... Welcome to 2022?
First, I'd like to thank all of you for you patience during my unplanned hiatus. I should preface by saying that I hadn't intended on putting you through another months-long wait, as some of my longtime readers might remember from when my laptop imploded. I found myself desperately needing a break away from Fight or Flight for a little while. We've just gotten through a pretty significant arc and I poured a lot into the last few chapters to make sure I wrote the exact story I wanted to tell. When I felt like I had given myself enough time, I sat down to write and found that I just... couldn't. I'm sure most, if not all of you, have experience either writing yourselves or from reading other works on various fanfiction sites that sometimes, the words just don't come.
Instead of forcing myself into slogging through something half-assed, I opted to take the time away I needed, and focus on writing some fun stuff just for me. And then naturally, just as I'm getting back into writing this, I get hit with covid despite diligently wearing masks, social distancing, and keeping up with vaccinations. Constant vigilance, people. The lingering fatigue is not fun, let me tell you.
Second, if you didn't receive the notification from some months back, the previous chapter was edited not too long after the original posting with more dialogue along with a short edit note about why the change happened in the first place. Nothing has changed continuity wise, I merely added the confrontation in full, rather than skimming over it.
Third, this chapter's going to be an interesting one, for a very specific reason. Before I even dared to post the first chapter of Fight or Flight, I went through and made an outline for every episode along with the completely original interludes, in the exact chapter order. This is the first (and I think only) episode of season one I had to plan out entirely from scratch. I guess even past me didn't know exactly how the angst train would effect the main story. Also expect this chapter to be a little shorter than those previous, as this was a very Wally-centric storyline and Hawkgirl had no business intruding on his solo character development.
Fourth and finally, this chapter is dedicated to those souls who left reviews, favorited, and followed during the hiatus despite lack of updates, and those who sent me private messages. You're all so lovely and nice, I have no idea what I'd do without your earnest encouragement. Wither and die without validation, probably. I'm joking. Ha ha... Unless? Anyway...
Here we go again, I guess. Enjoy!
MOUNT JUSTICE
NOVEMBER 11TH, 2010
15:25 EST
From her understanding, sixteenth birthdays were supposed to be something of a big deal for Terran teenagers. Her own sixteenth birthday had been an incredibly minor affair, as it definitely didn't register as one of the 'important milestones' that warranted celebration in her culture. Thus, her increase in age was marked by a trip to the diner with her Uncle Hal, but that was about it.
Wally West was something of her polar opposite in that regard.
The speedster had been hinting all week that he wanted a surprise party, which, if he was the one instigating it, seemed to defeat the purpose entirely. This irony was not lost on anyone involved, including Conner, who had only very recently been introduced to the concept. M'Gann, on the other hand, was absolutely ecstatic she was being given the chance to throw a proper earthling party. Earlier that morning, she'd gone on a one-woman mission shopping spree, promptly returning with a giant banner, a bag of balloons waiting to be inflated, and a massive amount of junk food (including all of the ingredients required to make the cakes she had in mind).
She sheepishly admitted that there had been more decorations, but a very tired shop attendant had urged her against going too overboard. M'Gann murmured something about 'having to put back all the piñatas', before urging them to all to pitch in to party preparation process.
Her words, not Skylar's.
With everyone pitching in to help set up, it was a swift and efficient execution. Flash and Red Tornado had been excused from helping, the speedster regaling his fellow League member with a tale from a caper the week prior involving his Rogues Gallery. M'Gann commandeered the kitchen, roping Artemis into making the homemade frosting and making the punch, the Martian handling cake duty herself. Conner and Kaldur had been relegated to moving around furniture, as well as moving bowls of snack foods from the kitchen to the main room. Robin, Hawkgirl, and Zatanna were on balloon duty.
Really, it shouldn't have been a three person job, but due to a lack of helium to fill said balloons (according to Dick, apparently Wally was really passionate about the worsening helium shortage and would most likely subject them all to a lengthy lecture about 'unnecessary usage' if he found out), they had to improvise. Skylar used her superior lung capacity to fill them with air, Dick deftly tied strings around them, and Zatanna muttered a short incantation to give each the ability to hover on its own. Once completed, they were handed off to either Superboy or Aqualad, who ascended a short ladder and taped them to the banner. Okay, technically the three person job had turned into a five person job, but the two boys had finished their own task early and they felt bad about just standing around and watching everyone else do the work.
"I'm sure we've all thought it, but this is the least surprised I think anyone's ever going to be about a surprise party." Robin mused. "And that counts the time I helped plan a surprise party for Batman."
