(Kuriboh sails past carrying his 'Disclaimer See Chapter 1' sign)
S: HEY! You're supposed to wait for your cue, you flying kiwi!
Kuriboh: (indignant squeal and explodes in her face, leaving her blinking through a face full of soot while the small monster reforms, laughing)
S: (swears at him in every language she can think of, which isn't really all that many, although there's a bit of Japanese, Latin, and Elvish)
Onyx: (rolls her eyes repeatedly) For the people who reviewed the previous chapter, many thanks to you. Dreamcatcher89, thanks again for the tip, most helpful. Hawkgal, we're being far crueler to the characters than we are to you, and we said two reviews, not weeks. Desert Hawk, X Moonchick, is this fast enough for you? And girl-interrupted33, thanks. We try not to be predictable, although admittedly this chapter does have its predictable elements.
S: (wipes soot off her face and glares at the Kuriboh) That's it! I'm using you as a sacrifice in my next duel.
Kuriboh: (squeals indignantly and hides behind the Celtic Guardian)
Onyx: Rolling story.
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HAWK'S NIGHT, LANTERN'S LIGHT
CHAPTER FIVE
'Nearly three months after Hawkgirl stopped making appearances in her adopted home of Midway City, a Justice League source has released information that the winged heroine was critically injured in a mission just over two months ago. While the source declined to elaborate on the severity of the injuries, the fact that they have kept someone as powerful as Hawkgirl out of commission for this long speaks volumes. This is Snapper Carr reporting. Now, back to our studios.'
Scowling, Green Lantern reached forward and slapped the monitor off before turning to glare at the people behind him.
"Wasn't me!" Flash protested immediately, raising his hands defensively. Behind him, Wonder Woman shook her head. Unica stood blank-eyed for a moment before speaking up.
"No, I didn't, and no, I don't."
"Don't what?" Flash asked, looking confused.
"Know who did."
"Who said you did?" This time, it was Green Lantern that spoke up.
"J'Onn, he was listening to the report through my ears."
"Gotta be handy, having two sets of ears." Flash shook his head slightly. "Wait, does he even have ears?"
"Can we get back to the point?"
"There was a point, GL?"
"Who leaked Hawkgirl's status to the press?"
"I did." The doors, sliding near-soundlessly open to admit Superman, left his cape billowing wildly in the shifting air. His eyes were deeply shadowed and it didn't take an expert to see how exhausted he was.
"What the Hell for?!" Unica, young and brazen enough not to care about getting into Superman's face, lunged forward, her eyes snapping fire.
"I was asked a question.
I answered it. That lead to more
questions."
"Which lead to you telling the
world that Hawkgirl is lying in our infirmary wounded and nearly – " Although he had started the sentence at a
shout, Green Lantern's voice dropped to barely a whisper as he choked on the
last word.
"John, I never meant to – "
But Superman was not allowed to finish, interrupted by John's ring flaring to life on his hand. Without looking back, the Green Lantern leapt from his feet and flew out the door.
After a moment of tense silence, Unica moved forward and slammed her boot heel down on top of Superman's foot before storming out the door behind John. Wonder Woman followed her, silently, not once meeting Superman's wide eyes.
Disbelieving, the Man of Steel turned to the Flash. His hopes were crushed, however, when the scarlet-clad hero muttered a soft, "sorry, Supes," and dashed out the door as well, leaving Superman standing alone.
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It was nearly four hours later when Unica found John sitting behind a pile of crates in the lowest storage bay, staring resolutely at the blank wall before him. Although tempted to praise him for learning to block his mental signal, she said nothing, but rather sat down beside him and remained silent until he spoke.
"Will she make it?" The question, although directed to the wall, was clearly addressed to the girl beside him.
"I'm not a psychic, John. I don't know, and my cards won't tell me. But over the years, I've learned to follow my gut instinct."
"And?"
"And it says things are going to work out all right."
"Better than nothing, I guess." Scrubbing the back of his hand across his eyes, he stood up, extending his hand to the young woman. She accepted it, rising to her feet with regal grace.
"Will you be all right, John? If this doesn't pull off?"
He pursed his lips for a long moment, thinking before he answered. "As long as we've got her hooked up to those machines, there's still a lingering possibility that she'll come back. But the others are right. It's not fair, leaving her like that. It's not…" his voice broke slightly, but he regained himself and continued. "It's not what she would have wanted."
Unica opened her mouth to reply, but J'Onn's voice, echoing through both their heads, preempted her.
'Lantern, everyone, come to the medical bay, quickly!'
Even in the near-toneless telepathic voice, there was shock and a trace of something else, something very different…
Unica and John barely exchanged glances before bolting towards the elevator.
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Light. Blinding, painful in its brightness, and eyes closed tightly against it. Noise was there, too, a jumble of it, but slowly breaking down into voices that could be recognized, identified, comprehended.
"…monitors, get a vial of adrenaline…"
"Watch her heart rate, it's fluctuating."
"…call Lantern yet?"
Lantern? Grab that thought, seize it, keep ahold of it. That thought meant comfort, strength to be had. That thought was an anchor, a much-needed one.
"He's on his way; Unica found him a few minutes ago."
That voice was familiar, deep and strange, alien tones against the other voices. It came with crimson eyes…
"What do you mean, stuck? Who was on maint – oops. My bad."
That voice was familiar too. It came with a color, scarlet, a shade brighter than fresh blood, and an emotion, frustration. A great deal of it.
"Flash!"
"I swear, I forgo – OW!!"
That was it. Flash. The fastest man alive. The voice yelling at him belonged to Diana, tall and dark-haired, an Amazon princess. And that sound, in the background behind their voices, was the sound of a door opening. But what door?
"Shayera?"
A scuffling of footsteps and a new voice in the background, a young woman's this time, snapping for someone to turn the lights off.
"Shayera?"
That was Lantern, the comfortable thought from before, a warm and deep voice. She could remember hearing it before, from beyond the darkness, his voice was there.
"Lan..tern?" Her voice was a weak rasp, sounding nothing like her own strong tones. How long had she been in the darkness? Lantern had told her, but she couldn't remember.
"Shayera!" One of her hands became warm, surrounded by a strong grasp. When she risked opening one eye, no light stabbed into it, and she cautiously opened the other. At first, she saw only fog, but Lantern's dark face slowly swam into view.
"Shayera?"
She didn't care that her voice was weak and raspy, or that her smile looked like a grimace, being so forced and still pain-riddled. All she cared about was croaking out the first words that came to her mind. "Hey honey. I'm home."
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S: (ducks random projectiles) I know it's a short chapter, but hey, she's awake! It's a crucial turning point! (ducks a cabbage) Oh, come on! I hate cabbage! Can't you people throw lettuce instead? Or Barq's? I love Barq's! It is the most excellent root beer on the face of the plan – (ducks a tomato) COOL IT!
Onyx: (quickly hides the basket of random vegetables)
S: ONYX!!!!! (chases)
Onyx: Gah! Hikaris gone wild! (runs)