Chapter 2:
Shayera Hol landed in a deep wooded forest somewhere near the border of Canada. She'd flown most of the night and was experiencing fatigue from the long flight. She didn't know where she was exactly, and she didn't care. All that mattered was that she was in an isolated area. In her opinion she didn't deserve to be near anyone. Isolation was her only companion now.
She spotted an old wooden cabin with her keen eyesight just before she landed, and decided to bed down for the day. Her plan was simple: sleep by day and move by night.
The global authorities were probably on the lookout for her, since everyone knew that Shayera Hol was responsible for the Thanagarian occupation. Without her surveillance reports on the world's defenses as well as the weaknesses of the Justice League, the Thanagarian's would've had a tougher time taking over the Earth.
Shayera eyed the insides of the cabin thoroughly and found that it hadn't been in use for some time. She decide that she can stay here for a while as long as there were no prying eyes to disturb her stay.
She needed time to figure out what to do next.
"I need to stay focused..." she thought. Survival training came back to mind as she looked for anything that she could use to make the cabin more livable. All she had was the clothes on her back. Everything she ever had was in the Watchtower, and it was now destroyed.
A couple of hours later, she had a small fire going in the fireplace and was in the process of determining how to get something she felt she really needed: food.
Shayera kept her mind on what she was doing; she wouldn't allow herself to drift. Because if she did, she would think about him, and thinking about John was what she didn't want right now.
Shayera decided to do a perimeter check of the area one more time. She hovered a few yards above the tree line, and looked in every direction. There was nothing around for miles, it seemed that she had the entire valley all to herself. She made a couple of make shift spears from some thick tree branches that she found, went to the nearby creek and skillfully caught a couple of trout, but barely ate the roasted fish that she skewered over the open fire.
She was exhausted and she closed her eyes.
The nightmare greeted her with open arms. She saw John's shocked face when finding out that she was promised to Hro Talek. Superman's words striking her in the face: "TRAITOR!"The angry face of Wonder Woman as she freed her from the prison that Hro Talek had thrown her in. The word "TRAITOR" kept revealing it's ugly head, when she prevented Hro Talek from delivering a final deathblow to the unconscious John Stewart. She saw John on the floor, his hand mangled and the Green Lantern power ring shattered.She fought Hro Talek with all of her strength determined not to allow anyone else to get hurt from her actions. She fought valiantly, but was knocked unconscious by the energy discharge from Talek's power axe.
She saw the look on John's face, smiling briefly as she helped him shut down the force field that protected the device that would have caused the destruction of the Earth.Her worst nightmare was John angrily saying that he wanted nothing else to do with her, and that he wanted her to get out of his life forever. Over and over she kept hearing "TRAITOR!!" "YOU BETRAYED US!!" "I DON'T LOVE YOU ANYMORE!!"
She awoke with a start.
"I don't know if I can do this!" she cried, unable to get her bearings. For the first time, she realized that she was truly alone.
It was 4:30 in the morning, when John finally reached his apartment. He was tired, but he knew that sleep wouldn't come easy. The room was dark and had a stale smell to it. It had been awhile since he'd been home.
"Need to open some windows, and let some air in here..." he thought.
He started toward one of the windows across the room when he noticed that it had already been opened.
"You look tired, John Stewart," the voice said. The lamp on the end table came to life with brightness.
"Hello, Kat. What brings you here?"
Katma Tui noticed that John's right arm and hand was in a sling and that the bags under his eyes didn't help with his physical condition.
"The Guardians... they lost the signal from your ring and sent me to investigate. What happened to you? You look like hell," she surmised.
"Been through a couple things since I last saw you."
"Just start from the beginning," Katma said calmly.
John described all the events that occurred during the Thanagarian occupation. He explained how he understood Hawkgirl's position for being an agent for her people, how he couldn't vote when the others were determining Hawkgirl's membership within the league, how he felt numb to her as she resigned from the League's charter, and how he couldn't respond to her before she flew away.
"Was it just the invasion that's got you down or is it something else?" Katma asked.
"What do you mean? I told you everything..." John lied.
"You didn't mention that you are in love with her, John Stewart," Katma replied.
"Well... I'm working on that..."
"Working on your pride, you mean. I already knew you loved her since Kalinor. When she showed up, your whole attitude changed. She was the one that helped you get your mental abilities back. That's how you were able to defeat Despero!" she exclaimed.
"What are you talking about...?" John asked, with a puzzled look.
"You said that you were missing an important piece of yourself, when you were unable to use your ring...and when Despero attacked Hawkgirl that's when you got your mental block out of the way. You've got deep feelings for her, John Stewart. Don't deny it," she challenged.
"You've got this all figured out, don't you," John retorted.
"Well think about it, how else could your ring have been destroyed? The power of the ring..." Katma theorized.
John interrupted, "...resides in the wielder's mind not the ring. So you're saying the reason my ring was destroyed was because I ..."
"... doubted yourself regarding your feelings towards Hawkgirl, which affected your mind when you used your ring," Katma finished.
"Makes sense. Didn't think of it that way," John agreed with her theory.
"So, John Stewart. What are you going to do about it?"
"Do about what?"
Katma gave him a stern look. "Does Hawkgirl love you?"
"Yeah... she said that she never lied to me about loving me..." he replied.
"Then what's your problem? You said earlier that you understood about her doing the job she was sent here to do. Can you really say that that's what stopping you from going after her?"
John had a look of dismay on his face. "She made the choice to leave, I didn't ask her to."
"You didn't ask her to stay either," Katma pointed out.
"John Stewart, if you truly love this woman, then you should tell her. Let her know, because right now... all she knows is loneliness and heartache. She needs you now more than ever."
"You're right...but I don't even know where she is..."
"Perhaps this will help..." Katma reached into her tunic and dropped the power ring into his hand. "...the Guardians told me that this ring is directly from the Lantern source itself."
"But how...?"
"They realized that your ring was somehow destroyed and sent this for you." Katma replied.
John took the ring of power and carefully slipped it onto the middle finger on his broken right hand. His body began to shimmer to its bright green hue as he felt the power surging throughout his body, into his hand, repairing the damage that was done by the energy axe of Hro Talek.
He removed his arm from the sling and flexed his hand realizing that there was no pain there anymore. The only pain he felt now was in his heart. He knew what he had to do. He had to find her.
"Thanks Kat... I have to go." John said as he headed for the open window.
"I know. Good luck, John Stewart," she whispered softly, as he streaked southward on the early morning horizon.
Katma knew that this had been her one opportunity to somehow re-establish the relationship that they had once shared so long ago. However, she realized that it would never happen, because she had sensed the love that John Stewart has for Hawkgirl. She knew it from when she last talked to him on the planet Kalinor.