Universe 2

"Where is she?" asked Bruce as he and the others stood outside the cell of where Lord Batman was held. Lord Batman was silent though and just glared at the Justice League while he remained shackled. He especially glared at his counterpart, they both knew that he will never talk.

"Why then? Why take her away from us?" asked John, frustrated when the silence dragged on. His worry for Shayera was growing as more time passed by. They had just came back from the mission against Despero two weeks ago and his protectiveness over Shayera had increased tenfold. He needed to know where she was and to see that she truly was safe, this topsy-turvy world was starting to get on his nerves.

"Fine then," said Batman as he walked away from his counterpart, "when we find her and stop your team, we'll be sure to make it our mission that you receive the punishment that you deserve."

"You're making a mistake." said Lord Batman finally.

"What mistake? Giving people their rights as humans to exercise free will? You made that mistake when you refused democracy to the people." said Batman.

"Democracy doesn't keep you very safe," retorted Lord Batman.

"It has other virtues, but you seem to have forgotten them" said Batman.

"I didn't forget," said Lord Batman a little loudly, "I just chose peace and security."

"You grabbed power!" said Batman, not believing that his counterpart will willingly chose this lifestyle.

"And with that power we created a world where no eight year old boy loses his parents because of some punk with a gun."

It was quiet. To those that didn't know Batman as Bruce Wayne, they were shocked to have this little information revealed like this. Batman glared at his counterpart for bringing up his parents, but in some way they were his parents too. Batman narrowed his eyes at his counterpart and walked away, leaving the others silent and still. Superman looked at Lord Batman and opened the cell and took away the utility belt, crushing it in his hands.

"Just to be safe," said Superman, he used his heat vision to seal the cell door shut and ensuring that Lord Batman will have a difficult time getting out. The remainder of the Justice League followed Batman outside the prison and they made their way to random hospitals. It was depressing for the League to see how people reacted on seeing them make their way to hospitals. The doctors and nurses were nervous and flighty, terrified of displeasing the Justice Lords in some way. Diana found it difficult trying to maintain a cool face when a child in a hospital gripped her mother's hand in a terrified way when Diana walked by the room. The child had actually whimpered when Diana looked at them, prompting to Diana wanting to reassure the child that there was nothing to fear only to remember that her counterpart had made it very clear that she was someone to be feared and obeyed.

She cursed her counterpart for spreading this type of fear in this world. It wasn't the Amazonian way to treat people like this. Batman was right, there was no democracy in this world. Their counterparts had taken it away and began to treat the people of Earth as though they were merely children that needed to be punished. And if they continued to misbehave… Diana shook her head after reading several reports when she had gone to the library with Batman.

"What are we doing here, Batman?" asked Diana, wondering why they were cutting their search for Hawkgirl. They had decided to split up into three teams of two with Superman and Flash staying in Metropolis, J'onn and Lantern heading towards the Watchtower to gather more information, and Diana and Batman made their way to Gotham.
"I need to look for something," was all Batman had said as they walked in. Normally libraries were silent with the occasional sounds of pages turning or quiet conversations being made. The two walked in and the silence that greeted them was one to expect from a dead man. Diana saw that many of the people in the library had fearfully stopped talking and had their head buried in the books, not wanting to make eye contact with the Justice Lords. Diana followed Batman to the front desk where he told the librarian, "I need to take a look at all records of the last two years."

The frightened librarian hastily led them to the archive and quickly left the room after Batman said that he was not needed. Diana felt pity for the old man as he scurried out of the room, but she began helping Bruce read through several newspapers, online reports, and census. So far, the Justice Lords appeared to be super benevolent and fair to the people of Earth which frustrated Batman to no end.

"They took over every media news outlet," he growled.

"Then where should we look? These reports were made by groups of people that were too afraid to fight and stand up for their rights." said Diana.

"That's true," agreed Batman, "But I know where we can."

Diana followed Bruce to a mansion that was located deep in the woods just outside of Gotham. She took a quick glance at Batman and wondered what connection he has to the mansion. Lord Batman's revealing information about both his and Batman's past shocked her and the others. She never knew the kind of trauma that haunted Batman but now she knew and now Batman was no longer the gloomy hero but a tragic man to her. Batman approached the front door of the mansion and opened the door, walking inside. Diana then began to wonder if he lived here as he easily navigated through the house and into another room. Diana followed him and watched as he opened a hidden switch in the bust and a secret passageway was revealed.

