Wonder Woman – Volume 2 – 7

Synopsis

On Mount Olympus, Hermes rejoices to his fellow Gods that the threat from the War God is over! Zeus echoes his jubilation, decreeing that today is a feast of celebration. Let the wine flow…let the music play and let the revelry begin!

Zeus tells Athena that it appears her beloved Amazons were more than equal to the task she had set them. She agrees, adding that the Gods continue to thrive because of their undying faith in them. Yet the Princess Diana who battled Ares so bravely to save them all now lies at death’s door…

Meanwhile off the shores of Themyscira, the Amazons are assembled on the nearby Island of Healing, where the mortally wounded Diana undergoes the ancient ritual of revival.

As Hippolyta and Epione look on with worry, the Amazons attending to Diana’s body which lies in the water advise that she is not responding to their treatments. It seems her wounds have done more than merely rend her flesh…indeed her very spirit seems to be dying.

High above the Gods look down upon the scene. Artemis pleads with Zeus to intervene before she perishes and Zeus replies he is well aware of Diana’s condition. Pan then comments on what an appealing place this Paradise Island is, populated solely by women. But his father, Hermes, tells him to hold his lecherous tongue and that these Amazons are a special breed and not his playthings! Zeus agrees with Hermes that the Amazons are indeed special and that Diana’s mother, Hippolyta, had once even managed to best his son Heracles. He decides the offspring of such a woman deserves to live and he raises his hands, calling on the God Poseidon!

Back down on the Island of Healing, the wind suddenly picks up and the skies darken. The Amazons watch in awe as the waters around Diana’s body begin to froth and bubble and her naked body sinks slowly beneath the waves. Her body drifts downwards seemingly forever until she is greeted by Poseidon. He in turn summons his Neriedes to apply their gentle touch on a body that has suffered most grievous mortal harm and whose very spirit now deserts her. He prays to them to heal her and let her taste life anew so that she might be whole once more!

Meanwhile Hippolyta, Epione and the other Amazons wait in anticipation. The queen wonders if something has gone wrong but Epione reassures her to have faith in the Gods. Suddenly, a shaft of light erupts from the waters and just as the Amazon race was birthed from the life giving waters of an inland lake, so to is the Princess Diana reborn from the waters of the sea. Zeus tells the joyfully weeping Hippolyta that she has served him well and he has thus returned her daughter to her. He looks forward to her Amazons serving him further and sharing in the true love of Zeus! Epione listens with a mixture of joy at Diana’s return and fore-boding at Zeus’ words…

It seems his words also disturb some of the Goddesses. A little while later Artemis tells Athena she despite his gracious compliments towards the Amazons she does not trust him. She fears his sudden interest will ultimately undermine the very reason for their existence. Athena agrees, saying that the conniving Pan has already planted some unfortunate seeds in the Almighty One’s heart. Artemis asks the wise Athena how they might stop him but just then Hera approaches and tells them not to worry. She did not have faith in their Amazons before and thus let her love for Zeus affect her judgement. That has always been the power he has over her. She either acts because of her devotion to him…or because he has once again betrayed that devotion. But perhaps it is time for a change…

A few days later, mother and daughter stand on the cliff tops of Themyscira discussing Diana’s return to Man’s world. The Princess pleads with the Queen that she must be allowed to go back but Hippolyta refuses, not after only just having her daughter returned to her barely alive. Diana responds that her work there is not yet done, adding that Ares has charged her with teaching Man the error of his ways lest the War God return anew. Besides, she cannot rest until she has learned the fate of her companions. She owes that much to such brave souls. Also, Vanessa’s life hangs by a thread. Surely Hippolyta can understand Julia’s fear of losing her child? The queen replies that she knows all too well which is why she hesitates to let Diana leave again. Yet there is merit in what her daughter says and perhaps if the gods might give her a sign she could make her final decision.

Suddenly, Athena’s voice booms down from the skies above and with a flash of light presents them with a gift from fleet-footed Hermes. He claims Diana will know what to do with it and she trusts the Princess will use the gift wisely. She then bids farewell, leaving Diana to pick up Hermes’ pair of winged sandals! She tells Hippolyta that with these she can journey to and from Paradise Island at will. The signs are clear…the Gods support her return to Man’s World!

