While John was stabilizing Khandaq and reshaping a nation, Themyscira was falling apart.
The escape began quietly, the way disasters often do.
Transformation Island had held many of Wonder Woman's enemies over the years. It was designed to break criminal ambition through isolation and reform. Well, it was basically a prison island. Hypnota had waited patiently, observing routines, learning guards' habits, and studying the rhythms of the island like a predator memorizing prey.
When the moment came, she struck from within.
She hypnotized the guards, turned off the security system, and freed all the prisoners. Then she went to the max level and freed her old team.
Blue Snowman emerged laughing through clouds of freezing vapor. Cheetah followed behind her. Then, Doctor Poison walked out of her containment cell, already planning which toxins she would perfect next. Queen Clea got out and the first thing she did was summon a massive tidal wave to tear open coastal defenses. Giganta and Jinx meet up with Hypnota to discuss their next move.
By the time Themyscira received the first fragmented distress signal, it was already too late.
Hypnota did not waste time with siege or terror tactics. She went straight for the heart of the Amazons.
Her hypnosis power has evolved over the years. Warriors halted mid-stride. Patrols lowered their weapons. Sisters turned toward her with glassy eyes and perfect obedience. Even the most disciplined minds bent under her control, their wills rewritten with a smile and a soft word.
Diana fought it.
She felt the intrusion the moment Hypnota's influence brushed her thoughts. Years of discipline, divine blood, and unbreakable will allowed her to resist longer than any other Amazon. She stood against it in the palace courtyard, fists clenched, teeth bared, trying to anchor herself in memories of truth and purpose.
It was not enough.
Hypnota stepped forward, her voice calm and absolute, and Diana's resistance shattered. Her knees hit the marble. When she rose, her eyes no longer burned with defiance. They reflected only obedience.
Seeing their champion fall broke the last organized resistance on the island.
A small group of Amazons refused to surrender. They fought their way through controlled sisters without striking to kill, retreating step by step toward Science Island. These were scholars, engineers, tacticians, and warriors who had trained to protect knowledge rather than wield brute strength.
They activated the barrier.
A dome of shimmering energy rose over Science Island, sealing it completely. Hypnota's influence slammed against it and failed to pass through. Queen Clea hurled waves against the shield until the sea itself calmed. Doctor Poison tested airborne toxins, only to watch them disperse harmlessly. Blue Snowman froze the barrier until ice cracked and shattered without effect. Even Giganta's strength and Jinx's beams weren't enough to pierce the defence.
The barrier held.
Inside the barrier, the remaining Amazons watched their home fall in silence. They saw sisters marching in perfect formation under Hypnota's control. They saw Diana standing at Hypnota's side like a living trophy.
As for Hippolyta...
No one knew if she had escaped or captured. No trace of her aura could be found.
For the first time in Amazon history, Themyscira stood leaderless.
Hypnota claimed the city before nightfall.
She seated herself upon the throne as a ruler who believed victory was inevitable. With Diana at her side and the majority of Amazons under her control, she began reorganizing Themyscira into something unrecognizable. Patrols were reshaped into enforcers. Knowledge was seized. Ancient weapons were unsealed.
Science Island remained untouched, an irritation rather than a threat.
For now.
...
[Khandaq]
Khandaq thrived under constant motion.
John moved through the skies at an unhurried pace, hands clasped behind his back as he surveyed the land below. What had once been empty stretches of sand were now divided into districts marked by scaffolding, cranes, and freshly poured roads. Workers moved in organized lines. Engineers argued over blueprints. Children ran between half-built homes, already treating them like playgrounds.
John descended closer to the fields and slowed when he spotted a familiar flash of red.
Harley stood knee deep in churned earth, laughing as she tore through packed soil with her bare hands. Each swing sent dirt flying dozens of meters away. Trenches formed in seconds. Irrigation channels took shape faster than machines could keep up with. Workers stared in disbelief while trying to follow behind her with tools that suddenly felt unnecessary.
Harley stopped when she noticed John watching.
She planted one boot on a mound of dirt, wiped mud from her cheek with the back of her glove, and struck a dramatic pose. "Whatcha think, boss man? I just did a week's worth of farm work in about eight seconds. I'm basically agriculture now."
John laughed softly as he landed nearby. "You are going to give the labor ministry a heart attack."
She grinned wider. "Worth it."
A group of workers clapped. Harley bowed like she had just finished a stage performance, then leaned toward John and whispered loudly, "Did you see the faces? I live for this."
John shook his head, still smiling, and lifted back into the air.
"You leavin' already?" She yelled.
"Yeah. Gotta check out the mountains," John replied. "And awesome job, Harl."
Harley gave him a thumbs-up with her signature grin. "Leave this side to me."
John flew straight to the mountain.
