John's jaw dropped in shock, and his heart jumped up to his throat. The woman before him continued to glare downwards at his fallen figure, fists still clenched to strike a second blow if the need arose. The Lantern swallowed, as he tried to think of what to say, but no words came to mind. Instead, the blonde boy who was smiling behind Shayera stepped forward and touched her elbow. She glanced over her shoulder to acknowledge him, but her powerful cobalt eyes went straight back to John, narrowing ever more slightly. Her defensive position never faltered.

"I think he gets the point Holbrooks." The demigod laughed.

"Holbrooks?" John sputtered, "What the hell is going on Shay?"

"Shay?" The woman frowned, but then quickly shook her head, "Close, but not quite. My name is Summer."

"What are you talking about? Come on, Shay. We've known each other for years!"

She scoffed and raised her dark brows, "I've never met you before in my life."

"This isn't funny." John shouted.

The boy - Iggy - giggled from behind her, "It's kind of funny."

Shayera rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "Shut up."

"No!" John shouted and pointed a finger at her, "I don't know what game you're playing with this guy, Shay, but he is dangerous! Ignoring me and your problems isn't going to change the fact that you could get yourself killed with whatever strange things he has planned. Just drop the act right now. Talk to me about whatever is going on! I can help you."

Shayera's mouth opened in surprise for half a second before morphing into an expression of confusion. She stepped back just a little as she responded, "I've already told you, my name is Summer. You can check my birth certificate, driver's license, and about a dozen other public documents which will all tell you the same thing. The only way I can possibly think that you could know me is if you were friends with Zane, and trust me when I say that I'm not that person anymore. Finally, you need to think about the fact that Iggy has never done anything but be kind to me while all I know about you is that you jump people in alleys without motive or reason. There's no way I'm going to take a stranger's side over my best friend. I think it's time for you to leave."

She pointed at the edge of the alley with one hand, the other still prepared to knock him back to the ground. John stood up quickly and insisted, "Don't play this game!"

"Does it look like I'm playing?" She screamed.

In that moment, John realized something. She really wasn't playing. The confusion and frustration in her eyes wasn't manufactured. After everything they had been through together, he knew that any lies she told were carefully planned, otherwise she had tells he could pick up in a heartbeat. This girl honestly thought she was telling the truth. This was part of the his doing. Horror sunk into John's gut.

That's when it really hit John - her wings were gone. Her white tank top cling tightly to her body, hugging her curves and skimming over her smooth back, showing not even a sign where the appendages had been. It was almost like she was human.

John felt the color drain from his face. Shayera had loved nothing more than to feel the wind against her feathers, to let herself spin through the sky with the smallest angling of her wings. So much of her joy centered around flying. It was part of her very essence, and it was gone. The Lantern continued to stare at her in silence, but it was the demi-god that broke the silence.

"Come on, babe. He's just confused." Iggy said nonchalantly.

She rolled her eyes, "He seems pretty confident."

"Summer." He said seriously, "I know him from when I lived in Portland."

"Oh." She said with a cock of her head.

The boy smiled as he straightened up his shirt and spoke happily, "You know, Sunshine, I think this was all just a big misunderstanding. John and I have had our differences in the past, but nothing some chips and beer can't fix. I'm sure he can promise to play nice for the afternoon." He leaned forward to balance his head on the heroine's shoulder, "Right, Johnny boy?"

"Yes." John ground through his teeth, "Why don't we?"

"Iggy, we both know when it comes to men, that your judgement-" She began.

But he cut her off just as quickly, "Summer, come on. The guy's on his ass, and he knows that you can put him there again if he crosses the line." He sighed, and added, "I promise I have not slept with him or anyone close to him. I have never bought from or sold drugs to him, and I most definitely don't owe him any money. Just a favor or two. You know, old timey stuff."

Eventually, Shayera gave a slow nod before looking John in the eye and promising, "Bring him back with any markings, and I swear I'll have your ass."

Iggy's eyes twinkled, "Isn't it cute that she defends my honor."

"Save it." Shayera rolled her eyes.

She glanced down at John one more time, apprehension in her eyes. After a few moments, her shoulders dropped, her fists relaxed, and she turned to look at Iggy one last time. An unspoken message passed between them, and without another word, she spun on her heel and walked to the edge of the ally. Just before she disappeared, she called over her shoulder, "I'll see you at the apartment. You're buying dinner."

