ST. ROCH, LOUISIANA
NOVEMBER 5TH, 2010
19: 12 CST
Finding herself in truly nightmarish scenarios was becoming a little too frequent of an occurrence for Ski'Lira's comfort. She was all for challenging battles, testing her prowess to its full potential, but even she had her limits.
First there was being captured by CADMUS, where she was intended to be dissected and cloned before the great escape. Then there was the invasion of Mount Justice that had nearly resulted in the deaths of not only herself but every other member of the Team. Third was the mental end of the world simulation that she still had zero recollection of. And fourth and most recent, battling a literal fear demon in a hellish domain of its own creation.
If she were a betting kind of girl, she'd predict some sort of robotic takeover or mass mind control at the hands of one of the plethora of supervillains running around.
Never could she have expected that the entire adult population of the planet would just... disappear.
She was very much debating whether her severity scale for these situations needed to be recalibrated, because this had escalated far past what she could have ever anticipated.
The entire situation reeked of magic, both figuratively and literally, as the phenomenon had been accompanied by that telltale tang in the air of arcana.
She had been sitting at the dinner table when it happened, Hal Jordan present for a visit, but in an instant, he and her parents had vanished without a trace. For a moment, she had believed it to be merely limited to the League, but the disappearance of the news anchor from the TV playing the news quietly in the background betrayed it as something widespread.
Ski'Lira had registered the true dangers of the situation almost immediately, and had sprung into action. Gearing up, she'd flown straight towards St. Roch's most popular community center downtown. On the way, she had called out to every visible child she spotted, directing them towards the center, aiding them in retrieving younger siblings from booster seats, and herding them into groups.
An entire school bus worth of preteens that were on their way back home from an out of state baseball game proved to be excellent helpers, more than happy to yell at other kids and act like little shepherd dogs.
She was more than a little relieved to find out she wasn't the only one to identify the community center as an ideal place to go. A trickle of children and teens were already making their way into the building under their own volition by the time she arrived with her small horde.
The crowds gathered in the massive gymnasium parted for her, torn from their desperate chatter and their panic at the sight of her golden armor and flared wings. Snatching up a discarded megaphone from the floor (likely dropped by a coach mid-game), she stepped up onto a folding chair to guarantee she was seen as well as heard.
"Listen up," she ordered, amplified voice bringing the crowd to a hush. "Everyone stay calm and listen to my instructions, so we can handle this with as much ease as we can. I'm going to organize you into groups-"
"Hey, why do you get to be in charge?!" Demanded a scrawny teen in an oversized hoodie bearing a band logo she didn't recognize. Before he could begin outlining his reasons for protest, a much taller and significantly more muscular teen elbowed the dissident in the ribs.
"Shut up," the brawnier boy hissed, shooting Hawkgirl an encouraging thumbs up.
"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, knowing full well she was probably the only one in the room who actually knew where the cardinal directions lie. "Anyone certified in First Aid or CPR, as well as any pre-med students. I'm sure there are at least a few in this city." A few of the glaringly older kids broke away from the throng, making their way to their newly designated station. "Second team in the Southwest corner, Child Care. Babysitters, those with younger siblings, if you think you can handle taking care of infants and small children, do it. Take anyone under the age of thirteen with you."
One girl with bright purple hair who was already carrying an infant and another boy with twin toddlers clinging to his hands led the way, the group cutting down in density as all of the younger children were brought away from the crowd.
"Team Three is Transport. Those with valid licenses and access to a car. Team Four is Search and Rescue. I only want fourteen year olds and older confident in street layout or with access to GPS. Both Team Three and Team Four 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 assenting voices, as those gathered began to split off even further. Satisfied for now, Hawkgirl hopped off her temporary perch.
"Excuse me, Hawkgirl?"
A trio of teens about her age stood before her, all solemn, but determined. All three bore lanyards and ID cards designating them as official volunteers here at the community center.
"My name is Marisol, this is my sister Mia and our friend Hugo." The first girl spoke up, her wavy hair carefully tamed into a braid and pinned with colorful flower barrettes. "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," the one identified as Hugo nodded, his wispy blonde hair obscuring part of his face before he blew the strands away with a puff. "You can count on us, Hawkgirl."
"Good," turning the megaphone back on, she said. "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 awkwardly cleared her throat, but managed to muster up a smile. "A little threatening, but it does the job I guess. Gracias."
"Before you go, here!" Rummaging in the pocket of her jean shorts, Mia presented her phone, glittery purple case and all. "The code is 3317. Both Marisol and Hugo's contacts are already in there, so you can call us while you're out and we can call you if we need to! Oh, and you can give the number to the other search and rescue people if you need to, I don't mind."
"Smart," taking the obnoxiously vibrant phone, Hawkgirl tucked it into the safety of her boot, where she typically stored her own.
A heartbeat later, she found herself legitimately startled as the comm unit nestled in her ear 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. Trying to get my city in order. You?"
"About the same, but with the Harbor."
"Keep me updated?"
"Will do. Stay safe."
Based on the tension in his voice alone, Robin was just as stressed as she was, especially since this had definitely been upgraded to 'global threat'. There was something heartwarming that he'd called her, though.
"Everything... okay?" Marisol was tentative in her questioning.
"Just a friend checking in." Hawkgirl was confident that if she left now, these three would have things well in hand. "Let me know if there's any specific supplies you need, check in with Medical first. Maybe charge some of the in-between kids with carrying food from the kitchens?"
"Will do," Hugo gave her a snappy salute before jogging towards the Medical corner.
"Miss Hawkgirl?" A new voice made Ski'Lira delay once again, this time the source a small gaggle of young girls and boys, the eldest no older than eleven, all looking up at her. "We wanna help!"
Tossing a slightly exasperated look over her shoulder at Marisol and Mia, Hawkgirl gave a short sigh 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 and paper."
Excitedly chattering to themselves at the prospect, they flocked over to the two volunteers, finally allowing Ski'Lira to leave.
A good number had gathered by the front doors, and they'd even helpfully divided in half to denote the two different teams. "Thank you for waiting."
It was a simple concept, as any complexity would just add unnecessary grief. Transport would follow the Search and Rescue teams in their vehicles, helping ferry anyone injured or young back to the center. Said teams were divvied up into quartets and took designated streets, covering St. Roch in its entirety.
A few of the larger vehicles were set aside purely for supply runs, as based on the number they had acquired so far, they would need a great deal more food and necessities to last... however long this would go.
Once team leaders had been given her temporary phone number, she let them loose on the city, taking to the skies herself and preparing for a grueling night.
H
Setting a system into place as early as possible turned out to be her saving grace. With every new rescued child, it meant a new possible member for one of the groups. It was like a pyramid scheme, but without the financial devastation. One recruits two, who go on to recruit five more, and so on. At the end of an hour, the gymnasium was so packed that there was overflow into the hallways and some of the more spacious event rooms. Despite the increase in size, it remained an efficiently running machine.
They'd even received word from several other centers and schools that similar triage stations were springing up all over the city, particularly around the outskirts and suburbs. From her understanding (based upon a fast-paced phone call with Hugo while she was ushering kids away from the dangerously smoking car she'd just pried them out of), it was the trio responsible for the spread. They'd called friends, in particular those they knew from volunteer events and school programs.
