Post by DiscipleofBob on Dec 2, 2014 1:28:41 GMT -5
Issue 15, Masquerade, Part 2
"You're in love with her! You're in love with Wonder Woman!"
The silence was deafening despite the bustling nightlife and pounding bass from the clubs. Both girls had stopped in their tracks. Etta's declaration had left them both completely stunned although for different reasons.
"What on Earth are you talking about?" Vanessa asked, shaking her head dismissively.
"You. You love her. You want to be with her. You want to be the Tara to her Willow, the Thelma to her Louise, the Gabriel to her Xena!"
"Don't be ridiculous!" The loud music was starting to get to Vanessa. All she wanted to do was get as far away from here as possible.
"When were you going to tell me you were batting for the other team?! All this time I've been trying to set you up with a stick shift when you're only driving automatics!" Etta ranted, her metaphors gradually grew more and more nonsensical.
"Just stop it, Etta! It's not funny anymore!"
"I'll say it's not funny! I thought we were BFF's! I thought we told each other everything! Am I not important enough?! Do you not trust me, after all we've been through?!"
"ENOUGH!"
"No, I guess you don't need me as long as you've got 'Princess Diana.' Who needs friends when you've got a superhero living with you?"
Vanessa's hand shot up of its own will, slapping Etta across the face. "How could you..." Vanessa managed between tears, mascara running down her face. She couldn't say any more and Etta was at a loss as well. Vanessa turned and ran, leaving Etta to stand with nothing but the sting on her cheek to keep her company.
"Damn it..." she cursed as hindsight offered new clarity and instant regret. "Why the hell did I do that?"
Two street gangs, three muggers, and an attempted break in. Fire and Ice referred to it as a slow night, but Wonder Woman hadn't been this active since the riots. Right now they were taking a break in a small biker bar.
The large guy in the Harley Davidson jacket swung his pool cue in a wide arc, hoping to catch Wonder Woman from behind, but her arm reached up just in time. The pool cue snapped in two across her bracelet. Wonder Woman immediate grabbed the broken stub the biker still held onto, and flipped both through the air, smashing them down on the pool table.
On the other side of the bar, another biker wielded a chain, spinning it threateningly as he stared down the green-haired Fire. Smiling from behind her domino mask, Fire let her hands glow ominously as she waited for her attacker to strike first.
As soon as the biker swung the chain, Fire caught the other end and let her flames do the work. The chain glowed green with heat as the biker quickly let go, clutching his still boiling hands.
While Fire admired her handiwork, a third thug snuck up behind her and swung a two by four, breaking it over her back and knocking her to the ground. What the gangster thought was a lucky shot turned out to be just fuel thrown on the fire. The green-haired superhero turned her slightly bleeding head over and glared, her eyes glowing with heat.
The eruption blasted the biker across the room with a smoldering hole in his shirt, and the offending two by four was reduced to ash.
Ice in contrast was sitting politely at the bar, stirring her Long Island iced tea with her finger to keep it cold. As Fire got more and more reckless, Ice kept herself occupied with little blasts of cold to put out stray fires and keep the whole place from burning down. "Careful, Fire dearie, you're getting a bit hot and bothered, and keeping up with you can be very tiresome."
"You just keep cool at the bar, Ice. We are done here," Fire smiled as she ran her fingers through her long, luxurious green hair. "It is nice, no? Being able to vent some stress on lowlife scum such as these," she said turning to Wonder Woman who was finishing off two biker girls in sleeper holds.
"And what were their crimes again?" asked the Amazon.
"This is more than just some biker gang. They are spread out internationally. In my country they are drug smugglers and run such despicable things as dogfighting and cockfighting rings," Fire spat.
"In Europe they poach innocent animals and smuggle them across the world," Ice added.
"And here?"
"Who knows what terrible secrets these cabrãos have here?" Fire said as she kicked one of the unconscious bikers in the gut. "If nothing else, we'll be sending a message that the same ones to stop their misdeeds abroad will be watching them closely here."
Wonder Woman couldn't help but pity the men at their feet, but she trusted her two companions. After all, even Etta said that they were modern heroes.
