Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Gotham City wasn’t Diana’s favorite place in the world, not many places could ever truly compare to the home she longed for, some places were nice enough - but Gotham however wasn’t one of those places. She did tolerate it from time to time, whenever Bruce called her into the city for one thing or another, usually important meetings, but this time it was just for some gala for the GCPD, and Bruce talked her into coming so he wasn’t there alone. Under normal circumstances, she would have stayed away, but ever since Bruce had found that picture if her and Steve from so many years ago, Pairs had become so lonely.

“The people of Gotham cannot possibly thank the brave men and women of the GCPD enough for their service in keeping this city safe. It’s not much, but I do hope that you all enjoy the rest of your night here.” Bruce ended his speech, the people clapping as they always did for Bruce Wayne. “Oh, and it’s an open bar.” He added, getting the crowd to laugh while getting their drinks that were being carted out by waiters.

“Miss?” A waitress walked up beside Diana, holding the tray of drinks out to her.

“Thank you.” Diana smiled as she took a glass, the waitress giving a slight nod before walking off to the next person with an empty hand.

“Having a good time?” Bruce asked, walking up to Diana and giving as much of a genuine smile as one would expect of him, though it barely looked like he lost his usual composure.

“Surprisingly, yes.” Diana replied. “But...the entire city’s police all under one roof?” She asked, her eyes scanning the room for the hundredth time already that night.

“Most of them, some of them volunteered to keep a perimeter, others wanted to stay on duty in the city. I’m having stuff brought out ot their families to make up for missing it, but not everyone was willing to leave the city unguarded for the night.” Bruce explained with a slight shrug, taking a sip from his drink.

“The generosity of Bruce Wayne knows no bounds.” Diana smirked. “It is nice that you’ve done this for them though.”

“It’s the least I can do, I can’t always protect them out there even though I want to.” Bruce sighed. “But, I didn’t invite you out here just for this party Diana, I did need to talk to you about something.”

“Oh?” Diana asked.

“Let’s go somewhere for a minute.” Bruce gestured towards the closed off parlor attached to the main room.

Diana followed him through the crowd, the two stopping for a moment when a couple wanted to thank Bruce before continuing on. Without paying much attention to where she was going after that, she bumped into a uniformed officer, someone who must have been keeping a perimeter check for tonight.

“I’m sorry,” She apologized right away, “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“It’s not a problem ma’am.” The officer replied.

Diana froze when she saw the officer’s face. She’d heard stories of reincarnation, but never something that would justify this being so extreme. It was Steve. It was his face, his bright blue eyes, his freckles and faint scars that she remembered so well.

“...Steve?” Diana asked, feeling her eyes water and her heart racing like it hadn’t in years, since the last time she saw his face.

“Do I know you?” He asked curiously; it was Steve, but somehow it wasn’t - it wasn’t the Steve that she remembered, not entirely at least, but it was enough to still hurt her.

“Excuse me.” Diana blurted out.

“Diana, wait!” Bruce called after her.

She picked up her pace and left the manor as fast as she could, taking a deep breath when the fresh air from the chilly night finally hit her. That was Steve, there were too many similarities for it to not be him, at least looks wise, and that was more than enough to poke at the feelings she’d already been dealing with for months now about him. Was that what Bruce wanted to talk to her about? He’d already found the photo, what if he stumbled across this man who looked like him? If it was his reason for calling her out here, she wished she never left Paris, she couldn’t handle seeing someone like Steve again.

“Miss!” Someone called out from behind her.

Diana turned to see the waitress from earlier, holding a glass that she’d long forgotten.

“You forgot your drink.” She remarked, handing it to Diana with a smile.

As soon as Diana took the glass questioningly, she felt her stomach drop, knowing she probably shouldn’t have.

“I’m sorry.” The waitress said with a sorrowful look on her face, grabbing Diana’s arm.

In an instant they were transported somewhere Diana had never been, and with the feeling of dread it left her with, she never wanted to come back to this place again. It was dark and cold despite the twinges of red everywhere, it made Diana feel unexplainably sad. The waitress was still beside her, only she wasn’t dressed as a waitress anymore, she wore a lavender gown that matched the bright flowers of spring and most certainly didn’t belong in this dark place. It was that alone that told Diana exactly where she was before the man shrouded in darkness appeared before them with a smile on his face and an arm wrapped around the woman who was now beside him, though she looked as if she didn’t wish to be there.

“Hades.” Diana announced.

