Of Birds And Bats [Batman]

[Deleted]

It wasn't that difficult to find him. For many, even among Gotham residents, the odds of actually happening to see Batman are quite low. But Shayera has a few advantages in that regard: she actually knows the man, her body is naturally equipped with things like wings and keen eyesight that make finding a person much easier, and on top of that she was given extensive training by one of the galaxy's best militaries on subjects including finding people. So no, not difficult - though perhaps another part of the reason is because it's relatively rare for anyone to even try to find him. Instead they try not to be found by him.

Though to be technically correct, Shayera didn't find Batman either. No, she found his car. But that will probably amount to the same thing, shortly. It's parked in an east Gotham alleyway - probably quite discreetly from ground level though more obvious from the vantage of the sky. And since he's nowhere to be seen this means that he's probably in one of the nearby buildings, doing... well, anything on the long list of things that Batman does while he's working. The point is, unless something highly unusual is happening he'll either return to it or signal it to drive to his location, and either way it'll help her find him.

For now she's waiting, perched on the edge of the building above the alleyway and mulling over what she wants to say to him. She's not trying to hide herself, she's simply more comfortable on the building than she would be down in the alleyway. Besides, if Batman returns to his car without noticing the winged woman perched like a gargoyle overhead then he's severely losing his touch.

It's dark tonight. The autumn has brought the storm clouds over the city in force, though for now they only threaten rain rather than offering any. Instead they hide the moon and stars from view. Of course the lights of the city easily keep true darkness away, but still the sky seems to hover over all the buildings like a black abyss. It reflects much of her moods lately: there's still scattered bits of light - things that make her smile, laugh, and feel good for a moment - but overarching all of it is a thick darkness that hides the beauty of the sky from her eyes. All the light that she can see seems artificial compared to the true happiness that she yearns for.

Happiness that she'd accidentally destroyed for herself by slowly making a series of poor choices over a span of years. And she's still not sure how she's supposed to feel about that. Individually, each choice she'd made seemed like the best course of action at the time - she feels that it's honest to say that it was all a big mistake. But what does the fact that she could manage to make such a big mistake say about her? Does such a fool really deserve to be here? Well, if she really didn't think so, then she wouldn't be here.

And Batman would be the last person she'd want to talk to, not the first. Why he's the first is because of a mixture of things. Of the group that went on that mission, it's probably Clark that she respects the most. But he's also one of the more forgiving - she doesn't think that it would take much beyond massive amounts of sincerity to convince him that she's still his friend, if she indeed needs to at all. But though she's never been close to Batman, he's a close second. Though she'll probably never say so out loud, his opinion of her does mean a lot to her in spite of how they respectively treat each other. And, not being one to safe the greatest challenge for last, perhaps the only one she wishes to come to some sort of resolution with more is John. And she's just... not ready to face John again yet. So, Batman first.

[Deleted]

At first, his cursory perimeter scan along the hauntingly archaic, razor sharp tear-dropped edges of the tall dagger building that loomed ominously over one of the East End’s many hidden alleyways revealed the seemingly typical display of winged demonic silhouettes perched like monstrous centuries on every crested corner. Gargoyles were a common fixture among most of the insidious city’s infrastructures. And the older the building? The more heinous the gargoyle. What some might consider an eyesore within Gotham due to being so vastly outdated, utterly gruesome, and downright eerie – the Bat maintained a certain fondness for the stony menacing creatures.

Their purpose came from the days long before Christianity was even a whisper of a thought – carved out granite, protruding from the structure’s stone walls, were specially sculpted spouts to help drain unwanted rainwater from rooftops. Such spouts were given animalistic, humanistic, monstrous, or demonic features as it both served its practical purpose along castle wall ledges, along with its spiritual/psychological intended symbolism by having such fierce features to ward off evil spirits and to protect those who dwell within. Stoic and forever-vigilant in their purpose as protector of their makers; incorruptible, all-seeing, and never leaving post, gargoyles are the silent keepers of their city.

