¡Hola, mis amigos! Trying something a little different here. There's a theme going on, but I tried to keep it subtle, and there are a few more points of view going on than my last stories. I've also included a few OCs later in the story, but hopefully you'll like them as much as I do. Follow the playlist on my profile page; I leaned heavily on the music to help me through this one! I'll try and post links on my Twitter page to each of them. Translations at the bottom of the page if I have them. And as usual - not making any money off of this. All DC characters belong to them. I just bring them out to play, dance, and have some fun. ¡Vamanos!

*Que redimidos sean tus patrones será algún día / y que la humildad se vuelva orgullo será algún día / y que seas igual a los demás será algún día, / será algún día. - La Niña - Lila Downs

"...I'm finally getting that dance he's owed me for years."
"He owed you a dance? How'd that happen?"
"I'm trying to imagine Batman dancing. That's just weird."
"He won't be in uniform, dummy. This is Bruce Wayne we're talking about.
He'll probably be the best dressed man there, and he's got style in spades."
-Interrogation Tactics Chapter 10: Debriefing the Case

Shayera walked down the corridor with a slight pep to her step, smiling at those who passed her, even giving two technicians a jaunty wave. She knew they were looking at her in surprise, but she didn't care; she felt great! She continued her stroll through the hallway, a smile planted on her lips.

When she entered the cafeteria, she knew she was receiving stares. Ever since she returned to the League, such was the status quo; she enters a public area, eyes turn to her, it gets quiet for a few seconds, and then the whispers begin. She knew what they were talking about, but for once it didn't bother her. Not that she ever cared, but really, how often could you talk about the Thanagarian invasion and her involvement. Old news!

She tucked the book she was carrying under her arm and approached the beverage section. She noted that the iced mocha machine was out of order, most likely empty. Hope Diana got some before it was all gone. Shayera knew that you didn't want to confront Wonder Woman if she hadn't had her favorite frozen drink that day. She scanned the area for another option, wanting to get something before she had to leave for duty.

"Olá. Como você está?" Shayera jumped at the sound of the soft, accented voice. She turned and found Fire standing there, holding an empty glass in her hand, looking past Shayera at the mocha machine.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, sorry. I said 'hello, how are you?" Shayera nodded in understanding. She knew Beatriz's native language was not the usual American English one hears on the 'Tower. She tried to remember where she came from, then recalled a conversation with Flash. Oh yeah, she's...Brazilian.

"Um, I'm fine. Thanks for asking." Unless it was Flash or another senior Leaguer, she didn't get much idle chatter from anyone else. Her reputation, and other things, preceded her.

"It looks like the mocha machine is vazio again. It seems to be a popular drink on the station."

"It is, but when you got Wonder Woman and Flash endorsing it every day, one wants to drink the beverage of champions, you know?"

"This is true. Senhorita Wonder Woman got the last glass just a few minutes ago." Ah, good! "Were you looking for something else to drink?"

"Yeah. I'd like to take something with me before reporting to duty. I had my hopes on some caffeine since it's the evening shift, but it looks like I'll need to make due."

"Here, let me make something for you. See if you like it." Beatriz took the glass from a surprised Shayera. As the green-haired heroine busied herself, she continued to talk. "So, you're doing the Friday evening shift. Doesn't Wonder Woman usually take that?"

"She used to. I'm covering for her for the time being."

"Oooh, what happened, did you get in trouble?"

Shayera smirked at the question. Not exactly... "No, more like lost a bet."

"You bet Wonder Woman on something? That's a story I'd like to hear."

"Not my story to tell." And I'd like to keep my flight feathers, thank you very much!

Beatriz finished her beverage assembly and presented it to Shayera. A straw poked out, and a lemon wedge perched on the rim of the glass. Tentatively, Shay took a sip.

"Wow! This is really good! What is it?"

"Mango Iced Tea, one of my specialties here on the 'Tower. Everyone's always trying to get to the mocha; I figured I'd make a drink I could actually have. Not too many people think to use the mango syrup. There's always a lot left."

