Adult-FanFiction.org : Comics

The Games that Gods Play	By : Ristul Category: DC Verse Comics > Wonder Woman Views: 16896 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Wonder Woman,nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 14
- 15
- 16
Achilles, Heracles, Ulysses, Ajax, Hector. I have seen many powerful warriors before, all of them skilled and brave. But I do not need any of them, for I possess the most dangerous fighter ever seen on this world: Tom Serra.
-Ares
Phillip hefted the Saiga-12 assault shotgun from the rack in the armory in the Areopagus, and plopped it into his box in his left arm, while Stanley Burnside looked on standing near the door. He picked up several boxes of 12 gauge buckshot, tucking them into the box as well, which was beginning to fill up with various weapons.
“That’s a lot of hardware you’re packing,” The Duke of Deception pointed out. “Is Cheetah really that dangerous?”
“I don’t want to take any chances.” Phillip replied. “And yes, Cheetah is damn dangerous. Having two of them just makes it worse.”
“You sound like you don’t think you’re going to survive this.”
Phillip stopped in the midst of picking up several grenades, and turned to face Stan balefully. “Can you please shut up?”
Stan shrugged, “Can’t help it.” He stared right back at Phillip, “It never goes away, does it? The fear, the rage, the pain? You’re still going into a battle with every expectation that you’re going to die.”
“You should have been a shrink.” Phillip looked away, reaching out for more items to put inside his box.
“I don’t get you, Phillip Delacroix, Tom Serra, or whoever the fuck you are. You’re now one of the most powerful men in the world. You could get a few metapowered goons to take out Cheetah… I mean Cheetahs. Enjoy life! There’s nothing you can’t have…”
“Except for what I want most. And that can’t be bought with money, or even with all the money in the world.” Phillip twisted his head around at Stan, his tone brittle, “All this, all that I am, right now, is an illusion. It can be taken away from me in an instant, on Ares’ whims. He raised me up, he can pull me down. And I’ve learnt long ago that the gods are capricious, uncaring of anything other than their own goals and needs.” The characteristic bleakness of his voice reminded Stan of how much he didn’t know about Phillip.
Stan shook his head, “Ares won’t like what you’re saying.”
Phillip laughed cynically, “Oh, he knows what I think of him all right. But we’ll work with each other for as long as we need, to achieve what we want. Or until he kills me out of frustration. Whichever comes first.”
The media mogul shuddered at the matter-of-fact tone in Delacroix’s voice.
Phillip had apparently collected everything he wanted when he walked towards the door. Stan felt somebody come up behind him, and turned to see Ares with a dangerous looking sword in his hands.
They’re sick of each other already? Stan prepared to duck for cover when Ares spoke to Phillip. “I have a gift for you.”
Phillip shrugged nonchalantly, “Whatever.” And continued to stride past Ares.
Ares stopped him by flashing the sword in front of him, blocking his path, and said with a mirthless smile, “Like I said, a gift. I see you are a blademaster with your short fight against Cheetah. What is a blademaster without a weapon worthy of his skill?”
Stanley stepped back carefully as he observed the man and the god of war stare at each other. Is it me, or is it getting just a little bit tense here?
Phillip put down the box with weapons and ammunition, sighed, then took the sword from Ares’ hand. He swung the blade around a few times, testing its balance and weight. Stan looked at it carefully. It was a plain weapon, unadorned with any jewels or fancy filigree. Just a metal sword with a double-sided blade, a cross-guard, and a black colored hilt without a pommel, but no less dangerous. The blade itself was dull and dark, but carried a menacing aura not unlike Phillip himself when he was in combat.
Ares spoke, “This is an enchanted blade, one I’ve requested from Hephaestus. It can cut through almost anything. He wanted it to look better, but I thought you might appreciate it like this more.”
“Good.” Phillip ended his testing of the sword by twirling it around his hand one final time and then pointing it straight at Ares and looking down the length of the blade, the tip only a foot away from the god’s neck. Stan saw a thin smile on Phillip’s mouth, but his eyes weren’t smiling. “Doesn’t attract attention, excellent balance, and deadly. Just as a true weapon should be. Thank you, my lord.” There was the slightest hint of sarcasm.
Ares nodded, seemingly unconcerned that his minion was aiming a weapon at his neck. “Excellent. Remember the task I’ve set out for you. Prevent the Cheetahs from killing Diana of Themyscira. Defeat or kill them as necessary, and then capture Urzkartaga by reminding it of our deal.”
“Understood.” Phillip withdrew the sword.
Stanley let out a deep breath he didn’t realize he had been holding, and tried to ignore the intense chill of fear that ran through his soul when he saw them nod their heads again coldly to each other before Phillip stuffed the sword unceremoniously into his box, and walked off. Phillip wasn’t kidding when he said Ares might just decide to kill him if he keeps this up!

