Chapter 38: Second Chances?

Argo City, Krypton

High Council Compound

Four Days Ago …

"So everything is fine at home. That's good to hear. Thanks for staying and—"

"You don't have to thank me, Diana. It's what mothers do. Besides, with you and Clark gone, I get to spoil C.J. and the twins rotten."

Propped against the headboard, Diana readjusted the pillow behind her until she was as comfortable as possible, the pain from the poison never far away. "You spoil the children when we're at home, too."

"True. But when you and Clark are around I have to put up with disapproving glares and lectures I have no interest in hearing. I spoiled you and Donna, and look how wonderful the two of you turned out."

"Most days Donna is an absolute brat, Mother."

"Also true, but what of you Diana? Do you think you have no brat tendencies?"

Hippolyta snorted in that arrogant, knowing way of hers.

Glancing to her left, Diana spied her sleeping husband. If Clark weren't such a heavy sleeper, Diana would've taken her mother's call in the outer room. But neither Diana's soft voice nor the light from the nightstand would disturb his sleep.

Diana reflected on the argument she'd had with Clark earlier tonight. Without a doubt, she'd displayed more than a fair share of "brat tendencies," which, thankfully, wasn't how Diana typically handled stressful situations.

She relayed tonight's events to Hippolyta, who, at the end, snorted again.

"A chambermaid, huh? Well, that doesn't surprise me. I can't tell you how many maids flirted with your father when we were married and how many of them I fired as a result."

When Clark rolled over in bed, still asleep but squinting at the intrusive light, Diana climbed out of bed, turned the light off, and went into the outer room, closing the bedroom door behind her.

Hippolyta rarely spoke of her marriage to Ambrose Prince, which meant, for some reason, her mother was being uncharacteristically open and Ambrose had likely done something to remind her of his unfaithfulness.

Settling on the loveseat, Diana pulled her legs upward until her feet were on the chair, her knees to her chest. The cramps in her stomach were steadily worsening, making lying down a painful endeavor.

"What's on your mind, Mother? It seems you called to update me on more than just the children and Wayne Industries."

"You first, Diana, then me."

Fine, if that was how her mother wanted to play it. Diana would continue, although there really wasn't much more to the story.

"Clark had few options, I know. It's just, well, it's just …"

"No woman relishes the idea of another woman propositioning her husband, even if he turns her down. Intellectually, you know it happens. Clark is an attractive man who also has a heart of gold—a win-win for most women. But it's something else entirely to come face-to-face with that reality. Women don't always respond in the best manner when we do."

Diana nodded, forgetting her mother couldn't see her. "Yes, that pretty much sums it up."

"Don't beat yourself up about it. You're not exactly yourself nowadays. I'm sure Clark understands."

"He always does, which is fortunate for me because I'm wound too tight from everything that's going on here."

"From what you've told me, you've devised an excellent plan. It will all be over soon, including the pain from the poisoning. By the way, how are you feeling? Are the nanites keeping the worst of it at bay?"

"I'm managing."

A long minute ticked by before either of them spoke again, the unvoiced truth hanging between them.

"Diana, sweetheart, you're running out of time. This can't continue much longer."

"I know, but Lara—"

"Is a frightened fool," Hippolyta hissed. "Now that she has the antidote, Lara needs to put on her big girl panties and take care of her daughter-in-law. You don't have time for her internal recriminations. We may not know what will happen if you're given the antidote, but we do know what will happen if you aren't."

"I know. I know."

"You're in pain now. I can hear it in your voice. You also sound exhausted."

Diana was both. Engaging in that pointless argument with Clark had depleted the little energy she'd gained from her nap. Then there was the sharing of her tentative plan, which, to her surprise, hadn't gone as poorly as she'd thought. Once Clark calmed and got over the initial shock, he actively listened to the details, injecting very good ideas and making it an even better plan. But yes, pain and fatigue monopolized most of Diana's waking hours.

"How much longer before your next nanite injection?"

"Two hours."

"Can you manage the pain until then, sweetheart?"

Motherly understanding and concern reached out to Diana, erasing the thousands of miles that separated daughter from mother.

Tears fell, as did her forehead onto raised knees.

"I just want to crawl into bed and sleep. But each time I close my eyes, I fear I'll slip into another coma and never awake."

"You're stronger than that. I believe it and so must you."

"I'm trying to be strong."

"Not try, Diana, just be. Be strong. Be stubborn. Be whatever you need to be to get through this. We're all here for you. But in the end, this is your battle to wage and win."

