Tam-Ra, part 6 - The Boxing Ring By Jobber Joe Supergirl fights the young amazon, Tam-Ra So here they all are in the ring at Madison Square Garden this fateful evening. In one corner, Supergirl, super-powered defender of the free world, attended by Superman's former, and her current, lover, Lois Lane. The Maiden of Might is wearing an already quite sweaty bare midriff blue top with the telltale red Supergirl symbol and matching blue short short summer outfit she and Lois had picked for this occasion. Lois, not to be out done, is spectacularly decked out in dark blue latex sleeveless vest and hot pants. After a fitful, dare we say it, somewhat frightful night, the beautiful, voluptuous blonde crimefighter, Kara Zor-El, a.k.a. Supergirl, appears to have pulled it together alright, has her stern fight face on. In the far corner is the mysterious young redheaded Amazon, Tam- Ra, clad only in the skimpiest of red thongs, topless. And there also, standing before their ravishing Mistress, are Slut Boy, clad in a blue loin cloth, and Wonder Slut, clad only in a red, white and blue thong, like her Mistress, also topless. And, of course, there, standing to one side, is Tam-Ra's ever attentive top lieutenant, the striking blonde amazon, Valora, more "modestly" clad than her corner cohorts in a Day Glo green string bikini. Slut Boy and Wonder Slut also sport studded red leather slave collars, the long leashes leading from the collars held lightly in Valora's left hand, as they each shamelessly suckle one of Tam-Ra's huge, turgid nipples. Cries of shock and dismay are heard throughout the arena as, for the first time, their once adoring public is seeing, really seeing, what the former Superman and Wonder Woman have been reduced to during their captivity by the raging redheaded Amazon who now owns their bodies and commands their tattered souls. The ring announcer makes his appearance, microphone in hand, gravely intones, "Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight we have a special challenge match between these two magnificent fighting women you see here before you. You all know the story by now, so I won't repeat all the awful details. But suffice it to say that at stake tonight is not only the future freedom of two of our fallen Champions of Justice, but also, perhaps, the very future of the free world as we know it. This attractive, yet evil, young woman you see lording over the broken shells of two of our most beloved icons of power and righteousness; and I'm speaking of course of Superman and Wonder Woman, bless their tortured souls; has threatened to take over our cherished world, as we know it, should she, perish the thought, somehow defeat our blonde tressed heroine, in the ring tonight. May we all hope and pray her foolish vow crumbles, as it should, before the iron fists of Justice!" Climbing off his "soapbox" just a bit, the announcer continues, "There will be no round limit; this fight, by mutual agreement of the two combatants, will end only by KNOCKOUT! Any knockdowns resulting in counts will end at the bell concluding each round, if the 10 count is not reached before then. Furthermore, the three knockdown rule, also by mutual consent of the combatants, is waived for this fight, as is the mandatory eight count rule after a knockdown." He clears his voice, dramatically announcing now, "So let me introduce to you in the one corner, wearing the, well barely wearing something fiery red, and with the matching red gloves; she stands 6 foot 3 and a half, and is still growing, weighing in for tonight's fight at 179 pounds of Amazon might and muscle. She is attended tonight by her personal manager, Valora, and is also unfortunately being served by her personal slaves she calls Wonder Slut and Slut Boy. Here is the Terrifying Teen Tyro of Tiburra, TAM___RAAAAAA___ Tam-Ra!" A loud solitary yell from the willowy blonde beauty, Valora, in Tam- Ra's corner, and an audible grunt from Wonder Slut as she noisily suckles one of Tam-Ra's rock hard nipples are the only noises punctuating the eerie silence within the arena. People are sitting on their hands, whispering to one another; nobody knows quite what to make of the strikingly beautiful, stunningly developed, imperious young Amazon Queen; many, most probably, are absolutely terrified of her after hearing, and now seeing, what