*A/N: Welcome back. Thank you all for your reviews/favs, they mean the world to me. I hope you're enjoying how it's going. Without further ado, here comes 11.*

CHAPTER ELEVEN – SOUL SHARING

Zatanna swallowed dryly, her eyes wide and her pace racing. Whatever feeling of sleepiness she had before was long gone, replaced by uneasiness and anxiety.

She had hoped that what she had read was just a joke, something out of her imagination, but it was not. There, clear as day, she read 'silver, silk, amethyst' and the list went on. Silver and amethyst, a common combination for jewellery but it was absolutely no coincidence that Hades had stolen items with that composition. No gas ingredients, no secret keys, no nothing; Hades wasn't looking for anything of that sort. He was looking for something far deathlier.

She got up, running for the exit. Where should she go? Who should she call? Fate? Batman? Flash? All of them? What about their mission to catch Hades? Was it too late?

"Ugh!" She groaned loudly, deciding to call Fate and make her way to the closest zeta tube. There was no time to waste, her friends could be in grave danger.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Flash tossed his flashlight between his hands, pacing up and down the corridors. Well, not all the corridors, just the one close to the borrowed exhibits.

He had taken a look at them. They weren't anything special; at least not for the common eye. A pair of silver earrings and a small silver dagger whose handle was decorated with a single black pearl was all they were. Was Hades in for a style makeover, Flash wondered and shrugged. If so, he really should reconsider.

He felt his pace racing as the seconds went by. Vixen had left three minutes ago. That was enough time for her and Shayera to have their short conversation and for Hades to get either agitated enough or feel lucky enough to enter. And that would mean he was about to get a beating and he was definitely not pleased about it.

He sighed and took a look at his shiny shoes. He really should get out of the house more often. All he ever seemed to wear lately was his running red boots of his costume.

But at least they were silent, he thought, as he heard some loud steps coming from the front of the museum. Why would Hades even bother to not get his presence noticed? It wasn't like he gave a damn. Flash took a deep breath, and approached, tensing up.

Surely enough, Hades, humongous as ever, was parading through, as if taking stroll in his private mansion.

"Pardonnez-moi, monsieur, mais vous ne pouvez pas entrer la musée maintenant. Qu' est-ce que vous faites ici?" Flash said, going for the Taser on his belt. (Excuse me, sir, but you cannot enter the museum now. What are you doing here?)

Hades simply gave him a disregarding glance and kept moving forward.

"Monsieur!" Flash tried to warn, pretending to be afraid. Or maybe not pretending.

Hades just kept on approaching. Flash tried to taze him, aiming the cables on his uncovered arm but Hades just laughed when the electrodes hit him and Flash was sure the sound ranked high up in the list of the most horrendous he's ever heard. Hades approached and Flash started shaking as he brushed shoulders with him and kept on walking.

Act human! He told himself and groaning ran up to the God of the Underworld, as if he could even do anything, and tried to tackle him by jumping on him from the side. He felt his uniform getting burnt and surely enough, the burning sensation expanded to the side of his arm and he flinched. Hades pushed him away and he slammed hardly against the strong wall of the museum.

The pain on his back got a lot worse as he tried to stand and he barely managed to withhold mouthing a very American 'Fucking shit'. He noticed how Hades had stopped walking and looked at him, his eyes as red as they get and his face pulled into a terrifying grimace. His right hand was a hand no more; it looked more like a paw with sharp claws. Just like the other guard had described.

"Reste là." Hades replied in perfect French and Flash wasn't sure if it was appropriate to laugh at the actual God of the Dead speaking French to him pretending to be a guard in a fake moustache and crooked glasses. (Stay there.)

You bet your ass I'm going to stay here. Not. Flash told himself.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Diana groaned loudly as if she was in pain, falling on her knees and her hands. She panted loudly as four dozens souls exited the armour and floated back to the Lingering Realm. She felt dizzy, like the first time she had gone overboard with the Themiscyran wine, but with half the fun and double the sense of discomfort.

