A/N: This may be the single greatest thing I've ever had an idea of. Let's hope I don't ruin it.
This is based off of the comic, "For the Man Who Has Everything". I've seen both Clark and Bruce's greatest wish, but...what about Diana's?
As per my usual, I'm sticking to the New 52 timeline, because Clark and Diana are an official couple in that timeline and Diana is a demigod, two of my favorite things.
Enough of the prelude. On with the story.
"Mom! Lara's in my room again!"
Diana chuckled, turning her head in the direction of her oldest daughter's room. "Lara, out of Lyta's room before you don't get to play outside with Artemis today!" she called out, hearing her other daughter's footsteps hurry out of said place.
"Thank you!" Lyta sighed, the sound of a closing door following suit.
Alone once again Diana returned to what she was doing, baking a cake - or, at least attempting to. Again. The other cake kind of...exploded. She still hasn't figured out how that happened to begin with.
As she mixed the batter she felt a tug on her pants, looking down. She looked into the blue eyes of her baby boy, Kai. "What is it, sweetie?" she asked him.
The boy had watery eyes as he sniffed, "Jon won't let me play his game with him."
Of course. Jon had a tendency to ignore everyone and anyone while on his game systems and let absolutely nobody touch it, especially his siblings. "Go play with Lara," she said, pointing into the direction she'd heard the footsteps earlier. "Your sister could use a playmate."
With a smile Kai nodded, running off. Another crisis averted, she thought, resuming her baking. Four children were a lot to handle, especially when they were all inside.
Yes, she had four children, twins Jon and Lyta, aged twelve, then her baby girl Lara, aged ten. The youngest, Kai, was only eight, but always, always tried to be like his older siblings.
And who was their father, you may ask? The infamous Superman himself. Or rather, Clark Kent. Kal or Clark to Diana, while the Amazons called him Kal-El of Krypton, much to his displeasure of the name.
He was currently with her mother, helping the rest of her sisters with building a few more houses for the Amazons that had their families grow recently, as well as planting crops for the summer.
Dian was honestly happy that Clark agreed to live with her and the children on Paradise Island, especially after they both agreed to stop living as Superman and Wonder Woman - at least, for now. They both agreed that their family was their primary focus, and while the citizens of the world were still important, they both felt their parental instincts just a bit stronger.
She checked the time - good, there was another hour before Lara was due for her archery training with Artemis, while Jon and Kai were to go off with Clio for their studies for the evening. That left her with Lyta, the only one who "graduated" from everything before she even turned ten.
Oh yes, the oldest child of the four was also the smartest, and often spent her evenings reading a book she found in the Grand Library on the island. Her crave for knowledge, much like her parents when they were younger, was her biggest asset. However, it outweighed her desire to learn how to train.
She took more after Clark, having his steely-blue yet soft eyes, jet black hair, even with the curl in the front, and broad face. Jon looked almost exactly the same, instead taking his mother's raven-colored hair. Kai was a combination of the two, having Diana's hair but his father's color, even his attitude.
Lara, however, was her exact twin, especially her fighting spirit. Her first word, Diana remembered, was "sword" and she learned how to wield an object for battle almost as soon as she learned how to walk. Three times a week she trained with Artemis on the island to perfect her swordsmanship. Such a proud mother she was, her little one taking after her, her spitting image.
A half hour later she gave up on the cake, tossing its remains into the trashcan. She'll leave the baking to her husband, she thought to herself as she went to Lara's room. The child had her back to her mother, a bow and arrow in her hand as she focused intensely on the board in front of her. She was the only child whose room was more like a training room than a bedroom, despite being the second youngest. The left side was simple, with her bed and nightstand in the corner. The right side was dedicated to her training, one corner having a setup for archery, while the other had a dummy to battle whenever desired. Against the far wall leaned various tools, ranging from blades to staffs, and a shield not unlike Diana's.
Diana smiled brightly, knocking on the door frame to alert her daughter of her presence. "Get Archaeus and the shield, little one. Artemis will be ready for you soon," she says, motioning over to the pile of tools. Lara loved her weapons so much she named almost all of them, her favorite being the sword forged by Hephaestus himself as a gift to the child when she turned ten months prior.