Diana followed him down the stairs and was amazed at the cave they were now in. So this was the legendary Batcave. Diana marveled at the technology that was everywhere in the cave and the renovations that were made in order to accommodate the vehicles she has seen Batman use. A giant computer monitor was on the side and they walked to it. Batman turned the computer on and began to type in the computer, pulling up Lord Batman's reports of the last two years.

As they read through the reports, they were sick in their stomachs at how many people were killed for not conforming to the new world. Many people fighting for their basic rights were arrested and never seen again because they were lobotomized by Superman and placed under new identities. Batman was especially horrified at reading the reports about the lobotimization of a man named Alfred Pennyworth and a young man named Richard Grayson. Apparently the two tried to rally a Gotham protest, but were quickly arrested and placed in Arkham where they went through the process and were sent across the country to live new yet blank lives.

Batman was shaking in his seat with horror, rage, and sorrow. He didn't allow himself to cry but he certainly cursed his counterpart to hell. He stood up abruptly from his seat and looked at the machine next to the computer. Diana had watched Batman shake at reading the reports of the man named Alfred and the young man named Richard. He began to examine the machine next to them and asked, "Is that our way home?"

"It could be," said Batman, "I'll need to examine it though. Go look in the hospitals while I figure this out. I'll call you all in if there's an emergency."

So Diana was now standing on top of the hospital roof, trying to ease her sick feeling. This new world was so terrified of the Justice Lords, but she wondered if perhaps people saw them the same way in their own universe. True they didn't force their will on the people, but she still wondered if people will fear that they will go the same way. Diana sighed and flew on towards another hospital, intent on finding their missing friend and escaping from this universe.

John was feeling worried as they looked through the Watchtower. He and J'onn hoped to find out where the Lords might have placed Shayera while they were out pretending to be them. Many of the workers in the Watchtower were ignoring them, only focusing on their work. It worked well with John as he didn't want to deal with people while pretending to be his counterpart. He let J'onn work through the computers while he investigated the whole satellite. He investigated the individual rooms and saved this universe's Hawkgirl's room for last. He had no idea what to expect but he was outside of the door.

He slid the door open and walked inside wearily. It wasn't much different from his Hawkgirl's room in their universe. The only noticeable and shocking difference was the baby crib that was next to her bed. John numbly walked into the room and approached the baby crib. She was pregnant? She was going to give birth? Did she already give birth before her death? John had no idea, but as he looked at the empty crib a stab went through his heart and at some level he can see why this universe's Justice League had reacted so badly. To have such an innocent life taken away like that when they could have prevented it. John sighed and touched the crib gently. He walked out of the room and flew towards J'onn, wanting to put some distance between himself and the room.

Who was the father? Did she love him? Did he love her? Who was the father?

These questions were clouding his mind and it was giving him a headache. Why should he care who the father was? Sure, he and Hawkgirl have actually gotten closer as friends and he can feel a certain type of tension building between them. He had no idea what to make of it, but he knew that he wanted more than friendship from Hawkgirl. He wanted to see the woman behind the mask. There were many nights spent imaging how she looked behind the mask and he wanted to live out those dreams. He always held back though for fear that he might ruin a good working relationship. When he met up back with J'onn, who found nothing in the computers, they both left the Watchtower and decided to help out Superman and Flash.

Superman meanwhile was having a hard time talking with this universe's Lois Lane.

"As if you expect me to believe that." snarked Lois as she walked away from whom she perceived to be Lord Superman.

"Lois, I'm not kidding! I'm a Superman from another dimension!" he said, following Lois in her apartment. He was surprised to see armed men outside her door but walked in, trying to seem aloof. Lois meanwhile immediately attacked him for continuing his stupid curfew. He had earlier sent Flash to quickly check every single building in Metropolis while he tried to get more information out of Lois.
"You just want me to say something wrong so you can put me away like you did the others! Like what you did to JIMMY!" she yelled. Superman stopped in his tracks immediately at her outburst. What did his counterpart do to Jimmy?
"Lois, believe me! I'm just trying to know more about this dimension so I can find out where the Lords have put Hawkgirl—"

"—Oh that's sick! Why do you bring her in this argument? Haven't you defiled her memory enough?" yelled Lois, no longer caring about restricting her thoughts. If her last moments on Earth would be her exercising her basic human rights then so be it.

