Wonder Woman Read online

  CONTENTS

  Prologue

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Photo Insert

  Credits

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  PROLOGUE

  It was shortly after six o’clock in the morning as the sun rose in Paris, France. The Louvre Museum, rose-colored with the dawn, was several hours away from opening. Museum guards paced slowly through the empty galleries, occasionally glancing at the world-famous paintings and sculptures they were hired to protect. In a remote wing of the museum, down a long and dark hallway, one light was shining.

  The light came from the office of Diana Prince, a curator for the museum and one of the world’s leading experts in ancient art. Her office was filled with Greek antiquities and ancient weapons. This morning, Diana sat at her desk, lost in thought.

  Diana was a young woman, tall and with an athletic build. Her long, black hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Even though she had been working in her office all night long, she didn’t appear to be tired. Instead, she stared at an ornate globe of the world that stood at the far edge of her desk.

  “I wanted to protect the world,” she said quietly to herself. “To honor my people and the mission they were given. To end war and bring peace to mankind.”

  She wondered what her coworkers at the museum would say if she told them that Diana Prince was not her real name. A smile spread across her face, as she thought about telling them, “My real name is Diana, and I am an Amazon princess from the island of Themyscira.”

  She laughed lightly, picturing the shocked looks on their faces as she divulged one more secret: “By the way, you probably know me best as Wonder Woman. I left my home and my people—the Amazons—years ago to come to your world. My mission was to end a dangerous threat that could have destroyed the entire human race.”

  Diana’s mind traveled back to that day, many years ago, when she had joined the human world to fight evildoers and spread a message of peace. She had eagerly taken on her new role as protector of mankind. Soon she became known as the mighty hero Wonder Woman.

  Diana’s smile faded as she reached for a small wooden crate that had been delivered to her office the night before. A label on the box identified the sender: Wayne Enterprises.

  Diana was one of the few people in the world who knew that Bruce Wayne, the owner of Wayne Enterprises, was secretly the crime-fighting hero known as Batman. Why had Bruce sent her a package now?

  Diana pried the nails loose from the top of the crate and lifted the lid. She gasped as she removed a brown-tinged photograph from the box. It was a daguerreotype, an antique photo from 1918. Diana instantly recognized the image, and the events that led to its existence came rushing to her mind. She was standing in the middle of the photo, wearing her Amazonian armor. She had a shield at her side, and she wore a grim but determined look on her face. Four men stood next to her, each carrying a rifle. The battle-scarred buildings of a village in Belgium could be seen behind them. In the background of the photo, there were soldiers wearing British uniforms from World War I.

  Diana reached into the box and removed an unsigned note.

  “I found the original photo. Maybe one day you’ll tell me your story,” it said.

  Diana stared at the photo. My story, she thought. I knew so little then. The world was not as simple as I thought. And mankind was another story altogether.

  She stared at the faces of the men in the photo.

  “But, thanks to them,” she said, “I will never be the same.”

  Diana’s mind drifted back to a time many years before World War I and to a place far away from Belgium. She smiled as she remembered an island in the middle of the ocean. It seemed so long ago. . . .

  ONE

  CLANG!

  The sound of swords crashing filled the air. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and dozens of women were battling each other on a grassy field near the ocean shore. The women were all strong, athletic, and wore suits of armor. Most of them were carrying weapons. Some held swords in their hands, while others used knives or spears. One armored woman rode atop a horse and lassoed another woman with a rope.

  They were the Amazons, a legendary race of warrior women who lived far from the rest of the world on their secret island of Themyscira. Every day, they traveled to this field to train for a battle they hoped would never come.

  Two women, both in peak physical condition, faced each other in the middle of the field. Their names were Artemis and Eliana, and they both clasped swords in their hands. Another woman, taller and wearing a richly decorated metal helmet, stood next to them. She was General Antiope, one of the bravest and strongest of the Amazons. She watched closely as Artemis savagely swung her sword and knocked Eliana to the ground. A fierce smile of triumph filled Artemis’s face.

  “Yes, the blow was strong, but Eliana’s footwork betrayed her,” said Antiope. “A battle is like a river crossing. Every step must find a safe spot.”

  At the edge of the field, an eight-year-old girl was watching the action with fascination. When Artemis swung her sword, the girl lifted her tiny hands and mimicked her movements with an imaginary sword. Her name was Diana, and more than anything in the world, she longed to join the Amazons in their training. Suddenly, a voice came from behind her.

  “Diana! Diana, I see you!”

  Diana froze at the edge of the field for a second, and then she began to run. The voice belonged to Mnemosyne, her tutor. Diana was supposed to be studying today.

  “Diana, come back!” called Mnemosyne.

  Diana bolted across the field, darting past the battling Amazons. She ran straight to the crowded marketplace near the center of Themyscira.

  One Amazon after another smiled at Diana as she zoomed past.

  “Hello, Diana,” said one.

  “Good morning, Princess Diana,” said another.

  Diana was the only child on Themyscira, and the Amazons had grown accustomed to seeing her run through the city, racing to elude her tutor.

