DISCLAIMER: Wonder Woman was created by William Molten Marston. I do not own any of the main characters involved in this story. This story exists in my own fan-made continuity and should not be considered to be part of any already defined by the comics, television series, or movies, though it takes cues from other established continuities created for Wonder Woman and other characters of the DC Universe.

September 20th, 9:13 PM, EST
Salem, Massachusetts

It was dark by the time Wonder Woman finally managed to touch down in front of her destination. Getting out of the invisible jet, she shrunk it down into a scabbard for her broadsword as she walked up to the rather decrepid-looking tree before her. Of course, as she had learned many times over, rarely was anything quite what it seemed, and so she pushed herself straight into the tree, moving past the illusion and seeing what was really in the open field behind it: A large, dark tower, stretching several floors, but actually housing a whole other magical dimension inside. The Tower of Fate, home to quite possibly the greatest magician of Man's World.

Looking around the outside of tower, Diana couldn't seem to find a door, so she simply called out, "Doctor?! Can you hear me?! I require your assistance!"

With this call, a large, pink ankh of energy appeared on the wall before her, a loud voice booming out from it. "WHO CALLS FOR THE DOCTOR?!"

"It's Diana, Princess of Themyscira!" Wonder Woman replied boldly. "I seek an audience with Fate! It's of the utmost urgency!"

"WELL THEN..." the voice began to say before the ankh changed into that of a square portal leading inside, the voice changing to a quieter, calmer, feminine voice. "C'mon in, then. I'll let him know he has a royal visitor."

Diana rolled her eyes and shook her head, stepping inside. The realm around her was an endless amount of stairs before a vast void of many different colours swirling about. The staircases were leading up, down, sideways, in loops, and each ending with another portal. There was simply no end to them. However, before she could even ask, one particularly long, winding set of stairs to her right suddenly lit up, the portal at the very end glowing brighter. Deciding this had to be the way, Wonder Woman walked along, not daring to fly in a space like this, much as she'd like to.

After what she swore had to be the better part of an eternity of climbing the staircase, Diana reached the portal. Passing through it, she found herself in a very different place: A library of sorts, with bookcases stretching up for what had to be at least a mile each. Sitting at a desk, reading several books that were floating in mid-air, was a young brunette woman dressed in what looked to be some sort of stage magician's costume. No doubt, she was the same woman who opened the portal for her.

"...Is Fate here?" Diana asked, a bit confused.

"Yeah, he's in the next room," the young woman replied, barely taking a second away from reading. "Sorry, just need to get all this studied. It's hard enough to learn magical incantations, but then having to spell them all out backwards...but, I guess that's what I get for being my father's daughter."

"I'm sorry, are you some sort of student here?" Wonder Woman inquired curiously.

"Kinda," the brunette answered. "My name's Zatanna Zatara. The Doctor's kind of a friend of the family. My father fought alongside of him in the JSA. Trying to learn some of his magic. Even just a portion of it can be a huge help to the world...and my stage routine, I guess, but mostly the world."

Diana smirked, making her way to the next room. "So glad to see the next generation is keeping a selfless attitude."

"Well, y'know, still need to pay the bills," Zatanna remarked. "Besides, would hate to see Dad's act die with me."

Wonder Woman smiled, knowing that was good cause enough, as she opened the door to the next room. Inside was yet another completely different place: A round floor in the middle of the stars. And yet, she could still breathe, meaning there was an atmosphere of some kind. Floating just above the floor, sitting cross-legged, was a man in blue tights, wearing a long golden cape, and a shining gold helmet. He simply sat staring at her as she walked over, his eyes appearing blank and emotionless.

"Doctor Fate," Diana said as she strolled closer to him.

"Diana of Themyscira," the Doctor replied. "I know why you're here. You want me to find William Hand by tracing Nekron's energies to him."

"Yes," the Amazon Princess responded. "Can it be done?"

"It's well within the realm of possibility," Fate answered. "However, I have little interest in aiding you. Mankind's fate is of little consequence to me."

Diana's eyes widened in shock. "It's 'of little consequence'? It's your world. You were a hero of that world for decades."

"Yes, and how was my heroism rewarded?" the Doctor countered. "Banishment, in the form of that act they passed, forcing all heroes to reveal their identities and work directly under the President, like soldiers in their wars."

Wonder Woman sighed, frowning sympathetically. "I'm sorry for that. But surely you know by now that the law was dropped, and that superheroes are allowed to continue their duties."

