Wonder Woman and the God of War

The Wonder Woman Chronicles

Wonder Woman and the God of War

By L 'Espion

lespion1000@msn.com

Chapter 1

Princess Diana of Themyscira jerked hard at her shackles. Her tall, lush body dripped sweat as she fought to escape the trap she had fallen into. Normally her Amazon strength would have snapped the iron bonds that held her, but not this time. Her arms were held over her head, chained to a solid concrete wall and in spite of her best efforts she could not break free.

What in the name of Athena had happened? No metal or chains should have been able to hold her. The least application of her immense strength should have snapped the chains like strands of spaghetti. Compounding her confusion was the throbbing pain in her temples. It was a bad as anything she could remember and made it very difficult to order her thoughts. Not only that but whenever she exerted herself too strongly her stomach threatened to empty itself of its contents.

She had been able to determine that she had been partially stripped. Her weapons were gone; including her tiara, her bracelets, her golden lasso, and the sword she normally carried over her shoulder. Fortunately, her clothing was still intact, reflecting the possibility that her captor wanted her only as a prisoner and nothing else. At least, she sincerely hoped that was the case. In her present helpless condition she was completely at the mercy of whoever had done this to her.

She was having trouble thinking thanks in part to a splitting headache that seemed to have gotten worse after she regained consciousness, and the fact that she was still somewhat groggy. She tried to think back over what had happened and to reconstruct the events that had placed her in this perilous situation.

She remembered that she had been on patrol; at the end of a busy night that had seen her chase down more than a score of criminals involved in everything from break and enter to attempted rape. She had turned all of them over to the police and had been about to call it a night when her com unit had beeped.

Damn. In spite of her Amazon strength she had felt dog tired, and more than anything else was looking forward to showering away the sweat from her body and then having a long soak in the tub before turning in for a few hours of sleep. But dutifully she had answered the com. "Diana," she'd answered.

"Wonder Woman is that you?" a man's voice had inquired.

Who else would it be? Only a select few had her com number. But she had answered politely as she always did.

"Yes Commissioner, this is Wonder Woman." She much preferred being called Diana, but the Police Commissioner always called her by the name the media had given her.

"Thank goodness," Police Commissioner Locke replied. His voice was strained. In fact he sounded frantic. "I am afraid we have a real problem."

"Really?" she'd answered. Maybe something interesting was going to happen after all. The problem was that she was becoming quite jaded with the everyday routine of being a superheroine. It's the same shit every day. The language of her thought was very unprincess-like. But it summed up perfectly the way she felt. I'm not doing anything a half-decent cop couldn't do. I just do it a little faster.

A good deal of the boredom she felt was her own fault. She'd broken every organized crime syndicate that had dared rear its head and had frightened away or eliminated every supervillain that had dared to cross her path. The problem is I'm just too good at my job. Maybe it's time I gave someplace else a try.

"It's something that should not be discussed through electronic means," Locke had continued. "I understand from the current police reports that you have been quite busy, but could you come to see me before you retire? I'm currently at home. 533 Belleview Drive. I believe you know the place."

It was not surprising that Locke was at home. After all it was 5:45 a.m. But why was he up so early? And why did he want her to visit him in his home? She knew the house all right. It had been owned by a wealthy survivalist who had spent his last dime turning the house into a fortified retreat where he could survive the chaos of Y2K. Unfortunately for the pessimistic former owner he had been forced into bankruptcy when the world had inconveniently not ended. Why Locke had decided to buy it she had no idea, but everyone had his or her own tastes. She supposed the price had been right and she knew that Locke was supposed to be fairly well off.

She didn't know much else about the Police Commissioner. He had only been in office for five months following the retirement for health reason of Commissioner Larson. He seemed keen on reducing the crime rate and had been remarkably easy to work with considering that many law enforcement officials she had encountered objected to her vigilante style methods of law enforcement.

"Yes, I know where it is," she'd answered. "But it seems a bit unusual to be meeting with you there."

"Yes it is," Locke agreed. "But this is a rather unusual situation. All I can tell you is that I've been up all night and that what I have to discuss is a matter of the utmost secrecy and importance. I wish I could be a bit more open," he had continued. "All I can say is that it involves a problem only you can solve."

What she would really have liked to say was: "I'm tired and grubby and I want to go home and soak in a bubble bath." But she couldn't do that. Superheroines never admitted to being tired, and she was not about to give the Police Commissioner a vision of her naked in a tub full of suds. So all she'd said was, "All right, Commissioner I will be there in ten minutes."

"I'll be waiting," Locke answered. There was the usual click and the line went dead.

It had taken her only minutes to reach Locke's house and she'd circled it twice before landing. Years of crimefighting experience had shown her the importance of checking things out before committing to any course of action.

Locke's house was set on a large park-like estate and so far as she could see in the half-light of dawn everything was as it should be. Unfortunately, she had no way of knowing what waited for her inside the house. However, her super keen hearing had detected nothing. If there was someone waiting in ambush they were being very quiet about it. So far as she could tell there was only one person in the house and he was waiting by the front door; exactly where Locke had said he would meet her.

She'd swept in for a landing and dropped a few yards from the front door. As she climbed the front steps the door swung open and Locke stepped into view.

There wasn't much to the Police Commissioner. He was a small balding man, standing barely five feet tall. He was also somewhat rotund, giving him a somewhat elf-like appearance. But Diana knew him for a tough by-the-book law enforcement official, which made this meeting all the more unusual. "Wonder Woman, I'm so glad you could come. Please come in and follow me. I'll tell you everything as soon as we reach a more secure location."

"Are you alone?" she had asked. Something pricked at her sense of right and wrong. Where were the members of Locke's staff? Why meet in his home instead of police headquarters?

"Yes," he'd answered. "What I have to tell you cannot be told to anyone else." He had taken a few steps as if expecting her to follow. "Look, I know this seems very irregular, and I don't want to alarm you, but all will be revealed in a minute or so. In the meantime it would be best if you were not seen standing in the doorway of my house. Please come in where we can speak without being overheard."

Alarm her? She's almost felt insulted at that comment. She was a superheroine. Meeting with a short, fat man was hardly the most dangerous thing she'd ever had to do. She'd followed Locke into the house and took a quick look around the foyer. She'd been able to detect no one except Locke, but his strange behaviour had her on high alert. The foyer had been empty. In front of her an impressive staircase curved up to the second floor. Off to her left was a magnificent grandfather clock and on her right was a table on which was set an old-fashioned land line.

Locke had closed the door and let out a sigh of relief. "I don't think you were seen, but there is no point in taking any chances."

By now she had been almost bursting with curiosity. "Can you tell me what's going on, Commissioner? None of this makes any sense."

"I assure you that in a few minutes everything will be perfectly clear," Locke had answered. He took out a handkerchief and wiped the dome of his forehead. "But it would be better if we did not speak here. I have someplace that is more secure."

"Alright," Diana had said resignedly. "Let's get this over with. But what you have to tell me better be good."

"This way," he'd said. He led her across the foyer and through a doorway situated under the staircase. Diana followed and found herself in a wide concrete corridor.

"I expect you know that this house was converted into a fortress by its previous owner," Locke continued as he led the way down the corridor.

"That's the story," Diana answered, wondering what this had to do with what Locke had to tell her.

"Well, down this corridor in the inner sanctum so to speak. The place where the previous owner expected to retreat if the starving hordes descended upon him. It will provide us with the privacy we need."

"If you say so, Commissioner." The sooner they got where they were going the better. Her shower and bath seemed farther away than ever and the apparent unnecessary secrecy of the Police Commissioner had her quite irritated. If what he had to tell her was so damned important why hadn't he invited her down to police headquarters instead?

"Here we are," Locke said, stopping at the end of the corridor. Facing them was a heavy steel door. "It's a foot thick," he commented. "Built to withstand any conventional attack. Fortunately, it was never needed."

He touched a button and with a series of clunks locking mechanisms withdrew and the door swung outward on silent hinges. Inside an elevator was revealed. "This goes down a hundred feet. It would take a direct hit by a nuclear bomb to destroy it."

They'd taken the elevator. Diana had become more and more irritated as the elevator descended. Surely all of this secrecy was completely unnecessary.

The elevator had opened into a small square room. The very room she was in right now. At that time, however, there had been no chains hanging from the walls. Instead there was a small table and two chairs sitting in the middle of the room. On the far side of the room was another metal door.

"All right, Commissioner," she'd said. "Now tell me what this is all about."

"Certainly," Locke had replied. But instead of talking he'd gone to the table and sat down.

She had remained standing waiting for Locke to begin.

"Won't you sit down?" Locke had invited.

She'd been about to refuse. In spite of her curiosity she was tired and simply wanted Locke to tell her his big secret. But she'd changed her mind when she suddenly felt very sleepy. She had immediately sensed that something was wrong, but she couldn't figure out exactly what. "Perhaps I will sit down," she'd said. She'd plunked herself down across from Locke and then waited for him to begin.

"Perhaps you'd like some refreshment," Locke had suggested, delaying matters still further.

"No thank you," she'd replied. She just wanted to get this over with. She couldn't recall when she had been so tired. She could barely keep her eyes open.

"Then I'm sure you won't mind if I have something to drink," Locke had said.

"No," she had muttered. "She could feel her eyes closing. Why was she so tired? Locke seemed wide awake. And then….

That was all she could remember. For some reason she had fallen asleep and the grinding headache she now had suggested that she had been poisoned. But how? She hadn't eaten or drunk anything.

Carbon monoxide. Or something like it. The answer suddenly flashed into her brain. The gas was odorless, colourless, and completely deadly. But why hadn't Locke been affected by it? He had been in the room with her. Any gas she breathed should have put him out as well. But she certainly had the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. The brutal headache and the nausea fit exactly.

At that moment the door across from the elevator opened and Locke stepped into the room. "Ah," he said. "Awake at last. I hope you're not feeling too badly. It was a rather nasty trick I played, but I thought a superheroine could survive."

"What in the name of Zeus is this?" Diana demanded angrily. "Why have you taken me prisoner? Release me at once."

Locke laughed. "I can't do that. I'd almost certainly never get you to fall for the same trick again."

Diana jerked angrily at her chains, but there was not the slightest give. "You won't get away with this. I'll find some way to escape and you'll wish you'd never laid eyes on me."

"What is it with the threats?" Locke asked. "You supers always make threats even when it is obvious that you can't carry them out. By the way, I'd stop trying to pull the chains out of the wall if I were you. They're made of a metal even you can't break and the wall is reinforced with the same material."

"What do you want with me?" she asked. Her headache and nausea were beginning to fade; a tribute to her powers of recovery, but her anger and frustration were stronger than ever.

"Calm yourself, Princess. You won't be here forever even though I doubt very much that you'll like it where you're going. As for what I want with you; well, it's nothing much really. Just an hour or two alone. I captured you for someone else and he should be here shortly."

