Grudges
March 28, 1941
"The temple is gone," said Shiera. "Scoured from this place, like it was never here."
Diana had no reference for what the dig site should have looked like, but she could tell that the land had been disturbed in a most profound way. The remains of a camp were strewn about, half-buried in the sands. Beyond them, was a gaping pit in the earth. Sand and rock lazily crumbled into it around the edges.
"You are certain this was the location?"
"I could have gotten us here blindfolded," said Shiera. "It's gone."
They hadn't planned on going to Libya originally. Diana's mission to Britain was genuine, as was their request for the expertise of Shiera Saunders, noted archeologist. The transition from the relative peace of the United States to the air raids and rationing of the United Kingdom was jarring. The threat of death from the skies was an accepted fact of life at this point for the battered people of this land. Her work with the British government was productive, but Diana knew that they had higher priorities than formalizing relations with Themyscira. She still thought that many of them did not fully believe in her homeland.
She had her own concerns. Her mother, Queen Hippolyta, taught her a ritual, one that could gain the grace of Hermes. This was to be her means of contacting the island in her travels. Not once had it worked since she departed with Steve Trevor. Diana could imagine several reasons for this failure, none of them good. Were the gods so distant as to be unreachable? Or had her actions angered them? The Amazons were not beloved of all of Olympus's pantheon. Some might take offense at their return to the world at large.
Shiera met her own frustrations. None of the experts and officers she talked to were interested in taking action with the information she delivered them. If anything, many of them appeared relieved at the thought of the Nazis wasting manpower on ancient burial sites and archeological finds. Shiera was unable to impress upon them the risk that there was more than old bones to be found there.
Their mutual dissatisfaction prompted the journey into the Libyan desert. The other members of the JSA might not approve, but Diana understood the dangers of which Shiera warned. Shiera knew a boat captain that could take them to Morocco, even with the dangers of German submarines. From there it was a matter of trains, cars and camels to reach the lost tomb.
"We're too late. Either they failed and this is the result. Or they got what they came for," said Shiera.
Diana kneeled by the edge of the pit. Embedded in the sand were large shards of glass. And obsidian. They were marked by streaks of light that appeared burned into them. Further examination found the debris all around the exterior. On the walls of the pit were similar burn marks, blasted into the earth. There was a scent of fire, faint but recurring.
"Something took place here. A ritual."
"How can you be sure?"
Diana held up the obsidian. She pointed out the pattern of scarring.
"Who was buried here?"
"We thought it was the pharaoh Kha-Ef-Re, but we were never able to confirm that," said Shiera.
The woman set her pack down and got out a bundle of notes. Diana found a table that was mostly intact for Shiera to display them.
"A few of us, namely Marwaan, thought that the inscriptions indicated another identity. We were working with limited information, fragments. They spoke of a power being sealed below, where the sun could not gaze upon it."
"What kind of power?" said Diana.
Shiera shook her head. "We never got that far. The Nazis arrived before we could get any deeper into the complex."
They settled in for the night, far enough from the pit that the ground would not give way where they slept. Diana was awakened by the sensation of a warm breath on her neck. There was no one beside her, only the rustle of her tent flap. When she went to seal it, she noticed footprints in the sand, undisturbed by the shifting winds. They led to the edge of the pit. There were no ropes or handholds, no signs of an effort to enter it by mundane means. The moon was a slim crescent, its light unable or unwilling to illuminate the pit. Diana mouthed a prayer to Artemis for protection and descended into the expanse below.
She had underestimated the depth to which the chasm extended. It was minutes before her feet once again touched a surface. Diana's eyes were far more capable than the average person's, but they could not penetrate the darkness that enveloped her. Only when she raised the lasso of truth did the gloom retreat.
The destruction of the tomb was not comprehensive. She had landed on carved stone. The intimation of a complete structure remained. A rain of sand made her cover her face. Movement caught her eye. In the thin haze of sand was an outline. Multiple. All around her.
"Hello? I am Diana of Themyscira. Does anyone linger here?"
