A/N: I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank each and every one of you who take the time to read this story.
Kal-El stepped off the transporter pad into his Antarctic home. He hadn't been here in ages and the past couple of months have been interesting to say the least. During the day, he worked as part-time journalist for the Planet still covering trivial events such as shows and films or news not important enough to make a sub-sub-sub-headline. He didn't need to show his face in the office much because of how low-key the company was; most contact was by email or by Skype™. But at least he was making progress now. His latest assignment was a seven-paragraph piece on a rumoured 'guardian angel' frequenting Metropolis' low districts during the night.
The low murmurings abounding around the less prominent parts of Metropolis was that the 'guardian angel' would show up at muggings, robberies, fires, accidents and offer help to the people or put criminals in a position where the authorities could easily apprehend them.
He smiled to himself, when he did the online article he wrote on how there was no concrete evidence proving the existence of the so-called guardian angel but also added in the testaments of the people who he had helped. No one knew his face, he made sure to operate in the dark where cameras and eyes couldn't make out his full image or to make his appearances as brief as possible.
Some of the people he helped were thankful, some of them were awed, some of them were mistrusting, and some of them were downright afraid. Kal-El would show up out of nowhere, do what he needed to do and disappear without a trace. He was a phantom out of necessity, as the 'guardian angel' could dodge the questions and curiosity that Clark Kent could not.
For all intents and purposes Clark Kent is still a boy who disappeared from home and the circumstances as to why is not something he needed anybody to know. When he ventured even remotely close to Smallville to stop a gas station fire, he saw an old photo of his family's faces on a random milk carton and he panicked slightly. It meant people were looking for him.
The Kents had no known relatives, but there were family friends, the neighbouring farmers and then there was Lana. Clark knew that they must be worried out of their minds. But he had resolved never to go back to Smallville, there was no reason for him to other than to re-examine wounds that he'd bandaged already.
He concluded the existence of a guardian angel as speculative urban ghost media due to the lack of evidence. But the guardian angel was very real.
The words of gratitude the people had expressed when Clark listened to them out of sight. The smiles on the family he had saved from a car accident. The tears of the girl whose mother was miraculously saved from an apartment fall. They were all real and every time Clark saw them he was reminded of what he was doing this for.
Still, it wasn't what he totally wanted. He wanted a symbol of hope that humans could aspire to. If he came out to the public as a vigilante alien, he would receive a maelstrom of attention and backlash. Simply because he was different. Once upon a time attention was the thing he had craved, but the boy that wanted to be noticed is gone. Replaced by a man who wanted humans to protect those that can't protect themselves.
Clark wanted to infuse a sense of hope and goodness to his fellow man. He wanted to make sure that alley punks with guns wouldn't get chances to shoot fathers and mothers on a night out. He knew that a perfect world was unattainable but if he could get humans to see the light instead of the darkness then Krypton's demise and his parents' death would not be in vain.
It was still a dream to him, a project if you will. He just didn't know where to start, and there was only so much he could be from pulling cats out of trees and helping people cross roads in the shadows.
Kal-El activated the holograph projector to speak to Jor-El and Lara.
"Kal-El, greetings." spoke Jor-El.
"Father," replied Kal, "Do you remember what you said to me when I first spoke to you?"
"I remember all of it, Kal. Why?" Jor enquired.
"You said that when I finally chose who I wanted be, I should come and speak to you."
Jor's expression grew serious. "Do you know who you want to be, Kal-El?"
"Yes."
"And what is that?"
"These powers and abilities that I have," Clark started. "I know now that they are not for me, they are for those around me. I want to use them to be a force for good."
Jor-El's eyes softened with gratification, Clark continued, "I thought that I had these powers because I was different. I thought I could use them for my own fulfilment. Then I didn't know what to do at all but I know now that they could be used to achieve purposes higher than me."
Jor smiled, "And what purpose is that, Kal?"
"To do the right thing because I could. I want to become an example that humans could use so they themselves can strive for greatness. You said that you sent me away because you wanted me to live a life where I can choose who I want to be. I want to be a symbol of hope, not because I was meant to, but because I can choose to."
Jor and Lara's eyes exuded pride upon Clark's words. The child they had sent off in the spaceship had now embraced the challenge they had wanted him to achieve. "We had prayed that this day would come, my son." said Lara.
Kal-El beamed at the holographs of his parents and asked, "So, father, what was it that you wanted to tell me?"
Jor's eyes grew wide in recognition, Lara disappeared to leave the two alone.
"Kal-El, do you recall that Krypton's gravity was magnitudes stronger than Earth's?"
"Yeah?" Clark acknowledged. He learned that Krypton's pull was approaching that of a neutron star. "What about it?"
