Justice X

by G O G E T A 9 0 0 0

After being visited by his younger self, Ben Ten Thousand takes a long look at his life but, before he can make any changes, an accident occurs that sends him to the world of the DCAU. The Justice League have been captured by the invading Thanagarian forces, will Ben help them free their Earth? How will he adjust to this new world afterwards? Original Series Timeline.

6. Chapter 6

I don't own Ben 10 or Justice League or Justice League: Unlimited

Italics will be used for telepathy, thoughts, comm. etc.

…

Justice X

Chapter VI

…

"-And then I accidentally destroyed the Washington Monument but, in my defense, I was still only ten-years-old," Ben told the story of his battle against the Forever King casually as he was stuck assigned to the Watchtower in case of an emergency, Vigilante, Captain Atom, and/or himself could be teleported almost instantly to the scene by J'ohn who was on Monitor Duty.

"Sounds like one heck of a rodeo for a kid," Vigilante commented, almost in disbelief.

Captain Atom folded his arms across his chest in disapproval, giving Ben an intimidating stare which he didn't pick up on, "I wouldn't be bragging about destroying a national American monument if I were you, soldier."

Ben shrugged it off, leaning back against the metallic railing that ran along the monitor deck, "Nah, it's fine, we replaced it with a hologram for a few years while the Plumbers fixed it… it actually became my headquarters."

Atom rolled his eyes with a smile, loosening his tightened posture, "I suppose that's possibly the most patriotic base of operations I could've thought of."

Ben chuckled with a nod, sticking his hands in his pockets as he continued his conversation, "I never really did a lot of homework as far as history goes but, I'm pretty sure the agency I worked as a hero for I my world was created by the founding fathers, like Ben Franklin, there's always a Ben," he snickered at his own humor, gathering a few small laughs from the two others though, it was mostly the moment itself since the joke wasn't all that funny.

"I don't doubt it," the Captain responded, "the founding fathers were America's first heroes," he proudly declared.

"Nah, now, military boy; America's first hero was the Sherif of the old-west, keepin' law n' order in a lawless land, now that's what I call heroic," Vigilante added, pulling his pistols from their holsters and spinning them between his fingers.

J'ohn turned around slowly with an exasperated sigh, "Vigilante, please, I've told you to keep those holstered while on the monitor de-" Suddenly, an alarm begun blaring like a siren, flashing red throughout the orbiting-base. J'ohn pulled up a large holo-screen in front of the four of them with a few taps of the buttons before him, "It's the proximity alert, something just blew past us and is heading for land-fall," the Manhunter sped up his pace, tapping different buttons, summoning different screens before him, "It's due to hit Atlantic City, less than a minute until impact!"

"That's not enough time..." Ben announced, grabbing J'ohn by the shoulders and turning him around, "Send me, send me now!" the Martian turned quickly and tapped only a few more buttons. Ben's body was engulfed in a blue-sparkling neon light which dematerialized his body, transporting him to Earth at faster-than-light speeds.

Atlantic City; New Jersey

Appearing from thin air with a blue glow, Ben dropped onto the boardwalk just feet from the bay-waters as he looked up into the sky and could clearly see a large enough object re-entering the atmosphere at high-speeds turning it into a fireball. Striking the city at that speed and trajectory would surely shred the entire city into rubble, tens of thousands would die; Ben dived headfirst into the water, there was silence following the splash as the object grew closer to the city with every passing second, people ran, some just stood and watched in horror until seconds later when a massive green glow illuminated the entire bay from underwater. A massive white humanoid rose from the murky waters and placed his hands on his forehead, planting his feet into the mucky sand to better brace himself. The object slammed into Way Big's palms several dozen times the speed-of-sound, pushing him back, and nearly causing his massive legs to slide against the wet-mud destroying the board-walk behind him but, that was the reason he dived into the water to begin with, putting distance between himself and port.

Way Big lowered his hands as the asteroid fell straight down into the water with a loud kerplunk, spraying those who were too afraid to run from the boardwalk with sea water as they stared in awe at the titan who saved them.

Suddenly, a loud crack of thunder echoed through the sky as a familiar Kryptonian finally approached just seconds after the crisis was averted, "Ben!" Superman shouted as he appeared from over the horizon, flying up to eye-level with Way Big, "I was dealing with a Tsunami in Taipei; I guess I should be thanking you for getting here when you did," though he seemed sincere, there seemed to be twinge of negativity in his congratulations but, Ben couldn't really tell from his massive perspective.

Way Big exploded in an expansive flash of emerald light, emerging from the glow as Chromastone who floated closer to the Kryptonian hero at a more appropriate size, "All in a day's work, I guess," he shrugged his crystalline-shoulders, "If I hadn't been with J'ohn, who knows what could've happened…"

Superman didn't have any issue with Ben saving the day, on the contrary he was very pleased to see someone saved these people when he couldn't, it's what the Justice League was created for. What he was having trouble digesting was the fact that Ben had been apart of their world for months now, and even Batman still knew little to nothing about him. Sure, they had a decent roster of the forms he used but, that was something Bruce cared about; Superman was more interested in his motivations, his history, what exactly was his world like before he came here? It didn't sit right with him but, at this point, his Kansas mannerisms told him to just mind his own business, and that Ben would tell them when he was ready.

…

…

Deep beneath an unknown underground basement, a workshop filled with brewing chemicals and arcane antiques were scattered across long countertops that stretched along the walls; standing before them was a barefoot middle-aged woman with flowing amethyst hair hanging down by her lower back. She wore only a silky purple dress that clung to her form as she poured one vial into another, "That's never going to work. When did the Greeks ever use precipitate of bismuth in their potions?" a male voice called out though, there was nobody else present, just a floating figure made of smoke and gasses hovering in the reflection of a circular mirror hanging on the wall behind her.

"The Greeks didn't. But I'm making a counter-potion, remember?" the witch responded with a confident smirk, continuing to mix the different liquids which bubbled and hissed from the glass vial she was holding.

"And you actually believe that pathetic concoction will be enough to remove the Annihilator's vulnerability?" the figure taunted her from the mirror still, as her brow furrowed whilst pouring one of the chemicals, she snapped back at him for a moment.

"Ssh! Be quiet, Felix. I am trying to concentrate…"

Felix Faust, a powerful warlock with untold knowledge of the dark-arts, having been defeated by the Justice League once before, it seemed this was all that was left of him, "Tala, you've come a long way since my untimely demise. But the student, however gifted, still has much to learn from the teacher…"

Tala scoffed with a coy smile spreading across her face, reminiscing on the time she spent with him while he was alive as she walked over to the ten-foot-tall cloaked figure sitting in the center of the room surrounded by a circular-rune drawn onto the ground, "Maybe I wouldn't if we had spent more time on curriculum and less time having s-" as she placed the potion down in the circle; midsentence, the potion she was brewing popped and exploded from the vial, sending purple smoke into the air.

