The Chain

THE CHAIN by BILLA1

Disclaimer: The Characters Batman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Superman, Hawkwoman & Flash are all owned by DC Comics. This story is intended for my own pleasure and is not for profit. It has been posted to this site for others to read. Places and characters not own by DC Comics are my own creation. The Justice League story "A Better World" was written by Stan Berkowitz.

The Chain

(Rating: PG-13)

Synopsis: A post-Wake the Dead, Alternate Universe, story about the effects of Superman's decision in "A Better World" to arrange a pardon for Lex Luthor on John Stewart and Shayera Hol three years from tomorrow.

I can still hear you saying you would never break the chain. Chains keep us together. - Fleetwood Mac (The Chain)

(Three Years after the Failed Thanagarian Invasion.)

The drawn curtains kept most of the light from the rising sun out the couple's bedroom. However, a small sliver of daylight managed to cast a vertical shaft of light across the king-size bed and formed a bright, white stripe against the far wall. The silence of the room was broken by the sound of an alarm clock buzzer that demanded that the couple get up or at least turn it off.

Finally, unable to ignore the cries of the alarm, John Stewart, the Green Lantern of sector 2814, reached across his night table and silenced the clock - hard. Muttering to himself that his lover once again had not closed the curtains tightly enough to prevent the light from coming into the room, he stirred and finally sat up.

Looking to his left, he saw the winged woman he now called his mate desperately struggling to grab the last few minutes of sleep available to her. After the invasion and a difficult physical and emotional two year separation, they had reunited and decided that they could and would resume their previous personal relationship. However, the cost of resuming this relationship had been great - to both them and to Vixen, who had walked into his life after the invasion. And with their reuniting, Vixen had clearly paid the most for their happiness.

A smile crossed his face as he recalled the times before the invasion, when he would watch the winged woman sleep and inwardly laugh as her long red hair would cover her face as she slept, as if, it had a life of its own. A year ago, she cut her hair into something she called a "boy cut." She said she did it as a response to his shaved head and goatee. But he figured it was really because she wanted to completely kill off Hawkgirl because she also changed her heroine name and her costume at the same time she cut her hair. But, whatever she called her haircut or herself, in his mind the green eyed, red haired, winged alien was still beautiful.

He reached over to and across the woman, who was curled in a fetal position facing him, and gently stroked her skin where her wing met her back. A low moan parted her lips as she stretched and turned just slightly toward the touch.

"Shayera, wake up. We're going to be late," Stewart said smiling as he continued to lightly stoke this erogenous zone at the base of her wing.

"John, stop. Just five more minutes' sleep," grumbled Shayera Hol, now known as the Hawkwoman, as she rolled on her stomach and buried her head under her pillow.

Stewart slowly got out of the bed and grabbed his pillow. Walking around to her side of the bed, he called out, "Five...Four...One." And as he said "one," he leaned over and gently hit her pillow with his.

"Hey," she yelped underneath the pillow. With her head still under her pillow, she quickly spread her wings and slapped Stewart in the face with the left wing. As soon as she hit him with her wing, she scrambled to her right grabbing her pillow and taking it with her. In one motion, she leaped in the air, flung her pillow back at Stewart and hovered in front of him, her long backless night gown making her look like a biblical angel. Using his ring, he quickly formed a shield in front of him and the pillow dropped harmlessly at his feet upon impact. He then formed a giant hand and grabbed Hol by her ankles and pulled the laughing Hol back to the bed.

"You can wipe that stupid grin off your face, mister," she laughingly said.

He laughed with her as he released her. "Sorry, but this happens to be the smartest grin I own. Besides, you need to get dressed. We're going to be late and you know how Batman gets when anyone is late."

As she got off the bed and headed toward the master bathroom, she groused, "No, we mustn't disappoint the high and mighty Batman, should we?"

"No, we shouldn't, but this isn't about Batman," he answered.

He started making up the bed, gently picking up the few small downy feathers in the bed and putting them in the waste paper basket next the night table. The down side of sleeping with a bird - ha -pun intended, he thought.

He threw open the curtains and let the morning sunlight bathe the room with bright light and warmth. Staring mindlessly at the cityscape below, he opened the slider windows and took comfort from the sound of her voice coming from the bathroom.

"No, I guess you're right," she called from the bathroom. "Superman is going to be really ticked off since Luthor got elected President last night."

Stewart turned from the window and walked around to the side of the bed closest to the bathroom. He sat on the bed as he waited for Hol to finish preening her feathers and dressing in the bathroom.

"Remember a few years back when we met and fought the Justice Lords?" he said. "I can't help but wonder if it's all coming true now. What if we are fated to turn into them?"