As mother and daughter ride on horses back towards the city, Hippolyta tells Diana that although she cannot question the will of the Gods, as her mother she still has the right to require certain restrictions of Diana. If she agrees to these restrictions then the queen will grant her daughter leave to walk among Men again.

Days later at Meredith Military Medical Centre in Boston, highly trained doctors attend to the lifeless, withered form of Vanessa Kapatelis. Etta Candy and General Hillary watch the proceedings on a monitor and are told that the girl’s condition continues to deteriorate with each passing minute and they can do nothing for her. A frustrated Hillary curses the fact he does not know what is going on around here. As he and Etta walk down the corridor he tells her he cannot report back to his superiors with the crazy story she and Colonel Trevor had told him. If only the girl in the star spangled costume had not suddenly disappeared like that perhaps she could have explained things. One second she was there, the next she had vanished

Just as Etta tries to persuade him that everything they have told him is true a warning siren goes off and the loudspeaker system blares that there is a code red situation in Vanessa’s room! As they race back down the corridor they find the guards that had been stationed outside Vanessa’s room sprawled on the floor. A doctor tells them not to panic and as they step inside they see Wonder Woman sitting by Vanessa’s side, using a special salve comprised of roots, herbs and the special waters surrounding her Island home. Amazed, the watching doctors confirm that Vanessa’s life signs are growing stronger! A happy Etta greets Diana and says she is glad to see the Amazon is alive and well. Wonder Woman says she is just as pleased to see Etta and asks where the others are. Etta replies that Colonel Trevor is on another assignment but that tragically, Colonel Michaelis had died. Wonder Woman asks after Julia as she needs to speak with her mentor urgently. General Hillary orders a car to take Wonder Woman over to Harvard straight away where Julia is working…

A short while later at Harvard university Julia hears a knock at the door and opens it expecting to see Etta. Instead she is greeted by a glamorous woman wearing a fur coat and smoking a cigarette. The woman hands over a business card and introduces herself as publicist Myndi Mayer. She tells Julia that it is her understanding the professor is friends with this “Wonder Woman” who saved Boston a few days ago. She would like Julia to tell her where the mystery woman is, promising the professor she will make it worth her while. Just then the phone rings and Julia answers it quickly. Etta tells her that Vanessa is recovering and that they have sent a car over for her. As Julia hurriedly puts the phone down and grabs her coat Myndi says that whoever this Vanessa person is, she will double whatever she is offering!

An annoyed Julia plucks the cigarette from Myndi’s mouth and drops it into a mug of coffee. She then tells the surprised publicist that if she thinks she can waltz in here and expect Julia to feed her a woman who matters to her, then she has another thing coming! With that she exits, slamming the door behind her. Myndi realises that if she is going to sign up Diana as a client, she is going to have to get on Julia’s good side…assuming of course she can find it!

A short while later at Meredith Medical Centre, Julia rushes inside and is greeted by Etta, who leads her quickly down the corridor to Vanessa’s room. She steps inside and is overjoyed to see her “young again” daughter sitting up in bed, smiling. Wonder Woman stands by her side along with General Hillary and the doctors. Julia hugs her daughter, crying with joy and Vanessa explains that Diana had saved her. The professor gently touches Diana’s cheek and says she can never repay her for what she has done. Wonder Woman smiles and in turn touches Julia’s cheek, saying that her daughter’s smile is payment enough. There is so much she must tell Julia…so much she must tell the world but her mother had given her so little time before she must return home.

Just then General Hillary interrupts the tender moment, telling her bluntly that she will not be going home, at least not yet. There are still many questions to which his superiors want answers. She is therefore going to have to attend a “debriefing”. Wonder Woman is unfamiliar with the word and Hillary tries to explain that it is nothing complicated. They just need names, dates, places and the reasons General Tolliver and his men went mad and took over the missile base. She stammers that this is exactly what she is trying to tell him…and everyone. Listening to the debate, Vanessa asks her mother why they are picking on Diana? Julia replies that the Amazon needs help…some way to get her message across to the general public before the military screws things up completely. Unfortunately, she also knows the way how they can do it!

