CHAPTER TWELVE
"Let go! Let me go, you sick twisted creep!" Haylynn yelled, twisted her body back and forth as she tried to break the man's grip. "Let go of me now!" The large Thanagarian who was gripping her shoulders and holding her above the ground wasn't the same man who had taken Haylynn and her brother, but he was just as big and his wings were the same. He also didn't look at Haylynn as she screamed and thrashed, trying to break his grip. She had been trying to sleep when he and her kidnapper had entered the room. The kidnapper had ordered the man with him to grab Haylynn, and he would go get her brother. Haylynn had tried to avoid the man, but he was simply to big and strong for her. He also didn't seem to feel the blows she landed on him, or her wings beating furiously in his face.
"Haylynn!" A familiar voice yelled, and Haylynn looked up in shock.
"MAMA!" Haylynn screamed, fighting the man even harder.
"Let my daughter GO!" Hawkgirl screamed, swinging her mace full force at the man's stomach. He made no move to block it, and the blow knocked him off his feet. His grip on Haylynn didn't loosen as he flew through the air, but when he hit the wall, Haylynn was able to rip herself free and throw herself at her mother.
"Mama!"
"Haylynn!" Hawkgirl snatched her baby girl out of the air and hugged her tightly. "Oh Haylynn, are you all right?"
"They separated me from Hayden Mama." Haylynn whispered, her eyes tearing up as she wrapped her arms and legs around her mother and buried her face in his mother's neck.
"Is she all right?" An unfamiliar voice asked. Haylynn lifted her face and stared at the people accompanying her mother. The man who had spoken was so familiar that Haylynn's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.
"I know you! Your part of the Justice League! Your Batman!" She said excitedly.
"Yes I am." He replied solemnly, extending one black clad hand.
"I'm Haylynn. Haylynn Lee Stewart." Haylynn said politely, shaking his hand. She shifted her gaze to the green Martian standing behind Batman. "I know you too! Your also part of the Justice League! You're the Martian Manhunter."
"That is me small one." J'onn responded with a tiny smile. Green Lantern, having finished checking behind them, came around the corner. Haylynn's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. With a leap, she had wretched herself out of Hawkgirl's arms and was flying as fast as her wings could carry her straight into the Green Lanterns surprised arms.
"Daddy!" Haylynn screamed, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug. Holding her small warm body close, John suddenly realized what he had been missing out on, her sweet tiny arms around his neck, her cheek pressed against his, her warm little body pressed tight against his chest.
"Haylynn, how did you know he's your daddy?" Hawkgirl asked quietly.
"I saw him in my dreams." Haylynn responded, her voice muffled by the fact that her face was pressed tightly into the Green Lanterns shoulder.
"Your right." Green Lantern finally found his voice. "I am your daddy."
Haylynn finally lifted her head and smiled at him. In shock, John suddenly found himself staring at another, smaller Shayera, except the small girl in his arms had his hair. The pictures Shayera had showed him didn't do Haylynn justice, he decided. She was so beautiful it made his heart ache. Her small hand reached up and touched his beard. "I don't like this daddy. You'll have to get rid of it." The Green Lantern burst out laughing at the matching looks on his daughter and her mothers faces.
"Told you." Hawkgirl responded smugly.
"You don't like it either Mama?"
"No baby, I don't." She crossed to the Green Lantern and looked their daughter in the eye. "Honey, where's your brother?"
Haylynn wrinkled her nose, and the Green Lantern recognized one of his facial expressions with surprise. "I'm not sure." She told her mother. "The creepiod with the really weird wings separated us."
'Haylynn, stop chatting and come get me out of HERE!' Hayden suddenly screamed in Haylynn's mind. Haylynn winced at the volume, then laughed. Hawkgirl laughed also, recognizing the signs of her children's telepathy.
"I take it Hayden is not happy?" She asked her daughter. Haylynn laughed again and left the Green Lanterns arms to snuggle into Hawkgirl's.
"Nope." She said with a grin. "He said, and I quote 'stop chatting and come get me out of here'."
