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This issue is the companion issue to Wonder Woman #59.
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Summary: |
The Roman demigod Hercules sees that Halciber Filius, the Son of the Roman God Vulcan, is still alive and had not perished at the River Styx as intended. Halciber Filius tells Hercules that both he and the other Roman Gods have gone mad and are bewitched. Hercules is not convinced however and attacks his opponent.
Meanwhile Jupiter and Zeus are still fighting to the death and the Roman God manages to shatter Zeus' shield, demanding that he surrenders! As the Gods continue to fight one another New Olympus heaves in agony as spurts of Eldritch fire explode from the gaping wounds across its face - a newborn infant ripped and cleaved by those who sired it. And if Olympus dies how long will Gaea itself last? The Earth Goddess shudders as her very breast heaves with spasms of pain beyond imagining! The World stands on the brink!
Above the skies of Themyscira meanwhile, the ominous black clouds of chaos cover the island in darkness and huge thunderbolts of lightning rake its surface. With each blow of God smiting God, the magnificence of what was once the jewel in Gaea's crown - Paradise itself - is scarred that much more. The Amazons run to take shelter as the island heaves again with another earth tremor and they wonder by what miracle their island stands at all.
Deep beneath the island Heracles continues to hold up the entire weight of Themyscira on his shoulders, cursing himself for having been tricked by Atlas to bear the weight of the island once he had disappeared. For Paradise Island to survive, he must now remain here as a prisoner forever!
In the city of Keystone, Lord Hermes and the Flash discuss the recent events of their battle with the God Mercury (in Flash #55) and what their next move should be. A guilty Hermes tells Flash that Circe must have gained so much more power since she had somehow managed to escape from Hermes' prison. Flash tells him that now is his chance to remedy this, adding that he has already informed the Justice League that they are coming to join them. But Hermes says that there is still much that he must do here and to somehow find a way back to New Olympus to aid his brethren and Flash's friend, Donna Troy. Flash agrees to leave Hermes behind as he speeds off to rendezvous with the League.
Meanwhile, across the planet as a result of Circe's spell to unleash the Hellfire Web, various super heroes including Hawkman, Hawkwoman, Firestorm, Aquaman, Ice, Fire and other members of the Justice League battle against numerous natural catastrophesand the appearance of multiple warlike Gods from different Pantheons.
In the Antarctic, Superman is following the source of an energy residual left by a giant Serpent God he had recently just had to battle in Metropolis. As he scans the landscape with his super vision he sees a figure kneeling in the snow and swooping down, finds Pariah bemoaning his cursed fate. As the Man of Steel peers into the Harbinger of Doom's eyes he sees his home planet, Krypton, explode and realises that Pariah had also been there to witness that planet's demise too. Spurred on by the manipulations of the nearby hidden Phobos, Superman becomes enraged and begins to beat upon Pariah.
As Phobos gloats at how well his plan has worked, he hears a voice behind him and turns to see Starman standing there, who tells the God that from what he can see, Phobos is not one of the good guys!
Hundreds
of miles away in Gotham, Wonder Woman speaks with Batman and Robin, whom she
has asked via Black Canary to meet up with her. Batman asks why they should
not simply take her into custody right now as she is a wanted felon. The Amazon
Princess replies that she can only give him her word that her motives are just
and asks him to trust his own instincts. He must know what it is like to be
feared and mistrusted. For him, he uses it as a cloak of darkness, wearing it
like a shield. Even she had shivered at the thought of approaching the Dark
Knight but she knows he is an honest and good man. She can see it in his eyes.
However, she continues that a Dark Knight's armour cannot be the mantle of an emissary of peace. Once trust and faith are usurped by fear and apprehension the Amazon cause is lost forever...and her existence will have meant nothing. She then suggests that if he still does not believe her motives then he can use the lasso of truth on her. Batman says that it will not be necessary and continues that from her message, he understands she has information pertinent to the recent events in Gotham.
She nods and hands over an envelope, telling Batman that Inspector Ed Indelicato believes that the stolen Themysciran Goblet is still in the city somewhere. Its recovery should help both locate her mother and exonerate her people. She adds that Ed is waiting down below to assist in the investigation but Batman replies that he and Robin work alone.
In another dimension on New Olympus meanwhile, Hercules and Halciber Filius still duke it out. Hercules compliments the Son of Vulcan on his fighting skills and is told that if he really wanted to let loose, Hercules would not stand a chance! Suddenly Hercules stops short and feels a strange sensation overcome him. Halciber Filius tells his confused opponent that he should not worry and that it will only take an instant. With that, a bolt of lightning appears from nowhere and strikes Hercules, causing him to disappear!
