Chapter #4 – Flank Attack
Batman stood in the tower, testing the wind to see if any breeze might disrupt the flight of his grapple across the 125 meters necessary to reach the artillery emplacement. He studied the dozen or so men grouped around each piece, grimly realizing the Palace should have been blown up an hour before if the men had a proper inkling of how to move and arm the weapon correctly. 'No reason to give them any more time' he thought, then shot his grapple into another four-story building across the plaza. He secured his end of the line around the column to his left then nodded at Orin, who proceeded to jump out of the tower, managing a full somersault in the air before landing in the midst of the Dorians near the second emplacement.
One second later, Batman dropped two smoke bombs onto his site before landing in their midst. The artillerymen suspected something was wrong when smoke started searing his lungs, but they were unable to vocalize an alarm. Their suspicions were confirmed a second later when members of the team started dropping like flies. One of the more experienced sergeants finally managed to sound an alarm before he too was silenced. His warning was sufficient to cause a nearby infantry unit to detach a squad of twenty men to investigate the mounting panic occurring by their artillery.
The squad had managed to march the first two steps required to cover the fifty yards between their positions when an explosion rang out at the nearest artillery piece. Realizing that he needed the power of the artillery to knock down the doors to the Palace, Phylptus immediately realized the extent of his predicament. He marshaled all of his forces to rally around the second emplacement when an explosion rang out from that area, rivaling the power of the first.
As he rode his horse towards the wharf to investigate the cause of the explosion, Phylptus halted his horse, a look of incredulity etched on his face. His precious ships were floating away from Themyscira, powered by the ebbing tides. 'I've just lost my transportation and all of my heavy weaponry in less than a minute,' he thought as panic built up in his gut. 'The tide has turned against us.'
The remaining Amazons had fully evacuated their wounded away from the southern wall when Hippolyta took a break to drink from a canteen Flash provided. He was making himself as useful as possible, utilizing his super-speed to retrieve water from the last running spigot in the Palace, as well as tend to the wounded. Diana's eyes twinkled as she spied him making two a few unnecessary side trips to speak to two raven haired beauties, marveling that the man could still make time to pursue romantic interests even during a siege.
"I'm assuming that you brought the entire League?" Hippolyta asked, "When can we expect relief from the siege?"
"In addition to Flash, Batman and Aquaman - Orin, the King of Atlantis, are with me." Diana replied.
"Batman?" Hippolyta protested in horror. "He's only a mortal Diana…he'll be next to useless against that kind of firepower."
Diana smiled at her mother's ignorance. She contemplated naming a few of the situations when Batman would have been viewed as 'useless' by the League's now-defeated enemies but her retort was cut short a second later as two large explosions rang out from the harbor.
"That must be him now." Diana said proudly. "He's a true warrior, mother. Give him a chance. I'll need two companies of troops to assist me in launching an attack in one minute."
They busied themselves locating enough troops to fulfill the battle order when Orin's voice crackled in Diana's communicator. "Diana, get out here if you can. Batman is down."
Alfred Pennyworth had once observed that while Batman had no extraphysical prowess when compared to his League teammates, there was one part of his anatomy which science would probably determine was superhuman in its origin: his head.
Before launching their attack, Batman and Aquaman had agreed to stagger the detonations of the artillery pieces in order to ensure the maximum amount of damage to the Dorian Army. Unfortunately, once Orin had arrived in the midst of a dozen well-equipped soldiers, his brain had gone into automatic battle-mode, thereby wiping out a few important details like the timing of the charges. After he'd wiped out the guards around the emplacement, Orin secured the charge to the weapon then leapt towards Batman's position.
