The sound explodes in Kal-El's ears and the vibration of something crashing hard hums throughout his bones. Before he can even process what he\s doing, his legs are moving, large form a quick woosh of air through open doorways and smashing through those that are closed. In seconds, he's there, her scent covered in a rusty haze of blood. His apparent adopted father stands over her, an arrogant smirk on his face quickly fusing into something of interest and slight surprise.
"No need for your concern, my heir. She is nothing I can not , if you'd prefer to watch…" The grey creature shrugs his wide shoulders, rough lips once more curling into a sneer. His fingertips reach, just barely brushing the skin of Diana's neck when a gruff and confused sound of gurgled pain escapes his mouth. When she gasps for air, eyes fluttering, a bright blazing light reverberates through the room, sparks flying from her barely open orbs and parted lips.
Kal-El finds himself momentarily frozen with shock, before rushing to her side, hands hovering above her audibly buzzing skin in uncertainty.
"Kal, don't…" The words are mumbled, the light coming from her mouth nearly disappearing as soon as it had appeared. Her senses were flickering now, eyesight and hearing trying desperately to return. When the electric current stops buzzling seconds later, he lifts her immediately, her head immediately turning to his chest and drinking in the momentary comfort.
"You rush to the whore rather than your own lord and father." Darkseid pushes himself from the corner of the room Diana's explosion of power had sent him. "Did you manage to crawl between her thighs before I?" The raspiness of his voice is only amplified, nearly a grow though still he sports the same grin.
"We could have taken turns, my boy, both had runs of fun with the little amazonian. She's from an Island of women, she is an untouched treasure, a planet nestled away from billions of others in the galaxy, and you know what we do to galaxies. What I've been training you your entire life for. And yet, here you are, grasping at the most prized womb in the universe. Perhaps you were feeling jealousy at the prospect of my future sons?"
Red and hot anger pulses through the last Kryptonian, the only thing keeping his anger from directing his fist at Darkseid's head the amazon in his arms.
"You're disgusting." Kal-El's voice booms, hands curling protectively around the form of Diana, her limbs and form weak from the strength draining surge of power she had exhibited for the first time in her life. "A regretful stain on existence."
Darkseid makes no comment, only keeping his wide and plastered grin in place, moving forward with the same endless and empty look in his eyes. "Do you expect words to hurt me? Would you like me to apologize? You've spent months doing my bidding, Kal-El, helping to enforce my rule on planet after planet. I have already won, Kal-El of Krypton." There was a pause, a glance at the thin but nearly indestructible fabric covering his forearm. "And I continue to keep on winning." Bringing his pointer finger to the center of his forearm, he presses down, a red glow coming from somewhere built within his suit.
Pain flooded his veins, sending Kal-El to his knees, a scream of pain escaping his throat but his hands still wrapped around the young woman tightly. With his form buckling to the ground, Diana's eyes fluttered, throat hoarse and body weak, "Kal-El, no." Her voice was nearly shot, fingers splayed against his chest and shaking. "Stop, please!" Turning her head towards Darkseid, she felt her stomach flip at the weakness of her voice, the pleading and broken down tone that tumbled from her bleeding lips.
"You have only yourself to blame, princess. Disobedience gives birth to punishment." The stone-faced giant smirked, watching his Kryptonian crumble entirely to the floor, body twitching and pained inhuman noises escaping his mouth. Diana tumbled from his embrace, watching her betrothed step closer and closer until his large fingers grasped her throat. Air refused to pass through her esophagus, lungs begging and eyes reddening.
"Don't worry, my lord. Soon enough our little Superman will be right back where he's supposed to be." Granny's deep and raspy voice sounded from behind them, a hard metal baton grasped in her hand. She brought it down hard against Kal-El's head, a stomach turning sound filling the air. Tears slid down Diana's cheeks, hatred burning in the depths of her ocean blue eyes; what had she done for her gods to forsaken her in such a way? Darkness dotted her vision and she felt herself slipping away, consciousness melting away.
…
Large calloused fingers brushed through the curls of the unconscious alien, so human looking it was no wonder he was able to stay under the radar on Earth when he wanted. "Wake up, little one." She used the same soft sing-song voice with each of the young minds she twisted and molded, an awkward thing on her raspy vocal chords.
A grimace on his perfectly sculpted features, the movement of eyes beneath lids and fluttering of dark lashes. Slowly, Kal-El regained consciousness, the headache pulsing within his skull dissipating with each second of wakefulness he gained.
