Ult. Wonder Woman #17: Where is Diana Prince? pt.5

[jackalope]

Ultimate Wonder Woman #17
The Wonder and the Vision: Where is Diana Prince? pt.5

Gateway City Docks,
Burning Dragon territory

The Burning Dragon territory extended along much of Gateway's harbour district, spread out over a number of warehouses dotted along the shore. Between the huge number of containers that were shipped in daily, the burgeoning tourist industry, and the fisheries, the shoreline of Gateway City was perpetually busy. As far as the police were concerned it was this constant movement that allowed Burning Dragons gang to become the wealthiest in the city. It was a well known saying that in other cities you chased the Dragon, in Gateway City the Dragon sold you your shit. All drug imports came through the harbour, and all under the watchful eye of the elusive Chang Tzu, known by everyone, except to his face, as Egg Fu...

“Or the Eggman,” said Professor Jenkel, as the car pulled up to the docks, “because of the Beatles song. You know, goo goo g'joob. Some Chinese National in exile, he's a frightful son ova' bitch.”

“Are you sure we should be coming?” Eric, Jenkel's bodyguard, asked.

“Abso-halutely my boy, I've paid for the whole show, besides...” The black gentleman criminal stepped out of the humvee and placed his top hat on his head. “...this is the most fun I've had all year.”

Diana got out on the other side of the car, followed by Etta. She looked at the shorter woman. “You should not come Etta. You done much already.”

“Fuck off,” Etta replied with a sly smile, “I said I'd see this through, so let's.” She slammed the door. It was four in the morning by now and already the night sky was starting to lighten. The salt smell of the ocean lingered.

They had pulled up on the edge of Gateway's China town, and down the street behind them market stalls on food and massage parlours buzzed with activity. Professor Jenkel pointed ahead of them towards a large warehouse using his cane. A single Chinese lantern glowed orange outside a side door. A man in a black leather jacket leaned against the wall, snoozing quietly. The group approached him. Diana stepped forward and held out her hand to his ear. Click He started awake, snorting and reaching for some weapon he assumed he had on himself. He glared at them, stretching his thin black moustache in a scowl. “What are you doing here?” He looked at Jenkel. “What is he doing here?”

The Professor smiled. An attempt at innocence. “I'm with her.”

The guard looked to the Amazon only to be confronted by a photograph. In the dim light he could only make out the dark hair and the outline of the girl. He pushed it aside angrily. Diana pointed at him. “Do you know of this Diana?”

“Fuck off bitch.”

Etta threw her hand back, which was caught by Jenkel's bodyguard, who held her firmly as she struggled. “...Shithead...”

Diana tried again. “Plaise, have you seen picture woman?” She held the photo up again.

His eyes flicked at the picture than back at her. “So what if I have?”

“Plaise,” Diana said, stiffling a yawn. She stretched her arms out, her sword being held in her hand. Bringing her hands back in, she rested the sword on her shoulder. “I very tired; I have looked for much time to find her.” She smiled kindly, raising her eyebrows.

His eyes darted quickly to the blade then back to her. His finger hovered nervously over an angular bump in his jacket over his belt. He stood up straighter, still failing to reach the Amazon's height. “You know this is Dragon territory, I could kill you all where you stand and just dump you at sea, no-one would find you.” His hand suddenly pulled his jacket aside, revealing a pistol holstered on his belt. Before he could grab it, her blurred hand held it in front of him. She threw it; it flew out and made a plop into the dark sea.

“Plaise,” Diana impatiently sighed.

“Idiot, I'm a fucking black belt. I'm probably more deadly without the g...” Diana punched him through the door.

Feeling a little guilty she looked to Etta, who smiled and gave two thumbs up. She stepped over the unconscious Asian and into the warehouse. The building was huge, divided into a number of levels, each filled by people drinking and gambling. The lighting was dim, lamps and lanterns hanging from the beams that divided the levels. In the middle of the ground level, on a well-lit stage a beautiful woman stood in a red dress, singing soulfully into a microphone. She stopped abruptly as the door crashed though, and as Diana's companions filed in behind her the entire room looked at them. Several Chinese gang members reaching for their weapons. Diana steps in front of Etta, holding her hands up, though still gripping the sword. Eric stands in front of Jenkel, holding his pistols in both hands.

They looked around at the glaring room. Chairs pushed out on to the floor suddenly, guns levelled at them. People screamed and ducked. Shouting in Mandarin, at the intruders and each other, seemed to increase. Two, holding M16's, stood either side of a game of poker on the balcony above, spittle flying as they tried to out-shout one another. Diana stepped forward. The guns suddenly waved at her. “Don't move!”

