The Citadel Homeworld, Vegan Star System
"AAAAIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!"
The screaming reverberated throughout the huge chamber, and brought
chills even to the spine of the Psion scientist working the controls
of the deadly torture device. He looked over at his new mistress,
and then quickly looked away. If she did not want to be looked at,
whoever dared to do so would be killed instantly, such was her insanity.
"You will talk, Omega Man, or you will die!", yelled the
madwoman. "I mean to know all you have gleaned while spying
on me!"
Tigorr looked up with his weary head, his body shackled to a large
metal platform. Needles and instruments were swung down and positioned
at key nerve clusters on his body. He didn't say a word…then he
spit blood on his torturer.
The madwoman's rage became all consuming. "How dare you?? I
could incinerate you with an eyeblink! Do you have any idea who
I am?? DO YOU??"
Tigorr looked up again, and smiled. "You're an insane whore
who will have her defeat handed to her like every other despot in
galactic history. Believe me, I've seen to that."
The madwoman simply stared at Tigorr, and then motioned her hand
upward towards the Psion. "Very well. If you will not tell
me what you know, then I'll extract it directly from your barbarian
brain!" With that, her hand dropped back to her side, and immediately
at the signal given, the Psion threw switches and controls. The
apparatus rearranged to place itself exclusively around Tigorr's
head. Sparks flew from the needles and probes.
Tigorr screamed once again, this time with pain that paled from
what came before.
Meanwhile, on Earth
"I have tried time and time again to usurp the power of the
gods, and failed miserably each time. Always at the hands of your
counterpart, Princess Diana."
Circe paced back and forth in the large stone chamber. Before her,
seated on a stone slab in the middle of the room, was Donna Troy.
Donna was wearing garments she had thought to never see again…those
of her time as the superheroine Troia. Somehow, Circe had procured
them, and with them, her old powers.*
(*See last issue - New Guy Mike)
"I know this, Circe," Donna replied, "You were the
orchestrator behind the War of the Gods a few years back, and you've
always been a thorn in the side of Diana. But what does this have
to do with me?"
Circe gave a serious look at Donna, then continued pacing.
"I finally decided that perhaps I was trying for something
too big for my britches, so to speak. So I did some research. I
was quite surprised by what I had found. I discovered from my scrying
pool that you were in fact a mystical duplicate of Diana herself,
and that a being known as Dark Angel had kidnapped you for revenge
on Hippolyta, thinking you were Diana. You were forced to relive
countless lives over and over, until you were rescued by Diana,
her mother and your friend Wally West, the Flash."
Donna was shaken just hearing this tale again. Her children and
husband had died, and then she was told that her whole life was
a lie. Reliving this from Circe was not something she intended to
continue doing. "Enough, Circe. I know all of this. You still
haven't told me what it is I want to know, namely what you want
with me?!"
"I am getting there, Donna. Be patient. I recite this for a
reason that will soon become clear." She continued her tale.
"I decided to screen through your past lives and see what destinies
you had experienced. If you were anything like Diana, you would
have attracted truly great and fantastic events to your timelines.
Imagine my surprise at seeing that not only were you powerful as
Diana in many respects, but you had been given these powers by the
Titans of Myth themselves." Circe gave a wry grin. "I
decided to investigate these eras of your past life, and discovered
that your tunic you wore as Troia always gave the location of the
Titans themselves. Travelling back in time, I stole your uniform
at the moment of its 'destruction' during your fateful encounter
with Lord Chaos, your possible future son."
Donna inwardly grieved at the mention of her son. She had eliminated
that particular timeline with the rest of the Titans, along with
Team Titans and even Deathstroke the Terminator. That timeline was
erased, but she still ended up losing her son in a simple car accident.
Circe continued. "Using the tunic, I divined the location of
the Titans, and decided to steal their power as I had intended the
Olympian Gods. Imagine my surprise when I saw a stone chamber in
the shape of a woman on the ball of rock the Titans call home, with
sorcerous wards placed all around it. I decided to investigate,
and was able to allow myself to pass through to see what was inside.
Then…tragedy struck." Circe shivered.
"What happened? What was wrong??". Donna asked. She was
appalled at how easily this all seemed to come to Circe, but her
foremost thought was the fate of the Titans.
"I…I released one of the greatest evils the galaxy will ever
know. She escaped, stole almost all of my vast magicks, then…"
"WHAT??" Donna was totally on edge.
"She was able to divine to her side all of the Titans of Myth…and
was able to kill them all with one stroke of her hand. She absorbed
all their power…and killed them. Never have I seen such horror."
Donna got up and grabbed Circe. "Who was it?? WHO??"
Circe looked into Donna's eyes. "It was-"
"Diana!"
Cassie Sandsmark ran towards Diana, wearing a similar outfit as
Diana herself wore when she was younger. In one hand was a short
wooden sword; in the other was a decorated shield. Running up to
Diana, she gave a thrust to Diana's left breast. Diana easily sidestepped
the attack.
"Careful, Cassie. Always look to see where your opponent will
be, as well as where she is." With that, Diana brought the
wooden sword down she herself held, and smacked Cassie's backside
tartly.
"Oowww!", yelped Cassie. "Jeez, Diana!"
Diana smiled. "Cassie, little taps like that must be ignored
if you are to become a true Amazon warrior. If you are serious of
being Wonder Girl, then you must be serious of your lessons."
Cassie looked down. "I'm sorry, Diana. I just get frustrated
sometimes. I want to do this so badly, but there's so much to learn!"
Diana smiled. "Perhaps then, that is enough for today. Get
cleaned up, and we'll go for some refreshments."
