Post by DiscipleofBob on Aug 1, 2013 0:07:29 GMT -5
Issue 8, Creature of the Night
What just happened? Diana thought as she pulled herself from the rubble, quickly noting her surroundings. This part of the warehouse was pitch-black, only a handful of spots in the center of the warehouse illuminated by moonbeams. A shadow suddenly passed in front of her at inhuman speeds. What was that?
“Who’s there?” she declared. Neither the assassin nor the sorceress were visible, but she was definitely not alone. A few times Diana looked into the darkness and saw two faint luminous orbs staring back at her before quickly vanishing. She remembered Circe’s last spell before she was thrown away, the assassin’s forced transformation into... something. Even her honed Amazon senses could not completely discern who, what, or where, but a predator stalked her from the shadows. The slightest movement could have been a lethal threat or a trick of the eyes, and it was impossible to tell which.
“Face me, coward!” Diana screamed. In return the darkness offered a low growl that echoed throughout the building. The Amazon had to tread carefully through the warehouse, but at this point it was just waiting for the inevitable.
Her body suddenly moved of its own accord, spinning around and raising her arms to the sudden pounce of her attacker. Long, razor-sharp claws scraped against her bracelets, sparking and illuminating her opponent's inhuman appearance for the briefest of flashes.
The creature snarling only inches away from Diana bore little resemblance to the assassin from before. She was nearly twice as large, not just from sheer muscle mass, but from a thick, yellow, black-spotted fur coat covering her from head to toe. Her weapons and protective gear had long been discarded, and only the faintest scraps of clothing remained. Where once the assassin had used artificial metal claws, now were real bone; longer, somehow stronger and sharper than the artificial counterparts.
Slashing against against Diana's divinely enchanted bracers left no damage to either, but once the claws had run out of bracelet to spark against they tore into the flesh of Diana's arms. The claws were jagged and hooked to tear into skin and deal the most damage, as if the creature's biology had been designed to inflict as much pain as possible. Diana could not keep herself from yelling in pain as the claws dug into her flesh, and she tried to compensate for the incomplete defense her bracelets provided.
The Cheetah was stronger now too. The sheer force of the her assault caught Diana off-guard and she was tackled on her back as she desperately tried to fend off the beastwoman on top of her. As Diana tried to grab and wrestle the creature, her hands grasped at nothing but the dark air. The creature had vanished as suddenly as it appeared, and Diana's eyes had to readjust to the darkness.
Diana quickly dashed to one of the steel containers and threw her back against the wall, sidling into the labyrinth of metal crates. At the very least she could try and keep the creature from sneaking up behind her again. If the creature relied on any sort of sense of smell the heavy stench of the crates' contents should at least provide some cover, though even that would not completely cover up the blood dripping from her fresh wounds. She realized the creature probably had all sorts of enhanced senses: hearing, sight, for all Diana knew it could see in the dark, so she tried to lose herself deeper in the catacomb of crates.
Every noise echoed throughout the building. Not even the Cheetah's light footfalls against the metal or her low growls gave away her position. But Diana had limited the possible approaches of attack.
Suddenly, the footfalls and growling stopped. Cheetah was close, she reasoned, but still out of sight. Nothing in front of Diana. Nothing behind Diana. A small furry rope silently descended on the Amazon from above, and only slightly brushed against her cheek. Before she could pull away, the Cheetah's tail squeezed around Diana's neck and yanked her back above the crates.
Her body was dragged across the metal crates, banging against every sharp corner and exposed screw. She grabbed at the tightly coiled garrote but it was wound tight. Cheetah leapt a brief gap in the crates, a gap just wide enough that Diana’s body fell and clipped the side of the crate, leaving an Amazon-shaped dent large enough to crack the crate open at the seams. Dragged over that container as well, Diana was slammed into a second crate before the tail finally relaxed enough for her to be dropped loose. By the time she was back up, the Cheetah was nothing more than an echo in the darkness again.
Diana’s mind raced, trying to form a strategy. No matter where I go or what cover I take, in this darkness she has too much of an advantage. She scrambled to her feet and took off running. My only chance to fight on remotely even ground is to find a light source. Cannot slow down. If I keep moving it will at least make it harder for her to ambush me from the darkness again.
A running leap of faith put her outstretched hands in reach of the container’s top as she pulled herself up in one fluid motion. Again she scanned the warehouse, though this time not for the predator. There! Moonlight shone through several small windows, illuminating at least a small portion of the warehouse.
Diana bounded towards the light at full speed, nearly tripping several times in the process. It was impossible to see where one crate ended and another began. All she could do was rely on instinct as she ran.