Lara beamed back, wiping the sweat from her brow. A broken staff lay next to the dummy, the telltale signs of earlier practice. "I'll be ready in a moment," she mumbled while changing into more comfortable clothes. "Artemis says I'll be ready to face against her and Phillipus soon." She turned her eyes to her mother. "Do you think I'll be ready?"
"Of course," Diana agreed. "Your handling of your swords are improving very quickly. If you combine that with your speed, and you'll be untouchable."
The girl smiled before suddenly disappearing. "You mean like this?"
The voice came from behind her. Damn, she still wasn't used to that. "Yes, just like that," she laughed, turning to Lara. "Now, go get your brothers so we can drop them off to Clio for a couple of hours."
Lara nodded, disappearing down the long hallway. Diana looked after her, the smile unable to fade from her face.
"Looks like you're in a very good mood."
This time, she heard it coming. "With our beautiful children, how could I not?" she spoke, watching Clark come into the hall through the huge window. None of the houses really had anything covering them, especially where they stayed, in the palace on Paradise Island. They just reserved a section of it for themselves, luckily Hippolyta agreed to it.
She was pulled into a sweet, gentle kiss, one that showed how much he missed her after spending the morning and afternoon with the Amazons. "How was the cake baking?" he asked.
She colored, averting her eyes to the floor. "How was spending your day with my sisters?"
He chuckled, letting the change of topic happen. He figured that she would mess up. Oh well, it gave them all the more reason to cook together. "It wasn't bad," he shrugged. "Your mother is certainly warming up to me, although the only thing she talks about if your name is so much as mentioned is her "Little Sun and Stars"."
Diana rolled her eyes, playfully slapping his chest. "Oh, stop. Unlike our four, my mother only has the one. And she is the queen, she has every reason to gloat about her daughter."
He raised an eyebrow. "Gloat?" There was a hint of amusement in his voice. "Who said it was just praise? Today she told me of when you would often disappear somewhere on the island, and when you were found you'd have on nothing but the rays of the sun on your body, playing with the animals."
She didn't think she could get any redder, but she did. "My mother told you that?" she said incredulously. "How dare-"
"It was a cute story," he said, kissing her again. His lips moved lower down to her neck as he planted them against her pulse. Hearing a purr in return he continued, "Although, the only one who should have that privilege of seeing you in such a state now is me."
Within half a second she was pressed against as he slipped his hand down to the slit of her dress, tracing circles on her thigh. "K-Kal," she moaned, biting her lip. "Not here. I have to take the kids to Artemis and Clio."
"They can be late once," he said huskily, pressing his body against hers. "I'll think of something." He kissed her again before she could complain, drinking in her words.
"Uh, Mom, Dad?" Lyta said, disgust evident in her voice. The pair turned their head to her, the latter turning hers away as she pushed her glasses higher on her face. "The others have to go soon, remember?"
"Right, right." Giving him a look of triumph she nudged him away, fixing her dress. "Have them wait outside, I'll be there in a minute."
Lyta nodded, walking off. Diana turned to Clark, winking at him as she sauntered after. "Next time," she said seductively. "Trust me, when I get back you'll definitely get to use your privilege."
"In that case, I'll walk with you, so I can brag about it while we're out," he joked, following suit.
"Bruce, I'm starting to get worried," Clark said to him as he leaned against Bruce's chair, the both of them looking out onto the huge screen in front of them. "She's nowhere to be seen, and her communicator is off."
"I know," Bruce sighed. "I've got the rest of the League searching where she was last for the past few days, to make sure she didn't leave any clues. So far, nothing's come up. It's as if she vanished off of the planet."
The last time either of them had heard from her she was off to visit Paradise Island, to see if Hera had held up her promise of restoring the Amazons back to normal from their snake forms. Normally she would say when she landed, and even then she only planned for staying at the most a single night. Now, a week had passed and there was no word of her.
"None of her enemies seem to know of her whereabouts either," Bruce continued, going through several cameras connected to the computer.
