113 Chapter 113: Naked and Not Afraid (2)
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"Always trying to make myself seem strong... So, I locked my own heart in a suit of armor."Ā
- Erza Scarlet, (Fairy Tail)Ā
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<(Bruce Wayne POV)>Ā
"This place is bigger than I initially thought," I muttered to myself as my captors brought me to what looked like the training grounds inside the palace itself.Ā
Truthfully, I hadn't initially expected a very grand palace since everything on this island was supposed to be made by women (I am not being sexist, just stating the fact that women normally don't do construction work, at least according to the society of my previous world), but after seeing the central palace, I had to admit that I was impressed.
The Palace of the Amazons was quite big and was more inclined to a Roman design than Greek. It seemed to be constructed primarily with defensive and military strategies in mind because the palace was perfectly positioned at the center of the island. So much so that the palace could defend itself and hold its own in times of war or rebellion, even if it was to be besieged from all directions simultaneously.
"How many years did it take you all to construct this palace? It is massive."
"This place? Oh, we didn't make it ourselves. It was a gift from Hera after Mother did an errand for her. But thank you for the compliment," Diana answered with a pleased smile, her mood suddenly becoming a lot better than it was a second before.
'Just as I thought.' I smiled at her answer, knowing that I was absolutely right about construction not being the excelling point for women.
"We are here." One of the Amazons declared as we finally reached a beautiful old temple near the royal training grounds. About two dozen Amazons wearing special silver armor were guarding the entrance to the temple, their eyes watching out like hawks in search of any possible danger.
"We want an audience with Queen Hippolyta, Philippus. We have arrested an intruder, a man who was somehow able to step inside Themyscira's borders despite the new magical barrier." The Amazon whom I had previously hit, approached a tall woman who looked like the leader of the group and spoke in a respectful tone before giving me a dirty glare.
The royal guard she was referring to as Philippus was a woman of African heritage and was easily one of the tallest and most well-built women I had ever seen. Hearing about a man on the island, she only appeared to be slightly surprised but the very next second she completely recovered from her minor shock and hastily went inside the fountain to fetch her Queen.
"Remember Bruce, do not insult my mother, no matter what. She is always fair in her judgments, but she doesn't like men very much, and she sometimes gets a little too emotional when she has to make decisions concerning me. So, let me try to explain the misunderstanding to her. There is a much higher chance that she will believe my words than yours." Diana whispered to me in warning, earning a wordless nod from me.
Despite not knowing me at all, she seemed worried. In her mind, she probably didn't want an innocent person to die just because of some misunderstanding. I guess this version of her despite being a warrior was kind in nature, something I was very happy to know since I had heard about certain cruel and war-loving versions of Wonder Woman from one of my friends in my previous life who was a massive simp for the lasso-wielding DC babe.
In fact, now that I think about it, this Wonder Woman even looked more like her comic version due to her raven black hair and her ample assets than her movie version, albeit there were certain similarities to Gal Gadot. Also, instead of looking like a warrior in her 30s, she looked a lot younger like she was in her early to mid 20s.
Philippus returned a few minutes after she had left but this time, she was accompanied by someone else as well. It was a blonde milf..., I mean a blonde woman who looked as beautiful as Diana, wearing golden armor, and a massive... Is that a WWE belt? She also had a robe made of animal fur covering her, making it very clear that she was the leader here. Her very presence indicated that she was MUCH more powerful than she looked, at least way more than the weak cinematic version of her I was expecting. The woman calmly walked in front of Philippus; her eyes stuck to the figure of Diana who suddenly began to look like she was getting nervous.
"Interesting, so the warning from the oracle was true. Someone did indeed dare to invade Themyscira, although, I didn't think that it would be a single mortal from the man's world... and I definitely didn't expect the invader to be without clothes." Hippolyta was the first one to speak as she raised one of her eyebrows at my naked figure, her gaze lingering on the runic tattoos I had drawn all over my body for a second too long.
"My Queen, we found this man on the beach. He was like this from the very start. No doubt it is some shameless scheme to corrupt our sisters. But that is not all. When we found him, we also saw him... trying to defile the princess." The Amazon named Clymene complained, trying her best to exaggerate what happened to get me a more severe punishment.
The moment she finished her words, I felt a chill pass through all over my body. It felt like a killing intent was being exuded by the Amazon Queen, much like how anime characters do, just before they go psycho on someone's sorry ass.
"That's not what happened, mother. Sister Clymene misunderstood the situation. This man..., Bruce had crash-landed on our island much like how the man called Steve Trevor had once crashed through the barrier before sister Helena found him. Bruce's clothes were all destroyed in the storm that brought him here. After I found him, I remembered sister Helena's words and decided to help him return home. As for what sister Clymene saw, it was only a misunderstanding that happened because I had slipped and fallen on him while trying to bring him food." Diana did her best to explain my innocence.
