Trinity

“Diana, get behind me.”

“Bruce, get behind me.”

Bruce and Diana shot each a look at each other at the same time, an instant before that enormous hammer wielded by the Cyclops came down on the car like a judge’s gavel. In perfect synchronicity with each other, though neither had planned for it, the couple jumped clear before the hammer crushed the torn half of the limousine into scrap. Rolling across the tar road and unto his feet, Bruce stood up and saw the Cyclops howl in outrage at the near miss. Lifting the hammer of the twisted hunk of metal that was the limousine, the Cyclop turned one yellow eye at him and grinned, revealing equally yellow and malformed teeth the size of house bricks.

“Meat.” It stated and took a step towards him.

”Oh I don’t think so.” Bruce had envisioned many ways where he would meet his end and being snack food to a giant mythological beast was quite far down the list. Feeling somewhat exposed in expensive Armani when what he needed to be in was the suit, Bruce weighed his options. There were too many people on the street for him to run. If this thing didn’t have his fill of playboy billionaire, there were many other potential meals for him to choose from. Cars were screeching to a halt, some reversing and getting out of there and Bruce thought he heard sirens somewhere.

The hammer came down again and this time Bruce jumped forward, escaping the blow as it landed on the bitumen road, causing such a shockwave he could feel it in the soles of feet as he dove between the creature’s legs and ended up behind it. Suddenly, he caught sight of the limo driver who was miraculously still alive but judging by the way he was dragging himself out of the wreck, he wouldn’t be for long. There was blood all over him and his face was contorted in pain. He would be easy prey for the Cyclops.

Where was Diana, Bruce wondered as he made a dash for the man when suddenly he was airborne, being lifted away from the scene. For a moment, he thought it was Clark but then the sweet scent of his perfume told him otherwise.

“Do not worry Bruce, I’ve got you.”

Frowning, he gave her a look. “I don’t need to be got,” he declared indignantly. “Our driver is down there and he’s hurt. That Cyclops is hungry and he’s going to go for the easiest prey he can find.”

“I plan on dealing with that monster Bruce,” Diana retorted somewhat annoyed that he didn’t think she understood that, “I only you wished you out of harm’s way. Clearly that beast was unleashed because of me and I had no wish for you to be injured.”

‘I can’t take care of myself Princess,” he grumbled, staring down at the ground.

“Princess?” Diana stopped in mid air and stared at him, her eyes narrowing.

Hell, Bruce cursed under his breath, realising his slip. “The Cyclops Diana!” He reminded sharply, hoping to gloss over the moment.

Wheels turning her head, pieces beginning to fit, Diana of Themiscyra looked at Bruce and said firmly. “This is not over.”

With that, she returned to the scene of the battle and Bruce noted that she had no difficulty taking him with her this time. Suspecting that he might have a lot of explaining to do when this was over, Bruce did what he did best in situations like this. He ignored it and concentrated on dealing with the monster that was making its way towards the injured man.

“Drop me.” He ordered as they moved in closer. “I’ll get the driver, you deal with that creature.”

“Gladly,” she returned, seething and adjusted her flight plan to take them a little closer to the ground. Letting go of Bruce, she continued towards the behemoth that was fast closing in on its prey. After setting him down, Bruce saw her accelerate at top speed until the dress she was wearing began to tear under the velocity she was travelling. A whirlwind followed in her wake, sweeping up everything in its path into the air. Papers and trash became airborne, cars shuddered and window shutters flapped.

Diana struck the Cyclops in mid sternum with the force of a wrecking ball. The impact with such power lifted the creature off its feet and sent it flying backwards, landing into the middle of an intersection. The thick bitumen fissured beneath the Cyclops, creating an crater that buckled portions of the road.

“Yield monster,” Diana demanded as she hovered in the air above the dazed creature. “Yield and I will return you Tartarus. Fight me and I will destroy you.”

“I yield to no one!” It spoke with a gravely voice that sounded like grunts. Flipping off its back, it landed on its feet and made the ground trembled.

By now, everyone had cleared the streets and with law enforcement officers keeping the crowds away from danger behind barricades. Diana wished they would clear the streets because it was too easy for this battle to reach them. Suddenly, the behemoth swung its hammer at her, having clutched it stubbornly when she had struck it. The heavy hammer threatened to come down on her head but unlike before, Diana was not caught by surprise and Bruce was not at her side.

With one hand, she flattened her palm against the hammer, stopping it from travelling any further. The sudden halt sent shudders through the Cyclops who staggered back. Without further ado, she yanked it out of its hand and tossed it away. The weapon landed heavily on a parked SUV, causing its windows to shatter, the straight body to buckle and the tyres to explode in protest. Then she flew forward and threw a sharp upper cut under its misshapen jaw, breaking teeth in the process.

