1. I still do not own Batman, Wonder Woman or anything associated with them or the Justice League.

2. I'd once again like to thank Alittlesummerwine for the beta. How so prolific a writer finds the time to beta is beyond me, but I'm glad you do it.

3. A big thanks to everyone who reviewed, and as always, any feedback, be it positive, negative or indifferent, would be most appreciated.

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Diana gently rolled over onto her right side and barely opened her left eye, just enough to verify that Bruce still hadn't returned, or at the very least hadn't come to bed. After stifling a moan of disappointment, her eye drifted shut again, sending her towards another few moments of blissful rest, at least that's what she hoped as darkness began to overwhelm her mind.

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In another Olympian realm, another celebration was in full swing, complete with tables full of fine foods and wines that would satisfy even Dionysius' excessive thirst, and enough scantily clad women to satisfy…well, anyone, even the god of war.

Who said the Romans had a monopoly on decadence?

Ares sat on his silver throne and surveyed the festivities with an air of satisfaction about him. The enormous banquet hall, brightly lit by a thousand candles of all shapes and sizes, served as the gathering place for the celebration and was nearly overflowing with people which suited him just fine. The way he looked at it, the more the merrier, even if those in attendance didn't know exactly what it was that they were celebrating.

There was a part of him that thought that perhaps his little party was premature, but there was no way that Diana would survive Morpheus' dreams, at least on an emotional level.

And her emotions were her weakness. Ares knew that Diana was a powerful warrior. But she was also a creature of peace, and as a consequence, love, and because of that the best way, perhaps the only way to truly get to her, was through her love for the mortal.

And Morpheus. Ah poor, trustful Morpheus. Ares grinned evilly at the thought of how he had tricked Morpheus into swearing to help him get even with Diana. Morpheus' weakness was his honor, a weakness that was easy to exploit; for Ares at any rate. Morpheus would torment the Amazon until his vow was satisfied no matter how much he detested it.

Hence the raucous merriment currently in progress around him. Ares chuckled softly and nodded as a particularly beautiful maiden picked up a large grape from a nearby bowl, then held it up to his mouth for him to eat. He grinned suggestively to the young maiden, then opened his mouth and moved forward to capture the grape in his mouth, being sure to nip at the maiden's finger as well. The young maiden yelped in surprise, and as her face turned red from embarrassment she skipped away from Ares, turning her head enough to give the god a bashful glance.

Ares leaned his head back and roared with laughter, which gained in volume as those near him joined in. The laughter went on for some time, until Ares himself stopped and beckoned with his right hand for the maiden who fed him the grape to return to him.

As the young woman made her way back to the throne, proceeding slowly and carefully due to the increasing number of intoxicated and rowdy partygoers, Ares wondered briefly about Diana's current state of mind. Had she broken yet? Was she distraught? Had she left her lover? Had her love died, or more importantly had her love been twisted into something that she could not endure?

All thoughts of Diana hastily fled his mind when the young woman appeared before him. She curtsied, and while Ares expected it from her as a sign of respect, for some reason he found it…cute, this time.

The maiden walked behind Ares, then started gently massaging the sides of his neck, as she unable was to massage his shoulders because of his armor.

"The wench's fingers are magical," thought Ares as he closed his eyes in contentment. He was surprised at how relaxed he had become, at how good he was feeling. Even the noise generated by the festivities had died down, almost ceased as a matter of fact.

He was just about to whisk himself and the maiden away to somewhere more private when she stopped her wonderful ministrations, causing Ares to open his eyes and prepare to smite the woman down where she stood for stopping.

The sight before him brought forth an anger within his chest that he hadn't felt since his humiliation at the hands of Athena on the Trojan battlefield. Everything was gone…everything. The tables, the food, the wine, the people…everything. The banquet hall, now dimly lit by only a handful of candles, was now bare of everything save his throne, and him of course, where only a moment before the place was teeming with people.

Ares bolted up out of his throne, prowling forth like a lion awakened from a lazy slumber before he was rested, stepping towards the center of the room and bellowing, "What in the name of Zeus is going on?"

"Not Zeus, Ares," replied a stately female voice from off to his right.

Ares froze in his tracks, his eyes opened wide in shock and his perfect eyebrows rose upward, nearly blending with his blond hairline. He instinctively grabbed his long purple cape in his left hand, and then turned to face the owner of the voice that disturbed him so much.

Slowly he turned, seemingly taking far too long to turn such a short distance. When he finally faced his newest, and now only, guest, Ares forced a smile upon his face and took a single step towards her. The only greeting that could make its way to his mouth through the enormous sense of shock was a slightly crackly, "Mother."

