"Supergirl, you OK?" Babs asks as the Kryptonian eyes the residual smoke that floats over the scorched plain beyond the swamp. The tone of the masked crime fighter contains genuine personal concern, which is both surprising and gratifying to Kara. The typically stoic Batgirl sounds very much like Linda Danvers' college roommate Helen, a great listener who always seems to offer a compassionate smile and sage advice. Supergirl yearns for an outlet. Clearly Batgirl recognizes this and Kara is greatly appreciative.
"I ... I don't know, Batgirl. I really don't. This whole situation is driving me batty!" Kara laments. She sheepishly follows "Sorry ... bad choice of words." Babs chuckles lightly. "Under the circumstances, I think 'batty' is quite appropriate." Gordon responds.
"We're facing danger behind every rock and tree and I'm no help at all." Supergirl continues. "Diana was right about yesterday. I did almost get us all killed. We've been lucky so far, but that can't last forever. When does it end? Today? Tomorrow? The next day? Sooner or later I'm going to walk into an ambush or one of you two is going to die trying to protect me. I just can't .. "
"Enough." Batgirl interrupts sternly. "Ka ... may I call you Kara?" Supergirl nods affirmatively, having not realized until now that the masked heroine has not yet referred to she or Diana by first name. "Kara, please don't doubt yourself to this extent. Wonder Woman was right to take you to task for the quicksand trouble, but she should have voiced her opinion more constructively. We need each other to survive and you are the most able bodied of the three of us right now."
"But that's my whole point!" Supergirl interjects. "Diana is hobbling around because of me. First her hamstring, and now her knee is a swollen mess. Your shoulder is badly injured and here I am with nothing more than a few scratches and mosquito bites."
"There's no reason to feel guilty or apologetic, Kara." Babs reasons. "Yes, Wonder Woman is hurting, but we can't change that. Notice it didn't stop her from slipping off on her own to covertly check on the whereabouts of the Neanderthals." Both women momentarily shake their heads in amazement at the stubborn tenacity of the Amazon princess. "As for me," Gordon continues "that spear attack is the most painful injury I've ever endured ... and I've been shot before. I was down and totally defenseless. I'm still alive today for one reason, and I'm looking right at her! Don't underestimate yourself Kara. There is more to super heroics than just great powers. You've proven your mettle and have earned the right to call yourself Supergirl."
Kara smiles an unspoken 'thank you' for this much needed boost of self-esteem. "So is there something I can call you other than 'Batgirl'?" the girl of steel inquires. Babs Gordon reaches for her mask, but at the last moment thinks better of it. "I'd rather not reveal my real name for personal reasons, Kara." she responds. "You can refer to me as 'Yvonne', a name which has some meaning to me in my civilian life."
*****
Wonder Woman rejoins her friends with news from Neron Forest. "Our three pals from yesterday are headed towards us." Diana warns. "They're hiking along the riverbank, keeping their distance from the fire zone. Evidently they don't quite trust that the danger is over for the time being. They're still a mile away from our current position, but we'd be wise to move out now."
The heroines had expected the Lex River to narrow as they journeyed further upstream. Unfortunately, the width is essentially the same as where they had previously crossed. On the opposite side of the river is a larger extension of the bog which Supergirl has tabbed Buzz Swamp. There is a mountain in the distance. This would appear to be the origin point for the river, based on the logical presumption that there is a sharp northward bend in the waterway a mile or so further west.
There is no percentage in attempting to cross the water at this point. The rapids are quite rough and exceedingly difficult for the trio to navigate given the injuries to Diana and Barbara. The women opt to continue along the riverbank. This course should lead them to the foot of the mountain, and in the interim it affords them the best opportunity to get some idea of what lies on both sides of the Lex River on the western half of Perdition Isle.
