Chapter 3
Gorilla Island looks somewhat alien from a distance, as the water had no beaches or shores to ease in. Aside from a few ports, no ship could dock on it, but the main and only way to get to the island by foot was through the shuttle carriers connected by a long cable line between the island and Metropolis. On closer inspection, the island was artificially made with metal alloys in a polygonal pattern to a basalt column with a mixture of pentagons and hexagons to form a bizarre dark blue pattern. There are buildings on the island, but these buildings' structure appears to have oblong 'blob' shapes that appear more organic, with moss growing off the sides. The 'moss' were plants growing on the sides to give the buildings a more natural look, yet trees and branches also came off the buildings. It could be typically seen in a zoo but is large enough to accommodate the gorilla soldiers as substantial living.
Yorrick takes his first few steps onto the platform seeing other gorilla soldiers coming off the other shuttles while the ones to his left are getting on board to head for Metropolis. Yorrick walks out from the area to see the island for himself, stunned and in awe of the structure that he shakes it off, remembering the mission. Yet breaking off from his daydream were two elite gorilla soldiers, wearing golden helmets and shoulder capes around the upper half of their frames. The guards also wore metal belts with thick bolts of cloth wrapped around their thighs, leaving small openings to show their thighs like sarongs. The guards approached Yorrick with spears, standing in attention as they spoke, "Halt! Soldier #4604, State your objective."
Yorrick blinks as they must be referring to him, "I did as intended; I am bringing a bride for King Grodd. What is the problem?"
The guard spoke sternly, "You have Wonder Woman in your possession, a very dangerous individual. We shall bring her in tow ourselves," one moved in, reaching his hand out until Yorrick grabbed the guard's wrist. Yorrick snarls, "This is my quarry; I won't relinquish her until I get King Grodd's boon!" The guard snarls back, yet he brings an intense abrasive aura that makes Yorrick flinch. Yorrick keeps his glare up until the guard snorts out a sigh. "Fine, but we will act as escorts if she wakes up." Yorrick hesitated as it would mean a direct route to Grodd himself. They had to be extra careful around the guards and other gorillas. The guard in front tilts his head to lead the way, with Yorrick following him and the second guard following behind Yorrick with his eyes focused on Wonder Woman.
While they walked, Yorrick glanced at his surroundings and noticed other buildings like a gladiatorial arena, a market area, and tall metallic trees with houses built along the branches. Wonder Woman slowly opens her eyes looking down at the ground with her long black hair obscuring her face's view. The ground gave a mirror-like shine reflecting the sky and the guard near her. Yorrick notices some of the gorillas look anthropomorphic compared to the ones he came across in the city. Some were female with defining feminine human traits such as curved bodies, bipedal, and breasts covered by cloth patches. It was as if he was looking at a picture of an ancient civilization at its peak.
They go to an enormous fortress covered in moss with an elevating platform leading up to a balcony. Yorrick and the guards step onto the platform until it reaches the top; one guard responds, "Grunts do not get permission to reach the top, so count yourself lucky to witness Grodd's palace," Yorrick remains silent yet couldn't help but glare with narrowed eyes. It wasn't just an act at this point; he was getting agitated by the guards. On the balcony, Yorrick sees an enormous palace of polished black granite obelisks and columns depicting reliefs of gorillas enslaving humans. Gorilla guards surrounded the palace with spears; some held small taser guns in holsters around their thighs.
The guard behind Yorrick gives him a shove forward to the palace; Yorrick picks up his pace to follow the guard inside. The interior shows a few columns of human statues holding up support beams to the palace's structure down a long corridor. The columns depict large gorilla feet that act as weights against the humans below them. Wonder Woman turns her head slightly to glance at the familiar statue; the statues were based on other Justice League members that fell to Grodd. The Flash, Green Lantern, and Batman all support the pillars on the right side of the corridor, while the left shows Black Canary and Vixen holding the other two pillars with one empty spot for the final pillar. Wonder Woman watches in a bit of shock, she had known at Flash, Green Lantern, and Batman was captured by Grodd, but she didn't know Black Canary and Vixen were taken.
The corridor leads to a large doorway that the guards slowly open; on the other side is a throne room with various computer monitors. The throne has two large pillars holding up the roof with a window balcony at the far end of the room that was as tall as a two-story building. The balcony views the island's other side, with more vegetation and trees than in the front. Standing near the computer monitors was a silhouette of a gorilla wearing a flowing purple cape. Slowly turning around with his hands behind his back showing signs of black and gray fur along his cheeks. He was more significant than the other gorilla warriors, with a bejeweled sash wrapped around his waist. The guards kneel before the gorilla while Yorrick watches and follows in a kneeling position with the guards; he looks at the caped gorilla as if it could only mean one person, "King Grodd…" he muttered quietly in awe but with a twinge of fear in his voice.
