Countdown (23 page)

182
mmm mu

The flamboyant getup, which made Mary’s costume look positively austere in comparison, seemed better suited to a Mardi Gras celebration than a midnight rendezvous in an historical rain, but it was the woman’s striking countenance that truly captured Mary’s attention. Her bone white skin was partially eclipsed by a dark purple shadow that covered fully half of the woman’s face.
Some sort of birthmark or tattoo,
Mary wondered,
or just a dramatic makeup job?
Spiky black hair crowned the woman’s scalp, while gleaming violet eyes regarded Mary playfully. A sardonic grin lifted the comers of the stranger’s plum-colored lips. Tapered ears and fangs gave her a distinctly vampiric appearance. Slender white fingers fondled a glittering black diamond about the size of a large fig. The translucent gem sparkled darkly in the moonlight.

Mary didn’t recognize the stranger. “And you are ... ?” ' “My name used to be Jean, but now?” She rose sinuously from her seat upon the decapitated base. “You can call me ... Eclipso.”

Eclipso!
Mary was familiar with a notorious supervillain by that name, a vengeful demon who derived his power from a cursed black gem, just like the one in this woman’s possession. But that Eclipso had been a brutish-looking male, not a weirdly glamorous woman.
Maybe they’re related somehow, like me and Billy?

“You don’t look like Eclipso,” she accused the other woman.

“You’re thinking of my fiendish predecessor.” She held up the sparkling gemstone. “The mystic power of the black diamond has passed on to me.”

Just like I inherited Black Adam’s power,
Mary thought. “Good for you. But what’s that got to do with me?” Eclipso seemed untroubled by Mary’s suspicious tone. She smiled invitingly at the younger woman. “Do you know how much potential you have, Mary?” She gestured at the murky ruins surrounding them. “Throughout history, other sorceresses have stood upon this sacred ground. Circe. Medea. Morgaine Le Fey. Each of them a woman of great strength, ability, and passion, much like yourself. Each of them misunderstood and, like you, betrayed by those they loved.”

A pang stabbed Mary’s heart as she recalled waking up alone in that hospital, and Billy’s harsh reaction to her new powers.
And I don’t even know where Freddy is anymore. They both forgot about me.

Eclipso nodded knowingly. “Yes, Mary. I’m aware that your family has turned their backs on you, leaving you on your own to be preyed upon by so-called mentors.”

“You mean Zatanna, Klarion, and Madame Xanadu,” Mary realized. She frowned as she recalled how the magical trio had attempted to undermine her.
If they had their way, I’d still be weak and helpless.

“None of them truly wanted to help you, Mary.” Eclipso came closer to Mary, until they were only a few inches apart. The lady in purple stood at least a head taller than the younger heroine. A heavy perfume, redolent of rare black orchids, accompanied Eclipso. “They were jealous of your power and sought to keep you from surpassing them.”

Mary eyed Eclipso guardedly. “And how are you any different?”

“You think I want your power?” Eclipso laughed out loud. “How cute. Trust me, as impressive as you are, your might is trivial next to mine.”

Mary bristled. “Is that right? Then what do you want from me?”

“I thought I’d found a kindred spirit in you, Mary.” She sighed regretfully. “But I can see now that you’re not ready to trust again so soon, that you’d prefer to go it alone.” Eclipso shrugged and retreated from the moonlight, fading into the shadows. “Fair enough, Mary Marvel. I leave you in peace.”

“No, wait!” Mary panicked at the prospect of being abandoned once more; this was like getting banished from Shadowcrest all over again.
I never said I wanted her to go away. I was just being a little more cautious this time.

What if Eclipso is just the person I need to understand these new powers of mine?
“Eclipso! Jean!”

A rough male voice shouted at her from behind. “You there!”

Mary spun around to find herself confronted by three armed guards in military uniforms. Their leader, an ugly gorilla with a greasy mustache, bellowed in Turkish, but the wisdom of Zehuti allowed her to comprehend his words.

“What are you doing here? This a protected landmark.” He drew his pistol from its holster and waved it in her face. “You must go!”

“But I’m not hurting anything,” she insisted in the guard’s own tongue. “I’m not doing anything wrong.” The soldiers’ surly attitude got on her nerves; these jerks had chosen the worst possible moment to give her a hard time. ‘‘What’s it to you if I choose to be here?”