Batman was surprised to find Aquaman land next to him halfway between the two emplacements then realized with a shock that the weapons were not timed according to their original plan. Batman was actually running towards Aquaman's emplacement after securing his own sapper charge. He immediately made a 90-degree turn away from the two artillery pieces as any other line of retreat was out of the question. The Dorian battalion cut off his retreat to the south and west while the harbor represented his only alternative to the north. Unfortunately, as he made his retreat, he was almost run over by the Atlantean King. Orin was similarly motivated to gain a safe distance from his own emplacement as his timer showed fifteen seconds when he started running towards Batman. The resulting collision which would have been comical if not for the fact that they were still in equal proximity to both emplacements. More importantly, as they were sprawled in a heap on the ground, neither man was making progress to alleviate that situation.
Luckily, given his meta-strength, Orin was able to set the two of them back to rights a second later without any lasting damage. After he picked up his Trident, they turned towards the harbor. Their feet resumed their frenetic pace to carry them past the blast zone when the first explosion rocked the ground under their feet. The blast concussion threw them to the ground. Staggering to their feet a moment later, they managed to regain their equilibrium then renewed their escape. As they ran, a smile etched its way onto Orin's face as he triumphantly thought they were home free. Unfortunately, the second blast sent a similar shock wave through the air. A piece of shrapnel the size and shape of a golf ball shot directly at Batman, glancing off the crown of his head a millisecond later. While the object didn't penetrate into his brain, the force of the impact rendered him immediately unconscious.
After he watched his teammate stagger and hit the cobblestones like a sack of potatoes, Orin reached over and quickly threw the comatose man over his shoulder. With one leap, he bounded away from the largest group of Dorian troops, moving faster than they had ever seen any man move before. After the explosions, the Dorians had sufficiently regained their wits to initiate a counter-attack against the insurgency in their flank. Almost the entire battalion charged towards the rear, not realizing the explosions were caused by two superheroes already vacating the battlefield. With a second bound, Orin jumped back to their original position at the tower overlooking the battlefield. He knelt onto the roof and secured Batman's crumpled form into the corner of the roof, then called for backup.
Circe and Ares had settled under an umbrella and were lightly munching on a plate of brie cheese, bread and grapes when an explosion rocked the pier on which they sat."What happened?" Circe asked in exasperation.
"They're the cause!" Ares said, pointing his finger at Batman and Aquaman as the two men fled from the scene.
"That's Diana's boyfriend! She must be here!" Circe gasped, then ducked as the second blast rained yet more shrapnel down on their position. "We've got to stop them!"
The tide of the battle had turned against the Dorian Army, but their lack of training in modern military strategy ultimately contributed to their demise. The loss of the artillery pieces was important to be sure, but ultimately there were other means available (a few well placed incendiaries on the Palace roof, for example) to extract the Amazons from the Temple. The Dorians held the machinery in awe however and its destruction resulted in an immediate plunge in the soldier's morale level. Their naivete about flank attacks was also exposed as the Dorians assumed they were under attack by a force of Amazons to their rear. The Dorian troops wheeled away from the Temple and counter-attacked in the direction of the harbor, not realizing there were only two men responsible for causing the havoc behind their lines.
As they advanced, companies, platoons and squads lost their cohesion as they desperately raced to the harbor to fend off what they believed to be an impeding attack. The Dorians reached the shoreline without finding a single enemy however, and panic quickly spread through the men when they realized their ships were floating away with the tide. Unfortunately for those soldiers, Batman had also placed some time-delay smoke bombs on the ground. A few platoons were caught in the choking gasses then collapsed to the ground a moment later, further increasing the panic of the remaining companies as they frantically searched for the phantom army in their rear.
A moment later, two companies of Amazon warriors took advantage of the Dorians reversal of fortune and flowed from a side gate in the Palace, screaming a battle-cry in the Ancient Tongue as they advanced. Led by Diana and Flash, the Amazons poured into the now exposed flank of the Dorian Army, which until two minutes before thought it had the advantage of both surprise and firepower on its side. Realizing they'd lost the advantage, the Dorians initiated a full-scale retreat towards the wharf. The retreat created a bottleneck as men pushed and shoved each other out of the way in the mounting panic.
