Donna Troy got a cab at the airport and headed home for the first time in quite a while. She kept in close touch with her mother but they hadn't gotten together recently. She felt bad that it took a tragedy like this to get her to come back to St. Louis. A tragedy like her brother's death!

Poor Brad, she thought. So young, so full of spirit. If anyone in her family was a likely candidate to die young it was Donna and the often adventurous life she led. Brad was just a crewman on an oil rig. So steady and reliable.

The circumstances of his death were strange. Something happened during an oil spill. Brad's death wasn't the result of the crash that caused the leakage. Something else had happened. Something very strange.

Donna arrived at her mother's home. This was going to be hard, she thought. Her mother was taking it hard. The coming days would be rough on her. The wake, the funeral . . . It was going to be a terrible week. And she would miss Brad. Poor Brad.

She went inside to see her mother.

A large crowd of women, ranging in age from young girls to old ladies, gathered around a makeshift podium to listen to the Amazon Artemis speak.

Artemis was satisfied at the size of the growing crowd. Obviously, women wanted to hear what she had to say. Artemis had recently been giving speeches about the natural superiority of women over men. Although she had gained the enmity of a large portion of the male population, she had developed a following of women who found her words empowering. Artemis was pleased.

Her only regret was that Wonder Woman had taken a stand against her. She was disappointed that a sister Amazon would condemn Artemis for extolling female supremacy. That foolish, jaded Princess actually believed that men and women wee equal. Ridiculous, Artemis thought.

Artemis took the podium, to a burst of vociferous applause. She had no rehearsed speech but she wasn't lacking material. She could go on for hours about the flaws of men and the power of women. She waited for the crowd to die down so she could begin speaking. She didn't want them to miss a word.

She spotted a familiar woman moving through the crowd, coming towards her. The ebony beauty stepped up to join Artemis on the platform. Her long, white hair hung about her shoulders. Artemis knew this woman. She was an ally of Wonder Woman. Her name was Ororo but she was usually called Storm.

"What are you doing here?" Artemis asked suspiciously. "Are you on an errand from Diana? Come to dissuade me from the path of female sovereignty?"

"Not at all," Storm said. "I admire you. I want to hear what you have to say."

Artemis nodded. "Fine, then. Listen well. Maybe you'll learn something."

Storm reached out to touch Artemis on the shoulder. But all at once, she thrust her hand toward the Amazon's chest. Storm's hand fizzled into transparency and she reached into Artemis' body. Once inside, her hand solidified.

Artemis screamed in agony. She couldn't remember ever having felt such pain. The crowd screamed, not knowing how to react to this. Storm pulled her hand out of Artemis. The Amazon fell to the ground, barely able to breathe. Had she been a normal human woman, she would have died. As it was, she was weak and badly hurt. She looked up at Storm.

"Cowardly vixen!" Artemis yelled. "You had not the courage to face me in fair combat. Curse you, Storm!"

Storm smiled. "You can curse Storm all you want, since I am not she."

Storm reached up and pulled an invisible mask off her face. The shape of Storm began to transform. She became an aging white male with wiry hair. He wore a green jump suit. In his hand he held the Mask of Proteus. The man smiled at Artemis.

"Hello," he said in a Russian accent. "I am the Red Ghost."

Artemis was enraged at being ambushed by a man. She struggled to her feet. "You will die for this, foolish male! You'll soon be a true Ghost!"

The crowd cheered Artemis on, as she threw herself at the Red Ghost. But she passed harmlessly through the ethereal enemy and fell again. The crown tried to inspire her but then their cries changed to cries of alarm. Artemis caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye. She turned in time to see the pair of feet that kicked her in the face.

As Artemis fell, her leaping opponent rolled with the grace of a jungle cat and popped back to her feet. Her feral foe was covered in fur and had a long tail. Yet her face was not unattractive and her long hair framed her fanged visage, making her look more female. She growled a ferocious growl.

"I am the Cheetah!" she said. "And any friend of Wonder Woman is a victim of mine!"

Artemis tried to get up but the Cheetah's clawed hand flashed out and tore Artemis's flesh open. Artemis gasped and dropped to the ground like a stone. The Cheetah wrapped her tail around Artemis' throat and began to squeeze. "Say goodnight, honey."

Artemis, bleeding and choking, tried to resist but the assault became too much for even an Amazon. She passed out. The Cheetah looked at her with disdain, lifted her up and threw her into the crowd.

"Here is your hero!" the Cheetah yelled. "If anyone asks, tell them that it was the Cheetah who roughed her up!"

Cheetah and the Red Ghost departed. No one dared to try and stop them. 911 was called as Artemis lay bleeding to death.

