Andrea led Shayera to the front of the mausoleum. Rapping gently on the door, it slid open.
"This is as far as I go," Andrea explained. "You will have to face this alone."
Shayera looked inside the mausoleum. It was too dark to see. Already her claustrophobia and fear of the dark were acting up again. She could feel her heartbeat picking up.
As if sensing her anxiety, Andrea spoke.
"Don't worry; it is actually a lot bigger when you descend the stairs. Plus it is illuminated pretty nicely."
That may have soothed Shayera's fears but she was still feeling anxiety. She felt a comforting hand grab hers. Shayera looked up to see her husband giving her a comforting look.
On impulse Shayera started to kiss him. She might never see him again, so she was going to give him one hell of a kiss.
"I love you," John whispered to her.
Shayera half smirked.
"I know," she responded. "That's why I love you too."
Diana watched the display of affection from afar. She was wondering to herself what she and Tom would have done. She still loved Tom, she knew it. Why was Bruce…?
No mustn't think about that right now. She needed to stay focus. Shayera may have been tested, but the League learned their lesson. One shouldn't let their guard down ever, especially in this place.
"I'll see you when you come out," John whispered.
Shayera smiled, trying to assure her husband she would make it out alive. She then went inside the mausoleum, the door shutting behind her.
Shayera's heart became stiff for a second when she was trapped inside the darkness of the mausoleum, but the darkness was only for a second.
Immediately read light came from afar, revealing to Shayera that she was on a stairway. She looked down. The stairway descended in a curved spiral so that Shayera could not see what the next level looked like. All she could tell was there was red light glowing at the bottom.
Taking a deep breath she descended the spiral staircase, eventually reaching the next level.
Andrea had spoken the truth. The lower level was very expansive. It was like an underground coliseum.
The red light was coming from torches that lit up the room.
At the other side of the room hung a mirror. Shayera was puzzled by that.
Shayera turned to her right. There was a statue next to her. It was a typical tombstone statue of an angel. Shayera didn't really pay attention to it. Her curiosity was drawn to the mirror.
She began to walk toward the mirror. She noticed there were six more statues, three on each side of the path, acting like stone guardians protecting her.
She was almost at the mirror when the closet statue to the mirror on her right side caught her attention. The statue was of a man with two big horns and a long cape. It was Batman.
Shayera examined the statue in shock. Why was Batman's statue here? And why did it look different?
His uniform seemed different than he wore but familiar. The horns were longer and the insignia was larger. It was then Shayera hit a realization, the statue was the Justice Lord Batman.
She turned around. The statue from across the Justice Lord Batman was the Justice Lord Superman. His face showing disdain like a tyrant looking on his oppressed people.
The middle statues were the Justice Lords of Diana and Wally. The last two along the path were her husband and J'onn's counterparts. So that angel statue she saw at the other end must have been her counterpart.
Shayera looked at the other end of the mausoleum where she saw the angel statue before expecting to now see the Justice Lord version of herself looking fiercely down. Except when she looked over there, the statue wasn't there this time. It was gone.
Shayera felt chills down her spine. Where did it go? It was right there. She didn't hear any movement.
Shayera took a deep breath.
Stay calm. She needed to stay calm. Andrea said she could not let anger consume her or she would fail the test. She was just being paranoid. She saw the statue somewhere else.
Shayera then finally looked at the mirror she was standing in front of her and what she saw made her jump in shock.
In the mirror was not her own reflection. It was the reflection of her Justice Lord counterpart. Her counterpart wore a Thangarian style military helmet complete with armor, not unlike what Shayera had worn during the Thangarian invasion.
Shayera was looking at what she swore she would never become again.
Her counterpart grinned in the mirror and the glass smashed. Shayera didn't have time to react. She received a full blow to the face from Lord Hawkgirl who had flown out of the mirror.
"You bitch!" Lord Hawkgirl yelled.
Shayera was dazed from that attack. She was feeling dizzy. However Lord Hawkgirl gave her no time to rest. Shayera was picked up by the throat.
"You betrayed Earth! And then Thangar! And for what? Nothing!" Lord Hawkgirl yelled and threw Shayera across the tomb. Shayera hit the wall with a thud.
