Themyscira

Lois walked on the beach a little after noon barefoot. She loved feeling the sand between her toes. Someone would wash her feet later. She stopped and closed her eyes as a cool breeze caressed her skin and blew her hair back. She caressed the silver locket around her neck. "You should be resting."

Lois opened her eyes and grinned at Diana. "I was growing restless. And I have always taken walks whenever I was with child…but Clark was always with me." Lois said and sighed.

"I miss him as well." Diana said. "He was a true friend, a brother in arms. He taught me there was more to life than war." They looked over their shoulders to see nine-year-old Princess Hippolyta riding her colt further down the beach. Diana grinned at her daughter. Lois and Diana began walking. A small group of the royal guard walked some steps behind them to give them some privacy. "Durkin's accusations against you are cruel and unjust. Just ask and I can take care of him." Diana said.

"No. He had just cause to make such a claim. He knew we had not shared a bed in months but not that we had begun to again. I would have made the same claim if it were any other woman but I will soon be proven innocent. Right, my darling?" Lois caressed her round stomach. She felt her unborn child kick. "And he agrees with me." Lois said.

"He? So it is a boy, then?" Diana asked.

"The Council wishes it to be a boy and I believe all of Krypton does as well. But another girl will do as well." Lois said.

"Well, women tend to be far more wiser than men." They chuckled. "The League shall come to your defense if the Council plots against you after the child is born." Diana said.

"Thank you but no. Clark would want no violence, especially with his friends and his people on opposite sides. All shall reveal itself in due cour…" Lois gasped and sighed deeply. She rubbed her belly.

"Is something the matter?" Diana asked. Lois leaned on her for support.

"I think it is time!" Lois gasped.

"Fetch the wagon!" Diana commanded. Some Amazons ran back for the wagon not far from here. Lois sighed and took a deep breath. "Reveal itself in due course?" She asked jokingly.

"He is as impatient as his father." Lois said. The Amazons then returned with the wagon. It took five of them to lift Lois onto the wagon. She took deep breaths. She had done this twice before but she never was truly prepared for this.

Lois screamed as another labor pain afflicted her and she squeezed Diana's hand. "Your Majesty must push!" The midwife said.

"I AM!" Lois yelled and clenched her mouth shut to muffle another scream. She pushed again and a baby's cry filled the chamber. Lois's head fell back on the pillows breathing heavily.

"A boy!"

Diana chuckled. "A son. You have your son, Lois!" Diana said. The baby boy was taken over to water basin and he wailed as they began cleaning him. Clark, you have a son. Lois thought as she stared at the ornate ceiling. Lois screamed when she felt another sharp pain. "What is it?" The midwife put a hand on Lois's swollen belly. "What is the matter?" Diana asked.

The midwife then shushed Diana. She felt up and down Lois's stomach. "I believe there to be another child."

"WHAT?!" Diana and Lois exclaimed in unison.

"You may be royals but I know affairs such as this. She is carrying twins." Lois yelled out in pain again. "And this one shall be here soon." The midwife said. "I need more blankets and another water basin!" Some minutes later, another baby's cry filled the chamber. "A girl!"

"Another daughter, Lois. The gods blessed you with yours and Krypton's wish." Diana said.

"If Clark were here, I would kill him for this." Lois said out of breath. She laid her head back against the pillows and took in deep breaths as someone dabbed her forehead with a damp cloth. She opened her eyes and looked over at her children: The boy had follicles of black hair and the girl blond follicles. She could not see their eyes yet but all of the House of El were born with blue eyes. Lois always got lost in Kal-El's blue eyes. She grinned at her twins and then suddenly, she could not stop the tears from coming. "I am alone. He is gone!"

Diana held her as she cried. "It is alright." Diana stroked her hair. "Everything is going to be alright."


Lois sat up in bed staring down at the portrait of Clark inside the silver locket. She heard the door open. "Looking at that every day shall only bring you more pain." Queen Hippolyta said. Lois looked up.

"Not long before he died, we spoke of having more children. I just never imagined doing this without him. He always had this…skill for surviving even the most bloodiest of battles, the deadliest assassins, and the unending game of politics." Lois said.

Hippolyta sat down in the chair at her bedside. "Yes, he did. My personal guard almost slew him once, many years ago, but he survived long enough for Diana to come to his aid. I remember thinking he looked so much like his father but only with black hair. He was a good man, a great king." Hippolyta said.

"I miss him so much. I never wanted to live without him." Lois said somberly.

"I too was in love once…with Diana's father. It is against our customs to fall in love with the men we choose to sire daughters with but I did. And like my daughter has with this Steven Trevor but he is a far better man than her father. It broke my heart to learn that he was already married. I forsake all men after that but there are days when I still think about him. And I shall always be forever thankful for the child he gave me." Hippolyta said.

"I just wish I had more time with him." Lois said.

"Be thankful for the time you did have together. Many cannot boast of such a claim. And I am sorry to say that the gods work in mysterious ways. We can never truly understand their intentions for every joyful and cruel act. But all that has happened was meant to happen. And all shall be revealed in time. We cannot escape our destinies." Hippolyta said and Lois quietly chuckled. "What?"

