Many of these so-called gods are just overpowered, oversexed immortals, often with barely a shred of morality. But a reckoning was soon in the cards. How many are able to survive and adapt to the changes that will soon sweep their world?
-Tarandis
A dark robed figure observed the chessboard in front of him. Deep in thought as he pondered his next move, he did not utter a sound. His opponent, a tall man in ancient Grecian armor, sat just as silently.
Around them was a field of stars set against empty space. There was no ground, no seats for them as they sat in the starfield, slowly contemplating their game.
A sniveling man in an archaic suit and a monocle walked, no, floated up to the two players, bowing respectfully to gain their attention.
"My lords," The man stammered, "I have several news concerning the tasks to which you have set before this humble servant." He went down on his knees, if that was even possible in space, while awaiting the order to stand before his masters.
"What is it, Earl? Spit it out." The armored man did not even turn his head as he spoke, preferring to watch the chessboard instead. "And stand up. I have enough fawning idiots to do my bidding. I don't need your sniveling manner when it is useless."
The Earl stood up. "First of all, the delegates we have captured are being processed quite nicely by our very own Duke. We think they should be fit for release in say, three more months." He gave the armored man a simpering smile, hoping that he would be pleased with their progress.
"Good," the armored man clenched a gauntleted fist. "I would like to see her face when she is suddenly betrayed by all she holds dear. War and conflict shall be unleashed anew onto the world, and this time, nobody, not even Wonder Woman, can stop us."
The robed man took over, his voice a malevolent hiss. "If not for the fact that killing her outright would have made her a martyr, she would have been dead. We needed not only to destroy her, but also to discredit her ideals."
"That would be much more difficult than you think. She has proven herself to be a persistent foe, and the very same attitude that has allowed us to strike at her are also the ones which enable her to have so many allies." The Earl immediately regretted the words when they came out of his mouth. He did not need his lord to get angry at him.
He was surprised when the armored man did not call down any myrmidons to take him away to the dungeons. "You may be right. However, this time we are the ones two steps ahead. The plan is flawless. I shall take great pleasure in destroying all those who have thwarted me for so many times."
"We have planned this for many months now. Of course it has to be flawless!" The robed man then decided to change the subject. "Then what of the man who saved her during the failed attack last month? What is he doing now? Is he of any importance, or is he just a coincidence?"
The aristocratic minion answered, grateful that he wasn't going to suffer any pain, "The man's name is Andrew Skye. Right now, I believe he is taking an extended vacation from work, due to his convalescence from his injuries. One interesting fact to take note is that he has refused all and any invitations to functions to celebrate his bravery. He has completely shunned the limelight, and since earthshaking events occur almost all the time, the incident, and him, have been forgotten by the media."
The earl continued to talk. This was something his lords should hear. "We think we know why he was so reluctant to show his face. We checked his government records, and there seemed to be nothing wrong. However, we found several minute details that did not hold up to closer examination."
"For one, his parents did not exist, not even in our archives. Two, the schools which he went to were verified, but nobody from the same year, the same classes, could even remember his name. Third, and most important, I think, was that he knew Ice Breaker."
"Who and what is Ice Breaker?" The armored warrior was interested now. The earl grinned inwardly. This new information might gain the favor of his lord and allow him to rise higher in the hierarchy.
"Ice Breaker is a specialized hacker, who does only false immigration and the falsification of records in government databases. Because of our work, I get into contact with him quite frequently. I suspected he might have done the work for Skye, since his records were done in the way Ice Breaker would have done it. So I brought a few colleagues along one time, and we pulled the information out of him."
He paused, then continued. "Andy Skye is not an American citizen. In fact, even Ice Breaker wasn't sure where he came from. All he knew was that Skye and another man decided to retire in the United States, after working as mercenaries in Central Asia, Africa and South America for at least four years."
