Trinity

Seeing the Queen approaching Clark, Bruce decided the danger was over since all parties were talking. Although, he noted as he swept his gaze across the crowd, that he doubted that they would be able to remain where they were to have any in depth discussions. Already he could see the crowds beginning to surround the Queen and her entourage. Led by the press and security people, the fear of terrorists by the public was now superseded by the desire to see the flying beauty that was capable of holding her own against Superman.

From where he was, Bruce had a clear view of her standing between Clark and the queen. He had seen her when she first appeared in the air a short time ago and the distance had not lessened the effect one bit. It was as if someone had decided to create a flesh and blood depiction of the feminine ideal and Bruce wasn’t ashamed to feel just as enamoured as any other male who looked upon her. He could tell that Clark was affected and upon that thought, looked around for Lois.

“Lois,” he looked over his shoulder and saw the Daily Planet’s star reporter brushing herself down from the dirt and grass that was clinging to her expensive suit. “Looks Clark is getting her to talk.”

“Terrific,” Lois grumbled, “because this whole event couldn’t get any more complicate….” She stopped talking upon seeing the girl next to Clark. Something tugged inside Lois’ chest, something that felt ugly and petty. It was not a sensation that Lois liked to think herself capable of having and thus brushed it away immediately before it had time to settled in and take root.

“Wow, very super model,” she remarked somewhat sedately.

Bruce turned to her, detecting a tone in the woman’s voice that signalled ‘danger’ of an entirely different kind.

“I suppose,” he said clearing his throat, not about to show any interest of his own.

Although he didn’t see her often, Bruce considered Lois one of his closest friends, a person he might even consider a part of his family. If it had not been for Chloe’s death, Lois would have been. During the last five years, their friendship had become something he cherished and just as she had been on the front lines to view his grief at losing her cousin, Bruce had been similarly present to view Lois’ anguish at Clark’s abrupt disappearance from her life. They had nursed each other through these trials and even though neither had anything more than platonic affection to offer each other; theirs was a relationship of intimacy.

“You should go up there,” he suggested. “Tell the Queen that this place is about to become a mob scene. She should get out of here while she can.”

Lois glanced at Bruce and then at crowds that were closing in on the small group from all directions. This was the same kind of frenzy that gripped the population following Superman’s first appearance in Metropolis and it seemed like history was about to repeat itself. Only this time, it would be courtesy of a strange woman with the star spangled chest and the legs up to Canada.

“Right,” she nodded and started running forward, “I’ll tell you how it turns out later!” She hollered back at him.

Bruce watched her departure before he himself retreated from the scene. Metropolis wasn’t his town and there was nothing for Bruce Wayne to contribute at this moment but his absence.

***********

Clark had thought the terrorist attack was reason enough for chaos in Hayes Park but when the Amazon princess appeared, the earlier panic seemed pale in comparison to the mania sweeping through the crowds in their efforts to get a closer look. They came in a tide of reporters, police, bystanders, security folk and every type imaginable, clamouring to view the latest spectacle generated by this beautiful woman who had arrived so suddenly to stop an assassination in its tracks. Even the terrorists seemed an after thought in the face of her arrival. Nothing appeared to be as important as satisfying the public’s demand for knowledge about Queen Hippolyta’s stunning daughter.

The object of all this attention, Diana, viewed the crowd with growing alarm. She wore an expression of anxiety and anxiousness on her lovely features as she saw the hordes close in. Undoubtedly, this attention had to be overwhelming for someone who was unaccustomed to it and as Clark saw her panic, was himself overcome with the desire to whisk her away from all this, to spare her the scrutiny he lived with everyday as Superman. Deciding on what was the most decisive course of action, particularly when he saw Lois approaching, Clark turned to the Amazon Queen.

“Your highness,” Clark said quickly, “I think its best that you and friends return to your hotel immediately and allow the crowd time to calm down.”

“He’s right,” Lois chimed in as she reached them, slightly out of breath in her effort to reach them before the rest of the press. “We can carry out the interview there and make a statement to the press about…” she glanced at Diana, “about this incident.”

“Yes,” the Queen nodded, agreeing with the advice from both Miss Lane and the being called Superman. Unveiling Diana was not something she had anticipated dealing with so soon. “Diana, you will return immediately to the hotel.”

“Yes mother,” the girl obeyed without question, glancing shyly at Clark with a look of helplessness that irked Lois Lane more than the reporter would care to admit. Of course, it didn’t help that Clark was staring at her like a teenager either.

“I am sorry,” she apologised to everyone present, “I did not mean to….” Her voice faltered as the press finally descended upon them, armed with cameras and microphones, shouting question like artillery fire. Flashbulbs exploded in her face and as security and police fought to maintain some crowd control.

“Diana,” Clark said addressing her for the first time. “Come with me.”

Diana gave him a look at the sound of her name spoken through his lips. It felt strange. Until now, she had been the secret her mother and the rest of her sisters had hidden from the Patriarch’s World. While she was more prepared than any other Amazon for life in this realm, she had not had any real contact with its citizens until now. Certainly not, this being whose powers seem so much like her own, whose blue eyes looked back at hers with the same intensity. Trusting her instincts, she nodded her agreement to follow.

