Chapter 14
Kal-El can't believe how wonderful Diana's lips feel against his own before he suddenly realises his foolish impulsiveness. He quickly breaks away, stands and moves across the room leaving a slightly befuddled Diana sitting on the bed. "I am sorry," he apologises.
Diana shakes her head slightly to regain focus. That soft kiss had left her whole body tingling. "For what?" she asks him.
"There I was telling you how no-one would ever force themselves on you and I am suddenly kissing you. I would understand if you are angry at me."
Diana takes a breath and stands before she goes over to him and places her hand on his shoulder. "I am not angry."
"You're not?" he asks with a mixture of surprise and hope.
"Surprised but not angry."
"I don't know what came over me. I am not impulsive by nature. Aethyr use to take great pleasure in teasing me that about how I would plan everything in detail. That I did not know the joy of simply acting on random impulse."
Diana smiles. He is rambling like an embarrassed school boy and he looks so adorable doing so she is finding it hard to resist her own impulse to kiss him now she knows what it feels like. She had already been fighting the strange pull she feels around him. She thinks it might be a touch more difficult after this and she really wasn't angry at him. Like she said she was surprised to suddenly find him kissing her and part of her would really like it if some time soon he kissed her again.
Kal-El tries to gather himself together. This is not how a commander in the Kryptonian military should act. He has no idea what impulse drove him to do it. He had his hand placed on her cheek and was indulging slightly in how smooth and soft it felt against his rough hand and then...then his eyes had under their own volition turned his gaze to her lips. Next thing he knows is he is touching her lips with his. The only saving grace is that somewhere, somehow his self-control was strong enough to ensure it was only a gentle touching of lips and not the passionate ravishing that he had dreamed about for weeks. He stands straight. "I should go. I have duties to attend."
"Don't think you have to leave because of that kiss," Diana tells him. "I told you I am not angry at you."
"It isn't that." Diana looks at him sceptically. "It isn't," he insists. "I have to check up on how the prisoners' interrogations are going and check in with my second."
The prisoners. Her friends. Diana takes a small gamble. "Would it be possible for me to see my friends?" she asks Kal.
Kal-El takes a good minute to think about that. "Maybe," he says. "But not until tomorrow. I will not have time until then and I will only allow it if I escort you."
That was about as good as she could hope for she thinks. "Ok. Thank you." She then gives him a small kiss on his cheek.
Kal-El raises his hand to where her lips touched him and smiles at the lingering feeling of them. "You are welcome."
"One other thing."
"Yes."
"If these are your quarters where are you sleeping?"
"Your concern is touching if unwarranted. There are guest quarters on this ship. Sometimes my missions are diplomatic not militaristic. I am using one of them." He then moves to leave before Diana stops him once more.
"One other other thing," she says a little embarrassed.
Kal-El smiles at her not in the least bothered by her stopping him. "Yes."
"I noticed some female uniforms in your...closet...if that is the right term."
"Yes," he answers. "They belonged to my mate."
Diana's colour suddenly fluctuates. "Mate?" Oh great Gaea. She had never considered, not once, that he might have a partner of some kind.
"Yes but it no longer matters."
"What do you mean?"
Kal-El looks her dead in the eye. "Because she is dead."
"Dead," Diana repeats woodenly before she comes to a horrifying conclusion. The only Kryptonian she knows to be dead is that one at the base. "She was the one at the base wasn't she."
"Yes."
"I'm sorry," she says in sympathy.
"Why?" he asks a little bit perplexed. "You did not kill her."
"It is just on Earth you express sympathy to someone who has lost a loved one."
"She was not a 'loved one' as you put it. I told you before emotions have nothing to do with how we bond."
"So you feel nothing?"
"I did not say that. I was fond of her yes but it is more complex than you know."
"Complex how?"
"That is something you do not need to know," he tells her bluntly. "Now I must perform my duties." Kal-El then departs rapidly.
Diana sits down on the bed. She has so many conflicting emotions running through her right now. A strange warmth at the kiss Kal gave her. That had made her heart beat with an extra step. Now, however, there is sympathy for Kal and confusion at his reaction. It is obvious she is missing something but he didn't seemed very inclined to tell her what it was. She shakes her head slightly when she realises she is hoping for too much. She isn't going to break through all his barriers in a few hours. That will take time.
