EnnaaB Fire Pits, each hundreds of miles in diameter, belched flames into the sky above a sprawling megalopolis. Thick black smoke darkened the sky, making it impossible to tell whether it was day or night. Only the incarnadine glow of the pits lit up the forbidding alien landscape. A thunderous peal resounded over the roar of the fires as the Boom Tube deposited Jimmy and Forager into the midst of a vast industrial wasteland. Transported here straight from the roof of the Daily Planet Building, Jimmy choked on the acrid fumes as he hastily took stock of his new surroundings. The scorching heat of the Fire Pits gave him an instant tan.
“Oh no!” he exclaimed. “Please don’t tell me this is—”
“Apokolips,” Forager confirmed. “Home of dread Darkseid.”
That’s what I was afraid of Jimmy thought. He had visited this hellhole of a planet before—and barely escaped with his life. Looking up, he spied an entire squadron of flying Parademons zooming toward them. The vicious soldiers were Darkseid’s shock troops, used
to enforce his despotic rule over Apokolips. Antigravity glider-wings extended from their metallic green and yellow armor. Clenched steel gauntlets gripped futuristic lances and rifles. “Here comes the welcome wagon.” Forager braced herself for the attack. “Less talk and more fight, Earth-bug!”
Acid sprayed from her gauntlets as the first wave of Parademons assailed them. She nimbly dodged the jabs and blasts of snarling soldiers, bouncing across the sooty terrain like a gymnastic grasshopper, her overlapping wings flaring out behind her.
“Wait!” Jimmy hollered at the hostile troopers. “I don’t want to fight you!” His body, however, had other ideas; overriding his conscious will, his supeipowers kicked in automatically, striking back at the Parademons. Elastic limbs lashed the soldiers like swinging maces. A volley of ' heedle-sharp quills elicited cries of pain as they penetrated minute cracks in the creatures’ armor. A thorny fist slammed into a brutish face, shattering a mouthful of jagged fangs. Blood and saliva sprayed from the soldier’s jaws. “Stop attacking!” Jimmy pleaded desperately. “I can’t control myself!”
Forager, on the other hand, seemed more than happy to tear into Darkseid’s troops. “That’s it!” she cheered him on, while enthusiastically slashing and kicking at their foes. A growling Parademon lunged at her from behind, but she deftly flipped him over her shoulder so that he collided with a phalanx of oncoming soldiers. “Scrag them limb from limb! They are but soulless extensions of the Dark Lord’s evil!”
“No! This is wrong!” Jimmy insisted. As monstrous as they were, the Parademons were just defending their own turf. We’re the intruders here. Against his will, his rebellious fingers netted entire handfuls of Parademons and flung them into the air. His pliable flesh absorbed the impact of the aliens’ blasts and blows, rebounding back into place after every strike. A fresh salvo of porcupine quills exploded from his skin. “I’m not like you, Forager. I’m not a warrior!”
She turned her antennae toward him. “That’s not what it looks like from here,” she buzzed back at him with what sounded like admiration in her voice. Despite her formidable fighting skills, however, the sheer number of their foes was taking its toll on the courageous insect-woman. Her glossy carapace was scratched and scorched in places. Turquoise blood ran down her side from an ugly wound in her shoulder. One of her wings was frayed and shredded. She was breathing hard.
There seemed to be no end to the savage Parademons; they kept on coming, wave after wave. Jimmy wondered how much longer they could hold Darkseid’s storm troopers at bay. His ragged shirt and jeans hung in tatters upon his distorted frame. Perspiration dripped into his eyes, stinging them. His rubbery flesh began to feel the strain of absorbing too many assaults. Bruises blossomed across his aching torso; each new attack jarred his bones. The butt end of a metal lance smacked into his chin and he yelped in pain. A laser beam zipped past his skull, singeing his scalp. He smelled his own hair burning. What was Forager thinking, bringing us here? We don’t stand a chance!
The relentless crush of enemy soldiers abated suddenly. The massed Parademons withdrew to several yards away, granting Jimmy and Forager a momentary respite. Grateful for the break, he dared to hope that maybe the worst w'as over. His elongated arms retreated back toward their sockets even as he wondered what had brought about this inexplicable cease-fire. His eyes searched the smoggy skies overhead, half expecting to see Superman flying to the rescue. Who else could chase the bloodthirsty Parademons away?
