Chapter 11: The Tests Continue
Phantom Lady and Wonder Woman came to the next door. It was similar to the previous doors. "This must be the next trial," said Wonder Woman. "Do we have any idea on what to expect?"
Phantom Lady took out the notebook. After the first trial, the book was completely waterlogged. Phantom Lady opened it and carefully leafed through the pages. "Not really," she said. The ink on the pages was now splotchy. "I can make out some of the words, but there wasn't anything really relevant to the specific trials when I last checked".
Phantom Lady closed the book. "Well, we'll just have to deal with whatever we find in there," said Wonder Woman. "Ready?" Phantom Lady nodded, and the princess pressed the button to open the door.
The pair walked into a strange room. It was cubical, about 10 feet each way. All round the room were various tiles of carvings and reliefs. The tiles had many different things on them, from scenes of battles to depictions of gods and monsters. The art seemed to be continuous in various ways, twisting throughout the entire room. In front of them was a circular area that was completely blank.
Phantom Lady and Wonder Woman got to the center of the room. When they did so, the door behind them shut. Then, they felt the room shake, causing them to fall to the floor. It felt as though the entire room was being moved. Soon, the shaking stopped. When it did, Phantom Lady and Wonder Woman heard a low hissing sound. This soon evolved into a dull roar. Phantom Lady felt something on her legs. Water had begun to seep into the room from below. Phantom Lady looked up to see there were also streams from above beginning to flood the room. "Great, more water," she said as she stood up.
Wonder Woman stood up and also looked around. "Well, at least it seems not very fast," remarked Wonder Woman.
"Yeah, but I doubt they would give us much time to do this trial. If we don't solve it, we will definitely drown!"
"So, what do we do?" asked Wonder Woman.
"I don't know," Phantom Lady answered, "but we have to look around". Phantom Lady walked to the blank circle. Why is this like this? she thought. Upon closer inspection, she noticed small holes in the area.
Meanwhile, Wonder Woman examined the tiles. She proceeded to grab a section that was sticking out and pull on it. To her surprise, the tile popped out of its spot, not along the lines that were engraved and visible from a distance, however, but along different lines, forming a haphazard shape. "Phantom Lady!" she yelled. Phantom Lady walked to her. "These tiles are removeable," Wonder Woman said.
Phantom Lady turned the free tile over. She noticed there were small pegs on the back of it. Phantom Lady got an idea. She rushed over to the empty area and examined the piece again. She lined up the pegs on the back of it with the holes in the clearing. The piece fit perfectly. "I got it!" Phantom Lady yelled. "This is a big puzzle. We need to take the tiles and put them in this section".
"I see," said Wonder Woman, "but what picture are we supposed to be making?"
Phantom Lady looked at the area again. "It's a circle..." she thought out loud. "I would guess it's just the symbol we have been seeing throughout this temple: the serpent encircling the bush".
"Well then, we must get to it!" said Wonder Woman. The two women separated and started scouring the walls for possible pieces. The issue they ran into was not the lack of pieces. In fact, it was the opposite: there were dozens of possible pieces that were removable from the walls. However, it wasn't clear if said pieces were necessary for the picture or not.
Phantom Lady went near the back to grab a section that looked like the serpent's head. When she did, a jet of water blasted her in the face and knocked her down. Wonder Woman ran to her aid. "What happened?"
Phantom Lady wiped the water from her face. "A hole opened when I grabbed this piece. It seems some of the pieces are booby trapped. We need to be careful as we do this".
Wonder Woman nodded and helped her up. The pair went to the main area and placed the head. At this point, there were several pieces that looked relevant up on the main section. "This is hard to deal with," Wonder Woman said as she looked at their work so far.
"I think we need to deal with the outer serpent first," said Phantom Lady. Wonder Woman agreed and the pair went back to searching for good pieces. The water steadily rose as they did their work. Wonder Woman tried to grab another piece. As she did so, a spike jutted out from behind the piece. In the blink of an eye, Wonder Woman raised her wrist and broke the spike. Phantom Lady turned when she heard the CLANG! of the bracelet.
"You're right," said Wonder Woman. "We do need to be careful".
The pair continued their work. Assembling the serpent part was not too difficult, as it was larger and had distinct shapes. Getting the inner section completed would be much more difficult. The water was past their knees now. "We still should be able to get this completed in time," Phantom Lady remarked.