"Sol has given you your strength, your extra-sensory abilities and your invulnerability," Jor stated, he continued "and it would give you one last gift."
Kal raised an eyebrow, the Sun had been very good to him. "What do you mean, I have another power?"
"Yes, Kal. Your cells are extremely dense and soon they will have the power to manipulate their own gravity field."
Kal's jaw dropped, "What?!"
Jor gave an amused chuckle, "Yes Kal, your own negative gravity field," he answered. "You will be able to manipulate your mass as much as you can. Much like the fields around a black hole, but infinitely more complex."
Kal remembered Mr. Newton's Laws. "You can't surely be saying that I can fly?"
"I'm not saying that you can fly." Jor corrected him. "I am saying that you will be able to, with time and practice of course." he added snidely.
Clark shouldn't be that surprised, but he was. His other powers had more or less manifested themselves when he was young and he had time to get used to them. All his other powers revealed themselves by accident or because they were already there. How do you accidentally fly? It was second nature for him to shoot heat from his eyes or to run really fast. But now knowing he had the ability to soar into the heavens filled him with child-like glee.
"How fast can I go?" he asked excitedly.
"That depends, Kal. The question should be: how strong can you pull?" Jor remarked, Kal nodded in agreement, "And the answer to that question, Kal-El, is one you would have to find out yourself. Even I cannot calculate how powerful you will become when you peak. You just have to keep testing your limits."
"That's a lot of power for one man." Kal mused. With great power comes great…
"Yes, Kal-El, but you are not a mere man. You have the potential to be limitless. As with all your powers, they will grow stronger and stronger as you age." Jor informed him. "You must take care not to abuse them."
"I promise not to." Kal sincerely replied with unwavering dedication.
"I am glad." Jor smiled at him briefly and his face grew sombre. "My son, you will have the ability to do things that the humans of this Earth will see as mythical, from the land of fantasy. The impact of your existence will change the world. You must be careful with the image that you mould."
Kal-El processed Jor's words. How exactly will the world react when he finally reveals himself? Fear? Apprehension? Euphoria? Xenophobia? All of the above?
Jor spoke out to him, "Kal-El? What are you contemplating?"
There was only one human who knew who he really was; Lana. And there was the boy from Gotham who had much bigger worries than Clark. All the other people who knew who he was were dead.
The way Lana reacted was, in hind sight, quite calm and civil. But that was because she had known him as timid Clark Kent for years beforehand. The world will not have such reference to his inner character when he inevitably comes out. They will either see him as a stupidly naive alien with idealistic intentions or someone with an underlying agenda. He has a lot of work to do before they see him as just an example of who they could be if they tried.
"They're not gonna take very well to me when I come out." Kal remarked as Jor nodded at him in agreement.
"You are going to have to use the greatest gift life on this planet has given you."
"What? Fly?" he guessed.
"No, Kal. I assume you haven't yet realised what your greatest gift is yet."
"Well, if you're not gonna tell me-"
"No, I won't. This is another answer that you must seek on your own. I and your mother are only here for guidance."
Kal understood. "Okay, thanks by the way. You've been a great help." Kal replied sincerely.
"You're welcome, Kal-El." Jor finally replied as his projection turned itself off. Kal gave one last smile at his father as he disappeared.
"Hey Kal!" Kara called out as she arrived at the house.
"Kara."
"What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean what am I doing here? It's my house too."
"Well, I haven't seen you in ages."
"Sorry Kara, I've actually been really busy lately."
"Oh yeah? At that website you're working at?"
"Yep, and some extracurricular stuff as well."
Kara didn't reply, but instead had a knowing look on her face. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Clark asked.
"I read all your articles Kal."
"You do?"
"Of course, why wouldn't I? Your last one was very interesting." she commented.
"Interesting how? Care to elaborate?"
"Well, Kal, I find the rumoured existence of a random man appearing in the middle of the night helping people and catching criminals very interesting. Don't you?" she said with a teasing tone,
"It's all speculation Kara. I mean, there's no evidence and there's no proof-" He was stopped when he saw the piercing look in his cousin's eyes, "Will you stop looking at me like that?"
Kara tightened her jaw and intensified her gaze, Clark cracked and threw his hands up in defeat. "Okay Kara, it was me. The guy I was writing about was me." he admitted. "How did you know?"
"Kal, you're the only one in the planet except for me that can possibly be the one that was doing all those things. You live in Metropolis, this man was reported to be in Metropolis. It doesn't take a Kryptonian mind like mine to put 'two and two together' as they say here on Earth." she logically explained.
