Fight or Flight

by Caeci

There are three things that Thanagarians treasure above all else, making a name for themselves in battle, battle, and family. Hawkgirl has been living on Earth for seven years when she and her fellow "sidekicks" discover a clone of Superman and form a team of their own. She's not sure how they ended up where they are, but she does know that she's in for a hell of of a fight.

28. Dire Straits

HOO BOY IT HAS BEEN A BIT, HUH

I feel like I keep using the 'this chapter was difficult to write' excuse a lot lately, but seriously, I got to a certain point, hit a brick wall, and then didn't write more for like a month. I really wanted to do this chapter justice for two reasons, one, this is one of my favorite episodes, and two, well, you'll see. Let's just say it was challenging to write out the conversation exactly as I was picturing it.

Also, thank everyone who reviewed over on Fight or Flight Side Stories yelling at me about the cliffhanger for the latest multi-chapter arc I started, your investment fills me with great joy.

This chapter's a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, so grab yourself a warm drink, maybe a blanket, put on some nice music, and prepare yourselves.

EDIT AS OF 1/11/2022: An entire section of dialogue has been added on the advice of long-time readers Featherboi and Stopdropandroll. Seriously, thanks both of you for the suggestion, I have no idea what I was thinking. New content begins with 'Starting the explanation-' and ends with 'it's been the longest forty eight hours of my life.'

---

ST. ROCH, LOUISIANA
NOVEMBER 5TH, 2010
19: 12 CST

Finding herself in a so-called 'Nightmare Scenario' was becoming an occurrence a little too often for Ski'Lira's comfort. She was all for challenging battles that tested her prowess to its full limits, but even she could only go so far. First there was being captured by CADMUS and nearly dissected and cloned, then the attack on the Mountain that had nearly resulted in all of their deaths, the mental simulation she still had no memory of, and most recently fighting a literal fear demon in a domain of its own creation.

But the last thing she'd expected was for the entire adult population of the planet to just... disappear.

At this point, she was reconsidering her scale for exactly how to gauge the severity of the situations she found herself in, because it was escalating far quicker than she could ever have expected.

The entire situation reeked of magic, both figuratively and literally. Ski'Lira had realized the true danger of the situation their world had fallen into fairly rapidly, and sprung immediately into action. Mere minutes after her parents and Uncle Hal had vanished before her during a family dinner, she'd geared up and flew straight towards St. Roch's most often-utilized community center. On the way, she called out to every child she saw, directing them towards the center and aiding them in getting younger siblings and other children out of cars. An entire school bus worth of preteens that had been driving back from an out of state baseball game had proved to be excellent temporary helpers, more than happy to yell at other kids and herd them to safety.

She was more than a little relieved to see that she wasn't the only one to identify the community center as a good safe place, a trickle of children and teens making their way into the building of their own volition by the time she reached it with her small army. The crowds parted easily at her arrival in the massive gymnasium, desperately chattering amongst themselves and being driven close to a panicked frenzy. Snatching up a discarded megaphone from the floor (no doubt dropped by a coach mid-game), she stepped up onto a folding chair to make sure she was seen as well as heard.

"Listen up." She ordered, amplified voice bringing the crowd to a hush. "You're all going to keep calm and listen to my instructions, to make this as easy for everyone as possible. I'm going to organize you into groups-"

"Hey, why do you get to be in charge?!" A scrawny teen in an oversized hoodie demanded, but before he could outline his reasons for protest, a much taller and significantly more muscular teen elbowed him pointedly in the ribs.

"Shut up." The brawnier boy hissed, giving Hawkgirl a smile of encouragement.

"Thank you. As I was saying, we're going to split into teams. First priority is Medical Team in the Northeast corner of the gym," She pointed to said corner. "Anyone certified in First Aid or CPR, as well as pre-med students. I'm sure there are at least a few in this city." A few older kids broke away from the group already, making their way to their newly designated station. "Second team in Southwest corner, Child Care. Babysitters, those with younger siblings, if you think you can handle taking care of infants and small children, do it."

One teenage girl who was carrying an infant and another boy with twin toddlers clinging to him led the way, the group cutting down significantly as all of the younger children were brought away from the crowd.

"Team Three, Transport, those with valid licenses and access to a car, and Team Four Search and Rescue. Fourteen years old and older who won't get lost, either with GPS on their phones or knowledge of the street layout. Both Teams gather by the front doors and wait for me to provide further instructions. Anyone who cannot or is not willing to join a team, stay in the Northwest and Southeast corners of the gym. Keep calm, and don't run off. Do I make myself clear?"

There was a burst of assent, as the crowd split itself off as Hawkgirl stepped down off her temporary perch.

"Excuse me, Hawkgirl?"

Turning, she saw a trio of teens about her age and older, looking solemn, but determined. All three bore lanyards and ID cards that designated them as volunteers at the center.

"My name is Marisol, this is my sister Mia and our friend Hugo. We figured you'd be going with the Search and Rescue team, so we thought we'd offer to take over administrative duties here."

Ski'Lira examined the trio with a critical eye. "You sure you can handle it?"

"Positive." Hugo affirmed. "You can count on us, Hawkgirl."

"Good." Turning the megaphone back on, she sent out a message. "Marisol, Mia, and Hugo are in charge in my absence. Listen to them as you would me. If you don't I will know."

Marisol cleared her throat awkwardly. "A little threatening, but it does the job I guess. Thank you."

"Before you go, here!" Rummaging in the pocket of her jean shorts, Mia presented her phone. "The code is 3317. Both Marisol and Hugo's contacts are in here. So you can call us while you're out there, and we can call you if we need to. Oh, and you can give the number to the other search and rescue people!"

"Smart." Hawkgirl took the phone, tucking it into the safety of her boot. A heartbeat later, she found herself slightly startled as her comm burst into life.

"Hawkgirl, this is Robin, do you read me?"

Reaching up to her ear, she activated the microphone, turning slightly away from the civilian trio for the illusion of privacy. "Loud and clear. Guessing it's worldwide?"

"Got it in one. You okay?"

"Working. Keep me updated."

"Will do. Stay safe."

Judging by his tense tone, he was just as stressed about the situation as she was (which was apparently a global threat, so... fun). There was something slightly heartwarming that he'd called to check in on her well-being.

"Everything okay?" Marisol asked tentatively.

"Just a friend checking in." Hawkgirl answered, preparing to leave. "Let me know if there's any specific supplies you need, check in with Medical first. Maybe charge some of the kids with carrying food from the kitchens."

"Will do." Hugo gave a snappy salute before striding towards the Medical corner.

"Miss Hawkgirl?" A new voice gave Ski'Lira pause, and she turned to see a small gaggle of young girls, the eldest no older than eleven, all looking up at her expectantly. "We wanna help!"

Sending a slightly exasperated look over her shoulder at Marisol and Mia, Hawkgirl blew out a short breath before crouching down. "You can help by making big signs for the stations, to help newcomers find their places. I'm sure one of these two can help you find art supplies."

Excitedly chattering to themselves at the prospect, they flocked over to the two volunteers, leaving Ski'Lira free to leave after giving Marisol a final nod of appreciation.

"Thank you for waiting." She greeted the two gathered teams waiting by the front doors.

It was a simple concept, Transport would follow the Search and Rescue teams to help carry anyone injured or young, said teams divided based on cardinal directions and divvied up into quartets. Access to vehicles also make it easier to ferry additional supplies to the center when they were inevitably needed. Once everyone was given their proper orders and her temporary phone number distributed, she let them loose, taking to the skies herself and preparing for a grueling night.

H

The system she'd set in place as early as possible turned out to be her largest saving grace, as every new rescued person meant a new possible member for one of the groups. It was like a pyramid of dominoes, one recruits two, which goes on to recruit five more. At the end of an hour, the gymnasium was packed to the brim, while remaining an efficiently running machine.

