An Amazon Odyssey, Part 7: Hera's Sceptre

Curia ended her call with Oracle, and walked over to where Chryseis was kneeling in front of the ‘statues’ of White Owl and Ultra Woman, in tears.

“How could this have happened?” she bawled, as Curia reached down and hugged her around her shoulders.  “Isn’t there anything we can do?”

“Yes,” Curia replied.  “There is.  But it won’t be easy, and it will be dangerous.  But I think I know how we can do it.”

Amazon Arrow turned and looked up at Curia.  “Really? How?”

“Well, we need the services of Circe.  I have a plan on how to get her to change them back, and she has the power to do it.  The only thing is, I don’t know how to find her.”

“I can help you with that!” Chryseis exclaimed, as she jumped to her feet.  “Circe has been palling around with Pyrrah lately.  I can contact Pyrrah and she can get a hold of Circe.”  She thought for a moment.  “But why would Circe come here?  Even if we can find her, what reason would she have to show up and face us?”

Wonder Woman reached into her boot, and retrieved the moly – the herb that protected her from Circe’s spells.  She handed it over to Chryseis.  “Because she has a chance to cast that spell on me, the one she tried to do before, when this whole thing began.  And she will know that I have no protection against it.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Amazon Arrow asked.  “Do you think we can trust her at all?”

“I know we can’t,” Curia replied with a slight smile.  “But what choice do we have?  I am not going to let my friends remain like this! Whatever it takes, whatever the sacrifice, I’m going to get them returned to normal!”  She unclipped her lasso and handed that to Chryseis as well.  “I have to grab a few things.  I want you to keep my lasso as well – feel free to tell Pyrrah and Circe that I lost it, or whatever you feel like you have to tell them…just get Circe here, and I’ll do the rest, ok?”  And without another word, she took to the sky, leaving Chryseis there with their petrified friends.

A while later, Curia returned, landing in the same spot she had taken off from.  “Well, is she coming?” she asked Chryseis immediately.

“Yes, they both are,” Chryseis answered.  “You really think we can handle them both?”

“No.”  Wonder Woman handed Amazon Arrow the items she had procured.  “Take these, and get into the trees and hide.”  She leaned over and whispered a few things into Chryseis’ ear as she handed the items over.  “That’s the plan, remember to wait for the signal, then you come out, and do what I just told you to do.  No matter what you see or hear, do NOT make a sound or come try and rescue me.”

“I really, really don’t like this plan,” Chryseis muttered.  “I’ll do what you ask, because you’re Wonder Woman, and you’re my Amazon sister.  But I can’t handle losing three friends in one day, ok?”

“You won’t.  Now go, they will be here soon.”  

Chryseis was still muttering to herself as she retreated into the trees.  Curia walked to the center of the statuary, knelt down on the ground, and took a black piece of cloth out of her boot, which she then wrapped around her eyes, tying it in the back.  And then, she waited.

She didn’t have to wait very long; a minute later, there was a ‘whoosh’ and Curia could sense the presence of others nearby.  She didn’t move, as she listened intently.

“Well, well, I would have never believed it – the mighty White Owl and Ultra Woman, turned to stone!” Curia recognized Pyrrah’s voice.  “If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought they had always been like this!”

“They do make amazing statues,” Circe chuckled.  “But look, over here, dear Pyrrah, this is why we came!” Curia heard their footsteps on the ground as they approached.  “The high and mighty Wonder Woman, down on her knees, and ready to beg for the lives of her friends.  How utterly…pathetic.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Pyrrah purred, as she walked behind the blindfolded heroine, and crouched down, her lips moving close to Curia’s ear.  “Utterly delicious, maybe.  I didn’t get to finish with you before, but now, there is nobody here to interrupt us, is there?”

“She would make a fine pet,” Circe laughed.  “And I see that the Amazon Arrow was telling the truth – not a whiff of that herb on her.  I can turn her into any kind of pet you like!”  She leaned down closer to Curia.  “But why the blindfold, Wonder Woman?  Don’t you want to see what we have planned for you?”

“Why the blindfold?” Curia finally spoke up.  “Because…because you brought Medusa with you, that’s why.”

A third set of footsteps approached.  “Well, I guess the cat is out of the bag, so to speak,” Circe said.  “She never went very far, after all.  There were four of you, and she only got to make two statues so far.”

“She has the Sword of Hermes,” Wonder Woman stated, never flinching.  “She didn’t come back here to make another statue.”

“For one without sight, you see a lot,” Medusa hissed.  “I have the Sword, the weapon that cut my head off not once, but twice.  First by Perseus, and then, after Circe restored me, by your Amazon sister, your predecessor.  Diana.”

“And Circe has brought you back to life again,” Curia responded.  She remained in the same position, kneeling, her arms hanging by her sides, as if she was submitting to her fate.  “You would come after Diana, but someone beat you to the punch.  So, you’re going to exact your revenge on the new Wonder Woman…me.”

“You speak with the wisdom of Athena, just as Diana did,” Medusa said, as she took another step towards Curia.  “But she would have never given up like this.  It wasn’t in her nature.  Still, it will be justice served, when I use the same sword that Diana killed me with, to do the same to her successor.”

“And you are all alone, Wonder Woman,” Circe cackled, as she looked around the statuary.  “What happened to your friend? What folly is this, to face us by yourself?”

“She fled,” Wonder Woman replied calmly.  “One of us has to survive this day.  There will be a battle, but I fear it will not go well for me.  But, when it is finished, Circe, you will use your magic and restore my friends to normal.  You alone have the power to do this, and that is why I have come to face you alone.”