The tears still fell, but her mother's unflagging confidence in Diana had her lifting her head and squaring her shoulders in defiance of the pain and the poison.

"I'll win."

"I know you will. You're my daughter, after all."

Diana smiled, her mother's arrogance unmatched.

"I am at that. And I have two hours to kill before the next injection. Will you keep me company while I wait?"

Otherwise, Diana's mind would wander to places it need not go, like to a chambermaid who thought she could seduce Diana's husband, to the villains H'el and Zod, irksome threats to her family, or to lustful thoughts of Clark. The last wouldn't be so bad if sex with her husband were a viable option. At the end of their argument and planning session, there had been no make-up sex, though Clark hadn't seemed opposed to the idea when she'd thrown that gauntlet down.

But desire and pain didn't make for the best aphrodisiac. So it had been another platonic night for Clark and Diana, which hadn't helped her mood in the least.

"Of course, I will. The girls are taking a nap, Alfred's preparing lunch, and I've just finished reviewing last month's expense reports. I'm all yours."

Diana relaxed, not having realized how tightly she'd been holding herself until she uncurled her body from the ball she'd had it in. The pain hadn't abated, but speaking with Hippolyta served as a much-needed diversion. Clark could serve the same purpose, but he needed his rest and Diana was loathe to disturb his sleep.

"Are you ready to tell me what's on your mind?"

Unlike earlier when she'd asked, Hippolyta got right to the issue.

"It's your father."

"What about him?"

"Well, he's gotten it into his head that it would be a good idea to resettle in the States so he can be closer to you, Donna, and the twins."

"He mentioned something like that right after the girls were born. But I didn't give it much thought. I assumed he was just being sentimental and felt left out because he lives in Italy and the other grandparents live so much closer. I thought it was a passing fancy."

And Diana didn't dare hope her father, who'd abandoned his family when Diana was a girl, would actually, finally, return home. No, those were foolish dreams of the naïve girl Diana had once been. But if what Hippolyta said was true …

"No passing fancy, Diana. Ambrose emailed me pictures of two lots he's considering purchasing. He even sent me preliminary designs for the homes."

Her architect of a father must be truly serious about the move, if he'd gone as far as sketching plans. Still, something about this didn't make sense to Diana.

"Okay, so what's the problem? I assume Dad found a nice plot of land somewhere in Gotham or Metropolis?"

"Southern Metropolis. A couple of acres. Looks beautiful and serene."

"Sounds idyllic. So I ask again, what's the problem?"

"The problem is that the second plot of land is only an hour's drive from Paradise Resort and Spa and less than that from my home."

Oh, well, damn. What in the hell was going on between Hippolyta and Ambrose Prince?Sure, they'd mended many fences over the last three years, and the thaw in Hippolyta toward her former husband was noticeable to anyone who knew them, especially during their marriage to one another. They also spent quite a bit of time together at the castle, now that Diana was thinking on their interactions of late. Still, a man didn't uproot himself after over two decades of living abroad simply because he and his ex-wife were on good speaking terms.

Diana sighed. "Do I even want to know what's been going on with the two of you that set all of this into motion?"

Now it was Hippolyta who sighed – a sound of unmistakable frustration.

"It was to be casual, you know? For old times' sake, we agreed."

The pain in Diana's stomach leapt to her head. A migraine that looked oddly like her parents suddenly assaulted her. No, no, no, her parents, Catherine and Daphne's grandparents, could not be having casual, for old times' sake sex. God, who were they? Horny college students on Spring Break?

"Are you telling me you and Dad have been having an affair?"

"No need to sound so superior and disapproving, Diana. Divorced people do it all the time."

"What?! No they do not. I'm pretty sure you just made that up. Either that, or you have questionable friends Donna or I know nothing about." Diana pulled the phone from her ear, stared at it for long seconds before placing it back to her ear. "I have no idea who I'm even talking to right now. You can't possibly be the same woman who threatened to castrate every boyfriend I stupidly brought home to meet you."

"I can't believe I raised such a judgmental prude. Donna would understand."

Diana highly doubted her younger sister would understand this strange situation any better than Diana did. She could imagine it now. Donna would bestow her brattiest frown on their mother and say, "So you and Dad are fuck buddies? Just what a girl wants to know about her parents before her wedding."

The thought had Diana laughing. So loud she slapped a hand over her mouth, not wanting to awaken Clark with her boisterous outburst.

"I don't see what's so damn funny. Your father clearly thinks we're getting back together. Otherwise, I have no idea why he would want to build a house so close to where I live and work."

