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Epilogue – Part 01

Wonder Girl Episode 23

Illustration & Story by Bon Vivant

Comic Manhattan, November 1930 Issue

Peace had returned to Babylon City!

The streets thrived with lush trees, and students on bicycles chimed their bells as they whizzed past. White laundry rippled from apartment windows against the backdrop of a deep blue sky.

In the distance, a half-constructed black tower loomed.

Birds chirped. It was a refreshing, sunny morning.

Bells tolled in the quaint, old church in Little Italy. A modest wedding celebration was underway, filled with laughter from the attendees.

Near the back entrance of the church, a tall roadside tree rustled. There came the voice of a sweet and innocent girl.

“Hmm… Just a bit more, and I can reach it!”

“I think we should get my mom or your brother.”

Beneath the tree, an Italian boy, about twelve or thirteen, with big black eyes and short curly hair, was looking up with concern.

“Hey, Gloria?”

“Quit bugging me, Jose! I’ll manage!”

“But that’s my balloon. I appreciate the help, but how did you even get up there?”

“…Ah!”

“Whoa!”

“Ahh!”

With a loud shriek, leaves rustled as a girl dangled upside down from the tree’s top.

“Gloria!” Jose yelled.

She was a Hispanic girl with dusky skin, her rich black hair cascading like a blackout curtain. Her lovely round eyes were wide open.

“I got tangled in the vines,” she said.

Jose panicked. “Help! Somebody! Gloria’s gonna die!”

But the alley was deserted. Of all the times for people to not be around, it had to be now. Jose began sobbing.

Then, at that moment, the church hymn abruptly ceased. There was a swoosh from the back door, and a petite bride in a white wedding dress burst out. Startled, Jose stopped crying.

With her white lace veil and beautiful silver hair flowing like a cape, the grown-up Candy Holiday soared through the blue sky.

Following closely behind her, dressed in a black suit and white shirt, was the groom. Linlin, an Asian man. Grasping the situation, he swiftly whirled around, retrieved a ladder, and hurried back.

The bride soared to the top of the tree, freed the girl’s feet from the vines, then propelled herself off the branch, soaring into the sky to chase after the lovely blue balloon.

Meanwhile, the groom climbed the ladder, scooped up the girl, and descended smoothly.

After gleefully frolicking in the vast sky for a while, Candy returned to the ground. She handed the balloon to the girl.

“Thank you!” Gloria said, then bashfully offered the balloon to Jose.

Jose accepted it with relief. Both children then gazed up at the adults with curiosity.

“Who are you guys?”

“You can fly?”

“We’re, uh, nobodies.”

“Oh! I think I’ve heard about you from my mom before. The super magical girl who could fly.”

“Yeah, me too!”

“Don’t worry about it. Just be careful, okay? Get along well.”

Candy winked at Gloria.

Gloria nodded, blushing. As she leaned on the ladder, it snapped, destroying it. Linlin jumped in surprise.

Candy studied Gloria’s face with a pensive look.

Gloria turned pale. “I… I…” she hesitated. She gestured towards the roadside tree and continued softly, “I can fly a bit too. And, um, I’m also pretty strong, like, I can break branches or make holes in walls. My mom and big brother worry about me because of that. So, Joey here always follows me around.”

She leaned gently against Joey, who nodded earnestly.

Candy and Linlin exchanged glances, then nodded. Candy placed her hand on Gloria’s shoulder, and Gloria looked up with a start. Linlin and Joey watched gravely.

“Wonder Power!”

“Uh, won-wonder… power…?”

“Gloria, it’s not a bad thing to be different from others. Use your power for what you believe is right. For example…”

“Wh-What?”

“Um, like helping people in trouble.”

Joey chimed in, “Like just now, right?”

Candy and Linlin nodded in relief.

Candy removed the blue star symbol from her chest and handed it to the dejected Gloria, pasting the blue star on the girl’s forehead. “It suits you very well.” She smiled. “The mysterious girl you heard about from your mom is called Wonder Girl. She can fly and has super strength, and she once busied herself helping others.”

