"Scharr…wiull…kill…yaou…Di…a…na!"

The guttural voice sounded like gravel being mixed with broken glass. Full of anguish and pain, the words struck Diana where it hurt most: her heart. She couldn't believe who she was forced to fight now, although her opponent was closer to an 'it' than a 'who' at this point.

Her opponent was Officer Mike Schorr of the Gateway City Police Department, having undergone some sort of hideous change into the creature before her. He had a brown shell-like carapace on the whole of his abdomen, with bony spikes protruding outwards with oozing barbs on the ends. His bony fingers oozed the same viscous substance as the rest of his body. His face looked remotely human, with the skin stretched almost to the breaking point. His eyes, though, were still human.

Diana stepped warily around Schorr, as he uttered threats at Diana. To the side, Superman and Green Lantern lay unconscious, the green viscous substance covering them. Green Lantern was thrashing from side to side, screaming "Alex! No!" Superman lay several feet away, saying "Not again!". His face showed extreme stress as he fought off whatever effects the substance had produced.

Diana herself was encased in golden armor from head to toe, eyes and mouth the only revealing features. Her red cloak was tattered, as was the blue loincloth she wore. The cloth was entirely ceremonial, but Diana still felt exposed without the complete raiment of battle armor. Her helmet encased her head; the WW logo emblazoned on the forehead and chest. A red plume stood out from the top of the helmet, waving in the breeze. Her distended stomach had managed to fit into the armor, but she didn't know how much longer she had until it was time.

Diana drew her broadsword from its scabbard. So far she had tried to take Mike down using the properties of her invisible ship, not wanting to permanently hurt him. Now, the battle was getting closer to the Delaney High School in Gateway City, and Diana knew that once they were there, people would die. She also knew Mike wasn't in his right frame of mind. Had he been sane, he would want her to end this before it got out of hand. As it was, two of her dearest friends were down, how badly, she didn't know. All she did know was that Mike had to be stopped.

Diana, came a voice from within her head. This is J'onn. The rest of the League is in transit. Stand by for assistance.

No, replied Diana telepathically. Tell the others to stay back. Kal and Kyle are down, and I don't know to what extent they've been hurt. Wait until my call.

There was a pause, then J'onn replied Very well. I will be observing from a high altitude, ready should the need arise.

Diana turned towards Mike, sword in hand. She seemed to be fortunate so far in avoiding contact with the green substance, but she knew with part of her face exposed, that wouldn't be for long. She had to end this.

"Scharr…louved…yooo….Di…an…a!" His speech was slurring more and more with each passing minute.

Diana didn't want to have to kill her friend, but if it came to deciding between his life and those of who knew how many others, it was no contest.

Mike would have to die.

---

---

28 Hours Earlier

"I'm what??"

"You're pregnant, dear," replied Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons to her daughter, Diana, also known as Wonder Woman. Diana was still recovering from injuries sustained on a mission to space recently, and now found that she was bearing a child.

"That's impossible, Mother," said Diana. "I can't be pregnant."

"Well, daughter, are you sure? I know you've always been close to Superman, and-"

Diana abruptly cut her mother off. "Kal is a married man, Mother. I haven't had sexual relations with any man…at least, not in years."

"Hmmm," thought Hippolyta. "Our medical scans show that you're into your first trimester."

"I want to see these tests," replied Diana. "Something is obviously wrong here." Diana got out of bed, and proceeded to don her robe when she looked down at her belly. It was distended, and obviously showing through her gown.

"By Zeus' Beard! Diana, you were not outwardly showing at all a few hours ago!"

For the first time in years, Diana began to know the taste of fear. Fear of the unknown.

---

Mike Schorr entered his apartment hurriedly, unmindful of locking the door after he entered. He felt ill, and needed to get to the bathroom as soon as possible. Once there, he emptied his stomach's contents. After several painful minutes of vomiting, he collapsed on his bathroom floor.

He had been sick for the last day or so, not quite completing his shift at work. Just after Diana dropped him off from her plane, he found himself getting dizzy spells. Once he sat down at his desk, he found he began to feel better, until after a while he began to feel cramps all through his abdomen. Holding out this long had been hell, but now he just wanted to sleep. Unable to move to his bedroom, he allowed himself to go to sleep on the floor, hoping that whatever bug he had would pass.

He had no idea how wrong he would be.

---

"I don't know what to say, Princess," said Marticus, the head physician on Themyscira. "The test results we ran earlier and the ones we have run now are entirely different. The first showed you in your first trimester, these latest ones show you at least six months along, if not more."

Diana looked at the results as best she could without losing her composure. She could feel the child within her moving around slightly. The feeling may have given her joy any other time, but now it just made her sick to her stomach.