Hera stood perfectly still in her place, her white robes hanging perfectly about her, secured about her waist as Aphrodite's was with a golden cord. She narrowed her eyes menacingly at her son, showing her disappointment and anger at not being shown the proper respect due to her not only as his mother, but as the queen of the gods.

Ares immediately realized his misstep, fell to one knee and then bowed his head slightly. "Forgive my momentary lapse of proper manners, Mother," he raised his head to look at Hera, "but your visit is completely unexpected."

Ares studied his mother for a moment as he would an enemy on the battlefield. Hera had that quality about her, that certain something that exuded royalty and automatically demanded the utmost respect. The way she held herself, straight back and chin slightly uplifted; the way she walked, with confidence and deliberateness; the way her hands remained calm when she spoke, whether she was having a pleasant conversation or tearing a strip off of someone for displeasing her; it all added to her powerful aura.

Perhaps her most obvious weapon, that devious device that without fail disarmed those who had the misfortune of underestimating her, had to be her beauty, which nearly rivaled that of Aphrodite. The myths about her eyes were true for the most part; they were larger than one would find on the average goddess, if a goddess could be considered average, and they were the most striking shade of green. They also had the habit of boring straight into the soul of whomever she happened to gaze upon. Her long honey brown hair flowed about her, and it was so shiny that when the light bounced off of it, it looked as though she was glowing. The crown she wore upon her head was made of gold, but was simple in its design. It wasn't small enough to be able to ignore, yet it wasn't so big that it took away from her beauty. It just added to her majesty.

"Unexpected," intoned the queen of the gods neutrally. "I daresay it is." She walked smoothly to where Ares still knelt, her dress billowing around her legs. "Stand up, Ares." When Ares complied, standing up straight but keeping his eyes lowered, Hera gave her son a short and frustration filled sigh. "I seem to have interrupted a rather important celebration, Ares." She tilted her head slightly to one side. "What were you celebrating?"

Ares looked up into the emerald gaze that was so focused on him he wanted nothing more than to go away. It didn't matter where he ended up, just as long as his mother wasn't looking at him so…suspiciously. "Nothing in particular, Mother." As soon as he said it, he regretted it.

Hera's eyes narrowed and her delicate jaw clenched together. Suddenly she smiled, though it was far from a sweet smile. It was a slightly vicious smile, a smile that told the god of war that he was in trouble.

Hera clasped her hands in front of her and began to very slowly walk around Ares in a clockwise motion, saying as she moved, "Such an extravagant celebration for no reason, Ares?" She completed one circle around Ares and began another one. "Even gods usually have a reason to celebrate. Are you certain you did not have a reason, Ares?" She stopped in front of Ares, in effect demanding an answer.

Ares met his mother's eyes and forced himself to remain still and calm as he lied to her. "Positive, Mother. No reason at all." Ares commanded his left foot, which suddenly had a mind of its own and wanted to move, to remain still. "I was simply in a festive mood, Mother. That is all."

"A festive mood," repeated Hera, obviously unconvinced. She turned her head to her left and apparently eyed something which brought a small smile to her lips. She looked back to Ares for an instant before turning back to her left and walking towards Ares' throne. When she reached the throne, she stood in front of it, then turned to regard Ares, to watch his face as she sat down in his throne.

Ares was livid, though he dared not show it. He walked towards his throne and stood a comfortable distance away from it, and his mother. Angry at having someone else, even his mother and the queen of the gods, in his throne, Ares felt bold enough to ask, "Is there something wrong with a god wanting to throw a party, Mother?"

Hera took the question in stride, simply shaking her head in a negative response. "I grow tired of this silly game, Ares, and I am missing what promised to be some very entertaining races." She looked at him intently with narrowed eyes and ice dripping from her voice. "Leave Diana alone, Ares."

Ares stepped back, more out of shock than anything else, yet still had the presence of mind to feign ignorance as he held out his hands in question and asked, "Diana, Mother? What does she…?"

"I said enough games, Ares," said Hera, her voice getting louder and louder with every word until she was nearly shouting by the time she said his name. When she continued her voice echoed throughout the hall with the power of a goddess. "You will leave Diana alone, Ares. She has served us well when called upon, and I will not allow your pettiness to harm her further."

"Served us well, Mother?" asked Ares incredulously, dropping the pretense that he didn't know what she was talking about. He took a step towards his throne, nearly bristling with anger. "She has interfered with our affairs…"

"With Zeus' blessing, Ares, and mine," interrupted Hera. Seeing the look of shock on his face, Hera added harshly, "Yes, Ares, even with your little project in Kasnia which Diana so skillfully ended."

Ares bristled at the pride in his mother's voice as she spoke of the Amazon. "But she…"

Again Hera interrupted. "Enough, Ares," she said dismissively as she stood up from the throne and walked past Ares. "I have spoken and that is all there is to it."