Sure, there was a definite parallel to be drawn between the stone-carved beastly guards populating all throughout Gotham and the stone-silent bestial guardian who had eyes and ears everywhere. Plus, gargoyles made great cameo to blend in with while doing investigative surveillance or unseen infiltration. Needless to say? The Bat knew the precise number of gargoyles accounted for in his city and he most certainly knew each of their locations… As well as their carving structure and features. He had taken his time to study, to memorize, to immerse himself in the layout of Gotham – and such information was constantly kept up-to-date with every nightly patrol he ran.
After that quick peripheral scan of the knife shaped building before him, he began to take aim with his grapple gun towards a known secure ledge adjacent from his current shadow shrouded rooftop location on a condemned skyscraper a block or so away—when he suddenly stopped himself before he could twitch a muscle. Something was amiss – and angle was out of place, a stretched shadow existed where it should not have.

Pause.

‘Almost missed that. Almost. Maybe sledge hammer managed to actually crack through my masked cowl’s poly-alloy synthetic insulated coating? Did have brief double vision right after blow. Cleared up seconds later though. Not dizzy. No vertigo. Suit’s bio-readings show norm vitals. ‘Sides, that was a goddamned hour ago… And still got one helluva’ headache. Doesn’t matter. No excuses. Not for the Batman. Ever.’  His thoughts trying their best to re-evaluate, analyze, and rectify despite still being faintly murky since taking that hit to the head with a steel mallet from some punk ass gang kid earlier that night.

The young boy had been trying to defend his gang leader’s reputation (as well as a femur bone and both knee caps) from the Bat. He got one good swing in on the Dark Knight in the lower basement depths of the condemned, dilapidated building and that was all the runt got. Batman had been tracking down an up-and-coming street gang who seemed to be earning street cred within the East End at an alarming rate. Word on the street was the gang leader; Victor Tovarez had managed to somehow get his hands on a known toxin crafted by the Joker. After tweaking the poison just enough, Tovarez created a highly addictive narcotic that was proving to be extremely popular with the East End junkies in the Narrows subdivision.

Dangerous, deadly, and extremely potent the drug made people irrational, fueled with adrenaline, and unable to feel pain of any sort. So when a 17 year old boy weighing 113lbs. standing at 5’6” suddenly has the strength to wield a 40lbs. construction sledge hammer, swinging it like it’s a Styrofoam baseball bat – the Dark Knight had been caught off guard. But, an hour later all was said and done now—all gang members detained, all drugs confiscated, the Batman sparing no time for rest or equipment check. And it was now that he spotted that obscure inky figure crouched in the darkness beside a gargoyle atop that bladed building ledge.

Switching his narrowly slit specialized lenses within the dark eye-holes of his mask, he adjusted the telescopic vision to zoom in and flip over to night vision allowing him a much more efficient look at the figure who happened to just-so-be conveniently lurking right over where he had parked his black, heavily armored vehicle. Once he got a visual – his headache upgraded from a tolerable aching pulse to a full blown roaring cyclone pound. Taking a back route to the occupied building roof ledge, it took him a few seconds longer to arrive than normal as instead of arching himself up to land in a crouch, the Bat over shot his mark which allowed him to glide back down to his targeted landing in sheer silence and inky shadow.

“Shayera Hol.”

Pooling out from the darkness directly behind the Thangarian came the familiar shadowy and stony sharp figure – a perfect match to the callous, biting tone in which he used to speak the alien’s name. “You’re in my spot. Even worse, you’re in my city.”

He kept a keen distance from Shayera, twin slivery white shards for eyes peering unblinking at her, accusing. Unforgiving.

“I thought I made it clear about where you stand with me.”

He then stepped forward, shrouding the smallest amount of pale moonlight upon his black, armored powerful frame. His pale, chiseled jaw set in a locked clench of a sneer, his tone harsh and icy cold.

“You don’t, Shayera. And you won’t stand with me.”

[Deleted]

If the city wasn't clothed in the darkness of night, Shayera would surely have spotted him first. Of course, spotting the very thing that she's looking for while it's still far in the distance is precisely what eyes like hers are designed to do. But during the nocturnal hours, while not rendered completely useless, her eyes have a lot more trouble distinguishing the subtle movements and forms they normally rely upon - she can't claim to see much better than a human in this light. And she's certainly no match for night-vision technology.

