Chapter 5

Better now than never. Diana thought to herself as the sand storm finally began to die down. a cloud of dust entered the cockpit with a hiss as she opened the hatch and gracefully leapt out. She had spent a great deal of time memorizing the geography of this new world with every opportunity she had since leaving the island. There was quite a lot to memorize but it fascinated her to no end how much larger the earth was compared to the maps she had studied from as a youth. If her memory served her correctly, she should be somewhere near the modern day Persian Gulf close to the ancient city of Babylon.

The arrow inside the globe veered slightly to the left, so she adjusted her trajectory accordingly. She ran as quickly as she could, checking the globe occasionally along the way. The sand would normally be a problem for any mere mortal, blinding them, scratching their eyes. To her it barely registered. She had near impenetrability to thank for that. The decreased effect of the blinding sand did not make visibility any better, but she kept on as fast as she could toward the unknown destination, kicking up a trail the entire way.

She could barely make out what appeared to be a wall surrounding what she hoped to be a city. The arrow became more sensitive to her movements as she drew closer. "Sveeerp" a bullet whizzed past. Her wrists lifted before she could decipher what the new threat was. Hard steel met divinely forged metal as she deflected a volley of unfriendly fire with her wrists. Fountains of sand sprang up around her feet where bullets missed and burrowed into the malleable sea of earth. A small-sized rocked joined the oncoming projectiles. 'So much for stealth' she thought. Dropping the globe, she looped her golden lasso around the oncoming missile and redirecting it toward the wall. Earth and fire exploded in every direction. She could hear the screams of men as they were blown away from their rail guns. Doubling back, she did a graceful summersault and scooped up the glass sphere once again.

Diana quickly ran toward the new opening in the wall only to be accompanied by gun fire yet again. Only this time it appeared to be coming from behind her and not directed at her. Whoever the new arrivals were, they appeared to be on her side and she was always glad for some extra cover.

Circe's head pounded with a vengeance as she came to, yet she knew better than to make even the slightest sound. With each sob the queen let out, the sorceress' splitting headache grew that much worse. She bit back the urge to groan, though she doubted Hippolyta would have heard her regardless. "Levitas attonitus", Circe said weakly while pointing at the queen's back. A thin strip of pure lightening zigzagged through the air, hitting the mourning warrior with the crackling energy. The charge traveled through Hippolyta's body and into Artemis' freshly dead corpse. As one was stunned asleep, the other was shocked alive.

Darkness surrounded Artemis as she walked toward the brilliantly glowing light at the end of the tunnel. The closer she got, the more she could feel its warmth and love. It felt like she was walking toward a home she didn't know she had. Suddenly the light began to grow further away, and with it the went the warmth, leaving her in the cold depressing void as her soul was dragged away, once again.

Sparks flashed on silver as bullets were redirected back at her opponents. She grabbed the gun of her nearest foe with one hand, bending the nozzle upward while grabbing the cloth of his jacket with the other, and tossed him effortlessly. He slammed head first into the chest of his compatriot with enough power that they both went flying into the wall behind them. She quickly got annoyed at having to pick up the globe every time she wanted to use both hands to fight so she ducked out of combat momentarily to solve the problem. Rounding a corner, she kicked another enemy in the gut. He skidded in the dirt for a good ten feet before his head hit the building behind him, knocking him out. Bullets ate away at the stucco brick behind her as she quickly tied her lasso around the globe several times.

If her guess was right, the magical orb-turned-mace would hold up to the abuse she was about to put it through. Diana twirled her golden lasso at her right side. More fire came her way. She hooked the crook of her arm over the spinning lasso, sending the heavy ball sailing toward the oncoming fire while simultaneously deflecting bullets with the same wrist. It ricocheted off of the machine gun, tipping it up and smacking it's wielder in the face. She pulled back fiercely and did the same to an opponent running at her from behind. Tugging at the lasso again she swung it in an arc while hopping over it, taking out five more opponents by the legs. Fire rained down at her from a one of the balconies above. Friendly fire resounded from her left as the sniper was shot down.

"We've got it from here, Wonder Woman.", a blonde woman in an American military uniform shouted over the sounds of combat. A headset was tossed in her direction. Diana quickly put on the ear piece and ran further into the city. "Let me know if you need back up, I'm going further in" she responded.

To be continued...