She sighed disappointedly, her arms dropping to her side with dismay, "And this from the woman who once braved the gates of Tartarus itself to collect my mortal remains?" Felix spoke up from the mirror behind her, prompting her to turn around to face him.

Tala regained her composure, folding her arms across her chest with a skeptical expression, "Right, and I'm supposed to take advice from you, when without my spell, your spirit would have been lost to the winds?" she pointed out how it was one of her own unique spells which retained Faust's spirit even after he was physical body was destroyed.

Felix sighed exasperatedly, putting on a fake half-smile, "Yes. Uh, so very kind of you to trap me in this mirror for all eternity…"

Tala shrugged without care, "Beats the alternative."

"True enough." Felix's smile became more genuine as an idea surged within his metaphysical head, "Still, it's hard to believe you can't solve your Annihilator problem, and after all the trouble Cadmus went through to precure it from the Justice League's Watchtower... The answer's simplicity itself, I would have thought you'd have figured it out by now…"

Tala rolled her eyes, taking a step closer to the mirror, "Are you going to tell me or just keep tormenting me?" she said sarcastically.

"No, no. Just repeat after me," he instructed, prompting her to turn back to the cloaked figure, tearing the tarp off the Annihilator's person to reveal its gleaming armored form. "By the power of Zeus, free his essence from this vessel and open the path to power."

Tala's mystical amethyst-purple aura ignited around her in trails of wisping energy, her hands lit ablaze with pink flames as she focused her enchantment on the armor, "By the power of Zeus, free his essence from this vessel and open the path to power!" however, even as her spell struck the suit of armor itself, the mirror began to illuminate with white-light unbeknownst to her.

"That didn't do any..." Tala turned back to the mirror, which was now just that, a reflective surface devoid of any mystical-figures, "…thing?" she turned back to face the rest of the room in shock where she was met with a familiar face.

Felix was now free of the mirror, his spirit floating before her in a cloud of sparkling purple smoke, his face just barely formed and visible to her, "Surprise, sweetheart," he whispered as Tala's body was enveloped in a strange energy, pulling her back towards the mirror as her body phase-shifted between tangible and intangible.

"Felix... Wait!" she shouted a she was pulled into the mirror's reflection, becoming one with it as she recoiled through the reflective void, she floated back towards the barrier and pounded her fists against it to no avail, "This is really bad, isn't it?" she verbally realized the magnitude of her mistake while Felix smiled back at her

"You have no idea…" he responded with a sickening grin, floating through the air like a ghost, he didn't hesitate to flood the Annihilator armor with his essence, his face now fully visible through the helmet's faceplate as if he were wearing it physically.

Tala cowered behind the mirror as Felix took a step forward, adjusting his body to the feeling of this powerful armor though, it didn't take more than a few seconds. She closed her eyes and shielded her face as Flex reached for the mirror, assuming he would take his revenge on her by destroying her while she was trapped though, instead, he daintily adjusted the angle in-which the mirror was hanging.

She peaked her eyes open just in time to watch Felix effortlessly break down the wall to the rest of the building where she could hear him wreaking havoc.

…

The Watchtower

"This was a great idea, Wally," Diana praised the speedster's sudden interest in spending time with her teammate, he was usually moving to quickly to consider just having a moment with a friend outside of fighting crime or stopping alien invasions, "I can't remember the last time we've had a chance to catch up," she pointed out as she sat down at one of the many circular tables in the cafeteria, setting her tray down in front of her.

"Mostly my fault," Wally insisted, "I've been pretty busy in Central City with the rogues breaking out of Iron Heights last week…" he seemed slightly bummed about it having happened but, more focused on telling his friend about how he thwarted them afterwards.

Diana smiled, unwrapping her fork from its plastic wrapping, "I want to hear all about it… Ben and I saw some of it on the news, but it's not the same as-" she was cut off when Shayera approached with her tray of food and a slightly miffed expression, almost immediately deciphering the speedster's intentions.

"I'm sorry, I thought we were having dinner tonight," she directed her question to the speedster who glanced back to Diana before clearing his throat and checking his non-existent watch.

"Darn, is today Tuesday? I'm always moving so fast, I coulda sworn it was still Monday…" he chuckled a bit though it seemed neither heroine was in the least-bit amused, at this point, Diana was only staying seated out of principle, "I mean, look at me, making dinner plans with two beautiful women on the same night? How crazy am I, right? Maybe you two should sit down and bond over it?"

Shayera rolled her eyes, beginning to turn away, "Uh-huh, we can do this another time…" but, before she could make it even a step away, a crimson-blur rushed to her side, gently guiding her by the arms back towards the table where she reluctantly took a seat across from Diana.

"Don't be ridiculous," Flash sat down in front of his tray between the two of them, "We can all have a meal together… It's a chance for us to get reacquainted, patch things up," he stabbed a piece of chicken with his plastic fork and stuffed it in his mouth.

"Assuming we want to," Diana muttered under her breath but, clearly loud enough for everyone at the table to hear her.

Wally nearly choked on his chicken, roughly swallowing it back down his throat with a forced gulp, "Now, see that? There's an example of exactly the kind of thing we're not gonna do anymore, right? I'm telling you, once we clear the air, everybody's gonna be pals again. I always thought the reason you two don't get along is that you're so much alike," he was caught off guard when both women turned to him and shouted in his face simultaneously.

"Like her?!"
"Like her?!"

From across the room, Ben approached with his tray, only seeing Diana's head of silky-smooth raven black hair at first, and not fully paying attention to the rest of the table until it was too late. He was about to walk passed them when he noticed Shayera and the obvious shouting the two had just done, attempting to turn on his heels away from the situation.

Just as he turned away, the shapeshifter heard his name shouted by the speedster, "Ben!" and within a single second, the red-blur had stopped right in front of him, "Where ya goin' buddy?" he said in a normal voice before leaning over and whispering in his ears while the women were too focused on ignoring one another to notice. "I need your help here, man…"

Ben glanced back at Diana and Shayera before returning his attention to the speedster, "I'm not helping you pull another prank on Batman… or Vixen, she can seriously hold a grudge ya know-" he was cut off midsentence by Wally shaking his head.

"No, no; I was trying to get the ladies over there to get along… you know, trying to mend bridges and what-not?"

"I don't know, feels like something they should work out on their own," Ben responded, glancing down at his tray of food which was unsurprisingly getting cold.

"Just c'mon," Wally grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him back towards the table, sitting him down across from himself and juxtaposed the two quiet heroines. Ben sat his tray down and began mixing the pasta around with his fork, neither heroine felt any need to address him, "See, isn't this nice? Practically the whole gang back together!" Flash pointed out, though neither woman showed any interest still.

When it didn't seem like things were going well, Flash kicked Ben in the shin beneath the table causing him to grunt, accidentally smacking the underside of the table with his knees, prompting them to look over at him, "Ahem, I mean, how's the food?" he struggled to ask without seeming forced but, it clearly was.

