The smell of the musky jungle filled Diana's lungs as she took off into the air. Looking back down on the ground, she waved good bye the medical staff at new Masina outpost medical station located near a small refugee camp in the outskirts of the Eastern Congo region. She had just finished her League mission of escorting medical supplies but stayed longer to help the displaced refugees in whatever way she could. There she felt the bonds of her very nature tug upon her to care for the displaced victims, there in the heart of the Congo her Amazon upbringing encouraged her to take to a sharp sword to end the heated civil war that destroyed so many. But the only thing that stopped her was the Leagues rules against interfering with the ongoing of other countries without consent.
"We need to maintain our distance and respect the government's wishes, no matter how we feel about their policies or leaders." She rememberd J'onn's voice reminding her many times in previous briefings
The Justice League could easily enforce whatever rule it wanted upon the earth whether it be benevolent or tyrannical. During one of their earlier adventures, Wonder Woman experienced the world of the Justice Lords, an alternate dimension version of the Justice League, and the oppression they created. To Diana though, the temptation of force to create peace allured her as she could not deny the lack of crime or even littering on that world, something that she wished she could see more of on her own.
She was well educated on the Democratic Republic of Congo. Diana knew of the geography, the language, culture, population and the plant and wildlife of the region. It was one of the most fascinating places on her to her. But that did little to hide the horror the waring factions could inflict upon each other and civilians. War was hell, the first and most basic lesson that was taught to her when she was young. Amazons who bore the scars and of previous battles often drilled the lesson into her over and over again and although they told some teribble stories to harden her resolve to fighting an enemy, she knew that they still held back some of the most terrible of details to spare her some sanity.
The only thing that allowed Diana to control herself was the words of Superman that more violence was the last thing these people needed. His voice always held and honest sincerity about it but even he couldn't mask the touch of outrage. Diana remembered she was also a member of the Justice League, a founding member as well as an emissary for Themscriya and that her actions and words were even as closely scrutinized as any leader of a nation.
She instead focused on the lush green of the land. Africa became one of Diana's favorite places to visit since it was so unique compared to anything else in man's world. It's variety of culture, animals, and plant life was as varied as its beauty that Diana once thought of relocating there if not for her already established life in Washington D.C. Often times she looked at the animals here that ran free. True she had visited a zoo several times but nothing could quite capture the majesty of a family of elephants traveling to a watering hole in the wild. There were animals she had read of that she could have never even imagined while growing up on Themscriya.
Making a mental note to talk to Bruce about accompanying her on a safari is what made her realize she had not yet contacted the league on her current mission status.
"Wonder Woman to watchtower." She said as she pushed the button on the side of the communicator logged in her left ear.
"This is Watchtower." Rang out Green Lantern's voice "Go ahead Wonder Woman."
"I've completed my mission and going to do a bit of sightseeing."
"Roger that Diana. Be careful out there. Let us know if you get into trouble."
"Copy that John. Have fun with monitor duty." She teased
With the League now nearly the size of a small army and even with its own supports staff, Diana found herself having a bit more free time to explore the world. She even found time to create her own secret identity and garner a new set of friends outside of the League. The most unexpected of events was her newly blossoming relationship with Batman, which she found great enjoyment. To Diana, it was as "normal" a life as she could create it and it gave her more fulfillments then the life of simply being Wonder Woman could ever give.
Below she watched a pack of silver back gorillas moving across into the thick rainforests. One small baby was cradled in one of the gorilla's arm as they disappeared into the cover of the trees. A simple smile traced her mouth when she heard the screams that sent the rest of the pack running into the safety of the jungle.
Diana flew lower to hear which direction where the sound came from. She strained her ear and wished for Superman's hearing ability before she heard it once again to her left. Through hard experience she instantly knew it wasn't the scream of an animal but a human scream of terror, something that Diana and many of those who were super hero's came to know well.
Dropping below the tree line, Diana stopped and hovered in place hoping to hear the scream once more to know which direction to travel. Her flawless cream colored skin and bright outfit stood out in stark contrast to the jungle foliage while her heart pumped in anticipation. She heard it once again as it came in frantic and continuous bursts in a language Diana did not understand but she knew that it was of a woman. With careful speed to dodge incoming trees, she hurried towards the sound as she could clearly hear other deeper voices mingling with the screams.
Then at once she came upon a clearing of grass where she could clearly see several bundles of broken branches that looked as if they were collected purposely by human hands. Ahead of the bundles was a sight that caused Diana to stop in place.
Two large worn looking hard top truck was parked several feet away from a group of six men who were dressed in a mish mash of military and civilian clothes who bore the insignia of a rebel faction. Outside of the two men who had skin as light as Diana's most of the men were black. Two of which were branding assault rifles they kept trained at the heads of two kneeling figures, a dark skinned man and woman who were yelling in a form of French that was native to the region. The other four men were on top of another lone woman, who Diana guessed was the couple's daughter who was no more than fourteen, as they screamed and laughed at the young woman's attempts to resist them. Diana watched as one of the men struck the young girl several times to subdue her before he pushed her legs open and positioned himself.