"Are you sure the Cheetah didn't know much? They have a pretty extensive history," Clark mused. "When I spoke to her, she said that Diana seemed slightly off, but it could've been simply exhaustion. We did have roughly twenty missions in a single week before they fought."
Bruce looked at him incredulously. "Clark, she's the god of war and daughter of Zeus. Even without her being half-god, she has the strength, power and stamina of a thousand men. Do you really think fatigue could happen to her?"
Clark pinched the bridge of his nose, his worry slowly increasing. "I know, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I just-I can't fathom how she could possibly just disappear off of our radar like this."
Hal's signature suddenly lit up on the screen. Bruce opened it. "Batman to Green Lantern."
"You'll never guess what I found out," Hal said excitedly. He was standing somewhere neither Bruce or Clark could identify. "Wonder Woman purchased another home when her location in London was discovered. So far, I know she relocated somewhere in Greece."
Bruce and Clark looked at each other. "We're on our way there now," Bruce said, thanking Hal. "Tell the rest of the team to meet up in Athens, in front of the Acropolis Museum. Batman out."
With that said, the two men left, determined to find their friend.
"Artemis said that the ground was shaking for a bit earlier today," Lara said offhandedly as she sat with her parents and siblings at the dinner table. "I almost pierced her arm because of it."
Diana dropped the fork she was holding in her hand while Clark snickered, glancing over at his blushing wife. "Probably just tremors," he quipped, using his quick thinking to make up an excuse. There was no way he was going to explain that it was because of his and Diana's passionate lovemaking for an hour and a half straight in their bedroom, and then for another hour in the shower. Diana's hair was still damp, hanging loosely around her shoulders. As she brushed a lock out of her face she seemed to be reminded of why it was wet and blushed even harder.
Lyta rolled her eyes, already knowing why the tremors happened earlier. Nonetheless, she rolled with it. "We do live in the middle of the sea," she agreed. "Tremors are very likely."
The other three children accepted the explanation and resumed eating. Diana sighed in relief, elbowing Clark for laughing at her. He only shrugged, heavily amused by the situation.
"Hey Mom, do you think I can learn archery?" Kai asked, smiling brightly. Ever since his older sister took up archery, he had a keen interest in learning it, often asking her to showing him a move or two that could be easily taught.
Diana nodded. "Of course. I'll speak with my mother soon, so it can be arranged."
The rest of the evening went pretty well, and after the kids were put to bed Diana found herself on the balcony of her bedroom she shared with Clark, gazing up at the stars. She was content, yes, but she felt that something was missing. Something...wasn't right. But what could it be?
She was content with how everything was going, she had to be. It was the life she always wanted. When she met Clark all of those years ago, they were simply fighting against Darkseid. She was fresh out of Paradise Island, while Clark had been a superhero for quite some time already. They often butt heads, with Clark's rule of never killing and Diana's policy to kill when deemed necessary often becoming a problem. However, eventually, they were able to put aside their differences, working together as teammates.
Somewhere along the line, they fell in love. She never knew how it happened, like one day she woke up and knew it, and before they knew it they were in dating, and it felt so right, like it was meant to be.
So why did she feel off?
Two strong, warm arms wrapped around her waist. She didn't jump, knowing who it was already as Clark nuzzled the back of her neck. "Is everything alright?" he asked softly, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. "Normally you'd hear me coming, but you seem distracted."
Diana sighed, relaxing into the hold. "It's nothing, dear."
His grip on her tightened slightly as spoke, "You're lying to me. When we got married, we promised to be completely truthful with one another, no secrets, remember?"
Another breath escaped her as she recalled that wonderful day, and the promise that she somewhat regretted right now. "Fine." She turned to him, her steel blue eyes gazing into his soft ones. "Do...do you ever just feel like something's wrong? Like something doesn't feel right?"
Clark frowned, seemingly confused. "Not at all, love. All I've ever wanted in my life I have. I have a wife who I love dearly, and four wonderful children…" He suddenly gasped, stepping away from Diana.
She looked at him worriedly, now it's her turn to be the one confused. "What's wrong?" she asked.
His eyes widened and his right hand shook as he looked her in the eye. "You're…"
"I'm, what?"
