Breathless
Written by Unoaranya30
Chapter 12:
Assassin
JLA Universe
Themyscira
Auvaun ran like the wind.
For Diana, the feel of the air rushing past her and the blur of the ground was not unlike the feeling of flying. She hugged herself to Auvaun to cut down on resistance and gripped him with her knee's to keep her seat. She entangled her two lovely hands, gently in his mane as they flew over the sand.
The race went out of the arena and down the beach for two kilometers and back.
She found herself racing neck and neck with her friend Artemis. There were two others not far behind them. The rest were scattered in a long line behind these four.
Artemis's horse was a powerful black stallion. He was quite possibly the most powerful of all the non-winged horses. Artemis had named him Bronte, or Thunder. They reached the marker where they were to turn around; both horses did so smoothly.
It was a flat out run back to the arena. Bronte was larger and more powerful than Auvaun, and Auvaun was a large stallion. Bronte was not a horse that was used to losing. His speed, power and determination were simply breathtaking to behold as he devoured the distance to the finish line.
Artemis was confident that the horse race would be hers. As of now she and her war helmeted opponent were tied. The helmeted one had won the foot race while she had the quickest and most decisive win in the opening hand to hand combat. The two had tied in archery, discus and javelin. Artemis would win the race, there would be one more hand to hand battle that she would win hands down and then she as the "Champion" would go to the outside world to face and conquer whatever evil threatened her home and her sisters. She would make her Queen and her sisters proud.
Looking to her left, Artemis was shocked to see the smaller stallion running neck and neck with Bronte. That wasn't possible. First of all, the only two on the island who had been able to ride the horse were her friend Princess Diana and the little Princess Donna. And that had been due solely to their gifts of communicating with animals. Artemis had planned on taking the horse and breaking it in today but had postponed due to the tournament.
Who was the helmeted warrior? She certainly wasn't Princess Diana. Diana would have won each event flawlessly and without breaking a sweat. This warrior's body looked tired but strong. In fact, she very much resembled the Princess, but she knew it couldn't be.
Diana wanted to shout in elation. Her Auvaun was running with all his heart and he was keeping up with the powerful Bronte. The finish line was coming up fast and the two seemed deadlocked.
The smell of the sea, the sound of the crashing waves, the delicious feel of the wind and the pounding of the hooves on the sand were suddenly drowned out by the shouts of the crowd as they again entered the arena.
Auvaun and Bronte flew over the finish line neck and neck. The race was over. Auvaun had done what no other non-winged horse had done. He had matched Bronte.
Diana, Artemis and the twenty-six other participants walked their horses letting them calm down slowly. Diana was happy; she had wanted to win the event but was proud of Auvaun for having matched the unbeatable horse. "Thank you, my beautiful friend. Your princess still has a chance, thanks to you." She stroked his face and neck as she walked with her new friend.
Artemis praised Bronte and caressed him. He was her closest friend. She loved her horse and prided herself on having the fastest and most powerful non-winged horse on the island. She could tell that her opponent was just as surprised and happy as she was.
She hoped to be pitted against her in the final match. She wasn't sure who she was, but she knew that she would win. There was simply no warrior on the island with the possible exceptions of the Phillipus and the Queen who could best her in hand to hand combat, unless one counted Princess Diana but she was gifted by the gods and so didn't count. Although, gifted as she was, she had still bested her on a handful of occasions.
Artemis remembered the incidents with a satisfied smile. Today would be no different than any other day. There was no Phillipus or Queen or Princess to challenge her. She acknowledged the helmeted warrior respectfully as the horses were led away, then she, the helmeted warrior and the two other remaining sisters stood before the queen awaiting the signal for the last event.
Syndicate Universe
Syndicate Satellite
Ray Palmer, knew how he would defeat the invading armada. He could do it alone, without the help of Power Ring, Superwoman, Protex or Ultraman.
He sat back satisfied with himself. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it sooner or that no one had suggested such an obvious solution. He would have to wait until the armada was within range though. He would not trust anyone to use it. They might turn it on him.
This would make it easy to send Ultraman on a little trip beforehand. In fact, he planned on sending Power Ring and maybe even Johnny Quick. No one would take the credit but him, and if he was lucky, he would never see those three again.
Molecule Man smiled to himself. Pretty soon he would be the most respected and feared individual in the Syndicate and the planet.
