Chapter 4: Diana vs. Ares
As it turned out Diana got as much as she had hoped for. The council had agreed to delay the decision of her punishment and had agreed to allow Kal to stay to help fight the war. She went to check in with her generals after that. They had drawn up a workable plan on how to reach the doorway to the Underworld. First thing tomorrow they would attack Ares’ army. It is approaching sunset by the time Diana finishes the meeting with her generals. She looks for Kal but he is nowhere to be seen. Where did he go off to?
Once the council had decided Kal could stay they released him from being constantly guarded and he spent the day looking around the island. Well the part of it still under the control of the Amazons. As he walked around he considered historians would love to come here. A perfectly preserved ancient Greek society still living as they did 2000 years ago. He had flown over fields of crops and it had reminded him of growing up in Smallville. Maybe he shouldn't have sold the farm but at the time he hadn't seen much point in keeping it. Well perhaps that's a discussion he should have with himself after all this was over. Soon he was going into battle, something he hadn’t done in a while. He hoped he wasn’t out of practice.
“Kal!”
Kal turns at Diana’s voice. He was now sitting on top of the city walls looking at the sun go down. Diana floats up and sits beside him.
“Hi Diana. How did your meeting go?”
“Fine. You could have helped you know?”
“Nah. Truthfully I’m a little out of practice.”
That confused Diana. Wait he had said something similar before in the Fortress. “You said you hadn’t been doing a lot of league missions. If I may ask why not?”
Kal sighs. “Because since Lois died I’m not the person I use to be. It use to be so easy, I just knew the right thing to do.”
Diana looks at him sadly “But not anymore.”
Kal shakes his head “Now I tend to second guess myself. I mean I even had to think twice about helping you.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. I mean even you could die here.”
“Like that stopped me before. I fought Doomsday without a second thought because I couldn’t allow it to hurt innocent people. I travelled alone to Apokolips and fought Darkseid single handily. No Diana I’ve changed. When Lois died I think something in me died with her.”
Diana tried to study Kal’s face but it was close to unreadable. Then suddenly a small smile appears on his face. “It was because of Lois I came here. I was lying on the couch thinking and I could almost hear her voice telling me to get off my backside and help you. She never was very subtle.”
Diana smiles as well “I know. In fact I have personal experience of it. You remember all that press speculation that you and I were a couple?”
Kal smirks “Yeah I do. Lois kicked me out the bedroom and made me sleep on the couch for a week.”
“She came to see me and said that if she found out that I had laid a hand on you she would find a way to kill me, immortal or not.”
“Did she.”
Diana studies his tone. It wasn’t anger or surprise which meant “You knew!”
Kal laughs “Yep. Super hearing remember. That and Lois talked in her sleep.”
“It’s not funny. I was worried about even talking to you for a while after that. I was afraid I’d ruin your relationship and hurt our friendship.”
Kal stifles his laughter “I’m sorry.” He then burst out laughing again. Between the fits of laughter he chokes out “It’s just you, intimidated by Lois. I’ve seen you stare down Hades himself.”
Diana couldn’t help herself and she soon found herself laughing as well. She soon notices however that Kal’s laughter has turned into sobs. She stops and sees tears running down his face. “Kal?” She places her hand on his shoulder.
He leans into her and she cradles his head. “I miss her.” he says through his tears.
“I know.” Diana replies softly.
“I loved her because she treated me as a normal person. Not as an alien. Not as some superhero but just for who I was but that person doesn’t exist anymore. He died with her. I’m not Clark Kent from Smallville. I am Kal-El of Krypton but the problem is I don’t know who he is.”
Tears still stream down Kal’s face while Diana continues to hold him. Well at least they got to the bottom of his self doubt. He isn’t sure who he is anymore. Diana takes a breath “Kal I’ve seen you have doubts before but in the end you always do the right thing.”
Kal wipes some tears off his face “I had doubts about how to do the right thing. I never doubted what that was.”
“You say you don’t know who Kal-El is but your Fortress is a memorial to your parents and your people. Therefore you must have thought that becoming Superman was the way to honour them.”
“The problem is Diana I’ve been 3 people. Superman is a symbol for truth and justice. Clark is the farm boy from Kansas and Kal-El is the last survivor of Krypton. Superman hasn’t changed but Clark is dead and I have never really been Kal-El. I don't know how to be Kal-El.”
“Is Clark dead?” Diana simply asks.
Kal raises his head and looks at Diana with a puzzled expression.
Diana continues “I met Clark’s parents. The morals they taught him were and still are the core of Superman. So therefore is Clark really dead?” With that Diana gets up. “Get some rest. We attack at sunrise.”
Diana flies off leaving Kal with some serious thinking to do.
