Hunter's Moon
By Serena
A/N: Thank you all so much for waiting. I've been having writer's block in almost all of my stories, so that's been annoying. Also, I've had to get a lot of tests done for my stomach, which has been giving me a lot of problems. Not fun.
Okey dokey, I think it's this chapter and we're MOVING on! :) I don't want to drag anything out, and I know you all are waiting for the more romantic side of things... :D
Chapter Eleven
I didn't think I would be so emotional when we reached my old apartment. I especially didn't want to be emotional in front of Bruce. But as we stared up at the old, dumpy, run-down apartment building, my throat caught, and I felt hot tears sting my eyes. I didn't even realize Bruce had taken my hand until he murmured my name.
"Hey," he said. "You all right?"
"No," I said glumly. "I'm not."
"You still want to do this?"
"Yes. Let's get this over with." Letting out a long breath, I strode towards the front door and pulled it open. As always, it squeaked on its hinges and slammed shut behind us. I smelled mold and dust, both familiar to my senses, once we entered the dingy hall. The carpet was still stained, the wallpaper still peeling. The lights were so low it was hard to see anything, and the staircase looked as though it would collapse any minute. But this had been my home.
Licking my dry lips, I sprang up the staircase and didn't stop until I reached our floor. Thankfully, there was no one around. But then I wondered if anyone else had taken our apartment, and if so, what would we do? Break and enter? I didn't want a record, especially considering the fact that Bruce was with me. He didn't need that kind of trouble. But as I slowed and found our door, I turned the handle.
Unlocked. Encouraged, I pushed the door open, and it swung on its hinges and banged softly into the back wall, as it always did. The apartment was thankfully empty, just as empty as the night we'd left. The air was stale, and the damaged floorboards squeaked and groaned under our feet. After a few moments of looking around, Bruce turned to me.
"So, where do we start?"
"Um," I hesitated, blinking, trying to focus past the memories running through my head, "Bedroom. We should start with her bedroom."
"OK." His gaze swept over my face keenly, as if trying to ascertain if I could handle this.
I could. I walked into Mom's empty bedroom, paused, and looked around. "Closet, probably," I said, and started for it. But he beat me to it, throwing open the doors. Empty. I was about to suggest somewhere else, but he started knocking on the back of the closet in different places. Looking for a false wall, no doubt. But when would my mom have time to do that? However, after everything she'd hidden from me, I couldn't put anything past her. I started tapping my foot on the floor of the closet and searching for a knob of some sort, but after several minutes, we'd still found nothing.
"It might not be here," I said.
"Hang on." Bruce looked overhead. "Wait. Look at that." He pointed to a small notch in the ceiling where it met the wall.
"How are we going to get up there?" I wondered.
Bruce placed his hand against the back wall, then crouched down. I saw his plan: he would try to launch himself from one wall to the other, using his feet and legs to support him, and open up the ceiling panel. However, before he did so, he hesitated and looked at me.
"What?" I asked.
"Mind if I lift you?"
No, of course I wouldn't mind being lifted by a hot guy. Still, I reddened.
"Sure, go ahead."
"Great. Just... here..." He took my hand, pulled me towards him, and turned me around. Then, he placed his hands on my hips and lifted me up as if he were lifting up a baby kitten. "You're light," he remarked. "Can you reach it?"
I strained my hand and touched the notch. "Yep! Got it! Just one... second..." I started to open the hatch, but I realized that I needed to go a little higher. "Could you lift me up a bit more?" I asked him.
Bruce didn't reply.
I twisted around to look at him. He was standing behind me, an inscrutable expression on his face. I think it was a mix of shock and utter disbelief. Then, I realized he wasn't holding me anymore.
"Diana," he said slowly, "You're floating."
