Chapter 27: Search for the Princess
"Get out!" Bruce yelled as he stormed over to his Cray super computer.
"Bruce, please." Superman half pleaded, ignoring the order to leave, and instead following Bruce up to the computer where he'd just sequestered himself to. "You haven't been to a League meeting in almost five months, and it's been even longer since you've had any involvement with a single mission. It's been difficult enough with already being down one member, and now with your self imposed isolation, we're short by two. We need you with the League."
"If you're feeling so shorthanded, then why don't you start offering memberships to other heroes." Batman suggested in a deep and angry growl. "There was never a stipulation as to how many members the League could have, and I'm too busy. I have work to do."
"Work?" Clark questioned in disbelief. "You mean Gotham? It's been quiet there for the last two months at least. The Watchtower monitors have never shown a such a significant drop in the crime rate from Gotham since you initially installed them almost three years ago. In fact, the only thing that has increased with criminals recently seems to be how much more ruthless you've become when dealing with them. Before, criminals at least had a decent shot of getting out of hospitals within a day of crossing your path. Now, they're all ending up in traction for weeks at a time."
"Maybe I should've handled them this way the entire time." Batman sneered. "All of them got what was coming to them."
Superman opened his mouth to speak, but Bruce raised a finger and continued before he could start voicing his opinion. "And don't try lecturing me about how I handle the criminals in my city. If it doesn't involve a Justice League mission and they survived, I'm not in the mood to hear about it."
"Fair enough," Superman eventually said before continuing to try and drive his point home. "But you should really at least make an appearance on the Watchtower. Some of us are beginning to think you only showed up in the first place in order to ogle Wonder Woman."
Batman flinched, and then immediately became pissed at himself. He just knew that the damn Kryptonian saw it, and would take his flinch as confirmation of the insinuation being accurate. "Just get out." He growled, resuming his typing, and letting Clark know that regardless of if he was done or not, the conversation had come to an end.
Clark stood behind the computer chair for another moment or two, trying to decide if he should continue to push Bruce into rejoining the League, or if he'd already made enough of his point. He knew he'd struck a chord by slipping in the rumor Flash had begun to spread, and Bruce flinching was as obvious a sign as anything that it got to him. Eventually, Clark made the choice to let the topic go for the time being, and left. He'd achieved his goal, planting the seed which would eventually result in Bruce returning just to put an end to the rumor mill. He never would allow such a perception for his absence with the League to exist, and although Clark was loathe to using such a tactic, he felt there were no other surefire options.
Bruce was piping hot, even more so than he'd been initially due to Clark's coming into the cave uninvited. He hated the gossip mongering that went on in the League, especially when it concerned his habits. He knew it was a ploy Clark used to get his way, but there was obviously some truth to it as well. The worst part was that the rumor wasn't even accurate.
While he had been avoiding the League, it wasn't because Diana hadn't been there, but rather because there were unanswered questions regarding her absence. Ever since her departure, she'd basically fallen off the face of the Earth, and he'd been trying everything that he could think of to locate her. However, up to that point his best efforts were mired in complete and utter failure.
Diana had completely gone off the grid after the first month of her disappearance. She'd depleted and closed out all of her banking accounts that he'd initially helped her to set up during her three prior years of living in Patriarch's World. She'd also been clever in doing so as well, choosing multiple locations throughout the world in an obvious attempt to throw him off her trail. She'd bounced around in different countries such as Canada, China, India, Egypt, and France, never staying in one place for more than a couple hours. She also ensured that whenever she stopped in a place where he could track her down, there was never enough time for him to reach that destination before she'd already made a hasty exit.
Bruce had even resorted to using the teleporter on two separate occasions in the hopes of expediting the process, but he never even caught a glimpse of the raven haired demigoddess. By then he'd been frustrated to no end, and started writing algorithms and computer programs seeking facial recognition from cameras around the world. He even hacked into social media, with the hopes that someone would eventually snap a selfie and perhaps capture her face in the background.
He'd spent days combing over any recognition reaching a minimum criteria of at least a twenty-five percent match. It was a painstaking process, and all his efforts provided him were a handful of women who happened to share just some similarities to Diana's facial profile. He was almost out of ideas on how to locate her, and of those remaining, most bordered on sheer desperation over anything else to justify resorting to them. He'd admittedly been waffling back and forth on one of those options over the past week, and Clark's intrusion only caused him to think even more about making that decision.
