Wonder Woman-Temple of Arklops




Wonder Woman had just landed on the surface of the alien world, and it didn't
take much time for her to find what she was looking for; the planet was mostly
barren and devoid of life or much of anything else.

Her name was Curia, and she was just the latest in a long line of Amazons to
hold the mantle of 'Wonder Woman' on her home planet of Earth. She gained the
title due to the unexpected demise of her predecessor months before to an
alien warrior known only as Warqueen; the otherworlder had shown no mercy as
she destroyed all of Earth's mightiest heroines. And then, just as quickly as
Warqueen had arrived to Earth, she left, apparently deeming there to be no
more worthy challengers.

In the time that Curia had been serving as Wonder Woman, she had spent her
free time searching for both any clues as to where the mighty Warqueen had
gone, as well as any weakness or methods of possibly defeating her should they
ever meet up - and Curia prayed to the gods every day that they would! She
craved vengeance, and vowed silently that she would have it - even though
publicly she could not assert this, as it went against the code of the Justice
League. As Batman said, "Vengeance is a weakness of the wicked that clouds
good judgment".

"He is a man, what does he know?" Curia thought to herself as she dismissed
these ideas. And then, one day as she was on duty in the Watchtower, a piece
of information came through the ether, of a temple on another world that could
grant one extraordinary power to one powerful enough to defeat its Guardian
and claim it. Curia quickly retrieved every bit of information as it came in,
secretly saving it for herself without letting any of her colleagues know -
she knew none of them would agree with her purpose or understand anyway! And
once she had this power, the other Leaguers would have no choice but to show
her more respect, despite her inexperience as a heroine.

After that, it was just a matter of requesting some time off to 'attend to
some business on Themiscyra', and then 'borrowing' one of the Justice League
space cruisers, and she was off. Once she was clear of Earth's orbit, she
turned off all communication devices and anything that could track her; she
knew it was only a matter of time before someone noticed the missing cruiser
and went looking for it.

A couple of days later, she arrived at the space coordinates of the planet
Arklops. A quick surface scan showed that the temperature and atmosphere were
remarkably similar to Earth's, so she would not need any of the specialized
breathing equipment aboard the vessel. Once she had set the autopilot to
orbit, she leaped out of the ship and slowly glided down to its surface.

As she flew through the air, Wonder Woman's eyes were scanning back and forth;
she was quite surprised to see a planet that seemed so capable of sustaining
life, have none. And then she spied the Temple. Even from a distance it stood
out impressively, a stone monument in the middle of barren nothingness.

She approached slowly, as she took it all in. The Temple seemed to be
completely made of stone, square in shape, with steps at the far end, leading
up to some kind of altar flanked above by two enormous four-fingered stone
hands, two fingers on each hand touching the other. The perimeter of the
Temple was covered by a number of pedestals, at least a dozen, and each had a
huge stone cube balanced on top it by just its corner. The surface of these
cubes had some kind of strange maze design - Wonder Woman thought perhaps that
was the language of this world? - and the fact that they simply sat there,
balanced perfectly, seemed to be a physical impossibility.

In front of the steps stood two giant stone statues, resembling the 'Michelin
Man' from Earth commercials, except they were, like everything else, made from
rocks and stone. And, standing directly underneath the two huge hands, stood a
woman. Curia knew somehow that this must be the Guardian, the one she had to
defeat in order to claim the power.

Wonder Woman landed on the stone surface of the Temple, never taking her eyes
off of the Guardian as she walked towards her. The Guardian's hair resembled
that of a Gorgon, and Curia's first impulse was to turn her gaze away from
her, but then she realized that the 'snakes' were not moving, and there was no
petrifying power to them. The dark-haired woman was quite smaller and less
built than the Amazon approaching her, and her only attire was a short gold
dress and gold bands around her arms, neck, and one calf.

