Gault's Brain rewrite

My version of this episode diverges from the actual one just at the point where Wonder Woman has vaulted over the gate of Gault's Mansion. Gault, Dr. Crippin, and Tara Landon are preparing to remove the unfortunate athlete Morton Danzig's brain when the intruder alarm sounds. Gault sends Turk, the chief thug, to help the security guards deal with the interloper. (In the original episode, Turk is armed with a pistol; I have decided to equip him with a rifle instead!) Wonder Woman easily eludes the guards and approaches the mansion. As she draws near, she notices activity in one of the rooms on the lower floor. She crouches down and peers into the basement window. What she sees horrifies her-- the fiends are preparing to remove Danzig's brain! Her concern over the young athlete's fate gets the better of her and she is too distracted to notice that Turk is quietly advancing toward her. He realizes that if he tries to shoot her he just might miss and shoot one of his allies inside, so he decides to deal with Wonder Woman in a different, more physical way! Just as she is about to break through the window and save Danzig, Turk savagely swings his rifle, sending its butt crashing hard into our heroine's cranium, knocking her out instantly! Wonder Woman collapses to the ground from a crouching position, her legs splayed widely! Turk knows he cannot take chances with a superheroine, so he once again brings the rifle-butt down hard onto the back of her skull. Wonder Woman makes no discernible response to this second blow, since she is already completely unconscious. Inside in the downstairs laboratory, Gault, Crippin, and Landon have noticed some commotion outside the window. They look up and see Turk standing over some colorfully garbed female; he reaches down and grabs her by the hair and then lifts up her head so that they can make a positive identification of the felled intruder! Crippin and Landon gape in astonishment--has the world-famous superheroine been brought down by a common thug? Gault mentally commands him to bring her inside. Turk complies, lifting Wonder Woman up into his arms. He cradle carries his unconscious victim inside. What fate awaits our heroine?

Turk carries his unconscious burden through the hallway and down the steps into the basement laboratory. He is quite proud of his singular accomplishment of defeating the sexy crimefighter with a single blow of his rifle. The others approach him; Dr. Crippin rolls up a chair. As he sets Wonder Woman down into the chair, he remarks, "I have heard reports that she was vulnerable to a strong blow to the back of her head, but I didn't really believe them! I guess its true after all! I saw her peering through the window. I managed to get close enough to give her a good solid whack with the rifle-butt, and she dropped like a sack of potatoes! She went down so easy I was actually afraid she might be faking it! So I gave her another good wallop, but now I don't think the second blow was necessary. As a matter of fact, I am pretty sure she was out cold before she even hit the ground!" "You have done well, Turk! Perhaps I'll give you a raise! Ha! The mighty Wonder Woman--laid low by a simple blow to the head! Perhaps the reports of her strength are wildly exaggerated! I would like to know just how strong she is; she certainly is not invulnerable!" Gault is obviously quite pleased with this turn of events. "Hmmm-- I wonder how she would fare against a formidable telekinetic such as myself! Perhaps a series of tests..."

At this point, Tara Landon and Dr. Crippin intervene and attempt to dissuade Gault from wavering from his plan to insert his brain into Morton Danzig's cranium and begin a new life -- but the megalomaniacal villain will have none of it! "Silence, dolts! I will make the decisions here!" His single eye remains focussed on the sexy heroine slumped unconscious in the chair. Her head raises, but her eyes remain closed. "Look, she is beginning to wake up!" the doctor shouts. "Perhaps some of my chloroform..." "Relax, Crippin, I am merely getting a better look at her. She is quite... magnificent, is she not? Even more perfect than Danzig!" He relaxes his mental hold and her head slumps down. "I am trying to probe her mind to discover the secret of her powers, but I am not getting anything. Perhaps it is because she is unconscious. After I defeat her in combat, I will force her to reveal all to me!" Tara does not like the sound of this. She implores Gault to go on with the operation so that he will inhabit Danzig's body. She is quite attracted to the young athlete. "All in good time, my dear!" Gault replies. "I need to play a bit with my newfound toy-- perhaps she will prove to be enough of a challenge for me to hone my control of my telekinetic powers!" Tara strides off, disgusted. The doctor has his own objections. He walks over to the defeated heroine and begins to feel her arms, torso, and legs. ""You know, Gault, as much as I would like to agree with you, I think this new plan of yours is just a bit too risky." He continues his examination of Wonder Woman's magnificent physique. "I sense a lot of power within her--she could very well be too powerful for you!" "Nonsense, Crippin! I understand and appreciate your concern, but she can obviously be rendered unconscious rather easily, as Turk has so graphically demonstrated for us! Still, if it would allay your fears, I could have some of the men on hand as we fight, armed with chloroform or some similar powerful sedative. Or perhaps as a failsafe we could have sleeping gas poured into the vents if it looks like she is about to gain the upper hand!" Gault's suggestions persuade Dr. Crippin and he relents. "Very well! We shall proceed with our plans immediately!" Gault is very excited now. "Doctor, you shall sedate Danzig more thoroughly and put him in storage! Turk, you and I shall secure Wonder Woman and prepare a battle room!" The burly thug lifts the scantily-clad crimefighter up out of the chair and onto his shoulder. "Sure thing boss! This is going to be fun!" Gault and his enormous lackey proceed to a different section of the mansion-- Wonder Woman remains totally oblivious to all this as her limp form, draped over Turk's shoulder, dangles helplessly as he confidently strides off, following the diabolical disembodied brain towards a room filled with many suits of armor and all sorts of medieval weaponry! What will become of our poor heroine.

As they enter the armory, Turk sets Wonder Woman down in a corner of the room. Gault and his hulking accomplice direct their attention to the various sizes of chains piled in another section of the massive room. As they discuss which would be suitable restraint for the superheroine, she begins to stir. A low moan escapes her lips; her first instinct is to grab her throbbing head. "Aaahhh!" She awakes with a start,pain coursing through her skull! The last thing she knew, she was about to rescue Danzig from having his brain removed--there was an explosion of pain as something hard impacted her cranium, then all had gone black. "Ooohh... Wh-what...happened? Where am I?" As she groggily sits up, Turk and Gault approach the wounded amazon, for they have heard her recover her senses. She notices a large, muscularly built man, holding a large length of chain, and what can only be described as a mutated human brain inside a mobile canister. As her eyes are able to focus, she realizes the large man as Turk, who gassed her inside the cab while she was in her guise of Diana Prince. A moment's reflection allows her to deduce the identity of the disembodied brain. Still holding her aching head, Wonder Woman confronts her captors. "Y-You are Arlo Gault, aren't you? Or at least--- you're what's left of him!" Gault is impressed that she has discovered his identity. "You are exactly correct, my dear! However did you guess?" Wonder Woman responds, " Diana Prince told me you had probably faked your death and were trying to assume a new identity. I reached the window of your lab and saw you about to remove Morton Danzig's brain. Then someone turned the lights out!" Turk lets out a chuckle--"Yeah, Wonder Lady, that would be me!" Wonder Woman scowls at him and continues, "You know, I have no idea how long I was unconscious, but I am a bit surprised to see that you are still inside that tin can, Gault! I was unable to prevent the operation, since I was out cold-- So what's the story? Did something go wrong? Was Danzig not a suitable donor? Is he...still alive?" Gault lets out a hearty laugh. "Oh there is no need to worry about the young athlete. Danzig is still alive, albeit in a heavily sedated condition. A condition you will soon be in! It is time to resume your nap, Wonder Woman!" A large hypodermic needle emerges from a hidden compartment in Gault's containment canister. The diabolical villain telekinetically jabs the needle into our heroine's left arm! Wonder Woman winces in pain-- almost immediately her eyes glaze over as the potent chemical does its work, robbing her of her consciousness, and she slumps helplessly to the floor. She is now lying on her right side. Turk reaches down to pick her up. "Wait-- that will not be necessary! I shall carry our lovely guest myself!" Wonder Woman's unconscious form levitates as Gault psychokinetically transports her to a massively built throne-like chair. Then Turk feels the heavy chains lurch in his grip. As if they had a life of their own, the chains encircle the captive heroine until she is securely restrained. Gault lets out another laugh. "Yes, this is going to be fun! This will be our combat room! Turk, I have some preparations to make. That sedative should keep her unconscious for a few hours. Call me when she awakens!"

A little over three hours later, Wonder Woman begins to recover. "Oooohh..." Turk is working out with a massive pole-axe when he hears her waking up. He glances over at the throne where Wonder Woman sits, bound securely by long lengths of chain. The captive heroine tries to focus her eyes as she brings herself out of the drug- induced delirium. She is still too weak to escape the chains, but she knows her strength will soon return, so she decides to bide her time with conversation until she is up to full power. "Uhhh...Y-you know, Turk...I was just a little curious as to how you knocked me out." Turk walks over to her, pole-axe in hand. "All it took was a rifle- butt to your head and you were out like a light! Let me tell you something lady-- I'm not too impressed! Gault thinks he is going to improve his powers by having you as an opponent, but I think you're way too weak to give him a run for his money! He's going to wipe the floor with you without breaking a sweat!" The thug holds the ten inch axe blade close to her neck. "You know? If it were up to me? I'd have already removed that pretty head of yours and stuck it on the trophy wall!" He has just unwittingly played right into her hands-- he has given her enough time to recover her strength! With a flex of her mighty muscles, Wonder Woman bursts free of her chains, sending the links flying every which way! Turk might as well have been caught in an explosion-- he is thrown back and collides with a wall! Wonder Woman walks over to the dazed thug and lifts him up. "I think one good KO deserves another, don't you?" She head-butts him and he blacks out.