The rumble of heavy machinery crushed his hopes. Turning toward the noise, he saw a gigantic energy-cannon being wheeled into place. "Uh-oh.” Jimmy stared down the barrel of the enormous weapon. An ominous hum rapidly increased in volume as the cannon charged up, and he shared an anxious glance with Forager. “This can’t be good....”
No wonder the foot soldiers had cleared out!
A smirking Parademon fired the cannon, and Jimmy’s world disappeared in a blast of scalding energy.
Hie Temple of Artemis had been one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, famed throughout Western civilization, but that was millennia ago. Generations of conquest, vandalism, and neglect had all but obliterated the once-magnificent structure, so that nothing remained but crumbling marble ruins falling to pieces in the middle of a marshy field, about fifty miles south of the nearest city. Truncated columns tilted precariously at odd angles, or else lay across the ground like fallen logs. Weeds sprouted between uneven stone tiles. A sculpted female torso, lacking both arms and a head, looked more like the Venus de Milo than Artemis of the Hunt. Vines strangled the broken pillars and lintels. A crescent moon cast mournful shadows across the site.
Descending from above, Mary Marvel was unimpressed by the forlorn remains of the temple. Turkey was a long way from Gotham City. Scowling, she wondered if it had been worth the trip.
It is, Mary, a voice assured her. We’re going to be good friends, you and 1.
“Uh-huh,” Mary said dubiously. She was still trying to get used to the idea that the mysterious voice inside her head wasn’t actually her own. For the longest time, she had confused the voice with her own thoughts, but she had finally realized that there was a separate intelligence at work here, insinuating itself into her mind, calling to her from somewhere both far away and disturbingly close. Intent on getting to the bottom of the mystery, and perhaps teaching the invasive speaker a lesson, she had followed the voice across the Atlantic to this desolate locale. “Friends, sure, assuming I don’t kill you first.”
Ooh. The voice sounded more amused than intimidated by Mary’s threat. You mean that. I like that.
Mary touched down onto the ground. She glanced around at the scattered debris. Time and the elements had eroded a nearby frieze until it was almost illegible. Doric columns lay upon their sides like fallen redwoods; only a handful of terra-cotta roof tiles remained. “Why this place?”
“Artemis is the goddess of the moon,” the voice replied. It took Mary a second to realize that she could now hear the voice with her ears as well as her mind. “Her temple seemed like a fitting place for us to meet face-to-face at last.” The feminine voice spoke with an American accent. “You don’t know how long I’ve been looking forward to this moment. We have so much in common after all.” “What do you mean?” Mary said warily. Klarion’s trickery had left her wary of the nameless speaker’s intentions. She peered into the shadows cloaking the ruins, searching for the source of the invasive voice. “Who are you ... really?”
“Just an ordinary girl, granted ancient, godlike power, betrayed by those closest to her.” A low chuckle escaped the shadows. “Sound familiar?”
A little, Mary admitted. She walked beneath a decrepit stone archway into the remains of an open plaza. A shaft of moonlight fell like a spotlight onto an outre figure perched upon a weathered marble pedestal that had once served as the base of a towering stone column. Intricate purple designs were embroidered on the woman’s tight black costume. Polished silver crescents clasped the front of the outfit together. A cloak of purple feathers fanned out behind her head and shoulders, then trailed down behind her like a train. Her purple boots dangled above the cracked and uneven pavement. The skintight outfit flattered her voluptuous figure.
The flamboyant getup, which made Mary’s costume look positively austere in comparison, seemed better suited to a Mardi Gras celebration than a midnight rendezvous in an historical rain, but it was the woman’s striking countenance that truly captured Mary’s attention. Her bone white skin was partially eclipsed by a dark purple shadow that covered fully half of the woman’s face. Some sort of birthmark or tattoo, Mary wondered, or just a dramatic makeup job? Spiky black hair crowned the woman’s scalp, while gleaming violet eyes regarded Mary playfully. A sardonic grin lifted the comers of the stranger’s plum-colored lips. Tapered ears and fangs gave her a distinctly vampiric appearance. Slender white fingers fondled a glittering black diamond about the size of a large fig. The translucent gem sparkled darkly in the moonlight.
