JLU 2001 Fanfiction - Wonder Woman #13

The Amazon Princess.....

Wonder Woman

"Even the Dead Have Stories to Tell"

Part One: Two Bodies and a Martian

Wonder Woman #13 - January, Year Two

by Matt Hrubey

Ten minutes ago, I received a message from the Watchtower. J'onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter, requested my presence at a situation that had broken out in the French countryside, just outside of Paris. J'onn remained vague on the details when I inquired what had happened, but he did see fit to tell me that the local authorities had labeled the scene 'official Justice League business.' I didn't know what to expect when I arrived, which made my shocked expression even more prominent when I saw what awaited me.

Having been in the middle of putting down fights that had resulted from the riots, I didn't want to leave my post in Gateway City. J'onn had assured me, however, that my involvement was necessary because so few of the Leaguers were available at the moment. It was with a guilty conscience that I left the task of putting down gangbangers in the hand of Detective Schorr and the other brave men and women of the Gateway police force. I knew that they would be able to carry on without me. That was not why I felt an unusual sense of dejection. It was just the principle that I had been so involved in the events of Gateway City throughout the riots and afterward that leaving now felt like giving up in the ninth inning.

One quick teleport and a stop over at the Watchtower and I found myself standing in the French countryside, the beautiful sun beating down on me. The serene environment could not, however, cover up the grisly scene that greeted me. There were people everywhere, the authorities from the looks of them. Some were milling about, half searching for something to do, but instead enjoying an opportunity to gossip with their co-workers. Others looked hard at work, moving back and forth with a purpose. What called for so heavy a police force I had yet to see.

My sudden appearance led to whispers spreading throughout the groups of French police. Some pointed, awed to see one of the famed Justice League in the flesh. It wasn't a first, though, as I spotted a familiar face in the crowd. Moving through the masses, I came upon the unique emerald skin tone of the man that had called me here. J'onn, turning before I had a chance to make my presence known, gave me a little nod. It's hard sneaking up on a telepath.

"Hello, Diana," the Martian Manhunter greeted me in his usual, respectful tone.

"J'onn," I responded.

He motioned to the man he had been speaking with. "Diana, this is Remy d'Ellert, the man in charge of this murder scene. He was the one responsible for calling in the Justice League. And, I have to say that after looking at the body, Detective d'Ellert was wise in his judgment."

I shook the detective's hand. "It is nice to meet you."

"Likewise, Wonder Woman," d'Ellert told me in finely accented English, "I'm glad that we have the two of you here because I have a feeling that whatever happened here is beyond my capabilities to deal with."

"Before we get into things," I interrupted, "I need to see this body."

J'onn nodded. "Of course. However, I must advise that you brace yourself. It isn't a pretty sight."

As it turned out, J'onn's advice had been an understatement. When I first looked upon the body, I was immediately reminded of the hideously transfigured monster that had resulted from the ambitious genius of Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley's novel. The way the body was contorted, it appeared as if it (I had trouble surmising a gender at first glance) had strangled itself to death. The body itself was horribly disfigured. Various colors splashed appendages and its flesh looked to have been ripped apart and sewed back together. All in all, the poor soul that had died here had apparently been through a traumatic ordeal before its death.

Kneeling beside the corpse, a strong stench overtook me and I fought against the gag reflex that arose in my throat. The body definitely wasn't fresh by any standard. Whatever had happened here, hours had passed since. Turning to Detective d'Ellert, I asked, "Do you have any idea what happened to this body?"

"Theories and inferences, of course, but no hard facts," he replied. Having been overpowered by the smell, Remy had pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and placed it strategically over his mouth and nose. The result masked his words slightly. "An analysis team examined the body about ten minutes before your arrival, Wonder Woman," he continued, "but they have yet to produce any results."

"Anything you could possibly tell me would be much appreciated, detective."

"Of course. From the preliminary examination, the analysis team, myself as well, have ruled out a homicide. There is absolutely no external damage to the body except for a few abrasions around the neck, which are easily explained. As I'm sure you've noticed, this person appeared to have strangled him or herself to death. A suicide is the most likely option but I don't want to make any assumptions before the results come back."

I gave a quick nod and stood up, moving away from the corpse. Then, after making careful eye contact with J'onn, we moved away to a more isolated area, away from the prying ears of the local authorities.