Clark chuckled, "It could be someone else, I mean, a normal man ca-"
"You're not normal Kal." Kara corrected him.
Instead of the sadness he once felt when confronted by the fact that he wasn't 'normal', Clark was actually accepting of it. "No I'm not." he smiled. "But I know that I'm not for a reason now."
Kara smiled warmly at his cousin, she was proud of him. "And it's a good reason." Clark added.
"So, what have you been up to lately?" Clark started.
"Well, this past week I've been visiting Greece." she told him.
"Greece?" Clark asked with raised eyebrows and a nod. "How was it?"
The history of Greece fascinated Kara; the gods, the myths, the stories, everything. It was rich and provided a small sample size to what Earth had to offer as a whole. "Greece is amazing." she replied enthusiastically.
"Yeah?"
"The history is amazing, the art, the architecture, the entertainment. We had nothing of the sort in Krypton."
"Sounds cool." he nodded. "I might have to visit sometime."
"Why don't you come with me? I'm going again tomorrow."
"I can't Kara. I have to go back to Metropolis and you know…"
Kara sighed wistfully, "We haven't really spent that much time with each other and you're the only family I have here."
At that moment Clark felt guilty, she was right. Kara was his only family on Earth. Clark, of all people knew the value of family. "I could come for a day or two." he offered.
Kara's face brightened. "Excellent! I'll set up the portal for the two of us."
"Alright, but that may not be necessary in the future." Clark informed her.
"What do you mean?"
Clark explained to her Jor-El's revelation that Kryptonian could fly on Earth. Clark noticed that Kara had a blank expression all throughout the conversation and broke off to ask her, "Wait? You already knew didn't you?"
"Yes I did." Kara replied nonchalantly. "I did a lot of research in my free time."
Clark should've known Kara would've known, "Can you fly yet?" he asked her.
"No, my cells aren't as efficient as yours and it'll probably take me much longer to master my own gravity field." she admitted.
"Oh." Clark replied with raised eyebrows, finally he one-upped Kara on something! He had a smug grin on his face which Kara noticed.
"What's that smile for?"
"Nothing, just felt like smiling." he sheepishly answered. "So, anyway, when are we going?"
"We could go right now if you want."
"Okay, let's. Ladies first."
"What?" Kara retorted as she pressed some buttons.
"Just step into the portal Kara."
"Fine."
Clark followed Kara into the portal projector. When he got to the other side he arrived over the Greek countryside. Over. The. Ground. His eyes widened in recognition of the falling nausea that instantly enveloped him.
"Aaaaaaahh!" he screamed in fear with his eyes closed. He was ten thousand metres over the Earth, falling and tumbling like a rock.
Kal-El fell through the clouds and the sky. He saw his life flash before him as the image of a splattered watermelon entered his mind. He was tossing and tumbling in the air still screaming at the top of his lungs.
He opened his eyes and saw the ground get closer to him. Still nervous, he realised that Kara had purposely teleported him over the Earth to either test his instincts or as some sort of prank. He closed his eyes again and tried to calm down and concentrate.
He focused on what his body was feeling at that instant. Falling towards the ground he felt heavy. He tensed his limbs and grit his teeth in concentration.
Suddenly it's as if he was stopped by an invisible cushion in the sky. Akin to the feeling one would get when initially riding an elevator downwards. He felt weightless.
He opened his eyes and looked downwards, the ground wasn't getting bigger, and he wasn't hitting any clouds. He was floating in mid-air.
He gasped in shock and span around. He relaxed and started dropping again, only time he wasn't tumbling around, he was diving toward the Earth like a falcon. He stretched out his arms and floated again. He was closer to the ground now and he could see Kara on a field looking up at him.
"Not funny!" he shouted down at her. She was beside herself in laughter. Clark fell the final thousand metres down to the ground and stopped just before he hit it.
"How was your trip?" she asked innocently.
"Seriously Kara, what the hell?!" he blurted then added dramatically, "I could've died!"
Kara scoffed at him. "You were fine Kal, and you wouldn't've gotten hurt anyway…" Kara began,
Clark looked incredulously at her, "That's not the point Kara! You don't just teleport people in the middle of the air!"
"Yes, I can." she countered wryly. "In fact I just did." Clark opened his mouth to argue back at Kara but she cut him off, "Look, Kal. You're fine aren't you?"
"Yeah?" he replied tentatively.
She grinned at him, "I was just 'throwing you in the deep end', as they say here on Earth."
Clark looked at her annoyed, "I don't think that saying applies when you leave me in the middle of the air Kara,"
"Well of course it does!" she responded, "So how was it?"
Clark began drolly, "Oh, terrifying, horrific, traumatising..."