Partially dressed in her white and black costume, she stepped out of the bathroom and sat down next to Stewart on the bed. She grasped his hand, held it her cheek briefly, kissed it and then held it to her chest.

"We won't do that," she said. "At least you and I won't do that, but I don't know about Superman."

She released his hand and stood up. Running her fingers as a comb, through her shorten hair, she added, "Of course, the maverick in this equation is Diana. She will go anywhere Superman goes, now that they're sleeping together."

She walked back into the bathroom. Stewart followed her. She continued, "I didn't fear her when she and Batman were together, but now that she's with Superman, she scares me to death."

He opened the shower door and turned the shower water on, adjusting the water temperature to his liking. As he stepped into the shower, closing the shower door behind him, he said, "You know what you saying, don't you? We may have to be prepared to part ways with the Justice League if this starts to turn sour."

She opened the shower door just a crack and called in, "John, if we leave, there's no guarantee that any of them will allow us to live, if this turns sour. Frankly, you have a better survival chance than I do. I can probably defend myself against Diana, but my mace won't stop Superman's super speed, heat vision or ice breathe."

"Then it looks like we may be committed to the Justice League for the long haul, unless we can take Superman and Diana down then, doesn't it?" he said solemnly.

He turned the water off, stepped out of the shower and began to towel himself off.

They were both silent as they continued to dress. The gravity and the implication of what had been said hung heavy in the air.

Using his ring, he formed a uniform on himself. She slipped on her boots and clipped her mace to her belt. Finally, she broke the silence.

"Listen to us. We almost sound like Lord and Lady Macbeth plotting against King Duncan. We don't know that Superman will go rogue because of the election. And the election of Luthor may not be the end of the Justice League and the beginning of the Justice Lords."

He picked up her helmet and handed it to her. The helmet was no longer the large, dark, feathered one she wore earlier in her career. She now wore the smaller golden helmet of a Thanagarian soldier.

As she took the helmet and placed it on her head, Stewart said, "Let me propose a rhetorical question. Suppose you wanted to get rid of any threat to your authority as a super powerful being. What better way than to gather all of Earth's heroes in one spot, say the Watchtower for example, and then blow it up. Ninety percent would die in the vacuum of space and those that did survive would get the message that you meant business."

She gasped, "Oh. My. Gosh. You don't think..."

"No," he interrupted. "I don't think that right now this minute - but after tomorrow, who knows? We both have to keep our eyes open and do our own thinking. You ready?"

"Yes, I'm ready. Let's go." She smiled and headed toward the slider windows when she suddenly stopped and turned to face Stewart with alarm on her face. "Uh, oh! You know who we forgot about? It's J'onn. He can read minds. Suppose he reads your mind and sides with Superman?"

Stewart placed a hand on each of her shoulders and said softly, "Sunshine, we don't know that J'onn or Superman, for that matter, will take any side, but at the meeting we'll bring up the justice lords and Luthor's election, then any thoughts he reads will be related to our public questions. J'onn knows that most of the league still doesn't trust you so any questions you raise can be viewed as seeking assurances that all is still well."

Stewart smiled. Hol returned the smile weakly. During the eight years she had lived on this planet, five as a spy and three as an exile, she had learned to trust her first instincts more than anything else. And her first instinct told her Stewart was being naive. She trusted Stewart more than she trusted anyone else on this planet, but she knew she couldn't trust him to protect her against all that could happen. It would be up to her to protect herself.

Suddenly, over her commlink, the voice of J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, broke her thoughts.

"Lantern. J'onn here. The meeting has been moved to the Batcave."

They both looked at each other. Hol shook her head. She whispered, "Why?"

Stewart answered the transmission. "Roger, J'onn. I copy that the meeting location has been moved from the Watchtower to the Batcave. Interrogative. Why?"

The commlink was silent for a few moments. Then the response came back, but the voice was not J'onn's, but that of Superman. "Better security. We seven need to discuss the impacts of Luthor's election knowing our history with the Justice Lords."

"Roger," Stewart said looking at Hol. "Shayera and I will be at the cave in about fifteen mikes."

She looked at Stewart and pursed her lips almost as a pout. "Superman, huh?"

She folded her arms across her chest and shifted her weight to her left leg. "Looks like the die has been cast. Anyway, I can't fly fast enough to make it to the Batcave in fifteen minutes."

"I can," he answered taking her hand. "And from this moment on, we partner on all missions. We make up any excuse but we are always together until we know what's what. It would most unfortunate if one of us were to be attacked by an accidental blast of heat vision, wouldn't it?"

"You're late," Superman snapped as the John and Shayera walked in through the back entrance of the darken cave. The cave was dimly lit with most of the artificial light clustered around the computer console and the lighted Bat family uniform display in a corner. Superman was standing next to the seated Batman who was looking down at the computer console. On the other side of the Batman, Diana leaned over the computer console and appeared to be entering data. She turned around to look at the pair walking toward the computer.

