Wonder Woman: The Beastmistress

Diana winced, but held on, and her opponent fell to the floor and rolled desperately on it, scattering debris all around, but without dislodging the Amazon.

"Oh, well, maybe some cheating." Circe sighed, and unleashed a blast of eldritch energies. The Amazon heroine cried out in pain as it struck her back, and she lost her hold on her bestial foe.

Diana fell, dazed, and the transformed Superman dove at her, spittle flying from his slavering jaws.

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The sweet-scented female was in danger.

He had to protect her.

With a growl, he attacked.

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"What?"

Circe stared in disbelief as the smaller white furry shape struck her slave, taking him off the doomed Amazon. Their struggling, tangled shapes flew through a dozen consecutive walls like a rocket.

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Wonder Woman got to her knees weakly, still trying to clear her head. Her eyes narrowed as she sought to make sense of the savagely struggling figures flying past her, too fast to see at normal human awareness.

"Krypto?"

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The furry bodies of both combatants were stained with blood as their fangs viciously sought the kill, but though both held strange similarities in their aspect, Krypto was much smaller than the transformed Superman, and a powerful sweep of a humanoid arm sent the dog flying away, stunned.

The larger creature turned, just in time for Wonder Woman's fist to find him, unleashing a sonic boom. Diana straddled her fallen opponent, punching him again and again, and saw Krypto bound back into the plaza.

"KRYPTO! Attack Circe!"

The dog obeyed without hesitation.

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Circe stumbled back in panic, raising a protective magical shield barely in time to stop Krypto's attack. Snarling, she unleashed an eldritch blast that threw him backwards.

"You will do as my slave, too," the sorceress hissed, but even as she gestured, Krypto stood up, and began to walk towards her, growling, ignoring the energies swirling around him.

Circe cursed loudly in ancient tongues. The dog was a real animal and not controllable under her animorph spell, yet also had too much individual willpower to fall under a lower-form domination spell. She had to use rougher measures.

She blasted again at the beast first, then at Wonder Woman. The damned Amazon dodged in time. But Circe then focused her will on her slave.

"KILL THAT DAMN DOG!"

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Wonder Woman rushed to Krypto's aid, but had to twist away and dodge more of Circe's magical blasts. She grabbed a massive chunk of debris and hurled it at the sorceress, only for it to shatter on her magical shield. Throwing her tiara would be equally useless; only repeated bludgeoning could weaken that defense.

The noise of the furious struggle between Krypto and the transformed Superman rose in volume, while Diana flew all around the plaza, dodging blast after blast, unable to join in to help, horrified at the savage intensity of their fight.

"KRYPTO! HE'S YOUR MASTER! IT'S SUPERMAN! DON'T HURT HIM!"

With fangs inches away from his opponent's throat, Krypto hesitated. His foe did not.

"NO! KRYPTO!"

A blast struck Diana and she was slammed against a wall, shattering it. But she caught a golden glint on the ground, and gritting her teeth, dived at Circe, with arms crossed before her, focusing her power on her bracelets. The blasts struck her, yet she still drove forward, until she struck Circe's defensive shield and ricocheted away.

"Your crude strength is useless, Amazon," Circe spat.

"Maybe not." Diana held up the golden lasso, that Circe had dropped during Krypto's initial attack. With a snap of her wrist she sent it flying towards the transformed Superman.

"NO!" Circe blasted again at Wonder Woman. The Amazon Princess fell down, crying out in pain, but held her grip on the lasso.

"KAL-EL! REMEMBER THE TRUTH! YOU ARE NOT A BEAST! YOU ARE A MAN! YOU ARE SUPERMAN!"

At the lasso's end, the Fire of Hestia flared, filling the space with blinding light.

Superman screamed loudly, shattering the few remaining glass in the environs, before collapsing, human once again.

"YOU BITCH!" Circe screamed, falling as well, grabbing her temples with desperation.

Diana blinked in surprise. She actually felt the sudden magical feedback erupting from Superman, and knew that Circe's master spell was gone.

"It's over."

Circe mumbled curses in forgotten languages, rising to her knees without looking up. "You've cost me the world today. Damn you, Diana, damn you."

With a burst of purple light, Circe disappeared.

