[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/yDprgvh.png[/img]


[b][u]December 31st, 11:51 PM
In the middle of Atlantic Ocean[/u][/b][/center]

[color=7bcdc8]“I suppose whatever sea creature was down there, it’s gone now. Still, better safe than sorry. You have our thanks, Wonder Woman,”[/color] the naval officer said in her earpiece.

[i]A strange invention,[/i] Diana thought. [i]Conversations should be face to face, not this nonsocial exchange.[/i]
She inhaled the salty air of the sea. Whatever had appeared on the radar had swum dangerously close to the aircraft carriers. Moving more like a tactical individual than the mind of an animal. She had been ready to dive in, when it disappeared.
On her island, some of the most dangerous creatures lived in the sea, so when the Justice Station got the call, she wasted no time responding.
Standing on one of the ships, she was just about to fly home, when a strange sound accompanied the wind.
Suddenly a massive hand grabbed her in the back of the head and slammed her into the runway with tremendous force. For a second the world was a fuzzy blur, but she was instantly alert. She tried to focus and suddenly tasted blood. It had been a while since last time, but Diana was bleeding. Something big still had a hold of her, pressing her head into the metal surface, bending it downwards. She had never felt an opponent like this. The viciousness. The sheer power.
But she was an Amazon and used her limbs to move slightly and throw her attacker off balance. Right when she felt an opening, another hand shot down, grabbed her one wrist and stretched out her arm. Bondage was the cruelest of fates for an Amazon, and this creature knew it.
[color=fff79a]“Ares…” [/color]Wonder Woman spat it like a curse word and managed to turn her head, though he still clutched it.
The God of War gave a smile, seething with sadistic pleasure.
[color=f7976a]“Here I am, my child. You have been splitting mountains just to find me.”[/color]
She felt his foot on top of her spinal and how he pressed her head further down. Bolts started to shoot up from the ship’s hall.
She tightened her muscles. If she relaxed even for a second, her arm would break against the might pressing down on it. Her fueling rage kept her awake when her body demanded air. She hadn’t fought her entire life just to let it end on one of man’s floating vessels.
[color=f7976a]“Look at you,”[/color] Ares' echoing voice said. [color=f7976a]“Struggling in captivity. Barely holding on to consciousness while the pain builds up. This is the weakness of your people, little princess. You do not know when to forfeit. You always keep going, no matter the odds, no matter the hurt. But you forget: I am the God of War; the more you fight, the stronger I become. So keep grinding your teeth, keep tightening that strong back of yours.”[/color]
[color=fff79a]“I will. I am an Amazon; you will tire before I do,” [/color]she replied, while continuing to resist his grip.
[color=f7976a]“Oh, I do not intend to stay long. Just long enough to tell you something. Do you remember the day you challenged me?”[/color]
[color=fff79a]“You mean when I humiliated you, since you were forced to flee in disgrace?”[/color]
[color=f7976a]“Yes. You were barely a woman, and yet that day you would have killed me. I saw it in those big, dark blue eyes. Here you are: older, stronger, more mature and immensely less naïve. How is it that today, I can take you down with little effort?”[/color]
Diana searched her feelings and found no answer. Even in immense pain her mind was sharp, and yet she came up empty.
[color=fff79a]“I suspect The God of War believes he has the answer to that.”[/color] she teased.
[color=f7976a]“You fail because in your heart you have forgotten what you fight for," [/color]Ares said. His voice was like a roar, and his face riddled with scars. [color=f7976a]"And these… little people you call friends have thrown you against obstacle after obstacle. Battle after battle. They wear you down, tire you out to the point that you can not fight for what really matters: Themyscira. You think I can not return there? I will enslave your feeble-minded sisters anew. Subjugation is the destiny of Amazons, it always was."[/color]
[color=fff79a]“You know nothing about my people! Fear has clouded everything since you lost your first war,”[/color] she sneered.
[color=f7976a]“Me? A god feeling fear?”[/color]
[color=fff79a]"You feared me before I was even born! The union between Amazon and your big brother. You dreaded what such a child might do. But I know exactly what. It is my fate. I will consume everything you are. I will become the Goddess of War.”[/color]
For a moment a look of doubt came over Ares and he loosened his grip.
Diana slammed her free arm down, and an explosion of plates and sparks shot up at her opponent. Instantly she jumped up in his face and delivered a fist into his breastplate. The giant man flew backwards, until his legs halted the fall while ripping through the aircraft carrier. For another second a glowing red print was where Diana’s knuckles had connected.
Ares huffed like no animal ever could and raised his large hand at her.
[color=f7976a]“I will not kill you. I will let Man’s world tear you apart. Let it sink your home and extinguish your ferocity. Only then will I return to step on the last few pieces of the so-called Wonder Woman.”[/color]
The god leaped off the ship into the sky and then he was gone.
Diana fell back on her knees and tried to regain some strength. Amongst all her thoughts, a growing doubt had manifested itself.

[i]Happy New Year, Wonder Woman …[/i]