DC Comics Presents: Killing Roy Harper

Chapter 18: Super-Woman and Wonder Woman

By: Christopher W. Blaine

 e-mail: darth_yoshi@yahoo.com

DISCLAIMER: Super-Woman™, Wonder Woman™ and all other related characters and situations found in this story are ©2002 by DC Comics Inc. and are used herein without permission for fan-related, non-profit entertainment purposes only. This original work of fiction is ©2003 by Christopher W. Blaine and may not be reproduced in part or as a whole without the express permission of the author.

 "You knew about this, didn't you?" the Time-Guardian screamed as he smacked the Kryptonian super-hero Nightwing across the face for a second time. Blood was drawn with the blow, a result of Nightwing's weakened condition. The Kryptonite chains binding him to his cell's wall were also making him as normal a human as anyone else on the seemingly doomed world of Earth-T.

Nightwing spit some blood onto the floor. "Knew about what?"

"You knew Shyla would betray me! You knew it!" The Time-Guardian's face was twisted with rage and some fear. Shyla, once his lover and confident, knew many of the secrets of the Legion of Doom, as well as many of the Time-Guardian's. If she truly had defected to the side of good, which seemed so after the appearance of "Super-Woman" in Metropolis, then things were just getting worse for the former Earth-2 Speedy.

He had considered just leaving this world; it was within his power to do so. Right now, the main timeline was missing a Roy Harper. It was first come, first serve and the Time-Guardian knew that the one that was supposed to be there was actually here, somehow resurrected from the dead. Of course, everyone on this planet, in this whole universe, was resurrected from the dead. All had been assigned fates that had been averted when the Time-Guardian created this reality, the crowning achievement of his criminal career.

Certainly if he did take this one chance to live out a life as Roy Harper he would be giving up not just his powers, but his immortality as well; but he would get to live. He would erase all of the "mistakes" the other one had made. He would marry a good American woman and raise good American children. He would not sleep around, except with the occasional mistress, which was, of course, every man's right to have.

"If my fellow scientist has finally seen the light, or I should say the darkness since we are talking about you, then I applaud her!" Nightwing said in defiance.

The Time-Guardian roared in rage and momentarily lost control of his powers. A wave of time rushed through the area; nothing serious, but for just a few moments, it seemed as if everything slowed down to a crawl. Somewhere in the Legion headquarters, Jay Garrick, the Black Flash, screamed.

"By Zeus!" Wonder Woman called out as she pulled on the yoke for her invisible plane. It was actually a construct of advanced Amazon technology shaped into the form of an invisible plane, but that didn't matter as it started to spin out of control.

Hippolyta was not the first woman ever to put on the costume of the Amazing Amazon, and she wouldn't be the last she was sure, but she did not want to be the first killed in an airplane crash! Her magically enhanced muscles pulled hard and finally the plane responded. "Damn thing acts too much like a plane!" she cursed.

She was not sure what had just happened, only that it felt like she was slowing down even though the airplane's speed remained constant. The sky had flickered as well, but she didn't think anything of it. Had she been granted unique vision powers by the gods of Olympus, she would have been able to see that her quantum signature had just changed. She did not put together the fact that she was using the magic of her home island of Thymerscia to travel through and at the same time everything slowed down.

Hippolyta was not a stupid woman. She would reason it, but the facts together and draw a logical conclusion. By then, however, she would be someplace else.

"This is not 1943," she said as she looked down to see modern automobiles traveling down an expressway. "I just wanted to go back in time for a few days to see the old gang," she lamented.

When her daughter, Princess Diana, had apparently died, Queen Hippolyta had decided to take her place in the "Man's World" as Wonder Woman. As they looked relatively the same age and were very similar in appearance, nobody seemed the wiser outside the super-hero community. On an adventure into the past, Hippolyta had decided to remain there and subsequently became known as the Golden Age Wonder Woman when she joined the original Justice Society of America.

Though her daughter was now very much alive, the queen did occasionally treat herself to putting on the "old golden eagle" as she called it. Today it was simply to take some time off and visit comrades from a bygone era. The magic of Thymerscia allowed such things.

Looking down now, she began to wonder exactly what she had done and where she was. Luckily, her plane was invisible, but she was not. Putting the plane on autopilot and ordering it to land itself to await her commands, she jumped free and sailed in the fresh air.

The first thing she did was try to find a familiar landmark or city and as luck would have it, she was over Gotham City. Landing quickly behind a clothing store, she managed to sneak her way in and grab some clothes from the stockroom. Something in the back of her mind told her not to be parading around in her costume at this moment. Anyway, as she remembered it, Gotham was never the most friendly of towns to super-heroes!

Leaving several gold coins, more than a hundred times the value of what she had taken, Wonder Woman stepped out into the alleyway again to begin her investigation. She already guessed something went wrong. There could be no mistake; if she wished to travel back through time, then she would have with the help of the gods. Only more powerful magic could prevent that.