"Clark said that to me on the hard days of being king. We cannot escape our destinies… He said that it was our destiny to find and love each other until the end of our days." Lois closed the locket. "But I do not care about destiny. I just want my husband back." Lois said.

"In the end, we all find a way back to our loved ones." Hippolyta said. They could hear one of the babies cooing. "Have you named them yet?"

"Yes. The boy is Jor-El. And the girl is Lara." Lois said.

"They are fine names." Hippolyta said.

"When I was carrying little Kara, we swore we would not name any of our children after ourselves, no matter what happens. It was tempting to name him after his father but I kept my promise." Lois said and glanced over at the two cradles to her right. "It breaks my heart knowing that my son and daughter will never know their father."

"They will, through us, the people that knew him best. It will not be the same but we can only hope that it will be enough for them. And we can only hope to one day say that Jor-El, the third of his name, is his father's son." Hippolyta said.

"Thank you, Hippolyta." Lois said. "You said what I needed to hear." They grinned at each other. Then they heard two low bellows from the large horn at the peak of the island. "What is that?"

"Intruder!" Hippolyta drew her sword. Lois reached under her pillow for her dagger. "No, you are not strong enough. My personal guard shall be here shortly." The door opened and single Amazon entered the chamber. "Who are you? I do not know you." Hippolyta raised her sword when she saw the crudely made sword in the 'Amazon's' hand. "ASSASSIN!"

The assassin charged Hippolyta. Their swords locked. Hippolyta pushed back the assassin and kicked her abdomen. The assassin fell back and quickly dodged Hippolya's thrust. Hippolyta kicked the sword out of her hand and thrust her sword into the assassin's gut. Lois saw Hippolyta's body stiffen. "Hippolyta?" Hippolyta let go of her sword and turned around. A dagger was thrust up into her chest. Hippolyta dropped down to her knees groaning and fell back. Though weak, Lois climbed out of the bed. Lois used the bed for support and collapsed down to all fours when she reached its end. She crawled to Hippolyta.

Lois placed Hippolyta's head in her lap. Her breath was shallow and she turning pale. Lois put her left hand around the hilt and Hippolyta nodded once. Hippolyta groaned as she removed the dagger from her chest. Lois ripped out the sleeve of her underdress and put pressure down onto the wound. "Mother!" Diana called and ran into the chamber. "Get the physician!" Diana rushed to them. "Mother."

"Diana… Diana." Hippolyta said weakly.

"Yes, I am here." Diana said and took her mother's hand.

"My daughter…" Hippolyta said and grinned at her. Diana grinned back even with the tears in her eyes. Then her grin faded and her eyes were frozen.

"Mother…? Mother! No!" Diana still held her mother's hand and wept. The royal guard rushed into the chamber with the physician but Diana's wails signaled that they were too late. The Amazons removed their helms and put on somber faces. The only sounds that filled the halls were the sounds of Diana's and the twins crying.


Queen Hippolyta lay atop a funeral pyre in a long violet chiton. In one hand was an olive branch and the other was her sword. Two gold coins were placed over eyes. Amazons were gathered in a large, grouped circle in their white chitons and golden cuirasses. Diana wore a long dark red chiton. Her daughter, Princess Hippolyta, wore a violet chiton.

Artemis handed Diana a torch. Diana slowly walked up to the funeral pyre. Oil had been poured on her mother's body. Diana put two fingers to her lips and then placed them on her mother's lips. Then she lit the pyre, starting from the feet up to her head. The Amazons held their heads high as they watched their queen burn.

Diana turned to face them all. "On this day, my mother burns. And she was not just a mother to me but to us all. But what truly matters is that two of our Amazonian sisters are dead. We are all bound by sisterhood and we cannot let this treachery stand! Prepare yourselves, sisters. We have ignored our skills for far too long. When Queen Lois is able, we sail for Krypton. We sail…FOR WAR!"

The Amazons' war cries echoed throughout the island. Lois could hear them. She stood looking out the window at the pillar of smoke. "Oh Clark…if only you were here to stop this madness."

7 Years Later

Diana and Lois were looking over a map of Krypton. "We can lead the Zoners away leaving the convoy unprotected." Diana said.

"But is the real convoy or one of the decoys that are traps?" Lois asked. "We shall know more when J'onn returns."

"My queen!" Commander Cam-Zel ran into the Great Hall. "Star City has fallen!"

"Hera! King Oliver? Queen Dinah?" Diana asked.

"Dead. Their children and ward escaped with half the people. And Vertigo is dead. King Oliver remained behind to kill him. Now Zod has sent a battalion to claim Star City for himself." Commander Cam-Zel said.

"Where are their children?" Lois asked.

"Hiding in the mountains. They make way for Gotham." Cam-Zel said.

"Diana…" Lois said.

"I leave for Gotham at once." Diana said.

"There is no need. I shall send a falcon to the city." Cam-Zel said.

"Cam-Zel, leave us." Lois said. He bowed and left the Great Hall. "How long since you have seen him?"

