by Steve Korte
Diana reined in her horse and scanned the airfield. There were German soldiers marching everywhere. She looked up at the top of the control tower. There she saw Ludendorff, peering over the edge of a balcony. She turned around and saw two German soldiers, their guns drawn, running toward her.
Diana jumped off her horse and launched herself into the air. She landed on top of the two soldiers and knocked them to the ground. She then grabbed her golden lasso and started twirling it above her head. The glowing lasso soared through the air and looped around a German soldier on the balcony of the control tower. Diana gave a quick tug on the lasso and yanked the soldier down to his knees. She then climbed up her golden rope and jumped up onto the balcony.
Ludendorff had moved inside the control tower. Diana stepped forward and unsheathed her sword. When she entered the room, he turned to face her.
“Nice to see you again,” he said. “This is a surprise.”
With a cold smile on his face, Ludendorff pointed a gun directly at Diana.
“But I have things to do,” he said.
Diana raised her sword in her right hand and said, “I am Diana of Themyscira, daughter of Hippolyta.”
Ludendorff bowed his head slightly and said, “As magnificent a creature as you are, you are no match for me.”
“We’ll see about that,” Diana said.
Ludendorff squeezed the trigger of his gun and fired. Diana raised her left hand, blocking the bullet with her bracelet. The bullet ricocheted back toward Ludendorff’s gun, causing the weapon to explode in his hand. He cried out in pain.
Diana stepped forward and raised her sword.
“I, daughter of Hippolyta, came here to complete the mission of the Amazons to end this war.”
Ludendorff ran to a wall and grabbed a bayoneted rifle that was mounted there. He lunged toward Diana, using the rifle as a spear, but she was too fast for him and jumped out of the way. Her sword sliced through the air and plunged into his body.
He fell to the ground, dead.
Diana’s breath was heavy. She stood for a few moments, staring at the lifeless body. Then she heard a noise coming from the airfield. It was a German commander, screaming at his troops. Diana ran to the balcony and looked out over the airfield. Her heart dropped.
Diana saw hundreds of German soldiers marching in formation toward a large carrier aircraft. The soldiers were all wearing customized gas masks. Diana gasped, as she realized that these were the special gas masks developed by Doctor Maru to withstand her poison gas. How could one person—even a superstrong Amazon—stop so many soldiers?
Steve ran along the edge of the airfield, searching for Charlie, Sammy, and Chief. He soon found them, huddled together behind a stack of wooden crates outside an airplane hangar.
“Where’s Diana?” asked Sammy.
“I don’t know,” said Steve. “We’re on our own.”
Charlie peered through the scope of his rifle, studying the gas-masked soldiers.
“I can’t see where they’re taking the gas,” he said.
Sammy turned to stare at the edge of the airfield’s runway. There he saw the soldiers loading the gas-laden bombs into the giant aircraft.
“Wherever Diana is, I think we’re gonna need her,” he said.
Steve motioned to his companions to follow him. Moving slowly, they edged closer to the hangar and then ran behind the building. They crept up quietly behind four German soldiers.
BLAM!
Charlie swung his rifle through the air and slammed it against the four soldiers. They fell to the ground, unconscious. Minutes later, Steve and his team emerged from behind the hangar. Their heads were covered in gas masks, and they were wearing German flight jackets. They moved with confidence toward the giant aircraft.
Sammy quickly boarded the plane and made his way to the huge stockpile of bombs that had been loaded on board. He peered closely at the bombs. These small mechanical devices with intricate wiring could cause so much destruction.
Chief walked slowly toward a group of German soldiers that were huddled around a map. Without speaking, he moved closer to the soldiers, craning his head to look at the map. He gasped silently when he saw the target location for the plane. It was London!
Steve walked to the front of the plane, where he found an open toolbox. He grabbed a crowbar from the box and looked around to make sure no one was watching. Then he wedged the crowbar into a small metal panel on the side of the plane, hoping he might be able to sabotage the wiring.
