Friends
Written by Amazonia V
Chapter 15:
"Where are the cops? They need to set up a perimeter," Green Lantern ordered angrily.
"It's a little late for that," Black Star shrugged helplessly at the untamed mob that had already spilled out on to the pavement outside the little diner, bringing the traffic to a standstill as they surged across the road. "Thankfully, your time has not yet mastered air travel or the crowds would be more unmanageable."
Green Lantern used his power ring to create a medevac for Fanci as he flew her to the emergency care unit at the nearest hospital. Gently placing her on the bed inside the green bubble, he used the power ring to stabilize her vital signs and staunch the blood. Glaring resentfully at Black Star would not help heal Fanci quicker, but would certainly make him feel better.
"How is she?" asked Black Canary, who was monitoring the JLA satellite, over the com-link.
'The paramedics are with her now," Green Lantern said. "She's lost a lot of blood."
"Where is she?"
"They're taking her into surgery."
"Don't leave her alone," Black Canary responded.
Fanci was being loaded onto a stretcher by two medics, a drip attached to her arm and an oxygen mask over her face.
"I'm going with her," Green Lantern shouted over the cacophony of the O.T.
"No way," the presiding medical officer called back. "You'll only hamper us."
"I wasn't asking for your permission."
Keeping his head down, Green Lantern sprinted across the corridor and made sure he was behind the stretcher, just as the doors of the O.T slammed shut behind him.
"How is she?" Green Lantern asked one of the medics as they hooked her up to the ECG, her pulse registering with a green blip on the screen and a sharp tone - Beep…beep…beep. Around them power and warning lights from other machines flashed and sounded intermittently.
"Who are you?"
"A friend."
"She's lost a lot of blood…we need to operate immediately."
"Is she conscious?"
"In and out. Try talking to her. Keep her awake."
Green Lantern moved forward until he was sitting next to Fanci's head. The glow of the ECG screen was staining her skin green. Her eyes flickered open and he was not sure if the trembling smile he saw was a smile of recognition for him. How could it be? He was in Green Lantern gear. Too late now to change back to Hal Jordan. He would just have to hang in there. With Fanci.
"Hold on, Fanci," he whispered, pressing his lips to her ear. "You'll be okay. Don't you go and die on me."
She nodded weakly. He brushed the hair out of her eyes, speaking almost to himself.
"You're going to be okay. I'll make sure you're okay."
Beep…beep…beep.
He smiled at her reassuringly, glad that she couldn't see the doctors' grim-faced expressions as they worked on the wound, the blood still oozing from her chest. He felt her hand reach for his, her grip tightening as she pulled him closer, her mouth moving under the oxygen mask.
In the hospital room, Green Lantern bent over Fanci, straining to hear her voice against the rhythmic pinging of the heart monitor. He caught something, the fragment of a word, perhaps more, and then her eyes closed again and her grip loosened as unconsciousness overtook her.
"Come on, Fanci," Green Lantern called, shaking her arm gently at first and then with increasing urgency.
"We're nearly there now. You're going to be okay. You just need to keep listening to me. Listen to my voice."
He shook her again, more roughly this time. There was a slight flickering of her eyelashes, and the gradual, almost imperceptible lengthening of the gaps between each tone of the ECG.
Beep…beep. Beep……beep. Beep………beep.
Green Lantern used his power ring to heal Fanci's body internally, to stabilize her, to help speed the healing process up. He hoped she would recover consciousness.
He leaned forward, his lips brushing against her cheek. He knew now that it was just him and her.
Him and her and the hiss of the respirator and the unfeeling pulse of the ECG's electronic heart.
"Stay alive. Stay with me," he whispered.
Superman and Wonder Woman flew to the hospital to meet Green Lantern and team up to explore the situation with Fanci Webb. Superman was especially keen to meet Black Star and see if he knew him from his own Legion days.
Wonder Woman was careful not to look at Superman. The first few moments had felt odd to her. But Kal had smiled at her, and she had looked back into his clear blue eyes and felt oddly at peace.
