DISCLAIMER: Wonder Woman was created by William Molten Marston. I do not own any of the main characters involved in this story. This story exists in my own fan-made continuity and should not be considered to be part of any already defined by the comics, television series, or movies, though it takes cues from other established continuities created for Wonder Woman and other characters of the DC Universe.


September 12th, 12:35 AM, EST
A private research facility on the outskirts of the city of Rio de Janeiro

Wonder Woman let out a battle cry as she charged Captain Nazi, too fast for him to follow, and shoulder-tackled him through the opening in the floor. Crashing to the floor below, she quickly flipped off him, landing a couple of feet away. Nazi growled in irritation, kipping-up and getting into a fighting stance. The two circled each other, waiting for the first person to make a move. It wasn't a long wait, as Krieger leaped up, looking to stomp both feet into Diana's skull, only to have both feet caught and get thrown back down to the floor. He managed to sweep a leg, tripping the Amazon up, but the attempt at dropping an elbow into her stomach ended with him banging it against the floor as she rolled out of the way. He then found Wonder Woman on his back, trying to get him in a sleeper hold, only for him to slam his hands down and flip onto his back, driving her to the floor on her spine. She released her hold on him, giving Krieger the chance to turn her on her front and wrench her arms back hard, his foot between her shoulder-blades.

"Surrender, Amazon!" Captain Nazi yelled, wrenching back as hard as he could on Diana's arms.

"Dream on!" Wonder Woman shouted back, lashing him in the face with her ponytail.

Nazi recoiled in pain, his foot leaving Diana's back, giving her the ability to lift her legs up and flip him off of her, sending him crashing into the ceiling. Just as he came back down, Wonder Woman got back to her feet and slammed him into the wall with both fists. Getting sick of this, Krieger grabbed a pipe from the wall and swung it for Diana's head, missing by a mile and receiving a number of jabs to the gut for his troubles. Wonder Woman then hoisted him up on her shoulders, slamming him back first through a wooden table.

"Had enough yet?" she asked her fallen opponent.

Captain Nazi chuckled, wiping the blood from his lip. "Heh heh, not even CLOSE!"

With everything he had, Nazi leaped up and tackled Diana down. He punched her relentlessly as they crashed through the floor, then another. Before they could crash through a third, though, Wonder Woman was able to get her lasso out and use it to swing the two around, sending Nazi smashing face first through the floor and then a table below it, finally coming to a stop. He moaned pathetically as she got up off of him, lying face down in the wreckage of the table.

Looking around, Wonder Woman noticed Hitler curled up in the corner of the room, panting heavily. On closer inspection of him, after walking over to him, it was clear his skin was beginning to rot more and more, his eyes looking more sunken and bloodshot, and his hair thinner. He looked up at her, pleadingly, tears actually flowing from his eyes, and mouthing the words 'Help me' over and over, and in that moment, Princess Diana of Themyscira felt sorry for Adolf Hitler. Maybe it was punishment for his many crimes, a part of some plan that even she, who was granted with wisdom from Athena herself, couldn't understand. And true, for all he had done, he more than likely deserved what was happening to him. But that didn't change the fact that Diana couldn't in good conscience leave him like this.

Helping Adolf up to his feet, Diana looked over to Captain Nazi as he tried to get to his hands and knees. "You've lost, Krieger. I'm returning Hitler to the underworld, something you should have done when this started to happen to him. After that, I'm coming back for you."

"I'm afraid I can't let you leave."

Diana looked ahead to the dark figure stepping out from the elevator shaft, which she had earlier rendered useless. He wore an all black costume and cape from his head to his toes, save for his right arm, which was completely bare and appeared to have rotted slightly. Dark energy cracked across his bare arm, and he stared with cruel, malicious intent at Wonder Woman, who was beginning to feel the effects of her unleashed strength drain what already low amounts of energy she had left.

"Black Hand, I presume?" Diana guessed.

"I see Mengele managed to get my name out before I ended him," Black Hand said. "How regrettable."

"You did WHAT?" Nazi demanded. "That wasn't part of the deal!"

Black Hand rolled his dark eyes. "Tell me something, Krieger: Do you feel like you're in control here?"

Before Captain Nazi could ask further, a puff of black fog erupted around him, forming chains of dark electricity around him. In his weakened state, having just fought and lost to Wonder Woman, he was no match for the chains, and could only cry out in pain as the electricity tightened around him. As this went on, it seemed like the very life force inside of him was being sapped away.

"What are you doing?" Wonder Woman shouted.

