Chapter 19
Diana had been meditating, an act she uses to help pass the time of this confinement, when Kal stomps into the room looking angrier than she has seen someone ever look. He sets about the quarters tipping over and destroying all the furniture in almost a blur of motion. It ends with him putting his fist into the wall causing a large indent surrounded by cracks to appear. She approaches him, he is breathing heavily, and touches his shoulder lightly. “Kal?” she queries. When he doesn't respond she slowly moves round so she can see his face and to her surprise finds that there are tears streaming down his cheeks. Diana moves to take his head into her hands. Kal lets her and she brings his head to her shoulder. She places her hand on his back and tries to sooth him with gentle strokes. “Shh. It's alright.”
“No. No it isn't. Nothing is alright,” Kal-El says virtually sobbing. His voice drops to a pained whisper. “I'm sorry Diana. I am so sorry.”
Diana pulls back so she can look him in the eye bust she keeps her hands on his cheeks. “Sorry about what Kal?”
“Gotham. My father destroyed it and I couldn't do anything to stop it.”
Diana fights hard to keep her anger at bay. Hera. All those people gone, murdered.
Kal-El then tells her the worse part. “He says you and your friends are to be executed and that I...” He can't say it.
Diana takes a breath to calm her rage. “You what Kal?”
“I have to be the one to kill you Diana. If I don't he will wipe out the entire human race to teach me a lesson.”
“A lesson?!” Diana shouts outraged. To hell with keeping her temper in check. What kind of man kills billions of people to teach his son a lesson.
Kal-El nods miserably. He had failed totally, utterly and spectacularly in his plan to offer up the Justice League and when his father had said that he has to kill Diana Kal-El just couldn't take it anymore. There was no way he was ever agreeing to that so what did his father do. Threaten to kill billions of innocent people if he didn't. His father is a monster. Rao why had he never seen that before. How can he have been so blind and the worse part of it all is that he can't do a damn thing about it short of killing...
No! He is not even contemplating that. Killing his father is not a option. That would leave Lor in charge and Rao help Krypton should his brother be left in charge and since Kal-El himself would be dead after committing such an act there would be no-one to stand against his brother.
Kal-El looks at Diana, at the rage in her eyes. She probably hates him now and that is a thought he can't stand. He would almost rather her be dead than hate him. “I am so sorry Diana,” he repeats.
Diana strokes his tear soaked cheeks. “I know you are.”
“I don't know what to do.”
“Don't you? It is perfectly logical Kal. One life in exchange for billions. You have to kill me.”
“I can't!” he shouts. “Don't you understand. I told my father I would but I can't. I know I can't.”
“You must,” she insists. As angry as Diana is right now she won't let billions die. If her life must be sacrificed to do so then so be it.
“I can't,” he sobs. “I can't kill you Diana. I love you.”
Diana's eyes widen in surprise at his confession. She leans forward and plants her lips on his. “I love you too,” she says in a whisper.
Kal-El pulls her into his arms and closes his eyes. He just wants to feel her in his arms. He says a silent prayer. “Rao please help me.”
Kond-Ah returns to his ship. It had been a long day with General Zod's arrival but at last it was over and he can get some well earned rest. He arrives in his quarters and seals the door. He changes for bed and lies down only to have his communicator go off. He groans loudly. Of all the times why did it have to be now? He picks it up off his bedside table. “Yes?”
“Kond?” the voice on the other end queries.
“Asha?” Kond queries back. Asha Del-Nar had been his friend for many years now.
“Yes it's me and don't worry I've encrypted this signal.”
“Asha I'm tired and it's late so please get to the point,” Kond tells her grumpily.
“It's time,” she says cryptically.
“Time for what?” Kond asks.
“This is our opportunity Kond. Zod is finally away from Krypton.”
As what she is implying sinks in he sits up abruptly. “No Asha,” he says shaking his head. “Don't even suggest it. We're not ready to make our move yet. We still can't get near Lor-Zod.”
“So? We can get to Zod and Kal-El.”
