JLU 2001 Fanfiction - Wonder Woman #14

The Amazon Princess.....

Wonder Woman

"Even the Dead Have Stories to Tell"

Part Two: Fighting for the Dead and Dying

Wonder Woman #14 - February, Year Two

by Matt Hrubey

Paris, France

By sunrise, I had decided that a break was necessary. Having spent the entire night searching less than reputable establishments for any person who could give me information about the bodies that had turned up the previous day, an unfamiliar exhaustion overtook me. The worst part of it all had been that I had learned nothing of consequence. It had essentially been a day wasted.

I found a hidden spot atop an apartment building, away from prying eyes, where I had a fantastic view of the eastern sky. The constant conflict of the past few weeks, both in Gateway City and here into Europe, had really begun to take its toll upon me.

As the sun began to peek over the horizon, I drifted off into thought. The previous day, Remy d'Ellert had told me that I wasn't a god as if that was a good enough reason for my failing to locate those responsible for mutating the dead bodies. It was times like this that I idolized those without powers, those that didn't have to risk their lives fighting. I have seen things. Things that would make others cringe. Things that would awe others speechless.

Remy had been right. I wasn't a god.

But I had been at one time and I still remembered everyday of that. I remember the power that had flowed through my veins. I remembered standing tall, considering my past, and current, life as nothing but back to back trivial matters using up valuable time. I stood on Mount Olympus beside those gods that I had grown up worshipping. I was at home.

But it didn't last.

I was restored to earth. I was restored as Wonder Woman. In the end, it had been what I wanted most of all. Being the Goddess of Truth had been fantastic but it wasn't who I was.

I wasn't a god but that didn't give me an excuse for failure. Lives were depending on me now.

My eyes fluttered closed and I lifted my hands up into the air. It had been a long time, too long, since I had last prayed to my gods.

I thanked Gaea, Mother of the Earth, for blessing humanity with the gift of the planet.

I pleaded with Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, for the skills to track down my anonymous adversaries.

I asked for Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, to guide me in the right direction.

I felt the wind change just a moment too late and I was incapable of moving to protect myself. A fist cracked across my face, lifting me and throwing me from the roof. I landed hard, the concrete cracking under my body. The flesh on my cheek stung from the attack and as I rose to my feet, my teeth were gritted in pain and frustration. I felt less like an amazon warrior and more like a rank amateur.

Searching the area from my attacker, I found myself alone. Keeping my defensive position, I jumped back up to the roof. Still there was nobody in sight.

"Come out!" I exclaimed, my anger growing exponentially with each passing second. "Face me like a man!"

"Princess, this has absolutely nothing to do with a man."

I managed to dodge the second attack, though, just barely. Turning, I faced my opponent for the first time. I felt the color drain from my face. Completely taken by the visage of my adversary, I left myself susceptible to a palm thrust to my rib cage. The force of the attack and the raw power behind it through me from my feet once more and I landed hard, skidding to a stop against a reinforced wall. I gasped-

"Sister, what has been done to you!"

The girl was like nothing I had ever seen. She was almost indescribable. Her skin was multicolored and she appeared sickly. It was obvious from her attacks that she had enhanced strength. This could be in addition to a number of abilities that I didn't know about. She moved forward with a sneer on her face. She meant me real harm.

The more I thought about it, I realized that saying I had never seen anything like the girl was a false statement. She bared a resemblance to the two bodies that had shown up the previous days. The only difference being the obvious. She was still alive. But who knew how long that would last.

"You're dying, sister!" I pleaded with the girl. "You need help. Help I can give you."

"I am not your sister! I would worry more about yourself, Wonder Woman." She attacked-

I dodged the series of punches and, against my better judgment, offered up one of my own when I saw the opening. My fist crashed into the sternum of the girl, sending her shuffling backward. For having taken one hit, the girl was breathing exceptionally hard. But still, the sneer remained on her face and she jumped at me. I rolled with the attack and pushed her with my legs, sending her careening into a wall that cracked underneath her weight. The girl fell to the dusty ground in a heap.

She rose, panting, and lunged once more. I dodged the clumsy attack and the girl struck the ground face first. I watched and noticed immediately that my adversary's recovery time was growing steadily longer with each attack. It was easy to understand that the poor, misguided girl was tiring, but it was more than that. Her body was failing her. She would soon be dead. And she was none the wiser.