"What happened?" Sitting up, he groaned, holding his head in his hands, the room spinning. Pain was an unusual thing to Kal-El, and each time he experienced it he felt like a fish out of water.
"You were gravely injured on your last mission, Kal-El of Apokolips. The enemy possessed weaponry that you managed to destroy, but not without being nearly killed in the process. Though now, you should be nearly healed. Your father will be pleased with your quick and great recovery. Granny Goodness smiled, a vile expression, though Kal would never tell her out right.
"Thank you for taking care of me, Granny. I appreciate it immensely." In the minute since he regained consciousness, the lingering pain throughout his body was now gone completely. Slowly, the powerful body of the last kryptonian rose, feet connecting with the cool metallic floor beneath. In the back of his brain, something was itching, digging and begging to be brought to the surface of his brain. Granny Goodness and Dessad had poked and prodded their way through his mind carefully, disorienting memories and most importantly, slicing any and all emotional ties to the amazon.
...
Diana awoke on a cold familiar table, the room spinning and throat dry; she didn't need to look around to know where she was. This time, she offered no prayer to her gods or goddesses, there was no point in attempting communication with those who had fed her to the wolves. Instead, she thought of the warmth of her mothers bed, the tightness of Donna's embrace, the smell of rain, early mornings on her island home.
In the depths of her mind, she searched for the electricity she had felt earlier, though she had no idea how much time had truly passed since she had lost consciousness. It had been a burning power, but instead of pain, she had only felt alive. Where had that power come from? Why had she never once experienced it before?
The sound of sliding doors pecked into her thoughts, followed by the tapping of footsteps. "Princess." Dessad's voice was emotionless as usual, the only time anything perpetrated his tone was when he became excited about his work.
"Having trouble listening again, are we? I thought we had made so much progress, but yet, here we are. No one has quite graced my little special room as much as you have, and we've had quite a few wild children come to Darkseid's kingdom, little brats who seem keen on throwing away the gift our generous god has given them. I can't say anyone has quite tried to whore themselves out to his own heirs in an attempt to get what they want, however." A hand traced up her leg, fingers resting on her upper thigh. Diana's stomach flipped, fighting the sudden urge to vomit.
"I only told Kal-El the truth, that his so-called father is manipulative, a murderous piece of shit that the entirety of every galaxy would be better off with." Opening her eyes, she spit, as she had so many times before while strapped to Dessad's table. When it landed directly into his beady and rat like eyes, she smirked through the dread of what was to come.
Dessad merely scowled, wiping the spit away with the hand he had been touching her with. "You are to be queen of everything to ever exist, to conquer and be worshipped. You will carry and birth the strongest beings to ever exist within this realm and every other...and yet," He turned, carefully grasping a newly sharpened blade, "You are so eager to throw all your gifts away. You are another pathetic brat, though, our need for you is too great to slaughter you as we have so many others.
HIs shadow crept over her form, and the excitement was terrifyingly adamant on his face, "Though, even the most stubborn of creatures submit in due time." The knife connected with the flesh of her arm, slicing through before being pulled back out. Diana's body lurched, but she made no noise, biting the inside of her cheek until the metal taste of blood danced on her tongue. This continued on and on, five minutes for her body to heal, and then again, the newly healed and tender flesh being reopened.
After so long, he would walk away, Diana's body unable to push away the hope that he was finished but each time this hope was crushed. Instead, it was a new blade, a new weapon, some duller, a new area of her body carved and flesh split. Blood covered the table beneath her, staining her own olive toned skin. The young woman stared into the ceiling above, eyes a dim and distant blue. Memories of the past twirled like a careful dancer throughout her consciousness, and she embraced it, a slight smile upturning her full lips.
My little sun and moon.
The careful embrace of a mothers touch, the warmth of sand against bare toes. Sweet ripened fruit, lazing in the freshwater creeks or deep diving into the endless ocean.
You are an amazon.
The clang of metal, sword against sword, ringing laughter and screeches of play fighting. Late nights in the stables, the gentle nudges of a horse's noise. Donna holding onto her skirt, echoing the noises of the animals in her squeaky toddler tone.
The smile faded, turning into a frown, a grimace following. Dessad continued his carving, humming merrily as he went.
Amazon's do not cry.
Tears slid from her eyes, small clear trails through caked dry blood. Her fingers twitched slightly in their restraints, the faces of all she ever loved appearing no matter how hard she closed her eyes. They were no longer a comfort, but rather a reminder of how much she had failed every single one of her teachings.
Disappointment.