After dinner the El's went back to the fortress, while Clark and Diana took a trip down to the parking lot underneath their apartment building to look at their new car. Diana looked it over then climbed into the driver's seat, basically pushing Clark out of the way to get there.
"So you think he gave this to us as an apology?" Diana questioned once she adjusted the seat to her liking.
"That's my best guess. He didn't exactly say, but this bad boy is paid in full and he gave us like 10 years worth of insurance payments."
Diana laughed to herself. "Did Jor see this? Are we going to have a brand new car waiting for us in the morning?"
"No he stayed upstairs. But now that you mention it, that would save us a little money on gas. And we wouldn't have to start the thing every week, but seriously what the hell do we need a car for?"
"It would be helpful sometimes." Diana mentioned, "When I'm doing my art shows and such we wouldn't have to ask for help anymore."
"I suppose."
"So how do you start this thing anyway? It doesn't have a key." Diana looked around the vehicle. She could fly a jet without batting an eye but her street driving experience was rather minimal. She'd learned to drive in the Kent's old pickup truck.
"Tap the brake and press the start button." Clark instructed, as Diana did so. "So where are we going?"
"I don't know. Let's just cruise for a while." Diana backed out of the spot and drove up the ramp and out of the garage.
Talking was minimal as Diana negotiated the city traffic and merged onto the freeway intending to go out of town for a bit. Heading north to get as close to country driving as she could while still staying in Metropolis.
"So what you said earlier about your mom discovering basketball and mine almost melting Artemis. Explain that." Clark finally said.
"So you remember the WNBA Finals right?" Diana asked.
"Yeah you were honored guests and the winners visited the island. What does that have to do with anything?"
"Well when I went there today, they had a whole setup going. A blacktop painted with all the lines, regulation rims, jerseys and shoes. I watched my mother take it to the paint and finish with a monster jam." Diana spoke with combination of sarcasm and annoyance. Clark tried not to laugh. "I overheard Aleka talking about 'backdoor cuts' and Phillipus explaining the finer points of the 'pick and roll'.
Clark tried with everything he had, but could no longer hold it in. He threw his head back and burst out with laughter. "I've got to be honest with you babe, I would pay money to see that."
"Shut up." Diana frowned.
His laughter died down. "So what about Artemis melting?"
"Your mother's heat vision kicked in."
"So everyone's ok?"
"Yes."
"Damn." Clark said facetiously, almost hoping Artemis was no more so she couldn't get on his nerves anymore.
"It's not funny Clark."
"Ok, so what happened?"
Diana took a breath before beginning. "Artemis was her usual self 'alien this, alien that, your son is weak so on and so forth. And as she always does with you she challenged Lara to a fight, except unlike you she accepted."
"How did that go?" Clark was a little concerned now.
"Quite frankly Clark, your mom's a badass, she was in control most of the fight. Klukor is not a joke."
"Klukor? Is that the flips and kicks and stuff? Looks almost like breakdancing?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, some of Zod's disciples used it."
Diana gave Clark a concerned look. His face changed at the mere mention of Zod, but he didn't bring it up again. "Anyway at one point Artemis got the upper hand, and Lara just lost it, her eyes started glowing and I stepped in. I cleared everyone out and took the heat with my bracelets."
"Oh man. You should've said something earlier, if her heat vision is kicking in she might have a tough time controlling it. I did."
"Talk to her in the morning?" Diana suggested.
"Yeah that's probably best. She can't hurt anything in the fortress." Clark changed the subject. "But whatever happens I'm driving back home."
In the fortress, Jor and Lara walked the halls discussing their day. They weren't walking anywhere in particular, just familiarizing themselves with the expansions Kal has made over the years.
"He took me to the city. He thought I might be interested in some of the architecture of the planet and some of the vehicles." Jor explained.
"How was that?"
"It was difficult to concentrate. The sounds were almost overwhelming but Kal helped me some. He gave me an interesting perspective in a manner that made sense to me."
"What did he say?"
"Our bodies are machines that weren't designed for this environment. They have to be fine tuned to function properly. I've given much thought to learning to do what Kal can that I haven't begun with the basics yet. I could not walk down a street without being assaulted by the sound. How could I fly before that?"
"I too was assaulted by the noise. I focused on what I can control and learned to channel it to only what I wanted to hear. But even then that only worked so well. I still cannot control myself. When I was on that island one of those women insulted Kal incessantly, and challenged me to a fight. I should not have accepted it, I wish you could have been there." Lara spoke softly.
"Why?"
"Perhaps you could've convinced me to stop. I may have listened to you. It was odd being there, even if they hadn't constantly called me an alien I still felt like one, I didn't like it."
"Why were you taken there in the first place?"
"Diana wished to give me perspective, although I cannot figure out how or why. She wished me to speak with her mother, but another challenged me before we truly had that chance. I don't believe it's what Diana intended, but I don't want to go back there. I'm told that Kal is only barely tolerated, and you would not be. If my husband and son aren't welcome, neither am I."
"Kal and Diana may have the answers to our questions, they may have the ability to teach us quite a bit. But they're far from perfect, we must remember that." Jor pointed out.
"I agree."