There was no response. At least none in the conventional sense. The outlines moved, not at random. A pattern. They congregated on the far side of the chamber. Enough of them were in one place that the falling sand sloughed off a distinct area, as though there were an invisible dome over it. Diana took a closer look.
"What do you want?"
The sand slid off in a new pattern. One that resembled a raised arm, a pointed finger. Dozens of them. She held the golden light of the lasso up to the space they pointed at.
"Great Hera."
It was a mural, one that stretched wide across the remnants of the temple wall. The writing and pictographs bore a resemblance to Egyptian hieroglyphics, but Diana could see other scripts mixed in. Hittite. Sumerian. Akkadian. Ancient Greek. Others she could not decipher. One end of the scene was missing, ringed by cracks that seemed to ebb with purple and green light. An outstretched hand with distended fingers was all that remained. What was left was a map, an old one, with a discordant view of geography. Several locations were marked, with symbols and figures. Only through referencing her current location could Diana discern the other spots. This tomb had a scarab above it. Another in what had to be Greece was marked with a bull's head. One in the Arabian peninsula had a lightning bolt. There were two on the edge of the mural. Diana could make out a blue woman. The other was obscured. There was a large fragment missing from the center.
Her lasso brushed the mural. The scripts began to glow, then swim together, till they overlaid one another. The light fused into a single version.
"Six slivers of divinity. Six sealed away. Six to make the hand whole once more. Six to return to the time of wrath and blood."
Something shifted in the space. The cracks of purple and green slithered across the mural, expanding into a web. The mural began to fall apart. A chunk of rock burst near on her left.
A whisper in her ear, "Go."
She took a final look at the crumbling mural.
"Go"
Diana ran through the falling rocks and sand, shrugging off their impact. The green and purple slid along the ground near her.
"Go."
When she reached the center of the pit, Diana took flight. She battered collapsing rubble on the way out. The snaking energy continued to chase her.
"Go."
She cleared the pit into open air. There was a surge of light below, as a pillar of green and purple raced towards her. Diana thought she was a shade within it, riding on the wave of energy.
A body collided with her, knocking her out of the way of the pillar. Diana and Hawkwoman spiraled into a sand dune below, plowing through its peak.
Shiera got up, retracting her wings.
"What the hell was that?"
"A trap, left for anyone who came looking here.
Diana explained the mural, the presence, the destruction. Shiera absorbed this information with a furrowed brow.
"Do you know where the other sites are?" said Shiera.
"Only one for certain. Greece."
April 17, 1941
The island of Themyscira was difficult to pin down on a map. The very nature that preserved its secrecy clashed with the fundamentals of what ordinary humans understood about geography and physical space. Yet, if there was one land that could claim the spirit of the island it was Hellas. Or Greece as Diana's English speaking companion would call it. The majority of the Amazons were from Greece, as were the gods that shaped them. Diana grew up listening to the stories of the heroes and monsters that strode across the land in ages long ago. To be here now was a revelation.
Save for the fact that the Nazis were in the midst of an invasion. Their Italian allies had failed to crack the Greek defenses, leaving it to the Germans to mount a new campaign. One that had breached the borders and was at risk of sweeping the entire country. The British were present, sent to back up their beleaguered allies, but it was another losing battle. The enemy was at the passes through the mountain of Olympus itself.
Diana and Shiera were not on the front lines, however. They were bound for a small town along the eastern coast. Thespyma. The closest settlement to what Diana had seen on the mural. They rode through the hills and valleys atop horses. Flight risked drawing fire from friend and foe alike. And Diana recognized the issue of them being recognized by the Axis forces.
Shiera for her part had been without complaint, in spite of their change in plans. She had led Diana through the Libyam desert, past the German patrols to another ship that took them towards the danger rather than away from it.
"We'll reach Thespyma by tomorrow afternoon," said Shiera as they made camp in a shallow cave.
"I still don't know what we'll find there. Only that we have to reach it first."
Shiera lay down her bedroll. "That's assuming whoever destroyed the tomb didn't immediately go there."
They didn't start a fire. It would be too easy to spot them. Shiera shared the apricots and cherries she traded for at a farmhouse they passed by earlier in the day.
"I was surprised you spoke any Greek," said Diana.