  Even an Amazon guard, her arms outstretched to capture the running child, was no obstacle for Diana. She easily slid between the guard’s legs and ran up a set of narrow stone steps.

  The stairs led to a steep cliff, and Diana barely paused before she leaped off the edge. She soared through the air for a few seconds, but realized that she had jumped way farther than she intended. She was falling. As her descent picked up speed, a look of panic filled her face. She was about to crash to the ground.

  Suddenly, a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. Diana looked around and saw the disapproving face of her mother, Queen Hippolyta, who was the leader of the Amazons. A silver crown glinted atop the queen’s head, and her long blond hair stirred in the wind as she glared at her daughter.

  “Hello, Mother,” Diana said sweetly. “How are you today?”

  Hippolyta shook her head sadly and asked, “How many times, Diana?”

  “I haven’t actually counted,” admitted Diana. “Quite a few?”

  Hippolyta grasped Diana’s wrist tighter and started pulling her away.

  “Let’s get you back to school before another tutor quits,” said Hippolyta.

  Diana protested, “But Mother . . . don’t you think it’s time to start my training?”

  “Training? You are training,” said Hippolyta.

  The queen paused and crouched down in front of her daughter.

  “Your m
ind is your most powerful weapon. All battles begin here . . . ,” she said, pointing her finger at Diana’s head.

  “. . . before they end here,” she concluded, gesturing to the world around them.

  Just then, General Antiope arrived, riding on a horse. She dismounted and bowed to the queen.

  “General Antiope thinks I’m ready!” said Diana.

  “Does she?” Hippolyta asked as she glanced at Antiope.

  “I could begin showing her some things,” offered Antiope. “She should at least be able to defend herself.”

  “From whom?” the queen asked.

  “In the event of an invasion,” replied Antiope.

  “Isn’t that why I have an army at my command, General?” asked Hippolyta icily.

  “I pray a day will never come where she has to fight, but you, the wisest of us all, know that an Amazon cannot deny her inner nature.”

  “She’s a child. The only child on the island,” said Hippolyta. “Please, let her be so.”

  “But, Sister . . . ,” began Antiope.

  “But, Mother . . . ,” protested Diana.

  “There will be no training,” Hippolyta declared, putting the conversation to an end.

  TWO

  Diana did not give up easily, though. That night, Hippolyta struggled to get her wide-awake daughter to close her eyes and go to sleep. Each time Hippolyta tucked Diana under the blankets on her bed, her daughter struggled loose.

  “What if I promise to be careful?” pleaded Diana.

  “It’s time to sleep,” Hippolyta said gently.

  “What if I don’t use a sword?”

  “Fighting doesn’t make you a hero,” was the queen’s weary response.

  “Just a shield then. No sharp edges!”

  “Diana, you are the most precious thing in this world to me,” said Hippolyta. “So much so, I sculpted you from clay and begged Zeus to give you life.”

  Diana frowned and threw herself back against her pillow.

  “You’ve told me that story,” she pouted.

  “Then I will tell you a new one,” said Hippolyta. “One of our people, and my days of battle. So you will finally understand . . . why war is nothing to hope for!

  “Long ago, when time was new, and all of history was a dream, the gods ruled the Earth,” Hippolyta continued. “Zeus was the king among them. He created beings over which the gods would rule: beings born in his image, fair and good, strong and passionate. Zeus called his creation . . . man. And mankind was good.

  “But one grew envious of Zeus’s love for mankind . . . and sought to corrupt his creation.”

  The queen’s face darkened. “This was Ares. The God of War.

  “Ares poisoned men’s hearts with jealousy and suspicion. He turned them against one another. And war ravaged the Earth. So the gods made us, the Amazons, to influence men’s hearts with love and to restore peace to the world.”

  “What happened to Ares, Mother?” asked Diana.

  “He and Zeus battled,” Hippolyta replied. “Zeus used the last of his power to stop Ares, striking him with such a blow that the God of War was forced to retreat. But the battle killed Zeus. With his last dying breath, Zeus created this island to shield us from the outside world. Somewhere Ares could not find us. Here we can live peacefully in this paradise.”

  Diana’s eyes began to close. As she drifted off to sleep, Hippolyta reached forward and lightly touched Diana’s face.

  “So you see, my daughter, you are safe. And it is nothing for you to concern yourself with.” As she gazed down at her beautiful child, she only hoped she was right.

  THREE

  Four years later, Diana’s dream finally came true. On that day she stood proudly with a sword in her hand and faced off against her aunt, General Antiope. A brief pang of guilt passed over Diana’s face as she swung the heavy sword in the air. She had been forced to go behind her mother’s back and beg Antiope to teach her basic combat skills. For several months, the two Amazons had been training in secret.

  Antiope nodded approvingly as Diana thrust her sword forward. Then the older Amazon crashed her sword against Diana’s, knocking the young girl off her feet. Diana tumbled to the ground.

  “You’re doubting yourself,” observed Antiope.

  “No, I’m not!” said Diana, as she quickly jumped to her feet and resumed her stance.

