Wonder Woman in Rome #6

Wonder Woman was created by Dr William Moulton Marston in 1941 and is the © copyright trademark of DC Comics. My Wonder Woman stories are only fan fiction and based, primarily, on the 1970s CBS TV show (albeit, updated to the present time of writing). However, any resources from adaptations and the comics may be utilised. All characters are entirely fictional. With the exception of Diana / Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor, the story and characters are my own creation, unless otherwise stated. In my stories there are no other superheroes in the world, except for Wonder Woman.

06 When underneath the Colosseum

The deadly sound of a handgun, clicking, stopped the Lost Siren in her tracks.

“Turn around, slowly, and put Wonder Woman down, gently,” instructed Christopher Dalton.

Serena laid Wonder Woman against the Colosseum wall but, with a sleight of hand, unclipped a throwing star from the side of her belt. She flicked it as she bent back. The star cut across Dalton’s gun hand. He hardly felt it, but the powerful anaesthetic coated blades were enough to put him on his knees.

The merciless Siren tried to kick the fallen I.A.D.C agent. However, the blow was absorbed by the bracelet on Wonder Woman’s right arm.

“I think you’ve done enough damage for one day,” said a recovering Diana.

The Lost Siren fearlessly attacked her super-powered opponent with the determination of a true warrior. She swirled a roundhouse kick, which Diana easily avoided, by stepping up into the arch. The assailing Siren joined her on the wall, and their arms locked in a struggle.

Another thunderous quake shook the entire antitheatre. The two women swung back and forth, moving perilously, over the lethal drop.

Wonder Woman had contained her aggressor, so far, now it was time to act; she broke loose her right arm and cranked her elbow into Serena’s jaw. The Lost Siren dropped back onto the third tier, spluttering blood out on to the floor.

Many opponents would have called it quits right there, but Serena was made of sterner stuff. She pulled herself up along the wall and retreated, making a sufficient distance to fly her remaining throwing stars at her enemy. The missiles were on target, although, each one clattered off Wonder Woman’s bracelets.

The Lost Siren quickly undid her golden chained belt and manipulated it into a manriki-style strangling chain. She stormed Diana, swinging the chain in a circular motion, violently, skilfully, wrapping it around Wonder Woman’s blocking arm. 

Diana admired Serena for her warrior spirit, but knew she had to seize the opportunity to end the dangerous threat. She grasped the Siren’s wrist with one hand and the nylon of her suit with the other. Even though the chain sat, tight, around her bicep, Wonder Woman was still able to throw the Lost Siren off the same shoulder - with such a force - her aggressor curled along the rough concrete floor and exited down a flight of stairs.

“Teach that to the princess,” Wonder Woman said, triumphantly.

A groggy Christopher Dalton was sitting up holding his head. Diana knelt down to see he was all right.

“Where’s your strong girlfriend?” he asked.

“Oh, she’s just gone downstairs,” Wonder Woman smiled, “Thanks, Chris, you saved my life.”

Dalton stood up, “Yeah and you’ve saved mine, twice, beautiful,” he gestured, “But we have other responsibilities – right now I need to find Diana Prince...”

Back in the dungeons of the Colosseum, the last tremor had opened a cavity near to where the Lost Siren was pounding. It was just big enough for one person to fit down. Louis Cesario took a torch from his rucksack, tied some rope to a post and lowered himself in. He found himself at the start of a long rocky passage. It was pitch black, except for the beam from his torch. Hesitantly, he made his way forward, disappearing into the darkness.

“Chris!” called Diana Prince, in a husky whisper.

Dalton met his fellow agent, squatting, at the cavity in the dungeons. 

Diana tugged the rope, “Looks like somebody made their way down here.”

“After you, baby, you’re one step ahead of me, anyway,” admitted Dalton.

“Well, after waiting outside the Colosseum, I decided to try and find you inside,” Diana explained, making her way in on the rope.

They moved along through the blackness of the passage; their only light produced by their cell phones.

“Jesus! It’s like a sauna down here,” complained Chris, wiping the sweat off his brow.

“That may be truer than you think,” Diana replied, removing the condensation from her glasses.

