Themyscira

The water was cool against her flesh.  Submerging herself fully, a sigh of contentment escaped from between her lips.  Resting her head against the side of the bath, she felt her head begin to droop as the sleep that had been denied to her the past few nights began to creep upon her.  It was moving slow and deliberately, tantalizing her.

For just a moment, the dream world was upon her.  It was a dream that she was familiar with.

The world would be on fire.  Themyscira would be burning.  She would travel throughout the island of the Amazons, searching out anybody that she could find.  All she ever finds, however, would be the death and destruction that the Amazons had become familiar with in the past few months.  The trip from the shore to the Royal City would be done in the blink of an eye and she would find herself standing in the middle of a large, elaborate room.  It was her throne room.

As her eyes sweep over the spacious quarters, they would come to rest on the throne.  She would feel a great satisfaction in seeing her mother sitting upon the throne once again.  The feeling of contentment at this sight would then change to sorrow once she noticed the lifeless expression on Hippolyta’s face.  She did not need to see the sharp angle of her mother’s neck to know that she was dead again.

Tears would fall down her face at that point as she studied the body of dead mother.  It was not hard to deduce that Hippolyta was murdered.  That was when she would see it.  Not it.  Rather, herself.  She would stare at rendition of herself for a moment, their eyes locking. 

A large, robust figure would appear from over the shoulder of her counterpart.  He stalked forward, his stone gray skin being pulled taunt in a smile.  “She was so beautiful,” Darkseid would say, motioning to the deceased Hippolyta.  “It is a pity that I had to kill such a creature.”

Before the taunt was even completely finished being spoken, her counterpart was in action, throwing herself at the tyrant ruler of Apokolips.  She would watch as the battle took place.  Skin was broken and blood was shed.  But that was nothing too surprising for a seasoned warrior.

The ending always happened in the same way.  Darkseid would slip up in his attacks and her counterpart would take full advantage, pounding Darkseid over and over again.  Even when she would scream for her counterpart to stop, the barrage continued until Darkseid did not move.  Her counterpart would pull herself off the dead body and look back at her, blood dripping from her fist.

“You know you want to,” her counterpart would say with a seductive smirk.  That is when Diana of Themyscira would wake up, sweating profusely and breathing heavily.

Her eyes opening once more to the sunlight, Diana leaned forward in her bath and felt her body shake.  Ever since her confrontation with Phobia, she had doubted herself and her ethical views of peace.  Darkseid had been responsible for the destruction of Themyscira and the murders of countless Amazons.  He had gone as far as to kill her mother. 

Diana had been wronged in the past but she had never sought death before.  However now, though she tried her hardest to deny it, Diana wanted Darkseid dead.  The dreams, while shaking the queen to her core, also filled her with a slight sense of pleasure.  It was sickening and she resented herself for it.

Diana stood from her bath, the water cascading down her nude form.  She climbed out, reached for a towel, and began drying herself off.  The attempt to cleanse oneself inside and out with the use of water was displayed prominently in sacred texts and Diana had thought for a moment that the act would help her deal with her guilt.  She should not have been too surprised that her still felt dirty and unsatisfied.  After all, the Gods that she had believed in since the day of her creation had failed her.  Why not the teachings of a messiah?
 
Clad in her towel, Diana moved into her quarters.  Her robes had already been set out for her.  As she reached down, preparing to dress, there was a knock at the door.  Diana straightened and cleared her throat.  “Who is it?”
 
“It’s Helena,” the voice called from the other side of the door.  “Diana, I need to talk to you.  Can I come in?”

Helena Kosmatos.  Or the Fury depending on what mood she was in.  The woman had returned to Themyscira only recently after learning of the death of Hippolyta.  There had been some confusion that resulted in a battle between Kosmatos and Diana but everything had been worked out in the end.  Now, Helena lived on Themyscira once more, existing among the Amazons.

“Yes, come in,” Diana responded.

The door opened without a sound.  Helena passed into the room haphazardly as if she were limping about.  The woman looked tired like she hadn’t slept in weeks.  Her hair was in disarray and there were mud stains upon the robes that she was wearing.

“Are you alright, Helena?” Diana asked, immediately concerned.

She shook her head.  “I would love to say that I was but…”

“What’s going on?  You seem worried.”

