace is a family heirloom. As if I'd let the military take it away."
"Your talon hand I'm assuming is also made from Nth metal?" asked J'onn.
"Yeah, I was actually lucky that I was picked to test this out. I was only supposed to have it for a week before it was shipped off to some military agent." said Shayera. As the four waited for morning, they put their plan into action. With Shayera's wings having less feathers and thus crippling her ability to fly, she was to join with J'onn and Lantern while Superman confronted Mongul. As they made their way to the location of the Death Ray, Shayera unclipped her mace and told Lantern to quickly position her above the machine. When he did, J'onn quickly ambushed the facility, causing some of the technicians to begin firing the weapon. Shayera charged her mace and stared down the nuzzle of the cannon. She readied herself like a batter about to hit the ball and met the charge with a swipe of her mace. The blast was reversed back into the machine, causing it to overload. Lantern quickly formed a bubble around J'onn, himself, and Shayera and they left to inform Superman about the destruction of the death ray.
Shayera was surprised to see Superman fighting against a grey-skinned humanoid and told Lantern to land in the arena. She heard shouts of cries and dismay from the audience but she quickly yelled, "Superman! Mongul's death ray is destroyed!"
Superman had been fighting against Draaga to buy his friends more time. Trying to convince him to fight against Mongul proved to be a dead end when Draaga revealed that the death ray was automatically aimed at Draaga's homeworld and was ready to fire if Draaga didn't cooperate with Mongul's demands. Hearing Shayera's confirmation that said death ray was gone for good was all the leverage needed for Draaga to stop attacking Superman and start fighting against Mongul. Draaga proved to be a resilient fighter and defeated Mongul with no problem when the audience began to chant Draaga's name. With the fight over and Mongul in chains, Draaga was chosen by the people to lead them.
"Draaga, I have a favor to ask." said Superman.
"Anything for the one to help end Mongul's tyranny." said Draaga in a raspy voice.
"Do you know of anyway to contact the Thanagarians?" asked Superman.
"Thanagarians? No, they tend to send a scout in these areas once every year for supplies and then they leave. The last scout passed by two months ago. The whole planet is too far for this system's communicators to reach out to." said Draaga. Shayera felt her wings droop a little but said,"Thank you Draaga and I wish you luck. Please try to keep the Gordanians away from here. This system isn't ready for a war."
"Truer words have never been spoken," said Draaga, "I will convince the other leaders in the other planets to stop their dealings, but please be ready for a response if the Gordanians decide to retaliate."
"I promise." said Shayera.
The Justice League left War World and arrived back at the Watchtower a few hours later where Wonder Woman and Flash were waiting for them.
"Where'd you guys go?" asked Flash.
"It's a long story," said Shayera as she smoothed out her wings. The feathers that had been plucked left her wings looking sickly and unpreened but she decided to make the most of it until her feathers grew back.
"Hey I got all the time in the world." said Flash as he sped away and back for a soda. Shayera sighed but left it up to Superman and Lantern to tell the story as J'onn left to fill out a new mission report. Shayera was feeling very sleepy when Superman said, "Hey, Shayera. Can we talk?"
Shayera followed Superman to the back where he said, "I didn't tell the others about your episode at the trader's store, but I want to know if anything like that has happened before?"
"Once during my first days here on Earth," said Shayera, "Byth Rok was a criminal I was chasing and he escaped into Gotham where he began a killing spree. He was about to kill Tim and… I lost it."
"Did Bruce do anything?"
"At that point could he? He didn't know me and he had no idea if he was capable of stopping me. I managed to stop myself but… I often wonder why I go into a frenzy." said Shayera.
"If you ever need someone to talk to then, I'm here for you." said Superman. Shayera smiled at him and said, "I'm sorry Clark."
"For what?"
"When I first heard about you I thought you were a dictator. My planet's history actually has a chapter written about how the Kryptonians nearly conquered our world and I thought many negative things about you before I even met you. I'm sorry." said Shayera. Clark smiled and said, "Don't worry about it. We're friends now."
The two heroes smiled at each other and each one went back to their respective cities where Clark enjoyed his time just hanging out with Jimmy and Lois and Shayera was on the receiving end of jokes by Kendra and Andrew at her lack of feathers while she played with Junior.
Hey readers, So like? No Like? Next chapter is going to be the Fury episode so it will take a while to upload. Thanks for reading and please leave reviews :) thank you:)