Back in the Antarctic, Starman blasts Phobos, sending him flying across the snowscape! He warns the God to undo the spell he has worked on Superman but Phobos instead retaliates with a spell on Starman, causing him to scream in agony! The scream snaps Superman out of his trance and he suddenly realises he has been manipulated. He races off in the direction of the scream while a few miles away, Phobos stands gloating over the agonised Starman...
Elsewhere in Areopagus, Ares angrily watches his son wondering what Phobos is playing at, especially as the War God had vowed to Wonder Woman that he would not impose his destructive will upon the Earth. How dare he break Ares' word! Just then Eris appears and suggests that perhaps her brother did not feel the pact applied to him. Perhaps he feels an oath made to a mere mortal is not binding. Ares snarls back that Phobos has already felt his father's wrath before and he cannot believe that his other daughter, Harmonia, has freed him again.
Eris sarcastically suggests that knowing her sister, it was probably Harmonia's way of trying to reestablish a rapport between Phobos and his father. Ares asks to what end? A God's word is his bond as well as his kin's. Phobos dishonourable action taints all of them and he cannot allow it to continue!
The sly Eris murmurs that this is what she thought Ares would say and giving the signal, a huge axe is suddenly thrown at Ares which he only just avoids! The surprised Ares looks round to see the Roman War God Mars standing there, challenging him to a duel to the death! Areopagus trembles as the two mighty Gods engage in combat!
Elsewhere in Salem, a gathering of powerful magicians and mystics wait for Wonder Woman to arrive. As they stand around a huge mystic ball of energy, the Spectre remarks that it has taken most of their powers to channel the rampaging energies into the tower in which they now stand. However, even they cannot constrain all these magical surges for more than a few moments. Zatanna agrees with him, suggesting they start the spell without Wonder Woman and take their chances. The Phantom Stranger asks them to be patient and adds that in a world tossed into chaos they must all strive even harder to follow the rules of order.
The Spectre snaps back that if he had his way, he would personally end the threat of Circe right now! Zatanna again agrees, adding that they only actually have Wonder Woman's word about Circe's supposed invincibility. Madame Xanadu joins in the debate and says to the Phantom Stranger that he seems to put a great deal of faith in the words of a fugitive. He replies that Circe controls the very Gods themselves and he does not need Wonder Woman's words to tell him that takes great power!
Dr. Fate then asks them to refocus on the task at hand. She reminds them that none of this will matter if they do not do something about keeping Mother Earth in one piece. Madame Xanadu apologises on behalf of the others for their impatience and just then, Wonder Woman finally arrives with Prince Brion from Markovia in tow, bound in her magic lasso. She apologises for being late and says that even in the Prince's country, the authorities had heard about the accusations leveled against her and her Amazon sisters which had made things difficult.
Prince Brion, otherwise known as Geo-Force, says that he had to be sure she was telling the truth about her innocence and that the lasso has made all of it clear to him now. He then asks why they need his help as he is no magician. Dr. Fate replies that they have al the magicians they need and he is here because of his power to control the Earth's body. She explains that Wonder Woman was born of Earth and is connected to its soul. With the magicians' help, body and soul will merge and the Earth shall be made strong again!
Hundreds of miles away in the Amazon Rain Forests, Circe watches these events in her magical crystal sphere. She smiles as the heroes are acting exactly as she had planned. The magicians are funneling a great amount of energy from the Hellfire Web in order to fuel their desperate gambit. What they do not know is that it is Hectate's Web that has them caught! With the power of all the Godly Pantheons to draw from, Circe intends to suck out the energy from them! And she will use the unwitting Wonder Woman as her siphon! By the time they know what she has done, all their magic will belong to Circe!
Back
in Salem, Wonder Woman and Geo-Force stand and face each other, bound together
by the magic lasso and surrounded by the magicians. The Amazon Princess prays
to Gaea, chanting that they intend to heal her wounds through her son, Brion.
Geo-Force feels the incredible energies flowing through him as Diana continues
"Through thy daughter Diana, shall your spirit be fortified with hope and
your love be reaffirmed. By the power gathered here by your faithful shall you
be strengthened anew - so that you may weather the fury of the coming storm!".
At the same moment Circe raises her hands, encouraging Diana to draw on all the power. "The more you sow the more I reap!". The sorceress prays to the Gods united on her Hellfire Altar, requesting that they submit themselves to the will of Hectate. "By the powers of your totems bound to my service I call upon you to..." She stops short suddenly and the watching Mikos asks what is wrong. Circe's eyes open in shock and says that she does not know. Her spell is not working for some reason!
