Chapter 25
Diana had returned to the infirmary to find that Lois was looking a lot better and sounding a little cheerier too but at the edges in her eyes and in her voice it was still easy to recognise the trauma she has undergone.
"So what happened to you?" Lois asks Diana. She needs a distraction so getting Diana to talk about something else is what she wants right now.
"I was captured too," Diana tells her.
"Really?" Lois asks with genuine surprise.
Diana nods. "Yes," she says without revealing that it was Kara that captured her.
"Are you still a prisoner?" Lois asks.
This time Diana shakes her head. "No. A lot has happened but in short Kal released us all."
"That was nice of him."
"Yes it was."
Lois eyes Diana carefully. There is something about the way she says this Kal's name that has caught her attention. There is a sort of...Lois isn't sure...longing maybe. There is certainly feeling there. Lois wonders how that came about. "I thought they were a bunch of fascists but if 'Kal' released us I guess that was misjudged."
"It can be too easy to paint everyone with the same brush," Diana tells Lois.
"I guess so."
"People are never simple Lois as I think you know. These Kryptonians have their complexities just like everyone else. Some are cruel, some are kind, some are all the shades in between."
"You sound like someone who did a lot more than simply be a prisoner," Lois remarks.
"It's complicated Lois and a long story," Diana says not particularly wanting to retell it to Lois as she had already told it to her sister
"I'm not going anywhere," Lois points out.
Diana rubs her temple. "We talked."
"Talked?"
"Kal and I and once you start talking to him you soon find out that underneath all that military training he is a kind, intelligent and compassionate man."
"Is that so?" Lois asks while feeling sure that Diana is still holding back.
"Yes Lois. That is so. You can ask Hal once we get back to Earth."
"Maybe I will. Speaking of Earth when do I get out of here and get to go home?"
"I need to speak to Kal about that but I want to make a suggestion to you Lois."
"What suggestion?"
"That you come back to Themyscira with me."
"Why?" Lois asks puzzled.
"Because my sisters have been through what you have."
Instantly Lois puts the walls up. "No."
"Lois please," Diana pleads with her.
"No," Lois repeats stubbornly.
"Lois I know you want to be strong but it is not weakness to admit to the feelings Kara caused. We can help you heal."
Lois laughs despite how inappropriate that might seem at this moment. "Has your mother ever healed from what was done to her?"
"My mother eventually forgave Heracles," Diana answers.
"Now that isn't avoiding the question or anything."
"Forgiveness is the final stage of healing," Diana elaborates. She then takes Lois' hand into her own. "Lois I can't nor would I ever attempt to make you do anything against your will but please at least think about my offer."
Lois thinks on it for a few moments and decides she needs to think on it. "Alright I'll think about it," she concedes. "But I make no promises," she hastily adds.
"I understand."
It is then Kal enters the room and at the sight of that Diana's entire face lights up. Something which Lois notices but decides to stay silent about for now.
"Is this an inopportune moment?" Kal-El asks.
Diana looks at Lois for the answer.
"Go on. I'll be fine," Lois tells Diana. "Although can you ask when they will remove this damn mark on my arm," she says in reference to the symbol Kara burned into her arm.
Diana releases Lois' hand and gets to her feet. She then finds herself being escorted outside into the corridor by Kal. "Kal what is it?"
"I need some advice," he tells her.
"About?" Diana inquiries.
Kal-El takes a breath and tells her about his meeting with Kond-Ah and Asha Del Nar.
"So what is it you need my advice about?" she asks him.
"They want me to become the leader of their liberation movement," he says repeating what Kond's proposal was. That he become leader of the KLM and lead them against the forces that his brother and mother will no doubt soon reign against them.
"And this is a problem?" Diana asks a little bit perplexed.
"Diana when I killed my father it wasn't to lead some revolution against my family's rule. I did it to save you."
"I understand that but answer me this; weren't you starting to decide that the way your family ruled was not the best way?"
"Well yes."
"Also weren't you looking for ways to best ensure the safety of those under your command?"
"Yes I was."
"And how many are part of this liberation movement?"
"I do not know exactly."
"More than you have now?"
"Certainly."
"So what is the problem?"
