Themyscira
Themyscira
- Many Years Ago -
Themyscira, a beautiful archipelago full of life. The sun shines brightly upon the middle island. The sky was bright blue and without a single cloud. Diana, dressed in a white dress straddles a horse along with an older woman with the same raven hair. Hippolyta wears a light purple dress and crown. Both women lookout to the outstretches of the island and out into the ocean. They take in the gentle sounds of the ocean not too far from them, observing the soft waves. Diana closes her eyes to fully appreciate the sounds of nature.
"Diana, Is something bothering you?" the Queen of Themyscira asks her daughter.
Diana slowly opens her eyes, "It's nothing."
"Nothing?" Hippolyta ganders, lifting an eyebrow, "Throughout the ages, I have learned that *nothing* can often be quite important in some aspects, my daughter. Nothing: neither good or bad. It just is... it's something that cannot hurt you, yet important enough to know. So tell me, just what is on your mind, Diana?"
Diana turns to her mother, "Do you ever wonder that if you are to continuously follow the teachings you were brought up to believe, that you are obligated to keep your conviction... even when you are to have doubts about those same teachings?" the younger amazon asks as her hair is gently blown by the breeze.
"Hmm," Hippolyta thinks over her daughter's question, "Diana, this newfound reluctance of yours wouldn't be related to that man who crashed here? I believed that I made myself clear on this matter. We are not to interfere with man's world, just as they are not to be involved with ours," she answers.
"Steve was not as you declared men to be. He was an honourable soldier with an even more honourable heart. He showed me that we no longer need to fear the outside world. The world has changed," Diana stops when she sees the turmoil grow on her mother's face.
"The man was indeed different from what I experienced, but one good man out of the countless millions is nothing to be hopeful about, Diana. Do you think we went into solitude because of one single *bad* man? No. Man's world was far ruled by war-hungry savages," Hippolyta firms her eyebrows, "So if it did not take a single bad man to drive us into separation from the outside world, why should we come out of that separation because of a single good one?"
"Because we need to have hope. How are we ever going to learn if we can reconnect with the world when you refuse to even try?"
"I know you yearn for that man, Diana. But remember, one day you are going to take my place as the amazon's queen and till then, I am to make the commands. You need to serve your own people before you become enslaved to your heart," the older Amazon replies.
Present Day
New Jersey, Gotham City
"What sort of creature are you?" Cheetah licks her lips and extends her claws as she looks to the caped crusader on the water tower, "Leave us be. You have no place in this matter of ours." Silver Swan descends down, her feet less than an inch off of the ground.
"We do not want to cause trouble with the people of man's world. Let us kill her and we'll happily leave," Silver Swan curves her left leg.
Diana looks to the masked man, annoyed at his sudden presence, "I care not of your reason to be here. Stand between us and you will die," the amazon warns as she sees Silver Swan and Cheetah turn their attention back to her. She grabs her sword, "Minerva! Let's finish this! No such creature like him shall save you!"
"You are the one in the need of saving, princess...," Cheetah charges at Diana who also runs towards the animal-like woman with Silver Swan following behind. Venessa stops when she feels a cable wrap around her boot. She looks behind her and sees Batman as the culprit. The Dark Knight holds the Batclaw in hand and pulls her down. He quickly disconnects the cable from the gadget and ties it around one of the beams of the Water Tower. Silver Swan's eyes narrow as she rakes her claws and easily slashes through the cable; releasing her from the hold.
"You dare defile me? I'll have your head, beast," Silver Swan yells, still thinking that Batman was a true creature of the night. Batman straightens his posture and holds his hand out, jesting it to dare Venessa into attacking. The redhead snarls as she divebombs at Batman.
The vigilante throws down several small pellets and escapes within a cloud smoke. Silver Swan prowls through the smoke and is sent into a coughing fit. She covers her mouth and closes her eyes, "This isn't smoke! What the hell is this...?!," she gasps. She lands and moves her hands over her swelling eyes as a shadowed figure moves behind her. Batman wears an oxygen mask to shield himself from the gas. He creeps up behind the redhead, Venessa picks up on the man approaching and jumps to her feet.
She slashes at the vigilante who ducks and evades all of the attacks, "My senses are tuned far beyond my sight, beast! I am a killing machine!" she arches her back and screams which unleashes a sonic-like blast. Batman was thrown far away from her, being thrown off of the roof and left to hang on the ledge. Silver Swan grins as she dashes towards the hanging man, flying over and settling back down next to his hands. She presses her heel against the man's hands.
"Wait... don't tell me that... you are just a man...?" Silver Swan humours, "How disappointing...," she lifts her heel and stomps down. Before her foot could land, Batman willingly released his grip on the ledge and falls. Silver Swan scowls as she sees the caped crusader grapple across to the next building over, "Oh no you don't!" Venessa takes off, leaving a crater and spirals towards the vigilante. She tackles Batman through the air and breaks through the next building's windows.
