Breathless

Chapter 21

Rescuing Paradise

JLA Universe

Ivy Town

Protex stared at the empty room. He could have sworn he had seen Molecule Man or at least his twin. He found it strange how many similarities he had seen between his earth and this one. There were two Ultramen and apparently two Molecule Men. From his time in Central City he knew that there were two speedsters as well. He was feeling strong enough now that he needed no more human flesh. He simply wanted to kill. He was still too humiliated from his defeat at the hands of this earth's Ultraman and then at the hands of Owlman. He felt he was now strong enough to face the other Ultraman again and take Di-ana from him. He wasn't really concerned for his own safety with this version of Molecule Man. Although knowing Molecule Man's abilities he had no idea what to expect from this one. He wondered if he had shrunk or teleported. If he had shrunk then he was still trapped in the room with him. If he had teleported he could be anywhere. Then there was the disturbing possibility that this Molecule Man knew how to modify his teleporting technology so that he could cause a person to explode.

Protex had been contemplating waiting for the Molecule Man that he had seen to show himself, but now that he considered the offensive capabilities of the scientist's technology, he thought better of his plan and quickly phased back out of the room and moved away from the college. He decided to focus his energies on finding Di-ana and coming up with a plan to harvest the humans and especially the females of this particular planet and universe.

Protex wasn't sure where to begin his search for Di-ana but decided that he could take it slow and explore while he hunted her. He was quite confident that he would not be suddenly pulled back to his own time. He assumed he would be in this particular dimension indefinitely since he had programmed it that way and since he had taken pains to hide what he had done. He hoped that Ray would be too busy and distracted to investigate too closely.

Standing out in the snow Protex decided to go somewhere where he would not attract too much attention, someplace where death was common. His problem was that he did not know if there was such a place here. Unconcerned about being detected, he moved slowly away from the college through one of the many parking lots and off into a wooded area.

======R======

Ray held on to the security guard as he stood in shock. He knew the guard had no idea what had just happened and that he did not realize that he was no bigger than an ant at the moment. He thought about going microscopic but decided against it. At his present size he could see that the monster was still in the room and that he seemed just as surprised as the guard he had rescued.

Ray wondered if he would be able to handle himself in a fight against the creature but quickly discarded the idea. He was in decent shape from his constant running and daily exercise routines but he was by no means a powerfully built man nor did he really know much about self defense. The creature, he had wisely fled from, was at least seven feet tall, powerfully built and frightening in appearance.

When the creature left, Ray realized that he had been holding his breath. He looked at the guard again. He was about his age and a little overweight. He was starting to get panicky. At their current size the bottom of the chair and the waste basket looked strangely familiar but in a very terrifying way.

Ray smiled reassuringly, "Sorry about that. I just acted without thinking. That white monster probably would have had us for breakfast if I hadn't white dwarf starred our gluteus maximus's to ant size the second I saw him. He's gone now, by the way. So that means it should be safe for us make the transition back to our normal, giant sized selves. Oh! Before we do that, you have got to see this!"

Ray leaped up into the air and landed on the seat of the chair that the panicking guard had sat in just seconds before. He turned and looked down grinning, waiting for an awed response from the man but saw that the man just sat down suddenly where he stood.

Ray shrugged his shoulders. "Some audiences are just so hard to sell," he thought as he leaped back down to the guard. He grabbed a hold of his uniform jacket and twisted the dial on his belt. Instantly they were back to normal size.

The guard looked around in obvious relief and then stared at him. It was obvious to Ray the guard was thinking about his options. He probably wanted to detain him but was a bit scared to try since he had no idea who he was or what he was capable of. He probably thought he was some sort of masked villain. Ray was about to reassure him when his attention was drawn to one of the video screens.

"Look! There it is!" Ray practically shouted. It was an outdoor camera and the white form of the monster could be seen moving away from the science building through the parking lot. His giant form and tail were in sharp contrast to the grey pavement. The guard finally looked suspiciously at the camera and ended up just staring open mouthed as he saw something out of a nightmare disappear off camera.

Ray was searching the other video feeds. The excitement of his discovery and of his sudden adventure suddenly disappeared to be replaced with a very visceral fear and disbelief. He could see a security patrol car and the dead partially devoured body of a security guard lying on the pavement next to it. "Call, nine-one-one! We have a serious problem!" he practically shouted to the guard.

When the guard saw his friend lying dead and partially eaten he was sick. Ray picked up the phone and called for help. He wisely left out the part about the killer being a monster. He saw as he was hanging up that the guard was looking at him and fidgeting with his handcuffs. Ray hung up and dialed his home, smiled at the guard, said hi to his sleepy Jean, twisted the dial on his belt and disappeared.

The guard stared bewildered at the spot where the strange masked man in blue and red had disappeared. He was very confused about what had just happened but he remembered seeing the white nightmare leaving the campus and his dead friend's body.

He called nine-one-one again and explained to the operator that there was a white monster on the campus. He described it in detail.

There were many jokes between the police officers that had been dispatched to the scene. As they made their way to the campus, they joked about boogey men and giants and monsters. They didn't doubt that there were possibly some murdered people on campus, but they were quite sure that the killer was human and not a strange, white monster. It was still too early for faculty, staff and students when the officers arrived.

Once the police saw the bodies the joking stopped. By the time the staff and students showed up to work and school the media was there. A detailed description and a sketch of the gruesome white monster were broadcast.

Fourth World

Apokolips

Citadel

Virman Vunderbar lay prostrate at the foot of the dais that led up to the throne of the unquestioned ruler of all Apokolips, while outside could be heard the multiple arrivals of the remainder of his death fleet as it limped home having escaped complete annihilation at the hands of two beings with unexpected abilities.

There were two rows of the larger, more powerful paradeamons as well as a score of male Daxamites. These, while not at all grotesque in appearance, were more frightening in their power and complete devotion to Darkseid. These had volunteered to serve and had aided in conquering, and humiliating their own. There were a few other beings present from other universes and dimensions. All were powerful and vicious. None present had any objection to torture as a means of death. It was this above all else Virman feared. He knew that if he were sentenced to death by torture or to just torture that he would be given to those who had at one time been his unwilling victims.

