Anxiety and dry mouths make for a rather sleepless night for the trio. Although undisturbed, the women remain ill at ease on the open plain. Knowing the sea monster lurks in the pond below, they wish to descend the rocky hillside and cross the river as swiftly and uneventfully as possible. To accomplish such, the ladies awaken early and start their downward climb just as the moonlight begins its daily surrender to the sun.

With gravity working in their favor, the heroines make excellent time. Batgirl and Supergirl carefully scale the incline on all fours while Diana reverse climbs with the aid of her golden lasso. The Amazon's leg is much worse this morning and, try though she does, she can not hide this fact from the others. For this descent, her magic lasso is a great equalizer, but Wonder Woman is quite aware that she will have trouble keeping pace with her nimble friends once their hiking commences.

Upon reaching level ground, the women maximize their distance from Devastation Pond before daring to step through the shallow brook. They traverse the stream without incident and soon find themselves at the edge of Lex River. It is here that Diana's fears manifest themselves. The Amazon finds herself in a spirited argument with Batgirl involving their strategy for crossing the river. While they agree upon using the magic lasso as before to climb over the rapids, the debate centers upon who should swim across to secure the line. Wonder Woman rationalizes that her Amazon training affords her far more experience in such waters than her friends. Despite her bum leg, she insists that she is still the most capable swimmer and thus will handle the job.

Batgirl vehemently challenges Diana. Kara reluctantly prepares to intervene while the Amazon braces for a possible showdown. The masked heroine glares angrily at Wonder Woman, but ultimately concedes the point. "I think you're making a mistake princess, but our fight is with Phranyx and our environment, not each other." Babs rules.

The cool water is soothing to her ailing thigh as Diana wades into the flow. Unfortunately, she gets little thrust from the wounded limb, thus her journey is slow and arduous. Her body drifts much farther downstream that in yesterday's swim. Only her trusty golden lasso, anchored firmly to the north bank, prevents her from being swept helplessly into the raging falls.

"Dammit! I knew this was a bad idea!" Batgirl mutters as she watches the Amazon struggle. "At this rate, I'm going to have to dive in after her!" she moans. A concerned Supergirl focuses her attention on Diana and half-heartedly acknowledges her ally's comments. Wonder Woman is little more than halfway across and she is laboring noticeably.

Kara is about to suggest that they come to Diana's aid when the relative calm is broken by a hair raising scream. Supergirl whirls around in time to see Batgirl collapse as though she's been shot. Blood spews from the right shoulder of the super heroine, the result of spear attack.

Three Neanderthal men emerge from a hidden vantage point 25 yards away between Clayface Pit and the Storm Lands. Sensing vulnerability, the savages charge the girl of steel and her felled comrade. Kara desperately wants to get Babs to a position of safety, but there isn't time. Furthermore, with Wonder Woman indisposed, Supergirl realizes that she must battle alone to save Batgirl and herself.

She should be terrified. Without super powers or vaunted fighting prowess, one caveman would seem to be more than a match for her. Curiously, Kara is remarkably composed, most likely because Batgirl's well being rests in her hands. Although lacking in skills, the Kryptonian is intelligent and quick thinking and she must use these qualities to survive.

In their initial encounter with the primitives, Kara noticed a decided preference on their part to resort to their bare hands against an enemy. The cavemen wield spears and clubs to disable their prey. From there, they use sharp, claw-like fingernails to shred the flesh. For Supergirl, her indestructible costume provides an ideal defense against such. Her success will hinge upon her ability to use that advantage to springboard a counter strike.

Supergirl bravely intersperses herself between her injured ally and the three attackers. She braces herself for their vicious assault by crouching slightly and covering her face with crisscrossed forearms. As Kara anticipates, the brutes see her as an easy kill and disdain use of their weapons. The girl of steel is attacked by two cavemen, each one concentrating upon a separate arm. Powerful fingers clamp down upon her comparatively thin upper limbs. Teeth attempt to dig deep into her shoulders. By now, the typical victim would be bleeding profusely and hurting too much to fend off the assailant. Supergirl has yet to be scratched, much to the confusion of the Neanderthals. Kara surprises them further with a pair of well-timed elbows to their jaws. The dual blows send both attackers momentarily reeling.