“What?”

“Gloria, don’t worry your mom and big brother. I’m sure you’re a girl of wonder as well.”

Voices from inside the church called out for the bride and groom. Candy and Linlin nodded to each other, then left with a wave.

“Take care!” they said. “And good luck!”

Then, Candy leapt in an attempt to fly. “Huh?” she muttered.

After a few failed attempts, she tilted her head in confusion. “Huh, I can’t fly anymore,” she said curiously.

Linlin appeared bewildered at first, but shrugged it off and held hands with Candy.

“In that case,” he said softly, “Shall we run?”

A vertical red bruise, shaped like a tear, slowly appeared on his left cheek.

“Yeah!” Candy smiled in relief. “Let’s run together. As far as we can go!”

The sound of two young men crying drifted in from somewhere. It sounded distant… Whose tears were these, and why were they crying?

Smiling, Candy and Linlin held hands tightly as they returned to the church together.

The figures of the bride in a wedding dress and the groom in a black suit gradually faded into the dazzling daylight.

“Kyaah!” shrieked a schoolgirl nearby.

Gloria and Joey turned around in surprise.

“My kitten fell into the manhole! What should I do?! It’s crying!”

Gloria and Joey exchanged looks. Gloria gently touched the blue star on her forehead. Joey nodded bravely.

Then, they held hands and hurried towards the direction of the scream. Gloria’s feet hovered slightly above the ground as she ran.

“What happened? Just wait. Leave this to us!”

The bright summer sun sparkled, casting a hopeful glow on the faces of the children.

Wonder Power will never die!

To be continued!

At the entrance of the world’s tallest tower, the Apocalypse, weary party guests trickled out one after another. They emerged through the emergency exit doors, answered questions from police officers, and were then ushered away by paramedics.

Beyond the large glass doors, a swarm of reporters with cameras and microphones, firefighters, and curious bystanders gathered. Police officers cordoned off the area with tape, ensuring nobody ventured too close to the tower.

Men in tailcoats on the top floor had abandoned their jackets midway to move lumber together. Their white shirts were drenched in sweat. Even the elegant ladies, who had arrived in luxurious evening dresses, had discarded their high heels and descended the stairs barefoot. Their meticulously styled hair now tousled, framing their necks in disarray, lending them a tomboyish air. The upper-class adults, regulars of the city’s Who’s Who, were oddly animated, wiping away sweat as they enthusiastically recounted their experience on the top floor and the adventure of descending the stairs. Children, showing no signs of fatigue, bounded down the stairs, only to be intercepted by their concerned parents.

Men and women of all ages were saying:

“Yeah! There was this girl, like a super detective. She was so tiny but astonishingly beautiful!”

“First, the elevator exploded! And then…”

“We ended up hunting for the culprit. Then, out of nowhere, this pretty girl…”

“After uncovering various clues, a masked man in a cloak showed up and aimed a gun at Lady La Guardia.”

“There was also a young East Asian man protecting the girl. He was just like a grown-up Linlin.”

“Where are they? They should be easy to spot. Look…”

“Huh?”

“Well, the young man was leading us until we got here, since there were some obstacles along the way.”

“They’re sure to grab your attention.”

“Huh. Where are Wonder Girl and Linlin?”

“I wish I could thank them.”

“Where did they go?”

Gentlemen, ladies, and their children scanned the area curiously. Among the affluent crowd in dirty tailcoats and evening dresses crowding the Apocalypse entrance hall, their new queen—a girl of striking beauty, intellect, and darkness—clad in a blue satin dress and accompanied by her faithful Eastern servant, the all-American girl, was nowhere to be found.

“They’re gone?”

“Oh dear.”

“Mom, I think…”

A child pointed with a smile at the gorgeous night view of Manhattan beyond the glass door.

“I think they flew away.”

“My, oh my!”

After a brief moment of silence, gentle laughter rippled through the entrance hall.