Hello everyone! Sorry for not updating soon. I've gotten sidetracked with my other story A World Without Wonder Woman? And schools started, leaving me even less time to type up my chapters. So I will try to keep up regular updates but forgive me if I can't. A big cheer for those who have reviewed either the last chapter or previous ones. Thanks Nightwing 509, Amanda, SakuraPheonix13, Ni Castle, Littlemsstrawberry, bubblestar888 and twostar for reviewing. It's always great to hear from you guys, and I hope to continue to read more comments from you all. Also thanks to everyone who has favorited this story, it's always good to know that enjoyed reading ,Tess talking for me anymore reading for you. Enjoy!
The warm breeze runs through my ebony locks, tugging at my ends and swirling them about my face gently. The current pushes against my body in a friendly shove like a puppy eager to play fetch. The sun's rays bathe my form, causing me to glow and shine as I drift lazily in the light blue sky. Breathing in deeply, I absorb the faint perfumes of summer flowers, and crisp green grass intermingled with a hint of refreshing spring water. Such a beautiful and extraordinary day. Enjoying the soothing affects of mother nature I begin to feel the muscles loosen within my neck, arms and lower back.
Stretching my arms out wide, I close my eyes and relax. Slowly I begin to raise my arms above my head, reaching towards the heavens. The tinkling sound of Blue birds as they swirl about my floating figure brings a smile to my lips. Peace and quite.
Abruptly I wrench my arms away from their original position and strike forward into empty air. Concentrating, I am able to create an imaginary figure as my target. I slice my left hand forward, striking along where a human's collar bone would be located. Bringing my knee upward, I grunt and thrust my foot outward in a wide arch. I grin as I feel the familiar rush of adrenaline running through my body at the very prospect of sparring with another opponent. Quickly I fall into a pattern of swift graceful kicks, jabs and punches as I continue to strike into empty space.
Realistically practicing any technique of fighting while flying is a tedious task. You constantly have to make sure that you are always balanced and in proper form less you drop out of the sky like a heavy weight rock. Unfortunately I have no training room to release any pent up frustrations or energy, forcing me to use un-routine like exercising method. The Watchtower is off limits until this whole situation is resolved, and Bruce's training room had been mysteriously wrecked. It wasn't too hard to figure out just who tried to train in the room what with the immense amounts of claw marks that had decorated the black punching bag. I now find myself dreading the very prospect of finding him trying to suit up for an unauthorized nightly patrol. The only thing keeping him from just running off already is based on two things, #1 I don't believe Bruce is too keen on being thoroughly scolded by either me or Alfred at the moment, #2 Is the simple fact that he has a higher chance of killing someone if he makes one wrong move. But Bruce is smart. Sooner or later he will find a way around those two millstones and while he is contemplating his next wave of actions I must be on high alert.
I issue a complicated round house kick, while simultaneously bringing my elbow down in a deadly blow. My hands slice through the air like flying knives, creating small gusts of wind caused by my rapid movements. I breathe in through my nose and exhale through my mouth, maintaining a steady breathing pattern and a strong heartbeat rhythm. Swinging my legs upward, I summersault in the air and go over the occurrences of these past few days.
It may sound strange but this past week having been spent around both Bruce and Kal has allowed me to become closer to them. Or at least Kal. Of course me and Kal have always been the best of friends but there are some things that I have never truly noticed about him while he was human. Like the way he always tends to sleep on his side during naps or the simple fact that he too enjoyed reading. Apparently J'onn was accurate in his assumption that they would still remember everything that they had learned before the transformation. Every time I would curl up on the window seat, he would jump up and settle comfortably behind me in order to read over my shoulder or listen to me read out loud. Kal has always been a gentleman but I can't help but smile at the memory of him holding the door open for me with his body while allowing me to pass through freely and into the kitchen.
