Beyond Smallville: Amazons
PG –13 – Violence & Controversy, but nothing that you wouldn't see in an average episode of Smallville, or a WB cartoon.
Pairing – none – A mixture of new and familiar characters.
Disclaimer: I own no rights to DC Comics or Smallville property. The opinions expressed by the characters in the story may not reflect those of DC Comics or Smallville.
Episode 1 – Amazons
The scene opens as three scantily clad young women are running along a white, sandy, beach. They are silhouetted against the backdrop of a lush, green, tropical multi-leveled island. As the girls enter the hazy sunlight, their appearance becomes clear.
The woman in the lead is dressed in a thigh high, loose fitting, white tunic. She is barefoot, and pads gracefully along the well-worn pathway. The other two jog behind her, and are wearing revealing brownish green, two-piece outfits, which bare their midriffs.
Strapped across their backs are their antique weaponry; silver crossbows with golden tipped arrows in a quiver. Each girl has twin formidable looking daggers within easy reach, bound to their thighs, and placed in brown and black leather sheaths.
The lead runner sports lengthy, flowing, raven black hair, topped by a simply crafted, thin golden tiara. Her friends, a blonde and brunette wear no adornments and cheerfully now run alongside her, trying to keep up a steady pace.
"Ephiny! You run like a three legged deer!" The lead runner criticized. "Just wait, Diana! After you bear some children, how fast will you run?" Ephiny retorted, cracking the third girl up. "That's right! Diana has reached the age of consent! She may take a mate as soon as this season!"
"Not really my highest priority, Amarice!" Diana said as she vaulted elegantly over a fallen tree trunk. "Your mother, the Queen, may have different ideas! As the only daughter, your responsibility is to continue the royal lineage." Ephiny joked.
"The truth be told, mother and I rarely see eye to eye." Diana confessed. "You may not repeat that, under penalty of death!" She added half seriously. "Understood, my Princess!" Amarice responded sourly. "Agreed!" Ephiny continued. "Your word is your bond."
Suddenly Diana slowed, jogging just outside of the beaten path. "Princess? Do you tire?" Amarice asked with concern. "Hardly, my sisters!" She peered into the heavy foliage. "Something's not right here. Draw your weapons!" Diana ordered.
Amarice and Ephiny complied. Amarice snapped her crossbow into place, positioning an arrow from her quiver against the band. Ephiny pulled both daggers from their sheaths simultaneously, waving them menacingly before her, as the girls slowed to a stop and began prey-stalking mode.
Diana drew her daggers as well, and their golden hilts reflected the dim sunlight. She stealthily climbed a grassy ridge parallel to the others. "These leaves have been disturbed, and the branches broken." She pointed to the frayed foliage strewn across their path with one dagger.
"We are not alone, my sisters!" Diana warned. "Beware!"
Since she was a little girl, Diana had possessed an almost supernatural set of abilities. All of the Amazons respected that, and believed that she was truly sent to them by the gods. Queen Hippolita had boasted that Diana possessed the wisdom of Athena, fleet-footedness of Hermes, and vicious fighting ability worthy of Ares.
Suddenly the ground opened up beneath their feet. Two horrid looking creatures popped up from the ground and attempted to nab the startled girls. Their skin was blackened, and dry, their limbs barely more than charcoal colored bones, and their eyes were blank and bright red.
They carried no weapons, but their stench was unmistakable. Dark flesh seemed to droop off their corroded ligaments. "Hera! Protect us!" Diana shouted as she stabbed one creature in its heart. It didn't die, just moaned and wobbled slightly.
Amarice fired one golden tipped arrow into the heart of the second creature, and it merely fell backwards, again not dying. "What are these things, Diana?" Ephiny shrieked as she stabbed the first creature in its throat. The dagger simply went through it to the other side.
"I'm not sure!" Diana replied as she viciously stabbed and slashed the first creature. Parts of its blackened body fell off, but still it groped at them. "Protect the Princess!" Amarice ordered, firing a second arrow into a creature's head. "We must warn the others!" Diana yelled.
"These creatures just won't die!" Ephiny shouted, as her mind drifted back to the Amazon village and her two young daughters. Amarice fired another arrow into the eye of the second assailant. It wavered off the path, but still it came. "That can mean only one thing, my sisters!" Diana somersaulted above the creatures, and slashed at their backs. "We are fighting the undead!"
"You're right, my princess!" Ephiny screamed as she slashed and hacked one creature's leg off. It fell to the side, but began to crawl towards them. "We must seek counsel from Shamaness Shari, and your mother!" Diana bounded off a nearby tree, driving both daggers into the shoulders of the zombie from above, nearly decapitating it. "Retreat!" Diana called.
"Go!" Amarice suggested. "Go Diana! Inform the others. You are the fastest of all of us!" Diana shook her head. "No! I will not leave you behind, my sisters!" She yelled bravely. "Today is not a good day to die! We will not perish beneath the boots of the undead!"
The girls turned tail and fled back the way they came. Luckily, no more of the undead appeared. A few agonizing moments later, the young warriors returned to the Amazon main village, which housed the Temple of Hera, where Queen Hippolita and Diana lived.
The largest population of Amazons on Themyscira were located beneath the temple which was built into the side of a large hill. The village was named Artemis after the Greek God of the Hunt. "Mother! We must consult with our Shamaness!" Diana shouted as she vaulted up the stone steps of the temple three at a time. "By the gods, Diana! What happened?" Queen Hippolita asked.
"It is unbelievable!" Diana said frantically. "The undead have risen to attack us!" Her panic stricken voice carried all over the suddenly silent Amazon village. "Slow down, child!" Hippolita said as she beckoned Diana to follow her up the temple steps.