"The pasta's good," Shayera responded stoically.

Diana's blunt response was clearly agitated, "It's the sauce."

After another thirty-seconds of awkward silence, Shayera scoffed and pushed her tray aside for an staffer to pick up later on, "This isn't going to work, is it?" she didn't wait for a response to stand up.

"Nope," Diana responded, standing up as well, walking off from the table leaving the shapeshifter and the speedster sitting on their own.

"I told you; they have to get over it on their own…"

Wally rested his chin on the palm of his hand, stirring his pasta in its sauce disappointedly, "I just wanted everyone to get along again."

…

Diana was fuming as she walked the halls of the Watchtower, thinking of how she would apologize to Wally and Ben, having realized they were just trying to help, they didn't deserve to be blown off that way. Her thoughts were interrupted by an agonizing scream echoing through the corridor from the intensive-care medical unit.

She hopped over the railing and floated down a level, where the unit was located, finding that screaming was coming from an old Justice League associate, only a part-timer in heroics but, a legend in the mystical world. Etrigan shifted between his human and demonic form behind a pane of indestructible glass, Martian Manhunter needed almost all of his strength to restrain him as he shouted in pain, "Edregen, calm yourself!" Manhunter insisted but, his call fell on deaf ears.

"The gates of Tartarus swing both ways! The balance tips towards chaos! Usurper... Fiend!" Etrigan fought with all his might as Manhunter pinned him against a titanium slab with restraints to lock his arms and legs in place.

"J'ohn, what's going on here?" Diana asked as she entered the sterile room from the secure door to his left, from this vantage point, she could see over half a dozen identical titanium restraint-slabs, each with their own suffering victim struggling.

Manhunter sighed, gesturing to his right where the other patients lie, "I don't know, suddenly all of our members with mystic powers... Well, you can see…" Zatanna, Dr. Fate, and Vixen all shared the same fate as Etrigan.

Diana narrowed her eyes at Zatanna in particular who spoke in her backwards tongue, "Lleh fo enorht eht no stis tsuaF!"

She cringed, looking back to Manhunter for an answer of any kind, "They're in agony. What can we do?"

"I'm researching, as soon as I learn something, I'll let you know," J'ohn walked away leaving the Princess to her own devices.

She walked on her own down the corridor which led to her quarters, she was so deep in thought, she barely even noticed Ben walking towards her until she nearly ran into him directly in front of her door, finally looking up from her shoes to greet him.

"Hey," he posed, stopping in front of her where they met eyes for the first time that day, her ocean blue eyes staring deep into his emerald pupils.

Diana reached up unconsciously, tucking some of her raven-black locks behind her ear, "Hey," she cooed in response, "Sorry about earlier, I know you and Wally-"

"It was his idea, I just wasn't opposed to the two of you getting along again… besides, I needed somewhere to sit," he chuckled a bit prompting Diana to giggle a bit herself.

"How sweet…" She uttered sarcastically before swinging her arms around his neck, pulling him only an inch or two towards her, their lips gently brushed against one another slowly, meeting softly as if savoring the moment. There was a brief hesitation, a shared breath, before the kiss deepened ever so slightly, conveying both their affection and longing for one another.

"Would you like to-" Diana muttered through their kiss, their lips reintertwined with more passion this time as Ben's hands caressed her lower back.

"Definitely…" he muttered back as Diana smacked her hand against the wall beside the door to her quarters, searching aimlessly for the sensor that unlocked and slid the door open on contact but, she was too preoccupied with their kiss to get it on the first three tries.

Eventually, the door slid open as the couple stumbled in, seconds from stripping each other down, when Diana suddenly noticed a figure lounging on her bed, casually eating a banana.

"Flash!?" She initially shouted, assuming Wally was still aiming to convince her to give befriending Shayera another shot while violating her privacy in the process. She was taken aback though when Ben flicked the lights on revealing an unfamiliar man in revealing golden-armor.

"Nope, it's the original speedster, bout a thousand times faster than that crimson-chump," he finished his banana and tossed the peel onto the ground, "How hilarious would it be if someone slipped on that?"

Diana recomposed herself, standing with her legs together and bowing slightly "Hermes… how may I be of service to the messenger of the Gods?" though, Ben wasn't one to bow to anybody, he simply raised his brow at them both, waiting to get more information before speaking up.

Hermes kicked his legs up, standing to approach the Princess, placing his hands gently on her chin where he lifted her head, "No need for formalities, Diana, you're practically part of the family… Not that this is a social visit. I've got something for you here," Hermes reached into the pouch of glowing-golden scrolls hanging casually from his waist, "

"It's pretty important... Zeus paid for overnight service and everything, here it is," Hermes pulled one of the scrolls out, handing it to Diana which prompted Ben to read over her shoulder.

Diana blushed with a frown as Ben read it aloud, "For a good time call Podenimus?" he asked with a questioning tone, not understanding the message just as Hermes snatched it from her hands.

"Hehe, wrong scroll… I think I've got a shot though, it's her cell number," He winked at Diana while rummaging through his bag once again, this time he pulled out the scroll, and opened it himself, reading it aloud to the Princess. "Ahem, by decree of Zeus, father of Olympus, it is so ordered: Diana of Themyscira will travel to Tartarus and set right that which has been disturbed," Hermes finished and looked up at Diana whom was clearly hoping there would be more to the decree.

Ben scratched the back of his head, "Wait, Tartarus? So, he's telling you to go to-"

"Basically," Hermes responded, cutting of the swear word for no particular reason, "Felix Faust is on the loose again."

Diana narrowed her eyes, her expression turning to one of deep hatred, "Felix Faust is dead," she proclaimed confidently, folding her arms over her chest in disbelief.

Hermes rolled his eyes as he turned around, approaching a bowl of decorative yet equally edible apples on display, picking one up as he explained, "Yes, and pretty upset about it too. His spirit possessed a powerful weapon you should be familiar with called the Annihilator."

Ben interrupted with a scoff, "The we know exactly how to beat it, right?"

Hermes frowned at being interrupted, "With Faust's spirit possessing it, that weakness no longer exits… who is this guy?"

"He's my… We're… it doesn't matter," Diana was going to explain but, didn't figure it was important, nor did she want the god's gossiping about her relationships, shrugging off the question.

Hermes continued as he took a bite from the apple, chewing as he nonchalantly explained the harrowing situation, Faust used the armor to headed straight for the gates of Tartarus. I mean, straight for it. He doesn't need air, food, water… The Amazons guarding the gates did their best to stop him... and they're good, but they were out of their weight class. Once inside, he went looking for Hades, the master of Tartarus, guess Faust is still torqued… Hades screwed him over pretty good a few years back."

"I know, I was there…" Diana responded, getting irritated just thinking about how Faust practically held her entire home island of Themyscira hostage, and now he assaulted her sisters and breached the gates to hell, all for revenge.

