BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY POCKET-DIMENSION POCKET BELONGS TO ME. NO, YOU CAN'T HAVE IT; IT'S WHERE I KEEP MY SOCKS.
Warning: This episode made me cry. Like, certain events of Mass Effect 3 cry. It made me a sad Muffin. And unlike the last time, I won't be changing it. You have been warned.
Ben 10: Unlimited
Chapter 12
Wake the Dead
The Tower of Fate
Aquaman, King of Atlantis, had fought monsters, robots, demons and even traitors to the throne. Right now, however, he'd face all of them combined for the opportunity to make his current opponent more challenging.
"It's your move, Hawkgirl."
Across the chessboard sat Shayera Hol, an expression of apathy on her face. To the side of them sat Amazo, watching the game with interest. Shayera moved a piece, only to have it taken by Aquaman's queen.
"Check in five moves." He declared.
"We'll see." Responded Shayera.
Considering how badly he was beating her, Aquaman didn't really doubt that he'd win. "Diana told me you used to regularly beat Batman; difficult to believe from the current, pitiful level of your game."
Shayera said nothing as she moved another piece.
Aquaman responded with a move of his own, then said, "I should have known better than to expect a proper challenge from a woman." Aquaman didn't mean it; he was only trying to bring the old Shayera back, even though the old Shayera would've punched him in the face for his comment.
Once again, Shayera said nothing.
"Such scintillating repartee." he said sarcastically, then sighed. "I get better conversation from the android." Amazo tilted his head at Aquaman's comment.
You are aware that I am in the room?
As soon as Shayera made another move, Aquaman responded and said, "Check."
Shayera stared at the board for a moment, then knocked over her king, signifying that she had given up.
"I win again," Aquaman said sarcastically, "huzzah."
"It's just a game." Replied Shayera.
Rather upset that she'd given up so easily, Aquaman knocked the board across the room.
"You disgust me!" he growled. Again, it was an attempt to provoke a reaction from the old Shayera.
Instead, she simply stood up and looked him in the eye.
"Join the club." Then she walked out of the room.
"I could have told you that wouldn't work." Aquaman turned to see Dr. Fate step out of the shadows.
"She was once one of the fiercest warriors I'd ever met," said Aquaman, "what's she doing here?"
"Trying to find her way." answered Fate, "Leaving the Justice League was difficult for her; I provided her sanctuary, a place to meditate on her life and future. We must allow her the time she needs to…" Fate trailed off and touched his helmet for a moment. "Excuse me."
He lifted into the air as a purple ankh appeared behind him, then he disappeared. Before Aquaman could wonder what had happened, the fallen chessboard and pieces floated across his vision and set themselves up. The android looked up from where he was sitting.
New game?
…
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Dr. Fate approached the grave of a man he'd helped bury, and knew that there was a problem; the grave was empty. He reached for his communicator.
"J'onn? It's Dr. Fate." He stared at the headstone of Solomon Grundy. "We may have a problem."
…
The Tower of Fate
The Tower of Fate had a meditation garden, hidden away in a pocket dimension. Shayera used it whenever she was upset; she came here often. She went to her usual spot, but saw Inza tending to some flowers. Dr. Fate's wife looked up at the Thanagarian.
"I wasn't expecting you back so soon." She stood up to leave. "The garden needed work."
As she made to leave, Shayera stopped her. "Don't go, Inza; this is your place, I'm just a visitor here."
"My husband and I have offered you our hospitality," replied Inza, "we respect your privacy. Treat this area as you would your own home."
As she walked away, Shayera said, "Aquaman thinks I've been here too long."
Inza turned to her. "Flowers bloom when they're ready, Shayera; not before."
Shayera looked down. "I'm no flower; I don't know what I am. I'm not Lieutenant Shayera Hol of the Thanagarian Empire, not anymore. I've been stripped of my rank and exiled from my homeworld. I'm not Hawkgirl, that was always a sham." She sounded on the verge of tears. "Most people on Earth will never trust me again and I can't blame them. When I do my job, people get hurt; people I care about."
