Chapter 3: The Task
Phantom Lady was led to two large, brass doors. They had large knockers in the shape of rings and were decorated with beautiful reliefs of ancient scenes. The guards grabbed the knockers and banged on the door. After a moment, the doors opened to reveal a massive room. The guards grabbed Phantom Lady and pulled her into the room.
Phantom Lady observed the room she was walking into. It was a massive hall with the ceiling many feet in the air, and a marble floor. The place had no walls; rather, at the edges of the room were large columns that held the roof up and separated the room from the outside. Beyond them, Phantom Lady could see out to the horizon. The room was on a hill overlooking the rest of the island. Phantom Lady could see over the lush trees and tops of buildings out to the sparkling sea. As the sun set over the horizon, an orange glow filled the room. The hall itself was baren, save for an object in the distance. As Phantom Lady walked forward, the object became clearer. It was a throne with a woman sitting on it. The guards took Phantom Lady within five feet of the base of the platform the throne was on, before stopping.
"Your majesty," the two guards said, bowing to their queen. Phantom Lady sheepishly tried to give a curtsy, incumbered by the ropes. The queen above them, adorned in purple and gold, acknowledged her troops with a wave of her hand.
Phantom Lady looked around. "Wow," she said, trying to force a cheery atmosphere, "your majesty! You know, my father was a senator, and I met a lot of important people back in the day, but I have never met a queen before. This is an honor" - the ropes began to glow again – "even under... these circumstances".
The queen gave a small smirk. "Do you always start a conversation with such banal drivel?"
"Oh no," Phantom Lady said instinctively. "Only when I really want the person to like me".
The queen raised her eyebrow. "Oh? And you think I would be flattered by such words?"
"Not really, but I'm trying hard not to tell you how I really feel".
The queen stood up. "And how do you really feel?" she said as she began walking to her prisoner. Phantom Lady felt the ropes on her more and more. She tried to hold her tongue, but the sensation became overwhelming.
"I feel pissed off. I got captured on a spy mission because of my own incompetence, got beat to hell escaping, nearly drowned in the ocean, and when I woke, I somehow became a prisoner in Ancient Greece!" Phantom Lay looked at the ropes again. "And what the hell are you doing with these ropes?!"
"The Lasso of Truth breaks even the strongest of wills and forces all who are ensnared to yield their secrets. Even yours, Miss Knight".
"Oh," Phantom Lady said quietly. A rope that forces you to tell the truth? she thought. Under the wrong circumstances such a device could be more damaging than a bomb!
The queen was standing directly in front of Phantom Lady, looking slightly down. "Now I will ask you some questions, and as long as you are truthful, you shall feel no pain".
Phantom Lady grimaced. "Do you promise to let me go if I comply?"
"I will make my judgement once I am satisfied," the queen replied.
Phantom Lady sighed. "Well, I guess I don't have a choice".
The queen grabbed the rope from the guard. "You are from America, correct?" Phantom Lady nodded. "How loyal are you to it?"
"Very," replied Phantom Lady. "Did I have my problems with it before? Absolutely. But right now, we are occupied by the vilest people imaginable. I will do anything to free my land again".
The queen nodded. "You were in a plane with the Nazis though, were you not?"
"I snuck aboard, trying to see what they were doing".
"And what were they doing?" the queen snapped back.
"I wasn't sure. They kept saying they were searching for something. I believe someone said they were looking for an island?" The queen snapped to attention. "Well, I guess it's obvious now what they were searching for," Phantom Lady quipped.
"The men in the plane... did it seem like they know where they were going?"
"Well, sort of," Phantom Lady replied. "They were searching for it, but they had a general feeling of where it should be".
"And the storm," said the queen. "We created the storm to ward off any intruders. Were they stopped?"
"Oh, they crashed. The debris on the beach proves it. But they were determined to keep going. They said they heard stories from some woman about it".
The queen froze, her eyes showing a wave of dread wash over her. The two guards looked at each other, wondering what was going on. A moment passed in silence. Phantom Lady could feel the immense tension in the room, though she couldn't figure out why. Soon after, the silence was broken. "Guards," said the queen, "Please leave the room. I'll be taking it from here".