"I'm surprised they understood me at all. I've gotten rusty since my studies."
"Your career has taken you over a healthy stretch of the world," said Diana.
Shiera shrugged. "I think you've got me beat from your voyage to America alone."
"Steve and I were never in one place for long. It's been disorienting after leaving my home. To see so many new sights."
"You don't talk about it with the Society much, do you? Your island?"
Diana realized that she had avoided much talk about it. It wasn't for a lack of interest. All of them were curious, many beyond simple courtesy. But one by one, they had learned it was not a subject she would dwell on.
"A side effect of home sickness, I suppose." She laughed. "I was so set on getting away. From my mother. From everyone. I never imagined I'd miss it this much."
"But you don't regret it?"
"I can't. They're relying on me to deliver their message of peace."
Shiera finished her food and reclined on her bedroll, one arm propped underneath her.
"You picked a difficult time to deliver that message."
"Indeed." Both women chuckled.
"And you, Shiera? Do you miss your old life?"
Shiera rolled onto her back.
"The answer to that is far more complicated than it should be."
"We've got time."
"It's more than my life I'm missing. It's my other lives… Has Carter talked to you about this?"
"Only in passing."
Shiera sighed. "It didn't come back all at once. But, it hasn't stopped returning. Carter has these…rituals I guess. He likens it to unlocking a door. I feel like its more like releasing a floodgate. They consume you."
She shook her head. "I don't know if anyone can really understand it without going through it."
"At least you have Carter alongside you," said Diana.
Shiera murmured a response.
"Or not?" said Diana.
"No, don't take misunderstand. Its simply that… Carter, Carter is wonderful. I.. I do love him. It is love…."
"But, you feel like you'd be stuck with him even if you didn't? Because of what he shares with you."
Shiera nodded. "Almost all of our lives have us reunite and fall in love. And it almost always ends poorly."
"Like fate."
"I didn't believe in that before. I don't know if I have that choice anymore."
April 18, 1941
"I'm telling you, we passed the town on patrol two days ago. There's no Germans there," said Sergeant Periades.
"I flew over it this morning and everyone was dead," said Black Condor. Or as Miselda Moon knew him, Richard Grey Jr. "The buildings were completely intact."
"If you insist, we will send a squad to check. Though this leaves us at further risk," said Periades.
"I already swept for survivors. If there were any, they've left. The Germans have a weapon that can snuff us out from range," said Richard.
The two men continued to argue. Miselda climbed down from the windowsill, unseen by those she watched. She slid down a length of string, into a sea of grass. Watching for any traffic, she crossed the gap between the dwellings, though a crack in the side of her own. Once inside, she returned to her standard height.
"Good lord. Warn me before you do that," said Genevieve Leroux. The Crimson Cavalier.
Genevieve had nearly fallen out of her seat, where she studied the maps they were given by the Greek soldiers. Her armor was underneath one of the cots, folded in on itself. Danette lay on her bed.
"You've got to get used to that," said Danette Reilly. Firebrand. "The rest of us did." Genevieve was their newest companion.
"My apologies," said Miselda. It was second nature at this point to freely change size.
"Enough of that. What's going on with Richard?" said Danette.
"The sergeant is arguing with him. He doesn't believe the Germans could be that close already."
Genevieve scoffed. "They didn't believe the Nazis would break through their lines this quickly, but here we are."
"They haven't seen what we have," said Miselda. "Everyone thinks they're the exception."
The Freedom Fighters didn't have that luxury. Their war had been spent fighting a losing battle everywhere they had been.
"Where's Roy?" said Miselda.
"He's patrolling the outskirts. Prepping the choke points," said Danette.
If the Germans did arrive for this town, the current plan was for the Human Bomb to destroy the northern passes, while the others evacuated. Assuming they weren't all killed by this mysterious weapon Richard had seen.
"Hopefully the dullard doesn't preemptively cause a collapse," said Genevieve.
"Roy doesn't deserve that," said Miselda.
Danette sat up. "The man's a scientist. That's how he got the powers."
"Through an accident no doubt. He lacks the kind of intelligence we need," said Genevieve.
