Wonder Woman


Previously in Wonder Woman…

Hidden from the world is the island of Themiscyra, home to the Amazons of old, and guardians of the Gateway to Tartarus. Legend tells that should a man set foot on the shores of Themiscyra that the Gateway would fly open, heralding a new dark age on Earth. For thousands of years an immortal sisterhood has watched the Gateway until the present when without explanation the mystic barrier started to crack.

In search of a champion to remedy their plight, Queen Hippolyta determined a competition of skill and speed. From it emerged her daughter, Diana; a child born to Themyscira, sculpted from clay and given life by the goddess Hera. With determination and sorrow Diana left her native land on a quest, never to return again, and in doing so became a heroine to all humanity known as Wonder Woman.

Agreeing to aid Steve Trevor in the Agency’s campaign against the Fourth Reich, Diana comes into the path of her fellow Amazon, Asteria, and learns of her mother’s murder.


THE PATH OF WARRIORS

PART III

By Miranda Sparks


Were you to ask Hunter Maddox of his loves he would answer first in a clear, booming voice, ‘America.’ Home of the brave, one republic under God; a republic degraded by immigrants and degenerates who drove true patriots to the fringes in their cultural war.

To think on it turned his stomach. White girls having black babies, Aryan children turned thugs by hip hop music, American families starving so that a Mexican might have a father’s job. What was the world coming to? Somebody had to take a stand. That somebody, it seemed, was him.

Hunter Maddox loved his country, and it was his country, same as it was the property of any native born white man. Perhaps he loved it even more than his wife and children. To that end he had no qualms in taking arms against a corrupt government, side by side with his brothers guarding the compound gates.

He marched along the ground, weapon in hand, and helped guide women and children to the barracks. From adolescents to infants, they were the future of the white race; a future the New World Order would steal from them if they had their way, and murder through the watering of blood. He would not stand for it, and neither would the elder children eager to prove themselves as men.

There was a bite to the mountain air, perfect for sharpening a man’s senses. Hunter inhaled and slicked back the length of hair atop his otherwise shorn head. War was inevitable, but not even he had expected one so soon. Once reports came in of an insurgent force moving through the forest his brothers were ready to stand their ground, but was he?

What would the Fuhrer do in his boots?

Men by the dozen scrambled for their posts behind barricades and on top of walls. That there were so many once seemed impossible. It seemed so long ago that the Aryan Nation was fated to die away in the obscurity of the jungle. All that changed, however, when contacted by his secret benefactor.

Now was the time to prove himself. Hunter Maddox set his eyes on the gate and cocked the barrel of his tried and true firearm of choice, the AK-47.

“And now we fight terror with terror,” he said.


On Themiscyra, for an Amazon to take arms against another was cause for mourning. Within the surge of malice was paradise broken, and such a tender thing requiring all hands to mend was lost. Yet Diana and Asteria were no longer part of that land, and none were present to weep for them.

Sister moved against sister with murderous intent. Swords clanged through the forest, prompting the cry of birds. With skill sharpened over an immortal lifetime the pair gained and lost ground, twisting and blocking and striking with every limb. They would fight until the evening if needed, just as they had when sparring so long ago.

Disbelief swelled in Diana’s chest, though she had no time to dwell. Once when she was but a child Asteria was assigned her bodyguard. The pair were never close, but the respect of her elder was enough for Diana. Though Asteria had not the patience her sisters she would so often become ensnared in the girl’s curiosity. Such was the charm of the only babe on an island of immortals. It appeared it was not to last.

Blades collided, and with all the force she could leverage Asteria forced herself down. Her xiphon ground against the martian sword until the handle brought them to a standstill. Diana resisted for all her strength, and pressed so close as to taste her enemy’s sweat. With a free hand Asteria reached for her dagger and thrust, only to be deflected from one of the bracelets gifted by Aphrodite.

