Wonder Woman in Sydney #11

Wonder Woman was created by Dr William Moulton Marston in 1941 and is the © copyright trademark of DC Comics. My Wonder Woman stories are only fan fiction and based, primarily, on the 1970s CBS TV show (albeit, updated to the present time of writing). However, any resources from adaptations and comics may be utilized. All characters are entirely fictional. Except for any characters found in DC Comics or related adaptations, these stories and characters are my creations, unless otherwise stated. In my stories, Wonder Woman is the only known superhero. Wonder Woman was created by Dr William Moulton Marston in 1941 and is the © copyright trademark of DC Comics. My Wonder Woman stories are only fan fiction and based, primarily, on the 1970s CBS TV show (albeit, updated to the present time of writing). However, any resources from adaptations and comics may be utilized. All characters are entirely fictional. Except for any characters found in DC Comics or related adaptations, these stories and characters are my creations, unless otherwise stated. In my stories, Wonder Woman is the only known superhero.

11 Unfinished business

Tamarama Beach had closed to the public for several hours after swarms of scophozi washed ashore. Despite the warning to keep away from the water, a lifeguard at the watchtower witnessed a lady in a skintight blue bathing costume running down the beach.

“Hey, miss, you’re not allowed,” he shouted to no avail.

Wonder Woman ran into the sea and dived into a breaking wave. The soles of her boots expanded to form dive fins. She swam against the waves for several minutes before encountering black spec-like seaweed whizzing around her head, which she identified as a scophoza. The creature was soon joined by several counterparts. Although they were clearly attracted to her presence, they remained passive for several metres. It wasn’t until Wonder Woman made it out into deeper waters that their behaviour took a turn for the worse.

In what felt like a coordinated attack, scophozi swirled about Wonder Woman’s mouth and attempted to latch onto her body; the scophozi couldn’t penetrate her suit or fasten themselves to the fabric. Diana altered her swimming to breaststroke to bat the creatures away as her head plunged into the water. However, surface-level swimming wasn’t sustainable with such a high risk of ingestion. Besides, now she had confirmed her hypothesis that the scophozi were targeting her, she needed to dive to relocate the Invisible Plane.

The Amazons of Themyscira were taught advanced freediving techniques from an early age. Diana stood out for her gifted ability to slow her metabolic rate after the right preparation. Her self-made diving suit was specially designed to give her greater economy underwater. Nevertheless, Wonder Woman wasn’t a fish and still needed to resurface within 90 minutes.

Diana flipped onto her back, floating for a couple of minutes, as she went into a state of static apnoea. She managed to reduce her heart rate to bradycardia as hundreds of culminating scophozi surrounded their target. Taking one huge last breath, she turned into the water.

The scophozi were left wanting in a ring where Wonder Woman once lay. She pulled herself down through the water. Then began freefalling to the bottom of the ocean. On the seabed, she glanced up to see if the creatures followed her down but couldn’t see any of them. In truth, there wasn’t a great deal of light at 200 metres below sea level. She pulled her thumb and forefinger away from one another, on the red star of her hood, to activate its light beam.

Diana’s next task remained to locate her invisible plane through psychic means. After a short time, swimming along the seabed, a scophoza appeared in the light beam. When she checked above, they were raining down on her.

The scophozi began to attach themselves to her body. This time the water pressure had given the alien invertebrates the added weight required to fasten to Wonder Woman’s diving suit. She felt the alien creatures biting into her attire. Their tiny rasping tongues tore through the dense Amazonian fibres like a biological chainsaw, and for dessert, her delicious plum skin.

“Ouch!” she cried in a release of air bubbles.

Crossing her bracelets, Wonder Woman induced a burst of energy through the water, repelling the falling invaders. She brushed the remaining scophozi from her limbs and picked the parasites off her back before continuing. Another cautious glance, above, confirmed the absence of the swarm. She predicted they would regroup shortly.

In fact, Wonder Woman had reached the Invisible Plane by the time the school of scophozi descended once more. Diana swam into the cargo bay which acted as an airlock for underwater and space missions. The water was quickly drained once the Invisible Plane detected Diana aboard. She ran her finger around the red star on the front of her hood. An oval-shaped mirror appeared on the silver wall. Diana examined herself for bugs.