They'd even gotten word from several other centers and schools that similar triage stations were springing up all over the city. From her understanding (based upon a fast-paced phone call with Hugo while she was frantically ushering kids away from a dangerously smoking car she'd just pulled them from), it was the volunteer trio that was responsible. They'd called friends, other people they knew from events and school, and were basically coordinating a city-wide emergency response all by themselves.

She wouldn't be surprised it they ended up in politics when they were older, because holy hell were they exceeding her expectations. At the very least, once this whole ordeal was over, she would make sure the trio, and everyone else who had gone above and beyond the call of duty, would receive the recognition they rightfully deserved.

Knowing that the administrative pressure was largely off her shoulders by this point, she could focus on what she did best, rescuing civilians from the inevitable dangers this magical curse had wrought.

It was almost fascinating how the mere removal of adults could result in a copious number of common disasters at once. Car accidents as vehicles lost their drivers, fires as stoves lost their minders, gas leaks and electrical issues as their maintenance workers disappeared mid-repair, broken fire hydrants, rampant vandalism and thefts, and even more opportunistic crimes from unruly children using the opportunity to cause more chaos and destruction.

More than a few bands of older teens had received stern lectures that at least cowed them long enough for her to escort a scared group of kids to the nearest transport team member. To her surprise, a good number of people she recognized as being members of local gangs (more than a few of which she was directly responsible for arresting) had eagerly offered their services for Transport and Search and Rescue. There were even a couple who'd been shepherded towards Medical, thanks to a surplus of first hand experience with emergency medical aid.

The temporary truce had been a bit of a saving grace, as she had more than enough to deal with as it was.

If Ski'Lira hadn't been thoroughly hardened by the years she'd already spent as a hero, seeing the worst humanity had to offer in abundance and the horrors she had witnessed, this night would have broken her.

It was as she was carefully cradling an infant she'd pulled from a car that had been practically crushed (the baby miraculously suffering only a few bruises) that her borrowed phone burst into life. Instead of the call she'd expected, the image of three all too familiar faces greeted her. A TV screen propped in a nearby shop window displayed the same video simultaneously. As she watched, she carefully removed the baby carrier from the backseat.

"Attention, children and teenagers of Earth. I am Aqualad. These are my friends Robin and Kid Flash."

"We are using Justice League tech to cast and stream to every TV, radio, computer, and smartphone on the planet." Robin continued, no doubt the technological sorcery his doing.

"We we know you must be scared and angry." Kid Flash's tone was low, assuring, lacking his usual dramatic flair. "We know with your parents missing, there's a temptation to run wild. But please, stay calm."

"We will find a way to bring the adults back." Aqualad assured. "But for now, the oldest among you must step up."

"Take care of your younger siblings. Take care of kids who have no one."

"Protect them."

"It is up to you."

Grim-faced, Ski'Lira quietly readjusted the baby's blanket to protect their fragile form from the night air, hooked the handle of the baby carrier into the crook of her arm, and started the trek on foot to the community center, not wanting to risk flying with the precious cargo. As she was fairly close, she didn't deem it necessary to flag down one of the wandering transports or another search and rescue team.

That decision turned out to be a fortuitous one. As she was walking, a five year old who had been hiding in the entryway of his apartment building had spotted her, flying out the door and latching onto her leg while insisting she go back to get his little sister. Apparently they'd been hiding from the other teams, only trusting her on sight because he recognized her as 'one of the bird heroes mommy and daddy say are good!'.

His sister had been retrieved with little fuss and was now nestled in her other non-baby occupied arm, leaving her brother to walk alongside her, hand balled up in the hem of her shirt.

But that wasn't the end, not by a long-shot. Her sensitive senses picked up on the scent of blood along with muffled cries, a sound she'd become far too familiar with over the past hours. Setting the toddler down and sternly instructing her brother not to move, Ski'Lira readjusted her grip on the carrier and headed towards the nearby alleyway.

Her looming shadow triggered a huddle figure to press themselves further up against a dumpster. Said figure was a young girl, missing a shoe and blood staining the white sock on her other foot courtesy of an injured ankle.

"The community center's been set up as a safe station." Ski'Lira said succinctly. "Do you need me to carry you?"

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" The vehement refusal was only slightly unexpected. This wasn't the first one she'd encountered tonight who had denied initial help.

"There's food. And medical attention. That ankle looks painful."

"I'm not moving." The girl's eyes shot up to meet hers, filled with fire and a frown on her lips. "I'm fine."

It also brought attention to the fading bruise around her left eye.

Glancing back, Ski'Lira made sure that her other two charges were alright, and they were, patiently waiting at the mouth of an alley.

Letting out a long sigh, Ski'Lira folded herself down until she was sitting cross-legged on the ground, ever so carefully setting the carrier onto the ground, stroking the baby's forehead as they began to rouse from the sudden lack of movement, lulling them back to sleep. The last thing she wanted to deal with on top of a stubborn child was a wailing infant.

"What's your name?"

At first, she didn't think she'd receive an answer, until the girl uncurled herself ever so slightly. "My name's Molly Doyle. I'm nine."

"It's nice to meet you Molly. You can call me Hawkgirl."

"I know who you are." Molly snapped with a roll of her eyes, sounding almost offended that she thought she didn't know.

"Then you know that my only goal here is to help you. And I can't do that until you tell me why you don't want to come to the community center."

"Help, yeah right. Adults never help."

The bitter jaded tone this nine year old had adopted made Ski'Lira's teeth grit as she felt an all-too familiar tide of rage swelling within her. Not at the kid, never at the kid, but at whomever had made her feel this way.

"Fortunately for you, I'm not an adult."

That admission seemed to startle Molly, dark eyes widening in surprise. "You're... not? But you're so big?"

"Thank you. I'm sure you've noticed the lack of adults. They're all gone right now because of a spell. So if I were an adult..."

"You wouldn't be here." The girl filled in, relaxing ever so slightly more. For a moment, Hawkgirl thought she'd had her, until Molly suddenly tensed again. "But the Justice League'll fix it. So it doesn't matter, 'cause they'll be back anyway. I'm staying here where it's safe."

Chewing at her lip in thought, Ski'Lira evaluated how best to handle this particular situation and decided that honesty was the best way to go. "Probably. You feel safe here, then? From everyone?"

Giving an affirmative hum, Molly looked around the alley. "There are cats sometimes that let me pet them."

"More importantly, someone specific can't find you. Parents?"

Molly didn't say anything, but it was clear from her body language that Ski'Lira had guessed correctly at the situation, as much as she wished she was wrong.

"You might feel safe here now, but I think you'd be better somewhere warm and sheltered, where you can get food, and get that ankle looked at. Does it hurt?"

"I tripped. Hurts to move it."

"Molly..." Pausing for a moment, Ski'Lira met the girl's distrusting eyes as well as she was able. "I'd like to make a promise, no... a pinky promise." She amended. "One of my best friends taught me that pinky promises are very important. They can't be broken."

"No, they can't." Molly agreed with an easy confidence.

"Then I, Hawkgirl, pinky promise." She held out her pinky for emphasis. "That if Molly Doyle comes with me to the community center, I will do everything in my power to get her away from her parents when the adults come back, to somewhere she can feel safe all the time."

It was a waiting game then, as a wealth of emotions played on her youthful face, until she clenched her jaw and nodded to herself. Molly crept forward, linking her own much smaller finger with the Thanagarian's, careful to avoid the razor-sharp claw. "Pinky promise."

"Thank you, Molly."

Crisis successfully averted (and a whole new situation to deal with once this current nightmare was over), Ski'Lira stood back up and retrieved her other charges. Molly ended up on her back, baby carrier looped on one arm, toddler on the other, and five year old practically glued to her leg. The procession to the community center was slightly slow, but fortunately the distance wasn't far.

Once inside the busy gymnasium, she made a beeline for Medical, letting another girl carefully take Molly off of her back to be seen to. After another string of assurances to Molly that she was in good hands, Ski'Lira headed for the childcare corner. The two tiny siblings detached themselves, immediately coaxed away by the prospect of snacks and juice boxes.