"To live a lifetime of persecution? Not only have you hurt yourself but Rex as well! You were so selfish that you had to have a son. A son who will face a lifetime of discrimination because of you! You should have stayed alone like you deserved!"
That seemed to ignite a spark in Shayera. She was angry now. No one brought up her son like that. No one.
Giving a war cry Shayera flew at her enemy with blind rage. Lord Hawkgirl, with reflexes surprising Shayera, dodged the attack and grabbed Shayera by the wrist.
Shayera yelped in pain as her arm was twisted behind her back.
"You foolish bitch," Lord Hawkgirl whispered evilly. "The more anger you let out, the stronger I get."
And with that Lord Hawkgirl pushed Shayera down and aimed a kick at her. Shayera groaned.
Laughing Lord Hawkgirl kneeled down to Shayera.
"Go ahead, get angry. It will make me more powerful. Destroy yourself."
Shayera got up, determined to keep her anger bottled up.
She swung at Lord Hawkgirl who again dodged the attack and responded with a counterattack.
"It's hopeless!" Lord Hawkgirl proclaimed. "You're just like Batman! Always angry! You can't fight me without your anger! Surrender and I will end your pitiful existence!"
What Lord Hawkgirl said was true. Shayera had fought her whole life relying on anger, but it seemed her foe would get stronger with that anger. She either had two options. Either she would not be able to fight, or she would make her foe unbeatable.
Shayera decided to take her chances with the latter. Better to go down fighting an unbeatable foe than to remain passive.
With another war cry she charged at her unstoppable foe.
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John stood outside the mausoleum. He could hear his wife's cries of pain and grunts. He could tell she was struggling. What was odd though it sounded like she was fighting herself.
"What is she fighting?" John demanded when he couldn't take it anymore.
Andrea just gave a cold stare.
"Batman always believed that if the Justice League were to let the unbridled rage he always felt consume themselves, the Justice Lords would emerge. She is fighting her own counterpart."
"You said something about the angrier she gets the stronger her foe gets?" Dick asked.
Andrea still gave an icy stare.
"Yes. Shayera relies on her anger to fight. Her foe is actually fueled by that anger she liberally releases."
John got his ring ready.
"What are you doing John?" Superman asked.
"I'm not going to standby as my wife gets herself killed!" he remarked and made his way to the mausoleum entrance, determined to break it down.
His way was blocked by Andrea.
"This is not your fight…"
"Like hell it is!"
"John," Diana said trying to calm him down. "I have faith in Shayera…"
"She's going to get herself killed!" John shouted. "You all know how she is! She fights off of anger! It's how she's always fought! She just loses control and lets that anger do the fighting!"
"John," whispered a monotone voice.
Green Lantern turned around to find himself facing the glowing eyes of J'onn.
"Have faith in her John," the Martian stated. "She needs to win this one. If you really love her, trust her."
John glared at the Martian. If there was anyone who had no right to talk about trust it was him. J'onn went behind their backs without their consent. Sure John did agree that the Martian had the right idea, but still, the Martian acted without their approval just like Batman had done.
Nonetheless, something about J'onn's tone seemed to have calmed Green Lantern down and reluctantly he lowered his hand and backed away.
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"UNGH!" Shayera grunted as she received a backhand swing from her foe. Shayera could feel blood falling on her face. She had a nasty gash by her right eyebrow. She ignored it though.
Fiercely, Shayera swung and managed to hit her foe in the stomach and knock her off balance. But Lord Hawkgirl was stronger than what Shayera had anticipated and she was soon on her feet again.
"You are a disgrace to both your own kind and the Justice League! How does that make you feel?"
"Pretty pissed off!" Shayera shouted and swung violently. Lord Hawkgirl dodged it with a smirk. Shayera like a rabid animal dived at her enemy. Lord Hawkgirl caught her by the arms and head butted Shayera.
Shayera screamed in pain, the helmet had cut deep into her forehead. She was bleeding all over. It was a miracle she was still conscious. Barely…
"You are a failure!" Lord Hawkgirl mocked. "You save the world so many times and yet they still curse your name and leave you out in the cold! You should have done what I did, take charge! Assert your dominance! Your superiority! Release that Rage and show the world what you really are!"
