Disclaimer: This is a Wonder Woman/X:WP uberish cross-over. Therefore, any recognizable characters in this tale belong to DC Comics and anyone else who has an investment in Wonder Woman and to cover my ‘just in case’ bases, to Rob Tapert and Co., RenPics, Studios USA, MCA/Universal and anyone else who has an investment in Xena: Warrior Princess. I am just borrowing them for use in this story. No profit is being made from this and no copyright infringement is intended. This is all just for fun and to keep me busy and out of trouble. The other characters and the story belong to me.
Thanks: To Noe and Erin for supplying all the background information on Wonder Woman and the Amazons of Paradise Island and to SueG for pointing me in their direction. Big thanks to Marilyn for picking up all my dropped letters, of which there were many. And to Mac, for catching the rest.
Author’s Note: This is a stand alone story. The Storyteller’s Cardinal Rule is in effect.
Prologue
The year is 2043. For over one hundred years, the
world has been ruled by Nazi tyranny. The Japanese are an acknowledged
power within the Reich, but they concede the supreme leadership of the
Fuehrer. The
Chapter I
“Goddamnit, Chase! What the hell’s wrong with you?!” The man yelling grabbed the blonde woman by the arm and swung her around to face him. She jerked her arm out of his grasp, and the fire in her green eyes prevented him from reaching for her again. She glared at him another long moment before turning and striding back towards the P-40 Curtiss Warhawk Fighting Tiger airplane that sat tarped and hidden near the tree line. He ran to catch up.
“Dammit, Annabelle!” flinching when she grabbed his ear and twisted. They stopped walking. “Owowowowow!!! Sorry, Chase. It’s just you move really fast when you put it in gear. C’mon now... let go. Please?”
“Hans, you can’t go with me. I can’t let you go. You’re too important to the movement.”
Hans snorted. “*I’m* too important to the movement? Chase, you’re all that holds us together aside from a bit of spit and some string. I’m just....”
“You’re just the only one of us who is German. You’re also one of our top scientists with ongoing projects. With Ty and Jen out west, Mitch and Shep still busy up north, I’m the only one left here qualified to go. Don’t worry about it.” She put a placating hand on his arm. “You know why I have to do this, and you know I’m the most capable to do so. Relax... everyone here knows what to do in the meantime, and I’ll be back before you know it.”
Chase motioned to a number of people who stood around the compound trying desperately to look busy while they strained to hear the obvious confrontation between the two. They were both the best at what they did, but it put them at odds more often than not and provided the entire rebellion with some much needed levity.
“I hope so,” Hans answered soberly. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
************
<Sputter>
“C’mon, c’mon, dammit!
<Cough, sputter>
“C’mon, start, damn you!”
<Cough, sputter, choke>
“C’mon baby! Start for mama!” Chase pleaded quietly, then sighed when the motor finally rolled over and caught. “Thata girl. I knew you wouldn’t let me down.” She revved the engine, listening to the roar and smiling when it turned to a smooth purr. She looked up when weight landed on her left wing.
“Here,” Hans yelled over the rumble of the engine, handing her a package wrapped in oilskin. “It’s a long flight. You’re gonna need something to eat.”
Chase took the parcel and gave Hans a smile. Despite everything, he was one of her dearest friends and she appreciated having him in her life. There were definitely times she wanted to throttle him, but most of the time she was glad he was around. And she was pretty sure he felt the same way about her.
“Thanks, Hans. You’re the best.”
He looked her directly in the eyes and said with all seriousness, “So are you. So please don’t go and do anything stupid, all right? We need you here, and I’d miss having you around to fight and argue with.”
Her grin turned rakish and Hans couldn’t stop the smile that formed on his own lips. “I’d miss me too,” she said patting his hand. “Don’t worry. There and back. We need that information or I wouldn’t bother. Keep working on....”
“I will! I will!” he broke in, waving his hands to get her to stop talking. “Geez, you think I’m dumb or something?”
“Or something,” Chase answered cheekily, shifting in the seat and reaching back to close the canopy. “I should be back in a couple days. Try and stay out of trouble, will ya?”
“You just be careful and get back in one piece. We’ve got things to do, and we need you here.”
“You got it. Wish me luck.”
“Always... you know that.” He hopped off the wing and returned her wave. Then he watched her taxi down the runway and take off, following her flight until she was a mere speck on the horizon.
“Guess I better get back to work,” he said to himself, turning his back on the runway and noting the activity in the compound had resumed. “I’d like to have something to show her when she gets home,” determined to think confidently about the outcome of Chase’s mission despite the knots in his belly.
************
“Has she said anything yet?” the queen asked her head healer. Though the Amazons of Paradise Island were immortal, from time to time they still had medical issues arise that required the skills of a trained physician. Usually these occurred after a tournament and a few times because of outrageous weather. But for the most part, Drea’s skills were called upon to nurse the soul. Such was the case now.
“No, Majesty. Not a word. She continues to act as though we don’t exist. She doesn’t speak or respond – not to anyone or anything. She spends her time fighting, practicing, honing her skills to a degree I would not have believed possible were I not witnessing it with my own eyes. The only time she leaves that room is when she takes her runs around the island. The anger within her burns deep and I fear for her sanity if not her very life.”
