Chapter 2: Friends Reunited
Diana, formerly Princess, now Queen of the Amazons was flying towards Gotham. It had been so long since she was in man’s world. It had changed a lot, especially Gotham. Gotham used to be full of old buildings now it was dominated by modern ones. She noticed cars could now fly. Technology had obviously advanced quite a bit while she had been on Themyscira. She had returned because she needed help. Ares had somehow managed to break out the most dangerous and powerful warriors in Hades. They now laid siege to her home. Many of her sisters had fallen in battle. In desperation she had turned to the Oracle for guidance.
Diana walked into the Oracle’s temple. “Oh great and wise Oracle, I beseech your guidance and wisdom.”
“Come forward Diana.” the Oracle signalled to her.
Diana walked forward to the crystal the Oracle saw the future through. The Oracle looked into it. “You seek guidance on your war with Ares.”
“Yes.”
“You will lose.”
Diana was shocked “What? It can’t be. There must be a way.”
“Not within the Laws set down by the Gods.”
“Ares doesn’t seem to care for those. Why hasn’t he been stopped by the others?”
“A God’s path is his own.” The Oracle replies.
That is not helpful. “But Hera said we would be protected.” Diana feels the needs to say.
“Hera and Zeus travel along different roads. Sometimes they head in the same direction, sometimes in the opposite.”
“In other words they’re arguing again.” Hera give her strength. “They’re arguing so no-one is enforcing the rules.”
“You possess much wisdom.” the Oracle says while she continues to look in her crystal.
“Not enough to see a solution.” Oh Athena I really could use your help Diana silently prays. Wait if no-one is enforcing the rules why should she follow them. She said there was no way within the Law which means “What way exists outside the Law?”
The Oracle finally turned and looked at Diana. “Come, look into the crystal.” Diana did so. The Oracle speaks “At the side of the grave of a former love you will find the means to defeat Ares.”
Diana looked in the crystal. It was a graveyard. The image focused in on one particular grave. Diana read the name. Wayne. Bruce? Diana now understood how this would break the Law. Nothing from man’s world was permitted on Themyscira but Ares had to be stopped. She would accept the punishment whatever it was.
Diana left the temple and met with her generals. Unsurprisingly they were unhappy about her leaving but she had to leave. They were losing and even she lacked the power to fight a god such as Ares, she had to go.
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Diana flew to the graveyard or at least where she believed it was. It had been a long time. She was flying towards Bruce’s grave. Of course he would be dead by now, they probably all were. Oh Hera sometimes she hated her immortality. She had loved Bruce but when her mother had died the title of Queen fell to her. Bruce didn’t ask her not to go. Part of her had been desperate for him to ask. Bruce always took his mission too seriously and he seems to think everyone else should take theirs just as seriously.
The only other one she knew for certain was dead was J’onn. She missed him a lot. He was one of her best friends. She was devastated when he died. It was a great sacrifice and she’s sure J’onn is now reunited with his family. She missed them all really. Wally could always make her laugh even if she didn’t always show it. She had seen John and Shayera reunite. When she left she was sad she wouldn’t see their wedding or their children but she knew that they were always destined to be together even if John was a bit slow in realising that himself.
Clark. She smiled when she thought of him. He was always a good friend. He was someone you could always talk to and not nearly as naïve as people thought he was. She had even become friends with Lois before she left. She could never quite work out what Clark saw in her. He was always so calm and she was so fiery. When he told Lois who he was, she wouldn’t talk to him for days. Gods, he was so depressed. He would mope around the Watchtower. If only people could have seen him. The world’s most powerful man laid low by his love for a woman. They’re has to some irony in that. Anyway it all worked out in the end, she even attended the wedding.
Diana finally sees the graveyard and flies down. She walks through it and soon comes to the Wayne plot. Standing next to a freshly dug grave is tall, large man dressed in black. Is this who the Oracle sent her to find? She walks up behind him “Excuse me.” He turns around. On his chest is that S she knows so well “Superman?”
Kal just stares at her. She looks exactly as he remembers, well almost. She looks tired and is that a scar on her left arm? He can’t remember exactly what was capable of hurting her. “Diana. Is that really you?”
Diana looks at him. He is so unchanged. She notices a couple of grey hairs but otherwise you couldn’t see any difference in him. She had no idea he would age this slowly. She hugs him. “Clark!”
He hugs her back. “It’s Kal now.”
Diana breaks the hug. “Sorry. What?”
“I go by my Kryptonian name of Kal now.”
“Oh. Well Kal it’s great to see you again.”
“You too. Why are you here?” He then curses his stupidity. They’re at Bruce’s grave Kal.
“Well that’s a long story but...” Diana remembers she’s at Bruce’s grave. “Can I have a few minutes?”
“Sure.” Kal walks away a distance.
Diana kneels down to the grave. “Hello Bruce. It seems I’m too late. We just never got a break did we. I just want you to know I never forgot about you. You were a great warrior and friend and I will mourn your passing” She stands up and wipes the tears from her eyes. Once she regains her composure she walks over to where Clark, no Kal, is waiting.