In that moment Diana was transported back to her childhood when she helped care for Pegasus's on Themscryria. She often rose early to help brush and feed the winged horses before most of the other Amazons were even awake. The island also housed several chimeras who had escaped and become feral in the wild and lived off hunting the native wild game. When she awoke to her duties on a fateful morning, she witnessed her first death in life as chimeras attacked one of the winged horses. She remembered the horses once white coat colored a dark maroon. Its wings were nothing more than a mess of bloody stumps and limp feathers as it struggled to free itself from the mass of claws and teeth. Diana felt the cold unreality seep into her muscles while the pack of chimeras brought down and finished off the Pegasus. Every detail of torn blood and flesh seared into her mind as she helplessly froze in place, unsure of how to react. Her only response was her silent tears of horror freely rolling down her cheeks while a wet warmness flooded fill her crouch and fell down her thighs at the sight that played out before her.
A sharp, almost inhuman high scream brought back Diana to the present and evaporated her cold shock into anger as she set upon the attackers with a new focused fury.
J'onn J'onzz, better known as the Martian Manhunter, stood in stoic concentration as he reached out with his mind through all the minds on the planet. His regal features frowned as his target was not only difficult to find but also threatened to overwhelm his mental capacities as well.
"Do you think he'll be alright?" asked Zatanna
She adjusted her stockings before nervously tracing the brim on her top hat with her magic wand. Even the rich and comfortable surroundings of the upscale London apartment did little to ease her fears of potentially battling against a fellow League member. J'onn was corrupted once before by a magical foe when he tried to penetrate the mind of Morgane Le Fey. She read the action report that Batman had filed and was not thrilled at the prospect of facing an opponent who could attack her mind.
"He has to be. Klarion the Witch boy has to be found for if we can't, we'll never find the Spear of Longinus or his plans for it." Said Jason Blood as he pushed a heavy log in his fireplace with his poker "Would you like some more tea?"
"Only if you can replace that "tea" with some Red wine." She joked as she tried to put on a confident smile.
"I think I have a 45 cheateau Varmont but I don't think that the current situation…."
"I mean I was just joking about the…"
"Oh. I'm sorry. I haven't gotten out much lately."
"Ch'yea, ya think?
Zatanna felt a tinge of guilt at her flip demeanor towards the more serious man. Although he didn't look older than his late thirties, Jason Blood was a magical immortal bound with the spirit of the hell demon Etrigan, who he can call fourth with a spoken word spell. Many knew that he was originally a knight from the dark ages when he became a cursed immortal and although well traveled and cultured, Jason was known to be a quiet and intense when focused on a task.
As Zatanna thought of a way to apologize, J'onn broke his concentration and turned to face towards the nearest window.
"J'onn? Are you alright?" she asked.
"Did you find Klarion?" asked Jason
"I didn't find Klarion but I felt something, something disturbing towards the south." He said as he gazed out the window with his intense red eyes.
"Should I alert the League?" asked Zatanna
"No. It's fine. I'm sure it was nothing." He said as he hovered in the air and crossed his legs in the traditional Martian meditation pose, resetting his focus to track his target.
It surprised Diana how fragile the human body could be as she held one of the rebels necks in her right hand. She squeezed tighter as the man thrashed against her strength as she could feel the thunderous pace of his pulse as his forearm, broken by a simple twist of Amazon strength, hung wrong and limp and flopped almost comically. Veins that were normally concealed under skin were now bulging out as her cold blue eyes stared directly into his.
How many? She wondered as she towered over the helpless figure. Her mind tried to wrap around the suffering that these men caused but the most surprising element was the age of some of the rebels who looked no older then the girl they were about to assault. But their youth did nothing to stow her wrath as she felt each of their bones break like simple sticks in her grip. Each of the men moaned softly on the ground with their weapons as broken as their bodies. The lucky ones were unconscious within the first few seconds.
The young man's dark eyes bulged outwards while his struggles weakened. She wanted to him to feel as powerless as the young girl he was going to violate, for all the countless others he had abused, tortured and killed.
Diana thought she could hear the word "please" escape out of his lips. That was enough for her to finish her assault with a savage punch to the rebels face to send him to unconsciousness before tossing him to the ground.
She clenched and unclenched her hands as she took deep ragged breaths. It was then she noticed the tears welling in her eyes, which surprised her. Who am I? She questioned as she looked at the broken body before her.
Her attacks were vicious enough to cause maximum pain but careful enough not to kill. None of the men would be able bodied for a long time but they would live to see punishment nonetheless. As much as she wanted to end their miserable lives and save future innocents any pain that they could inflict upon them, her time amongst the League tempered her rage.
Everything seemed to move sluggishly for her as looked at her hands and outfit, that had faint splatters of blood.
The family, she thought to herself as she took steps to regain her composure. They were behind her as she could remember the image of the couple running to cover and comfort the younger girl. She brushed aside the wetness from her eyes when she heard the crack of machine gun fire behind her.