Vunderbar cringed as Darkseid spoke. He could hear the displeasure in the deep cold voice. "You say you met defeat at the hands of four beings from a planet called earth and that not even Mantis was able to defeat them."

"Yes, my lord," Vunderbar squeaked out.

"It was not a question. Here is one. What happened to Mantis?" Darkseid asked. He was sitting back on his throne his face obscured in shadow. Only his eyes were visible as they glowed through the darkness.

"I am not sure, my lord. I believe that he escaped death by teleporting away back to his energy pod, but I do not believe that he was killed," Vunderbar answered quickly. It seemed that perhaps he would escape death after all. Mantis was supposedly second only to Darkseid in power and for him to have fled battle must have given Darkseid pause. Vunderbar made the mistake of lifting his head to look up at his master.

"Cro-Ten." Darkseid nodded to the Daxamite closest to Vunderbar.

The next moment Vunderbar let out an involuntary scream as Cro-Ten drove his energy spear through his left shoulder all the way to the cold stone floor and kept him pinned there. Cro-Ten held the writhing and screaming elite general until Darkseid nodded to him. With a vicious twist he yanked the spear back out then placed the blade of the spear along Vunderbar's throat causing him stop his screams, but he continued to jerk as spasms of pain shot through his body.

"Do not look at me again, worthless worm. I have a few more questions for you and then we will be finished. Describe for me what these four super beings looked like and what their powers were. Do it quickly. I grow impatient with you and am of half a mind to have you eviscerated. My torturers have not had much to do this morning," Darkseid said calmly.

Vunderbar tried to control his voice as he described the four beings that had attacked his fleet.

Darkseid found the descriptions very interesting. "A Lantern, a being who could incinerate parademons with energy from his hands, a being who could change the very elements of the ships walls and what appears to be a genuine Kryptonian. That makes two. This is very good news. I sense a bright future for Apokolips and a bleak one for New Genesis. I think I have found two sons. I am disappointed with the current ones. You have done well Vunderbar. You will not be tortured."

Vunderbar gave a shuddering sigh of relief. His relief soon turned to terror.

"Cro-Ten. Stand the coward up from the floor and remove his head for me."

Vunderbar stuttered, stammered and lost control of his bodily functions as he was dragged to his feet. He tried as hard as he could to speak, he wanted to beg or even fight, but nothing coherent would come out. The next moment he dropped back to the stone floor in two pieces and a moment later his lifeless head stared down from a pole as his body was cast into the pits.

Darkseid sat expressionless for a moment more then slowly a chilling smile spread across his face.

Syndicate Universe

Syndicate Satellite

Ocean Master, Lightening and Iron watched as two of their four members returned to the satellite. As soon as Major Atom and Nuclear Man were inside they bombarded them with questions about the whereabouts of the other two and Quick. He had disappeared right in front of them.

Major Atom spoke up. "We know as much as you. They disappeared before our eyes. We do not know if they are alive but we won the battle; four of us against a giant, viciously armed space fleet. Wherever they are, they will survive. They are powerful. I don't think the invaders will be back anytime soon. They already know that they can't handle us. But just in case, we should get Molecule Man back up here with his inventions and Owlman with his brain. Anybody know the whereabouts of Owlman or Di-ana for that matter?

Nobody had an answer for him.

Nuclear Man continued, "Well, it doesn't matter. We showed them that they do not want to mess with us. Let them come back if they want. We'll tear them up all over again. But it would be nice to have Molecule Man here. I'm sure his little device would be a lot more destructive and a lot less work on our part."

Iron volunteered to teleport down to Ray's lab to see how he was coming along. He was a bit concerned about running into Protex but he did have a built in flamethrower in his suit and he hoped that it would be enough if he ran into an antagonistic white monster. Stepping to the platform he teleported down to the Ivy Town campus and made his way towards the science building and Ray's lab.

JLA Universe

Gotham

Owlman looked around in disgust. At first glance, it seemed he had been sent home. But he knew almost instinctively that this was not his Gotham. He should have killed Ray when he had him at his mercy. Now he was stuck, for who knew how long, in another dimension.

As he continued to study his surroundings, from the alley that he had materialized in, he realized that here it was also early morning. He assumed he was in the same world where he had met Ultraman's twin. He wondered if there was also an Owlman here. He thought it unlikely since the Ultraman of this world had not found him to be at all familiar. The probability that a version of himself existed here seemed slim. In all likelihood he had been shot in the alley where his mother and little brother Bruce had been killed. His father, being the coward that he was, had begged for his life and handed over his wallet and as well as his dead mother's purse and jewelry to the filth that had attacked them. It was something he had never forgiven him for. And he had waged a war of death on both criminals as well as people he had judged to be like his father for many years now.

He had been fueled by revenge and hate for so long that he had inevitably crossed the line and become the very thing that had stolen his mother and little brother from him. But he no longer cared. He had become his father's nightmare. He made sure that he brought terror to the coward that had begged for his life while kneeling next to his dead son and dying wife.

Curiosity compelled him to seek the old manor or at least what was left of it. He also wanted to have a look in the graveyard to see if there were any Wayne's here and which ones, if any, were dead. Moving with a lifetime of practice, he made his way unseen, only another shadow in the grey cold morning, out of the city, into the cold and snow filled hills and forests that surrounded Wayne Manor and the cemetery.

Fourth World

Apokolips

Grayven's Chambers

Grayven looked down at the drugged Lashina. He could not enjoy himself with her until she awoke. An unconscious victim did not scream. He slapped her across the face but there was no response. He threw water on her and still nothing. She was breathing shallowly, so he knew that she was alive. He knew that it must have been Desaad. She had been perfectly awake when he had confronted Kalibak. He was due to lead another raiding party soon and would not be able to wait for her to awaken. He would have to visit a brothel before he left.

Making sure that she was chained and with no chance of escape he left his quarters in a foul mood.

