Chapter Forty-Four: Bad Blood.


Barbara Gordon stretched out on the island. Her muscles were a little less tense and she was a little bit more relaxed. The last couple of months in Gotham City had been rough on her mind and also on her body. Less so on her body though, mostly on her mind. Then again, it was just standard procedure in Gotham City.

Regardless though, she slipped into a comfortable toga and started to relax on the island. She tried to keep her mind off of the problems. Something at her, but Barbara shoved those thoughts into the back of her mind where they belonged.

"So are you actually finally relaxing for once in your life?"

Barbara turned her head a fraction of an inch to the side and saw Kara walking over there. Kara settled right at home on the island. She trained here when she first came to Earth, so to her, it was a second homecoming.

"I know it's not a word which pops up often in the Gotham diction," Kara said. She sat down beside Barbara and offered her a drink. "Careful, it's pretty strong."

The moment the drink hit Barbara's tastebuds, she could see what Kara meant about the drink being strong. She could have used a buzz like this when performing mission support for some of the most dangerous missions out in Gotham City. She turned towards Kara, who could barely keep her smile off of her face.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Kara said.

Helena and Dinah returned to join them. Both of them looked sweaty and Barbara turned towards both of her friends with a raised eyebrow.

Dinah caught Barbara's mischievous smile and fired back with a frown of her own. "We're just settling a dispute between the two of us."

"And how did it go?" Barbara asked.

Helena sat down on the ground across from Barbara. She crossed her legs and glanced into Barbara's eye. She leaned back for a second and then leaned forward. "Let me just put it this way. You really had to be there to get the full scope of the fight."

"I see," Barbara said. "I see I'm not going to get any straight answers."

Dinah and Helena exchanged smiles and shakes of their head.

"At the very least, I hope you two found a way to blow off some steam," Barbara said. "For both of your sake's if nothing else."

Helena thought she did blow off some excellent steam. Despite the result not going the way she intended, she was a lot more relaxed.

Something about Dinah's gaze indicated she was not a lot more relaxed.

"Maybe it's the fact I spent way too much time in Gotham," Dinah said. "But, there's something off….I can't really explain it. Maybe I'm reading too much into certain things, but it just feels like there's something which isn't quite right."

Barbara cupped a hand underneath her chin and looked a bit thoughtful at what Dinah thought about.

"I'm not sure you're wrong," Barbara said.

Kara turned towards both of them, almost rolling her eyes in the process. Barbara could understand where she was coming from.

"Only two women from Gotham City could turn a trip into Paradise into something to be suspicious about," Kara said. "I don't know about you two, but I'd like to relax when I'm vacation."

"I'm pretty sure they're just imagining things," Helena said. "Didn't you say there's a lot of magic on the island and it could be….unsettling if you don't get used to it."

"It's something more than that," Barbara said without missing a beat.

Kara's hand extended out and touched the side of Barbara's face. She leaned in and kissed Barbara on the cheek. Barbara frowned the second Kara pulled away from her.

"I know you're not relaxing, even though you should," Kara said. A small smile twitched abound the area of her lips. "But, you do need to relax, seriously. This island can be a wonderful place if you do so."

"You're saying there's no chance….."

"Actually, I'm not saying that," Kara said. She shook her head. "Oh for the love of Rao, I'm not saying this island can't be attacked. It has several times in the past."

Kara looked towards Barbara and a teasing grin spread over her face. Barbara frowned the second when Kara's eyes locked onto her, and the grin passed across her face.

"You know, as a student of history, and someone who wants to learn anything they can," Kara said. "One would think you would have jumped all over the chance to learn about a new culture. There is a library, with a pretty detailed history of the Amazons."

"History is often written by the victors," Barbara said.

Kara shrugged in response. "Nothing's perfect, but the Amazons are standing here. So they would be the victors, wouldn't they?"

Barbara thought about it and realized Kara had a pretty good point. The Amazons still stood here.

"They are amazing warriors," Helena said. She grinned at these words. "You've seen the Amazon Queen in action, and you know we've seen Diana in action. How many times has she saved our collective asses?"

"I know she has," Dinah said.

She could not shake off the bad vibes she was getting. It was insane, to the point where she could barely concentration.

