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Issue Ten
"Feng Shui -- Part One"
Note: This story takes place several months before the Hawks' dramatic return to the DCL Universe (see DCL's JSA #2).
Many leagues from Hong Kong, in the South China Sea, there was a small crescent island long forgotten by the rest of the modern world. It was an uncharted tropical island, dominated by a lush vibrant jungle. On the east shore there laid a small, simple fishing village. An obscured trail led from the village to a hidden, ancient monumental ruin located deep within the heart of the jungle. The surrounding mass of vegetation all but obscured the former grandeur of the temple ruins (stylistically similar to those found at Angkor Wat) while several lichen covered towers, of ancient construction, surreptitiously pierced the vegetation's canopy.
Life on the island was simple, though often harsh. Generation after generation lived this way -- braving the perils of the open sea for their livelihood. A village of bamboo thatched huts is incongruous seated by the newly constructed modern docks, where unmarked ships loaded and unloaded their illicit cargoes. If it weren't for the activity at the docks the fishing village would seem like a ghost town.
Two Asian men, dressed in cheap suits, stood next to a truck that was being loaded with supplies and contraband. They smoked their cigarettes while they adjusted their submachine guns which hung from their shoulder straps. The thin, lanky mook stared at one of the original villagers who have since been enslaved into a workforce. The gangster watched the labourer grew more restless as he helped the others to load supplies to the waiting truck.
The two mooks were members of the Red Scorpian Triad, a particular nasty underworld syndicate that dealt in the world's equally nasty vices. Extortion, theft, prostitution, drugs, weapon running, chemical warfare, pornography. You name it and the Red Scorpian Triad had done it -- anything and everything in the pursuit of wealth and power.
"I hate this island," muttered the portly gangster. "I wish we were done here... Can't wait to get back to Hong Kong. I know a little tea shop that serves the best cold tea.* Instead, we're here doing jack shit. This is a waste of our natural talent."
[* cold tea = liquor]
"Watch it! Complaining like that can get you killed. You do as you're told, and we were told to pick up these supplies. If you have a problem, I suggest you take it up with Little Brother, himself."
"No, no problem. It's just this village gives me the creeps ever since we relocated the villagers. It's a ghost town, and I don't like ghosts."
"It's not a ghost town. There are the slaves..." The tall mook pointed at an enslaved native labourer, just as he stumbled while he carried the bound body of a woman with a black cloth bag tied over her head. She was unconscious and oblivious to her rough treatment. The two gangsters sprang into action at the villager's misfortune. "Careful you maggot, she is worth a lot more than your pathetic hide. Tsui has paid good money to acquire her."
Suddenly a raspy, smoke-worn voice entered the one-sided conversation. "She is worth more than all of your pathetic hides!"
The two mooks jumped with surprise as they turned to see their Triad Boss standing behind them. "Little Brother Tsui! We weren't expecting you."
"Obviously." Little Brother Tsui's had a harsh face. A cigarette hung from his battle-scarred lip. His eyes were obscured by smoke. He watched as the unconscious woman was loaded onto the truck. "Stop!"
Everyone stoped immediately as Tsui walked up to the body. He pulled a hyperdermic needle from his pocket and injected the unconscious captive. "There. That should keep our gilded bird quiet as she is taken to Zhang." He looked up at his two quaking mooks. "She is worth more than your feeble imaginations can fathom. I'll will supervise the transportation from here."
He watched as the two gangsters quickly shacklde the comatose Shayera Thal at the back of the truck. "Did you know that it took two score of our agents in Detriot just to tame her? She's a wild one." Little Brother Tsui smiled an evil grin. "You two. You'll ride as prisoner escort."
The tall slender gangster slapped his portly cohort at the back of his head. They both swallowed a loud collective'gulp' before they entered the truck.
The island's ancient ruins had been converted into an underground headquarters for one of the largest Triads in the world -- The Red Scorpian Triad.
Shayera Thal lay in a slightly elevated crucified position while some sort of body harness immobolized her. This harness consisted of criss-crossing filaments, resembling a spider's webbing, that seemed to form a body-hugging cage. Wires and cables of many sizes ran from the harness to various surrounding scientific equipment. The whole room appeared to be a laboratory of eclectic design. Some of the equipment was almost ancient, while others were state of the art.
"Welcome to my island, Hawkwoman, or should I say Shayera Thal. My, my, we have a lot to discuss once you wake up from your little nap."
Dr. Dewei Zhang stood at a series of technical panels that were raised from the floor as he studied the various data that his containment harness was relaying, via the many cables. He was a middle-aged Chinese who was dressed in a respectable suit and wearing the standard lab coat. He leaned against a wooden walking cane for support. Zhang wears wire-frame glasses and his hair is going grey at the temples. His eyes were wild, almost crazy.
Dr. Zhang was once a noted bio-genetics researcher who was ostracized from the scientific community for his wild theories on eugenics, race, and Chinese mysticism. His unethical experimentation bordered on outright blasphemy. The outcry branded Dewei Zhang as an enemy to Humanity. To continue with his diabolical research, he has sold his services to the Red Scorpian Triad. Only the Triad had the money that was needed to fund his illicit research.