Mary didn’t recognize the stranger. “And you are ... ?” ' “My name used to be Jean, but now?” She rose sinuously from her seat upon the decapitated base. “You can call me ... Eclipso.”
Eclipso! Mary was familiar with a notorious supervillain by that name, a vengeful demon who derived his power from a cursed black gem, just like the one in this woman’s possession. But that Eclipso had been a brutish-looking male, not a weirdly glamorous woman. Maybe they’re related somehow, like me and Billy?
“You don’t look like Eclipso,” she accused the other woman.
“You’re thinking of my fiendish predecessor.” She held up the sparkling gemstone. “The mystic power of the black diamond has passed on to me.”
Just like I inherited Black Adam’s power, Mary thought. “Good for you. But what’s that got to do with me?” Eclipso seemed untroubled by Mary’s suspicious tone. She smiled invitingly at the younger woman. “Do you know how much potential you have, Mary?” She gestured at the murky ruins surrounding them. “Throughout history, other sorceresses have stood upon this sacred ground. Circe. Medea. Morgaine Le Fey. Each of them a woman of great strength, ability, and passion, much like yourself. Each of them misunderstood and, like you, betrayed by those they loved.”
A pang stabbed Mary’s heart as she recalled waking up alone in that hospital, and Billy’s harsh reaction to her new powers. And I don’t even know where Freddy is anymore. They both forgot about me.
Eclipso nodded knowingly. “Yes, Mary. I’m aware that your family has turned their backs on you, leaving you on your own to be preyed upon by so-called mentors.”
“You mean Zatanna, Klarion, and Madame Xanadu,” Mary realized. She frowned as she recalled how the magical trio had attempted to undermine her. If they had their way, I’d still be weak and helpless.
“None of them truly wanted to help you, Mary.” Eclipso came closer to Mary, until they were only a few inches apart. The lady in purple stood at least a head taller than the younger heroine. A heavy perfume, redolent of rare black orchids, accompanied Eclipso. “They were jealous of your power and sought to keep you from surpassing them.”
Mary eyed Eclipso guardedly. “And how are you any different?”
“You think I want your power?” Eclipso laughed out loud. “How cute. Trust me, as impressive as you are, your might is trivial next to mine.”
Mary bristled. “Is that right? Then what do you want from me?”
“I thought I’d found a kindred spirit in you, Mary.” She sighed regretfully. “But I can see now that you’re not ready to trust again so soon, that you’d prefer to go it alone.” Eclipso shrugged and retreated from the moonlight, fading into the shadows. “Fair enough, Mary Marvel. I leave you in peace.”
“No, wait!” Mary panicked at the prospect of being abandoned once more; this was like getting banished from Shadowcrest all over again. I never said I wanted her to go away. I was just being a little more cautious this time.
What if Eclipso is just the person I need to understand these new powers of mine? “Eclipso! Jean!”
A rough male voice shouted at her from behind. “You there!”
Mary spun around to find herself confronted by three armed guards in military uniforms. Their leader, an ugly gorilla with a greasy mustache, bellowed in Turkish, but the wisdom of Zehuti allowed her to comprehend his words.
“What are you doing here? This a protected landmark.” He drew his pistol from its holster and waved it in her face. “You must go!”
“But I’m not hurting anything,” she insisted in the guard’s own tongue. “I’m not doing anything wrong.” The soldiers’ surly attitude got on her nerves; these jerks had chosen the worst possible moment to give her a hard time. ‘‘What’s it to you if I choose to be here?”
“Shut your mouth!” the soldier barked, glaring spitefully at the young woman. “We’ve had enough of you rich Americans and your arrogance. You think our rules don’t apply to you? Well, maybe you’ll feel differently after a few nights in jail.” He unhooked a set of handcuffs from his belt and tossed them over to one of his men, who snickered and made a rude remark about Mary’s legs. “Place her under arrest!”
What? Mary couldn’t believe the men’s nerve. They had no idea whom they were dealing with here. The cuffs jangling in his grip, the leering soldier stepped forward to take Mary prisoner, but he didn’t get far. Mary threw out her open palm and a blinding flash of lightning froze the men in their tracks. “There!” she retorted. “Try and arrest me now!”