She then steps forward and asks General Hillary of she can try to speak with Diana? She reminds him that the Amazon is a stranger here and their customs may seem alien to her. She tells him she is certain she can help the General explain the situation but that she has got to get Diana away from all the confusion first. Against his better judgement, Hillary agrees.

Several hours later in downtown Boston, Diana, now wearing a black blouse and skirt, and Julia arrive at the offices of Myndi Mayer. The receptionist lets her boss know that they have arrived, adding that Diana is everything she thought she would be and more. As they are lead inside, Diana asks Julia why she must wear these strange garments? The professor replies that her normal outfit would be a tad conspicuous and that Diana still looks stunning.

They are greeted by Myndi who has decided she should tone down her extravagance and is dressed more casually. She shakes Diana’s hand and tells the Amazon Princess that her photos do not do her justice. She adds that she is going to be a lot easier to promote than she had thought! As they all sit down, Myndi explains that in order to affect the public consciousness, Diana must first become part of that consciousness. Before the people will listen to her, she will have to be as welcome in the average American home as good old Grandma!

Firstly they need to change her name so that they do not confuse her with the “other” Princess Diana. Myndi suggests “Diana Prince” but the Amazon replies that she came to Man’s World to teach based on who she is. How will they trust someone who hides behind a false name? Myndi scratches that idea and responds that fortunately, the Media has already come up with the “Wonder Woman” nickname for her. She then tells Diana and Julia to leave everything to her and that the Amazon’s teachings will be heard around the world. Julia warns the publicist to keep it tasteful and subtle as she does not want to see Diana become some Media side show. “Trust me” replies Myndi “nothing but class…”

In the days that follow, Myndi’s “tasteful and subtle” publicity campaign begins to bear fruit, making the Amazon Princess very much a part of the collective Public Consciousness and while tacky and brash on occasions, it is also undeniably successful!

But not everyone is necessarily so thrilled by the Diana’s sudden celebrity. A hastily convened meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff begins inside the Pentagon, where General Hillary is asked by his superiors how he is going to fix the publicity she has generated regarding the Ares Affair. He replies that he has sent both Colonel Steve Trevor and Lieutenant Etta Candy on separate assignments, ordering them to maintain complete silence regarding the situation until further notice. The Chiefs reply that while at least those two are being kept busy, regardless of how gorgeous or convincing this Wonder Woman may be, they still cannot believe this nonsense about Ares. There is definitely more to this matter than meets the eye and they intend to find out what it is!

Elsewhere, Steve Trevor is riding on board a helicopter on route to his assignment and reads the headlines of a newspaper. He is glad to see that Diana has finally gained the public ear and he hopes she can talk some sense into the military before it is too late. He also reads how Colonel Michaelis’ widow has received the medal of honour on her husband’s behalf. He misses his friend and hopes that Diana can force the Top Brass to come clean so that he will not have died in vain.

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away in the ancestral home of Archaeologist Barbara Minerva in Nottingham, England, she summons her man servant Chuma. He brings in the post containing all the articles on this new “Wonder Woman” that she had requested. She tells him that this Princess Diana is a most fascinating subject, supposedly the heir to a race of Amazons. Her lasso, according to this Professor Kapatelis, was forged from the Golden Girdle of the Earth-Goddess Gaea! If so it is a prize beyond price and such a prize deserves to be hers! She then instructs Chuma to prepare the potion as she will need awesome power if she is to obtain the golden lasso. If the Wonder Woman will not sell it then Barbara will be forced to take it by force!

As Chuma makes his way down the long staircase he thinks to himself that his mistress is getting worse. Her addiction to the herb has become an obsession and she grows more mad by the hour. There is nothing he can do to cure her but he owes her his life and so he must preserve hers no matter what the cost. The cursed plant must be plucked once more so that the Cheetah can live again!