“No absolutely not. We are not killing Kal Asha,” he tells her in no uncertain terms.
“Don't let your friendship get in the way of what you know needs to be done Kond,” Asha reprimands him.
“Don't be so simple Asha. Do you know how many people amongst in this fleet owe Kal-El everything. Kill him and you turn them against us and our movement. You might as well kill us both now and get it over with. If we are ever going to restore Krypton it needs perfect timing to remove the entire bloodline of Zod at the same time.”
“And what of Kal-El?” Asha asks.
“You don't know him like I do Asha. All this pointless killing and expansionist ideals are not part of his being. In time I think he can be brought around to our point of view. Imagine that Asha. The son of Zod embracing our movement. He could bring half the fleet to our side.”
Kond has a point Asha guesses.
Kond continues “Besides Asha do you think we would survive long after killing Zod.”
“No. Of course not but we would send a message that Zod, his bloodline, and all those that follow him that their time is at an end,” she argues.
“Or we could simply expose ourselves before we are ready and Lor and his Secret Police will finally have an excuse to be let off the few remaining leads that restrain them,” Kond says as he points out the flaw in Asha's logic. “Look one day Zod will be dead Asha but we must only strike when the time is right and Kal-El is off limits for the time being as long as I think he can be swayed to our side and that is an order in case you have forgotten who is in charge.”
“Yes sir,” Asha says obediently before the connection is cut.
Kond sighs as he lies back down. Rao was she impulsive sometimes but he knows he is correct in his assessment. This just isn't the moment to strike.
“What is that?” Kara's pet asks as she walks into her quarters.
Kara looks down at her uniform. “Oh that. That would be blood. I've been on a mission and you humans bleed so easily.” She had personally taken some delight in sweeping through the ruins of Gotham and killing the survivors. Kara walks over to the bed where her pets is chained up and kisses her deeply making sure to rub her blood stained uniform against her pet's naked flesh. Hmm she will look so good with some blood smeared on her. Kara grabs her pet by the hair and forces her pet to look at her in the eye. “Now then I'm going to take a shower and then you and I will have some more fun.” Kara smiles wickedly. “After all you have learned just how much fun I can be haven't you?”
“Yes Mistress,” Lois replies obediently. She knew the unpleasantness that came from contradicting Kara.
Kara releases her hold on Lois' hair and pats her on the head. “Good girl. I'll get you trained yet.” With a sadistic laugh at her own joke Kara then heads off to her shower.
Lois holds back the tears. She had learned that Kara could easily hear her from the shower and she was still not going to show any weakness in front of that woman but that was getting harder with each day that passed. She feared it was only a matter of time till her spirit was broken utterly. Until she would welcome what her 'Mistress' did to her. Lois would rather be dead frankly. Unfortunately she lacked the means to kill herself at the moment since Kara had made sure to keep anything that could be used like that out of Lois' reach. She just had to hang on. Surely sooner or later Kara would slip up and when she did Lois would put an end to this nightmare with the taking of her own life.
Kal-El stalks the corridors of his ship as he had done for the last few days. He had barely seen or spoken to his father since Gotham was destroyed. It was out of a combination of the fact that his father was busy now he had taken charge and out of the fact Kal-El was too angry to bear spending any time with his father. To his surprise his father had let him be. This was a surprise considering his father had seemed intent on...how did his father put it?...Oh yes on re-educating Kal-El on how to be a true Kryptonian. Well if being a true Kryptonian means callously killing millions of innocent beings then frankly you can count him out.
Kal-El wasn't naïve to the point he didn't know he was responsible for thousands of deaths but that was different. That was war and people die in war. It is one of the few universal constants but he had never undertaken in the wholesale slaughter of innocent beings unlike Kara but he wasn't mad at Kara for destroying Gotham. She was doing her duty. She had no choice just like he has no choice but to kill Diana. When they had both calmed down after Gotham's destruction they had had a more civilised chat....