Gault and Dr. Crippin just happen to be nearby when they hear a commotion in the armory. As they head inside the room, they see Wonder Woman tossing Turk to the floor like a rag doll. "Curse you, Wonder Woman! That idiot was supposed to notify me as soon as he saw you waking up! That sedative should have kept you weak long enough for me to prepare for battle before you fully recovered! No matter now-- have at you, woman!" The pole-axe Turk was holding comes alive and slashes at our heroine. She easily dodges the blow and snaps the handle in half with a karate chop. A huge fifteen foot lance is directed at her-- she merely leaps over it, allowing it to penetrate into the far wall. Gault commands a suit of armor to throw a battleaxe at her, but Wonder Woman knocks it aside. Now it is her turn--she takes off her tiara and tosses it directly at Gault's canister! The villain has to muster all of his telekinetic might to deflect the blow! As the tiara returns to its master, Gault sees his chance-- a gigantic length of chain at least fifty feet long, snakes up behind her and ,just as she is about to catch the tiara, ensnares Wonder Woman by the ankle, then lifts her up and smashes her against the wall! Wonder Woman is clearly stunned by the impact. Gault commands the chain to repeat this action three more times. Wonder Woman is now struggling to maintain consciousness. Gault now has the chain encircle the amazon like a constrictor while holding her about ten feet up in the air. "Aaahhh!" Wonder Woman cries out in pain as the air is squeezed out of her. For second after second, the superheroine squirms about in the grip of the snakelike opponent; finally somehow she summons up the strength to break free, smashing the massive links and collapsing to the floor, utterly spent. She lies near two empty suits of armor. Wonder Woman manages to get to her knees when Gault has his knights pick her up by her arms and hurl her across the room! She collides with the wall and sinks down to the floor. The semiconscious heroine is now fighting waves of blackness which threaten to overwhelm her at any moment. With blurred vision, she can make out the shapes of the empty suits as they approach to finish her off. They lift her up and brace her against the wall; then their heavy metal gauntlets begin smashing into her stomach! After several hard gut punches, Wonder Woman is on the brink of unconsciousness--Gault's warriors now deliver the coup de grace: they both swing their hard metallic fists to deliver a double punch to her jaw! Wonder Woman plummets facefirst to the floor, totally defeated! Gault is ecstatic! "Ha! That was just incredible! She gave me a good fight at first, but ultimately she was no match for me!"

Gault erupts into maniacal laughter. Turk has just revived ; He strides over to the senseless Amazon and kicks her in the side! Then he bends down and rolls her over onto her back. "I--I hope you're not mad, boss! I mean, I know I should have called you as soon as she woke up, but..." Gault responds, "It does not matter now! I have demonstrated my superiority over her with less prep time than I thought I would need! Still, Perhaps some further contests would be in order!" Now Dr. Crippin approaches the felled heroine. "Before you do that, Gault, I really would like to get my hands on her... Of course, I mean that in a thoroughly professional manner!" He sees the beautiful Tara Landon enter the room. Tara sees the men hovering over the unconscious Wonder Woman and now feels relieved. "Well, I suppose you have gotten that out of your system now! Shall we commence with the operation she so rudely interrupted?" She is very anxious for Gault to become human again, especially since he will be taking on the form of Morton Danzig! "Not yet, my dear! Wonder Woman is still of use to me! I am already thinking of other methods I can use to defeat her! After a series of contests, I will deal with her permanently and then I can start my new life!" The beautiful blonde is thoroughly disgusted with Gault's remarks, but knows better than to try to confront him. She walks off in a huff. Crippin begins to examine their defeated foe. "Truly astounding! After that thorough beating, there is nary a mark on her! And her pulse rate is strong, especially considering the trauma she has been through! Still, she is likely to remain unconscious for quite some time now..." He looks at his boss imploringly and says," So its all right if I.. conduct some further examinations?" Gault replies, "Of course! She is of no further use to me until she recovers consciousness! Here-- I will even "carry" her back to the lab for you!" Once again, Wonder Woman's battered body is raised up into the air, and they all proceed to the laboratory. Things don't look very good for our heroine right now...

Gault has left his defeated foe with Dr. Crippin for over five hours now. He has taken care of various business matters and has now grown bored-- he wheels himself to the lab to see what the doctor has found. As he enters the room, he notes that that Crippin has removed Wonder Woman's costume, boots, belt, bracelets, lasso, and tiara. The injured heroine lies naked on a cot and is now covered only with a flimsy sheet. He also notices that Crippin looks very frustrated. " I have examined her very thoroughly, and something is very puzzling--- as I removed her costume, there was a significant change in her power levels. As a matter of fact, I am fairly certain that she is now only a normal human. So she derives her strength from her costume! The problem is that I have been examining these things, and I cannot find anything remotely resembling a power source. This defies scientific explanation!" Gault is intrigued. "I suppose we can just ask her when she wakes up. Do you have some sodium pentathol?" The scientist replies, "Yes, that was my next course of action. I was about to revive her with smelling salts and administer..." Now Turk has walked in--"Hey, you don't need any truth serum, Doc! Just wrap that lasso around her and she will tell you everything you need to know! Its magic!" The doctor turns to confront Turk. "Surely you don't believe that nonsense!" Gault interrupts them, "I have also heard these legends! It is certainly worth a try!" At this point Tara Landon has entered the lab. She cannot help but find it amusing that there is a beautiful woman lying totally naked and unconscious on a cot just a few feet away from them, and yet all the men in the room are busy arguing over something like this! She also notices that Wonder Woman is beginning to awaken. Tara raises the weakened and disoriented heroine up to a sitting position and gently taps her cheek. "Come on, sweetie, the boys here need some information! Let's try to stay awake!" Wonder Woman still aches from the beating and moans softly, "Ooohhh...Wh-what's going on? What did you do to me?" All she knows right now is that she is powerless and too weak to resist. Gault telekinetically wraps the lasso around her. Wonder Woman is forced to tell them the secrets of her power. Now they know that her belt is the source of her strength! They interrogate her about her relationship with Diana Prince and the IADC. Our poor heroine is compelled to tell them her secret identity as well! "I have an idea-- we can throw the Feds off our trail!" Turk brings the phone and has her dial up IADC headquarters. Under the influence of the lasso, she tells Steve that Gault's mansion was a dead end as far as the investigation is concerned--- she is going to pursue some more leads out of state and it may be a few days before she can call him back! Now they think they have all their bases covered. The doctor hands Tara a chloroform-soaked cloth. "Care to put her back to sleep for us?" Tara grabs it and shoves the rag into Wonder Woman's face. Within seconds the amazon's eyes close and she falls back, completely unconscious. Tara notices that the men are leering at the naked heroine's curvaceous form. "Okay guys, showtime is over!" Tara grabs the sheet and covers Wonder Woman up again. "You have all the information you need. Now you will just have to excuse us as I get her suited up again!" She pushes the cart behind a curtain and grabs the costume. "Very well! Wonder Woman can have her rest! I want to battle her again tomorrow! Turk, as soon as Tara has finished clothing her, I want you to put our guest in that special cell we prepared-- just make sure she does not have her belt on and she will be no trouble!"

It is not until the next morning that Wonder Woman awakens from her chloroform-induced slumber. She finds herself in a tiny eight foot square cell, lying on a cot. As soon as she wakes up, she recalls her humiliating ordeal at the hands of the villains. She remembers waking up from the beating Gault gave her, only to find herself stripped completely naked! They had used the lasso on her and she had told them everything! She had even given Steve false information about the case over the phone! Then the woman had knocked her out again with chloroform! Wonder Woman is furious, but she knows that it would be pointless to give in to her anger at this point, especially since her belt, tiara, lasso, and bracelets are missing! She is at least relieved, though somewhat disgusted, to find that they have reclothed her in her costume. She is powerless and realizes the best thing to do is to wait for the villains to make a mistake. A little later, some food is shoved into the cell and Wonder Woman eats. Turk eventually appears and says, "My boss is ready for a rematch! He has all your magic gear waiting for you back at the ! You know, Wonder Lady, you sure didn't do so hot the first round with Gault! I don't think you will be doing any better today!" He produces a small canister from his pocket and squirts gas right into her face! Wonder Woman swoons into his arms. He tosses her over his shoulder and carries her to the"Battle Room", where Gault awaits her.

Wonder Woman is placed in the middle of the room. (This is a gigantic room, by the way --Gault's mansion is a castle of gargantuan proportions!) Turk holds some smelling salts under her nose and she awakens with a start. The thug scurries away. As Wonder Woman collects her wits, She notices that her belt, tiara, lasso, and bracelets are on the floor next to her. She looks up and finds that she is surrounded by eight suits of armor. One is equipped with a one-handed battle-axe, another with a larger pole-axe, one has a large two-handed sword, and one has a spear. The other four have blunt, though equally deadly, maces. "Uhhh.... Oh great. Here we go again!" Our heroine notices Gault in a distant corner. "Gird yourself for battle, woman! This will be a glorious one!" As she dons her magical implements, Wonder Woman retorts, "You are going to find out there is nothing glorious about battle, Gault! I am going to tear you out of that overgrown sardine can!" She attempts to simply leap over the knights, but as she jumps, one of the suits of armor grabs her ankle and slams her to the floor! She is stunned and Gault tries to end the fight quickly by having one of the knights run her through with his spear! She dodges at the last second and the spear point misses her by inches, piercing through the floor! Wonder Woman gives the suit a vicious kick and it falls to pieces! She tries to get up but is clubbed in the back as she is getting to her feet! As she falls back down, she sweeps her legs in a wide arc, knocking two of the knights down! The one with the great sword now attacks. She blocks its blade with her bracelet and retaliates with a powerful punch! The impact knocks it back and leaves a substantial dent in its armor. Gault is amazed by the force of her blow-- it is taking quite a bit of his power to keep his "swordsman" intact, but he keeps it together and counterattacks with a stab. Wonder Woman knocks the thrust off course and closes in with the knight. One heave of her mighty muscles tears the sword arm off--she hurls it at the pole-axe-wielding knight (the other "long distance" weapon!) and shatters it down to its component pieces! Now an axe swing is aimed at her head. She is barely able to avoid this blow, and takes another hit, this time in her side, by a mace! As she stumbles, the "axman" begins to take another swing, but our heroine once again lashes out with a deadly kick! The impact leaves the knight completely disarticulated. Having dealt with the deadlier long-range bladed opponents, now she only has to deal with the blunt short-hafted impact weapons. But this is not going to be easy, as the mace-wielding warriors begin to close in. Before they can get within striking distance, Wonder Woman sizes the axe and lobs it at Gault. He dodges, but at the last second realizes she was aiming at the display case behind him. The axe shatters the case, and weapons of every sort fall all around his protective canister, pinning him! Disoriented, He now sees the spear which Wonder Woman has pulled from the floor and hurled full-force directly at him! Wonder Woman is a champion javelin-thrower, and the deadly projectile hits Gault dead-on, piercing his canister through and pinning him to the wall!