“Perhaps I have let this continue too long. Perhaps it is time to force the issue.” The queen commented as she stood, only to hesitate when Drea placed a hand on her arm.
“My queen, please don’t do anything rash. I don’t think there is anything you or anyone else here on the island can do for her.”
“But...?”
“Mala has foreseen. One is coming. One who will, as you say, force the issue. She will either accept her fate or....” The healer trailed off when the queen turned anguished blue eyes in her direction.
“I could lose her for good.”
Drea swallowed. Some days she hated her job. “Hippolyta,” finally addressing the Queen as the old friend she was. “The Princess is already lost to us. This may be the only chance we have of regaining her. You cannot, *must not* interfere. If she chooses to go, she will need your blessing and support.”
“As I should have done years ago,” the queen said sadly. “I miss her so much,” she said softly, leaning into Drea’s body and sighing when the healer’s still strong arms wrapped around her in wordless comfort. Her face creased into a smile when she felt lips brush her hair in a ghost-like kiss.
“We all do, my queen. The princess has always been sought out for her favor. It’s a wonder the Nation has not fallen ill from the hearts she’s broken... even before her self-imposed exile.”
Hippolyta tilted her head slightly to look up into Drea’s brown eyes. “Thank you, my friend. I’m sorry to put all this on you....”
Drea covered the queen’s lips with her fingers. “It is my duty as head physician and my honor as your friend.” She bent and brushed Hippolyta’s cheek with her lips before releasing her hold and taking the queen’s hand in her own. “Come. Let us talk to Mala. With a little luck, she should be able to tell us about this one who is coming. And I think we are due for a little luck at this point.”
Hippolyta blew a breath out and her bangs fluffed out in reaction. “I hope so. I would rather lose Diana to the world of men than to whatever inner demons she continues to fight. At least there she would stand a fighting chance.”
************
“DIE, YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!!” Chase screamed even as she banked the plane hard to the right. She’d spotted the Nazi plane a mere second before he’d seen her. Unfortunately, the son of a bitch wasn’t flying alone, and now she was out gunned by a ratio of three to one. She’d already eliminated the first.
The second Nazi plane started trailing smoke and flames, and Chase would have pumped her arm victoriously had she not been so preoccupied in trying to avoid being shot down herself. She dove hard, knowing they’d follow her down and hoping she could pull up fast enough while causing them to crash.
What concerned her just as much, though, was the fact that this little dogfight was eating into her fuel – fuel she was going to have difficulty replacing to get home. She was confident enough in her fighting prowess to believe she’d be the sole survivor of this little adventure, but there was nothing those skills could do for her if she ran out of gas.
What the hell were they doing here anyway? We haven’t had any recon showing them out this far. Did someone tip them off or did I just get lucky enough to run into a random patrol of the bastards? OW, Shit!! What the fuck??
Searing pain in her right shoulder brought Chase out of her thoughts and she realized she’d been hit by the remaining Nazi aircraft that was currently heading directly for her. Her useless right arm fell away and she grabbed the stick with her left. The plane responded sluggishly, and Chase fought to hold on long enough to take the son of a bitch down with her. If she had to die today, she was damn sure going to take him too.
Closer and closer until she could see the look of terror on the man’s face. Then she popped the canopy, feeling the impact as their planes met nose to nose. She jerked the cord of her chute and felt a searing pain cut across the middle of her body and into her left thigh. Then all she knew was merciful blackness.
************
“My queen,” Paula raced into the temple where Hippolyta and Drea sat talking with the Priestess Mala. She bowed her head in respect. “I beg pardon for interrupting, but....”
The queen waved her hands. “Nevermind that, Paula. What news?” Hippolyta knew the island’s chief scientist would never disrupt a meeting, especially in the temple, without good cause. Something important had happened, and by the prickling of her skin, the queen was fairly certain this was the event the priestess had foretold.
“My queen, there is activity outside the shield.”
The queen’s features creased into a frown. “Yes, Paula. There is always activity outside the shield. Humanity continues to exist around us.”
The scientist shook her head. “No, my queen. I mean, yes, my queen, I know that. You don’t understand. There is violent activity taking place just outside the shielded area, above us. It is very likely we could see some serious fall-out from it.”
“How serious?” Drea asked.
“At the very least, we could be discovered by any and all survivors. Worst case? They bring their fight to us and Amazons get hurt.”
“How can they bring their fight to us, Paula?” Hippolyta asked. “They cannot see us through the shielding.”
“No, my queen, but they appear to be the same fighting air machines we saw so long ago. And you remember the damage those caused. We already saw one break up and fall to pieces in the ocean.”
Hippolyta nodded. “Sound the alarm. Make sure all the women are under shelter until the danger has passed.” Paula nodded.
“How many were there?” Drea asked again, thinking ahead to the number of facilities she would need if there were injuries. Her assistant Rina would need to prepare everything necessary for the possible extensive damage they could encounter.
“We counted five,” Paula was saying. “Four to one odds, it looked like. But the single was not the one shot down because the fighting continued when I left.”
“This is the one,” Mala said without fanfare. “This is the one we have waited for.”