The light was suddenly cut off as the silhouette of her enemy blocked her path. The Cheetah’s feline eyes and sharp, carnivorous teeth flashed as she charged towards Diana and pounced.
The silhouette was not much, but it was enough. Diana ducked, sliding beneath the surprised predator, and with her free arm launched an uppercut directly into Cheetah’s gut, hurling her even farther behind. Diana hoisted herself back up without losing any momentum as the Cheetah flipped in midair and landed on feet, claws raking through the metal crates. The beastwoman snarled at her elusive prey.
A solid hit. It will take a moment for her muscles to return to normal so she can breathe normally. Diana noted as she leapt into the light. “Let’s see how you fare against an opponent who can see you coming!” She could hear the Cheetah’s light scampering as the beastwoman moved in quick, misleading dashes. The low growls and soft skittering echoing all around her. “You’re trying to mask your movements in the shadows so you can ambush me from beyond the light again. If I relied only on my senses here, that would likely work too.” Diana said calmly closed her eyes and drowned out the distracting noises, simultaneously relaxing her arms but tensing every other muscle in her body. “It is the tactic of many predators, to confuse prey that might otherwise outrun them.” As she felt the familiar tug of her bracelets on her arms, she whipped around to face the darkness just as the Cheetah leapt from the shadows. Diana’s arms moved to block the Cheetah’s razor-sharp claws as before, but the Amazon forced herself to stop short so she could grab the Cheetah’s wrists instead, her claws stopping just short and only being able to scrape uselessly against Diana’s bracelets.
“But I am not prey!” Diana slammed her tiara-adorned head into the Cheetah’s jaw. “And I am not running!” The beastwoman reared back, stunned, and Diana headbutted her again. “I don’t know if there is anything left in you but beast. But whether you are the coward who assassinated my sisters or just a mindless savage monster, you have neither my pity...” Regaining a little of her senses, Cheetah kicked up her legs and dig the claws on her toes into Diana’s chest. The Amazon quickly ducked under the legs and twisted around Cheetah, all while still holding her arms. Suddenly Diana had Cheetah locked from behind, her arms still immobilized. “...nor my mercy!” Diana bent backwards and slammed Cheetah’s head into the crate with a suplex, tearing through the steel frame.
Diana quickly positioned her guard, focusing on the Cheetah for a counterattack that never came.
The Cheetah fell limp, the slow exhausted rising of her chest showing she was at least alive. Diana kept her guard raised as she confirmed her opponent was unconscious. “You probably don't even have any sentience left, do you?” Diana asked rhetorically. “Interrogating you as to Amelia's whereabouts would be as pointless as questioning a hound as to the whereabouts of its master.”
Diana unceremoniously pulled the Cheetah from the damaged crate. Injured but alive, she reasoned from what wounds were visible. Nothing too serious. Pity. Diana was arguably in worst shape. The Cheetah's claws had left many fresh wounds that had yet to stop bleeding. “I'm not sure what to do with you just yet. Leaving you here unattended is not an option. One of your conspirators might come for you for all I know, either to retrieve you or finish you off.” Hoisting the Cheetah over her shoulder, Diana limped her way towards the exit.
Now that the adrenaline was starting to finally wear off, her vision started to blur and with each step it became harder to walk straight.
Cheetah's feral eyes snapped open, unseen by Diana.
Before she knew it, the long tail wrapped around Diana's ankles and swept the Amazon off her feet.
Landing on all fours, Cheetah whipped Diana around by the legs, slamming her from crate to wall and back again. Over and over. Combined with her blood loss, it was impossible for Diana to orient herself until finally, after seven Amazon-shaped craters in the walls, crates, and solid ground, did Cheetah's grip falter. Diana's leg finally slipped out of the coiled tail and her body was sent flying through the warehouse wall, landing in a crumpled heap outside.
Cheetah slowly crawled through the fresh hole in the wall, muscles poised and ready to pounce on her prey. Diana tried to lift herself up off the ground, but one of her legs was pinned by a large steel beam pierced straight through her leg. She had not even felt it tear through her leg, only when registering pain when she saw the rusted metal twist into her flesh. Frantically she tried to dislodge the debris, but Diana knew she would not be able to do so before her attacker struck.
The Cheetah picked up speed, drawing closer on the trapped Amazon. Suddenly she slowed to a stop. The eager growl in her voice was silenced. The narrow slits in her eyes widened to saucers with small golden sparks reflected in their depths. The source of the glow lingered just off past Diana's peripheral vision, but she could see the Cheetah walk glassy-eyed away from her potential prey.
