Chapter Ten
Jimmy shook hands with Chen Chou at the front door. “Hey, man, how’s it going?”
Chen laughed aloud. “Are you kidding? We’re sold out! We even opened up the upstairs viewing area for standing room only, and I just hope the city fire marshal doesn’t see how many people we’ve packed in there! This place is nuts tonight!”
“That’s great, Chen. Hey, do you know where Lois is?”
“Lois? Sorry, haven’t seen her since she and Lin wowed ‘em at the beginning. Dude, you should have been here! You wouldn’t believe how loud it was in here when they finished!”
“Okay. I have to give something to her. Can I just go on in?”
Chen held up his hand and assumed a fierce expression. “No tickee, no watchee!”
“What? C’mon, Chen, I just – ”
Chen laughed again. “Oh, I’m just kidding, go on in! Just a little Asian-American humor.”
“Right. Catch you later!”
Jimmy pushed through the mass of people looking for Lois or Clark or Lin or Master Chou. But his attention was captured for a moment by the two little girls performing a judo exhibition on the floor. The crowd cheered them on as they flowed from one hold to another and then to yet another, quick as cats yet firm as their parents’ curfews. It was impressive.
But when they finished the routine and the applause burst out, Jimmy remembered the package in his hand. He looked around again for anyone who could guide him to her, and then he heard Clark’s voice announce that they would have a fifteen-minute intermission followed by a resumption of the festivities.
As Clark headed for the sideline, Jimmy tried to intercept him but couldn’t get through the crowd. “CK!” he called. “Hey, CK! Got a package for your missus!”
Clark altered his course and made straight for Jimmy. When he’d plowed through the last knot of spectators, Jimmy asked, “Hey, CK, where’s Lois?”
“I haven’t seen her since she and Lin finished their exhibition.”
“What? I thought she’d be as close to you as she could get.”
Clark sighed. “So did I, Jim.”
Lin chose that moment to tug on Clark’s elbow. “Clark, have you seen Lois?”
Jimmy could see alarm growing in his friend’s face. “No!” Clark barked out. “I thought she was with you!”
“No. I haven’t seen her since she went to get coffee with her friend.”
“What?” cried Clark. “What friend? Where? What did this friend look like?”
“Um – I’m not sure – ”
“Lin!” he growled. “You have to describe her!”
Lin moved back half a step and closed her eyes, then said, “The woman wore a dark blue business suit with long sleeves. Dark glasses, even inside the locker room. She was almost as tall as you and her hair was shoulder-length and dark. She spoke oddly – she used no contractions, as if English wasn’t her first language.”
Clark clenched his teeth. “I think I know who that was. Do you know where they went?”
“No,” said Lin. “The woman said they were going to get – no, to share a cup of coffee. Lois agreed and said they were going to get a cup of coffee.” Lin’s eyes flew open. “But her chi was all wrong! Oh, I’m so stupid! I should have seen it right away! I don’t know how, but Lois was forced to say those things, forced to go with that woman! I’m sure of it! Oh, Clark, I’m so sorry!”
“Never mind that! We have to find them now!”
Jimmy held out the package he still held. “Maybe this will help.”
“What? No, Jim, we need information about where Lois – ”
“It’s from Batman.”
Jimmy had never seen anyone stop talking so quickly, nor had he ever seen anyone open an envelope so fast. “Documents, two – no, three computer printouts, two CDs, and a note to Lois.” Clark turned to his friend. “Where’s the closest computer?”
“Uh, probably my place. I just finished the hardware upgrade last – ”
“Let’s go!” He grabbed Jimmy and pushed him toward the main entrance.
“I’ll take care of the announcing, Clark!” Lin called to him. “You just find Lois!”
Jimmy looked at Clark’s eyes. Whoever had taken Lois was going to regret it.
*****
Lois’ eyes slowly fluttered open and promptly slammed shut. Clark had left the window open again and the sun was streaming down into her face. And apparently she’d slept wrong – she couldn’t bring either hand up to shield her face from the light.
Which was shifting. Odd, she thought, I don’t remember ordering that.
Her hearing returned with a whoosh. The sound she heard was unlike any other in her experience. It was almost like the sound of water rushing past a fast-moving submarine, except they were in the air. At least, that’s what she assumed because of the light in her face. The sun didn’t usually shine under water, and most submarines didn’t have windows.
She tried opening her eyes again, and this time they stayed open. A woman Lois didn’t recognize looked at her with a disinterested expression. Then the woman said, “Princess.”