she has done to Wonder Woman and Superman. Supergirl, on the other hand, is at least outwardly a picture of steely calm, locked in, glaring at the ravishing redhead in the other corner, and seething at the degrading scene in front of her; of her two former Justice League cohorts, one her cousin, the other her former lover, shamelessly servicing this young amazon's goddess-like body. Now the announcer's voice rises even higher in its tenor, its palpable excitement, as he dramatically intones, "And in the other corner, she is wearing the blue and red top and blue shorts, with dark blue gloves; she hails from right here in the good old U S of A. She stands 5 foot 10, weighing in at 151 pounds of sleek, steely, muscle; she is attended tonight by her manager, the renowned news reporter, Lois Lane. Here is the mightiest woman on the face of the earth, the magnificent, stunningly beautiful, living, breathing 8th wonder of the world; she is the Maiden of Steely Might, the much beloved and admired, invincible defender of all that is right and just in this free world of ours; HERE IS KARA ZOR-EL, SOOOPERGIIIIRRRLLL____Supergirl!" Everyone is on their feet, a crescendo of claps and cheers engulfing the ring. Lois beams, lifts Kara's one gloved arm up in a salute to the crowd. Kara smiles broadly, soaking in the adulation, turns slowly, waving to her adoring fans, telling herself, " I am Supergirl, Maiden of Might; I AM invincible; I WILL defeat this menace to society and free those pitiful broken creatures; gawwwd how far they've fallen, slavishly serving that Bitch! It is the right and just thing to do. Only I can save the world as we know it, and I will!" She fixes her gaze finally on the haughty Teen Tyro, who stares back, grabbing the slavishly suckling Wonder Slut by her raven locks while pulling Wondie's head back. The enslaved former superheroine shamelessly laps with her tongue at only air now, grunting as she tries futilely to re-attach to her Mistress's sweet nub. Kara blanches at the sight, and also at the sight of Slut Boy, her cousin, the former Kal Jor-el, or Superman, on his knees submissively sucking one of the barefoot amazon's big toes. Tam-Ra continues staring at the blue clad superheroine, mouthing the letters, "S L U T", then the words, "you're mine" as she stares back at Kara. The Maiden of Might, eyes fixed on her young foe this whole time, shudders. But, despite her revulsion at the scene across the ring, smears of musky moisture appear suddenly on her upper thighs betraying a strange, forbidden excitement gripping her as she looks at that goddess-like amazon body with those two familiar, if now wretched looking creatures, wrapped all over it. Lois, standing next to her loving mate, is getting wet too as she stares at the breathtakingly beautiful, almost naked young amazon, dewy moisture running down both her long, lovely legs as well. Despite her steely outer countenance, slicked down thighs notwithstanding, Kara is thinking, "my gawd, I hate to admit it, but the bitch takes your breath away; that hair, that chiseled body, makes Diana's look soft and ordinary by comparison. And those legs, my gawd, they're longer and shapelier than Lois's even, and way stronger, sleek muscles upon sleek muscles! Unbelievable legs they are; how would you like to have those babies wrapped around you, girlie? Mmmm, gawwwd, what am I thinking? But mmmmm, ohhh, look at that chest, I could chew on those big hard nipples, grope those huge, firmly jutting melons, all day too! Ooooooh, this is making me soooo hot!" Meanwhile, Lois is thinking, "what a goddess, look at those tits, bigger and firmer than Kara's even! After being with Kara all this time, I never thought I'd see someone even more spectacularly developed than she is. But there she is; my word, that young amazon may be a tyrannical bitch, but damn she's one incredibly hot babe. Gawwd I hope Kara knows what she's getting into here." Kara finally turns away, tells herself, "get a hold of yourself, girl, concentrate, you're Supergirl; knock the bitch out fast, then you can feast on that incredible Amazon body, spoils of victory as they say, heh heh; I'm sure Lois will look the other way just this one time; or most likely the kinky tart would want to join me in feasting on that fabulous body; after I knock her out COLD, lay