Lemme say something first, non? But okay, okay I'll speed this up. Thank you for your reviews! But I also have a question that I've been burning to ask since writing this fic. Has Justice League Unlimited ended? Is Season 5 the last of the show? I haven't seen any news or updates concerning its upcoming season—if there's ever gonna be one… But shit if they're really through with it!
But anyhow...
Enjoy!
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His insides burned as his head shot up, his mouth and nostrils wide gasping for breath. Before he could swim ashore, his arms waded hysterically in the water as he was pulled back into the deep, murky waters. He barely gulped in air when keen teeth embedded its jagged choppers into his skin. He swallowed a painful cry for fear that he'd gulp a lungful of water and drown.
Alternately, he bent forward, quickly fished out his electric brass knuckles and punched the shark's spiteful jowl hard in the face. After a series of blows and ear-splitting wails, it finally let go, its bulky figure spiraling down towards its gloomy home.
Making certain that it couldn't torpedo back to him, he paddled his complaining arms and legs upward, his teeth gritting so tight that if ever possible, his jaw would shatter to bony pieces. Still pushing his legs upward and ignoring the bleeding in his leg, he didn't realize that he already reached the surface when everything started to blur in front of him.
Bruce shook his head to will the dizziness to pass. When it softly thudded in the back of his head, he swam to the sandy, white shore ahead. When he crawled onto land, he checked the golden watch strapped to his belt.
Eleven hours to go till Diana would be lost to them. Lost to him.
He cursed fiercely when he could hardly walk three feet's length. He didn't care if the gods laughed or criticized his injured condition now. He also erased the image of Dick and Wally frowning in anxiety, as they could do nothing but helplessly watch their mentor limping forward, wounded in all the wrong places from head to foot.
He ripped a strip of his tattered cape and wound it tightly around his wet, bloody gash a little above his ankle. When he tried to stand up, he fell instantly. Pain shot through his legs, arms, bruised chest, and the thumping in his head grew louder and more unbearable.
Unwinding his knotted nerves by rubbing his battered muscles, Bruce figured that he couldn't go on successfully in a pathetic state as now. Juggling his options, he decided that he needed a sum of ten minutes' rest before going any further with the ordeal.
Carefully, he set the borrowed things on the warm sand and mused over the preceding moments of terror that seized his core when he ran and fought in the sultry chasms and formidable citadels of the Underworld. His willful determination to outsmart the gods and their ludic plots to degrade humankind in general was his source of short-lived triumph as of now.
He sighed heavily when his eyes began to droop.
Rubbing his face roughly, he reflected on his actions and the harrowing events that took place a few hours ago. He thought of Artemis and a thin smile crept to his lips.
Flashback: (The first test: Lady of the Wild Things)
A swarm of arrows were flung sharply in his direction. He hid behind an oak that seemed to have shifted when he neared it. But he paid no attention to it when arrows hit the ground next to him. Puzzled that he felt the leaves fluttering above him, he looked up.
Nothing moved, nothing appeared.
His brows knitted in paranoid confusion. He wondered why the tree didn't seem to have been stabbed by the arrows. The arrows flew in wide dimensions, and he was almost sure that the tree where he was hiding against should have been a victim of the arrows' stings.
Suddenly, a flicker of revelation hit him. He whirled around, was thankful that he was quick enough to elude the thick branch's blow. Its long, leafy branches swiped at him as he nimbly jumped away from its reach.
Everything in the mythological world pulsated with life, its lively veins streaked with magic and individual spirit. He abruptly glanced down, imagined that the ground would create a whirlpool of quicksand under his feet and swallow him in.
But it was only his imagination, nothing more than that hopefully.
He cautiously moved to a shrub, his Baterang ever ready in his taut grip. But Cupid's early warning echoed in his ears. Killing any living thing—plants or animals—in Artemis' territory would mean instant death to the Batman.
He swore under his breath. How could he get anywhere when concealed eyes and silent news from trees or animals could give away his position at any moment?