Within a half mile, Buzz Swamp gives way to a barren plateau which stretches south towards the fortified ridge that is home to the Neanderthals. The land shows telltale signs of the brush fire. The surface is not scorched like that of the firelands because the flames which reached it were not further fueled by combustible liquids or gases from underground. The super heroines regard this plain as a potential means of reaching the ridge, but they all agree that they must search the island extensively before engaging in such a risky endeavor.
Continuing west along the riverbank, the heroines notice what appears to be the black barrier that surrounds the entire island. As they get closer, they realize this is not the case. Blocking their path for what appears to be the entire south side of the Lex River is a region filled with dark purple fog. The mysterious gas is thick and very ominous.
Fearing that this atmosphere may be poisonous, the super heroines look to turn back. Unfortunately, the three savages have successfully tracked them. The men have closed to within two hundred yards of their position and they approach in such a manner that they believe they have the women cornered. This further substantiates concerns over the potential toxicity of the violet colored air.
With their assorted wounds and the vast open plain, the gallant females intuitively reject flight as a viable option. Their enemies can outrun them. Diana wants to stand and fight, while Babs and Kara believe they should take their chances in the purple region. Precious seconds slip away as the heroines hastily argue the merits of the two proposed courses of action. Against her better judgment, Wonder Woman relents. She grabs firm hold of the hands of her colleagues and leads the way into the dark fog.
From the first breath, her agony is unfathomable. Barbara Gordon's knees buckle instantaneously. Purely on instinct, the masked heroine finds the strength and drive to crawl the four excruciating feet required to escape the dense purple gas. Batgirl gasps for oxygen, her lungs seemingly on fire. Her face is a flood of tears as her agitated eyes water uncontrollably.
Despite the impending approach of the cavemen, Babs hasn't the energy to rise. Through partially blurred version, she recognizes the presence of Wonder Woman standing over her. The Amazon coughs excessively as she fights to breathe; nevertheless Diana weathers the inhalation of the purple gas far better than Batgirl. The Amazon desperately urges her stricken friend to stand, but Barbara is too weak to do so. Wonder Woman faces a dire quandary. The three blood thirsty Neanderthals are within ten yards of them. Batgirl can not defend herself. Supergirl is missing and presumably incapacitated within the toxic fog region. Diana must rescue Kara before the gas kills her, but she must also protect Gordon and herself.
"Great Athena guide me!" the Amazon princess prays as she prepares for a deadly confrontation with the enemy. To her astonishment, a huge gust of wind suddenly whips through the plain, apparently emanating from the mysterious purple territory. The force is such that it lifts two of the startled Neanderthals ten feet off the ground and carries them forty yards away from their prey. The third savage presses his attack until his progress is stopped in seemingly mystical fashion. His wooden club bursts into flame and he is forced to immediately discard it to avoid being burned.
Wonder Woman smiles at the frightened Neanderthal. Staring directly at him, the princess demonstrably raises her arms above her head and clangs her bracelets together. On queue, another burst of wind jettisons the caveman out beyond his comrades. By now, the primitives are justifiably spooked and flee from an enemy whose supernatural abilities they have no hope of comprehending.
"Quick thinking Diana!" Kara praises as she emerges from the purple fog. "That little bit with the bracelets will make them think we can control the weather. That really ought to make them think twice before attacking us again!" The Amazon grins. "That was the plan once I recognized what was happening." Diana remarks. "Nice job picking up on it."
"So you've got your powers back?" a weary Batgirl queries as she struggles to sit up. Wonder Woman and Supergirl tend to the fallen heroine, who insists that she is slowly, but steadily fighting off the effects of the gas. "Yes, and no." Kara responds. "My super powers are restored, but only when I'm within the purple zone. Now that I'm outside the region, my powers have disappeared as quickly as they returned."
