Part VII
Batman woke slowly, still groggy from whatever magic had put them all to sleep, and looked around him. He was in a room that vaguely reminded him of Themysciran rooms – high, arching ceilings, marble columns and statues decorated it, and was furnished by deep, sumptuous sofas and pillows.
Despite the luxury of the room, he was chained to the wall. He pulled ineffectually on his bonds, then realized that he couldn't even pick the locks of the cuffs – they weren't of metal, but of some kind of amorphous, probably magical, substance. He tried getting out of them anyway.
He stopped his struggles when he heard footsteps outside the hall. They stopped near the door to the room, and it swung open.
Revealing Wonder Woman in her red, gold and blue uniform.
"Diana," he began, then jerked his head toward the bonds, "I can't get out of these." He watched as she walked slowly toward him. "Have you found the others? Are they safe?"
She smiled, and the expression chilled him. Diana's smile was usually warm, open. This smile was predatory. "Oh, they are fine, Batman."
She placed her hand on his chest, fingertips trailing over his emblem. Every muscle in his body stiffened, trying to avoid her touch.
"What's the matter?" she asked. She leaned forward, her breath mingling with his. Her eyes were wide, innocent, but there was something...unfamiliar about the expression in them. Had the Sorceress affected her somehow? Had Diana attempted to rescue them, but only to get a spell put on her as well?
He told the truth. "I don't think you are acting like yourself, Diana."
She leaned forward to kiss him, but he turned his head so that her lips landed on his chin.
Wonder Woman leaned back and pouted. "Batman, don't you want to kiss me? You know I love you."
Under his mask, his eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed. As much pleasure as the idea of those words coming out of her mouth gave him, something was very wrong here.
"You don't love me, Diana," he said harshly, and saying the words twisted something painfully inside him.
She smiled, then her lips twisted, and her eyes filled with hate. "Oh, but I did, Batman. Then you threw my love, and me, away when you told me that I didn't belong in the Justice League."
"Diana, I didn't mean—"
"Lies!" she cried out, and slapped him suddenly. His face turned with the force of impact, his cheek stinging. "All lies!"
She leaned forward, her face angry. "And you and your friends will pay for your lies, Batman." She turned on her heel and left the room.
Batman stared after her, certain of one thing – that was not Diana.
That was not the woman he loved.
And if it was, he had lost her forever. Because even if the spell on her was making her act uncharacteristically, some of what she had said was true:
He was the reason she had resigned from the Justice League, and there was no way she could love a man who she thought would do such a thing to her. Who had caused so much hurt in her.
He wondered if it was true that she had loved him once, and then stopped loving him.
And he wondered have to do to get over the pain of knowing that he had lost her love.
**********
Diana was too worried about the Justice League to be nervous, or to even think twice about what she was doing.
She remained floating about ten feet in the air – she wouldn't touch the island's soil – and called to her mother through the queen's chamber window.
"Mother!" She wondered if she would be attacked by her sisters, by her own mother for breaking the rules of her exile. It would break her heart if they did, as surely as it had hurt her to be exiled – but she couldn't do anything else.
She had to have the Amazons' help to save the League, to save Batman.
That was all that mattered now.
Part VIII
"Diana!" Hippolyta exclaimed.
Diana saw the surprise, joy and love in her mother's eyes before Hippolyta changed her expression with visible effort, becoming the Queen of Themyscira once again, not Diana's mother.
"Diana, you are in violation of your exile. Give yourself up immediately to my guards."
Diana sighed. She had known that her mother would react that way – she was queen, there was no other way to respond to her but as one diplomat to another.
Diana bowed respectfully in the air, and said in her strongest voice, "My queen, I apologize for coming back to Themyscira against the wishes of the Amazons. But I come not as an Amazon, but as a representative of the Justice League, which direly needs your assistance."
Her mother's voice remained cold, although the expression in her eyes softened. "Why did you not send the other female? Hawkgirl?"