that beautiful bod out flat on the canvas! Yeah, that's what we'll do, knock the bitch out, haul her to the dressing room, then feast away all day and all night on that incredible body!". She dances in her corner, a sly smile suddenly playing on her lips, shadowboxing, awaiting the bell, trying to stay tuned in on the task at had even while the juices still seep from her moist womanhood. Lois, on the other hand, is unavoidably still staring at the ravishing young redhead. The notoriously over-sexed news reporter is hot and horny, and she has barely looked at her young blonde companion in all this time. A continuing moisture trail, from sweat and free flowing juices, runs down both their legs, in fact, pooling on the canvas at their feet. Neither seems to notice the small puddle building there. The bell rings, Supergirl, comes out aggressively, determined to put the brassy Teen Tyro in her rightful place, namely laid out on the canvas. Both Supergirl and Lois Lane are convinced that: 1) Tam-Ra somehow neutralized Wonder Woman's power belt, or replaced it with a fake one, before battling and defeating the then Amazon Queen; and 2) Superman had to have been exposed to, and irreparably weakened by Kryptonite, while being overwhelmed by the saucy young redhead in their wrestling match. But the Kryptonite sensors installed everywhere, in the locker rooms, around over and under the ring, and throughout the arena at Lois and Supergirl's request, have been silent. There will be no trickery tonight, of that she is certain. Tam-Ra circles cautiously, gloves tucked up around her head, displaying incredible reaction times and hand speed in parrying Kara's initial, superpowered punches. They move into Kara's corner, Surpergirl still on the attack, Lois, standing a few feet away on the apron, exhorting her, "thatta girl, Kara, cut off the ring, make her fight, you got her". Backed to the corner ropes, Tam-Ra finally comes out of her shell, a quick flicking jab, partially deflected by Kara's gloves, the blow nevertheless surprising Supergirl with its quickness, its velocity. It glances seemingly harmlessly across the Maiden of Might's chin, but suddenly Kara is DOWN!, one leg splaying out before she pitches awkwardly to her knees, Tam-Ra, smirking, crowding her from above, one big muscular thigh pressed to the downed superheroine's shoulder. Ringside fans are on their feet, shocked! Lois grabs the ropes, leaning over into the ring, crying out, "oh no, KARA!". Tam-Ra, is still in the corner, her 6 foot 3 inch Amazonian bod towering over the shorter blonde. She gives Lois a little elbow as the leggy brunette leans over the ropes next to her, snarls, "outta my face, BITCH!" The ring announcer is babbling almost incoherently, "MY GAWD, SUPERGIRL IS DOWN!" But Kara bounces up to her feet quickly before the ref can move in for a count. She gestures at the canvas beneath her feet, looking a little flustered, stammering, "I'm okay, I slipped". The ref looks down at a small puddle of moisture on the canvas near Supergirl's corner, halts the fight clock, gesturing to the ring attendants, "get a towel, wipe this up". Fifteen seconds later, the bout resumes; but Supergirl looks suddenly confused, wandering back to a neutral corner as Tam-Ra, blinking in surprise, comes out after her. Kara is flashing back to the night dreams in the hotel suite, to her whimpered cry as Lois came to her side. "I'm okay, it's only a slip", she mumbles to herself as she draws her gloves up around her head, covering as Tam-Ra,, with a flurry of punches, pounds the blue clad superheroine's bared tummy. The blows mostly bounce harmlessly off Supergirl's Kryptonian bod, but the Maiden of Might still covers in the corner, not fighting back at all, now clinching. The ref moves in to break the clinch, quizzically looking at Supergirl. She stammers, "I'm okay, it was just a slip, she didn't hurt me." "Then fight, ladies", he intones. And fight Tam-Ra does, a dozen rapid-fire blows to the body, now moving upstairs, right hook, left hook, now an uppercut, the hooks finding only Kara's drawn up blue gloves, but the right uppercut slipping through, bouncing off her Kryptonian jaw. Supergirl takes them all, even the uppercut, stoically, passively, head rocking back only slightly from the hard, uplifting blow. The bell rings, ending