Sensation Comics 16
Mission to Planet Eros!
Steve Trevor drove, perhaps faster than he should have, past winding country roads to the Holliday campus. The sun had long set and all classes had stopped for the day, night too. He pulled in to a nearly empty parking lot and hustled into the campus science building.
A lone guard walked him to a large room. With a silent nod he left. Steve was alone for less than a second when two women entered. The first was a plain brunette carrying a tray with bottles. Behind her was Wonder Woman.
"Steve! You came!"
"Yeah, well, when a winged woman appears before you for a week straight and tells you a world is in danger, you tend to listen." The bags under his eyes made it clear it was not an easy week. "Mind telling me why?"
"I apologize for interrupting your sleep Steve, but I needed a man I trust and a warrior at that. The woman who's been visiting your dreams is Queen Desira of Venus."
Steve glared at her. "So there's life on Venus? So do all planets have life or…"
"Most do, yes, but that's not important right now." Wonder Woman turned to the other woman. "Professor Dale will explain and help us."
"Thank you." Turning to Steve, she pointed to a cot in the corner. "Colonel, if you could roll up your sleeve we can begin."
"Injections? No, I'm so tired at this point I may crash before I move, but before I do, I'd like some answers."
"Of course." Wonder Woman stretched out on another cot. "I met Queen Desira on another mission some time ago. She can appear in dreams and transport astral versions of our bodies to the planet Eros."
"Planet Eros? And where the blue blazes is that?" Steve, his limbs feeling heavier by the second, flopped down on the cot.
"In another universe; think of it as a mirror version of Venus."
"Wait, a mirror Venus? So there's a mirror Earth?" Steve was having a hard time focusing.
"Dozens, maybe hundreds." Wonder Woman's voice sounded farther and farther away. "Worlds have lived and died…" Steve drifted off.
Steve opened his eyes. He was standing up, dressed in a simple shirt and pants. He was surrounded by trees. "Steve!"
He spun around. "Angel!"
Wonder Woman stood before him like a vision. A familiar woman was behind her. "Miss Candy?"
Etta Candy was behind Wonder Woman, looking somewhat puzzled. "Now how in the heck did I get here?"
"Were you asleep?" Wonder Woman looked around the woods making sure there was no one else.
"Yup, just laid down then poof. Here I am."
"As odd as this is, just what exactly are we supposed to do?"
"I can explain." A voice spoke from all around them.
"Desira!" Wonder Woman exclaimed.
"Yes, it is good to see you your highness." The voice continued. "As I've said before, the world of Eros is in grave danger, a danger I feel may spill over to this world."
Visions began to form in the dirt before them. "On Eros, one aspires to go to prison. Once there, you are trained and placed within the area where your skills would be best used. The Queen of Eros, Queen Mayra, has been using this system for ages without issue until they arrested the scientist Rebla. From her work it was determined that overseeing the Trans Mountania would be the best use of her talent, but Rebla wished to focus on building electronic devices."
"So what did she do?" Etta asked.
"She approached General Dominus and overthrew the queen's forces with a sleep ray. Even now they plot further from their mountain retreat." The voice grew faint. "Our connection grows dim. Hurry and free the planet!"
After a moment's silence, Steve looked around. "Free a planet and stop a rebellion. No issue there. Where do we start?"
"Let's go to the capital and take an assessment there." Wonder Woman pointed to a small clearing.
"Wait, your invisible plane here's too?" Steve noticed the indention in the dirt.
"Of course, why wouldn't I bring it?"
"But…how, ah never mind." Steve decided some questions simply should remained unanswered.
The capital of Eros was unnaturally quiet. Dominus, general of Mayra's army, leaned back in the ornate throne and smiled. Before him was Queen Mayra, prone and unmoving on the floor, her chest barely moving. He knew across the city the citizens lay in similar positions.
His troops had busied themselves with looting the now helpless citizens. "So many years I toiled under you, slaved under you, and now?"
