Hippolyta stood ready, muscles taunt beneath her darkened skin, prepared to defend herself at a moment's notice. Her eyes were narrowed dangerously, her fists raised and clenched. She would not make the first strike, but an Amazon was never caught off guard. Beside her, more to the side of the strangely clad man that had appeared in the JSA mansion was Brunhilde, powerful fingers wrapped around the hilt of her broadsword. She held its shimmering length before her, the tip aimed at the neck of their visitor.
"G-greetings, Your Majesty . . . " the man bowed nervously, obviously unsure of himself, and flabbergasted that he stood before a woman who was a virtual legend.
"State thy name and purpose, mortal, whilst thou still hast a tongue to do so!" Brunhilde hissed. Her boots scraped against the polished hardwood floor as she began to prowl slowly towards him, a lioness stalking her prey. The man noticed her for the first time, and the color drained from his face. His eyes bulged out as he raised glowing fists, mouth rapidly mumbling the words to a spell. Brunhilde took this as a threat, and charged, swinging her sword in a vicious downward arc. The Valkyrie moved quicker than her quarry could see, but Wonder Woman was even quicker, snaking here arm in front of the man and deflecting Brunhilde's sword with a silver bracelet.
Wonder Woman gently, but firmly, pushed her friend's blade away. "Wait, Brunhilde. I do not believe he means us harm."
"B-Brunhilde?" the man stammered. "You aren't Gudra?"
Brunhilde narrowed her eyes at the quivering man. "Nay. I slew that murderous whore centuries ago! Why can no one tell the difference between us?!"
"Gudra?" Hippolyta was genuinely confused.
"Gudra was my elder sister," Brunhilde explained. "Tho' we look as if we were twins. Gudra t'was the leader of the Valkyries, and the mightiest of us. Many say she could best Thor himself in combat. I do not doubt that. Unfortunately, Gudra despised Odin the Allfather, and she attempted to bring rise to a rebellion, leading the Frost Giants against Asgard. I caught wind of this, and the gods were prepared when she stormed Valhalla. We fought her troops, yet it t'was I who slew the mutinous cow! Aye, it was indeed difficult. The world hath ne'er seen such combat! We-"
Wonder Woman, rolling her eyes, interjected. "You have made your point, Brunhilde. We do not need the details!"
Brunhilde huffed, offended. "Very well. But mortal, pray tell, how dost thou know of Gudra?"
"For starters, my name is Giovanni Zatara," the man explained. "I'm a magician, and Adolf Hitler - from your expression, Queen Hippolyta, I can tell you know who that is - sought to exploit that. I was in a small German town for a show, when he had this one guy . . . I think his name was 'Master Man' or something like that . . . sneak into my trailer and club me unconscious. He took me to this big castle somewhere, and hooked me up to this machine that drained the magic out of me. He used the magic to open a portal that pulled Gudra out of some place called . . . 'Nuffle-hind' I think."
Now it was Brunhilde who turned ghostly pale. "Niflheim! By the Allfather!" Brunhilde cried. "A mortal managed to penetrate the realm of the dead?!"
"Gaea help us . . . If the Nazis have that sort of power . . . " Wonder Woman shuddered at the thought of the countless demons the Nazis could unleash if they had the means to access the realms of the dead.
Zatara looked slightly puzzled and even more perplexed at the warriors' reactions. "Anyway, though, I escaped, with the help of Lady Aphrodite!"
"This must be serious, if the gods have taken a hand in mortal affairs!" Hippolyta noted. Aphrodite and her brethren were forbidden from directly interfering with mankind's destiny. Instead, they worked through avatars, such as Hippolyta herself. But Aphrodite directly freeing someone who was not even one of her followers . . . that was certainly not to be taken lightly.
"She sent me to help you, Queen Hippolyta. She said you needed a powerful magic ally to help you fight Gudra."
Hippolyta pursued her crimson lips in thought. "I see Lady Aphrodite's line of thinking . . . With his own personal adventures, Dr. Fate is not always on hand to protect me from magic. And while some of my Amazon sisters have chosen to train in the mystic arts rather than the warrior's ways, I am not one of them."
"Queen Hippolyta!" an urgent voice cried, followed by a thunderous flap of wings. Hawkwoman glided into the large living room, a spear clutched in one hand. Her crimson boots thudded as she descended next to her teammates. Wonder Woman was surprised; Hawkwoman rarely frequented the JSA mansion and never without her husband, Hawkman, at her side. "Queen Hippolyta, I j-just heard on the radio! There's a platoon of Nazis swarming in on the beach!"