Meanwhile, the third barbarian slips through to reach Batgirl. To Kara's pleasant surprise, the cowled heroine is aware of the situation and able to mount a modest defense. Babs dodges the Neanderthal's initial foray and kicks him in the backside. Her options are severely limited due to a grievously injured right shoulder. The spear shattered her collarbone and tore through the muscles. Her right arm dangles limply at her side, completely useless for the foreseeable future.

Supergirl presses her brief advantage as best she can. The heroine tackles one of her staggered assailants below the knees. Within several feet of the river's edge, Kara manages to trip up her towering foe and send him sprawling into the water. Unfortunately, her offensive leaves her open to attack from his partner. The girl of steel is overpowered from behind and easily thrown to the ground. She is quickly pinned down face first and the caveman ruthlessly eyes the back of her head.

Babs recognizes Kara's plight. She relies on her speed and quick footwork to dodge the tireless advances of her single attacker. Using his aggressions against him, Batgirl induces the huge caveman to lunge past her and into Supergirl's opponent. The two men tumble over one another, thus enabling the Kryptonian to escape.

The barbarians recover swiftly, giving the women little time to regroup. Gordon has an idea which she is able to convey with little in the way of explanation. Supergirl picks up on her friend's plan and, while it is drastic and dangerous, she concurs with its necessity. The heroines slowly retreat towards the bubbling tar pit. Sensing fear, the two savages stalk their victims, getting ever closer with each step.

Across the river, Wonder Woman finally reaches the south bank. The Amazon champion drags her aching and exhausted body out of the water. Diana is oblivious to the grave danger her colleagues face, but she is concerned when she doesn't see them standing by the river edge. The Justice Leaguer climbs the small embankment to secure the golden lasso to a sturdy tree. Her higher viewpoint allows her to spot the deadly battle. "Great Hera!" Diana bellows.

Ignoring her fatigue, the princess ventures out onto her golden line. She urgently seeks to cross the waterway so that she can come to the aid of her allies. To her chagrin, however, her impending arrival is detected when she is only halfway across Lex River. The third barbarian, having swam to shore a quarter mile downstream, is now in position to intercept the Amazon. Following her example, he deftly climbs out on the lasso to meet Diana in a perilous confrontation above the rapids.

Wonder Woman hasn't the time nor the energy to expend; therefore she prepares herself for an immediate strike to jar her enemy from his perch. The husky caveman amazes Diana with his quickness, covering the distance between them within a minute. The heroine times her attack flawlessly. Her right foot connects solidly with the brute's jaw. Unfortunately, her kick lacks potency, because her left leg is essentially dead weight. The Neanderthal barely flinches as he shrugs off her lone offensive initiative and reaches the Amazon. He attacks with total disregard for his own safety. He releases hold of the magic lasso and latches solidly onto her person. The caveman applies a powerful stranglehold upon her neck while locking his legs around hers. He utters nothing but growls while attempting to suffocate his prey, but the super heroine knows he needn't bother. The Neanderthal weighs a minimum of 220 pounds. Wonder Woman now supports his bulk along with her own weight. Without her Amazon might, she can not endure this burden beyond a few torturous seconds.

Diana's heart races wildly, for her predicament seems inescapable. She is physically exhausted and on the verge of being choked to death. She desperately hangs on despite the escalating pain from the weight she bears. In her current condition, the Amazon knows that she hasn't the strength left to survive in the raging currents even if she does escape her assailant. If she loses grasp of her magic lasso, Wonder Woman knows she will die.

