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Broken Mirror (5/5)
A Justice League Unlimited Story
by BillA1
Copyright August 2007
Rating: (PG-13)
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CHAPTER FIVE
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In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down or cut him
'til he cried out in his anger and his shame
"I am leaving, I am leaving," but the fighter still remains.
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(The next day)
Dennis listened in horror as Kimmy told him about Batman's visit last night. A visit from Batman could only mean one thing -- that he was on to her...on to them. Surely, Batman had to know that the Cooper's Hawk project was officially halted. But Kimmy had been so set on getting revenge on Hawkgirl -- or whatever the Thanagarian called herself now days -- that he and Kimmy had continued to work on it without Dorian's knowledge.
Now he regretted that. He thought they had reduced the side-effects of the drug, but Kimmy's continued obsession with using it was causing him some concern. She seemed fixated on getting vengeance to the exclusion of everything else.
She was pacing in her living room, mumbling under her breath while Dennis could only sit on the sofa and watch. Finally, Dennis stood and stepped into Kimmy's path. She stopped, looked at him like she didn't know him and then walked around him. He grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around to face him. Slowly, a look of recognition came across her face as he said, "Listen to me, Kimmy. I love you, but you've got to stop this. I think we need to start monitoring the side effects more aggressively."
She growled, "Say it! You think it's driving me mad."
Dennis let her go. "I didn't say that," he said defensively. "I don't think you're mad, but it's starting to take longer than twelve hours for you to recover. Listen to me. You had a visit from Batman last night. He must be on to you. Think about what he said. He told you to deliver a message to Dorian. From what I've heard about him, Batman delivers his own messages. I think those words were to you, not Dorian."
Kimmy stared at him like she was trying to process not just the words, but their actual meaning. Finally she said, "Batman and I have history because of my father. I don't know how he knew I worked with Dorian, but it doesn't matter. I need Hawkgirl to appear one more time, then I promise, regardless of what happens, I won't take any more of the stuff. Okay?"
Dennis noticed the emphasis on the 'okay' as if she was asking permission. But Dennis knew she really wasn't. She was going to do whatever she wanted to do whether he concurred or not. His brain said 'don't agree with her' but his heart said 'help her again.'
"Okay, one more time," he said softly. "Because you promised. Look, there's a jewelry store on the corner of Fifth and Ripper Streets that will give you an easy getaway."
"No," she said as she sat down on the sofa. "These robberies aren't getting it done. Hawkgirl has to kill someone and I know who it has to be."
Dennis' eyes widened in disbelief. "What?!?"
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(two hours later)
Hall had reported that the Ventris woman had had no visitors; at least, none that had flown in the window. Batman adjusted the flame under the Bunsen burner. He was working on an antidote in the science lab at the Metrotower based on the notes he'd seen when he visited Mercury Labs.
"Hand me the nitrate," he said to Shayera.
"Here," she said as she handed him the container he asked for. "Do you think this will work?"
"Based on the notes I saw," he said, "I should be able to replicate the mutagen antidote for the Cooper's Hawk DNA splicing." He paused and added the nitrate to the flask on the burner, then shook his head. "The notes indicated they created two variations of the mutagen: one temporary, one permanent. The temporary one has all the side effects. The permanent one has none."
Satisfied with the chemical results he took the flask off the burner and set it aside. He prepared the mutagen vials. Suddenly there was a knock on the lab door.
Shayera raised her eyebrows. "Expecting someone?"
Batman shook his head and Shayera went to the door. A civilian worker gave Shayera an envelope. She looked at it and then closed the lab door after thanking the worker.
She watched as Batman loaded the vials, now containing the anti-mutagen, into an injector gun and then gave him the envelope when he was finished. "It's clean. The staff scanned it," she said.
He took the packet and looked at it. It was addressed:
'Batman - regarding Hawkgirl'.
He opened the envelope and silently read the letter. After a moment, Shayera said, "Fan mail from some flounder?"
Batman ignored her, reflecting that she'd been hanging around the Flash too long, picked up a pencil from the lab table and wrote on the envelope. Then he gave the letter and its envelope to Shayera and re-inspected the injector as she read.
"Are you sure about this? It could be trap," she pointed out after reading the paper.
"Could be, but I don't think so. This makes too much sense. Have Hawkman meet us at the address I wrote on the envelope tonight at 7:45."
Shayera nodded in acknowledgement and started toward the door. She stopped suddenly and turned. "Wait! You called Carter 'Hawkman.' Are you getting sentimental?" She grinned.
Batman placed the injector in his utility belt and flashed a faint smile. "Don't you have a call to make?"
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Dorian yawned. He was tired but the project was just about finished and ready for him to transfer his research to another facility. After years of working for the Government, Dorian thought he'd finally figured it out. No one in the Government ever does a 'cradle to grave' project. The work he and his staff did on DNA augmentation would be transferred to another facility where someone else would work on it and advance the technology.
He glanced at his watch. It was 9 p.m. But this would be his last night working late, at least, on this particular project. He'd been told that he would get another project in a week or so and he was excited about the continued work.
Dorian sat at his computer entering his final notes. Every now and then, he'd look up and see his assistant, Cuvier, glancing at the clock or at the video cameras. Finally, Curvier stood and said, "Doc? Do you have a problem if I open the window? I just need to get a little air."
Dorian nodded and watched as Cuvier opened the window a couple of inches. Cuvier was a good assistant and Dorian knew he was lucky to have him. His other assistant, Ventris, was another story. She started off great and just sort of lost interest in her work over the last year.