Ice stretched her arms above her head and yawned. "This has been enough for one night, yes? Time to go back to the hotel and chill?"
"Not just yet. There is one more stop we must make before the night is over," Fire responded with a simmering conviction.
"Not another bar," Ice complained.
"No, these idiotas were just the warm up. I have someone much more deserving of justice in mind."
Ice gaped, quickly realizing what her partner had planned. "You’re kidding! You want to bother with that tonight?"
"And wait for those miserávels to attack us while we sleep? Or strike at our girls when we are not around to protect them? I think not!"
Being the guest for the two's crimebusting spree, Wonder Woman hadn't realized there would be a more specific target the girls had in mind, and she had nearly forgotten that, as evidenced earlier today, Fire and Ice had their share of enemies. "Who is threatening you?"
"Hedare Beauty." Merely saying the name filled Fire with disgust. "It was their men who accosted us at the fashion show."
Wonder Woman nodded. "Right. The little man who wanted you to wear his makeup. Their tactics seem excessive for merchants of perfumes and oils."
"It is more than just a pushy makeup company. Hedare is the umbrella corporation for a chain of chemical manufacturers and suppliers that span the world," Fire explained.
"Deforestation. Poaching. Animal testing. If you can name a crime against nature, Hedare is likely guilty of it," Ice continued.
"Not to mention all the ecosystems and villages she destroys dumping toxic chemicals."
"She?" Wonder Woman asked, but Fire was already out the door before her temper could literally flare up and burn down the bar.
"Come. The midnight candle is burning."
The main offices of Hedare Beauty contained its corporate offices, main factory, and research laboratories all in the same complex and headquartered in the heart of Gateway City's industrial district. It was surrounded by acres of astroturf and plants, carefully tended to match the aesthetics of the company.
All its professional landscaping didn't make up for the fact that a ten foot tall iron barred gate walled off the entire complex. Such a barrier might keep out the odd protester, but for three superheroes it was a mild inconvenience at best, as Ice built a slide that extended over the wall, carrying Fire and Wonder Woman to the roof of the corporate complex.
Fire walked over to a skylight and poured on the heat. Green flames quickly melted through the glass.
"Careful, Fire! You will draw unnecessary attention!" Ice whispered.
"This is a covert mission?" Wonder Woman asked, still wondering exactly what the two had in mind.
"Not anymore," Fire said with a wicked grin. "I want them to see me."
Before either Ice or Wonder Woman could object, Fire had already plummeted through the fresh hole in the skylight into the central lobby. The other two quickly followed, their respective powers slowing their descent.
In the center of the grand lobby of Hedare was a two-story statue of a thin, stern-looking woman surrounded by a shallow pool of water, an inactive fountain, imposing her presence over the entire room. Wonder Woman noted the name and title on the plaque.
"Laurel Hedare, founder and president of Hedare Beauty," she read aloud.
Fire nodded. "She has another name. One used by our like-minded allies across the world who see her and her company's practices for the horrors they really are. One that we hope will become the name more people know her by than even Laurel Hedare: Doctor Poison."
As Wonder Woman memorized the statue's face, several night guards rushed onto the scene, guns already drawn. "Freeze!" one yelled.
In a flash, the wave of guards were encased in blocks of ice, able to do little more than breathe and regret their diligence.
"Okay. Now what?" Ice asked nonchalantly. Fire slowly stepped towards the trapped guards as her hands became wreathed in flames. Ice quickly interrupted her. "Um, Fire? What are you doing?"
"They work for the poisoner. We need to send a message."
"Sweetie, they're just doing their jobs," Ice said a little more frantically than her usual tone. "Come on. Let's not spend any more time here."
Fire hesitated, eyeing each of the guards menacingly before allowing herself to slightly relax. "You're right. These are small fry. No sense in making martyrs of them when there's real work to be done."
As she turned to leave, Wonder Woman stepped in front of her. Green flames started to crackle around Fire as her temper flared. "What are you doing? There's work to be done."
"And what work is that exactly?"
"We told you..."
