To give you all a fair warning, I'm not really sure how demons from the DC universe are depicted, so I just made some demon stuff up off the top of my head. The skeletons were inspire by Justice League/Justice League Unlimited-one of the best shows of my childhood, mind you. So, now we continue, and the invasion has just begun, and all of Earth is threatened. Our two heroes have begun to for some kind of connection and the Underworld's borders have been breached.
Here we go, the battle begins! Enjoy!
Chapter 9: When There's No Room in Hades
"Wait, so his claws can cut anything?"
"Almost-my hammer and the Captain's shield are two exceptions. I must ask, you're Flash, does he always portray such humor?"
"Well, yes, and I must admit, the League could be very dull without his humor."
"Our fastest, Quicksilver, is nothing like that, mostly serious. However, my friend Spider-Man, he is the one who keeps us alive and optimistic with his jokes-"
BOOM!
Thor & Diana turned to the palace, their conversation of their respective universe suddenly interrupted by the loud explosion they had just heard. Diana immediately picked up her sword from the ground, and Thor sensed from her demeanor that something was very, VERY wrong. As Amazons, well-armed and armored began racing towards the palace, the princess turned to the Asgardian.
"Thor, we just spent a good while having a decent, friendly conversation," she stated, looking at him with cold eyes. "If I find out this was just some form of ruse to-"
"Wonder Woman, I assure you, I have no idea what's going on here," Thor replied firmly. This seemed to satisfy Diana's thoughts, as she turned once more back to the palace.
"Ok then, if it's not you, then what could-"
Then they heard it, the scream; that awful, bloodcurdling animalistic scream. It sent shivers down Diana's spine, and caused Thor to remember the days of his youth when he battled the Dark Elves, and had heard such screams. But the scream didn't just stop at one-it was followed by a massive onslaught of the feral and bloodthirsty shrieks. Diana and Thor had no idea what things could release such sounds.
But the other Amazons, having lived through it once, did.
"THE GATES OF TARTARUS! THEY'VE BEEN OPENED!" they began crying out as they rushed as fast as they could to the palace.
"Hera…" Diana gasped, suddenly filled with fear for the second time this day. Her sisters had just said that the gates of Hades had been opened…but that meant…
"Wonder Woman!" Diana had completely forgotten about the chained warrior behind her in her shock of what she had just heard. "What is going on? What did your Amazons mean by the 'gates of Tartarus?'"
"Tartarus is the realm of the dead, ruled by Hades, God of the Underworld! Olympus has decreed that he be condemned to rule it for eternity, but he attempted to take the world once, and the gods punished him severely! Now, the Amazons must guard his gates to ensure he never attempts to invade the world! I need to go-if his armies have been unleashed, Hades himself is not far behind!"
Thor watched as the Amazon Champion raced off into the heavens, sword & lasso in hand, to join her fellow sisters in confronting this threat. If what Wonder Woman had said was true-what little she had said, at least-then this Hades, he posed a dire threat to this Midgard. A ruler of a realm of the dead had a virtually limitless number of soldiers for their armies. If the gates to this Underworld were indeed opened and the armies of the dead and demons overran the Amazons as they tried to fight back, the results if they spread to the rest of the planet would, at minimum, catastrophic.
"Well…it appears they are going to need some help with this."
*10 minutes later*
"I am so sorry, My Queen-they came too fast for us to react, we were overpowered and consumed before we had a chance to-"
"It matters not, Fiona," Hippolyta screamed as she slashed at a dead Amazon skeleton with her two blades. "The fault is not yours! What matters now is that we do not let the forces of the Underworld off this island and into Man's World lest they consume the planet!"
For the last 10 minutes, Hippolyta, Philippus and their fellow Amazons had been battling relentlessly against the emerging demons, spirits and dead of the Underworld's gates, which had opened with the force of an explosion. The demons that had possessed the gate guards had released their hosts, no longer having a use for them. Unfortunately, that meant that they were free to kill them. Fiona was the only one of the Amazon guards to escape, and made sure that the blood of the demons was shed thoroughly when her sisters were so brutally killed by their captors.
The Amazons, led by their queen and general, fought fiercely, shedding demon blood and felling the dead bodies and skeletons of fallen Amazons and fallen warriors over the centuries; unfortunately, there were only 10 of them against the unending hordes of Hades. Unless they got a miracle, the monsters would overrun them, escape and storm the island and spread out across the world. The biggest problem were the spirits-they could turn corporeal and incorporeal at will, making it very difficult to land hits on them; they were considered the most dangerous of Hades' armies.