Her ears, however, are also very sharp, actually becoming her most important sense with her eyesight so limited. So though she doesn't see Batman coming, she does hear him. Oh, she's sure that he's silent enough for his own purposes, as the sounds he makes are few and subtle. But so many noises so easily missed by a human sound quite clearly in her ears - with skill a two hundred pound man may move as quietly as a mouse, but how much does that help when the ears in question can hear a mouse? But though she hears him coming she doesn't move. In fact, she doesn't even move when he says her name. Instead she remains where she is, crouched on the ledge and peering out at city as if the Dark Knight isn't right behind her.

It's been hard, these past six months. So many questions she'd never considered before floating around in her head unanswered. She'd thought that she known who she was: Lieutenant Shayera Hol of the Thanagarian Empire, on a covert mission on the planet Earth, where she took upon herself the guise of a superhero called Hawkgirl to gain the trust required to complete her mission. A mission she'd been told was peaceful because her Commander - who she was supposed to marry - had thought that she wouldn't have been able to handle the truth. Perhaps she's proved him right. Or perhaps it would have helped her handle her mission properly if she'd know the true nature of it, and by trying to hide it from her he instead created a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Back on Thanagar she'd been such an expert in the art of espionage that she'd taught classes to other members of the military. How many times had she preached against letting yourself get attached to those you meet while you're on a mission? At best, it spares you from the upset of having to say goodbye at the end of the mission - or even worse, not being able to say goodbye - and at worst it clouds your judgment. Was her judgment clouded, or did she simply do the right thing? Either way, she knew better than to let herself get sucked into this new identity. She'd known that her assignment here was temporary. There was a whole life - her real life - that had been put on hold so that she could do this task.

But now all of that has been torn away - the real life, the false life, and it's hard for her to say for certain what that leaves her with. Six months she'd looked for the answer, only to discover that it's impossible to find through simple introspection. And yet, though she's lost herself, there are certain things that will never change. And Batman's words bring so many of them immediately to mind: she still respects him far more than he'll probably ever realize. But she's also much older than him. And has far more experience. And though he has many skills that equal or exceed hers, and never fails to be impressively inventive with the multitude of ways he manages to overcome the limitations of his weak and under-evolved body, he still has so much to learn. And she doesn't really appreciate the way that he's talking to her.

It isn't until his last declaration that she reacts, still not moving, but her voice is quite firm even though she keeps it soft. "You can't tell me where I stand - that's for me to decide. You can only decide where you stand. And whether that places me above, below, ahead of, behind, to the right, to the left, alongside, against, or even with you is therefore a decision that's impossible for you to make alone. And if you have such an attachment to this particular spot, I'm happy to move five feet over in either direction at your request. And you can't fault me for entering 'your' city without your permission when the first thing I did was find you so that I could ask you for that permission," she states, and only now does she stand and turn to look at him over her shoulder, "And though you have every reason to suspect my intentions, I've lost count of the number of times I've risked my life to save yours or vice-versa - though I'm sure you haven't. If that doesn't earn me the right to a civil conversation with you, then you're just being difficult on purpose. And if now is a bad time, I can wait."

She looks different than she did six months ago, when she flew away without once looking back. The most obvious changes being the absence of her mask and the more civilian-type clothing rather than her old costume - and the former especially would seem to be a drastic change. Her helmet had kept so much of her expressions private - those subtle shifts around the eyes that are difficult to control - covering it with a headpiece that gave her a permanently fierce expression. Without it she looks more human and less harsh, but her green eyes are full of fire. Which is only to be expected, given how rarely she hesitates to charge right into battle no matter how fearsome the foe may be.

But there are other, more subtle changes - she's just slightly leaner, an indication that wherever she's been she hasn't been training as hard she was, and the fact that she's not sporting any cuts, bruises, missing feathers, singed hair, or any other signs of recent action - an odd thing indeed for her - confirms that she's not been doing any heroic work either. In fact, right now she looks so well groomed that she can't have traveled very far today. Still, though the shine on her mace indicates that she hasn't used that recently either, the fact that it's still very well cared for indicates that she hasn't gone pacifist either.