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The next morning just before sunrise Kal floats down beside Diana at the head of the Amazonian army. He had though about what she had said the day before. He had concluded she had a point about his moral core. That had come from his parents. Perhaps he had been too eager to bury Clark so he could bury his pain over losing Lois. God he had actually spoke to Diana about her. He had barely spoken to anyone about her in 5 years. He had shed tears and he notices the world looked different. Her loss still hurt but the world seemed to have more colour in it now. He notices the tense look on Diana’s face. She is carrying way too much of this by herself. There was still a few minutes till sunrise. He speaks to Diana “Thank you for listening to me last night.”
“It’s not a problem.” Diana turns to look at Kal. Hmm he seems, she can‘t quite place it. Lighter perhaps. Perhaps she had managed to make a dent in his impossibly thick head that would help him come to terms with things. Well she could work on that tomorrow, assuming they survived today. “You ready for this?”
“Nope but that never stopped me before.”
Diana notices he’s got that goofy smile on his face. Oh Gaea they are in so much trouble.
The sun rises and Kal lets its first rays energise him “So shall we?”
“We shall.” Diana replies. She turns to Phillipus and nods. Phillipus raises her sword and the gates open and the army marches out towards the doorway to the underworld.
The battle plan is a fairly simple one. It’s basically a diversion to pull Ares army out if its position of guarding the gate while a small force lead by Kal and Diana sneak in and destroy the key. It seems to be working as Kal and Diana enter the temple of Athena with half a dozen warriors. They find no-one and work their way to the hidden doorway. They descend the stairs slowly and enter the cavern where the gateway and the key are. They arrive to find it unguarded. They hide behind a rock outcropping as they assess the situation.
Kal notices that this is going way too well “I think we were expected,” he says.
One of the warriors looks at him confused “What do you mean? It’s deserted. Our plan worked.”
“Superman is right.” Diana answers. “Ares would never leave it unguarded. It only looks deserted.”
“Trap.” Kal states.
“Trap.” Diana responds.
“Oh well. I hate to disappoint. I‘ll go.” Kal stands up.
“You sure?” Diana asks.
“Someone has to.” With that Kal flies towards the key. Before he reaches it though he’s hit by a ball of energy and flies off into the wall of the cavern. There is no sign of where the ball came from but Diana knows who’s responsible. Ares. An army of the dead rises from the ground and marches towards them.
“We must reach the key.” Diana tells the others. They all get up and rush at the army. They slowly make their way towards the key guarding each other’s back. But as with Kal a ball of energy appears as they approach. Diana throws herself out of the way. The ball hit’s the ground and explodes. Oh Hera her sisters. Diana sits up and tries to find them. The explosion has decimated the undead army. She finds one of her sisters and crawls over to her. “Cleo?” Diana feels for a pulse. There is none. Diana shakily gets to her feet, picks up her sword and walks towards the key. As she nears it a pillar of flame blocks her path. The flame starts to die and assume a human shape. Diana feels her blood boil with rage at the figure that appears. “Ares.” she hisses.
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Ares had been planning for this moment for decades. In his hand is a new key for the gateway to the Underworld. He had got Hades to agree to be his ally by promising to release him. What a fool. Ares would leave him to rot forever but of course he didn’t know that. On the other side of the door Hades had assembled an army for him. As soon as he opened it they would attack the Amazons and no-one would stop him. He had stoked another argument between Zeus and Hera. Wasn’t hard considering Zeus was having yet another affair with a mortal. With them at each others throats no-one was around to enforce the rules that barred him from Themyscira. He slid the key in the slot and smiled. He would soon get revenge on Diana for her constant interference in his plans over the years.
“Stop!” a voice commanded.
Ares turned around and smiles. Looks like he will get his revenge sooner than expected “Your Majesty. You honour me with your presence.”
Diana had sensed something was wrong. She couldn’t explain the feeling or where it had come from but she had been drawn to this god forsaken place. It had fallen to her upon her mother’s death to guard the gateway to the Underworld. She had actually woken up from her sleep and rushed down here only to find Ares. She had been having a dream about this place. Her mother had been in it warning her of grave danger.
Ares. There weren’t the words to describe how much she loathed him. He lived to cause to war, death and destruction and not for any purpose. Not to conquer or rule but to just create a state of constant warfare. She didn’t know how he was here. He shouldn’t be. There were laws set down by Hera herself. Of course she always knew Ares could care less but even he wouldn’t risk the punishment of breaking them. Diana’s problems grow when she sees that Ares has somehow constructed a new key.
Hades. Hades had to be in on this. That monster. She hates him probably more than she hates Ares. “What did you promise Hades to get his help?” Diana demands.
Ares smiles “Oh you know the usual. Freedom from his eternal banishment, a kingdom on Earth to rule, some father daughter reunion time.”
Diana felt ill. That monster was not her father.
Ares notices Diana’s face gets a horrified look upon it “Oh sorry, I forgot you and he have some issues.”
Diana’s face hardens “He is not my father. I was forged from clay. Now it’s time for you to leave.”
Ares chuckles “Oh no. I’m just getting started but if you want to make me leave.” Ares draws his sword “You are welcome to try.”
