Thread: Empire - City of Wonder (Black_Out and The Supple Nail)

Diana beamed graciously down at detective Morales. He was the sort of upstanding man that would really save the community. He and men like him would form the foundation of a future that a ray of hope like Wonder Woman could only illuminate. Such festivals are a wonderful way to celebrate. I would be honored to... She began when the electronic screech of a hundred separate devices began to bleat their sinister message. Diana had little use for the gadgetry of the world of Men, but she was no stranger to the phones and the conflux of communication and information that they provided a portal to. Useful, if distracting. But even with her unfamiliarity she recognized that the sudden, synchronized voice sprouting from every speaker was unusual. Detective Morales held his phone out to her helplessly when the devious Creep addressed her by name. A slight chill ran through her that she could not explain. Was he watching her? Even without realizing it the tiniest fingers of paranoia spidered through her mind. As she watched the message a grim cast came over her features when the frame panned from the ghoulish clown to the dangling hostage. This was no mere taunt, there were lives at stake. Such a brazen invitation, telling her exactly where he was, showing her the hostage, it could only be a trap. Villains tried to distract, to obfuscate. If they wanted a hero to go to a carnival it either meant a distraction from some greater crime elsewhere or a devious trap. Well, this Creep would find Wonder Woman too ferocious a quarry to swallow. She would go, and forewarned of her foe's treachery she would prevail. The villain thought to trap her but all he was doing was serving himself to her justice. She gave an amazonian salute to detective Morales, fist over heart, and dashed into the night. With the lasso of truth she swung up onto a low building, leapt to the next, and before long she was running over the rooftops with incredible swiftness, making her way to the deadly carnival. She cut through the night like a streak of gold, swinging, leaping, climbing, and moving faster than any vehicle could hope to. At last the garish lights and gaudy sounds of the amusement park hovered into view and she slowed. The Creep's electronic message had reached the carnival goers as well and they had wisely scattered, leaving the park abandoned. Every light still shone, every speaker blared with grating, tumbling carnival music. The effect was eerie, to see a place so full of life so empty. Wonder Woman began to move cautiously through the stalls towards the center of the fair. She crept along and...no. I fear no man! She said angrily, to herself. She would not come slinking forward like some cowardly rat. Let the rat slink away from her instead. Perhaps blinded by the chill that even now she felt running down her spine she marched forward confidently, forcing her head up and her shoulders back. Caution was forgotten in this sudden burst of hubris. Just as it had appeared in the blurry video the twisted walls of the funhouse rose up before her. The outcropping that the hostage had been dangling from was empty. Diana bristled and drew her sword. He must have been moved inside. In...there. The door of the funhouse loomed, twisted and askew, distorting her perception. The carnival music grated on her ears and set her teeth on edge. She found herself hesitating at the threshold and angrily forced herself inside. And therein lay the trap. For while Diana feared no man, beast, or god, there was one secret fear that lay deep in her breast. She feared being weak, useless, helpless. She feared watching the innocent suffer and being unable to help. She feared failing in her charge as protector. And like a snare around her mind that fear slowly began to manifest. With each step she took through the twisted maze of mirrors her stride grew shakier, her grip on her sword weaker. The divine strength that coursed through her began to ebb, falter, and ultimately fail. Fueled, not by the Creep's dark powers, but by her own fears they began to manifest. There was a jarring clatter as the sword slipped out of her grip and crashed to the ground.