The Birthday Present
Chapter 28
Here are your choices: Make out on an alien world, lose a witch, or get dropped from the sky. I know these are tough choices, but you have to pick one.
******Planet Selvina******
Dinah and Hal sat at the top of a thick, green-grassed hill. Some kilometers to their left grew a large forest. To their right, as far as they could see, was a great stretch of hills, tall grass and a few bubbling streams. Behind them was more of the same but dotted with large trees. In front of them was a large, inland lake. Strange exotic creatures broke the surface of the water rather frequently. The two had just stopped to stare in fascination.
"So, what do you think of this place?" Hal asked smiling.
Dinah tore her eyes away from the lake creatures and looked at Hal. He seemed so happy and he had been a perfect gentleman. She had half expected him to suddenly start aggressively seeking sex from her but he had not once tried to seduce her. Just treated her like a close friend. She knew he wanted her and she knew why he wasn't trying to bed her.
"I think it's beautiful, Hal. It looks dangerous as well. I wouldn't feel safe here by myself. I'm glad I'm with you," she responded sweetly. She found herself looking at his lips. She really liked them. He was an excellent kisser and she liked the memory and feel of his strong arms and lean, hard body against hers the times they had kissed before leaving the Watchtower for their impromptu trip. She wanted to kiss him again.
Hal almost blushed. "Well, as cool as my ring is, I think you would be able to handle yourself just fine with your skills and your scream."
Hal's words triggered an idea of how to aid Hal in shedding his fear and doubts of showing a little more physical interest in her. The two had been friends for several years now. She respected him as a hero, a friend and a man, and with the amount of restraint and consideration he was exercising with regards to her comfort and to touching her, was proof enough for her that he was worth falling in love with. Dinah leaned in and kissed him lightly on the lips then stood up. "I love being here with you, Hal, but I just realized something. We haven't really exercised today. I need to spar and you need to learn how to fight a little better. You rely on your ring too much. Come on. Get up. Let's improve your skills."
Hal stood slowly. "Okay, but go easy on me. I just know a few basics; enough to keep me in one piece in a regular non-powered tussle, but not against seriously skilled opponents. Of course, this has never stopped me from jumping into a fight before and believe it or not, I usually end up winning somehow." He was grinning now.
Dinah grinned back. "It's because you're so fearless. You act like you have nothing to lose. I'll tell you what. If you can take me down just once without your ring, I'll let you kiss me."
Hal stared at her for a moment in shock. Then his face broke into a grin. "You're on!"
Hal was determined to win his kiss. He knew Dinah was a highly skilled fighter. She was even better than Ollie and Ollie was pretty good. At first he decided that he would try to use his size, weight and strength to his advantage but after picking himself off the ground for the sixth time he realized that Dinah had to deal with bigger, stronger opponents on a regular basis, so none of his little tricks were anything new to her.
Hal shook the grass off his suit and then looked at Dinah determinedly. She was so beautiful. She was grinning back at him and waiting for him to attack. Not that it mattered if he attacked her or she him. The end result was always the same: Hal Jordan eating dirt; Dinah Lance, smirking in triumph.
"Had enough? Gonna call it quits?" Dinah asked teasingly.
"Oh, no. I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve still," Hal replied cockily as he leaped back up into a fighting stance.
Dinah actually felt bad for him. He was impressively strong and in very good shape. He was certainly very pleasing to look at, but he didn't know much at all about self defense. His stance was very bad. He had little sense of balance. He had always relied on his size, attitude or ring to win. He certainly had plenty of each but without his ring he was simply no match for a well-trained, aggressive and determined fighter.
Dinah danced in towards him. She smiled flirtingly at him as she struck lightly at his face. He caught her wrist neatly. That was good. His reflexes worked just fine. She waited until she saw the look of triumph on his face, then she trapped his offending hand with her free hand, spun under his arm while at the same time starting a windmill motion, and Hal once more found himself on the ground. This time he was staring up at the sky.