His look of shock transformed into one of happiness. "You're pregnant."
"Listen, Smallville, I've been waiting for this date for months, and now you're going to cancel on me again?" Lois Lane shouted, jabbing a finger at Clark's chest. He was standing in her apartment in his Superman uniform. Of course she knew, she was the first one other than his parents to know of his superhero persona.
Clark sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. "It's Diana, Lois. I need to find her before anything happens to her."
"She's a damned god, for for Christ's sake! I'm sure she can take care of herself."
His features hardened as he gently pushed her hand away from him. "Lois. If she was fine, she would be here right now. She wouldn't have vanished off of the face of the planet without so much as a message, I know her better than that."
"Oh, so you know her now?" she screamed, growing increasingly angry.
Clark did take the blame, after all it was his fault that they hadn't gone out in months. Either he had made up an excuse to grab a good story, or he was busy with something going on in the world, and usually he apologized. But he was not going to apologize for worrying about one of his closest friends. "She's my friend, Lois. I told you this a long time ago. We're so alike, it's insane-"
"Then why don't you date her then?" Lois demanded.
Clark was shocked. "Lois, why? Why would you say that?"
"Because I'm tired of it, Clark!" The fire in her eyes backed up her statement. Clark always noticed the spark of jealousy in her eyes whenever Diana was brought up in her presence, or the masked look of contempt whenever Diana spoke to her personally. Did she really think he…?
"I don't have time for this." He turned to go out of the window, leaving a fuming Lois behind. "I need to go save my friend, and Rao be damned if I don't find her in time."
"Don't bother coming back," Lois seethed behind him. He could feel her eyes burning into the back of his head as he disappeared out of the window.
As he flew, he recalled Lois's words as they bounced around in his head, the only other thought as he scanned the cities for Diana. Why don't you date her then?
He never thought of it, honestly. It never crossed his mind, it never-
His communicator started beeping. Pulled out of his thoughts he pressed it against ear. "Superman here. What's going on?"
"It's Flash," Barry answered, sounding impatient. "Where are you? We've been here for about twenty minutes, thought you'd be one of the first to show up. Even Green Lantern-" there was a "Hey!" somewhere in the background-"is here before you."
"I had to stop to do something beforehand, but don't worry. I'm on my way." Right. No more distractions. He had to save his closest friend. Suddenly picking up speed, he flew to Athens.
"Is there a reason my daughter is so troubled?" Hippolyta asked, startling Diana. It was days after she announced her pregnancy to the rest of Paradise Island, and she knew she should be happy. She was, yet deep down inside something told her that this was wrong, all of it.
Instead of confiding in her mother, however, she instead picked her head up from the bed she was laying in and smiled brightly. "It's nothing, Mother. I figured I should rest before meeting up with Kal and the children for dinner tonight. I am bit tired, after all."
The queen smirked. "I can imagine why, with that man all over you. He's either tending to the island or tending to you, and I know which one is more prominent in his mind."
"Mother!" Diana rolled her eyes, a blush forming on her cheeks. But what could she deny? She was living proof of it, her and her soon-to-be growing family of five.
"Relax, child. I only tease." Hippolyta sat next to her in the bed, resting a hand on her legs. There was also a smile on her face, and a look that told of recollections. "I remember when you were just a child, running free through these palace halls for games," she said. "Now, I get to have the joy of four of you having to be chased until exhaustion."
Diana chuckled. "Another little one will join them, soon enough."
"Have you thought of names, yet?"
She rested a hand on her stomach. "I'm not entirely sure yet. Kal wants to choose with me, so I'm waiting until he's free and not tired to make a decision."
"You mean free and not ready to jump you whenever possible," Hippolyta joked. Diana blushed again, prompting a laugh from the older woman. "I've not seen you this happy in a long time, I will admit that."
Diana gave her a curious look. "I can tell you love him dearly," her mother continued. "The spark in your eye, it's a fire that you had as a child when Apollo and Hades came to this island and you protected me. It's the same exact fire that shows your fierce loyalty to your family, your dedication to them."
Another grin pulled at Diana's lips, this one genuine. "It's true, mother. I do love them dearly, they're my entire world."