Shayera lay motionless within her restrictive harness. Her eyes remain closed as she spoke in English, "Seven Hells, enough with the speeches. I'm awake now, and let me tell you I'm not the nicest person to be around when I've been kidnapped, drugged and taken prisoner…" She suddenly felt a strange tingling sensation spread through her entraped body.
Dewei Zhang's face was illuminated by his scanners' lights. A reflection of the scanner readouts was seen on his glasses. The reflection revealed bar graphs which exceed what was marked as the human standard. The smile on Dr. Zhang's face was chilling and cold. He was oblivious to her verbal threats. He spoke, but manly to himself, and in Cantonese. "Amazing! She has already shaken the affects of the tranquilizer! Her Thanagarian physiology is exactly what I've expected and more. She is the perfect speciman for my research." The scanners glowed and flashed with the display of the alien physiology, and Shayera screamed.
Little Brother Tsui entered the lab. He watched as Zhang drooled over their prize. He spoke, also in Cantonese. "I hope you're satisfied, Doctor. This little bird cost the Triad greatly. She better be worth every bit of it."
"She is, and more so. My preliminary scans confirm that her physiology may hold a clue about the Enchanted Ones. Her mate was reported as posessing the powers of the Enchanted*. But that shouldn't deter my research. I believe that her alien physiology may hold a clue into channeling their incrdible powers..."
[* What Dr. Zhang calls the Enchanted, are also known as Avatars in the Western world (i.e. the standard DCU). ]
Tsui listened to Shayera's hoarse screams. "As long as she isn't damaged too seriously. She's worth a lot on the black market. Many would pay handsomely to own their very own Hawkwoman."
"But my research comes first. Must I remind you of your uncle's orders?" Zhang ignored the fuming gangster and concentrated on his sensors and scanners. He hesitated as he felt a ring of cold metal touch his temple.
"I don't think you understood me, doctor. I said that she will not be seriously damaged." Tsui pushed his Tokarev pistol harder against Zhang's head. "Or you will die on this island. I am the law here, not my uncle."
Dewei Zhang nodded as he reduced the intensity of his bio-scans. "Okay," he muttered, "I understand."
Shayera Thal ignored the pain as she stared at her capters. She had been listening to their conversation. She was angered by their complete lack of recognition of her existance. They talked like she didn't even exist. Shayera thought, Their arrogance is outstanding. They assume I don't understand them. It is an advantage that I best keep to myself for the time being.
Shayera summoned enough strength to speak. "Seven Hells, doesn't anyone speak English around here!?"
"Amazing. She is maintaining consciousness through the scan. I didn't think it was possible." Zhang Dewei adjusted the controls of the containment harness. A high pitch squeal echoed throughout the stone chamber.
Tsui uncovered his ears as the sound quickly moved beyond the human audio range. "What sort of test was that?" That was the last thing Shayera heard before she succumbed to unconsciousness.
"As you already know," Doctor Zhang's fingers danced across his instrument panel as he adjusted his various probing scans, "I believe that I will be able to locate and exploit the genetic potential of our Thanagarian guest."
Thalrassa, the crown city of Thanagar - or at least a dream induced version of it.
Downside - among the refuge, castaways, and the dead.
'Choom, Choom, Choom,' echoed the Thanagarian hand blaster with each deadly shot. Lizardkon flesh ruptured and blistered with impact. The reptilian target screamed one final hiss before his head exploded. Another Lizardkon attempted to flee, but was quickly blasted to pieces.
The varied alien Downsiders scrambled to find cover. The Hawkmen had found them. They had to find cover before they were all slaughtered. A large Lizardkon snapped his tail as he yelled a formal challenge to one Hawkman in particular - the Hawkman, Katar Hal.
Shayera watched Katar as he swooped past the alien's blasts. She admired his grace as he fired two shots into the doomed Lizardkon. "Seven Devils, Katar. Watch your back!" Shayera quickly blasted two partially hidden Lizardkons that were aiming at Katar. "Jam it, Katar, sloppiness like that will get you flashed."
Suddenly the Lizardkons disappeared and the open barrio became dark as a great shadow fell over everything. A giant black image of a hawk appeared as it look down at Katar and Shayera. It spoke with a distant, echoing voice. "I claim what is rightfully mine! I claim Hawkman as my avatar."
The Hawk God reached down and snatched Katar. Suddenly Katar disappeared from Shayera's side as he was absorbed into the avian creature of darkness. She watched in horror as the Hawk God shimmered and shifted, then metamorphosized into a giant version of Katar Hol. He spoke with the same distorted voice as did the Hawk God. "What will I do with you? I know..."
The Hawk God/Katar Hal reached down and plucked Shayera's wings from her. "You won't need these, magpie. Now begone from my sight. You offend me." Shayera screamed as the giant Katar swatted her away like a child's doll. She fell through the darkness of the surrounding city spires. The inconsistancy of only being a few feet off the ground and falling for what seems like an eternity didn't cross Shayera's mind at all in this dream. Instead, her mind embraced the horror of her escalating plummet.
