Wonderdoll




Wonder Woman sighed as she sat alone inside the Hall of Justice. It had been a
very slow day, which was mainly attributable to it being the American holiday
of Thanksgiving. Apparently, even the villains took a day off to stuff
themselves, she thought as she scanned the network for activity.

She was working today because she was one of the few Justice Leaguers who
didn't have any commitments on the holiday. Batman (as Bruce Wayne) was
hosting a huge charity dinner at Wayne Manor. Flash and Green lantern were
with their families, Superman was with Lois Lane, and Hawkgirl had flown back
to her planet of Thanagar-she said she couldn't stand to be around on a
holiday where a bird was killed, stuffed, and eaten ... .

So that just left Diana and the Martian Manhunter to man the Hall of Justice
for the holiday. Normally Supergirl would have been on duty too ... but nobody
had a clue where she was! She had been investigating the disappearance of a
famous supermodel, when she had disappeared herself, without a trace. The
League had done a thorough search of the last area she was known to be in and
turned up nothing; the assumption was, being that she was still a bit immature
and flighty, that she had gotten frustrated again and flown away to another
planet, as she had once before.

Wonder Woman looked up at the clock, it was 2 pm and there was one more hour
before her replacement would show up. Just then she heard a beep that
indicated a message was coming in. She turned to the computer screen and
clicked a couple of buttons, and then read the message that came through:

Diana:

All is well! I have a new direction for my life and am very happy! But I miss
you, and want to tell you all about it ...

I'll be at the corner of 10th and Main in downtown Gotham at 4pm today, if you
can meet me there that would be great!

Kara

"Well," thought Wonder Woman to herself, "so that's why she disappeared ... a
new direction ... " she looked up at the clock again, there was no reason she
could think of why she couldn't meet Supergirl at 4pm. And find out what was
going on, and hopefully convince her to return to the Justice League. Diana
had always had a strong influence over her Kryptonian friend, almost like a
big sister. And Kara trusted her, which is why she chose to contact her of all
the Leaguers, Diana thought to herself.

3 o' clock came and J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, arrived to take over
the watch for the rest of the day. Wonder Woman had checked the JLA computer
maps to ensure she knew exactly where this address was, and immediately took
flight towards Gotham.

As she flew, Wonder Woman gave a bit of thought to what she might say to her
younger blonde teammate. In the past, she had used both the firm approach,
reminding Kara of the great responsibility they had for the safety and welfare
of so many millions of people; but, also she had used the kinder, gentler
approach, showing Kara how much she was loved and appreciated by the rest of
the team. Maybe a combination of the two would be most effective, she decided
as she arrived in Gotham, with a full 20 minutes to spare!

Wonder Woman landed near the intersection and started to look around. Downtown
Gotham was completely quiet and empty, as was to be expected on a Thanksgiving
afternoon. This time tomorrow it would be the opposite, loud and busy with the
sounds of the shoppers bustling about, rushing from store to store. She found
the corner of 10th and Main, and wondered why Kara would have chosen this
place to meet. There seemed to be nothing of significance here ... the only
thing that caught Diana's eye was a storefront right on the corner, but it
appeared to be out of business as far as she could tell, as both of the window
displays were completely empty. The sign above the door read 'Curious
Collectibles' in a somewhat Gothic font.

Wonder Woman walked over and peered through one of the windows, but couldn't
see anything beyond the empty window display. "Well, this is an interesting
place to want to meet someone ... " She walked over to the solid door, and
leaned against it, looking around for any sign of her friend, when quite to
her surprise the door creaked a bit and pushed open.

She was quite surprised as well by what her eyes saw as she walked in. The
store was clearly not 'Out of Business' ... the lights were on, and the store
was full of things ... Diana slowly began to walk around, taking it all in.
The walls of the store were lined with a number of antique looking and
beautiful display cases, and inside most of them were items, many of which she
thought probably belonged in a museum somewhere. The center area of the store
was more of what she expected, shelves full of merchandise, dolls, toys and
other collectibles for purchase. The items in the center all had price tags,
while the items in the display cases along the wall did not; Wonder Woman
assumed those items were probably so expensive that the store owner didn't
want to cause a shock from customers by displaying the prices.

