Chapter 11

"The Weight of Anger"

Space

Science is a remarkable thing. It has explained many of the mysteries that have plagued man since the dawn of time. It is an ongoing process, but slowly and surely old superstitions and myths fall by the wayside as real understanding happens. Perhaps one day all the mysteries of the universe will be known, but that is for the future. One of those mysteries still to be solved is the weight of anger.

Take for example, a young woman, 5'7' or so, somewhere around 120 pounds, who also happens to be extremely beautiful. Her slender lithe body is physically no match for the larger, stronger men around her. Now take this same young woman and imagine she's is interested in one particular person, a young man. She feels they are finally starting to connect and then he does something stupid, very stupid. He might not even mean to do it, but the effect is the same. She's pissed. She's angry.

Those around her suddenly feel the full weight of anger. It comes on so fast there is only time to say 'Oh Shit' before it overwhelms everyone in the immediate vicinity. The impact belies her small size and sends tremors radiating out like an earthquake. One of the first signs is the silence. It's so all encompassing it sucks the oxygen out of the room. The silence becomes deafening and extremely uncomfortable. Even when someone attempts to break the silence one look from her eyes makes the words die on their lips. Grown men, heroes, suddenly find themselves squirming in her presence.

Then the chill sets in. The temperature in the room drops significantly when she enters and sees the object of her anger. Innocent bystanders suffer as well, but there's nothing they can do about it. The whole world suddenly feels brittle, as if you have to walk on eggshells. You find a nervous smile is plastered to your lips whenever she happens to glance your way. You just pray not to become the focus of her wrath.

There is some noise in this environment, but it only adds to the rising tension. How she managed to slam a sliding door will always be a mystery. The violent scrapping sound of her spoon against the bowl as it cuts through the ice cream makes the bravest cringe. The way she holds her body rigid, the accusatory look in her eyes, the pout of her lips and the slump of her shoulders just to name a few of the signs eat away at the conscious of those around her.

It's as if your skin has been peeled back layer by layer until the raw nerves are exposed. Each new experience with this environment is like dripping vinegar on those nerves. If you could you would flee as far and as fast as you can, but that is not an option. You are stuck and the tension and anxiety only increase minute by minute.

If something isn't done, the weight of her anger will crush everyone around.

The Watchtower

Diana stands with her sword at the ready in the training room. She's finally found someone that is willing to spar with her, Wildcat and Shining Knight. It should be an interesting test of her fighting skills and swordplay, but her mind is preoccupied with other thoughts.

I'm not that competitive like they said, she thinks. I don't always have to win. It's just that the object of training is to get better, to test yourself against worthy opponents. She still didn't believe that Kal let her win, but it seemed everyone else did. That annoys her. As she deflects Shining Knight's thrust, Diana thought back over her last few sparring sessions with Kal. Yes, she admitted, there were a few times where he seemed to have complete advantage of her, but she had been able to counter well enough to come out the victor. A smile came to Diana's face, as she sidestepped Wildcat's punch and tossed him across the room. It had been so satisfying to beat Kal, but now she found herself questioning the legitimacy of those victories. If that wasn't bad enough, having Batman of all people accuse her of being too competitive and wanting to win at all costs made it worse.

I can be a gracious loser, Diana thought. I don't always need to win. As she looked over at the regrouping Wildcat and Shining Knight Diana decided she would prove it and let them carrying the day. If Kal can do it and I don't believe he really is, than I can do it too, Diana said to herself. Diana was endowed by her Gods with wisdom, so perhaps she could use this as a lesson in humility. She had heard once that you learn more from losing than you do from winning, although she found that hard to believe. Defeat teaches defeat in her mind.

Taking her fighting stance, Diana prepared herself for the task at hand. Both of her opponents were skilled fighters so it should be easy, she thought. As Shining Knight launched another attack, the first problem Diana found was muscle memory. All her countless hours of training had sharpened her reflexes to the point she didn't even think about what to do, just reacted. Blocking Shining Knight's thrust was simply a matter of impulse. It was the same for Wildcat's left hook.

