Chapter Eleven
For a such slight woman, thought Lois, Clio moved fast.
They made their way past two different guards armed with swords and holding what Lois guessed were halberds. Both guards moved as if to stop them, but an imperious gesture from the older woman moved each one aside. Apparently she was someone important.
They entered what Lois assumed was the palace through a side door. Clio stalked up to a large double door flanked by helmeted armed guards. “Announce me to the queen,” she demanded.
“I must apologize, Madam Clio,” said one of the guards. “Her Highness is meeting with Chancellor Phillipus at the moment. She cannot be disturbed.”
Lois could hear Clio’s teeth grinding. “Inform Her Highness that Lois Lane is here with me. If she does not recognize the name, inform her that Lois Lane is the one who has been Challenged by her daughter – except that Lois Lane did not know that she had been challenged, and, in fact, does not yet understand the ramifications of the Challenge.”
The tall guard’s eyes grew wide for an instant, then she bowed slightly and slipped through the doorway on armored cat’s paws. Lois looked at the other guard, who was staring at her in amazement.
After only a few moments, the first guard opened the door and gestured for Lois and Clio to enter. As Lois passed, the guard muttered, “If you attempt to harm the queen in any way, I will slay you.”
Lois glared up at her and said, “I’m not here to hurt anyone. I just want to go home.”
Clio stopped and looked back at the exchange, then gestured for Lois to follow her. The guard slipped back outside the room as Lois turned to look around.
It wasn’t a room. It was a mansion which would put Luthor’s ballroom to shame. It was a basketball arena. It was the Dane’s mead hall from the Beowulf epic tale. It was at least three times as big as the Daily Planet’s news floor and held little in the way of decorations or furniture. And it would have sounded like the inside of an echo chamber if not for the ornate hangings covering most of the walls.
Two women rose as Lois and Clio approached them. One was a brunette of medium height and age, wearing an elaborate toga and a wise and thoughtful expression.
The other one, the tall blonde with the royal manners, had to be the queen. She gathered her robes about her, then she moved toward Lois and said, “Ms. Lane, please forgive me for not greeting you earlier. I am Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. This is our honored chancellor, Phillipus. Have you broken fast yet this day?”
The formal language threw her for a moment, and before she could recover, Clio burst out, “My queen, this woman has come to us under false pretenses!”
Hippolyta’s brows compressed. “Please explain yourself, Clio.”
“Did not your guard inform you?”
The queen shook her head. “I was told only that Lois Lane was outside with you and that it was very important that I see both of you at once. I have now done so. Please explain these ‘false pretenses’ you mentioned.”
The queen’s speech was calm and controlled, but Lois caught the hint of impatience in the last request, the one which was actually an order. Clio answered, “My sincere apologies, Your Highness. The false pretenses I spoke of are not Ms. Lane’s, they are your daughter’s. Ms. Lane was never formally issued the Challenge of the Wiles. She does not understand why she is here, nor does she know what is expected of her.”
Both the queen and the chancellor stopped breathing for a moment. Whatever this challenge was, thought Lois, it was obviously bad form not to let the challenged party know she’d been challenged.
The queen recovered first. She strode to what was obviously her throne and pressed a button on one arm, then spoke. “This is the queen. Find my daughter Diana and bring her to the throne room at once! This is a royal edict and is to be enforced by any and all who see her.”
“At once, Your Highness,” answered a voice from the hidden speaker.
The queen sat down and squeezed her hand into a fist for a long moment, then stood. “Ms. Lane, I offer you my sincerest apologies. I was not aware that you had not accepted the Challenge of the Wiles. You should not have been brought here.”
Lois put her fists on her hips and said, “Just so I know what we’re talking about, what is this challenge anyway?”
Hippolyta turned to the chancellor and made eye contact. Phillipus nodded once and stepped forward. “If I may explain, Ms. Lane?” Lois nodded. “The Challenge of the Wiles is not often issued. It is a contest between a man’s wife and another woman who wishes to take the man from the wife. Each woman presents her case to the man, and he then chooses which one he prefers.”
Lois’ jaw dropped open and stayed that way for almost half a minute. “You mean,” she finally said, “that the queen’s daughter – Wonder Woman – wants my husband? And she’s going to challenge me to a contest? And that contest will be decided by which one of us my husband wants more?” She laughed. “That’s a breeze! That won’t take long, either. Clark will pick me in a heartbeat.”
Hippolyta looked directly into Lois’ eyes. “You think so highly of yourself, then? You believe that you are so much more a woman than my daughter is?”