“Look at the state of my suit!” she exclaimed with annoyance, noticing the open tears on the back of her costume. There were exposed patches running on her back and an ample piece of fabric hanging from her right hip which showed a little more cheek than she would otherwise allow. “Worse than clothes moths. This didn’t happen to the Pied Piper!”

Despite Diana making light of the situation, she was left with cuts on her back from the grinding teeth on her skin. Fortunately, thanks to her miraculous metabolism, these surface-level scars would heal within the next hour.

Wonder Woman spun around. Within a flash of lightning, she eased up in her regular Wonder Woman outfit and entered her craft’s cabin. Sitting at her desk, Diana observed the gathering storm of scophozi outside her window.    

“I thought you wouldn’t keep away for long,” she said. “Let’s see how keen you really are.”

She opened the hatch remotely. The alien invertebrates came flooding in on a conveyor of seawater. As an enthusiastic amateur scientist, the scophozi were exactly where Diana needed them to be to conduct a few experiments. She began by using her Amazon technology to scan them.

“Ganglion-like structures and a basic nervous system, but no real brain,” she noted. “That’s good, I think.”

She drained the cargo bay once more to monitor the aquatic critters breathing out of the water. They were piled on one another. Most people would find it a vile sight, but Diana found them fascinating. She ascertained they were breathing oxygen. Decreasing the oxygen levels seemed to panic the creatures.

“It’s making them crazy,” Wonder Woman concluded.

Diana refilled the cargo bay with water. A flick of a switch froze the invertebrates rock solid. Wonder Woman then sat in the cockpit and lit up the controls.

“Let’s find somewhere accessible by road,” she told the Invisible Plane.

In Concord West in the City of Canada Bay lies the plush Yaralla Estate. Once home to the philanthropic heiress, Eadith Walker, who built a hospital on the grounds during the First World War, it is now a world heritage site that retains a medical facility. As with most stately homes, there are many acres of land infrequently roamed on by humans. This made it an ideal location for Wonder Woman to land the Invisible Plane within Sydney itself.

A freezer wagon entered the estate from Nullaware Avenue. The driver jaunted along the long straight drive, shaded by brush box trees. His mind was elsewhere when Wonder Woman flagged him down – but not for long – after he caught sight of her dazzling under the sun.

“Hey, good day!” greeted the young blonde driver leaning out of the window with delight.

“Hello,” she said. “Is this a freezer truck for Diana Prince?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Err…is it for a fancy dress party or what? I mean if it is…wow! Ten out of ten, lady, you look like you could be the real thing.”

“I’m glad you approve,” Wonder Woman said with her hands on her hips. “Open the doors and I’ll try to live up to expectations.”

After the driver opened the back doors to the freezer, he looked around for Wonder Woman. To his amazement, she emerged between the trees carrying a black-speckled block of ice, the size of a small car, above her head.

“Open the door of the freezer,” she said. “We don’t want this to melt.”

“Yeah, right,” he responded in a daze.

Wonder Woman angled the ice block packed with scophozi into the container. She dropped off the back of the truck next to the driver.   

“Now take this shipment straight to the US Consulate here in Sydney. They will be expecting you.”

“Yes, Wonder Woman. I can’t believe this. Wow! I’m helping the one hundred per cent real Wonder Woman. I won’t let you down!”

She placed her hand on his shoulder, laughing, “I know you won’t.”

Back at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Doctor Morecambe was scratching his head at the strange new cases being presented before him in the High Security Unit. Another consultant was showing him scans when Inspector Kelly returned with Diana Prince by his side.

“Doctor Morecambe,” the inspector said, “Agent Prince thinks she may be able to help.”

“I wasn’t expecting to see my discharged patient again, so soon,” Morecambe said out of the corner of his eye. “I trust you’re feeling fine and can shed some light on these peculiar parasites?”

“Yes, Doctor, I am fine, and indeed, I can tell you these alien creatures were intentionally released into the wild.”

