Curia woke up grudgingly to a ringing phone.  Rolling over in bed, dressed in a sheer pink nightie, she found her phone and answered it.  

"This had better be important," she yawned, "it's supposed to be my day off..."

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead," her publicist, Margo, sang on the other end.  "Do you remember what day it is?"

"Yeah," Curia mumbled, "it's Wonder Woman's day off.  Just once I'd like to have one whole day off with nothing to do..."

"Sorry, Princess, but tonight is the charity match.  Please tell me you didn't forget!"

"Charity match?" Curia rubbed her eyes and shook her head, still half asleep.

"Yes, dear, with Ronda? Ronda Rousey?"

Curia sat straight up.  "Of course I remember.  Where and when am I supposed to be?"

"The MGM Grand.  Las Vegas.  5 PM for the pre-match interviews and weigh in, the match starts at 7.  Do I need to send a car?" Margo added with a smirk.

"No, no, I think I can find my way there."

"Good.  You'll have a huge following, lots of fans, this is a great opportunity to sell yourself, so smile and be happy!"

"I'll do my best, Margo. Bye."

Curia got up slowly and headed to the kitchenette in her penthouse apartment to make some breakfast.  As she prepared her food, her thoughts went to the upcoming event.  She had first met Ronda Rousey two years ago; at the time, Ronda was the UFC Women's Bantamweight champion but still an unknown to most of the world.  Curia had been Wonder Woman for a couple of years but was still finding her way and looking for respect.

The two women began training together in secret, and quickly became good friends, as they both began to skyrocket to fame.  Ronda gave Curia training in her styles of mixed martial arts, and even showed the Amazon heroine how to get out of her patented armbar move.  Curia helped Ronda deal with her sudden and meteoric rise to stardom, and they shared the same publicist as well.  They even shared a few magazine covers, including Superheroine Magazine!  The media proclaimed them the two greatest female warriors on the planet.  They both seemed to have it all: beauty, power, fame, skill, toughness.  And they were both a big part of the feminist movement worldwide.

They had both gotten so busy that it had been some time since they'd been able to train together, but they'd stayed in contact as much as they could.  Curia realized she really didn't know much more about this charity match than what Margo had just told her.  She thought she remembered something about it being a tag-team match, with her and Ronda against two other fighters, but that was it.  She finished her breakfast, got a quick shower, dressed in her Wonder Woman attire, and opened the window to take flight.  


Around 4:30 Pacific time, she landed on the front walk of the MGM Grand, and within seconds was engulfed by reporters.  Curia took a deep breath; this wasn't her first experience like this, and she calmly answered each of the questions thrown at her with a smile.  There were some questions that she'd answered so many times that it was really starting to get old - questions like "What's your opinion on the upcoming election?" to which her answer was always "No comment - I don't really follow politics at all," which was the truth.  Or personal questions like, "What is Superman like in bed?" to which her answer was, "You'd have to ask Lois Lane. I have no idea."  And there were the inevitable questions about encounters with villains, which she deflected as skillfully as she could.  

Finally, Margo arrived and led Curia away from the throng of media and into the hotel and casino.  It took a few minutes to navigate all of the corridors and rooms, but they finally arrived to the stage where the pre-match interviews and weigh-in would take place.  Curia saw Ronda as they were nearing it and waved excitedly; Ronda waved back, and as soon as they met face-to-face they embraced for several seconds as the flashbulbs went off.  Curia took her seat next to Ronda, and for the first time she noticed her opponents, two fighters who looked to be about the same size and stature as Ronda.  The blonde was identified as Holly Holm; the light brown haired woman was Miesha Tate.  As they were introduced first, Curia realized that she was considerably taller than all 3 of the fighters she'd be in the ring with, as well as much more well endowed.  She surmised that there was a certain size that was generally advantageous for this kind of fighting, plus she knew there was a weight class they all were part of.

Once the introductions were done, the questions began, and with very few exceptions they were all directed towards Ronda or Curia.  The questions directed at Ronda were mostly about how quickly most of her fights had ended, and who she might fight in the future - there were hints that she might even start fighting men since there didn't seem to be any women who stood a chance with her in the ring.  Curia glanced over a time or two towards their opponents, who didn't seem terribly thrilled with the line of questions.  The questions directed to Curia were along the line of what was it like being such a famous superheroine, asking her about some of her greatest feats, etc.  Margo had a huge grin on her face - the questions that were being asked only served to build her two star clients up even more than they already were.

