Trinity

And the prize for hottest new couple in Metropolis has got to go resident super-hero, all around hunk and guy voted by our female readers as most wanted to introduce to mom, Superman and gorgeous to die for Diana of Themiscyra!

That’s right boys and girls! Online polls have declared that the Amazon, dubbed by the press as Wonder Woman (and what a wonder she is!) might be the perfect gal for Superman! They’re both super strong, able to take moonlight flights together and even wear the same primary colours! This reporter’s nose says that it’s a match made in heaven!

Is Lois Lane on her way out?

Sources inform us that Lois’ soon to be ex met with favourable reviews from Diana’s just as stunning mom, Queen Hippolyta during the dust up at Hayes Park where Diana made her debut. It was love at first sight when both Diana and Superman met while stopping evil terrorists from gunning down the Amazon entourage. They even took off together for a romantic interlude, leaving poor Lois in the dust with the competitions mother! Ouch Lois! But way to go Supes at winning mom’s approval. You’re half way there!

Of course, if Lois were to be dumped spectacularly by the man of steel, we’re sure she’ll land on her feet by finding solace in the arms of totally dashing Bruce Wayne of Gotham. Seems that the two have been friends for just ever and there has been speculation over their relationship before. Is it true? Only time will tell my fellow celebphiles. Stay tuned![/FONT]

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

“So it is true?” Jimmy Olsen asked sitting on the edge of Lois’ desk in the Daily Planet’s newsroom , leaning in close, his expression all seriousness.

“Is the great romance between Lois Lane and Superman all washed up? Do I have to get Lucy to bring over that quart of double choc chip ice cream and rent a copy of Titanic….ow…ow ow…Lois! I’m kidding!” Jimmy whined as he felt his ear being twisted hard enough to hurt. “Hey this is considered workplace bullying you know? Man! No wonder Superman is breaking up with you!” He muttered before breaking free of her fingers.

Lois’ eyes narrowed before shoving him off her desk.

“I…am…not…amused.” She said through gritted teeth.

Jimmy stared at her blankly, realising that she really wasn’t taking this with good humour and was quite ticked off. “You’re not seriously jealous are you?”

“Of course not,” Lois snorted dismissively, even though her gaze did fall upon Clark Kent’s empty chair, trying not to remember why he wasn’t present that morning.

“Sure,” Jimmy rolled his eyes, knowing better. “Where is Clark?” He asked instead, hoping a slight change of subject would put her in a better mood although the article by Candi Gramme (was that even a real name?), had been particularly nasty. Since Superman and the Princess had encountered each other at Hayes Park, wild tabloid speculation had sent circulation for these trashy magazines skyrocketing.

If Jimmy had thought asking the question would alleviate Lois’ annoyance, it did the nothing but the opposite as Lois continued to smoulder. Shifting her eyes back to the screen of her laptop, Lois didn’t look at him as she answered his question. “He’s attending to private business.”

Private business for Clark Kent usually involved a cape so Jimmy didn’t ask for further elaboration when Lois add with low hiss.

“With her.”

“With her?” Jimmy’s brows raised and he leaned forward. “Doing what?” He asked, wondering if Clark was really that thick or just completely clueless. Running around with a goddess in bathing suit that the entire world assumed you are going to dump your girlfriend for, was not a good idea.

Her fears were unfounded of course. Jimmy knew that and was convinced that one some level Lois knew it too. Under normal circumstances, Lois’ confidence in herself was granite and in the past, her relationship with Clark rested on the same stable bedrock. Unfortunately, that was before Clark had up and left for five years without a word to Lois that he was going. Jimmy had been there to pick up the pieces and even if Clark and Lois’ relationship seemed on the mend now, he suspected that her mood now had much to do with being discarded so easily once before.

“Diana wanted to talk to the terrorists who attacked her mother,” she answered after a moment. “Superman used his connections to get her an meeting.” Lois shrugged, having wanted in on that particular audience but the Princess had asked for privacy and that more or less settled the matter. Clark was as much in the dark as she was but as he was arranging the meeting, he had to be present.