Helena grasped Diana by her hand and pulled her close until they were inches apart.  “There is something strange happening on Themyscira.”

“Oh?” Diana asked after her arm was released.

“At least, I think it’s strange,” Helena responded.  She was now pacing back and forth in front of the queen, babbling.  “I mean, I’ve lived on Themyscira before so I know how people act and this was just… But I haven’t been here for a long time so maybe things have changed.  I just don’t—”

Diana grabbed her by the shoulders, holding her still.  “Take a deep breath.  I have never seen you like this before.”

A sharp intake of breath signified Helena’s surprise.  “It’s gotten to me too.”

Diana was starting to get anxious.  “What got you too?”

“I don’t know!”  Helena collapsed to the floor like a children in the midst of a tantrum.

Kneeling at her side, Diana helped the woman to a seated position.  “Explain to me what happened.  Take a breath and tell me why you’re acting this way.”

Shaking her head, Helena Kosmatos seemed completely incoherent.  She was muttering too softly for Diana to hear.  The queen felt her anger rising.  She reared back her palm and smacked Helena across the face.  While she was careful to use only a small portion of her god given strength, the slap left a hand print on Helena’s face.

The woman who was also the Fury was shocked at Diana’s attack.  “What--?”

“I need to know what’s happened, Helena,” Diana explained.  “Now!”

Helena was looking around as if she were seeing for the first time.  With help, she rose to her feet.  “I was walking around the island last night when I stumbled upon something that I should not have seen.  Your sisters… they were battling.”

“The Amazons spar all the time,” Diana responded.  She guided Helena to sit in a chair.  “It hones their skills as warriors should they ever need them.”

Helena tried to jump up from the chair but was held in place by the queen’s strength.  “This was not sparring, Diana.  A few of the Amazons killed another.”

Diana stopped.  “What are you saying?”

“Murder.  I saw a murder.”

“Where?”

“On the other end of the island, near the shore.  There were four of them ganging up on a fifth.  They beat and bloodied the poor woman before breaking her neck and throwing the body into the ocean.  I could barely believe my eyes.”

Diana turned away, her hand going to her mouth.  “It is possible you were mistaken?”

“I saw what I saw,” Helena responded.  “You can decide to trust me or not.”

The Amazon deemed the Wonder Woman didn’t know what to think.  This was insane.  The Amazons were a unified front, especially after recent tragedies.  Why would they murder anyone, much less one of their own?  There was also the question of Helena’s mental stability to take into account.  She had gone crazy before and seeing Helena in her current state didn’t help her case.  But, alas, Diana was at a loss for words.

“Helena, I—”

“You don’t believe me, do you?” the woman who was also Fury asked.  She rose to her feet, her body language now completely relaxed.  “I’ve told you what I saw.”

“Helena, it’s not that I don’t believe you.  These allegations are surprising and against the norm.  I need proof to believe that any of our sisters could do such a thing.”

“I’ve told you what I have seen,” Helena repeated.  “What you do with it is up to you.  But I no longer feel safe on Themyscira.”

And then, before Diana could respond, Helena walked out.  She said nothing.  But it was obvious that her fear had turned fully into a kind of severe disappointment.  The more Diana thought about it, she could not find a plausible reason to believe that Helena would lie about something like this.

There was another knock at the door.  Donna Troy stuck her head inside.  “You have to head to Massachusetts,” she said without a greeting.

“What?” Diana asked.  “Why?”

“We just received a message from the states.  It was for you.  Something’s happened.”

 

The Amazon Queen.....

Wonder Woman

Evidentiary Support
Wonder Woman #28 - March, Year Five
by Matt Hrubey

Boston, Massachusetts

The artificial lighting of the waiting room was beginning to hurt her eyes.  Diana shifted uncomfortably in her chair as she felt a headache building behind her eyes.  She attempted to rub away the tension but found that even her strength failed in such a maneuver.

The last eight hours had flown by in an instant, leaving her head spinning.  The message that Diana had received on Themyscira told of an attack on an old friend.  Besides the identity of the victim, the details were on the sparse side.  Diana had left Themyscira for the states almost immediately, flying under her own power to Massachusetts.  When she had arrived, she had been whisked to the hospital where she had been sitting for the last six hours.

