A/N: Yes this is a prequel to Solace. The stories are not in chronological order but they are connected, unless they have "Oneshot" in the name
Bruce took off his gauntlet, finally freeing himself from the last piece of armor that had clung to him. The night was eventful, Bane and Poison Ivy rampaging through the docks yet again.
Good thing there were no casualties whatsoever.
Diana's absence had been impactful lately; she had decided to pay her home a visit after all those years of being away.
And so Bruce decided to let loose for now and finally relax. The time is currently 3:30 AM and he is exhausted all throughout
He was about to leave the batcave when a certain figure caught his attention. A quite curvy woman with her hair long and red hued
"A woman?" Bruce thought to himself
Upon walking closer, the revelation caught up to him as the figure turned around to meet his gaze
"Hey handsome"
Shock rushed up to Bruce upon seeing her face.
"You, What the hell are you doing here?" He grunted
"Do I need an excuse to come see you?" The mysterious woman asked
"This affair of ours is very intriguing"
"What do you want?" Bruce interrupted
"Our deal was as it is, you'd stay out of our lives"
"Oh I would stay out of your life, handsome. I didn't say I would do the same for your princess" she responded
"You stay away from her!"
"Make me." The woman sharply hissed.
She snapped her fingers and all of a sudden, Bruce couldn't move. He wanted to break free somehow but he couldn't do so.
"Cir…ce…" Bruce desperately muttered
Delight filled her face upon hearing Bruce say her name
"Oh yes! I love it when you say my name"
"W-What do you… want?" Bruce mumbled
Circe leaned closer, using her finger to raise Bruce's face upon her
"I didn't come for you unfortunately. But I wanted to let you know"
"Let me know about what?" Bruce asked
The sorceress gave him a purr of seduction as she sat on his lap. She leaned in close to his ear as she whispered
"revenge"
Hearing this made Bruce struggle even more. Despite not fully getting the full context, he was smart enough to catch up
"You wouldn't…" he uttered slowly
"oh I would.." she bounced back
His defiance and will proved so greater than the spell as he finally broke through, shoving the sorceress with a swing
"I won't let you do that." He threatened
"Oh, you and what army Bruce?" Circe teased as she lit up her hand for an another spell
She turned around and moved away
"You're cute Bruce, but not that cute. I'll be seeing you around…" she turned for a second to give him a wink
"Come back here!" Bruce grunted
Without hesitation, he threw a batarang to her direction to prevent her spell but the light grew far more bright which blinded him. His batarang hit nothing but the wall unfortunately.
He slammed his fist to the ground, anger brewing inside of him as he contemplated on the past. She's back for trouble again and he had to stop her before history repeats itself.
xXx
"Sire, the lady is wrecking havoc in downtown. We might need more assistance"
"Negative, we cannot compromise any more casualties." Batman responded
"Understood, I'm sending the batwing to your way. Good luck out there, sire" Alfred spoke though the hologram
"Will do. Out."
And so Batman glided through the city of Gotham currently being invaded by sand creatures whom had been transformed by the sorceress herself
He then landed on top of a building as he tapped his communicator, in hopes of reaching a certain person. This situation can only be handled by one person
"Fox, come in."
"On your service, Mr. Wayne" Lucius responded
"I need you to implement code Umber eyes on my command"
"But Mr. Wayne, Isn't that a bit too much?"
"There's no time to chat, I'll explain later, Out."
Without hesitation, Batman took his self-engineered cell phone which holds all the networks. What he is about to do is certainly very illegal but this is no matter of negotiation whatsoever
"Mr. Wayne, the networks are ready" Lucius spoke through the communicator
"Good"
Batman tapped an icon on the screen which responded with a countdown
3…
2…
"On my command, Fox."
1…
"Now!"