"For starters I do not entirely agree with their philosophy."
"If you become their leader can't you change their philosophy?"
"I do not think it will work like that. Also up to a few weeks ago I would have considered them traitors and put them to death. In fact I have done that to several people."
"Do you still consider them traitors?"
Kal-El pauses. He hadn't actually thought about it. When Kond and Asha told them what they were did he consider them traitors? After a second's thought he answers. "No," and then he qualifies it, "but I'm no longer in a position to judge."
Diana shakes her head. He is trying to come up with excuses to avoid taking this. Now true she isn't that familiar with how Kryptonian society works but she can recognise an opportunity when one is presented like this one is being to Kal. "You are unbelievably dense," she says as an insult.
"Of course I am."
"What?" Diana asks completely confused by his answer.
"Dense."
"I'm not following."
"I am dense. My body has a dense molecular structure," he explains.
"That is not what I meant," Diana tells him.
"What did you mean?"
"I meant that you are being stupid."
"You insulted me!" he says with some surprise.
"Only to make a point," she explains.
"What point?"
"That things have changed. The situation you are in has changed and in front of you is an opportunity to bring change about. Change for the better."
"You think that I can bring that kind of change about?" he asks her sceptically.
"No. I don't think that. I know that," she says with certainty in his abilities.
"So I should agree to this meeting they want me to have?" he asks her.
"What meeting?" she asks back since he had never mentioned anything about a meeting before.
"Kond wants me to meet their current leadership and persuade them to follow me," he answers.
"Kal," Diana begins to say. "I can't make that decision for you. This is about the future of your race but if are asking for my opinion."
"I am."
"Then opportunities for change, real change, come along rarely. When presented with one you should embrace it because it may never come again in your lifetime."
Kal-El listens to her words and is suddenly struck by a thought. "That is why you are staying on Earth." It is not just because it is her home although that is a large part of it it is because she thinks that there a possibility for real change on Earth.
Diana is caught a little off-guard by Kal's remark. She hadn't expected that. Is that why she is staying on Earth? She has to admit that if she thinks about it then there is a real opportunity for change. Luthor is dead. Gotham's destruction will bring people together in that way only humans seem to be brought together in the face of tragedy. It seems Kal is right. There is a real opportunity for change. The change that she has sought to bring about in the first place. Her mission as Champion. "I never thought of that," she finally admits.
"I think you did even if it was only on a subconscious level."
Diana isn't sure of that but she will take the compliment as is. "So what will you do?"
"Agree to the meeting," he answers simply. What else can he do? This is the future of the entire Kryptonian race they are talking about here but he will be wanting a few concessions from them as to their aims. "What will you do?" he asks her back.
"Organise a meeting. Reform the Justice League but this time it will be the way it was meant to be and not what we allowed others to twist it into," she answers.
Kal reaches up and touches her cheek gently. "I think we are nearing that goodbye," he says sadly.
Diana places her hand on his cheek. "I know but not yet. Lois wants that mark removed from her arm first."
Kal nods in understanding. "I'll talk to the physician about it," he promises her.
Later Lois wakes up from being sedated. She tilts her head to peer at her arm and sees that the mark is gone.
"How are you feeling?"
Lois looks around and can see Kal-El standing a short distance away. "Better," she answers. "Where's Diana?" she asks.
"She said something about needing to go to the bathroom," he tells Lois.
"Ah."
Kal-El steps closer to the bed Lois is lying in. "I need to apologise to you."
"No you don't," Lois tells him.
"Yes I do," he insists. "I..." he pauses for a moment. "I have come to realise that I have not always made the best decisions as regards to my life and I did not see to what depths my cousin would sink."
"Your cousin is seriously messed up," Lois observes acidly.
"Yes she is," Kal-El says in agreement. "One day she will receive the punishment she deserves. We all do in the end."
"I didn't take your species to be religious," Lois comments at what are obvious religious overtones.
"You would be surprised at how religious that even those species that are technologically centuries ahead of your own can be. Even for all our technology, our embracing of logic above emotion, the belief in our creator is still strong."
"I'm not very religious myself," Lois admits.
"Not everyone is," Kal-El muses. "However I hope that whatever deity you believe in will give you the strength to recover from what I allowed to happen to you."