She made her way towards the back of the store, where the checkout counter
was. "Hello?" she said in a loud whisper. "Is anyone here?"

After a moment, a head appeared from behind the counter, as a short, older,
smiling woman stood up. "Hi there! Welcome to Curious Collectibles ... I'm
Mary. How can I help you?"

Diana couldn't help but smile, the older lady was adorable, like a
grandmother, with a twinkle in her eye that seemed to say 'Everything is going
to be just wonderful! Here, I baked you some cookies!' "Yes hi ... I'm W-

The lady interrupted her with a smile. "Of course you are Wonder Woman!
Everyone knows who you are, young lady! It's an honor to have someone of your
stature in my humble little shop ... !"

Wonder Woman beamed and smiled. Being told how amazing she was never seemed to
get old. "It's quite a nice little shop ... I'm supposed to be meeting a
friend at 4, I just, you know, thought I'd look around while I'm waiting ... "

"Please do! And please, don't hesitate to ask me any questions, dear ... "
Mary walked slowly and a bit stiffly around the counter to the tall and
powerful Amazon. Diana looked down at her, the little old lady barely came up
to the bottom of her chest. "I'm sure you have lots of questions, don't you,
dear?"

"Well, actually ... " Wonder Woman started as she began to look around the
room once more ... "I was wondering ... you have a lot of really rare and
valuable pieces on display in here ... "

"Yes, thank you for noticing ... this is my life's work here in this little
shop." Mary beamed as she followed the mighty superheroine over to one of the
displays. Inside were a number of antique looking porcelain dolls. "Every
single one of these is literally the only one of its kind in existence ... If
I find that another one exists somewhere, then it ceases to be a part of my
collection ... "

Wonder Woman's eyes widened a bit at this statement. "You mean ... " she began
as she pointed to one of the porcelain dolls, "if you find another doll just
like this one somewhere, you'll get rid of this one?"

"Exactly, my dear," Mary replied. "I would auction or sell it off at the
earliest opportunity. I pride myself on the uniqueness of each and every item
in this collection. Many of these items were the only one of its kind ever
made, and the others, if there are duplicates, they have probably been lost or
destroyed through the passage of time ... I see you walked right over to one
of my doll cases. Do you like dolls, Wonder Woman?"

"Well ... " Diana started to answer, as she thought about it, dolls weren't
something she had ever really thought about before. They didn't have them
growing up on the Amazon island of Themiscyra. She started to say something
more, but Mary began to speak before she could say anything.

"Of course you do ... every girl likes dolls. I've loved playing with dolls
since I was a little girl! Sometimes I forget that they are dolls, they seem
like so much more than that sometimes ... I have always taken care of my dolls
as if they were my own children. They are all very special to me ... maybe
that's why I've enjoyed collecting them for so many years ... and unlike real
children, they never disappoint you. You can put them in their case and they
just smile, and look pretty, and perfect ... "

Wonder Woman stood and listened to the small frail woman talk, her voice had a
very soothing quality about it, and the twinkle in her eyes made Diana feel
very much at ease and interested in what she was talking about. She watched as
Mary moved slowly over to her left, to what appeared to be a large case
covered by a dark blue curtain.

"Would you like to see my newest display I just finished, Wonder Woman?" Mary
asked as she took a hold of the edge of the curtain with her small hands.

"Sure ... " Wonder Woman answered, as she glanced up at an antique clock on
the wall ... it was almost 4.

"You are the first person to see this," Mary stated as she slowly pulled the
curtain away, "my tribute to the greatest doll ever ... Barbie!"

Wonder Woman's eyes widened in amazement as the display was completely
uncovered. It was a large, three-part case, painted completely in bright pink,
yellow, and other vibrant colors, and measuring about 6 feet tall by 4 feet
wide! The side panels had shelves, with an assortment of Barbie dolls, some in
their boxes, some on little stands, even one on a music box, all with plaques
in front describing them, when they were made, and attesting to their
originality. But what really caught Wonder Woman's eye was the display in the
middle ... a life-size Barbie doll, wearing a short, low cut, pink dress,
perched on a beautiful marble pedestal, and slowly rotating inside. The golden
plaque below simply read "Barbie" and the date 6/22/88, which Wonder Woman
assumed was the date this piece was made.

