[15 Minutes Earlier]

(POV Thara)

"Whew! Finally finished! What do you think, Thara~?" Io, one of the few mechanics on the island, asked me, marveling at our completed project. We had been working on this as a gift to Diana for the past few years now, and it was finally ready. I was glad she lacked interest in the process of making it, but I was positive she would love the completed work.

I couldn't help but think about some of the things it took to get here. Io being the most completely out of left field for me. The thing is, apparently she was in love with Diana before I showed up and she pulled me aside to pick a fight or something. At first, I was confused and frankly worried because Io was obviously much more mature looking than Diana and I wasn't sure about the whole age difference. But as it turns out, Diana herself is actually a bit older than me. According to Io, her age is completely determined by her mental perception of herself, unlike the other amazons. I wanted to know more but she and the others on the island were strangely hush hush about it with Diana herself being unaware of her own abnormality.

Well, she wasn't that much older than me and I didn't care much to begin with since she always treated me like her younger sister, anyway. Apparently the Queen and a few others had been worried about her before my arrival, but it seems being put in a position of authority was enough to start her growth spurt again. That she always remained around my own age though maybe a year older made me want to chuckle though.

But let's go back to Io. After she tried to intimidate me a little and was subsequently completely defeated by me, she mellowed out a bit and we got to talking on more friendly terms. As it turns out, she loved mechanical work and wanted to ask more about my ship before her emotions got in the way. Things get washed up on the island a lot and she, with a few others, collects some of it and tinkers around with them.

I had yet to defeat Diana at that point and I needed a way to take my mind off things a bit, so I agreed. After a bit of fumbling around, we became friends and I would help her out with some of her projects wherever I could. It was nice having someone else to talk with aside from Diana and my teachers. I had already noticed during some of my stories that Diana couldn't follow along well with some of the tech talks, so I appreciated having someone else to talk shop with. That's not to say she's not intelligent, however, since once I explained things even once she never forgot, but it was more a lack of interest in the finer details that kept her from learning more.

A few years back, an aircraft washed up onshore. It was heavily damaged, filled with tiny holes and missing a few pieces but otherwise in good shape. Diana had already told me of her desire to see the outside world, and I couldn't help but want to grant her wish. It was partially as thanks for putting up with me until that point.

I knew very well I was what Io would call, 'high maintenance' with my constant pursuit of strength and my episodes. I just wanted to show her I appreciated her is all. Nothing more. I had finally defeated her at full strength at that point, so it seemed fitting. That was another thing about Diana, something that almost cost our friendship.

Apparently she had been holding back in all of our fights when we first met.

Well, to say she was holding back is a bit of an exaggeration, but it's not far from the truth. On the island when reaching age 15 or a certain strength level in some cases, everyone is given an item known as the Bracelets of Submission. They are a pair of indestructible metal cuffs made from the relic of the Goddess Athena's shield Aegis. They symbolize the years when the Amazons were subjugated under the rule of the treacherous Hercules. After gaining their independence, the Amazons continued to wear the bracelets as a reminder of their past oppression. Or so the story goes.

This wouldn't be too much of a problem in and of itself, had I not learned that when worn they severely limit the strength of the wearer. And I mean 'severely'. Once Diana took them off during our spar, I could barely take a single punch from her. It was infuriating as I had started getting really close to beating her. I thought she had been holding back on me because she thought I was weak, and with Val-Li's mocking face being ever present during the whole thing, I was very close to cutting ties with her.

But I trusted Diana far too much to not hear her out, which turned out to be the right decision. Diana had been given her bracelets much earlier in life and was forbidden from taking them off before she reached a certain level of maturity. She was already far stronger than most on the island, but with them off she was a completely different kind of monster. That much power in the hands of a rebellious child wasn't very smart, so she couldn't take them off herself until recently.

After that minor hiccup and getting my own pair of bracelets, I finally managed to beat her without them on after unlocking some new abilities of my own. I've learned over the years that the way my abilities work is based on the amount of solar energy I can hold, which seems to reflect through my hair. The more I can hold, the more abilities start popping up. After receiving the blessing of the sun god Apollo, I seemed to have skipped a few years of buildup. Aside from my overall strength improving, my senses received the biggest boost. I thought I would just be able to see further, hear better etc. but it seems enhancing your senses to the max opens up a whole new world of possibilities.