"Seriously Kal?"
"How do you think?! I was falling!"
"No, you weren't." she asserted. "You were in a controlled descent."
"I didn't know what to do, and then I decided to do something then next thing you know I was just floating."
"So how did it feel?" Kara pressed.
Clark sighed. "Well, it felt great actually."
"Really?" she asked hopefully.
"No!" he cried.
Kara just laughed at his reaction. "Oh suck it up little cousin! I knew you'd be able to float when you needed to. It was a 'leap of faith' as the humans say. Consider that as your first flying lesson."
"Since when did I ask you to be my flying instructor? And where the hell are you getting all these expressions?" he whined.
Kara held her chin held high and proclaimed defensively, "Kal-El, flying is one of your skills. And it's my responsibility as the older cousin of the last son of El to make sure his skills are sharp, polished and developed."
"Yes mom." Clark grumbled sarcastically as he shook his head with a hand rubbing his forehead.
The two cousins spent the next day posing as tourists taking in the scenery of Athens. Travelling incognito they visited the Acropolis, the Parthenon, the National Library and did things that normal tourists would do. Kara was completely fluent in Greek and she acted as a sort of tour guide.
They went out for some ice cream, took photos and generally enjoyed themselves. Clark admitted that he's had more fun being with Kara than he's had for a long while. And he genuinely felt happy that his cousin was enjoying herself on Earth.
The two cousins were checking a travel brochure and looking for the next place to visit. "How about we visit a club Kal?"
"What kind of club?"
"You know, a nightclub." she suggested.
Clark scoffed, "Hell no."
Kara pouted, "Why not?"
"Well, Kara; because one, I don't want to. And two, I don't want to."
"Come on! You might actually enjoy yourself, if you know what I mean." she persuaded suggestively.
"Do you even have ID?"
"I have super-speed." she murmured with a shrug.
"So you sneak in past the bouncers?"
"Maybe. Sometimes I don't even have to."
"Seriously?" Clark retorts.
"Yeah," Kara answered coyly. "I just flash a smile at them, touch their arm or something like that then they just let me in. I am old enough to be in a nightclub Kal." she mused.
Clark shook his head at her mischievousness, if he was Kara's father he'd put her in some sort of convent. "Kara, sorry but you're on your own with this one. If you want to go you can go." he said sternly.
"Fine." she grumbled. "Thank you for coming with me today by the way."
"My pleasure," he smiled then reminded her, "but I have to get back soon."
"What for? We just got here?"
"You said it yourself, I have new skills I need to practice and then I'm back to Metropolis for that thing I do now."
"Oh. Sure, I'll stay here for tonight then I'll go back to the house, there's something important I'm working on."
"Oh yeah, what is it?" he inquired.
"It's a secret." she stated with a twinkle in her blue eyes. Clark rolled his.
"All right, will you be okay here?"
"Of course, I'm thinking of visiting this club called Aeaea. It's on this cool little isle off the coast, you have to take a ferry to get there. The description here says it's, and I quote; magical." she informed him with a little too much enthusiasm in her voice.
Clark snorted, "I'll bet. You know you could describe every club on Earth with the word magical."
"Yeah but this one does sound very 'hip'." she replied, Clark groaned.
"When will I see you again?"
"I should be back before tomorrow morning, Antarctic time." said Kara.
The two spent the rest of the afternoon sightseeing and when dawn finally came, Clark left for the Antarctic to practice his flying skills, leaving Kara to savour the Athens nightlife.
Circe filed her nails and checked her reflection in the mirror, tonight she would host another party in the club she owned. She smiled to herself indulgently, the Aeaea was one of the most popular clubs in the city. There was something about offshore nightclubs that made them so alluring and exotic. It was the illusion that being off the mainland symbolically granted you the freedom to screw your inhibitions for the night. The mortals that got off the pier and walked through the doors enjoyed the sinful debauchery so much that they were so predictable in their behaviour.
But Circe wasn't there just the owner of some island club. She used to be an Amazon, she lived in Paradise with her former so-called sisters but she was banished for eternity when she was caught practicing witchcraft, black magic and associating with the goddess Hecate.
On Themyscira versing oneself in dark magic was expressly forbidden, and praying to other gods other than the ones on Olympus was a grievous offence. She was to never set foot on Paradise again and she was condemned to forever walk the Earth among the lowly and dreary populace. She had originally wanted to usurp Hippolyta and take control of the Amazons using powerful mind-control magic but her power-crazed plans were derailed. The evil in her heart grew and now she just wanted to kill them all.
She started the nightclub as a front for her mind control experiments, the island was laced in her magic and she would entertain herself on the humans that got off the ferry under the pretence of a party.
