Disclaimer: Still don't own anything….save for the kids…
Colton: Is there some way we can get out of this?
Me:….no…..
A/N: Just for the record, GL's one of my favorite characters too, but I'm afraid in this case, all actions taken were absolutely necessary; that goes for everyone else out there with a favorite character you are upset for losing. Don't make any assumptions… Just…trust me….and pay no attention to the muses who warn you otherwise, ok? ::looks around nervously::
Shattering Eternal: Chapter Three
"Thank you," she whispered as she gently leaned in for a kiss on the cheek which he generously supplied.
"I do believe I asked for a kiss," his breath tickled her ear.
"Later," she smiled as she pushed against his chest and stood, leaving him sitting on the ground, a smirk still playing on his lips.
She backed out of the entrance, smiling coyly the entire way, and didn't lose eye contact until she'd let the flap of the tent close behind her. Breathing a sigh of relief, she raced across the now over half-empty camp-grounds, the shelters and equipment remaining soon to be packed and carted away to the wherever they were planning on setting up their head-quarters. Her feet pounded in perfect rhythm with her heart that had sped up sometime during her discussion with him; she felt a strange pang of triumph in realizing that it wasn't because of an attraction, like the one that used to make her lose the feeling throughout her body, and her tongue suddenly become heavy and limp within her suddenly dry mouth, and she wouldn't be able to breathe as long as his heavy, dark eyes were on her, and...
Inhaling deeply and shaking her head to clear it of the more than less-tasteful- thoughts, she spread her wings, letting lift carry her upward, and she rejoiced in feeling the wind kiss her face, her arms, all of her body, and let it sweep away the grime she felt was left upon her from even the smallest touch from him.
Letting illusions take over her mind and all the weight on her shoulders slip away, she almost overshot the large throng of fledglings gathered below her; quickly shaking her head to clear it, she slowed down, landing conveniently before the objects currently highest up on her 'important tasks' list.
"Lieutenant?"
"Quickly and quietly, follow me; we need to go somewhere we won't be overheard. Grab your sister's hand, and act natural," she told him swiftly, not bothering to allow him to recover from shock. As her form began retreating as rapidly as it approached, he obediently grabbed his sister's hand rather roughly and pulled. They expertly dodged through the tight crowd of fledglings, bunched together and contained by some of the lowest ranking officers as they tried to herd them onto ships.
Following Hawkgirl, they plunged into the trees, their hearts beginning to race. Why had she come? Why had she dragged them off, so close to leaving? The thoughts pounded through their brains as their feet trampled over the earth.
Trees whizzed by them in blurs as they continued deeper into the tangled forest that had served as their barrier from the outside world for the past two months. The slanting light that had managed to pass through the thick canopy of leaves suddenly burst full and bright in the clearing they found themselves suddenly stumbling into.
"Don't say a word; I only have a little time to explain," Hawkgirl told them quickly as she turned swiftly to face them. Herin and H'ryah's mouths were open slightly, both at a loss as to what was going on, and Herin's grip on his sister's hand tightened as their gray eyes searched Hawkgirl, trying to piece together what was happeneing. Hawkgirl's mouth turned up in a half-smirk.
"Close your mouths before you catch flies; I need your mind here for you to understand this fully." Nodding, the twins closed their mouths in obedience and continued to stare at Hawkgirl. "It will probably take them a good while to get all of the fledglings back on the ship," she mused as she crossed her arms and made eye contact with Herin. "To our advantage; hopefully, they won't notice you're missing until it's too late."
"Missing?" repeated Herin and H'ryah in unison.
"We don't have time for the echo bit. We need to keep moving, so walk and listen; carefully. I'm only going to explain this once," Hawkgirl began as she turned on her heel and stalked back into the trees at a slightly slower pace this time. Both plunged after her, confusion flooding their thoughts.
"I have some good news for you two," muttered Hawkgirl as she pushed aside thick foliage and continued swiftly, Herin and H'ryah trailing after her, her words cutting into their thoughts. "Considering the importance of the shield plans and scheduling, the Elders have decided to hold Trials next year; the group will be bigger since it will consist of this year's fledgling and the next, but they've decided that –"
"Good news?" Herin stopped short, cutting Hawkgirl off mid-sentence. "How is that good news? I thought you go it. My sister could be killed before then! We don't have the time to wait! We've waited long enough as it!"
Hawkgirl didn't even glance back. "Keep moving, we're pressed for time here," she replied as if he hadn't opened his mouth.
Herin gritted his teeth in anger and clenched his fist. H'ryah charged ahead of her brother who continued to stand rooted to the spot until he was physically pulled by his sister.
"You didn't let me finish, Herin; you must learn patience; it's key to surviving your Kzan Y'ikit," she lectured as H'ryah managed to catch up, and their pace accelerated, Hawkgirl's eyes darting to the sky and checking about them behind her mask every so often.
"'Survive'?"
