"We will not be stopped." "Your partners are going down, Dreamslayer." "And so are you." "Mari!" "You okay?" "Just need to catch my breath, Boo." "Save a piece of him for me." "You think you can stop me with a bubble?" "It's a really good bubble." "Where's Shayera?" "Why do they always think it's going to be so easy?" "Because they always underestimate you." "Get back behind the police line." "I can't do that, Shayera." "I've been hoping to talk to you for a very long time." "And you are?" "Carter Hall." "I want to show you something." "Easy." "It's an artifact, not a weapon." "Well, actually, it's both." "Thanagarian." "All the Thanagarian tech that was left behind after the war was either confiscated or destroyed." "Most." "Not all." "Thanagarian contraband sells for big bucks on the black market." "Where did you get this?" "In Egypt, during an archeological dig." "It's not from the invasion." "It's been on Earth for over 8000 years." "You're Thanagarian." "With your help, I could translate the glyphs, figure out how the technology got there." "We could investigate this together." "Come with me to Egypt." "Cairo's beautiful this time of year." "I could recommend some nice restaurants." "We'll examine the artifact and get back to you when we know something." "Thank you, Mr. Hall." "The Metrotower has some of the most advanced scientific equipment on the planet." "Okay." "While they run their tests, maybe you and I can discuss this in more detail." "Over dinner?" "Oh, I don't" "Um..." "Okay." "Sure." "I'll see you soon." "Is that right?" "Let me run it again." "Carbon-14 dating confirms that this artifact is over 8000 years old." "I'm no historian, but... that date roughly tracks with the era of the weapon's design." "And the relative crudity of its Nth metal components." "I've gotta go." "Shayera, I wanted to-- Judas Priest!" "Problem?" "No." "No." "It's just, uh" "I've...never seen you in a dress before." "You don't like it?" "It's, uh...fetching." "If you want one for Vixen, I can tell you where I got it." "Listen." "Glad I caught you before you did something stupid." "Excuse me?" "Carter Hall." "What about him?" "I did some research." "His birth name is Joseph Gardner." "He lied." "No." "Six months ago, he had it legally changed to Carter Hall." "He's an archeologist." "Currently curator of the Midway City Museum." "Had an excellent reputation until about five years ago, when he started claiming that aliens landed in Ancient Egypt." "Aliens?" "Well, then he must be a lunatic." "Because we all know that there's no life on other planets." "There's more." "What?" "Our Mr. Hall spends quite a bit of time on the Internet." "Dang." "Lock him up." "He frequents the "I Hate Hawkgirl" bulletin boards." "That doesn't mean" "Boards?" "How many are there?" "Fifty-seven..." "Webrings." "Unaffiliated sites number in the hundred" "Forget I asked." "Hall keeps getting banned from them... for flaming the anti-Shayera posters." "So he's a fan." "He's a stalker." "There." "So he was in the crowd." "I don't see what-- Wait." "A coincidence." "This-- This doesn't mean he's" "I'm gonna have a little talk with this guy." "This isn't any of your business..." "Or yours." "It's League business." "Oh, really?" "Do I tell you who to date?" "Carter Hall has uncovered a genuine mystery." "And I think it's worth investigating." "You should take backup." "I meant Batman." "I" "We don't want you walking into a trap." "I can take care of myself." "Thanks." "The point is" "The point is, you don't trust me... either of you." "Don't wait up." "This isn't right." "I know." "But don't" "No." "I mean, this shouldn't be happening." "When we traveled to the future, we met my son." "Mine and Shayera's." "We're supposed to be together." "It's our destiny." "If you really believe that, why are you still with Vixen?" "What?" "I miss the dress." "You didn't miss it last night." "Anyway, it didn't seem like the right outfit for an archeological dig." "You're right." "The pants are fine." "You look beautiful in anything." "It's your dig, Romeo." "Lead the way." "Shayera, don't!" "Poison." "They're mercury-tipped." "Nasty." "The entire tomb is booby-trapped." "It took me months to learn how to avoid them all." "Right." "After you, then." "The trick is the raised glyphs." "If you press them in the proper sequence, they disarm the defenses down here." "And if you get it wrong?" "Well, we're already in a tomb, so that's handy." "I've made a lot of progress deciphering these glyphs." "But this one, for instance." ""Journey," I think." "And the mark on the side means "conclusion."" "The end of a long journey?" "I have a confession to