"Have your scans shown any…abnormalities?", asked Hippolyta. She knew Diana had wanted to avoid that particular question, but also knew it had to be asked.

"That's just it," said Marticus. "A pregnancy like this, with an unnatural rate of progression, should be taxing Diana's body to sustain it without surgical aids to replenish her body's fluids and energies. But that is not the case here. Diana has not, except for the initial spell before, shown any ill effects. It's…beyond me."

Diana frowned. "Could it be my link to Mother Earth is feeding the child with energy to survive?"

"Possibly," replied Marticus. "That link gives you practically unlimited strength and stamina. That may explain why you have taken so long to heal from the wounds you gained in Vega. Your body may be directing all energies towards the child."

"I sense forces at work here beyond that of science," said Donna Troy from the other side of the room. The women turned to look over at Donna, Artemis and Cassie Sandsmark as they approached them. "I have new powers I cannot explain since we left Vega. But somehow, I know that this pregnancy is…linked…to forces other than what medical science can explain."

"What do you mean, Donna?", asked Diana.

"I mean," replied Donna, "That magic is at work here. A lot of it. And not the kind I would be happy about, either."

"Darker forces?", asked Hippolyta.

"Yes," said Artemis. "In my time in Hell after I 'died', I became attuned to Darker magicks, Hellborne magicks in particular. Diana reeks of those magicks now."

"An after effect of when Neron killed me?", asked Diana.

"I would tend to doubt it," replied Hippolyta. "You were subsequently resurrected by the Olympian Gods themselves as the Goddess of Truth. That transformation I can only imagine would have eradicated all vestiges of Neron's work on you."

"Then how??", said Diana.

"Maybe the antimatter is part of it?", asked Cassie Sandsmark, the current bearer of the mantle of Wonder Girl.

"Don't be silly, child," said Hippolyta. "Antimatter is explainable. The forces at work here are not."

"Wait a minute," said Marticus, "She may be on to something." Marticus went to another apparatus, and moved it over to Diana's cot. She began scanning with it, and within seconds results came out on the display screen in front of her.

"I never thought to check this last run of tests with the energy wavelength scanner," said Marticus. "When the Princess first passed out, I thought it had been the wounds she was recovering from. Then, the scanner had found nothing. Now, the readings show…activity."

"What kind of activity?", asked Diana.

"Your body," replied Marticus, "Is coursing with antimatter energy, concentrated around your placenta and womb. It's not your link to the Earth that's feeding it. It's the antimatter in your body. Your link to the Earth is what's…keeping you alive. Without that, you would have been destroyed from the inside out."

"A child in my womb is being fed by antimatter? How could that be possible?", asked Diana.

"I do not know," replied Marticus. "But I do know that if the child continues to proceed at the rate he is…he will be born in less than twenty four hours. And even then, with the amount of antimatter energy now coursing through your body, despite the link to Gaea you possess…you will not survive the birth."

"And neither will Themyscira."

---

The Anti-Monitor looked into the scrying pool given him by Neron, watching the events unfold on Paradise Island. Plans were proceeding rapidly now. He hadn't expected the gestation to take as short as it was going to. Diana's link to the Earth God Gaea as well as the abilities endowed her by the Olympian Gods were a random variable, and ones he had not fully known the full ramifications of. Between Neron's magicks and his own command of anti-matter, delivered through their vessel Thia in the reaches of the Vegan star system, his return to the world of positive matter would be heralded by power undreamed of since his original state of being.

Neron had explained the process in painstaking detail. The Anti-Monitor's soul was too dark and evil to be simply reincarnated. If that was all it took, Neron would have simply done it long ago. No, the Monitor's soul was going to require a special vessel to hold it. One that would need to draw upon the power of anti-matter as well as a substantial source of positive matter power as well. Wonder Woman possessed a link to the Earth whereupon she could derive practically unlimited strength and stamina. That link could be used to fuel the host body the Monitor desired to a point where it could begin the true purpose of its origin. Neron's magicks masked the true link to that source of power, so as not to reveal its existence until it was too late.

The Anti-Monitor had recently discovered, through the use of Neron's scrying pool, another universe whereupon there were objects of unimaginable power. His actions in the Crisis had erased all other aspects of the multiverse, leaving only one true Earth, which was an amalgamation of the previous Earths that had survived his attacks. However, he had seen through the pool that there was another dimension, linked to Hell, that led to another universe entirely outside the multiverse he had known. He had thought such a thing impossible, yet there it was. He had also found a shade of a man, not truly a soul, but only part of one, who had himself laid claim to the most powerful of these objects for a brief time. Soon, he would initiate contact with this shade within the World of Souls in which it dwelled. But not before he had his new body, and new power.*

(*What the heck does this all mean? It won't be revealed here, but stay tuned to FDC in the near future for the answers! - Cryptic Mike)

He turned away from the pool, and saw Neron standing at the doorway to his chamber. "What do you want?", asked the Monitor.