"Wow ... " was all she could muster.

"Quite amazing, isn't it?" Mary beamed, as she watched the heroine's reaction
with intrigue.

"Yes," Diana said, "I've never seen a Barbie doll that big before ... !"

"I am sure you haven't ... as with all my collection, this is a unique item,
the only one just like it. I only acquired it just recently ... " Mary smiled
as she paused. "It really makes the whole display so much more impressive, I
think. Don't you?"

Wonder Woman nodded in agreement. "It is an amazing collection you have here,
Mary ... almost like a museum!" She turned as Mary slowly began to walk
towards the counter once more.

"Yes, quite," Mary smiled. "I do enjoy collecting ... it's one of my two true
passions in life ... " She passed the front of the counter and walked to a
display to the left of the counter, a display that Diana had completely missed
seeing before. She gasped in surprise.

The display was three shelves tall, and filled completely with Supergirl
dolls. There must have been 100 boxes there, showing the Maid of Might in a
variety of heroic poses.

"My other passion, one that I have recently discovered, is doll making," Mary
said. "Here you see my latest endeavor." She waved her hand across the
Supergirl display.

"You ... made these?" Wonder Woman exclaimed in surprise. She knelt down in
front of the display for a closer look. The dolls were of extremely high
quality, and incredibly lifelike as well! "How ... "

"I thought you would ask that," Mary chuckled. "I have a fairly new process I
use to make my dolls, it is quite labor intensive still but yields amazing
results, in my opinion. But it requires the assistance of the actual subject,
and Supergirl was extremely gracious to consent to both allowing me to make
and sell these dolls, as well as providing me with her likeness - the quality
and accuracy of the dolls I make is of utmost importance to me." Mary paused
and glanced at the clock herself. "You said you had to meet a friend, right?"

Wonder Woman stood up and looked at the clock. "Yes ... and would you believe
it, Supergirl is the friend I am supposed to meet! No wonder she picked this
location, she's been here before."

"Well then, I'm sure she will be along shortly," Mary smiled. She watched as
Wonder Woman looked up, above the display, where Mary had placed a sign:
'Supergirl: World's Greatest Heroine.'

"World's Greatest Heroine?" Diana shouted, her expression a bit surprised and
angry.

"Ah," Mary laughed. "Don't take offense, honey. That was my idea - I figured
it would help sell the dolls a bit faster ... and after all, she is the only
heroine doll I have at present ... so to me, she is the World's Greatest. I am
sure you are pretty great too ... "

Diana bristled a bit. "I was out saving the world long before she was ever
here ... I am a founding member of the Justice League ... "

"A bit jealous, aren't we?" Mary chuckled. "And arrogant ... I suppose it
comes with the territory. After all, you have to exude total confidence if
you're going to defeat all those evil villains, right?"

"Exactly!" Wonder Woman stared at the display, her face still in an angry
pout.

Mary smiled. "Maybe we can do something to fix that ... would you like that?"

"Fix it? You mean take down the sign?" Wonder Woman turned to face her,
puzzled.

"Well, in a manner of speaking, yes," Mary replied with a chuckle. "There's an
empty display over here on the other side ... would you like me to make a doll
of you, Wonder Woman?"

"A doll of me? You mean like you did of Supergirl?"

"Yes, dear, exactly like Supergirl ... then I wouldn't have any problem
putting the 'World's Greatest Heroine' sign under your name, over here ... "
and she pointed to the right of the counter where the empty shelves sat.

Diana's eyes brightened. "What do you need from me?"

Mary grinned a bit wickedly, though Wonder Woman didn't pick up on it. "Well
... " she began as she walked behind the counter and opened a folder, "I need
you to sign one of these forms, like she did, giving me the power to make,
sell, and use your likeness ... and then just step in the back for a few
pictures ... that's it!"

Wonder Woman walked over to the counter and looked over the form-it had a lot
of big words which she didn't understand, but she saw a form just like it next
to it, signed by Kara. "That seems simple enough ... " and without another
thought she signed her name at the bottom.

"Excellent. Now follow me to the back and we can get started!"