"Yes, I do believe some resting would be in order." Haros said, approaching. "You've outdone yourself, Princess."

"It's not enough!" Diana tried to shout but her voice failed her.

"Of course it is enough." Haros replied, making some sense of her mumbling through her teeth. "It's almost four times the amount of souls you handled yesterday. If anything, I think you should congratulate yourself and go have some well-deserved rest. You are human after all, you need it."

"I am a demigoddess and I need to"-she placed her hand on her bent knee and managed to stand up-"get stronger!" The sudden appearance of the image of a new-born baby in her arms whining made her feel happy. It was a girl, she remembered, her husband and she were going to name it Elia to honour her late sister. Sister or brother? New images of a tall, dark-skinned young man replaced the baby. He was so kind, she loved him dearly. Why did he have to drive drunk that night and leave her alone in this world?

Diana felt like throwing up. Those too-real foreign memories invaded her mind once again with no warning. She pressed her fingers on her temples and closed her eyes. "I think I know what is happening." Haros said approaching. "I had warned you, I believe."

"I don't have much choice here. I need to do this."

"I really cannot understand where this strong sense of obligation to push yourself stems from, Princess. Are you not satisfied as it is now?"

"Haros, my dear, dear friend. I told you the moment I came here that I won't be staying. I don't belong here."

"Well, hundreds of souls beg to differ. A huge throne catered to you begs to differ. The armour you're wearing begs to differ. I could go on…"

"This might be working but it's not right. If I don't get out, Haros, I'll break. I'm feeling less like myself with every passing moment. I hate to imagine what will become of me if Hades gets his way and I am forced to stay here forever. Picture it like this. You could strap a dog to a cart and have it pull the load for some distance, but it will fall down before long. Yes, the cart will have moved, but the dog would be dying and the pace would have been slow. Or you could stick to your horse and have it pull the cart with ease, fast and efficiently. Well, if my metaphor wasn't obvious, I'm the dog and Hades is the horse. I'm not as well-suited for this as he is. Just like a dog would be a better guard than a horse, my place is somewhere else. See what I mean?"

"I believe so? I have never seen any of those animals myself, but if you say so…"

"I need help, Haros. This is the second time I've had foreign memories in my head while not actively seeing inside a soul and it will only get worse as I try to manage more souls battle-wise. Do you have any…tips? Maybe something on Hades' techniques?"

Haros pondered for a moment. "There is something, but I do not know how you will react to it."

"I can take any suggestion."

"No, it's not the suggestion that might revoke your…verbal, ethical reaction. It's the thing itself. Please go sit by Acheron and I will be right over."

Diana shrugged and dragged her feet up to the shore. Once again, she sat by the edge of the water and breathed deeply. Haros soon followed, carrying a simple silver chalice. Diana recognized it from the pile of leftover Hades things. "Another mystical object?" Diana asked.

"No, it's just a chalice." Haros dipped it in the water, filled it and handed it to Diana.

"I…drink this? What does it do?"

"This 'water' is something like a dissolver, or a soul-antidote if you will. It cleanses."

"I certainly do feel better whenever I take a dive. It helps me vent. I see."

"Be careful though. Diving isn't close to what this does when drunk."

"Enlighten me."

"Master Hades drunk some of this back in his early days of warfare and dead business when he was overwhelmed. It calmed him. I noticed it did take some time before he came back to his normal self. I soon found out that it really is a soul antidote."

"Then it's exactly what I need to rid me of those intrusive foreign memories!"

"Did I ever mention it being selective, Princess? I think not."

"Oh…" Diana realized what Haros meant. "What about my own soul."

"Precisely. A godly being doesn't have to worry about that, but your human nature grants you a very real soul and I'm afraid that this might erase all of your traits and memories of your own."

"That sounds really bad."