In her absence the area had been decked out with blankets, makeshift playpens, and toys to entertain the little ones. She had no idea where they'd managed to scrounge up these things, but was impressed at the resourcefulness of the Child Care squad and whomever had been helping them accrue their collection.

Her arrival was quickly noticed by one of the primary caretakers, one of the oldest in the room that she recognized as being the burly guy who had spoken up for her at the beginning of this mess. It seemed like years ago, by this point, despite only having been a few hours.

"They should be fine." Ski'Lira said as she transferred over the baby carefully. "But you might want to get one of the medical kids to check them out, just in case. Car accident."

Frowning slightly, the older teen set down the carrier to extract the infant, already starting a cursory inspection of their well-being . "Will do." Just as she was about to leave once more, the teen cleared his throat. "Hey, do you want to sit down for a second?"

Turning back around to face him, she shot him an incredulous look. "I don't exactly have time for that right now."

"I get that, but you just... look tired." He offered, his initial burst of determination fading at her flat stare. "Five minutes couldn't hurt, right?"

Opening her mouth to vehemently deny her growing fatigue, she found herself suddenly remembering Constantine's warnings about self-destructive behavior. She'd been trying so hard lately to be better, but with this disaster situation she had nothing on her mind but going until she couldn't anymore. The only priority in her head had been protecting her city, as she was the only one around with enough power and experience to do more than an average civilian could.

Instead of verbally chewing him out for daring to tell her what to do (as was her first instinct), she unceremoniously dropped into an empty folding chair, her wings fully relaxing for the first time in hours. She vaguely registered that the guy had disappeared into the throng of children, only to reemerge a minute or so later with the infant given safely to someone else, and a bottle of water and a protein bar in hand.

He handed both items off to her with a grin. "Here. Pretty early on we were given an entire baseball team's worth of snacks."

"Thank you." She said with sincerity. "The ones in the green uniforms, right?"

"Yeah, have no idea what their team is called, but they're pretty enthusiastic."

It was while she was mid-chew that her comm crackled to life once more.

"Robin to Hawkgirl. Status?"

"Busy." She responded after swallowing a heavy bite of the protein bar. "I saw your message."

"I figured." Letting out a low sigh, she could practically see him running his hands through his unruly hair. "We have a lead. Magic, unsurprisingly."

"I never would have guessed." She deadpanned. "Get to the point, I have to get back to work."

"Look, I'm just going to cut straight to the chase. We're going up against magic users here, and we both know that you're invaluable to that. The Team needs you."

"No, you need me. I'm sure the others have no idea you're even talking to me right now."

Judging by his silence, she'd hit the nail right on the head. "Hawkgirl-"

"St. Roch needs me too. I'm sure you can handle it on your own."

Another pointed throat clear drew her attention to the burly teen, who looked somewhat sheepish at interrupting her. "Uh, Hawkgirl, if you're needed somewhere else... I'm sure we can handle ourselves. You've helped us get this far and, well... Greater good, and all that?"

This random stranger had a point, she guessed, as much as the thought pained her.

Inhaling, she closed her eyes, taking the moment to take another drink of water.

"... Sky?"

It was the quiet, almost desperate note in Dick's voice as he used her nickname that cut through her spiraling thought process.

"I know things aren't... things aren't okay, with the Team yet, but..."

"That doesn't matter." Her sudden insistence cut him off into a stunned silence. "None of that matters right now. You need my help? I'll be there as soon as I can."

Dick let out a relieved sigh. "That means a lot."

"It means that we're friends. See you soon." Hanging up abruptly, she just stared at the civilian for a moment, who shifted under her pensive gaze. "What's your name?"

"Leo, short for Leopold... You probably don't remember, but you saved me and a friend from a mugger a few months ago."

"Leo, give this back to Mia." She held out the borrowed phone for him to take. "Tell her and her sister that they're doing a great job and I trust they can keep this city from burning down in my absence. There's also a girl there, hurt ankle, her name is Molly Doyle. Check in with her for me? Tell her... Tell her I keep my promises."

"Molly Doyle. Got it. I will. And... thank you. For everything."

"Thanks are unnecessary for doing what's right." Satisfied her city would be left in capable hands, she headed back for the door, mentally changing her mindset from triage to preparing for battle.

H

MOUNT JUSTICE

"Recognized: Hawkgirl, B07."

Ski'Lira was unsurprising to see Zatanna again, no doubt she had been the primary force behind searching for the cause of all this madness. Focusing on the presence of the magician also had the added benefit of not having to acknowledge the looks she was receiving from Conner, Artemis, and M'Gann. Mere seconds after her emergence from the teleporter, Kaldur and Wally ran in from one of the hallways, no doubt summoned by the computer's announcement.

"Oh no. Hell no." Wally began, shaking his head. "What is she doing here?"

"She was invited." Robin defended. "By me."

"Why would you do that?" Artemis insisted, eyes narrowed with distaste. "Don't we have enough problems to deal with without..."

"A psycho Thanagarian who might try to kill us?" The speedster finished.

Tilting her head, Ski'Lira gave Robin a wordless look that screamed 'Told you so'.

"Look, I know things aren't... okay... with Hawkgirl right now." Trying his best to placate both sides, Dick placed himself between the two parties. "But the fact of the matter is we need her. Or are you forgetting that right here, right now, she's the only expert on fighting magic users?"

"We can handle it just fine." Crossing his arms, Conner averted his eyes from her, not even daring to glance in her direction anymore. "We don't need her here."

"Despite what you might believe, I'm not here for you." Straightening, Hawkgirl's wings flared out with indignation. "So I'm here to help if you like it or not."

A bright flash of light interrupted what was sure to be a shouting match of epic proportions, heralding the arrival of... Billy Batson? What the hell was Billy Batson doing here?

"It works!" The black haired boy exclaimed, grin practically blinding.

Stepping forward, Kaldur frowned. "Where did you come from? Who are you?" He demanded.

Billy whipped his head towards M'Gann. "Quick, read my mind!"

Complying immediately, the Martian's eyes glowed, only for her to gasp a moment later. "He's Captain Marvel?"

"He's what." Skylar deadpanned, immediately earning a sheepish look shot her way from the 'intruder'.

"Yeah," Wally scoffed. "And I'm Speedy Gonzalez. Look, just because he believes he's Cap-"

"Geez, Wally, do I really have to bring you nachos and pineapple juice to get on your good side?"

It went so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"Holy crap. He is Captain Marvel. Captain Marvel's been a kid this whole time?"

"Funny how that turned out." Stepping forward, Ski'Lira closed the distance between the two of them, kneeling down so she could meet him eye to eye (and also visually inspecting him for possible injury). "You aren't hurt?"

Cheeks reddening from embarrassment, Billy rubbed the back of his head. "I'm fine. And I promise I'll explain everything later, but more importantly, I can jump between the two worlds! I was just talking to Batman! They're real worried about you guys."

"Hello, Megan!" Slapping her forehead, M'Gann's face brightened with a smile. "Since he's technically an adult and a kid, he can hop back and forth! He can help us coordinate with the League."

"It seems we have a great deal of planning to do." Kaldur's tone was solemn, but now, they had more hope than ever of reverting everything back to normal.

H

ROANOKE ISLAND

The site of the ritual was suitably haunting, by witch standards. An orchard, branches bare of leaves and fruit as they neared the end of the season, with Klarion standing alone in the middle of a crossroads. Illumination from the orange glyph drawn in the very center painted his angular face with hellish light. The air itself reeked of magic, near choking in its intensity.

Their plan of attack was a simple one that moved quickly, as they had to rely upon the element of surprise to even begin to take on a Lord of Chaos like Klarion.

Artemis and Robin burst into sight first, firing off two arrows and a handful of birdarangs respectively. However, Klarion merely lifted up a hand, drawing all of the momentum out of the projectiles, causing them to fall uselessly to the ground.

"That's the best you can do?" He crooned, firing off a bolt of red crackling lightning that promptly exploded, forcing them to retreat barely into the engagement.