While Diana dealt with the mythological beast, Bruce motioned the paramedics arriving on the scene to tend to the injured driver. The man’s life was pouring out of him from numerous wounds and if he didn’t go to a hospital now, he wouldn’t make it. As the medics dealt with him, Bruce watched the battle raging between Diana and the Cylops.

God, she really was magnificent.

It wasn’t just that Diana was incredibly beautiful but when she fought, she was Bodicaea, Joan of Ark and the epitome of the Amazon race she represented. However else he might try to ignore it, when Bruce watched her like this – there was no denying what he felt or who he was.

He was the knight in search of his princess.

Fortunately, he did not need to rescue her.

Something in the background rattled. Like a rattlesnake. Bruce hadn’t paid it much attention because he was concentrating on Diana but when he heard the slow drag of sounding across the rough bitumen and maraca sound of rattling, he started to turn.

“JESUS CHRIST!” Someone shouted in horror.

It was the paramedic. One minute his face white with fear and in another, it was locked in a soundless scream as his skin turned grey and hard. For an instance, Bruce did not know what he was seeing until he saw the others become similarly frozen and then he understood. He didn’t follow their gazes. He dared not. If Diana could be fighting a Cyclops just fifty feet away then there was no reason to disbelieve that the paramedics and their charge didn’t just turn into stone.

“My master was correct,” the voice spoke with a serpentine hiss. “You are the wisest of the three.”

It could be more than ten feet away, if that. Bruce thought, staring at the hub cab on a wrecked car to see the shape of the creature that was approaching him. It almost didn’t feel real except Bruce knew that it was, terrifying real. From the snake-like body to the horrifying features and the hair made out of writhing snakes, a gorgon was coming for him.

“Which are you?” Bruce asked coolly, his back still turned. “Not Medusa, surely? The lore says that Perseus took her head.”

“You are wise,” the sneering voice said with a hint of admiration. “You are correct. I am not the sister whose head was taken by an Achaean to win his love. I am Euryale.”

Damn. He had hoped it was Medusa. Of the three gorgons, Medusa, Steno and Euryale, Medusa was the mortal. Steno and Euryale were immortals and Bruce did not know if he could stop her. He could hear her moving across the ground getting closer to him and he knew if he didn’t move now, he was dead. Watching her shape in the hubcap, Bruce sprinted forward and heard a bellow of glee as a large whooshed by his shoulder and imbedded itself into a lamppost.

Great…arrows too.

*************

The abomination born of Gaia and Uranus was not about to submit so easily.

The Cyclops’s brute strength was matched only by his stubbornness and like Odysseus before her, Diana had little alternative to deal with him in kind. Mouth bleeding, the beast stood up after her punch, bellowing in such furious outrage that the windows in the surrounding buildings shudder and cracked. With his hammer out of reach, he chose instead to pick up a vehicle, hoisting it over its head, its terrified occupants who had been in the process of leaving the area, trapped inside. Diana could hear their terrified screams as they pounded against the glass, trying to escape.

Grinning malevolently, their cries only served to make the Cyclops more eager to attack and the creature hurled the car towards her, the vehicle spinning in the air like a turtle on its back. Diana launched herself at it, using Hermes speed to catch the sedan before it impacted against the hard road. She caught it easily enough but the difficulty came in not having the frame snap, spilling its inhabitants out like the yolk of a cracked egg. Her feet dug into tar, ruining the shoes that Etta claimed were $600 Manolo Blahniks. Her fingers dug into metal as she held it aloft, ensuring that its occupants were jostled and not crushed.

Lowering the car down on its roof, Diana immediately tore open the door and helped the distraught couple out of the cabin.

“Run!” She ordered. “Get to safety!”

The woman’s answer was another terrified scream as Diana turned to see the Cyclops hammer come crashing down on her. The beast had taken the opportunity to retrieve its weapon while she was dealing with the innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire of their battle.

Diana was swatted away like a rag doll, feeling blinding pain throughout her entire body as the metal forged of Hephaestus fire slammed into her body and smashed her into wall. Her shoulder took the brunt of it and she could feel the shockwave throughout her bones. She landed on her knees hard, feeling the wind knocked out of her. She tasted blood in her mouth.

The Cyclops thundered towards her, about to strike again. Diana lifted her head, her eyes burning with fury. All her life, she had been taught to hold back. Her sisters did not have her strength and so Diana’s training had been about tempering her power. However, this beast did not require such consideration and so she had no reason to show restraint. Flying forward like a bullet, she struck the Cyclops in mid sternum, driving him backwards, stumbling. Wasting no time, she threw a punch and put all the strength she had behind it. Diana felt something shatter under her fist and threw another right cross before the Cyclops had time to recover.