Wonder Woman stood around the guests at the museum, milling around the pieces available for auction after the exhibition. Cale was there, as was Phillip Delacroix, ostensibly as buyers for the historical items. Once she caught the multi-billionaire’s eyes, and they exchanged a silent greeting. The tension in him was unmistakable. As was the way his eyes roved around the sparse crowd in the museum, as though watching for enemies.
He knows. Diana tried to act normal. He knows about the whole thing about Cheetah. But whenever he looked back to Cale, his eyes softened. The Amazon Princess didn’t know if it was an act to assure Cale or that he really relaxed when he talked to Cale, but she felt the empty feeling of jealousy anyway. Stop it! He’s an enemy!
The whole city of Gateway was on edge following Cheetah’s orgy of destruction. The projected crowd for this particular exhibition had been much higher, but fear had kept many at home, leaving the braver or more foolhardy to wander outside.
She wasn’t quite sure which category Cale and Phillip belonged to. To be fair, Cale’s bodyguard Fallon was present, an unseen presence hovering around the businesswoman. Phillip didn’t have any bodyguards, which was rather strange considering his position. Then again, neither did Bruce Wayne or Lex Luthor in the past.
“Diana, sit down,” Helena stood next to her, “I don’t think Cheetah will dare strike in the day, even if it is near evening time.” She peered closer at the Amazon, “You’re nervous.”
“It is Cheetah.” Wonder Woman replied truthfully. “Just for the fact that she has tried to kill me before, and has the ability to do so, I should be worried.”
“Relax. Mike is here, along with his cops around. It should be fine.”
“I hope so.” Diana scanned around the hall she was in, before moving to another section of the museum.
She found Cale with Fallon standing quietly in a corner, staring at an exhibit of a lion statue. The lion itself was a work of art, wood and gold with interspersed gems molded into interlocking pieces to form a statue slightly larger than her hand. Cale was staring at it in fascination, her hands pressed against the glass.
“This is beautiful, isn’t it?” Diana said. “Good evening, Miss Cale.”
Cale spun around. “Oh, it’s you, slut.”
Wonder Woman gritted her teeth, and tried to remain polite, “I would appreciate it if you could hold back the derogatory remarks.”
The businesswoman waved it off, “Oh, or what? Talk me to death? I can call you whatever. I. Like.” She smiled, then added, “Bitch.”
Wonder Woman felt red tinge the edges of her eyes, before counting silently to ten and a short prayer to her deceased mother in her mind for patience. She decided to change the subject, “I’m surprised to see you here. Not worried about Cheetah?”
Cale gestured to Fallon, “I have a bodyguard.” And she said in a wry manner, “And I have Phillip. He dealt with the Cheetah rather handily yesterday.”
“What he did might not work this time.”
“Overly concerned about Phillip, Princess? I thought you’ll think yourself too good for him?” Cale glared at her, “Don’t think I don’t know about that night when you invited him to the embassy. Well, hands off, hussy!”
Diana bit back her retort. Why should Cale feel so insecure anyway? He was spending all his time with her! “This is not a topic for discussion. Phillip doesn’t belong to you any more than he belongs to me. He is a free man with his own will.”
“Just stay away from him.” Cale threatened her. “Or I’ll make you regret it. Remember you have many people around you who are somewhat… open.” Cale’s evil grin left no doubt as to what she meant by that statement.
Wonder Woman sucked in her breath at the blatant threat, and clenched her fists. If anything could set her off, it was threats to the people she cared about. How dare Cale do this?
The tense atmosphere eased a bit when Phillip walked in, “Hey, Ronnie, I’m back from the toilet.” He caught sight of Diana, and bowed slightly, “Good evening, your Highness.” Ares does teach his goons manners.
There was an awkward silence for a moment, and Phillip looked around in puzzlement, then at Fallon, who shook his head almost imperceptibly. The look of confusion on the normally sharp eyed and alert Delacroix was priceless.
“Phillip, come take a look at this!” Cale broke the void first, taking Phillip by one arm and leading him to the lion statue. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
Diana pressed down the urge to tear him away, and decided to put some of her knowledge to good use. “This statue was found in the ruins of ancient Egypt, near the Pyramids. From records we’ve found, it was supposed to commemorate a military expedition into Africa to stop raids from the tribes into Egypt. Only a handful of survivors returned, bearing tales of great battles against powerful beasts. One of them was nicknamed the Lion for his leadership in bringing his men back home against all odds, and this statue was made to honor him.”
“Sounds like the Odyssey.” Delacroix flicked his eyes over to her for an instant. “I wonder if Homer could sue the Egyptians for copyright violations.”
Diana laughed softly, “Considering that this statue predated Homer, it should be the other way round. Similar tales exist in many cultures.”
“Phillip, would you like it as a gift?” asked Veronica.
He looked at Veronica, and then Diana, before he shrugged. “Sure, why not?”
Diana was about to leave when Phillip called out, “Wait!”
She turned around to see him staring at her, as though wanting to tell her something, and Cale glaring angrily at her. Phillip seemed to reconsider, then shook his head slightly. “Uhm, nothing, sorry.”