He was still putting pieces together, but one thing was quickly becoming obvious. She was seemingly no where to be found in his world, and cameras were literally everywhere in this day and age. Surely in the almost five months she would've walked in front of one of them, and in doing so, revealed her face well enough for his program to locate her. There was only one place that he knew for a fact no cameras would be, and that was Diana's home island of Themyscira. Her people's weariness regarding such advances in technology from Patriarch's World surely were left discarded in favor of the Amazon's peaceful way of living.
He placed his chin in one hand, using his elbow against the armrest of his chair to keep his head propped up, and glanced over to the Batwing. Diana would be extremely upset if he chose to go to such lengths just to find her. Especially when considering she'd said that she had to be on this journey alone, but he still needed answers. The questions consumed his thoughts every day, and were only getting worse. They were beginning to drive him to the breaking point, distracting him whether awake or asleep. He needed to find her before he completely lost it. So he stood up, his decision made. He was going to Themsycira, forbidden laws be damned.
A few hours later, Bruce was just starting to make his descent to the magically protected island, and he began to internally debate the pro's and con's of entering Diana's home world once again. As a man, it was incredibly likely that he'd be attacked and imprisoned or worse upon discovery of his trespassing. If, by chance she wasn't there and he somehow did wind up getting caught, the punishment for breaking the sacred Amazon laws would likely see him meeting his untimely demise. However, if he managed to evade capture, he could confirm if she was staying there, and if so, then confront her on her recent actions. She'd certainly be pissed at him for more than one reason, but he'd at least have his answers. And in spite of any anger she'd likely hold against him, he assumed she wouldn't let him rot in prison for too long or be executed.
He found that he still came to the same conclusion as before. That the knowledge gained outweighed the potential risk of reprisal, and continued forward with his plan. He set the jet into stealth mode, the engines going silent as a gentle breeze just as the island came into view. He went about circling around the island, using infrared signatures to track the whereabouts of each being on the small patch of earth. He also located a fairly level field to set down just on the outskirts of the city, behind what he surmised had to be the queen's palace.
He exited quickly and started his trek toward the queen's quarters in hopes that Diana would be staying in the same building as her mother, and once again focused on the subtle differences between structures. While no where near the elegance and decadence of most modern world royal families, the differences between other dwellings compared to the queen's was still easily noticeable. In fact, the only building structures which appeared to match the decadence of what he'd been accustomed to of royalty were the temples. He actually chuckled to himself, instantly thinking he should've known better than to think the gods and goddesses would allow their their temples to match that of humans, or even Amazons.
Hippolyta arose from her plush bedding, stretching out her limbs as her body welcomed the warmth of the glowing sun from the open window of her personal chambers. Her mind had already begun to go over he responsibilities she'd have to attend to on this day. She slipped her legs over the side of her bed, and then padded her way to the basin where fresh, clean water awaited her. She bent over the bowl, cupped water in her hands and splashed it onto her face, enjoying the cooling sensation brought about by the clean water.
She reached for the nearby towel, just as she would on any other normal morning, only to find that it wasn't where she expected. She growled in frustration, blindly padding around for it with her hand, almost wondering if her fresh linen had been carelessly dropped to the floor until she touched something completely unfamiliar to her. Curious, she cracked open an eye, and found that she'd laid her hand on a black armor covered forearm. The hand of that arm was holding her towel out for her to take. Instead of reaching for it, her eyes traveled up the armor covered arm, and came to a stop upon seeing the white lens covered eyes of a mask, noting that the only human part revealed was the mouth and jaw.
Hippolyta knew she was in a compromising situation instantly. A man had not only trespassed onto Themsycira, but somehow managed to also break into her own personal chambers undetected. She imagined this man had to be quite skilled in order to pull off such a feat. He also most likely knew that as well, meaning he had her at a distinct disadvantage. However, she still wasn't about to give him the glory of thinking he had complete control over their current situation. "You must have a death wish." She calmly said while taking the towel from his grasp and wiping her face dry. "Men are forbidden here, and you've also broken into the royal chambers of the Amazon queen. You are either extremely arrogant, or extremely foolish."
