16th September 2012
17:32 GMT -4
"It was Hippolyta.
"
Egeria nods. "When she did not return, we assumed that she had died. I would thank you for the closure your news brought were it not for the fact that her having a daughter here will simply maintain those feelings."
"I mean, I only recently arrived myself. I don't know for
certain that she's dead.
"
But this world doesn't use magic. Which means that the human/kryptonian technology used in their databases isn't warded.
"Hang on-. You're right, it's an upset. Let me see if I can find out for certain one way or the other.
"
Ring, access American and German databases. Allied superheroes from the Second World War. What happened to Hippolyta?
Accessing. Archival images available.
I take a hologram projector out of subspace and activate it, displaying the images. Allied propaganda pictures which were widely distributed at the time appear to have survived well enough despite the book burning. A picture of a fairly familiar Justice Society line-up is most popular in modern publications, with Queen Hippolyta
standing next to
Ted Grant. The German intelligence file on her is fairly limited, mostly relating to public displays of her abilities. A few mission reports, and…
"Reports from near the end of the war are fairly chaotic. The Germans
think she died during the Battle of New York, but a lot of the weapons they used didn't leave much in the way of remains and they never confirmed it. There are a few people around who might remember in more detail, but the Americans weren't interested in providing information to the people occupying their country and the Germans were spread too thin to track down everyone.
" I shrug.
"I'm sorry.
"
"She never had a daughter. After three thousand years, the idea of having anyone else as queen…"
I nod.
"I expected as much. It would probably be the same on
my Themyscira. Before Diana, when they told the woman who was technically Crown Princess that she was first in line to the throne, she's supposed to have said 'Are you sure?'
"
Egeria takes a moment to study the image.
"Those were her companions?"
I nod.
"Yes. Other warriors with more than human abilities. Unfortunately, the Germans had far better weapons, and… Overman.
"
"Yes. We are aware of him. And what his people did with the tools they took from his birth-pod."
"To be fair, they did what they could to hide that stuff from him.
"
"That they did it is enough."
I hold my hands up.
"I'm not trying to defend the Nazis. Just… Him, personally. He was an adolescent, fighting for his country. He wasn't really in any position to reflect on what happens and I know that he bitterly regrets it now. I'd rather that he hadn't fought -the alternate version of my original home nation was on the losing side- but there's not much we can do about it now.
"
"No, I suppose not." She sighs thoughtfully. "I'm not sure what I would do if we knew who killed her. Revenge seems… Pointless."
"It usually is. Unless you're going somewhere with it. But, ah… That
does lead on to the other thing I wanted to sound you out about.
"
"Yes?"
"Though, first. Do you want me to repair your eye?
"
"I was blinded by a demon's claw. Magic cannot heal the wound."
"My rings aren't magic.
Yes, I know that it looks similar and Greeks traditionally didn't distinguish between extreme feats of skill and pure magic, but it's technically not. Also, I've seen demon-inflicted wounds before and I strongly suspect that sufficiently sophisticated magic
could heal it.
"
"What
are you? I have seen the Green Lantern, and if you are speaking the truth then your abilities far outstrip
his."
They've
seen..?
"As I understand it, his ring was damaged a few centuries ago when its creators were betrayed by the one wielding it. Mine are-.
" I glance at Larfleeze's old ring.
"Well, one of them is in better repair.
" I shrug.
"If you want a demonstration I can cut my right arm off and reattach it.
"
Egeria leans forward slightly. "You say that you are an Amazon."
"I'm a citizen of Themyscira. I'm not fully acculturated.
"
"What gods do you worship?"
"I pay due homage to the Gods of Olympus, naturally. I have gods that I am closer to than others, if that's what you mean.
"
"Name them."
"Hephaestus and Ploutos. Hades.
" I raise my hands defensively.
"I know that a lot of versions of him aren't particularly nice, but the one from my world is a good person. Thoroughly committed to being a good king to the dead.
"
"Your people are fortunate."
I nod.
"I know. He already intervened on my behalf with another pantheon that tried to poach me the first time I died.
"
"Is he your particular patron?"
"Ah… No. That would be Eris.
"
And the tension is back at once. Egeria straightens slightly, leaning forward in her seat so that she can leap into action. Philippus's hand returns to the pommel of her sword, while New Wonder Woman's leans slightly so that she can leap at me should the need arise.
"
Eris sent you here?"
"No, Eris trusts me to provide her with entertainment without needing to intervene personally. I search for status quos that I find iniquitous and change them, causing havoc with established social systems. My job here… Well, do you
want anything from me?
"
"I want to know what 'minor requests' you intend to make before I indebt us to you."
"Horrible as the Nazi World Order
is, it's still better than how things are on the version of Earth that this Diana came from. We're trying to either fix that, or at least cut it off from other Earths like this one. And the Nazis are almost wholly ignorant of magic. I certainly don't expect you to feel any camaraderie with them, but an invasion of possessed demigods would be bad for you as well, since they would actually have some idea of how to get through your wards.
"
"Sound reasoning. And in return?"
"What do you want?
" I shrug.
"Amazons on my Earth couldn't heal certain types of long-term injury. Fully restoring them was one of the first things I did after gaining citizenship. I remember… Seeing an opinion piece years ago which claimed that if everyone on Earth became unageing, people still wouldn't usually live past eight hundred due to disease and injury. I've restored limbs, fingers, eyes, ears-. And I can use this ring to enable one woman to make another pregnant; that's been increasingly popular.
"
One woman standing behind Egeria
stands a little straighter.
"There's little I can't do with sufficient motivation, and my concern is more about time than ability. So.
" I shrug again.
"What is it that you want?
"
Ooh, an entire network of databases, ripe for the 