“That’s not the issue,” Lois said. “I know my husband. He loves me. He’s committed to me. He won’t toss me away for any other woman, your daughter included.”
The two locked eyes for a long moment, then the queen relaxed and sighed. “I understand your reasoning, Ms. Lane. At any rate, the Challenge was not properly issued and is therefore invalid. I see no reason to allow this contest to take place. I will speak with Diana and she will withdraw her challenge.”
“No, Mother, I will not withdraw it.”
Hippolyta turned to face her daughter, head high and her comportment perfect. She buried the flash of anger at her daughter Lois had seen in her eyes and betrayed no hint of pique to anyone else in the room. In that moment Lois knew she was in the presence of true royalty.
Diana, however, apparently didn’t share Lois’ opinion of the queen. She stalked to her mother, put one hand on her hip, and stood with a lazy challenge in her eyes. “You have already authorized the Challenge of the Wiles, my mother,” she said. “It must go forward. Not even you, the queen, may put a stop to it.”
“You may do so, Diana. And you must! You cannot force this woman to undergo this contest without her consent. It is our law.”
“No, Mother, it is not the law, it is our custom. The Challenge of the Wiles may be issued by any woman to any other woman. That is what our ancient law states. The contest will take place this day following the mid-day meal.”
The queen’s eyes widened in horror. “Ancient law – Diana, you cannot mean that you – that you would challenge her – ”
“Yes, my queen, that is exactly what I mean! I challenge Lois Lane to the ancient contest for her husband, according to the ancient rules and the ancient law!”
No one spoke for a long moment. Lois still wasn’t sure what was going on, but she was certain that the contest would involve more than just getting Clark to respond to her.
So she decided to ask. “Hey, can someone tell me – ”
“Silence!” thundered Diana. “You have no standing in this court!”
Lois’ eyes narrowed. “Oh, really? I think your tiara’s hitched a little too tight, Princess! You issued the challenge to me! You brought me here against my will! You’re the one who gave me standing here, and if you want to get out of this with your assets intact you’d better shut up and listen for a change!”
Four women stared at Lois in shock. Apparently no one had yelled at Diana in a long time. “Look, all of you,” Lois continued, “I want to talk to the queen and the chancellor without Golden Lasso Girl here. There’s got to be a way to resolve this without this stupid challenge.”
Diana smirked at her. “You may speak with the queen, her chancellor, her historian, or her personal maid for all that I care. The challenge has been issued. Your acceptance is not required. This contest will take place.”
With that, the Amazon Princess turned and flounced out of the throne room.
They all watched her go. Lois turned to Phillipus and asked, “Chancellor, is what she says true? By your law, I have to go through with this contest?”
Phillipus paled and nodded. “Yes. I fear that she is correct.”
Lois shrugged. “Well, there’s no problem. We both show up, blow kisses at Clark, he flips her off and hugs me and we all go home. End of contest, right?”
The queen seemed on the verge of tears. “No. I am very sorry, but that is not what will happen.”
“What? I don’t understand – ”
“When I authorized the Challenge of the Wiles, that is indeed what I envisioned taking place. I never for a moment dreamed that Diana would choose the ancient challenge.” She turned to Clio and all but begged, “Tell me! Tell me that the queen may forbid such a contest from taking place!”
Clio closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again. “I will, of course, research the ancient texts to be certain, but – no, Your Highness, to my knowledge the queen may not halt a contest which she has already explicitly permitted.” She turned to Lois. “I am sorry that you are trapped in this, Ms. Lane.”
“Trapped in what? Will somebody please tell me what’s so freaking wrong? What’s the big deal?”
Hippolyta appeared to steel herself, then turned to Lois and said, “This contest is to the death, Ms. Lane.”
“The – the death?” she squeaked.
“Yes.”
Lois’ mouth opened but nothing came out.
*****
As he flew away from Metropolis over the Atlantic Ocean, Superman hefted the fully charged satellite phone and pressed the redial button. “Jimmy! What else do you have?”
“I found one more piece of data you can use. The transmissions Batman was monitoring look like they were coming from a point about ninety-five miles east of Bermuda and about four degrees of latitude south. But he also included a margin of error of fifty miles in any direction.”
“That’s an awful lot of water to search.”
“I know, but that’s the best we have. He did make a note that the cloaking device would probably make the water look like it was a mirror image of itself right at the cloak’s boundary, but without actually examining the mechanism and the effect he couldn’t be more clear.”
Superman pressed his lips together. “That isn’t all that helpful.”