He should have told Wonder Woman about the two Cheetahs. Phillip wanted to kick himself, but Ares had also given him specific instructions him not to do so.
Delacroix wasn’t sure what his master was up to, but he had a sinking feeling about the whole matter. Even if the Cheetahs didn’t kill Wonder Woman, they could dole out a lot of hurt. In any case, Ares would end up the winner. As he often did nowadays.
Compared to his past plots, the God of War was a much more careful planner in recent days, his schemes intricate yet simple. As he toured the museum with Ronnie, Phillip carefully sketched out a plan for the night. Wonder Woman will be here, and so will the Cheetah.
And he had his plan ready. As usual, he would stay in the shadows, observing, watching, waiting, until he saw an opportune time to strike. He reminded himself of an old aphorism, proven time and again. No matter how powerful an individual is, a well designed trap can always defeat them.

Tarume, nephew of Chuma, priest of the Plant God Urzkartaga, suppressed a shiver at the sight of the lion statue. A bad omen. A bad omen indeed.
He had been sent to scout out the museum by Ballesteros, his new master. The plan was to draw out Wonder Woman with Cheetah, and then retreat to a prepared location where Ballesteros and his men awaited the Amazon. Even Wonder Woman, as powerful as she was, would not be able to withstand the deadly attacks they had prepared for her.
But the sense of dread stayed with him. The presence of the statue did not help. It honored the only mortal to ever kill the Cheetah single-handedly in eons past, an Egyptian soldier who lured the Plant God’s champion into a series of well placed traps in order to buy time for the last of his men to escape. The Cheetah’s death was an integral part of their tribe’s folklore, a warning against the dangers of hubris. Many years ago it was prophesized that Urzkartaga would fall to the lion. And for it to appear now, when his god was engaged in a deadly wager…
Tarume trembled with fear as he left, trying to convince himself. No, nothing could go wrong this time!

It was early night, the skies dark with no moon overhead to provide illumination beyond the street lamps. The streets were quiet, with few pedestrians. Fear hung in the air like a lingering smog.
Cheetah crept gracefully on the rooftop of a building opposite the museum, her keen eyes focused on her target, while a small earpiece attached near her right ear transmitted information from Sebastian and his men to her.
If not for his men scouting out the ground below, Cheetah knew she would never be able to know that more than thirty policemen were ensconced in and around the museum, and quite a few of them on the rooftops as well. A few of Sebastian’s men, clad in ordinary street clothes, used binoculars and their own judgment to pick out the cops.
The feline villainess smirked as she sneaked past the hidden sentries, her stealth, speed, and agility enabling her to move into the museum without anybody the wiser. Of course, that won’t last for long.
Cheetah entered the museum easily, her senses cranked up to the max, her feet carrying her lightly across the tiled floor of the museum. She knew what she was after, an ancient spear from Chuma’s tribe, which Tarume had pointed out to her. It was also practically certain that Wonder Woman would be waiting for her to do such a thing.
Because of the police officers around the museum, Cheetah knew the Amazon knew she knew, that it was a setup. What the Princess did not know was that she wasn’t the only one blessed with the Plant God’s power.
Now, she only had to attract Wonder Woman’s attention, and then get away, to the location where they had laid their trap. Cheetah stayed on the alert, ready for her opponent to make the first move. As long as she could avoid that first move…
The lasso of truth swung at her out of nowhere. Cheetah ducked under the loop, rolling quickly to one side. She turned her head towards the area where the lasso had come from, but even her enhanced nightvision could not pick out Wonder Woman.
“Give it up, Barbara!” The superheroine called out. Cheetah glanced around. The Amazon was good, moving swiftly and silently, preventing her from fixing her position.
Cheetah glanced to her sides. Part of the plan called her to steal the spear from the museum, but under the circumstances, she thought she could just get a handy substitute. She spied a small but exquisite lion statue, and ran towards the display. She swung her claws at the glass, which shattered easily. Her tail swiped up the statue at the same time that she countered the Amazon’s rush towards her, her claws forcing her to withdraw her own punches.
“Come get me, Wonder Whore!” Cheetah roared as she turned and ran for the nearest window, breaking her way through and out to the streets.