"Now?" Wonder Woman asked. "But Supergirl"-

"You'll see her soon, I am sure of it!" And Mary opened the door to the back,
allowing Wonder Woman to walk through it first, and then Mary followed behind
and closed the door behind it as it locked itself automatically.

"It's dark-I can't see a thing ... !" Diana exclaimed.

"Oh dear-I forgot to turn on the lights before we came in, how silly of me!"
Mary replied. "There should be a pull string a few feet in front of you, if
you wouldn't mind ... " and with that she reached into her pocket and pulled
out a pair of night glasses and put them on.

"Where ... " Wonder Woman asked as she reached clumsily around.

"A bit to your right ... no, your left ... " Mary watched and chuckled to
herself as the mighty heroine stumbled about and finally her hand grasped a
cord hanging from the ceiling.

"I got it ... I think ... "

"Okay," Mary answered as she reached behind her and flicked a switch to the on
position ... "now give it a good strong pull!"

And Wonder Woman did ...

"AAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed as a million volts of
electricity suddenly shot through the cord and into the surprised heroine ...
she struggled as her knees buckled under her, finally releasing the cord as
she crumpled to the floor, flat on her stomach, her eyes rolled back, dazed,
stunned, and almost knocked out by the powerful current.

Mary flicked another switch on the wall which turned the real lights on. Then
she laughed as she picked up a bag and walked over to the dizzy and weakened
form of Wonder Woman lying on the floor. She reached into the bag, pulling out
a thick steel collar which she easily snapped around the shocked heroine's
neck.

"Electricity and you just don't get along, do they?" Mary chuckled. "Must be
that whole 'made from the earth' thing ... "

Wonder Woman struggled to pick her head up and look at the short woman next to
her, who until a minute ago had seemed completely benign, harmless, sweet ...

"The collar I put on you is capable of delivering a current into you much like
you just experienced ... in case you get any silly ideas of resisting. Just a
push of the button on this control in my pocket." Mary laughed as she reached
down to the heroine's waist and unclipped her lasso. "I have a nice safe place
for this ... safe from your mental telepathy that is ... " and she reached
back into the bag and extracted a metal case, then slid the lasso into it and
closed it. Then she took a couple of steps back, towards the wall, and watched
Wonder Woman slowly try to regain her senses.

The dazed heroine pulled herself up to her hands and knees, still looking up
at Mary, an incredulous expression on her face still. Her hand slowly went to
her neck, feeling the collar, then to her waist, feeling the place where her
lasso should be. "What's going on ... why ... what's the meaning of this ...
?" she mumbled. "M-my lasso ... you took my lasso ... "

Mary smiled as she listened. "Why yes, I did. I'm fully aware of its
capabilities. As I am of yours." She kept her attention squarely on the
Amazing Amazon as she fingered the remote in her pocket. "I've been studying
your type for years, analyzing all of your amazing powers, and of course your
weaknesses too." She took a small step back as she sensed Diana's strength
beginning to return. "When I decided to get into the doll-making business, I
spent a fair amount of time deciding what kind of dolls I would make, what
would be the most popular? Who do little girls look up to? Of course there is
Barbie. But Mattel would never give up the rights to her. So who else is out
there? And then it hit me. The world's greatest super-heroines would make
great dolls!" She looked down, smiling as she saw she had Wonder Woman's full
attention. "You did say you wanted me to make a doll of you, didn't you,
dear?"

"Yes," the heroine quickly replied, "b-but why did you have to do this ... you
said you just needed a few pictures ... !" Her hand went back to the collar
around her neck.

Mary laughed. "Oh dearie, that was just a little ruse to get you back here. I
need more than a few pictures. I need your body, and I need it for a pretty
good period of time." She paused to let this statement soak in.

"My body? What for? How long?"

"Well, you see, the process of making an exact doll replica of you is a very
difficult thing. It requires your body to be inside the duplicating machine
for hours ... for each pose."

"You never told me anything like that! I won't do that!" Diana stated
indignantly.

"That's what Supergirl said too, and it's understandable, which is why I
needed to trick you both, get some kind of control over you. Fortunately for
me, tricking you both wasn't terribly difficult ... "

"Wait, what did you do to Supergirl? She's not really coming to meet me, is
she?"

