Chapter 1: The Tomb and The Island

The sand storm was dying down; it had been blowing for the better part of the day, trapping the lone archeologist in the recently rediscovered tomb. Carol Peters, while more of a book worm, was certainly a beauty. Her long crimson hair, deep emerald eyes and athletic build were often plenty to draw the attention of both men and women. But now, there was no one around for miles. What drew a woman like her out into the deserts of Egypt? A story she had heard of an ancient traveler that had journeyed from a far off land. The story told of a woman fleeing the wrath of the Gods. It took years to find the right tomb, most who sought out the tomb never strayed far from Cairo.
Only Carol was brave enough to weather the desert to search for her prize. Not concerned for wealth or fame, her only goal was to learn the truth of the greatest secrets and stories the world has ever known. Long has she been fascinated with the lore and myths of Ancient Greece. The Gods had had a huge impact on the world as a whole. From the trials of Heracles to the wars set upon the mortals by the Gods themselves.
One question still bothered her though, how had a trinket from Ancient Greece wound all the way out here in the middle of the Egyptian desert? She, like so many before her, expected it to reside in the pyramids. But local stories led out into the sandy dunes, far away from civilization. The tomb had been difficult to locate but after two weeks of searching, traveling at night to avoid the cruel sun, she finally found the final landmark that pointed to the entrance. She had been at the tomb for two days deciphering the wall text and traps. All her efforts were rewarded when she finally found what she was looking for, a small, ordinary chest that looked out of place. It had Greek and Latin writing, while the rest of the tomb had hieroglyphics. One word drew her interest, the word "Spider". Inside the chest was an amulet. The amulet was adorned with a black spider that had a bright red mark on its back.
With her prize in hand, she returned to the camp she had set at the entrance, a good day's rest before heading back to port. She had to discuss this find with her colleague that was waiting for her in Athens. After several days travel, she finally made it to the port in Cairo, her ship waiting in wet dock. Once aboard, she went straight to her cabin for a shower, change, and some food. After nearly a month of rations, a nice, hot meal was the perfect thing to end this venture. As night fell, Carol walked around on deck, enjoying the beautiful night sky on the Mediterranean Sea, and marveling at her discovery. Off on the horizon, clouds were forming. Before she knew it, the storm was upon their ship, causing violent waves to rattle and rock the boat. She didn't have time to react before she was thrown overboard, her form quickly lost in the dark waters. The ship's crew spent hours searching for her, once they discovered she was missing. But they had no luck, the beautiful woman, and her medallion, were lost to the sea.
The soft waves carried the water logged redhead to the sandy shores. The unconscious body washed ashore, resting on the beach. The sounds of horse hooves trotting along stirred the young woman. Her eyes opened for a brief moment, just long enough to see a beautiful woman, astride a horse, wearing what looked like a dress she had seen in stories of ancient Greece. That was all she was capable of before sleep overtook her again. The woman riding the horse, upon seeing the prone, drenched woman on the shore, dismounted her steed, and ran to the unconscious form, and inspected her. No injuries, still breathing, she would be fine. Hippolyta, lifted the sleeping woman into her arms, and laid her on the back of her horse. Mounting the steed herself, she rode off, bringing the unexpected visitor to Themiscyra, to the palace, where she would be tended to, at least until this outsider could explain.
Soft bedding wrapped Carol snugly in her dreams, dreams of her adventures, dreams of finding treasures; her final dream was of the storm that cast her off the ship that was to carry her back to Greece. The rustling of movement invaded her sleep, drawing her back to the waking world. Deep green eyes slowly peeked out from behind her eyelids. Soft sunlight streamed in through a nearby window. Song birds chirped happily in the warm weather. She could hear voices, but something was strange, she could only hear the voices of women. Sitting up slowly, she turned to take in her surroundings. Where was she? The brick house she was in was unlike any she had ever seen before. It was ancient in design, but looked as new as possible. Looking down at her body, she noticed she no longer wore the clothes she had been in on the ship. No, she was wearing a type of dress, one like that of the woman she saw on the beach. The dress was simple, short sleeves and the skirt went to just above her knees. The outfit was durable, yet light and breathed easily, her 32C-24-34 frame perfectly wrapped in the soft fabric.
She stood from the bed, making her way quietly to the only door in the room. She listened for sounds on the other side, easing the door open slowly. As she peered through the narrow opening, she saw people walking around, well not really, she only saw women, all of them dressed like she was. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door fully, pausing for a moment before stepping outside. The cool breeze greeted her as she stepped through to the outside. As she looked around she noticed more and more that she could see no men. Where were they? Surely not all of the men would be out of the city. What about store owners, or the elderly? As she walked closer to the street her presence became noticed. Some of the women turned to her, looking her up and down, before showing friendly smiles. Returning the smile, Carol noticed something else, all of the women here were tall, athletic, and beautiful. Not a single one of them showed signs of imperfection. A redhead and brunette walked up to her, each extending their hands in a gesture of greeting. Taking each hand in turn, Carol gave her name and received theirs. The redhead was named Artemis, and the brunette, Diana. Both of them hand very strong handshakes. Standing at 6', Diana and 6'2", Artemis both towered over Carol's own 5'8".