He escaped from his reverie when hooves trotted towards him. Frustrated and powerless, he ran forward, ignoring trees scratching his face. The hooves thundered louder behind him, the horse's gasps filling the spookily quiet forest.
His heart fell when he heard a bowstring being adjusted. He could feel his back being targeted, his heart marked as the bull's eye.
His legs began to ache tremendously but he pushed forward, adrenaline pumping in his hot veins. His fingers involuntarily touched the watch given to him by Hippolyta—it showed the remaining time he had until Diana's sense of being faded away from them forever. His touch soon fell to his utility belt. He fished out a smoke bomb from one of the pockets, tossed it behind him, and he ducked quickly behind a rock that sat beside an enormous tree.
'Fuck those gabbing firewood they call trees!' he thought out loud in his head. If the tree beside him ratted on him, he'd chop it down heedlessly. He couldn't care more if Artemis would want his head if he killed her beloved tree. This was too much.
He lowered his head when he saw the horse's figure emerging out of the fog, its nose twitching as the smoke tickled its muzzle. As the horse was steered in a circle, the rider was Bruce's focal attention.
Her green eyes sparkled fiercely as she searched hard for any sign of the Batman's dark form; her untamed hair was tied back in a hasty ponytail, wisps of brown hair half-curtained her angry face; and her tanned hands gripped the bow tightly when her search seemed futile.
Immediately her cold gaze fell on the rock. Batman fell quietly before she caught sight of him. Catching a glimpse of her sharp green eyes told him that she was acutely smart, and if he didn't act sooner he was sure her deadly arrow would skewer him before he had the chance to scramble up and dash for hopeless cover.
Lightning fast, he dropped one of his smoke bombs beside him, thus, creating an opaque mist whirling around him. It was a slim chance, but the only possible way out of Artemis' fatal proximity. Just then, he swung a thin object at the far side from where he was positioned.
As he heard his contraption hit the ground on the other side of the dirt path, he stealthily scrambled up, his legs carrying him out of there. As he ran from the foggy area, his instinct directing him to thicker foliage, he heard an arrow piercing the silence that overwhelmed them; it first stabbed the ground where he formerly hid, then it was aimed at where he threw the device.
Batman ran faster as he knew that he had less than two minutes before the goddess discovered that he used a diversion. That device was actually a hologram of himself; she probably assumed that the holograph was really him running from one tree to the other. He could hear more arrows puncturing the ground. He ran faster until his legs ached and his appendix burned.
He grabbed the watch and pressed a button that switched it to compass mode. How handy. Maybe when this was all over he could invent a multi-purpose watch too; a mini-Baterang, a Batmobile summoning button, and a tracking device indicator could be inserted into his watch as alternatives.
Glancing down at the compass, the needle pointed east. He followed its jittery aim as he kept a watchful sign for a stir in the woods. The trial was similar to a give and take swap. In order for him to enter through the Underworld and take something that would gain him leverage when he had to deal with Poseidon and the other gods, he initially had to go through Artemis.
And for him to get through Artemis, he had to look for her most cherished animal: the deer. According to Cupid, it was lost, and his current role was to search for it and shepherd it back to Artemis.
He remembered asking, if Artemis was its master and she was a goddess, why not call for it through mystical means? She had the power after all.
Cupid told him that the gods managed to thieve her whistle away—an apparatus that summoned her animals to her. And now she was in a state of disarray and fury; she needed it, wanted it back. And hearing of an intruder in her forest wasn't adding sunshine to her cloudy day.
He sighed. He touched his pocket. He could hardly feel the silvery smoothness of the tiny instrument but he knew it was stashed deeply inside his utility pouch. He had to wait, bide his time until he found the deer and by then, he would know what to do.
But now, he only had to run, use his instincts to evade Artemis furious arrows. He had to find the animal quick, wherever it was, before he was turned into Batman Barbeque.