She looks at the doorway. She doesn't like being imprisoned here but she knows there are soldiers outside her door. She doesn't know the exact number but considering she is a match for one of them power-wise and assuming her fighting skills are superior, which she isn't certain of, then there are too many for her to hope to defeat. Besides where would she go on a spaceship in orbit. She can't survive outside in space.
Diana retrieves the data pad she was given and tries to find something to read to pass the time. She pauses for a moment to utter a silent prayer for her friends and for her mother and sisters. From what Kal said Themyscira must still be hidden so she is hopeful that they are fine. Her mother is probably making herself sick with worry over Diana's safety but that is better than her mother being imprisoned or worse.
Diana flicks through the available choices on the pad which had been translated into English for her. She has made progress with Kal-El. Of that she is certain. She just has to be patient and not push too hard. Allow him to let her in at his own pace. Only then can she even begin to hope to persuade him into trusting her. She will need that if she is going to help her friends, if she is going to protect the Earth. It is simply going to take time to get through all that military training. She glances again at the door of what is her prison essentially. It seems like time is one thing she has lots of.
Kal-El stands on the bridge of his ship looking out at the blue and white planet below and at the new shipyards in orbit. They weren't ready yet but they would be shortly. Then the fleet needed to conquer Almerac and its empire would assemble here. He knows he hasn't paid as much attention to it as he should have but he has been distracted and Kond-Ah is more than capable. A smile threatens to tug at the corners of his mouth as he thinks back to his childhood. Kond had been one of his few friends. Being the son of General Dru-Zod could be a lonely existence and Kond was only there as he was the son of one of Zod's servants so in some ways Kal-El had been fortunate to have him as a friend. Kond-Ah himself managed to avoid the fate of being a servant by joining the military and Kal-El had kept an interest in his friend. He kept an eye on Kond and when Kal-El became commander he had Kond transferred to his battlegroup where he rose to Captain of a ship and now his second-in-command.
Kal-El has attended to almost everything he needs to and is now simply thinking over Diana's request to see her friends. There would be no harm in it would there. She would not be alone with them. He would accompany her so it was unlikely they could plot or plan anything. They weren't being very forthcoming in their interrogations he was told. He admires them a little for their loyalty to those that remain free. He too would never reveal his secrets. Although it was highly unlikely he would ever be captured. It is not arrogance that drives that thought. Merely a recognition that as a Kryptonian he is one of the most powerful beings in creation. He is thinking about other things too. The points she raised about the things he has done serving his father. He is confused about whether what he has done was right or wrong. It is going to need more thought before he reaches a conclusion.
Of course the one thing he is not doing is thinking about the kiss he gave her. No he is definitely not thinking about that. He is not thinking about how soft and warm she felt to his lips. Nor is he thinking about what it would feel like to have her warm, soft naked body pressed to his own...
Oh Rao curse him. That is exactly what he is thinking about. Even the attempt to distract himself with his duties has achieved nothing. What is he going to do?
Diana...she is not like any other woman he has met. For starters he hasn't spent years dreaming about other women. Not that he has any idea why and it seems unlikely he will find out. Strange thing is he isn't bothered. When he first saw her all he wanted to know was why was he dreaming about her. Now all he cares about is spending time with her. He likes spending time with her. He has this odd feeling that he can trust her with knowing who he is on the inside which will be an interesting experience since even he doesn't know who he is inside himself. He shut part of himself away years ago.
As per usual lately his introspection is interrupted. "Hi-diddly-ho cousorino!"
Kal-El's head whips round as Kara walks up behind him. "What?"
Kara stands next to her cousin and looks at him. "What?"
"What was that you said?" he clarifies.
"Oh that. I picked it up off the humans' broadcasts. They call it television I think." Kara had been watching it when she had some spare time. She finds it interesting the ways these humans come up with to entertain themselves.
Not particularly interested Kal-El moves on. "Has Bruce Wayne said anything yet?"
"You will have to narrow that down Kal. He says a lot of things."
"Kara don't try to be clever," he reprimands her. "I am not in the mood."
From how tense and short tempered her cousin is Kara can only come to one conclusion. "You still haven't slept with her yet have you."
"That is none of your business," he tells her in no uncertain terms.
"Fine. The short answer is no he has not given me the location of the remaining members of the Justice League."
"Is he still alive?" Kal-El asks.
"Of course he is. You said you wanted him alive for his execution so he is. Now he may be in less than perfect health by that time but I assure you Kal he will be alive."
Kal-El nods. That is good enough for him. "The others aren't talking either," he mentions to her.