"What are your thoughts, J'onn? I'm having trouble making any sense of this."

"I am just as confused, Diana, but, contrary to the detective's beliefs, I do not want to rule out a homicide just yet. This body has been through obvious anguish and I believe it is our responsibility to find the cause of that anguish. Only then can we infer correctly what led to this death."

I nod. "Agreed. Have you been able to pick any stray thoughts up telepathically?"

"When I arrived, the place was already crawling with people, masking any left over thoughts even more dramatically. With so many people around, it was nearly impossible to pick up any semblance of thought residue. Before you arrived, I focused on that wholeheartedly but didn't find out anything of consequence."

Turning away at that moment, I rested my chin in my hand. Due to its lack of evidence, this was a case that was near impossible to solve. I didn't fancy myself a detective. Batman should have been here at our side, but from what J'onn told me, he was dealing with a set of murders of his own in Gotham City and couldn't get away. There was a reason that this particular person had died. I knew that. It was just a matter of find out what was responsible for-

"Wonder Woman! Martian Manhunter!"

We both turned at the exclamation of our codenames. Remy d'Ellert ran to our side, waving a piece of paper in the air. Before either of us could ask what had happened, Remy explained, "I just got the analysis test results back and you're not going to believe what my people found."

After his cliffhanging statement, Detective d'Ellert led J'onn and I into a haphazard portable tent that had been set up for the analysis team to do their work. The place had been deserted at the detective's demand and now played host to the three of us and one other, a young woman who Remy had introduced as the head of his analysis team. He claimed she would have an easier time of explaining her team's find and I believed it.

"As I'm sure you can imagine," the girl, her name was Vera, began, "this body is very unusual. Going into the initial examination, I was searching for an unusual cause of death and I wasn't disappointed. I had to search into the depths of the body's DNA but I found what I was looking for."

Finding this place in a speech to be an uncommon place to pause, my face contorted into a mixture of confusion and anxiety. The look was mirrored by J'onn.

"Induced mutation," Vera replied as if the two words answered all of our questions. "Looking at the DNA, it wasn't hard to find that the genome had been ripped apart and spliced together into a crude representation of a human DNA strand. In short, whoever that person, man or woman was, they underwent extensive gene therapy, whether voluntarily or not, and their body turned against them as a result."

"I'm sorry, Vera," I responded politely, "but I don't pretend to be a scientist. Could you repeat that in laymen's terms?"

A moment's irritation seemed to pass across the younger woman's face but it disappeared just as quickly. I decided to ignore it and continued to listen intently to what I was told. "There is a certain stability to the human genome that keeps the human body intact. If the genome broke down, then the person would cease to be. In the murdered body, that stability was gone. Taking this into account, I believe that the cause of death was neither a homicide or a suicide. This person's body turned on them and ceased to function. The death may have been accidental but the genome manipulation is definitely to blame."

I inquired whether or not Vera knew who could be responsible for such a thing and she responded, "Anyone with an extensive genetics background and the money for proper equipment. It's also a job that requires more than one person so even if the deceased experimented on his or herself, then their accomplices are still out there somewhere." Vera sighed. "It's really a shame what people blow money on these days."

This comment barely registered for I had already turned my thoughts to tracking down who had taken part in mutating this dead person. I looked to J'onn and thought-

"Can you hear me, J'onn?"

His voice, when it came in response, rattled around inside my head. "You have a plan?"

"I'm starting to. I need you up at the Watchtower. Run a search for anything that could locate a location where the dead person could have undergone such treatment. More than likely, they were from around here so I would start in the countryside and work my way out. Look for large sums of money changing hands, equipment delivery, etc. Anything would be good. If you have trouble, contact Oracle. She may be able to help."

"It shall be done, Diana, but if you don't mind my asking, what are you going to be doing in the meantime?"

I actually smiled in response. "Someone in the area had to have heard about this unethical genetic manipulation going on. My task is to find that person. I'm going fishing."

As I strolled through the unfriendly side of Paris, I couldn't help but think of Gateway City. After the machinations of Prometheus, the city was left a shell of its former self. The fighting that had taken place within the city borders had taken its toll and now the city swayed back and forth, threatening to fall. I, along with the circle of those closest to me, had been in the middle of a delicate operation of restoring Gateway back to its former glory. Prometheus had been defeated but the angry feelings had not gone away. They festered and continued to manifest in outbreaks of violence. Leaving the city, my city, in such a delicate stage left me with an anxiety to solve this murder mystery as quickly as possible so I could get back to things that needed my special touch.

