Diana can’t prevent the moans of pleasure that escape her as he places kisses all over her body. Never has anyone brought her such pleasure. Never has she allowed any man to touch her in this way before but then she has never met any man like him before. He is the most beautiful man she has ever seen, rival to the Gods themselves. He is perfection. Every muscle has perfect definition and he moves with unerring accuracy. She has to touch him. His skin is warm and smooth. He feels like satin coated over steel.
His hands gently caress her curves and his touch is almost scorching hot. Oh by the Gods does she want him, need him. She has never wanted a man like she wants him but she wants more and she doesn’t know what it is exactly she wants until he slides in her and their bodies become one. She lets out a loud groan as he fills her, completes her. Then he is moving and she is moving too, their bodies in perfect sync.
Noises Diana didn’t even know she could make escape her throat as he makes love to her. She feels this strange sensation, like a knot tightening. There is heat flooding her body. Her lover begins to increase his pace and as he does so groans of pleasure escape his lips. It pleases Diana that she is giving him pleasure. She wants him to experience even a fraction of the ecstasy she is feeling.
The ending approaches if the sounds he is making is any indication and the ending is near for her. Oh by the Gods she wants…something more. Him to be closer if that were possible. She looks into his blue eyes and can see fire burning in his irises. It is then the knot inside her snaps like elastic and waves of pure bliss flow through her body. Waves crash on the shore over and over almost endlessly. In fact Diana thinks she wouldn’t mind if it was endless. Diana wouldn’t mind if this was her last act in this world because she could die in the knowledge she has experienced one moment of absolute perfection and completion.
During all this she has managed to never let her eyes drift away from his gaze. He had reached his moment at the same time as her and she watched the sheer bliss, the sheer rapture in his eyes. She could see right into his soul and it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
Then all too quickly it is over and the tide recedes. Her lover collapses on top of her and she finds she likes the feeling of his large muscular frame covering her. She can’t help but run one of her hands through his dark hair.
“Diana,” he murmurs breathlessly. A simple, single word that somehow conveys so much feeling.
Diana can’t help but return the sentiment. “Kal,” she says in nothing more than a breathy whisper.
Diana shoots up in bed breathing heavily and unmistakably sweaty. She had had many dreams about the strange man with blue eyes but none had been like…like…well like that before. Her body is still…humming she thinks is a good word. Diana places her hands over her face and takes a moment to allow her body to cool off.
This was insane. She is having dreams about making love to a man who, as far as she knows, she has never met. When the dreams first appeared she had dismissed it as just an odd occurrence probably due to some strange drink Flash had created and somehow talked her into drinking. When she kept having them her next thought was that her Gods were trying to tell her something but despite many prayers to them none had told her what her dreams meant or foretold.
Diana glances at her bedside clock. She will have to get up soon. She is, after all, an ambassador for her people and that entails meetings. Not as many as there used to be but the world isn’t what it use to be. In truth she is failing in her mission. She had become champion to come to the outside world and spread the Amazon ideals. When she had become champion Diana believed she was fulfilling her destiny. She had never believed that she had been gifted with all this power just to live out her immortal life on Themyscira.
Her mother had been furious with her because she had actually forbidden Diana from entering the tournament to decide who would be the Amazon champion. Diana had worn a helm which completely obscured her face so no-one knew it was her until she removed it after she had been proclaimed champion. Even her mother, Queen of the Amazons, couldn’t undo what had been decreed by the Gods so Diana left her home for the first time in her life.
When she first came to the world it had been like she had been expecting if she was being honest. There was war and crime and greed but there was goodness and hope as well and for a time it looked like she was succeeding. There were definite signs of progress but lately everything has grown dim. Especially since Lex Luthor became US President.
Deciding she can’t simply lie in bed and wallow Diana gets up and heads for her shower where she’ll probably have a cold one in an attempt to cool her still overheated body off. Not that she really feels the cold. Her skin is too dense. She turns the water on and lets the slight pin pricks of water flow over her body. Well it is better than nothing and anything to try and get the feelings of her dream out of her head is something.
After standing under the water for a long time trying to reorganise her thoughts Diana turns off her shower. It is then she senses another presence in the bathroom with her. Her body tenses up in readiness and just as she is about to strike the intruder a towel is thrust through the curtain. A towel held by a hand in a familiar black glove. Diana takes the towel and wraps it around herself before she steps out to see Batman standing there.
“What are you doing here Bruce?”
“Business,” he replies curtly.
Diana walks past him into her bedroom. “You could have warned me. I do have other responsibilities.”
Bruce follows her. “Really?” he asks sceptically. “Last I heard you had been reduced to a skeleton staff while your Sisters debate whether to call you back home and abandon the rest of us.”