Wonder Woman stared only for the barest of moments at the now vacant holder for the lion before spurring herself to the hunt for Cheetah. She could not help feeling a bit grateful for a moment that Cheetah had taken away the item Cale had intended to buy as a gift for Phillip.
Still, it belonged to the museum right now, and Cheetah was a dangerous killer on the loose. The feline villainess moved with incredible speed, past the shocked policemen who had barely gotten into position. Many of them scrambled into their cars, while Cheetah continued to leap across the rooftops. The police were left far behind in the chase.
Diana used her gift of flight to keep up, and she found that she could barely follow Cheetah’s rapid and twisting movements through the city. One moment she was going south, the next she was turning on a dime to the east, all the while moving quickly.
A tracer on her boots would tell Mike Schorr and his fellow policemen her location, and Diana had suspected that Cheetah might try just such a ploy. But she wasn’t going to escape this time!
Cheetah fled into an apartment building near the hanging bridge over the river. Wonder Woman pursued her into the building, ready for hidden traps.
It was with sheer surprise when she was hit by a sonic disrupter grenade, similar to Silver Swan’s swan song, except that this time, they activated all around her simultaneously, leaving her with no opportunity to deflect the attacks.
The Amazon screamed in agony as her senses were momentarily overwhelmed, her body struggling to adjust to the assault on her senses. She was barely aware of the two feline figures sprinting towards her.
The powerful blow into her stomach was a shock. Diana could hardly defend herself as she felt terrible pain all over her body. She tried to fight back against her assailants, but they were quick and incredibly strong.
Wonder Woman managed to make out the outlines of two Cheetahs as she fought, using her instincts to defend herself. She wasn’t even given the opportunity to reach for her lasso, the attacks coming in fast and furious, no letting up in their ferocity. Hindered by her lack of equilibrium from the sudden sensory overload, and then by the surprise of facing two Cheetahs, even the mighty Amazon, gifted by the gods, found herself on the brink of defeat!
The Princess found herself in a head-lock administered by one of the Cheetahs, and she squirmed desperately to free herself. The other Cheetah, bearing the familiar and feminine form, inexplicably did not use her claws to tear her to shreds, instead sending punch after wicked punch at the world’s most powerful superheroine’s perfect and toned body.
“Urgh! No!” Wonder Woman cried out in agony as she was pummeled. Her consciousness was fading, and her limbs were weaker than ever before. The look of sheer hatred and satisfaction on Cheetah’s face sent a chill in her Amazon soul.
Then there was a final blow, delivered to her crotch with merciless brutality. Wonder Woman screeched a terrible wail, then fell into silence and blackness. She did not notice the full scale gun battle starting outside the building.

“What the hell!” Mike Schorr yelled in disgust as he sought cover behind a burning patrol car. His men had followed Wonder Woman’s tracer signal to the building, and the next thing they knew, they were under fire from all sides.
He had lost more than ten good officers in the initial onslaught.
This was a Class One snafu, no doubt about it. Wonder Woman was inside the building, but Mike guessed she was having her own problems. Meanwhile, he had his own problems to handle, namely trying to keep his people alive.
It was a perfect ambush setup. Snipers and riflemen were all situated in the upper floors of abandoned buildings around the various streets where his men had stopped their cars, making them sitting ducks for any gunman at an elevated position. And worse of all, they were effectively pinned down. Backup was on its way, but would take another ten minutes to scrape up.
By then, all of them would be dead.
Who the hell could be behind this? Mike thought as he raised his Glock and squeezed off several shots, dropping a gunman who had moved too near street level in order to get a better shot.
Then one entire building suddenly blew up without warning. Thankfully, it was occupied by only thugs.
The gunmen were simply flung out of their windows and onto the street, their screams shaking Mike to his soul as they flew through the air with their flesh burning, punctuated by the sound of ammunition cooking off. Their bodies fell onto the ground with sickening thuds, and Mike shivered for a moment at the cold manner in which they had been killed. Facing a man straight on with a gun was one thing, but this…
Mike looked up in time to see a black figure on a line and grappling hook moving on the side of the building, one hand clutching his line, the other with some sort of gun that Mike wasn’t able to recognize immediately, but looked like an AK-47. The figure moved with an efficient manner.
The black figure entered a building through a window, gunning down the enemy thug blocking his way. Mike crouched down to avoid having his head taken off by the thugs firing from the building which Diana had entered. He hoped he knew what the black figure was doing, but he could guess from the screams and gunfire from the building the black clad man had entered. Take out the enemies on our sides first. I hope you know what you’re doing, my ninja friend.
Even the lack of fire pressure had given them an opportunity. Mike gestured to several of his officers, and they moved for yet another building, while the other officers provided supporting fire as best as they could.
Mike and his officers cleared out the building room by room, cautiously sweeping it from bottom to top. It was only in a room on the topmost floor that he finally came face to face with the black clad man, who Mike had nicknamed the ninja. A dead thug laid on the ground at his feet. What shocked Mike most of all was that the thug was missing his head, with the head in the man’s hands. A pool of blood covered the floor.
The black clad man was heavily armed, with a sword hilt peeking out from his back, and various ammunition magazines stowed on his black vest. His face was covered by a black mask, and even his eyes were obscured by an obsidian visor. There was not a single shiny surface on his body. The perfect assassin, professional and single minded.
The policeman did what he had done every time he met up with a perp, especially one at such a gruesome scene. “Hands up!”
The ninja seemed to bow to Mike sardonically, before throwing himself out of a window. Mike fired, but the ninja was just too smooth, too fast.
“Dammit!” Mike and his people rushed to the window, to see the ninja fire a grappling hook at a ledge, to enable himself to descend safely to the ground. And one hand still held the severed head.
The ninja landed easily on his feet, and suddenly called out in a commanding tone, “STOP!” The fire, amazingly, slackened.
The ninja walked out into the open, into the middle of the street, and held up the head of the dead thug. He shouted, “Think you’re being paid enough to bleed!? To die? I’m giving you fuckers one chance! Get out, or you’ll leave here in a body bag! Your fucking choice!” Mike thought he sounded familiar.
One shot rang out, but the ninja was already in motion, his other hand, the one not holding the hand, rising up in one smooth motion and firing a single shot from what seemed to be a Desert Eagle. The gunman who had fired at him fell to the ground from his window position. The crack of his body on the ground made everybody wince, punctuating his statement. “Anybody else?” The ninja asked in deadly challenge.
Mike stared in amazement as he saw the thugs slowly disappear from the windows where they had been shooting at his men. But his relief turned into horror when he saw a fast moving figure sprint out towards the ninja.
His blood ran cold as he recognized the male Cheetah. “Get down to the street level, ASAP!”