The young former princess turned to sweep the leg, but Asteria held tight. The two warriors fell and rolled, swords holding them apart, until the warrior threw her foe and gave some distance. With the swiftest of their forest companions they found their feet and circled for a second bout.

In the harsh silence Diana flooded with emotion. Loss. Betrayal. Impotence. If only she had stayed. Asteria would have what she wanted, and she… no.

Diana hardened her resolve. Fate demanded she be champion for a reason. Tragedy was not the product of her action, but that of her mother’s murderer. She arched her shoulders and redoubled her stance, never once looking away.

“Why, Asteria?”

The Amazon snarled. “Are you going to keep mewling, or are we going to fight?”

“She didn’t have to die,” Diana said.

Asteria laughed, but did not falter. “Yes, she did! She wronged me, Diana! As did you!”

“Then why not put an arrow through my neck? Why didn’t you face her as you face me now?”

At that her mood turned. “Yours is the mettle against which I must prove myself,” Asteria said. “Your mother… our queen… she may well have grown fat sitting on her throne. She deserved no such dignity as what I give you!”

Oh, for the will to run her through; for the burning malice to end the life of a murderer. Yet not even in the face of such a crime was Diana’s heart so hard as to act with finality. Even without the words of her mother’s spirit it was not the way of Diana, of Wonder Woman.

‘Do not… give yourself to vengeance.’

She would not. She could not. There was yet another way.

Though favouring the sword Diana held another item that proved as true. She dropped her blade, and in a fluid motion slipped the lariat into her dominant hand. The former princess charged, swirling the divine rope through the air, much to the surprise of her enemy.

It weaved and burned with the will of its owner. Asteria turned, but could not evade the supernatural turns of the rope. Snared by the wrist the Amazon turned, only to pull tighter into its hold. She thrust, making one desperate turn to run her opponent through, but landed instead in Diana’s hold with a bracelet pulled to her chin. Diana’s other hand held the knot tight.

“What sorcery is this?” Asteria demanded.

“In a world where you proved worthy this tool would be yours,” Diana said. Though a cruel barb of the tongue it remained true.

Asteria struggled, but the divine strings did not yield. They sizzled against her flesh the more she fought, but she would not relent. Rage flushed through her veins. Magic was the tool of the weak.

Diana redoubled her hold. “Why do you do this, Asteria? Answer me true.” And Asteria would, for the lariat compelled her so. Such was the will of Artemis for whom it was forged.

Both Diana and Asteria winced as a vision pressed into their thoughts. From one moment to the next they were transported through space and time, back to the island of their birth. They watched from afar as spirits floating in the ether, until they came to a clear pool sparkling under light of the moon. There, kicking her feet in the water, was a familiar girl.

“It’s… it’s me,” Diana gasped. Was this the reason for which Asteria resented her?

As a child Diana was so small, so innocent. To view herself from the outside she grasped the need of her mother to offer protection; a need she often found stifling. So precious a thing was a child, even one such as herself.

Just then the sky grew dark. Heavy clouds pulled over the moon’s gentle gaze. The clear waters of the pool turned black, and the little girl shivered. Had her mother or sisters been present she might pretend to be brave, but she was alone.

No, not alone.

The air tickled with the scent of ozone and spice. Electricity danced between the girl’s hairs, prompting them to stand on end. Diana searched the darkness, clutched her arms, and turned as a musical hum drew closer.

It was a woman, but not one she knew; not a sister of Themiscyra. An eerie light revealed a figure with flaming red hair and sparkling eyes of amethyst. Her gown cascaded down her in varying hues, much like Diana had imagined they would on Olympus. Yet this woman was not a goddess, nor was she human.

“Do not fear, child,” she hummed. Her voice was sweet as honey, and trickled into her ear with warmth and affection.

The little girl edged toward her. “Who… who are you?”

“A friend,” she said, and was so appealing that the words rang true. The strange woman leaned close and beamed at her. “And look, I’ve brought another friend as well!”

