FOUR – Of Hearts and Minds
January 31, 1942
Clark's eyelids blinked open, his nearly refreshed body awakened inside the Fortress of Solitude, his home located just over one thousand miles inland, southeast of the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica. His vision focused to the ice constructed ceiling many meters above him; his body was nicely settled down into a soft mattress. The large bed was quite disheveled as one pillow had fallen to the thick, glass-covered ice floor; bedsheets and covers were no longer tucked securely under the mattress. In addition to the errant pillow, strewn upon the floor was his Kryptonian House of El uniform, inclusive of the cape. An ambassadorial uniform recognized by Earth's populace as that of Superman. He promised Diana the cape would become a part of his Superman attire once World War Two ended. And so he kept that promise when they delivered Adolf Hitler to the Royal Navy forces aboard England's battleship, the HMS King George V on January 25, 1942.
The Axis dominoes fell soon thereafter. Japanese Emperor Hirohito's decision to invade the United States, via its West Coast, became a lost proposition once Clark and Diana entered the southern California battle theater. Germany, Japan and Italy offered unconditional surrenders within hours of Hitler's arrest being broadcasted around the world. The United States, Soviet Union, England and other world Allies secured once-Axis held lands in Europe, Asia and Northern Africa.
For the last six days, Clark and Diana were near omnipresent across the globe. Ended firefights oblivious to the war's end, brought an end to the death and internment camps, disabled destructive weapons before they could be used, rounded up the higher-up underlings of Hitler, located the scientists who provided such horrific capabilities to the Axis powers, and opened up lines of food production in devastated cities. The list of things needing their attention was never ending. Something Diana realized and understood before Clark. She ordered him to shut the world off for one day. He, of course, balked at the notion, and bargained Diana down to half a day.
Clark looked over to the empty, left side of his bed. Diana was there, but only in his imagination. He exhaled a smile. The two had been inseparable for the last four weeks. He reached to his face, felt the slight, stubbly growth of hair. She had commented how much his bearded look appealed to her. The kisses they shared further fluttered with his emotions, distracted him to daydream. He continued to watch the ice formations above, enjoyed the essence of Diana while the world was placed on pause, if just for a few hours. The reflective moment brought forth a surprising wave of sadness. Guilt. And even regret as each emotion crested and crashed; Clark had yet to reconcile his feelings of having lost nearly fifteen years to a vegetative state on Earth's moon. And yet, as other things, more important things in Clark's estimation invaded his thoughts, he continued to leave such musings unreconciled.
Clark balanced his eternal optimism with pragmatism, neither one ever truly supplanting the other. His mind brimmed with ideas, mostly of the world problem solving type. This approach to near lucidity was unceremoniously broken by a series of familiar whirring and clicking noises. Kelex, a floating mechanical trove of information, insight, and companionship, since Clark brought it back online twenty-three years ago, entered the spacious area.
"Good morning, Kal-El," Kelex greeted. "I trust your slumber was restful?"
"It was," Clark replied as he started to move his body. Muscled legs shifted to the side of the bed as bare feet touched the surprisingly warm floor. He stood slowly, stretched his arms upward, and then to the sides. He looked around, picked up and tossed his uniform onto a nearby chair. He made his way to a closeted storage area. Inside on several horizontal poles, were Clark Kent's neatly hung clothes that ranged from casual shirts and pants to three piece suits. There was even a fedora, but Clark rarely wore it. He returned to the bed area with a light blue, polo shirt and gray pair of trousers in his hands.
"You do realize I could have done that," Clark stated.
Kelex held the used bed linen Clark had slept on, while also having made the bed with fresh sheets and pillowcases. The gold-colored robot's thin, metallic arms and fingers made quick work of the task. With a low murmur of its engine within, Kelex turned to Clark.
"Of course, Kal-El," Kelex replied. "But rarely is it done correctly."
Clark managed an amused, dismissive smile. "How long was I asleep?" he asked.
"Ten hours, twenty-two minutes," Kelex answered.
"That long? Diana was right," he said. "What have I missed?"
"The people of Earth continue to rejoice over the war's end," Kelex reported. "And a collective desire for a new world."
"A rebuild," Clark added.