Kal-El shakes his head. What is he thinking!?! A civilised chat? Rao could he come up with a more ridiculous term? Not even if he tried. What he means is that they had discussed her execution. They had to he supposes. Diana was far too selfless for her own good saying that if her death spared billions of others then she would accept it as her fate. Kal-El couldn't see how he could bring himself to do it. He certainly couldn't see how he was going to go on afterwards, living with what he had done. Rao wasn't answering his prayers or speaking to him lately. In fact the dreams had ceased entirely leaving him all alone looking for a way out of this that he was pretty positive didn't exist.
“So is this a social call?”
Kal-El looks up at that voice. Hal Jordan? He had wandered into the detention area without even noticing he had done so. “No,” he answers bluntly.
Hal moves forward until he right against the transparent door to his cell. Kal-El seems tetchy. “Bad day?”
Kal-El frowns. “Not your concern,” he tells Hal Jordan.
Hal shrugs one shoulder lightly. “Guess you're right. So set a date for my execution yet?”
“That is no longer up to me.”
“Ah,” Hal says in understanding. “Yeah. I heard General Zod had arrived. Taken charge has he.”
Kal-El's eyes glow red for a moment. “He can do as he pleases,” Kal-El spits out angrily before turning around and stomping off no longer wishing to discuss anything with a prisoner.
Hal arches an eyebrow of interest. An emotional Kryptonian. That's new. Especially the angry glare when Hal mentioned General Zod. Huh. They must have had a tiff or something.
Kal-El decides to head back to his quarters. Diana was still there. His father hadn't seem interested in moving her. At least his father had never said anything about it to him. He turns a corner to find Ursa heading his way. Just great. This is all he needs.
“Well, well. Kal-El,” Ursa says in an annoyingly fake pleasant tone of voice.
“I'm not in the mood Ursa,” he says sharply.
“That's Commander Ursa,” she feels the need to correct. She had been waiting days to get a moment like this with Kal-El. She had gotten much enjoyment out of tormenting him when he was younger.
Kal-El snorts derisively. “Only because my brother is delusional and paranoid. It certainly wasn't because of your skills as a warrior since you don't have any.” Normally Kal-El not say such things but he is no longer in the mood to play along with the expected social niceties.
Ursa is shocked for a moment by the sheer brazen disrespect Kal-El shows her before it turns into anger. “You dare!”
Kal-El moves so swiftly it takes Ursa by completes surprise when he grabs her by the throat and shoves her hard against the wall. “Listen to me and listen well. I am not the child you bullied anymore and if you think you can push me around like that then you are gravely mistaken.”
Ursa tries to break free of his grasp but finds that she can't. Kal-El is stronger than she is. “Let me go!” she demands.
“Or what?” Kal-El asks her not in the least bit intimidated. “You'll go running to my father like the love sick whore that you are and yes I know how you look at my father when you think no-one is watching you.” He squeezes her throat tighter. “Go right ahead. He already thinks I've been corrupted. This would be just more evidence to support it.” He releases her suddenly and she gasps for air. “Get out of my sight,” he tells her disgusted by the sight of her.
Ursa rubs her throat which she is pretty sure will be badly bruised. The look in Kal-El's eyes as he looks at her...it is one even she is intimidated by. She walks away only to find Kara Zor-El there looking most amused.
“Well it is obvious you got your own battlegroup due to to overwhelming skills to relate with people,” Kara jokes mockingly. She had seen the whole thing and it was most entertaining. She is just a little jealous that it wasn't her that got to do that to Ursa like she has been dreaming of doing for years now.
Ursa doesn't dignify it with a response and walks past deliberately bumping into Kara on the way past. Kara grins despite this. “Watch your back,” she says with just enough menace in her tone to make Ursa look twice at her before departing. Kara saunters up to her cousin who has his eyes shut while he seems to be taking deep calming breaths. “Kal?” she queries.
Kal-El opens his eyes and turns his head to look at Kara. “What Kara?” he snaps.
“Are you alright?” Kara asks with genuine concern because while watching him terrify Ursa was amusing it was completely out of character for him.
“Nothing is alright Kara,” he answers.
“What do you mean?”
He shakes his head. “Doesn't matter. It would involve me saying things you don't want to hear.”