Hermes took another bite of the apple before turning back around to face Diana and Ben, "And you'll be there this time. You must defeat Faust and restore Hades to the throne of Tartarus."

"So far as I'm concerned, they deserve each other, let them tear each other apart for all I care," Diana responded, completely unwilling to fix the gods problems for them, especially not one relating to Faust.

"I mean, you don't have much of a choice, darling," Hermes took yet another juicy-bite from the apple he was holding just as Ben took a step forward between them.

"If she says she's not going, than she's not going…" Ben's serious expression would have intimidated anyone else, save for maybe Batman, however; Hermes didn't seem the least bit concerned.

"Who is this guy?" he chuckled loudly with bits of apple flying from his lips, "I like 'em, you should take him with you," the godly speedster suggested.

"Hermes, why should I care if Satan himself and Faust tear each other limb from limb? The Universe would be a much better place without them."

"Agreed but, ya know, decree from the god of gods and all… but, besides that, you've been to the infirmary, right?" his pointing this out prompted Diana to let out a short gasp, barely audible but, enough to catch Ben's attention.

"Why? What's in the infirmary?" Ben asked in a whisper but received his answer from Hermes himself.

"Anyone with a connection to the forces of mysticism will continue to suffer until balance is restored; because, you know, there must always be balance between chaos and order…"

"My friends-" Diana started her sentence but, couldn't find the words to finish it, though Hermes did.

"-Need you to do the right thing. They're in good hands, yours," with that and a final nod to Ben, the God of Speed vanished from sight in a golden blip of light, dematerializing from the room at many times the speed of light.

"Wow, that guy is faster than Wally…" Ben muttered to himself as Diana turned and walked passed him, exiting the room, and turning to the right where she made her way down the corridor of heroes-quarters.

Ben walked after her, speeding up to walk beside her as her strut seemed too determined to stop, "So, where are we going, exactly?" he wondered aloud but received no response.

He continued to follow her as she took a right turn, not stopping until she was in front of another female hero's personal room, "Diana, seriously, I would love to be clued in on why we're not heading to Themyscira…"

"We are, I just need something first," Diana attempted to use the scanner on the doorframe to open the sliding door just like it would for her own room.

"What do you need from…" Ben glanced up at the room number and recalled who exactly lived in it, "Shayera's room? Don't you two have enough problems as it is?"

"Wonder Woman Bypass Code: 003…" the doorframe sensor beeped at her with a red-light signaling her being denied access; she groaned, turning to Ben with a womanly glare, "Turn into Greymatter and hack the lock…"

Ben raised his brow, "Diana, that's crazy, I can't-"

"You're right," She exhaled, glaring back at the sensor denying her access, "Upgrade would be much better."

"Something I can help you with?" a female voice cut them off from behind, it was Shayera, wearing her yellow, sleeveless, crop-top with black-trim and matching skin-tight leggings. She opened the door to the room with a swipe of her hand, having obviously altered the lock herself, she walked in casually before turning around to face them.

"I need to borrow your mace," Diana insisted, stepping into the room and reaching for it, hanging on the wall right beside the door, likely for easy access when leaving the room. She was intercepted by Shayera grabbing her wrist before she could take hold of it, sending her hand back by Diana's side.

"We become pals when I wasn't looking?" the red-head raised a brow, waiting for any explanation that would justify giving up her mace.

Diana groaned slightly, tightening her fists at her side, "There's trouble on Themyscira. Mystical trouble. Your mace disrupts magic, I thought…"

"You could take it from me and put it back before I knew it was gone? It's not some soccer mom's credit card," Shayera folded her arms across her chest, having assumed the worst, she knew very well Wonder Woman wouldn't be going to these lengths if it wasn't worth it, "Whatever's going down on that island must be pretty bad if your resorting to theft."

"I was going to bring it back!" Diana was eased by the hand on her shoulder, Ben stepped forward, inserting himself into the conflict.

"Okay, I know neither of you are on good terms with the other and I think it's really, really stupid," This garnered rolled eyes from either woman, "But, this is a life-or-death situation so, what's it gonna take?" he finished his sentence with a gesture towards Shayera, prompting her to name her price.

She looked at Ben's pleading face and recalled the honesty he gave her along with kind words after the Thanagarian Invasion, she knew he was right and that this rivalry was stupid to begin with so, she caved with a final sigh, "Fine but, It's a package deal. You want the mace; you get me too."

"Great!" Ben exclaimed.

"Great…" Diana muttered with a tad less enthusiasm.

…

Jetray, Wonder Woman, and Hawkgirl touched down on the sacred grounds of Themyscira, landing only a hundred-or-so-feet from the stone Gates of Tartarus where currently two massive red-ogres were attempting to step through, prying the several ton doors open against four Amazonian women struggling to keep it closed.

"Drive them back, sisters!" The Queen dressed in all white called out as one of the Amazonian women were backhanded as the ogre stuck its arm clear through the gap in the gate, she landed in a tumble rolling to Ben's feet where she struggled to put her legs beneath her. He frowned as his Omnitrix lit-up with an emerald flash of energy consuming the hero, leaving Chromastone standing in his place with his magenta-purple crystal skin glimmering in the setting sun dipping below the horizon behind them. In the same instant, Chromastone cupped his hands together with his arms out in front of him, firing off a beam of rainbow-cascaded light energy, striking the invading ogre in the chest with a clap of thunder as it was sent tumbling back into Hell.

The Amazonian's worked quickly and dutifully to close the gate completely once again, standing guard outside of it in case of a breach.

"Diana? You know you're not supposed to set foot on this island. The gods have decreed that-" she was interrupted by Shayera standing behind Diana, as Ben exploded in emerald light, transforming back into his human form.

"I hear the Gods are decreeing all sorts of stuff these days…" she muttered, as Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazon's, looked at her in response with a confused glare that screamed and how the hell are you? "Ma'am…" the Thanagarian warrior finished, more than intimidated by the Queen than any villain she'd ever faced.

"I have to go into Tartarus and stop all of this," Diana insisted, looking back at the stone gates as they vibrated and shook uncontrollably from the demons trying to break free on the other end, "Balance has to be restored, one way or the other."

"I won't allow it," Her Mother insisted, putting her foot down for only a brief moment before the ground shook at her feet from something even larger or more powerful bashing against the Gates of Tartarus.

Hippolyta's attention briefly swept towards Ben who was standing silent behind Diana and Shayera, she'd watched him change forms and injure unholy beasts with a force not unlike that of the gods themselves, "Diana, what have I told you about bringing strangers to this sacred place, and a man at that? Have you no shame?" she narrowed her eyes at her daughter who folded her arms in disapproval.

"Hi, I'm Ben Ten Thousand, I'm dating your daughter," he stepped forward with a hand-out politely for the Queen to shake but, instead of that… Diana quickly smacked his arm out of the air and stepped up to the Queen herself.