"Perhaps a little bit of both." Batman responded as he watched the Amazon queen's every movement. In her chambers, there were many mounted weapons to reach for, not to mention the fact she could call out for her posted guards if she so chose to do so. He was on edge, planning to get his information and get out as quickly as possible, and he'd already devised two different escape routes, despite the brightness of the morning sun would do in hindering his ability to hide in the shadows.
"Either way, while you may have successfully ventured onto our homeland, you will not be leaving so easily." The queen confidently stated.
"Now who's being arrogant." Batman snarkily mocked.
"Any man who dares to trespass on Themyscira faces execution." Hippolyta angrily pointed out. "I have shown considerable restraint up to this point only because you are obviously a friend of my daughter's. You've trespassed on protected land, broken into the queen's chambers, and now you mock me? You've sealed your fate of a..."
"I am here about Diana." Batman interrupted.
Hippolyta's mouth opened for a moment before clamping shut again. She wasn't sure if she'd given away the momentary alarm brought about by hearing her daughter's name, but the man standing before her wasn't revealing much of anything. "What of her?"
"I came seeking answers." Batman answered. "She's been missing for months. I would have respected your laws simply because of my working relationship with Diana, but I've exhausted every resource I have to locate her."
"I am aware of her absence." Hippolyta revealed. "She is on a journey as decreed by our gods and goddesses. What reason have you for finding her?"
"She's a teammate, a friend." Bruce replied.
Hippolyta scoffed at his cryptic answer. That certainly wasn't enough of a reason to risk his own hide. He was a man after all, and he was likely hiding whatever selfish reason he had in an attempt to gain her help. "You won't find her here. Her orders were to remain isolated, and she is not to return until the gods allow it."
"Why would they force her away from everything?" Bruce pressed on for his answers. "She can do more to bring about the peace they've asked of her to seek if she were with the Justice League than on her own."
Hippolyta heard some desperation in the man's voice. He'd inadvertently given away that he was concerned for her daughter's wellbeing, although trying to hide it behind pure logic. She wondered why. "What is your name?"
Bruce hesitated to asnwer. Why would the Amazon queen want to know his name? It caused his thoughts to race a million miles per second as he debated internally on just how much Diana might've shared during one of her return visits over the years since she'd left the island. "Batman." He finally answered, believing that would be the name Diana would share when considering all the battles they had fought together.
"No, no." Hippolyta responded, shaking her head. "Not the mantle you choose to hide behind. My daughter has already described each of the members of this Justice League, and it wasn't difficult to discern which hero of Patriarch's World you are. I want to know your actual name."
He hesitated again. This was certainly odd territory. Normally, he'd not even flinch about maintaining and protecting his identity, but something about this time seemed different to him. It felt almost as if he owed it to the queen as a sort of reparation for his trespassing, and eventually he came to his decision. He began his answer by unlatching and removing his cowl for the queen to see. "Bruce." He said.
Hippolyta wasn't certain at first, but hearing his name and seeing his eyes confirmed any suspicion she had. He was the man who had defiled her daughter. He was the reason Diana was being punished. "Guards!" She suddenly yelled, catching Bruce off guard for an instant.
He saw the flash of anger revealed in the queen's eyes upon hearing his name, and within seconds he could hear pounding on the chamber door. He had no time left to ask any more questions, and needed to get out of there immediately before his neck ended up on the wrong end of a noose. One more pounding strike was enough to shatter the bedroom chamber door, and the guards pushed through just in time to see a black wraith-like figure gliding out of a window. Their queen appeared to be quite angry, and they immediately bowed their heads, not wanting to be on the receiving end of their queen's wrath.
"There is a man on Themsycira." The queen announced,. "I want him found and dealt with. Immediately."
"Yes my queen." Both guards replied before turning and exiting the way they came in.
Now alone in her bedroom, Hippolyta moved over to the window Bruce had leapt out of. She searched for him, but found nothing. It was as if he'd disappeared, but she refused to allow him to escape. He deserved to be punished for the part he played in Diana's punishment, and she would order every resident of the island to find this Bruce.
A fist slammed down onto a table next to a glowing orb. "Seems like this mortal is troubling you, my dear sister." Came a soft voice. It was obvious to anyone who heard it just how beautiful its owner was. "He is certainly persistent. You must give him that."