"You've told me nothing. I barely knew who we were fighting or why we were fighting before, but at least those bikers threw the first punch. I need more than your word if your next course of action is to kill guards."
"What do you want?" Fire yelled back. "Proof? A confession? Firsthand accounts of the atrocities they've committed? Of the toxic waste they've dumped or the forests they've cleared or the draughts they've caused?"
Wonder Woman replied instantly. "All of which is deplorable, and if I could I would do something about it. But what do you hope to accomplish here that would stop any of that? Because I sincerely doubt burning down a while building full of night shift workers would help anyone."
Ice stepped in to object. "No! That's not it at all! We just want to free the animals from the research labs!"
"Is it really?" Wonder Woman challenged, maintaining eye contact with the glowing green orbs beneath Fire's mask.
"You can either help us, or get out of our way!" Fire yelled as flames radiated from her.
"Fire?" Ice asked. Wonder Woman noted the terrified look in her eyes, as if it was a side she had never seen before.
Undaunted by the flames licking at her skin, Wonder Woman braced her legs. "I will not. This is too far."
"I thought you fancied yourself to be a hero. You defend these villains?" Fire scoffed.
"You said yourself their actions were legal."
"Of a corrupt system they've bought!" Fire shouted back.
Wonder Woman retained her calm as she responded. "I do not have to agree with all of this country's morals and actions to defend its people. I am a guest here, as are both of you, and I will observe my conduct accordingly."
"Do not lecture me on who I am! You think you have the right to tell me what is or is not morally right? These 'people' you claim to defend would imprison you for saving lives if it inconvenienced them!"
"I cannot force my ideals on you or them. You say that this organization is responsible for terrible crimes, and you may be right. But murder and destruction doesn't make you a warrior of justice, it makes you a terrorist." As Wonder Woman predicted, the flames intensified with Fire's temper, but she continued unflinching at the slowly growing green inferno before her. "You want to change things so that companies like this do not cause damage to nature. I truly respect that. But this is nothing but violence against people who cannot fight back. I will not fight the helpless. I will defend those who cannot defend themselves, even if they are not completely innocent."
"You are making a mistake," Fire growled.
"One of us is about to," Wonder Woman retorted.
Wonder Woman knew exactly what was coming next, having resolved not to make the first move. All the flames surrounding Fire suddenly shot forth in one blazing fireball. She instinctively threw her arms up in defense, but they did little to stop the engulfing flames as they launched Wonder Woman across the room.
"I don't need your assistance OR your permission!"
Anyone else would have been instantly incinerated, but Wonder Woman shook off the relatively minor singes and, before the smoke and flames could dissipate, used the speed of the gods to suddenly appear behind Fire. Her arms wrapped around the flame-engulfed woman, ignoring the searing pain of the flames, before spinning around and hurling her into the nearby pool of water.
The fountain erupted in steam as her flames were quickly extinguished. Wonder Woman wasted no time leaping on top of the drenched woman, pressing her palm against her throat. "Don't make me hurt you."
"How dare you make light of me!" Although Wonder Woman was prepared for Fire to unleash the flames from her body again, streams of green flame erupted from the sprinklers, showering Wonder Woman with napalm from multiple directions.
The Amazon managed to raise her arms in time to deflect the streams with her bracelets, but in doing so lost her grip on Fire, who rocketed from beneath her captor and took to the air with a trail of fire in her wake.
The remaining streams of fire circled in the air and condensed around Fire's arms.
Wonder Woman and Fire locked eyes, and as Fire descended, Wonder Woman rose up to meet her, Amazon strength ready to clash against her blazing fists.
Both women's strikes were parried by solid cold before they could reach each other. A smooth, transparent barrier of ice suddenly interposed between the two. Both quickly turned to the source.
Before either could say anything, Ice looked up from the ground with tear-soaked eyes, the drops crystalizing before they could reach the ground into what appeared to be tiny diamonds. "Please. Let's just... let's just go. This night was supposed to be fun. It was not supposed to be... this."
Somehow Ice's pleading managed to get both fighters to calm down. Fire descended to the ground and let her flames dissipate. With open arms she comforted the still tearful Ice as the two made their way towards the back entrance in silence.