I could see the entire electromagnetic spectrum, which was completely mind boggling. Gamma-ray, X-ray, ultraviolet, infrared, microwaves, and radio waves. I was completely flooded with information. I also have telescopic, microscopic, and thermal vision. Which meant I could see far away, up close at the microscopic level, through solid objects, at night with perfect clarity, and I could track heat signatures.

But the one I was most excited about was my heat vision. I could focus my stored up solar energy into my eyes and fire them off as beams of pure energy of varying degrees of strength and intensity. They could be concussive or penetrative if I so choose. I was working on making them near invisible, but for now, they were about as wide as my eyes and looked menacing. They also drained my solar energy pretty quickly, so for now I had to use it sparingly. My energy recharged fast, but not yet at the level that I could fire them continuously with no drain.

Recently, thanks to my extensive training with Antiope, I have near perfect control of my body so I've noticed my throat and lungs seem to be experiencing a change as well, so I'm looking forward to what comes out of that. I can already tell I'll be able to change my voice to mimic whatever I want, but I expect that's only the beginning.

"She's a real beauty, Io. Can't wait to see Diana squeal when we show her later." I say with a grin. After beating Diana, I like to think I've mellowed out a bit. After that victory, Val-Li started showing up less and less and usually only at night, so I didn't feel constantly on edge anymore. But, if I go too long without doing anything, he'll always show back up to remind me of what I should be doing. The question is, what should I be doing with this strength in the first place?

That's also part of the reason I built this plane, I think the natives call it.

Of course, I also had an interest in the rest of this world, but I wanted something a little more than that, and with my ship being one way apparently, I had little options. So I got the idea to repair and modify the ship as a gift to Diana so she could travel around the world whenever she was ready. I would accompany her obviously and in the process, I'd keep modifying it until it was space ready and eventually travel back home to see the truth for myself.

They rigged the phantom drive to fry itself when we got here, and I do not understand how to build one myself. I know the ship's A.I is locking that bit of info behind a few more walls, apparently not yet deeming me ready, so I can only bide my time for now.

It was then that I heard a strange noise appear in the barrier surrounding the island. I think they are propellers? When we first found our plane and reverse engineered it to see how it worked it had them installed. Very primitive, but also a creative way to achieve flight, so I was still impressed. The noise seemed to have crashed in the ocean near the cliff, so I'm slightly worried.

"It seems I'll get both my wishes after all." I heard Diana mutter as clear as day, and I only got even more worried. Diana has a bit of a muttering habit that I pick up on now and then. I would tell her about it but...some of the things she says are very cute so I don't want to spoil my fun. I especially love the times where she says she misses me or wants to know if I'm too busy to hang out.

Sigh, she just jumped in the water, didn't she? Well, she can take care of herself so I'm not too worried. And I actually believed that, right up until I saw him again. Now I'm getting a bad feeling. What if, right? Anything could happen to her if I'm not there. I don't know why, but that feeling is intensified by the minute. I think we might have a situation at hand. Taking on a serious look and tone, I turn to Io.

"Io, inform the General. We need to gather the army at the beach under the cliff. I think we have invaders. Hurry!" I shouted as I can now make out another voice with Diana and judging by the sounds, it's a male. Aside from some recording of my father, I haven't seen another man in years. I can't assume they are like the ones on Krypton. There must be a reason Themyscira closes itself off from the rest of the world. Though I hear they had a pact with someplace called Atlantis, there has been no contact with them for centuries.

Io doesn't question me, and proceeds to take off in the direction of the barracks. They all knew about my senses, so she knows I knew something she didn't, and her trust in me is more than enough to get her moving. General Antiope should feel the same. Over the years we've built up a lot of trust with each other and she's become something like an aunt to me. I consider her amongst those I trusted with my life.

With Val-Li's rage filled eyes following after me, I jumped off in the direction of the cliff and Diana. I have a really bad feeling.