"Yeah, 'survive'. Or did you plan on passing the Trials as a dead woman?" The look on H'ryah's face did not require Hawkgirl to turn around for the image to implant itself in her mind.
"You father never told you that?" Hawkgirl's pace slackened only slightly as her eyebrows lowered under her mask. "Pity. I'll tell you now since you'll have to know at some point." She didn't sound overjoyed about doing so.
"Only about 35 of fledgling actually live through Trials, and only 20 of that actually lives on in society since the other 15 suffers… side effects, and is put down by the Elders' command. Keep that in mind." The pace quickened again.
Herin still hadn't said another word, but the anger in his eyes was quickly being clouded over by another emotion as his feet beat over the path created by his scrambling sister.
"I take it you two can fly rather fast?" Hawkgirl queried as the maze of trees they weaved their way through began to thin out and she began to unfold her wings.
H'ryah, mind racing, mumbled in the affirmative as her heart began to pound against her chest and she found with every breath, her throat burned.
"Good. Now then, I told you I have good news, and I do; this year's fledglings will go through their Trials next year; until then, they are returning back to Thanagar, back to their underling life until the time comes again. You two, however," Hawkgirl paused slightly as she gestured with her hands, still not turning to face them, "will not be among them."
H'ryah had found her tongue again, and wasted no time in letting it start up. "We won't be with them next year? Why not? We'll be fledglings forever!" More questions were piled atop each other in her mind, but in the midst of the chaos, she couldn't set them into order to ask any except one. "Why is it that so many die?"
Herin was a different story. "Why have we never heard this before?"
"Your father," Hawkgirl answered easily. "You did say he was a compassionate man, didn't you? While it's fortunate that you have such a father, I'm sorry to say that compassion will help you very little on Thanagar in your time." She didn't continue as they came upon an overlook, a fast-paced stream flowing down below them. Closing her eyes, Hawkgirl tilted her head back and inhaled deeply, her wide, emerald eyes fluttering reopen as she extended her wings to their full span.
Herin and H'ryah imitated her, allowing their wings to billow out. Herin hissed slightly as he exhaled, his wings still being tender to movement, and H'ryah gripped his hand in her own firmly.
She pushed off from the ground with her feet, soaring immediately higher up than any altitude she would normally fly at. Glancing back, she made sure they had followed, then turned swiftly, her wings beating rapidly as she soared toward home. H'ryah and Herin didn't say a word as, still hanging on to other's grip for life, they pushed themselves to catch up to Hawkgirl.
"Are you going to be able to make this flight?" Hawkgirl inquired suddenly.
"Don't worry about me," Herin replied, gritting his teeth and swallowing a yell. "I'll be fine; just keep talking." Hawkgirl didn't start talking again, the only sound that surrounded them the almost frantic flapping of their wings for a few tense moments.
Finally, she spoke once more. "That you can tolerate extreme pain is a benefit," she muttered, barely loud enough for them to hear. She continued, louder, making sure they could hear every word. "You'll need determination for your Trials. They'll take place after the first half of shield project is finished. Until then, you'll be staying with me, here in my city." H'ryah and Herin looked down at the scenery below them as what she said registered in their heads. They found, astonishingly, that they'd been flying so rapidly that the winding river that had accompanied them had disappeared and been replaced by tall buildings, glinting up at the three Thanagarians, invisible to the people who filled the streets and gave Herin and H'ryah the illusion the hard asphalt was moving as steadily as they were.
Hawkgirl once again swiftly turned and faced them, pulling up short so that she and Herin were eye to eye, and mere centimeters separated them. "You cannot, and I repeat, cannot be seen by anyone. Your presence must not be acknowledged by a single soul. I'll make sure of this." She held up on finger, right between them, and when she spoke, her voice was low and lethal. "If one if you ever slips up, even once: you accidentally leave something on and someone hears it, you accidentally move something from its place, you leave something out and someone, anyone, gets suspicious; just once, and it means certain death. For you, for your sister, and for your father. Understand?"
Herin's eyes narrowed, but the light that had been dancing before was extinguished as he bowed his head slightly with a quick jerk. He pulled H'ryah closer, holding her hand tighter.
"…Good." Hawkgirl swooped downward. She easily landed on the balcony of her apartment, relieved that most of the other occupants were out. Slowly, she moved toward the balcony door, reaching out for the handle instinctively until she realized, startled, that the door was already open. Cautiously, she stepped through the entrance, aware that Herin and H'ryah had finally touched down on the balcony, too. H'ryah had enough sense to hang back, and Hawkgirl was thankful as she stepped more into the room and found herself being pulled into someone. Her mask was lifted from her face and tossed to side, clattering softly and landing right in H'ryah and Herin's point of view. Herin pushed his sister farther away from the door.
Softly, they heard Hawkgirl's voice drift from inside, followed by a deep chuckle.
"How did you get here?"