"Yes, Kal-El," Kelex confirmed. "There is much work to be done. Physically and politically. There is a power vacuum with the Axis powers suffering defeat. To the victor goes the spoils, is that not a potential problem?"
"As you say, potential," Clark replied. "How much do I push? Should I push as to how the world moves forward?"
"I would suggest most of this world wants you to push," Kelex said. "You and Princess Diana."
"Just because they do, does not mean, necessarily, we should," Clark debated. "We cannot be gods to them, Kelex."
"Despite having godlike powers?" Kelex asked.
Clark sighed with some exasperation while his nose took in a welcomed aroma. "Is my mother up?"
"Yes," Kelex responded. "For the last hour, she has been keeping food warm for you in anticipation of your hunger when you awakened."
"That's her," he mused while inhaling childhood remembrances of pancakes from scratch, sausages and eggs; all of which left Clark to wonder how she obtained such food items and ingredients. "Kelex, your human psychology programming, how is it functioning?"
"Optimal. Do you wish observations of yourself, Kal-El?" Kelex asked.
"No, my mother," Clark responded. "She has been up here for the last month, with only you and Krypto. Does she seem okay to you, in adapting to this? All of this?"
"Martha Kent is seventy-seven years of age," Kelex said. "Thirty-three years longer than the projected life expectancy for an American female born in 1865. Her biological vitals are quite good and consistent. Cognitive skills are normal. We have shared many conversations. In her life, she has adapted to caring for an alien born child, a child who becomes the most powerful person on Earth. In the span of one month, she suffered the death of her husband and you, as she believed at the time. Two world wars. An economic breakdown of historic proportions. I would say Martha Kent's ability to adapt is more than adequate for life here."
Clark pursed his lips, waited for some semblance of an intelligent response to find purchase in his thoughts. "Thank you, Kelex," Clark ultimately managed. "I really needed. Wanted to hear something like that."
"I am pleased it is welcoming to you," Kelex continued. "She requested I not relay any further world details until you eat. She fears you will bypass food and head to the monitoring room."
"Is there anything of a priority?" Clark asked.
"A job for Superman, I assume? Always, but none that is immediate," Kelex responded.
"Okay," Clark said as he moved in another direction. "Tell her I'll join her, need a shower."
Twelve hours prior and fifteen thousand kilometers away, Princess Diana of Themyscira arrived home in a much warmer climate. Her exhaustion was close to overwhelming, but a bolt of elation coursed through her when she approached the familiar beaches and green hills of Themyscira. So beautifully lit they were, by multiple, fire pit bowls and the full moon beyond a cloudless horizon. She drifted down slowly to the columns and marble halls of the Amazons' central meeting place, into the welcoming arms of her surprised sisters and soon also, her mother, Queen Hippolyta. They observed the weariness that was Diana, a tired smile with barely opened eyes, her dirtied clothes that were tattered in multiple places. Hippolyta took Diana's shield and the sword of Athena, and led the way to Diana's home. Diana's body weighed into Hippolyta's side as they walked. She was asleep moments after her head touched down upon her bed. Hippolyta removed her daughter's scuffed tiara, scratched gauntlets, gleaming lasso and disgustingly dirty boots. She watched over her only child until she did not, leaving for her own home but a few paces away.
She was sure to take the boots for a proper disposal.
The next morning, Diana sat alone on a sandy stretch of Themyscira beach. She pulled the thin straps of her white, short dress off from her shoulders. The waters of the Mediterranean Sea undulated gently towards her, tiny drips of spray pelted her knees. The sun above, so bright and warm. As the water continued to come in and wash back out, Diana found it impossible to put away her deepening affection for Clark. Thirty days ago, he became a reality in her life, after she had nursed a fantasy about him for decades. Her mind relived many times, every moment of their first meeting near the southern Germany border. Immediately thereafter, she was at his side every day, fighting against a once unimaginable evil manifested as Nazism.
Diana and Clark formed a bond that became the catalyst to the war's end. So strong the bond became that Diana was prepared to sacrifice her life to save his. And if her life was lost, she would have gladly joined him in the afterlife, when also without hesitation, Clark placed himself between millions of human lives and a weapon that had the potential to kill even a superman. But that was the past. Now, every time her eyes drifted or closed, she recalled the feel of his wondrous embraces, touches upon her body. That first shared kiss inside a hotel in war torn London. The last time they were together, hours ago, his arms wrapped around her body from behind as they hovered above a reawakened Paris.
