Last Kiss Goodbye Chapter III
"Oracle, where is he?"
"Instruments show a humanoid object heading back here at an incredible speed. I assume that's him."
"Where's he going to land, Oracle, and when?"
"Believe it or not, about a mile offshore from Atlantic City. Right off the boardwalk. Estimated impact in four minutes, thirty seconds. You better find a way to slow him down, folks. When he hits, he's going to hit hard."
Wonder Woman swallows her fears and begins giving orders. It's what she does.
"Let's go everyone. You heard Oracle, we haven't got much time. She will give us the exact coordinates as we move. Bruce, if you've got something in that belt to help, now's the time."
Batman pulled a transmitter from his belt. "No, nothing like that, but I'll need a ride. The Batplane will be here soon. You need to go. I'll catch up."
Diana turned to go, but Bruce grabbed her arm. "He's invulnerable, Diana. He'll be fine."
She nodded once before she turned to go, but it lacked any confidence.
Flying as fast as she could, she tried to put everything out of her mind except for the task at hand. Unfortunately, her mind worked so fast on a plan of action, she found that she had time to think about other things.
One minute, thirty five seconds later. The Boardwalk. Atlantic City. Wonder Woman relays the plan.
"Kyle, listen up. I need you to project something that might slow him down a little. Whatever you put up will most like shatter as he goes through. When that happens, I need you to immediately put up a stiffer shield behind him in case some of the rocks from the explosion follow him down. Got it?"
"Got it."
"Aquaman-- Where did he go?"
The Martian Manhunter filled her in. "He's in the water already, telling the sea life to clear the area of impact."
"Good. Flash, what can you do?"
"I can create a cushion of air just above the ocean. It will help slow him down further."
No wisecracks from Wally. He must be worried. Not surprising since he looked up to Clark so much. Looked up to him as someone he aspired to be like. They all did, to some extent.
"J'onn, you're with me. When he lands, we need to pull him out of the water immediately. Arthur can help too."
She spotted the Batplane in the distance. "Bruce, tell us when you get a visual--"
"Diana, I know what to do. I'll mark the spot on the surface when he hits."
There was another minute before they could expect a visual. At the speed he was traveling, they should hear a sonic boom too. She desperately wanted to go up there and grab him to slow him down, but that would be pointless. According to Oracle, he was going too fast. Her time was best spent waiting to retrieve him.
She saw Superman at the same time Batman alerted them. The boom followed close behind. As he came into focus, she could see he was unconscious and in bad shape. He was moving so fast that she couldn't focus very well, but his uniform was in tatters and his cape was gone. That was all she could make out before his inert form hit shoulders first against some kind of greenish pillow in the sky. She was worried enough that she didn't make note of the childish apparition. It wasn't an apparition long before Clark's body crashed through it, barely slowing down, but slowing a little.
The pillow became a forcefield immediately, while Kyle concentrated on the few rocks that did follow in Superman's trajectory. The shield was strong enough for them, even if just barely. They hit the shield and exploded into dust. It was fortunate that there were only a few.
Diana and J'onn flew towards the projected landing zone. They watched as Flash ran atop the water in a circle, faster and faster. The cushion of air was going to be buttressed by a tower of water, it seemed. That should slow him down even more, with the added benefit of softening his landing. As fast as he was falling, hitting the surface of the ocean would have been like hitting a steel wall.
He fell through the tower of water and the cushion of air that the Flash was generating. Then he hit. Diana winced as he did. The resultant splash was so large that it knocked her and J'onn back a hundred yards. The Flash, being closer, was flung almost a mile out to sea. He recovered quickly and was on land again in seconds. Batman barely avoided the water as he veered off to land.
Diana and J'onn recovered quickly and dove into the water not far from where Clark hit the water. They hoped in vain that they could catch him during his descent, but the splash had ruined their timing.
She was close enough to see that he had hit so hard that he went straight to the bottom and into the sea floor itself. He had landed head first and only his legs were sticking up out of the sandy floor.
Arthur was underwater and already heading toward the body—towards Clark, she corrected herself.
By this time she was frantic and she was there ahead of both J'onn and Arthur. When they got there, she had already dislodged Superman and was bringing him up to the surface.
After what felt like hours to Diana, she had him on the shore and was checking for signs of life. No pulse. He wasn't breathing. Her heart sank, but she refused to give up. After she had fought the dragon Karfang, she too had been flung lifeless into an ocean. He hadn't given up on her until he revived her. She would not give up on him. She cleared the water from her eyes as the rest of the league gathered around the still form of their comrade.
She had him on his back with his head turned to the side as she pressed on his chest as hard as she could. Still, nothing. Again and again. Nothing. She steeled herself against panic, but she began to beat against his chest harder. The rest of the team could only watch in sadness as a wracked and crying Wonder Woman tried to bring back the dead.
