"We've been looking everywhere for you guys!" Shayera shouted as she and Green Arrow led the way out of the poachers' warehouse and out to the Javelin. "When you didn't return from the Legion's headquarters, we began to worry-"
"-And clearly, we had every reason to," Arrow added, looking over his shoulder to Superman and Flash walking behind him, before closing his eyes and wearily rubbing his head.
"When we received Batman's message, we didn't expect to find you guys like this," Shayera said worriedly as she looked down at Bruce, and stared at John, riding on his back: focusing empathetically on his injured wing which hung partially open, and watching Bruce try to hide the pained limp in his stride. Though neither could speak, she watched as Lantern proudly tried to reposition his wing and, after exchanging a quick glance with Batman, she knew not to even question his paw; instead she simply rolled her eyes and smirked, "I guess you guys had things more under control than we thought."
"And let me tell ya," added Green Arrow as he opened the bay doors of the Javelin and prepared to board, flexing his fingers as he walked. "The minute you guys are able to talk again, I want to hear the entire story!" he laughed, speaking to Flash.
"What I wanna know is," John said to the others as they entered the jet. "How you two were able to find us so quickly."
"-Arrow managed to intercept your message while flying us out of Legion headquarters," a voice answered from the plane's hangar.
"Booster?" Flash asked as he and Diana curiously entered the Javelin, startled by his voice and confused by how he was able to understand what Lantern had said; but, making their way onto the plane, their answer was embarrassedly waiting for them, grudgingly slumped in the jet's seats. "No way!" Flash shouted, both surprised and amused by the sight of Booster Gold and Vigilante- both covered in growing pelts of fur as they slowly began to succumb to the transforming effects of the Legion's splicing serum.
"Howdy…," Vigilante said shyly, with a submissive wince as Wonder Woman and Superman entered the hangar and stared at the sandy brown and ashen grey fur that slowly continued to spread across his face and hands. Amused, Diana looked from the cowboy-turned-coyote, to Booster Gold, who vainly complained to Skeets about how much he was beginning to shed on his suit. Not even wasting time indulging Booster's superficial whining, John, Bruce, and Clark turned to Shayera and waited for her to explain what had happened while they were gone.
"Looks like we're also in for an interesting story," Diana laughed to Flash, smiling as they both found a seat on the floor and prepared for the flight back to the Watchtower.
"I think we'd better hear about this now," Superman corrected as Vigilante and Booster Gold- as well as Shayera and Arrow- were bombarded with the shocked, and obviously angry outbursts and scolding of Green Lantern and Batman.
"You went to the Legion's headquarters!?" Lantern shouted as he flew towards Shayera and landed on the Javelin's control panel. Without giving them the chance to reply, Batman stood in front of Arrow, his amber eyes narrowed as he watched the archer weakly slide down into his seat, trying his best to ignore the wolf's accusatory stare.
"Aren't you going to answer…?" Bruce growled suspiciously. "We both know you can." The black wolf scolded, his disciplinary gaze switching from Green Arrow to Shayera. "You do know what he said."
"You guys got spliced too?" Flash shouted in disbelief. "Aw man! Now how're we gonna get back to the Watchtower?"
"Would everyone relax!?" Hawk Girl shouted defensively, staring at Batman as she pushed Lantern off of the controls at took a seat in the pilot's chair. "We're fine. Booster and Vigilante were the only ones hit with Grodd and Luthor's splicing syringes. Arrow and I are fine-"
"-Then how do you explain these?" Batman asked condescendingly, as he removed one of Green Arrow's gloves with his teeth, allowing several black and grey feathers to fall from his fingers! Startled, everyone looked from Arrow to Shayera worriedly.
"What else happened when you confronted the Legion?" Superman asked, demanding answers.
"We broke into the headquarters using the coordinates you left in the Watchtower's transporter bay," Arrow started. "Once we got there, we started searching for you guys-"
"-Which meant finding Luthor and Grodd." Shayera added forcefully.
"You went straight to them?" Lantern choked out, flabbergasted by Shayera's rash decision. "Well, it's obvious you guys wanted to join us here!" he said scoldingly.
"-But we weren't injected with any of the splicing serum. Before we could find Luthor, Booster and Vigilante were hit from behind, while Copperhead and Cheetah attacked Arrow and I-"
"-Copperhead!" Arrow shouted suddenly, as if he had been blasted with a sudden idea.
"What about him?" Flash asked, confused.
"While we were looking for you guys, Shayera and I got into a scrap with Cheetah and Copperhead," Green Arrow explained as he began to roll up his left sleeve. "During the fight, that freak bit me…" he said as he revealed the two puncture wounds left in his bicep from Copperhead's fangs.
Curious, Superman approached, and joined Batman in his examination of the Emerald Archer's arm. "So, instead of poisoning you, like his bites normally would, this time he managed to inject you with the splicing mutagen," the white lion deduced. Surprised, Green Arrow looked from Superman, to the wound in his arm, disgusted, and nervous.
"And what about you?" John questioned as he landed on Shayera's shoulder and began to search her arms for any bite marks.
"Would you relax!?," Shayera snapped, lazily blinking her eyes as she flitted her fingers in John's face, trying to shoo him off of her shoulder. "I'm fine! That creep wouldn't dare sink his filthy fangs into me."
"And Cheetah?" Diana asked suspiciously.
"Never laid a claw on me," Hawk Girl replied arrogantly, while showing her scratch-free arms to her friends; suddenly, she grew silent, as she realized she had replied to Diana's question.
"Are you sure about that?" Batman asked skeptically, as he studied Shayera's fingernails, and then directed the team's attention to her graying hair.
"You too?" Shouted Booster Gold, his attention briefly drawn away from the bushy black fur that covered his clawed hands, with which, he continued to poke and prod his now cold, wet nose. "Skeets, we're doomed!"
"But… how-" Shayera's confused questioning was cut short when Batman drew her attention away from her thickening gray and white hair, and down to the several small scratch marks on her thigh. Realizing that she had been exposed to the splicing mutagen, Shayera looked back at her hand and studied her clawed fingernails; she then looked over her shoulder and stared in horror at her wings, once large and full, now only a half the size they once were!
"It looks like you weren't exposed to as much of the serum as everyone else. Which means it'll take longer for the change to take effect on you," Superman explained, trying to calm his clearly distressed friend. "In that time, we have to get out of here, before you four get any worse…" he continued, looking from Green Arrow- who'd begun to count, and run his fingers along the various feathers now lining his arms- to Vigilante and Booster, as Flash tried to calm the shaggy hero- franticly spinning in circles, staring down at his black-ringed tail.
"We need to get out of here," Batman directed, snapping Shayera out of her stupor. "Now!" Looking back at her still-shrinking wings, and down at her hands- now covered in small black freckles and spots- before clenching her fists and turning towards the Javelin's controls.
"And I know exactly where we're going…"
*A/N: Well, that was the newest chapter. Sorry for the wait. Hopefully this was enough for you to forgive me! :D Hope you liked it, as we're reaching the end of the story. Let's hope the League can get out of this one before things get any worse! And as always, please leave a review!