"For how long, do you suppose?" Fate wondered aloud, uncrossing his legs and letting his feet touch the floor. "True, they allow it when it's clear they have no other means to correct their own mistakes, but when that's no longer the case, when they see you and yours as something they can be rid of, and when you appear less to them as Gods-"

"I am no God!" Diana yelled. "Nor do I wish to be seen as one! Everyday that I'm not out there trying to save someone, I'm doing the same as any other human in this world, working an ordinary job, paying bills to live in an ordinary apartment, and showing others they don't need powers handed down to them to be special! And as far as you go, yes, you were wronged, but if you came back now, if you tried to help in this crisis, they might-"

"What?" the Doctor inquired, marching up to the Amazon as the stars started to swirl behind him. "Ask forgiveness? Welcome me back with open arms? Does that change what happened? Does it undo the pain? Does it bring back Hourman and the others that died as a result?!"

Wonder Woman didn't flinch or falter. She knew the man before him, for all of his power, was a wounded man nonetheless. Fate was emotionally scarred, and seemed unwilling to let anyone try to heal those scars. And yet, she knew there had to be some part of him that she could reach. After all, why would someone seemingly so detached from his humanity allow a young woman like Zatanna to study under him. After a moment's pause, deciding how best to answer his question, Diana simply looked into his eyes, her own brimming with sympathy and empathy.

"No, it wouldn't," she said simply, "but it might help you to find your hope again."

Fate said nothing in reply at first, merely standing there and taking Diana's words in. After what seemed like an eternity, he clenched his fist, which was glowing brightly in pink energy. He held it up, looking almost as if he were about to throw it into the Princess' face, but she wouldn't budge. Instead, he threw his hand out to his right, creating a sphere of energy. After a few seconds, the sphere began to take on the likeness of Earth, expanding in size as dark sparkles of energy could be seen upon it, beginning to form a faint trail from Brazil to America.

"It's very faint, but I am beginning to sense where he's gone," Fate announced as the globe grew larger and the sparkles continued to appear, making the path more apparent. Soon, the path finished, creating a clear line leading from Rio de Janeiro to somewhere along the coast of California.

"What do you suppose is there?" Diana wondered aloud.

"I believe the city is called 'Platinum Flats'," Fate explained. "I've been sensing a number of mystical phenomenons occurring there every so often over the past several months."

"Black Hand's doing?" Wonder Woman inquired.

"No, the energies are different," the Doctor noted. "Although, it IS entirely possible that he's trying to mask his own presence there, underneath said phenomenons. That could be why your friends had been unable to locate him."

"Could be," Wonder Woman agreed. "I'll have to go there to check it out...still, that could take time, and-"

Fate sighed. "Very well, I will teleport you there, but do not ask for my assistance again, understand?"

Diana nodded. "Thank you, Doctor. If there's ever anything YOU need, let me know."

"I doubt that will be necessary," Fate replied while opening a portal, the Amazon Princess turning to enter it. "...Still, I appreciate the offer, nonetheless."

Wonder Woman turned her head back to Fate. Looking him in his eyes, past his helmet, she smiled her trademark smile, the kind that left anyone who gazed upon it in awe. And as she turned to leave, Doctor Fate did in fact feel the slightest glimmer of light inside of his heart once again. He touched a hand to his chest, and for the first time in he couldn't even remember how long, he allowed himself to smile, even if only a small one.

Consider us even, Princess of Themyscira, Doctor Fate thought as he closed the portal, returning to his work.

Meanwhile
Atlantis

Arthur gripped his trident, standing ready as he floated along with the masses of Atlantis' army just outside its dome shield. Through the vast, dark ocean, he could see the armies of the undead travelling to meet them head-on, thanks in part to a number of undead whale-like abominations transporting them. They would be arriving in mere moments, and would unleash all manners of hell that they could upon him and his kingdom.

Despite this, however, Aquaman felt little in the way of fear. After all, he was the King of Atlantis, and in addition to approximately half of the Atlantean army's full numbers, he'd also called several powerful creatures of the sea, from sharks to squids, to come to their aid. To his left and right were two of his young understudies: Jackson, the 'Aqualad', and Garth, also known as 'Tempest'. Both of them, despite being teenagers, were among the greatest allies he had. of course, his wife, Queen Mera, was also a powerful warrior, one of the fiercest he'd ever known. However, Arthur had asked her to remain behind with the rest of the army, just on the off chance that this turned out to be a battle from which they would not return from. After all, while he was confident, he wasn't stupid.