A green, lush leaf slapped him in the face amidst the columns of thick barks. He fell back, groaned inwardly. He instantly leapt backward when a tree nearly crushed him with its heavy branch. He moved back, sideways, back again, forward, as trees from all directions consecutively wished to slam him to the ground. He gasped when thorns were thrown from rose bushes.
Dammit!
With his options running low, he had to risk his head. As a dense branch hit the ground, he flew up and swung his Baterang deep in its bark. A baritone moan seemed to have escaped from the ground as the tree's branches flung back and consequently forced other trees to retract, offering an escape for the Batman. He launched himself out of the fortress of trees.
He darted along a wide path, swaying trees angrily creaking in a row, which flanked him on both sides. He had to jump over long branches sweeping below him. His heart leapt to his throat when he heard horse hooves booming behind him, catching up to him by the second.
He looked from right to left. More mad trees lining the sides. There was no way animals could approach them now that they're posing a danger to every moving thing. He thought fast and hard.
If I were a lost deer, where would I cower to? He nearly tripped when he heard the arrow being adjusted once again. It would have been easier if he could just give the whistle to the goddess right at that moment. But Cupid firmly told him that if he did likewise, Artemis wouldn't believe him that the gods would steal her prized tool; she would kill him before he had the chance to confirm the truth.
Smoke bombs were useless when he didn't have a cover to turn to. Left with a risky choice, he dropped to the ground suddenly, his body rolling fast to the side when the horse was pulled harshly to a stop. But in its confusion, instead of turning around, it stood on its hind hooves, bringing the rider to the hard floor.
She cursed loudly, her glare fixed on the fleeing Batman.
"You will die before the day ends!" she screamed as he risked himself by running back into the trees, the compass directing him into it.
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He stopped at a low, peaceful creek, cupping his gloved hands and filling in some water for him to drink. As the cool, clean water nursed his parched throat, he felt the water freezing into ice in his mouth, as with his body, when a deer came trotting to the motionless river. Its eyes curiously watched him from the other end of the river. When it couldn't linger its stare on the Batman for long, it glanced down, its pink tongue slipping into the water as its ears remained poised in alertness.
Still unmoving, a volley of schemes flooded into his head that he could almost feel his brain beating with the same rhythm as his accelerating heart. Reaching for his pocket while slowly retreating towards the dangerously wooded area, he quietly dropped a Baterang on the ground.
The deer stared at him. He stared back. It stepped back a little, so did the Batman. It cocked its head as if trying to read his thoughts.
Batman wondered if it could.
Then it darted to the trees behind it, leaving Batman alone but pleased.
He looked at the verdant, floral region ahead. Skinny trees bordered the river's edge but he could tell that if they dared slap him, it might do less damage than what the fat trees behind him had tried to do. He tightened the bandage around his arm. Pain throbbed where a thorn previously struck his flesh, but he instantly brushed it aside as he tiptoed on the rocks that led him to the other side of the stream.
In this primitive dimension, he could feel sought stillness, as he never before found in his contaminated city. In fact, Gotham seemed more bestial and chaotic than a forest inhabited by creatures of minimal desires.
He leapt over another rock, lightly landed on another.
Somehow, he didn't care if he portrayed a burlesque male version of Red Riding Hood.
He landed on the soft, green ground. It felt like plush carpet against his soiled footwear.
Batman? No, call him, He-man of the Estranged Jungle.
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She tilted her head up.
Sniff.
She crinkled her nose as the scent of sweat and blood wisped into the tiny holes that seemed too small to be called nostrils. It looked more like it were pricked by syringes fashioned for beauty than for ample breathing.
Her gaze fell on the Baterang at her feet. She picked it up, confirmed the scent of its owner, then crushed it in her grasp. It fell, jagged and broken, on the dusty earth. Her horse whined softly at the ferocity of its master.
"Calm down, Bella. All will be well after I pierce the heart of the ominous intruder." She gently caressed her chestnut-colored mare's muzzle. "Shh… I will not spare him for trespassing unto our tranquil lands."
She looked up and saw gray clouds slithering overhead, blocking Helios' bright star above.