“Hey! You!” a voice called out.
Steve spun around to see a German soldier approaching him. The soldier lifted his rifle.
THUMP!
Charlie swung his rifle butt against the soldier’s head, knocking him to the ground.
Steve smiled with gratitude, but his smile quickly faded when he looked over Charlie’s shoulder. Doctor Maru and three soldiers were walking toward the plane. Steve quickly pulled Charlie out of the way, and the two men faded into the shadows. They then ran to the back wall of the hangar, where they found Chief and Sammy.
“The plane! It’s going to London,” said Chief.
“What if we radio ahead?” suggested Charlie. “They could shoot it down.”
“If it crashes, it wipes out everyone around,” said Steve. “We have to ground it.”
“If it accidentally crashes, same thing here,” argued Sammy. “It’ll kill everyone over fifty square miles.”
Steve looked out at the airfield. Doctor Maru was standing in front of the plane. The three German soldiers were climbing on board.
“Go! Go now!” commanded Doctor Maru. She then turned swiftly on her heel and marched back toward the hangar.
Steve frowned and said, “The pilot, the copilot, and the bombardier . . . they’re getting on the plane.”
A truck parked in front of the plane started to pull the giant craft away from the hangar. The plane was moving slowly toward the runway.
Charlie crouched down and pointed his rifle at the truck. His years on the battlefield had led him to this moment. This was the most important bullet of his life. He squeezed the trigger and fired directly into the truck’s engine. Sparks and smoke filled the air, as the truck shuddered to a stop, halting the plane behind it.
Steve jumped to his feet and started running toward the entrance to the hangar.
“The lab!” he called out. “Maru’s lab . . . it’s inside the hangar. Let’s go!”
His three companions exchanged looks.
“If we go in there, we’re not coming back,” said Sammy.
Chief and Charlie shrugged. Then the three men ran after Steve.
Gunshots rang out as soon as Steve and his teammates stepped into the hangar. Doctor Maru was standing near a lab table. She was frantically gathering notebooks and papers in her hands. Next to her were large metal drums filled with chemicals.
As Charlie fired at the German soldiers, Steve and Chief ran into the hangar and started knocking over the lab equipment. Sammy was close behind, setting explosive charges on top of the metal drums.
“Let’s go!” yelled Steve, as he and his team ran from the building. As soon as they emerged, Steve and Chief wheeled around and tossed two grenades into the hangar. Then all four men hit the ground.
KER-BLAM!
A giant explosion detonated behind them, sending a huge ball of fire into the air. Black smoke filled the air as the hangar burst into flames.
Steve and his team had only seconds to savor their victory. Dozens of German soldiers began to fire at them. The soldiers surrounded the four men on every side. Charlie continued to fire his rifle over and over.
Suddenly, when Charlie squeezed the trigger, nothing happened. His face fell as he realized that he was out of bullets.
“Uh-oh,” he said to his friends. “Looks like this might be the end.”
SEVENTEEN
The four men huddled close to each other, watching as the German soldiers slowly advanced on them.
; Just then, a bright bolt of lightning struck the airfield. The German soldiers spun around and then fell back in confusion. The soldiers watched with astonishment as a single figure started running down the airfield, moving toward them. It was a woman.
A bright aura of energy surrounded Diana as she ran toward the soldiers. With a cry of anger, she swung her shield through the air and crashed into the soldiers. One after another, the soldiers fell to the ground, knocked unconscious.
Minutes later, Diana stood triumphant on the airfield. She turned to look at Steve and his friends. With disbelieving looks on their faces, the four men slowly climbed to their feet and moved toward her.
The sound of an engine filled the air. Steve turned around and saw a giant tank moving across the airfield. It was heading straight toward Diana.
“Diana,” he called. “Look out!”
Diana spun around to face the tank. She planted her feet firmly on the ground and reached out both arms. Just as the tank was about to collide into Diana, she grabbed the front of the tank and lifted it off the ground. As she held the giant vehicle above her, a German soldier—the tank’s driver—tumbled out of the tank and landed on the ground in front of Diana.