Dorian recalled that first night he met Miss Ventris. Once they were in her room that night, she was singularly focused on trying to convince him that the Cooper's Hawk should be added to the project list. When he questioned her as to why that particular bird, she produced charts and graphs showing that the wing spread from that bird could proportional support human weight for extended flight.
Charts and graphs. He could laugh about it now, but at the time he didn't think it was so funny. He hadn't been with a woman in years and he left the bar with the impression that she was prepared to help him recall what one felt like. Then she gave him a presentation on birds.
Birds!
The word 'disappointment' didn't come close to describe what he felt at the moment she showed him the first chart.
But she was a smart, dedicated and bright woman singularly focused on the Cooper's Hawk. After the bird project was halted, that woman seemed to disappear, replaced by someone who no longer seemed interested in whether or not the project succeeded.
Dorian sent his computer notes to the printer, stood up and stretched. He glanced at Cuvier who yawned before retrieving Dorian's notes from the machine.
"Want these notes filed now, doc?" Dorian asked.
Dorian smiled. "Yeah. Tomorrow we'll prepare the final report and turn over all data to the agency." He paused and took a deep breath. "It feels good to finally complete this project. Don't you think so?"
"I do, Doc," Cuvier said returning the smile. "I just wish Kimmy could have been here tonight. Wish she hadn't called in sick."
The smile faded from Dorian's face. "She's missed a lot of work lately. You know Mister Cuvier, I'm sure I'll be offered another project soon. How would you like to be my permanent assistant?"
Cuvier's face lit up. "Wow. Sure, Doc. I know Kim will be excited too when I tell her."
Dorian frowned. "Mister Cuvier, I don't think you completely understand. I only need one assistant and it will not be Miss Ventris. Now, Cuvier, are you interested in the position or not?"
Before Cuvier could answer, Hawkgirl smashed the window open with a crash, flew into the room and landed next to Dorian. She glanced at the cameras and approached Dorian, raising her mace.
Curvier shouted "No!" as he jumped between Hawkgirl and Dorian. Dorian thought that Hawkgirl seemed confused for a moment before she hit Cuvier with her mace. Mister Cuvier hit the floor hard and slumped in a heap. She turned and raised her mace to hit Dorian when a batarang with a line attached to it, wrapped around the mace and yanked it from her hand. Both Hawkgirl and Dorian turned to see Batman in the room.
"Give it up Kimberly! It's over," Batman said in the menacing voice Dorian hadn't heard in years.
Kimberly? Kimberly Ventris?
The winged woman, dived to the floor to retrieve the mace, apparently surprising Batman because the line slipped out of his hand. She then ran to the window and leaped out. Batman ran to the window behind her. Dorian saw him take something out of his cape or belt, he wasn't sure which it was, and yell out the window, "Hawkman!"
Dorian watched Batman toss whatever it was he had out the window, before he went to check on Cuvier.
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Carter watched as the fake Hawkgirl flew out of the window and headed south. Shayera, who was circling overhead, followed the faker unseen. Batman came to the window and yelled, "Hawkman!" Then he tossed the anti-mutagen injector to him. Carter caught the device and took off after the fake Hawkgirl and Shayera.
They had a huge head start on him and it took all of his concentration and effort to catch up with them. "Shayera," he yelled as he held up the mutagen device so she could see it. He watched in awe as Shayera dived down on the faker like an owl hunting a field mouse.
No. It was more like a Peregrine Falcon hunting a sparrow.
"Why don't you take on a real Thanagarian, you fraud?" Shayera shouted as she hit the faker in the back like a bullet.
The phony screamed from the blow as she was forced down, but then she spun around to face Shayera, her fake wings still flapping. "You killed my mother," she screamed as she swung her mace at Shayera. "I'll kill you!"
Shayera easily dodged the wild swing and Carter was surprised that Shayera kept her mace clipped to her belt and didn't use it for defense.
"I don't want to hurt you, but you're leaving me no choice," Shayera said as she flew over the top of the faker's last swing and hit her, knocking her out. Carter caught the falling phony and injected her with the antidote.
As he landed with the unconscious woman, he and Shayera watched, in fascination, as the woman's wings disappeared within minutes. Carter set the woman down on the ground as Batman arrived on the scene. Batman bent down and gently cradled the woman's head in his lap.
He tenderly removed her helmet and red-haired wig to reveal the blonde-haired Kimberly Ventris. Carter picked up the helmet and offered it to Shayera. She shook her head and Carter dropped the mask. It hit the ground with a 'clank' just as the police arrived.
Shayera then picked up the Ventris' woman's mace and offered it to Carter. He was surprised to find out it was lightweight aluminum, similar to a baseball bat. Batman gently assisted the police in putting the woman on a stretcher and then he turned to Shayera. "Thank you for not hurting her."
Shayera gently smiled. "She didn't know she had a friend looking out for her." She paused and looked Batman in the eyes. "If she did, she'd tell you 'thank you.'" The smile Batman gave her was so faint and so fleeting that if he'd blinked at that moment, Carter would have missed it.
Carter was struck with a tremendous sense of sadness as he watched Batman stare at the police ambulance as it drove away. Batman turned and started to walk away, then he stopped, turned back and said. "Good work, Hawkman!" Then he fired a grapple in the air and swung away.
Carter's smile didn't leave his face the rest of the week.
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To be concluded
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