"As you are mine, my sun and stars." Hippolyta pulled Diana into a tight hug. "When you went to Man's World with Trevor, I never thought I'd see you ever again, but here you are, my child. You're stronger than ever, and I've never been more proud."
They pulled away, Diana wiping away tears that had started forming. "Thank you, Mother," she said gratefully. "I really appreciate it."
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Both women invited the person in, and it turned out to be Clark. "Speak of the devil," Hippolyta chuckled as she stood, turning to exit the room. "I'll leave you two to your...activities, daughter. I only ask if you two don't tear down the walls as you did during your first coupling."
Diana's face burned so red she could only face Clark, who was snickering. "We did leave a bit of a mess," he agreed when Hippolyta was out of earshot.
"A bit? The entire hall was damaged and we had to stay in the guesthouse for a month!" Diana exclaimed. "I was so embarrassed, having to explain why the hall was destroyed."
He chuckled as he crawled into their bed, cuddling her instantly. "I think that's when the twins were conceived," he says nonchalantly, as if certain. "That was quite a day. I never saw you cu-"
" I get it!" Diana shouted, slapping him away jokingly. "Zeus, you're just as bad as my mother."
"I learned from the best." He seemed to be in thought for a moment. "'I'll bet that Lara was conceived when we spent the night on the far side of the island that one time," he mentioned. "You couldn't keep your hands off of me."
She rolled her eyes again. "This is coming from the person who was raging long before we started anything simply because I wore my wine-colored tunic."
"Hey, it looks sexy on you!" He pressed a kiss against her temple, a hand running over his wife's stomach. "I'm certain Kai was conceived that August. You were awfully handsy then."
"If a certain someone didn't wear nothing but tight pants and look absolutely delicious, then that wouldn't have been a problem," she purred, rolling them over so that she sat on top of his waist.
"Someone's in a playful mood," Clark said huskily as Diana leaned forward for a kiss.
"Well, my mother is partially correct," she smirked as she started to undress him. "Let's not break the headboard and bed this time, shall we?"
Clark finally met up with the others in Athens. Bruce looks heavily impatient, as per usual. "Next time, you don't make pit stops," he growled as Clark touched down.
Clark rolled his eyes. "I didn't think I needed to tell you of every whereabout, Batman." Bruce pulled out a paper, handing it to Clark. "This is her address. She lives on the outskirts of the town, I believe she wanted to be unnoticed by everybody this time."
"Didn't she live in London beforehand?" Barry asked.
Bruce nodded. "As we all know, London is a high profile city, one of the most popular in the world. I'd suspect that she changed her locations due to her recent family issues."
Clark agreed with him. "I've met her...extended family. Not very fun people." He recalled when Diana trusted him enough to bring him with her to Paradise Island. He saw her, the strongest woman who ever lived and the embodiment of grace and regality sink to her knees and bawl her eyes out as she sat in front of the clay statue of her mother, hugging onto it for dear life.
"She's all I had," she had said to him. "I never asked for this. I never asked to be the product of some coupling between god and woman. I always wanted to be born of my mother, and when I find out she's taken away from me. My entire life was a lie…"
He related so much to her at that moment, it hurt. Both of them lost their parents, due to things that couldn't have possibly been prevented. They both were immortal godlike warriors who were born with their power, and discovered the truth as they got older, and as she switched from hugging the statue to him he felt his bond with her deepen, and his care for her increase. He felt the need to be close to her, and in that exact moment he had a strong desire to see her smile again.
"Superman!" Bruce called out, jerking Clark away from his thoughts. He was obviously irritated with the Kryptonian, hissing, "I know your superhearing didn't malfunction just now. I called for you five times."
Clark shrugged, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, my mind was elsewhere."
"Clearly. I was saying that we split up-"
"Because she actually brought two places," Arthur interjected. "Cyborg just found the other location, while you were elsewhere mentally."
"It's in Cyprus," Vic told the others. "Batman suggested that you and he go to the place that's here, while we go to the other, and if we need each other we'll give a call."
Clark nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. Alright, if anything happens, we'll let each other know."
