Shayera gripped the parallel bars as sweat poured down her face and arms. She hated this. Sharp pain shot through her body with every step she took. And where the hell did Bruce find this physical therapist? She was way too perky for Shayera's taste. "Come on, Shayera!" the therapist encouraged loudly.
And speaking of Bruce, he had been scarce for the last two weeks. Tim had been hanging around more. Shayera was surprised he wasn't sitting in on today's appointment.
"You can do it! A couple more steps!" the therapist cheered obnoxiously.
If only Shayera had her mace…where was her mace?
"Just one more step!" the therapist called out.
A brief mental image of the therapist's head being introduced to Shayera's mace made Shayera snicker and ultimately lose her focus…and balance. She hit the floor with a rough "Ugh!"
"Are you okay?" the bright, cheery therapist crouched by Shayera.
"I'm fine," Shayera answered sharply.
"Now's as good as time as any to take a break," the therapist, Barbie, sat on the mat adjacent to Shayera. "You did well today."
Shayera only nodded in response before straightening her legs. Then, she began going through her stretches.
"So…" Brandy, spoke hesitantly, "you're Hawkgirl."
"I was Hawkgirl," Shayera barely glanced at…Brenda. What was this chick's name? It said a lot about Shayera that she couldn't remember the name of her therapist of two weeks.
"Man, what was it like?" the blonde girl – Bethany – asked eagerly. A little too eagerly.
"What was what like?" Shayera asked, trying to mask her annoyance.
"Being part of the Justice League? Duh," she giggled.
Giggled, Shayera shuddered inwardly. "It was, well…" Shayera frowned. "It was adventurous. Every mission was exciting."
"What was it like working with Wonder Woman?"
Shayera tried not to scowl. "Fine. She's wonderful—the perfect princess of peace, sisterhood, and girl-power. Everyone loves Wonder Woman," Shayera said, her voice tinged with bitterness. "She's beautiful and strong and can do anything a man can."
"I'm guessing you two didn't get along," the therapist – Brigdett – smirked.
Shayera shrugged as she reached for her nearby water bottle. "Didn't really get to know her. She wasn't part of my mission."
The blond-haired person nodded as if she understood. "Is Superman really as perfect as some people say?"
"Uh…he has his moments of stupidity. Honestly, I don't think the JL would be able to function without the serious, brooding, mistrusting nature of Batman."
"Really?" the blonde raised a brow.
"Yep. He is very intelligent for a human. It's…impressive."
"There was a rumor that he and Wonder Woman were a thing. Is that true?"
"How would I know?" Shayera bit out sharply as a strange feeling filled her chest. The blonde only smirked at Shayera's reaction. "I don't know if you remember, but I was busy betraying my team and home. I spent two years in exile. I wasn't privy to the interworking of the Justice League during my exile."
"But did you ever- "
"Are you helping or hounding Shayera?" Shayera breathed a sigh of relief as Bruce came into view.
"Well, you never tell us anything," was the exaggerated response.
"There's nothing to tell," Bruce shrugged.
"I had to hear from Bart, who heard from Wally, who heard from Virgil, who overheard Jefferson say that Green Lantern actually proposed to Vixen!"
"Stephanie," Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose.
Stephanie, Shayera thought to herself. That was the girl's name. Wait…what! "Who is Vixen?" Shayera asked aloud. What she wanted to say is, John is getting married? But Bruce was watching her. Shayera could feel his stare as Stephanie said what she said.
"Oh," Stephanie turned back to Shayera. "Vixen is this amazing chick with the body of a model. She can harness the spirit of any animal. I've never personally met her, but she just seems so cool."
"Oh," was all Shayera said, still avoiding Bruce's stare.
"Well, we're done for today," Stephanie jumped to her feet, so carefree. "You did great," Stephanie said to Shayera, who refused to stand. "Tomorrow, we'll try the treadmill."
Oh yay, Shayera thought. Fun.
Shayera remained on the floor as Bruce escorted Stephanie out of the cave; her chattering didn't cease until she had completely left the cave.
Finally, silence. Shayera fell back on the mat. John was getting married. John was getting married. And…it didn't hurt. But, it made her wonder what if.
What if she'd been honest from the beginning?
What if she had opened herself up to John?
What if she had allowed herself to feel emotion?
What if…there was no use dwelling on the what-ifs. The past was the past. All she could do was move forward. And the first step she was going to take towards moving forward was towards the jacuzzi in Bruce's bathroom.
Bruce returned from patrol around 3 a.m., not surprised to see Shayera sitting up in bed. "Shayera," he announced himself before entering the room. "How are you feeling?"
"I feel like I haven't seen you since you introduced me to Stephanie two weeks ago," Shayera replied.
"Sorry about that," Bruce said, looking surprisingly sheepish. "Alfred already scolded me for not being a better host."
"A better host?" Shayera repeated in shock. "Bruce, you've been an amazing host. You've gone above and beyond for me. You've done so much. I don't – I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't…I'll talk to Alfred. You shouldn't have to put your life on hold for me."