The woman lifted a layer of her gown, and from it appeared a small woman, no taller than Diana. She appeared strange to the girl; softer than her mother or sisters, with layers of fat rounding her body. It wasn’t until she noted their identical black hair that Diana realized she was not only staring at another child, the first she had ever seen outside herself, but a twin so exact she might have stepped from a mirror.

Diana reached to touch her, but the girl remained idle. She did not stare back with the same wonder shared by her double, or do much of anything at all. Instead the girl stared into the middle distance, and walked only when her escort instructed.

“Who…?”

“She is your sister, Diana,” the woman said. “A sister more true than you have ever known.”

“My… sister…”

“And she needs your help, Diana,” the beautiful woman undulated. “She is lost without you, Diana. Will you help her?”

The little girl swam through her thoughts, lost in a haze, though she hardly appeared to notice. Her main concern was for this other girl, whoever she might be.

“What… what must I do?”

The fascinating woman reached to Diana as though reaching into a fire, and with a single digit running down the girls chest evoked a body of blue flame. Diana started awake and gasped, being more alive in that moment than she’d ever been! Yet she remained still as the woman stole a lick on the tip of her finger and placed the flame on the chest of the twin.

With a sudden gasp the other girl woke, and struggled to make sense of the world around her. She whined and whimpered at first, but was soothed by the strangers spindly fingers.

“Sisters, both,” she mused. “Two parts of the one soul.” The witch stroked the hair of the newly realized girl.

Diana smiled. The prospect of a sister was so joyous. What a strange and unusual blessing she had received! But it was not to last.

Something heavy moved through the bushes, followed by a blade to cut them short. At the other end of it was a blond haired Amazon with a long sword, not at all fascinating by the vision before her. Asteria growled as the angry dog she was.

“By Hera! What sorcery is this?”

Amethyst eyes flared with power. Where once was a vision of gentleness the witch was overcome with fury. She clasped to Diana’s wrist and spewed words ancient and arcane from her lips. The witch stumbled away from the warrior, clinging to the wailing little girl, and raised her claws high.

Asteria reached for her. “Princess!”

Then in a flash of light it was over. The moon had returned to the sky and Asteria was alone with a little girl. The elder Amazon stopped to consider the sword in her hand, but could not make sense of why she held to it. She turned to the child, the purpose of her search.

“Asteria, can we please go home?” the little girl asked.

Yet the warrior was reluctant to reach for her, whatever the reason. There was nothing to fear from this child, Diana, and yet…

The vision ended, and the two women snapped back to the mountains of Montana. They fell apart, the violence gone from them, with Diana’s lariat curling into a layered ring by her side.

They stopped and they heaved, having survived a more harrowing an experience than the battle that brought them together. Wide eyed with disbelief they turned to each other. The burden of sudden memory weighed on them both. What had they seen? And how had they forgot?

“Asteria…”

The elder Amazon scrambled to her feet and sprinted into the forest. Diana followed, driven by the same desperation. She dodged between the trees, and called out her name.

“Asteria!”

But it was of no use. With fleetness of foot and deftness of a jungle cat Asteria vanished into the wilderness, leaving the former princess alone to process.


Colonel Trevor hung from the open door of the helicopter and stared down at the pines. The canopy of needles was so dense as to be oppressive, keeping his eyes from the forest floor. Truly this was the last of the wild frontier, one of the final reserves of nature unconquered by man. He might have thought it beautiful if not for the monsters who found refuge there.

Rather his thoughts remained on Diana, that extraordinary woman from a place beyond reckoning. Others may have thought her origins a myth, or a cover-up, but for Steve Trevor there was no room for doubt. Staring into her deep, pale blue eyes was to know truth beyond truth; an unyielding dignity that held fast in an uncertain world. It was the absolute quality of Diana. She could not lie, not that she would ever want to.