'Maybe Kara's right, maybe we're thinking too much about this. Maybe Gotham's done a bit of a number on our psyche and making us see things which really aren't there. Maybe there isn't really a problem at all. Maybe we're just being paranoid.'

Dinah hated being attacked with a case of the mayhems. She rose to her feet and looked out onto the island.

"It is beautiful," Dinah said.

"They do call it Paradise for a reason," Kara said. "It really makes everything and anything else pale in comparison."

Kara sat down and Dinah did as well. Dinah cupped her hand underneath her chin and responded with a rather prominent little smile. Everything did pale in comparison.

"Our little vacation group is almost all here," Helena said. "Where's Dick?"

"He's off with Diana, the two of them are exploring the island," Kara said. "I think Diana was pretty impressed how he didn't collapse in a broken and beaten heap in front of her mother."

"Diana's impressed?" Barbara said, smiling in response. "Pretty hard to impress an Amazon under certain circumstances isn't it?"

They all hoped to get some training from the Amazons, or in Kara's case, some more training. Barbara in particular wanted to train. She remembered her first comeback as Batgirl, and while she didn't make a fool out of herself, she ached for weeks.

'They say it's like getting back on a bike,' Barbara thought. 'What's the point though when the bike ends up kicking your ass?'

"I think the Queen was impressed too," Kara said. "Then again, the Amazons aren't what history makes them out to be. They can be pretty tough, and spirited, but they can be fair to someone who proves themselves to battle."

"Even though Artemis acts like she has a stick up her ass?" Helena asked.

Kara stuffed her hand in her mouth to stifle a round of laughter. She took a couple of seconds to come back to life. She had said that to Artemis during their training sessions. Something the skilled Amazon made her pay for by drilling her through the drills faster.

Despite Artemis acting all like it upset her, Kara knew, Artemis knew it was true. It was extremely true, and Kara always told the truth.

The girls decided, despite the initial moments of dread coming from both Dinah and Barbara, to kick back and relax. They hoped this entire trip would go off without a hitch and without any kind of incident. It would be among the first.


Diana took a moment to collect her thoughts. She could not believe her mother sometimes. Hippolyta had a lot of responsibilities, and finding the best for her daughters ranked pretty high up the list, at least in Hippolyta's mind. She really wanted to test Dick and work him. Diana got that part, and throwing him into battle was her way of doing it. It was the Amazon way of testing to see how strong someone was and how strong they could be.

Dick, to his credit, took everything in stride and did not complain. He proved to have the warrior spirit within him and Diana credited him for that. Most people would wilt underneath the thought of fighting one of the greatest Amazon warriors, who just happened to be their Queen.

The two of them joined each other on a walk on the island and started to soak in the beauty. Their arms intertwined. Donna had decided to try her luck with Artemis. Given how Donna did even worse against Artemis than Diana did, more power to the younger Amazon.

"The library is over here," Diana said. "The history….is about as reliable as history can be, if it's written by actual people with thoughts and feelings."

Dick smiled. The old phrase history was written by the victims hit him to be honest. He took a couple of seconds to admire the library. It had been built.

"You're in a pretty good mood this morning," Diana said. "I thought you would be limping around, a bit sore, after your sparring session with my mother."

Dick smiled. He thought he passed the test with flying colors to be honest. Some would classify what Hippolyta did as a beating, but Dick disagreed with them. He classified it as an opportunity to expand his skills.

"Wait, I know why you're smiling," Diana said.

Dick raised an eyebrow and looked Diana in the eye. He could not believe it was so cut and dry. "You do?"

"Yes, I do," Diana said. She stared him down with a wide grin across her face. "You've had an encounter of the divine type this morning, didn't you?"

Diana almost swore she heard some giggling goddesses this morning when going off for her morning workout. She heard them when walking by the temple. It happened every now and again, they had their little tests for them, which they hoped to use to make the Amazons grow and flourish. Diana could not think of any other reason why the goddesses would be up and about.

"Yes," Dick said. "Aphrodite jumped me, and….who would say no?"

Diana shook her head despite herself. She wouldn't necessarily say no if Aphrodite jumped her either. And she didn't in the past. The love goddess decided to spread the love in many respects, living up to her domain.

The occasional all Amazon orgy was a result of Aphrodite's past meddling. Not Diana or any of the parties involved would complain at all, not in the slightest.