round one. Kara trudges to her corner, seemingly unhurt, but dispirited; Tam-Ra giving her a shove, taunting her, "you're a bum, Supergirl, a BUM, hear me?" The blue clad superheroine only shudders, sits down on her stool, staring blankly out across the ring, silently mouthing the words still, "it was just a slip, she didn't hurt me." Lois towels her off, though Supergirl has barely worked up a sweat, the only moisture on her whole body, it seems, being inside her thighs. Lois notices such, and wipes those gorgeous legs down accordingly, Kara sighing appreciatively. The leggy news reporter hasn't said a word all this time; but now, as Kara stands up for the 2nd round bell, she snidely remarks, "okay, girlie, you had your fun, slip slidin around and playing like a punching bag; now get out there and FIGHT, for gawds sake!" Kara nods her head, fixing liquid blue eyes on her loving companion, quietly answers, "It was just a slip; it rattled me some, but she didn't even hurt me with any punches". "I don't care, dearie," Lois retorts, "it looks bad; take her out this round, don't fool around out there!" Kara nods again, setting her Kryptonian jaw in a fierce glare across the ring, while a slavishly suckling Wonder Slut is being pried away from Tam-Ra's slicked down, huge and turgid right nipple as the young redheaded Amazon also stands, awaiting the bell. And now Kara, snapping out of her first round lethargy, goes on the attack with a vengeance. A superpowered woman possessed, the blue clad blonde pummels a now strangely passive, almost casual and dis-interested Tam-Ra, through the next two one-sided rounds. Still, punishment from the Maiden of Might's steely fisted gloves that would have flattened all but the mightiest of superheroes, and certainly all other mortal beings, by now, have only wobbled, but not dropped, the scantily clad Teen Tyro, who spends most of rounds two and three clinching often, protecting her youthful face from the most deadly punches, riding out Supergirl's wicked body salvos, but rarely offering much of a threat herself. Many in the crowd, the same ones who stayed silent while Kara was doing her own rope-a- dope act in round one, are lustily booing the statuesque Amazon for her inactivity. Imperiously, the flame haired amazon blithely ignores the taunts. Kara is mildly alarmed that she has yet to floor the towering young redhead. Despite Supergirl's superhuman hand speed, Tam-Ra's long, well muscled arms and super quick reflexes, have managed to protect her head from the most brutal blows launched by the blue clad superheroine. And even though the Amazon's sculpted body has taken a real pounding from Supergirl's Kryptonian fists, Tam-Ra appears to have rock hard abs and an extremely high threshold for bodily pain. So Kara comes out in the fourth round grimly determined to go upstairs more, yet spends most of the time pushing the groping young redhead away after Tam-Ra's increasingly frequent clinches. By all appearances, laying on the ropes, groping, clinching almost desperately whenever Kara moves in on her, it seems Tam-Ra, after absorbing tremendous punishment through two plus rounds now, is pretty much finished. Indeed, many in the crowd are amazed that she's even gotten this far against the "invincible" Maiden of Might. Lois, watching the one sided match intently from the ring apron in Kara's corner, has to marvel at Tam-Ra's incredible bodily endurance and ability to take a punch, breathlessly whispering at one point, " Gaddds, this bitch is unreal! Kara's thrown everything but the kitchen sink at her, and still she won't go down! What's it gonna take for crying out loud?" What it will take, apparently, is the inexorable pressure Kara is still applying to a now virtually unresisting Tam-Ra laying on the ropes near rounds end. Kara moves in, feints a left to bring the young amazon's guard down, then powers into a super charged right aimed up high. Only partially blocked, the punch slams Tam-Ra's head back with a satisfying smack. She barely stifles a low groan, wobbles sideways, long, stunningly sculpted legs pawing for firm footing on the sweat dampened canvas, then drops swiftly down, clumping hard to her back, legs and arms akimbo. The crowd is on its feet, lustily cheering their heroine as Kara, gloved arms raised above her head, heads to