Reality

Jonah’s phone rang. It was a new phone with all the features that are popular nowadays. All that was missing was contacts. Jonah had yet to meet enough new people to fill a rolodex. He guessed that the only reason his phone was ringing was that the Justice League needed him for something.

“Mr. Porter?” said a voice with clear diction.

“That’s me.” Jonah replied. He was currently relaxing on his couch since it was a lazy Sunday morning.

“You are currently needed on the watchtower for official League business. Are you available for a mission at the moment?” Explained the professional voice.

“Of course.”

“Will you need transportation today sir?”

“No, I’ll get there myself.” Jonah said “But I’ll need to use the Star City boom tube.”

“Of course, sir. Watchtower out.”

Jonah quickly got dressed in his, admittedly unimpressive, temporary super suit since he had yet to acquire a permanent design. He portaled directly to the Star City boom tube center which he had committed to memory for this exact sort of situation. He was growing more confident in his abilities but still found it difficult to muster enough confidence to try and portal into a location surrounded by the cold vacuum of space. Too much room for error.

Unsurprisingly the commute was quite short. The longest portion of it was waiting for the boom tube to warm up and send him to the Watchtower.

BOOM!

“Porter. Glad you could make it. Come on up, we have a mission for you.” A deep voice said the moment Jonah stepped onto the Watchtower.

Standing above the fray of the Watchtower’s control center was a black superhero with a shaved head and a lightning themed outfit. Jonah gave a polite wave and joined him near the top of the room, where the supervising hero always stood. Beside him was a woman Jonah had seen before, during the multiverse battle, and at the funeral. She was some sort of hawk person warrior. Big metallic-feathered wings and a pair of melee weapons.

“Good morning. Or whatever time it is up here.” Jonah said with a smile.

The woman responded by crossing her arms. She wore a large beaked helmet, its large brim cast a wide shadow over her face. Despite being pointed downwards Jonah could make out her sharp piercing gaze inspecting him. She turned to the black, lightning hero and spoke with full expressive lips.

“Who’s he?”

“He’s new.”

“My name’s Porter.” Jonah said, reaching a hand out to her.

“Hawkgirl.” She shook his hand once.

“Black Lightning.” Said the man, giving Jonah a full professional handshake.

“Nice to meet you both. What have you got for me today?”

“Right.” Black Lightning turned to the series of monitors “Should be a relatively simple mission. It seems that an unfortunate group of campers found one of Professor Ivo’s old off the grid labs. Thinking it was ‘clout worthy’ they went inside, videotaping the process.” The view on the monitors changed from a visual profile of the supervillain Professor Ivo to a vertical video of people walking through a dark concrete corridor. The video fast forwards until some mechanical monstrosity lunges at the cameraman ending the feed. “Poor bastards didn’t know what hit them. Incidentally, we now have a group of 12 killer robots wandering the forests of North California.”

“Search and destroy.” Hawkgirl stated.

“Exactly, but the search part may be a bit more difficult than you might think. We can trace their unique energy signatures but only to a couple mile radius, the rest is up to you.” Black Lightning explained.

“Can he keep up with me?” Hawkgirl said, referring to Jonah.

“He can teleport and has an enhanced physicality. A little wet around the ears but he’ll be useful.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Hawkgirl remarked.

“He can hear you, y’know?” Jonah interjected.

“Don’t get it twisted kid, you are being judged. On your ability and league worthiness. But don’t worry, if you follow Hawkgirl and listen to everything she says then you should come out of this alive and better at what you do, she’s a pro.”

Jonah investigated Hawkgirl again. He could have sworn that she was resisting a smirk. There was something familiar about her, he just couldn’t put his finger on it.

“Here is the location of the first robot.” Black lightning continued, presenting an image and coordinates of a ranger station in Humboldt County, California. “This is all you should need to start you mission.”

Jonah studied the location and gracefully tore a door sized hole into the fabric of reality, its shimmering film distorting the view of trees and dirt. He presented one arm and leaned in a mock bow.

“You lead the way sir.”

“Don’t call me that.” Hawkgirl pushed past him and through the hole, her wings flexing to fit better.

Pushing through his portal Jonah could instantly feel the quality of the air change. It was so much fresher than the recycled air on the Watchtower. On his right, Hawkgirl’s feet had barely touched dirt before she was soaring into the air and between the trees. It didn’t look like it had any tactical purpose.

“It must be awful to have wings but not use them.” Jonah called into the trees.

Hawkgirl grabbed onto a nearby branch high into the air “The Watchtower can get claustrophobic at times. Flying is far easier than walking.”

“You’re telling me. Sometimes I have to take the bus to work.” Jonah said, closing his portal.

A brief smile overtook Hawkgirl’s lips before being replaced again “Focus up newbie, there will be time for chitchat after the fighting is done. If we are quick this shouldn’t take all day.”