Three teenagers were coordinating a city-wide emergency response and succeeding.
If none of them ended up in politics when they reached adulthood, she would be shocked, because holy hell were they exceeding her expectations. Once this was all over, she would personally guarantee that the trio and everyone else who had gone above and beyond the call of duty would receive the recognition they rightfully deserved.
With the administrative pressure 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.
There was an eerie fascination with the concept of so many common disasters occuring at once, just with the removal of adults from the equation. 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, thefts, and all sorts of opportunistic crimes from the less moral taking advantage of the chaos to cause even more problems.
More than a few bands of older teens had been subjected to stern lectures that at least cowed their behavior long enough for her to rescue a scared group of kids they'd been terrorizing and foist them onto 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 apprehending in the past) had eagerly offered their services for both Transport and Search and Rescue. A few had even been dropped off with Medical, thanks to a surplus of experience with emergency medical aid.
It was a temporary truce, but a lucrative one.
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, this night would have broken her.
An infant was cradled carefully in one arm, after carefully she'd extracted them from a stroller that had overturned (miraculously suffering only a few bruises and one superficial scrape on a delicate arm), when her borrowed phone burst into life. Instead of a call, the image of three all too familiar faces greeted her. In a nearby shop window, a TV screen swapped from an automatically looping ad to the same video.
As she watched, she readjusted the baby's blanket so they were more firmly swaddled.
"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 know you must be scared and angry." Kid Flash's tone was low, reassuring, and 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 promised. "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."
Broadcast over, Ski'Lira managed to extricate the carrier portion of the stroller, thanking the baby's parents for splurging on one of the expensive strollers that had multiple modes. Once the baby was nestled back inside, she hooked the carrier into the crook of her arm and started the trek on foot to the community center. She didn't want to risk flying with this precious cargo, and she was close enough that she didn't deem it necessary to flag down one of the wandering transports or another team.
That decision turned out to be a fortuitous one.
As she was walking, a boy no older than five years old who had been hiding in the entryway of his apartment spotted her. Flying out the door and latching onto her leg, he insisted that she go back to get his little sister. Ski'Lira managed to decode his babbling, that the two had been hiding from the other teams because of 'stranger danger', only trusting her on sight because he recognized her as 'one of the bird heroes mommy and daddy say are really good even if they look scary!'.
The sister, a toddler, had been retrieved with little fuss, and was held in Hawkgirl's non-baby occupied arm, leaving her brother to walk alongside her with his sticky hand balled up into the hem of her shirt.
But that wasn't the end by a longshot. Her sensitive nose picked up on the scent of freshly spilled blood, along with muffled cries, a sound that she had become far too familiar with over the past hours. Setting the toddler down on a bench and sternly instructing her brother not to move, Ski'Lira readjusted her grip on the carrier and headed towards the nearby alleyway where the noise was coming from.
Her looming shadow triggered the huddled figure within to press themselves further up against the brick behind them. Vision adjusted, now she could see the young girl in distress, dark, tightly curled hair piled on top of her head and held in place with a butterfly hair tie, shoe missing and blood staining her white sock and her ankle mottled and swollen.
"The community center's been set up as a safe station." Ski'Lira rattled off the script that she had used for almost every child she'd encountered. "Do you need me to carry you?"
"I'm not going anywhere with you!" This wasn't the first vehement refusal for help she'd encountered tonight.
"There's food. And medical attention." Hawkgirl tried again. "That ankle looks painful."
"I'm fine." The girl's eyes shot to hers in a fiery glare, mouth twisted into a frown.
At the sight of the fading bruise around the girl's left eye, Hawkgirl's jaw set.
Glancing back at her other two charges who were patiently waiting as instructed, Hawkgirl folded herself down so that she was sitting cross-legged on the ground. The carrier she set down and began to rock in place, not wanting the baby to rouse from the sudden lack of movement. The last thing she wanted to deal with on top of a hurt child was a wailing infant.
"What's your name?"
At first, she didn't think she'd get an answer, until the girl uncurled 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 wasn't aware of her identity.
"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."
No nine year old should sound so bitter and jaded. A tide of rage swept through Ski'Lira, not at the kid, never at the kid, but at whomever had made Molly feel so strongly. Not a single ounce of that emotion did she allow onto her face.
"Fortunately for you, I'm not an adult."
That admission startled Molly, her dark eyes widening. "You're... not? But you're so big?"
"Thank you." Hawkgirl tilted her head. "I'm sure you've noticed there are no adults around. They're all gone right now because of a magic spell. So if I were an adult..."
"You wouldn't be here." She filled in, relaxing just a tad more. For a moment, Hawkgirl thought she'd had her, until Molly unexpectedly 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 was scrounging every part of her brain that possessed information on childcare and disaster response. After a hasty evaluation of this particular child, she decided that honesty was the best way forward. "Probably. You feel safe here, then?"
Molly hummed in affirmation, looking around the alley. "There are cats here that sometimes let me pet them."
"That is pretty nice. But I'm guessing it's also someplace that people can't find you when you don't want to be found? Someone specific maybe? Like your parents? Guardians?"
Based on Molly's body language, Ski'Lira's guess had been correct, as much as she wished otherwise.
"You might feel safe here now, but I think you'd be better off somewhere warmer and with a roof overhead, where you can get something to eat and get that ankle looked at."
"... I tripped. Hurts to move it."
"Molly..." Pausing for a moment, Ski'Lira waited until the girl's distrusting eyes were on her. "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 little finger for emphasis. "That if Molly Doyle, age nine, comes with me to the community center, I will do everything in my power to get her away from the adults that scare her when the world is put to rights, to make sure she finds someplace where she can feel safe all of the time."
A wealth of emotions played across Molly's youthful face, until she finally nodded to herself and began to creep forward, linking her own, much smaller pinky around the Thanagarian's, careful to avoid the razor sharp claw. "Pinky promise."
"Thank you, Molly."
One crisis successfully averted (amongst countless more), Ski'Lira stood back up and whistled for her other charges. With Molly unable to walk, the girl ended up on Ski'Lira's back, arms looped around her neck. The baby carrier was looped back around her arm, toddler on the other, and the boy practically glued to her leg. The procession to the community center was slow, but a relatively short distance.
Her first stop was Medical, letting another girl with a cheerful, braces-bearing grin carefully take Molly off her back to be seen to. It took another string of assurances in order for Molly to go peacefully. Ski'Lira next went to the childcare corner. The two tiny siblings detached themselves with no fuss, coaxed away by the prospect of snacks and juice boxes.
In her absence, the area had been decked out with a colorful mishmash of blankets, makeshift playpens, and toys all to entertain (and contain) the littlest ones. She had no clue where they'd managed to scrounge up at least half of these things, but she was nonetheless impressed by the resourcefulness.
Her arrival was quickly noted by one of the primary caretakers, one of the oldest in the room that also happened to be the same burly guy who had spoken up on her behalf at the beginning of this mess. It seemed like years ago by now, despite only a handful of hours having passed.