"You're not going to win your kiss that easily, Gorgeous. You have to work harder," Dinah teased.
Hal sprang back up to his feet. He looked a little embarrassed but even more determined. Dinah liked that. She danced towards him again. His eyes were completely focused on her face. He seemed transfixed to his spot. She could tell he had gone from determined to win at all costs to suddenly just wanting to look at her. She liked the attention. She liked it a lot. But now was the time for teaching her new boyfriend how to defend himself. She struck at his torso and face lightly and quickly, not really trying to hit him but just testing his reflexes, his reactions; trying to see if he could focus on the task at hand. He was defending himself rather sluggishly.
She was somewhat disappointed at his lazy swats as he tried to slap her strikes away. With an annoyed hiss she struck at his face and as he brought both hands up to protect himself she dropped and swept his feet out from under him.
He crashed rather clumsily to the ground, but he was instantly up on all fours, in a panic.
"My ring! It fell out of my pocket just now! I can't see it in this deep grass!" Hal gasped.
Dinah's annoyance changed instantly to concern and she dropped to all fours next to Hal and began looking diligently beside him. Too late, she realized that it had all been a bluff. Before she could regain her feet she found herself face down in the deep grass. Her arms were pinned to her sides and her legs were trapped neatly by Hal's. He had his full weight on her so she could not move. Her immediate reaction to her predicament was panic having been at the mercy of monsters before. But before she could start screaming or thrashing, Hal's triumphant voice brought her back to reality.
"I won! Admit it! You didn't see that one coming! Now I think somebody owes me a kiss." Hal spoke excitedly in her ear. The panic in her gut disappeared and a smile spread across her lovely face. She could feel his arousal brushing against her rear end and she fought to control her own excitement.
Turning her head she smiled sweetly at him and giggled at the triumphant grin plastered across his face. His grin disappeared suddenly and he asked somewhat nervously, "You're not gonna scream in my ear, are you? I won fair and square. I didn't use my ring."
Dinah giggle a little more. "Yes, you did. You used it to trick me, you little cheat."
"Little? I'm not little! I'm six two!" Hal replied with a chuckle.
Dinah again felt the warmth and size of his arousal brushing against her rear. "Well, I guess 'little' was a poor choice of words. You gonna let me up so you can kiss me?"
"I was kinda hoping I could kiss you right here in the grass. It's very soft and comfortable and I don't want to let you go. You feel just right when you're in my arms," Hal replied, almost without thought.
Dinah leaned her head back against his shoulder and whispered huskily, "Just let me turn around. I want to stay here too."
Hal released his hold on her. She turned herself around under him. Their eyes met and Dinah could plainly see the desire burning in his eyes. She happily pulled him back down and captured his hungry mouth in a mind searing and passionate kiss.
All thoughts of sparring or leaving were swept away as the two young heroes lost themselves in each other.
******Watchtower******
Batman, Zatanna, Nightwing, Flash, Donna and Ollie stood nervously in the Monitor Womb. Megalina had just joined them. She was willing to help them look in Maxima's room. That was good news. But she did not know where Maxima had gone and neither Superman nor Wonder Woman was presently on the Watchtower.
"This is bad. It means she's already done something to them!" Wally was in a panic.
"I'm going to kill that witch if anything has happened to Diana!" Donna nearly yelled in helpless frustration.
Batman had moved over to one of the computer command centers. "Locate primary members, Superman and Wonder Woman," he instructed the computer.
The response was an unable to locate.
"Play back video feeds of traffic in and out of the Watchtower for the last twenty four hours." Batman tried another route.
The computer replied with a "Video feeds have been erased."
Now all were feeling extremely nervous for their friends.
"Show me video feeds of the conference room, cafeteria and Maxima's room." Batman was not giving up.
"No video feeds available for specified areas," came the ominous reply.
