Champion
Themyscira. It's nothing like the world of men. It is a place of love and harmony. Safe from war, crime, jealousy, lust, greed, pollution, and hate. The gods gave us this land. They gave us our immortality. That is, until man stepped foot on this island. Our lives can no longer last more than two centuries, but that is more than enough when compared to those who live outside of Themyscira.
However, immortality will forever be given to those who possess the title of Wonder Woman. Such a title can only be given to those who are deemed worthy by the Olympian gods themselves. The first was my mother, Hippolyta, who nearly won the 7th Mortal Kombat Tournament. The second and current Wonder Woman is my sister, Nubia, who beat me in the Trials of Wonder.
That same year, I met my husband, Steve Trevor. His arrival caused much strife for my sisters, thus I left my home and ventured into man's world to help him in the second World War. With Aries gone thanks to my Sister's swift actions, I was able to live my life as a normal wife and mother—though there were still many times where my abilities were needed for the protection of the mortals who lived in London. Not long ago, Steve finally passed due to old age. My daughter moved on to live a life separate from mine. A life that would always be considered normal. Now, I have returned to my home to take the title of Wonder Woman and fulfill a duty that was always meant for me.
Diana's boat slows down as it comes upon the shore. She was both nervous and ecstatic to see her mother, Queen Hippolyta, and her half-sister, Princess Nubia, waiting for her at shore. Before Diana could step out of the boat, her mother embraced her. She was strong enough to pull her daughter out of the boat and place her on the sandy surface of the beach.
"Oh, how much you have grown, Diana," she stated. Diana couldn't help but return her mother's embrace and bore a smile thicker than she's had since holding her first child.
"Mother, it's so good to see you," she said.
"Please stay for more than just the night, my dear," she requested.
"I'm not here to visit, mother. I am here to stay," she confirmed. Her mother and sister exhaled. Diana moved from her mother and embraced her sister as well.
"Nubia, how has life been during your time as Wonder Woman?" she asked.
"Exciting," she summed.
"Her time as Wonder Woman has far outshined my own. Even going as far as taking her beyond our planet," Hippolyta boasted. "How about you, Diana. How have you been?"
"Not well," she responded.
"I imagine the world of man was not to your liking?" Nubia asked. Diana shook her head.
"The man who landed here years ago had become my husband. He has recently passed." Her family remained silent for a few seconds as they reflected on her words.
"We are sorry for your loss, Diana," Hippolyta responded.
"Does everyone still resent him for stepping foot on the island?" she asked.
"We've long forgiven him, as we have forgiven you for leaving," Nubia stated as she nodded.
"I thank you all for being so kind to me," she praised. "We have a daughter, Lyta, who is of the age where she can be on her own."
"Why is she not with you? You would let her roam the world of man alone?" her mother asked.
"I remember you doing the same thing years ago," she reminded her. Her mother chuckled.
"I still had Nubia here," she responded. "Even when she was somewhere else handling the demands of the gods, I would pray that they return her safely to me."
"Lyta will be fine," Diana chuckled.
"Diana," Nubia began, "I know why you've returned." Diana looked at her sister with a dastardly grin. "The ring is being prepared as we speak. I've ensured that it remained…confidential as man would say."
"Diana, are you certain you are ready?" Hippolyta asked.
"You've been afraid of me becoming Wonder Woman for decades, mother. You see how I've fared in the world of man. I am more than ready now," she stated. Hippolyta smiled.
"Gone are the days of you being my sweet little girl. It seems that the world of man has prepared you to become a true warrior."
"That doesn't mean the world of man has prepared you to become Wonder Woman," Nubia added. "Not until you defeat me."
Hours later, Diana and her sister arrived at the training grounds. Before them was a 20-meter ring with many weapons scattered around it. The two of them stood in the center of the ring, with only their mother around to spectate the fight. Nubia stands directly in front of her sister with her arms crossed like an X. Diana does the same and the two tap each other's braces onto one another.
"Begin!"
