Just a quick note, first of love for all of you who have been so faithful to read and review. Your support is very much appreciated.

Second, a note of warning. Things are going to get very dark in the second section of this update so be warned. It's not going to be pretty, but I promise to make it up to you later so please hang with me! :)

Chapter 19

Queen Hippolyta paced back and forth in Lord Hades' throne room, growing more furious and frantic with every step she took. She couldn't stand not knowing what was happening to Diana for much longer. She wanted to see her daughter, to hold her in her arms once more, but she didn't know if she was even still alive.

Her heart ached in a way that only a mother's ever could at a time like this, something that only another mother could truly understand. It was a heartache unlike any other – knowing her child was in trouble…dying…and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

She couldn't begin to imagine the suffering that her little sun and stars was being forced to endure all because of her so-called father. She could feel the tears building in her throat trying to escape, but she refused them. Hades would not see her cry.

Hippolyta couldn't help but wonder what she had ever seen in Hades, what it was about him that had attracted her. Had it been his dark good looks? His charming smile? She guessed that whatever it was, her daughter had the same sort of attraction for the dark and brooding type.

Bruce Wayne.

She sent up a silent prayer to Hera, begging for her protection over the mortal as well as her daughter. She knew the gods would never meddle or interfere with anything that Hades was doing in his own realm. She could still hope that Hera might hear her prayers for Diana and the man that she loved.

It brought Hippolyta a small measure of comfort to pray. It made her feel as though she was truly doing something for her daughter even though it felt small and not nearly enough, not with what she could imagine Diana was enduring.

A soft smile managed to grace the queen's lips despite the dire circumstances as she thought about her daughter. She remembered holding her in her arms that very first time – the softness of her skin, the bright blueness of her eyes, and the fine black baby hair on top of her head. She recalled her chubby cheeks and the way her little fingers would curl around her own. She had been a very happy baby, always giggling and smiling, trying to talk though she could only babble.

It didn't take long, though, for her daughter's strong will to assert itself. It had first appeared with an unbelievable fierceness and had only gained strength as she had grown older. Along with it, her heart had expanded too, filling with such empathy and love for others that it had never ceased to amaze her.

It was that very compassion as well as her fierce determination and sense of justice that had ultimately compelled Diana to steal her armor and leave Themyscira for Man's World. The queen's heart grew heavy once more, remembering how she had woken that morning to find Diana and her armor missing.

It had taken everything inside of her to not go after Diana and force her to return home where she belonged, but her daughter had made her choice and she had to learn to abide by that decision. She knew from the very beginning that her daughter had been intended for far greater than staying on the island. She was to be the Champion of the Gods, a bringer of justice and messenger of peace to the world.

Although difficult to let her go, Hippolyta could not be prouder of all that her daughter had accomplished, the countless lives saved and the wickedness that had been thwarted all because of her and her courageous friends.

"My Queen," Phillipus addressed her with a sigh. "You need to rest. You've been pacing for hours."

"I can't help it," Hippolyta replied with a shake of her head. "I can't just wait here like this, wondering what is happening to my daughter right now, if Bruce is even still alive or not."

"Princess Diana is very strong and not just physically, Queen Hippolyta," Phillipus reminded her. "You know it will take more than Hydra's poison to end her life."

Turning to Phillipus, Hippolyta momentarily allowed her eyes to convey the overwhelming grief she was battling as well as her fear. "I'm afraid that if she dies, I won't be the only one whose heart will die along with her, Phillipus. Bruce might never recover from this if he survives."

"We cannot lose hope," Phillipus tried to encourage her. "Diana will not surrender so easily and I have a feeling Batman won't either. The Princess would not have fallen in love with a mere mortal male such as Batman if she did feel that he was her equal in every way. She must have seen tremendous courage and honor in him if she has chosen him to be her mate."

"I know," she responded with a nod. "Although it was quite difficult to accept at first, I must admit that I very happy that my little sun and stars has found love in such a noble man as Bruce."

Hades entered at that moment with his typical haughty manner that always surrounded him. Queen Hippolyta instantly bristled at the sight of him, the grief that had veiled her face becoming hatred once more as the god of the Underworld approached her.