“Try me.”
He takes a breath. “Alright. You asked for it. I have come to the conclusion that I have spent the last...well my whole life following the teachings of a man who is nothing but a brutal dictator with a thin veneer of civilisation who justifies his actions that are really only to increase his power by claiming what we do benefits all those we conquer when in fact it doesn't.”
“Uh huh. I see. Anything else?”
“No just that when I am forced to kill Diana that will be the last order I ever carry out for my Father.” Even calling Zod his father is starting to leave a bitter taste in his mouth now.
“What does that mean?”
“I haven't decided yet.”
Kara places her hand on his arm gently. “Kal. Don't do anything foolish ok. I know you're upset...” Kal laughs, interrupting her. “What?” she asks at his mirth.
He looks at her and the dangerous gleam in his eyes makes her back up a step. “Kara. You have never seen me genuinely upset.”
Kara quickly filters through all her memories of Kal. Even when Aethyr died he wasn't this upset. She better mention something to him “Kal about the executions that are to come,” she begins to say.
“He's having you help organise them,” he assumes.
“Yes.”
“I thought he would. Do what he tells you Kara. You don't have to share my fate.”
Ok now she is starting to getting really concerned about her cousin. “What does that mean?”
Kal-El laughs darkly. “I haven't decided that either yet.”
Then to Kara's complete surprise he embraces her and wraps his arms around her. This is kind of nice she thinks to herself. She could easily see herself doing this more often.
“Kara. I hate you and I love you. I hate some of the things you have done but you are the only family I truly have left now and I'm sorry but I don't think I can get your father thrown into a fire-pit anymore. My pull with my father isn't what it was.” Kal-El can feel Kara's whole body shake as she laughs at his joke. He pulls back to look her over. “If it was up to me I would just let you kill him but I'm afraid I'll never have that kind of authority.”
“So things between you and the General are that bad?”
“I refused point blank to obey him so he threatened to kill every being on the planet below to force me to. We have barely spoke since then. I don't even know when this execution is going to happen. He hasn't seen fit to inform me.”
“It's tomorrow,” Kara tells him. “It's going to be down on the planet in the city of Metropolis so the citizens can see it in person as well as it being broadcast across the planet.”
Kal-El nods. “I see. Well thank you for telling me Kara. I guess he was just going to show up in the morning and drag me down to the planet with him.”
“Kal. Don't do anything foolish,” Kara pleads. “You can still find a way to resolve this with the General.”
Kal-El shakes his head. “No Kara. Being here...being with...” he trails off but Kara can guess what he was about to say. Kal-El continues. “My view on certain things has changed permanently. There is no going back. I must walk a different path than from before.”
“I don't understand,” Kara admits.
“I know. I don't understand it myself. It is just a feeling I have.”
Kara looks at him even more perplexed than she was before.
“Well I am sure you have things to do,” he says bringing an abrupt halt to this conversation. “I'll let you get on.”
With that Kara watches Kal head back off towards his quarters. Now she too has a feeling. An ominous feeling that Kal is about to do something monumentally stupid. In that case she better go back to her ship. She has preparations she needs to make and a feeling she doesn't have a lot of time.
Diana has spent the last few days mentally preparing herself for her death. A concept she has never really considered before. Sure her work with the Justice League was dangerous but she is immortal and she thought she would live forever. Not anymore. She had written a letter for her mother which Kal had promised that she would get. She told him to go to the embassy and that the staff there would find a way. Right now she is saying a prayer.
“Have faith child. All is not lost yet.”
Diana's eyes shoot open and she looks around the room but sees no-one. She could swear...she could swear that voice was in the room with her. She shakes her head. She must he hearing things. She closes her eyes and resumes her prayer.
“Have faith Diana. Have faith in Kal-El and in your love.”
This time Diana keeps her eyes closed. The voice, she realises, is not in the room but in her head. It is not one she recognises belonging to any of her deities but she mentally answers it anyway. “I do.”
“Then you will find that there is still hope. There is always hope as long as love exists.”
