Showcase: Thunder Girl

The Child of Thunder and Lightning

by D.S. Wynne and Doc Quantum of the Time Trust

Prologue

The Amazons were an ancient society of horse-women whose origins predate Greek civilization. It is said that the Founding Mothers of the Amazons were begat upon Otrera by Ares, the God of War, himself. Many legends and tales of the Amazons sprang up in different parts of the Mediterranean and Black Sea area. It was said that the Amazons met with men from nearby societies, then after choosing suitable mates from among those deemed to be good physical specimens, they would take them into the darkness of the forest and mate with them, leaving them afterwards. This was done regularly in order to propagate the next generation of Amazon warriors and enlarge their numbers. Upon birth, all the male children were killed, blinded, or crippled, and, if kept alive and deemed suitable, were used as a supply of male seed. The female children were raised as full Amazons, replenishing their numbers as the older Amazons died. They also took men prisoner in battle, and after choosing the most handsome among them, they used them for their own pleasure and either killed them or used them as slaves once their usefulness had been expended.

Large herds of horses were kept by the Amazons, who were skilled riders. These horses were used in war parties as they raided other lands. The Amazons were also skilled with the bow, and it was said that the right breast of every young female was cut off so as to facilitate the drawing of the bow, making her a more highly-skilled archer. The name “Amazon” itself is believed to descend from the Greek word amazoi, which means “breast-less.” They also used swords, double-sided axes, and carried distinctive, crescent-shaped shields, and fought while on horseback.

The Amazons were a mighty empire of warriors at one time, traveling great distances while conquering various enemies. Several Amazons under Queen Penthesilea went to Troy in aid of King Priam during the Trojan War, and while doing battle, Penthesilea was wounded in her right breast by the hero Achilles, who then fell in love with her great beauty.

It is not known where the Amazons originated from, although their cities ranged from Libya to the Black Sea at the height of their glory. They later migrated to an area on the coast of the Black Sea, where the great city of Themiskyra was founded upon the shores of the river Thermodon.

Another settlement was later founded upon the island of Aretias in the Black Sea, not far from Themiskyra. This island was written about by Apollonius Rhodius, the library of the Museum at Alexandria in Egypt, in the early 2nd century BC in The Argonautica; this book was an account of the voyage of the Greek hero Jason and his comrades through the Black Sea along its south coast.

Aretias, the island of the Amazons, is now known as Giresun Adasi. Today this island is believed to be deserted by the outside world, with little more than remains of buildings and a Byzantine monastery. However, this islet is still the venue for fertility rites. Every May women from the mainland come to this island to perform ritual acts. Those facts indicate a continued existence of cultic and religious tradition!

It is not known by the outside world what became of the Amazons, who seem to have disappeared roughly 3,000 years ago. Some believe that they made their last stand at Themiskyra, their numbers depleted and no longer able to fight back against an enemy who wished them destroyed. Many most likely were absorbed into the various civilizations around them, but many simply vanished without a trace.

It should be noted that there are theories that the Amazons thrive to the present day, having survived by adapting their already-formidable skills to the winds and waves of history. Some of these theories show the scant evidence of several female-dominated secret societies throughout the ages as their “proof” of the Amazons’ continued presence in history, but none of these sources have so far shown themselves to be credible. Again it is shown that the mythology must be carved away from the history and left out merely as fodder for Adventure Fiction writers and Hollywood.

From the Introduction to Amazonia: From Myth to History by Dr. Theodore Adams

Chapter One

1974.

A thunderstorm brewed over New Aretias Isle. Lysippe Hippolyta XXXIII, the Queen of the Amazons, was a stately woman in her mid-50s who looked little older than 35. This night the Queen was concerned with the storm overhead. Can this be an omen from the gods? she thought to herself. Turning to her most trusted advisors, she asked this same question.

“As far as I can tell,” Menalippe the Oracle began, “the gods have not given me a sign that the storm is an omen. However, I will continue to commune with them by performing the Rites of Spiritus to see if this is the case.” Menalippe was not the Oracle’s first name, but was actually a title which, when an Amazon became the official Oracle, replaced her former name, which she was required to never use again.

Lysippe knew how dangerous that particular ritual was, since it meant that the initiator would perform an astral projection. The astral traveler was vulnerable to attacks by beings from the ethereal plane. She also risked having her body taken over by these same beings. Nevertheless, the Queen had to allow her Oracle to do whatever it took to contact their gods. “Very well. But, Menalippe, do be careful.”

After Menalippe left, Lysippe turned to the others. “I would like to interject that the storms can be controlled,” said Polydora, the island’s resident scientist who had been fathered by a famous German physicist some thirty years earlier. “However, I cannot discover a solution without knowing the source of the problem.”

“If I may interject,” said Magala the Sorceress, a middle-aged woman fathered by a Russian mystic. “I know what is causing these storms to rage.”

“Oh?” Polydora coyly asked. “What superstitious nonsense have you relied upon to help you in this matter?”

“The kind that will make your science insignificant compared to my Art.”

It was no secret that Magala and Polydora were competitive towards each other. While Magala was a practitioner of the magic, Polydora was a willworker of science. Both of them saw each other as threat towards their own world-view and took great pleasure in trying to out-do each other. Lysippe knew this, which is why she favored none of their accomplishments openly. Ironically, their competitiveness had benefited New Aretias and the Amazons greatly in recent years and had helped make the island a modern land of wonder. Still, the Queen barely tolerated their antics. Perhaps the mystery at hand would give Lysippe the means to build a proverbial bridge between the two different ideologies.

“Speak, Magala,” said the Queen. “What have you discovered?”

“The source of the storms is the Wall of Chaos.”

“Impossible!” Polydora exclaimed. “My findings indicate that the energies within the Wall were stable.”

“Of course you would say that. Science can only measure that which is predictable. The primordial energies of the universe, the source of magic, cannot be measured by science because of its unpredictability. In other words, it ignores the laws of your physics.”

“Then how can you perform your ‘spells’ without rules?”

“Simple. My will forces the primordial energies to conform to my wishes. Even then, you must develop a system to help you to focus that will. Otherwise, that same energy will overwhelm you.”

“Hmm…”

Lysippe always enjoyed these types of conversations, moreso whenever she attended the philosophical debates at the island’s Academy. Still, there was little time for this, especially with the present crisis at hand.

“So… what is causing the Wall to misbehave?” the Queen asked Magala.

“Of that, I do not know.”

“Ha!” Polydora mocked.

“But,” Magala said as she glared at the scientist, “I do know we can manipulate those same primal energies to control the Wall.”

“Wait a minute,” said Phillipis, the Captain of the Guard, a dark-skinned woman fathered by an African warrior. Phillipis was in attendance to discuss what was being done in response to the storm and had been listening intently while waiting her turn to speak to the Queen. “Would we not offend the gods by trying to control the Wall? After all, they are the ones who put the barrier in place for us to guard in exchange for bringing our ancestress safely to New Aretias.”

“If we do not find a solution soon, New Aretias will suffer from these storms,” said Magala. “I, for one, would like to act as soon as possible, with or without the gods’ approval. Besides, I think the gods are more impressed with those who help themselves than with those who solely rely on their help.”

“You presume much, witch,” Phillipis said, never having trusted magic-users.

“Phillipis, please!” Lysippe exclaimed. “Magala has my permission to speak her mind at this junction. Right now, I need to hear all opinions in order to make the right decision.”

Scratching her forehead for a moment, Lysippe continued: “While Menalippe is in communal, you–” She looked at Magala. “–and Polydora will work together in developing a workable solution to the present crisis. So I want the both of you to set aside your egos. Understood?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the two said in unison.