The color drained from the guards’ flesh and uniforms, turning chalky gray. The spontaneous burst of magic had done more than just bedazzle the hostile guards; they had literally been transformed into marble, like the strewn remains of the bygone temple. The petrified men stood like statues amidst the fallen columns and archways. Only their modem uniforms and weapons demonstrated that they hadn’t been resting here for thousands of years.
Mary gulped. Did I really do that? She had acted without thinking, but maybe her reaction had been a little extreme? The men had been pigs and bullies, who probably deserved everything they got, but still...
“Hah!” Eclipso chuckled softly in her ear. Distracted by her confrontation with the obnoxious soldiers, Mary hadn’t even heard the other woman glide up behind her. “They wanted to guard these ruins so badly, now they can do so forever.” She hurled a bolt of purple energy at the men’s leader, reducing his stone pistol to gravel. “Very nicely done.”
“Y-you think so?” Mary asked uncertainly. She was relieved—and grateful—that Eclipso hadn’t condemned her like Billy and Zatanna had. Perhaps Jean really was on her side?
“Of course,” Eclipso assured her. She laid a comforting hand on Mary’s shoulder. Her violet eyes probed Mary’s face. “How did it feel?”
Mary contemplated the stationary figures of the transformed guards. The men’s bellicose expressions were stamped forever onto their petrified faces. Aside from their badges and uniforms, were they really all that different from, say, those muggers who had terrorized her back in Gotham City? Mary wondered how many other innocent tourists the men had threatened and brutalized over the years. I was just minding my own business, she recalled resentfully, but they were going to throw me into some filthy Turkish prison anyway. Real tough guys, picking on one helpless-looking girl...
“Actually,” she admitted, “it felt pretty good.”
Eclipso smiled. “I’m glad to hear that, Mary. It means you’re on the right path.”
That -was just what Mary wanted to hear. Take that, Zatanna!
“It’s weird, though,” she confessed. “I didn’t even know I could do that.”
‘This is just the beginning,” Eclipso promised. She lifted off from the rubble, ascending into the cool night sky. The waxing moon, shining brightly above them, matched the silver crescents upon her throat and bodice. “Come with me, Mary. Let me help you explore your new abilities ... and guide you to your ultimate destiny.”
Which is? Mary wondered anxiously. She hesitated amidst the ruins, unsure if she should accept the other woman’s offer or not. The old Eclipso had been a villain to be sure, but then again, so had Black Adam. Maybe this new Eclipso was different... and truly understood what Mary was going through. Just because I have Adam’s powers, that doesn V make me evil too, so it would be unfair to judge Jean on the basis of the old Eclipso’s crimes.
'' Besides, nobody else seems to believe in me anymore. ...
Mary launched herself into the air after Eclipso. “Wait for me!”
Roiling clouds of radioactive vapor churned outside the Monitor’s energy-sphere. Crimson lightning lit up the billowing mists. A bloodred radiance suffused the stormy atmosphere, which seemed to stretch on endlessly in all directions. Turbulence rocked the globe beneath the Challengers’ feet, making it difficult to stand upright. Donna braced herself against die curved wall of the sphere to keep from falling. Talk about a bumpy ride, she thought. This thing needs seat belts.
“So where are we now?” Jason asked. He scowled at the daunting scenery outside. “We taking a detour through Hell or something?”
Donna had to admit this unnamed cosmos had a distinctly infernal appearance. If she didn’t know better, she’d think they were traversing Tartarus itself. Minus the three-headed dog, of course.
“My people call this realm The Bleed,” Solomon informed them. “It is the formless void between the fifty-two universes.” Unlike Donna and Jason, he seemed to have no difficulty maintaining his balance. He tracked their progress on a holographic display screen. “The Bleed’s chaotic energies render it all but impossible to monitor, which should hide us from my brethren for the time being.” Donna was grateful for the respite. “But they’re definitely after us, aren’t they?”
“Yes,” Solomon admitted. “The other Monitors refuse to accept my in terpretation of recent events. They deny all evidence of the catastrophe to come. We can expect them to oppose us at every turn.”
“Took them long enough,” Jason muttered. “I thought you guys were supposed to be on top of things.”