a neutral corner, and the count begins over her fallen foe. Tam-Ra appears to be hurting bad, lying motionless until the count reaches 3, before rolling over slowly and pushing to a shaky crouch by 7. But then she somehow staggers up at 9, barely beating the count, then strangely grins broadly at Supergirl as the ref shakes out her gloves and waves Supergirl in again. Most think it's a goofy, woozy smile of a KO'd fighter; Think again, perhaps! As Supergirl closes for the kill, Tam-Ra, still weaving noticeably, somehow, suddenly, snaps a withering left hook to Kara's carelessly unguarded jaw that stuns, but doesn't wobble, Supergirl at the bell. As they head to their own corners, the flame haired teen amazon sarcastically remarks to Kara, "oops, guess I slipped on a wet spot there; you see, you can't STOP me, Super Slut; and it will be YOU on the canvas next time, I promise!" Speaking of "wet spots", and Kara and Lois are both scoffing, and fuming, at what they consider Tam-Ra's arrogant dismissal of her knockdown as a mere slip, the canvas floor has become regularly slicked down with sweat, and perhaps other stuff; so much so that the referee now instructs the ring attendants to wipe the floor down between each round. The two combatants take water and are attended to in their corners, Valora shoving the fawning Wonder Slut and Slut Boy aside to personally administer to her redheaded charge this round. Round 5 begins, and Supergirl goes right to the attack, but somehow she appears to be letting this golden opportunity to finish a wounded foe slip further away with every passing moment. She has set a furious pace, even for her, through the past three rounds in an attempt to knock out the mouthy young amazon. And, in the minds of most, she almost had her late in the 4th. But Tam-Ra has answered the bell, and, frankly, Kara seems somewhat frustrated, and, impossible as it may seem to contemplate, even a bit weary, or maybe just discouraged, as her punches slam with somewhat less than supersonic speed into Tam-Ra's strapping body during a long clinch, initiated by Tam-Ra, of course, midway through the round. Tam-Ra has not only ridden out the expected push by Kara to knock her out early this round, but is decidedly more stable on her feet, and confident looking, than at the end of the previous round. The frustration grows for Kara as the round winds down, and Tam-Ra once again wraps her up in a long clinch along the ropes which the referee, gaping shamelessly at those two, glistening, entwined superbods, seems horribly slow at breaking up. As Kara heads to her corner at the bell, Tam-Ra yells at her, "you're nuthin, Super Bimbo, hear me, NUTHIN!" Lois goes to work more earnestly on her clearly discouraged charge between rounds, snorting contemptuously, "that BITCH sure has a loud mouth for one who is getting the crap beat out of her!" Kara, looking, indeed, a bit weary even as she lays arms over the ropes and greedily sucks in and spits out some water, tilts her head up to softly remark to her dark haired companion, "Lois, gawd, I don't know what it will take to put her down. Maybe it WAS just a slip back then." "Of course, it was a slip, sweetie," Lois responds, "everybody saw your feet sliding on the wet spot." "No, I meant her slip," Kara sighs, "back in the fourth." Lois snorts, "honey, pull it together; you had her all but knocked out then; slip my ass!" "But she's still on her feet," Kara responds; to which Lois concludes, "but you'll get her this round, my Supergirl!". Privately, the sexy news reporter is worried though, thinking to herself, "gads, the bitch is hanging in; she's tough all right, and Kara's losing focus; but no, it can't be, she's Supergirl' she'll pull it together, end this charade this round, I hope!" Or can it?; be that is, that Tam-Ra can stand in against the full fury of the Kryptonian Lass. She did, after all, humble Kara's cousin, Kal, with merely her bare hands, and legs, and awesome body! Can she not do the same here? She does, after all, tower over the Maiden of Might by a good 5 inches and outweighs her by nearly 30 pounds. And those long, long arms of the young redhead begin to reach a now visibly slowing Supergirl with quick-fire, hard jabs to the body as the round draws to a close. At the bell, it is Kara this time, looking both weary and