“Good. Now be off with you.”

Once Magala and Polydora departed Queen Lysippe Hippolyta XXXIII’s chambers, the Queen began to confer with her captain to see if emergency preparations had been made.

***

A few hours later, Magala and Polydora (after much bickering) had developed a device called “Apollo’s Song” that would allow the Amazons to control the Wall of Chaos. Now, Lysippe went to the Temple of the Oracle to see what was the response of the gods to Magala and Polydora’s plan. With her was the Sword of Truth, which Lysippe planned on using it if she suspected that Menalippe’s body was being possessed (part of the risks of astral projection). While the Oracle’s attendants prayed and chanted, the Queen waited.

Suddenly, Menalippe bolted right up. While her attendants attended her needs, Lysippe used the Sword of Truth on her Oracle by placing the blade on her neck. Once Menalippe’s identity proved valid, the Queen asked if the gods approved the use of the device. Once her Oracle relayed their gods’ approval, Lysippe relayed a message to Magala and Polydora that they were allowed to proceed with their plan. Crossing her fingers, something she learned during her own outer world sojourns in the 1930s and 40s, the Queen hoped for the best.

Chapter Two

It was a clear and sunny early afternoon and had been a few days since Magala the Sorceress and Polydora’s device (called “Apollo’s Song”) had given the Amazons control over the Wall of Chaos. With the crisis over, everyone was enjoying the day.

Meanwhile, in the chambers of the Queen of the Amazons, Lysippe Hippolyta XXXIII was having some quality time with her brown-haired, 10-year-old daughter, Promethea, by playing yet another round of chess, a game introduced to the island a thousand years previously. While some mothers would talk with their daughters on matters of the heart, Lysippe discussed with her daughters matters of philosophy and the historical records of the greatest military minds in the history of the world. After all, Lysippe had taken after Ares, her ancestor and the father of the Amazons. However, on this day, besides Promethea’s love for horses, the two were discussing Myrene and Phoebe’s impending arrival.

Myrene, Lysippe’s eldest daughter, was the product of a union between then-Princess Lysippe and a Frenchman in the Foreign Legion during the second of Lysippe’s sojourns in World War II. Phoebe was Myrene’s only daughter as yet, born of a brief fling with an American pilot stationed in Japan in the early ’60s during her first sojourn. Every Amazon warrior left New Aretias a few times during her young adulthood — these were called sojourns — in order to learn the ways of the world, become educated in outer world schools, sow her wild oats, and find exceptional men to father her children. The Amazons were spread all across the world, as well, and this secret society with its contact network was invaluable in creating new identities for legal purposes, such as enrolling in universities and becoming citizens of various nations. Amazon children were always female and had been since the Renaissance, when the process for ensuring the gender of the unborn child was discovered by the Amazons.

“So, when are Myrene and Phoebe arriving?” Promethea said as she moved her chess piece.

“Soon, Promethea, soon,” Lysippe replied as she moved her own piece in a counter-move.

“Do you think Myrene will bring something with her this time? The stories of her world travels are always neat, but I like it when she brings a souvenir from one of her adventures with her. So, is she bringing something with her this time?”

“Hmmm. As a matter of fact, she is bringing a ‘surprise’ with her. And, no, I don’t know what that surprise is.”

“Oh, I see. Check.”

“Not bad. However, you are still 40 years too late to beat me. Checkmate in three moves.”

“Oh, Mother!” Promethea exclaimed. “I thought I had you this time.”

“Actually, you almost did. You see…”

As Lysippe went on to give Promethea some pointers, the two failed to notice the arrival of the Amazon princess and her daughter into the Queen’s chambers. Princess Myrene, a raven-haired adventuress in her early 30s, and her daughter Phoebe, a 12-year-old girl with dark red hair, had just arrived on New Aretias and wanted to surprise the Queen by asking the attendants not to announce their arrival. For one quiet moment, Myrene simply watched her mother and youngest sister, reminding her of their time together during her youth. She remembered the times when she would play games with her mother. Family was important to her, and she felt that Lysippe was at her best when she played the role of parent. There was only that one time where being “good parent” was not good enough. If only Orora was not so angry with Mother’s decision, Myrene thought to herself. If only–

“Myrene!” Promethea exclaimed. “You’re back!”

Promethea got up from her chair and ran towards her elder sister. With a mighty hug, the two shared a moment of sisterly love. After the moment had passed, the two un-embraced. Phoebe saw this with a mixture of awe and jealousy. No matter how close she was to her mother, Phoebe felt that she would never be as close as her mother was to Promethea. “Hiya, squirt,” Phoebe said with a mischievous grin to the girl who, though two years younger than her, was her aunt, her mother’s youngest sister.

“Hiya, red,” said Promethea likewise.

“Now, now, you two,” Myrene admonished. “I simply can’t put the two of you together without you teasing each other.”

“Indeed,” said Lysippe as she rose from her chair. “Hello, Myrene.”

“Hello, Mother,” Myrene said as she gave the Amazon greeting to her mother. “I was informed of what had transpired here on the island. I look forward to the details.”

“I am sure that Phillipis will give you the details.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Promethea said as she interrupted the two. “So, what did you bring with ya? Huh? Huh?”

“Well, since you are so impatient, here is the ‘surprise.’”

At this point, Promethea noticed that Phoebe was holding a wicker basket. Handing the basket over to her mother, Myrene presented it to Lysippe. The Queen, her curiosity piqued, looked inside.

“A baby?” the Queen asked, slightly dumbfounded, as she saw an olive-skinned toddler with black hair in the wicker basket.

“Yes, Mother,” Myrene replied. “Her name is Celia. Isn’t she cute?”

Handing the child over her granddaughter Phoebe, Lysippe took Myrene aside. “Where did you get her, and why have you brought her here?”

“As unusual as this may sound, a strange phantom handed her over to me while I was traveling in Greece. He simply said that the child had a destiny to fulfill, and that I could help facilitate that. I could not get a good look at the being, but I could tell that this stranger was more than he appeared to be.”

“But why here? Why not give her to a mortal family?”

“I did not consider it, because I felt that she would benefit by living here.”

“Very well. I will see if one of our sisters is able to become the child’s foster mother…”

“Actually, I would like it if you become her guardian.”

“Me? Explain.”

“You are the only one that I can trust to know what is best for this child. I would also want to know that her destiny is in good hands. Besides, did you not say that Promethea could benefit by having a younger sister to look after?”

“Hmm. Perhaps you are right. Still, I just need to know if the child’s destiny does not include the destruction of the Amazon Nation.”

“It does not, my Queen,” said Menalippe the Oracle as she strolled into the Queen’s chamber.

“Menalippe!” exclaimed Phoebe. “How are you this day?”

“I am well,” the Oracle said as she turned back to Lysippe. “The gods have ordained this day that you, Queen of the Amazons, will become the guardian of this child.”

“I hate it when she gets so formal and stuff,” Promethea whispered.

“I know what you mean, kiddo,” replied Phoebe.

“Did you learn of this when you were in communal?” inquired the Queen.

“Aye, Your Majesty. I apologize for not telling you of this edict sooner, but I was specifically forbidden to do so until this moment arrived.”

“Menalippe was the one who confirmed what the strange phantom had said of the child,” said Myrene. “I wish that I was the one chosen for this honor.”

At this point, Lysippe barely heard any more of what was being said, for she was pondering what she felt for the child. On one hand, she had successfully raised three daughters, though she could honestly ask if what happened between her and Orora could be called a success. Still, being a mother was special to her. Perhaps having a younger sister for Promethea would be a great benefit to all concerned.