Paula looked confused, but both Hippolyta and Drea nodded at the priestess’ words. Drea touched the queen’s arm, and Hippolyta nodded her dismissal. The healer squeezed the queen’s arm in encouragement, then took Paula by the elbow and led her out without a word.
“You’re sure?” Hippolyta asked.
The priestess nodded. “I have foreseen. Have faith, my queen. There is still hope.”
Hippolyta nodded and turned her attention out the window, knowing if her daughter kept to her schedule, regardless of the alarm that sounded across the island, she should be passing by on the beach below very soon. And somewhere out there in the heavens above them, Diana’s savior was rushing to meet them.
************
Diana silently moved through the corridors of the palace. She had long ago learned to tune out the existence of everyone and everything around her. She could account for each and every sound indoors and out, and knew there was no danger to her here. The alarm didn’t slow her steps. She wasn’t changing her routine for some threat, perceived or imagined. She didn’t give a shit – at least if something happened, it would be something new to experience.
She stepped out onto the grounds, feeling the guards’ eyes on her, but knowing they wouldn’t stop her. Many had gotten hurt in the beginning learning this lesson – they knew better now. Diana went down the slope and out onto the beach, running with a freedom she didn’t express anywhere else. This was the one place she allowed herself to feel again – just a bit. For a little while every day, things were good and she was happy.
It was a familiar whining hum that brought her out of the meditative trance she had fallen into to block the annoying sound of the alarm. She fell to her knees as she was assaulted by images and memories she could no longer live with yet was unable to purge.
Pain, darkness, betrayal....
The sound was coming ominously closer and her dark head jerked up as a crash reverberated across the sky followed by a thunderous explosion. Blue eyes found the smoking mass easily against the blue and white background. Then her attention was caught by something else.
A single figure emerged from the smoke and flames, wrenched upwards by the billowing parachute. Diana watched as the chute wobbled and whirled out of control and it dawned on her that whoever it was attached to was likely unconscious and unable to control or direct it. She thought briefly of calling for help, then decided against it. She would follow its downward path, and once assured she could locate it again, she would then seek out assistance. For the first time in nearly a century, Diana felt alive again, and she relished the feeling as it coursed across her skin and through her veins.
The figure swayed listlessly in the breeze and Diana watched helplessly as a gust of wind yanked the chute straight up then collapsed it, allowing it and the person attached to it to plummet into the sea with frightening strength and speed.
Without thought, the princess stripped and dove into the water, strong strokes rapidly carrying her to the spot the chute had struck with such force. There was nothing visible and an unreasoning fear gripped Diana’s heart. She took a deep breath and dove, blue eyes flinching at the sting of salt. Though she had long since given up worshiping the gods of her birth, she whispered a prayer for the strength and wisdom to find the individual who had fallen into her life, however unintentionally.
Lack of air drove her to the surface, and she gasped, drawing air deep into her lungs before plunging beneath the waves and resuming her search. Almost by accident, her hand brushed against canvas and she curled a fist around it, yanking with adrenaline-enhanced, supernatural strength. As she rose to the surface, she gave a yell and heaved the figure to the surface with her. She wrapped an arm around the woman’s... woman? Since when did women fight in the world of men? Had so much changed? Diana put such thoughts out of her mind and pushed the water out of the woman’s lungs, careful of the cut across her belly. When the woman coughed weakly, the princess unbuckled the harness and resumed her strokes towards shore. She noted the large crowd gathered there including her mother and the healer and sighed in resignation.
Diana was happy when her feet hit sand and she gathered up her failing strength, forcing herself to stand and cradle the limp body she’d rescued from the sea. She strode forward, willing herself not to stumble and ignoring the minions who rushed into the shallow waves to help her. Diana accepted the towel draped around her shoulders by simply not shrugging it off, but she failed to acknowledge it or the Amazon who draped it over her either. She glared at the woman who reached out towards her trying to look at the wounds that covered the body she carried. She smiled grimly when the hand was removed but the woman continued her visual examination.
As soon as she reached dry land, Drea pushed forward, ignoring the princess’s icy stare as she beckoned the minions to bring the stretcher they’d brought with them. The blonde woman had been badly wounded and was still losing blood sluggishly. They needed to move quickly to give her the best chance for survival.
Taking a gamble, she clasped Diana’s face in both hands, waiting until the blue eyes focused on her face. Drea didn’t even flinch when the expression turned to ice. She simply held on until she was sure Diana’s attention was focused on her.
“You did a good thing here, Princess. Thank you. Now you need to let us care for....” A glance down at the lax figure. “Her.”
Diana didn’t acknowledge the words. When she was sure the blonde was safely supported on the stretcher, she dropped the towel and snatched up her clothes from the sand. The Amazons gathered did their best to give her privacy, though many of them snuck a peek from beneath lowered lashes. Diana ignored them as she always had, slipping into her clothing and walking away from them without either a word or a backwards glance.
Hippolyta watched her daughter make good her escape with a heavy heart. The princess had not acknowledged her presence at all. She wasn’t even sure she’d acknowledged Drea, but to her credit, she hadn’t hurt the healer either. There had been a time when Drea would have been on the ground in intense pain. Hippolyta was glad Diana no longer had that sort of immediate reaction – she just wished she would get past the indifference as well. Mala came up beside the queen and grasped her hand, squeezing lightly to show her support as they watched Diana disappear around a corner of the island.
