A/N: Third in my series, yes, I realize the bad guys always do this. I'm
just trying to keep them in character. Yea, yea, that's it. * Shifty look
*. I'm starting to reconsider whom I had planned Shay to end up with.
Whoever wins I'll be writing another where she ends up with the other one.
Watch out for beat-up people all over the place.
Part: 3/10
#3: PAIN
Harlequin had gone down surprisingly quietly. That should have perhaps been a sure sign that something was going to go wrong. Harlequin was never quiet, and the sudden lack of her chatter must have alerted the others that something was wrong. As soon as she was safely knocked out and out of the way the Joker sprang from the room, closely followed by Salamander and Ivy.
Green Lantern was standing, waiting, and as they three villains charged towards him Batman dropped from above, and Flash ran in from.somewhere.
Superman was on his way; Wonder Woman had stayed behind to watch over J'onn.
Salamander was currently suffering from the effects of being hit by someone almost three times larger than he was, and Ivy was hidden somewhere in the midst of a swirl of red. The Joker was charging, and then slowly drew to a halt, his head cocked to the side.
" No ring, Tinker Bell?" he grinned, stepped closer to John, reached out a hand to tap him on the shoulder before stumbling backwards, surprise written all over his face. John seized him by the collar, and drew his arm back again.
" Where is she?"
" Could you be a little more clear? OW!" John left the man fall to the ground, and formed a large green mallet.
They were interrupted when Flash went hurtling by, stopping only when he slammed into a wall. John jerked his head to the side just in time to watch Harlequin's foot slam into his face. John blinked, decided he'd been hit with worse, and batted the young woman aside with the Green Lantern's version of a mallet.
Joker had regained his feet, and disappeared from the immediate vicinity. John swore, and flew into the room Harlequin had been guarding, hoping to find either the Joker or Hawkgirl.
He found a box only six foot long, lying horizontally on the ground, Hawkgirl's hammer leaning against one side of it. Its sides were smooth, flawless, but he could see the seam around the top. Damnit.
Outside the room he heard Ivy screech, and the constant sound of Flash moving. He hesitated, for a moment, knowing he was needed in the fight. Two against four was what had led to this situation in the first place.
He growled in frustration, and sliced the top off the box, lifted the lid and hurled it away with unconscious force. He hesitated again before daring to look into the box, he knew what was there, what had to be there.
Flash screamed, and John turned, and would have ran to the speed-demon's aid had not a pained whimper floated up out of the box. He found himself bent over the container, pulling Shay up and out of it. He refused to look at her, it would be too much.
She was shaking.
The tips of her wings were almost dragging on the ground, and she was mumbling, so low as to be almost inaudible, " So dark, so cold, so small."
Shay's claustrophobia had never been truly discussed among the team. In his opinion, it didn't need to be. It was enough to hear her screams when she was trapped in an enclosed space, to watch her throw herself and any available weapons at the walls of her encasement, to see the panicked look in her eyes.
He looked at her; involuntarily it seemed, just to check on her eyes. They were shut; just the jumpy movement of her eyeballs beneath the lids was visible. He tried to look away, but now that he had started it seemed that he could not tear his eyes away.
The building shook and all that he noticed were Shay's arms and hands; bloody and bruised where they weren't torn. He did not want to believe the wounds came from banging on that damned box, but he couldn't convince himself otherwise. She had a few light burns littered across her pale flesh, and her feathers had been slightly singed. The bruise that seemed to cover most of the left side of her body he refused to contemplate.
" Lantern! We need you, buddy!" Flash's voice was strained, and John shook his head to dispel the slow fury he could feel building there. Anger only distracts, and he could not afford distraction. He flew to the doorway, unsurprised to find that most of the room had been decimated.
Batman spotted him first, and the man's face was, if such a thing were possible, grimmer than it usually was. " Flash, evac Hawkgirl now," Flash darted over from where he had been dancing around bursts of fire in an attempt to get to Salamander.
Grimly, John handed her small body over, to angry to notice the gentle way Flash adjusted his hold on her, or the horror written all over the younger man's face. " Keep her safe," he murmured, but Flash was already gone, replaced by Harlequin, armed with a steel rod.
John roared, and slammed the girl aside with enough force to send her tumbling backwards and leave a dent in the wall she finally came to rest against.
*
" Say something, c'mon, I know you're in there. Don't make me sing, Shay. I'll do it, I swear." Nothing.