Decades among humans fuelled her hate for them. They were so weak, so frail, so easy, so gullible she thought. If they had a modicum of strength she would've had her revenge on Hippolyta and the Amazons a long time ago. How dare they banish her?! They had no right! Circe's black and evil heart detested all the Amazons and everything they stood for; in her mind everything was their fault. It was their fault that she was banished and it was their fault that she had to surround herself with all these talking worms.
All this time by herself led her to find a perceived loophole in her punishment. Her physical self was forbidden on Themyscira, for as soon as she lays her feet on its fertile soil she would be sent straight to the Underworld. But there was nothing in the sentence that said her soul; her mystical being that she offered to Hecate wasn't allowed to grace the island with its presence. She has tried and tried to find a suitable vessel for her essence but humans were so weak that they withered and died whenever she transferred it from her original body. The terms of her punishment did not foresee the existence of a female body on Man's World strong enough to carry her blackened soul other than her own, and so she was effectively banished.
But she wouldn't give up, she was immortal and she had plenty of time to find a body suitable for her needs. It might take millennia but she would exact revenge on Hippolyta and her tribe using a body that wasn't hers. She has spent her years on the outside perfecting her witchcraft and she has grown into a powerful sorceress. So far the detail that no human was strong enough to contain her essence was true; Circe had enough literal skeletons in the closet to attest to that. No-one found out of course, she had free control of any investigator's mind.
Kara was thoroughly enjoying herself, the music, the ambience and the atmosphere of the club was better than advertised. But she had to leave soon, Kal would be waiting for her back at the Antarctic. She was on the dance floor losing herself among the crowd of partygoers when two very burly men approached her.
"Hey babe, wanna dance?" one of the men probed with a slap to her behind.
Kara turned round and looked him in the eye, "Go away." she warned.
"Aww don't be like that, you want a drink?"
"I want you to go away." Kara said.
"I like this one, she's cute." the other guy remarked, Kara shot a glare at him but the man didn't flinch.
"You think?"
"Yeah, wonder what she looks like naked."
"By the end of tonight, we won't have to wonder." he said with a sinister smile as he grabbed Kara forcefully.
Kara pushed him away with an open palm, he grabbed her hand on his chest but Kara swung him around and tossed him all the way to the other side of the dance floor. The other guy was taken aback at Kara's strength and tried to put his arm around her, Kara twisted his arm and flipped him in mid-air before dropping him on the floor too. The other partygoers were so inebriated with whatever they were taking and didn't acknowledge what was happening.
Circe observed the entire exchange take place from a balcony. Those two men were her employees (slaves) and she saw this young, beautiful woman toss them around like throw pillows. She was intrigued. Maybe this human was different.
Circe approached Kara from behind,
"Hi! My name is Circe!" she offered a hand which Kara shook.
"Like the Greek goddess." observed Kara. Circe laughed. "Yes, like her. I saw what happened. I'm very sorry for these two, I'll have them thrown out in no time. Sometimes they drink more than they should. Are you hurt?"
"Oh that's okay, I'm quite alright. It's them that you should be checking upon." Kara said to her, she noticed that this woman had almost unnatural purple eyes. She quickly put them down as contact lenses people wore for fashion.
"So how are you liking the club so far?" she asked as she flashed a dazzling smile at Kara.
"It's magical."
Circe's face beamed at her description, "Glad to hear it, what brings you here?"
"I was just looking around and this place seem to be the most alluring to me."
"Do you go to places like these often?"
"All the time."
"Well well well, you're a very interesting young woman aren't you? Who taught you all those kung-fu karate moves?"
"My, uh, my father." Kara said reluctantly. This woman seemed very eager in her questions.
"He must be a very strong man to raise his daughter to be able to defend herself." Circe remarked.
"He was."
She continued with her questions, "Where are you from? Australia? France? Are you a tourist?"
"I'm visiting from England." Kara blankly stated.
"Ahh! England! I should've known by your accent, we have a lot of English holidaymakers visit here. Most of them are obnoxious but I could tell that you're an exception."
"I could speak Greek if it's more comfortable for you." Kara offered.
"Hmm, a woman of many talents," Circe mused enchantingly, "why don't you come join me for a drink in the VIP section? On the house."
Kara brushed her off, "No thank you. I was just leaving anyway."
"What? It's too early for you to leave!" Circe whined.
"I don't want to be a cause of expense for you."
"Nonsense dear! I own this club, everything is free for people I consider my friends!"
"Thank you for the sentiment, Madame Circe. But I really have to get going. And I don't want to impose."