"Where is she, Hades?" Hippolyta hissed like a viper through clenched teeth. "I have been waiting for hours and I will wait no longer to see her."

"She's in the Fields of Punishment," he told her as indifferently as if their daughter was merely at the palace on Themyscira.

"Take her to me," she demanded as he came to stand before her, raising her chin defiantly as if she was accustomed to having her every order obeyed immediately. Unfortunately, she wasn't on Themyscira, but Hades' realm now.

Hades just smiled pleasantly at her with an unusual air of patience that he normally did not possess or personify. "Dear Hippolyta," he replied with a sigh. "I brought you here to keep you safe. The Underworld is far too treacherous for you to be traipsing through it looking for Diana."

"So you did it out of the goodness of your heart?" Hippolyta demanded with a sneer. "And yet, you sent Diana and Bruce out there to punish them for falling in love!"

"You know my reasons for doing what has been done," Hades calmly reminded her. "I'm not going to waste any more breath trying to explain logic that you refuse to acknowledge as sound."

"This is nothing sound about you taking my daughter's life," Hippolyta shouted.

"I offered to save her life and she refused my generous offer," Hades snarled, his patience abruptly running out. "She'd rather die out there than give up this foolish mortal that she's become so enamored with."

"Then what does that tell you, Hades?" Hippolyta cried, throwing her hands up in frustration. "If that's not love then I don't know a better personification of it."

"Its lunacy," Hades snapped, his voice like thunder. "She's become deluded with the ways of the world, becoming infatuated with a simple mortal man."

"It's far more than simple infatuation if she's willing to give up her life for him."

"She'll soon realize that infatuation is all it truly was when she struggles to draw her final breaths," the god of the Underworld spat out. "She'll be begging for me to save her, recanting her profession of love for Batman."

Hippolyta slowly shook her head in stunned disbelief as she stared at the god standing before her. "You don't know Diana at all. If you truly knew her, you would know that when she loves, she loves with her whole heart…her whole being and there's no one in this world or the next that she loves more than Bruce Wayne."

Hades seemed to actually consider Hippolyta's words for a moment before responding. "It still remains to be seen if Batman will even survive this. At this very moment, Melinoë is testing his mental fortitude. He hasn't been broken physically, but we'll see how he stands up to Melinoë's attack on his mind."

"You are a sick, sadistic—" Hippolyta sputtered furiously, raising her hand to strike him.

Hades grabbed her by the wrist, roughly pulling her up against him. "Watch your tongue, woman. I'm being more than hospitable allowing you to remain here while we await the outcome of their trials."

Hippolyta scowled darkly at him, feeling Phillipus closing in behind her, more than prepared for a fight. "Let me take Diana's place."

"My Queen, no!" Phillipus gasped.

Hades studied her for a long moment, appearing as though he was actually considering it. "Very noble of you, Hippolyta," he finally replied, his cold eyes roaming over her face. "I'm afraid this is something that Diana must endure."

"Letting her die?" Hippolyta yelled as she tried to wrestle free from Hades' hold on her, but he was far too strong to fight. "What is that supposed to teach her?"

Hades leveled her with a deadly glower. "Not to disgrace herself or me by giving herself to a worthless mortal."

"You are completely insane," Hippolyta seethed. "I don't know what I ever saw in you."

"The feeling is mutual," he bit out.

"If you don't bring me my daughter right now, I will—"

"You will what?" he demanded to know. "I don't have to put up with this. I can send you back to Themyscira right now."

"You wouldn't dare," she snapped.

A wicked grin spread across his face. "Actually, I think I would dare," he replied with a wave of his hand.

Hippolyta and Phillipus disappeared from the throne room of Hades to find themselves standing in the palace throne room on Themyscira. "No!" Hippolyta screamed, enraged. "Hades! Take me instead of them!"

"Mother!"

Hippolyta turned to find Donna and Dick peering out from behind her throne, a sheepish expression on Nightwing's face. "What is going on here?" Hippolyta questioned them, suspicious of what the pair had been up to.

