The trip to London was a unique experience, because how often could you say that you had set sail on the open sea?
Let me tell you, being at the mercy of the sea was a thrilling experience.
You felt every wave, every rocking motion squeezed my heart. Yet, Diana who was sitting across from me was not even bothered. And only through her did I manage to keep my composure as she taught me about the night sky.
Thus, the week passed by in a blink of an eye.
And once we stepped ashore, I once again saw the child-like wonder I had come to fall in love with.
She took in everything around her, the strange clothing that became commonplace. The horseless chariot, as she called it, dazzled her. But it was not all sunshine and rainbow.
I saw her heart sink, and her expression twisted upon the destruction. Despite walking through the streets of London, it was not fairing any better than the secondary warzone. The building was crumbling to the ground, threatening to collapse onto unsuspecting passersby. Then, there were the helpless citizens struggling to even survive, their bodies malnourished, and there was not any spark of life within their eyes. Last, and the most heartbreaking of all, the casualties of war.
The widower crying desperately over their husband's body, or what was left of it. Their tears drown out all the joy left in their life. The helpless mother. The clueless child.
All commonplace.
While Diana was struggling with reality. Because I, too, felt the same. It was one thing to learn of it through history. But it was a completely different matter to witness it. To witness something so horrific.
"We need to stop Ares," Diana said.
"Yes, we do. But I hope you keep in mind that, we humans, are equally responsible." I tried to reason, but how could my words convince the righteous Diana, and swayed her thousands of years of understanding?
She smiled at me, her hands resting on my shoulder as she continued, "You don't understand Ares' capability. As long as he was defeated, then, this horrible war would be over."
"I hoped so."
"Believe me, Xandros. Ares is the key for us to stop everything."
"I do." I resigned, hoping that the upcoming conflict would have a happy ending.
With no time to waste, I conjured up a period fitting clothes for Diana and a dashing suit for myself before we headed toward the headquarters, where both Steve and I operated.
A rundown bar on a random corner of a random street that we somehow stumbled upon years ago.
Stepping through it, it felt like a faraway vacation house. Everything was moldy, and the smell was rancid. Yet, no one cared. Each drinking their worries, their sadness, and their anger away. And Steve, as predictable as he was, sitting in a corner, sipping on a glass of whiskey.
"Oi mate." I knocked on his table, capturing his wandering thoughts, "No hello?"
It took a few seconds for Steve to wake up from his stupor, and he stared at me as if I was a ghost. And when he lunged with a bear hug, I felt his guilt and sadness fade away, replaced by a grinning smile. "Xandros. You fucker."
"Have you ever seen my plan fail?" I said cockily. But a glance from Steve was all I needed to remember the countless times we ran for our lives. "On second thought, don't answer that."
"Now, I am interested. Do tell." Diana interjected, her eyes shone with curiosity.
"Ahem… Steven, this is Diana, she is an excellent warrior, and she helped me greatly during my journey back here. Diana, this is Steve, the partner I told you about."
"You mean… Him?"
"Yes, that him."
My heart was at my throat as I nervously waited for her to say something. Anything
Steven, on the other hand, was nervous for a hold different reason. I could not blame him, who would not be when such a gorgeous woman stared them down, studying even their slightest twitch?
"I can see the appeal, but less impressive than what I had in mind," Diana said, as she interlocked her fingers with mine.
As for Steve, poor old Steve, stood there like he had been struck by lightning. The nervousness plastered all over his face had turned sour. Dejection was written all over his face. It only became worse, when he saw my triumphant grin.
"What did you tell her, you fucker?"
"In front of the fair lady, Steve. No wonder you still haven't gotten yourself someone to care for," I said.
"For your information, I am quite the ladies' man." Steven puffed up his chest, while his chin raised high. "As for you, have you even talked to a girl before this?"
"Yes, yes. Steven the ladies' magnet. If it was not for the war, then you would be drowning in attention."
"Hey-"
"Speaking of the war," I stepped in, turning the conversation back onto a topic of great importance, "What did the commander say? What are we going to do?"
At my question, Steve's smile faded, as he sank back down into his chair. The anger and helplessness were clear as day. "Nothing…"
"What do you mean nothing? Did you not tell them about the factory? Their plan for mass genocide?"
"No. Nothing like that. They are going to use the journal as leverage for even more benefit during the peace talk." Steve drank his whiskey and then slammed his glass onto the table. "I even heard murmurs of them trying to replicate the toxin."
"What about us?"
"Disband. I am to return to the States. As for you, I think you get a house."
"No…" My thoughts spun a thousand miles per second. As the possibilities were forming within my mind, all of the versions of DC ran across my mind, but there was nothing. Nothing even a mention of how history would unfold, if both sides were to use the weapon of mass casualties.
"What's wrong?" Diana asked, her calming presence jolted me back to reality.