Shayera Thal suddenly felt something coil up her legs and body. A winged serpent with an incredibly long tail, that disappeared in the surrounding darkness, had wrapped itself around Shayera. She recognized the evil face - it belonged to one of Thanagar's most ruthless scum, Byth Rok. "Goodbye Shr'i Thal. * Hahahahaha... Oh, I brought a friend to say goodbye."
[* Shr'i is the Thanagarian word for Miss/Mrs. ]
Byth continued to coil upwards towards the ever elusive sky. His laughter harshly echoed in Shayera's ears. She shivered as Byth's serpentine coils glided across her body. Suddenly the tail stopped, and Shayera tried to struggle against her bonds.
"That's it, Shay. You can do it. Escape this place. Keep fighting. Don't give the bastards the satisfaction!"
Hawkwoman stopped her struggle once she heared the familiar voice. "Jonesy? Is that you? But... I thought you were dead*..." She watched the bullet riddled body of Chicago Police Officer Verzell K. Jones drift into view. He appeared to be dangling from Byth's hand much like a puppet on strings.
[* Officer Jones was shot dead by Blyth Rok in Hawkworld #7]
"I am, Shay." The late Officer Jones reached out for Shayera, as if to touch her for one last time, but Blyth laughed as he yanked back his 'puppet'. "Wake up, Shay, before you share my fate. Wake up… Wake up…"
The first noticable noise that Shayera could hear, when she regained consciousness, was gunfire. The stoccatto pops of automatic weapons echoed throughout the ancient halls. She could tell the gangsters were working their way in her direction. She knew she had to escape from the harness that was still wrapped around her body.
Then a different noise caught her attention. It was a much softer tone - the sound of a child crying. Shayera strained her neck to see where the sound was coming from. She saw a small Chinese girl, about the age of ten, dressed in torn and dirty clothes. She clutched the remains of a doll that she held for support. Shayera whispered to her in Cantonese, "Hide behind the harness, little one. I'll make sure they won't find you."
The girl did exactly what Shayera suggested and just in time. A small squad of Triad goons rushed into the laboratory. They spread out as they searched the room. Shayera knew she had to distract them so they wouldn't notice the girl. She started to shout - as loud as she could muster and in Thanagarian, English, Cantonese, even a few well chosen Khundian curses. "Seven Hells, you dogs! Free me or suffer the wrath of the Seven Devils! May Shoggoth forever devour your souls! May the Manhawks wear the skin of your face as their own!" She continued by ranting out any name of any deity or devil she could think off. It was the Downside curses that really began to unnerve the Triad mooks. They just quickly nodded to each other and slowly backed out of the lab.
Shayera continued raving like a mad loon for a few good minutes afterwards. She finally stopped when her throut bcame so dry that she began to choke on her own words. "I have to get out of this thing…" She whispered in Cantonese. She wasn't really speaking to anyone in particular, just voicing her frustration with the situation.
She tried to move her arms but the harness held her firm. She could hear it humming with power as she struggled in vain. 'That was it!' she thought. 'Power! If she could somehow short out the power of the harness, then she might be able to summon enough strength to free herself. But how?'
To Shayera's surprise, the small Chinese girl touched her face and smiled. Her face was soft and smooth. Her eyes almost had a cat-like essence to them. She spoke in a soft, quiet voice (in Cantonese), "I'm Wei Juijuan, but everyone calls me 'Juju' except those nasty men. I'm alone now. Momma, Papa, gone."
"You're not alone now. I'll help you… once I get out of this contraption." Shayera stared past the child at the consule podium, or to be more precisely, at the cables running out of the base of the scientific equipment. If she could just short them out. She surveyed the room for something, anything, that could be suitable for the task. Then she saw it - Dr. Zhang's spare walking cane. "See that walking stick, Juju? Use it to wedge loose some of those cables. Be careful, you don't want any of the cables to touch you."
Juju nodded as she ran to fetch the wooden cane. She used her strength to wedge it between the thicker cables and she pulled with great force. Sparks soared through the air as the cable snapped with a bright flash. Juju screamed as several sparks landed in her hair. She quickly ran for cover as the room's lights dimmed.
"That's it, Juju. You did it." Shayera wrestled with her restraint and eventually she felt it crack under her Thanagarian strength. She freed an arm and eventually she was standing next to the harness under her own power. Shayera took Juju's hand. "Okay kid, let's get out of here.You don't happen to know the way out do you?"
Juju shoke her head, no.
"I thought as much." Shayera picked up the walking stick. 'You never know, it might prove to be useful as a weapon,' she thought. She searched the dim corridor. "Hmmm… it appears we have shorted out the whole building. We won't get anywhere if we just stay here. Come on, Juju, we better make our break for it. We'll take advantage of the power outage while we can." Shayera and little Juju ran into the looming twilight of the hallway. They didn't know what lay ahead, but it couldn't be any worse that what they have already been through. Unfortunately for Shayera Thal and Wei Juijuan, they were about to find out how untrue this belief was.
NEXT ISSUE: Shayera Thal makes a discovery or two. One will revolt her while the other will change her life. Find out in the next exciting issue.