"Overslept, did you?" Diana said sarcastically looking at Shayera, then casting a glance at Superman. "Why am I not surprised?"

Shayera put her right hand on her mace handle and pointed her left hand at Diana. "You have a problem or something, you want to discuss with me," she snapped back.

"Knock it off," John yelled. "Both of you!"

Diana tapped a last key on the computer console and looked at Superman and said, "Done," and then stood next to the seated Batman.

"Batman," John asked, "Where are the Flash and J'onn?"

Superman answered before Batman could say anything. "I asked them to remain at the Watchtower with the rest of the League. I wanted them to run operations today so we five could talk." Superman glanced up at the roof of the Batcave intently as if staring at something distance. John assumed he was using his X-ray vision to check on the Watchtower, orbiting in space.

Shayera thought to herself that it was strange that the only two beings who could match Superman, either with speed or at least read his mind were not there. She kept her hand on her mace trigger switch and never took her eyes off Superman. It was also strange that Batman had not moved or said anything since they entered the cave.

Diana walked over to Superman's side never taking her eyes off Shayera. Shayera walked across the cave so that she and John had the three Leaguers between them.

"We had an issue come up this morning I wanted to discuss with just us five," Superman said.

"We know about Luthor's election," John volunteered.

"That's not it," the Man of Steel replied. He walked away from the computer console and toward the lighted uniforms. "Early this morning," he continued, "the wing at Arkham housing the Justice Lords was destroyed in an explosion. There were no survivors. They're all dead."

"But how can that be?" John exclaimed. "Do we know how it happened?"

"We know and we're not going to do anything about it," Superman answered. His tone was flat - without emotion.

"Whoa - back the truck up," John said, moving slowly toward the lighted cases, but keeping his eyes on Shayera. "You mean YOU know what happened. Shayera and I don't know what happened."

Staring at the case, Superman rocked back and forth on his heels. "John, that's why you're here. So we can tell you. But before I do, tell me how you feel about loyalty?"

John arched an eyebrow and tilting his head slightly asked, "What are you getting at?"

"I know you are loyal to your pet over there," Diana said looking at Shayera. "But would you be loyal to me and mine."

"Pet??" Shayera shouted. "I'll show you a pet - a real hostile one."

Superman suddenly smashed one of costume cases with one blow. "Shut up, traitor. You're only here because I need to find out if Lantern can be loyal."

"Loyal? Batman, are you part of this?" John called out as he backed away from Superman and moved next to Shayera. He kept his eyes on Superman and Shayera kept her eyes on Diana.

"Batman can't say anything right now," Superman said as he smashed another case. "You see, Wayne Enterprises contributed a half-million dollars to Luthor's campaign. That was disloyal. Now Bruce here said that his company always contributed to both sides as a corporate write off, but you know what - he was disloyal."

Diana spun the chair the Batman was sitting in around. His head flopped back in the seat in a grotesque manner, and in the darkness both John and Shayera could see the small steady stream of blood dripping from two burn holes in the middle of the Batman's forehead.

"Oh, no." Shayera gasped.

"What have you done?" John shouted as he formed a green bubble around himself and Shayera.

Shayera screamed into her commlink, "J'onn! J'onn come in."

Diana laughed harshly. "J'onn cannot answer you. You see the Watchtower just had a catastrophic accident when the tower suddenly exploded just about the time you walked in."

Superman looked up toward the roof of the cave, "It doesn't look like there were any survivors."

Superman looked at John as he walked toward Diana's side. When he reached her, he put his arm around her and squeezed her gently. She looked into his eyes lovingly. He then looked at the John and spoke in a calm voice. "You see, we're not all equal and we can't pretend that we are. - At least, I won't pretend that we are any longer. Now, can you be loyal?"

Shayera cried out in horror, "You've gone mad. Both of you have gone mad." She energized her mace and assumed a defensive stance next to the John.

John shouted at Superman, "Here's my answer to your loyalty! Shayera get us out of here!!"

At that moment, the John dropped the bubble that had surrounded him and Shayera. He formed a giant hand that grabbed Diana around her waist and slammed her into Superman hard enough to cause them both to fly into the remaining lighted costume cases. Shayera leaped in the air and slammed her mace in the cave ceiling directly over the fallen Superman and Wonder Woman bringing down portions of the cave ceiling down on top of the Terrible Two, burying them. She then slammed her mace overhead to create an opening large enough that the Lantern and she could quickly fly out of.

Once clear of the opening, they flew several hundred feet into the cloudless sky overhead and hovered back to back, with the sun over their shoulder, encased in a green energy bubble, awaiting the inevitable retaliatory strike.

