Wonder Woman and the Blast from the Past - Chapter 5 (Patreon)

Dark Angel glared down at the wriggling child in front of her, trying helplessly to free herself from the bonds holding her to the wall in her lair's dungeon. For a moment, Dark Angel grew even taller than her already nearly seven foot frame, towering over the impertinent girl, then she shook her head. "You just don't understand, do you? You can't fool me... And you can't escape."

Donna glared up at the villain, giving the chains another tug. There had to be a way out of here... There just had to! Of course, even if she did get away, she still had to find a way back to the island, avoiding Dark Angel the whole way, and hope the Amazons were capable of defeating the evil witch, but they would certainly have a better chance than she did.

"Maybe another day of solitude will change your mind," Dark Angel sneered. "You're going to get hungry eventually, girl..."

Donna watched her leave, slamming the heavy door behind her, then sank to the floor with a sigh, chain clinking behind her. What had she done?! She'd wanted to protect Diana, sure, and she'd done that, but would the other Amazons even care enough to try to find her? And, even if they did, were any of them capable of making the kind of portal Dark Angel had taken her through? This place barely even felt like the same world she'd been living in up until now...

What was Diana doing now? Time was hard to judge here, locked away in this dark room, though surely, by now, morning had come, at least. Had Diana already received her gifts? The thought made Donna hopeful again, until she remembered who she was thinking about... Diana was a sweet girl, and perhaps the gifts of the gods would help, but it would definitely take a lot of training before she was anywhere close to ready to face Dark Angel and have any hope of winning.

Still, Donna thought, Diana and her did have a certain connection... Maybe, just maybe, if Diana had been blessed, she might also get a little of that... She gave the chains another, experimental tug, shaking her head when they refused, yet again, to budge. She was trapped here, until Dark Angel got tired of her, or figured out the truth, and then... Well, who knew what the villain would do to her then?

No, she couldn't let that happen. She shook her head again, closed her eyes, and thought about Diana. For a brief moment, she was sure she felt some kind of warmth filling her, and this time, when she pulled, she heard a creak, her arms moving forward a little more than they'd been able to before. She opened her eyes again, a smile crossing her face as she stretched further and further, the metal straining to contain her before snapping.

The door was no match for her, clanging off the hinges with a single punch. She winced, watching it slow it almost slow motion, sure that the noise it made as it hit the floor would alert Dark Angel, and whatever henchmen she might have. She reached out for it desperately, only to realize it really was moving that slowly. She had plenty of time to step in front of it, grab it, and set it gently against the corridor wall.

This was incredible... Donna had never felt so alive, so powerful... Part of her wanted to go track down Dark Angel, teach her a lesson, but she really had no idea how strong she was, and if she gave away that she had powers now, the witch would definitely keep a better eye on her, and making escaping harder next time. No matter how much she wanted revenge, getting away was by far the better idea for now.

Donna thought she remembered the path she'd been dragged through the lair to the dungeon, and yet, the further away from the cell she got, the less familiar anything looked, no matter which way she went down the hall. Finally, she just chose a direction and stuck with it, hoping for the best. 

The best was not quite what she got. She kept finding steps going up, and up, and up, and then, when she was sure there was no way this place could go any higher, she stumbled straight into what looked like a throne room. Dark Angel was sitting there, in a huge chair, befitting her giant size, her red eyes snapping right over towards Donna as she stood there for a moment, dumbfounded.

So much for keeping her powers secret, Donna thought to herself, spying another doorway at the other side of the room. Moving as fast as she could - which turned out to be rather quick, indeed - she raced towards it, only to find more stairs. On the other side of them, however, was the roof, looking out on a dark, twisted landscape, full of rocks and dead trees, far from the beautiful, green island of Themyscira she was used to. 

The only exit was the door she'd just burst through, and Dark Angel was definitely close on her tail. Should she stay and fight? Or was there another way? Donna bounced in place nervously, wishing she had some kind of idea what the gifts Diana - and, apparently, she - had gotten, then decided it was worth a shot. As Dark Angel appeared in the doorway, an evil grin splitting her pale face, Donna took off running, straight for the end of the roof, then, right before hitting the edge, she leapt.

For a long moment, she thought she'd made a bad guess, as the strength of her legs, and her speed, carried her up into the air, and then she started to plummet back towards the ground, far below her. Her arms thrashed wildly for a few seconds before a sense of calm washed over her, the world, and her rapid descent, slowing down again. She stretched her arms in front of her, upwards, where she wanted to go, and, as suddenly as it had began, the fall stopped, reversed.

She was flying! She had, definitely, hoped for that, although she hadn't been certain it was going to happen. Still, with all those gods, surely that was one gift somebody would think to give. The wind whipping through her hair, the sense of freedom, everything was absolutely thrilling, especially once she was away from the barren landscape that was Dark Angel's island. 