Diana showed no reaction to Locke's words. But the "…hour or two alone" sounded ominous. So far Locke had done nothing to take advantage of her helplessness, and in fact even with her wrists chained over her head she doubted he could do much to her. Her legs were still free and if he dared to come close to her she'd kick him across the room.

But the "someone else" had her really worried. She'd made a lot of enemies and the thought of being a helpless captive of a few of them left a hollow feeling in her stomach.

The door opened a second time and Locke turned to greet the being who entered. "Here is your owner. I believe you two have met before."

Diana's deep blue eyes widened. "Ares," she gasped, as her body chilled in fear.

The god of war grinned. He was an impressive creature, standing seven feet tall with jet black hair, a one day growth of beard, and eyes as piercingly blue as hers were. His formidable appearance was further accentuated by his mode of dress. He wore nothing from the waist up except heavy steel bracelets on both wrists and armbands of the same metal above each elbow. Below the waist he wore tight fitting black leather pants tied with leather thongs and knee-high black boots. Buckled around his waist was a sword and scabbard. The outfit did well to emphasize the god of war's powerful physique and military qualities.

"Diana," he said. "It's so good to see you looking so well, and so…helpless."

Diana glared at her old enemy. She had thought him vanquished the last time she had dealt with him. Several times he had attempted to conquer Earth and each time she had stopped him, but it had been a near thing each time. He'd even taken her prisoner once, but she had managed to escape. That time he had been careless, perhaps if she was lucky he might repeat his mistake.

"You thought me dead didn't you?" Ares asked. "And I almost was thanks to you. But it's not so easy to kill a god. It has taken me a few years but now I'm back and this time you are my prisoner, a situation I am going to take full advantage of."

Diana measured the distance to the Greek god. In spite of his imposing appearance she noted that like Locke he was careful to keep out of range of her long legs.

"I don't plan to keep you very long," Ares continued. "I have other plans for you. But I can assure you that the few hours we will spend together will be most memorable." He turned to Locke, grinning. "What do you say? Is it time to let her know who you really are?"

"Why not?" Locke answered. His form shimmered like a heat phantom on hot asphalt and suddenly the unimposing Police Commissioner was gone. What was there instead was a powerfully built bearded dwarf. His hair was tied back with a leather thong and like Ares he was bare-chested and dressed in leather trousers; dark brown instead of black. A leather strap that crossed his chest supported a broad-bladed war axe that hung over his shoulder. His blue eyes glinted with a mixture of mischief and lust as he surveyed Diana's tall body.

She knew him at once from past encounters. "Loki," she exclaimed. "I should have known it was you."

"And so you should," the Norse trickster god replied. "But your arrogance has made you careless and you overlooked the obvious. Even an Amazon princess can be deceived when she is so full of pride she thinks herself unbeatable. And now you will pay for that pride and Ares and I will have a little bit of revenge."

Diana didn't have to ask what plans they had for her. The way they were looking at her was explanation enough. They had captured and chained her and now they intended to subject her to the ultimate superheroine humiliation.

"Time to get started," Ares said. "We have other things to attend to and this little bit of pleasure is going to take some time."

Diana waited for Ares to move. With her arms over her head there was not too much she could do until he approached her. But once she was in range of her legs she intended to make him pay for his carelessness.

However, she was to be denied even that desperate plan. Ares turned to Loki. "Well, dwarf, are you still as good with the whip as you were the last time we met?"

"Even better," Loki replied, licking his lips. "It will be my pleasure to undress her."

From somewhere Loki had produced a heavy whip of braided leather. Some ten feet long it was quite capable of reaching her from where he stood while leaving him safely beyond her reach. "Well then," Ares said. "Proceed."

Loki drew back his arm and Diana steeled herself for the pain of the lash. She was wearing the latest in her new range of costumes, having given up the bare legs and bustier that had so characterized much of her earlier career. Now she wore black pants tucked into gold trimmed black boots. Above the waist she wore a sleeveless red vest. Well aware of the power of sex in her battle against crime, it was cut low to exhibit her more than impressive bosom, but was still much more modest than the barely decent bustier she had worn for so many years. Finishing off the outfit was a dark blue jacket; spangled here and there with the traditional stars she wore to symbolize her adopted country. It fitted her torso rather loosely, designed more to frame the gold-trimmed red vest than to hide it.

She normally would have worn a gold belt about her waist as well as a black leather choker closed by a gold clasp about her throat. But as she had already noted these had already been removed, along with her gold tiara and gold bracelets. The outfit was no protection at all from the whip Loki wielded as he more than adequately demonstrated.

His arm moved forward and the whip cracked. Having prepared herself Diana did not cry out as the whip made contact, and surprisingly enough there wasn't much pain in any case. The whip had struck her shoulder and tore through the material of the jacket, cutting it as neatly as a knife without doing more than leaving a painful welt on her skin. It hurt like Hades, but there was no blood and it was ample evidence of Loki's high level of skill with the whip.

He further demonstrated his expertise with his next few strikes, shredding her jacket repeatedly until it hung from her by only a few threads. It took only a few more flicks of his wrist to send the garment tumbling to the floor. He then targeted the next layer of clothing.

This proved considerable more painful, as the lash found her torso, thighs, and buttocks as he worked at reducing her vest and tight-fitting pants to rags. But once again he exhibited his high level of skill by slowly undressing her without inflicting any real damage. It still hurt each time the whip touched her skin, but as before there was no blood. However, it left her body covered in painful welts and Diana had to clench her teeth to keep from crying out.

Much worse than the pain, however, was the humiliation as her costume was slowly removed from her body. A few inches at a time, her vest and trousers were shredded until there was very little of her body hidden from view, a point Loki illustrated by contacting each of her nipples with the tip of the whip.

This brought pain she could not ignore and a scream was forced out of her with each strike. Her response seemed to give the dwarf pleasure as from that point on he repeatedly brought the whip into contact with her skin, crisscrossing her body with repeated welts, until there was no place the whip could touch that had not been struck before.

In spite of the lack of blood the pain was agonizing, so much so that Diana did not even notice when Ares stepped forward and pulled her boots from her ankles. She was so focused on enduring her painful ordeal that she did not realize until it was too late that she had lost her chance to use her legs against him.

Finally she stood naked, panting from the pain of her ordeal, and utterly humiliated. She had been captured, chained, stripped, and beaten, but the worst part of her ordeal was yet to come.

"Now, my princess," Ares gloated, "it is time to take my pleasure." He stepped toward her and Diana made a feeble effort to drive her foot into his groin, but he easily avoided her exhausted effort. Instead he caught her ankle, and bending her knee upward he stepped between her legs and pushed her against the wall. And then, while she struggled to escape he looped a thong about each of her legs just above the knee and pulling them tight, tied them to the chains that held her wrists.

She was left hanging in her chains, her legs spread wide; open to anything that Ares wished to do to her. She could do nothing as Ares stepped back, and in a leisurely fashion first removed his boots and then his trousers.

Terrified, Diana found her eyes drawn to the place between Ares' thighs. What she saw there was truly a god-like phallus and she moaned in fear. "No," she whimpered. "You cannot do this to me. I am a princess of Themyscira and should be honoured by the gods."

"Did it ever occur to you that for a mere mortal to be taken by a god is an honour?" Ares replied. "What I am about to do to you few mortal women have experienced."

"Rape is not honour," Diana protested. She knew that there was little chance of saving herself from the ordeal that was to come, but she was so terrified could not stop herself from pleading for mercy.

"Do not worry," Ares replied. "I am not without compassion. It would be unseemly of me to enjoy myself at your expense without giving you a little pleasure in return." He held up a glass phial filled with a clear sparkling gold liquid. "The Tears of Aphrodite," he explained. "It will give you pleasure such as you have never imagined."

"No," Diana cried, turning her head away. But Ares caught her jaw in one hand and then pinched her nose, forcing her mouth open. He tipped the phial and then held her jaw until she swallowed.

"There," Ares said. "I am told it will take a few minutes to work. But I see no reason why I should not get started."

He tossed the empty phial aside and moved toward her. Diana attempted to bring her knees together, but Areas easily parted them. "Now, Amazon," he said. "I will see just how much of a woman you are." He thrust forward, gently at first, parting the soft petals of Diana's vulva and then pushed into her.

He was huge. Much larger than even what she had expected and Diana could not hold back a cry of pain and then a scream as he forced his way into her.

"There, there, my little Amazon," Ares breathed into her ear. "You are being taken by a god. Receive my gift with pleasure."

For Diana there was no pleasure; at least not at first. Although Ares did not take her harshly the size of his manhood and the tightness of her vagina made his initial penetration incredibly painful. In fact he grunted with the effort of forcing his way into her, while she writhed in agony. And then a slow transformation took place. Bit by bit Diana's moans and cries of pain ceased as a wondrous sensation flowed through her loins. She had never experienced anything like it. It was pleasure at a level so intense that she almost fainted. Suddenly in spite of the pain of Ares' huge phallus she was moving her body in an effort to take him deeper within her, and the god was quick to comply, driving his shaft deeper than she would have supposed possible.

At the same time as she urged her body to receive him Diana cried out in pleasure, beseeching him to take her. "More, more," she begged. "Give me all of it."

Ares did his best to satisfy her and she screamed, this time in pleasure as orgasm after orgasm rippled through her. Untiring, Ares had no trouble giving her what she demanded, thrusting long and hard into her and climaxing repeatedly himself. Until finally, Diana could take no more. Her pleasure became so intense that it overwhelmed her senses and she fainted, unable to cope with the continual waves of pleasure that surged through her.

The fact that she was no longer conscious mattered little to Ares. He continued to pound into her limp body until he had achieved one more orgasm, and then spurting his seed deep into her womb he finally withdrew.

He stepped back, his chest heaving as Diana's eyelids fluttered. "Now you know the pleasure of a god, princess. I am now finished with you. But there is one more who will bring you pleasure."

"What?" Diana gasped. Still reeling both physically and mentally from what had been done to her, and only just returned to consciousness, she did not fully comprehend Ares' words. However, she quickly understood them when Loki stepped forward.

"You didn't think that Ares would be the only one to honour you did you princess? Loki asked. "I am going to get something out of this as well."

In spite of the pleasurable throbbing of her loins, Diana did not welcome Loki's attention. "No, not you as well," she groaned. "I cannot take any more."

"It is not your decision to make," Loki replied. "I desire you and I shall take you." Pulling up a chair he reached above her. With a click the shackles holding her wrists opened.

Diana was so exhausted that she was unable to stand. As her wrists were freed she collapsed onto the floor, but she was not allowed to lie there for long. Before she could recover Loki was on her. Pulling her arms behind her back, he quickly bound her and then lifted her to her feet. Then he directed her toward the table in the middle of the room.

