Part 9
Clark started awake at the sound of Topper. The rooster performed that morning ritual with annoying clarity. He opened his eyes, irritated, sure that the bird's shrill voice could be heard from miles away. He looked across the room, where Diana was staring at her reflection in the full-length mirror affixed to his closet door.
She had lifted his pyjama shirt and was looking over a strange shadow that had formed on the side of her waist. Clark assumed it was a fading bruise.
He moved, curious. Diana caught his movement in the glass and immediately dropped the shirt to cover herself. "Oh, you're awake." She smiled, a little too cheerful.
Clark stood up, approached her tentatively. "Diana, are you all right? Do you remember me?"
"Of course I remember you. Clark Kent, Kal-El, Superman. Why do you ask?"
Clark shifted his weight, unsure how to answer. "Well, it was just that yesterday...you weren't really yourself."
Diana cleared her throat. "I am sorry that you saw me in that way. Calling on Gaia takes so much focus that we are robbed of our minds for a time. It had to be done, there was no other way I could heal."
"Then you remember everything else?"
She shook her head. "Not everything. How did I came to be free of Tartarus?"
Clark cleared his throat. He didn't want to upset her, but honesty had always been the basis of their relationship to each other. "Aphrodite came back and I guess Ares accepted her. She brought you back but said that you couldn't stay on Themyscira. Hippolyta asked me to take care of you."
Diana was quiet for a moment, accepting the truth. "Ah. I understand."
"Are you...all right? Can I get you anything?"
The woman sighed and sank down to the bed once more. The happy front she'd been putting on was too impossible to maintain. She couldn't lie to Clark any more. "I...there's something you need to know."
Clark moved to kneel before her. "What is it?"
"My gifts have been taken. Olympus must weigh my worth. As I wait, I will be mortal."
There were times when Diana spoke of her gods that her words could be a little ambiguous to him. He wondered if she had spoken this way to her sisters throughout her life on Themyscira. Clark had always been more direct. "You mean, you're a human now?"
Diana shook her head. "No. I am not a human, but I am without my abilities."
"Why?"
"Ares...he bound my bracelets to rob me of my strength so that I could not fight him when..." Diana paused, looking down at her bare arms. Her bracelets were gone, perhaps forever. A deep spear of shame stabbed through her chest. For a moment she had forgotten herself, but Diana recovered a moment later. She couldn't speak of that with Clark. Never.
She cleared her throat and began to explain, "Ares and Aphrodite. I believe that they have stolen my gifts to humble me. I realized it last night once Gaia had healed me. I will be as a mortal until my goddesses return my power."
Clark took her hands in his. "I'm sorry. I don't know what to say."
Diana had been brought into being by the blessings of her goddesses, and raised from birth with the knowledge that she was created as a guardian to her race. Of course, it was not her powers that made her a hero in Clark's eyes, but he knew the shock of human vulnerability. He'd been weakened with Kryptonite and red solar engery before, each encounter driving home just how fragile and limited the human condition was in comparison to his noraml strength.
"Please. I knew the risks when Hermes declared my duty to Zeus. All I can do is wait and pray. It will be...enlightening. I am still Diana, only not so wonderful anymore."
Diana tried for a smile, but it did not reach her eyes.
"So, she's been made mortal now, or, as close to mortal as she's ever been." Clark summed up to his parents.
John and Martha sat at the kitchen table, the pleasant scent of coffee swirling in the air. Diana took a sip from her cup, mulling over the bold, sweet flavor. She was not so upset; in a way, Diana looked forward to the opportunity to experience the world as a human woman. As she had accepted that her gifts were taken, be it forever more or for a short time, Diana realized that she had too many blessings to count. She was alive. The Amazons were still alive. The world still existed, waiting for her exploration.
Her strength was returning, such as it was. Even when robbed of her Olympic blessings, Diana was a woman in peak condition, perhaps stronger than some men and undoubtedly better trained in combat. She was still every bit an Amazon: her heritage could never be stripped away.
John shrugged and turned to Diana. "We're just happy that you're all right. You gave us a good scare yesterday."
"I am sorry for that, John Kent. It was instinct that drove me to leave your home, I could not call on Gaia unless connected to the earth." Diana assured him. She still felt guilty for having worried these kind people. All in all, she was shaping up to be a horrible guest.
"Oh, that's all right, honey. I'm sure you didn't mean it. And don't you worry about another thing. You'll stay here for as long as it takes for your gods to make up their minds." Martha cut in.