"I'm so relieved your back!" Donna cried, running towards her mother and wrapping her arms around her. "Where are Diana and Bruce? Did you see them? Are they alright?"

Hippolyta momentarily returned her daughter's embrace before pulling back to look at her. "I'm afraid they're both still down there," she regretfully informed them, tears threatening to fill her eyes. "Di…Diana is dying, Donna. There's nothing we can do to save her."

"No," Donna whispered, tears instantly forming. "No, there has to be something we can do. I'll go after her myself…I…I'll…"

Donna broke down in sobs as she fell against her mother. Hippolyta held her daughter in her arms, sharing in her sorrow. She would not allow her tears to escape, not here in her throne room. Later, when she was alone in her room she would mourn.

Dick came to stand behind Donna, his hand coming to rest on her back. "What…what about Bruce?" Dick softly asked, his voice almost tremulous.

"He's still alive," Hippolyta reassured him. "He is being tested right now by Melinoë."

"Who is Melinoë?" he asked, his brow furrowing in both confusion and fear.

"She is the god of ghosts," Hippolyta explained. "She loves to strike fear in the hearts of others and then use it against them."

"No…no, this can't be good," Dick muttered as he turned away from them, running his fingers back through his head as the ramifications of this swept through him.

"What is it?" Hippolyta asked, looking from Dick to Donna who had pulled out of her mother's embrace.

"Bruce's parents were murdered before his very eyes when he was eight years old," Dick explained. "This Melinoë will no doubt use his parents against him to try and break him."

Hippolyta looked grimly at Dick, her heart sinking. "I knew that something had happened to Bruce's parents from what Diana had told me, but she's never really had the chance to tell me the whole story."

"They were gunned down in an alley by a thug," Dick revealed. "It's haunted Bruce ever since. It was the trigger for him to later become Batman, the reason it's so difficult for him to allow himself to be happy again. Because of his parents, he has dedicated his life to saving Gotham so that no other child would ever have to go through what he did.

"Diana was the first woman able to bring true happiness and light to his life, bringing us all together as a real family. She saved him."

Hippolyta released a weary breath. "Hopefully, Bruce can save her now."

XXX

Batman opened his eyes to find himself in the last place that he would've expected —a movie theater. And it wasn't just any movie theater. It was the movie theater that he had gone to with his parents the night that his life had changed forever.

The night that he had lost everything.

Despite knowing something like this would probably come during his trials, Bruce couldn't prevent the cold sweat that broke out or the fear that lanced through him. He knew he needed to remain in control right now no matter what was about to be thrown at him. The sooner he got through this, the sooner he could find Diana and get her the help that she needed before he lost her forever.

He drew a couple of deep breaths before opening his eyes. Looking down, he found that he was clutching the armrests of his seat to the point that his fingers were starting to ache. He forced himself to relax as he released his grip on the armrests, but it was next to impossible. He was sitting in the very same seat that he had been sitting in that night.

His surroundings, the smell of theater popcorn, the monotonous sound of the cheesy music that theaters always played over the speakers before the movie started all assaulted his senses at once, feeding his rising dread. All of a sudden, he was an eight year old boy playing dress up in a Halloween costume, not the Dark Knight of Gotham.

He leapt to his feet, more than ready to escape this place when the lights abruptly went off, the screen lighting up as a movie began to play. His heart began to beat a little harder, thumping steadily against his chest well. He was frozen where he stood, unable to take his eyes off the screen, fearful of what he was about to see.

He waited with bated breath as the movie credits began to slowly roll down the screen, the music eerily haunting as it echoed through the empty theater. It was the ending from the movie that his parents had taken him to that night, the night when an eight year old watched as his whole world fell apart.

His gauntleted fingers instinctively curled into fists as an all too familiar cackle unexpectedly permeated the theater. The fine hairs on the back of his neck prickled as a sneer curled his lips. He turned in tight circles, trying to catch sight of the demented clown, more than prepared for an attack.

"Show your face, Joker!" Batman yelled.

Several moments passed before he finally received a response. A new image appeared on the large screen that caught his attention, one that caused his heart to stutter as a mournful tune began to play in the background, its melancholy melody causing his fear to swell.