“Alien, you say?” inquired the other consultant, smiling. “You don’t mean from another planet?”

“In fact, that’s exactly what I mean,” Diana confirmed, returning the smile, yet her cold sapphire-like gaze left no doubt of her seriousness.  

“Oh, Doctor Eoghan,” said Morecambe, “this is Diana Prince, an American intelligence officer of some agency or other…”

“IADC,” she added.

“It’s good to meet you, Diana,” Doctor Eoghan said. “Please, call me Del.”

Del Eoghan was a younger man, shorter in stature, without the strict nature of Doctor Morecambe. He had a mop of wavy dark hair and possessed a cheery disposition that showed up in his rounded features. 

“Why would anybody want to release these creatures?”

“Well, Del, I suspect in this case, the ‘how’ leads to the ‘why’. What can you tell me about how the parasite manifests?”

He showed Diana the scans. “The parasite attaches to the host’s oesophagus. An antenna goes to the lung – we think to breathe.”

“I think so too,” Diana agreed, “and they seem particularly sensitive to oxygen. When I first came across them, they were in a waterfall plunge pool, likely taking advantage of the high oxygen intake needed to energise them.”

“The problem we have is how to detach the parasite without causing the patient any harm,” Doctor Morecombe explained.

“I might know of a way, Doctor,” Diana said. “I’ve done some testing of my own.”

“At the CIA?” Doctor Morecambe inquired, confusing the agencies.

“Something like that…”  

“Right now, we need all the ideas we can get,” Doctor Eoghan said, modestly. “What’s your take, Diana?”

“I suggest decreasing the patient’s oxygen to a minimum level. Reduced levels should be enough to send the parasites hysterical. Hopefully, it will dislodge the freeloader altogether.”

“Interesting,” said Doctor Eoghan.

“It will be risky when there is another antenna connected to the patient’s brain,” Doctor Morecombe added.  

“Wait, are you telling me the parasite could be interfacing with the brain?” Diana asked in earnest.

“Perhaps. It isn’t clear.”

“Well, it’s becoming clearer to me, Doctor, and the implications are potentially terrifying,” she warned as if a lightbulb had just switched on in her mind.

“Inspector, you need to show me pictures of every captain in the Royal Australian Navy.”

“What? Now?” Inspector Kelly replied.

“Right away! I want to pick up Kay-I Macintosh en route. If anybody is going to recognise the captain that Wonder Woman reported being projected on the wall of the spaceship by the Chinese, it’s going to be her.”

Roger thought of nothing else but Kay-I on his way to Cockatoo Island. He didn’t think in an ordinary way someone might recall experiences, conversations, moments of joy or sadness; he saw a composite of her face fearful and alone. She didn’t manifest consciously, but there she was every time he closed his eyes, when he blinked, crying incessantly. He blocked it out. Numb to the pain. The sea air swept through his hair on the fast catamaran ferry to the Island, but in his head, he remained in still water. 

Cockatoo Island lay in Sydney Harbour, near the mouth of Parramatta and Lane Cove rivers. Although only 44 acres, it is the largest island in the harbour. Famous as an early penal establishment, the island was shaped by naval shipbuilding from the late nineteenth century until it closed in 1992. The docks and overarching cranes still dominate the water’s edge as ghosts of its industrial past.

Anybody who noticed Roger when he left the ferry would attest to the haunted look in his eyes, tormenting his soul. When visitors passed under the brick arch welcoming them to Cockatoo Island, Roger felt the sharp indent of a knife pricking him through his white short-sleeved shirt.

“Take a sharp left and don’t try anything stupid,” Jun de Wang whispered in Roger’s ear.

Roger momentarily thought about what Diana might say: some chirpy riposte that would show defiance but keep matters civilised. He missed her. There was nothing to be said. His mood demanded silence. Jun came to be almost inconsequential as they walked in single file to the industrial precinct. On their way past a hangar, they were met by an elderly couple on the corner.  

“We’re terribly lost,” said the old lady in an English accent. “Can you point us in the direction of the ferry?”

“It’s her fault,” her husband piped up, “I told her it was the other way.”