"And you wouldn't have anything to do with this, would you Aphrodite?" Artemis growled in accusation as she continued to watch Batman working his way through the passages of Themyscira.
"Love is a powerful enough emotion on its own to drive even a mortal to great lengths." Aphrodite professed as she joined her sister, watching the mortal through the orb as he continued weaving his way through the Amazon city. "I didn't need to do anything to encourage his actions in pursuing our champion."
"That I find difficult to believe." Artemis responded. "This one seems to only be driven by a vow to deceased family members, and he runs away from feelings such as love whenever they present themselves to him. Yet now he does the exact opposite. Why can he not simply respect Diana's path as all others have?"
"Oh dear sister, I can only offer my advice to those who are willing to hear it." Aphrodite told her sister. "You must accept that even the most stubborn of individuals are capable of falling purely in love. Even you have fallen to the powerful emotion with Orion before his unfortunate demise."
"His death is one of the many reasons I'd hoped Diana would refrain from such a slippery slope." Artemis argued. "She's only created heartache for herself, and it very well may leave her jaded in the end, hindering her ability to usher in true peace."
Aphrodite huffed, rising back to her feet and storming off, but not before leaving some choice parting words for her sister. "It would appear Artemis, that love isn't the only thing which is blind."
Batman managed to get to the outskirts of the city undetected, but he soon noticed how the Amazons weren't only looking for him, but also were actively recruiting others to join in the search. The sun was already shining brightly above him, taking dark corners from scarce to nonexistent. It was greatly hindering him with being in his armor, knowing that he was sticking out like a sore thumb. He needed some form of a disguise, but the dress code on the island wasn't exactly offering much help for him to blend in. Some things such as sleeves weren't really in abundance there, and his arms would immediately give him away. There was absolutely no femininity to his physique, and the clothing that was available wouldn't cover every part of him.
He needed to get to the batwing, and get there quickly. The black jet would be found at any moment, and then he'd be royally screwed. As he sought out his next move, his thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of troops coming up behind his current position. He knew that he had to move quickly, and glanced around for an opening. There was nothing to be found nearby, and in diving out into the cobblestone street, he couldn't avoid being spotted. Shouts of "there he is" began to echo around him, and was immediately followed by spears and the occasional arrow slicing through the air, sticking into whatever their sharpened ends made contact with.
A few arrows happened to cut through his cape before sticking into a nearby wall as he ducked and dodged the incoming projectiles to the best of his ability. Up to that point, he'd made all the correct movements to avoid being struck, but knew that luck would inevitably run out at some point. The number of Amazons searching for him seemed to increase every second, making his attempts to evade capture less and less likely as he continued to move around.
Despite his efforts he eventually was cornered, as Amazons managed to corral him into a dead end. However they weren't aware that he wasn't the Batman for nothing. Avoiding detection thanks to the use of his cape, he reached into his belt, pulling out a couple smoke bombs as his adversaries continued to close in. He dropped one near his own feet first, and then opened his cape by tossing the other bomb into the closest group of the crowd around him.
His movements caused more shouts to fill the air, but this time there was only one word being spoken. "Fire!" Amazons yelled just as the smoke bombs began to emit their gases, forming a cloud of smoke around him. Arrows and spears pierced through the smoke in his general vicinity, and he grimaced as a few did manage to strike their intended target. However, much to the Amazons disappointment, when they closed in and the thick smoke began to dissipate, they found no one where he'd been standing.
"Spread out!" The captain of Hippolyta's army cried out. "Do not let the trespasser escape!"
Batman watched from a nearby hut he'd slipped into as the group of Amazons dispersed. This was definitely a precarious position he'd put himself into, and the only answer he'd gotten as a result of it was that Diana likely wasn't on the island. He knew that getting to the Batwing in daylight simply wasn't going to be a possibility at that point. It felt like the entire occupancy of the island was looking for him. By the time darkness would return, the jet would most assuredly have been spotted and either guarded or set up as a trap in order to lure him in.
Even though neither option was very appealing, he was almost hoping for the latter. If they did attempt to trap him, at least he was going to be aware of it going in. All he had to do was get into the cockpit. If he could get to that point, regardless of any trap, he'd be able to escape. None of the Amazons knew the codes to gain access to the jet, and therefore any trap would have to be set up outside of it.