Flash bit the inside of his cheeks, and drew to a stop. He didn't know exactly where he was, he had ran without having a clear destination in mind and that usually resulted in him getting lost, but he had other things to worry about. Besides, if he didn't know where he was, the bad guys couldn't know either.
For a moment he considered, Shay dead weight in his arms, terribly quiet save for her occasional whimpers. She need a hospital, she needed to wake up. He stood, undecided for another moment, and then laid her on the ground, arranging her wings in what he hoped was a comfortable manner.
Burnt feathers smelt far worse than burnt hair.
" Shay," he shook her, " I will sing, this is your last warning," She whimpered, her hands opened and closed into fists, and he grasped one, tried to ignore the bloody mess it was. He cleared his throat, took a deep breath, " We all live in a yellow sub-aw, screw it. Open your eyes, and tell me to shut up already," she whimpered, and a shudder ran threw her body.
Cold seeped into his spine. She never missed an opportunity to tell him to be quiet.
" Dark." For a moment he didn't believe she'd actually spoken, some of the tightness in his chest eased.
" Shay?" he was stooped beside her, one hand hovering worriedly by her face, unsure whether or not to touch her.
" So dark."
He looked up to the bright sky, momentarily confused. " It's noon, look, there's not even a cloud up there." Her eyes remained stubbornly closed, another shudder went threw her. What had happened, what had those bastards done to her?
" The sky is so blue, you have to see it, its almost white. C'mon, we're in the middle of." he looked around, and found he still didn't know where he was, " somewhere, nothing around but trees and the big, bright sun. Just open your eyes,"
" Lies." she mumbled, trying to roll onto her side, he grabbed her, stilled her. " It's dark, I know it is."
" It's not dark, trust me,"
For a moment she was very still, and very quiet, and then she slowly opened one eye. A grin spread across her face, as her other eye slipped open. " There is no box." She said, shakily, after a moment, and pushed herself into a sitting position. She leaned against him, and he could feel the faint tremor running threw her.
And in his mind he saw John's face as the older man whispered, " Keep her safe." Every nuance of fear seemed etched into his memory, the thickness of John's voice, the indescribable look in his green-tinted eyes.
Flash wrapped his arms around Shay, whispered softly comforting words to her, and suddenly understood the glares he'd been receiving from John.
Shay.
John.
Damnit.
Part: 3/10
#3: PAIN
Harlequin had gone down surprisingly quietly. That should have perhaps been a sure sign that something was going to go wrong. Harlequin was never quiet, and the sudden lack of her chatter must have alerted the others that something was wrong. As soon as she was safely knocked out and out of the way the Joker sprang from the room, closely followed by Salamander and Ivy.
Green Lantern was standing, waiting, and as they three villains charged towards him Batman dropped from above, and Flash ran in from.somewhere.
Superman was on his way; Wonder Woman had stayed behind to watch over J'onn.
Salamander was currently suffering from the effects of being hit by someone almost three times larger than he was, and Ivy was hidden somewhere in the midst of a swirl of red. The Joker was charging, and then slowly drew to a halt, his head cocked to the side.
" No ring, Tinker Bell?" he grinned, stepped closer to John, reached out a hand to tap him on the shoulder before stumbling backwards, surprise written all over his face. John seized him by the collar, and drew his arm back again.
" Where is she?"
" Could you be a little more clear? OW!" John left the man fall to the ground, and formed a large green mallet.
They were interrupted when Flash went hurtling by, stopping only when he slammed into a wall. John jerked his head to the side just in time to watch Harlequin's foot slam into his face. John blinked, decided he'd been hit with worse, and batted the young woman aside with the Green Lantern's version of a mallet.
Joker had regained his feet, and disappeared from the immediate vicinity. John swore, and flew into the room Harlequin had been guarding, hoping to find either the Joker or Hawkgirl.
He found a box only six foot long, lying horizontally on the ground, Hawkgirl's hammer leaning against one side of it. Its sides were smooth, flawless, but he could see the seam around the top. Damnit.
Outside the room he heard Ivy screech, and the constant sound of Flash moving. He hesitated, for a moment, knowing he was needed in the fight. Two against four was what had led to this situation in the first place.
He growled in frustration, and sliced the top off the box, lifted the lid and hurled it away with unconscious force. He hesitated again before daring to look into the box, he knew what was there, what had to be there.