Like a jackhammer, Diana’s punches followed one after the other, without pause or mercy. She drove the creature to its knees until it was blind with pain. When he was at his weakest and most disorientated, Diana circled him in flight, grabbing his head and smashing his skull brutally against the concrete road. A loud crack followed - a combination of sickening squelch and rock fragmenting and the enemy moved no more.

Diana landed on the ground next to the beast, ensuring that he was no longer a threat. A lamp post that had been torn from the sidewalk was strewn across the road. Diana retrieved it and bent the steel around the unconscious form of the Cyclops. Within seconds, she had fashioned bindings that would ensure his mischief for the moment was ended. This creature belonged back in Themiscyra, behind the security of Doom’s Door.

People had begun to emerge from their hiding places, cars had started moving again and Diana saw frightened faces peering at her through windows of the surrounding buildings. What must they think of all this? Had her arrival in the Patriarch’s World done nothing but bring destruction to the people here? Ares was sending his minions into a world that had not seen the like in thousands of years.

Suddenly, a thought flashed in her mind and made all other thoughts forgotten.

Bruce.

****************

Bruce felt naked without the suit. To survive this he had to delve into those skills possessed by the Batman and ensure that no one made the connection to Bruce Wayne. Diana almost certainly had her suspicions after his faux pas earlier and he would have to do some fast talking later but the present saw him dealing with more urgent matters.

Even if she had no said so, there was no doubt in his mind that he was the Gorgon’s intended victim. The commotion caused by Diana and the Cyclops barely registered as the serpentine immortal followed him across the road. Evading arrows from an archer whose skill was supreme, Bruce searched for cover and decided quickly he had to shift the odds in his favour or he was going to end up a stone statue like the paramedics and his driver left behind.

Unable to look over his shoulder to see where she was, Bruce had to rely on reflective surfaces to track Euryale’s movements. Through the glass of car windscreens, the chrome of hubcaps and finally the large display windows of the stores framing the road he and Diana had been travelling, Bruce finally saw something that might give him an edge in this one sided battle.

“Come now mortal,” she taunted him. “Let us not make this unpleasant. Stand your ground and face me and I promise you a swift death. If I am to pursue you, I shall wish sport and that will not be to your liking.”

Bruce didn’t answer her. The words were intimidation, designed to induce fear to slow him down. It was a trick the Batman employed all too often. Instead, he ran towards the front entrance of what appeared to be a Ferrari dealership. He was about to break the door in when one of her arrows shattered a window and saved him the trouble of committing vandalism. Jumping through the pane of jagged glass, Bruce landed on the floor of the front office where accessories and other luxury items were on display. He rushed past these quickly since there was nothing he could use to defend himself.

Leaving the front room behind and certain that she would follow him, Bruce upended as many shelves and racks across the floor as he could manage. They were minor obstacles but Euryale’s form had its limitations and Bruce needed all the advantage and the time he could get. Discarding his suit jacket, the blue of his shirt was stained with sweat, blood and dirt. Once again, he wished for the security of the cowl.

The main showroom of the dealership was filled with new cars, awaiting wealthy owners. Even in the darkness, he could see their polished forms and smooth finish of paint against expensive bodies. Surveying the room for little more than a second, a plan began to coalesce in his thoughts and he went to work quickly. He didn’t have much time. Latching onto door handles as he ran past, Bruce left them agape like open mouths as he headed for the backroom.

He could hear her slithering across the polished marble floor behind him, her torso dragging across the surface and sweeping objects out of her way. Entering the mechanics garage, he grabbed what he needed and knew that this was his only chance. Finding the tools he needed, Bruce went to work.

************

It had been so long since she had a prey of note that Euryale was quite enjoying the hunt for the mortal Ares had sent her to kill. She wondered if the Cyclops and Eris were having as much enjoyment as she. For so long, she had been trapped in Tartarus, doomed to languish for all eternity until the son of the Olympian king came forth and offered her freedom in exchange for her service to him. Steno was not as accommodating, unable to trust any Olympian. After all, it was Zeus and his kind that had imprisoned them for so long. Whether it was the father or son made little difference, an Olympian was an Olympian.

Euryale cared little for alliances or grudges. She enjoyed the hunt. The exquisite pleasure of running to ground worthy prey. It had been so long and her vile blood burned with vengeance for the death of poor mortal Medusa, beheaded by a bastard of Zeus. Sweeping past the debris before her, she laughed at the obstacles this human had tried to put in her way.

“I give you one last opportunity,” she called out in the darkness. “Come out now and your end will be merciful.”

“I’d offer you the same but I’m out of mercy.” Bruce retorted and flicked a switch.

Lights flooded the showroom, revealing the mirrored ceiling above them, ensuring that every reflective surface was gleaming. He needed as many opportunities as he could to see her without actually staring her in the face. Euryale snarled angrily when she saw her own face staring back at her, the terrible visage of a woman with snakes writing out of skull leering back at her.

