"Fallen Angels"
Disclaimer: I own no one.
Rating: PG-13 for the usual stuff. (coughs)
Spoilers: Through "Initiation"
Pairings: Wouldn't you like to know?
)8(
Chapter 4:
"That was sloppy."
Hawkgirl's jaw dropped as she strapped her mace to her hip. "Sloppy? Are you kidding?"
Batman just shook his head, as if he were a father scolding a four year old. "Was it necessary to strike him so many times?"
She shrugged. "I wanted to make sure he'd stay down, and I guess idiots who steal purses from sweet old ladies really piss me off."
He raised an eyebrow. "A lot of things 'really piss you off.'"
"Maybe, but idiots top the list." The former Leaguer leaned against one of the building's gargoyles and sighed. "So this is what you do every night?" When he didn't answer, she continued with her one-sided conversation. "And yet, you manage to have a social life."
"I don't have a social life."
"That's not what the papers say."
He lifted the binoculars to his eyes and muttered, "Trips to the Rose Café and Iceberg Lounge are for publicity purposes alone."
"Not to mention relieving sexual frustration." When he sent her a glare, she returned a smile. "It's all right. I won't tell."
The Dark Knight returned to his observing and straightened his shoulders when he noticed something. "There," he pointed and lowered the binoculars.
"There what?"
"She's here."
The duo had been scoping out The Gotham History Museum, waiting for something to happen. It seemed as if the Bat knew somebody would be robbing the place that night.
"Who's here?"
"Wait for it. She'll escape through the roof entrance, along with the Jaded Cat of Cairo. Confront her there."
"And do what, exactly?"
"Get the cat back."
Hawkgirl reluctantly nodded and flew toward the museum, not knowing who or what she'd be "confronting." Knowing the Batman, he probably had gotten Batgirl to "rob" the museum and "confront" Hawkgirl. It made perfect sense.
Purr-fect sense...
"Great Thanagar," she muttered as she landed near the skylight. The cat burglar had already climbed up and onto the roof. She had a whip wrapped around her waist and a statuette in her hand.
"What is this?" she asked, with a chuckle. "Halloween?"
"Don't you wish? Sorry to disappoint you, kitten."
The thief narrowed her bright green eyes and snickered, "You do realize that this is Gotham, right? I mean, even Wonder Woman is forbidden to do anything here.
"So, are you the original Hawkgirl? Some form of her? An imposter? Or are you some little girl who wants to pretend she's Batman, and the name 'Batgirl' was already taken?"
"Maybe it's a combination."
Suddenly, the black-clad villainess cracked her whip at Hawkgirl. Fortuitously, the redhead had raised her mace just in time to block the lash. The leather whip wrapped around the handle, and the criminal tugged on her leash, ripping the mace from Hawkgirl's grasp. The weapon crashed to the roof, and the robber latched the statue to her hip.
"Now, as I was saying, I don't have time to play games, sweetheart."
"Neither do I, so hand over the cat." Hawkgirl narrowed her eyes and shifted her stance, planning to launch a strike.
She never got the chance.
Batman joined the women on the rooftop. "I can take care of this, Hawkgirl. She's of no threat."
The former Leaguer hesitated before allowing herself to listen to Batman. She then realized that he had used her to gain the Catwoman's attention.
She almost laughed.
Maybe the Bat was human after all.
"I'm of no threat? Who the hell do you think you're talking to?" Catwoman questioned, her eyes heated with annoyance.
Batman's blank expression hadn't changed. "I was speaking to Hawkgirl."
The criminal gritted her teeth? "Showing off your new girlfriend? If you are, you needn't bother. I don't give a damn."
"That's not my point. I'm here to make a deal. If you give me that statuette, I won't arrest you."
"What's the catch?"
"The catch is that you need to spread the word of Hawkgirl's return. I want every lowlife to know that she's working with me and not as a member of The Justice League. Let them know that she won't follow League protocol, that she's a renegade vigilante who shouldn't be taken lightly. Understood?"
Catwoman considered her options and, to Hawkgirl's surprise, handed the statue to Batman without a struggle. The Thanagarian's jaw almost dropped.