Moments after he left, Lashina's eyes opened. She recognized the room and her predicament. She remembered her father and how he had died, but she was oddly relaxed. As long as she continued as Grayven's slave she was safe from being touched by other males, except of course the ones that Grayven had given her to. Lashina was quite sure that she would be able to change that as well. The thought of being Grayven's plaything turned her stomach, but the thought of being the plaything of every male on Apokolips terrified her even more.

She remembered now her week of torture quite vividly. The fight between Kalibak and Grayven and the drug from Desaad had restored much of her memory. She still believed herself to be the servant of Darkseid but at the same time she desired freedom; freedom from slavery and the freedom to dispatch her tormentors. Grayven would have to go, and she knew of a few ways in which she could dispatch the more powerful Grayven but she did not know what would happen to her after the fact. The possibilities were too horrendous, so she set the plan aside for the time being.

JLA Universe

Oa

Hal, Golin and Santur watched as the Daxamite was placed into his cell. It was obvious that he was weakened. His body sagged from the proximity of the lead but there was still a mocking and defiant look in his eyes. When he looked up at Hal and the Hawkmen he sneered, "You are all as good as dead. When I am freed I will ask for permission to personally gut the three of you." The Daxamite leaned forward, "My name is Tor-den. Remember it. My face will be the last thing you see before you die."

Hal, Golin and Santur looked at him for a moment more. Santur wanted nothing more than to enter the cell and dispatch the arrogant monster. Golin convinced him not to.

Hal finally spoke to the now relaxed prisoner. "You make some very serious threats and you seem very confident that you will escape. What makes you think that you will escape from the guardians?"

Tor-Den just smiled wickedly at him. "Let's just say that I have more friends than you realize and that you have less friends than you think. Thanks for the room, corpse. I'll kill you soon."

Hal felt his temper rising at the prisoner's arrogance but he calmed himself, remembering that the enemy was captured and not a threat. "Let's get going and let the overconfident windbag get used to his new home," he said to the Hawkmen.

The three friends left the well guarded sciencells and headed back towards the post where Tomar Re had been stationed. He was no longer there. Instead there was a tall hairy creature in his place that seemed to only be able to speak in howls, growls, grunts and roars. Thankfully the rings were able to translate for them. The tall hairy creature was named, Frewchuuta the Froookie. He told them in his very special and unique way that Tomar Re had left to continue his investigation into the death of his friend and that he would see them soon.

Hal was a bit disappointed that he would not be able to say good-bye, but he could still introduce his two new friends to his mentor and trainer, Kilowog as well as his two other trainers, Boodika and Sinestro. He wondered if he would ever get the last two to smile. Gesturing for Golin and Santur to follow him he headed for the training grounds. He knew that he would find Kilowog or Boodika there for sure, if not both. Those two enjoyed training way too much. Their faces seemed to light up when it was time for fighting.

Moving leisurely, the three friends made their way deeper into Oa towards the training grounds.

Syndicate Universe

Ivy Town

Di-ana landed just outside the ER of Ivy Town Memorial Hospital carrying the unconscious form of Ray Palmer. Third shift was quickly coming to an end, but it was still fairly quiet. Being a small town, serious injuries rarely found their way to the small hospital. The staff and security were certainly not used to any of the Syndicate dropping off patients. Everyone scrambled to move out of Superwoman's way as she carried the man into the triage area.

Di-ana deposited Ray on a chair next to a nurse. "He seems to be paralyzed from the waist down and has crush injuries to his penis. Do what you can to stabilize him and I will return with more advanced technology to heal him in a few hours. If he has not been stabilized as I have ordered then I will kill you when I return."

The terrified nurse watched as the beautiful, tall and terrifying woman flew away, then she called to the back for help and worked as hard and fast as she could to make sure that her new patient would stay alive and stable.

Ray's Lab

Iron entered the lab cautiously. He was startled when he saw the mess. It looked like a tornado had hit. Machinery and instruments and glass were everywhere. He saw a table with straps and some blood. There was some shrapnel and some of Owlman's blades sticking out of the walls and floor. Looking more closely at the floor he saw the obvious signs that sex had happened as well. That immediately told him that Superwoman had been present. So Ray, Owlman and Superwoman had all been present for sure. He wondered if there had been more and where they were now.

Iron looked nervously around, letting his scanners tell him whether or not he was alone. He was so terrified of being found by Protex that he didn't take notice of the working instruments and quickly teleported back up to the station.

JLA Universe

Thanagar

Home of Admiral Paran Katar

"So of the twenty that left, eight were enemy Khunds in disguise, and now only six of you remain?" Admiral Katar was not pleased with the news. If the enemy had so easily infiltrated the most elite of their military forces then he wondered where else they had embedded themselves.

"Yes, Father." Kator was generally in complete control of his passions, but now as he responded, his voice cracked. He, Shayera and the four remaining Hawkmen had broken down at the hasty and make shift funeral they had held for their fallen comrades in the frozen desert wasteland that their new friend, Superman, called home, but had not allowed themselves to dwell for long on their sorrowful misfortune, not with their mission uncompleted. Now as the four sat in the comfortable home of their trusted leader the walls fell away and the veteran soldiers of countless bloody battles broke down and tears flowed freely for the friends that had fallen fighting beside them.

Kator did not bother to mask his emotion as his voice broke, "My brothers died defending me and fighting against a man with such power that, with all of our skills and advanced weaponry, we were like babies fighting a giant. I believe we would have all died if one of greater power had not arrived and aided us. He is called Superman back on earth. He is pure of heart, honorable, courageous and a great warrior. We owe him our lives."

Paran Katar looked appreciatively at his son, his fiancé, Shayera, and the twin warriors, Morlan and Jorlan. "So I owe this, Superman, for the life of my brave son and his loyal men?"

"We would all be dead if not for him, Sir," Shayera spoke up instantly.