"Thank you," Lois says softly.
"For what?"
"Being honest."
"You deserve at least that."
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Yes."
"You come from another planet correct?"
"To be accurate I come from a planet in another galaxy but you are basically correct yes."
"Ok then. Based on that how come you look like humans?"
Kal-El smiles slightly. "My species is millions of years older than the human race. It is you that look like Kryptonians."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"It is complicated. There are in fact several species that share our appearance. If you wish I could brief you on the theory of parallel evolution of disparate species across the 28 known galaxies."
"I think I'll pass," Lois decides.
"As you wish."
"So when do I get to go home?" Lois asks Kal-El.
"Any time you wish. Your injuries are healed although you should rest for several more days," Kal-El answers passing on what the physicians had told him.
Lois nods. "Good. That's good."
Looking on at the end of this conversation is Diana upon her return. She moves over to the bed. "So you can go home now?"
Lois looks up as Diana is behind her head. "Yep. Although clothes would be nice," she points out as she is currently wearing nothing under the bed sheets.
"I'll see to that," Kal-El offers. As he goes by Diana she touches his arm gently and gives him a smile as a gesture of thanks. Diana follows him until he disappears from sight.
"You're sleeping with him aren't you," Lois suddenly guesses.
"What!" Diana nearly chokes out.
"Deny it," Lois challenges of Diana.
Of course Diana can't deny it. "How?" she asks simply.
"Oh small things I noticed. I am a journalist you know and I'm good at reading people. There was just this way your voice would alter when you said his name and the way your eyes would light up at the same time. Then there was that little scene when he just left now. When you looked at each other. Even I can recognise love when I see it."
"I didn't want to burden you further," Diana tells Lois as to why she didn't mention it earlier on the assumption that would be Lois' next question.
"I appreciate that. I do although you are still avoiding asking me the obvious question."
"How are you?" Diana guesses.
"That's the one," Lois says with false cheerfulness.
"Do you want me to ask it?"
Lois takes a moment to think on it. She is physically feeling better but as for emotionally. She hasn't even started to deal with it. She is doing her classic avoidance of analysing her feelings. She is a master at it. Eventually she replies "No because I don't know how I am."
Diana looks at Lois with great sympathy.
"Does your offer still stand?" Lois asks.
"To take you to Themyscira?"
"Yes."
"Of course," Diana assures Lois. It is an open ended offer as far as Diana is concerned.
"Then I think I will go but I want to see Bruce first. He deserves to be told in person where am I going."
"That is not a problem."
Kal-El returns with a Kryptonian uniform for Lois to wear and hands it over. Considering her sense of modesty he swiftly leaves once again.
"You should go after him," Lois tells Diana.
"What?"
"You need to say your goodbyes I think."
Diana is slightly surprised. She had never taken Lois as that intuitive a person.
"Go on," Lois tells her once more. "I can manage to dress myself."
Diana hesitates for a moment before she departs the room. This is the moment she has been dreading and it seems at last it is here. Hera give her strength.
Once Diana is gone Lois looks at the uniform and shakes her head at it. These Kryptonians are severely fashion challenged but it isn't like she has a lot of choice. Choice. That is something that Kara took away from her but Lois has always considered herself strong. Yes there were moments of despair when she thought about simply ending her life and ending her suffering but that would mean Kara had won. No Lois will take her right to choose back starting with her choosing to go to Themyscira with Diana. As much as she loves Bruce and she does love Bruce she needs time amongst people who have gone through what she has gone through. Time to figure out if she can get back to the person she was before all this began. One thing for certain though is that she will survive and like her father always said 'what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger' and Lois is determined that in the end she will be a stronger person for it.
Meanwhile Diana finds Kal simply standing out in the corridor.
"This is it," he states.
"Yes."
Kal-El swallows hard. He hadn't really thought of what to say at this moment since he wasn't sure what he would feel. "I don't know what to say," he admits to her.
"Me neither," she admits in return.
"I love you," he says since that seems like a good start.
"I love you too."
Kal-El is silent for a moment before he moves over and virtually crushes Diana to his body. "I will never forget you for as long as I live."