"You're telling me." Artemis agreed with a roll of her eyes as she emerged from the kitchen, drying off her newly washed hands on a small dishtowel. There were visible food coloring stains on her skin, the kind that took multiple washings to disappear completely. "Honestly, I'm just glad this gives us an excuse to stay indoors for awhile. It's freezing outside." She shivered a bit, despite the thick material of the black sweater she'd donned in face of the worsening weather.
"I don't even want to think about what patrol would be like." Frowning to himself, Dick seemed to reevaluate his statement. "Probably pretty close to fighting Mr. Freeze, actually. And let me tell you, that's never fun." He shot a mock-sympathetic look over at Ski'Lira. "I guess you, Kaldur, and Conner will never truly understand."
"Oh, it's such a shame." Zatanna added with a small smile. "Never to know what it's like to lose feeling in your fingers and having your body vibrate to generate more heat. Such a loss."
"Hmm, yes," Ski'Lira deadpanned in the face of their gentle teasing. "A great tragedy we shall never recover from, right Kaldur?"
That earned a solemn nod from the Atlantean. "Indeed."
It wasn't until they were laughing that Ski'Lira realized how easily she had slipped into banter with the others. The feeling that thought elicited was... strange, sort of akin to putting on an old shirt that had been lost in your closet for months. Broaching upon the unfamiliar, but still a comfort.
"Recognized, Kid Flash: B-03. Zeta Tube Network now offline due to extreme atmospheric conditions."
There was a scramble as everyone moved to stand in position, Flash flicking off the lights as he sped to stand with the rest of the others. It was just in time, as Hawkgirl's sensitive hearing picked up Wally's less than subtle musings to himself as he approached. The warning from the computer about the worsening storms was completely forgotten as Wally sped into the room.
"Woah, I just made it! Be a tragedy if I missed my own-"
On cue, M'Gann flicked on the lights with a burst of her telekinetic prowess, several members of the assembled group shouting 'Surprise!' Those that were less enthused (including herself) remained silent.
Pressing a hand to his chest, Wally's grin was wide as he took in the newly decorated space. "Aww, guys, you shouldn't have!"
"Yeah," Robin snorted with amusement. "Not like you've been hinting for days or anything."
A few minutes later, after Wally finished thanking them profusely with a steadily widening grin, the birthday boy had a conical pastel hat strapped to his head as he was sat down at the junk food table. His eyes were locked on the two massive, yellow and pink frosted confections that had been set out and dutifully filled with candles. Hawkgirl had taken over the process of lighting them, guaranteeing M'Gann didn't get any closer to the flames than she was comfortable with.
"We made two cakes!" M'Gann showed off her and Artemis' handiwork with pride.
"Awesome... What will you guys eat?"
Leaning in with a sincere smile, M'Gann gave him a conspiratorial look. "We'll split the cupcake. Make a wish!"
"Waaaaay ahead of you." The speedster blew out the candles on both cakes with ease, the smoke curling upwards, and quickly dissipated by a very subtle push of wind power from Red Tornado. As M'Gann set to slicing the first piece of cake, Wally leaned in, attempting a suave facial expression. "You know, if I tell you my wish, it won't come true. But if you guess..." To which he promptly was handed the newly cut slice of cake, only for him to smirk. "Nope, guess again."
Without missing a beat, M'Gann leaned in, pressing a platonic peck to his forehead. "Happy birthday."
The initial obligation now foregone, the present party-goers split off into their own smaller groups as M'Gann continued to dole out pieces of cake. Skylar ended up sitting on the couch, close to where Zatanna was standing awkwardly alone.
"Not going to get any cake?" The young magician asked her.
A frown twisted Skylar's lips. "Unfortunately my dietary choices are still limited, so no." She'd been allowed to expand her diet slightly, but the overload of processed sugars and trans fats currently present were definitely taboo at the moment. Not that she made a habit to indulge in such foods often, the cake looked way too good to easily ignore.
"That sucks."
It was then that Robin made his appearance, bearing two plates of cake (one clearly intended for Zatanna, judging by the commiserating look he shot Skylar). "You settling in here okay?"
"Oh yeah," Zatanna rolled her eyes a little. "Just like home."
"I know this is all very new and intimidating, but I promise you... Someday you'll get used to watching Wally eat."
To which Skylar immediately mumbled a, "No you won't, no one ever does," under her breath. The comment earned her an amused look from Zatanna, some of the tightness around her eyes dissipating.
"So... I don't want to be... culturally insensitive..." The young magician began, now that she was feeling more at ease. "But Robin said your people don't celebrate birthdays? What do you guys do instead?"