Her time with both the Justice League and Justice Society, as well as the many long conversations she had with the gods had taught Wonder Woman that one reality was not all there was. Though she did not understand all of the concepts of time fully, she reasoned it was possible that she had thrown herself sideways through time. Curiosity was now getting the better of her.

Curiosity, it seemed, was also getting the better of the local scum. Three poorly dressed youths approached her as she headed to the entrance of the alleyway. She noted the lustful grins and the chuckling and then she gazed at her manner of dress. Like all Amazons, Hippolyta was proud of her beauty and she knew that physically, there was no match for her in all of the Man's World.

Her choice of short skirt and blouse that showed off her midriff had been done because she knew men would answer questions in proportion to the amount of flesh a woman showed. The three-inch heels were probably a bit much, though. She stopped some twelve feet in front of them. "I know what you are thinking, boys; I urge you to reconsider. Turn around, go back home."

They all three laughed and one of them, the leader, grabbed his crotch. "Lunch time, baby! Woo hoo!"

Less than a minute later, all three were holding their crotches, praying to an ever-silent god to end the pain and please let them still be able to make children. Hippolyta straightened her skirt and checked her bag with her costume in it. Seeing everything was fine she stepped out into the street.

Everything seemed normal as people went about their business and she quickly walked over to a newspaper machine. Flexing her muscles, she tore the door open and reached in to get a copy of the Gotham Gazette. She didn't look at it immediately and decided to walk into a café down the street. She had a few dollars in spending money, usually for tipping, and purchased a cup of strong black coffee.

She reviewed the front page with great interest. The headline revealed that an organization called the Legion of Doom had recently threatened to destroy several cities, but then halted when three "super terrorists" surrendered to them. There was also a story about how Speedy, leader of the Legion, had recently "come out of the closet" but then retracted the statement a day later.

Whatever this world was, Hippolyta decided it was just a little too weird for her. She needed to figure out a way to get back and that meant seeking out the Amazons of this world if there were any.

A search on the Internet left her feeling disturbed. Some weeks before, the super-heroes of the world had apparently gone insane, starting with the Flash of the Justice League. Over a period of days, the Legion of Doom had come to humanity's "defense", hunting down the renegade heroes before they could harm the innocent public.

Then, once the heroes were gone, Speedy declared a form of martial law in the world, only to have it broken by several would-be heroes who destroyed a special research facility. After this, all hell had broken loose and Paradise Island, home of the Amazons, was destroyed by the Composite-Superman in response to threats made against the Legion by Queen Hippolyta. The Hippolyta of this world, a blonde-haired woman whose picture she found on a website.

This was a world gone mad. Hippolyta was not very familiar with Speedy/Arsenal, the partner of Green Arrow, a contemporary of her daughter's. He was friends with Donna, her "daughter" through magic, but that did not mean they actually had ever met. He seemed to be a good man, caring for his daughter; but this version was nothing more than a red-haired Hitler.

She was now in a quandary; did she try to save this world, or did she simply go home and let fate decide? Her answer came quicker than she thought it would.

Hippolyta noticed that the library seemed quieter than it should and when she looked around, she saw that the place seemed deserted. "It is a crime to access websites concerning terrorists," Alexi Luthor said from the doorway.

Hippolyta did not recognize the man but from his tone, she understood his intent. The wicked looking firearm his brandished spoke of his demeanor as well. "Can it be? That face…those legs…yes! Yes!"

Hippolyta did not enjoy the looks she was getting from the man or his companion, a man in a blue costume with a white star. She reached down for her handbag but Luthor stopped her. "Ah…I would not do that, Wonder Woman," he said. He then turned his head slightly, keeping his eye on his prisoner. "Star-Tsar…we have before us the one and only Wonder Woman, the original. My God, first Superman and now you. It almost brings a tear to the eye."

She shook her head. "I do not know who you are, sir, but I can tell you that holding a gun on me is a mistake."

Luthor burst out in laughter. "'Sir'? How proper!"

The ceiling then caved in, plaster and building materials falling and raising a cloud of white dust. Luthor dodged to the side and fired, the silent Star-Tsar falling back into the library lobby. Hippolyta grabbed her bag and headed into the book stacks.

Super-Woman put her hands on her hips as the ceiling continued to fall around her like snow. "Luthor!" she called out.

The scientist crawled through the debris, not realizing who it was that was calling to him, but feeling that he should know. He had been in Gotham on business, looking into a recent microchip breakthrough at WayneTech (a company currently being controlled by AlexiCorp). "Luthor's not here!" he called out in an attempt to buy some time.

A strong hand picked him up by the collar and held him up in the air. He expected to see the smiling face of Wonder Woman but was unpleasantly surprised. "You're going to hit me now, aren't you?"

Super-Woman nodded and gave him a light tap across the jaw. It was enough to knock him cold and the Mistress of Might dropped him like a rag to the floor. Wonder Woman stepped out from the stacks, adjusting her top. "Thanks, but there's another one."