“Diana, darling, it’s wonderful to finally meet you. I hope you don't mind me borrowing you for a moment, your friends won’t notice a thing.” Hades grinned. “It’s sudden, I know, but you see, you met my gift for you before I had a chance to pull you aside and explain.”

“Gift?” Diana questioned, piecing together what he was saying, and realizing that of all the other options, Hades bringing Steve back to life would be the most likely answer. “ You brought him back?”

“You’re welcome.” Hades laughed.

Before Hades could say another word, Diana suckerpunched him in the face and all fell silent.

Chapter Text

“I have to say, I wasn't expecting that as a reaction.” Hades groaned, rubbing his cheek until the red mark vanished. “Most people thank me when I bring their loved ones back.”

“Most people pay you a terrible price to get them back.” Diana countered. “You brought him back on your own, which means you want something from me.”

“Well, it's good to see you got your mother's brains rather than your fathers.” Hades remarked with a smirk.

Diana balled her hands into fists at her side, fighting the urge to lunge forward and punch him again. She wasn't here to play games with Hades, she wanted answers as to why Steve was alive, and what Hades’ price was for bringing him back.

“Why did you bring him back?” Diana asked.

“Right to business then,” Hades sighed, “at least take a seat, this may take a while.”

With a snap of his fingers, stone chairs rose from the Earth for all three of them to take a seat, Persephone still silent but absorbing every word of the conversation. Diana knew as innocent as she appeared, there were stories of her turning out to be just as wicked and cunning as her husband.

“I’m sure you remember our good friend Ares,” Hades started, “he’d probably hard to forget after that little battle you two had all those years ago. Then again I’m sure you remember it more as the day Steve Trevor died, love has a funny way of doing that.”

“I remember.” Diana replied curtly.

“He was supposed to spend the rest of eternity here for his crimes, and it was going well...until he found a way out.” Hades said.

“What?” Diana hissed, rising from her chair and feeling her anger boil over.

“He collected power form souls that were around him, enough to break free and take some with him for a more permanent power source. One of the ones he took with him was your little friend Steve.” Hades continued.

“When did this happen?” Diana demanded.

“Four years ago. Considering how long it took Ares to recover from Zeus last time, he’s nowhere near as powerful as he was when you faced him last, but he’s Ares, he finds a way.” Hades sighed. “I don’t think he noticed who Steve was until he had them on the surface.”

“Is Steve still under Ares’ control?” Diana asked, a twinge of fear in her heart.

“No, two years ago Ares worked up enough of a trail for my hounds to follow, they brought Steve down here again, Ares did a real number on him. I think he was working on sending Steve after you, he twisted all of his memories of you into ones of hatred, he probably planned on having you kill him yourself, or him try to kill you knowing the weakness you had towards him from his memories.” Hades shrugged. “Either way, I couldn’t reverse what Ares did and since he was technically alive again, I couldn’t keep him here. I wiped his slate clean and set him up with a new life and new memories uptop, between the hounds and Persephone here shadowing him to keep him out of Ares’ sight, he stayed pretty well hidden in Gotham until Bruce Wayne went digging around and brought him up to not only your attention, but Ares’ as well.”

“How long were you planning on letting him walk around up there, not knowing anything about what happened or what was after him?” Diana asked, trying to keep her composure.

“At least another year, Ares is the least of our problems at the moment, I can give you his coordinates and you can get him back down here in an hour, he’s still weak. The problem is Steve Trevor and more importantly, what Ares did to him. My little reset cleared his mind, but between seeing you now and Bruce digging around his life and asking him questions, he’s starting to remember things, but Ares’ twisted memories that he gave him, not his own.” Hades explained. “Another year, things would have been more permanent with his reset that I gave him, but it takes a lot to hold back what Ares did.”

The ground shook beneath them again as Hades rose from his seat, a stone table between them now with a haunting blue orb hovering above it, flashes of what were Steve’s memories playing over it, though they weren’t the same memories Diana had. They were flashes of them arguing from the moment they met, the moments of love were still there, but they were quickly filled with more of that anger and hatred that made Diana want to rip Ares apart.

“Catching Ares is part of the solution, his power is diminished down here. Pulling his power and influence from Steve will be easier with him locked back up. But it will still take time for him to be completely free of Ares’ influence, and you’re the only one who could hold him back if he has an episode. Out there in the world right now, he’s a ticking time bomb, you need to get him somewhere you can keep an eye on him while you get Ares back.” Hades said.

