Helena flowed through her motions, arms and legs swinging to an unheard beat. The martial arts were like dancing . . . you had to move with grace and ease, smooth as silk, or else your entire performance was for naught. As she executed a near flawless snap kick into the silence of the gym, she reflected on how dramatically her life had changed.
It had been nearly a month since Hippolyta took her in. The Amazon had shown her a few forms to practice, but she had put the most emphasis on learning English, a slow and tedious process that had cost the JSA funds two large tables. Helena kept forgetting that her normal habit of smashing a fist into the table when she was frustrated was now an unintelligent move, now that she had the strength to shatter wood easily.
Fury loved the silence of the massive mansion. She was fiercely independent, choosing to sort out her thoughts in solitude, rather than crying on someone's shoulder. With everyone gone but Black Canary, who was currently enjoying herself in the baths, and Wonder Woman, who had involved herself in a lengthy worship section, Helena had the whole estate to wander about freely.
Humidity lay like a moist blanket over the gardens of Miss Venus, dizzying and intoxicating. Deep within the lush jungle that grew behind the palatial mansion was a small clearing, a brief sojourn of the thick vegetation's growth, where the thick leafed ferns and exotic blossoms ceased and only a soft grass covered the soil. Here, moonlight shown off of smooth, olive-hued skin, stretched tight across sinewy muscle, and the air clung to a thick mane of raven curls. Here was where the warrior queen Hippolyta knelt, her lips parted slightly and eyes softly closed, in divine supplication. Her body was shorn of all garments beyond her Amazon bracelets; her renowned tiara and a white linen gown lay in a pile nearby, for she need not hide herself from her goddesses.
Hippolyta was vexed; earlier that day she had stopped yet another armed robbery. Though the fight had barely even caused her blood to race, the complete disregard for life displayed by the robbers disturbed her.
<"Goddesses on Olympus! Here I kneel in Loving Submission to your might, your wisdom, and your compassion! America struggles in a war against tyrannical forces, and her most able-bodied and minded citizens are working against her! Pallas Athena, gray-eyed goddess of crafts and patroness of warriors, I pray you send us your divine wisdom! Golden Aphrodite, light our hearts with love for peace and fellow humanity! In the name of Gaea, the Earth, mother of us all, I pray.">*
*(Translated from Themysciran)
"Hippolytaaaa!"
The Amazon Queen was jerked from divine meditation by Helena's cry. In a whirlwind of motion she rose and dressed, rushing to the mansion.
Hippolyta burst into the JSA's meeting room; a bathrobe clad Black Canary at her heels. Helena rushed to greet them.
<"My Queen! The W.E.B. is going off!">* Helena cried frantically. <"What is going on?">
(Translated from Modern Greek)
<"Calm yourself, Helena!"> Wonder Woman responded as she checked the coded message. Her mind raced to remember how to decipher the War Emergency Beacon. "There's trouble with a Japanese base . . . in Antarctica?!"
"Nothing better than a bunch of Jap popsicles armed with machine guns!" Dinah groaned. "Should we call in the others?"
"We don't have time." Hippolyta checked the radar that sensed any JSA signal devices within a one hundred mile radius. "Hawkwoman is in the area, I'll send a signal for her to come and meet us, but the others are all too far away to reach in time."
"May . . . I come?" Helena asked in shaky English.
Wonder Woman curtly shook her head. "I am sorry, little sister, but this is too dangerous for you. Stay here to watch the mansion."
Helena glared at the warrior's retreating back as the two JSA ladies hurried to change. I'll show her!
Hawkwoman glanced about, uncertainty clear in the eyes behind that avian mask. Before her a whirling portal had appeared, and behind her stood Black Canary and Wonder Woman, garbed for battle. Shiera felt chill winds rushing from the portal, and knew that it opened up straight to the Antarctic wilderness. She wore a heavy parka, but she didn't know how well her wings would hold up in that frigid wasteland. Nearby, Black Canary was clad similarly. Although the heavy garments would hamper her marital arts, her sonic scream would not be impaired by the winds or the cold. Wonder Woman wore her usual outfit, including the cape she wore on occasion. A broadsword, its hilt engraved with an eagle, hung from her girdle, opposite the Magic Lasso, and her shield was strapped firmly to her arm. The winds in the Antarctic would make it near impossible to use the golden lariat, and the sword was added to make up for her lack of a weapon, the shield what would certainly be a lack of visibility.
