Hi folks! Looks like I'm back in action. As always, I own nothing...man, I have really got to get a new saying going.
CHAPTER 12 –
Clark sighed in relief; the volcanoes had decided to give him a break, and the worst of the pyroclastic flow was over. He had heard that Flash had been injured, but that was being taken care of by Diana, who evidently had everything under control. Leave it to Flash to get injured helping a small animal.
What was on his mind right now was J'onn. Though the Martian had not communicated anything that would have had anyone suspect that he was in trouble, Clark had a feeling. His gut was telling him to check on his friend, and take over for him.
"Batman,"
"Yes, Superman, what is it?" asked Batman, with an irritated voice.
"Have you heard from J'onn yet?"
Bruce paused. He had just been dealing with an overweight woman, with a deep southern drawl. She had been visiting extended family, but was put out that she was not evacuated in the same truck that they were. She also seemed to be immune to his patented Bat-glare; suffice to say, there were few things that Bruce hated more than when people were able to stand up to his glare. Also, with all the things that had been happening up until this point, he had not thought about J'onn. J'onn had not communicated with him for over 20 minutes; the League protocol dictated to communicate with at least one other teammate every five minutes, to ensure everyone's safety.
"No, I have not heard from J'onn." Opening the communication lines to the rest of the League, he asked, "Has anyone heard from J'onn?"
After a few seconds, the rest of the League replied that they had not been in communication with him. Bruce waited a minute longer, hoping that J'onn himself would reply. There was nothing.
"I'm going under the surface to make sure that he is ok," said Superman.
"Kal, even if he is alright, you should send him up to the surface. It cannot be easy for him to be down there."
"Yes, Diana, I know, thank you."
Clark zoomed into the lava, and within a few seconds, he saw his target. Unfortunately, it was not a good sight.
"Superman to the League, do you read me?" as he surfaced from the lava.
"Copy that Superman, what is the situation?"
"I have J'onn, but he is really bad shape. I think that his skin-suit thing malfunctioned, I'm going to take him to the Satellite, and put him in the medical bay."
"Move fast."
"Copy that."
And with that, Superman, carrying the limp form of the Martian Manhunter, blurred up into the sky.
The heat and fire of the lava, angry for his attempt at trying to deny its power had left him feeling drained. He could also feel thunder crashing in his head. Now the world was blurry. However, from what he could recognize, he was in a white room. Turning his head to the left, he saw something red beside him; red with a little bit of yellow, if his fuzzy interpretation of the room was to be trusted. On the other side, he could see something blue. Blinking, the blue thing took the form of a muscular man with an S shield on his chest.
"J'onn can you hear me?"
After a second or two of attempting to speak, J'onn was able to reply, "Yes, Kal-El."
"How are you feeling?"
"To be honest, not too well; how is Flash?"
"He's doing ok; he has badly burned his foot. He should be able to walk within a week, but probably won't be able to run for at least a month."
"Why is he asleep?"
"Even though he was wounded, he wanted to help people; in the end, it took Hawkgirl to administer a sleeping drug to quiet him down. He has been out ever since."
"How is the situation in Yellowstone?"
"Everything is back to normal. The Supervolcano has been neutralized, and the evacuees are returning to their homes."
"Thank goodness. How long have I been asleep?"
"About a day and a half; we've all been taking turns watching the two of you."
"So the mission was a success?"
"Yes."
"Good," said J'onn, as he stretched out. "I wish I could have been a better help. If only my suit had not malfunctioned."
"The mission would not have been a success without your help. Now, get some rest, old friend. You've earned it."
Clark's reply was a light snore. He chuckled. As he turned to exit, the door opened, and Diana walked in. Making a motion with his hands, he told her to be quiet, and walked with her into the hallway.
"How is J'onn?"
"He's going to be fine. I think Flash is going to be alright as well."
"I wonder if he is actually going to keep that dog," said Diana, smiling at the memory of Flash and the little dog.
"Well if those people are still alive, I doubt it, but…" suddenly, Clark could feel his mood darkening slightly.
"Kal, you can't save everyone."
"I know; I just wish that I could do more."
"So do I, but we were doing all we could do, and that is all we can do."
"That's cliché."
"Oh well, that's life."
"Another cliché," said Clark with a smile.
"Oh, be quite you!" She said with
A thought crept into Diana's mind, "Do you mind if I change the subject?"
"Not at all; what's up?"
"I just wanted to talk about that cute Clark Kent. Do you think that he would like to interview me again?"
"Ahem…ah…I'm…er…yeah, I suppose Diana."
"He just seems to be enigma. I think that his clumsiness is an act. I think that he does it so that no one will know what he is on the inside."
Clearing his throat again, Clark asked, "And, do you know what he is on the inside?"
"I believe so."
"What is it?"
"That is for me to know, and you to figure out." Diana said with a most cheeky smile.
"But…"
"No buts!" she said. "I enjoy Mr. Kent's company so much that I could easily spend hours and hours just talking and figuring out what goes on in that brain of his."
"What?"
"I know? Isn't it surprising? Clark Kent is a person most people wouldn't give two glances at. However, there was something about him that is just so…you know? I cannot think of the adjective to describe him. He's tall; he's dark, and decidedly handsome. He's a gentleman and treats people with respect. I think he is a superman…"
Clark did not know how to reply to this. Here Diana was praising his alter ego; all the while thinking that he was someone else. Boy, did it get confusing. He could feel his face burn, and felt the sweat coming out of his head. He had just come out of hot lava without so much as a scratch, and yet, with only a few short sentences, this woman has done something that only Kryptonite has been able to do. However, Diana's face, expectant for a reply, jerked him out of his quiet reverie.
"I never really thought of him like that. How are you able to find all this out about Kent?"
Diana replied, "I can do this thanks to my warrior training. It taught me how to look for details, however small or seemingly insignificant. From a person's build, to a person's hair…even their eyes."
"Really?"
"Yes; in fact, Clark Kent's eyes are very unique. I wonder why…er, do you know what those types of bowl things are used in place of glasses?"
"Contact lenses?"
"Yes! I wonder why Clark does not use contact lenses. His already pretty face would be made so much prettier. In fact," Diana said, with a slight turn of her head, "I would go so far as to say that he would be beautiful without his glasses on."
"Uh, you don't say."
"Kal, am I making you feel uncomfortable?"
"Maybe a little bit Diana, why?"
"You are red as a rose, and you're also sweating. Is there something wrong with what I have said? I understand most normal married couples don't talk about other people like this, but this situation is not exactly normal is it?"
"You have no idea."
Turning with a smile, Diana said, "Actually, I believe I do…Clark."
I hope I wrote J'onn right, and explained his weakness properly. As to the suit/second skin thing…I have no clue if that is actually in an official story, but let's say that the skin is supposed to protect J'onn both physically and mentally.
I had thought to make Diana keep Clark guessing (and sweating!), but I felt mercy. Lol
Anyway, anything to improve? Thanks!
KD
PS
Sorry about the wait - I wrote this chapter up pretty quickly, but I was never confident about it. That and...of course...the dreaded, Clichéd, L-word. You know, Life?