“Yeah, but the island can’t be in the main shipping lanes, so I think it’s likely to be close to the equator. I’d start at a point close to Batman’s best guess and work a spiral search pattern stretching south and east.”
“I still don’t like it.”
Jimmy sighed. “Neither do I, but I don’t have anything better.”
Superman hesitated, then said, “I guess that’s better than doing nothing.”
“One more thing. We don’t know how high the structures on the island are or how high the cloak goes, so it’s possible you could fly over it at a thousand feet and not see it. And if you’re too low, you won’t be able to tell real water from the cloak’s illusion unless you happen to fly across the boundary.”
“So what are you telling me?”
“To fly low and slow and be alert for anything that looks hinky.”
The word made Superman smile. “Okay, Jim. I’ll call you back if I find anything - hinky.”
“Same here. Good luck.”
I’ll need it, he thought.
*****
Hippolyta pressed a button on her throne, and after a moment a young woman entered. “Have my daughter Troia brought here at once,” said the queen.
The woman bowed and almost sprinted out of the throne room.
Lois took a deep breath to steady herself. “Okay. I’m supposed to fight Wonder Woman for my husband. When is this supposed to happen?”
“This afternoon,” answered the chancellor. “If she follows the ancient rules, the battle will take place in the main arena. But we are preparing for a national feast day, and the arena cannot be used for such a contest at this time.”
“She will have prepared another place,” put in Clio. “If I recall correctly, any flat, sandy area may be used for this contest.”
“Why do you people still have laws like this on the books?” Lois demanded. “I thought you were supposed to be modern and up-to-date. This is pretty barbaric, and I’m not saying that just because I’m the one who’s about to get clobbered!”
Hippolyta sighed. “Most of us would agree with you if asked that question, Ms. Lane. But wiping out the old laws is not as easy as it might seem. Our homeland is built on traditions which allowed us to survive centuries ago when men would have taken us as slaves and destroyed our way of life.”
“And none of us believed,” said Phillipus, “that the queen’s daughter would issue a challenge to the death. Queen Hippolyta has made it part of her administration to modernize our nation as much as possible without sparking a civil war.”
“Seems to me like you’ve got a rebellion in your own home right now, Queenie!”
Phillipus and Clio were shocked into silence. Hippolyta’s mouth quirked, and Lois thought she was going to smile.
Just then a younger version of Wonder Woman burst through the door. “Mother!” she called out. “I am here! What can I do for – why, who is this? And what manner of clothing is this? Is it a new fashion?”
Lois looked down and realized that she was still wearing her gi from the tournament the previous night. “My name is Lois Lane and I’m from Metropolis. As for – “
“Metropolis! Oh, that is in New Troy in America, is it not?”
“Yes.”
“Then you are not an Amazon?”
“No, I’m not.”
Troia clapped her hands and bounced in place. “Oh, this is wonderful! You must tell me everything you know about your homeland! Please, tell me what you are wearing! Is it a formal ensemble?”
”It’s a uniform worn by people studying martial arts.”
The girl giggled. “They look like pajamas which are three sizes too large for you.”
The queen spoke sternly. “That is enough, Troia. I have a task for you and Phillipus.”
The chancellor looked startled, but recovered quickly and bowed. “Of course, Your Highness. How may we serve?”
“Ms. Lane must be prepared to fight Diana. She does not –”
“Fight Diana?” the girl burst out. “Mother, she cannot fight my sister! She would have no chance to prevail! She should surrender at once!”
“Ms. Lane has not chosen this combat, Troia. But we must give her every opportunity to prepare. Ms. Lane, please go with the chancellor and my daughter. They will coach you as best they can in the time allowed.”
Lois sighed. “Fine. But can I get something to eat somewhere?”
Phillipus said, “I will make certain that a meal is provided for you, Ms. Lane. Now come, please, and we will do for you all that we can.”
Lois shook her head. “What good will it do? I can’t fight somebody who flies and throws a golden lasso!”
“Diana will have none of those advantages,” the queen said. “I cannot halt this contest, but I promise you, Ms. Lane, that you will meet her on equal terms.”
“Equal terms, huh?” Lois pulled the scrunchie out of her hair and let it fall around her shoulders. “In that case, I want a haircut. I plan to yank her mop out of her scalp by the roots if I can, and I don’t want her to be able to do it to me.”
Troia smiled sideways. “Perhaps you are not as helpless as I assumed, Ms. Lane.”
“Call me Lois, okay? Now where’s breakfast?”
*****
Superman was getting frustrated. Every time he thought he’d found Themyscira, it was a false alarm. Twice he’d called Jimmy for further information, only to be informed that there was no further information. Batman’s data had given them a general starting point, but there simply wasn’t enough there to narrow down the search.