"Indeed it does. Of course, your personal ones are more strongly etched on your being than anything else, but is it worth taking that chance? I leave it up to you."

Diana took a close look at the liquid. It was clear around the edges and darker towards the centre of the chalice. She never thought she could actually drink it but here she was… How badly did she want the foreign ones out of her head? A lot, she replied to herself. If this kept happening, she wouldn't be able to focus on much during or after her training sessions. And what if, soon, the souls came to 'haunt' her on other random moments? It would really interfere with everything.

"I want to try this." Diana said after some moments of thinking. "But not without a failsafe. I want you, Haros, to guard my memories. Should anything go off, you'll give them back to me. Simple."

Haros just nodded and extended its bony hand towards Diana. Diana took it in her palms and started reciting the memory journey she took the last time it happened. "I am Diana, Princess of Themyscira, the most beautiful hidden island…

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Flash counted some painful seconds, hoping the magical assistance was on its way. Hades was dangerously approaching the exhibits and he had to be stopped. Thinking this was his final call, he sprinted to the God of the Underworld, readying his magical orb.

Yes, Hades was fast, but not as fast as him. The orb hit him on his back and a bright cloud of condensed magical energy engulfed him. With a loud growl, Hades fell to his knees and, having gained enough momentum, Flash managed, though not painlessly, to push the monstrous being somewhat away from the showcase. He placed himself between the exhibits and Hades and held his second magical sphere in his hand. Once the effect of the first started wearing off, he had to use the second right away; Hades was too strong and too dangerous to let loose like that. And so he did when he noticed the magic layer around him thinning. Once the second sphere found its target, he heard Hades' angry voice curse, probably in Greek and he felt some sweat beads gather on his forehead. Someone should come, and fast.

To his immense relief, he saw the figure of Raven gliding through the museum doors and approaching them. "Get away!" She shouted. "Now!"

Flash thought he had never heard her husky voice sound so anxious before. And this wasn't the time to ask why; she probably had her reasons, and so he obeyed, moving away from Hades and retreating to a corner.

The sorceress' hands turned black as she summoned her magic and aimed it towards Hades, who, Flash noticed, was starting to regain his composure.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven called, as a big black cocoon formed around the God of the Underworld, containing him inside. He slammed on its side but hissed as its magic affected him and it wouldn't bulge. "Get the exhibits and run!"

Flash nodded and ran to the case, bringing the flashlight down and breaking the glass, setting off the museum's alarms. Just as he was ready to pull some of the shards away so he could grab the items, Hades' out-worldly laugh made the blood in his veins freeze.

Raven's cocoon was dissolved in an instant, as something from its inside shot outside, hitting the sorceress straight on the chest. Flash, instinctively, caught her before she crashed on the wall, placed her down and turned, within a split second, to run to the case but some sort of energy seemed to surround it. Flash recognized it from somewhere and then it hit him; Zatanna's videocall.

Wide-eyed, he turned to Hades. The stolen ring looked like it had been smashed under the tires of a truck and the vial was nothing more than dust on Hades' palm. His devilish grin seemed to tie it all together perfectly. Flash tried to approach the case no matter what was around it, but as soon as he came into contact with the soul, he felt as if the air had been sucked from inside him. A small swish of Hades' hand later, Flash was pushed to the wall and fell to the ground, unable to move. His mind seemed to be having particular trouble focusing on anything.

He did hear Zatanna's voice though, and that helped him a lot. He managed to open his eyes and watch as Zatanna tirelessly shot magic attacks and hexes and spells towards Hades. He had no problem repelling all of them with those vibrating masses of energy; in fact, he seemed to be enjoying it.

"It's pointless, witch!" Hades said. "Your magic is now useless against me!"

Zatanna didn't bother answering his retorts. She only needed to find one opening through the souls' orbit around him and he would be incapacitated again. But he was too good and this energy was too strong. She only hoped Fate would manage to be there soon, after she had given him the new information she had found. They didn't have any more time.