[Deleted]

Acute attention to detail. The Dark Knight was the very embodiment of such a mental trait.  As Shayera spoke, the Bat focused on both the context of her reply as well as her overall appearance. She had made a valid point about making it her first priority to seek him out the moment she entered his city turf; no sightings or indications from his leads ever let on to having a Thangarian squatter living within the metropolitan area. Of course, he wasn’t about to admit that to her anytime soon. Where ever Shayera had come from couldn’t have been all too harsh of an environment given her rather clean-kept appearance, free of wear and tear. In fact, her stature seemed a little more slender and not quite as sharp in muscle tone… Somehow, almost looking demure. And without the trademark Hawkgirl helmet she was synonymous for wearing as protection during battle, her emotions (subtle and minimal they may be) were now left unprotected in their exposure.

Sure, Batman saw the elusive changes within Shayera’s profile and even noticed the slightest hint of tentativeness underlying within her tone. He could only surmise the intent behind her bold confrontation with him this night – she was looking for a second chance. Jaw held firm, dark stare unrelenting, the shadowy presence of the Bat before the winged woman seemed to grow that much sharper, colder in the brief mute moment between the two ex-team members.

“Don’t justify your need to strike up a conversation with me by using examples of sentimental heroism from the past. Pathetic.”

Total count of saving one another's lives: 39 times - Hawkgirl.  31 times - Batman.  Just for the record...

“Being difficult on purpose is exactly who I am. Being able to manage a civilized conversation is exactly who I’m not.” He meant for the words to bite, to sting, to stab in the most personal way towards Shayera. “I used to think you were the same way. Our kind doesn’t do ‘chatty’ – we do difficult. Then again, I also used to think we fought for the same goals on the same side, but I was mistaken...”

His gritty baritone voice still harsh in its brooding intensity, his face stoic and cold beneath the confines of his specialized mask. So hard to read. Yet, he didn’t seem to be making the subtle shifts he normally does when preparing to slip away into the night. Instead, he remained steadfast and ever-alert, watching her with caution. Shayera Hol had committed treason, breeched trust, and caused irrevocable damage to the lives of Justice League members and innocent civilians. Shayera indeed excelled in the art of espionage; she managed to actually fool the Bat himself, getting right under his skin by earning his respect as fellow soldier out on the battle field. She had been well-trained in strategy and tactical combat, intuitive perception for gauging her enemy’s next move, and she got right to the point when it came to planning decisive outcomes. Then her true nature revealed itself the moment her own people made contact with Earth.

A scout, an informant, a mole in their very midst and had been from day one of her arrival to Earth – Shayera Hol shed the beloved and highly respected guise the public had come to know as Hawkgirl, revealing beneath the power driven Thangarian alien who imparted her people with the intricate knowledge of Earth’s greatest strengths and weaknesses, ensuring a successful invasion for the Thangarians. Yet, the Justice League managed to prevail in saving Earth and all humankind from enslavement – acting in valor, justice, and with honor. And having lived on Earth with the humans, acting as a Justice League member for as long as she did, Shayera Hol found herself conflicted with her own people’s hostile takeover.

In the end, Shayera re-aligned herself with the Justice League and fought as a champion of Earth – sending all Thangarians into exile while being exiled herself from ever returning to the Thangarian world. Then the aftermath of how to handle the League’s first-ever traitor. Vote. Batman had made his decision perfectly clear to the other members of the Justice League by opting to revoke membership status, dishonorably discharge Shayera Hol, aka, Hawkgirl from the League, and permanently ban her from the Halls of Justice and all who serve. Some League members taking Batman’s side, other League members voting to grant amnesty, able to remain on the League under an extremely supervised probation. Before a final verdict was reached, Shayera made the decision alone to relieve herself as a member of the Justice League.

It was a decision the Bat could accept.  Yet, here the wayward Thangarian now was, making the effort to gain his appeal by engaging him in his own turf, coming to him on his own terms, swallowing just a little of her own pride.  Was the unnerving silence and stony gaze the Bat’s way of granting her permission to continue…?

“So you’re here.  You’ve got my attention.  Don’t waste my time.”