JLA Universe
Outside of Gotham City
Outside the Cave, Along the Cliffs
Batman brought his jet down low to the water and entered one of many cave entrances along the cliff that appeared to be solid cliff wall.
Dinah gasped as they passed through the false rock wall and entered the vast cave system beneath Wayne Manor. "You need to warn a girl before you fly through solid walls," she grumbled, still catching her breath. She didn't remember leaving the caves this way with Alfred, but then she hadn't been paying that much attention at the time either.
"My apologies," Batman replied. He kept his attention focused on his instruments and windshield. Powerful beams of light lit up the cave system and the path they were taking.
For Dinah, the trip through darkness seemed to take forever. She felt the ship stop and hover, then slowly lower down into a well lit cavern. They had finally arrived. She remembered the room she had awakened in and meeting Alfred and realizing that Batman had saved her life. She smiled warmly at the back of Batman's head.
Batman landed his jet, shut down the systems and opened the lower hatch so that they could disembark.
They found Superman hovering with the alien vessel above their heads. "This is an impressive place, Batman. Where would you like me to put this?"
Batman directed him to a platform that housed his mechanical tools. By the time Batman reached the platform, Superman already had it set down and was looking over Batman's impressive array of power tools and lasers.
"I don't think you have anything that will cut this alloy," Superman informed Batman.
Batman was quiet for a moment, "We have to figure out a way. Something tells me that there will be more attacks and we need to level the playing field. I think it's fair to say that whoever is behind these attacks has also been gathering intel on us. No doubt they now know about you from the scan the ship did on you."
"Well, I don't think you have anything here that will work but I'm pretty sure I have some tools that will work. How would you like to go to my house now? I can help you study this vessel and you can help me with a little problem I have as well," Superman offered with an eager smile.
Batman looked at Superman for a minute. "Your home. Okay, sure." He wasn't going to turn down an opportunity to learn more about Superman.
"We get to see where you live?" Dinah asked excitedly. "Wait til I tell my mom and uncles. They're never gonna believe me!"
Superman smiled, "How is your jet at handling extremely cold temperatures?"
"How extreme are we talking?" Batman asked suspiciously.
"North Pole, extreme," Superman replied.
"Yes, it can. Let's go," Batman insisted.
"Oh, I'm going too," Dinah stated as she headed back towards the jet.
Superman and Batman looked at each other. Superman smiled. Batman's mouth gave an almost imperceptible turn upwards.
"Be careful. I have a feeling that if you spend too much time with her, you're gonna be smiling more than is good for you," Superman grinned.
Batman grunted in response as he boarded the jet. Dinah was already inside and buckled in. Alfred stayed behind, citing that extreme temperatures were not something he was interested in experiencing.
For the second time that morning the jet flew out of the cave, this time heading north. Superman flew just ahead to lead the way.
JLA Universe
Arctic
Fortress of Solitude
"So how many of you are there again?" Superwoman inquired for the third time. She had dressed and sat on a stool in the kitchen area.
"There are thirty of us, Madam," Kelex answered.
"Thirty robots? All like you?" Superwoman continued her interrogation.
"Yes, Madam. All are like me. Master Kal-El built each of us to maintain and defend his home." Kelex responded as he continued preparing food for his master's return.
"So, there are thirty robots. Are there any clones of Superman here? Clones, with all of their physical parts?" Superwoman asked hopefully as she took a bite of a sandwich Kelex had prepared for her.
"There are no clones of Superman here, Madam," Kelex answered. He was almost finished with the meal.
"So, there are no clones here at the Fortress. Are there some anywhere else?" Superwoman sounded somewhat dejected.
"Not that I am aware of, Madam. You will have to ask the Master when he returns," Kelex replied. He was just finishing up his work in the kitchen.
"When do you expect him back again?" Superwoman asked, sitting up a little straighter. To say she was frustrated would be an understatement. She was burning up with sexual desire for Superman. She wanted very much to devour the beautiful virgin. Once she had exhausted herself with him she would ask him for his help in escaping or destroying or destroying and escaping from Ultraman.
"Momentarily, Madam," Kelex responded.
"Does Superman have any brothers or cousins or maybe, friends from Krypton that live here or nearby?" Superwoman inquired. She was desperate and grasping at straws now.
"I do not believe so, but you may ask him yourself momentarily. I believe he has returned," Kelex answered. If a robot could have sounded exasperated and confused it would have been Kelex.