The mountains rose in the distance like a jagged spine dividing nations. As he approached them, the sound reached him before the sight. Thunderous cracks echoed through stone, followed by controlled shockwaves that rippled outward without collapsing the surrounding peaks.
Maureen stood at the center of it all.
She hovered just above the rock face, eyes focused, hands glowing with a blend of blue-white frost and crackling lightning. With careful precision, she drove concentrated blasts into the mountain, carving a wide passage straight through solid stone. The rock shattered cleanly, freezing and fracturing before dissolving into fine debris that fell harmlessly to the ground below.
John landed beside her as she finished clearing another section.
She exhaled and rolled her shoulders. "This is harder than it looks."
"You are doing great," John said, looking over the forming trade route. "Once this is finished, transport between Khandaq and Egypt will be seamless."
Maureen nodded, brushing dust from her gloves. "They moved fast on the treaty."
"They understood the value," John replied. "Healing produce, disease resistance, renewable trade routes. They saw opportunity instead of threat."
She smiled faintly. "I am glad someone did."
...[Evening]...
The park near the capital had filled up long before sunset. Lanterns hung from newly grown trees, glowing softly as the sky shifted from blue to gold. Long grills lined the stone paths, smoke curling upward in lazy spirals while laughter carried through the air.
Harley was the loudest part of it.
She had somehow acquired half a dozen pogo sticks and a crowd of kids who treated her like a carnival attraction. She bounced across the grass with wild enthusiasm, hair flying, cackling every time she nearly wiped out on purpose just to make them scream and laugh.
"Alright, ankles of steel," she announced, landing beside a small girl clutching her helmet, "knees bent, grip tight, and commit to the chaos. Hesitation is how gravity wins."
The girl bounced once, wobbled, then bounced again, laughing uncontrollably.
Harley clapped. "That's it. You are officially cooler than ninety percent of adults I know."
A boy wiped out nearby and landed flat on his back. Harley immediately dropped beside him, peering down with exaggerated concern. "You alive, champ?"
He nodded, breathless.
"Good. That means you gotta try again," she said, hauling him up by the collar and planting him back on the pogo stick. "Pain builds character, and lawsuits build paperwork."
Parents watched from nearby benches, looking amused.
Across the park, John stood at one of the grills with his sleeves rolled up, turning skewers with careful attention. The smell of spiced meat filled the air. Maureen stood beside him, passing plates and quietly correcting his seasoning with a look that said she had already decided she was right.
"You used too much," she said calmly.
"I followed the recipe," John replied.
"You followed the idea of the recipe," she said, sprinkling just a bit more salt. "Trust me."
He smiled and let her take over. "I do."
A man nearby laughed. "If she says trust her, you trust her."
Maureen blinked, slightly embarrassed, and nodded politely. "That seems reasonable."
"Haa... I was a cook for years and now, she's going to teach me. Great," John mumbled.
One of the middle aged man leaned in and whispered. "That's life, mate. Never say no to your wife, never correct them even if they are wrong..."
Maureen cleared her throat. The guy quickly stopped talking.
As the sun dipped lower, more people joined in. Someone brought drums. Someone else started singing. Kids abandoned the pogo sticks in favor of chasing each other through the grass while Harley dramatically accused them of pogo abandonment.
"Do you know how many extreme sports licenses I do not have?" she shouted, hands on her hips. "This is disrespect."
She eventually gave up and wheeled over a massive freezer she had dragged in earlier. She flipped the lid open with a flourish.
"Attention, citizens of my favorite place that is not allowed to arrest me," she announced, "ice cream time."
The cheer that followed rivaled anything John had heard during the reconstruction speeches.
She tossed out bars and cones with reckless generosity, occasionally pelting someone in the chest just because she could. When a kid asked how she got so strong, Harley leaned in and whispered, "Pure spite and a balanced breakfast."
As night settled fully, the prayers stopped entirely.
People ate, talked, laughed, and argued about which ice cream flavor was best. No one knelt. No one whispered invocations. They waved at John like he was a neighbor. They asked Maureen if she wanted more tea. Someone asked Harley if she could come back tomorrow to help build a playground, and she said yes immediately and then asked if explosions were allowed.
John stood back for a moment, watching it all. The lights, the noise, the ease of it. This was what he wanted. Not reverence. Not fear. Just life moving forward.
Maureen joined him, leaning lightly against his shoulder. "They look happy."
"They are," he said.
She glanced toward Harley, who was now sitting on the grass surrounded by kids, telling an animated story with wildly inaccurate gestures. "She fits here."
John chuckled. "Terrifying thought, but yes."
Just then, John felt something enter the magic barrier...
Up in the sky, a burning meteor-like object pierced through the barrier and was heading toward the ground.
John sighed before yelling, "SHAZAM!"
---
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