"Near a year." Diana said. She put on a chlamys over her golden cuirass. "And Bruce could use some aid against Ra's al Ghul's siege of the city. I do not wish to abandon you but…"

"Yes. He is in greater need than us. We shall manage." Lois said.

"Are you sure?" Diana asked.

"Go. I shall send Chris if we are in need of you." Lois said. Diana and her gripped forearms and then embraced.

"I shall be back, my friend." Diana said.

"I know." Lois said.

The next morning, Diana mounted her stallion and rode out of Smallville with her troops heading for the ports at Granville, where their armada was docked. Lois watched them leave from the town gates. Some people had gathered below and had scared looks on their faces. "The Amazons shall return. Our ally, Gotham, is in great need of them. If we are to defeat Zod and one day return home, then we shall need as many allies as we can get." Lois said. She descended the stairs.


3 Months Later

They moaned loudly and Bruce rolled off top of Diana. They both were breathing heavily. "What were we speaking of again?" Bruce asked panting.

"It does not matter." Diana said and they chuckled. She lay on her right side and ran her hand up his torso. She then straddled him and kissed both his sweaty pecs. War had kept them both very fit. "We should focus on their left flank so we can surprise them from the rear."

"A fine plan…that shall be the most effective at night." Bruce said rubbing her thighs.

Diana sighed frustrated and rolled her eyes. "A coward's tactic!" Diana said.

"But with a greater chance of success." Bruce said.

"No." Diana said.

"No? No!" Bruce said playfully. He rolled them so he was top and she was giggling. He kissed her and they passionately made love again.

Diana put back on her chiton and Bruce put back on his trousers. His back was to her. Diana wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed his bare shoulders. "I thought we said we would stop this." Diana said.

"So did I." Bruce said. They had made love again last night in his bedchamber.

"Then how did this happen again?" Diana asked chuckling.

"We were discussing a night attack on Ghul's siege weapons." Bruce said as he put on his shirt.

"No, you were discussing it. I was not listening because that is a coward's tactic." Diana said softly. Bruce turned around and wrapped his arms around her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Perhaps to you Amazons but we Gothamites are best in the dark." Bruce said.

"And we argued and ended up back in your bed." Diana said. They both smirked and kissed tenderly. "But now I must see to my other lovers."

Bruce chuckled. Diana pulled away and picked up a pair of gray trousers. She put them on under her chiton. "We have to stop." Bruce said softly.

"We have been trying for months, for years, and here we are. Bruce… " Diana held up his gray gambeson helped him put it on. "…if we cannot stop, then at least we can be careful." Diana said.

Bruce tied up the laces and turned around to face her. "Yes, perhaps. But our children have their suspicions." Bruce said.

"And that is why we will be careful." Diana caressed his face. Bruce grinned at her. "What?" She asked smiling. But before he could say anything, there was the sound of a large explosion and then the alarm of the large bell in the center of the city.

"What in the name of…?" Bruce rushed to a nearby window to see the smoke coming from the city gates.

"Sire…!" Sir Jonah Hex burst into the chamber. "They have breached the gates."

"I want all knights, soldiers, and the city garrison to the gates at once!" Bruce commanded. Sir Jonah rushed out. Bruce went over to the stand bearing his armor. He grabbed his gray hauberk and put it on, and then his gray cuirass. He grabbed his sword belt and put it on, and grabbed a gray kite shield with a large G on it and a gray enameled steel spectacle helm.

"Please be careful." Diana said behind him.

Bruce walked up to her. "Always." He caressed her face. "Get out of the city. I will find you." Diana nodded. They kissed tenderly and then he left.

Hours later, Diana bit down on a belt as her wound on her right shoulder was cauterized. She yelled out of pain but she remained still. "What of the Gotham Army?"

"They are in full retreat, my queen. A handful of knights escaped." An Amazon said. "What do you command?"

"Let us find those knights. King Bruce may be among them." Diana groaned as her wound was bandaged up.

"BRUCE! BRUCE!" Diana called as she and a group of Amazons rode through the Gotham woods.

"HERE!" Someone called and they halted before a dark figure. "We are here! Come quickly!" The Amazons dismounted and followed the man into the woods leading their frightened horses into the dark trees.

"My prince, it is Queen Diana." Sir Jonah said. Prince Al stood.

"Where is Bruce?" Al could not look her in the eye. "Is he dead?" Diana asked plainly but Al could see the pain in her eyes.

"We do not know. He told me Ra's would want him alive and he told me, told us to run." Al said.

"Are you coward?! You left him!" Diana yelled.

"My father commanded me to run AND SO I RAN! I GOT HELENA AND WE RAN!" Al was panting and they glared at each other. "My father told me to raise another army and come back for him. Now…other soldiers have escaped the city. We need to find them. You can help me or you can leave Gotham."

Diana took a deep breath. "I shall help you."

"Thank you… And the last thing I am is a coward. I am Bruce Wayne's son after all." Al said and began walking away. "Even if Damian is more of a son to him than I am." He whispered the latter but Diana heard him.

"If he did not love you, he would not have told you to run." Diana said and Al halted for a second but then continued walking.