Chapter 8: The Hunt For Secrets

When Steve and Diana (now calling herself Wonder Woman) left the National Archives that afternoon, they headed for the nearest Air Force base where they could access technology to find out what Cheetah was up to. Steve was sorry when he told Wonder Woman that they would have to return to New York City to get the help they needed, but she was intrigued when he explained that he had a contact there who could give them the access they needed without too much hassling. So, Wonder Woman donned her outfit as Diana Prince and she and Steve made haste to the Baltimore-Washington International Airport, which she was told was a go-to destination for travel across the U.S. and for travelers entering and leaving the States.

"Trust me, Diana. You'll like her," he said as they purchased their plane tickets to New York. "She's a charming young woman, very brave, unafraid to speak her mind. Not bad in a scrape, either."

"And I take this woman is she who has won your heart?" inquired Diana.

Steve grinned and replied, "Mmm, not yet. But she is a real cutie. Not that you aren't drop-dead gorgeous, being from an island of beautiful women and what not, but…"

"Steve, your friend sounds wonderful."

That was all it took for the conversation to reach a suitable conclusion, for Diana was hoping to make a few new friends in man's world if fortune gave her the chance.

By the time the plane touched down in New York, Diana had made a mental note to tell her mother and sisters about the marvelous contraptions that provided so much convenience in man's world. She found herself wondering what other wonders she hadn't been shown since her arrival, and if Steve could show them to her…

What am I thinking? She thought to herself as she went through the baggage claim. Steve is a man of war, trained to protect his country. How could he possibly devote his time to me when we both have duties…

Diana's thoughts trailed off. She wanted Steve to show her more of man's world, and though she couldn't explain why, she wanted to be with him. But how could she, who came from an island where men were forbidden, remain with a man whose world she had always been told was filled with corruption and greed? True, she was seeing it was not entirely that way, but there was a lot about man's world she did not like, crime and distrust for one.

She remained silent the whole car ride to Fort Hamilton, which Steve explained was where his associate worked. Upon their arrival, the security guard checked Steve's pass and allowed them entry, though not without questioning why Diana was with him. From there, Steve led her into the headquarters and knocked on an office door, where the two were greeted by a middle-aged man in a blue uniform dedicated with a set of medals that clearly told Diana that he was of a higher rank than Steve.

"Pardon my intrusion, General, sir. Is Etta in?" asked Steve with a tone that meant staunch respect.

"Yes, Steve. Etta is in her office. She's been asking for you for quite some time since you got home," replied the General.

Steve saluted as he thanked his superior, then explained to Diana that the gentleman was General Phillip Darnell, who was the commanding officer of the Air Force since the retirement of General Samuel Lane. Steve knocked on the fifth door on the right, and upon hearing "Come in", he and Diana entered the office.

Etta turned out to be a blonde young woman in her mid-twenties, with a rosy complexion and green eyes. She was wearing a chocolate-brown blazer over a navy blue skirt and a white women's dress shirt, but the thing that piqued Diana's curiosity was that Etta had an aesthetic to her that few women she had met in the outside world had. She was plump and sweet-faced, like the stuffed bears Diana had seen in toy stores when she arrived in man's world a few days earlier, and she was eating a curious sort of food that was filled with crushed fruit.

The rotund young lady rose from her seat when she saw Steve and embraced him, saying in a peppy tone, "Stevie! Everyone at the base said you'd come home a while ago. I didn't believe it at first, but here you are now, and… Oh, sugarplums, there I go rambling again."

Steve chuckled and then said, "Thanks, sweetheart," which made Diana raise an eyebrow. However, Steve cleared his throat and said, "Etta Candy, this is Diana. She's new to the States, a recent transport from western Europe."

Etta turned to face Diana and practically went starry-eyed. "Pleasure to meet you," she said, happily shaking Diana's hand. Then Etta composed herself and said to them both, "So, how can I be of help?"

"We need to access public files about someone named Barbara Ann Minerva," explained Steve. "We think that she's planning to conduct a crime that could seriously bring some kind of apocalyptic disaster upon civilization."

Etta was unsure of what Steve and his new friend wanted with someone by this curious name, but she sensibly decided not to question it and merely said, "Follow me."

She led Steve and Diana through the halls of the Air Force headquarters to the computer room and immediately got to work on searching for anything related to this "Barbara Ann Minerva". After twenty minutes of searching, Diana and Steve finally shared a smile when Etta finally announced that there was information about their unexpected acquaintance. Steve leaned in over Etta's shoulder and made her giggle when he asked if she used chocolate for her perfume. Diana gave Steve quite a glare and said, "Must you flirt in these situations?"

"Can I help it?"

"Suppress it, Steve," Diana answered. "Now what do we have on Barbara Ann Minerva?"