Now that Diana was awake, greatly healed and more lucid than she had been the night before, Martha was happy to have the woman in her home. It wasn't often that she was able to connect with a young woman, particularly one that was so obviously close to her son.
Diana glanced at Clark. "I...I appreciate your kindness, more than you could know. But I cannot impose upon you any more than I already have-"
"I insist."
"Yes, ma'am."
Clark smiled to himself at their exchange.
"Now, I'm a bit shorter than you dear, so I don't think I have anything that will fit. Can't have you wear Clark's old clothes the whole time you're here, now can we? We still have some of his clothes left behind from when he was in college. Graduated with the top of his class from Kansas State." Martha mentioned with a touch of pride. "The truck is already in town from yesterday, so either Clark or John can drop us off to shop."
Diana nodded respectfully to the older woman. "Thank you, Mrs. Kent. You are very kind."
Martha waved off the compliment. "Oh, it's no trouble. As many times as you've saved the world I don't think I have a right to deny you something to wear. You'll be needing a few pairs of jeans, blouses, maybe a dress. You've got the figure for it- oh, listen to me, trying to dress you up like a doll! Sorry about that. Oh! I almost forgot to tell you, don't worry about your costume- I'll have it stitched up in no time."
Diana didn't like the thought of this woman sewing her costume, especially as she may not have another occasion to wear it. "Please, I cannot intrude upon your hospitality any longer. I should-"
"Nonsense. You'll be back to flying around in no time, and what's a hero without their costume?"
"We are still ourselves. I don't have a secret identity in the way that Clark does. I am still Diana."
"Well, of course you are. You just won't be Wonder Woman for a while, that's all. If your gods have any sense at all then they'll give you back your powers. I'm sure they would, given what you've been through."
Diana tensed. "I don't know what you mean."
Marha turned to her, dead serious. "I think you do. Clark has told us about you, you know. I know you're not human, not really, anyway. I know you've been born and bred as a warrior and that you're a princess." To Martha, Diana was intensely interesting. So strange, so exotic.
She was happy to have another woman to spend time with, but some things had to be said between them. "You might see me and just see a simple farmer's wife, but I've seen things in my years and I know that look in your eyes. You might be a goddess made flesh, but I know the look of a proud woman who's had a choice taken from her and been hurt that way by a man. It's nothing to be ashamed of. It wasn't your fault." Martha studied Diana's face for a moment. "You're a lot like Clark, you know. You've had the world on your shoulders for so long that you don't know how to let anyone else take care of you."
Martha patted Diana's shoulder and moved past her to leave the room so that she could change her clothes.
"Mrs. Kent? If I am not granted back my powers, I will not see my mother again. But I want to thank you for being..."
Martha came back to her and asked, "You Amazons believe that all women are sisters, don't you?"
"Yes."
Martha hugged Diana tight. "Then I would like you think your mother would do the same if it was my daughter. Meet me downstairs."
After she’d spoken with Martha, Diana felt her spirit lifted somewhat, though she couldn’t explain exactly why. All the same, Diana felt warmed by comfort. The Kents were wonderful people, she could understand now why Clark was the way he was. So calm and full of good will.
Martha had found some things for her to wear, a combination of Clark's leftover wardrobe from high school and a few things of her own. Shrugging, Diana pulled on one of Clark's sweaters, a red, scratchy thing, and made her way down to the kitchen where Martha was waiting for her.
Clark came into the room and swiped the keys off the counter. The plan was for him to drop them off to shop, and they would take the truck back to the farm once they were done. "All right, ladies, are you ready?"
Diana nodded. "I believe so, if this is...appropriate."
Clark looked over at what Diana was wearing. He didn't know much about fashion, only the things he'd picked up while covering Lana's designer shows. The man considered himself as someone with simple tastes: he didn't give trends a thought, he just knew what he liked. And what Diana was wearing was far from it.
One of his old sweaters, the material too thick and bulky to be worn by a woman like her. No, no. She belonged in silken lace or cashmere. Her endless legs were hidden under one of his mother's long black skirts, typically reserved for church services. Inwardly, Clark cringed. Since Diana was so tall, the skirt hem ended at the middle of her calf. On her feet were rubber rain boots.
Diana stifled a smile that she felt begin to creep into her expression. She knew she looked ridiculous, but agan, fashion didn't upset her in the grand scheme of things. Despite all she'd been through in the past week, she still found the silver lining and clung to it like a lifeline. Clark caught her smile and thought to take things into his own hands.
"Yeah...Ma, let me give you my card and I'll treat you ladies to a day out. I think you both deserve it."
Neither woman argued with his offer of generosity.