"Thanagarians only celebrate milestones in one's life, such as first molt, adult molt, particularly important battles..." She trailed off. "I suppose that there are some celebrations when one reaches a certain significant age, but those are reserved for elders."
"And do you have parties?"
"Mmm, we do, though there is usually more..."
"You can just say violence, HG." Robin added on, earning himself a slightly scandalized look from Zatanna.
"You can't just say stuff like that!"
"No, no," Sky insisted with a slight laugh. "He's right. Most celebrations feature some sort of proving of combat prowess, whether it be formal or informal." She glanced over at Conner, who had a sulky expression on his face. "Though I think if Wally continues his flirtatious behavior, Conner might instigate that practice all his own."
Sensing further opportunity to mess with Wally, Artemis joined the trio. "Think we should tell him?" They all looked over at the birthday boy, who was still fervently flirting with M'Gann (and failing miserably).
"He is the only one who doesn't know." Robin admitted with a tilt of his head.
"Then please, allow me." Her mind made, Artemis strode forward, leant down, and whispered in Wally's ear. She looked pointedly over at M'Gann and Conner, who were being overtly affectionate.
"Aw, man!"
Any attempts at teasing were cut off as the intercom system burst into life, Batman's voice echoing around them. "Attention Team, suit up. Polar stealth, mission briefing in five."
H
The Team had scattered like ants after the proclamation, making their way to their rooms to suit up as quickly as possible. Ski'Lira had practically torn open the door of her closet to grab the components of her polar suit, tossing them on the bed until she had donned her armor first.
She managed to pull on the loose black pants and the combat boots easily, as well as the thin black gloves that fit perfectly over her gauntlets, not comprising ease of movement while hiding any of the metallic gold from shining through. But when it came time to throw the grey and white hued jacket over the rest of the ensemble, she paused.
Logically, she knew that she needed to put on the jacket, not to prevent any kind of ill effect from the weather, but purely for stealth reasons. There was a reason why it was made out of extremely lightweight material.
But this would be the first time they'd use their cold weather gear in the real world (not counting the initial testing they'd done after the outfits had first been developed). She had no true memory of the simulation, but she knew how it had started.
A sharp rap on her door brought her out of her thought spiral.
"Did you get lost?!" Artemis shouted through the door, listening for an answer she wouldn't receive. "Say something now if you don't want me to come in." The blonde waited a heartbeat, before the door slid open, sharp eyes taking in the situation quickly. "Is it torn or something?"
"It... No. It's fine." Cursing herself for her momentary weakness, she put on the coat, making sure the hood was situated fully over her helmet by checking in the mirror. She was satisfied by the way the voluminous hood shadowed her face, only the barest glint of gold from the beak of her helmet showed when she tilted certain ways.
"You sure, because you looked a little..." Artemis made a vague gesture with her hand.
"I'm fine, really. Just... being illogical for a moment. We don't want to keep Batman waiting." Just the reminder that Artemis was here (and still concerned about her enough to hound her after a mere glance) was enough to snap her out of it.
For a moment, she worried about further interrogation, but the archer merely gave her a terse nod. "Probably a good idea. Come on."
Everyone apart from the newly departed members of the Justice League were ready and in their monochromatic gear by the time Hawkgirl and Artemis arrived. They gathered in front of a massive holographic screen projection of Batman's face, his broadcast most likely coming from the Batplane judging by the background. There was a tight set to jaw as he multi-tasked both the start of the briefing and maneuvering through the hellacious weather.
"Where's Flash?" Wally asked, after not seeing his mentor present.
"Flash and Red Tornado already have their assignments. A massive ice storm has paralyzed north america from coast to coast. Satellite imagery has detected five flying ice fortresses," A secondary hologram display popped up, depicting a rotating image of said machinery. It reminded her a little of the terraforming devices that some species used when occupying or conquering new planets. "Source unknown, which seem to be responsible and must be stopped."
"Well can't the Watchtower blow them out of the sky or something?"
Zatanna's brow furrowed. "What's a Watchtower?"
A sigh left Batman's lips, sounding more like a disappointed father than their mentor. "The League's orbiting headquarters is not weaponized. And with both Green Lanterns off world, I need all hands on deck."
Practically vibrating in place, Robin blurted out, "Does this mean what I think it means? The League and the Team fighting side by side?"
"Whoa, really?!" From Wally's tone alone, it was clear that this prospect topped any other gifts or surprises he could have received today.
