//------------------------------//
// The Benefits of Experience 
// Story: Batmare Beyond 
// by Tatsurou 
//------------------------------//

	After a time of hearing all the stories the former Titans could pass on to her, Rarity found herself in awe of the former heroes and everything they'd faced off against.  The sheer scope of the responsibility they'd taken on protecting the entire world - and forming a world wide organization to do just that - was humbling.  She found that, more than anything, she wanted to live up to the heroic legacy she seemed to be inheriting from so many directions.  Wanting to prove herself, she had asked if the Titans would train her.  After exchanging glances, they had agreed.

It had been Richard who suggested they start with seeing just how much she was currently capable of.  He disallowed himself, as he was the least in shape of the Titans - having suffered the most from the ravages of time - and that there was little in terms of standard combat he could teach her that Bruce couldn't, and probably hadn't.  Instead, Richard agreed to sit with Bruce and observe the training combat, analyzing Rarity's prowess and how she stacked up against opponents far more experienced.

However, as they adjourned to the training arena in the Batcave, she noticed only three opponents arrayed before her.  She turned to the last person on the sidelines.  "Miss Roth?  Will you not also be testing me?"

"I've already got a sense of your magical potential," Rachel replied curtly.  "While the suit is boosting your power, at your current level most of what I could teach you won't be useful to you.  And I won't be fighting you."  She closed her eyes, inhaled, then exhaled before opening them again.  "My magic has drawn enough blood in my lifetime.  I will not use it to do anything but heal anymore."

Rarity nodded.  "Very well.  I quite understand, though I hope you'll deign to teach me to heal with magic, beyond what little I've figured out."

Rachel smiled.  "That would be a pleasure."

Smiling in return, Rarity pulled the hood of the suit back over her face, once more becoming Batmare.  "So who will be my first opponent?" she asked, the suit distorting her voice.

Starfire floated up, once more in the combat attire she had worn as a teen...although it fit her mature adult body a great deal more tightly than it did back then.  "I will be your first training opponent, Batmare," she proclaimed proudly, energy gathering in her hands and the gems of her half-gauntlets.

"We've arranged the available opponents in order of expected difficulty," Richard called from the sidelines.  "Thus you'll be facing Starfire first, and Changeling last."

Rarity turned to glance to where Cyborg - having removed his plastiskin for combat - sat next to Changeling.  "I had thought Cyborg might be the hardest foe," she muttered.

Cyborg and Changeling both chuckled.  "You'll see," Rachel commented with a smirk.

"Each fight will last until one of the combatants are defeated, or three minutes into the match," Bruce stated calmly.  "After the fight, you'll have the option of combat analysis, or immediately progressing to the next match."

"I will be holding back the full force of my starbolts," Starfire reassured everyone.  "While they will still hit with great force, it will not be the full force of radiation energy I am able to generate and focus."

"You don't need to worry about that, Star," Rachel replied.  "Even outside the suit she was able to focus her magic back into her body to increase her durability in order to withstand the compression of your excited hug.  Between the further amplification of her magic and protections her suit provides, she should be able to handle your full force."

Rarity gulped as Starfire grinned widely.  "Oh joy!  It has been so long since I could cut the loosing!"

"You mean cut loose," Garfield absently corrected.

"That too!" Starfire agreed, raising her hands as green energy coalesced around them, lightning sparking inside the green spheres.

As the spheres launched, Rarity's body seemed to blur into shadows, flowing across the arena and out of range of the explosion before solidifying.  All the spectators sat up in interest at that.  Starfire, however, grinned even more eagerly, diving down to deliver a crushing blow that left a crater in the floor of the arena.

Rarity barely managed to dodge the blow by blurring into shadows again.  This time, however, she seemed to blur through Starfire, who flinched back, her muscles jerking as though she'd briefly been electrocuted.  When she flew back up for another aerial assault, Rarity solidified above and behind Starfire, falling down behind her.  As she dragged the tip of her horn down Starfire's spine, she discharged an electrical current.