Gault almost goes into a panic over his predicament, but then realizes that the spear has not pierced anything vital. "That fool of a woman had an opportunity to aim to kill me, but she chose to immobilze me instead. She will pay for her soft-heartedness!" In truth,Wonder Woman hoped to traumatize Gault without killing him, perhaps lessening his telekinetic hold on his armored lackeys, but such is not to be! The knights are within range and begin swinging their maces at her. She is immediately hit in the back and side, and goes down. She is able to grab one of the maces and pulls it from the knight's grip. She gives it a mighty swing and the impact knocks one of them back several feet. As she gets up, however, she takes a blow to the head and falls to the floor. She is stunned but not quite out of the fight just yet-- she grabs one by the leg as she goes down, knocking it to the floor! She evades another swing and manages to get to her feet. Now she is ready to jump away from the knights and finish Gault off, but the instant she is airborne (this room has a very high ceiling!) Gault sends a massive table which slams into her, knocking her to the floor! While she is still dazed, Gault smashes her with the numerous disarticulated armor pieces. Now Wonder Woman is barely conscious-- the mace-wielding knights close in again as she is trying to get to her feet. This time they land blows with both their maces and their heavy metal gauntlets. Wonder Woman eventually sinks to the floor and lies still. Gault waits for a few seconds, but then is amazed to see her still struggling to rise to her feet! He allows her this feeble attempt to get up,but as soon as she is standing she receives blows to her stomach, back, and the side of her head! Once again she falls. She lies facedown on her stomach, unmoving. The knights continue to deliver a few more blows to the fallen heroine, even though by now she is obviously totally unconscious. "Once again I am triumphant! I am unstoppable! I --- Aarrgh!" The strain of manipulating so many different objects and keeping the suits of armor intact has taken its toll. Turk calls for Dr. Crippin to see about Gault,who seems to be unconscious himself. As the doctor tends to the maniacal villain, Turk turns his attention to Wonder Woman. He walks over to her inert form and bends down. He turns her over onto her back and removes her lasso, belt, tiara, and bracelets. Then he scoops her up into his arms and begins to carry her back to the cell. "Oh man-- I am probably going to have to clean all this mess up! Right now I hope neither of them will be in any condition to fight tomorrow! This is exhausting!"

Both Wonder Woman and Gault have recovered from their ordeal by the evening. Wonder Woman is permitted a meal that night, and rests about as peacefully as a prisoner can. The next morning breakfast is delivered to her cell. In a few hours, Turk arrives to take our heroine to the "battle room". He aims his gas canister, but before he can spray Wonder Woman knocks it from his hand! She thinks she can turn the tables on her captors before she can be dragged off to the armory! She and Turk tussle for a few moments but his superior bulk and strength are too much for her without her belt. He slams her against the wall and then punches her in the stomach! His massive fist connects with her jaw and she loses consciousness. She collapses into his arms. He tosses her onto the cot and grabs the canister from the floor. He squirts gas into her face as she lies out cold on the cot. "That was real dumb, Wonder Babe! You could have gone down easy but you chose the hard way! Now let's go to the battle room!" He reaches down, picks her up, and heaves her over his shoulder. Her limp form dangles helplessly as Turk makes his way to the armory.

Turk enters the enormous room and sees Gault has already arrived. He tosses Wonder Woman to the floor in the middle of the room. "You okay, boss? You gave us all a bit of a scare yesterday! She really nailed you with that spear!" Gault replies, "Yes, she really gave me a good fight. Fortunately, she did not do any major damage! Plus it was too much of a strain to manipulate all those suits of armor for as long as I did. But now I am ready to try some other tactics. Awaken her!" Turk gets out the smelling salts and bends down over the unconscious amazon. He lifts her head up and places the salt under her nose. The first whiff does not do much good. "Come on, lady, you need to wake up!" He holds it under her nose and she begins to stir, but looks extremely groggy. "You know, she has already taken some lumps today, courtesy of me! She attacked me before I could gas her, so I had to punch her out! I gassed her just to be on the safe side-- That is why she is having extra trouble waking up today!" Turk pats her on the face to revive her. "Uuuhhh..." Turk lifts the captive heroine to her feet. "Come on now, we need you fully conscious so we can knock you out again!" Wonder Woman is now becoming more aware as she feels the strong arms propping her up. Another whiff of the smelling salts finally brings her back to full consciousness, and she jerks away from Turk. Holding her aching jaw in her hand, Wonder Woman waits for her vision to come into focus as she stands wobbly. She sees her magical implements on a nearby table; she staggers over to the table and begins to put them on. Once her belt is on, she has renewed vigor and strength. "What do you have planned for our third date, Gault?" The villain laughs maniacally. "Ha! Now for something completely different..."

Gault telekinetically commands the gauntlets from his suits of armor to rise up in the air. Sixteen massive iron fists levitate and then begin circling The amazon. Wonder Woman wastes no time; she knows she must take the villain out quickly or she will be bludgeoned senseless! She whips out her tiara and aims it straight at Gault! The force behind her throw is so great that he is unable to deflect it. Her weapon smashes into his protective canister, causing some damage even though he has reinforced it since they last fought! Gault screams in agony but still has the presence of mind to direct two of the gauntlets to strike her. Wonder Woman is hit in her head and her back and falls to the floor. Gault has lost all control over the other fourteen gauntlets and they all plummet down-- one of them strikes her in the head just by accident on its way to the floor, stunning her further. As Wonder Woman lies semiconscious, Turk rushes to Gault's aid and sets him upright. For the next few seconds, they are both too disoriented to attack. Wonder Woman is able to recover first. She hurls one of the gauntlets at Turk and knocks him out. Now he cannot aid Gault any further. She tosses her lasso at the villain, but now he has recovered sufficiently to block her toss with a table! She tries a different tactic this time-- she cracks the lasso like a whip, leaving a large gash in his canister! He screams again, but keeps his wits enough to aim three more gauntlets at her. She is struck in the side and the back of the head. Gault sends the third metal fist directly into Wonder Woman's jaw! She goes down and does not move. Now Gault begins to manipulate the lasso; He will use her own weapon against her!

Wonder Woman looks up from the floor in a semiconscious daze, only to see her lasso ready to encircle her! This jolts her back to awareness quickly--she knows if he is able to ensnare her it will all be over! She sends out a telepathic command to the lasso to return to her hand. Gault resists with all his telekinetic might. For a few seconds the lasso dangles in the air as the psychic war persists--it then goes limp as they cancel each other out! Now Wonder Woman grabs the lasso up and leaps closer to Gault (Her tiara, her other long- distance weapon, lies nearby) but he has his gauntlets at the ready! Her ankles are grabbed and she is thrown against the wall. The impact stuns her--before she can recover, the gauntlets grasp her by the ankles again and she is smashed against the floor! Then Gault sends a large table to strike her as she lies helpless on the floor! Now the heroine is unable to offer any resistance as two more massive iron gloves grab her by the arms, scoop her up off the floor, and hurl her against another wall! Wonder Woman crumples to the floor, moaning in pain. She is grabbed by the wrists and ankles and is held aloft, about ten feet in the air, as four more gauntlets take flight! She is struck in the stomach, back, side, and head. Gault ends his brutal assault by sending a final gauntlet to deliver a devastating uppercut! Wonder Woman is now totally unconscious. Dangling helplessly in midair while held aloft by the gauntlets, the limp heroine is an awesome sight! "Wow! That's really something, boss! You've done it again! She is about as out cold as any one is ever going to be!" Turk has recovered and is very impressed. "This was quite thrilling! Still, I have once again sustained some injuries. Nothing too serious, however! And once again I have thoroughly trounced her!" Turk approaches the defeated heroine and Gault releases his grip. Wonder Woman falls into the burly thug's waiting arms. He cradle-carries her back to her cell. What will happen to our heroine now? Will she ever be able to defeat Gault?

Tara Landon meets Turk in the hallway as he is carrying Wonder Woman back to her cell. "Looks like Arlo won again!" she says, looking down at our heroine's limp form as it dangles in Turk's massive arms. "Isn't he getting tired of this silly game? Has he said anything more about getting on with the operation now? I mean, she obviously is no match for him. He needs to forget about her and get on with his life!" Turk replies, "Oh he is not finished with her yet! He is already hatching plans to take her down in a completely different way!" Tara feels disgusted and betrayed. "Blast it! He has barely even spoken to me in the last few days! And he won't even let me go to see poor Morton. He is kept locked in a cell just like Wonder Woman! This is just...very frustrating!" She obviously cares for Morton Danzig and is growing increasingly alienated from Gault. Turk is annoyed by this attitude---he is rather enjoying the villain's new hobby! Seeing his boss thoroughly trounce Wonder Woman has been quite entertaining for him, and he doesn't want it to stop. He takes a good long look at his unconscious burden, noting her fantastic figure. He loves the feel of her body in his arms. "Look, Tara, you might as well get used to it! Gault's got a new woman in his life right now!" Turk's arms have grown a bit tired, so he shifts Wonder Woman's form so that it falls over his shoulder as he bends over slightly. "Ah yes--this is a bit more comfy! But now I need to get her back to the cell. Crippin is probably waiting to 'examine' her!" He continues walking toward the cell. Then he turns back for a second and says, "Hey, why don't you come down and watch the fight tomorrow? You can watch Arlo play with his new girl friend! Ha!" Tara reflects on his insensitive remarks. "Turk is right. Arlo has got himself a new girlfriend! Maybe I will just see to it that she wins next time!" she thinks to herself. She heads for her room and tries to think of a plan...

