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"A farewell is like the other side of a coin. It will only happen when there is an encounter. Rather than dreading the day we have to part, shouldn't we be happy that we had the chance to meet today instead?"
– Gintoki Sakata, (Gintama)
---
<[Next day in the Morning]>
"I hope you will deliver the first order as soon as possible. We are in urgent need of food, and I would like that we do not have to resort to asking the gods for help." Queen Hippolyta said as she observed Bruce rechecking everything on his boat for the third and final time.
The boat that the Amazons had repaired for Bruce was one of the many boats that had crashed on the island. It was one of those boats that could be sailed on by a single person and was quite big with two separate decks in it. The upper deck was for the sailor to stay in and sail the boat using its sails while the smaller lower deck was made either to keep important stuff or for him to take shelter in during storms.
Bruce had nothing important with him except a map, so he didn't have any need for the lower deck. He was just making sure that all the sails worked right. He wasn't even taking any food or clothes with him since the trip to the nearest mainland which was Europe was only going to take two to three days max while his body could go for months without needing to consume anything.
"Don't worry, all the shipments will be delivered within the week while the food will be here in an automatic self-driving submarine by tomorrow. I will even throw in a few cookbooks to introduce your people to different cuisines, you need it very much. I will also send a couple of computers later as well to make communication between us easier. Until then, a few drones of mine should stay here in case you need my assistance for anything." He suggested while pointing to one of the drones silently floating near where they were standing.
"I don't have any issue with that. Although I can't let your entire army of machines stay here, one or two won't be a problem. It is indeed true that we will need a proper line of communication if we want to continue trading." She nodded in affirmation. "I will get the wine ready by the time the food arrives. We will make sure that the wine is of the best quality." She promised.
The wine that Hippolyta was talking about was a special wine that only the Amazons knew how to make, a gift from Dionysus himself. The wine was supposedly the closest thing to the nectar that the gods drank and was undoubtedly going to be very famous back in the outside world which means Bruce would easily be able to dominate the alcohol industry very soon as well. So, contrary to what one might think, he was gaining a lot from this trade and will be making quite a big profit from it. This trade was a win-win for both parties.
"By the way, you haven't seen Ares' helmet, have you? We haven't been able to find it since you took it off in the mountain," she asked with a small frown.
"Hmm? No, I haven't. Maybe it got destroyed in the battle or some god took it away so that it doesn't cause any more harm. Who knows?" Bruce answered with a shrug.
"Maybe." She murmured to herself; a visible frown still present on her beautiful face.
"I should leave now; it would be easier to navigate with the sun still up," Bruce said after he was done rechecking everything. He looked around, trying to search for a familiar face among the crowd that was there to watch him leave but sadly, he could not find the face he was looking for, no matter how hard he looked.
"Diana did not want to see you leave. She has been in a bad mood since the morning and is refusing to even leave her room." Hippolyta spoke up on her own after realizing who he was searching for.
"Oh, I see. Well, I guess it can't be helped. I will meet with her again one day." Bruce said with a slightly downcast voice as he jumped up on his boat to leave.
"Indeed, a few more centuries and she will be old enough to venture out of this island on her own. You can meet her then unless you decide to visit before that in which case you are always welcome." Hippolyta responded with a smile which was a pretty rare sight for her. "Till then, goodbye... Bruce."
"Goodbye to you as well, Hippolyta," Bruce said with a mock salute, directly using her name without adding any title or honorifics in there to try to annoy her and get a reaction out of her although the Queen of the Amazons just smirked at him.
Soon, under the junior Wayne's expert skills, the yacht-like boat began to move steadily along with the waves, slowly moving further and further away from the island as most of the Amazons just watched him leave while some of the more emotional ones waved him goodbye.
"Those yacht lessons from Alfred sure did come in handy. He was right. Knowing how to sail a boat can indeed save a billionaire's life." Bruce muttered with a chuckle before trying to connect to Cortana through his nanobots. "You have secured the object, right?" He asked.