"Following that clue, we traced several mercs and soldiers who have close dealings with us. After all, war is our business." He showed his perfect line of teeth in a smile. "They all remembered a merc who fitted Andy Skye's description perfectly. He was a crack shot, they said, and an extremely efficient planner. He had a reputation for being a warrior who could fight under any condition, and extract victory out of seemingly hopeless situations. More often than not, he would often identify an opponents' weaknesses, and strike at them brutally. Skye also had a fondness for headhunting, taking down enemy commanders personally and launching attacks simultaneously to take advantage of any disruption in their communications and command. By the time he went to the US, he could have amassed a small mercenary army for himself, such was his reputation and recognition, but he did not, for reasons we have yet to discover."
"Sounds like somebody we should recruit." The robed man looked at the earl. "I just thought of something. Is Andrew Skye even his real name? And if he wasn't from the United States, then where was he from?"
The Earl of Greed shook his head. "I do not know much of these things, but he did use a different name, actually a callsign, when he was a merc." He paused for dramatic effect.
"Don't test my patience." The Greek warlord growled. "Spit it out."
The earl answered hurriedly. "His call sign, his name, was Charade."
"No, not Charade." Ares smiled grimly as the final pieces of his plan fell into place. If it succeeded, he would enjoy the doom of the Amazon Champion at a front row seat. If not, it would simply delay the inevitable. "My Marshal of Chaos."
"Hi, Diana!" A blonde girl laughed excitedly as she flung herself into Wonder Woman's arms. "It's great to see you!"
"And I am happy to see you as well. Is your mother fine?"
"Yes, she's coming over just as soon as she settles our hotel arrangements. I wanted to help, but she insisted that I come over to see you and Donna first." Wonder Girl shrugged helplessly.
Cassandra Sandsmark had grown up quite a bit since the last time she saw her, Diana noted approvingly. Her time as the leader of Young Justice had given her a confidence and bearing that few other girls her age had.
They were in the Fifth Avenue penthouse Diana shared with her sister Donna, a suite Donna had purchased with her work as a photographer, and supplemented by Diana's salary as a guest lecturer of Grecian history.
Diana had been surprised when she received the call from Cassie saying that she was in New York, due to her mother attending a conference on ancient history, and wanted to unwind a bit by touring the city, and she wanted Diana, and maybe Donna to come along. It was only after Diana noticed a smiling Donna agree almost instantly to the question that she realized that they were the ones trying to get her to relax.
It had been a hectic two months after the attack on her. All reports and post analysis had agreed that she was the actual target on that day, and that there was surely a leak somewhere. Not so clear was whether the earlier abduction of the other diplomats was simply a way to lure her into placing herself as bait, or if there was some other purpose at work.
Diana had tried all means to get to the bottom of the matter, but the deaths of the two metahuman attackers had resulted in a dead end for the investigators, which also led to some people trying to blame Andrew Skye for killing them when he could have disarmed them.
The rebuttal from many others had been raised almost instantaneously. How? Her attackers were living weapons, especially Brickburn. Slyper's armored body also did not lend itself well to being disarmed without a lot of struggle, and the post mortem had revealed that Andy Skye had shot him in the one place where he could be hurt, his throat. Ditto for Brickburn, whose only weak point to firearms was his eyes.
Andrew Skye had been hailed as a hero by the media, but his cold and unhelpful manner once he had woken from his short coma quickly turned them off, and brought the matter to a drawing close. Events afterwards quickly took their places within the public mind, and soon nobody would even remember that Wonder Woman was nearly raped.
Diana knew she should thank Andy Skye for rescuing her from that fate, and also helping, however inadvertently, to downplay the incident. That she was an avatar of truth did not mean that she supported the complete release of all information at all times. Some things should just be kept quiet. The Civil War on Themyscira had been one, and this was another.