"Queen Hippolyta wanted to see you once you had woken," said Diana, gesturing towards the largest building in the area. "Hippolyta, that name sounds familiar, she was the Queen of the Amazons," Carol replied. "Was? She IS our Queen," responded Artemis, taking stride towards the palace. "How can that be? The Amazons were a myth from Ancient Greece. The stories are thousands of years old," stated Carol, her resolve of these "truths" diminishing with each step and glance she took. "They're more than mere stories," Diana said, looking back over her shoulder, "Now hurry, we shouldn't keep Mother waiting." The trio continued on towards the palace. Once inside, Carol noticed the palace was not lavish, or ornate, rather it was simple, welcoming, unlike any palace she had seen before. She saw a beautiful garden, with several women tending to the plants. She could identify several herbs, fruits and vegetables. As they entered the throne room, Diana and Artemis knelt down before their beautiful Queen. Artemis looked back at Carol and harshly whispered for her to kneel as well.
As she made to kneel herself, Queen Hippolyta lifted her hand and rose to her feet. "That is not necessary, all I require of you is your name and your purpose on my island," the Queen said, walking slowly towards the three women. "My name is Carol Peters, and I didn't even know your island existed," came the reply, "I had read about it in ancient stories, but I never believed it was real." "Oh, it is very real, as are my Amazons," Hippolyta responded. "If you didn't know of us, then how did you come upon our island?" came the question. "My ship was sailing from Egypt towards Greece, when a storm came in, the waves knocked me overboard. The last thing I remember is hitting the water," Carol answered. "Well, that is unfortunate; I can give you a choice. You can either stay here, and join the Amazons, or we can return you to the world of man," proposed the Queen. "Hmmm," Carol tilted her head with her finger to her temple as if in thought, "an island paradise, and no men to screw things up? What woman could turn that down?" she finished with a smile. All three other women smiled with her.
"One item found in your possession was an amulet, what do you know of it?" the question came from Diana this time. "I found it in a tomb out in the middle of the Egyptian desert. I recognized the writing, and was on my way to consult a colleague about it when the storm hit," answered Carol. "It is the Pendant of Arachne," stated Artemis. "The woman who challenged Athena to a weaving contest?" queried Carol. "The very same," answered Hippolyta. "You may keep the pendant, do with it what you will," stated the Queen dismissing the trio.
The three beauties departed the palace, Artemis and Diana escorting Carol back to her new home. "Will you be joining us for training later?" Artemis asked, looking at Carol, with an eyebrow raised. "What kind of training do you have in mind?" responded the new resident of Themiscyra. "New recruits usually start off with staff training, later moving on to swords and shields, and then archery," answered Diana. "Sounds like fun," Carol said. The two left Carol at her knew domicile to relax for the next few hours before training. Carol closed the door behind her, walking over to her old clothes, searching for her cloth-wrapped pendant. Inspecting the artifact closely, the spider seemed to sparkle. Lifting the necklace, she placed it around her neck, checking her appearance in the mirror on the dresser. Admiring how the jewel in the pendant sparkled, she felt... different, more aware of her surroundings.
The time for training had come, and Diana arrived to pick Carol up and take her to the training field. As the two walked Diana pointed out various locations around the village. When they reached the training grounds, Diana led Carol over to a table where there was a pair of silver bracers lying in wait. As the pair reached the table, Diana reached out and took the bracers in hand, turning to face her new sister. Carol raised her eyebrow in question, "What are these for?" asked the new crimson haired Amazon. "These are the indestructible 'Bracers of Submission', forged from Zeus's Aegis," came the reply. "Every Amazon receives a pair when they begin their training." After affixing her new bracers to her wrists, Carol tested her range of motion and got a feel for the wait of her new arm wear, they were surprisingly light. After a few hours, while they were sitting to rest, Carol asked Diana, "So, what are we training for?" "The final battle," came the reply. "Final battle?" Carol inquired. "Armageddon, the End Times, call it what you will, but it is a time when the Titans rise again to slay the Gods of Olympus," answered Artemis who was still in the midst of her sword battle, never missing a beat. "You called Queen Hippolyta 'Mother' earlier, are all Amazons her daughters?" came the question on Carol's mind. "No, many Amazons are like you, they are found and made into one of our sisters, though normally at a younger age," Diana responded. "Well if she's your mother, who's your father?" the question came almost before she thought of it. "My father is... Zeus," came the response from the raven haired princess. "Zeus? Wow, from what I've read, he's not exactly 'Father of the Year' material," said Carol. "I know what you mean," Diana responded
Several more hours of training passed, and while tired, Carol wasn't as exhausted as she expected to be. She had been more agile than she had ever been, and her parries and blocks came almost out of instinct. Her skill needed to be improved, but there was something different about her, something she couldn't explain. After training had finished, Carol returned to her quarters to bathe and sleep. After undressing for her bath, she examined her talisman, and noticed that the ruby embedded into it was glowing more brightly than before. Dismissing it for the moment, she would ask Hippolyta about it in the morning. Training continued daily for several months, it became routine: Physical training in the morning, consisting of running, weight lifting and other various exercises. After morning training, there was a breakfast feast in the palace, where everyone was invited. Next, came chores, such as watering and maintaining crops, and feeding livestock. The ecosystem here was self-sustaining, in short, it was perfect. After lunch came the afternoon combat training, each day saw improvements for Carol, and each day also saw an increase in her new-found 'gifts' from her pendant. Queen Hippolyta had explained that the medallion of Arachne seemed to have gifted her with supernatural abilities. The magic behind the amulet had interfered with the attempt to imbue Carol with the Amazonian gifts.