Still, it was difficult not to let her eyes stray below his belt.
Ah, Athena, what was the matter with her? She was an Amazon, wasn't she?
"Diana," said Superman, breaking into her thoughts. "After this is over, I want to talk to you. We need to discuss many things and not all of them are JLA."
Wonder Woman looked at Superman, turning her face sideways to see him. She carefully checked that the JLA com-link was off before she spoke, "Kal, if it's about earlier today, then, I've seen naked heroes before. It's no big deal."
"No big deal?" asked Superman in disbelief. "No big deal? And just who have you seen naked before?"
Wonder Woman couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was that a jealous tone in Superman's voice? Why was he reacting this way? Surely nakedness had nothing to do with their relationship? Why she and her sisters were certainly not shy about their own nudity. And they didn't react like Superman if they saw one another naked.
She herself had been thinking about his beautiful body when Superman had interrupted her thoughts. True, she wasn't lying when she said that she had seen other naked male forms before, but it was foolish to lie to herself where Kal was concerned. She had enjoyed feasting her eyes on the rough, dark, male hair that curled invitingly across his wide chest, had wanted to run her palms over that chest and feel the hard resilience of muscle over bone, had wanted to place her cheek against those smooth, hard muscles that rippled beneath his skin, and listen to the soft, steady beat of his heart.
But now...
But there was no time to discuss this now. So, using all her Amazonian training to get her feelings under control, she simply said, "Kal, after this mission is over, we'll talk. I promise. We'll discuss whatever you want."
Superman didn't seem convinced but he nodded his head. Diana's promise was precious to him. And this time, he would hold her to it.
As they walked in to Fanci Webb's hospital room, Superman's eyes took in the scene before him. He quickly scanned the area with his x-ray vision, then scanned Fanci's body. Her vital signs didn't seem to offer too much hope but Superman registered something else. In the lobe of her left ear was a microscopic chip, conveniently colored yellow.
Wonder Woman looked hard at Hal Jordan. For a Green Lantern, he seemed to be more than a little distraught. Wonder Woman thought that was odd. Why would Hal Jordan, the first of the Green Lanterns of Earth, and a premier of the old corps, be so shaken and disturbed?
"What happened, Hal?" asked Wonder Woman, while Superman took up guard position near the door.
Green Lantern quickly explained what had happened, all the while holding Fanci's hand. He wished that there was some way to bring her back to consciousness. He didn't know why, but he felt responsible for her and he should have been responsible for her – he was Green Lantern, after all and should have protected her better. He was still coming to terms with the fact that his Fanci (he had grown used to thinking of her that way), his very own agent, Fanci Webb, had something to do with the Legion and some Legion mission. He wanted to shake her hard for not telling him in the first place. He wished he could shake her hard now.
Wonder Woman was saying, "Where's this Legionnaire called Black Star? Batman told us that we were to travel back to the future with him sort out this Fanci Webb issue."
"I want to meet him, too," said Superman.
Black Star chose that moment to join the group. "Hello Kal-El," he said. "I'm honored to meet Superman, the one who inspires us all."
Superman smiled. "Black Star. I don't know if I recall meeting you before. What mission brings you here? Who is this woman, Fanci Webb?"
As they spoke, Wonder Woman looked at Fanci Webb, lying inert and almost still on the hospital bed. Green Lantern still had not let go of her hand.
Black Star quickly repeated to the JLA-ers what he had already reported to the Legion's commander. He needed to return to the thirtieth century with Fanci. He hadn't anticipated the rapid change in events, however, and the Timor's determination to eliminate all evidence. They had used old-fashioned technology to make the hit, to avoid detection. It was lucky that Black Star had been able to alert this age's JLA in time. He just wished he had alerted them earlier. Perhaps, they would have been able to get Agent Fanci to safety.
"Agent!???" cried Green Lantern. "What do you mean Agent Fanci? She's my agent, all right, but you don't need to refer to her that way. Or does she have Muy Thai martial art skills that we don't know about?"