Starfire's body jerked, and she fell.  She landed heavily on the ground as Rarity blurred into shadows again to land lightly beside her.  "Miss Roth, I believe she will require your attention," she said gently.

Rachel was already rushing to Starfire's side, her hands glowing with blue light.  "And this is why I said I didn't have anything to teach you," she said, laying her hands on Starfire's spine.

"What happened?" Richard asked, concerned.

"She left an electrical charge all along Starfire's spine, disrupting the nerve signals flowing along it, inflicting temporary full body paralysis," Rachel replied.  "Her entire voluntary musculature shut down with the signals going out of whack...and because of how she shaped the magic, the involuntary systems were completely unaffected.  Not an easy thing to pull off, but Starfire got overconfident when she was told she could cut loose."

A few moments later, Starfire sat up, smiling.  "It has been some time since I have been so soundly beaten," she told Rarity.  "Well done.  Also, what was that you did with the shadows?  It felt like lightning through my body."

"Phase shifting," Rachel explained.  "I don't know where she picked it up.  It's a side discipline to teleportation.  By shifting her phase variance, she enters a physical energy state in which the normal laws of physics don't entirely apply.  This lets her ignore the conservation of momentum and limits on her speed.  Given her penchant towards ninjitsu, I'd say this was an amplified 'shadow step' technique, as used by those ninjas who amplified their skills with the mystical arts.  One of the side effects of phasing through objects is the discharge of electrical energy into the object.  On unempowered individuals, it would probably be enough to knock them out instantly.  Those like us who are empowered, or who have had intense training, would be able to resist it for a time."

Rarity smiled softly.  "I read some of the scrolls Father keeps down here," she explained modestly.  "They were quite enlightening."

Cyborg chuckled at her word play.  "Guess it's my turn, huh?" he asked, one hand converting into his sonic cannon.  Rachel helped Starfire to the sidelines.

"Indeed," Rarity replied.

"Begin!" Bruce called, starting the timer.

Cyborg opened strong, using his Sonic Cannon to release a wave burst, trying to catch Rarity with an area of effect attack.  However, Rarity used a brief magical energy shield to block it before charging forward.  Putting his cannon away, Cyborg drew a sonic energy sword from his other arm and raced to meet her charge.

As he swung, however, she phase shifted through him.  Cyborg grinned at her.  "Electrical attacks won't work on my hardened circuitry!" he bragged.  He tried to turn, but his joints locked up.  "What the?"

"How about a magical computer virus?" Rarity offered.  "After doing a bit of work with some computers, I realized some criminals I face may use some form of technological enhancement.  So I did some research and found a way to write a computer program as a spell form.  I left a magical computer virus in your systems as I phased through you.  The cybernetics of your body are currently unable to interpret the signals from the positronic parts of your brain.  It is, however, designed not to interfere with the involuntary ones, much like what I did to Starfire.  The version I used on you, however, has a self termination cycle.  It should be dissipating right about now."

Cyborg chuckled as he regained control of his body, putting his weapons away.  "Well, it's pretty obvious I lost that one."  Walking up to her, he held out his closed fist.  "Come on, gimme a hoofbump!"

Rolling her eyes, Rarity bumped her hoof against Cyborg's fist.  "Good match."

Changeling chuckled.  "Seems like I'm the only one who's going to give her a real challenge," he said, standing up.

Rarity took in his appearance more clearly.  He was very leanly muscled, and there didn't seem to be so much as an ounce of fat anywhere on his body.  He was also nearly as tall as Cyborg, though quite thin.  He wore black, tight fitting pants and a black jacket.  Both pants and jacket looked like leather, but Rarity could sense they were of some other material.  He also went barefoot.  "Shall we so what you can do?" she asked softly.

Changeling smirked back.  "Come at me then."

