Thanagarian

Chapter 3

I had been gifted with a few hours of sleep before Hawkgirl woke me up. "Wake up, Abigail, we have to see what you can do." I stood in the middle of the floor, facing Hawkgirl with my arms raised and legs splayed. "Now what is that?" She asked.

"An attack stance." I answered.

"Not in a real battle it's not." She kicked out a leg and the next thing I knew I was looking up at the ceiling with a dull ache in my calf. "See that?" She asked.

"What, the ceiling?" I replied.

She groaned, "You're worse than the Flash." I pulled myself up, my wings hung limply at my side and a few grey feathers had drifted over and fell victim to Jet. "Maybe we should get those wings working before we fight." She said, bending over and offering me a hand. I took it and pulled myself up, my heavy wings still over balancing me. "Okay," She said. "Do this." She had her arms bent at the elbow and her knuckles touching. I followed. "Then pull back and roll your shoulders." She said, demonstrating. Her wings folded back slightly but mine remained stationary.

"Okay, do twenty of those." She said as she walked in a circle around me, watching how my wings reacted. I did twenty easily but my wings were unchanged. "Hmm, do twenty of those every night before you go to bed, and no slacking off, I'll know." I nodded. "Now try this." She held her hands out to her side and moved them up and down. I did the same, and failed miserably. My wings did nothing yet again. "Wow, do you really have shoulders that weak?" She asked.

"Hey!" I defended myself. "I carry Jet's dog food bag from the pet store!"

"How often?" She asked, crossing her arms. Her mace swung at her side from its holder in her belt and with the look she was giving me, coupled with the weapon, mask, and rippling muscles I was tempted to make a run for it. However I stood strong and replied.

"Once about every three months." I said, crossing my arms and mimicking her stance. She laughed and dropped her arms. "You're about as tough as nails, Abigail, I think we're gonna get along just fine." She walked to the kitchen and sat down in the chair she'd been in before and watched Jet chase a feather across the floor. I made a mental note that chair was hers.

"I have monitor duty at the Watchtower this afternoon, you'll be on your own for lunch."

"I'm fine with that, Jet and I have made many lunches by ourselves."

She nodded, then stood up and opened the fridge. "Hungry?"

"Hell yeah."

"Thought so." Already there were two things I liked about Hawkgirl, she didn't care that I cursed and she was always ready to eat. She unearthed a bag of lunch meat and threw it on the table. I watched as it slid over to me and grabbed it before it could fall off the table. I read the bag, 'Roast Beef Best By 11/8/12.' I opened the bag and was met with a sour stench and a peek at the meat revealed green spots. "Jeez, what is that smell?!" Exclaimed Hawkgirl.

"The meat."

"I'll get some more food at the Watchtower today." She walked over to the window and jumped on it, perching on the sill. "Don't burn the place down." Then she spread her wings and took to the air.

"Alright, Jet, I think we should clean." Jet lifted his head and barked, wagging his thick tail. I turned on the radio and found a broom with worn down bristles in the corner. I swept, made beds, organized, scrubbed, and disposed of a lot of things. After a few hours of this an old song came on. 'She is a stranger, you and I have history or don't you remember?' I began to sing along, dancing as I swept and singing to Jet. "Sure, she's got it all, but she won't be able to love you like I will..." I began to sing louder, abandoning the broom for Jet and dragging him into the middle of the floor. "Oh bless your soul you've got your head in the clouds you've made a fool out of you and boy, she's bringing you down!" I was singing at the top of my lungs now and really getting into the song. "Ooh, the rumor has it! Ooh, the rumor has it! Ooh, the rumor has it! Ooh, the Rumor has it! ooh the rumor has it she ain't got your love anymore." The song ended and I was breathing hard. I lifted my wings with my hands to get them off my back and turned around to grab the broom again when I saw a silhouette in the doorway, one with wings. "How much did you hear?" I asked.

"Enough to be impressed." She replied

"So all of it?"

"Yep."

I turned away, my face turning red and busied myself making my bed again. "I have food." She said, the dumped a sack on the table. She opened the mouth of the sack and out fell several soda cans and water bottles, a few rolls, a stick of butter, a roast chicken, gravy, lunch meat, cheese, cereal, milk, eggs, potatoes, bacon, pots and pans. Then in the other arm she held a sack of dog food and a bone. "The dog food and bone are courtesy of the Flash and he looks forward to meeting Jet." The black dog trotted up and sniffed the bone that Hawkgirl held. She opened her fist and gave it to him, then watched as he trotted to a corner and lay down to chew it. "How did you get all this food in that sack?" I asked.

"Zatanna enchanted it. She let me borrow it." I grabbed a soda can and opened the tab, watching as the brown liquid fizzed up and began to spill over the side.

A few days later I could move my wings a little bit so Hawkgirl began to tech me how to fight. "Stand like this, that way you're ready for anything your attacker might throw at you." She threw a punch as if to prove it but I couldn't move fast enough to block it and it collided with my chest. I stumbled back a bit and groaned, then straightened up again and turned to face her. She nodded, then kicked. This time I managed to avoid it but her fist caught me between my wings and before I could re position myself and I was on my stomach. "Ow."

"The three rs of righting- Reaction, Recovery, and Retaliation. You get ready for enemy fire by positioning yourself and steeling your muscles. You recover from their hit, then hit them back, just harder." I nodded and held up my arms to protect my face. "Go  on," She said. "Hit me, I'm a Thanagarian remember? I can take it." So I hit her, and found my fist clenched in her hand. "Too slow, I could see that coming from a mile away, swing fast and hard, gain momentum." I tried that and my fast connected with her stomach. "Good. Weak, but good." We practiced for a few more hours until my fists were cracked and bleeding.

That night I woke up with a dull pain in my stomach. Jet lifted his head and whined from the floor. I could just make out Hawkgirl's sleeping form from the dull light of her mace. I got out of bed and staggered to the bathroom just in time to lose my dinner. I crouched over the toilet for a while, and even after I had nothing left I still retched and threw up bile. A few minutes after my initial explosion I heard the door swing open and the next thing I knew Hawkgirl was at my side. I collapsed into her arms and she leaned against the wall, supporting me. Sometime in the night I remember her carrying me to my bed, then falling asleep on the floor beside it. That night I saw Hawkgirl as more than just a friend, I saw her as a second mother too.