But Andy Skye had steadfastly refused to return her calls. And later on she had been too busy to even think of asking him out for dinner just to show her gratitude. She did talk a few more times to Jake Kabrinski, but he seemed just as reluctant as Andy to tell her more about him. Besides, a crime wave had swept over New York recently, and she had been running to and fro to catch the criminals, many of whom were working for the mob.
Whenever she thought of him, she would think of those cool blue eyes which seem to be observing everything around them. Eyes which are calm, but actually a dam to hold back a torrent of hate. Her limited ability to peek into the soul of others was a somewhat surprising leftover from her time as the Goddess of Truth.
What did he hate? And why? Diana thought she might never know, but it was a mystery that would remain with him unsolved. In any case, it didn't matter.
"Diana, are you ready yet?" The yell from Cassie shook her free from her thoughts. Donna was already dressed casually in slacks and blouse. From the way Donna and Cassie were taking about the latest fashions, Diana suspected that they would spend more time in the mall than touring the sights of the city.
She stepped out of her room dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt. "Okay," Diana smiled as she took Cassie's hand, "Let's go."
Tony Inzaghi was not a happy man. He cursed the day superheroes had appeared, and he cursed the day when one of his goons had come up with a foolproof way to expand their operations. Expand their drug trade. Yeah right.
He should have known it wasn't that easy. Countless arrests and raids later, his organization was in ruins, and Intergang from Metropolis was muscling in aggressively on his territory.
It was all that bitch's fault. Her lasso of truth was too damned useful for the cops, and his relatively undisciplined underlings fell all too easily, as Wonder Woman dismantled the organization piece by piece from the bottom up. From all accounts, she stepped in when too many families were affected by his drug pushers. She had decided to stop the root cause, and that was his organization.
"Come in here, Lee!" He roared for the smartest goon he had left. It was Lee who had managed to arrange matters such that Tony was fully insulated from fallout, breaking the crucial line of evidence. Of course, the price had been high, since it was the deaths of three of his most important men.
He was safe now, he was sure, but he also wanted revenge on Wonder Woman.
Lee was a fat and short man whose very appearance often led people to underestimate his intelligence. He was also utterly ruthless, and completely loyal to Tony.
Lee entered the door on his stubby legs, a roll of newspaper in his hands. "Yes, boss?" He asked as he stood before Tony's table.
Tony leaned back in his seat. "Have you come up with any ideas on how to kill that Wonder Broad?"
Lee nodded. "Yeah, I've managed to think of a few ways. The best one, I think, is to just take her out with a sniper. That should be easy enough, except that she has super hearing, so the sniper has to be shoot from far away enough that the bullet would reach the amazon before the sound of the shot does. And there are darn few people alive who can do that."
"So get one of them. I can pay."
"I know, so I did a bit of discreet inquiry, and we're in luck. There's a retired merc in the city who's also a very good assassin. His name is Charade, but we don't know who his real name is. But what we do have is the phone number of his partner."
"So we can get into contact with this Charade guy, and then he takes the job, and bam! No more Wonder Bitch." Tony said with a satisfied smile. Lee nodded. His boss had caught on quickly.
"The second plan is the good old blackmail scheme. A bunch of her friends are in town right now, and we could launch a quick grab, and hide them someplace else. Then we force her to do our bidding. I know you want her dead, but imagine the possibilities! Wonder Slut under our control!" Lee leered, as an interested Tony understood his meaning.
Tony felt an erection growing in his pants just from thinking of Wonder Woman naked and beaten in front of him. Done properly, he also stood to earn millions if they could record her humiliation and death, and sell the video. "I think I like the second plan better. I think we should get some reimbursement on everything we've lost, don't we? But try Charade first. If he doesn't want to take the hit, then we use the second plan. And we might need him to just knock her out, instead of killing her outright. Hostage plans are a mite tricky to pull off."
Lee mirrored the evil grin on his boss's face. "Brilliant, boss. We'll get on it right away."
Andrew Skye gasped for breath as he came to the end of his final sprint, his lungs bursting from the effort. He looked at his watch, and he was satisfied at his time.