Inza looked at her. "And what happens when you don't do your job?" then she left, leaving Shayera alone with her thoughts.
…
San Francisco
After Ben and Kara admitted that they were in love with each other, the two began spending more time together. Kara would often stay at Ben's house for several days at a time, yet no one had a problem with that. Not even over-protective Clark; in fact, when he'd delivered Kara's things after that first night, he'd actually smiled a little.
Eventually, the two fell into a rhythm of Kara staying at Ben's house for a few days of every other week. They weren't quite ready to permanently move in together, but they did believe that it would happen one day.
Remarkably, despite their intensifying relationship, they still kept a professional attitude while working; a quality that everyone in the League found admirable. The only thing that really changed with regards to the League was that Ben and Supergirl were put together on missions more often; according to the Martian, it was because they "worked well together".
"Okay Kara, do you want the pasta, or do you want to order out tonight?" Ben asked as he and Kara were walking back to Ben's house.
Kara thought about it for a minute. "I say we order out, then watch that action movie while we wait."
Ben smiled as they reached the house. "Sounds good to me."
No sooner had they entered, then J'onn contacted them. "Ben, Supergirl; we have a situation."
The two heroes looked at each other for a moment. "Guess dinner's off for now," said Ben, then he spoke into the Ultimatrix, "what's the problem, J'onn?"
"Solomon Grundy has returned and is attacking Baton Rouge; I'm sending you and Supergirl, along with Green Lantern and Vixen to stop him."
As Kara went to get into her costume, Ben asked, "That's a lot of muscle, J'onn; is Grundy really that big a threat?" Sure, he'd read about Grundy in the case files, but from what he could tell, the zombie had always attacked after someone attacked him first. And while he was incredibly strong and tough, Superman alone could beat him; sending Supergirl, himself, Vixen and Green Lantern seemed like overkill.
"It is necessary; Grundy has already killed three people, and many more are in danger."
Ben's eyes narrowed; okay, no more sympathy was going to be given to the zombie. He turned to see Supergirl, an angry expression on her face.
"I heard," she said, "let's go."
…
Baton Rouge
Supergirl and Ben, now as Jet Ray, were teleported to Baton Rouge just in time to see a police car fly through the air. Before either of them could do anything, Green Lantern showed up to grab the car with his ring. They flew over to him, where they were met by Vixen.
"Hey Lantern," greeted Jet Ray, "hey, Vixen."
Ben had worked with Vixen before; she was an African-American woman with short, black hair. She wore a revealing orange bodysuit with claws. The necklace she wore allowed her to tap into the powers of animals. Coupled with her natural athleticism, she was a force to be reckoned with.
"Hey, you two," said Vixen with a smile, "I guess this is a double-date, huh?"
Another fact about Vixen was that she was very attracted to Green Lantern. The feeling wasn't mutual, however; apparently, Lantern was still holding out for a certain redheaded Thanagarian. Still, that didn't mean that Vixen couldn't try.
"Maybe," said Supergirl, "but I've never considered zombie-fighting to be my way of enjoying a night on the town."
"Come on," said Lantern, "we've got to move!" he flew off, the other three heroes right behind him.
"Dr. Fate called it in to J'onn," said Lantern, "Solomon Grundy's back."
"The zombie guy?" asked Vixen, "He's a heavy hitter."
Green Lantern nodded. "Yeah, he's tough, but we can take 'im. Funny thing, though, is that he's supposed to be dead."
"Aren't all zombies, by definition, dead?" asked Jet Ray. The two women laughed, while Lantern tried to come up with a response. Before he could, though, a loud roar shook the air.
The heroes looked ahead to find people fleeing in fear. The street was littered with debris, crushed cars and flames. They saw a bus slowly rise into the air, held by Solomon Grundy. The zombie was big, close to 10 feet tall, and nearly 6 feet wide. He was pale-skinned, all muscle, and covered with the rags he'd died in so many years ago.
"Aw, man, don't do it," said Lantern, seeing Grundy heft the bus. With a roar, Grundy hurled it through the air.
"I've got it!" yelled Jet Ray, as he moved to intercept the bus. When he got in front of it, he slapped the Ultimatrix dial.