The two of them jumped back and engaged in hand-to-hand combat in no time. Diana missed one swing that her sister dodged swiftly. Her gut was met by Nubia's knee. She fell immediately. Nubia beckoned her to rise to her feet as she struggled. Diana sweeps her legs behind Nubia's heel, but the woman remained firm. Nubia grabs Diana and lifts her in the air.
"You are not ready to take my place, Diana. I have slain many, including celestial beings," she taunted. "The world of man has made you soft." Nubia uses all her might to throw Diana out of the ring. She quickly grabs a blade and slams it into the ground below to stop herself. Nubia wastes no pulling a javelin from the ground and tossing it directly towards Diana. As the young princess lands on her feet, she uses her braces to guard against the sharp point of the weapon. Her strength shatters the tip of the spear and snaps the metallic handle in two. Diana stands valiantly before her sister, grinning with pride.
"Your Valor may be stronger than I am, but you most certainly are not." Quick on her feet, Nubia dashes towards Diana in boots blessed by Hermes, prepared to knock the woman out of the ring. She hoped that her intimidating speed and prior strength would be enough to make Diana force herself out of the ring. However, she remained. Diana slides her foot back and Nubia nearly tumbles. The woman stared at her ankle and noticed that Diana's lasso hugged tightly around it. Diana pulls against the lasso as it was also connected to her ankle as well, but she was not able to make her sister budge.
Diana began wrapping the lasso around her leg as she inched closer to Nubia. Her sister then tried to pull the woman to the ground but failed as Diana didn't budge. Diana throws a powerful punch into her sister's jaw. Nubia does the same. They both continued to strike each other in a reverse tug-of-war to get each other out of the ring. Diana produces more blows than Nubia, but Nubia's punches are far stronger. Diana's body starts to give in as she edges closer to the end of the ring. Nubia throws one final punch, putting all her might in it. Diana lightly tugs the lasso with her leg and Nubia looks down for a split second. Diana moves out of her way and watches in joy as her sister falls face first out of the ring. Nubia had been defeated.
"Diana…," Hippolyta began, "you…you won. You've defeated Nubia." The excitement of beating her sister for the first time in nearly a century made it difficult for Diana to express just how important this was to her. She released the lasso from both her leg and her sister's leg before helping her up. Nubia chuckles as she rises to her feet.
"I knew you had it in you, sister. Why did you choose such a tactic at that moment?" she asked.
"You may have fought gods and intergalactic beings, but I have faced people who are more like us. The tactics of man has given me a better understanding of how our sisters can improved their fighting abilities," she explained. Nubia wrapped her hands around her Tiara and handed it to Diana. She urged her sister to remove the headband that she used as a place holder throughout her years in the world of man as she had no need for it anymore.
"With this, you are honored the official status and title of Wonder Woman," Nubia congratulated. She places her tiara on Diana's head before taking a step back. Diana doesn't shy away from smiling. She feels as if she could dance but keeps her composure. Nubia gestures for her to rise from the ground. She steps away as Hippolyta hands Diana the Hero's medallion.
"As Wonder Woman, it is your duty to guard this with your life. You are now a chosen warrior of the gods. With it, you are to never engage in physical combat without the consent of the gods, less you sever your ties with them. Only when there is a threat that endangers the Earth will you be able to hold it up towards the full moon and call upon the assistance of the others."
"How many others are there?" Diana asked.
"That is a questioned you must ask the protector of Earth," Hippolyta responded.
"Cherish this gift, Diana. You now can travel beyond Earth. There are so many stories you must read from my diaries to help you in your journeys."
"I pray nothing as drastic happens to prevent you from staying here. We miss you, Diana," Hippolyta sobbed. She hugged both of her daughters before escorting them towards the loud cheers of the other Amazons.
