Chapter 3

Bruce woke up to the sounds of birds chirping and a soft breeze whisking over him from somewhere. With eyes still not ready to open to the world, the young boy stretched his arms out in the air, bringing them down a moment later and startling himself when they hit a hard floor. He immediately sat up; his eyes blinking open to the image of the inside of a cave. A groan escaped his mouth as he stretched out his sore body, wondering if he should just go back to sleep and hope that this would all go away.

He had hoped, so very desperately that this had all been just a horrible nightmare. That he would just wake up and find himself back home in bed, waiting for Alfred to knock on his door to remind him that his breakfast was getting cold.

Instead he was right. It was all a nightmare, and he was living it.

Once he was fully awakened, Bruce just sat there against the cave wall, staring at the other side with a blank look. He was trying to remember everything that had happened. First it was the storm, then the wave, then the near drowning experience. Then awakening on a beach and hiking through a forest through the pouring rain until finding shelter here. It all seemed so impossible, straight from a story book, but here he was.

And the most baffling of all were his hallucinations. There had been the owl that had saved him from sea, but he was almost certain that had been his near unconscious mind playing tricks on him. What he was not certain of, however, was the mysterious woman who had appeared out of nowhere. Surely he would have noticed if there was anyone else in the cave with him, so where did she come from?

No, it must have been another hallucination. It had to be.

"Oh good, you're awake," came a cheerful, soft voice.

Bruce's jaw nearly fell open as he watched that very same woman from last night enter into the cave with a makeshift bowl made from straw, filled with fruit.

The woman didn't seem to notice his astonished look as she placed the bowl of fruit in front of him and sat down against the opposite wall across from him. She reached over and grabbed a fruit herself, taking a generous bite and closing her eyes to marvel at its taste.

"Mmm, the fruit here is simply divine. I forgot how much I enjoyed them."

Bruce just watched her with bewilderment and confusion as she took bites from her fruit. Finally, after a few minutes of silence, he spoke.

"Athena?"

The woman's eyes popped back open and a smile appeared on her face. "So you remembered."

He only looked at her suspiciously. "Athena… As in the Greek goddess Athena?"

"So you've heard of me," Athena beamed, taking another bite of her fruit. "I'm glad to hear that my reputation precedes me."

Bruce snorted, grabbing his own fruit from the basket. It was a bright-red apple which he tossed in the air a few times before eyeing it carefully.

"I didn't poison it, if that's what you're wondering," Athena said in an amused tone. "Have a bite. I promise you will enjoy it."

He glanced at her, then at the fruit in his hand before finally taking a small bite. For just a split second his eyes lit up, surprised by the sweet, juicy taste that flooded his mouth, before quickly narrowing his eyes again. Unfortunately Athena had seen his change of expression and smirked.

"Like it?"

Bruce just mumbled something incoherently, turning away as he took another bite of the apple. Athena just smiled, finishing off her own fruit and reaching to grab another one. Silently, the two of them ate their breakfast without saying a word to each other. It wasn't until the last fruit was eaten that Bruce finally spoke up again.

"Who are you really?"

Athena crossed her legs and looked at him with an amused expression. "You don't believe me?"

"I may be young but I'm not stupid," he answered, crossing his arms across his chest. "The idea of a god existing is already ridiculous in its own right. The idea of me talking to one is absolutely absurd."

"You don't believe in the existence of gods?"

"I believe in scientific fact and reasonable logic."

"And if it can't be proved with functional means?"

"Anything and everything can be proved in some way. It is a matter of not having the knowledge to understand the proof that makes things unprovable."

The sides of Athena's lips curled upwards. "You certainly are a skeptical one, Bruce Wayne. A smart quality to have, if not, cautious."

His eyes narrowed. "How do you know who I am?"

She just smiled. "I'm the goddess of wisdom."

The two sat there for a few moments in silence, watching each other; one with suspicion and the other with slight amusement.

"So let's say, hypothetically, that you are who you say you are. Why is the goddess of wisdom spending time with an insignificant mortal like me?" Bruce questioned.

Athena frowned slightly. "Not all gods are as ignorant towards mortals as humanity depicts us to be. I like to think that I'm quite connected with humanity actually. That includes helping those in crucial moments who are in need of aid."

Bruce paused and stared at her. "You saved me?"

"Yes, indeed I did."

"So you were the owl?" he asked in disbelief.

"Oh, no. Unfortunately Poseidon and I are not on greatest of terms and to stay out of each others' way, I try to avoid entering his territory and he tries to avoid entering mine," Athena explained. "When I saw you were in trouble I sent my owl out to help you."

A huff came out of his mouth and he leaned back against the cave wall. "I hope you realize how utterly ridiculous this all sounds and it's hard to believe that anything you are saying is true."