One of the reporters asked Ronda how many rounds this fight would go, to which she responded, "It's a charity match remember? So it might go two." The crowd erupted in laughter and applause.  Finally the question time was over, and it was time for the weigh-in.  The 5'6" Tate went first, weighing at 135; the 5'8" Holm and the 5'7" Rousey weighed in exactly the same.  Finally it was time for the busty, statuesque Amazon to step on the scale - and to everyone's surprise but Curia's, the scale read exactly the same - 135!

There were some shouts from the crowd, as some of them clearly couldn't believe that was possible - Curia stood almost six feet tall and, while there wasn't an ounce of fat on her, she was an oak.  There was even a shout of "Her boobs weigh more than 135!" Finally the emcee got everyone back on track: "Remember this is just a charity match, people.  And a reminder that the charity that is benefiting from this match tonight is the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, an international feminist organization opposing human trafficking and prostitution."  This brought cheers from a large part of the crowd, which was mostly women.  Ronda smiled and nudged Curia as a reminder that this night was really about supporting this incredibly important movement.

The crowd began to disperse, moving towards the arena, as Margo led her two clients to their dressing room.  "Now remember ladies, even though this is a charity match, the crowd as well as the millions of pay-per-view customers are gonna want a good show.  And it HAS to go more than one round, Ronda," she added with a wink.  Then she turned to Curia.  "They want you in your Wonder Woman outfit, but I'm afraid I will have to ask you to hand over your lasso.  This is UFC, not a rodeo!" she laughed.

"I'm only doing this because it's you, Margo.  You know how possessive I am of this, and how bad it would be if it fell into the wrong hands.  Where are you going to put it?" Curia asked as she handed the lasso over reluctantly.

"Don't worry dear, the casino has a very secure vault, it will be completely safe until the match is over, and you'll have it back.  And go easy on these girls, they're not Amazons!"

"I'm not a fighter, I'm going to follow Ronda's cues and do what she does, nothing more.  We've trained together plenty, so I know most of her moves."

Ronda was dressed and ready as Margo took her leave.  "You ready for this, girlfriend?" she asked her Amazon counterpart.

"Let's do this!"


Holly and Miesha were already in the ring, stretching, when Ronda and Curia made their entrance.  The crowd went nuts the moment they appeared; both women had huge smiles on their faces as they made their way into the ring.  The introductions were made by the ringside announcer and the four fighters met in the center for instructions before returning to their corners.  Curia and Holly stepped through the ropes and outside of the ring as Ronda and Miesha got ready for the opening bell.  The two had a good bit of history - Ronda had defeated Miesha twice, the first resulting in her getting the belt she still held.  Ronda was the only fighter that had consistently bested Miesha to that point - she had won against everyone else she fought in the UFC.  And she had been one of the few to actually make it out of the first round against Rousey.

The bell rang and the two women quickly got right into the match.  Miesha immediately was on the attack, throwing a combination of left jabs and right crosses, backing Ronda up a bit; the crowd, which was already pumped for this match, was very much into the action.  Ronda, still smiling, waited for the right moment and then got Miesha in her patented armbar grasp, a move that ended the fight for most of her opponents.  But as it was a charity match, she allowed Miesha to get free without too much effort. 

At the minute-and-a half mark, Ronda tagged Curia in, and Miesha quickly did the same with Holly.  It became clear that these would be the preferred matchups on both sides - Ronda and Miesha were very familiar with each other's moves and fighting styles, and the slightly taller Holly was better suited to try and match Curia.  And Holly was aggressive, throwing punch after punch at Curia's midsection, but the punches seemed to have no effect on the mighty Amazon.  Curia was a bit slower to attack, measuring her moves carefully and waiting for an opening.  Finally, right at the end of the first round, she landed a hard right to Holly's temple that caused the fighter to drop to a knee, dazed, just as the bell rang.

"This is a charity match, you bitch!" she screamed, as the crowd cheered.  Curia went back to her corner, a bit unsure of what had just happened, but Ronda quickly reassured her, reminding her that it was just one punch and Holly seemed to be mostly unscathed by the punch.

The second round began much like the first round did, with Ronda and Miesha trading shots at each other.  The two experienced fighters were putting on a clinic with their moves and the crowd was on the edge of their seats.  Miesha got Ronda in a double-leg takedown, but just as Ronda had eased up on the armbar earlier, she didn't hold the move for long.  Once again at the midway point of the round they tagged off, and Holly and Curia squared off.  Curia was much more cautious this time, staying mostly on defense, even as the crowd urged her on.  Holly continued to attack, but just as before her kicks and punches had little impact.