"LODESTAR!" using his magnetic powers, Lodestar halted the bus in midair, and slowly lowered it to the ground.
While Grundy picked up another car to throw, Vixen tapped into the power of the elephant, and she and Supergirl slammed into him. They crashed through a truck and then into a building, before Grundy grabbed them by the wrists and jumped back outside. He slammed them against the floor, then threw Vixen against a fence, and Supergirl into a light-pole.
Supergirl wasn't used to pain; only Kryptonite and magic could really hurt her, or another Kryptonian. Since she didn't feel the weakness associated with Kryptonite, and Grundy had been human, that could only mean that the zombie was being affected by magic somehow. And that magic hurt.
Vixen, on the other hand, was badly bruised, her costume was torn, and her arm was broken. Grundy moved to attack her, but he was interrupted by Green Lantern peppering him with energy-blasts and Lodestar throwing cars at him.
While the guys kept him distracted, Supergirl rose to her feet, shaking off the pain; she moved over to Vixen, who was clutching her broken arm.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
In response, Vixen touched her necklace again, tapping into the regenerative power of the lizard. With a few sickening pops, the arm was healed. She nodded at Supergirl, and the two moved to support their teammates.
Green Lantern had Grundy wrapped in emerald energy, while Lodestar wrapped him in several car doors. Grundy roared in anger, but the two heroes thought they had him. They were proven wrong, however, when Grundy somehow floated into the air; a pulse of energy flew from him, shattering his bonds. Both heroes were sent flying in opposite directions; Supergirl moved to catch Lodestar, while Vixen tapped into the power of the cheetah to catch Lantern.
The sudden change in air pressure had knocked Green Lantern unconscious. As Vixen tried to revive him, she heard very large footsteps behind her. She turned to see Grundy approach them.
She flexed her claws, prepared to defend her teammate. "Come with it, then!"
Just as Grundy was about to crush her, a blue-and-red blur smashed into the Zombie, sending him flying. Superman looked down Vixen, who was again tending Green Lantern.
"Get Lantern somewhere safe!" ordered the Man of Steel, as Supergirl and Ben, who'd turned into Big Chill, caught up with him.
"I could've handled him." Protested Vixen, as a loud roar echoed from down the street. Superman, Supergirl and Big Chill prepared themselves.
"You may get your chance," said Superman, "in the meantime, humor me." As Grundy approached, Superman tried to reason with him. "Come on, Grundy, we've been through this before; you don't have a chance against me, let's talk it over, maybe I can help."
"I don't think he's in the talking mood." Warned Supergirl.
"Yeah, if he was, I don't think he would have thrown that bus." Added Big Chill.
Grundy made no response, save for charging forward and smashing his fists into the ground; he would have hit the heroes, had they not taken to the air. Superman rushed towards him, hoping to finish this quickly; instead, Grundy caught Superman's fist with his own. He didn't even flinch.
Both Supergirl's and Big Chill's eyes widened; the number of people who could catch one of Superman's punches could be counted on one hand, and Grundy's case file did not suggest that the zombie qualified to be on that list. Apparently, something had changed.
Grundy tightened his fist; the bones in Superman's hand started to crack, before Grundy delivered an uppercut that sent Superman flying a dozen blocks away. Supergirl tried to attack next, but was backhanded into a truck. The zombie charged towards Big Chill, ramming him with his shoulder. The blue mothman collapsed near Supergirl.
"Though you'd have gone intangible," moaned Supergirl, as she started to get up.
"That's the thing," said Big Chill, pain evident in his voice, "I did go intangible; whatever's powering this guy is crazy!"
They heard a roar behind them and saw Grundy marching towards them.
Here we go again, both thought.
…
The Tower of Fate
Checkmate. You are improving; this time it took me sixteen moves to defeat you.
Aquaman glared at the android.
That's nearly double the moves it took last time.
Aquaman sighed. "Set up the board."
Before Amazo did just that, a purple ankh flared into existence, and Dr. Fate returned to them. Though his face was covered by his helmet, he seemed greatly disturbed.