"They should be fine, just bruises and a small scrape," Ski'Lira explained as she transferred the baby over to him. "But you might want to get one of the medical kids to check them out, just in case. Their stroller was overturned when I found them."
Frowning, the older teen placed the carrier down to take out the infant, already starting a cursory examination of their visible skin. "Will do." Just as she was about to head out, he cleared his throat. "Hey, do you want to sit down for a second?"
The look she shot him was filled with incredulity. "I don't exactly have time for that right now."
"I get that, but you just... look tired." He offered, initial burst of confidence 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 had been trying so hard lately to be better about her wellbeing, to guarantee that she didn't push her body past its limits before it was ready. But with this disaster, she had nothing on her mind but going until she literally couldn't take another step. The only priority in her head had been to protect her city and all its people, or at least the half of the population that she could protect. She was the only one around with enough power and experience to do more than an average civilian could, brave fires and tear apart metal and brick.
Instead of verbally chastising him for daring to tell her what to do (as was her first instinct), she unceremoniously dropped into an empty folding chair. Her wings fully relaxed for the first time in hours, feathers brushing the linoleum. She vaguely registered that the guy had disappeared, only to reemerge a minute or so later, infant no longer in his arms and a bottle of water and protein bar held in one hand.
He handed both items to her, "Here. Pretty early on we were graciously given an entire baseball team's worth of snacks."
"Thank you," she tore open the wrapper with her teeth, devouring half the bar in one bite. "The ones in the green uniforms, right?"
"Yeah. I have no idea what their team is called, but they're pretty enthusiastic."
It was while she was consuming the second half of her snack that her comm crackled to life, for the first time since Robin had contacted her... who knows how long ago by now.
"Robin to Hawkgirl. Status?"
Swallowing the hearty bite, she coughed to clear her throat. "Busy. Taking a short breather. I saw your message."
"I figured." Hearing his low sigh, she could practically see Robin 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 don't have much time."
"I'll just cut straight to the chase. We're going up against magic users here, strong ones, and we both know how invaluable you are against magic. The Team needs you."
"No, you need me." She corrected. "I'm sure that the others have no idea you're even talking to me."
Judging by his frustrated silence, she'd hit the nail right on the head. "Hawkgirl-"
"St. Roch needs me. I'm sure you can handle it on your own."
Another pointed throat clear drew her attention back to her temporary minder, who was sheepish at the prospect of interrupting her. "Uh, Hawkgirl, if... 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, infuriatingly, had a point.
Closing her eyes, she crumpled the metallic wrapper in her hand.
"... Sky?"
It was the desperate note in Dick's voice as he used her real name that cut through her spiraling thought process.
"I know things aren't... things are far from okay with the Team, but..."
"That doesn't matter." She interrupted. "None of that matters right now. You need my help? You have it. I'll be there as soon as I can."
"... That... It means a lot."
"It means that we're friends. See you soon." Hanging up, she just stared at the civilian hovering by her for a moment, who shifted under her pensive attention. "What's your name?"
"Leo. It's short for Leopold." He scratched at the back of his neck and the base of his close-shaven scalp. "You, uh, probably don't remember, but you saved me from getting mugged a few months ago. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't be here right now."
"Leo, I have a few requests to make of you. Give this back to Mia," she held out the borrowed phone for him to take. "Tell her and her sister Marisol, and Hugo too that they're doing a fantastic job, and I trust that they can keep this city from burning down in my absence. There's also a girl in Medical, her name's Molly Doyle, she has a little pink butterfly in her hair. Check in on her for me? Tell her... Tell her that I always keep my promises."
"Mia, Marisol, Hugo, Molly Doyle. Got it. I will. And... Thank you. For everything."
"I don't accept thanks for doing what's right."
H
MOUNT JUSTICE
"Recognized: Hawkgirl, B07."
Zatanna's presence at the Cave was unsurprising, no doubt it had been her magical prowess that had been behind their search, and success, in locating the culprit responsible for all this madness. Focusing on the young magician also meant that she didn't have to acknowledge the emotion-filled looks she was currently receiving from Conner, Artemis, and M'Gann.
Mere seconds after her emergence from the teleporter, Kaldur and Wally were running in from one of the hallways, no doubt summoned by the computer's announcement.
"Oh no. Hell no." Wally pointed accusingly at her. "What is she doing here?!"
"She was invited." Robin defended, crossing his arms and bodily placing himself between her and the rest of them. "By me."
"Why would you do that?" Artemis' eyes were narrowed in distaste. "Don't we have enough problems to deal with without-"
"A psycho Thanagarian who might try to kill all of us?" The speedster finished for her.
Tilting her head towards Robin, Ski'Lira shot him a wordless expression that screamed 'I told you so'.
"Look, I know things aren't... okay... with Hawkgirl right now." Trying his best to placate both sides, Robin's hands were up, but he spoke with surety. "But the fact of the matter is we need her. Or are you forgetting that she's the only expert we have on fighting magic users?"
"We can handle it just fine." Arms folding, Conner's eyes were averted, not even deigning her worthy of a split second glance. "We don't need her here."
"Despite what you might believe, I'm not here for you." Straightening, Hawkgirl's wings were flared with indignation. "I'm here to help whether you like it or not."
What was sure to be an ill-timed shouting match of epic proportions was interrupted by an eye-searing white flash, heralding the arrival of... Billy Batson?
What the hell was Billy Batson doing here?!
"It works!" The boy exclaimed, grin nearly as blinding as the burst of light he'd rode in on.
Kaldur reacted first, "Where did you come from, who are you?!" He demanded.
Billy whipped towards M'Gann, "Quick, read my mind!"
Complying with the odd request, the Martian's eyes glowed, only for her to snap out of it with a gasp a moment later. "He's Captain Marvel?"
"He's what." Hawkgirl deadpanned, earning her an apologetic look from their '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, one could hear a pin drop.
"Holy crap. He is Captain Marvel. Captain Marvel's been a kid this whole time?"
"Funny, isn't it?" Ski'Lira closed the distance between the two of them, kneeling down so that they were eye to eye, also allowing her to visually inspect him for injury. "You aren't hurt?"
Cheeks reddening from embarrassment, Billy shook 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 said with solemnity, but also with more hope than they'd had before.
H
ROANOKE ISLAND
The site of the ritual was suitably haunting, even by witch standards. An orchard, branches bare of leaves and fruit as the end of the season was nearing, with Klarion standing alone in the middle of a crossroads. Illumination from the orange glyph carved into the very center painted his angular face with hellish light. The air was near choking with the sheer intensity of the magic being cast.
Their plan of attack relied heavily on the element of surprise, as it was their only chance of even attempting to gain an upper hand over a Lord of Chaos like Klarion.
Artemis and Robin were the first to break into line of sight, firing off two arrows and a barrage of birdarangs respectively. Lifting a hand, Klarion drew all of the momentum from the projectiles, and they dropped to the ground not even close to making contact.
"That's the best you can do?" Klarion crooned, firing off a bolt of crackling red lightning that exploded, forcing the two to retreat scarcely after the engagement had begun.
The second wave of offense rolled in, Superboy, Aqualad, and Kid Flash moving in unison, only to be halted by a barrier of scarlet energy that shimmered into life around the glyph. The shield prevented anything from interfering directly with either the glyph itself or its caster.
