ok well here's the next chapter I promised. So this one was actually connected with the other one but I thought it would be too long so I split them up. But here's the finished one, and I happen to like this one a lot so I really hope you have fun reading it.

AGAIN! DON'T OWN IT!

John crept quietly with Shayera and Mari close at his side. They had come out of one of the remote dugout holes to the surface and had wondered through the endless back alleys and streets of Gotham to get to Metropolis and even more to get to the command ship. Now that they were there, John looked between his two comrades and shook his head; they had to be the two people on the Justice League that he loved and worried about the most. Bruce had to warn him to not let his emotions get in the way of his mission. On that thought, John quickly got back on track, paying attention to their objective: getting to the power room and then, if possible, the prison room.

The metallic hallway was nearly pitch black if not for a couple lights on the walls and the lights of his ring and Shayera's mace. The darkness felt thick like a five pound weight on his shoulders. He crept closer and lower, following Shayera and Vixen's silent movements down the hall. Eerie sounds of screeching, like fingernails against a chalkboard, and pounding followed by squishing, like a mallet used to smash fruits, came from different parts on the other side of the walls. These sounds sent shivers up his and Vixen's bodies. Shayera on the other hand, didn't seem to be affected by the disturbing noises: she just continued to walk stealthily, turning corners and passing doors as if there was no threat at all.

As John ducked under a protruding shelf he watched and admired Shayera's stealth and determination. This was obviously something very personal to her.

The three of them were near a corner when Shayera held up her hand for them to stop. She turned around to face them, and for the first time since they had entered, John was able to see her sparkling green eyes and the story of emotions which they held. He had always considered her hard to read, even without her mask, but now her eyes told him everything. She didn't like this place just as much as he didn't, but she was determined to stop them. He didn't know what experience, besides the death of her brother, that triggered this determination, but he was determined to be the same for her.

"Around this corner there should be the door to the power room. They'll be a lot more Gordanians guarding that area than we've seen guarding others, so we'll have to be careful." Shayera whispered to them and both John and Mari nodded. "There's a switch on the far side of the room, we need to reach that as fast as possible." Again they nodded, this time Shayera turned back around and moved on.

"She seems to know this place pretty well . . ." John thought as he turned the corner and saw a large door.

Shayera slowly opened the door and stepped in, making sure to stay near the wall. The room was as dark as the hall way, and after a quick look she motioned for them to come in. Vixen followed by Green Lantern entered the room. They inched forward, step by step. The darkness shadowed there movements, but how were they to know if the Gordanians couldn't see or hear them? For all they knew they could be waiting in the stillness, just waiting like a hungry reptile ready to grab its prey. As they crept along slowly farther into the room, John surprisingly found that he was holding his breath. He rarely ever felt the need to hold his breath but at this moment, with these two heroes near him even, he felt as though something was going to go terribly wrong . . . And it was.

The minute they were half way through the room, everything went wrong. The lights flashed on and John immediately went into battle mode. Vixen was ready to strike and Shayera had her mace raised. They all stood ready to attack, then a voice came from their right.

"Ha! You did very good . . . for a couple of humans and a disgusting Thanagarian!" Commander Reolc's voice echoed through the room, while deep laughs followed, signaling a circle of Gordanians blocking their escape.

John felt that same terror creep into his bones as Reolc stepped closer and into the light. His beady eyes bore into John's own eyes for a little more than a moment until he turned to look at Shayera. A wicked smile spread onto his reptile-like face. Finally, with one short nod from the commander, Vixen, Green Lantern, and Shayera were tackled to the ground by four or five Gordanians each. They held each of them high so that they were on the same eye level with Reolc.

John glanced around the room looking for any kind of escape or loop hole out of this. The Gordanian holding his wrists behind him was slowly twisting them with every second. John gritted his teeth as pain shot up his arms with every twist. The minute that lizard head broke his wrists, he wouldn't be able to use his ring. He had to make something happen now. He shut his eyes and focused all his energy and thoughts on his only weapon. He felt the power surge within his mind and he shaped that power into two massive punches. The power ran through his body and exited out of the ring hitting the Gordanian holding his wrists and the one next to him, who was holding his neck and shoulders. They both stumbled back putting the other two near him in a state of bewilderment. This gave him the chance he wanted. With a few shots to the neck of each they both fell to the ground. But it was all in vain.

Reolc grasped John's neck in a choking grip.

John could feel the blood rushing to his head and the pain in his lungs, for a breath of air. As his vision blurred and his ears began to pound he could faintly hear the screams of warning and despair from the two women, "John!"

Reolc's massive and deadly tail slammed into his mid-section, throwing him across the room.

John remembered Shayera's words as he felt his ribs crack and his skin rip,

"You should be careful; those things could sever a limb, knock your head off, or even stop your heart from the impact if it hit your chest."