The next morning Turk comes to collect Wonder Woman from her cell. The brutal thug takes no chances. As soon as he is inside the cell he belts her in the stomach! Then he shoves her against the wall and places a chloroform-soaked rag up to her face. Another hard punch to the stomach insures that she has no chance of resisting as the sleep- inducing fumes enter her lungs. All she can do is moan softly as she drifts into blackness. As she goes limp, Turk bends down and positions himself so that Wonder Woman collapses over his left shoulder. He loves the feel of her sexy body draped limp and helpless over him, totally at his mercy! He gives her shapely derriere a hard slap as he carries her out of the tiny cell. Yes, he is really enjoying his boss's new hobby! When he gets to the battle room, Turk notices that Dr.Crippin is installing a new gadget in Gault's canister. "This device will take my telekinetic powers to the next level! The good doctor here says that it will help me to deliver precise psychokinetic punches like an invisible boxer! Now I can dispense with the gauntlets entirely! I hope it works as well as Crippin says! Wonder Woman will have even less of a chance against me than before! Ha!" Turk dumps Wonder Woman down in the middle of the room and goes over to inspect Gault's new toy. They decide to test it out on a nearby suit of armor. Gault concentrates on projecting force at the helmet; it flies off as if struck a mighty blow! They are all impressed. Gault practices on various different objects over the next few minutes. All this time Wonder Woman lies on her side, almost in a fetal position, totally oblivious to this deadly new development. Tara walks in, clad in a sexy new outfit--a skintight backless, sleeveless, cleavage-bearing silver bodysuit. She goes over to Wonder Woman's inert form and rolls her onto her back. She notices that the men are still engrossed with the new device. "She looks so helpless! I don't know what I can do to help, but I would at least like her to know that I'm on her side! I am sick of that crazed tyrant and I hope she can beat him somehow!" A few taps on the cheek gets zero response from the drugged heroine. "Man, they have really put her under!" she thinks. "Hey guys, let's get this show on the road! I've come to watch the fight today!" They glance over at her and see that she is bent down and examining Wonder Woman. "Hey, you're looking good, pretty lady! New outfit?" Turk quips. Tara wonders if it will even register with Gault. "What do you think,Arlo?" Gault replies, "I think it is time to start the fight!" Tara is disgusted but not surprised--now all he thinks about is duelling with their captive superheroine. Turk tosses an object over to her. "Here! Use this to revive her! Then we can start!" Wonder Woman is now lying on her back in an almost-speadeagle position. Tara sits her up and holds the smelling salts under her nose. "Uuuhhh..." The heroine begins to come out of her drug-induced nap. Tara leans over as Wonder Woman is reviving and whispers into her ear, "I am not sure what I can do, but now I am on your side, Wonder Woman. I hope that you can defeat that maniac!"

It is taking Wonder Woman a few seconds to fully revive. Tara looks at her glazed expression and wonders for a moment if her whispered comment even registered with the semiconscious heroine. Holding the pungent substance directly under her nose for a second time seems to have a positive effect. However, the past few days of rough treatment have definitely taken their toll on Wonder Woman. "Ooohhh...N- need...m-my belt," she mutters. Tara helps her to her feet and notices how shaky she seems. She is a bit worried for the stricken crimefighter, but realizes that the belt should help matters considerably. As she brushes Wonder Woman's long dark hair away from her face (Her tiara is on the table with her other stuff!), Tara whispers again that she would like to help. "I h-heard you... the best thing for you to do... is to get out of here and contact Steve Trevor at the IADC." Tara glances around and sees that the men are totally oblivious to their conversation. They don't regard Wonder Woman as a threat until she is fully "suited up"! She supports the weakened heroine and they make their way to her magical implements. Wonder Woman seems stronger as soon as she sees them! As she puts them on, she takes on an entirely different appearance-- powerful and confident! Tara hopes that somehow she can prevail, but as strong as Wonder Woman seems now that she has her belt, her previous altercations with Gault do not give Tara much confidence in her new ally! Especially when she thinks of Arlo's new device and what it can do! Tara decides to stick around and watch the fight, just in case she might be able to help-- but if not, she should be able to slip away and contact someone who can!

Wonder Woman is now ready for Gault, or so she thinks. Gault wheels himself so that he is about twenty feet away, facing his super- powered opponent. "Turk, will you do the honors?" "Sure thing, boss! Ready, set...Go!!" Immediately Wonder Woman is struck in the face as if by an invisible fist! Staggered by the blow, she suddenly realizes that Gault has progressed in his powers to the point where he can attack her directly with telekinetic force! Now she won't even have the benefit of seeing the objects being hurled at her! Gault quickly presses the advantage-- Wonder Woman experiences similar impacts to her stomach, side,and face! Gault finishes up this combo with a solid telekinetic punch to the Amazon's jaw! Wonder Woman stumbles and falls on her side. As she lies reeling in pain, she hears Turk start a countdown. "One...two...thre...four...five...six..." Wonder Woman struggles to her feet. "Oh shut up, Turk, I'm...Uunnghh!" Another punch to the face knocks her back, though she manages to stay on her feet. She reaches for her tiara, but a sharp pain in her side forces her to drop it! Another telekinetic punch rams into her stomach, doubling her over! She groggily tries to reach for the tiara when a powerful uppercut is directed at her! She crashes to the floor. Turk starts the count again. "One...two...three...four...five...six...seven...eight..." Once again our heroine somehow manages to get to her feet. She begins to run in a zigzag pattern toward Gault, then leaps in the air, when...POW! She is struck while airborne and plummets to the floor, hitting her head! She lies still... "One...two...three...four...five...six...seven...eight...nine.." Wonder Woman slowly gets to her feet and readies her lasso. If she can only..."Uuuhhh! Oohh! Unngghh!" Three rapid-fire punches to her jaws knock her head back and forth, and she crumples. Now Turk begins to countagain. "One...two...three...four...five...six...seven...eight...nine.. ..Oh good grief! She's getting up again!" Her Amazonian stamina taxed to the limit, Wonder Woman gets to her feet, but is obviously completely punch-drunk at this point. Gault unleashes a final assault on the doomed heroine. He sends punch after punch at his semiconscious opponent, at about three second intervals--- enough to drive her back without actually knocking her down! Wonder Woman staggers with each blow, totally out on her feet by now, and crashes into the wall. Now Gault spends the next few seconds sending impacts to various parts of her body with just enough force to leave her on her feet. In fact, it seems as if the impact of the invisible punches is all that is keeping her from collapsing! Finally Wonder Woman's legs buckle and she crumples into an unconscious heap! Turk begins walking towards her as he bellows out, "One...two...three...four...five...six...seven...eight...nine...t en...Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the loser of this fight, Wonder Woman!" He lifts her up by her right arm. The men burst out into laughter at the sight of scantily-clad heroine being treated in this manner. Truly, Wonder Woman has seen better days! She has gone down in complete and utter defeat once again! This time, she was completely unable to defend herself against the vast telekinetic powers that are Gault's to command! What will happen to our heroine now?

Tara is horrified at how easily Gault beat Wonder Woman this time! She tries to hide her disapointment at the outcome of the fight. "I don't know how you derive any pleasure from this, Arlo! This fight was over way too quickly! She just doesn't seem to present much of a challenge to you. Just look at her!" She points to the helpless heroine unconscious in Turk's arms. "She was not even able to get in one good hit! Its really just pathetic!" Gault thinks about her comments for a second and replies, "This fight was much easier than the others, due to my new abilities. In our previous fights she was able to damage my armor-- she really gave me a good fight! But this time my psychokinetic punch overwhelmed her rather easily, I must admit. It was rather fun to dominate her, but perhaps I should acquire an even more powerful opponent. I wonder where we could purchase some kryptonite?" Turk's face lightens up with with excitement. "Good idea, boss! We could trap Supergirl and have some fun with her too!" Tara feels like she has just caused a train wreck. "I think I will go out and get some fresh air!" The doctor walks over to Turk, who is still holding the defeated heroine. He can see that, despite the horrendous blows she has suffered, Wonder Woman has no obvious bruises or wounds of any sort. However, he still wishes to examine her more completely. "I would like you to bring her back to my lab. She may have sustained some internal injuries. She took quite a number of very hard blows!" Turk agrees. "Sure thing Doc!" He tosses her over his shoulder. "By the way, boss--- do want me to ask around about kryptonite?" Gault replies, "Not just yet. I just thought of some other ways to defeat her! We shall keep Wonder Woman around for a bit longer!" The villain rolls away to his office. Now Turk and the doctor head for the lab. On his way there, Turk encounters one of the security guards, a guy named Chuck. "Hey Chuck, could you do me a favor? I need you to follow Tara around and make sure he doesn't cause us any trouble!"

Tara gets into her car and starts to drive away. She is unaware that she is being followed. After traveling for a few minutes she comes to a rest stop. She gets out of her car and picks up the phone. "Hello, operator,this is an emergency! I need to get in touch with Steve Trevor at the IADC...Uunnghh!" Chuck has come up behind her and delivered a karate chop to the back of her neck! He catches her in his arms as she slumps to the ground. He sets her down gently and hangs up the phone. As he glances down at the beautiful, scantily- clad blonde, he is relieved that she chose this fairly desolate area to make her call. If she had continued traveling she would have come upon a more populated spot, and there would have been witnesses! "Sorry about that, Ms. Landon, I'm just following orders!" Chuck bends over and scoops the unconscious girl up in his arms; He carries her to his car, dumps her in the back seat, and drives back to the mansion. Meanwhile, back at Dr. Crippin's laboratory, the evil scientist has just finished examining the injured heroine. "She is truly remarkable! Any one of those psychokinetic punches would have killed a normal human being many times over, yet she has not sustained any particular damage to any of her organs. Her vital signs are a bit weak, but not excessively so! But she will probably remain out cold for a few more hours. Turk, you can put her costume back on her and return her to her cell." The burly thug complies and begins to reclothe the naked Amazon. He cannot help but get in a grope or two as he does this. "You know, a guy could really get used to a job like this! Maybe I could..." The doctor warns him, "I would advise against that. Gault considers her his property for the time being. Think about how easily he has defeated this powerful woman. If he were to get angry at one of us..." Turk pictures the angry villain splattering his brains out with one burst of telekinetic energy. "Yeah, you're right as usual, Doc! I sure wouldn't want him mad at me!" Within the next few seconds he has finished putting the colorful costume back onto her perfect body. He heaves her up onto his shoulder and gives her perfectly-formed rump a pat. "Gault said he had thought up some more tactics to use against her. I can't wait to see what he has in store for her next!"