"Stop this!"

"Don't order me around, bitch!" the girl shouted back, sucking in a deep breath. She was wracked by a wet hack and coughed up a glob of blood that struck out loudly against the concrete.

I had no intention of seriously harming the girl, but she wasn't going to stop until one of us wasn't breathing. I had to make her see the truth-

The lasso was in my hands without a second thought. The girl jumped for me but I moved at the last second and caught her within the grasp of the lasso. She struggled for a moment before I kicked her legs out from under her.

"You find yourself in the grasp of Hestia's lasso, a truth seeking instrument," I informed the girl. "You will tell me all that I need to know. Starting with the location of those responsible for what has been done to you..."

The Watchtower

After the fight, I teleported up to the moon. The headquarters of the League was empty except for the man I was searching for. I found J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, in the Monitor Womb, coordinating a small outbreak of crimes that had arisen all over the globe. Studying the screens, I saw that Firestorm and the Red Tornado were handling an unnatural weather phenomena that had arisen in Canada and Superman, Green Lantern, and the Flash were quelling an anti-war rally that had turned ugly in the middle east. As usual, Aquaman and Batman were busy with personal business and Plastic Man, the Black Canary, and Atom were all on temporary leaves of absence. That left J'onn and myself.

Quickly, I explained to him what had happened in Paris. Throughout the retelling of the events, J'onn was stroking his chin as if in deep thought. When I was finished, he said, "So this girl told you where the mutations were taking place?"

I nodded. "She couldn't resist the effects of the lasso. Very few can."

"What happened to the girl?"

Lowering my head, I shook my head sadly. "After she told me, her heart stopped. I had thought throughout the entire fight she seemed to be deteriorating in health. Whoever is behind this sent that poor thing after me as a kamikaze soldier. They never had any intention of her coming back alive."

"Are you alright?"

I made eye contact with J'onn and saw the deep worry he had etched on his face. "I'm fine, J'onn. I'm just eager to make these people pay for the lives they've taken. I was hoping that I could get back up to help with the attack but it seems as if everyone is busy."

"I must stay here to monitor things," J'onn replied, "but I'm sure Dinah or Ray will help you out. It'll take me a minute to contact them but-"

I put up my hand. "Don't, J'onn. They deserve a break as much as anyone else does. Besides, I kind of like the idea of taking this entire organization on. It makes it all the more...personal."

"Diana, I-"

"I already know what you're going to say, J'onn, but I'm fine. I swear. I'll be even better when this is wrapped up."

I made my way for the teleporter but stopped when J'onn called out my name. I turned to him. "What was that?"

"I said I'm going to call the other field teams and have them join you in France when they're finished with their individual missions."

I shrugged. "Do what you think is best, J'onn. I'm not waiting for them, though."

I caught another hint of worry on J'onn's face before I exited the Monitor Womb. He wanted to be by my side but there were League rules to follow in regards to monitor duty. It would be fine. I would be fine.

At least, that's what I kept telling myself.

The truth was I was feeling an anger that even I was having trouble controlling. Atrocities had taken place and those responsible were still free, roaming around and ending more lives. They needed to be punished. The dead needed justice.

And who better to give it to them but a member of the Justice League.

France

The complex was cleverly disguised. To any passerby, it appeared as nothing but an airplane hangar with accompanying runway. Studying it, I wouldn't have realized what its interior held if I had not been told to come to this longitude and latitude. The biggest surprise, however, was that the complex was right where the girl had said it would be.

For a moment, I wondered how I could possibly have doubted the girl's words. She had been in the grasp of my lasso, a gift from Hestia herself. Any who found themselves in such a position were compelled to tell the truth. Even the dead and dying. If she said that the world were about to end, I would be hard-pressed not to believe her words.

Seeing as how I was by myself, I had to go about this a different way than the usual smash, smash, and smash some more tactic. I'm not bulletproof I keep having to tell myself. I had no idea how many people would be inside the complex or the kind of weaponry they would be packing. All it would take is one bullet and all of this would have been for naught.