Dozens were crushed underfoot in the melee while a few strong swimmers elected to attempt to reach the nearest ship, floating an enticing forty meters away from the wharf. Unfortunately, the swimmers quickly sank under the weight of their bronze armor. Dejected, the rest of the army turned back towards their enemy, resigned to face the Amazons in one last, desperate battle.
Phylptus made a courageous attempt to form columns in order to secure their position. His efforts were frustrated however as every time the front lines attempted to raise their weapons against the advancing Amazons, a red blur shot past, snatching away their weapons before they could do any real damage. There were a scattering of shots from soldiers still bearing the plasma rifles in the rear ranks, however the Amazon Champion easily deflected the blasts with her bracelets. Her eyes glowed with anger as she rallied her sisters forward. The rage evident on her face caused the Dorians to quietly pray that some other unlucky soldier be the one to face the brunt of her wrath.
Finished with the task of relieving 2,000 men of their plasma rifles, Flash allowed those with swords to keep them for their final defense, knowing full well that he was only prolonging their deaths. Flash debated trying to disarm the Amazons as well then realized it wasn't his place to enforce his sense of justice on someone else's homeland.
Moments later, the men in the front ranks were cut down like a scythe as the Amazons brought their swords and spears into the fray. They offered no quarter for their Dorian enemies this time around and expertly plunged their long lances into the tightly packed confines, impaling the men one by one. Fueled by the outrage over the deaths of their sisters, the Amazon soldiers maintained the warm work of slaughtering the Dorians for the next few minutes until the streets of Themyscira ran red with their blood.
Some resisted longer than others, including Phylptus, whose strength of will alone kept his men from breaking from the ranks. Those men who didn't fully trust the new weapons Ares provided had elected to keep their swords. They men made a valiant last stand near the harbor walls, skillfully parrying the Amazonian attacks until the sheer weight of the attack overwhelmed their remaining numbers. The Amazons later remarked those Dorians reminded them of the Spartans last stand at Thermopylae. Whenever possible, they granted those Dorians a quick, painless death until the last of them were slain. Fifteen minutes after breaking out of the Palace, Phylptus found himself surrounded by Amazons. Screaming with rage, he was the last Dorian to fall to an Amazon sword, then the field of battle resume an eerie calm.
As the fire of the battle against the Dorians ebbed from her veins, Diana spied Orin on top of the building to her north. She levitated into the air, landing a moment later next to Orin. He'd propped an unconscious Batman in the corner then watched over him to ensure that no Dorians would kill his wounded teammate.
"What happened?" she asked, shocked at the fact that he had been wounded. It was easy to forget that he was a mortal as he typically emerged from battles with their enemies with nary a scratch.
"Piece of shrapnel." Orin surmised, handing his teammate into her waiting arms. "He should be okay, if there's no swelling in his brain."
"Is that a possibility?" she asked, her fear growing by the second.
"I am neither a doctor nor an expert on human frailty." Orin replied darkly. "We'll need to get J'onn to take a look at him. In the meantime, you've got a lot of wounded down there so let's help them while we can..."
"Poor Diana! Is your boyfriend crossing over Styx as we speak?" Circe's voice taunted from above.
"I knew it was you, witch!" Diana seethed, turning to confront the woman who had caused her so much grief in recent weeks. "Your parole said you couldn't touch my mother!" She gingerly lowered Batman back into the corner, propping him upright with as much care as she could manage.
"And I haven't darling." Circe chirped, then pointed over to the God who emerged from the smoke below. "He will though!"
"Ares!" Diana exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"Tidying up some loose ends from a long time ago, Diana. I should have anticipated that you would come back though your exile was supposed to last for eternity. Don't women even listen? Eternity means forever!" Ares lamented as he levitated up to the top of the building.
Diana turned and spied the trident in Orin's hands. "The witch is yours!" she spat derisively, then flew towards Ares. Gathering her momentum as she neared the powerful God, she launched a right hook at his chin, ducking as he attempted to deliver an overhand left. The force of her punch was powerful enough to throw the God off the top of the building onto the cobblestones below. He landed on his back with a jarring thud and Diana immediately pursued him to the ground, then pounced on him before he fully recovered from the fall.