8 kilometers in 35 minutes. He was getting back into shape. He panted for several long minutes, trying to recover from the run.
Andy had chafed constantly at his immobility for the month that he couldn't walk due to his broken leg. Jake had commented mirthlessly that the incident might even be good for having forced Andy into a vacation.
His broken leg had healed quite quickly, and he was already able to jog slowly after just a month. The doctors had advised him to take things slowly, but he did not care.
Andy wondered why he was even bothering to keep himself fit at all. He had quit from fighting and the life of a soldier, and he had hoped that doing so might help to lift the darkness away from his heart. There was no need to train, to keep his wits sharp, to keep himself appraised of new developments in weapons technology.
Except that he knew he was lying to himself. His instincts had been screaming at him ever since the incident with Wonder Woman and the ambassador, and he knew that war, somehow, somewhere, was on the way. And knowing his luck, or lack of it, he would probably be caught up, one way or the other.
So Andy decided to go along. He had begun the physical regimen that he had grown up with to gain back his combat fitness. He had used what little money he had to join a shooting club for range practice. He had Jake make discreet enquiries about soldiers they had met during their time as mercs, who he thought might be willing to listen to him when the time comes.
Andy really hoped there wouldn't be war. He looked around the park where he had ended his run, and he saw children playing happily on the grass, families having picnics, couples snuggling up to one another. Sounds of joy and laughter trickled through the air.
A beautiful Saturday morning.
Andy would have given anything to have such a life, to have a family that loved him, but he also had nothing to give except his own pain, sorrow, and shame.
The image of a dead girl, killed at his hands, appeared in his mind. Andy turned over the memory sadly, thinking of his past. It had been to kill or be killed, and there had been no other choice. He had hated himself for years, and the one thing that still drove him on, and maybe his one real reason for living, was the thought of revenge. Oh yes, he and the others would have their vengeance. He had been promised that. If nothing else in life mattered to him, then at least he would have the cold comfort of retribution.
Andrew Skye took one more longing look at the people in the park, then took a sip of water from the bottle at his hip, and left.
Diana sighed with relief as Donna and Cassie finally entered a small cafe in the mall. She envied their enthusiasm, even when weighed down by shopping bags.
It had been an uneventful morning. No urgent calls from the JLA, no need to run off somewhere to stop a bank robbery, no need even to rescue any cats from trees. And she liked it just fine.
They found a table near a window, and sat down for lunch.
After a waitress had taken their orders, Cassie and Donna started gossiping about the men in their lives, or more accurately, the superheroes.
It was Donna who started it first. "So Cass, how's life with Young Justice? Are you still with Superboy?" Donna grinned mischievously.
"Same oh, same oh. We get together, whack up some bad guys, then unwind. We meet every week at my mum's house, and we would watch movies, play games, you know…" Cassie shrugged. "And Kon's been very nice. He sends me flowers every week. Mom is thinking of giving him the 'talk' soon."
Cassie suddenly whirled on Donna. "How about you, Donna? Seeing anyone recently?"
Donna blushed. "Why should I tell you?"
"Oh come on. You're blushing, so there is someone, riiiiiight?" Cassie pressed on, as Diana smiled at the antics of her protégé and the embarrassment of her twin sister.
"Welll…"
"Tell us please!" Cassie asked excitedly. "There's someone, right?"
"There's this guy I met at a supermarket. One of those funny things that just… happened."
"What did he do?"
"I was going around picking up things that I need. Then a kid, you know, the type that runs around pushing those trolleys around like bumper cars, manages to topple my trolley. Then this gorgeous-looking guy gets down to help me pick up my stuff. So I asked him out for dinner, and he agreed. Next thing I knew, we were going out together."
Diana was surprised. "You never told me this."
Donna patted Diana's hand. "I might have, but you were always too busy. In fact, today's the first time we've been able to sit down and talk for the past month."