My best chance was to fly in fast, taking the entire complex by surprise. I had to make my way to the main chamber and find the one in charge. I couldn't help but remember the old adage, "without the head, any body will fall apart." I kept telling myself that time was not on my side. The longer it took me to accomplish my goals, the more of an opportunity the men and women in the complex would have to get their acts together. That spelled disaster for me.

I shook my head. Planning was going to get me nowhere. I had learned through years of combat that the best-laid plans go to hell when you enter a combat zone. It's impossible to control the variables that surround you.

"Time to throw caution to the wind," I muttered to myself before taking flight, speeding up with each passing second.

Diana didn't slow down a bit as the wall of the complex came up to meet her. She broke through, alarms blaring all around her.

These same alarms were heard all throughout the complex, including inside the office of the one in charge. He rose from his chair and moved around his desk toward the exit. Someone had broken into the complex and he only needed one guess as to who it was. It came as no big surprise that the attempt on Wonder Woman's life had been a failure and she had found a way to track the dead girl back to him and his organization. She was here to make someone pay for the lives that were taken.

The one in charge knew only one thing at that moment.

He had to get out of the complex now or it was all over.

The one in charge opened the door to the corridor and saw people running left, most likely toward the spot of intrusion. For a moment, he considered joining the peons in their futile attempts to destroy the Wonder Woman. A small chuckle overcame him as the one in charge thought about his foolishness. The one in charge moved right, toward the hangar bay.

And, if things went his way, his salvation.

It was like fighting a tidal wave. There were more and more bodies appearing in the main chamber of the genetics complex with each moment. I wondered briefly how an organization could employ so many men and women yet remain clandestine for as long as they did. A fist flew by my head, barely evaded. I pushed all thoughts from my mind and focused on fighting, pushing forward through the crowd.

For all I knew, these people were merely pawns, ignorant to what was going on in this complex. For all I knew, these people were in on the whole thing and spent their nights laughing at the unfortunates who died as a result of their tampering. I knew that, contrary to my personal beliefs, I would have to fight now and work everything out later.

I charged through the crowd of adversaries as quickly as possibly. I tried my best to pull back my punches but I could still feel bones crack underneath the force I put forth. Bodies fell like dominos as I streaked through the main chamber, moving from one spot to another so that I wasn't overwhelmed by the mass of flesh all around me.

I believed that as long as I stayed in a crowd, I was the safest. Nobody would risk bullets in such close proximity to their compatriots and the physical attacks were hardly enough to stop me. However, I could begin to wear down and when that happened, I was finished.

Scanning the room, I figured I needed to move things along. And I wasn't going to be able to do that surrounded by a bunch of bloodthirsty lackeys. Reaching out, incapable of seeing where I was reaching, my hand wrapped around the collar of someone's uniform. The body struggled against me but my superior strength kept him or her within arm's length.

Squatting down, blows glancing off my body, I pushed off and flew upward. I looked down and made eye contact with the woman that was in my possession. She was frightened beyond belief, shivering in my grasp. Blocking my face, we burst through the roof of the complex, gunfire at our backs. It seemed that as soon as I was out of reach, they resorted to long range attacks.

Setting down on the complex's roof, I searched our surroundings. The skies were clear for now, though that would not last. I had only a few moments of peace to get the information that I needed. I dropped the woman from my grasp-

"Do you know who I am?"

The woman gave a single nod. "You're...W-wonder Woman."

"That's correct, my sister," I responded, "Now, I need your help. I know that you hold an allegiance to this organization but you have to realize that the genetic tampering that goes on here is an atrocity that must be avenged. I promise you safety if you tell me who the one is that is responsible for all of this." To keep from being ambiguous, I motioned out over the complex grounds, deserted for miles in all directions.

"I...can't. He would kill me for my insolence."

"Let me make this clear, sister. One way or another, I am going to tear this place apart. If I don't find someone to answer for the deaths that the genetic tampering have produced, then everyone present will be punished to the utmost degree of the law. I will see to that personally. If you consider the alternative of spending the considerable future in police custody, I'm sure that you will find plausible cause to tell me what I need to know.

"But he-"

"He will not lay a hand on you as long as I live. Now, sister, please tell me!"

The forcefulness in my words caused the woman to start crying. I sighed deeply; things were not going my way.

