Chapter 43: Spirit of the Hawk
Disclaimer: All things Supergirl/Superman and Hawkman belong to DC. No infringement is intended.
Shiera Sanders was not quite sure how exactly she had ended up in this extremely weird situation. As far back as she could remember she had always had weird dreams. Dreams that showed her living in different historical times, wearing different faces, skins of different color, sometimes being a princess and sometimes being a slave. She had gotten used to them long ago, writing them off as an overactive imagination.
It had influenced her decision to become an archeologist, though, and she had eventually achieved a doctorate in that field, specializing in ancient cultures with a strong penchant for archaic weapons. The fact that her studies had shown her that many of her dreams of past lives were amazingly accurate in terms of historical details was something that had bothered her sometimes, but she still hadn't paid it much mind.
All things considered her life had been pretty normal, if somewhat boring here and there. Then, of course, she had met fellow archeologist and all-around madman Carter Hall. And from that moment on her life had never been the same again.
"Quickly, they're getting away!" Carter yelled.
Yes, she really had no idea how exactly she had ended up here, wearing a flying harness made from an alien metal and a mask shaped like a bird's head, flying in pursuit of some criminals. Never mind the huge wings fastened to her back. Wings that moved as if they were alive, animated by the alien metal to the point where it felt like they were actually growing out of her back as part of her body.
"If you hadn't gotten in my way earlier," she shot back at her partner, focusing on the matter hand, "this whole thing would have been wrapped up ten minutes ago and we could be home by now."
"Will you stop living in the past, woman?" he complained.
"Ha!" she yelled. "That's rich coming from you, mister reincarnated prince!"
With but a thought the wings on her back folded in and she dove towards the street below at a steep angle. The car they were pursuing, containing a group of bank robbers that had shot a guard earlier, was directly ahead of her.
Hefting the spear she was carrying, she opened her wings to slow her fall, drew her arm back, and threw. It was a strange sensation, because her mind knew exactly how to throw the spear, yet the muscles in her arm burned from the unfamiliar movements. Carter kept telling her that she remembered it from a past life; that was why she knew how to do it, even if her body did not. She still wasn't sure she believed him, but it was getting kind of hard to dispute.
The spear, a modern recreation of an 18th century Zulu weapon, flew true and punctured the car's front tire. The driver did not manage to retain control over the swerving vehicle and a few seconds later the entire vehicle flipped, crashing onto its roof and skidding along the street until it finally came to rest.
Carter landed next to the car, even as one of the occupants struggled to get out. He grabbed him, easily lifting him with one hand. Yes, the alien metal that allowed them to fly also vastly enhanced their strength, weird as that was. Carter's other hand held a very intimidating-looking mace, which he shoved directly under the robber's chin.
"I'd advise you to just sit here and wait for the police," Carter growled at him.
Shiera landed as well, just in time to see another of the criminals stick his head out of the broken car. She unceremoniously walked over and kicked him in the head, sending him sprawling and deep into unconsciousness. Crouching down, she looked inside the car, where the final two of the bank-robbing quartet were still strapped into their seats. Well, at least they had been smart enough to put on their seat belts, it seemed.
"Anyone else interested in putting up a fight?" Her only answer was some pained groans, which she took as a negative.
"I think we're done," she told Carter, who had dropped the other man to the ground.
"Good, the police will be here soon." He used some zip ties to cuff the men to the car wreck.
"Time to head home then," Shiera said, stretching. Weirdly enough her wings stretched, too. "I think I've flown enough for one day."
"Really?" a new voice asked. "Personally I can never get enough of flying."
Shiera and Carter whirled around, weapons at the ready, only to freeze in surprise. Because right there in the middle of the street, floating half a meter or so above the ground, was the world's greatest superhero, red cape and all.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Superwoman said, smiling at them, "but I was really hoping to speak to the two of you."
Five minutes later, the criminals safely in the hands of the local police (who barely noticed the two winged heroes, too excited about the presence of the famous Superwoman), three flying people reconvened on top of a nearby building.
"Sorry about that," Superwoman said, looking a bit embarrassed. "I did try to tell them that it was you that apprehended the criminals, not me."
"Don't worry about it," Shiera said. "The less attention we get, the better."
She looked over to Carter, waiting for him to agree, only to see him staring wide-eyed at Superwoman. She sighed.
"Ca…, I mean, Hawkman, can you please stop ogling the flying woman who can kill you with a stern glance?"
"I… what?" Carter began, shaking his head. "I was NOT ogling her!"
"Could have fooled me," Shiera replied, shrugging. She probably should feel a bit jealous, but despite considering herself one hundred percent straight, even she had to admit that Superwoman was stunning.
"I ... I know you," Carter said, his eyes back on Superwoman. "I've seen you before."
Shiera barely restrained the impulse to whack him upside the head. "Are you stupid? Of course you've seen her before, she's Superwoman! She's on the news every other day."
"I know that," he shot back, exasperated. "I mean... I'm not sure what I mean, actually."