Her face grew sober once again. She could smell her whistle in the hands of another, her precious gift given to her by her twin brother, Apollo. She glowered at the deflated trees ahead. She imagined her whistle handled by an intruder, a stranger, a mortal.
Her prey.
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Batman whirled his head around when he heard coquettish giggles ringing about him. He leaned to the right, looked up, then he stopped.
Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee…
He turned around. Nothing moved.
He stepped forward.
More hee, hee…
He abruptly turned around and he stumbled back when women, naked, loomed before him in a semi-circle.
He was amidst immobilized trees and multihued blossoms. This side of the forest was beautiful, magical. And if Wally were in Bruce's shoes now, the Speedster might have underwent nosebleed and fainted.
He immediately shot up when they approached him, slowly, ethereally, as if he died and went to Fairy World. Everything was a hazy image excluding their bare, voluptuous curves sliding towards him.
Long, thin fingers reached for his chest without him realizing it after feeling their tender touch; mischievous teeth nipped his lip; their pale skin glowed with sweaty sheen; their dark, wavy hair hardly concealed their breasts; and their eyes—a light green—bore into his.
He tried to look away from their eyes but it was hypnotizing. They were beautiful. So enchanting. He could feel hungry lips clashing against his, hard. He thought of his purpose here, his reason for coming to this wonderful place. Nothing came.
Everything was a blur… except for these… women.
But a small voice kept badgering him. It grew louder and more distinct. It sounded familiar. He barely unearthed it when Diana's smile radiated his conscious mind and her kind, mellifluous voice reverberated in his ears.
As if a persistent star flickered in the darkness, the memories blinked at him, the revelation brightened his foggy head, and the confusion and blankness zipped past him altogether. He pulled away from the nymphs' grasps—struggled against their lustful desires—and ran the opposite direction from where they gathered, from where they pouted at him.
He ran to a threshold of trees that stood the same height as his. He crossed through the doorway furled by the trees, and to his relief, he was at a glade. Like looking through a tunnel that led to the sky, he looked up and saw a grayish tint in the sky. He wasn't superstitious so he didn't feel the need to dread.
He checked the compass and his brows knitted in puzzlement. He shook it a bit but the needle remained pointing towards him. He peered behind him but found nothing. That was odd. He turned around and edged closer to where the needle was pointing.
He crouched low, and intuitively, he pushed aside the bush that covered his line of vision. He saw another patch of clearing. But what arrested him was the sight that stood before him.
It was the same deer as earlier. And it noticed him but didn't move. Batman was relieved.
Before he could inch closer, a sharp jab in the lower of his back startled him. He didn't move, knowing better.
"My whistle," the voice said coldly.
Batman reached for it, but stopped himself. Knowing that his life depended on it, he said, "You'd kill me the second I show it to you. Can't I add my stipulations first?"
She went silent for a minute. "Begging for mercy is pointless. I could kill you right now and rummage for my whistle in the filth of your garments. It is easier and my knife is swift." But she still didn't move.
"I'm not here to beg for mercy."
"Then what is it you are implying to do?"
"Would you believe me if I am here not to endanger any of your possessions?"
She jabbed the knife deeper, making Batman wince. But she didn't go any further. "My whistle," she didn't ask but demanded.
"May I stand up? Crouching low is making my back ache," Batman said. He was stalling time.
Artemis thought for a while. "Very well. But your back is to me."
"Yes." Batman stood up, fished out the whistle. He could hear Artemis reaching for it. "Are you aware of the Mortal Tribulations?"
Artemis stopped. "Yes." She opened her mouth, but closed it again. She cursed under her breath.
"Zeus sent you here," she said softly that Batman had to cock his head to hear.
"With Cupid's permission, yes."
She grabbed the whistle from his hand and blew on it. The deer's ears rose and it bopped in their direction. It darted past Bruce and lingered at Artemis' side. After a few minutes, she said, "Although the choice of the trials' settings are random, I hate it when my father doesn't let me know what is going on. He rashly delegates me as one of the tormentors of those mortals who wish to cross Olympia's gates."