“Plaise, I was told...” She took another step.

“Don't move! <Crazy cow!>”

“I have picturegraph of...” Diana took another step. A volley of gunfire opened up. Her arm stopped blurring, leaving a slight echo of metal in the now silent room. Trying to remain calm she took a deep breath before continuing. “If you could look at...”

tak tak tak tak “<Die bitch!>” All of a sudden they were ducking from their own bullets that sprayed back at them.

“STOP THIS!” The shout echoed out across the warehouse. On the stage, the singing woman pointed at them. The building was silent. “<Idiots! I should leave you all to die at this woman's hand! You all deserve that for you foolishness.>” Faces looked downwards as her gaze burned over them, until she reached Diana, who met her eyes. The Chinese Lieutenant stepped off the stage and towards the her, narrowing her eyes. “What do you want Wonder Woman?”

“Diana,” said Diana. “I look for woman in picturegraph called Diana Prince.” She held up the photo once again.

The Lieutenant nodded to one of the gangers, a huge bald man, who walked over hesitantly and carefully took the photograph, and walked back to the gang woman. She grabbed the picture and looked at it. She raised an eyebrow. “She looks like you.” Diana shrugged. The woman passed the picture back to her fetcher. “We may have her... If we give her to you will you leave?”

Diana sighed, smiled and nodded. “Yes.”

The Chinese woman nodded, “Chang Tzu wants no more trouble on his property.” She looked at the Professor. “And you shouldn't be here Jenkel, you signed the treaty.”

The Professor shrugged. “Ignore me Wu Jian, I'm just here for pleasure, not business.”

The Burning Dragon Lieutenant made no attempt to hide her contempt, but she turned to the large gang man. “<Go fetch her.>” He nodded and made to walk. Diana followed. A sword was thrown and the Chinese woman caught it, unsheathing it in a swift movement and pointing at the intruder. “You stay here!”

“I will go with to get Diana...” the Amazon replied, continuing forward.

“You will stay here- this is not your place to demand more.” Wu Jian said threateningly, her blade pointed at the approaching woman.

Diana let her eyebrows drop and pressed her lips together, closing her tired eyes. “No. I said I get this girl,” she waved the now slightly tattered photo, “and I tired, and people lie,” her eyes flicked to Professor Jenkel, “and I will get the Diana, take her back, and finish plans of gods.” Walking by, she pushed the blade away. At that moment the blade glowed with streaks of crackling blue that pulsed, throwing the Amazon's arm back. Swiftly the Burning Dragon leader had stepped back, her sword raised in a defensive fashion.

“You are on our land. You will follow our rules.” Wu Jian stretched out a forced smile, “Do not believe you were the only woman trained with a sword.”

The Amazon waved her shocked arm, marvelling at the pain. She gazed up at the sword-woman and shook her head. “I know many woman who trained with blade.” She held her blade out by her side. “Never one taken of Zeus. You are god thief also?” Her smile was more natural. “This,” she held her own weapon, “was sword that kill giant Argus Panoptes. We see how they match?”

The Chinese woman gritted her teeth. Diana ran, her blade swung out. Wu Jian dodged. Her blade flew at Diana's legs, but was deftly leapt. The weapons connected. A foot hit the taller Amazon's shoulder, pushing her back slightly off balance. The Amazon ginned, impressed, “Good.” Crack. Edges meeting, and sending sparks flying out, bathing the room suddenly in a blue-white light.

The Chinese woman struck again with an explosive electrical snap. Diana kicked the blade down with her boot. Wu Jian grunted, and ripped it back, quickly readjusting her stance. Like a dance, they moved. Two wide swings, stepped aside by the Amazon. The weapons swung around one another, in intricate weaving motions but never touching. The Asian blade slashed downwards at the Amazon's head, stopped by the Greek sword. Blue sparks crackle. Diana's eyes widen. The electricity arcs out, flowing out into her skin. Her knuckles go white, as her muscles contract.

The crowd watched silent. The pale blue sparks reflected in Etta's watery eyes.

Jaw locked, sweat beading, the Amazon pushed towards her oponent. Wu Jian grinned at the obvious pain that echoed in her opponent's eyes. She pulled harder on the trigger that flooded the blade with energy, and pressed with her own blade forward until the blade almost touched Diana's neck. “Where I'm from,” the Burning Dragon leader said through red lips, “Lightning is wielded by a woman, Dian Mu, Goddess of lightning.” Their eyes locked, Diana started to pry one of her hands from her shaking sword. Spotting this, her opponent increased the voltage until the room started to seem lit by a white spotlight.