Diana keeps her back to him as she dresses. After all it isn’t like this is something Bruce had not seen before. They had dated for a while but it had ended for reasons too numerous to go into.
“No quick defence of your Sisters?” Bruce queries.
Diana finished dressing and turns to face him. “Can you blame them?”
The sad truth was that no Bruce couldn’t blame them. If he had the option of hiding away on some paradise island he might be tempted to take it but he didn’t have that option. He had to try and keep fighting to save this world despite its fall into chaos. Despite the crime and wars he had to believe there was still hope. Otherwise why continue.
“So what is this business you are here to see me about?” Diana asks getting to the nub of it.
“The President has requested representatives of the Justice League meet him.”
Diana snorts. “Justice League. When was the last time we actually stood for Justice Bruce?”
“We make the best of what we have Diana.”
“What we have is permission to operate only under the license of Lex Luthor and what we do for him is not justice.”
“No it is not but if we didn’t do his dirty work he would have us all arrested. You know what he thinks of metahumans.”
“I know he has the ones we catch shipped off to only the Gods know where and we stand by and do nothing.”
“What are we to do Diana? He is the President.”
Diana laughs scornfully. “Only because he rigged the election.”
Bruce shakes his head wearily. He and Diana have had this argument before. “Diana at least the ones who agree to join us we can look after. It is the best we can do.”
And sadly Diana knows that Bruce is right. He is always right. If only they had had someone, a figure head, a symbol of truth, a leader who could have stood up to Luthor. Then maybe the world would not be as dark as it is. She takes a deep breath. “Lets get this over with.”
“Ah Batman. Wonder Woman. How nice to see you again,” Lex Luthor greets them warmly as they are shown into the Oval office.
“Mr President,” Bruce greets him formally. “What can we do for you?”
“Always straight to business with you isn’t it,” Lex seems to lament. “By the way excellent job in capturing Volcana last month.”
“Do you even bother with trials anymore or do you just ship them off to be re-educated?” Bruce asks.
Lex smiles. Most people couldn’t get away with a comment like that but Lex had found Batman very useful over the years so he allows him some leeway. “I’m afraid that information is need to know and you, very sadly, don’t need to know.”
Diana fights the urge to hit Luthor repeatedly. “Can we get on with why we are here,” she requests impatiently.
“Very well then.” Lex activates the intercom. “General will you come in here.”
A General and two other officials enter the room.
“I believe you know my Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Sam Lane,” Lex says introducing him.
Bruce and Diana nod in greeting.
“Ok General. Lets start shall we.”
The two officials hand over a file each to Batman and Wonder Woman.
General Lane starts. “Five days ago what appeared to be a meteor crashed near Smallville in Kansas. It was found by a Jonathan and Martha Kent who reported it to the appropriate authorities. On closer inspection, however, it became clear that the meteor was in fact some sort of device of alien origin.”
“And you’re only telling us about it now?” Diana asks wishing she could be surprised or outraged but she isn’t either.
“Yes,” Lex confirms to them while still smiling.
“You haven’t been able to figure out anything about it,” Bruce deduces. Otherwise Lex wouldn’t have bothered to summon them here.
“No we haven’t,” Lex confirms being annoyingly cheerful about the whole thing. “But I’m guessing that Martian colleague of yours might be able to or maybe the Green Lantern one. The device is on that truck you may have noticed outside on your way in.”
“The device will remain under guard at all times,” General Lane informs them.
“Oh yes indeedee,” Lex says almost insanely cheerfully. He then shoos them away. “Now off you go. I do have a country to run.”
Bruce and Diana turn and walk out with General Lane accompanying them. They head outside and hop into the back of the truck with the device. It is burned and charred with entry through the atmosphere but on closer inspection it looks to be composed of interlacing crystals.
They sit there with the device as they are driven through the numerous checkpoints on their way to the airport. Diana shakes her head. These checkpoints were in every city. The United States was virtually a police state now that Luthor was in charge.
From Washington they were flown in a military plane to Metropolis all the time accompanied by General Lane and an entire company of soldiers. They eventually take the device to the League HQ building. They had founded it in Metropolis because at the time this city represented the future and its press led by the Daily Planet newspaper stood up for truth and honesty. Or at least they did before Lex passed certain laws curtailing the freedom of the press.
Once inside they find J’onn waiting for them in a lab. He greets everyone formally and politely but in truth he hated being down on Earth. He would much rather be up in the Watchtower. Earth had fallen below what he once hoped it could be and to him humanity seemed on the downward slide to its own destruction. If he had the means to leave he would. He had already had to watch his beloved Mars be destroyed. He didn’t want to have to watch another civilisation disappear into history.
He turns his attention to the alien device as soon as it is brought in. “Hmm crystal technology. Very advanced,” he comments.
