5.15AM, Paradise Island
Diana woke to the sound of waves lapping on the beach and the musical chirping of the birds of the forest. She lay still for some time, savoring the peaceful moment. After a few minutes of this she finally got out of bed and slipped into her sandals and a plain white tunic. Walking over to the weapons displayed on her bedroom walls, she reached for the falchion and shield, then she went outside to practice her swordplay and defense. It was a ritual she had dearly missed.
Her busy schedule as ambassador to Themyscira made it next to impossible to give herself any free time. Her mission consumed much of it. There were always important meetings to attend,papers to sign,speeches to be given,photos to be taken. Mostly she traveled around the world on humanitarian missions. Just yesterday she went to Kenya to dig boreholes in the arid North Eastern area,flew to Libya to negotiate a ceasefire with the Rebels,and ended her travels in Russia, where she had to convince the President and his advisers that she was here to help all of humanity, not just the West.
Diana didn't think she had gotten through to him. She recognized a fellow battle-hardened warrior in him and could see that when he made a decision he brooked no dissent. He didn't seem surprised when she spoke to him in fluent Russian, her intonations and accent pitch perfect. Most people were genuinely surprised when she spoke their native tongue as though she grew up speaking it. His face remained unreadable throughout the meeting and he spoke very little. But he had at least allowed her to fly through their airspace without being harassed by the Russian Air force. That was a start.
Her other missions had been somewhat successful, the Rebels had at least agreed to speak to her, although she didn't think the ceasefire would last very long. As it was they seemed in awe of her, whether it was her fluent Arabic(unheard of in these parts, at least from a white female),her stunning beauty or the fact that she easily deflected an RPG when they mistook her for a spy drone, she didn't know; and frankly she didn't care. She just wanted to bring an end to the madness.
The mission in Kenya had gone smoothly. She had several boreholes dug in the North Eastern region and they would service the locals well. The only hitch had been when the local politicians visited the scene hoping for photo ops and perhaps endorsements from Diana. She had been disgusted by their actions, turning up to such a poverty stricken, drought prone area with their expensive SUV's, distributing relief food as though it was a favor. What was worse, the people worshiped them like they were Gods. She couldn't blame them, most of them were uneducated and didn't know their rights, one of which was access to basic amenities such as food and water. She left soon after the politicians arrived, refusing to shake hands or even speak to them. As she flew away,her keen ears picked up the voice of one of them speaking through the PA system in the local tongue of Swahili. He was telling the villagers that there was no money to help them this year, but if they(the politicians) were re-elected they would dig more boreholes like they did today.
Diana was enraged. How dare they take credit for her hard work! She almost turned back but decided against it. It wouldn't do her or those people any good, and it wouldn't have made any difference. She was just happy they had clean drinking water.
She paused her exercises for a moment, inhaling the salty sea breeze smell. She had been at this for nearly two hours. The sun had risen and it was getting warmer. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy her work as ambassador. She did, although most times it felt like an enormous chore, she truly enjoyed the work. It gave her a sense of accomplishment when she looked at all her achievements.
However she couldn't help but feel there was something missing. She had all these great gifts, wisdom from Athena,an empathetic link with animals,tracking skills and enhanced senses from the Goddess of the hunt Artemis herself,flight from Hermes,strength and durability from Demeter,an indestructible rope from the earth mother Gaea,capable of burning away deceit in all its forms,weapons forged by the God of metalwork Hephaestus. Lastly, she had the gift of great beauty,love and compassion from Aphrodite.
But what was she doing with these gifts? Humanitarian work? Yes, it was important, yes it was part of her mission to change Man's World for the better, but was it all she could do?
In her few years in Man's World, she had heard of other heroes, people with gifts and ideals similar to hers. A being who moved at speeds that rivaled that of Hermes. Another who seemed to be a God among men, but never acting like one. His strength far surpassing that of Herakles(or Hercules as he was called in Man's World), a man who could fly and shoot fire from his eyes. She felt closest to him, though she had never met him. Perhaps it was the similarity of their abilities,or the armor they wore. Perhaps it was because he was a demigod, just like her. Perhaps it was just as simple as him being a rather good looking man,and Diana being a red-blooded woman.
