Trinity

They say when the world was made, it was made with light.

When the two halves of Harmonia's talisman met for the first time in an age, an explosion of light filled the eyes of all who witnessed it, blinding them from the dark caverns of doom until there was nothing but brilliance that let corner of their minds escape. It was like passing through the threshold of some great unknown, a step taken from realm to another, perhaps it was like being reborn.

And reborn they were, the three that passed through the eye of the needle. They had stepped through apart but emerged as a trinity of dark, light and hope.

When the light finally fell away from their eyes to give the world shape again, Clark Kent found himself not in any stygian world steeped in ancient myth but rather a more contemporary setting that was jarring in its familiarity. Surrounded by greenish gray walls, with a floor of concrete and steel beneath his feet, Clark swept his gaze through the long corridor that reeked of military construction. In his youth, he had dreamt of being swept away to a place like this, locked up forever because of his alien heritage. While this place no longer held that kind of power over him, Clark could not ignore the tendril of residual anxiety at being here.

Fortunately, there was no time for him to linger for because the visual information was quickly forgotten by the uneven chorus of frightened and frantic voices that pierced the wail of screaming sirens around them. The others could only hear the banshee screeching of warning, flashing through the place through red strobes but with his enhanced hearing, Clark could hear far more. He could hear the terror in voices of men who were unaccustomed to feeling, who were determined and panicked at the same time. He could hear the staccato rhythm of gunfire.

This cymbal clashing of contrasting sound allowed him to shake off the disorientation of teleportation far quicker than Bruce and Diana.

“What is that terrible screeching?” Diana demanded, her hands going to her ears as her blue eyes searched the source of the din and found a flashing red globe attached to wall, its light pulsing through red glass in concern with the screaming noise. “It sounds like the harpies!”

“Evacuation signal,” Bruce spoke above it, quickly identifying the message in it’s the pauses and lengths of sound bursts.

"Something's wrong here," Clark declared, already scanning through the walls and grateful that this time his powers were whole and not limited owing to the magic of Diana's 'gods'. "I can hear people talking…"

He stopped speaking abruptly.


Bruce saw Clark’s expression turn white and anything that affected the man of steel that way was something that gave the Batman cause for grave concerned.

“What is it?” He asked, almost afraid to ask. "What are you seeing?"

“Jesus Christ.” Clark whispered aghast, revealing nothing but also enough.

“That’s not helpful,” Bruce said impatiently, feeling the icicles along his spine at Clark's utterance. Clark was not prone to invoking the creator or his son in any fashion without very good reason.

“We have to go now,” Clark retorted, not bothering to explain as he hoisted Bruce in the air with him without any warning and called out to Diana, "Follow me!”

Diana did so without question because like Bruce, the expression on Kal's face filled her with a terrible sense of dread. Leaping into the air, she followed him as he flew through the halls of the installation.

Bruce had no time to protest as he was spirited away from where he was standing. It was not his preferred method of transport but when Clark was this worried, he kept his complaints to a minimum. Clark's urgent need was further evidenced by the route to the source of his anxiety. Bracing himself, Bruce kept his head down when Clark smashed through walls of concrete instead of navigating the maze of corridors to reach his destination. The Batman felt chunks and fragments of rock scraping past the Kevlar and cloak of his costume as Clark crossed the distance to the trouble in a straight line that took them to its origin in mere seconds.

When he was set down, Bruce understood why.

There were bodies, too many to count. They were strewn throughout the corridor, some leaning against walls, trailed to the floor by smears of blood. Face down on the floor, others dangling from railings. Bruce's keen eye caught the sight of shell casings littering the concrete floor. Some came from the weapons of the dead, but most that died were unarmed. Their expression mostly surprised. The armed dead appeared further along the killer's path, most likely responding to the violence they could not stop.

The killing shot were all to the head.

The shooter was not leaving anyone alive, it seemed. As Clark, Bruce and Diana followed this path of blood, it soon become apparent that there was dead all the way down to the lower level where Bruce could now hear voices. He saw Clark's jaw tighten in anger but Diana's was one of horror. She had never seen this kind of carnage and it reflected in her eyes. Instinctively, belying the uniform he wore, Bruce slipped his hand in hers and squeezed.

Unfortunately for him, this kind of violence was all too much a part of his world.

"They're ours," Clark remarked at the uniforms of the dead.

"Yes," Bruce nodded, having already surmised that this installation was American.

They resumed their journey in flight, hastening their arrival at the last level. The last level was hardly a level as such. Clark had smash his way through the vault like door that allowed them passage to it. Once through, it emptied into a wider hall which culminated in another seemingly impenetrable door. This one however, was adorned with signs warning away all comers who would dare to approach without proper authorization.
The voices that drew Clark here belonged to the men who were trying desperately to penetrate the door with all the warnings. Some were armed with machines guns, while others attempted to over ride the electronics that kept the door sealed. Two were attempting a more direct approach, burning through the steel with propane torches. Judging from their progress, it would be some time before they were met with any kind of success.

