Path to Doomsday

a/n: It's probably been years since I last wrote a fic so pretty fitting my latest is for a 10 year old show. This is a gen-ish fic mostly but I hope to sprinkle romance in here and there. Slow burn for Lois and Clark. Maybe a tiny bit of Clark and Diana but mostly just friendship. Also might throw in some other pairings later on which I'll tag as I go along but this fic is still in planning and nothing is set in stone.

I hope it to be a long fic spanning the entire season as a sorta re-imagined season 8. I was recently inspired to write this after re-watching this season and being all nostalgic for this series.

Chapter 1

The night was stifling, and quiet. An out of character slow night for the big city of Metropolis. Clark could feel his signature blue shirt sticking to his skin as he walked the streets listening intently to the city. There had been nothing interesting on the police scanners that night so Clark had decided to patrol the city to see if he could catch any trouble directly. He was regretting his decision as the air was humid and stagnant with the pungent smells of the city. It made sense that even crime would take a break tonight. A nice long shower was on Clark's mind at the moment, he wanted to wash away the day, the grime of the city and his sweat. He was on the verge of making his up his mind to head home for the night until he had heard the gunshots.

xxx

A sharp, long dog whistle pierced through the thick air like an arrow through a target. It was directed towards a woman with a cape and hood draped over her tall frame. It flowed around her as she walked clad in what looked to be armor and knee high boots. "Hey hot stuff. Looking to make some money honey?"

Diana turned towards the source of the voice. She was walking in a near empty street with nobody else nearby so she could only assume that it was directed towards her. Looking at her were two large well built men and one tall lanky one, and now they were walking towards her. "No." She replied barely giving the men a second thought and turning her attention back to where she was going, where exactly she did not actually know. She didn't need money she thought. She had a mission what did she need money for? Besides that she didn't like the feeling those men gave her, they looked at her like a pack of lions looked at a gazelle.

"Hey hey hey. Where you going dressed up all like that?" They closed in on her quickly. "We're paying fellas, you can bet on that honey. We got the cash right here," the tall one said grabbing at his crotch through his pant's pocket.

Disgusted Diana remembered all the stories that her mother and the other amazons had told her about this world. She was getting a first hand account of it all and she didn't need to recount those stories to know what she was in for. She forced a smile on her face, "Let me pass and I won't have to hurt you."

The thin man burst into laughter and the other two men grinned at each other. "You little lady... hurt us? I think you got it all backwards," he smiled at her all the while brandishing the gun that sat in his waistband. The other men also had guns on them which they had pulled out threatening her to move.

"Those aren't going to work you know," she said brushing past them still unsure of where she was going but she needed to get away from them first. They were an annoyance and she was already annoyed at her lack of progress.

"You think these are toys?" One of the men yelled and took aim. He leveled the gun at her shoulder careful not to hit the heart. She wasn't good to them dead, at least not as fun, he thought to himself smirking inwardly. Oh she was gonna be fun regardless he knew that much. With that thought he pulled the trigger and to his astonishment she didn't go down. Had he missed? Impossible, he was one of the best shots he knew. He took aim again this time center mass, she was going down. Again she didn't go down. In fact it looked like it had deflected off of her.

"You missed you idiot!" the leader of them had hissed while taking his gun out of his waistband. "I always gotta do everything myself." He took two consecutive shots at her back and then when nothing had happened emptied and entire magazine in her general direction. He held out his gun looking at it incredulously, it was the last thing he saw before he got knocked out.

"I told you it wouldn't work."

xxx

The gunshots were far but it only took Clark moments to arrive. In this state, when he was in his super speed, the world was so calm. He could live in the nanoseconds that passed the normal world by in an instant. He took in the scene before him, a freeze frame of what seemed to be an attempted murder. Three against one didn't seem fair and that woman had her back turned unaware of what was happening behind her. He had heard four gunshots before he could get there, the woman was still standing so he breathed a sigh of relief glad that they had missed. In this moment he saw a string of bullets headed dead on target. He grabbed them all out of the air squishing them in his hand like they were made clay and not lead. And then he let the world stream back to it's normal flow.

"I told you it wouldn't work," Diana said turning around expecting a flurry of bullets to hit her but nothing came. Strange. The first few had hit. Then she saw him. She almost didn't catch him at first but as he knocked back the men one by one she saw him. He was extraordinarily fast and her breath hitched.

Clark hadn't seen her watching him and had he, he might have gone further out before calling the police. He rushed to the top of the Daily Planet, pretty close to where the crime had been committed, before calling the police. His focus was on giving the police the details of the crime and presenting himself as a credible witness to the events that had unfolded. He had not even heard her or noticed her presence before he ended his phone call.

"Hello." Startled by a voice that seemed to be just behind him, Clark turned to see a breathtaking sight. Floating there was the woman that he had saved. She was beautiful, olive skin almost glowing from the reflection of the city lights around him, raven hair and cape flowing around her, and a muscular but at the same time curvy frame that was accentuated by her armor.

It seemed like eons before he could speak. "Uhm hello?" He managed to say, weakly looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"I saw you back there. You took out those men." Diana gently touched down on the rooftop next to Clark.

"What who me? I don't know what you're talking about..." Clark said quickly taking two steps back right into a wall. He cleared his throat nervously.

"I saw you." Diana said taking a long stride towards him.

Clark shook his head trying to act confident in his lie." You have the wrong guy. I just work here," he gestured around him indicating the building they were standing on.

"I followed you here. You cannot lie to me." Diana closed the gap between them, touching his arm. "Who are you?"

The word formed in his mouth he attempted to stop it but was compelled by something greater than himself to speak the truth. "My name is Clark Kent, son of Jonathan and Martha, reporter at the Daily Planet. I'm also the red blue blur, the traveler, and Kal-El, the last son of Krypton." With that confession Diana let go and Clark was left with a warm feeling where her had had been. He just told a total stranger who he was, it came out so easily. There had been an initial resistance but it all came tumbling out and strangely he had felt ok, like a weight had lifted from his chest. Relief and then a slight apprehension. He had a feeling that he could trust this beautiful woman standing in front of him but there was a small nagging voice whispering in his mind about the dangers of reveling his secret.

"Kal-El!" Diana beamed looking at him gazing at him with all the attention in the world. And just like that all the uneasiness Clark was feeling had melted away. "I can't believe I've found you! I thought this was going to be much harder. I am Diana Princess of Themiscyra." She said as if that was explanation enough.

With a smile like that, it was impossible for Clark not to smile back. "Diana..." he trailed off before gaining back his powers of unadulterated speech. "You're a princess of... Themiscyra? How do you know who I am? Why are you looking for me? And why did I tell you all that?"

"I will tell you everything you wish to know Kal-El, but first can we get something to eat? I could eat a horse."