Suddenly, the ground began to shift again. Phantom Lady and Wonder Woman felt the water shift to their right. Soon, they realized that it wasn't the water doing it: the entire floor was tilting in that direction. The two ladies tried to stay upright, but it was no use. They tumbled into the water pooling at the end of the room. The two stood up as the tilting continued, until what had been the wall was now the floor. "Me and my big mouth," Phantom Lady muttered as she sat in the water.
"Did we trigger something?" asked Wonder Woman.
"I have no idea," replied Phantom Lady. "We just need to keep do this so we can get out of here". Phantom Lady knelt down in the water to grab another piece. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman looked up.
"Phantom Lady, look!" she said. "There are pieces on the floor. I mean, the real floor". Phantom Lady stood up and saw what she meant.
"Well, you check it out and put what you can in," replied Phantom Lady. The two went to work. The inner bush was an intricate piece, so it was difficult to determine what fit and where. In addition, the picture was sideways now, so it was harder to get things lined up. Still, the women kept at it as the water rose. Soon, the room rotated again. Phantom Lady was taken by the water. Wonder Woman, however, grabbed the original floor when it rotated. When it stopped rotating, Wonder Woman was hanging from what was now the ceiling. Phantom Lady looked up at her.
"I figured I could keep working if I held on," the Amazon said, "so I did". Phantom Lady chuckled and went back to work. With the room upside down, there were pieces too high to reach originally that they could reach now. Of course, most of them were below the water line, which was up to Phantom Lady's chest. Wonder Woman, meanwhile, climbed on the ceiling, collecting relevant pieces, throwing them down, and putting what she could back into the circle.
The room rotated again. This time, Wonder Woman dropped down into the water. The pair worked and the room turned again. When the movement ended, Phantom Lady and Wonder Woman went to check on the puzzle area. The picture was about 60% complete, but by now, it was partially submerged.
"We need to go faster," Phantom Lady remarked. At this point, it was easier to swim to different walls than to just walk. The two women would ferry pieces back and forth. Very often, a person would spend several minutes looking at the picture, trying to determine its proper place. Sometimes, she would just drop the piece, thinking it was useless. Phantom Lady noticed that Wonder Woman was going back and forth much more quickly that she was. It made sense though, she thought. Wonder Woman was clearly more naturally gifted than she was. Plus, Phantom Lady was dragging her cape through the water. It's an accomplishment in itself that I'm doing so well, she thought.
They were continuing their task when the rotating began again. Wonder Woman was by the picture when it started, so she grabbed a nearby handle as the room turned. This time, however, the rotating didn't stop when it went 90 degrees; it continued through the entire cycle. Phantom Lady was sloshed while Wonder Woman held on. I need to get ahead of this, she thought. With the amount of water already in the room, Phantom Lady could remain below and not be affected too much. Phantom Lady dove straight down. Below her was the edge of two the walls. She grabbed a piece she thought looked ok and swam back up. She swam to Wonder Woman – stuck by the picture – and gave her the piece. This continued as the room rotated. Every time Phantom Lady dove, she could tell the dive was deeper.
Eventually, the rotating stopped, and the room returned to its natural position. By this time, the water was far closer to the ceiling than the floor, and the picture was completely underwater. Phantom Lady swam to wall where the picture was and dove under the water. She saw Wonder Woman was still hanging onto the handle, adjusting the pieces in the area. Phantom Lady looked at the work in progress, then grabbed Wonder Woman's wrist, signaling to her to rise up.
The pair broke the surface. "What are you doing?" asked Phantom Lady.
"I'm adjusting the pieces," Wonder Woman replied.
"They're all wrong!" Phantom Lady exclaimed.
"No, they're not!" Wonder Woman replied.
"The outer edges aren't matching!" Phantom Lady yelled, getting more hysterical.
"They don't need to match!" Wonder Woman said. "That wasn't how it was on the other symbols".
Phantom Lady dove under and Wonder Woman followed. Phantom Lady checked the picture. The outer edges of the bush weren't lining up, but the internal sections were. In fact, they looked better than what was there initially. Wonder Woman had made the picture better overall. The two women surfaced. "I still don't like how those edges look," Phantom Lady said.
