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CHAPTER EIGHT
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Their cell was a mess. Literally. The beds were bolted to the deck, but when the ship turned upside down and then back again, mattresses and women smashed into the ceiling and then crashed back into the floor. Miraculously, they had avoided falling into the metal bed frames or into each other.

"What was that?" Wor asked no one in particular as she tried to stand. "Are you all okay?"

"What's going on," Rac asked.

"I hope that's our freedom ticket," Hol answered as she stood. "I think that's my friends. Otherwise a couple of more turns like that and it won't matter who they are. We should grab a mattress to cushion our fall if this happens again." The others nodded and grabbed a mattress from the floor.

Except for Ces, who Rac grabbed by her hair and pulled toward her. "Oh, no, bitch. You don't get a mattress. You get to take your chances just we did after meeting you here."

Hol was about to concur with Rac when she heard the click of the cell door being unlocked and had a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. The door burst open and a guard made a beeline for Hol. He grabbed her by her smock, pulled her out of the cell and pushed her to the floor in the hallway. It was the same guard that had stunned her with a laser stick during her first night of captivity, stunned her while she was washing steps and then later dragged her in that room where they drugged her. It was the one with the large scar on his chest.

Hol watched in horror as the guard then opened fire on the remaining women in the cell. The screams in the room were matched by Hol's own as she leaped on the guard's back, trying to kick the weapon out of his hand. He grunted as he pulled her over the top of his shoulder with his free claw and flung her back to the floor like a human picking a fuzz ball from a sweater. He continued firing into the cell until the screams and groans stopped. Then he turned his attention toward Hol.

The guard yanked Hol up off the floor and pushed her down the corridor. She stumbled as the guard shoved her and then she recognized the room the guard was pushing her towards. It was the room she'd been in earlier, the room in which they'd drugged and hurt her.

She took a deep breath. If she was going to die, she was going to die fighting and she damn sure wasn’t going to die in that room. She was twenty feet from the door when she dropped to the ground and executed a sweep kick knocking the guard over. She grabbed his laser stick, but couldn’t get the weapon to fire.

Again!

She jabbed the lizard in the stomach with the stick, then hit him in the face knocking him out. She wasn't going to last long if she didn't find a way of killing these reptiles.

A pistol!

Each one of these Gordanians carried a laser pistol. If she couldn’t get the rifle to fire, then she’d take his pistol. She searched the unconscious lizard, found his weapon and attempted to fire it into him. It wouldn't fire, but when she pointed it at the wall, it blasted a good size hole in the structure.

This wasn't good. Had the Gordanians devised some sort of safety feature that prevented their weapons from being turned on them? Using the laser stick, she smacked the lizard in the head again and again until she was sure he was dead. Then she dropped the laser stick next to the dead reptile and ran down the hallway back toward the cell where she knew the dead women were.

The command deck had to be two flights up and back at the other end of the hallway. She had no idea what she would do once she got to the bridge, but staying where she was not an option. She frowned. All she had was a stupid pistol that might not work against the lizards.

She'd give anything for her mace right now.

Suddenly a green shaft of light cut a hole in the floor in front of her and she smiled.

John.

xxxx

He'd lost count of the number of Gordanians he'd killed in the last ten minutes, but it didn't matter. With his ring he'd searched the ship and found her on this deck. Shayera stood in front of him bare-foot, in some sort of open back gown, holding a laser pistol. But she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen when she smiled at him and said, as she jumped into his arms, "What kept you?"

He smiled and rubbed his shaven head, "Had to do my hair. We'll be out of here in a minute." He held out her mace. "Here. This is for you."

She stepped back from the embrace, grabbed her weapon and said, "I thought it was an Earth custom to bring the female flowers and candy as a greeting gift." She smiled. "I think I like this better." She pointed to the confinement band on her wings. "Think you can do something with these?"

John stepped to the side and said, "Sure, don't move." Using his ring, he cut through the band like a hot knife through butter. With a clink, the restraint band dropped to the floor and Shayera flexed her shoulders and spread her wings.