Ignoring the outburst, Batman continued with the mission briefing as if he had never been interrupted. "Superboy, use the Supercycle to rendezvous with the Batplane at Ice Fortress One. You'll drop off Robin, Aqualad, and Hawkgirl, then continue on with Wolf to meet up with Black Canary and Red Tornado at Ice Fortress Two. Miss Martian, Artemis, and Zatanna, take the bioship and rendezvous with Green Arrow and Martian Manhunter at Ice Fortress Three. Other Leaguers will deal with Fortresses Four and Five. Sending coordinates now."
"Uh..." Stepping out of the line, Kid Flash spoke up. "Batman? I think you skipped-"
"Kid Flash, a young girl in Seattle is in desperate need of a heart transplant. With all conventional air traffic grounded by the storm, you'll need to pick up the donor heart in Boston, and run three thousand miles cross country."
"Who is this girl?!"
Until this moment, she didn't think it was possible for Batman to sound even more like a disappointed father. "Does it matter?"
"Of course not," the speedster insisted, though it was hard to hide his rapidly depleting enthusiasm. "But can't we Zeta-"
"Zeta Tubes are offline, sorry." Robin gently reminded him.
"Right. Then how can I say no? Guess I won't be needing stealth. " Tapping the lightning bolt on his chest, the white saturated to his standard yellow hue once more.
H
ICE FORTRESS ONE
UNDISCLOSED LOCATION
The flight over had been... tense. Combined stressors (namely the still fragile relationship between her and the Team and the prospect of completing a mission in tandem with the League for the first time), meant that no one was willing to break the silence that had settled over the quartet. Even Robin was at a loss for words, a rarity for him.
Hawkgirl was a little disappointed she hadn't been assigned to one of the other two Ice Fortresses being taken down by her parents (as it seemed literally every other member of the Team was fighting alongside their own mentors, and yes she was mentally including Black Canary as Superboy's mentor). If she had to guess based on the trend, they were guaranteeing that there was at least one flier on every selected team, understandable considering the location of the ice fortresses. She didn't want to even think about a dire scenario in which someone was knocked off and there was no one to perform an aerial rescue.
They had made good time to the location, so much so that they'd arrived before the Leaguers.
"Should I... wait?" Superboy asked as his circled around the perimeter of the machine, uneasy with the prospect.
"No, we cannot afford to waste any time," Aqualad ordered. "We will manage."
Giving a nod, Superboy flew in close. The trio leapt out of the their seats, dropping down onto the chilled metal surface with harsh clanging noises (at least, herself and Kaldur landed noisily, Robin's feet made nary a sound on impact). Hawkgirl didn't have time to track Superboy's departure, as panels flipped open, revealing laser gun turrets.
"Of course this thing's armed," Robin grumbled.
As the machines whirred into life, Hawkgirl snagged both Aqualad and Robin by the backs of their uniforms, flying them both over to cover, some kind of sloped air vent that was just tall enough for them to hide behind.
Lifting a hand up to his ear, Robin activated his comm speaker. "Robin to Batman, we are in position. Waiting on the old slowpokes."
"Who are you calling slow?" Flash's cheery tone broke through the common line first, on the special channel for this select group of heroes. "I'll have you know I was on the other side of the globe."
"And yet we were here first. Weird how that worked out."
Flash's inevitable retort was cut off by Batman. "ETA one minute. Aquaman?"
"Present at location, but I could use a lift up."
"On it."
"Stay careful on approach, defense systems are currently active." Peeking out from behind their makeshift cover, Kaldur drew his head back immediately as a laser locked onto his face. He jerked back in time to dodge it, but it proved they were far from safe in their location.
The wait was tense, but short, as the familiar silhouette of the Batplane appeared in the clouds, the unmistakable shape of Aquaman crouched on the top of the canopy. A burst of wind from nearby sent Hawkgirl's feathers fluttering and her braid whipping backwards, coming close to smacking Robin in the face. The source was revealed as Flash, who had born himself aloft via a vortex with his rapidly spinning arms, landing less than gracefully before zipping over to their location.
"See? Perfectly on time." He grinned at them as above, Batman set the Batplane to autopilot, ejecting himself out the top as Aquaman leapt off, bringing their group up to full power.
"Split into pairs and take out the turrets." Batman ordered, and they quickly acquiesced, the three teens sprinting out of cover.
It was a little chaotic once lasers started firing, but Hawkgirl was well used to dodging aerial projectiles. For once, she wasn't limited to fighting on the ground, and instead remained aloft where she could do the most damage, and dodge the best.