Superboy, Aqualad, and Kid Flash all moved in unison as the second wave of offense, only to be stopped by a barrier of scarlet energy that burst into life around the glyph. The shield spell effectively kept Klarion and the ritual protected from their influence.

Sliding in the second the previous trio failed, Zatanna let a backwards spell tumble from her lips, the words of echoing power having no effect on the shield.

"Tch, baby magic." With a black-nailed hand, the witch boy recited a spell of his own with near disinterest, effortlessly launching Zatanna off into the air. A quick save from Superboy prevented her from impacting the ground, in what surely could have been her demise, or permanent injury at the least.

With bursts of her telekinetic power, M'Gann fired rocks of steadily increasing size at the bubble, only for Klarion to deter her with a blast of fire breath, driving her back with a startled shriek.

An arrow was fired at the idle Teekl, courtesy of Artemis, only for it to be transformed into a harmless ball of yarn before the piercing tip could make contact.

Cackling with growing amusement at the display, Klarion's face morphed into its more demonic form, with solid red eyes and visible fangs, brows pulled harshly into more unnatural slopes. "Show them what the familiar of Lord of Chaos can do, Teekl!"

Similarly, Teekl grew in size, increasing its threat level. Superboy moved in to engage the beast, only to be promptly pounced upon and forced on the defensive.

In the center of the luminous circle, a crystal focal point began to glow ominously blue, forcing a frustrated noise out of Klarion. "So, you teamed up with the grown ups. Teamwork is so overrated." The emerging blue energy was diverted outwards with his will, slamming into Artemis, Robin, and Aqualad head on. Kaldur barely managed to redirect the energy, though the other two were knocked out cold immediately.

Kid Flash attempted to speed in, only to be similarly struck down, just as Aqualad lost control over the magic, being driven to his knees.

Hawkgirl had been watching the entire course of events from up above, a frown growing steadily larger on her face as every planned attempt at attack was struck down.

During the initial planning phase, she had provided as much input as she was able into how exactly they could deal with Klarion. However much they might dislike her at the moment, they couldn't dispute her superior experience and prowess with taking down magic users. Zatanna had proved to be her greatest ally along with Robin, citing multiple occasions where her father had claimed some sorcerers had given up just at the mere suggestion of one of the Hawks showing up. It was highly unlikely Klarion would be surrendering, but it did prove that Hawkgirl proved a serious threat.

Unfortunately, that meant instead of being thrown into the front lines where she usually found herself, she was designated as the ace up their sleeve. Before they'd left for Roanoke, Dick had taken her aside and quietly said it was better she not strain herself too far, as in her state she could prove to be more of a liability. Ski'Lira hadn't been entirely thrilled to be told as such, but she listened, assuring him she'd be as careful as she could.

Disguised with an illusion spell courtesy of Zatanna, she was ordered to remain unseen above the battlefield, waiting for Aqualad's signal for her interference. But they hadn't expected things to go spectacularly wrong so very quickly. As he was unable to give any orders, Skylar made the decision for herself to intervene, as most of her Team lay vulnerable to Klarion's wrath.

Tucking in her wings, Skylar dropped down into a dive. The sudden movement dissipated the spell concealing her form, and she flared her wings outward, her silhouetted shadow falling over the dome. In her hands, her mace crackled to life, the burst of white energy drawing Klarion's eye just as she smashed straight onto the top of the shield weapon first. Cracks burst into being, resealing themselves almost immediately.

"Now that's just cheating." Klarion pouted. "You Thanagarians are always such killjoys!" Sneering at her derisively, he made a slightly more complex gesture with his fingers as arcane words fell from his mouth in rapid-fire.

Tendrils of red energy surged out of the ground behind her, lashing onto her wings and tangling around them, hauling her off the top of the dome and straight into the dirt. Mentally cursing herself for being ensnared so easily, she desperately scrabbled at the magical bindings, forced to contort herself to reach back far enough to claw at them with her gauntlets.

During her struggle, she registered the arrival of Billy Batson in a flash of light, shortly followed by a telepathic warning courtesy of their mental link.

"It's the gem, at the center of the pentagram!" Billy shouted. "Destroy it, and we win!"

There was a beat of near quiet before a cry of Zatanna's name from a frantic Aqualad made Hawkgirl jerk her head around.

"Stop!" Another yell of warning came from Kid Flash, but it was too late.

Golden light (the familiar hue making something catch uncomfortably in Ski'Lira's chest) rippled throughout the shadowed orchard, for a brief moment chasing away the night. In Zatanna's place floated Doctor Fate, returned to being once again. Drifting up into the air, an ankh formed out of yellow and purple energy, heralding his presence.

Snarling, Hawkgirl used the accompanying burst of anger to snap through the remaining tendrils, rending them to pieces with her claws until they dissipated completely.

"Klarion," said Dr. Fate, voice in a strange double layer of Nabu's deep tone and Zatanna's familiar higher cadence. "This ends now."

"Billy, tell Zatara." M'Gann told the kid frantically, panic and worry practically pouring from her end of the mental link.

"Right, yeah." Billy nodded. "SHAZAM!" Vanishing in his trademark lightning bolt, he transported to the adults' world.

Freed from her confines, Hawkgirl made a break for the dome, not hesitating to hammer on it the second she was within range. Minuscule cracks appeared with every strike, but not nearly enough to shatter it outright. Meanwhile, Klarion locked in combat with Dr. Fate, firing off a beam of energy that was met halfway by a continuous blast of Nabu's own. Quickly giving up on that avenue of attack, Klarion resorted to throwing spheres of exploding energy at the Lord of Order, only for each to be gracefully dodged. In the face of the new onslaught, Klarion seemed to shift his focus entirely to protecting his ritual. Dr. Fate joined Hawkgirl's efforts, firing off a shot of gold energy, only for it to be entirely ineffective, firing off more and more to try to compensate.

Following the Thanagarian's lead, Aqualad stepped up to the shield, forming his water bearers and similarly trying to wear it down, M'Gann throwing boulders nearly the same size as her and fallen tree trunks.

Above, Fate gave a strange cry as his form almost glitched, revealing Zatanna for a moment before reverting back to his true form.

"Ha, there, see?!" Klarion crowed with delight. "When the world's divided, the Helmet's split too. You're not all here now, Nabu. And you're losing hold of that poor, soon to be dead girl!" He snorted. "Who gave herself for nothing."

"No, foolish boy. Fate decrees her sacrifice shall not be in vain." Putting his gloved hands before him, Fate concentrated all of his power into a singular blast.

Klarion barely had time to scream out an over-dramatic 'NO!', before his dome disintegrated around him, leaving him fully vulnerable. Fate took advantage, firing off an ankh that drifted down towards the witch, locking onto him and expanding into a makeshift pillory.

Even though his hands were immobilized and he was restricted by pure Order magic, Ski'Lira wasn't about to take any chances. Stepping up behind Klarion, she grabbed him by the back of his neck like an errant kitten, Nth metal claws digging into his pale skin. Where the razor sharp points punctured through, black smoke leaked into the air. He hissed at her, but she only tightened her grip, mace ready in her other hand to bring it down on his head at a moment's notice.

"Now, Kid!" At Aqualad's cue, Wally sped in from where he'd been lying in wait, snagging the crystal from the central point of the glyph.

"Doc, catch!" The speedster threw it with unerring accuracy at Dr. Fate, who caught it and immediately began casting.

For a moment, it felt like the entire world shifted, similar to how things seemed during the initial split. This time however, it was accompanied with a wave of Fate's signature color. A handful of unconscious magic users appeared in the missing positions in the glyph, along with several members of the League.

Ski'Lira felt Klarion's body relax under her grip, and abruptly snapped back into focus as he began to speak. "Boy, they sure don't make evil immortal sorcerers like they used to. Oh well." Snapping his fingers, the pillory construct faded around him, and a burst of black shadow energy exploded from his back, forcing Hawkgirl off of him and down into the ground hard. The sudden impact knocked the breath out of her lungs, and Klarion stood up, brushing off his sleeves. "Fun while it lasted. Teekl!"