worried, who initiates the clinch, holding on as Tam-Ra digs three hard lefts into her side, punches which in the early rounds bounced harmlessly off her iron clad Kryptonian bod, but now, tellingly, are slicing ever deeper into the startlingly yielding flesh of the blue clad heroine. The 7th round begins soon enough, and a low murmur spreads through the crowd as Supergirl's attack wanes precipitously, as she appears almost sluggish at times, most especially when sucked into Tam-Ra's notorious long clinches against the ropes. The plain fact is, though few, except Kara, herself, and perhaps Lois and Tam-Ra, seem to recognize it, Supergirl IS losing her focus, and perhaps more alarmingly, her energy, her punches shockingly slowed near rounds end. Meanwhile, more of Tam-Ra's pesky jabs, and a few harder punches, are finding their way through Kara's somewhat less than super-powered defenses. Near the bell, Supergirl, laboring badly, but trying to rally against Tam-Ra's increasingly aggressive counter-attack, feints the right this time, goes upstairs with the left hook; but Tam-Ra takes the ponderous, horribly slowed, punch on the side of the face, and dances away on still sturdy legs, taunting, "is that all ya got, Super Bimbo?". Supergirl comes at her. again, wildly, but is "rocked" by a countering left to the jaw and backed to the ropes seconds before time, shaking her head in dismay as resurgent Tam-Ra lays the leather to her fabulous blue clad super bod, the punches slicing ever deeper into Kara's dangerously softening body. The final punch, coming a split second after the bell clangs, and sinking half a fist deep into her tummy, even draws an air sucking "ooofff" from the embattled superheroine as the referee rushes in to separate the two combatants, warning Tam-Ra for the late blow. The young flame haired amazon merely laughs at him, turns and fairly dances to her own corner. Kara's mighty bod,, besides being worked over more than it should have been with Tam-Ra's long zinging jabs and body hooks in this round, is fairly buzzing with unmistakable sexual tension as Kara plods to her corner on startlingly heavy, weary legs. Her already rock hard nipples have swollen even more, poking urgently through the clingy blue fabric of her top as Lois wipes her down, the leggy news reporter clucking with growing alarm at not only this telling sign of arousal, but also, of course, at the strange tenderness in Kara's once invincible Kryptonian body, the soreness Kara so desperately tries to keep inside nevertheless betrayed by her only half stifled gasps and groans while Lois rubs her down. Lois is thinking to herself, "gadddds, the kid's hurting. How can this be? She's Supergirl, this can't be happening." But it is; and what Lois can't see, though perhaps she can guess at, given the advanced state of excitement she's observed in Kara's rock hard, fairly twitching, nipples poking urgently through the blue fabric, is the very real, sweetly tormenting ache that is now spreading from Kara's crotch and super-sensitive breasts throughout her fabulous body. Kara can, feel the ache that is, acutely! Lois is alarmed; Kara is concerned, very concerned! She is having trouble concentrating, especially when Tam-Ra's young, ripe Amazon's body is pressed close to hers in the frequent in-fighting that has taken place up to this point. The electric friction has become almost numbing in its intensity. Yes, Kara can feel it in her heavy arms, and legs, in the incessant hot flames of desperate, forbidden desire welling up from her crotch whenever that ravishing young amazon bitch even gets close to her now. She looks worriedly at Lois between rounds, trying fruitlessly to play down her growing sexual arousal, "gawwwd, Lois, don't know what's happening, something's wrong; I'm having trouble holding it together, can't concentrate, how can this be?" Lois is thinking to herself, "sheez, for starters you can try to pull your face out of those big, luscious titties during those clinches, dearie; that would help." But, for the record, She whispers to her, "Kara, you gotta pull it together, hear? You're still gonna beat her, just concentrate!" And then she adds, "look, do you think its Kryptonite? Should we check? Maybe the sensors aren't working right." Kara shakes her head wanly, admits truthfully, "no, its