Phillip knew the Cheetah was coming. He could feel the blood rage emanating from the empowered Sebastian Ballesteros, along with an aura of invincibility and confidence that could only have arisen from defeating Wonder Woman.
Time to wipe that smirk off his face. Phillip smoothly turned and fired a shot from his Saiga-12 shotgun just as Cheetah was within ten meters of him. Cheetah yelped in surprise as he dodged, but was still grazed by some of the pellets.
The 12 gauge buckshot round was well known as one of the most deadly close-in combat ammunition types available, and the scatter pattern of the round was truly devastating to unarmored foes. Phillip had taken a weapon that negated Cheetah’s ability to dodge, as well as his lack of defensive protection. The Saiga-12’s semiautomatic mode and renowned reduced recoil made it one of the best platforms for such work.
I hope Diana is all right. Phillip spun round, trying to keep the fast moving Cheetah in his sights as he blasted away. If the shotgun and buckshot combination had any drawbacks, it was that they weren’t really effective beyond 30 meters.
Cheetah circled around rapidly, his claws out for blood as he cut his way through the policemen on the ground. They screamed as they tried to fight back, but they were ill-equipped, and ill-trained to do so. Most of them were armed with rifles and pump action shotguns, hardly a match for the Cheetah.
“Get out, all of you! Move!” Phillip yelled as he ran up the bonnet of a wrecked patrol car to get some elevation. “I’ll cover you!”
“Watch out!” Somebody shouted as Cheetah swiped up a trash can with his tail and flung it at Phillip. The assassin threw himself back of the top of the car in time, rolling to one side with his shotgun at the ready, but Cheetah was already almost in front of him.
“Rarrrggghhh!” Cheetah smashed the shotgun away, but Phillip was already reacting, firing off several darts mounted in his left wrist by forming a fist with his left hand and sticking out his last and middle fingers. Those were tranquilizer darts.
Not for the first time, Phillip was glad he had gotten his R&D people to design a combat uniform suitable for snooping and black ops. Not even the ones being issued to the military and the various intelligence agencies had his particular vest’s comfort and array of weapons, hidden or otherwise. Concealed garrotes, lock-picks, a scabbard for his sword on his back, wrist mounted darts for use in a pinch, and enough ammunition pockets for a long fight. Plus a special steelsilk weave that could stop most rounds smaller than a 7.62.
The Cheetah growled in anger as he stumbled backwards, one hand reaching for his head to steady himself, “Fuck you! You don’t play fair!”
“Playing fair is for losers.” Phillip drew his Desert Eagle, but suddenly ducked as Cheetah shrugged off the effects of the drugs in his system and charged him again. Damn! The maximum capacity of the darts doesn’t carry enough dosage!
He drew his sword in time to parry Cheetah’s slashing claws, and a flowing movement down to his left and then rolling to the right allowed him to cut Cheetah on one thigh.
Then Cheetah lunged again, and Phillip swung his sword from left to right in front of his own face in a bid to sever the villain’s arms as he reached for Phillip’s throat. Cheetah withdrew his arms in time, but the sword cut through the claws on his right hand like a hot knife through butter.
Ares wasn’t kidding. This could cut through almost anything! Phillip backpedaled for a few steps to put some distance between him and the shocked Cheetah, who stared at his claws, or lack of, in surprise.
Surprise gave way to fear, and fear gave way to anger. Cheetah roared as he advanced again, this time his long tail floating in the air dangerously on one side.
I have only one chance. Phillip purposely telegraphed his next move, swinging his sword towards Cheetah. The villain parried with his left and struck with his clawless right hand, opting for a powerful punch that exploded the air from Phillip’s lungs as he flew backwards for almost thirty meters, skidding across the ground painfully on his back, his sword flying out of his hands.
Predictably, Cheetah came on, charging with wild abandon. Pain, old buddy, just stay quiet for a little while. Phillip gasped for his breath on the ground, pretending to be down and out, while his right hand groped for his Desert Eagle.
Cheetah leapt into the air, and was about to descend on him when Phillip stood up, the Desert Eagle in his right hand, firing the SJHP(semi-jacketed hollow point) round at point blank range.

