CHAPTER 9 Paradise Lost Pt. 2
In fear, I fell back and crawled backwards to get away from the beasts.
"Clark! Diana! Help!" I cried out in fear.
The wingless one walked up to me, it snarled and growled at me with its hand reached out to grab me.
I reacted and tried to run away. "CLARK! DIANA!"
I was grabbed by the one with wings and held tightly, he flew me up into the air away from the other monster.
"NO! LET ME GO! PLEASE!" I screamed as I tried to fight him off.
I tried to bite his arm, but his skin was a solid as rock, there was no way he was going to let me go!
Suddenly, the wingless one shot it's tail at us, smacking the one with wings down and forcing him to drop me.
I screamed as I fell, only to fall into the arms of the wingless one. I trembled lightly and covered my face, to keep it from attacking my throat.
However, I was gently set on the floor and the wingless one snarled at the flying monster as it recovered from being hit.
They instantly started to fight, I ran to cover as quickly as I could. They completely ignored me and kept on fighting.
They broke through glass and knocked everything over in some of the stores and broke a few columns that were holding the levels up.
"What's going on! Think Tala!" I smacked my hands to my head trying to think of a way to find Superman and Diana.
I hear something smash above me, glass fell along with the wingless lizard creature. I dodged and covered my face.
When the wingless one recovered it stood up and hissed at me.
I trembled until I noticed something, the glass wasn't showing the creature's reflection… It was showing Diana!
"Diana!" I looked up to the creature, and like magic, she was no longer the monster I thought she was.
"If that's Diana… Then that must mean…" I looked up to the flying monster, I didn't see his reflection in the glass, but I was sure it had to be Superman!
I ran off in hopes to find a mirror or something, if they see a reflection of the other, then they would see who it really was, right? Long shot, but it was all I had to go with at the moment!
I ran over to a store in hopes of a mirror, but all the stores were locked up tightly.
"The one time I really need a mirror!" I shouted as I tried to kick the locked down, but sadly it didn't move…
"Think Tala!" I curled up into a ball as I covered my ears as the smashing and shattering sound around me got louder and made my head throb.
Then I hear it… Splashing…
"Water?" I look to see flying monster looking into the small pond then up at the wingless monster.
"Water… Reflection! Water makes reflection! Now Superman knows!"
I ran over to them trying to wave my arms to catch their attentions.
"GUYS! OVER HERE! STOP FIGHTING!" I screamed as I ran over to them.
I ran through the large pond trying to stop Diana from hurting Superman any further.
"Diana! It's us! It's Superman!" I grabbed at her arm and tried to tug her away from the fallen creature that was Superman.
However, I must have looked like a creature too, she only pushed me into the water and went to fighting Superman more.
I gasped as came up from under the water, coughing, I wiped my eyes to see what was happening. Superman was now trying to not fight Diana, but she still hasn't seen his reflection, so she still sees the monster he was before.
I ran toward them, "Diana!" I shouted.
"Tala! Stay back! She can't see us yet!" Superman warns.
She suddenly punched him into a store and walked toward him as he sat on the ground.
"Diana!" I screamed as I grabbed her arm.
She lightly pushed me down and continued toward Superman.
"I won't ask again! Where's Superman and Tala?" She held him by his throat and held up her fist, threatening if he didn't answer she would hurt him more.
He simply points behind her, as she turns I looked behind us.
A mirror… Thank God…
"Tala! Superman!" She gasped in horror.
"I… Tried to tell you…" Superman said weakly.
I stood up and ran up to them. "It could have been a lot worse…" I say looking at Diana's guilty face.
"I'm okay…" Superman says as I touched the small bruise developing on his head.
"Diana must pack a serious punch to be giving you a bruise." I say with a weak smile.
"I'm so sorry…" Diana says softly as we all sit in the floor.
"What kind of horror have we unleashed?" She asked softly.
"I don't know, but who ever hid all these relics wanted to make sure that no one would find them… Or use them… If that's the case, we have to be ready for whatever happens." I say.
"Yes… We all do…" Superman said.
"Powerful forces are at work here…" Diana says holding the relic.
"Tell me something I don't know." Superman says rubbing his head lightly.
I sneezed lightly to the side, forgetting I was still soaked to the bone.
"You okay? We never hurt you?" Superman asked looking me over.
"I'm fine, I think you both were protecting me from one another…" I say covering my mouth as I sneezed again.
"Well, you didn't really look like a threat… You looked like a young lizard child. Not very threatening." Diana smile slightly.
"Good to know, when I have my image changed, I don't look like a man eating lizard monster." I held my thumb up.
As we all left the… Half standing mall, I winced at some of the major damages.
"I wonder how the others are doing." Diana says worried.
"We should hear from them soon." I say.
She suddenly presses her finger to her ear, "See that must be Flash and J'onn!" I say.
"No, it's Batman." Superman said.
"Oh… He knows?" I shrank a little bit.
"What doesn't he know really?" Superman said with a small chuckle.