"Slip? But I have never seen you "slip" before today, Diana. I don't understand why you would suddenly try to help a man, someone who had infiltrated our island, despite never having met him before in your entire life. It doesn't make sense to me." Hippolyta questioned.
"... It's... it's because... he... he" Diana paused as she looked at me, hesitation apparent in her eyes. "It's because... he isn't a normal human... He is special like the men Aunt Helena told us about, the ones with supernatural abilities that she fought against in the great war caused by Ares or the men that she trusted her back with during the war." She revealed. "I saw him heal from injury that even you or me would struggle to heal from. Mother, I swear that his entire body was burnt to a crisp by lightning when I approached him but in front of my very own eyes, it healed to perfection. It almost seemed to me like he was blessed by the Gods themselves."
Huh? So that's why she approached me. She must be driven by curiosity regarding my superhuman abilities. Yet, her revelation about my powers to her mother now might further complicate matters. Now that she has revealed that I might possess supernatural abilities, it will be a lot more challenging for me to get out of this island peacefully because...
"A man blessed by gods with special abilities, preposterous! Even if he does indeed possess strange powers, then it just means that he must have sold his soul to demons." The Amazon who seemed to have developed some sort of hostility with me protested again.
"Did I ask your opinion, Clymene? You have done your duty by bringing him to me. Now, I am the one who will judge him, not you. So, you can leave." Hippolyta responded in a commanding tone.
"... As you command, my Queen" Clymene just bowed in response to her Queen's order and proceeded to leave the way we came from before of course giving me an angry glare.
"Now, what to do with you?" Queen Hippolyta muttered to herself. "As much as I don't like men setting foot on this island, it is also true that Helena by participating in the so-called World War had opened our eyes and forced us to see that mankind though inherently selfish is not all bad. There are still good people among them, no matter how few.
She believed that heroes also existed in the world of men. That very belief was the reason why she had given up the gift that the Furies had given her to seal back most of Ares' godly powers and end the war. Me killing you today without even investigating the truth of your accusations will be like spitting on what she had worked so hard for. That's why I will give you a chance to defend yourself." She decided.Ā
"If you are innocent, you will be released, and we will make preparations for you to safely leave this island." Hippolyta stated before making her way closer to me until her face was mere inches from mine "But if you are found guilty, then you will be subjected to the harshest of punishments. Your... manhood will be cut off and then it will be made sure that your death is slow and extremely terrifying." She threatened.
"... If you are trying to scare me, honestly, it's not working. But, understanding where you are coming from, I'll play along and say, I am terrified." I said with a weak smile as I continued to stare into her eyes without moving my face away from hers. "Oh, and you have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. Now, I understand where Diana gets her otherworldly beauty from." I praised, using the oldest flirting skill in the book, something that I doubt Amazons like her would know much about.
Immediately a small blush crept up on Diana's cheeks which she didn't even try to hide, probably because she didn't know why she was blushing. Her mother, however, displayed no apparent change of expression at my flirting.
"Now, time for your test," Hippolyta stated before taking the free end of the lasso that was binding me into her hands. "Tell me, stranger, what is your true name?"
"... I am... I am..." I struggled to answer the very first question. The lasso wasn't affecting me as much as I thought. It seems that its power to compel someone's soul or mind wasn't as strong as I thought. However, I could feel it getting hotter around my body with time.
The lasso's effect would most probably continue to increase the more I resist. Trying to lie would just speed up the process. As far as I remember, my Wonder Woman simp friend once mentioned that even Gods aren't immune from the lasso's magical effects, and anyone in contact with the lasso has to speak the truth, no matter who he is... But again, truth is not universal. Everyone has their own version of truth, so...
"I am Bruce Wayne," I answered, completely believing in my mind that Bruce Wayne was one of my multiple "true" identities just like Batman is as well.
"Why are you here on our island?" -Hippolyta.
"I didn't come here on my own. A storm destroyed my plane, and I somehow ended up here." I answered.
"I see... Now tell me, did you have any bad intentions with my daughter when you saw her?" -Hippolyta.
"... o_o" -Bruce.
"... (ā āā¢āĻāā¢ā ā)" -Diana.
What type of fucking stupid question is that?
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(A/N:Ā As you might have understood, in this universe, Diana was not the one who met Steve Trevor. Instead, it was an Amazon named Helena who rescued him and went with him to fight in the World War. She possessed powers similar to Wonder Woman with the source of her powers being the three Furies from the realm of Hades. She is their champion and was known by the superhero moniker, Fury during her time. At the end of her career, which was till the end of the World War, she sacrificed her Fury powers to weaken Ares from his powerful World-War-empowered form and banished him back into his realm. Currently, she is just a normal Amazon and no longer has any connection to her Fury powers.)
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