"Then he has my eternal gratitude, thanks and whatever help he desires whenever he desires it. It is not right that a father has to bury his son. In this case I would have lost a beloved daughter as well. These brave young men that accompany you spent many an hour roaming and playing in this house with their brother Jotan. I am sorry for the loss of your brother, my sons. I only pray that I would be as brave and selfless as I understand that your brother was." Paran Katar's voice was heavy with emotion as well.

Turning to Shayera he embraced her. "And we will all greatly miss the strong and brave Kantos. He was always fiercely protective of you wasn't he, my daughter?"

Shayera's body shook with silent sobs as she embraced her future father in law.

"Do not hold it in, my dear. It is no weakness to grieve the loss of a loved one. This news brings me great sorrow, anger and hope. We have lost too many good men and we are infiltrated by the enemy, but we also have some powerful new allies. Give me some more good news, my son," Paran Katar demanded of his son.

"We have a list of one hundred such infiltrators, father. Our prisoner is still secured aboard our ship. I wished to keep him alive to verify whether or not his information was accurate before we decide what to do with him. He has begged for his life. I believe that if his information is accurate then we should spare it and have him work for us against the enemy," Kator revealed his plan.

Paran Katar thought for a moment. "Let me call in my guard. Check them for cloaking devices. Quickly and quietly instruct those that are loyal Thanagarians to help you capture the imposters. The imposters will be held and questioned. I do not want other spies tipped off that we are onto them. Once we have all of the imposters we will give them the option of working for us or dying. Once we have all of the spies rounded up then we will talk about how we can best help your friends back on earth.

Kator, Shayera and the twins agreed.

"It is a good plan, father. It will work," Kator agreed.

Paran Katar's body guards came into the room and were checked for cloaking devices. After the twenty soldiers were cleared they spread out to check the rest of the wingmen from the Admiral's fleet.

Paran Katar sat back, satisfied, in his chair. "It won't be long now. Our people will be ready to face the enemy without fear of attack from within.

All nodded. There was a lot of work to be done and a planet to reclaim.

JLA Universe

Middleton

J'onn was about to turn off his television and leave for the police station. As he reached for his remote, an image from his nightmares filled the screen. It was the crude sketch of a White Martian. J'onn froze. He was here. If that was true then he imagined that all two hundred of the remaining White Martians were here as well.

J'onn noted that the report was coming in from Ivy Town University where the mutilated and partially devoured bodies of several dead security guards had been discovered.

J'onn called into the police station and told the operator that he would be very late for work.

======B======

Bailey

Scott and Big Barda stood inside the large twenty-four hour store. Yaneedee was a large chain store now and as the name implied, if you needed something chances were that the store would have it. Barda had just filled out an application for work as a butcher and Scott had applied in the electronics section.

At the moment both stood in the entertainment section. Looking, with wonder, at all of the music discs and movies, games, computers, gaming systems and other electronic gadgets. They both wondered why humans had such primitive things. They weren't very strong, they had short life spans, almost all lived well under a century, they had not travelled past their moon, and yet their electronic and computer businesses were booming. It didn't make sense to them but it was very amusing.

As they studied all of the cheaply made electronic and video toys made to entertain they saw news clip of several dead bodies partially devoured on a college campus. The sketch and description of the creature responsible made them extremely curious.

Scott and Barda turned to each other with questioning looks. Both wanted to investigate. Both wanted the exercise, the action and the challenge. They exchanged knowing smiles, dropped their resumes and raced out the door.

Scott grabbed Barda's hand, punched the code for their destination into his mother box. A large and loud Boom Tube appeared before them and they leaped into it. A moment later they were standing in one of the parking lots of Ivy Town University.

Outskirts of Ivy Town

"Admit it. You like it. It looks extremely manly and sexy on me." Ray had a grin plastered almost all the way around his face as he showed off his form fitting blue and red costume for the second time to his wife Jean.

Jean stared at him for a moment more. She was still recovering from having him suddenly appear out of nowhere. "Perhaps, if I had not just nearly suffered a heart attack from the shock, I would find your suit a little bit sexy," she answered sarcastically. "What is going on?"

Ray became somewhat serious. "I'm not sure. But I'm going to try and find out. Could you drop me off at my car on your way to work, baby?"

======T======

Themyscira

======A======

Arthur was not the least bit concerned about avoiding blows from the man in red and yellow. Instead he focused all of his concentration and energy on avoiding blows from his trident. He was slowly backing towards the water, hoping to even out his chances against his opponent's incredible speed. He was pleased to note that his enemy seemed just as intent to push him into the sea. That was good. He didn't suspect.

The battle was going a bit rough for him. He couldn't land a blow on the man of lightening and yet he had already sustained several blows some from his own trident and he was bleeding freely. He was very grateful when a giant wave of water came out of the ocean and snatched both him and his opponent off of the beach and dragged them in. He would have to remember to let his beautiful wife know how wonderful she was when the battle was over.

======JQ======

Johnnie was fairly impressed with the speed, strength and skill of the large blond man he was fighting. As fast as he was he was having a hard time landing any good blows on him, but he was definitely winning. He had the big man staggering and he was backing towards the water. He let himself grin in sadistic satisfaction. Once he had him in the water it would just be a matter of holding him under until he drowned. Then he would be free to join Guy and Jur-Li in taking the rest of the island. There were so many lovely women to sample!

Johnnie was taken by surprise when a giant wave came out of the ocean and, like a hand, snatched him and the big blond man up and dragged them into the water. It surprised him but it was also very welcome. Now the fight would be over fast. He blurred at the man. He was surprised when he felt the heavy trident ripped from his hands. He tried not to let his surprise show. He put it down to just plain luck. He moved all the faster striking the man with his bare hands.

His hands hurt terribly but the large man lost his footing and went underwater. Quick grabbed him by the neck and pushed down to prevent him from resurfacing. The man struggled futilely for what seemed too long to Quick but he finally began to go limp. Quick held him until he stopped moving. "Guess you were just to slow there, ya big loser!" he gloated.

Johnnie was shocked when he saw the eyes of the dead man suddenly open. The man's eyes stared triumphantly up into his as he reached up and dragged him under.