"Glad you've decided to bring up these doubts now that Sandra isn't here to set you straight," said Danette.
Sandra Knight, the Phantom Lady, was off on another mission, along with Doll Man and the Ray. Escorting a caravan of civilians away from the front. Which put Richard in charge in her absence.
Genevieve was no longer pretending to be focused on the maps. "I'd say it to her face at this point. Assuming we get the chance. With her track record they all be killed."
Miselda couldn't stand arguments, so she left the way she arrived, through the hole in the wall as Danette and Genevieve got into it. She couldn't entirely fault the Frenchwoman's lack of confidence. Half the team was lost at Dunkirk, before Miselda, Danette or Genevieve had ever joined. Hugo had gone missing on the way to Greece, cut off during an ambush. She knew Genevieve's entire family was killed in the blitz. Still, that was a common thread with their group.
She found her favorite spot, atop the town's highest building. It was nestled on a hilltop that overlooked the sea. The fishermen were only just coming in with their catch, as if there entire world were not about to crumble. Something about that made Miselda smile.
The Freedom Fighters were not perfect. There were many days where she wished that Darell Dane, the one they called Doll Man, had not gifted her the serum that granted her the power to shrink. But, they were her family for now. One that made the ache of missing her real one a little less sharp. She often lay awake thinking about where her parents, her brother, her sisters, her aunts, uncles, cousins and neighbors were now. The Nazis thought little of the Romani.
As she was about to get down, Miselda caught a glimpse on the western trail. Two riders coming into Thespyma. She rushed to tell the others.
"I don't believe it," said the man the others called Black Condor. He was a black man with a suit that reminded Diana of Hawkwoman's harness.
"It is the truth. I can't lie under the power of this lasso," said Diana. She had it coiled around her wrist.
"Forgive me. I meant I can't believe that that's the reason they slaughtered all those people. For some myth," said Black Condor.
Diana and Shiera were in Thespyma, in a makeshift command center. There hosts were a group of costumed heroes known as the Freedom Fighters, or so Shiera told her. A small group of Greek soldiers were tasked with defending the town as well.
"Myth or not, they're coming for whatever is buried in this area," said Shiera. She gave Diana a look.
"How large is the Nazi force?" said Diana.
"At least a company's worth in size," said Sergeant Periades. "More than twice my men."
"Why hasn't the town already been evacuated?" said Shiera.
"It has. These people refused to leave," said Periades.
Diana's face must have registered shock, as he continued, "I don't have the manpower to force them out. What am I to do? Escort them at gunpoint?"
"That's why our leader, Phantom Lady, left us here," said Firebrand.
"A fool's errand," said Crimson Cavalier.
Black Condor gave the woman a stern look. "The point is that we won't leave until the civilians are evacuated. If that means we have to hold the line against the Germans, so be it."
"And if they use the same method to kill this town?" said Shiera.
"We'll counter it if we can," said Black Condor.
Diana and Shiera's gaze met once again. Shiera gave her a nod.
"We'll lend you our strength. But, we need to search for the thing that drew us here. Sergeant, if there were any ruins around here, do you know where they would be?" said Diana.
"There's nothing of that sort around here. And if there is, I'm not expending manpower to search for it."
It was after the meeting, when discussions of resources, routes and failsafes had been discussed, that Doll Girl and Black Condor approached Diana and Shiera.
"She might have what you're looking for," said Black Condor.
Doll Girl stepped forward. She kept her gaze averted from Diana's face.
"It sounds absurd, but I get around a lot with my powers. I've spent a lot of time seeing the world through a different perspective."
"And?" said Shiera.
"I believe this whole village is built on a massive set of ruins."
Doll Girl pointed to the ground they stood on.
"There's a network of tunnels and rooms below here. Many of the buildings have cracks in their foundations that lead into it. Some of its broken or collapsed, but its dense. Too dense for me to have figured out entirely," said Doll Girl.
"Have you found an entrance that we could fit into?" said Diana.
"Just one."
The German captain ascended the steps of the house that their charge had commandeered. He made his way past the suspicious looks of her security. He hated their presence and her presence, but it was an order handed from on high and he wasn't about to sink his career. He found the scientist at her makeshift work station.