"Hawkgirl has been captured, along with the rest of the Justice League, moth...my queen," Diana hastily amended the last words. She had to remain in the role she had chosen – not of daughter, but of ambassador. To do otherwise would be to insult Hippolyta by ignoring the decree of exile.
"And why is this the concern of the Amazons? We have no business with Man's World."
But Diana could see the interest in Hippolyta's eyes, the concern. The Justice League had saved the Amazons once, and Hippolyta would not forget that, and Diana knew that the queen respected the heroes who had come to their aid.
Diana took a deep breath. "Because, Queen Hippolyta, it is Circe that has captured the league." She heard her mother's gasp, knew that the chances of getting help from her mother were very good now. "And I need two things from the Amazons before I can face her, and save the league: Penelope's bow and arrows, and the Amulet of Tiresius."
"Yes, the bow..." Hippolyta whispered. "That was how Penelope defeated her before – the bow is magical, designed to break through any spells that the witch has cast. When Penelope shot her with it, the witch's illusions were revealed, and she had not choice but to escape and tend her wounds, or face death. Even though history recorded that the bow was Odysseus', it was always Penelope's."
"Yes." Diana flew closer. "And the Amulet of Tiresius, so that I may find the sorceress's island. It has been hidden by her magics, so only the seer's amulet can help me save them."
Hippolyta nodded. "Yes. Come with me, quickly, Diana. We will get you these things, and you will rid the world of that witch forever with them."
********
Batman felt like screaming, but he didn't make a sound. There wasn't a part of his body that didn't hurt, didn't make him want to writhe in pain. But he was still and silent, not letting her know how much she had hurt him.
Diana was doing this to him.
He had been in pain before – a lot of it – tortured before by the Joker, or any other villain that somehow managed to get their hands on him, broken bones, gunshot wounds, knife wounds. But never hurt by someone he cared about, never by a friend.
It's not her. He tried to remind himself of that, but knew that the pain was bringing on hallucinations. No one, not even he, could function normally under this kind of torture.
He repeated it in his brain to remind himself, to focus on anything other than the agony sweeping through him. Not Diana. Not Diana. Not Diananotdiananotdiana.
In front of him, Diana smiled wickedly and applied the rod she held to his chest, and it felt like a severe electric shock, a heavy blow and a stabbing at the same time. He clenched his teeth, wondering how much more he could take. He tried to kick out at her, but the strength in his legs was gone.
He narrowed his eyes, ignoring the red haze that swam in front of his eyes, trying to examine the rod she held. It was some kind of torturing device, probably working because of a spell since he could see no electrical parts on it, a device that inflicted incredible pain without causing any real damage. Although it felt as if he had been tortured mercilessly, he knew that his body was fine. He held onto that thought.
She touched him again with the rod and pain ripped through him, and his control broke for just a second.
"Please, Diana..." The words were barely a whisper. "Stop."
Diana raised an eyebrow, looking at him impassively. "Why should I stop? Do you know how much pain you've caused me? It feels like you've ripped out my heart." And she applied the rod to the area over his heart.
He closed his eyes, unable to bear it. When he caught his breath and pushed the pain out of his mind for a second, he opened his eyes – and Diana wasn't there anymore. Instead, it was the purple-haired sorceress who had captured them.
"You..." he said, barely able to form the word.
The sorceress looked at him, concerned. "By Zeus, what has she done to you? Let me help." She reached forward and unclasped the loops holding him to the wall somehow. He fell forward, and she caught him gently, walking him over to one of the sofas and lying him down.
She lifted a rod, brought it close to his chest, and he drew back with the little strength he had left.
"No," she said soothingly. "I won't hurt you like she did." The rod touched him, and instead of hurting him it healed him, the pain washing away like it had never existed. "I brought you and your friends here because I knew Wonder Woman would attack you soon, but she obviously got to you when I was off the island, looking for her. For that I am sorry."
Batman tried to sit up, but he was still too weak even though the pain was gone. He watched the woman suspiciously.