“I must confess to a deception,” Solomon explained. “I uploaded a fifty-two-minute delay into the central Nexus, keyed into my own presence. What they monitored regarding me...”
“Had already happened almost an hour earlier,” Jason 'grasped. “Sweet!”
“The stratagem bought us time.” Solomon adjusted the navigational controls. “But, alas, they have obviously become aware of the discrepancy.”
Donna nodded soberly. “So from here on, wherever we go, they can find us.”
“That’s going to put a real crimp in our grand tour of the Multiverse,” Jason observed. He reloaded his automatic pistol. “We’re going to have to fight our way to Palmer.”
“No,” Solomon said. “That will not be necessary. My brother revealed more than he had intended.” He gazed past the transparent walls of the sphere at the hellish red maelstrom before them. “I now know exactly where Ray Palmer is.”
Holly stood upon the prow of the Minerva as Paradise Island came into view directly ahead of the private yacht. Grecian temples and palaces gracefully adorned the sloping hillsides of the densely wooded isle, which rose from the sparkling blue waters of the Caribbean like a mirage. Even from miles away, you could tell that the marble buildings were no crumbling ruins; they looked like they were in perfect condition. The pristine elegance of the forbidden isle could not have been more different from the squalid Gotham slums Holly was accustomed to.
“Gods,” Athena corrected her. Along with Holly and the other Amazon wannabes, the supposed goddess gazed out at their destination from the deck of her ship. A crown of electrum rested upon her piled brown curls. “And, yes, it is beautiful. Themyscira, eternal home of the Amazons.”
Themyscira was the actual name of what the media had dubbed “Paradise Island.” Now that they were almost there, Holly was starting to believe that Athena was the real thing after all. Who else could guide them straight to this mythical location? Wonder Woman’s homeland was supposed to be magically hidden from the rest of the world. As far as Holly knew, not even Selina had ever set foot there before.
“Jeepers creepers, will you get an eyeful of that.” Harley Quinn stared dreamily at the island as she leaned so far out over the front rail that Holly was afraid she was going to tumble overboard. Despite herself, Holly was starting to warm to the endearingly daffy ex-super-villain. It was hard not to respond positively to the pigtailed blonde’s infectiously cheery disposition. ‘"Sure beats a padded cell in Arkham!”
“I’ll bet,” Holly replied. A warm tropical wind rustled her hair, which had regained its reddish hue now that her temporary dye job had faded away. Like the other initiates, she was clad in the Amazonian armor that Athena had insisted they wear from now on. That struck Holly as a tad excessive, especially on a Caribbean cruise, but maybe the warrior goddess just wanted them to get used to wearing the heavy armor. What the heck, she thought. When in Themyscira. . .
The yacht rolled beneath their sandaled feet. “I can’t wait to get back on solid ground,” she admitted. She had gotten over the worst of the seasickness on the first few days of the voyage from Metropolis, but the oscillating deck still made her a little queasy. “How much longer before we dock?”
“We dock soon,” Athena informed her. Her silken robes fluttered in the breeze. She strolled away from the rail. “But the rest of you get off here.”
“What?” Holly asked. She wasn’t sure she heard Athena right. The island was still at least a mile away.
“Your training begins now.” Athena raised her voice so that all could hear. “Into the water, my warriors-to-be!” “Wait a minute!” Holly pointed at the azure waters ahead of the yacht. Scaly green fins cut through foam-flecked waves. Serpentine snouts, sporting dagger-sized fangs, occasionally broke the surface before diving beneath the waves once more. Scores of prehistoric sharks and sea serpents infested the churning sea. “What about them?”
“The children of Ketos Aithiopos, mother of all sea monsters. The ancient guardians of our shores.” Crossing the deck, Athena extracted metal lances from a wooden bin. She handed the weapons out to the young women she had brought here. “Outswimming them is a worthy test for any aspiring Amazon.”
“No way!” Holly refused a spear of her own. Silly her, she had thought that the bin contained life jackets or something. “Anyone who would jump into that is insane.” “Cowabunga!” Harley shouted as she enthusiastically hurdled over the railing. She hit the water below with an enormous splash.
Holly rolled her eyes. “I rest my case.”
