Diana sighed softly, listening to the low whistle of wind rushing through leaves and the tinkling song of the woods. It was a beautiful night; mild and fragrant, reminiscent of childhood where no worries haunted her and no difficulties reared their head. At least none that she couldn't remove with a generous, possibly repeated, application of fists; smiling at the thought, Diana sat down in the long grass, enjoying the moment. They were so very few like them, after all, and the usual hustle and bustle kept her well away from nature's beauty. "Artemis and her craft grow ever more beautiful," she mused.
The day off had been precisely what she'd needed to gather herself and amass a new well of patience. And the moment before her was the perfect end for it; a drop of tranquillity in her otherwise chaotic existence. She stretched out, throwing her arms overhead. Her back arched. And then she relaxed into the evening, watching Apollo's chariot chase across the vast skies, slowly but surely taking the sun with it. The golden-red glow coated everything in sight. It wouldn't be long before crickets begun their symphonies. It was such a wonderful place that she didn't have the slightest intention of getting up anytime soon. She would fly back to New York and the embassy and see to those documents she hadn't yet reviewed before asking to be beamed up to the Watchtower.
Pushing the thought away, Diana soaked in the feeling her surroundings gave. No more work until it was unavoidable. Unlike certain other people she could name, she refused to be sucked into the mentality that she needed to be constantly engaged within the struggle of hero against villain. There were times better suited for other pursuits. Lowering fully into the grass, she eyed the blend of amber and orange tinged with pink and purple. It was a sight which could well be enjoyed, yet would be doubly lovely if only she had someone with her. Wincing at the turn her mind had taken, Diana frowned. There was something almost ironic about a lover of beauty not wanting her, something rather biting about a great defender of justice whose mission was aligned with hers, not seeing the near perfection of their union. But he wouldn't be convinced and she knew when a war was lost. It was time to let the matter rest. It was time to let Batman do as he would and forsake all cherished hopes of late evenings like this one spent with the ever charming Bruce.
Closing herself against the pain the decision caused, Diana persisted in remembering that she would have lost him anyway; either in battle of through the bitter passing of time. It was simply that her heart had hoped she'd have a little bit more of him before that happened. Yet it was not to be; but he remained a valued team member and a cherished friend. That would have to be enough. It would be enough. Just as soon as she found her bearings and fit him neatly into the friends category; it wouldn't happen in a day. But it would come.
Sufficiently pleased with that, she waited out the sun's setting and enjoyed a few moment longer of the approaching darkness of true night before climbing back onto her feet, shaking away dust and bits of earth. After having shaken herself free, she took flight over the leagues separating her from the embassy, her pace unhurried. She kept an eye out for disturbances she could take care of, but there was precious little need for her intervention one way or another along her path. By the time she reached her quarters, Diana was certain she'd review those papers in record time and be on her way finally.
Her room was undisturbed, save for a tray upon which a small platter filled with a selection of tea sandwiches presented itself to her sight and, naturally, some tea to go along with it. The troublesome files which needed her attention had also been placed in sight. They'd truly thought of everything.
Diana took her time showering then eating before she began her work on what was left to her. Since the embassy had in its care certain artefacts along with the mission of rescuing any such encountered object, she was given time and again lists of these objects with the hopes that she could help. And in some cases she had. But it was not always easy to convince someone who owned such beautiful creations among their personal collection to give them up. Money was an object, of course, since the tendency was for the prices to soar as far as such were concerned.
It seemed that three new ones had been uncovered and a fourth one had disappeared. The three were minor enough, their power unable to encourage evil. The flame of Hestia, for instance, was a charm wonted to bring one domestic bliss and in fact its owner had been married to his wife for over forty years, by all accounts enjoying an idyllic life. It could wait, as could the Needle of Raphso, able to sew bolts of fabric into intricate creation if wielded with passion and a little bit of knowledge. Likewise for the draught of Panakeia; unlike its name suggested, it could heal only mild ailments, having been created for simpler times in an age of mankind's childhood. The one that worried Diana was the stolen artefact. The Eye of Phoebe they called it, though its resemblance to the organ was not quite strong. The colour was close enough, purple through which ran tiny lines of gold. Unfortunately, there was very little known about its powers and as such, the reason behind its disappearance remained a bit of a mystery. The former owner, bereft of this treasure, had noted only that keeping it close brought one a sense of calm and aided in finding solutions.