Wonder Woman stopped in front of the stone statues, a few feet short of the
steps, and raised her arm towards the smaller female. "You," she shouted
boldly, "you are the Guardian of the Temple of Arklops?" She had no idea if
her English would be understood, but she had to try.

"Greetings, Earth female. I have been expecting you."

Curia was taken by total surprise. Not only did the alien understand her, and
know her language, but she had been expecting her? She must have seen the
space cruiser approaching, Curia assumed, and it didn't look to her like this
world got very many visits. She tried hard to mask her shock, continuing to
assert herself as she looked up the steps at the Guardian, whose face seemed
stoic and emotionless.

"Then," Wonder Woman replied, "you know why I am here. I will defeat you, and
claim the power of this Temple."

"You are mistaken, Earth female." That was the terse reply from the Guardian,
her expression unchanging, as the two stone giants suddenly began to move,
coming to life.

"Golems!" shouted Curia, as she watched the two stone beasts, both thirty
times her size, start to lumber towards her. She slowly rose up into the air,
cocking her fists, as they slowly approached her. She watched them get close,
and realized that if either of them landed a punch on her, the force would
likely knock her out - one fist was twice her size! But she had the advantage
of quickness; she knew she had to strike first, and she did. She waited until
their heads were both a couple of feet away, within her range.

As both golems began to raise their fists towards her, she swiftly kicked the
one on the right in the head, and as she did her momentum sent a punch into
the head of the other construct. The fists stopped rising, as the golems tried
to react to what had just happened. But Wonder Woman reacted much faster, as
she sent out a flurry of punches and kicks.

Even though she was not on Earth, her super-strength was not diminished; her
punches and kicks packed a lot of power, and the golems began to rock a bit.
'The bigger they are, the harder they fall,' she thought for a moment as she
continued her barrage, her focus otherwise single-minded. They were made of
rocks, they weren't alive, and so she had no reason to feel remorse by their
destruction.

She wound up and put all of her might into one focused, mighty punch; the
stone floor below them shook as the golems started to fall. Wonder Woman was
unrelenting still, continuing to punch away even as the planet's gravity took
over. With one huge 'CRASH!!!!' the giant rock creatures hit the floor and
broke apart.

The Guardian had been watching this transpire, her hands on her hips, still
without any change in her expression. As the golems smashed to the floor,
Wonder Woman wasted not a moment as she turned and sprinted up the dozen or so
steps towards the Guardian, eager to finish what she had started as quickly as
possible.

The Guardian stood her ground as the Amazon Princess ran towards her. Wonder
Woman's focus was on one thing - putting the Guardian down and claiming the
power for herself. She let loose with a punch to the Guardian that sent her
reeling backwards. And then, as quickly as she had thrown the first punch, a
second followed right behind it. And then a third. The Guardian continued to
be knocked backwards as Wonder Woman continued her barrage - four, five, six,
seven, eight punches. The Guardian seemed to have no defense at all against
the bigger, more muscular, powerful Amazon warrior.

Suddenly, the Guardian let fly with a kick, aimed at the abdomen of her
aggressor. "AAAAAAAHHHH!!!" Curia screamed out, partly in shock at the power
in the kick, and partly in pain. The Guardian kept at it, sending a flurry of
barefooted kicks at the same spot. Wonder Woman gasped as she felt something
inside her tear, and she dropped on all fours to the ground, screaming in
agony, glaring up defiantly at the smug-looking alien.

"Does it hurt, Earth female?" The Guardian stood over her, watching Wonder
Woman as she grabbed at her midsection, writhing in pain.

"What ... what have you done ... ?" Wonder Woman gasped, as she tried to deal
with the searing pain, the likes of which she had never experienced. It was
like something had ripped her apart from the inside, and there was no relief;
she was no longer on Earth, so the power of Gaea to rapidly heal her was of no
help to her now.

"You believe that you are strong, but you are weak. I know your Earth-female
anatomy very well. Your abdominal muscles have been ripped away from your
core, and there is nothing protecting many of your vital organs."