Brian gasped as he was flipped heavily over the man's shoulder and flew into a fountain. Water poured onto his head as he sat, stunned momentarily, water soaking his pants and the bottom edge of his hoodie. His head spun and his vision swam. The redheaded man stood over him, watching him in disgust with bright blue eyes, dancing as quickly as the water around Brian's feet. His jaw clenched as the man quickly reach for him, but Brian moved quicker, finally gaining the use of his legs again and slipping from his grasp. He tumbled head-first from the fountain, bracing himself as he landed on the ground near the man's feet and swiftly standing. The man spun as Brian dashed again from his grasp, ducking under his legs and hopping back on the edge of the fountain. The man spun around again in confusion. Brian launched himself to his back, and the man howled wildly, growling in anger as he grabbed for him. Catching his hood, he pulled him away and dangled Brian before him.
"You've caused me more than enough trouble, kid," he grunted, Brian ignoring him as he squirmed. He drew back his fist, just as Brian slipped his arms through his dark-blue sleeves and falling to the ground. Catching the man by surprise, his arms were around his middle as soon as his feet hit the ground. Pushing him backward forcefully, he toppled over the edge of the fountain he'd just stood upon and into the inky-blue liquid, Brian with him.
The water had barely stopped falling around them before Brian was yanked backward.
"These damn kids are getting in our fucking way!" the man swinging him bellowed, glancing to Richie in his other hand. Clumsily, the man in the fountain scrambled out, coming to stand before them, the water falling from every piece of his being giving his already intimidating look another level of terror.
"I say we just drown the little rats," the fourth hurriedly grunted, glancing worriedly toward the tightly gathered crowd, nervously standing back from them, but still watching intently.
Richie screamed and twisted his free arm around to brace himself on the man's shoulder, drew back his foot, then kneed him in the groin. He fell to the ground, losing his grip on Brian and Richie, and Brian found himself plummeting again to the pavement. Using the shock of the second man to his advantage, Richie quickly stood, lunging for the third man's arm as he still stood in disbelief. Richie turned away from him, his arms behind his head. With a satisfactory yell, he flipped him over his head. Richie jumped on the man's chest, found his fingers locked around his neck without actually realizing it, and he didn't let go as his lips turned blue, as his eyes widened in incredulity and the lack of oxygen, until he couldn't feel the throb of his heart against the palm of his hand.
"Richie!" He didn't respond to his name as Brian, still shell-shocked, looked up from where he sat trembling on the ground to the crowd, saw the disturbance escalate until Dick pushed through the human barrier and ran to them. The enraged look on Richie's face disappeared, replaced by one of utter shock as Dick tugged at his shoulders until he'd pulled him into his arms.
Tim fell through the crowd almost immediately afterwards, kneeling beside Bryant. Eyes closed, Bryant didn't move. Tim quickly lifted him, holding him to his chest and bending down near his mouth. He didn't exhale until he felt a stream of warm air gently brush his cheek.
A murmur surrounded them, soft wings shifting against each other as the five young Thanagarians from which the crowd extended frowned, arms crossing over the silver plates on their chests.
The middle one clenched her jaws, short black hair shifting as she turned slightly to either of the boys flanking him. She yelled something over the increasing drone of the crowd of humans.
They jumped in surprise, a few screaming, as a gunshot split the air.
Wally had forgotten how fast he could move.
He knew he'd been standing, his back to the crowd, unable to bid his muscles to move. That what he should have still been doing. It couldn't have been possible for him to find his fists pummeling into the abdomen of the man who'd just thrown Colton half-way down the street when he'd just been staring at the gun the man had drawn and discharged, just been watching Colton kick the weapon from his hands, roll under the man's punch and leap to his back, his arms lacing around his neck as tightly as the boy could manage.
The man managed to get in a punch to Wally's torso, but Wally merely rolled away from his next blow. He stood, waiting for the man to do the same. Slowly, he rose, wiping the blood from his bruised lip. He charged at Wally, yelling. Wally quickly moved to the side, grabbing one of the man's arms as he hurtled past him and twisting it until the man was growling in anger, suppressing a howl of pain of Wally held him immobilized.
"If you value your life," he grunted, "you'll leave." He screamed again as Wally pulled his arm harder.
"I was thinking the same thing."
"You have no idea what you're doing."
Wally let him fall to the ground in a heap at his feet, gasping desperately. "I know enough to kill you here and now."
The man tried to stand again, but Wally delivered another blow that sent the man into the front of another store.
He staggered up from the fragments of glass relatively slower than he had before, trembling as he tried to breathe. Wally's eyes seemed to catch fire right before him, and he froze; they were dead.
He would have a field-day with this one; all of them, dead, killed, by the hands of…
The man laughed. How ironic. They were supposed to kill the child… the others if necessary. And out of the three of them, he was the only one still standing.
Staggering, he stepped over the jagged ledge that once held the window, his heavy boot crunching the shards into tinier pieces than they already were. His chest heaved, but he couldn't breathe; sharp pain lit up his left side aw he staggered closer to Wally, frozen in place, shaking with rage.
