Wonder Woman: Hell in Paradise (Part 2)

Interlude

 

Oracle sat working through the millions of lines of code protecting the Amazons’ computer network, easily the most sophisticated system she had encountered that was native to planet Earth.

 

The task was enormous, but for all the obvious effort she was putting into the problem, the red haired cyber guru was devoting less than 50% of her mental abilities to cracking the Themyscrian operating system.  The balance was being channelled into finding a way to turn the tables of their captors.

 

Barbara still did not know how they had made a connection between her and Canary and Huntress.  True Dinah did not wear a mask while in costume and anyone could have seen them lunching together in Gotham, but that did not quite explain what was going on.  There was a loose end to the reasoning that was gnawing at the leader of the Birds of Prey like an ant trapped in her shoe.

 

That’s it, Barbara, keep your mind occupied on the problem. Don’t think about what they did to Dinah and Helena, what their probably doing to them right now…

 

Oracle closed her eyes and pushed those thoughts away. She had to hold the horror at arms length if she was ever to find a way out of this for all of them. Later there would be time to fall apart.

 

The whole situation seemed incongruent with the facts.  The Amazons defensive network was the most advanced on the planet after that of the Justice League’s own watchtower on the Moon, yet somehow Savage and Deathstoke had marched an entire army of mercenaries and super-villains right up to the warrior-women’s door and knocked, without being detected.

 

And where was the Justice League?  Themyscria must have been out of contact for days now, and yet no one from the outside world seemed to have noticed, much less done anything about it. Some of the best minds on Earth were gathered here at any given time, not to mention the female heroines that had travelled here at Diana’s request. Someone from the League or the Justice Society should have been aware of a problem within hours, but there had been nothing!

 

The more Barbara wrestled with the problem the more she became convinced that it made no sense.  There was much more to what was happening than appeared on the surface, and she was sure that defeating their enemies meant finding out what.

 

Abruptly her programming gained her access to some of the internal security net.  Barbara did not even blink and eye, shunting the input to a console whose data she had encrypted in the first half hour of her work. To her captors it would seem she was studying still more of the Amazons encoded data, allowing her to search without arousing suspicion.

 

Still manipulating the software to access their Themyscrian database, the Gotham librarian diverted some of her attention to the feed on the protected monitor.  It seemed to be from some kind of holding area for the Amazon women – but they were strapped down to metal frames and seemed to be hooked up to some kind of medical equipment. There was no sound, but it was clear that the women were struggling, some of them violently.

 

She was sickened but not surprised to see that most were naked.

 

Steeling herself, Barbara adjusted the feed to zoom in on one of the subjects, a brown haired woman with a classically beautiful face.  There were wires running from the electronics next to her frame to the space between her legs, shadowed by the torn remains of her shift.  She was writhing slowly. Her body sweated profusely, making the torn material cling to her so closely he might as well have been nude. Her full breasts rose and fell sharply, and the look on her face…

 

Barbara forced herself not to register her shock. She had been prepared to see the look of pain, horror, even despair.  Anything but this!

 

***

 

‘Time to come with us, pretty girl,’ Houngan told Starfire.

 

The black man stood under the detention area lights, gleaming black chest bare in his plunging white tunic and his silver mask with its wild red crest adorning his broad face and shoulders. From his belt hung the techno-fetishes that allowed him to use the merest sample of a victims DNA to cause excruciating pain, a modern day witch-doctor. Frills adorned his sleeves and boot-tops, giving his clothes a tribal look.

 

Next to him the Frenchman known as Warp stood at ease in a full golden body suit. Unlike the heavily muscled man next to him the only flesh of Warp’s in sight was the oval of his face, peering from a wide round helmet that attached seamlessly to his shoulders and upper back, like a polished metal hood.

 

Koriand’r looked out at the men gathered outside the cell as if studying some particularly repugnant form of pond life. The costumed villains stood there frankly admiring her charms within her revealing purple armour, the full contours of her golden body.  They were smiling and clearly enjoying the look of the disgust in the fiery alien’s glowing all-green eyes .

 

‘Hey, leave her the hell alone,’ Dinah called from the nearby cell she was sharing with Huntress, who still lay unconscious on the floor after their shared ordeal. Truth be told she could barely stand herself after the session in the electro-shock machine, but she was damned if she were going to stand by idle while these filth had their way with the young Titan.

 

‘Patience Black Canary,’ the short but slender Warp sneered. The French villain’s slender moustache twitched with pleasure as he eye-balled the feisty blonde street fighter. The blades of the torture machine in which she had and her partner had suffered had done a thorough job of shredding her black costume, and now all that was left to the short blonde was her boots and black neck choker. He liked the way she made no attempt to hide her breasts or the tuft of gold between her legs.  It was clear there would be much amusement to be had before the spirited American was broken in. ‘We’ll be wanting some time with you soon enough.  For now, its Starfire’s turn to play.’

 

‘No,’ said Donna, getting to her feet and standing in the tattered remains of her red body suit. Her boots clacked on the floor as she strode up to the clear wall of the cell, facing the men outside. Koriand’r made a move to push her dark haired friend back, but the Amazon brushed her away.

 

‘Themyscria is my homeland, not Starfire’s.  She has no information to help you with whatever you’re looking for.’  Donna’s beautiful face, framed  by her flowing black tresses, was a mask of determination.  ‘Whatever you want to know, you want it from me.’

 

Watching, the Canary was both impressed and alarmed. The latter came from the fact that she was sure Donna was right – these sick freaks might be happy getting their kicks hurting captive women, but Dinah was sure there was much more to this situation than a sadistic pleasure jaunt. Savage and Deathstroke were after something from the Amazons all right, and no matter what they were all better off if they were delayed as long as possible from finding it.

 

On the other hand, Dinah couldn’t help but admire Donna’s courage. As someone who had far too much experience with the horror of torture, she knew how the dark haired Titan would be feeling like she was stuffed with broken glass after her ordeal, but she still put her friends well being first, even as Starfire was prepared to do for her. If there had been any doubt these two young women were heroes, it was certainly gone now.

 

‘You too will have your turn again soon enough, my sweet,’ Warp said with a smile that was anything but friendly.  ‘But every moment you keep us waiting will only make us more impatient and Starfire’s experience more…intense.’

 

Koriand’r put her hands on Donna’s shoulders and turned her comrade to face her.  ‘I’ll be fine,’ she said with a lioness’ courage.  Behind her Warp opened a shimmering portal of yellow light inside the cell.  Without another word or backward glance Starfire stepped through it, and the opening in space sealed itself with a flare of bright light.

 

‘Well, adieu for now, mon petites,’ Warp said with a wave, and Houngan laughed in a baritone rumble.  Another opening appeared in front of them, and as Donna and the Canary watched they stepped through. Before it closed though, Warp’s head appeared again, looking back at the blonde’s cell.  ‘We shall give your regards to the Huntress when she awakes, cheri,’ he said with a wink.

 

Dinah stood uncomprehending for a moment, then a light flared behind her.  Eyes wide she whirled to find Huntress had vanished, another of Warp’s accursed portals winking out of existence in the space where the black haired vigilante had lain.

 

Swearing luridly Dinah spun back to face Warp, but only empty air was left outside the cells to hear her cry of rage.