"Sapping what energy he has left, of course," Black Hand replied, clenching his fist hard. "After all, he's not exactly much use to me anymore."

With a yell, Diana dropped Hitler and charged Black Hand, only for him to grab her by the throat with his other hand, choking her in the air. "And in your current state, you aren't much of a threat either."

"You used Nazi," Wonder Woman declared between gags. "Why? What are you after?"

"I've wanted to raise my own undead army for over half a decade now," Black Hand answered, shoving Wonder Woman against the wall. "I was nearly ready to begin, but more and more of you so-called 'superheroes' started popping up all over the place, almost as if you were the second coming of the Justice Society and it was World War II all over again. How ironic, then, that of all people to come to me, looking to make use of my certain set of skills, was the last remaining remnant of the Third Reich. And, given his somewhat remarkable abilities, it seemed like a wise investment, since he would act as my shield when one of you heroes got wind of what was going on."

"You lying bastard, Hand!" Captain Nazi howled over having his energy sapped and his body zapped. "I'll kill you for this!"

Black Hand laughed at the fallen Nazi. "You can't even get up! And soon, neither will Wonder Wom-ARGH!"

The dark necromancer cried out in pain as he felt the flesh of his exposed arm bit down into. Diana opened an eye to see Adolf had gotten to his feet, and now had a death grip on Black Hand's right arm, biting it hard. Black Hand slammed the zombie Nazi leader against the wall, then clenched his fist hard, making Adolf's zombie body explode into black smoke and flame. This, however, gave Wonder Woman just the opening to kick Black Hand off of her. Seeing the wounds to his arm and the fact that Wonder Woman, however fatigued, was still able to fight, Black Hand decided it was best to make his escape, disappearing into a black fog.

"Come back here, you...!" Diana cried, stumbling slightly. "You...you bas...!"

Tripping over a leg of the table, Wonder Woman collapsed next to the now unconscious Captain Nazi. Knowing she was fading fast, she sent out a telepathic command to her invisible jet to return as soon as Grundy was in custody, hoping it would arrive in time. Once the message was away, Diana let herself roll onto her back, the darkness of sleep overtaking her as all turned black.


Meanwhile
Themyscira

Hippolyta gasped, clutching her chest as she dropped the vase she was making. She backed against a wall, trying to regain proper breathing, as her subjects immediately swarmed her to help her to a chair. She eventually was seated, noticing Artemis and Philippus dashing over, having heard the commotion.

"My Queen, what's wrong?" Artemis asked, her voice filled with terror usually not found in her.

"It's Diana!" Hippolyta replied between deep breaths. "Just now, I felt as though she was calling out for aid, and then was just as suddenly silenced! I fear she may have lost consciousness, or worse!"

Artemis paled, Hippolyta giving her head a quick shake. "Artemis, Philippus! You have to leave, now! Find my daughter and bring her home!"

"How will we even know where to find her?" Philippus inquired. "She could be anywhere in Man's World."

"The call I heard was a telepathic one, sent out through her tiara," Hippolyta explained, removing her own tiara. "It was probably meant for the invisible jet. If you take my tiara, you should be able to find it, and hopefully her with it."

Artemis bowed, taking the tiara. "As you command, my Queen. Come, Philippus, we don't have a moment to waste!"

With that, the two greatest of Hippolyta's warriors, aside from herself and Diana, dashed for the stables near the beaches of Themyscira. With any luck, there would be a pegasus or two there, with which they could make the best speed to find the Princess. Hippolyta, however, could only sit back and do nothing, as the Amazons needed her where she was, a decision she knew Diana would want her to make. But doing so, knowing her daughter was hurt or worse, was one of the hardest things to do.


The River Styx

Hades' eyes narrowed as he watched the two souls making their way down the River Styx. Sure enough, it was none other than Adolf Hitler and Josef Mengele. Mengele looked angry, betrayed, and not desiring to be where he was. However, much to Hades' surprise, Hitler's eyes told a very different story: He appeared glad to be where he was. He seemed relieved that, whatever had transpired above ground, it was over now. As he moved past, Adolf stopped for a moment, looking to Hades.

"...His name is Black Hand," Adolf muttered. "He is the one raising the dead as zombies. He used us, and a man named Captain Nazi, to do his work for him and get him in a position where he could carry out all of this."

Hades nodded, scowling. "Black Hand...Yes, I know of him, and how he received such abilities. But why tell me of this? Do you believe it will lessen your sentence here?"

