Revealed to the World
Written by JustBFree
Chapter 9
Clark and Metropolis watched as Diana lifted into the air, higher and faster, until she disappeared into the clouds above the city. He blinked and found himself alone once more in the crowd. Wasn't there someone here just a minute ago...?
He shook his head, feeling dizzy for a moment but just as quickly as it had come over him, the feeling left. Clark stood there on the sidewalk with a slight buzzing in his ears, but his senses were returned to him, and he pulled his shirt closed over his uniform. He hadn't even been able to reveal the colors of Superman before that invisible cage had been put over him, preventing him from helping Diana. What the hell happened? he wondered in frustration.
The monster, the giant made of stone, it had hurt Diana. Clark had seen the blood on her arm, the darkening bruises from when it had slammed and stomped on her.
But Diana, she had...
Clark blinked, listening to the excited words of the gathered crowd.
"My God, what was that thing?"
"Who was the woman?"
"You saw what she could do- another alien?"
Clark didn't bother to mill around and listen- he had to find Diana.
Diana drifted over the railing of Clark's balcony. She was a bit unsteady on her feet, but the pain of her injuries were nothing compared to the glory coursing through her veins. The stone giant, felled by her sheild! She smiled though doing so stung for her split lip.
She opened the balcony doors and moved into the living room, turning on the overhead lights as she crossed, intent for the bathroom. She was sweaty, bloodied, covered in dust and the grime of victory. A bath would be heaven, now. The quiet of the tiny room, the heated water, the scent of the soap she had bought three days past...
"Diana!"
She turned around to see Clark fly in through the balcony after her. Her heart leapt at the sight of him, the grace of his landing, the bare concern on his face. He strode across the floor of the apartment and took her into his arms, crushing her against him. "My God, what was that thing? Are you all right? Please, you should lie down-"
Diana could not help herself. She kissed his neck. "I am fine, I swear it. I will heal soon enough."
He put his hands over her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Are you sure? I saw everything, I saw what it did to you. It...it flung you around and tried to stomp you to death."
Diana put her hands over his. "Yes, it did. But it did not succeed. I am here and I am all right, I promise you this."
Clark shook his head, still not convinced. "You still need to sit down," he said, guiding her down to the sofa. "And your face is pretty bruised, let me get you some ice and I'll look at that cut on your arm."
Diana sat down and watched his quick movements about the kitchen. His expression revealed all to her. He had watched her fight and he had been afraid for her, fearing for her life, and now he only wanted to take care of her, to tend her injuries as best he could. Diana wondered at that. She had seen so many sides of this man in their time together, but this was new to her eyes; this tenderness, this gentle protectiveness over injuries dealt in a battle that had been no more than a test of her gifts against greater evils to come.
She felt her heart grow warmer for him, and she thought that her love for Clark might even grow to rival her Lady Aphrodite's love for Ares.
Clark came and knelt before her, a bowl of warm water, a washcloth and a bag of ice were in his hands; he set everything out on the coffee table and got to work, ignoring how heavy his heart felt that, while Diana was so injured, he had somehow been rendered helpless. He wetted the cloth and took her arm into his hands. The gash was deep and though the blood had clotted, Diana was still filthy from the fight, her wound needed to be cleaned.
"God, Diana, what that thing did to you..." Clark muttered to himself, his stomach twisting as he recalled the scene in his mind's eye. To have watched as Diana was beaten and there was that horrible moment when he thought she'd been crushed.
"Clark, did you see the battle?"
He looked up at her. "Yes. It was awful. I couldn't help you."
"What do you mean?"
Clark fumbled for words to describe what had happened to him, but his mind was a confused blanket of empty space. He found that he could barely recall why he had been stranded in the crowd, a helpless spectator in Diana's trial. "I mean...I don't..."
Diana leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. "Clark, there was no need to fear for my life. I am gifted by the gods of Olympus. You saw me. Who else saw me?"
"Yes, I did see you, and thanks to the iPhone and YouTube I'm sure the whole world knows about you by now." Clark sighed as he dabbed the cloth to her arm. He hadn't been thinking of her exposure, but now the secret was out.
"Not the whole world, just the crowd on the street." Diana said.