Taking the child out of the basket, Lysippe started to cuddle her. Yes, the Queen thought to herself. Maybe it is time to start again.

Meanwhile, Magala the Sorceress was observing what was transpiring by way of her scrying pool. While she hated spying on the Queen in her very chambers, Magala needed to know if everything was proceeding according to destiny. Magala was not alone in wanting to know this as well.

“As you can see, phantom, Lysippe will take guardianship of the child.”

“Good,” the stranger replied. “The Power must be wielded well and harnessed properly.”

“So when I can inform the Queen of your intentions?”

“Soon. Though she will be angered by these orchestrated events, she will understand soon enough. I have known Lysippe long enough to know that destiny is as important as duty. You will handle things from here?”

“Of course, phantom. Since when have I failed your expectations?” The stranger merely nodded and vanished.

Magala had so much work to do in the years to come. She could only hope that the Queen could forgive her for this apparent manipulation.

Chapter Three

1986. More than eleven years later.

In the rear courtyard of the royal palace, one could hear the sound of wood striking wood. Upon finding the source of the sound, one could find two 12-year-old girls dueling each other with staffs. Observing this was Phillipis, the Captain of the Guard. As Celia and her best friend Drusilla fought each other, Phillipis looked at their movements with a critical eye.

“That’s it, Celia,” Phillipis said, “go for her shins!”

Celia swung her staff at her friend’s shins. Predictably, Drusilla blocked the blow, which was followed by a thrust to the head. Celia then swung her staff around to deflect the blow.

“Ha!” Celia exclaimed. “Thought you could get me on that one, eh, Dru?”

“I’m just getting started, Mar! Hiii-yah!”

The exchange of blows was fast and furious. Neither friends wanted to give an inch to the other; Celia didn’t want to let her adoptive mother down, while Drusilla didn’t want to lose to anybody.

“Break!” yelled Phillipis. Seeing how the girls were taking their practice session way too seriously, she decided to end the session early. Phillipis felt that the break was in order. “Why don’t you two go inside for lunch while I evaluate your performances?”

“OK!” the two said in unison.

As the two went inside, they were being watched by two figures from a palace balcony. Phillipis saw these figures and waved.

“As you can see, Your Majesty,” Magala the Sorceress said to Queen Lysippe. “Celia’s progress is proceeding quite nicely.”

“Indeed,” the Queen replied. “However, don’t forget for a moment that I have not forgotten your dishonesty in all this.”

“But, Your Majesty…”

“Please, Magala. I need not hear your excuses on this matter. When I took Celia into my household, I did so because I cared about her welfare, not because of her destiny. I will see that she is prepared for her destiny. However, I will not see her harmed in any way. Is that clear?”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

As the two girls ate their lunch in the main garden, Celia and Drusilla talked about the upcoming “Rite of Ascension,” in which all pre-teen girls would be tested to see if they are worthy to be called “Amazon.” This event was held over a seven-day period, which featured tests of athletics, crafting, debating, gliding and wilderness survival. Celia and Drusilla were considered to be the best of this new generation of girls. However, they faced stiff competition from Flora and Greta of the house of Smyrna. Both prided themselves as the cream of the crop, and both would be very happy to see Celia and Drusilla lose big.

“I tell you,” Celia began, “those two ‘witches’ really bug me.”

“Yeah, I know,” Drusilla replied. “They only harass us because you’re the Queen’s daughter, and I happen to be your best friend.”

“But I didn’t ask for this!”

“Nope, and it won’t get any better, either. Word has it that Flora and her sister are planning on doing something that could screw you up from becoming a full Amazon.”

“I doubt it, since even they aren’t dishonorable enough to do such a thing. However, I did hear that they have been training intensely under Lara the Fight Mistress.”

“Wow. Isn’t she the one that was rejected from joining ‘The Guard’ because she was too violent?”

“Yes, she’s the one. Since Phillipis is personally training you and I, Lara is personally training the Smyrna sisters as a way of getting even with the Captain.”

“Hmm. Well, it looks like we’ll just have to train that much harder, huh?”

“Looks like.” Getting up, Celia gave her plate to her court attendant Miriam, who had served lunch. “Race you back?” Celia said to her friend.

“Yes. Let’s,” Drusilla responded. With that, the two raced back to the royal courtyard.

***

Meanwhile, an important meeting took place beneath Magala the Sorceress’s residence.

“Now that the gifts from our favorite deities have been acquired,” said Menalippe the Oracle, “we can complete Magala’s ritual.”

Lysippe stepped forward to the glowing blue sphere. She watched as Magala moved her hands around it, while she chanted unfamiliar words. Later, when asked what she had said, Magala would only reply that the language was a mixture of Minoan and ancient Atlantean.

“You… you may… submit your gift, my Queen,” said the struggling sorceress.

Lysippe took a ritual knife (made of Prometheum) from her Oracle and pricked her finger with it. Then the Queen pierced the orb with her bleeding finger. With conviction, Lysippe said:

“Hear me! I grant my strength for this sacred pact, so says Lysippe, Queen of the Amazons!!”

From out of nowhere, a huge lightning bolt struck the sphere, shattering it. The bolt continued its course until it struck the rear wall. When the smoke cleared, the names appeared, having seemingly been etched in stone. What made the names more interesting, was the fact that when aligned, the first letters of each name formed an unusual acronym:

SHAZAM.

“Look there, stranger!” Lysippe shouted as she pointed at the wall. “The task is done. Now get off my sisters’ island!”

The strange, phantom-like being merely grunted his reply before disappearing. Lysippe had dealt with this creature before, and she knew not to trust him. Still, she knew how important his involvement in all this was, whether she liked it or not. Now, Lysippe had to wait for destiny to unfold.

Chapter Four

Meanwhile, on New Aretias…

Princess Celia of New Aretias was sitting on a bench overlooking the beach from the royal palace. Much had changed since she last sat there. She didn’t know whether to be happy about knowing her true origins or not. If only life was still simple, Celia thought to herself. If only I could have done what I did without this hanging over me…

***

A week ago…

The Rite of Ascension was a time when young girls were tested to be worthy of being called “Amazon.” Each candidate had to be tested on horsemanship, athletics, academics, bowmanship, wilderness survival, and other Amazon skills. So far all the candidates, including Celia and her best friend Drusilla (and, unfortunately, Flora and Greta Smyrna as well), had passed most of the tests. Now, the candidates had to be tested in wilderness survival, where they had to prove that they could learn how to survive with very little. Each pair of girls would be accompanied by an evaluator; in this case, Promethea (Celia’s older sister) would be their evaluator.

Everyone gathered to the royal courtyard, where the last-minute instructions were to be given. From there, Magala would teleport the candidates to random locations throughout the island’s wilderness areas. While waiting for the event to begin, Celia and Drusilla got into yet another name-calling session with their rivals, Flora and Greta.

“Well, at least I don’t look like a Harpy!” yelled Drusilla.

“Hey, don’t pick on my sister, you butt-kisser!” yelled back Flora, who knew how sensitive her younger sister was about her rather homely appearance.

“Will you two stop it?” Celia asked. “I got to look over this map, and I can’t concentrate with you two yelling and stuff.”

“I didn’t start this, Celia! Greta did.”

“Hey!” responded Greta. “All I said was that we will win this round, and you will not. We win. You lose. Ha!”

“Will you four knock it off?!?” yelled Phoebe. “You guys can’t be left alone for a minute without getting into it.”

“Well,” began Flora, “if you’re good, why be humble? Besides, everyone knows that I look better than ‘the little princess’ here.”

“And I’m smarter than Celia, too!” interjected Greta.

“Yeah, whatever,” responded Celia. “Hey, Phoebe, where’s Promethea? Isn’t she supposed to go over what we are supposed to know before we begin?”