The sudden realization that she was about to be subjected to a second rape revitalized her and Diana struggled to escape from her bonds. She should have snapped ties that held her with ease, but as in the case of the chains even her utmost efforts couldn't break them. She could do nothing as Loki bent her over the table and without further ceremony penetrated her.

Loki lacked Ares' physical stature, but he was still a god as Diana quickly discovered as he plunged into her. She screamed, arching her back against the pain and then shuddered with delight as the Tears of Aphrodite once again took hold. "You are mine, Amazon," Loki exulted as he ploughed her furrow, and Diana could do nothing but moan in a mixture of pain and pleasure as he pressed hard against her buttocks.

He took her again and again, bringing her once again to incredible heights of passion in spite of the pain he also inflicted upon her. Flipping her onto her back he pushed her knees to her shoulders and started on her all over again, bending his mouth to her breasts and biting hard on her nipples. The pain was intense, but so was the pleasure, and in spite of the punishment Loki inflicted, Diana moved to the rhythm of his body, welcoming each thrust and screaming in pleasure.

"Deeper, harder," she begged and Loki did his best, bringing her to levels of arousal that easily matched those of Ares. Orgasm after orgasm tore through her until she lay depleted, utterly exhausted and filled with a shame so deep that she could not meet the eyes of her captors.

"How does it feel to be tamed, Princess?" Ares leered. "Where is your exalted Amazon code of honour now? I see no warrior before me; just a woman who has been completely mastered."

There was nothing Diana could do to deny his accusation. She had been completely defeated. She hung her head, burning with shame and anger.

"She is incredibly tight," Loki observed admiringly. "I have not enjoyed myself so much since I infiltrated a party of drunken Valkyries."

"She is indeed," Ares agreed. "It will be hard to give her up, but when I am victorious I will have my pick of Amazon warriors."

"And I will have my pick of Nordic blondes," Loki added.

On her knees before the two gods and utterly humiliated Diana at first did not react to their words. And then what they had said began to permeate her consciousness. She raised her head and looked at them in obvious confusion.

"Poor little Amazon," Loki smirked. "She thinks this is all about her. Shall we tell her?"

"Why not?" Ares answered. "She will find out shortly anyway. We may as well give her something to look forward to."

"What do you mean?" Diana asked. "What other evil have you planned?"

"Just this," Ares said, placing his hands on his hips. "In a few days my army will sweep across the world destroying all who oppose them and you are a key element in the mobilization of that army."

"What army?" Diana asked. "You possess no such force. I destroyed your minions years ago."

"So you did," Ares conceded, "but I will soon have access to a far greater force; one that neither you nor any of your superhero compatriots will be able to defeat, and it will all be thanks to you."

Diana looked at the two gods in complete confusion. Never would she do anything to help them in the furtherance of their vile designs.

"Look at her," Loki said. "She hasn't the least idea what you are talking about."

"You will never force me to help you," Diana raged. "No matter how often you ravage or brutalize me."

"I don't need your cooperation, my Amazon beauty," Ares continued. "I just need you. This little interlude was but a pleasant diversion. Your real destiny lies elsewhere."

"What do you mean?" Diana asked. Still on her knees before the two gods she wondered what they intended to do with her. From their words it seemed that her brutal violation at their hands had been only a temporary diversion. Clearly they had some other horror in mind for her and her stomach clenched in fear at what it might be.

"I think we have her sweating," Loki observed. "The little princess is frightened. Tell her what her fate is to be."

Ares grinned. "You are wondering where my armies will come from. The answer is simple. In the lands of the dead lie a limitless source of soldiery and I have convinced my brother Hades to release the souls there to my command. With them I will sweep across the world destroying and conquering all who stand in my path. I will reign supreme over the Earth."

"You lie," Diana said. "Hades would never agree to such a mad plan. It is well known that all who enter his realm stay there forever."

"A millennium ago you would have been right about that," said a voice. "But not now."

They all turned in the direction of the speaker. Framed in the doorway was someone Diana had met before and not always on the best of terms.

"Do you know what it is like," asked the god of the Underworld, "to spend all of your existence among the dead? I have endured it for millennia and now have chosen to end my solitary existence; and I have chosen you, Diana of Themyscira to share my world with me."

Diana stared in disbelief. Unlike Ares Hades had chosen to clothe himself in the classical robes of ancient Greece. But like Ares he was an imposing figure, dark-haired and powerfully built. His gaze was almost frightening in its intensity.

"But you cannot," Diana protested. "It is a violation of your sacred trust. No one can leave the land of the dead once he or she has entered there."

"My sacred trust, as you call it was one that I imposed upon myself. I have decided to release the dead in order that the Olympians will once again resume their rightful place as overlords of humanity. Once the rightful order has been restored I will return the dead to their proper place."

"The rightful order?" Diana said, stunned. "You mean that you intend to enslave humanity."

"Not enslave," Ares injected. "Humanity will be as it always has been, free to continue its petty squabbles and pleasures. All that will change is that it will once more worship the true gods."

"You cannot agree to such a thing," Diana countered. "Millions will die in opposing the rule of the old gods."

"So much the better for them," Hades will replied. "They will join my invincible army."

"I do not expect much in the way of opposition," Ares said. "Can you conceive of an army that contains the great heroes of the past? Achilles, Hector, Odysseus, Jason, Perseus. None will be able to stand before them. All will bow before me and worship at my feet."

"You cannot agree to such a mad plan," Diana cried, turning to Hades. "Can you not see that Ares wishes to set himself up as king of the gods?"

"That has all been decided," Hades replied. "Ares will get Olympus and I will be given most of the Earth to rule."

"And I will have any of the continents to rule as I please," Loki chimed in. "I am thinking right now of Europe, but North America has its appeal."

"For too long the Olympian gods have been allowed to languish," Hades said. "Now the rightful order will be restored. And I will receive you as my eternal slave."

"You would do this just so you can enslave me?" Diana asked aghast. "You would accept just one woman as your payment?"

"There will be others," Hades said turning his burning gaze upon her. "You are but the first of many and one I wanted in particular. For too long, Diana of Themyscira, you have interfered in the affairs of the gods. Now it is your fate to serve on your knees at the feet of one."

"No," Diana shouted. "What you propose is monstrous and completely unacceptable." She tried to leap to her feet, but Loki pushed her back to her knees.

"Not completely defeated as yet I see," Hades observed. "So much the better. I will enjoy breaking you. Before long you will serve at my feet, glad to serve my every whim." He turned to Ares and Loki. "But I have dallied here long enough. Even this short stay is too long. I must return to my realm. Chain her properly and I will take her."

"It shall be done," Loki said. An iron collar was snapped about her neck, and then while Ares held her the ropes binding her wrists were removed. Hades held the chain connected to the collar while other chains were fitted to her. Loki started with a chain about her waist and then added two manacles, securing her wrists to the waist chain. She was allowed a foot of slack on each arm, not enough to enable her to put up a proper fight. Finally, a chain was run from each of her wrists to each of her ankles and a shackle locked in place about each ankle. She was able to walk but not run and the arrangement made it easy to shorten the chains if necessary.

"Now she is ready," Loki said. "Take her, but if you ever tire of her send her to me. I have never known a tighter cunt."

Using the chain he held Hades pulled her toward him. "You are mine now, Amazon. Prepare to serve your master."

The air about him shimmered, the distortion of the atmosphere extending down the chain to Diana. And then he was gone, taking his Amazon captive with him.

Chapter 2

Diana had been in the Underworld before. It was one of the reasons why Hades radiated such animosity toward her. She had foiled the god of the dead on more than one occasion, just as she had foiled Ares and Loki. Now it appeared all three gods were to be avenged.

She was a bit confused as to which part of the Underworld she had been taken to. She knew that Hades domain consisted of several contrasting regions of the dead including the Fields of Asphodel where most of the dead lived out their dreary existence; Tartarus where the damned were condemned forever; and the Elysian Fields where the heroes of ancient Greece enjoyed an idyllic existence. She doubted very much that Hades dwelt in either of the first two, but the place where she was now certainly didn't fit her idea of paradise.

It was a grim featureless room some four yards across, and an equal number deep. Its roof was vaulted like that of a church and peaked about five yards over her head. It was unfurnished except for a large stone bed against the far wall. Ominously, heavy metal rings were set into the wall just above the headboard and another two were anchored to two iron posts that were set in the bed, while several chains ending in manacles hung from the ceiling.

"Not exactly Olympus is it, slave?" Hades commented as he pushed her into the room. "But this is where you will stay until you are properly trained. Then I may allow you to share the more pleasant regions of the Underworld with me."

It was a ghastly place. No doubt Hades had chosen it deliberately to intimidate her, just as his use of the word "slave" was meant to define her new status.

But Diana was having nothing of it. "You can't keep me here," Diana raged. "I'm not a member of the dead. This is a violation of your own rules."

"I've broken my rules before," Hades responded. "This is my realm and I will do as I please."

Diana knew that Hades was indeed all powerful in the Underworld. Once someone entered his domain he could do what he wished with her as he had shown when he had kidnapped Persephone, the daughter of Demeter and brought her to the Underworld by force. The gods had been forced to allow him to keep her for a third of the year in spite of the fact that she was the daughter of Zeus. If he could keep a goddess against her will he could certainly keep a mortal.

I've got to get out of this. The fate of the human race depends upon it. If Hades releases his army of the undead millions will die. Earth will be devastated.

Just now, however, her prospects were not looking too bright. She had been raped and brutalized and it appeared that there was little hope of any assistance from the other gods, even provided that any of them would dare stand against the combined forces of the god of war and the god of the Underworld.

Hades dragged his Amazon captive to him, using the chain welded to her collar. Forcing his huge fist under her chin he forced her to look up at him. Well over six feet tall herself, looking up at a man was not something Diana was used to. The action was intended to be intimidating and it would no doubt have terrified a normal woman, but she met his eyes unflinchingly, refusing to look away. "I am so very glad to see that Ares and Loki did not break your spirit. It will be my pleasure to break you to my will and force you to your knees before me."

"I will never kneel before any man," Diana vowed.

"We shall see," Hades smiled. "I am going to break that proud spirit and the training begins now."

Diana struggled as Hades pulled her further into the room, but the shackles and chains limited her movement and she was no match for Hades' strength as he muscled her across the room. She was dragged to one of the hanging chains. Hades tugged on it, lowering it until he could reach her right wrist. He then removed the manacle on her wrist and exchanged it for one hanging from the ceiling. Pulling on the other end of the chain he tightened it, forcing her arm above her head. He then repeated the procedure with her left wrist before removing the chain that girdled her waist. He left the tether between her ankles; in fact he used two more short lengths of chain to anchor her ankles to the floor.

Although she knew it was useless Diana fought the chains in some vain hope that her Amazon strength would snap the iron links, but as before the metal resisted her efforts. She was left panting in frustrated rage while Hades stepped back to admire his handiwork.