"If there's a possibility that some intruders are here for the trial, why not inquire them first?"
She shifted behind him. "Because it takes too much time. I do not wish to waste it."
He could slightly hear her cooing her deer. Batman went silent before asking, "Why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?"
She didn't answer him immediately. "As I was hunting for you, I noticed you didn't hurt any of my animals unlike what most humans did ruthlessly just to pass through my forbidden terrain. Maybe you did hurt one of my trees but you did not chop it down like what humans usually do today." She paused.
'I almost did,' Batman thought to himself.
"Before I approached you, I saw Apollinaire—my deer—watching you but she was not afraid. Animals can detect fury and bloodlust in mortals. So I considered you."
"Apollinaire must be real clever to perceive so. No wonder you chose her as your fondest animal," Batman said. Artemis nodded, smiled lightly.
"Why do you want to enter Olympia?" she asked after a minute's silence.
"To save someone."
Artemis waited for him to continue. Batman sighed.
"Princess Diana of Themyscyra."
She gasped, then fell quiet. After some hesitation, she said, "You are… with whom she works with in the Man's World?" Even before asking him that obvious question, she already had that inkling just by observing his quick movements and strange costume up close. Most mortals who were randomly dropped to her territory wore plain clothes and were clearly doing it for glory and fame. Some, who were doomed, did it to snare one of her creatures and roast it for dinner. They once believed that her animals gave eternal life if one eats their meat. But they made such a horrible mistake.
The memory angered her.
Apollinaire licked her hand, and the red mist subsided.
Batman slowly nodded, relaxing a bit when Artemis knew of Diana's position and purpose on earth.
"Could you tell me what happened to her?" She blushed at her ignorance. She was thankful that Diana's friend didn't see her embarrassment.
"I really don't have time…" he glanced at the watch. An hour and a half passed by so quickly. Artemis saw this and nodded.
"All right. Since your intentions seem true, I will spare you. But only on one condition."
"Do tell."
"Please save my friend."
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(The second test: God of Wealth)
Fire soared in impossible heights, thus, causing Bruce to sweat copiously until his cape felt heavy behind him. As he ran along the winding path to Acheron, the river of woe, he clutched the bundle of flowers closer to his chest. He was afraid that the flowers given to him by Artemis might unexpectedly wilt in the sultry heat of the Underworld.
The wound in his arm throbbed slightly. He was thankful that Artemis applied some medicinal herbs on the gash before she bid him farewell; it felt better now when the blood stopped oozing and it began to clot.
He looked up and narrowed his eyes cautiously. In case swooping devils or grating imps wished to attack him, he was always ready for it, his hand feeling for his Baterang. No matter how unbearable or terror-stricken it might be, he wouldn't lose, not now, not ever.
He followed the river's edge that would lead him to Charon's port. He dug out the coin given to him by Hippolyta and dropped it in the skeletal hand of the boatman. Charon nodded, said creakily, "Tartarus?"
"Tartarus," Batman echoed in confirmation.
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Nightwing's heart reeled forward—he could almost feel a bruise in his sternum—when he saw Batman dozing on and off. He felt Donna's hand gripping his tightly as they watched Bruce falling asleep. He glanced up at the clock above the screen and cursed softly.
He scowled at the back of Helios' head. In a mini-theatre, with fogs inexplicably rising from nowhere, Nightwing, Flash, and Donna were sitting three rows behind the appointed gods to pass judgment on Bruce; the cardinal gods were Zeus, Hera, Ares, Helios (the Sun god and Circe's father), Cupid, and Hippolyta, respectively.
He could feel the tension building up as Bruce's head bobbed up and down. He turned a hard gaze at Helios' back and wished he could roast the god's bleached hair with the power of his mind. The Sun god was the reason for Bruce's fainting spell a few hours ago. When Helios disclosed to them that he did it, Nightwing nearly wrung the pompous bastard's thick neck if Donna hadn't pulled him.