It would take all day for this mission to be completed. The two heroes bounced from serene hiking and tracking to intense fighting.

When the fighting began the withdrawn and cold Hawkgirl became an entirely different person. Jonah watched as she attacked with such fury that it frightened and aroused him. She and her armaments became one as she created a dance of ****. Her weapons hummed with some unseen power as she hacked and slashed at metal limbs. She was completely in her element. The warm sun lit the affair in a strange beauty as its strips cut through the leaves and shone onto her as the green and yellow of her outfit blended into her olive toned skin.

Jonah tried his best to keep up. His fighting ability and physical prowess had improved greatly over the past two months, but it was nothing compared to her. All he could do was watch her back for any surprise attacks and transport her from location to location.

Hawkgirl destroyed the twelfth and final robot by vivisecting its core while hovering midair, letting gravity finish the job. Jonah watched Hawkgirl lower to the ground in a form unnatural to what her wings were doing. It was late into the night by this point, but he could still see that they both were covered in dirt, sweat, and grime.

“Forgive me if it’s a rude question but how do your wings work? You don’t flap them very often.” Jonah said, sitting on a stump.

“Pardon? Why ask now?”

“You promised me chitchat when the mission was over. Well, the mission is over.” Jonah said with a sly smile.

Hawkgirl rolled her eyes. “They are special Nth metal. I would explain the concept behind them, but I don’t understand it fully myself.”

“So, you aren’t an alien?”

“No, that’s-. That’s not important. I’m flesh and blood human just like you.”

“No meta-gene? No Powers? Other than kickass fighting skills.” Jonah asked, leaning into the hunch that she appreciated flattery.

“Other than an ancient Egyptian curse? No powers.”

“Speaking of wings.” Jonah changed the conversation, sensing he was veering into sensitive territory. Better to keep it light, for now. “I’m starving. What about you boss?”

“I told you not to call me that.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not your commander, or your mentor, I didn’t teach you anything. We are peers.” Hawkgirl said to herself more than him.

“That’s not completely true. I learnt plenty from watching you today. How about this. We stay peers and dinner is on me. My treat for a successful mission. I know the best spot for a picnic.” Jonah winked and began drawing a line in the air.

Hawkgirl sighed, successfully worn down by a long day, an empty stomach, and Jonah’s sincere charms.

“Ok, where did you have in mind.” Hawkgirl said, her enchanting eyes piercing through the darkness and towards only him.

“I’ll show you.”

Jonah stepped through reality and led Hawkgirl into a dimly lit room. One long wide hallway, the room looped around a central point, its outer wall made of floor to ceiling windows. Far below the glass were the sights and sounds of a major city at night.

“Is this-” Hawkgirl began, retracting her wings.

“The Seattle Space Needle. Did you know that there was a restaurant up here.” Jonah referred to the empty chairs and tables arranged around the room.

“Are you trying to impress me?” Hawkgirl said without averting her gaze from the view.

“Maybe.” Jonah said with a nervous smile “any dietary restrictions?”

“No.”

“Then I’ll be right back; you enjoy the view. It’s not as cool as flying but I think it’s pretty good.”

It wasn’t until 10 minutes later that Jonah returned through one of his portals holding three ornate wooden boxes stacked on top of one another and two bottles.

“Hope you like sushi.”

Jonah placed the boxes on one of the unused tables. He turned to see that Hawkgirl was still looking out of the window, deep in thought. Jonah joined her at the window. He looked down on the city below. Watching as the skyscrapers tapered off as they approached the pier. The water was quiet and dark. All that disturbed it was a pair of slow ferries cutting through the waves.

“Why bring us here?” Hawkgirl broke the silence after a while.

“I came to the city once for a job. I thought it was a cool place. I saw all the fancy people eating up so high up and I told myself: when I make it big, I’ll be the one eating in the sky. And here I am.”

“Couldn’t you use your powers to come here any time.” Hawkgirl asked.

“Let’s just say I didn’t always have my powers and leave it at that. Plus, I used to watch a lot of Frasier reruns as a youth, so I guess it was on the top of my brain.”

“Frasier? Who is he?”

“It’s not important.” Jonah frowned, remembering he wasn’t home anymore. Even if it looked like home. “Let’s eat.”

The two moved to the table so that they could sit while they ate. Jonah opened the boxes to reveal various types of sushi with different fish and toppings. Hawkgirl popped open the two beers with the side of her axe.

“Where did you get this from?” Hawkgirl asked pulling out a pair of disposable chopsticks.

“Japan.” Jonah responded with a wry smile “though the exact details are fuzzy. The guy I bought it from spoke about as much English as I can Japanese.”

The two eat together. The food was delicious. Jonah was unaccustomed to such nice food, but it was cheaper when you got it from the source. Plus, he had a much more regular income now.

Hawkgirl kept her helmet on as she ate. It must not be as heavy as it looked. Jonah had already gotten into the habit of pulling up his mask as he spoke so he did just that to eat as well.

