Issue #7: X, The Men.

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(General P.O.V)

A few miles away from Themiscyra, the German fighter plane, a Fokker V.4, struggled against the relentless Atlantic winds, trailing smoke in its wake.

Within the cockpit, the propeller's hum competed with urgent beeps and alarms, creating a chaotic symphony amid the already perilous situation.

"Command, this is Zipper! Do you read?!"

The pilot of the Aircraft, one Steve Trevor, frantically called out.

Static answered him from the other side, mocking his attempts at communication.

He was far off grid and the region he was flying through was known for its volatile weather conditions. Not that Steve was aware of that.

He hadn't had time to plot a proper course while escaping from, and later defeating two enemy fighter planes in hot pursuit.

But, he hadn't made it out unscathed.

"I'm experiencing catastrophic engine failure, and the fuselage is taking a beating!"

Steve's shout echoed through the radio, desperation evident in his futile control checks.

The harsh truth sank in – he was trapped in an aircraft, suspended above an infinite stretch of blue. The ocean extended endlessly, with no solid ground in sight.

Even a seasoned pilot like Steve Trevor found little recourse to salvage the dire situation.

He was in a word, fucked.

The plane's whine intensified, foretelling an inevitable plunge into the ocean.

Then it dipped nose first out of the air, falling towards the water.

He was out of time.

500 meters...

Steve, resigned, leaned back, hands still gripping the control stick. Albeit weakly.

He removed his oxygen mask, revealing a handsome face with light stubble and blue eyes- reflecting frustration.

"I guess this is it."

300 meters...

As impending doom loomed, Steve's hope lessened and his worry deepened.

His life mattered little, but the vital war-ending information he carried would be lost in the Atlantic with him.

That was his only regret.

200 meters...

150 meters...

Barely 100 meters above the ocean, an ember of hope flickered with the emergence of an island on the horizon.

Initially, he considered it a mirage. Yet, the level of detail ruled out any illusion. This was his lifeline. His salvation.

"Yes. Yes! Thank God!"

The renewed hope powered his actions as he pulled on the Control stick with a powerful jerk.

"Come on baby...come on..."

He pleaded, gradually levelling the Fokker V.4 before steering towards the newfound sanctuary, an Island he would find out was entirely populated by women.

(The Coliseum)

(A few minutes prior)

"Alkyone! Face Me!"

Diana valiantly marched through the entrance to the arena, hair tied up in a warrior's knot, spear in hand and a shield on the other.

To top it off, she wore a bronze chest plate, shin guards and a sword that was strapped to her hips.

"I declare right of combat!"

Diana announced, surprising the Amazons in the training sector of the Arena.

"The princess looks mad."

One of them commented, stopping the spar with her opponent.

"She's making a beeline for the Captain. Heard they had a spat at the Senate meeting," her sparring partner informed.

"About what?"

Another Amazon jumped in with a question that had her sisters looking at her strangely.

"Have you been living under a rock?"

The first Amazon asked.

"It's obvious if you think about it. Alkyone has a deep hatred for all things- Man. Meanwhile, the Princess is the closest thing this Island will get to a Saint. Both personalities are bound to clash."

A brief silence settled as they watched Diana ultimately arrive before an amused Alkyone, surrounded by her squad.

Arissa and Lyra stepped forward to block the Princess's way.

"Princess, is there something we can do for you?" Lyra inquired with a hint of hostility.

"Move it."

Diana shoved her out of the way, only for Lyra to come back with a right hook.

Diana swiftly extended her hand, employing the shield on her left to deflect the punch, and the spear in her right to snag Lyra's leg, bringing her down to the ground.

Arissa found the tip of Diana's spear pointed her way before she couldn't intervene. It was a warning.

Despite that, Diana's eyes were locked on Alkyone.

"Fight me, you coward. Or is poison the only way you know to handle your problems?"

Diana goaded.

Whispers and murmurs rose up from the gathering crowd.

The bald Amazon narrowed her eyes, the whistle of a blade leaving its sheath heralding her response,

"I do not appreciate the accusation Princess. Do you have proof for your slander?"

Diana stopped aiming the spear at Arissa, switching the target to Alkyone.

"I do not."

Diana replied coolly.

"But everyone on the Island is trained to recognize Wolfsbane by smell alone. Your attempts to poison Kane when the Senate decided to spare..."