"Lois, please! I'm begging you to believe me! Listen to me!" he pleaded. He felt sick. What happened to Jimmy? How many atrocities had his counterpart made?

"Leave Superman! You took Jimmy from us, you took so many away from us! Just leave!" she cried out, tears running down her eyes. Superman hesitated but obliged to her request. He flew out the window with a heavy heart and flew around Metropolis looking for Flash. There was so much that needed to be answered for and his counterpart needed to be brought to justice. He just needed a way to help the people of this Earth find a way to properly contain a virtually indestructible man.

"I need everybody to report to the Batcave immediately." said Batman in the comm-link.
"Big problem Bats," said Flash in the link, "We have no idea where."

"Follow either Superman or Diana. They know where to go." said Batman and he cut his feed. Superman found Flash near Downtown and called out his name. They both ran into Lantern and J'onn and they made their way to Gotham. They met up with Diana on the outskirts of Gotham and they all made their way to the Batcave. They were met with the sight of Batman fighting against his counterpart. They immediately leapt into action and it ended rather quickly. His counterpart struggled against Diana's lasso while the others circled around him.

"You don't know what kind of world you created don't you?" asked Diana. Lord Batman glared at Diana, who kept talking, "You not only took away people's rights but you took away their identities! Their lives! Their minds!"

"They don't know what's good for the people!" yelled Lord Batman.

"And you do? You're a tyrant," said Superman, no longer willing to stay out of the conversation, "people fear you."

"It's better to be feared and have a safer world." said Lord Batman.
John didn't want to involve himself in the conversation but his earlier discovery was gnawing at his head. He had to know.

"How far along was she?" he asked quietly. The others heard him and were shocked at his question.

"Seven months," informed Lord Batman, "Seven months of carrying that baby only to be killed because someone who held too much power in his hands decided to boost his image."

"Why her though? Why of us all did he go after her?" asked Batman.

"That's for your Hawkgirl to tell." said Lord Batman. They all seemed shock that their Hawkgirl would know why her counterpart was executed in this manner. Batman had tried earlier to pull up the reports but Lord Batman had erased every file that existed before the two years.

"You and your friends have caused enough tyranny on the world. We may not know where Hawkgirl is, but we will find her after we have detained your team and stop their tyranny. It's time to give the people back their rights." said Superman. Batman had started up the machine and everybody got ready. When the familiar light square was up, they each went in one by one except Batman who stayed behind to confront his counterpart.

"I hope for your sake you find some small form of redemption in the people you hurt. What you've done to Richard… to Alfred… you don't deserve to live. You don't deserve any form of redemption. I hope that someone in this world still cares for Bruce Wayne, because in this world… Batman is dead." said Batman. It was silent in the cave and just as Bruce was about to enter the portal, he heard his counterpart say, "She's with the others in your Watchtower."

Batman turned and they both stared at each other. Eventually Batman gave Lord Batman a nod in respect and entered the portal.

Universe 1

Shayera was now more or less awake and was attempting to break free from her restraints. The sedatives were still in her system, prohibiting some motor function but she could still most of her body except for her wings. She tried to form words earlier but her throat was still too raw from the abuse it suffered from alternate Diana's lasso. She was still feeling a little light-headed from her kiss with the alternate John. That kiss really opened up her eyes to newer possibilities she thought weren't possible. She was a traditional Thanagarian after all. Once she was paired with her mate then that was it, but to know that there was a possible future with John… her John, then she needed to fix things right away. She was led to believe that she was there in order to find allies in order to turn the tables on the Gordanians, but if they lied to her then she didn't want any part of it. She needed to stop them before it was too late. But first, she needed to find her friends.

Shayera struggled and fought against the restraints, but they were too strong to break free. If it had been regulated straps then she could have easily torn through them. These straps though were industrial-size meant to hold not only her down, but Diana and J'onn as well. Shayera gave a small pathetic whimper when she at last gave up on trying to break free and laid back down. She needed to think of a better game plan if she is ever to break out of the infirmary. Shayera groaned when her head began to throb again. So far it has happened a total of ten times since fully awakening from the sedatives. She closed her eyes and laid her head back down on the pillows, intending to let it pass this time by relaxing.

Shayera decided to think about what to tell her friends once this nightmare was over. She couldn't very well go up to them and say "Hey guys, I'm not really a detective like I've said, but I'm actually a military spy sent on Earth in order to determine how strong your defenses are and your weaknesses and relay that information back to my commanding officer. It's alright though! I just found out I've been lied about my mission too!"