"Well, find some better pieces then," Wonder Woman snapped back.
Irked by the princess's response, Phantom Lady dove to the bottom of room, where discarded pieces were strewn about. Phantom Lady grabbed a couple and went to the picture. She tried to find where they lined up, but couldn't find anything. Soon, she surfaced to get some air.
"Did you find anything?" asked Wonder Woman.
"No, but I will," Phantom Lady said. "And besides, you can't just-" Again, the room made some noise. This time was different though. Instead of the room rotating, the pair felt the water spinning inside the room. Phantom Lady and Wonder Woman began moving from their position by the back wall to the right wall, then the near wall with the door, then then left wall, and back to the back wall, again and again, faster and faster. The room had turned into a whirlpool. Phantom Lady and Wonder Woman tried to swim against the current. For Phantom Lady, it was almost useless. She gave every ounce of effort trying to swim out, but she kept drifting towards the center, spinning all the time. Wonder Woman was different though. It took some effort on her part, but the Amazon was able to grab onto a handle and pull herself towards the wall.
"Phantom Lady!" she yelled. "Grab onto me!" Wonder Woman stretched out her hand, but Phantom Lady was too far away. Wonder Woman lifter her legs, stretching out her body towards the center, making it harder to hold on. Phantom Lady saw what her friend was doing while she was spinning. With all of her might, Phantom Lady swam away from the center. As she spun, she collided with Wonder Woman's feet. Phantom Lady grabbed onto Wonder Woman's feet with both arms. Slowly, she made her way up Wonder Woman's legs, her waist, her torso, her shoulders, and her arms, until finally being able to reach the handle as well. Wonder Woman pulled herself in and grabbed onto Phantom Lady with one hand. Phantom Lady did the same. The pair were huddled up against the wall while the whirlpool raged. The water level rose above the handle, putting both ladies under the water. Phantom Lady held her breath, hoping the spinning would stop soon.
Eventually, the force of the whirlpool lessened and lessened, until it was completely gone. Phantom Lady shot to the surface of the water, her lungs aching. But when she tried to get some fresh air, she instead got a nasty surprise. She hit her head on the stone ceiling; the water level had risen to the point where this was possible. Phantom Lady winced in pain as Wonder Woman surfaced. "What happened?" she asked Phantom Lady.
"I hit my head," she muttered. Phantom Lady was exhausted from everything that had happened, and she was laboring just to stay afloat.
"I'm sorry about that," Wonder Woman said. "How far are we to completing the puzzle?" she asked hurriedly.
"I guess... 80 or 85%" Phantom Lady said. Wonder Woman swam to the picture to confirm. Are we really going to make it? Phantom Lady thought.
Wonder Woman surfaced. "Ok, we are close. We just need a few more pieces to get this completed. We can do all of that on one breath". Phantom Lady wasn't sure, but didn't say anything. "Phantom Lady, are you ready?"
Their faces were within inches of the ceiling. "I guess so," Phantom Lady said. We don't have a choice, she thought.
"Ok, some final breaths!" said Wonder Woman. The women started hyperventilating, trying to get as much oxygen as possible before it was gone. The water rose and rose until there was the tiniest of slivers of air left. "NOW!" said Wonder Woman. The pair took one final breath and went under.
The two swam to the picture to see what they needed, and then separated. The room was all calm now, with the blue lights giving it a serene atmosphere. The pair would have enjoyed this scene, if they weren't currently risking drowning. The two pressed on, with Wonder Woman having more success transporting pieces. Phantom Lady continued slowly, as the pressure in her lungs built up.
One by one, the pieces were put in their proper place. Second by second, the two heroines got closer to their goal. But second by second, Phantom Lady was getting closer to death. As she stayed under, her heart beat faster and faster, and her body got weaker and weaker. Her mind started racing as the pain in her chest became unbearable. When she got back to the picture with a piece, she reached her limit. I can't do this anymore! she thought. She dropped the piece and focused all her energy on holding her breath. Her body began spasming, instinctively trying to find any source of air, even though she knew there was none.
Wonder Woman swam over to her. She grabbed Phantom Lady's shoulders, trying to see what was wrong. Phantom Lady looked at her with glassy eyes, her head and chest shaking. She's losing her breath! Wonder Woman thought. She knew what she had to do. Immediately, Wonder Woman put her lips on Phantom Lady's.