John gawked after her, still in shock at the turn of events which had taken part in the last few minutes. Slowly, he swallowed and turned back to the young man before him. At that point, the blonde had leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. His lips and eyes were perked ever so slightly and gave away his smug, proud attitude. Happily, he proclaimed, "I told you I'd see you on the other side, and here we are!"

"The other side of what exactly?" John said as he stood up and brushed off his pants.

"Well," The demi-god shrugged, "I found what your heart yearns for more than anything else. Granted she was out of her mind with grief in Chicago, but all things considered, I think setting up this little get together went quite well."

"You erased her memory!" John accused angrily, "You took her wings!"

"Actually," Iggy's small smile fell, "I didn't. I may have redirected her plans and played with fate to get you here, but I didn't do anything to Shayera's memory. When I found her, she was already like this. Wings and all. Everything was just...gone."

John laughed humorlessly, "Yeah? And why should I believe you?"

The boy took two steps forward, just a bit too close to the hero to be comfortable, and hissed, "Because she's my friend too. I wouldn't hurt her like that."

John chuckled darkly, "So what is this? You find her and insert yourself into her life?"

Iggy shook his head. He glanced around the alley, as if he thought someone was following them. The boy must have seen something John couldn't because his eyes flashed with unspoken frustration as he left out an angry huff of breath before muttering a quick, "Walk with me."

Before John could respond, the other man began stalking off down the narrow passage. John sighed in frustration, but followed him quickly. The crumbling cement crunched beneath their feet, and the hot sun continued to beat down on them from overhead. For the first time, as John looked at the young man beside him, the demi-god seemed almost nervous. A worried wrinkle appeared between the Lantern's brows as the other man's hushed voice admitted, "Look, I did what I had to do to get us this far. I might be powerful, but I'm not the only one at play here."

"What does that mean?" John's frustration boiled up.

"It means that you fucked up!" Iggy's light eyes glimmered with power, "She disappears for weeks on end and you don't check up on her?"

John looked away as guilt ate at his stomach, "It's not that simple."

The boy turned down another city block, glancing over his shoulder before they were concealed by the cover of another building. He shook his head dismissively and continued, "It doesn't matter. I'm here to give you your heart's desires, and I'm a third of the way done. But if you want this to end well, you better start pulling your weight."

"My weight?" John coughed.

"Yeah." Iggy stated plainly, "I was being honest with you when I said that I had nothing to do with Shayera's memory or wings. There was a reason I worked so hard to get her to Miami though. Competition has never really been my style, and there was plenty of that going around in Chicago. Creatures far more powerful than I. And let's just say that we don't have a great history between us."

"Wait." John's calloused palm slammed against the powerful being's chest, stopping him in his tracks. The stormy blue eyes flashed up, but John was dazed by a different revelation, "You're saying that someone else cursed Shayera? Made her forget everything she knew? As what, some kind of sick punishment or something?"

"Or something." The boy shrugged, "I can't explain now."

Iggy pulled John off the street into the small cavern between one building's steps and an empty dumpster. Though there were few people on the street, the two men were hidden from view. The demi-god continued to nervously glance around the quiet and unsuspecting part of the city. Finally, he went on, "I know it might not seem like it, but there are listening ears all over the place here, and we haven't exactly been careful about fitting in today. Here."

Iggy reached in his pocket and shoved a crinkled wad of paper into John's hand. The Lantern's fist clenched it tightly, conscious that he had few clues thus far and only made it there by luck. Iggy leaned in closely for a moment and spoke in a hushed tone, "Your next desire is not as simple as you believe it to be. This curse runs deep. Talk to her before you come to anymore conclusions."

"How am I supposed to-"

Suddenly, the young man disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and John Stewart was left standing alone. He threw his hands out to try to stop the other man, but it was simply too late. All he wanted to do was shout, scream in frustration, but there was nothing to be done. He had searched and searched for this man, and now he was gone in an instant. Despite everything, the hero calmed himself enough to slowly uncrumple the wad of paper in his palm. In streaked blue ink and messy handwriting, an address was scrawled - the answer to the question John hadn't even finished speaking. For the first time in weeks, he finally had a solid lead. He stared down at the three lines of text.

Raphael's Gym and Training Center

4872 Maplewood Avenue

Miami, Florida