Circe playfully waved the address off, "Oh stop it with the Madame. I'm not an old minx." Kara looked at her bemused but Circe disregarded it, "My dear, what is your name?"
"Kara." she answered.
"Such a beautiful name. Well, Kara, I know for a fact that every single person who walks through my doors is looking for a good time, and that is exactly what I'm offering you." she temptingly said to her. By now a normal human would have fallen to Circe's charms.
"It's really not a good time."
"You come to my club and suddenly it's not a good time?"
"No that's not what I meant-" Kara hastily tried to recover not wanting to offend the owner of Aeaea.
"Listen to me Kara, this club is the most popular in Athens. And not a lot of people get to come in here, much less spend time in the company of yours truly. Are you willing to pass that up?"
"Surely you have other guests to entertain other than me."
"But my dear Kara, any guest here is my guest to entertain as I see fit." Circe countered.
"I'm really flattered that you want to pay attention to me Circe, but I must refuse."
"Are you sure? I'll say it again; a lot of people like you would give a lot to be associated with me."
"I'm sure. Thank you again."
"Have it your way." Circe said. Kara looked at her graciously then turned around to leave, instantly the smile on Circe's face became sinister as she watched Kara move through the crowd.
This slender young girl was really whetting Circe's appetite, she hasn't displayed any of the mental nor physical weakness mortal females do and Circe was convinced she was worth the effort of having to go through the whole procedure of essence transfer again.
There was something about Circe that unsettled Kara. Was it her smile? Her eyes? Was it her forward hospitality? The way she fired off question after question? Kara couldn't place her finger on it but in her mind Circe was a character best avoided. It could just be her imagination though. Circe hadn't shown any behaviour indicating that she was anything other than well meaning.
Kara turned her head for a final glance of the dance floor. She saw her and she was looking intently at her with a curve in her lips. Kara's heart skipped a beat as she increased her pace for the door.
Kara was out of the club and started walking towards the ferry. She could dash out of the city away from any prying eyes when she got back to the mainland. She took one last look at the club. When she turned her head back around she instantly froze, in front of her was Circe herself. Her purple eyes and hair were magnified by the chilling smile she had on her lips. The image Kara saw in her eyes was pure malice.
Kara stammered, "M-Madame Circe? What are you doing here?"
"Shhh," Circe said with a finger to Kara's lips, Kara all of a sudden found it very difficult to move.
"What are you doing to me?"
"All will be clear, my dear. It's a shame really, I could tell that you had a lot of potential."
"What do you mean it's a shame?"
Circe laughed a menacing laugh, "Oh, just that you're going to have to die. Well, YOU will die, but your wonderful body won't."
Kara reacted, she hit Circe with a burst of heat vision which hit her in her side.
The smile disappeared from Circe's lips as she conjured a shield to barely deflect the heat in time before it burnt through her. "What are you?!"
Kara didn't answer, instead she just continued to shoot heat at Circe but felt herself weaken and she dropped to her knees.
"What have you done to me?!" Kara demanded. She pulled out her phone and pressed the distress signal in the hope that Kal might hear it.
"Don't bother calling the police. This is just the start." Circe chanted a spell with a wave of her hands and the two disappeared into thin air.
Kal-El crashed into mountain after ice mountain trying to catch some air under his own power. He was running and long jumping in the hopes that his flight will kick in. He deducted it as instinctual; like walking instead of his heat vision which he could just turn on or off with conscious effort. He was like a baby learning to string together the first steps after the initial stumble.
He hasn't been making much progress though, his last jump was about a half-thousand metres but it still ended up with him in a frozen faceplant. His clothes were completely ruined and tattered and he might've as well been naked.
He asked himself after every fall how flying was so difficult. It wasn't the animal kingdom where a mother bird would guide him and watch over him as he first spread his wings. He knew that he could manipulate his own gravitational field; he just didn't know how. There was nothing in the Codex that could offer some hint on how to fly since it was unprecedented for a Kryptonian to do so. He had achieved some sort of flight when Kara had so graciously dropped him in the middle of the air; but that was when adrenaline, necessity and the fear of God were pumping in his veins. Those were the conditions he was trying to replicate by launching himself into the air.
He got up from the last crater he bored into the tundra. He groaned in frustration. He was barely getting any further and all the distance he was covering was just due to his jump.
He was preparing for another long jump when a piercing screech perforated his ears. He never forgot what that sound meant to him; that ultrasonic, high frequency whistle that he last heard on the night of the dance.