Diana winced. "I'm sorry."
Donna waved off her apology. "Don't be. What you do is important."
"What's the guy's name?" Cassie asked.
"Oh no, Cass, I'm not going to tell you guys so quickly. Give me some time, okay?"
"Sure thing." Cassie said as she took another sip of her soft drink. She turned to Diana. "What about you?"
Diana smiled faintly. "You heard Donna. I was so busy this month that I did not even have time to spend with my family. How could I find time to go dating?"
"But you're Wonder Woman! Men must be throwing themselves at your feet!" Cassie cried.
"Cassie, it doesnlt really work like that…" Diana's voice trailed off as she remembered how Trevor Barnes had sacrificed himself to save the world from the Shattered God.
"Diana…" Cassie started to say something when a shriek pierced the air. The three heroines turned to the origin of the sound.
"Shut up, bitch!" A man yelled as he placed his left arm around a girl's throat. His right arm held a sharp looking knife pointed at her face. The girl was dressed in expensive clothing, and her handbag was hung around the man's shoulder.
Diana rose out of her chair, but before she could intervene, she saw a man in a jacket whip out a gun at the man with the knife.
"Police! Put down that knife now!" The detective ordered, his .44 revolver aimed at the criminal.
The man gave a vicious sneer, and suddenly moved back against a nearby glass panel, making a slight 'thud' sound as he made impact with the window. Behind him could be seen a throng of people in the mall outside walking around.
He placed his knife tightly against the woman's throat. "I don't think so, cop."
The woman stammered out, "He tricked me into running away from home! Then he was going to rob me!"
The cop prepared to shoot when Diana realized what the robber intended. "Don't shoot!" She shouted. "Even if you hit him, the round might pass through the glass and hit the people outside!"
The robber laughed. "Very clever, lady. Also, he can shoot, but is he accurate enough? Now slide your gun over here, or this girlie gets it. I also want all the money in this shop! Now!" He started to press the knife against the skin of his hostage, and a thin trail of blood could be seen on the girl's neck. She whimpered softly.
Diana was at a loss. It was this sort of situation that she had trouble handling. She was fast, but she doubted she or the other two heroines could get to the man fast enough to knock him out. She could not try the stomping technique that often placed criminals with hostages off balance because this man was using a knife, and was already holding it tightly. She could not risk the girl's life.
A crowd had gathered around the scene, and Donna was trying to fight her way outside so she could take the man from behind, on Diana's instructions. Due to the layout of the place, the exit was a long way off, and Diana knew their best option would be to give in first.
"Come on!" The robber snarled. The detective was obviously wrestling with his thoughts, trying to think of a way out of this predicament. He lowered his gun, hesitant to take any action.
"I give you three seconds, buddy! Or this girl's blood will be on your hands!"
"Give him the gun, detective!" Diana advised the policeman. If anything, it would buy her time to deal with the robber, and he also needed time to change weapons, which would open a window of opportunity for her.
The detective stubbornly refused to do anything, however, and he did not even seem to recognize the Amazing Amazon, dressed as she was in ordinary clothes. She also recognized the look of freeze up on the man's face. He was in shock at the situation after having made the wrong move.
"Three!" The crowd held their breath in horrified expectation, the type where they knew something terrible was about to happen, but they insisted on seeing it anyway.
"Two!" The robber twisted the knife, preparing to thrust it in. The girl started to sob, tears trickling down her cheek.
"One!"
Then somebody swiped the gun from the detective's hands, and fired in one smooth motion. There was a loud crack of a gunshot.
"Who are you? You're… crazy…" The robber's voice trailed off as he slumped to the floor with a bullet in his right shoulder. His knife clattered to the floor. The robber collapsed to the floor, his shoulder bleeding profusely.
The glass did not break… Diana turned away from the robber to see an incredible sight.