“Shut your mouth!” the soldier barked, glaring spitefully at the young woman. “We’ve had enough of you rich Americans and your arrogance. You think our rules don’t apply to you? Well, maybe you’ll feel differently after a few nights in jail.” He unhooked a set of handcuffs from his belt and tossed them over to one of his men, who snickered and made a rude remark about Mary’s legs. “Place her under arrest!”

What?
Mary couldn’t believe the men’s nerve. They had no idea whom they were dealing with here. The cuffs jangling in his grip, the leering soldier stepped forward to take Mary prisoner, but he didn’t get far. Mary threw out her open palm and a blinding flash of lightning froze the men in their tracks. “There!” she retorted. “Try and arrest me now!”

The color drained from the guards’ flesh and uniforms, turning chalky gray. The spontaneous burst of magic had done more than just bedazzle the hostile guards; they had literally been transformed into marble, like the strewn remains of the bygone temple. The petrified men stood like statues amidst the fallen columns and archways. Only their modem uniforms and weapons demonstrated that they hadn’t been resting here for thousands of years.

Mary gulped.
Did I really do that?
She had acted without thinking, but maybe her reaction had been a little extreme? The men had been pigs and bullies, who probably deserved everything they got, but still...

“Hah!” Eclipso chuckled softly in her ear. Distracted by her confrontation with the obnoxious soldiers, Mary hadn’t even heard the other woman glide up behind her. “They wanted to guard these ruins so badly, now they can do so forever.” She hurled a bolt of purple energy at the men’s leader, reducing his stone pistol to gravel. “Very nicely done.”

“Y-you think so?” Mary asked uncertainly. She was relieved—and grateful—that Eclipso hadn’t condemned her like Billy and Zatanna had. Perhaps Jean really
was
on her side?

“Of course,” Eclipso assured her. She laid a comforting hand on Mary’s shoulder. Her violet eyes probed Mary’s face. “How did it feel?”

Mary contemplated the stationary figures of the transformed guards. The men’s bellicose expressions were stamped forever onto their petrified faces. Aside from their badges and uniforms, were they really all that different from, say, those muggers who had terrorized her back in Gotham City? Mary wondered how many other innocent tourists the men had threatened and brutalized over the years.
I was just minding my own business,
she recalled resentfully,
but they were going to throw me into some filthy Turkish prison anyway. Real tough guys, picking on one helpless-looking girl...

“Actually,” she admitted, “it felt pretty good.”

Eclipso smiled. “I’m glad to hear that, Mary. It means you’re on the right path.”

That -was just what Mary wanted to hear.
Take that, Zatanna!

“It’s weird, though,” she confessed. “I didn’t even know I could do that.”

‘This is just the beginning,” Eclipso promised. She lifted off from the rubble, ascending into the cool night sky. The waxing moon, shining brightly above them, matched the silver crescents upon her throat and bodice. “Come with me, Mary. Let me help you explore your new abilities ... and guide you to your ultimate destiny.”

Which is?
Mary wondered anxiously. She hesitated amidst the ruins, unsure if she should accept the other woman’s offer or not. The old Eclipso had been a villain to be sure, but then again, so had Black Adam. Maybe this new Eclipso was different... and truly understood what Mary was going through.
Just because I have Adam’s powers, that doesn
V
make me evil too, so it would be unfair to judge Jean on the basis of the old Eclipso’s crimes.

''
Besides, nobody else seems to believe in me anymore. ...

Mary launched herself into the air after Eclipso. “Wait for me!”

20 AND GODNTBND.

■ THE iliED,

Roiling
clouds of radioactive vapor churned outside the Monitor’s energy-sphere. Crimson lightning lit up the billowing mists. A bloodred radiance suffused the stormy atmosphere, which seemed to stretch on endlessly in all directions. Turbulence rocked the globe beneath the Challengers’ feet, making it difficult to stand upright. Donna braced herself against die curved wall of the sphere to keep from falling.
Talk about a bumpy ride,
she thought.
This thing needs seat belts.

“So where are we now?” Jason asked. He scowled at the daunting scenery outside. “We taking a detour through Hell or something?”

Donna had to admit this unnamed cosmos had a distinctly infernal appearance. If she didn’t know better, she’d think they were traversing Tartarus itself.
Minus the three-headed dog, of course.