Without a moment's hesitation, Wonder Woman hurled herself into the portal, a cry of gratitude going out to the nearby Miss Venus, who had opened the portal. Black Canary leapt afterwards, flipping gracefully into the swirling energy.
Hefting her mace, Hawkwoman flared her wings and followed her, shivering despite her protection against the cold. After all three heroines had passed through the portal Aphrodite waved her hand, causing the swirling mass of mystical energy to shrink. The goddess vanished, but moments before her portal followed, a blur of gold sprang through.
Hippolyta's crimson boots sank into the deep snow, the freezing winds slashing at her little-clad body like daggers of ice, causing her cape, a new addition to her costume, to billow out behind her like silken white wings. She felt cold as much as any mortal, but her body, hardened by Amazon training, could withstand the Antarctic's frigid rage, and she was disciplined enough to shrug off the cold. Nearby, Black Canary landed less elegantly. A pair of goggles hid her eyes, and her large coat drastically altered her lithe gymnast's body. The flapping of wings announced Hawkwoman's arrival, but all Wonder Woman could see through the thick blanket of white was her blurred form.
"The compound is that way!" Black Canary's voice crackled over the com link, barely audible over the howling winds. "Straight ahead of us!" she added, realizing her teammates could not see her gestures through the snow.
Of course we had to arrive during a blizzard, Hawkwoman griped to herself. Several yards above her companions, the avian heroine was battling furiously with the driving winds. She had no clue where she was flying, only a hope and a prayer that it was in the right direction. The biting cold made her wish fervently for her husband's protective, comforting, and, most importantly, warm embrace.
But she had a job to do, and she would do it. Pushing back thoughts of home and Hawkman, the winged woman thrust onward.
Up ahead, the fortress loomed, a massive, squatting beast of steel and concrete perched atop a mountain to survey the snowy wasteland below. The veil of stinging whiteness obscured the structure, making it seem all the more imposing. Hippolyta surged across the snow, sprinting rapidly.
"Forward! Swifter my comrades!" Powerful fists battered the walls of the Japanese fortress, shattering through. The heroines charged, Wonder Woman at their front and the chilled winds at their back. The assembled army stood no chance against their might.
Elsewhere, in a land far different from the Antarctic wastes at the bottom of the world . . .
A quiet, uneasy calm hung over Paradise Island. The forges were quiet, no music, from pipes or lyres strung by slim fingers, danced through the perfumed air. The clang of weapons as the Amazons practiced their martial arts was also mysteriously absent; the clang of metal on metal no longer echoed off the ageless marble temples. It was the eerie calm that comes before a summer storm, the last few moments of peace before the world explodes in a violent frenzy of thunder and rain.
Mnemosyne sat in her library, as she had since the first attacks of the mysterious Astarte, and her massive silver serpent. The Keeper of Memory poured endlessly over ancient texts, the passing of the celestial siblings unknown to her. Brazen Helios, the sun; tranquil Selene, the moon; and rosy-fingered Eos, bringer of dawn had ridden across Zeus's endless expanse three times since the attacks.
Antiope paced listlessly through her chambers. For some reason, the Queen's general felt guilt; a shame that burned her cheeks and ate at her innards. She couldn't place the source, however, and she simply assumed it was a feeling of helplessness. For all her strength and skill, Antiope was powerless before Astarte's rage.
Menalippe stood before the boiling cauldron; keen eyes reading the signs that leapt in flames from the golden basin. The air of Athena's temple was thick with dizzying fumes, and the droning prayers of the priestesses below. Though Aphrodite was their chief deity, in times of war the Amazons deferred to Athena for guidance. The Oracle's keen eyes, green as the robe that cloaked her body, attempted to decipher the goddesses' will, but it was like trying to read a sign in a fog. The symbols were there, but they were nearly impossible to read.
Magala crouched in her cottage deep within the jungles. The tiny hut was filled with ancient texts and ingredients for potions; the sorceress's seclusion had given her millennia to devote to her studies of mysticism. There was something disturbingly familiar about Astarte, but Magala could not quite place what it was. Still, she prepared incantations and curses, ready to aid her people against this mighty foe.
Across the entirety of Paradise Island, even in Bana-Mighdall, Amazons prepared for war. Ancient armor was donned and all manner of weapons were equipped.
All that was left was the waiting, a tingling anticipation that twisted stomachs and clawed at minds. Tempers soared as high as the temperatures. Even the clouds above gathered, blotting out the sun in a rare blanket of dull gray. Thunder rolled in the distance, like drums of war. And then, with a flash of lightening, the storm broke.