Diana lunged. Her hand held Wu Jian's neck, the electricity leaping through both of them. The gang woman spasmed until her arms released the sword, when she hung limp. Diana released her from her grip, and her breath from her lungs. The room stood silent. Diana looked down at the unconscious woman. “Perhaps I meet Dian Mu one day.” Turning back to Etta she smiled valiently.
Etta apologetically pointed back to the warehouse. Following her finger she rotated back to see a room full of weapons pointed at her once again. Pointing to the door she called at Etta, “Go.”

“But...” Gunfire kicked in. Etta was pulled back, along with Professor Jenkel, by his bodyguard towards the exit.

Already Diana was running, smacking aside bullets as they came at her. Sprinting under the main second level ledge, the gangers lent over, rapidly emptying their clips at her. Leaping from table to table her hand blurred upward, letting loose her glowing rope. Flying upwards, the three shooters watched as the golden lasso seemed to hover above them. It suddenly tightened, pulling their struggling bodies together and right up against the bannister's edge. Diana used her running momentum to swing under and around up onto the first level. Boot landing on the yelling face of one of the gang-men, she pulled the rope. The bannister breaking, the three bound men crashed to the ground floor. To her left, from behind a flipped table, rounds flew. Deflected into the legs of another ganger. Massing Burning Dragon soldiers ran up the main stairway, a good twenty of them. Spreading out around her, they levelled their guns at her.

She pulled at the rope again. The three groaning men started to be dragged along the floor. She twisted around. The rope tightened and the three men screamed as they were spun around like the end of an oversized hammer throw. One full rotation and the rope had already slmashed through five of the support beams to the second level, sending lamps crashing. The wood groaned above, as the remaining support beams started to buckle. The gang men watched in horror as the whole upper level wobbles. Then, admidst the confounding chaos, the screaming end of the makeshift human- flail smacked into them, sending most of them flying back down stairs.

She let the lasso loosen, then leapt off the ledge as the top level started to lean. Her lasso reached the rafters. Pulling herself to the top level, flames started to grow in the levels below her, fleeing customers screamed with panic. She grabbed the three serving girls and bound the rope around them. The remaining two gamblers that cowered under one of the tables, she pulled out by the back of their belts. The floor rocked back the other way with a sickening lurch. Leaping off, the second floor fell away under her, she placed the two shaking men on the ground. She shook the rope, which still hung from the ceiling. One by one the waitresses fell. She caught each and placed them on their feet. As flames grew to fill the buliding, they fled along with others, gangers and patrons alike. Diana tugged and the rope dropped into her hand.

She strolled through the warehouse. Shots still fired at her, for the desperate and brave, but these richoched away. On the other side of the warehouse, behind the bar, a huge bald man stood in front of a pair of metal doors recessed in the floor of the darkened corner of the room. He pulled his pistol and shot twice. Her wrist brace brushed them aside. Hesitating he placed his pistol on the ground and ran. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she leapt over the bar, to the doors and grabbed their handles. Locked. She pulled again. The hinges broke and she tossed the pair of doors aside.

A set of stairs concrete stairs descended into cool darkness.

She took a breath and stepped in. The metal steps remained silent as she moved down them. The stairs led into a dimly lit corridor, a strange wet smell lingered. Off the hallway were rooms covered by roughly hung curtains. Diana pushed aside the grey material. She gasped. A woman lay in the arms of a man, both naked but skin and bones, huge rings under both of their closed eyes. A huge pipe lay against the woman's breast that she grasped in long dirt filled nails. A sickly smelling purple smoke wafted from the pipe. She turned and cast aside another curtain. A red haired woman sat crossed legged on the floor in a drab yellow dress. Her bloodshot eyes gazed up at the Amazon with a unreal vacance, as she inhaled from her own water pipe.

Diana walked down the corridor throwing aside curtains, her wet eyes checking each room, only to find similar scenes. Broken glass and people. The pungent smell of death mixing with the sickly smell of the drug that formed a haze across the rooms. Her cheeks burned red as she glimpsed fat male bodies writhe upon half unconscious women. She ripped the next sheet down and saw what she was sure was a dead body, flies landing on the still girl's face, skin pale and thin like wax paper. After two dozen of these off shoots, a final door, at the end of the corridor, lay in front of her, solid metal and locked. She kicked it open.