Smiling imperiously as she watched Ares and Diana exchange blows on the street below, Circe lazily drifted above the Atlantean King. Realizing he lacked the power of flight, she was confident in her ability to deal with what appeared to be a mere interloper in her eyes. She prepared to launch her first attack when she realized that he carried Neptune's Trident. Her eyes went white with fear for the first time since her return from the Pit.
Orin sneered. "Nothing to say, witch?" he goaded. "Recognize the instrument the Ancients used to consign you to the Pit? I always enjoyed the stories my father told me about how they used it to fry you like a pig on the spit! Do you still have the scars to show for it?"
"I've always said it's not the size of the wand, but how you use it!" she replied, then unleashed an attack directly at him. Orin triggered a blast from the Trident, immediately nullifying her magical attempt to transform him into a carp. Circe cursed silently then sent another spell directly behind him. Two stone gargoyles on the roof animated to life for a moment before Orin turned and triggered the Trident's own blast, canceling her magic a second time. The stone figures quickly receded to their original, lifeless pose. Orin's haughty smile grew larger by the minute, knowing he held the one instrument on the planet that could defeat the witch.
As she circled him, Circe's face paled, realizing the scions of Atlantis were well versed in the powers of the Trident. She looked around, hoping for some assistance from Ares, however he was locked in a grueling hand-to-hand duel with Diana. Circe did a double take as she realized that Ares appeared to be worse for the wear after exchanging another series of blows with the Amazon Princess.
"You are going to have to do better than that, Circe! I'll try and make this as quick and painless as possible." With that Orin triggered a blast from the Trident in her direction. She managed to deflect a substantial portion of the magical discharge, however the tail of the blast caught her in the stomach. Doubling over in pain, Circe plummeted towards the ground, arresting her fall only inches from the pavement.
She looked up and saw the grim determination of the face of the Atlantean as he bounded off the roof of the building. Circe rolled to her right just in time to avoid being crushed when he landed on the ground. She took quick stock of her situation, realized that the best she could hope for in this situation was a draw, then sped away from the island, gaining altitude as she flew away.
"You're on your own, Ares," she shouted, "My revenge will have to wait another day."
Diana was surprised at the success she was enjoying against Ares thus far in their battle. While normally reticent to fight a more powerful God (the God of War no less), she realized that the exertion of bringing the Dorians to the island had weakened him considerably. They were standing toe-to-toe in the middle of the street, trading straight overhand rights and left hooks. Foregoing her boxing stance for a moment, Diana replicated one of Batman's favorite moves, bringing a spin-kick directly into his midriff.
Ares breath exploded from his lungs and he went down on one knee. She stepped forward, hoping to exploit the advantage, then received a right uppercut to the jaw which threw her back across the street. She impacted on the exterior wall of the dockside building with enough force to leave an imprint of her body in the brick wall. Diana rose to her feet a moment later, then dusted herself off quickly before setting off to battle with her opponent one more time. As she approached Ares, Diana debated the merits of her strategy. Initially she hoped to wear him down but even in his weakened state, Ares appeared to be an even match for her. 'Find his weakness' she thought savagely as they began trading another series of blows.
Diana circled to her left to keep him moving, then noticed that he was gasping for air. 'He's tired but that's only allowing me to trade punches with him' she realized grimly, ducking as another overhand right cross flashed over her head. Sensing that his punches were losing some of their steam, Diana re-doubled the pace of her punches, raining down a series of combinations, supplemented by the aikido kicks Batman recently taught her, to further wear down her opponent.
The power of her onslaught was visible on Ares' face a moment later. Staggering back to his feet, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, astonished that she'd managed to start a flow of blood from a God.