"One way or another…"
He laughed again, tasting blood on his tongue as he dropped to his knees and coughed. A pool of red collected before him as he struggled upright.
He opened his mouth, preparing to say something as he reach to his side and removed the gun there.
"He'll… he'll have…" His breathing slowed as he raised the gun and aimed it at the still unmoving Wally. "His blood." He pulled back the hammer, and a second gunshot rang through the air.
Dick nearly dropped Richie as the crowd hurriedly parted.
Wally still hadn't moved.
The man lay on a blanket of red on the square.
Colton sat near before another fountain, shaking, gun still raised in his hands, tears sliding down his cheeks.
Something seemed to click with Wally, and he ran to his son, pulled him to him as he ripped away the gun and threw it. Colton pulled from his grasp and stood, stumbling backwards before he fell. He drew up his knees and buried his face in his arms. Wally watched as his body shook.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no…" he muttered. "No, no, no, no, no…"
Wally instinctively turned to his right. The five Thanagarians had moved; the girl kneeled over a small form as the four 'body-guards' stood around her protectively. She stared in interest, but didn't touch the figure red-tinged wings wrapped around its body. Her head tilted from one side to another, studying the child intently, before suddenly glancing up and meeting Wally's eyes. She didn't move.
Hesitantly, Wally approached them; his step faltered unnoticeably as the center figure swiftly stood, and the five stepped back respectively.
Wally fought the sudden inflexibility of his body and bent down, taking Ishan into his arms. The five Thanagarians before him parted, allowing space for him to pass them. He turned instead to meet Tim and Dick's gazes.
Dick lowered his head solemnly, then glanced to Tim.
"We need to get them back to the manor; now."
Shayera turned fitfully in her sleep, her heart pounding against her chest, her breaths coming in quick and short bursts.
With a startled scream, she bolted upright, blinking against the light.
It took her a few seconds to calm down and realize that she sat in the living room, where she'd fallen asleep.
Wally wasn't still pacing, and the light streaming through the enormous windows one the second level was considerably less, so she assumed that it was much later in the day.
And hopefully, Ishan wasn't still screaming his lungs out.
That thought brought back another that made her shiver and throw the covers someone had thought to place on her off.
That was it. That was why Ishan had been screaming.
She had to tell Wally. And Tim and Dick and Alfred.
But she had to tell Wally first, because the crazy kid had probably taken him somewhere he would be an easy target.
Shayera threw her feet off of the couch, her right leg asleep because of the way she'd been laying. Cursing, she stood uneasily and wobbled before gaining her balance and striding toward the door, unable to sprint because of the pain it caused when her right leg was stretched out.
Pushing through the giant oak doors, she stuck her head out and checked the hallways, the slightest bit of paranoia beginning to grip her.
Reassured that the hallway was clear, she took off in the direction of the front door, stopping abruptly in front of a large portrait of the current heirs to the house late grandmother and grandfather. She didn't know where Wally was, she reminded herself.
The only thing she knew was that she had to get her son as far away as possible, or at least somewhere extremely secure.
…and that she'd told Wally not to take Ishan outside. Her feet pounded across the red carpet lining the center of the hard, wooden floor, moving as quickly as she could toward the kitchen.
She skidded to a stop in the doorway, her hand gripping the frame for support as her right leg itched with pain again.
He said he was going to feed him…but that was a long time ago.
Angrily, she hit the frame with her fist. Damn, Wally! What else had he said? ...Nothing.
She had nothing to go on.
Breathing deeply, she tried to think logically, but the prickly sensations that were coursing themselves into her bloodstream were telling her otherwise, and without another moment wasted on trying to think, she continued sprinting down the hall.
She slipped along the rug, her feet beginning to heat up from the friction, her hands gripping the walls as she tore around the corners, and with every passing moment, she became more frantic, more anxious.
Exhausted, finally, she came to a pause in her search. She leaned her head against the wooden paneling, her chest rising quickly as she tried to regain her breath. Her eyes slid close, and her chaotic thoughts were overpowered by….music?
Peeling herself off the wall, she looked suspiciously down the hallway. Surely the music was an illusion in her current state of delusion.
More frustrated, she laid back again, and the tune leapt back into her mind. No, she wasn't hallucinating. There was music playing, somewhere, and from the laughter accompanying it, the children were the ones playing it.
And if the children were playing it, then that meant Tim had to be somewhere nearby.
With renewed strength, Shayera gravitated toward the music, her heart still pounding away its own solo on her chest. Windblown and hair askew, she stood frozen in the doorway as the music washed over her.
"Hey, Aunty Shy!" Richie beamed up at her from where he was pretending to waltz with his sister.
"Looky what we found!" giggled Chris as she swept by Shayera's legs, her brother grinning with her. "Show Aunt Shy your pretty dress Raven!"
Richie spun his younger sister out from him, holding her hand up so that she modeled the dress, the soft, pale green material sweeping around her small form. Raven seemed delighted in the billowy clothing as she continued spin, her brother obligingly allowing her.