He took a moment to confirm his surroundings remained safe, and then looked down at the spear and arrows impaled into the armor of his suit. Luckily the spear didn't quite penetrate through to his flesh, but he wasn't quite as fortunate with some of the arrows.
Bruce began extracting the projectiles one by one as quickly and efficiently as he could, only pausing to tend to wounds when necessary. He made use of what little material he could find in the hut that served as his temporary sanctuary. When all the projectiles were removed, he was pleased that his armor performed as expected, offering him the protection he needed. No major arteries had been damaged, and he wouldn't have to worry about passing out due to blood loss.
Focusing once again on his surrounding predicament, Bruce knew that he couldn't just stay in one place for very long. Sure enough, just as he'd finished his patchwork medical treatment, an Amazon opened the door to the small hut he was in. He was able to take advantage of the inner wall dividing the hut into two rooms, and glanced out the nearest window in search of a plausible escape. Unfortunately, he couldn't escape to the streets without being spotted again, and considering what happened the last time, he wanted to avoid that if at all possible. That left him with the only option of silently taking this Amazon down, and hoping no one else was alerted.
Bruce moved up quietly against the wall separating him from the Amazon, reflecting on his sparing with Diana, and knew that taking the Amazon down without making much noise wouldn't be the easiest of tasks. He knew he'd have to be precise in his strikes. There was no room for any mistakes.
The Amazon woman was being cautious as she searched the first room. She had her sword at the ready as she sought out anywhere that the trespasser could hide. Finding the first room to be empty, she moved onto the next room. Entering slowly, she paid close attention to her surroundings as she crept through the doorway. It was then that she noticed something peculiar on the floor in the middle of the room. She knelt down to inspect what she noticed, and discovered that there was a piece of fabric crumpled up with splotches of red on it.
Upon closer inspection, the Amazon realized it was covered in blood. He'd been there, and she instantly turned rigid, quickly realizing that she wasn't alone. She gripped the hilt of her sword a little tighter, knowing that she'd inadvertently put herself into a compromising position, as the trespasser was clearly behind her. She could sense him moving closer, and tried to swing her sword around to attack, but it was too late. Batman had read her body language perfectly, seeing the muscles clench before she began to spin. He was quick to strike first, jabbing two fingers into a distinct location on her neck. With almost no noise at all, the Amazon crumpled to the floor, unable to move, unable to speak.
Batman made quick work in tying the defenseless Amazon up, having successfully hit a pressure point to subdue her. He assessed that she'd be down for the next five to ten minutes, and that would easily be enough for him to slip away once again. After he finished trying her up, he dragged her over to a corner of the room, and moved back to the main entrance, looking for any opportunity to step back outside.
"Where is the trespasser?" Hippolyta angrily asked.
"Apologies my queen." Philippus answered as she bowed her head. "We have the entire island searching for this man. I assure you, he will strung up by the neck before the sun sets."
"You disappoint me, Philippus." Hippolyta said. "This male has been traipsing about Themyscira for multiple hours already, and that is since his intrusion into my personal chambers. What leads you to believe you can capture him since everyone has failed to do so thus far?"
"Some of our soldiers discovered the vehicle with which he used to arrive, your highness." Philippus answered. "Ultimately, the male will have to come for it in order to flee the island."
"But even if you can draw him out, your soldiers had him cornered once already." The queen pointed out.
"I will admit that my soldiers underestimated his elusiveness." Philippus replied. "However, we have learned from our initial failure. We will be ready for his tactics this time. It's also come to my attention that he's been injured. One of our soldiers happened upon him dressing his wounds."
"How did one of our own manage to be taken down without being alerting the rest of us?" Hippolyta asked.
"She believes that he possesses some form of magical power." Philippus explained. "She reported that this male only touched her, and by doing so he rendered her unable to move or speak."
The queen was shocked to hear of such power, especially when used against one of their own. "I want no chances to be taken." She announced. "Pull Artemis from the search. I require her for a different approach. This man is obviously quite skilled to have evaded everyone up to this point, and we must be ready for any maneuver he attempts."
The captain of the queen's honor guard bowed her head in acceptance of the queen's orders. Upon exiting the throne room, she immediately sought out the fire red haired Amazon, and informed Artemis of the queen's orders. She could tell immediately how disappointed Artemis was by being pulled away from the search. It'd been years since a male was able to be hunted, and the red head was more than anxious to locate him on her own so that he could receive his punishment. In fact, if she didn't know Artemis better, she believed the redhead was hoping to find the trespasser and him try to escape. Then she'd be within her rights to use extreme prejudice. If that happened to be the case, there would be little need for any hanging to take place.