“Anymore on those guys?” Jimmy asked, realising he had inadvertently put his foot in it again. Hopefully, this would be a safer subject.

His gamble paid off because Lois expression shifted into the animated reporter he had come to know and love. “Not much but what I did get was telling. The authorities had a hard trouble identifying these guys at first but I managed to do some investigating with customs and immigrations and it appears, our terrorists are Greek.” She said with a satisfied smile. “They came in with bogus names but the point of embarkation was definitely Athens.”

“Athens?” Jimmy exclaimed bewildered. “What’s their beef with the Amazons? You would think they’d be kind of a pleased that their mythological heroes are just fiction but real.”

“You would think,” Lois shrugged, hating to admit that she didn’t understand this either. “However, there has been a terrorist group in Greece, operating since the 60s called November 17.”

“Never heard of them,” Jimmy retorted.

“That’s not surprising,” Lois returned swiftly. “I have a source at Embassy Row who tells me November 17 was a splinter group formed after the junta in Greece during the 60s. They don’t have a particular ideology although they definitely resent American influence in their country. What’s new right? However, I did find out that it is almost impossible to catch these guys because the group doesn’t have any more than twenty members at any time and they’re in family groups, so they don’t betray each other either for anything.”

“Why does this freak me out more Al-Qaeda?” He retorted. Having spent some time abroad as a photojournalist, Jimmy had spent enough time in war torn countries to know that the smaller the group, the harder they were to find.

“I know,” Lois nodded, feeling similar concern. “I just don’t understand what these guys have against Amazons.”

Her reporter’s instincts did tell her however, finding out the answer to that question was going to be a hell of a story.

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

“These men are kept like animals,” Diana remarked with clear distaste while she and Superman waited for their prisoner to be presented to them.

Her sense of smell could barely stomach the stench emanating from the hallways they had walked through to reach this room surrounded by three walls and bars. Let alone the cage like enclosures that past for living arrangements. From what little Diana had been able to see as Superman and a guard led her through the walls of the Metropolis State Penitentiary, she had nothing but contempt for what passed for the penal system in the Patriarch’s World.

“You should give them their final judgements and be done with it,” Diana retorted. “All this,” she regarded the structure around her, “seems extraneous.”

“Really?” Clark said with a hint of sarcasm, reminding himself for all her sweetness, the Princess came from a warrior race that prided itself in its practicality even if its methods were somewhat Spartan. “I’m afraid we don’t do capital punishment unless we really have to.”

“It’s better to allow the offender to die with honour and do no further harm.” Diana countered.

“Well it seems kind of hefty for someone who might have just stolen a car stereo that’s all.” Clark returned, amused by some of the conversations they had have so far. He found Diana interesting company. Despite her naiveté, she had strong opinions that made him stop short sometimes before he realised the philosophy was from that of a culture living in isolation for three millennia. There were bound to be some quirks.

Diana sighed, realising she was being a little hard headed again. Her mother had warned her that she needed to remember that the Patriarch’s World was very different from Themiscyra, that men were different from women. Until she had arrived here and seen for herself, Diana had not understood how vast those differences could be. Fortunately, Superman or Kal, as he allowed her to call him, seemed to be the best example of the gender even if he had not been born on Gaea’s clay.

“I apologise,” she said after a moment. “I forget where I am.”

There it was again. The sudden shift in personality that made Diana such a contradiction. It was jarring and yet engaging all the same time. Fortunately, years with Lois had trained him well for this kind of turbulence.

“Don’t worry about it,” he smiled, “sometimes, I don’t understand it either. Nor do I understand what you hope to get from this prisoner. He hasn’t been very cooperative at all with the authorities. I’m sure that part of the reason they allowed you to meet him is because they’re hoping you’ll have better luck.”

