WONDER WOMAN

WW: CHAPTER ONE

April 4th, 1941

The Mediterranean Sea

An unmarked Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle Mark I quietly darted through the night sky keeping low under any radar that might be watching. The Sergeant on board wasn't as subtle.

"ALL RIGHT, LADIES! We're only two hours from Athens! I want you ready when we land. We ain't got time for sightseeing! We are dropping in and getting the hell of Dodge before those sons of bitches know what happened! You got me, Easy Company?"

The Unit of twelve men answered back just as loud in unison.

"SIR, YES, SIR!"

Sgt. Rock stepped into the cockpit. Pilots, Rose and Smith kept the aircraft steady above the water.

"What's the word, boys? Have you heard from our contact yet?"

"No, Sir. Not yet," Answered Rose. There was a level of concern in his voice. Rock could hear it. He opened up his maps again, without any worry in his tone. He hopes it would catch on.

'Well, I wouldn't worry. Don't forget, there's all sorts of ears open out there, They're most likely waiting until the exact moment," The Serge assured him. It did give him some peace of mind. Sadly, it was just for that moment.

The plane shook violently accompanied with a loud explosion. It sounded like thunder from inside the plane. The next second, there wasn't much "Inside", as a five foot hole in the side of the aircraft sucked out two of the Easy Company. The rest of the platoon that wasn't killed by the attack or sucked out of the plane took hold and braced themselves.

"WHAT THE HELL HIT US?" shouted Sgt. Rock. His answer came quick in the form of the German fighter that buzzed by them on the right. The attacker was preparing for another pass to finish the job and send the plane into the ocean.

The plane shakes as it becomes riddled with gunfire by a second fighter directly on its tail.

"CAN YOU LAND THIS BIRD?!" Sgt. Rock shouted at the pilot. Both of the pilots were doing their best to keep the craft from going out of control.

"Maybe, if they stopped shooting at us!" Captain Rose shouted back. Sgt. Rock puts on his helmet.

"I'll see what I can do." He answered, as he headed back to the rear of the plane. Easy Company sat there helpless as the first round of bullets fired into the plane. Private Eaton had died in the attack. The bullets tagged in the head, exploding blood everywhere.

"Poor kid; never had a chance..." Sgt. Rock mumbled. In one moment, Rock makes a decision. He pulls a parachute out and begins to strap it to the dead Private all while the gunfire echoes just outside of the plane.

"SIR, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" asked Private Plant. He and the others forgot to be afraid, as fear was replaced with confusion.

"If that bastard gets a hit on us, we're done for! Eaton bought it before ever seeing action! Now, he's gonna save us all! Help me get him to hole!" Sgt. Rock ordered. The men snap out of it and lift the dead man's and hold him at the edge of the hole in the side of the plane. Sgt. Rock pokes his head out along side of Eaton's body. He spots the German fighter on their tail. The men of Easy Company hold the body steady, waiting for Rock's word. The fighter lines up perfectly, ready to make his kill shot.

"NOW!" Sgt. Rock ordered.

The cord was pulled on his chute and the fallen soldier flew out of the plane toward the attacking fighter. The chute blanketed the entire front of the plane, and the body carried by it crashed through the glass into the cockpit. The fighter falls out of the sky, as the fighter pilot was knocked out cold by this surprise attack. They crash into the unforgiving sea at high speed. Private Eaton was twenty years old. He was fresh out of boot camp and never set foot on a battlefield in life. In death, he saved the lives of the rest of Easy Company that day.

However, it wasn't over.

The right motor sputtered out due to the gunfire. Captain Rose felt the plane being to fight him keeping it in the air. Captain Smith spotted the second German fighter seem to be backing off. It almost seemed to understand that they weren't going to make it. The plane had fallen hundreds of feet within seconds thousands of miles from shore. Captain Rose heard himself pray. He snapped out of it when Smith interrupted him.

"LOOK! IT'S AN ISLAND!" shouted Smith.

"HOLD ON! IT'S GONNA BE A BUMPY LANDING!" Rose yelled at the Easy Company, unsure if they could even hear him. They did. The surviving soldiers strapped themselves in and prayed. The only enemy now was gravity as the plane dived closer to earth at a violent speed.

The plane nearly kissed the ocean, skipped against like a giant metal stone. Each time it graced the surface, it harshly shook the men inside. Captain Rose could see the beach only a few miles off. The two pilots pulled back on the controls with all their strength. They did their best in a tug of war against God to land the plane on solid ground. The plane hit the beach, breaking the landing gear the moment the wheels touched the sand. The aircraft dug into the surface for what seemed like a lifetime for its passengers.