“Oh, that’s typical of you, Kenny,” she responded, angrily, “disparage me to strangers at the first opportunity. I didn’t even want to come to the island. Now we might never find our way back to the hotel.”

Roger suddenly bolted away.

“Get lost!” Jun growled unhelpfully.

He ran around them. Those precious moments cost him for Roger was nowhere to be seen. He looked all over the waterfront, inside the former workshops, eventually returning to the spaceship, which was being kept in one of the locked hangars. 

Once aboard, Jun could barely contain his anger at events as he stomped about the lounge in contemplation. The Visitant had stopped cooperating while suspiciously protecting double-dealing Jase, and Roger gave him the slip. It’s fair to say Jun possessed a short fuse. He could be charming, as Diana would attest, but an underlying darkness within him could even make Mei Li act cagey. The explanation lay in his experiences.

Jun always prided himself on his efficiency as a smart secret agent in America. Yet each time he returned home to China, he faced the same racial prejudice mixed ethnicities have endured throughout the ages by those who were meant to be their comrades. It left him bitter. When he revealed his gift, he got sent to the Temple of New Science where he learnt to hone his abilities through meditation. That helped him cope. Now the pressure returned. He felt fragments of resentment rising to the fore once more.         

“Macintosh is nearby,” said Jun. “I had him then lost him.”

“You dote!” mocked Jase, reclining on a sculpted chair. “I got the guy to straddle up to the island and you let him outsmart you.”     

“Fortunately, I know a way to smoke him out,” Jun replied, staring at Jase.

“Who? Me? No way, Hosay! He might kill me. Visitant won’t like that. Think about it, buddy…”

“Too bad…because I’m going to kill you if you don’t.”    

Alarmed, Jase sat up. “Hey, wait a minute, we have a deal. Kay-I for a ride out of here. Remember?”

“That was before we knew you were planning a double-cross,” Jun stated.

“What do you mean, man?”

Jun signalled to Mei Li who was salubriously lounging on the moulded sofa.

“Did you really think we couldn’t bug your phone, High Roller?” she said.

Mei Li read a series of text messages:

“High Roller: I acquired this number through a former operative and defector known only as ‘Kay-I’. Interested?

Contact: Who is this?

High Roller: Someone who has worked on the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System in Hawaii. I recently helped the Chinese acquire fantastic extraterrestrial technologies, including a spacecraft.  

Contact: What do you want?

High Roller: In exchange for the spacecraft, technologies, and Kay-I (dead or alive), I want a guarantee of sanctuary in your country, and a luxury lifestyle, to live free from extradition and any form of prosecution or persecution.

Contact: If you are genuine, I’m informed this can easily be arranged.”

Jun took Jase by the collar of his green Hawaii shirt. “What was the plan? Huh? To sell us out to the North Koreans as soon as we landed?” He threw the high roller across the lounge. “We’re cutting a new deal. Draw Macintosh into the open and we might let you live if Kay-I shows up.”   

A minute later, Jase could be seen cautiously leaving the hangar. He considered making a break for it. However, he knew Jun would be lurking not far behind. The chances are he’d be dead with a bullet in his back before making it to the ferry.

He investigated the abandoned buildings for signs of life. He heard a noise of crushing glass, underfoot, in a former machine shop. He closed his eyes to summon up the courage to venture inside.

“Hello, Jase,” Roger said appearing out of the darkness.   

“Hey, Roger, nice to see you. I was looking for you. Let me tell ya, man, what you heard me say on the phone was just a ruse to get you to come here. The Chinese forced me to do it.”

“It worked, Jase.”

Roger spoke with such deep definition that it made Jase feel completely intimidated by the prospect of fighting such a man. Jase had never seen the quiet rocket scientist like this and gulped when he took another step forward.

“Even if what you are saying is true,” Roger said, “my issue with you is not what you said you’ve done, but what you did to Kay-I.”

As Jase recognised the confrontation was unavoidable, his eyes scanned the ruin for a weapon. He was in luck, a rusty crowbar rested against a brick outpost, hidden from Roger’s sight. In school, Jase gained a reputation as a high-scoring batter in baseball. It was his best bet. All he needed to do was goad his opponent into charging like a hardball.     