======A======

Arthur pulled the smaller, gloating man under the water. Here his opponent was not quite so fast and he was much faster. As far as speed went they were nearly equal here so his ability to breathe under water and his superior size and strength gave him the firm advantage as did the fact that he was a veteran tactical warrior.

Arthur held the man under until he passed out, then he surfaced. A part of him wanted to simply execute the murderer but he would leave that up to the Amazon's and their laws. It was not his place to be a judge here, although he was quite certain that they, like him, would find the man's actions punishable by death.

Arthur came out of the water and deposited his unconscious prisoner on the sand. Not knowing the extent of the man's recuperative powers he cut one of his Achilles tendons to keep him from reentering the fight if he recovered too quickly. When Arthur looked up he was horrified at the sight before him. There were so many dead Amazon warriors lying on the beach. He saw his Mera lying unconscious not far from the queen and the man in blue holding the elder Princess down. He also saw the man in green holding off the rest of the Amazons with disturbing ease.

If he had not been so enraged and thinking more clearly, Arthur would have attacked the man in green first but he was thinking anything but clearly. The sight of the man about to harm the elder princess made his blood boil and he charged with a shout. His arm went back and he skidded to a stop as he prepared to throw his powerful trident into back of the mad man in blue. He noted too late that the man in green had turned to attack him and before he could launch his weapon he was smashed down into the sand by a giant green hand.

A normal man would have been crushed by the blow of the giant energy construct, but the king of the seas was anything but normal. He shot back up out of the sand and aimed his trident at the flying green man, but missed. Another giant hand smashed him to the ground and this time he was hit repeatedly. Arthur knew he was slowly being beaten to death and he was beginning to lose consciousness. He couldn't afford to die right now. He was newlywed, his wife needed him and their new friends needed his help as well. He could not die while the princess was in the clutches of the madman. With his last bit of strength he took one last aim at the green man and fired the magical energy from his trident and then everything went dark.

======P======

Phillipus had seen many battles over the centuries. All had been bloody. There was nothing pretty about fighting and dying or killing, but there were those who did not desire peace but thought only of conquest and, in their case, there had been those who only wished to take advantage of a race of beautiful women. They had all been horribly humiliated once and they had all vowed that it would never happen again. Of the living Amazons only the princesses had never suffered such indignities that only cruel men could devise. The Amazons had vowed never again for themselves and never for their beloved princesses.

Phillipus was seething with rage seeing the peril of her princess and pupil and the fact that she was helpless to aid her. None of them could break through the defenses of the flying man with the strange and deadly green power. She had decided to put all of her resources into knocking him from the sky, but to her horror nothing worked. Arrows wouldn't penetrate his barriers and he was defeating her soldiers with disturbing ease. She shouted up at him challenging him to single combat. She hoped that insulting his ego would bring him down to face her but he just laughed at her and shot green energy at her. One of the blasts knocked her off of her feet. She landed hard but she was back on her feet almost instantly.

Phillipus held her shield in front of her and gripped her spear tightly. She just needed the right moment to take the arrogant pig of a man out. It had to be soon! Her princess needed her and she could not fail her. She promised herself that she would die before she let that happen. Her moment!

The sea king was rushing the man attacking the princess! He looked so magnificent and fierce. His handsome face was deadly serious and his lips were pulled back in a snarl. He was about to throw his powerful trident into the back of the monster holding down the princess but then he was down. The green man had attacked him.

Phillipus's mind cleared and she saw her opening. "Shoot him down!" she shouted as she released her spear.

Her spear shattered uselessly against the man's energy construct as did many of her sister's arrow's but then in defeat the sea king managed to hit him with the mystical energy from his trident and the green energy was gone for a moment. Phillipus looked frantically for her spear, any spear a bow, anything, and then Artemis was next to her aiming her bow at the enemy. She released and gave a satisfied grunt as her arrow passed clean through the man's shoulder and then they all saw a dark shadow strike the man from above and bring him crashing to the ground.

======S======

Donna pointed at her sister, "There! You have to help her!" She shouted desperately.

Superman was already gone.

======B======

Batman, Black Canary, Barry and Wally took in the horrible scene. Batman eyes were suddenly drawn to the man with the green energy ring and realized that he had to be taken out. He maneuvered his jet above the occupied man. Turning to Barry he said, "Land the jet, then back me up."

Just as Batman was about to leap out of the hatch Barry stopped him. "How do you plan on breaking through this guys energy shield?"

"Willpower." Batman shot back. With that he dropped out of the hatch towards the green lantern imitator. He saw an energy blast that momentarily turned off the green energy bubble that surrounded the man then just before he struck an arrow passed clean through his targets left shoulder.

Batman released his parachute just before he hit the red haired man in green. He hit him hard. The man gave out a loud groan as he knocked the wind out of him and took hold of his limp body. As he struck him he grabbed his right hand and yanked the power ring from his finger.

The extra weight caused them to fall faster than Batman had anticipated. A part of him wanted to just let the worthless man fall to his death but he hung onto him despite his sense of immediate justice. If he had to use the man's body to break his own fall he would.

Batman suddenly felt that their descent had slowed and that they were in fact floating slowly down. Peering down he saw Barry creating strong updrafts with his arms to cushion their descent. Batman still made sure he landed on top of the man in green.

When they hit the sand he rolled away and came up ready for him to counter. The man stood up for a moment, looked at him in shock and mumbled, "Owlman?" he stumbled towards him with his right hand out. "Give it back." Then he fell to his knees.

Batman didn't care at the moment that the man was beaten. He was sickened by what he could see that he had done and he struck him viciously, snapping his head back and sending him crashing to the ground unconscious. Batman and Barry were instantly surrounded by female warriors, there were swords and spears pointed at him but a beautiful darker skinned warrior and lovely red haired warrior with a long and high ponytail came forward. They looked at him questioningly and at the unconscious killer. He dropped the energy ring at their feet and raised his hands to show that he held no weapons and that he had no intention of attacking.