Finally, the plane stopped moving. It hadn't exploded. Sgt. Rock gradually pulled himself to his feet, he inspected the others. The remained men of Easy Company survived the landing. Relieved, Rock stumbled his way to the cockpit. There, he discovered that the pilots weren't so lucky. Rose and Smith were caught in a mangled mess of steel and glass. Rock took his helmet off out of respect; they gave their lives to save his. He made a silent promise to himself that he'd never forget it.

"Sir!" Private Wilcox shouted. "The other German plane!"

Rock climbed out of the plane. The German fighter buzzed around the shore. It wasn't attacking; it looked to be checking on them. After a third pass, the fighter turned and headed on its way.

"He's giving up?" Wilcox asked.

"He's reporting back. We're gonna have company, you mugs. We best get moving and see if we can radio for help, maybe find out if anyone lives on this paradise." Sgt. Rock answered in a matter of fact tone. The remaining men were privates Wilcox, Youngblood, Crowe, Johnson, Bennett, Harris, and the Sergeant. They snapped into action.

Wilcox searched the plane for a working radio. The rest of Easy Company as the Sergeant came up with the plan. The way he saw it, they had at least twelve hours, maybe a full 24 if they were lucky. If Wilcox couldn't get the radio working, they'd have to find friendly locals. If neither were possible, they were going to make it one hell of a fight.

Sgt. Rock led the men into the woods, away from the beach. As the men unpacked the rest of their food, they listened to Rock's orders.

"Wilcox, Youngblood. You two go shout this island. We need to see if there's anyone living on this paradise. If they're civilized, they may have a radio. Go down the shoreline. If you spot any unfriendlies, hide. Meanwhile, we'll get some rest. We might be in for a fight soon." He explained. Rock handed them two water bottles and wished them luck. Without a word, they turned and walked down the beach. The next part was the hard part, the waiting.

The men of Easy Company knew three possible outcomes might happen in their situation and two of them involved dying. The night was going to be a long one; Sgt. Rock and Johnson took first watch. Crowe was allowed to sleep the night due to his injuries. The shrapnel from the Nazi fighter had been removed from his arm, but the pain wasn't going anywhere soon.

"Serge?" whispered Johnson.

"What?" Rock answered.

"This might sound screwy, but have you ever heard stories of amazons?"

"No."

"Well, my uncle was Greek. When I was a kid, he'd tell me tales of these warrior women called Amazons. They lived on an island in the Mediterranean. All women, no men."

Sgt. Rock slowly turned to face the private as if he just said the dumbest thing in the world.

"Johnson, you know we're on the lookout of Nazis right now? You wanna talk fairy tales?"

"No! No! Listen up! I'm serious."

"If there are no men, how do they keep the population alive?"

"That's the thing, Serge! They'd wait until unsuspecting sailors would come. They seduce them and kill them in the sleep! That's how they would get their babies."

"What if they're boys?"

"They'd throw off a cliff. Used to scare the hell outta me as a kid."

"That's great, Johnson. Right now, we got bigger worries than a tribe of Joan Crawfords. Keep your eyes open, will ya?"

The night turned into morning. Sgt. Rock and Johnson and switched lookout duties with Bennett and Harris. Shortly after dawn, the two privates watched a boat appear on the horizon. It was the Germans, just as Sgt. Rock suspected. They were looking to finish the job. Bennett rushed back to camp as Harris continued to watch.

Sgt. Rock awoke to the news of the enemy landing on the beach. He ordered Bennett to take Private Crowe and make their way farther into the woods. Rock and Johnson joined Harris to see what was coming. It wasn't good. The Nazi troop sent to recover them was twice their size, a full platoon. These men also were healthy and well rested.

The only advantage they had was the cover of the forest.

The three soldiers were hidden in a large series of bushes. They ignored the prickly leaves that stabbing their exposed skin. Watching the dozen Nazis carefully search their makeshift campsite, they knew they had keep them from finding the shouts that still haven't returned as well as Bennett and Crowe. The Sergeant made a decision.

"Harris, Johnson, listen up. We ain't got much time. They're gonna find us. When they get us, they gonna wanna know what our mission was and who were our contacts. They're gonna find the others if they keep following their noses. I'm not going to let that happen. They need a distraction. They need to capture someone. That's gonna me. Now you two..."