"What about you, Wonder Woman?" Batgirl inquires. At first, Diana dismisses the notion. Unlike Supergirl, the Amazon suffered ill effects from exposure to the gas. It occurs to Wonder Woman, however, that her experience differs considerably from Barbara's. Batgirl, a normal human female, was nearly killed. Diana, a meta-human Amazon, maintained her stamina and footing and only encountered minimal respiratory distress. "I must have regained my Amazon powers." a surprised Diana concludes. "I'll just have to hold my breath while I'm in there." she reasons.
Armed with the greatest level of hope since their arrival on Perdition Isle, Supergirl and Wonder Woman venture back into the expansive region which they dub the 'Purple Zone'. Diana regains all of her great abilities within the fog. The Amazon's meta-human physiology allows her injured left leg to fully heal within minutes. Holding her breath for half hour intervals, the lone trouble the Justice Leaguer faces is slight irritation to her eyes.
Wonder Woman scours the ground while Supergirl soars high above. The heroines discover that the Purple Zone forms the southwestern corner of Perdition Isle. It extends northward until it reaches the mountain they had observed earlier, which Diana names Mt. Circe. The Lex River does not flow into the zone; rather it makes an abrupt 90 degree turn northward upon reaching the edge of the purple atmosphere. The dense fog extends two thousand feet high. It does not dissipate with altitude, rather it simply stops as if somehow contained. Kara flies through the top of the zone but her powers give out immediately upon so doing. As such, she hovers at the upper boundary to get the best topical view of the entire island.
"I've scanned this whole place with my telescopic and x-ray vision." Kara explains to her friends as they convene outside the Purple Zone. "I can see everything except the area behind Mt. Circe. It must contain lead ores."
"Any sign of what we're looking for?" Batgirl asks. "Hard to say, seeing as we don't know what that is." Supergirl answers. "I can state that there is nothing at all unusual about that ridge our Neanderthal friends call home. It's solid rock with a few small caves. There's nothing inside them or buried in the ground underneath which is the least bit suspicious."
"Well, if that ridge isn't our goal, then the prophesy must refer to something else." Diana theorizes. "Yes," Babs adds "and it stands to reason that what we seek lies within Supergirl's blind spot either on the opposite side of the mountain or within it."
The three women analyze their latest findings and how they might correlate to Phranyx's prophesy. Supergirl conjectures that the stone they must uncover could be the mountain itself. If so, her proximity is such that she could use her heat vision to level the formation. Babs and Wonder Woman both reject Kara's idea, at least in the short term. There is no army defending the mountain that they can see. In addition, the senior heroines reason that such an extreme initiative could disrupt the delicate and bizarre balance of assorted climates on the island.
The preferred strategy is to first investigate the unknown region on the opposite side of the mountain. To do so they must cross the Lex River. Diana suggests a modified version of Supergirl's initial thought. The Amazon proposes that Kara employ her heat vision to tunnel underneath the river. This would allow them safe passage and a quick an easy means of returning to the Purple Zone should the enemy army prove too formidable.
Having established a solid game plan, Supergirl and Diana work together to carve out the underground corridor. The heroines dig a five foot diameter hole one hundred feet down within the Purple Zone. This depth is such that the tunnel will be low enough to pass underneath the water while its slope will be manageable without the benefit of their powers.
Kara burrows with her hands until she reaches the edge of the purple region. Although the gas remains predominantly on the surface, its benefits and apparent limitations hold true under ground. Supergirl's powers don't extend beyond this perimeter. Undeterred, the Kryptonian melts the rock and soil with her searing heat beams to lengthen the tunnel. She pulls the molten matter towards her with super suction breath while simultaneously cooling it. This allows Wonder Woman to safely clear the debris as Kara continues carving the way.
Ten minutes is all it takes for the super-powered pair to complete their fine work. They rejoin an impressed Batgirl outside the purple fog area. "It was actually quite easy." Kara modestly observes. "Unfortunately, we can't dig any more tunnels to get us to the other side of the island. The soil in the Firelands is saturated with flammable liquids. It would cause another fire and probably an explosion if I tried boring through there." she laments.