A man in a simple tracksuit had the smoking revolver held in his right hand. Small specks of blood could be seen on his face and shirt. His left hand had been placed palm faced outwards in front of the barrel. There was a bloody gaping hole in the middle of the hand.
The girl screamed again, and stumbled forward into Cassie's arms, who immediately hugged the girl to give her some emotional support after her ordeal, making soft sounds of assurance to calm the girl down.
"Crazy? Yes, maybe I am." The man spoke softly, and Diana belatedly recognized him as Andrew Skye. With a grim smile worthy of Death itself on his face, he tossed the gun back at the police detective, who caught it out of reflex. There was no comment, no snide remark, just utter silence as he turned and walked away, droplets of blood falling from his left hand. The crowd, whispering softly, parted like the Red Sea as he walked through them, obviously in awe of the man. Or maybe it was fear.
He used his own hand to reduce the velocity of the bullet! Diana realized.
And she also knew that here was an opportunity from the gods themselves. She would thank him for saving the girl, and she would also ask him out to dinner. He could hardly refuse to her when she asked him in person.
The detective had by now recovered his wits, and was handcuffing the robber, while shouting for somebody to get an ambulance. Another man was trying to staunch the bleeding in the robber's shoulder, but Diana knew it wasn't life threatening.
She wanted to chase Skye immediately, but she also knew she should stay back, at least, to make a report. She looked at the drops of blood on the floor, a ready made trail to Skye's location.
To Andy, he did not feel any pain in his left hand, just a slight numbness. He ignored the sensation as he walked off to get some medical attention for his hand.
It was by pure luck that he was in the shop to buy some food. He had planned to get a sandwich and some drinks to hang out at the nearby mall bookstore to catch up on his reading.
When the crime occurred, he was at the buy out counter. He did not see what happened initially, but he did hear enough to know what was going on.
He cursed the policeman silently. Pulling out a gun in that sort of situation was inappropriate, and could escalate an already bad situation. He had just managed to squeeze past the throng of people in time to grab the gun and use it against the thug. There had been no other option at that point. At the very least, he was able to avoid hitting any critical tendons and bone in his own hand. He had enough of seeing girls killed.
He ignored the stares of the people on the street as he continued walking to Jake's coffee shop, which was conveniently close by. He would be able to get some bandages for the wound there. As for the blood stains on the ground, well, they should be washed away the next time it rains.
Jake's business, the Ice Coffee and Cake Stop, was a modest store just two blocks away from the mall. As Andy walked in, pushing the door open, a bell hung on top of the door chimed gently, informing Jake of a new customer.
Jake looked up, and the look of disapproval on his face was clear even as he continued to wipe a plate with a piece of cloth. His large hands, which Andy had seen bend even gun barrels, seemed out of place doing mundane cleaning.
"Andy, I hope you have a good explanation for bleeding all over my floor." He said sternly.
Andy walked up to the counter. "Sorry, something just happened, and this was the only place I could think of where I could get some bandages without any questions asked." He said softly.
Jake stared at him for a while, before sighing. "Hold on a minute. I'll get a small basin and the kit." He turned to a teenaged Hispanic boy who was serving a couple of men in a corner. "Jorge! Get a mop and clean off those stains on the floor!"
Jorge hurried to his task, while Jake disappeared into the kitchen for a moment, then appeared with a blue basin and a small box inside the basin.
"There's some iodine disinfectant in the box. I also expect you to tell me what happened." Jake bent down and whispered, "I know that was a bullet wound."
Andy nodded solemnly. He took the basin with his right arm and sat down at a nearby table out of sight from the rest of the shop.
He was done in just five minutes. Jorge walked up to him.
"Boss says you're probably hungry. There's food at the counter, and he wants you to get it yourself. I think he doesn't want you to pass out here. Are you all right?" Jorge raised an eyebrow.
Andy wanted to laugh at that. Pass out just because of this little wound? He had been hurt far worse before, and he was still standing by the end of those fights, because it was always either to stand or to die.