Sliding in when the previous attempt failed, Zatanna let a backwards spell tumble from her lips, the words of echoing power having no effect on the shield.
"Thc, baby magic." With a black-nailed hand, the witch boy casually rattled off a spell of his own, effortlessly launching Zatanna into the air with near disinterest. A quick save on Superboy's part kept Zatanna from grievous injury (and possible death).
Rocks fired with bursts of M'Gann's telekinetic power pelted the bubble, each one increasing in size when the previous wasn't enough, only for Klarion to deter her with a blast of fire from his mouth, driving her back with a startled shriek.
An arrow was fired at the so-far 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 their display, Klarion's face morphed and twisted into its more demonic form, solid red eyes and visible fangs, brows pulled into unnatural slopes. "Show them what the familiar of a Lord of Chaos can do, Teekl!"
Teekl yawned, then began to grow in size, reaching the equivalent of a lion. Superboy moved in to engage the enlarged beast, only to be pounced upon and forced on the defensive.
In the center of the luminous, tangerine circle, the crystal foci began to glow ominously blue, prompting a frustrated noise from Klarion. "So, you teamed up with the grown ups. Teamwork is so overrated." The emerging blue energy was channeled outwards with his will, slamming into Artemis, Robin, and Aqualad. Kaldur barely managed to redirect it and hold steady, but the other two were knocked out cold from the attack.
Kid Flash made an attempt to speed in, only to be similarly struck down, just as Aqualad lost his tentative control and was driven to his knees.
Hawkgirl had been watching the entire course of events from above, her ire growing steadily stronger as every planned attempt at attack was struck down mercilessly.
During their initial plan creation, she had provided as much input as she was able with exactly how they could deal with Klarion. No matter how much they might dislike her, they couldn't dispute her superior experience and prowess with taking down magic users.
Zatanna had proven to be her greatest advocate (aside from Robin, of course), citing her father's claim that some sorcerers would just surrender at the mere suggestion of one of the Hawks showing up.
Unfortunately, that also meant that instead of being thrown onto 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 shuffled her off to the side and quietly made her promise not to strain herself too far. Knowing it came from a place of heartfelt concern, she listened to his plea, and made her second pinky promise of the night.
Now here she hovered above the battlefield, cloaking by an illusion spell courtesy of Zatanna, remaining unseen until Aqualad gave the signal.
But they hadn't thought things would go so spectacularly wrong so very quickly. As Aqualad was unable to provide any orders, Ski'Lira made the decision for herself to intervene, as most of the Team lay vulnerable to Klarion's wrath.
Tucking in her wings, she dropped into a steep dive. The sudden movement dissipated the spell concealing her, just as Zatanna would warn it would, and as she extended out her wings her shadow fell over the dome.
In her hands, her mace crackled to life, the out of place white energy drawing Klarion's eye just as she smashed straight onto the top of the shield. Cracks burst all over, but were resealed from the sheer amount of energy poured into the barrier.
"Now that's just cheating." Klarion's lower lip jutted out into a displeased pout. "You Thanagarians are always such killjoys!" Sneering at her, he formed a more complex gesture with his fingers, arcane words falling from his mouth in rapid fire. Klarion was done playing around.
Tendrils of red surged from the ground behind her, lashing onto her wings and tangling them together, hauling her from her perch on the dome and into the dirt. Mentally cursing herself for being ensnared so thoroughly and 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, 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 frantic cry of Zatanna's name from Aqualad made Hawkgirl jerk her head around.
"Stop!" Another yell came from Kid Flash, but it was far too late.
Nothing they did could have stopped Zatanna.
Golden light, the familiar hue making something catch uncomfortably in Ski'Lira's chest, rippled through the shadowed orchard. In Zatanna's place floated Doctor Fate, returned to being once more. Drifting up into the air, an ankh formed out of yellow and purple, heralding his presence for all to behold.
Snarling, Hawkgirl used the accompanying burst of anger to snap through the remaining tendrils, rending them to pieces with her claws until they completely dissipated. Her wings and armor were caked with damp soil from her struggle, large clods falling off as she staggered to her feet.
"Klarion," droned Doctor Fate, his voice strangely layered with Nabu's deep tone and Zatanna's much higher cadence. "This ends now."
"Billy, tell Zatara." M'Gann insisted, her worry pouring from her end of the mental link.
"Right, yeah. SHAZAM!" Vanishing in his trademark lightning bolt, Billy was gone.
Hawkgirl made a break for the dome, not hesitating to hammer on it with her mace the second she was in range. Miniscule cracks appeared with every strike, but not nearly enough to shatter it outright. If she had enough time, she definitely could have broken it on her own.
Klarion was thankfully distracted by Dr. Fate's reappearance, the two locked into fierce combat. Klarion was resorting to throwing spheres of disruptive energy at the Lord of Order, only for each to be gracefully dodged.
Realizing he wasn't about to gain any kind of ground, Klarion shifted his focus back to protecting his still ongoing ritual. Doctor Fate fired off a shot of golden energy at the shield in an attempt to aid Hawkgirl's efforts, but it was ineffective. Every shot the master magician made was glancing off the dome.
Following the lead Hawkgirl had set, Aqualad formed his water bearers and began striking at the barrier over and over again, as M'Gann was tossing boulders nearly the same size as she was and fallen tree trunks in an attempt to brute force it.
Above, Fate let out a strange cry as his form almost glitched, revealing Zatanna beneath for but a moment before reverting to his fully armored 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, an ugly sound. "Who gave herself for nothing."
"No, foolish boy. Fate decrees her sacrifice shall not be in vain." Gloved hands held out before him, Fate concentrated all of his power into one, singular blast.
Klarion barely had the opportunity to scream out an overdramatic, "NO!" before his protective dome disintegrated around him, leaving him fully vulnerable. Taking advantage of his weakness, Fate fired off an ankh that drifted down towards the witch, locking onto him and expanding into a makeshift pillory.
Even with his hands immobilized by pure Order magic, Ski'Lira wasn't about to take any chances with the witch boy. Stepping up behind Klarion, she scruffed him at the back of the neck like an errant kitten, Nth metal claw tips digging into his pale skin. Much like when she'd fought the fear demon on Halloween, wherever punctures formed, only black smoke leaked into the air. He hissed at her, but she only tightened her grip, mace readied in her other hand to bring it down on his head if he so much as twitched.
"Now, Kid!" At Aqualad's cue, Kid Flash sped in from where he'd been lying in wait, yanking the crystal from its housing in the glyph.
"Doc, catch!" The crystal was thrown with unerring accuracy to Dr. Fate, who caught it and started to weave a new spell.
For a moment, it felt like the entire world shifted an inch to the left, accompanied by a wave of Fate's signature colored magic. A handful of unconscious magic users appeared in the missing positions of the ritual's glyph, along with several members of the League.
Ski'Lira felt Klarion's body go lax in her grip, snapping her back into focus as he began to speak. "Boy, they sure don't make evil immortal sorcerers like they used to. Oh well." Clicking his fingers, the pillory construct faded around him, and a burst of black shadow energy exploded from his back, forcing Hawkgirl off him and hard into the ground. The sudden impact knocked the breath from her lungs and her feathers were crushed into disarray.