Donna Troy had made an appointment to see the Medical Examiner who did the autopsy on her brother Brad. He was busy but she charmed him into giving her an audience. She arrived early. He was in the middle of an examination. When he saw how pretty Donna was, he stopped what he was doing, washed his hands and stepped out to speak to her.

"I'm sorry to take up your time like this," Donna said.

"No, no, it's fine," the ME said. "A very pleasant distraction."

"Thank you," Donna responded politely. "I came to ask you about . . . "

"Bradford Troy," he said. "I remember. What did you want to know?"

"The cause of death."

"That was strange," he said. "He was sliced open and his inside ripped out. Four identical slashes, like knives but not exactly. They almost seemed to be claws, except how could he be ripped apart by a wild animal on an oil rig?"

Donna twirled a lock of her long hair. "Yeah, how could he?"

"Did you know several people on the boat were killed the same way?"

"No. I didn't."

Artemis was hooked up to life support equipment. Having received a transfusion, it was still touch-and-go.

Wonder Woman stood over her, looking very concerned. Artemis had lost a lot of blood. She was proud and, even if she lived, she wouldn't take this defeat well. Diana brushed some stray hairs off Artemis' face. "My poor sister."

Wonder Woman had heard that the Cheetah was behind the attack. She had fought the Cheetah before but that was when the Cheetah was Callista Domain, her good friend. Now, the Cheetah was Debbie Domain, Callista's cousin. She was an environmental zealot who stole the amulet of the Egyptian Cat-Goddess Bastet. The amulet changed Debbie into the Cheetah. An animal lover turned into a cat woman. It was almost laughable, had it not been so deadly serious.

What happened to Artemis was no doubt a message to Diana. The Amazon Princess knew that she had to find the Cheetah quickly, or else someone else she knew would become an example.

While her elderly companion Chuma meditated, the Red Ghost paced impatiently. He wasn't interested in the Cheetah's vendetta' or her environmental terrorism. He wanted what he had been promised. Still, in science you learn patience, and so he waited.

"I'm curious," the Red Ghost asked. "You're so committed to your ecological causes. I am wondering what's at the root of it. What are you so . . . passionate?"

The Cheetah glanced at him but kept one eye on the screen. She continued to listen, even as she spoke. "One summer, when I was 14, we were staying with some friends on Chesapeake Bay. I was walking the beach just before dawn and I found a goose on the sand. Many people think the indigenous geese are the most beautiful think about the Bay. The sight of geese flying at sunrise, or the sound of their cries across the water. Just lovely. A little piece of God. There are no words to describe it.

"Anyway, that morning, the goose I found was flopping around on the wet sand, only half-alive. It was covered in something black. He had oil on his wings. It was matted deeply into his feathers. My mother and I brought him to a vet. He told us the bird would never fly again. He suggested we take the poor thing to a shelter. We made arrangements. The next day we went back. The bird was dead. It had suffocated overnight. He tried to clean his wings and got oil in his lungs. It was the result of an oil spill. Not only did hundreds of birds die in that spill but thousands of marine creatures died too. I later found out that the oil company wasn't even fined for their crimes. Money talks and justice takes a walk.

"I knew then that someone had to bring justice to the door of big business. They couldn't be allowed to rape the world with impunity. There are hundreds such atrocities every day. Thousands! Factories polluting air and stream! Oil tankers spilling their deadly cargo! Whalers killing the most majestic of creatures! Ancient forests being torn down! Species becoming endangered! Clubbing seals and shooting migrating ducks! The violence against nature is an endless outrage! It must be stopped!"

"And how does wonder Woman fit into this agenda?" the Red Ghost asked.

"She's just a bonus," The Cheetah said, "I'm taking some time out from my quest for some personal enjoyment. Wonder Woman dared to defy me and she must die for it! Besides, she could be a hindrance to my cause. I'm sure she'll try and stop me. So I'm taking her out of the picture first!"

"You have a lot of goals," the Red Ghost said. "I want only one thing from you!"

"You'll have the secret," The Cheetah said. "You'll learn how to transform people into animals."

"Excellent," The Red Ghost said. "I'm tired of working with real animals. They're stupid and unpredictable and they can't do anything unless I specifically order them to. I'd like to create hybrid men/animals. They'd be far superior servants than those stupid apes. Your amulet could be the secret."

"You'll get to study it later," she said. "After Wonder Woman is dead!"

Putting two-and-two together, Donna did some research on the Cheetah. She found out what information she could, but there wasn't much in the news archives. The Cheetah seemed to be a thief. Why was she killing oil tanker crewmen?