Chuck has arrived back at the mansion. Tara is still unconscious in the back seat. As he opens the door to collect her, he notices that she is coming to. "Wh-what's going on... Oh no!" Tara realizes she has been KOed and taken back to Gault's castle. Terrified at what the demented villain might do to her, she struggles mightily as Chuck tries to pull her from the vehicle. He finally succeeds in doing so, but receives a kick in the jaw for his efforts. Tara begins to run away, but is quickly tackled to the ground. They struggle for a few seconds, rolling around on the ground until Tara once again breaks free from his grip and gets to her feet. She sees Chuck doing the same and lashes out with a punch! Chuck blocks it and replies by sending a roundhouse punch of his own straight to her jaw! The impact spins her around and she falls, hitting her head on the car door as she goes down. Now she is completely out cold. She lies sprawled out on her back, totally oblivious as Chuck checks out her magnificent physique. The skintight silver suit, back-less, sleeveless, and with a plunging, cleavage-baring neckline accentuate her figure quite nicely. Chuck bends over and grabs her arms, then pulls her to a sitting position. Now grasping his unconscious victim just under her armpits, he does as he has seen Turk do to Wonder Woman so often these past few days, and lifts her form up onto his shoulder. "Whoa! This is fun!" he thinks to himself as he strides into the mansion. He meets Turk, who is carrying Wonder Woman in the same fashion.

"If that's who I think it is over your shoulder, then I suppose my suspicions were right on target," Turk says. "Yeah, I nailed her just in time! She was on the phone about to speak to someone at the IADC!" Chuck replies. "Fortunately there was nobody around to see me KO her! But now that we have her, what are we going to do with her? I mean, she's Gault's Woman, isn't she? I sure don't want that thing after me!" Turk laughs. "Ha! My boy, I got Gault's woman right over my shoulder here!" Once again, the world-renowned heroine receives a firm pat on her behind. "Arlo and Tara have had a bit of a falling out since we acquired our new house guest!" He gives her another pat. "But I do need to have a talk with him about her disloyalty. We can just stash her here in the cell with Wonder Babe for now!" He fumbles for the key and opens the door. "By the way, how did you knock her out?" Chuck answers him. "I gave her a karate chop to the neck back at the pay phone she was using. By the time I got back here and got ready to haul her out of the back seat, she woke up! She gave me a bit of a tussle, but I managed to belt her in the jaw! She went down and hit her head on the car door as she fell. Its kind of sad, really. Now I always kinda had a thing for Ms. Landon, she always treated me pretty nice. I sure didn't like to have to hurt her like that! I hope she will be okay!" The men bring their unconscious burdens into the cell- -Wonder Woman is placed back on the tiny cot, and Tara is gently placed on the floor beside it. Chuck admires her form as she lies out cold on the floor. "I know she's nowhere near as attractive as Wonder Woman, but she sure looks pretty! And that new outfit she's wearing...!" Turk grins. "Yeah, kid, it sure presses all my buttons, if you know what I mean!" Once again Chuck becomes concerned for the two victims. "Turk... do you think Gault is going to kill them?" "I don't know, Chuck, but we sure can't do anything to stop him if that's what he decides! It would be hard to see a beautiful woman die...but better them than us! Let's go tell him what has happened!"

Gault is furious, though not particularly surprised, by the news of Tara's treachery. "I knew she was upset when I decided to wait about the operation. She was quite enamored with that idiot Danzig, or at least his body, anyway! After Wonder Woman fell into our hands, my priorities changed, and she just could not handle it! I must say I have derived an enormous amount of satisfaction from my telekinetic abilities; so much the more so when I was able to employ them in battle against Wonder Woman! Nothing can compare to the thril of defeating a superheroine! I have absolutely no desire to ever again inhabit a human body! Oh well, I suppose I will have to deal with Tara's treachery-- and I think I know just how to do it! First I need to test something out... Turk, I am going to borrow your body for a second!" The muscle bound thug suddenly finds himself under the telekinetic control of Gault! Against his will, he turns around and punches Chuck out! The smaller man falls to the floor. "Ahh, why'd you do that, boss, he didn't do anything!" Gault laughs. "Well, when he wakes up, tell him there's no hard feelings, Turk! I didn't mean to punish him. It was just an experiment!" Turk finds himself turning a cartwheel, totally against his will! Then he finds himself doing a tap dance routine! "This is amazing, boss! I had no idea you could do this!" Gault now tries something different. "I am now going to see if I can augment your strength. I apologize in advance if I break your appendages!" Turk finds himself punching at a heavy wooden post. "Ahh man boss I don't wanna..." SMASH! The post shatters into sawdust. Gault continues to use Turk's body to smash various objects in the room, far beyond the capacity of a normal human to affect. "So how do you feel, Turk? Are you still intact?" "Oh man-- that was fantastic! I barely felt a thing! It was like I was superpowered!" Gault laughs maniacally. "So, boss, are you planning on sending me up against Wonder Woman next? I think I would have a pretty good chance powered up like that!" Gault corrects him. "No, not you, Turk! I am going to have Tara fight her new ally against her will! I think that will be an appropriate punishment!" Turk is excited about this news-- "Oh boy... Its going to be a catfight!"

A few hour later, Tara begins to stir. "Uuhhh... Wh-where am I?" She soon realizes she is on the floor of a very small cell. "Oh man...ache all over! Got to...get up." As she rises to her feet, she sees Wonder Woman unconscious and face-down on the cot. The sexy blonde rolls the helpless heroine onto her back, then begins to gently pat her on the face, hoping to revive her. There is no response. Tara sinks down to the floor and begins to sob. Here she is sharing a cell with one of the most powerful women on Earth, who has been repeatedly been beaten senseless over the last few days by her former lover! If Wonder Woman does not stand a chance against this fiend, what chance does she have? Tara resigns herself to the fact that she and her superheroine ally will likely face death at Gault's hands, and probably soon! She knows that Gault now thinks Wonder Woman is too weak for him and wants to pursue Supergirl next! Now she is sobbing uncontrollably! In a few minutes, Wonder Woman comes to. She is extremely groggy at first, lying on her back all she can see is the ceiling of the cell. At first she is puzzled because she thinks that in the distance she can hear the sound of someone crying! As her awareness grows, she realizes that it is coming from right next to her tiny bed. She looks down. "Tara... is that you?" Tara stands up. "Th-they Caught me... I wasn't even able to speak to that man at the IADC! I was knocked out... and then..." She breaks down into hysterical sobbing. Wonder Woman comforts her and holds her in a reassuring hug. "Arlo is going to kill us both, isn't he? And to think that I once thought I was in love with him! That maniac!" Wonder Woman tries to console her. "Easy, Tara-- I know things look bleak now, but we will somehow get out of this! I have been knocked out and captured many times before, and villains always eventually make some sort of mistake!" Tara stares at her incredulously. "You mean...You've been in situations like this before?" Wonder Woman laughs and says, "I have been captured so many times I can barely begin to count them all! As you already know, I am not exactly invulnerable like Superman or Supergirl. I have to use my bracelets to block bullets, and while my Amazonian physiology makesme quite resilient in many ways, I can still be knocked out by just one blow from an ordinary human if I am caught unawares and they hit me with sufficient force in just the right spot! Of course, you already know that-- you saw what happened to me when Turk swung his rifle-butt at my head!" Tara reflects on this--" Yes, we were all surprised by that! I had no idea..." Wonder Woman is glad she has her distracted with this so that her mind is off their current predicament. " I also suppose you have noticed that it is a bit harder to KO me when I am in 'fight mode'! Although, even then, I still have taken more than my fair share of lumps! Most people wouldn't believe this, but it seems like every few weeks somebody somehow manages to KO me and I wind up waking up in bondage, or in some death-trap, or an abandoned warehouse, sometimes even without my belt and lasso! And I am still here! Just remember--villains always eventually get careless! You just have to be alert enough to capitalize on it!" Tara feels a bit better now, but she still has doubts that Wonder Woman can actually beat Gault, since he has knocked her out so many different times so far! Still, she thinks, it never hurts to be optimistic. Just then, dinner arrives and is shoved through the door. Turk decides to taunt them a bit. "You girls need to eat and get your strength up! Gault has something extra special planned for you tomorrow!"

The next morning, Turk and Chuck come to collect the captive women. As their cell door is opened, Wonder Woman instinctively shields her companion. "Get behind me, Tara, I'll---Uugghh!" A swift blow of a blackjack to the top of her head silences the heroine, and she slumps into Turk's waiting arms! Tara receives the same treatment, courtesy of Chuck. The sexy captives are tossed over the men's shoulders and are carried to the battle room. "Put them in the middle of the room as usual, Boss?" Turk asks. "Yes, of course! Set them down near the table." He is of course referring to the table where Wonder Woman's tiara, bracelets, belt, and lasso have been placed. "I want you to revive the traitorous Ms. Landon first!" Chuck approaches the sexy blonde and sits her up. He holds some smelling salts under her nose. "Nnnhhhh...Wh-what? Where?" As her eyes begin to focus, she realizes she is in Gault's enormous armory. "Why did you bring me here?" The villain answers her. "My dear, you are my chosen instrument of Wonder Woman's destruction today!" Tara is indignant. "If you think that I am going to participate...What on Earth?" She can only watch incredulously as her body comes under Gault's influence and begins to respond to only his commands! She is helpless to resist--her body is an entity of its own now, and begins to approach a heavy wooden table. She lashes out with her fist--Tara's eyes grow wide with horror as she watches the table shatter into many pieces! "You've given my body...super-strength? But how?" Gault laughs. "I am now able to augment your strength with my formidable psychokinetic powers!" Tara walks over to Wonder Woman and drags the unconscious heroine over to the other table. She begins to put Wonder Woman's magical implements on her. Then she picks up the smelling salts and uses them to revive the dozing Amazon. "Ooohhh...M-my head..." Wonder Woman comes back to awareness, and Tara tells her, "Gault has taken over my body,Wonder Woman! I am trying to resist, but its no use! I can't fight him!" As the heroine gets to her feet, she realizes that Gault wants her to fight Tara, perhaps to the death! She resolves not to endanger her new friend's life and tells Gault the same. "You will fight or die, you fool! Look what Ms. Landon is capable of now!" Tara grabs a steel bar in her hands and twists it like a pretzel. Wonder Woman is dismayed to find that she has been pitted against a superpowerful foe. "Now-- let the catfight begin!"