Dominus wiped his boots on the queen's robes. "Maybe I'll have you entombed here, in the throne room."
Footsteps distracted him. He sighed. "Ah, Rebla, on time as always."
"General Dominus, I must protest your recent actions!" the scientist held up a thick stack of reports. "The people called out for justice, but all I hear is your men looting homes!"
Dominus was still for a second before he punched her full in the stomach. "My troops are following my orders, my exact" he stressed, "orders. I was a lap dog for too many years to bow again. With your sleep ray at my disposal the entire planet will be under my control! Eros, then Aries, yes, even Gaea! All will fall under my iron fist!"
Rebla struggled to breath as she pushed herself up. "I trusted you! You told me the people cried for a new ruler!"
Dominus drew a small ray and took aim. "They did, me. Thank you for your work Rebla, but I no longer need you." He squeezed the trigger, blasting her with the blue ray. She slumped to the floor asleep.
Two sentries entered. "Take her to one of the royal guestrooms."
"Sir?"
Dominus looked down at her. "Without her aid I'd still be stationed in those gods forsaken mountains. Her ray has allowed us to conquer the capital. No, we owe her a comfortable bed at least." He turned back to the window. "After that I want the looting ceased for the day."
"Sir?"
He glanced at the sentries. "For tomorrow we march!"
"Yes sir!"
"So, it's just the three of us versus an entire army with weapons that can put us to sleep?" Etta poked the campfire as their dinner roasted over the flame.
"Queen Desira seems to think the two of us were needed, although I'm a puzzled why you were drawn into this." Wonder Woman settled against the rock. They had hiked most of the day, camping in the hills near the capital. "You say you never saw her in any dreams?"
"Pretty sure I would have remembered a dame like that."
Steve scanned the valley below and the distant city ahead. "No patrols. You say these people have no air power?"
"Some of them are capable of flight, I'm told, but they rely mostly on animals for transportation."
Steve checked his equipment. The idea of an astral body was still too far fetched for him, but he was curious why he didn't have any weapons or gear. "Why not give us some guns or at least another plane?"
"Queen Desira works in mysterious ways."
Steve and Etta both snorted. The answer clearly failed to satisfy.
At the crack of dawn, Steve and Etta were stuck in the back as Wonder Woman flew low, just above the trees as they approached the city. "So we get in low, scope out the trouble spots then plan around that?"
"That's the idea." Wonder Woman took them higher as they cleared the wall. Circling around, they saw the city laid out like a jeweled grid. The buildings reminded Steve of fairytale kingdoms he read about when he was a child. He half expected to see a dragon coiled around one of the many towers that dotted the cityscape.
In the main courtyard, Wonder Woman spotted a giant cannon. "That must be Rebla's device. If we could destroy it we could cripple their army!"
"I'm sure, but we'd have to get there first." Steve noticed a frenzied burst of activity near the cannon. He was about to ignore it ("they can't see us" he reasoned) before the cannon was turned and aimed directly at them.
"Angel, we've been made!" Steve yelled as a pink ray enveloped the craft. He braced himself as the plane pitched into a nose drive and crashed into a large building. He blacked out as he went head first into Wonder Woman's seat.
Steve slowly opened his eyes. The throbbing in his head informed him that was a bad idea. He shifted his limbs. The pain in his head didn't stop, but his arms and legs were free. Slowly looking around, he saw Wonder Woman and Etta laying next to him on small couches, both asleep. One sentry stood in the room, talking to someone outside in the hall.
"Yes, their craft was unusual, but our crystal lenses spotted it easily enough." The other voice was mumbled. "No, the sleep ray worked. Let's check on them every five hours, that should be good enough."
The sentry walked off. Steve slowly sat up. "The ray didn't affect me?" he didn't have time to worry about that. Shakily getting to his feet, he carefully crept towards the door. The sentry stood near the doorway, his back to him.
Picking up a discarded serving tray, Steve brought it down savagely across the guard's neck. The man stumbled forward. Steve caught him and dragged him back into the cell, slamming his head on the wall. The guard went down. Steve stripped the man of his armor. The plate fit well enough, but the man's spear and short sword were more valuable.