He groaned. He was a goner for sure now. No! You just . . . need to . . . focus and . . . He opened his eyes just barely. The pain in his ribs and stomach was growing and his breathing was getting harder. Shaking, his arm moved towards the wounded area, landing on something wet and sticky. Was it blood? John couldn't think straight over the pain in his body and the burning in his lungs. His other hand groped around on the ground for something, anything, to pull himself up. He wasn't about to let himself die, not like this. As darkness shrouded the corners of his mind and sight, he saw one last image come to him: the image of Reolc walking towards him with all the anger and hatred in his eyes that he always had. As his world went black and his mind went blank, John then knew that this had to be the end.

/JL\

"John!" Both Shayera and Vixen yelled towards Green Lantern just as Reolc swung his tail into John. Mari watched as her beloved's skin was torn to the bone from the impact of the natural weapon. Tears filled her eyes as she watched him gasp for breath and soon pass out.

Reolc stepped closer to John and picked the limp body up from the ground like it was a piece of paper. He shook his head. "Poor little man. Ha! Thinking he could get away that easily!"

Mari watched as he walked over to Shayera and held the bleeding and half-dead Lantern up to her. "Does it bother you to see this man like this?" He said with a sly tone in his voice.

Mari glanced at Shayera's face to see her expression, but it was turned away from both of them. She noticed her slumped shoulders and sagging head, but Mari didn't need to notice these things to know that Shayera was hurting just as she was . . . and neither did Reolc. He grasped Shayera chin with his free hand and moved her head to face his.

"Are those tears in your eyes, warrior?" Shayera did indeed have tears in her eyes, but she didn't answer him. He let her head droop as he glanced between her and the man in his other hand. "So, as the story goes, you betrayed Thanagar for a puny planet like this one and a man . . . a Green Lantern I was told." Shayera's head snapped up, and Mari already knew where this was going. Reolc looked over the nearly dead man then turned his attention back to the Thanagarian. "You make me sick. You pathetic Thanagarian! You 'love' this man, yet you're the one killing him now." He put more emphasis on his next words. "I wouldn't be here, if you hadn't been here. But if my examination is right, with some medical attention, he could live . . . which is exactly why I'll just have to finish him off for you."

He threw John across the room, making his body hit the wall and crumple to the ground. Reolc motioned for a Gordanian to bring him a large gun. "This right here, is a canon particle beam blaster, let me show you what it does." He said and instead of pointing it directly at John, he directed it toward a Gordanian standing near him. Before the Gordanian could run, Reolc shot the weapon, killing one of his own men. The horrid site of what the beam could do made Mari sick. The dead Gordanian lay burnt and charred at the foot of where she was being held.

"Now," Reolc began as he moved the blaster in John's direction. "Let me show you something."

Mari couldn't take this any more, she had to get out of this. The Gordanians held her much in the same way they had held GL. She was double-jointed allowing her to twist her arm just enough to give her wrists the right amount of space to escape. She slowly pulled one hand out of their grip, then another until they were both free. Now the real action would begin. Just as the Gordanian realized that she was out, she took on the power of an elephant, slamming her side into him. The stupid soldier tumbled to the side and knocked his comrade, the one holding one of her feet, down. Two down, two to go. Vixen now with a free leg and arms kicked the creator holding her shoulders, with the same amount of power that had knocked down the first. The last Gordanian took one hand off her leg to reach up and grab her, but she swung around and kneed him in the chin. He involuntarily let go of her leg to grab his wounded jaw, giving her the opportunity to kick him down.

All of the brutes guarding her were down and she rushed to stand in front of John. "You'll have to get through me before you can kill him." She said defiantly. She knew that the commander wouldn't care and shoot her as well, but she figured that if he shot her first than that would give Shayera enough time to escape and get John out of here. Reolc looked amused at her statement.

"Do you really think you could stand in the way? I'll only kill you then him, so why try? I'll tell you what, I'll let you go if you move, or will you have to show me how stupid you humans really are?" Mari took a deep breath, she may be selfish sometimes, but she was a real hero nonetheless.

"I'm not moving." She said confidently.

"Very well. . ." He raised the weapon and shot a beam towards the hero.

/JL\

"John!" Shayera yelled, echoing Vixen's cry. Shayera fought oncoming tears as she watched Reolc slap John hard with his fat and hard tail then pass out in pain on the ground. What human could live through that? She let her head droop as she stared at the floor in sorrow. She bit her lip. She wouldn't cry, not now. Reolc had taken too much from her to deserve the satisfaction of breaking her very heart. She would be strong, for him.

She didn't notice the way Reolc picked up John or how he carried him to her. She merely concentrated on getting past this event. He can't be dead. He just can't. I won't let him be.

"Poor little man. Ha! Thinking he could get away that easily!" Commander Reolc said as he shook his head in mock pity. Shayera glared at the floor through teary eyes. She wouldn't dare glare at the Gordanian in the eyes; it would only mean an invitation to more destruction, to that monster. Shayera stole one quick glance at the bleeding and torn form of the man she loved. It made her sick. It made her sick to see him in such a horrible state, but she kept her emotions and thoughts to herself as best she could. When she didn't lift up her head to retaliate to Reolc's comment, he spoke.