And in an instant, the entire city went blackout as the entire electricity had been cut. It didn't last long however as a very deep generated voice echoed through the entire city through their devices and television
"Listen to me very carefully, this is Batman. Quarantine yourself in your homes and never come out until I say so. I repeat, quarantine yourself and never go out"
Upon hearing the name Batman, everybody immediately followed the instruction and went inside their respective homes. He may not be liked as much but his words bear weight especially in invasions such as this one
"The residents have done so what you said, Mr. Wayne. What next?"
"Implement Code Ice Age"
"Understood."
Moments later, a fleet of warships hovered right through the atmosphere, holding what seemed like giant propane tanks of thick formulas of absolute zero chemicals which can turn anything into thick ice
The fleets reached the docks as they dropped the tanks in the seawater just near the bay surrounding the city. This created a sudden wave of zero temperature which had caused all of the sand creatures to freeze.
It only took a mere half a minute before everything in Gotham had turned into ice
"All eyes on deck, Mr. Wayne. On courtesy of Victor's expertise"
"Roger that, out."
Batman then contacted Alfred.
"Locate the sorceress, this ends now."
"Sire, I can't seem to find the whereabouts of Circe"
"what?"
"Her icon doesn't appear on the radar"
"Then that must mean…"
Upon realizing it, Batman immediately hopped to the Batwing. She is about to attack now and he needs to be there for Diana.
Batman buckled up his seat as he slowly steered the batwing in the atmosphere.
He presses a button in which Alfred popped up on his holographic gauntlet
"Pleasure to do your recon for you sire…" The British Butler spoke
"There's no time to waste." Batman responded sharply
"Circe is in Themyscira."
"Oh" Alfred stuttered in shock, his lack of response proved so
The ride was full of tension but Batman knew what he had to do. He couldn't risk any more casualties from the sorceress
He had to neutralize her, now.
And there is only one solution in his mind.
Meanwhile, at the isolated island of Themyscira, the Amazons were to celebrate a nice feast for the return of their princess. Ever since Diana had left their island, they wanted nothing but her return
Queen Hippolyta herself feared of the poisons from the outside world that might've indoctrinated her daughter's mind, but she knew for herself that Diana's will cannot be tainted
But still, the horrors of what lies up ahead haunted her for endless nights, the barbaric ways of men and how they treat women with their instinct of belittlement.
Queen Hippolyta knew about it, a society of men which only benefits those who had deemed themselves as superior
When her daughter had left, she was left with sorrow. But she knew for herself that it was for the best of the island and her people
For now, she is just happy to see her lovely sun-and-stars back to her, to them.
Diana is currently mesmerizing the wonderful flowers growing on the flowerbed of the garden. When she was girl, she used to come here every time to watch them grow and blossom
While she was out, she never had the chance to catch up to their growth. But she is glad that she could now
"I am delighted that you still knew your way back, my sun and stars"
A familiar voice came from behind. Diana turned and saw her Mother herself standing beside her.
"Oh, it was not hard Mother. I could never forget the way back of my home." Diana responded
Queen Hippolyta them embraced her daughter in her loving arms as a soothe of contentment escaped out of her
"Your presence here is the vessel of my happiness, Diana. Your little sister is growing up so fast, it was like yesterday"
She pulls away to look at her in the eyes
"And now look at you. Gaia truly had blessed you the wonderful beauty foremost. My Diana had turned into a very lovely Amazon"
Diana smiled, rubbing her arms in embarrassment
"Thank you Mother…" she slowly uttered
"Very well, tell me about your experiences about the outside world. Those men and their barbaric tendencies are much perilous. Do forgive me for putting you in such an unfortunate situation"
"I had seen such instances where men would show their ways unto women, and it was truly sad" Diana slowly professed
"But— there's this one person…"
Queen Hippolyta looked at her on the corner of her eyes as she uttered
"Go on…"
Diana gazed back as she ended her statement with a smile. It would be better to not indulge in such topics for now
"It's nothing important, Mother. Let us enjoy this moment for now"
Out of nowhere, a scream can be heard from the background. The bells were rung, indication of danger
The Amazons had gathered to one place which had caused Diana's caution
It was definitely a dangerous situation as Queen Hippolyta and Antiope reached the scene
"Who is it?" Queen Hippolyta uttered
"It's Circe." Antiope responded
"She is supposed to be locked away" Queen Hippolyta stated
"But that is not important now, rally on the front sister. This is a battle that we cannot lose"
Antiope then gathered her Amazons to form a last line of defense for the Queen.
