Wonderous ride

The skyline of New Metro glittered with a deceptive brilliance, but for Donna Regent, known to the public as the star-spangled powerhouse Wonderous Woman, the real shimmer was in the checkbook. She usually spent her Friday nights dismantling robot sentries or intercepting runaway mag-trains, not making an appearance at a charity event. However, when the city’s most notorious industrialist, the silver-tongued Maximilian Vance, offered a staggering five-million-dollar donation to the Metropolitan Children’s Hospital, Donna found her usual "no-compromise" policy toward villains softening. Clenching her jaw, she stepped into the sleek, black limousine Vance had dispatched, reminding herself that enduring one evening of forced small talk was a small price to pay for a fully funded pediatric wing. The interior of the limo was a vacuum of opulence, smelling of expensive leather and aged scotch. As the vehicle glided away from her sanctuary, Donna felt a momentary prickle of her heightened senses—a subtle hiss beneath the floorboards that didn't sound like an engine. Before she could reach for her golden lariat or signal for help, a thick, sweet-smelling sleeping gas flooded the cabin.