I opened my mouth to say something, but quickly shut it.
"No comment…" I say lightly.
She suddenly looks to us, "Batman says he found something on Faust."
"Oh wow…" I looked around the small study.
"Fascinating, Faust clearly has a great passion for learning." J'onn says as we looked at his table that was covered in old scrolls and old artifacts.
"Passion or obsession?" I muttered, looking at some of the frightening relics that littered the room.
"Where did he get this stuff? Warlocks-R-Us?" Flash asked picking up a crystal staff.
"He must have found it traveling the world, there's no way someone would have this stuff at a garage sale or even in America." I say looking at the maps he had on his desk.
"It looks like he went everywhere he could to find all of this…" J'onn looked over my shoulder as I read the markings on the maps.
"Don't touch that!" Batman suddenly shouts.
As Flash turns the crystal glows and fires a bright light at Batman, making him duck down the wall explodes.
J'onn raises his cape, keeping the burning debris from hitting us.
"Oops…" Flash said.
Batman stomps up to him and snatches the staff from him in rage.
"Don't touch anything! We don't know what kind of powers we're dealing with!" He roared at Flash.
Instantly, Superman and J'onn put the objects in their hands back where they got them in fear of what they could do.
"Why would he want any of this?" I questioned as I backed away from the table with J'onn.
"So who is this Faust anyway?" Superman asked Batman as he looked around.
"Felix Faust was once a respected professor of archaeology." Batman started.
"But when he became fascinated with the mystic arts, he was kicked out of the university for his heretical ideas. He swore revenge on those who mocked him, and several years later disappeared under mysterious circumstances."
I shuttered. 'He must have gone mad thinking that he could get the power to get back at them…' I think to myself.
"I have a pretty good idea what happened to them…" Diana says looking up at the shelf.
Before I could even look up, J'onn covers my eyes.
"No, don't look…" He tells me softly.
"EW!" Flash shouted.
"He's mad…" Superman said in disgust.
"It's worse, I found his journal." Batman holds up a plain book.
"Please don't tell me he found a way to the get more power…" I begged lightly under my breath.
"The last entries make reference to Tartarus." He says.
"Tartarus?" I looked to Diana, who had a horror struck look on her face.
"The Pit of Lost Souls…" She breathed.
"So basically a hell…" I shivered more.
"Isn't that just a myth?" Superman asked as Diana walked up to vase sitting on the shelf.
"If only it were…" She said sadly.
"Long ago, in ancient times, my mother Hippolyta fell in love with a god, Lord Hades. When war broke out between the Olympian gods and their ancient foes the Titans, Hades struck a treasonous bargain with the enemy. He would deliver Mount Olympus into the Titan's hands. In return, he would be given dominion over all humanity. Hades tricked my mother into opening the gates of Olympus to the invading Titans. There was a battle of which the Muses still sing. But the gods fought back and eventually prevailed. As punishment for his treachery, Zeus cast Hades into the pit of Tartarus, where he would rule over the dead for all eternity. And for her unwitting role in Hades' plot, my mother was charged with guarding the gateway to the underworld. To make sure the gate could never be unlocked, it's only key was broken up and scattered across the globe. Mother told me she kept one of the pieces in the temple as a daily reminder of her eternal shame…"
I covered my mouth and turned away.
I remembered that story clearly… But hearing it in person makes me feel worse than when I heard it as a little girl watching the show.
"Then these relics we've been gathering are parts of the key." J'onn says touching my shoulder, trying to comfort my sadden mind.
"But why would Faust want it?" Flash asked holding up the largest stone piece of the relics.
"Only for one reason…" Batman takes it from him and sets in on the desk with the other smaller relics.
Slowly, but knowing what to do, he pieces them together and turns back to us with the whole relic intact.
"He intends to use it." He holds it up for us to see.
"He wants to open up the gates of the underworld? There's no way Hades is going to give him the power he wants! This has to be a trick just to get out of the underworld!" I say in horror.
Superman looked to Batman, "Where is this gateway to the underworld?"
"Beneath Themyscria." Diana answers quickly.
"Diana, you can't give Faust the key…" Superman says.
"And if I don't, my mother and sisters will remain petrified forever!" She says back with anger.
"And if you do, it could mean the end of the world." Batman steps in.
We all were silent for a second.
"What are you going to do?" J'onn asked.
I take a breath and walk over to Diana's side, "Whatever you do…" I take her hand and hold it tightly. "I'm with you…"
Okay, I'm totally shrinking my duties as a student and studying for finals because I got really REALLY bored...
So I chose to update! Because I had a few chapters to put up, but I have go through and edit a few of them. So here's this one!
I do hope everyone is having a good day and if you have finals, I wish you luck and I believe in you!
As always! If you see something I need to fix in my chapters let me know by leaving a review! And I will fix them as soon as I possibly can! Now! To run away from Batman before he forces me to hit the books again! Until next time!
PEACE OUT!
~*~Katie Gibbs~*~