Author's Note: Here follows a short story of my musings on a world where the Justice League and Avengers coexist, and Diana of Themyscira seeks out Thor and the rest of the fugitive Avengers when she senses the threat of Thanos. This story takes place between Batman vs. Superman and Justice League (based only loosely upon the BvS movie plot because the Avengers don't know all the details) and after Captain America: Civil War and Thor: Ragnarok (handwaving that Thor and Bruce returned to Earth unharmed). This fic fanon also assumes that the Asgardians, the Aesir, and the Olympians interacted at some points of Earth's ancient history. This fic covers solely Diana's initial introduction to the fugitive Avengers and her reaction to a blond world war veteran named Steve.

Pleasantries

Chapter One

The safe house thirty miles from Bordeaux, France was definitely the nicest one the "Secret Avengers" had occupied since departing Wakanda. It was actually a rental, available only to those who had certain connections - which Clint and Natasha did. It was a peaceful place, surrounded by acres of garden and countryside, all accessed by one narrow road that wasn't terribly well-maintained, discouraging siteseers when there was a wider, scenic highway between the city and the wineries ten miles to the south.

Officially, the Avengers were tourists on a "meditation retreat" which was funny for the first day or two. The house was a little tight with eight people, but they managed.

Thor, Clint, and Natasha did most of the supply runs into the nearest village. At the house, it was as if they'd stepped into another dimension, completely apart from the world.

It was warm with early summer. Sometimes Thor slept outside "under the stars" as he put it. Then Clint or Sam did. At their urging, Steve tried it, and found that it really was as peaceful as they claimed.

After that, almost nobody had to share rooms again because there were at least three Avengers spending the night outdoors, sprawled on a lounge chair on the terrace or even in a bedroll in the grass. Once or twice all eight of them slept under the stars.

Steve, Sam, and Bucky ran on the paths and grass of the countryside. They sparred, they practiced. Just in case they'd be needed again.

There seemed to be strife all over the world. Batman and Superman had fought in front of half the planet, and rumor had it Superman was dead. "You ever meet him?" Sam asked asked Steve.

"Which?"

"Either."

Steve shook his head. "I kind of wanted to meet Superman, but never got the chance. We seemed to keep out of each other's way. Batman had some kind of frenemy thing going on with Stark, so they kept clear of each other."

"I wonder what they had to say about the Accords. Somehow I can't see Batman registering himself."

"Yeah, me neither."

Below the hill that Steve and Bucky had just sprinted and Sam had staggered along after, Thor and Wanda were sparring, pitting their powers against each other in a semi-controlled environment. Steve could tell even from that distance that Wanda was being too tentative, but rather than try to reassure or scold her, Thor just let out his bellowing laugh and denied her hits did more than tickle him.

Thor was a patient instructor, and Steve sighed, watching them. "I wish he hadn't gone back to Asgard after Ultron. Maybe things would've been different."

"Yeah," Bucky agreed. Bucky clearly liked Thor and Bruce; they never looked at Bucky as if expecting him to flip out at a moment's notice. Even though Wakandan medicine, aided by Wanda's power, had worked the deadly trigger words out of Bucky's mind, Steve had to admit that Nat, Clint, and Sam tended to watch Bucky warily out of the corner of their eyes.

They'd been in Bordeaux for two weeks when Thor called an abrupt halt to a training session and summoned the rest of the group to the house. "Someone approaches. Not a mere sightseer, I think."

Down on the terrace, Steve squinted down the road, but the hills hid it from view around a curve. "By car or air?"

"Car. But when the rough surface damaged the vehicle, its driver decided to simply pick it up and carry it. I think..." Thor tilted his head, thoughtful. "I'll know more when they come closer, but this didn't seem a mere enhanced. Nor is it any of our friends."

Thor still regarded Vision, Tony, and Rhodey as friends, and refused to be dissuaded. Strangely enough, though all three official Avengers must have realized that Thor was in contact with the fugitives, none, not even Rhodey, had taken it upon themselves to try to follow him to their safe house.

Their visitor got back into the car at the base of the last hill, and the vehicle rattled and shuddered into view, its wheels flopping and its frame noisily protesting the abuse.

From inside stepped a beautiful woman, dark and lithe, dressed like any one of the French fashionistas Steve had seen on his brief stints in the towns. At first glance, she didn't look to be enhanced, but Thor sucked in his breath.

The woman leaned against the car, wrinkled her nose at the flat tires, and remarked, "Thor of Asgard. You might have demanded that your landlords fix the road as a condition of the lease."

Thor motioned the others to wait and cautiously approached her. "As it happens, the landlord offered. We replied that it wasn't necessary. We'd rather deter curious passers-by." He studied her and concluded, "As it is, I think you had no real need of a car, my lady. You could have simply jogged."

A sly smile curved her face. "So you know? Has someone been gossiping about me or are Aesir really as keen-eyed as I used to hear?"