The women crawl through the subterranean passageway and emerge fifteen minutes later on the opposite side of the Lex River. By design, Kara's tunnel surfaces along the foot of Mt. Circe so as to avoid flooding from swamp waters. The heroines estimate that they must hike one mile along the base of the mountain before reaching the search area. There is an extra spring in their steps because they each truly anticipate that their perseverance will soon pay off. The means of escaping their harrowing ordeal must lie somewhere nearby.
The anxious trio is barely underway when the ground begins to tremble beneath their feet. A loud rumbling sound accompanies the tremor and Batgirl screams in horror when she recognizes the source. The super heroines stand directly in the path of a violent avalanche of rock rushing toward them from above.
The magic lasso soars through the air. Were there time to consider the moment, Diana's colleagues would surely question her instinctive response to this crisis. Running would seem to be their only recourse, albeit a highly perilous one. Wonder Woman forces an alternative where one seemingly doesn't exist. The golden noose weaves in between extraneous branches of low lying trees. As though navigating through the eye of a needle, the Amazon's precision toss reaches a jutting protrusion of rock fifty yards away.
In unison, the super heroines swing from their precarious perch just as the avalanche reaches them. The women avoid the vast majority of crushing boulders, but the scope of the onslaught is such that they are unable to escape unscathed. As they swing, Wonder Woman twists so as to intersperse her supple frame between the barrage of stone and her friends. Batgirl and Supergirl are shielded from harm. The Amazon absorbs jarring blows to her lower back and the base of her skull.
The stunned Amazon princess loses her grasp upon the golden lasso as they are in mid-swing. With physical contact severed, the magic lariat ceases to contract as per Diana's wishes. As a result, the three heroines fall far short of Wonder Woman's intended destination of solid ground. Instead, their trajectory carries them directly into the river.
Caught in the powerful rapids, Kara struggles just to keep herself afloat. The Kryptonian loses sight of her two friends as she is whisked downstream at frightening speed. Batgirl can't swim due to her injured right arm. Diana is dazed and possibly unconscious. Supergirl wants so desperately to help them, yet she may not even be able to save herself. The deadly waterfall at the mouth of the Lex River looms in distance and the young heroine is nowhere near shore. Kara is reduced to prayer for her colleagues as she fights the current to reach land.
It takes nearly the entire length of the Lex River for Supergirl to finally wash ashore. She surfaces in Grundy Swamp very near the exact spot at which she first arrived five days ago. Ignoring her own exhaustion, Kara stands by the river's edge and screams the names of her friends. To her dismay, there is no immediate sign of them. "They must still be alive," she nervously rationalizes "or else I too would have perished by now. Maybe they made it to shore earlier than I did."
Supergirl anxiously marches upstream. Upon rounding the first curve at the edge of Neron Forest, she encounters a sight that makes her heart skip a beat. "No!" she cries as she races towards the two familiar figures. Immersed in shallow water, a spent Batgirl labors to heft the prone form of Wonder Woman onto dry land. Kara sprints to Barbara's aid and they gently raise the unresponsive Amazon onto firm ground.
Babs ignores the questions of the frantic Kryptonian as she applies mouth to mouth resuscitation to revive the princess. Diana's respiration soon stabilizes. The beleaguered Amazon drifts in and out of consciousness for the next few moments as her metabolism regains its strength.
"How did you ...?" Kara begins to ask her equally wearied ally. "It wasn't me, it was her!" an incredulous Batgirl responds while looking at the sleeping Amazon. "Wonder Woman overcame the blow to her head. Somehow she managed to get the two of us to safety before passing out." Babs shakes her head. "I still can't believe it!"
Batgirl concludes that the princess has suffered a serious concussion. It would be best to limit Diana's exertion, but the trio is very vulnerable along the rim of Neron Forest. They are in no condition to engage a group of cavemen in battle. Babs and Kara agree that their best alternative is to quickly and quietly retreat to the safety of Paradise Cove. Only there can Wonder Woman rest for several days if need be. Diana is too unsteady to walk; therefore Batgirl and Supergirl assist the Amazon in what proves to be a tedious but otherwise uneventful trek back to shelter.
