Wonder Woman Beyond #4

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Wonder Woman Beyond #4
Secrets

Written by Dean Grey
Edited by Daniel Dyer

Cries of panic rang through the heavy, gray smoke. The crowd of people never saw it coming. There were shards of glass and blood and fallen bodies everywhere. It all happened one week ago.....

Downtown Tel Aviv. Although it’s the start of the fall season, here the weather is still quite warm. The large, bustling city is filled with people as usual even though tensions have been high lately.

Israel has always had its fair share of violence and in the past two years, with influence from Ares, the Greek god of war, the turmoil had reached an all-time high.

Across the street from the fruit and vegetable market is a popular cafe frequented by young Israeli men and women. A 19-year-old Palestinian girl quietly entered the packed cafe. She had lengthy, black hair and a dark olive complexion. With the heat of the midday in full force the Palestinian teen was improperly dressed in layers of bulky, long coats and fabric.

Her name was Leila Altair and she was here for ulterior motives. Her angry, dark brown eyes secretly counted how many people were crowded into the lively cafe. Seven waited in line and about forty or so sat at small tables where they sipped coffee and ate small cakes and light meals.

Leila Altair smiled at a nearby table. “Pigs,” she angrily cursed under her breath.

The Palestinian teen moved to the part of the cafe that was the most crowded. She could no longer conceal the scorn on her face or the rage in her now racing heart. Her eyes welled up and she sneered at everyone around her. The young Palestinian woman abruptly opened up her long coats and let everyone know exactly why she was there. She revealed a belt of homemade explosives wrapped tightly around her small waist.

Before anyone could even react, Leila Altair violently screamed at the seated crowd, “Die, you pigs!” The Palestinian teen, without hesitation, detonated the bombs on her body and blew herself up.

~*~

[Spider-Man Beyond]

The present day...

In Gateway City, California the temperature is mild this time of year as the leaves of trees showed the first telltale signs of changing colors. In the North Side home of Natalie Nemos-Nikolaos, at exactly 4 P.M., the front door unlocked and opened.

“Aunt Lee, I’m home,” a skinny teenage boy said as he entered the living room and plopped his book bag on the couch. Several seconds later Natalie Nemos-Nikolaos entered the room and finished putting on her long, red jacket.

“Hi Nathan. I’ve gotta run some errands so I won’t be back for a few hours,” Natalie explained as she pulled her dark brown hair from under her coat’s collar. “Supper’s all ready so go ahead and eat. Make sure you start your homework early, don’t wait till the last minute.”

“Will do,” Nathan replied.

Natalie noticed what her Nephew was holding. She gestured towards his hands and asked, “You’re still keeping that thing? That newspaper is four-days-old already.”

“I know, but everyone at school is still talking about her,” Nathan said beamingly as he unfolded and read the Gateway City Gazette out loud, “Mysterious new Wonder Woman stopped drug trafficker and known terrorist liaison Baqir Al-Asad.”

Natalie looked behind to her left, gave a soft smile, then turned back to Nathan and added, “Make sure you start your homework young man.”

“Okay,” the young teen sighed having felt kind of nagged.

Natalie Nemos-Nikolaos opened the front door and held it open for several long seconds, as if letting someone else out too, before she said goodbye and exited.

After walking about a block away from her house Natalie checked to make sure no one was in sight and said, “All right Aphrodite, the coast is clear. You can become visible again.”

Materializing to the left of Natalie appeared an incredibly beautiful, blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman. She was dressed in layers of soft fabrics and bundled up in a long, clean, white trench coat. Compared to Aphrodite, Natalie was an everyday woman of just average height and looks.

“Finally,” Aphrodite said as she let out a deep breath and stretched her arms. “Sometimes it feels like I’m trapped, having to hide in that spare bedroom of yours.”

“I’m sorry, dear, but what else can I do?” Natalie questioned, her hands nestled in her warm coat pockets. “Nathan would find it odd if he heard me talking to myself back at home. I’m afraid the only way for us to talk when he’s around is by going for a walk.”