Shayera tried to get up. Her strategy wasn't working. Maybe she should try fighting calm. Try to find her center or whatever Dinah always said to do when fighting. Stay calm, stay calm…
Lord Hawkgirl picked up a weakened Shayera by the back of the neck and slammed her face on the ground laughing.
"Now you try to keep that anger suppressed? It's no use! I'm too strong now! Might as well unleash all of it! Give me more strength and I will make your death painless and quick!"
Shayera broke free, even though she felt like she was about to black out. She was doing all she can to keep her anger buried. But like Lord Hawkgirl said, she was useless in a fight without anger.
"Why do you resist? Accept it! You have failed! You are a failure!"
Shayera felt the anger burning inside of her but she buried it.
"Don't fight it!" Lord Hawkgirl commanded. "I can sense it in you! It wants to be release, go ahead!"
Shayera sighed and fell back. She didn't have the fight in her, but she was not going to give her enemy the satisfaction of losing control. She remained motionless, trying to keep that anger buried.
"No? Then I will strangle you myself!"
Before Shayera could react she felt strong hands around her throat. Lord Hawkgirl was going to choke her to death. Shayera squirmed pitifully, but she had no willpower left. Her strength was gone.
"Submit!" Lord Hawkgirl whispered evilly. "Or let that anger be released! I can feel it in you!"
Shayera felt her eyes roll back. She was going to die here. How appropriate. Killed by her own anger.
She tried to struggle but in vain.
Her world was blacking out when her eyes caught something. It was the statue of Lord Batman. His blank eyes showing that blind rage. He was not that different than their Batman. Always having a burning desire for revenge that was never satisfied. An endless fury. An insatiable rage. How did he do it? Never lose control?
And at that moment Shayera remembered what the memories had shown her.
Batman was always angry.
Immediately another fire ignited in Shayera, but this one was different. It was a realization. An epiphany.
With new inspiration, Shayera managed to find her mace and swung it at Lord Hawkgirl's head. Lord Hawkgirl shrieked in pain and fell off of Shayera.
Shayera gasped and coughed when she could breathe again and got to her knees.
Lord Hawkgirl however was already on her feet.
"Still alive huh? Well I can fix that!"
With sudden speed Lord Hawkgirl swung at Shayera who was still on her knees. However Shayera grabbed Lord Hawkgirl's hand. Shayera tightly closed her grip on her enemy's wrist. Lord Hawkgirl screamed in pain and in shock by the sudden new level of resistance Shayera was showing.
"I'm tired," Shayera whispered coldly and slowly, before picking up her voice gradually with every word. "Of everyone telling me to bury my anger!"
And with that, she threw Lord Hawkgirl across the room.
"My whole life people have been telling me to control my anger, that I would lose control and cause damage if I let it out. And you know what? They were right!"
Lord Hawkgirl angrily got to her feet but Shayera was too quick and swung her mace violently at Lord Hawkgirl.
"But they are also wrong!" Shayera explained. "Being angry is part of who I am and I accept that! I am just like Bruce; it is a part of me and nothing I do will change that!"
Lord Hawkgirl swung rabidly at Shayera who easily caught her wrist again. In an attempt to mimic her foe, Shayera twisted Lord Hawkgirl's arm behind her back. Lord Hawkgirl shrieked and tried to struggle free.
"My husband had his epiphany, Dick and Wally did, and Lobo…well he didn't…but the point is, everyone in these tests has succeeded because they realized something about Batman with the exception of Lobo," she whispered tauntingly in her foe's ear.
"Enough!" Lord Hawkgirl shouted and tried to use the back of her head to head butt Shayera again. Shayera dodged it and slammed her foe to the ground, still having the arm behind the back.
"And now it's my turn. If Batman was angry all this time, why did he not snap earlier? If he was Batman for twenty something years, why did he never completely cross the line yet?"
"Not listening!" Lord Hawkgirl shouted and broke free and got to her feet. Shayera however kept a calm smile at her exasperated foe.
"And that's when I asked myself, if Batman never suppressed his anger, how did he never lose control?"
Lord Hawkgirl charged but Shayera dodged it and managed to get a good hit at the back of Lord Hawkgirl's head.
Lord Hawkgirl collapsed onto the floor.