"Who is this that you have brought to my chambers?" Grodd asked with annoyance in his deep eloquent voice.
One guard stands, "King Grodd, this grunt brings you a wife that you have requested—"
"Send him out, I have no need for one right now. I saw the footage when he stepped into the island of the carriers, I will not be swayed by a 'fake' Wonder Woman," he says dismissively while turning back to his monitors.
Yorrick stands up and proclaims, "But King Grodd! I did as you requested and have brought forth a female worthy of your rule!" The gorilla guards turn and aim their spear tips at Yorrick's neck. "Stand down grunt! You will speak when Grodd tells you to speak!" Shouted the guard on the right.
Grodd raises his hand up as a sign to stop the guards. "Leave us, and seal the doors. I wish to speak to this grunt myself and give him his rewards," he says, echoing across his room.
"But, my lord!" The guard proclaimed, but they lowered their spears out of frustration and confusion. The two guards slowly leave the room, sneering at Yorrick before exiting and sealing the door behind them.
Yorrick watches the guards leave before turning his attention to Grodd; now, he slowly makes his way over to Grodd with a few soft taps at his feet along the tiled floor. Yorrick stops only several feet away from Grodd. He gives Wonder Woman's thigh a dull pinch, then slowly pulls her body down and around to the front. Her head leans back with her eyes closed and a soft expression while he holds her up by her arms and her feet dangling below, barely touching the ground. "Behold. Wonder Woman," said Yorrick with confidence, yet this uneasy edge was in his mind.
Grodd makes his way before being before the two and gripping his hand to Wonder Woman's jaw to sift through her face. "Hm, Quite queer that a single grunt could take down the princess of Themyscira. Even more so, how only she came instead any other member of the Justice League," said Grodd, slightly puzzled based on his tone.
"If I may be so bold my King?" Yorrick asked, "Why do you need a bride? And why do you have statues of the Justice League in your palace?"
"Such bold questions from a grunt…." Grodd says with concern, "In truth, I don't need a bride of my own. No human female is worthy of my supreme excellence. Making the other grunts expand our colony and nation was merely farse. I reject what they bring me, and in return, I give them new brides to be turned into gorillas," said Grodd.
Yorrick blinks in confusion, "Then why this human city? Why Metropolis?" Grodd smirks, "Simple, it was the closest and largest human city to find nearby that was near this island. This island isn't just a new home for our people. It houses a guardian of unspeakable power, one that not even a Kryptonian can stop," Grodd turns to look to the balcony and points outside.
Thunderous footsteps are heard until a gigantic gorilla with glowing green eyes stands with something tied around his neck. The giant gorilla's face barely fit into the balcony window, yet on closer inspection, there appears to be a woman with blonde hair tied around the beast's neck, Supergirl. She's suspended unconsciously by a metal chain to wrists tied around the giant ape's neck. "Allow me to introduce you to Titano, The Giant Ape," said Gorilla Grodd, "Due to a freak accident in space travels, he was blessed with a mighty size, and his eyes unleash energy beams of Kryptonite."
Yorrick stares up at the beast in fear, "This island? How did you know about this creature?" Yorrick asked in confusion.
"I knew it from a potential source… Ultra-Humanite," said Grodd watching Titano leave the view of the window. "In one of his bouts with Superman, he mentioned of this place where Superman had kept this magnificent specimen as a personal cage. I found the creature and warped his mind to do my bidding. Thus began the operation to seize Metropolis without Superman meddling, a shame that Supergirl didn't come to the same conclusion,"
Yorrick feels his confidence slipping away as he feels more worried, "And… what of the Justice League? Surely you are prepared for their arrival," said Yorrick.
"That won't be necessary; I have captured five of them, thanks to the assistance of Titano," said Grodd while he grinned, admiring his own handiwork. "One of them has proven to be much more resilient than I had anticipated. Batman, but surely after a few months or a year of torture and probing, he'll see things in a new light,"
Wonder Woman's expression hardens with anger despite trying to appear unconscious. The thought of Batman going through so much made her insides boil.
Grodd grins, "After all, many civilizations must come and go. The Romans, the Egyptians, and even…the Greeks," he says, staring down at Wonder Woman, "Perhaps, I may even lead an assault on Themsycira. Enslave the inhabitants and make them realize that the end of men and gods will end…and that Gorillas are the true creatures to rule," Grodd glances between Yorrick and Wonder Woman with a confident twisted grin, "Wouldn't you agree, Wonder Woman?"