“You make Steve sound dangerous, what did Ares really do to him?” Diana asked.

“Well, his plan was to send Steve after you, he had to keep him alive and make him strong enough to fight you. Ares put part of his soul in Steve, if he has an episode, he could tear half of Gotham City apart and the only way to stop him would be to kill him.” Hades said. “If you get Ares back here and we can start removing his influence over Steve, I’ll be able to give him his old memories back and he’s yours to keep, though it’s hard to say what the side effects will be, but he’ll be as close to his old self as he can get.”

“Where is Ares?” Diana asked.

“Right now, you need to get Steve out of Gotham and away from Bruce Wayne before he asks him something that triggers Ares influence. I have my hounds tracking down his new location now, I’ll let you know when they find him.” Hades said.

Diana made her way back into the party as quickly as she could without causing a scene, slipping past Bruce undetected and making her way back to Steve. He was leaning up against a wall, pinching the bridge of his nose and seemingly fighting off a headache of sorts. Ares. Her challenge would be finding a way to get Steve out of Gotham without triggering whatever part of Ares still resided in him. And with him having no memory of her, nor a reason to trust her, it would perhaps be the most difficult part of her task.

“Excuse me,” Diana interrupted him, “Officer Trevor?” Her eyes flickered down to his badge just to be sure, she didn't know if Hades’ memory wipe involved giving him a new name, she was relieved to see it was still his name.

“Yes?” He asked, pulling his hand away and standing up at attention, he still had the reflexes of a soldier even if he didn't remember it.

“I just wanted to apologize for earlier, I...you just look like somebody that I used to know.” Diana said.

“Oh, that’s alright, I’ve had that happen a lot actually.” Steve shrugged, a smile crossing his face that brought back Diana’s own memories of him. “Are you alright? I saw you run out of here a few minutes ago, you seemed upset.”

“I’m fine.” Diana said, forcing a smile to hopefully reassure him.

How was she going to peacefully get him out of the city? He didn’t know her, he didn’t know all they had been through. He had a new life created by Hades, he was an officer for the GCPD, who knew if he had a life with someone else by now, it had been a few years since he was back in the land of the living, and Steve...well, Steve just had the charm and looks that surely would have captured someone’s attention.

“Ma’am?” Steve interrupted her thoughts.

“I’m sorry, I uh, I must have had a few too many to drink.” Diana said, hoping her plan would work. While Steve seemed to have fallen in love with her before for not being like other women, she couldn’t exactly just carry him out of Gotham without risking half the city. She had time to learn how human women acted from time to time, and how human men couldn’t resist a damsel in distress. “Mr. Wayne had me brought here to the party and I don’t want to bother him, would it be possible for you to take me back to my hotel? I’m sorry if it’s so forward, I just should probably go lie down for the night.”

“Uh, sure, yeah. Let me just clear leaving with my boss really quick, it should be fine.” Steve said, leaving Diana for a moment.

Diana watched Steve walk off, her mind still racing, even knowing all that she knew. This was Steve, he was back and right in front of her, exactly the way she remembered him even after all these years. She’d do anything in her power to keep Steve alive, even if he never remembered her and their past, she just wanted him to be alright at the end of all of this. It didn’t take long for him to return to her, that familiar smile still on his face.

“Ready to go?” He asked.

“Yes, thank you.” Diana replied, taking his arm and following him out of the room, just barely catching a glimpse of Bruce staring at them as they left.

Chapter Text

“Thank you again for bringing me back here.” Diana said as the patrol car pulled up in front of the hotel.

“It’s no problem, it’s nice to know at least someone from that party will be getting home safe.” Steve said.

Before Diana could even make a move towards the door, Steve was already getting out of the car and walking around to her, pulling the door open for her. She missed that about Steve, his kind heart and nature; it was certainly even more rare in the times they lived in now.

“Thank you.” Diana smiled once she was out of the car. “Are you going back to the party?”

“More than likely, unless something comes in before I get back there and, well, it’s Gotham after all, there’s always something going on.” Steve shrugged.

Steve winced in pain and pinched the bridge of his nose, he seemed to be going through the same pain he went through at the party. This must be Ares’ influence, Diana thought. It was almost like a reflex that made her go up to him in worry, resting her hand on his shoulder and trying to fight off the worried expression on her face but failing.

“Are you alright?” Diana asked.