Yet I can sense something amidst with him. Ever since the time at the Watchtower I have kept my eye on him, observing him from afar. At times I can see the turmoil clearly in his eyes, haunting his bright blue pupils. Thinking back I realize that this has been going on for awhile, ever since that last battle with Darkseid. Since then he has become more cautious in the battles he would fight in, more unsure of his self control, as if one thing will cause him to blow. With him being an animal it is harder to overlook that feeling of silent anger, confusion and fear than when he had been normal human Kal. At times I will find him spacing out, his mind elsewheredebating over some unknown circumstance. Once this is all over, I am going to have to talk to J'onn about this sudden development.
I sense a sudden feeling of movement beneath me and I snap my eyes open, pausing my clenched fist in midair. I lock my gaze unto that of the dark figure prowling the grounds protectively. I can't help but narrow my eyes and smirk as I continue to watch the large carnivore stealthily weave his way around multiple bushes and logs. He knows I'm here yet he choosestoo ignore me.
Slowly, I let my arms fall to my side as I lift my head upward and close my eyes against the glare of the sun. Bruce. The most elusive of the two. One minute he will be trailing behind me and the next minute he would be gone to who knows where. More than once I could feel the heat of his gaze as it bored into the back of my head while I read. Something has subtly shifted within him, yet I can't tell if its something good, or bad. He has become more cautious when he is around me, as if he isn't sure wether to venture close to me or completely shun me. He has also started to act a bit differently around Kal also... Almost a little hostile.
Something is going on between those two. With each passing day, more and more things one does manages to rub the other the wrong way. Such as what happened a few nights ago. It had become a habit, sleeping on the other side of the bed that I would sleep on. As if they were actually house cats slumbering next to their owner. I would have found it cute to some extent if it weren't for their constant shoving off of the bed routine. Finally I had grown tiresome of their quarrels and got up to move to the couch in the living room. I hadn't wanted to bother Alfred at such a late hour in order to prepare another room for me to sleep in and had settled myself as comfortably as I could on the stiff cushions. The next morning I woke up only to find them both sleeping on the rug spread out in front of the sofa. Snoring slightly and as far as from eacother as possible of course.
Now I am not even too sure what their second dilemma had been about. Kal had decided to get comfy next to me and place his paws and head on my lap while I read like usual, when Bruce began to growl lowly in his throat. Kal immediately responded by glaring back in return. I was able to ignore that until both decided to abruptly stand which then caused Kal to knock the book right out my hands.
It then became more heated. I could feel the tips of Kal's claws digging into my thighs as he crawled across my lap and closer toward Bruce, who was resting on the other side of the couch. Then without warning they were lunging at each other. Quickly I intervened, gripping them by the back of their necks and pulling them apart.
"Enough!" I snapped at both of them. "What is your problem? I know that you two aren't the greatest BFFS of the world, but you all know better than to act like this towards each other." I had hissed, crossing my arms over my chest and looking both of them in the eyes. "Now I don't know what is wrong with you two, but you both better get your act together or else it is to the bathtub for the both of you." Kal instantly backed away and cowered slightly. Bruce just glared at me defiantly as if daring me to try and make him.
"Don't think I won't." I had replied sternly before whipping myself around and walking out of the room.
I entered the kitchen and pulled out a polished wood stool before taking a seat.
"I don't understand Alfred. Sometimes I think that those two are the most complex people I could have come to know on Earth." I had sighed out while reaching for a warm cookie on the cooling rack.
Alfred turned away from the stove and looked at me with a twinkle in his eyes.
"My Dear would it be so hard to accept the fact that possibly both of these men are perhaps just a bit jealous?"
I had looked at him quizzically. "Jealous? Jealous of what exactly?" I inquired curiously with a raised eyebrow.
"Of each other of course. They are jealous when the other ventures too close to what they see as theirs."
I am rendered speechless. No it can't be true. Or could it? Was it possible that all they were doing was vying for my attention and presence? Did Bruce perhaps harbor feelings for me? But what about Kal? Didn't he have Lois? Alfred had to be mistaken, but then again Alfred was never wrong. Oh Hera, why did this have to happen to me?
Alfred takes my silence as a sign to continue. "They are two Tigers who have been living in the same house for over a week. It is a well known fact that two animals of such attributes cannot dwell in the same territory for long or share a certain prize without any mishaps." His mustache subtly twitches at that. I chose to ignore it. I don't have the time to dwell on such wild assumptions. They were only bored out of their minds and agitated. Nothing more, nothing less. Maybe.