Kal watches her. Even though it’s a sad day with Bruce’s passing he’s happy. He has one friend left, one he knows he can’t outlive. She is still so beautiful. He had always seen that. Anyway looks had never been that important to him as he often used to tease Lois about. He smiled slightly. He tried to focus on his good memories with Lois. Diana talked to Bruce, he didn’t eavesdrop. That’s private. She stands up wiping tears away. Yeah he’s done that a few times over the years. She walks over “You alright?” he asks.
“I’m fine. It’s just apart from J’onn and my mother I’ve never lost anyone that close.”
“I understand. You said you had a story to tell.”
“Yes it’s a long one.” she says with some weariness
She really looks tired. “Come on I have a place you can rest and then tell me.” With that Kal flies up and Diana follows.
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When they hit the Arctic it becomes clear to Diana where they’re heading. His Fortress of Solitude. Once inside she looks around and shakes her head. He has collected even more stuff. In fact it looks like he is living here.
“Are you hungry?” Kal asks breaking her out of her trance.
“Starving.”
He smiles. “Right make yourself comfy and I’ll get you something.” With that he is off.
Diana looks at the empty space for a second. Still faster than a speeding bullet. She goes back to looking around. He is definitely living here. She sees a number of souvenirs from his battles. Some she is familiar with, a lot she isn’t. It has been a long time. They are numerous photos around. She has a look. There are a lot of Lois. She couldn’t help but notice how she got older in them, in fact so did Kal. He had obviously been adding grey to his hair to make it look like he was ageing. They were others of their fiends. Wally and his twins. They had been born just before she left. He was over the moon when they had been born. Hey John and Shayera’s wedding. She picked that one up. It looked like they had had a nice day, that was good. The next one had them holding a baby. Shayera looked so proud in it.
“Rex”
Diana looks round, it’s Kal. “His name is Rex Stewart or Warhawk as he is called in the League.”
“He joined the League. John and Shayera allowed that.”
“Are you kidding of course not but he is Shayera’s son and I mean that in every sense of the term.”
Diana understood that. Unbelievably stubborn. That’s what Shayera was. Diana watches Kal’s face sadden.
“They’re all gone now Diana. It’s just you and I left.”
“And Lois?”
“5 years ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Humans die Diana. They age and wither while the rest of us go on.”
Wow that sounded harsh. She had never heard such coldness in his voice and when did he see himself apart from the human race. The cold look in his eyes lasted for a second and then they seemed to spark back up.
“So is there anything in particular you want to drink?” he asks her.
“No, no, water’s fine.”
“Right, I’ll be back in a minute.” Kal zipped off again. Up here is his Fortress he had long stopped pretending to move at a human pace. He found himself rather pleased to be cooking again for more than just himself. He got a glass of water for Diana and returned. By now she was sitting on the couch. “Here’s you water. Dinner will be a little while yet.”
Diana takes the glass “Thank you.” She takes a drink. “Do you live up here now?”
Kal raises an eyebrow “You noticed that huh.”
“I don’t mean to pry.”
“No you’re not. I live here some of the time. The rest of the time I live in the tower in Metropolis. I haven’t bothered to create a new identity for myself so I can’t exactly live in the world at the moment.”
New identity? “So does that mean Clark is…”
“Dead. Yes. I faked it a few months after Lois died. Officially my body is lost at sea. Well I better check on dinner.” Shaking off his sad memories Kal was back off to his kitchen.
Diana watched him zip off again. Life had seemed to finally worn even him down. She was kind of sad. His eternal optimism in the better aspects of human nature had always been something she admired.
Kal checked on dinner. New technology meant it didn’t take long to cook anymore. He was battling his emotions. He was happy Diana was here but equally she seemed to bring up painful memories he had tried to ignore. He pushed his feelings down as he had for the previous 5 years and put their dinner on plates. He then walked back through and placed dinner on his table. “Diana!”
She heard him shout and she walked to the nearby table. It smelled great, even though she wasn’t sure exactly what it was. “What is it?”
“Oh technically it’s synthetic. Can’t get real meat anymore. It’s meant to be lamb. I hope it’s ok, I’m a little out of practise in cooking for someone else.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Diana took a bite. She didn’t know what he was worried about. It was good. She notices he is waiting for a response “It’s fine Kal.”
He smiles and starts eating. After the meal they are both sitting on the couch. “So Diana what brings you back?”
“It started when Ares broke some of the most dangerous warriors out of the Underworld. Now his army lays siege to my home. Many of my sisters have fallen in battle.” Tears started to flow down Diana’s face as she spoke. Kal got a tissue for her. “Thanks.” She wiped her tears. “Anyway I went to the Oracle for guidance and she told me I would find the means to defeat Ares at the graveside of a former love”
“Bruce?” Kal is slightly perplexed.