"Well, now you have someone endorsing your drink." Beatriz smiled at Shayera's statement. The winged hero was confused at why the younger leaguer was being so nice to her. Perhaps she was trying to get in good with a founding member, or making sure she was assigned to more lucrative missions.

Or maybe she was just trying to make a friend.

"Here, let me put this in a carrying cup for you. If you're going to be on duty, then you'll want to have this covered. We don't want Batman to come after you if it spills." Shayera felt she had plenty of experience with Batman 'coming after her.' It was a short confrontation, but explosive, like a bomb - a nuclear one. She still felt the fallout now.

"Thank you, Beatriz. Or how do you say that in your language?"

"Obrigada. And de nada. You're welcome."

"Obrigada, de nada." Shayera repeated. Hmm, learn something new everyday. She picked up her book and smiled towards the green-haired heroine. The evening had just gotten better.

Shayera sipped on her drink as she finally arrived at the monitor room. She knew she deserved to be the first of her trio to take the extra shift, so she prepared herself to spend the time catching up with her reading. She had the latest bestseller - the one with a young, naive but strong girl who catches the attention of the older, more experienced man...

The hatch opened and all thoughts of a relaxing evening were firmly dashed to the nearest waste receptacle. Shayera stepped into the room, allowing the door to shut behind her. She wished she had finished her drink outside. Now Batman will see her with the beverage around the delicate equipment he designed and paid for.

Shay stood there as the tall, dark figure turned from the monitor display. He seemed to grow to seven feet tall as he walked over. She resisted the urge to shield herself with her wings. Instead, she slowly moved around him, keeping her front to him. She placed her book on the console, took one last sip of her drink, then dropped the empty cup into the trashcan. They both stood there silently.

Someone...please speak...oh, man…damn Batglare...not again...don't be the first to break...don't look at him...please let an emergency come over the comm sometime soon...like, right now...

She couldn't help it. Her throat had gone dry and she had to cough. Ahem. The spell broke. She could breath again.

"You know there are no liquids allowed in the monitor room." His voice was surprisingly low and, well, not soft, but not rough either.

"I was finishing it up, so it was only in here for a few seconds. Not long enough to damage anything sensitive." She almost added lighten up, but she was talking to darkness incarnate. He eats light like a black hole.

"Make sure it doesn't happen again." And that was that. She resisted the urge to breath a sigh of relief. She wasn't out of the woods yet - he was still in the room.

"So, Batman. I'm surprised you're here. You know, like you have somewhere better to be..." She reminded him of the part she played in his and Wonder Woman's hook up. She figured he wouldn't want to hurt the person who was instrumental at prodding Diana to approach him in the first place.

Oops, she just reminded him how she meddled in his business. Good job, Shay. Just tie the noose for him, why don't ya!

If he noticed her faux pas, he didn't mention it. Instead, he brought out a neatly bound stack of papers out from under his cloak, handing them to her without a word. Shay hesitantly took the offered stack, not sure what to make of it.

"I need you to look at this. As a detective, you might be able to give some insight to this investigation. I won't taint your view by telling you what it's about. I want to know if there's anything you can find that I haven't seen yet."

Shay held the report differently, settling it in the palm of her hand. She felt the weight of the stack, noticing that it seemed thicker than the book that she had brought with her. She looked back at the hardback on the console. Book...report. Titillating story...dry facts. Fantasy...mystery?

"Sure, Batman. No problem. I can look at it." She was raring to flex her investigation wings. She felt like she needed to do something to prove that her return was worth the effort. If she could impress the Batman, that would definitely help silence the whispers when she enters a room.

Shay started flipping through the report, noticing diagrams, chemical formulas, and pages of neatly spaced text - definitely a thorough manuscript. She nearly started reading it when she noticed that Batman was still standing there. He seemed...expectant.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" She didn't really want to invite more conversation, but his presence unnerved her. He seemed to have relaxed his stance a little, and he crossed his arms across his chest.

"Yes, I do have a question for you." Shay turned, placing the report on her now forgotten book. She returned her attention to him, putting her hands on her cocked hips. He was on her time now, so she felt like she could give him a little sass for his efforts.