"Well, shall we go get him?" The Green Lantern asked, coming up behind Hawkgirl and grinning over her shoulder at their daughter.
"Yeah." Haylynn giggled, reaching up for him. The Green Lantern smiled as he gathered up Haylynn against his chest, and Hawkgirl couldn't keep the smile off her face as she watched them. It seemed that Haylynn already had her daddy wrapped around her little finger.
They traveled cautiously down the hall, everyone watching everyone else's back, Haylynn clinging to her daddy's neck tightly.
"Put me down!" Hayden's voice suddenly yelled. "OW! Stop it! That hurts!"
"Hayden!" Haylynn left the Green Lanterns arms and took to the air, flying down the hallway. "Leave him alone!"
"Haylynn! Wait!" The Green Lantern and Hawkgirl both yelled at the same time, running after their daughter. And stopped dead when they saw the sight that awaited them. Hawkgirl's face went white, and the Green Lantern thought he was going to be sick.
A huge Thanagarian stood before them. Haylynn was laying on the floor in front of him, his foot planted firmly in the middle of her back. Even as they watched, Haylynn struggled, but the man pressed down harder, causing Haylynn to cry out in pain. He was also holding a small winged boy in front of him, and a pistol that the Green Lantern recognized as capable of firing a deadly laser was pointed at the boys head. The Green Lantern knew instantly that the boy was Hayden. He looked just like him, with bright green eyes and jet black hair, a lock of which was currently falling into the boys eyes. The Thanagarian that held him was tall, much taller than Hawkgirl, but about the Green Lantern's height. He had light skin with green eyes and shoulder length light brown hair. And his wings were light blue, with white line running through them and huge, just like the feather they had found.
"Graykon!" Hawkgirl yelled. "Leave my children alone!"
"Beautiful Shayera." Graykon sneered, tightening his grip on Hayden. Hayden sucked in a painful breath, but didn't move or say anything, his green eyes wide and panicked. "You know I can't do that. These two filthy half-breeds have to die so that I may come into my rightful place of power."
"Let them go." The Green Lantern snarled, stepping forward.
"Who the hell are you?!" Graykon asked. Hayden's eyes went wide and he let out a squeak of surprise.
"DADDY?!" Hayden chocked out. Graykon snarled and tightened his arm around Hayden so that Hayden was having trouble drawing in breath. His face turned red.
"He is not your father!" Graykon raged. "I am your father!"
"No Graykon!" Hawkgirl burst in, stepping forward to stand next to the Green Lantern. "Your not their father Graykon! Their four years old, you can't possibly be their father! John is their father!"
"No! I'm their father!" Graykon yelled back, his eyes wide and crazy.
"I'm their father." the Green Lantern said, in a cold, calm voice. "Give them to me Graykon. Let them go. Their just children. Let them go. Let them come home."
Graykon smiled wickedly at the Green Lantern. "You don't understand. That's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to kill them so that I can go home and claim the power that is rightfully mine!" With that, he pressed the barrel of the gun tighter against Hayden's skull, making the boy whimper in fear, and his finger started to tighten on the trigger.
"No! Don't!" John yelled, leaping forward. He was to far away, he knew that, Hayden and Haylynn knew it and Graykon knew it. But he had to try. He wasn't going to just stand there and let this manic take away his children once again.
Desperate to help her father and her twin, Haylynn put her hands on the floor and surged up with all of her strength. Graykon stumbled backwards, his pistol firing into the ceiling. Graykon slipped and fell flat on his back, his hold on Hayden loosening. With a powerful beat of his wings, Hayden freed himself and flew at the Green Lantern.
"Daddy?" He questioned, stopping just short of the Green Lantern and hovering just in front of him. The Green Lantern smiled at him, and Haylynn almost knocked her father over by running right at his leg and grabbing on.
"It's Daddy Hayden!" She laughed, smiling up at the Green Lantern. He smiled and picked her up. "It's really him!"
"Daddy!" Hayden yelled, throwing himself into his arms. John hugged both of them to him tightly.
