The Flightless

One Last Time

Rick Flag and I spread the word. We go straight to the GCPD building. My brother is waiting at the door.

He embraces me tightly. "Sera. I'm so glad you're okay. I saw the whole battle on the news. Are you hurt?"

"Not much," I inform. "Jim, you have to evacuate the city."

"What?" Lee and Bullock jog up to us, too. We spare quick hugs, as well. As horrible as this news is, it's nice to see familiar faces it what might be our darkest hour.

While we discuss the horrors we saw, Dr. Thompkins patches up my few scrapes. She confirms that the forces we're dealing with aren't of this world. Nothing bleeds such a fluorescent green. Nothing man-made can make cuts like this.

"Why aren't you calling the National Guard, Flag? Where is Waller?"

"Right here." She pushes through the door. "My team can handle this threat."

If Kent's telling the truth about Desaad, nobody will be able to handle him. We should be calling every ounce of backup that we can. The suicide squad cannot deal with this threat alone.

This sends Jim into a tizzy. "Are you crazy? You think your team of untrained loose cannons can deal with an intergalactic threat? You're nuts."

"You're welcome to assist us, Commissioner."

"Yeah," he scoffs. "Put my boys' lives in danger. We're expendable to you."

She snaps, "You are all expendable to me. I will stop at nothing to get that box."

Bullock practically rehearses Jim's frenzy. "You don't even care about this world. You just want all that power— that's what it is, isn't it? You want all that power to yourself."

"No more." My brother slams his fists down on his desk. "You can shove your box up where the sun don't shine, Waller. The GCPD is no longer under your power. This is my precinct! This is my force! I will be damned if I let you run it any longer."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Get out of my goddamn office. Sera runs this show."

Amanda Waller storms out. Not before swearing that she will have every badge stripped from my brother's chest.

For once, Flag stays to my side. His boss screams and demands that he follow her, but it seems she can only control those who she surgically implants bombs in. His loyalty rises some kind of pride in my chest.

"So about evacuating the city, how much time do we have?"

"He'll attack at dawn. I'd say you have about eight hours."

"Bullock, let's start a round of a hundred buses filing out every hour. I think we'll make it by dawn, but we've got to get on it now. Spread the word. Inform the mayor. Gotham City is now under a state of emergency."

Jim and I spare a last moment together as the precinct prepares to evacuate an entire population.

"Thanks, punk."

"No, thank you. You've saved us too many times to count. I think you're a proper hero, now."

My eyes roll up to the sky. "Whatever. It's not like I have a choice."

"After this is over, we'll get that—" he leans forward— "medical condition taken care of."

"I appreciate it. You should get out of here, you know. Go with them. Hop on the last bus and don't look back. I'm not sure how things are going to end up tomorrow."

"Not a chance. This is my city. If it falls, I fall with it."

"How's Dinah?" I ask, despite Rick trying to desperately pull me away.