John said, "I'll get him. You've got to hold on against her."

"Got it," she said. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I love you, John. Never forget that."

"Shayera, I love you too. When this is all over, we'll get the Chinese you like with the eel's heads."

"Oh, you flatter, you." She paused. "You know what makes me sad?"

"You mean besides the last ten minutes of Titanic."

She smiled but verbally ignored his small joke. "I never thought it would end like this. I mean like this. We came together with such high purpose."

"It's not over, yet, Sunshine. But - if it is - thanks. Thanks for everything."

She was silent for a second. She knew that they both knew he was more likely to survive this battle than she was. She smiled a smile she knew he couldn't see and said softly, "It has been fun. No - I take that back, it's been great."

At that moment, from below John could see Superman busting through the earth at high speed, followed by Diana close behind heading for the already airborne pair of John and Shayera. John formed a giant snow shovel and smacked both Superman and Diana with it, sending them both flying backwards.

Diana stopped her tumbling first and sped back toward the hovering pair. John dropped the energy bubble around himself and Shayera and formed a hand which grabbed Diana around her head and started moving the hand quickly into outer space with the Amazon kicking and flailing in the grasp of the hand.

Shayera screamed, "John, let her go. She's a diversion. - Get him!!" Almost simultaneously with her cries, Superman barreled into the Green Lantern's upper body at high speed, sending him tumbling backwards.

John temporarily lost his concentration from the blow and Diana managed to wiggle free from the hand and flew at high speed down toward John. Shayera flew toward Diana swinging her mace at the speeding Amazon. As the energy discharge from the weapon struck the princess, Diana screamed in pain. Superman turned his attention from the John and hit the right wing of Shayera with his heat vision burning through a boney wing joint. Shayera screamed in pain as she dropped her mace and started falling toward the ground.

"Shayera!!" John yelled out as he formed a net underneath her to catch her.

"Goodbye, Lantern." Superman said as he hit the Green Lantern with a blast of heat vision in the back of the head. The green net slowly lowering the writhing Shayera suddenly disappeared as both John and Shayera fell to the ground.

Both heroes hit the ground hard enough that Shayera's helmet came off from the impact. She stirred, unable to move her right leg. She looked at the still form of the Green Lantern on the ground, smoke rising from the back of his head. Next to the body of the fallen Lantern lay her mace.

"John," she screamed as she crawled toward her fallen lover.

"Noooo!!!" she cried out as she saw the power ring of the Green Lantern of Sector 2814 leave his finger and fly toward the sky. As she reached out for her mace, a pair of red boots stepped on her hand. Shayera looked up in the face of a frowning Diana.

"He can't save you now, traitor. I should have left you caged aboard that Thanagarian ship." Diana kicked Hol in the ribs and then kicked the mace away from the body of the fallen Green Lantern. Superman landed next to Diana and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"My, my," he said looking down at Hol, quivering in pain on the ground. "It looks like the birdie can't fly and can't run. I think I will put you out of your misery."

As she spit out the blood rising in her throat, Hol raised herself on one elbow and groaned, "Why are you doing this?"

Diana kicked Hol over on her back and then put her boot on Hol's throat.

"The Justice Lords had the right idea, but there were too many of them. Now, Superman and I can create the better world without interference." The Amazon grinned at the helpless Thanagarian. "Goodbye, Shayera."

Superman knelt down next to Hol, who was gasping for air, clutching with both hands Diana's boot, trying to lift the boot so she could breathe. Hol wanted to scream but her scream couldn't get past the Amazon's boot. Hol closed her eyes as she heard Superman say, "Goodbye Shayera. Shayera..."

"Shayera! Shayera, wake up. You're having a nightmare." Stewart shook the winged alien gently trying to arouse her from her troubled sleep. She had been whimpering loudly and her cries woke him up. He turned on the light in the bedroom and saw that the time was two A.M. She was covered in sweat with her short red hair clinging to her face. She finally opened her eyes and with the realization that it was all a dream, literally leaped into his arms and buried her head in his chest.

"It's okay, babe. It was just a bad dream," he said as he hugged her.

"It was so real. It was my worst nightmare," she said softly. "And it all started with Luthor's election win."

"Win? He just announced he was going to run yesterday." Stewart paused and kissed the top of her head. "Most dreams do seem real - you want to talk about it?"

"No. No, I don't. But tomorrow I must talk to Bruce about Wayne Enterprise's political contributions policies. His corporate policies may be the death of us all."

She smiled a weak smile and added. "Would you... please turn the light out?"

Stewart was sure he didn't understand what the winged alien was talking about, but he reached across the night table and turned off the light. She snuggled herself against his chest seemingly taking some comfort from his being near.

"Yes," she said softly as he was drifting back off to sleep. "The death of all of us."

END