Bottled Rage
Shayera opened her wings again, attempting to fly as Red Tornado produced another small whirlwind for her to fly in. They have been at it for hours now but Shayera desperately wanted to fly again. Five years in a tiny cell had made her lose her confidence and skill in her flight capabilities but now that she is free, she yearns to be up in the sky. Her new room in Metropolis offers her a fantastic view of the wide sky and the ocean. Her spirit yearns to be free.
She was strapped to a line connected to the ground in order to help her not get blown away. Shayera shakily kept her wings open as she tried again. Red Tornado kept the small tornados in a minimum in order to not intimidate Shayera from wanting to try but even then they were still powerful. Shayera forced herself to keep her wings open, her fear of flying away without control a new fear that she is desperately trying to conquer. As she glided in the wind, her wings began to close in reflex and Shayera gritted her teeth as she tried to stop her panic. As she tried to look at anywhere but the ground, the open sky looked welcoming until a Javelin shot through the clouds and made its way into the landing bay at Metrotower.
The unexpected arrival of the ship caused Shayera to balk, her wings folding in and she began to freefall. Her reactions caused the belt tethering her to the ground to unclip. Freefalling, Shayera was now on her way towards colliding to the ground. She would have screamed had it not been for Red Tornado's quick reflex in conjuring another tornado under her. Shayera shakily landed on her hands and knees as the Javelin landed in the bay, Flash speeding out and going to her side apologizing profusely.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't know that practice was happening right now!" Reaching over to hug her, he was stung when Shayera forcefully shrugged him off and glared at him. Realizing that she was glaring, Shayera softened her features and said, "I'm sorry. I should have sent you a message."
"Don't apologize, Shayera," said Red Tornado as he floated towards them, "Much of what transpired was out of our hands."
"So… how's the flying?" asked Flash, nervous at having seen Shayera's anger cross her normally frightened face. While nervous, he was also feeling a little excited. For one brief moment. Flash caught a glimpse of Shayera's old nature.
"It's progress." said Red Tornado, "We will be running a few more runs before taking a break."
With that he floated away to leave Flash and Shayera to talk privately. Flash only gave a small shrug and a weak smile as he helped Shayera stand up. Shayera shakily stood on her knees and had to fight against her knee-jerk reaction to shove off Wally's helping hand. Doing so might anger him and she didn't need to create enemies for herself, not with Shadow Thief running around.
If she can just re-learn to fly again, she can go high into the sky where she once felt safe and never had to have had to rely on anyone to feel strong. Shayera tightened her fist and forced a smile on her face. Wally relaxed and escorted her to where Red Tornado was already waiting.
"Are… Are you mad?" asked Wally, unsure if Shayera was only putting a front. The smile she gave gave him seemed a little forced and he wanted to be sure that there were no hard feelings.
"I'm f-fine." said Shayera as she awkwardly gave him a sideways hug and jumped to the platform and secured herself again. Wally hesitated for a bit before shaking his head and running towards where Red Tornado was. She said she's fine so he has nothing to worry about.
Earlier
Shadow Thief kept a careful eye on the distance. He needed to time this right before it all falls apart. Having to care for a decomposing body is difficult and he was getting tired of having to spend hours keeping the body fresh. He watched as his beloved opened her wings and flew in the robot's tornados. He had to smile at her obvious thrill as she floated in the sky. Once he freed her from these fools, there will be many nights spent flying in the sky with just the two of them and not a care in the world.
He watched as she boldly climbed higher into the air and would have joined her when he spotted the Javelin flying out of the clouds. As his love balked in midair and was unhooked from her safety tether, he almost took flight to rescue her. The android beat him to the punch and quickly conjured a tornado under her.
He watched as the moronic Flash sped out of the ship and tried to help up his beloved. Had he not been paying attention he would have missed her angry jerk.
This is it.
This is the chance he needed. Her small display of anger towards the Flash could very well be the chance he needs to drive a wedge between her and the idiotic League. He watched her face and paid close attention to how she kept herself restrained, no doubt fearing that the League will once again imprison her for misbehaving. Recognizing now the path he must take advantage of, he quickly retreated into the Metrotower and waited for her exercises to be done.
As the hour passed, Shadow Thief spotted Shayera moving into the Cafeteria, the area empty save for a random janitor cleaning up. Making sure he has a good hold on the Hawkman body, he walked towards Shayera and made sure that it was only the janitor cleaning about. He sat across from her and gave a smile when she turned her attention to him. By the gods did her eyes and small smile did wonders to his core.
"Did you have a rough day?" he asked. His impersonation of Carter Hall's voice is rocky at best but after establishing himself as a loner, he didn't have to worry about anyone being suspicious if he didn't sound as accurate as he should.
"I'm fine." said Shayera, her voice gruff with exhaustion. Sensing an opportunity, he moved seats to sit next to her and gave a friendly pat on her shoulder. Shayera gave a small smile in thanks but didn't really react. Perfect.
"How are you feeling, really?" asked Shadow Thief.
"... good." said Shayera.
"I know I might be the last person you want to open up about how you're feeling. I hear Quinn is a good psych despite her flaws. Just remember that there are those of us like Quinn and I that fought for you if you want to open up to us. We are here for you." said Shadow Thief. Feeling that he had sown the seeds, he stood and was about to leave when he felt a soft and warm hand grab his. Feeling the shock of elation go through him, he turned to see Shayera gripping onto his hand. He sat back down and waited for her to speak.
