by Libbylawrence
Meanwhile, back on Paradise Island, days passed all too quickly, filled with sunshine, laughter, and healing. When the Longs finally departed the Amazon islands, they did so with renewed hope and comfort. Upon returning to their suburban home, they felt tired but happy.
Donna Troy Long smiled as Terry Long caressed her cheek. “You know, we do have a chaperone,” she remarked.
Terry frowned. “What? Why, Jen, here, knows her old man is a lovesick fool! Plus, she knows he might buy her that Jem doll she’s been wanting if she plays it cool when we old folks get frisky.”
Their laughter was interrupted by the ringing phone. The commanding tone of Dick Grayson came through the line. “Donna? I’ve located her. I know you just got back, but we figured you’d want in on this.”
Donna smiled grimly. “I do. Thanks, Dick. I’ll meet you at our usual spot.”
Seeing Donna retrieve the red, gold, and blue costume the Cheetah had dressed her in during their last encounter, Terry frowned. “Why the pseudo-Wonder Woman costume?” he asked.
Donna replied, “I think it’s only fitting that I bring the Cheetah in while wearing the very outfit she wanted to kill me in. I want to do it for Diana, too. She battled Cheetah before I ever did. If Debbi Domaine wants to fight a Wonder Woman, then, by Hera, that’s who she’ll fight. Nubia will understand.”
Terry hugged her tightly. “Be careful. I know your abilities and how much your friends care. Still, be careful!”
***
Artemis, Nightwing, Changeling, Cyborg, Starfire, and Raven met and soon boarded the T-Jet, flying across the country. Artemis wore a grim expression as she contemplated the impending confrontation.
“You know, seeing you in those hot pants makes me appreciate the word wonder in your old name,” Gar quipped.
Donna smiled only slightly, but was in no mood for her friend’s typical banter.
Starfire said, “Donna, I want you to know I’m here for you. I’m here not just for this battle, but for afterward, too. I recall, after combat with the Warlords of Okaara, I used to feel more restless than before the match began.”
Raven crossed her legs and touched Donna gently. “I also want to help. Let me take away your stress and pain. Let me bear it for you.”
Donna kissed her and gently removed Raven’s hands. “No. I want to feel what I am feeling. I need to do so. There’s no need to suppress or remove my honest emotions. Still, I love you for trying to help.”
Nightwing interrupted, “There’s the boat below us. Looks like we’re a bit late! Some costumed figure is hovering over the yacht, firing energy blasts down at it!”
Starfire jumped to her feet. “X’Hal! Let me deal with him. If he is an ally, then he will allow us to handle the Cheetah!”
Artemis cautioned, “He’s powerful. Notice how those blasts literally boil the waters around the yacht?”
Cyborg asked, “Got a name for Mr. Clean?”
Nightwing shook his head. “No record of him in our system. He’s either new or really obscure.”
Gar transformed into a bird and said, “I know, I know! You want me to scout around!” He flew down from their craft, swooping low over the large yacht. The crew were fighting blazes on the deck with panic and haste. Changeling landed in human form and asked, “Who is that nut?”
A bearded man shook his head. “He’s the bane of all who care for the environment! He’s called the Protector! I thought he was an urban legend!”
Artemis soared down, landing defiantly with both hands on her hips, looking for all the world like the original Wonder Woman. “Where’s the Cheetah?” she demanded. “I know this is her boat!”
A growl from above caught her attention. Looking up, Artemis spotted the sultry Cheetah crouching in a feline manner on the shadowy top of the cabin. The wind swept her flowing brown hair back, and she glared through the long strands with a savage gleam in her blue eyes. “Wonder Woman! At last, I can claw you to death!” she shouted.
The Cheetah pounced on Artemis, and they rolled around the deck in a desperate struggle.
Gar shifted into bear form, keeping the crew away. “I’m tougher than the average bear, so keep back, or I’ll make picnic baskets out of you!” he warned.
Starfire soared out of the T-Jet to confront the Protector. “You must stop attacking the ship! We seek a dangerous criminal below!” she urged.
The Protector eyed her curvy form with casual interest. “Oh, I know. I’m here to kill the Cheetah, too!” he replied.
“We don’t kill!” Starfire insisted. “Rest assured, she will be brought to justice!”
“No. Not good enough,” the Protector retorted. “I’m paid to kill tree-hugging loons like her!” He suddenly grabbed Starfire’s arm and twisted it.
Kicking him below the belt, Starfire gasped as her foot ached. “You’re like solid steel!” she exclaimed.
The Protector retaliated with a roundhouse right, slapping her into the ocean below. “Me? I’m even tougher than steel! I can make my body be anything I want!” he gloated.
Witnessing the chaos, Nightwing shouted, “Raven, get her quick!”
Raven vanished from the T-Jet, reappearing midair below. She gasped as Kory crashed into her, but with all her remaining strength, she managed to teleport back to the jet. “Azar! I fear Kory nearly broke my arm!” she said, pressing her hands on the alien princess as Kory opened her green eyes.
“Raven, thanks! Now, let me up! I want to make that cocky creep pay!” Starfire declared.
“No!” cautioned Nightwing. “He has strange powers. Just keep him busy. Don’t get too close!”
“Let me do a little meet and greet — and beat!” interjected Cyborg. Extending one arm with thick cables, he lowered himself until he hovered in the path of the Protector.
“Well, a Tin Man! You know, I can be metallic, too!” the Protector taunted, transforming his body to gleam silvery in the sun.
Shoot! Maybe I can make scrap out of this jerk! thought Cyborg. He fired his finger laser but winced as the Protector took on a mirror-like shine, deflecting the blast away.
“No good. Now, it’s my turn!” the Protector announced, moving with surprising speed and blasting Cyborg with red energy.