“Where are you?” She demanded.

Bruce stepped out and flung the floor jack against the ceiling with all the strength he could possessed, the heavy iron object striking the glass and shattering that reflective ceiling with a resounding crash. Diving into one of the cars, Bruce saw the torrent of glass shards raining down on the beast. Through the sound of breaking glass, he heard Euryale screaming. Aware that his chance to distract her wasn’t going to last, Bruce hotwired the Ferrari he was in, bringing the engine to life and clamping his seat belt into place. Not looking ahead, he kept his face turned as he hit the accelerator and sent the car lunging forward. The hood of the car struck the Gorgon at top speed, throwing her through the display window. Her back snapped against the hard edge of the window. The force of her landing jostled free a piece of glass free and it fell across her torso like a guillotine. Her tail rippled with agony before falling limp against the floor.

Her scream was piercing as green black blood spilled against the floor, eating away at the marble like some kind of corrosive acid. Bruce emerged from the vehicle, keeping his eyes fixed away from her face, even as he saw her tail ripple with agony with falling limp in a final convulsion. Picking up his jacket, he kept his eyes averted until he dumped the fabric against her face.

“You cannot kill me…” she rasped painfully through the cloth on her face. “I am an immortal.”

“I don’t have to kill you,” Bruce replied. “You’re not going anywhere in a hurry…”

Suddenly through the window, he saw Diana land on the sidewalk in front of the ruined store, her face filled with concern. As she saw the results of his handiwork, her eyes narrowed and Bruce cleared his throat, holding his ground to see what she would say.

“You are extremely resourceful Bruce,” Diana approached him as if she were a lioness stalking her prey.

“I am full of surprises…” he started to say when she cut him off.

“Surprises? You lied to me! You listened to me speak of Bruce…of YOU and you…said nothing! You made me a fool!” Diana sputtered in fury, unable to believe that this…this Bruce Wayne, this charming handsome man who had engendered in her emotions, she thought unbecoming of an Amazon princess was none other than Batman!

“I never lied to you,” Bruce said coolly, wanting to remind her that there was still a matter of Gorgon to deal with and this conversation was occurring in a place far too public for his liking. However, the fury in her eyes told Bruce that to bring that up right now would be a very bad idea. “You never asked if I was Bruce Wayne. You merely assumed I wasn’t.”

“That is beside the point!” Diana glared at him. “A play of words does not alter a lie Bruce, you played with my emotions! Why? To show me that I am just as susceptible to the charms of men like any other woman? To win an argument? ”

“Of course not!” Bruce found himself growing rapidly exasperated at her leaps. “It was never about that. I didn’t know who you were, this was merely an opportunity to observe you. To see what I was dealing with.”

Even as he said it, he knew he shouldn’t have.

“And was I good theatre?” She looked at him, trying to will away the hurt she knew she wasn’t able to hide.

Bruce saw it too and a sense of shame bubbled up from the pit of his mercurial resolve. He didn’t want to hurt her and maybe, he thought if she knew Bruce Wayne then perhaps she might be able to tolerate the Batman a little better. Oh give it up Bruce, you know exactly why you did what you did, he rebuked himself silently.

“You are an impossibly, emotional WOMAN.” He almost spat the words and saw her open her mouth to retaliate. Not wanting to hear another barrage of inaccuracies about his intentions, Bruce grabbed Diana by her arms and pulled her to him, capturing those exquisite lips in a rough, demanding kiss.

Diana blinked, uncertain of what he was doing until she felt his mouth against hers and for the first time, felt the heat between men and women she had only ever heard of but never experienced. The kiss was no act of violation. It was like an ember of fire given breath into a flame. The taste of him, the smell of him was so terribly male and unbelievably compelling, she had no words to describe it.

However, she was also a princess and no man took from her something so intimate without first asking.

“How dare you,” she pushed him away after a moment, breathless. “Do you think that a kiss forgives what you have done?”

“I had hoped,” Bruce offered her a smug smile.

“Then you have hoped in vain,” she stepped away from him. She turned towards Euryale and realised the beast was gone.

“Bruce!”

“Damn,” Bruce cursed. This was what came of giving in to emotions. “We have to find her,” he said grimly walking back to the window to see the bloody trail leading away from it.
”Where’s your Cyclops?” He asked, following the darkened fluid across the marble.

“He is bound,” Diana replied, just as capable of returning her thoughts to the business at hand as he. “It seems Ares is quite concerned at our partnership.” Diana pointed out somewhat ruefully. “He sent his minions for you as well as me.”

Bruce stopped in his tracks.

“Diana,” he stared sharply at her. “Then what did he send after Superman? ”