"Spare him?"

Alkyone interrupted, pointing her own sword at Diana.

"Don't make me laugh. The only reason he's still alive is because of a technicality."

"So you admit it then?"

Diana shot back, the two of them circling each other.

Alkyone didn't immediately answer. Instead she reached out a hand towards Arissa, who strapped a shield on her Captain's left arm.

"I admit to nothing."

Alkyone eventually responded.

"Anyone in the Island could have done it. Besides it sounds to me as if the poison failed, so what are you trying to accomplish by antagonizing me?"

Diana clenched her jaw.

"For you to answer for your crime. The Senate explicitly forbade any deaths in the week after the Harvest Festival. You broke that rule."

"A stupid rule! You're the only one on this entire Island who empathizes with that animal!"

Alkyone bit out heatedly.

"On top of that, your baseless accusations are a crime on their own."

"Not everyone shares your ideals, Alkyone," Diana retorted sharply.

"And my accusations are not baseless. Only the Captains and above have sufficient access to the Palace kitchen. Among them, you stand out with the biggest motive. I know it was you. You know it was you. So who are you trying to fool, sister?"

"Tch. That blue haired brat must have talked."

Lyra said from Arissa's side, rubbing her rump.

"I'm going to kill her."

Naturally, Arissa knew who her friend was talking about. Bulma. A girl that had been rescued from a slave ship passing too close to Themiscyra.

That was a few decades ago. The magic of the Island took effect, turning Bulma immortal as well, ensuring that her aging process was slowed down.

Despite that, Arissa kept quiet, eyes fixed on the tense stand off between two great Amazon warriors.

"Ha."

Alkyone scoffed, a mocking smirk on her face. The ruse was up, but she wasn't going to confess. She would rather die.

"Then prove yourself right through your weapon, dear Sister."

"Gladly."

A humorless grin stretched out across Diana's face.

"Should we stop them?"

Izah asked with concern.

"Too late."

Arissa spoke up.

"Besides...this was always bound to happen sooner or later."

She added cryptically.

"I shall teach you manners in place of your mother, Princess."

Alkyone promised nastily.

"This is an arena, a battlefield. Royalty holds no ground. I won't go easy on you."

Diana twirled her spear. Unlike her opponent, she had little to say,

"And I shall beat you to an inch of your life."

The princess resolved.

They locked eyes, and in perfect sync, lunged toward each other without a word.

Only to come to a grounding halt as something tore through the skies of Themiscrya, droning and trailing dark smoke behind it's yellow airframe.

SCRREEEEEEEE!!!

"What in Hades was that?"

Lyra voiced the question on everyone's mind.

"Its his doing! That disgusting man has become our Doom! He called the God's wrath down us!"

Izah shouted in trepidation.

The warriors freaked out. The God's wrath was akin to nature's fury; Zeus was basically a thunderstorm in human form.

The sputtering object passed above Athena's statue, over the palace, on its way to the jungle behind Themiscrya.

Crushing through trees and vegetation, a path of destruction was left in its wake.

The sound was loud enough to reach the Arena, prompting a wave of urgency.

Diana and Alkyone stepped back from each other.

"This is not over."

The Princess informed the Captain, turning to walk away.

"Poison his food again and you won't have to deal with me, you'll deal with him."

It was telling of the impact Kane had left on Alkyone, as the Captain's face paled considerably.

Diana crouched, before pushing herself off the ground in a mighty leap that cracked the Arena floor.

Her figure sailed through the air, clearing the walls of the city completely.

"Get me a horse."

Alkyone ordered, staring off into the general direction the Princess had taken.

(Kane's P.O.V)

"1201...1202...1203...1204..."

I counted out, barely straining despite the huge boulder on my back, stuck there through adhesive force.

3 days had passed.

3 very productive days.

"...1205...1206..1207..."

For starters, you might be wondering where the boulder came from.

The sunlight streaming in from a sizable hole at the back of the cell solved that mystery.

The fact that the boulder was roughly the same shape and size as the hole was NOT a coincidence.

The next thing I focused on after Wall crawling, (I need an appropriate name for this skill, wall crawling was a woefully inadequate description) was Strength training.

Or rather Strength testing, as it wasn't a question of how much I could lift, push or pull.

That had to be in the range of a tonne and above.

The boulder on my back was probably half that and yet, I barely felt it's weight.