"Why are you following my activities so closely?"

"Um, what?" She felt as if he had clipped her flight feathers and was tumbling down into the ocean.

"Two nights ago, when you were talking with Diana. You said that Bruce Wayne had, what was it...'style in spades'? First of all, thank you." He put a hand over his heart and gave a slight bow. This unnerved Shayera even more. He might as well have slapped her upside her head.

"Before that, you seemed to know about my interrogation tactics, at least when it came to Diana, and the attention I get while on the Watchtower. That, by the way, was really strange for me to hear." Shay shrugged her shoulders. She couldn't help how others looked at him. She couldn't blame them either...

"You didn't seem all that interested in me until after you left the League. Now, you seem to know not only my dressing habits, but my mannerisms and even my attractions. You've done some investigating of your own. Why?"

"It's just something that I noticed. You know, being a detective and all. I can't help but take note of certain habitual patterns."

"I would believe you, except you used that information to your own advantage. Your observations of my methods with Diana were very accurate. Your knowledge helped Diana and me get together, putting us in your debt. So I ask again, why are you following my activities so closely?"

"What are you implying? That I might be gathering information to pass on again? That I'm spying on you and that I will somehow betray you?"

"You seem awfully defensive, Shayera. Is there something you would like to confess?" He had moved into her space, using his stature to intimidate her.

"Don't you use that tactic with me. It might work with Diana, but I'm not buying it. I know you're trying to intimidate me, and it won't work."

"I'm trying to figure out what you're up to. Or, maybe, why you're so interested. Not exactly the same thing."

"Why is it important to you? Why are you grilling me about this? I haven't done anything wrong."

"I didn't say you did. However, now that I have more to protect in my life, I will be following anything strange that's happening to me. So, I ask you again. Why are you following me? Don't make me force it out of you." His voice started taking on the rough quality he used during a real interrogation. She didn't want to be intimidated, but he was touching on something she hoped to keep to herself...

"You know - if you don't want anyone to know that much about you, maybe you shouldn't be so visible in the public eye." He stepped back from her as if she had hit him with her mace. Great, now we're going to come to blows. Nice, Shay, very nice.

"Explain yourself." She tried to talk, but nothing came out. "NOW!" His advance had her retreating backwards.

"I mean, you as Bruce Wayne. You're very easy to find in the papers, on TV, and on the Internet. You go to these galas, and make appearances at charity events. You're even in the financial section when you make an impressive venture that brings in a lot of money. And, you might not realize it, but you use some of the same moves on the different women that you take to those social events. I knew you'd use those on Diana if given the chance." Shayera wasn't sure if she saw right, but did she just make the Batman blush?

"You're two seconds away from being dragged into a training room if you don't explain why you're following me."

"Sure, why not! Punish me for following the one senior member in the league that I could actually see while I was in exile. Maybe I followed you because, through you, I could actually keep track on what was going on up here. You make a lucrative venture - I knew the Watchtower and league members were cared for. You go to a charity event, all is well and you're not assigned to any dangerous missions, and maybe none of the other senior leaguers either. You show up with a different woman on your arm, you haven't settled down with anyone and maybe Diana still had a chance of catching your attention.

"Perhaps by following you, I might have felt a little more connected to the only people on this planet that felt like family to me. Maybe by watching you, I didn't feel so goddamned lonely anymore!" She fought to keep her voice from cracking. She could feel her wings start to quiver and hated herself for showing any type of emotion other than stone cold nothing. Like what Batman was showing now.

"Why didn't you contact John if you wanted to know what was going on here? I'm sure he would have told you."

"Oh, right! Show up at his doorstep just weeks after my people try to take over the planet. That would have gone over well on the streets of Detroit. Or maybe I could have gone to Central City and visited Wally at his place. How about Metropolis, New York, or Gotham? Where could I have gone that wouldn't have had me attacked, and rightfully so?"

"You chose to leave the league. As you already know, Superman, Flash, and Manhunter voted to keep you, and Green Lantern absconded. You would have been able to stay."