“What’s going on?” Clark demanded as he strode towards them, Bruce and Diana following closely behind. If there was anyone who could gain the immediate trust of these men, it was Superman.


Such was the urgency of the situation that the soldiers who looked over their shoulder to see them, reacted to their presence in a high security facility, not with hostility or suspicion but rather unconcealed relief.

"Superman!" One of them exclaimed.

"Thank God!" Another declared in similar jubilation.

The leader of the group, a full bird Colonel, pushed his way through his comrades to greet the new arrivals.

"Superman," the Colonel said with the same relief. "I never thought I’d be happy to see you here but we need your help. One of our generals has had some kind of psychotic episode. He came down here after opening fire on his own people before locking himself in there.” He gestured towards the heavy door that his men were trying to breach.

“What is in there?” Diana asked, noting the warning signs that revealed nothing except danger.

“Missile control,” Bruce answered automatically before the Colonel named Trevor could answer. His mind had been carefully putting the pieces together as soon as he realized that they were in a US military installation of some kind. “If Ares wants Armageddon, this is the best way to make it happen. It would only take a matter of minutes for a missile launch from the United States to be responded to by the Russians or the Chinese, am I correct?" He looked to Trevor for confirmation.

"That’s right,” Trevor nodded surprised at how well informed the man in the cowl was. “Once the missile enters either Russian or Chinese airspace, either side will be bound to launch a counter strike. This war could be over before anyone realizes what's happened." He said grimly. "General Hayes until a short time ago was the head of this facility. He was the most stable and reliable man I've ever met. This doesn't make any sense but he killed everyone who could stop him from getting access to launch. He has both keys and the codes for launch."

Clark had heard enough.

“Stand aside,” He ordered and took a step towards the door.

Like Moses parting the Red Sea, the soldiers cleared a path for him as he stepped towards the huge, titanium strength door. Clark gripped the smooth metal surface with his fingers and dug in, almost six inches deep before tearing it off its hinges with a loud screech that made everyone wince. Lifting the door away from wall, he discarded it easily against the floor with a jarring clang.

As soon as the path was clear, the armed soldiers, poised to deal with their errant commander, prepared to rush past the heroes and deal with the situation.
“Wait,” Bruce shouted, halting them before they could enter a situation they were unprepared for and could result in more lives lost. “Let us go in first. There's more going on here than just the General having an episode. You’ve lost enough men today and we’ll be able to deal with him without losing any more.

“We don’t let civilians clean up our mess,” Trevor declared hotly, the memory of the dead still vivid in his mind.

“Please,” Diana pleaded, coming forward to address the man. “Listen to him. Your comrade may be influenced by forces you do not understand, forces that allowed him to get this far without being injured. Did you not consider how he was able to survive when so many of yours have fallen trying to stop him?"

Trevor felt silent because he did wonder about that. After the first barrage of gunfire had been reported, security details had been dispatched to pacify the situation and somehow, the General had mowed them down as if they were nothing. These were men who were armed and experienced in combat. It hadn't seemed real until now.

Diana saw that he was considering her words and added gently, "if you rush in unawares, most lives could be lost. Let us help. Our goal is the same, to end the bloodshed."

The Colonel cleared his throat and Bruce saw his stubbornness give way the sincerity in Diana’s voice as well as the unparalleled beauty of the woman before him. It was a combination that mortal man had no defense, Bruce could personally attest.

Clark would have gone in there one way or another but he was Kansas bred and a healthy respect for the men in uniform was something he had not discarded, no matter how much Kryptonian training he had undergone. His love Jonathan Kent would never be superseded by that. Besides, Diana's words would convince the most hard hearted man and Clark could see the man starting to give in.

“Alright,” Trevor conceded the point. “We’ll stand down but I hope you’re right about this for all our sakes.”

“You have made a wise decision,” Diana replied, smiling gratefully at him.

Grateful that he wasn't going to have to go against the Colonel’s wishes, Clark stepped through the doorway with Bruce and Diana entering after him. It was a good thing they did because no sooner than Clark had entered the vestibule that emptied into missile control room, the air exploded with the sound of gunfire.

“Get clear!” Bruce ordered the soldiers outside the door who might be tempted to enter upon hearing gunshots as he and Diana took cover behind Clark.

The bullets flattened impotently against Superman's chest, dropping to the floor beneath his feet like spare changed. The shooter was indeed General Hayes, looking into a clearly disheveled state. One hand was wrapped around the P-90 he was holding while the other was near the instrument panel before him. His fingers were poised over a button. The button.