Vic Stone gasped and pulled himself into the jet, wracked with pain. He wondered just how powerful this man could be. “Radiation! That creep tried to cook me alive in my own metal shell!” he groaned.
Starfire exclaimed, “We can’t allow him to destroy that ship — not with Artemis, Changeling, and the crew aboard. He seems determined to take them all down just to get the Cheetah!”
Nightwing asked, “Raven, do you sense anything from him?”
Raven nodded slowly. “I do. His emotions surge with each change. Just before he transforms into metal or energy or that mirror-like glass, his passions soar.”
Nightwing nodded. “Excellent. Do as I say. Starfire, blast him with a starbolt. Raven, as soon as you sense him getting ready to change via an emotional surge, yell out. Cyborg, on Raven’s signal, hit him with your white sound blaster.”
They nodded and obeyed their leader’s orders.
Meanwhile, on the boat, Gar continued to hold back the crew as Artemis fought for her life.
“You witch! You killed an innocent woman for spite! You won’t hurt anyone again!” Artemis shouted, slamming both palms into the Cheetah’s chin.
The Cheetah snarled and raked a claw across Artemis’ chest. “I’ll start by ripping you open!” she growled. “I want to see if you are all made of sugar inside, too! You are sickeningly sweet on the outside!”
Rolling over, the Cheetah sent Artemis crashing through the cabin walls. Before the Amazon princess could move, the maddened Cheetah was on top of her, pressing both feet into Artemis’ back.
Artemis groaned as her agile foe clawed at her with fury. “You know, after I slay you and your friends, I’ll hunt down the other Wonder Woman! Why, maybe that island of yours will keep sending new Wonder Women until I’ve skinned them all!” she laughed.
Although Artemis bled from several cuts, her back was raw from lacerations, and her chest bore scars as well, she still continued to fight onward. “No! By Hera, no!” she shouted, rolling over. Although she received a gash across her side, she ignored the pain and slammed her fist into the Cheetah’s snarling face.
Sitting up, Artemis brought both hands up into the Cheetah’s stomach. Then, she caught her in a bear hug, crushing her with her own considerable power. “This ends here!” she declared between gritted teeth.
The Cheetah struggled, but as Artemis held her off the floor, her legs kicked helplessly in the air, her efforts began to slow. She rammed her head into Artemis’ face, but with her claws pinned against her sides, she could not fight effectively.
Above the yacht, the Protector reeled as Starfire sent a starbolt into his chest. “Try that again, babe!” he taunted.
Kory released another bolt just as Raven sensed the emotional surge within the foe. “Now!” she cried.
Cyborg fired his white sound blast directly at the Protector at the precise moment his body switched to the reflective glass form that deflected Kory’s bolt. The sound shattered him into hundreds of pieces, and an expression of shock crossed his face.
“No-o-o!” gasped the Protector.
“Did I just kill him?” Cyborg asked.
Nightwing yelled back, “No, he has total control of his body. He’ll reassemble in time! I got the profile on him finally from Superman’s Fortress computer. It took me a minute or two to get access. Superman battled him before. He’s called the Protector — a mutant who defends polluting companies.” (*)
[(*) Editor’s note: The Protector, a mutant powered by pollution, fought Superman in “Krypton — No More,” Superman #307 (January, 1977) and “This Planet Is Mine,” Superman #308 (February, 1977).]
“The yacht’s really blazing now! I’m getting Artemis!” Starfire shouted, swooping down.
Changeling was helping the crew into lifeboats. “Starfire!” he cried. “The whole yacht’s going up! Get Artemis out!”
Starfire kicked her way through the shattered wooden walls of the cabin to find Artemis squeezing the Cheetah in a wrestling hold. “Artemis! We must leave!” she urged.
Artemis hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “She’s out cold! Let’s get out of here!”
As they started to leave, the Cheetah suddenly slipped free and jumped back into the blazing cabin. “I’d rather die than be caged again!” she hissed.
Before Artemis could follow her, the yacht exploded. Starfire grabbed her friend by the arm, riding out the wave of energy that sent them flying. Changeling had carried the crew away in whale form.
Nightwing piloted the T-Jet closer, and the friends regrouped. “The Protector will regroup. Raven’s sure he is alive,” said Nightwing.
The empath nodded. “I feel his anger. He is scattered across the ocean below, but he lives.”
Cyborg asked, “What about the Cheetah?”
Artemis shook her head sadly. “She was so feral. She nearly clawed me to death. In the end, I felt no real satisfaction at beating her. She killed herself by running back into that inferno.”
Starfire shrugged. “Her madness reaped a fitting end.”
“Hold it!” said Cyborg. “I’ve been in this business long enough to know that if there’s no body, then she’ll be back!”
Nightwing shook his head. “Wrong. The Coast Guard just called us. They’ve fished her body out of the ocean. She was burned badly, but the hair, the face, the costume all combine to make it pretty clear that she was the Cheetah.”
Artemis said, “I know this is crazy, but all I feel is sorrow. I want to cry, for some reason.”
Raven took her friend in her arms and held her as they piloted the jet back toward home.
***
Elsewhere, a sultry woman reclined on a divan. Debbi Domaine, known as the Cheetah, gazed at a photo and smiled. “Poor, dear Claudia. She responded to my cyber-conditioning perfectly. She acted as if she were poor, mad me well enough to fool those dolts.” A hint of regret flickered in her eyes. “Shame I had to activate the explosive I had placed aboard the yacht to rid myself of the Protector and the Titans. Still, she was only a look-alike cousin, not a cat or plant. No real loss.”
“Now to get my revenge on Nubia and my other enemy,” she purred idly, batting at a ball of string.
The End