"W.. Why did you defend me?" asked Shayera.
"It was a ridiculous accusation," said Thief, thrilled that she is beginning to open up to him, "Everyone could see how hard you worked to prove yourself. I have always supported you even after the whole Shadow Thief fiasco. I wouldn't dare to believe that you had a hand in the deaths of the World Leaders."
"D-Did you try to find me?" asked Shayera.
"Everyday." That wasn't even a lie. When Carter Hall was alive, he did his absolute best in secrecy to try to rescue Shayera, already having the ship ready to blast off once he found her. When Shadow Thief caught wind that Hall was attempting to rescue her, he kept a close eye on the man until Luthor and Brainiac approached him about exonerating his beloved. Once the plan was set, he killed Hall and took control of his body, taking great care that the body didn't decompose under his care.
"Thank you." whispered Shayera, a slight squeeze on his hand. Thrill raced through him as he watched sadness and the beginnings of frustration occupy her face. Perfect.
When Hawkman left, Shayera felt better. She knew Red Tornado, Question, and Harley had tried their best to help her and it was better knowing that she had their support along with Hawkman. He tried to help at least. He fought for her innocence. He did his absolute best to free her unlike the rest of the League… unlike John. Shayera closed her eyes hard and tried to block those thoughts away from her head.
They came for her. They rescued her in time… almost too late. They forgot about her. They were willing to ignore her. They wanted to get rid of her. Shutting her eyes and forcing her thoughts to switch to something lighter, Shayera tried her best to contain her rage, her sorrow, and fear. There was too much to lose now that she is free. They can easily just call her insane and check her into Arkham or worse just send her back to the prison to never deal with her.
Shayera felt tears pool down her face and rose from her seat, keeping her sobs inside. She needed to reach her room, she needed to feel safe for a bit. As she quickly walked down the hallway, she nearly smacked into John, having managed to find free time to visit her.
"Hey," he asked worriedly, "Are you ok?"
Shayera could only face down and focus on the floor, her wings shaking and flaring a bit. John, worried, was about to call for Bruce or Red Tornado when he heard her quietly ask, "Why now?"
"Why now what?" asked John, confused.
"Why did it take so long to redeem me? How did you know I was innocent and that it was all lies?" asked Shayera. If she can get some answers, then she won't be angry. Everything can be fine and dandy again. She wouldn't have to be angry.
"I…" he feared this day would come. Having to tell her about the tapes and how it was the only reason why they went to rescue her. That it was out of guilt and needing to arrest Luthor and Brainiac that they freed her, not because they did their own investigation and freed her.
"How?" asked Shayera. John's face of fear and guilt only enraged her. What was he hiding? Why didn't he want to answer?
"The day we went to get you from the prison… we found out Luthor and Brainiac had a hand in your framing. The tapes we found showed us how they created a clone of you and managed to eliminate her in order to keep their tracks covered. It… was eye-opening."
Agony ripped through her as she processed the information. Still, she clung to the small hope that they did their own investigation as she asked, "How did you manage to find the tapes?"
John felt his heart rip. He didn't want to tell her. When he didn't answer, Shayera grabbed him by the front of his uniform and slammed him into the wall, her tremors and fear forgotten to make way for her anger.
"How?" she whispered, tears threatening to fall despite the anger.
"We.. We believe Luthor and Brainiac released the tapes in order to free you from prison. We believe they want something from you." confessed John. He watched as the anger spread across her face except her eyes. Her eyes screamed pain and sorrow and he tried to bring her in his arms but she violently pushed him against the wall before releasing him and backing away. Her body was shaking but he didn't try to reach for her again.
"It was all lies wasn't it? Everything was just to make yourselves feel better." she accused. Feeling ice run down his chest, John walked towards her, not reaching for her but closing the space to be close.
"No. We lov-"
"LIES!" screamed Shayera and she pushed him away before running to her room. As she ran, she can feel him follow her and managed to close her door in time to stop him from coming inside.
Locking it, Shayera cried out, "You never once thought of me! You never believed me! You have all been playing with me. None of it was ever for me but to capture Luthor and Brainiac! You never once cared!"
"Shayera! It's not true! We do care for you! I love you!"
"More lies just to get to agree. Was I never once worth it? Was I that expendable?" cried out Shayera. Her voice cracking before succumbing to her sobs and falling on her bed, willing the agony to go away.
John heard her sobs but couldn't bring himself to force his way in. She is hurting and unwilling. She is obviously starting to be expressive, which only meant she'll be angry if he interrupted her time. Walking away in sorrow John only hopes that Shayera wouldn't stay too mad.
From the shadows, Shadow Thief silently cheered in driving a wedge between his beloved and the moronic Lantern. A little saddened when he heard her sob, he reassured himself that she'll feel much better when he takes her away from here. Soon, everything will be alright and whatever Luthor and Brainiac has planned will surely benefit them.
Woo! Finally! After being abroad for missionary work, I'm back! How'd you like? What didn't you like? I'm excited to be back :) after carrying a journal around writing about future chapters, I'm happy to say that this story along with Fragments will be finished soon :) hope you guys liked it and can't wait to update soon :)