The familiar leapt off of Superboy, whom had been pinned like a trapped mouse, and Teekl shifted back to its house cat size, leaping into Klarion's arms.

"See you later, armadillos! Unless I see you first!" Cackling in a downright deranged manner, Klarion jumped through a swirling crimson portal, vanishing before their eyes.

"Aren't you going to stop him?!" Wally demanded of Dr. Fate.

"To what end?" The sorcerer answered. "Klarion is Chaos personified. He cannot be contained."

Pulling herself out of the her-shaped crater in the ground, Hawkgirl shifted uncomfortable from the sheer amount of dirt and sticks stuck between her feathers, limping over to the others. Artemis and Robin were both similarly injured, but yet everyone remained standing.

"Did we win?" Robin asked, clearly dazed.

Kaldur had a solemn set to his jaw. "At a cost."

They could all only watch as Zatara approached the Lord of Order, a determined look in his jade eyes. "Fate! Great Nabu, release my daughter."

"No." The weight of the denial caught them all off guard. "Witness the havoc wrought in these hours. The world needs Dr. Fate, and the girl's natural affinity for the mystic arts makes her the perfect candidate."

"You can't do that!" Artemis screamed at him.

Stepping forward, Robin was similarly incensed. "She has her own life to live!"

"Kent would never allow you to-" Kid Flash's plea was cut off by Fate, who, with a few words, proceeded to once again knock Ski'Lira's world off its axis.

"Kent Nelson did object strenuously. So I released his spirit to the afterlife. He's gone."

For a second, Ski'Lira was legitimately concerned she'd pushed her body to far and her heart had actually given out. The initial shock at losing Kent a second time was overcome by a strong wave of unrepentant rage. Lifting up her mace to hold up a long hold promise to ring his bell and scramble his brains, she was halted only by a hand on her shoulder, courtesy of Batman. She shot him a frustrated glare, but he kept his grip firm.

"... Take me, instead." Zatara offered quietly, but sincerely. "My skills are already at their peak. My body is physically stronger, better able to withstand the strain of your power."

"All true, but if I remove the helmet, what guarantee have I you will don it?"

"My word." The oath was sealed with a spell, the magical binding giving the Lord of Order the assurance he needed to agree to the deal.

Floating down, Dr. Fate landed gently across from Zatara, willingly removing the helmet from his head. There was a second before Zatanna fully regained cognizance, smiling at her father the second she was aware. "Dad!" She threw herself into his arms, and he didn't hesitate to return the embrace.

"Zatanna, remember, I love you." There was nothing but the utmost parental love in his expression, pressing a kiss to her brow as he gingerly took the Helmet of Fate from her grip. The old magician made eye contact with his fellow members of the League. "Take care of my girl."

"You have my word." Batman's vow was promptly given.

Now provided with the knowledge he wouldn't be leaving his daughter entirely alone, Zatara succumbed to the Helmet of Fate.

"No, please!" Zatanna pleaded. "This was my fault, Dad, don't!"

But it was far too late. Dr. Fate had returned, for good this time. The golden sorcerer turned his focus towards the gaggle of tied-up sorcerers. "Leave these to Fate." Bringing them aloft into the sky with him, the small group disappeared between one blink and the next.

Zatanna dropped to her knees, several members of the Team flocking to her side as she wailed, grieving for the father she had just lost.

H

The second she made it through the front door of her house, she was pulled into a back-breaking hug by Katar.

"Ta'me," she squeezed her eyes shut tight, returning the embrace just as tightly as she was able. "I missed you."

"We were so worried you were lost to us." Katar muttered in their native tongue, hand drifting up to cup the back of her head, calloused fingers digging into her sweaty and dirt-ridden hair. As soon as he began to draw back, she was wrenched out of his grip and into her mother's.

"Damn sorcerers." Shayera cursed. "Bruce said you were only bruised, but are you actually unharmed?"

"... Tired. Sore." Ski'Lira sagged, huffing out a short laugh. "Got slammed into the dirt by a Lord of Chaos. He took offense at my presence."

That received a laugh from the third adult present, Hal Jordan, who had been watching the reunion with a distinctly sappy look on his face. "That's my niece."

"We are so proud of you." Shayera finally released her daughter from the onslaught of hugs. "But right now, go upstairs, get out of your armor, shower, and come back down so we can debrief. Hal will make hot chocolate."

"I will, will I?" Hal mocked, his tone betraying that he was more than happy to do so.

"Go. Shower." Her mother physically moved her closer to the stairs, and it wasn't like she was about to argue anytime soon.

Fifteen minutes later, she was comfortably seated on the couch in the living room, finally clean and wearing the most comfortable pajamas she owned, sandwiched between her parents. As promised, Hal had made up a batch of hot chocolate, along with heating up the leftovers from the dinner they'd been forced to abandon. It was a bit of a weird flavor combination, but it was still nice.

Apparently, while she'd been organizing emergency triage, her parents had been similarly engaged. Though they had the benefit of having actual emergency responders to rely on. While Batman, Captain Marvel, and Zatara had been tasked with locating the source of the ritual, the other members of the League had spread out across the globe to mitigate the chaos. The Hawks themselves had dealt with a rampaging Floronic Man, who was using the chaos as an opportunity to try to take the world over with plants.

Clearly, the attempt was foiled.

Or, soiled, as Hal interjected, earning a thrown pillow directly to the face from Shayera. Shortly after that, Hal stood up and stretched, citing his need to get home as he had actual work at Ferris Air in the morning. With a final hug to his niece, he left the Hall household.

"You should be getting to bed too." Katar told his daughter.

Stifling a yawn, Ski'Lira desperately wished she could agree. "Can't. I have to make a few calls first."

The disapproving frown was immediate. "Fledgling, you're dead on your feet."

"I'm sorry, but I made a promise. It's important." She insisted.

Opening his mouth to deny her request, Katar was stopped by a hand on his forearm courtesy of his wife. Shayera was looking at her daughter with scrutiny. "And it can't wait?"

A tight shake of her head was her reply, but that seemed to be all her mother needed.

"Alright. As long as you promise to get at least some rest. And take it easy tomorrow."

Ski'Lira couldn't help her slight wince. "About that... Zatanna wants me to help her move in to Mount Justice. She... said she's feel better with magi-null capabilities around. And I know what you're going to say, but I don't care if the others don't want me there, she just lost her father and she asked me for help. It's the least I can do."

Letting out a long sigh, Katar gave a fond tug on the end of her braid. "Your heart is too big sometimes, fledgling. Fine. But the second you feel too fatigued or ill, you come home."

Giving a final promise, as well as additional goodnight hugs, Ski'Lira trudged up to her room and flopped onto her bed. She allowed herself a full moment of relaxation, mourning her loss of sleep, before grabbing her phone from the nightstand, disconnecting the charging cable and dialing a number. She double checked she was using the League-tech app that disguised her number.

After giving it out so often over the course of the night, it was easy to remember Mia's phone number. It rang a couple of times before it was picked up.

"... Hello?" Mia answered cautiously.

"Hi Mia, it's Hawkgirl."

"Hawkgirl!" The exclamation was loud, and sudden, forcing the Thanagarian to draw the phone away from her ear. "Mari, it's Hawkgirl!"

"I heard you the first time." Marisol's exasperation was palpable over the phone. "Put it on speaker."

With a click, Mia did so. "So we have no idea exactly what you did, but thank you so much."

"For everything." Marisol added with full sincerity. "I'm pretty sure the city would have been an absolute mess if you hadn't stepped up."

Cheeks flaming in a blush, Skylar was very glad her face couldn't be seen. "And my plan wouldn't have succeeded without you three. How did everything go after I left?"

"Pretty good." Mia answered. "There were a few people that tried to act up once you were gone, but they were almost immediately shut down by Mari. Hugo even yelled at one kid for punching someone, and he never yells. It was a sight to behold, really."

"Make sure you pass on my thanks to Hugo, too. I..." Ski'Lira trailed off for a moment as she fought off a wave of lethargy. In an effort to stave off falling asleep, she clambered off her bed and began pacing back and forth.