"But you and Diana voted against me. I know you did, even though I left before I could find out. How was I supposed to stay around when two of the three strongest hitters of the League didn't believe in me? I would have watched both my front and my back, afraid that I was being second-guessed while I was fighting for my life. We both know I had to leave. It was for the best."

"The best for who? Best for the league because we couldn't possibly keep a traitor in our midst, even though more than half of the voting members didn't feel that way? Or best for you, because you felt so defeated, that you didn't want to fight anymore?"

Shayera didn't know what to say to that. She was staring into Batman's lenses, feeling like the white voids were digging straight into her soul. She knew he was expecting an answer, but her mind was swirling with the truths he had uncovered. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She realized that she could taste a salty liquid on her lips. She couldn't keep back the tears if she wanted to.

"My entire presence here was a lie. I knew that my people were coming, though I didn't know their ulterior motive. I could have told you, warned you. At least you would have been able to meet them on equal ground. Because of me, we lost not only our headquarters, but nearly the entire planet."

Batman continued to stare at her, analyzing what she said. He stepped away and turned from her, but didn't leave the room. She continued to stare at his caped back, wondering what was coming next. He's going to ask me to leave. He regrets that I returned at all...

Nodding his head as if confirming a thought, he swiftly turned back to her. "Computer, voice recognition Batman-zero-two, security authorization alpha. Lockdown Monitor Room systems. Secure doors, divert cameras to hangar bay, and disconnect all recording devices from this room. Override main security protocols authorization bwbm-91939-execute."

Shayera started shaking at the rough command tone in his voice. When he advanced towards her, she couldn't keep her rebellious front anymore. She ducked her head, wrapped her wings around body, and waited for the inevitable dressing down. Instead she heard a slight rustling, then felt a weight settle onto her shoulder.

"Shayera, look at me." Cautiously peering up, she was startled to find a pair of sapphire blue eyes gazing back at her. She gasped when she saw Bruce Wayne's familiar face. Without thinking, Shay threw herself into his arms, clutching at him with a desperate hug.

"Oof! Uh, Shayera? Err...this wasn't the reaction I was expecting when I took off the cowl. What...what are you doing?"

"Sorry. It's just...yours was the face I looked for when I was searching for news. It feels like I really know you. I know I don't...not really, but I wanted to thank you for being there for me. Not that you knew that you were..."

Bruce awkwardly patted her back, trying not to hit her wings with his hands. He moved to unwrap her arms from around him when he accidentally snagged a few feathers in his gauntlet spikes. She jumped, feeling them rip out of her skin, then stepped back in astonishment. Sticking out at his wrists were two perfect white flight feathers.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know that would happen. Not that any of this is going the way I planned..." Bruce moved away from her, holding out the offending arm for her to take her feathers back. She plucked them out of the spikes and held them in her hand, twirling them back and forth in her fingers. A small smile spread across her lips, which increased into a grin.

"You know what, you keep these. Let's call them a token of my gratitude for you being the person that you are. Here, let me just tuck them away," She took his wrists in her hands, pushing them into the gap between his gauntlet and his gloves. After both feathers have been securely hidden, she gave each wrist a firm pat. "There. Now you can't see them. So, is there something you wanted to tell me? A reason you took off your cowl?"

Bruce glanced back and forth between the now smiling Thanagarian and his wrists. He appeared like he lost total comprehension of what was going on. "Yes, there was. If I could just remember what we were talking about before all this happened..."

"You were telling me that I didn't want to fight anymore. You were right."

"But, what I don't understand is why you think it was all your fault."

"You know why! I could have..."

"No, Shayera. Yes, you could have told us, but would that really have mattered? Your government lied to you, too. They told you your assignment was to scout the planet and pass on information, not for conquest. We would have worked on faulty information. They still would have invaded if you told us or not.

"I also realize that my vote to kick you off the league may have been based upon other factors." When she glanced at him expectantly, he elaborated, "I was furious over having to crash the Watchtower into the Thanagarian base. Lots of money, time, and effort went into building that station. And if Superman hadn't saved me, well, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Yes, I can see how that would make you want to lash out at the closest winged person to you."