The guards were confused. "But ma'am, we-"
"Just do it!" the queen yelled. She stopped, took a breath, and said, "I will be fine. I can handle the prisoner myself". The guards bowed and left the room. Phantom Lady remained where she was while the queen turned away. Phantom Lady debated what to do. She could try to make a break for it - ropes and all – or she could crack another of about a dozen jokes she was thinking of. However, given the queen's severe change in demeanor, Phantom Lady decided to remain quiet.
The queen finally spoke. "Can I trust you?" she asked.
"Uh... what?" Phantom Lady responded.
The queen started to laugh. It was bitter and short, directed at the position she found herself in. "Oh, Hera," she muttered.
Phantom Lady saw this and chose this time to interject. "Look, your majesty, I'm a hero. It is my job to help people if they are in trouble. And it really looks like something is wrong. If you need help, you can trust me".
The queen stared pensively, then looked at the other woman. "Alright," she said. She turned back to sit on the throne. "This island is Themyscira, and the women who live here are the ancient tribe of the Amazons".
"Wait, you mean like the Ancient Greek myth?" Phantom Lady asked. "Are you, like, their descendants?"
"No, we are not their descendants. We are the original Amazons themselves," the queen replied. "I know that must be hard to believe".
"Uh... yeah," Phantom Lady replied. "Though, I'm not sure it's the strangest thing I've ever heard." Indeed, in the years Phantom Lady had been working, she had encountered mad scientists, space aliens, and even the living embodiment of the American spirit. By this point, she had just learned to roll with whatever comes her way. "But, why are you living here? And why haven't we heard of you being real at all?"
"You see, eons ago, we were attacked by the legend Hercules," the queen said.
"Oh, I actually remember that story. He stole Queen Hippolyta's girdle as one of his Twelve Labors," Phantom Lady said. "Or... wait, does that mean... it was yours?"
"Yes," Queen Hippolyta said, trying to hide her anger at the outsider's reply. "And that wasn't all of it. When he took my girdle, he enslaved us all. We were forced to do his bidding. Many of our sisters were sold off to other people all across the world. Only at the lowest point did I throw myself at the mercy of Hera, our patron goddess. I pleaded with her to give me the strength to free myself and my people. And graciously, she did. The battle was long and bloody, but we escaped. As we got on our boats to flee Hercules, Hera showed us the path to this new place. The goddesses had created an island paradise for us to live forever, under their protection".
"And, you have just stayed here for the past 4,000 years?" Phantom Lady asked. "Did you ever think to get out of the house for a bit? Just as a change of scenery?"
The queen sighed. "Far less than you'd think. For one, there's no desire to change the scenery. We Amazons have been many places, and nothing that we have seen could compare to what you see here," she said, raising her arms out wide.
Can't argue with you there, Phantom Lady thought.
"But more importantly, we have no desire to engage with man's world. We live under the protection of the goddesses. Here, our needs are met, and we support our fellow sisters however we can. We remain immortal, and our injuries and illnesses heal like they were nothing at all. We are blissful, and time moves quite fast when you are happy. But if we leave, we are at the mercy of others, forced to fend for ourselves again. Look," Hipoplyta raised her arm to show the large silver bracelet on her wrists, "these bracelets are symbols of our past. They remind us of how we were prisoners, forced to serve man. I have made it my solemn vow to protect my sisters from ever suffering the same fate again".
Phantom Lady saw the queen's eyes begin to water. It was obvious how much this little chunk of the world meant to her. "I know how you feel," Phantom Lady said. "My country is under the tyrannical rule of the Third Reich-"
"Oh, I know what it going on in the world," Queen Hippolyta said. "As we lived our lives here on Themyscira, we saw the outside world continue tear itself apart. As one empire fell, another rose. As soon as peace seemed it would take hold, war would break out, and innocent lives would be snuffed out. We had long laid down our weapons, and have no desire to raise them".
"But you must know of Overman, right?" Phantom Lady yelled. "He is capable of anything! And even ignoring him, hiding won't stop the Nazis from pouring over every inch of this planet. You can only stop them by hitting them head on!"