A large room was surrounded by beds. A handful of Asian women sat around the cheap iron beds where other women lay bound, as they were fed the dulling smoke. Other women stood naked, strapped to chains against the walls, huge gashes across their backs. In the corner a huge cage stood, full of huddled girls with slightly weird looking eyes, each sporting a pair of cat ears growing from their head.

“Do you like my kittens?” The voice boomed from the door on the other side of the room. A man stepped out, sporting a huge black moustache, and only wearing a black leather cap, vest and pants. He grinned, showing his huge white teeth. In his hand a thick leather whip hung loosely. “I had to get them imported from Japan; they're obsessed with breeding cat girls there. I've yet to break them in- but you know what they say about training cats...” He laughed, a strangely normal chuckle.

His whip darted out, hitting the sword from her hand. She watched it fall across the floor, then looked back at him and wiped her eyes. “Lotus-eaters.” She sniffed. “I have heard of you. You feed them the lotus, so they stay. You kill them, not in battle but slow, with cuts and smoke sickness.” She spat, “Hades has own place in Tartaros for yours.”

The whip cracked, hitting Diana's face, leaving a bleeding cut on her cheek. She looked back up at him. He threw the whip length behind him and pointed at her. “King Daddy doesn't let his girls talk with disrespect to him. Not in his own castle. Now I know what little girls need to keep you in line.” His whip cracked again, wrapping around her arm. “Come to King Daddy,” he growled as he pulled. The women who had been feeding the drugs, quickly fled.

She remained still, her arm still beside her. He pulled again. The feeling inside her was choking. It was if anger, true hatred had suddenly been fired into her blood stream and was bubbling up through her stomach, threatening to consume her in some sort of infernal fire. As the sociopath continued to grunt as he pulled and pulled at her unmoving arm, she felt desire. The desire to inflict all of the pain and suffering that this man had inflicted on so many, back on him.

Justice?
Vengeance?
Wrath?

She wasn't sure what it was. Truth, at this moment it felt like truth. In her mind the clearest image of his arms breaking, hanging from the roof by his own whip. Her clenched hands shook, as she tried to control the visions.

Suddenly he cried out. She opened her eyes. In front of her a hand held a bleeding heart. She looked at him, his chest torn open, lying splayed out on the ground.

She followed the bloodied clawed hand back to its owner. The woman was strangely feline, but different from the Japanese sex-kittens being held in the cage. Her furred skin was golden, mottled with black spots. Her beautiful face, framed by red hair, regarded her with a tilted head. The woman's large golden-slit eyes flicked to the heart then back to the Amazon. She bared her fangs. “Perhaps the Sun Father will understand such a deserving death.” She ran, disappearing from the room within a couple of seconds, leaving only a gust of wind.

Diana looked at the dead body, feeling the fury drain from within her. A cough from one of the beds moved her attention back to the room. Diana quickly moved about the room, breaking the restraints. She helped the women sit up. She ripped the chains from the walls, carefully letting the women down, and wrapped them in blankets. Then, passing a bed she saw her.

Diana Prince.

Much thinner and tired, but her. The Amazon undid the straps that held her to the bed, and felt for the woman's pulse. Weak. She carefully lifted the girl in her arms.

“Well you have found her...” a deep voice said from the dark space from which King Daddy had emerged. She looked up, but could only see the vaguest outline of a jagged mouth. A black shiny tenticle slid into the room, growing longer and longer until it grasped a pipe. “Burn down my entire brothel for a tar-addict whore, I bet Jenkel led you here for this reason, sly bastard.” The pipe was dragged back and something dragged in, then blew out the purple smoke. “You should hope that we never meet again, young girl.”

The sound of footsteps from the corrider, from which she'd come, took her attention. At the entrance to the room stood Jenkel's bodyguard, Eric. He looked around the room, shocked. “I'm sorry I'm late, I've already called the cops, and the fire service.” His voice sounded different. He grabbed at his neck and pulled upwards, removing a thin mask, revealing a blond man, handsome and unshaven. “I'm Tom Tresser by the way; I've been looking for you. We need to get out of here.”

“But..” She looked back, the door was empty. “Egg Fu,” she whispered to herself. Turning back, she nodded; all of a sudden she looked exhausted and fragile, as if ready to cry. She didn't. “Plaise help these girls.”

He nodded. She headed back to the stairs. As she passed the humping fat man she kicked him into the wall.