"Has Hades returned to torment us?" Diana asked as Amarice and Ephiny followed them at a respectful distance. "Hades hasn't been seen nor heard from in eons, my child. None of the ancient gods have. The undead? Are you sure?" Hippolita said in a calming voice.
"She speaks truth my Queen." Ephiny bowed respectfully placing her hand over her right breast. "The undead took three shots of my crossbow and it barely slowed them down." Amarice added, after mimicking Ephiny's gesture. "I slashed them with all of my might, and still they came." Diana completed their report as the Queen's complexion turned to ashen white.
"Very well." Hippolita said. "Ephiny and Amarice, return to your loved ones and the rest of our sisters and inform them. We will consult Shamaness Shari." Hippolita directed. The other girls turned on their heel and left, as Diana and Hippolita entered the temple's inner chambers.
From Metropolis, 2010 - back in Smallville:
Earlier, Kara and Clark had dropped off Rachel and Danica in a wild, unindustrialized area near Smallville, away from any potential conflicts with the locals. "How are you two getting home?" Clark asked the rowdy Amazons. "We shall pray to Hera to reveal the answers to us." Danica stalled.
"Or we can just grab a train, bus, and airplane to Thrace." Rachel offered. Clearly, she had spent a good amount of time in Man's World, Danica thought sourly. "Thrace?" Kara echoed. "Yes, it's actually known on your maps as a part of Turkish Bulgaria." Rachel responded.
"We refer to that region as the domicile of the Northern Amazon Tribes." Danica corrected. "Great." Clark was at a loss as to what to do with the foreign visitors. "Kara, could you…" The young beauty scowled at her cousin. "Could I fly the girls back to Thrace?" She finished for him.
"Yeah. I'd really appreciate that." Clark tried to smooth things over with his super powered cousin. "You know Kal, you have to take that first flight sometime. I know that you can do it." Kara encouraged. "I know. I feel like I'm getting close." Clark defended lamely.
"Why is it that you two can fly like the Gods of ancient Greece?" Rachel asked the obvious question. "Can everyone in Man's World fly?" Danica grilled. "No, just me." Kara beamed. "Clark can move fast, but I haven't really seen him defy gravity." She added.
"So your cousin possesses the speed of Hermes?" Danica continued to probe. "I guess. I'm not really up on Greek Mythology." Kara defended. "Whatever! Ready ladies?" She urged. Kara grabbed the women by their waists, and flew off towards Europe.
Clark watched them go, envying his cousin's flight ability. By now, Lois was ringing his cell phone, but he thought that this whole Amazon thing needed further study. Perhaps Kara would provide some answers, he mused hopefully. For now, he'd have to return and face Lois.
Kara dove toward the Black Sea, which ringed Thrace, and landed on the beach near a fishing village, under the cover of darkness. "By the Gods!" Rachel praised. "Kara, you fly faster than any bird that I've ever seen." The alien beauty shrugged. "It's a gift." She joshed.
Danica's complexion seemed a bit green. The high-speed jaunt must have made the tough young Amazon queasy. "If we were meant to fly, Hera would've provided wings." She said tiredly.
"Can you girls find your way home from here?" Kara questioned. "I believe so." Rachel said politely. "Kara, why don't you come with us?" Danica gave her warrior sister a scathing look.
"You know that it is forbidden for the outsiders to set foot on Themyscira." She reminded sternly. "Not that Queen Hippolita's rules make any difference to you." Rachel growled. "Once again you fail to see the bigger picture, my sister." She added conspiratorially.
"Do you not see that Kara would be a formidable ally?" Rachel berated the other girl. "Now, listen, I already have friends and allies back in America." Kara stated. The super girl from Krypton's latent curiosity had already been aroused.
"Can you at least meet our queen?" Rachel pleaded. "Sister! I warned you…" Danica began before Rachel cut her off. "Yeah, yeah, yeah! Kara is my friend, and I will invite her!" The girls were starting to become aggressive again. "I don't want to cause any trouble!" Kara put her hands up in resignation. "Fine! Then you do so at your own peril!" Danica snapped in frustration.
"So be it!" Rachel countered. "Kara Zor El, would you do me the honor of meeting our queen?" Kara was caught between an Amazon rock and a hard place. She didn't want to offend Rachel, but Kal was expecting her to come right back to Metropolis after dropping the girls off.
"Just for a little while." Kara finally agreed diplomatically. "Fly us there like the wings of an eagle." Rachel urged. "I've had enough flying for today, my sister." Danica protested. "I will join you after I contact Mira, our transport from Thrace to Themyscira."
"You'll travel much slower by ship, sister." Rachel prodded. "Yes I will. Be warned, Rachel, you still face the Queen's wrath for disobedience." Danica challenged. "So then I will face my punishment like a true warrior." Rachel ended the conversation by placing her hand over her right breast, a gesture of respect. "Can we go now, Kara Zor El?"
"Sure." Kara picked Rachel up and threw her over her shoulder, vaulting high into the sky. Danica watched with wonder. It is truly like the gods have returned, she mused, as Kara and Rachel became a dot on the horizon.
"Where are we going?" Kara shouted over the din of the rushing air. "My home is not far from here. Head toward the setting sun." Rachel said, thrilled with the exhilarating air travel. Moments later, a foggy mist enveloped them. It seemed to come out of nowhere.
"I can still see, but what exactly am I looking for?" Kara asked Rachel. "There!" Rachel pointed to a lush tropical island located at the center of the fog bank. "Themyscira! Though the newer Amazons call it Paradise Island." Kara dove into the middle of some kind of conflict.