“So, that’s the deal? I suppose that would be the sporting thing to do,” Circe replied.  “After all, they are more fun to us alive than the way they are now.  Fine, I’ll do it.”

Curia took a deep breath, as she heard the sound of the sword being raised.  “There are many less honorable ways to die, and most do not get to choose how, or when.   My life may end today, but my symbol, what I stand for, will live on for eternity.”

“My revenge!” shouted the Gorgon, as she swung the sword down swiftly.  But, just as it was about to make contact with her neck, Curia swung around, her hands going straight for the handle of the sword, and stopping Medusa from delivering the fatal blow.

“What the hell?” Circe shouted, as she and Pyrrah both scrambled back in shock.  Even blindfolded, Curia had the advantage of surprise, as she tightened her grip on the handle and used the sword for leverage to push Medusa to the ground.

“Let go!” Medusa screamed, as she and Wonder Woman wrestled around on the ground, neither of them wanting to let go of the sword.  All of Curia’s training in hand-to-hand combat was being put to good use – she didn’t need to see her opponent to know what to do.  And her superior strength was winning the battle.  A hard knee to Medusa’s stomach took the wind out of the Gorgon, and Curia flipped her over, driving her knee into the small of Medusa’s back.

Medusa tried to get up, but Curia’s weight was on top of her, not letting her move, as she wrenched the sword free.  Medusa was powerless to stop what was about to happen.

“WHOOSH,” went the sword, and the Gorgon’s head came off.  Curia’s left hand came away from the sword, and in one motion she tore away the blindfold, flying to her feet and turning to face Circe and Pyrrah.

“What have you done?” Circe gasped.  The sorceress was clearly astonished, and she was not one to surprise easily.

Curia held the sword up and stepped towards them.  “Now, witch, it is time for you to fulfill your end of the bargain.  Restore White Owl and Ultra Woman to human form.”

Circe laughed.  “I don’t remember making any such deal, do you, Pyrrah?”  Pyrrah chuckled along with her.  “You actually thought I was going to help you? Naïve, foolish, stupid girl.  I think I will turn you into a pig, after all.”  And she raised her hands to the sky.

“Hera, help me!” Curia shouted.  And then, just as Circe was about to wave her hands and cast her transformation spell, a figure appeared, seemingly out of nowhere – a woman, auburn-haired, with a long, flowing white dress and a scepter in her hand.  The scepter had a cuckoo-bird on its top.  Circe froze, astonished for a second time.

“Hera?” Circe’s eyes were wide in amazement.  “What are you doing here?”

“I have been here, Circe.  I saw and heard everything.  You WILL honor your agreement and change these two back to their proper form.  Unless you want to answer to Zeus himself, that is.”  Her voice was firm and unwavering.

“I am so out of here,” Pyrrah exclaimed, and she tucked tail and ran away.  Hera walked over and stood next to Curia, who couldn’t help but crack a bit of a smile.

“Whatever,” Circe groaned.  “You may have won today, Wonder Woman, but you haven’t seen the last of me!” And she waved her hands, casting a spell towards the statues.  In an instant, White Owl and Ultra Woman were back to their normal selves!  And, just as quickly, Circe vanished into thin air.

It took a minute for Athena and Tania to get their bearings.  It didn’t take nearly that long for Curia to rush over and embrace her friends.  

“Okay,” Tania said, as she broke the embrace, “that is something I do not ever want to experience again!”  She looked over and saw Hera standing there and clumsily dropped to her knees.  “Goddess,” she exclaimed, “I didn’t know you were there.”

“It’s okay,” Curia smiled.  “It’s over, we can drop the act.”  And ‘Hera’ let something slip from her left hand, the one that wasn’t holding the scepter.  It was a mirror; and as it landed softly on the ground, her appearance changed.  It wasn’t Hera at all – it was Chryseis!

Athena started laughing.  “Is that Circe’s Mirror?  I am not even going to ask how you found it – and that really is Hera’s Scepter!”

“It was all part of Curia’s plan,” Chryseis said.  “I gotta say, I never thought it would work,” and she spent the next few minutes catching Athena and Tania up on what had happened with Medusa, Circe, and Pyrrah.

“And you slew the Gorgon,” Athena said, as she glanced over to where Medusa’s head and body still lay.  “You know, this could have all ended very badly.”

“I know,” Curia nodded, “but it was a chance I had to take.  I racked my brain to come up with any other ideas on how to change you back, and this was it.  Thank Hera, Oracle knew where I could find these artifacts.”

“So now we have the Sword of Hermes, the Golden Apples of Aphrodite, Hera’s Scepter, Circe’s Mirror, and the head of Medusa,” Tania said, as she carefully picked up the snake-covered but now harmless head and dropped it inside the cloth sack that the Apples were in.  

“And we are all whole again, we are a complete team!” Amazon Arrow exclaimed.  “We should celebrate!”

“This is a victory for us, but I am afraid what we really did is pissed somebody off, big time, and I don’t just mean Circe,” White Owl remarked.  “I think we better put those celebration plans on hold for now, and get back to Gotham, talk to Oracle.  Somebody still has the other artifacts, and soon, they are going to know we have these, if they don’t already.  I still think this is bigger than just bringing Medusa back from the dead.  But, for the first time, we have struck a blow to their plans – whoever they are.”

The four heroines embraced once more, all of them glad that their team was restored to its full membership, and then they took to the air.  They still had so many questions they needed the answers to…