Donna made it clear that if it weren't for him, they wouldn't have gotten inside. But Nightwing felt prejudice in this one. Somehow, Helios shouldn't even be here. He was not one of the top gods. Sure, Cupid was also one of the minor Divinities, but he and Hippolyta had a reason to be here, watching Bruce's every move, every tactic, to save Diana.
He noticed Hippolyta's shoulder tense up, but Cupid rubbed it consolingly. Nightwing's hand was beginning to throb under Donna's mighty hold around his hand.
He was about to slip his hand away when Flash interrupted him, "Do you think the color red is an inconvenience?"
Dick arched a brow at him. "What do you mean?"
"Y'know… blood, war, anger…" Flash muttered self-despondently.
"… Life, Valentine's Day, a sweet sports car, the Flash," Nightwing added quite cheerily.
But Flash didn't seem to hear him. "Women's emergency."
By now Donna looked at him curiously. "Wally? Is there something you're not telling us?"
Flash looked at them for a minute, then smiled. "Nope."
He loved seeing their curious faces suddenly turning into an epithet of bemusement then annoyance. He grinned when Donna slapped his knee.
"You're such a dick," Donna hissed at him.
They froze when few heads turned to them. Hippolyta frowned at Donna.
"Please don't use my name as a swearword. It sounds… vulgar. I feel vulgar," Dick said when the gods finally looked forward.
Flash grinned. "We live in a vulgar world, Dick. The only thing ya can do is be proud, like me." Flash grinned, folded him arms behind his head, and leaned back.
"Wally, Wally alligator," Donna filled in.
"Wally, Wally ain't no instigator," Wally finished with a goofy grin.
Dick humorously shook his head. "Wally , Wally, ye barb shan't slay a moderator." After a short pause, Dick said, "You're nervous?"
"How can you tell?"
"Your jokes are bothersome."
Flash suddenly turned to him and whispered to Donna, "He doesn't appreciate my jokes because he's starting to act like his old man."
"I heard that, and I'm not acting like Bruce." Nightwing elbowed Flash's arm. Your jokes are really corny."
"Corny, maybe. Bothersome? No."
Silence ruled.
Then, Flash mumbled but clear enough for Dick to comprehend, "Like father, like son."
Dick slowly turned to him, his lips in a tight line. He feigned Batman's dour expression and said lowly, "I. Hate. You."
Donna giggled, her hands clasping her belly. Hippolyta scowled at her. Dick could finally move his numb hand once again and a tear almost dropped.
Their attentions quickly turned to the screen. Batman was fully awake and staggering to get up with his wounded leg. But a figure approaching Bruce caught their eyes.
"Who's he? Flash asked.
Donna answered, "Hermes."
By the sound of her calm voice, they understood that Hermes wasn't there to torment Bruce. Not him. Nightwing felt his shoulders relax.
"What's he gonna do?" Flash asked again.
"You'll see."
As they watched the live adventures of He-Man saving Sleeping Amazon unfolding before their eyes, Flash watched Dick massaging his hand, his friend's eyes blissful… and wet?
"This isn't exactly melodramatic genre, Dick."
Dick turned to Flash, his brows knitted together. "What?"
"You need a tissue to blot away those tears?"
Dick opened his mouth to retort but Donna turned Dick's face to look at her. She stifled a laugh when she saw his mask was a bit soaked.
Dick swiped Donna's hand away and said, "Oh yeah… seeing Bruce unconscious and waking up is such a teary-eyed moment. Boo hoo."
They laughed.
A crack of thunder boomed behind them and they jumped in their seats.
"Thou shall shut those lips or leave! This is no laughing subject!" Zeus voice roared around them.
When Zeus' bellow was no more than echoing sound waves, they sat quietly in their seats, somberly watching Hermes cleaning and healing Bruce's wound. After a moment of restrained stillness, Flash whispered,
"Dudududum. Dudududoooom…"
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Yaw like? Naw? Why nawt...? Tell meh! ;)