The three of them sparred for several minutes until Diana saw an opportunity to let them have the advantage. They were working together trying to wear her down. It was actually an excellent strategy when facing a stronger opponent she thought. Shining Knight flicked his sword towards her wrist more as a distraction, but Diana left herself open so the sword knocked her sword from her hand. She let herself hesitate for a moment and the two heroes took advantage of it. They managed to knock her off her feet and to the ground. Shining Knight quickly pointed his sword at her throat. Diana's first instinct was to slap it away and counter attack, but this time, instead, she slowly raised her hands in surrender.

"Well played," she said to them. "You are the victors which I willingly admit."

The two men looked at each other for a moment and then back at Diana.

"You're giving up," Wildcat asked.

"I can be gracious and admit defeat this time," Diana replied as she stood up.

"Thou never relinquishes the field, milady," Shining Knight said.

"We're only sparring," Diana pointed out. "You won fair and square."

Wildcats looked at Shining Knight again and then back at Diana.

"Are you sandbagging Princess," he asked.

"No, of course not, you won," she replied.

"Look we know we're not in your league when it comes to power, but don't take it easy on us because of that."

"Yes, milady, honor demands your best effort.'

"Look, you won, I lost, okay,' Diana said. She was starting to get a little annoyed at their attitude. "Why don't we go again?"

"Look, if you're just going to patronize us, Wonder Woman I think I'll call it a day," Wildcat replied. "Talk about a poor sport!'

He took off his gloves and was heading for the exit. Shining Knight lowered his sword and shook his head.

'Bad Joss, milady," he lamented. He turned and joined Wildcat in leaving. Just before Wildcat stepped from the room, he turned his head towards Shining Knight and said, "Jeez, now I understand why Superman always let's her win."

"Aye," Shining Knight agreed.

"He doesn't let me win!" Diana screamed after then, but they were already out of the training room. She turned and looked at the empty room in frustration, wanting to lash out at something. This is all Kal's fault she thought. Just wait until he gets back and we are going to have a long, long talk!

The Watchtower

Dinah and Shayera stood eagerly at the communications array waiting for the next transmission from the Javelin. They hoped it would be Wally checking in as they both wanted to hear more about the kissing and heat on the mission.

"Okay, it's time," Dinah finally said. She flicked a few switches and adjusted a few dials making sure it was absolutely the right frequency. It took a moment, but then the image of Wally came up on the screen.

"Hey! Two of my favorite people! You are both looking especially hot today!"

"Hi Wally," the both replied.

"Dinah, Shayera, looking great ladies," Wally said with a grin.

"So how's it going, Wally," Dinah asked.

'Everything's right on schedule, no problems with the mission so far. We're getting closer all the time," he replied.

"That's good, good, now how about on the personal front? Are things still heating up," Shayera chimed in. The smile on Wally's face disappeared and then he glanced around him nervously.

"More kissing, Wally," Dinah teased.

"No, it's turned into Ice Station Zebra around here," he replied. "First it was the insult then the silent treatment. I think I even heard a few tears in the middle of the night. We're talking Hostile Central! I don't know how much more of this I can take!'

"What?" Both Dinah and Shayera gasped in shock at his words.

"It's really bad," Wally continued. "If this doesn't sort itself out pretty soon, I'm actually afraid what might happen."

"Oh My God, Wally, what exactly is going on there," Dinah asked.

"Was it a fight, or what? Was it something worse," Shayera chimed in. Wally was just about to answer when he seemed to hear something behind him.

"Oh boy, I think she's coming! If she hears I'm talking to you two about it she'll just be even more pissed," he quickly said. "Look, the mission's still fine, but I've got to go before she hears me. I'll talk to you guys again, bye!'

"No!"

"Wait!'

Dinah and Shayera frantically tried to stop him, but the screen went black. They both tried to reestablish the connection but got nothing.

"It's times like this I could kill your boyfriend, Shayera," Dinah complained.

"He's not my boyfriend! Would you stop saying that? In fact right now you'd have to get in line, cause I want to kill him too," Shayera replied.