Gaining her permission, Superman launched himself into the air, leaving Hippolyta, the Amazons and Lois behind.

Diana stood there for a moment, watching him soar into the air, marvelling at the sight of his red cape billowing behind him as he disappeared into the clouds. It was the first time, she realised that she was the one looking up. Always, she was the one was flying away. The realisation made her smile to herself and offering her mother and Miss Lane a nod, she pushed off the soft grass and soared into the clouds after him.

“See you,” Lois spoke under her breath as she watched Clark disappeared into the clouds with the beautiful Diana of Themiscyra in pursuit, feeling that same uneasy sensation stabbing at her innards as she watched them soar into the sky.

Together.

************

Clark was grateful to return to the serenity of the sky after the commotion and furore at Hayes Park. Even with the control he had over his super hearing, it was sometimes a relief to be away from the source of so many voices. Aloft, the voices became soft drones that he could ‘hone’ in when needed. Clark flew just high enough to ensure that no intrepid observer with a telescopic lens could violate their privacy.

Waiting for her to join him, Clark watched her progress and wondered if she could fly this high. He hadn’t met anyone other than another Kryptonian could fly so the question hadn’t occurred to him until now. It seemed to be an unwarranted concern because Diana did not seem to have any trouble keeping up with him. She came to a stop in front of him, her dark hair billowing around her like a tide of ebony under the sunlight. Once again, Clark found himself marvelling at her beauty.

Diana didn’t speak at first. She was too busy studying him. She had seen men since her arrival in the Patriarch’s World but none that looked like him. His costume was not dissimilar from her own. Were the colours representative of a personal herald? What did shield on his chest signify? How did he attain his power of flight? Diana had a thousand questions to ask him but manners kept her from blurting them all out. Thus for a few seconds, all she could do was stare, taking in the physical beauty of the man as well as the mystery of him.

Why was she staring at him? Clark wondered as she continued to look at him without speaking. He wondered if she was shy. Somehow, she wasn’t like other Amazons who seemed to exude confidence. There was strength in her, he had no doubt of that but there was also a quiet trepidation. Deciding that this silence couldn’t continue, Clark tried to break the ice.

“I’m sorry about startling you just now,” he offered her a little smile of encouragement. “I didn’t mean to grab you like that.”

Jonathan Kent had always said that when correcting a misunderstanding, an apology was always the best place to start.

His smile put her a little more at ease and Diana found her voice by answering him. “I am sorry I reacted badly. You surprised me.” She spoke slowly because English was still a new language to her and while she was as proficient as any Amazon going into the Patriarch’s world was, this was the first time she had spoken it exclusively to one its natives. “I hope I did not harm you.”

Clark found that funny for some reason and chuckled, “don’t’ worry I’m pretty tough.”

She shared his laughter if somewhat uncertainly. His use of the language was much more informal than she was accustomed to and Diana had to listen closely to understand him. He was very beautiful though, she thought secretly to herself. His visage reminded her of the statues of the great heroes in the temples of Themiscyra. “I hope you do not think me rude but you are not a child of Prometheus’ clay are you?”

That was a new one.

“I’m sorry I don’t get what you mean,” Clark looked at her with a raised brow.

Of course, he would not understand and Diana felt embarrassed she had asked such a question when it would make no sense to him whatsoever. However, since she had been impertinent enough to ask, she felt she owed him an explanation. “I feel Gaea’s strength in all things,” she tried to explain; “I do not feel it in you. You were not made by Prometheus, as all men of Gaea were made, fashioned out of clay.”

It took Clark a second to realise what she was talking about, remembering the ancient mythology class he took at Central Kansas during his first year at college (it was either that or art appreciation) to understand the reference. “I see what you mean. No, I’m not from this planet. I’m from a place called Krypton. Prometheus probably didn’t get out to that neck of the woods very often.” He smirked.

Once again his speech took a few seconds for her to translate but Diana soon realised he was joking.

“You are making me fun of me,” she smiled back.

“Not at all,” Clark answered, enchanted somewhat by that radiant smile. She was the most stunning woman he had ever met but her demure manner made him think of a shy, teenager. “Its not a description I hear often. What about you?” He asked in turn. “I didn’t think Amazons could fly or for that matter tear machine guns like scrap metal.”

The irony of him asking that question was not lost upon Clark Kent.

“Oh,” she blushed. “I am different. I am the only one who can fly. My mother tells me that when I was born to her, I was blessed with gifts from the gods. My ability to fly comes from the god Hermes and my strength is a gift of Demeter.”

For a farm boy raised with strictly Protestant beliefs, Clark found this hard to swallow. However, he knew he had no right to discount Diana’s faith in her gods. It wasn’t as if the Bible had a special annex for folks born on Krypton so Clark couldn’t look to it as the end all and be all of all spiritual truth.

“I see.” He nodded, not sure what to make of her answer but decided that since she believed, he would respect it. “I know its probably rude to ask but are you thousands of years old too?”

“Oh no,” she shook her head and laughed. “I am only 21 years old.”