"Positive, sir. I have taken the liberty of temporarily keeping Ares' helmet in one of our smaller bases near Gotham City. I will shift it to the main Bat Cave after I am done sealing it inside a promethium and lead vessel as you ordered." She answered with a cheery voice.
"Well done, Cortana, well done." He praised, with a giant grin on his face as he imagined just how useful a helmet with the power of a god could be, especially if it could be brought under his complete control.
***
<{Inside the hidden temple of Apollo in Themyscira}>
"Queen Hippolyta, it has been so long since you last came here to get my counsel. Did anything interesting happen recently?" A slightly elderly voice enquired as the Queen of the Amazons gracefully stepped into the temple.
"I just wanted to inform you that your prophecy came true, Helena. A mortal man was able to slay Ares. He killed the god along with a titan, all on the same day." Hippolyta answered calmly. "However, he did not become the King of the Amazons after slaying the God of all Evil as you prophesized. I am still the Queen and Themyscira still doesn't have a king. So, your prophecy was only half right. Maybe you need to sharpen up your skills, Helena. You are growing rusty." she added with a small chuckle.
"A god was slayed? So that was the disturbance I felt. I see now. But which one of the gods did he kill?" The woman named Helena asked.
"Ares, the god of war, and Iapetus, the titan of mortality. He also killed the demigod Hercules as well after he temporarily attained the status of the god of might."
"... This mortal is quite amazing to kill so many immortals in a single day. But none of them was the God of evil, my Queen. Even though my prophecy mentioned the slayer of Ares, it never explicitly stated that Ares and the god of evil were the same beings. So, it seems that my prophecy still remains unfulfilled." Helena was the one to smile this time as she noticed the distraught look on the Queen's face.
"But don't worry, my Queen. Being the King of Amazons doesn't necessarily mean that he will be your husband since that is what seems to worry you the most. Prophecies are very complicated. You cannot forcefully make sense of one just by mere logic. Most of the time, it is not what it seems, so it is best to just take it as a warning and then put it in the back of your mind instead of worrying about it all the time." The oracle gave her advice.
"... You are right. After all, according to one prophecy, you are supposed to be dead already after fighting and sealing the God of War. But look at you, besides the few wrinkles on your face, everything else looks fine." The Queen said with a wry smile.
"Joke all you want, my Queen, but that prophecy also technically came true since the superheroine named Fury died that day after I lost my powers."
"... Everyone misses you, Helena. Why do you insist on staying here alone like this? We can get someone else to become the oracle. You can return with me to..."
"No, my Queen, this is my destiny, what I am meant to do. My previous connection to the Furies makes me a very good candidate for an oracle. Nobody can do my job better than me. As for everyone who thinks that I am dead, that is actually for the better. I can do my job better this way without anybody trying to bring me back." Helena said before giving her Queen a small smile.
Suddenly their conversation was interrupted as an Amazonian royal guard approached Hippolyta in a hurry. "My Queen, it's Princess Diana, we can't find her anywhere. It is like she has suddenly disappeared in thin air. After we did a thorough search for her, we only found this note in her room." The royal guard quickly informed before handing a small paper note to the Amazonian Queen.
Hippolyta was momentarily taken aback upon hearing the guard's words. She swiftly retrieved the note from her and started to read it. The paper bore a single line that perfectly conveyed her daughter's intentions to the Queen.
(I am going out to explore the world. -Diana)
"Destiny indeed works in mysterious ways." Helena, who was listening to the guard's words gave a knowing smile as she took a glance at Hippolyta whose face was tinged with a mix of both anger and concern.
***
<{On Bruce's boat sailing in the sea}>
"Finally, I am going home. Now, there is absolutely nothing that can go wrong." Bruce cheered in a happy mood as he stretched his body under the warm light of the sun. "Now, I can finally relax until I reach the mainland, just us two in a boat... wait, two people in a boat?" He stopped his muttering as he again scanned the boat with his chi sense.
"Hey, are we finally out of Themyscira's borders?" A familiar voice questioned Bruce as Diana's Amazonian figure clad in her armor slowly emerged from the door that led to the lower deck.
"... Oh fuck"
---
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