Lois sensed movement above her head, then the woman she’d seen in the locker room after the match appeared in her field of vision.
The match! The locker room! This was Wonder Woman! And she’d kidnapped Lois!
That sounded stupid even in her head.
Then Wonder Woman smiled and said, “Welcome back to the land of the aware, Lois. Ordinarily we would have landed by this time, but we had to make a detour around one of your naval armadas. I have been told that this aircraft has the radar cross-section of a hummingbird, whatever that means, but since no hummingbird can travel at this speed, we could not risk being detected. Fear not, we will arrive soon.”
Lois tried to speak but her vocal cords refused to work. Wonder Woman turned to her companion and said, “Release her, Cydippe, and give her some water.”
With the same flat tone, Cydippe replied, “At once, Princess.”
Lois wasn’t up to her usual mental speed yet, but she didn’t miss the undercurrent of tension between the two. Something screwy was going on, and she was sure she’d find out what it was before too long.
Cydippe reached down and released Lois’ restraints and helped her sit up. The motion of the aircraft wasn’t being transmitted to the area where Lois was. Whatever this thing was, it flew straight and level and smooth.
She accepted the tall flagon of water from the woman and sipped at it. Cydippe nodded approvingly, then Lois tipped it up and cautiously took a larger swallow.
“You have suffered unconsciousness before, I see,” Cydippe said.
Lois cleared her throat. “A few times, yes. Often enough to know not to drink too much too soon.” She took another drink and savored it, then asked, “Can you tell me what’s going on? Why am I here? And did Wonder Woman kidnap me like I think I remember her doing?”
Cydippe’s expression didn’t waver. “All of your questions will be answered shortly, Ms. Lane. Please move to the seat behind you and buckle yourself in.”
“But – ”
“I cannot answer any of your questions, Ms. Lane. Nor can I help you.” The woman hesitated, then added, “I am sorry.”
The tiny hint of pity in the young woman’s voice made Lois shiver. Couldn’t help her in what?
*****
“Hang on, CK, let me fire up this puppy.”
“Hurry, Jim!”
“Look, man, the machine has to run through the boot-up sequence – ”
“Come on!”
“ – and then it has to load the operating system – ”
“Will you step on it!”
“ – and then the auto-loading software has to – ”
“Jimmy, I don’t care! Lois is out there somewhere and – ”
“HEY! CK, calm down! You can’t help Lois by losing your cool!”
He sighed. “Okay, yeah, you’re right, I’m sorry.”
“Just hand me the CDs and sit over there. As soon as I have anything at all I’ll let you know.”
“Fine! I’ll sit.”
“Good. Look, man, I know this is hard for you, but you have to hold on. You go nuts right now and you could wreck everything.”
*****
The aircraft tipped and descended so quickly that they passed below the path of the sun’s direct light. As soon as they stopped moving, Wonder Woman leaped out of the craft and ran off into the thinning darkness. Lois couldn’t see much from the door of the craft, so she followed Cydippe’s silent signal to step down to the ground.
She scanned the horizon for any clue to her location but found none. She turned to her dour escort and asked, “Where are we?”
“You have set foot upon Themyscira, Ms. Lane. To my knowledge, you are the first outsider to do so in more than three centuries.”
“Oh, good, a new experience for a change. Usually my kidnappers just tie me up in a warehouse and threaten me or use me for bait.”
Cydippe’s eyebrows dipped in confusion. “Bait for what?”
“Superman, usually, although last year I was held for ransom, and once I was tied up in a bell tower so I could watch some bad guy poison all of Metropolis with toxic snow.”
The Amazon’s face came close to shifting into a smile. “You seem to lead an interesting life.”
Lois sighed. “You have no idea.”
Two women suddenly appeared in Lois’ field of vision. One was Wonder Woman. The other was tall and muscular and not happy. Lois hoped the woman was not unhappy with her.
Wonder Woman stopped in front of Lois. “Euboea, this is Lois Lane. She is the challenged party.”
Before Lois could ask why she’d been challenged, Euboea made a sharp ‘come-along’ gesture with her hand and turned to walk away. Cydippe gave Lois a nudge and whispered, “Follow her!”
So she did.
Lois caught up with the woman and matched her stride for stride until they came to an ornate gate. “Your quarters are within this fence,” Euboea said. “You may request any nourishment you desire at any time. You may request an appointment with any of our spiritual advisors, also at any time. You may also summon a scribe if you wish.”