“You’re deluded about your wife, Macintosh…or maybe you’re the problem?” Jase cockily pondered as he edged towards the crowbar. “Either way, she couldn’t wait to open her legs to me.”

The words hit Roger’s ears. His numbness displaced by a blind rampant fury; he charged the creator of his misery on cue. Jase swung the crowbar with homicidal intent. It landed too late and low, bouncing off the top of Roger’s left shoulder before his off-kilter haymaker clipped Jase’s jaw with less power as a result.   

Jase kept swinging the crowbar in a frenzy of hysterical attempts to silence his enemy. Roger’s perspective returned. The bigger man managed to dodge the deadly swipes by keeping his distance. Then Jase overextended and the continuing momentum turned him away on his side. The mistake was all Roger needed to close the gap, grabbing the crowbar while punishing his antagonist with a dig in the gut.

Roger pulled Jase up by his shirt and socked him on the jaw. The younger man landed on his back. He was unable to recover before Roger pounced on top of him, landing hammer blows to his face. Fists stamped like a press machine. Jase’s broken nose splattered blood and one of his cheekbones fractured.

Such brutality Roger wouldn’t recognise in himself. A primitive nature unleashed when circumstances demanded it. Civility is fine, respect is given as a prerequisite. Yet no man lives without his shadow. Hurt him or his, then expect the wrath of retribution to descend with the force of a lion’s claw. Karma to those who thought they had escaped their dark deeds.

The beating only ceased when the machine shop door flung open. Roger sprung under the windowsill, his left hand covering Jase’s mouth, who remained semiconscious. They were obscured by a counter. Blood from Jase’s nose trickled over Roger’s hand as Jun cautiously entered the room. He held a handgun with a silencer attached.

A muted groan alerted Jun to the danger. Vicious Jase had bit his captor’s fingers. The game was up. Roger launched himself in Jun’s direction. He hoisted the gunman’s legs into the air. Jun was forced to let the gun go on landing. Roger kicked it away. Meanwhile, Jase managed to stagger out the door as Mei Li joined the furore inside. Roger retreated into the dark shadows of the room.  

Dishevelled Jase ran over the forecourt as fast as he could muster in the direction of the ferry wharf. To his horror, he saw his avenger heading towards him from the other side of the buildings. He ran to the black submarine crane, which used to move on its track in shipbuilding days. He climbed up to the cabin and peered down to see Roger mounting the ladders. Jase hauled himself onto the cabin roof and began working his way up the mount. Roger followed. Bar after bar they clambered up to near the top where the neck became narrow. Jase realised climbing any higher would be futile.                            

“Roger, man, you got me beat!” he said panting. “Hear me out. This is a deal you can’t refuse. I’ve got something you really need, buddy.”

Roger ominously stared up at him. Jase took out his cell phone and showed him a map with a series of numbers on the bottom right of the screen.

“It’s a vibrational frequency detector for the UFO. The spacecraft can travel at lower vibration frequencies, making it undetectable, unless you know what to look for. The alien psychically transmitted the frequency detector to Jun, but the Chinese needed ATLAS technology to track it. So that’s why they hired me. I’m telling ya, man, the program would give the military the ability to shoot this saucer out of the sky if they needed to.”

“What do you want?” said Roger soberly.

“Spare my life for my phone, otherwise, I’ll drop it in the drink now. I’m not kidding.”

“Deal. I was going to hand you over to the authorities anyway.”

Jase’s battered face showed a modicum of relief until he wrenched in agony seconds later. He held his hand to his chest. Roger turned to see Jun beside the buildings aiming his handgun at them. He grasped the phone out of Jase’s hand. Another bullet zipped through the air. Jase strained one last time before flopping off the crane into the inlet waters. Roger feared he’d be next…   

For Part 12: click here

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In the first illustration, Ed brilliantly depicts the attack on Wonder Woman by the scophozi at the bottom of the ocean. Fortunately, her invisible plane isn’t far away. In the second pic, Diana inspects the damage done by the vicious little critters aboard the safety of the Invisible Plane. See more of Ed’s great art here.