hapter Five
I.S.L.E.
Institute of Scientific Logistics Excavation
Monday Evening
The entire building was empty, dark and silent, an outward expression of her inner monotone. Diana had made certain to send all her employees home to rest. She hoped to be alone with Kal.
"Is this office taken?" Kal's voice called from the doorway, his lighthearted humor brightening Diana's evening.
Diana couldn't hold back a slight smile at just the sound of his voice, but it was quickly replaced by a calm sadness. "Please come in, Mr. Kent."
This was going to be a battle. He knew it. Something was very wrong, and Kal had an idea what it was, but he was ready. Every time that he and Diana had gotten closer in their relationship, she had always pulled back. Kal hadn't let her reticence bother him. He understood her situation. She was an amazon, raised by a race which hated men, and yet she was falling in love with one. He knew that it was difficult for her.
Their relationship was always interesting. Diana would break them up, but then become fiercely possessive of him until she finally gave in to her feelings and made her way back to him. They were never 'broken up' for more than three days. Remembering the various stories of their relationship always made him smile.
Kal had a small smile on his face as Diana stood to embrace him. As he neared her desk, she hurried over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight grip, burying her forehead in his neck. Kal held her around her waist, feeling the tenseness and desperation in her arms.
"Diana," Kal said in a low voice, loving the feel of her long, bushy hair falling all over his shoulders.
The tenor of his voice broke her. Leaning back, Diana cupped his cheeks in her hands and kissed him desperately, as if she simply couldn't live another moment with their lips being apart. Kal kissed her back, pulling her soft body tightly against his firm muscles.
"Gods," Diana whispered as she drew back to lay her forehead against his own.
"Whatever it is, Diana, we'll deal with it together," Kal told her.
At his words, Diana abruptly pulled away and began to stomp back over to her desk. "That's just it. We can't be together, Clark. We can't."
"We love each other, Diana," Kal said firmly. "Is there nothing greater than that?"
"Lives, Clark," Diana said sadly as she turned to face him from behind her desk. She needed to keep something between them or she would find herself in his arms again. "The people of the world look to us for hope and truth. Yet, the very abilities which are natural to us, which make us who we are, in turn are a danger to them."
"We both know that, Diana. It's the very reason we've been forced to live our lives in a world of cardboard. But being together, we can finally be who we truly are. I know you've always wanted this the same as I have."
"You're so right, Kal. But, the alternative …"
"Diana, what do you mean?" asked Kal, stepping right in front of her desk. "Talk to me."
"I can show you," Diana said in a low voice, reaching for her remote and turning on her large office viewscreen.
On the screen, a recorded news report immediately began to play. Various scientific displays rolled across the screen behind a standing spokeswoman focusing on a large map of the ocean. The newscaster seemed almost uninterested in this small side story.
"And, in unrelated news, our planet was slightly rearranged this morning. Around dawn, a small island out in the distant ocean mysteriously broke apart and sank. While the amount of energy released during this phenomena is absolutely incredible, it is not at all outside the realm of nature, and scientists do believe this was simply a natural occurrence. Back to the more significant stories we're following …"
Diana switched off the viewscreen, not wanting to hear any more. She had watched it several times throughout the day. She didn't want to see it again.
Kal's brow furrowed. He looked disturbed, but not surprised. Leaning forward for a moment, Kal touched the long flower petals hanging over the side of the ornate pot on Diana's desk …
... then smoothly reached down to touch a small switch on the bottom of the pot.
"You're right, Diana," Kal said as he stood to his feet, then began to slowly walk around her desk. "This was a concern, and it needed to be addressed properly."
At his words, Diana lowered her eyes. Her heart sank. She hadn't expected him to acquiesce so easily. If the magic of their relationship wasn't worth more of a fight, then perhaps she had been right in the notion she'd shared with Hessia. Maybe Kal had gotten his way with her body, and now he now longer cared for her as he had before.
If Diana had been thinking rationally instead of with her wounded heart, she would have realized that such behaviour would never fit Kal's character. However, despite her vaunted power, she was still a brash, impressionable young woman, deeply in love for the first time in her life, and logical thought simply stood no chance against a broken heart.
"Of course, Mr. Kent," said Diana, standing to her feet, her legs feeling more weak than they'd ever felt after her most dire wound. "I ..."
"I would, however, like a last request," interrupted Kal, smoothly walking over to stand in front of her, staring down into her eyes intently. "Just one."
"Anything," whispered Diana.
"One last dance?" he asked, extending his arms.
Diana kept the tears from welling in her eyes, but she wasn't able to muster the strength to find her voice. Instead, she silently stood and stepped into his arms. Placing her soft hands on his firm chest, the two slipped into a warm embrace.