“It has begun, my queen.”
Hippolyta squeezed the priestess’s hand in return, thankful for the unspoken support.
“It certainly has. I can only hope this turns out better than the last.”
“Indeed,” Mala agreed, knowing she’d seen two distinct futures in her visions... and one was enough to give even the strongest Amazon warrior nightmares. A lot depended on what happened here in the next few days. The priestess just hoped both Diana and their mysterious visitor were ready for the challenges that lay ahead for them. They were going to need each other to survive.
************
Diana waited until she was positive she was out of sight before dropping into the sand in exhaustion, her mind unable to cope with her physical actions. It had taken every bit of remaining willpower she possessed to continue standing and moving on her own two feet. But there had been no way in the seven levels of Hades itself she was going to let anyone, especially her mother, see weakness.
She was alone now however, and she let her body curl into itself as her muscles clenched in agonizing spasms. They hadn’t been used and abused in such applications in more than a century and regular exercise didn’t produce the same results. And it would be the only way her body would remember what happened. Her eyes burned harshly for their prolonged exposure to the salt water of the sea, and there wasn’t one spot on her person that wasn’t screaming for mercy. Even her hair hurt in sympathy for the rest of her parts.
Diana focused on breathing, on simply being, encouraging tight and knotted muscles to relax. Her eyes closed and she felt immediate relief from the action. Without warning tears rolled silently down her cheeks and she let them fall, unable to reach up and wipe them away. It had been so long since she’d allowed herself this kind of release, she wasn’t sure what the reason behind them was now. So she let them fall without examining the *why* behind them too closely. If nothing else, her logical mind figured, it was the easiest way to clean out the seawater. Then she put rational thought to one side and let her mind float away into a restful oblivion. She never even realized when she fell asleep.
************
Pain. Rather intense pain.
Darkness.
Warmth.
These were the first sensations Chase became aware of. She moved her head from side to side slowly, trying to orient herself without causing herself any more pain in the process. A cool hand felt her forehead and she leaned into it slightly, feeling her mother’s touch in the contact. A soft voice, not her mother’s but not unfamiliar spoke into the quiet of the darkness.
“Drink.”
A straw was raised to her lips and Chase did as she was told. If she were in enemy hands, they would need her to be lucid before she could answer questions and she would need to be strong to escape. If not, she had found friends, and that was even better. For now though, she struggled to open her eyes.
“Wh...?”
“Shh,” the voice commanded. “You’re safe here, but you need to rest and heal. Sleep now. All will be explained in the morning.”
Chase sighed and fell asleep once more, her normal breathing rhythm assuring the healer that stood by her bedside.
“Fetch the queen,” Drea said to Rina. “And call together the council. We have some decisions to make.”
************
“She’s not an Amazon.”
“No, but she is a woman under my care. I cannot allow her health to be jeopardized because of prejudice. We wouldn’t even force a man to leave in the shape she is currently in.”
Gasps made the rounds. Prejudice was fairly unheard of
on
“Ladies! Ladies, please. The question on the table is not whether she can stay. Of course she will stay until Drea releases her from her care. What we need to consider is *why* she is here and *how* we can return her to her home. I hesitate to have one of our Amazons escort her, and yet I highly doubt, given the circumstances that surround her arrival as we know them, that she will wish to remain with us.”
“But she can reveal us to the world.”
“Not necessarily,” Paula spoke up. “It is highly unlikely she knows where she is given the ferocity of the fighting we saw. Besides, there are herbs and drugs to assure that part of her memory is not a problem.”
“We can discuss that when the time comes. There is much we need to know first before any sort of decision is made.”
It was quiet as everyone contemplated Hippolyta’s words. Finally, Drea sighed.
“Well, the first order of business is to get her well. After that, well, the young lady in question may have some ideas about everything else herself.”
The queen nodded. “Mala?”
The priestess nodded her agreement. “Let’s get her well, then we can talk. I imagine she will wish to have some say in what happens to her and how. And she will be able to answer our questions without all this unnecessary speculation.”
Hippolyta looked around at the faces of her council. Rarely had they had to meet for anything more than social issues, and she could see how this issue was going to divide them. There was no help for it now though. Diana had followed her heart when she’d pull the young woman out of the sea, and regardless of the consequences, Hippolyta was happy to witness a return of the daughter she knew. Now it only remained to see how those actions would change things for everyone involved.
Chapter II
Chase held herself very still as she came to the second time, focusing on keeping her breathing deep and regular as she struggled to discern many things in the darkness that surrounded her. She was chiefly aware of the pain, mostly in her left thigh, but also from her belly, her right shoulder and her head.
She heard the soft, odd sounds of machinery, and.... Someone else was in the room – a presence more felt than heard, though she could just barely pick out the sounds of soft, regular breaths.
Musta been one hell of a landing, she thought groggily. She remembered the dogfight and without warning, her breathing sped up exponentially as she started reliving it. Her hands clenched the sheets and she grit her teeth, a fact which didn’t go very far towards alleviating the pounding behind her eyes and in her skull.
