Cold War
Volume 1
A Wonder Woman Series
Wonder Woman:
San Francisco
Winter 1947
It was hard to believe that the war was over. Of course I was nothing but glad for that; but still... We'd be tallying the many millions dead and countless others displaced wounded and gods knew what else for many years to come. We were already well into rebuilding the world. But we'd already entered another global age of terror; although this era was cold as opposed to hot in terms of war's nature. The insanity now that had to be dealt with was communist; just as bad as fascism in its own way. Back on Themyscira the economics of the island nation were largely simple ones. We were egalitarian and communal; but it wasn't communist. My mother Hippolyta ruled wisely, but not with an iron fist. And if she ever went down the wrong path my Amazon sisters and I would put a swift end to it. But communism was an insanity all its own. It seduced its followers most effectively. It always had. Even back in the eighteen hundreds when I'd explored the old west it had reared its ugly head. Marx had stated that all needed to be in a permanent state of revolution to make everything happen the way it needed to. Central planning was a pipedream at best; a nightmare was more accurate. Since leaving Paradise Island I'd considered myself a reluctant capitalist. Capitalism for all its flaws was still the best way to go; and as Wonder Woman I would do nothing short of defending that truth.
Making things ever worse for this new era was the advent of the nuclear age; an age that could render destruction on a global level that could rival what even the gods could do. It was strange. I'd been in man's world continuously for centuries and it always seemed there was another war or era of such to take over. It could have been Ares manufacturing it; he was War after all. Still, humans could do it all on their own as well.
I'd returned to the US following the war and returned to my cover name of Diana Prince. I'd used this name as an operative during the war. And then of course Wonder Woman had become my immortal accolade. Yet despite the wonders I had performed for the good of all there was still much work to be done; and I hoped that a third war of the global kind did not occur. As I'd had a front row seat to both in most respects that was more than enough to last a lifetime let alone that of an immortal like myself.
As night descended for this newly minted cold war era I turned into Wonder Woman while atop the apartment building that I now called home and took to the air in superhuman flight. It had never seemed natural for me to fly like a bird although the gods had gifted their demigod sister with the capability. I could fly quite fast if I so wished; much faster than the jet aircraft that were now making their debut in history and would surely change everything where aeronautics was concerned. I took my time with this flight; I flew slowly and gently in the urban night. The city looked very peaceful and tranquil. I wondered what the future would bring. This was especially true in the various civil rights struggles that were ongoing and would surely gain momentum now that the insanity that history would forever remember as World War II was now over. The military would soon be desegregated and women's rights would ultimately continue to grow (at least to a degree for the latter). The Forties (my favorite decade for culture and music) had proven to be a progressive time for women. Wonder Woman had been a key role in all of that but so had the war itself. With all of the men gone off to fight (along with a certain Amazon at their side) the women had gone into the factories and such and worked hard for the effort. Rosie the Riveter and all of that jazz. As crazy as this decade had been I didn't want it to end; but all good things in that sense always did. And there could just as easily be a move for culture to return to a more conservative way of doing things; whether it was good/bad was in the eye of the beholder; as was true with most things.
I floated above the downtown closed my eyes and reached out with my hearing. It didn't take long for me to hear the alarm from the ground. My guess was a bank robbery in progress. I angled my body for it and shot down at super speed through the air. I reached the ground at indeed the bank where a good old fashioned heist was well underway. I could make out four robbers in the gloom. I simply stood there with my fists on my hips and waited them out. The coppers wouldn't be there quite yet. And hopefully when they did it would be all over.
The robbers exited and spotted me in the street light. The lead one's eyes widened as he took in my star spangled uniform that had become my signature; and of my commitment to my adopted nation; the best in history.
His other boneheads joined up and brought up their machine guns and fired without delay. Good. I needed some practice. I moved at them with super speed. I knocked their bullets away with my bracelets with tireless ease. I took one thug down, then another, and another. Soon they were all down and out of it. I could have killed them; I'd done it many times during the war; but if the system could work its mojo this time I'd be all for it.
The coppers arrived a short time later as the word had gotten through. "Thank you Wonder Woman," they said. "No problem gents. Book them." They laughed. "That's the idea." I stayed long enough to make sure they got them all into the paddy wagon and watched them drive off; other LEOs remained to secure the crime scene.
A man that could only be a fed by the way he carried himself walked over to me. "Wonder Woman." "Yes?" "I'm Agent Rickey of the Bureau. How'd you like to serve your country again?"
That hadn't really taken all that long, had it...?