It was Diana.

He unconsciously gripped the back of the seat in front of him in order to keep himself upright, unable to tear his eyes away from the image of her. "Diana," he whispered, finding it difficult to make his voice work at that moment.

She was there on the screen larger than life. She was badly injured and chained to a chair, her head bowed as if in prayer. He had no idea if it was just an illusion or if this was real, but it scared the hell out of him nonetheless especially when Joker unexpectedly appeared on the screen beside her, wielding a very large butcher knife.

"Hiya, Batsy!" Joker greeted him with a wicked cackle that made the hairs on his arm stand on end. It was one that would no doubt haunt his sleep for the rest of his life. "I believe I have something you want."

Batman growled as Joker roughly gripped an unconscious Diana by the hair and yanked her head back. She winced with the violent movement, squeezing her eyes closed even tighter against the assault. Her breathing was ragged, her body covered in numerous cuts and bruises, dried blood crusted on her skin in some places while other wounds bled freely.

Bruce's breath caught in his chest when Joker waved the butcher knife at him before bringing it around to rest against her throat in typical dramatic fashion. "Such a beauty, don't you agree?" Joker asked as he leaned in close to Diana. He pressed his cheek against hers and smiled broadly, closing his eyes as if relishing the contact with her. "Too bad that she'll lose her head."

Batman swiftly leapt over the row of seats in front of him in less than a heartbeat, racing towards the large screen with a desperation that threatened to choke the life out of him. "Don't you dare touch her!" he snarled.

Joker's eyes popped open wide with an expression of mock surprise on his face. "You mean…like this?" he innocently inquired as he allowed the blade to slice across her skin, cutting a long thin line across her throat. Bright red blood began to ooze from the superficial wound as he made another slash across her chest above her heart. "Or do you mean something more like this?"

Bruce watched in horror as Joker released her hair to grope her breast through her uniform, further inflaming his rage. "Let her go!" Batman shouted, standing all alone in the empty theater as he stared helplessly at the screen.

Joker cackled insanely in response, pausing to lick the blood off the blade of his butcher's knife. "Even her blood tastes absolutely divine," he raved with a sigh of euphoria. "I can only imagine how heavenly the rest of her tastes, but I'm sure you already know. Don't you, Batsy?"

Batman couldn't keep from trembling with the dark rage that washed through him. Something inside of him, something long since buried awakened inside of him like a leviathan in its dark cave. It threatened to steal his self-control, his logic, his sanity as he watched blood from Joker's cuts trickle down Diana's chest only to disappear beneath the fabric of her uniform.

The blood that covered her was seemed so bright against her pallid skin. He knew she wasn't going to last much longer if Joker continued to slice her to shreds. Even an immortal like her could only handle so much blood loss before it became too insurmountable for even her to overcome.

"I'm going to rip you to shreds," Batman seethed with a deadly calm that caused the Joker to take pause.

"Tisk, tisk, Batsy," Joker chided, wagging a finger at him. "Remember rule number one—thou shall not kill your favorite clown. Besides, you'd be so bored and lonely without me in your life."

"Let her go, Joker!"

Ignoring him, Joker took a handful of Diana's raven hair, rubbing it between his fingers. "It really is just like silk," he commented in awe as he brought to his nose to smell. Before Batman could say anything, the clown hacked off a fistful of hair before tossing it up into the air. "Maybe I should save it and make myself a wig. I think I'm in dire need of a makeover. What do you think, Bats? Is black really my color?"

Joker proceeded to chop off large handfuls of hair, throwing it up into the air and singing "this is the way we cut our hair, cut our hair, cut our hair. This is the way that we cut our hair all day long".

"I swear on my life I will hunt you down and make you pay for this!" Batman growled. "There is no place you will ever be able to hide from me if you kill her."

Joker disregarded the Caped Crusader's threat, stepping back and placing a hand beneath his chin as he thoughtfully admired his handiwork. "You know I never really fancied myself much of a barber, but I think that I may have a future in cosmetology."

"Release her!" Batman roared as Joker attempted to even out the jagged bob that he had cut her hair into. "This is between you and me!"

