JLU 2001 Fanfiction - Wonder Woman #20

Olympus

She couldn’t find the will to move. The woman standing before her looked no different than the last time they had spoken, not so long ago. Her red, flowing locks fell down her back, wrapping around her legs as if possessing independent thought. She stood, her hands on her hips, her eyes staring a hole through the Amazon princess. Her name was uttered like a whisper—

“Artemis…”

The tears on Diana’s face turned to anger as she spun toward Hestia, the goddess responsible for the scene playing out at that moment. “What is the meaning of this? How dare you defile the memory of an Amazon sister?!”

“Diana, it is only logical that—“

“Damn your logic, vile goddess! You do not bring a fallen warrior into this pathetic excuse for a power trip. You can manipulate me to your heart’s content, but this…this is inexcusable!”

Hestia refused to back down. She stuck her finger into Diana’s face, wagging it as she spoke. “Regardless of your personal beliefs, princess, the challenge has been set. Artemis has given her consent for this battle. If you refuse to participate, it will be considered a forfeit and we will continue with the competition.”

Wonder Woman spoke so softly that hardly anyone could hear her. “How can you do this?”

“Look at it from her perspective,” Artemis spoke up, motioning to Hestia. The words sent a chill down Diana’s back, causing her to shiver involuntarily. “I defeated you fair and square in the contest to be named Wonder Woman. You retook my title only after I was killed. If you want to possess the lasso, and the respect you deserve as the ambassador of Themyscira, then you must beat me…your better.”

The words were chosen purposely for their bitterness. Artemis was trying to goad her into a fight. It was the only conversation that the dead Amazon understood. Artemis took up a fighting stance. “Bring it on, princess! I defeated you once.”

“Artemis, you’re being used.”

“I’m not complaining,” Artemis muttered, taking a step forward. “Neither should you.”

“If that’s the way you prefer it.“

Diana took a step back, putting all of her weight on her back leg. She motioned Artemis forward.

Hestia looked to each combatant, their attentions totally and completely on each other. Though it was not necessary, Hestia spoke a single word—

“Begin!”

The Amazon Princess.....

Wonder Woman

'REGAINING GLORY'

Conclusion:

SELF!

Wonder Woman #20 - April, Year Four

by Matt Hrubey

Before any actions could be taken, Diana linked eyes with Artemis.

I can still see her face as she died.

She had barely taken over the role as Wonder Woman before I found myself at her side, battling to protect the world.

Artemis fought like the natural born warrior that she was. But, in the end, even her skills as an Amazon were not enough.

She died, her head in my hands, her blood on my fingers.

I removed the body from the scene, taking it home to Themyscira. There, Artemis was given the burial that she deserved.

She had moved on to the next world. The mourning period had ended and life went on.

I went on living until Hestia decided to rip off the bandage of an old wound. I want nothing more than to beat the goddess until her blood stains my fists.

But that would accomplish nothing.

Like it or not, Hestia still holds all of the cards.

If I want to beat her, I need to beat Artemis. We’ve fought before so I’m used to her skills.

For the first time that I can remember, I don’t have Gods backing me. Instead, they are the spectators to what could become my downfall. There is no sure thing at a time like this.

I am Wonder Woman.

Artemis was Wonder Woman.

Whatever happens now, the better woman will have won.

And then, in the home of the Gods, the two warrior women clashed like titans.

Before she could even blink, Diana saw Artemis withdraw an arrow from the quiver strapped to her back. Lunging forward, Diana brought her hands up just as the arrow was set on the bow and fired. The shaft collided with the indestructible bracelets adorning each of Diana’s wrists, shattering as if the arrow had struck a brick wall.

“You’re as fast as I remember,” Diana muttered, fisting the bow and twisting it out of Artemis’ grip. The current Wonder Woman threw the bow over her shoulder and elbowed Artemis in the side of the head.

The red head slinked away, recovering quickly. “You too,” she replied to Diana’s previous comment. Artemis ran forward, jumping from the ground and clearing Diana’s head by a good half a meter. She landed in a crouch, sweeping out her foot. Unprepared for such swiftness, Diana’s legs were kicked out from under her and she landed on her back, parallel to Artemis’ body.

