Chapter 6: A Change

Diana was riding with her mother when they came to a fork in the road and saw two paths. The path on the left went into a dark, dreary, old looking forest while the other went into a more warm looking woods and it was brighter too. Diana was behind her mother on the horse and she couldn't see the paths or the signs very well. She pulled out the map and saw that the longer path was through the right path into the more welcoming forest. Her mother turned the reigns and she had the horse trot them into the left path.

"Mother," Diana said.

"Yes?" Hippolyta asked.

"Why don't we take the right path?" Diana asked. "It may be longer but he said that…"

"Why should we listen to him?" Hippolyta exclaimed. "He tried to kill me and you why should we listen to him! Besides this one's shorter and we'll get home quicker."

"Better safe than sorry, mother," Diana told her. "I'm just suggesting that it won't hurt to…" She was interrupted by wolves howling. Diana turned around to see a wolf pack behind them. "Philip, go." He didn't need to be told twice he ran as fast as he could through the woods. But the wolves kept closing in on them and they were beginning to gain on them. They were passing a ledge when a wolf jumped off it and swiped its paw across Hippolyta's face and it knocked her out cold.

Hippolyta fell off Philip and landed on the soft grass nearby. Diana stopped Philip and jumped off him, tied his reigns to a tree, and headed toward her mother. The wolves began to circle and enclose around her. Diana ran to her unconscious mother, grabbed a stick, and swung it around. One wolf came nearby and she hit it out of the air. She got several wolves unconscious but more kept coming. One leapt from behind her and was about to attack and kill her. She turned around a little too late to whack it. Then a something caught the wolf in midair and threw it to the side. It stood up and screeched loudly and Diana recognized the thing. It was the Bat! The screech scared the some of the wolves and they whimpered and ran away. One leaped onto him from behind him and clawed into his back. The Bat grabbed the wolf and threw him into the remaining ones. While that was going on the wolf that he had caught midair ran back and leapt onto him and clawed himself into the Bat's side. Some other ones ran up to him and jumped onto him and clawed themselves into him. He tried to shake them off but to no avail. He shock and shock and threw his back into a tree and they fell off. He threw the rest of them off and they finally got up and ran away. He picked himself up, walked over to Diana and picked her mother up. He placed her mother on top of Philip.

"Stay safe," the Bat told her. "Ahh." His hand moved to his side where blood was pouring out. "Ahh." Claw marks began to show where the Bat had been clawed into. He grunted of pain every time one appeared. There were ones on his back, his sides, his legs, arms and where the spot where his heart was on his chest. He fell over onto the ground and grunted in pain. Diana walked over to Philip and untied his reigns. She looked at the Bat not in disgust but in pity. She watched as he moved occasionally and grunted in pain. She didn't know what to do. Save the Bat and become a prisoner again or leave him and go home and tend to her mother? She then saw blood pouring out of his mouth and saw how much was staining the ground and she knew what she had to do.

She walked over to him and bent down to him. He turned to look at her. She saw his face for the first time up close. She saw for the first time his cold blue eyes that glimmered and had specks of warmth in them.

"Listen you have to help," Diana began. "You need to stand. I can't lift you by myself." She stood up and held out her hand. "Give me your hand, please?" He hesitated for a brief second and took it and she helped him get up. She put one of his arms around her shoulder and they slowly walked over to Philip. With some cooperation from the Bat she was able to get him on top of Philip before he pasted out.

Diana took the reigns and began to walk back toward the castle. She and Philip walked slowly and eventually made it there. She left Philip tied in the courtyard before going back up to the castle. She knocked on the door and Alfred opened.

"Hello miss," Alfred said politely. "What are you doing here?"

"I need your help," Diana explained. "My mother and your master have been wounded."