"Hayden, Haylynn." He whispered, holding them close.
"NO!" Graykon screeched, stumbling to his feet. "Their mine! They have to die!" He pointed his pistol right at Haylynn's chest as she sat in her Daddy's arms.
"NO!" the Green Lantern yelled, dropping his children to the ground and surrounding them with a protective green bubble. But before he could expand it to include himself and Hawkgirl, Graykon fired.
"NO! DADDY!" Haylynn screamed as her father flew backwards, hit one of the metal walls of the ship and then slid to the floor, not moving.
"JOHN!" Shayera cried, running to him.
"DADDY!" Both twins yelled, also running to him. Shayera touched John's face, but his eyes didn't open. She looked up at a smirking Graykon, fury in her eyes. Her eyes widened when she saw Graykon raising the pistol to try again.
"BASTARD!" Shayera screamed, throwing herself, and her mace, at Graykon before Batman or J'onn could stop her. She swung at his chest, but Graykon, fueled by rage and religious fervor, miscalculated and tried to duck under the blow. Shayera's mace hit Graykon right in the face, slicing through thin skin and bone, caving in the skull. The body flew through the air, seeming to hang there for a single moment, then fell to the floor with a horrible crash. It bounced twice, then lay still, all life gone from it.
Shayera stood stunned for a moment, unable to believe that she had taken a life after all these years of trying to protect it. Batman came up and put a hand on her shoulder.
"It wasn't your fault Hawkgirl. You were protecting your family, the ones you love." He whispered. Shayera turned to look at him, her eyes still wide in her white face. The only emotion on her face was surprise, and Batman was worried she had gone into shock.
"Hawkgirl?" He questioned, putting both hands on Shayera's shoulders and shacking her gently. She still didn't react, or even blink, just stared at him blankly. "Shayera?" He tried, shaking her a little harder.
"Shayera." John whispered, his eyes slowly and painfully opening.
"Daddy!" Haylynn yelled happily, yet refrained from throwing herself into his arms like she wanted to. Through her and Hayden were only four, and had never seen anyone hurt this bad before, they knew their daddy was seriously injured. They could sense it.
"Mama!" Hayden yelled, rushing to his mother. "Daddy's awake, and he wants you!"
The sound of her son's voice snapped Shayera out of her temporary shock, and she ran to meet her son halfway. Scooping up her son, she ran to John's side, falling to her knees next to him.
"Shayera." He sighed, reaching up for her mask, but he was to weak and he couldn't complete the gesture. Shayera understood through and reached up to remove her mask, removing her ponytail holder and shaking out her hair while she was at it. She picked up John's hand and held it under her chin.
"Are you all right?" She whispered, knowing that no matter what John said it would be a lie. John wouldn't admit it if he was dying. 'Stop that!' Shayera scolded herself.
"I'm fine." John wheezed, winking at her.
"Liar." Shayera whispered, trying to blink away her tears. John released her hand and reached up wipe them away.
"Hey, stop that." He ordered. But the order lacked any force behind it.
"Daddy." Haylynn sobbed. John shifted so he could see her too.
"My two girls." He whispered. "My beautiful girls." He smiled and reached out to Hayden, who was squatting next to Haylynn. "And my handsome son." He smiled, but everyone could see the pain behind it. "I am so proud of you. So proud to be your father."
"Stop talking like that Daddy." Hayden said, fighting a losing battle with tears.
"Hayden, watch out for your sister and your mother." John whispered, ignoring his son.
"Stop that." Shayera ordered. "Your going to be fine. And besides, you know you're the only one who can tell me anything."
"Don't I know it." John whispered. He looked at his children again.
"Your beautiful. All three of you are beautiful angels. My angels." John touched Haylynn's cheek, then Hayden's hair, and his other hand squeezed Shayera's tightly. Then his eyes closed and he went limp.
"Daddy?!" Haylynn sobbed, shaking his shoulder. When John didn't respond, Haylynn threw herself across his chest, wailing. "No! Daddy! DADDY!"