War on Terror
Volume 1
A Wonder Woman Series
Wonder Woman:
Helmand Province; Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
2003
It had pissed me off to no end that I hadn't been able to prevent nine eleven. I should have known better. The evil bastards had tried it in 93 as well. We didn't learn; I didn't learn. I could be critical of America; but America did more right than wrong in my view. It was most of the world that didn't get it; and the nation/world needed someone like me to stand between the wolves and sheep in order to make things right. I was working with the ISAF to take out terrorists in the southern Stan. This place was filled with opium poppy fields that jihadists were using to fund their terror operations. My mission on America's behalf was to turn this crap to ash - by any means necessary. With the Iraq invasion underway western forces would focus their attention more there. I wasn't for playing world policeman but we needed to fight the enemies of freedom wherever they thrived and festered. Jihadists were the cancer; I was the chemo.
I presently descended into a nighttime valley bordered by tall imposing mountains from all sides. The guys hated being surrounded by sights like this; for it always meant trouble. I didn't blame them one bit. If I were mortal I'd feel the same way. The jihadist enemy were masters of this environment. No outsider had ever truly conquered or otherwise seriously influenced the Afghans. That would likely always be that way. I admired the Afghans, although I did not like Islam at all; it was a totalitarian death cult in my view. But the equal truth was that the best way to reach the Afghans and truly liberate them was to do so through their tribal rather than their religious identity. Western commanders and politicians were still processing this and what it meant on a broader scale. But now with Iraq underway, which they'd assured me they had under control and didn't need my help for, most of the president's strategic focus would go to there from here. I had no doubt that Iraq had WMDs and were moving them about. Why wouldn't they? Their petty dictator was a mass murderer. That was no shock to anyone even remotely familiar to what was taking place there.
I detected movement ahead. I took cover behind a rock and waited things out a bit more. Several jihadi riflemen were on patrol. Where there were a few here there were likely many others. I waited until they drew closer before acting. When I did I moved at super speed. I pulled off my lasso and swung out with its limitless reach. It cracked quietly into the cool night air, blazing like a sun in rope form. The baddies saw it and they brought up their weapons but the lasso had become something of a whip as it sensed what I needed it to do. It cut through their necks in one ugly maneuver and removed their heads accordingly. It was a much deadlier use for the lasso that had many functions, but this was war and I had committed myself as WW to the west's continued defense. The baddies fell dead to the side. I pushed forward; but this time I dashed in at super speed to close the gap. I reached a small flowing river that went from east to west. South of the river was a massive set of opium poppy fields. Bingo.
I took a running leap and super jumped over the river. I landed in the middle of the poppies in a crouch. They were tall enough that they adequately concealed my presence from the enemy. I then spotted the lights further to the south. I focused onto them with super vision. My zooming in showed a small base present. This hadn't shown up on our scans of the area; but then again from this distance it appeared to be a collapsible structure. The poppies around me weren't quite ready to harvest but they were getting there. And there was plenty enough here if the enemy got them harvested they would be making mean dollars to continue their mayhem and evil. I had to wipe them out along with this field.
There were a few manned technicals present. I stayed low and circled the one technical. I then super leapt over and behind it; the darkness helped to keep me concealed from them. Landing behind them I took out the enemies at super speed. Stealth was maintained. I then super punched the driver hard enough to snap his spinal column. I returned to the big gun, readied it and opened fire on the next technical. They scrambled to fight back but my fire was superhuman accurate. I hit their engine block last and the vehicle exploded. I then pulled a pin from a dead baddie's frag near me and tossed it into the truck's bed. It was taken in explosive fire moments later.
Baddies emerged from their base to find out what the hell was going on. I surged in upon them and engaged them. I didn't attempt to use my bracelets or to draw fire. This was an empty handed action for me. I felt their bodies smash and break like twigs under my demigod blows. I wouldn't lie - it felt damned good to do. I wouldn't lie about another point either - Ares was always inside of me. I had his gifts too, as I had the entire Olympian pantheon. That part of me wasn't something I bragged about being the goddess of truth but I couldn't deny the power of War within my heart. As they fell to my superhuman assault their monetary key to regional victory was taken from them as easily as they took the lives of the innocent.
When they were down for good I stood before the poppy fields. I then said, "In the name of my almighty father Zeus I command his holy lightning forth to destroy this place of evil..."
It didn't take long. Thunder rumbled from out of nowhere; lightning dropped down from the heavens from multiple points. A massive burst struck the terror base structure and obliterated it. Then simultaneous forks of divine energy struck the poppy fields and lit them ablaze. Soon enough in the night it was all burning.
As Joker once famously said - "Everything burns." I couldn't have agreed more with that thought whatsoever. And my job here was only just beginning.