Ares wrung his fists in anger, and he could not control the fury in his voice when he turned towards her and exclaimed to her back, "I will not stop!"

Hera spun around to face Ares. Lightning lit up the skies and thunder roared so loudly that the very room seemed to shake. Hera's eyes were aglow with white hot anger and her voice seemed to be even louder than the thunder. "I will command you one more time to let Diana be, Ares." The light left her eyes, but her voice retained its power as she walked slowly up to Ares. "You will no longer interfere with her life in any way, shape, or form." She thought for a moment. "Go to Morpheus, Ares, and release him from his vow." At the surprised widening of Ares' eyes, Hera said in her normal voice, "Yes, Ares, I am aware of the vow you tricked Morpheus into making with you. Dissolve the pact. Do not torment Morpheus further, and rest assured that I will be watching, Ares." She started to turn away from her son, but stopped and turned back to add something. "Do not force me to speak of this with you again, Ares. Believe me that if that should happen, you would find it most unpleasant."

As an example, Hera lifted her right hand and pointed it past Ares' shoulder. Ares turned around just in time to see a bolt of white lightning fly down from the heavens through the roof of his sanctuary and hit his throne. The throne was engulfed in an electrical firestorm, and when it ended moments later, all that was left was a pile of molten silver on the floor.

Hera lowered her arm and asked, "Do you understand me, Ares?"

She left no room for misunderstanding, no room for interpretation, no room for negotiation. Defeated, Ares had no choice but to mutter, "Yes, Mother."

Hera gave Ares a half smile and raised her right hand to touch Ares' blond hair. "And shorten your hair, Ares. You're as shaggy as an unkempt minotaur."

Ares hung his head and whispered, "Yes, Mother."

Hera turned away from Ares once more and walked a short distance away before stopping and turning to face him again. "Heed my warning, Ares, and obey my commands."

With that, Hera disappeared in a ball of white light.

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Morpheus stood alone at the edge of his dream pool. Aphrodite told him that Ares should soon make an appearance and it would be best if the god of war didn't find her there. He gazed into his pool and watched as Diana smiled in her sleep. He knew that she wasn't dreaming, yet she smiled. "Perhaps," thought Morpheus, "it is because I have left her alone, and her natural inner peace has taken over."

The thought lifted some of the guilt from his shoulders, allowing him to finally feel a little better about himself; that is until he heard and felt the arrival of Ares to his realm. With a small sigh he turned to face Ares.

The first thing that he noticed was the look of rage on the face of the god of war.

"I have come to release you from your vow, god of dreams," stated Ares with a harshness that was lost on Morpheus. He was in too much shock over the meaning of the statement to comprehend the tone.

"Do not trouble the Amazon any further," continued Ares.

"Thank you, Ares," managed Morpheus who was still so mired in disbelief that he thought that he may have been dreaming himself.

"Do not thank me!" roared Ares as he took a threatening step towards Morpheus. He pointed his right index finger at Morpheus and bellowed at the top of his voice, "I will have my revenge on her, and I will pay you back for your…"

"ARES!" came a very powerful voice from overhead, so powerful in fact that the reverberation from it caused ripples to appear in the dream pool, and caused both gods to look upward. "I HAVE WARNED YOU!"

"Yes, Mother," said Ares penitently. Ares spoke no more, though his eyes still burned with anger. He stepped back a pace and disappeared in a ball of fire.

A moment later, a soft white flash heralded the arrival of the goddess of love. Morpheus smiled at the newly arrived deity.

"You went to Hera, Aphrodite?" he asked, incredulity and awe evident in his tone.

Aphrodite returned Morpheus' smile. "It seemed the only course of action, Morpheus." Aphrodite walked to the dream pool and saw that Diana was still asleep. "Hera is the only one that Ares ever listened to. And Hera adores Diana." She looked to Morpheus. "It was our best hope."

Morpheus laughed for what seemed to be the first time in an eternity. "Our best hope indeed, my lady." Morpheus regarded Aphrodite humbly. "You have managed to rid me of Ares, and release me from a task that I had no desire to accomplish. My heart is no longer heavy with guilt." He bowed his head respectfully. "How can I ever repay you, Aphrodite?"

Aphrodite reached over, placed her slender index finger underneath the chin of Morpheus and slowly lifted up the head of the god of dreams. When he looked at her she lowered her hand. "There is nothing to repay, noble Morpheus. You have been wronged, and I tried to correct it. It was within my power to do so, and I am glad of it." She hesitated for a second. "However, if you feel obligated to do something…"

"Anything, my lady," offered Morpheus.

Aphrodite turned to regard Diana's image, and when she nodded at the pool Morpheus understood immediately.

With a smile of relief, happiness and gratitude on his bearded face, Morpheus, reached into the pool for the last time to influence Diana's dreams…