Yorrick notices Wonder Woman's anger and quickly opens his palms to release her arms in seconds. Wonder Woman's eyes open with fury as she swings her arm forward towards Grodd. Grodd raises his hand and stops Wonder Woman's fist from reaching his face, where he skids back a bit from the force. Wonder Woman swings her other fist at Grodd, which he ends up stopping with his other hand. Wonder Woman and Grodd stare at each other as he gives a smug grin, "Did you really think I would fall for your trick? It was clever to fool the other grunts and gorillas, but not for me," said Grodd, slightly amused.
"Where is he?" Wonder Woman asked with rage boiling over her voice in a grunt.
Grodd feels Wonder Woman's strength pushing his arms back with her face close to his, "Do you mean Batman? He will not be joining us today, but the others wish to see you once more,"
Yorrick growls and charges in to help, but then a red and black blur flashes across his eyes. He felt a swift hard punch to his jaw, launching him to the right. He watches the blur move quickly, looping around to Grodd and Wonder Woman. Grodd releases Wonder Woman's hands before moving away from her when the blur moves around Wonder Woman in a circle. Wonder Woman tries to hold her arms up to guard herself, yet she takes hard hits from different areas of her body after a hard hit. She observes until a gorilla in a red full-body suit with a mask punches Wonder Woman across the face.
Wonder Woman is sent flying back into one of the pillars, "B-Barry…." She said weakly. Wonder Woman shakes her head, trying to regain her focus. She readies herself against the Flash's next attack until a glowing green beam grips Wonder Woman's wrists and holds her arms up. She looks up at the source of the green beam to see a gray gorilla in a pure black suit with a green chevron design on the chest, glowing green eyes, and wielding a glowing ring. "John! Snap out of it!" Wonder Woman shouted at the gorilla Green Lantern, yet he didn't listen. The gorilla Flash charges in at Wonder Woman, sending bullet punches across her stomach and torso as fast as a machine gun. Wonder Woman couldn't defend herself with her arms suspended by the gorilla Green Lantern; she grits her teeth and closes her eyes as the dulling pain of the punches continues.
Yorrick slowly gets up to see the utter chaos; he charges in to help, but another gorilla, different from the Flash and Green Lantern, leaps out in a pounce on Yorrick. The third arrival was a female gorilla, though her body was less of a gorilla and more of a humanoid gorilla, curves well kept in an orange sleeveless jumpsuit with feline eyes and large mauve taupe breasts with short hair. A talisman is tied around her neck like a necklace, as it shows an astral projection of a tiger. Wonder Woman opens her eyes to see the orange-suited female gorilla on Yorrick and gasps, "Mari!"
The gorilla Vixen slashes her claw-like nails at Yorrick, who defends with cuts shredding away his fur, leaving patches of hairless lines where they were cut. He reaches his arms and grabs Vixen's arms to stop her. Vixen glares down at Yorrick with a tiger-like roar coming from her maw and barring her fangs out at him.
Wonder Woman darts her eyes around the room, taking note of Green Lantern above with Flash before her, Vixen occupied with Yorrick and Grodd, watching this madness unfold from his throne. Wonder Woman grits her teeth, her blue eyes narrowing, and strands of her hair coming out of place from her tiara. Gorilla Flash readies another fast punch, only for Wonder Woman to lift her legs up and bends her waist until Flash misses his punch and hits his hand on the wall behind Wonder Woman. She wraps her legs around Flash's neck and applies pressure, cutting the oxygen flow in a leg lock. The Flash turns around to run, yet Wonder Woman pulls him back where her thighs hold a firm grip.
The gorilla Flash struggles to pry Wonder Woman's legs off his neck until a sharp echoing scream comes through and hits both the Flash and Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman opens one eye to see a female gorilla screaming out a cry from her maw and recognizing her. Despite a few of her gorilla features, she had a curvy body while retaining dark golden blonde hair, a black leather jacket over a black leotard, and fishnet stockings. "Dinah… not you too…" said Wonder Woman with a strained voice. Wonder Woman grunts, using her strength to pull her legs back from his neck before unleashing a dropkick behind Flash's head to launch him toward the gorilla Black Canary.