"What do you propose I should do Alfred?" His face once again becomes serious at my question, before answering me. "You must continue to try and reverse this process Miss Diana. The longer they are animals the more they will act like it."
I of course know this to be true. I have no other option but to try and continue to fix this problem, but frustratingly Circe hadn't created a single commotion. It has been five days. Five days without knowing what Circe has planned for me. Everyone is becoming restless. Both Kal and Bruce's patience is running thin. There is only so much I can do to keep the peace between the two.
I begin to slowly descend to the ground, keeping my eyes on the form of Bruce prowling around. I touch down on the grass, my red boots crushing the thick blades underneath me. Fingering my lasso I stroll up the hill before me and come to a complete stop next to an abandoned well. I proceed to push away a few stray limbs and peer down into the dark depths below. Squinting I realize that about halfway down the passage lies a securely placed wooden platform. Undoubtedly to prevent anyone from falling through, or perhaps for some other unknown reason. Picking up on a slight sound, I look over my shoulder and spy two dark emerald eyes staring back at me from the darkness of the shadows. They briefly flicker to the well, and a look of recognition crosses his face before coming to land on me once more.
We continue to stare at each other, neither one of us moving a muscle. His eyes bore into mine with such intensity, that for a moment I feel as if I can't breathe. I am the first to break eye contact and cast my glance about the area in order to distract myself for the moment. A tingling sensation begins at the tips of my ears and crawls down the length of my body due to his gaze. How can one man be the cause of such an effect on me with his eyes alone? Only one other man had been able to come close to making me feel like this, but it was a long time ago. Before I had learned that he had another in his life.
I cast my eyes back to that of Bruce and open my mouth in order to utter some sort of greeting. But I don't get the chance to do so. Out of nowhere, what sounds like a sonic boom explodes from behind me. I whip my head around, my arms securely placed at the sides of my face in order to defend myself if the need will arise.
Right above the well, a blue hued portal hs appeared. A portal that looks similar to that of a boom tube. The feeling of fur brushing against my thigh draws my attention downward, where Bruce stands protectively, with his head lowered.
"What do you think Bruce?" I ask out loud. He only snarls slightly in response, meaning that he doesn't like this situation one bit. Returning my gaze to the mysterious vortex, I manage to catch a glimpse of a lush green landscape mixed with a scattering of gray rugged rocks. Bruce barely moves, but I catch the sight of his nose twitching slightly as he picks up on some lingering scent. I too pick up an unnatural perfume wafting through the portal. A scent unlike any on earth but I catch the presence of another underlying smell. A smell that I have come to be familiar with these past few weeks. Circe. She told me that I wouldn't be able to miss the time when she wanted me to execute one of her challenges. Apparently now it is that time.
I lower my forearms and straighten myself from the poised stance I had taken. Walking up to the portal, I gently place my fingers into the large blue swirl. I gasp as I feel the intensity of the portal sucking at my fingers. Quickly I wrench my fingers loose and rub them together in order to gain feeling in the once more. I grimace slightly as the stinging sensation slowly ebbs away from my finger tips leaving it slightly pale in color. Leave it to Circe to make transportation between two worlds painful.
Taking a deep breath I grasp the outer lip of the well and pull myself up. Balancing myself on the thin rim made of stone, I twist around to look at Bruce only to find him leaping up next to me. "Bruce." I say in warning. He peers up at me with narrowed eyes, daring me to try and continue to argue with him. I purse my lips in defeat and nod my head. "Here we go." I sigh out before forcing my way into the portal. I grit my teeth as the feeling of thousands of needles pricking my body assults me to no end. A bright white light explodes before me and then there is only darkness.
Not much action in this chapter but hopefully the next one will be more entertaining for all of you. In this one I guess I wanted to further exposé the sense of a love triangle between these three and the knowledge that Superman is having a silent turmoil going on within him. Reasons for his behavior will be revealed in further chapters but let us not get ahead of ourselves. :) Anyways, review and share your thoughts. Bye!