"What is happening on the ship," Dinah wondered.

"He said she, so it has to do with Zatanna," Shayera said.

"An insult and tears, that could be anything," Dinah lamented.

"Who insulted who and who was crying, is what I want to know."

"What the hell is going on, on that ship?"

Space

The engine hummed along as they glided through space. For all his amazing gifts and powers, Clark Kent didn't know what to do. At his core, he was just like every other guy. It was in his nature when confronted with a problem to want to fix it. That's just what guys do. In this case though, all his powers and gifts seemed useless.

He's tried apologizing, but Zatanna wouldn't listen. She wasn't even speaking to him. She just gave him that cold angry stare and walked away. He was normally invulnerable to the temperature, but the chill she was sending out sent a shiver through his bones. Frankly, he was at a complete loss about what to do. It was a mistake, a stupid mistake. He'd just meant to apologize for being so forward and kissing her without her consent, but somehow it came out to her ears that he found kissing her distasteful.

Clark wasn't the most experience guy with women, but even he realized that wouldn't sit well with any woman. He was learning that was especially true with Zatanna. The worst part, well, it was all pretty bad, but the part that bothered him the most was he had wanted to kiss her. In fact he wanted to kiss her again. The more he was around her, well, up until recently, the more he liked her. She was completely different than all the other women he knew. Now he'd blown it and would be lucky if he could get her back as a friend at the rate he was going.

The sound of the engine room door slamming shut made Clark look up. Wally was standing there.

"Dude, I don't know how much more of this I can take," Wally said. "You gotta fix this, I mean come on your Superman."

"What would you suggest?"

"Apologize to her."

"I tried that, she wouldn't listen, "Clark replied.

"Well, try again! Get down on your knees and beg her if you have to," Wally offered. "I got to tell you, she's really starting to freak me out!'

"Maybe she'll get over it in a day or so," Clark said.

"I can't take it that long, big guy! Zee's my friend and I hate to see her like this. I've never seen her this piss off before," Wally replied. "She's mad at you so you have to do something and quick!"

"Wally, I don't know what to do, I've tried…" Clark started to say, but Wally cut him off.

"That's not good enough, Supes! Now get out there and fix it," Wally ordered. "Don't make me come over there and kick your ass!"

Clark was slowly standing up and gave Wally a look.

"How's that?"

"Yeah, that was too much," admitted Wally. "I was kind of on a roll there and it got away from me. Sorry."

"It's okay," Clark replied. "Everyone's a little tense around here. I'll give it another try if it will make you happy."

"It will make me happy if she's happy," Wally countered. "Now get your butt out that and fix it!"

They stood looking at each other for a moment.

"Get carried away again," Clark asked.

"Yeah, sorry, this is just a lot of stress I don't need," Wally replied. "I mean super villains, alien invasions I can deal with, but a hot chick that's really, really pissed is something else."

"Why don't you hang back and let me try again," Clark offered.

"Okay. Good luck, Supes."

"Thanks, Wally, I think I'm going to need it."

Wally gave Clark the two thumbs up.

Clark tried to smile as he opened the engine room door and walked out into the main cabin. He could hear Zatanna in the kitchen so he moved over to stand in the doorway. He figured this way she would have to talk to him.

Zatanna saw him and if anything, the frown deepened on her face. Picking up a spoon and a carton of ice cream she started walking slowly towards him.

"Zatanna, please just let me explain," Clark began. "It didn't come out the way I meant."

She didn't answer and kept walking towards him.

"At least say something, please," Clark asked.

"EVOM!" she whispered and waved her hand in front of her. In the next moment Clark felt himself flying across the room and crashing into the main table. He looked up to see Zatanna walk into her room and somehow slam the sliding door closed.

A moment later, Wally was standing next to him.

"That didn't do so well," Wally observed.

"You think?" Clark said as he climbed up from the shattered table.

"Yeah you're going to have to try harder, big guy," Wally replied. "Don't worry, I have faith in you. I know you can do it. I'll be right behind you all the way. Now get in there and fix it!"

Clark just stood and looked at Wally.