When Wonder Woman tried to follow, Fire cast a hateful glance back in her direction. "Stay out of our way, Wonder Woman. Or else."
Wonder Woman watched long enough to make sure that Fire and Ice indeed fled the premises. Their departure coincided with the arrival of the local police, their flashing blue and red lights visible from beyond the gate to the corporate complex.
Reasoning they'd be able to take care of the half-frozen guards, Wonder Woman flew up the same way she came in. She couldn't call tonight a victory, not when it ended like this.
Diana couldn't sleep. Lights from the bedroom confirmed that Vanessa had made it home safely, but when she knocked on the door, Vanessa expressed the desire to be alone. Diana reasoned that she might still be feeling ill and didn't press the issue, though that didn't explain Etta's absence. With the two's relationship, Diana figured Etta would be by Vanessa's side to care for her until she recovered.
More importantly, Diana wanted to speak with Etta about the actions of the two women she described as "superheroes" and how they nearly burnt down a building without any regard to the possible deaths.
Before she could rely on the two young women for information, and she had hoped that Fire and Ice could have offered insights into the modern world of heroism, but the former were unavailable and the latter proved far too volatile. She had to consider the possibility of having to fight and apprehend both of them for the authorities. Not only were they both very powerful and capable in both their powers and working together, but unlike Diana's past enemies these two legitimately meant well and believed their goals to be righteous, not unlike her.
Was it hypocrisy to pursue enemies like the Baroness and simultaneously prevent them from targeting those they believed to be evil as well, such as this Hedare?
"I asked you a question, Diana."
She was finally roused from deep thought by Col. Steve Trevor waving a batter-soaked mixing spoon in front of her. For a split second Diana almost thought it was Amelia waking her from her daydreams in the libraries of Themyscira once again.
"I apologize. Could you please ask it again?"
Steve sighed. "I said what do you want on your pancakes?"
"I have never heard of these Cakes of Pan, though they do sound absolutely amazing," Diana reasoned. "Would your jelly and peanut butter be appropriate?"
Steve blinked a few times, processing the request before smiling. "Sounds good to me. One stack of PBJ pancakes coming right up."
While Steve whistled while he cooked, there was a loud knocking at the door. "Diana, could you get that? I don't want to burn what will likely be the greatest pancakes ever."
Diana complied. She opened the door and looked down to see, of all people, Ice, in a blue and white sweater in designer jeans so tight they could be painted on and knee-high white boots. The petit supermodel was bending over, bowing her head with both hands presenting a white envelope.
"Who is it?" yelled Steve from the kitchen.
"Ice," answered Diana.
"Ice? The ice guy? We don't have an ice guy," Steve responded with understandable confusion.
"No. Ice is a supermodel who is at the door."
There was a brief pause. "Ask her if she wants to come in for some pancakes."
Wonder Woman ignored Steve's request for the moment and turned her attention to the woman in front of her. "What do you want?"
Ice merely gestured to the envelope, keeping her head bowed down. Diana reluctantly took the letter and opened it. Inside was a small card with a picture of a baby seal covering its eyes with its front flippers. On the top of the card, in large, bold, brightly colored font was printed 'I'M REAWWY SOWWY."
Diana studied the picture for a moment in confusion. "What is this supposed to-" When she turned back to Ice, she was looking back up with the largest tear-soaked eyes, in many ways resembling the pitiful creature on the cover.
"Please forgive us, Diana. I did not wish for last night to be the way it was. We should never have gone to Hedare without asking you first. It was wrong to assume you would be okay with it."
"Is that all you're here to apologize for? Not asking me first?" Diana replied coldly. "Fire nearly killed those guards and who knows how many other people still in the building!"
"I know, Fire went overboard. You've seen her temper. Sometimes she doesn't know when enough is enough."
"I'd say last night was more than enough."
Ice hesitated, drawing circles in the ground with the heel of her boot. "She's not usually like this. She's passionate, yes, but murder? I've never seen her actually go so far before."
"Is Hedare somehow significant?"