Checking on Wonder Woman and Etta, Steve tried to wake them, but to no avail. "Ok, someone I'm immune to that ray. I'm armed but I don't know the area or the layout." He glanced around the room. A thick tapestry was hung on the other side of the room.
The fringe at the bottom of the tapestry fluttered. Steve poked it with the spear and revealed a passage. "Well, better taking this than the main corridor."
Steve walked deep into the passage. The path twisted and turned and at times grew smaller. Light was provided by occasional slits in the walls and ceiling. He was going deeper into the castle. He stopped when he spotted a woman stretched out on a bed and surrounded by large purple gemstones. Leaning against the stone wall, Steve found a section that swiveled out.
Carefully entering the room, Steve checked the woman over. "Like Wonder Woman and Etta." He saw several piles of gemstones of various hues scattered around the room. He checked out one of the smaller piles and pocketed a few of the small ones.
He slipped back into the passage as he heard footsteps approaching. He continued further until he came to an end. The passage was dark and ended in an oddly shaped wall. Steve felt around until his fingers brushed something. With a click and hiss the wall moved forward, revealing the throne room.
Steve stepped into the light. "How the devils did you get here?" a voice boomed from behind him.
Steve spun around. Dominus stood before a massive map on the wall behind the throne. "Sentry, I asked you a question!"
Steve reached into his tunic, his fingers wrapping around one of the gems. In a flash the gem sailed through the air and struck the general right in the face. Dominus clutched his head, but his hand went to the sword at his waist.
Steve readied his spear and thrust it forward, running the point through the leather guard running up Dominus' forearm and pinning his arm to the wall. Steve drew his sword as the general slipped a slender knife from his boot with his free hand. Steve was faster and knocked the blade away. "Give it?"
Steve nodded at his handiwork. He learned some knot tricks from Wonder Woman, something that Dominus couldn't know and had no defense against them. "So, reversing the power will wake the people up?"
"Yes!" Dominus growled. "How? How are you immune?" Steve had blasted the main cannon across the city, knocking out the troops.
"Good living." Steve brought his spear down across the general's head, knocking him out. "Ok, now to wake the ladies up and get back home!"
Steve woke Rebla up first and explained the situation. She solemnly and silently helped Steve wake the rest of the city up. After waking the queen and Wonder Woman, Rebla dropped her ray gun and threw herself before Queen Mayra.
"Forgive your grace, but all I wanted was to work on my own projects!"
Mayra slowly picked up the discarded ray gun. "Understandable, and perhaps we've been too rigid in our practices. You'll have to be punished for this, of course, but when you've served your time, I think we can find a better use for your talents."
"Thank you!" Rebla bowed as she was lead away.
Mayra turned to Wonder Woman. "And I thank you for bringing the warrior here." She approached Steve. "I was told in a dream that three outsiders would be needed to save our world. A queen, a warrior, and a bard."
"So that's why I woke up here?" Etta scratched her head.
"Indeed." Mayra looked at the trio. "Queen Desira informed me of your bravery and she did not exaggerate." She reached into her robes and pulled out three golden discs. "For when you wish to return."
Wonder Woman, Steve, and Etta (once she was found in her room) woke up. Three days had passed. Steve was tempted to write the whole thing off as a crazy dream, say for the slender golden disc in his hand. He made sure the disc was carefully hidden in a small box at the back of his closet. He still wasn't sure what happened and frankly he didn't care. All he knew was that he slept soundly for the first time in a while.
The end
Based on "Mission to Planet Eros" which was first published in Sensation Comics I#11 (November 1942) with credits to William Marston (script) and Harry G. Peters (pencils/inks)
Next time, "America's Guardian Angel!"
And keep an eye out for the upcoming yarns,
Detective Comics#15-Professor Strange and His Monster Men
Action Comics#15-Jail Break!
All-American Comics#3-At the World's Fair