Thus far, my search had yielded unfavorable results. My methods of persuasion and the golden lasso that I always kept close to myself had helped reveal truths, but not the kind of things that I wanted to know. Paris was filled with bad people, but, unfortunately, I had neither the time nor the patience to set them all straight. It was a job bigger than even a Wonder Woman. Those responsible for the genetic manipulation remained hidden.

But I haven't given up hope. Not yet.

The night was young and there were plenty of places left for me to go. I stepped into a foul smelling pub and the noise immediately died down. All eyes turned in my direction. Due to my physical stature, I'm a hard woman to miss on a normal day, but being dressed in my rather revealing costume only served to light me up like a beacon in the dark. The women glared at me with disdain. The men ogled my assets. It was nothing new and I simply chose to ignore the looks and get down to business.

"You all know who I am!" I began, addressing the entire establishment in rusty French, "There has been a death not far from here. A person's livelihood has been tampered with on the genetic level and I imagine that someone within the sound of my voice knows something that I don't. I'm here for answers, people, and I'll take them any which way I can."

At first, nothing happened, but I caught the sudden movement out of the corner of my eye. Someone was making a break for it, heading toward the back of the pub where I imagined there would be an exit. Someone didn't like what I was saying. Someone had the answers that I was searching for. I was moving before I could think to.

Advancing with the speed of Hermes, I followed the patron in flight, finding the back exit swinging open. Pushing my way through the door, I spotted the figure -- most definitely a man now that I saw his outline -- heading south down the adjacent alleyway in the direction of the main street. Seeing my opportunity slipping away, I bent down and pushed off the ground, launching myself into the air. The peak of my flight found me above the roof of the pub and descending quickly. The trajectory put me right in front of the runner. I landed in a crouch and watched as he skidded to a stop. He turned to retrace his steps but I acted faster than his reflexes.

Grabbing the lasso from my side, I threw the looped end and caught the runner instead. He was halted in his panic and collapsed to the ground. Standing over my proverbial adversary, I spoke. "You ran from me. Why?"

"I-I..."

"You find yourself in the grasp of the Lasso of Truth, a gift from the goddess Hestia herself," I proclaimed, shedding the man's ignorance, "While snared you cannot tell a lie and will feel compelled to tell the truth. Now, you know something and I want to know what it is. Does it have something to do with the heavily mutated corpse that the authorities found in the countryside?"

The man peered at me as if he had seen a ghost. He tried unsuccessfully to shake off the lasso and after I had repeated the question, his struggling died down. "I don't know anything about the murder you are looking into. Please, let me go."

I was mildly surprised by this revelation but I wasn't done with him yet. "If you know nothing about the murder and the genetic manipulation, then why did you run when you saw me?"

A pain took over the man's body as he fought against the words that threatened to spill forth from his mouth. "I-I-I murdered a homeless man a few weeks ago and stole what little possessions that he had. I was drunk at the time and I cannot shake the look on the man's face when I sunk my blade into his stomach. I'm going crazy!"

I couldn't hide my disgust. The man turned away, ashamed. "I'm going to turn you over to the proper authorities for the atrocities you have committed," I told the man. He gave me a small nod in response. All struggling had ceased.

As I pulled the murderer along by the collar of his shirt, I couldn't help but think of yet another dead end I had hit.

"Diana, this is J'onn, establishing telepathic connection."

I had searched a few more bars and places of the like unsuccessfully before J'onn contacted me from the Watchtower. Having spent the night getting nowhere in my investigation, I was more than happy to have the aid of another at my side. I swerved from my path, moving into an adjacent alleyway where I would be alone.

"I read you loud and clear, J'onn. What do you have for me?"

"The news is not good I'm afraid. I haven't found anything that could lead to a location but Oracle is working on it. It's only a matter of time before she finds something."

"You tried your hardest, J'onn. That's all any of us could ask."

"That's not it, though, Diana. There's more."

"Like what?"

"Another body has turned up."