Tara lunges for Wonder Woman. She easily sidesteps the lunge and gets Tara into an arm-lock. The women struggle for a few seconds, and Wonder Woman realizes that Gault has augmented Tara's strength to superhuman level. "Try to fight him, Tara! If you can resist his control...Uuhhh!" Tara has elbowed Wonder Woman in the gut and breaks out of her hold. Our heroine finds herself head over heels as Tara judo-flips her to the floor! Before Wonder Woman can catch her breath, a steely grip has been placed upon her neck. Tara has her in a sleeper-hold! Wonder Woman gasps for air--as the seconds pass, she feels her ozygen supply slowly being depleted, and realizes she must do something to break the hold quickly, or she will pass out. She reaches her arm back and grabs hold of Tara's leg. With a mighty jerk, she sends her opponent crashing to the floor. Now Wonder Woman gets to her feet. She comes up from behind her opponent and gets Tara into a bear-hug. As she is applying pressure, however, it occurs to Wonder Woman that Gault may actually be planning to use her to punish Tara! He could easily "switch off' Tara's powers at any second, and a blow from a superheroine could easily kill a regular human. (Wonder Woman is constantly holding back in her altercations with ordinary thugs, for fear that she will accidentally punch someone's head off, tear off a limb, etc.) Gault senses hesitation on her part. With a terrific jerk, he sends Tara's head arching back violently. The resulting headbutt catches Wonder Woman totally unaware and the impact sends her to the floor. As the Amazon lies flat on her back in a spread-eagle position, Tara straddles her. Now she presses her advantage by sending punch after powerful punch to Wonder Woman's face. After the ninth punch, it is clear that Wonder Woman will not be getting up. Gault now releases his hold on Tara and she comes to her senses. She sees the defeated and unconscious heroine underneath her and starts to sob. "You heartless fiend! I-I could have killed her! Sh-she's...Ooohhhh..." Tara faints from shock and falls on top of Wonder Woman's unmoving form. "Oh man! That didn't last very long!" shouts Turk, obviously quite disappointed. "Yes, Wonder Woman was holding back for fear of hurting Tara! But I think I know just what to do to remedy that!"

Some time later, Wonder Woman comes to. "Ooohhh...Oohhh...M-my head," she says as she recalls the beating she took from the 'Gault- controlled' Tara Landon. She can still feel the punches which hammered her into unconsciousness earlier that morning. As her vision begins to focus, she is surprised to see that now they have brought their other captive, the Olympic hopeful Morton Danzig, into the battle room. She notices that he is being held at gunpoint. "Now that you're fully conscious again, Wonder Woman, let's make one thing perfectly clear--- If I sense that you are holding back in this fight in any way, I will have Turk blow Mr Danzig's head off! Do you understand?" "Yes--no more holding back," Wonder Woman replies. Now she sees Tara advance upon her. "There's just no way I can fight him! I'm really sorry, Wonder Woman!" Tara apologizes. "Don't worry, Tara! I will find some way to...Uunngghh!" Tara has gotten the first punch in! She follows up with a flying kick which connects with Wonder Woman's right temple! The heroine goes down, dazed, and Tara dives after her! They grapple on the floor now, rolling around like two crazed madwomen, each trying to get the advantage. Suddenly Wonder Woman manages to toss Tara off of her, sending her crashing into a wall! The impact has no discernible effect on the sexy blonde--she immediately launches herself back toward Wonder Woman! This time she is met with a powerful gut punch. Wonder Woman continues with a punch to Tara's jaw. Tara falls, but as she does she lashes out with her foot and connects with Wonder Woman's chin. Once again, both women are on the floor. Tara gets to her feet first. She grabs Wonder Woman by the arm and twists it behind her back! Our heroine lets out a scream of pain as her arm is wrenched near to the breaking point. Now Tara gives her a mighty shove and she is slammed into the wall. Before Wonder Woman can recover, Tara is upon her once again--she grabs the back of her head and sends it smashing into the wall three times! Wonder Woman is seeing stars now, but elbows Tara hard in the ribs and breaks her grip! She knocks Tara down and karate chops her in the back of her neck. Tara slumps to the floor and lies very still. Hoping she has not seriously injured her friend, Wonder Woman turns her over to make sure she is okay. As she is doing this, however, Tara unexpectedly "comes to life" and punches the Amazon hard in the stomach! She had only been feigning defeat! The gut punch is quickly followed up by a vicious kick to Wonder Woman's head! Our heroine begins to fall,but Tara catches her and slams her face into the wall again! Once again, her face makes painful contact with hard wood! Now she spins Wonder Woman around so that she is facing her-- her fist connects with the heroine's stomach! Several more gut punches leave Wonder Woman struggling to maintain consciousness. Tara brings her fingers around her opponent's throat and begins to squeeze. Seconds pass, and her struggles grow more and more feeble. Her oxygen supply totally cut off, Wonder Woman slowly finds her world fading to black.

As she feels her consciousness slipping away, Wonder Woman tries to communicate with Tara, who is visibly upset about all the physical abuse she has unwillingly put the heroine through these past few minutes.With all the tremendous pressure put on her throat, however, Wonder Woman is unable to form any words. Tara is now sobbing uncontrollably as she watches our heroine's eyes glaze over and roll skyward. Her eyelids then close and her head lolls to one side as she blacks out completely. Now Gault relinquishes control over his former lover, and as her super-strength fades away, she can release her hold on the unconscious amazon. She finds that she can no longer hold her defeated opponent up with her normal strength, and as Wonder Woman topples to the floor Tara falls as well. More heartwrenching sobs follow--- The beautiful blonde thinks she has just killed her friend! Gault is tired of hearing her wailing. "Turk, make this simpering display of emotion cease!" A hard rap of a blackjack upon Tara's head induces unconsciousness, and she joins Wonder Woman out cold on the floor. "Take our slumbering beauties away! They have provided us with much amusement; but now it is time to discuss our final confrontation with our captive superheroine!" Gault wheels off to his study. Chuck tosses Tara over his shoulder and returns her to the cell. Dr. Crippin once again wants to examine Wonder Woman, so he orders Turk to bring her to his laboratory. As the evil doctor wheels the near-comatose Morton Danzig out on a stretcher, Turk approaches him, with the unconscious amazon slung over his shoulder. "You know, Doc, we could get some double- duty out of that stretcher! Let me put her on that thing and I'll help you wheel it back to your lab!" Turk lifts her down off his shoulder and sets her on the mobile cot for a second. Then he turns her around so that she is facing Danzig's prone form. As he releases his grip, the sexy crimefighter falls facefirst so that she is sprawled atop Danzig. "They look pretty comfy like that, don't they? I'm sure that Morton would thank me for this if he were awake!" The doctor just shakes his head in disgust. "I think you need professional help!" Turk lets out a hearty laugh. " You're a riot, Doc! Come on -- let's get these two lovebirds back to your lab!"

Once they get to Crippin's laboratory, Turk removes the sexy Amazon from atop of Morton Danzig and puts her onto another cot. He removes her tiara, bracelets, lasso, and belt. He also removes her boots. "Now for the fun part!" The lecherous thug turns her over onto her stomach and finds the hidden zipper in the back of top half of the costume. As he proceeds to unzip, it begins to slip down and off. He rolls her over onto her back now and allows the top to fall to the floor. She lies before him with her magnificent breasts exposed. Turk remarks, "I-I'll never get used to seeing those things. They are the largest, most perfectly formed..." The doctor stops him. "I thnk you had better leave this to me, Turk! I can accomplish her disrobing in a more, shall we say, dispassionate manner. Like I told you before, if Gault came in and caught you..." Turk backs off. "Yeah, I know, I'd get my brains splattered all over the place!" He allows his hand to brush up against her right breast for a moment and then backs away. "Okay,Doc, she's all yours! Do you want me to return Danzig to his cell?" The evil scientist replies, "Yes, by all means! While you are doing that, I can make sure our captive here is free from injury!" Turk pushes Danzig's stretcher off to the cell, muttering something under his breath about "dispassionate scientists". Crippin finishes undressing the unconscious Wonder Woman. "Now, my dear, I am going to make certain that you have not suffered any major damage!" He wheels the cart over to his instruments and begins his examination. Meanwhile, Chuck has deposited Tara into her cell. He recalls how upset she was when she thought she had choked Wonder Woman to death. "Man, that was upsetting to watch! I like a good catfight as much as the next guy, but it sure looked to me like she was killing her! And Ms. Landon was convinced that she had! Imagine her waking up in this cell and thinking Wonder Woman was dead by her hands! Maybe that is what Gault has planned, but I can't let her go through that. She might have a nervous breakdown or even kill herself!" Chuck thinks to himself. He gets out a pen and a scrap of paper from his pocket and writes a note: "Ms. Landon-- If you wake up before they get back with Wonder Woman, I just want you to know that you didn't kill her! She had just passed out from lack of oxygen! The Doc is checking her out right now! -- (signed) Chuck Manning, the security guard. P.S. -- Sorry about knocking you out so many times! I am just doing my job!" Now he is satisfied that she will be okay. Then Chuck wonders where to leave the note; he wants to make sure that she notices it as soon as she comes to, so she won't get worried. As he stares down, his eyes naturally fall upon her ample bosom--the plunging neckline of her sexy silver skintight cat suit tends to draw attention to Tara's assets! "Oh--- that's a good place!" He sticks the note in her cleavage and walks out and closes the door of the cell, leaving the sexy blonde captive out cold on the cot.

