The Return of My Sister
Rated: K
Summary: The Return of Donna Troy, sans the horrible Trinity break-up. Chapter 4: Preparation of the battle against the Titans of Myth. Donna and Diana moments. Batman and Wonder Woman debating principles and choices. A bit of Bruce and Dick moment. Takes place after 'The Black Snow'.
Disclaimer: Believe me, all characters are not mine. They belong to DC Comics. And I made no profit at all. Instead, this comic and fan fiction frenzy has cost me lots of money! Thanks to Jennifer Larissa for the great beta and for all readers for their precious feedbacks.
Chapter 4. The PromiseI groaned. I should be preparing myself for the war. But instead, I found myself arguing with the Batman. Not that I wasn't grateful that he was so open early on with me. In the past, he would have shut down and brood himself to death.
"Bruce, there was a reason Lord Zeus banished the Titans from Earth."
I felt his gaze as he looked right at me through his opaque lenses. "And how do I know that he or the Olympians would not do the same thing to Earth that the Titans did to Mynosyss?"
I frowned. "I don't think the Olympians would be careless enough to destroy Earth, the very embodiment of Gaea herself, Batman."
"That's your opinion. But what if you're wrong?"
I sighed. "Then I will try my best to stop them."
He snorted. "Stop them! Diana, the Olympians are your Gods. You expect me to believe that you would choose Earth over them!"
"Yes! And I also expect you to put a little bit of trust in me here. It's not the Olympians we're fighting against now. It's the Titans of Myth!" I just realized that I'd been clenching my fists for a while. Divine Mother, this man could be so annoying!
I exhaled and continued. "For Gaea's sake, stop extrapolating, and face the real problem here!"
He smirked cruelly. "Too bad, extrapolation is my expertise. You should know better, Diana."
Now that was rude. "Don't try to goad me into referring back to your protocols, Batman! What is it you want to achieve here? Pissing me off? Well, read my lips: you won't make it. Because, you know what?"
"No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me, Princess."
I inhaled, and then yelled back. "Screw you!"
I turned to leave him alone, my red cape swirling behind. Yes, screw him.
He called a few steps later. "Diana."
Gritting my teeth, I tossed my hair back impatiently. "What now!"
He pressed his lips again, forming a thin line. He finally spoke. "Sorry."
Turning to face him, I sighed. "Why did you say those things, Bruce? You should've known that I would choose to defend Earth, should my Gods and Goddesses go wild." Not that I hoped for that.
He shook his head slightly. "I don't know... I suppose... I was confused how a person like you could maintain the faith upon...Gods like them..."
"I don't worship the Titans, Bruce."
"But you worship the Olympians. And as they are the descendants of the Titans, logically I would assume that they could behave the same way."
"Hence, another protocol for the deities." I couldn't help snorting.
"Possibly."
Ouch, that hurt.
"You have so little faith in me?"
"Not you. Your gods."
"I don't force you to worship my Gods, Batman. I never did."
"I know."
I waited for him to continue. After a while, I grew tired, and made to leave.
"Diana."
I cast my eyes heavenward. "Oh, please Bruce. We have a war in front of us."
"I just want to clarify."
"Oh?" I arched my eyebrows. "Just remember that I didn't start the discussion."
"I believed that you would understand."
"Is that supposed to be a joke?" I weighed my battle-axe for a while, thinking. "What is it that you want to say actually?"
He shook his head again. "It's just... I never had this questions emerging so intently before. Not when we were fighting Darkseid."
I understood. "Because I don't worship him."
"Naturally."
I looked away at the battlefield ahead of us. I sighed, then approached him. "Look, Batman. I think you're right. I can't guarantee that my deities would never hurt or try to conquer Earth or other civilizations the way their ancestors did. You know well that Ares and his children had tried that several times. And who knows what will happen if he could persuade Lord Hades to help him."
He remained silent. I thought that he was being paranoid, but in the end I agreed upon the possibilities contained within his extrapolation...
"But I can promise you this: I will never turn my back on Earth. Never. Earth is Mother Gaea, Bruce. It is where I came from. The very source of my powers. I will never let anyone hurt my own Mother."
He looked at me through his opaque lenses.
"The same way you will never abandon Gotham City."
He finally spoke again. "Sometimes I think that the only deities of yours that I can relate to and believe in is Gaea. The Earth."
"I know. I guess it's because she's not represented by a female human-like Goddess. She's what she always has been: the Earth. The third planet in our Solar System. That's why you trust her. And to tell you the Truth, all the Olympian deities bow to Gaea, including Lord Zeus. None of them could betray Gaea because she is, and has always been, their Mother."
He looked away, at the battlefield in front of us.
"The truth is, Mother Gaea is my true and final allegiance." I continued. "And I have always been ready to protect her."
"Including from –"
"Including from Lady Athena, Lady Artemis, and my other Goddesses. Assuming they're going wild, of course, although I doubt there's a chance of that occurring. Though..." I pursed my lips, "...with Lady Hera, to be honest, I might have to really be prepared. Gaea herself...she has never and will never betray her children."