Diana takes a moment to memorise the feel of Kal against her. "I will never forget you either."
"You changed me. Changed me for the better," he confesses.
"I think you changed me too," Diana is now the one who confesses.
Kal-El pulls back and looks at her with a slightly perplexed expression. "I did?"
Diana nods, takes his hand and places it over her heart. "What you have made me feel, your love, will live inside me forever. It is not something I have experienced before so therefore I am forever changed." Diana isn't a hundred percent sure in what way that change will come out as it is too soon but she just feels different inside herself. Love it seems is truly transformational. A random thought enters her head that maybe she could ask Aphrodite about that. If anyone would know it would be the Goddess of Love.
"Well you have brought forth a whole range of emotions I have never felt before."
"Yes and how does it feel?" she asks him.
"Wonderful and frightening all at the same time. I do fear that they may overwhelm me at times."
Diana strokes his cheek reassuringly in a way that says she understands but has faith in his ability to cope. "Emotions can be overwhelming but properly focussed they can be a useful too."
"I think I understand but I can also understand why my people felt the need to control them as well."
"And that is what will make you a great leader in what is to come. The ability to see and understand all sides so that you can use what they have in common to keep people united."
"I wish I shared your belief. This is not what I wanted. I don't think I ever really wanted to lead. I just fell into it somehow."
"Truly great leaders never seek power. They have power thrust upon them by others who see their greatness."
Kal-El looks at her sceptically. "Now you are simply making that up."
"I assure you I am not, she insists.
Kal-El moves to brush some of her hair back. "Since I don't want our last words to be in anger I will take you at your word."
"Wise decision," she says ever so teasingly.
Kal-El observes the way her lips curve into a little teasing smile before he claims them one last time in a long, gentle searching kiss. Upon its ending Kal-El takes his bracelet off his arm once more and hands it over to her. "They will transport you down to Metropolis when you press here," he shows her a point on the bracelet to touch.
Diana nods. "Thank you but isn't this yours?"
"Keep it," he tells her. "You can consider it a souvenir."
Diana looks at the crystal bracelet. It is really quite beautiful for something so functional. She then looks back up to see tears have filled Kal's eyes.
"Goodbye Diana," he says with his voice breaking full of emotion.
"Goodbye Kal-El," Diana says, her voice the same and her eyes too now filling with tears.
"Go now. Please," he asks of her not sure how much longer he can stand to drag this out.
Diana nods, turns quickly and heads back into the room where Lois is while she wipes a tear from her cheek.
Kal-El too wipes a tear from his cheek. A few seconds later he catches the flash of light that signals a transporter beam. That is it. She is gone from his life but the love she brought him will forever remain in his heart.
A few weeks later Kal-El is walking along a corridor. He had just finished a meeting with the leadership of the KLM and to his pleasant surprise they acquiesced to his terms. Those terms being that this was not about restoring the old pre-Zod Krypton but was about creating a new Krypton where everyone would be treated as equals. That had not happened under Zod's regime nor the regime of the Old Council either. Under that system you were born into a certain Guild like workers or the military or what you could call the ruling elite and then that was all you could ever be for the rest of your life.
He had spent the last few weeks, that was how long it took to arrange this meeting, thinking about what kind of Krypton he wanted...no that they needed to create. They needed a creative, dynamic Krypton where ideas from whomever they came from had an equal chance of becoming reality. Essentially he has taken on-board the basics of the reforms his father Jor-El had been proposing before the civil war that brought Zod to power. To use a human term he wished to democratise Kryptonian society.
On a personal level the last few weeks had been difficult. Diana's departure had left a hollowness and pain inside him that was at times difficult to cope with. On the other hand if he used the love she left inside him he found that he believed that he did possess the strength required to achieve the aims he now believed in. He also hoped that that strength would help him with the difficult task he must perform right at this moment. Right at this moment he is heading to a destination where he will confront a problem that he had had to leave unresolved. It was a problem that had been raised with him in the meeting he had had with the KLM leadership. He reaches the door which slides open and he sees the problem standing in the middle of the room. "Hello Kara," he says coolly.
Kara had just finished changing her clothes after a combat practice session. She has to keep her skills sharp and now Kal was here. She knew why. "The meeting was a success then. They accepted you as their leader."
