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Don't hate me, I know it's been long, just short of two months in fact. If there is anyone who is confused it is most likely because you haven't read the storyline in the comics this is based off of. I did my best to explain everything in here, but it may seem a little out-of-nowhere and unjustified if you haven't read Batman (2016) #39-40 by Tom King. It's a relatively short and self-contained story for anyone interested in reading it. Thank you to my beta reader and all of you who have stuck with it so far. I don't own any of the characters or settings. Enjoy and please review.

*/

The wind swept their capes in the rain as they stood in silence.

"Bruce, I can go on my own if it's a bad ti—"

"Hell no. How much time do you need to prepare?"

She lifted a small bag. "None. How much do you need?"

"An hour tops."

She began to float off the ground. "I'll meet you at the bridge in an hour then."

"Wait." Diana put her feet back on the ground and looked at him quizzically. "It's only an hour. No point in splitting up now."

The corner of Diana's mouth twitched upwards before returning to its previous position. "Alright."

"I'll call ahead and have Alfred prepare something hearty. Don't use the front door."

She hovered off the ground, turning to leave. I should offer him a ride, he'll refuse of course, but still…But when she turned back around he was already gone. "Of course." She walked over to the Batsignal to turn it off. "It was fun, for whatever it's worth." She pulled the lever and took off into the night.

Gotham looked beautiful from above, so she took a leisurely flight to the Wayne Estate. Not so leisurely, however, that she was not astonished to see Bruce had beaten her.

"How did you-?"

He just gave a slight smirk in reply. Alfred appeared on one of the smaller monitors that the Batcomputer had to offer. He was moving around the kitchen with such speed that anyone else would have looked frantic and undignified.

"Welcome, Milady. Dinner will be served in half an hour." The monitor shut back off.

"I better contact Dick, I need him covering Gotham for me while we're gone. By the way, I don't think I can spare more than a week, it wouldn't be fair to Dick." He grabbed his phone and sent a text asking Dick to join them ASAP.

Diana crossed her arms. "Mmhmm, that's definitely the reason you can't stay away from your precious city." He scowled at her. "I suppose that's fine, I would have liked to give the Gentle Man a longer break, but I'm honestly surprised you're willing to give this much."

He shrugged as he collected some basic survival tools to put in a backpack. "If the Gentle Man ever tires too much, we'll ALL feel it."

She rolled her eyes at the amount of stuff he was fitting into one backpack. "Over-preparing much?"

"You never know."

"Alright boy scout, I'm going to go help Alfred...If I can, that is. I might just be a nuisance."

After she left, Bruce walked over to his 'suit closet', pressing a button on one of the pods to reveal a suit of armor he had prepared especially for this situation. He had tried to marry the aesthetic of the Bat with the practicality of full-plate armor. Now, with Diana upstairs, he felt a little self-conscious about the design. It looked a little...ridiculous. His phone buzzed, Dick was on his way.

…

"So let me get this straight, there's another dimension that has hordes of creatures that are basically physical manifestations of mankind's sins." Bruce nodded as he ate. "They're constantly trying to 'break our realm' whatever that means. There's a guy who has been fighting these hordes single-handedly for thousands of years called 'The Gentle Man'. And you want to give this guy a break, so you need me to watch over Gotham for a week? Did I get all that right?"

Bruce and Diana looked at each other as they realized how ridiculous it sounded. Then they shrugged and nodded slowly at each other, as if trying to reaffirm that both of them remembered their encounter with the Gentle Man years ago, actually happening. Then they nodded at Dick.

Dick looked from one to the other. "You know, if you two needed some alone time you could have just told me." They both scowled at him. "I'm kidding, kidding. I believe you, crazier things have been true. Just promise me you'll bring my father back in one piece."

Diana looked at Bruce. "Actually I may be relying more on him. Powers don't really work in that realm somehow."

Bruce continued her thought. "We don't know why or how, but every advantage that Diana has over me was just...gone, for the brief time that we were in there."

"Speaking of your temporary reduction to mortality," Alfred chimed in, "I believe Master Bruce has a gift for you, Milady."