Klarion brushed off his sleeves as he stood, "Fun while it lasted. Teekl!"
The feline familiar leapt off of Superboy, who had been pinned like a trapped mouse, and Teekl shifted back to its usual housecat size and jumped into Klarion's waiting arms.
"See you later, armadillos! Unless I see you first!" Cackling in a downright deranged manner, Klarion hopped 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 asked. "Klarion is Chaos personified. He cannot be contained."
Extricating herself from the her-shaped furrow in the ground, Hawkgirl limped over to the others, shedding even more dirt as she went. By this point, she was so filthy she looked like she'd crawled out of a grave.
"Did we win?" Robin asked, clearly still dazed from the hit he and Artemis had taken earlier.
Kaldur's jaw was set, his eyes sad. "At a cost."
They could only watch as Zatara approached the Lord of Order, his jade eyes aflame. "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 shouted at him, her cheeks flushing with rage.
Robin, similarly incensed, took a step forward. "She has her own life to live!"
"Kent would never allow you to-" Kid Flash's plea was cut off, as Fate, with only a few words, proceeded to knock Ski'Lira's world off its axis.
"Kent Nelson did object strenuously. So I released his spirit to the afterlife. He's gone."
Ski'Lira was legitimately concerned she'd pushed her body too far and her heart was actually starting to give out. The initial shock at losing Kent a second time was overcome by unrepentant rage at such a great man being spoken of so callously. Lifting up her mace to live up to a long held vow to ring his bell and scramble his brains, she was halted by a hand on her shoulder.
Batman stood next to her, grip on her shoulder unrelenting even when she directed her frustrated glare at him.
"... Take me, instead." Zatara's offer was quiet, but sincere. "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 last bit of collateral he needed to agree to the deal.
Finally floating down to ground level, Doctor Fate landed across from Zatara, willingly removing the helmet from his head. There was a second before Zatanna fully regained her cognizance, but once the initial confusion faded she was smiling at her father and throwing herself into his arms. "Dad!"
"Zatanna, remember, I love you." There was nothing but the purest 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 provided his own binding oath, though this one not born of magic, merely care for a colleague and his kin.
With the knowledge that he wouldn't be leaving his daughter entirely alone, Zatara succumbed to the Helmet of Fate's decree.
"No, please!" Zatanna pleaded once she realized what was happening. "This was my fault, Dad, don't!"
But Giovanni Zatara was gone.
Doctor Fate had returned, for good this time, now that he had a proper vessel. His attention was on the gaggle of restrained sorcerers. "Leave these to Fate." Bringing them aloft into the sky with him, the small group disappeared between one blink and the next.
Zatanna collapsed to her knees, several members of the Team already flocking to her side as she wailed, grieving for the father she had just lost to Fate.
H
One step through the front door of her house, she was yanked into a back-breaking hug by Katar. He didn't care in the slightest about the mud and soil smeared all over her.
"Ta'me," she squeezed her eyes shut tight, returning the embrace as tightly as she was able. "I missed you."
"We were so worried you were lost to us." Katar muttered, hand drifting up to cup the back of her head. Calloused fingers dug into her sweat and dirt-ridden hair, combing out a few errant dried leaves and twigs.
As soon as he drew back even a centimeter, Ski'Lira 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 earned her a hearty laugh from the third adult present, one 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." Releasing her from the onslaught of hugging, Shayera frowned at her daughter's state. "But right now, go upstairs, get out of that armor, shower, and come down so we can debrief. Hal will make hot chocolate."
"I will, will I?" Hal mocked, even as he was already on his way into the kitchen to do so.
"Go. Shower." Shayera physically pushed her daughter towards the stairs.
Twenty minutes later, she was comfortably seated on the couch in the living room, finally clean and wearing the most comfortable set of pajamas she owned, happily sandwiched between her parents. Hal hadn't just made a batch of hot chocolate, but he'd also heated up the leftovers from their abandoned dinner. It was a bit of a weird flavor combination, but Ski'Lira was so hungry she didn't really care.
Apparently, while she'd been organizing emergency triage, her parents had been similarly engaged in trouble of their own. As they had the benefit of having actual emergency responders to rely on, most of the minutiae had been left to the professionals. While Batman, Captain Marvel, and Zatara had been tasked with locating the source of the ritual, the other members of the League had been spread out across the globe to mitigate the chaos.
The Hawks were tasked with taking down a rampaging Floronic Man, who was using the bedlam to try to take the world over with vegetation.
Clearly, the attempt had been foiled.
Or soiled, as Hal corrected, earning himself a throw pillow to the face from Shayera.
Shortly after that, Hal cited his need to return home, that he had actual work at Ferris Air in the morning, worldwide disaster scenario or no. With one final hug for his niece, he left the Hall household.
"You should be getting to bed too." Katar poked his daughter gently in the side.
Stifling a yawn at the prospect of sleep, Ski'Lira desperately wished she could agree. "Can't. I have to make some calls first."
"Fledgling, you're dead on your feet."
"I made a promise. It's important." She insisted.
Opening his mouth to (no doubt) deny her request, Katar was stopped by a hand on his forearm, courtesy of his wife. Shayera's eyes were examining her with shrewd scrutiny. "And it can't wait?"
A tight shake of her head seemed to be all the proof Shayera needed. "Alright. As long as you promise to get at least some rest. And take it easy tomorrow."
Ski'Lira winced, "About that...? Zatanna asked me to help her move into Mount Justice. She... She said that she'd feel better with... magi-null capability around. And I know what you're going to say, but I don't care that 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."
With the long-suffering sigh of a parent dealing with a difficult child, Katar gave a fond tug on one of her wings. "Your heart is too big for your own good, fledgling. Fine. But the second you feel fatigued or ill, you come straight home."
After a few goodnight hugs, Ski'Lira trudged up to her room and flopped face first onto her bed. She allowed herself a full sixty seconds of relaxation before she blindly grasped for her phone charging on the nightstand, disconnecting the cable and flipping through the applications.
She double checked that she was using the League-tech app that disguised her number, allowing her to make outgoing calls without leaving a trace. After giving it out so often over the course of the night, it was easy to recall Mia's phone number.
"... Hello?" Mia answered cautiously, picking up on the second ring.
"It's Hawkgirl."
"Hawkgirl?!" The exclamation was loud enough that the Thanagarian was forced to draw the phone away from her ear. "Mari, it's Hawkgirl!"
"I heard you the first time." Marisol's exasperation was palpable. "Put it on speaker already!"
With a click, Mia did so. "So, we have no idea exactly what you went off to do to fix everything, but thank you."
"For everything." Marisol added. "I'm pretty sure the city would have crumbled to the ground if you hadn't stepped up."
"And my plan wouldn't have succeeded without you three. How did everything go after I left?"
"Pretty good," Mia took over again. "There were a few people that tried to act up when it was clear you weren't coming back, but Mari shut them down like, immediately. Hugo even yelled at one kid for punching someone, and he never yells. It was a glorious sight to behold."