"First," he said, "I am going to put my mark upon you. Then I am going to give you a little lesson in obedience."

The door opened and four creatures entered the room. Diana wasn't quite sure what they were, but they looked like satyrs. But they were far from the frivolous and mischievous woodland tricksters of Greek legend. These creatures gazed at her in obvious desire, the pink tips of their phalluses jutting through the thick fur of their loins.

Diana was disgusted and ashamed that she should be subjected to the lascivious gaze of such creatures, but that feeling was quickly replaced by one of fear when she saw what they had been carrying. It was a large brazier and she could feel the heat of the burning charcoal even from where she stood.

"Don't do it, Hades," she begged. "You cannot treat a warrior of Themyscira like this."

"You are now my slave, Diana," Hades answered. "And the first step in that existence is for you to be marked as my property." He stirred the iron in the hot coals sending up a shower of hot sparks. Frantically, Diana jerked at the chains.

"Hold still, Diana. I should hate to scar that beautiful body any more than is necessary. I want a small neat mark, not an ugly wound."

Sweat streamed from Diana's body as she continued to fight her chains, but she succeeded only in rubbing the skin from her wrists and ankles.

"I said be still," Hades commanded. "I will punish you further for that disobedience."

Her chest heaving, Diana ceased her efforts to escape. She watched as he drew a glowing iron from the coals, its end configured in the Greek symbol A for alpha, the first letter in the ancient Greek name Aides.

"I think the hip is the appropriate place to mark a slave," he said. "Since you will wear no clothing it will be clearly visible but not mar your beauty."

Her eyes were stinging with sweat, but Diana saw well enough to make out the cherry red glow of the iron as he moved it toward her. Her stomach clenched in fear as the iron neared her flesh. Even from a foot away she could feel the heat radiating from the iron.

"You cannot do this," she said. But in spite of her defiance she flinched as the iron moved toward her. "I am an Amazon princess."

"You are my slave and will be marked as such," Hades leered. He moved the iron.

She almost screamed as the iron seared her flesh. It could not have been touched to her skin for more than a few seconds, but the sound of the sizzling iron, the stench of burning flesh, and the incredible pain, had her close to fainting. For a few seconds she almost went limp in the chain and then it was over. Her eyes filled with tears of pain she turned toward Hades.

"I will be avenged for that," she vowed, her teeth clenched against the pain. "Eternity will not be long enough to save you."

"Foolish slave. You dare to threaten a god?" Hades thundered. "I see that you have never been properly disciplined. The marking of my property is just the beginning. "You are no longer a princess. You are my slave and that is the name you will answer to from now on."

"I will never be your slave," Diana. "Nothing you can do will make me willingly obey you."

"As I said, you lack discipline. You will be taught to obey me and that teaching is going to prove most painful. Here begins your first lesson." He motioned the satyrs forward.

Each of the ugly beasts was combination of goat and human. Their faces were pushed out into a brutish goat's faces with short horns jutting from above each large eye. Standing barely five feet tall, but powerfully built, they had solidly built human torsos and the legs and feet of a goat. The creatures gazed at Diana with obvious lust. One of them licked its snout displaying large square teeth.

"You'd like to take her wouldn't you, my friends?" Hades commented. "But for now she is reserved for me. You may, however, deliver her first lesson in obedience."

The satyrs stepped forward. In their hands they held gnarled lengths of bramble studded with thorns. Their cruel faces twists in monstrous parodies as they raised the brutal instruments and positioned themselves to either side of the helpless Amazon.

Her burned hip throbbing with pain, Diana stared helplessly at the two hideous creatures and the cruel instruments they held. "Do not do this. I am Diana of Themyscira, Princess of the Amazons. You cannot treat me like this."

The satyr on her right grunted, but that was all the effect her protests had on it. He swung his barbed wand and struck Diana's body just under her left arm so her ribs and the firm, rounded curve of her breast caught the force of the blow. It left an ugly welt and sent such stinging pain through her body that the agony of the brand on her hip was momentarily eclipsed. A moment later the other satyr struck her from the left side.

Air jetted from Dian's lungs in a sharp cry. She avoided a scream by sheer force of will, but the two blows were agonizing. They left two long welts punctuated by deeper indentations on opposite sides of her rib cage. And then the first satyr struck her again. The barbed wand cut deep, spraying droplets of blood about the room. This time Diana's cry of pain was sharper; more high-pitched. The pain was incredible; much greater than she could have imagined from so simple an instrument and it got worse with each successive blow.

Screams were inevitable and they came soon enough. "Stop, stop!" Diana begged and then she screamed as a wand cut across her breasts. And then she screamed again and kept on screaming after that as blow after blow rained down on her body, cutting her luscious curves to ribbons, and it ended only when blood loss and the incredible pain sent her into unconsciousness.

Chapter 3

Diana awoke in her grim cell. She was no longer hanging in chains from the ceiling, but was lying on the cold stone of the bed. No bedding had been provided and the cold of the stone had seeped into her bones while she slept. Stiffly she moved into a sitting position, discovering that she was chained at the neck to the wall behind the stone bed. At the same time she realized that the terrible injuries that have been inflicted upon her had been partially healed. Her body was marked with stripes and the ugly brand on her hip was still an angry red, but the raw wounds had healed to the point where they remained only as ugly red welts.

Apparently I am to be punished but not maimed. As a god Hades had the power to heal all injuries and he had obviously done that while she was unconscious. She was still sore, but the excruciating pain she had felt before losing consciousness had been reduced to a dull throbbing. It seemed that Hades had healed her just enough to remind her of the punishment she had received but not leave her in crippling pain.

As she sat up she realized that she was also sore in another place as well. Ares and Loki had used her thoroughly and had left her with a throbbing reminder of what it meant to be raped by a god. So far she had been spared a repeat of that experience. Instead Hades seemed more interested in disciplining her. But she had little doubt that situation would last long. Hades was notorious for his lascivious nature as his kidnapping and ravishing of Persephone illustrated. Now he had her in his power and Diana waited apprehensively for the god to appear.

She didn't have to wait long. The door to the cell opened with dramatic suddenness. Hades stood there clad in the dark armour of a Greek warrior. With him were the two satyrs who had so painfully punished her the day before. They leered at her nude body.

Unflinchingly Diana faced them, knowing just how helpless she was. She had already attempted to break free of the chain but it appeared to be made of the same sort of metal as the chains that had held her previously and there was no possibility of breaking it. For a woman who easily bent steel bars it was immensely frustrating, but there was nothing she could do about it. She glared up at Hades in anger and frustration and just a little fear.

"Still unbowed in spite of the lesson given to you," Hades observed. "I am looking forward to your hopeless struggles as I force your legs apart and then take you."

"Coward," Diana raged. "But it is no more than I expected from a monster who kidnapped and despoiled a helpless young girl."

"If you are referring to Persephone I think you give the little harlot more credit than she deserves. She made sure that I was aware of her charms before I abducted her. True, she was a virgin when I took her, but she enjoyed it all the same and has remained faithfully with me for four millennia."

"Why then do you want me?" Diana asked.

"Other than the enjoyment of revenge? As I said, it has been over four thousand years since Persephone joined me. Even a god with my patience tires of the same woman after a while, even if she is a goddess. You are young and ripe and will provide me with much pleasure while I break you. Who knows, if you are fortunate I may even impregnate you. What would it be like to give birth to a demigod, slave?"

"You are mad and depraved," Diana protested. "I will never submit."

"I do not want your instant submission," Hades replied. "That will come soon enough. For now I want to feel your body writhing beneath me as I enjoy you."

As Hades finished speaking he began to remove his armour with the help of the two satyrs. It took only a few minutes to reveal the well-muscled physique of a Greek god. She tried to focus on his face, but she could not help but notice that he was at least as well-endowed as Ares. His phallus appeared enormous and it was not yet fully erect.

Hades caught the direction of her gaze and the fear in her eyes. He smiled, his lips pulling back in a cruel grimace. "You are going to find this very interesting, slave. As you no doubt have noticed I healed your wounds. What you may not have realized is that I also restored your virginity. You are as fresh and tight as a priestess of Artemis and it will be most enjoyable to rob you of that purity. In fact I intend to restore your maidhood each time it is taken and enjoy you over and over again."

Diana's face could not hide the shock she felt at Hades' words and the depth of his depravity. To be suffer the repeated loss of her virginity would be a brutal ordeal, similar to the punishment visited upon Prometheus who was subjected to endless torment by being chained to a rock and having his liver torn out each day by an eagle only to have it grow back each night to be ripped out again on the morrow.

"I see that you know what it means, slave," Hades gloated. "I said I would break you and I will. Now let us begin."

With the help of his two grotesque attendants Hades was now completely nude. His powerfully muscled body loomed over her, his huge member jutting out like the branch of a tree. Her arms and legs were free, but the chain about her neck confined her movement to the stone bed. The odds were hopelessly in Hades' favour, but that did not stop her from trying to fight him off.

Hades laughed at her feeble efforts to escape her fate. It was obvious that he wanted her to fight. It would make his inevitable victory all the more satisfying for him and all the more humiliating for her. He circled the bed, grinning in anticipation while Diana turned her body, trying to keep her feet toward him.

It didn't do her the least bit of good. Hades was a god after all. Chained at the neck, even Diana's Amazon speed could not react quickly enough when he finally made his move.

He caught her left ankle and when she tried to use her other leg he caught that as well. She was helpless as he then heaved his bulk on top of her. Frantically she struck at him with her fists and elbows and tried her best to knee him. The god ignored her efforts. Even her hardest blows affected him no more than an infant striking at an adult. He laughed as her efforts became increasing more frantic, enjoying the pathetic attempts of the heroine to prevent him from pinning her to the bed.

Diana panicked. In a few moments she went from a valiant Amazon warrior to a desperate and frightened woman attempting to escape her fate.

Hades straddled her, his knees on either side of her waist and his weight pinning the lower part of her body. He caught both her wrists and then he let her struggle, enjoying the spectacle of the frantic Amazon writhing beneath him. Then slowly and deliberately he bent his head to her shuddering breasts. His mouth sought her left nipple, found it and then his teeth closed on her soft flesh biting harder and harder until he broke through her skin. Diana cried out in pain as his teeth marked the flesh of her breast on either side of her areola. The pain was brutal and she had to fight hard to keep from screaming. And then he turned his attention to her right breast, marking it with his teeth in an identical manner.

Diana lay gasping beneath him. She had been shamed as a warrior by Hades' easy demonstration of how easily he could master her. Her ravaged nipples throbbed with pain and small rivulets of blood trickled down her breasts. The god leered down at her.

"It's a horrible feeling isn't it; slave, to feel so utterly helpless? To know that I can do anything I want with you and will in a few moments completely subject you to my will."