Diana scoffed, shaking her head, "Neither of us has any choice in the matter, Mother. Zeus himself sent Hermes to summon me here, trust that I would not be interfering in a battle between Faust and Hades if I had any other option."

"Zeus himself…? I'm sure the gods instructed you to break our most sacred laws as well?" Hippolyta folded her arms, scowling at her daughter's defiance.

"Ben is a member of the Justice League, he's here to help the world not fall into chaos, you know, that world you happen to give sanctimonious lectures on?" Diana seemed more than agitated to visit her Mother after her banishment, while the League was congratulated for their efforts in saving the Amazons the last time Faust attacked, the male members were still barred from ever returning.

Diana grabbed Ben by the wrist and turned to walk towards the gates, intending to leave her mother on that note to focus on saving the world and re-establishing order in Hell, however, Hippolyta called out to her at the last second.

"Diana, wait…" the Queen stepped up to her daughter with a stoic expression, not showing any pride or disgust equally, "If you are truly to attempt such a feat, you must have access to your full power," taking a step closer into Diana's close quarters, her mother reached out towards her forehead, "Because you stole your armor and lance, you were never told of all the powers they possess," she tapped the crimson-star emblem on her tiara which illuminated with bright white light for a moment, her lasso, bracelets, and chest-plate armor followed suit with a golden glow of their own, "When the time comes, you'll know everything you need to know."

Just as Diana finally turned around, this moment of trust not being enough to see her mother off with even a single word more, she grabbed Ben by the Omnitrix, turning him around for a moment and looking into his eyes, "Bring my daughter back to me."

Ben chuckled confidently, "Nothing to worry about. They hit almost as hard as I do," he smiled and winked at her, referring to both women that trailed ahead of him towards the gate, he pulled away and followed them up the steps.

"Ready?" He asked, prompting a nod from Diana which signaled the Amazonian soldiers to begin heaving once again, pulling the gate apart for the three heroes to step through. As soon as they were opened, one of the crimson-ogres from before attempted to stomp through.

Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl knowingly stepped aside as Ben transformed in an instantaneous emerald flash of light, emerging as a two-foot-tall silicon-white creature with headphones over his oddly shaped head covering his ears. The ogre charged forth with its stone-club reeled back over his head, as he swung it down, EchoEcho unleashed a powerful concentrated sonic burst, effortlessly forcing the ten-foot-tall demon back through the gates, leaving an opening for the heroes to get through. The Amazons didn't hesitate to shut the doors behind them, securing it with a system of pullies maintained by super-human women.

Hippolyta felt the ground beneath her shake once more as she prayed, "Hera, protect her."

…

Diana flew parallel to Shayera through the molten-pits with EchoEcho clinging comfortably to her back, looking around them as they flew, it really did seem like an entire dimension of brimstone and flames, "It's getting kind of hot in here," Shayera pointed out, wiping her brow with her free-hand.

"Considering where we are?" Diana responded bluntly.

"Point taken. But still…" Shayera looked down as the ground was littered with massive glowing rivers of molten-lava, stretching as far as they eye could see in every direction. Like towers, gigantic stalagmites formed from the ground, growing thousands of feet high where the heroes had to fly between them despite their altitude.

After a minute or so of flying, Diana turned her head over her shoulder to address her Thanagarian teammate, "You're doing this because you wanna prove yourself to me, aren't you?" she announced loud enough for both of them to hear her over the windshear of their flight, "Well, you don't have to. I forgave you a long time ago."

Shayera scoffed, frowning at her from behind where she couldn't see the daggers she was shooting with her glare, "Did I ever ask you for your forgiveness?"

EchoEcho tried to intervene before an argument broke out, just as Diana was about to spit back another insult, "Ladies… lets… just… focus… on… the mission," even through his autotuned voice and odd speech pattern, they both understood and kept quiet as far as sniping at each other went.

"She started it."
"She started it."

They both announced simultaneously, just like they had earlier at dinner, though they didn't get much time to dwell on it as a group of half a dozen winged-demonic creatures similar to the ogres breaking through the gates as they entered, swarmed them as EchoEcho unleashed a powerful sonic-boom from over Diana's head, striking one of the creatures, knocking him into another flying demon as they both tumbled out of the sky towards the lava rivers below.

Shayera used her mace cackling with white-electricity to uppercut one of the demons through the air as they charged her, turning and backhanding another with her bare fist. One of the demons came in from her blind-spot, right hooking her in the face which sent her back through the air, spreading her wings out behind her to catch herself. This display daunted the demons as they stared at her wide wingspan, being similar to stories they'd heard of the soldiers from Mt Olympus.

Hawkgirl glanced back at her wings with a coy smile, looking back at the demons with a plan, "That's right. I'm an angel." She floated forwards prompting them to float back in fear, "You can mess with me if you want to, but I don't think you wanna mess with the boss," she looked them in the eyes with a finger pointed directly upwards, referring to the gods themselves.

Diana struck one of the fatter-demons attacking her in the gut, causing him to keel over and grab his stomach, which EchoEcho used as the perfect opportunity to blast him in the face with two-hundred-decibels of raw sonic energy. The demon flew back through the air, hitting one of the stalagmite towers, collapsing into the lava below along with it.

"We need a way to find Faust," Diana exclaimed with a huff, glancing over her shoulder at Ben who was still mounting her upper-back.

EchoEcho didn't get a chance to add his opinion as he was sure the women would begin bickering once again, instead, he noticed they might actually be making a breakthrough, "Faust? We should free Hades first, then he can help us beat Faust…" Shayera suggested honestly, not intending to start an argument.

Diana scowled at the lava pits illuminated from below, casting a shadow over their faces from the orange glow, "Hades can take care of himself. I'm not here to help him."

Shayera raised a brow, glancing between EchoEcho and Diana, "You're not? Then what are you here for?" she asked.

Diana scoffed and turning her head as her hair swayed with the motion, "You know what I mean."

"We… really… don't…" EchoEcho added, confirming that now he was just as lost as Shayera was, settling his head over her shoulder so he could do his best to look at her.

Shayera floated closer to Diana, leveling with her as rationally as possible, "You told us our mission is to put Hades back on the throne. Whatever he's guilty of, we've still got a job to do," the Thanagarian pointed out, resting the head of her mace in one hand to keep the weight off her arm.

Her expression turned somber and hurt, "You wouldn't say that if you'd been there. If you'd seen what he tried to do to my mother. To me. Neither of you were there, so I don't expect you to understand," Diana turned her head away from Shayera once again, not daring to let her see the tears welling up behind her eyes. Ben had never wished more that he could fly in his human form, wanting nothing more than to transform back and embrace her with all the comfort he could provide.

"Be practical, we're going to need Hades to help take Faust down," Shayera explained with an assertive tone of voice.

"I don't even need your help; Ben and I can do it on our own…"

"Actually…" EchoEcho started but, was cut off due to how long it took him to finish his sentences in this form.