"Stubborn species these humans," Kara comments.
"So it would seem." Kal-El returns to looking out into space.
"2 days," Kara says.
"I know. Are you sure there is nothing you can tell me about why my father is coming here?"
Kara shakes her head. "No. As I said Kal I wasn't told anything. Just to come here and tell you. How are the preparations going?"
"On schedule." Kal-El turns to face his cousin. "My brother is up to something isn't he?"
"What makes you think that?" Kara asks him back.
"All this secrecy that includes not telling me."
"I hear rumours. I know nothing for certain," she tells him.
Kal-El lets out a weary sigh. "I haven't been home in ages. I'm guessing Lor is even more paranoid than I remember."
"You aren't allowed to see him in person anymore unless you are one of about half a dozen people," Kara informs him.
"Which still doesn't explain why my father is coming here," Kal-El says incredibly frustrated.
Kara places her hand on his arm in sympathy and yes she does still know what sympathy is. "I'm sure General Zod will tell you when he gets here. I'm pretty certain that he likes you in his own way."
"Thank you Kara. Despite everything I am glad you are here. I have so little blood family left." She may be more trouble than a legion of parademons but she is the only close family he has left. Well the only family he really counts as family. He doesn't count his uncle.
"I know. Our house isn't what it use to be. You are its last son and I'm its last daughter."
"And your father?"
"My father can burn in the fire pits of Apokolips for all I care."
"Maybe one day General Zod will let you throw him in."
Kara smiles with eager anticipation. "Do you really think so?"
"I could always ask him for you."
Kara throws her arms around her cousin's neck. "That would be great."
Kal puts his arms around her and for a moment forgets all the aggravation she has caused because for a moment she is acting like the person she may have once been before life twisted her. The moment doesn't last as she grinds against him in a blatantly sexual manner. He pushes her away. "Kara. No."
She pouts. "You're still no fun."
"Good," he says not the least bit apologetic.
"Well if you ever change your mind or that woman in your quarters doesn't live up to expectations you know where to find me."
"Unfortunately I do," he jests lightly.
Kara puts of a face of mock shock. "Wow. That was an actual joke. Not a funny one to be truthful but I didn't know you still had a sense of humour."
"I'm hurt," he says with mock pain.
Kara smiles wickedly. "Not yet but if you're into that I have ways of inflicting pain."
Kal-El shakes his head and walks off. He isn't going to even bother giving that a response.
Kara watches him go and shrugs. Kal would be a lot of fun and there is something else she wants from him too but she can be patient. After all she has her pet to entertain her in the meantime.
Kal-El stands on the balcony over looking Kandor. Diana is asleep in their bed and he lets out a sigh of contentment. He can never quite grasp fully the feelings she invokes within him. Then suddenly his grasp of reality changes. This isn't real. This...this is one of his dreams.
"It is not exactly a dream Kal-El."
Kal-El spins round and there like before is a man who looks like his father Jor-El. "You are not my father," he declares with certainty. He doesn't know how he knows that exactly but he does.
"Yes I am," the man replies. Kal-El looks at him sceptically. The man continues to speak. "I am the father of all Kryptonians."
The words take a moment to sink in before it strikes Kal-El the meaning of them. He drops down to one knee. "Rao," he says in a humbled whisper.
The man places his hand oh Kal-El's shoulder. "You need not kneel before me my son."
Kal-El gets to his feet. "I thought...you never answered my prayers. I thought you had abandoned me."
"No Kal-El I have not but abandonment is part of the reason why I am here."
"I do not understand."
Rao wearing Jor-El's face walks to the edge of the balcony and looks out. "You have lost your way. You have abandoned me and my teachings for the way of Zod."
"There was a war," Kal-El begins to explain which has Rao turn to face him with an all knowing look on his face. "But of course you know that."
Rao nods in confirmation.
"Did the war not go the way you wanted?" Kal-El asks him.
"I never wanted a war at all. Do you think I took any pleasure in watching my children kill each other by the thousand."
"No...but if it wasn't your will..."
"Why did I let it happen?" Rao finishes of Kal-El.
"Yes. I know it is not my place to ask," Kal-El says fearing he is being disrespectful to his creator.
"No you are not being disrespectful," Rao says as if he is reading Kal-El's thoughts. For all Kal-El knew he could well be. "You are simply asking a question. You were always so good at that...as a race I mean. I gave you curious minds and you used them to explore and gain knowledge from 28 galaxies and what has Zod done with all this knowledge. Used it to carve out one of the largest Empires in history. He has killed millions and enslaved countless billions more and for what Kal-El?"