It looked as though she had her work cut out for her then. The goddess Athena might know a thing or two about it. She might even know who took it, though she never gave straightforward answers to such direct questions. Rising from her chair, Diana moved to an empty spot of her room and bowed her head in prayer, allowing a free path to her position should the goddess be called forth by her entreaty and deign to grace her with the presence.
But it was no Athena who came, descending from the heights of the mount. A prickle of awareness was Diana's only warning before her eyes opened to greet a hated figure.
Tall and dark, fearsome as ever, Hades, Lord of the Underworld, stood before her. Diana jumped back. She had not counted on encountering a foe in her own home. The glitter of his eyes as they flashed with silver for but one moment held her arrested. He was still a god, no matter her own grievances with him. And in fact, he'd not yet raised a hand to her. It would be folly to jump headlong into an attack.
"Peace," the god said, his voice firm and steady. "I have not come to do battle, daughter." She glared at his audacity and kept herself ready to spring into action should need arise.
"What do you want then?" Though her words were not polite, her tone remained neutral. Her bracelets were close by and she could summon them easily enough, but it would not do to get injured beforehand.
Hades regarded her with all seriousness, fixing her with those hypnotic eyes. The depthless orbs drew her in. "A favour." The reply was simple enough. Unwittingly, Diana relaxed, presumably at his own silent urging. "I want you to look into a matter for me. It seems my wife has been captured." The Queen of the Underworld, captured? Gods were not easily imprisoned and surely her close kin would rush to aid her. The uncertainty must have showed on her face, for Hades held up both his hands, palms facing towards her. "Let me but speak and then you may draw whatever conclusion you deem fit." It was quite the most civil he had ever been to her.
Diana nodded her head. And surprisingly, the story she was told was quite extraordinarily plausible. "She was supposed to be with her mother. But even then, we oft speak to each other. And I always feel her moving about. It was so that I discovered her fate. Knowing her to be about, I was tending to our realm when quite abruptly a wave of distress hit me. I did attempt to contact her, but she would not reply and I morphed my way to where I'd last felt her. I found but one thing, a pentagram, such as the Daughters of Persephone of old used."
He conjured for her a facsimile of the pentagram. "This is a binding ritual." It did not take a genius to figure out as much. "The Daughters of Persephone were destroyed ages ago." In fact, Diana herself had been a child then. "Who could have even unearthed their knowledge? Surely they would have needed access to it in order to plan something like this." They were an obscure reference in Man's world, one Diana had not even seen above a dozen times.
"It matters not," the god interrupted her. "I traced them as far as I could, until I hit the barrier they'd erected. It is similar to the one wrought so it may hide, but this one is meant to kill. No man may cross it. And no god either."
"Then why not have your sisters help you? Demeter would not allow harm to come to her daughter." The goddesses were powerful enough to take down any cult which might set itself against them.
"It is Kore they love and only her they would save; they want an obedient child. Persephone is a woman with a mind of her own and desires they will never accept. Her heart is changed and theirs as well. Even so, I would not have come to you, if I did not feel it necessary. I ask you as one who bears part of her soul; aid me in this." She felt her eyes widen.
The gods had breathed life into her; none had ever been named. "Her soul?"
"A fragment really; enough to sustain you and the little needed to grow a soul of your own. I see Hippolyta told you naught." His lips curled into a bitter smile, lending his face a certain manner of grace. "Let us not speak of that; that fragment you have would lead you easily enough to Persephone. Free her and return her to me. In exchange, you may have anything you want of me."