Mike stared on in horror as he saw Cheetah fly past the ninja with slashing claws at the same time that the ninja fired. He had just managed to get to the ground floor. His remaining officers were busy binding up their wounds, or transfixed by the battle between Cheetah and the ninja.
Cheetah stopped to a walk, and continued to walk for several more meters before he finally slumped to his knees. Mike could see blood on the front and back of the Cheetah’s left chest. The villain clutched the left side of his chest, and wailed in animal pain.
Then he saw the ninja had three long, deep bloody gashes on the left side of his face, his mask in tatters, and the visor ripped open. Seemingly oblivious to his own pain, he spun around with his pistol. The look in his blue eyes, now revealed, was one of death.
“No!” Mike shouted even as he ran towards Cheetah.
The man fired two rounds. Cheetah screamed as he was hit in his knees, the expanding rounds blowing out his kneecaps in a messy splatter of blood and shattered bone. He fell to the ground, wailing in extreme agony. He would not be running anywhere soon.
“Let’s see you run around now with busted knees.” Mike shivered at the ninja’s casual tone, as though he was discussing the weather. There was no hint of pain at all in his voice. “Fucking bastard.” He raised his pistol again, apparently about to fire it through Cheetah’s head. Mike did not doubt that he had the ability to do so.
“No! Stop it! You’ve beaten him!” Mike was suddenly stopped in his tracks when the ninja turned to look at him. “He’s not a threat anymore!”
“Is that right, Mike Schorr?” Mike fell to the ground in fear as he finally recognized the voice. As well as the intense blue eyes. Oh my god, it’s Phillip Delacroix!
“Oh well,” Phillip sighed, leaned down to pick up a crowbar from the ground. Mike didn’t know where it had come from, but guessed it was from one of the buildings when it exploded.
Then he standing over the pained Cheetah. “Guess what, sucker? The good cop over there doesn’t want me to take your fucking life, so this is the best I can come up with. After all, I don’t want to break the law.” Mike grimaced at the scathing words, heavy with sarcasm.
“But… I can do this for public safety.” Phillip began to swing the crowbar down with brutal force, and Mike found himself and all his other officers rooted to their spots as they saw the man mutilate the screaming Cheetah, the crack of the crowbar on Cheetah’s flailing limbs making them wince with every blow.
After two minutes, Cheetah was still alive, but a slobbering wreck on the ground, curled up in a fetal position in a puddle of blood, his limbs all broken, shrieking for mercy. Phillip dropped the bloody crowbar to the ground next to Cheetah with a clatter. “I see you ever again, you die. Understand?” Cheetah nodded in fear.
Mike shuddered as he saw Delacroix face him, blood still flowing down his face and staining the ground at his feet red. “Stay here with your people. None of you are to enter that building.” He started walking towards the building holding Wonder Woman, seemingly heedless of his wounds. Then he turned back to Mike, and said, “Oh, and lock up that fucking cripple in chains and a cage before he recovers.”
Phillip Delacroix picked up his shotgun, his sword, and disappeared into the darkness of the building. A trail of blood marked his passage.