After everybody knew of what was happening, they split up. Bruce suggested to Clark that they change into civilian clothing, to look more normal and not attract anyone. They "left" and quickly changed outfits, appearing back in the city looking no different than the others.
Diana's apartment was only a mile away from their location, so they decided to walk. "Clark, you definitely seem a bit unhinged," Bruce commented.
Clark raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"You're never that unfocused, especially during a mission. You were thinking of Diana, weren't you?"
"Of course I was," he admitted. "She's the one that's missing. I'm concerned."
Bruce rolled his eyes. "I'd say you're a bit more than concerned. It's been a thing for a while now. I've seen all of the signs."
"She's a friend," Clark insisted. "A well-trusted colleague. Nothing more."
Bruce left it at that. Clark focused on the road in front of them, his mind once again wandering. What Bruce was implying was utter nonsense. He was in love with Lois-
The woman who broke up with him because of this exact reason.
No worries, he told himself. He could fix it later.
The two arrived at the apartment, a modest place that was rather large, but did its job. She lived on the top floor, as expected. Nobody would walk past her and suspect anything, and hardly anybody roamed the streets later at night. They walked inside the building, climbing the stairs to the top floor.
Clark knocked, and on the second tap the door opened eerily. Odd. They went inside, and they gasped at what they saw. The first room, the living room was completely a mess, the furniture upturned, the glass coffee table shattered into bits, the TV and stand knocked over. There were even spots of scorched fabric on the floor, alerting the two men.
They quickly changed back into uniform, moving through the apartment. Every single room was a mess, a sure sign of a struggle. Each room showed more of a struggle, which worried Clark. Whoever fought her...they were clearly quite a problem.
They made it to the back of the apartment, which was behind a locked door. With ease they unlocked it, and the sight they were welcomed to both sparked a dull ache and anger in the two.
Diana was kneeling where her bed once was, which was now pushed to the other side of the room. Her usual sparkling eyes were now dull, yet familiar. It was the same look Clark had on his face, only once before. She was still in uniform, her cuts and bruises already healing from being untouched for days. Her tiara hung limply in her hand, her hair tousled and wild.
On her chest sat the one thing that the two men would never wish upon anybody: Black Mercy.
"Who the hell did this?" Clark exclaimed as they went over to her. He waved a hand in front of her and patted her face to see if she'd respond, but to no avail. "How did this even get back here? I could've sworn I tossed this onto Mongul."
Immediately they began to pull on it, but it seemed a lot stronger than before, managing to not even budge an inch from its host. "Damn, whoever did this knew what they were doing," Bruce grunted. "Damn thing is on there tight."
Clark frowned. "Why would anybody do this? Why to her?"
"Because," a sultry voice suddenly purred from behind them, prompting them to turn around, "I play to win, and I believe I've won this battle."
In the doorway stood Circe, Wonder Woman's archenemy. "What do you want with her?" Bruce demanded.
Circe chuckled, as if it were obvious. "She's the only thing that stands in my way, little man. You two don't stand a chance against my magic, of course, but she did. She always did, so I did her a favor and let her have one happy dream before it kills her. Oh, and don't bother trying to take it off. It's sealed with magic."
"Get that off of her now!" they shouted, preparing to battle her..
Circe cackled. "Really, do you think I'll allow you two the pleasure of seeing my power. It would be child's play. How about a friend of mine, instead?" With a wave of her hand they were transported to an unknown location, appearing as a desolate area of some sort with tall structures all over the place.
"Superman," a familiar voice called out, "I've been waiting to have my rematch with you. How about round two?"
Oh, Rao. Mongul. "Now's time for the fun," Circe laughed as Mongul charged at the two of them. "Won't be too long now before Wonder Woman's reduced to nothing but a thing of the past!"
Nobody noticed the arm twitch.
A/N: Oh my god, this is like one of my longest chapters ever and I'm quite proud of it. The writing could've been done a little better, but it's a LOT more structured and in character than what I used to write.
I intended to make this as a oneshot, but I suppose I'll make it a twoshot, or even more. We'll see how this goes.
Comments and criticism are more welcomed.