Warm hands were placed over her clenched fists, coaxing them to relax. Then the coolness of a wet cloth wiped her face, reminding her again of her mother’s soothing touch. The same voice from before, the one that sounded like her mother and yet was not, spoke again into the darkness, willing her to listen and obey.
“Come, child. Open your eyes for me. It’s all a memory... a bad dream. I need you to open your eyes and let me see how you are really doing. Come on, now. Open your eyes.”
Chase’s eyes still felt so heavy, but that voice was very compelling and she struggled to obey. Her eyes open but closed again immediately against light they received as too bright. Drea caught the reaction instantly and called out in a quiet voice, “Lights dim.”
Though they had only been at half-intensity, the lights fell to half again what they had been and Drea looked around to make sure it was safe for her patient to try again.
“Try again,” she asked. “I don’t think the light level will be a problem now,” though it may drive me crazy. Drea liked being able to see. She figured it had a lot to do with her being a healer, but she just felt more comfortable with the lights turned up. However, she was more concerned with getting the small woman’s eyes opened for now. They could work on re-brightening the room later.
Chase blinked rapidly at first, as much to moisturize her eyes as to get them accustomed to the new light level. It was much more manageable now, though still considerably brighter than total darkness had been. She let her eyes look around without moving her head, still afraid that too much movement would cause it to roll right off her shoulders. She hadn’t had a headache like this since her first - and only - hangover. It made her stomach roil in sympathy just thinking about it.
The room was... not what she expected. It was austere in its furnishings as she expected a hospital room to be. Yet it was something beyond that as well. The walls and floors seemed to be made from marble – not the linoleum and plaster she’d expected. The machinery tucked discretely behind and to either side of the bed was beyond anything she’d seen before. She didn’t appear to be a prisoner – the wires and tubes from the machines were attached to her body and looked as though they were monitoring her body’s functions. They in no way hindered her from leaving the bed in the sense that she could remove them. Her arms and feet were not bound.
The most peculiar thing in the room, though, was the woman who spoke in the low, melodic voice. She wasn’t dressed like a nurse... or a doctor for that matter. Hell, she wasn’t dressed like anyone Chase had ever seen. Her brow furrowed as her puzzle became just that much more convoluted. No medical personnel Chase had ever dealt with wore flowing robes or looked so comfortable. Drea smiled gently, sympathetic to her patient’s confusion, but anxious to learn more about the blonde woman as well.
“My name is Drea, and I’m the head healer here.” She reached out a hand and smoothed the hair off Chase’s forehead. “How do you feel?” Chase shifted again, biting back a groan when she pulled on new stitches. She swallowed, and Drea offered her a cup. “Slowly,” the healer cautioned. “You’ve got a nice cut across your stomach and you don’t want to have to throw up because you drank too fast.”
Chase accepted the straw and gingerly sipped the cool liquid, noting fuzzily it wasn’t just water, but something almost tingly. A few swallows and she turned away, exhausted by the effort and disgusted by how drained she felt.
Drea set the cup to one side and smiled at Chase. “You’ll have to finish it, but we’ll go slowly. In the meantime, do you feel up to answering a few questions?”
Chase closed her eyes. She didn’t sense any danger but something was making alarm bells ring in her mind – something familiar in her surroundings - which did nothing to help the headache that was pounding behind her eyes. On the other hand, it didn’t feel threatening. Whatever else, the pilot didn’t think she had fallen into enemy hands.
“Okay,” she finally answered. Drea had seen the expressions crossing Chase’s face and wondered about the thoughts behind them. The healer didn’t even realize she had been holding her breath until she exhaled at the single word. Drea patted her hands comfortingly, then gestured to the side of the wide bed.
“May I?” Chase motioned with her hand, unwilling to risk moving her head until the pounding eased somewhat. “Thank you... um...?”
“Chase.”
“Just Chase?”
“For now,” the blonde smiled as rakishly as she could manage. “We really don’t know each other sufficiently yet for anything else.”
Drea smiled. The woman certainly was enchanting; the healer could see how easy it would be for any number of Amazons to be swept away by her charm. She nodded her acceptance of Chase’s answer; she could clearly see the wariness and distrust in those green eyes.
“I like it... it suits you somehow,” said with a smile. “Now,” getting briskly down to business. “Do you remember what happened? What brought you to us?
“Whose side are you on?” Chase answered one question with another. At Drea’s look of confusion, she continued. “In the fight against tyranny, whose side are you on?”
Drea shook her head, unwilling to reveal the Amazons and their location to Chase at this point in time. “We, um... I guess we are neutral? We’re so far removed from everything and everyone that we really don’t have a side. But I’d like to think we’d come down on the side of right if given a choice.”
Chase stared hard into the brown eyes looking back at her. She’d learned as a very young child how to gauge when a person was lying to her and that skill had served her well since that time. She saw nothing but honesty and a bit of hesitant fear reflected back to her.
“All right,” Chase replied, relaxing back into her pillows with a barely concealed groan. Drea picked up the cup and offered it again, and Chase sipped on it gratefully – both for the wetness it provided her poor throat and because she felt her headache easing off. She had the distinct impression the tingly feeling was behind that.