"They're nearly here," Aqualad pointed out. He quickly drew his Water Bearers, twin weapons that allowed him to focus his hydrokinesis, and formed a pair of watery blades from them.

"You didn't honestly expect them to turn and run like cowards, did you?" Aquaman asked, readying himself for battle.

"Would've been nice," Tempest suggested, his eyes burning with violet energy. "Still, if it's a fight they want, they came to the right kingdom."

"Then let's give them the right welcome!" the King of Atlantis roared, the enemy now within charging distance. "Give them hell, unlike any they have had to see before now! Make them beg to return to the Underworld! For Atlantis!"

And with that yell, the three and the soldiers and beasts behind them swam forward, shooting through the ocean, straight for the mass of undead approaching. Before they collided, however, Aquaman fired out a blast from his trident, Aqualad extended the blades of his Water Bearers out, and Tempest let loose a pair of energy beams from his eyes. These three attacks crippled the three lead abominations, giving the sharks under Arthur's command easy prey. The King of Atlantis, meanwhile, ran his trident through the eye of one unharmed one, then hauled it down to the ocean floor below them with a horrid thud. The beast's mouth opened, zombies looking to swim out, but were quickly overtaken by a giant squid that had followed behind Arthur.

Here's hoping Diana is doing her part, Aquaman thought, pulling his trident free and swimming to his next target, or none of this will matter at all. And hopefully, my message to the land-dwellers reached someone who can help out.

Themyscira

Artemis cried out, cleaving the head from a zombie with her poleaxe and letting the rest collapse and crawl off in retreat. Everywhere she looked, zombies were being cut down and burned with fire. They had needed to send a small party out to aid Kara, and to give the arrow crafters more time. Unfortunately, while there were no casualties, there were many an injury, some more severe than others. Nothing too bad for Artemis herself, just a scrape across her cheek, but one Amazon being carted off a few feet away wasn't so fortunate, having lost most of her left arm to a gigantic ant-like abomination with mantis-like scythes for limbs. Kara had burned it down to cinders for that.

"That's the last of this wave!" Artemis yelled to Kara as she touched down. "Let's get the wounded back up behind our archers!"

Kara nodded, looking out to sea. "How many more waves do you think there'll be?"

"As many as it takes to kill every last one of us," the red-haired Amazon replied. "So, likely enough to fill a whole new Underworld."

"I REALLY wish Diana was here," Kara admitted, shivering slightly. "Or Kal. Hell, at this point, I think I'd take Batman."

"Well, they're not!" Artemis yelled, surprising the young Kryptonian as she got up in her face. "We're alone! We only have each other for aid! But if that scares you too much, you can fly off for all I-"

"Artemis, look out!" Kara cried, grabbing the Amazon and hauling her down as a large crab claw swung for where she'd just been standing. Emerging from the sand was a gigantic crab-like abomination with two large claws and a long scorpion tail, having apparently tunnelled underneath for a surprise attack. Within seconds, arrows hailed down on it, but they all reflected off harmlessly, its hard shell barely showing a scratch on it.

Firing her heat vision at the beast, Kara was shocked to find it only heated the crust of the abomination's shell slightly. She was then knocked away by the monster's tail, crashing into the stone cliff, though lucky that the stinger itself did no damage. However, as she pulled herself away, she saw Artemis get knocked down, her poleaxe snapped like a twig, and the beast actually managing to cleave an oncoming boulder with its stinger. Its intent was clear, and Kara knew she had to stop it at any cost. Calling up all of her strength, she launched herself from the cliff, curling her fist tightly. Just as she reached the monster, she felt her fist start to burn up, like she was holding a small star in it. With a loud cry, she swung it into the beast's shell, shattering it completely. The abomination shrieked in pain, trying to slice at Kara with its pincers, but she simply grabbed hold of both in each hand. Then, letting out a roar unlike any roar that any monster had uttered on that day, she literally tore the beast in half by its pincers while also firing what heat she had left from her eyes.

Kara panted, trying to catch her breath. She dropped the beast's pincers, letting them fall to the bloodstained beach. She looked down at her armour, also coated in the monster's blood, and felt her own turn cold. The young Kryptonian then felt her knees buckle under her, only to be caught by Artemis and Philippus, the latter having raced down the cliff to try and save her wife. They just held her gently, letting her try to relax and recover from the shock and sheer exhaustion.