Diana nods. “So I flew to Gotham, bumped into you and you know the rest.”
“Do you think the Oracle meant me as the means to defeat Ares?”
“I don’t know Kal. I just know we’re losing.” Tears flow again and Kal wraps his arms around her as she sobs. Diana could no longer hold back the loss she had been feeling for weeks now. She poured out her pain. Kal just held her. Despite her pain it felt comforting. Eventually her tears stop. The tiredness she had also been ignoring takes hold, her eyes close and she falls asleep.
After Diana cried for several minutes Kal noticed she had fallen asleep. He gently picks her up and places her on his bed. He lays her down and gently strokes the hair off her face. She needed rest. He would make do with the couch. He lies down and considered what to do. Diana was his friend and needed help but he was going to a place of magic. He could actually die. He didn’t want to die, yet if he was killed, was he really bothered? He had already seen so many friends die and it seemed probable he would have to watch their children and their grand-children die as well. It was so painful. How did Diana do it? He never knew her exact age but he knew enough to know it was at least a couple of thousand years. He sighed loudly. Truthfully he hadn’t decided yet. What was the right thing to do? It use to be so simple. He just automatically knew what the right thing was. He closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep.
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Kal wakes up in his old apartment in Metropolis. He looks around.
“You’re finally up Smallville.”
He turns to the door. “Lois?” She is young and beautiful, just like he remembers with her dark hair. She is in the red dressing gown he had bought her one Christmas.
“Of course Lois. Who else would I be?”
He dashes up “Oh Lois!” As soon as he hugs her though she turns to dust and blows away in the breeze.
“No, NO!” Kal falls to his knees crying.
“Clark.” it was a whisper on the wind.
“Lois?”
“Clark.” It seems to be coming from outside. He pulls back the curtains and they turn to dust in his hands. He looks outside. The buildings are falling apart with age. In the streets there is no-one, not a even a sound. There isn’t a single voice. He’s alone. Overhead the red sun dominates the sky. The oceans have boiled, there is nothing but dust. He screams at the sun and collapses in tears. “I don’t want to be alone” he mutters over and over.
A soft voice spoke “You’re not alone.”
Kal wakes up on the couch, Diana is cradling his head. Tears are streaming down his face as she rocks him like a child.
Diana had been woken up by screams. She rushed up to find Kal on the couch having a nightmare. He was repeating over and over how he doesn’t want to be alone. She could see the tears. She cradled his head, soothing him like a child. She told him he wasn’t alone and he woke up. He put his arms around her and cried while she rocked him gently.
Eventually Kal’s tears stop but he still held on to Diana “I’m sorry I woke you.” he tells her.
“It’s ok, returning the favour. Want to talk about it?”
“It’s just a dream I have from time to time.”
“What happens?”
“I’m alone. I’m outlived everyone I have ever loved and ended up alone on a dead barren Earth. How do you do it Diana? How do you go on?”
Oh Hera give her strength. Is that what’s troubling him. Diana coped because she had always know she would live forever. It seemed Kal had never thought about how long he would live so didn’t know how to cope. “You cherish the memory and go on. As long as you remember them they never really die.” she tells him.
Kal hadn’t moved. Being held by Diana was comforting. It had actually been a while since anyone had held him in any way.
“Besides…” Diana continues. “I’m immortal. I won’t be leaving you. I’ll always be around.”
“That’s what I used to say to Lois before she knew who I was. She would ask; Will I see you around? and I replied I’m always around. She never realised how true that was.” a smile comes back to him.
Diana smiles and shakes her head. He practically told her who he was and she never figured it out. The saying ‘Love is Blind’ really holds.
Kal sits himself up. “Well you should get some sleep. We have a long way to fly tomorrow.”
“We?”
“I’ll help after all it’s why I’m here.” Diana was right about cherishing the memories. Lois never asked him to stop being Superman. Who was he if he didn’t help a friend in need. If Lois was here she would be practically kicking him out and telling him to get on with it.
Now that sounded like Diana’s friend. “You should get some sleep as well.”
“You know all I really need is the sun’s energy. Sleep is more a mental thing for me.”
“That may be true but Ares is a powerful God. Your mind will need to be sharp.”
“Yes Maam.” Kal salutes. “Or is that Yes your Majesty?”
“Call me your Majesty again and I’ll kick your butt.” Diana warns him.
“You can try but I should mention that all these decades under a yellow sun has made me stronger than you remember.”
Great Hera. He already possessed powers to rival a god when she first knew him. “You still need your rest.”
“So do you.” Kal leans forward and kisses her forehead before he realises he had done it.
Diana is slightly surprised by that kiss. It reminded her of when she was little. Her mother would kiss her on the forehead when she would go to bed. It felt nice. Diana smiles and goes back off to bed.
Kal lies back down. Why had he kissed her? He use to kiss Lois like that when they lay in bed together. Maybe he just did it out of his loneliness which he has to admit is less today than it was yesterday. He closes his eyes and tries to forget his nightmare.