Wally and Dinah had just come up behind him but now all attention was turned towards Superman.

======S======

Superman didn't need the young girl to point out her sister. It was the first thing he saw when they came out of the strange mystical field. He did not see his twin attacking a woman that looked like Di-ana. He saw a man forcing himself on a young woman. The moment he saw it, he acted.

Superman accelerated away from the young girl, towards the man with the red cape, like a man possesed. He grabbed his cape with both hands, flipped over while still in the air, landed feet first hard on the ground and flipped the man off of the young woman and over his shoulder.

To Superman's surprise the man landed on his feet facing him. Both men froze for a moment as they found themselves staring into the face of their twin. The other man recovered first and struck a blow at Superman's face.

Superman avoided the blow instinctively and retaliated with one of his own. His twin caught his arm neatly and flipped him over his head. Superman landed hard in the sand, leaving a deep impression. He kicked up as hard as he could and connected with both feet hitting his opponent in the chest.

Superman blurred to his feet only to come face to face with his twin again. The man seemed to be burning with unquenchable rage and power, but Superman was no less angry. He started striking at the man with all of his speed and strength. He landed a few and began driving the man back towards the water. He was a bit perplexed when the man's face, which had been contorted in rage, suddenly turned into a confident smile. When he counterattacked he realized why.

======U======

Jur-Li suddenly realized that his twin did not have his fighting skills or if he did he was too upset to think clearly enough to use them. He also seemed a bit younger and that would mean that in addition to fighting skill he would have a slight advantage in strength. He assumed that this man was the mate of this universe's Di-ana. He would leave her to him but he would teach him that he was no match for him.

He was Jur-Li the son of Jur-Li and he had mastered every style of physical combat that his father had programmed for him to learn as well as having learned the skills of his adulterous wife and his treacherous friend. He counter attacked with cold calculating fury. He smiled sadistically as he heard the grunts of pain from the unbelieving lips of his indignant opponent. His smile grew at the sound of breaking bones. Even his near equal in power could not withstand his strength and skill.

======S======

Superman felt helpless at first. It was a feeling he was not accustomed to. He knew he should have made the combat training programs a priority, now he was paying the price. He lacked the other man's skills but his mind was just as quick and when he learned something it was with him forever. He grasped the style and flow of the attacks even though at first he could do nothing to defend himself. The pain was great and he felt the tug of fear when he felt his own bones break. Several ribs his left collar bone and his left arm were all broken. A kick to his shin and then his stomach sent him to his knees.

He felt something odd when he was kicked in the shin. As if something had bitten into his flesh. He remembered the black crystal that the Batman lookalike had tossed him and that he had stashed in his boot. The man was grabbing him by the hair with both hands. Superman had seen and memorized his style and abilities the whole while he had been taking the severe beating. He reached up with his good hand grabbing his opponents left. Putting him in a wristlock he spun to his feet and to the left side of his enemy. Holding the man's arm in the painful wristlock and forcing him to bend over at the waist, he kicked out with his left foot and hit him hard in the throat. Letting go of his wrist, he moved in closer and brought his elbow down on the man's shoulder with all of his strength. He heard the man grunt as his shoulder dislocated, but now that he was free of the wristlock the man fell to the ground and rolled out of his way.

Superman could feel his injuries healing as the man renewed his attack. It seemed his shoulder was nearly healed as well. He was still taking the worst of the fight but he wanted the man to stay confident in his victory. A kick to his chest knocked the wind out of Clark and also knocked him off of his feet. He rolled as he hit the sand away from his more powerful twin and pulled the black crystal out of his boot as he did.

======U======

Jur-Li was impressed. His younger self was certainly not a coward and he was already picking up his skills. He saw that, like himself, the man healed rather quickly from injuries and that even seriously injured, he did not stop fighting. He respected that while at the same time he still planned on leaving him seriously injured and with no doubt in his mind as to who was his better. He was down again. He would break his neck then leave him to heal slowly while he made himself at home on his island.

Jur-Li decided he would leave his wife alone. The lustful rage that had taken him at the thought of Di-ana was now gone. Until the last few days taking a woman by force was not something that he had ever done. He had never seen any reason too. He had never felt that it made one more of a man and he had never had a lack of females willing to be his. Once he had met Di-ana he had wanted no other woman. His love and lust for her had turned into a dangerous, jealous and indignant rage at her infidelities and he had turned all of his rage against her. If he could have left back to his own universe he would have but he had no idea how. He could not go home so he felt he might as well continue to enjoy this battle. He started to bend down, reaching with both hands to grasp and break the man's neck, when his opponent suddenly sat up and head butted him hard on the nose. He felt his nose break and he saw stars as he stumbled back. Just as his vision was beginning to clear he felt excruciating pain all over his body, the kind he only felt when in the presence of kryptonite. He felt an explosion of pain on his chin as his twin struck him and then the darkness of unconsciousness swallowed him as he fell heavily to the ground.

======S======

Superman stood over the only being he had ever encountered, more powerful than himself. His body was quickly healing in the morning sun and he gripped the black crystal tightly. He was breathing heavily from the exertion and the desperate fight for his life, but there was also the relief and welcome surprise of having defeated a dangerous and more powerful enemy.

Slowly, Superman became aware of other voices, of his friends speaking to him, of the warrior women of the island addressing him and lastly of a small hand holding his. He looked down and saw the little girl who had come to him for help. There were still tears on her face but she was also smiling. Her smile was radiant and lit up her already beautiful face. She seemed so familiar. He remembered her sister and looked to see if she would be alright. The girl was being lifted off of the sand by two warriors, one of them had long red hair that she kept in a high pony tail.

Clark moved towards the two warriors and the injured girl and gasped when he saw who it was. "Di-ana!" he tried to move closer, but the warrior women heard him and his path was instantly blocked by the sharp end of scores of spears and swords. Superman stopped in his tracks and backed up with his free hand in the air. The little girl seemed shocked at having heard what he said but she stepped in between him and the warrior woman and defended him, explaining that she had brought him and his friends in the black flying creature to help.