“21?” He stared at her surprised because the Amazons were all millennia in age, immortals. Yet Diana was not much younger than him. “I thought you would be older…” he declared and then realised what he had just said. “I mean, not that you look older but rather that you’d be older like you know other Amazons?”

”I am not offended by the assumption,” she looked at him quizzically. “It is only logical that you would think so. Many of my sisters look the same as me even though they are far older.”

“I know,” Clark replied. “Just trying to remember that you’re not a woman from the Patriarch’s world. Here, the assumption of age can get a guy into some serious trouble.” He laughed.

“I see,” she answered, even though she didn’t really.

“We should get you back to your hotel,” Clark suggested, even though he did want to talk to her some more. Besides Lois would be wondering where he was and Clark Kent couldn’t be absent for too long a period without someone asking questions.

“Yes,” she agreed, not looking forward to the lecture she would receive from her mother once she returned to the hotel. “Those men who tried to hurt my mother and sisters, what will happen to them?” Diana asked instead.

“Most likely they’ll be charged and held accountable for their crimes,” Clark explained, taken back by the sudden change of subject. “Unfortunately, justice is slow here but rest assured they will get what they deserve.”

Diana absorbed the news stoically before asking a moment later. “Would it be possible for me to see them?”

Now that he didn’t expect and had to ask. “Why?”

Diana considered whether or not she would trust this stranger but one of Athene’s gifts to her was the gift of wisdom. Her instincts told her she could trust this man and for what was to come, she needed allies. Her mother believed that introducing the Amazons into the world of men would give Diana the assistance she needed to complete her mission for the Gods. Diana knew better. What was at stake was not merely Themiscyra and the Amazon way of life but also the existence of the Patriarch’s World. Menalippe’s vision of its annihilation was not simply prophecy.

It was a threat already in motion.

Superman was the champion of the Patriarch’s realm and if his power was as formidable as she had seen, he was the ally she needed to prevent the destruction of both their worlds.

After a long pause, Diana finally answered him. “I need to know who really sent them.”

**************

His name was Dimitri Theophilus.

He was born to a family of fishermen in the coastal town of Stilidia in Greece but had no taste for the life. At 17, he had left home for Athens to become embroiled in the military junta that saw Greece under the rule of military for almost seven years. Detesting the American interference in his country’s existence, Dimitri had been one of the junta’s staunchest defenders until the regime was overthrown and like so many who found themselves on the wrong side was forced to disappear into obscurity.

When he was invited to join the small select group known as November 17, Dmitri had thought he would be fighting against the further Americanization of his country. However, November 17 was a group like no other. Its number did not exceed twenty-five and whole families made up its membership. Not only was he required to join the organisation but also three of his sons were force to swear allegiance in a dark ceremony that reeked of superstition and old legends. Familial blood ensured utmost secrecy and for decades, November 17 operated without the authorities having any idea how to track them.

The masters of November 17 decreed that a new age was coming ane he believed them because they had shown him their power and it was far more real than any ideology he had ever sworn his life too. Before the Americans, before the world had made the cradle civilization into just another holiday resort, his country had been home to gods like no other. These were gods who demanded his obedience and rewarded failure with fatal consequences.

Like his failure this afternoon.

On his hands and knees, Dimitri’s cheek scraped the stone upon which he was kneeling, begging for forgiveness. Surrounded by near darkness in the cold room, he recounted the events of the day even though his master knew already what had transpired. There was liberation in knowing that at least. Nothing he said would be a surprise thus removing the need to lie. Lying only made things worse.

“You did not kill the Amazon whores.”

“No,” Dmitri shook his head, speaking in Greek. “The operation was progressing smoothly; we had three men stationed at strategic points in the crowd. One of us would have succeeded in killing the Amazons but something unexpected happened…”

“We know,” his master rose from his seat, an elaborate construct carved from the bones of wolves and jackals. “You were never meant to succeed.”

Dmitri looked up then, puzzled at why they were sent out at all. “We weren’t?”

“No,” the figure answered automatically, his voice sounded like the dying gasps of a condemned man. Serpentine hair dragged against the cold, slate floor and Dmitri tried not to shudder as he saw the living heads of asps on the end of each strand. “Today, we saw the fulfilment of prophecy.”

“Prophecy?” Dmitri stuttered. The man could only bear to look at his master for a few seconds before dropping his head down against the floor. Dmitri tried to ignore the hissing made by the asps, choosing instead to listen to the words, echoing in his ears like the song of a haunted soul.

“In the days when the great barge is fashioned from bone;

And the Gods prepare their final journey.

The daughters of Zeus will fashion a champion.

A child born not of the womb but of clay;

To stand against the darkness and prevail.”

The voice paused for a moment, taking a breath almost before resuming again. “She is known to us now,” his master announced to Dimitri with a satisfied smile. With black eyes, he gazed upon the muted television set in the far corner of the room. There was no need to hear, the images flickering across the screen causing the darkness to dance, spoke far more clearly than words could.

“Diana of Themiscyra,” Deimos, God of Dread declared, “it will be a pleasure to meet you.”