Flash screamed, and John turned, and would have ran to the speed-demon's aid had not a pained whimper floated up out of the box. He found himself bent over the container, pulling Shay up and out of it. He refused to look at her, it would be too much.
She was shaking.
The tips of her wings were almost dragging on the ground, and she was mumbling, so low as to be almost inaudible, " So dark, so cold, so small."
Shay's claustrophobia had never been truly discussed among the team. In his opinion, it didn't need to be. It was enough to hear her screams when she was trapped in an enclosed space, to watch her throw herself and any available weapons at the walls of her encasement, to see the panicked look in her eyes.
He looked at her; involuntarily it seemed, just to check on her eyes. They were shut; just the jumpy movement of her eyeballs beneath the lids was visible. He tried to look away, but now that he had started it seemed that he could not tear his eyes away.
The building shook and all that he noticed were Shay's arms and hands; bloody and bruised where they weren't torn. He did not want to believe the wounds came from banging on that damned box, but he couldn't convince himself otherwise. She had a few light burns littered across her pale flesh, and her feathers had been slightly singed. The bruise that seemed to cover most of the left side of her body he refused to contemplate.
" Lantern! We need you, buddy!" Flash's voice was strained, and John shook his head to dispel the slow fury he could feel building there. Anger only distracts, and he could not afford distraction. He flew to the doorway, unsurprised to find that most of the room had been decimated.
Batman spotted him first, and the man's face was, if such a thing were possible, grimmer than it usually was. " Flash, evac Hawkgirl now," Flash darted over from where he had been dancing around bursts of fire in an attempt to get to Salamander.
Grimly, John handed her small body over, to angry to notice the gentle way Flash adjusted his hold on her, or the horror written all over the younger man's face. " Keep her safe," he murmured, but Flash was already gone, replaced by Harlequin, armed with a steel rod.
John roared, and slammed the girl aside with enough force to send her tumbling backwards and leave a dent in the wall she finally came to rest against.
*
" Say something, c'mon, I know you're in there. Don't make me sing, Shay. I'll do it, I swear." Nothing.
Flash bit the inside of his cheeks, and drew to a stop. He didn't know exactly where he was, he had ran without having a clear destination in mind and that usually resulted in him getting lost, but he had other things to worry about. Besides, if he didn't know where he was, the bad guys couldn't know either.
For a moment he considered, Shay dead weight in his arms, terribly quiet save for her occasional whimpers. She need a hospital, she needed to wake up. He stood, undecided for another moment, and then laid her on the ground, arranging her wings in what he hoped was a comfortable manner.
Burnt feathers smelt far worse than burnt hair.
" Shay," he shook her, " I will sing, this is your last warning," She whimpered, her hands opened and closed into fists, and he grasped one, tried to ignore the bloody mess it was. He cleared his throat, took a deep breath, " We all live in a yellow sub-aw, screw it. Open your eyes, and tell me to shut up already," she whimpered, and a shudder ran threw her body.
Cold seeped into his spine. She never missed an opportunity to tell him to be quiet.
" Dark." For a moment he didn't believe she'd actually spoken, some of the tightness in his chest eased.
" Shay?" he was stooped beside her, one hand hovering worriedly by her face, unsure whether or not to touch her.
" So dark."
He looked up to the bright sky, momentarily confused. " It's noon, look, there's not even a cloud up there." Her eyes remained stubbornly closed, another shudder went threw her. What had happened, what had those bastards done to her?
" The sky is so blue, you have to see it, its almost white. C'mon, we're in the middle of." he looked around, and found he still didn't know where he was, " somewhere, nothing around but trees and the big, bright sun. Just open your eyes,"
" Lies." she mumbled, trying to roll onto her side, he grabbed her, stilled her. " It's dark, I know it is."
" It's not dark, trust me,"
For a moment she was very still, and very quiet, and then she slowly opened one eye. A grin spread across her face, as her other eye slipped open. " There is no box." She said, shakily, after a moment, and pushed herself into a sitting position. She leaned against him, and he could feel the faint tremor running threw her.
And in his mind he saw John's face as the older man whispered, " Keep her safe." Every nuance of fear seemed etched into his memory, the thickness of John's voice, the indescribable look in his green-tinted eyes.
Flash wrapped his arms around Shay, whispered softly comforting words to her, and suddenly understood the glares he'd been receiving from John.
Shay.
John.
Damnit.