She'd been afraid Themyscira would be difficult to find, yet all it took was another search inside herself, and, suddenly, Diana was there, like a beacon showing her the way. It was faint, sure, but she could feel it now, and, after several days of flying, and nights of resting wherever she could find shelter, she saw the island again, a feeling of peace filling her. Everything could go back to normal now... Only better, because now she and Diana could train together, prepare to be true Amazons, and...

A dark blur raced past her, sending her into a spin that nearly slammed her into the waves before she was able to stop it. By the time she straightened herself, she could see smoke rising from the city. "No," she gasped, rushing towards it. As she got closer, she started to see the flames, hear the screams... She arrived just in time to see Dark Angel toss aside the limp form of Diana. As the other girl fell, Donna felt her own powers ebb away, and she tumbled to the ground in a clumsy heap.

"I guess you were right," she grinned down at Donna. "You really aren't her... But thank you for leading me here. You did your job well... Now, it's time to rest." Donna struggled to get to her feet as Dark Angel advanced, her heart pounding, but, in the end, all she could do was scream...

And wake up, back in the cell, back in Dark Angel's lair, shaking and crying. Had it been a dream? Was this? She honestly didn't know anymore. It certainly felt real, just like every other one, although, blessedly, this one had been shorter than most... Usually, she was there for years, off in some other world, living with Diana, or having adventures on her own, doing all sorts of things... The only thing they had in common was that, every time, they ended in some sort of tragedy... And they were always her fault. 

The more she thought about this last one, the easier it was to remind herself that it had been the dream... After all, Dark Angel clearly knew how to get to Themyscira; that's where she'd kidnapped Donna in the first place. If she took the time, she could find little errors like that in most of those other lives she'd led, just enough to tip her off that she truly was still here, still trapped... But doing so required thinking about what she'd just been through, which was the last thing she wanted.

"Breakfast!" a henchwoman croaked, swinging the cell door open and walking in, slamming a tray of cold, unappetizing food down on the little table in Donna's room. Here, in the real world, Dark Angel didn't bother chaining her up, seeing as she was just a single, lonely, powerless child. A simple lock was all it took to control her...

But Dark Angel didn't account for Donna's rage... She thought all these illusions, however many false lives she'd been through - it felt like hundreds by now, at least - would break the girl; instead, they made her more angry, more determined to get away. All she needed was an opportunity... And, she realized, examining her current situation, she may have just gotten exactly that.

The henchwoman had left the door open. Sometimes, they would do that, though generally only if there was another waiting in the doorway.. This time, however, Donna didn't see anyone else. Could this be right? Were they really this careless? Or was this another trick, the start to another lifetime? As the henchwoman turned to leave, Donna decided she didn't care... Either way, she wasn't going to spend all of her life, real or fake, in this cell.

She was younger, smaller than the henchwoman, and the tray wasn't nearly as heavy as she would have liked, but one hard swing aimed at the woman's head was enough to disorient her, and allowed Donna to slip out of the room and slam the door shut. The henchwoman had the keys, of course, but it would take a moment for her to unlock it, which might be enough time... 

Unlike her dream, she knew this corridor, remembered being dragged, kicking and screaming, down it, knew which direction she had to go. Once she rounded the corner, she slowed down, taking her time, sticking to the shadows to avoid catching the attention of the other cronies patrolling, although she knew she couldn't take too long, or the alarm would be sounded, and everyone would be searching for her.

And, unfortunately, everyone was more people than she'd expected. How was she going to get past all of them, especially once they knew she had escaped? Maybe she should have thought this through better, waited a little longer, found some way to fashion a weapon for herself... Dark Angel was not going to be happy with her, once she found out about this.

Just when she was beginning to lose hope, she felt a breeze on her ankle, blowing gently through the crack at the bottom of one of the doors she was sneaking past. She frowned, lowering her hand to confirm it, then slipped into the room. Sure enough, there was a large, broken window on the far wall, with a hole big enough for her to climb through, only scraping herself slightly on the shattered glass.

Outside, there were even fewer places to hide than there had been inside. It was much more similar to what she'd seen in her last dream than the layout of the lair had been, although even that wasn't exact. As far as she could tell, it wasn't an island, and the castle was tucked away in the side of a mountain instead. Either way, it was still barren and rocky, with nothing else around for miles.

She looked around, then, much like in her dream, picked a direction and went with it. It was as good a plan as any, she supposed, although she'd barely gotten far at all before she heard the front gates clang open behind her, and henchmen began to pour out, searching for her. She moved faster, ducking behind the bigger rocks she passed, praying there were something else ahead to hide her better, or help her get away...

And, in the distance, she saw a red glow in the distance. She didn't know for sure, but it looked an awful lot like the portal she'd been brought through by Dark Angel. She tried to keep herself calm, not wanting to get her hopes up, although it was difficult, staring out at what might be her ticket back home, at last...

As she got closer, however, she saw that, while the light was the same as what she'd remembered, it wasn't coming from a single portal, but a whole field of them, crackling like hundreds of fires, stretching out for what could easily have been miles. Where did they all lead? Which one would take her home? She had no way of knowing, and, with Dark Angel's army on her tail, no chance to try to figure it out. She just chose one and hopped in, praying that it at least wouldn't land her in the middle of an ocean, or a volcano, or something like that.

