Just an idea that popped into my head. Hope you guys enjoy!
Chapter 1
"Duck!"
I gasped as the wind was knocked out of me, courtesy of the man now known as Batman. Covering me with his body, I was shielded by the searing hot laser beams that I knew would have easily cut right through me if they had connected.
"Bruce, are you okay?"
"Terry, I'm fine. Let's just keep moving. We need to get to the Time Sphere." I replied, waving off Terry and climbing back onto my feet as I heard a whoosh above us.
"Terry!" I yelled, pointing at the robotic figure leaping above us.
"I've got it!" Terry replied, activating his rocket boots, propelling him up into the air, where he quickly flung out a few batarangs, before flying in closer to engage the cyborg chasing us.
Taking advantage of the opening that he had created, I moved as quickly as my body would allow me to.
"Bruce, I'm not going to make it! I can hold it off for now, but we need to keep the Time Sphere safe! You go on ahead!" Terry screamed, struggling to hold his own against a physically superior opponent.
"He's right! We can only make it if he holds them off!" Rip yelled, furiously tapping at buttons on the Time Sphere.
Knowing that there was nothing I could do to help Terry in my current state, I reluctantly nodded and climbed into the metallic hull of the Time Sphere.
"Hurry, Rip!" I screamed at the time traveler, who looked to be making some more adjustments.
"All right, I've got just a few more things to calibrate."
Just as Rip was about to follow suit, a red blast of energy struck him directly in the back, causing him to howl in pain.
"Rip!" I screamed, hobbling out of my seat to help him, but he shook his head.
"Bruce, you have to go. I didn't get a chance to fully program the machine, so there's no telling exactly what's going to happen to you. Just know that you have to prevent this future from occurring. No matter what it takes."
April 27, 1941
I admired the steep marble columns that towered over my head, a testament to the strength and grandeur of Athens, even as it lay crumbling under the weight of a combined German and Italian force driving straight towards the heart of the city.
How long had it been? Perhaps three weeks? Three weeks, and the Axis were already knocking on the doorstep of Greece's capital. Say what you wanted about Hitler, but the man was damn effective at what he did.
As I entered the hallowed floors of the Parthenon, I could sense the sanctity of the moment. Years of history and tradition seeped from every direction, and I could feel my body quiver as I stared up at the statue of Athena herself, almost as if she were in the room with me.
Falling to my knees, I bent my head low enough so that my forehead was touching the cool temple floor, and I whispered a silent prayer to Athena. It wasn't like it would hurt to have some divine intervention on my side, not when I was surrounded by Germans on all sides, practically knocking on the doors of the Parthenon.
I practically had one foot in the grave already.
Lifting my head, for some reason, I suddenly felt a great confidence welling up within me, and with a deep breath, I grabbed my Lee-Enfield rifle that I had slung on my back and readied myself. It really did feel like I now had someone watching over me, as ridiculous as it sounds. However, divine intervention or not, I would still have to fight my way out of this place.
Why, you may ask, was I here, risking my life for a country I had no ties to, against an enemy that I had no business fighting? I don't know. I guess that I thought that it would give me a new perspective on life, or something like that. Honestly, I had no idea why I really wanted to be here. Maybe it was fate. Maybe I was meant to be here.
Hearing the clacking of boots, I readied myself for combat, knowing that German soldiers would be ascending the steps of the Parthenon soon enough. That settled it. Athens had been lost to the Germans, and there was nothing that the British Volunteer Corps could do about it except to retreat to fight another day. That is, if any of us made it to another day.
Seeing a little mound of gray appearing at the top of the stairs, I peered down my sights, ready to fire as soon as an available shot presented itself to me.
But that shot never came.
Almost as if appearing out of thin air, a blur of red and blue descended upon the mass of gray helmets with lightning speed. Trying to get a better look, I sprinted towards the German troops, only to find that several were already lying on the ground, unconscious, and they were quickly joined by their comrades, who were tossed aside like rag dolls by a feminine figure clad in a bright red and blue costume that left little to the imagination, and yet, somehow, it appeared that she didn't have so much as a scratch on her.