The bell rang and the fighters went to their corners.  "You enjoying this yet?" Ronda grinned.

"I don't know, I guess so, I am just trying to be careful, you know?" Curia responded.  

"You worry too much.  Those two are tough, they can handle it, and you can hear how much the crowd wants you to finish her.  Maybe just stay away from the head.  Use some of those moves I showed you."

"Okay, I can do that," Curia replied, a smile on her face once more as Ronda got ready for the third round to begin.

As Ronda approached the center of the ring, their opponents were still huddled up in the corner talking.  Finally, as the referee was heading over to tell them the round was to begin, they broke, and this time Holly came out to the center.  Ronda looked surprised at first, then grinned.  "You must not want any more of that," she motioned over to Curia, as the bell rang.

Ronda attempted her usual array of takedowns but Holly was somehow able to defend against them, and her counterstrikes were much more effective against Ronda than they had been on Curia.  She landed a straight left hand to Ronda's temple that the champion was unable to dodge and sent her reeling back into the cage.  Ronda fought back - charity match or not, she had no designs on letting this woman get the better of her.  At the same time, Holly was landing more and more of her punches.  Ronda was trying to get out of the way, as well as trying to tag off and give her partner a chance against this sudden whirling dervish.  She finally managed to tag Curia's hand, but in that same instant, Holly landed a vicious high leg kick to the back of Ronda's neck.  Ronda dropped to the mat like a ton of bricks, facedown and quite clearly knocked unconscious, as Holly backed over to her corner.

Curia immediately rushed over to Ronda, bending over, trying to rouse her friend.  "Ronda, are you okay? Ronda?"  She never saw Holly behind her as the fighter landed another kick, this one to the back of Curia's head.  It dazed the Amazon superheroine, causing her to drop to her knees, but not out.  The crowd was stunned by what they had just witnessed.

As Curia shook her head, trying to clear it, Holly tagged Miesha in.  Before Curia knew what had happened, Miesha had her in a chokehold.  As mighty and powerful as Curia was, she still had to breathe, and Miesha was cutting off her air.  The crowd was gasping in total shock as Curia struggled with everything she had, but she was too weak from Holly's kick to be able to break the choke that Miesha had on her.  Finally, her consciousness gave out and Miesha dropped her unresponsive body right on top of Ronda's.

The crowd watched in stunned silence; their two heroines, the mighty Ronda Rousey and the powerful Wonder Woman, were lying unconscious in the center of the ring, one on top of the other, as their opponents celebrated.  All of the attention quickly went to the champions of the match, who were playing to the crowd, trying to elicit a better reaction than the mixture of boos and catcalls they were getting.  Nobody seemed to notice when two large men entered the ring behind them; one picked up Curia and placed her over his shoulder, the other did the same with Ronda, and they were carried out.


"Uuunnnhhh," Curia groaned some time later as she opened her eyes.  "What...happened...where am I..."  She felt weak, disoriented.  She couldn't move her arms; as she looked up, she saw that her wrists were bound with her own lasso and she was suspended by them.  She looked to her right, where Ronda was similarly suspended, her wrists also tied together by the unbreakable lasso.  "Ronda, wake up, wake up!"

"Oh my god, my head, my neck," Ronda moaned as her eyes opened.  "What the fuck...Curia...where the hell are we?"

"From the jet sound, I'd guess we are on an airplane.  I don't know what happened - Holly knocked you out with a high kick and Miesha choked me until I passed out."

"Okay well get free and untie me so we can find out what the hell is going on!"

"I can't...whoever tied my wrists must have been a man...I can't...so weak..." 

"Hello?" Ronda shouted.  "Is anyone there?"  There was no response.

"Ronda," Curia gulped, "look at that logo on the wall over there.  It's the mark of one of those white slavery organizations.  One of the ones our charity is trying to stop."

Ronda managed to jerk her head around enough to look out the window; she couldn't see anything but sand.

"Curia, something tells me we've been set up, tricked, something really bad has happened..."

Curia tried to struggle but it was no use, she was too weak.  "Maybe we'll get some answers whenever we land..."

"I have the feeling we're not going to like the answers we get," Ronda mumbled, looking down.  Neither woman was smiling anymore...