“Who are you?” Diana mentally asks.
“A concerned parent trying to guide his children back to the light.”
The wording sparks an inkling inside Diana. “Rao?” she asks tentatively.
“That is one of my names.”
“Why are you speaking to me?” Diana asks.
“To tell you, to warn you, that Kal-El will need the strength only your love can provide to do what must be done.”
“What is that?” Diana asks.
“Kal-El will know the moment to choose when it comes,” Rao answers cryptically.
Choice? Yes Kal had mentioned that. He had to make a choice. “And if he makes the right choice then what? We live happily ever after?” Diana muses sceptically.
“Maybe but to borrow another human phrase the course of true love never runs smooth. You will face many challenges and tests yet. More choices with less than pleasant outcomes no matter which option you go with but my children have fallen so far that restoring them to their true path will be difficult. Many more will die before the final reckoning comes.”
“And what about Earth?” Diana asks.
“I am truly sorry over the millions Zod killed,” Rao says with genuine remorse. “There was no way to prevent it but Earth will survive and recover if Kal-El does what is necessary.”
“And what is that?” Diana asks again trying to get a precise answer but she gets none. “Hello! You still there?!”
“Diana?”
Diana opens her eyes and sees Kal has entered the room and it seems Rao, assuming that was him, has decided to choose his moment to leave well and leave her without an answer. Nearly as bad as her own Gods. Diana gets up from her knees where she had been praying. “Kal.”
“Are you alright?” he asks. “Because I was saying your name for a minute there and you never heard me,” he explains to her.
“I was praying,” Diana explains. “And I think Rao might have spoken to me.”
“He did?” Kal asks hopeful for a moment that maybe Rao has answered his prayers. Diana nods in confirmation. “What did he say?”
Diana reiterates the entire conversation to Kal.
“That's not very helpful,” Kal-El laments.
“It has been my experience,” Diana begins to explains, “that Gods like to be cryptic.”
Kal-El moves to sit on the bed. “I am tired of all this,” he says wearily as he sits down.
Diana sits down next to him. Kal had looked increasingly tired and downcast ever since Zod arrived. She was starting to get concerned about his health even if she didn't really know if he could even get sick.
“Well it will be over tomorrow,” he tells Diana. “That is when you are to be executed.”
“I see,” she says.
“I wish...” Kal-El begins to say.
“You don't have to say it Kal. I know.”
“It's wrong Diana. Everything is wrong and for my whole life I've been a part of it. Worse I've defended it.”
“You never had any other choice Kal,” she says sympathetically. “You were a child when this all started.”
“A baby actually,” he says feeling the need to correct her.
Diana smiles as she remembers the image he showed her that of his parents and of him as a baby. “You were chubby.”
Kal-El frowns and turns his head to look at her. “Chubby?” he asks insulted.
Diana's smile becomes a smirk. “Uh huh but you were awful cute.”
“That is almost as bad as sweet.”
Diana can see the humour in his eyes even if it is only for a moment that they can forget their woes. She takes his hand in hers. “You know I've seen so many sides of you during the time we've been together. I've seen you be the soldier commanding with stern authority yet I have a feeling that can be quite compassionate and caring to those under your command.”
“Well I do care for their well-being. I am, or I was, their commanding officer. Their well-being was my responsibility.”
“That also applies to everyone of Earth doesn't it. You were, what was the term you used?...oh yes you were their Overseer.”
“I cared in the sense I wasn't going to kill them unnecessarily but if it came down to it I would have if they had fought me.”
“I understand. I mean I come from a race of warriors. If we have to kill we will.”
“It's a shame I will never get to see your home. It did sound beautiful,” Kal-El says with some regret.
“It is beautiful,” Diana confirms for him with a little sadness in her voice at the fact she will never see it again. “But then again so are you,” she jests light heartedly trying to keep the mood light.
Kal-El looks at her sceptically. “I do not think that term really applies to me.”
Diana strokes his cheek lovingly at his modesty. “It describes more than physical beauty. Inside you are a caring, tender, compassionate man. You were just forced to shut it away for a long time.”