It had taken a bit of work but Diana had finally found someone—a police officer—to fill her in on what had transpired.  It seemed that the police had received a call with a tip that there had been an attack at the Kapatelis home.

There were two special women in Diana’s life that possessed the last name of Kapatelis and it seemed that both of them were inside this hospital.  One was the victim of the attack; the other was up in the psychiatric ward after discovering the victim upon returning home.  Details were sketchy at best and Diana was waiting for anything or anyone that could give her more information.

There was a slight shuffle as the doors to the operating room opened out, revealing a doctor adorned in seafoam hospital scrubs.  He stripped off the face mask that he had been wearing.  His eyes scanned the waiting room for someone and came to rest upon Wonder Woman.

Diana rose to her feet as the doctor moved toward her.  “What happened, doctor?”

“I was informed that you are here on behalf of my patient, Julia Kapatelis.  Is that true?”

“Yes,” Diana replied.  Julia had been the victim of the attack.  Diana could barely think straight as the worst case scenario caused a tension to mount inside her chest.  “How is she?”

“The injuries that Mrs. Kapatelis came in with were extensive and severe.  We did everything that we could, but she just lost too much blood.  Her heart stopped before we could repair the damage done to her internal organs.  She’s dead, Wonder Woman.”

When the doctor would look back on this exchange later, he would decide that Diana took the news surprisingly well.  There was a brief tear shed but the Queen of the Amazons remained virtually unemotional.  The only words that she said from that point on were in the form of a question that Diana was insistent the doctor answer.

“Where is Vanessa Kapatelis?”


Wonder Woman found the younger Kapatelis upstairs in the psychiatric ward.  Vanessa’s doctor led Diana inside and motioned to a closed curtain.

“She’s in there,” the man said.  “I hope that you’ll be able to get something out of her because I can’t.  Since she was brought in with her mother’s body, Vanessa has just sat there.  She hasn’t said a word or eaten anything.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Diana replied.  As the doctor left the room, she moved toward the curtain and cautiously stepped through.

Diana immediately discovered that the caution was not necessary for what the doctor had said was true.  Vanessa lay in the fetal position atop her gurney, her knees pulled as far to her chest as they would go.  Her eyes were open and staring out the window, unblinking.  There was no reaction from the girl at Diana’s appearance.

The Amazon sat herself down in a chair next to the gurney.  She grasped Vanessa’s hand with her own and stared into the eyes of the girl that had once considered her a sister.  “Vanessa, can you hear me?  I need to know what happened to you and your mother.”

There was no response.

Diana could not fight back the tears as she stared at this poor girl who had just lost her mother.  The Kapatelis’ had taken Diana in when she had first come to Man’s World.  It was a lifetime ago, but Diana still held Julia and Vanessa in a dear place in her heart.  Now, this was happening, so short of time after Diana had lost her own mother.  The Gods were playing tricks on her.

The tears poured down Diana’s face as she hugged the younger woman.  “I’m so sorry that this happened to you, Vanessa.  I wish there was something I could do to make it all better.”

“There was… so much blood.”

The voice was small and shallow, but it distinctly came from Vanessa.  Diana pulled back and found that, though the eyes remained focused on the outdoors, Vanessa’s lips were moving.

“Vanessa?”

“So much blood,” Vanessa repeated before her body was wracked with sobbing.  Diana heard syllables and bits of words in the hysterics but they were not coherent.

Diana held Vanessa in her arms.  Her own crying was now mimicking the girl that she was holding.  The frustration and sorrow that Diana had felt over the loss of her own mother were returning with a vengeance.  Coupled with her mourning over the death of Julia Kapatelis, Diana felt a bloodlust building for Julia’s murderer.  It was a feeling she was becoming familiar with.

Over time, the crying ceased.  Vanessa fell back into a grief induced sleep as Diana attempted to calm herself down.  When it was clear that her task was virtually impossible, Diana placed Vanessa back on the gurney and headed for the door.

The doctor was waiting for her in the hallway.  He straightened up when Wonder Woman stepped back into the corridor.  “Anything?  Please tell me that you got her to say something.”