Robin and Batman were a well-synchronized team, the elder launching off batarangs as the younger fired a grapple hook straight into the delicate components of a turret, taking two out in quick succession. Aqualad rendezvoused with Aquaman, the two effortlessly taking down another turret with their superior strength.
Flash literally ran circles around another contraption, destroying it with high velocity hits, as Hawkgirl dropped down from the sky and dive bombed the one next to it before it could switch fire to the red blur.
Skidding to a halt that left marks on the metal grating beneath him, Flash ended up next to her. "You know, I was thinking about it, and I think this means I'm your mentor now."
She glanced over at him, using her mace to deflect a laser shot from a smaller turret built into the wall before detaching the head from the handle. Launching the newly formed meteor hammer into it the turret, it crumpled under the force of the Nth metal spiked ball. "Are you?"
"Well Aqualad's with Aquaman, Robin's with Bats, and my own wayward charge is off on a one man mission of great prestige, as your own mentors are off fighting their own battles. Logic dictates it so."
"I'll be sure to tell Green Lantern you usurped him as back up mentor when he returns."
"Well he's not here to argue, so..." He shot a wink at her. "Think you can keep up?"
A low growl leaving her throat, she snapped out her wings and took off back into the air. "Think you can?"
That earned her a sharp laugh that stopped abruptly as he sped away, leading the way to the opposite side of the machine to take out the defenses on the other side. It became a little bit of a game then, her swooping in from above and him running on the surface, a makeshift race to ruin the defense system as quickly as possible so they could move on to dismantling the machine itself.
Minutes later, now with frost and snow thoroughly dusted through her feathers, she landed next to a self-satisfied looking Flash.
"How many did you get?" He asked her.
"Eight. You?"
It was clear from the expression on his face he'd clearly beaten her. "Twelve. Don't feel too bad, eight is still great!"
She swiped him with a wing, which he was kind enough not to dodge, taking the soft smack good-naturedly.
"All turrets down," Flash spoke into the comm. "I think it's time to get a better look inside."
H
The metal exterior wall, while sturdy, proved not sturdy enough to stand up against the combined strength of two Atlanteans and a Thanagarian. Once the metal had been peeled away, the components within were finally revealed.
"I don't want to say anything for sure, but Bats... Does this tech look a little... Familiar, to you?"
The Dark Knight made a quiet noise of agreement, eyes narrowing as he inspected the wiring closer. "Five of these fortresses are currently in operation."
"And we've got five ice themed-villains that have a past history of attacking at the same time." Flash added. "Well, five and a half. Is Snowman still...?"
"Dead," she answered swiftly. "Last week. Died in his hospital room in Belle Reve."
The update the Hawks had been given about the yeti had come as something of a surprise. His wounds were severe, but he was expected to attain at least some level recovery. According to the medical report, the damage from the gunshot wounds he received were serious enough that even his above-average healing was overtaxed. She'd been called in for a short interview by the investigation team, just to reconfirm her statement from her initial questioning after she'd been attacked by the Snowman in the sewers. Her parents had been worried she was going to get blamed, but the autopsy deemed it was unlikely he would have survived even if he hadn't been found. Of course, the investigation was still ongoing as to the exact cause, but it had been upgraded from attempted to a full on murder investigation.
And judging by the look that Batman shared with the present Leaguers, he was adding that fact to his growing pile of suspicions.
"I think I can do some hasty rewiring here," Flash began as he peered deeper into the exposed interior. "Theoretically I could disrupt the function entirely without it exploding with us on it."
"And practically?" Robin ventured.
"I guess we'll find out."
The speedster's arms blurred, and for a moment, it seemed as if the deluge of snow and ice was slowing... but that's when the panel promptly erupted into sparks that sent Flash reeling backwards. A grinding mechanical noise from nearby put them all on the alert, as a previously unseen door slid open... revealing quadrupedal robots with razor sharp teeth, already intent on tearing them to pieces.
Flash's head tilted slightly in amusement. "I have to admit, I did not expect the robot guard dogs."
"Perhaps we require a more direct approach." Aquaman suggested as he moved to take a defensive position in front of Batman and Robin. "A more... explosive approach?"
"Hey HG!" Robin called out to her in the scant few moments before the robots made contact. "Remember how we dealt with Ivy's tree?"
Hawkgirl's answering grin was downright feral.
In a well-practiced motion (thanks to a great deal of trial and error in the training room of Mount Justice), she crouched down, wings spread, as he took a running jump and leapt onto her back. Only once his skinny legs were wrapped securely around her waist did she stand.
"What's the plan, kiddo?" Flash prompted.
