> "A misunderstanding."
"This is all just… one big misunderstanding."
Under Diana's unflinching gaze, Alex tilted his head slightly, studying her with that faint, unreadable smile of his. The lights from the gallery glimmered across his eyes, giving them a subtle, dangerous gleam as he spoke those words.
> "A misunderstanding?"
Diana's tone was skeptical, edged with the faintest hint of disbelief. Her expression didn't change, but her silence said more than any accusation could.
> "That's right," Alex replied, nodding once with deliberate calm. "A misunderstanding."
His confidence only made her wariness deepen.
> "Then tell me," Diana said, her voice sharp as the edge of her sword, "what kind of misunderstanding are we talking about?"
> "I happened to come across something by accident," Alex said evenly, his tone steady, casual even. "So I asked Bruce Wayne to help me investigate it. I didn't realize that thing was connected to you."
He spoke the truth — or at least enough of it to sound convincing. There was no need to hide the core of it; the simplest answer was often the best.
Diana turned toward Bruce, her eyes searching his face.
Bruce merely lifted his shoulders in a half-shrug.
> "That's exactly how it happened."
Bound by the Lasso of Truth, he couldn't have lied even if he wanted to.
Instantly, the tension that had coiled through Diana's posture began to ease. The cold steel in her eyes softened just enough to show she believed them — or at least, believed there was no deception here.
She exhaled quietly, her tone losing its earlier bite. So she had misjudged him.
Homelander wasn't with the Crime Syndicate.
And more importantly, he wasn't her enemy.
---
> "So… Themyscira, Wonder Woman—those legends are all real?"
Bruce's voice broke the silence. Despite his usual composure, there was something close to awe in his tone. The detective in him had chased clues for years that led nowhere — myths, artifacts, stories half-buried under centuries of rumor. And now, standing before him, the myth was alive.
While investigating the fragment Alex had brought him, he'd uncovered whispers of a civilization lost to time, of god-forged weapons and immortal warriors. But even he had never truly believed it. Until this moment.
> "Who can say?"
Diana answered vaguely, her tone purposefully detached. She didn't confirm it, but she didn't deny it either. As she unwound the Lasso of Truth from Bruce's wrists, the golden glow dimmed, leaving only a faint warmth in its wake.
Then her gaze returned to Alex.
> "Homelander," she said quietly, "I think I know what it is you found by accident. It belongs to me."
> "Correction," Alex replied, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "It used to belong to you."
His emphasis on the words used to wasn't lost on her.
> "I'm not asking you to give it back for free," Diana said, tone calm, deliberate. "If there's something you want in return, name it."
> "I'm afraid that won't work," Alex said without hesitation. "That item is… special to me. I'm not planning to part with it anytime soon."
> "Don't be so quick to turn me down," Diana pressed, her expression still composed but her voice carrying the quiet authority of someone who rarely heard the word no. "Maybe your price is something I can actually meet."
She wasn't exaggerating — she had resources beyond what any government or corporation could dream of. Influence, divine relics, and the kind of power that made most men reconsider their stance.
Alex thought for a moment, his eyes flicking toward her hands, where the silver bracelets shimmered faintly under the gallery lights.
> "Well," he said slowly, "if it were that rope of yours, or maybe those bracelets on your wrists, then perhaps I'd consider it."
The moment he'd approached Diana, his system had reacted. Both the Lasso of Truth and her bracelets radiated energy unlike anything he'd ever seen — pure divine resonance, the kind that could be extracted and harnessed.
A shame she wasn't in full battle gear. If she had been, her tiara, her sword forged by Hephaestus, even her shattered shield — all of them would've been potential treasures. The Golden Eagle Armor of 1984, her divine weapons from Themyscira… it was almost absurd how many relics she carried.
Alex's eyes glinted. Wonder Woman really is a walking armory.
He nearly laughed aloud at the thought, amused by the irony.
> "Forget it," Diana said curtly, pulling her sleeve down to cover her bracelets. "That's not on the table. Pick another condition."
> "That is my condition," Alex said simply, shaking his head.
> "I see."
Diana studied him for a long moment. Then, for the first time, she smiled — a small, enigmatic curve of the lips that carried both amusement and challenge.
> "Then it seems our negotiation has reached a stalemate… hasn't it?"
> "Looks that way," Alex replied with a shrug, utterly unconcerned.
> "Gentlemen," Diana said, straightening, "I'll take my leave."
With that, she turned, her heels clicking crisply against the marble floor. The sound echoed faintly through the quiet gallery as she walked away, posture regal, movements fluid and sure — the kind of presence that didn't need to demand attention; it commanded it naturally.
Bruce watched her go, his face a mix of awe, disbelief, and a faint touch of admiration.
> "She's really the Wonder Woman," he murmured, almost to himself. "The one from the legends."
The thought sounded ridiculous even as he said it, yet every instinct told him it was true. Themyscira — the mythical island of the gods — was real. And one of its champions had just stood before him.
> "The real deal," Alex said, confirming it with a grin. "No impostors here."
He gave Bruce a friendly pat on the shoulder.
> "Bruce, the world's a lot more interesting than you think. You'll see more soon enough."
Bruce didn't respond. He stood there, lost in thought, his mind spinning through possibilities, theories, fears. If gods existed — if beings like her walked the earth — then what did that make the rest of them?
> "So that thing you're after really does belong to Wonder Woman," Bruce said after a pause. "Now that she's here, what's your plan?"
Alex smirked, already halfway toward the door.
> "I don't care about Diana," he said lightly. "What I care about is you — and whether you'll deliver on what you promised."
He didn't look back.
> "Half a month left, Bruce. Don't disappoint me."
And just like that, he was gone — a blur of motion, leaving Bruce Wayne standing alone in the silent gallery, staring at the abstract painting in front of him without really seeing it.
---
Later that night, back in his apartment—
Alex lounged on his couch, half-reclined, a faintly amused smile playing on his lips as he replayed the day's events.
> "Wonder Woman in Gotham," he mused aloud. "Already crossed paths with Batman. Now that's interesting."
In the original timeline, the two hadn't met until much later — during the chaos of the Doomsday incident. Back then, their first encounter had been all business and mistrust, no history, no groundwork.
But now?
Because of his interference — one single butterfly's flutter — the entire timeline had shifted. Diana and Bruce had met years before they were supposed to. Seeds of alliance, of rivalry, of destiny had already been planted.
Alex chuckled softly to himself.
> "Who knows what kind of sparks that'll create."
He wasn't particularly invested in their future — but he could appreciate a good twist of fate when he saw one.
Then his thoughts drifted elsewhere, to something far more enticing.
> Wonder Woman… practically made of rare artifacts.
A slow, mischievous grin spread across his face.
> "It'd be a waste to let that opportunity slip by."
Leaning back, he laced his fingers behind his head, eyes glinting in the dim light.
> "Time to keep an eye on her," he murmured. "Maybe I'll find a chance to… borrow a little of that divine energy."
As if responding to his intent, his system chimed softly in his mind — that familiar digital tone he'd grown to love.
Alex's smile widened, slow and deliberate.
> "Well, well," he whispered, eyes gleaming. "Looks like the opportunity just presented itself."
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