At that moment she and Wonder Woman psychically connect and for an instant their minds are one. Wonder Woman begins to lose consciousness and Geo-Force encourages her to stay focused as he can feel the spell working. Phantom Stranger yells at the weakening Wonder Woman that it seems they had fallen into a trap by Circe but the game rules have been changed. If they are to succeed it must be now! Geo-Force strains against the incredible powers coursing through him and Wonder Woman and asks the Amazon Princess "Don't tell me...Gaea's daughter is nothing...but a failure!". His words hit Diana with a sting and give her the wake up call she needs! Resolutely she refocuses and Circe cries out, realising she is losing the battle of wills...
On New Olympus the tide of war begins to turn and Zeus has gained the upper hand in his battle against Jupiter. As he about to press home his advantage though another bolt of lightning strikes from nowhere and he vanishes! First Hercules, now Zeus! All the Gods wonder what madness is at work here...
In Salem, Wonder Woman and Geo-Force struggle to channel the power being funneled into them by the magicians. She tells Brion that she can feel Gaea strengthening and that they need to hold out just a little longer. He replies that he intends to see this through to the end one way or another...
In the Antarctic Phobos' torture of Starman is abruptly cut short as he hears a sonic boom approaching. He turns to see a red and blue streak bearing down on him...
Meanwhile Circe realises that someone has tampered with the various holy relics on the Altar and her Hellfire spell has been perverted! She screams in rage and frustration as her carefully laid plan seems to be falling apart around her while torrents of unimaginable cosmic energy erupt once more from her lair. The Amazon Forest is bleached white amid the harsh glare of Godly power unleashed! Once more the power of the relics, altered by both the might of the desperate magicians and the capriciousness of Konrad Kaslak pours forth over the tortured Earth. But this time the power of the relics no longer tortures and rends Gaea but instead envelops her like a second skin...a warm overcoat to guard her from the storm...a suit of armour she will need to continue the Holy War!
But even as Gaea is enveloped by her protective shield, the fury of the skies over Areopagus rages more indomitably than ever! The two War Gods continue their titanic battle and the traitorous Eris watches, intrigued by her father's passion for the fight. The heat of battle has set his will on fire! With every destructive blow he grows ever stronger! On his home ground in a normal time Ares would be invincible but these are far from normal times. Now is the time of Promethean Discord...now is the dawn of Eris' reign!
On New Olympus Halciber Filius looks up at where a helpless Troia, otherwise known as Troia of the Titans, still writhes in agony. He shouts up at her over the din of the surrounding battle, telling her that he hates leaving her in the midst of all of this. But time is quickly running out and there is still so much left for them both to do. He asks for her forgiveness...
In the Antarctic, Superman helps Starman to his feet and asks if he is OK. Starman nods and they turn their attention to the cowering Phobos, who backs away towards an ice ledge. The God's powers have suddenly left him and he cries out to Circe, asking what has happened. Before Superman can react Phobos plummets over the ledge and the Man of Steel swoops down after him. But the God has simply vanished into thin air!
Back at Salem the
roar of powerful magical energies has subsided at last and the heroes lie dazed
on the floor. A triumph of peace over chaos...a victory hard won. But at what
price? Wonder Woman helps the groggy Geo-Force to his feet and as the other
magicians recover, the Amazon Princess assures him that as Gaea's strength is
replenished so will his own be. Zatanna then cautions that their spell will
not hold for long. If they want to end this nightmare for good they
must figure out Circe's master plan.
She then asks Wonder Woman whether she has any ideas because she seems to have some sort of psychic link with the sorceress. Diana replies that it is not that simple. The link is neither under her control or desirable. Zatanna then says that she had seen something in Wonder Woman's eyes. She and Circe were experiencing something empathically were they not? The Amazon Princess nods, saying that whatever it was it had angered Circe.
Wonder Woman then turns to leave, telling the others that she must locate Lord Hermes as she has put off their confrontation for too long. Dr. Fate begs her not to leave as they need her help to locate Circe, but Phantom Stranger advises them to let the Amazon go. Thanks to her they have already done more to thwart Circe then they had dared hope for. He suggests they take the advantage of this element of surprise while they still have the chance! Dr Fate realises he is right and as she watches Wonder Woman fly away, hopes that Hermes can give Diana the answers she is looking for, because the Princess looks like she has had just about enough of being a pawn for the Gods!
To be continued in Hawkworld #16 and Wonder Woman #60
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