"Now, let's not be rash," Joker told him with another gleeful cackle as he finally turned to look at Batman, his smile morphing into something as depraved and wicked as his eyes. "I'm nowhere finished having my fun with Wonder Bimbo yet."

Batman was nearly going out of his mind as he was forced to watch as Joker began making more cuts over her chest and arms, pausing to lick her blood from his blade. He began to pace back and forth like a caged animal ready to tear something apart as Joker began to cut away at her uniform.

Joker abruptly stopped at that moment, turning his attention back to the frantic Batman. "You might want to look away, Batsy-Watsy," he tormented him with a voice as dark and evil as sin itself. "I don't think you're going to want to watch what I'm about to do next. Not that I have performance issues of course, but I'm also not one to kiss and tell."

Batman released a bone-chilling cry of utter fury as he ran towards the screen, desperate to stop this madness. Joker removed his belt, snapping it like a bullwhip just before the screen went black. Batman's ragged breathing was the only sound as he struggled to rein in the bitter hatred that now consumed him. Joker's blood would never be payment enough for what he had done to Diana…what he was about to do to her now.

He turned with another cry, slamming his fist into a wall. He had to find her, to stop the Joker before he killed her, but he had no idea where she was. Spotting a side door, he ran towards it, finding it locked. Lifting his black boot, he kicked the door wide open, nearly taking it off its hinges.

Coming to a stop outside in a dark alley, he stopped dead in his tracks. This was the alley that he had lost his parents in. Panic stole his breath as memories from that night besieged him like violent waves at sea. He felt as though was drowning, being swallowed up in a tempest of anguish for what he had lost…for what he was about to lose if he didn't get to Diana in time.

It was dark and yet he could make out something or someone at the end of the alley. Reaching for a batarang, he cautiously made his way closer. His heartbeat pounded in his ears with every cautious step that he took, fearing what he would find waiting for him.

Someone had discovered his darkest fears and was tapping into them, threatening to break his mind and his will with them, but he would not let them win. He would find Diana and save her from this hell. He would not fail her.

He held his breath as a bright spotlight shown down on the two figures at the end of the alley, revealing his parents. He gasped despite himself, stunned to be looking at his dead parents who appeared very much alive and standing before him now.

He stared in shock, speechless as his mind struggled to process what he was actually seeing. "Mom? Dad?" he finally managed to choke out.

His parents were dressed in the same clothes they had been wearing the night they had been murdered, his mother's pearl necklace still intact around her neck. He took a step towards them, more than anxious to touch them when Joe Chill unexpectedly stepped out from behind them with a gun in his hand.

Bruce's heart nearly stopped as flashbacks of that horrifying moment nearly thirty years ago when those gunshots rang out, ending not only his parents' life but his own as well. He instinctively tightened his grip on the batarang in his hand, more than ready to protect them this time. He wouldn't fail them like he had done that night.

"You who! Batsy!"

Bruce froze, a shiver of dread racing up his spine as he turned to find Joker standing over Diana who was lying on her side on the ground at his feet. She looked even more beaten up than before if that was even possible. Her uniform was nearly shredded, her thighs coated in blood, a telltale sign of what Joker had just done to her.

He couldn't tear his eyes away from her, his stomach lurching with what she had suffered at the hands of the madman. It was his worst nightmare coming to life right before his eyes. He tried to tell himself that this was all just an illusion in his mind, but it felt all too real—the sights, the smell, the terror that had a death-grip on him.

"Now that was a wild ride!" Joker taunted, still brandishing his butcher's knife. "I think I enjoyed it far more than she did, but then again she wasn't a very willing partner. I guess I'll just have to try again once she wakes up and show her what she missed."

Bruce felt dizzy…nauseated as he fought to remain upright on legs too wobbly to hold him up. "I'm going to kill you," he hissed as he began to stalk towards the psychotic animal that had raped and tortured Diana. It felt like he was moving in a dream, his body slowly moving of its own volition and yet he couldn't wait to get his hands on the manic clown.

Joker immediately crouched beside the unconscious Amazon, his knife's blade pointed at her chest. "Take another step and I'll cut her heart out right here," he threatened. "You have a choice to make, my Batty little friend. Save your parents or save the love of your life. The clock is tick, tick, ticking so you better think fast."