Athena simply shrugged. "Believe what you wish to believe Bruce, but I am only here for you."

"If you are as godly as you say you are, why don't you just help me by sending me home?" Bruce snapped.

She let out a sigh. "Unfortunately even gods have rules. The most prominent is that we are not to interfere with humanity."

"But you interfered when you saved me," he countered.

"Saving you from drowning is one thing. Bringing you across the globe in the blink of an eye is entirely different. Besides, the gift of transportation is Hermes' gift, not mine."

Bruce's eyes narrowed and he glared at her. "If you can no longer help me then why are you still here?"

"I am here to protect you and keep you safe."

"What is there to protect me from? The weather?" he scoffed. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

Athena simply shook her head as she began to stand up. "There is still much you do not know or understand about this island. I must go, but know that you are safe under my protection."

"Right, because I'm being watched over by the goddess of wisdom," he said sarcastically.

Bruce watched her with narrowed eyes as she picked up her straw basket and made her way out of the cave. Before she left, she looked over her shoulder at him.

"We will talk soon Bruce."

"If you can find me again," he responded with as much distrust in his voice as he had when they had first met.

Unfazed by his coldness, Athena gave him a small smile before leaving the cave and disappearing around the corner.

Only a few seconds after she left, Bruce quickly got up and ran out of the cave, hoping to see where she had headed off to. But when he got outside and looked around, he couldn't see a single trace of her.

It was as if she had simply vanished.

Later that day, Bruce found himself wandering around the forest looking for firewood and anything else that would be useful for survival. He still wasn't sure how he was going to get home, but after the initial shock of realizing he might very well be stranded here for a while, his survival skills started to kick in. The first thing he needed was heat and warmth, so creating a fire would be essential for not freezing to death. Too bad Athena didn't leave him any matches before she had disappeared.

His talk with Athena still irked him. What she had said was outlandishly absurd, yet, there was a certain quality about her that made him want to trust her and dare he say it, want to believe her. She had seemed to be completely open with her during his questioning and surprisingly, he felt himself want to open up to her as well. It was as if there was something different about her than anyone he had ever met before.

If she ever found him again, he would make sure he figured out exactly who he was dealing with. Perhaps she was telling the truth that she was only there to help him, or she could be deceiving him for a personal objective. Either way, unless she proved somehow that he could trust her, he was going to watch her carefully.

As Bruce bent down to pick up the last of the firewood he would need, he suddenly heard a crack of a twig in the distance. He immediately dropped the firewood and grabbed a nearby stick he could use as a weapon. If this was a bear or a wild animal of some kind, he needed something to defend himself with.

Pushing his back against the trunk of a tree, he heard quick footsteps coming closer and closer towards him. His heart beat in his chest as he listened closely, trying to figure out if he should run, climb, or stand his ground. As the sound grew louder, he managed to distinguish it as the clacking of an animal's hooves and to his surprise, another set of smaller, lighter footsteps behind it.

Looking over his shoulder, Bruce was shocked to see a large deer running towards his tree at full speed and behind it was a girl wearing a long white toga who was chasing after it.

But this wasn't just any girl.

This was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

She looked to be around his age, with long, raven hair that flowed behind her as she ran and large blue eyes that sparkled with joy. The huge smile on her face made her glow and for a split second, Bruce believed that goddesses truly did exist and that surely this girl was one of them.

Mesmerized by the strange girl, he was astounded to see not only the girl keep up with the deer but actually be able to catch up to it. He watched in amazement as she got close enough to the animal to be able to jump and grab the creature's neck, swing herself up on top of it in one motion.

"I got you!" the girl announced happily in Greek, her angelic voice vibrating throughout the forest.

To his shock, the deer didn't try to shake her off like he expected it to. Instead it slowed down to a stop as the girl giggled loudly on top of it, as if it was admitting defeat in being caught and had been playing along all this time. Bruce watched as the raven-haired girl stroked the deer's neck as it turned its head around to lick her hand.

Finally able to snap out of his trance, his mind was finally able to begin processing what he was seeing. Who was this girl? Where did she come from? How is it possible that a human can run that fast?

"Phillippus look! I caught up to it, just like I said!" he heard the girl exclaim out loud.

Before his mind could begin the thought process of wondering who Philippus was, his ears picked up the quiet whistling of something in the air. Out of instinct, he ducked.

Bruce felt something barely graze the top of his hair as he dropped to the ground and when he looked back up, he was shocked to see an arrow sticking out of the tree where his head had been just a second ago.

"Who are you!?" A demanding Greek voice rang from behind him.

Bruce immediately spun around to see a bald, dark-skinned woman wearing full-body armor glaring at him from above. An arrow, which was tightly pulled back in a bow, was aimed at his head and he could tell that the woman wasn't afraid to let the arrow go.