"Hey," called Clint. "Want to introduce us sometime today?"

Thor chuckled. "She's not yet honored me with her name, but in this world of mortals, there's no mistaking one of the fair and noble Amazons of Themyscira."

"Amazons?" murmured Bucky.

"Have you not hung around this crowd long enough to stop being surprised by weird shit?" Sam replied.

The stranger smirked at them, then her eyes met Steve's, and she faltered, for reasons he could only guess at. She quickly looked back to Thor. "I am Diana, Princess of Themyscira, daughter of Hippolyta."

Thor made a noise of shock. "No! It can't be! Hippolyta's little princess?" He laughed and crossed the lawn to meet her. "I'm honored and delighted, my lady. No doubt you know, I am Thor, son of Odin."

Diana tilted her head, looking puzzled. "I've heard many stories of you from my people and the humans, but surely I'd remember if we'd ever met."

Bowing over her hand, Thor chuckled. "Perhaps not, for you were still swaddled when I last saw you in Themyscira. And I was but a youth, still training and untested in battle." She blinked, then grinned, and Thor turned to the others still raising her hand in his. "My friends, let me present you with a most noble visitor. The Aesir were once great friends of the Amazons, and I met this fair princess when she was a babe in arms. It's no wonder I sensed your power approaching from a distance, daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus."

"Zeus, huh? More gods in our midst," said Bruce. "What brings you here?"

She dropped her polite smile and looked at Thor. "I think you know. You must sense it as I do. A menace approaches, more powerful than anything this world has ever faced, from farther away than any stranger has ever come. Kal - that is, Superman sensed it as well, before he died. He warned us."

"It's true, then?" Steve asked. "Superman's dead?"

For a few seconds, she just stared at Steve, as if she'd lost her train of thought. Then she went on quickly, "Yes, I'm afraid it is. He died saving the world and in battle, though that's less consolation than I used to think."

"Krypton may not be one of the Nine Realms, but the halls of Valhalla are open to all who perish in valor," said Thor. "He feasts there now in glory and honor." Diana looked down and didn't answer, so it was Thor's turn to hurry the conversation along. "I've sensed the same threat as you, and last returned to Asgard to try and learn more. We're preparing the Avengers as best we can, while fugitives from their own people."

"They're fools," she muttered. Seeing the team bristle, she explained, "The crafters of the Sokovia Accords. I answer to no government, and nor do Batman or Thor. That we fail to save everyone doesn't give them the right to own us."

"Sounds like we're on the same page, then," said Sam. Diana nodded, giving him a small smile - but once again her eyes caught Steve's, then she looked away. "So you Amazons, you're gods too?"

"No. We're closer related to humans than Aesir. We live far longer and have certain gifts from our gods, but not the powers such as Thor's people."

"All evidence to the contrary," Thor put in. "I witnessed some of Odin's finest warriors in combat practice against the army of Themyscira; they're fierce and formidable warriors. My friend Bruce has seen Asgard and her Valkyrie in combat now; he knows the weight of that comparison."

"No denying it," Bruce agreed. He gave Thor a droll smile. "So how'd you measure up?"

Thor actually blushed, and Clint and Sam let out gleeful snorts. "Aw, yeeeah!" said Clint. "This'll be good."

"I was very young - "Thor's explanation was cut off by bellows of laughter from the others - even Wanda and Nat, and even Steve couldn't help laughing. "Yes, yes, you've already guessed the outcome. As a young and callow youth, I made the mistake of challenging General Antiope, leader of Hippolyta's army and her finest, most powerful warrior."

"And? And?!" demanded Clint.

"And...she thrashed me," Thor finished sheepishly, to a roar of laughter and applause.

Wiping his eyes, Clint gasped, "Oh, man. Lemme guess, you didn't take it too well, getting your ass kicked by a girl?" Thor didn't deny it, and they all broke up laughing again. "I wanna meet that general - what's her name again?"

Diana's face fell. They all saw it, and the humor of the moment vanished. Thor looked stricken. "My lady, I...no." Diana looked down and nodded. "When?"

"By human reckoning, almost exactly one hundred years ago," Diana murmured. She pulled something from her shoulder bag, a dark gold tiara. Thor stared at it, then closed his eyes. "It's a...a complicated story, the events that brought me from Themyscira to defend this world. The war to end all wars crossed the barrier between this world and Themyscira and we came under assault when the Germans strayed too close to our shores. We repelled them, but not without losses." She ran her fingers over the tiara, but put it back in her bag instead of putting it on her head. "This was hers. She trained me, taught me all she knew, so I carry and wear it in battle, in her memory."

"I'm so deeply sorry, my lady. That is a terrible loss to your family, and your people," said Thor softly.

She glanced at Steve again and turned entirely towards Thor, as if to force herself to quit looking at him. Steve didn't think he saw hostility in her eyes, but she had a smile for almost anyone in the group except him. Odd. Then again, maybe not. I'm responsible for the breakup of the Avengers. If Superman's dead, we might have wound up the last force capable of defending the world from whatever it is that's got Thor so spooked.