Wonder Woman gasped again as she struggled, trying to get past the pain
somehow and get to her feet. Before she could, though, the Guardian's bare
foot connected once again to the heroine's lower abdomen. Wonder Woman
screamed in agony as she felt something inside of her rupture. The Guardian
was unrelenting, delivering kick after kick after kick, the last one sending
Curia flying into the side of the giant stone cube behind the altar.

Wonder Woman's right arm was caught inside one of the maze-like indentions in
the stone cube, pinning her in place for the moment, as the alien marched
towards her, suddenly now in complete command of the fight. The Guardian went
airborne and started punching the shocked Amazon in the same damaged area,
over and over and over, each punch adding to the destruction inside the
helpless heroine's torso.

In the position she was in, hanging there and against the stone, Wonder Woman
had no way to defend herself from the barrage. Eventually, her arm came free,
but the Guardian kept her in place as she relentlessly destroyed her. Blood
was now pouring from Curia's nose and mouth as it gurgled up through her
insides. And still, the Guardian did not stop her assault.

Finally, after several minutes, she stopped punching and backed away, allowing
the dazed and battered Wonder Woman to succumb to gravity and drop, tumbling
down over the side of the altar and onto the stone floor below. It took all of
her remaining resolve to pull herself up to a half-kneeling position as the
Guardian floated down to stand in front of her.

"You still think you are going to defeat me, Earth female?" The Guardian's
tone had changed ever so slightly, from indifference to confidence. "I've just
destroyed your ability to reproduce. As they say on your world, you've been
'spayed'. Right?" Wonder Woman could only glare weakly and shake her head in
shock. "Although that's really the last thing you should concern yourself with
at the moment."

"I ... I will ... defeat you ... " Wonder Woman tried to crawl towards her on
her elbows and knees, but the damage that had been done to her was too great
for her to even do that.

"Silly female, you're already dead. The only question is when I decide to put
you out of your suffering."

Dead. The word was bouncing around inside the stunned heroine's head. Not once
had she thought about the possibility. She was Wonder Woman; villains on earth
shook in terror at the mere mention of her name. She had been in many a fight,
against powerful foes, but never in her life had she been so completely
destroyed as she was right then. And yet, the thought of fleeing, of trying to
escape never once crossed her mind. That was not the Amazon way, that was not
the Wonder Woman way. 'Fight to the death' ... she had heard that phrase a
thousand times, but never had it been taken this literally. She couldn't die,
she wouldn't die!

"What is it they call you on Earth ... 'Wonder Woman'? I sense that you are
wondering about a great many things right now." Wonder Woman could only shake
her head in disbelief.

"Must ... get ... up ... " And, to both her own and the Guardian's amazement,
she somehow did. It took every last bit of strength and energy she possessed,
but Wonder Woman managed to get back on her feet, although rather unsteadily,
much like a punch-drunk boxer who is hanging on for dear life, knowing one
more blow will finish them off.

"Impressive. You will die, but you will die with honor. And you will know
why." The Guardian slowly approached her weakened prey. "When I sent that
transmission to Earth a while ago, I never thought it would be answered so
quickly, with such mindless consideration for the consequences."

"WHAM!" The Guardian delivered a rock-hard punch to Curia's upper abdomen,
just below her large breasts, knocking the wind out of her and sending her
stumbling back into the wall behind her. "I doubt you have a clue how the
power is obtained, Earth female. So I'll tell you."

"CRACK!" The next punch shattered the Amazon's lower ribcage, causing her to
scream in horrified pain as she was knocked back into the wall with tremendous
force. "The temple only grants its power through a sacrifice. Once a living
creature is sacrificed upon the altar, its life force is transferred to the
one performing the sacrifice, making that one more powerful." Wonder Woman
blinked, the pain searing through her mind and body keeping her from
responding further.