That was a lot of power she was being offered. "Very well. Lead me to this barrier and I will do as you wish." Something like relief crossed his features then. "But not alone; you say no man can withstand this barrier, and that might well be true, but aid is still necessary." She did not know what she would be facing; Shayera at least, though she would take Fire along as well, if she was available.
With that in mind, she turned her back on the ruler of the Underworld, trusting his desire to recover his wife would outweigh any inclination towards mischief.
Her comlink was lying on the table. It was the work of the moment to pick it up and rest it in its usual place. "Wonder Woman to Watchtower. Watchtower come in. I repeat, Watchtower come in." Who was on duty anyway? She'd not checked the roster, though she knew her own turn would come in a couple of weeks. That was what she got for not paying attention. "Wonder Woman to Watchtower," she repeated, relieved when the crackling finally took shape. It had connected, she realised, her heart pounding loudly in her chest as the one and only Batman greeted her. "Batman," she answered, hoping her voice gave nothing away. "I need Shayera and Fire, if they are available. Also, two for Watchtower, please."
She reluctantly motioned the god closer.
The night was uneventful. There had been a string of robberies, though not vicious enough to merit more than two members of the League each and a forest fire which had, admittedly, taken a bit of effort to put out. But all in all, it was one of the easiest nights they'd ever had. Batman was still uneasy in spite of all those facts. There was something mission. Or rather someone. He would never admit it out loud, but Diana's days off gave him countless hours of worry. She could take care of herself, certainly, and she mostly spent such days out and about the city from all his observations or even at the embassy, catching up with the personnel.
Yet she'd not done likewise this last time. Instead, she had hit the road and hiked the day away. She was troubled. He couldn't comfort her; she didn't want to hear those words from him of all people. But to watch her suffer tore at him. The only consolation was that she would slowly but surely come to grips with the reality of their situation. Time was a great healer.
But even knowing all that, he still wanted to have her near. He still wanted to know all there was to know. Even better if she never caught on to that. He'd be relieved as soon as she made contact with the Watchtower and asked to be beamed up. Officially, of course, she did not have to do so until tomorrow. But for some reason or another, Diana thought her room aboard the station the most comfortable and would often ask to be beamed up before her day off was done. Following that, she would spend some time sparring with available colleagues or when the Flash was around with him, much to Bruce's annoyance. The speedster had such an easy relationship with the Princess, most siblings-like. Not that such considerations soothed Bruce overmuch.
Faint crackling caught his attention, sign that one of the members was trying to contact them. He tuned the device, smirking when he heard Diana's voice calling out to him. He took a moment to answer, though he suspected he knew what she was about. "Wonder Woman," he said by way of greeting. She couldn't see him, so she would not guess just how pleased he was to hear from her as his voice remained neutral. Years of practice certainly helped.
"Batman." There was a quiver in her voice. It was soft, almost unnoticeable. But it didn't escape him. A short pause followed. "I need Shayera and Fire, if they are available." A good thing both were in. He would put in her request as soon as he'd got her aboard. "Also, two for Watchtower, please." He froze, feeling the nearly overwhelming urge to look up all league members in her vicinity. Nevertheless, he did not move.
"Two?" he swifter he beamed them, the sooner he would find out who her company was. "Understood. Two for Watchtower." And then he went through with it.
Diana appeared first, dressed in comfortable looking clothes, her normal ensemble nowhere in sight. He could just see her bracelets edging out from beneath the sleeves of her blouse. Behind her came a figure which gave him quite a shock. His first thought was that she'd been forced to bring him along. Batman stood just as flash zipped into the room, a cry of "Wondy!" cut short by the realisation of who she had with her.
"Batman. Flash," she responded, bringing her hands up, palms facing forth. "Everything is alright."
"Um, Wondy, you do know who's behind you, right?" the Flash graciously put in, sparing Batman from growling out a string of foul curses like to make the Princess' ears ring.
"Yes, of course. He requires my help." The he in question, no other than the god of the Underworld, was looking around the station as though he were on a tour. Visibly relaxed and towering over everyone in sight, he stepped closer to Diana. Batman moved as well, more than ready to protect the Amazon should need arise. "Would you mind calling Shayera and Fire over?"