"Pretty!" she squealed.
"And look at mine!" Chris insisted as dropped both of her brother's hands and picked up the skirt of her dress daintily. She curtseyed, smiling devilishly as she then twirled, long strawberry-blond ponytails streaming behind her. The powdery blue silk fell in cascades as she giggled and twirled around her brother. "Daddy showed me how to curtesy!" she smiled, pleased with herself.
Brian smiled widely. "It's 'curtsey', not 'curtesy'."
Chris turned on him, only semi-irritated. "Well, you're the one being a wallflower!" she informed him as she skipped over to where he leaned against the wall and grabbed his hand, not allowing him to protest, the snoozing Tim never even twitching. Brian, found himself spinning a still giggling Chris around.
Bryant rolled his eyes as his brother swept past, leaning casually against the stereo that was playing the music. Smirking, Brian reached out and grabbed his brother, swiftly transferring his hand into Chris's, who didn't care who was dancing with her as long as she was dancing.
Shayera swallowed hard a couple of times before she could speak. "Brian," She called the young boy over and bent down slightly so that their faces were closer together. She rested one hand on his shoulder. "Sweetie, have you seen your Uncle Wally?"
"Yeah," he smiled. "He was here a little while ago. You looking for him?"
"Yes. It's very important that I find him and Ishan. Do you have any idea where he went?" Her voice sounded more urgent than she would have liked, and she didn't like that idea that she might be scaring the other children who were bringing their dancing to a halt and coming closer…but she did need to find Wally.
"I'm not sure, but we can help you look for them," Brian offered, his smile fading at the tone in Shayera's voice.
"No," she shook he head quickly. "There's no need to drag you into this, too. Just keep playing." Her voice was in danger of cracking as she slowly grasped exactly what she was seeing as they stood there before her; it was right, but …it was all so wrong.
She'd helped buy those, the tuxes for the boys mirror images of their fathers and J'onn, and…the dresses for Raven and Chris purchased with Diana's, with her own wedding dress; …and this wasn't what they'd been for.
The way they'd been laughing, the way they'd been dancing around the parlor, that was right, too, but….they were supposed to be underfoot of their parents and all of their parents' friends and as welcome as any of them, and the way they felt right then was supposed to be uniform to everyone present, but...
But that had already been ripped away.
And they didn't know that, and what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.
"I'll find Uncle Wally." Ruffling his hair, Shayera regained her posture and retreated back into the hall.
"Do you think we should help anyways?" Brian asked Richie, his gaze still on his Aunt's worried form.
"No," Richie responded after careful thought. "If she doesn't want us to help, then...she has a good reason."
Shayera continued down the hall, now thoroughly nervous, the echo of the children accompanying her. She still had not idea where Wally was, and every minute she wasted one minute closer to those monsters getting a hand on her son.
Lost in thought, she didn't notice the second person in the hall until she bumped into his chest solidly. Looking up, she started to apologize, but stopped short as her green eyes locked on a matching hue of concerned gazing.
"Wally," she breathed in relief and immediately grabbed his shoulders. "Wally, I'm glad I found you. Ishan –" Shayera stopped suddenly as realization struck her. "Wally, where's Ishan? Where's my son?"
"Whoa, Shy, calm down!" Wally shushed her as he gripped her shoulders. "He's fine, ok? He's in his room, the little tyke…"
"His room?!?" Shayera asked in bewilderment, indicating that was the worst possible place the baby could be.
"Yeah, his room. What's wrong with that?"
"Come on," she mumbled as she dragged him off in the direction of the children's rooms. "We need to get him; now. I know why all those Thanagarian were leaving earlier today and why Ishan wouldn't stop screaming. He was trying to tell me, and I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner myself….I must be really slipping…."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Time-out!" Wally stopped and forced Shayera to turn around. "What are you talking about? You're talking crazy!"
"Wally we have to keep moving; please, trust me. We have to get him, now!"
"But, why? He's fine; he's in his room –" He stopped as Shayera spun around on him.
"The Gordanians are coming! I need to get Ishan somewhere safe, now!"
"I'd like to say I walked, but of course you wouldn't buy that," he chuckled as he continued to hold her. Shayera began silently praying that H'ryah and Herin wouldn't come barging in.
"You didn't fly, did you?" she questioned as she tried to escape his grasp, but his hold on her was much too much for her to overcome. "You know you were hurt…"
"Quit worrying about me, Shy," he told her quietly as he turned her around to face him. He held her face delicately. "I'm fine; I'm worried about you. Are you sure you're ok? You've been so …distant…"
"Why wouldn't I be ok…?" she let her sentence trail off as he brought his face to hers, capturing her lips in a chaste kiss.
She pulled back, and he continued to stare at her in silence, his eyes searching hers for an answer. Finally, he let the hand around her waist drop, and he allowed her control of her head again. Shayera bit back the sudden urge to tell him that he'd done nothing wrong, that he really had every right to turn his back on her and should do so, that he was the only thing that was right …Reminding herself that if she said a word, H'ryah and Herin would be done for, she pushed the guilt to the back of her mind.