“Stay back!” He barked, firing again once he saw the first wave had done little to stop the intruder. The bullets smashed against the 'S' shield of Clark's costume, some even ricocheting into walls, blowing out light fixtures and instrument panels. Sparks and glass flew in all directions.

Bruce looked at the panel and saw that both keys had been inserted into their slots and activated, now only requiring the firing button to be activated. Normally this would belong to two men, with launch codes provided by presidential order. Hayes' position and no doubt assistance from Ares had allowed him to bypass all those security protocols to bring about Armageddon.

“I am not going to hurt you,” Clark said reassuringly, “but you have to stop what you’re doing.”

“No!” Hayes screamed maniacally. “I have to do this! I have to show Elizabeth that she has no right to do what she did to me! I loved her…I loved her so much and all the time, she was using me, trying to get to me so that she could spy for those Chinese bastards!”

He thought of all the words she had said to him, all the love he thought was his. All of it had been a lie, a lie because she wanted to use him, because they told her to make him love her. The rage boiled inside his veins, mixing vilely with his anguish. He wanted to make them pay, make her pay and mostly importantly, he wanted to make his pain stop.

Clark was about to act when Diana stepped out of his shadow and walked towards the General.

"It is a lie, a cruel lie," Diana spoke softly, her words laced with kindness. "You were tricked and hurt by those who would use you but this is not the way to fight back. They wish you to do this. They knew your pain would drive you do this? You are a good man Steven, I sense that. Do not let them play with you as if you were their puppet."

“Diana,” Bruce warned, not convinced this tactic would work. She wasn’t bullet proof and though what she could do with those bracelets was amazing, he didn’t trust Hayes not to react violently.

Diana understood Bruce's concern for her but she continued nonetheless. "You are not killer General," she resumed speaking, taking another step closer, like a hunter stalking a frightened animal. “You have served your people faithfully for many years and it is by design that you were chosen to be manipulated in this way. They knew you were of stout heart and only a matter of the heart could influence you to this terrible action.”

“No…” Hayes shook his head, wanting desperately to believe he wasn’t a dupe, that it wasn't a lie, that he wasn't so easily fooled. “Elizabeth…”

“Your Elizabeth may be just as much a pawn in this as you Steven," Diana pressed, sensing a chink in the armor of his unreason she could penetrate. "Would you prefer to die, to condemn her without ever knowing that she truly loved you? Without knowing that she may be just as helpless as you are in all this?"

Between the three of them, it was a simple enough matter to disarm the man. Diana knew this. However, there was already too much violence and blood spilled this day. Too often, people forgot that love was a weapon too. Since coming to the Patriarch's World, Diana had learned that it could be used in the cruelest of ways. Like Eris’ poisoning of Lois Lane and now whatever deceptions this man had suffered to drive him to this course. She had to believe that men were not all slaves to their passions that in their hearts, they were inherently good until circumstances made them otherwise.

In any case, if her attempt to reach him failed, Diana was confident that Kal could neutralize this man before he could unleash destruction upon his people.

Steven Hayes stood in place, wrestling a life time of service and dedication to his duty, trying to ignore the rage that wanted him to make the world burn. Somewhere in the depth of him, he knew this was wrong. He knew that this destruction was not the answer to his grief.

“Do you she might… love me?" His eyes met her, his lips quivering with indecision.

“I think you owe it to yourself to find out before you condemn so many to die?” Diana inched closer. She was almost to the console where his hand lingered over the launch button

The General was still undecided, wrestling his emotions as the beautiful woman's words penetrated. She looked at him with eyes older than the Earth, deeper than the sea and the madness that had caused him to murder so many had begun to seem further and further away. He did not protest when her warm hand slipped over his own, his fingers ready to push the button that would make the world a pyre of flame, a monument to his jilted lover. Transfixed by her gaze, he remained still, wishing her to take away the anguish that had brought him to this moment.

However, the madness inside of him marshaled a final effort at resistance and when took his hand away from the button, the General reacted with a start, pulling the trigger.

"DIANA!" Bruce shouted out in warning, seeing the man's body language change.

Reacting swiftly, Diana shoved the gun barrel aside just as he fired, sending a round of bullets whizzing past her ear to impact on the wall behind her. Yanking the weapon from his grip, she crushed it easily in her fist before her other hand shoved him into a corner, away from the instrument panel.

It was not the way that either Bruce or Clark would have handled the situation but Diana was a different kind of warrior. For the Amazon Princess, it was important knowing when to fight and when not too.


*******

As Colonel Trevor and his men took charge of the General who know seemed to be in a catatonic state, either of his own making or due to some after effect of his manipulation by Ares, the danger at this installation was averted. However, Bruce was under no illusions that that Ares' plan for Armageddon was over.