"Why did you think Wonder Woman would attack us?"
"Because she is an Amazon," the woman said simply. "And Amazons are always vindictive when their love is not returned, or if they have been rejected. When she resigned from the Justice League, it was only a matter of time until she felt rejected by them. And since she loved you, I knew her revenge would be very bad." She looked down sadly at him. "I am sorry for your torture."
Batman tried to get up again, was able to move simply through the force of his willpower.
"No!" the woman cried out, and pushed him back. "Sleep and recover your strength," she said, and touched him with the rod again, and it must have been spelled to make him sleep because he knew nothing after that.
*******
The bow felt warm in Diana's hands, the magic still running through it after thousands of years. This was how she would save Batman, and the league. She turned, preparing to leave – hating that she had to leave her mother without resolving anything between them, without being able to talk to her as a daughter instead of an ambassador.
"Thank you, your majesty," Diana said, and looked at her mother one last time.
"My daughter...wait. I won't keep you from your mission, but give me a moment, as mother to daughter." Hipployta held out her arms pleadingly.
Diana's heart filled with joy, and she finally ran to her mother, hugged her tightly. "I have missed you, mother."
"And I, you." Hippolyta pulled back, looked at Diana seriously. "I can not change the order of exile, Diana. Unless..." Her voice trailed off.
"Unless?" Diana wondered. Was there some way to return to the Amazons again, to be able to visit again? Some trial or feat that she had to accomplish? She would do it in a heartbeat.
"Unless you returned, and agreed never to go back to Man's World once you have saved your league. Only if you leave all of Man's World behind can you return."
"Mother, I—I..." Diana stammered, unsure of what to say. What to choose. Here was a chance to be with her family, her sisters again – but what about the league? What about the joy she found learning about Man's World?
What about her feelings for Bruce? Could she bear never seeing him again?
Hippolyta touched her daughter's face tenderly. "What keeps you from us, Diana? What fascinates you about Man's World so?" A wise, knowing look entered her eyes. "Or is it not a something, but a someone?"
"There is the league. They are all my friends," Diana said, then added honestly, "And...there is a man."
Hippolyta smiled sadly. "And does he love you, as well?"
Diana's throat tightened painfully. "No."
Leaning forward, she kissed her daughter's forehead. "Then do not stay and pine over him, daughter. Return to us, and be happy again."
Diana remembered the years of pleasure on the island. She thought of the league, and how she wasn't a member of it any longer. How her feelings for Bruce might never be returned. Did she fit into Man's World? Was her place on Themyscira?
She turned, grief welling in her heart. How could she decide?
"I'll...think about it, mother," she whispered, and flew off into the night.
The Amulet of Tiresius would guide her to Circe's island, and she would save the league – and then she would make her decision.
If there was any hope that she could return to the league, or if Bruce would feel something for her – then maybe she would stay in Man's World.
Otherwise, she would return to Themyscira. Forever.
Part IX
Batman awoke to a sharp slap across his cheek. He was bound to the wall again, Diana standing in front of him.
"So I see that Circe tried to help you – but she is too late. I'm back to finish the job I started earlier." Diana waved the rod in front of him.
The sleep had let him regain some of his strength. He kicked out viciously, knocking the rod from her hand, sending it flying across the room. His other foot caught her across the face, and she fell backwards, smacking against a chair.
"You bast—" she began, but cut herself off, rose and smiled. "You may struggle, Batman, but you will not get away from me." She retrieved the rod, walked back to him.
Batman narrowed his eyes, finally convinced of one thing: this was not Diana. He had seen her hit by forces much greater than his kick without falling down, or being the least bit hurt – no, somehow the purple haired witch – Circe – had created the illusion of Diana over herself. He wondered if she had tried to trick the other Leaguers in the same way.
Suddenly, two more bindings popped out of the wall, capturing his ankles in their unbreakable grip. Safe from his kicks now, she held the rod to his stomach, holding it there longer than ever before, until he was gasping for breath, feeling as though his insides had been ripped from him.