Diana's eyebrows shot up as she turned to look at Bruce. "A gift? For me? How positively unlike you, Bruce. Why, I'm flattered." She said it in a mockingly surprised tone with similar intonations that she had heard used by women in high society when they were in similar situations.

"Yes. Yes. Have your laugh." He stood up and wiped his mouth with a napkin before gesturing toward the cave. "And then follow me." He matched her mocking of the aristocrats with his posture and by offering his elbow.

Diana was surprised but gladly accepted. There was a twinkle in his eyes, he was proud of something. She smiled at him. Dick did not know what to do, he just sat there, dumbstruck by his father making a joke for no other reason than to make Diana smile. He shook it off and followed them, Alfred stayed back to clean up, ever more dutiful than was asked of him.

When Diana took his arm, Bruce winced at the touch. What the HELL are you doing? You're about to be, for all intents and purposes, ALONE with this woman for a week and you are already caving?! Pull yourself together! He released her arm, implying that he had only done it for the joke. She did not react at all, just fell in step behind him as they descended the stairs into the cave.

Bruce began to monologue. "After our first visit with the Gentle Man in his realm of Gehenna, a thought occurred to me: If your powers were not working, then there was most likely some magical cause. Or at least, science far beyond me. And if that was the case, then it would be reasonable to assume that your armor, lasso, shield, and sword also lost their powers. Although I confess we were not there long enough for me to gather meaningful data on whether that was the case or not. Plus, I was preoccupied. I digress. The point is, it would be nice if you didn't have to wear your one-of-a-kind, magical armor to a realm where it could be easily damaged. There are other concerns of course: As equipment for someone who is stronger than the armor itself, your armor works great, but if you're actually relying on your armor for protection...you could use a little more...coverage..."

To his surprise he did not receive a slap or even a talking to. Contrary to-seemingly-popular belief, Diana was well aware of the apparent impracticality of her armor. However, in reality, the armor was perfect for her. It sacrificed coverage for mobility, which is of greater importance for someone nearly invulnerable such as herself. She still needed protection from piercing weapons, so the armor covered her vital organs, but it did so in such a form fitting way that she barely noticed it. It made perfect sense that if she was not going to have her powers, she would need to sacrifice a lot of the mobility she cherished, for protection.

Bruce continued. "With your reduction to the mortal experience in mind…" He stopped before one of the lockers that held his various suits and pushed a button, the locker door began to rotate. "Alfred and I made this."

Diana's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped, standing before her on a mannequin was something immediately recognizable as a wonder of engineering. The entire suit of armor shone like gold, from the Spartan-style helmet, to the grieves and boots clearly modeled after her own. Many parts of it were almost perfectly Amazonian in design. She felt the front of the shaped breastplate with her hand while looking at the studded blue leather skirt that went down most of the way to the knees. Underneath the leather skirt was a second skirt made from a cloth-like material that was also visible as short sleeves that were mostly covered by spaulders. The female mannequin stood proud with a large hoplon in one hand and a sturdy doru in the other. There was also a sheathed xiphos strapped to the belt which looked suspiciously like a utility belt.

Bruce now stood with his hands in his pockets admiring his work. "I designed it according to Amazonian aesthetics where I could. When I did not have an example to work off of, most prominently with the helmet, I had to improvise. So, it became a sort of Spartan/Corinthian/Athenian/Amazonian hybrid aesthetically speaking. If the helmet plume gets in your way, or you just don't like it, it's easily detachable. The cape is made out of a similar composite fabric as my cape, so you can expect all the same capabilities. It also makes a pretty good blanket come to think of it. The bronze color to the metal is superficial, the metal is actually a titanium alloy, so it's lighter and more durable than bronze. That also allows the armor to be slightly thicker than bronze armor without making it too heavy for the wearer. The shield is larger than you're used to, but standard size for a hoplite who needs to cover most of their body with that shield. It is also plated with the same alloy. The spear tips and the sword are made out of a Wayne Enterprises proprietary carbide that maintains sharpness better than steel. The spear has a fiberglass shaft to keep the flexibility that a wooden shaft has while increasing durability and decreasing weight. Everything is padded and slightly adjustable for comfort, although I'm pretty sure between Alfred and I we got your measurements near perfect. There is also a carbon-fiber layer underneath the breastplate that helps regulate body temperature, can stop a bullet or a sword, and is independent of the breastplate in case you start to get tired and need to take some of the plate armor off. We also made a lasso from experimental, artificial spider silk. Unfortunately, I don't know the exact tensile strength of the silk, but given how thick and intertwined it is, I'm guessing it's in the tens of tons. I also took the liberty of adding a utility belt with a full complement of throwing knives, smoke bombs, various grenades, etc...Hopefully it's to your liking."