"What made Batman special was not that he had an unlimited source of anger, but he was able to control it, harness it. Convert it to aggression and use it when it was appropriate."
Lord Hawkgirl was starting to stir again; Shayera put a boot on her fallen foe.
"Sure, there were times he lost control, but those were rare. He never suppressed his anger though. Instead he learned how to control it, and use it to his advantage, and by that, I beat you! As long as I can channel my anger into aggression, you can't beat me!"
Lord Hawkgirl knocked Shayera off. Shayera quickly got to her feet.
"Now who's losing control?" Shayera commented with a smirk on her face.
"Enough!" Lord Hawkgirl shouted and charged at Shayera with murder screaming in her eyes.
"Say goodnight bitch," Shayera said and swung her mace right into the face of her oncoming foe.
Lord Hawkgirl screamed and fell to her knees, shaking violently.
Red light seemed to be oozing from her body as she continued to tremble. A glowing red mist escaped from her mouth and Lord Hawkgirl's body collapsed. It had crumbled into stone.
Shayera smiled, but then noticed the red mist had faded away. Her foe was beaten. She had learned how to master Rage.
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For a while the League had heard silence. The sound of Shayera's fight had stopped. The quietness unnerved them, especially John.
Finally they heard the sound of someone weakly approaching the door. Someone taking deep breaths and gasps of pain every few seconds.
Suddenly the mausoleum door opened revealing a bloodstained Shayera. Her face was cut up badly and her hair a mess. Her shirt was torn and her wings were battered. But she was still alive. Her eyes showed it.
"Shayera!" John shouted with concern and immediately ran up to her to help her out.
"I'm fine John. A couple of stitches and I'll be okay," she said trying to gently brush her husband off her. But he wasn't going to let go of her. He loved her too much.
Andrea walked up Shayera and placed her scythe hand in front of Shayera's face. Shayera stared at it cautiously. A red light oozed out of the scythe and bathed Shayera. Like how the green light had healed her husband in the Realm of Willpower, the red light had healed her. Her face and shirt was still stained with blood, but the gashes and cuts were gone. The bruises were erased.
"Or that works too," Shayera remarked with a smile.
Wally ran up and hugged Shayera who was still being supported by John.
"I knew you could do it!" he said happily.
"Nice to see you to kiddo," Shayera said happily.
"So what did ya get?" Lobo asked greedily.
Shayera looked at Andrea.
"I passed, give me the Emblem," she demanded fiercely. She still had a lot of fight in her.
Andrea sighed and glided away to a gravestone nearby. There was a rose on it. Andrea bent down and picked it up. On her touch the rose began to glow bright red.
"This is Bruce's Emblem of Rage. Every time he puts a rose like this on his parents' grave, it reminds him of the outrage he felt that fateful night. This graveyard is a reminder of his outrage."
Andrea then turned around and glided to Shayera, presenting her the rose.
"You, Shayera Hol, have understood how Batman coped with that rage. He didn't suppress it but he didn't let it consume him. He instead channeled it as a force for good. I hope you all learn from this. That Batman wasn't an emotionless basturd, but instead as a man who used his emotions as a tool to fight."
Shayera silently took the rose. It was still glowing red. She tucked it into her belt.
"Now go," Andrea said pointing to the cemetery gate. "You still have three more to go."
Dick took the lead and started heading out. He didn't want to be in this realm any longer. He was followed by Wally and Lobo.
Diana and Superman took one last look around unsure and walked toward the gate to catch up with the others.
"John?" Shayera said softly.
"Yes Shy?" John asked, showing much love and concern for his wife.
"You can let me go now," she said.
Embarrassed John let go and the married couple exited the realm holding hands.
Andrea sighed and noticed one was still here.
"You should be going Martian. They need your help and you don't have much time," Andrea said while taking off her hood and mask to reveal her icy blue eyes to him.
"What is the clue to the next realm?" J'onn asked.
Andrea smirked a little.
"When things look dark, do not forget to turn on the light," Andrea said mysteriously.
J'onn knew that was all he was going to get, and like his comrades, he too made to leave the realm. The iron gate had shut behind him after he exited the cemetery.
What realm will they enter next? What will be that manifestation of that emotion? Or will they perish to Doctor Destiny's plan?