Clark made quick excuses to his parents and Lana, and no one objected when he told them that he and Diana were heading back to the farm earlier than expected. Just by glancing at the noticeably paler woman, the Kents knew that Diana would be better off once she rested. It was late afternoon- maybe the heat was getting to her, or all the excitement...

They weren't completely clear on what was happening to their guest, Clark had still not explained her curse, but they had enough wisdom to know for themselves that Diana was not getting better. Still, they did not press their son for information, they only let him take Diana home, and hoped that he would make things clear to them in his own time.

Lana watched with some regret as the couple made their way back to the truck. She had hoped to spend a little more time with Diana, but she understood that something was gravely amiss.

Diana settled into the passenger seat of the truck and stared vacantly out the window as Clark headed away from the center of Smallville and back toward the farm. His hand rested over hers, the only hand she had with any feeling or humanity left within it. The other was living clay, she could barely flex her fingers.

Diana glanced at the man beside her. He was talking, likely trying to reassure her, but Diana couldn't hear him. The knowledge of the curse was too heavy on her mind, drowning out the rest of the world. She knew of this curse too well. It was why she had given up any hope of reversing it through prayers to her Olympic gods or using the magic resources of the League.

It wouldn't be long now. She had another day left, maybe two. After that, the curse would overcome her, and Diana would crumble back into the earth from which she'd been made.

The ride back to the Kent farm had been silent, and once Clark parked the tuck, he'd moved to assist Diana out of the vehicle. He opened the door and gently took her hand to steady her. She stood with him in the driveway, silently. Clark stared down at her, emotion clear in his gaze.

I don't want you to die, his eyes told her. We've only just begun, it can't end this way- so suddenly. If I could take your place, I'd do it in a heartbeat! Don't give up, Diana, fight it!

She kissed him then, long and deep. The kiss was soulful, full of her sorrow and resignation. "I can't fight it, Clark." She said out loud, answering his silent plea.

Clark held her against him in a fierce embrace. "We can try to reverse it again, we could-"

"Clark. It is over for me. Please, you can't save me."

Her words hurt him deeply, all the more because he knew she was telling him the truth.

Clark paced the barn hayloft, waiting for Diana to join him. He had stripped down to his usual night attire of a pair of loose cotton pants, leaving his chest bare. His feet were bare as well, and he felt every loose straw and grain of dirt as he circled the barn floor.

Diana was somewhere in the main house still, likely changing her clothes as she'd told him she wanted to do it alone. Clark was no fool- he knew she didn't want to undress in front of him because of the patches of her body that had already reverted to clay.

He wouldn't have been disgusted or put off in any way, but he understood Diana's wish to be alone as she assessed the damage. Thanks to countless villains who wielded Kryptonite or magic, Clark had his own share of war wounds on display. Absently, he ran his fingertips over a thin scar on his waist, a keepsake from his first fight with Metallo.

What was keeping Diana?

"Please, try to understand. I don't have much time left. It will be easier for him if he's not alone when it happens."

"You think it'll be any easier for the rest of us?"

"I think it will be better for you all to be together."

"Without you, we're not whole. You do realize that, don't you?"

Diana was silent. Then, "There will be another after me. You won't be missing me for long."

"Would you stop being so damn accepting of this?! Stop thinking of us, of him, and how you can make it easier for us. Now would be a perfect time for you to be selfish, to be afraid. Why can't you just act human for once?!"

She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them, staring at her naked reflection. What skin hadn't already succumbed to the expanding curse was gray in color, leaving her with the appearance of a dead woman. A walking dead, much like Soloman Grundy. Diana shuddered slightly at the memory of the man brought back from death, only to die again by Shayera's mace.

Diana took a breath, slightly fixated on the thin cracks in her clayed chest that expanded as she spoke. She understood his frustration with her- she was sure Clark felt the same way, though he hadn't reached his breaking point.

Diana thought on his question. "Because I am not human, Bruce. That's more clear to me now than ever before. I think...please, have them here tomorrow."

In Gotham, Bruce had been striding up and down the length of his manor's landing, frustrated, angry with Diana for her complacency. How dare she not fight this curse? How dare she give up so easily and only think of comforting her friends who would live on after the curse took her?!

What would happen to the League without Wonder Woman? Diana had provided a sense of balance; she and Shayera had been the only women in the original standing League, true, but they had been more than a match for so much male bravado. They needed her.

He paused on the other end of the line. "That soon?"

"I believe so. Yes. Please, promise me."

The man sighed. "I promise."

She smiled. "Thank you."

After slipping into her plain red chemise, Diana added a robe as a touch of extra protection. She knew that if Clark truly wanted to see her, all he had to do was focus his eyes and look through her clothes. Shrugging to herself, Diana padded out to the barn where she knew he was waiting for her.

He stood, leaning against a stall, arms crossed over his chest. Clark didn't want to talk about the curse, he wanted to have more nights with her- time to hold her, time to talk and tease. He knew that for the first time in over a thousand years, time was no longer on Diana's side.

There was no more fight in Diana, and Clark couldn't fight this battle for her. It torn him apart, but all he could do now was offer her every comfort.

Diana came forward, moving effortlessly into the circle of his arms. Clark made the effort not to hold on to her too tightly. She was delicate now.

"Did you have fun at the fair?" He asked, still holding her.

"Yes. I wish that I had learned of your culture earlier, when we had first formed the League. I would have formed a higher opinion of Man's World from the start. I'm sorry that you had to leave so early. I know you would have liked to have stayed." Diana couldn't help herself- he was so warm, she had to nuzzle in closer.

Clark shook his head. "It's all right. There will be other fairs." He kicked himself for letting that slip. "I mean- well..."

"Don't second-guess yourself, Clark. There will be other fairs for you. Perhaps next year you should take Lana. I like her. If she had some sort of power, she would make a wonderful addition to the League."

Clark had to laugh at the thought. "I think she would be more interested in designing a new hero's costume than wearing one. She told me that she's kept an eye on what we do and has decided that she's happy being a plain old human. Apparently the never ending battle isn't for her."

Diana shook her head. "It's not for most of us. I came to your world to set an example to be followed, to try forging a change for peace, not to fight a new villain every week."

"Well, it is what it is. We invited the world's villains to come out of the woodwork when we put on our costumes."

"Mmm. They have obliged us often enough. Perhaps that's why this is happening." Diana mused, more to herself than to him.

Clark pulled back to look at her. "What do you mean?"

"Oh. I was only thinking that this may be my reward, the peace of oblivion after years of battle. It could be. I suppose that I'll learn the truth soon enough."

Clark didn't know what to say. He only held her tighter.