"Just to let you know that soon all will be ready. Less than a day, and you will be set to make your return to the world of men." Neron walked up to the scrying pool and looked in. He saw the vision of the women on Themyscira discussing Diana's situation.

"Yes," said the Monitor. "Soon, I will be ready to make my return. And that wench Wonder Woman will be but the first to die. Her and her mother, whom I owe much as well."*

(*A tale to be told another day - Foreshadowing Mike)

The Anti-Monitor turned and left the chamber, his impatience getting the better of him. Neron watched as he left, and once the Monitor was gone, he began to smile. You will not win this gambit of yours, he thought, I have made plans to take advantage of your defeat. And in the end, Neron will have changed the playing field to his advantage once again. He chuckled to himself as he walked out of the chamber.

Creating a portal, he entered it, changing his shape as he did so. He had other developments to see to. Developments that would have far reaching consequences for his own revenge on the Amazonian Princess.

---

Mike Schorr woke up amidst waves of pain. His vision was obscured, as if he were looking through a translucent material that gave the world a greenish tinge, but he could see the digital clock he had on the wall. It read 3:12 p.m. He had slept for almost 30 hours. He struggled to get up, but found that he had no coordination. He reached to remove the translucent substance obscuring his vision, and was shocked to see his hands were no longer human. They were claws made of what looked like bone, with hidden joints in them. They ended in sharp barbs that exuded the substance he found was obscuring his vision. He reached for a towel, and wiped his face. It was sopping with the substance. He struggled, and finally managed to get onto his feet, which themselves had changed similarly to his hands. He looked in the bathroom mirror.

And screamed.

His face was nothing like what he had expected. His skin had been stretched taut, joining a brown shell-like carapace that went all down his body, to his arms and legs, terminating at his hands and feet. The substance that had blocked his vision was being produced in countless pores all over his body. His teeth were pointed, his mouth releasing a constant stream of the translucent goo.

He thought he was dreaming. This couldn't be happening. He considered going back to sleep, until more pain wracked his body, this time constant. He ran his claws along the bathroom wall in a futile gesture, tearing a hole in it as he did so. Then, the pain exploded in him. He couldn't think. Couldn't do anything. Except lash out.

The south wall of his apartment exploded onto the street below, brick and masonry buffeting the bystanders. Those that missed the rain of debris, looked up and saw a monster unlike anything Gateway City had seen since Doomsday's rampage*. The creature formerly known as Mike Schorr howled.

(*See DC's WW #309 - Read'em all Mike)

"AAAAAHHHH…AAAAAMMM….ScHARRRRRR!!!!" The translucent substance slurred his speech. That, combined with the pain, made his voice sound guttural and inhuman.

Schorr jumped down to the street below, cracking pavement as he landed. Blind with pain and rage, he lashed out at vehicles and people, cutting down both. Chaos ensued. And no one was capable of stopping him.

For blocks Schorr lashed out like a rabid animal, blind with pain and fury, until a voice came inside his head. Diana did this to you. Kill the Amazon wench, and the pain will go away. Kill Diana!

Not thinking straight, pain clouding his mind, he slowly made his way to the Gateway City Museum of Antiquities.

---

"Uh, Superman? I think you'd better have a look at this."

Kyle Rayner, one of the many beings to take up the mantle of Green Lantern, sat in the command console of the JLA Watchtower's Monitor Womb with a very concerned look on his face. News reports from all over the world were constantly fed into the Womb's databanks, but the primary screen was now focused on the news feeds coming from Gateway City.

"…the creature calling itself Scarr has decimated five city blocks in its rampage, with apparently no end in sight. The death toll is at yet unknown, but it is estimated to be approaching the triple digits. And amidst this spectacle of carnage and destruction, the city can only ask: Where is Wonder Woman?"

"Superman?", asked Green Lantern again. He scanned the Watchtower for Superman's location, and found he was no longer there. Then, he heard the news reports again.

"…Wait! I can't believe it! Superman is here! Superman is here, and he's taking on Scarr directly!"

Green Lantern smiled. If anyone could take on this monster movie reject, it was Superman. Sitting back in the Monitor Womb, he resumed his monitor duty. But he still kept the Gateway news feed on the main screen, just in case.

---

"This ends now!", said Superman as he punched Mike Schorr, now called Scarr due to his mispronunciation of his own name. Scarr flew back into a collapsed building, debris burying him. In less than a second, Superman was standing over where Scarr had landed.

"I promised Diana I would watch over her city," he said to himself. "And I'll be damned if something like you is going to break that promise more than it already has." Reaching into the debris, he grabbed Scarr and fished him out.