Despite Hippolyta's claim, her mother did not do casual sex. Sure, there were a few men Hippolyta had dated over the years, and even fewer she'd actually taken to her bed. Of those, none of them meant enough to Hippolyta for her to introduce them to her daughters. Cautious, Hippolyta would not make herself or her daughters vulnerable to the vagaries of another man.

And now, over two decades later, she's having an affair with the very man who broke her heart. Diana knew what that was all about, understood her mother's heart better than Hippolyta did. She also understood her father. Ambrose Prince and Clark Kent were nothing alike, except in two ways. They both wore their hearts on their sleeve, and they loved deeply, forever.

"He won't hurt you again. Dad's not the same insecure, selfish man he once was."

"I didn't say anything about him hurting me again."

No, she hadn't. She didn't need to. Diana and Hippolyta knew each other too well to be limited by what one of them chose to say or to not say. They cried together when Ambrose walked out on them, and they wept fresh tears when he'd apologized, in front of Diana's entire wedding party, to his daughters, to his ex-wife.

That apology was the first step toward reconciliation for their family. And, apparently, for her parents. But trust took longer to build than it did to destroy, as did the complete mending of a broken heart. That vital organ, fragile, even when the woman was not, even when the woman was the formidable Hippolyta Prince.

Three Days Ago …

"I don't like the plan."

"Why not? It's sound."

Kara glared at Lor, who sat in a chair across from the sofa where she'd been sitting ever since being called into an impromptu meeting with Diana and Clark. After giving Kara and Lor what Kara believed to be a cliff notes version of Diana's plan, they'd left them in the suite alone together. She presumed, to talk it over and come to a decision.

Well, Kara had already decided. Diana may have been a whiz at business, but she was out of her mind if she thought Kara would willingly serve herself up as bait.

"It's not sound, Lor, it's crazy and dangerous."

"I never said I thought the plan wasn't dangerous, but it's an excellent ruse."

Lor's broad, bright grin signaled his annoying fanboy way of thinking any idea that came from Diana as spun freakin' gold. As much as Kara adored Lor's smile, she detested how easily it came to life for any woman other than herself. And wasn't that boulder of irrational jealousy a slap in the face.

For all the lies of omission between them, Kara hadn't managed to divest herself of Lor's appeal—from her mind or her heart.

"Give him a chance to prove his worth, his trust," Diana had said to Kara before Lor arrived for their three o'clock meeting. "If you're still unsure about Lor, unsure whether he is the man you wish to build a life with, then you will keep an open mind when I tell you of my plan."

Well, Kara had kept an opened mind. And that opened mind told Kara her friend needed to either stop taking drugs or begin immediately, for there was no way in hell she would ever convince Kara the plan made the least bit of sense.

Lor, dark hair and brilliant swoon-worthy eyes, pushed himself from his chair and came to sit next to Kara. This time when he smiled, soft and sexy as sin, it was all for her.

She swallowed—hard, and then bit her lower lip.

"Have I ever told you how adorable I find that?"

"Find what?" she said, releasing her lip.

With the pad of his thumb, Lor tenderly rubbed the spot where Kara's teeth had dug into her lip.

The intimate gesture had Kara closing her eyes, recalling the last time they'd been this close. Close enough to lose myself in the nautical scent of his cologne. Close enough to kiss.

"But sometimes, like today, you bear down on it too hard, drawing blood."

Another graze of thumb over lip.

"The plan is dangerous, Kara. Diana never said it wasn't. But she will take as many precautions as possible to make sure no harm comes to us. Do you really think your cousin's wife, your friend, would risk your life?"

"It's all a risk," she said, eyes opening and meeting Lor's. "Diana said that as well."

He nodded. "She has a right to ask this of us."

Kara knew that. Hadn't it been Kara and Lor who'd asked Diana to risk her life when they'd traveled to Metropolis with the hope of convincing Diana to take up the Kryptonian cause, to help bring about an end to the impending civil war?

They had. Though she'd turned them down, Kara and Lor had thought nothing of making the request of her. Guided by their own needs and wants, they hadn't once considered the possible ramifications of what they were asking of Diana. In truth, they were out of their depth, unable to even offer up the same protection Diana would guarantee them if they agreed to her plan.

She and Lor had been selfish and naïve back then, and Kara was being selfish now.

The thumb stopped stroking then drifted down to Lor's lap. For a second, his eyes followed. When he lifted them again, shame and regret stared out from them.