"I guess Vixen was wrong," she said with a smile. "You are good for some things." She paused, faced John, placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "John, I know this isn't the right time, but I need to tell you something. I know things have changed between us, but I want you know that I still - -"

She didn't finish her sentence as suddenly the smile left her face as her eyes flashed wide open and she stumbled forward a step, groaned, dropped her mace, then dropped to her knees in front of John. There was a stunned, vacant look on her face as she looked up at him, reached to grab him and clutching air fell to the floor face first with a thud at his feet. There was smoke rising from the grapefruit size burn hole in her upper back.

John was stunned for a moment, then he screamed, "Shayera!!" The shot had come from a Gordanian who had been behind her.

"No!" John screamed as he discharged a blast of green energy into the approaching Gordanian. The blast threw the lizard against the far wall where he collapsed into a smothering heap.

John dropped to his knees, turned Shayera over and cradled her head in his lap. Her eyes were opened but her stare was unseeing. He gently rocked her back and forth as he repeatedly cried out, "No! No, not now."

He didn't notice the Gordianian guard standing over him until he spoke. "Isn't this what you wanted, Green Lantern?"

John looked up at the Gordanian, then to the spot where he'd blasted the other lizard. That Gordanian was gone. Without looking back, John fired an energy blast at the reptile pinning him against the near wall. He kissed Shayera's still warm lips, then gently placed her head on the floor.

"You better make peace with your god because you're about to meet him," John bellowed as he grabbed the Gordanian by the throat with his bare hands.

The Gordanian, who had a massive scar across his chest, slapped John's hands away and pushed him back. "You don't scare me and you can't kill me, John Stewart. She tried twice and failed. But she didn't know who I was, but you do, don't you?"

John stood there as the lizard brought his claws to the top of his head and pulled at his horn, removing a mask and revealing a face that John had seen in his trip to the future. It was the face of the unmasked Warhawk, the face of Rex Stewart.

"I am the son you didn't want," the Gordanian said, "the son you'll never have now. There'll be no Rex Stewart because that's what you wanted."

John's jaw dropped. "Noooooo!"

The Gordanian wearing Rex Stewart's face smiled. "You should be happy, Dad. This is exactly what you wanted, isn't it? Just think, the hundreds you killed today represent the hundreds Warhawk will never save. Makes you proud, doesn't it? And you don't need to worry because I made sure she was punished at every opportunity just like I knew you wanted, Dad. I even made sure she didn't get to tell you that she still loved you. And now that she's dead, she can't interfere with your life anymore. You see, don't you? You won't be destiny's puppet after all." Then he laughed. "Isn't that what you wanted?"

John backed away in horror as he screamed, "No! Nooooo!"

xxxx

"He's coming around," Batman said as he took a look at the paper strip that came from the heart monitor. He nodded to himself as Shayera watched.

John lay in bed with an oxygen mask on his face. He'd been unconscious for the last ten hours. Shayera had not left his side since Bruce brought John to the Watchtower medical bay. She was hungry and now had a headache. She asked one of the med lab techs to get her an aspirin.

"Is he going to be okay?" she asked, not of the medical personnel, but of Bruce.

The doctor on duty pouted, but deferred answering Shayera's questions to Batman.

Bruce nodded. "Yes. I got the Scarecrow antidote to him in time." Then Bruce frowned as deeply as he had been doing all night and shook his head as he continued sadly, "I knew the Scarecrow was in that jewelry store, but he got away from me and ran toward the back door where Lantern was posted. He sprayed him with his gas before I got to him."

Bruce paused. "There's no telling how the gas will affect him until he comes to. Sometimes the gas removes fear, sometimes it gives fear. Once, it made Batgirl dream about her worst fears. There's just no telling what it'll do."

Suddenly John started moaning and cried out, "No! Nooooo!" He bolted straight up and opened his eyes. His look was indescribable as he seemed to being trying to figure out where he was.

Shayera smiled at him, keeping her eyes on his. "John, it's okay. You're okay. You're safe."