"... Hawkgirl?" Marisol's gentle prodding brought her back to the moment.

"It's nothing. Anyway, you were saying?"

"Weeeell..." Mia drew out as she formulated her thoughts again. "All of a sudden, poof, all of the adults are back, and a bunch of them start absolutely scrambling to help out. It was kind of awesome, because they actually listened to the three of us about what we were doing."

"For once," was Marisol's slightly bitter addition. "That's when the Justice League pop up with the news bulletin, telling everyone about what happened, and how Dr, Fate used errant magic or something to reverse some of the bad things that happened. Which... You know, we were all avoiding thinking about the death toll for the kids' side, but... he was able to bring them back."

Ski'Lira couldn't help but think that had been largely Zatara's influence at work, as he would be the kind to bully a Lord of Order into taking advantage of the fluctuating state of magic to work miracles.

"After that, we talked with some police people to help get all the kids home, then we went too. Our mom didn't stop crying for forty minutes." Mia's tone was fond. "Okay, I cried a lot too, but to be fair, tonight has been an ordeal."

"I think you've both handled it incredibly well. I'm glad I found some people I could trust by my side during this... nightmare."

"... Mia, are you crying again?"

"No! I just... got something in my eye."

"What, tears?"

"Hawkgirl just paid me a legitimate compliment, I think I'm allowed to be emotional about it."

There was the distinct sound of sniffing and a tissue being removed from its box, as the phone changed hands over to Marisol so her sister could blow her nose. "So, you're okay, right? We figured you were off fighting whatever big bad was responsible, considering the way you left."

"I'm fine."

"That's good... Okay, so, I know that this number clearly isn't yours, because I'm pretty sure I just saw the digits change, so... Will we hear from you again?"

Chewing on her lip, Ski'Lira thought about it for a second. "I have Mia's number saved. And... If you need to get in contact with me or my parents, the St. Roch PD have a direct line to us. Or you can just yell if you see me flying over head."

That earned her laughs from the two sisters. "Oh, we will definitely be doing that." Mia snorted.

"Anyway, thanks for checking up on us, Hawkgirl. It means a lot." Marisol thanked her.

"Stay safe, you two." Hanging up, Ski'Lira felt more at ease, knowing that the two sisters and their friend were okay.

That was one phone call down, one that had bolstered her determination, now leaving her to the more difficult task... playing phone tag with the St. Roch Police and Child Protective Services. After all, she had a pinky promise to uphold.

H

MOUNT JUSTICE
NOVEMBER 7th, 2010
09:16 EST

The last of the boxes were finally being set down in Zatanna's designated room, thanks to the combined efforts of Artemis, Dick, M'Gann, Skylar, and the new occupant in question.

"My room's right next door if you need anything." The Martian teen offered a tight, sincere smile.

"Thanks." Lips pursed, Zatanna's eyes flickered uneasily around the space. "I uh, could use a little alone time, okay?"

"Of course." She was immediately assured by Artemis, who led the way out of the room and towards the lounge.

Zatanna's quiet sobs rang in Skylar's ears, and she did her best to filter them out. It was not for her to overhear. Thankfully, the lounge was far enough away that she was properly out of earshot, giving the young girl the privacy she needed to grieve.

Letting out a low, exhausted groan, Skylar dropped into an empty armchair, pointedly ignoring the looks she was receiving from a certain speedster and half-Kryptonian. Using her go to stress-reliever, M'Gann had retreated to the kitchen and started on the process of baking... something.

Needless to say, a majority of the Team (ie, everyone but Dick and Zatanna) hadn't been thrilled by her presence, but they weren't about to tell a devastated girl to let go of whatever safety blanket she'd managed to scrounge up to help her brave her devastating sorrow. Ski'Lira had resigned herself to being a silent, assuring presence for Zatanna, which had seemed to help at least a little.

Zee had said something about her 'aura of magic can't mess with me' being nice to have around, and that she was glad she'd showed up.

"You look terrible." Dick's voice came from somewhere above her, and she opened her eyes to see him leaning over the back of the armchair, chin perched on his folded arms. She'd deny if asked that she'd come very close to falling dead asleep then and there.

"Thanks." She deadpanned, knowing his assessment was true. This morning she didn't even attempt to put on anything nice, opting for paint stained sweatpants and a sleeveless workout shirt with a long-faded logo on the front. Even her cloth mask was rumpled and slightly askew. "Tired."

"I think we all are." Dick agreed. She could tell by the way Wally's face was reddening that he desperately wanted to speak up, but was holding back. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Couldn't." Stifling a yawn behind her hand, she tilted her head back so she could look at his face properly. "I spent almost all night playing phone tag with CPS and local police."

"Why would you do that?" Artemis' question seemed to surprise even herself as it slipped out. "Not that I care what you do." She tacked on.

"Made a promise I had to keep." Ski'Lira answered truthfully, too tired to deflect right now. "It was worth it. Her new social worker picked her up this morning and took her to a group home."

"Who?" Dick prompted, going so far as to reach over and poke her in the cheek to make sure she was still conscious.

"Molly. She's nine, I met her last night. I promised her I'd help her get away from her parents so I could get her to the shelter."

"That's..." Artemis trailed off. "Actually pretty cool of you."

"It couldn't wait?" Dick seemed proud, but still concerned. "You really shouldn't be exhausting yourself like this. You're just going to get worse again."

"Losing a few hours of sleep isn't going to make me relapse." She countered.

"Relapse?"

It was astounding how a single word, spoken in question from Kaldur'ahm could snap her out of the hazy state she'd been drifting into, straight into full alertness. For a few moments, she'd completely forgotten everyone else in the room, focusing entirely on assuring Dick that she wasn't about to keel over.

At least, as long as she didn't try to get up from this chair.

"It's nothing." Ski'Lira murmured. "Just got a little sick for a bit."

"Aw, did you catch a cold?" The last word fell from Wally's mouth with nothing but pure vitriol. "We all feel so bad for you, a case of the sniffles, how-"

"She almost died!"

Dick's eyes were wide with remorse as he realized what he'd just done, accompanied by the noise of M'Gann dropping a metal bowl on the floor of the kitchen.

"Robin." Hissing his name, Ski'Lira's hidden eyes narrowed, making his shoulders droop.

Rubbing at the bridge of his nose (careful not to knock his sunglasses askew), the Boy Wonder let out a frustrated groan. "I know, sorry, it just slipped out. That wasn't very aster of me."

Sensing no dishonesty in his apology, she let it go, knowing that he was just as exhausted as she was. They were all at less than a hundred percent right now, so she couldn't blame him for failing to censor himself in time.

"You know, that doesn't really-" Once again, Wally's petulance was interrupted, though this time, by a scowling Artemis.

"No, Wally, shut up. You," Her grey eyes were narrowed as she stared Sky down. "Explain. When did this happen?"

Refusing to meet anyone's questioning gaze by keeping her head down, the Thanagarian kept quiet, silently hoping that they'd grow frustrated and drop the matter entirely.

She really should have known better.

"I do not believe this avenue of avoidance will work." Moving across the room, Kaldur knelt down in front of Ski'Lira, goading her into speaking by moving into her direct line of sight. "Hawkgirl, when did this happen?"

Jaw working, she swallowed heavily, throat suddenly feeling a little tighter than it had a second ago. "... The simulation."

"During?"

She offered a helpless shrug.

"You were sick?" M'Gann's question sounded... desperate, as if someone had just thrown her a lifeline just out of reach. "When we were doing the test? You were sick?" The repetition only punctuated her nerves, along with the wringing of her hands. Usually by this point, Conner would have crossed the room to her side and slung an arm around her shoulders, but he remained frozen in his seat on the couch. The tips of his fingers worked into the denim of his jeans, bunching and un-bunching it as his hands flexed.

"Yes? No. No. It's... incredibly difficult to explain." Ski'Lira admitted her fault. "Robin?"

"Yeah, I can attest to that." He came to her rescue without hesitation. "It's... complicated."