"You identify the weak points, we plant the explosives. Aqualad, you good?!"
"I am well!" Kaldur called back as he casually backhanded a gaping robotic maw away from his face, kicking out and sending the robot skittering even further backwards.
"We have these beasts well in hand!" Aquaman assured, speaking for himself and Batman.
Satisfied with the way the situation was panning out, Flash shot the two birds a thumbs up. "Alright kids, let's cause a little mayhem."
Taking a few steps forward, Hawkgirl let herself fall off the edge of the platform, Robin letting out a loud whoop of glee as her wings caught air, leveling out their flight. Just as they'd practiced so diligently, the moment she was stabilized horizontally, he unlatched his legs and repositioned so he was crouching on her back. The treads of his boots and his boney knees dug into the fabric of her jacket as his fingertips pressed into her shoulder blades, keeping his body hunched low to avoid creating drag.
As ever, his balance was impeccable, shifting with her as she banked back and forth to compensate for the tumultuous, frigid weather. This was their first time performing this particular maneuver in the field, and so far it was working spectacularly.
With her enhanced sight, Hawkgirl easily tracked the red blur that was her 'temporary mentor', as he identified weak points. The moment he made a call out, she'd sweep in low, close enough for Robin to toss a sticky explosive, and then she'd veer away before she could be swiped at by one of the increasing number of sentinel robots swarming the top of the machine.
"I'm out of ammo!" Robin called to her. "I need more from B!"
"Hang tight," she ordered, waiting until she felt his fingers bury themselves into the fabric of her coat and his legs slip down around her waist, locking himself to her back like a clingy toddler. Feeling satisfied in his security, she banked a harsh right turn that would have sent the Boy Wonder tumbling off of her back if his grasp weren't so firm.
Robin made a call in to the group's comm channel, making sure that Batman was ready for them on the approach. The moment she was close enough, the older vigilante held up a cluster of explosive devices in one hand, and she dived in close, snatching them from his fingers and maintaining momentum in order to head back to the opposite side of the platform to finish off their sabotage.
With the last few planted, the Flash held his hand up for a high-five of mid-battle victory, and she obligingly swooped down so that Robin could slap his hand against the speedster's.
Things were going well, which in her experience with the flow of combat, meant something was about to go wrong.
And wrong it did.
"Kaldur, watch out!" Aquaman's panicked shout reached her sensitive ears, even though they were on opposite sides of the platform in heavy winds. There was the sound of impact, followed by a panicked, wordless exclamation from the Team's leader.
A horrifying image built itself in her mind, confirmed as the comm crackled into life, courtesy of a frantic Aquaman. "Hawkgirl, Aqualad's falling!"
She felt boots scrape on her back as Robin immediately launched himself into a flip off of her, landing safely close to the Flash. Now that she didn't have to worry about a wayward passenger, she extended her wings and flapped with all the strength she could muster.
The thing about being part of the Team was that she didn't have much opportunity to show off how truly fast she could fly if she wanted to. A majority of the time, M'Gann's bioship took them into the area of their mission, and on top of that most of them had restricted her to ground-level maneuvering. Her perceptive gaze caught the movement of Aqualad falling below her, his arms and legs spread out to create drag.
Inhaling one last time, she gave one last flap, exerting all the strength she could muster, and tucked her wings in tight to her body. She became a bullet, speeding at greater speeds than the free-falling Atlantean was reaching. Her wings only popped out of the tight curl a few times to make micro-adjustments to her trajectory.
The result was her slamming into Aqualad's back at over a hundred and eighty miles per hour, wrapping her clawed gauntlets under his arms and locking her arms together, and flaring her wings out wide to slow them both down. It could be compared to a skydiver pulling a parachute, but significantly more painful.
A ragged noise tore its way out of her throat at the utter strain she experienced, as she'd never had to catch someone as heavy as Aqualad during free fall before. Atlanteans and their increased density were no joke. She was pretty sure she narrowly avoided a full on double-dislocation, which would have spelled trouble for both of them. But as it was, she managed to reel their combined speed back, even as the unrelenting surface of the storm-churned ocean below them approached closer and closer.
Through sheer willpower, she managed to slow them down enough that when they hit the surface, they didn't immediately turn into paste. The dive was a rough one, but they were both unharmed, which meant it was a success in her book.
As they had rocketed a good distance underwater, Hawkgirl didn't resist as Aqualad grabbed her by the arm and helped her up to the surface. Once they were both topside, she activated her comm, slightly out of breath. "Aqualad successfully retrieved, no injuries to report." She gave her wings a test flap, wincing as the muscles pulled uncomfortably. "Sore as hell, though. Don't think I'm gonna be able to fly us up anytime soon."
