I know this feeling...

I hate it.

The dull throb in the head made me feel like I was relieving a nightmare from my past. As I slowly opened my eyes, the rogue rays of light that managed to penetrate into the enclosure sharpened the pain in my head.

Memories of my fight with the Amazons and Wonder Woman came back flooding as I lifted my left hand to hold my head in place. Just a small shift in the neck made the pain worse and unbearable.

"Where am I?" The thought crossed my mind like a bullet tearing through tissue. Even thinking was a painful experience.

The cold floor that I was lying on didn't make things any better. I could tell that I had passed out on the cemented floor for some time, since my body was barely flinching from it's harshness.

The strength I had once felt in my body was now replaced with an unending grogginess of a shattered gargoyle. It felt as though I couldn't move a muscle, and my whole body was numb and cold.

I could have stayed like this forever, just so that I couldn't move my head. But I had dignity, and that made me force myself up.

Slowly, I pulled my dead legs towards my stomach area in an attempt to bend my knees. They were reluctant at first, but they started sliding on the floor and gradually obeyed my instructions.

My head throbbed more intensely with every small twitch. I could give anything to be cured at that moment.

Eventually, I bent a knee on the floor and used my left hand to push myself up. My body felt all wobbly and spineless, but I still managed to rise to all threes and sigh.

Then there was my right hand. Why couldn't I feel it?

But my current position was making me get more exhausted by the minute, and I gathered all the strength I could to push myself to a sitting position.

I loosened my legs and pushed with my left hand, throwing myself upright, and then swinging backwards. I successful made it to sitting on my bottom as my back rested on yet another cold wall.

The mere act of sitting up sent waves of nausea through my body, and I winced as the room seemed to spin in protest.

I was getting used to the throbbing pain in my head and my faded heartbeat. But, uneasiness about my right hand was getting to me

With my head perched on the wall with minimal movement, I moved my eye balls to take a peak and see if it was still there. My heart throbbed in silence as I prayed for the best.

The memory of clashing with Diana was still fresh in my mind, and I was worried that I might have lost my hand from that experience.

Phew!

It was still there. It was just numb.

I sighed once again and rolled my eyes to look around. One stride and I could tell that I had finally been captured and thrown into a prison cell after passing out in the forest.

"At least, I'm still alive." I thought to myself while worsening the pain in my head for a moment that made me desire to be dead instead.

Despite thinking being a Herculean task, I couldn't help but wonder how long I had passed out and what judgement was awaiting me. What would become of me?

Ding!

The familiar update sound chimed in my mind at the worst of times.

My attributes seemed to be doing fairly okay, but why didn't it feel like it? I felt like a patient resting on their death bed with lost pride and dignity. Not even enough strength to take a proper shit!

However, last time that I checked, my speed and agility were way higher than what was being displayed. What had happened? How did they get so low?

Ding!

The chime now sounded like a bell being hit with the largest hammer that it made my brain collapse in itself from the enormous pain. My body twitched with a shiver as a sickness swept through my fever.

I heard a soft metallic raffle from beneath me as my body creeped and shivered.

The notification alerted me to the presence of shackles in my legs that I hadn't noticed before due to the numbness.

"It was all the work of cursed energy after all. Even the super attributes." I ignored the pain in my head. "But even so, I should have been strong enough to move around in the shackles."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

What was the kryptonite making me sick? What was keeping me in this sorry state?

I had a fever, headache, nausea, and... My stomach growled and rumbled just as I was analyzing myself. What I would do to get that frozen yogurt in the fringe of my apartment.

What I would give to get back to my old life.

Another growl awakened my right hand as it reflexively clutched my stomach as if petting it and apologizing. I was all out of energy, and I needed a decent meal.

Crrrr...

A small sound came from the meshed door of the prison cell, attracting my attention.

"Eat." A commanding voice said as I noticed a figure bent with her hand retracting from a bowl.

Just one glance at the bowl made me realize how dry my mouth was. All my woes forgotten, I started crawling like a youngling towards the bowl with absolutely no dignity.

I reached out and grabbed it, gulping into it's contents without caring whether it was a decent meal or not.

The warrior walked away disgusted as two more faced me in attention, with both their spears held firmly in their hands. They were the guards watching me in this cell.

I didn't hold back as I took in the cold soup in the bowl as fast as I could. I gulped and gulped until there was nothing left to swallow. I put the bowl down and licked my lips with my tongue as I concluded my meal.

I wasn't all better, but I was feeling a bit okay. Okay enough to finally stand up on my two feet without being bothered by my headache or aching back.

But I was many meals away before I could fully recover my energy, after my ferocious battle with the Amazons.

The two guards simultaneously raised their spears and pointed them at me. They took a step forward, signaling that it was time to get back to the corner I had creeped from.

I stepped back and sat back on the cold floor, thinking about the millions of ways I would turn this situation around. I didn't know it before, but now I was sure of it. Surviving the impossible was my second nature, and that belief brought peace in my heart.

"I want to speak to the queen." I demanded as the guards took back their former positions.

"The Queen decides whether or not to speak to you!" A familiar authoritative voice spoke from the left side of the corridor as foot steps approached. An elongated shadow formed as she came closer, eventually revealing herself while standing between the two guards.

"Oh." I sighed unexcitedly. "You are okay. I'm glad."

She didn't look as tough as she pretended to be. I could see it in her eyes.

"And so are all the others you hurt." Wonder Woman spoke. "Just who do you think you are?"

"Do you genuinely want to know my story, or will you just attack me like your sisters when I attempted to surrender?" I said with spite.

"Surrender?" She sounded amused, but in consideration, she lowered her tone. "Did you really mean to surrender or were you just playing tricks on me."

"Look." I said cutting to the chase. "I don't care about being in your precious island, or what you guys have here. All I want to do is go back to the normal world. Or at least, the world beyond this island."

"That's why I was trying to get to the shores and find a way to leave." I continued. "I know that me being here is not ideal for you. Especially not when I don't have the invitation. Just let me get away from here."

I saw her face burrow in concern and understanding as I pleaded my case. Was she feigning it or was she the Diana I was aware of. Judging from the path I had taken, she could tell that I had been trying to get away.

"You raise a compelling argument, but only the Lasso of Truth can judge your intent." She said. "But I'm afraid that, even if it turns out that you are being honest, the queen's mind is already made up."

"And her judgement does not fall to your favor." She added as she turned to leave.

That was not news to me. Hippolyta wouldn't just let me go after appearing out of nowhere. Protecting the island came first to her, and since I was the first man to set foot after so long, it meant that I was a threat. And she would ensure that the threat was eliminated.

But I had a more probing matter to attend to. A request for the princess.

"Could I get some more food, please." I pitched in before her footsteps faded away.

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