Earth 481
The sudden and total silence made Rip Hunter skid to a halt. He realised that Carter and Kendra weren't following him and swung round to see where they'd got to. Wings fully extended, they were hovering over the crowded gathering. After a few moments they descended towards the ground, no doubt retracting their wings. Rip swore.
X
Talyn Clan Goshawk slowly came down from the dais and stared at the two individuals standing in the suddenly cleared space in the midst of the crowd. He had to force himself out of his stunned bewilderment.
''Bring them to my quarters'' he told the other Clan Goshawk members who were attending him.
It was only a short distance to the enclosed arbour that had been provided for him. He seated himself on the narrow, perch-like bench and looked at the two strange individuals standing in front of him.
His first reaction had been admiration of the size and span of their wings. No Clan among the Airborne had anything to compare with them. There was also a slight disappointment that their wings didn't fold, displaying the colours that were so admired among his people. As his brain began to function normally again, he realised that the unusual size of this pairs' wings was only logical. His people had evolved for flight - their skeletons and muscles were adapted to that. These two, with the bodies of Ground Dwellers, were larger and heavier, therefore would need stronger wings. Logical but it didn't explain how they'd come to have them.
''Who are you?'' he asked. ''Where are you from?'
They looked at each other. Neither of them were sure where to start.
X
General Laurel Lance was carrying out the task she'd assigned to the small group that she'd brought with her. Circulate among the crowd and find out what they were saying, what they thought about what had just happened. What she was hearing spelled out trouble. She'd come here to provoke a war between the two species - a war that analysis indicated would be won by the self-styled Airborne. The conflict would end with a bleak future - if not extinction -for the true humans of this Earth. They would be ripe for recruitment into Savage's future army.
This meeting had been supposed to end in a riot that further fuel the dislike between the two species. That rather stupid aerial display had changed things. Neither species liked what they'd seen -or thought they'd seen - some kind of hybrid. More than that, they were beginning to wonder if this strange pair could be responsible for the murder, the vandalization of the orchard. Even worse - Airborne and Ground Dwellers were talking to each other and they were agreeing with each other.
Part of her wanted not to interfere. To let the mutual mindset lead to the arrest, death - by whatever means - of the supposed murderers. Then start over. But these two were Hall and Saunders, whom Savage wanted taken alive. She didn't believe all that rubbish about reincarnation and so on, but she wanted to know the real reason for his interest in them - particularly in Saunders. She needed to rescue them - more accurately to capture them. Before she handed them over to Savage, she'd find out the real nature of his interest in them. There were forms of interrogation that left no mark. She'd have her best interrogator go to work on Hall. Saunders could watch. The woman would not keep silent for long.
X
Rip Hunter was thinking about his aunt, whom he'd loathed. That was not as odd as it might have seemed to an outsider. His mother's older sister had been an unpleasant person, whose occasional presence in their home his parents had endured rather than enjoyed. Until her remarks about a less-than-perfect Thanksgiving Dinner had led to her banishment. Thereafter she'd sent the two boys 'Birthday' and 'Christmas' nightmares, until her death a few years later - from spite, Rip's father had said.
He'd been left with a dislike and distrust of anyone with psychic abilities. Nora's telekinesis - even though he hadn't witnessed it yet - made him profoundly uneasy. Seeing Snart take control of Chronos' mind was far worse. He'd over-ruled Carter's urging to bring the man here to help calm things down - but now he had to face facts. He needed Snart's help to sort this mess out.
Suddenly, he was snapped out of his reverie by the realization that things had got even worse. The woman standing directly in front of him was the Earth X Nazi General, Laurel Lance.
''We're going to need to work together'' she said.