"Silly girl, she's already here ... !" Mary exclaimed as she hit a button on
the wall. A motor began to whir behind the confused Amazon Princess, and as
she turned to look, a curtain began to open, revealing a glass case, with the
form of Supergirl inside, on some kind of stand, slowly revolving, a blank
expression on her face.

"Great Hera! Kara!" Diana screamed in shock. She got to her feet and ran to
the case. Then she turned her head back to the shopkeeper, "What did you do to
her?"

"Don't worry, her body is completely unharmed. You see, her investigation into
the missing supermodel brought her here. I pretended not to know what she was
talking about, and when I told her about the dolls, and how she would be
marketed as the 'World's Greatest Heroine,' her overinflated ego got in the
way of any sense of caution she should have had. She signed her form as easily
as you did, and once I got her back here, and slipped a Kryptonite collar
around her pretty neck, she was finished."

Wonder Woman gasped. She looked back at Supergirl. And then back again to
Mary. "She's not wearing any collar now! What's keeping her from breaking out
of there?"

Mary chuckled once more. "I said her body was completely unharmed, I never
said anything about her mind ... She's been, how shall we say, 'reprogrammed',
and now all she thinks about is doll things, like how pretty she looks, or how
perfect her body is, or how wonderful it feels to have people looking at her,
playing with her. All those other silly thoughts you heroines have, about
fighting crime and such, they're completely gone." Mary paused. "She's my doll
now! Just like Barbie Supermodel out there in the store display. And just like
you'll be, very soon." She had a look of total victory on her elderly face.

Diana glanced back at her friend, turning helplessly inside the case. Her
expression turned, becoming very very angry, as she swept back towards the
triumphant dollmaker. "I'm going to stop you! Make you fix whatever you did to
her!" And the Amazing Amazon, without hesitation, left her feet and flew
straight at Mary, her fists extended. Mary didn't have to wait more than a
second for the impulsive heroine to get close enough for her to press the
button in her pocket ...

"AAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!" Wonder Woman screamed as the
powerful electric shock stopped her in mid-air, her fists inches away from the
smiling dollmaker's face. Mary kept her finger down on the button as the
overconfident heroine convulsed in the air, fighting against the current
surging through her. After a minute, Mary finally released the button, and
Wonder Woman fell to the floor in an unconscious heap.

"Stupid girl," Mary muttered as she looked down. "So powerful, and yet so
predictable. Let's get you processed, shall we?" And she turned back to the
wall behind her, and flicked on a switch. The rear wall of the room began to
open, revealing a hidden room behind it, filled with a number of
interconnected machines. Mary knelt down and grabbed a low rolling platform
next to her, slid it over next to the unconscious heroine, and slowly rolled
her up onto it. Then, she rolled the platform towards the machines ...

2

Some time later, Diana awoke, feeling like she had just had the strangest
dream. The first thing that told her it wasn't a dream, was that despite her
eyes being open, she was still in total darkness. The second indication was
that she couldn't move her arms or legs at all. The third and final thing was
that she couldn't feel any part of her Wonder Woman outfit on her body, save
for her bracelets.

"Where am I ... what's going on ... " she mumbled.

"Welcome back, Wonder Woman," a soft feminine voice responded.

"Who are you ... where am I ... what happened ... " Diana struggled to move,
to break whatever was holding her in place. She could feel her strength was at
its normal amount, which puzzled her even more as to why she couldn't break
the restraints.

"Now now, just relax, I'm going to be the one asking the questions. What is
your real name?"

Diana gasped as she felt a powerful tingling in her head. And she knew
immediately why it was that she couldn't move ... she had been tied in place
with her own Lasso of Truth! Its strength and invulnerability had aided Wonder
Woman in the defeat of many a villain, and now that same power was being used
on her. In addition, she had no choice but to answer any question honestly to
whoever was holding her lasso.

"D-Diana ... Diana of Themiscyra ... " she muttered softly.

"Good girl. Do you think you're pretty, Diana of Themiscyra?"

"Yes," Wonder Woman breathed in reply. She continued to struggle against the
lasso but it was no use.

"And do you think your body is perfect?" the feminine voice asked sweetly.

"Yes," the heroine answered, unable to show any modesty under the lasso's
influence.

"Pretty, perfect body, sounds like the description of a doll, doesn't it?"