Kal-El strokes Diana's cheek in return. “I think beautiful is more apt in describing you. Well actually I think perfection is a better term but I didn't want to enlarge your ego anymore than it is already.”
Diana eyes light up in wonder. “That was a joke,” she says half-surprised.
“It was,” he confirms for her. “Joking is better than thinking about what tomorrow will bring.”
“Then we won't think about it. I'm sure we can distract ourselves.”
“How?”
Diana places her finger on her chin in an exaggerated show of hard thinking. “Let me think. You and I are alone on a bed. Now I wonder what activity we can do that would pass the time.”
Kal-El smiles at her humour. “I get it. You sure?”
Diana nods. “Yes. I mean we had that night before Zod arrived because we weren't sure what would happen but since we know that this is probably my last night in this world I think I definitely want my last night to be spent with the man I love.”
In a sudden blur of motion Kal grabs her and flips her onto the bed beneath him. “Just to let you know I am going to making that night pale into insignificance after this.”
Diana smiles seductively. “I doubt it,” she says to challenge him.
Kal-El returns the smile. “To borrow a human phrase I learned 'Oh ye of little faith'.” He then claims her lips in a scorching kiss.
The day, the hour, the minute, the second had come. Diana was on her knees before him in one of the parks of Metropolis. Thousands of people were here to watch along with the appropriate number of Kryptonian soldiers to keep order. In fact they seemed more than he thought there would be. Kara had brought in extra troops from her regiment. A couple of ships belonging to the Kandorian Elite Guard had arrived during the night when he was otherwise engaged. He had been making love to Diana. Their last night together before he executes her on his father's orders. His father was here too. Standing directly behind him on the stage that had been erected making some long winded speech about the greatness of the Kryptonian Empire and the righteousness of what is about to happen. He just wants his father to shut up so this can be over with. The entire Justice League too was lined up on stage awaiting their fate. Bruce Wayne was next as soon as he kills Diana. For some reason his father had insisted that he kill Diana first. Probably as a test to see how far he had been corrupted. Much more than his father can possibly imagine. Not that it matters. In a few moments nothing in Kal-El's life will have much meaning anymore because once he kills Diana he too will be dead. Maybe not physically but inside he will be.
Kal-El looks at the instrument of Diana's fate. Her own sword. His father had somehow found out that Kara had taken it when Diana was captured and decided that it would the means by which Diana was to die. Kal-El locks eyes with his cousin for a moment. She too is here. She is standing next to Ursa looking less than pleased at having to do that. He feels some sympathy for her. He might as well use his emotions before he dies and loses them. It is a pity he will not get to explore his emotions further. He had only just begun to understand them.
“Now the sentence of the Justice League will be carried out with all of you to bear witness to the fate of those foolish enough to reject the greatness of the Krypton,” Zod announces. “My son Kal-El will start with the decapitation of the one known as Wonder Woman.” Zod looks directly at his son. “Kal-El,” he says to make sure his son is listening to him.
Kal-El straightens up like he is at attention.
“Carry out the sentence,” Zod commands.
Kal-El raises the sword back. He knows in his head what he must do. If he does not kill her billions will die but in his heart he wants nothing more than to save her and hold her in his arms. Suddenly a memory flashes in his mind of when he was talking to Rao.
“You said I must choose. What choice must I make?” he asked Rao.
“Whether to listen to your heart or listen to your head.”
Kal-El's eyes widen. This is the moment. This is the choice he must make. To kill her or to save her.
“Kal-El,” Zod hisses from behind at his son's hesitation. “Remember what will happen if you don't do this,” he reminds Kal-El in a whisper.
“Yes General,” Kal-El says in obedience. He takes one last look at Diana. She is looking back at him with her soft blue eyes which silently give him her forgiveness for the act he is about to commit. “I love you,” he tells her not caring who hears.
“I love you,” Diana says back. She then closes her eyes and awaits her fate.
Kal-El then swings the sword.
Head comes away from body.
The choice has been made.
May Rao forgive him.