Kal-El noted that the way she said that was a statement. Not a question like she knew what the outcome was even when he hadn't told her. "Yes. How do you know that?"
Kara gives Kal a look like he had just insulted her intelligence. "Why else would you be here?"
Kal-El can tell Kara is trying to play some sort of game here and he has to be careful. "Why am I here Kara?" he asks wanting her to explain.
"You're here because you think that you don't need me anymore but you are quite mistaken."
"Am I?"
"Yes you are. What do these people control? A third of the fleet at most?"
Kal-El is surprised that Kara knows that. In fact he was surprised when Kond and Asha revealed to him just how much of the Kryptonian fleet the KLM had managed to manoeuvre themselves into control of. He had no idea they had managed to grow that powerful right under Zod's and Lor's noses. In fact Kond thinks that when it is known by all Kryptonians that he is leading this...this well he can only call it a revolution. That when it is known that perhaps up to half the fleet might join them. Of course that leaves half the fleet that won't join them and that they will have to fight. This brings him to why he is here. He had agreed to Kara's deal because he had had no choice as he saw it but now he does. He no longer needs her to help keep his troops safe. Also the others in the KLM expressed legitimate concerns about Kara. Many would be unhappy if she remained.
Kara continues. "You still need me," she says assuredly. "After all name me any troops that are better than mine."
Well Kal-El will concede that Kara does indeed have a point there. Kandorian Guard troops are excellent. They are also vicious and bloodthirsty and will have no place in the new Krypton he is hoping to create. "We'll manage," he informs her.
Kara smiles amused. "Maybe but you still won't kill me. That's why you're here isn't it. To kill me."
Kal-El nods in confirmation. Yes he is here to punish her for her crimes and it must be him that does it. He even brought a sword to carry out the act and to make it beautifully ironic it was Diana's sword. During the chaos that had followed his killing of his father somehow he had ended up with it still in his possession. By the time he had realised that he still had it they were days away from Earth and beyond being able to go back. He had to reach the location of the meeting on time and that left no time to go back. One day he intends to return to Earth so he he can return it to Diana.
Kara walks calmly over to the doorway where her cousin stands until they are only inches apart. She holds her arms out to the side. "Kill me then," she dares him. "But know that doing so will end another life apart from my own."
"What do you mean?" he asks her in some confusion.
Kara reaches for the hand that is not holding the sword. She takes it and places it on her stomach. "If you kill me you will also kill our child that is growing within me."
Kal-El's eyes widen as that revelation sinks in. Oh Rao. That was what it was all about. She was using him to father a child. Anger boils up inside him and in a swift motion he takes his hand away from her stomach and backhands her across the face as hard as he can. Kara is knocked to the ground where she spits up some blood. He reaches down and grabs her by the throat and picks her up. "Kara if this is some deception to spare your life I swear I will find the slowest, most painful way possible to kill you," he says with real genuine anger and malice.
"Crystal," Kara chokes out.
"What?" he asks loosening his grip slightly.
She nods her head in the direction of her table. "Data crystal with my medical scans," she says. "Or you could just look yourself," she points out in reference to their enhanced vision that they still possessed since they were not in the range of influence of a red sun.
Kal-El releases her, goes to the table and picks the crystal up. If this is a deception she is going through an awful lot of effort. He will double check this of course but assuming she is telling the truth he has to ask a question. "How?"
Kara wipes the blood away from her lip that her cousin split open when he struck her. "How? As in how did I manage it when you take those contraception shots?"
Kal-El nods. Yes that is what he means. All Kryptonians, male and female, take these injections of a contraception that ensures no unwanted offspring.
"Simple really. I had a neutralising agent slipped into your meals while I took certain drugs that increased my fertility."
Kal-El guesses that he should be shocked that she drugged him but he isn't. Not anymore. He doubts there is anything left that Kara could do that would shock him anymore. Well he isn't staying here. He can barely stand to look at his cousin lately let alone spend time in her company. He heads for the door but stops when he reaches the threshold. "Nothing has changed Kara," he informs her. "One day you will face your final reckoning."
"If you say so," a deliberately pause, "dad," she says purposely using the colloquialism.
