VII

Diana's POV

"...don't want to leave…"

As the words left my mouth I felt a gust of wind blow me backwards in the shower. I didn't try to shield my face from the wave of water he left in his wake. The water hit my skin like a thousand tiny daggers and I let it. I deserved it.

"What had I allowed myself to become?" I thought to myself.

I crumpled to the shower floor as I heard a door slam. What must he think of me? I wasn't a killer.

"I shouldn't have let them…"

My arms wrapped around my body as I brought my knees tightly into my chest. I closed my eyes. That was a horrible idea. All I could see was myself jamming that blade into his broad chest. My eyes shot open. Tears fell down my cheek. Dirty, I felt so damn dirty. The cream dress I was wearing, a symbol of purity and goodness, I no longer deserved to wear it. Slowly I pulled the dress off my shoulders. Unlatching the waist of my dress, it fall to the wayside. Naked and weeping I let the hot water wash over me. The scorching water burated me for what seemed like an eternity yet I felt dirty.

"I am not them…"

A few days ago, the Island of Themyscira

The formal nature of my mother's call worried me. Never had she sent the guards to get me unless I'd done something wrong. A part of me wondered if she had been told about my conversation with Alexia. She always had ways of finding out everything. Her spies were everywhere.

"You may enter princess," General Phillipus growled.

By the sound of her voice she wasn't pleased.

I gulped hard.

Yup she knew.

General Phillipus signaled for the two armed guards stationed on either side of the throne room entrance to open the door. As the door opened, I saw my mother seated on her high throne looking down at me

"Come here Diana," she said as her voice echoed throughout the throne room.

Slowly I walked closer to her. I felt every eye on my in that moment. Something was up, but I just couldn't put my finger on it.

"You called mother," I said as I knelt before her.

"I have a mission for you my child," she said as she stood to her feet.

"What will you have me do?" I asked.

I watched a smile spread across my mother's face. There was something off about it. It sent a shiver down my spine. Gradually she made her way down the narrow steps and stopped right in front of me.

"The gods have given us a chance to rid ourselves of a danger that has plagued us since the time of Troy," she said. "However the price is something we can not repay…"

As my mother spoke she paced back and forth in front of me. Her eyes never let mine as she moved.

"You shall be granted a chance to prove yourself to be a true Amazon , oh daughter of mine," she continued as she finally stopped pacing. "You will kill the man who kills Circe."

I looked up at my mother's face. Had she just asked me to kill someone who was going to help us.

"But if he kills Circe, isn't that a good thing?" I asked. "A good thing not deserving of death…."

My mother threw up her hands in frustration.

"Damnit girl!" she hissed. "We owe no man nothing, or did you forget our way!"

I shook my head.

"Good," she replied. "You will leave at first light for the city of Metropolis, kill him and return to us. If you do that we will be most pleased. You do wish to please your mother?"

As she said please your mother she placed her hands on either side of my shoulders. It had been a long time since she's bother to show me any kind of affection. I bowed my head at my mother's gentle touch. I knew it was foolish to believe that she actually cared much about me, but the little girl part of me craved it.

"I will not fail you," I said.

"I pray you don't," she replied.

There was a coldness to her voice.

"For 'HE' will not be pleased,"

Present time

My mother's false words of hope made me feel sick to my stomach or was it the drugs still working its way through my system. I could no longer tell. I looked down at my now wrinkled hands. How long had I been sitting at the bottom of the shower?

"About an hour," I heard a voice.

Quickly I got to my feet and turned off the water. Looking around the bathroom through the glass shower.

"Show yourself!" I said as I saw that I was still alone in the shower.

"Well my dear," the voice replied. "I might be a criminal but I am still a gentleman. It wouldn't be fitting for me to show myself with you still…"

I looked down as he spoke. Immediately, I place my hands over my breasts.

"I am J'onzz by the way," he added with a light chuckle.

"Hi," I replied. "How are you talking to me?"

He laughed, "I am a telepath. It comes with being not of this world."

"Are you one of the gods?" I asked.

"No," he replied. "Like Ultraman I am from the stars…"

"The gods are from the stars," I replied. "If you are from them, then you are one of them…"

He let out a sigh.

"Diana…. Can I call you Diana?" he asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Yes,"

"Well Diana, I am an alien from the planet you call Mars," he continued. "But I'm sure you'd rather ask me questions clothed..."