"Had we been able to raise Kal on Krypton by ourselves I expect we would've made mistakes along the way as well. Or if we had raised Kal here on Earth we would have made mistakes. We cannot hold that against them, but we can learn."
Superman and Wonder Woman took flight above the city keeping sharp eyes on the goings on below them. Things had been relatively quiet lately, which only told Clark and Diana something might blow up soon. It was easy to get into a lull and enjoy the simple life only to be caught off guard by a well thought out plan, so they made sure to take flight every so often, sometimes even together.
So far they'd stopped a carjacking, and they kept several police officers from excessively beating some teenagers they were arresting for robbing a liquor store. The officers thought they were big and bad until Superman and Wonder Woman showed up. Then they wanted to do things by the book, but Superman now knew their names and badge numbers he'd be watching for them in the future, and they knew it.
They didn't only take flight in Metropolis, but they spanned the globe in a matter of hours doing little things where needed. Diana helped a family find a lost dog in Oregon and Clark helped fight a fire in Arizona. It didn't much matter where Superman or Wonder Woman were seen, they were welcomed almost anytime they could help.
After returning to their apartment Diana decided she needed to get something off her chest. "Clark, I'm sorry."
"About what?"
"About what happened with Lara today, on Themyscira. I should've known someone would do that."
"You're forgiven, it's in the past, nothing we can do about it now."
"I had a plan when we went there today, but it was completely ruined by Artemis." Diana lamented, while kicking off her boots.
"What was that plan anyway?"
"I thought maybe she would open up about her life here, and her feelings. But I wanted to show her what would happen if she didn't accept humanity. My sisters could be a great nation, and could possibly spearhead something great for the world. And while my mother occasionally leaves and will do this or that she always returns home. They all do, because they're terrified and as long as they isolate themselves they'll never be free of their pain. There are some who've let it consume them, I think Artemis is one."
"Well, if you look at it that way, maybe you did her a favor. By showing her the worst of things maybe she'll look forward to the best of them. Artemis isn't so bad, I don't exactly blame her for the way she's coped with her past. Same way I don't blame Bruce. If you or I had gone through that we may very well be just like them." Clark hypothesized.
Diana finally admitted something that she hadn't before."That doesn't explain why Artemis thinks you're a coward. I hate that, sometimes I just want you to shut her up."
"How could I do that? By accepting her challenge and beating her into submission? You really think that would help?"
"No."
"Exactly." Then Clark looked forward, letting his mind drift. "This is a big mess we're in you know."
"You're telling me. This has to be what raising kids feels like."
"My parents always said, 'Clark you didn't come with a manual'. But look on the bright side, whenever orifever we do have kids, at least we'll have this experience and will be better for it."
Diana gave him a skeptical look, but in the end agreed with him.
"Things are still going to get more complicated before they get better, I need to get back to work, this family emergency thing is only going to hold out for so long. I'm amazed that Lois hasn't dropped by yet, and if I keep away for too long Perry is going to want a specific explanation."
Diana leaned back on the bed, "I know, you're right and I need to get back to my work too. We need to figure out something, we can't just leave them in the fortress alone all day. Surely we can do better than that. I mean they are adults, it's not as if they need supervision at all times. They just need guidance."
"Yeah but what else can they do? Could they handle the watchtower? Could the watchtower handle them?" Clark wondered aloud.
"Like I said they're not children, they'd get along there. At least for a while, it would help them acclimate a little bit, and they wouldn't feel so much like outcasts either."
"It's a possibility."
"Plus maybe your dad could improve on some of our tech, or maybe even learn a thing or two. I bet he'd love that." Diana added. "And there's something else, the TV interview with Cat Grant, we're doing it."
"Wait, just like that?"
"Yes. I'll schedule it tomorrow."
"No negotiations, or anything?"
"No. Clark I've just accepted the position of mentor to your parents and haven't hesitated once. You can do this one little thing for me. We're doing it."
"Fine." Clark groaned.
Back in the fortress Lara had finally gotten the courage to tell Jor the strangest part of her day. Artemis' manner of dress during the fight, or rather the lack thereof.
"She removed her clothes?" Jor asked skeptically. "But why?"
"I think it had the same effect as my form fitting battle armor, making me difficult to grab."
"Hmm." Jor began wondering. What would happen if Lara took off her clothes now? Or even if he did? Now he wasn't interested in reliving a fight because Lara would wipe the floor with him easily, but he did become curious. It also might give him an idea of what happened to him when he was in close proximity to her.
"But also I think she wished to intimidate me."
"Is skin intimidating? Jor doubted it, but he was willing to find out.
"I don't know. Perhaps it was simply for comfort, the clothing I did wear was loose fitting compared to my normal clothing, and even the fashion of the world." Without another word, Lara stood up and tested her theory.
Jor's eyes didn't stray from his wife for split second, he was mesmerized by her beauty. Surely there could be nothing better than this.
"I don't feel any different." She noted. "You try it."
Following her lead Jor stood up and peeled off his clothes too, but he certainly felt different. Looking down, he saw it happened again. "This only occurs when I am close to you. Why?"
"I do not know. Are you in discomfort?"
"No." Actually he felt great, and had an overwhelming desire to get even closer.
"Well, what are we supposed to do now?"
"I have no idea."