To make matter more difficult, these invaders were spawned from the Underworld; they couldn't be killed completely, for if they died, they'd simply return to life less than five minutes later. The battle seemed nearly impossible to win.
Hippolyta refused to think that as she gutted an axe-wielding demon, it's fiery blood oozing from the wound and splashing onto her, its roar of infernal pain echoing across the underground cavern with the rest of its brethren's screams. Refusing to let the pain of the blood's fire falter her, she took her other blade and sliced off it's axe arm and with her gods-given strength, punched the demon back, sending it flying into a group of skeletons, crushing them to dust. A roar came from her side and she turned to see a demon wielding swords that had been charging at her slayed and beheaded by Philippus.
"My Queen, they're too many of them, and no one else knows of the gates being opened! We must fall back and seek more secure-"
"That is out of the question, Philippus!" Hippolyta snapped with a yell, helping another Amazon fell a skeleton warrior. "We must make our stand here, no matter the cost! If we are to die alone against these hordes, then that is what we shall do! Fight on, my sisters, for we must hold as long-"
"AMAZONS, ATTACK!"
At the sound of thundering footsteps and the cries of battle, the 10 Amazons turned to see Wonder Woman lead the full might of the Amazon army into the cavern and against the hordes of Hades. Immediately, the demons and dead shifted almost all their focus to the oncoming onslaught of living soldiers. The entire front line of Underworld forces were decimated by the might of Diana, her blade and lasso used at godly speeds to hack and mangle through the demons and dead, their fiery blood spilling and pouring onto the rocky grounds. The attacking Amazons followed up, unleashing their blades and spears into the invaders, refusing to let the creatures of Tartarus escape onto the surface, ready to give their lives if necessary, as the gods had decreed many millennia ago.
"Diana!" Hippolyta cried out as her daughter flung a large demon into corporeal spirits, catching them off guard and crushing them. "We must act quickly-the hordes are unrelenting and soon even the full might of the Amazon army will be overcome with these creatures!"
"We need the League, mother!" Diana yelled back, standing back to back with the Queen, both hacking away at the demonic invaders. "I can try to call J'onn and have him send whoever's available to come here and help us!"
"We can defeat them all ourselves if we can simply close the gates-and with haste, before the Lord of Tartarus himself appears!"
"Hades hasn't appeared yet?!"
"Did the mortal world miss me so much that it anticipates my arrival?" a fiendish voice boomed out. Before any of the Amazons had any time to react, a blast of infernal fires engulfed Diana, enticing screams of powerful anguish and suffering, extremely powerful jolts of pain that she had never suffered before coursing through her entire body. She collapsed powerfully onto the ground, forcing herself to raise her head and stare at her attacker. All around, the fighting stopped as the Amazons stared in horror and the hordes of the Underworld roared and screamed in delight.
Walking out of the gates of Tartarus flanked by a now fresh onslaught of his armies, his hands burning with the fires of his kingdom, clothed in demonic armor and smoke billowing from his mouth, was Lord Hades, brother of Zeus, God of the Underworld.
"Diana, Champion of the Amazons," the god fiendishly cooed. "I have anticipated meeting you for the first time. You are indeed a beautiful creature; it is a shame you have dedicated yourself, along with the rest of your kind, to defying me and my power. You must know that I will take this world, and there is nothing you can do about it."
"You will never take this world, Hades," Diana spat, getting up and taking her sword. "No matter how many times you try, I and the Justice League will forever stand against you and ensure you do not plague this world."
"Then where is your League now?" Hades smirked, to which Diana could only glare at him. "I know that your allies have left this world fight a war in the distant universe. And I know of your recent battle with that invader of Themyscera. You're still weak, Amazon, and even if you were at your prime you could never hope to stand against me. What hope do you have now?"
Despite her intense hatred for the God of the Underworld, Diana knew he was right. She had never fought the God of the Underworld before, and if it ever was to happen, she anticipated it'd be when she'd be at full strength; but she was still recovering from her battle against Thor, and she was definitely not at full strength. But she refused to let that falter her will.
"I will stand against you, Hades-even if it means until the gods themselves descend from Olympus to stop you for your transgression today," she snarled.
"The gods?! HA AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Hades boomed with evil laughter. "If the gods truly cared, they'd have come when Themyscera was besieged by one man! Olympus will not come to your aid; no gods are here to save you, Amazon. But if you are so insistent on dying today, then…SO BE IT!" With a demonic roar, Hades flew at Diana, fisting her face with a fiery hand, sending her flying into the cavern ceiling.