"She couldn't have known we were coming, could she?" Wally asked.
"I don't think so. She does not fear us. I think she's busy doing something else. But I have no idea what," Batman admitted as he thought furiously. "She seems to already have gotten to Clark and Diana, but she's doing something more. We have to assume they are both alive still. She's arrogant and powerful. She'll have an elaborate plan and she'll want to completely humiliate both Diana and Clark but especially Diana."
"She wouldn't have returned to Themyscira. She would fear the gods discovering her escape and dealing a crueler punishment. She has to be in our plane of existence somewhere. Can we track her or Clark or Diana by their communicators?" Donna asked.
"I've been unable to track Clark or Diana. Let me try Maxima." Batman spoke into the computer again. "Locate Maxima."
"Maxima located. Javelin Bay 3," the computer responded.
Wally blurred for a moment then stood with a beeping communicator in his hand. "This is all that was there but one of the Javelin's is missing."
"Which one was missing?" Batman asked.
"Javelin Seven," Wally responded.
Everyone was leaning forward now as Batman gave the computer the command to locate the missing Javelin.
"Javelin located. Current location planet Selvina," was the response.
Ollie's face clouded over. He remembered his friend mentioning the place to him in the past. Hal had thought it a perfect romantic getaway even though he admitted to never having used it as such. "She's not there. Hal is. The witch is somewhere else."
"Where could she be?" Nightwing wondered what everyone was thinking.
******Forested hills outside of Metropolis******
Max was lost. He was also very hungry. So hungry he had eaten some wild berries and now he felt sick. It didn't help that he had drunk water from a small pond. The combination of the stagnant water and the toxic berries had not only made him sick to his stomach but he was starting to hallucinate as well.
He wasn't sure if he was dreaming or remembering. He thought it was a memory. Not an unpleasant one. He was in a Sunday school class. The teacher was talking about angels. She said that angels protected people and that they were very beautiful, but very masculine, and they were also warriors and fought against the enemies of God.
He had always like his Sunday school teacher. As he had grown older he had stopped going to church or believing in angels or demons. When he did talk about angels or think of them he was generally using the word to describe a very pretty woman or female he was hoping to conquer.
Max found himself sitting down. He wondered how long he had been sitting in the woods. Something smelled very bad. He realized it was himself. There was a gurgling sound not far away. He stood up to investigate and promptly fell on his face and slide further down the hill. When he finally had the strength to lift his head he found he was laying close to a small stream. The water looked clean.
Dragging himself to the edge of the stream, he dunked his head in the water then drank deeply. When he looked up there was an angel standing in front of him. No. The angel wasn't standing. It was floating above the water. His Sunday school teacher had been wrong. Angels were female. And they were beautiful. He wondered if angels were susceptible to mind control. He wanted to have this angel, but he was afraid that he didn't have the physical strength.
He found himself unable to tear his gaze away from the beautiful angel and he thought that even though his teacher had been wrong about angels being masculine she had been right about them protecting people. This angel must have come to rescue him. He liked the idea of being rescued. He had never felt so miserable in his life.
Max realized suddenly that he was floating in the air in front of the angel. Her face and body were very beautiful but her face didn't seem kind. For some reason he had always thought that an angel would have a kind face.
The angel's eyes bore into his. He couldn't tear his eyes away from her and he began to feel nervous.
The look on the angel's face went from serious and curious to one of disgust. Max yelped as he was flung back down to the ground.
He lay there for a moment trying to gather his wits about him. He was afraid now. The beautiful, red haired angel was angry. His Sunday school teacher had told them that angel were also warriors. This angel was most definitely a warrior. He had no illusions about being able to control her now.
He tried to stand up but fell gasping in pain. Both of his ankles seemed to be broken. Looking up he noted that the angel was standing over him. She was speaking.