"I ... I don't know, Batgirl. I really don't. This whole situation is driving me batty!" Kara laments. She sheepishly follows "Sorry ... bad choice of words." Babs chuckles lightly. "Under the circumstances, I think 'batty' is quite appropriate." Gordon responds.
"We're facing danger behind every rock and tree and I'm no help at all." Supergirl continues. "Diana was right about yesterday. I did almost get us all killed. We've been lucky so far, but that can't last forever. When does it end? Today? Tomorrow? The next day? Sooner or later I'm going to walk into an ambush or one of you two is going to die trying to protect me. I just can't .. "
"Enough." Batgirl interrupts sternly. "Ka ... may I call you Kara?" Supergirl nods affirmatively, having not realized until now that the masked heroine has not yet referred to she or Diana by first name. "Kara, please don't doubt yourself to this extent. Wonder Woman was right to take you to task for the quicksand trouble, but she should have voiced her opinion more constructively. We need each other to survive and you are the most able bodied of the three of us right now."
"But that's my whole point!" Supergirl interjects. "Diana is hobbling around because of me. First her hamstring, and now her knee is a swollen mess. Your shoulder is badly injured and here I am with nothing more than a few scratches and mosquito bites."
"There's no reason to feel guilty or apologetic, Kara." Babs reasons. "Yes, Wonder Woman is hurting, but we can't change that. Notice it didn't stop her from slipping off on her own to covertly check on the whereabouts of the Neanderthals." Both women momentarily shake their heads in amazement at the stubborn tenacity of the Amazon princess. "As for me," Gordon continues "that spear attack is the most painful injury I've ever endured ... and I've been shot before. I was down and totally defenseless. I'm still alive today for one reason, and I'm looking right at her! Don't underestimate yourself Kara. There is more to super heroics than just great powers. You've proven your mettle and have earned the right to call yourself Supergirl."
Kara smiles an unspoken 'thank you' for this much needed boost of self-esteem. "So is there something I can call you other than 'Batgirl'?" the girl of steel inquires. Babs Gordon reaches for her mask, but at the last moment thinks better of it. "I'd rather not reveal my real name for personal reasons, Kara." she responds. "You can refer to me as 'Yvonne', a name which has some meaning to me in my civilian life."
*****
Wonder Woman rejoins her friends with news from Neron Forest. "Our three pals from yesterday are headed towards us." Diana warns. "They're hiking along the riverbank, keeping their distance from the fire zone. Evidently they don't quite trust that the danger is over for the time being. They're still a mile away from our current position, but we'd be wise to move out now."
The heroines had expected the Lex River to narrow as they journeyed further upstream. Unfortunately, the width is essentially the same as where they had previously crossed. On the opposite side of the river is a larger extension of the bog which Supergirl has tabbed Buzz Swamp. There is a mountain in the distance. This would appear to be the origin point for the river, based on the logical presumption that there is a sharp northward bend in the waterway a mile or so further west.
There is no percentage in attempting to cross the water at this point. The rapids are quite rough and exceedingly difficult for the trio to navigate given the injuries to Diana and Barbara. The women opt to continue along the riverbank. This course should lead them to the foot of the mountain, and in the interim it affords them the best opportunity to get some idea of what lies on both sides of the Lex River on the western half of Perdition Isle.
Within a half mile, Buzz Swamp gives way to a barren plateau which stretches south towards the fortified ridge that is home to the Neanderthals. The land shows telltale signs of the brush fire. The surface is not scorched like that of the firelands because the flames which reached it were not further fueled by combustible liquids or gases from underground. The super heroines regard this plain as a potential means of reaching the ridge, but they all agree that they must search the island extensively before engaging in such a risky endeavor.