"I see the Amazons have learned a few new tricks in battle." He observed with a laugh. "Impressive, but it won't be enough to stop my plans. As soon as Circe finishes the Atlantean, we're going to consign you and your Mother to the very Pit you've been guarding for centuries!"
Just as the words dribbled out of his mouth, Circe flashed overhead, gaining altitude as she fled the island. His face paled when he heard his partner shout, "You're on your own, Ares," then the Atlantean landed next to his Amazon teammate a second later. The two Leaguers circled the God like two Great White Sharks who smelled the blood of their prey in the water, then unleashed their combined attack a moment later.
The aftermath of the battle was quiet. Diana felt drained as the adrenaline rush left her body. Exhausted, she slumped to the ground to regain her breath. Ares lay comatose on the ground a few feet away. Diana's eyes reflected her trepidation at dealing with him again, knowing that when Ares regained his senses he would still represent a formidable opponent for the two Leaguers. Orin followed the direction of her stare. He put his hand on his shoulder, reassuring her that he would take great pleasure in delivering the now comatose Ares to the prison in Athena's Temple. Orin slung Ares over his back then muttered, "Let's hope the power of the Gods can contain him." He ambled back up the alley in the direction of the Temple a moment later. As she watched him walk away, Diana spied movement from the opposite side of the street.
Her mother and Flash were on the sidewalk, picking through the debris in search of four Amazons reported missing in action. Spying Diana, the two quickly crossed the street in her direction. Diana wearily rose to her feet when they arrived, embracing her Mother warmly. Relief washed over Hippolyta's face as she held her daughter, then she whispered a quiet, "Athena be praised."
"Who was responsible for this?" Hippolyta asked through gritted teeth.
"Ares and Circe apparently are holding onto some ancient grudges against us." Diana replied, "Orin and I knocked Ares unconscious. He took him to the Temple prison but he'll need your immediate assistance. Circe escaped."
As the word "unconscious" left her mouth, a sudden panic swept over Diana as she remembered the condition of her lover. She quickly levitated to the top of the building above their position on the street. He was propped in the corner where Diana left him, chin lolled on his chest and still unconscious.
She picked up him, cradling his limp form in her arms, then dropped back to the pavement below where Hippolyta and Flash waited expectantly.
"What's wrong with Bats?" Flash asked, the concern evident on his face.
Diana tenderly kneeled down on the pavement, cradling his head in her lap as she stretched his legs out to keep him comfortable. Gingerly, she peeled the cowl away from his face, probing his head for injuries with her fingertips. "Orin said he was hurt in the explosion. Concussion."
Hippolyta watched her daughter's softening expression with interest, then her eyes sparked with recognition once Diana tenderly ran her fingertips down the side of the unconscious man's face.
"I didn't realize that you had developed feelings for this man…a mere mortal no less," Hippolyta whispered, a hint of aristocratic snobbery creeping into her voice as she vocalized the final words.
Diana's head snapped around and Hippolyta reeled from the anger her daughter flashed in her direction. "This 'mere mortal' put himself in harm's way for our sisters in two separate occasions. I would think that you would have the decency to treat him with a little more respect, Mother."
"We can talk about that later, my child. In the meantime, why don't you put him in your room in the Palace so that he can rest." Hippolyta soothed.
"You're right, of course." Diana replied, returning to her feet, still cradling her man in her arms, "I'll take him back to the Palace." She turned to face Flash, "Can you call J'onn and arrange to have some medical supplies flown down here?"
"Already on it, Princess." Flash replied.
Hippolyta stared at her daughter, shaking her head with amazement that she had fallen for a mortal, then dismissed that thought for later. Ares confinement represented the most pressing matter at hand. She strode away from her daughter, formulating the most articulate means she could use to express herself in Athena's Temple. Any failure on her part to appeal to Zeus' sense of justice would likely result in an ongoing war between Ares and Themyscira. As she walked to the Temple, she spied her daughter float up and over the nearest building, gaining altitude before she sped off to the Palace, protectively holding the Dark Knight. .