"I had thought to make a pact with you, since you caused my enemies so much grief. But I see that you are weak. You only want to survive and indulge. You are not capable of saving yourself. You have been beaten by mere mortals. It is best to eliminate you. You do not serve my purposes and you are a pathetic human being." The angel's voice was lovely but dangerous.
Max truly felt afraid. He was lifted up in the air again. He was floating next to the red headed angel. He could feel the air and assumed they were moving. When he was finally able to look down he found that he was very high in the air. He was looking down into a valley. It looked like the bottom was littered with boulders but they looked like pebbles from where he floated next to the angel. She was speaking to him again.
"I think this is a fitting end for such a creature as you. I only regret that I will not have the pleasure of observing the suffering that will be yours in the afterlife, weak little man." The angel was actually smiling now.
It was a smile that brought a chill to his bones. Before he could protest he was falling and screaming. He ran out of scream moments before he landed and was broken by the rocks.
Circe watched for a moment more. Humans were so fragile. But they were amusing at times. She decided that she liked this area of hills and mountains and woods. She would stay in the area until it was time for Superman and the Princess to return. She thought it safer than having to confront too many of the heroes that might show up at the Watchtower and there were the ones she still had not accounted for. She thought especially of the Hawks.
Having made up her mind, she decided to explore the forest a little more.
******Smallville******
Kent Farm
Lois was sitting with Jonathon and Martha at the dining room table. They were sharing a late lunch.
Martha and Jonathon were both concerned. They knew Lois. And this was not the Lois they accustomed too. The fiercely possessive woman they were used to had dropped several hints of having an open relationship with Clark. Something she said they both needed. There were little glimpses of the old Lois when conversation turned to corruption or current events. But she was acting way too carefree about her love life. The fact that she was even bringing it up with them was enough to alarm them let alone her drastic change in moral standards.
She was currently explaining, with a patient smile, that Clark was overdue for an encounter with a woman he didn't need to be careful with physically and she was anxious to meet a certain special someone who had no problem letting go in bed and whom she did not have to fear accidental physical harm from in the process. She was midsentence. It had been something about thrusting in wild abandonment. Something they really had not wanted to hear when Lois suddenly stopped talking and started looking very ill.
With a moan Lois slid from her chair holding onto her head as if it would burst.
Jonathon and Martha were at her side in an instant.
"What's wrong, dear?" Martha asked her gently.
Jonathon looked on ready to dial 9-11 if needed.
"He's gone! The creep that was controlling my mind all this time!" Lois almost shrieked.
Looking up at Martha she broke down into tears. Everything was coming back. She remembered it all. The helpless feeling and the panic that had been hers while trapped in the doctor's office, to her constantly encouraging and pushing Clark to be intimate with Diana. "I just need a few minutes alone, Mom." She sobbed as she stood up and ran up the stairs to the bathroom leaving a very worried Martha and Jonathon in the kitchen.
Lois locked herself in and sank slowly to the floor with her back against the tub, her knees against her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. Worse than remembering her night with the Green Arrow was the look of rage and betrayal on Clark's face while he hovered just outside the window looking in on them. She would never forget that look as long as she lived.
Lois had always feared growing old while he stayed young. Feared watching as her husband slowly lost interest in her physically. She feared losing the ability to be intimate with him. She feared seeing him fall in love with another woman while she was still alive. All of these fears she had carried around needlessly. She knew her Clark would never betray her willingly. It was Clark who had been betrayed.
Lois suddenly stopped crying. She remembered all the nights and mornings they had been intimate in the past week. Clark had been very eager and considerate as always, but now that her mind was clear she remembered two things. There had been a few occasions where she remembered a look of utter sadness in his eyes and face. Still there had been others where he had seemed to act and behave as a drone. His behavior after there wild intimacy of last night had her seriously concerned. Not only had there been something wrong with her but there was something wrong with Clark as well. Unless it was simply his way of coping with what he had seen.
This thought brought back another fit of tears. She cried quietly for a while until she was sick. She stood up, but felt sick again and she sat down heavily as a bout of nausea swept over her like a sandstorm.