Surging to his feet, Wally pointed an accusing finger at the duo. "Why are you two being so cryptic and weird? The way I see it, Ski'Lira almost killed M'Gann, and now you're saying she miraculously had some mysterious illness that excuses it, despite the fact that she's said over and over again that she isn't affected by Terran diseases! I swear, if you're lying to us to try to get us to let you come crawling back here with open arms, it will not end well for you."

"That's not what I'm trying to do." Ski'Lira's throat vibrated softly with an underlying growl that she quickly tampered down. Sounding more aggressive right now wasn't going to help her. As it was, her only goal was to deescalate the situation enough that she could retreat to the Zeta tubes and go home. "I'm suspended from the Team, maybe indefinitely. Yesterday was an exception. Robin asked for my help and I came."

"We could have handled it fine without you!"

"Excuse me, but who here in this room has gone toe to toe with Black Adam and survived? Because I think there's only one of us here. I wasn't about to risk letting Klarion kill all of you."

"So now you don't have a problem with one of us dying?" The speedster gestured not-so-subtly towards M'Gann, whose face was starting to turn a paler shade of green. "Didn't stop you before!"

"I never would try to hurt M'Gann!" Standing up, she fought back the way her body was screaming at her with the abrupt change in position, not to mention the lump growing in her throat and the liquid heat rising in her eyes. "She's kast! You don't... You don't do that!"

Wings drooping, Skylar dropped back into her seat as the room went dead quiet. Her next breath caught in her throat and she pressed her hands into her face, hoping they hadn't noticed the growing telltale patches of damp on her mask.

M'Gann made a soft noise. "Hawkgirl, are you... crying?"

"No." She denied on instinct, but her choked tone only made it more evident that she clearly was, and wasn't about to stop anytime soon.

A gentle touch on her knee roused her, Kaldur's green eyes looking at her beseechingly. "You tried to explain to me once, and I refused to listen. That was my mistake, one I will not be making a second time. Hawkgirl, will you tell us the truth?"

H

Starting the explanation of the exact nature of a Thanagarian's Movr Sifastarr wasn't any easier the second time. In fact, it was a great deal more complicated, considering the presence of more people, and thus would result more questions she would flounder to answer as best she could.

However this time, she had the added benefit of an ally.

"Before she starts, I want you all to know that it's weird and hard for her to explain, because it's a completely... alien concept, no offense." He glanced apologetically over at M'Gann. "So you're going to let her explain as much as she can, with no interruptions, and then you can ask questions."

His demand was met with a few tentative nods. With the certainty that the others present would try to behave themselves, Robin gave her shoulder a soft nudge, urging her to begin.

"Do you remember that conversation we had in the bioship after the Reds? About sacrifices? I told you that Thanagarians were made for war, evolved specifically for battle. That has... more effects than I initially led you to believe." Ski'Lira paused for a moment, clearing her throat to rid it of residual scratchiness from her earlier bout of definitely not crying. "We have wings that give us aerial advantage, enhanced strength and senses, faster healing, we can see in the dark, and are far more resistant to extreme temperatures. If given a proper supply of air, a partially armored Thanagarian can survive in the vacuum of space anywhere from fifteen minutes to a full day, depending. But I think that M'Gann and Conner can both attest that much power usually comes with a cost, a balancing agent."

"Claustrophobia?" Artemis guessed, not sounding unkind, but far from content. "Are you saying this all happened because of your... genetic phobia?"

"No, but I suppose a comparison can be made." Internally, she was wincing, as now came the part where she'd probably lose them. "Thanagarians possess a specific evolved response to intense, situation-specific stimuli, when I explained all this to Robin, I asked him to think of it as an advanced form of the Fight or Flight instinct. When we are engaged in a battle that results in a no-win scenario, particularly when surrounded, fatally injured, or a member or members of a kast are incapacitated, permanently or otherwise, something can... snap, for lack of a better term. The Thanagarian's brain is reverted to a shell of instinct and rage. We call it the Movr Sifastarr."

A murmured 'oh my god' came from Artemis, "She wasn't lying when she said she didn't have a choice in the matter. Last time she said that they usually lock onto whoever caused the harm, before turning on anyone and anything around them." Robin added. "Some part of her registered that M'Gann had caused the simulation to go wrong, that we, along with her, were all being hurt."

"So she attacked her perceived threat." Kaldur's summary was accompanied by a frown, clearly at odds with himself over this new revelation. "To protect us?"

Giving a slight nod, Skylar shrunk in on herself a , she was hoping that was enough explanation for them, that they could drop the matter entirely and move past it, now that she knew she truly had no control over it.

"You... you didn't mean to... You weren't lying about not wanting to..." M'Gann spoke haltingly, having trouble formulating her thoughts. "I just thought you were angry at me. For what I did."

"I was, in a way, I guess. But if I wasn't in Movr Sifastarr, I would never attempt to kill you, mistake or otherwise." Skylar insisted. "Remember when Aqualad practically fed us to Clayface?"

Wincing, Kaldur's eyes clouded slightly at the memory. "I remember receiving quite the verbal assault."

"That's as far as I would go. Attacking you like that was... unforgivable. For my people, attacking someone in your kast it's..." Lips curling in distaste, the sheer sense of wrongness at the concept was difficult to put into terms they understood. "It's like willingly stabbing yourself in the leg."

"It was an accident." The summation came from Artemis, sounding a little shell shocked from the sudden turn of events. "Everything that happened, you didn't... You weren't in control, were you?"

"That's why you attacked Captain Marvel and Red Tornado too."

Giving a slight nod, she confirmed Artemis' question. "Not... just them." She had it on solid authority that she'd attempted to take down Green Lantern and both of her parents, the former of which resulted in her breaking most of her fingers. "But yes."

The resulting silence was downright awkward, as most of the occupants in the room were still processing the massive amount of information they'd just received.
But it wasn't quite over yet.

Because Robin wasn't about to let her wiggle out of revealing the entirety of the situation, including what it could have meant for her.

"Tell them what it means." He said, addressing her directly, arms crossed. "The... Movr Sifastarr." The pronunciation was far off from correct, but his point was made.

"Robin, it's fine, they don't-"

"What does it mean?" Catching on quickly, Wally also demanded an answer, sharing a look with his best friend (who gave him a grateful look in response). "I'm not even going to try to say that."

"Translation directly from Thanagarian to English doesn't work out exactly, but-"

"Hawkgirl." This time, Robin's stern interruption left no further room for argument.

Blowing out a short, slightly frustrated exhale, she acquiesced. "It means The Last Fury."

"Okay...?" The resident speedster's was visibly confused. "Not going to lie, that is a badass name, but that doesn't really explain why Robin looks like he's about to pop a blood vessel. Is it because this is something we're going to have to deal with? You just going all rage mode whenever we get backed into a corner."

"It..." Stopping herself, Ski'Lira floundered for how to proceed. "It can only happen once."

A sharp inhale came from Artemis, her grey eyes wide with horror. "It's a fail safe. You... your brain or whatever thought you were going to die, so it... It made you do that?"

"As I said, once. Clearly my case is... unusual, because it was all simulated. I have no doubt my information is going to be a matter of intense study on my planet, for more than one reason."

Wally sputtered. "How did that even evolve?"

"There's plenty of essays on the subject, but general consensus is too much long-term exposure to adrenal responses combined with societal influence." Practically feeling the glare digging into the back of her head courtesy of the Boy Wonder, she continued. "But that's not... exactly all of it. Those who succumb to Movr Sifastarr don't... don't always come back. They stay in the... feral state, until..." She trailed off.

"Until they get killed." Robin finished for her.

"A quick death is usually a mercy." Her jaw clenched. "The chances of getting stuck are lower than they used to be, but it's still around a thirty percent occurrence rate. And it's... it's more unpredictable for those that have one before reaching full maturity."

"How-" Clearing her throat, M'Gann swallowed heavily. "How close was it?"