"With the pleasantries finished, can we talk? I realize you don't know me well, but I came because I needed longer eyes than humans have, and you were the only person I know of who's been off the planet."

"Of course. Excuse us, my friends." Thor gave Steve and several of the others meaningful looks before beckoning Diana away, and they walked off down the hill.

"Hidden message?" Clint asked Wanda.

"Not that hidden. He thinks she's trustworthy, and I agree," Wanda replied.

Steve couldn't resist. "Doesn't seem to like me much, does she?"

"Aw, come on," said Bruce, but Wanda shook her head.

"It's not what you think," she told Steve. "She came here because she approves of what we did in Germany."

There were several beats while they all waited, so Bucky prompted, "So what is it?"

Wanda gave him a gentle punch on the metal arm (replaced with Vibranium courtesy of the Wakandans). "None of your business."


"Please forgive me for bringing back painful memories," said Thor, once they were out of earshot of his friends.

Diana sighed, gazing out over the hills as they walked. "There's nothing to forgive. You couldn't have known. So much has changed since either of us were untested youths, hasn't it?"

"You can't be that far out of youth," he remarked. Diana of Themyscira couldn't have reached womanhood very long ago, by Aesir standards.

"No, I suppose not. Spend enough time around humans, their perception of time rubs off. A hundred years on Earth wasn't much to me until I came here."

Thor stopped and considered her. "That too gives you cause for pain, I see. Not just for the fall of Superman?"

She nodded. "You never saw either of the two great wars of the last century, did you?"

"I did not, but I've heard tales of them. My friends Bucky and Steve - " he marked her flinch, "they saw battle and the cruelty of the second war. If you've been here among the mortals, no doubt you witnessed it firsthand."

"Yes. In the second world war, I fought more clandestinely than in the first. The memories of the first were still too powerful." She shook her head as if to try and shake them off, then looked up at Thor. "I suppose my mother didn't tell you the significance of my parentage?"

"That you were born to be the slayer of Ares? She didn't," said Thor. "But the Olympians were never very good at keeping secrets, so Asgard knew. Ares would find no sanctuary in the eternal realm, and it was forbidden to speak of such things. We didn't know you'd come into your birthright until Heimdall reported that Ares had fallen. It meant your great purpose was achieved."

Diana didn't relish her victory as one who had defeated so great an evil should have done. It didn't take Thor long to discern the reason. "That victory too wasn't without cost," she said. "Terrible cost. And a truth of this world and these people that I'd yet to learn."

"What truth was that?"

"That conflicts between them isn't the influence of Ares alone. It's their nature, and nothing I or even the entire army of Amazons do will bring peace and justice over all of them."

Thor sighed. "So you have indeed found the truth of them. It's painful, never more so than when we see good men fall." She flinched again. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to cause you more pain. And I admire your conviction still more, that you've sought out the Avengers in spite of that. You can't have failed to see our troubles."

She sighed. "No, and I admit I should have come before now. It's..." She chuckled, but there was sorrow in it. "It's complicated."

"Have you met any of my friends? I didn't think you were familiar to them."

"No, like the rest of the world, I've simply seen their exploits on television and Internet," she said. "Until recently, I suppose I reasoned that you were doing just fine without me."

"There are many perils in this world, and sadly, some of the greatest are bred by her own people and visited upon the most innocent." Diana nodded, a quick jerk of her head. "Even so, you and I who are bulletproof may try to stand between the innocent and the aggressors."

She let out a choked, bitter laugh. "Maybe you're bulletproof, Asgardian. Amazons are not. We learned this the day the Germans came. It's how Antiope fell. I may be less vulnerable to them, but my family are not." Diana looked over her shoulder back towards the house where the rest of Thor's friends remained. Again, Thor saw her gaze linger upon Steve.

"The pleasantries may be over, but I think there's something more you're holding back. If you saw the second world war, can it be that our Steve is familiar to you?" he pressed gently.

She flinched harder than before. "N-no. Nothing like you think. I knew of Captain America, of course, everyone did, but I never met him in person. He seemed..." She broke off, and couldn't continue.

Thor cautiously held out a hand. He barely knew this lady, for all of her kind had fallen out of contact with Asgard while Earth itself was still a child realm. But he felt a deep kinship to her, and if it were possible, he would offer her comfort. He took a guess. "He reminds you of someone?"

Her arms folded as if to ward off a chill (impossible in this fine weather), she nodded without looking at him. "It's not a story I'm ready to tell. No one alive in this world knows it, though you're not the first to ask."

"As you will. You're among friends here, Diana, and your aid would be welcome in preparing for the evil that has the Earth in its sites."

To Be Continued...

Coming Soon: A poison gas attack brings the Secret Avengers into action, and injuries to one of the team forces Diana to confront her own lingering grief.

This story is fully drafted, and updates will come every few days.

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