Through clenched teeth Diana answered. "You might brutalize me, but you will never break me. I will live to see you defeated."

"It is you who have been defeated, slave. As I will now demonstrate beyond doubt." Hades shifted his weight. Using one massive hand to hold both her wrists he used the other to force her knees apart. Then he forced his knee between her thighs and parted her legs.

For a few moments Diana fought frenziedly, but she was helpless to stop Hades from shifting his body between her thighs. He used both hands to pin her wrists to the stone bed and enjoyed the sight of Diana's quivering breasts as he prepared to take her. His godlike member, thicker than Diana's forearm and almost as long, thrust toward her womanhood.

Diana redoubled her efforts. Her long hair whipped back and forth. Sweat glistened on every inch of her exquisite body. Her firm breasts juddered, her bloodied nipples describing complete turns in her desperate efforts to escape. Hades laughed in triumph and pushed forward.

He took her slowly, parting the lips of her vulva and then sliding in only two fingers' width. Diana moaned in fear and then grunted in pain as he pushed in a little farther. The tip of his phallus, as large as her clenched fist forced its way within her and pushed against her maidenhead. She groaned again, louder this time, transfixed by Hades' spear and then he pushed forward, tearing away the flimsy membrane and taking her virginity.

She didn't scream; at least not then, even though the pain was terrible. It felt to Diana as if a baseball bat was being shoved into her, and then Hades pulled back a little and then slowly and deliberately ravished her. Back and forth he moved, each thrust a little deeper, each thrust a little more painful, until finally Diana screamed in agony.

"Now you truly know what it is to be taken by a real god," Hades exulted. "Not some puny weakling like Ares or faun like Loki. Tell me what I am, slave. Tell me that I am your master."

Diana could not, would not do that. She writhed in brutal torment as the god ravaged her virgin tightness, taking her harder than anyone had ever taken her before. She screamed again and again as the torment continued, ceasing only when Hades finally released into her, spurting his seed deep into her womb.

Diana held back her sobs as Hades climbed off her. She lay utterly exhausted. The violent rape had almost broken her, but her iron will had triumphed. She had not begged for mercy; nor had she acknowledged Hades as her master. He might call her slave, but in her own mind she was still an Amazon warrior, and nothing he could do could change that.

"You are stronger than I thought," Hades said as he stood over her. "But I have eternity to bend you to my will. Be assured. I will break you and you will grovel at my feet before a month of your days has passed."

Diana did not reply; nor did she raise her head to stare defiantly at him. She had already suffered one beating and did not want to earn a second.

"Already you are learning," Hades taunted. "Your proud Amazonian spirit is no match for my will."

Diana might have answered, but her throat was hoarse from screaming. She was utterly exhausted and her loins throbbed with the pain of their savage use. Closing her eyes she shut out the world and let the sleep of exhaustion claim her.

Chapter 3

She awoke hungry and incredibly sore. As he had promised, Hades had healed her, but had allowed a little of what he had done to her to remain as a reminder. He will not break me. I am an Amazon warrior. I can survive this.

Even as she had these thoughts, however, she knew that she had no easy answers to her dilemma. She seemed to have no powers in Hades' domain and unless she could find some way to escape without them she faced endless torment. However, she would not give up. Even gods relax their vigilance and she would wait for that chance. She just hoped that she would be in time. By now Hades may have released his legions of dead to Ares and the conquest of the world might be under way.

The sound of the heavy bolt barring the door alerted her to the fact that someone was about to enter her cell. She saw with mixed a mixture of fear and relief that Hades was not one of those entering the cell; instead the four satyrs she had seen previously marched in. They leered at her, two of them even drooling as they gazed upon her, their very goat-like tongues lolling from their mouths.

One of those who had flogged her barred his large square teeth in a crude grin. "Master is busy. Wants you washed for the next time."

Diana had no doubt about what 'the next time' meant, but she was not about to be intimidated by these vile creatures. "I will bathe myself; I do not need your help."

The satyr's only answer was a continuation of its grin. The other three satyrs moved forward, their hands laden with chains. For a moment Diana considered resisting. After all, what did she have to lose? But she decided that she really had little to gain by fighting Hades' underlings. She probably wouldn't escape in any case given their superior numbers, the fact that her present strength was no more than normal, and the confining chain about her neck. So she stood meekly and let the Hades' ugly servants chain her wrists and ankles.

Only when she was safely secured was the chain attached to her collar released. Then she was led from the cell, two satyrs in front of her and two behind, each one holding the chains locked about her wrists and ankles.

Diana wrinkled her nose. Not only did her guards resemble goats, but they also smelled like goats. Randy goats, given the fact that each of them sported a thick erection. Things really couldn't get much more humbling than being led through the caverns of the Underworld by Hades' lascivious servants.

The tunnels she was led through seemed very much the same no matter which way she was taken. It was a gloomy world with no visible means of lighting, but the rock walls gave off a low level glow that provided enough light to see. There was the faint stink of sulphur, a smell that grew stronger as they proceeded, and it was no surprise when they rounded a corner and came across a large steaming pool.

"You bathe here," ordered the satyr who seemed to be in charge. Still holding the chains they directed her toward the pool. Set into the rock near the edge of the pool was a much longer chain to which her beastly guards fastened the chains on her wrists and ankles. It gave her about twenty feet of slack allowing her to enter the steaming water.

There was no soap, but the hot water felt divine as she slipped into it in spite of the strong smell of sulphur. She felt a surprising sense of relief considering the dismal circumstances of her captivity. She moved out into the pool until the water reached her breasts and then immersed herself fully, hiding her body from the satyrs. The four monstrous guards were perched on the edge of the pool their demonic yellow eyes following her every move. She couldn't get away from them, but she could deny them the pleasure of looking upon her while she bathed.

She took her time, enjoying the fact that she was somewhat free from her captors and her nudity was hidden from her tormentors. However, eventually her satyr guards ordered her from the water, tugging on her chains for emphasis. She emerged, dripping water onto the stone floor. Once again she had to put up with the obvious sexual interest of her bestial guards. However, to her surprise the chief satyr handed her a comb.

"Make hair nice," he ordered. "Hades want you pretty."

She felt like telling Hades to go to hell; but since he was already there it seemed pointless, especially as she was there with him. She took the comb and with some effort managed to restore her hair to its usual shining luxuriance.

"Come, we go now," the satyr prompted. "Take you back to cell."

Diana turned in the direction from which she had come, but to her surprise the satyr jerked her in the other direction. Although most parts of the Underworld looked pretty much the same she was sure that she was being led away from her cell, not toward it. She felt a strange premonition that something was not right, however, she said nothing. After all, wherever she was being taken could hardly be worse than where she had been; or so she hoped. And it just might give her the chance she had been looking for.

They walked for some time and with each step Diana was sure that she was being taken farther and farther from her cell. She was taken through a maze of corridors until she completely lost her way. Finally, she stopped, forcing her guards to stop as well.

"Where are you taking me?" she demanded. "This is not the way to my prison."

"You come or we drag you," the satyr answered. "You slave. You do what you told."

He had a point that she could not argue with, but she sensed that something was not right. Although the satyr was far from human there was something about the way he answered and looked at her that made her very uncomfortable.

Reluctantly she began walking again, her four satyr guards keeping pace with her. They went down a few more twists and turns and then came to a large cavern. Diana blinked in surprise. For the first time since she had been in the Underworld she saw the green of vegetation.

She was on the edge of a forested glade. Except for the high stone ceiling she could have been in any forested area on the Earth's surface. A small stream ran across the area in front of her and disappeared into the forest. However, it was the creatures populating the area that were most interesting. At least a score of satyrs occupied the open place and mingling with them were the nymphs of Greek legend.

Actually, mingling was not quite the right word. Most of the nymphs were enthusiastically engaged in a variety of sexual activities with the satyrs. Diana froze, horrified. To her it looked like bestiality personified. Looking away from the frenzied sexual exhibition she turned to her satyr guard. "Why have you brought me here? Where is Hades?"

"Hades busy with Ares. He not miss you for a while." He grinned his goat's grin and Diana understood exactly why she had been brought to the satyrs' glade.

"Hades will learn of this. You will be punished," she warned. She eyed her captors. Each of the satyrs held one of the chains attached to her wrists and ankles. Her chances of escape seemed slim, but she did not have much choice.

"Hades not know," the Satyr replied. "We not tell him and you never tell."

He was right about that. Being ravished by her satyr guards would be too humiliating an experience for her to report. However, she did not intend to let them have their way if she could help it.

She moved quickly, pulling on one of the chains that held her wrists. She caught the satyr holding it unprepared and jerked it from his hands. Then before the others could react she used the chain like a flail, swinging it with all of her might into the head of the satyr closest to her. She might not have all of her Amazon strength, but she was still a strong woman and the satyr went down as if it had been poleaxed.

She whirled, continuing her attack and took down another of her guards, and then another. That left just the chief guard and he was her next target. This satyr, however, proved much more difficult to deal with. He still held the chain that was connected to her right ankle and as Diana swung the chain he pulled hard, yanking her leg out from under her and dumping her onto her shapely backside.

Diana recovered quickly, but the delay had been enough. The arrival of the exquisitely beautiful Amazon in the glade had attracted the attention of every satyr who was not occupied sexually with a nymph. Several of them charged forward and grabbed the loose ends of her chains while several others tackled her. They pinned her to the ground while her arms and legs were immobilized by those pulling on the chains. To her highly sexed captors the now helpless Amazon was a most inviting sight.

However, her chief guard was still in charge. "Bring her here," he ordered, pointing to a large flat rock next to the stream.

His orders were quickly carried out. Still struggling, Diana was carried across to the rock and spread out on it. Her arms and legs were drawn out to the sides leaving her spread-eagled across the rock. The chief satyr regarded her with obvious lust and satisfaction.

"You fight good," he said. "But satyrs stronger. We have fun with Amazon. Then take her back to cell before Hades returns."

Diana struggled furiously. The satyr sported a huge erection; not as large as that of Hades, but large enough to terrify most women. Not only that, but the other satyrs who held were similarly aroused. Diana wondered briefly if it was the nature of satyrs to be in a permanent state of sexual readiness and then she was too busy trying to prevent what was happening to her to think of anything else.

"This be fun," the satyr chief commented as he moved between her legs. "Amazon cunt be tight. Fuck for long time."

Diana's struggles intensified. Although the satyr could not match Hades for size, he was still very well hung, and she knew that if she didn't escape she would be taken many more times than Hades had taken her. She was surrounded by a score of the most lecherous creatures that had ever existed. Every one of them would want a turn and every turn would be painful and humiliating.

She fought even harder as the satyr chief heaved himself onto her. She was only seconds away from being brutally raped and already her ordeal had begun as the satyrs surrounding her touched whatever part of her body they could reach. They ran their fingers over her arms, thighs, breasts, and belly. A few squeezed and pinched her firm ripe breasts and others tweaked her taut nipples. And then the satyr chief took her.