After a while, Turk returns to the laboratory. "Well, what's the verdict, Doc? How's 'Miss Super-hero' doing?" The doctor answers him, "Her vital signs are a bit weak, but other than that, there are no discernible injuries, as usual. It seems that no matter how much punishment she takes, the power she derives from the belt keeps her from being seriously injured by blunt trauma, even though it can 'shut her down' for quite some time!" Turk replies, "Well, I told you it was magic!" Crippin agrees with him: "When you first said that I told you it was nonsense--but now I suppose you are right! I have subjected that belt, lasso, and bracelets to every analysis available at my disposal, and they continue to defy explanation! Look at her over there"-- he points to her magnificent body,lying naked and unconscious on the cot, totally oblivious to her surroundings-- "Beautiful though she may be, she is now just a normal human female; and yet her power levels go off the scale when I put the belt on her. Truly amazing!" Turk gazes at the nude amazon, now covered only by a flimsy sheet, her breasts exposed as she slumbers. "So are you finished with her now? I can take her back to the cell anytime you're ready." Crippin nods. "Okay, time to go, beautiful! Let's get you properly attired!" Within a few minutes the thug has re-costumed his captive; he slings her over his shoulder and returns her to the cell. In the meantime, Tara has recovered and read the note that Chuck left for her. She is very happy to see Wonder Woman being returned to the cell, even if she is out cold and slung over Turk's shoulder-- at least she is alive! Turk dumps her onto the cot and leaves, slamming the door shut behind him. "Hey, Tara, yell out when sleeping beauty wakes up! I'll have your dinner brought in so she can have some strength for her next fight with Gault tomorrow." As he walks off he wonders what Gault has planned for the superheroine. Didn't he say "final confrontation"?

In a few hours, Wonder Woman begins to revive. "Ooohhh...i-it hurts...uuhhh...all over...oohhh..." Tara tenderly caresses the groggy amazon's face as she remains semiconscious, eyes glazed over, for several seconds. After about half a minute, Wonder Woman's senses begin returning. As her vision clears she sees Tara and notices how worried she looks. "T-Tara... Are you alright?" With Tara's help, she sits upright. "I was afraid Gault might do something to you after I passed out. I am glad you are still here with me!" Tara replies, "Oh Wonder Woman, I was afraid that I had killed you! I woke up in this cell all alone, but Chuck had left me this note saying that you weren't dead!" Wonder Woman needs some clarification. "Chuck--you mean the guard that Turk sent after you?" Tara answers, "Yes, he even apologized in the note for knocking me out so many times these past few days -- he says he's just doing his job! Like that justifies it!" Wonder Woman looks at the note. "You know, Tara, this note means that on some level, Chuck does care for you. He was concerned that you would wake up and think I was dead. He is not as coldhearted as Gault and Turk. I think we may be able to use this information to our advantage!" Just then Chuck happens to wander by the cell. He notices that Wonder Woman is conscious. "Hey, pretty ladies, glad to see you're both okay! I'll be back in a minute with something for you to eat!" As he walks off, Wonder Woman leans over to her companion and whispers in her ear. "Tara---I have a plan..."

The next morning, Turk and Chuck arrive at the cell to collect their two captives, blackjacks at the ready. They notice that Wonder Woman is holding her head and looks to be in considerable pain. Tara says," Please don't use that on her! She was up all night with her head! She has taken so many blows..." Chuck goes over to the dazed heroine. "What's the matter? You looked fine last night." Wonder Woman mumbles, "N-no... not the blackjack...h-head hurts...p- please...m-must have...m-my belt..." Turk suspects this may be a trick. Taking no chances, he clubs Tara over the head and she crumples to the floor. "Okay, Chuck, take your girlfriend on out of here! I'll deal with Wonder Babe!" He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a canister of sleeping gas. Before he can even squirt the contents at her, Wonder Woman collapses back onto the cot, totally unconscious. Turk checks her out to make sure she is not faking. "Hmm- -- Looks like she really is out! If I give this gas while she's in a weakened condition, it just might kill her! Gault would have my head if he didn't get to do the honors himself! He said this was going to be their final confrontation, so he has probably already made up his mind to kill her today! I'll just take her to the battle room--- I'm sure she'll be fine as soon as we get her belt on her!" He tosses the injured heroine over his shoulder and proceeds to the armory.

Chuck brings Tara into the battle room and gently sets the unconscious girl into a chair. A minute later, Turk arrives with Wonder Woman over his shoulder. He puts her down on the floor. "We have had some complications this morning. Wonder Woman was clutching her head when I got to her cell. There must be something wrong with her-- she passed out even before I got a chance to gas her!" Gault is curious. "Let me make sure this is not some sort of trick," he says, and probes her mind. "No-- She really is unconscious! Turk, try the smelling salts!" Turk puts them under her nose with no result. "You know, boss, she was pleading with me not to use the blackjack on her back in the cell. Maybe all these blows to the head have had some kind of cumulative effect on her. Plus, she was asking for her belt. Maybe there is some type of negative effect if she's away from her belt for very long? We have been keeping it separated from her, for good reason, of course, but what if..." Crippin has just arrived in the room and has heard Turk's comments. "Very perceptive, Turk! You may be on to something there!" Tara revives from the head blow she received just minutes earlier. She sees that Turk and Crippin are bent down examining Wonder Woman, who is lying prone and helpless on the floor. She also notices Chuck is standing near her. "Ch-Chuck... I-I'm awake now... What's going on?" Chuck turns to her. "They are having trouble reviving Wonder Woman--- Oh wait! Doctor Crippin has gone to fetch her belt and other stuff! I'm sure she will be okay now!" Crippin goes to the table and gets Wonder Woman's magical gear. Gault is getting impatient. "Hurry up and revive her! I want to defeat her one last time!" Crippin and Turk hurriedly put her magical implements on her, thinking this will help. Instead, Crippin is horrified to see that her pulse and heart beat have stopped, almost as soon as the belt was placed upon her! "Oh my God--- I think we are losing her! Gault, if you could use your psychokinetic abilities to jumpstart her heart, we might just have a chance!" Gault wheels himself near to the fallen heroine. "Don't you dare die on me like this! You shall not cheat me out of my final victory!" Are we witnessing the end of Wonder Woman?

Tara looks totally grief-struck by what is going on, and Chuck embraces her. "I-I'm so sorry, Ms. Landon, I just didn't think it would come to this!" "Oh please just hold me, Chuck!" As they embrace, she whispers something into Chuck's ear. "Uh-- Okay, Tara, whatever you say!" The sexy blonde takes on a completely different demeanor now; confidently, she lets out a high pitched sequence of four loud whistling notes! Wonder Woman responds to this in a most unlikely way-- she begins to violently convulse! Gault has just linked with her to start her heart back. The feedback from her convulsions literally wracks his brain! The equipment in his life- preserving canister begins to short out and he screams in agony! Now Wonder Woman suddenly returns to full consciousness and brings her fists down hard upon the floor. The impact of the superpowerful punches rocks the entire room-- the concussion knocks Turk and Crippin out. Gault is not in too good of a shape himself--"Aarrgghh! Wh-what have you done to me?" Wonder Woman now hurls herself toward the ceiling. As soon as they see her rocket skyward, Tara and Chuck immediately duck under a sturdy table at the far end of the room. Gault is trying to get his bearings when he hears a tremendous impact- -Wonder Woman has smashed into the ceiling, splintering it! Debris falls everywhere around him, damaging his canister further and preventing him from collecting his wits to use his powers! Wonder Woman jumps down and once again brings her fists down hard upon the floor near Gault. This time the floor shatters upon impact and they plummet down to the next level. Gault's canister is shattered and he begins to find himself fading into blackness as the preservative fluids leak out. Unfortunately for Wonder Woman, on the way down to the lower level, she is struck in the head by a massive wooden beam and blacks out!

Tara and Chuck have managed to protect themselves from the debris by ducking under the table just in time. "Wonder Woman told me last night that we might be able to trick them if she could go into a deep trance she was taught by the Amazons on Paradise Island. She knew that they would try to bring her out of it by putting her belt on. Once it was on her, though, the trance would deepen to the point of putting her into a death-like state for a brief period. When Arlo linked with her to try to resuscitate, she went into those weird convulsions before coming back to full consciousness. That was scary to watch, though! But it looks like the plan worked--- It looks like Turk and Crippin are out cold, and Arlo was very badly damaged even before they both fell down to the sub-basement. I hope that fall finished him off; he is a wicked, disgusting freak!" Chuck looks into her eyes and says, "Did you mean what you said, Tara--- about forgiving me for what I've done if I would cooperate with you and Wonder Woman? You know, I've always been crazy about you..." "Later, Chuck! Let's get Turk and Crippin tied up before they come to!" Chuck reaches into his pocket. "I have two sets of handcuffs right here!" They restrain the thug and evil scientist and then peer down into the hole in the floor. "Oh my God, they killed each other!" Chuck shouts, seeing Gault in a sorry state and Wonder Woman lying motionless under a heavy wooden beam. "N-no, wait; I can see that she is breathing. But she is hurt-- we need to get down there to help her!"

Chuck and Tara hurry down the stairs in the hallway next to the damaged "battle room". As they enter the sub-basement, they are horrified to see the devastation wrought by Wonder Woman's powerful punches. "It is amazing how easily she smashed through the floor!" Chuck says. "After seeing her get beaten by Gault so many times, I had forgotten how powerful she is!" Tara rushes to the fallen Amazon's crumpled form. "Yes, she is very strong, but she is not invulnerable! Please-- help me remove this beam! It is just too heavy for me!" Together they manage to lift it off of her. Then Chuck tenderly lifts Wonder Woman up into his arms. He notices Gault is still alive, but is badly damaged. His protective canister has broken apart, and there is not much preservative fluid left in his tank. He is pulsating only very weakly now-- left untreated, he will surely die. Tara grabs a spear that has fallen into the lower level. She raises the weapon aloft and prepares to plunge it through the disembodied brain at her feet. "Prepare to die, monster!" Chuck, having set the unconscious heroine aside, grabs Tara by the hand. "Wait, Tara! Evil as he is, you don't need to kill him! Let's just call the IADC! They will know how to deal with him!" Tara hesitates. "Yes, I suppose you are right. We can just...Hey! Look out!" She sees Turk standing in the doorway carrying a strange looking device. FWOOSH! A powerful jet of knockout gas envelops Chuck and Tara, and they immediately fall to the floor out cold. He goes over to Wonder Woman and gives her the same treatment, even though she is already deeply unconscious from the head blow she received just minutes earlier. Now it looks like defeat has been snatched from the jaws of victory...