Steve took a chair and looked over the information. "Born in Nottinghamshire in England. She inherited a fortune from her family's house, has degrees in archaeology, anthropology, and even zoology. Apparently, she's been arrested for minor charges of unauthorized antiquity and thus is currently a fugitive from seven countries. She disappeared from public life two years ago and was last seen on an expedition in Central Africa."

Diana then said, "She told me that it was through a ritual prescribed by a tribe in that part of the world that she was able to become that human-cheetah creature I encountered in the Archives. It's a long tale. I only hope we can find out what she's after that she thinks will help her conquer man's world."

Something in the files caught Etta's eye as she said, "According to this, an unidentified tenant took up residence in New York City's Greenwich Hill about a week ago."

With this information, Diana and Steve decided to take a train back into New York City to investigate. Etta went with them because as she put it, "Stevie, you and your new friend asked for my help and you're gonna get it. Now let's make like bananas on ice cream and split." Diana found this phrase amusing and got a chuckle out of it, but she said little during the trip back to New York City.

Eventually, the three made it to Greenwich Hill, and eventually, Diana's instincts led her to a door on the end of the hall on the twentieth floor. It was locked from the inside, and Steve said, "I'm willing to bet that it's boarded up. It'll take us hours to get through without calling for help from a fire department, and that will make what we're doing look questionable."

"No need," said Diana. With that, she strode up to the metal door, turned the handle, and pushed with such force that the door swung open with an awesome crunch. When Steve and Etta followed Diana inside, they found that the door had not only been locked, but there had been a number of chains bolted to the wall, which were now hanging limply beside the door. Etta blinked and asked Diana incredulously, "How the hey did you…?"

Diana replied, "If I told you, you would take me for a fool."

Etta only grinned and said, "Try me."

Diana gave a sigh and then explained to Etta Candy that she was a princess of the Amazons and that she was here as an emissary to man's world, and while there was much in man's world that she found displeasing and painful to encounter, she was admittedly interested in finding noble qualities in the world beyond her home island. Etta could hardly believe her ears, and for a moment, she didn't say a word until Diana showed her the silver bracers, which she had hidden under her sleeves.

Etta marveled at the design of the bracers and said, "Shivering cinnamon rolls! What are these things made of?"

"They were forged from the Aegis, the shield of Zeus himself, at the hands of skilled Hephaestus," Diana explained. "But we can discuss my origins later. For now, we need to know what the Cheetah is up to, so search everywhere."

The three companions searched through the apartment and found dozens of maps, most of which were maps of the countries and islands of the Mediterranean Sea. Eventually, Steve discovered a notepad that had been burned, though not completely. Steve brought the notepad over to Diana and Etta, but after only a few moments, he said with a shake of his head, "I don't think I can read this. It looks like it's written in Greek."

Diana took a note at the writing on said, "Very few can in man's world, perhaps. This is Mycenaean Greek, the old tongue of the Achaeans."

Steve and Etta let their jaws drop in surprise at the ease of Diana's assessment, and Steve said, "Diana? Can you read this text?"

"Of course, Steve," the Amazon princess replied. "It has been used in my homeland for centuries now. Let us see what secrets it will share."

Diana read the unusual notes for only a minute, and then her eyes went wide with horror, which was something entirely new to Steve, since he had seen what Diana and her fellow Amazons were like when faced with a threat. He asked, "What is it?"

Diana looked at Steve and Etta and shuddered, "This ancient text that Cheetah has. It speaks of… Ares."

Steve and Etta exchanged surprised looks, and Steve inquired, "The Greek god of war? I thought he was just a myth."

Diana only shook her head and replied, "I assure you, Steve, he's as real as the ground on which we stand."

She adopted a tone that spoke of old pain and told Steve and Etta Candy, "Long ago, when Menestheus killed my mother's only love, the true king Theseus, he loudly boasted in the sight of the gods that he would kill our people for refusing to submit to his cruel and warlike way of ruling. Any who defended us were put to death as well, and for nearly a year, the Amazons were at war with the tyrant who claimed Athens for himself. The first blood spilled caught the eyes of Ares, the least favored among the gods of Olympus, and he inspired Menestheus' followers to fight until the earth was stained with Amazon blood. In the end, my mother punished Menestheus for his treachery, not in death, but in pain. As for Ares, he was sent to the Underworld to do labor for his uncle Hades, the King of the Dead, for having allowed Menestheus to harm so many innocents. If Cheetah wants to use Ares against man's world…"

Diana paused, not daring to speak of the sort of atrocities that would amount from the mere thought of such a disaster coming true. "She must be stopped."

Steve immediately said, "Then we're going with you, Diana."

The Amazon princess responded, "You don't know what you're going up against. We Amazons have met the like of Ares before, and he's more than a mere show of power. He's a god."