"M-my name is Bruce," he stuttered in English. He could speak Greek but under the current circumstances he seemed to forget it.

A flicker of surprise passed along the woman's face before the glare returned. "Where did you come from!?" she questioned, this time in English.

"I, uh, was swallowed up by a wave and washed up on a beach," he answered truthfully, still caught off guard by the sudden interrogation.

"Impossible!" the woman spat, pushing the arrow forward. "Who sent you?! No male should be able to find this island!"

"Philippus?" Bruce heard the voice of the girl approaching and he turned his neck slightly to see the girl, still riding the deer, appear from behind the tree. He made eye-contact with her and she seemed completely shocked to see him.

All he knew was that now that he saw the girl up close, he wasn't sure how it was possible that anyone could be so beautiful.

"Princess, stay away from him!" Philippus barked in Greek.

Princess?

"What were you doing spying on the princess!?" the woman demanded, forcing the arrow forward to the point where the tip was barely grazing his neck.

"I… I don't-"

"Were you trying to assassinate the princess!? Who told you where to find her!?"

Bruce opened his mouth to speak but for the first time in his life, he was speechless.

"Philippus, you don't need to be so harsh," he heard the girl say in Greek. At least the girl didn't seem as hostile as the woman.

"Do not sympathize with him Diana! All males are dangerous and will corrupt those who pity them," Philippus replied to the princess before turning back to him. "Your mother will deal with this one."

The next thing he knew, a fist was flying towards his head.

Then darkness.

"Where did he come from?"

"Is he a demon?"

"The gods have forsaken us!"

Bruce groaned, feeling the throbbing in his head as he slowly opened his eyes. His head was spinning, he was sure he was concussed, and the multitude of voices yelling around him certainly didn't help his headache. With another groan, he slowly tried to pick himself up but felt his arms jerk back, preventing him from standing up. Looking down, he saw that his hands were chained to the ground.

Perfect.

"He's awake!"

"Kill him! Before he kills all of us!"

"Enough!" A loud voice boomed through room, quieting all the other voices in the room.

Bruce took the opportunity of silence to look around his surroundings. He found himself in a large, court-like room with large, wooden stands on either side of him, filled with women. He was chained in the center and in front of him was a large throne, guarded heavily with armored women on both sides. He recognized one of them as Philippus, the one who had knocked him out, who stood next to the owner of the booming voice.

She was a woman, tall and proud, wearing the most elegant toga he had ever seen. Her flourishing blonde hair was pushed back by her golden crown, which glimmered in the light along with the rest of her golden jewelry. Her stoic facial expression and set jaw made her look very intimidating while her striking blue eyes, though familiar, bore into his with a condemnation beyond which he could understand. Everything about this woman screamed royalty.

This must be the girl's mother.

And he was being accused of trying to assassinate her.

Fantastic.

Slowly, the royal woman stepped down from her throne, glaring at him the entire time until she stopped a few feet away.

"I am Queen Hippolyta and this island is my domain," she said. "You are trespassing."

Her voice was beautiful but intense, and was laced with hatred, all of which made for a strange combination. He also noticed that she had addressed him in English and not in Greek, presumably not knowing he spoke their language fluently. Good, the less they knew about him the better.

"Who are you?" the Queen demanded to know.

"Bruce."

"Very well Bruce, how did you get here?"

"I was on a boat when a storm hit and I was washed overboard. The next thing I knew, I was waking up on a beach on your island," he answered stoically. He didn't want to show weakness in front of all these people, unlike how he did back when an arrow had been thrust near his throat.

Hippolyta regarded him more carefully, however. "How did you get past the barrier?"

"What barrier?"

That seemed to have been the wrong answer because as soon as his words left his mouth, the room returned into an uproar. He heard himself being called a liar, among other things, while others called for his head. The uproar continued until the queen raised her hand and instantly the room fell silent.

Hippolyta stared him down with eyes that warned of the consequences of misspeaking, and he believed her.

"Listen closely child, this is a serious matter and we shall not be tolerant towards deception. We have means of getting the truth from you," she cautioned. "Are you aware of who we are?"

"You are amazons."

"Yes, who told you this?"

Bruce shrugged. "Based on Greek mythology, the amazons were a tribe of warrior women who were notorious for despising the male gender. From what I've seen so far, you all seem to fit the description."

"I can assure you child, we are as real as you see us. For millennia we have lived on this island, safely hidden away from the evils of Man's World and protected by the gods. That is, until we discovered you," she explained, seething. "So, I ask again, who sent you!"

He could tell that he was nearing the end of the Queen's patience and so he chose his words carefully, recognizing that his life was on the line at the moment.

"Everything I have told you is the truth," Bruce answered honestly. "You can even ask the woman who had helped me and have her confirm that what I am saying is true."