' But Athena wasn’t taking no for an answer. She pressed the spear upon Holly, who became acutely aware that, stuck on a boat hundreds of miles from modem civilization, she didn’t have a whole lot of other options. Holly watched glumly as, one by one, and with varying degrees of apprehension and excitement, the other girls followed Harley overboard, like lemmings voluntarily racing toward their doom.
So much for a mutiny. Holly grudgingly snatched the spear from Athena’s hand. Guess somebody’s got to look out for the other newbies. She glanced back at Athena as she clambered over the rail. “Any last words of encouragement?” The goddess obviously had no intention of getting her own feet wet. “An all-powerful protection blessing would be nice.”
Athena seemed amused by the younger woman’s irreverence. She smiled slyly. “Aim for the eyes, child.” “Whatever.” Holly took a deep breath and jumped feet-first into the foaming water below. After the sunny warmth of the deck, the sudden chill of her immersion came as a jolt to the system. The bronze armor weighed upon her like an anchor, so she hastily stripped down to the thin
white linen tunic underneath. The discarded metal gear sank to the bottom of tire harbor, but that was the least of Holly’s worries. The authentic Amazon uniform wasn’t worth drowning for.
Athena can take it out of my allowance, she thought wryly. Or get her uncle Poseidon to retrieve it for her.
Shedding her sandals as well, she kicked up to the surface, her head breaking above the waves, where she found herself starring in an extremely unnecessary remake of Jaws 3-D. Splashing about in the ocean, the other initiates desperately tried to fend off the ravenous predators besieging them. The serpents’ tails whipped the water into a bloody froth, while their voracious maws lunged repeatedly at the would-be Amazons. Holly spared a moment to look for Harley, but failed to locate the Joker’s demented ex amidst the aquatic tumult. Salt water splashed against Holly’s face and lips. She thanked God—or the gods— that Selina had insisted that she learn how to swim....
Who the hell does Athena think I am? Aquagirl?
A reptilian head that made Killer Croc look like Ker-mit the Frog burst from the water only a few waves away. Holly gulped as she stared straight down the bright pink gullet of a monstrous sea serpent. Rows of ivory teeth waited to strip the flesh from her bones. Its fishy breath turned her stomach.
Paddling to stay afloat, she maneuvered the spear into position. Aim for the eyes, she recalled urgently, only to discover that the hideous creature didn’t have any eyes, only glistening expanses of scales where its ocular organs should have been. Holly cursed profanely. For a goddess, Athena gave lousy combat advice.
She jabbed at the monster’s snout, but the point of the spear failed to penetrate the serpent’s scaly armor. Crap! She dived beneath the waves just as the creature snapped at the empty air her head had occupied only a heartbeat before. Its rough hide scraped against her bare legs, drawing blood, as she frantically swam away from the hungry beast. Holding on to her breath, not to mention the spear, she stroked underwater for as long as she could before surfacing once more. She thought she was heading toward the distant island, but in the chaos it was hard to be sure. Blinking the salty water from her eyes, she anxiously scanned the horizon.
An appalling sight greeted her. Only a few yards away, a monster-sized shark chomped down on the mangled body of a headless swimmer. Blood and gore exploded from the shark’s jaws as the mutilated remains of the nameless runaway fed its bottomless appetite. Despite her own peril, Holly cursed Athena’s lethal training methods and “survival of the fittest” ethos. Talk about cutthroat competition!
Cutthroat...
A crazy idea struck Holly. Spear in hand, she swam toward the murderous shark. Forget the eyes, she decided as she dove toward the creature’s exposed underbelly. Aim between the scales. Kicking upward, she drove the spearhead into the shark’s throat with all her strength. Gallons of cold blood spurted from the savage gash, rendering the surrounding waters incarnadine. Reversing course underwater, Holly abandoned the spear and put as much distance as possible between herself and the wounded shark before surfacing to inspect her handiwork. Just as she’d hoped, the other sea monsters had been attracted to the huge outpouring of blood, turning on the injured shark in a cannibalistic feeding frenzy. Sharks and seipents alike snapped greedily at each other, momentarily ignoring the insignificant female morsels bobbing in the sea all around them. The children of Ketos were too busy devouring their own. Snapping jaws and ear-piercing wails added to the din.