And on this occasion, his special vision was more hindrance than help. When he tried to use it, he saw too many frequencies. The spray from the waves acted like millions of tiny prisms, breaking up the sunlight and masking both the surface of the water and any possible indications of the cloak. It was like being inside a swiftly-rotating kaleidoscope.
The one useful thing Jimmy had told him was that the Amazon Princess and her mother, the queen, did not agree on politics. Part of what Batman had recorded was conjecture, but he believed that Diana and Hippolyta had radically different visions of how the Amazon nation should move into the next century. Diana apparently wanted to revive many of the old traditions, and the queen wanted to open the nation to relations with other countries and open trade talks with them. The traditionalists seemed to be afraid of the idea, while the progressives viewed it as the only realistic next step, even if they apparently preferred to remain hidden from the outside world.
Had there been time, Superman would have abandoned the spiral search pattern in favor of a satellite-level search for heat, water, and weather anomalies in the area. He would have dived under the surface and searched for any uncharted sea mounts rising up beyond the surface. He would have offered to be an intermediary for any nation wishing to open diplomatic relations with Themyscira.
But he didn’t have time for any of that. Lois was missing, and he was afraid that there wasn’t much time left before Wonder Woman did something truly stupid.
So he scowled and increased his speed and decreased his altitude, not noticing that he was building a wake behind him caused by the increased air pressure beneath him.
Nor did he notice the wake double itself for a moment at the boundary of the cloak.
*****
Lois didn’t know what kind of fruit she’d eaten or what kind of juice she’d drunk, but she felt better than she had in months. She was alert, she was limber, she was agile, and she felt ready to take on two of Wonder Woman.
Troia bowed to her across the exercise area. It was empty, save for Lois, Troia, and Phillipus. “Now I will attempt to show you what my sister will do to you, Ms. Lane.”
“Go for it.”
The young girl bounced across the yard and threw herself at Lois – but her target wasn’t there. Lois rolled to her left and bounced to her feet, just in time to block a series of punches from the younger girl.
The girl’s eyes widened and she nodded in approval as she backed away. “You are very quick, Ms. Lane. And I have not seen anyone deflect punches in that manner before. I have not been taught those techniques, and I am certain that Diana does not know them because she would have used them against me.”
“Okay,” said Lois, “then let’s try it again.”
Once again Troia charged Lois with fists flailing in all directions. Lois took one glancing punch on her cheekbone but didn’t let any other blow connect.
They separated and glared at each other across the sand. “Not bad, Troia,” said Lois.
“Please, call me Donna. That will be my name when I go to America to find a father for my daughter. And you are quite skilled also, Ms. Lane.”
“Okay. Call me Lois, will you? Let’s just be informal here.”
“If you wish.” With her final word, she leaped at Lois, who grabbed her by the arm and flipped her onto her back on the sand.
The girl jumped up, unhurt but wary. “You have many skills, Lois. That is also not a hold used by Amazon combat instructors. My sister will not be familiar with it.”
“Thanks. What else have you got?”
“I will show you.” Donna’s feet lashed out at Lois, who dodged and blocked as best she could. “I am not as strong as – my sister – but I am just as fast – and you seem to be whuuuggghhh!”
The younger girl’s breath came out in a rush. Lois pulled back her fist and waited for Donna to recover from the blow to her solar plexus.
Phillipus moved forward and raised her hand. “I call a halt!” She knelt beside the young princess. “We will allow Troia a moment to recover.”
The girl sat up and tried to breathe normally. She almost succeeded. “You are – very quick, Lois,” she wheezed. “And you are – uh – stronger than you look.”
“Yeah, well, I’m testing for my next black belt level soon.”
Phillipus looked up at her. “That is a good thing, is it not?”
“Well, yeah, it is. It means I’m pretty high up on the learning curve.”
The chancellor frowned as if digesting Lois’ comment, then nodded. “Then it is possible that the Princess will not slay you so easily.”
“Slay?” Donna tried to jump to her feet but didn’t quite make it. “Ow! No one said – said that to me!” She managed to stand almost upright. “Lois! Is it true that my sister will fight you to the death?”
“Well – yeah, that’s what everyone keeps telling me.”
“No!” Donna waved her hands in front of herself and backed away. “No! I did not know this! I cannot help you to slay Diana! Please do not ask this of me!”
“I’m sorry, Donna, I thought you knew.”
“Troia, your mother the queen has asked this of you. You must – ”
“No! I cannot help Lois slay my sister! Surely my mother knows this!”