"Yes, you do. That's why you needed my mace, remember?" Shayera pointed out, giving a long sigh as Diana folded her arms over her chest in protest, "Look, I can't make this decision for you, Diana, but however you wanna play it, I'll back you up," though she felt a childish need to bicker with her, Shayera spent a lot of time maturing emotionally in the Tower of Fate, figuring this was no longer a time for silly arguments.

"Then it's Faust. The only problem is finding him," Diana settled, looking out into the distance of the massive hellish landscape, searching for any sign of him.

"I can… help with… that…" EchoEcho placed both of his tiny hands-on top of Diana's head of silky-smooth black hair, jutting his head up, and unleashing a brief burst of omnidirectional sonic waves, prompting both heroines to cover their ears for a second or two.

"Are you gonna use this ringing in my ears to find them?!" Diana announced with a shout despite the sound having ceased, looking up to the top of her head where EchoEcho was focused on the distance.

He shook his head and pointed out in front of them, down towards a large mountainous opening cut off by a large wooden gate, "Kind…of… It's… like… a bat…"

Shayera raised her brows, "Like echo-location? That comes in handy."

"Especially in a dimension that's basically one giant cavern," Diana agreed as she flew forth at EchoEcho's guiding direction down into the opening carved into the side of a mountain of burning bedrock larger than any mountain in the mortal world. Landing on the cliffside before the large wooden-gates, EchoEcho hopped off Diana's back, transforming in a flash of light back into his less conspicuous human form.

Diana placed one hand against the door, expecting great resistance from such a large sized opening, though it seemed to swing open with an effortless push. Shayera and Ben walked side-by-side with Diana leading in front of them, having been to this realm before, she knew what to expect more-so than either of them.

The first thing they noticed was the ever-burning human skeletons glowing with orange flames at all times as the only light source in a large set of shelves organized in rows and holding thousands of ancient books, layered in millennia of dust and ash.

Diana waved behind her, gesturing to either of them that she'd spotted something but, to approach quietly; as they stepped into view, Shayera and Ben caught sight of the Annihilator armor, hunched over a large wooden desk of unraveled scrolls and opened books. "Incredible, wouldn't you agree, princess?" Faust's unmistakable voice range through the abandoned library, addressing Diana without even turning to see who had approached him, "The lost scrolls of Herculaneum, the Archamada spell book, Golb's Enchiridion. Dark tomes that make the Necronomicon look like a children's pop-up book; there's enough arcana along these walls to quench even my thirst for knowledge… At least for the next five-thousand years or so," Faust turned to show off his face adorned within the Annihilator, displaying his control over the powerful suit being absolute.

"Why would anybody bother taking over this dump?" Shayera rested her mace over her shoulder, asking aloud.

Faust scowled at her at first but, his frown soon grew into a sinister smile, "To get revenge on Hades for betraying me, of course… I planned to torture him for a few millennia, but Hades tried to make a deal."

"That sounds like him," Diana spat, crossing her arms over her chest.

Faust chuckled to himself maniacally, "He told me about this place in exchange for his freedom. He kept his end of the bargain, but I didn't keep mine. I still don't understand why he was surprised," he turned in a circle gesturing at the knowledge surrounding him which was his greatest treasure, "But now I'm in heaven... figuratively speaking."

"Yea, well, we're revoking your library card!" Ben announced, stepping forward and pointing up at the ten-foot-tall behemoth without fear; Diana and Shayera followed his lead by getting into fighting stances at his side, he was already preparing his thoughts for a Master Control combo when his train of thought was derailed.

"Oh. You want to fight? Not in the mood," Faust groaned at them, gesturing behind him with little effort, the hands of the Annihilator armor illuminated with a sickening-purple aura, summoning a whirlwind of ash and dust to swell around them, forming a tornado which dematerialized their bodies. The whirlwind collapsed and left a small cloud of purple sparkling dust in its wake, "Darn… lost my place," Faust muttered, flipping back through the dusty tome to find where he left off reading last.

…

Ben, Shayera, and Diana were dropped from the sky into an unfamiliar dimension of snow and darkness, cold winds rushed passed them at high speeds as they approached the ground uncontrollably. Ben transformed mid-air in an explosion of emerald-green energy rushing towards the ground propelled by a miniature anti-gravity drone. Goop landed before the women, forming his body into a gelatinous cushion which broke their fall instead of the thin layer of snow.

Goop allowed them to slide off his body before reforming into a humanoid figure and transforming back into his human form once again, "You okay?" he asked them both but, his attention was clearly focused on Diana who smiled at him, practically fawning internally at the chivalry.

"Thanks to you," she placed a hand on his shoulder, looking into his eyes with an affectionate stare, sparkling ocean-blue eyes meeting his emerald ones, she felt like she could stand there forever, taking in his confident smile.

Ben suddenly shivered which prompted Diana to back away with a chuckle, "Didn't think I'd need a jacket where we were going," he activated his Master Control with a thought, instantly transforming himself into Heatblast. Pyronites core body-temperature averages around four-thousand degrees Fahrenheit which was natural for any species born and raised on the surface of a star.

"You're telling me…" Shayera announced, referring obviously to her sleeveless top as she caressed her arms to create warmth with friction, "Are you not cold in that outfit?" she asked incredulously.

Diana raised her brow, looking over her uniform with an innocent expression, "No, not really…" this prompted a scoff from Shayera considering her outfit consisted of a vibrant red bustier sleeveless top with a golden eagle emblem across the chest paired with blue briefs adorned with white stars. Her red and white striped boots only reached mid-calf. Looking over at Ben as she looked over herself, "What?"

"I didn't say anything," Ben responded, walking passed her.

"It's just typical, the princess doesn't get cold. The princess doesn't even sweat in the fire pits of Tartarus!" Shayera gestured her hands into the air as she pointed out the irony.

Diana crossed her arms, pouting her lip unconsciously, "I do too sweat," she insisted.

As they walked, Shayera continued her bickering rant, "Oh, please. You glow. I wouldn't be surprised if you never have even have to clean out your-" she was interrupted by Heatblast whom exploded suddenly in an immense fireball, melting a circular patch out of the snow around his radius, and stopping both women in their tracks.

"Alright, that's enough!" Heatblast pointed his index finger on either hand at either woman standing in front of him, "You are not high-schoolers, you're heroes and you're supposed to be grown adults…" his arms swung down as Shayera and Diana made eye contact briefly before turning back to him, "I did not sign up to babysit, you two are supposed to be friends, remember?" Heatblast scoffed as his body temperature cooled down, allowing him to continue to walk through the snow passed them, "Work it out," he announced as he continued down the trail they were on.

They continued walking slowly practically side-by-side behind him, once he was ahead of them and out of ear-shot, Diana spoke up turning her head to the Thanagarian, "He has a point, you know."

Shayera rolled her eyes, crossing her arms, "Ugh, I know, just don't tell him that…" she peaked over at Diana as they both broke out laughing, not being able to remember the last time they actually enjoyed spending any time together.