"She's doing all of this for us, you know? Well, probably more for you than me. Diana loves you, wants to see you happy, wants to see you with the right man." Raising his hand to her face, Lor lifted a blond curl out of her eye, tucking it behind her ear. "I'd like to think Diana and Clark believe I'm that right man for you. I want to prove to them that I am." His hand found her shoulder, her nape. "More importantly, I want to prove to you that I am the right man."

Kara's mouth went dry, mind unable to process what his caressing hand and sincere words were doing to her. So she said nothing and permitted him to continue speaking.

"I don't know how it will feel seeing my father again after so many decades of separation. I know he's done horrible, unforgivable things, but I remember a father and husband who loved his family. For a long time I made myself forget those childhood memories, convinced myself that General Dru Zod was nothing but a monster. But sometimes even the most vile of men can have a heart. When I saw Clark with his son, how proud he was, how much C.J. looked up to his Dad, I could no longer deny those memories. They were real and true and as much a defining part of Dru Zod as his many murders."

This time, when Lor broke the physical contact with Kara, her body immediately missed the feel of him, craved to have his hand back on her, if only in comfort.

"Your cousins are granting me an opportunity I don't deserve. And it's one I won't squander. But you don't have to be there for the plan to work. If seeing the man who killed your grandparents is too much for you, or if you're afraid of what may happen despite Diana's precautions, then you shouldn't do it. No one would blame you if you stayed away."

Kara had no interest in coming face-to-face with a killer, no matter how fond Lor's memories were of his father. As far as Kara was concerned, Lor was the only thing General Zod had gotten right in his murderous, tyrannical life. Despite her understandable fear, Kara was no coward. If Diana and Clark thought her a frightened little kitten, they would have never framed the plan around her participation. Sure, Lor could go it alone, face his father by himself. But …

"It's a test, as much of you as it is of me."

"What do you mean?"

"Like you said, Diana doesn't need to do this. She knows where the escaped prisoners are hiding. Uncle Jor could have them rounded up, arrested, and sent to Phantom Zone Prison. They could be back in their cells by tonight—no fuss, no muss."

"But she hasn't done that."

"No. Sending your father and the others back to prison yields very little. At heart, Diana is a businesswoman, all about the bottom line. She wants to prove a point, increase our market value."

"A point? To whom?"

Kara flung her arms wide. "To the whole damn country, of course. We asked her to bring about change in Krypton, well, she's turned that request back on us. She's made us her business plan, beginning when she and Clark asked us to lead the transition team. I'd wager my life's savings her business plan involves the weirdest job interview ever, with the interview panel being the unsuspecting citizens of Krypton—commoners and royals." Kara pointed between them. "Commoner and royal. It doesn't get more blatant and symbolic than that, Lor."

Lor scratched that luscious head of hair of his while shaking it at the same time, stunned amazement written over his boyishly attractive face.

"There's layers upon layers of this plan of Diana's, isn't it? And here I thought it was simply about showing everyone I could be trusted."

"It's that, but also a whole lot more. Nothing with a Prince is as straightforward as they would have people believe."

"And Clark?"

"Yeah, well, he's a tricky one, that cousin of mine. Clark's just as cunning as Diana, though he acts anything but. Don't forget, it was his plan that brought down the Regent. I got the entire story out of Zee. When his family is threatened, Clark has a ruthless streak. It's tempered by his kind and forgiving nature, but it's definitely there, right below his boy-next-door smile."

"I get it. Your family is complicated."

That was the understatement of the year. But Lor had no family. No one other than a father who would either be dead or returned to prison in two days' time. For Lor's sake, Kara prayed General Zod would prove reasonable instead of violent and bullheaded, not giving Diana's Furies a reason to protect Kara and Lor by killing Zod.

Diana didn't think the confrontation would end in bloodshed, but she had no way of knowing the general's mindset, especially of a man who'd spent half of his life incarcerated.

Not giving herself time to reconsider, Kara grasped Lor's hands. Thin fingers wrapped around large ones, taking pleasure in his heat and giving her own.

"I don't want to do this, but I know I need to, have to. All of Krypton will be watching, judging. We can't fail them. We can't fail ourselves."

"We won't." Lor squeezed her hand. "We won't."

Their joined fingers were a reflection of their hearts, though not yet their minds. That would take more time. For the first time in weeks, however, the thought of trusting Lor again didn't chill Kara with fear and send her running.

Maybe things would be fine after all. It never hurt to hope.

Holding Lor's hand and gazing into his eyes, Kara hoped now.

She hoped Diana's plan would work.

She hoped she and Lor were up for the task.

And she hoped, above all, that General Zod wasn't the same brutal bastard he'd been in the past.

She hoped.

She. Hoped.

TO BE CONTINUED