Drea waited patiently. She had dealt with this kind before and knew that pushing Chase would result in nothing – no answers for them and no trust between them. And Mala had already stressed this woman’s importance to Diana... and Diana’s importance to the Amazons. No one would be happier to see the fulfillment of Mala’s prophecy more than Drea. So she continued to wait.
Chase let her mind wander, even as she processed her impressions of this place. Everything told her she was safe here, and yet there was still something setting off niggling alarms in the back of her mind. She decided it was safe enough to give this woman Drea an abbreviated accounting of what happened. She knew she couldn’t get information without giving some, and she needed this woman to help her get well enough to go home.
Hans is gonna kill me.
“Well,” Chase started, clearing her throat gently. “I was on my way home when I got spotted by a patrol of Nazis. Though what they were doing out this far....” she mused to herself and grew silent as she pondered that puzzle for a long moment. Chase didn’t see the widening of Drea’s eyes at the mention of the Nazis. She drew a deep breath and resumed speaking.
“Anyway, they saw me and gave....” Here she smiled sheepishly. “Chase. I started shooting.” The pilot turned her attention full on the healer, and Drea was impressed by the presence the small woman focused her way. “Did any of them survive?”
Drea shook her head. “Not to our knowledge. You were the only one we saw escape from your flying machine.”
“Hmm... I remember popping the top just before I hit the last man. The explosion was....” She shuddered. “Horrific,” finished in a whisper. Chase closed her eyes, willing the images away. She could still visualize the terror on the young man’s face, and she wondered as she watched him explode if he was even old enough to shave. That was the worst part of the rebellion. Chase could still see clearly every single person she’d been force to kill, and sometimes that burden got so heavy. But she had decided long ago that living with oppression and tyranny were worse, so she locked that memory away as she had so many others throughout her lifetime, knowing they would only come back to haunt her in the darkest part of her dreams.
Drea sat quietly, not wanting to disturb Chase’s thoughts, though it was apparent they were unpleasant. When the green eyes blinked open again, the healer offered her some more water, which Chase gladly accepted. Her headache had eased off to the point of being almost non-existent, and the rest of her body was starting to relax from the pain as well.
“Anyway, I remember the explosion, which was way too close for my tastes, and being hit in the stomach and thigh. And after that.... Did I hit my head on something?”
Drea nodded. “The water, we think. You came down in it pretty hard. You seemed to have caught an updraft that dropped right out from under you while you were still a little way up. We were just glad you were over water and not earth. Gaia is a little less forgiving than Poseidon.”
The blood drained out of Chase’s face as she understood the implications of what Drea was telling her. The healer realized what her words must have sounded like to the pilot and hastened to reassure her.
“The drop did no residual damage aside from your headache. All your motor functions react normally to stimuli and nothing is broken. All your wounds appear to be from your combat experience.” Drea touched Chase’s shoulder. “We took a bullet from here, and shredded metal from here,” moving her hand to Chase’s thigh. “Your stomach had a clean cut across it. The only explanation we could come up with was a piece of one of the exploding airplanes caught you as you ejected.”
Chase nodded tentatively, inordinately pleased when her head didn’t fall off. “I think you’re right. I remember some rather intense pain before I blacked out.” She paused. “You say I fell in the water.” Drea nodded. “Who pulled me out?”
“Our very reclusive princess.”
“Does that mean I won’t get to meet her? I mean, I’d at least like to thank the woman who saved my life.”
“Probably. She’s not inclined to be social very much,” Drea said honestly, thinking back to a time when that wasn’t true. “But you never know. Stranger things have happened.” And her rescuing you would be one of those things. Never thought we’d see that hero again. “But,” Drea continued to speak aloud as she rose from the bed and tucked the cover around Chase. “I want you to get some more rest. When I come back it will be with something to eat.”
Chase’s belly rumbled in response and she blushed and grinned awkwardly. “I think that sounds like a great idea. I can’t remember the last time I ate.” Drea grinned in response.
“I’ll bring plenty.”
Diana woke in the dawn disoriented, her abused body screaming in agony. Her face was pressed into the sand, and her body was curled into a fetal position. She deliberately stretched as far as she could, working through the pain of aching muscles and allowing her thoughts to wander.
Why do I hurt so badly? I’m not in bad shape, thinking of the rigorous exercises she did daily. Why am I on the beach? It appears I spent the night here, but why? And who got close enough to cover me without my noticing? She pushed the thin blanket aside and stood. Already she felt better. Evidently she had remained in one position too long, letting her muscles atrophy after some apparently harsh exertion. But what? And why couldn’t she recall anything after heading out for her run?
She shrugged and picked the blanket off the sand, shaking it out and meticulously folding it neatly. Then she moved back towards the palace, determined to discover what had happened the previous day.
Diana noticed a subtle difference in the Amazons’ attitudes towards her and her curiosity grew. They were looking at her with eyes full of admiration and awe, something she’d accepted as her due once upon a time, but no more. Not since her mother....
Here her thoughts grew cold and hard, and she ignored the respect they paid her. Diana placed the blanket on a chair just inside the palace, moving with sure, silent steps towards her rooms.