Ice shook her head. "No more than a dozen other companies we protest against. The past few weeks, Fire has been... different. On edge. More sour than sweet. It's probably just particularly bad mood swings, but it's been going on for a while. She's been a lot more active in our 'nightlife' activities. She even bought a mask, which I told her was silly and out of fashion, especially since everyone already knows who we are anyway."
Diana sighed, relaxing a bit to put Ice more at ease. "Do you know why she would suddenly be more aggressive than usual?"
Ice shook her head. "She's always had a temper and would act out over the smallest thing, but nothing ever this bad before."
"So you're saying she normally wouldn't have committed arson."
"Oh no, she's definitely burnt down the buildings of evil companies like that before. But we make sure no one gets caught in the fire," Ice was quick to add.
"That doesn't make it right!"
"Doesn't it?" Ice pleaded. "These so-called businesses, you don't know what they're capable of. They will buy politicians, rewrite laws or sometimes even ignore them altogether. They're killing animals and destroying habitats all in the name of profit." Ice shook her head. "I'm sorry, I didn't come to get into a debate with you. I don't want to lose a friend over differences in opinion."
"I'm not sure attacking someone is a sign of friendship. Where is your companion anyway?"
"Fire is not herself lately, and she is admittedly stubborn and slow to admit she is wrong. But I'm sure if we just talk it out we can at least come to an understanding, even if we disagree on certain issues. We are in town for one more night. Then we will be gone from Gateway for a long, long time. Forever if you wish. But I would really appreciate it if you could join us tonight. We have this function to attend."
"And what will you be burning down tonight?"
"No burning, I promise! It is a masquerade ball held by a local designer which will honestly be very dry and boring. Very formal. No dancing. No action. Fire and I will be there, if only because we have to be. I would really appreciate it if you would make an appearance. Your friends could come too! This won't be like last night, not so intense."
Wonder Woman hesitated, intending to give her the cold shoulder, but her pleading eyes and the small ice crystals dropping from her cheeks were too much to bear. "I will... consider it."
"YAY!" Ice jumped for joy and wrapped her arms around Diana in a big hug. Once again, the Amazon was concerned that her bracelets did nothing to guard against such an attack. When the high-pitched squealing died down, Ice looked up at Diana again with the same pleading eyes. "Can I still has pancakes?"
Evanescence played on the computer's speakers. Sure it was outdated and depressing, as Etta so often reminded Vanessa, but sometimes it was just an Evanescence kind of day. A day when there was just too much to think about. A day where everything just seemed to overwhelm her.
Her tears had long since dried up since she collapsed in her bed late last night, and when she was done she couldn't even understand why she was so upset. When things didn't make sense to Vanessa, she tried her mother's approach: look at all the facts objectively from as distant an approach as possible to make sense of the results.
She and Etta had fought. Not just bickered, but fought, with full insults and even Vanessa hitting her. Hitting her best friend. Why?
Etta had said something crazy. She often did and Vanessa normally just smiled and nodded along. That was how their friendship worked, by balancing each other out. Get two people who talked as much as Etta together and they would just keep shouting over each other until one or the other passed out from lack of oxygen. Put two Vanessas together and no one would say a word.
But it wasn't just the fact that Etta said something crazy, but how she said it. It was more like an accusation.
Vanessa was in love with Diana.
If that was all Etta had said, Vanessa could maybe have laughed it off, but Etta was insistent, as if it was some sort of gospel truth.
But it was completely crazy, and completely untrue, not to mention a terrible thing for Etta to imply of her.
Was it?
Vanessa wouldn't have considered either of them homophobic, but the issue had never really come up. She didn't know anyone who was gay outside of television, and as far as she knew, Etta didn't either. She had liked Facebook posts about marriage equality and celebrities coming out and everything else, but the issue had never come up in her personal life. Part of Vanessa worried that she might be bigoted for even being offended that she might prefer girls instead.
But if she was bigoted to be offended just for being called it, what did that make Etta, who may as well have had a torch and pitchfork as she yelled at her in the street, for something that was completely unfounded and not true?
Wasn't it?