Kal and Diana began to sway gently, dancing to a music only the two of them could hear. The room was silent around them, as if giving way to the gentle intimacy of this moment between them. Diana leaned forward and laid her forehead on the side of Kal's neck, closing her eyes as his hands held on to her slim waist.
Then, unable to resist for another single second, Diana reached up, took Kal's cheeks in her hands, and kissed him passionately. Kal leaned down, claiming Diana's lips with his own. In the next second, Diana's high heels were hovering above the floor, as Kal had effortlessly snatched her up by her waist to press against him.
"Oh, gods," Diana whispered heatedly as she began to bite along his jawline while she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Oh, Kal. Don't let me go. Don't ever let me go."
"I won't, Princess. I won't," Kal whispered.
"Need you so badly, Kal," moaned Diana. "I've never needed anything so badly in my life."
When she felt him suckling along her sweet spot, Diana's eyes rolled up into the back of her head. All thought left her mind, and she could only feel, which was precisely where she longed to be. He made her forget about everything except him, and had a power over her she would never have imagined giving to any man.
Diana had only made love once in her entire life. It had been the most incredible experience she'd ever felt. In this moment, the only thing she could think about was feeling him inside her again.
Struggling to find some measure of control, Diana kicked until she felt her high heels touch the floor again, then she began to push Kal backward, desperately needing him in position to give her what she craved. Without thinking, Diana slammed Kal's back against the glass wall behind him.
Immediately startled, Diana drew back with a loud gasp, staring at the window wall. Her mind was already trying to figure out how she would have to get it repaired, as there would be shards of glass strewn all over her office and the road below. What a mistake she had just made ... again.
But then she realized ... the glass wasn't broken.
Diana stared at the window wall, then looked at Kal.
His handsome face held a gentle smile for her.
"What have you done?" she asked, her eyes aglow.
"The flower at the fortress wasn't your Valentine's Day gift, Princess," Kal said somewhat smugly. "This is."
Reaching out, Diana touched the glass, but didn't seem to feel anything amiss. "I know your father was a scientist, Kal. I know that you invent things from time to time. But, how did you do this?"
"I call it a zone emitter," Kal said, stepping over to the side of her desk and pointing to the bottom of the first flower pot he'd sent to her. "It's based on phantom zone technology. This slim disk can emit a protective barrier, like the walls of the phantom zone, over everything within a radius I set. As you already know, dimensional walls can be paper thin but retain the strength of a black hole. The barrier is undetectable, and virtually impenetrable."
"But this morning …"
"Diana, there was no danger this morning," Kal said, stepping closer to take her in his arms again. "I knew precisely where we were the entire time. I had already scanned the area for hundreds of miles around us. Remember, I spent my whole life growing up having to make certain that there was no one around me to be hurt when I used my natural abilities. It's second nature to me. There was never any chance of us hurting anyone."
Diana's brow furrowed as she slightly leaned back from him. "Well, then, in the midst of our lovemaking, what was on your mind?"
Kal's world turned upside down. He was caught between the proverbial kryptonite and a dimensional barrier. There was no way out.
If he said that he had been thinking of the world, then that would show that he hadn't been as consumed with her as she had been with him. If he said that he'd been thinking only of her, then that would mean that he had left the world in danger from their intimacy.
Great Scott.
"Well, Princess," he stammered a little. "You see, I know you would always want me to protect the lives of those around us as best I can ... no matter how compromising our positions."
Diana gazed up into his eyes for a long moment, and he couldn't tell if his answer had been well received, but then she seemed to relent with a slight grin.
"So then, with this new emitter, we don't always have to be at the fortress?" she asked, slipping into his arms. "We can ... be together ... anywhere?"
"Anywhere our hearts desire," smiled Kal, eagerly receiving her. "Of course, with our natural abilities, the entire universe can be our bedroom. But, with this device, if we were too heated to make it to the fortress, we could stay more local, if we need to."
"Although," said Diana. "I can only imagine the fun we could have, say, rearranging Saturn's rings ..."
" Or, joined together while spinning around inside the great red storm of Jupiter ...," followed Kal.
"Or, rolling around in the soft sands of Mars ..."
"Or, afterglowing in the rays of the sun right beside it ...
"Or, right now, right here, in my office," purred Diana.
"Here?" Kal raised an eyebrow.
"It's already activated," smiled Diana. "It's the most wonderful Valentine's Day gift ever. It must be field tested."
"Sounds like a job for us."
"Didn't your father once tell you that the only way to know how strong you truly are, is to keep testing your limits?"
"You're the only woman in the world that I can test my limits with, Diana," he smiled.
Reaching down, Kal lifted Diana up by her thighs. Moving in sync with him, she reached behind her and quickly cleared off half her desk. Kal laid Diana down on top of her desk and leaned over her as she wrapped her legs around his waist.
"Well, then, let the testing begin …"
End.