That's when I heard it. Off in the distance, the beating of a helicopter could be heard through the eerily silent day. Time was running out faster than I had expected. I turned back to the sobbing woman and grasped her by the shoulders, eliciting a further outcry. "You must tell me now or-"

"No!" she exclaimed, pushing herself from my grasp. "I would rather die!" I moved as fast as I could but I couldn't prevent the deluded woman from jumping headfirst off the roof. I jumped after her, pushing my powers to their pinnacle but yet as my hand reached her foot, her head reached the pavement and death descended instantly. I pulled up, striking the ground and rolling to a stop.

The severity of what had just happened overcame me but I pushed it out of my mind. The woman had been weak and had essentially taken the easy way out. Whoever this man in charge was, he was an experienced manipulator if he could coerce a woman to kill herself out of fear alone.

A spotlight overtook me and I looked into the sky to find that the helicopter had reached my position and was preparing to fire. Jumping to my feet, I brought my arms up just as the twin machine guns on the chopper began to spit out metallic death. I moved with the speed of Hermes, using my bracelets to reflect each and every bullet that came at me. As luck would have it, one of reflected bullets found its way into the helicopter's engine and the mass of metal caught on fire. I took off once more, moving against the clock, and crashed through the chopper's windshield. I grabbed both the pilot and the co-pilot, the only two in the transportation, and kicked the side panel door off its track, sending it to the desert ground yards beneath. With an extra four hundred pounds, I jumped out into the sky just as the helicopter exploded. I dodged the shrapnel as quickly and concisely as possible and made my way back toward the ground.

I checked the pulses of the pilot and his second-in-command and found them both steady enough to warrant delaying treatment for the time being. They had passed out from the shock of their near death experience and would most likely stay that way for the next couple of hours.

That’s when I heard another strange sound. It was like the roar of a wild animal, fierce and undaunted. It was a propulsion system kicking off and moments later I saw a plane pass into view. Someone was trying to make a fast get away. Something told me that my target was aboard that plane. I was flying through the air before the thought had completely passed my mind.

For a moment, I feared that the plane, gaining momentum quickly, would gain a lead, leaving me in the dust. That thought pushed me faster than I thought my body possible of going. I prayed to Hermes to give me that extra burst of speed. And as if in answer, I flew faster yet. I overtook the plane soon after.

Now the question was what to do. I could easily destroy the airplane but that would mean the deaths of those onboard. I needed the man responsible but was that a good enough reason to murder? Inevitably, I decided to go with the more peaceful approach. Moving into the jet stream of the airplane, I reached the exit hatch and ripped it off like a pop can tab. Slipping inside, the plane began to bank against the newfound turbulence.

The one in charge, as I would later find out he called himself, rose from his chair and pulled a gun on me. A triumvirate of bullets came toward me but I blocked them all. I grabbed for the man’s throat, lifting him from the ground. The one in charge struggled for breath, his face contorting in pain. And strangely, I found amusement from my display. This man had killed three that I knew of plus an unknown amount of others. He deserved to pay for what he had done-

The struggling had stopped. While in my thoughts, I hadn’t noticed that the one in charge had ceased breathing. In shock, I lost my grip and the body crashed to the ground. The gaunt acted as a catalyst for his heart to start beating again and the one in charge took in a deep breath. He rubbed his throat, which had become red and raw from my palms. I kicked the one in charge over so that he was looking up at me.

The fear was evident. “You sick bitch! How dare you-”

My boot struck across his jaw, sending spasms of pain throughout the body of the one in charge.

“What gives you the right?” I asked him. “What gives you the right to manipulate people to their deaths? What gives you the right to play God and tamper with the human genome, turning people into husks of what they once were? People are dead because of your decision to go ahead with the experimentation. How dare you-”

I was about to strike once more but I refrained. For the first time, I realized that my personal judgment was being marred by my personal beliefs. I cared for the memories of those that had died, but it wasn’t because of them that I fought today. With each punch and kick, I released more and more of the frustrations that had built up as a result of the realization that life had been snuffed out prematurely. These people - the two bodies that I had seen and the girl that had fought me until her death - would never have the opportunity to grow old and do the things that had been entitled to them.

