Batman and Doctor Fate silently walked side-by-side down the hallway of the Watchtower. The Dark Knight paused in front of a room and typed on the keypad before the door slid open. He then gestured for the mystic to follow him in.
"How was she?" Batman quietly asked Doctor Fate once the door closed behind them.
"Incredibly weak I must say," he replied. "She had both old and fresh wounds. None of which seemed to have healed in the slightest. Her body was hardly staving off the infection. Had I found her just a mere hour later we would be having an entirely different conversation right now."
Batman remained silent for a moment before nodding, "That was what I was afraid of. She left without getting her injuries treated after the Invasion. I don't want to know what happened afterwards for her to acquire anymore injuries."
"Burns and gunshot wounds are the worst of it," Fate informed him. "Inza was still treating her wounds when I left to come to you. The burns are fresh. The gunshot wounds appear to be older."
"Given she was sighted at that apartment fire. I can imagine that's where the burns came from. I can't fathom where she would have gotten the gunshot wounds," Batman sighed. "It could have been worse though. At least you found her when you did."
"Fate was on her side it seems."
"Take care of her," Batman said as he began to move towards the door. "Until she decides to rejoin the Justice League."
"Don't you me if?" Fate questioned him.
Batman paused but didn't turn around, "No it's only a matter of time before she returns. Shayera has a strong sense of justice and concern for the safety of those on this planet. She won't sit around idly while innocent civilians are in danger. She just needs time to heal from what happened, both physically and emotionally. Her heart was broken as well as her will."
Fate tilted his head slightly, "Her heart?"
Batman looked over his shoulder at him, "Shayera and Green Lantern were dating for nearly nine months before the Thanagarian Invasion happened. Turns out she was already engaged to another Thanagarian and it broke John's heart when he found out. To say the least she still chose John over her fiancé in the end. John didn't openly forgive her though. He's moping around the Watchtower and won't admit that he needs her."
"Wouldn't it be wise then to reunite them?"
"No," Batman dryly replied. "They're both stubborn. John won't admit that he still deeply loves her and I'm sure that Shayera feels she doesn't deserve him. It's best to let them be and come back together on their own terms."
Fate sighed before nodding, "Very well then, I shall speak none of this with her."
Batman curtly nodded, "That's for the best."
"How is she Inza?" Fate asked as he returned to the tower.
"Still unconscious I'm afraid," she replied as she looked over her shoulder towards a door. "I've done what I could with the spells we know. The rest will be up to her."
"You still believe she's losing the will to live?"
Inza nodded as she looked at Fate once more, "The spells alone should have treated her wounds yet something is blocking the full effects of the spell from healing her completely. You know as well as I do how that type of magic works Kent."
"That I do," he quietly agreed. "She's subconsciously rejecting the spell's healing effects."
"Despite being unconscious whatever mindset she had before you found her still has a firm grasp on her psyche. She doesn't see herself as worth saving or even worth being alive," Inza paused. "She has nothing to live for currently."
"Then we must find something in her life that is still worth living for."
"But what is there?" Inza questioned. "She lost her place within the Justice League. She can never return to the place she once called her home before coming to Earth. She has no family, no friends, no purpose in life any longer."
"I said we must find something not that it would be easy to find it," Fate pointed out with a trace of humor laced into his tone.
Inza lightly smirked, "Nothing ever can be easy whenever you're involved Kent."
At first, when she woke up, Shayera had momentarily forgotten everything that had happened. All she knew was that she was in a bed for the first time in over a month. For a brief moment Shayera thought she was in her old room up in the Watchtower. Then the gears began to turn in her mind and she came to her senses. There was no more Watchtower. There was no more Hawkgirl of the Justice League. She didn't have a home. The last thing she remembered was Doctor Fate finding her in the middle of those damned woods.
Shayera's eyes immediately shot up as she sat up with a start. The Thanagarian felt her breathing quicken as she didn't recognize where she was at. She felt panicked and admittedly scared as she looked around.
The door then began to open and Shayera braced herself for the worst. She was partially relieved when she saw Inza enter the room.
"Good you're awake," she stated with a small smile. "I can tell by how flushed you look that you're still running quite a fever though."
Shayera merely swallowed as she remained silent. Her body still ached from her injuries and she could feel a chill that was running down her spine, causing her to involuntarily shiver. The Thanagarian then began to question if this was all just a dream and if she was going to wake up in the middle of the woods.
"How are you feeling?" Inza asked her.
Shayera didn't reply as she glanced down at her arms as she lightly ran her right hand over her left arm. The cuts were nearly completely healed and her burns were also looking better than before. Though Shayera could see that the burns themselves still showed signs of infection.
Inza patiently waited for a reply. When none see forthcoming, she spoke again, "Hawkgirl are you feeling alright? Do you need anything?"
"Don't... don't call me that," Shayera muttered as her mouth formed a light frown.
"If you wish to not be called Hawkgirl than what do you wish to be called?" Inza inquired.
Shayera sat silently for a moment before looking at Inza, "Why?"
"Answering a question with another question doesn't serve as an answer," Inza replied humorously.
Shayera's frown grew as she looked down at her lap, "Why did Fate save me?"
"Because all lives are worth saving," Fate stated as he entered the room. "Even yours Hawkgirl."
"Stop calling me that," Shayera replied a bit more forcefully. "I'm not Hawkgirl and I never will be."
"The last time I checked you were Hawkgirl of the Justice League. Nothing has changed that," Fate replied. "You are still a hero."
Shayera's frown slowly turned into a scowl as Fate spoke. Finally she snapped as she glared at him, "I'm not Hawkgirl and I'm not a hero! Stop acting like I am!"
Shayera then tried to get out of bed only for Inza to try to stop her, "Hawkgirl please, you're still injured and need rest."
"Stop calling me that!" Shayera yelled at her as she stood. Despite herself the Thanagarian then felt tears welling in her eyes as her voice cracked, "I'm not her."
"Who do you wish to be then if not Hawkgirl?" Fate asked her "A civilian? A pariah? Or do you intend on viewing yourself as only a traitor? Despite what you may think you still saved this planet and everyone on it."
Shayera looked down somberly as she replied, "Earth wouldn't have needed saving if it wasn't for me."
"You still haven't answered my question. Who do you wish to be?" Fate asked her once more. "You have a chance to be whatever you wish. This is your clean slate."
"No I don't have that chance anymore," she quietly replied. "I'll never have that chance again."
"I must digress," Fate shook his head lightly. "I do not agree. Everyone has a chance to be something. Everyone has a purpose."
"Not me," Shayera sighed as she sat on the bed. "I lost the only family I have ever had when I turned my back on the Justice League. I lost my only chance at having a family of my own when I betrayed John. I'll never get that back. Who and what I want to be is something I'll never be able to have now." Despite her best efforts, the Thanagarian began to cry, "And it's all my fault."