“Now!” Holly hollered at the other girls. “While they’re distracted!”
She spotted the island to the south. The safety of dry land called out to her and, not looking back, she paddled toward Themyscira as fast as her weary limbs allowed. The swim seemed to take forever, and every muscle in her body ached by the time she finally staggered out of the sea onto the sandy shore of Paradise Island. Breathing hard, she spit a mouthful of brine onto the beach. Water streamed from her soggy hair. Her chiton was soaked clean through. The bloody scrapes on her legs stung like the devil. All in all, she felt more like a drowned rat than a former Cat-woman.
But we made it, she thought. That counts for something.
Lifting her head, she was glad to see several other women dragging themselves onto the shore as well. Some of the stronger gals assisted their weaker sisters. Holly was too exhausted to do a proper head count, but she got the impression that most of her fellow initiates had come through the harrowing ordeal in one piece. She looked around for Harley, but the pigtailed lunatic was nowhere to be seen. A genuine pang of grief caught Holly by surprise.
« Aw, hell, Holly thought. Guess the little nut didn’t make it.
As much as she hated to admit it, she was going to miss ...
“Hey!” a high-pitched voice squealed gleefully. “Who’s up for sushi?” Holly spun around to see Harley come wading out of the surf, holding aloft the speared head of a giant shark. The beast’s meaty tongue dangled out one side of its gaping jaws. “I’m buying!”
Holly smacked her hand against her brow. She didn’t know whether she was happy that Harley was still alive or she wanted to toss the harebrained blonde back into the drink.
Maybe a little bit of both.
Yet her relief that Harley had survived was sullied by the knowledge that not all of the shelter’s former denizens had escaped the island’s flesh-eating guardians. Holly recalled the shark’s anonymous victim and a fresh surge of anger caused her to clench her fists. Goddess or not, Athena had no right to subject vulnerable young women to such blood sports. There’s something rotten
countdown its
going on here, Holly concluded, and it’s up to me to get to the bottom of this scam before somebody else gets killed. A determined look came over her face as she straightened her shoulders and marched up the beach to begin her undercover mission on Paradise Island. If Athena thinks she can turn me into an obedient little Amazon warrior, she’s not as all-knowing as she thinks she is. She’s in for a big surprise once I get the goods on her.
After all, that was what Catwoman would do.
The Armagetto was both the home and prison of the “Lowlies,” the planet’s oppressed masses. Some of the slaves had been bom here; others were hostages and pris-' oners of war from throughout the universe, brought to Apokolips to spend the rest of their wretched existences providing brute labor for Darkseid and his favorites. Cruel overslavers enforced their master’s rule, brooking no disobedience—as Jimmy had painfully discovered.
Jimmy trudged through the sooty streets with the other slaves. Their horrific task? Carrying the limp corpses of dead Lowlies to the perpetually blazing Fire Pits, where the anonymous bodies were turned into fuel for the infernos. Knowing that most of the fatalities had dropped dead from pure exhaustion, Jimmy couldn’t help wondering if he was destined for cremation as well. He glanced at the slaves working beside him. They pushed on mindlessly, having lost all hope long ago. Their lifeless eyes never lifted from the pavement.
I’ve got to get out of here, Jimmy thought, before I end up like them.
The hot air seared his lungs. His tattered clothing was soaked with sweat. His stomach growled hungrily; the Lowlies were fed barely enough to stay alive. Jimmy guessed that he had lost at least ten pounds during his
captivity. He wearily hurled another cadaver into the fires, then circled back the way he had come. On Apokolips, there was never any danger of running out of fresh corpses. As ever, he kept his eyes peeled for any sign of Forager, but without success; he hadn’t laid eyes on the missing insect-woman since awakening to this never-ending nightmare. He prayed that she was still alive, and not just because she was his only ticket home.
“Daydreaming again, little fire-hair?” The shocking sting of an electrified lash cracked against Jimmy’s back, eliciting a gasp of pain from his parched lips. An armored overslaver barked at the prisoner, “I’ve warned you before not to let your attention waver!”
Tell me about it, Jimmy thought, his entire body still quivering from the blow. He was already way too familiar with the jolting effect of the overslaver’s lash. He stag-« gered forward, maintaining his place in the alien chain gang. This will make a great expose for the Planet, assuming I ever make it back to Earth.