Scarr lashed out at Superman immediately, his claws swiping Superman's face. The claws didn't break skin, but gobs of the translucent substance were splattered onto Superman's face. Sickened by the contact of the substance, Superman threw Scarr against the far-collapsed wall. Then, screaming, he leapt onto Scarr's body, and put his fist through Scarr's chest, ripping his still beating heart in his hands.

Stepping back, he saw the heart finish beating, and finally expire. Dropping it to the ground, he collapsed onto his knees, and began to cry. He had lost control. For a second he had lost control, and had killed again. He had sworn after he killed the three Kryptonian murderers* that he would never take another life. Yet, here he was, standing over another dead body.

(* DC's Superman #22 - Collect'em all Mike)

He cried great wracking sobs over the body of Scarr.

---

"Holy @#$$!," said Green Lantern. He had been watching the coverage of Superman's fight with this Scarr creature. Superman had been swiped at by Scarr, some sort of goo splattering on Superman's face. Immediately, Superman had collapsed, writhing in agony, unable to move. The cameras that had dared to come close, were picking up Superman's voice. "Not again…not again…"

Green Lantern hit the all points alert. "This is Green Lantern, calling all Justice League members to alert status. Superman has just been taken down in Gateway City by some…thing…called Scarr. I'm going down to provide backup, over." With that, Green Lantern sped to the transporter room, and punched in the coordinates for Gateway City.

Within seconds, he materialized in the Gateway City STAR Labs room reserved for the Justice League's transporter use. Once out of the chamber, he used his ring to become intangible and sped out of the facility, towards the location of Superman's defeat, near the Gateway City Bridge.

Coming overhead, Green Lantern could see Scarr making his way towards the bridge proper. Superman lay on the ground amidst rubble, still out of commission. Realizing Superman must have been taken down so quickly because of the green substance that marked his face, he willed his ring to form a suit of battle armor. Once outfitted, he sped down to Scarr.

"Hey," said Green Lantern. "Looks like someone beat your face with an ugly stick. Like this one!" He swung at Scarr with an emerald Louisville Slugger, knocking Scarr back several hundred feet.

Scarr got up screaming from the hit, and began to run towards Green Lantern. Kyle was surprised by Scarr's speed, as he hurtled towards him. He pointed his ring at Scarr, and a big cartoony copy of Scarr himself scooped up Scarr and cradled him in its arms, saying "I'll wuv you and hold you and kiss you and hug you and make you my very own!" Scarr thrashed in the hands of the construct.

Kyle landed off to the side of his construct, willing his armor away. Scarr was pretty much contained, at least until STAR or the DEO could arrive to take care of him. He turned to speak into his ring to call off the alert to the rest of the League.

Scarr saw Kyle below and to the side through the cuddly arms of the construct, and flicked his hand. Translucent green goo fell down to Kyle, and a small bit hit Kyle's cheek.

"Aw, man, what the-!", Kyle said in surprise. He reached up to remove the glob, when he saw someone he never expected to see again. His old girlfriend Alex was standing in front of him, smiling. He went to touch her, and was almost to her when Scarr grabbed her, and broke her neck, her body falling to the ground lifeless.

"Alex! No!", screamed Kyle, as he lashed out at Scarr with a bolt of plasma from his ring. Scarr was immediately vaporized. In tears, Kyle knelt down, and held Alex's body close to him.

---

Diana looked out onto the ocean, lost in her thoughts. I'm pregnant, she thought. I'm pregnant and that fact may spell the end of Themyscira. And of myself. She had never once thought of herself actually bearing children. Her life was one fraught with danger and uncertainty. Bringing a child into that world would be unfair and wrong, at least until she was able to retire from her mission to Man's World. She chuckled at that last thought. Man's World would never be totally accepting of her Amazonian ideals of peace, and that reason was why she knew her mission would never end.

She had considered going to the JLA Watchtower for further study, but instead decided she would see this through alone. She had sent all pertinent information to the one man she trusted to make sense of the situation for her, and to possibly find the true cause of the situation. If the birth was going to go critical and threaten Themyscira, she takeher invisible plane beyond Earth's orbit to allow the energy of her child's birth to be released. There, no one could be harmed.

She felt a kick in her stomach, and couldn't help but smile. She had no idea why Thia had used her magic and anti-matter to impregnate her, but she still felt a kinship to the life growing inside her. She would do all in her power to see this child survived, free of any manipulations from any and all dark forces. She had been impregnated for a reason, and that reason would be found out soon.

A buzzing sound suddenly went off in her ear. Realizing it was her Justice League Signal Device, she tapped it to receive the communication it was transmitting.

