"Thanagarian justice?" shouted Emmett. Hawkgirl was back in Emmett's office. Jordan was standing behind him. Shayera thought that Jordan would look a lot smugger—after all, she was busted because of him. "Thanagarian justice? What the hell does that mean? We have a wanted criminal that might walk away free because of police brutality—"
Hawkgirl couldn't help but laugh. "Police brutality? What a funny phrase. We warriors of Thanagar don't know the meaning. How you can you be too brutal to a robber or a murderer? You lie, and I cut up your tongue. You steal, and I break your arms. And if you murder, then I take your life. That's Thanagarian justice."
"That's not Justice!" hissed Emmett. "You can't be officer, judge, and executer! Not here, anyways. You are not on Thanagar."
"For now, at least—"
"You're on Earth now, Shayera. And you'll follow our laws until you leave. Which could be a while."
Hawkgirl curled her lip. "What do you mean by that?"
"No one from Thanagar knows you're here. You haven't found a way of contacting your people, despite the optimism you showed in the Midway Report. And we can't contact them either." Emmett pointed outside. "In a few hours it will be dark and the stars will appear. Can you point to your sun? Do you know where it is?" Hawkgirl said nothing, but lowered her head. Emmett had touched a nerve. "The fact is, the chances of you going home are slim…" Emmett stopped and looked at Hawkgirl's face. Half of it was hidden behind the angry-looking mask, but the eyes were tearing up and the lips were fixed tight. Suddenly, he understood. "And you know it, don't you?"
Hawkgirl raised her head again. Her lips had formed a sneer, but her eyes were still shiny. "I will go home, human!" Shayera was surprised by the hate in her own words. "I can't stand this planet and your silly police brutality. I'll contact Thanagar and find my way home—whether or not I caught Byth. Perhaps you can dispense your human 'Justice' on him. That is, if he doesn't kill you first."
Hawkgirl stormed out of the room, ignoring the police officers all around her. She even bumped into Jake, who was headed to Emmett office, without saying a word. Only one thought occupied her mind. Thanagar. Somewhere, deep in her chest, there was a pulsing ache to go back to Thanagar. She tired of all these wingless squeakers. They were ignorant and it drove her mad. "Forget Byth. I'll find a communicator on the ship. If they designed it to travel through space, they must have designed a strong radio too."
* * *
The cockpit of Byth's ship was a larger version of Shayera's ship. It was the first good bit of news all day. Shayera turned the computers on and adjusted the signal. There were several Thanagarian channels, and Shayera switched it to the emergency broadcast.
"…Officer Shayera Hol…missing in action…no response…"
Shayera pressed the com-link button. "Officer Shayera Hol reporting in!" she said in crisp Thanagarian.
"…No response…"
What? Shayera checked the computer's status. Two lines drew an expression of doom on her face. SIGNAL RECEIVER FUNCTIONING. SIGNAL TRANSMITTER NONOPERATIONAL. Shayera broke down. "Seven Hells! Please—don't do this to me! Don't do this to me!" She shouted back into the com-link. "This is Officer Hol, reporting in. Do you hear me? Do you copy? Please, someone hear me! It's Magpie! It's Magpie! Can anyone hear me? It's Magpie…" Clinging onto the control panel, Shayera slid down onto her knees. "Can anyone hear me…no, no one can hear me…"
And then, Shayera—not Hawkgirl, not Officer Hol, just Shayera—wept.
Shayera didn't know how long she slept. But something had woken her up. A trail of small insects was crawling over her ankle and under the door to the main part of the ship. Drying her eyes, Shayera stood and followed the ants until she found herself in front of a locker. Her nose wrinkled at the stench. "What is that?"
Curious, she pulled the locker door open. Three bodies fell at her feet, causing Shayera to yelp in fear before regaining her senses. Two of them were human and the third was an animal. But the second human looked familiar. "It's Officer Jake."
Officer Jake of the Midway City Police Department.
The same officer that was in possession of all the confiscated items from the ship.
The same officer she had given the Absorbascon to.
The same officer that she had bumped into after her fight with Emmett.
And only one person could be behind this: Byth Rok.
* * *
With her mask back on and her mace fully charged, Hawkgirl flew as fast as her wings would allow. She knew this much—Byth had stolen Thanagarian technology. He had killed three aliens and shoved them in his ship. But one of the aliens was still walking around. Shayera was a detective and had pieced together the answer quickly. Jake was dead—and somehow Byth was able to pretend to be him.
SWISH!
Something small and fast had cut across Hawkgirl's face. She turned her head this way and that.
Hurts, doesn't it? Not as much as this!
A large bird landed on her back with so much force that Shayera dropped several feet. She thought she had recovered when it sank her talons deep into the shoulders of her wings. They had a spasm before going limp, and Hawkgirl crashed onto a rooftop. She grabbed the bird by the neck and flung him several feet in front of her. "What are you?"
The feathers melted away…the bird grew taller and more familiar…and there stood Byth Rok, with a smug smile on his face. "Officer Hol! So nice to cross paths with you again."
Hawkgirl pulled herself up. "You're under arrest!" she cried weakly.
Byth laughed. "Of all the cops to be stuck on this planet with…the Magpie. How sweet." His expression change to one of malice. "I've got scars all over my back 'cause of you. I lost my wings 'cause of you."
"You were trying to escape. And you spat on me."
"Well, it doesn't matter anymore. You took my wings, but now I have new ones. And new talons, as you already saw. Thanks to the Thanagarian government. May the seven Gods keep smiling on them—and me."
"That's how you changed into Jake? And that bird just now? Thanagarian technology?"
"It's called an eagle. Honestly woman, you call yourself Hawkgirl? Don't sneer, I read the papers. How predictable of you—you always have to be the tough heroine. So, you want to be Superman? Well, here's your Kryptonite."
One punch sent Hawkgirl crashing into a concrete wall. She pulled herself up for a moment, tottered on her weak arms, and collapsed on the ground. Byth grinned. "And so ends the short, undistinguished carrier of Hawkgirl, the Winged Avenger. And the annoying fem-cop Shayera Hol." Byth picked up her mace and walked towards her limp form. "Perhaps she'll have better luck in the afterlife."
BANG!
Jordan, standing in the doorway leading to the rooftop, had fired off his gun. "Not today, bird-brain!"
Byth wasn't stupid. He dropped the mace and ran to the edge of the rooftop. Jordan followed until Byth jumped off the roof. He though for a moment that Byth had committed suicide. But a giant raptor flew off away from the city. He had survived.
* * *
Hawkgirl woke up and saw Jordan nearby. "Jake…" her voice was still raspy.
"It's wasn't Jake, I take it?"
"Byth…he's able to change forms…the bodies had puncture wounds…like from a needle…" Suddenly, another though crossed her mind. "Emmett…where's Emmett?"
Jordan kicked at some pebbles. "That's why I was trying to find you. That bastard Byth shot him. He in a coma at the hospital."