Then there was another one. At first he seemed like a rumor, an 'urban legend' as her secretary told her, because no one had ever seen him; except for his alleged victims. Evidence of his activities was virtually non-existent, but the statistics were undeniable. Crime had reduced in that part of the country, and criminals were running scared to the authorities. A shadowy creature that worked in the night, preying on the criminal elements of its city, using fear for a good and noble cause. She didn't like his methods, but she could sense that he was a force for good, whatever people might think of him.
In the distance she could hear the sounds of the other Amazons performing their morning exercises. They were a race of immortal warriors, but they could be killed in battle, even Diana. So they had to train their bodies as well as practice their combat drills every day. This had been instilled in Diana from a tender age. Even though with her abilities she hardly needed any form of training, she embraced the code and became one of the fiercest and most skilled warriors on the island. Coupled with her abilities, she was a deadly opponent.
She flew up into her bedroom, sheathed the blade and mounted the shield back on the wall, then she put on her enchanted training armor. Growing up she had always been conscious of her immense strength. Many a time she had broken glasses,ripped doors off their hinges, bent and broken countless swords and shields, and even broken bones. The average Amazon was several times stronger and more durable than the average human, but Diana was at least as strong as her half brother Herakles, if not stronger. She had learned to control her strength for ordinary activities like drinking from a glass or opening doors, but it was next to impossible to rein in her strength in the heat of battle. When her mother finally grew tired of Diana breaking people's bones she prayed to Hera for guidance. In response Hera sent Diana an enchanted suit of armor that would negate her powers, and to prevent any problems, the suit would only do so if Diana willed it.
Putting on the armor reminded Diana of her mother. She didn't want to see her mother just yet. Though it had been just over 2 years since she won the contest to represent Themyscira in Man's World, Queen Hippolyta was still angry with Diana for her disobedience. Diana for her part was still angry that her mother refused to see all the good she was doing for the world, and that she still treated her like a child, though she was over 20 years old.
"But",thought Diana,"mother is over 3,000 years old. Perhaps that is why she still thinks of me as a child." Deep down Diana hoped her mother would forgive her for tricking her way into the competition, and that she would come to see that the end justifies the means, if the goal is a worthy one. She sincerely hoped so, because she knew immortals could hold a grudge for a very long time. When she finished putting on the armor, she picked up her xiphos, her favorite weapon, and a weather beaten shield, also her favorite, and flew off into the courtyard.
In the courtyard, a squad of Amazons performed calisthenics while under the supervision of instructors. One of these instructors was General Phillipus. She was dressed in a simple knee length grey tunic that showed off her smooth dark brown skin and exceptionally toned muscles. At her waist was a long pointed dagger. She was by and large the finest warrior on the island,even Diana had never bested her. She also had a reputation for being a hard taskmaster,and she walked up and down the area, watching the warriors form with a keen eye. After many a century of doing this, all the Amazons knew better than to disappoint Phillipus. The punishment would be a one on one sparring session with all the Amazons watching. No one was foolish enough to mess up, because that meant a fight-no, a beating-from Phillipus.
No one was foolish enough. Except Artemis.
She had arrived the previous night with a host of Bana-Mighdall Amazons, and as always, she got blind drunk. She woke in the morning with a foul taste in her mouth, a pounding headache,and none of her Bana companions anywhere in sight. They had been smart enough to leave the island before the morning drills. So she staggered outside and fell face first into the sea, then dragged herself out, vomited,collapsed, got up, vomited again, then crawled to the nearest line of Amazons performing warm up exercises.
So it was in this state that Phillipus found her. Reeking of vomit and stale liquor,her fiery red hair dripping with sea water and Zeus knew what else, barely going through the exercise drill. "Artemis! Drunk! What a surprise! Center Courtyard! NOW!"
At these words the other Amazons stopped what they were doing immediately, with no small relief. It had been thousands of years, but the morning workout never got any easier. They were also eager to see the fight. Artemis was one of the finest warriors on the island, certainly the fiercest of the Bana and on par with Princess Diana. The fight between Diana and Artemis for the right to wear the Sacred Armor had been a very close one indeed. Most of the Bana and not a few of the Themyscirans believed that Diana won because her father tipped the scales in her favor. Nonetheless, they were the only two that stood a chance in Tartaros against General Phillipus.
The minute Artemis spotted Phillipus, she knew this was coming. Like all Amazons, Artemis knew herself to be a capable warrior, in fact she was the best in her tribe. Like all Amazons she also knew that no one had ever beaten Phillipus in single combat. Ever. Not even Princess Diana,with her divine heritage, had managed that feat. To make it worse, Artemis was more than a little hungover. She had a fraction of a chance if she was sober. But like this? Isis help her.