"Our scouts have reported further activity in Thespyma. They're prepared for us."
"Our work in the other village would not go unnoticed forever," said the scientist. Her voice was wispy, strained. The others said it was from chemical burns in her throat. "Sampling the wares," one of his men joked.
"Excuse me ma'am. This is not my specialty. I do not understand why we have not fired a second volley at Thespyma and been done with it."
The scientist turned around to face him. He tried not to stare. The mask was taut over her upper face. Her lower jaw partially covered by a superficial plating that further hindered her speech.
"Well that's simple captain. We're out of that batch."
"Out? You can't be serious."
"This was a test. The test was a resounding success. No need to repeat it at present," said the scientist.
The captain was stunned. He tried to maintain his composure. To avoid showing his anger.
"We have reports of superhuman presence in the village. Those damned Freedom Fighters. You expect my men to fight them, when we could have killed them from afar?"
She drew closer to him. He clenched his jaw. She reeked of chemical odors.
"I do. We have orders to capture as many of these 'superhumans' as possible. You may let you men know that I have devised a solution that will subdue them. At close range," said the scientist.
This was too much. The captain took a step back. "No. I will not listen to the orders of a lunatic any longer. I am ordering our artillery support to bombard the village…"
She was on him faster than he could react. A mouthpiece, like a gas masks, was pressed around his lips. He gasped on reflex. Something like water poured into his lungs. His hands grabbed at the mask, but there was no fight left in him. The captain collapsed, as the scientist hunched over him, the only thing clear was that she was smiling.
"You've killed another officer," said the scientist's superior, a few minutes later.
"He was...disinclined to listen to me. I wanted to see if this brew was lethal."
Her superior regarded the man's corpse, with its blue skin and white eyes. "A success."
"I think I could speed up the reaction still. And improve the spread."
"It can wait till after the attack."
"If you insist," said Doctor Poison.
Doll Girl was right about the complexity of what lay below Thespyma. They were over an hour into their expedition and she felt no more confident about the destination than when they first set foot into it. Each turn led to a new set of branching paths, each spiraling out into a collective of choices that pulled them further into what had to be a maze. The architecture was Greek, but Diana caught glimpses of other cultures imprinted on it.
They hit another dead end. "Should we keep going?" said Doll Girl from Diana's shoulder.
"We may not have a choice." She wasn't sure they could trace their path back, short of Diana smashing through the walls.
"What is it you hope to find here?"
"I'm not certain. All I know is we have to find it before the Nazis do."
The Germans attacked at dusk. Shiera was helping a family pack their things when a tank shell blew apart a house on the far side of town. By the time she was in the air, she could see the rush of people scattering as the cannon fire continued. There were observers whose job it was to warn the village, but they must have been killed or captured.
Black Condor joined Hawkwoman above the town.
"They're coming through the northern pass. Sergeant Periades has men to delay them, but they'll be overrun in no time."
There was a flash of light and its latent shockwave northwest of the town.
"Human Bomb. That'll be one of their routes closed."
Hawkwoman soared towards the origin of the incoming fire. "Get your man. I'll bottle them in the pass, he can seal it when you get there."
Black Condor split off. The Nazis weren't expecting an attack from above, as Hawkwoman barreled toward their forces, mace in hand.
Whatever was going on above, it was violent enough to shake through the ruins below. Diana braced for a cave in at any moment.
"Shouldn't we join them?" said Doll Girl.
"We're close to our goal. It would take too long to turn back now."
"But my team…"
"My friend is at risk too. As are the people of Thespyma. Have faith that they will triumph," said Diana.
They ventured further on into the labyrinth. Diana could feel an energy the deeper they got. And more pronounced shivering on her shoulder. Doll Girl's nerves were getting the better of her.
"How does your team operate in Europe? I was told the Nazis have a power that repels our kind," said Diana.
"They do. I don't know what it is. Our leader has some way of protecting us from it," said Diana.
"This is Phantom Lady you speak of?"
"Yes. She and the others saved me from a Nazi patrol."