“And you’re certain there are no other relatives he can stay with?” Aphrodite asked as the two women meandered down the quiet, tree-lined street.

“No, I’m afraid not,” Natalie replied. “His mother died in a car crash when he was just nine-years-old. My brother remarried about two and a half years later, but Nathan and his stepmom don’t get along, to say the least.”

“After my brother Mark died last year it was hard on all of us,” Natalie continued, her voice more somber now. “I offered to let Nathan stay with me after that because I knew him and his stepmom would have a difficult time together. Jason had just gotten stationed in Kasnia then so I had the room.”

Aphrodite noticed Natalie had stopped walking. The goddess of love didn’t even have to ask what was wrong, she knew. Aphrodite gently tapped Natalie’s forearm and let her speak.

“Just three months after Mark died we found out Jason was killed while in Kasnia too. My brother and my husband died in the same country in such a close amount of time. Never in my life would I have imagined that could happen.”

“They were very brave men to give their lives trying to stop the wars,” Aphrodite tenderly reassured her. “They did not die in vain, we will see to that.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that,” Natalie softly said as she wiped stray tears that ran down her cheeks. “Like I said, it’s just hard for all of us right now.”

“And Nathan was having a difficult time at his old high school so he transferred to a new one this year, which happens to be closer to my home than his stepmom’s,” Natalie added. “Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”

Aphrodite tried to change topics slightly, to lift Natalie’s spirits. “Why does your Nephew call you Lee? Is it a middle name or--”

“--Oh no,” Natalie interrupted, as a smile appeared and her dark blue eyes twinkled. “When Nathan was just a baby he couldn’t pronounce my first name properly. All he could say was the last part of Natalie and it kind of stuck ever since.”

“Charming,” Aphrodite lovingly smiled.

~*~

[Spider-Man Beyond]

An hour and a half later back at the Nikolaos household, Nathan Nemos just finished washing his dishes. He’s 15-years-old and is close to average height for a boy his age. He’s boyishly cute and can even be considered pretty. Nathan left the kitchen and did a mock pirouette followed by a soft twirl through the hallway as he entered his, for the most part, organized bedroom.

His jet-black hair is neatly parted to the side, yet in the back it’s slightly disheveled, and in the front it draped on his forehead. Nathan picked up his phone and dialed a number while he put away the things from his school backpack.

“Hi Jamesina, it’s me,” Nathan cheerfully said as he laid his pointe shoes down and began to fold his dark blue leotard. “My Aunt? No she left. She has to go back to work next week and I guess she’s running last-minute errands before her vacation time ends. I thought I’d call before I start doing my homework.”

“Well, I just wanted to say thanks... you know... for keeping my secret,” Nathan said in a hushed voice. “I never told anyone at my old school and I still got harassed. At least at the Academy I feel like I fit in more, you know?”

“And don’t worry, I promise I won’t tell anyone about your... you know... situation,” Nathan added. “That’s what friends are for.”

The conversation between the pair continued and when the topic changed to a certain subject Nathan’s light-blue eyes lit up.

“I’m looking at it right now,” Nathan gasped enthusiastically as he held the four-day-old newspaper in his hands and sat perched on his bed. “It doesn’t show any pictures but the article does say the new Wonder Woman’s costume looked pretty similar to the original and that she even had the Magic Lasso and everything.”

Jamesina wondered what happened to the original Wonder Woman. Nathan agreed and added, “Yeah, and why this new Wonder Woman took her place.”

Nathan reached over to his small desk, grabbed and opened his notebook computer, and clicked onto a file folder titled “Wonder Woman”. He looked at various magazine clippings, newspaper articles, and photos of the original Wonder Woman and told Jamesina, “I’m gonna scan this newest article and add it to my scrapbook.”

And as the two friends’ discussion comes to a close Nathan happily said, “Okay Jamesina, I’ll see you tomorrow at dance practice.” After putting the phone down Nathan looked at the newspaper once more.