“My people call this realm The Bleed,” Solomon informed them. “It is the formless void between the fifty-two universes.” Unlike Donna and Jason, he seemed to have no difficulty maintaining his balance. He tracked their progress on a holographic display screen. “The Bleed’s chaotic energies render it all but impossible to monitor, which should hide us from my brethren for the time being.” Donna was grateful for the respite. “But they’re definitely after us, aren’t they?”

“Yes,” Solomon admitted. “The other Monitors refuse to accept my in terpretation of recent events. They deny all evidence of the catastrophe to come. We can expect them to oppose us at every turn.”

“Took them long enough,” Jason muttered. “I thought you guys were supposed to be on top of things.”

“I must confess to a deception,” Solomon explained. “I uploaded a fifty-two-minute delay into the central Nexus, keyed into my own presence. What they monitored regarding me...”

“Had already happened almost an hour earlier,” Jason 'grasped. “Sweet!”

“The stratagem bought us time.” Solomon adjusted the navigational controls. “But, alas, they have obviously become aware of the discrepancy.”

Donna nodded soberly. “So from here on, wherever we go, they can find us.”

“That’s going to put a real crimp in our grand tour of the Multiverse,” Jason observed. He reloaded his automatic pistol. “We’re going to have to fight our way to Palmer.”

“No,” Solomon said. “That will not be necessary. My brother revealed more than he had intended.” He gazed past the transparent walls of the sphere at the hellish red maelstrom before them. “I now know
exactly
where Ray Palmer is.”

19 AND COUNTING.

THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE.

“My God ..

Holly stood upon the prow of the
Minerva
as Paradise Island came into view directly ahead of the private yacht. Grecian temples and palaces gracefully adorned the sloping hillsides of the densely wooded isle, which rose from the sparkling blue waters of the Caribbean like a mirage. Even from miles away, you could tell that the marble buildings were no crumbling ruins; they looked like they were in perfect condition. The pristine elegance of the forbidden isle could not have been more different from the squalid Gotham slums Holly was accustomed to.

“Gods,” Athena corrected her. Along with Holly and the other Amazon wannabes, the supposed goddess gazed out at their destination from the deck of her ship. A crown of electrum rested upon her piled brown curls. “And, yes, it is beautiful. Themyscira, eternal home of the Amazons.”

Themyscira was the actual name of what the media had dubbed “Paradise Island.” Now that they were almost there, Holly was starting to believe that Athena was the real thing after all. Who else could guide them straight to this mythical location? Wonder Woman’s homeland was supposed to be magically hidden from the rest of the world. As far as Holly knew, not even Selina had ever set foot there before.

“Jeepers creepers, will you get an eyeful of that.” Harley Quinn stared dreamily at the island as she leaned so far out over the front rail that Holly was afraid she was going to tumble overboard. Despite herself, Holly was starting to warm to the endearingly daffy ex-super-villain. It was hard not to respond positively to the pigtailed blonde’s infectiously cheery disposition. ‘"Sure beats a padded cell in Arkham!”

“I’ll bet,” Holly replied. A warm tropical wind rustled her hair, which had regained its reddish hue now that her temporary dye job had faded away. Like the other initiates, she was clad in the Amazonian armor that Athena had insisted they wear from now on. That struck Holly as a tad excessive, especially on a Caribbean cruise, but maybe the warrior goddess just wanted them to get used to wearing the heavy armor.
What the heck,
she thought.
When in Themyscira. . .

The yacht rolled beneath their sandaled feet. “I can’t wait to get back on solid ground,” she admitted. She had gotten over the worst of the seasickness on the first few days of the voyage from Metropolis, but the oscillating deck still made her a little queasy. “How much longer before we dock?”

“We dock soon,” Athena informed her. Her silken robes fluttered in the breeze. She strolled away from the rail. “But the rest of you get off here.”

“What?” Holly asked. She wasn’t sure she heard Athena right. The island was still at least a mile away.

“Your training begins now.” Athena raised her voice so that all could hear. “Into the water, my warriors-to-be!” “Wait a minute!” Holly pointed at the azure waters ahead of the yacht. Scaly green fins cut through foam-flecked waves. Serpentine snouts, sporting dagger-sized fangs, occasionally broke the surface before diving beneath the waves once more. Scores of prehistoric sharks and sea serpents infested the churning sea. “What about them?”