"Please pass on my thanks to Hugo, too, I..." Ski'Lira was caught in a jaw-cracking yawn, strong enough to bring tears to her eyes. In an effort to stave off the wave of lethargy, she rolled off the 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?"
"Weeeeeell..." Mia drew out the word as she formulated her answer. "All of a sudden, poof! All of the adults were back and they immediately started panicking as they realized there were a bunch of injured and traumatized kids. It was kind of awesome, they all listened to us three about our setup and worked with it instead of overhauling it, at least until we could get everyone home."
"That's when the Justice League popped up with a news bulletin about what happened." Marisol continued. "You know, how Doctor Fate used errant magic or something to reverse some of the... damage. Which... You know, we were all avoiding thinking about the death toll for the kids' side, but... he was able to bring them all back."
That had to be largely Zatara's influence at work. He would be the kind to bully a Lord of Order into taking advantage of fluctuating magic to work literal 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 at the recent memory. "Okay, I cried a lot too, but to be fair, tonight has been an ordeal."
"I think you both handled it incredibly well. I'm glad I found some people I could trust by my side during..."
"... Mia, are you crying again?"
"No! I just... got something in my eye."
"What, tears?"
"Hawkgirl just paid us a legitimate compliment, I think I'm allowed to be emotional about it."
Sniffling, accompanied by the sound of a tissue being removed from its box, came through the speaker before the phone changed hands. "So, you're okay, right?" Marisol asked, now the bearer of the phone as her sister noisily blew her nose in the background. "We figured you were off fighting whatever big bag 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 debated with herself. "I have Mia's number saved. And... if you need to get in contact with me or my parents, the St. Roch PD has a direct line to us. Or you can just yell if you see me flying overhead. My hearing is very good."
A laugh came from the two sisters, "Oh, we will definitely be doing that!" Mia seemed to be over her previous emotional upset.
"Anyway, thanks for checking up on us, Hawkgirl. It means a lot. We won't keep you any longer. If you're anywhere close to as tired as we are, you should be getting some sleep" Marisol closed out the phone call with her final well wishes.
"Stay safe, you two." Hanging up, Ski'Lira felt more at ease knowing that the two sisters and their friend were okay.
One phone call down, the easiest she'd make and one that bolstered her determination.
Now she just had to play phone tag with the St. Roch Police and Child Protective Services.
After all, she had a pinky promise to uphold.
H
MOUNT JUSTICE
NOVEMBER 6th, 2010
09:16 EST
The last of the boxes had been stored in Zatanna's newly designated room, all thanks to the combined efforts of Artemis, Dick, M'Gann, and Ski'Lira. Most of them had been filled with either clothes or books. Zatanna was insistent that they only had to go so far as to physically carry the boxes into the room, and that she'd handle all of the unpacking herself.
"My room's right next door if you need anything." M'Gann offered a tight smile.
"Thanks," lips pursing, Zatanna's gaze flickered uneasily around the cluttered space. "I uh, could use a little alone time, okay?"
"Of course," Artemis assured the younger girl, leading the way out of the bedroom and towards the lounge.
As the group departed, Zatanna's quiet sobs rang in Ski'Lira's ears, but she did her best to filter them out to allow the girl her privacy. It was not for her to overhear. Thankfully, the lounge was a fair enough distance away that she was properly out of earshot, and Zatanna had full privacy to grieve alone.
Letting out a low, exhausted groan, Ski'Lira dropped into an empty armchair, ignoring the displeased frowns she was getting from a certain speedster and Kryptonian. M'Gann was already resorting to her tried and true stress relieving method, retreating into the kitchen and starting the process of baking something from one of her many untested recipes.
A majority of the Team (namely, everyone but Dick and Zatanna), weren't thrilled by her presence, especially when she had showed up again this morning without their knowledge. But when Zatanna had literally thrown herself at Hawkgirl in an embrace and loudly proclaimed that she was glad she showed up, they had held their tongues. None of them were about to tell off a devastated young girl for taking safety in Hawkgirl's presence.
Ski'Lira was more than happy to remain a silent, comforting shadow, which had alleviated at least some of the pain in Zatanna's eyes during the moving process.
"You look terrible." Dick's voice came from somewhere above her. Through half-lidded eyes, she saw him leaning over the back of the armchair, chin perched on his folded arms. If asked, she would vehemently deny that she was very close to falling asleep right then and there until his intervention.
"Thanks," she deadpanned, knowing his assessment to be true. This morning, she hadn't even attempted to look put together, throwing on paint-stained grey sweatpants and an oversized black hoodie with a long-faded Green Lantern logo on the front. Even her casual cloth mask was rumpled and slightly askew, the tails tangled up in her hair as she'd forgotten to braid it before putting on the mask. "Tired."
"I think we all are." Dick agreed with a huff. "Did you get any sleep last night?"
"Couldn't," stifling a yawn behind the baggy sleeve of her hoodie, she tilted her head back so she could properly look at her friend's face. "I spent almost all night playing phone tag with CPS and SRPD."
"Why would you do that?" Artemis' abrupt question seemed to surprise even herself as it slipped out. "Not that I care." She tacked on, attempting to save face.
"Made a promise I had to keep," Far too tired to deflect, Ski'Lira was candid. "It was worth it. Her new social worker picked her up a couple hours ago and took her to a group home."
"Who?" Dick prompted at her lackluster explanation, going so far as to reach down and poke her cheek to keep her conscious.
"Molly. She's nine. I met her last night. Promised I'd help her so she'd go to the shelter. Doesn't trust adults."
"That's..." Artemis trailed off. "Actually... Pretty cool of you."
"It couldn't wait?" Proud, but concerned at her state, Dick jostled her again. "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."
"Relapse?"
It was astounding how Kaldur'ahm could take control of a situation with a single word, snapping Ski'Lira out of the hazy state she'd been drifting into, fully alert. For a few precious moments, she had completely forgotten everyone else in the room, intent on convincing Dick that she wasn't about to keel over.
Or, at least she wouldn't as long as she stayed sitting in this chair.
"It's nothing," Ski'Lira excused with a murmur. "Just got a little sick for a bit."
"Aww, did you catch a cold?" The words fell from Wally's mouth with nothing but pure vitriol. "We all feel so bad for you, catching a case of the sniffles! How could we po-"
"She almost died!"
Dick's eyes were wide with remorse as he realized what he'd just done. From the kitchen, there was a clatter of metal on tile as M'Gann dropped the bowl she'd been attempting to slot into the mixer.
"Robin," hissing his name, Ski'Lira's hidden eyes narrowed. At the reprimand, the younger boy's shoulders dropped.
Rubbing at the bridge of his nose (careful not to knock his sunglasses askew), Dick groaned in frustration. "I know, sorry, it just... it just slipped out."
Seeing that it truly was an accident, and his apology rang with truth, she let it go. He was just as exhausted as she was, so she couldn't find it in her heart to blame him for failing to censor himself.
"You know, that doesn't-" Once more, Wally's petulance was interrupted, though this time from a scowling Artemis.
"No, Wally, shut up. You." Her grey eyes locked onto Ski'Lira, jerking her index finger at her. "Explain. When did this happen?"