The words stopped me cold. Time was running out quickly. A grimace on my face, my resolve to track down the ones responsible was renewed.

I thought one word: "Where?"

Interlude

After much debate, he finally said what was on his mind: "Sir, she's getting too close. We have to do something."

The man sitting opposite the disheveled desk straightened up in his chair, his eyes piercing. "Do not presume to tell me what to do, doctor. Remember who is in charge of this operation. Remember that you're expendable."

The response had been predicted. The first man, a simple doctor in the middle of something too big for him, sat back in his chair, wiping away from his eyes the exhaustion that the day had caused. The doctor knew he had gone about it all wrong, but he needed the man in charge to realize the danger that the operation was now in. "Listen, sir, I'm not trying to impress myself upon you. I just want you to realize how dangerous what we do has become. The Justice League is now involved, sir! We have to shut down production, maybe move to another location and start over again."

The man in charge rose to his feet, enraged. "Are you insane?! Do you realize how much that would cost? We haven't had the proper results to justify an expenditure of that magnitude!"

"What are proper results, sir?" the doctor asked in response. He could feel his own blood beginning to boil. "How many have to die before you are satisfied?"

The man in charge wagged in finger in the air. "I hope you realize, doctor, that if you were anyone else, you would already be dead. The only reason I haven't shot you yet is because we were friends before all this started. But you are quickly draining my patience."

Taking a deep breath, the doctor looked around, realizing for the first time how alone he truly was. He began again: "We made a mistake from the beginning, sir. We should have had the failed experiments cremated instead of dropping them in the countryside. They were too horribly disfigured that people couldn't not ask questions. We've been begging for attention."

"I want to make one thing clear to you, doctor, and you can be sure to tell all of your colleagues," the one in charge said, "I'm not afraid of a woman. Even if she is part of the Justice League. In fact, to prove to you that I am telling the truth, I'm going to send one of the newer experiments after her. Think of it as a welcome wagon."

"All of the current experiments have unstable genomes, sir, they'll be dead by the end of the week."

"Perhaps," the one in charge responded, leaning back into his chair, "but perhaps they can take Wonder Woman with them."

End Interlude

Following J'onn's concise directions, I found myself soon after at yet another crime scene. It seemed eerily familiar in the plethora of authorities and the deceased, indiscernible body. The new body, like the old, had been mutated beyond even abnormality. The girl, it is easy to tell this time, had been changed so dramatically that she simply ceased to be. I stood by the body, my hands planted on my hips.

Remy d'Ellert and Vera, the head of the analysis team, were at my side within moments. I gave them my undivided attention, though out of the corner of my life I caught the lifeless eyes of the dead girl, opened to the world.

"This body died the exact same way the first did."

"That is quite obvious," I responded, a bit more harshly than I had intended, "but you see, Vera, the problem is that while the body count rises, I am still without sufficient information to track down the perpetrators. I can confidently say that more will die before the end of this and I don't like that. I'm supposed to be a protector of the people but there's no way that I can-"

"Wonder Woman, you're being too hard on yourself," Remy interjected, "No one expects you to save everyone. You're not a god."

Under my breath, I couldn't help but mumble, "I was at one point."

"What was that?"

"Nothing, detective. It's not important. What's important is finding those responsible." I sighed-

"What are you going to do?" Vera asked me. I turned to her. She was watching me with wide brown eyes and, though I wanted to give her a reassuring nod, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I shrugged-

"I don't know, Vera. I just don't know."

Next Issue: Fighting for the Dead and Dying!

Author’s Notes

I knew nothing about Wonder Woman.

It was as simple as that.

When I talked to Curt about writing a WONDER WOMAN tie in to JLA/Avengers, I knew that I was in for a challenge. But the more and more I studied Diana and her world, the more I became enthralled. Stories came to me and instead of a single story arc, I’ve taken over the reins of WONDER WOMAN, for a little bit, at least.

To me, Diana has always been one of the most stand up comic characters ever created. She’s a product of the gods and, due to her life on Thymscira, she holds a set of values different from the mainstream.

Truthfully, I haven’t discovered who Diana is yet. But I’m hoping that by the time I’m finished on this title, whenever it is, I will have found out.

So hold on, WONDER WOMAN has begun again.

Matt

Reviews (which are much appreciated) can be sent to: Hrubx@wowway.com