Bruce looked back at his parents, their eyes wide with fear as they stared helplessly at Joe Chill, his gun aimed straight at them. His father had his arm around his mother who was silently crying as Joe cocked his gun, pressing her face into the crook of his father's neck.

"NO!" Batman growled furiously.

"Alrighty then," Joker crowed with glee. "Diced Amazon it is then!"

Batman's head snapped to his right in time to see Joker raise his knife high in the air, ready to take Diana's life. He reached out a hand towards Joker in horror. "Stop! Don't you dare hurt her!"

"Hmmm…" Joker hummed in a melodious voice as he spun his knife in his hand. "Seems to me that we have ourselves a bit of a quandary here. Who will Batsy save? Will it be his dear departed parents or the woman who stole his heart?"

Batman drew a deep breath, focusing his mind. "This isn't real…this isn't real," he told himself, closing his eyes as he fought to control the terror that now seared through his veins. "This is all in my mind."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Batsy," Joker corrected him. "Your Amazon felt pretty real to me and I must say she was the best lay that I've ever had though I would've liked it better if she'd fought back more."

"Stop it!" Batman snarled.

Bruce dropped to his knees in the middle of the alley, a crushing sense of failure overwhelming him. There was no way he could choose between his parents or Diana. One was his family…his past, but the other was his life…his future. How could he possibly choose one just to watch the other die?

His insides coiled with grief, old wounds buried deep inside of him being resurrected and ripped wide open. He couldn't catch his breath as his heart thundered in his chest, his body trembling with the unimaginable strain of his demons from his past crashing headlong into his fears of the future.

He finally forced himself to open his eyes, stunned to find a woman he'd never seen before standing in front of him, a self-satisfied smirk on her face. "End this now," he bit out, his jaw clenched as tightly as his hands despite still being on his knees. "This isn't even real."

"I can make it very real," Melinoë replied as she slowly approached him, her finger tracing his jaw and erasing a tear that he hadn't even realized had escaped. "If you choose to sacrifice Diana, I will save your parents. It will be as if you had never lost them, however, you and Diana will never have met. If you choose Diana, your parents will remain here in the Underworld forever.

"The choice is yours, Batman. The life you had when you were eight years old being fully restored to you or save the woman that you love?"

"Bruce?"

The weak murmur of his name on her lips caught his attention, creating an unexpected soothing calm in the eye of his storm. Turning, he found Diana looking up at him through eyes that she could barely hold open, a bloody hand reaching out towards him. "Please…help me," she hoarsely pleaded.

"Princess," he whispered, tears blurring his vision. "I—"

"Make your choice, Batman," Melinoë interrupted the reunion. "Who do you love more? Your parents or your princess?"

Batman stood up on his feet once more, his chest heaving. "I will not choose between them. I love both my parents and Diana."

"Alright then," Melinoë replied with a nod of her head. "I'll decide for you then. Joker, continue to have your way with the Amazon princess."

"No!" Batman yelled, stepping closer to Melinoë. "End this now."

"All you have to do is choose who you want to live and it will all be over," Melinoë told him. "It's really quite simple, Batman. Who do you love more? Who do you want in your life?"

Bruce looked to his left at his parents still standing before Joe Chill's gun, huddled together in an effort to protect one another. The little boy in him cried out for them, reaching for them and begging them to never leave him again. As he turned to look at the woman he loved more life itself, the man inside of him longed to hold her in his arms, to stroke her hair and kiss her lips and never let her go ever again.

His past or his future.

His youth versus his adulthood.

His life or his heart.

The love that he had lost versus the love that he had gained.

"Bruce," Diana murmured with pure love shining in her eyes. "Save your parents."

"Diana—"

"I love you, Bruce," she softly said.

Looking back at his parents one last time, Batman swallowed hard, murmuring "I'm sorry". Steeling himself, he suddenly turned towards Diana, throwing a batarang directly at Joker and knocking the butcher knife from his hand.

The sound of gunshots rang out behind him, his mother's scream filling the night air.