Suddenly, she turned her head towards me, and I instantly felt a chill run through my spine at the steely blue eyes with which she glared at me.
Suddenly, for some reason, a name appeared in my head.
"Diana." I said aloud, puzzled as to why I could not stop myself from saying that aloud.
However, if I was puzzled, then the woman was full out confused, as I saw her eyebrows furrow at my remark, before she approached me slowly.
"How do you know my name?" The woman asked.
"What?" I asked, bewildered.
"Diana. How did you know that name?" The woman snarled, clearly not satisfied with my answer.
"No idea." I breathed out shakily, realizing that I was dealing something inhuman here. There was something supernatural about this woman, and she made no effort to hide it. If anything, it seemed as if she wanted to display this status for everything that it was worth.
"Don't lie to me. No human could possibly know my name. Are you some minion of Ares?" The woman, evidently named Diana, placed a hand on the hilt of a sword hanging on her waist.
"No." I replied coolly, doing my best to keep my heart from bursting out of my chest, although the closer Diana came towards me, the faster I could hear it pounding. If she didn't kill me, no doubt a heart attack would.
Before I could even flinch, a lasso was around my waist, and the rope, which was glowing a deep golden yellow, was instantly squeezing the life out of me. I squirmed in an attempt to escape, but no matter how much I struggled, the rope showed no signs of loosening. If anything, the lasso's grip only tightened.
"Are you working for Ares?" Diana shouted at me again.
"No." I replied instantly, shocked at the speed at which I answered, almost as if I had been compelled to do so by some magical force.
"Do you have any ill intentions towards Themyscira?" She asked.
Having no idea what she was talking about, I opened my mouth, only to hear the word, "No," come out of my mouth.
Her harsh glare finally seemed to be lessening, if only by a little, "What is your name?"
"Bruce Wayne." I answered, despite my best efforts to keep my mouth shut. It was as if I had no choice in the matter.
"What is your age?" She asked, continuing with the interrogation.
"Twenty four."
"Where is your birthplace?"
"Gotham City."
"Why are you in Athens?"
"I am a part of the British Volunteer Corps."
"Do you know who I am?"
To my surprise, I didn't immediately rattle off an answer, as I had previously done. I could tell that Diana was surprised as well. Evidently, this was not a common occurrence for the victims of this lasso, which I had deduced was compelling me to answer her questions against my will.
"That's enough." Diana said, loosening her grip on the lasso, allowing me to shrug it off while she retracted the entire length of rope in one swift motion, an impressive display of her dexterity.
"So, is it safe to assume that you aren't human?" I asked pointedly, stretching out my arms and catching my breath.
Diana nodded, "You would be correct to make that assumption."
"I figured as much." I sighed, grabbing my dropped rifle and making a quick inspection of the weapon, which seemed unscathed.
Just then, I felt the entire building rock violently as a loud crack nearly burst my eardrum with its volume. It must have meant that the bombing of the city was reaching the Parthenon. I was quickly running out of time to escape the city, but my attention was now drawn back to the mysterious woman, who was now staring out at the view of Athens afforded by the height of the Parthenon.
"Tell me, what is the meaning of this conflict?" Diana asked, gesturing to the multitude of explosions and the chirping of gunfire in the city below.
"It's what happens when one man has too much power, and a country has too much pride to surrender." I replied, noticing that there were still assorted volunteers and Athenians who had opted to stay behind in the city fighting a losing battle against the German invaders.
Diana looked confused, "Why do you participate? You are not from here."
I had definitely not been expecting such a question, "I…I don't really know. Maybe it's because I believe that there's good in saving Athens."
"I see. And this Gotham of yours? Is it not worthy of saving?" She asked.
At the mention of my birthplace, a memory flashed through my head of a gunshot. But the moment left as quickly as came, and I ignored the chill that rippled through my body, "I haven't decided yet."
She must have sensed that it was a sore subject for me, because Diana didn't ask me any more questions about my heritage, which was fine by me. Actually, I preferred to keep things that way, especially since I barely had any idea of who she was.