"Hungry? I could fix us something…"
"Yes; you know where everything is," she replied quickly, sighing inwardly in relief. He wearily gazed at her before turning and walking to the kitchen. She allowed the tell-tale sounds of various food and pots being removed to reach her ears before she sprinted the short distance to her balcony door, retrieving her mask on her way past. Slipping the mask on, she stepped outside, looking for the twins.
She called to them at a level she hoped was loud enough to reach them, but not the kitchen. After a few moments of no reply, she guessed that they were completely deaf to her, wherever they were. Moving further out, she opened her mouth to call again, and almost ended up screaming in surprise.
"Sorry," H'ryah mouthed as Shayera quickly closed her mouth tightly. H'ryah glided farther up to make it over the side of the balcony, and Herin came into view, breathing labouredly and grasping his sister's hand.
H'ryah let her feet brush the ground before turning around and clutching her brother's hand with her other. Still hovering slightly above the floor, she helped him stumble over the side; Shayera took note of the way Herin held his left wing close to his body, and was beating his right one at a greatly decreased speed, but she didn't dare mention it yet, lest the discussion reach the kitchen.
She was sure, however, had H'ryah not been helping him, he would not have been able to even stumble onto the balcony. Dropping quietly to his knees, he looked as if he was going to be sick for a moment before standing up.
Without a word, she beckoned them in, cautious of the slightest sound. Shayera led them pass the living room and down a long hall. Pausing in front of a door toward the end of the hallway, she quickly turned the handle and pushed, causing the door to swing open. H'ryah and Herin scrambled inside, and Shayera quickly followed.
"Come on, hurry up," Shayera told them tersely as she walked toward the back of her bedroom.
Herin, his breathing almost normal, tread after her as quietly as possible. Shayera stopped and placed her palms at shoulder level on the wall, spreading her fingers outward. She pushed gently, and light seemed to spread from her finger tips, flowing into lines and Thanagarian characters that seemed to glow against the wall, more radiant trails outlining a door's figure. H'ryah and Herin watched in astonishment as the wall seemed to fall away from them and disappear completely.
Shayera rushed them into the room revealed behind the wall. Herin and H'ryah paused in the doorway; one bed sat along either side of the entrance, deep blue covers pulled up to fluffy, snow white pillows neatly propped against the artistically carved oak headboards. A desk sat along either of the two side walls, a simple, black desk lamp set near stacks of parchment-like paper, abnormally large quills laid atop them. Directly above each, and running the length of the room, were two shelves built into indentations in the pale green walls themselves, various medical supplies safely laid behind clear glass along one shelf, various Thanagarian remnant food along the second. The back of the room was a stuffed bookcase, the gilded Thanagarian characters lining the leather spines glinting in the surprisingly strong veil of light cast from a simple light fixture in the middle of the ceiling.
H'rayh and Herin stood, their mouths agape, barely aware of Shayera's voice, quickly explaining small details. She rested a comforting hand on both of their dark green tunic shirted shoulders.
"I have to go at this moment, but I will check on you and give you a more thorough explanation at another point today." She turned to face Herin. "You will be safe here; that I promise."
She smiled reassuringly and moved around the twins. The entrance glowed brightly as she stepped back through it, and the wall seemed to slide back in place.
The room might have never existed as she flung off her mask and removed her yellow top, throwing it expertly into the half-filled hamper sitting near the still slightly open door.
Herin and H'ryah, all of the fledglings, the entire camp might have never existed as she fell to her bed, feeling the urge to sink under the velvety red covers, but removed her pants which ended up on top of her shirt.
The last two months could have never existed as she stepped into the adjacent bathroom and closed and locked the door behind her, leaning against it as she allowed her breathing, its accelerated pace unnoticed until that moment, to return to normal.
The whole reason for her coming to Earth in the first place, five years ago, could have never existed as she began to draw her bath.
And as far as John was concerned, still cooking supper in the kitchen, none of it ever would.
Hopefully.
He couldn't run even if his bad leg wasn't giving him hell at the moment.
He couldn't run even if the six pairs of eyes that were his only companions weren't lingering on his form, none of them daring to speak a word.
He couldn't run even if he weren't holding his best friends' only child while his life was slowly slipping through his fingers.
Unwillingly dragging along behind Wally, Tim tried to look up and meet the eyes of those around him, or at the very least, close his eyes and shut out heavy darkness lingering over them. As they climbed up the winding path, the air grew heavier, seeming to nearly suffocate him as held tightly to Brian, staring unseeing over his shoulder. The nails of Bryant's fists dug into his palms as he buried his head into Tim's shoulder and decided he didn't like the inferior feeling he was experiencing: knowing there was nothing he could do but sit and watch, and let everything that was happening keep getting worse and worse. Knowing what had just happened, they couldn't undo, no matter how much they longed to.