Continuing west along the riverbank, the heroines notice what appears to be the black barrier that surrounds the entire island. As they get closer, they realize this is not the case. Blocking their path for what appears to be the entire south side of the Lex River is a region filled with dark purple fog. The mysterious gas is thick and very ominous.
Fearing that this atmosphere may be poisonous, the super heroines look to turn back. Unfortunately, the three savages have successfully tracked them. The men have closed to within two hundred yards of their position and they approach in such a manner that they believe they have the women cornered. This further substantiates concerns over the potential toxicity of the violet colored air.
With their assorted wounds and the vast open plain, the gallant females intuitively reject flight as a viable option. Their enemies can outrun them. Diana wants to stand and fight, while Babs and Kara believe they should take their chances in the purple region. Precious seconds slip away as the heroines hastily argue the merits of the two proposed courses of action. Against her better judgment, Wonder Woman relents. She grabs firm hold of the hands of her colleagues and leads the way into the dark fog.
From the first breath, her agony is unfathomable. Barbara Gordon's knees buckle instantaneously. Purely on instinct, the masked heroine finds the strength and drive to crawl the four excruciating feet required to escape the dense purple gas. Batgirl gasps for oxygen, her lungs seemingly on fire. Her face is a flood of tears as her agitated eyes water uncontrollably.
Despite the impending approach of the cavemen, Babs hasn't the energy to rise. Through partially blurred version, she recognizes the presence of Wonder Woman standing over her. The Amazon coughs excessively as she fights to breathe; nevertheless Diana weathers the inhalation of the purple gas far better than Batgirl. The Amazon desperately urges her stricken friend to stand, but Barbara is too weak to do so. Wonder Woman faces a dire quandary. The three blood thirsty Neanderthals are within ten yards of them. Batgirl can not defend herself. Supergirl is missing and presumably incapacitated within the toxic fog region. Diana must rescue Kara before the gas kills her, but she must also protect Gordon and herself.
"Great Athena guide me!" the Amazon princess prays as she prepares for a deadly confrontation with the enemy. To her astonishment, a huge gust of wind suddenly whips through the plain, apparently emanating from the mysterious purple territory. The force is such that it lifts two of the startled Neanderthals ten feet off the ground and carries them forty yards away from their prey. The third savage presses his attack until his progress is stopped in seemingly mystical fashion. His wooden club bursts into flame and he is forced to immediately discard it to avoid being burned.
Wonder Woman smiles at the frightened Neanderthal. Staring directly at him, the princess demonstrably raises her arms above her head and clangs her bracelets together. On queue, another burst of wind jettisons the caveman out beyond his comrades. By now, the primitives are justifiably spooked and flee from an enemy whose supernatural abilities they have no hope of comprehending.
"Quick thinking Diana!" Kara praises as she emerges from the purple fog. "That little bit with the bracelets will make them think we can control the weather. That really ought to make them think twice before attacking us again!" The Amazon grins. "That was the plan once I recognized what was happening." Diana remarks. "Nice job picking up on it."
"So you've got your powers back?" a weary Batgirl queries as she struggles to sit up. Wonder Woman and Supergirl tend to the fallen heroine, who insists that she is slowly, but steadily fighting off the effects of the gas. "Yes, and no." Kara responds. "My super powers are restored, but only when I'm within the purple zone. Now that I'm outside the region, my powers have disappeared as quickly as they returned."
"What about you, Wonder Woman?" Batgirl inquires. At first, Diana dismisses the notion. Unlike Supergirl, the Amazon suffered ill effects from exposure to the gas. It occurs to Wonder Woman, however, that her experience differs considerably from Barbara's. Batgirl, a normal human female, was nearly killed. Diana, a meta-human Amazon, maintained her stamina and footing and only encountered minimal respiratory distress. "I must have regained my Amazon powers." a surprised Diana concludes. "I'll just have to hold my breath while I'm in there." she reasons.