Keeping her head down, the Thanagarian was silent, hoping that if she didn't answer, they'd grow frustrated enough that the entire matter would be dropped.
She really should have known better.
"I do not believe this avenue of avoidance is as effective as you think." Striding across the room, Kaldur knelt down before her, goading her into speaking by staying within her direct line of sight. "Hawkgirl, when did this happen?"
Jaw working, she swallowed the newfound lump in her throat. "... The simulation?"
"During the simulation?"
She offered a shrug.
"You were sick?" M'Gann's follow-up question had a desperation to it, as if she were drowning and someone had just thrown her a lifeline mere inches from her reach. "When we were doing the test? You were sick?" The repetition only punctuated her nervous disposition, hands wringing together so tightly the skin was turning pale from lack of blood flow.
Usually by now, Conner would have reacted to his girlfriend's distress, gluing himself to her side and slinging an arm around her shoulders, but he remained right where he was. The tips of the Kryptonian's fingers worked into the denim of his jeans, bunching and smoothing the fabric on loop.
"Yes? No. No. It's... difficult to explain." Ski'Lira admitted. "Robin?"
"Yeah, I can attest," he breathed, coming to her rescue without a second's hesitation. "Excuse my language, but it's fucking complicated."
Surging to his feet, Wally glared with accusation at the duo. "Why are you two being so weird and cryptic? The way I see it, Ski'Lira nearly killed M'Gann, and now you're trying to come up with some bullshit excuse about some mysterious illness, despite the fact she's said over and over again that she isn't affected by Terran diseases! I swear, if you're lying to us so we'll let you back on the Team-"
"I'm not lying." Ski'Lira's throat vibrated softly with an underlying growl, that she quickly tampered down, even as her mind's eye flashed back to waking up in a hospital bed with her father slumped in a nearby chair, distraught. Sounding aggressive right now wasn't going to help her, especially since all she wanted to do was deescalate the situation enough that she could make a retreat to the Zeta tubes and go home. "I'm suspended from the Team under my own recommendation, maybe indefinitely. Yesterday was an exception. Robin asked for my help, so I came. That's it."
"We could have handled it just fine without you!"
"Excuse me, but who here has gone toe to toe with Black Adam and survived? Because I think I'm the only one 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 flicked a hand not-so-subtly in M'Gann's direction. "Didn't stop you before!"
"I would never try to hurt M'Gann!" Now standing, Ski'Lira fought back against her body's immediate protest with the change in position, along with the growing tightness of her throat and the liquid heat rising in her eyes. "She's kast! You don't... You don't do that!"
Wings sagging, Ski'Lira's knees trembled and she fell back down onto her seat as the room went dead quiet. Her next inhale caught, turning ragged, and she pressed her hands into her face so the others couldn't see the growing patches of damp on her mask.
M'Gann made a soft, wounded noise. "Hawkgirl... Are you crying?"
"No," she denied on instinct, but her choked tone only made the lie more evident.
A gentle touch to her knee roused her, Kaldur's green eyes staring at her beseechingly. "You tried to explain your side of the story to me once, and I refused to listen. That was my mistake, one I will not make a second time."
H
Explaining the exact nature of a Thanagarian's Movr Sifastarr wasn't any easier this time around. In fact, it was a great deal more difficult, considering the presence of more people, and the resulting increased number of questions she would flounder to answer.
But this time, she had an ally present.
"Before she starts, I want you all to know that it's really hard for her, because we're dealing with a completely... alien concept, not offense to those present." Dick had moved so that he was sitting on the back of Ski'Lira's chair, letting her lean back against his shins. "So you're all going to let her talk as much as she wants to, with no interruptions, and only when she's done you can ask questions."
His demand was met with tentative nods. Only once he was certain the others would attempt to behave themselves did he give Ski'Lira's shoulder a soft nudge, urging her to begin.
"I told you once that Thanagarians were made for war, evolved for it. That has... more effects than I led you to believe." She had to pause to clear her throat of residual scratchiness. "Our wings give us aerial advantage, enhanced strength and senses, faster healing, we can see in the dark, and are far more resistant to extreme temperatures. With a proper air supply, a partially armored Thanagarian can survive in the vacuum of space anywhere from fifteen minutes to a full day, depending on the individual. But I think M'Gann and Conner can both attest that much power usually comes with a... natural cost. A balancing agent."
"Your claustrophobia?" Artemis guessed, not unkindly, but far from content. "Are you saying this all happened because of that?"
"No, not that." Now was the part where she'd probably lose them. "Thanagarians possess a specific response to intense, situation-specific stimuli. When I explained this to Robin, I asked him to think of it as an advanced form of the Fight, Flight, Freeze, or Fawn instinct. When we are engaged in a battle, where the result is an almost guaranteed loss, particularly when surrounded, fatally injured, or a member or members of a kast is incapacitated, permanently or otherwise... Something can... snap, for lack of a better term. The Thanagarian's brain reverts entirely to instinct and rage. We call it the Movr Sifastarr."
"She wasn't lying when she said she didn't have a choice." Robin tacked on. "When she told me about all this, she said they usually lock onto whoever or whatever caused the harm, before turning on anyone and anything around them. 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 with a frown, at odds with himself over this new revelation. "To protect us?"
Offering a slight nod, Ski'Lira shrunk in on herself just a little more.
"You... You didn't mean to... You weren't lying about, about..." M'Gann spoke haltingly, having difficulty finding the words to voice her thoughts. "I just... I just thought you were... angry. At me. For what I did."
"I was, I... I think I am a little, still. But if I wasn't in Movr Sifastarr, I would never attempt to kill you, mistake or otherwise." She insisted. "Remember when Aqualad practically fed us to Clayface? Remember what I did to him?"
Kaldur winced at the memory, "I received quite the verbal thrashing."
"And that's as far as I would go. Attacking you like I did, M'Gann, that was... unforgivable. For my people, harming someone in your kast, it's..." The sheer amount of wrongness in the concept made finding terms to describe it in English a challenge. "It's like putting a knife through your own eye."
"It was an accident." The summation came from Artemis, who sounded more than a little shell shocked from the revelations. "Everything that happened, you didn't... You really weren't in control."
Kaldur's eyes widened a tad, "That's why you also attacked Captain Marvel and Red Tornado."
"Not... just them," Ski'Lira corrected. She had it on solid authority she'd attempted to take on every member of the League that had tried to restrain her.
The resulting silence was downright awkward, as most occupants in the room were still processing the massive amount of information they'd just been subjected to.
But it wasn't over yet.
Because Robin wasn't about to let her wiggle out of revealing the situation in its entirety, especially what it could have meant for her. "Tell them what it means." His arms were crossed now, his eyeline somewhere off in the distance. "The... Movr Sifastarr." Though the pronunciation was far from correct, his point was still made.
"Robin, it's fin, they don't-"
Wally caught on first, sharing a look with his best friend (who seemed grateful), "What does it mean? The... I'm not even going to try to say that."
"Direct translation doesn't work out exactly, so-"
"Hawkgirl." This time, Robin's stern interruption left no further room for delay.
Blowing out a deep exhale, she acquiesced. "It means The Last Fury."