The Amazon princess rushed to Superman's side, kneeling to take him into her arms.

"Diana?" His whisper was weak, his eyes still closed. "I-I had the strangest dream."

"It was nothing. Nothing." She smiled, and ran a hand through his hair, before letting his head fall gently on her lap. She could never let anyone think of him as she had seen him. That was not him.

"Oracle," she called, activating the communicator again.

>Wonder Woman! Zatanna says that the spell vanished!<

"I know. Circe was defeated, and is gone."

>She got away? Damn. We got almost everyone else under wraps.<

"Superman is here, Oracle. But he is incapacitated, and should be taken home to rest."

>Want to do it?<

"Ah, that may not sit well with his... household, so-"

Diana suddenly grew silent, and looked around her in a hurry.

"KRYPTO?"

>Krypto?< Oracle echoed.

Diana stood up, color draining from her face. Several paces away, a white and red shape rested over a pile of debris, unmoving. The dark red contrasting starkly against his white fur was not that of his cape.

PART THREE: HERO'S REWARD

In the Justice League's lunar headquarters, shimmering radiance filled a transporter tube, coalescing into the shapes of Wonder Woman and the limp canine held in her arms.

"Hold on, Krypto."

She rushed through the Watchtower's corridors, reaching the infirmary bay in mere instants, and carefully placed her charge on an examination bench. Devices melding multiple advanced technologies activated automatically around them, but Diana waved away those approaching her; her minor bruises and cuts paled next to Krypto's injuries. Fighting the Circe-controlled Superman, the super-powered dog had most likely saved her life and made Circe's defeat possible, but she now feared the price of his selfless bravery.

"Please be alright," she whispered, sitting on the bench by his side. She ran a hand gently over his blood-stained fur, stroking the lithe, compact body, while purple light bathed him with energies designed to boost natural recuperative powers.

Several minutes later, the diagnostic system beeped loudly, and her eyes reluctantly left him to read the control panel's display. To her relief, the readout reported no lasting internal damages, and the dog's Kryptonian metabolism was already healing the superficial wounds at an accelerated rate.

"Olympus be thanked," she sighed. Hearing a soft whimper, she turned to see the dog lift his head. "Krypto?"

He sat up on the bench, and turning towards her, began to wag his tail. Under the dark stains on his white fur, the deep gashes appeared already healed.

"Krypto!" Awash with relief, Diana embraced him, drawing his furry head and shoulders tightly against her. "You really had me worried."

Gently, she kissed the top of his head. "You brave dog, you."

His tail moved much faster and his breathing grew louder.

She rubbed playfully the furry sides of the dog's strong neck, and smiling, pulled his head up to face him. "You risked your life for me, Krypto. How can I ever repay you?"

The dog's eyes shone, and with a short bark, he leaned forward to lick at Diana's face.

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>>Diana.<<

The mind-call filled her head soundlessly. She grew still, surprised by the mental presence of the Martian Manhunter.

"J'onn?"

>>Yes, Diana. It has been a while, so we were becoming concerned. Is everything-?<<

"Oh, everything is going quite well."

>>You seem... tense, Diana.<<

"Oh, it has been a hard day. So hard. Very demanding. But I'm fine. I'm fine."

"And Superman's pet?<<

"Krypto-?"

>>Yes, him. Is he-?<<

"Oh, he's right here. I'm taking care of him."

>>But his injuries-?<<

"Oh, he's doing well. Very well!"

>>If you need any assistance-<<

"Oh, no. I can handle it. I can."

>>Ah. Good. Feel free to take some rest if you need to, Diana.<<

"If I need to-?"

>>Excuse me-?<<

"But I can't..."

>>You can't take some rest?<<

"There's just too much to..."

>>Diana?<<

"Too much. To do. You must need help down there in New York, J'onn. I should-"

>>Don't worry. Many others are helping out here, Diana. So we can spare you, if you are being tied up-<<

"Tied-?"

>>Don't feel forced to come-<<

"No, no, I will. I will."

>>Really? If you are sure-<<

"Yes! I'll come down shortly."

>>Ah, fine. Take care, Diana.<<

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In New York, The Martian Manhunter stood still for a moment, with his prominent Martian brows raised, and the mindlink faded into nonexistence.

Vixen stopped by his side. "Something's wrong?"