“That’s why I’m here,” responded Phoebe. “Grandmother needed her for something important, so she asked me to fill in for her.”

“Great,” said Drusilla.

“Hey! I’ll have you know that I earned top marks when I went through my own Rite of Ascension.”

“Perhaps, Phoebe,” responded Celia. “But you gotta admit that being Myrene’s daughter helped, right?”

“True. But I still had to learn how to use skill to overcome the obstacles that I faced, which helped me a lot when I became a full Amazon warrior.”

“I guess.”

“Anyway, I gotta go over this stuff with you two for the wilderness survival exercise. So listen up…”

***

Meanwhile, Queen Lysippe Hippolyta XXXIII and Princess Promethea were in the Queen’s sanctum, where a new revelation was about to unfold.

“Promethea,” the Queen began, “I know that we have not seen each other that often of late…”

“Yes,” responded Promethea. “You haven’t.”

“But you do understand my reasons for it, right?”

“Yes, Mother. I know that you are preparing Celia for her destiny, and all. Still, you need not have taken me away as her trainer now, of all times.”

Sighing, Lysippe continued. “What I am about to show you will explain my reasons for doing so.”

Queen Lysippe Hippolyta XXXIII opened a small wooden box; it was revealed to have contained a set of keys.

“Follow me,” said Lysippe to Promethea.

The Queen and her daughter went to a hidden closet, which automatically opened at Lysippe’s touch. They went a long ways until they got to the end. There, they saw an elaborate-looking chest. The markings were slightly familiar to Promethea.

“Those are Minoan, Mother,” Promethea said while she pointed at the inscription.

“Yes, they are,” responded Lysippe. Then, after a moment of silence, she opened the chest. Inside the trunk were artifacts that Promethea had never seen before. There were 12 items in all.

“What are these things, Mother?” asked Promethea.

“Your inheritance… from your father.”

“My — my… father?! But how?”

Sitting down, Lysippe began her tale. “Have you ever wondered why, out of all the Amazon warriors of this generation, your skills and abilities come to you easily, with very little training? And why you equaled the skill of Myrene at such a young age?”

“Umm, no. It just came naturally to me, I guess.”

“There is more truth in that than you know,” Lysippe said, smiling. “Promethea, your father was the Titan Prometheus.”

“What?! I know I was named after him, but I never dreamed–!”

“There is more. I am actually your grandmother. Your mother was my first daughter, Thermodosa.”

“Your first daughter? I thought Myrene was your eldest daughter! Why haven’t I ever heard of Thermodosa before now?”

“You were far too young to remember her personally, child, as you were brought here as a newborn babe. Magala believes that Thermodosa knew she was going to die, which was why it was arranged for you to be brought to New Aretias just after her disappearance. Suffice it to say, it devastated me greatly when I lost her.”

There was a long pause before Lysippe continued. “When you were brought here, I rejoiced. You were the last remnant of my daughter. Your father doesn’t know, as far as I am aware, that his child has been born, since I have not heard anything to the contrary.”

“So does this make me a demi-goddess?”

“Not quite. The spark of divinity is within you, but you were born as a mortal. For all intents and purposes, you are mortal like the rest of us.”

“Oh, I see.”

“However, there is one catch.” Picking up an elaborate-looking gauntlet, the Queen tossed it to Promethea, who caught it easily. “These items are creations of the Titans. Normally, only other Titans and those who are freely given these things can harness their abilities. Since you are of Titan descent, you can use them, too.”

Pausing for a moment, Lysippe continued. “In your hand is the Gauntlet of Atlas. It will double the user’s strength and stamina.”

“That’s neat, Mother. But why are you telling me all this now?”

“Because,” Lysippe began sadly, “you will have to leave the island soon.”

“Me? But why?”

“Celia’s ‘destiny’ has just come upon her.”

Chapter Five

Meanwhile…

Celia, Drusilla and Phoebe had been teleported to a region that was known to have the more dangerous wildlife roaming about. Why was this the case? Since Phoebe would be supervising, the two girls would be challenged moreso than the other candidates.

“Are we there yet?” asked Drusilla.

“Yeah, when are we going to make camp?” asked Celia.

“Soon, guys,” Phoebe responded. “Now, remember: I am evaluating you two on your resourcefulness. So, the more I am involved, the less points I’ll reward. Understand?”

“Yes,” the two said in unison.

“Good. Now, let’s continue on our way.”

As a world-traveling adventuress like her mother, Phoebe was accustomed to traps being sprung at any given moment. However, her being on New Aretias Isle gave her the luxury to relax her guard a bit. It was too bad she did so, for she and her charges were being watched.

“Yesss. Father had made sure that you, my pretty, would be hard to locate. It took much… influence in the demon world for me to find you. Now that I have, it’s time for you to die.”

A wickedly clawed hand pointed at a seemingly harmless lizard. Dark energy shot out of the hand and into the lizard. Slowly, and still unseen by the trio, the lizard began to mutate. Soon, it grew into an eight-foot lizard-thing with huge claws. It then turned to its mistress.

“Excellent, my lovely. Now go kill the little princess.”

Once the trio had arrived at their designated spot, camp was made. Phoebe began writing in her notebook, while Celia and Drusilla went out for food and firewood. As she wrote down her thoughts, she realized that something was not right. Then, all of a sudden, Phoebe got up and spun around. Standing before her was a demoness. The creature radiated evil as well as an exotic beauty. Getting into a battle stance, Phoebe confronted the creature.

“Who are you!?” declared Phoebe. “State your business!”

Smirking, the demoness simply glared at her. “Who am I? Why, the name is Blaze, and I have come to kill Celia.”

“Not if I can help it, witch. I’ll take you down before you harm her!”

“My, my. You want to take me on? Any time, deary.” Pausing for a moment, Blaze continued. “Oh, by the way, I sent a lizard-thing after young Celia. I would hate to see you go after me at the expense of your ‘auntie.’”

“What?!? Damn you!” With that, Phoebe took off to where Celia and Drusilla were as fast as lightning.

“Checkmate,” Blaze said evilly.

***

Celia liked Drusilla very much. Out of all the girls on the island, she was the one who treated the princess like any other person. She didn’t think that her life would be as good if Drusilla wasn’t her best friend.

Since Celia was a bit squeamish about hunting game, she allowed Drusilla to get food while she went out for firewood. She hadn’t gone very far when she heard a large growl. Turning towards the sound, Celia was shocked to see a huge lizard-thing. Her rudimentary warrior instincts kicked in and sized up the situation. Just as she got herself into a battle stance with her staff, the lizard-thing attacked.

Phoebe was mad at herself for not being aware of Blaze’s presence earlier. As she chastised herself, she was quickly gaining more momentum. Phoebe was her mother’s daughter and was thus as athletic and fast as Myrene had been at her age. She would be damned if she made another mistake.

Celia was deftly dodging the creature’s blows. She knew that her staff was useless against the monster. She thus used it to vault and dodge the lizard-thing. Whoa, Celia thought to herself, it almost got me. I don’t know how long I can continue to dodge it!

Suddenly, something slammed straight into the monster. Gathering her wits, Celia saw what had struck the creature. It was Phoebe!

“Run, Celia!” Phoebe yelled. “Find Drusilla and get the hell out of here!”

“What about you?!” Celia asked frantically.

“Don’t worry! I do this all the time. Now go!”

Not needing any further prodding, Celia set out to find Drusilla. She was unaware that Blaze the demoness was waiting to strike.