Hours had passed. Diana hasn't stopped staring at her medallion since she obtained it. The amazons along the fields near the beach had been setting up a welcome party for the young princess ever since she arrived. The decorations and activities grew once word had spread that she would become the new Wonder Woman and replace her sister. She looked among them reminiscing on the times where she would secretly train with them when she was just an adolescent. So many times, she was reprimanded by her mother for sneaking off every other day against her judgement. Her aunt, Antiope would always scold her for worrying her mother, but she knew Diana's potential was stronger than the others. She was not like everyone else. Even her sister, who was also made from clay, was different. She turned a blind eye during the more trivial exercises. When it was all said and done, she was able to outperform all but her sister.
"I knew this fight was coming the moment your boat passed the border that hides our Island. I've been watching you using a scouter in Areto's Study for years to check on you from time to time," she admitted. She noticed the unease on Diana's face. "Don't worry Diana, I can only see what's occurring on the outside of structures," she joked. "You were very happy with Steve Trevor, all the way to the very end."
"He meant everything to my daughter and me. I knew the time was always coming as man's lifespan is half of what we're allowed now." Diana frowns as she reflects on her life in London. "Knowing didn't make it easier." Nubia rubbed her palm around her sister's back.
"We're always here if you need us," she comforted. "And you must bring me my niece. She may be in man's world, but she is still one of us." Diana smiles and shakes her head.
"Try convincing her of that," she chuckled. Diana looks around the island as her sisters were helping setup the rest of her party. "I've been so clouded in my victory that I've forgotten to ask about Aunt Antiope and Phthia. Neither of them approached when I arrived as you and mother did."
"Antiope is preparing the rest of your party," her mother responded, sneaking up on the two.
"Mother, how long have you been standing there?" Nubia asked.
"She would do this all the time when I was still an adolescent," Diana mentioned. Hippolyta laughed.
"It is good to see you haven't forgotten our ways. Am I to assume you've done the same for my granddaughter?" she asked.
"Mother…" Diana dragged. Hippolyta laughed once more. "I hope you're not being too hard on Phthia." Diana commented. Both Nubia and Hippolyta's smiles faded.
"Phthia is deceased," Hippolyta confirmed remorsefully. Diana was taken aback. A woman her mother took in as her own died while she was away.
"She's passed already?" she questioned. "But how?"
"She was killed in action during the Cold War," Nubia responded. Diana shook her head in disbelief.
"How can that be? I saw none of our sisters during those skirmishes."
"Ares has his ways, Diana. You would not have known," Hippolyta answered.
"Curse him," Diana mutters.
"It would be best to inform you of the others who have fallen during your time away," she continued.
"There were others?"
"Aleka, the child who would tease you during your adolescent years, Kasia, your best friend prior to your departure, and Aella, the warrior whom you rescued during the Second World War. These three warriors were all killed in action during the war against Ares."
"Why didn't you call for me to help?"
"You had a job to do in man's world as we have a job to do here."
"She told me the same thing after my first skirmish outside of Earth," Nubia added.
"Even if you were to be here, you would be forbidden to help fight here," Hippolyta told Nubia.
"Sadly, she is right. My daughter no longer needs my protection, which is why I've become comfortable with the idea of becoming Wonder Woman," she stated.
"Hippolyta!" a voice cried out from the beach. The Queen looked out to the beach. Appearing from a rift near the entrance of the beach were many female warriors standing beside their leader. She recognized them as the lost Kreeyan civilization that once went to war with the Zaterrians when they resided on Earth. Born from the bloodline of their Queen, an Amazon who had the power to birth her daughters in hives. She tried to build an army to take over Paradise Island as well as the rest of the world of man.
"Diana, go find Antiope and Philippus." Hippolyta commanded. "Tell her Vorpax may have returned."
End of Chapter 1
I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of "A Woman of Wonder." This is more of a standalone story than a tie-in, although it does take place in the same universe as my Mortal Kombat fanfiction as well as has some relation to the overall lore. This won't be necessary for understanding any plot points represented in previous or future storylines. It will, however, open up to the possibility of DC related fanfiction (which will all also be 6 chapters long) in the distant future. I hope to finish this story before the end of the year, which is very much possible as the third chapter is basically done and chapters 4-6 are about 35-40% completed.
(Upcoming—A Vengeful Woman)