“That's it. Nice kitty,” the redhead said nervously. “Come get the shiny apples.” Vanessa could not help but slowly back away as Cheetah drew closer. She held the purse with outstretched arms like the hazard it was, flap open and pointed away, shining the glow of the Apples of Discord like a flashlight over the advancing beastwoman. “Any time now!” she called out.
The glow of the apples completely distracted Cheetah from the approaching motor. Suddenly a forklift slammed into Cheetah from the side. The shock of being pulled from the apples sent the Cheetah into a snarling rage, but she was already plastered to the front of a forklift which zoomed across the dock and abruptly stopped at the edge, throwing the Cheetah into the water.
Driving back to Vanessa and Diana, Etta skidded the forklift to a stop. “Did you know that people just leave the keys in these things?”
“Etta!” Vanessa called out as she hovered over Diana. Diana finally managed to pry the debris off her leg, but the blood loss was finally getting to her. “Diana, are you okay? Stay with me!” Vanessa yelled though the words blurred together with her vision as soon everything went dark. “Diana!”
===WW===
For the second night in a row Diana awoke in the guest bed of her hosts, a welcome reprieve from waking up in dark, strange, unfamiliar places for the last week. Her body still ached, but from fatigue more than anything. Her head pounded in agony, and her entire body ached with an unfamiliar stiffness. Her wounds were heavily bandaged to the point of physical restriction, so she began carefully undoing the minimum amount of bandages so she could move freely again. She had always been a fast healer, even among the Amazons. Most of her wounds had scabbed over for at least an hour now. She had to carefully peel off each layer of gauze so as to not tear open a freshly healed wound.
Steve and Vanessa were having a heated conversation elsewhere, but from this room Diana could only make out muffled noises so she cracked open the bedroom door, not wanting to interrupt.
“I just got off the phone with Mr. and Mrs. Candy. Etta’s home safe. Now, let me get this straight. The reason you were so late coming home was because you were mind controlled into a riot by a shiny fruit?” Steve Trevor summarized with skepticism.
“Apple of Discord, Grampa,” Vanessa quickly corrected, though she was having trouble convincing herself, much less her grandfather. “You know, from Greek mythology?”
“Mythology being the key word there. As in fictional. And you’re saying Diana was talking to your horse and she understood her.” Vanessa nodded. “And that Diana gave you and Etta these so-called 'Apples of Discord,' which are clearly very dangerous objects for safekeeping.”
“Well she couldn't very well bring them with her to whoever was responsible for the whole thing!” Vanessa objected.
“And that was...?” Steve asked, fairly certain there would not be a satisfactory answer.
Sure enough, Vanessa hesitated as she searched for the best spin on the lack of information. “Um... she didn’t say. She said she would explain everything later.”
“Yes, because she’s been so forthcoming so far,” Steve replied.
“That’s not her fault!”
“Isn’t it?” Steve challenged. “How can you be sure? How much do you really know about this woman? All we know is that she got into a fight at a circus, and not 24 hours after we welcome her into our home, literal riots break out in Gateway City with absolutely no explanation other than some fairy tale, and Diana’s first reaction is to steal a horse, go running off into the middle of the city, and then get into a fight with some kind of monster.”
“You’re saying you don’t believe her?”
Steve sighed as he tried to explain the complexities of the entire situation to a seventeen year old. “She’s clearly not the dishonest type, but she’s keeping plenty of secrets from us. She’s more than just some escaped lunatic, and she has enemies. Enemies who are willing to go to who knows what ends to draw her out. Diana’s not just an oddly dressed stranger in need of a place to stay. She’s already gotten you into dangerous situations more than once.”
“And she saved my life more than once!”
“If she wasn’t around, your life wouldn’t have needed to be saved.”
“You don’t know that!”
“Maybe not. But I’m not about to risk my granddaughter’s life to find out for certain. Once she’s able to, she goes,” Steve finalized as he started towards the bedroom to see if Diana was awake yet.
“But Grandpa!”
“Don’t you ‘but Grandpa’ me!” he retorted in the rarely used military tone of voice that never failed to cower Vanessa, who instantly backed down. “This is for both of our safety.” He opened the door to find the room empty except for some bandages encrusted in dry blood on the bed. The window was lodged open. Diana was long gone.
“Perhaps it's for the best this way,” Steve somberly reasoned as he shut the window. The wind started to pick up as the rain signaled the oncoming storm.
Vanessa looked at the bandages with concern. If Diana was able to undress her own bandages and sneak out that must have meant she had healed enough to make it on her own. At least that's what Vanessa kept telling herself trying to find some scrap of reassurance. “Diana...”