not that. I know what Kryptonite feels like, and this isn't like that. My strength hasn't been zapped, but I can't focus it right. Something's gone haywire with my system." Kara tries her best to shake off the sensations, to "pull it together", but as the bell rings for the 8th round, it is clear that she is far from full strength, or resolve. Tam-Ra storms to the attack now as Kara, feeling strangely lethargic, a very human like, unaccustomed heaviness and weariness settling inexorably into her legs and arms, mounts an alarmingly weak, and slowed, counter-attack. With Kara clearly on the defensive this round, the crowd is disbelieving, Lois Lane is shocked, not to mention disturbingly aroused, as Tam-Ra unleashes for the first time in this fight the full savage fury in her magnificently sculpted, tightly wound Amazon's body, taking total command of the round from a "melting" Maiden of Might. It's almost like she's been merely toying with the erstwhile Supergirl, or at least playing with her mind, and bod, some, waiting for Kara's superpowered defenses to crack, waiting for just this moment to pounce on a smaller, now visibly struggling, foe. And pounce she does! Her mighty legs are like two iron pillars, planted solidly beneath her as her piston like arms slam almost unimpeded through Kara's crumbling defenses. She pins the embattled blonde against the ropes with brute size and strength, lashing that great body with withering lefts and rights and stunning the fast fading superheroine with a rollicking left hook to the jaw that actually wobbles Supergirl's legs, drawing loud gasps from the stunned ringside fans. Then, shockingly, a murderous uppercut lifts Kara's voluptuous body clear off the ground an inch or so from the impact. Kara's head snaps back as if on a swivel from the savage blow. She's totally defensive, backed to the corner ropes, groggy and rubbery-legged. Tam-Ra follows up with another equally brutal uppercut, and another and another. Poor Kara is helpless against the pillaging blows, gloved arms flailing uselessly, head snapping back and forth with each punishing blow blasting against her chin. The crowd is aghast at the beating the hunkered Maiden of Might is taking, some are booing loudly and throwing things into the ring. All but the strongest of superhumans would be laid out flat on the canvas by now from Tam-Ra's murderous uppercuts near rounds end. And only two gloved arms slung desperately over the ropes to prop up her battered, sagging body keep even Supergirl off the canvas now as the bell, mercifully, ends this, Supergirl's most desperate, faltering round. As she struggles merely to steady quaking legs and disentangle her battered body from its rope prison, Kara's somewhat confused mind wanders back to the nightmare the previous evening, to the bizarre sequence of events in the opening round here, to the awful minutes endured just now, Tam-Ra's punches slicing deep and, yes, painfully into her collapsing walls of steely defense, slamming her head back with their savage power, depositing her, spent and groggy, clinging desperately to the corner ropes to stay upright. She mumbles softly to herself, wobbly legs pawing at the slickened canvas floor beneath her, "only a slip, gawwwd, she can't do this to me, Lois." Lois is still in the other corner, mouth ajar, shocked at the beating endured by her beloved companion this stunning round. She can't hear Supergirl's groggy, mumbled words. But she, this smart and cagey, worldly super reporter, intrinsically knows now that, indeed, Tam-Ra can "do this" to Kara, and will, if they can't figure out a way to get Kara re-focused on doing what only she can do, that "Supergirl thing" that is. But they must act fast, for the ninth round, crucial for both fighters hopes, given the big momentum swing here in favor of Tam-Ra, is barely a minute away. Over in the one neutral corner still, Kara, waiting on shaky legs for assistance from the referee and Lois, both moving in toward her, also realizes, with a shudder, that she has to, and in her mind WILL, rally in the next round, to blunt Tam-Ra's rally, vanquish the ravishing, yet evil, young amazon. It must be that way, for she is Supergirl, brave and noble, indeed "invincible", defender of all that is right and just in this free world, or so they say. (to be continued)