Attack of the Flying Birb People part - 6/7

Words 3,1

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Cadmus raised both fists high in the air and brought them crashing down upon Hawkman's back. The hero-turned-traitor crashed into the ground with a cry of pain.

He attempted to push himself back to his feet only for Cadmus to slam the heel of his boot into the small of Hawkman's back, firmly trapping him.

"You know when I'm done with you, I'm going to find your woman, what's her name, again? Shayera? Maybe I'll even keep her in a cage if she amuses me enough."

The Thanagarian writed in hopeless rage. "You will not touch her, you cannot!"

"Oh, don't worry you won't live long enough to worry about it." There was joviality in Cadmus' words, that and apologetic cruelty. "I promised to make an example out of you, didn't I?"

The battle continued to rage about them unabated, but none came to Karter Hol's rescue.

The man went stock still as Cadmus grabbed hold of the base of his wings. "No-no, just kill me! I beg you!"

The familiar sensation of the supplicant's prayer he had felt before plucked at the back of his mind. Cadmus pushed it away without a thought. This thing was no worshipper of his.

"Hmm, no." Cadmus one foot deep into the man's back and planted the other into the sand. Then, he pulled.

The wings of a Thanagarian may have resembled that of a bird but that was all the similarity they bore to their earthly counterparts. The flesh was lightweight but far more dense than Cadmus first thought, and it resisted stubbornly. Hawkman screamed in pain, shaking and spasming like a fish thrust out of water to no avail. Muscles tensed, Cadmus bared his teeth and pulled.

They gave way with a sharp and agonizing crack, leaving exposed bone and gaping wounds from where they had once been attached to the body.

In each hand Cadmus found himself holding a Thanagarian's wing. He tossed it to the side without care, staining the sand in crimson. Hawkman made no more cries or pleas for help, his eyes stared up into the sky sightlessly, muttering nonsensical words.

Some form of consciousness returned when the shadow of Cadmus' boot came to hover over his face.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to take care of Shayera for you."

Hawkman gave one last cry. Cadmus stamped down with a savage smile.

"Shit, I got bird brains on my shoe." Cadmus frowned. He dragged his foot through the sand dislodging some but not all of the viscera. "This is going to be such a hassle to clean."

The battle had finally begun to die down as the wise among the surviving Thanagarians laid down their arms and began surrendering. They'd been gathered on the surface nearby to the destroyed remnants of their flagship under the watchful eye of a Green Lantern and- Cadmus' mouthed twisted sourly, Wonder Woman.

The stragglers who were too dumb to see the writing on the wall were being mopped up by the remaining Leaguers, but a particular group of them beat their wings more frantically to get away from their pursuer, a familiar blonde dressed in blue and red.

As though summoned by his thoughts, she turned in mid-air, a red cape fluttering behind her.

He barely had a second to blink before she shot forward towards him fast enough to break the sound barrier.

Cadmus gasped as the impact drove all the breath out of his lungs. His arms came to embrace the intruder of their own accord.

He looked down to find her pressed to his chest, clinging to him tightly almost desperately.

When she looked up, Cadmus found himself staring down into cerulean blue eyes. His breath caught in the back of his throat.

"Kara," he breathed.

She wasn't wearing the chiton she had been in the last time they saw each other. Instead, she wore a blue long-sleeve crop top emblazoned with a stylized S, a battle skirt, and calf-high red boots.

But, no matter what she was wearing, he couldn't forget who she was even if he tried. How could he possibly forget those eyes?

She gave him a smile that did strange and pleasing things to his heart that he didn't think were possible.

"Why is that whenever I see you it's always surrounded by a bunch of people you just beat up?"

"Um, force of habit?"

She tightened her grip around him. "I missed you."

What else could he say? "I missed you too."

Kara pulled slightly away, staring up at him intently. "You've got bird feathers in your hair."

She reached up to pluck one out, waggling her fingers with slight disgust to get it off.

Cadmus couldn't help but chuckle. All the blood and dirt covering his hands was no problem, but bird feathers? That was too far.

That was when he saw it, a large red cut that stretched from near her right temple down to her jaw, the flesh around it bruised and purpling already. It was not alone, fine small half-healed wounds and cuts covered her arms as well.

Something overtook Cadmus at that moment, not rage or protectiveness, a complete devouring fury that claimed all his senses.

He tenderly grazed the injury with his thumb, growing only less pleased when she winced. "How did this happen?" he demanded.

She took his hand away gently. "I'm fine, I promise," she insisted. "I...got cocky. Turns out N-th metal can do some damage to a Kryptonian."

"And the one who did it?"

She smiled. "I can take care of myself, Cadmus."

They were lucky Kara got to them first. If it had been Cadmus...well what happened to Hawkman would have seemed like a warmup.

"Where have you been all this time?" he asked.

"Um, Antarctica?" she replied with a sheepish expression. "I was staying with Kal-el after that whole...thing on Themiscyra. He didn't trust the League around me, not that I wanted to be around them either. At least I got some time with him out of it?"

Antarctica? What could possibly be there for two Kryptonians?