"You don't understand, do you? That…that thing you were fighting, the strength that made you able to fight it, the flying- trust me, the secret's out." Despite everything, Clark found himself suddenly smiling. They had taken such care to keep Diana hidden, but a stone giant had ruined all their plans- it was the height of absurdity, and yet somehow it was almost business as usual in the life of Superman.
"I wasn't concerned for secrecy, the living statue baited me into revealing myself. It would have hurt the innocent had I not engaged." Diana explained. She didn't want him cross with her; she only wanted his loving attentions.
Clark bent and kissed her hand. "There was no choice. You couldn't have ignored it any more than I could have if it had been me."
"The Elemental's appearance was a signal that I am to come forth and embrace my role. The gods do love their games." She mused, almost to herself.
He looked up at her words, his brows drawn together. "Wait- you can't mean that was all a test?"
"It may well have been. Why else would the giant come just as I was leaving the library?"
"Then…that was why I couldn't help you."
"You were there?"
"I…yes, I remember that you said you were going to the library. I wanted to surprise you because I got out of work a little early, but you surprised me- you fought that thing like a wildcat! And then that eagle came out of nowhere and what are you wearing?" Clark demanded, seeming to realize what she was wearing just then. The cloud of confusion that had hung over him since being rendered helpless during Diana's battle was lifted from his mind. Too many strange things had happened in one night and he had a right to answers. "Where did it come from? I didn't buy that for you."
"No, mortal, that you did not."
Hermes was in the room with them then, his golden form emerging from the nothingness that had been present only a moment before.
Clark turned around and demanded, "Hey, who the hell are-?"
"I would have your man stay his tongue, Diana, before he loses it." Hermes addressed her directly.
Clark's body was once again held immobile with bonds invisible to the eye but more powerful than anything he'd ever felt in his life. He recognized the man in his living room as the same man who had addressed him in the crowd. He didn't trust him, whoever he was, and his anger only grew as he was restrained while Diana remained vulnerable. He would fight to protect her if he was able, if he was free of the powers that held him, but he'd just as soon wipe the arrogant smirk off of the man's face.
Diana knelt on the floor before the Messenger, her heart suddenly hammering with fear, with awe, with pure joy to be in the god's presence. "My lord Hermes, you honor me."
Hermes shook his head, ignoring Clark as he struggled in the invisible chains of Olympus. "Rise, Diana. No Champion should kneel, not even before one who had a hand in her making. Let me look at you."
Shaking, Diana stood before the god while Clark watched. She glanced at the man only for a moment to reassure him that the figure who had invaded his home was no threat to either of them. Off her look, Clark stopped fighting his bounds, but his anger was growing with every second. They were speaking Diana's language, he couldn't understand anything they were saying; all he knew was what he saw with his eyes, a stranger had come into his home and was now manhandling Diana!
Hermes took Diana's face into both of his hands, the way a lover might just before a kiss, his gaze of eternity holding her captive to his every whim. Diana had often thought of Hermes, the only male on Olympus who had imbued her with his gifts. The statues throughout Themyscira that depicted the god seemed so severe and cold now, when compared with the god's true warmth and power. Hermes had taken on the form of the most beautiful of men, standing tall and proud. "Ah, my love, I am sorry." Hermes told her, his words soft in her ears. "I would not have had Ares and Athena's boasting cause you this pain, but such is the nature of siblings of War. Come, my beauty, and I shall heal your wounds."
It was a light touch of his power, but Hermes removed Diana's damaged armor, vanishing her torn leathers and tarnished gold, leaving her standing naked before him save for her silver bracelets which rarely, if ever, left Diana's arms. Hermes reached forward and put his hand over her chest, healing her with a golden light that spread over her body, coursing through her veins, the glow so bright that it lit the room.
Clark watched in fury but again was helpless to speak or move to intervene.
The light diminished from Hermes's touch, but his hand remained on her naked skin, warming her. "My Lord…why have you never come to me before?"
"Why indeed? I was always close, though never seen. You are not protected here, as you have been on Themyscira. The Elemental has shown you this truth."
Diana nodded. "And am I destined to always be besieged by Ares and Athena's games? I would not have shown myself to the people of this world in such a way."
Hermes smiled indulgently. "If only I could promise your life will be simple, a clear path to eternal peace, happiness and prosperity. No, you are destined for great things, Diana, but nothing comes without its cost. You will bring great glory and great pain to your people, you will tear this world's beliefs apart with the simple fact of your revealed existence, just as your man warned you…but the good works you will do, and those you inspire will be your legacy, Diana. I've seen it."
