Part 2
Clark sat with Diana on the edge of his sofa. The man was still reeling from the shock of her confession: that she had been ordered to take the place of Aphrodite, the consort of Ares.
He stood from the sofa and began to pace on legs that felt weak, almost too weak to support his weight. His pulse had sped up considerably; he felt a cold hand squeezing his heart. There had to be a mistake, a way for Diana to escape this…this…
“You can’t go, Diana. We can send you away, hide you on New Genesis or maybe we can convince your gods of some other way-"
“There is no other way, Clark. I cannot hide from Olympus- such an affront would see me unmade, returned to clay. I didn’t come here for your help out of this, I came to say goodbye.”
The man shook his head, a great pain spreading through his chest. He moved before her, his voice earnest. “You can’t mean that. This is insane, I won’t let you go!”
Clark’s words were smothered under Diana’s lips. She kissed him with a shocking fierceness. Her kiss was deep, sensual, and wrong. Clark pulled away from her, confused, fixing his hands on her shoulders as she stood before him.
Of all they were to each other, Diana had never…
“Why did you do that?”
“I came for something else.”
“What?”
Her face held no shame, only a resolve for her duty to her gods and a new vulnerability he’d rarely seen. “I am a virgin. I need you to end that for me.”
Clark felt the earth tilt beneath his feet. “Why?”
Diana took a breath. “I will not let the God of War be the first to enjoy conquering my body. I’ll give myself to you freely, I want you to take me so that he cannot.”
Clark remained standing by some miracle. Diana was here with him, pleading that he take her virginity so that Ares couldn’t- maybe the fight with Darkseid had knocked something loose in his brain, he had to be imagining it!
How can she ask me to do this?
“Diana, I-"
She didn’t let him finish. The Amazon pressed forward, molding her body against his and kissed him again. He wanted to stop it, truly he did- he and Diana had only ever been friends and if things were meant to take a turn toward something deeper he knew that it shouldn’t happen like this. Not with Diana afraid of what an evil god would take from her body, not when he was only a means to an end for her.
Her hand cupped his face; her fingers were trembling. Yes, she was afraid but she needed him. As a friend and for the first time, as a lover.
That was the point.
Clark responded to her kiss, unable to protest or push her away. He had admitted to himself upon meeting her, years ago now, that she was the most magnificent woman he’d ever seen, but to have her there in his arms, coaxing him to the bedroom…
Diana slipped her hands into his hair, keeping him as close as she could lest he try to stop her again. She had come this far, and though her heart swelled with a deep, longing pain, she knew that she had to be with Clark. He was the only one she could trust with something so precious.
Somehow, they reached his bedroom and Clark had divested her of her clothes just as she had removed the last of his suit. All at once, they were alone, together, naked and free.
It was hours later that Clark held Diana against his chest, absorbing her pain and her fear.
Warrior or not, he could sense she was afraid, her terror aimed at the duty handed to her from Olympus. How the gods could ask such a thing of their champion was far beyond him- forcing her to debase herself to the God of War…
“Are you all right?”
It was a pointless question; he knew the terror that had to be running through her mind.
Diana shifted slightly against him. “Yes. I’d been wondering about this since coming into Man’s World, but I never thought I would experience it.”
Clark nodded. He wanted to smile at what had passed between them, it had been very good, and new and tender, but the harsh reality of what was to follow kept his expression serious. “That goes for me too, in a way. I’ve never been able to let go completely, too afraid I’d hurt a woman. You’re more than just a woman though, Diana. You’re as strong as I am, and I’ve always appreciated that in you: your strength and commitment.”
She looked up then, and smiled sadly. “Thank you. And thank you for tonight. I know it wasn’t what you wanted, but thank you for this. Clark, I must go soon.”
Diana tried to leave the bed, but Clark held on to her. He wasn’t fooled for a moment; if Diana truly wanted to leave then there would have been precious little that he could have done to stop her. When he spoke his voice was quiet, low. “Diana, it’s all right to be afraid.”
Her eyes flashed. “I’m not afraid. It is my duty.”
“Don’t lie to me, Diana. Your gods…I don’t have a word to describe them. What they’re asking you to do is unthinkable.”
He felt tears on his chest, and her body began to shudder against his. His hands moved to stroke her back, her hair. Her pain was his now. “I must do this, I have no choice. The last time that Aphrodite left Ares, he waged war on the Amazons. I cannot let that happen again. There are so few of us left- one must fall to save many. Our legends are tales of deep sacrifice, it’s all I know. It’s the only way.”
She began to move away from him again. “Thank you for this, Clark.”
He hesitated before asking, but truly he had to know. “Diana, why did you choose me?”
The woman took a deep breath. This was not a conversation she’d ever imagined she would have with a man, let alone a Superman. “I wanted someone gentle, so that when Ares takes me I will have a happy memory of a man.” Diana blinked at her own words. “I didn’t use you with the intent to hurt you, Clark. I just…needed you for tonight.”
He put his arms around her, suddenly so scared for her. “When will you go?”
“I should go now. The gates of Tartarus will open soon and Ares will take me to his realm. I will at least be able to see my mother and sister Amazons again before it happens.”
“I want to go with you.” Clark said.
She shook her head. “You don’t have to do that.”
“Diana, please let me. This isn’t something you should have to do alone. I’ll go with you.”
Whether from fear or acceptance, Diana relented. “Thank you, Clark. When it happens, I will need your courage.”