“Careful with that one, overslaver,” Captain Vyle, the commander of the guards, admonished his subordinate. His polished jade armor was more elaborate than those of his fellows as he viewed the scene from atop a levitating platform. A sharklike fin crested his helmet. “The Dread One has commanded that he not be killed.”
Come again? Jimmy thought. “Dread One? You can’t mean—”
^Silence, worm!” Vyle, whose name matched his nature, descended toward Jimmy, brandishing his own lash. “That name is not to be uttered by the likes of you!” Jimmy took that as a yes. But why would Darkseid want to keep me alive?
“I think this one misses his little bug companion,” the first overslaver said mockingly.
Vyle chuckled at the bizarre notion of someone actually caring for another. “Perhaps, Sergeant Flaay, we can arrange to have it fed to him.”
Their taunts enraged Jimmy. Risking further punishment, he shook his fist at the heartless guards. “What have you done with Forager?”
“I’d curb that tongue, scum.” Vyle stepped off his platform onto the pavement. Reaching down, he grabbed Jimmy by the throat, lifting the scrawny reporter off the ground, Darth Vader-style. Up close and personal with the sadistic commander, Jimmy was shocked to discover that Vyle had an extra mouth where his left eye should have been. Rows of chomping fangs lined the empty socket. “You may be of interest to the Dread One, but that doesn’t entitle you to answers.”
Jimmy stared in horror at the slavering maw beneath Vyle’s brow; the surreal image reminded him of a recurring nightmare he’d had as a child. Not wanting to let his captors know how creeped out he was, he tried to muster a show of resistance, just to prove that they hadn’t com-'pletely broken his spirit yet. “I may not look like much,” he warned them, “but I have abilities. Tremendous powers that I’m not afraid to use against you!”
“Hah!” Sergeant Flaay laughed. “See how it bristles!” “Empty words.” Vyle casually tossed Jimmy aside, so that he landed roughly upon the unyielding pavement. The other Lowlies backed away fearfully, lest they also incur the commander’s wrath. “The Dread One knows all, including the fact that your so-called powers only manifest when your life is in jeopardy.” He sneered with both of his mouths. “Fear not. The overslavers of Apokolips are well schooled in the delicate art of torture. You won’t die by our hands, but you may long for death’s release!”
Vyle’s lash snared Jimmy’s feet, yanking him backward so that his skull collided with the pavement. An excruciating jolt of electricity triggered violent convulsions. Jimmy bit down hard on his tongue. The briny taste of his own blood filled his mouth.
“A taste of things to come,” Vyle promised. He withdrew the lash, leaving Jimmy stunned and gasping upon the ground. His ankles burned where the lash had wrapped around his bare flesh. Vyle strode back onto his glider before addressing Flaay. “Bring this slug to me when the others crawl back to their cages. I think he warrants special attention.”
“Yes, sir, Captain Vyle!” The overslaver saluted the departing commander, then dragged Jimmy to his feet and shoved him back into the line of prisoners. “Gonna be a long day for you, maggot! Your suffering has only just begun.” He cracked his whip above Jimmy’s head. “Now, back to work!”
Jimmy flinched at the sharp report of the lash. The worst part was, Vyle was absolutely right. His weirdo powers offered no protection from the tortures in store. Unless...
A crazy, near-suicidal idea occurred to him. It was a desperate move, but it seemed the only alternative to a painfully protracted life of ceaseless abuse and servitude. TJiave to go for it now, he resolved, before I lose my nerve.
Darting from his place in the plodding procession, he sprinted back toward the gaping Fire Pit. The heat from the flames felt like a blast furnace, but Jimmy squeezed his eyes shut and kept on running. “Halt, Earthman!” the startled overslaver shouted. He sounded panicked at the ghastly prospect of his charge dying in defiance of Dark-seid’s orders. His heavy footsteps pounded after Jimmy. “Have you taken leave of your senses?”
Maybe, Jimmy conceded, but what other choice do I have? The intense red glare of the Fire Pit penetrated his closed eyelids. The blistering heat tried to drive him back, but Jimmy gritted his teeth and hurled himself forward. One way or another, I’m toast. . ..
He flung himself into the burning pit