Diana nodded.  “She’s taking it hard, but that does not mean she is beyond help.  I know what it means to lose someone close.  Vanessa will be alright once her grieving is over.  Until then, we just have to wait and give her the comfort that she needs.”

“She needs to eat.”

“One thing at a time, doctor.  I’ll be back to see her in a few hours.  Until then, Vanessa needs to become acclimated to a world without her mother.  It’s not going to happen overnight.”

The doctor gave a quick nod.  “Understandable.  Where are you going to?”

Diana was already on her way out.  “Hunting.”


Themyscira

She pushed aside the brush and stepped onto the beach, the sand filling the space between her toes.  “I’m still not exactly sure what we’re doing here,” Donna Troy said as she took a few more steps toward the ocean.

“I thought Diana explained the situation to you,” the Archon Phillipus said at Donna’s back.  “Helena claims that she saw someone murdered at this spot.  We’re here to find the evidence to back up this claim.”

“And if we don’t?”

“Then I suppose she’s lying,” Phillipus replied with a mild shrug.  “I’m sure it won’t be the first time you’ve come face to face with a liar.”

“No, no, it won’t.”  Donna moved closer to the ocean, stopping only when the water seeped into the sand underneath her feet.  She shivered as her eyes scanned up and down the beach.  There was nothing in sight, but then again it would not be smart for a murderer—if there really was one—to leave the body out in the open.

Phillipus walked in the opposite direction, back into the brush she had come from.  If there was a body and it hadn’t already been washed away with the tide, it was possible that it was concealed away from prying eyes.  “Themyscira is based on peaceful ideals.  Who would murder in cold blood?”

“Do you really believe that Helena is telling the truth?” Donna asked, halting her search.  “It’s kind of farfetched, don’t you think?  The last time there was unrest between the Amazons was when Artemis defected from Hippolyta’s rule.  And that’s settled now.”

“I don’t want to rule anything out, especially after what’s happened recently.  Farfetched doesn’t mean impossible, Donna.”

Nodding her head, Donna replied, “You’re preaching to the choir.”  The search continued.  “Where is Helena while we’re doing this?”

“Diana confined her to her quarters until she returned from the mainland,” Phillipus responded.  “And if what the message said was true, it might be a long while before our queen returns.  I just hope that we aren’t caught unaware by our enemies again.”

Donna lifted up a fallen tree that was blocking her path.  She twisted at the hip and threw the tree out into the ocean.  “Diana still feels horrible for not being here when Themyscira needed her.  First, her mother dies while she’s in Olympus.  Then, we’re attacked by the United States while she’s on the mainland.  She’s actively been making a conscious effort to remain on the island as much as possible.  However, the Kapatelis’ were like family to her.”

Phillipus put up her hand.  “You don’t need to justify Diana’s actions to me, Donna.  I’m merely making conversation.”  There was a glint of sunlight out of the corner of her eye.  She moved toward it.

She knelt down, her arms reaching into the brush for the cause of the glint.  What she pulled back made her blood freeze.  “Donna!”

The former Titan was at the Archon’s side in moments.  “What is it?” Donna asked, studying the artifact that had been uncovered.

“An Amazonian spear,” Phillipus informed.  She pointed to the tip of the weapon.  “Look at the blood.  It’s still fresh.”

“How can you tell from just looking at it?”

“Experience,” Phillipus said, deadpanned.  “Someone was attacked in this area.  It certainly fits what Helena was saying.  The question now is what we do.”

Donna didn’t get a chance to respond.

The ground had already begun to rumble.


Boston

Diana had waited until night to search the scene of the crime.  It had been the logical choice as the place had been swarming with police officers and forensic experts until well after the dinner hour.  She stepped up to the front door and found herself blocked by crisscrossing strips of yellow tape telling her not to enter.  Diana ripped them down without a second thought and placed her hand on the doorknob.  Pushing it open, she felt the breath catch in her throat.

There was blood everywhere, coating the walls in patterned designs.  There was a hefty puddle of dried blood staining the middle of the carpet in the living room.  Diana moved into the room, taking care to close the door behind her.  The last thing she wanted was some onlooker getting suspicious because a sealed crime scene was not so sealed anymore.