He practiced no subtlety. Her legs were spread wide, offering an unmistakable target and he simply plowed into her, taking her hard and deep. It was as if an iron rod had been driven into her. But this rod was of flesh and as thick as her wrist. She was impaled and she screamed, arching herself across the rock, her long hair trailing over the edge as she whipped her head back and forth in torment.

Hands gripped her hair, holding her head as the satyr chief began to thrust in and out of her. Her head was forced over the edge of the boulder, and her nose was pinched to force her lips apart. And then a second satyr phallus added to her ordeal as her mouth was entered, the heavy member driving to the back of her throat. She gagged, her air cut off. She tried to bite, but the satyr ignored her feeble attempts and she struggled to breathe, choking as the satyr's staff reached to her tonsils.

"Don't choke her," one of the other satyrs shouted. We all want turn. She no good to us if she die."

The intruding shaft was withdrawn, but only for a moment; only long enough for her to catch her breath and then it was thrust between her lips once again. This time she did bite, but her reward for that was a vicious slap on the head that stunned her, and her satyr assailant continued to enjoy the warmth of her mouth.

Diana tried to resist, but there were too many things happening to her at the same time. She was raped at both ends and her body was fondled, pinched, squeezed, and prodded until she hardly knew where she was.

The first satyr finished with her and another took his place. She grunted in pain as another swollen member plunged deep into her throbbing vagina. Her mouth was suddenly filled with a warm, sticky substance and the first phallus was replaced by another as well. And then she was rolled onto her side.

Form somewhere she found the strength to resist as she realized what this meant. But she could not break away from the many hands that held her while the cheeks of her backside were parted. She screamed again as she was entered from behind and then again as she was doubly penetrated; her vagina and anus penetrated simultaneously. And then her grunts, cries, and screams were muffled as her mouth was filled once again.

It went on that way for quite some time. Diana quickly lost track of the number of times she was taken. She only knew that all three of her orifices were repeatedly filled by the ever-ready phalluses of one satyr after another. It seemed to go one forever, but finally it was over.

"Enough," the satyr chief ordered. "She must be returned to cell. Hades returns."

By this time Diana was barely conscious. Almost every inch of her boy was covered with sweat, semen, and a multitude of bruises. Unresisting, she was lifted from the rock where she had been ravished and carried swiftly through the tunnels and caverns to her cell. Thrown once more upon the stone bed she hardly noticed as she was once again chained to the bed. Too exhausted to move she fell into a stupor-like sleep.

Chapter 4

A roar like the erupting of a volcano forced her out of her sleep. "Who dares to take what belongs to a god?" Hades thundered. "They will all be punished for this. I shall send them to the pits of Tartarus where they will dwell in eternal torment."

Diana was in no condition to answer. Every part of her body burned with the fire of her ordeal. There was no part of her anatomy that did not throb painful; and especially painful were the areas where she had been brutalized most severely and most often.

Hades stepped forward and gripped her by the chain that held her neck. Ignoring her cry of pain he pulled her into a sitting position. "And you, slave; you stupid bitch. No doubt you encouraged them in some mistaken belief that you could escape. As punishment I shall not heal your injuries. Instead I will let others deal with you."

He let her drop back to the stone bed and stood there a moment. "Satyrs are such fools," Hades said, speaking more quietly now. "They think only with what is between their legs. Their punishment will be swift and savage. You I will deal with later."

Then he was gone without even bothering to open her cell door. Diana was alone, in more pain than she had been for quite some time. The satyrs had done a real number on her. She moaned as she forced herself into a sitting position. Strangely, she found herself wondering if the nymphs would be punished as well. They had done nothing to her, but she could remember the excited chirping of their voices as their satyr lovers took her again and again.

Her thoughts were interrupted with the opening of the door once again. This time there were no satyrs, but what entered was hardly an improvement. "The Amazon. I have so wanted to see her," squawked the first creature entering the room.

It resembled a winged woman and stood about seven feet tall. It was nude although most of its body was covered with blue feathers, except on its head where they changed to green ending in a foot long crest. Its face was somewhat human, but sharply pointed with a nose like a beaks and large eyes set close to the side of its heads. It walked bent, as if it could not straighten its backs and its hands and feet ended in long claws. When the creature spoke it revealed inch long fangs.

A harpy, Diana thought. My guards have hardly changed for the better.

Behind the first harpy was a second, this one with red feathers ornamenting its head. Two more harpies followed their heads yellow and purple.

Well, at least they will be easy to tell apart. Diana knew that harpies were immensely strong, for all their slender build, and that their powerful wings could be used as weapons. It would be no easier escaping from them than it would be from the satyrs. But at least she might not be gang raped. Harpies were not interested in sex outside of their kind so far as she knew, but nothing would surprise her in Hades' horrible realm.

"Hades wants to make this sorry thing his queen?" the green headed harpy continued. "She looks like something a cat has coughed up."

"And we are to make sure she is cleaned?" the red headed harpy asked. "I don't even want to touch her."

"We do as we are told, Alala," the green headed harpy chided. "I don't wish to have my wings torn off."

"Maybe we could have a bit of fun with her," the yellow headed harpy suggested.

"Perhaps we could, Enyo," green head agreed. "As long as we do not damage her. But let's get her cleaned up first."

"You're not much fun, Kirke," the purple headed harpy said.

"No, but I am in charge," Kirke replied. "Put the chains on her and we will take her to the baths."

Diana was still too battered and bruised to resist even if she had not been outnumbered four to one. She groaned as the chains were locked about her wrists and ankles and she was forced to her feet. She was so sore from the number of times she had been taken that she could barely place one foot in front of another, but her harpy escort was quite unsympathetic. They pulled on the chains, forcing her to walk at their speed and led her through the maze of tunnels once again.

As before, Diana lost her way, but she was not taken to the hot springs the satyrs had taken her to. Instead she was hauled into a large cavern that was laid out like an ancient Greek temple. Tall Corinthian columns flanked an entrance that led into an exquisitely beautiful interior. Like the rest of the underground world the interior of the temple was illuminated by a mysterious eerie light and she could see that it contained beautiful statuary depicting the creatures of Greek legend.

In the centre of the temple rising water vapour revealed a large bathing pool. Swarms of harpies watched Diana and her escort arrive and many of them pressed forward.

"So this is the Amazon princess, I thought she was supposed to be beautiful."

"Hades wants her? She can hardly walk."

There were more comments like that, a lot more, and Diana tried to hold herself as erect as possible and walk without limping or showing any pain. They led her to the pool and surprisingly, removed the chains. A quick glace about her showed that they had no fear of her escape. More than a hundred harpies were clustered about her. Even with her full Amazon strength she would have had a hard time fighting her way clear of that many.

She entered the pool, an action made easier by the fact that the pool was stepped to a depth of four feet. The water was pleasantly warm and her aches and pains began to recede as soon as moved into it. The harpies followed her and were soon involved in the process of making sure that she was thoroughly washed. At first it was painful. Her body was covered with scratches and bruises and every touch made her want to cringe.

Like a true Amazon, however, Diana endured the attentions of the harpies and found that within a short time her aches and pains had disappeared. It seemed there was something about the water that had a healing as well as a cleansing effect and soon she was almost enjoying the bath.

In spite of their fearsome appearance the harpies offered no offense other than making sure that she was scrubbed from head to toe and when Diana was guided from the pool she felt that she had never been cleaner.

She was led to a large marble table that was covered with a thick towel. It almost seemed too good to be true after the treatment she had previously received and she was immediately suspicious. However, surrounded by harpies there was very little she could do about it and she offered no opposition as they helped her to the table.

Even with the treatment she had already received from her fearsome attendants she was a bit unprepared for what happened next. Sweet scented oils were rubbed into her skin by several of the harpies while others combed out her hair. Then she was rolled onto her back and her other side was given the same treatment. They even went so far as to artistically trim the thick patch of curly hair above her vulva. Diana tried to sit up when this was being done, but Kirke pushed her down.

"Lay still, Amazon. Or you will wear chains again."

There wasn't much choice. Diana was surrounded by dozens of creatures whose fingers ended in daggers. To offer resistance would be foolhardy at best and probably painful at worst. She let them finish her grooming without protest, thankful that she was not being raped again.

Her body massaged, oiled, shaved, and perfumed to Kirke's satisfaction Diana was allowed to stand. She was then dressed in a diaphanous garment that was finer than silk and cool to the touch. It almost seemed to float on her skin. She was then ornamented with jewellery, a golden jewel-studded diadem being used to secure her hair and matching bracelets, armlets, and anklets placed on her body. The only this that was not changed was the heavy slave collar around her throat. It served as a reminder of her actual place in Hades' world and caused her to wonder about the sudden change in treatment.

She had been flogged, raped, and brutalized. Why the sudden change? This won't last, she told herself. Hades is simply seeking to disorient me. It is an old torturer's trick. Brutality one moment and kindness the next followed by more brutality.

She was certain that events were almost certainly about to change for the worse, especially when the harpies began to lead her toward the back of the temple-like structure. However, another surprise awaited her beyond the impressive columns.

She found herself in a beautiful garden, complete with sparkling fountain, wonderful flowers, and beautiful birds. A marble table laden with food and drink was set a few yards from the fountain and cushioned chairs and divans were set next to it.

The sight of the heavily laden table reminded Diana that she had not had anything to eat or drink since entering the Underworld. Strangely, until being reminded of that fact she had not felt hungry or thirsty. Perhaps food was not necessary in Hades' domain. But at the sight of the magnificent repast her belly began to ache, reminding her of how empty it was.

"Eat, Amazon," Kirke urged. "You must restore your strength."

Diana wondered if Kirke actually meant that her Amazon strength was to be restored or whether she was simply using a figure of speech, but she did not have to be urged twice. She went for the food first, and whether it was her hunger or the quality of the food she thought that she had never tasted anything so good. She then tried the wine and found it to be just as exquisite as the food; in fact everything was so delicious she had to hold herself back for fear that she would make herself sick.

Finally satiated she found herself pleasantly tired. Should she sleep? She might as well. Certainly nothing worse than what she had already suffered could happen to her in Hades strange realm. She snuggled into the cushions of the divan and ignoring the horde of harpies that surrounded her she closed her eyes.

"Satisfied, slave?"

Diana jerked awake at the sound of Hades voice. He was standing just a few feet away once again clad in the robes of a Greek noble. She jumped to her feet ready to defend herself from the assault that she was sure to come.

But the god simply stood where he was, watching her with a slight smile on his lips. "What do you want of me, Hades?" she demanded. "Why go through the charade of treating me like an honoured guest if all you intend to do is ravish me once more?"