“Do you have any idea what it is?” Bruce asks him.
“I can tell you.”
All in the room turn as Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern, walks in.
“You know what this is?” Diana asks him.
Hal nods, his expression very serious. “I have seen these before. It is a long range probe sent to scout out Earth.”
“For what purpose?” General Lane asks.
“Invasion,” Hal answers simply. “This probe is Kryptonian.”
J’onn’s expression darkens considerably at that news.
“Who or what are Kryptonians?” General Lane inquires.
“A very powerful race who are in the midst of carving out an empire for themselves,” J’onn answers. This was grave news indeed. Even he who had been living in refuge on Earth for years now had heard of the Kryptonian conquests.
“The Guardians allow this?” Diana queries.
Hal laughs sadly. “The Guardians won’t risk a full scale war with Krypton.”
“If they come we will destroy them,” General Lane says assuredly.
Hal shakes his head. “General you have no idea what you are up against but I do. I’ve fought them. Trust me you can’t stop them.”
Diana is puzzled. “Hal. We need to know about them if they are coming here. What can they do?”
“Anything they want Diana. Kryptonians are all but invulnerable not to mention their technology is several millennia ahead of Earth’s. If they come in force, which they will, our only option will be surrender.”
“Out of the question,” Lex says over the video link at the suggestion of surrender. The League had contacted him to inform him of their findings.
“Mr President,” Hal begins, “ with all due respect I don’t think you truly grasp the situation. Kryptonians possess technology far in advance of your own not to mention that they themselves are immensely powerful beings. Resistance is pointless and will cause unnecessary deaths.”
“You met them and survived,” Lex reminds Hal of what he had said.
“Only because the leader I met was generous and spared my life Mr President.”
“Everyone has a weakness, even these Kryptonians.”
“If you fight them you won’t live long enough to find out if they do. Trust me I’ve seen it on half a dozen different worlds. The probe that crashed was no doubt one of several that scanned the planet, analysed its technology and determined the location of all military facilities. Their fleet will exit hyperspace and then disable all military facilities in the first wave of the offensive. I must say again Mr President that you must surrender and advise all other governments to do the same.”
Lex sighs sounding almost bored. “I will consider your advice.” He then terminates the link.
“He isn’t going to do a damn thing,” Diana comments angrily.
“That much is obvious,” Bruce states. He turns to Hal. “How much time do we have?”
Hal shakes his head. “I don’t know. Considering this probe crashed 5 days ago they could be here anytime.”
“So what do we do?” Diana asks.
“We must evacuate the Watchtower,” J’onn advises. “As soon as they detect it they will figure out it contains technology of other worldly origin.” J’onn had used Martian technology in some of the design.
“You can’t fight them directly,” Hal reiterates.
Bruce is thinking things through. “So you have said. Luthor will waste men and material to massage his ego but we have to be smarter.”
“In what way?” Diana asks him.
“We need to go underground. Lex is right in one thing. Everyone has a weakness. We just have to stay alive long enough to find it.”
A few hours later Diana is overseeing the evacuation of the Watchtower knowing that these Kryptonians could be here any second. She had found a few moments to contact her mother and warn her. If these Kryptonians were as powerful as Hal kept saying they were then even Themyscira might not be safe. She thinks the Senate would see sense in a surrender. The Bana, on the other hand, would certainly not. The other tribe of Amazons had always been much more severe in their view on men and more militaristic in their society. They would gladly die fighting rather than live under any kind of servitude.
Wally West, known to the outside world as the Flash zips up next to Diana. “This is the last lot,” he informs her. He had perform one last check of the satellite using his superhuman speed.
“Good.”
“I can’t believe it has come to this,” Wally laments sadly at the sight before him of the last few workers teleporting down to the surface.
“From what Hal has said a direct confrontation would be pointless Wally.”
“Yeah I know and I trust GL’s word. Although who would have thought it would end with an alien invasion. I was betting on it ending with us being thrown in one of Luthor’s re-education facilities.”
Diana hates to say this out loud but she agrees with Wally. Deep down she thinks Lex only keeps the League around to deal with the violent and rogue metahumans out there. Once they are gone she is pretty sure Lex would have turned against them. Well that matters little at the moment in the face of what is coming.
The last group teleports away.
“Guess it just us,” Wally remarks.
Then the alarm sounds and Diana and Wally rush over to a monitor.
“What is it?” Wally asks.
“The scanners have detected hyperspace windows,” she answers.
Then though the windows of the Watchtower the fabric of space distorts before several large vessels, bigger than the Watchtower, appear in orbit accompanied by smaller vessels. All seem to be composed of the same crystal material as the probe. Diana opens up a com frequency.
“Batman here!” is the reply.
“Bruce,” Diana begins to say. “They’re here.”