Superwoman's eyes glowed for a second with excitement. She dropped from the stool at the snack bar and sped into the living area dropping her uniform as she ran.
JLA Universe
Outskirts of Bailey, New Hampshire
The air seemed to shimmer and the wind seemed just a little bit wrong in one spot at the top of a small hill just south of the small town of Bailey. The shimmer and the wind suddenly became a powerful vortex. There was a bright light and a loud thunderous noise as a boom tube opened up and Scott and Barda stepped out. They looked around them in awe. Neither had ever seen snow or daylight on Apokolips. The sun's rays were blotted out by the constant smoke from the firepits.
They held hands as the boom tube closed and they walked down the hill and into their new world, new home and new life.
JLA Universe
Bermuda Triangle
The Sea
Aquaman had a lot of distance to make up in order to catch the monster, but as Mera had reminded him, ignoring the survivors of the creatures attack had not been an option.
Everyone who could be saved had been and now he continued his pursuit. He had just reacquired the trail of the beast and he moved with unmatched speed through the water, quickly closing the distance between himself and the creature. His Atlantean blade was in its scabbard and he held his trident against the length of his body to cut down on resistance.
He was furious and determined. The next encounter would be the last. He would make certain of it.
JLA Universe
Themyscira
Arena
The final event would be physical combat again. Artemis and Diana were each paired against one of the two remaining warriors that had finished in second and third place.
The four remaining contestants recovered their weapons and Artemis faced off against the third place contestant. Her opponent was a dark haired beauty. Her name was Adeline and she was one of the finest of the royal guard.
Adeline, like her sisters, had lived tragedy and seen many battles against both human and supernatural enemies. She had seen many sisters fall in the last several centuries and was determined to win the contest and face and conquer whatever evil threatened her Queen, her people and her home whatever the cost.
The horn sounded. The beautiful, red haired Artemis and the beautiful, dark haired Adeline leaped to the attack. While, there was no desire on either part to kill, the weapons were real and sharp and the fight fierce. It was not unusual for there to be serious injury and on extremely rare occasion's death, although that had not happened in several centuries.
These two warrior's were far too skilled for an accidental death to occur, but it was unlikely, with the speed at which they were fighting for one or both not to be injured.
Adeline knew that Artemis was the favorite to win the tournament. She also knew that she faced the one Amazon warrior, other than Phillipus and the Queen, to ever best the Princess in hand to hand combat. The fight would not be easy but she was confident she could win.
Holding her shield in her left hand and tight against her body and her spear in her right, just below midshaft, she lunged forward with her right foot and thrust her spear viciously at Artemis's midsection.
Artemis stood relaxed. She held her shield in her left and spear in her right, but she held them loosely. As Adeline attacked, Artemis sidestepped, knocked the end of the spear away, violently with her shield and thrust her own spear between her opponents knees with an underhand toss.
The end of the spear embedded itself in the sand at a thirty degree angle. As Artemis released her spear she continued moving. With blinding speed, she skipped into Adeline's space, her shield still between herself and the spear. At the last moment she spun and dropped to her left knee and kicked up with her right foot. Her foot slammed into Adeline's midsection.
The blinding reversal of her attack and the spear between her legs caught the well seasoned Adeline off guard. The powerful kick to her midsection knocked the wind out of her and also knocked her off her feet. Since her feet were tangled up with the spear she could not twist or roll away and so she landed heavily on her back. She had the presence of mind to reach for her sword but she was too late.
Artemis followed up her kick by rolling towards her falling opponent. She pulled her sword as she stood and pounced on Adeline. She stabbed her left knee into Adeline's abdomen, pinning her right hand against her body as she reached for her sword and her right foot on her shield arm, pinning it to the sand. Even as she was pinning her opponent down she thrust the blade of her sword deep into the sand next to Adeline's head.
The battle had lasted all of five seconds.
The two warrior's stood and faced and saluted each other respectfully. Artemis stepped out of the arena to await the final fight. Adeline left the arena in defeat but proud that she had made it as far as she had.
Diana and her opponent, Sofronia faced off. Sofronia was as tall as Diana and she was as big as Diana's first opponent of the day, Aella. She was an excellent warrior and an expert hand to hand combatant. She often aided Phillipus in training the soldiers and had helped on many occasions in the training of the princesses.