"Diana must be pissed about that." Cadmus would have payed a lot to have seen Wonder Woman's reaction to a suddenly liberated Kara and her precious island crippled overnight.

Her responding laugh was like the tinkling of bells. "You have no idea. She can barely stand to look at me I think."

"So they know about what happened, then."

"I think so. Most of them seem pretty conflicted about it. But I made sure Kal-el knew the whole thing, down to the last detail."

"Why?" A small part of him may have hoped that she would have gone to bat for him, but to do it, regardless of the consequences? Just what was this girl?

And by his father below why did his heart burn so fiercely?

She pushed herself up on the tips of her toes just high enough to graze her lips against his. "Because I care about you, stupid."

A sudden mad urge inexplicably seized Cadmus in that moment driving every last rational thought out of his mind.

Kara gasped as one arm encircled her waist, pulling her close. His other hand tangled itself into her hair.

He leaned down and claimed her lips with his own, only igniting a need he had no idea existed within him. He was filled with a heady ecstasy like a drug had taken control of his senses and one that he would happily succumb to.

Kara flung her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss with a strength belied by her form. There was no battle for dominance, no attempt to outdo one another...no, by the gods, it was perfect.

They were pushed flush together like two pieces of a puzzle, lost in a world of their own making in a barren Nevada desert, heedless of the ash and fire and destruction that surrounded them.

His hand fell from her waist down, just brushing against the cloth of her skirt and the seductive flesh it hid.

Long fingers took a form hold, molding and shaping the swell to his heart's content and drawing a soft moan that set Cadmus' blood on fire.

Kara was not idle as she clutched and pulled at his locks, sighing and mewling in approval against his lips.

She is devouring me, Cadmus thought. His nerves felt like they were on the verge of being undone, thoughts fluttered and disappeared like fireflies, leaving him to drown in this moment.

It was not so terrible a fate.

He was only forced to pull away the needs of the body overpowered his desires, forcing him back for air. The two pulled away gasping and flushed, resting their heads against one another.

"Well…that was something," Cadmus breathed.

"Yeah," Kara replied her lips cherry red and drawn into an unfaltering smile.

His own faded once he saw the slowly approaching figures from behind them, and the dozens of others that were appearing on the horizon. The whole of the Justice League had finally decided to show up.

The urge to stay and gloat was strong and not easily quelled to silence. It would be a temporary satisfaction that would quickly wither away. He had other things to worry about, and a traitor to destroy.

Kara turned worriedly to Cadmus, feeling him pull away. "You're going? Already?" the hurt in her words was clear.

"I have something I need to do. And besides I have nothing to say to them."

They were close enough to where he could make out their faces. Kal-el, Diana, two Green Lanterns, Shazam, and many others he could not name. None looked particularly happy to see him.

"I'll see you in Metropolis once this is over, I promise." He took her lips again in one last soul-searing kiss. He hoped it would tide him over long enough until the next time they saw each other.

"We're getting pizza too!" She said with a tone that brooked no argument, holding his arms in an unbreakable grip.

"And pizza too," Cadmus wryly agreed. He stepped out of her embrace reluctantly, looking once more at the approaching heroes. Electric-blue eyes met his and narrowed into a glare.

"Good seeing you again, dear niece," he called out mockingly. "Sorry for leaving your home such a mess. Don't worry I'll visit again soon!"

Before Wonder Woman had a chance to respond Cadmus had dissolved into a golden mist, scattered into the winds.

He found himself standing at the crossroads of a thousand shattered roads, the convergence of past, present, and future within his own mind.

The cosmos above and below drifted in an unending sea, a kaleidoscope of supernovas and stars so close he could almost reach out and touch them.

It would be so easy to get lost in this place, whatever it was. To follow an unwise path that led to a shadowed horizon. Maybe that was how mortals felt. Unsure of their next step, blissfully unaware of what path they walked upon.

But, he could see it all in front of him. Future upon future, and each with its own fractured end, a broken piece of an unending mosaic.

Upon this chaos, Cadmus imposed his will, forcing structure and order, directed by his desire.

Find me Shayera-Hol.

A pale white road coalesced in front of him leading off into the cosmos, at its end he could see the hazy vision of Hawkwoman flying through the sky.

Cadmus stepped forward.

Cadmus returned to reality at the mouth of a cave. Cragged mountain slopes surrounded him at all sides, dotted with sparse shrubbery and precarious ledges.

The world below was a muddled tapestry of indistinct colors. He was at least miles above the earth's surface.

His attention returned to the cave. The fading sunlight barely pierced the dark interior, only illuminating vague silhouettes of geological formations.

It didn't matter, his prey awaited within.

Shayera-Hol sat up against the side of the cave wall, legs pulled up to her chest, nursing a canteen between her hands.

Her helm and armor were thrown to the side letting her long crimson locks fall over her back. She was completely unaware of his presence, seemingly lost in thought and staring at the opposite wall.

Cadmus struck without hesitation.