Clark noticed that the young woman opened her eyes for a moment. He saw her look at her little sister still holding onto his hand and at him. Her eyes bore into his and then she was looking past him. Turning he saw that she had seen her attacker unconscious on the ground. The look in her eyes grew a little softer. He heard her mumble, "There are two. The visions were all true," and then she was out again.

As Clark studied her injuries, her face and her eyes, and listened to her heart, he realized that she was not the Di-ana that he had met. Just like the Batman he had met a couple of days before had not been the Batman that he now considered a friend and just like the man he had fought was not him.

Superman looked around for his friends and saw that Batman stood over a red headed man that was dressed similarly to Hal. Another lookalike.

"Who are you?"

Superman turned to see a beautiful dark skinned woman addressing him she was armed with sword and shield. She was tall. Probably six feet and she seemed willing to give him the benefit of the doubt but also just as willing to gut him at the first sign of treachery. Seeing the many dead warrior women strewn across the sand, Superman understood why.

"My friends and I are not here to harm you, only to help. This little one brought us here. She is very brave. I am called Superman by most but my name is Kal-El," Superman answered her in his best Greek.

Phillipus was taken aback as the man answered her in her own tongue and with great respect. She had seen him defeat the incredibly cruel and powerful monster that had been intent on defiling the princess. Most of the battle had been fought at speeds that she had been unable to follow, but in the end she had seen him standing triumphantly over the enemy. He had seemed to be badly injured but to look at him now one would never know that he had just fought for his life.

Phillipus nodded her head in acceptance. She motioned Donna to come to her with her hand, "Come, Princess."

Donna reluctantly let go of Superman's hand. She gave it a squeeze before she did, looked up at him and smiled, it was a warm and trusting smile. One that made Clark thank God that he and his friends had come to investigate. "Thank you for saving my sister," she said as she let go and went to stand next to the dark skinned woman.

Superman noticed to things. That he actually felt the little girl's hand squeeze and a blur of motion and energy blow past him and towards the young princess. Before he had completely registered the danger and acted, a second blur of energy blew past him.

======JQ======

Johnnie had an extremely accelerated metabolism. He still recovered very slowly from the tremendous blow he had received from the yellow haired man. When he did come to, he saw to his horror that both Power Ring and Ultraman were down. He could not imagine any adversary that was could take on Ultraman and win. And then he saw that the big blond man in gold and green was down and that a man who looked like Owlman and another that looked like Ultraman's twin were standing surrounded by the lovely women of the island. Looking closer he saw a man and a boy that seemed to have powers similar to his own and a beautiful blonde woman that was not dressed like the island warrior women.

Johnnie wanted to snatch a blade at super speed and drive the blade into each of the attackers' hearts before they knew what hit them. As he checked his limbs he realized that the blond pig had cut his left Achilles tendon. He could barely move it but it was slowly knitting. He could feel it healing. Another few minutes and he would be able to run. He decided that he didn't have to be completely healed to complete his mission. All he wanted to do was take one of the women hostage. He was sure that the rest of the colorful heroes and the rest of the warrior women would back off until his friends regained consciousness and then they could make good their escape from this strange and lovely island.

Johnnie decided to take the little girl. He was certain no one would be willing to sacrifice the little girl. She seemed to be very important. All of the warrior women around her were watching her closely and seemed extremely protective. He noted that the two beautiful women that had appeared with the blond devil that he had fought were standing up. Both looked to be in bad shape. To bad, he planned on giving them an even worse day.

Quick blurred through the crowd to the little girl. He felt another blur pass him and the girl was gone. Turning he saw a red headed boy a few feet away standing next to the young girl.

======D======

Donna let out a yelp as she felt herself move at speeds even she and her sister had never attained. When she stopped she realized that a red headed boy was standing next to her holding onto both of her arms. He was staring straight ahead intently. She looked and saw the man who had fought the sea king standing where she had been a moment before. He seemed disoriented and annoyed. He spotted her and accelerated towards her.

The red headed boy let go of her and accelerated towards the man. Everything seemed to go into slow motion for Donna. She noted that Phillipus was turning and starting to speak. A pretty blond haired woman dressed in strange dark clothes had walked up and was standing next to the beautiful man who had saved Diana. She was turning towards the man who was moving towards her. The man coming towards her and the red headed boy disappeared from sight for a moment and then she saw them again the man was very close to her and on the ground. The red headed boy stood over him with a very serious look on his face. The man stood up instantly. He did something with his hand that knocked the red headed boy back a bit. She heard a painful sound that knocked the man towards her. Knowing that the man was part of the group that had attacked her island, her mother, her aunts and her sister, Little Donna let loose with an uppercut that connected with the man's chin just as he was thrown towards her from the painful blast or sound that she could hear.

Donna's fist connected solidly with the man's chin. Quick was lifted off of his feet and he landed hard on his back. When he hit the ground he was already out.

Donna stood proudly over her fallen enemy.

Wally looked on with his mouth open. Finally he found his voice but all he could say was, "Whoa! That was wicked!"

Dinah smiled at the young girl. Speaking to Barry, Batman and Superman she said, "That little girl is no pushover and I think that Wally is deeply in love."

Mera and Queen Hippolyta joined the group. Mera was slowly recovering. The Queen seemed to be in worse shape but was intent on knowing how her daughters were. She stared antagonistically at Superman but was quickly informed that he had saved Diana. Her gaze softened somewhat. She realized that the prophecy of the oracle had come true and that if it had not been for these strange men there was no telling the horrors they would have endured.

Superman and his friends stood quietly and respectfully while the queen spoke with her warriors and the young girl. They watched as the dark skinned warrior and the beautiful red headed woman dressed in green pulled a badly beaten, large blond man from the sand. The red haired woman seemed to want to take him to the sea. Barry moved over to help her and the three moved him to the water.

All, but the red haired woman, were surprised by the instant reaction. His eyes opened and his wounds healed. He looked suspiciously at Barry as he sat up but quickly realized that the three attackers were down.