It didn't. It took her right to the middle of Themyscira, exactly like she wanted... She turned to find no sign of the portal from this side, then turned again to see the Amazons approaching her. Her stomach began to churn; this was too easy... This was another dream, and Dark Angel was going to come bursting through behind her... 

"D-Diana?" one of the Amazons reached a quivering hand out towards her, as if she was almost afraid to touch her. "C-Can it be?"

"Someone get Hippolyta!" another yelled.

"Well, no," Donna answered the first. "I'm..."

"You came back to us..." The woman pulled her into a hug. "It's a miracle!"

"Where did she..." something stopped Donna, made her correct herself to, "I go?" Had Diana gone looking for her?

"Oh, my child," Hippolyta emerged, eyes wet, accompanied by the Amazons who had gone to fetch her. "Didn't he tell you?"

"He? Who?" Donna shook her head, then suppressed a gasp as the woman folded her in a warm hug. Hippolyta had barely been around for Diana, and she had been less than pleased by Donna's presence, so this was a first... And, after everything she'd been through, it was one of the best feelings Donna had ever experienced.

"Hades," Hippolyta choked out, after a few false starts. "I begged him to bring you back from the underworld, but he told me he couldn't... I knew he was lying..."

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"I mourned you for a long time," Donna told Diana. "I-I didn't want to tell anyone the truth, because I was afraid they'd kick me out, and they were so happy to see me... well, you... again... The gods came and gave me the gifts you should have gotten... I was so sure it was just another dream for so long, but Dark Angel never showed up, and nothing else awful happened, you just weren't there.

"I'd avoided visiting Magala, sure she would recognize me and blow my cover, but, finally, I had to know what had happened to you. She thought I was Diana, too, and didn't remember anything about the mirror... And, when I asked her how you had died, she told me it had happened weeks before you were going to meet with the gods, so I knew there was no way that was the same reality as the one I came from. So, she helped me find a way to move between realities, to try to find you... I just never imagined something like this would happen when I did," she looked down at Diana with an apologetic shrug.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that," Magala hugged the girl. "And I'm glad you found your way back home."

"Me, too," Donna smiled sadly. "Now... What can we do about this?" She gestured down at Diana.

"That, I do not know," Magala admitted. "I think it may have happened because you both have the blessings of the gods, which were only intended for one person... The universe has a way of correcting errors like that, and, apparently, this time it did so by reverting one of you to the state you were in before you received them."

"B-But I wasn't this little before I got my powers!" Diana pouted. "Why am I a baby?!"

Magala gave her a strange look, then chuckled. "That's right, they made you forget... Hold on." She wandered over to a dark corner of her cave for a few moments, the returned with what looked like a tiny version of Wonder Woman's costume. Diana's eyes widened, her confusion only growing as the woman helped her into it - the girl blushing as her dress was removed and her training panties exposed, making her anxiously squirm until the star-spangled panties were pulled up over them, thankfully without either of the other two people in the room noticing that they were damp - and it fit perfectly.

"Where did this come from?" Diana asked, looking down at herself, tugging at the legbands, trying to make them grow long enough to fully cover the trainers beneath. 

"Well," Magala explained, "you actually received your gifts twice... You were very young the first time, and not at all ready for them, so they were sealed away until you got older, along with your memories of them. But, technically, you did get them at this age..."

"But I don't have them!" Diana pouted, stomping her foot.

"No," Donna sighed, understanding what was happening much quicker than her friend. "Because I'm here... I-I didn't know, I didn't think..."

"You couldn't have known," Magala comforted her. "I wouldn't even have guessed such a thing would happen, and yet..."

"Do I have to leave?" Donna asked sadly. 

"I... don't know," Magala shrugged. "Do you have a way to easily get back?"

Donna nodded. "The other Magala taught me a thing or two... Hold on..." In a red flash, she vanished. 

Diana let out a small whimper, watching her friend vanish again, Magala patting her on the back. "She'll be back," she promised. Diana nodded, glanced down, hoping to see herself growing, to be able to see the transformation reverse.

"Why isn't it working?!" she whined, stomping her foot again.

"I don't know," Magala shook her head. "Maybe once it..."

"I don't wanna be a baby!" Diana plopped down on the floor, her emotions running wild. "It isn't fair! I'm a grown-up! I don't wanna be a baby! Make me big again!" 

By the time Donna blinked back into the cave beside them, Diana was in the middle of a full-blown tantrum, and still no bigger than she had been before they'd begun the experiment.

"I'll figure something out," Magala promised. "I'm sure there has to be a way."

"I think I'd better get her home and put her to bed for now," Donna sighed. "It's been a long day for her..."

"No!" Diana wailed, hearing herself being talked about like that only upsetting her more. "She hasta fix this! I'm not a baby!" And yet, despite her thrashing and squirming, Donna easily picked her up and carried her out to the jet, and, before they were even halfway home, she was fast asleep, just like the thing she was so adamant she wasn't.