[Deleted]

Batman isn't the only one with an acute eye for detail. Oh, Shayera would readily admit that he's better at it than she is, but she has her share of it. Enough that she probably could live in Gotham for awhile and still escape his attention, though she has no reason to pull that stunt right now - he may specialize in finding every scrap of evidence and piecing it together, but she specializes in leaving no evidence behind to find. That's an important skill of espionage, after all, and as Batman now knows she's an expert in the subject. Good enough to keep her real reason for being on the Earth a secret from the Justice League while working among them - no small feat, even if her inherent defenses against having her mind read were a big help.

And the fact that she was the only Thanagarian that any of them had ever met was also helpful - she's quite sure that, for example, some of the others had noted her militaristic manner even though she'd claimed to simply have been a peace officer on Thanagar. But things like that are so easily written off as being cultural, as it could have simply been that Thanagarians are a militaristic race rather than a sign that Shayera herself was trained in the military - the truth turns out to have been that it was both.

But such scrutiny goes both ways, and while Shayera wouldn't claim that she knows Batman perfectly, she does know quite a bit. Enough to know not to take his mannerisms now all that seriously - he may be trying really hard to seem cold and harsh, but she knows too much of his true character to take that at face value. Yes, she's sure that even now he's carefully watching her for the faintest twitch that might signal an attack and has already worked out a very good plan of what to do if that were to happen, but that doesn't diminish the fact that he's standing there talking rather than treating her as a true enemy. It's a sign that, at the very least, he hasn't irredeemably condemned her - that he may, with time and the right actions on her part, consider allowing her to rebuild his trust - or at least as much of his trust that he gives to anyone. But then again, she didn't expect any less of him, as she wouldn't have come here if she'd thought that the effort was useless.

Yet at the same time, she knows that it won't be easy. He's incurably suspicious, after all, and her betrayal ran very deep. In fact she's not even sure that regaining his trust is even her ultimate goal at the moment - it seems so lofty. No, right now she'd be satisfied to simply lay a foundation. To clear out the rubble of the past, all the lies and deception, and come to a point where whatever they my build in the future is something that they both know is genuine.

But to do that she has to start with the truth. Something that would perhaps actually be easier if the hard looks he's giving her had any effect on her. But she's faced far scarier things in her day than him, and smashed them to pieces with her mace - she's not about to give him the truth because she's simply to scared of what may happen if she doesn't. No, she has the significantly harder task of giving him the truth because she's compelled by nothing more than the fact that it's the right thing to do - and what she must do if she's at all the kind of person she can stand to be.

"I don't know who I am anymore," she starts, her eyes going distant for a moment in introspection. Like anything, she doesn't hesitate to charge right into the thick of what she needs to say. "I thought that I knew: Lieutenant Shayera Hol of the Thanagarian Empire. Simple. But she wouldn't have hesitated to destroy a planet to save her people from the enemy. She wouldn't have let anything come between her and what was best for her planet. Clearly I'm not her." And the thoughtful frown she gives after that statement is somewhat conflicted, as the part of her that is certain that she should be more bothered by that is still quite large, but she really isn't.

"But I'm not Hawkgirl either," she adds, now looking Batman directly in the eye, "At the very least she would have known that she could trust her friends with the truth long before they had to find out the hard way. And she certainly wouldn't have let Hro hold them captive, no matter how convincing he was." This prompts another frown, this one far more troubled, before she adds, "So who am I then? Somewhere in between? Someone else entirely? I honestly don't know - I've been trying to figure that one out."

Shaking her head, she sighs and says, "But I do know a few things about whoever I am. I'm not someone who would pretend for one instant that it's possible for me to make up for what I did, or deserve to be forgiven just because I apologize. And that a couple of those that I hurt may do so anyway out of the goodness of their heart doesn't mean that I can be so generous with myself. But I can only keep up the one-woman pity party for so long before I need to do something." Her wings give a restless twitch as she reflects upon that, and she certain that sentiment would come as no surprise to Batman. After all, whenever things got quiet at the Justice League Headquarters and the other superheroes were enjoying the lull in criminal activity, she'd always been impatiently grumbling about it and scouring the planet for any action at all.