A scream sounded from the next alley. Before the other two reacted, Hawkgirl raced to her mace and lifted it.
"I think I'll handle that while you two talk." With a back flip, Hawkgirl flew off of the rooftop and into the alley where four men had surrounded a young blonde girl.
In fifteen minutes, the green-eyed heroine had tied up all four unconscious men and had freed the blonde from the danger that had awaited her.
All the while, Batman had watched her from his position on the ledge.
)8(
The next day was an easy one. Bruce Wayne was not required to be at the office, so he had spent most of the Saturday down in his cave, preparing the cell-disrupter for it's first Thanagarian test subject. He had allowed Shayera to sleep in that morning and had informed Alfred that he should prepare her a small brunch before lunch.
She didn't know that her fighting had impressed Batman the night before. It was if all her years of training in the Thanagarian Army and the years of training with the Leaguers had somehow found their way back to her body right before his eyes. She had taken those four punks out without breaking a sweat.
Even if she didn't want to be "Hawkgirl" again, Shayera was slipping back into her old patterns.
Bruce knew that having both Tim and Alfred around for her to talk to helped her quite a bit. She needed human contact, and both of Bruce's companions carried a hint of lightheartedness in their voices when they spoke to her.
Since finding Shayera only two nights ago, she had managed more smiles that morning than the morning before.
Although her face hid her feelings well, he knew she was neither forgetting the past nor forgiving herself.
She was just getting over it.
Bruce Wayne had made a reservation at the Iceberg Lounge for two at eight o'clock. To convince Luthur of a growing romance, Wayne had to convince the public first.
He knew that would be no trouble at all.
Well, once he got rid of Shayera's distracting wings.
He hadn't attended lunch at one o'clock with Tim and Shayera. He had eaten in the cave as he had placed finishing touches on the mechanism.
Now it was half-past six, and the device had been completed. Seconds ago, he had called for Shayera to join him in the Batcave.
Long before she had spoken, he had heard her walk down the stone stairs. When she had come to him, he stood and walked over to his workshop. She had her hair up in a loose bun and wore a button-down shirt and jeans.
Shayera looked comfortable.
Bruce lifted the cell-disrupter for her to see and explained. "This device, when worn properly, will manipulate the molecules of your wings, causing them to literally disappear. They'll be gone, so you won't feel them. We're not going to make them invisible."
"Where do they go?"
"The disrupter does just as its name suggests. It almost removes a few of your cells, interrupting the shape of the wings. Without all of their cells, the wings cannot exist."
"When you turn it off, is it possible for the wings to return deformed?"
"There's always a possibility."
She nodded and said, "Go ahead. Put it on."
"You'll need to remove your shirt and bra. The device will blend in but must be worn beneath the bra."
"All right." Shayera unbuttoned her grey shirt and pulled it off without embarrassment. She then turned her back to Bruce and unfastened her white bra. After placing both articles of clothing on a chair, Shayera wrapped her arms around her upper body and permitted him to do has needed.
The billionaire carefully placed the device between the two beautiful hawk wings, and she flinched from the cold steel. He touched the tiny switch, and gadget disappeared along with the wings.
Without thinking, Bruce's blue eyes lingered on the sculpted muscles of her back and the many scars she possessed. Even though they had healed wonderfully and could only be noticed by those who searched for them, he couldn't help but wonder how she had received them.
For some reason, his hand still rested where the mechanism sat.
He was the first man to see her without her trademark...
"Are they gone?"
Her voice had pulled him from his thoughts, and he answered immediately.
"Now what?"
"Be ready by seven-thirty. We're going to dinner."
An hour later, Wayne found himself outside Shayera's room, calling her name. When she didn't answer, he opened the door and found the room empty.
The black dress she was going to wear still sat on the made bed.
He knew that the hawk had flown the coop.
She had run away from Wayne Manor.
)8(
Sorry the update took so long. I was so busy.
Yeah, so I heard that she's FINALLY back. YAY! I have to watch the rerun. I must admit that I've missed the past two episodes, but heard that I hadn't missed much.
I hope the series truly improves with her return...