And indeed, Hades, back-stepping, easily managed to approach the case before Zatanna could do anything and with a loud bang of his fist, almost everything was broken.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

More relaxed than before, Diana stirred the dark fluid inside the chalice and smiled; she had taken courage from revisiting all of her memories again. And as she prepared herself to take a sip, she didn't feel so alone. She had people waiting for her, always by her side; an Amazonian Queen, a Kryptonian with the heart of a child, a brooding billionaire with unfinished business with her, a talented witch that loved vests, a ginger prankster and so many more. If not for her, she had to do it for them.

She brought it to her lips and hesitantly dipped her tongue inside; it was cool but tasteless. She didn't feel any different at first and then it hit her. It felt as if she had been put under an ice-cold shower; she couldn't move, she couldn't think, she could do absolutely nothing as it made her numb. The sensation started from her head and spread throughout her body, as the hair on her every inch was raised.

For some time, and as always she couldn't tell how much time, she stayed like this. Her mind was totally blank, no thoughts could be found anywhere, no memories, not anything. And then little by little, memories started coming back but she didn't seem able to…keep them, to catch them. They came and they left and Diana tried hard to make them stay, but she couldn't. Until she saw a pair of dark eyes and felt the brush of a pair of lips onto hers as the image of a colourful diner faded around her. And she finally held onto it. She couldn't lose it, she knew it was too precious. And then a name came along, and a war setting, and the betrayal of a friend, and the forming of an alliance, and her island, until one by one, all of the pieces of her mind fell back into their place.

She turned to Haros to thank him; his idea had worked perfectly. But before she could usher a word, she felt as if someone had kicked her right in the stomach. Something was seriously wrong.

Instinctively, she jumped up and flew to the Realms, with Haros on her six. She stood in front of the Lingering, touching the thin veil that separated the two dimensions.

"What's wrong, Princess?" Haros asked.

Diana frowned and panted. She felt as if something had been stolen from her, or as if a small part of her had been ripped away. And then she knew. "Souls. There are souls being manipulated elsewhere."

"You mean-"

"Hades. He somehow got souls. And not the one I sent my friends. He has-" she flinched, "ten of them. But these souls were not here when I came. What is going on, Haros?!"

"Master Hades would get this disturbances too whenever some necromancers practiced their craft back in their day. Maybe this is something similar. Maybe the Guardian knows whenever souls are not used by him. Or her in our case now."

"And what did he do about it?!" Diana urged.

"He started being more careful with the escaping souls and then necromancers also stopped…existing I suppose. I do not believe there is much you can do from here. It shall stop soon, do not worry."

No. Diana knew this was not random. Hades didn't just call for ten souls that he found, somehow, for no reason. Something was going on and if her hunch was right, her own people were under huge risk.

"I have to talk to them!" Diana yelled, tugging on her hair, frantically looking around for a solution. "Haros, bring the hyalon to Acheron. Fast!"

Haros bowed lightly and Diana braced herself. What she had managed to perform so far was of little importance. She had to go all out for the hyalon to work; or to make it work, more likely.

What Haros watched approach was a worrisome sight; it was Diana alright, but her whole being was oozing with soul energy. So much, that it almost felt like she was vibrating. Flashes of bright light ran on her armour, that served as the soul vessel, and that was currently holding a lot. Her steps were heavy, her movements rigid, her eyes pitch black. But when she spoke, it was still her.

"Be ready to throw me inside Acheron the moment I'm done." She ordered. "Make me drink some and don't be fazed by whatever I do now."

Haros simply nodded and handed her the hyalon. It knew that she meant business and no words would change her mind.

Diana held the hyalon tightly, as she summoned a soul on the tip of her fingers and ran it around the circumference of the mirror. The surface activated; the small waves grew bigger and bigger until they smoothed away and Iris appeared on the other side, ready to reprimand her for calling again, but remaining silent upon seeing Diana's state.