They each flipped back up to their feet and squared off once more.

“Is that all you have?” Artemis asked, breathing a bit heavier than normal. “And you want to be a defender of the people? Pathetic!”

“Not want, Artemis. I am!”

Diana spun with the gracefulness of a ballerina, twirling a full circle and extending her leg outward. It swept across the face of Artemis, heel connecting with flesh and bone. Artemis was felled, blood oozing from a busted lip. Artemis sat up, rubbing the blood from her mouth. It smeared on her finger and her lips curled into a sneer.

“You’re going to pay for that one.” Artemis rose to her feet—

“Actions speak louder than words, sister, and right now, you’re tremendously silent.”

Artemis extracted a knife from her belt and, with a battle cry, ran forward.

The sound of metal on metal filled the battlefield.

“Events are reaching a climax on Earth,” Athena spoke into the ear of her sister, Artemis. Her concentration was split between Olympus and Earth, glimpsing the unfolding measures on each side of the realm barrier. “Diana is needed. We should send her in before Themyscira is completely destroyed.”

“It’s too late,” Artemis replied in but a whisper. “She has come this far already. The contest is nearly at its completion. We must wait and see it through.”

“But—”

“We must wait and see it through,” Artemis repeated. “Diana has reached the point of no return.”

The movement was faster than the eye could see. For every slash and stab, Diana was a step ahead, blocking the attack with her bracelets. Sparks hovered in the air, dying out as they floated to the ground. The Amazons fought through the cloud of flame, paying it no mind. A growl erupted from Artemis’ throat and it grew louder with each failed attack. It wasn’t long before the growl had transformed into a full-blown scream.

“Fall!” Artemis exclaimed, slashing like a mad woman. It would get her nowhere.

“Not today!” Diana replied, her bracelets blocking yet another knife thrust. “And most definitely not by YOU!”

The palm thrust broke through the barrage of attacks and blocks, striking Artemis just below the rib cage. Artemis was lifted off her feet for a single moment before she fell down to her knees, vomited blood spilling from her mouth. The knife clattered to the floor and Diana kicked it out of reach.

She turned to Hestia and the bank of Gods watching from the sidelines. “Is this what you all wanted?!”

No one said a word.

Diana stepped up to Hestia, sticking her finger in her face and moving it in a clockwise circle until landing upon the heaving form of Artemis. “To prove my worth, I have to defeat her? Artemis is already dead! She’s already been defeated! This battle is a mockery of the Amazons!”

“Beggars can’t be choosers, princess,” Hestia responded. “You want the lasso, you will do what I say to the letter. If not, you will fail and forever be seen as a loser to those that you have sworn to protect.”

“You’re a selfish, vindictive—”

“You need to stop worrying about me, Diana, and start worrying about the woman you left alone to recuperate.”

Diana spun a moment too late. Spearing her at the waist, Artemis lifted Diana off her feet and ran forward until they collided with the wall. The structure of the Gods had no chance of holding up against the fury of the Amazons. The women fell through the wall, discovering that the ground was some stories down. The air streamed past their bodies as they fell.

“This is your chance, Diana,” Artemis screamed as she fell. “I’m beaten. You can fly. I can’t.”

And Diana did just that. She floated upon the air currents, halting her momentum. Her hand flashed out, grabbing Artemis by the wrist. The vertical movement ended immediately. Artemis winced as she felt her shoulder pop out of its socket.

Together, the two Wonder Women drifted motionless.

“What are you doing?” Artemis demanded to know. She searched the ground down below, recognizing that a fall would more than likely kill her.

“It’s called saving you, sister. Being dead has apparently stunted your competence.”

“No, it’s your humility that has stunted yours. You had this competition won. I’m already dead you said it yourself. Whatever happens to me here is not going to affect my existence in the Afterlife.”

“Artemis, we are sisters, we are…”

“Enemies, Diana. In this moment, we are enemies.”

Diana felt Artemis begin to squirm and tightened her grip. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“It’s over, Diana.”

Artemis swung her other hand up. Her nails dug into the flesh on Diana’s hand. The princess winced and tried to maintain her grip.

“Artemis, no!”