From what I could gather so far, she definitely had to be related to the Greek myths I had read about as a child, although it didn't seem like she was a Goddess of any sort. Given that we were in Athens, and this Diana definitely was not Athena, that meant that she was some champion of the Gods, or maybe…
"Are you an Amazon?" I asked, the pieces beginning to fit together. The Amazons were a race of warrior women in Greek Mythology, and Diana definitely seemed to fit the profile. Besides, Athena was one of the Goddesses responsible for the protection of the Amazons, which left a strong connection between Diana's appearance and the invasion of Athens.
"So you do know who I am." Diana replied, an eyebrow arching as she did so.
"I had an inkling." I replied.
"Then you know why I am here."
I nodded, "You're going to stop the invasion."
"My purpose is to bring peace to Man's World, and to put a stop to Ares." Diana responded, her face visibly darkening at the mention of the God of War.
"Are you trying to say that you're going to stop the Second World War?" I asked incredulously. I mean, sure, she was definitely stronger than any man I had ever seen, but stopping an entire war by herself? That seemed like insanity.
"If I must." Diana said, not showing any indication that she was joking.
She was actually serious about this.
While I tried to comprehend the fact that Diana thought that she could actually stop the largest war in history, Diana suddenly looked up at the sky. Tracking her sight with my own eyes, I realized that she was staring at a figure floating in the sky. It seemed to be a man clad entirely in a heavy looking set of ebony armor, and without any introduction, I realized who it was.
"Ares." Diana growled, confirming my suspicions.
She dug a heel into the floor before shooting off like a cannon, headed straight for Ares. Watching her soar through the air, I stood there, dumbfounded, watching the Amazon take on the God of War.
Diana swung at Ares with all of her might, only to be met with a fist straight to her stomach, forcing the Amazon to keel over. Not giving her any respite, Ares quickly delivered an earth shattering kick straight down into her back, sending her crashing into the ground with enough force to cause the ground to split at the impact.
"Diana!" I screamed, throwing my weapon to the ground and rushing towards the site of the crater where she now lay, unconscious.
I sprinted down the steps of the Parthenon, just as another explosion shattered one of its columns. Dodging the stray blocks of marble tumbling down, I kept an eye on Diana the entire time, determined to reach her at any cost. Why? I really had no idea, but I suppose it had something to do with the fact that she seemed so helpless in that moment. I couldn't leave her to be killed by Ares, or worse. I just couldn't.
"Fall back!"
I swiveled my head to see the scattered remains of the other volunteer troops running away from a mass of gray quickly advancing down the streets, headed straight for the Parthenon.
"Wayne! Get the hell out of here!" One yelled at me as he ran for his life.
Ignoring him, I continued forward as if compelled by some higher power, still intent on getting to Diana.
Ducking underneath a few whizzing bullets, I slid to a stop in front of the crumpled figure that I knew was Diana. Flipping her body over, I cringed at the sight. Cuts and scratches marred every limb, and only the slight heaving of her chest let me know that she was somehow still alive. Although, by the looks of it, if I didn't find a way to get her out of here, she wouldn't last much longer.
I picked her up bridal style and searched for any opening that I could use to get out of the city. Noticing an alleyway that looked deserted, I trudged forward, hugging Diana's form close to me to protect her from any stray bullets.
Looking up, I breathed a sigh of relief as I realized that Ares had now turned his attention elsewhere, and was seemingly unconcerned with the Amazon who had tried to attack him earlier.
This was my chance to escape.
Well, I hope that kind of made sense. To clear things up, Bruce Wayne is a volunteer in the British army at the start of World War II, as the United States has not become involved yet. I am aware that he has a dislike for guns, but I decided to suspend that part of the mythos for now, as it wouldn't be practical for him not to use one in this setting.
As for why I chose this setting in particular, I always thought it would be cool to see Batman operating in a 1940s-1950s sort of era, so that it puts him right as the Cold War tension started to appear in the United States. It definitely adds some historical drama on top of the regular drama in his storylines. Plus, it opens up some possibilities for an expansion of motives for his villains, mainly Penguin and Joker. Also, the Justice League could definitely play a role, especially in the context of organizations such as NATO and the Warsaw Pact.
Do you guys support this idea? Please, let me know if you want to read more with a review or a PM. I would really appreciate any and all thoughts. Thanks for reading!