“Yeah, it’s just this migraine again, I’ll be fine, don’t worry.” He tried to reassure her, pulling her hand away from his head but Diana was still able to see that pain in his eyes. “You should probably get inside though, even in this part of town, Gotham isn’t safe at night.”

“I can handle myself.” Diana smirked, if only he could remember how well she could handle herself.

He stopped and looked at her, truly looked at her , as if he was trying to piece something together. For a moment, Diana was foolish enough to think that maybe he could remember something good between them, something that Ares had not twisted or Hades had wiped away. But instead that look quickly faded away; she couldn’t help that her heart sank just a little bit after that.

“Goodnight, Ms. Prince.” Steve nodded.

“Goodnight.” Diana replied with a sigh.

Steve waited until she made it inside the hotel safely, and as she watched that patrol car drive off, she couldn’t stop thinking about Hades’ warning. If Ares still had an influence on him, how deeply did it run? What exactly did he do to Steve other than twist his memories of her? And how was she going to get him out of the city without awakening whatever Ares left dormant in him? For once, despite knowing the world and how it worked after all of these years, Diana wished that something would be simple.

Gotham was truly a city that never slept, in the few years Steve had been here and been part of the force, he knew that was especially true for the crime of the city, it hadn’t earned the name of one of the most dangerous cities in America for nothing. Being part of the GCPD truly meant something if you were willing to risk your life to hunt down criminals, murders, and psycho clowns out there alongside a masked bat vigilante. Steve had been out on the raids where they cleared out places known to be affiliated with the Joker, and he’d been on normal night patrols; but in Gotham, a normal night patrol could turn into a deadly encounter just as quickly as one of the raids could.

It didn’t take long for Steve and his partner, Jeff Miller, to get a call about a robbery in progress from a jewelry store, someone had tripped the silent alarm and no one knew if any hostages were still in the store. By the time they got there, there were two other patrols keeping the building and perimeter locked down, the criminals would be getting antsy by now knowing that they were surrounded. Steve went in with Miller and another one of the officers that had already been there, more backup was on the way considering the size of the store, but they had to know if innocent people were trapped in there too before the backup came in an mowed these crooks down.

They’d found two of the three that were working in the store and that the crooks had left mostly unguarded. There was supposedly another one of their co-workers deeper in the building where the thieves were now, opening up the safe for them to take their money and whatever other jewels they wanted.

“Miller, stay back here with these two, I’m going in there to get the other one.” Steve volunteered.

“Are you crazy? They’ll kill you before you even get near them. We have to wait for backup to show up and let them know.” Miller replied.

“The minute backup comes in they’re going to be even more anxious and probably kill them, I can’t let that happen if I know I can do something about it.” Steve replied.

“Yeah, and if they spot you they’ll kill the both of you.” Miller argued.

“I know.” Steve sighed, giving a slight nod.

Before Miller could argue again, Steve was already moving towards the hostage, he could faintly hear his partner over the radio trying to tell them about the situation.

It didn’t take long for Steve to find the last hostage, a woman tied up and gagged with tears streaming down her face, terrified by the thieves around her. One was circling her like a vulture, a halloween mask of a clown on over his face and a pistol in his hand, he was the least armed of his friends but it was more than enough to keep a hostage from doing anything stupid. His friends wore masks too, animal masks from what Steve could tell with assault rifles strapped to their backs while the tried to work on the safe. He was so focused on the hostage, he completely overlooked a fourth thief who placed a gun to the back of his head and made Steve freeze dead in his tracks.

All Steve  could remember before hearing the gun go off was everything going dark and some rage consuming him.

Diana was getting ready for the day, she planned on going to the police department and making up some excuse or another to get ahold of Steve again, she had the news on in the background mostly for noise, until a certain name caught her attention.

“Last night, after a robbery at Jameson Jewelers, a GCPD officer by the name of Steven Trevor is in the hospital with what should have been fatal wounds sustained to the head and torso. The officer has miraculously survived, though he is being kept in intensive care. The hostages who survived thanks to the officers actions are calling the officer a ‘true hero’ and they along with the officers of the GCPD are hoping for Officer Trevor to make a fast recovery.” The anchorwoman announced.

She was halfway out the door by the time the report finished, of course Steve would still try to be the hero, but nearly fatal wounds and surviving? That wasn’t something most humans could recover from, especially to the head. Diana knew in her gut that this was part of the effect Ares had on Steve, and if Hades was right, it may only be a matter of time before something truly terrible happens.