"Does it bother you to see this man like this?" There was a sly tone in his voice as he spoke those words. Again, she did not lift her head to look at him. Angrily he grabbed her chin and yanked her head up to face him. Her face was in a blank expression, but her eyes and body gave him his answer.

"Are those tears in your eyes, warrior?" He asked, but Shayera kept her mouth shut, to afraid that she would let her sorrow slip out. He finally let go of her chin letting it fall back to her chest. "So, as the story goes, you betrayed Thanagar for a puny planet like this one and a man . . . a Green Lantern I was told." Shayera whipped up her head in shock. How had that story gotten to the Gordanians? How far had it been passed on? Even with so much detail to know that he was a Green Lantern?

"You make me sick. You pathetic Thanagarian! You 'love' this man, yet you're the one killing him now." He put more emphasis on his next words. "I wouldn't be here, if you hadn't been here. But if my examination is right, with some medical attention, he could live . . ." Shayera eyes went wide as she looked at John's bleeding form. He was crushed and barely breathing, but Reolc was right, with severe medical attention he could live. A new serge of hope ran through her mind, even as Reolc said his next words. "Which is exactly why I'll just have to finish him off for you."

Shayera didn't care for his last words; in fact she had expected them. Her tears and despair were gone, now was the time for action. She had to act quick and quietly, but most of all it had to be well timed. Her thoughts went off into thinking of ways to escape until she saw the gun.

Reolc held the weapon ready to fire. "This right here, is a canon particle beam blaster, let me show you what it does." He pointed to one of his own men and shot the deadly weapon. Shayera shook her head in disgust at the Gordanians way of thinking, especially Reolc's. He would kill one of his own men just to demonstrate a weapon and strike fear into everyone around. A moment later she noticed something going on to her right. Vixen was getting out, and Shayera soon knew why.

"Now," Reolc began as he moved the blaster in John's direction. "Let me show you something."

Commander Reolc was pointing the gun at John. Anger and determination rose up inside of Shayera. Now was the time.

She heard Mari's voice as the hero stepped in front of her boyfriend. "You'll have to get through me before you can kill him." That was it for Shayera; she wouldn't let Mari do that. Sure, she loved the woman's boyfriend and wanted to be his more than anything, but a life was a life.

"Do you really think you could stand in the way? I'll only kill you then him, so why try? I'll tell you what, I'll let you go if you move, or will you have to show me how stupid you humans really are?" Reolc's voice entered her thoughts, and she knew what Mari's answer would be. It was time to take action.

Shayera jerked her head and bit down as hard as she could on the collarbone of the Gordanian standing closest to her. He bellowed. Forget about quiet! He loosened his grip on her wrists and she took advantage of it. She slipped her hands out of his and punched him in the face. He fell back as another one grasping her shoulders tightened his grip. She grunted with the new pain then thrust her wings upward with so much force that they made the two Gordanians hold them stumble back, then using both hands grabbed the wrists that were on her shoulders and flipped the large, heavy Gordanian over her. However, the movements had cost a lot of energy and Shayera struggled to unleash her feet as the Gordanian holding them held tighter. Her arms ached and she was sure that she had pulled one out of socket with that last stunt. With all the ruckus going on she just barely heard Mari's answer.

"I'm not moving." No Mari don't . . . Shayera wouldn't let her. All she had to do was get her mace. It was lying on the ground just near her. With all the energy she could muster she made a fist with her hands and slammed it down upon the Gordanian's head. He fell over and his arms went limp releasing the prisoner. Shayera without a moment to loose flew for her mace.

"Very well . . ." Reolc's voice directed towards Vixen.

Shayera rushed towards the targeted area. Within a moments time a thousand thoughts and memories ran through her mind. "Shayera, a sacrifice of a life for another life is a gift of love, and a sacrifice of a life for a whole world of lives is the greatest gift of love any one man can give." Her mother's voice echoed in her mind. Is that what she was about to do? Sacrifice her life for Mari? Yes it was Mari, not John. John would live whether or not she made that sacrifice, Mari would not. Was Shayera really willing to give up her life for a woman she had only known for a short time? A woman who was dating the love of her life? Shayera had made her decision. Sometimes you have to sacrifice things for the one you love, even if it means hurting yourself or him in the process. It was for his own good. She would do this because she loved him.

/JL\

Reolc raised the weapon and shot a beam towards the hero. One of the women crumpled to the ground in the agony of pain and as the world went black, possibly forever, she knew no more.

Well, cliff hanger! so please review and tell me who yo think actually got shot . . . cause I KNOW, but you don't. so I'd like to know what you think. Which gives even more reason for you to review, so go and click that GO button!