"This is just plain eerie," said Slade. "Where is everybody?"
"Maybe they're really heavy sleepers?" Mercy commented.
"Oh my god, was that a joke?" asked Rio. "Miss Graves just made a joke!"
The trio had walked all the way up to the conglomeration of buildings and began investigating the first building that seemed to be a gateway into a plaza. It had taken them several minutes to get here, and still they were not greeted by anyone.
"Good to see you coming out of your shell, dear," Slade said to Mercy as they each explored a different part of the area. "Seriously though, what gives? Our crash landing was damn loud. Surely we should have attracted somebody's attention."
"Technically not a crash," said Mercy. "A rough landing, but that plane is still flyable."
"I'm beginning to think these Amazons are just a myth after all," Slade complained. "That Superior Man must be delusional. All that time with his head literally in the clouds can't be good for a guy."
"Uh, guys…," Rio said nervously, "I think I found some of the Amazons."
"Well, tell them they haven't impressed me," Slade remarked, following Rio's voice to her location. "If I- oh… oh, Jesus."
Mercy, too, joined Rio, and gasped when she saw what had caused her companions to stop dead in their tracks. The room full of women before them were definitely warriors. Amazons if ever the name fit. It was truly a testament to the legendary warrior women that they could be identified as such despite being so plainly and gruesomely dead.
"I've seen enough battles to know a slaughter when I see one," said Slade solemnly. "These women died with honor. And judging by the state of their corpses, I'd say they've been dead for about two weeks."
"How come no one has buried them?" Rio asked, afraid she already knew the answer.
"We should keep going," said Mercy. "Captain Lightning, which way?"
"I… I can't focus," Rio stammered, overwhelmed by the scene in front of her. "I don't know."
"I can take a guess," said Slade, making his way to the other side of the plaza and looking out into the open Themysciran streets, which were littered with even more dead Amazons. Bodies were strewn in every direction. And not just Amazons. Horses, kangaroos, peacocks, owls, and other animal companions also fell everywhere, slain just the same.
"Good lord," Mercy breathed, stepping out into the open. "There are too many to count."
"Who could have done something like this?" Rio asked.
"Conquest, obviously," came Francesca's voice from a nearby fountain.
"Francesca?" said Rio, rushing over to the fountain and looking down into the water.
"So this is your mirror friend from the knife," said Mercy, she and Slade also looking down at her.
"Wait… you guys can see her?"
"The veil is not in place here," Francesca explained. "Themyscira is a place of great magic, and there is no need to hide."
"Hiding certainly would have done these poor girls some good," Slade remarked.
"Doubtful," said Francesca. "Whoever Conquest truly is, that murderer clearly knows every inch of this island. There is not a single Amazon left alive."
"Were they your friends?" asked Rio.
"Many of them, yes," Francesca replied. "I wish I hadn't waited so long between visits here. I fear you and I could have stopped this."
"Conquest slaughtered this entire island and kidnapped the Superior Man. I doubt anyone could have stopped this," said Mercy.
"You may be right," Francesca sighed. "However, we can prevent further bloodshed. I have now located your friend Kal."
"What? Where is he?" Rio demanded.
Francesca faded away, then suddenly her voice rang through the air from across the road. "Follow my sound, friends. I will lead you to him."
The trio ran to where her voice was coming from, then she shifted once again. "This way." Then again. "Now here." "To me." A few more times until the trio found themselves at the entrance to what looked like an arena. "You're almost there. Hurry! I cannot stay here much longer. I grow weak." Francesca continued to shift and led them down hallways, down flights of stairs, and finally into a dungeon, where sure enough, Kal was chained up on the other side of the room.
"Let's get him and get out of- augh!" Slade cried out in pain as he was knocked across the room by a figure hidden in the shadows. Angrily, Slade cracked his neck and began to get up again, but was knocked back down just as quickly, this time rendered unconscious.
"You see, Child of the Unknown, your friends are here to see you die, just as I promised," said Conquest, stepping out into what little light the dungeon offered.
Thinking quickly, Rio moved to Slade and took out his earpiece to contact the jet. "Flash! Come in Flash!" she called.
"Flash here," came Barry's voice on the other end.
"Hey Flash, we… we found him," Rio managed to say, dodging swings from Conquest's sword.
"Superior Man?"
"Yup, and we could use some help, please! Ah!" Rio screamed as her opponent's boot made contact with her, causing her to drop the earpiece.
While Conquest and Rio went head to head, Mercy made her way over to Kal and began fiddling with his restraints. "Hey, can you hear me?" she spoke to the captive hero. "We're gonna get you out of here, big guy."
"Fools!" Conquest shouted, throwing the inky black sword at Mercy and fighting Rio with just fists now. With no time to dodge, Mercy saw her life flash before her eyes, and closed them to prepare for the inevitable. When she didn't die, she opened her eyes to see that the Flash had arrived just in time, and he had caught the sword by the hilt.
Barry smiled at Mercy, winked at her, then joined the fight, swinging the sword wildly in Conquest's direction.
Also joining the fight was Project: Platinum, having been carried to the scene by the Flash. At that moment, Slade managed to come to. Looking around the room, he shot up to his feet when he noticed Platinum. But… it looked like she was fighting on their side, so…
"Slade, help!" Mercy called, getting his attention and summoning him to help free Kal.
Gritting his teeth, Slade reached into a pouch on his thigh and pulled out two grenades. "You look like shit, Kal, but I hope you're not too weak for this." Pulling both pins at the same time, Slade quickly placed one in Kal's right hand, and the other down at Kal's feet, then grabbed Mercy and shouted "Move!"
In the span of one second that seemed to last forever, Slade covered Mercy as they dove across the room, the Flash ducked behind Platinum, and Rio managed to push Conquest directly toward the primed grenades. And then… bang.
The explosives went off, destroying Kal's chains and freeing him, but obviously not hurting him. The explosion also damaged Conquest's helmet, and as the villain stood up, it fell off, revealing to Kal a familiar face underneath.
Kal stood in shock for a moment, unable to speak. On the other side of the dungeon, his friends were getting up. They were in pain, their ears ringing from the explosion, but Kal could feel his own strength returning to him. Platinum reformed her face and body, the others got to their feet, and Rio shouted Kal's name and motioned for him to come with them.
Finally, Kal spoke to his captor.
"Diana?"
