End: Lois Lane Sees God(s)

The fire in Lois Lane's veins reached her heart. Her body heaved, and strong hands grabbed her body and slammed her down on the table. The reporter opened her mouth wide and let out a roar...a primal sound and fury that blotted out all consciousness.

To find herself naked on an endless plain, beneath a blue sky that went on forever in all directions. Tall grasses swayed at hip-height, to tickle her thighs, her pussy. The sun burned her breasts, it was so bright. Lois Lane blinked, looked around, shaded her eyes with her hand...and saw a single tree in the distance, the only spot that offered any shade.

So she walked in that direction. Aware, though she didn't know how she knew it, that things slunk through the grass with her, just out of sight. Though Lois couldn't see them, she could see the sway of the tall grasses, could smell the animal musk. Silent hunters, but they weren't trying to hide from her, not trying to stay downwind. No, they were an escort...and as Lois came to the tree, and saw the two feline figures that lounged in the branches, half-hidden in shadow, she knew them for what they were.

Lionesses.

"Welcome, kitten," a voice carried across the endless savannah. There was something of a purr in that voice, and something of a roar. Yet it was definitely feminine, the age indeterminate, the English without accent.

Lois, not sure what to do, gave a little bow toward the two. Yet curiosity overcame fear.

"Thank you. I'm Lois Lane. I'm sorry, who am I addressing?" She asked.

One set of green eyes blinked. "I am Bastet. This is my sister, Sekhmet. We are lion goddesses, and aspects of that primal goddess of cats. Old prayers have been utters, ancient magic invoked. The blood rite has drawn your spirit here, so that we may judge if you are worthy."

The reporter nodded. "The Amazons...they said they wished the blessings of Bubastis."

A snort from the shadows. Behind and around her, the other lionesses came into view. They kept their distance from the reporter, and came to rest in the shade at the roots of the tree.

"Bubastis was a city, where our cult held sway. Much has been forgotten. Your Amazons play at things they do not understand, open doors without knowing what is behind them. In their own way, they are as curious as you, Lois of the Lane." The one called Bastet said.

"There is another. The Blessed. She who calls herself Cheetah. They seek to use her as a shortcut to our blessing," Sekhmet said, and there was something in her voice that reminded Lois of her father, the General. "Mixed magic. Blood magic. Your curiosity has led you into dark places, kitten. Your body and soul teeter on the edge of abomination."

Lois sucked in the air. Four green eyes seemed to peer straight at and through her. The reporter had never felt so naked or transparent, even beneath Superman's X-ray vision. She did her best to match their gaze.

"I know what they're doing is dangerous. I did it because women have gone missing. They're trying to turn them to their cause. I want to help them."

"To protect her pride," Bastet said. "She has shown courage and strength, has she not, sister?"

"Guile and intelligence, as well," Sekhmet said. "Listen, kitten. Without our blessing, the blood rite will go awry. They seek a champion, you will become a monster. Your soul lost, consumed by rage. Many will die for their folly. Yet if you wish our blessing, you must become that which they desire. Your spirit must partake of ours. An old, old bond, night lightly undertaken, not lightly given."

Lois Lane set her mouth in a line.

"Will I be able to save the women?" she asked.

"And yourself," Bastet said.

"Then I'll do it," Lois said.

Sekhmet's mouth opened. Cats don't grin, not even lionesses. It was a long yawn...and Lois saw stars in the deep abyss of the goddess' throat.

One of them shot out and struck the reporter in the chest, right between the breasts.

With a growl, the cat-woman tore herself free of the Amazons. Black fur covered long, muscled limbs. Amazons rushed into the room with swords and spears, and fell in red ruin beneath her claws. Cheetah, weakened from the blood transfusion, huddled in a corner as the black-furred lion-woman loomed above her.

Then the violet eyes blinked, and Lois Lane knew herself again. Her tongue licked her nose, and her pointed ears swiveled as she caught new sounds, new scents. The reporter stared down at her chest and saw the white star-shaped patch between the much larger and more generous bosom of her new body. The reporter's tail thrashed as she looked around at the bloody wreckage of Amazon bodies.

As Cheetah mewled like a kitten, the reporter realized what a horror she must look. With an unfamiliar instinct, the transformation reversed. Black fur sucked into her pale skin. Breasts shrank, as did muscle and bone. Muzzle and claws retracted...and the reporter stood naked, blood on her hands and mouth, as she stared down at Cheetah from much less height.

The only thing that was the same were her eyes. The slit irises in the violet pupils too catlight, evidence of her pact, her bond, with the lion-spirit within her.

She extended one bloody hand to Cheetah.

"Come with me if you want to live," the reporter said, a little thrilled at being able to use that line.

In time, Wonder Woman would come to collect the Amazons. Their new recruits were sent back to their old lives. Cheetah surrendered very willingly to the cops to take her back to Arkham Asylum, tail between her legs, fearful glances shot at Lois all the while.

Superman would later ask the reporter, who had covered her naked form with an Amazonian toga, what had happened.

"Let's just say, Metropolis has a new heroine in town," the reporter said...though in her heart, the Daily Planet's greatest reporter knew it was more than that. Something of the wisdom of the ancient lion-goddesses was in her, what the ancient Greeks called gnosis. She was aware that she had only just tapped the new powers awakened within her, had gained access to spirit-realms and gifts she did not know the names of yet...and as their champion, would be expected to face threats beyond any she had imagined.

Playfully, she had leaped into Wonder Woman's arms and nuzzled her cheek.

"I could show you," she whispered to the Amazonian princess. "As long as you don't have a problem with furries..."

As it happened, she did not. But that is another story.