"We have to get to the other bases," Bruce announced to Clark and Diana as they emerged from the missile control room. "We know what Ares' plan is now. Just because he didn't succeed here, does not mean he won't try at a Chinese or a Russian installation. All it takes is one successful launch and he'll have what he want anyway."

"So we've got to get to them," Clark nodded in understanding.

"The talisman will take us there," Diana added, sensing now why it was of such importance to retrieve the two pieces and unite them. Harmonia's talisman was the embodiment of unity and harmony. It was the only means to which discord and division could be fought. In a sense, Diana's own alliance with Clark and Bruce powered the talisman by their strength of belief in all things good.

Suddenly, the room turned dark, as if a shadow had fallen across it. Diana felt a chill run through her spine as suddenly the air became cold. A light globe exploded above them as the dark smoke filled the room, swirling around their knees like black ooze. The shadow in the corner lengthened, turned into a shape and then stepped out as a figure breathed in black armor, cloak billowing at its feet, moving like a living thing. In its full form, it stood above Clark, almost seven feet tall, pulling back its unseen lips to reveal white, pointed teeth.

"Do not pride yourself in this little victory Amazon," its voice hissed in malice and derision. "You have won nothing. One servant is easily taken but you are correct. There are two."

"Which one are you?" Diana demanded, preparing to use her lasso to make it speak the truth if necessary.

"Which one of what?" Clark looked at her, unnerved by the fact that his X-ray vision didn't register anything standing in the corner, even if he could see it. "Are these gods too?"

"I am Eris," the figure declared proudly. "Daughter of Ares and sister of a murdered brother." She glared at Diana, red eyes flaring with accusation. "You will pay for my brother's life, Amazon whore. Your quest has already failed, your sacred trinity about to fall apart."

"You will not stop us," Diana returned firmly, believing in the friends she had gained to help her prevent Ares' thirst for power. "We know now your father's plan and we will stop it."

"Will you now?" She cackled and turned to the Clark. "How will you stop anything when at this minute, your lover's life hangs in the balance."

"You can't threaten me with Lois," Clark returned sharply, not wishing to admit that Eris' invocation of Lois was striking closer to home than he liked. Refusing to be baited, he responded with resolve. "When we put an end to your father's plan, Lois will be fine."

In truth, Clark had no idea if that was true or not but he trusted Diana's word that Menalippe could save her.

"She will not live that long," Eris retorted and waved her hand, causing one of the monitor screens on the launch panel to come alive with images .

"Here is wisdom, son of Krypton. Tell me, if you had to choose between the world and your lover, your soul mate, which will you sacrifice?" She spat out those words with such certainty that Clark couldn't help but feel the icy talons of her malice clawing into his heart.

Bruce had a bad feeling about this, a feeling confirmed when the images showed televised footage of downtown Metropolis. At least he thought it was Metropolis. What they were seeing was a scene out of a war zone, cars were overturned, and lamp posts were lying strewn across the sidewalk and on the roads. Shop fronts were shattered, whole building appeared in piles of rubble. Across the tar road, the footsteps of something very large revealed itself in newly formed craters. In the background, people were screaming in horror and fear. Sirens could be heard wailing as emergency vehicles drove to unnamed destinations.

"What is this?" Clark demanded, seeing his home town in such a state of chaos.

"This is your very own Metropolis," Eris smiled cruelly, "and I have sent to your dear, sweet Lois, an emissary to wish her well in her recovery, the prisoner of the Great Wheel."

"Great Hera," Diana gasped in shock but recovered quickly. "Kal, go to Metropolis now."

"But…" Clark stammered, torn between his love for Lois and the greater good that needed to be accomplished by stopping Areas.

"NOW KAL! GO! She has released Ixion from Tartarus and before he reaches Lois, he will destroy everything and everyone in his path! GO!" Diana ordered sharply, before facing Eris once more. "I swear to you Goddess of Discord if she is harmed, I will be less merciful to you than I was to your brother."

"Clark," Bruce looked at his friend who was struggling not to panic. "You heard Diana, go. We will deal with this." His voice calm and sure, steady because Clark needed to believe it. Bruce knew Clark well enough to know that he would very well sacrifice Lois if he had to and in doing so would destroy himself.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Clark assured them, "I promise."

"Get going," Bruce replied, certain that Clark would die trying.

The man of steel nodded and leapt into the air, smashing his way through the ceiling as he departed. Bruce watched him disappear up the numerous levels above them before he turned to Diana and Eris, still facing off each other.

"It's that the best you got?" He hissed, angrily. "What about me? You going to send some monster after my town too?"

"You mortal," Eris laughed. "I have something more delicious for you and it will be sweeter as an apple. When I am done with you, you will dream of nothing but a harlequin's smile."