make." "I haven't been completely honest with you." "I brought you here under false pretenses." "Or should I say, destiny brought you?" "What do you think you're--?" "You and I are the reincarnation of lovers who died here... thousands of years ago." "My real name is Katar Hol... but you can call me..." "Hawkman." "I'm sorry." "I'm not laughing at you, exactly." "I just" " I've got the worst taste in men." "I'm serious, Shayera." "I know you are." "And I'm in a lost Egyptian tomb with my stalker." "The worst part is, I'm going to have to listen to John and Batman saying, "I told you so."" "I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out." "Our souls have been bound together for thousands of years." "This device." "It's called an Absorbacron." "I unearthed it three years ago." "And when I touched it..." "After I woke up, I understood everything." "Almost everything." "The machine restored the memory of my life here thousands of years ago." "In 6600 B.C., two Thanagarian law officers were sucked through a wormhole into an uncharted sector of space." "They landed here when their ship ran out of fuel." "They were stranded..." "with no way to get home." "They decided to use their technology to improve the lives of the locals." "And they succeeded... beyond their wildest dreams." "They turned this arid waste into a paradise." "We ruled this land with fairness and compassion." "And the people loved us." "But there were factions that resented these two gods from another world." "A jealous priest poisoned us." "Poisoned you and me." "Do you understand now?" "We died, Shayera." "The extraordinary society we created fell in less than a generation... its technological secrets lost... until I rediscovered them." "Look." "An Absorbacron is just a database that you interface with telepathically." "What you saw was probably just the ship's log." "It's old, probably damaged." "It filled your mind with thoughts, feelings, memories that weren't your own." "We're not reincarnated lovers." "Come with me." "Once you touch it, you'll understand." "Hands off!" "Hah!" "Shayera, please." "Let the Absorbacron speak to you as it's spoken to me, and" "Rise and shine, my delusional friend." "Who are you?" "Calls himself the Shadow Thief." "He's a talker." "Unfortunately, she isn't." "At least, not so far." "Stop!" "What do you want from her?" "Nothing." "That was just for fun." "I've been following you for weeks... waiting to be led to this treasure trove." "These Thanagarian artifacts will go for millions on the black market." "And I do so like money." "But I need your archeological expertise in order to disarm the tomb's final line of defense and enter the burial chamber." "Where, of course, the most valuable pieces lie." "Not going to happen." "Really?" "I think we've got room to negotiate." "I understand that Thanagarians are stronger than humans." "I wonder... how long will you last under my tender care?" "Knock yourself out, jerkhole." "A little rude, darling, don't you think?" "Stop." "I'll help you." "Carter, no!" "You again?" "I've never been afraid of shadows." "Now's an excellent time to start." "This chamber's unstable." "If we don't end this fast..." "The whole tunnel could come down on us." "I'll take one of those, and one of those." "Haven't you figured it out yet, darling?" "I'm only solid when I want to be." "Who said I want you solid?" "Ahh!" "Uhh..." "Filthy witch." "The Absorbacron." "Carter, it doesn't matter." "It" "No!" "I've gotta save it." "It's lost forever." "It nearly killed you." "That machine was designed to telepathically communicate with Thanagarians." "It was too powerful for an unshielded human mind." "J'onn J'onzz is a telepath." "Perhaps he can help you sort through the information" "I don't need any help." "I know the truth." "We're the reincarnations of Katar and Shayera Hol, and I love you." "Oh, you can't love me, Carter." "You don't even know me." "Your favorite color is teal." "You could eat Korshin oysters every day, even though they give you heartburn." "You get up early because you love the sunrise." "And nothing's more important to you than fighting for those who can't fight for themselves." "You'll see the truth... eventually." "It's destiny." "It's not." "It's just the Absorbacron." "I've waited thousands of years for us to find each other." "I can wait a little longer." "How stupid do you think I am?" "Scale of one to 10?" "Funny." "I meant this." "Hall was the one I didn't trust." "Right." "That's why you planted this bug." "How much did you hear?" "A bunch of nonsense about reincarnation and destiny." "Maybe it isn't nonsense." "If you really believe that."