  “Yes, you are,” said Antiope. “But you are stronger than you believe.”

  “Diana!”

  Diana and Antiope both froze. They knew who the voice belonged to, and they were trapped. They dropped their swords and turned to face Queen Hippolyta. She towered over them, sitting atop a giant white horse. She looked furious. Several Amazon guards stood behind her.

  Diana spoke up quickly. “Mother . . . I’m fine . . . I was just . . .”

  “Training,” her mother said icily. “It seems that I am not the revered queen I should be. Disobeyed, betrayed, by my own sister!”

  “Mother! It was me!” Diana said. “I asked General Antiope to—”

  Hippolyta raised a hand and turned to the guards.

  “Take Diana to the palace,” she said.

  As the crestfallen girl walked away, the queen glared at Antiope.

  “You left me no choice, Hippolyta,” said Antiope. “You neglect your duty if she cannot fight.”

  “You speak of a time that may never come,” argued Hippolyta. “Ares may never return! He could have died of his wounds.”

  “You think I don’t wish that were true?” Antiope raged. “But you feel it in your bones, just as I do. Ares is still alive. He is out there. And it’s only a matter of time before he returns.”

  “But my daughter . . . ,” Hippolyta said, as her voice trailed off.

  Antiope put a hand on the queen’s shoulder and said, “Nobody wants this less than I. I love her as you do. But this is the only way to truly protect her.”

  A look of determination came into Hippolyta’s eyes, and she said, “If she must train, you will train her harder than every Amazon before her.”

  “Hippolyta—”

  “Five times harder,” demanded the queen. “Ten times harder. You will train Diana until she is unconquerable!”

  FOUR

  True to her word, Antiope and the other Amazons worked with the young princess until her feet were quick and her sword deftly carried. By the time she was grown, Diana could spar with the very best of the Amazon warriors and hold her ground. But still, she wanted more. She wanted to make her mother—her queen—proud.

  One sunny day, Diana stood in the middle of the Amazon training field. A large crowd was gathered at the edge of the field. A proud smile filled Diana’s face. Today, she would prove to the other Amazons that she was their equal in strength and fighting ability.

  Diana lifted a bow and arrow to her shoulder. She focused on the target far away at the other side of the field. Slowly she drew back the arrow and then let it fly.

  “Bull’s-eye!” cried out Menalippe, who was second-in-command.

  For her next contest, Diana faced off against General Antiope herself. The two women lifted their shields and swords, preparing to battle. Soon, the harsh sounds of clashing swords filled the air. Diana fought superbly, returning each sword blow with a stronger one of her own. She smiled as she realized that she could easily hold her own against a more experienced opponent.

  Suddenly, the crowd gasped. Artemis had stepped onto the field and was striding toward the two contestants. She carried her sword aloft, and she had a determined look on her face.

  “Your combat skills have improved, Princess,” Artemis called out defiantly. “But are you skilled enough to take on two opponents?”

  Diana spun around in surprise, just as Artemis savagely swung her sword toward Diana.

  Diana raised her shield and blocked the sword. She then kicked her leg forward with all her strength. Diana knocked Artemis off balance, causing her to topple onto the muddy field.

  Diana felt m
ovement behind her and turned to see Antiope swinging her sword. Diana deftly jumped aside to avoid the blow. This was so easy, she thought to herself.

  “Come on, Diana. You’re stronger than this,” Antiope chided.

  A look of grim determination filled Diana’s face. She tightened her jaw and jumped forward to savagely attack her opponent. Diana thrust her sword toward Antiope over and over, forcing the older Amazon to raise her shield and step backward. A feeling of power filled Diana’s body as it never had before. She felt that she could conquer any Amazon today.

  With one savage blow, Diana knocked Antiope’s sword from her hand. It fell to the ground with a loud clang. Diana smiled triumphantly over her fallen opponent, who had raised her hands in surrender.

  She turned around to search for her mother in the crowd at the edge of the field. All the grueling years of training had been worth it. Hippolyta would now be forced to agree her daughter was a true warrior.

  WHAM!

  Out of nowhere, Antiope knocked Diana to the ground with a brutal blow. Diana groaned softly as she lay facedown in the mud.

  At the edge of the field, sitting atop her white horse, Hippolyta looked on anxiously.

  “Get up, Diana,” she said under her breath.

  Antiope spoke sternly to Diana, as the young Amazon shakily stood up.

  “Never let your guard down!” said Antiope. “Your opponents will have no honor. They will strike you from behind! They will attack without provocation! Show me the Amazon you are! Or was I wrong to put such faith in you?”

  Antiope expertly swung her sword at Diana, forcing her to stumble backward. Reflexively, Diana raised both arms to protect her face, slamming the silver bracelets on her wrists together.

  BOOM!

  The sound of an explosion filled the field. As the Amazons watched in astonishment, a bright blast of energy shot out of Diana’s bracelets. The blast knocked Antiope to the ground.

  Diana stumbled backward. She was ecstatic, scared, and confused. What had just happened? She looked over to her mother, hoping that Hippolyta could explain it. The queen was shaking her head sadly.