The corridor they were in rounded into a wider room. Instead of new paths, there was a flat wall on the far side.
"A dead end," said her companion.
Diana examined the wall. Up close there were carvings. Familiar ones. She recognized the gods of Olympus when she saw them. In the center of their gathering was Athena, Hades and Demeter, arms outstretched over a hole in the earth. They cast what looked to be the crescent moon into it. The only god not watching in the group was Ares, his back turned to his family.
She touched the carvings.
"Child of the Amazons. Blessed of the gods," boomed a voice through the chamber.
"What?" said Doll Girl startled.
The wall shuddered and split in the middle, a mechanism of stone twisting apart.
Diana cupped her palm for her small companion to climb into. "I think it best if you wait here."
"You're leaving me alone?"
"If I don't make it out, I need someone I can count on to let Hawkwoman know. That's you my friend," said Diana.
"But.."
"Have faith."
She entered the new passage. It was a stairwell that wound downwards. The bottom led to a larger, circular chamber. A pedestal of stone jutted out from the middle. Someone stood at it.
"I was worried you weren't going to make it," said the woman. It was the same one that nearly assassinated President Roosevelt, in her black leather boots, Nazi sash around her arm. Her whip hung from her hip. "Don't be surprised. There's more than one way in here."
The wall closed behind Diana. More unseen mechanisms.
"This is better than last time, no? The two of us alone," said the woman.
Diana began to circle her opponent. "You've nowhere to run this time."
"Why would I run, Diana of Themyscira?"
"You continue to flaunt your knowledge of who I am, yet you you haven't told me your name," said Diana. She was within range to strike the woman, but she did not know what would happen next.
The woman smiled. "I am Baroness Paula von Gunther. You may know me as a sister Amazon."
Something in Diana shattered.
"That can't be true," said Diana.
"There is much that is true that your mother would not let you know," said the Baroness.
Diana lunged at her foe. The Baroness caught her wrist and slammed it onto the pedestal. She felt something pierce her palm.
"So quick to violence. Is peace not the Amazon way?" said von Gunther.
Wonder Woman broke from her grasp. She followed up with a kick that knocked the woman to the far side of the chamber.
"Don't seek to poison my resolve. I will have answers from you," said Diana.
There was a click from below. Something coarse seized Wonder Woman's ankle. Another on her leg. Too late, she looked down. The ground was gone replaced by a swirl of blue. Monstrous limbs reached from the vortex, grasping at her.
"You appear to have forgotten a basic rule of combat. Be aware of your surroundings," said the Baroness.
Diana fought against the creatures below, but they were overwhelming her through sheer weight of numbers. Her legs, then her hips dipped into the vortex. A clawed hand snatched her arm.
"I'm glad it was you that made it here. This would have been much less satisfying had it been a mere farmer or even one of those Freedom Fighters."
Diana was up to her chest. Something wrapped around her throat.
"Tartarus demands its due."
The vortex swallowed Wonder Woman.
Hawkwoman was in the midst of destroying the second panzer that entered the northern pass, when a pair of soldiers in gas masks lobbed a canister her way. She flapped her wings to knock back its contents, but she caught a whiff of something that smelled like cinnamon and put her on her ass.
Another round of foot soldiers fell upon her and in her dazed state they claimed the upper hand. For every man, Shiera flung off of her, another took their place. Every movement was delayed, every bit of pain amplified.
They had her pinned when another pair of wings soared overhead. Black Condor rammed through the wave of men, depositing his cargo onto the panzer. The Human Bomb slapped his hands on the machine and it went up in a ball of flame that washed over Shiera.
"This is the best of the best back in America?" said Black Condor.
"Just help me up. I got gassed," said Hawkwoman.
Past the flaming hulk of the panzer, there were dozens more shoulders ascending the slope, along with more tanks.
"Enough is enough Roy. Detonate the pass," commanded Black Condor.
"You'll need to get back for this one," said the Human Bomb.
Hawkwoman retreated to the air. The Human Bomb removed more of his containment suit. He smashed his fists together and a ball of light burst into an explosion that ran up the sides of the pass. Huge heaps of rock rained down, crushing the ruined tanks.