She pulled the rod away, stared at him consideringly. "You know, if you do one thing, I'll stop the torture..."
He lifted his head, but didn't give her the triumph of a sound, not a word.
She sighed, and continued. "You just have to tell me how much you love me, and beg my forgiveness for hurting me."
Batman opened his mouth to comply, anything to get out of the bonds so that he could finally fight back, finally escape, but the words were trapped in his throat.
He couldn't say it.
He couldn't ever say it to anyone but the real Diana.
So instead he prepared himself for more pain, and said, "I could never love you."
With a scream of rage, she hit him with the rod again. "Say it!"
He grated the words out between clenched teeth, barely able to catch his breath long enough to form the words. "I could never love you."
And she tortured him again.
And again.
And each time, he said the same thing, until he didn't have enough strength to form even those five simple words.
And he wondered how long it would take him to die, or even if the rod would let him die, if the pain became bad enough.
********
With the amulet, Diana had no trouble locating Circe's island, but she took a few extra minutes to do surveillance before charging in. The landscape was dominated by a huge palace, and no other buildings as far as she could tell.
It ended up being almost ridiculously easy to enter the palace – there weren't any guards, and since she was armed with Penelope's bow and arrows, Diana wondered if they had allowed her to pass through any magic barriers that Circe may have placed around the palace. The bow's resistance to Circe's magic would, Diana realized, come in very handy if that was the case.
She flew warily down the halls, checking rooms, going deeper and deeper into the bowels of the palace. It took her nearly an hour to find the room in which the Justice League was being held – all of the League except Batman.
They were all bound to the wall, asleep, and Diana notched an arrow into the bow and went from hero to hero, using the tip of the enchanted arrow to slice through their magical bonds. Then, gently, she woke them up by touching them with the bow, breaking the sleep spell Circe had put on them.
And found herself pinned to the wall, Superman's hand wrapped around her neck, choking her. She dropped the bow, clawing at his hand. Behind him, Hawkgirl looked at her in hate, swinging her mace. J'onn and GL stood, staring at her warily, their eyes showing the same emotion as Hawkgirl's. Flash disappeared for a moment, but then returned a second later.
"I found Batman, but I can't get him out of the bonds." He paused, then glared at Diana. "He looks like he is in awful shape. I'm not even sure he recognized me."
Superman leaned forward, and Diana was certain she had never seen him more angry. And it was directed at her. "I'm sure Diana can get him out, can't you?"
His grip on her throat didn't let her speak, so she mouthed the words: "Yes." Her heart was aching. Did they hate her this much? Did they blame her for Circe's actions? After all, Circe was obviously after Diana – did they think it was her fault they had been captured?
She closed her eyes, fighting for breath, fighting tears. Here was a clear indication, she thought, that there was increasingly no place for her in Man's World. She had no friends here.
"Superman..." J'onn frowned. "I think that we may be making a mistake. You should let her go."
Green Lantern scowled. "A mistake? She's been torturing us for two days. I say he should tighten that grip."
Torturing? Her? Eyes wide, she looked wildly at Superman, trying to tell him with her expression that, no, it hadn't been her.
J'onn put a hand to his head. "No, I think that she may be innocent. It's hard to...this island is messing up my telepathic capabilities."
Hawkgirl took a step forward. "But we all saw her, Manhunter. I didn't believe it at first either. None of us did." She looked at Diana caught in Superman's hand, cocked her head as if considering. "But after two days..." Her voice trailed off, and she addressed Diana directly. "Diana, you were my best friend? Why?"
Superman's grip was easing, and Diana was finally able to croak, "Not...me. Please...believe..."
Superman closed his eyes, came to a decision. "All right." He let her go, and she fell to her knees, gasping for breath.
"Now isn't this a touching little reunion," a voice said from the doorway.
Diana looked up and saw ... herself.
"Great Hera," she said.
To Be Continued