"She was amazing," Dick said.

Diana could not resist needling Dick about the rather obvious comment. "Well, she does tend to be. It's one of the perks of being a goddess."

Dick turned towards Diana and responded with a smile. She blinked about a half of a second later. The two of them crossed around the corner and made their way to a small stream. They were about ready to go for a mid-morning swim.

"Wait," Diana muttered.

Dick raised an eyebrow at Diana. He suddenly stopped when looking around. His Gotham City born and bred instincts indicated someone was around the corner, who really shouldn't be here. Dick raised his eyebrow and turned his head around to see who was about to come.

"Whoever you are, come out?"

A figure came out onto the island. A purple haired woman dressed in robes of the same color. Her beauty was amazing, and also deceptive. Dick recognized her from the files as a past enemy of the Justice League and Diana recognized her from several past encounters which put the Amazon Princess on full alert.

"Circe," Diana said, spatting out the name in distaste. "You aren't welcomed here."

"There's no need to be rude, Princess," Circe said. "Your friend caught my attention, and…I wanted to get a closer look at him."

Circe extended her hand forward and Dick took half of a step back.

"I know all about you," Dick said. "And I don't mean through your exploits in Greek Mythology….and your tendency to turn men into pigs."

"I stopped doing that a long time ago," Circe said. She looked practically bored at the thought of it. "I mean, is there really any point in turning men into pigs? There isn't much work at all to do, after all, so it would be kind of pointless to ramp up what is already there."

"What do you want?" Diana asked.

Circe placed a hand on the side of her hip and cast one of her charming smiles at Diana. Diana didn't say anything. She just looked through and stared a hole through the side of Circe's face.

"I told you, wanted to take a closer look at the Amazon's new boy toy," Circe said. "I wouldn't mind having a ride on his express."

"Hera told you were not to come here!" Diana said.

Diana reached in and tried to grab Circe by the collar. The Amazon's hand passed through the spectral form of Circe, who smiled.

"Hera's exact words were I was not to step one foot on the island," Circe said. "Believe it or not, I'm listening to her. I have not stepped one single foot on the island."

Diana looked at Circe and noticed she started to hover over the island. She frowned and looked towards her.

"The Amazons are very bad at sharing the wealth I see," Circe said. "And it's a shame too, as there's more than enough to go around."

Circe's eyes stared down at Dick's crotch without a moment. Dick had to admit, he was curious to how she would be in bed, but he knew also going down this road would be a very bad idea.

"I can see I'm not wanted around here," Circe said. She bit down on her lower lip and shook her head. "So, I'm gone now."

Diana watched Circe disappear from the area of the island. She took a couple of seconds to watch the women leave.

"Meddlesome witch."

Dick was pretty sure Diana had another word in mind which rhymed with witch. He figured though as a princess, she might have thought such language would not be welcomed in polite company.

"What's the deal between her and the Amazons anyway?" Dick asked. Diana raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, I'm just curious but….."

Diana leaned in and sighed.

"It's a long story," Diana said. Dick responded with a smile. "I know it seems like a cop out, but….if I'm to be honest, I really don't know the answer. You should ask my mother."

"Why do I have a feeling it's a touchy subject?"

Diana shook her head and Dick knew all what he needed to know. The subject of Circe was a pretty touchy subject with the Queen of the Amazons, he could already tell by this particular glint in Diana's eyes. The two of them decided to take off, to explore the rest of the island.


Dick moved around the island, thinking about the weird encounter earlier this morning. He had read the files about Circe. He was curious about how this entire mess all started.

'I wonder if it's one of these wars where it started, and no one really knows how it started,' Dick thought. 'But the two sides keep fighting and going at it, because it's the way it's always been.'

Those conflicts tended to be the most frustrating in history. Dick realized he also just described pretty much every gang conflict in Gotham City from beginning to end. It was going to be a frustrating time, to be perfectly honest.

'Steady, Grayson,' he muttered to himself.

"HELP!"

Dick almost jumped up into the air. The Amazons had been up for dinner and he heard the screams of a young Amazon.

"If anyone can hear me, please help!"

Dick moved forward, about as fast as his legs could carry him. He moved closer and closer toward the sound of the voice.

"Where are you?" Dick asked.

"I'm done here!"