The next scene: Many hours later, we find Wonder Woman sprawled unconscious on the floor of Gault's study. She has been stripped of her belt and is powerless. Chuck and Tara are each tied to chairs. Turk walks into the room. "You guys thought you had us there back in the battle room after Wonder Babe went berserk, didn't you? Well you forgot something, Chuck, you turncoat! I was the one echo gave you those cuffs! It's pretty easy to get out when you have the master key! I got the Doc loose and he ran down and fetched Gault just in time. He probably would have died in minutes if he hadn't managed to get him into a spare canister. He's been pretty weakened by all this, but he still has some of his powers left!" He sees Wonder Woman beginning to stir as he is ranting. "I think I owe you another beating, tramp! Just like you said--one good KO deserves another!" He walks over to her and kicks her in the head! She moans and blacks out again. Crippin walks in just as the enraged thug is rendering our heroine unconscious once again. "Turk, you fool! Gault wants a final meeting with her before he carries out his plans, and he needs her conscious for that! Now we will have to wait longer..."

Some time later, we see Wonder Woman in the same position as before-- out cold on the floor. A familiar voice rings out. "Revive her at once, Turk!" A bucket of water is splashed onto the sexy heroine's face, and she awakens with a start. "Uuuhh...Wh-what?" Through blurred vision, Wonder Woman sees the familiar sight of a disembodied brain in a life-preserving canister. "N-no... oh no...n- not...again," she says as she realizes that her best efforts have failed to destroy the monster known as Gault. "Bring her to her feet, Turk!" he commands, and the burly thug's powerful arms lift the groggy heroine to a standing position. "And bring Tara here as well!" Doctor Crippin complies, grabbing the sexy blonde by her arms, which have been bound behind her back, and pushing her over to stand next to Wonder Woman. "Tara! No!" Chuck yells, still bound to a chair. "Shut up, you traitor!" Turk bellows. "Now, Wonder Woman, I feel that our relationship has run its course. I had wondrous fun defeatng you so many times! Our last altercation, which you won through trickery, cost me greatly. Due to the injuries I suffered, my powers have diminished considerably. You also managed to wreck my battle-room in the process. I have decided to relocate and begin anew! I shall recuperate and pursue more conquests---you and my traitorous former accomplice Tara Landon are simply going to resume your respective naps! Good-bye, Wonder Woman!" He telekintically conks the two women's heads together twice, and they topple unconscious to the floor. "Gaahhh!" Gault screams. Even this effort is taxing to him now that his powers have diminished. "That infernal woman---because of her I am a mere shadow of my former self!" Turk looks down at the two sexy women out cold on the floor. "Boss-- Are you sure you don't want to just off them now?" "Yes, I am sure. After I have recovered and then had my fun with Supergirl, I just may pay Wonder Woman a visit-- for old times sake! Now-- do you have the receptacle prepared?" Turk answers in the affirmative. "Yes, the men are prepared to deliver it late tonight, just as you requested." "Excellent--I only wish we could be there when Wonder Woman awakens to discover her fate! But we will be departing soon, for my similarly-equipped mansion on the West Coast, where we shall soon be entertaining Supergirl as a houseguest! Ha!" Now Doctor Crippin produces a syringe and thrusts it into Wonder Woman's posterior. "This powerful sedative should keep her out for the duration. She won't be waking up from this for a good long while!" Gault is pleased. "Now Turk, Crippin--it is time for us to depart!" As they leave, some hooded men come into the room and carry Wonder Woman and Tara away. What are their plans for our heroine?

Steve Trevor arrives at IADC Headquarters bright and early one morning and notices a massive crate, about a nine-foot cube, in the lawn near the entrance. He sends an investigative team out to determine its contents-- they need to make sure it is not loaded with explosives or dangerous chemicals or some other hazard! After conducting as thorough an examination as possible without actually opening the massive box, they determine there is no danger. "All of our sensors indicate no dangerous sustances inside,sir! However, you might take a look at this readout before we open this thing!" Steve sees the image of four human shaped objects taken by an "x-ray" type device. "Are you telling me someone has shipped us some bodies?" he asks. "Well, not dead bodies, sir! Our sensors indicate four heartbeats inside!" Steve exclaims, "Let's not waste any more time then! We need to get them out of there!" He says nothing, but already suspects he knows the identity of at least two of the people inside. They attack the crate with axes and crowbars; one side quickly gives way before their assault, and the contents are revealed! Inside the massive container lay Wonder Woman, Tara Landon, Chuck Manning, and Morton Danzig-- all of them are bound, in a drugged stupor and are completely unconscious! Steve is now even more worried than ever about Diana; he had expected to find both Diana and Wonder Woman inside. Ralph, the head of the analysis team, is dumbfounded. "Wh- what... Wonder Woman? Unconscious and tied up in a crate? Good Lord-- who could have done such a thing? This.. this is incredible!" Steve glances towards him and says, "How long have you been working here, son?" Ralph replies, "It will be three months tomorrow, sir!" Steve continues, "Listen, Ralph, this happens about three or four times a year! Some villain manages to get the better of Wonder Woman some way or another, and since she is affiliated with the IADC, they decide to dump her unconscious in front of headquarters just to embarrass us! Believe me-- this is a disturbingly regular occurrence!'

As they are carrying Gault's victims out of the crate, Steve notices Wonder Woman's belt in the corner. He sets the helpless heroine down and retrieves the magic belt; he knows from previous experience that she will wake up a lot quicker as soon as she has it on. Sure enough, as soon as Steve fits it onto her, Wonder Woman begins to revive. "Ooohhh...M-my...h-head...uuhhh..." She sees Steve's concerned face. "S-Steve? Wh-Where am I?" Steve helps the weakened amazon to sit up while she gets her bearings. As her eyes focus, she realizes that she is back at IADC headquarters and that Tara, Morton, and Chuck are safe! "You will never believe what Gault put me through!" She briefly explains what has happened in the past few days. "But what about Diana, Wonder Woman? She wasn't in the crate! What has Gault done with her?" Wonder Woman is trying to think of a good "explanation" when she hears Tara's voice. "Wonder Woman was already unconscious when Gault had his men chloroform Diana! I heard him say he was going to ship her separately for some reason. That was the last thing I remember before they knocked me out!" Wonder Woman is relieved to hear Tara cover for her. "Well at least she is okay! I am glad to see that everyone is still alive--- but I don't understand why he would let you all go like this!" Wonder Woman explains, "Gault sees himself as a supervillain now, Steve. And we both know that supervillains live by a very different, twisted sort of logic!" Steve is forced to agree; such people have always seemed stark raving mad to him!

Several weeks have passed since the "resolution" of the Arlo Gault case. Of course, Wonder Woman used her lasso on Tara and Chuck to make them forget her secrets. She has been meaning to restart her investigation and find Gault to pay him back for all he put her through, but there have been enough other cases in the intervening weeks to keep both her personas busy! One day she is in her guise of Diana Prince, standing near the Lincoln Memorial, when she sees a red and blue streak in the sky! As it draws nearer, she notices the long blonde hair, and realizes it is Supergirl! She ducks into a corner and spins into Wonder Woman. As she comes back into the open, she sees the Kryptonian landing near the memorial. The incredibly gorgeous blonde is clad in an abbreviated version of Superman's famous costume. Her blue blouse is low-cut enough to reveal her ample cleavage-- a relatively small stylized "S" symbol adorns her left breast. Her tiny hot pants scarcely conceal her shapely hips. All the males around cannot help but gawk at her amazing figure-- that is, until Wonder Woman comes into view! "You sure know how to make an entrance!" Supergirl turns toward her. "Wonder Woman! You are just the person I came here to see!" The gathering crowd throngs around the two superheroines. After signing some autographs and posing for pictures, they decide that they will need privacy in order to continue their chat. "Take my hand, Wonder Woman! I will fly us to a more secluded location!" With a mighty whoosh, they soar into the sky!

They come upon an abandoned field and Supergirl glides to the ground. "Wonder Woman, do you remember the guy you warned me about several weeks back?" "You mean Gault? How could I possibly forget? Did he try to capture you?" Supergirl sighs and says, "He didn't just try-- he succeeded! I got suckered into a kryptonite trap, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up in this room inside his mansion. He called it his battle room!" "Oh no-- I wish I had been there to help! But you are obviously okay now! I guess you were just too powerful for him!" Wonder Woman replies. "Well, he had these incredible psychokinetic powers, plus a ton of gadgets! He had access to green and yellow kryptonite and energy from the red sun. So he was able to dominate me for several days with all his tricks-- I think for about four days there I spent more time unconscious than conscious! I might even still be in his clutches if Kal-EL hadn't managed to track me to that mansion!" Wonder Woman's eyes grow wide. "You mean--Superman had to rescue you!" Supergirl replies, "Yes, he came smashing through the wall just as Gault was about to knock me out with his psychokinetic punch!" Wonder Woman winces. "I remember that punch all too well! But how could it affect you... Oh, you said he had access to kryptonite!" Supergirl continues, "Yes he had weakened me considerably! But anyway, Kal zapped him with his heat vision just as I had gathered enough strength to strike him the same way... and, well, we didn't intend for this to happen, but, but...well...we kind of overcooked him! He just exploded!" Wonder Woman is incredulous. "You mean...Gault is dead?!?" Supergirl answers, "Yes, I'm afraid so! We certainly did not do it on purpose, but..." Wonder Woman thinks for a moment and responds, "Of course you didn't! You were just doing what you had to do! Arlo Gault was a cruel, heartless tyrant, and he got what he deserved! What about his accomplices? There was a thug named Turk and a Dr. Crippin..." Supergirl reaches into her cape and produces some VHS tapes. "That's another thing I came here to discuss with you! Those two managed to get away during the battle, and I have just managed to track them down! They are operating a company called Gault's Legacy! Their tapes have been selling like wildfire!" Wonder Woman looks at the titles: "The Many Defeats of Wonder Woman" and "The Many Perils of Supergirl"! She is furious! "I can't believe I didn't realize this! He must have had hidden cameras..." Supergirl interjects, "Yes, our worst moments have been caught on film! And those two perverts are profiting from it! But I have tracked down the address and I want to invite you to come with me tonight to help me shut it down!" Wonder Woman jumps at the idea. "Of course! We will pay those fiends back for what they did to us! Let's go!" I think you can imagine what happens next...