There's a pause before she speaks next, as she has no idea how Batman will take what she has to say yet, only that she's absolutely not in the mood to argue with him about it. "I need to help you for awhile," she states, quickly adding, "No, I don't think that you need help, or want it for that matter. I need it - for me. And no, I'm suggesting that I work for you - we both know that wouldn't turn out well. I could take the day shift - rescues and crimes in progress - and report to you anything I see that needs to be looked into. It would let you catch up on sleep." She pauses, suddenly realizing what she just said, and smirks as she corrects herself, "I forgot who I'm talking to - I mean would give you more time to focus on investigations. And I'm willing to follow any reasonable requests you care to make while I do it. And you know that I can do a fantastic job."

And having said all of that, she simply stops and allows him to say whatever it is that he's going to say. Because though she knows him quite well, she can't exactly predict him in everything. But, naturally, she's prepared a response to any way he might go, even rejecting the whole idea wholesale. She's able to beat him at chess, after all, so of course she well versed in the art of planning ahead. Even if she does tend to use the exact same plan every time and only alters it if she has to.

[Deleted]

Even though the Bat had suspected Shayera Hol’s motives for seeking him out, hearing her state as such only served to affirm his speculation. She was here to find purpose in her life. She had returned to Gotham as a means to justify her final actions during her last moments as an esteemed Justice League member. It made sense that she hadn’t gone to Metropolis seeking acceptance from Superman – the Boy Scout had already made clear his opinion of the Thanagarian by offering her forgiveness and a chance to remain on the League under a probationary period.


In truth, it had been the Bat to immediately discount Hawkgirl’s reputability over her treacherous actions and had since paid her no thought. And yet here she was, being as direct as he when it came to her reason for being there and when it came to what she was possibly hoping to accomplish. Though he’d never outright admit it, he still held respect for Shayera – here she was trying to appeal to his good graces, putting herself on the line after all she had done. Sure, the Bat was a hard ass when it came to imposing his dark moods and brooding temperament, but he also was able to recognize those who deserved a second chance because they came from an intrinsically good place.


“Who you are right now in this moment is the person I’ve always known you to be – whether you’re Hawkgirl or Thanagarian Lieutenant Hol, underneath you’re still Shayera. Someone who ultimately decided to protect the lives of a people who aren’t her own because she found honor and virtue in their values and friendship, and gave up serving those whom she initially originated from because she no longer shared their morals and ethics. The fact that you’re here, proving your need to have worth by choosing to uphold justice, rather than any other alternative speaks louder than anything you have just said. Actions define who we are – and though yours have been questionable, it’s the outcome that has mattered.”


Unwavering in his steadfast iridescent gaze, unreadable in his stoic features, but his dark, firm tone was unquestionable in his response to her request.


“One chance is all you get from me. Taking on the streets of Gotham will be done only by my rules. I’m not looking for a fantastic job; I’m looking for a reason to build back my trust in you. First step being? Resuming your status as Hawkgirl to the people of Gotham. Hawkgirl hasn’t lost her trusted rapport with the GCPD and if you intend to take on a day shift, it might be in your favor to work alongside with law enforcement. That said, it should go without saying that your alliance with any known vigilantes needs to be kept quiet – never commenting one way or the other when confronted.”


He now shifted beneath the concealing wrap of his cape only to produce a small tracking device no bigger than the size of a pea.


“And to start rebuilding your trust with me? I want you to wear this tracking device at all times – if it’s tampered with in anyway, I’ll know and you will have blown your only chance with me.”


Batman held the lightweight, tiny piece of tech out to Shayera wanting her to know that he wanted to keep constant watch on her – at least just for now, until she could prove otherwise.

[Deleted]

There's something very liberating about saying the complete and utter truth after so many years of lies. Not that she'd been lying about anything more than her past and purpose for being on Earth - that only came up so often. Still, she values honesty and had been constantly finding herself having to remind herself that it was in the name of a good cause. She tries not to beat herself up over the fact that it turned out to not be a good cause in the end, or for not figuring out the truth of the situation before it was too late to avoid the damage. Most of the time she succeeds - mostly. But it feels good to not have that particular guilt on her conscious anymore, even if it's now been replaced by a much worse one.

