Treasures of the Spartans

Lara led Natasha and Diana through the winding caverns, which had been largely unexplored for centuries. As they ventured deeper, they passed by numerous skeletons and weapons, all of which looked ancient.

"This is unbelievable. We must be the first to come through these caves in thousands of years," Natasha marveled. "How did you find out about all this, Lara?"

"A lot of educated guesswork," Lara answered. "I've kept extensive notes on my finds in Ancient Greece. In old messages and clues I've uncovered, the Spartans mentioned a number of underground temples dedicated to the Titans and the Olympians. I believe there should be a temple down here somewhere that holds a number of relics that the Spartans considered invaluable -- including the Shield of Gigantes, which not only shields its holder from any Olympian god, but grants strength rivaling any Olympian or Titan."

"That sounds like exactly what we need," Natasha answered, a determined look in her eyes. "We should get moving."

As they made their way through the cave system, the three women eventually came across the Spartan temple Lara had told them about. They carefully stepped inside, wary of potential traps, and found a treasure trove of relics that, in any other situation, Lara would spend hours examining and cataloguing.

"There," Lara said, pointing to one particular shield, an ornate shield that seemed to glow with an ethereal light. "That has to be it."

"Let's hope," Natasha answered, making her way over to the shield. "Let's grab this thing and--"

Suddenly, a massive boulder smashed through the ceiling of the temple and rolled straight towards them. Natasha dove out of the way, and through the hole the boulder had created, Slade Wilson dropped down into the chamber, grabbing the shield.

"You did some incredible work finding this place, Lara Croft. I appreciate your help in finding this shield," Slade smirked. "You can relax, now -- I'll take things from here."

"Deathstroke..." Diana hissed, readying her sword and shield. "What are you up to this time? Who are you working for?"

"You know I'm not about to reveal that kind of information," Slade answered smugly. "But I really do appreciate you leading me to this shield. The Joker needs to be stopped, and I don't think you're willing to do what it takes."

"What do you mean?" Lara asked.

"Olympus. If Joker and his little goddess pal plunge it into chaos, the results're going to be catastrophic. Someone's going to have to take out the gods if that happens..."

"We can stop Eris and Joker," Diana insisted. "Give us the shield, and we'll stop them from causing any chaos."

"I'm sorry, but I can't risk it. This is too important," Slade answered.

"We're not leaving here without that shield, Wilson," Natasha stated, drawing her weapon and aiming it at Slade.

"You're welcome to try and take it. But I'm not going to make it easy for you," Slade replied, drawing his own blade.

Diana and Natasha lunged forward, their weapons clashing against Slade's. The assassin held his ground, easily blocking their attacks, the shield ensuring that neither the Amazon's strength nor the spy's weapons and tactics had any effect on him. Lara joined the fray, drawing her pistols and firing at the mercenary, but he deftly blocked her shots, sheathing his sword, drawing his gun, returning fire, and forcing her behind a stone column.

The trio pressed the attack, and though they managed to keep Slade on the defensive, none of their attacks had an impact on him. As valiantly as Natasha, Lara, and Diana fought, the Shield of Gigantes protected Slade from any harm they might have otherwise inflicted on him.

Slade, growing impatient with the fight, decided it was time to end the battle. He knocked both Natasha and Diana to the ground, unsheathing his katana. "Nothing personal, of course. But I can't have you following me," he said, slowly walking over to the downed heroines.

Lara looked up and, through the hole in the temple ceiling, saw a large stalactite that looked ready to break free... with a little help. She fired several rounds into the rock formation, hoping it would be enough to knock it loose; the massive, jagged rock came crashing to the ground, causing clouds of dust and debris to fill the room. Lara made her way over to the other two women, helping them to their feet, and the trio fled the chamber. Once the dust had cleared enough, they reentered the room, hoping that maybe the giant rock had been enough to knock the shield from Deathstroke's grasp; unfortunately, both Slade Wilson and the shield were gone.

"Shit!" Natasha hissed. "We had it..."

"And now Deathstroke's also on the Joker's trail," Diana added. "Things just got that much more difficult... if he gets to Olympus, no god there is safe..."

"So what do we do now?" Natasha asked. "Are there any other old magical Greek weapons we could find? Lara?"

"Maybe... that shield was our best lead, though. I don't know if... wait, what's that?" Lara asked, kneeling down next to a large, ornate box. She examined it, running her hand over the engraved text. "This can't be what I think it is..."

Lara opened the box, gasping when she saw the weapon inside. "The Spear of Leonidas... apparently this was forged by Hephaestus himself! It might not be the shield, but we can use this!"

Natasha breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. I didn't come all this way to leave empty-handed... excellent find, Lara."

"Thank you," Lara smiled. "Now let's head back and plan our next steps..."

Shortly after the trio had left the temple, a stone door in the wall slid open. Emerging from the door was a woman, an athletic, toned beauty, one who had been awakened after centuries in suspended animation. Standing naked in the chamber, she surveyed the room, quickly taking note of what had transpired. Her keen eyes spotted the empty box that once held the Spear of Leonidas, and walked over to examine it.

"What happened here?" the woman mused. "Where is the spear?"

The woman then exited the temple, making her way to the surface for the first time in hundreds of years. She needed answers...