It was at that moment that Diana landed in the courtyard. Artemis breathed a sigh of relief. Diana caused a bit of commotion, as nobody knew the princess had returned, and they were eager to hear her tales of her exploits in Man's World. She addressed each of them by name(she had an impeccable memory, or perhaps she was just nice like that, Artemis wasn't sure)and asked after their health(of course they're fine! Amazons don't get sick!,thought Artemis). After she worked her way through the entire crowd, Diana made her way over to Phillipus and Artemis. Ever respectful, she greeted Phillipus first, and Artemis stood awkwardly to the side as she watched the 'proud teacher-brilliant pupil' exchange. After a while Artemis cleared her throat loudly and said "I'm fine too Princess, thanks very much for asking". Phillipus glared at her. "This is your Princess, she is royalty, treat her as you would our Queen!" Diana on the other hand was amused. She had always had a strange kinship with Artemis, and they had a... history together. Artemis was the only person that knew how much Diana disliked her title. But Diana had a comeback for her."Hello Artemis. Another long night spent drinking I see. Perhaps if you didn't drink so much you would have fared better against me at the contest."
Artemis turned bright red(quite comical considering the color of her hair)and launched herself at Diana with a primal roar. Diana had been expecting this, indeed she welcomed it. Artemis had always been touchy about her pride, more so than most Amazons, and she would definitely respond to such a challenge. Artemis was very light on her feet for someone who had spent the night drinking. She tackled Diana to the ground, raising a fine cloud of dust. She threw a punch, Diana dodged it, grabbing the arm and using it as leverage before wrapping her legs around Artemis' waist and deftly flipping her onto her side. She rolled off Artemis, and still holding onto her arm, pinned her firmly to the ground.
Artemis writhed around on the ground for awhile,then she pushed herself up using one arm(with Diana still on top of her),and still using her one arm,collected some dust and threw it over her shoulder, directly into Diana's eyes. Diana coughed and pawed at her eyes, releasing Artemis from her grip. The Amazons cheered. Among them this was not considered dishonorable. The way they saw it,there was no such thing as 'honorable combat'. One did what they had to to survive. Not surprising considering their painful past at the hands of Herakles and his men.
Diana's vision cleared just in time to see a fist coming toward her. The blow rocked her head back,splitting her lip and drawing blood. Artemis threw another punch, but Diana ducked and threw a powerful uppercut punch right into Artemis' solar plexus. Artemis fell to her knees, coughing up blood, her eyes watering with pain from the force of the blow. She spat out a thick glob of blood, then asked Diana,with an unmistakable emphasis on the word Princess,"Are you sure you turned those powers off Princess?" "Unbelievable!" thought Diana. "Even as she is clearly in pain she still has the gall to call me that!" Instead she said,"Yes. If the armor was not working that blow would have ripped you in half." Artemis got up shakily to her feet and resumed a fighting stance. Diana knew she wouldn't surrender. Had she been in a better state of mind, Diana would have appreciated her tenacity, but as it was, Artemis was no match for her.
Lucky for Artemis and Diana, Queen Hippolyta had been watching the proceedings from her balcony in the Royal Palace, and when she saw Artemis tackle Diana she knew exactly where this was headed. Artemis was a foul mouthed hothead that drank far too much, but she was a true Amazon. She would never surrender. Diana was as close to honorable in combat as an Amazon could get, but she too was a true Amazon, she would never go easy on a fellow warrior and she would never throw a fight. That would be disrespectful to her and her opponent. So it was that Queen Hippolyta walked soundlessly into the courtyard and right up to Diana and Artemis before anyone even noticed where she came from(she had always been a very good hunter). All the Amazons, Diana included, stumbled over themselves to perform the proper show of respect.
"Rise, Princess Diana. We have much to discuss of your adventures in the Man's World. Play time can wait until later." Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked back to the Palace. The moment she left the Amazons returned to their activities as though nothing had happened. Artemis walked back to her quarters, outwardly showing no expression of pain. But Diana knew better. Once she shut the door behind her Artemis would collapse in agony into the nearest seat and grab a fat wine skin.
She would go there afterwards.
Now, she had to face what she had been trying to avoid.