Chapter 4

"Get back everybody, please!" Clark shouted to the group of school children on the bridge as he managed to break combat for a short moment. Why is there always a group of school children? he thought to himself. "I'll show you how to deal with bullies" he told them with a smile. The assailant was tall, at least ten foot, and was broad and muscular. It looked to be half man/half beast and was hosting some sort of cybernetic equipment on the side of its face. It's eyes were glowing red, but they looked intelligent. Too intelligent for me to kill Clark thought and with all these people… I have to show them that there's another way. He leapt forwards, with such speed that he was just a blur of red and blue, and gripped both sides of the monster's neck with all his strength. "There's always… hmph… two ways… hmph… of doing things..." Clark shouted out as he struggled to stay on top of the creature whilst he was being flung backwards and forwards. "There's the… hmph... violent way… and the … hmph…. peaceful way" The creature flung its right arm up towards Superman, grabbing him around the chest and throat with his long talons, prising him free of its neck and holding him high above the ground. "First…" Clark choked out, trying to pull apart the monster's fingers to release his grip, "try the peaceful way… hmph… and if, and only if, that doesn't... hmph… work…" The monster tightened its clasp around Clark's body. I can't believe how strong this creature is Clark thought to himself, not as strong as Doomsday but still, I'm actually struggling to breathe here. Clark struggled some more, now beating against the monster's forearm with all his strength: is the creature getting stronger or am I getting weaker? Clark began to feel light-headed. What's happening to me? He thought. He considered the possibility that the creature might have been concealing Kryptonite, but a quick check with his x-ray vision told him that that wasn't the case. I'm going to pass out said a voice in his head, now would be a good time to try the… the… the violent way… Clark felt himself slipping away, the screaming voices of the school children ringing in his ears.

Diana was flying as fast as she could. Was it possible that Clark was really in danger? Suddenly she passed over the bridge. She didn't have telescopic vision like he did, but she could quite clearly see the scene that was unfolding below her. Superman was in the clutches of a huge monster, at least ten feet tall she thought, and was trying desperately to pull apart its fingers. But what else was there? She looked closer. Is he talking?! Diana thought to herself as she saw his lips open and close and his hands alternating between gestures towards the monster and then towards what looked like a group of children who were trapped on the bridge. I bet he's giving them that stupid lecture about "the violent way and the peaceful way" she thought to herself. Then she tried to emulate Clark's voice in her head: "Only try the violent way when the peaceful way fails, blah blah blah".

"Well to hell with that!" The warrior princess screamed as she dived towards the back of the creature's neck. She was high up but descending rapidly. As the bridge got larger and larger, as she got closer and closer, she started to see Superman's punches growing slower and weaker until they ceased altogether and his body seemed to go limp in the monster's grip. O' my God!

"No!" she screamed as she landed hard and drove her sword into the top of the creature's shoulder, pushing it halfway through its body and into its heart. The creature's body stiffened and its head shot up, as if in surprise. It released its hold on Clark and his body fell to the ground.

"Aaaargh!" Diana screamed once more as she pulled out her sword and launched herself off of the creature's neck and landed on the road in front of it. It was still staggering forward. With a fierce warrior's cry that echoed throughout the whole city she jumped forwards and in one swift motion, with the sharpest sword that Hephaestus had ever forged, cut off the creature's head and let it plummet to the ground. The whole beast fell, first to its knees and then flat on its chest; it was still. Diana was breathing heavily and was covered in the monster's blood as she stood on the bridge, a fierce expression of fury on her face. She looked to the school children.

"It's alright now" she tried to tell them, still struggling to catch her breath. "You're safe". They just stood staring at her. Some had their mouths wide open. They knew Wonder Woman had just saved their lives, but it was still hard for them not to be terrified of her when she stood covered in blood next to a creature whose head she had just severed in front of them. Some of the smaller children started crying. Diana looked down at her armour and brought her hands to her face, feeling the warm stickiness that came from being covered in fresh blood. O' my God she thought to herself. What have I done? She only stood there for a moment before Clark's still-limp body caught her eye; he was lying on the asphalt. She didn't have time to think about the murder that she had just committed. She couldn't tell if Clark was breathing or not. She flew forwards in desperation and picked up his body, taking him higher and higher above the clouds, closer to the sun.

"Hold on, Clark" she said, "We're nearly there. Please hold on" after several seconds they had broken through most of the lower layers of the atmosphere and Diana had flown them halfway around the Earth to find a line of latitude that was in daylight.

"This is as high as I can go, Clark. Please come back" The Themysciran warrior fought back tears as she held Superman's body in her arms, trying to hold him in such a way that as much sunlight fell on him as possible. Her long dark hair fell in waves over her shoulders and rested on Clark's body as she hung her head over him, her eyes closed as she whispered to him over and over again.

"Please come back, Clark. The world needs you. I need you". Seconds passed; then minutes passed; then hours passed. Diana still rocked his body back and forth, gently, like a mother might rock a baby. Her eyes shot open when she thought she heard a murmur come from Clark's lips.

"What did you say? Clark! Clark, are you there?" Yes, she thought, he's definitely trying to say something. "Speak up, Clark. I can't hear you" she held her ear closer to his mouth. She was starting to make out some words.

"She's…" Clark began, his eyes and lips struggling to open. His voice was only a whisper, but with every second the sunlight was replenishing his Kryptonian cells. He continued. "Six foot tall… and built like a broad". Diana let out a small laugh whilst a solitary tear fell down her cheek. He was singing their song!

"Clark" Diana started "I've done a terrible thing. I don't know what to do… Please… I need you to show me the way. You're our light, Clark" she begged with him in desperation.

"Diana" he started "I would forgive you…" he looked up at her and ran the back of his hand down her cheek "But you've done nothing wrong". Clark was growing stronger now but Diana had begun to cry.

"Look at me, Clark!" she said, motioning to the blood that she was covered in. "I killed that thing! I took off it's head! There were children… and I… they were crying. I made children cry, Kal" Diana broke down. Clark was strong enough to fly on his own now and it was his turn to hold Diana in his arms.

"Di" he whispered. Clark knew what was right and wrong, but he wasn't sanctimonious. If it hadn't have been for Diana then hundreds of people could have died, him amongst them. In his heart, he couldn't believe that she was capable of such a bloodthirsty and animalistic thing, but with his eyes all he could see was a woman who would regret it forever. There was a quote, he remembered, that he must tell Diana one day. It formed the very essence of his being and he lived and breathed its message with every inch of his soul. He repeated it to himself now: if innocents must be sacrificed in the name of peace, then there can be no peace. And if the guilty must be sacrificed, then it is vengeance in disguise. Now wasn't the time to tell her, he knew. Instead he just looked at her and said what his heart so desperately wanted him to say. "You're still the most beautiful woman in the world, Diana. Nothing will change that". Diana looked up at him; she was tied up in his arms. He'd done it again. He'd made her feel like everything was going to be alright. They held each other tightly, floating effortlessly in the sky. He held her close to his body and felt the warmth radiating from her. He had never seen Diana like this before. It wasn't the right time to tell her about his powers, he thought, about how they seemed to be weakening. Now was the time for him to sit back and relax, enjoying the view of the most beautiful planet in the Solar System, with the most beautiful woman on it.

"Goodnight, Diana" he whispered.

A/N Keep reading to find out the reasons behind Clark's slowly decreasing power levels. What has Mara been doing in the time that she's been left alone? All will be revealed! I promise that the next chapter will focus more on Clark and Diana's relationship than this one: action scenes aren't my favourite thing to write about. Thank you for reading and keep posting reviews!