Hitler shook his head. "I'm tired, Hades. I'm tired of playing their game of good versus evil. I've been caught up in it for a century, beyond my mortal years into my afterlife, as what the people of today call an evil dictator, and as a zombie, a cruel perversion of life. Still..."

Hades gave Adolf an inquiring glance, to which he continued. "...She was willing to save me, after everything I did, and all that I might continue to do. I owe enough that she be given a chance to save the world, if she still believes she can."

"Knowing her, she does," the Lord of the Dead replied, to which Hitler continued on his way down the River Styx.

"I won't make excuses for my life," Adolf said as he marched onward, back to Tartarus. "I would have made the same decisions over again if given the chance. Now, let me fade from the world of the living, never to return. Let humanity either evolve as they wish, or fall where they may. It is of no consequence to me anymore."

Hades frowned as Adolf eventually passed out of sight. As he suspected, there were no further souls to follow the two Nazis, and he was certain that still more would leave with the scores that were taken earlier. Yet, the Lord of the Dead could take solace in one thing: That there was one soul that would not be leaving. After all, for all the power that he knew Black Hand had, that he was now abusing, he knew that a soul could never return to the world of the living if they had no desire left in their heart to do so.

"Rest in peace, Adolf Hitler," Hades muttered, trudging along to his own personal quarters to ponder his next move.


?

A young redhead in a pair of blue jean shorts and a black jacket over a fishnet top looked to the skies as she sat in the open field. She felt the wind brush past and the grass and flowers around her pelt her legs gently. She petted her companion and guardian, a German Shepherd, who nuzzled her lovingly as she watched the clouds pass overhead, her eyes, one silver-flecked blue and one green, shimmering at the sight.

Noticing a rather large black cloud appear out of nowhere among the formations overhead, the girl sighed. "I guess one wasn't enough. Even though she was the first to understand perfectly, she needs further encouragement. I need to make contact again."

The redhead closed her eyes, focusing her mind to find Princess Diana of Themyscira's mind. However, just as she made contact, a loud blast of voltage, followed by a yelp caused her eyes to snap back open. To her side, her companion had been knocked out, a small crackle of electricity coming off his temples.

"Barnabas!" the girl cried, just as she felt a hand grab her by the throat and pick her up off the ground. Her attacker was a purple-haired sorceress, wearing green and gold robes. Her eyes crackled with wicked, violet energy as she stared into the girl's eyes. She smirked evilly as the girl trembled in fear.

"You are the one who is sending out visions to Princess Diana's mind, correct?" the sorceress asked, the girl's eyes widening in surprise. "I've been keeping close tabs on Hippolyta's darling daughter, so I know someone made contact with her mind, and following the mystical trail of breadcrumbs...well, here I am. And unless the dog is the one responsible..."

"Wh-What do you want?" the girl asked, to which the sorceress merely stroked her cheek with her other hand.

"Why, simply to make use of this wonderful gift," the sorceress replied, ending her gentle stroking by grabbing hold of the side of the girl's head hard. "Let's see if dear Diana knows what nightmares are made out of!"

The girl could say nothing as the sorceress forcibly reconnected her mind to Diana's, laughing evilly as she did so. The girl's eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she felt like she could pass out at any minute if someone didn't do something. But then, knowing this woman's cruel intent, Diana was in store for something far, FAR worse than that...


AUTHOR'S NOTES: Okay, so once again, if you are familiar with certain characters from the DC Universe, you probably know who these two are at the end. Specifically, if you've read Wonder Woman and Sandman, you know these two.

As for Hitler, this is basically his exit from the story, minus a cameo or two and references to his presence thus far. He's been taken to the point where he no longer desires power, and wants to just lay his head down to rest for the rest of eternity, but not without giving Wonder Woman a chance in return for trying to save him. This still doesn't redeem him, mind you, as that was not my intent. My intent was to show him as a human being...which is odd, since he was a zombie for most of it, but you get what I mean. lol All too easily, we tend to label men like Hitler not as men but as monsters. And I get it, it makes it easier, and it is scary to think that we have the capacity for such evil. Honestly, though, I think we do ourselves a disservice by doing so. You think those who neglect the past are doomed to repeat it? How bad do you think the people who outright deny the truth of the past have it? Only by learning from such horrible acts can we hope to never repeat them.

Lastly, regarding why Black Hand can never raise Hitler again, I kinda got the idea for that from Blackest Night, where Hal Jordan says that all those that were resurrected were those that genuinely had the will and desire to come back. I rather like that idea, so I thought I'd run with it.

Anyway, check in next time as Diana...well, let's just say that I'm about to earn that M rating. lol Ja né!