ATHENA AND THE REVENGE ON AN ABUSIVE HUSBAND by Hamlet Julie reached into the closet and removed the last of her clothes from her home in West Bridgford just. outside Nottingham. She moved back to the bed where her suitcases were lying open. When she had finished packing, she stepped back and took one last look around the bedroom. When she looked in the mirror, she was reminded again why she was leaving. Her left eye was still discoloured, but it had started to fade. Her jaw was still swollen, and her nose was puffy. Her husband Dave had beaten her up again two nights ago. She waited until now to leave because he was at his favourite bar, drinking with his mates and probably boasting how he kept his wife in line. As she picked up her bags and left, she vowed never to be in this situation again. Her marriage had not always been like this. She and Dave had been the typical happily married couple for a while. Their troubles started when Julie's career started to move ahead, and Dave's did not. Julie worked as an investment banker and had moved steadily forward to her present position as a Senior Manager Dave had lost a couple of good jobs because he had started to drink more than he should and not pay attention to his work. The last straw came when Julie came home with the news that the pay rise, she had just received would put her annual income over £80,000 per year. Dave now made less than half that amount. Later that night, after drinking steadily for several hours he beat her for the first time. This became more of a regular occurrence. At first, he apologized profusely, asking for her forgiveness saying he would never touch her ever again. But the more successful Julie became, the worse Dave got. He was out most of the night and frequently beat her severely. Julie finally got up her nerve and chose this time to leave him. She had grown to hate the man she married, and her face and body bore the marks of how badly this marriage had deteriorated. She moved into a flat the other side of Nottingham and immediately sued for divorce. Dave found out where she lived and began to stalk her. She moved again, this time to a building in the same town with very tight security. However, he still found her telephone number and called her frequently, making threats. The next day, she stopped in at the newsstand around the corner from her office. As she browsed, she found magazines on the rack featuring bodybuilders, some of them women. Then she noticed a little door leading to a section in the back. She went back there and was amazed by what she saw. There were video tapes to be sure, but what caught her attention were the videos of women wrestling, boxing and just fighting often with men. Again, most of these women were obviously, bodybuilders. Since there was a gym close by, she thought "Maybe I can hire one of these women to beat up Dave. It would destroy Mr. Macho to be thrashed by a woman!" That night after work she stopped in at the Formula One Fitness gym.in Trinity Square in the centre of Nottingham she just looked around for a while, then she saw the person she thought might take on her little project. Supervising the workout of a man in the back of the gym was the most muscular woman Julie had ever seen. Even while just standing and talking to her client muscles seemed to leap out from every part of her body when she moved. Julie went to the front desk and asked who she was. "That is Athena Lagerstrom, one of our personal trainers. I can set you up with an appointment if you are interested in starting to work out." "Let me think about it," Julie said and hurriedly left the gym. After she got home, she realized she had never considered working out, but decided it would be a good excuse to meet Athena and put her plan into action. The next morning, she called and made an appointment to see Athena that night after work. The day seemed to last forever, until it was finally time to go. Julie arrived right on time and was introduced to Athena. She had a strong foreign accent and Julie later found out she came from Norseland that Julie found out to be a matriarchal society where women were normally very muscular and powerful and were the dominant sex! They discussed possible programs for Julie for a while, then Julie said, "Let me tell you why I'm really here." With that she proceeded to explain to Athena what she had in mind. "I can pay you very well to do this, £4,000" Julie said. Athena looked at her very closely. "Why don't you do it yourself. It would be much more satisfying." Athena said. "He is bigger and stronger than I am. I wouldn't have a chance." "How tall are you and how much do you weigh" Athena asked. " I'm five-seven and I weigh 115 pounds." "How about Dave?" "He is five-ten and weighs 185 by now. He has gained weight in the last year" Athena looked closely at Julie. "What if I told you could be in shape to do this in one year. I certainly will do it for that price if you decide that is what you want but I will train you to the point and to your limits until you can do it. You have the right body type; you