Blood trickled from the wounds that originated of Artemis’ nails. She dug in as fiercely as her Amazon strength would allow. And Artemis ripped off all the flesh that she could get a hold of. It was solely coincidence that the hand was the same that had been mangled by Annihilus. The combination of the wound that had barely healed and the tortured being induced by Artemis wreaked havoc on Diana’s reflex arc, causing her grip to loosen enough that Artemis fell.

“No!”

Diana flew down after the former Wonder Woman…

She reached out, getting closer with each moment…

But it was too late.

Diana pulled up before she struck the ground herself and levitated back up to the hole in the wall. Her eyes were on the splayed body of Artemis as the sight appeared farther and farther away.

There was nothing she could she have done. Artemis had made her own choice.

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, Diana stood before Hestia, her head lowered—

“It’s over.”

Later

Diana handed over the pouch, the contents of which were the remains of the original Lasso of Truth. The pouch had never left Wonder Woman’s sight since the moment she had stepped foot into Olympus. Releasing it now was strange and hesitation accompanied Diana’s discharge of her possession.

“As per the agreement,” Hestia said, claiming the pouch, “the lasso will be repaired, good as new and you will be returned to Themyscira. Congratulations.”

Diana looked away, not saying a word.

“I was cheering for you the entire time, regardless of what you believe,” the goddess continued. “I did not do all of this to simply spite you, Diana. You have had many wonderful years of service to the Patriarch’s World and to Themyscira, but I was worried that you were outgrowing your role. I was wondering if, perhaps…maybe being a heroine is simply not enough for you anymore. I had to make sure that you wanted this.”

“And murdering a dead sister was the way to prove it?”

“Artemis is the only woman to have beaten you fair and square in a contest. It seemed only natural for her to be involved.”

“Artemis is dead.”

“Death and life are abstract terms when it comes to being a God, Diana. They mean nothing.”

Diana shook her head. “If you would repair the lasso, I would like to be on my way as soon as possible.”

“Of course,” Hestia responded, taking the pouch and moving to an adjacent room.

While she waited, Diana moved over to the wall that the hole had been blown in during battle. It had long since repaired itself, as was the way of Olympus. She ran her hand along the missing scar and felt her heart beat faster. It brought a pain to her chest to think of Artemis, dead once more. Diana moved along the wall to a window that displayed the view all the way down to the gardens below. The spot where Artemis’ body had fallen was vacant.

In reality, it had not been the real form of Artemis, but rather a symbolic representation. What Diana had seen as flesh and blood had not been authentic. The soul had been Artemis, there was no replicating that, but the body had been a thing of clay…almost like herself.

A soft golden glow settled in the corner of Diana’s eyes. She turned, noticing that the color was coming from the room that Hestia had gone into. Diana moved across the room she was currently in and poked her head through the door, watching a reconstruction in progress.

At Hestia’s touch, the remains of the lasso, which had been spilled out into plain view, began to glow golden. That was where the color had come from. Diana looked on as the lasso began to weave itself back into one piece. It appeared as if a bunch of snakes were moving about independently. The sight reminded Diana of the head of Medusa.

“The process is almost complete,” Hestia said, speaking over her shoulder though she never looked. “It’ll be a few more moments before you are sent home.”

Diana pulled her head back and looked at the space around her. Olympus was beautiful, but all she wanted was paradise.

Later Still

Wonder Woman held the lasso in her hands. She smiled at the reassurance the golden luminescence of the lasso gave her. Hitching the lasso in place on her belt, Diana turned toward the unwitting stares of the Gods and Goddesses that she had worshipped since the moment she had been created. However, now they didn’t look as rich and full of light as they had before this ordeal started.

Her perceptions had changed greatly.

As Diana explored the faces of those that had given birth to her, she realized there was something amiss. None of the Gods could look her square in the face. It seemed that they were hiding something.

Hestia stepped forward. “Diana, we want to offer our congratulations once more to you for being victorious. However, before we send you back, you must be owed an apology.”

“For what?”

“You’ll see,” she replied, a tear in her eye. “Oh, Diana, I’m so sorry.”

Next: Aftermath

Next Issue- A new chapter begins in the life of the Amazon Princess as she comes to grips with the repercussions of DARK GENESIS!