Super-Woman was then thrown back as the Star-Tsar struck her with a red solar energy blast. The attack, composed of energy that was of the same frequency and intensity as the sun that had once been the center of Krypton's universe, robbed her of her strength and made her, temporarily, as weak as a puppy. She screamed in pain and fell back against a cart of books.

Wonder Woman was up and running across the library floor, but was thrown off balance as the lightning-quick Star-Tsar launched a similar blast her way. The effect would have been equally as devastating as Wonder Woman did not have the invulnerability of Super-Woman and would have been cooked.

The villain said nothing, silent as he put his hands forward and released the pent up energies in his body. Books, shelves and desks exploded in an eerie succession as he concentrated on getting closer to the leaping Wonder Woman. Super-Woman groaned and tried to sit up, but dizziness overcame her. She had spent most of her life as a scientist, not a hero and she still had to get into shape.

Wonder Woman gritted her teeth and jumped high into the air, coming parallel with the second floor balcony. Dodging another blast, she came down hard, planting the heel of her boot into the criminal's chest. Still, the Star-Tsar made no sound, almost robotic in the way he fell and then recovered.

Wonder Woman considered the possibility that she was dealing with an artificial being, a creation of the sleeping Luthor, but the rise and fall of the Star-Tsar's chest seemed too real. "You are supposed to be dead," he said coldly.

"I've heard that too many times," she replied, her hand slowly going down to brush her golden lasso. "This is quite the little police state you've developed here."

"Your opinions are pointless; you will die along with the traitor," he said, his body starting to glow.

They moved like water, she going for her lasso, he concentrating his powers into a single, point-blank blast meant to incinerate her. The lasso made it first and the Amazing Amazon jerked hard on the line, the Star-Tsar losing his concentration and stumbling down on one knee.

Super-Woman got up and stumbled over to stand next to Wonder Woman. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"That's what I hear," she said with a wink, yanking again on the rope. The Star-Tsar fell down and the wind was released from his lungs.

"Snapper Carr, as I live and breath," Super-Woman said as she examined the Star-Tsar with her X-ray vision. "Decided to turn traitor after all?"

Wonder Woman gave a final tug for good measure, getting only a slight grunt out of her prisoner. "He said I was supposed to die with the traitor. How many traitors are there around here?"

Super-Woman went over to an overturned desk and pulled off the metal leg. Using her super-strength, she used them as restraints for her super-powered prisoner while Wonder Woman commanded him to submit. "Magic lassos come in so handy."

"I'm sure," Super-Woman replied. She noticed that the Amazon was looking her over. The costume she was wearing was a variant of the one Supergirl used to wear.

When she was alive.

"Supergirl?"

"Woman."

The queen of the Amazons nodded. "I like the hair," she offered. "Can I assume you're the traitor?"

Super-Woman nodded. "I was once a member of the Legion of Doom, though I never killed anyone. I left before the slaughter happened."

"Is there someplace we can go, somewhere that we can go over everything? You may not believe this, but I'm not from this world," Wonder Woman said. Super-Woman laughed lightly. "You'd be surprised by what I'd believe."

Alexi Luthor looked down at the oatmeal and then out into the central area of the underground prison complex recently constructed by the Warden's. He was incarcerated here with a costume-less Star-Tsar, a one-legged teenager named Marvin and a cackling Psycho-Pirate. Their current guard was someone dressed in a yellow Flash costume that enjoyed calling him "Old Red".

He had awakened here, with a bruised jaw and an even more bruised ego. Super-Woman, really Shyla, a former teammate on the Legion of Doom, had put him here with the help of the Amazon whore! He realized now that he had mistakenly believed that the woman that he had encountered was not the woman from his homeworld. They looked the same, extremely beautiful with plenty of attitude, but they weren't the same.

This Wonder Woman was a savvy fighter, a warrior, not just another split-tail in a costume, he thought to himself as he looked to see if there was any sugar. He wouldn't be in this cell for long; no doubt the Time-Guardian was already beating the location of this place from Nightwing!

Alexi wanted out of here and soon. He knew that his old nemesis Superman was coming through the rift in another twelve hours according to his calculations and he wanted to be there with a bucket of Kryptonite-laced water for him!

"Hey! Old Red! I'm going to go get a Coke, so you sit there and think about all of the bas things you've done!" The youth started laughing and then left the area to climb up the stairs to the kitchen.

"Alexi," a cold voice said. Alexi whirled around and choked on his cereal. "You!"

The man laughed. "Yes, it is I and I'm afraid your time is up."

The scientist started to protest, to try and come up with some way to prevent his impending death. The intruder held a weapon on him and he knew instinctively that it was not meant to stun or disable. Too many times in the past had he been the one on the other end of the gun.

Kid Flash returned less than a minute later to find his charge lying on the floor of his cell, a smoking hole in his chest.