While Captain America was the designated leader of the JSA, Hippolyta could assume that role at any time; she had, after all, lead her Amazons into countless battles.
"By the gods . . . How were they able to slip past the radar? All right then, we had better hurry there."
"But shouldn't we call some of the men in?" Hawkwoman asked. Wonder Woman looked at her incredulously.
Sometimes I forget how different the women of Patriarch's World are. Hawkwoman's dependence on her male counterpart is very unlike anything I've seen since before the Amazons journeyed to Paradise Island! Hippolyta thought to herself. "No, Hawkwoman. We're women; we can handle anything the men can."
"I shall aid thee," Brunhilde said, slipping into her armor at lightning speed.
"I'm coming along, too!" Zatara interjected. "I can use my magic to teleport us to the attack."
"One moment," Hippolyta said as walked over to a display of ancient weaponry: two long bronze spears, and a large, circular shield. It was reminiscent of Captain America's, but was far more intricate and detailed; circular designs of gold, blue and red patterned with tiny white stars were inlaid in ancient metals. Wonder Woman carefully slipped her forearm through the straps on the back of the shield. It was a perfect fit. "This could be a trap laid by Gudra. If so, I should be fully armed."
"But that's Miss Venus's," Hawkwoman pointed out.
"Actually, it's mine. I lost it on the battlefield more than three thousand years ago," Hippolyta explained.
"Three-thousand . . . my God . . . but that's before America . . . before even Britain had their flag designed."
Wonder Woman chuckled. "The colors of the British and American flags were based off of the Amazon insignia. The eagle itself is an ancient symbol of Amazon courage. You see, not all of the Amazons were content to stay on Paradise Island. Many adjourned to Patriarch's World, hiding under the guise of mortal women. Many of the greatest kings in British history had Amazons as their queens, and obviously based their flags off of our symbols. Benjamin Franklin himself had an Amazon as a teacher. Her true name was Harmonia."
"If thou art done with thy history lesson, Hippolyta," Brunhilde interjected. "We have Nazis to stop! Thou art far too preachy!"
"You're one to talk, braggart!" Hippolyta countered playfully. "Teleport us there, Giovanni."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Zatara replied. "Tropelet su ot eht sizaN!"
Sparkling, writhing light exploded from his fingertips, cocooning the heroes in magical energy. There was the feeling of falling from a great height, and then nothing.
Meanwhile, in the storm tossed seas miles off the coast of Paradise Island, the few Amazons that made it to the deck of their ancient warship in time were only there long enough to watch as Euboea's arrows and Magala's pinkish beams of raw, unchecked magical energy bounced harmlessly off of the silvery skin of a massive flying serpent, longer even than the Amazon's ship. The said serpent rammed the ship, splintering through magically enforced wood that could withstand even gunfire like it was made of matchsticks, tossing the many Amazons aboard into the stormy sea.
Mala kicked to the surface of the water. She grabbed a floating spear and hurled it at the snake. The lance, propelled by Amazon strength and made by the best Themysciran artisans, could have pierced solid stone. Instead, it glanced harmlessly away.
<"Gaea help us,"> Mala murmured. The serpent's mouth opened wide, a long tongue snaking forward. Standing on the tongue was a tall woman, made seemingly of gold or bronze. She wore a metallic top that covered her chest, and a wide split skirt. Her gleaming bronze torso was bare. She wore a strange crown atop her head, and angry emerald eyes glared at the Amazons.
<"I am Astarte, Empress of the Silver Snake! Feel my wrath, heartless wenches!"> she cried. Twin beams of light shot from her eyes and shattered Antiope's sword, knocking the valiant general back into the raging waters.
<"Thy mobile limbs thou shall soon bemoan, for thou art now, made of stone!"> Magala's voice, eerily soft, yet loud enough to echo over the storm and the battle cries of the Amazons, floated to Mala's ears.
Suddenly, the smooth bronze of Astarte's feet shifted to cold gray stone. The change gradually began to creep up the mysterious woman's legs and over her torso.
<"Blast! Your magicks cannot hold me for long, you hideous witch!"> Astarte cried. <"You have not heard the last of me!">
The Silver Snake withdrew its tongue, and its massive mouth closed slowly. It twisted away and flew away towards the black clouds above, leaving the shocked and bewildered Amazons to gather what they could of their belongings and tug the remnants of their once-mighty warship back to Paradise.