Kal was the feeling the helplessness he was trying to emulate by launching himself in the air, only now it felt too real. His heart was pumping and the adrenaline was scrambling all over his anatomy again. That was the Kryptonian distress call that he failed to answer the last time it rang; and Hell be damned before he failed to heed it the second time. Kara! She was in trouble and it filled Kal with dread that his cousin was in danger. He was afraid; afraid that something awful might happen to her and afraid of what it was that endangered her in the first place. He wasn't thinking too rationally as his instincts took over.
Kal-El closed his eyes as he dropped to his knees and put his fists on the ground, much like a sprinter would on the blocks. He grit his teeth and concentrated all of his being into something he didn't know how to do. The Sun bathed its nurturing rays all over his exposed, naked body.
Pieces of dirt began orbiting around his knuckled, then his arms, soon large chunks of rock and ice were freely swirling around him as if he was the Sun and they were the planets.
Kal-El opened his eyes, he saw the effect of his own field on his own surroundings. Then he willed himself to go upwards.
And upwards he went. He accelerated slowly at first, like the space rocket that carried him to Earth. But gradually his rate of climb increased until his hair was billowing under his own wind.
The Sun was shining bright above and the ground was moving fast beneath him.
His ears were still hearing the signal, he was flying as hard as he can to where he perceived the source was before he heard silence as the signal cut out. He felt his heart stop with terror and he dropped from the sky.
Circe took a paralysed Kara to a magically shielded lair under the club. Kara was laid out on a raised altar which was surrounded by candles in a pentagram arrangement. Circe was above her, chanting the incantation that would transfer her essence into Kara's body. When it was done she would have free reign to visit Themyscira and she would make them all pay. She was chanting the final lines of her spell in ancient Greek.
"…and by the power granted to me by your grace, Hecate! Bind this faithful servant's soul to this willing body and your will be done!"
A powerful bolt of magic crawled from Circe's eyes and extremities and concentrated itself on Kara. Both Kara and Circe were screaming as the final part of the ritual took course. Kara felt as she had been stabbed all over and Circe felt her essence pour out into Kara.
A bout of screaming from both Kara and Circe. A sudden flash of blinding white light and the flow of magic stopped and Circe dropped to the floor.
After his failed maiden flight Kal-El decided to dash back on foot to the settlement, change into new clothes and instead use the portal to transport himself to where Kara said she would be last.
Typing in the coordinates, he transported himself to above Athens. After falling for a short distance he balanced himself under the night sky. He was slowly becoming a natural with his ability of flight. He hovered high above the city and tried to hone his finely tuned ears for Kara's heartbeat. He heard nothing, which confused him. In his mind there was only one reason why he couldn't hear his cousin's heartbeat and he feared the worst. He remembered that Kara wanted to go to a specific offshore nightclub and flew over the coast looking for something that matched the description.
He turned his eyes to where he could hear music. Finally he saw something; a small island with a ferry and an open-air mansion. He flew over to hover above it. He scanned the entire island with his vision but his search was fruitless.
He couldn't see a trace of her…no…wait! Near the pier! The surroundings were charred in random places in patterns of two round, black circles next to each other. His mind clicked; Kara put up a fight.
Kal checked over the island again, looking for anything that might give a hint. There was something about the whole island that felt decidedly…off kilter to him. It was like being tipsy simply from breathing the air around him.
He was scanning the ground when he spotted something unusual; where his vision penetrated the island underneath him completely one spot under the mansion seemed to block out his senses. He zoomed in and out, this black spot seemed to be a secret room of some sort.
He covertly entered the club and followed the hallways and doors which he saw that led to the secret room, whenever security appeared he would use super speed to bypass them and soon enough he was right outside the blacked out room.
Purple eyes opened in the darkness.
Circe looked at her feet, then she let out a squeal of delight. It wasn't her own feet she was looking at, nor her own hands. The transfer was successful for the first time. Her old body was slumped unceremoniously at the floor and her new one was sitting down on the altar top.
She conjured a mirror and looked at her reflection, her hair was a flowing golden waterfall on her shoulders and her face was that of the poor girl she used.
She took a walk around the room and used a brief moment to get used to her new body. A perverse pleasure overcame her as she put into motion the next part of her plan.
Using another spell, Circe opened a direct magical portal to Themyscira. She smiled to herself in perverse satisfaction, this was a moment she had been so dreaming of for decades. If her soul in its original body were to touch that portal, she would go straight to Tartarus. But she had broken out her own jail cell by using Kara's body as the rock hammer.
She was about to step into the portal when the far wall exploded and a tall young man burst forth out of the dust, his eyes were glowing red.
"Kara!"
Circe frowned. This was no time for distractions, Circe's magical portal might get detected on Themyscira before she came out of it.
Kal-El saw Kara about to step into this mystical looking door in the middle of the room. Kara took one glance at him and entered the door. Without thinking, he dashed into the door and followed her into the portal a mere blink before it closed.