"Begin!" Bruce called.

Rarity began to circle, watching Changeling.  However, he remained perfectly still, relaxed, almost uninterested.  After a few seconds, Rarity phase shifted again, intending to come in with a magic amplified kick to his side.

The instant she solidified, Changeling blurred forward, his whole body expanding and changing shape as a clawed fist struck her hard in the gut, sending her flying across the arena.  Landing on all fours, she stared up at Changeling's altered form.

For a moment, she thought she was staring at the Beast of Disney fame, except green.  However, the lack of horns quickly divested her of that notion.  The rest of the resemblance was uncanny, however...save that every inch of this Beast was made for battle, as though someone had cherry picked all the best combat traits for a bipedal mammal and fused them together into an organic battle machine.

Changeling lunged forward fast, faster than Rarity could track with her eyes.  Thankfully, she was able to leap back in time to dodge getting hit.  She attempted to fire a magical shot at his chest, but his entire body retracted into the other hand as a green bat dove at her face before morphing into an anaconda.

Rarity managed to avoid getting bound by phase shifting, but only had time to lunge to the side as the anaconda morphed into a dragon and exhaled an intense blast of green fire that would have singed her tail if it weren't kept completely inside the suit.  She then was forced to leap into the air as he shifted into something round and spikey to attempt to roll over her with crushing force.

As she came down for a landing for an attempted sneak attack, he instantly shifted back to his natural form, catching her right in the gut with a hard kick.  Rolling backwards, she suddenly found herself pinned by a roc's talons.

Changeling paused there, plainly expecting her to yield.  He obviously did not expect her to phase shift through the extended limb, aiming right for his brain.  He was able to reshape himself away from that, rolling away on the edge of a tortoise shell before regaining his feet and form.

Both of them circled now, plainly put on guard by the intensity of the fight.  Rarity was breathing heavily, her face focused.  Changeling, however, was grinning from ear to ear, plainly having the time of his life.

Changeling broke the face off first.  Lunging forward as a cheetah, he brought both gorilla fists down hard enough to shatter the ground.  Rarity was barely able to dodge, and for the rest of the three minutes passed rapidly.  Changeling's form became very fluid, never staying entirely one animal and never holding shape for more than a few seconds at a time.  Rarity spent most of her time either phase shifted or shielded.  She was plainly giving it her all...but just as plainly fully on the defensive.

"Time!" Richard suddenly called.

Changeling froze, halfway between the forms of a hydra and a rhinoceros.  Chuckling, he shifted back to his humanoid form.  "That was fun!" he said happily, stretching.  "Can't wait to see what you can do when you're old enough to join the League."

"League?" Rarity asked in confusion as she caught her breath.

"The Justice League," he replied.  "I've got two jobs: one as a veterinarian, the other as a trainer for new members of the Justice League.  As I got more and more skilled, my powers actually reached the point where the League banned me from day-to-day vigilante heroism.  I'm not even allowed to step in for anything short of a war, be it civil, international, or interplanetary."

Rarity managed a chuckle.  "No wonder I wasn't able to beat you," she murmured as Rachel went over her with her magic.  "Though I was hoping after I beat Starfire and Cyborg to pull a Titan hat trick."

Changeling chuckled.  "Rarity, the day you beat me is the day you get full membership in the League, skipping your probationary period.  That's actually standard regs."  He laughed.  "Of course, there's only two members of the League I haven't beaten or fought to a draw."

"Who?" Rarity asked eagerly.

He smiled widely.  "One is Superman.  I just couldn't match his raw power output."  Grinning, he reched down and pet her head between the bat ears of her mask.  "The other is the last one to wear this suit."

Rarity gasped in awe, turning to look up worshipfully at her father.

Rachel stepped close to Garfield.  "You planning on telling her that you and Bruce never actually fought before he retired?"

"Not a chance," Garfield said quickly, smirking at how Rarity was looking at her father.