Diana finally reaches the scene and found the sorceress Circe herself causing havoc. There were a couple of animals at running amuck which she already knew was the sorceress's doing
And so she wanted to face her so badly, but as she was about to stand, her arm was gripped by someone which forced her to go back and hide behind a big boulder
As she turned to the person, she couldn't believe her eyes
"Bruce!"
Batman shushed her immediately as he kept her close to him to hide
"What are you doing here?"
"That's not important for now, the problem is Circe is gonna destroy Themyscira for her own personal vendetta" Batman whispered
"Well then, we should stop her now!" Diana grunted
"She's making a foolery of my sisters and destroying the island. I couldn't just sit back and watch"
"I'm afraid she's way too much powerful now than she was before. She could turn you into an animal in a matter of a cast. I've seen with my own eyes how she had turned half of Gotham into sand creatures"
Diana fell into silence
"I assume you have a plan"
"I do, but you have to trust me" he uttered
"I'm gonna need you to gather all the Amazons away for the meantime, keep them from Circe's reach. I'll try to buy us some time"
"What!" Diana grunted in response
"I just can't let you face her yourself…"
Diana felt a sudden grip on her both shoulders as Batman took off his helm and revealed his face to her
"Diana, do you trust me?"
She was stunned, quite tongue tied about the notion.
But if it was him…
"I do but— this is dangerous for you Bruce. I don't wanna lose you"
"You wont lose me, I promise." He responded as he put on his cowl back
"Give me eight minutes."
Batman then came out in hiding to confront the powerful sorceress herself. Circe's eyes widened in sight of the Batman himself
"Oho, I should've known you would be here, Bruce."
"Circe, let's talk
"A talk?"
The sorcerer teleported close to him, watching his face up close
"Yes." He responded
Circe gave him a leer of tease as she slowly circled around him.
"Being bold are we?" she purred
"Give me a good reason why I shouldn't just turn you into pig right now"
"I have a preposition."
"A preposition?" she repeated
"I understand that every spell done must have an equivalent trade. What can I do for you to undo all your spells and leave the Amazons and the people alone?"
Circe's eyebrow rose as his statement piqued her curiosity
"Ohh, be careful what you wish for, Bruce Wayne"
"Like I said, I'll do anything. Just leave them alone." He uttered
The sorceress circles around him, giving him a look of interest. Her eyes never ceased to leave him all throughout
"Alright, you got me. I shall have five tasks that you must attend to. If you fail to even accomplish even one of them…" Circe rambled slowly as she leans in close
"You will be mine, forever."
As dangerous as it is, Batman couldn't risk any more casualties. And so, he nodded.
"Oh yes, I am very excited playing with you. I will come at the most random times so be prepared always" she rambled
"And as part of our agreement, return everyone back to normal." Bruce uttered
"Sooo impatient"
Circe stated as she snapped her fingers, returning all those that she casted spells on back to normal, including in Gotham
Upon doing so, she started to walk away from Bruce
"Good luck Bruce, I'll be sure to make the tasks hard, very hard for you."
She stated before disappearing from the distance
"Yeah do your worst." Batman whispered under his breath
Diana then comes to the scene
"Bruce, where is she?"
"Don't worry, she won't be pestering anyone anymore" he stated
"Your island is safe now"
The Amazon grew intrigued over his statement
"B-But how did you do that?"
"Something that only I can do" Bruce revealed
"Negotiations"
xXx
Bruce and Diana walked back to the Amazons cheering for their victory. Upon seeing Circe's trickeries return back to normal, it was a telltale sign that she was indeed, neutralized.