In hind sight, they will actually listen to that, but they will be very angry at her near betrayal and her dishonesty. Shayera loves them so much as though they were her own family. Her parents died in the war, leaving her to be raised by the community. It wasn't so bad, but she envious of the children that had their own families to go home to. She had thought that she could form her own family with Hro but his obsessive dedication to the military had dimmed whatever passion they used to have in the beginning of the relationship and with the new information about his lies, whatever love she used to have for him was diminished.

Her commitment to the military was also gone. They expect her to continue to be a good soldier after learning what they planned to do on Earth? No thank you. At the same time though, she couldn't abandon Thanagar. She needs to find an alternative direction in order to end the war completely and spare Thanagar and Earth from misery. The question was how and if she wanted to involve the League. Perhaps it would be better if she didn't, it wasn't their war after all.

She heard loud arguing outside the door and kept her eyes closed. She couldn't exactly hear what they were arguing about but she soon didn't have to wonder when the alternate Lantern burst into the room with the alternate Superman.

"We can't take her with us John. As much as I want to make us whole again, she doesn't belong in our universe." said the alternate Superman.

"She's better off in ours." said alternate Lantern. Shayera had to struggle to keep herself calm as she heard them talk. He wanted to take her to his universe without her consent? What happened to make him this way? Shayera knew she needed to find a way to escape and it had to be now or never. The others probably don't even know where she is. Shayera hoped though that she can escape in order to find them before alternate Lantern took her away to the other universe.

"She probably is, John. But we can't do this." said alternate Superman.

"We've been doing a lot of things that we couldn't do," retorted John, "What's one more?"

"It's… ok, alright. But we need to fix this world first John, so do whatever it is you need to do." said alternate Superman. Shayera heard the door close and alternate John sigh and walk towards the window. She opened her eyes and looked at him as he stared out at the Earth. He looked as though he had suddenly aged and she was tempted to call out and ask if he was alright, but his intentions to basically kidnap her stopped her from revealing that she was awake.

Shayera noticed the tension that seemed to be rising in his frame and the way he kept rubbing the engagement ring. Did he hope that she will just forget about her John and replace hers with him? Shayera didn't want to live in his universe but she needed to play to her strengths and her acting asleep has fooled even Superman. She saw him move to turn around and closed her eyes quickly and kept her breathing even. She heard him move to her bedside and reached for her restraints. He unclipped them all off of her but Shayera decided to keep playing the sleeping patient. To her shock he carried her gently in his arms, being very careful of her wings and letting them hang off his arms. Shayera would be lying if she said that she had felt uncomfortable. It felt nice, but like all the other times, she just wished it was her John.

He carried her out of the room and down the hall to where Shayera knew was leading to the monitor room. She heard the alternates talking amongst each other and waited with bated breath.

"J'onn," she heard alternate Superman say, "Batman has just opened up a portal in Gotham. He must have handled the others well and decided to join us. Send Lantern and Hawkgirl to meet up with him."

Shayera felt alternate Lantern step into the teleportation pad and the familiar feeling of teleportation surround her. The silence of space was changed to the sounds of cars passing by.

"What the?" she heard Lantern say, and to her joy she heard the voice of another Lantern—her John—say, "Let her go and you won't get hurt."

Many things happened at the same time. One, Shayera managed to gain a new sense of determination and she twisted out of the alternate Lantern's arms. Two, alternate Lantern was knocked unconscious by Superman and three, a very happy Flash was hugging her.

"Hawkgirl! You're safe!" he cried out. Shayera shakily gave him a weak hug, still weak from the sedatives.

"F-F…Fl…Flash." she managed to whisper out, so very happy to see her Flash and her friends… especially her John.

"What happened to your voice? What happened to your mask?" asked Flash, surprised at seeing Hawkgirl's face for the first time. The others also wondered about her mask while John was left standing stupefied at seeing her without her mask for the first time.

She had a heart shaped face that one couldn't tell she had with her mask on. She had full plump lips and a cute button nose. It was her eyes though that enthralled John. With her mask on, the white lens made her eyes appear black. With the mask off, her eyes were a vivid emerald that he had thought only existed in Oa. He was wrong though and was rendered speechless at how beautiful she looked.

"Alternates," was all Shayera could whisper.
"It's ok. We'll kick some butt and then we can find your mask." said Flash, feeling angry at the way the normally strong fighter was rendered weak.