Vanessa had never dated. Never been with a boy before. She'd been asked out plenty of times before, but none of the guys she knew even remotely interested her, especially with her studies completely engrossing her life. How could she know if she liked boys or girls when she wasn't sure what those sorts of feelings were like with either gender?
And what if she wasn't straight? What if Etta was right? Was that a bad thing? How would that affect the rest of her life? Her college dreams? Her future career prospects? What would Mom think? What would Grandpa think? What would Diana think?
Too many questions, and absolutely zero answers.
Someone knocked at the door, interrupting her inner turmoil. "Vanessa? It's me again. Are you feeling any better?" Diana's voice came through the door.
"No." Diana's presence was the last thing Vanessa needed right now. If Etta was even the slightest bit correct, even just being near Diana would confuse things even more. "Please, just let me be alone."
"I understand. I hope you feel better soon. There is much we need to discuss." Even if she didn't mean it that way, to Vanessa with everything that was going on in her head, Diana's words were only more ominous. "Ice stopped by. She invited us to another of her parties, a festival of masks, but promised this one would be more formal and less chaotic than last night's events."
"I... I'm not feeling up to it. I'm sorry."
"I would greatly appreciate your company if you change your mind, but if you are not feeling up to it, I understand. Do you know if Etta is available?"
For some reason the question made Vanessa's ears burn. "I haven't spoken to her," she practically snapped. Her phone had been switched off after the sixth unread voicemail.
"Very well. Get well soon." If Diana had noticed or took any offense, her voice didn't show it.
Vanessa's attempt to weigh all the facts and work through them logically had completely failed. Everything was even more confusing than before. She tossed and turned on the bed, her eyes falling on the brand new white dress from the night before.
The masquerade ball was held downtown in one of the more extravagant wealthy districts. A large manor made up the bottom floor (or three) of a gothic skyscraper lined with stone pillars
As Ice had suggested, this function was very different from the clubs and "other entertainment" from the previous night. Inside was a vast ballroom of blue marble, lined with diamond-laced curtains and old paintings of revelry. Men in crisp, clean tuxedoes and women in gowns extravagant only in their elegance mingled throughout the building, likely talking about their most recent acquisitions or business deals.
When Diana had arrived, she made some adjustments to her previous outfit. Now the black top of shining stars extended down into a long flowing dress that miraculously never restricted her movement. When she stepped inside, she took a moment to observe her surroundings, and while they were certainly opulent, they lacked the majesty of Themyscira, and the natural beauty that Fire and Ice seemed to strive towards in their usual designs. Everything had a distinctly artificial feel.
"Diana!" As the Amazon expected, it took no time at all for Ice to find her. The petite supermodel rushed toward her. Her long blue sleeveless dress stood out from the diamond-everything, its glitter looking more like the texture of the first fresh fallen snow, with a faint glow reminiscent of the aurora borealis. Along with her dress were long, sleeveless white gloves and an opulent mask designed to at least superficially resemble some kind of mythical blue arctic bird. "I am so happy you made it! I promise we will be on best behavior!"
Diana warily nodded. "Your friend does not seem to share your enthusiasm." She motioned to one of the upper balconies where the green-haired counterpart to Ice stood and watched in an equally lavish gown and mask before turning away.
"She is stubborn as usual," Ice admitted. "Give things time to whine down. A few glasses of champagne and she'll relax a bit. She wants to apologize and make up, she just doesn't know it yet."
"If you say so."
"Here." Ice reached over to a nearby table where a series of various masks were laid out. "It is a theme party after all."
"Thanks, but I think I can manage on my own. Masks do not suit me very well, and besides, you know I can provide my own disguise if necessary."
"Oh, come on. Just try it once. It is the spirit of the party after all," Ice playfully suggested, and once again Diana found it difficult to argue with her demeanor of playful innocence.
Diana sighed and grudgingly took one of the domino masks, placing it over her eyes.
As soon as the mask touched her skin, it seemed to latch on with invisible hooks. From her peripheral she could see the inside of the mask start to glow in multiple neon streaks in violent strobes, all the meanwhile something seemed to be burrowing into her mind.