===WW===
“All right, everyone double time! It’s going to start storming any minute now and we need to get these tents in storage!” Wedge commanded to the rest of the maintenance crew.
The circus was long over. They had tried to keep the carnival for one more night after the incident, but despite the crowds too many of the acts were out of commission due to the damage. Tents were folded up, booths were dismantled, and everything was packed up as quickly as possible. Canvas tents and heavy storms never mixed.
The usual routine of packing up the circus was taking longer than usual, and everyone knew whose presence was greatly missed for this type of manual labor.
“This would be a lot easier with Giganta around,” Biggs complained, stating the obvious.
“Well, she’s not getting released for a few more days while the ringmaster pays her bail. And it’s going to storm in a few minutes. So hurry it up!”
Everyone worked double-time to try to beat the elements, but the rain was already coming down in a steady drizzle that would quickly become a torrent in a few minutes.
Biggs was not very well suited to this kind of work. Sure he was a good, strong, hard-working laborer, but he was easily distracted, and working with this kind of team there were many things to distract his attention. Normally this only applied to the scantily dressed showgirls, but the occasional oddity would alert him as well. For example, the droplets that were suspended in midair.
He had to do a double take, making sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, but Biggs saw drop after drop stop falling in midair, but only in one unused clearing. The drops were starting to form a rather large shape. “Um... guys?”
Apparently he was the only one to notice so far. “Work now, gawk later,” Wedge scolded, “It’s already starting to rain.”
“No, really, look!” It took a few tries, but eventually the anomaly was too large even for the focused workers to ignore. “Is that part of an act or something?”
“I don’t think so... wait, it’s moving!” One section of the strange object slowly folded up, disturbing the revealing layer of water.
Everyone was so focused on spectacle they barely noticed the woman charge past them, leaping into the exposed cockpit. “Excuse me,” she pardoned herself.
“That’s the girl from before!” Biggs exclaimed with sudden realization, pointing frantically at the woman from before.
The woman sat down in midair and vanished from view as the object closed itself, creating the solid sheet of water again. The wind started to pick up, but it was not from the storm. There was a loud revving like constant thunder as the sheet of water slowly rose up in the air, high above the trees, and then suddenly vanished with a thunderous boom.
The circus's maintenance crew stared in true wonder. Every day they worked with the oddities and spectacles of the circus, from sideshow freaks to daring acrobats and amazing spectacles, but this was truly unique. Everyone stared dumbfounded until Biggs broke the silence. “Okay, if that’s not one of our tricks, it needs to be.”
===WW===
Everything was different. Confusing, but somehow clearer than before. Colors were more pronounced. Details were suddenly more vivid, like switching from a grainy television to a HD. Smells were so powerful she felt she could almost see odors and trails. Even in pitch black she could see everything more clearly than her highest grade pair of night vision goggles.
Finding her way through the once familiar city rooftops and alleyways was difficult, recognizable but simultaneously not. Even the tiniest movement drew her immediate attention, predator instincts focusing on potential prey instead of the emergency at hand.
Her movements were strange and unfamiliar. She had trouble staying off of all fours as she ran, and often found herself pouncing or perching like a cat. At some point the creature found her way to her destination, though her feral mind could barely register when or how.
The scents were overpowering. Incenses and perfumes once pleasant to the weaker human nose now overpowered and effectively blinded her. Garbled noises fell in an out of coherence along with the remains of her human consciousness. Noises formed words. Words formed sentences. Sentences finally formed meaning.
“And that is the absolute last time I voluntarily take the subway home. Everything is so filthy and everyone is so rude. Ah, Cheetah darling! We were hoping you’d be able to find your way home. I must say, the new look is quite agreeable with you,” the Baroness cooed as she sipped from a teacup by the fireplace.
“Everything... hurts... head... fuzzy...” Her mouth's new shape made it difficult to form words, but she was adjusting.
“That is normal behavior for the spell. She’ll regain the ability to speak normally soon enough, but she might have future episodes showcasing her true nature,” explained Baroness's partner for tea. The familiar scent of the sorceress brought forth enough memories for the Cheetah to regain her sense of self, if only for the sake of her vengeance.
“Circe! You did this to me!” Cheetah growled, more literally than she intended. She leapt in a blind rage, claws reaching for Circe's throat.
Circe waved her hand in a simple arcane gesture, the attack long predicted and accounted for as a metal collar materialized around Cheetah's neck.
“Sit!” she commanded.