She listens closely to his words, but rather than drawing any sort of comfort from them, they seem to instead deepen her brooding thoughts. "There is no alternative," she comments, her voice somewhat distant as she explains, "I received word of my people. It seems that things had gotten more desperate for them during my time away than I knew - the battle they'd been in such a hurry to join was for Thanagar, our homeworld. And the fleet arrived too late to stop it." There's a flash of pain in her eyes as she looks down and says the rest. "Thanagar has been conquered. Hro was killed in an attempt to retake the planet. I've been given the blame for delaying the fleet, and branded a traitor - if I went back, they would kill me." And even now she has mixed feelings about knowing that door is forever closed to her.

But her mood seems to shift to a better place as she looks back at Batman and she adds, "And I've also discovered that I really can't stand doing nothing - it's been driving me insane. So this is my only option: I can't go back, I can't stay put, so I can only go forward." Even if going forward means facing up to everything she's done. But then again, it would run completely contrary to her nature to avoid doing something simply because it's difficult.

And she's also completely unphased by Batman's response to her request. "I only need one chance," she states firmly, "And yes - Hawkgirl may be a lie to me, but perhaps it can be made into a good lie." If you were to ask her, she doesn't deserve to keep the good opinion of the public, but nevertheless it's useful to have it. "And of course I'll work with the police and not mention you - this may be your city and I may follow your rules, but I intend to use my methods," she comments, feeling like Batman's stating the obvious. Her methods tend to closely resemble those of Clark - which shouldn't be surprising given that they have similar philosophies on the best way to combat crime. She doesn't lurk in the shadows and hunt down criminals - she goes out in the open and waits for the criminals to show themselves. Fortunately, she's not so inclined to try to tell anyone else that they should do the same - she likes her methods for herself, and is not one to weigh in on the issue any further than that.

There's only the slightest bit of hesitation before Shayera takes the tracking device from him. Oh, she doesn't have a problem with Batman knowing where she is at all times - it's not like she's one to go sneaking around anyway. But her first thought is that anything that has a signal can be tracked. Of course, she trusts that Batman has gone to great lengths to ensure that all his tech remains secure. Then again, it's probably the villains of Gotham who have the reputation of being clever enough to hijack such things anyway. On the other hand, even if they did, Shayera's quickly inclined to take the attitude that if they manage to track her down then she's all too happy to crush them for their trouble. So she reaches over her shoulder to place it on her back, attaching it to her shirt just behind where her left wing comes out. Given how high impact her fighting style is, not to mention the wind currents when she flies quickly, there are few places on her that she can put an electronic device and be relatively sure it will not come to harm - especially now that she no longer wears her helmet. That spot on her back should be safe enough though. "Done," she says simply, looking back at him and asking, "Anything else?"

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Even though it’s a given trademark of the Bat’s darkly masked face to only ever portray one of two emotions, stone stoic or furious rage – didn’t mean the man beneath the feral vigilante armor wasn’t able to still empathize, couldn’t still appreciate the value of compassion. When the Thanagarians had accepted defeat and taken leave from Earth (exiling one of their own highest ranked military personnel), Batman had deduced something along the lines that the rise of the Thanagar Empire had begun to spiral downward and would inevitably fall from power. Weakness of their reign exposed by such flippant treatment to one of their own society’s most elite members – proving to all that if a honored soldier could be so easily condemned, then no one truly held any importance and could be ill-fated next.


It was because of Batman’s understanding for the rules in the “fine art of war” that not only did he recognize such a dooming flaw to have in leadership, but he learned from it, analyzing other methods and hypothesizing various outcomes – weighing the decision of what works best at the end of the day. Sure, the Dark Knight worked alone, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t without his connections… His comrades… His fellow “soldiers” in the war against injustice. Beyond members of the Bat Family and the Justice League was another group of fellow vigilantes rising up within Gotham known as, the Outsiders.


It was a newly formed faction in which the Bat oversaw but essentially (unofficially) appointed Nightwing to generally handle. In this godforsaken war, those who wanted to help fight for Batman’s cause wouldn’t necessarily be turned away given all standards were met with the potential to exceed – help was help, after all. And he was able to keep tabs on those joining his side in this fight by silently affiliating with and macro managing them all into sectioned alliances like, the Outsiders. Just so long as they went by his rules.

After hearing Shayera state her acceptance of his terms in only the way that she could, he watched her plant his tracking device upon the small unique curve between where her left shoulder blade and the arc of the magnificent wing met.


