Nyx, princess of the night

“Diana, look out!” Batman exclaimed as he jumped in front of Wonder Woman. A blade of pure energy pierced his heart as he took the blow intended for Diana. Wonder Woman spared no time in reacting, slicing The Changeling in half with her own sword as Batman fell to the floor.

“Bruce!” Diana exclaimed as she ran to Batman’s side, cradling him in her arms, “Why would you do that?”

“Simple… simple cost benefit” Bruce sputtered as he coughed up blood, “You’re worth far more than… than I am.” Batman gave Wonder Woman what could be construed as an attempt at a smile and said, “My only regret… is that I never tried to make it work with you.”

As the life faded from Batman’s body, Diana sobbed a prayer to the gods, “Gods of Olympus hear my prayer, find it in yourself to save this man who has given so much for all.”

Time went still as darkness encircled the two with a maelstrom of shadow. “Child of the Gods, I have heard your prayer.” a voice boomed from the darkness, “This mortal has long been a champion of the night and I will see him preserved.”

Diana looked around, trying to find the source of the voice in the whirling dark. “But know this, while I can save the mind and soul the body will perish. The price they must pay is their mortal shell.

A pulsing sphere of shadow coalesced in front of Diana, “But the lack of a body should prove no problem for you, should it?” the voice chuckled dryly, “Plunge this black pearl into his heart. His mind and soul will be preserved and my champion will live again”

Diana nodded, understanding what the voice had planned for her to do. Could the voice be trusted? Diana had her suspicions as to whom it was and that worried her even more. But the chance to save Bruce was too urgent to pass. “I understand,” Diana said with resolve. She grasped the sphere and plunged it into Batman’s heart. She could see the silver shimmer of Batman’s soul be drawn into the pearl as she felt his body grow cold in her arms.

“The deed is done. When he is born anew he shall receive my power. She shall be a champion of the night, the child of Nyx!” the voice said as time began to flow again, “Know this Diana of Themyscira, in time our daughter will surpass even you.”

Diana plucked the pearl from Batman’s lifeless body and after wiping it off placed it in her cleavage. “I should really think about getting a belt. Or pockets.” she thought to herself as she attempted to make light of the situation, “I… I hope I haven’t made a mistake.”

Diana spoke stoically into her commlink, “This is Wonder Woman to the League. The Changeling is handled but… Batman didn’t make it.” She wanted to tell them what had transpired, but knew they wouldn’t approve of her plan for Bruce, “Could… could someone come collect his body. I… need to return to Themyscira and pray for him.” It wasn’t exactly untrue, but as she felt the warmth from the black pearl hidden in her clothes she also knew it was leaving out quite a bit.

“I understand Diana. Just… take all the time you need.” Superman replied over comms. His voice strained with sadness, “I know you two were close. If you need to talk, I’m always here to listen.”

Diana took one last look at Batman’s lifeless body and firmly grasped the pearl in her hand. She took off for home, mentally going over the ritual she would need to bring Bruce back to life.

Diana explained what had happened to her mother, Hippolyta, who then instructed Diana on the ritual that brought her to life so many years ago. Just as Diana had been painstakingly moulded by out of clay, so too would Bruce’s new body. She thought deeply on how to make her child look. Should she be made in Bruce’s image? Or should she take from Bruce and herself? She mulled it over as she began the long process to prepare the body.

The magic of the island required a female shell, and Diana was already skirting the spirit of the ritual with Bruce’s soul. She hoped to herself that Bruce would understand and come to enjoy his new form, or at least tolerate it.

It took nearly a year of work to gather the components for the ritual. It had been quite some time since a new amazon was born, as far as she knew Diana herself was the most recent. As Diana was putting the finishing touches on what would be her masterpiece, she smiled fondly at the young girl who was taking shape. “I never expected this was how I became a mother.” Diana thought to herself with a smirk, “I just hope she doesn’t hate me.”