Kal-El says nothing more and simply leaves so he can check for sure whether he is about to become a father. Only once he is certain will he start to deal with how he feels about it. He heads off back to his ship to review the data in private and he does so while not realising the other possible consequence of what Kara has done to him in her attempt to procreate.
Kara watches the door slide closed feeling immensely chuffed with herself. This is going better than she dreamed. Kal's reaction was within what the parameters she had calculated as to what he would do once she told him. Her lip stings a bit but it will be healed shortly so overall Kara can say everything is going as she planned more or less. She will also admit that with the unexpected help of the KLM they actually stand a chance of surviving this and that her child has a chance of surviving long enough to become an adult. Kara must admit that the thought that she will soon be a mother is very exciting. She can barely wait until her and Kal's baby is born and then she can teach their child to become just like her. After all a genetic scan had already determined her baby's gender. She briefly wonders if she should have told Kal that they are going to have a daughter. After a moment she shrugs her shoulders and thinks to herself 'Nah. Why ruin the surprise'.
Diana wakes up in her old bed in the palace on Themyscira. She is visiting Lois to see how she is getting on. Lois is currently residing on the Isle of Healing. This was of course more of a spiritual healing rather than physical. The Kryptonians had done an excellent job in treating Lois' physical wounds. It was slow but Diana believed Lois was getting better slowly. When she had explained to her mother what had happened to her mother had welcomed Lois to stay for as long as it took.
The last few weeks since Kal-El left had been difficult personally for Diana. On top of the aching pain and emptiness of being separated from him she had had to deal with her mother's reaction to the fact she had taken Kal-El as a lover. To say her mother had been shocked and unhappy would be understatements but Diana explained how it had come about and that Kal-El was not like Heracles at all. She told her mother that Kal was a gentle kind person and of what he had said what he would do to someone who did what Heracles did. Her mother softened a little though Diana could tell that she was still unhappy.
Since the Kryptonians left Diana has been busy helping with the aftermath of Gotham's destruction and reforming the Justice League. Bruce had thrown himself into those tasks with vigour despite her feeling he needed time to recover from his experiences but Bruce always did things the way he thought was best. Despite Kal leaving she has found that his love has given her a renewed strength and belief in her mission. She even stood before the Senate and made what was probably her best and most passionate speech about the need for Themyscira not to cut itself off from the world and that in fact this was the perfect moment to engage more vigorously than ever. That they could help reshape the world because one thing was for certain and that was that the Kryptonian invasion had changed things permanently and that there was no going back to the way things were before. What has been done can't be undone.
Well she better get ready for the day ahead. It is at this moment just when she is about to get out of bed that the most horrid and strange sensation hits her stomach. 'Not again!' she thinks to herself as she rushes to her bathroom. She had been feeling sick in the morning for days. She makes it to her sink just as she throws up.
"Diana!" Donna's voice echoes into the bathroom. "Are you here?!"
Diana is just getting her breath back when Donna appears in the doorway.
"Diana? Are you ill?" Donna asks with a mixture of surprise, since she has never seen Diana sick, and worry for her health if she really is sick.
Diana reaches for a cloth and wipes her face. Gods she had not been wanting anyone to find out this way and certainly not yet. Not until she was sure at any rate. "Donna," Diana begins to say. "I need you to promise something."
"What?" Donna asks.
"That you won't tell anyone what I am about to tell you until I am sure. Not even Mother."
Now Donna is starting to get really concerned. "Diana," she begins to say but her sister cuts her off.
"Promise me!" Diana insists.
"Ok I promise. Now what is it?"
Diana takes a breath. "Donna."
Donna takes a step closer to her sister. "Yes," she says encouragingly for Diana to continue.
Diana then speaks words which leave Donna completely stunned and for once in her life speechless. "I think I'm pregnant."
Author's Note: So this is the penultimate chapter and it was about including Diana and Kal's parting of the ways that had to come, Kal finding out what Kara had done and the little consequence of her neutralising the contraception Kal was on. It occurred to me that if she did that then that would leave Diana at risk of ending up with her own little bun-in-the-oven.
Thanks to all those who wrote reviews. Next up I will write an epilogue just to wrap everything up.