***

Meanwhile, Promethea was still overwhelmed by the revelation that she was not the daughter of Lysippe but actually her granddaughter, daughter of Lysippe’s second daughter, Thermodosa. Lysippe also told her that Myrene did not know of her true origins. However, that aspect would soon change. However, at the moment Promethea was wondering why Lysippe was being cryptic when she said that Celia’s destiny was at hand and why she would have to leave the island soon.

***

Meanwhile, Celia ran to the last place she saw Drusilla. As soon as she found her, Celia hoped that they could find a way to help Phoebe. Even though Phoebe told her to run away, she refused to let anything happen to her. After all, she was an Amazon princess. A few moments later, she saw Drusilla cleaning game. Her best friend looked up and wondered why Celia looked frightened.

“Dru! You’ve got to come with me! There’s a monster attacking Phoebe!”

“What!?! How?” asked Drusilla.

“No time to explain! Let’s go!”

“OK!”

Meanwhile, the battle between Phoebe and the monster was heating up. Already, Phoebe had cuts and bruises on her body. Thankfully, the creature was just as equally wounded. Still, Phoebe would rather end this fight quickly. Phoebe gave the creature a “double-axe handle” to the creature in an upswing fashion. The monster felt a tremendous blow to its head as it sailed into the air. It then landed quite a ways as the impact registered a sickening thud. Phoebe could only a take a moment of rest before the creature got up again. Why can’t you stay down? Phoebe thought to herself.

Celia and Drusilla crept back to where Phoebe’s battle was taken place. While they knew that Phoebe was a skilled warrior, they weren’t sure if she could take the creature down.

“We’ve got to do something!” whispered Celia. We’ve just got to!”

“Yes,” Drusilla said calmly. “We must.”

While Celia’s attention was on the battle, she failed to notice that “Drusilla” was changing form. Within moments, Blaze was back to her original self.

“Yesss, this will be so easy,” said the demoness as she raised her clawed hand. “Now, you die my prett — OOOF!” exclaimed Blaze.

Celia had sense something somewhat… off when she ran into Drusilla. She had been too preoccupied to give this imposter some thought. Luckily for her, Blaze made the mistake of underestimating Celia’s level of Amazon training, as demonstrated when she rear-kicked the demoness.

“You will pay for that, you little brat!” yelled Blaze.

“Who are you?!” responded Celia.

“My name is Blaze, but you can call me Death!” Blaze said as she lashed out with her dark powers.

Celia deftly dodged the blast. She then bounced in the air, rolled while screaming a warrior’s cry, and landed a kick in Blaze’s face. After Celia stepped back away, she got into a battle stance.

Wow, Celia thought to herself. That actually worked. I’m going to thank Phillipis later for the extra training. Turning her attention to the demoness, Celia focused her latent warrior instincts.

“You can either tell me why you’re doing this, or you can get another foot in your face!”

Slowly getting up, Blaze merely smiled. “Why? You mean, you don’t know of your impending destiny? So. Your ‘mother’ never told you of your origins. How quaint.” Pretending to evoke empathy, Blaze continued. “I suppose that Lysippe never revealed that you are nothing more than a weapon to be molded and harnessed in a much larger ‘game.’”

“Wha-what do you mean?” Celia asked as her resolve faltered.

“Think about it: why would the Queen of the Amazons adopt an orphan girl, when she has already had three other children? More specifically, why you?”

“I don’t know,” whispered Celia.

“What was that, dearie?”

“I DON’T KNOW!”

“Well, I do. As a matter of fact, I am willing to forget killing you. Instead, I’ll tell you everything, as well as make my ‘lizard-demon’ go away, but only if you come with me. I may be many things, but a bargain is the one thing we of the dark world hold sacred. What do you say?”

Celia thought for a moment on what Blaze had said. If she was nothing but a tool in some proverbial chess game, then everything in her life was a lie. Or was it? Celia remembered how much time Lysippe spent with her in many aspects of childhood. In spite of what Celia was feeling now, she couldn’t dismiss the feelings that those memories had invoked. Celia had enough faith in her mother to give the Queen the benefit of a doubt. Whether the demoness was telling the truth or not was not the point. The real point was whether or not she cared enough for her mother to at least hear her out. With that in mind, Celia gave her answer.

“No. My mother raised me to be an Amazon princess. I will not betray all that was instilled in me. If I have been betrayed in some manner, I will deal with it. For now, I will deal with you.”

“That wasn’t a very smart response. Oh, well. No one can say that I was never fair.” With that, Blaze raised her hands to emit the killing blow. Unfortunately, at the range she was to Celia, the demoness would not miss.

Chapter Six

As the demoness Blaze was about to claw the helpless Princess Celia, she suddenly felt a blow to the back of the head. When Celia’s adversary went down, the young princess could see that it was her best friend Drusilla that had caused the blow.

“Dru!” Celia exclaimed as she ran to embrace her friend.

“Hola, Celia,” replied Drusilla, not taking her eyes off of her foe. After the embrace, Drusilla asked if everything was all right.

“Yeah, I guess,” replied Celia. “This witch is trying to kill me and Phoebe. Phoebe! I almost forgot. She’s fighting this lizard-thing over there. We’ve got to help her!”

“Sure, sure. But let’s take care of this demon over here first. You still got your rope?”

“Sure. Let me run and go get it. But be careful. She is one tricky witch.”

“Obviously. Now hurry and get the rope.”

“Right,” Celia replied as she went to retrieve her gear. Unknown to both girls, Blaze was feigning unconsciousness and was determined to get her revenge.

***

Meanwhile, back at the palace, Lysippe continued her tale.

“Promethea, I know that what I just said is a bit hard to swallow, but what I have said is the truth. You are the daughter of my daughter, Thermodosa. Furthermore, your heritage is Titan, since your father was Prometheus.”

“But how? When?”

“Thermodosa cared for Prometheus on many levels. He was the only Olympian who respected mortals as equals; that’s what attracted her to him in the beginning. They shared many things, including a warm bed. But, to her dismay, she could never love him beyond mere friendship. Perhaps it was because he was too refined for her taste. Still, she never stopped caring for him.”

The Queen got up off her seat and walked over to Promethea. She gently stroked her cheek.

“Prometheus would have done anything to see that you had a full life. Some time after you were brought here, he came here while searching for Thermodosa. He was not told of your existence, but he vowed to find Thermodosa to return her to us, whether she be alive or dead. To this day, I never knew what happened to him. Perhaps you can find out what did happen.”

“What do you mean?” Promethea asked.

“Ever since you were brought here, I have been using whatever means available to locate his whereabouts. Perhaps you are destined to find your father in the outer world.”

Before Promethea could reply, Phillipis came rushing in to Lysippe’s chamber. “Your Majesty!” the Captain of the Guard exclaimed. “Forgive my indulgence, but we have a terrible situation.”

“What is it?” the Queen asked.

“Magala has detected a malevolent entity here on the island, and it is where your granddaughter, daughter and her friend are!”

“Summon the guard. I want a search party ready immediately!”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

***

Phoebe could feel the gash underneath her ribcage. Damn, she thought to herself. I can’t afford to get any more injuries like this!

Phoebe had been an adventuress for many years now alongside her mother and lately on her own, and she knew that she should have taken this thing out a while ago. She was a trained Amazon warrior, and she’d had extensive training under the best fighters the world had ever seen. Why was she now behaving like an amateur?

Phoebe crouched, waiting for the “lizard-thing” to attack. The way it behaved reminded her of that film with all the dinosaurs running amuck on some gods-forsaken island. The only way for her to beat this thing was to evoke the Eye of the Huntress. Even though this was a gift that was originally given to her mother Myrene, she hoped that her bloodline was strong enough to invoke it.