Diana struggled for a moment but replied, "yes ... "

"Tell me, Wonder Woman, how does it feel, knowing you're about to be
reprogrammed into a doll, with your own lasso being used to help do it?"

The heroine gasped in shock! She had to resist this somehow! She was the most
powerful heroine in the world! This was so ... "shocking ... humiliating ... "
were the words that came out of her mouth, in reply to the question.

"Yes, humiliating." The voice took on a more scolding tone. "Good. It's a nice
by-product of this process, that the arrogant, overconfident, egotistical
do-gooder is going to feel a little humiliation, get knocked down off of her
pedestal ... metaphorically speaking, of course."

"Please ... you can't do this to me ... " Wonder Woman whimpered, "the world
needs me ... "

"I can and I am. The process has already started ... the initial conversion
began while you were out, you just can't sense it yet. Your weak, soft mind is
ready for whatever I put in it. An hour from now, you won't have any thoughts
other than how wonderful it is to be a pretty, mindless, displayed doll. As
for the world ... trust me, there's plenty of arrogant, muscle-bound wannabes
just dying to take your place. And as long as I keep making and selling these
dolls, nobody is going to forget you, WonderDoll ... "

"No ... please ... please don't do this ... I'll do anything ... " Wonder
Woman begged.

"Anything, huh? There's two things I want you to do, then, WonderDoll."

Diana's eyes widened. "What are they? I'll do it! I'll do anything!"

A light suddenly came on inside the box, as a pretty pink spiral began to
slowly spin in front of the surprised heroine's eyes. "Watch ... " the voice
said, and then, as earbuds came out from either side, moving into her ears,
the voice added, " ... and listen."

Wonder Woman desperately tried to look away from the spiral, but it was so
close to her eyes, and so pretty, and so captivating, that her eyes were drawn
into it, and in a matter of moments they were locked in place. Her mouth slid
slightly open as she stared blankly, helplessly, deeply, into the inviting
spiral. Her breathing settled into an easy rhythm as the messages coming
through the earbuds did their work.

It took but thirty minutes to wipe her mind, and another thirty to replace her
old thoughts with the new ones. The rest of the night, the heroine was kept in
a deep, restful state, deepening the conditioning to make it permanent, while
the machine posed her unresisting body into the positions it wanted, to make
the different dolls.

Early the next morning, she awoke, rubbing her eyes. The room she was in was
brightly lit. The bed she was lying on was bright and pink. She looked down at
herself; she was dressed in her outfit again, but her mind didn't register any
knowledge of what it meant. Her eyes widened as they became accustomed to the
light. She smiled as happy, blissful thoughts slowly created themselves in her
conscious state. She stood up, blinked, and turned her head to the right, as
she saw Supergirl rising from the bed next to hers. The door opened, and a
strangely familiar, elderly, small woman entered.

"SuperDoll, WonderDoll, you're both awake. It's almost 6, it's time for you
both to get into your displays. Follow me!" And without hesitation, she turned
and walked out the door, towards the storefront. And without a thought, the
two empty-headed super-heroines followed her, their only thoughts of how
wonderful it was to be on display, to be looked at, and admired, for nothing
except how pretty and perfect their bodies were.

As they arrived at the front of the store, the woman stopped. She pointed
Supergirl towards the window on the left, and Wonder Woman to the window on
the right. As each heroine stood on the pedestal in the center of her window
display, the pedestal sent a tingling sensation up through her boots, upwards,
until it reached her brain, where it took control of her motor functions. The
pedestals began to slowly turn, as the heroines' bodies stood, posed in the
same pose as the first doll on the display shelf inside...every thirty
seconds, the pose changed, looping continuously.

A clock inside the store rang six times, as the woman opened the front door,
putting up the 'OPEN' sign, and turning on all the lights, including the ones
illuminating the window displays. The Black Friday crowds who were already on
the sidewalks quickly began to congregate in front of 'Curious Collectibles',
and all the chatter was about the amazingly lifelike window displays!

Thousands of Supergirl and Wonder Woman dolls flew off the store shelves that
day. The two inspirations for the dolls never knew this fact, though. They
continued to rotate happily in their displays, blissfully unaware of anything
except how wonderful it felt to be a doll ...

The End