"This is Green Lantern, calling all Justice League members to alert status. Superman has just been taken down in Gateway City by some…thing…called Scarr. I'm going down to provide backup, over."

Diana cringed. A threat in her city, one that had taken down the most noble and powerful of the Justice League. She turned to run to the armory. If Kal had been taken down, Kyle would not be far behind. He had a Green Lantern ring, true, but short of Kryptonite, anything that stopped Superman must be more than it seemed. Whether the root cause was magic or otherwise, Diana feared for Kyle. She had made a promise to herself that she would watch out for Kyle as much as possible, as he and Donna cared for each other deeply. She would not have that promise be broken.

Once in the armory, Diana outfitted herself in golden Amazonian battle armor. Taking up a broadsword and shield, she donned the red and white ceremonial cape. Finally, she put on the helmet, her eyes and mouth the only revealing portions. She may have to fight, but she didn't have to fight stupidly. She was going to take all possible measures to protect herself.

"What in Zeus' name are you doing?," demanded Hippolyta as she entered the armory. "I've seen the reports of the doings in Gateway City, and thought I might find you here. Remove that armor at once. You're in shape to go into battle."

"You can't stop me, Mother," replied Diana. "Gateway is my responsibility. I will not shirk it."

Hippolyta looked into her daughter's eyes. "I can see I won't be able to convince you otherwise. Let me come with you." She reached for her war axe.

Diana put her hand on her mother's. "No, Mother. You are needed here. I will be in contact with the Justice League, should the need arise. But I have no time for this. Gateway, Kal and Green Lantern need me."

With those words, Diana was swept outside into the air by tendrils from her invisible plane, and brought gently to the cockpit seat. Immediately, it sped away to the dimensional aperture separating Themyscira from Man's World.

---

Scarr looked down at the man who had created the construct that had imprisoned him, itself now dissipated. Green Lantern lay on the ground, writhing and repeating the name 'Alex' over and over. Scarr tried to stop himself, but his rage took over. He lifted his foot up, and prepared to bring it down onto Green Lantern's skull.

Suddenly, an unseen force slammed into Scarr, sending him flying back into the previous building Superman had knocked him through. Looking around, Scarr screamed out as he saw an almost invisible object create tendrils that continued to hit him. Through the invisible attack, he saw a woman standing in golden battle armor. A logo was emblazoned on her chest, a familiar one. WW.

"DI…AAA…NAAAA!" screamed Scarr. Diana's assault halted immediately. Obviously, this creature knew her.

"Who are you?," asked Diana. "And what have you done to my friends?"

"IIIT'S….MEEEE…..MIIIIIKE….SCHAAAARRRR!"

Diana was stunned at the words the creature before her had uttered. "Mike? Is that you?"

"YEEESSSSS…..IIIT'S MEEEE….I…..HAAAATE…YOOOOOO!" He lunged at Diana suddenly, his claws bared. The voice in his head repeated itself: Kill her! She is the cause of your pain! She rejected you! She thought she was too good for you! Kill her!

Diana brought her shield up and with a swing sent Scarr flying back. Looking at her shield, she saw it had a substance on it that gave an eerie green look in the sunlight.

Suddenly she was shocked out of her reverie as Scarr slammed into her, sending her flying into the supports of the Gateway City Bridge. Brushing herself off, she got up, ready for another hit, knowing in her mind that he wouldn't get another chance.

"SCHARR…WIULL…KILL…YAOU…DI…A…NA!"

Diana knew a school was nearby, and beyond that, the Museum of Antiquities. She made a solemn vow that he would never make it anywhere close to either.

Dead or alive.

---

J'onn J'onzz, the Manhunter from Mars, floated several miles above Gateway City, observing the fight below. Diana was holding her own, and she had been smart to wear armor. The substance on Superman and Green Lantern was obviously what was keeping them out of the battle. Possibly a hallucinogen. He wanted to enter the fray, but as long as Diana was holding her own, he was willing to watch, ready to give aid.

He scanned Diana's mind again, lightly, so as to get a better view of Scarr as it was from Diana's own perceptions. Suddenly, he felt something he had missed before. It was another mind. An undeveloped one. Diana was pregnant!

Diana, he thought to her, Are you sure you should be fighting in your condition?

I'm fine, J'onn, she thought back. This is my fight. I know this creature. It…he…was Mike Schorr of the GCPD. Something has changed him. If he is to be stopped, I will be the one to do it. I owe him that much.

J'onn was stunned. Diana had spoken of Mike Schorr highly. Very well, Diana. I am attempting a mental link with Officer Schorr. Perhaps we can end this quickly.

J'onn then tried to link telepathically with Scarr. Upon creating the link, he felt pain. Scarr was in intense agony, but below all that, he could hear a voice in Scarr's mind. Goading him on. Telling him to kill Diana. Probing further, he sensed that the voice was being broadcast on a telepathic frequency that was being broadcast from…up.