The soldiers screamed as they were struck down by the Nazi gunfire. They fought bravely, but the Nazis had the element of surprise and superior numbers. The few living American soldiers looked up in fear at the flag that flapped in the breeze. They had lost the battle, a battle so close to the capital of the nation. Some soldiers began to wonder, would the flapping flag, red as blood with the vile swastika printed boldly in its center replace the star-spangled banner?
Their questions were answered, however, when a spinning tiara, that looked to the soldiers like a golden blur, flew from nowhere and cracked the Nazi's flag pole in two, before curving in midair to fly back into the outstretched hand of Wonder Woman.
Hawkwoman shrieked a battle cry as she flapped her mighty wings, turning her ancient weapons onto the Nazi soldiers. She caught several in her net, inflicting painful, but not lethal, wounds with her spear.
Zatara waved his hands in the air. "Let's see how useful your weapons are when they're turned to water!" Zatara began to shout words that seemed gibberish to the attacking soldiers, but was soon revealed to be anything but when their guns dissolved into boiling water. They screamed and cursed in German, before turning and running from the wizard. "Revenge is sweet," Zatara said, polishing his nails on his garish overcoat.
Hippolyta and Brunhilde fell on the Nazis like the Furies themselves. Brunhilde, mindful of the different ways of the modern world, battered the Nazis with the flat of her broadsword. Their bullets bounced uselessly off of her armor. Hippolyta's shield served a double use as it deflected the bullets and smashed the soldiers' skulls.
"Cowardly dogs!" Brunhilde accused as she hefted a Nazi tank above her head and hurled it several yards. "This 'twas a slaughter, not a battle!"
Wonder Woman's tiara whirled through the air, bowling over the soldiers like they were nothing. "Gentle, Brunhilde."
Brunhilde opened her mouth to respond with a witty comeback, but instead a scream came out. "Hippolyta, watch thy back!"
"Eh?" Wonder Woman spun, positioning her shield between her body, and a long glinting spear they flew from the heavens like a bolt of lightning. It struck the ancient shield with a mighty clang, and Hippolyta was nearly knocked off her feet. The spear flew back through the air, into the waiting hands of a tall woman, clad from head-to-toe in sleek black armor. She stood atop a tank, and was the spitting image of Brunhilde.
"Greetings, dear Brunhilde," the woman added acidly as she glared at the Valkyrie.
"Gudra!" Brunhilde cried. Though she tried to be brave, Hippolyta could sense the fear in her old friend's voice. Brunhilde steeled herself and raised her broadsword. "Prepare to meet another death, witch!"
Gudra chuckled, a low, unnerving sound. "Fool. I think it 'tis time for thee to experience dark Niflheim!"
She prepared to hurl her spear at her younger sister, but a spinning shield cracked against the winged helmet atop her head, toppling the Nazi Valkyrie from her tank and into the mud below. The shield landed several yards away, raising a cloud of dust.
"That was a trick I learned from a comrade of mine in the JSA!" Wonder Woman cried. She wasn't as adept with the technique as Captain America, but a little Amazon strength made it just as powerful.
Gudra stood, attempting to look dignified while covered in mud and failing miserably. Brunhilde began to laugh, much to her sister's chagrin.
"Hippolyta of Themyscira, I presume?" Gudra eyed the Amazon's outfit distastefully. "I 'twas expecting a queen, not a harlot!"
"And I was expecting someone who fought with her blade, not her tongue!" Wonder Woman replied, as she launched herself into the air. She extended her leg at the last moment, her boot cracking across Gudra's jaw. The Valkyrie forced back the pain and smashed the shaft of her spear into Hippolyta's skull. She hit the ground, stunned, and Gudra aimed her spear towards her heart.
"No!" Brunhilde smashed into Gudra, wrapping her arms around her waist. She cried out in surprise as she dropped her spear. They hit the dirt, rolling across it and kicking up whirlwinds of dust as they grappled. Gudra rolled with Brunhilde's momentum, tossing the younger Valkyrie away. Brunhilde had, however, managed her goal: to give Hippolyta enough time to recover. The loop of the Golden Lariat soared through the air, and was caught deftly in Gudra's gauntleted hand.