Aquaman stood up and the four made there way back to the group. The queen smiled warmly at him and Mera and held out her good arm and embraced them in thanks turning to Superman, Batman, Dinah, Barry and Wally she smiled as well. "We, the Amazons, greet you as friends and we thank you and the gods for your aid. We will pass judgment on the aggressors shortly and would be honored if you would stay with us this day."

Then two things happened.

The three unconscious attackers disappeared in a flash of light and a warrior came running up to the queen with a message.

The Amazons were shocked by the disappearance. Superman and his friends were startled but instantly saw the connection to Di-ana. Superman was also reminded of the Batman lookalike he had encountered.

Superman turned to the surprised queen and her warriors. "I do not think that they will return, but if they do we are at your service." Looking carefully at her Superman noted her many injuries and said with concern, "Your majesty, you are injured."

The messenger warrior interrupted, "My Queen. Epione requests your presence immediately for treatment as well as the rest of the injured and Princess Diana wishes to see her sister and this man who saved her."

Queen Hippolyta stiffened a little at hearing her daughter's request but then relented. She knew in her heart that these men and the woman could be trusted. They had saved them but she did not like the idea of her daughter speaking to him alone. "Very well, we will all head to the healing isle. I will speak with Diana and…"

"Kal-El, your majesty. My name is Kal-El" Superman introduced himself and then introduced the rest of his friends.

The queen smiled at them all. She gave Wally a look that made him step away from the younger princess. He hadn't even realized that he had been so close to her and he felt a little intimidated.

Queen Hippolyta turned to lead the procession, lost her strength and fell. Superman caught her without thinking and lifted her up. The reaction was instantaneous. Dozens of spears were again pointed at him, except now at lower and higher parts of his anatomy since he held the queen in his arms.

Clark looked at the queen sheepishly and a bit taken aback as he carefully set her down again. "I'm sorry?" he asked awkwardly.

The queen studied him carefully for a moment before she spoke. "Thank you, Kal-El. I will not need to be carried to the healing Isle and if for some reason I do it will not be in the arms of a man."

Clark ducked his head and tried hard to control his nervous grin from escaping. He didn't want to insult the queen or any of the women here. "Please forgive me, your majesty. I reacted on instinct and because I see that you have many injuries. I did not mean to offend you or your warriors."

A litter was brought for the queen and a large portion of the company made it's way with the queen, the injured and Superman to the Isle of Healing while the rest waited on the beach.

======D======

Diana slowly began to hear and feel again. She was filled with dread at the thought of what the crazed man was doing to her, but she soon realized that no one was touching her. She hoped that it had all been a bad dream. However the sounds of desperate conflict made it clear that the nightmare was real.

Diana felt the ground shake a few times and she heard grunts and groans of pain but she did not have the strength to open her eyes. Then everything seemed quiet. The fighting had stopped and she could hear familiar voices. Friendly hands were lifting her out of the sand and she heard the voice of her friend, Artemis reassuring her.

Diana was able to open her eyes. At first she thought she was having another vision. Then she realized that it was real. Her little sister was standing next to her attacker. Her face was tearstained but she was smiling and holding his hand. Looking past him she saw her actual attacker on the lying still on the sand and realized that the one standing was kind and beautiful faced man from her vision and that there were indeed two men. She thought it curious how two individuals could look identical and at the same time so different.

Diana wasn't sure if she spoke out loud or not, but the next thing she knew she was on a clean bed in the infirmary on the Isle of Healing. Epione was standing over her and looking down with relief and concern.

"Once was enough, my Princess. You do not need to die again to show us how brave and selfless you are." Epione smiled down at the disoriented Princess.

Diana tried to sit up but Epione placed a hand gently on her chest and held her down. "No, my Princess. Rest now. You were badly injured. Let your body heal. You will be whole again by evening, I am sure."

Diana lay back down. She could tell that her injuries were many and some serious. "My mother is well?" She was fearful of the answer.

Epione smiled, "She is injured, but not seriously, thanks to you and she will be here shortly."

Diana seemed to visibly relax then her face scrunched up again and she asked, "How many sisters died?"

Eipone sighed, "Too many, my Princess. I believe the sisters that brought you here said the count was at forty three."

Diana was very quiet. "It's not right. They should not have died. I should have been there. I have been chosen champion and I have been gifted by the gods. They are braver than me, Epione. They have no special abilities and yet they give their lives without a thought to protect Little Donna, my mother and me. They should not be made to suffer like that."

Epione smiled down at her princess, "The love and selflessness that your mother, little sister and yourself show the rest of us is precisely why we would all gladly give our lives for you. Not only are you royalty in name but also in spirit and deed. We Amazons are not strangers to death and violence and if by dying we can protect those most precious to us then we will without hesitation. Our sisters who have passed will be honored for their selfless sacrifice and we will never forget them. Now rest, Princess. Let the purple ray heal your body.

Diana lay still for a bit as she felt the healing ray doing its work and thinking about what she had witnessed and what Epione had said to her. "Epione?"

"Yes, Princesss?"

"I want to see my mother, Donna and the man who saved me."

Epione looked down at her princess for a moment before she answered, "I will send word that you wish to speak with them. Now rest."

Diana closed her eyes and fell into a peaceful sleep.

======W======

Wally watched as Superman, the beautiful young girl and many of the other warrior women made their way to the east. Some of the warriors stayed behind.

Wally noticed that he was standing by himself. His uncle, Batman and Dinah were talking to the large blond man in orange and green and some of the warrior women. He walked up to them slowly with a very happy grin on his face.

Dinah turned to him as he approached and noticed how happy he looked. She frowned at him and said, "Wally. I don't think this is the time or place to be joking or laughing. What happened here was horrible."

Wally stopped grinning instantly, "I know, I didn't mean to be disrespectful. It's just that I finally realized where we are."

Dinah looked at him curiously, "You know where we are? Not even Batman knows where we are."

Wally grinned again, "Yep. They called themselves, Amazons. We're in Brazil. I always knew I would fall in love with a Brazilian."

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