He seemed to consider my words for a while. He finally muttered. "Sorry I snapped at you."
I made slow nods several times. "To rethink about that, it was understandable. What the Titans Gods did to these people... These children..."
He looked at me. "Yes."
I studied his profile, wishing I could take the cowl off and saw him as he was. But I couldn't do that, of course. Not here, in the brink of a battle.
"Those children, Diana..." I knew if I took the cowl off, I could see the hurt in his deep blue eyes.
"I know...I sang them lullaby..."
"...That was...very nice."
I smiled. He managed a halfhearted smirk.
Afterwards, we busied ourselves with the weapons. I hooked back my sword and dagger that I had dumped earlier, and reached for my belt.
"My malleable plane." I gave it to him. "I think you will need this more than I do."
He studied the semi-transparent substance on his gauntleted palm. I could fly and dodge bullets and lasers. He only had his Nomex-Kevlar lined cape and his armor, plus his weaponry. He could use the Lansinarian technology to save more lives, including his.
"I have ordered it to follow your will." Lifting my shield, I further explained. "Have a try."
Batman's respond was to stare at the malleable substances. Slowly, it changed shape into a semi-transparent small bat platform, equipped with elaborate weaponry.
"That's neat. You're quite the natural."
He smirked. "Always. You're ready for war?"
"One minute." I finished packing all the armaments and faced him again.
"Bruce, I need you to do me a favor."
I knew he arched his eyebrow behind that cowl.
"You said before that the Titan Gods are... well, evil deities. So far, their actions have supported your claim. And it is also true that they almost wiped out all of the Olympians. Hence, they are very formidable and lethal opponents. Even for me."
He stood still.
"So, if there's this circumstance, and believe me, there will be such, where you must choose between saving me or saving innocents, or even other heroes, please save them instead."
He didn't budge an inch.
"Because as bad as it is, I can defend myself. Besides, as you said earlier, these are the ancestors of my deities. They won't hurt me as such."
"History and logic dictate the opposite." He finally spoke again.
I smiled. "No, you're right. I'm not sure. I'm just certain that we are facing a gruesome war, with very small window of success. I doubt that Donna and I will be able to contain them. And we have many heroes and soldiers here that never faced the wrath of the Titan Gods."
"Doesn't mean that they're not experienced in battles."
"Agreed. But doesn't mean that they will survive either. So, we agree?"
"That I will always choose to save other heroes over you? Innocents will be saved without question."
"Yes. What say you?"
xxx
The woods cracked as the fire lit by Athyns of Karrakan burned them away, and along with that, the body of Sparta of Synriannaq.
Troia a.k.a Donna Troy blinked, trying to get rid of the tears in her eyes to no avail. She finally let her tears fall down to form little silver streams on her cheeks.
"Farewell, Sparta. Farewell...Sister." Watching the fire cracking, Athyns whispered to himself.
Donna closed her eyes, lifting both hands up the air.
"Farewell, dear Sister. I swear that your death will not have been in vain."
She watched as the fire started to engulf the body of her Titan sister. "We will bring our parents to justice. They won't get away with any of this. I promise you!"
A rustling sound made Athyns turned. "Wonder Woman."
"Athyns. Donna." Wonder Woman greeted the Karrakan warrior and her sister, and then joined them to watch the fire rapidly burn away the remains of Sparta. "May the Glory of Gaea be with her."
An ironic smile formed at Troia's face. "I sure hope She blesses us too. We're the ones going to fight the Titans."
"You have doubts, Sister?"
"Don't you?" The two sisters – brave, beautiful, and dedicated women – faced each other. Realizing that the women needed some privacy, Athyns excused himself, walking away to the battlefield.
"Of course I do. We're facing primal forces of nature here, whose time has exceeded that of the Olympians. I'm not even sure that we will win."
Donna frowned. "That's not like you."
"Donna, I'm not saying that I'm not going to try. I'm just trying to say that... should anything happen to me, you should keep on living."
The younger woman glared. "Diana! Don't you dare say such a thing!"
Diana shook her head. "I'm not trying to be a pessimist here. I just want to say that I love you, and I'm honored to fight this battle side-by-side with you."
Two pairs of blue eyes met. "Diana..."
"No matter what happens, I will not let them harm you again, Sister! I will stand close by your side, protecting you all the time."
"Oh, sweetie..." Not knowing what to say, Donna embraced her sister. Diana hugged her back, desperately trying to overcome her fear of possibly losing her sister once again.
A few minutes later, they broke off.
"I won't leave you alone up there, in the front line." Diana grasped Donna's palms, ensuring her.
Donna smiled. "That's sweet, really. But I'd rather you let me deal with this alone."
"But, Donna...they can kill you!"
"Let them try. I still have the power of the moon and stars anyway. They won't manage to kill me."