All of a sudden Lois stood up in a panic. Another thought had crossed her mind. It was one she had come to think would never happen to her. The thought that it might have happened truly frightened her. She raced out of the bathroom and into Clark's room and snatched her purse. As she raced back to the bathroom she almost collided with Jonathon and Martha.
"You know that Clark loves you. Something horrible has happened to you and to him apparently. But you'll both work this out. You both took vows. If they have been broken it is obvious that they were not broken willfully. You have to do what is right. Make things right. You'll both have to forgive and ask for forgiveness. Clark will take you back. He's knows what happened. He understands that you are innocent." It was Jonathon talking to her, trying to sooth her. What he said was true and it might have helped her in a small way, but being a man, he made a very common mistake, he continued talking to Lois as she walked slowly into the bathroom. It wasn't so much that he continued talking. His intentions were quite noble, but he continued talking without having first consulted his wife about what he was going to say.
"Sure, he might have been very angry and maybe he sort of went into a fit of rage at one moment, but thankfully Diana arrived when she did. I understand she helped him focus on what was important; on you. Nothing else is more important to Clark than you. You're his wife. He vowed to love you through thick and thin and he does and he will," Jonathon announced proudly. There, he had told his daughter in law what she needed to hear. She would see the light now. She could stop being afraid.
Jonathon was taken aback by the look of horror on Lois' face. The look was mirrored in his wife's face, along with a look of, "please stop talking as soon as possible."
Jonathon did.
It was too late. The damage had been done.
"She's perfect for him! I never understood why he picked me over her! I'm not anything like her! What was he thinking? Was he on some kind of kryptonite that affects logic? That makes you completely irrational? I knew she was in love with him the moment I saw her! She will be around for a very long time! I'm going to grow old and die! What's he going to do when I'm seventy? Eighty? Push me around in a wheelchair when we go out on a date? People will think he's with his great grandmother!" Lois was shrieking all of this from just inside the bathroom. When she finished she took a big sniff and shut the door.
Jonathon was looking at Martha with a look of bewilderment on his face. "Was she just talking about Diana?" he asked Martha completely confused.
Martha just shook her head in exasperation. "Yes, Jonathon. She was talking about Diana. And she was talking about Diana because you brought up her name in your pep talk!"
The light clicked on for Jonathon. "Oh! Okay! That makes sense!" he seemed satisfied with the explanation for a moment but then he scratched his head again in confusion. "Why did she seem so angry though? She definitely seemed angry to me."
Martha just stared back at Jonathon. He couldn't be that clueless. He was very sharp. It must be that he was very nervous. He had never had to deal with a woman snapping. The two of them didn't snap. They didn't throw tantrums. But she couldn't blame Lois. This was something truly tragic and horrible. Before she had gathered her thoughts together well enough to answer him. Lois came back out of the bathroom.
She looked pale. She held up a little plastic device with a couple of blue lines on it for them to see.
Martha recognized it instantly. It didn't take Jonathon much longer. A pregnancy test. Lois always carried one with her everywhere she and Clark went. Since there was no need for protection of any kind she always checked. She knew she couldn't get pregnant from Clark but there was always the chance of a miracle. Women who "couldn't get pregnant" got pregnant all the time. It was certainly something that she considered a possibility.
"I'm pregnant." Lois groaned. "It's true. We've never really used protection. He just didn't believe he could get me pregnant and I've never worried about diseases with him." Lois continued. "Last night something happened. I was temporarily super powered like him. I think that's when it happened."
Jonathon and Martha looked at each other with deep concern.
"I don't think you get sick that fast, honey," Martha offered.
"Well, whatever the case. I'm pregnant." Lois stated as she held up the testing device that showed the very strong blue line. "Now that my life with Clark is coming to an end I find out I'm pregnant."
Silence reigned in the Kent home.