Meanwhile, Diana blocks a swipe from Cheetah and grabs onto the woman's head and slams it down on her knee, "You cannot win, Minerva. End this madness whilst you still have some dignity left," she evades a punch from Cheetah, blocks a swipe of her claws and stops one of her kicks.
"I am ending this. Just as you wish," Cheetah lunges at Diana who flies out of the range of her attack. The now flying Diana glares down at the villainess as she slams her bracelets together and knocks Cheetah back with a shockwave. Diana hurries after the villainess, flying after her and right-hooking her. Cheetah spits blood and slashes at the amazon. Diana blocks the strikes with her bracelets and returning with her own blows. Diana uppercuts Cheetah and knocks her onto her back.
The raven-haired Amazon descends down and stands her boot over Cheetah's chest to pin her down, "We have fought many times before and each time you've lost. What made you believe that this time would wield another result?," she reaches her sides and grabs her lasso and wraps it around the beast-women's neck, "You were always delusional, Minerva but never to this scale. Why would you think of teaming up with Venessa after what you did to her? Do you have no shame?"
"The only shame I feel is being bested by you...like a hell that I can never escape from...," Cheetah growls.
"Then by all means... allow me to release you from your torment...," Diana reaches to her sword and presses it against Cheetah's neck.
Meanwhile...
Across Gotham
- Jason Blüd's Study -
"Can you help us or not?" Lee asks as she looks to Blüd who is sitting behind his desk. The auburn-haired man rubs his eyes before he reluctantly reaches over to the Arrowhead. He holds it closer and looks at the engravings. Lee begins to worry as she sees a sudden wave of fear wash over Jason's face, "Everything okay?" Lucius stands behind Lee and closer to the door leading out of the study. Blüd removes his glasses and looks to Lee.
"These markings appear to be Themysciran in origin," Blüd turns the arrowhead over, "This could be a problem."
"Wind back a sec, Them-o-what?," Lucius intrudes, "I've never heard of any place with that name."
"I'm with Lucius here, I haven't heard anything about a place named that either," Lee folds her arms, "I'm not claiming to be a Geologist but I would remember a city or country having that name."
"That's because it's an island. Throughout the millennia and a half that I walked this earth, I've only heard whispers. I've never seen Themyscira nor been there myself. If it really does exist then that means the rest of the legends are true," Jason stands and grabs his glasses, "Which would mean we all could be in trouble."
"...I'm going to regret asking this... but why...?" Lucius inquires as he comes closer to the desk.
"Word is that the Themyscirans like to keep to themselves. Have done for centuries... for them to suddenly come out of their self-isolation, well... they could mean to declare war against the rest of the world. They are more fierce than any army you've seen... they are bad news," Blüd answers.
"We tried looking at that arrowhead with our tech but it just glitched out. it couldn't make heads or tails of it" Lee brings to Jason's attention.
"That's because it's infused with powers of which you have little understand of" Blüd answers, "Magic."
"D-did you just say... magic? C'mon... that's ridiculous," Lucius refuses to believe Blüd.
"Anymore ridiculous than a magic pool that can heal any wound, a walking/talking crocodile man, or a guy who is surrounded by all kinds of women but chooses to spend his time dressed as a bat? Face it, Mr Fox. The world is much larger than you believe. There are forces out there, forces that will change your whole perception of reality," Blüd answers as he puts his glasses back on, "I believe its best that we continue this conversation back at the Bunker..."
"Why?" Lee asks.
Blüd drops his head, "There is more that requires discussion."
Elsewhere
Batman and Silver Swan crash through the top floor's windows and land upon a conference table occupied by businessmen who all run at the sight. Silver Swan's wings retract into her suit as she straddles Batman with one hand on his throat and her other hand raised up and claws extended, "No powers either?" she lifts an eyebrow, "You believed a weakling like you could take me on? Typical of you men...," she slams down her hand down at the vigilante's face.
Batman moves his head and avoids the metal claws that cut through the table. Silver Swan than unleashes another sonic-like scream at the man, breaking the table around them and making them fall onto the debris as she keeps up the scream. All the glass around them and the windows all shatter in sync. Batman shoves multiple small pellets into Venessa's mouth which explode with gas and sends her off of him. Her wings assert outward as she flies upward and looks back to Batman.
The Dark Knight grabs a Batarang and hurls it at the redhead who lets out another scream to send it back to him, the sonic blast hits the Batarang and it explodes and throws both Batman and Silver Swan. The vigilante is thrown at the end of the room while Venessa was sent out of the broken windows. Batman grabs onto his right shoulder as he heads towards the windows and looks down at the streets. He then sees Silver Swan ascend.