Superwoman just smiled indulgingly. "Don't worry, I kind of expected that. Memories of past lives and all that."
"Yeah, it's… wait, how do you know about that?" Carter asked, looking more and more out of sorts with every passing second. Shiera would have enjoyed if not for her own rising confusion.
"We met before, in a different life. Well, a different life for you, that is. For me it was the same one, just with time travel. Long story. Anyway, you told me about the reincarnation thing and everything."
"He did?" Shiera asked. "Well, that's not really surprising. Getting him to shut up about this whole reincarnation stuff is the hard part. How many times did he mention being reincarnated from an Egyptian prince called Khufu?"
Superwoman chuckled. Shiera was surprised at how comfortable it was to talk to the world's most powerful woman. She had kind of expected someone more… aloof.
"Anyway, your past self told me that he only caught bits and pieces of his previous lives in his dreams, and that it was very confusing."
"Tell me about it," both Shiera and Carter said at the same time, then looked at each other in annoyance. It also caused another chuckle from Superwoman.
"So when I heard about two winged heroes in Midway City, I decided to pay a visit and bring you something to help with that."
Shiera watched with interest as the blonde woman unclipped something from her hip. It was some sort of metal box, looking rather unremarkable except for some really strange markings covering its surface. Her enhanced hearing could make out a faint tic-tic-tic noise hailing from the device.
"What is that?" she asked, fascinated by the box for some reason she couldn't quite explain.
"It's called a Mother Box," Superwoman explained, holding it out in front of her. "It's a really advanced, near-sentient computer with a telepathic interface. And I have it on good authority that it's really proficient at helping reincarnated Egyptian royalty properly remember their past lives, too."
Shiera and Carter both just stared at her.
"Come on, give it a try," she said, still holding out the Mother Box.
The two hawks shared a glance, but finally decided that it couldn't hurt to give it a try. Reaching out, both put their hands on the metal box at the same time.
For a few seconds nothing happened and Shiera was about to complain about being made fun of, but then she felt a pressure inside her head. It almost felt like someone was touching the inside of her brain with the softest of fingers. It didn't hurt, but it was weird and uncomfortable. The tic-tic-tic from the Mother Box was ringing inside her cranium, getting louder and louder, and suddenly a dam burst.
Memories came bursting out, decades upon decades of memories. She had seen fragments in her dreams, but those had only been the very tip of the iceberg. A deluge of memories swept through her mind and she was carried along.
Shiera Sanders remembered being Princess Chay-Ara, wedded to Prince Khufu during the 19th dynasty of ancient Egypt. Well, they hadn't called it the 19th dynasty back then, of course, but she was still an archeologist. She remembered endless sand, temples, pyramids, and a flying man called Teth-Adam. She remembered seeing a golden chariot crashing down from the sky, something her present incarnation recognized as an alien space ship. It hailed from a distant planet called Thanagar and she had no idea how she knew that. She remembered holding the female pilot of the ship as she died, her last whispered words being "Nth Metal".
Shiera Sanders remembered being Lady Celia Penbrook in 5th century Britain. She remembered the chaos holding the land in its grip after the Fall of Camelot and the death of the king. She remembered taking up sword and wings and fighting alongside Brian Kent, the Silent Knight, to keep their lands safe from the remaining forces of Mordred and Morgaine.
Shiera Sanders remembered being Katherine Manser, a female gunslinger and bounty hunter from the Old West, who set out on a quest to avenge the murder of her father, a sheriff. She remembered growing up in an orphanage, driven only by thoughts of revenge, and honing her shooting skills in preparation for her vengeance. She remembered finally taking out the last of the outlaws who had killed her father and meeting a Native American called Katar Johnson in the process. She remembered the huge scandal of a white woman and a native being romantically linked and it ended up with Katar being shot by a woman called Matilda Dunney. She remembered tracking down and killing that same woman in return, which ended up costing her own life as well.
Shiera Sanders remembered being Sheila Carr, a nightclub singer in early 20th century St. Roch. She remembered meeting a Pinkerton detective called Jimmy Wright, with whom she teamed up to take down a gang trying to extort her club for protection money.
Shiera Sanders remembered being a black slave on a plantation. She remembered being a Japanese woman in feudal times. She remembered flying on feathery wings over the lands far North and being called a Valkyrie. She remembered a hundred and more lifetimes and for a moment she panicked, fearing that she might drown in the memories of so many different people she had been, never to find her way out again.
With a soft tic-tic-tic the memories settled, fading into the background of her mind. Accessible, but distant, almost like something she had seen on a movie screen instead of living through it herself. Blinking, she finally came back to herself.
"Wow," she whispered. "That was… wow!"
Carter, who was also withdrawing his hand from the Mother Box, just nodded.
"It worked, I take it?" Superwoman asked, looking back and forth between them.
Carter looked up at her, a smile on his lips. "Katar Johnson always wondered what had become of the alien woman that fell from the sky. Whether she made it back home. I am glad to see that she did."