Whoever had attacked Julia did so carelessly, without a thought to covering up their actions.  From the angles of the blood splatters, Julia had tried to run but didn’t get very far.  She had been chased like a wounded animal.  Based off preliminary assumptions, Diana could name a few people who could have been responsible for the murder.  However, Diana was not a detective.  It would have been easy for her to miss something.

That was why she brought back up.

“What kept you?”

“I wanted to make sure the place was empty,” Diana said, turning to face the shadowed figure that had spoken.  “Unlike some people, I have a public identity to maintain.  It would not be good for me to be seen breaking into a crime scene.  People are becoming weary of me as it is.  And I don’t even want to contemplate the effect me being caught would have on relations with Themyscira.”

“Well, in the time it took you to be cautious, I’ve had an opportunity to search the house,” the Batman replied.  He took a few steps toward Diana, walking into the path of the moonlight streaming in through the windows.  “The signs of violence are isolated to this room.”

“It looks like Julia was attacked by a wild animal.  Maybe more than one.”

The Batman shook his head.  “Only one.  And as for the perpetrator’s identity, you may not be that far off.  I found a strand of hair on the couch.  Whoever murdered Julia Kapatelis was not trying to cover it up.”

“You know who it is?” Diana asked, her eyebrows raised.

The Batman could see a fire in Diana’s eyes.  She wanted—no, she needed—to know who was responsible for the murder.  “I won’t know for sure until run a DNA test, but I have a guess.”

Diana looked ready to fight the Dark Knight for the answer.  “Who?”

“I want you to understand that your friend’s murder might have been a strike against you.”

“Who is it, Bruce?”

“I can’t tell you a specific identity as I said, but I can tell you that this hair came from a feline,” the protector of Gotham said.  “Now, tell me, Diana…can you name a feline that would have a vendetta against you?”

Diana looked down at her hands and found them in fists.  Her knuckles were white from tension.  She took a deep breath, trying to calm her accelerating heartbeat.  “Thank you for coming, Bruce.  It means a lot.”

She started to leave but a gloved hand wrapped her wrist, causing her to pause.  Diana turned and found the eyes of Bruce Wayne staring at her.  His cowl was pushed back, revealing his stunning looks and chiseled jaw line.  “Don’t act irrationally.  Believe me when I say that I know what you’re feeling.  After Jason was killed, I wanted nothing more than to murder the Joker.  It was hard, but I abstained.  You’re a better person than me, Diana.  Think about it.”

Cowl back in place, the Batman moved back into the shadows.

Wonder Woman stood still for a moment, thinking over the words of her friend.  She remembered the days following the death of Jason Todd.  The Batman had been angry and irritable, lashing out at everyone around him.  Bruce had wanted to kill, but as he said, he stopped himself and has done so on many occasions.

Diana found herself at a crossroads.  What should she do?  Julia had been murdered to send Diana a message.  Life had been extinguished by a face of evil.  There had to be justice.  There had to be reciprocity.

Wonder Woman headed outside.  She had to find the Cheetah.


Themyscira

Donna paused.  “Do you feel that?”

The shaking was getting progressively more violent.

“An earthquake?” Phillipus asked.  She braced herself after nearly getting thrown off her feet.

“Not here,” Donna responded.  “At least, there shouldn’t be.  There aren’t any fault lines in the area.  This is something different.”  She looked to the Archon and saw that her eyes had grown to twice their normal size.  Following her gaze, Donna turned and saw the earth rising up to meet her.  “What the hell?”

A tendril of dirt was swinging back and forth in front of the two Amazons.  Their eyes followed it as if being hypnotized.  The tendril moved slowly and erratically as if gauging the two women.

“It’s magic!” Phillipus exclaimed.  “What is causing this?”

“Let’s worry about surviving first,” Donna responded.  As if on cue, the tendril attacked, whipping around to swipe her aside.  Bracing herself, the tendril connected and shattered atop the bracelets adorning Donna’s wrists.  The earth crumbled and skittered back to the ground, lifeless and mutilated.  “Run!”

The Archon heeded the call and broke out into a sprint back toward the Royal City.  Donna, in the air, was right on her heels.  Neither got very far.

As she ran, Phillipus noticed dirt hands coming up out of the earth, reaching for her.  She picked up speed but inevitably, she felt one of the hands wrap around her ankle.  It shattered from the momentum with which Phillipus was moving, but it was enough to trip up her step.  The Archon hit the ground hard and rolled to a stop.

