The Dark Mirror Part III

Title: Dark Mirror Part III – Wonder Woman’s Confrontation

Background:
I created a poll that weighed who would win, mischief or madness?  Madness won the contest by a large margin.  This commission series takes that poll and puts it into a story context.  This is a sequel to Title: The Dark Mirror Part I, The Dark Mirror Part I and Title: The Dark Mirror Part II, The Dark Mirror Part II.

Story:
Millennia ago, when gods walked amongst mortals, there was trickery afoot.  His name was lost to time, but his curse was eternal like the goddess that placed it on him.  His clever ruse preyed on her vanity.  After his carefully placed suggestion, she gazed into a mirror for months at a time, furrowed worry buried on her brow at the thought of new wrinkles forming.  The ruse succeeded.  The only wrinkles that formed were her own because of her mirror gazing.  Upon learning the truth behind the trickery, the mood of this goddess was foul and dark.  He made a mockery of her and the crime would not go unpunished.  While he enjoyed his last mortal moments with whooping laughter, she exacted a terrible revenge.  His soul was bound into a dark mirror: there he would remain imprisoned, until he collected enough souls to pay back the debt of her wounded pride.  If the dark mirror ever shattered, he would have to start the process all over again in another form.

Centuries passed and the trickster never changed his ways.  He lured the vainglorious, lustful, and prideful with his honeyed words and poisonous wisdom.  He leached the souls of his victims to add to his collection until inevitably, the aggrieved family members destroyed his form.  Their wrath doomed him to return as a new dark mirror.  The cycle repeated itself over and over again.  As time passed, the trickster grew weary.  He yearned for freedom at any cost. 

Thus did the trickster eventually encounter the madman.  Mad as he was wise, the madman offered an intriguing deal.  He wished for immortality and to cause trouble, both of which the trickster was capable of offering.  The two bartered on equal terms and reached an amicable deal.  They would swap their mutual positions.  The trickster swapped his soul into the madman’s body, while the madman’s soul would inhabit the mirror. 

The first moment of freedom in several millennia was sweet for the trickster.  His new body was admittedly odd, but it beat the confines of the dark mirror.  He walked to exit the room, when a terrible moment passed over him.  Alien thoughts ricocheted in his mind.  He felt compelled to move by impulses beyond his control.  His thoughts rewired, his words scrambled, and his actions were incomprehensible.  Anger welled up in the trickster’s mind.  The madman’s body was defective.  It had a mind of its own.  He turned to rail at the dark mirror, when he realized his ultimate folly.  The madman was but the byproduct of a broken mind and body.  Crazed by its damaged confines, the madman yearned for the same freedom to cause havoc, but without mortal consequence.  Within the trickster’s dark mirror, he could do that and more.  All he needed was a dupe to convince and the trickster fit the bill.  The terrible truth revealed itself to the trickster.  He had exchanged one prison for another.  Before he could rescind the terms of the deal, more alien thoughts invaded his mind and he lost control.  His thoughts split, words fractured, mental processes concluded and began without sync, rhyme, or reason.  Madness had won over him and it was madness day to rule.  Foaming at the mouth, the trickster’s new body collapsed as the mind within was incapable of processing what would happen next.

Myths and mythology were part of Wonder Woman’s history.  She understood the powers of the gods and the wrath they were capable of bringing upon mortals.  Several heroines went missing after searching for a mysterious artifact.  She retraced their research footsteps and feared the worst.  The dark mirror was one of the most feared and ruinous artifacts known to mankind.  It toppled reputed houses, brought down dynasties, and disappeared many a victim to the unknown.  That three heroines were missing was not a coincidence.

Wonder Woman traced the dark mirror's path of terror to Istanbul.  In the confines of a festooned mansion, the dark mirror rested in the basement by itself.  Aware of its propensity to lie, Wonder Woman wrapped her golden lasso around the dark mirror and commanded it to speak the truth to her.  The fun had only begun and the two faced off in a duel of wits and mind.  The dark mirror was more than happy to reveal the fate of Zatanna, Power Girl, and Supergirl.  Wonder Woman’s reaction was priceless and the outcome even better than expected.

Power Girl, Supergirl, Wonder Woman, and Zatanna (c) D.C. Comics