Diana worried that she would recognize her, but remembered that everyone would expect to see unmatchable speed and strength and so would hopefully not suspect.
The horn sounded.
Sofronia feinted forward. Her shield held tightly in her left hand and her spear held lightly. She had seen the clumsiness of this one when she had fought the Bana warrior. That she had won the match, was nothing short of miraculous. Still she had shown great skill in every other event so far.
She wanted to lead her into a mistake and take her out quickly and without harming her. She needed to conserve her energy for the match with the peerless Artemis.
Diana knew that Sofronia viewed her as an easy win. This helped Diana out tremendously, since she was familiar with Sofronia's fighting style and Sofronia had no clue with whom she fought.
As Sofronia feinted forward, testing her, Diana lunged forward thrusting her spear straight at Sofronia's head. She grasped her spear at the end like a sword. This gave her less control of the spear but increased her reach tremendously.
The end of Diana's spear made solid contact with Sofronia's helmet, knocking it off of the surprised warrior's head. When the Diana's spear smacked into Sofronia's helmet it knocked her head back as the helmet was knocked off. Diana took advantage of the distraction and did a shoulder roll, hanging onto her spear and shield and came up behind her opponent.
Sofronia recovered quickly, but before she could spin to track her opponent she felt the sharp end of a spear at the base of her skull. She could not believe how quickly she had been defeated and before she had even truly attacked. She heard a beautiful, gentle and familiar voice ask, "Do you yield, Sister?"
Sofronia dropped her hands to her side and stood straight, "I yield, young warrior. There is no shame in losing to the champion," she answered with a knowing smile. She wasn't sure why the princess seemed so normal but she would recognize that voice and demeanor anywhere.
Sofronia turned and saluted her princess and smiled again at her. Diana saluted back. She was filled with dread. Would Sofronia tell her mother what she was doing? She hoped not. It did not seem as if she would the way she was smiling at her. What truly worried her now was that if Sofronia had recognized her then Artemis was sure to recognize her as well. She would have to keep her mouth shut.
There was a ten minute rest, then the horn sounded for the final two combatants to face each other in the arena. Artemis and Diana faced the Queen and saluted her. Queen Hippolyta saluted back, eyeing the war helmeted warrior curiously. She did not remember seeing this particular warrior before, but then there were several thousand warriors and she was too far away to discern little details, yet there was something disturbingly familiar about her.
"Fight with honor and strength, and may the Champion of the Amazons and Olympus prevail," the Queen shouted. There was a general shout from the audience of agreement and excitement.
The two remaining warriors turned and faced each other, saluted and took their stances.
Artemis had been surprised with the speed her opponent had defeated Sofronia. Truth be told she had expected to face off with Sofronia and not the war helmeted warrior. True, she was very good but her previous hand to hand match had been less than stellar. She realized that Sofronia had been completely taken by surprise. It would not be the case in this instance.
Disdemona eased herself into the shadows under the main gate to the arena. She had waited many years to defeat and humiliate Artemis publicly. On every occasion in the past she had met with defeat. Today was to have been different. Instead she had met the most humiliating defeat at Artemis's hands to date. She had been dispatched the quickest during the very first competition. She had been humiliated in front of thousands of her sisters and at the hand of the very one she wished to defeat. She had trained hard and long with her sword and her bow for this day.
She had grown to hate the red haired, arrogant beauty. She was a great warrior and she knew it. Whenever a group of Bana warriors left the isle to capture or lure a few men for pleasure, Artemis always ended up with the best and if their tribe had not joined their sister Amazons, she would have soon become the queen. And of the Bana she was the youngest. She was barely thirty years old and already nearly unbeatable.
So she could not defeat her in hand to hand. That was fine, but neither she nor anyone else would meet defeat at her hand again after today. Not if Disdemona could help it.
She notched an arrow to her bow and waited. She would get an opportunity. Of that she was certain. She cared not what happened to her after the fact. As long as her hated enemy was dead; that would be enough.
The horn sounded Diana and Artemis circled each other warily. Diana did not feel as confident now as she had been feeling in the last several events and matches. Artemis was a peerless fighter and she was without her powers. However, Athena had told her she could do it, and she did have a slight advantage. She knew all about Artemis and Artemis had no idea with whom she fought.