"Cool! Thanks, Diana!" Cassie ran towards her quarters
in a hurry.
"I wonder if she is Amazon material, Diana," Phillipus
said from the side of the practice field. "She is very impatient
and impulsive. So much unlike you as a child."
Diana turned to face Philippus. "I was raised here from birth,
remember. The Amazon ideals I was brought up with were and still
are my whole life. Cassie has had the influence of Man's World.
Her mother raised her very well, but that mark of humanity is still
present. That is why I wanted her to come here to train. So she
could learn our ideals from the best teacher I ever had. You, Phillipus."
Phillipus' chest almost seemed to swell. Almost. "Very well,
Princess. I swear to you that I will not fail with this child. When
I am done with her, she will be a true warrior!"
"-Thia!"
Donna's eyes bulged at the thought of what Circe had just said. "Thia??
But-she's dead! I saw her die!"
Circe gave a nervous laugh. "Ha! In your experience, how many
people stay dead? Just those who do not deserve that cold embrace,
I'll wager."
Donna didn't answer.
Circe then continued once again. "Thia was like a demon possessed.
She murdered the Titans so quickly and horrifically, that they barely
had time to scream. She had power unlike any I have ever seen! I was
barely able to escape with my life thanks to using your tunic as a
conduit to return to Earth. Only I didn't return to Earth. My power
was too far gone to facilitate my escape. No, I was only powerful
enough to escape to the Vegan Star System. Once there, I was imprisoned
by beings known as Psions. They tortured me for their experiments,
and I lost all track of time. I was eventually rescued by a group
of beings known as The Omega Men. It turned out the system had been
taken over by Thia herself, with the subjugated Citadel. I can only
assume she somehow followed me there. I had been imprisoned long enough
that she was close to consolidating her control over the entire system.
After divulging my identity to the Omega Men, they agreed that the
only way to get help was from Earth's heroes. So after I had sufficiently
recovered, I was able to muster a portal to Earth. But as I left…Thia
herself stormed the Omega Men's headquarters…then I was gone."
"I then used what little magicks I had to cloak the tunic from
Thia, and then locate you. When I was close to the Titan's home, I
had a premonition that you were the key to stopping Thia. Thus, we
come to the present. And my need for your help."
Donna was silent for several seconds, then looked up at Circe. "Why
should I trust you? You've tried to kill Diana and countless others
for centuries. Now you're on the side of the angels?! What proof do
I have that you're telling me the truth?!"
Circe pulled down her dress, revealing half of her bare chest. But
where a breast should have been, there was a huge ugly scar marring
her flesh. "The Psions who imprisoned me were doing the bidding
of Thia herself. They did this to me! ME! I will see them dead! Destroyed!
And I need you to help me!"
Donna gagged at the sight that was presented before her. "My
God…I had no idea…!"
Circe gave that nervous laugh again. "No, you didn't. But you
will know far worse if Thia is allowed to expand her hold beyond the
Vegan System. Tamaran is the only world to rebel, but they won't last
long. I believe Tamaran is the homeworld of your teammate?"
Suddenly, the reality of Donna's situation came to her. Circe was
telling the truth. The Titans were dead. Tamaran was threatened. THIA
WAS BACK. "How am I the one to save everything? The Justice League
and the Titans should be called in on this."
Circe laughed. "They will be destroyed as easily as the Titans
of Myth were. The power she is possessed with is one they and you
have faced before. You see, there is a power locked inside of you
that you are not aware of. A power, I believe, that Thia fears. The
key is to unlock it somehow."
Donna stared intently at Circe. "Power we've faced before?? What
do you mean??"
Circe then gave an even more serious look to Donna. "The power
that Thia now has, and that allowed her to kill the Titans, is derived
from the Anti-Matter universe itself."
Donna was stunned. "You mean, the power that belonged to -"
"Anti-Monitor!"
Neron, the evil lord of the nether-realms, walked towards the form
of the Anti-Monitor, who sat on a stony outcropping looking at one
of the many flame pits used to consume lost souls for Neron. He wore
glistening armor, but in actuality, he was little more than a ghost.
Neron stopped just short of the stony outcropping, goblet of blood
in hand as if it were fine wine. "Monitor, it appears that our
plans are proceeding as we hoped. The Titan has made quick use of
her power that we've given her, and all is falling into place. Are
you prepared to proceed with your next part of the plan?"
The Anti-Monitor looked over at Neron, and his eyes glowed with power,
despite his current state. "Oh, yes. When this plan is done,
I will finish what I began with this pathetic universe."
Neron laughed. "Just remember what I get out of the deal. Once
the Crisis is restarted, I collect all of the souls you destroy. Especially
Princess Diana's."
This time, the Anti-Monitor laughed. "Neron, when I am done with
that wench, you can do what you will of her. But not until then. What
I have planned requires time…and something more."
Neron smiled. "There won't be much left when you're done with
her."
"No, there won't." Then the Anti-Monitor threw his head
back, and laughed louder than the screams of the damned below him.
Next Issue: Titan Quest Part II! Donna
and Circe journey to the Vegan System to confront the evil of Thia,
The Mad Titan! What plans do the evil Neron and Anti-Monitor have
for Diana? And when does she get involved in this whole she-bang?
It's all in Wonder Woman #335: 'Counterstrike'!
Writer's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this first issue of my run
on WW. Brittany Federicks and I have some major plans ahead for
Diana, the likes of which have never been done with her…we mean
it! Special thanks to Barry Reese for his great run, and for the
basic idea of our current storyline!
Don't forget to send your comments!
Mike Hintze J
7/22/99
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