Batman however stayed distant, away from the Amazons and their celebration. He knew about their disdain over men and he wanted to respect that
It didn't take long however until he caught the Queen's attention which gave him a very intimidating glare
"What on earth is that man doing here again?" she roared in fury
"M-Mother, I can explain…"
"You had violated the island's most important rule!"
"He helped us, helped defeating Circe. He didn't have to do anything with it but he helped anyways." Diana slowly confessed
"He isn't like any other…"
"Enough!" Queen Hippolyta interrupted, her anger brewing through the corners of the island
"You had disobeyed the ways of the Amazons, disrespected Gaia herself by bringing this barbaric filthy man into our sacred grounds!"
"He is not filthy!" Diana interjected
"And he has a name…"
"You defend this man over your principles as an Amazon?" Queen Hippolyta stated
Diana was quiet for a few seconds. What she hoped would be a celebration had turned into a catastrophic tragedy
"Mother, I…" Diana stuttered
"Bruce is my friend, and I'll stand up for him."
Shock came to Queen Hippolyta's face.
"I should've known you were poisoned already by that man."
"B-but if you would just listen…"
"Enough!" Queen Hippolyta
"Your insolence will not stand, daughter or not. My responsibility as the Queen will stand strong."
Diana felt nervous, not wanting to hear the following words.
"Diana, for breaking the most prominent rule of Themyscira. As my authority as the Queen of Themyscira, from this day forward…"
Diana couldn't believe what she was hearing. If this was indeed dream then she wanted to wake up now
"I hereby pass my judgment for your banishment. You are now banished from ever entering the sacred grounds of Themyscira" The Queen finished
Everything turned to dark as the surroundings seemed to fade, her eyes blank as her tears fell down to her cheek. Diana couldn't believe it
Her sisters, her mother, and her home
Gone.
"Leave now or I must use force on doing so" Queen Hippolyta added
Batman watched from a distance, witnessing the whole thing made him feel guilty. He wanted to stand up for Diana and confront her Mother but that would only complicate things more
And so Diana stood up and started walking away, leaving her sisters and her mother behind. But upon doing so, a little Amazon crashed unto her, giving her a hug.
"Don't go, please…" the little Amazon begged
Diana knelt down to meet her eyes. She then gave her a smile of reassurance
"Take care of yourself, Donna." She uttered as she have her little sister a warm hug
"Must you go?"
"I have to." Diana responded as she released her hold unto her
She rubbed a tear running down her cheek as she continued walking away. There were no words left to say.
The batwing started to hover away as the wind scattered some of the sand to places. Slowly, they started to take off until it had finally left the island
Queen Hippolyta's expression upon seeing her daughter leave was something that was temporary, for when she was finally gone, the guilt prang unto her like clockwork
She wanted nothing more than to be with her daughter. But her responsibility as the Queen weighs more than any maternal love
It is a blessing and a curse at the same time.
Suddenly, Antiope, her sister, rested her hand on her shoulder which caught her attention.
"Diana is strong. She can take care of herself. Whatever that man had indoctrinated her to say such outlandish things must've had an effect on her to start with" Antiope stated as she walked away from the scene
And so Queen Hippolyta walked away as well. She held her emotions all to herself in hopes of keeping the strong image she has for her Amazons
But deep inside, she was hurting to lose her daughter again.
Meanwhile at the batwing, Bruce couldn't help but glance at Diana from time to time.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" he asked
There was no response.
And so the silence filled the air as the tension was raised through the atmosphere.
Bruce just cleared his mind and focused on the way back home, hoping things would be better for his friend beside him
He then thought to himself
"Casualties cannot be avoided. They will always be present in times of despair and warfare. You cannot save everyone and I know that for certain."
He glanced at her again who still had the same expression on her face.
"Diana is the casualty that I failed to save today."