The two collided, with Flash falling over and laying on Black Canary. Wonder Woman drops down and kneels while using her strength to pull her arms and break free of Green Lantern's bindings. Green Lantern narrows his green eyes, aims his ring out at Wonder Woman, and unleashes a bright green bolt of energy at her. Wonder Woman raises her wrists, using her impenetrable bracelets to redirect the beam toward Vixen. Vixen noticing the beam while she tries to attack Yorrick, is struck and sent flying across the room to the other side. Green Lantern watched with anger in his eyes before charging toward her; Wonder Woman kneeling down, leaps up and flies up towards Green Lantern only to zip past him and raises her arms up with her hands clutching each other and swing her hands down on Green Lantern's head. The hit's impact makes Green Lantern plummet and land on the ground, causing a few cracks in the tiled floor.
Grodd watched, yet he kept his eyes on Yorrick as he pondered to himself. Once he saw Green Lantern fall, he looked to Yorrick, slowly getting back up, and a devilish grin formed. Wonder Woman bolts down below in front of Grodd, which surprises him, and he feels her petite-looking arms effortlessly lift up the collar of his cape where Wonder Woman's face meets with Grodd's with a sneer. "I hope you were satisfied. Now tell me where Batman is and how to return everyone to their original selves!" Wonder Woman barked with vexation.
Grodd looks up, still off-guard from Wonder Woman's sudden appearance, then smiles heinously, "He's safe if that is what you're wondering… but I think you should be more concerned for someone else," Grodd trails his eyes to the side to Yorrick. Yorrick was clutching at his wrists when a bright flash from Grodd's eyes sent a beam across to Yorrick. Wonder Woman's eyes turned, and a gasp escaped her lips with a look of horror, and she cried out, "No! Yorrick!" Wonder Woman turns her head back to Yorrick when Grodd's gorilla hand lunges and plants the palm of his hand to the back of Wonder Woman's head, using his gorilla strength to slam Wonder Woman's face into the floor.
Yorrick slowly turned his attention to Grodd, but the energy beam Grodd unleashed struck Yorrick's mind. Yorrick raises his hands and clutches his head with a pained cry of agony, "He's… in…my head!" Yorrick fell to his knees, holding himself. Wonder Woman shakes her head in disbelief, using her strength to pull herself up, and rushes to Yorrick. "No! Please don't lose yourself!" Wonder Woman shouted, only to be interrupted by the Flash charging in, landing a brutal hit to her cheek, and launching her away from Yorrick. Wonder Woman skids away from where Vixen is, where she lets out a tiger roar and swipes her gorilla "claw" to Wonder Woman's back, which leaves several cut marks on her back. Wonder Woman screamed out in pain before falling to her knees from the pain.
Grodd looks at Yorrick and slowly approaches as Grodd speaks, "My word… How did you manage to break the mind control of this one? No matter; so long as he's a gorilla, I can put him back in his place." Yorrick cries out, "D-Di…ana.. He…lp… Meeeee!"
Wonder Woman was looking unkempt from the beatings she received from the gorilla Justice League members. She slowly stands up where the Flash dashes and unleashes an uppercut to Wonder Woman, who is sent flying back to Vixen again. Vixen raises her arms up and wraps them around Wonder Woman's waist in a tight hold. Wonder Woman tries to throw her arm back to strike Vixen with her elbow, but Vixen sinks her gorilla fangs into Wonder Woman's arm to reel her arm back. Wonder Woman screams out in pain before glaring at Grodd fiercely and shouts out at him, "Get away from him, you tyrant, or I will unleash a wrath upon you far worse than what Zeus can unleash!"
Grodd chuckles at Wonder Woman's threat, "I told you, I will usher a new dawn where we won't need man or gods. Your Amazonian lineage means nothing to me, but that is to be expected for a princess to challenge a king." He says with his hand gripping the top of Yorrick's scalp as Yorrick's eyes turn dull and listless while he sits on his knees.
Wonder Woman felt her anger reaching its limit, then she slammed the heel of her boot on Vixen's toes, making her roar in pain. Wonder Woman slams the back of her head against Vixen's head to slam into a wall; Vixen slides down the wall laying unconscious. The gorilla Flash speeds by Wonder Woman with another hard punch with force, knocking off Wonder Woman's tiara from her head, yet she still stands despite the hit. Flash loops around back to Wonder Woman to land a second hit, but Wonder Woman balls her hand into a fist and launches it towards the incoming Flash, which lands against his stomach. The impact knocks the air out of the Flash, making him hang limply on Wonder Woman's fist before she tosses him aside where he lays on the ground.