Near the end of the meal Jonah was spinning an impassioned tale to his dinner guest “…And she came at me with the grill fork. I swear if I didn’t duck out of the way I am positive she would have taken one of my eyes out. Like I get why she was mad but how was I supposed to know that the guy was her brother?”

Hawkgirl let out a short laugh and gave him an inscrutable look.

“What?” Jonah asked, his arms still raised in a stabbing motion.

“You’re a good storyteller is all.”

“Thanks, but it’s all the truth. I’m just telling you the details as they occurred. Not trying to spin a morality tale or anything.”

“Sounds like the moral is that you have bad taste in women.”

“I don’t know about.” Jonah crossed his arms in mock thought “How about you then. How is your taste in partners?”

“It’s complication.” Hawkgirl said simply.

“Hit me. No pressure, it can’t be worse than mine apparently.

“Do you remember when I mentioned an Egyptian curse?” Hawkgirl turned away from him as she spoke “I-my soul, is cursed to reincarnate every time I die, usually violently.”

“Wow.” Jonah didn’t know what else to say.

“But I’m not alone. I have a so-called soulmate. We have been lovers in every life. I would know, I have the memories of previous lives rattling around my head. He’s the Hawkman to my Hawkgirl.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Jonah remembered that Hawkman had died in the multiverse battle.

“I appreciate it. But I’m fine. I know that in the next life we’ll meet again, just like all the ones before.”

“It’s ok to grieve loss. Even if it’s just for now.” Jonah wanted to give her a comforting touch but knew that she wouldn’t want it.

“Thanks.” Hawkgirl hugged her legs as she sat in a booth seat “It’s strange. Usually we die together.”

“How does that make you feel.”

“Lonely, I guess. But in some ways, it feels…freeing.” Hawkgirl looked back to Jonah for validation “Is that wrong?”

“Of course not. Why do you feel that way?”

“Our souls might be connected or whatever, but my reincarnations are not me. I didn’t even gain access to my memories until I was twenty. Meeting Hawkman was quite a shock. This intense relationship was thrust upon me along with the memories of hundreds of other people. And the relationship was indeed intense, too intense. We were married quickly and restarted our journey as heroic warriors. I even dropped out of college to be with him.”

“And you feel like it wasn’t your choice?”

“Exactly.” Hawkgirl continued in a quiet voice “When he died it felt like Hawkgirl died with him. Now I have to pick up where I left off all those years ago. Is the future a lonely one for Ken-” Hawkgirl cut herself off “I’m sorry for unloading all this. You don’t know me. You don’t even know what I look like.”

Hawkgirl reached back behind her head and unclasped her helmet. She took it off and shook out her short brown hair. She looked back up at Jonah with beautiful green eyes, not a warrior but a woman.

Jonah dropped his chopsticks. Why didn’t he recognize her earlier? She had the same hypnotic movements, the same glorious abs, even the same hidden sensitivities. Hawkgirl was Kendra, the woman he met at the bar just the other night. The beautiful woman who had gotten away.

“What wrong?” Kendra asked, slightly self-conscious of Jonah’s reaction.

A silence draped between them as Jonah slowly pulled off his own mask, reaving his true face.

“It’s you!” Kendra said, surprised then embarrassed “It’s you, isn’t it? From the bar in New Orleans. No wonder. You can teleport.”

“Why did you leave? Did I do something to offend you?

Kendra was silent for a moment before answering “I’m sorry. I let my emotions get ahead of me. It was impolite.”

“I don’t care about that.” Jonah moved closer to her, she was looking away from him. “I just wanted to spend more time with you. I guess I lucked out.”

“I guess you did.” Kendra said confidently, overcoming the brief surprise “But I bet you say that to all the girls.”

“Not at all.” Jonah studied her eyes closely, as if he wasn’t going to get another opportunity to look at them this closely again “I was drawn to you, both times. With or without the mask. Hawkgirl and Kendra, one being.”

Kendra smiled a cheesy smile. She could sense his sincerity, and in this moment that was enough for her. For her to not feel so lonely.

Jonah leaned into Kendra, and she him. After much emotional anticipation the two kissed, carefully at first and then all at once. They enjoyed each other passionately, their lips moving slow and with purpose. Where their lips connected so too were their bodies. Kendra embraced Jonah tightly and he her.

After what felt like the briefest of moments Kendra disconnected from Jonah.

“We should leave.”

“Oh yeah.” Jonah replied, still close to her face.

“No. I should go.” Kendra pushed away from him.

“Oh.”

The **** gentleman that he was Jonah gave her a ride home. Wordlessly he opened a portal for her to leave through.

“I’m sorry Jonah, I really am.” Kendra said, turning back to face him.

“I know.”

Once again Jonah watched as she walked away from him. He tried his best to make it not so, but it hurt.