Without preamble, he announced, "Solomon Grundy's grave is empty."
Aquaman stood, rage on his face. "Tell me where to find those responsible, then dig more graves."
Though Grundy had been a criminal for his entire life and un-life, he'd sacrificed himself to save the universe from an extradimensional invasion. That should have assured him a peaceful, undisturbed rest.
Fate shook his head. "We are dealing with something far more sinister than mere human avarice; Grundy's grave was forced open from the inside and the site reeks of Chaos magic."
Amazo was intrigued by this.
He left under his own power?
"Far more power than he ever evidenced before." Fate held out a hand, and an orb appeared that showed the ongoing battle. "Behold."
The orb showed Grundy holding a Kryptonian by the cape in either hand, while Green Lantern and Heatblast attacked him. Distracted, Grundy momentarily forgot about the alien cousins and jumped into the air, punching Heatblast into a building, then throwing a rock at Green Lantern, knocking him down.
As the images continued, Aquaman said, "They need our help."
"So does Grundy." The three turned to see Shayera walking up to them. "Let's try and get there before the League kills him."
Amazo turned back to the orb, which now showed Grundy using Vixen like a baseball bat to knock Supergirl away.
That scenario seems… unlikely.
"In any case, are you certain you're up to this?" asked Fate.
"Doesn't matter." Said Shayera. "Bad guy or not, he sacrificed his life to save ours. We owe him the benefit of the doubt."
"Very well." Said Fate, who held out his hand. A white hole appeared in thin air. "I've learned the hard way that the energy-dampening properties of this device can disrupt fundamental forces, so I've kept it hidden in pocket dimension, away from the magic that must flow freely in my home. But if you are truly ready to take up the fight again…"
Shayera hesitated only for a moment, before plunging her hand into the hole and withdrawing a spiked mace. Her spiked mace. She hefted it in one hand.
"I'm ready."
…
Baton Rouge
This is not going well, thought Swampfire, as he was thrown into the side of a bus. While the blow didn't really hurt, thanks to his regeneration, he was getting smacked around a lot. At one point, he considered going Way Big, but dismissed the idea; Grundy was strong enough to kick Superman's butt, and Way Big might cause more damage to the city than Grundy.
Grundy jumped at Swampfire, but before he landed on him, Supergirl collided with him fists-first and knocked him to the ground. In response, Grundy lifted her up by her leg and smashed her into the ground repeatedly. She was saved when Superman punched him in the face, while Swampfire tackled his legs from behind.
"Get her somewhere safe!" yelled Superman.
Swampfire nodded, then slapped the Ultimatrix dial.
"SPIDERMONKEY!" Ben was now a blue-furred monkey, with six eyes and four arms. The Ultimatrix symbol was displayed on his chest. He scooped up Supergirl and ran to the top of a building. As he laid her down on the ground, he had to marvel at Kryptonian healing. Even with the damage they'd sustained, Superman and Supergirl only needed a couple of minutes before they were back in the fight.
"Ugh…" moaned Supergirl, then she opened her eyes. "Ben? Why are you a monkey?"
"Oh, right," said Spidermonkey in a high-pitched voice, scratching his head, "I don't think I ever showed you this one."
As Supergirl slowly got back up, they saw Grundy crash into Superman; the shockwave from the impact caused a building to collapse. Spidermonkey saw two people still inside, a boy and a young woman; he saw Vixen going for the kid, so he shot a string of webbing from his tail and swung to the woman.
"Come on!" he yelled, holding out a hand, "I'll get you out of here!" the woman fearfully put her hand in his, and he swung her to safety, just as the whole building fell in on itself; as they landed on the street, he noticed Vixen had successfully saved the kid.
Meanwhile, Green Lantern was blasting away at Grundy with his ring, but Grundy only clapped his hands together. The shockwave sent Lantern flying through the air, as well as shattering the windows of every building in a 5-block radius.
Superman tried rushing the zombie again, but Grundy grabbed two cars and made him into the filling of a very bizarre sandwich. When he pulled the cars away, Superman swayed on his feet, until Grundy hit him with an uppercut that sent him flying into supports of a bridge that passed over the bay. The bridge started to collapse, now that two of its supports were gone.