He said, "Yes, I'm perfectly fine, Jorge." He got up from the table, and handed the basin to Jorge. "Help me keep this, willya?"
Andy walked to the counter and sat down on one of the tall stools. Indeed, there was a plate of sandwiches and a cup of coffee set in front of him the moment he sat down, courtesy of Jake Kabrinski.
He looked at the food warily. "What's up, Jake? You don't normally provide food unless I ask for it."
Jake lowered his voice. "I just got a request for a hit. And it's a big one."
Andy stiffened. "The target? From who?"
"Tony Inzaghi's right hand man Lee called. They want you to take out or assist in the capture of a metahuman. Apparently she's been bothering them a great deal."
Andy was beginning to be irritated by Jake. "Just tell me who it is."
"Wonder Woman, Amazon Princess of Themyscira, blah, blah, blah. Want the job? They're offering a cool half million for this one alone." Jake turned an appraising eye on Andy, as though expecting an outright refusal. "So, do I refuse them?"
Andy did not want to seem as if he was any more interested in the Princess other than an ordinary acquaintance. He replied nonchalantly, "I'll think about it."
Jake shook his head. "They want an answer immediately."
Andy muttered a choice epithet under his breath. Half a million dollars was no small sum, but there was only one problem.
He would never kill a good person. Yes, he had taken out targets before, but they were all scum. Politicians on the take, mob bosses, fellow assassins. Wonder Woman was a force for good, and as such he would never take the job.
He said to Jake. "Then forget about it. They can find another sucker. She's too difficult a target to take."
Jake's mouth twitched slightly, as though enjoying a private joke at Andy's expense. "Too difficult? This is the first time I've heard you say that."
"Because it's the truth." Andy picked up a sandwich. "Look, even if I succeeded, her superhero colleagues would be all over me. I want the money like everybody else, because I know how to put it to good use, but I don't take down good people. Only evil ones."
"That's a far better excuse. You should have used it first. I almost thought you were going soft on me."
Andy could only grunt in reply as he bit into his food, while Jake went to give Lee a call for the bad news.
The soft creak of the door heralded the entry of another customer.
"Welcome!" Jake , who had quickly finished his conversation with Lee, said in greeting as the bell chimed again. "Would you like some coffee?"
"Yes, a double latte please, thank you." A pleasant voice replied. Andy turned around, and he realized he knew the person coming in.
Her unforgettable face was framed by soft curly black hair. Her blue eyes shone with intelligence and compassion. Her shirt was not able to hide her ample bosom, and the jeans set off her round and firm legs. She wore soft white pumps, and even though she was not in her famous red, gold and blue bathing suit costume, she was still easily the most beautiful woman in the world, her elegance standing out from the mass of women on the street.
Andy noticed Jorge staring at her in amazement, his mouth hanging open. Jake reached out with the end of a mop stick, and smacked Jorge lightly on the head to shake him out of his daze. The boy quickly got back to his tasks before an irate Jake went after him with a chopper.
Princess Diana of Themyscira did not seem to notice the byplay between the two as she walked up to Andy's table. "Good afternoon, Mister Skye. Can I sit down?" She asked, indicating one of the stools beside him.
Andy was sorely tempted to just refuse her right there and then, but he thought, no harm in talking.
"Sure." He found himself saying. "Have a seat."
She sat down beside him, and she shook her long black lustrous hair to one shoulder as she looked at him. "I want to thank you for what you've done for me that day. I was ready to give up. In fact, I did give up. If you had not intervened…" she shuddered, her eyes conveying waves of gratitude as Andy looked straight at her in surprise at her admission of weakness.
"I did what any other person would do." He said as he turned back to his food.
"Don't denigrate yourself. I saw what you did back at the mall too." Andy stopped with the sandwich halfway to his mouth. "You were willing to risk your hand to save a girl." She paused. "You are a hero, Andy Skye, by any definition of the word."