"Pl-plan-ning… s-some-th-thing." whispered Shayera, hoping they could understand her.

"We know. We're ready for them." said Batman, assuring Hawkgirl that they were on top of things.

"M-mace… t-tower." whispered Shayera, wanting to help.

"Absolutely no, you're going to a hospital so you can get better." scolded John. Shayera glared at him but Superman quickly interjected and said, "John's right. You're still hurt. We'll handle it, Hawkgirl. We need to put you though somewhere that isn't so public."

"Sh-Shayera." whispered Shayera.

"What?" asked J'onn.

"M-my n-name… Sh-Shayera." said Shayera, wanting to break down barriers if she was to reveal her all to them.

"Ok, Shayera," smiled John, "Come here." He lifted her up in his arms, not caring that the others were witnesses and told them, "Comm-Link me in when you have a plan and take his ring away before you contain him." John flew up in the sky wish Shayera in his arms. He looked down at her face to see her closing her eyes in exhaustion. Whatever they did to her must have put her through a real ringer.

"It's ok Shayera," he reassured her, "Go to sleep."

Shayera heard him and nuzzled closer into his neck, feeling him shudder on her contact. She focused on his breathing and was lulled to sleep a few seconds later. John shuddered when he felt her nuzzle into his neck, feeling a little flustered. He sighed when he felt her sleep against him and was comforted that she was safe again. He puzzled over why his counterpart was carrying her around in Downtown Gotham, but he decided to ask Shayera later when this was all over.

With the lantern's ring, he was able to cross distances in a short amount of time. With it, he was able to get from Gotham to Detroit in ten minutes flat. He flew to his apartment and walked inside. Most of the tenants were asleep, so John was able to walk in unnoticed. He went inside and quietly closed the door before heading towards his bedroom. With his ring he lifted the bed sheets and slid Shayera underneath them facedown so as not to jostle her wings too much. He wrapped the blankets around her and was tempted to kiss her hairline but instead stroked her cheek gently before going to the living room where he keeps his lantern. He opened the portal and brought it our and began to charge his ring.

So many things were happening at the same time that he was almost getting headache. The important thing though was that they returned to their Universe and had retrieved Shayera again. His feelings were all over the place when it came to her. In one moment, the girl is as tough as nails and rough as sandpaper, but in the next moment she is displaying a level of softness and trust by revealing her name to all of them. He desperately wished he could kiss her. Much of his fantasies were filled with what she looked like under the mask and now that he knows, he wants to kiss her now.

"John," he heard in the comm-link, "We have a plan."

It took a couple of hours and a really sour Superman in order to get things going, but by the time they were done prepping up they were ready to incapacitate the Justice Lords. It worked out better than expected. By faking Luthor's prison escape, the Lords came to Stryker's Island like moths to a flame. They were too late to react when they realized it was a trap. Using the same set up the Lords used on them, they were able to fully incapacitate the Lords and have Luthor use his power disrupter on them. When the Lords had woken up, they were sent back to their universe without their powers.

John had flown back to his apartment intent on putting Shayera in a proper hospital. She was awake when he arrived and they both gave each other warm smiles. He carried her to the Gotham General Hospital where after a week of proper treatment and a promise to attend therapy, Shayera was released able to talk and use her wings again.

There was something more now between John and Shayera. For John, it was because she had yet to put her mask back on and she gave her name away to them all. Sure it wasn't directly at him, but she had been hanging around his apartment more and more lately. It was tonight actually that everything changed.

She was watching a movie with him in his apartment that night. At one point, during a boring dramatic scene, she turned her head to look at John fully. He looked back and she got up from her seating position until she was directly across from him. She leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. He immediately kissed her back, wanting to taste all of her.

She deepened the kiss and opened her mouth when she felt John's tongue seeking entry. She was breathing hard and had to lie back down on the couch when John dipped her head back so he can kiss her neck more thoroughly. He bit the skin on the place where her shoulder and neck met, earning a startled gasp, and licked the pain away. He repeated it several times and heard a low needy moan come from her. His arousal was apparent but he controlled himself and lifted her up so she was comfortably seated on his lap.

"John," she whispered, "I… I ha-"

"What?" asked John when she wouldn't continue.
"There's something you and the others should know."

Story done, woo! Time to study, bleh. So how'd you guys like it? Sequel to the story will come just not sure when. Read and review please so I can know what you guys want to see in the sequel. Thank you :)