I stared down at him, then at my feet, which were a couple feet off the ground. "Um..." I stammered, and out of confusion, yanked the notch down. I shrieked as the ceiling seemed to cave on me, and something crashed down onto me and then fell to the floor. I dropped to the floor along with it, but Bruce caught my upper body, supporting me until I was able to stand on my own. Panting, we stared at the thing - or things - that had fallen.
Holy cow. It was a suit of armor. We glanced at each other, and he released me, crouching down to pick up the helmet. It was gold, elegantly adorned, and looked extremely heavy. Bending down to pick it up, I found that it was lighter than I had expected. Very light, actually. I turned it over in my hands, staring at the engravings, and looked up at Bruce. He was closely examining the shin guards.
"Bruce, here. Look." I tossed him the helmet, and he sagged a big under its weight and struggled to sit upright. "Oh, I'm sorry!" I apologized. "I didn't mean to... Wait, are you joking?"
Bruce glared at me, then looked down at the helmet in his lap. "No." He picked up the helmet, but it looked a lot heavier for him. "This thing probably weighs around fifty pounds."
"Does it? C'mon," I laughed. "Stop kidding me." I took the helmet from him, held it one hand, and easily tossed it into the air before handing it back to him. "See? Not heavy at all."
Bruce was now gazing at me keenly. "Diana... where do you come from?"
"Come from?" I frowned, confused. "From here, Gotham. Where do you think I come from?"
"I don't know," he said grimly, "but not from around here. I've seen this type of armor before. Only ancient Greek warriors used it. And this looks very old, but it's in pristine condition."
"Ancient Greeks? Well, I am Greek, I think. My mom's probably just collecting this stuff..."
"What do you know of the Amazons?" he interrupted me.
"The Amazons? What, the female warriors?"
"Yeah, those. Did your mom ever mention them?"
"No, never. What... you don't think..." I started laughing. "You think my mom's an Amazon? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, I'm sorry."
"It's not," he growled. "I've seen things that you wouldn't believe - many of them here today. Diana, you have super-human strength. You can apparently fly. You don't know anything about your father, and your mother is training you to fight with ancient weapons - swords, staffs, and bows and arrows, not guns. She has an ancient Greek suit of armor that should be rusty, but it's not. And the armor is clearly made for a woman." He held up the golden breastplate, a serious expression on his face. "This is too much to be coincidence, Diana."
I scoffed. "Please. You're expecting me to believe that I'm from a thousands of years old army of women warriors? That's crazy!"
"Then how do you explain what I just said?" Bruce demanded. "How is that you can fly? That you can toss around a fifty pound helmet like it's a ping pong ball?"
"I don't know... Freak accident or something?" It was lame and I knew it, but before I could come up with some better material or even really comprehend was Bruce was trying to say, I heard something. Or rather... I sensed it. Felt it in my bones, screaming a familiar warning that something dark, something evil was approaching. "We need to get out of here," I said in a low voice. "Now."
Bruce frowned as I picked up the suit of armor and started stuffing it in a nearby, forgotten garbage bag.
"Why?"
"Because something's coming," I whispered. "And I think it's... or he... is after me. We need to leave."
Bruce nodded, crept out of the closet with me, glancing at the way I held the armor as if it were practically weightless, and moved to the window. He peered down, then opened the window and started climbing out.
"Bruce! What are you... Oh, fine," I sighed, and started to follow him. However, when I stepped out onto the ledge, I peered down, and a sudden rush swept through me. Without another thought, I leaped off the ledge, ignoring Bruce's cry of "Diana!" and soared down towards the ground...
I stopped short several inches off the ground, then alighted and stared down at my feet.
"Whoa. I can fly."
"Diana!" Bruce, with an amazing speed and agility that almost wasn't human, climbed down the side of the building and jumped onto the ground using acrobatic skills I didn't know he had. He rushed up to me, eyes dark and frantic. "Diana, what were you thinking? You could've died!"
"I'm fine," I said, slightly dazed.
"That was stupid!" he snarled, gripping my shoulders tightly. "Don't ever do something like that again!"
"But I'm fine," I said.