Tarume stared at the Amazon Princess, held by several long tendrils of vine from the Plant God around her wide bosom, her long, shapely legs, and her toned arms, securing her tightly even as the female Cheetah admired the lion statue she had acquired from the museum, holding it up before her eyes with a clawed hand.
“Isn’t this beautiful, Tarume?” Cheetah murmured, and Tarume was too awed by her power to protest the presence of the statue. It was an ill omen, he was sure of it! The men had fled, and Sebastian had yet to return from routing the police outside. Tarume had a sudden premonition of doom, as though something worst than their darkest nightmares was coming for them.
Wonder Woman did not move, but Cheetah suddenly turned towards her, “Oh, you’re awake, my dear!” Cheetah laughed, “No need to pretend! I can hear your heartbeat speed up!”
The Amazon Princess opened her eyes, glaring at Cheetah. She tugged at the vines holding her, but weakened by battle and pain, plus the power of the Plant God, she wasn’t going anywhere. Her lasso laid on a hook far from her grasp, taunting her with her own helplessness.
“Do you know why you are here?” Cheetah smiled.
When there was no reply from Diana, Cheetah smiled even wider. “You see, several weeks ago, Urzkartaga came to a realization. He needed more power, and watering him with the blood of normal humans isn’t exactly cutting it. So we realized that maybe if we used the blood of metas…”
Cheetah savored the look of horror on Wonder Woman’s face as she continued, “Yes, your divine and blessed blood will feed the Plant God! And I shall have my revenge on you at last! And Urzkartaga will ascend to his rightful place, beyond the mere physicality of this mortal realm!”
Cheetah continued to laugh as Tarume lifted a massive syringe frm a tray, and approached the hapless superheroine. The syringe was meant to draw blood out from Wonder Woman, and then watered on the Plant God. It was crude, but Cheetah preferred it this way, the better to see the Amazon suffer.
“And after you, with the additional power, we can even go after the other do-gooders. Like Superman! Hmmm…” Cheetah licked her lips. “I can only imagine what his solar powered blood would taste to Urzkartaga!”
“You’ll pay for this!” Diana struggled in her bondage, her eyes wide with fear and anger. “Stop this at once, Barbara! Or else… ARRRGGGHHHH!” Tarume had felt up her legs, searching for an artery, and then plunged in the syringe roughly.
Cheetah licked her own lips in anticipation while Tarume began to draw out Wonder Woman’s blood. The Amazon Princess gritted her teeth in anger, as she started to squirm against the bonds holding her.
Then there was a sudden gunshot, and Tarume spun round to see Cheetah just barely avoiding a spray of deadly pellets that shattered several vases.
“You’ll pay for that!” She hissed as she charged into the darkness. “I can smell your blood, fool!”
“Uhhhh!” Wonder Woman tugged harder at the vines, and Tarume thought for a moment that she was about to break out. No matter. He only had to draw some of the blood, and then feed it to Urzkartaga, and then it would be over.
There was the sound of a scuffle, then several yelps. Tarume turned to see a gun spinning out of the darkness to end up near his feet. A moment later, a man clad in black came rolling out of the floor, blood all over his tattered clothes. He was bleeding all over his face, and from deep slashes on his body. Tarume recognized him as one of the men in the museum in the day.
Cheetah rushed out at the man, “Now, you die!” Her claws were coated with blood, her fangs streaked with red where she had bitten the man.
“NO!” Wonder Woman surged again, her divine strength somehow finding a new level, exceeding even that of the Plant God. The vines snapped, and Urzkartaga shrieked in dismay.
Cheetah could not stop her forward movement in time, and ended up on the receiving end of one of Wonder Woman’s fists. She slumped to the ground. Wonder Woman pulled out the syringe, gasping with pain at the deed. The blood spurted out for a moment before her miraculous healing abilities quickly staunched the bleeding. Tarume retreated away from the furious Amazon.
Tarume stared in horror as he saw the Plant God finally vent its full frustration, the vines snapping at the Amazon and the man in black. He quickly hid in a corner.

“Urrrggghhh!” Wonder Woman gasped as she struggled with some of the vines. Despite her burst of strength earlier on, brought on for reasons she did not quite understand herself, she was still weak from her previous beating at the hands of both Cheetahs and blood loss.
“Get down!” She ducked in time to see the man fire a series of bursts from his shotgun into the massive plant that was growing larger by the second in front of them. The pellets shredded the leaves and stems of the Plant God, making it roar angrily in dismay.
He shouted to her, “You should leave now! I’ll take care of this!”
“Phillip, no!” Both of them paused at her words, and Diana was stunned herself. How did I know who he was?
She recovered first, moving swiftly to pull him down to avoid a swipe from a vine that would have sent him into a wall and broke all the bones in his body. They tumbled along the floor before coming to a stop.
“Not that I mind having a pretty woman all over me, but not in a fight!” He joked nervously when she realized she was draped over him in a suggestive manner.
Hiding a blush, Diana quickly got to her feet, and grabbed a vine that was attacking her. Phillip did not get up, instead taking some sort of canister from his vest and rolling it across the floor towards the Plant God. It popped open to shower a dense but fine mist across the room.
“That’ll explode soon! We’ve to get out!” He tried to pull her away, but Diana shrugged him off, and summoned all of her remaining strength and speed. She would not abandon Cheetah!
Wonder Woman managed to reach the unconscious Cheetah, and pulled her to safety just moments before the canister’s spark plug activated, igniting the mist into a fiery firestorm.
It did not stop there. There were gas pipes in the building, once used for residential purposes. Even months after its abandonment, there were still significant deposits of gas within the pipes, and Phillip’s inferno canister had set them off as well.
They burst out of the building with the flames on their heels, and Wonder Woman placed one hand behind Phillip as she used her abilities of flight to move them faster.
“Diana! Are you all right?” Mike and his officers, waiting nervously outside the building, and rushing over to her as she set Cheetah down on the ground. They quickly placed power dampeners on the supervillainess.
“Yes, Mike, thank you for your concern, I’m fine.” Diana turned to Phillip, to thank him for his help.
But he was gone.