I stood down, the one in charge still cowering beneath me. I asked him the question that I had been wanting to ask since my eyes first laid on him: “What do you have to say for yourself now? You’re going jail for the things that you have done. You have murdered more than I know. Now tell me- What do you have to say for yourself?”

When no response came, I found the lasso of truth wrapped around the one in charge with a simple flick of the wrist. “Don’t make me ask you again,” I said.

“My mother died of a genetic disorder,” he replied, the words pouring from his mouth. “At the time, it was incurable. Today, simple gene therapy could have saved her life. I became a philanthropist, hoping that I could work to make sure that no other little boys lost their mothers when they needed them the most. I didn’t, and still don’t, have the brains to do what the doctors at my disposal can do. But I can use the money that I’ve made and inherited to pay their salaries so that all their work becomes mine. It was only a matter of time before my selfless cause was misconstrued by the temptations of life. I came into contact with a government official from Pakistan who wanted me to make him a line of superior humans, gifted with powers on par to you, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the Justice League.”

“And you did? What happened to wanting to save the mothers of the world?”

“It was still my main goal, but I saw this as an opportunity to increase my funds to the point where no solution was outside my reach. I had the best of intentions, but greed and selfless conviction got in the way.”

I shook my head in disbelief. Was it possible that I felt the least bit of pity for this man who had just bared his soul to me under the power that had been given to me by Hestia herself? Without a word, I shook my head and remembered what this man’s contorted intentions had caused. “Your story will not soften your punishment?”

The one in charge had begun to cry. “I never expected it to.”

I recoiled the lasso. Watching intently, the one in charge, free of the lasso of truth, realized what he had said and clasped his hands over his mouth, wishing more than anything to reclaim his words. He appeared dejected, realizing that he had just confessed his truth to the Amazon Princess of the Justice League of America. He was going away for a long, long time.

I went about forcing the pilot to land the plane and, thanks to J’onn, the proper authorities met us upon landing outside London. The one in charge of the genetic tampering didn’t put up the least bit of a struggle. As the police car was driven away, I teleported up to the moon.

The Watchtower

“I need an update, J’onn,” I said the moment I stepped out of the teleporter. Once again, I found him in the Monitor Womb, surrounded by the news stories of the day. “Do I need to head back down to the genetics complex?”

“Negative,” the Martian Manhunter answered. “Superman, the Flash, and Green Lantern showed up just as you boarded the plane for London. They managed to round up all the outlying factors and turned the complex over the authorities.”

“Good. I’m done with this case.”

“You did good, Diana.”

I looked over my shoulder and smiled. “Thanks, J’onn, but why do I feel so horrible about everything that happened?”

“Without a telepathic search, I’m not properly able to-”

“I’m just asking your opinion, J’onn. Best guess.”

J’onn rose from his chair and floated over to the platform. “My best guess, Diana, is that you feel guilty for something that you had no control over. Those deaths were not your fault. You didn’t know what was going on. And, if it helps, look at it this way, if those three people wouldn’t have died, then you then would have found out that this organization was in existence. You would never have known and wouldn’t have put your life on the line to shut them down. More people would be dead.”

I thought it over and decided that he was right. Even if I didn’t fully believe, J’onn J’onzz was correct.

“What is going to happen to all the other test experiments that were down in that complex?”

“As near as I can tell, there is no cure. More than likely, they will die from the tampering just as their brothers and sisters did before them. I know that is not what you wanted to hear, Diana, but, being you, I’m sure you can respect the truth. But take comfort in the fact that nobody else will die because of that man and that organization.”

“Thank you, J’onn. You’ve helped ease my mind.” The Martian bowed ever so slightly before I turned back toward the teleporter bay. “I’m heading back to Gateway City if you need me. There’s still a lot that has to be done there.”

“Good luck, Diana. Oh, and a Detective d’Ellert sends his regards and his thanks.”

I couldn’t hide the smile as I teleported back down to earth.

Next Issue- In a special story called “Idol,” Diana meets one of her biggest fans. But what happens when tragedy strikes the Princess of Thymscira once again? After back-to-back challenges, will Wonder Woman be able to maintain her pacifist ways or will the inner Amazon break free and strike out across the world of man?