"That's not the point! You should've started with something not so high up! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
I stared at him, startled by his frantic, angry, harsh voice. "Bruce, I'm fine. Really, I-"
The wall behind us crashed open, and we sprawled to the ground. I barely realized Bruce still held onto my arm tightly, and I tried to get to my feet. However, a tall, gigantic man came through the hole in the brick building. My eyes widened, and I nearly let out a gasp. I knew this man. It was him. The cold Gotham wind whipped his long white hair, and those pale eyes glittered.
Immediately, I felt an urge to fight him, to rip him to pieces - and run at the same time.
"Who are you?" I shouted, trying to be brave. Bruce's arm tightened on mine.
The man smiled darkly, stepped closer. A shadow seemed to follow in his path. "I am war, young one. I am hatred, rage, and destruction. I am a force of nature. I am Ares, the God of War."
"Cut the crap," Bruce snarled beside me. "Who the hell are you?"
Ares glared at him. "This doesn't concern you," he said, and waved his hand. An invisible force swept up, casting Bruce against another building wall. Bruce groaned upon hitting the hard brick and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
"BRUCE!" I screamed, scrambling to my feet. I rushed over to him and turned him over. His head was bleeding, and he was pale, but alive. I didn't, however, know if anything had been broken. A fury overtook me, and I glared up at the man. "Why are you doing this? Who are you?"
"I already told you, Little Princess," said the man, drawing closer. "You will soon believe me, I promise. I am surprised, however, that your... mother... hasn't told you more about me... us."
I rose to my feet, my hands balled into fists. "Don't call me that. I'm not a Princess. And don't you dare bring my mother into this. Why are you following us?"
"You don't know who you really are, do you?" the man's eyes gleamed with pleasure. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this..."
He dashed forward with an insane speed and grabbed me by the throat, forcing me against a wall. As I gasped for breath, he drew closer, and I smelled an unpleasant odor on his breath. It almost smelled like... blood.
"I've been looking for you," he breathed, still smiling darkly.
"Can't... say the same," I gasped, clawing at his hand. I tried kicking, but he was too far away.
He laughed. "Good. You've got a sense of humor. I like that in a woman."
"I'm... just a kid... you... pervert..."
"Oh, come now. Among the Amazons, you are practically a woman," he told me. "Now, as to your name..." He suddenly gripped my throat and tossed me back onto the ground.
I rolled over with a grunt and tried to pick my aching body up. I choked, coughed for breath, and stumbled to my feet, dazed. I had to stay focused. I had to remember my training. But more importantly, I had to get Bruce out of here. My eyes darted to him, then to the man who claimed to be a god as he slowly advanced on me. I had the sick feeling that he was playing with me. Enjoying torturing me.
Oh, gosh... what if he... raped me? I felt my hands ball into fists, and I crouched into a fighting position, Mom's different fighting stances running through my addled brain. No. No one would be touching me again. I was a fighter, and I would not let this man defeat me.
The man laughed wickedly. "Diana, isn't it?" When I paled, he just chuckled again. "Diana, Diana... such a pretty name for such a pretty young thing. I recall the old days when I would take an Amazon or two... They fought so valiantly... but so much in vain. You cannot defeat the God of War." And he lunged towards me.
I flew into the air faster than I would've ever anticipated and avoided him. He smashed his hands into the side of the wall, and I whirled around and grabbed his head from behind, yanking it back sharply. He howled in pain and tried to grab my head, but I darted out of the way and rammed my fists into side, then whirled around, spinning, and kicked him in the groin. Hey, it worked on Tyler - why not on this guy?
It did work. He doubled over, shrieking, and I spun around, grabbed Bruce, and took off into the sky. I still heard Ares yelling behind me.
"This is not over, Princess!" his voice screamed. "I will find you!"