"I..."
Rao cuts him off "Do not answer that. Let us return to your original question about why I did not interfere. Would you have wanted me to? Would you have wanted me to treat you like infants that were incapable of making their own choices. The most difficult part of being a parent is knowing when your children are old enough to make their own choices. At that point you must stand back and let them but for a God that comes with a price."
"What price?"
"Once you give up that power you can never get it back so the answer to your question is simple Kal-El. I did not intervene simply because I no longer have the power to do so. I forsook it so you could stand on your own two feet lest I be ever tempted to use it again. I had not foreseen the path you would end up on. If I had I may have made a different decision."
Ideas, opinions, questions form in Kal-El's mind. "If you cannot interfere then what is this?"
Rao looks around and smiles. "Oh yes this. This is not interfering. This is merely showing you a possibility. Whether you make the choices to reach here is entirely up to you."
"What about Diana?" Kal-El asks.
Rao smiles wider and look into the bedroom where she sleeps. "Lovely isn't she."
Kal-El looks back at her and then at Rao. "Why is she here? What are you using her for?"
"Nothing. I am not using her in anyway."
"You brought us together," Kal-El accuses.
"I did not. You would have met her regardless of what I have done. I was not the one who sent you to Earth."
No. His father did. "Why is she here?" he asks again.
"I told you. I am showing you a possibility. Everything you see here you can have Kal-El."
Kal-El looks at Diana and even here is this dream can feel the pull, the connection to her. "What is this link you created between us?" he asks.
"I did not create it. The link between you and her was already there. I merely amplified it."
"What does that mean? How could a link exist between us? Until I arrived at Earth I had never met her in person."
Rao looks directly at Kal-El. "She is the one who fits your soul."
Fits his soul? That old belief that there is someone who completes your essence. "That is superstitious nonsense," Kal-El says dismissively before he realises that he just told off his creator. To his immense relief Rao doesn't look angry. He looks amused.
"Better," Rao says. "She has made you better."
"Better?" Kal-El queries
"More willing to express an opinion rather than be a mindless automaton," he explains. "In more time she might turn you into a free thinking radical," he says as a joke. By the look of puzzlement on Kal-El's face Rao reckons that his son never considered that his creator had a sense of humour. Rao takes a breath. "Time," he states. "Time is the enemy. It is why I showed you the dreams and this. If I had had more time I would have let you and Diana reach this point on your own."
"What do you mean if you had more time?"
"I mean that in 2 days a crossroads will be reached where you must choose Kal-El. One choice will bring about the redemption of the Kryptonian race. The other will condemn it for all eternity."
2 days but that must mean... "Father. This is to do with my father."
Rao nods. "Yes."
"You said I must choose. What choice must I make?"
"Whether to listen to your heart or listen to your head."
"I do not understand."
Rao gestures at the scene around them "One choice will lead to this."
"And the other?" Kal-El asks with trepidation. He has a feeling that the alternative is not as pleasant as this but Rao is gone. Vanished. Kal-El does not understand. Then the ground shakes so violently Kal-El nearly loses his balance.
"Kal!" Diana shouts as she comes running out to him. He gathers her into his arms. "What is going on?" she asks, the fear all too plainly evident in her otherwise flawless, perfect features. He looks at her and a feeling he can't name wells up inside him so powerfully it almost hurts. He just wants to save her, keep her safe, protect her from all the horror that exists.
Another shake hits and from the balcony Kal-El can see other buildings in the city collapse. Then a huge plume of smoke and lava erupts in what he knows is the heart of the city.
"Father!"
Kal-El looks at the source of the new voice and rushing toward him is a sight that he can barely believe. A small blue eyed boy with black hair who looks like he did when he was a child. He has a son. He is too in shock to move and barley even notices Diana leave his side and go and gather the boy into her arms. It is then a massive crack appears in the balcony. It runs across it at an angle between where he stands and where Diana and his son are. Diana is trying to comfort the boy and that is the last image he sees of them as that part of the balcony gives way and plummets to the ground below.
"NO!!!" he screams out which is his last word as the whole building collapses and takes him with it. Then there is only darkness.
Author's Note: Sorry this chapter has been a while. Ideas have not been free flowing through my mind nor words onto my screen but I finally managed to get this chapter finished. My thanks to all those who have written reviews. I do read them all.