"ARMIES OF THE UNDERWORLD! TAKE THE AMAZONS BY STORM AND SPREAD TO THE REALM OF THE MORTALS! WE SHALL TAKE THIS WORLD AND REIGN SUPREME! DESTROY THE AMAZONS, BUT THE CHAMPION IS MINE!"
"THEN HERE I AM!" Diana screamed as she landed a devastating axe kick upon Hades' head, slamming him into the ground, beginning an all-out brawl between the god and the princess.
Hippolyta could only watch in horror as her daughter battled the God of the Underworld while she and her armies battled desperately to push back the armies of Tartarus.
"You think you can just come to the world of the living and take what you find to your fancy?!" Diana screamed as she fired an unrelenting flurry of punches upon Hades' face, not slowing down for a second. "Did you honestly not think I would have anything to say against that?! I have grown up hearing the storied of your atrocities, the destruction you unleashed during your first escape! I have sworn to protect this world from evil such as your! You really thought I would just sit by and do-"
Diana was immediately cut off by Hades' powerful hand grabbing her throat. Less than a split second later, the life was being squeezed out of her.
"Oh, no, Diana-I reveled at the notion that you would attempt to stop me and battle with me. I knew that your heroism and gods-given honor would bind you to do so. I just had to be the one to teach you the error of that way-to show you that I am your superior!"
Hades opened his mouth, allowing infernal fires to come spilling out onto Diana's face, the pain forcing her to scream in anguish. Luckily, her sword was still at her feet, so with a slam of her foot onto its hilt, she grabbed it as it flew up and thrust it into the god's mouth. Though it definitely wouldn't kill Hades, it sent massive pain all through him. As the Lord of Tartarus screamed and sputtered, Diana took her lasso and roped Hades' arm, sending him flying across the cavern into a recently resurrected bunch of demons. Zooming after him, she made to slam him with a devastating kick-
Only for him to grab her leg and slam her into the rocky and body littered ground. Hades proceeded to them beat her repeatedly with his fiery fists, enjoying the screams the bloody Amazon was releasing from the pain delivered to her.
"You may have the powers of gods, Diana, but I AM a god! You cannot stop me, and by the time Olympus becomes aware, I will have solidified my hold on this world! NO ONE CAN STOP ME!"
They were losing.
Hippolyta and the Amazons had been flanked and divided. Most of the Amazons had been forced out of the cavern and up onto the island surface, but about 70 had been cut off and still remained in the cavern, fighting for their lives trying to beat back the unending hordes that continuously spawned from the gates. The Queen had to admit, despite hating Hades, his plan was brilliant-take Diana on himself, the strongest and most dangerous of the Amazons, and his armies would continue out into Man's World, challenged only by Hippolyta and her sisters. An army of a few thousand, against the limitless might of Hades.
For a good half hour, the Amazons had slowly been losing ground to the demons, spirits and dead of the Underworld. The passage to the cavern was lost, the inner levels of the palace were lost…and now the palace itself was lost. The fiery blood of the demons had quickly set much of the building, as well as the outside vegetation and stony carnage, ablaze, the fires roaring and crackling illuminated the now seemingly hopeless battle.
The demons and monstrosities spewed from the home the queen, as she and her general looked on with frantic panic and horror. Amazons fought bravely onward, but against such a powerful enemy, even the gods-blessed immortal warriors would falter and fall.
Watching her army begin to falter and tire against the unending hordes, Hippolyta turned to Philippus. "I fear this is the end for us, Philippus. We fought well, but it seems it just wasn't enough. Let us die, my sister, unwavering in battle, at least."
"I wish it would not be this way, my Queen," the Amazon general responded, both women now back to back against the hordes of demons and skeletons. "But you are right, Hippolyta; we shall fight until the end."
Raising her blades to the skies, she screamed for all the Amazons to hear. "WE SHALL FIGHT ON TO OUR LAST BREATH, SISTERS! WE SHALL HOLD THE HORDES OF HADES HERE, OR DIE IN THE ATTEMPT!" The Amazons roared cries of war and approval, ready to give themselves to stop Hades. "ONWARD, THEMYSCERA! AGAINST HADES, THE UNDERWORLD! ONWARD!"
At that moment, the palace's left wall collapsed, releasing a new wave of demons and skeletons.
"I think the Princess would call that 'ironic,'" Philippus mused.
The creatures attacked, bolstering the onslaught of hordes already attacking the Amazons. This proved too much for the women as they were overrun, the creatures tearing and slashing at the Amazons while they desperately tried to fight off the invaders.
