Absolute Symbiote Chapter 9: Themiscyra.

Chapter 9: Themiscyra.

(Thomas' P.O.V)

The cabin of the invisible jet was quiet. No turbulence. No roaring engines. Just altitude, hum, and space.

I sat across from Wonder Woman, blood still dried around the edges of her armor, a healing burn stretching across her jaw. She hadn’t said a word since we took off.

Neither had I.

For a while, the silence was enough.

But eventually, I had to ask.

“You know I tampered with your mind. You were under my control. So… why are you helping me?”

Diana didn’t blink. Her eyes stayed on the horizon, even though the cockpit was technically transparent.

“You didn’t just control me,” she said. “You cleared something.”

“Cleared?”

“Like fog. A kind I didn’t even know was there. Thoughts that used to make sense suddenly felt... artificial. Decisions I stood behind, now they don’t feel like they were mine.”

I sat up straighter. “You think someone was... manipulating you?”

She nodded slowly. “Not like you did. It wasn’t loud. It was gentle. Subtle. Like sand slowly shifting your footing until one day you’re standing in the wrong place and don’t know how you got there.”

She didn’t say who she suspected.

I didn’t need her to.

J’onn.

I didn’t say it either.

Instead, I asked the next question. “Where are we going?”

Diana finally looked at me.

“Home.”

Her tone was firm. Final. Nostalgic.

I frowned. “Home? What does that—wait... you don’t mean—”

“Yes,” she softly smiled. “Themiscyra.”

I blinked. “But I thought men weren’t allowed.”

“They aren’t,” she said, not looking the least bit apologetic. “But I’m a princess. I have certain privileges. And you’re not staying long. Just long enough to recover, and for me to prepare.”

“Prepare for what?”

“For when the League comes after me,” she plainly replied.

She said it like she was discussing the weather.

“They’ll see me as a traitor,” she added. “Some already do.”

I leaned back. My mind was still healing, but it processed the weight of what she’d just said.

“You’re burning bridges,” I muttered. “All of them.”

She could still return. Anyone else would at the prospect of facing the most powerful beings on planet earth.

“I’m not interested in bridges,” Diana said. “I’m interested in truth.”

Ahead, the sky shimmered. A ripple stretched across the horizon like a curtain of translucent light.

Then, it parted.

Behind it, Themiscyra revealed itself—green cliffs, golden towers, waterfalls spilling into crystal bays. A paradise hidden behind an ancient veil.

I sat forward, squinting.

“You’re really taking me to the island of warrior goddesses who hate men?”

Diana smirked slightly. “As long as you keep your male parts to yourself, there won’t be a problem.”

I didn’t respond right away.

But I couldn’t help it—I laughed.

A dry, painful laugh. One of the few genuine ones I’d had in a long time.

We passed through the veil.

And for the first time since I’d been reborn...

I wasn’t running.

We touched down just beyond a wooden platform overlooking the sea. The air was warm. The breeze, calm. But the way the guards, wearing strips of Greek leather armor, looked at me told a different story.

Spears lowered the moment I stepped off the jet.

“Stand down,” Diana ordered.

They hesitated, eyes flicking between her and me. Then they obeyed. Spears rose. Stances shifted. But no one relaxed.

Two warriors approached, cloaked in red and gold. One looked older, her face lined with years of battle. The other, a blonde, was barely older than a teen but held herself like someone who’d fought giants.

The elder spoke first. “We were not told you’d be bringing a man, Princess.”

“I chose not to warn you,” Diana replied. “There wasn’t time.”

The younger one looked me over. “Is he a prisoner?”

“No,” Diana said. “He is under my protection. As Princess of Themiscyra, I invoke full guest rights.”

The elder woman’s jaw tightened. “That’s not a small thing.”

“I know exactly what it is.”

They didn’t like it. But they didn’t argue.

I followed as Diana walked toward a stone path lined with warriors, their armor polished, their stares unflinching. Word had already spread. Whispers followed me. I didn’t need telepathy to know what they were thinking.

The hostility was potent. I wondered what would happen if they knew I harbored a monster within me. Then again, something told me they'd still prefer Carnage over me, a...man.