Superwoman smiled, nodding. Her gaze went to Shiera. "She did, yes, though with some detours along the way. And did Katar Johnson ever find his Chay-Ara?"
"He did," Shiera answered, images of the Old West and a handsome Native American dancing before her mind's eye. "Sadly only for a few years, but they found each other."
"I'm glad to hear it. And glad that you found each other again in this life as well."
"Well, he did nearly get me killed right at the get-go," Shiera said, gesturing at Carter. "It could only go up from there."
"Excuse me, but I seem to remember saving your life."
"I wouldn't have needed saving if you hadn't blabbed about having been Prince Khufu to the guy who just happened to be the reincarnation of our old enemy Hath-Seth!"
"And how was I supposed to have known that? It wasn't like he carried a sign around his neck."
Shiera opened her mouth for another retort, but then thought better of it. As much as she secretly enjoyed getting Carter riled up, she didn't want to end up fighting with him in front of Superwoman of all people.
"Well, thank you," she addressed their visitor instead. "Our lives, all of them, are weird enough as it is without being constantly confused by weird dreams. That Mother Box of yours is a miraculous invention. Did you build it?"
Superwoman shook her head. "No, it's far more advanced than even the technology of my home world. I kind of picked it up during the same trip where I met Katar. Again, long story. Maybe I'll tell you about it one day. That is, if the two of you are interested."
Carter looked as confused as she felt (and was it weird that she could always tell what expression he made even when he was wearing that hawk mask?). "Interested in what?"
"I would like the two of you to consider joining the Justice League."
Shiera blinked again. This night was getting stranger and stranger by the second. They had heard of the Justice League, of course. Superwoman had a history of cooperating with other heroes like Wonder Woman, the Batman, and several others. A year or so ago a reporter had asked her about it and since then the name Justice League was common knowledge all over the world.
Never in a million years (or lives) would Shiera have entertained the notion of being invited to join. Especially by Superwoman herself.
"But... why?" she finally asked. "I mean, we are honored, but... you don't even know us."
Superwoman smiled. "Maybe not, but I did some research after my little jaunt through time and meeting Katar. There are many accounts of a couple flying on bird's wings scattered throughout history, performing wondrous deeds while wearing hawk masks. And while I assume that some of them have grown in the telling or been distorted, not once are the winged couple described as anything but heroes, fighting to protect the innocent."
She shrugged. "In a way, the two of you have been at this a whole lot longer than any of the rest of us. So bottom line, we would really like to have you with us to protect the Earth. What do you say?"
Kara took her time on the flight back, enjoying the opportunity to just fly without any pressing need to be somewhere really soon. Her visit to Midway City had been a big success and soon two new members would join the Justice League. She would have to run it past the others first, of course, but she was sure they would approve.
The ironic thing was that she had actually made this trip mostly due to fond memories of Katar Johnson, but ended up finding more in common with the other half of the Hawk Duo. Hawkwoman was fun to be around, at least as far as she could tell from their brief meeting, and Kara could easily see her becoming great friends with Diana and her. Hawkman was still a bit... stiff in this incarnation (unless he was arguing with Hawkwoman), but he was a good deal younger than Katar Johnson had been during her visit to the Old West. Hopefully he would become a bit more relaxed and easy-going, now that the Mother Box had helped him make sense of his past memories.
She was really glad she had gone on this trip. Just visiting some fellow heroes, no big crisis, no big drama, just meeting like-minded people and forging what she hoped would be bonds of friendship before too long. The Black Mercy had left its mark on Kara, no doubt, but the wounds were slowly beginning to heal. If she could go without any further life-changing experiences for a bit longer, everything would be back to normal soon enough.
All things considered, Kara really should have known better than to tempt fate like that.
She was flying over Metropolis, having decided to take a round trip back home, when it happened. Something came shooting towards her, something that moved far too fast to be any man-made aircraft. Also, much too small. Her senses automatically kicked into high gear and she recognized the shape of a flying person coming directly towards her, even as she instinctively changed her own course to evade.
The small shape shot past her, turned around, and came to a stop only a few meters away from. What had been a blur just moments ago resolved itself into a human shape. It was a girl, Kara realized. Barely a teenager, maybe 13 years or so, with blonde hair and blue eyes. A blonde teenage girl that was flying under her own power and was wearing a T-shirt with the coat-of-arms of House El.
"Hi mom," the flying girl said, grinning.
Kara nearly fell out of the sky in shock.
End Chapter 43
Author's Note: To clarify, the Hawks here in this story are mostly based on the Golden Age versions of the characters, who retroactively replaced the Silver Age Hawks in most pre-Crisis stories as well. No space cops and the wings are just gear they wear. That said, expect my portrayal of Hawkwoman to be very heavily influenced by Hawkgirl from the Justice League cartoon, whom I love and adore. All the named characters Shiera remembers being in previous lives are canon DC characters, though I have added a few details here and there to make them less damsel-in-distress.
Next chapter: Superwoman meets Supergirl. 'Nuff said!