"We're abandoning the platform now." Batman answered. "Rendezvous at the coast."
"Understood," turning to Aqualad, she shot him a grin. "I don't suppose you're willing to give me a hand?"
Returning the grin, he swam closer to her, turning so that she could clamber onto his back. "Tap my shoulder twice when you need more air."
Nodding, she activated the unseen button on her helmet that sealed the bottom half of her face. Only once he was sure she was ready did Kaldur dive beneath the waves. Now it was his turn to show off his speed in his element.
She only needed to stop them twice on their journey, primarily thanks to her far more efficiently evolved lungs, but also because they weren't too far away from the coastline. As it was, they were still the last to arrive. The distant explosion halfway through their swim confirmed that their sabotage had been a success, and she felt warm satisfaction curl in her chest. Ski'Lira was thankful that her polar gear had been designed specifically with the possibility of waterlogging in mind, and thus she remained mostly dry. A quick shake of her wings dislodged any remaining ocean water, and she made sure she was perfectly in range of Robin when she did it.
"Hey!" He cried out indignantly, fighting back a grin even as he stepped away from the line of fire. "Don't get the fragile humans wet in cold weather!"
"Excellent work you three," Batman praised, now that the three teen heroes were all present.
"Not just excellent, outstanding!" Before he could be stopped, Aquaman had scooped all three teens into a tight group hug. "You've made us all very proud today."
"Above and beyond expectations," Flash added. "Robin, your quick thinking to sabotage the platform was exceptional, Aqualad, you successfully protected your teammates so they could achieve their goal... And Hawkgirl, you made an excellent air taxi service. You should think about making it a business."
Scowling at him, she raised a wing to whop him again, only to let out a grunt of discomfort as she felt her tendons pull further than they wanted to right now. Instead, she resorted to crossing her arms and glaring at him. If it worked for her father, it would work for her.
"We'll take you to the nearest Zeta point so you can rendezvous with your team at the mountain." Motioning his head towards the Batplane, he urged the teens towards the vehicle. "Aquaman, Flash, we'll debrief later."
"Got it, you get the kids home so us adults can talk about boring adult stuff." Flash grinned before vanishing.
After giving Aqualad a meaningful shoulder pat, Aquaman too, departed, jumping into the nearby ocean and speeding off.
Once he was alone with the teenagers, Batman turned to address Ski'Lira and Kaldur directly. "Think you'll be okay riding on the outside?"
"We can manage." Hawkgirl assured him. "But if Kaldur falls, I expect you to catch him this time."
He gave them a nod, ushering them to the Batplane. Robin strapped in safely inside and making faces at them through the glass, Hawkgirl and Aqualad hopped onto either wing and gripped on, fully trusting that Batman would escort them safely.
H
MOUNT JUSTICE
When the Team was fully gathered once more, they all had a plethora of stories to tell. Comparing and contrasting their varying experiences with the flying ice fortresses was... actually pretty fun. It helped that they still had an entire spread of food left out from the party, which was steadily being eaten through during the increasingly dramatic retellings. Even after being prodded, Wally insisted on going last.
Because he had a hell of a story to tell.
Even the thought of Count Vertigo made Ski'Lira's stomach flip uncomfortably, a feeling that was decidedly mutual amongst her peers.
"Hey, I guess he ended up doing Hawkgirl's 'proof of combat prowess' thing after all." Zatanna pointed out with a laugh.
Wally chuckled along, though his was a bit more forced. "Is this another one of your unnecessarily violent Thanagarian customs?"
She didn't deign that with a response, mostly because she knew he knew what the answer was. But while the speedster's attention was still on her (before he would inevitably flit away uncomfortably, as he had been doing ever since she'd told the Team the truth about her rage-induced near homicide), she had something she wanted to say.
Thanagarians didn't do presents on birthdays, but they never hesitated to show respect for a battle well won. "You did good today."
Some of his discomfort faded in his shock, green eyes going slightly wide. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," she assured him. "And you picked a good trophy, too."
Wally shuffled a little in his seat, but he sent her a smile, a real one this time. "... Thanks, HG."
Satisfied with that, she resigned herself to sitting back and letting the others continue to chat. However, her peace was short lived as her phone began to vibrate. Fishing it out of the pocket of her jeans, she checked the caller ID before answering immediately.
The moment her call connected, she heard a loud cry of triumph that only barely sounded like words coming from a distance, followed shortly by her mother's exasperated sigh. "Ignore him."