Colton's head was swimming, the constant uneasiness encouraging his unsettled stomach to empty its contents as he tried to listen to Dick, and not drift off yet. His lids still ended up slipping farther over his cloudy eyes as he watched his father in a dream-like state, and Dick dutifully jostled him slightly, keeping him from falling off the edge of consciousness Colton was hanging onto desperately. He mentally chastised himself for almost letting go. He was stronger than that….
Wasn't that what his father expected of him?
To be strong enough to look after himself and his sister…and Ishan?
…Why the hell weren't they walking any faster?
Richie's eyes remained dry; he'd cried all the tears that would come, his cheeks and grave eyes red. He wanted to reach over and punch Colton, yell at him for having the nerve to sit there, wallowing in self pity while they should have been doing something to help, but he knew he was in the same state as him. What could they do, anyway? They weren't ever prepared for something like this to happen. They were never supposed to be.
That was what Dick and Tim and Wally had worked to prevent, wasn't it? The entire point of suppressing what they were capable of as long as possible? They had never wanted anything to every come to that… they had hoped it never would… at the very least, not yet. Not then.
Dry wind wildly tossing his hair, the rarely smiling Dick was suddenly more intimidating as something about the way his face was set chilled their already frozen blood and made their skin crawl; they all refused to look up and meet his blind, icy gaze. His mind was racing faster than normal as thoughts bounced about at a sickening pace; he couldn't believe it; he wouldn't believe it….
He did not believe he'd saved one, just to lose another later.
This… wasn't really happening. It wasn't.
Wally continued to drag one foot in front of the other, unaware of everything going on around him, a mindless actor in a play, and nothing more. He wasn't even aware of himself as he passed through the aged manor doors, a calm and collected as always Alfred holding it open. Raven and Chris, who'd been bouncing about his feet at the approach of the others, abruptly found that their excitement was firmly extinguished at the procession before them.
Dick and Tim carried the other boys down to the Batcave where their former mentor's medical supplies still laid, untouched for years, still carefully sorted, cleaned, and put away in the infirmary of his former base of operations; Tim groggily made his way down the stone steps and toward Dick, the grandfather clock sliding close behind him surprisingly quietly.
Brian and Bryant were carefully let down on the examination table beside Richie where they sat quietly, their backs to each other, waiting for Dick to treat them. Bryant breathed heavily, gritting his teeth as he leaned backward and onto his brother's back.
Silence echoed through the cave, broken only by the rustling movements of Dick as he worked swiftly as he could will, trying to focus on what he was doing instead of what had happened.
Colton's hands gripped the edge of the table until his knuckles turned white, the red cuts along his knuckles making a vivid contrast. The tears that had subsided began to gather again, and slowly slipped down his cheeks. The others turned to look at him, unsure of how to provide comfort as he sniffed quietly, the tears starting to splatter his shirt. He pushed away Dick's hand, finished bandaging the gash on his head, and slid off of the table, disappearing up the steps as quickly as he could. His eyes were squeezed shut to hold back the still flowing tears.
Dick didn't say a word, but turned to Bryant. "Come on, kid; let me check out your back and make sure you didn't slip a disk."
Bryant nodded, carefully making his way over to Dick and lying on his stomach. "I'm just going to make sure all of the disks are correctly lined up and in place; if you feel pain, I want you to let me know right away, ok?" Bryant nodded.
Tim stood, fuming silently beside Dick, trying to find a way to retort to the calm air Dick had somehow managed to remain suspended in; Dick solved the problem for him.
"Colton is fine; I've already determined that his cut wasn't deep enough to cause serious injury, and will heal shortly. On the other hand, I have no idea what is wrong with the other boys, yet, or even how serious it is. Don't you think the wise thing would be to stay here?" Bryant grunted slightly as Dick's hand brushed over a sore spot, and Dick simultaneously began to frown.
His hands brushed back over the purple tinged spot, the pattern common along his back, and Bryant grimaced.
"He might not have any serious physical injuries, but that doesn't make him exempt from mental scarring," Tim snapped suddenly; Dick gritted his teeth in annoyance, trying to remain focused on Bryan, but Tim seemed to be unaware. "You can't tell me –"
Dick slammed his fist down beside Bryant's head, causing him to shut his eyes quickly, and turned to Tim.
"Don't you think everyone's going to carry scars from this?"
Tim kept his mouth closed, but continued to glare at him.
Dick stalked towards the counter, consistently kept at a paranoiac–level of sterile; searching through the neatly labeled bottles for a second, he finally selected a small one, quickly shaking a pill out and retrieving a cup which he began to fill with water from the faucet.
The water continued to run quietly as he sighed and placed his shaking hands on the marble counter.
"Look, Tim –" Dick turned around and found Tim was gone. Glancing up, he barely managed to see a thin shaft of light waning as the grandfather clock slid close.
Dick inhaled sharply and handed the medicine and the water to Bryant, snapping the water off. "Take that; it'll dull the pain for a while. I'm not sure yet, but…just don't lie on your back and try not to move around too much, ok? You brave enough for the possibility of having to stay in the infirmary or your room for a while?"