It seemed like days had gone by, but eventually the sun did set on the home island of the Amazons. Bruce had been involved in many close calls throughout the day, and truth be told, he was exhausted. While he'd managed to avoid getting into any other physical confrontations, the Amazons were absolutely relentless in their pursuit of him. He could clearly see how Diana's upbringing had been the driving factor in her tenacity on the battlefield. It'd been force fed into her.
The Amazon trackers were well trained and extremely efficient, and never allowed him to stay in one place for more than a few minutes before he'd have to move again. It took him a few hours just to get outside the city and into a forested area with some more cover to disappear into. The wooded area also happened to surround the field he'd originally landed in. He was even able to get close enough at one point to confirm that the Amazons had discovered the Batwing. They'd thoroughly surrounded it with soldiers much to his chagrin, and there were enough of them there to make any type of frontal assault virtually impossible. Perhaps if he had Clark's abilities, he might have a chance to reach the jet, but certainly not as a normal human.
With darkness returning as his ally, he had a chance, but still had to think of a way to get to his jet quickly. He couldn't afford to engage any of the Amazons surrounding the jet as that would only bring the rest of them down on him. Regardless of the amount he'd trained, he would certainly fall and fall quickly. Instead he sought to devise a means of getting to the jet before any Amazon knew what hit them.
At first, he thought about his smoke grenades, but quickly discarded that notion. They surely had become accustomed to that tactic. He'd been forced into using them more than once already. The field was too big in diameter to set multiple bombs off at once in an attempt to make it appear as though fog was coming in. He'd also need some form of a timer system for that to work, and realistically, he didn't have enough left to pull such a feat off anyways. It was at that point he began to focus on his surroundings.
The only plan he could come up with that held any potential was to go deeper into the forest. He could then make his way up a tall hillside, and hope that the height of the hill combined with the gliding capabilities of his cape would allow him to travel through the air far enough where he could land on or near the jet. It would be a calculated risk because of that uncertainty, but also due to the noise that his cape would make as it fluttered against the wind. There wasn't much noise, but it still could potentially draw the attention of the Amazons as he glided over them. If that happened he'd be vulnerable to arrow and spear attacks until he landed, and he never liked to put himself into positions where he wasn't in complete control.
He held strong in his current position, watching as the Amazons patrolled around his aircraft. As the night continued toward its darkest hour, he came to the conclusion that Hippolyta's troops were extremely well organized. They maintained tight, efficient shift changes which left no gaps in formation, nor possibilities of a soldier letting her guard down due to becoming tired. He had to make a choice soon or daylight would begin to factor into the equation once again. He knew he'd managed to evade capture up to that point, but without the means of food or rest, it would only be a matter of time before he made a critical mistake.
Bruce wavered over the pro's and con's of climbing the hilltop and trying to glide over the heads of the surrounding Amazon troops, and eventually decided there was too much risk of being discovered. He needed to create some form of a distraction, and that was when a more plausible idea came to him. He took one last glance at the soldiers and their positioning, and then slowly backed deeper into the woods.
Within minutes, Bruce had made his way back into the capital city of the island. Due to all the soldiers keeping tabs on his jet, the streets were much easier to navigate through and avoid detection. However, the further he made it into the city, the more paranoid he started to become. He had this feeling creeping up inside that he was being driven into this direction, but in thinking it over, he felt there was little other choice.
As Bruce reached his destination, he made certain that he was fully aware of his surroundings before committing to what he was about to do. Once he was certain, he pulled out and fired his grapnel into the air. Once the line became secure, he hit the button to retract it, pulling him up to the rooftop of his targeted perch. From there, he used the cowl's enhance vision settings to zoom in, validating that the soldiers were still around the Batwing. Satisfied that nothing appeared to have changed, he then lowered himself into a window just below the rooftop.