A violent yank pulled Hippolyta off balance for a second, but Gudra was swift as lightning, and had the Amazon Queen's arm twisted behind her back, and her own powerful arm around her neck. Wonder Woman struggled valiantly, but the Valkyrie was simply too strong.
"Time to die!" Gudra hissed; her crimson lips a centimeter away from Hippolyta's ear. Hippolyta kicked up, her leg swinging back and smashing into Gudra's face. An elbow smashed into Gudra's torso, breaking her hold on Hippolyta. Tendrils of pain curled up her arm from the armor Gudra wore, but Wonder Woman ignored them as she spun around to send her opponent crashing away with a sidekick to her solar plexus.
The Nazi Valkyrie hit the ground several yards away and slid, creating a billowing veil of dust. Wonder Woman took her advantage and leapt at the cloud, soaring across the battlefield; a star spangled Nike*.
*(Greek goddess of victory)
She descended towards the cloud of dust, and, swifter than a scorpion's tail, a spear stabbed from the billowing dusts. Hippolyta's eyes widened in shock, and her bracelets snapped together. But she was too slow, and the ebony point of the spear thrust through her abdomen. It pressed through her back, glinting with its own, evil power, and the blood of an Amazon queen.
Her mouth gaped wordlessly; neither sound nor air came forth. She hit the ground, landing limply on her side. Gudra pulled her spear free, trillions of golden particles coalescing around its tip. Tendrils of pure, unimaginable agony tore through her body; every atom was igniting with fathomless pain. Her life's blood, a more brilliant crimson than any mortal's, pooled about her body, trickling slowly from her wound. The magical nature of the wound and Hippolyta's own healing ability prevented it from bleeding too badly.
"Hippolyta!" Brunhilde lunged at Gudra, broadsword swinging in a wild arc towards her elder sister. It strung with a bone-rattling clang upon Gudra's spear, and a crack like thunder echoed as Gudra's backhand sent her careening away.
"Get thee hence, foolish little wench!" Gudra snarled.
An avian shriek split the air, and Hawkwoman's own spear descended like lightning. Yet it was merely fire-hardened wood against armor forged by dwarves, and shattered to splinters against Gudra's ebony breastplate. Hawkwoman shrieked again and dove bravely towards the Valkyrie, swinging her mace. It struck her Viking-like helmet, without fazing Gudra in the least. She grabbed Hawkwoman around the wrist and tossed her to the side. The avian warrior hit the ground and tumbled, finally landing unconscious or close to it several yards away.
"M-my God . . . that mist . . . it's Wonder Woman's soul! And it's pure gold . . . I thought souls were all silver," Zatara wondered.
"Nay . . . 'Tis the soul of a woman whose heart is pure, unblemished gold," Brunhilde noted, struggling to stand. "All of the Amazons have golden souls."
The Amazon queen did not hear any of this, however. Her world was filled with a dull red haze. And pain. By far the greatest she had ever felt, mind-numbing, gut-wrenching, head-splitting pain. It felt like a pack of ravenous wolves had been unleashed within her stomach, tearing and clawing at her insides. Even the discipline techniques she had learned from Artemis and Athena themselves couldn't help her bring herself beyond the pain of having her soul torn from her body.
"Gudra, I swear by Odin the Allfather that thou shall pay for this!" Brunhilde screamed, shaking her broadsword above her head.
"Do not make me laugh, Brunhilde," Gudra responded. A warrior's cry tore from Brunhilde's lips, as she unleashed the fury of an immortal against her sister. Gudra faded away before the first swipe of Brunhilde's broadsword landed. Tossing her sword away, Brunhilde ran to Hippolyta's side. The Amazon queen groaned, shifting slightly.
"My God . . . she's still alive!" Zatara gasped. "But she had her soul torn out of her body!"
"Hippolyta is immortal," Brunhilde explained. "Gudra has her soul, but her soul will not pass on into the afterlife until it is destroyed, so Hippolyta's body can still function."
Hippolyta heard naught of her friend's explanations, for the red haze still tinged her vision, but now it was pain and rage combined. Only one thought echoed through the warrior's mind . . .
. . . Kill Gudra.
Next issue: Brunhilde and Zatara have their hands full as they struggle to protect the people of Frankfurt, Germany from getting killed in the no-holds-barred battle between Gudra and the soulless Hippolyta. Plus, another player is added to the mix in the form of a raging young girl, who also has it in for the Nazi Valkyrie. Meanwhile, the Amazons attempt to uncover the mystery behind Astarte.