Unaware of Diana's dire trouble, Batgirl and Supergirl have run out of real estate. They are backed up to within three feet of the bubbling tar. The Neanderthals slow their pace. Evidently the natives are cognizant of the danger the tar poses. The lead attacker cocks his spear for an alternative assault. "I hope you've got something in your belt of tricks." Kara whispers nervously. "Watch this!" Babs confidently responds as she discretely reaches into her utility belt with her left hand. With uncanny quickness, she pulls out a Batarang and whips it like a Frisbee. From a distance of eight feet, the weapon strikes the unsuspecting barbarian flush on his nose, thus felling him.

The second Neanderthal surges towards Supergirl intent upon impaling her with his spear. He angles his assault such that he approaches from the side. His momentum will therefore not carry him into the deadly tar. Batgirl reacts to the threat against Kara. She kicks him in the side as he charges Supergirl. The punishing blow throws off his balance, thus causing him to fall into the boiling pool. The caveman screams in agony as his body is enveloped by the thick, searing hot liquid. Mercifully, his struggles last only a couple seconds before his life is extinguished.

To their mutual bewilderment, Kara and Babs spin around to see the late Neanderthal's partner writhing on the grass in pain. This is not the result of Gordon's Batarang attack; he is suffering from some inexplicable trauma. Before the heroines can make any gesture of assistance, the barbarian's violent twitching ceases. He is dead.

Simultaneously, Wonder Woman's nemesis experiences a similar fate. He suffers a seizure. His wild jerking adds to Diana's terrible duress and nearly shakes her off the lariat. Suddenly, the life ebbs from his powerful body. A confused Amazon princess watches as her attacker falls into the river and is swept away.

Diana has no strength left in her arms as she hangs precariously over Lex River. Her grip is tenuous, but this unexpected and bizarre reprieve allows her heart to will her body to do things it shouldn't be capable of. Blood trickles from her hands as a result of her golden lasso ripping through her skin while she clung for her life. Wonder Woman slowly climbs the remaining thousand feet and finally sets down on solid ground.

The super heroines are reunited. They would like to cross back over to the south side of the river, but they must rest for a short time. Diana puts her nursing background to work by dressing Batgirl's injured shoulder as best she can. The caped heroine has suffered a severely broken collarbone. The Amazon uses Batgirl's cape as a sling to support the injured arm and take strain off of the break area. Babs is in great pain, but insists she can cope with it.

The women are all incredulous as to the collective demise of their assailants. A cursory examination of the one remaining corpse does not reveal any indication of what killed him. Batgirl vaguely recollects Phranyx mentioning the significance of trios on his world. Each encounter they've had with the Neanderthals has been against a group of three or multiples thereof. She theorizes that on Perdition Isle, the natives are grouped by threes and that their souls are linked accordingly. When one member of the trio dies, the remaining two also perish.

"Do you think the same holds true for us?" Diana asks. A brief silence ensues as the super heroines all consider the question. "I think we have to presume so." Babs responds ominously. "The laws of nature are so atypical from what we know. We have to expect the worst case scenario."

Still wary of a possible reemergence by the nearby sea monster, the super heroines ignore their aches, injuries and fatigue. Supergirl leads the way and safely traverses the river via the golden lasso. Wonder Woman, carrying the one spear recovered from their attackers, successfully follows Kara. Batgirl is unable to climb the rope line because of her shoulder. Instead, Babs unties the north side mooring and secures the magic lasso tightly around her waist. She cautiously slips into the current. From the opposite bank, the Amazon princess mentally commands her enchanted lariat to contract. Batgirl is dragged through most of rapids by the lasso itself. Diana and Kara lend a hand and help pull their comrade the rest of the way to shore.

The beleaguered women yearn for the refuge of Paradise Cove. They retrace their footsteps from yesterday through the safe and isolated weather buffers. Their journey is roundabout, but necessary to reach their destination without further opposition. The long walk is particularly tough on Wonder Woman. Supergirl alleviates some of Diana's misery. The Amazon leans on Kara's shoulders as they stride to take much of the weight off of her debilitated left leg. Nevertheless, their hike lasts twice as long as it otherwise would. Upon returning to the cave, the ladies eat the remainder of their fruit and soon fall into much needed and well deserved sleep.