Wonder Woman found him several minutes later, quietly observing the procession of police cars from the building to the nearest maximum security prison from his lonely perch on top of a rooftop.
She landed lightly, careful not to cause bleeding from the wound from the syringe. “I heard what you did.” She stared at him, bleeding in a dozen places, yet heedless of his wounds, sitting there without a care in the world.
Phillip turned to her. “Not arresting me for needless slaughter?” His words were light, yet they cut her in ways that hurt. Did he think that she did not understand what he did? Why he killed?
She breathed in deeply, before she said, “Mike Schorr knows you were there, as did I, but…”
“So why aren’t you hauling me off to jail?”
“Those men you killed deserved it. At that time, there was no other way to stop them. I could have, but I was fighting the Cheetahs.”
He nodded, “I guess I should be glad.” Then he got up, as if to leave. ”Well then, since you’re not arresting me, I’m off. Work tomorrow, and all that.”
“No, wait!” She cried. When he faced her, she asked, “It was you in New York with Doctor Psycho, wasn’t it? You saved us then.”
He did not reply, but shrugged, “If you say so. Don’t forget, I am your enemy.” He wasn’t about to give her a definite reply, afraid that her status as the goddess of truth would reveal his involvement.
Wonder Woman persisted, “Then why did you help me today?”
“Maybe I had my own reasons?” His eyes were cold. “Maybe I wanted you to feel in my debt? Perhaps to relax your guard? Or it was on Ares’ behest?”
Her ability to discern the truth told her that none of those were his real reasons. Well, except for the last reason he gave, but even that did not feel like it was the whole truth. “Why are you even working for Ares?” Diana asked sadly.
“Pressed by circumstances, a man has no damned choice,” he replied. “I have my reasons to work for Ares. It’s enough for you to know that I’m your foe, and for you not to trust me, no matter what.”
Then he walked away and down the staircase, leaving her pondering his words, and even drawing some comfort from them, especially his final statement which she knew was a lie. I will know who you are, Phillip Delacroix, and the reasons why you fight.

Ares smiled triumphantly at the potted plant as his minions lifted it into a corner of his office. It was still a bit scorched and burnt, but it was still alive, though weak from its ordeal at the hands of the King of Pain.
One hand held up the lion statue from Egypt, and Ares admired the statue as his gaze enjoyed the intermingling of gold, wood, and gems.
“Poor Urzkartaga,” Ares taunted the Plant God. “You did not think it would be that easy, did you not? I gave you enough power for two Cheetahs in exchange for your eternal servitude if you failed, and you still botched it up!”
The plant, if it had eyes, would have sent a death glare at the god of war. As it was, it could only whisper softly into the air, a hiss of malevolence.
“Oh, don’t be such a poor loser!” Ares chided, “Blame yourself, not me! You had two Cheetahs against the Amazon and my handpicked man, and he didn’t even have powers!”
Ares smiled as he continued, “You see, you may have your Cheetahs, but…” He held up the lion statue again, and whispered gleefully to complete his sentence, “I have the Lion.” Tom Serra, your entering my service heralds my ultimate victory!

Tarume entered his small hotel room, clutching the small pot in his hands and hidden under his robes. He walked up to the window, and placed the small flower pot carefully on the window sill, and murmured, “I am sorry, my lord, for such poor service. But this’ll have to do for the time being.” He pricked a finger, and let several drops of blood land on the small sapling in the pot.
The small sapling, child of Urzkartaga, seemed to sigh softly as it swayed gently in the breeze.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next up is an interlude. Less horrifying than previous interludes in some ways, but just as brutal as the entire fic so far. Then after that, the next story brings us to Metropolis! Guest starring Superman, Lois Lane, and of course, Lex Luthor! When two ruthless tycoons battle, even superheroes might have to scurry for cover! Then after that, it’s car chases galore as Wonder Woman and Phillip take a back seat to cede the stage for a new and exciting character!
Please review! This can’t be that bad, with a rating of 5 stars!
- 14
- 15
- 16
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

The Games that Gods Play