He laughed softly, startling her, and whipped his head around. "Me, a hero. Never." He seethed in a deadly whisper, his eyes boring into hers intensely. "I have done things, seen things, that would have made your spine tie itself in knots and beg itself for mercy. You have no idea who I am, so don't presume to know anything about me."
Andy stood up, and almost walked out of the shop, before Diana reached out with one strong hand, holding fast on his arm.
"Please, Mr. Skye, I didn't intend to make you angry."
Andy whirled around. "Then what do you want from me?"
"Just one dinner to thank you for what you did. Just one dinner, for me to show my appreciation, and then I will be out of your life." Forever, was the unspoken intent.
Andy looked at her, and said, "I'll think about it." He sat back down on the tall stool, and picked up his half eaten sandwich. "Looks like I get to finish my lunch after all." He smiled wryly, which prompted a similar smile from her, which lit up the room with its brilliance.
Almost immediately, another person entered the shop. It was a thin and wiry man in a scruffy jacket. Andy's senses started screaming at him the moment the man walked in. From the way Jake's eyes narrowed, Jake had picked up on it as well.
The man sidled up next to Diana, who was sipping quietly at her coffee. He leaned forward and whispered something in her ear for a long minute.
The look of fury and surprise on her face was unmistakable, but the man smiled smugly, and walked out of the shop. Diana stood up.
"Thank you, Jake, for the coffee. Mr. Skye, I hope you will make your decision soon. Here's my number," she handed him a name card, "I need to go now."
She walked off. But she was clearly shaken by whatever the man had said into her ear. Her face was pale, her walking stance hesitant.
"That," Jake said slowly, "was one of Tony's men."
Andy inspected the bandages on his left hand absently. "So?"
"From the looks of things, they just used their Plan B." Jake glanced at Jorge, who was trying hard not to listen into their conversation. Jake gave Jorge one of his patented death stares, honed from long years of staring down unruly subordinates. Jorge scuttled away almost immediately.
The coffee shop was devoid of people at this time, as the customers had gone back to their shopping and whatnot after their lunch. Jake picked up a plate, and started to wipe it.
Andy lowered his left arm slowly. "What does it matter to me?"
Jake glared at him. "I know you're not stupid. There're probably plans running through your head about what happened and how you might want to deal with them."
"Just a mental exercise." Andy admitted.
"Oh yeah? How about this then? We know Tony wants her dead. We know the guy she left with is one of Tony's lackeys. We know you are thinking about whether to accept her offer of dinner. If you want to stay the way you are, and to hell with almost everybody else, well, you can stay right here and read the newspaper tomorrow for how they found her dead body."
Andy was deathly still. "You're crossing the line here, Jake."
Jake put down the plate. "I've got the right to do that, if nothing else. Can't let go of your bloody past, can you? Can't sleep at night?" Jake taunted, "Then get a life. Decide to go out for dinner once in your life and stravag enjoy yourself. And if you want to go out with her, then start chasing after her and make sure she's still alive. Or, like I said, you can don't care, and let her blood be on your hands." Jake finished his rant, and pointedly went back to polishing a plate.
Andy looked at his friend of more than ten years. They had survived more battles than anybody had a right to, fought knee deep, literally more than once, in blood. Jake was the closest thing he had to family, and his opinion was one of the few that Andy ever took seriously.
Should I or should I not? Andy asked himself. Yet in the end he knew it was a moot point. Diana of Themyscira was a good person, and he was sworn to the cause of good, however grudgingly. Furthermore, he wasn't about to let the time of two months after his injuries sustained to rescue her go to waste. Andy tried to convince himself that that was the only reason for his decision.
He finally turned to Jake quietly, "Can I borrow some stuff from your cellar? I'll owe you."
Andy tried not to notice Jake's smile of victory as the big man walked away into his cellar.