"Get off of him!" they both heard Heatblast shout before the high-pitched whine of his pyrokinetic attacks hissed through the air; they rushed ahead to find Heatblast standing before a human-appearing man bound by his wrists and ankles to a boulder. Two burning corpses of what appeared to be vultures lie at his feet, likely a part of the torture based on the hole in either side of his armor revealing large, bloody wounds made by a pecking, gnawing beak.

"Did Faust send you? Did he find the vultures weren't enough?" Hades couldn't be certain of the allegiance of the flaming creature standing before him; however, he did seem to recognize one of the three of them.

"No amount of torture is enough, monster," Diana announced reluctantly as she leaped into the air above him, slamming her indestructible bracelet against the chain with the momentum from her jump; that single chain, led to a series of restraints holding Hades in place, once broken, he fell to his hands and knees in the snow.

"It appears I'm in your debt, my child," Hades stood up, allowing his powers to recompose as his armor reformed and his wounds healed instantly as he stretched his arm out to shake Diana's hand.

She practically growled, using every bit of restraint she had in her body not to pummel the deity right then and there, "Thank the Gods, Hades… Because If it were up to me? I would've-" before she could finish she took a deep breath, turning her head away from him as he put his hand back down, "But even here, there has to be order…"

"Faust doesn't care what happens to this place," Shayera pointed out.

Hades sighed, running a hand through his shoulder length curly black hair, "No one ever appreciates your work until you're gone, the blight of all artists…"

"C'mon, we're putting you back on the throne, big guy," Heatblast suggested, trying to move things along, still slightly irritated at all the arguing going on around him prior, Ben hated drama.

Hades chuckled, narrowing his eyes at Heatblast, still unsure of what exactly this creature was or what he was doing with Diana, assuming he had to be another of the colorful heroes she spends most of her time with, "Or die trying?"

"Not in the plan," he asserted back to the god.

"I suppose being banished to the very dimension I was being held captive in was also a part of this plan?"

"Shut up and get moving!" Diana shouted, shoving him forward.

Hades smiled at this, grabbing hold of his stylishly tattered cape, and spreading his arms out to either side; his eyes turned crimson red as a powerful whirlwind surrounded the four of them, once again mystically dematerializing their bodies from sight, whisking them back to the forefront of Tartarus where Satan's library was kept.

…

Faust was busy reading one of the many books in his collection, standing exactly where he was less than a half-hour prior, enthralled by all the ancient knowledge at his fingertips; due to this, he almost didn't make use of his augmented sense of smell, not having a nose made everything manual. He sniffed the air briefly, turning around finally to find Heatblast and Shayera walking side-by-side down the aisle between the mass assortment of lined up bookshelves; the former spreading flames directly from his fingers as he walked confidently towards Faust, Shayera using her mace to ignite the dusty-dry carpet and wood with sparks of flickering white-electricity.

"My books!" Faust cried out in horror, tossing the scroll in his hand aside, and stomping forth at Shayera and Heatblast but, before he could get within melee distance, a figure leapt from behind them with incredible speed.

Hades tackled the Annihilator across the room and into the large wooden desk, splitting it in two and scattering scrolls and pages across the floor. While he was preparing a follow-up attack, Faust reached out and grabbed him by the torso, launching him back across the room towards Heatblast and Shayera who made no effort to catch him as he flew passed, "This time I won't bother with torture, I'll simply shred your essence down into quarks, and scatter you to the winds!" Faust unleashed several bright neon-purple energy blasts aimed for Hades prompting Shayera and Heatblast to dodge or make their move.

Heatblast sprinted forward into battle, unleashing a powerful torrent of white-hot flames but somehow forgot the armor's invulnerability, being shocked when it reached through his flaming attack and grabbed him by the burning-skull. In that moment, Diana flew down in front of Faust with incredible speed, cracking the stone beneath her heels with her landing, she grit her teeth, and crossed her arms with all her divine strength. Her enchanted bracelets connected unleashing a powerful shockwave, shattering the ground around her, overturning the bookshelves, and sending the Annihilator off its feet through the air, forcing it to release its grip in the process.

Diana looked down at her bracelets still glowing and humming with mystic energy as Heatblast landed on his knees, transforming in a flash of emerald light into Diamondhead, "How'd you do that?" he asked.

Diana shrugged, "Mystic bracelets, who knew?"

From the smoke generated by Faust's thousand-pound body slamming through the stone wall came a flurry of purple energy beams, one was primed to strike Shayera in the chest, only barely getting her mace out in front of her in time to intercept it. The concussive force still pushed her back on her heels until it ceased fire, swinging it through the air as she flew forth at top speed with her mace reeled back for a strike.

Shayera dipped below a backhand and landed a powerful uppercut with her mace, cackling with magic-negating white lightning, once again sending it off its feet, landing on its back face up. Faust was a sorcerer, not a fighter, it makes sense that he was completely outclassed by the heroes as far as skill and speed went. This is what pushed him to use a reanimation spell, firing mystic beams up at the flaming-skeletons adorning the room, gifting them with crude weaponry such as swords and shields.

They dropped from the ceiling, attempting to tackle Shayera out of the air though, she swung at them with her mace, shattering one after the other into piles of ash and bone, however; there were too many of them that overwhelmed her as she fought. Diana saw this, taking off towards Faust through the air at super-sonic speeds, though the sorcerer was ready for this as well, holding out his palm and firing a restraining spell that struck the princess mid-flight. Forming powerful binding bands around every inch of her body, almost akin to a mummy, her arms and legs bound to her side as she toppled to the ground, squirming to get free.

Faust then attempted to crush her beneath his boot as he lifted his leg up to hover his foot over her head, though before he could enjoy himself, he was struck with powerful demonic flames which possessed unholy properties that could hurt any soul that encountered them, even souls trapped in magic-armor. Hades didn't let up as the molten-energy spewed from his lips with a mighty roar from the King of Hell as Diamondhead came from behind and used a serrated finger to cut Diana free from her bindings.

Once she was free, Diamondhead turned his attention back to Faust for only a moment before transforming in yet another explosion of emerald light; this time he emerged as a fifteen-foot-tall brown dinosaur-creature with nothing but a black-and-white belt with the Omnitrix symbol around its waist. Humungousaur didn't hesitate to take a step forward, right-hooking Faust in the head before tackling him backwards into the stone wall behind them.

Shayera's swung her mace upwards, shattering the loosely-tied bones of the skeletal warriors attacking her, sending their fragments through the air as she watched a neon-violet beam of mystic-energy pummeling Humungousaur through the air, sending him back through the room, landing in the burning rubble of the expansive collection of books and scrolls. Hades launched two large orbs of hellish-flames into Faust's torso, knocking him back a step as he groaned in pain; the sorcerer didn't hesitate to fire a similar beam into his chest as well, knocking him back through the room, slamming into a stone wall where the beam pinned him. His screams filled the chamber like a howling animal, agonizing to even listen to, however; Faust was enjoying himself far more than he reasonably should have, that is, until he was hit lightly in the head with a flaming skull.