"This is a fortress?!" Black Canary scoffed. She had long ago abandoned her heavy coat, allowing her to unleash her formidable martial arts upon the soldiers that assaulted her. "How pathetic!"
Hawkwoman had also tossed away her protection against the elements. Without the wind and snow to spoil her aim, the airborne warrior was able to use projectile weapons against her foes. "Fighting these sissies is where our tax money is going?! And to think I actually thought the war was a good excuse not to build a new dance school in Washington DC!"
Wonder Woman chuckled as her tiara bowled down the armed fighters lined up against her. "Perhaps they thought their isolation would stop the Allis from discovering whatever nefarious plots are unfolding here!"
A low hiss echoed through the small hallway, before an odorous green mist washed over the heroines, forcing its way into their lungs, choking out their breath and spinning the world on its axis. "Or perhaps, you star-spangled floozy, you just haven't hit the wall of resistance, yet!"
A figure clad in a dark green outfit similar to a doctor's lab coat, stalked from a hidden area within the corridor. The voice was feminine, perfect English with no hint of a Japanese accent. She wore a skintight, forest green facemask, her eyes obscured by goggles. Only her mouth was left bare, the pale skin nearly glowing in the fluorescent overhead light before she placed a gas mask over it.
Hippolyta staggered forward, eyes flashing dangerously. Hawkwoman and Black Canary had already collapsed, sprawled out on the cold steel floor. Only Wonder Woman's Amazon stamina kept her from succumbing immediately to the powerful poison's influence.
"Does my toxin please you, Amazon?" the woman asked, smirking behind her gasmask. "Does it move swiftly enough through your veins, racing towards your skull and attacking your brain? In approximately five minutes and ten seconds, your comrades' brains will begin to melt and dissolve. Yours will take longer . . . but you too shall eventually fall to the might . . . of Dr. Poison!"
"Hera! Help . . . me . . . " Hippolyta collapsed; raven curls spread around her like a cape.
Dr. Poison knelt beside the fallen queen, wielding a scalpel in one gloved hand. She touched it gently to Hippolyta's smooth olive skin. She pulled away her gasmask to reveal a sadistic grin.
"Ha . . . your skin is strong . . . yet smooth as silk. Amazing how it manages to resist a gentle touch of the scalpel . . . but you are not invulnerable . . . if you were, you wouldn't use your fancy 'Bullets and Bracelets' trick. Just a little more pressure . . . and we shall see if it is blood or ichor that runs through your veins!"
<"Get away from her!">
A golden blur smashed into Dr. Poison, sending the masked woman sliding backward across the floor. When the world righted itself, she found an immensely powerful hand clamped at her throat, and two icy cold eyes staring into hers.
"W-who?"
"I am Fury," Helena growled as she yanked Dr. Poison to her feet as if she were a rag doll. The angry heroine stumbled for to use her English. "Fix Hippolyta. Now."
"Y-yes . . . Right away . . . " Doctor Poison replied. Fury released her and Doctor Poison reached into her glove. With surprising quickness, Poison lashed outward, the needle of her syringe flashing in the light. Fury swung, knocking away the Nazi's arm. The syringe fell from her hand, clattering away across the floor.
<"Traitorous witch!"> Helena hissed, swatting Doctor Poison to the ground. She felt the wind driven from her lungs as stars danced across her eyes. Sprawled out across the shining floor, too stunned to move, Doctor Poison was unable to do anything as Fury wound Hippolyta's lasso around her prone body.
"Fix them. Now." Helena wished she could be more eloquent with her wording, but her limited knowledge of English made that impossible.
Doctor Poison struggled against the lasso's influence, but a golden mist fell across her mind, dulling her senses. The ancient magic of the lariat took control of her body as she felt herself compelled to apply the antidote to the dying heroines. Almost immediately the effects of the poison reversed, the toxins flushed from their bloodstreams.
"Unh . . . " Hippolyta was the first to rise. Combined with her own Amazon healing ability, the poison was exterminated the quickest in her body. <"Helena! What in Aphrodite's name are you doing here?!">
<"I followed you here!"> Fury replied, eyes like the frigid Arctic Ocean matched glares with eyes like the warm Mediterranean Sea. <"I wanted to help!">
Hippolyta chuckled. <"You remind me of my daughter Diana. I am most impressed, little sister, and most grateful. You would make a fine Amazon!">
"God . . . What happened?" Hawkwoman asked, stumbling to her feet in a dazed stupor. "I haven't felt this drunk since college . . . "
Choosing to ignore her colleague's rambling, Hippolyta turned to Black Canary. "Are you okay, Dinah?"
