Wonder Woman #6

The news of General Tolliver taking over a nuclear missile airbase gets to the news headlines quickly, and the US president tries to reason with General Tolliver as he exclaims he knows about Soviet plans to strike America. Inside the missile base, Wonder Woman, Etta, Steve, Julia and Michealis look on in horror as Ares stands there. Ares tells Wonder Woman to enjoy her final moments because she won’t be able to enjoy them anymore. Tolliver is holding the launch key to the missiles and as he goes on ranting, Etta, Steve and Michaelis secretly take out their smoke grenades and when Michealis gives the go, Wonder Woman should take down Tolliver. She is unhappy with them risking their lives, but Julia replies by saying that they will die otherwise if they don’t do something about it. Wonder Woman does not know how long she will be able keep up from the hair that Deimos turned into snakes. Tolliver orders his troops to keep Wonder Woman down as a distraction so he can grab the missile key near her feet. Wonder Woman with all strength throws them off her, as Tolliver escapes through the door, but Steve manages to follow him just as the doors shut behind him. Wonder Woman tries to follow him by pushing the doors apart but she can’t. Why will Ares not face her? Why does he hide behind a mortal? Suddenly, Wonder Woman is surrounded by a white light and vanishes into a black void.

Meanwhile, Steve races down the corridor and finds that Tolliver has already inserted the key. Steve warns him not to do it, but Tolliver has no intention of doing it and this causes Steve to fire upon him and the General falls to the ground. Steve goes to get the key, but a hand grabs him, Tolliver’s hand in fact.

In the black void, Wonder Woman then hears crackling thunder and a demonic laugh. Wonder Woman is facing Ares right now, telling her that her answer to challenge him as been answered and she should face him. Wonder Woman asks why he is doing this, and he replies that he is only fulfilling the ancient prophecy, where Uranus was slain by his son Chronus, who was then slain by his son Zeus, and now it was Ares’ turn. A portal then shows what is happening back on Earth. Steve is fighting with the Tolliver whose soul has been taken over by demonic spirits and there are streets on the riot. Then, Paradise Island is shown where the trees and flowers are dying. Phillipus asks Hippolyta if there is any word from Diana, but Hippolyta replies that nothing has been heard. However, Phillipus believes that if Diana were gone, they would have joined her by now, so there is always hope.

Wonder Woman launches herself at Ares as he unleashes a godly power blast from himself. He tells her that he is too powerful and she cannot defeat him and he grabs her by the throat. Ares is choking her and she starts to loss her consciousness, but Wonder Woman reaches the amulet and throws it to Ares’ head. He cries in pain and gets angry, swinging a punch at her. Suddenly, flames appear around her, burning her. The portal opens up once again, showing Etta, Julia and Michealis frantically trying to override the base’s security systems. They succeed, but then see Tolliver’s dead troops come back to life. Ares comments on her, saying that if she can’t save her friends, how could she save the world against him? Wonder Woman feel frustrated as she has a hard time defeating Ares and why won’t the gods answer her prayers?

At the stores of the River Styx, Artemis says to Athena that Diana has failed them, though Athena replies that she must have faith in Diana. Persephone asks them to come aboard the ship, but Athena and Artemis refuse as the conflict is not yet over.

Wonder Woman is surrounded in flames as Ares mocks her. Then slowly, she rises to her feet and unties the golden item she holds: the Lasso of Truth. She twirls it above her head, ready to tie Ares up and that exclaims that she is here to stop this madness. Ares then fires a bolt at her, and she dodges it and captures Ares in her lasso. Ares screams and then the black void disrupts itself as Diana falls backwards and is barely alive. Ares then can see the mushroom clouds showing that the missiles have been launched. But then he sees himself as the leader of the world, but he is alone and that his kingdom is nothing more than rubble. The Lasso of Truth has made him see the consequences of his ways. He starts to weep and he realises that with no one to worship him, he is nothing. A weak Wonder Woman tells him that this is all true and he can stop this before it is too late. He looks at Wonder Woman and agrees and he holds the amulet in his hand and the balance is once restored. Ares tells her that Tolliver is finished. From this moment on, Man must decide its own fate and its own destruction will keep Ares alive, but he alone cannot take over and it is up to Wonder Woman to save Man from itself. If she is not Wonder Woman, then Man’s World would not hear from him again, proving that everything needs balance, that they provide for each other as Ares cannot exist with Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman without Ares. With a wave of his hand, Ares sends Wonder Woman back to Man’s World.

Meanwhile, at the control centre, General Hillary has his own troops there and has been confronted by Tolliver’s dead men who flame up and disintegrate. Medics are taking care of Julia and Etta, but Michealis had died while shielding the two women from the gunfire. Then, Steve comes in with Wonder Woman, lifeless, in his arms saying "For god's sake, will somebody please help me with her?!"