“Diana?” Her mother’s voice... a voice she studiously ignored. “Daughter!” seeing the princess stiffen but not slow her steps or acknowledge the queen’s presence. “Diana, we need to talk.” Hippolyta reached out a hand, and found it caught and held in a nearly painful grip.
Diana didn’t speak, simply looked at her mother for a long moment. Then she threw the queen’s hand from her and resumed her trek to her room.
Hippolyta stood frozen in the middle of the hallway, torn between anger at her daughter’s impudence and despair at what she had seen so clearly in those expressive blue eyes. She started after Diana when she heard her name called from the other end of the hallway. Turning, she saw Rina, and the assistant healer’s winded condition caused her immediate concern.
“Rina?” moving towards her.
“My... my queen. Drea... requests your presence... immediately. It seems our... patient spoke to her... this morning.”
Hippolyta cast one last glance towards her daughter’s room, then strode with Rina out the other end of the hall. Drea wouldn’t call her this early if it wasn’t a matter of some urgency.
“Do you know what she said?” Hippolyta asked. She never saw Diana glance out of her room nor the princess’ shoulders slump when she saw Hippolyta moving away from her. Diana’s resolve hardened again, and she refused to allow the tears to fall. Instead she moved to the shower, wanting to rinse away the sand and all the aches and pains she had accumulated... inside and out.
Hippolyta waved the assembled Amazons back to their seats, glad they had been gathered so quickly. She would soon understand that most of them had been working overtime since Chase had been pulled from the water. And in Paula’s case, since they’d spotted the aerial dogfight in the skies above them.
“Hello, Ladies,” watching with mischievous glee the outraged expressions that turned her way. They were Amazons – first, last and always – and Hippolyta knew that was the surest way to not only get their complete attention, but break up some of the tension in the room as well. “Drea, you have the floor,” taking a seat and motioning to her best friend.
“Majesty,” accepting with a nod and rising from her chair. “I spoke with our guest just a short while ago. She doesn’t trust us... yet anyway. Not that I can blame her after what I found out. For now, she goes by the name of Chase. It’s all she would share with me about herself.”
“Okay, so...?” Hippolyta asked, knowing there had to be more if Drea summoned the council.
“She also gave me an abbreviated account of what brought her to us... specifically the air fight that took place.”
“How do you know it’s abbreviated and how can we be sure she gave you accurate information?” asked Nubia. She was one of Hippolyta’s most trusted advisors, and she was the biggest skeptic on Paradise Island. She had been after the queen, the healer and the priestess to push Diana out of what she perceived as a childish funk. She was well-respected for her forthrightness, if not well-liked for her harsh outlook and ruthless tongue.
“If you’d let me finish,” the healer said pointedly. She and Nubia mixed like oil and water, and there were days – this was shaping up to be one of them – when Drea wanted to send Nubia far, far away. The dark-skinned Amazon nodded her head magnanimously, and gestured for the healer to continue.
“Thank you,” turning back towards the queen. “What she told me about... what she said....” Drea rubbed a hand across her face. “It’s the Nazis... again. Or still.” Gasps around the table, followed by whispers and low chatter. Drea held up her hands for silence before she continued. “Paula started doing research as soon as she realized what was happening yesterday, and I gave her the information Chase gave me immediately. She’s been going non-stop on this.” The healer turned to the scientist. “She came to me as soon as she gathered enough information to make a preliminary report.” Drea sat down and Paula stood, chewing her lip nervously. Sometimes she hated her job. She cleared her throat and began to speak.
“When we noticed the air fight over the island, it was... familiar. And Chase’s arrival... it reminded us of... well, it was very similar to what happened when Steve Trevor dropped in on our home.” The council as a body held their breaths and eyes turned furtively towards the queen. That had been the turning point in Diana’s life and left them with the nearly unrecognizable woman who was now their princess. Paula swallowed and went on.
“We started doing some checking and when Drea came in with her information, it gave us something specific to look for. What we found was... disturbing.”
Paula stopped talking and looked at Drea for support. The healer was the only one who knew what they had found out as she had been standing in the research lab when the information came through. Drea nodded and Nubia nearly slapped the table in frustration until she saw the serious expression on Paula’s face. Nubia had a soft spot for the scientist and knew without asking that whatever she’d discovered had very bad connotations.
“Paula?” Hippolyta’s softly spoken word broke the silence that had fallen.
“I’m sorry, my queen. The next part is, um... hard to tell. I feel like it is partly my lack of vigilance that allowed this to develop like it has.”
Hippolyta stood from her seat and moved around the table to take Paula’s hands in her own. “Paula, if anyone bears responsibility and guilt here it will be me. You have always faithfully served the Nation. No one here questions your loyalty or vigilance. Now, tell me what you found out.”
Paula focused on the queen; it was easier that way.
“Take your time,” Hippolyta said, seeing the hesitation and feeling a cold shudder travel down her own spine. Paula nodded, and looked down at their still linked hands for a long moment, drawing strength from the trust she felt flowing from Hippolyta.
“Diana didn’t lie to you, my queen. The Nazis apparently won the war they were waging a hundred years ago.” She swallowed hard enough for the room to hear it. “And it looks like they had help... Amazon help.”