Diana said nothing for a moment, still uncertain of how much she could trust Superman. What she was bringing to him was the knowledge of a terrible prophecy waiting to unfold if she did not stop it. Her whole existence was dedicated to ending the menace that was threatening to destroy not only Themiscyra but also the Patriarch’s World. Unfortunately, her tools to fight this war were limited and scattered across unfamiliar territory. While it was in Diana’s nature not to ask for help, she knew that for the sake of all, her pride would have to be forgotten.

Fortunately, she did not have to answer since the guard arrived with their prisoner, one of the men captured at the park. Upon seeing her, the would be assassin tried to retreat through open door of the interrogation room he was being ushered into.

“Get this Amazon whore away from me!” He cried out, his heavily accented voice shuddering with obvious anxiety. “I will not speak with her!”

“Watch your mouth,” the guard barked sharply, shoving the man back through the doorway. “He’s all yours Superman, Wonder Woman,” the warder replied and retreated but not before stealing an appreciative look at the beautiful woman with the man of steel.

The steel door shut behind them, sealing their quarry inside who stared at Diana with nothing less than terror. “Stay away from me!!!” He shouted, flinging himself against the bars, determined to escape. “I will tell you nothing!”

”You don’t have to tell us anything,” Clark retorted, prepared to put the man in a chair himself if the prisoner didn’t calm down. “We know your name is Nikos Papadopoulos and you arrived in this country only a week ago from Athens. We know that you are most likely a member of the November 17, terrorist group.”

“You know nothing,” the man spat over his shoulder as Clark reached him and picked him, kicking and screaming before sitting him down at the chair.

One hand on his shoulder, Clark ensured that Nikos would not be standing up any time soon. Raising his eyes to Diana who had been content to let him take the lead, Clark declared with a little smile.

“He’s all yours.”

Diana rose to her feet, blue eyes affixed on the man and knew immediately that he was deathly afraid of her. Reaching for the lasso hanging from her girdle, she approached the man with an expression of quiet contemplation. “Why did you try to harm my mother and my sisters?” Diana asked.

“I will tell you nothing Amazon bitch!” He shouted and spat.

“Hey!” Clark tightened his fingers on the man’s shoulder as he saw Diana wiping spittle from cheek. Her eyes narrowed in anger but Clark saw her rein it in, maintaining her composure.

“I am fine Superman,” Diana assured him that only her pride had been hurt, little else. “He has so much venom only because he is afraid of what he might tell me.” Stopping in front of Nikos, she looped the fine strand of golden rope and wrapped it around the man.

At first Clark was uncertain of what she was doing, watching with some fascination as Diana bound Nikos in the strands of the golden lariat. Her long fingers worked the gold expertly and very soon, Nikos found himself enclosed several times over with the strange metal rope.

“Whom do you serve?” Diana asked calmly.

Clark saw the prisoner prepare to open his mouth, undoubtedly to let fly more insults when suddenly, his expression changed and the words tumbled from his lips, almost against his will.

“I serve the God of War, he whose name I am unworthy to speak.”

Clark looked up at Diana in astonishment but held his tongue as she continued her interrogation. What the hell was he hearing here?

“Why did you seek to harm my mother and my sisters?” Diana asked, showing no reaction to the revelation and Clark knew then, she was not surprised by the news.

“We know that the Amazons have come to bring forth their champion to fight against the End of Days. The whore created from clay who will enter the world seeking of Harmonia’s talisman..”

“What is he talking about?” Clark demanded. “What’s the End of Days?”

“Kal, please,” Diana shot him a look to stay his questions for now. “Where is Harmonia’s Talisman?” She demanded, tugging harder at the rope.

Before could utter anything else, Nikos began to convulse violently in the chair. His body shaking so hard that saliva was coming from his mouth. His face was contorted in pain as he struggle and fearing she might harm him, Diana removed the lariat from around his body.

“What’s happening to him?” Clark demanded and shouted for the guard.