"Okay...?" The resident speedster drew out the word in his confusion. "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..." Ski'Lira floundered, confused by his new use of 'we'. "It can only happen once."
A noise came from Artemis, her grey eyes shot wide with horror. "It's a failsafe. 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 technically simulated. I have no doubt my medical records are going to be a matter of intense study on my planet, for more than one reason."
Wally was sputtering, "How does... How does something like that even evolve into a species?"
"There's plenty of essays on the subject, but general consensus is long-term exposure to adreno-responses and Nth metal 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, they don't... they 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 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, especially with Robin lurking over her like a human lie detector, ready to call her out the moment an untruth left her lips. "... Close enough that... The League was deciding which one of them would have the burden of telling you I wasn't coming back."
Hand over her mouth, M'Gann's skin went pale and she fled the room. Moving for the first time since this had started, Conner followed after her.
Eyes closing, Ski'Lira's wings stretched and curled out and around her, encasing herself in a little safe wall of feathers, muscle, and bone. Now she didn'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 bunkering down in its shell would have any hope of deterring her friends.
A gentle hand, identified as Artemis' from the thick calluses lining her fingers, grasped the edge of a wing and gingerly pulled it aside. "Hey."
"... Hi."
"Scoot over."
Stunned into compliance, she parted her wings enough for Artemis to clamber onto the empty part of the seat. The right side of Artemis' body pressed tightly to hers, her wings cutting them off from the rest of the room. Ski'Lira's hands locked onto her ankles, knees pressed to her chest.
"Thank you for telling us the truth," Artemis began. "And I'm sorry we didn't give you the chance to do so before. We should have 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. I probably should have been sent back to Thanagar for recovery, but my parents and the League wanted me close. They uh... covered the... 'dramatic vigil' enough, I think."
A strained chuckle left the blonde, "Oh, I can only imagine. But... We weren't there for you when you really could have used some friends, and I'm sorry."
"Uh, we?" A teasing scoff came from Robin, who had kept quiet during the apology. "Who was the sole confidant here? Because I think it was me."
"You're never going to let that one go, are you?"
"Never."
"I think he has earned the right to do so," Kaldur offered with a light shrug.
The gradual shift of her wings into a more open position had gone unnoticed by their owner until she realized that she could see a newly returned M'Gann. Verdant cheeks were flushed and her eyes were tellingly red and swollen, but her face had been rid of any liquid evidence. With a determined set to her jaw, the Martian strode across the room and stepped around Kaldur, leaned down, and pulled the Thanagarian into a bone-crushing hug.
"I am so sorry," M'Gann whispered into the side of her head. "I didn't mean-"
"I know," Ski'Lira assured her. "I know."
It still wasn't exactly okay, but neither were trying to claim as such. They'd both been hurt by the other, inflicting wounds that would take time to heal just as much as the physical ones.
But they were willing to try, and that's what was important.
Releasing the embrace first, M'Gann still didn't draw completely away, instead sitting down on the arm of the chair, setting its number of current occupants at four. With Robin perched on the back, Sky and Artemis squished into the seat, and now M'Gann, it was comfortably cramped.
Conner crept into the room shortly afterwards, still yet to utter a word. He sat stiffly on the floor near the armchair and Kaldur, which said enough.
A gusty sigh left Wally as he collapsed onto the couch. "I don't know about you guys, but I think this has been the longest forty eight hours of my life."
H
By the time Batman showed up, the Team were sprawled in various states of repose, giving into their penchant for puppy piling during times of great distress.
M'Gann was in the midst of enthusiastically retelling the story of the disastrous Halloween party at Happy Harbor High, while steadily twining Ski'Lira's hair into an intricate braid.
No one saw the slightest quirk of a grin on the Dark Knight's face, shadowed as he was in the doorway.
"Hawkgirl," he announced his presence. "Your parents want you home."
"Okay," letting out a jaw-cracking yawn, Ski'Lira allowed M'Gann to tie off her handiwork before forcing herself out of the comfortable chair. With the space all to herself, Artemis swiveled and stretched out, putting her feet up on the seat.
"Hey, text me later." Artemis ordered as she wiggled her shoulders and relaxed further into the plush surface. "I have a book report for English class and I could use your literary brain."
"Sure thing," the Thanagarian nodded. "I... guess I'll be seeing you all at our next training session?"
"We are looking forward to it." Aqualad inclined his head meaningfully.
Offering one last grin, she followed Batman out into the hallway, mind already locked onto the prospect of finally getting some solid sleep. Batman staying by her side indicated that he had something to say, but before he could, heavy footfalls echoed from behind them.
"Hey," Conner's hands were stuffed into his pockets, blue eyes darting around, unsure where to look. "I wanted... No, I... need to apologize."
"Ka'zera, you don't-"
"I do," he cut her off. "You were hurting and I yelled at you, said some things that... I really shouldn't have. After all you've done for me, I should have given you the benefit of the doubt, actually listened to you."
"I wasn't exactly... forthcoming."
"You weren't. Usually, you're never afraid to call us out on stuff. Did... Did you not trust us enough to tell us?"
"That..." Finding herself struck temporarily speechless, Ski'Lira was forced to take a long, hard look at the situation. 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 weakness of her people she couldn't afford to let them know, it wouldn't make a difference even if she did tell them and it would continue to be her fault.
Now, every single one of those worries?
They felt... 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?" His face twitched in displeasure. "That sounded better in my head."
"I know better now, if that's what you meant."
"Yeah."
"And... 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."
They shared a stilted chuckle at that, a strange commiseration in being the two members of the Team guilty of attempting to murder at least one other member.
"I..." Chewing on his lip thoughtfully, Conner tried again. "I think we've still got a lot to work out, though."
"As a Team?"
"As friends." He corrected.
"... Oh. Hm... Well, I should-"
"Yeah, you should sleep. You uh, really look like you need it."
'Thanks. Bye?"
"Bye."
Glad that Batman hadn't stuck around to see that cringe-laden farewell, Ski'Lira set off to rejoin their mentor, where he had been waiting by the Zeta Tubes. Just as she predicted, he stopped her before she could make for the teleporter.
"So, you have officially decided to lift your suspension from the Team?"
"If that's alright, yeah?" She nodded.
"Considering you were the one who imposed it, yes, it's alright."
"It'll take some time before we're back to... where we were. But... they still listened."
"Because you told the truth."
Only her incredibly high respect for the man kept her from rolling her eyes. "Yes, yes, I should have listened to you and the rest of the League from the start."
"Because we've learned our lessons the hard way, just as you have. We had to put in serious work to get to where we are now, and we've had our fair share of disagreements. What's important is that we communicated and worked past them, just as you're doing. It takes a great deal of maturity to do so, and seeing you all face that responsibility gives me hope for the future."
"So we can be League-level one day?"
"No. So you can surpass it."
"... That's..." Ski'Lira blinked, taken aback at the vehemence of his declaration, his faith in them. "That's one hell of a challenge."
"I think you can all manage." He tilted his head, "But right now, what's important is that you head home before your mother storms through here to retrieve you herself. She's already waiting outside the St. Roch Zeta Point."
"Right," taking the permission to leave, she offered one last parting wave, and stepped through the portal home.