"Yes, sir," Bryant mumbled
Wally's eyes widened. "...are you serious?"
Shayera scowled at him.
"Right, stupid question…"
"We're wasting time!" she exclaimed, immediately beginning to pull him after her again as she led them to the steps as quickly as she could with Wally in tow.
Wally lifted her into his arms and ran up the steps in a blur, coming to a halt before the slightly closed door to Ishan's bedroom and letting her back down hastily. Just as his hand reached out to grab the doorknob, an ear-splitting scream reminiscent of a bird's screech came from the room on the other side.
Wally wrenched it open, and his gaze immediately drifted to the dark pine crib, its occupant sitting up, mouth open and screaming at the top of his lungs, the baby blue covers a tangled pile at his feet.
Shayera pushed pass Wally and ran as fast as her feet could hit the ground to Ishan, picking him up protectively. He wails lessened slightly as he rested his head on her shoulder and she began consoling him gently with catches of a lullaby. Wally watched in silence, waiting for Shayera to elaborate.
"…they're really coming, this time?" he asked finally.
"Yes," Shayera breathed.
"…and it's not safe for him?"
"It's not safe for anyone when they're involved; not even their own," she spat viciously. "They're bloodthirsty sons of bitches; ruthless, heartless, not fit to be living. What I knew of them was what convinced me to buy into helping to protect others; we've always been mortal enemies. That part was never a lie." She added the last part almost inaudibly.
"So…" Wally began, his normally fast-paced mind having a hard time catching up. "…what do you want to do?"
"I've got to get him out of here. Could you go get me a duffel –" Shayera began. Wally disappeared, and then reappeared before she could get out the next word. "bag?"
"Why do you need one?" He held it out to her, but she didn't take it.
"Empty out his dresser and closet; all of his clothes. Get all of his diapers, bottles, every trace of him, as much as you can in another bag."
"Done," he nodded uncertainly. Still slightly confused, it took Wally approximately eight seconds to do as he was told, a trip downstairs to the kitchen included.
"OK, why did I just do that?"
"As soon as they get here, they'll come after me." Shayera continued to gently rock Ishan, still frantically babbling non-stop as he tugged at the red shirt Wally hadn't changed him out of when putting him down. "As far as the rest of the Thanagarian society is concerned, I'm a traitor. And those bastards know whenever the rest of the society has turned its back on an individual. Don't ask me how, but they do."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"They single those individuals out because they know that they don't have the support of the others behind them. Those are who they deal with first, and when they come for me, they'll come for my son, too."
It took Wally's mind a few moments longer than its usual lightning quick speed to process the information she'd just given him.
"The Thanagarians you saw flooding away from the city earlier were headed to qeis, protected areas where they'll be safe unless every member of the military has been wiped out; they had them Thanagar, so doubtless, they have them set up here. The actual military will be the only present by as soon as the end of tomorrow in all of the main sectors' centers, including ours." Shayera paused in her explanation as she sat Ishan in his crib and turned back to Wally. "Wally, go get the other children; quickly. They might seek to spill Thanagarian blood first, but they don't discriminate between species."
"…we could always take them to the Watchtower," Wally offered, his voice barely reaching Shayera's ears.
"What?"
"Yeah; there's plenty of space there, it's secure, and it won't take too long, even considering getting through the guard points," he told her enthusiastically.
"The Watchtower?"
"Well, the one in Metropolis, anyways." Wally looked down at fluffy carpet under his feet. "After…the whole…thing, before the Bat and Superman had a chance to clear a new one and get it into orbit…we had one in Metropolis, as a temporary HQ; we could always take them there. And I know it's still there; no way anyone who didn't have previous, extremely detailed knowledge about it would ever be able to find it, much lest destroy the indestructible."
Shayera didn't say a word as she bit her lip.
"Where are they right now?" he asked, coming to stand beside her.
"Same place they've been all afternoon."
Wally nodded gravely, resisting the urge to offer physical comfort to Shayera as she obviously needed a moment to let her head stop reeling with everything that was happening, and sped off in the direction of the parlor he'd last seen the kids in.
Ishan pulled himself up using the crib railing, and stood, still whimpering. Shayera's own head was bowed as she reached out and gently traced the round little face with the back of her hand. Why the hell did she feel the need to cry now, when every second counted?
Every second…every moment.
She wondered how one moment in time had thrown her life into complete and utter chaos.
One moment's decision that had led to joy and love, and pain and regret at the same time.
Just one single fleeting moment that happened once upon a time had brought about all of the great and terrible things in her life.
She felt tiny fingertips brush against her cheek, and she opened her eyes to gaze down at Ishan's upturned face. His wide green eyes were locked on hers, a turmoil of emotions displayed in them as he stared at her…that exact same stare as his father; questioning little, but knowing it all at the same time.
Shayera smiled.
Thank God for that one moment.