"What about your friend?" said Shiera.
"He can survive that. We have to get the townspeople out of here," said Black Condor. "If I were you, I'd be more worried about Wonder Woman."
It had been too long. Doll Girl was on the verge of freaking out. The tunnels kept shaking from the fight above. The passage below was silent. Should she get help? Or go help? Miselda took a deep breath and went after her companion.
The stairwell led to a dead end. One with a slit just wide enough that Doll Girl could shimmy through the gap. She ignored the discomfort of the hard stone on her body as she squeezed into the next room. The contents within immediately made her regret her decision. Aside from a narrow outcropping of stone around the edge, there was a swirling blue vortex at the center. And no sign of Wonder Woman.
Miselda was about to leave when something stirred from the portal. She held in a cry, pressing her small body flat against the wall. A hand emerged. With a silver bracelet. Then another. Wonder Woman pulled herself through the vortex. She was dotted with cuts and bruises, covered in blood, some her own, some of an altogether inhuman quality.
"Help me," said Wonder Woman. Her muscles were completely tensed, as though she pulled against an impossible weight.
"How?"
"The pedestal."
Miselda spied what she was talking about. On the far side of the room was a stone pedestal. She ran around the rim, as Wonder Woman got further and further out of the vortex. She returned to normal size at the pedestal. A trickle of blood laced its surface.
"What do I do?"
"Break it. Anything," said Wonder Woman.
Doll Girl looked for anything that could help her. She found a crack in one of the walls that had almost sheared off a hunk of stone. Shrinking down, Miselda fit herself into it, legs against the chunk, back to the wall. She hadn't tried this before. Hopefully it wouldn't squish her.
Doll Girl grew to full size. Her muscles screamed, but didn't implode. The slab of stone split off the wall. Brandishing it like a club, Doll Girl bashed at the pedestal. Whatever she was doing had an effect as the vortex contracted.
"Hurry," shouted Wonder Woman.
With all her strength, Miselda struck the pedestal. The vortex sealed. Wonder Woman jolted through. A snout, bigger than Wonder Woman and reptilian in nature, was severed by the closing. Wonder Woman fell on the ground, panting.
"What happened?" said Doll Girl.
"Someone beat us here." She was already back on her feet. Many of the cuts were faded or closed. She held down her palm. "Hop on."
"What now?"
"We leave." She aimed her arms at the roof. "That way."
April 23, 1941
Diana stood on the docks in Athens. Shiera was finishing her discussion with the captain. He would get them as far as Turkey, then it was up to them to get back to America. More British troops wound up here everyday, as their front lines fell.
"This reminds me of Dunkirk, unfortunately," said Phantom Lady. Sandra was out of costume to oversee their departure. They had met when the Freedom Fighters regrouped on the route south.
"We could stay and fight with you. The offer remains," said Diana. She was sure Shiera would not be opposed.
Sandra gazed out at the harbor. "Tempting, but impossible. The Nazis have a weapon… It can twist you to their side."
"Doll Girl spoke of such a thing. How are you not affected? And why didn't it take hold here"
"I'm not all that clear on the nuances. There's a threshold to be affected by it. I haven't got powers so I'm safe. Some of the others like Miselda and Darell can't be. The rest are shielded by...well, the fella called it magic, but I'm not so sure. You and your pal," she said, pointing to Shiera, "You would be under its power in seconds. You can see how that would be catastrophic. As for why it didn't get you here… the Nazi spooks have a way of growing its influence. But it takes time. Otherwise they'd have used it across the whole world. I think they haven't done the ritual here yet. It could come any day now."
"Who protected you?"
"A man by the name of Zatara. I don't know where he is. If he's still alive. All I know, is that it cost him a great deal to give us that protection."
Shiera called Diana's name. Their boat was ready.
"I'll find a way to help you. To help everyone fighting the Nazis. This won't be the last time we see one another," said Diana.
"If it were anyone else, I'd have my doubts. You I can believe," said Sandra.
As Diana and Shiera left the harbor, she thought of the Baroness. And the prize she had won. Six shards.
Two in the enemy's hands.