The twists and turns of the ancient rocky passage, eventually, led to a large crater. There was an eerie trickling and a familiar whooshing noise of water lapping at the rocks. The condensation came from steam rising up from below. 

“It looks like the corridor may have partially collapsed and the path carries on the other side,” noted Diana, “Somebody has even bolted this rope across.”

”I’m more interested in where this steam is coming from,” Dalton asserted.

“That’s a fair point,” Diana conceded.

Dalton reused the crossing rope to abseil down the gorge. As Diana followed, she could make out a shadow of a figure before the agents plummeted with the rope, into the murky waters. At waist height, the water was just deep enough to cushion their fall. It was as warm as a heated bathing pool. They waded through it to a beach on the other side.

“Someone untied the knot,” said Dalton, angrily.

“Look, Chris, a rowing boat,” noticed Diana, exploring the subterranean cove, “This must lead out on to the River Tiber.”

“There’s a red glow emanating within that cave.”

“Let’s check it out,” Dalton said, getting to his feet.

They stepped up over rocks to enter a larger cave to the shocking sight of red bubbling lava spewing forth out of the ground into the water. The oppressively hot steam blinded their way through to a paler, cyan tinted enclosure.

“ARGH!” yelled out Dalton on entry.

Diana looked down to see Christopher lying, in agony, on the rocks with a large dagger through his arm. She ran back into the fog of the steam and lava. A flash of light blinked across the cave; it was Wonder Woman who attended to her stricken colleague.

A horrendous chuckling could be heard from the far shadows of the cave. Wonder Woman stood up with the blood dripping dagger in her hand. Cardinal Mendo emerged into view.

“Who are you?” Diana asked, “Who are you, really?”

“I would have thought you’d have worked it out by now, being such a wonder woman,” the Cardinal admitted, “but, then, clay is a dense mixture – not exactly full of the nutrients required for intellect.”

“Enough! I have had enough of these riddles,” Wonder Woman said, “If you won’t tell me your game, I’ll have to persuade you to talk, my way.”

Diana stepped along the rocks towards the Cardinal but, as she did so, he pulled a long metal lever down. It released an enormous torrent of grey sludge - bursting out of the cave wall - propelling Wonder Woman sideways off the rocks into a pit, beneath. 

She struggled to stand in the upright position. The boiling gooey substance covered Diana up to her waist; the painful, sickly, heat was immense on her legs. Even worse, she couldn’t move without dropping deeper into the gunk. 

“Everybody has to return to nature, sooner or later” Mendo grimly mocked, “And there’s a certain poetic irony in turning the lady of clay back to exactly that.”

“I knew I should have listened to my instincts,” panted Diana, now, sweating profusely, “Mendo, spells D-E-M-O-N, demon! You’re a demon.”

“By Jove! I think she’s got it,” chuckled Mendo, clearly relishing the moment.

“I’ve been stalking you since Paris. You might say I had a bird’s eye view of Karen Harris’ death.”

“You were one of the vultures?” guessed Wonder Woman.

“That’s right,” acknowledged Mendo, “I saw Mr Dalton’s anger towards you. I’ve been manipulating everything ever since. It was I who persuaded Cesario to come looking for this phoney fortune. It was no trouble at all to talk your knucklehead colleague into betraying you. I’m afraid Mr Dalton knew where to go because I had already planted the finer details into his tiny mind – he didn’t realise he’d die for the trouble – you see, I simply loathe treachery!”

“Aah!” exclaimed Diana, as she felt herself slip further into the scolding liquefied clay.

Mendo watched a perspiring Wonder Woman sink deeper, faster, as she struggled. The gunk was already bulging over her chest. Her breathing was shallow and deep; the fall and rise of her ample cleavage was expansive; but couldn’t stop the gunge bubbling up her beautiful shoulders.  

“I would like to stay and watch you perish,” he vindictively said, “But I haven’t the time. Happy melting!”

Wonder Woman tried to move, once more, but the goo was too thick to make any headway; the clay merged together over her shoulders.

“I’ll do you one last favour, Mr Dalton,” said Mendo on his way out. 

He turned the semi-conscious Christopher on his side, “There, now, you can watch the ultimate demise of Wonder Woman, while you die, yourself.” 

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