Faust turned to face the attacker, Shayera, strutting confidently towards him with a sway in her hips that would send any mortal man to their knees, "My mace disrupts magic… what does that invulnerability run on again?" she asked the rhetorical question with no room for an answer, she dived upwards using her wings to uppercut the much larger armored suit with her mace.

Faust reeled back a step or two, reaching his hand up to touch the large-crack now in the exterior of the suits helm, "You-" he was cut off by a loud, feminine grunt, Shayera swung again, this time striking him across the side of the head, before swinging down on his head once again. The mace cracked apart the helm, revealing sparks of energy beneath its lining, Shayera didn't hesitate to swing once more, this time against the broadened torso of the suit, marked with Hephestus' symbol.

"You actually hurt me… Allow me to return the favor," As Hawkgirl was about to strike again, Faust finally caught his second-wind, reaching out and grabbing the warrior with his large grip, catching her wings and pinning her arms to her side; he reeled back, sending a left-straight punch into her face, knocking her through the air where a recovering Humungousaur caught her in his arms, being struck so hard her impact against his chest pushed the large dino back on his feet. The mace fell to their feet as he gently laid her down, she was recovering but, slowly.

Diana floated down to his side, hoping she had at least a few seconds to strategize before Faust was on the offensive once again, "What do we do?" she asked.

Humungousaur responded with a sly smile, "I have an idea," he suggested before transforming in a flash of light, stepping through the glow as Cannonbolt, "How's your golf swing?" he asked which she didn't fully understand at first, the gleam of Shayera's mace caught her eye at her feet, picking it up, feeling its weight in her hands. Cannonbolt rolled himself into a ball which told Diana everything she needed to know, "And you're sure you can channel this type of energy through your shell?" she questioned with her arms already reeled back and prepared to swing.

"We're about to find out! Hit it!" Cannonbolt shouted, prompting Wonder Woman to swing the Nth Metal mace into the center of his back, propelling his spherical-form toward Faust at over a hundred times the-speed-of-sound; the white-electricity constantly cackling over Shayera's mace channeled through an Alburian-Pelorota's shell, created the perfect anti-magic artillery cannon. Cannonbolt contacted the center of the Annihilator's chest plate, digging into the cracks made by Shayera moments earlier, splitting it in two completely as the top-half torso collapsed to the ground, the lit-up helm interior finally turned dim signifying that the armor had lost power.

Cannonbolt rolled backwards through the smoke before finally unrolling, lying flat on his back, staring up at the warped ceiling, "Did we do it?" he asked, still in a daze from being struck so hard.

Diana approached with a deep exhale, kneeling down to place her hand on his broadened white chest, "Yes, we did it, you can transform back now," she pointed out with a smile.

"Yea, just as soon as my head stops spinning," Cannonbolt put a clawed-thumbs up, staying on his back for the time being.

Diana turned back to face Shayera who was back on her feet, holding the back of her head, she approached the princess who still had the mace in hand, "I think your mace protected him from the worst of the explosion, but are you okay? You were hit pre-" she was cut off as she handed the mace over, Shayera pulled back suddenly, looking up at her.

After a few seconds of silence, Shayera smiled, "You're all sweaty…" she took the mace back with a grin.

Diana shrugged, smiling back at her, "Told you."

Hades picked up one of the many scattered books, holding it up and noticing how it was burnt nearly to a crisp, "Ah, well, who has time to read these days?" he tossed the book behind him, into the heap of rubble, "Besides, I've got a new hobby," Hades reached into the helm of the suit of armor, pulling out with his fingers, a tiny, squirming spirit with the head of the sorcerer villain, "Tormenting Faust's pathetic soul. Any problems with that?" he glanced behind him at the heroes, now that Cannonbolt had transformed back into Ben, they gathered together, looking toward Diana who knew these two villains the best.

"Not my department," Shayera said bluntly.

Ben shrugged, "If he turns into an alien, give me a ring," he said before turning and walking towards the exit to the library.

"And you, my child?" Hades gestured with his free hand to Diana who had been silent thus far.

She took a step forward with a serious expression, "Have a blast, but if you ever call me 'my child' again, and you'll get what he got, are we clear?" she wasn't at all afraid of him despite his stature and rank in the godly hierarchy.

This response prompted a chuckle from the King of Hell, "Of course, whatever you say," he muttered while flicking the squirming soul of the villain Faust.

…

After restoring balance to Tartarus, the heroes made their way back to the gates, where they were opened and greeted by a cheering crowd of Amazonian warriors, all of which were sisters Diana had grown up with, some of which she lost the respect of when she ran away and became Wonder Woman in the first place. It was a proud moment for her, feeling all the love her family had to offer.

Hippolyta was at the base of the steps leading down from the gates themselves, she marched up the stairs slowly, and Diana was the first to speak up when they finally met eyes, "Thank you for unlocking my armor's true power; I might not have made it without it," she thanked her mother with her head down, still ashamed for how they left things all those years ago, it seemed like a life-time ago now.

Hippolyta scoffed with a smile, placing her index finger beneath Diana's chin, raising her head up, "You earned them a long time ago, perhaps I was too stubborn to admit that, for that, I am sorry."

Diana nodded with a somber expression, "We'd better go," she said, referring to her banishment and Ben's gender.

Hippolyta quickly reached out as Diana walked passed her descending the steps, grabbing her wrist, "Stay and rest for your trip, surely you can't be in any condition to fly, at the very least, you and your friends can share a meal with me."

Ben's eyes perked up, realizing he was part of that group, "Wait, what?"

Diana blinked, stuttering a bit out of pure shock, "B-But I've been banished, the gods decreed-" Ben and Shayera watched as Hippolyta guided them down the steps with her, responding with an enthusiastic smile.

"This is your home. I am your mother. If the gods don't like it, they'll have to take it up with me," Hippolyta stepped to the side, reaching her hand out and slightly bowing towards Ben, returning his gesture from earlier, "I am Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, it's an honor to make the acquaintance of a friend so loyal to my daughter," he quickly reached to shake her hand, having been a bit caught off guard.

"Uh, hi, I'm Ben Ten Thousand, I'm dating your daughter," he said nervously, not being able to think of anything else to say, it was only then he realized he was still shaking her hand, which at this point was several seconds too long.

Hippolyta gave an awkward smile back to him, pulling her hand back herself, "Yes, so you said…" she kept her pleasant demeanor and tried her best not to look judgmental.

As Hippolyta led them towards the outdoor galley where they would dine, Shayera bumped her shoulder slightly against Diana's while they walked side-by-side, "What about us? Are we good?" she asked calmly.

"Like oil and vinegar. We go together, but we don't mix," Diana responded with a smile.

"Works for me."

…

This is honestly the most work I've put into this story since its upload, hope you enjoy!

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