J'onn flew upwards, tracing the source of the transmission.

---

Diana brought her sword down to bear on Scarr, sparks flying as it made contact with Scarr's shell. They were within a block of the Delaney High School. It had been evacuated, she had heard on her link to her invisible ship's radio. But she had made a promise. Mike Schorr, or Scarr as he sounded like now, was not going to make it that far. No matter what.

His claws came at her in a flurry, swiping over and over as she parried and thrust with her sword. The blade was beginning to wear, and soon it would break. Distracting Scarr with a sword thrust, she then punched him with an uppercut, sending him flying straight up into the air. As he fell downwards, she prepared her next move.

She brought out her golden lasso, and brought out its length from the loop it was in. As Scarr fell down to her, she hit him again, this time sending him flying into another building. As he got up, she looped her lasso around him. Its energies calmed him, and for the first time in hours, Mike Schorr felt no pain. Exhausted, he collapsed.

Diana could feel the pain he had felt through the lasso momentarily. How he had lived for so long she did not know. All she knew now, was that her friend was at peace.

---

Diana watched Mike Schorr as he was put into a stasis tube within the JLA Watchtower. The tube would keep Mike's mind in a fugue state until such time as a cure could be found for him. Although from what J'onn J'onzz was now telling her, there wasn't a lot of hope. Superman and Green Lantern lay on medical beds, recovering from Scarr's attack. Superman was awake, but Kyle was sleeping restfully. J'onn had managed to flush their systems out of the hallucinogen they had been hit with by Scarr. Everyone listened.

"After I tracked the source of the telepathic signal," explained J'onn, "I found it was coming from a starship in orbit over Gateway City. I entered the vessel invisible and intangible, and observed several Psions. Probing their minds, I found that they had latched a mutagenic spore onto Diana's ship when she and her mother had ventured to the Vegan Star System. The spore had waited until a command by the Psions, who had followed Diana back and waited in orbit. Once the command was given, an energy broadcast was beamed to the spore. It latched onto Mike Schorr when he was aboard Diana's ship, and after he left it, it began to infect him, changing him into his current shape. They continued to broadcast the catalytic energy to the point Officer Schorr was in extreme pain, and therefore open to the power of suggestion. The Psions then telepathically goaded Officer Schorr into taking out his pain on Diana. He proceeded to do so, until we came into play. I have the Psions imprisoned in the brig, unconscious. Before I took them prisoner, though, one of them escaped. I found no trace of him, and the others have no idea of who I am referring to. Odd."

"So," said Superman, "Can Mike be returned to normal? We have the technology now from the Psions, so we can reverse this, right?"

"Wrong," came a voice from the shadows. The assembled heroes turned to see Batman enter the room. "I've completed tests on Schorr's biological makeup, with assistance from J'onn. Schorr's genetic makeup has been altered completely. The broadcasts of energy catalyzed the process, but the original spore itself did the work. Gene Therapy may be possible, but with Schorr's very alien makeup now, very unlikely."

Diana walked up to Batman. "You'll keep looking, won't you?", she asked.

"You know we will," he replied. "I also have answers for you on the information you gave me before, Diana. Have you explained to everyone what your…situation is?"

Diana nodded. "Yes. I've told them." She looked back at Superman, an obvious look of concern on his face. "Any information you have can be shared here. I keep no secrets from my teammates."

Batman walked to the center of the room, then turned to face Diana. "I have collated all pertinent data on your pregnancy, and come to the following conclusions. One: You were impregnated with a combination of magic and anti-matter, together with one of your eggs. Two: You were impregnated for a reason. Someone wants this child born, and borne by you, for a reason. That reason being, you are the only human capable of bringing this child to term. And third: The someone behind this either is, or has relations to, The Anti-Monitor."

Diana looked perplexed. "The Anti-Monitor? But he was responsible for the Crisis. I wasn't even off of Paradise Island, yet. I never met him. Why me?"

"I suspect," replied Batman, "That he isn't as dead as we thought. He may require a new body, and you may be the only method he has of getting it. More than that, I cannot venture on until more information comes to light. I'm…sorry, Diana. I truly am."

Tears began to run down Diana's cheeks. She had thought that despite the strange occurrences of the child's conception, she could still have raised it away from the influences of its birth. But upon hearing the name of the Anti-Monitor, she had lost all hope. The Anti-Monitor had destroyed worlds and killed countless trillions of beings.

"Diana," said Superman, "We'll beat this. We'll beat him. We did it before, and we'll do it again." Getting up from his bed, he went over to Diana and held her. She held him back.