As the bridge began to destabilize, Aquaman rose from the water; under his feet was the largest octopus that anyone had ever seen. Under Aquaman's mental commands, the octopus wrapped its tentacles around the supports and brought them back into place, until Supergirl flew up and cemented them into place with her heat-vision.
However, one car that had been on the edge of the bridge began to fall. As it did, Shayera flew over, ripped the car roof off with her mace and pulled the frightened mother and daughter inside to safety, just before the car hit the water. Shayera watched the family hug in relief, then run off, just as Green Lantern flew over. For a moment, he couldn't believe it.
"Shayera?" he asked.
The Thanagarian in question looked him up and down. "I hate the beard." She commented.
Then Spidermonkey, Supergirl, Superman and Vixen arrived.
"You okay?" Lantern asked Superman.
Superman shot him a look. His costume was torn, and he was covered in cuts, bruises and now, he was soaking wet. "Do I look okay?"
"Wow," said Spidermonkey, "fancy seeing you here, Shayera."
Shayera was confused by the strange creature talking to her, so Spidermonkey said, "Maybe this'll jog your memory." He slapped the Ultimatrix dial.
"HUMONGOSAUR!"
"Oh, Ben!" said Shayera, "Sorry I didn't recognize you."
"No problem," said Humongosaur as he turned to the others, "now, where were we?"
Green Lantern crossed his arms. "We were about to kick Grundy's undead a…"
"Perhaps we can be of assistance," said Dr. Fate as he appeared in front of them, as did Aquaman and Amazo.
"Hey, Amazo," said Humongosaur, waving to the android, "how've you been?"
Amazo looked at him for a moment. Ben had been the only one besides Dr. Fate and Aquaman to have any contact with him, and the human had taken steps to actually be his friend. In fact, Amazo considered Ben to be his first friend.
I am well. I wish to aid you against this threat.
Superman shook his head. "Okay, let's throw our big guns at him: me, Fate, Humongosaur, Supergirl and the android." He leaned close to Fate. "You let him out of the tower now?"
"I was curious to see if you would try to dissuade him." Replied Fate.
"Hold up." The heroes turned to Shayera. "Before Golden Boy teleports him into the sun, I want to try talking to him." She spread her wings and flew off.
"Shayera!" shouted Green Lantern, but she was gone.
It wasn't hard for Shayera to find Grundy; he was pushing a building, though for what reason, she couldn't tell.
"Grundy!" she yelled. Grundy turned towards her with a glare, but Shayera stepped towards him. "It's me; remember, Bird-Nose?" she referred to what Grundy had always called her.
Instead of recognizing her, like she'd hoped, Grundy grabbed Shayera and slammed her into a wall. Dazed, Shayera could only watch as Grundy lifted an arm to crush her, but a large, brown hand grabbed Grundy's limb and throw him into the air.
"Pick on someone your own size!" growled Humongosaur.
In response, Grundy grabbed Humongosaur's tail and hurled him several blocks away. With a groan, Humongosaur picked himself up, twisted the Ultimatrix dial, then slapped it.
"ULTIMATE HUMONGOSAUR!" he charged back into the fray, where he saw Superman and Supergirl punch Grundy on either side of his head, knocking him back a step. Dr. Fate flew in and blasted the zombie with bolts of mystic power, while Aquaman slashed at him with his hook. Green Lantern joined the fight, blasting at the same time as Ultimate Humongosaur's energy cannons.
"What's happened to him?" asked Shayera about Grundy.
"I'm sorry," said Dr. Fate, "I sense nothing of the Grundy we know within that shell; he is nothing but rage!"
Then it is time I brought this to an end.
Amazo raised a hand, which was surrounded by a golden aura. Shayera jumped in front of the android.
"No! Don't hurt him!"
Amazo moved her aside with telekinesis, then began to bombard Grundy with unquantifiable power. The other heroes moved back to avoid getting atomized.
In my travels through space, I've attained mastery of forces all but incomprehensible to humans. I… wait.
Instead of falling in defeat, Grundy seemed to be getting larger!