“Why would I need a scribe?”
“To record your final wishes, of course.”
Lois’ eyes popped and her lungs emptied in a rush. Before she could demand why she’d want to record any ‘final wishes,’ Euboea opened the gate and shoved her inside, then slammed it shut and turned a key to lock it.
Lois finally managed a shuddering breath. Final wishes? Just what kind of idiocy was going on here?
*****
Jimmy slid the CDs into his dual-drive machine and opened the directory on the first one. “CK, I got it! Come take a – oh, okay.”
Clark was at his shoulder with Jimmy’s first syllable. He opened the first document and paged through it so fast that Jimmy couldn’t focus on it.
“Hey, man, slow down! You can’t – ”
“She’s on Themyscira.”
Jimmy’s mouth opened and he took a breath. “Okay, she’s there, but why? And where is it?”
“Don’t know yet, but there’s a lot more going on with Wonder Woman than she’s told anyone. Looks like she’s not only next in line for the throne, she’s trying to make sure her ascension is sooner than later.”
“What? You mean she’s planning some kind of coup?”
“Yes. And the conspiracy seems to involve some of the younger nobles and a few of the women inside the palace itself.” Clark stood and put his hands on his hips. “This is more serious than I thought.”
“Great. Where does Lois fit into all this?”
Clark looked uncomfortable for a moment. “Uh, Jim, we’ve never actually talked about this, but – well, you need to know this.”
“What do I need to know?”
Clark hesitated, then said, “That I’m Superman. I hope you’re not mad that I never actually told you before, but – ”
“Oh, that. I know.”
“What? But – you – how?”
Jimmy chuckled. “Man, I thought it was something important. I mean, that’s important, but come on! I’ve known for sure for about three years.”
Clark pursed his lips for a moment, then asked, “How did you figure it out?”
“Oh, come on, CK, I’m not dumb. When I went to Perry to ask him about it, he told me I was right and he all but threatened me with Elvis’ ghost if I ever told anyone else.”
“Oh. Um, why didn’t you ever say anything to me about it?”
“Because you didn’t mention it. Anyway, I figure you’ve got a right to a few secrets.”
“Thanks, Jim. I appreciate you being so understanding.”
“You’re welcome. But how does you being Superman involve Lois and Wonder Woman and all this interesting stuff on my computer?”
Clark frowned. “Because Wonder Woman thinks I’m her ideal mate.”
Jimmy almost laughed. “You mean she – that Wonder Woman thinks – and Lois – ” His face grew serious. “Oh, man! She must have figured out who you were and realized that you and Lois were married! Wow!” He shook his head and leaned forward. “But why did she take Lois? I don’t understand that part.”
“Neither do I, at least not yet. Maybe the answer’s in one of these other files.”
*****
Lois pushed open the door to the cottage within the fenced area. She’d thought about climbing the fence and running away, but she discarded the notion when she realized that she had no place to go. If this was indeed Themyscira, it was an island nation with no neighbors within swimming distance and no one who’d let her take a boat ride anywhere. So there was no place for her to run.
She looked around the interior and identified several pieces of furniture apparently designed for sitting, what looked like a writing desk with paper and some kind of stylus, a door to a sleek but almost homey kitchen, another door to a room filled with pillows and blankets, and a bathroom. All in all, not a bad place to spend a few days.
Assuming that’s all the time she’d be there.
Suddenly someone knocked on the door. Lois opened it and saw a short, older woman smiling softly at her and carrying a thick folder. “Greetings, Lois Lane of Metropolis. I am Clio, Chief Scribe of Hippolyta, ruler of the Amazon nation. May I enter?”
“Uh – yeah, sure. Come on in.”
“Thank you. I hope you had a pleasant journey.”
Lois didn’t respond. Was this woman here to mess with her mind or what?
Clio said, “I bring you greetings from Her Majesty, Queen Hippolyta. She regrets that matters of state prevented her from welcoming you when you arrived, but she will come to see you as soon as she is able.”
Clio smiled warmly. She reminded Lois of Martha Kent in a formal toga.
Clio kept smiling. Lois took a deep breath and asked, “Can you tell me why I’m here?”
The woman’s smile faltered. “Excuse me?”
“Why am I here? I mean, one minute I was sitting in the locker room after the match and then I had this lasso on my hand and then I was out in the parking lot and somebody slipped me a Mickey and then I woke up in that plane or helicopter or whatever it was and now I’m here and nobody will tell me why!” She put her hands on her hips and leaned menacingly close to Clio. “Can you please tell me why I’m here?”