Much to her dismay, Cheetah's body involuntarily planted itself on the ground like a docile pet. “W-what?” Cheetah could not move despite every fiber of her being wanting nothing more than to tear the sorceress apart limb from limb, sitting perfectly still as she was left a prisoner in her own body.
Circe smiled. “Well there’s no point in having a disobedient monster now is there?”
The Baroness calmly set down her teacup. “Now, Circe, while I must admire your creativity, I do have the teensiest of concerns with you taking my toys which I paid for for your little biology projects. To be blunt, you should really get your own slave catgirl.”
“Didn’t I tell you? She’s not for me,” Circe returned the smile, ignoring the frustrated grunts of the immobilized Cheetah. “Consider this a gift to celebrate out continued working relationship. Now your most expensive mercenary is not only vastly improved, but you no longer need to pay her salary.”
“You aren’t serious!” Cheetah protested.
“Shush now my kitten,” Baroness commanded, and to her horror, Cheetah found herself unable to say another word. “Oh Circe, it’s such a wonderful gift. I love it! You always know the best ways to please me.”
Circe bowed in false modesty. “I trust in the future my privacy will be respected?”
“Is that what all this fuss is about?” Baroness asked with surprise. “Darling, I was just getting lonely with you away so often. I miss you. How can I help it if you arouse my... curiosity?”
“Do we have an agreement?” Circe reaffirmed. Keeping the Baroness on subject was sometimes a daunting task, especially if it was getting her to agree or commit to something.
The Baroness hesitated. “Oh fine, fine, no need to give me that adorable pout of yours. But I don’t like being kept out of the loop.”
“I would never withhold vital information,” Circe assured her, though no one in the room truly believed her words. “But I believe the most pressing matter at hand is the fulfillment of a promise on your end.”
“You worry too much, love. Your package should arrive within the week.”
Package? What package? Cheetah wanted to ask, but was still at the mercy of Circe's curse. It was the first she had heard of any additional plans either had conceived beyond the island and the artifacts. The Baroness's plans she had already known about were enough to give the hardened assassin chills, but the idea that they were just the start of something more made the Cheetah dread her new indentured servitude even more.
===WW===
The roar was too loud and too long even for thunder. The horses, normally calm even in a thunderstorm, neighed wildly. Even inside Steve and Vanessa could hear them. It was a sound confusing yet all too familiar to Steve Trevor. It would take more than a thunderstorm to mask the sound of a jet engine to him, even one heavily modified.
“Stay inside, Vanessa!” he ordered in a rarely used military tone of authority as he threw on a coat and went outside in the storm to investigate.
What he found was astounding. A sheet of water from the pounding rain in the shape of an aircraft designed like nothing he'd ever seen. A translucent jet having just landed in the middle of his property.
The cockpit opened and Diana quickly leapt out, quickly getting drenched by the rain.
“I apologize for the intrusion,” she said just loud enough to be heard over the rain
“What in sam hill...?” Steve started to ask.
“I apologize for not telling you what you need to know,” Diana continued with determination. “I still cannot say where I come from, but I can at least tell you about who and what I’m searching for. There is a new danger ro your city, but I did not attract it. I followed it here. Or rather, my enemies drew me here. I will not deny that my presence has a direct correlation with these new villains in your city, but that danger would exist whether I am here or not. I have little doubt that as long as my enemies evade me, you, your family, this city, perhaps even the entire world is in danger.
“Colonel Stephen Trevor. I humbly ask for asylum. I do not believe that if my enemies were to track me they would easily find me here, but if they were, I could never forgive myself if I was unable to protect you and your family. You have shown me a great kindness and I wish to repay it as well as see your family safe. I believe it would be best not only for my quest but for your safety if I remained here until further notice. I will abide by the rules of your household to the best of my ability, and I promise to do everything in my power to keep your family out of danger.”
Steve Trevor's gaze drifted back and forth between the invisible jet and the soaking wet woman who had saved his daughter's life twice now.
“Also, I have nowhere else to go.”
Perhaps it would have been safer if he told Diana to move along, to find shelter elsewhere. What if by sheltering this mysterious warrior woman they attracted the attention of her enemies? Or of more people from wherever she was from? Or even the government? Steve knew that just by inviting her in out of the rain, he could be placing all that he cared for in jeopardy.
But it was still the right thing to do. “Well, what are you standing out there in the rain for?” he yelled gruffly as if scolding a child. “Come on inside already. It's far past dinner time but I could reheat something for you.”
The Amazon could not help but smile as she followed him back inside, where a young girl in her nightgown beamed brightly. “Welcome back, Diana.”
To Be Continued...