"I don't mind," he leaned against the doorframe. "How are you liking Stephanie?"
"She's…bubbly. And peppy. And happy."
"Yeah, that's her," Bruce laughed. "Tim has a slight crush on her."
"How do you know each other?"
"She was Batgirl before she left for college."
"Oh," Shayera replied. "She's really talkative."
"Believe me, I know," Bruce groaned. "But…the treadmill. How do you feel about that?"
"Don't know how I'm supposed to feel," Shayera shrugged, poking at the comforter. "Guess it means that my body is getting used to the idea that my wings are gone. At this rate, I'll probably be completely recovered in a month."
"I wouldn't say completely recovered," Bruce smirked.
The two stay in somewhat comfortable silence. "Well, I should try to get some sleep," Shayera eventually said. "And…you should, too. You have work in four hours."
"So worried about me and my job," Bruce gave her a slight smile. "I own the company. I can go in whenever I want. But I can tell when I'm not wanted." Shayera gave him a raised brow. "I will see you in a few hours. Get some rest, Shayera," Bruce concluded kindly.
Shayera nodded as Bruce left the room before falling back onto the bed. "Stephanie?" she muttered to herself. "Why did I think her name started with a B?"
Lobo tapped his foot impatiently in the empty hall, eyeing the two stoic Thanagarian female guards in their gold armor. As much as Thanagarians annoyed him, these two were kind of hot. He'd been trying to get a rise from them for half an hour, but they acted like he didn't exist. Screw this! He was tired of waiting. "Tell her highness that I'm gone," he said, about to leave.
Suddenly, the biggest door he had ever seen opened, and out came two females and one male Thanagarian. Judging by the shininess of their armor and the flowing capes, Lobo surmised that these were the ones calling the shots on this ostentatious planet. Unfortunately, he couldn't see any of their faces. Damned masks, Lobo thought.
"Lobo, I presume," the female walking in front of the two others greeted.
"That's me, darling. Why do y'all have gold wings surrounding your planet? Do you know how hard it is to navigate through those?" They all ignored him, their gazes steady. This is why he hated these hawk people - they thought themselves above every other being in the universe.
"I am Lieutenant Issi Hol. I've been told you are the best bounty hunter in the universe. Is this true?"
"Uh…yeah," the audacity of these bird-nosed –
"We have a job for you." A picture of a startling attractive woman appeared on the Thanagarian's wrist hologram.
"And who's this beauty?" he cheesed. His day was finally getting interesting.
"A disgraced Thanagarian taking refuge on Earth. We need her brought to us alive."
Lobo scoffed. Him…take on a Thanagarian by himself? He couldn't leave his bed for a week the last time he did that.
"Don't worry. It shouldn't be too hard," the lieutenant said as if she was reading his thoughts. "She no longer has wings."
"No wings? How'd that happen?"
"She needed to pay for her crimes, so we tore them from her back," the Thanagarian stated nonchalantly.
That's messed up, Lobo thought. "That's…brutal," Lobo said. "How'd she manage to escape you all if she doesn't have wings?"
Judging by the downturn of the lieutenant's lips, she did not appreciate his question. "Why does it matter?" she asked.
"Just curious."
"Can you do it?" the lieutenant huffed in annoyance.
"I ain't cheap, darling," Lobo said with a smirk.
"Can. You. Do. It," she punctuated each word.
"Yes."
"Name your price," she said.
"I don't want much. Just a sword made from that fancy metal y'all are so protective of." As soon as he said it, the female behind the lieutenant started speaking very fast in a language he did not understand. The lieutenant held up her hand, stopping the female mid-sentence. Issi then said one sentence to the nameless female, not taking her eyes off Lobo. Finally, the unnamed female turned away begrudgingly and disappeared behind the enormous doors, leaving Lobo, the lieutenant, the lieutenant's male friend, and the two guards in uncomfortable silence.
"You know, I've always wondered something," Lobo said, "do y'all females give birth to live children, or do you squat and lay eggs like an Earth bird?" Lobo laughed out loud while the Thanagarians said nothing. They didn't even flinch. Gods, he hated this place.
Thankfully, the doors reopened, and the nameless female who had left came back with a long rectangle case. She handed it to her lieutenant, who held it open for Lobo to see. In it was lying the most beautifully crafted, silver sword he had ever laid eyes on it. He slowly and reverently lifted it out of the case. He tested the balance; he swung it around. It was surprisingly really light. Lobo thought it would be heavier.
"Satisfied?" the lieutenant asked.
"Immensely," he said, giving her a 100-watt smile. The lieutenant visibly grimaced. So…she wasn't made of marble. "When did you say you need her delivered?"
"A month. Alive."
"Done. See you in a month, bird people," Lobo gave them a two-finger salute before strolling out of the building. He couldn't wait to get off of this stupid planet and be done with these damn creatures.