just have to decide if you want to put on enough muscle and train in martial arts and boxing enough to do this or not. Give me a call when you decide which way you want to go." When Julie got home there were more messages on her answering machine from Dave telling her in detail what he meant to do to her when he caught up to her. She spent the night terrified that he would somehow be able to get to her. The next day she called Athena and said, "I want to do it." Thus, started Julie's transformation. She worked out every day with Athena. Things moved very slowly at first. Then Julie began to make progress. Muscles began to appear in her arms and legs. Her midsection began to take on a ripple effect. After six months of just weight training, Athena was a Norse Woman an accomplished martial artist Grade 1 in Gym Kata and boxer and fist fighter herself. The other segment of her training had also gone well. Recently she had knocked out two male sparring partners that Athena had brought in She began to instruct Julie in these activities as well. Finally, a year had passed. The divorce was final. The last time she had seen Dave he had made several threats again. Athena decreed Julie ready. Her weight had gone from 115 pounds to 144 pounds. Her biceps now expanded to 16 inches when flexed, her thighs were for her a monstrous 24 inches. Her shoulders, chest, and back rippled with powerful muscles. to work with her. Her fists while not overly large were hard as iron from all her work both in boxing and martial arts. "It's time," Athena told her. "Do you still want to do this? Never too late to change your mind." "This jerk has made my life miserable ever since I left him, and I can still feel him beating me sometimes. I have been dreaming about this for over a year. Nothing could stop me." "When you go, I will be your backup. You have worked hard for this. I will make sure that nothing goes wrong." When Julie was ready, she and Athena sat outside Dave's favourite bar. When he came out, she almost did not recognize him. He had gained even more weight and had really let himself go. She had heard that he was now abusing other women, the way, he used to abuse her. Two of his mates were with him as they drove off to Dave's place. "I'll make sure the two clowns do not interfere." Athena told Julie. "This is yours last chance to change your mind." "No chance. Let's go." Julie said. Although she did not want to admit it, she was feeling a bit apprehensive. There was still a slight doubt in her mind that she could pull this off, but she was determined to try. They drove quickly to the house that used to be hers and Dave's where he still lived. As they started for the front door, Athena had one last word of advice. "You will probably get hit. Do not let pain distract you from what you came here to do. You are in much better shape than he is, and with your training I have given you can probably take more punishment and hit harder than he can." Julie rang the doorbell. When Dave answered the door, he was flabbergasted to see his ex-wife standing there. "Finally come to your senses, huh. I knew you would come crawling back. Come on in where you belong." Then he noticed that Julie was not alone. "This is my friend, Athena from Norseland." Julie made the introduction. "Oh, a Norsi woman I've heard all about you she- males!" Dave turned and pointed to the two men sitting on the sofa drinking beer. "This is Pete and Mike" he said. Athena looked at the two men. "Why don't you two gentlemen take me in the kitchen and let us get a beer and give these two some privacy. I am sure, they have a lot to talk about." They jumped at the chance to go with the attractive foreign woman. "Now you two behave yourselves." Athena said with a wink at Julie. "I will keep these guys occupied for a while." As Athena, Pete, and Mike entered the kitchen, Athena closed the door and locked it from the kitchen side. She then positioned herself between Pete and Mike and the door. "You know how lovebirds are." she said. "No matter what you hear, the three of us should stay in here and leave them alone and let them work out their differences, don't you? agree? Now which one of you wants to get me a beer." Pete gave her a beer at once amazed at her incredible physique When the door closed, Julie looked at Dave. "If you think I am returning to be your wife again, you are sadly mistaken. I have come to repay you for all the pain and suffering you have caused me. I remember every black eye, bloody nose, and swollen jaw, I ever got from you, and tonight you will see what it feels like to be on the receiving end. I am going to whip you so bad you will never even think of ever abusing a woman the rest of your miserable life." Dave was dumbfounded. "You actually want to fight me?" he asked incredulously. "You are out of your mind. If you do not take your clothes off and get over here right now, I will thrash you again right now." 'COME ON DAVE LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN BEAT ME THIS TIME!' Any comments to norselandic@hotmail.com TO BE CONTINUED