Phantom Lady was shocked by this. Wonder Woman started blowing air out, and Phantom Lady realized was what happening. She opened her mouth and let the air into her lungs. It only happened for a few seconds, but it was enough to alleviate Phantom Lady's struggles. Wonder Woman broke the kiss and looked at her. Wonder Woman gave the 'thumbs up' to see if Phantom Lady was still ok. While she was a little bit dazed, Phantom Lady reciprocated the gesture. Wonder Woman swam away as Phantom Lady watched. That was... necessary, she thought. That's all it was. She grabbed the piece she dropped and went back to work.
The puzzle was almost finished. Phantom Lady swam to the picture to place her last piece. She put it in and just waited. The air Wonder Woman had given her was running out. Instead of helping, Phantom Lady decided to focus on conserving her air. She didn't want to drown at this juncture, and she wasn't sure if Wonder Woman could spare anymore air. Though, there was a small part of her that would not have minded an additional air-sharing session.
Wonder Woman came with the remaining pieces. Phantom Lady looked weak, while Wonder Woman looked as fresh as when she came in. Quickly, Wonder Woman inserted the remaining pieces. Upon completion, the room began to shake again. The picture rotated while the women looked on, hoping whatever that came next would involve air. The picture turned and turned, until finally, it slid to the side behind the wall. The water began pouring out of the room through the hall. Wonder Woman grabbed Phantom Lady's arm and the pair was sent through. The superheroines tumbled in the water stream, falling until they hit some sort of pool. Instinctively, the women looked to what they could sense was up and swam for it.
Phantom Lady and Wonder Woman broke the surface of the water with massive gasps. Phantom Lady's actions were much more violent, spitting up water and taking massive, labored breaths. Wonder Woman swam to her. "Phantom Lady! Are you ok?"
Phantom Lady continued to take deep breaths. "Yeah, I'm ok," she said. But she was visibly tired. Wonder Woman hugged her in the water. Phantom Lady didn't really want to be touching her right now, but she really couldn't handle swimming by herself at the moment, so she just rested her head on Wonder Woman's shoulder.
Wonder Woman turned her around and grabbed her across the chest. "I have you," she said in a soft voice. The pair floated on their backs, with Wonder Woman pulling with one arm and both of them giving soft kicks. Phantom Lady could feel her and Wonder Woman's feet get tangled in the long, heavy cape.
"Wait," she said. "Let me get this". Phantom Lady grabbed the clasp on her chest. She pulled the cape portion out from it. Phantom Lady and Wonder Woman separated, and Phantom Lady pulled the cape from her body. Now, she was only wearing her yellow suit, with a bare back and a yellow cord around her neck.
"Do you need to carry that still?" asked Wonder Woman.
"No, it'll only weigh me down," Phantom Lady responded. Wonder Woman grabbed her again and put her in the same position. Phantom Lady was equal parts upset and relieved that she had done that. She was upset because she didn't want to be seen as helpless and needing assistance, but she was relieved because it was essentially a needed rest. Plus, there was a part of her that enjoyed the sensation of having this big, strong, beautiful woman hold her, wrapping her arm around her and pressing her skin up against hers. That's... just nothing, she thought to herself in a fit of panic.
The two made it to the edge of the pool. Wonder Woman let go of Phantom Lady and the two sat in the shallow water. "Jesus," Phantom Lady exclaimed. "We were so close to dying in there".
"Do you have problems with breathing?" asked Wonder Woman.
"I have problems breathing underwater, if that's what you mean," Phantom Lady replied.
"No, I mean holding your breath," said Wonder Woman. "You were in trouble after only a couple of minutes".
"Yeah, well, most people can only hold their breaths for that long," said Phantom Lady. "In fact, when I was in school, I was one of the best ones who could".
"Really? That's so short," Wonder Woman remarked.
"Oh yeah? How long can you hold your breath for?" asked Phantom Lady.
"Well, one time I lasted just over 30 minutes, but most regular Amazons can only last about 25".
"Twen...ty... five?" Phantom Lady was shocked.
"Are you sure you can't go any longer?" asked Wonder Woman.
Phantom Lady sighed. "Let's just get to the next task". She stood up and Wonder Woman followed her.