"Sir...with your permission, I'd like to stay!" Harris interrupted.

"Me too, Sarge!" Johnson agreed.

Sgt. Rock smiled knowing it may be the last one of his life.

"All right, here's what we're gonna do."

Crowe felt like a boat anchor. The pain in his arm continued making him fearful that it may have gotten infected. He is dragged by Bennett. The two men grew tenser with every bit of German they heard. They made their way as quietly and as quickly as they could.

"I ain't going to make, Benny. Just leave me with a gun and make a break for it..." He mustered under his breath. Bennett would have no part of it.

"Nothing doing. You and me all the way, you hear me. My Mother didn't raise any..."

Bennett slows his step for a moment. He could swear he heard voices coming from ahead of them, women's voices.

"...chickens..."

Adalwolf Metzger, the Nazi platoon leader, was a board barrel-chested man with jet black hair. He took pride in his work and his men. He watched as his men dug through the remains of the camp. He knew the Americans were close. His second in command was a young enthusiastic soldier. After digging through on of the abandoned packs, he found some bloody bandages. He stood up to shout about his discovery.

"SIR! I found bloody bandages! I believe one of them is..." He didn't get to finish that sentence due to the gunshot to his face. The back of his head exploded all over the soldier standing beside him. This terrified the young soldier, causing him to open fire in the direction he thought the shot came from. The others joined him. Metzger looked in as many directions as he could to spot the sniper. He had an ability to remain calm in all situations. He spotted a flash of light from a bush over to their left.

"FIRE THAT WAY! THAT WAY!" he shouted.

His men did as ordered. The gunfire tore Harris apart, flinging him out in the open. Sgt. Rock and Private Johnson open up fire, figuring that this was the end. It was time to go out fighting. Through all this loud gunfire, a quiet breeze shot past Metzger's face. It was an arrow. The arrow found it's target the in back of the head of one of his men. The arrowhead even popped out of his mouth. The soldier was dead one second later.

Metzger swung around, startled over who could have made that shot. He suddenly saw the newcomers to the fight. He couldn't believe his eyes. It was a small army of women riding horseback. They were dressed in ancient Greece styled armor. They were only armed with bows, spears, and swords. Their leader was a tall, powerful woman riding atop the largest horse he had ever seen.

She was dressed in red leather armor and sandals like a Greek mythic character. Her black hair contrasted with her skin and the golden Tiara. Even from a distance of a 100 paces, he could feel her deep blue eyes fixed on him. She raised her sword directly at him. Even though he didn't understand Greek, he knew an order when he heard one.

"Fire on the women!"He shouted.

The German soldiers turned their gunfire on them. Two of the invaders were stuck down, but it didn't seem to slow their assault. The leader was off her horse and with a sword in hand made her way towards him with no fear of the advanced weapons that faced her. Metzger watched as his men were beaten one by one by these women. Their guns knocked from their hands or even chopped off at the forearms.

Metzger showed no fear as well. He took off his cap and ran towards the leader. If he was going to die here, it would be fighting. He decided to leave his gun on his belt, and use his boxing skills to their fullest. He took a right cross at the leader, she dodged it. He swung a left. She dodged it too. Metzger grew worried when his eyes met hers. She was smiling. This wasn't even difficult for her.

Metzger switched footing to renew his attack, but it was no use.

The leader of these women shot forward with a punch to his right, In trying to block, he gave her an opening on his left. She took full advantage of it. She delivered a left cross that knocked him around and off his feet.

Metzger did his best to regain himself. He was facing away from the woman. He quickly pulled himself to his hands and knees, but that was as far as he reached. A massive sandal-ed foot pressed down on the middle of his back. She didn't say a word. She didn't need to as she pushed him chest down in the dirt.

Sgt. Rock and Johnson couldn't believe what they were seeing. Johnson was still terrified. They were face to face with his childhood fear.

"I told ya, Serge. They're probability gonna kill us too. Whadda we do?"

"From the way were you were telling, I'll take that way out than the one we had." With that said, Sgt. Rock stood up, Johnson cautiously followed his Sergeant. They both had they hands up. Three of the women walked them over to their leader. One of the female warriors brought the leader's horse to her.

She hopped on with no trouble at all. No one spoke, so the Sergeant decided to break the ice.

"Ahem...Ma'am...I am Sergeant Frank Rock of the United States Army, Easy Company."

The leader of these woman warriors gave him a playful smile as if they were old friends.

"I am Diana, Princess of the Amazons."