Armed with the greatest level of hope since their arrival on Perdition Isle, Supergirl and Wonder Woman venture back into the expansive region which they dub the 'Purple Zone'. Diana regains all of her great abilities within the fog. The Amazon's meta-human physiology allows her injured left leg to fully heal within minutes. Holding her breath for half hour intervals, the lone trouble the Justice Leaguer faces is slight irritation to her eyes.
Wonder Woman scours the ground while Supergirl soars high above. The heroines discover that the Purple Zone forms the southwestern corner of Perdition Isle. It extends northward until it reaches the mountain they had observed earlier, which Diana names Mt. Circe. The Lex River does not flow into the zone; rather it makes an abrupt 90 degree turn northward upon reaching the edge of the purple atmosphere. The dense fog extends two thousand feet high. It does not dissipate with altitude, rather it simply stops as if somehow contained. Kara flies through the top of the zone but her powers give out immediately upon so doing. As such, she hovers at the upper boundary to get the best topical view of the entire island.
"I've scanned this whole place with my telescopic and x-ray vision." Kara explains to her friends as they convene outside the Purple Zone. "I can see everything except the area behind Mt. Circe. It must contain lead ores."
"Any sign of what we're looking for?" Batgirl asks. "Hard to say, seeing as we don't know what that is." Supergirl answers. "I can state that there is nothing at all unusual about that ridge our Neanderthal friends call home. It's solid rock with a few small caves. There's nothing inside them or buried in the ground underneath which is the least bit suspicious."
"Well, if that ridge isn't our goal, then the prophesy must refer to something else." Diana theorizes. "Yes," Babs adds "and it stands to reason that what we seek lies within Supergirl's blind spot either on the opposite side of the mountain or within it."
The three women analyze their latest findings and how they might correlate to Phranyx's prophesy. Supergirl conjectures that the stone they must uncover could be the mountain itself. If so, her proximity is such that she could use her heat vision to level the formation. Babs and Wonder Woman both reject Kara's idea, at least in the short term. There is no army defending the mountain that they can see. In addition, the senior heroines reason that such an extreme initiative could disrupt the delicate and bizarre balance of assorted climates on the island.
The preferred strategy is to first investigate the unknown region on the opposite side of the mountain. To do so they must cross the Lex River. Diana suggests a modified version of Supergirl's initial thought. The Amazon proposes that Kara employ her heat vision to tunnel underneath the river. This would allow them safe passage and a quick an easy means of returning to the Purple Zone should the enemy army prove too formidable.
Having established a solid game plan, Supergirl and Diana work together to carve out the underground corridor. The heroines dig a five foot diameter hole one hundred feet down within the Purple Zone. This depth is such that the tunnel will be low enough to pass underneath the water while its slope will be manageable without the benefit of their powers.
Kara burrows with her hands until she reaches the edge of the purple region. Although the gas remains predominantly on the surface, its benefits and apparent limitations hold true under ground. Supergirl's powers don't extend beyond this perimeter. Undeterred, the Kryptonian melts the rock and soil with her searing heat beams to lengthen the tunnel. She pulls the molten matter towards her with super suction breath while simultaneously cooling it. This allows Wonder Woman to safely clear the debris as Kara continues carving the way.
Ten minutes is all it takes for the super-powered pair to complete their fine work. They rejoin an impressed Batgirl outside the purple fog area. "It was actually quite easy." Kara modestly observes. "Unfortunately, we can't dig any more tunnels to get us to the other side of the island. The soil in the Firelands is saturated with flammable liquids. It would cause another fire and probably an explosion if I tried boring through there." she laments.
The women crawl through the subterranean passageway and emerge fifteen minutes later on the opposite side of the Lex River. By design, Kara's tunnel surfaces along the foot of Mt. Circe so as to avoid flooding from swamp waters. The heroines estimate that they must hike one mile along the base of the mountain before reaching the search area. There is an extra spring in their steps because they each truly anticipate that their perseverance will soon pay off. The means of escaping their harrowing ordeal must lie somewhere nearby.