John's eyes locked on her and tears seemed to well in them as he swallowed hard and whispered, "You're alive!"

Shayera looked first at Bruce then back to John. She placed her hand on John's and gently patted it. "Yes, I am and so are you. You're okay." She was surprised when he grabbed her hand and gently, but tightly squeezed it.

She noticed Bruce's raised eye expression and sheepishly withdrew her hand from John's.

"You were gassed by the Scarecrow at the jewelry store," Batman said to John. "What did you see?"

John lowered his head, but said nothing. Bruce nodded and turned to Shayera. "I think he'll be okay now. I'm going to leave, but you two should talk because whatever it was, I suspect it involved you."

Bruce signaled the medical staff to leave with him. The doctor didn't protest. Shayera thought to herself that it wouldn't have done any good any way. Very few people win an argument with Batman.

After the staff left, Shayera sat on the edge of the bed. John leaned forward and said, "Do me a favor. Just turn around and spread your wings." She looked at him curiously, stood, turned and spread her wings and then refolded them. A smile crossed John lips as she turned back to face him. He leaned back against the pillows.

"Was Batman right?" Shayera asked. "Did it involve me?" She leaned forward.

John nodded. "It did." He looked away silently

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

"Not yet. I need time to process what happened. Or what I thought happened," he amended.

She sat on the edge of the bed again. "I called Vixen and told her you were here. She told me to call her when you were out of danger. She's coming back tonight." Shayera paused. "John, whatever you saw wasn't real. It was a ...a dream." She smiled weakly.

John just shook head. He was silent for a long time. She resisted saying anything to break the silence, hoping that he would say what was troubling him. After a moment, he said softly, "I dreamed I…I made choices and others paid for my decisions in ways I couldn't begin to imagine or describe."

It was a struggle for her to keep her expression flat and harder for her to remain silent.

John leaned forward. There was sadness in his voice as he continued, "I think I hurt some people I didn't mean to by the choices I've made, and things I said, and I didn't fully realize to what extent until now." He looked away. "That's what I saw."

She stood. "You once said something about saying you're sorry when you've hurt someone and moving on. I don't know the details of what you saw and I hope that one day you feel you can tell me, but let me say this. If it's something you can correct, you should correct it. If you can't, then say you're sorry and move on with your life."

His eyes widened at her words, but he said nothing. She flashed a wisp of a smile as she said, "I'm going to go to the cafeteria and get a sandwich. I haven't eaten since Batman brought you in earlier. Do you want anything?"

"I'll have whatever you're having. When you get back from the cafeteria we'll talk."

She smiled and nodded. "Okay." Then came that familiar crackle in her ear as Mr. Terrific said in her earpiece, "Shayera, Batman, Stargirl, Red Tornado and Doctor Light to the transporters. The Royal Flush gang is causing havoc in Metropolis." Shayera frowned as she looked at John and shook her head, then pressed her finger to her ear and said, "Be right there."

"You gotta go, huh?" John said as he started to get out of the bed.

"I do, but you're going to stay in that bed until the doctors say you can leave." She paused and smiled briefly. "That's an order, mister. I'll get someone to bring you a sandwich. I'll be back as soon as I can."

She turned to leave. When she got to the door, John called out, "Shayera?" She stopped and turned to face him. He was back under the bed covers.

"Did Mace ever tell you the difference between loving someone and being in love with someone?"

Shayera didn't try to hide her confusion as she shook her head and said, "Mace? Metamorpho? No. Why?"

"No reason in particular. I was just checking…you know just confirming to myself that I would indeed need to think about it a couple times before doing it."

"Doing what?"

He smiled slightly and said, "When you get back, I'll tell you."

Shayera flashed a smile equal to his. "Okay then, when I get back. But don't forget."

She turned to head for the transporters convinced that she would never completely understand humans in general, and John in particular. But her smile widened when she heard John say behind her in a voice he hadn't used with her in years, "I won't forget and neither will you. It's a destiny thing."

She smiled to herself, then ran down the hall toward the transporters without looking back.

END