Concentrating, Phoebe willed herself to tap into the amorphous energies of nature. She suddenly began to see all around her. She felt the rhythm of nature pulsing within her veins. She saw through the eyes of the animals within the immediate area. There! Phoebe’s mind and body adjusted to match nature’s “perception.” She saw that the creature was about to attack. Grinning in an almost cat-like manner, Phoebe prepared herself for the incoming assault.

The lizard-thing smacked its lips with its forked tongue. It was determined to finish off its prey. Then it attacked. With the reaction of an animal, Phoebe responded in kind.

The two tore into each other, each determined that there could be only one victor. The lizard-thing was determined to win. However, it made a fatal mistake in assuming that its prey was easy to defeat. It would die knowing that Phoebe was an Amazon warrior for more reason than her bloodline…

***

The young Princess Celia ran quickly back to her campsite, hoping that her rope was still where she had last left it. She had a gut feeling that, if she didn’t return soon, something terrible could happen to her friend, Drusilla.

Meanwhile, Drusilla was still standing guard over the fallen demoness. Suddenly, she heard Celia cry out. This sound distracted the young Amazon long enough to allow Blaze to get back to her feet. With inhuman speed, the demoness slashed at Drusilla’s back. The girl fell, sprawled across the ground. Drusilla felt an intense pain on her back. From what she had learned from Amazonian training, her back was slashed. In spite of the pain, Drusilla was an Amazon through and through. She was determined to see to the safety of the princess. Struggling, Drusilla slowly got up, making sure that she had her staff in hand.

“Witch, you’re going have to do better than that,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Hmmph,” Blaze responded. “Tricking you into distraction was an easy thing. And now, so will your death.”

Princess Celia had managed to find her rope in short order, when she heard her friend scream out in pain. Damn! she thought to herself. Damn that witch! Celia gathered her rope and staff and ran back to where she had last left her friend.

***

Phoebe shivered slightly. She always knew that, as an adventuress, she could expect to get into a brutal scrapping or two. The one she just had was particularly brutal. However, that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was how she had reveled in the violence, as if she was a force of nature. Slowly, she looked at her hands; they were covered in blood. For the first time, Phoebe realized how easy it was to give in to one’s primal nature. She hoped that she would never have to go through this episode ever again.

Suddenly, a scream snapped Phoebe out of her distraction. Drusilla! she thought to herself. Then she remembered who had caused all this. “Blaze.”

***

Blaze laughed menacingly at Drusilla, thinking that she would serve as the perfect object lesson for Princess Celia. Casually, she pointed at the princess’ friend and unleashed a ball of green flame. Drusilla, in spite of her weakness, managed to duck for cover. Unfortunately, her body was stressing her out and became more difficult for her to move. Still, she was determined to protect her friend at all cost.

***

Meanwhile, the Captain’s Guard, Phillipis, Magala the Sorceress, Promethea and Queen Lysippe Hippolyta XXXIII were using the main access road to go through the heart of the forest on horseback. Everyone was armored up, for they did not know exactly how powerful this “Blaze” was. At the half-way point, Promethea had finished donning her Gauntlet of Atlas and the Sandals of Uranus. She had yet to learn how to use her other Titan-level gifts, so Promethea chose the two items she figured she could use right away. From what her mother had told her, the gauntlet would multiply her physical strength, endurance and stamina by a factor of ten, and the sandals would grant her immense speed and flight. Curious, Promethea asked if there was a matching pair to the gauntlet she had now. Lysippe replied that someone else had them and left it at that. Promethea was about to inquire further, when she saw a fire-fight in the distance. Steeling themselves, the rescue party arrived at the scene of the ongoing battle.

***

Phoebe struggled as she raced towards where Blaze and Drusilla were. She was still injured, and was also trying to shake off the effects of the Eye of the Hunter technique. Her perceptions were a bit screwy, so she had to concentrate to stay focused. I’ve got to go… faster, Phoebe thought to herself. So she pushed herself further.

***

Princess Celia was the first to arrive at the scene. Not really thinking strategically, Celia rushed at Blaze. The demoness casually blasted her to the ground.

“Why, thank you,” Blaze said tauntingly. “I hate to think that I would have to ravage this entire island just to get to you. You saved me a lot of trouble.” Taking aim, the demoness unleashed her most hellish blast. It looked like Celia would not survive this one.

“Noooo!”

Princess Celia, barely conscious, saw her friend Drusilla rushing towards Blaze and herself. In what she would remember as the slowest moment in her life, Celia saw her friend taking the full brunt of Blaze’s blast. In a display of sheer horror, Celia saw Drusilla blasted into non-existence. When it was all over, there was only a wisp of smoke where her friend had been.

“Drusilla! Drusilla!! NOOOO!!!” Celia cried in anguish.

“Yesssss!” Blaze responded mockingly.

Celia, with hot tears streaming down her face, got up and faced her foe. She was determined to get her vengeance.

“You witch! You’ll pay for this!” Celia exclaimed.

“Yeah, right,” Blaze replied as she snapped her fingers.

Suddenly, veins grew all around the young princess. The stems succeeded in binding her tightly. Unable to move, Celia watched in horror as the demoness casually walked up towards her.

“Poor dearie,” Blaze said as she lightly stroked the young girl’s right cheek. “I told you that it would have been in your best interest to accept my offer, so this is all your fault.”

“My… fault? No! You killed Dru, not me!”

“Oh, really? Do you honestly think that your friend would be gone if you had just done what I recommended? Oh, well. You blew it, and now you will have to accept the consequences.” Using one of her talons, Blaze got into position to slash the young princess’ throat.

Suddenly, Blaze was body-tackled by a speeding object. Phoebe had arrived just in time to prevent another death. Having had enough, Blaze used her legs to kick Phoebe off of her. The kick agitated her stomach wound, causing a moment of dizziness. Looking up, Phoebe saw Blaze rushing up towards her; then she received a kick to the head. Then another.

“I have had enough of this interference!” Blaze exclaimed as she continued her assault. Suddenly, Blaze herself received a kick to the head. The blow knocked the demoness down past where Phoebe’s prone body laid.

“Phoebe! Are you all right?” Promethea asked of her niece.

“Oww, I guess so,” Phoebe replied. After being helped up, Phoebe asked how she knew that there was some trouble on the other side of New Aretias Isle.

“Magala detected some demonic force at work, so she zeroed-in on the source. I’m just glad we were able to get here as quickly as we did.”

“Yeah, good thing. Wait! Blaze.”

Phoebe and Promethea turned to see that the demoness had already recovered from Promethea’s blow. The two members of the royal family were determined to make the demoness pay for her transgression. However, Blaze had other ideas.

“Well, two against one? Bad odds indeed. You won this round, so expect me to drop in on both of you when you least expect it.”

Turning towards Celia, the demoness continued. “Well, princess, it looks like our time together will have to wait. Mark my words: either way, you will be mine!” With that, Blaze disappeared.

A moment later, Lysippe and company arrived. Once released from the veins, Celia hugged and cried in her mother’s arms. Lysippe sadly knew that, from here on out, her granddaughter/adopted daughter’s life would be a lot more complicated.

Epilogue One

It had been a week since the death of Princess Celia’s friend Drusilla. It had also been a few days since the young girl was given the funeral, where she was honored as a full Amazon (for giving her life to protect the Princess). Drusilla’s mother, Tara, was proud of her daughter and was honored when the Queen awarded full Amazon status to Drusilla posthumously. Even the Smyrna sisters, Flora and Greta, were proud of Drusilla, though they had been very competitive towards the fallen girl. Still, after all the fanfare had come and gone, Celia’s pain had yet to go away. While Lysippe knew that Celia was still grieving, she also knew that it was time for her daughter to face her destiny.