The anxious trio is barely underway when the ground begins to tremble beneath their feet. A loud rumbling sound accompanies the tremor and Batgirl screams in horror when she recognizes the source. The super heroines stand directly in the path of a violent avalanche of rock rushing toward them from above.
The magic lasso soars through the air. Were there time to consider the moment, Diana's colleagues would surely question her instinctive response to this crisis. Running would seem to be their only recourse, albeit a highly perilous one. Wonder Woman forces an alternative where one seemingly doesn't exist. The golden noose weaves in between extraneous branches of low lying trees. As though navigating through the eye of a needle, the Amazon's precision toss reaches a jutting protrusion of rock fifty yards away.
In unison, the super heroines swing from their precarious perch just as the avalanche reaches them. The women avoid the vast majority of crushing boulders, but the scope of the onslaught is such that they are unable to escape unscathed. As they swing, Wonder Woman twists so as to intersperse her supple frame between the barrage of stone and her friends. Batgirl and Supergirl are shielded from harm. The Amazon absorbs jarring blows to her lower back and the base of her skull.
The stunned Amazon princess loses her grasp upon the golden lasso as they are in mid-swing. With physical contact severed, the magic lariat ceases to contract as per Diana's wishes. As a result, the three heroines fall far short of Wonder Woman's intended destination of solid ground. Instead, their trajectory carries them directly into the river.
Caught in the powerful rapids, Kara struggles just to keep herself afloat. The Kryptonian loses sight of her two friends as she is whisked downstream at frightening speed. Batgirl can't swim due to her injured right arm. Diana is dazed and possibly unconscious. Supergirl wants so desperately to help them, yet she may not even be able to save herself. The deadly waterfall at the mouth of the Lex River looms in distance and the young heroine is nowhere near shore. Kara is reduced to prayer for her colleagues as she fights the current to reach land.
It takes nearly the entire length of the Lex River for Supergirl to finally wash ashore. She surfaces in Grundy Swamp very near the exact spot at which she first arrived five days ago. Ignoring her own exhaustion, Kara stands by the river's edge and screams the names of her friends. To her dismay, there is no immediate sign of them. "They must still be alive," she nervously rationalizes "or else I too would have perished by now. Maybe they made it to shore earlier than I did."
Supergirl anxiously marches upstream. Upon rounding the first curve at the edge of Neron Forest, she encounters a sight that makes her heart skip a beat. "No!" she cries as she races towards the two familiar figures. Immersed in shallow water, a spent Batgirl labors to heft the prone form of Wonder Woman onto dry land. Kara sprints to Barbara's aid and they gently raise the unresponsive Amazon onto firm ground.
Babs ignores the questions of the frantic Kryptonian as she applies mouth to mouth resuscitation to revive the princess. Diana's respiration soon stabilizes. The beleaguered Amazon drifts in and out of consciousness for the next few moments as her metabolism regains its strength.
"How did you ...?" Kara begins to ask her equally wearied ally. "It wasn't me, it was her!" an incredulous Batgirl responds while looking at the sleeping Amazon. "Wonder Woman overcame the blow to her head. Somehow she managed to get the two of us to safety before passing out." Babs shakes her head. "I still can't believe it!"
Batgirl concludes that the princess has suffered a serious concussion. It would be best to limit Diana's exertion, but the trio is very vulnerable along the rim of Neron Forest. They are in no condition to engage a group of cavemen in battle. Babs and Kara agree that their best alternative is to quickly and quietly retreat to the safety of Paradise Cove. Only there can Wonder Woman rest for several days if need be. Diana is too unsteady to walk; therefore Batgirl and Supergirl assist the Amazon in what proves to be a tedious but otherwise uneventful trek back to shelter.