When Kal entered the portal he felt his body parts seem to burn. It wasn't the quick 'in-n-out' portals Kara had devised for transport to the Antarctic from any point on Earth or vice-versa. This portal felt different, it was as if he was trying to pass through a painful firewall. He spent what he thought was a minute falling through the wormhole and he came out of the tunnel in a blinding light.
Princess Diana was out in the sky enjoying an afternoon fly-around of the island when she saw lightning in the distant coast. Immediately she noticed it as suspect, there were no clouds in the sky and random bursts of lightning on Themyscira could only mean that someone of high power decided to visit. She turned her body and flew off towards the direction of the lightning.
When Kal finally oriented himself to his surroundings he was even more confused than he was. He felt as if he was in a travel brochure. He was standing on golden sands and clear blue oceans stretched out in the horizon. To his back was heavy vegetation and the air was so clean. He looked around his feet and he saw that the sand he was standing on was charred and the rims of the crater were crystalline glass.
Screaming pierced his ears and he quickly scurried around to find Kara on her knees screaming with her hands over her ears and her eyes screaming out in full red fury. Circe was feeling the full effect of Kryptonian super-senses, something she had never in a million years expected when she took over Kara's body. In her magical room the sounds of the world were muffled but now out here in the open everything going on in the island was amplified in her ears.
Kal went over and leant next to Kara in a hurry, "Kara! Are you alright-"
The rest of his sentence stopped and his voice choked as the woman he though was his cousin looked over at him. Her eyes weren't the cerulean blue, they were a deep purple.
"K-Kara?" Clark stammered in shock.
Circe growled at Clark and shot a magical energy ball at him which he barely dodged.
"Kara!" Kal cried. His call went unnoticed as Circe continued to fire ball after ball of white-hot energy at him, some of which hit the jungle and burned straight through unimpeded.
Realising that Kara might not be herself, Kal tried to get a grip by encasing Kara in a block of ice immobilising her for a second. He then crashed through the ice block and put Kara in a hold, "Kara! What's happening to you?! It's me!"
Circe electrified her skin which sent Kal reeling to the sandy floor, she then tried to place Kal under a spell but found that she couldn't will herself to complete it as something was thought blocking her. She growled in anger and resolved to unleash even more offensive energy magic against Kara's cousin. Kal retaliated with a weaving charge, he connected with a punch against Circe's stomach and followed it up with a kick. He was thankful for the Kryptonian martial arts skills Kara taught her even though this was the last situation he ever wanted to use them in.
When Diana got to the beach, the sounds of battle assailed her warrior senses. She looked over at the scene between her and saw a black-haired man and a blonde woman engaged in close battle.
What in Hera's name is a man doing on Themyscira?! Men; she was brought up to believe that they were only good for evil and it just so happens the penalty for a man trespassing on the island was death.
Her upbringing and training guided her thinking and her actions. The first and only deduction she reasoned out of the situation was that one of her sisters was under attack by an agent of Ares sent by him to cause mischief on the island. The drums of battle pounded in her chest. She had been trained as an Amazon Princess to serve, and if need be, protect her fellow sisters.
"Sister! Your second is here!"
Diana flew into action and burst into the fight with a hard tackle to the man's waist. They both went tumbling into the ground some distance from Circe. Diana got up first and Kal rolled upright to his feet instantaneously after.
Diana pulled her sword from its scabbard as she looked into her opponent's eyes. She was trying to track his intentions by the movement of his pupils. But she was surprised when the cerulean blue started heating up into a fiery red like the eyes of a dog from Ares' kennels.
Kal-El looked at the raven-haired woman in front of him. She was wearing what looked like a torn up white summer dress, hear head was adorned with a tiara and she was wearing silver bracelets. Then he looked up into her eyes, they were sapphire glazed in fury. His heat vision started to pulse.
Diana attacked first, she swung her sword with unerring accuracy and speed, but the man seemed to move faster than thought itself as he avoided what should have been hits to the limbs. An agent blessed by Ares and Hermes?
Circe gathered her senses and watched the two circle each like gladiators on the sand. As much as she hated this man for causing her trouble, she hated Amazons even more and this one reminded her of Queen Hippolyta. With all of her magically charged strength she shot a concentrated bolt of energy at the Amazon with intent to seriously damage her.
The bolt was coming from slightly behind Diana. She would've heard it, but it was faster than sound.
Kal saw the speeding bolt in his peripheral, it was headed for the woman in front of him. If that bolt could hurt him, what would it do to her? He did the only thing Clark Jerome Kent would do and he supersped to intercept the bolt with his own body.