“Yes. One last requirement – you have twenty-four hours from now to locate a vigilante in Gotham named Arsenal and get his approval to join his faction known as the Outsiders. You now have this one chance with me, but don’t yet have my time. And I’ve never been known for my patience.”


In the very brief moment it took for Shayera to avert her gaze from Batman to elsewhere just after he growled out his next task of command for her, the Gotham Guardian dipped completely back into the shadows with absolutely swift silence. Whether or not she managed to catch either a fleeting glimpse or scarcely muffled sound, the Bat had now entirely vanished – gone in the time of a single breath or blink. Not just leaving her alone in the night, but leaving her the chance to become a part of the Knight. Twenty-four hours would only tell.

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Even though Batman may not be the most expressive person on the planet, that doesn't mean that Shayera has made the mistake of thinking that reflects what goes on in his head. His feelings are simply more truly shown by his actions than his face - and that's perhaps the truer measure anyway. So she knows that what she's saying is having an impact, though for once she's not saying all this with the intent to manipulate. No, she simply came here knowing that, while it was always a possibility, the odds that Batman would respond to her words with apathy were probably quite low. It was whether or not that would be enough to convince him that she is not forever untrustworthy that was the gamble - he is rather paranoid, after all, even when you don't give him an extremely good reason.

And yet, even though she's well aware that she ought to count herself lucky to have been granted this chance, what he says next rubs her entirely the wrong way. Because it's one thing to wear a tracker - yes, she understands that he doesn't trust her and that allowing him to know where she is at all times would help ease his mind - that's fine. But to not only presume that he can decide who she should be working with but to say that it's a requirement is surely too much! Her eyes narrow slightly in irritation, and she turns away to calm herself. Only to hear him leaving. Good, he'd better run!

Oh, she's sure that if she really wanted to she could chase him down. Well, except that he probably knows about her claustrophobia and would figure out how to use that to his advantage. It would probably therefore be far more pleasant to simply track him down from scratch again. But by the time she did that, her current upset would be long over and it would be pointless anyway - she's sure that he'll find her again soon anyway. In fact she's betting that he'll have the exact address of the loft in the city she started renting today within minutes of wanting to know - she hasn't made much of an effort to hide it, after all. So she'll let him have his dramatic exit and wait for him to catch up with her later.

Right now, she focuses on keeping her temper in check so that she can actually think properly about this 'last requirement'. If she's being honest with herself, the real reason why it's upsetting to her is that she takes who she accepts as teammates very, very seriously and even more especially whoever is in charge. And she doesn't know Arsenal. And for Batman to presume to tell her that she's required to get his approval is just... not okay. The time limit only makes it worse. It seems utterly ridiculous to her that something like that could even be a requirement for regaining trust, so she has a hard time believing that it actually is as mandatory as Batman made it sound. Of course, there's always the possibility that it is, and that if she ignores it that she'll blow this one chance with him so it's something to take seriously.

On the other hand, if the only way that he can trust her is for her to do everything he says, then all of this is a complete waste of time. She's not his sidekick - if anything, he should be hers if the more experienced person should be in charge. And while she's willing to do many things to try to rebuild the relationship that she'd destroyed, there are limits. And even if she's not certain who she is anymore, she knows that doesn't tuck her tail between her legs just because someone growls at her. Not that she isn't perfectly capable and willing to follow direction, but only within the right context - if someone is legitimately in charge of her, she'll do what they say, but Batman is not.

But, much to her annoyance at the moment, she also respects him and knows that his judgment is usually sound. So there must be a reason that he so very much wants her to do this, and she can't just ignore that. And after debating it over with herself for a moment she decides that she ought to at least look into the Outsiders and decide from there. But that Batman sent her certainly wouldn't be the only or even anywhere near the top of the list of factors to weigh - much more important is that she's not even sure that she wants to join any sort of a group right now. After all, given the way her last experience in a group ended... She'll have to think about it. And find out what they do, decide if she can work with them... Either way, she intends to take longer than 24 hours - partly to make a point, and partly because she has other things to do. Right now, she needs to go try to get some sleep. Tomorrow she needs to get her feet wet with patrolling Gotham, finish getting her apartment set up, and go see Clark. And have a Talk with Batman, apparently.