Wonder Woman's eyes went wide as turned to see the older man clutching a smoking assault rifle in his hand while looking down at the now dead body of an incapacitated rebel.
"Brûler en enfer sale des animaux" he muttered
"NO!" she shouted as she used her lasso to disarm the man.
She moved towards the injured rebel as she checked for a pulse. It was a futile gesture as she saw a cluster of red emerging on the man's chest but Diana did not know what else to do. Instantly she popped up to yell at the rebel's killer when she saw the older woman reach for a pistol on the ground. Instantly she snatched her tiara off her head and disarmed the woman by throwing it into the back of her hand. In the back of her mind she made a mental note to thank Batman on giving her lessons on throwing stars as the golden tiara returned to her.
"No killing." She said as she slipped her tiara back into place
"Are you mad?! Have you seen what they were going to do to Faiza?! What they would've done to me again!?" asked the woman. Her Afrikaner accent giving a unique cadence Diana had to adjust to.
She was dressed in a mustard yellow skirt and a blue shirt with a white head wrap that gave her naturally round face the appearance of a perfect circle, as the woman approached Diana with an anger that nearly matched her own. Sunlight glistened off the fine sheen of sweat on her ebony skin. Her high cheekbones made her look quite striking as it reminded Diana of some of the statues on her island home.
The older man who had played executioner was also dressed simply but not as colorfully. His hair was peppered with light patches of grey that gave his face an air of rough, working class nobility. Diana couldn't tell how old he was but she guessed from the wrinkles on his face that he was at least 60 years old. He had paunch that protruded over his waistline but had large, well defined forearms that were created by years of working with ones hands.
But it was their eyes that haunted Diana the most. She had seen that look on her mother's eyes and the eyes of the older amazons on the anniversary of the betrayal she suffered at the hands of Ares.
"These men will be taken to the authorities and…"
"These men are filthy garbage who must be eradicated from the earth." Cutoff the older man who stabbed his finger at the ground in front of him. "Hell is the only place that can meet the crimes of these devils."
"You will not kill these men. I won't allow it." Responded Diana
"Will you and your Justice League come and enforce peace?" asked the woman as she turned to tend to the crying young girl who was curled up in the fetal position with what remained of her clothes.
"The Justice League has rules that we have to…"
"Then all you do is delay the inevitable. The rebels will seek retribution for your assault with compounded interest, if not on us the on others." Said the older man before turning around to tend to the traumatized young girl
Diana took the moment to secure the area and destroyed any functioning weapons that were left over. Rage smoldered off her she collected the remaining incapacitated rebels, her mind churned of some of the most violent tortures that she could incur upon their helpless forms. By the time she was finished, she wanted nothing more than to wash her hands after handling men of such vile nature.
However the sound of the young girl's snuffling brought Diana back away from the dark corners of her mind. She looked over to see the young girl, now wearing the shirt of the older man, trying to gather her large bundle of branches. Diana felt petty for as angry and disgusted she had felt for witnessing the attack was nothing compared to what violation the young girl had experienced. Diana understood now that any violence would only serve her and would do nothing to heal the girl.
"What is your name?" Diana asked as she walked towards the girl. She looked at Diana as if she had asked her for a plum in a hat. "Do you understand me?"
'Y-y-yes." The girl answered as she looked back towards the older couple as if asking for permission. Her left eye and nose were swollen and discolored. "Faiza. My name is Faiza."
"That's a pretty name. Mine is Diana." She answered with a softness that was usually reserved for Bruce. "Are you alright?" she asked feeling stupid for asking such a question. Any sense of well being was now destroyed.
Faiza didn't seem to know how to answer as she stared at the pile of wood at her feet. "I need to gather the wood. We need it to help us survive. People pay us for whatever we collect and we need the money." She answered almost robotically.
Diana moved in to help her when Faiza dropped her bundle and jumped back away from her as if her touch was poisonous.
"It's ok. I'm not here to hurt you or your parents." Diana comforted.
"They are not my parents. My parents…"
"It's alright Faiza. You don't have to say anymore." Said the older woman as she wrapped her arms around the younger girl to give whatever assurance she could. "My name is Sadie. This is my brother Hasan. Faiza's parents were our neighbors in the camp before they disappeared. Faiza has no one else to watch after her."
Diana's heart beat heavily at the weight of the news. She longed to go home to Themscryia as everything in man's world right now was too much to bear.
"If you are done with the mess you are making of our lives…" berated Hasan before Sadie could quiet him and shooed him away.
"It's alright. I understand his anger and share it. Please let me help you gather your wood and escort you back to the camp." Diana answered as she loosened her lasso from her hip.
"Then maybe we can use the truck to help us." Said Hasan as he opened the tailgate and then froze in shock.
"Hasan, are you alright?" asked Diana as she moved towards the older man.
When she reached him, Diana turned to look inside the bed and understood the shock of the older man. Inside were three women of various ages with their hands and legs bound cowering in the back of the truck. Each of them were in various states of undress and each had the same look of fear in their eyes that Faiza wore when the men had attacked.
"Hera." Whispered Diana.