Artemis held her weapons loosely. She was relaxed in body if not in mind. It did not matter to her who attacked first, combat was like second nature to her, but she wished to draw out her opponent so that she could get a sense of her speed, strength and skills.
Artemis moved like a large lioness, with speed and power. She rushed forward with a short thrust and just as quickly, moved back. Diana darted to the side and repeated her previous move as she danced forward gracefully holding her spear by the end of the shaft, like a sword and stabbing towards Artemis's upper torso.
Artemis was no longer there and was satisfied to see that the helmeted warrior moved no quicker than she.
Diana danced back realizing that she had just given Artemis too much information. She danced to the left going into a protective crouch, and as Artemis pressed forward she lunged forward again, stabbing at her feet with her spear.
Artemis hopped lightly into the air, avoiding the spear thrust, and came down with all her weight, on the neck of Diana's spear. Her move ripped the spear out of Diana's hand just as she pulled back. She pulled back with such force, that losing the spear made her stumble backwards.
Artemis took advantage of this and threw her spear deep into the sand, just behind Diana's legs. She then held her round shield like a discus and threw it at Diana head with all her might.
Off balance, Diana felt the back of her legs hit Artemis's spear and saw Artemis release her shield. It was a move Artemis was very good at and only used when she sparred and was certain of victory. Diana allowed her body to continue going backwards. She couldn't snap her legs up to turn her backwards fall into a backwards somersault because they would have been broken, or at the very least seriously injured by Artemis' shield.
Instead, as she fell, Diana rolled her shield up over her abdomen and breasts. She held it at an angle so that if the shield made contact it would deflect up and away from her head. She tucked her chin forward so that she wouldn't land head first in the sand and end up dazed and defeated.
Artemis' shield struck Diana's shield a glancing blow just as her back struck the sand. The shield continued on over Diana, missing her head and landing in the sand several meters away. When Diana felt her back hit the sand and the shield bounce off of her shield, she brought her legs up over her head and then snapped her body forward in a smart kip up.
She recovered from her fall so quickly and came up so suddenly that she slammed into a very surprised Artemis, who was pressing her advantage by rushing forward with drawn sword to finish the battle. The force of the impact caused both of them to stumble back a few feet.
Artemis recovered first and skipped into the still recovering Diana with a fierce sidekick to the gut that again knocked Diana off of her feet. This time she lost her grip on her shield. She hit the ground hard, in pain and with the wind knocked out of her. But she forced herself to roll back and away from Artemis and she came up gasping but with her sword drawn.
Both contestants had only their swords now. The blades flashed in the sunlight as Artemis sought to end the battle and Diana fought with all her might and skill to defend herself from Artemis's expert and blindingly quick attacks while she recovered her wind.
Artemis was slowly pressing Diana back. The battle was moving slowly towards the gate of the arena.
Diana recovered her wind. She was still in pain, but she could again breathe freely. Her blindingly quick but desperate defense became more controlled. Artemis was very impressed with her opponent's skill, speed and luck. This was the longest hand to hand encounter she had experienced in several months. Her opponent was now trying to put her on the defensive with some very smart attacks.
Artemis countered each easily and seeing her opening, she flicked her wrist, stabbing the point of her blade into the meaty part of her opponents palm and giving a second twist, she pulled the sword out of her opponents hand as she jerked back from the pain.
The battle was as good as over now. Artemis launched herself forward, stabbing her blade at her opponent's head. She shouted, "Yield!" as she moved forward.
Diana lost her weapon to Artemis's skill, but in that moment she remembered her last lesson with Phillipus the day before. Diana sidestepped to the outside of Artemis's attack and forward towards her. She grasped the wrist of her sword hand with both of her hands and twisted, throwing Artemis in front of her in a wrist and arm lock. Keeping her hold with her right hand, she pulled her sword from her grip with her left and placed the point of the blade at the base Artemis's skull.
Trying to disguise her voice, Diana asked, "Do you yield, Sis…" She never finished the question. As Diana was asking for her surrender she caught sight of a sister warrior stepping out into the arena from the shadows of the gate. Her bow was drawn and aimed at the chest of her friend Artemis.
Artemis did not see this. Her head was bowed in defeat. She was about to answer, "I yield," but she suddenly felt her arm released from its hold and the voice of her friend, the princess, cry out, "Assassin!" Her helmeted opponent was suddenly in front of her. She saw her body jerk and then fall to the ground, an arrow in her chest.