"...1210...1213..."

Initially, I had started off slow. Squats, finger pushups, one handed push ups, lunges and a few more basic exercises.

In just 10 minutes, I figured out these bodyweight exercises were basically useless. No matter how much effort I put in, there was zero burn.

My body was limber, powerful and flexible. Add a 'too' prefix before each of those words.

Issues with my control were more evident when I tried to perform a burpee, only to end up with the top of my head spearing into the ceiling.

Of course that's when the blue haired shorty decided to bring me lunch.

The only thing that saved me from being seen in such an embarrassing state were my enhanced senses.

Even with my head stuck in layers of stone, (the cell was built underground along a cliff, with the back facing the wild jungle behind Themiscrya) I was surprised at just how acute my hearing was.

I picked up on her footsteps and heartrate when she was 500 meters away, prompting me to dislodge myself and plug the very sizable hole in my cell.

Thus, I avoided shame upon my cool name. And suspicion as well. Them finding out I could destroy my cell anytime I wanted could impact my escape plans.

After our first interaction, the blue haired girl change her attitude toward me.

While she seemed cold and distant, there was a bit of fear mixed in whenever we interacted now.

Like usual, she slid the tray of food under the bars of the cell before silently turning to leave.

This time, I had other plans.

"Wait."

My voice made her halt, shoulders tensing.

"What is your name?"

She sighed in relief, before turning to face me with all the petulance of a teenager.

"Bulma. Not that I'll let a filthy man adress me that way. It's Guard to you, prisoner! Hmmph!"

Then she stalked away. Hurriedly.

I snorted.

Bulma huh? She couldn't be an Amazon. I was yet to see any other Amazons with blue hair.

Besides that, I found the similarity between her and another fictional character to be almost uncanny.

Bulma.

She could be useful for my escape if I cultivated her into an asset. The only constraint was time. There were only a few days left until the verdict was passed.

I needed to have a way out of Themiscyra secured before then.

Jumping to my feet from my meditative position, I walked towards the back wall, grabbing a portion of it(the boulder) through the finger grooves I had bored into its corners.

I always made sure to reseal the hole before anyone could see it.

The massive rock groaned as I pulled it off the wall. It was wider than my torso and made a dull sound when placed on the floor of the cell.

Now then, time to get back to the...

I stiffened as my ears managed to grab a new sound. One that sounded especially familiar.

The source of the sound seemed to be...outside...

Through the hole on my cell, I saw a burning object descend from the skies, wrecking the treeline before it dug a groove through the jungle, stopping a few hundred feet away from the River.

Flocks of birds escaped the area and through my enhanced sight, I was able to catch a glimpse of what the object was.

A plane.

This came with a lot of possibilities.

And complicated things as well. The only thing I knew for certain, was that it was an opportunity.

"Well, well."

I muttered, moving closer to the hole.

"Things just got interesting."

The distance from my cell to the crash sight was far, but closer to me than the city's garrison.

The only ones who could get there faster than I could would be the Island patrols or Diana if she decided to get serious.

Flight didn't appear to be among her powers (given the noisy landing when we first met), but her Demigod lineage likely granted her the ability to leap considerable distances..

That said...I had an ace up my sleeve.

The one thing staple to all Spiders.

Throwing one final look at my cell, I turned around, taking a running stance.

In a smooth dash that transitioned into a dive through the hole, I was plunging through the air, wind ruffling my bare torso and my cell behind me.

This was it.

A surge of excitement ran through me as I curled two of my middle fingers into my palm, forming an iconic gesture with my hand.

Barely an instant later, a long and thick strand of webbing shot out of my wrist in a fast motion, disaappearing into the jungle.

A smile worked its way onto my face. I could do it as well. I could create webs.

A joyous howl threatened to escape me as I did more of that, shooting out another web and attaching it to one to the branches of a tall tree.

My body was jerked through the air, swinging through the jungle, with the initial free fall adding to the velocity and speed.

The ground and trees passed by me in a blur.

Then at the apex of the swing I let go, relishing in the brief instant of freedom, where I was suspended in the nothingness, only to flip and come hurtling down even faster.

Another web and I was be saved from the fall, my muscles strong and flexible enough that the border line contortionist motions felt natural.

I was making good time at the pace I was going, ensuring I would reach the crash sight well before anyone else.