He'd been there before earlier that day, and was once again intruding upon the queen's personal quarters. As soon as he was inside, he'd flipped on the infrared vision optics on the cowl's lenses, and saw on the bed a person lying there. Bruce crept over quietly, and just when he was about to reach for the covers, that same feeling of being driven toward this moment consumed his thoughts once again. He had this feeling that he'd stepped right into a trap, and as the person underneath the covers ripped them off the bed, his feeling was confirmed. It wasn't the queen in her bed, but a red-headed warrior with a sword pointed dangerously up at him.
"You've entered the queen's personal chambers for the last time." The red-head announced. "Yield or die."
Batman reacted in the only fashion he knew of when facing an armed adversary. He attacked using the armor plating of his gauntlet to smack the blade away, creating some much needed distance from the razor sharp weapon. Not deterred at all, the Amazon immediately leapt up from the bed, closing the distance between the two combatants. She'd been looking forward to this moment all day.
Putting all of her training to use, Artemis slashed repeatedly in a multitude of different angles. She remained on the offensive as the black clad male used his armor to deflect each attack. She found that she was beginning to savor this battle ever so slightly, realizing she hadn't been granted an opponent with such skill since Diana had last left the island for Patriarch's World. It brought a much greater enjoyment to her, anxiously anticipating the feel of victory to greet her.
Batman knew that every moment he spent fighting this Amazon was just another moment where more soldiers would reveal themselves. He quickly took in his opponent's abilities, and came to the conclusion that this woman seemed to be very close in skill level to Diana. Her strikes were almost as powerful and just as quick. He knew that he needed to disarm her before she did manage to grievously injure him, and waited for the inevitable maneuver of Amazon swordplay he'd experienced before.
Sure enough, the thrust eventually did come from the red-head, and he was ready for it. He pinched the blade between the scallops on his forearms with extreme precision. Artemis tried violently to rip the blade free, but because of her actions the scallops cut the blade off at the hilt. Undeterred, she threw the handle at his head, forcing him to duck, and that was when she caught him by surprise.
Her fighting form changed from Amazonian to Krav Maga, striking him just under the arm with a vicious front kick. The blow drove him off his feet, and she wasted little time pouncing on his prone form. Bruce was completely caught off guard by the switch. Obviously Diana had brought some of her training back home with her, and didn't think to mention it to him. Before he could react, the Amazon was on top of him, looking to end the conflict. She was using all her strength, also something Diana refrained from while sparring with Batman, and soon had Batman in quite a predicament. It was only a matter of seconds before he'd be down and out.
As desperation set in, Bruce managed to reach a compartment on his belt, and smacked the Amazon in the thigh with what he'd grabbed. Artemis didn't think anything of it at first, but then she began to feel drowsy. She spared a glance to her thigh, and noticed that a small object was stuck into it. She wanted to remove it, but knew if she did, she would be giving her opponent an easy escape route. However, despite her resolve, after another couple of seconds passed the drowsiness grew exponentially until her grip slackened, and then she collapsed on top of the male.
Bruce laid there with the red-head passed out on top of him. He was trying to catch his breath while also allowing the blood flow to return to his head. He knew he had to move, but wasn't sure just how quickly until he noticed movement, and glanced up to see the queen standing before him, hatred etched onto her features. "You killed Artemis." She said angrily.
"No." He immediately replied. "She'll be fine once the tranquilizer wears off."
"Regardless, you'll not be leaving Themsycira." The queen announced.
"I only came to find Diana." Bruce said as he moved out from under Artemis. "I have to find her."
"You've done enough already." Hippolyta fumed. "Because you have tainted my daughter, she is being punished."
"What are you talking about?" Bruce asked in confusion. "Diana and I've never..."
"You don't remember." Hippolyta interrupted. "She allowed you defile her in an altered time, and it has cost my daughter her freedom."
It was then that realization suddenly hit him. Hippolyta's words combined with the lab results he'd taken formed the only possible explanation. "They're punishing her because she's pregnant." He absentmindedly said.
"My daughter's pregnant?" Hippolyta asked in angered disbelief.
"I have to find her." Batman said, and once again leapt out a window before the queen could stop him.
A/N: Congratulations to cgdhomework. You've correctly guessed where Diana is currently located. Thank you to the guests, CrazyPhenom, Brenda992, Judy, filia anonyma, Zenness, DDLo18, LOTSlover for the reviews. I apologize for the delay in updating, and hope you enjoyed this latest installment. It took a turn I wasn't planning, but I think it worked out nicely in the end.