Grasping the black pearl in her hand, and giving it a kiss for good luck, she pressed it into the chest of the clay girl. It would become her heart, the core of her being. After a few breathless moments of silence the clay statue pulsed with energy. Gray was slowly replaced with a pale pink as color moved out from the statue’s center. As the magic finished its work, Bruce’s body collapsed to the ground.

Diana moved quickly to catch her daughter, checking her pulse and breathing. There wasn’t a pulse, but Bruce was breathing at least. She clutched her child to her chest and hugged her tightly as she made her way to her mother’s palace. She had to share the good news that a new princess of Themyscira had been born.

Bruce groggily opened his eyes to an unfamiliar location. Didn’t he die? He was fairly certain he did, at least. He took a moment to scan his surroundings. Greek columns, a salty sea breeze, and an anachronistically classical aesthetic defined his surroundings. “Likely Themyscira.” he thought to himself. “But why.”

As he attempted to get up from his bed Queen Hippolyta of the amazons entered the room at a brisk pace, “Ah, child. You have finally awoken.” She said with a smile, “Do be careful, you have been through quite the ordeal.”

“I have to say-” Bruce started to say before he trailed off, realizing that something was off with his voice. He pondered for a moment as he took an inventory of his body. His carefully honed muscles were gone, replaced with the thin wiry arms. He was considerably shorter as well, given by how tall Hippolyta seemed. His higher pitch meant his recovery likely wasn’t the result of a lazarus pit. He stroked his chin in thought.

Hippolyta chuckled as she sat down next to Bruce and patted his shoulder, “I must say, I never expected this to be how you joined the family. You must be quite puzzled, little one.”

‘Joined the family.’ His new height, his high pitch, and just being on Themyscira added up to only one thing; he must have somehow become an amazon. Bruce pondered this for a moment before ultimately deciding whatever had happened to him, it did beat being dead. “What happened?” he asked bluntly.

Hippolyta took a moment to consider her words carefully. She played this conversation over in her head many times before after all. “When you took the blow intended for my daughter you suffered a mortal wound. In despair, she cried out to the Gods for aid. Instead, an ancient and primordial being named Nyx answered. Diana has been… fuzzy on the details but made a pact to save your mind and soul.”

“And my body?” Bruce asked.

“It was sacrificed to save you, I believe. It has been some time since then, almost a year. Your funeral was moving I must say.”

Bruce sighed. He spent a year dead and buried? It would prove difficult to return to his old life then, if at all. “I see.”

Hippolyta wrapped her arms around Bruce in a gentle hug, “I imagine it to be quite a shock. But know I am here for you.”

Bruce looked down at his body once more. He was dressed in the amazonian style, a simple white toga with gold accents loosely wrapped around his form. “So, I’m… an amazon now?”

Hippolyta smiled down at her grandchild, “You are much more than that, dear. When Diana built your new body she made you into her child. To the world, you are the mysterious princess of the Amazons, the sleeping beauty without a name.” She paused for a moment, “We thought it best for you to choose your own name, you see.”

Staring off into the distance, Bruce contemplated his situation. Bruce Wayne was dead. He was reborn into the body of an amazonian child, a princess even. He had a mother once more. Tears began to well up in his eyes as he began to cry. It was all so much.

“Let it out, dear child” Hippoltya said as she held Bruce tightly. The two sat together for what felt like an eternity as Bruce Wayne mourned the loss of his old life and cried tears of joy at the prospects of his new home. Hippolyta gave a gentle smile and stood up, “I should inform your mother that you have finally awoken. Know this little one, your true identity is a secret. Only our family knows. I am… unsure how our sisters would react if they knew you were once a man.”

Bruce nodded in understanding. He could only be here if Hippolyta approved, and in doing so skirted, if not broke, the laws of the island. His rebirth came at a great risk to his new family. He laid back in his bed and stared at the ceiling. A new life as Diana’s daughter. A new name. Just what would it be?