The silence that fell in the room at Paula’s pronouncement was so still even the wind stopped blowing. Hippolyta paled at the implication of Paula’s words, her hands tightening reflexively on the scientist’s.
The sound of a chair scraping across the floor broke the spell and Hippolyta looked around, gratefully noting Drea’s presence behind her almost immediately. She leaned back into the healer’s embrace while maintaining her grip on Paula’s hands.
“You mean, Orana...?”
Paula nodded. “Yes, my queen. Though I cannot say so with one hundred percent certainty, all indicators we have found point to her being the reason for the Nazis’ success.”
“Oh, my gods,” the queen muttered. She never heard the excited chatter – the buzzing in her ears blocked the sound, and then the world went blissfully black.
Diana wondered at the odd silence that seemed to be hovering around the palace. The outside guards were in place, but no one appeared to be inside. In a completely inexplicable change in behavior, the princess was roaming the corridors, seeing what she could see instead of holing up in her room as was her habit.
The palace was more than a home for her and her mother. It also housed several public areas - the library, a music conservatory, the scientific research laboratories, the infirmary and the hothouse gardens. It was also home to several other Amazons aside from the royal family, but their quarters were in a separate wing. Many of the Amazons had their own homes with yards and gardens spread across the island, but all were welcome in the public areas of the palace.
Today, however, no one was about. No one that is except for the small, unknown woman who lay sleeping in the infirmary.
Diana stood in the doorway for a long moment studying her intently. She wondered who the woman was and where she’d come from. There was a familiarity that tickled the edges of her senses though she knew for a certainty that the woman was a stranger to herself and the island. And ever more curious – how she’d come by the injuries she had so obviously sustained. Diana had absolutely no recollection of her own efforts to save Chase, and no one was around to answer her questions or tell her the story. She never saw Rina, who was monitoring Chase from one of the observation rooms and who maintained her distance on strict orders from both the queen and Drea.
The princess walked quickly through the palace and outdoors, realizing immediately where all the Amazons had disappeared to. They all sat in the outdoor theatre next to the palace and the queen was addressing them. She wondered why she had not been summoned, then shrugged. It was obvious to her that the only reason she was part of this society at all anymore was because she had nowhere else to go - either by choice or by design.
So Diana chose not to bother and went to sit in her favorite thinking tree.
Chase felt someone staring, but just couldn’t seem to open her eyes. Whatever the healer had given her packed quite a punch and though she felt much better than she had the first time she’d awakened, she was unable to pry her eyes opened. Instead, she floated in a comfortable twilight, aware of sounds and sensations around her, but powerless to do more than listen to them.
She turned her mind back to the Drea’s words, and wondered again what she was missing. The healer wasn’t being totally open and honest, though Chase couldn’t really blame her. The pilot wasn’t completely forthcoming with information either.
Chase felt the presence leave as silently as it came, and she wondered if she was going to be some sort of freak sideshow. Though in all fairness to wherever she was, this was the first observer Chase was actually aware of having. Cool your jets, Chase. You don’t need to be making snap judgments – especially since you’re not in a position to do anything about anything until you’re healed a little more.
She wondered at the silence, though. In her brief snippets of conscious and semi-conscious memories, there had always been a soft scuffling of footsteps, the crackle of moving material and the whisper of breathing. Right now, there was nothing, save her own breathing and the whirr of machinery in the room. With a mental shrug, Chase put it out of her mind. She couldn’t do anything about it, so she let herself slip out of the twilight state and back into a deep, healing sleep.
“My sister Amazons,” the queen began. “Many of you....” She paused, knowing the truth. “All of you are aware that we have a visitor from the outside. A mortal woman who literally fell out of the skies and into our backyard. While I know you are all intensely curious about her and the circumstances surrounding her appearance here on Paradise Island, I am asking for your patience. She was badly injured before she hit the water, and Drea has indicated she will need sufficient time to heal before she can have any visitors. And even when Drea releases her to have visitors, I am asking you all to be kind to the young woman and don’t interrogate her. The council and I will endeavor to find out all we can and will pass along any pertinent information, but please – we want her experience to be something she will remember as a beautiful dream.”
After Paula’s words had sunk in, the council decided not to share the implications with the general Amazon population... at least not yet. There were still too many unknowns, and they felt there was no reason to stir things up any more than Chase’s appearance already had until they had more facts. The queen, when she’d regained her senses, had ordered Paula to get some rest while the remainder of the council discussed her findings quietly. It confirmed a good many things that heretofore had made no sense to them. It didn’t, however, bring them any closer to a decision.
The only thing they agreed on was the fact that no one wanted to start a panic or a revolt – both of which were possible if the council went off half-cocked. So it was decided that the queen would make an announcement, and the council would proceed from there. There had to be an answer, and it was up to them to find it.
Mala didn’t attend the queen’s address to the rest of the Amazons. She felt the need for prayer and fasting. This whole situation was becoming much more than she’d initially seen, and she wanted to ask for guidance and wisdom. The priestess wondered if any of the goddesses would answer, though. They had been unusually silent, as of late... ever since the fiasco with Diana, in fact. Mala shrugged. Perhaps they would make an appearance now. Change was in the wind, and any goddess worth her salt was going to want to be in the forefront of that change.
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