"I would like to make an urgent call." Diana said, as calmly as possible.

Iris' sparkling eyes scanned the Amazon Princess as she weighed her options. "You…you are not an Olympian, I cannot-"

"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear the first time." Diana interrupted, as a soul layer coated her hands and covered the entire mirror. Haros watched, in his silent awe, as the souls seemed to easily penetrate whatever reality separated Iris and Diana and approached the godly messenger through the other side, wrapping around her neck. "I am Hades' daughter and you will convey my message, unless you want to get a true taste of what our…family power holds for puny beings like yourself."

Iris seemed to suffocate, pointlessly trying to grab whatever strangled her. Left without choice, she nodded frantically. Diana smiled coldly, withdrawing the souls to the armour.

"You will find Bruce Wayne, son of Thomas and Martha Wayne of Gotham. And this is the message you shall convey."

Haros counted the words anxiously. Many of his duplicates had gathered around. Once Diana was done reciting her message, they were ready to throw her inside the Acheron waters and rid her of the armour's soul cargo at once. The more she stayed in that state, the worse it would be. For all of them.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Flash felt really bad for himself; he was feeling so unbelievably weak. His limbs wouldn't obey him, his eyelids could barely open a bit and his mind was a mess. But no one bothered with him now, of course. As they shouldn't.

Raven had pulled herself up again and aided Zatanna in…practically defending themselves. Hades had broken the case and so much more of his magic energy, souls, Flash recalled, had been released. He was laughing frantically. The witches exchanged a few words as, he guessed, they decided on a common course of action.

The whole room was engulfed by a very bright light, as Dr. Fate made his appearance between Zatanna and Raven, aiding their attempts to keep Hades at bay. His magic seemed to be more efficient in keeping some of Hades' down but the God of the Underworld remained unfazed. They couldn't touch him.

Fate grabbed his left wrist with his right hand and something like what Hades had earlier conjured emerged in front of him. With the skill of an expert, Fate guided his captured soul against Hades', trying to make an opening for Zatanna or Raven to hit, but Hades' seemed to be too much against only one of his.

When Hades realized what was happening anyway, he growled. Although he knew he had more than enough power to kill all of them now, he still was under the terms of the stupid deal. But not for long. If the humans had mustered enough strength and knowledge to manipulate a soul, it wouldn't take long for them to cooperate with his insolent daughter again, and bring more souls to their side. And so Hades had to hurry. He was getting close. There was no way the humans would have enough time to do anything about him, but the sooner he was done, the better. And so, taking the souls with him, he disappeared. His job was done for the night.

Zatanna ran to Flash. "Are you okay?"

"I think I need to rest?" Flash mumbled.

"We both got hit by the souls." Raven said. "I'm more resilient, thanks to Trigon demon genes, but that sort of energy can be very damaging to humans. We need to be more careful."

"What happened?!" Flash asked, as Zatanna helped him sit.

"The objects that Hades was after, were something like a soul reservoir, made by necromancers in the good old days. It's no wonder he wanted them. They're his basic and best weapon."

"But…Fate?"

Dr. Fate showed him a gold bracelet on his left wrist. "I engraved the soul Wonder Woman gave us on this and I can now use it. Hades needed to break the old vessels, the exhibits, because he wasn't the one to have engraved them in the objects."

"Too much magic stuff. Too much."

"He'll need to put them somewhere, though." Raven said. "We need to be alert. And train more. We could barely stand our ground tonight."

"This is an emergency." Zatanna said. "I'm calling in a summit and we can take it from there. Now let's get Flash back to the Tower, he needs to be checked."

*Hades is finally getting stronger on Earth ^^ Next chapter, Batman receives his message and a new course of action is set, but Diana's getting worse and worse each day as the end approaches. Thank you for tagging along, this chapter had more…action, let's say, to move the plot forward. It needed to be done, sorry for any typos and thank you reading, again. See you at 12.*