Suddenly, she was wracked by pain, as she felt her stomach moving. Incredible pain came from her abdomen. She would have collapsed on the floor had Superman not been holding her.

J'onn reached over to touch her head. A quick telepathic scan told him everything. Superman's X-Ray vision confirmed it.

Diana was in labor.

---

A portal opened into Hell, and a small Psion stepped out. Once the portal closed, the Psion changed shape into that of its true form: Neron, Lord of Hell. He proceeded to make his way to the Anti-Monitor's chamber, when he heard a yell of joy, something unheard of in the depths of Hell…unless it came from him.

"It is time!"

The Anti-Monitor stood looking into the scrying pool, and laughed. His vessel was ready, and soon, he would return to the world that had been the ultimate thorn in his side.

"So it would seem," said Neron as he entered the chamber. He looked into the scrying pool and saw the members of the JLA scrambling to get Diana into the medical support. Superman and J'onn J'onzz moved faster than the eye could see, getting equipment prepared. Batman looked at test results that the Watchtower computers had been running on Diana as they had spoke.

"She'll destroy the Watchtower and all of us with it," said Batman. "This birth will not be easy."

"Then go," said Superman vehemently, the stress showing on his face from the battle with Scarr. "I'll take care of it." He moved Diana onto the bed.

"I didn't say we should leave. Just that we'll need Kyle conscious to protect us should the need arise," replied Batman.

"I'm…here," said Green Lantern as he rose from his bed, struggling to stay on his feet. He willed a green wheelchair to appear under him, complete with bikini clad nurse to push him around. Sitting down, he looked Batman in the eye. "I'll protect us. Just don't lose her."

"We won't," said J'onn. "I promise."

Diana began going into closer and closer contractions by the second. J'onn tried to soothe the pain by damping it telepathically, but it seemed to be only partially succeeding. Batman monitored her health readouts, while Superman positioned himself to catch the baby. Kyle sat in concentration, ready for the slightest sign to protect everyone.

The Anti-Monitor looked over at Neron. "Now. Send me in now." His spiritual form flickered from transparent to a pale white.

"As you wish. The next time we meet, I imagine you'll have sent quite a few souls into my hands," replied Neron. He raised his hands, and swept them over the Anti-Monitor. Energies as old as time enveloped the Monitor, and he disappeared in a flash of light, on his way to possess the child soon to be born.

Neron took out a globe made of pure crystal, and spoke into it. Immediately, a face appeared in it, its eyes glowing a burning red. "I trust you have a good reason for calling me," said the face.

"Oh, yes," replied Neron. "It is time to fulfill our bargain. The Amazon is delivering her child as we speak."

"Very well. I will contact you when I am done," said the face.

"Very good," replied Neron. "Remember, though. We have a deal."

"I remember," said the face. "Once you have fulfilled your side of the bargain, I will return." The crystal globe winked out, returning to its clear clarity.

Neron laughed. His long months of planning were about to pay off.

---

"AAAAARRRRRR!"

Diana thrashed in pain, despite the telepathic restraints put on her by J'onn J'onzz. Energy coruscated around her body, enough now that Batman was behind an energy field from Green Lantern's ring. Monitor screens were blowing out as small charges of anti-matter hit them. Electronics were flashing out and sparking. The scene was chaos.

"It's turned around," said Superman as he looked at Diana's abdomen with his X-Ray vision. "We'll have to reorient it."

"You'd be a fool to reach in there," said Batman. "There's enough anti-matter in her to annihilate you and the Watchtower in an instant."

J'onn stood over Diana. Turning intangible, he reached into Diana, and using selective mass shifts, managed to turn the baby around. Taking his hands out, he cried in pain as he saw them burned to a crisp.

"J'onn!", said Batman. "Your hands.."

"I…will be fine," replied J'onn. "I…can regrow them with some additional mass. Keep helping Diana!"

Superman turned his attention to the birth canal the child was making his way out of. "Kyle, give me a thin protective sheath. Maybe it will hold enough for me to deliver the child." Kyle did so, Superman's body glowing an eerie emerald.

"Here it comes!," said Batman from his monitoring station. The child began to show the top of its head, beginning to crown. Then, everything exploded.

Anti-matter began to expand outward in waves reminiscent of the ones that wracked Earth during the Crisis. Green Lantern enveloped everyone in shields, but they began to be eaten away. Superman's skin was melted away in a billionth of a second. J'onn was on fire. Batman was thrown against a computer console, falling unconscious before anti-matter began to eat away at him. Kyle poured all the will power he could muster into protecting everyone….

…then everything stopped.

It was as if someone had hit 'pause' on time. The JLA was motionless, the faces of pain on their faces frozen. Diana was screaming. The child's head was out of the womb.

