WonderBat Keywords

Theme: Commitment
Rating: PG / T
Word Count: 1,635 words

As he held Diana in his arms, Bruce stared down the man who claimed to be a god, the lord of death, the ruler of the Underworld. Having lived his entire life haunted by the two exact instances where his parents were gunned down by some lowly criminal in Gotham City, it dawned on him when he met those cool grey eyes that every moment of his life meant that he had been fighting this one man in some way or another. He didn't believe in mythology or even in religion and so his take on the afterlife was much more morbid than the average person could take. However, when he gazed upon the physical embodiment of loss - of the grief he lived with for all but eight years of his miserable life - it staggered the typically composed Batman.

"Barry," He murmured low under his breath.

"On it." Whispered back the speedster as he lowered himself into his racing pose. Bruce felt the static in the air against the lower half of his face just before the Flash vanished from sight.

It was at that moment that Diana tried to rise up onto her feet, obstructing his view of the Godkiller disappearing from its position in Hades' throat, disappointing him to some degree. By the time she had risen, Barry had returned with the sword in hand and he immediately presented to Wonder Woman. She would have taken it from him, had she not been distracted by the helping hand the shot out at her, garnering the attention of everyone in their presence.

"Diana," Hippolyta choked on her daughter's name and it managed to stir something in Bruce's gut. Just as she had in the great hall of Themyscira, the queen tried and failed to remain composed in a moment when her heart strings were being tugged. In front of him, the woman he had come to see as a warm and passionate partner now looked like nothing more than a wax figure of herself, incapable of moving or reacting to what or who was right in front of her.

For once, he couldn't be accused of ruining an emotional moment, as Hades took it upon himself to ruminate aloud, "How long has it been since an Amazon has come into my chambers? Not since her highness i believe, has one of your kind approached me so openly, begging for my… aid."

"Scan complete," a computerized voice muttered in Bruce's ear piece, along with comms of every other League members'. "No vital signs detected. Oxygen levels: zero. Heart rate: zero bpm." Victor's ability to examine Hades from across the chamber did very little for them other than confirm what they already knew. Still, Batman always relied on scientific avenues of research before he allowed himself to believe in the fantastical.

The god of the Underworld could not be slain like his brothers and sisters it would seem.

Having no foreseeable way to defeat him only enraged Diana further and she stomped her foot forward in an agitated stride as she screamed, "Don't you say another word!"

"No, I will not be silenced in my own home," Hades barked back. "I've waited centuries to once again have such arousing company."

"That only proves that you were a fool to choose Persephone over me." Hecate growled venomously. She had retained her animal-like mannerisms since Bruce had last seen her and it made him worry to himself over what she might do to them should she ever see the Justice League as her enemy.

Before he could dare antagonize the seething goddess further, Hippolyta walked a few paces ahead of her daughter and demonstrated the exact sort of domination he expected from her. "That's quite enough. These foolish games you're playing have garnered the attention you so desperately craved. If you want to see your regency unharmed, I advise you to remain silent and allow us to depart in peace."

"What!?" Hecate's screech reverberated off of the many stony edges in the Underworld, her immense displeasure palpable by every single person present.
The queen held out her hand in the direction of the infuriated witch, her elbow bent so as to appear less authoritative and more sincere. Then, she carried on. "I warn you now, Hades. We have all lived without our gods for many years, and should you choose to challenge the forces of the Amazons and these heroes of mankind, you will be reduced to the very same state as your brothers and sisters: dead-"

The mere mention of death made him cackle at the proud queen. For a man who appeared to be so lifeless, his amusement only made him seem even more sick and twisted. Everything about Hades reminded Bruce of the horrible villains he dealt with in Gotham - drunk on their own power and existing solely to torture others. "Pitiful Hippolyta! To think that you would have the gall to threaten me? We both know that none of you could stand in my way, no matter what it is I plan to do."
"And what is this plan of yours?" Bruce challenged him with the same amount of aggression he usually reserved for the Joker. He walked up to Diana's side and simplified his inquiry for the man who enjoyed dodging whatever it was they said to him. "Why make some demon army just to leave alone to kill each other in Russia?"

The interrogation amused Hades, and he knew it. "To grow stronger in a human-made cesspool of energy."

"Why!?" demanded the Batman. While he panted after releasing such a harsh shout, the lord of the Underworld stared at him with an eerie smile on his face. He even looked past the Amazonian queen to stare into Bruce's soul, almost as if he was communicating the answer he sought through the silence that befell them all. But no, he realized soon enough that he didn't say a word because he didn't need to. "You know, don't you?"

"Know what?" Asked Hecate, panic in her tone.

"Indeed I do." Hades confirmed.

"What do you know?" Taking a step backwards, Hippolyta turned to face Bruce at a proper angle as she looked to him for an answer.

Eyeing Diana, he decided if it was best for her to decide if her mother needed to know what it was the League was made for, or why she was on a team with superpowered men. Diana appeared grateful a mere second before she acknowledged her mother and explained, "There is a threat coming to Earth from beyond the cosmo, from another world."

"It's why you have your precious team," Hades acknowledged with an unflattering sneer. "To protect this planet from the reach of those who wish to claim us all as theirs to control. I will not be anyone's subject. I will take control over the Earth before I allow an alien to take what is rightfully mine!"

"None of us are YOURS!"

"You have no right to the Earth!"

"How dare you threaten all of mankind!"

So many cries of disapproval and trepidation sounded off once he had admitted to his scheme, but that wasn't what Bruce had his focus geared towards. No, all he could think about was the probability of a mythological god defeating an alien that commanded a legion of creatures like Doomsday. He fretted instantly over the lives that would be lost between two almighty forces colliding if they made the earth their battleground. All he heard was more and more chaos spilling out of Hades lips and he couldn't stop himself from spewing out some tactless words of his own, "Those monsters you made are nothing compared to the alien that Diana and I have already faced."

Once more, Hades zeroed in on the anxious Bruce and paid him the closest attention. With a tilt of his head, his leer somehow became even darker, even more devastating as he lifted his hand into the air. "Those 'monsters' were merely for the numbers. What I have in my grasps is all I truly need." Then, he snapped his fingers loudly enough to rival the sound of Hecate's shrill wailing.

Bruce was prepared to deliver to him the very same snide remark about how his plan would fail, about how there was no secret weapon to overcoming the monsters that could descend upon them from outer space.

Until he heard a familiar boom in the distance.
He had no idea which direction it came from. All he knew was that one moment there was only Hades glaring at him.

And then next, there was a reincarnated Superman hovering at the lord of the Underworld's side.

Bruce heard Diana gasp with the exact same amount of shock that he was feeling, but he had his breath stolen from him at the sight of their deceased friend under the influence of Hades. The entire purpose that the two of them had made the Justice League was gather together the strongest people on Earth and protect it, in Clark's memory. Their shared commitment to Superman, to Lois, to the human race was meant to carry on the promise he'd once made to Superman: to save.

"Diana," his voice broke as he said her name, as did his conviction.

"Bruce," she replied with the confidence in her voice that he needed to rely on in that moment. Within the depths of the Underworld that he never thought could exist, locking eyes with the friend he believed he'd never see again, the only one who could pull him out of his stupor was her. And she did just by saying his name.

That's why they were a team.

That's how they were going to defeat the unkillable god of death.

Together, with their team.

To be continued...