"Ta'me sounds like he's having fun."
Shayera sighed again, this one more resigned. "Arthur was just recounting your 'astounding rescue'. You know how they get when they have each other to bounce off of."
Truly, the sight of Aquaman and Hawkman hyping each other up to increasing levels of fervor after a good victory was a sight to behold, and often resulted in destroyed furniture. She was a little sad she was missing it, to be honest.
"Anyway, how's your victory celebration going?"
"I'd count it as more of a continuation of the birthday party than anything else." Ski'Lira was careful to keep her voice low to avoid disturbing the others, but she found that Zatanna was staring at her with a surprised expression on her face. Filing that note away for later, she continued to speak with her mother. "I have a feeling if I tried to instigate so much as an arm wrestling contest I'd be put in time out."
Her mother proceeded to laugh at her expense. "My poor fledgling, confined to Terran social niceties. Fortunately, your father and I are planning a little party of our own at home. He's a little upset we didn't get to team up with you for your first true battle with the League."
"Tell her to invite a friend if she wants!" Katar called out from nearby, followed shortly by the sound of someone being tackled onto a table.
"Good idea. Maybe Conner?"
Wincing, Ski'Lira glanced over at the Kryptonian, who was cuddling with M'Gann. "I don't think that's the best idea right now. We're still... recovering, I guess."
"Fair enough, just thought I'd throw it out there. I miss the kid, you know. He's a riot."
"Maybe another time."
"Hopefully soon, but why not ask Robin? I know for a fact Bats is going to be out investigating some leads."
Judging by the tone, she was less suggesting this time and more asking. Rolling her eyes, she angled her phone away from her face (despite the fact her mother could still hear everything clear as day, it was more courtesy than anything else). "Robin, my mother wants to know if you want to come over to our place for victory dinner."
He shot up. "Really?! I am so in!"
"Well I'll take that as an enthusiastic acceptance. Need a pick up from the Zeta? Bats said your wings were in rough shape."
She gave an experimental twitch, and feeling only minimal soreness, she judged herself flight-ready. "I'll be fine. Robin only weighs like, twelve pounds anyway."
"If you're sure. See you soon, love you."
"Love you too, Da'mi. And you too, Ta'me."
"LOVE YOU!" Her father shouted off in the distance.
Once the call was ended and her phone put away, Zatanna finally broke her silence. "Was that your native language?"
Thrown for a loop at the sudden conversation change, Ski'Lira silently nodded.
"I've never heard you like, fully speak it before, mostly just muttered cursing." Zatanna continued. "It's really cool, I've never heard anything like it."
"We've tried coming up with a comparison before." Frowning a little with feigned frustration, Artemis spoke up. "It did not work. By the way, when do I get invited to celebration dinner?" She asked, clearly joking to keep the mood light.
"Only once you've reached exclusive VIP friend status with our favorite bird girl." Robin answered. "It's a very difficult club to get into."
"The only reason you got into the club was because our parents tricked us into it." She deadpanned. "The only one I actively invited to said club is ka'zera- Conner." Correcting herself, she thought for a moment. "And M'Gann is an honorary member, I guess, considering she's technically seen my civilian persona, she just doesn't know my name."
"Aw, thanks!" The Martian was good-natured as always.
"Don't worry Artemis, your application is being reviewed for acceptance." Ski'Lira added before standing, stretching out her back and wings. "Robin, you ready to go?"
"Born ready. See you guys later!" He stopped to give Wally once last noogie that left the birthday boy sputtering indignantly.
It was only once they were standing before the Zeta tube, ready to teleport to St. Roch, that Robin spoke up again. "Today was a good day."
"... It really was."
This one was tricky, mostly because we only see the barebones of what exactly fighting these ice fortresses entailed. So I might have added some details to make it more interesting. Look, sometimes you just gotta add in cool robots and daring rescues.
I had a note here originally apologizing about how short the chapter was and about how I wanted to deliver 'quality over quantity'. It wasn't until I uploaded this that I realized it went over 7k words.
If you're wondering, the rest of season one will (hopefully) return to the once a month (or so) schedule I was running off of before, then we've got some transition chapters between seasons one and two. I'm still deciding if I want to publish the intermission as one big monster chapter or release it in increments, leaning towards the latter so I won't leave you starving for content again.
In the interim, keep an eye on Fight or Flight: Side Stories, as the next release will most likely be a part two of Dimension Hopping (featuring our friends the Teen Titans) or a part two to Fletching. Maybe both, who knows. Not me.
Until next time, hydrate, stay safe, and take care!