With the discovery of Carol's new-found abilities, and the hindrance they played in making her a 'true' Amazon, Queen Hippolyta, Diana, and Carol made a trip to see Hephaestus. Once in the Forge of the Gods, Hippolyta bid the master smith to forge Carol's amulet with her bracers. The work took little time, and soon Carol's bracers and amulet were one, granting her the medallion's gifts at all times. As each day passed, she felt her gifts grow stronger. Another gift she noticed that Hephaestus added to her bracers was the ability to shoot a spider's web like substance from her wrists. This ability worked perfectly with her near omnipresent sense of her surroundings.
As the years passed, Carol was quickly becoming one of the best warriors among the Amazons. Hippolyta even offered her the mantel of 'Wonder Woman' to which she declined, saying that it didn't feel like her place or role in life, that is should be worn by a true daughter of the Amazons. Carol and Diana had grown particularly close during the time. Carol, like so many other girls, had experimented in college, and Diana's perfection was surely a sight to behold. Nothing serious, at least that the others bore witness too, developed between the two, beyond an attraction that caused a rumor or two to find their way around the island; Carol had always preferred men, but could certainly appreciate a beautiful woman.
Queen Hippolyta, ever the observant one, noticed that Carol was spending more and more time on the beach where she was first found, gazing out over the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, longing for the world of man, and her former life. With this knowledge, the Queen of the Amazons made another trip to see Hephaestus. After Carol had been on Themiscyra for five years, the feeling of homesickness was almost too much to bear, she would spend most of the day gazing out over the waters surrounding the island, longing for the outside world. On the fifth anniversary of her arrival, she was called to meet with Hippolyta. The Queen had asked for the two of them to be left alone. When they had their privacy, the Queen let her reason for the meeting be known. "I've been watching you over the years, how you've grown as a warrior, as an Amazon," she started. "But I've also seen the longing in your eyes, the longing to return to your old life, to the world of man. I can't keep you here, and nothing pains me more than seeing the pain of homesickness in your eyes. So, should you wish it, I will grant you passage back to the world of man," the Queen continued. "But I have one last gift to give you," she said as she presented Carol with a leather wrapped parcel. "You shouldn't have," Carol replied, accepting the gift gracefully. Unwrapping the parcel revealed a suit of armor, similar in design to the Wonder Woman armor, but this armor was different. The chest piece, which fit like a second skin, was dark silver and had a metallic red spider web design that accentuated her form. The bottoms were plain black, the darkness a stark contrast to her naturally lighter skin tone, the belt a shiny, metallic red, along with the lining at the top that encircled her back and came to the front and the swell of her breasts. The tiara matched the rest of the armor with a simple, triangular ruby in the middle. The final piece of the armor was a pair of knee-high dark silver boots with red, three inch stiletto heels, lined on top with metallic red peaks. Despite being armor, the boots had a flexibility to them; actually all pieces of the armor had a flexibility to them that was unbelievable. It truly was like wearing a second skin, yet she could feel the power flowing through the armor.
Carol thanked Hippolyta for the gift, and for everything the Queen had done for her throughout the five years. All of the Amazons gathered to see their sister off, with the promise that she would return to visit. Diana and Artemis each gave their sister a hug, the three having grown especially close over their short time together, they really were like sisters. Carol climbed inside of Queen Hippolyta's invisible jet, as it took her back to the land of men, back to the United States of America, back to her home. Once she landed, she set the plane to return, leaving her to reintegrate herself into society, not to mention, she had to be brought back to life, legally anyway.
Initially she wore a mask with her armor, to hide her identity, but after an incident that left her with no time to fully change, she always wore the armor under her clothing, she gave up the mask, and let it be known that the new hero, Arachne, was indeed, Carol Peters. She would long be known as the heroine with spider-like powers; super strength, omnipresent awareness, and uncanny sense for danger, and agility unmatched by any other living being. She could fight off entire armies without a scratch on her.

End Chapter One