“Princess Troia! The queen has commanded – ”
“No.”
Lois’ soft word caught their attention. “But she must continue,” Phillipus insisted. “It is the queen’s command! She must obey! She has no choice!”
Lois shook her head. “I can’t ask her to help someone else kill her sister. I know how I’d feel if somebody put me in that position, and no matter what Lucy might have done, I couldn’t be a party to her death.” She walked to Donna and put a hand on her shoulder. “Look, you don’t have to do or say anything else. I won’t tell anyone if you can’t help me. Believe me, I understand.”
Donna looked at her with tear-filled eyes. “You – you understand? Truly?”
Lois smiled softly. “Yes. I understand truly.”
The girl grabbed her around the waist and hugged her, then broke away. “I – I am sorry! My sister – I do not understand any of this! Why does she wish to slay you?”
“She wants my husband for herself. She’s fighting me in the ancient Challenge of the Wiles.”
Donna’s eyes almost fell off her face. “What? She – But she – That arrogant, selfish, self-centered – oh! I am not permitted the words I require to describe her at this moment!”
Despite her predicament, Lois laughed aloud. “That’s the spirit, Donna! I think you’ll make a fine Amazon princess when you’re old enough!”
Donna smiled through her tears. “Thank you, Lois. You are indeed gracious and kind.”
“Tell that to my boss some time. I don’t think he believes it when I say it.”
They shared a chuckle, then Donna leaned closer. “Lois? May I give you one piece of advice?”
“Sure.”
She hesitated, then said, “My sister is very good at grasping and throwing her opponents, perhaps nearly as skilled as you, but she depends a great deal on using her opponents’ clothing as a grappling point. The ancient challenge – I assume that is what this is?”
“That’s what they tell me.”
Donna nodded. “Then – I advise you to face her nature-clad. It is your right. That way, she will have to grasp your limbs in order to hold you, and despite her strength, her hands are small for her size. It will give you an advantage.”
Lois frowned. “What’s nature-clad? What’s that mean?”
“It means that you would face her wearing only your skin. And if you claim that right, she must also face you nature-clad. I believe it would give you a slight advantage.”
Lois’ eyebrows rose. “Only – you mean I should fight her naked?”
Donna blushed slightly and nodded. “Yes. And my sister does not like to show her dimples, so this will doubly disconcert her.”
“Dimples?” Lois smirked. “You mean that your sister has dimples on her – on her – ”
“More than one,” giggled Donna. “My mother used to tell her how cute they were.”
Lois laughed aloud. “You know, seeing those cute dimples might make getting down to my skin worthwhile.”
Phillipus stepped closer. “I believe that you have fulfilled your mother’s instructions, young Princess Troia. Thank you for your service to Ms. Lane and to your sisters.”
Donna stepped back and bowed to the chancellor, then to Lois. “I offer my service freely, my ladies. I wish you both clear skies and smooth water.” She turned and walked away, but not before glancing over her shoulder at Lois with a forlorn look on her face.
“She’s a good girl, Chancellor,” said Lois. “She’s not going to get into any trouble over this, is she?”
“I will make certain that she does not. And I must confess that I am amazed at you, Ms. Lane. You face mortal combat this day, yet you are concerned for the feelings and the situation of a young girl you have met but once. Are all outsiders as compassionate as you?”
Lois shook her head. “No. But I think I’ve picked up a lot of my husband’s compassion. I wasn’t always like this.”
“Yet now you are most compassionate. And it does you much credit.” Phillipus put her hand in Lois’ elbow. “Come. We will locate a hairdresser and trim your lovely hair. I would be most disappointed were Diana to rip your mop from your scalp by the roots.”
Lois laughed and followed her. Too bad, she thought, that her stay on the island was supposed to be a brief one. This could have been the start of a beautiful friendship.
But as she walked, she remembered her recent musings on her relationship with Clark. Was she really going to fight Wonder Woman to the death for him? Would it hurt much when she died? And would Clark, in the long run, accept the Princess as a suitable mate? Wasn’t this the thing she had both feared and expected for so long?
Her eyes narrowed and she clenched her teeth as the answer came to her.
The answer was No.
She might die. She might lose Clark to Wonder Woman. She might carry on the Lane women’s legacy of shattered relationships. These next few hours might be the last ones of her life.
But she wouldn’t go down easy and she wouldn’t quit. She refused to give up Clark to that – that breast-augmented egomaniac. She would not passively accept any fate anyone else tried to force on her.
Lois Lane was a fighter. And she was going to fight as long as she breathed.