“Wonder Woman is just so schway.”

~*~

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Roughly two miles away at the neighborhood park, Natalie and Aphrodite continued talking while seated on a weathered park bench.

“It’s too bad the original Wonder Woman couldn’t have stopped Ares.... before he’d gotten so powerful,” Natalie said as she watched nearby pigeons peck at crumbs on the pavement.

“That’s not possible. Ares wasn’t working alone,” Aphrodite replied quite seriously. “A powerful sorceress called Circe helped the god of war at the time.”

“Circe?” Natalie questioned, her interest clearly piqued. “What did she do?”

“They initially agreed to help one another,” Aphrodite explained. “While Wonder Woman was visiting her Amazon sisters on her island home, Themyscira, Circe cast a powerful spell. A spell which created a magical barrier surrounding the entire island, essentially keeping Wonder Woman and the Amazons from leaving. In the two years the Amazons were “imprisoned” Ares managed to turn the outside world’s small conflicts into great ones. He ignited wars, riots, and violence which increased his ever-growing power.”

“What happened to Circe?” Natalie wondered as she leaned back and crossed her slender legs. “You didn’t mention her at all until today.”

“When Ares’ power reached an all-time high, he simply decided she was no longer necessary,” Aphrodite answered quite frankly. “I heard he sealed her away, though I don’t know where. Once forever trapped, Circe’s spell over Themyscira was broken.

“But that didn’t matter,” Aphrodite continued, her voice quieter now. She reminded Natalie how Ares used his heightened power to take control of the Amazons and attack Mount Olympus. How Diana, the original Wonder Woman, tried to intervene, but that Ares began to gain control of her too, leaving Athena with no choice but to permanently petrify Wonder Woman’s body.

Aphrodite was clearly saddened by all of this and the thoughts of her fallen Olympians and destroyed home. She stared off in the distance with her voluptuous body clenched tight as she sat next to Natalie.

“Mount Olympus may be gone, but when we stop Ares, we’ll get things back to normal,” Natalie said assuredly as she tried to comfort the love goddess.

Aphrodite lightly nodded in agreement, which made her curly blonde hair dance, and bitterly added, “Circe was an utter fool to trust Ares. I suppose she got what she deserved.”

“You almost say that like.... your jealous of her,” Natalie noticed.

“Jealous?” Aphrodite snapped back. And as she was about to continue she stopped, looked down, and hung her attractive head. Natalie gently put her hand on Aphrodite’s knee.

“I’m sorry Aphrodite.... I didn’t mean to upset you or anything.”

The love goddess remained silent for some time and appeared ashamed, then softly said, “We were lovers. At one time Ares and I were lovers.”

Shocked, Natalie’s dark blue eyes zeroed in on Aphrodite. “You and Ares?! You told me you were married to Hephaestus.”

“Oh Hephaestus,” Aphrodite upsettingly replied as she rolled her eyes. “Zeus forced him on me. We were never truly in love.”

“Ares?” Natalie asked again in disbelief having leaned towards Aphrodite. “What could you possibly see in him?”

“I am the goddess of love, you wouldn’t understand such things,” Aphrodite said in an exalted tone. “Ares is fire, rage, power. It was a tumultuous affair and short-lived.”

“Ares?” Natalie angrily repeated as her dark brown hair started to fall in her face. “Think of all the chaos he’s brought here. All the lives he’s helped take with his wars, including my brother and my husband!”

“Natalie, the lust Ares and I shared was in the past, in Ancient Greece,” Aphrodite quickly explained as she tried to calm Natalie down. “Do you think I would be here helping you stop him if that weren’t so? I’m not proud of the mistakes I’ve made in the past as a goddess, but perhaps now that I’m slowly losing my powers and becoming more human I can make up for it.

“Believe me, I want to stop Ares as much as you do,” Aphrodite added as she touched Natalie’s shoulder. “Are you.... still mad with me?”