"BAM!" Another punch, another internal organ destroyed, more blood gurgling
from the mouth of the helpless heroine. "I discovered quickly that female
sacrifices granted the most power, and before long I was the most powerful
being on this world. I didn't stop until every single other living thing on
this planet had been sacrificed on that altar up there." Wonder Woman's eyes
glanced up; her vision was blurred at this point, but she could make out the
shape of the altar at the top of the steps.

"BOOM!" Curia's arms were out in a vain attempt to do something, anything to
stop the onslaught, but it was just no use; each punch did more damage than
the last. "The more powerful the living thing is, the more power I get. Well,
as you can imagine, once I had finished with the living things on this world,
I left to find another world. Yours." Wonder Woman tried to respond, but all
that came out was a gurgle with more of her blood.

"THWACK!" The punches were driving the Amazon Princess so violently into the
stone wall behind her that they were fracturing several of her vertebra. "I
found the four most powerful females your pathetic planet had to offer, and
destroyed them, capturing their life forces in a container and bringing them
back here." She paused, as the realization of what she had just said hit Curia
like a freight train. "If I recall, one of them called herself Wonder Woman,
too?"

"THUD!" The next punch was a bit higher, slamming Wonder Woman's boobs back
into her and breaking more ribs, some of which cut into her lungs. Even with
her Amazon constitution and training, the pain was just too much for her to
bear any longer. "You came here to avenge her, no? Instead, you are simply the
latest sacrifice."

The Guardian backed away, as Wonder Woman's motionless body collapsed to the
stones below. She was conscious still, but barely so, as she lay there on her
back, her eyes blankly looking up, her mouth slightly open. The victorious
Guardian stood over her, straddling her, taking only the slightest joy in her
accomplishment. Then, methodically, she kneeled down and rolled the unmoving
heroine over, and then grabbed her by the arms and shoulders, pulling Wonder
Woman's body over her left shoulder. Then she carefully got to her feet.

The taller, bigger Amazon was now nothing more than dead weight as she dangled
over the Guardian's shoulder. Her eyes were open enough to see in front of
her, as the Guardian began to ascend the stone steps towards the altar. She
was still conscious enough to know what was happening. She wished at that
moment that she could somehow get a message to Earth, to warn the rest of
them, to tell them to never come here, no matter what. She realized how
foolish and stupid she had been to come here alone, and to not tell a soul
what she was doing. She realized that nobody was ever going to know how her
life had ended. Nobody except for the emotionless alien that was carrying her
like a sack of potatoes.

The Guardian mounted the last step, with her red, gold, and blue trophy still
slung easily over her shoulder. She walked to the altar, and then stepped up
into it, standing in its center. She released her grip on Wonder Woman a bit,
so that her head slid downwards towards the altar. Curia's arms hung down
below her head, not quite to the stone surface of the altar; the Guardian had
her arms around Curia's thighs, holding her in place, as if preparing for
something.

All of the remaining blood rushed to Wonder Woman's head as she dangled there
helplessly for a minute. Her legs were up in the air; she kicked them weakly
but the Guardian's grip never wavered. And then, without warning, the Guardian
slammed her body down like a piledriver, face and chest first, hard, into the
stone below. Wonder Woman felt something in her neck crack, and then, she felt
nothing at all in her arms or in her legs. The Guardian wasn't finished,
though; as the Amazon's body rested in the altar, upside down, legs up in the
air, she slammed her open hand between them, over and over, each slam into her
lady parts driving her body deeper and deeper into the stone surface.

Wonder Woman knew the end was near; the flicker of consciousness and life that
was left in her could not comprehend time any longer. She had no perception of
the compromising, embarrassing position her body was now in; her legs had
fallen back to the edge of the altar, her rear end now sticking straight up in
the air. She was oblivious to the fact that the Guardian was lifting one of
the huge stone cubes off of its pedestal, and carrying it towards the altar.

The Guardian, without another word, tossed the massive stone object into the
altar, crushing the last breath of life from Wonder Woman, and terminating her
existence. And then, as she felt the rush of power into her body, she finally
allowed herself to smile.