"But Sister, please –"
"Diana – " the younger woman looked at her sister in the eye. " – this is not only the battle of Mynosyss versus the Titans of Myth. This is also my battle. My personal war with them. I need to face them alone up there, to make them pay back what they've done to me. To the Mynosyssians. To all other civilizations in this universe."
Wonder Woman bit her lips. She realized the truth in Troia's words. Indeed, Donna Troy needed to face the Titan Gods herself, at least at the first round. These Gods and Goddesses owed her too much; stealing her past life memories, lying to her, making her help them destroy too many worlds. Donna did need payback.
"All right." She finally agreed. "I will help the defense, then."
Her sister nodded in agreement. "They will need you more in that section, especially if Oceanus-Tethys, or Hyperion-Thia attack. Not to mention if Themis starts to make earthquakes. That's her favorite."
"I understand. But you have to let me help you if your front line is overrun by the Titan Gods."
Troia managed to cast a rueful smile. "If the battle ever reaches that point, I don't think you'll be able to help then."
Wonder Woman's clenched jaws indicated her determination. "Gaea is with us. I will still try."
They looked at each other for one last time before the battle. Hopefully, not literally for the last time.
"If you die again, I don't think the Titan Gods will be so kind to resurrect you once more," Diana tried to speak casually.
"Likewise. If you die again, I'm afraid even Athena's wisdom will not be able to bring you back to life."
Diana placed her hands over Donna's shoulders. "Don't die, then. For me."
Blue irises smiled warmly. "Same to you, Sis."
xxx
The crimson sky of Mynosyss was restless, filled with scarlet and gray turmoil. The power of Titan Gods had added to the already troubled atmosphere of the small planet. Standing at a platform on the back of a native 'dinosaur', Nightwing gritted his teeth to see the changing weather. This is not gonna be easy.
He looked at Cyborg, several dinosaurs away from him, leading the eastern defense section. He also checked on Athyns, who was preparing the western section. Afterwards, the Bludhaven Protector turned to see the Batman a few hundred feet away from him, standing firmly at a semi-transparent bat platform, cape billowing behind, his face as determined as ever. Wonder Woman's very kind to give him the Lans tech.
Batman himself was busy studying his surrounding. At the horizon, he saw thousands of the troops of the Gods, mostly Tamaraneans. Up in the air, Troia had darted away to 'welcome' the intruders, her very own Titan parents. Starfire, Jade and Beast Boy (as a green eagle) followed her, only to stop in the middle and hover around as the middle line. Behind them, floating above an army of civilians, was Wonder Woman in her complete armament, her hair and cape swirling poetically behind.
The Caped Crusader pressed his lips into a thin line. His last conversation was relayed back in his mind.
What say you?
Why do you even ask me that? You know I will always take care of the civilians.
Yes. But my request includes other heroes as well.
Diana...
Bruce... I know you've been having this dilemma since we're together. And I would lie if I say that I don't have the same predicament. That's why I think this is just the right time to bring up the issue."
As if we're not going to have another day.
We both know that we might not. Not after this war.
We will defeat the Titan Gods, Diana.
I hope so, Bruce. But I will be content to learn that you are not going to blame yourself if you fail to save me in this war because you have your hands full saving the others.Because that's what heroes are for.
That goes the same for you.
...Yes, it does.
Bruce sighed. He closed his eyes, trying to erase, yet at the same time imprint, the memory of their last kiss after the conversation. It had been hot and passionate, the same kiss that they had shared before in Atlantis. But also more than the Obsidian Age, as now they had opened up their hearts to love. And not even close to desperate, as both of them secretly hoped that the others would return safely.
So, will you?
Hrnh...do you think I will say no?
Heh. You think I'm that stupid?
Hmph. Yes, to the promise. And that goes the same for you, Princess.
Okay. But if possible, please promise me another thing, Bruce.
What?
When that happens, don't be afraid to cry? It's not good for your health if you restrain the tears.
Exhaling back to reality, Batman gritted his teeth. No, he would not cry. Because he would not let her die in this war. Not ever.
The Caped Crusader fixed his composure, then gestured to Nightwing.
The Protector of Bludhaven confirmed through the commlink. "We're go."
The Batman tilted his head. "Watch out, Son."
The former Boy Wonder couldn't help smiling. "You too, Dad."
The Dark Knight clenched his jaws. We're ready here, Diana. You better take care of yourself. I'll be seeing you soon.
-TBC-
Author's note:
I have deliberately denied that the Lansinarian invisible jet is now unable to change form at will (due to Hera's kick that destroyed the floating Paradise Island). So, in this story, Diana was still able to ask the Wonder Dome to change form into anything she projected in her mind, as well as delegate the command over to Batman. I also add a feature of the malleable substance, so that it can be made semi-transparent. Won't be cool to have a transparent batwing, no? You can't see the state-of-the-art weaponry. Besides, if Batman's gonna use the platform to save people, their panic would get worse upon learning that they are hovering above the ground without any safety devices.