Something is wrong; the creature is somehow feeding on my energies! He adds my power to his own!
With a telepathic cry, Amazo fell back, only to be caught by Ultimate Humongosaur.
My presence here puts you all at risk; I will retreat several light-years' distance until I can determine how to counter this effect.
In a flash of golden light, Amazo vanished, leaving only a small wisp of smoke behind. The heroes stared at the smoke for a moment, looked at each other, then charged Grundy. Superman punched him across the face, only to be knocked to the ground by Grundy's fist. Supergirl flew feet-first into Grundy's stomach, but she was grabbed by the face and thrown across the water, skipping like a stone. Ultimate Humongosaur tackled him like a football player, crashing through several buildings until Grundy pushed back, ending up at the place they'd started.
"Tell us something, Doc." Green Lantern said to Fate.
"Grundy was revived with Chaos magic," explained Fate, "a cumulative with no known upper limit. My magics are as useless as Amazo's technology."
"Then I say we take him out the old-fashioned way." Declared Vixen. She ran to an enormous statue and, using her animal strength and claws, began to tear great gouges out of the stone. Seeing what she was doing, the others led Grundy to the right place, then Ultimate Humongosaur rammed the statue with his shoulder. The statue fell right on top of the zombie, and for the first time since the fight began, it was quiet.
As Supergirl hopped onto the rubble of the statue, Superman shook his head.
"No way it's that easy."
"Sure it is," argued Supergirl, "the android half-fried him with the cosmic thing; all we had to do was seal the de-agh!" She was interrupted when Grundy burst out of the rubble, grabbing Supergirl by the throat and ankles.
Ultimate Humongosaur fired a volley of energy from his cannons. "Put her down!" he barked.
"You heard the man!" Shayera gave an avian cry as she slammed her mace, crackling with energy, into Grundy's side; for the first time, the zombie gave a roar of pain, then fell to his knees. Superman crashed into him, causing Grundy to lose his grip on Supergirl. Ultimate Humongosaur caught her and gently put her down.
As Grundy landed on the ground, Shayera approached him, mace in hand.
"Don't make me do this, Grundy!" she begged.
Grundy only stared at her, drool pouring from his mouth, before he roared and charged again. Shayera spun around his attack and slammed her mace into his back. Grundy gave another roar of pain, but attacked again. Again and again, Shayera swung her mace, and each time she did, Grundy became weaker. Finally, Shayera took to the sky, then dove, striking Grundy as hard as she could. The zombie was knocked through the street and into the sewer below.
The heroes approached the large hole Shayera had created; Lantern swung a light generated from his ring.
"I can't see him." He declared after a moment.
"Neither can I," said Superman, "there must be lead in those old sewer pipes."
"Guy tends to leave a trail," said Supergirl, "we'll find him…"
"And then Pretty-Polly here can bash him with her magic mace." finished Vixen.
"Why does it hurt him?" asked Shayera, as she looked at her weapon curiously.
"It's made of Nth-metal," explained Fate, "your people's technology was built specifically to repel magical creatures; it disrupts the magic that animates him. The creature knows only rage and seeks only oblivion; your mace may be the one thing that can grant him peace."
"What are you saying?" asked Green Lantern.
"Your favorite movie is Old Yeller, you know exactly what he's saying." Shayera looked down at her feet. "Is this my destiny? To be a destroyer? To betray yet another friend?"
"It's not that simple," said Fate, "it never was."
"Hey!" everyone turned to Vixen. "How about we discuss it for another couple of hours; that way, he's sure to get away."
"Only you have the power to put that creature out of its misery," said Aquaman to Shayera, "to stop it before it hurts anyone else."
Shayera looked at her mace, fear and uncertainty written all over her face. Green Lantern stepped up to her.
"You don't have to do it Shayera," he said, "I'll do it for you; give me the mace."
For a moment, Shayera stared at him, then her face hardened with resolve. "Forget it, John; he was my friend, it's my responsibility." She closed her eyes. "I'll do it."
"Not alone." The others turned to Ultimate Humongosaur. "You need someone to find him, first." He slapped the Ultimatrix dial, turning into Humongosaur, then slapped it again.