"And for the record, I doubt Batman could have done that," Artemis noted, getting a weak smile from Kara. "Come, let's get you back behind the archers for now."

Platinum Flats

Stepping out of the portal onto a rooftop, Diana groaned as she felt herself lurch slightly. She wasn't quite sure why, but she guessed it was due to leaving the mystical realm contained in the Tower of Fate. She looked to a nearby clock tower. It was 11:24, and judging from the position of the sun, it was clearly PM. Remembering the difference in time zones, that meant it was 2:24 AM, EST. In other words, either climbing those stairs really DID take far too long, or time worked differently in the other realm, meaning she had used up a little over five hours at the Tower of Fate.

"Dammit!" Wonder Woman cursed, kicking a brick away in annoyance. "I have two days before the apocalypse swallows the capital of the free world! What else can go wrong?!"

"...Want to run that by me again?" a voice from behind her asked. Diana whirled around, instinctively swinging her lasso. The rope clung to the dark figure's arm, only for her to rush Wonder Woman anyway with a small dart of some sort. Diana likewise grabbed her tiara with her free hand, and within moments, the two had their weapons at each other's necks, just as the golden glow of the lasso revealed themselves to the other. Diana's eyes widened at the sight of the woman in the black and red costume, with a red bat symbol on her chest, porcelain skin under a dark cowl, and crimson hair poking out the back, flowing over her cape.

"...Wonder Woman?" Diana's 'attacker' asked, seemingly in awe.

"Batwoman?" the Amazon Princess inquired.

"You're real," Batwoman stated.

"So are you," Diana added.

"And you're right here," the Dark Knightess rambled.

"That's right," Wonder Woman noted.

"And...you are everything I dreamed you'd be," Batwoman admitted, just before realising what she said, glancing down at the lasso around her arm, and then looking back to Diana. "...Please take this off. NOW."

AUTHOR NOTES: Okay, something I wanna clear up. Back in my notes for Chapter 2, I mentioned that I had read somewhere that Gail Simone had planned for Artemis and Philippus to be married, a move that was even supported by Dan Didio, which is what drove me to have them be married in this fic. Apparently, however, that is not the case. Rather, Gail had planned to have Hippolyta marry Philippus. I can't seem to find where I read that originally (I think it was on TV Tropes, but I can't seem to retrace my steps and find out where), but I KNOW I saw that, in particular the bit about Dan Didio. However, seeing as how I was either hallucinating, got it wrong, or read an article that was mistaken and fixed later on, I nonetheless apologise for any confusion. That said, it's a bit too late to change it back, and I've actually gotten to like the two as a couple, so the marriage of the two in my story will remain intact. I again apologise to anyone who may dislike that decision, but it was simply the one I felt was the right one to make.

Also, before anybody calls me out on this, Supergirl killing that abomination is NOT meant to be some horrible act. I mean, you can choose to interpret it as one, but the moment she looks down at herself, covered in blood, is meant to be more of a case where it just shocked her, and her exhaustion from using her Power Punch (and yes, that's what I'm calling it from now on, lol) is what caused her to nearly pass out.

As it pertains to Aqualad and Tempest, Aqualad's appearance is that of his Young Justice self wearing his comic book self's armour and having the additional powers he had in the comics. Tempest is basically just his comic book self and the hero he became when he got out from under Aquaman's shadow. However, both are made roughly the same age here, and neither are really all that experienced or ready for super-heroics outside of Atlantis yet. Still, plenty of time for that in the future. ^_^

About Doctor Fate. I've alluded to the existence of a Superhero Registration Act existing in the past of the Infinite DC stories. Long story short, it caused the JSA to collapse, hence Fate's leaving for the realm inside the tower. As such, he's a bit understandably bitter, but his meeting with Wonder Woman will help him to start to come back to being a better person again.

Finally, there's Batwoman. If you've been following my Birds of Prey: Dark fanfic, you'll know that Batwoman was actually in Platinum Flats by herself for a short time before Black Canary and the others met up with her. Also, sorry if she seems somewhat fangirlish of her, but it was somewhat established that she has something of a schoolgirl crush on Wonder Woman in the comics. Plus, she had the lasso on her, meaning her true nature and real thoughts about Wonder Woman were on full display. Obviously, she would never outright say something like that otherwise.

Anyway, check back in next time as Wonder Woman and Batwoman team up to track down Black Hand. Ja né!