Lysippe found Celia sitting on a bench that was overlooking the sea behind the palace. Cautiously, Lysippe sat down next to her youngest daughter.

“Hello, Mother,” Celia said without turning to face Lysippe.

“Hello, Daughter,” Lysippe responded. “How are you this morning?”

“Not very well. It still hurts, Mother. Drusilla died protecting me, and I couldn’t do a thing about it.”

“You’re young, Celia. Don’t be so hard on yourself. You did not know who this Blaze person is, nor did you know how powerful she would be.”

“I guess. How is Phoebe?”

“Phoebe is doing quite well. She is being transferred from Isle of Healing to the palace today. Hopefully she’ll be fully recovered in a couple of days.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“I’m glad you approve. Listen, I need for you to come with me. There’s something I need for you to have.”

“OK.”

A short time later, Magala the Sorceress led Lysippe and Celia to a secret chamber below the sorceress’s residence. The chambers were well-lit, so much so that Celia could see a series of inscriptions on the wall in front of her. Within an etched lightning bolt were six names. She began reading them in their exact order:

* Selene. * Hippolyta. * Atalanta. * Zephyra. * Artemis. * Minerva.

“These names represent beings who have donated a portion of their abilities in a special matrix,” Magala began. “The Titan Selene has donated her power; our greatest Queen, Hippolyta I, donated her enormous strength; the demi-goddess Atalanta donated her immense stamina; the goddess of the western winds donated her speed and flight; and finally, the Olympians Artemis and Minerva donated their skill and wisdom respectively. Together, these abilities form the mystical matrix called the Power of Shazam.”

“Wow. That’s pretty neat,” Celia replied. “So what are you going to do with it?”

Smiling, Magala asked her to say “Shazam.”

“OK. Shazam…”

For a moment, Princess Celia thought that time seemed to stand still. Suddenly, though, a huge lightning bolt struck the girl. All around her, the room was blanketed by the flash of the lightning bolt. At the same time, Celia could feel herself changing, somehow, as if she was getting a major adrenaline rush. Finally, the lighting subsided. Once Celia’s eyes readjusted themselves, she realized that her clothing had changed.

Magala the Sorceress took out her magic mirror and expanded it to a length and width that was big enough for Celia to take a full gander of herself. What she saw shocked her. She still wore her short-length white tunic, but it now had a gold sash around the waist and a gold lightning bolt emblazoned on her chest. Celia also saw that she possessed very stylized golden gauntlets, a short cape, and yellow Grecian-style sandals. Even her hair was different, which was slick back and tied in a waist-length pig-tail.

“This is the Power of Shazam,” began the sorceress. “You have been chosen to wield this power by the gods as their champion in the name of justice and righteousness. You are to right wrongs and crush evil wherever you find it.”

“Don’t worry,” Lysippe interjected. “You’ll do fine. You have your family and friends to help you to prepare for this role.”

Stepping closer, the Queen placed her hands on the girl’s shoulders. “I know this is a bit much right now, but you must trust my wisdom in this matter. Drusilla’s death will help you to prevent future occurrences such as the tragedy that has befallen our sisters.”

Celia could only wonder if even given the opportunity to right wrongs would do away the pain she was feeling right at that moment.

Epilogue Two

Note: The following has elements inspired by White Wolf, Ben Dunn, Alan Moore and Rumiko Takahashi. All rights reserved.

Meanwhile, from across the expanse of time, space, and beyond…

An ebony-skinned woman casually surveyed the damage that was made in The Library. Damn those harpies! the woman thought to herself. And damn myself for being too short-sighted.

The Library was in ruins. Pages upon pages were everywhere, and it would take nearly forever to fix this mess. She did dispatch those responsible for this mess, at least. As she went through the piles of torn books, she noticed one that did not appeared to be damaged. The woman picked it up and opened it; she was shocked to see that words and whole passages had been edited within the text. Oh boy, she thought to herself. The woman knew the consequences that could occur when a book from The Library was corrupted. She knew that she couldn’t reverse what was about to take place, but at least she could contain the damage that was about to occur.

***

Meanwhile, in Germany…

Ever since the end of World War II, the Valkyries of Brunhilde had steadily rebuilt its ranks. One of its darkest moments was when Hitler successfully corrupted the secret society, the German offshoot of the Amazon Nation, via his agents during the War. During that time, one of their own fought the American heroes. Now, after so long, the society was back. However, there were still some problems.

Helga von Bruckner and her sister Olga were the most radical members of the group and were heavily involved in the budding Neo-Nazi movement. Even after being chastised for following the ways of a dead man as well as allying themselves with the male Captain Nazi, the sisters were determined in their ways. Rumors had it that one of the two were planning to get revenge on the one person responsible for the near-destruction of their society: Mary Marvel. However, unless there was proof of their activities, the main body would not enact sanctions on the two. Only time would tell.

***

Meanwhile, in France…

Sisters Agatha and Jeanne continued their assault on one another. Neither was determined to lose her ground in this sparring session.

The Sisters of St. Joan, sometimes known as “The Warrior Nuns,” were a secret organization within the Catholic Church comprised of Amazons converted to the Faith, a splinter group of the worldwide Amazon Nation. They were a paradoxical group, since Nuns were not known for being fierce warriors. What made them special, however, was that they could act as agents in the service of the Church, and none would be the wiser. However, their duty was always towards their faith in God via their acts of charity. Quite a contrast.

Mother Agnes ceased the two nuns’ sparring session and asked if they would like to do some charity work in America. Apparently, their contact within the Valkyries of Brunhilde had informed the Warrior Nuns of some possible machinations of Helga and Olga von Bruckner. Sisters Agatha and Jeanne were to keep an eye on these two and possibly stop any plan of theirs from bearing any fruit. With that, the nuns went back inside their convent.

***

Meanwhile, in China…

Xiang Po was the best of her tribe. Warriors to the hilt, they prided themselves on overcoming all obstacles. Just recently, a strange girl and her panda had “crashed” the annual village tournament, and presumed to challenge her for the prize that she had already won that same day. As one of the Amazons of Joketsuzoku, it was Xiang Po’s duty to accept the challenge of a stranger. Thankfully, that extra training her great-grandmother had given her the other day proved useful. She barely defeated the strange girl, but beat her she did.

Since then, Xiang Po felt a longing to test her skills beyond the confines of her village. She had heard of tales of the so-called “Mystery-Men” of America and elsewhere, men and women who had perfected their prowess beyond what was humanly impossible (though not impossible for a highly-trained Amazon, of course). When Xiang Po asked her great-grandmother, named Khon Lon, for her thoughts on this matter, the old Matriarch instead began a tale of how the tribe was not the only Amazon tribe in existence, and of their origin as the Amazon Nation. What Khon Lon revealed to her great-granddaughter would give a new determination to the Chinese Amazon.

***

Meanwhile, in the Middle East…

Orora looked over the expanse of Bana-Magdall from the top of the lookout tower. So much had occurred since the neighboring governments had learned of their existence. Since then, they had been escalating conflicts between them and the Amazons. As matriarch, it was her duty to see to the safety of her people, even if it meant turning to the one person she hoped to avoid:

Her mother, Queen Lysippe.

Orora knew that she could ask for her help, but stubborn pride refused to lay down. As she pondered these thoughts, she failed to notice her own daughter Nu’ma was sneaking up on her. Orora felt a disturbance. Then she smiled. Nu’ma leaped at Orora with a fierce war cry; Orora casually created a gust of wind that knocked the teenager on her rear. Scowling, Nu’ma got up and complained how unfair it was that her mother had special abilities, while she didn’t. Orora simply hugged her daughter, wondering what the future would bring if Bana-Magdall ever fell. Hopefully, her best agent would secure the help from Bana-Magdall’s sister tribe in Greece. Otherwise, she would be forced to turn to Lysippe for help.