Hippolyta sighed. "You sound just like him".
Phantom Lady looked puzzled. "Him?"
"A few months ago, another man washed up upon our shores," Hippolyta said. "It is rare for anyone to wash up on our shores alive, and usually we dispose of them for our security. But this one was different. His name was Steve Trevor. He was an agent from America who told us all about the war and the creatures fighting in it. I knew of the war, as well as my inner circle. But we kept it from the rest of the women here. Steve, however, told everyone. The island was in a panic over what he said. They demanded action. Thus, I sent a squadron of my best warriors to eliminate the threat".
"What happened?" Phantom Lady asked.
Hippolyta paused for a moment. A look of worry came across her face, as she felt guilt rise in her stomach. "If I am to tell you that, you must promise to not tell another soul".
"Yes, your majesty," Phantom Lady replied, making sure to add the honorific to get on her good side.
Hippolyta looked around, wondering if there was someone to overhear her. "They clashed with the man called Overman valiantly at first. Some had died, but they had forced him to retreat. They continued on their hunt. But one night, they were betrayed. One of their own had decided to join with these Nazis and shed her Amazonian heritage".
"How awful," Phantom Lady said, disgusted.
"What was worse was that she was somehow given even more power, which she used to kill the other Amazons. I have yet to tell anyone this. Only my advisers know."
Phantom Lady sighed. That's not something anyone would want to reveal, she thought.
Hippolyta continued. "Before, her name was Dalma. But now, she has adopted the moniker of Brünnhilde".
"Wait a minute, I've heard that name!" Phantom Lady exclaimed. "I heard a rumor she was one of the Nazi's latest freaks!"
"Brünnhilde is no freak," Hippolyta said. "She is an Amazon. But that means she knows the location of our island. That was why your plane was over the ocean. They were searching for us!"
"Well, I wish I could say you dodged a bullet when we crashed," Phantom Lady said, "but the truth is, they're going to keep coming until they find you".
Hippolyta straightened up. "Miss Sandra Knight! Normally, for trespassing on our island, we would do one of two things: cast a spell to make you forget what you saw, or kill you. However, given the position we have found ourselves, and your reputation as a hero, I am willing to make a deal. I will let you leave this island alive and unharmed, but only if you undertake a quest. You must find and defeat Brünnhilde. Bring her back here – dead or alive – and then you will be free of your obligation".
"Well..." Phantom Lady said. "I don't have much of a choice, I suppose. But I was planning on defeating the New Reichsmen one day, so it's actually not much of an obligation. I will talk to the Freedom Fighters, and-"
"No!" Hippolyta interjected. "You must keep what has happened here a secret! You cannot risk any further knowledge of us seeping out into man's world".
"Well, then how am I supposed to fight her?"
"That is something you must figure out. But we will try to provide what we can for you".
"Okay, fine, yes, I'll do it" Phantom Lady said. Maybe I should have stayed on the plane when it went down, she thought.
Hippolyta smiled. "Good. We will have you rest here tonight, and you can leave first thing tomorrow". Hippolyta grabbed a nearby bell and rang it. The two guards came back into the room. "Guards, please escort Ms. Knight to the prepared chamber." She turned to her captive. "Don't worry, it's far more pleasant that cell you were in".
"Well, it wasn't all unpleasant," Phantom Lady said back. "Do you think you can make Diana my servant again?"
Hippolyta's ears perked up. "Diana?" she asked. "What do you mean, Diana?"
"You know, the servant Diana, with the black, wavy hair? The servant you sent to feed me while in the cell?"
Hippolyta looked at Phantom Lady strangely. Phantom Lady shot back a look of exasperation. She had gone through a lot these past few hours, and now it looked like she wouldn't be able to enjoy the best thing in this whole ordeal again. Hippolyta broke the silence: "I think you are mistaken, dear. I'll make sure you're comfortable".
The guards turned Phantom Lady around marched her out of the room. As they did, Hippolyta stared on, feeling as though this conversation was not the answer she prayed for, but just the beginning of a far more devastating problem.