Never could he imagine such a thing to come from the tragedy at Eden. Diana, a former immortal, she who walked among the Justice League, had chosen him to anchor with humanity. Why he couldn’t say, only that his own agenda of acquiring a superhuman asset blossomed into something more; a friendship for the ages.

He only hoped that connection wouldn’t lead her to harm. I’m being stupid, he thought; she was Wonder Woman, more capable than half the Agency put together.

The helicopter circled the mountain and descended toward the valley marked on the map. For a short distance the trees divided over a creek, then ran the length of a cliff face by an opposing mountain.

“We’ve got visual,” the pilot crackled over the headset.

Colonel Trevor peered to the nearby hill where in a small clearing Diana squatted by members of her team. They sat in a row, exhausted, but very much alive, with some nursing heavy bandages and splints. The helicopter lowered, and as it approached Diana waved to the sky, beckoning them closer.

What a sight for sore eyes! Despite the shape of her team there wasn’t a scratch on her. Sweat and dirt, but not much else. She carried a muted smile as they approached. What happened to them in the time they lost contact?

Colonel Trevor demanded the pilot take them low enough for him to drop, and did so just a few feet from the ground. He landed in a squat on a flat piece of rock, and sprinted toward the team. Men and women cheered when he reached them, half-heartedly but with genuine relief.

Diana nodded. “It’s good to see you, Steve.”

“‘Colonel’ while we’re on assignment,” he said. Were it not for his discipline and rank he would have thrown his arms around her. Steve’s expression hardened. “I want a full report on what happened here.”

Roberts sat up and winced. “It was an ambush, sir. An unknown enemy… appeared out of nowhere. Took us out like we were nothing and then destroyed our transmitter.”

“How many?” the Colonel asked.

The troops were reluctant to answer. Diana spoke in their place. “One.”

He nodded, having seen for himself the other figure on the satellite image. To know that one so powerful was out there working against them churned uneasily in his gut. Such a foe would prove a challenge, even with Wonder Woman in tow.

“Fourth Reich?”

“Amazon,” Diana said. “Her name is Asteria. She spared your men, but has come for my blood.”

A twitch, unnoticed by the team but obvious to a friend, betrayed her feelings. Steve guided her out of earshot and softened as he spoke.

“You okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said, though it was only true in one sense.

“This… Asteria,” he said, raising his voice to be heard. “Will she complicate the mission further?”

The ill feeling boiled. Timing was of the essence. Who knew when the next opportunity to strike would arise if the Fourth Reich held their ground. Complications such as this would prove too great a risk to his people.

Diana breathed, and all but billowed smoke as she exhaled. Still she answered with the truth. “No.” Her word was all the Colonel needed.

He turned to the troops. “Listen up. First thing we get you all back to base. Colonel Mayhew’s moving into position as we speak and leading the strike. Sorry, team. You’ll have to sit this one out.” Not a popular choice by any stretch, but there was no questioning their injuries.

Colonel Trevor turned back to Diana. “You and I need to hurry. They’re going to need you during the first attack.”

She considered her sword for a moment, then eased her hand. Diana, former princess of Themiscyra, removed the lariat from her side and fed the strands through her palm.

“Lead the way.”


Asteria stumbled between the trees, blinded by the vision stabbing her temple. Whether memory or hallucination she struggled to determine, for it seemed there was no place for it in her mind. Or perhaps that was the product of dark magic she’d seen; the same that created an imposter from the princess.

But what did it mean?

The Amazon crashed to her knees and pressed her face into her hands. Calluses grated her cheeks as she wept with agony of body and mind. Oh, how her thoughts screamed to remove this cursed thing, but the memory would not be shaken. Deeper and deeper it plunged until her distant recollection reformed around it. Soon it began to settle, but continued to throb.

She slowed her breathing and leaned against a tree. The day had been one for vengeance, but fate had other plans. It seemed to matter little the more she dwelled on that new sequence of events.