Donna needed to know more. And if anyone could answer these questions, it was Wonder Woman. Diana had fought the Cheetah before and she probably had valuable information on the Cheetah's motives and powers.

She hated to leave her mother at a time like this but she had to go and see Wonder Woman.

The girl held out a magazine with Wonder Woman's picture on the cover. "Would you sign this for me, Princess?"

Diana smiled. "Of course, dear. What's your name?"

The young girl smiled a frightening smile. "The Red Ghost."

She thrust her hand forward and it faded into intangibility. The hand almost pierced Wonder Woman's body. But the Red Ghost underestimated Diana's Mercury-like speed.

Diana leaped back, flipping in the air, and landed in a crouched fighting stance. "A villain and a coward!"

The Red Ghost removed the Proteus Mask, revealing his true face. Diana removed her tiara and threw it boomerang-like at the Red Ghost. The Ghost was still ethereal and the tiara passed right through him. The Red Ghost chuckled. "Nice try, woman."

"I don't like the condescending way you say 'Woman', you communist slime!" Wonder Woman said. "You need to learn some respect! I'm while I'm beating the respect into you, you can tell me where the Cheetah is!"

"Come ahead and try, girl," the Red Ghost said.

Wonder Woman drop-kicked him but once again she passed through him like air. She rolled to her feet. As the Red Ghost laughed, Diana debated the best way to deal with an opponent she couldn't touch. As she concentrated on the Ghost, someone crept up behind her. And leapt!

Wonder Woman's experienced battle instincts told her to look over her shoulder. She glanced around and saw something moving. Diving to one side, she narrowly evaded the attacker, although the mystery ambusher reached out with clawed hands and slashed her shoulder.

The Cheetah landed, crouching like a beast of prey. She purred a satisfied 'Meorrew."

"Cheetah, at last!" Diana said.

"Hello again," the Cheetah said, "I believe we have unfinished business."

"You'll pay for what you did to Artemis!"

"Any minute now and I'll do worse to you!" the Cheetah growled.

Wonder Woman and the Cheetah charged each other. The Cheetah slashed at Diana with her razor-sharp talons. Wonder Woman blocked the claws with her bracelets and waited for an opening in the Cheetah's attack so she could connect with a blow. Finally the opening came and she pulled back her arm to hit the Cheetah.

But Diana suddenly felt a spasm of pain in her shoulder. Her arm wouldn't move. She wanted to hit the Cheetah but he couldn't. Distracted by the strange event, Diana left herself vulnerable to a kick from the Cheetah. Diana was knocked down. The Cheetah leaped down on her. Diana tried to kick up at the lunging Cheetah but the same strange force gripped her legs and prevented her from kicking.

The Cheetah slashed at Diana's legs. Diana rolled away, desperate to get some distance between herself and her foe. The Cheetah kept upon her, continually attacking. Diana scrambled away, using her bracelets to deflect the claws.

Diana kept trying to strike the Cheetah but every time she did, that mysterious paralysis gripped her arm and stopped her from hitting. Wonder Woman was confused by this unknown malady.

Just then, she heard a voice in her head. It was a beautiful, enchanted voice, filled with the bounty of nature itself. She recognized it. It was the voice of Gaea the Earth Goddess.

"Diana of Themescira," the voice of the Earth said. "You must not harm the Cheetah. She is a servant of the Earth. She defends nature. She is one with the Flora and Fauna. You helped to create this servant for me and I cannot allow you to destroy it.

"Great Gaea!" Diana thought in response to the voice. "You cannot do this to me! The Cheetah is insane and evil! She injured my friend. She is not a reliable servant for your greatness. She must be stopped!"

"She will not be, Diana. You must not! She must continue to defend me. Let her go!"

"I cannot, Goddess!" Diana said. "I must do my duty to humanity."

Gaea spoke no more but she continued to restrain Diana from counter attacking. As hard as she tried, Gaea magically prevented Wonder Woman from retaliating against the Cheetah. She could only defend herself against the feral villain.

She tried to switch her attack to the Red Ghost but he was still unsolid and she could not touch him either.

Merciful Minerva! Diana thought, alarmed. I'm caught between two enemies who I can't touch! What should I do?

"Driver! I've changed my mind. I want to go to the hospital!"

Although unconscious, she was still tuned to the call of battle. In her sub-conscious, she knew that a war was raging nearby and that it somehow involved her. She knew she should be there, in the thick of things.

In her hospital bed, Artemis opened her eyes.

Diana was trying to form a strategy. How do you defeat people you can't touch? The deadly duo kept trying to flank her. One distracted her while the other moved in from behind for the killing blow. This was possibly the most difficult battle situation Wonder Woman had ever been in.

"Hera, help me," she muttered under her breath.