"Bad, Diana. Really bad. I think I messed up," I said.
"We talked about this, Xandros."
"Not like this, Diana. Not like this," I continued. Even with Diana's gentle touch, my heart did not calm down, rather, it speeded up. "I am not just messing with your history. I am messing with the world here. They are not supposed to use the journal in anything. They were supposed to reject it. Then, the factory, the weapon, and everything related to its creation was going to be destroyed. But I stepped in, Diana. I did something I shouldn't have done. And how the millions of unjust deaths in the next conflict are going to be on my head."
"Ah, I see, the hubris of men." A stranger said, his voice was heavy with emotions.
Before I could even register those words, the whole bar exploded with godly momentum. Steven and I were flunged into a wall, while the innocent ran for their lives. What remained was only destruction, and the looming presence of the god of war, Ares in his glorious armor.
"Ares. In the name of Zeus, I am here to stop you." Diana drew her weapons. With a sword and shield, she faced Ares without an ounce of fear.
"The misguided daughter. Here to stop me? So that this war will end?" Ares mocked.
"What are you suggesting?"
"That you are naive, daughter of Zeus, princess of Themyscira. You don't know one bit what the humans are capable of. Do you think so lowly of me, a God of War, to be the cause of this war? Using the power to continue it?"
"You are here, aren't you?"
"I am not here for the war, I am here for him." Ares pointed at me.
Instantly, Diana burst with anger, as she clashed against Ares. Despite her thousand of years of training, and her demigod power, she could not hurt Ares, the embodiment of war.
"Don't you worry, I am going to enjoy breaking your little friend very much."
Each of his words was like a knife plunging into Diana's heart. I saw her roars of rage, her calculating actions were flawed, blinded by bubbling anger. Under Ares' overwhelming might, he kicked Diana stumbling backward, right into my open arms.
"Why him?" Diana roared in anger.
"Because he feeds off of war," I said quietly into Diana's ears, "And he figured out that I am a key for an endless war."
"Smart, as I suspected," Ares said.
"But what I don't understand is, how?"
"I am the God of War. I understand war more than anyone past, present, or even the future. But you. Oh, you are a mystery. You don't have a reason to join the war, no sense of righteousness." Ares gestured at the unconscious Steve.
"Nor overwhelming empathy," He continued toward Diana. "No. Yet, you joined the war. Yet, you attempted to sacrifice yourself for the greater good. And you brought back the daughter of Zeus. Everything seemed wrong."
"So, Xandros Maxim, are you going to become my subordinate willingly? Or am I going to have to break you through her?"
The question chilled me to my core. But no matter how afraid I was, I had to come down and accelerate my thoughts to inhuman speed. There were countless versions of how this fight could unfold. But without any backup, and I was still a regular human being, the chances of us winning this battle were nearly zero.
Yet, to my surprise, the thought of surrendering was never an option. Thus, I did the only thing I thought of. Gambling with my own life.
Conjuring up a Desert Eagle, I said, "This is how it is going to go. You are going to leave us alone."
Ares laughed, "A mortal weapon against a god? I thought you were smarter than this, maybe I am giving you too much credit."
"Oh no. This is not for you. But for me."
At my statement, even Diana was shocked, as she stared on, not quite registering what I had said.
"You heard me right. So, let me repeat myself, you are going to leave us alone, or I am going to pop a bullet through my brain, and you gain nothing. No endless war. Instead, you are going to have an untethered daughter of Zeus coming after you."
"You are bluffing," Ares said, stepping forward.
However, before he could take a second, I cocked the gun. "You and I both know that Diana is more than just a daughter of Zeus. She is the weapon Zeus left behind to kill you. When, and I do mean when she managed to harness her potential, then you will die. So, now that we know you are not responsible for this war, then leave."
"You dare to bargain with me? The God of War?" Ares's voice boomed through the ruin.
I should be afraid, right? I should be trembling in fear. For the simple fact that I was only a mortal man. Even Diana, Wonder Woman, the figure of virtue and unyielding courage, was nervous. Then, why did I not? Even when I felt his godly presence pressing down on me, instilling fear into my being.
I saw it in his eyes, he was waiting for my hands to tremble, for an opportunity to save his new toy. Compared to the Lasso of Truth, his childish outburst was nothing more than a gentle knock at the door.
Maybe, this was the DCEU. It could been my presence. Or maybe my mind was going crazy.
But everything boiled down to that moment, Ares, the God of War was staring me down.
"Leave him alone, Ares, this fight is between you and me."
"Pull the trigger, I dared you." Ares roared, his anger bursting forth.
"I am sorry, for what I am about to do," I steeled my resolve, hoping my control over my power was enough.
Without a second thought, I pull the trigger.
*Bang* A sound resounded throughout the ruin.