The Queen seemed surprised with this new piece of information. "What woman?"

"Tall, brown hair, grey eyes, wore a silk white chiton," he described, remembering the woman's physical appearance. "She said her name was Athena and claimed to be the goddess of wisdom."

Everyone in the room, including the queen herself, reeled back in shock at the mention of Athena's name. A gasp rang out throughout the room and immediately another uproar emerged, this one far too large for the queen to be able to stop with another simple wave of her hand.

"He claims to have seen the goddess of wisdom!"

"He uses the wise one's name in vain!"

"He must be stoned to death!"

Following the loudest voices from the outcry, Bruce felt himself being hit by items in all directions as the angry amazons began throwing anything they could get their hands on at him. Everything from rocks to sandals were being hurled towards him and Bruce just barely managed to duck out of the way of a stone aimed at the side of his head.

Meanwhile, Hippolyta, who had frozen in shock, had to be pulled back by her royal guards so she wouldn't be hit by anything. She was suddenly jerked to the side to avoid a rock which hit Bruce on the shoulder and the guard who had pulled her away glared at the section who had nearly hit their queen.

Snapping out of her shocked state, Hippolyta looked around at the outrage from her people and glanced at the boy covering his head as he was pelted with projectiles.

"You majesty, what should we do?" one of her royal guards asked her.

Hippolyta watched as Bruce was hit by rock after rock and felt slightly pitiful for him. "Take the boy to his cell and try to calm down our sisters before someone does something drastic," she ordered. "I will talk this matter over with the high council and we shall decide on what to do with him."

"Of course, my queen," the guard bowed quickly before rushing towards the other guards, passing along the instructions.

Bruce, who was in an incredible amount of pain, was relieved when he felt the presence of two guards around him begin to release his chains. The projectiles thrown towards him slowed as he was aggressively hoisted up, but not before a precisely thrown stone hit him right above the eye and he immediately felt blood begin trickling down his face. He felt another pain shoot up his left arm as the guards unceremoniously carried him out of the room.

Pain aside, he was glad that the ordeal was over and even let his head hang down low as he was dragged outside. At this point, he didn't even care anymore.

By the time they reached his cell the sky had just started to darken and night was creeping forward. Bruce felt himself being tossed inside the cell and heard the cell door slam closed as he hit the ground and groaned.

"Here is your food for the night," spat one of the guards, pushing forward a plate of unidentifiable food. "Make any futile attempt to escape and we will kill you."

Bruce didn't respond, simply lying there on the ground with his eyes closed. It wasn't until a few minutes later that he sensed that the guards had left and he finally opened his eyes to the dark cell he now called home.

It was small, with a small berth for him to sleep on and a little hole in the corner for him to relieve himself. A rusty sink was below the high window, barred with steel bars and barely giving him a view of freedom.

He never thought he'd wish to return to that cave of his more than now.

With another groan, Bruce forced himself up and stumbled towards his berth where he collapsed almost instantly. He could feel multiple bruises start to swell all over his body and the gash above his eye wouldn't stop bleeding either. He also still had the headache from being knocked out initially so overall, he didn't feel too well.

If gods really did exist, every single one of them hated him.

"Rough day?"

He didn't even bother looking up when he heard Athena's voice in his cell. He didn't even want to know how she even got in here but at this point, she could be the goddess of creation for all he cared. As long as she wasn't here to give him another bruise, he would make do with the company.

Letting out a small groan to acknowledge her presence, he felt her walk over to him and sit down on the side of his bed. She gently turned him over so he was lying on his back and staring up into her grey eyes. She gave him a sympathetic smile.

"These don't look like they feel good," Athena lightly joked at his bruises, lifting up his shirt to check on them and wiping away some blood from his forehead.

"They definitely don't," he answered, not really in the mood to joke around.

He winced when he felt her finger trace the gash above his eye and before he could jump up and react, he was surprised to find that it had stopped bleeding and his headache had gone away as well.

"I thought you were the goddess of wisdom," he said plainly.

"I occasionally dabble in healing," Athena smiled. "So, you believe me now."

"What I believe or don't believe doesn't matter," Bruce answered.

He paused for a moment.

"You seem to have quite the reputation amongst the amazons."

"Yes, they are some of my last devoted followers and are quite passionate in regards to their belief system," she nodded. "I suggest you use my name scarcely from now on."

"Duly noted."

Athena could tell that Bruce didn't seem to want to talk at the moment so after a minute or two of silence, she reached down and picked up a familiar basket.

"Here, I brought you one of these," she said, lifting up a bright red apple to his face.

For the first time today, Bruce allowed himself to let out a little chuckle. With a little bit of Athena's help, he was able to sit up and take the apple from her hand, finding the smallest hint of relief in the juicy fruit.

Together, they ate their apples in silence through the night.