The winged villainess growls, "You...dare...," she swipes Batman up by the cape and flies back towards the previous rooftop. Once there, she throws Batman at Diana. The Dark Knight is thrown into the amazon. Diana looks to Silver Swan while Cheetah under her smirks. Batman falls less than a metre away from Diana who feels a sudden pain in her sides. Looking down, Diana sees Cheetah had stuck her claws deep below her flesh on both sides, covering the animalistic woman's hands in blood.
A small puddle of crimson forms from the blood dripping from the woman's wounds. Diana's eyes widen and lets go of her sword, "No, Diana. It is I who will release you," Cheetah flashes a wide grin as she sinks her claws deeper into the woman, "Or more accurately... - *we*!," Diana then gasps as five armoured claws extrude out of her left shoulder from behind, during the time she was focused on Cheetah, Silver Swan had got behind her.
Silver Swan brings her arm from behind around the Amazon's neck while she keeps her right hand's claws in place through her, "Venessa never could bring herself to do this. She saw you like a sister... she was so naïve. Not like me who sees you like the pathetic warrior that you are...," the redhead grins, Cheetah stands up and pulls her claws out of Diana. Silver Swan does the same, ripping her claws back out of the Amazon's shoulder and grabbing hold of Diana's hair.
"Tell me, princess...," Cheetah cups Diana's chin in her hand and leans in closer, "How does it feel knowing that your body shall never be berried on Themyscira? You will be forever lost...," her pupils narrow into slits as she raises her arm up high and rakes her claws, the sunlight flashing off them, "Would you kindly?" she asks the winged villainess. Silver Swan pulls on Diana's hair and yanks her head back, giving a clear view of the woman's throat.
Cheetah licks her lips then goes in for a swipe of her claws with a hiss. Cheetah stops when a bat-shaped object is thrown through her hand. Simultaneously, another Batarang is thrown at Silver Swan's head, knocking her over onto the ground. Cheetah snarls as she backflips away and rips out the Batarang out of her hand with her teeth. Diana turns to the source of the objects and sees Batman near the ledge of the roof grabbing another pair of Batarangs, "Enough with this, the three of you. I'm taking you in,"
"Back off!" Diana yells as she holds her sides with one hand and retrieves her blade with her other, "THIS IS MY FIGHT!"
"Tough. This is my city," Batman looks at Cheetah leaps at him, claws ready and fangs on display. Silver Swan jolts back up and looks to Batman. She takes off and charges at the vigilante. Batman jumps back to avoid a swipe of Cheetah's claws. He then kicks his knee up to block the beast-woman's own kick. She then goes to slash her claws again. Batman lifts the pair of Batarangs in his grip and catches her claws between the points of the object. He turns the Batarangs to tilt Cheetah off balance. He then quickly turns, taking Cheetah along for the ride and throws her at the upcoming Silver Swan; knocking them into each other in one swoop, "This is my playground."
Cheetah stands and growls, "There's something strange about this one, he's different. I can smell it on him, he's not a servant of a god... he's the emissary of a demon. I can taste the darkness within him... it's delicious...," Cheetah eyes over the vigilante, her eyes glow as she sees a dark mist casting off of the man. She launches at Batman and slashes at him.
"She's strong, she's fast, she's agile, she's... she's impossible," Batman thinks to himself as he barely dodges the villainess's attacks, "These aren't costumes. These aren't just women. They're not human. This cheetah-lady isn't human... Minerva is what the others call her, right? She has a human name, she talks human. Kinda like Clark... but she's trying to kill me. Same with *Vanessa*. She appears human but she's wearing armour unlike anything that I've seen before... she's also referring to herself in third-person, but is showing disdain too, could be a sign of split personality..., she could hate this *Venessa* personality," The Dark Knight continues to ponder.
Batman narrowly evades another of Cheetah's attacks. The beast-woman's claws cut through the roof with ease. She turns to Batman and grins, "C'mon sugar. You aren't afraid to hit a woman, are you?" she lunges at him and hisses, "You can't evade me forever," she pounces at him.
Batman's eyes narrow, "Claws - check. Expert agility - check. Martial arts prowess - check. non-Human or not... she's not the first cat-woman I've come across. I know how to take her out, I've planned for it," Batman evades another swipe of Minerva's claws. He reaches behind her and presses down on the back of Cheetah's neck. He then throws her over his shoulders and on the floor, "Vagus Nerves, they regulate breathing and heartbeat. If you apply enough pressure; you can bring about a state of indefinite paralysis, even unconsciousness if done right."
Silver Swan ascends up and flies towards Batman but is stopped as a lasso is thrown around her ankle. The redhead looks behind her and sees an airborne Diana throw a punch her way. The Amazon knocks the winged villainess away from her. Silver Swan snarls as she regains her posture and strikes at Diana. The Amazon blocks the redhead's claws with her bracelets, "Wings or not. Did you not learn that flying too close to the sun is dangerous?" Diana questions which antagonized Silver Swan to unleash a sonic scream right at her.