We entered the city proper—white stone walkways, archways covered in flowering vines, markets tucked between courtyards. There was no tech, no cars, no screens. But there was order. Craft. Tradition. This place didn’t feel old. It felt stable.

I understood, even without being told, why Diana called it home.

Soon, we reached the palace.

The guards out front didn’t raise weapons. They still glared though.

Inside, the throne room was open-air, with pillars running up to a ceiling that let sunlight pour across the floor. At the far end, seated on a carved throne of marble and bronze, was the Queen.

Queen Hippolyta.

Her presence didn’t need introduction.

Even without the crown, I would have known.

She watched me as we approached. Calm. Silent.

Diana knelt. I did not.

“Mother,” Diana said. “I’ve returned.”

The Queen gave a single nod. “And brought a storm with you.”

Diana stood. “His name is Thomas. He’s not our enemy.”

“Yet,” Hippolyta said.

We stood there. No one moved.

Finally, she rose from her throne.

“By the laws of Themiscyra,” she sighed, “I grant you guest rights. You will not be harmed while under my daughter’s protection. But make no mistake Thomas of Man's world—this place is not your refuge.”

I nodded once. “Understood. Thank you, your highness.”

“Good,” she said. “Because not all here will be as… restrained as I am.”

She turned and walked back to her seat.

“Rest. Recover. But remember—this island watches.”

The tower was tall, quiet, and cold.

A servant—an Amazon who said nothing and barely looked at me—had shown me to a room on the highest floor of a spiraling tower at the city’s edge. From the small balcony, I could see cliffs, jungle, and ocean. No gates, no guards. But it didn’t fool me.

I was a guest. And a prisoner.

Diana hadn’t returned since the throne room. I assumed she was in talks with her mother. Or being interrogated. Maybe both.

Carnage was still dormant, busy digesting the Flash’s chaotic neural architecture. I could feel him working in the background—slow, groaning thoughts like a computer choking on corrupted data.

Without him, the silence felt heavier.

I lay on the stone bedding, staring at the curved ceiling until sleep dragged me under.

When I woke, the room was dim. Dusk.

No visitors. No messages. No food.

Diana hadn’t come.

I stood, rolled my shoulder, and cracked my neck. Then I walked to the open window and looked down. No guards in sight. Just a steep drop, vines clinging to the tower, and trees stretching like a sea of green all the way to the island’s edge.

'Well,' I thought, 'if they’re going to keep me locked away…'

I stepped over the ledge.

My body dropped for half a second before I caught myself mid-air. My telekinesis still worked—clumsy but intact. I floated downward, slow and careful, until my feet touched dirt and ferns brushed against my ankles.

The jungle felt ancient.

Massive roots coiled around stones. Leaves the size of shields rustled in the wind. Birds I didn’t recognize called from deep within. This was untouched land. No roads. No city noise. Just wild.

I moved between the trees, light on my feet, senses open.

Carnage was still silent.

That meant I was alone.

And I had work to do.

The explosion J’onn triggered had shattered my mental core. Left my inner world fractured. Weakened. I’d lost access to several of my Martian traits. Shapeshifting, intangibility, most of my telepathic strength—gone or too unstable to rely on.

But I knew how to fix it.

Neural energy.

The energy of conscious, complex minds. I didn’t need to devour people—not here. Not my hosts, however rude they were.

Luckily, there was another food chain.

I crouched near a stream. Focused. Waited.

Something rustled nearby. A heavy step. A growl.

A predator.

Good.

It lunged from the bush, long tusks and teeth like daggers, fur matted with swamp mud.

A cross between a Boar and a Lion. A creature unlike any I'd ever seen.

I caught it mid-leap with a wave of telekinesis and slammed it into a tree hard enough to break its back.

Then I approached carefully. Its eyes still flickered. It wasn’t dead yet.

I knelt beside it, placed my hand on its skull.

I felt the mind—primitive, wild, full of instinct and memory.

I fed, directly absorbing it's mental energy without munching on the head. This method was inefficient and much slower than with Carnage.

Still, it worked, though the neural energy I got was little. Just enough to start patching cracks.

The creature stopped moving. I closed its eyes.

Then I stood and looked deeper into the trees.

This would take time.

But I would heal.

And Themiscyra had more than enough life to feed the process.