"Ravish you?" Hades grinned. "I don't think that will be necessary. There is more than one way to tame an Amazon and you have just helped me with it. You have just eaten and drunk of the food of the gods. I think you will find that your Amazon powers have been fully restored. But you are still my slave and as proof of that you will submit to me voluntarily."

Diana flexed her muscles. She could not tell for certain, but it seemed as if Hades might be telling the truth. However, he was wrong about one thing. Never would she give herself to any man she had not chosen for herself; not even a god.

"I will not do that," she demanded. "And if my powers are restored then I will stay no longer in your realm. I have Ares and Loki to deal with, and you too before I am finished."

"Really?" Hades calmly replied, moving to sit down on the divan she had just vacated. "Are you certain? Do you feel nothing?" Before she could move he reached out and took her hand, drawing her toward him.

His touch sent something very much like an electric shock through her, but it caused no pain; instead she was struck by another sensation altogether, one that gripped her like a vise.

No, this can't be happening. I should not feel like this.

But it was happening, and happening with undeniable force. She had never felt anything like it. Sweat beaded on her forehead and her neck and then trickled between her breasts as she fought it. But she could do nothing, caught in some incredible spell, warmth flowed through her body, beginning in her loins and then flowing upward to her belly and breasts. The petals of her vulva became engorged; the muscles of her stomach rippled in anticipation; and her nipples hardened and rose like thimbles. All it needed was another touch from the god.

"You see slave, there is more than one way to break an Amazon. The food you ate and the wine you drank was laced with Aphrodite's elixir. There was enough to drive a hundred women mad with desire and what is an Amazon after all except a woman. A woman who will soon beg me to use her."

"I… will… not," Diana gasped through clenched teeth. She was almost delirious with desire. Her skin tingled, her loins burned, her breasts flushed crimson with the need to be touched.

"I think you will, slave," Hades replied, moving his hand to stroke her thigh.

"No! Stop!" Diana cried, but even as she spoke her legs parted, seemingly of their own volition and she turned her body so that Hades could have access to her more easily.

I am an Amazon warrior. This cannot be happening. I must fight it. To surrender is to deny everything I stand for.

But she could not control herself. She settled back into the cushions, her hands pushing feebly at Hades' massive chest while at the same time she spread her legs wider in invitation.

It took but a few moments for Hades to open the fastenings of her filmy garment. He pulled it from her and gazed on her sweating, panting body. He watched her struggle, enjoying the spectacle of a warrior so helplessly caught in the throes of passion.

"And there is more, slave. The food and drink prepared you not only for love, but for procreation. Your womb is ripe and waiting for the planting of my seed. On this night you will be implanted with the child of a god."

His hands found the places where her legs joined her torso, his thumbs massaging the tender flesh of her inner thighs. She moaned in desire and arched toward him, inviting him to take her, but he did nothing, instead choosing to continue his gentle massage before lowering his head to kiss her neck.

She lifted herself toward him, curving her body to fit his, but still he ignored her invitation, stroking and caressing her lower body and slowly, teasingly working his lips over her neck and collarbones and then down to her swollen breasts.

Diana had stopped trying to push Hades away. Instead her hands fumbled with his robes, desperately seeking the ties that closed them. His garments slipped away and Hades huge naked body hung over hers. She opened like a clam on a hot fire, ready for the taking, but still he did nothing except use his hands, lips, and tongue to set her on fire.

Her body blazed with passion, but she could let her weakness control her. She had to push Hades away. Roll herself from beneath him. Escape. But even as these thoughts rushed through her mind, her hands found his hips and she tried to pull him down on her and then when he did not move her fingers went to his huge phallus.

It was enormous; terrifying; much larger than she remembered; and she wanted all of it inside her. But the giant god caught her hands and pinned them over her head and watched her as she writhed beneath him. It was too much.

"Take me," she implored. "Take me now."

"Do you really want me to fuck you, Amazon?" Hades asked, reverting to the use of proper title instead of calling her slave. "Then ask me to do it."

I cannot do that. It would lower her to the state of an animal. Reveal her as nothing better than a helpless woman.

Í cannot," she moaned. She was now so desperate she was almost weeping. He has to take me. I can't take much more of this. It's pure agony.

"I think you can," Hades replied. He continued to hold her and shifted his weight so that he was no longer between her thighs. Instead he straddled her pinning her writhing body to the divan, forcing her down into the soft pillows.

Diana sobbed in frustration. "You must take me. I'm in agony."

"Then ask me properly." Hades was sweating himself now in anticipation, but he still held her so that she could barely move.

Diana screamed. "Alright, alright. I want you to fuck me. Fuck me now."

"And what are you?" Hades replied with infuriating calm. "Tell me what you are."

"I am a slave," Diana wept. "I am your slave. I beg you to take me now."

"And what is my name, slave? Make sure you get it right."

"You are Ha…. You are my master and I am your slave. And I beg you to fuck me."

"Remember what you are," Hades said. He lowered his head and savaged her breasts, nipping at her nipples and closing his teeth hard on her bountiful flesh. She screamed in pain and twisting her body beneath him and then he rose above her, moved between her splayed legs and thrust deep within her, taking her renewed virginity in an instant and reminding her of just how painful it was to be fucked by a god.

Diana's ragged cry revealed her torment, but she did not try to escape the brutal impalement. Instead she lifted her hips inviting Hades to take her even deeper, an invitation he readily accepted, grunting with the effort of taking her as he buried his shaft within her.

"You're an incredibly tight cunt," the god panted. "No one would ever guess that you've been taken more times than Aphrodite."

That was far from true, but Diana did not correct him. She was still caught up in the throes of a sexual excitement beyond what she had ever imagined. The small amount of elixir that Ares had forced into her was as nothing compared to what she felt now. She wanted to be fucked and fucked hard and her moans, cries and the movement of her body urged Hades on; demanding that he take her harder than she had ever been taken before.

Fortunately, or perhaps not so fortunately, depending on how the plight of the heroine was viewed, Hades was a god and thus was more than up to the task. He plowed her furrow like a farmer trying to beat the rain while Diana writhed beneath him urging him on. She cried out, her throat hoarse from repeated orgasms as her womb contracted in an intense effort to pull Hades' seed within it. And still she continued her body demanding as much and more than the god could give. Finally he released within her, spurting his seed inside her with such force she felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach. Momentarily doubled over with pain she allowed him to withdraw from her ravaged vagina.

But the respite did not last long. Still in the throes of Aphrodite's powerful elixir, she fell upon Hades' phallus like a vampire. Taking his staff into her mouth she sucked on it like a newborn calf taking it first milk. In spite of Hades' huge girth, she was somehow able to stretch her jaw to accommodate him, and sliding her hand along the shaft encouraged his organ to once again swell to its full size.

Her mouth so full that she could hardly breathe Diana kept at it until Hades finally flipped her onto her belly, and bracing her against the edge of the divan he took her from behind. Her shrieks as he forced his shaft into the tight buttonhole of her anus were almost deafening. Even slick with her juices Hades had to use most of his great strength to take her.

Diana felt like the god was splitting her in two. It was pain beyond anything she had ever experienced, but spite of the agony she pushed herself onto his member encouraging him to take her as deeply as he could. The god was easily up to the task as Diana's cries, moans, and screams attested. Her head swam with both pain and pleasure, a pleasure that increased until it overwhelmed her senses. An orgasm more intense than any she had yet experienced tore through her. Her senses swam and she collapsed in utter exhaustion, completely unable to move.

"You have been mastered by a god, slave," Hades triumphed. "Now you are truly mine. Bow down before me."

It was fortunate that Diana was already on her knees. She had been so thoroughly ravished that she could barely move. Burning with shame, but still locked in the power of Aphrodite's elixir she bowed her head, touching it to the floor. "Master," she gasped, almost choking on the words, but unable to deny that Hades had indeed conquered her.

"You are an Amazon no longer," Hades crowed. He turned to Kirke. "Take her away and see that she is properly cared for. I wish my son the best of care."

Chapter 5

By the gods she was sore. Or rather by one god. Hermes had decided to leave her a little souvenir of their lovemaking, if the term lovemaking could properly be applied to what had been done to her. As a reminder of their night of love Hades had decided to let her heal on her own. She had been allowed to bathe, but not in the healing pool of the temple. As a result she was clean and she had been oiled and perfumed by her harpy attendants, but she was in considerable pain. There was nothing quite like having a phallus the thickness of a log shoved into her couchie and then into the bluebell of her backside to make the occasion more than memorable.

Hades had gone off to complete his agreement with Ares. Apparently it required his personal supervision to release the myriad souls he had stored in the various levels of the Underworld.

And if it had not been for me the agreement never would have gone though. I've doomed the world by allowing myself to be captured by the likes of Ares and Loki.

And there was no way to escape. She was once again chained to her bed. Granted, she had been given much more comfortable accommodation. In fact her surroundings were quite palatial. However, that did not disguise the fact that for all intents and purposes she was a prisoner and would remain that way until Hades decided to release her.

There was also another concern; one that weighed upon her just as heavily as her captivity and the fear that Ares and Loki would succeed in their mad plan; and that was Hades' boast that he had impregnated her.

She felt no different; but the god had raped her twice, and the semen of gods was notoriously potent. To be forced to carry and bear the god's child would be a terrible humiliation. And there was nothing she could do about it.

She moaned as she shifted position and not just from the injuries she had suffered. Aphrodite's elixir still raged within her. If Hades had appeared before her she would have spread her legs without a thought. In fact she would have gone down on her knees before him and willingly accepted his phallus into her mouth even through the last time she had done that she had almost dislocated her jaw.

To say that her situation was hopeless would have been a classic understatement. She was far too battered and bruised to attempt an escape even if she had not been chained. And she was always watched. Several harpies occupied the room with her and they were always alert.

Then there was the problem of where she would go even if she did manage to evade the harpies and get loose from the shackle about her neck. Escaping from the Underworld was the next best thing to impossible. In fact in all of its history only one person had ever been freed from Hades' realm and that was due to the efforts of the mighty hero Heracles. She doubted very much that some hero was going to show up to help her.

That was another thing. Did anyone even know where she was? Loki had made sure that she had fallen into his trap in secrecy. It might be quite some time before she was missed and anyone in the Justice League came looking for her. And by that time it was almost certain that Ares attack would have begun.

I've got to stop him before he gets going. If the armies of the Underworld are released there will be no stopping them. She felt so helpless that she almost wept, and then she became aware of something she should have noticed before.

All of the harpies were asleep. They slept like birds, their heads tucked under their wings. Something strange is happening. She forced herself into a sitting position, ignoring the pain the movement caused her, but that was as much as she could do since she was still chained, but for the first time since her captivity she felt a surge of hope.

That surge became even more powerful when the air shimmered in front of her and suddenly she was facing a woman of ethereal beauty; in fact, the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. She knew immediately that she was looking at a goddess. Without thinking she went to her knees, her head bowed.