Steve said, "There's only one God, Diana, and I'm pretty sure He doesn't wear old Greek armor and destroy civilizations for no reason like humans would."

Diana was unsure of how to respond to this unexpectedly bold claim, but she said, "You are able to help me in the heat of battle, Steve. I see that quite plainly. But Ares can't be defeated by any craft that man's world possesses."

"Then maybe Etta and I will have to show him why he can't conquer our world so easily."

That's when Diana turned to Etta and said, "Can you excuse us for a moment?"

Etta simply nodded and waved as Diana took Steve by the ear and brought him into the bedroom of the apartment, which was as rundown as the rest of the living space. The bed had cuts all over and through the sheets, the window was smashed and caused drafts to blow through, and the floor was dusty as the Sahara. In this dismal bedchamber, Diana rounded on Steve and snapped, "Does every soldier in man's world wish to spill his own blood against a threat simply to prove that he is indomitable?!"

Steve was shocked at Diana's outburst and said, "That's not why I came with you. I did it because I wanted to help you."

Again, Diana was not happy with this explanation. She said, "I came to man's world to be an ambassador for my home nation, and the leaders of your nation turned me away out of fear and mistrust! I bring you back to your homeland, and when I am able to deal with a threat that man's world is not prepared for, you attempt to trail me like a starving pup and bring someone you portend to value into that kind of danger! And every compliment you offered, everything you have said that put roses into my cheeks…"

Diana looked ready to burst from the fury she felt now, and then she said with utter disillusionment, "I don't know why I offered you an apology in that cafe."

Steve suddenly rounded on her and said, "If I may remind you, Diana, you allowed me to bring you here to get help from Etta, and now you want neither of us to join you in what could be a threat that one Amazon can't face?!"

"I would not have agreed to it if I had known you would expect me to put you on the front line against the greatest threat that my people have ever known, which you have never met or know a thing about!" answered Diana. "I suppose you would agree with me if I were a man!"

"And that's another thing! You and your Amazon sisters have said nothing about men except how dangerous and evil we are! Well, here's one for you: Amazons are human and not perfect either!" replied Steve hotly. "You may be brave warriors, but one person made life miserable for your people and encouraged others to do the same, and you cut yourselves off from everyone else for thousands of years! People would have helped you if the Amazons gave them a chance!

Diana felt the anger sing in her veins, and she rapped, "How dare you…!"

"I'm not done here!" Steve cut her off. "You were the only person among the rest of your people who showed me any sort of kindness, and now because of the way some men are here in the outside world, you think that I'm just another stooge who pretends to like women as company only to put you down! Some of us do things like pull out chairs for women or kiss a woman's hand for a simple reason, and it's called common courtesy! And for the record, I didn't offer my aid to you because I thought that you were unable to take on this Cheetah or that you were some damsel locked up in a tower! I did it…"

Diana waited for Steve's explanation and was surprised when he said, "I did it because I've seen the person you are, Diana. Someone who's willing to do what's right even when it could mean your life. That's what I've tried to do since I became a soldier. I've put my neck on the line to keep America safe, and if being a soldier has taught me anything, it's that I have no right to abandon a friend in need, man or woman."

Now Diana felt a pang of guilt in her heart for berating Steve. She looked down at her feet and told him, "Steve, you shouldn't make this kind of decision just because you value my life. If Cheetah brings Ares back, millions more worthy than me will suffer."

"Maybe I'm willing to put my neck out for those millions more because you're one of them," Steve answered with an earnest face.

This made Diana think for a moment. She had never asked Steve why he became a soldier for his United States of America, and hearing the reason for his choice made her wonder just how much she had misjudged man's world. Perhaps, she thought, she had secretly misjudged it more than she had been curious about it, and this was her chance to see the noble qualities of the world beyond her home.

"Are you willing to see this quest through to its end, Steve Trevor of man's world?" Diana inquired with a slight curl of a smile in her dimples.

Steve saluted her and replied, "Colonel Steven Rockwell Trevor, U.S.A.F., reporting for duty."

Diana followed his example with a salute, and then disappeared behind one of the curtains, where she shed her civilian outfit and reappeared as the Amazon heroine she really was; Wonder Woman. She smiled at Steve and said, "Now let us find Cheetah and stop her plan."

"I'm with you all the way, Diana- er, Wonder Woman," he replied. "That is, if Etta can join us."

"I cannot think of a reason to say otherwise," the Amazon princess answered.

Outside of the room, though Etta hardly knew why, she bounced on the soles of her feet and giggled like an eight-year-old child in a candy store.

A/N: How was this chapter, folks? Hope you liked having Etta Candy feature in this, and if you are reading this story, feel free to leave a review and keep your eyes open for the first major step in Wonder Woman's quest!