Clio’s smile was gone. “Are you saying – did you not formally accept the Challenge?”
Lois threw her hands in the air and let them fall. “What challenge? What are you talking about?”
The older woman blinked rapidly several times and her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, no! No, this cannot be! The Challenge was not issued properly! You were taken against your will!” She turned and paced across the small room. “Oh, no, no, no!” Then she stopped in front of Lois and stared her. “You must come with me immediately!”
Lois drew back. “Not until I know why.”
Clio reached out to touch her arm. “Because you have been done a great wrong, young lady, and the queen must set it to right! And you must come with me to repeat what you have told me!”
“Well, that’s different. Let’s go.”
*****
Clark flipped through the other files on the disk, then pulled up the directory on the other CD and began speeding through them. Jimmy shook his head. “Slow down a little, CK. You might miss something.”
“No I won’t.”
“Then you might burn out my system. I’m not sure the monitor’s refresh rate is fast enough to – ”
“I’m moving at the refresh rate now.”
“Okay, but I only have one spare keyboard.”
Clark stopped and turned to glare at his friend, then both of them broke out into grins at the same moment. “Sorry, Jim. I just want to find Lois and bring her home.”
“So do I, CK, but if there’s one thing you and Lois have taught me, it’s to hurry slow enough so you don’t miss anything important.”
Clark stood and put his hands on his lower back as if stretching it. “Okay, let’s summarize what we do know. First, Wonder Woman has taken Lois to Themyscira.”
Jimmy opened another window on his computer and began typing. “Got it.”
“Wonder Woman considers Superman to be her ideal mate.”
“Check.”
“There’s some mention of a challenge in the notes Batman sent over, but it’s not complete. It doesn’t say what the challenge is.”
“Right. Hey! You know Batman?”
Clark smiled. “Funny, but that’s the same thing Lois said. I’ve only met him once.”
“You think you’ll ever team up with him? You know, to fight the bad guys?”
“Let’s discuss that after we get Lois back, okay?”
“Oh! Sure, CK. Sorry.”
“Now let’s look at this and try to figure out – ”
“You mean you don’t know?”
“No, Jim, I don’t know.”
Jimmy stood and faced Clark. “It’s obvious, CK! Wonder Woman is challenging Lois for you! You’re the prize for the winner of this contest, whatever it is.”
Clark stared at Jimmy for a long moment, then horror swept over his face. “No! I mean, you’re right, you’ve got to be right, it’s the logical answer, but no! They can’t fight over me! They mustn’t! Wonder Woman would kill Lois and – ”
The two friends stared at each other for a long moment, then Jimmy all but whispered, “We have to find this place.” He turned to the computer. “I’ll keep digging here. You go hunt for the island.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
“Uh – look, Wonder Woman said that the island was cloaked, right?”
“So?”
“So any kind of cloaking that bends EM waves will leave a trace signature you can pick up with your vision thingy.”
“My vision thingy?”
“Yes! Look.” Jimmy danced around the computer desk and dug into a pile of technical gear. “Here. Take my satellite phone. I’ll call you on it if I find anything else in this data.”
“That’s a good plan. Now where do I look?”
Jimmy stopped for a moment, then his face lit up. “East of Bermuda! Look, this place has to be out of the main shipping lanes, right? But it’s not out in the middle of the Pacific ‘cause that’s too far, and Wonder Woman talked about having contact with other countries nearby. The mid-Atlantic is the logical place to start.”
“That makes sense,” said Clark. “But I’ll have to wait until daylight to start a visual search.”
“You will?”
“Even Superman has his limits, Jim.”
“Oh. Right. Hey, that means we can both check out the rest of this info.”
Clark lifted the satellite phone and checked the power level indicator. “And we can recharge the battery in this thing, too. It’s just about dead.”
“Whoa.” Jimmy took the phone and looked, then gave Clark a sheepish grin. “Sorry about that. I’ll hook it up to the charger and we’ll get going on those other files. Why don’t you go through the hard copy printouts? You can do that a lot faster than I can.”
“Good idea. I’ll let you know when I have something.”
“And I’ll do the same.”
Clark didn’t answer. Jimmy turned back to the computer with a sense of dread. Whatever this challenge was, it was a serious thing for Wonder Woman. And that meant than Lois was caught up in something truly dangerous.