There was no love between Diana and Asteria, though it wasn’t until the child’s adolescence that her regard turned sour. Countless times her sisters told her to discard her jealousy, that it was the place of a princess to be spoiled, and that the role of a daughter was sacred to a mother, which she thankfully would never be. But it was not for those reasons that Asteria grew to resent her. Truly she did not know why, until now.

“She’s an imposter,” the Amazon croaked.

If the vision rang true then there was no denying; dark magic had weaved its way into the courts of Themiscyra, and the sole daughter of their Queen Stolen away by a witch for purposes unknown. Every fibre that made Asteria demanded this wrong be put right, but for a lifetime that was taken from her, leaving her in the company of… of…

The helicopters drew closer, and Asteria had no time left to recover. She pried herself from the dry forest bed and lumbered from one trunk to the next. The hot tang of blood ran down the back of her throat. Still she resisted this alien thought.

Asteria pressed on.

“Find the witch,” she seethed. “Burn her!” Though her quarry had changed, honor demanded satisfaction all the same.


Once upon a time the north most parts of Montana served as home to the native Blackfeet Nation. A nomadic people, they hunted bison through the prairies and the arid flatlands, and feasted on meat in camps not set by any border. But it was not to last. The United States expanded, and lines were drawn across the land. The Blackfeet could no longer wander as they once did, so they too confined the bison to their land in new world ranches. But it was not their way; the natives faltered, and over time the range of their territory eroded, often in exchange for food and medicine. Only a few remain to preserve their culture, and in place of those lost to history came a band of invaders more cruel than the last.

The Fourth Reich were clever to choose the mountains as their fort. In isolation their claims went unchallenged, as did the imagined value of their ill-defined race. They projected the greatness of others claimed as their own onto the screens of their pale flesh. Alone in the wilderness their wives had no avenues through which to rebel, and their children could marinate in dogma until it set in their bones. A society in themselves, removed from the rabble. The Fuhrer would have been proud.

Much of the topography remained nameless, and existed in defiance of most travellers. Nestled in those confines a dedicated soldier could live for months and repel any enemy, even one with resources such as the Agency. Survivalists all it was guaranteed they were prepared for a showdown.

Steve Trevor frowned. The Agency had but one chance to strike before the Nazis secured their ground. God help him to share freedom with those who would wrest it from the world.

He turned to Diana, whose gaze was turned away from the road on which they drove. The air was still, but rushed with cold as they moved. Steve drew his jacket tighter and buried his chilled knuckles in the folds.

If she wants to speak, she’ll speak, he thought. There would be time to debrief later.

To register her anguish taking arms against her sister was one thing, but Steve would never have guessed the thoughts that pulled at Diana; thoughts of long ago, a vision that seemed so vivid; a sorceress and a small child, the first she had seen outside herself, and the flame that joined them. A prophecy, metaphor? Such things would drive the more rational to sleeplessness, others to madness.

Diana snapped to attention with the sound of rattling. She stood, balanced in the still moving vehicle and listened closer. Each tap was an explosion in miniature – machine gun fire, more acute than she’d heard in movies.

“It’s begun,” she said, her thoughts already past the ridge.

Colonel Trevor eased on the brake to look up to the Amazon. Diana was statuesque at the best of times, but to see her pointed to danger set an entirely new picture in his mind. There was no holding her back from a conflict.

“Go,” he huffed.

Diana furrowed her brow, unable to grasp his meaning.

Steve Trevor, the man and not the Colonel, exhaled and dropped his shoulders. He was only human, but the woman next to him was so much more.

“Show them why the world needs Wonder Woman,” he said, flashing a half-grin.

Like a mustang belting down a track the Amazon flew into a sprint toward the sound of battle, sword in one hand, lariat in the other, bounding over rocks and obstacles with superhuman speed. All thoughts of Asteria slipped from her mind, replaced by their purpose in this wilderness region; the utter destruction of the Fourth Reich.


NEXT ISSUE: The conclusion of ‘The Path of Warriors’!

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