Grodd narrows his eyes at Wonder Woman's persistence, and with a snap of his thick black fingers gorilla, Black Canary rushes in as the last line of defense for him. She lets out her loud sonic canary cry toward Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman grunts, covering her ears with the sound pushing her back a bit, yet she slowly walks towards Black Canary and pushes against the sonic cry. Black Canary's cry was reaching higher in pitch the closer Wonder Woman got to Wonder Woman's hair being blown back by force. Wonder Woman lunges her hand out and puts it over gorilla Black Canary's mouth, silencing her until Wonder Woman pushes her forward and slams Black Canary's head into the dark blue-tiled floor. Black Canary lays unconscious; she could take such a mighty blow due to her gorilla physiology.
All the present gorillas, Justice League members, lay unconscious, leaving only Wonder Woman, Grodd, and Yorrick. Grodd shakes his head disappointingly and says, "Tsk tsk tsk… what a shame, here I thought you'd go so far as to kill your turned comrades." Wonder Woman collapses on her knees with strands of long black hair covering parts of her face while she pants and recomposes. "And…you were willing to sacrifice them just to capture me?" Wonder Woman asked with her voice sounding tired. "Obviously… That is what it means to be a pawn," said Grodd with a smug victorious grin.
Wonder Woman charges in with her arm pulled back for a hard punch until something leaps in and tackles her to the floor. Wonder Woman lands with a hard thud to look up and see's Yorrick glaring down at her with the same eyes as when he was under Grodd's control. "Yorrick!" Wonder Woman shouts, her hand reaching for her lasso until Yorrick grabs her wrist, pulling it above her head. Wonder Woman typically would overpower Yorrick, but her fight against other gorilla Justice League members has weakened her.
"I am no Yorrick, I am a loyal grunt to King Grodd!" Yorrick proclaimed, with Grodd approaching from the side. "Nicely said grunt, or I should say, Captain," said Grodd smiling to Yorrick, who responds, "You honor me with a title my king, I am pleased to serve."
Grodd reaches down, grabs Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth from her hips, and examines it up close. Wonder Woman's other arm reaches out to regain her lasso, but she is too slow to stop Grodd, "The Gods will not stand for this! Once I regain my strength, I'll—ack!" Yorrick clasps his other hand to Wonder Woman's throat to silence her. Grodd squats down to look at Wonder Woman with the back of his finger sliding along Wonder Woman's cheek, "I'm afraid you don't have any more liberties for threats and proclamations. You're in my kingdom now…." Yorrick removes his hand from Wonder Woman's neck, allowing Grodd's massive gorilla hand to cover Wonder Woman's face.
Grodd pulls Wonder Woman's head up from the floor with a twisted toothy smile of evil and glee. "You," he says, slamming Wonder Woman's head into the floor with a heavy impacting sound. Grodd pulls back Wonder Woman's head, and she reaches her free hand up to grip Grodd's wrist, "Must," he continues slamming her head into the floor again, creating more cracks on the floor. "Learn," he slams her head a third time, more rigid than the last two, with vibrations around the palace. "Your," he shouted, slamming Wonder Woman's head a fourth time, creating a dented dip on the floor from the impact of her head. "PLACE!" Grodd shouted, slamming Wonder Woman's head a fifth and final time creating large cracks around the whole room and the building's structure shaking in place. Wonder Woman's hand on Grodd's wrist slides off and lays limp with her hair sprawled out and scattered; she just lays unconscious and defeated, slowly muttering, "Y-…yor…rick…" and there she lays.
Yorrick pulls himself off her body and releases her wrist before standing next to Grodd, "The Amazon princess has been subdued, King Grodd. Any further orders?" Yorrick asked obediently. Grodd smiles then hands Yorrick the Lasso of Truth with a smile, "As first orders as Captain, I want you to take this lasso and relinquish it in the treasury. I want you to make sure that it is never found," said Grodd, who was brimming with confidence.
"And what of her?" Yorrick asked, pointing at Wonder Woman. "She will be turned to a gorilla like the rest, but her amazonian blood will slow the process…for now I will resort to using nano-technology to change her DNA to that of a human. I mixture of an amazon and a gorilla, truly a glorious bride for myself and to our nation," said Grodd. "Now be off, I must prepare my new subjects… the other Justice League members will recuperate and become my new council,"
Yorrick nods with a salute gripping the golden rope before slowly marching out of Grodd's sanctum. Grodd watches Yorrick leave, looking down at the unconscious Wonder Woman, slowly pulling out an injection gun and pressing it to the side of her neck, followed by an injection. He then puts another injection in her exposed back and even one more to the back of her right thigh. "Now, my dear, it is time to bring you to the new height of your evolution," said Grodd.
To Be Continued