Diana grabs a sword lying on the ground and charges at him. Ares blocks her first attack. “Not bad.” he comments.
Diana ignores him and attacks again. Ares dodges to the side and swipes at her exposed side. Diana barely avoids the blow and rolls off.
“Oh come on now. You can do better. Your mother at least had me working up a sweat.” Ares mocks her.
Diana is infuriated at the mention of her mother and lunges at Ares.
Perfect he’s gotten her to attack in anger. Her strike is off and Ares manages to knock the sword out of her hand. In one fluid motion he then swings his sword and cuts a deep gash in her left arm.
Diana cries out at the pain. She instinctively grabs her arm. Ares summons a ball of energy in his hand and strikes her, throwing her back. She lands on the ground in a heap.
Ares walks back to the key “Oh Diana, running would be a good idea.” he says as he turns the key and the gates swing open.
Diana gets to her feet. He’s right and she hates it. She has to warn her sisters. She turns and flees back up the stairs. Behind her she can hear the mass cries of thousands as they pour through the gate.
Ares laughs inwardly as he watches Diana retreat. He’s having a good day.
“Thank you.” Hades is now behind him
His day has just gotten better. Ares turns to face his fellow God. “Thanks are not necessary. You’ve given us an army. One which can’t be beaten because if they die in battle they just return to the Underworld and we free them. Ahh the possibilities are endless.”
“Indeed but remember our agreement. Diana is not to be harmed, she belongs to me.”
Ares waves his hand dismissively “Yes, yes. I remember. So shall we begin?”
“We shall.” Hades replies.
“Warriors forward and capture this island.” Hades commands.
Ares smirks “Oh yes very general like. Reminds me of Alexander. Now he was one of my favourites.”
Hades ignores him. He’s heard Ares’ blasted stories about Alexander the Great too often. He starts to walk forward with his army turning his back on Ares.
“Fool.” Ares whispers. Behind Ares' back a set of chains materialise. He swings them and wraps them around Hades.
“What!?” Hades proclaims.
“Don’t try to break them. Hephaestus forged them for me. I doubt Zeus himself could break free.” Ares walks around Hades as he says this until they are face to face.
“You betrayed me.” Hades states.
Ares shrugs his shoulders “I only did what was necessary. You see I want Diana hurt. I want her to watch as I destroy her precious kingdom. I want to see her cry as I kill her beloved sisters. I’m only sorry her mother isn’t around. I’m sure I could have gotten a few years of enjoyment out of torturing her in front of Diana.”
Ares signals for several warriors to pick Hades up. They begin to walk back towards the gate. “You see I will kill Diana eventually after I have taken everything away from her but of course you wouldn’t allow that so I’m afraid you have to go.”
Ares stops at the threshold of the Underworld. He speaks to the soldiers carrying Hades “Find some pit to throw him in. I’ve got work to do.”
Ares turns and walks away.
“I’ll make you pay for this Ares I swear!” Hades shouts as he is carried off.
With Hades dealt with Ares gets back to the business at hand of conquering Themyscira. As he had expected Diana had alerted her sisters. No matter. He enjoyed a good battle and it was a good battle. He had to hand it to Amazons they knew their stuff when it came to fighting. Of course they were hopelessly outnumbered. Ares watched as they fought a retreat. Ah of course they’re buying time. He turned his attention to the defensive wall around the part of the city where the palace resided. Yep they were hastily preparing defences. Oh good he loved a good old fashioned siege.
Ares laid siege for several days to the walled city. He was starting to get bored. Killing Amazons could only entertain for so long. He had ordered a halt to attacks while siege weapons were constructed. Once they were built he ordered what would be the final attack. It was going well at first until Ares witnessed a siege tower be cut to pieces. He soon watched the rest fall apart and his catapults. He looked around and saw Diana floating there and then suddenly a man appeared. He saw the symbol on the man’s chest. The Kryptonian. He was annoyed. In fact it may have actually been anger. He ordered a retreat. He could do nothing else. He entered the cavern with the gateway. He studied the key. They’ll try and reach it. It was obvious. Fine let them. He’ll be waiting.
They came just as he knew they would. He had let them. The Kryptonian was a problem. He wasn’t of this world. He had always been a problem. Promoting peace and understanding. Frankly it made Ares ill. He was second only to Diana in Ares’ mind of people he disliked immensely. Ares watched unseen as the Kryptonian made a dash for the key. I don’t think so. Ares summoned a powerful ball of energy and hit him midair. The Kryptonian flew into the side of the cavern and debris rained down and covered him. Ares knew that would probably only stop him for so long. He summoned the army he had hidden and flushed Diana and her little gang out.
Ares continued to watch as they made their way to the key. Diana never did know when to give up. Ares summoned another ball of energy and threw it. It exploded with huge force. Diana survived. Ares was glad about that. He would end this with his own hands. As she neared the key he appeared in front of her “Your Majesty. What a pleasure to see you again.”