As she reached the surface she could already hear the sound of sirens. The warehouse was in flames, but fire crew were already starting to put it out. She ran though the smoke to the entrance and dropped off the woman. Lights flashed as tipped off journalists photographed the Amazon cradling the thin missing girl. Diana carried the girl to the ambulance, and carefully placed her on the gurney. The ambulance medics, looked with concern at her cut face. She pointed to the unconscious drugged girl. They got the message. Outside, lines of the Burning Dragon gunmen were on their knees, hands behind their backs as the cops hand-cuffed them. The swordswoman, Wu Jian, glared at her. The dawn shone over the horizon, turning the sky golden.

She returned back in, with firemen to get the rest. Finally retrieving them, Etta ran to Diana and hugged her. “I was so worried.” Diana stood allowing it, her eyes closed.

“I am thoroughly impressed my girl.” Professor Jenkel stood, leaning on his cane, regarding her with a careful admiration. “Are you looking for a job at all? Because he's ah-certainly fired. ” He pointed at Tom Tresser who walked towards them.

Diana stepped towards Jenkel and held out her hand. He smiled and grabbed it, but before he knew it she had wrapped both of his hands in the golden lasso. “Where is the small object of secrets you have stolen?”

His eyes glanced at his hands as he tried to struggle, pushing his lips together as he tried to fight with the power that compelled him. Finally it burst forth. “In my Hat!” He looked back at her with anger and surprise. “Well played.”

She grabbed his hat and fished around. She pulled out the small black hard drive and handed it to Tom. He raised an eyebrow. “How the hell did he get this?”

Diana didn't reply, she was already climbing into the ambulance after Diana Prince. She forward on the girl's blanket and fell asleep. The medic said nothing as she closed the door and they drove off.

* * *

St. Bridget's Memorial Hospital

Diana woke up in the chair beside the other Diana's bed. It was the fourth time in the last few hours, after Valarie Prince, the rescued girl's sister had come in and thanked her profusely over and over again. Then Aria and Iris had visited her, hugging her, the old lady had cried that she was alright. Iris had to, but had hidden it. They told her that her room would be ready when she wanted to come back. Diana had told them she would as soon as the other Diana woke. The third time a couple of journalists had somehow managed to sneak in, trying to get an interview. She hadn't been sure what to say, but the cops had grabbed them before she could do much more than shrug.

She had been dreaming of a green field and running. Then she woke. Tom Tresser, the handsome man who had been hiding as another. He smiled cautiously. “I can come back later if it's not a good time.”

She rubbed her eyes. “It is fine.”

He nodded and looked to the sleeping Miss Prince. “The Doctors said she'd be fine. She's just sleeping so much because the drugs are being worked out of her system.” He gazed back to the Amazon girl, who looked both older and quite young. She was sitting on a sofa with her knees tucked up under her chin. She had on a big red jumper on; probably brought by the old lady she boarded with. He looked at her waking eyes. “I said earlier, I don't know if you remember, I've been looking for you.”

He pulled a card from his black jacket and handed it to her. “I'm from Checkmate. We're a global organisation trying to stop the bad guys from winning.”

She looked over the card and then back at him. He continued. “You came to our attention when you fought- what we're guessing is another 'Amazon' sister, and also stopped the terrorist Dr Cyber.”

He started pacing, “You just massively reduced the manpower of two of the most powerful gangs in Gateway City. You revealed an illegal brothel, and gambling institute that in turn led to the discovery of a drug and white slavery ring stretching all the way back to South East Asia, and the source of the drug 'Lavender Tar' that has been hitting the streets in a big way lately. Because of this we have caught one of the senior members of Chang Tzu's organisation. Also you probably saved the lives of a good two dozen women being held down there.” He stuck his hands in his pockets and stopped walking. “Not to mention returning a highly classified piece of government code cracking software.”

Turning to her, he smiled warmly. “What I'm trying to say here is we're offering you a job. Checkmate needs good people like you working for it.”

She flicked the card over in her delicate fingertips. “I do not wish to join your army.” She met his eyes, “Sorray. I am meant to be here now.”

Tom Tresser sighed and nodded. “That's your choice, but please, the offer will remain open.” He turned to the door, “I should probably get that. It'll probably be another one of your fans.” The door knocked, Tresser opened it. “Looks like I was right. I'll leave you two alone.” He waved bye, as he manoeuvred around the man standing in the doorway.

“Sorry for... I just wanted to check...” Mike Schorr said, walking in. Diana stood, looking at the slightly shabby brown haired man that stood in front of her. He saw her face and raised his eyebrows in concern. “...are you alright?”

She nodded, and walked towards him, then hugged him, and cried.