Diana moves out of the blast-range. She unties the lasso from Silver Swan's leg and throws it around the redhead's neck. She then rapidly wraps the other end around her wrist to draw Silver Swan in closer to her. Diana then winds up her bare knees and kicks the redhead's face with all her strength. Silver Swan was thrown backwards, gasping as she closes her eyes. Now unconscious she dangles below with the lasso being held around her neck by the Amazon, "You're right, Swan. You aren't Venessa... she's long gone... and you will be too."
Batman glances up to the Amazon, clearly angered by her actions, "ENOUGH! YOU'RE GOING TO KILL HER!"
"Precisely, that is my people's way" Diana comments.
"Not when you're in my city!" Batman hurls a Batarang with neo-red edges at the flying woman.
Diana catches the weapon between her index and middle fingers and rolls her eyes, "I care not for these toys of yours. Leave now - this is your last warning..."
"And that was your only one," Batman declares as the Batarang in Diana's hold explodes with flash-banging the Amazon. Diana goes to shield her eyes and loosened her hold on the lasso which allowed Silver Swan to fall away from her. The Winged-Villainess drops onto the roof on her sides. Batman's attention was brought back to the Amazon who had recovered from the vision impairment. She slams down on the roof and glares at the vigilante.
Diana takes her sword in hand and points it at Batman, "You judge my people's ways without knowing them. You protect these two though not being aware of their crimes. You stand against me, not possibly knowing what I am, who I am," she informs the man, "Men... always naïve. Putting your own pride over the betterment of the world," she clutches her sides with her free hand that was stained red, "You really haven't changed over all these years!"
"You're losing a lot of blood. You need medical attention or you're going to die," Batman tells Diana with a coldness, "You need to go to the hospital."
"Fool. You're the protector of this city yet you let a foe walk free?" Diana returns her sword over her back and flies upward, "It would be foolish to expect an enemy to share your curtesy."
"I don't. That's why this city needs me," Batman growls.
"I'm not done with this city yet. I'm not leaving until I get what I want," Diana glares, "You can keep Silver Swan and Minerva if you wish... they'll just end up causing more harm. I'll come back for them soon... you too."
" Why did you come to this city in the first place?"
"Justice," Diana snarls as a light encases both her and Batman. From above, several armoured helicopters locks on them as a platoon of Checkmate soldiers zip down onto the roof that quickly crowded the vigilante. The almost twenty persons unit aim their guns at Batman and Diana.
"Batman. Get on the ground with your arms behind your head or we will open fire!" the commander orders as he takes lead and moves towards the vigilante, "Under accounts of vigilantism, assaults, disrupting the peace, and property damage - I hereby place you under arrest!"
"That voice - it can't be...," Diana's eyes widen, "Steve?"
"I said don't move!" the commander repeats himself.
"I like your spirit kid but you missed one...," Batman throws down a pile of small pellets that rupture smoke that covers him completely, "Evading capture," Batman runs off the ledge while avoiding streams of gunfire his way. Diana flies off and leaves the scene. The commander walks to the ledge and removes his helmet and is revealed to be a blond man. Steve Trevor looks out to the city where there was no sign of the vigilante.
Elsewhere
Selina Kyle sits on the couch of the living room and looks down to the silver-coated demonic book that she was holding. Like many times before, her mind was fixated on the book but at the same time, she could feel some unworldly force stopping her from opening it. She has tried so many times to break the binds of the unseen power and bring herself to break it open but no matter how much she wished or tried, she just couldn't. Something was holding her back. The best that she could bring herself to do was simply trace her fingers along with the markings on the cover, "Just what are you...?"
Her attention is taken away from the book as she sees Barbara Lee run into the room, "Aunt Selina! There's smoke in the kitchen!"
"Smoke? Oh crap," Selina jumps onto her feet and drops the book down on the table and makes her way to the kitchen. Selina looks to the stove and the pan on top which was on fire, "Crap, crap!" she grabs at the handle and throws it into the sink. She turns both of the taps on to douse the flames. She then comes over to the window and opens it, "Don't come in for a few minutes, Barb. It's still dangerous!" she calls out to the girl in the next room over.
"Okay, Aunt Selina!" she calls back. She then goes to return to her bedroom but stops when she hears something at the back of her mind. An almost-whisper like sound. A trail of whispers all leading back to the book that Selina had left on the table. The young girl is drawn to it, unsure of why. All she knew was that there was something that was bringing her closer to it. As she came closer, the whisper became louder and louder. Barbara Lee then reaches her hand out and manages to open it.
A shadow-like mist flows from the pages and is inhaled by the girl unknowingly. Barbara Lee gasps as her eyes glow bright red.