The young soldier’s eyes were closed, and he groaned softly. He then opened his eyes to discover Diana standing above him and holding the giant tank aloft.
“Please, no . . . ,” the young soldier pleaded, as he raised his hands to protect himself.
Diana looked down at the soldier. It would be so easy to crush him. Diana’s anger grew, thinking about Maru’s poison gas and this soldier’s intent to carry out her evil plan. Diana thought back to what her mother had told her: Mankind is easily corruptible.
They do not deserve you.
Diana closed her eyes. Her thoughts suddenly were filled with images of Steve and his teammates. She thought of the sacrifices that they had made. The bravery they had shown.
Quietly, to herself, Diana said, “No. The gods made us, the Amazons, to influence men’s hearts with love and to restore peace to the world.”
A golden glow began to surround Diana as she opened her eyes. As she placed the tank back on the ground, a light rain began to fall.
Soon, the rain washed away the black smoke from the sky. A golden dawn broke through the clouds. In the distance, Diana could hear the sound of people cheering in a nearby village. The last bits of smoke drifted away as the sun rose. A ray of sunlight lit her face.
She watched as Steve and his friends tended to the wounds of the German soldiers. A smile filled her face.
“I wanted to protect the world,” she said to herself. “To end war and bring peace to mankind. But now I know . . .”
She paused to collect her thoughts.
“I’ve touched the darkness that lives in between the light. Seen the worst of this world, and the best. Seen the terrible things that men do to each other in the name of hatred . . . and the lengths they will go to for love.”
As she walked over to join her friends, she said softly, “Love always beating its way through the mire. Love refusing to be anything but true and pure. Because of love, I will never be the same.”
She crouched down to wrap a cloth bandage around a German soldier’s head wound.
The first part of Diana’s journey was over. Now she would begin the journey to become the hero the world needed.
She was ready to become Wonder Woman.
PHOTO INSERT
Princess Diana is an Amazon living on a secret island called Themyscira. Queen Hippolyta is her mother. General Antiope and Menalippe are her aunts. They are not only wise and noble, but also incredible warriors.
Diana and her mother, Queen Hippolyta, listen to Steve Trevor’s account of the war to end all wars. Diana wants to join the fight, but the queen forbids her to go.
Diana sneaks into the armory, where the Amazons keep their weapons. She finds a powerful sword that will help her in her mission to save mankind.
When Diana arrives in London, she has to learn to fit in. Steve Trevor helps her find a disguise.
Diana, Steve, Charlie, and Sameer discuss their mission to find General Ludendorff and Doctor Maru.
Steve’s secretary, Etta Candy, assists the team. While the group plans to head to the front, Etta gathers information for their mission.
General Ludendorff plans to release a powerful weapon that will greatly impact the outcome of the war.
Doctor Maru is hard at work on her experiment to help the Germans win the war.
Diana prepares for her encounter with General Ludendorff at the Gala.
Captain Steve Trevor heroically pilots the stolen aircraft through enemy attacks.
Diana surprises the enemy with her expert combat skills.
Diana and Steve make a great team. They plot how to get into a gala where Diana can confront the enemy and end the war.
Diana dons her final disguise before confronting the enemy at General Ludendorff’s gala. She is ready to fight for peace.
CREDITS
Copyright © 2017 DC Comics.
WONDER WOMAN and all related characters and elements
© & TM DC Comics and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
WB SHIELD: TM & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
COPYRIGHT
HarperFestival is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
WONDER WOMAN: THE JUNIOR NOVEL
Copyright © 2017 DC Comics
WONDER WOMAN and all related characters and elements © & ™ DC Comics and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
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ISBN 978-0-06-268190-4 (trade bdg.) — ISBN 978-0-06-268188-1 (pbk.)
EPub Edition © May 2017 ISBN 9780062681898
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