Her heart jumped in her chest, the overwhelming prospect of it all. "My Lord Hermes…it's already so big and I've only just begun..."
"I know, to be chosen is both a remarkable blessing and a burden too heavy for one to carry alone. This is why we brought you one who has known the weight of the world." Hermes acknowledged Clark with half a glance. "In befriending this man you have taken the first step on the bridge between your people and his world. In knowing you, he has gained the companion his heart has always longed for."
She searched the god's eyes. "You brought Clark to us?"
"No, Diana. To you. He had fallen from the sky, weak and injured, to the sea. Under my direction, Poseidon guided the currents so that he was carried to your shore."
"And what of my people?"
Hermes shook his head before fading from her eyes. "It is all in your capable hands, Diana."
It was Clark and Diana alone in his apartment again.
The bonds over Clark had vanished along with the golden god. He stood up and looked at her. When he spoke, it was all he could do to keep the lust from his voice. "Diana…"
The woman looked down at herself and realized that she was still naked from Hermes's ministrations. She shook her head. "Turn your head, please."
"I…I...right." Clark did as she asked, but it took every ounce of willpower he possessed to tear his eyes from her.
Diana ran into his bedroom, to the section of the closet that Clark had given for her clothes. She grabbed her robe and returned to the living room. "All right, you may look now."
Clark looked at her and felt his frustrations return full force. He had had enough of it- of being held against his will, helpless to watch as Diana was left to fight a monster and then to watch as some stranger touched her, and Diana's calm acceptance of it all. "What the hell just happened? Who was that man and what were you talking about?"
Diana reached for him, bringing him in close. "That was no mere man, Clark. That was Hermes, a great god of Olympus. He came to heal my wounds and reaffirm my beliefs."
"You call that healing? He seemed a little grabby if you ask me." Clark growled. He wasn't usually the jealous type, bu what man could stand by and watch happily as another man touched his woman?
"Lord Hermes had a hand in my making, he is free to do with me as he wishes." Diana said.
"Like hell he is!" Clark snapped. "If he touches you again I'll punch him back to Olympus."
"You could not-"
"The hell I can't! Call me old-fashioned, but I don't like other men coming into my house and touching my girlfriend after undressing her right in front of me!"
"Girlfriend?" She asked, her voice amused.
"Well, aren't you?" He demaned.
"I don't understand the concept." Diana said coyly, teasing him now.
"Oh, I think you do. We care about each other, we kiss, we share secrets and you're living with me. I've shared more with you than with any other woman. You're mine- trust me on this." Clark said. He took her into his arms then, and gave her a deep, charged kiss.
Diana laughed and kissed his neck again. "Hermes is no threat to your place in my heart, Clark. Do you know what he told me?"
"What?"
"He guided you to Themyscira so that you and I may help each other. You are the guide I will need in this world, and I am to be the companion you have always wanted." Diana touched his face. "Lead me, Clark."
He kissed her again and brought her down to the sofa with him. This, this is what he wanted. Diana safe with him, in his arms, her hands on his chest, his hands on her waist...
Diana pushed him until Clark was on his back and she moved to lie atop him. Their kissing was growing stronger, fiercer as desire began to grow, unexplored and curious.
"…just amazing, she was so beautiful but so strong, she could fly and she totally destroyed…"
Clark and Diana pulled apart. He frowned. "I'm on the remote, I must've turned on the TV, let me-"
Diana stayed his hand, "Clark, please wait. Look."
The television showed footage of her battle with the Elmental, the damage done to the library courtyard, blurry images of Diana, and the reactions from the crowd.
"…like, this statue came alive and out of nowhere this woman in armor just wrecked it!"
"…reports of a woman displaying the same powers as Metropolis's own Superman has many of us wondering, who is she? Where did she come from? And is she in any way related to Superman's prolonged absence?"
Clark glanced away from the TV to Diana. He touched her face. "I knew I forgot something."
"How many people have a viewing glass?"
"Let's play it safe and say everyone on Earth. The cat's out of the bag, Diana."
"I would say so." She sighed.
"Did Hermes have any advice on how to deal with the press?"