“I do not know,” Diana declared anxiously, working faster to remove the lariat. “This should only make him speak the truth, not harm him in any way. The golden lasso is not a weapon.” Her concern for the man told Clark that she was sincere in her belief that she was not responsible for harming the prisoner.

Scanning Nikos, Clark could see the man’s chest pounding hard in his chest, so hard it was almost on the verge of explosion. Indeed, even if he didn’t need a visual, Clark could certainly hear it. “GUARD!” Clark hollered again.

Yet as he looked down into Nikos Papadopoulos’ face, Clark knew it was already too late.


*********

“What the hell was that?” Clark demanded once they had left the prison and were a hundred feet above it, obscured by clouds.

The preliminary examination conducted by the doctor called to the scene had revealed that Nikos had died of a heart attack. Clark did not mention anything about the lasso because Diana appeared shaken by the man’s death. Whatever had happened Nikos, she hadn’t expected it and so Clark did not think responsible. However, he did want answers. The content of what she extracted from Nikos was confusing enough, not to mention alarming.

”I do not know,” Diana shook her head, never having anyone die by her hand before. “He was not going to be harmed. I asked my questions of him but I think,” she swallowed thickly, trying to wrap her mind around what had happened in that room, “I think he died because of the lasso.”

“You said it wasn’t a weapon,” he countered, remembering her words, not to mention her shock, when Nikos had been pronounced dead.

“It is not,” she met his gaze, dark hair swirling around her lovely features, with tears filling her eyes. “I think he died because I used the lasso. I think that something inside him would not allow him to be commanded by the god’s gift.”

“You saying he was booby trapped to die in case he was interrogated by that thing?” Clark declared, glancing at the lariat at her waist.

She didn’t quite understand the full measure of the phrase but the word trap was clear enough for her to answer. “Yes, I believe so.”

“Christ,” Clark found himself muttering, feeling as out of his depth as someone might have been told about Krypton and Jor-El. “Alright, I think its time you levelled with me. What is this end of days he was talking about?”

Diana faced Superman, this being whose abilities were god-like and knew with utter conviction that his heart was true. She had to trust him even though everything she had been taught from birth, told her that men could not be. Yet she knew, she was a different kind of Amazon, created with a destiny and purpose. She was unique among her people, just like him. His world was in danger as much as hers and like her, he had the right to defend it.

“It is the time when the God of War will set the world aflame, to take his place in Olympus as the lord and master of all. We Amazons, have known of this terrible time for thousand of years but only in recent months have the portents told us how close it is. I was chosen by my sisters as the champion against this terror. It is my duty to end this threat. However,” she paused, letting out a breath as if what was to come next was difficult to say, “I know little of the Patriarch’s world and the war god has had many years to hide his agents in it. I need your Kal, to face what’s coming for the sake of all of us.”

It felt almost surreal what she was asking him. Gods and myths. Talismans and Armageddon. Clark was ready to tell her she was crazy but knew what he had seen and there was proof enough for him to believe her. “I’ll help you Diana,” he reached for her hand. “It’s my world too.”

Diana smiled at him radiantly. “Thank you Kal,” she squeezed his hand back. “We have a long road ahead and we still need to recover Harmonia’s talisman.”

“What is this talisman?” Clark couldn’t believe he was asking such a question. Then again, it was no stranger than having to travel half way across the world to find pieces of an artefact that ended up creating the fortress either.

“We are not certain,” Diana explained. “We know only that it is a talisman that is needed for the battle against the War God. My first task after arriving in the Patriarch’s world was to find Harmonia’s talisman. Unfortunately, I have not succeeded in finding any clue to its whereabouts.” She answered, appearing somewhat disappointed with herself.

“Well if its as important as you say then its probably been hidden pretty well. These things usually are,” Clark remarked, already thinking on how they might narrow the search a little. He was no expert in the subject of ancient talismans but then again, he did know someone who was an expert.

In just about everything.

With a little smile, Clark met Diana’s gaze and replied, “I think I know someone who might be able to help us.”