Natalie put her hands to her forehead and sighed, “I don’t know Aphrodite. It’s a lot to take in, you know?”

“I understand. Why don’t we try and take our minds off all this? Perhaps we can get some practice in while we are here,” Aphrodite suggested.

“Practice?” Natalie asked.

“Yes, we can find a remote spot for you to transform with the Magic Lasso and work on flying at both low and top speeds,” Aphrodite explained.

“I’m sorry, Aphrodite, but I left the Magic Lasso at home. I didn’t think we’d need it today.”

“You left it at home?” Aphrodite asked abrasively. “You must never be without the Magic Lasso. If this were an emergency--”

“--I’m sorry,” Natalie defensively interrupted, “but I had so many things in my purse already and it didn’t even occur to me to bring it. Look, it’s getting late anyway. Why don’t we just go home and the both of us can cool down, okay?”

This is the first time since the two women met that they argued with one another. Though the tension between them seemed to have subsided, the pair didn’t say another word to each other as they headed towards home...

~*~

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Nathan Nemos, having finished most of his homework, managed to spend the last half hour tidying up the house.

Okay, I did the laundry, vacuumed, and was even able to plate up Aunt Lee’s dinner for her, Nathan proudly thought to himself. Won’tshe be surprised. She’s been so busy lately and I haven’t been helping out much, it’s the least I can do.

What else, what else? Nathan wondered as he looked through the rooms to see what else needed to be done. He stopped at his Aunt’s bedroom where he noticed her bed was still unmade.

Maybe I can change the sheets for her real quickly and make her bed, Nathan excitedly thought as he dashed into Natalie’s room and pulled off her old bed covers.

Now where does she put the clean sheets? Nathan asked himself, having started to open several of his Aunt’s dresser drawers to no avail. Nathan then knelt down, opened the last, bottom-most drawer, and pushed and lifted old fabrics about when something inside caught his eye.

What’s this? Nathan wondered having seen something glowing and golden peer underneath musty sheets. As the young man pulled out the item his light-blue eyes were opened wide. He knew exactly what it was.

“Oh....my....God!”

~*~

[Spider-Man Beyond]

At that moment, three times zones away is a much larger, more well-known city... Metropolis. Clean and inviting, Metropolis is famous for the Daily Planet, Centennial Park, the Emperor Building, and of course, Superman.

But another landmark in this world class city of sprawling and soaring skyscrapers is of recent interest. On New Troy Island, the largest borough in Metropolis, lies the central branch of S.T.A.R. Labs (Science and Technology Advanced Research Laboratories). If it’s cutting edge and technologically ahead of its time it was probably created within the complex of S.T.A.R. Labs.

In the medical unit doctors prepared a young woman for yet another surgery. The teenage girl, who’s been given life saving procedures in the last several days, drifted in and out of consciousness as she’s wheeled down a long, bright hall on a gurney. Her name is Leila Altair. Though she’s disoriented, the Palestinian teen knew she’s definitely alive. Her heart sank at the realization because if she survived the explosion in Tel Aviv that meant everyone else in the cafe probably did as well...

~*~

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Natalie Nemos-Nikolaos opened the front door to her home. After having entered she left the door open for a long moment to let the invisible Aphrodite in. Nathan Nemos stood quietly at the other end of the room.

“Hi honey, you didn’t have to wait up,” Natalie said to her nephew as she put down her purse and keys and started to take off her long, red jacket. But Nathan didn’t respond. He just stood there and blankly stared at his Aunt.

“What’s wrong Nathan?” Natalie asked having noticed Nathan acting peculiar. But again he didn’t answer.

“Nathan, what’s wrong?” Natalie asked once more as she stepped closer, this time worried something bad had happened.

“Aunt Lee... what are you doing with this?” Nathan questioned as he held up a glowing, golden lariat from out behind his back. “What are you doing with Wonder Woman’s Magic Lasso?”

......to be continued