"Yeah, Hippolyta . . . I'm fine," the young martial artist shook her head, dazed. "What happened?"
"Damn you all!" Doctor Poison snarled. "Especially you! If it wasn't for that little blonde bimbo, the three of you would be dead, and I'd be sitting at the Emperor's side as the greatest asset to our Empire!"
Wonder Woman shook her majestic head sadly. "Poor, deluded woman. 'Tis most sad that the women of Man's World are so blind to Aphrodite's way."
"I'll still kill you all!" Poison hissed, nearly insane in her rage. Fury raised a fist, but Hippolyta stopped her.
"Just because our opponents devolve to the way of hatred doesn't mean that we have to." Long, graceful fingers reached out, gently pinching a point on Poison's brow. Her eyes rolled back into her head, as she crumpled in a heap to the ground. Wonder Woman retrieved her lasso, coiling the shining weapon and placing it at her hip.
Hawkwoman glanced at Fury. "Where'd she come from?"
"I really don't care if she's the one who saved us!" Black Canary replied, giving Helena a cheerful grin. The heroine-in-training returned the smile, but secretly decided that no one should be able to look that perky.
Fluttering her wings anxiously, Hawkwoman spoke up. "Where do we head next?" Wonder Woman glanced around.
"I think we should continue in, to see if any other super-powered villains are here."
The Amazon Queen strode confidently in front of her allies, leading them deeper into the labyrinth of brightly lit metal, but she hadn't taken more than a step before an incredible explosion shook the base on its foundations. Fury cried out and stumbled to the floor, nearly followed by Black Canary. Hawkwoman gave a startled shriek and spun in midair, wings fluttering rapidly and mace held at the ready.
"What in God's name do those crazy Japs think they're doing?!" she snarled. "Are they trying to blast their own base?"
Another bone-rattling boom shook the halls, and a pattern of cracks formed across the ceiling.
"By the Gods! Are they mad?" Hippolyta asked.
Black Canary shook her head. "I sure as hell think so! C'mon girls, let's split!"
She grabbed onto Hippolyta's back as the Amazon sprinted forward, running full tilt. Fury ran in her wake, a few yards behind her. Hawkwoman swooped down, wings flapping at full strength as she fluttered a few feet above the ground.
"Athena - NO! A dead end!" Hippolyta screeched to a halt as another missile struck the base. Metal groaned ominously, and Hippolyta let out a startled cry as the ceiling buckled, descending towards them.
"Dear God . . . " Black Canary felt death rushing towards her, and her limbs were stiff, eyes frozen in silent horror. Tears streaming down her face, Helena wondered what fate had against her.
"Carter . . . I love you," Shiera murmured. Her delicate fingers gently touched her forehead, her chest, and her right and left shoulders as she crossed herself.
Unimaginable weight bore down upon the heroines, but with a resounding crash and the upward thrust of two powerful limbs it stopped, borne aloft by Amazon strength and the determination and compassion of an Amazon Queen. Her burden was great, but Hippolyta refused to give in. Muscles bunched and twisted beneath sweat-soaked olive-hued skin, beads of perspiration rolling down a lovely faced twisted with strain.
Hera give me strength! I cannot bear this weight for long . . . But I must, for the sake of my comrades . . . Wonder Woman saw cracks spread across the ceiling that supported the rest of the rubble. "Gaea! Help me!"
Suddenly, the floor beneath them buckled, a great crack spreading like a serpent across the shining linoleum. The earth rumbled, and the four heroines were swallowed into an eternity of blackness as the base collapsed where they were once.
For what seemed like hours, the women of the JSA tumbled head over heels through a suffocating blackness. They rolled down a rocky slope, through a cavern of cold stone. Suddenly, humidity, heat, and light hit them like a wave, and they were now falling through the air.
Hippolyta twisted to look downward. A vast jungle, a sea of emerald splotched with sapphire lakes, spread out beneath her. She could see wisps of smoke from distance fires, and the shadows of great shapes flitting through the trees. It was a stunning and breathtaking.
Unfortunately for the falling heroines, this was all miles below them!
Next issue: The focus is taken off of Hippolyta, and placed on her Amazon sisters as we delve into the past of this warrior's race, and we learn the secret of Astarte, Empress of the Silver Snake!