"Go ahead," I snarled. "Just try it." I swooped down low over the city, weaved in between buildings, and shot back up into the air. What a rush... The adrenaline pumped through my veins, and I felt a sudden power I had never felt before. My blood ran hot, and my fists were tight. Something was happening to me, I could feel it.
Could I really be... an Amazon?
The wind swept by my face as I soared to the ground not too far from Bruce's home under the shade of a couple of trees. I carried Bruce through the back door. "Alfred? ALFRED!" I yelled.
The older butler came hurrying through the door, frowning. "What on earth... oh, my!" He paled at the sight of an unconscious Bruce and helped me lay him on the floor. "What happened?"
"He... we... we ran into a criminal," I said. "He took Bruce out, knocked him out. Should we take him to the hospital?"
"No," Bruce muttered as he groaned and slowly opened his eyes.
Alfred looked as though he didn't believe my whole story, but he focused his attention on Bruce. "Master Bruce, you're going to have a nasty headache, I'm afraid. But what on earth where you doing in a bad part of town?"
"There was a... a new restaurant..." Bruce lied.
I sighed, shook my head. "No, it's my fault, Alfred. I wanted to check something out at my old apartment, and we ran into a really bad criminal. I'm sorry."
"Not your fault," Bruce muttered, rubbing his forehead. "He attacked us. I wanted to come." He tried to rise and finally sat up, his eyes turning to me seriously. "Now do you believe me?" he asked.
I stared at him, then down at my hands. "Yeah," I said quietly. "I think I do." After a moment, I rose to my feet and turned.
"Where are you going?" demanded Bruce. "We need to talk!"
I glanced back at him. "We will. But you need to rest first." When he started to protest, I added, "And there's someone else I need to talk to first." Smiling faintly to Alfred, I turned and left the room.
Mom was home by the time I returned. She was making macaroni and cheese and greeted me with a warm "hello, honey," and a smile.
"Mom," I said, determined to be firm, "It's over. I know I'm not from Gotham, and you're not, either. I know that I'm not a normal person. I can fly. I can lift a fifty-pound helmet without breaking a sweat. You need to tell me everything. Now."
Mom froze, then slowly continued her work, not looking at me. "Who told you?" she demanded quietly.
"Ares."
"Ares!" Mom whirled around, a snarl on her face. "You went into the city, didn't you?"
"You never told me I couldn't. I was with Bruce, anyway, so -"
"With Bruce! Damn it, Diana!" she cried, slamming the pot down in the sink, which rattled precariously. "As if meeting Ares isn't bad enough - you had to bring BRUCE?"
"He's my friend!" I shouted back, infuriated by her slandering him. "I trust him with my life - which is more than I can say for you right now, Mom!"
She paused, her anger dissipating. She rubbed her face and walked over to a chair, sitting down in it heavily. After she ran a hand over her bald head, she licked her lips and looked up at me. "What happened? Everything. From start to finish."
"If I tell you... will you tell me what I want to know? Will you tell me about Themyscira? And the Amazons?"
"Yes," she said. "I will." She patted the chair next to me, glanced up at me with weary eyes. "I should've known you would've tried to find out. You're too smart for anything else. I suppose I should've been disappointed if you hadn't. That's the Amazon in you. Never admitting defeat, never giving up." She smiled at me gently. "A bold one. I'm glad."
Strangely touched by her words, I took a seat across from her and rested my arms on the table, leaning forward. "What's going on, Mom? Who am I? Who is Ares?"
She hesitated, staring down at her hands. Then, after what seemed like forever, she said slowly, "Ares is the god of war, according to Greek Mythology. But only it's not mythological at all. It's very real. And so is he." She then raised her eyes to face me, and her face was more intent than I'd ever seen. "Diana," she said, straightening, "You are the Princess of the Amazons. And your mother... your real mother, by blood, is Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons."
-TBC-
Yep, that's all she wrote for now. :) Next chapter is more aftermath, Diana's dealing with the fact that she's not who she thought she was, skipping ahead a few years.
- Serena
