The Fortress of Solitude

The Fortress of Solitude is the thirty ninth chapter in the Wombles Eight.

Bond and Diana landed smoothly and Bond then felt very cold as he was guided out of the jet.  He soon found out why as his blindfold was swiftly removed by Diana.  They were standing on a large iceberg in the middle of nowhere.  There was what appeared to be an icy cave a few feet ahead of them and for a second Bond thought he heard a polar bear growling but he shrugged it off as the wind.  Bond turned around and saw that the jet was gone.

“How are we going to get back?” he asked.  “In the jet, of course.” Replied Diana.  “But it’s gone.”  Diana turned and stared at the empty space, then said, “No, it’s still there.  You can learn to see it with enough training- but you would have to be an amazon to do that.  Follow me.”

Bond followed Diana toward the icy cave, pondering what she had just said.  In the old days he would never have believed in an invisible jet and he would have thought that her persuasion to make him tell the truth was simply due to his desire for her, but after he had in reality become a soul-reaping skeletal rider for the devil during the night, he had learnt never to question anything.

When Bond and Diana reached the icicle-infested entrance, they stopped and Diana leant over a tall metal triangular pole which protruded from the ice beneath them.  It had a symbol on top of it but Bond couldn’t decide which way to look at it.  It was either an S or a pattern of stylised goldfish.

Diana pulled the pole out of the ground and picked up the heavy object with seemingly no effort whatsoever.  She turned it horizontally and scanned it on the frosty blue door’s handle.  There was a small green flash and the door opened for them.  Diana put the pole down and the two of them walked inside.

“Welcome to the fortress of solitude.” Said Diana as the door closed automatically behind them.  Bond was sure that he would not call this place a fortress, but rather more of a cavern, albeit a large one with various ice sculptures of people with the logo outside printed onto what they were wearing. Bond then realised that he had seen that logo before, on Superman’s costume.  Bond didn’t watch much news as he was always busy with something, whether it was soul reaping, spying, running from the police or making love to a pretty woman he’d just met, so he didn’t know much about Superman, however he had encountered him once while trying to track down M’s killer, before he knew that he himself had done it.

“So why are we here?” asked Bond, turning his gaze back to Diana.  “We are here to train.” Replied Diana.  “For you to join the Justice League of America.”  “Ah,” answered Bond, “Well if it is the Ghost Rider you are looking for, I’ll need to inform you that he only comes out at nightfall.  And when he does, he is certainly no hero. Quite the opposite, actually.  But if it is my skill in weaponry and other forms of earthly combat, then your request may be granted.”

“The Ghost Rider can be a hero if you make him into one.” Replied Diana firmly.  “And to do that, we must train you to maintain control when you transform.  That is what we are here for.  Nightfall is not far away.  Shall we begin?”

Bond was about to refuse, when Diana started fighting him.  The question had clearly been rhetorical.  Diana gripped Bond round the neck and kept Bond to the floor as he struggled.  But this was nothing, Bond thought, as he had been held in this grip by his enemies, and even his colleagues many times before.

Bond rapidly moved his head back, hitting Diana’s nose very hard.  She was slightly stunned and loosened her grip for Bond to get up, but she regained her focus quickly and her nose didn’t show any sign of damage, not even a bruise.  Bond knew he could never win this fight but he had to keep it up as long as possible to prove his worth, so he leapt onto Diana’s side and tackled her back to the floor.

Diana seemed for a second to be subdued but it was just an act.  She kicked Bond in the torso when he least expected it and in but a second it was Bond who was the one being pinned to the floor.  Diana was holding his arms behind his back so that he couldn’t use them, but because of this there was nothing to stop him from using his legs.  He kicked frantically but Diana managed to dodge every time.  Bond looked and saw that she wasn’t in the least bit tired by having to react so quickly.

“Submit.” Said Diana, “I have clearly won this fight.”  Bond struggled, trying to prove her wrong, but it was no use.  Slowly he began to stop fighting and raised his hands as Diana released her grip.  Then he punched her hard.  She fell backward but just rolled and immediately regained her balance by raising one knee.

“Respect position, I see?” quipped Bond, but Diana just stayed there, narrowing her eyes.  Bond was about to feel his back, which he was sure he must have broken, when Diana broke into a run toward him and tackled him back down.

“I do not accept foul play, Mr Bond.” She said.  “You submitted to me, the fight was lost already.”

Bond opened his mouth to retort, but then he stopped and stared behind Diana.  There was a large blue mass of light which varied in shades, getting darker as they reached the middle, which was swirling rapidly as though it were a floating whirlpool.  Diana saw that Bond was distracted so turned to see what he was looking at, making sure to keep her grip on him firm.