“Phillipus!”

The Archon heard Donna but didn’t respond.  The hands were now wrapping around the entirety of her body, pulling her down against the earth.  The armor she was wearing afforded some protection but her air stream was cut off instantly when one the hands found its way around her throat.  Attempts to shout for help failed.

Seeing the act in progress, Donna cut off from her flight path and made a beeline for Phillipus.  If she could get the woman free, they could fly back to the capital and summon Wonder Woman home.  She had just about reached the Archon when the ground rose up, creating a wall between the two women.  Donna tried to pull up at the last moment, but ended up face planting into the risen earth.

The wall flattened back to normal revealing to Phillipus a prone and unconscious Donna Troy.  The Archon saw her vision begin to darken.  She scratched at the dirt hand around her throat but the density of the appendage kept it completely in tact.

Just as the darkness took over, Phillipus saw a foot stop next to her head.  She heard laughter and tried to look up and see who was responsible.  Her eyes only got as far as the kneecap before she blacked out.

The person who had attacked the Amazons stood triumphant.  “Themyscira is mine.”


The Watchtower

“I’m looking for someone and I need your help,” Diana explained to the trio sitting before her.  “Her name is Barbara Minerva.  She is a murderer and a psychopath.”

“The Cheetah?” J’onn J’onnz asked.  His hands were lying intertwined on the round table before him.  “I thought that she was imprisoned.”

“I thought that as well,” Wonder Woman replied.  “That is, until I traveled to see her and found that she had escaped and nobody said anything.  I should have been alerted immediately.  With our past, it was only logical that Minerva would strike out against me again.  Unfortunately, this time someone else paid the price.  Someone I hold dear to my heart.”

Beatriz DaCosta flicked an emerald strand of hair out of her eyes.  “Do you have any idea where she might be found?”

“None.  I came here hoping that J’onn could use his telepathy to scan for her brainwaves.”

“It’s a daunting task you put before me, Diana,” the Martian from Mars responded.  “Without restricted parameters for her location, Barbara Minerva may be nearly impossible to find until she shows herself again.”

“Please, J’onn.  I don’t know where else to go.”

For the first time since she had arrived, J’onn saw weakness in Diana.  She was running on fumes, her anger over her friend’s death pushing her to the point of extreme exhaustion.  She was desperate and one could tell as much from the tone of her voice.  J’onn felt a pity for the Amazon Queen that he had never felt before in his life.  “I will do my best, but searching the entire planet is going to take time.”

Diana felt her body sag.  “Thank you, J’onn.”

“Until then, I recommend that you get some sleep.  You need it, Diana, as much as you think otherwise.  Hawkman, can you take Diana to one of the guest rooms?”

The reincarnated warrior rose to his feet.  His wings were tucked at his back.

“I’m fine, J’onn,” Wonder Woman responded.  “Besides, I have to return to Themyscira.  I left a matter behind that needs my attention.”

The Martian Manhunter rose.  “Themyscira can do without you for a couple more hours.  You need to sleep.”

As J’onn said the words, Diana felt a weariness overcome her body.  Her body felt heavy, almost to the point that she couldn’t support herself.  An unwelcome darkness grabbed Diana and pulled her downward.  Her last conscious thought was that J’onn was responsible for this somehow.

Hawkman hefted the body of Wonder Woman into his arms.  “You know she’s not going to be happy about this when she wakes up.”

“I will deal with the circumstances as they come,” J’onn responded.  “She needs sleep whether she agrees or not.”

After Hawkman had departed, J’onn voiced a great sigh.

“Are you alright?” Fire asked, resting a hand on his shoulder.

“I have an overwhelming task before me,” J’onn responded.  “One that I’m not looking forward too.”

“Can you really find the Cheetah?  There’s over a billion people on earth.”

J’onn shrugged.  “I hope so.  Because if I can’t, Diana will go to the ends of the earth to do it herself.”

Next issue:  Wonder Woman continues the search for the Cheetah, but she might not like the answer that she finds.  Meanwhile, life in Gateway City is not what it seems for Cassandra Sandsmark.

Story © 2007 Matt Hrubey and may not be reproduced without permission.