Hippolyta was jumped by a very large winged demon, armed with burning axes. Strong as she was, she found herself unable to free herself of its grip on her. Philippus attempted to jump onto its back but was tackled by a trio of skeleton warriors. Hippolyta could only look at the demon with fury as it made to bring its axes onto her face-
When a hammer slammed into the demon, sending it flying into its brethren. Then, the skies began roaring with thunder as lightning danced and crackled.
Hippolyta heard a thunderous war cry as Thor slammed into the ground, the impact sending the infernal hordes nearby flying back. He raised his hand, Mjolnir in it, to the heavens, and as the hammer glowed, the skies became even darker as the thunder and lightning bent to the Asgardian's will.
"FOR MIDGARD!" was the only words Thor roared before the palace grounds were heavily bombarded with lightning, consuming the creatures. Roars and shrieks and screeches were unleashed as Mjolnir was flung into spirits and skeletons, which immediately crumbled to dust or disappeared in puffs of smoke. Thor himself mercilessly battled the demons, felling them by the dozens.
Five minutes later, the lightning stopped its bombardment, allowing Hippolyta to fully grasp the scene before her: were demons and infernal skeleton warriors and spirits had stood, only charred remains and dust and smoke were left. The Amazons had not been touched by the assault; in fact, they all seemed surprised at what had just happened.
Thor walked over to the Amazon Queen, his hammer returning to his hand. Hippolyta stared at him incredulously.
"Mjolnir was once a religious artifact, worshipped as my people were worshipped; as such, it is able to smite those of-" Thor never finished his sentence before he was surrounded by Amazon warriors, led by Philippus.
"You tried to kill us! You are truly in league with Hades!" she roared.
"I just saved your lives, woman!" Thor screamed, his anger now returning; of all the Amazons, he was REALLY starting to hate this one. "If I had not intervened, you may all have been dead!"
"We had this completely under control!"
The fires roared and crackled, sparking explosions, sending chunks of rock flying into the forest, causing them to slowly catch fire.
"Is that why everything's on fire?" Thor smirked.
"YOU ARROGANT, PIG HEADED-"
"PHILIPPUS! You and your warriors will stand down." They all looked astonished at Hippolyta, who stared angrily at her general. Before Philippus could even try to argue, she spoke again. "He has saved us, and has proven he is able to smite these creatures. We would do well to have his strength on our side." With hatred in her eyes to Thor and visible reluctance, Philippus ordered her soldiers to stand down.
"Thor, we have done nothing but attack you, claim your stories to be false and have my daughter battle you to your defeat and imprison you," the Queen said as she made her way to Thor. "Why would you want to help us?"
"Because I am a hero, a protector where I come from," Thor replied with complete sincerity. "My earth has always been under my protection, and it will always be. I have served as a guardian to mankind alone and with my allies, the mightiest heroes of my universe-the Avengers. I have sworn that I would never allow great threats to plague its people. I see this that this world is not my own, but it bears much similarity, and I cannot help but yearn to protect it as well, especially when Wonder Woman told me of what has happened. This Hades…if he is as powerful as she says, then I fear that if I do not help, your people, your island and your world will be overrun by these creatures. Wonder Woman is not at full strength-I saw that when we were speaking. You are all mighty warriors, but even you, Your Majesty, with powers that almost reach that of your daughter, may not suffice. I pledge, therefore, to lend my strength and might to your cause."
Hippolyta could only stare flabbergasted at the Asgardian's words. Despite her Amazon heritage of hatred of men, she had come to respect and even admire a few over the millennia. But this Thor, he seemed to embody heroism and honor…even if he seemed arrogant sometimes.
"What say you, Amazon?" Thor asked, offering his hand to her. "Will you accept my aid?"
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Thor seems to be winning over the Amazons more and more, doesn't he? Except for Philippus. I just came up with an idea of how Thor'll get back at her for all her crap, and I think you'll all love it and find it hysterical. As for the "Dark World" scene I incorporated, I just thought it was hilarious when Sif tried to keep face in front of Thor, and him just shutting it down with that comment.
A few more chapters to go, dear readers, and if anyone wants to know, I do intend to write a sequel, this time sending Diana to the Marvel-verse. Since I have Thor taking on Hades, any Thor villains you want Diana to face off? Suggest it, I'm open to ideas.
Once again, reviews, feedback and whatnot are always welcome. :) Next up, the battle of Gods and Mjolnir recognizes new worth. Stay tuned, until next time readers.