***

Meanwhile, in Greece…

The Daughters of the Moon Circle were making merry. After all, it wasn’t every day that the Disparates (the “scattered” Amazon tribes) had re-established ties. Artemis (who was rumored to be the daughter of the goddess Selene) was proud of herself. Even though she was a warrior at heart, Artemis felt that a new direction was needed for her tribe. The one thing that the Daughters of the Moon Circle specialized in were the mystic arts, which made the dichotomy within Artemis quite fascinating. Under her leadership, Artemis had led her tribe against the governments of Greece, Turkey and Russia. Of course, the Daughters were viewed as terrorists and were treated as such. Still, thanks to the various networks and allies, the Daughters survived their ordeal. Now, with the alliance with Bana-Migdall, Artemis was confident the the Amazon Nation would one day be a reality.

Kalika (also known as “The Shimtar of Bana-Migdall”) was more than enjoying herself at the festival. She never thought that she would play diplomat as soon as she returned home from England. Her mother wanted her daughter to be a better “Shimtar” than she was, which is why Orora authorized Kalika’s sponsorship to receive a worldly education from Man’s World. When she went on holiday, Kalika returned home to find her mother ill. Orora asked Kalika to take her mother’s place as the new “Shimtar,” so that the negotiations between Bana-Migdall and The Daughters of the Moon Circle could continue. Now that the negotiations had proved a success, Kalika could finally relax and enjoy herself. In the meantime, Kalika was thinking of what Artemis said concerning about the many other Amazons out in the world. Perhaps the information that she was given would prove useful to Orora.

***

Meanwhile, in Baja California, Mexico…

As the wind blew in her hair, Carmen Sanchez thought about what her grandmother had told her at the hospital. How can I be a descendant of a myth? she thought to herself.

According to Ines, Carmen’s grandmother, she was a descendant of Califa, the last Amazon Queen in America, and that generation of the royal line was blessed by the Plumed Serpent to be its avatar. While Carmen wasn’t sure about her being of “royal blood,” she did know that her grandmother possessed special abilities.

As the obscure World War II-era Latina heroine “La Rosa del Aire,” Ines fought against the more clandestine elements of the Axis powers, since being open with her abilites would bring undue attention to her family. After the war, Ines retired and began to raise a family. When her granddaughter Carmen was born, Ines hoped to initiate her to her family heritage when she was old enough. Upon Carmen’s 16th birthday, Ines began teaching her the precepts of her long-since dead tribe; she hoped that, as long as the teachings were passed down from generation to generation, the tribe’s future would then be secured. Unfortunately, that could change. While attempting to stop a mugger, Ines was critically injured, thanks to years of inactivity. Thankfully, her metabolism saved her from the worst of the injuries.

Carmen was thinking these thoughts when she found herself being accosted by the same muggers that had injured her grandmother. Apparently they had wanted to make sure that her grandmother would not identify them. So they decided to get Ines through Carmen. What they didn’t know was that Carmen had learned much from Ines and thus was aware on how to access “The Power.”

Reciting a prayer, Carmen felt herself change. The wind, the rain, and the lightning danced in the immediate area. At that moment, the girl changed from her street clothes to a costume with Aztec influences. Now and forever, Carmen was the new “La Rosa del Aire,” or simply “Rosewind” in English.

Using her newfound speed and strength, Rosewind quickly grabbed two of the thugs and slammed them on the ground. She then created two snakes out of thin air; Rosewind threw one snake at the another thug, which bound him tightly. She took the other snake and formed a staff and started to use it on the fourth guy. While doing this, Rosewind almost failed to notice that the first two thugs had recovered and were on their way out of the immediate area. Casually, she pointed a finger at one and called down lightning. She then created a single rose and threw it at the other guy. The rose sailed past the guy and impaled the sidewalk. It then grew to a huge size and swallowed the guy without harming him. Satisfied, Rosewind made sure that the thugs were nice and quiet. With that in mind, the teenage avatar took to the air, leaving rose petals in her wake. As she sailed in the air, Carmen wondered what she was to do next. Maybe others could help her in her journey towards understanding her role as an avatar of The Plumed Serpent… as well as the last Amazon of her tribe.

***

Meanwhile, back on New Aretias…

Celia took to the air. As she did so, she loved the fact that her sister Promethea and her niece Phoebe were making a full recovery after that demoness Blaze’s assault. Using the Speed of Mercury, Celia increased her speed and altitude. Luckily, the Stamina of Atalanta and the Power of Zeus allowed her to survey the rigors of near space.

“Celia!” Lysippe called via a digital two-way radio.

“Yes, Mother?” Celia responded likewise.

“Get down here before you get hurt!”

“OK.”

Celia used the Wisdom of Selene to figure out the best trajectory to get back down to Earth. As she descended, Celia could feel the pressure building up around her. She definitely did not want to burn while going back down. Still, being up at this altitude allowed her to view the Earth. It was so wonderful a view.

As Celia passed over the North American Eastern Seaboard on the Atlantic coast on her way back towards home far away to the east, she saw a yacht being attacked by a giant sea monster. Feeling the need to help, Celia rushed over and punched the creature. The creature quickly recovered and used its giant tentacle to grab Celia. If any other person were in its grasp, it would have spelled doom for the victim. Unfortunately for it, Celia used the Strength of Hippolyta to free itself. Being fed up, Celia went to retrieve an oar from one of the lifeboats, broke off the rudder from the oar, took aim (using the Skill of Artemis) and threw it. The make-shift spear went straight into its brain, killing it in the process. Celia asked the yacht’s occupants if everyone was OK. Once she was given an affirmative in that regard, Celia took off. She thought that her day out was a good one, since she was able to test her powers.

The mayor of Fawcett City looked at the scene that was before him. It wasn’t every day that one was attacked by a sea monster; it wasn’t every day that a teenager defeated a sea monster, either.

“Well, Mr. Mayor, what do you think?”

“Well,” the Mayor began as he turned towards the reporter, “that girl certainly has thunder.”

“Is that a quote?”

“Sure, why not?”

As the reporter wrote down his notes, he was glad that he had been given this great assignment. Who would have thought that such a boring assignment would become an exciting one?

“Thunder Girl,” he said to himself. “It does have a nice ring to it.”

***

Later that night, Celia was reading her book before going to bed. Her mother, Queen Lysippe, came in to tuck her in, so to speak. She also talked about how excited she was that Celia would go to Europe for the first time since she was brought from there over a decade ago. While Celia was glad to go to Europe with Promethea (who would thus go on her own first sojourn to the outer world), she wished that Phoebe was also well enough to come with her. Hopefully, she would get a chance to do so soon.

***

“What is this?”

The wizard viewed his Historama with a discerning eye. Displayed before him was the view of a young girl — a girl that was displaying the use of the power of Shazam! From what he could gather, this was the second time that another Earth possessed a wielder, and neither of his dimensional counterparts had anyhting to do with this development.

From what he saw, the wizard was suitably impressed. The girl was the adopted daughter of that world’s Queen Hippolyta and was being trained as an Amazon. So far, the girl had utilized more techniques from her own sextet than his own champion had done in his early days. A very interesting development.

Shazam shut down the Historama and silently contemplated on the idea of that wielder of the power of Shazam meeting the Marvel Family. He hoped that the girl and the other one would become secret allies to the Marvel Family, especially since he had heard rumblings of the formation of a new Monster Society. Only time would tell.

The End