There was no point in sugar coating things now (not to mention Robin was well within head-slapping distance and she had no doubt the second a lie left her lips, she'd receive said slap upside the head). "... Close enough the League was determining which one of them would have the duty of telling you I wasn't coming back."

Hand held up to her mouth, M'Gann's skin paled and she promptly fled the room, Conner following a heartbeat later. Closing her eyes, Ski'Lira's wings stretched out and around her, encasing herself in a neat little wall of feathers so she wouldn't have to look at anyone else in the room.

Of course, she was a fool for thinking that her rough imitation of a turtle creeping into its shell would have any hope of deterring her friends. A very gentle hand she immediately identified as belonging to Artemis' (from the thick callouses on her finger), grasped the edge of a wing and gingerly pulled it aside. "Hey."

"... Hi."

"Scoot over."

Whatever she'd been expecting, it certainly hadn't been that. Stunned, she found herself complying to the archer's request, wings parting enough for her to clamber onto the empty part of the seat. The right side of Artemis' body was pressed tightly to hers, though she kept her hands locked around her ankles, both providing reassurance and the illusion of space.

"Thanks for telling us the truth." Artemis began. "You probably should have given you the chance to do so way earlier, and I'm sorry. We're all sorry. We should have all been like... Dramatically holding a vigil next to your hospital bed and waxing poetic about you. Were you even in a hospital bed?"

"For a bit." The admission was accompanied by a shrug. "I probably should have been sent back to Thanagar for recovery, but my parents and the League wanted to keep me close. They uh... covered the... 'dramatic vigil' enough I think."

A slight chuckle left Artemis' lips. "Oh, I can only imagine. But as it is... We weren't there for you and I'm sorry."

"Uh, we?" There was a pointed scoff from Robin. "Who was the sole confidant here? Because I think it was me." From his tone, it was clear he was joking, trying his best to lift the mood in the only way he knew how.

The movement of her wings into a more open position hadn't gone noticed by their owner until she realized she could see a newly returned M'Gann, cheeks flushed and eyes red, but cheeks rid of the liquid evidence of her crying. With a determined set to her jaw, the Martian strode across the room, leaned down, and pulled Sky into a bone crushing hug.

"I'm so sorry." M'Gann whispered. "I didn't mean-"

"I know." Sky assured. "I know."

It still wasn't exactly okay, but neither were trying to claim as such.

Releasing her from the embrace, M'Gann promptly sat down on the arm of the chair, putting its number of current occupants at three. Conner crept into the room shortly afterwards, still not uttering a word, but he sat down stiffly on the floor near the armchair, which said enough for now.

A long sigh left Wally as he collapsed onto the couch. "I don't know about you guys, but it's been the longest forty eight hours of my life."

H

By the time Batman showed up to check on all of them, the Team was all sprawled in various states of repose on the couch and the floor, with M'Gann enthusiastically retelling the story of the Halloween party at Happy Harbor High.

None of them saw the slightest quirk of a grin on his face as he saw a half-asleep Ski'Lira having her hair braided by M'Gann during her storytelling.

"Hawkgirl," He announced his presence, making them all look towards their mentor. "Your parents want you home."

"Okay," Letting out a jaw-cracking yawn, she let the Martian tie off her braid before heading over.

"Hey, text me later." Artemis ordered. "I have to finish a book report for school and I could use your literary brain."

"Sure thing." She assured. "Besides, I... guess I'll be seeing you all for our next training session?"

"We are looking forward to it." Aqualad inclined his head towards her.

Offering one last grin, she followed Batman out into the hallway, mind already drifting towards the prospect of finally falling asleep in her own bed. Judging by the way he was sticking with her, Batman clearly had something to say, but before he could, heavy footfalls sounded from behind her.

"Hey," Conner greeted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I wanted... No, I need to apologize, I guess."

"Ka'zera, you don't-"

"I do." His tone left no room for argument. "You were hurting and I yelled at you. After all you've done for me, I should have listened to your side of the story."

"I wasn't exactly being forthcoming." She pointed out, making him frown.

"You weren't. Did... Did you not trust us enough to tell us?"

"That..." Trailing off, Sky found herself temporarily speechless. She had given herself so many reasons why not ever since the incident, trying so hard to prove to herself that she'd made the right choice in withholding. They wouldn't understand, she was scared, it was a species weakness she couldn't afford them to know, it wouldn't make a difference and it would continue to be her fault. Now, all those worries seemed... meaningless. "I guess I just wasn't being very smart, was I?"

Conner, finally, finally graced her with the smallest of smiles. "Not really. But whatever you thought before, you don't think that anymore, right?" He winced. "That sounded better in my head."

"I know better now, if that's what you're getting after."

"Yeah."

"Thank you, for the apology. I didn't need it, but... thank you."

"Well, consider us even for when I tried to kill you Robin, Wally, and Kaldur when we first met. But... I think we've still got a lot to work out."

"As a Team?" She finished.

"As friends." He corrected.

"... Oh. Hm. Well, I should-"

"Yeah, you should sleep. You uh... need it."

"Thanks. Bye?"

"Bye."

Mentally cringing at the awkwardness of their farewell, she set back down the hall towards the Zeta Tubes where Batman waited, as Conner returned to the recreation room with the others. Just as she predicted, she was stopped before she could fully depart.

"So you've decided to lift your suspension from the Team?"

"If that's alright, yeah." Ski'Lira nodded. "It'll take time before we're back to where we were, but... they listened."

"Because you told the truth."

"Yes, yes, I should have listened to you and the rest of the League from the start." Only the fact she highly respected him kept her from rolling her eyes. "You're all so very wise."

"Because we've learned. We had to work to get to where we are now, with our fair share of disagreements. What's important is that we communicated and worked past them, just like you're doing. It takes a great deal of maturity and responsibility to do so. Seeing that you're all willing to do so gives me hope for the future."

"So we can be League-level one day?"

"So you can surpass us."

"... Oh. That's... a hell of a challenge."

"I think you can all manage." He tilted his head ever so slightly. "As it is, you should head home before your mother storms through to get you herself, she's waiting at the St. Roch Zeta Point to drive you home."

"Right." Taking the permission to leave he was granting, she gave him a wave and stepped through the portal, immediately greeted by the sight of her mother in her civilian clothing.

"Did you have a nice morning?" Judging by the knowing smile she was being given, Batman had already messaged the entire League about the new development with the Team.

"How can you tell?" She asked, just to be contrary.

"You're smiling."

It took her a second to comprehend that, fully registering the pull of muscles in her face. "I... guess I am."

---

Me, internally sobbing at the prospect that Marisol, Mia, Hugo, and Leo would be friends with her if she'd met them in her civilian persona first, but now she can't risk it. Gah. Girl needs more friends. Fun fact, Marisol and Mia are both based on someone in my family I love very much, so writing them was an absolute joy.

Also, here's what I had for my notes for the big emotional talk. Clearly the notes did not fully encapsulate what actually went down, emotion wise, and underwent some changes during the writing process.. I might have been a little tired.

And then Kaldur's like "My dumb bitch senses are tingling." And he's all innocently like "Been up to anything interesting lately? Like perchance getting shot again?"

And then Artemis is like (even though she's still a little mad) "If you got shot again, I will shoot you."

And then Sky's like "Why do you care? Don't you hate me?"

ANd M'Gann's like "Of course we don't!"

SKy: O.O

Dick: "I told you so"

Conner: At some point "I did sort of try to kill you when we first met, so..."

And then Skylar spills the tea (which is glossed over like 'I'm only going to say this once' and then a hard cut to her going home to her 'understandably worried' parents who are proud of her for stopping being a stubborn bitch. ANd she's like "Why didn't I listen to you guys earlier and let you explain" And they're like "We tried, but you were being a dumb bitch. But that's okay, teenagers are inherently reaaaaal dumb. It's a fact across the universe. Teenagers are dumb."

Until next time, remember to stay safe, wash your hands, get vaccinated if you haven't, and have an absolutely wonderful day! And if I don't update within the month (fingers crossed), happy non-denominational season's greetings to you all!