Diana turned toward Bruce. "To my liking? Bruce, you shouldn't have...It's...beautiful. I mean, how could it not be to my liking? I can't imagine the hours you sank into this."

He shrugged. "At a certain point it became somewhat of a pet project. I had to cook up something for me to take on this escapade too, so it wasn't too much of an inconvenience."

Dick almost snorted. "Yeah, sure it wasn't."

Bruce threw him a glare and Diana took the momentary distraction as an opportunity to kiss Bruce on the cheek. "It's perfect."

Not really knowing how to respond to both of them simultaneously disrespecting his boundaries, Bruce just blurted out, "It was no problem."

"Now let's see yours," suggested Diana.

Bruce pushed a nearby button and another suit was revealed. It was the exact compliment to the first in almost every way. Same aesthetic, but sculpted for a man's build. Instead of gold and red it was a dark midnight blue with muted silver detailing. It would blend in perfectly with the night sky.

"I was initially planning on a more medieval design, but then I remembered something: The true strength of the hoplite…"

"...is in the warrior beside them." Diana finished. "It will be an honor to fight with you the old-fashioned way, Bruce. We have always stood side-by-side on the battlefield, but soon we will do so not just in spirit, but in body as well." She offered her hand to Bruce and the two clasped forearms in solidarity.

Bruce nodded toward a nearby room. "You can change in there."

The two left to change into the garments designed to go underneath the armor. Dick turned to Alfred, "She's good for him...I remember him trying to be softer on us sometimes, but it was always a real struggle for him. Now, it seems, he is starting to struggle not to care."

Alfred nodded. "The problem, Master Dick, is not that he struggles to care, but that he struggles to consider his own needs, his own desires; and that leads him to be bitter and hard. However, now, the one he wants refuses to remove herself, and it's forcing him to wrestle with his own loneliness."

Diana came out wearing the same skin-tight undersuit many of the Bat clan wore as well as the polycloth cuirass and armored skirt. Bruce came out shortly after, both having changed unnaturally quickly. They then took one element off the armor stands at a time until both of them stood ready.

"Wow." Dick said with just a hint of slyness in his voice. "You really did it Bruce, you made both of you look like mythical heroes...instead of just Diana. But seriously, good luck dealing with him for a week, Diana, the physical embodiments of man's sins have nothing on him." And with that quip he disappeared upstairs.

"Let's go, we've been here too long already." Bruce's words immediately brought urgency back to the situation.

Diana hugged Alfred and then picked up her rucksack. "I'll see you in a bit, Alfred."

"As will I, Your Majesty. Do take care of each other, if either of you returns without the other I will be forced to reprimand you. Goodbye, Master Bruce."

Bruce hesitated, he felt the need to embrace his surrogate father, but it was just a feeling, and so it was silenced.

"Goodbye, Alfred." He had no idea how much he would come to regret that simple decision.

They entered the park where the magical gateway between their world and Gehenna hid. It was dark and they were quiet, there would be plenty of time to talk soon. They stood on the bridge and looked at each other, shields and weapons in hand, rucksacks on their backs. Their eyes met and they nodded. Diana lifted her sword in a two handed grip perpendicular to her stature, she raised it higher swinging it into a downward thrust and dropped to one knee, plunging the sword into the ground. A bright flash blinded them both. When they opened their eyes, Hell and all its demons surrounded them. A place of misery, a place of woe, a place of sins; Gehenna could not abide them, and they would not submit to it.