"You are mine now, Wonder Woman. It is pointless to resist. a thousand voices spoke in unison, simultaneously too soft to hear completely clearly yet drowning out her own thoughts. "Give in, and be at peace."
Diana couldn't keep herself from collapsing to the floor, the majority of her nerves no longer responding the way they should. She couldn't even scream, though her arms still managed to reach up and grasp at the corners of the mask which dug so deep it was almost impossible to find the seams.
"Give in, and be at peace."
It was growing more difficult to resist or to even think of resisting. All of her independent thoughts seemed to be systematically eliminated and replaced with a chorus of submission.
"Give in, and be at peace."
Give in, and be at peace. It was so simple. So easy. She had to resist, but she didn't know why. When she could just give in, and be at peace.
"NO!"
The fog that seemed to evaporate as if a strong wind had suddenly blown it away, but it wasn't just her mind that returned, but a million others. Images flashed through her mind. Texts. Schematics. Blueprints. Diagrams. Strategems. Checkerboards started appearing and playing themselves. They soon evolved into chessboards with increasingly complex strategems. Soon entire battlefields of clay soldiers did battle to the precise marching orders of a master strategist.
And just like that, the mask fell to the ground, smoking at its edges as a fried piece of machinery.
"Well, that was a shame." The voice belonged to Ice, but it was not her speaking. Diana quickly got to her feet, noticing her tiara radiating a warm heat. The various partygoers had dropped all pretense and now stood perfectly still, staring at Diana. "Just when I thought that I had caught you in my web."
"Who are you? What have you done with these people?" Diana demanded.
"I suppose it was to be expected. The Baroness warned me it would not be so simple."
Diana's eyes widened. "You are one of the Baroness's minions?!"
"Before I met her Grace, I was a pathetic, meek little creature named Nina. Now, I serve her Grace in any way I can." 'Ice' turned and walked back towards the main staircase, the crowd parting for her with machine-like precision and filling the gap behind her.
Diana's eyes glanced around the room. "Let these people go and face me!"
"People?" This time a man in the corner spoke, though with the same monotone.
"These aren't people." A twenty-something woman previously flirting with the man.
"They are masks." An old man with a thick white moustache.
"You think you can use innocent people as a shield?" Diana yelled as she approached the nearest puppet hostage, reaching for its mask.
"I wouldn't try" "To remove those." "I'm not sure" "How you" "Broke free" "But I can" "Assure you" "That if you try" "These toys will break" "Never to wake up again."
Diana grimaced and turned back towards Ice, who was reuniting with Fire, under a similar spell.
"I should" "Also mention" "The masks contain" "Remote explosives" "That I can" "Detonate at will." "Feel free" "To see if I'm bluffing" "At their own risk" "Of course."
"What do you want?"
"What I want" "You will not" "Willingly give." A masked butler stepped between the two brainwashed supermodels with a silver covered tray in each hand. Fire and Ice removed the coverings in perfect synchronization, and even from her position, Diana could see the familiar golden glow. "I would take it" "By force but" "My mistress" "Has given me" "Very specific" "Instructions."
When Fire and Ice turned around, they were armed. Fire wielded a golden gladius, the edges of which simmered with divine heat. Ice covered her arm in a reflective shield, a large covered protrustion in the center. "What's going on?!"
"Be thankful to my mistress," Fire, Ice, and the rest of the crowd said in perfect unison. "She has decreed that we face you on your terms, and she has raised the stakes in your favor. All you have to do is kill your new friends and you can retrieve the artifacts you so desperately seek. The Blade of Hephaestus, and the Shield of Perseus."
"I will kill no one!"
"You can try to run, but I will pursue, and I will find you, and I will catch you, and in the meantime I have so many toys to break."
"I never said I was running!" Diana began to spin in place, the shining stars in the black sky that was her dress fading into the void as she broke the illusion. When she stopped, her full armor shined proudly in its true form as Wonder Woman prepared for battle. "A true Amazon doesn't run from a fight, and I will not harm these innocent people."
"Well then, Princess of Themyscira, let the festivities begin!"
To be continued...