Dick paused at the edge of the pit and frowned when he looked down. He noticed an Amazon down. She was one of the younger ones by the looks of her. She looked as if she sprained her ankle doing something she should have not been.

"Could you help me up and get me to the medical wing, please?" she asked.

Dick looked over and could see Kara flying over next to him. The Girl of Steel dropped down to the ground next to Dick.

"What's the problem?" she asked.

"She fell down here," Dick said. He paused for a second.

The Amazon had fallen down the hole and Dick realized that. He didn't see the Amazons to be a clumsy type to be honest and already, something was up.

Dick had found himself making one of those split second decisions. He needed to help her on one hand. On the other hand though, if she was who Dick thought she was, then it would not be the best idea to pull her up out of the whole.

"Kara, be careful."

Kara shook her head. Wasn't she always careful? Regardless, she could see the sense of urgency in Dick's eyes and she dropped down. She pulled the girl out of the pit.

"You're not who I was looking for," the Amazon said. "You'll do nicely though, because you're vulnerable to magic!"

The Amazon shifted into Circe and nailed Kara with a blast of magical energy. As a Kryptonian, she had been unfortunately as susceptible to magic as anyone else.

"What did you do to her?" Dick demanded.

Circe smiled, never once allowing her feet to touch the ground of the island.

"You've got eyes," Circe said, her smile growing more wicked with each passing second. "Why don't you do yourself a favor and use them?"

Dick turned his attention to where Kara once stood, and she had been turned into a cute little fluffy bunny rabbit. Although she was a cute little fluffy bunny rabbit with heat vision, which she tried to nail Circe with.

"My, we have a temper on this one, don't you?" Circe asked.

Dick jumped through Circe and landed on the ground. He hated fighting against magic.

"And look, the gang's all here," Circe said. "Just in time for dinner."

Dick saw Dinah, Diana, Helena, Barbara, Donna, Hippolyta, and more of a few Amazons walking up. He did not like the sound of Circe's tone when she said they arrived just in time for dinner. He had a pretty sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach something was going to happen, although he would be damned if he knew what.

Suddenly, an energy blast fired at Dick. Dick used his acrobatic skills, trained high above the high wire, often without an aid of a net. He avoided the attacks of Circe before they could strike him, keeping two or three steps ahead of the witch all the way.

"Circe!" Hippolyta yelled. "You dare come here….."

"Hello, your majesty!" Circe yelled. "Like what I did to one of your friends?"

The bunny rabbit hopped into Barbara's arms and she scowled at Circe.

"Kara?" Barbara asked. She did not know whether to laugh or not, was it appropriate to laugh at Kara being turned into something she hated.

Supergirl had a run in with an army of bunny rabbits, all thanks to everyone's favorite fifth dimension pest. The encounter left a lasting impression on her.

"You'll pay for coming here, Circe," Hippolyta said.

"You'll be the one who will pay!" Circe yelled.

She sent a bolt of purple magic towards Hippolyta. Dick dove in front of it and shoved Hippolyta out of the way.

Hippolyta found herself down on the ground, pinned down underneath her daughters' suitor. She frowned, not too broken up about the arrangement. Dick pulled himself away from her.

"Thank you," Hippolyta said without a second's break. "But you better….."

The energy blast hit Dick the second time and caused his entire body to glow and contort. His clothes ripped off when Dick turned into a grotesque dragon creature, several times his normal size.

Barbara watched. She turned to the rabbit version of Kara still cradle in her arms.

"Nightwing?" Barbara asked.

Kara the rabbit responded with a nod and eyes widened the second the creature swooped down upon it.

"Yes, now I have a dragon to do my bidding!" Circe yelled. "Oh, are you hungry?"

The transformed dragon looked at the entire group. The Amazons stepped in front of him and started to fire arrows at him. They hit his scales and only began to agitate the beast.

"His skin can't be penetrated, can it?" Barbara asked. Kara shook her head.

"Yes, we noticed," Artemis said.

"There has to be a weak spot, isn't there?" Dinah asked.

Kara shrugged and shook her head one more time. She fired a blast of heat vision at the dragon. She burned out on this particular attack as her small rabbit body could not replenish solar energy as fast as her human one.

"Sick em, boy!" Circe yelled. "Get those wicked women!"


To Be Continued.