She only had the chance to widen her eyes as his left hand still stained with Karter-Hol's blood wrapped itself around her pale delicate neck and pressed her against the wall. Hawkwoman gasped out in pain as rock and dust dislodged themselves from the force of impact.

Cadmus kicked her mace out of reach and with his free arm grabbed a firm hold of her hip, the skin reddening immediately under his harsh grip.

Hawkwoman kicked and beat her wings ineffectually, but was unable to escape his grasp. When panic slowly gave way to resignation, she finally looked at him with tear-stained green eyes. Her body went rigid and still as recognition set in.

"Oh, Sky above, no," she whispered in horror. "Not you."

"Hello, Shayera," Cadmus graced her with a cruel smile. "Let's have a chat, shall we?"

"Funny how time works, isn't it? Two years ago you were a member of the Justice League and I was bound in chains. Now you're on the run, Thanagar is gone. Even the League has cast you out. Now, your life's in my hands. Lucky for you."

He relaxed his grip on her throat just minutely.

"How do you figure that?" she asked, staring up at him with bleary emerald eyes. There was still some fight left in her voice but exhaustion and defeat hung heavy around her like a shroud.

He found it a pitiful sight to see someone who was once so powerful reduced to this wretched thing. It would be so easy to kill her. She was a traitor, after all, one who had conspired to destroy his world. But now, all he saw before him was a broken tool not an enemy to strike down.

It would be a shame to waste such an opportunity, and he doubted Gaea would be too displeased with one left alive if her favorite grandson asked nicely enough.

He leaned in close to her. "Because I'm here to give you a new purpose."

Shayera reared back as much as he could. "What makes you think I need a new purpose, huh?" she bit out.

Cadmus' tone turned soothing. "Look at you, you're hiding in a cave in the middle of nowhere. Shayera-Hol, reduced to this. If I hadn't come along would you ever even have left?"

Her moment of hesitation answered for itself. "What could you possibly give me?"

"Let me show you what happens if I don't." He pressed his index finger gently against her forehead. Cadmus's eyes burned an iridescent gold and Shayera was suddenly cast into a roaring tsunami of possible futures and all her fates that she would meet without him.

Peering into the future was a double-edged sword. It could be a great boon and reveal threats and plots, but the future was also always in flux. Its tides were ever-changing, to look upon it one moment did not promise the same image the next time.

Shayera-Hol did not know this, nor did she understand just how extensively one could manipulate a false future.

The two of them found themselves in the false world of broken paths and unending stars.

"What is this place," she asked warily.

"Your past," Cadmus replied. "your present and your future as well."

He gestured to the infinite shattered roads that lay all around them. "Your fate if you will. Go, see what it will be like."

The ground disappeared beneath her feet and Shayera tumbled into the black space of the cosmos. Cadmus shook his head ruefully. He could see why his father enjoyed this so much.

In the real world, the effect was instantaneous.

Shayera threw her head back, mouth opening in a silent scream. Her eyes rolled back into her head as she was suddenly bombarded with the full force of a thousand possible lives.

Cadmus held her still, refusing to allow the Thanagarian to injure herself. He knew well enough what she was seeing at this very moment and why she reacted so violently.

Death, unending terrible fates, punishments for sins real and imagined conjured by her mind.

The horrors of the mind, melded with the infinite possibilities of the future made for a particularly potent and destructive combination, one that engraved itself deep into Hawkwoman's consciousness.

And just when the tide threatened to take her entirely, under the onslaught of regret and despair, a pale golden light appeared, a false north star that promised salvation.

Shayera took his hand without a thought and sealed her fate.

When it finally ended, her head dropped forward limply, shielding her expression by a curtain of hair.

"I didn't know," she whispered. "I didn't know what they were planning."

"I know," he hushed her consolingly. He had seen what she had been referring, in fact, he had seen everything.

He saw all of Shayera-Hol, everything she was and is, and what she could be. More importantly, he knew what she could be under his service, a useful tool in the days to come.

She was a traitor, of that he had no doubt. One driven by lies, yes.

She had no idea what her fellow Thanagarians had been planning and attempted to stop it once she realized the consequences if they were able to succeed. But by then, it had been too late. What trust she had with the League had been shattered, and her second treachery left her adrift.

The future promised only a bleak end, and whatever light there may have been was easily concealed.

"I'll do anything," she whispered fervently. "anything to make up for my mistake."

He tilted her chin up and looked into her eyes. There was no cunning or trickery left. Only a desperate hope that lay entirely in him.

"You'll repay the debt you owe, Shayera. All you have to do is serve and everything will be set to right."

"I will, please, I swear it! Anything but that future. Anything but that." She shook her head fiercely as though the action would dislodge the memories. A stray tear rolled down her cheek. Cadmus wiped it away with a thumb.

"That will never happen, because you understand now what you must do, yes?"

Frantic devotion shined in his new servant's eyes. "I-I will serve you."

Satisfaction turned its head and the truth of her words rang out to his very being. Shayera-Hol was now his creature. Wholly and utterly even if she did not understand that herself yet.

His eyes gleamed a sickly gold within the cave. "Good. Now, let me show you your new place in the world."