"But when you returned, I noticed how you were taking on the guilt of your entire people. You didn't single-handedly invade our planet. That was a concerted effort of a hostile government. You just happen to be the one we trusted the most. With that, I think it's unfair that you continually be persecuted for something you couldn't help. By those who judge you, and by your own opinion."

"What are you saying? That you forgive me?" Shayera could only hope that he was saying that...

"I'm saying that you need to stop trying so hard to prove yourself, and that you've already shown that you are a valuable part of the team. You've suffered enough for your mistakes. Anything you do from now on will be considered a valid contribution to the league, without any judgments or evaluations."

"You know, all you had to say is 'you're forgiven'. But then, I kinda figured you're not one for touchy feely words." She threw him a quirky grin. He answered with his own crooked smile, glancing away from her.

"Actually, I think I may be getting better at that. Which is another reason I'm here. I wanted to thank you for making that bet with Diana. It was gutsy as hell, but I can't complain about the results. Though I question your methods, I'm grateful that you pushed her my way. Things have been...good after that."

Shayera's spirit lightened after Bruce's confession. "You know, I wasn't lying when I said that you two were driving me crazy the way you kept dancing around each other. I didn't have an ulterior motive when I suggested the mission to get you together. I just wanted to see both of you happy."

"And when are you going to claim that for yourself? You've been doing your own dance ever since you returned. We both know John still has feelings for you."

"But he made it clear that he and Vixen were together..."

"And that's stopping you how? I was just told a few days ago that anything worth having is worth fighting for. Don't you want to fight to get back what you gave up in the first place?"

"I would, but Vixen..."

"I don't think Vixen is the one you need to convince. Remind him. There's a reason he was with you in the first place."

"I'll have to think about that. He's already rebuffed me once. I kind of figured that was the end of it."

"Take it from someone who knows. Just because he pushed you away once doesn't mean he wants you to stop trying. He's shown the signs. Use them."

"You seem invested in what happens to us. Why the sudden interest?"

"We both know what the future holds for the two of you. He might deny it, but I don't. Besides, I saw a future version of myself that I didn't like. I want to make sure he didn't make the same kind of mistake I'm trying to avoid. You're a formidable woman. You can make it happen."

"I didn't realize you could be so inspiring. That's usually Superman's job."

"Watch it, woman. I can still take you to a training room..."

"No, no! That's okay. I'll just stay here and study your report." Shay tilted her head to the side. "You know, Diana's really lucky to have you."

"I truly think it's the other way around."

"Well, I get to see the two of you together. The press is going to love this! The Amazon Princess and Gotham's prince? It's like a fairytale! I can't wait to see what she wears. And you! You always have the best suits." She had the pleasure of making the unmasked Batman blush again.

"You might want to save your energy. No one's going to see a thing." With that, he took a small envelope out from under his cape. Handing it to her, he stated, "If you need to know where we are, follow these directions. You'll find it quite...enchanting."

Shayera opened the envelope to find a small card. Printed in neat handwriting were a set of coordinates. And was that a radio frequency? She peered up at Bruce, and her heart jumped to find Batman standing in front of her.

"Voice recognition Batman-zero-two, security authorization alpha. Deactivate all previous special security measures to the monitor room. Return all standard protocols authorization bwbm-91939-execute." He stared coldly at the winged woman in front of him.

"2200 hours. Tune in there. And Hawkgirl...this conversation never happened." He spoke with his trademark rough voice, all traces of Bruce and his beautiful blue eyes gone.

Shayera expected her blood to run cold, or her hands to shake. But instead, she peered into the blank white lenses with a steady gaze.

"No Batman, nothing happened here. Nothing at all." He acknowledged her with a nod and left the room.

*May your bosses one day be redeemed / And may humility one day be restored to pride / And may you one day be recognized as equal to the others. / One day it will come to pass. - The Girl - Lila Downs

*All Portuguese translations:

Olå. Como você está? - Hello, how are you?
vazio - empty
Senhorita - Ms., Miss
Obrigada - Thank you, said by a female
de nada - You're welcome