"Wrong?" He thought for a moment. "No. Just... unexpected."

Diana always surprised him.

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"As Wonder Woman, as Champion and Ambassador of my people, my duties must always come first."

She strode down the corridor, adjusting her change of outfit, with Krypto in tow, and stopped at the door to the transporter bay, a hand on the access control panel.

"But whatever your species, you are a hero, Krypto, and I'm honored to call you a friend. And a partner."

The door slid open. She paused and glanced back, smiling.

"And maybe, in some special occasion... We can again team up."

EPILOGUE ONE: WRAPPING UP

"Diana, you came."

The Amazon Princess turned to face the Martian Manhunter. "Of course. I had to. There's still much to do."

The Martian glanced down at the white-furred dog standing close by Diana's side, wagging his tail.

"And he came, too."

"Oh, yes. He came with me."

"Is it wise? So soon after-?"

"Oh, I'm confident he's completely back to full strength."

"Impressive. I did not know he was so powerful."

"Oh, neither did I. He completely surprised me, too."

"I understand he did exceptionally well against Circe."

"Oh, he did exceptionally well, yes."

"Hey, Diana. You ok?" Power Girl called out, tossing a crumbled city bus onto a growing pile of wreckage. "Heard you got into quite a scrap."

"Oh, I'm fine. Thank you."

The blonde landed a few paces away, staring at the multiple scratches and bruises still visible all over Diana's smooth skin. "Damn. They said you got it pretty rough."

"Oh, yes." Diana smiled. "But I managed."

EPILOGUE TWO: LOOSE ENDS

In the shadows of the Greek Parthenon, Circe faced Wonder Woman at last.

"You have been in my way too many times now, Amazon." Dark purple fire enveloped all of the witch's body. "I shall enjoy destroying you with my own hands."

She lunged, channeling her power into a punch that would have taken the Amazon's head off, had it connected. But Diana dodged with ease, and diving low, slammed her shoulder against Circe's body. Grabbing an arm with a fluid twist, she threw the witch over her hip, to slam hard against the ground. Quickly taking control of the position, Diana got a knee on her stunned foe's stomach, and without hesitation, started to strike the downed sorceress with the heel of her hand, again and again.

Circe's emotional decision to fight Diana directly, using her magic to match the Amazon's physically power, proved her downfall. Mighty as she could become in sheer strength, sorcery could simply not duplicate combat skills and experience. Coming close enough for Wonder Woman to control the fight, Circe had no chance to change her tactics before she was battered and bound by the magical lasso, her power spent in merely enduring the physical punishment.

"Is that enough?"

"You think you won?" Circe groaned weakly.

"It was not a game, Circe."

"Damn you." Her words under the Lasso of Truth proved Circe's conviction. "You know I'm right! If I had-!"

"No. You are wrong, Circe. Coexistence is needed, not imposed substitution. Men should improve, as men, not by becoming something else, or it would destroy the balance of humanity."

"Bullshit. You say balance but you mean stunted compromise. Frustrated self-denial! You deny the chance for a better world, one where females and males exist in their proper places, where women can enjoy true love with each other, and crude sex with the lower, beastly gender..."

"Oh, Circe." Diana shook her head. "Sex should never be that oversimplified. Nothing should. It's not just about love opposed to animal lust.."

"Then you refuse to acknowledge the truth. Truth you know yourself. That you have known in your very flesh!"

"There can be extremes, yes, tender, loving sex with a fellow sister or friend, and rougher, cruder sex with males of... wilder natures. But there is diversity in-between, as well. There must be. To allow for discovery. For growth. For individuality. For freedom. For choice."

"What freedom, what choice does this world give us?"

"Much more than you are willing to see! Some could surprise even you!"

Circe scoffed in disbelief.

"There are many kinds of sex, and different kinds of love, too." Kneeling before the bound sorceress, Diana smiled wistfully. "That's why, despite everything, I can still love you."

Circe stared at her for a second, before looking away, her anger refusing to abate. "Words. Empty words."

"There are many combinations of love and lust, of beauty and beastliness, for us to explore, to enjoy. Maybe even find both extremes joined in one."

"Wishful thinking."

Diana smiled. "Oh, Circe, you just don't know... yet."