Themyscira, three days later.
The sun hung low, casting gold across the palace's marble halls. The rhythm of blades clashing echoed through the courtyards, where warriors trained like breathing was a war dance.
In the center of a wide sparring ring, Diana stood poised, sword in one hand, shield in the other. Across from her, barefoot and shirtless, stood Aubrey, sweat-slicked and panting, gripping a wooden staff he barely knew how to use.
"Focus," Diana instructed. "Breathe through your heels. The body listens to stillness."
Aubrey groaned. "You sound like a yoga app."
She smiled faintly. "A yoga app has never disarmed me."
With a single twist of her wrist, she knocked the staff from his hands and stepped forward, shield pressed lightly against his chest, pinning him with ease.
"Too slow."
"Okay, well, technically I'm still adapting to this body," he muttered, wriggling half-heartedly under her grip. "Like, what even is this core strength? Where did it come from?"
"You've been given power," she said, stepping back. "But without control, power is chaos. You don't need to become a god—you need to become yourself."
He picked up the staff again and looked at her, really looked.
"You know… you remind me of my mom," he said. "If she were immortal and could crush a car with her thighs."
Diana raised an eyebrow. "I'll take that as a compliment."
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile: Watchtower, Private Channel
In a high-security chamber on the Watchtower, Batman, Martian Manhunter, Zatanna, and Superman stood around a projected recording of Aubrey's combat trial.
"He's learning quickly," Superman noted, arms crossed.
"Too quickly," Batman replied. "His nervous system rewrites itself in real time. He's not just adapting—he's evolving. That's not natural."
Zatanna waved her hand, bringing up a magical signature chart. "No traceable magical origin. His 'aura' mimics divine energies, but it's not divine. It's artificial."
"Could he be engineered?" Martian Manhunter asked.
"Possibly," Batman answered. "Or worse—he could be something new. Something we've never classified."
There was silence.
Superman finally spoke. "Diana believes in him."
"That's not always enough," Batman replied darkly.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Back on Themyscira
Later that evening, Aubrey sat near the edge of a cliff, watching the sea below churn in endless motion.
Diana approached, her armor now replaced by a deep red tunic. She sat beside him, handing him a water flask.
"You fought well today," she said.
He took the flask and gave her a tired smile. "Still got my butt kicked."
"You didn't fight to win," she replied. "You fought to learn. That matters more."
He stared at the ocean. "The League still doesn't trust me, huh?"
Diana didn't lie.
"No," she said. "They're afraid of what you represent."
"Something dangerous," he muttered.
"No," she corrected. "Something unknown."
He went quiet. Then: "What if I turn out to be everything they fear?"
Diana looked at him, her voice soft but steel underneath.
"Then I will be the one to stop you."
A beat. His eyes widened a bit—but he didn't flinch.
"…Okay," he said after a moment. "Fair deal."
She smiled. "Until then, you'll train. You'll grow. And you will have a say in what you become."
[SYSTEM ALERT]🛡 Training Progress: 12%Mentor Bond with Diana StrengthenedNew Skill: [Combat Instinct I] – React faster to immediate physical threatsPassive: [Resilience] – Body recovers 20% faster from training and non-lethal damage
Final Scene: Watchtower Crisis Room
An alert flashes across League monitors.
A cult cell—believed eradicated—has reappeared in Gotham, performing rituals and speaking of "the divine child's awakening."
Zatanna narrows her eyes.
"They think he's their god. And they're trying to bring him home."
Batman says nothing. His eyes linger on the screen, then glance toward the map of Themyscira.
"This just got worse."