"On it. Batman, hold down the fort," Wally said before speeding away, a blur all that could be seen as the doors opened and closed.
"What is this about?" Batman ground out, setting his eyes in a fierce glare at the Greek god radiating power. Hades finally met his eyes, the darkness swirling in his gaze unsettling but nowhere near threatening. Which given who they were dealing with came as something of a surprise.
"All in good time, caped crusader." There was something about hearing gods speak, terrible and gripping even when they didn't plan to pulverise one into dust. Not that Batman allowed it to move him any. He did not even relax when the doors opened, admitting Shayera and her mace inside.
"Fire's out of commission," the Thanagarian spoke, holding her mace up threateningly in the god's direction. "But I'm more than happy to help with anything."
That led into Diana and her company presenting them with all the facts they had knowledge of. The information was scant enough, though its distinctive nature would work very well to narrow down their search. The greatest curiosity was the barrier which had set up. If a god did not dare cross it, then the threat had to be equal to the task of putting fear into one's heart. That it meant he could not join Diana as she traipsed on Hades' word alone bothered him even as he knew Shayera's mace might prove more helpful than any aid he could offer given the circumstances.
Still, Diana's dealing with magic had never been all that kind. The last thing they needed was to have her placed under some enchantment. But when it became clear she would not back down, Batman knew he would get as close to that barrier as possible and find a way to take it down.
His eyes met the gods' and for one brief moment he thought he saw something there, something that he couldn't explain. It was gone though, before even his thoughts could articulate it.
Her head smashed against the protruding rock, the resulting clang inundating every nook and cranny. Diana winced, wondering that she hadn't smashed the thing. The rest of her body ached tremendously as well. It took her a moment to figure out there should have been no rocks round her. With a start, causing another wave of pain to wash over her, Diana pushed herself up to a sitting position. A further problem presented itself as soon as her eyes fell down to her arms. The ubiquitous bracelets which should have been gracing her wrists were nowhere to be found. In fact, her girdle and lasso were gone as well, leaving her only a tattered uniform. Quivering fingers crept along her hairline. The tiara was missing too. They could not be easily taken off and they certainly wouldn't have fallen off.
"Great Hera, what is going on?" The last thing she recalled was a blast of light and Shayera screaming for her to dodge. Diana blinked. Even if she had been thrown a great distance away, she would have not been alone. And certainly not in a cave. For it was a cave that she had landed it.
Light flooded in from some entrance behind her. Small rocks bit into her uncovered flesh. She could hear no sound whatsoever other than her breathing. With another effort she stood, horrified to find she has skinned her knees like some child. That shouldn't be possible. The wounds stung when she brushed her fingers against them. She should not have been hurt by so paltry a thing.
A terrifying thought occurred to her.
With all haste she could force upon her body, Diana stepped outside the cave and into what looked to be a meadow of sorts. Making for the nearest tree, she embraced the trunk as best she could and heaved. Nothing happened. Straining, she gave it another go, a prayer of her lips. But once more, she came short of the desired result. In fact, she was so far from it that panic fully set in and she jumped back, kicking her leg out only to have it vibrate with pain from the force with which it hit the tree. Yet the wood did not splinter.
She didn't want to believe it, but there it was. Her powers were gone. Even the blessings of the gods were gone. Gazing up at the sky, Diana noted the high seat of the sun. It appeared to be midday. Perhaps she would be best served to find some manner of settlement and obtain clothing and perhaps food. Though her main concern was clothing. The strange land she found herself in had a slight lower temperature than she was used to and without her powers she could feel every sharp note of it against her skin.
She set off at a brisk pace, walking until her feet hurt from the improper footwear. She could not take the boots off; they kept her legs warm. Well, as much as they could; it was better than nothing at all. Concentrating on her self-imposed goal, Diana did not allow her mind to wander. She couldn't afford to think of what any of this meant. Not yet; not until she had some semblance of safety to rely on.