Amazingly, her prayers were answered.

Troia leaped passed the police barricades and threw herself into the action. She held a Japanese sword, brandishing it like an expert.

"Donna!" Wonder Woman cried, quite pleased.

"Hi, Diana," Troia replied. "Need some help?"

"Indeed so," Diana said.

Troia swung her sword at the Cheetah. The crazed feline environmentalist back peddled, angered by this unexpected intrusion. She growled a primal, savage growl. Troia was unimpressed.

Meanwhile, Wonder Woman squared off with the Red Ghost. The Ghost looked calm. "You still can't hurt me, woman."

"I'll find a way!" Diana said. "Every foe can be beaten!"

Nearby, Troia was swinging her sword at the Cheetah. "You killed my brother, witch!"

"Did I?" the Cheetah sang. "Quite possible. Who was he?"

"He worked on the oil tanker that ran aground a few days ago!" she said. "You sliced up half the crew!"

Cheetah's eyes narrowed. "They were the real murderers! They murder the world! They destroy the sacred planet! They've done more damage than I ever have! They needed to be made examples of!"

"I'm going to make an example of you!" Donna Troy said, hatefully.

Not far away, Wonder Woman had an idea. She backed off, hoping that the Red Ghost would pursue her. He did. He had such a chauvinistic attitude toward women that he easily believed Wonder Woman was running scared.

"You won't escape, girl!" athe Red Ghost said. "I can only study the amulet of the cat Goddess if I help the Cheetah slay you. I must have that knowledge and I will not allow you to stand in my way!"

Wonder Woman said nothing. It was useless to reason with this communist maniac. She continued to flee with him in close pursuit. She was careful not to go too fat or else she'd lose him. She wanted to guide him, not escape him.

She reached the nearest body of water. There was a small dock. She backed onto the wooden structure. The Red Ghost stood on the shore end of the dock.

"You're out of room, female," he taunted. "What will you do now? Swim for you life?"

"I'm through with running," Diana said. "Come now and kill me if you can!"

The Red Ghost walked across the dock. Diana grinned. Lifting her foot, she stamped downward with such force that she shattered the dock. Both she and the Red Ghost fell into the water. Diana was a superb swimmer. The Red Ghost was only mediocre in his normal state but in his intangible form, his arms passed through the water without resistance. He couldn't swim in this form. He started to sink. He couldn't breath. Yet, if he turned solid, his body would be filled with water. He panicked! What should he do?

He couldn't decide. He flailed with fearful desperation as he vanished under the waves. He did not surface. He was gone and the Proteus Mask sank with him. Wonder Woman tried to help him but she couldn't touch him. She couldn't save him from drowning. Sadly, she swung back to the surface.

Several blocks away, Troia was still battling the Cheetah. Troia tapped into the power of her Chi and increased her physical energy, allowing her to attack relentlessly, using her martial arts skills and deadly sword. The Cheetah was faster and more agile, trying to strike with her lethal claws where possible. Both women received numerous cuts.

The cheetah tried to grab Donna's throat with her tail but Donna almost lopped the tail off. The Cheetah hissed with fury. Donna continued her assault. The two women seemed evenly matched.

The Cheetah saw Wonder Woman returning. Obviously she had defeated the Red Ghost. She should have known that that pitiful old Russian worm would be inadequate to the task. If you ant something done right . . .

Wonder Woman and Troia flanked the Cheetah. The Cheetah was not happy. To make matters worse, Artemis limped from the hotel, staring a vengeful stare at the Cheetah. "Its time for a reckoning, beast-woman!"

The Cheetah was surrounded. Three powerful warrior women against her alone. She did not like the odds. The Cheetah had an idea. She leaped out into the crowd and grabbed a young woman as hostage.

"Release the girl!" Wonder Woman said.

"Only if you swear to allow me to leave unhindered," the Cheetah said.

"We cannot allow the fiend to escape!" Artemis shouted.

"We have to!" Troia said. "That girl's life is at stake! I won't let the Cheetah take another life. Nor like Brad."

"Troia is right," Wonder Woman said. "A human life comes first. Very well, Cheetah. Flee like the coward you are! I will find you again!"

"That I can promise!" the Cheetah said. She tossed the girl to Wonder Woman who caught her. The Cheetah leapt to the rooftops and made her escape.

The three woman watched her go, seething. Artemis vowed revenge against the Cheetah for the injury she suffered. Troia wanted justice for her brother Brad. Wonder Woman knew that the Cheetah would be coming after her again. She also hoped that Gaea was satisfied with Cheetah's escape. She had to find a way around Gaea's spell that prevented her from harming the Cheetah, before they met again.

And they would meet again. That was certain!