Beast of Burden

12 hours after the meeting in the Gotham café

Diana stepped from her jet and looked at Lois, pleased to see the other woman showing the utmost respect to Themyscira and her sisters. Diana watched the various guards walking close to both her and Lois, and she was surprised that Lois didn't drop her gaze. If nothing else, Amazons respected courage and determination. She knew that her sisters could tell Lois had both.

Hippolyta looked at her daughter and the woman from Man's World. She was about to say something about a stranger being on Themyscira when she felt the lingering essence of Zeus. She closed her eyes and uttered a silent curse.

"Mother, I have come to plead an audience with Hera. She needs to know what her husband has done."

"I feel that Zeus has once again returned to the mortal world. If she is with you then it also means that she was not willing," Hippolyta stated.

Lois spoke. "I was not willing. He tricked me. Your Majesty, I've read much Greek history, enough to know what Heracles did to you and to the Amazons here."

Lois noticed that Hippolya's expression changed drastically. Lois knelt down and lowered her head in a sign of respect and continued.

"Zeus continued in his son's tactics. Unlike Heracles, Zeus changed his form. He took the form of my husband. He came to me and took me for his own. I fell into the trap because my senses betrayed me into thinking that it was my husband. I gave myself willingly until he changed back into his true form. I don't know what Hera can do to him, but I ask you, please allow Diana to contact her on my behalf."

Hippolyta walked toward Lois and brought her up. She touched Lois's face and a small grin formed.

"I shall do better. Both of you follow me into the temple," she said. Once inside the temple, Hippolyta knelt and beseeched Hera. The goddess appeared. She looked at both Hippolyta and Diana before she noticed the mortal woman standing in their midst.

"Why is there a mortal here, Hippolyta?" Hera asked.

"Hera, please listen to what this mortal woman has to say. It concerns your husband," Hippolyta said.

Lois stepped forward and relayed the entire story to Hera. The goddess walked next to Lois and had her step away from both Diana and Hippolyta.

"It is not a usual thing to see a mortal woman disgusted with what my husband does. I feel anger, but not at you. To spare you pain, I wish it was within my power, but I cannot take the child from your womb. It grows even now. All I can do is ensure that it will be a girl," she said gently. "I ask that you allow Diana to train her. I will bestow great powers to her. That in itself will greatly upset my husband, but it is not enough. Zeus needs to learn the error of his ways." She watched Lois's eyes harden in anger once more. "In three days' time I will convince him to travel to the mortal world and leave most of his power behind. Once there your husband will have the chance to teach my husband some manners. I suggest that he takes full advantage of it." Hera smiled, before they rejoined Hippolyta and Diana.

"She shall have a daughter. Diana, it will be your reasonability to train the child in the Amazon arts. When she is old enough to decide she may come here or stay in the mortal world. That is all I can do." Without another word, she turned and disappeared.

"What else did she say?" Diana asked.

"She is going to convince Zeus to leave Olympus and leave most of his powers there. When he arrives on earth she asked if Clark would be there to teach him a lesson," Lois answered.

Diana smiled and realized exactly what Hera had in mind. A good thrashing from Superman would ensure Zeus would not attempt such a disgusting thing again.

Arkham Asylum

Mr. Freeze stood in his cell when Hades once again appeared. He carried the staff head to Fries and presented it to him.

"Understand that if you do this a payment will be needed. I will not promise that things will be any better," Hades said.

Fries nodded and took the staff head. He held it and the entire room seemed to morph around them. Within seconds Hades stood facing Mrs. Fries. Nora Fries looked at her body which was the same she as she could remember. She looked at Hades with a questioning look.

"It didn't work. Victor changed jobs to Wayne Enterprises and managed to save me. He then contracted a neurological condition that made my illness pale in comparison. I placed him in Cryostats and the effect was broken by Dagget when he tried to steal the technology that Victor had created. Victor is still dead and I am still like this!" Nora shouted at Hades.

"It worked then," Hades said has he begun to turn.

"Didn't you listen?! Victor is dead!" she shouted again.

Hades looked at her and touched her forehead. The entire experience that Victor had lived through everything he had done for her passed through her head. She fell to her knees and would have cried if the tears where not all frozen.

"Please undo it," she said.

"I promised your husband that he could change things. He had a few years with you and the both of you had a child together, correct?" Hades asked.

"It's not fair. Please I will do anything if you change it back. I would rather have him alive than live with the knowledge that he gave his life to just have a little more time with me," Nora said.

"Very well I will change things back, but with one difference. You will remember what happened. You will live every day with the understanding that your love is becoming more and more like the ice that ensures his survival. That is unless you are willing to do something about it."

"What can I do?" she cried.

"Find Wonder Woman and ask her about the healing waters on Themyscira. It may help your former husband to become whole once more," Hades said before he turned and left. The room once again warped in and out. Victor Fries stood in his cell and knew what Nora had done. She had traded their short life together to save him. He loved her, but now he wondered what would happen.

Gotham City

Batman stood in the Batcave. His eyes studied the history of Themyscira as Diana had told him. He tried to search for the history of heroes being tested. Each time he came across the tests it always was nearly skipped over. He finally decided that the gods had decided that no hero would know what to expect. His mind stopped thinking about what was happening, and instead he began thinking about Diana. He sat down in the chair. His face softened as he thought of her. He knew that Diana understood how he felt, but he also knew that if he accepted this it would eventually harm her. He didn't want to believe it, but the proof stood. Crane could hurt her, so could Ivy and Freeze. And if they could harm her then it was no doubt that Joker could.

"I'm sorry, Princess, but I will not allow you to be harmed," he said to himself.

Unknown to him the goddess of love, Aphrodite, stood watching. She finally could no longer contain herself and walked toward him. She laid a hand on his shoulder and watched has he turned around.

"You shouldn't try to make her mind up for her," Aphrodite said to him.

"I don't want to be the reason she is killed," he replied, looking at the goddess before him. He saw she was beautiful, but somehow her beauty paled compared to Diana's.

"That you see her has more beautiful only shows how much you care. Do not lock your heart away. It would discredit your parents to do so. And yes, I knew them. I had a hand in their meeting after all. I only wish that I could have stopped their deaths, but it was Phobos who set it in motion." She said

Bruce felt anger toward the God of fear. He not only had caused Diana to suffer a great deal, but now he was responsible for the death of his parents which had caused him no end of anguish for so long.

Metropolis - the Kents' apartment.

Lois sat on the bed and relayed what happened again, and she hoped for the last time. Unlike the other times, she was terrified that the person listening now would hate her for what happened. She feared more than anything that he would leave her and never return. Her heart felt near-breaking has she explained everything Zeus had done to her. She finally summoned the courage to glance at the listener. She looked into the eyes of Clark Kent as he touched her hand and then pulled her into an embrace.

She felt the tears welling up again. This time it wasn't over the pain of being used, but it was over the joy that her husband didn't leave.

"You said that Hera was going to convince him to come to the mortal world?" he asked.

"Yes… She said that it would be in three days and that was yesterday," she said.

"Tomorrow. Then I'm going to be gone for a while. When I get home it will be me. Lois, I won't force you to do anything, but I want you to know that I will always love you," he said as he kissed her.

She pulled him close and held him. "Clark, beat his ass."

Smallville, Kansas

Zeus wondered why Hera convinced him to come here. This country was beautiful, but it was not his ideal location. He would have chose to visit Rome or perhaps what remained of Athens. He turned when a sudden stream of air hit him.

He turned to see Superman standing before him.

The Man of Steel threw the first punch.