"But I have nothing to wear," I replied as I looked down at my wet dress.

"I've placed one of Ultraman's tees on the bed," he replied. "You can wear that until I have some clothes sent over."

Something about this wasn't right. This J'onzz had no reason to be kind to me. I tried to kill his boss...

"Why are you being kind to me?" I asked.

"You're not the first woman to try..." he said.

There was a sense of glee in his voice. His voice droned on but, my eyes looked down at the green blade on the ground. Whatever he was saying seemed to fade away into nothingness. The blade taunted me. I needed to get away from it. Swiftly, I stepped out of the shower. A towel was resting on the sink. As I picked up the towel I noticed the same 'S' on it that was on Ultraman's back.

"...You however are the one he seems to have let get close enough to actually stab him. And that's an achievement,"

J'onzz words 'to get close enough to him' rang in my ears.

"No… I didn't…." I said stumbling over my words.

J'onzz sighed, "You were following orders. And that his something he can understand."

"What do you mean he can understand?" I said as I wrapped the towel about me. "Did his mother ever asked him to kill someone?"

There was a long silence between us as I walked out of the bathroom. My legs wobble as I leaned against the bathroom door frame. Standing in the doorway I noticed the pile of vomit I'd sprayed across his white marble floor was gone. Maybe this J'onzz alien creature cleaned it up.

"He said there was a shirt…." I thought to myself.

As I scanned the room, my eyes fell on a red tee shirt resting on the bed.

"Bingo," I muttered.

After taking several deep breaths, I hobbled my way back across the room and towards the bed. With a thud I stumbled into one of the sharp edges of the bed. It matched the symbol on Ultraman's back. I wondered what the significance of the symbol to him as I let the towel around me fall to the floor. As I reached for the shirt I heard a knock from the outside of the room.

"How do you find the shirt?" I heard a J'onzz voice through the door.

"Its fine," I replied as I slid the shirt over my head.

"I will have someone pick you up some clothes for in the morning," he said.

Finally clothed I sit on the edge of the bed. My legs had worn themselves out on the way from the shower. I never knew how taxing something as simple as walking could be when one was drugged. I sat with the elbows resting on my knees as I started to feel the room spinning.

"May I come in?" he asked.

"Yes," I sighed as I heard the door open.

"I've got something to help take the edge off of Barry's high," J'onzz said as he entered the room. "I've told him to keep his drugs to himself…"

J'onzz footsteps towards me were slow and light. I barely noticed him when he finally reached me. He was a towering green skinned man whited out eyes. There was a gentleness to his face.

"It's an old recipe my mother taught me," he added with a smile.

With an outstretched hand he held out a cup. The moment he held it up to my face I was hint with the foul stench of death.

"What was in on?" I asked as my face scrunched up.

"You don't want to know," J'onzz replied. "But from what Kal-El told me…."

J'onzz words started to trail off. What an odd name...

"Kal-El?" I asked.

J'onzz stared at the puzzled look on my face.

"Oh," he said softly. "That's Ultraman's real name…."

With the cup still in hand, J'onzz knelt down in front. His gentle face turned serious.

"...But I'd advise you to forget you heard me use it," he said as he handed me the drink. "He will be a harsh man if you do."

He will be… I gulped hard. I'd just seen his hashness, an event rather not witness again. I held my breath as I took the drink into my hands and brought it up to my lips. The taste made me gag as it slipped into my mouth.

"By Gaia, are you sure you aren't trying to kill me?" I asked as I took a sip.

"No," he replied. "It's just something to help you sleep it off."

The drink went down well enough. J'onzz remained knelt down in front of me until I drank the last drop. He didn't speak, but his eyes studied me intensely. He was trying to figure me out. Now was my moment to ask him about Kal-El, as he called him, but suddenly I felt my eyes grow heavy.

I called out J'onzz name. He smiled at me.

"Sweet dreams," he mouthed.

Standing to his feet I reached out for his hand. He was about to walk away from me. I needed him to stay...

"I can't sleep now," I replied as my hand failed to reach him.

I watched J'onzz mouth move as he turned away from me. I called out for him once more but he was a million miles away.

"You know she's been looking for you?"J'onzz said .

"So she can kill me…" I heard Ultraman's voice reply.

J'onzz voice was going in and out. I fought to remain conscious

"...She said that she was sorry…"

I fumbled over my words.

"Forgive… me…"