"BLITZWOLFER!" In front of them stood what looked like a werewolf with a four-pronged jaw, the Ultimatrix dial on his chest.
"Are you sure, Ben?" asked Supergirl.
Blitzwolfer turned to Fate. "Are you absolutely sure that nothing can be done to help him?"
Fate nodded. "It is merely an empty husk that desires its own destruction. There is nothing inside; no mind, no emotion, save for rage, no… soul."
Blitzwolfer sighed. "Then I'm sure."
Without another word, the two jumped in after Grundy.
…
For half an hour, the two aliens walked wordlessly through the sewers, their way illuminated by the glow from Shayera's mace, only stopping when Blitzwolfer sniffed the air for Grundy's scent.
"You don't have to do this, Ben," Shayera finally said, "I already said that I can take care of this; Grundy was my friend, after all."
Blitzwolfer shook his head. "And I already told you, you need my help to find him, besides; Grundy might be your friend, but you're my friend."
Shayera stared at him for a moment, then nodded. "Thank you."
Blitzwolfer froze, then started sniffing the air. "That way." He said, pointing. They ran down the next tunnel, and found Solomon Grundy. He was slumped against the wall, panting heavily. He stared at them, then started to growl.
"Shh, it's okay." Shayera gently whispered, "I know what you want; what you need."
Grundy seemed to understand her intentions and relaxed. Blitzwolfer looked down; he knew what was coming next.
"Close your eyes."
Grundy did so.
Shayera raised the mace.
…
On the surface, while a crowd of news crews and civilians were gathering, two of the heroes were pacing; both Green Lantern and Supergirl were worried about someone important to them.
"They've been down there too long!" announced Supergirl.
"She's right," said Lantern, "we should go in after them."
Just before they did so, Shayera flew up out of the hole, while Blitzwolfer followed with a bounding leap. The other heroes rushed to them, but they said nothing, their heads were lowered.
"It's over." Was all Shayera said, Blitzwolfer affirming with a nod.
The others lowered their heads, in respect to the fallen. Shayera moved away, and the reporters began to bombard her with questions.
"Hawkgirl!" one asked, "Do you think today's acts can possibly make up for your complicity in the Thanagarian invasion of Earth?"
"Do you have a comment on your dismissal from the Justice League?" another asked.
"Hawkgirl was never dismissed from the Justice League," said Green Lantern, as he and the other heroes caught up to her, "she can come back whenever she likes." Shayera stared at him in shock, while he shrugged. "I recused myself because… well, you know; anyway, Superman broke the tie."
Superman smiled when Shayera turned to him. "I believe in second chances. I believe in redemption. But mostly," he said as he placed his hand on her shoulder, "I believe in my friends."
"Traitor!" the heroes turned to see several people cursing at her and throwing other insults; apparently, some people didn't want to give the same second chances as Superman.
"Hey, back off!" snapped Green Lantern.
"Yeah," said Blitzwolfer, "she doesn't have to take that from you!"
"Yes I do." The two turned to Shayera, "But it's okay; I guess I deserve some of that."
As she walked off, a hand grabbed hers; it belonged to the little girl she'd saved earlier.
"Thank you, Miss Angel." The girl said, a smile on her face.
Shayera gave a smile back, then felt a hand on her shoulder.
"You deserve that, too." Said Ben.
Finally, as the sun started to rise, the Leaguers went home.
First the Ultimen, then Grundy! How many characters does JLU want to kill off! I mean, seriously, this episode was "Old Yeller" with superheroes. I think that this was the first time I ever cried over the death of a zombie.
Still, Shayera's back, and I always liked her; she had that cynical veteran feel to her that just made her so enjoyable to watch.
And, yeah, this episode didn't focus on Ben as much, but I liked this episode so much that I just had to put it in as a chapter, but I threw Ben and Kara in because I felt like it.
Don't expect a whole lot more chapters for at least a couple of days, probably; I want to spend some more time on my Bioshock story, which will have more chapters out soon. See you then!
Manamuffin! Doo doo, doo doo doo!