Part Four of Z

John woke up to a pounding in his head and on the door.

More than a pounding. A quick rat-a-tat that was almost a vibration. Which meant one thing: the Flash.

"Oh, god," John groaned. "Don't come in," he yelled, then winced as the sound reverberated in his skull.

The door opened, and Flash stuck his head through. The lightning bolts on the side of his head seemed to wave in front of John's blurry vision. "Was that a 'come in' or 'don't come in'?" Wally grinned.

John groaned again, pulled his pillow over his face. "DON'T come in," he said, his voice muffled.

"Hey, you don't sound so good. Too many late nights with ol' Hawkgirl, huh?"

Flash easily avoided the green beam of energy that threatened to decapitate him.

"Well," he continued, "We—Superman, J'onn, and I—are all heading down to Metropolis – Diana's giving some speech to a bunch of Girl Scouts and Girl Scout leaders, so we are going to support her. Then I thought I'd check out a few nightclubs afterwards. Wanna come?"

John moved the pillow and glared at him.

Wally smirked. "I'll take that as a 'no'. Not that I blame you, since that means you and ol' Macegirl will have the Watchtower to yourself. She's stuck on monitor duty." He waved, then said, "Bye, then." The door slammed behind him.

John put a hand to his aching, swimming head, then ran to the bathroom.

***********

He staggered into the monitor room forty five minutes later, reasonably certain that he no longer smelled like merlot nor vomit.

Shayera swiveled in the chair, smiled at him. "Hey, sexy." He growled, and she her eyebrows drew together. "What's the matter with you?"

Marine training had taught him there were times to be aggressive, to lay all his cards on the table, and a time to be surreptitious.

Perhaps it was the alcohol that lingered in his body, but he chose the former.

"I saw you with him."

She frowned. "With whom?"

Her perfect grammar wouldn't deter him. "With Batman."

She giggled.

Giggled! As if it was funny that she'd trampled his heart to smithereens, just like a big Marine tank rolling over a grapefruit.

"I saw you both go into your room. And only last night I was there."

Her giggles faded. She stood. Got up in his face.

If he hadn't still been half drunk he'd have been smart enough to back away.

This close, Shayera could smell the wine underneath the minty freshness on his breath, realize that he'd been drinking. Which only made her more angry.

And hurt. How could he think that she'd do something like that? Hop from one man's bed to another?

Well, she wasn't going to let him think, then, that he mattered to her. Not if he was so stupid, and didn't trust her.

"I thought we had something special and that I was the only one, Shay—" He probably would have finished her name, and said something else incredibly stupid, but her fist slammed into his jaw, knocking him onto his butt.

"Oops," she said, and smiled sweetly. She crouched, patted his head. "I did it again."

Rubbing his sore chin, he said, "Did what again?"

"I made you believe we're more than just friends. Oh, baby, it might seem like a crush, but it doesn't mean that I'm serious. Cause to lose all my senses—that is just so typically me." She stood, flicked her wings disdainfully. Then, because her voice began to tremble and she didn't want him to know her heart was breaking, she sang the rest of what she wanted to say, knowing that her voice wouldn't falter that way:

Oops!...I did it again
I played with your heart, got lost in the game
Oh baby, baby
Oops!...You think I'm in love
That I'm sent from above
I'm not that innocent

She took a deep breath, controlling herself, the trembling in her voice. "These wings don't make me an angel, John. We had fun, but since you are obviously taking things too seriously, I think it is time to break it off."

"Break it off?" he echoed.

She nodded, then turned her back on him, left the room. She threw her final words over her shoulder before exiting, "You can watch the monitors, pig."

John sat on the floor, stunned. He was angry at her infidelity, sure, but he really hadn't expected…

"Wait, Shayera." He climbed to his feet. He ran after her, then settled for a walk when his stomach lurched.

She was at the end of the hall, and he bellowed down the corridor, "How was I supposed to know that something wasn't right here?" She didn't stop, but turned the corner.

Stupid, John! He thought to himself. He took a step forward, but his head swam, and he leaned against the wall.

I shouldn't have let you go
And now you're out of sight, yeah

The lyrics had barely escaped his lips when he saw her look around the corner, hesitantly began to walk back toward him.

He pushed himself off the wall, determined to LOOK strong, at least. He was a Marine, dammit!

He made his voice louder, so that she could hear him – she was still so far away.

Show me, how you want it to be
Tell me baby
'Cause I need to know now what we've got

She walked closer. He sang harder, suddenly desperate.

My loneliness is killing me
I must confess, I still believe
When I'm not with you I lose my mind
Give me a sign

She was right in front of him now. He belatedly realized that her punch earlier might not have been a sign of anger, but a sign of love.

She was Thanagarian, after all. In any case, he was going to risk it, and ask for it:

Hit me baby one more time.

Instead, she reached up and touched his bruised chin, and sang back. Her voice was as sweet as a songbird's, he thought. Well, at least as hoarse as a hawk's. But it warmed his heart, anyway.

Oh baby, baby
The reason I breathe is you
Boy you got me blinded
Oh baby, baby
There's nothing that I wouldn't do
That's not the way I planned it
Show me, how you want it to be
Tell me baby
'Cause I need to know now what we've got

"Oh, Shay—"

A loud beeping from the monitor room interrupted him.

Flash's voice came through the speaker.

"Help! Help! We've got a thousand rioting Girl Scouts on our hands!"

TO BE CONTINUED