"Hmm," the goddess murmured. "You bow before me; something you did not do for Hades without being brutalized. But there is no time for this. If you are to leave this realm you must come with me now. The harpies will sleep only for a few more moments and by that time you must be out of here."

"Forgive me goddess, but I do not know you," Diana replied struggling to her feet.

"Who I am is of little concern. Let me just say that after four millennia I am not about to let the god of the Underworld displace me for a mortal."

"Persephone," Diana gasped. "Again I ask your forgiveness, but you must know that being forced to bear Hades' child was not my idea."

The goddess did not acknowledge Diana's apology. Instead she extended her hand. "Take my hand, we must be gone from here."

Diana did as she was told and swayed in sudden faintness as the power of the goddess flowed into her. Suddenly the pain of her injuries was gone as her health and strength were instantly restored.

"You are once again an Amazon warrior," Persephone said. "I cannot leave this place but you can, provided you can fight your way free."

"Why are you doing this?" Diana asked.

"Hades is a brute," Persephone answered, "but I have come to know him and if I am to share his position as ruler of the Underworld then I will not have him taking another woman. Your place, Amazon is among the living and I intend to help you return there."

"You would betray your husband?" Diana asked.

"It is not betrayal. Hades abducted and raped me, forcing me to share his life in the Underworld and the other gods saw fit to abandon me to him. Since that is the case I owe him nothing except my presence. If he is to have a woman then that woman will be me."

It seemed a strange sort of reasoning to Diana, but who was she to question the ways of the gods? She certainly was not going to attempt to talk her out of helping her escape.

"Tell me where I might find Ares and Loki," she said. "I must stop them before they release the hordes of the undead upon the world."

"You will find them in the Fields of Asphodel," Persephone replied. "Sotira will guide you." As she spoke a large bat swooped into the chamber, and turning acrobatically swung neatly from the arm of a statue depicting an athlete hurling a discus. It hung there regarding Diana with what seemed like quite an intelligent stare for a bat.

"But before you go," Persephone continued, "you should take this with you."

Diana saw what had not been there a moment before. It was the armour and weapons of a Greek warrior, but finer than any armour or weapons of its type than she had ever seen before.

"This is exquisite," she cried. "Surely it is the armour and weapons of a god."

"It is the armour and weapons crafted by a god," Persephone corrected. "Hephaestus crafted this for Achilles and now it is yours. Use it to stop Ares' mad plan."

Diana strapped the armour on. To her surprise it fit perfectly. Even the cuirass conformed to the curve of her breasts. She looked at Persephone questioningly.

"As I said," the goddess smiled. "It was created by a god and will adapt to the body of anyone who wears it. Now go and save your world."

Diana was more than ready to go, but there was one more thing she had to know. "What will happen to you? Is this not a betrayal of the gods?"

"A betrayal?" Persephone said with a sad laugh. "Hardly. What god would want a world overrun by the dead? Only a fool like Ares would imagine such a thing. No doubt Loki gulled him into it as some sort of cruel joke; and Hades is all the more of a fool for going along with it."

From what Diana knew of the Nordic trickster god, she could well imagine that Persephone was right. Loosing the hordes of the Underworld on the living would be something that would appeal to his cruel sense of humour.

"Go now," Persephone urged. "Ares and Loki will not wait forever."

"I will. And thank you."

"I need no thanks," Persephone said. "I am glad to see you gone. I need no rivals for Hades' love."

Apparently at some signal from her mistress Sotira swung from the statue and hovered just ahead of Diana, her wings beating rapidly. Diana knew she had been dismissed and needing no further urging trotted after the bat at a warrior's pace.

Sotira she thought. In the ancient language the name meant "Salvation." Perhaps it was a good omen.

She had no idea how big the Underworld was or how far she might be from the Fields of Asphodel, but she guessed that it was not too far or else Persephone would have provided a faster guide. She followed the bat through the confusing maze of caverns noting that sometimes Sotira led her one way and then another. A few times she was certain that the bat was actually going back the way they had already come and guessed that a good deal of the route they were taking was to avoid any of Hades' minions. However, even with the convoluted route they seemed to make good progress, moving across vast caverns at speeds that seemed far out of the ordinary.

Suddenly they emerged from one of the many tunnels into an area so different that Diana had to stop and stare. Before her was a cavern so vast that she was not even sure than it was a cavern. Its ceiling was lost among low lying clouds that extended from horizon to horizon and its far side was lost in the haze of distance.

"The Fields of Asphodel," she murmured. As far as she could see the ground was covered in a carpet of rather nondescript blue and white flowers. It was a grey and rather featureless, the flowery carpet doing very little to brighten up the place.

This was the end of the line for most of the dead of ancient Greece. After crossing the River Styx the spent the rest of their existence here, gradually fading away until they completely disappeared. But today Diana detected a larger than usual gathering. Far across the plain of flowers glinted the armour of thousands of men, the long dead heroes of ancient Greece, those who had gone to everlasting life in the Elysian Fields. Now Ares and Hades were rallying them for a war they were never intended to fight.

"But not if I have anything to do with it," Diana said. Now free of the confining tunnels she had room to maneuver. She launched herself into the air and sped toward the gathering army.

It took her only moments to arrive. She circled once over the army, assessing its strength. There must be hundreds of thousands, she thought. Every Greek warrior that ever died bravely in battle and perhaps a few that lived to old age. It was not enough to carry out Ares' mad plan, but it was enough to create chaos in the living world until the modern weapons of the modern world drove them back to where they belonged. Thousands of the living would die before that happened. There were also too many of them to fight, but she did not intend to take on the entire army, just one man; or rather just one god.

She went into a steep dive, swooping over the heads of the surprised heroes, screaming the Amazon war cry, and then pulled up for a feet first landing in front of the towering figures of Ares and Hades.

Diana was an impressive figure herself. Clad head to foot in shimmering armour, the crest of her helmet was almost eight feet above the ground. She towered over all of the Greek warriors and came close to matching Ares and Hades in height.

"What do you do here, slave?" Hades demanded. "How came you by that armour. Fall to your knees."

"An Amazon bows to no one, not even a god. I am Diana, Princess of Themyscira and I have come to put an end to your foolishness. Stand aside Hades. I do not fear to battle the Lord of the Underworld in his own domain. In fact I would welcome the opportunity to deal with you at the point of my sword. However, it is Ares I have come to challenge. It is his foolishness that has brought on this mad plan and it is he that I challenge."

Her words had the desired effect; at least on Ares. Hades spluttered with rage, but before he could act Ares pushed forward. "You dare to challenge a god, Amazon? I will destroy you."

"In that case it will be the first time," Diana taunted, reminding him of the several times she had defeated the god of war. "But perhaps you will be lucky this time."

"Lucky?" Ares roared. "You will never leave the Underworld."

"Wait," interjected Hades. "I rule here. And I will punish her."

"You are not challenged," Diana reminded him. "But if you wish I will deal with you after I have defeated Ares."

"That will be never," raged Ares. He had drawn his sword and was advancing on Diana fully intent on murder.

It was what Diana had expected. If anything was predictable it was Ares' bad temper and impetuosity. However, Hades was not about to be denied in his own domain.

"Cease," he roared. "My slave will fight no one." He placed himself in front of Ares, daring the other god to push by him.

Ares halted, glowering. Diana had hoped that this would not happen. Defeating Ares was critical to her plan. Having to deal with Hades as well was an element that placed it in jeopardy. However, her plan was put back on course most unexpectedly.

"Let the Amazon fight. I should like to see how well the god of war stands up to a woman."

"Who dares speak?" Hades roared.

"Alexander of Macedon," a tall warrior replied, pushing forward from the massed ranks of Greek heroes. "I have heard of the might of the Amazons. I should like to see one face the ultimate opponent."

For a moment Hades seemed confused. "Very well," he conceded. "But I shall deal with her once she is defeated."

"Die, Amazon whore," Ares raged, as he charged forward.

It was no more than Diana had expected and she was more than prepared for the attack. Skillfully she deflected Ares' savage blows, catching them on her shield and then countering with strikes of her own. For a few seconds there was frenzied activity, and then Ares staggered back, blood streaming from a wound in his neck. It was not deep, but the point of her sword had come close to cutting his throat.

"Bitch. You will pay for that," he threatened, but he was no longer on the offensive. He stepped back watching for an opening while Diana advanced.

Fueled by her anger at what had been done to her Diana attacked furiously, driving Ares before her, threatening again and again to break through his guard and end the contest. And then quite suddenly, she stopped and went to her knees, lowering her head almost to the ground. It gave Ares the perfect opportunity for a killing blow, but he never got it off. A spear caught the god of war full in the chest. It struck with such force that the shaft penetrated his breastplate and came out through his back. With a cry the god staggered back and then toppled forward.

Diana got to her feet and turned. Had she remained standing the spear would have caught her in the back, but she had expected the cowardly attack and had been watching for it, using the shining surface of Ares' shield as a mirror.

"That was well done, Loki. You have killed an Olympian god."

The trickster god stared in horror. And then turned to run, but his hesitation cost him his chance to escape. Hades' massive hand closed on his neck. Lifting him in the air he shook Loki like a rat. There was an ugly crunch as the god's neck snapped and then Hades tossed him aside.

"That was well done, my lord," Alexander said. "Such treachery should be aptly punished. "I think this fight is finished."

For a moment Hades looked confused and then he nodded. "So be it. The god of war has lost. It was a far fight. The Amazon goes free and the army of heroes remains here."

So saying he waved his hand and a powerful breeze swept across the fields of flowers. Within seconds the mighty army that had stood there was gone, but a powerful voice echoed across the plain. "Farewell, Amazon. I expect to see you here one day."

Hades looked at the bodies of the two dead gods and then at Diana. "They cannot truly be killed you know. But they will trouble you no more. You are free to go, although I would have much preferred that you stay."

"Then you should use a gentler form of persuasion than rape," Diana retorted. "Now send me away from here before I seek retribution for the way you treated me."

To his credit, Hades actually looked ashamed. "As you wish, Amazon." He raised his hand and the Underworld disappeared.

For a few moments Diana was completely disoriented. Then she recognized the classical beauty of the buildings around her. "Themyscira," she muttered. She was home.

Epilogue

Princess Diana of Themyscira stood on the high cliffs of the island where she had been born. Beneath her the blue of the sea met the land, erupting in white foam where it crashed against the cliffs.

It had been three months since she had defeated Ares in the Underworld and saved the Earth from invasion. Three months since she had been violated by the god of the Underworld. She had won, but there had been a price.

A very high price. She rubbed her belly. She was just starting to show. She allowed herself a half smile. Hades had been half right. She was carrying his child. But what Hades had overlooked, was that Amazons gave birth to only female children.

Perhaps, she thought, it wasn't so much a price as a blessing. Her smile widened. An Amazon princess was a blessing indeed.