A man in dark purple armor walked up to the child, oblivious of the chaos that was stopped around him. He reached for the child, and helped it out of the womb. He pulled a decorated blade and cut its umbilical cord, energy pouring out all around. He held up the child in the air. Energy leaped from the eyes of the man, enveloping the child. The spirit of the Anti-Monitor was forced out forcefully, and sent back to perdition. A faint scream could be heard as the Monitor went back to Hell.

Ares, the Greek God of War, smiled. He had his new tool, blessed with the best the Gods had to offer, connected to Mother Earth herself. And possessed of the talent to manipulate energy for practically any purpose he desired. The child of his most daring enemy, any truces to the contrary. He waved his hand over the child, and all the anti-matter disappeared. Filthy energy, that anti-matter. Better by far to use the child's talents for more god-like power. Power that Ares could provide.

He opened a portal to the realms he ruled, and stepped part way through. Before he went all the way, he waved his hand again, but this time over the scene before him with the Justice League. Immediately, everything was made right again. Batman, Superman, Green Lantern and J'onn J'onzz were restored to health. And Diana was restored back into her armor, as if the labor never occurred.

Truth be told, now anyone who had knowledge of Diana's birth aboard the Watchtower and Earth, lost that knowledge. Memories were wiped clean. No one would know that a child was born from the womb of Diana. No one, except Ares…and Neron. He stepped through the portal, and allowed time to resume its course.

---

Neron sat on his throne, sipping from a goblet that held something liquid and red, but not wine. He was sure all would have been done by now. As he thought that, a portal opened. Ares stepped through with a child in his arms. It was pale skinned, and looked like any other human child. It rested peacefully against Ares' armored chest.

"You have performed your end of the bargain," said Ares. "Being so, I will complete my half. I will grant you one boon, to be named at the time and place of your choosing. Anything within my power, will be yours to grant, provided it does not interfere with any plans I have for the child." He gave Neron a red, sparkling gem. "Simply hold this gem, and utter my name. I will appear to you then, and grant you the boon." With that, Ares turned and left Hell, his portal closing behind him.

Neron held the gem up to his eyes, and looked through it into the firelight of Hell. Smiling, he attached it to a chain that was around his neck, and put the chain into his tunic. He had won. Ares had won. The Monitor's plan had failed, and rightly so. Should he have gained the power of the child, he may have set his attentions on Hell and Neron next. That was something he could not allow. However, the Monitor's other plan, the one involving the Lord of Order they had imprisoned elsewhere in Hell…that one could prove more interesting, indeed.*

(*For the outcome of this little tidbit, go to JSA # 4-6! - Shamelessly Pluggin' Mike)

An explosion rocked the foundations of Hell, and Neron transported himself to the source of the blast, knowing full well its cause. Once he arrived, he looked down and smiled. The Anti-Monitor's spirit lay in a crater, as insubstantial as before. He lay there, babbling incoherently.

"So…close…so…close!"

Not close enough, thought Neron. Not close enough by far.

---

Hippolyta watched as Diana touched down on the landing pad in her invisible plane. Disembarking, Diana saw her mother and embraced her. The armor she wore was banged and tarnished, but otherwise in good repair. Diana removed her helmet.

"Daughter," said Hippolyta, "You're all right."

"Yes, Mother," replied Diana. "I…had to fight a dear friend today. A friend who was hurt by my carelessness in Vega."

"Come, Daughter," said Hippolyta. "Tell me about it while you rest. Your wounds from our Vegan adventure will need tending again."

The two of them went down to the Royal Chambers, where Diana explained the story of Mike Schorr's transformation into Scarr. He was now in stasis in the Watchtower, and Batman and J'onn J'onzz were working on a way to cure him, hopefully with the captured Psions and their technology. Chances were slim, but as with all the tasks the JLA undertook, that was the norm.

After Diana went to sleep, Hippolyta went to her own chamber. She didn't know why, but she was apparently the only one who knew Diana had been pregnant. Now, it was as if it never truly happened. Hippolyta knew better. She felt the hands of the Gods at work here. She thought about whether to tell Diana or not, and decided against it. She didn't want to worry her daughter needlessly. She had been allowed to retain her knowledge of the events of the past two days with Diana's pregnancy, and further, she had been given the knowledge of the true culprit behind the atrocity: The Anti-Monitor. She had unfinished business with him, and if he was close to being alive again, Hippolyta swore that she would end his life for good this time.

And no amount of reincarnation would save him from her wrath, dead or no.

---

Next Issue: COLD ARMAGEDDON!!!! What more do I have to say?

Writer's Notes: For more on the plans of the Monitor and Neron, see JSA #4-6! Hippolyta will be there, and surprises galore await! So don't just sit there…read it!

Mike Hintze
12/14/2000