Diana's remembrances faded as her warrior side heard an approach.
"You look better, rested," Phillipus observed from behind Diana.
Diana turned her head, smiling at her Amazonian sister's presence. "I think so," Diana said. "I thought I managed to get out without anyone seeing."
"Let's see, sister," Phillipus said as she sat down next to Diana. "You've been gone for weeks fighting in another of man's wars that was even more dangerous than the first. Of course many of us would be watching, waiting to speak with you this morning. You sneaked out, but I noticed. No one else."
Diana smiled, letting a pleasant silence descend upon them.
"We've been here before," Phillipus said. "And like before, you ended a war. Before, you lost Trevor. The tales of this Superman have reached even Themyscira. Is this man, important to you?"
"His name is Kal," Diana could not help but smile. "Clark. I. Do not know what to say."
"Uncertain silence speaks volumes," Phillipus replied, spying Diana's eyes that seemed to be searching beyond Themyscira. "Does this Clark feel the same way?"
"Yes," Diana said with confidence. "This last month, their time, Kal and I have seen so much horror. To stop an evil that put far more people. Innocents into a hell that we have never experienced. I wondered at one point whether the Gods were involved in this one too. So much suffering, and Kal was there. Never wavered. He made me want to do better. Go harder. Never give up."
"Sister," Phillipus stated studying Diana's shifting eyes and hands. "You're in love with this man."
Diana turned her head to meet Phillipus' gaze. "Yes, I am," Diana said as she placed her head against Phillipus' muscled arm.
"Does he know that?" Phillipus asked.
"Our talks, have been, not always clear," Diana said. "We can see what the other wants, but we have not communicated it in words."
"Are we talking sex?" Phillipus asked.
Diana laughed, and stood up. She looked so regal to Phillipus as the sun above shined down around Diana.
"When you meet him," Diana said as she gently lifted herself from the sand. Upward she floated. "Be nice."
"When I meet him?" Phillipus questioned as Diana moved further away. "He's coming here!?"
After a contentious meeting with her mother over Clark, Diana flew to the island of Crete, not too far north of Themyscira. She strolled the beach boardwalk of Gialos, a coastal town located on the southwest area of the island. The temperature was at least twenty degrees cooler than Themyscira. She wore a long white dress with light red vertical stripes. The top covered by a light green buttoned sweater. Her hair pulled back into a ponytail running down to her waist. Few people were out. Those who she saw, exchanged weary smiles and warm thoughts of the future. No one recognized her as the Wonder Woman.
Diana was surprised to see several businesses opened. The war was over, but the world had fallen over the precipice. The climb back up had barely begun. Crete was not untouched by the war. The Battle of Crete, less than a year ago, left its mark as the Germans occupied the island, but not the hearts of most of its people. The Crete resistance fought back. British forces joined them against the overwhelming German forces. Forces that were no longer present on the island.
Diana observed the nearby cliffs as Griffon Vultures found their way home to nests upon the mountainside inaccessible to humans. Her smile led into a light giggle when her vision became obscured by a pair of familiar hands that came down upon her face. She gently grabbed them.
"You realize I knew of your presence already," Diana said, unable to contain her joy as she turned around to see Clark.
Without thought, she threw her hands around his mid-section, bringing him into her body. She so enjoyed feeling his arms closed around her.
"And how did you know?" Clark asked, not wanting to let go of Diana, so he did not. The considerable pressure she applied to his body, her curves smashed against his torso, left him wrangling his decidedly lustful urges.
"I know your smell," Diana said, the side of her face against Clark's chest.
"Smell? Me?" Clark repeated with a laugh. "I showered. And if I recall, we concluded weeks ago, neither one of us gets smelly-smelly."
Diana kept her hold on Clark while looking up into his eyes. "You have a scent," Diana said. "Pleasurable. And different from anything. Anyone else. You're keeping the beard."
"Is that a question, or a command?" Clark smiled as Diana stroked her hand across his stubbornly short, facial hair growth. He kept ahold of her hands while stepping back. "You look beautiful. I love the dress."
"You look quite handsome yourself," Diana said of the attire Clark selected from his closet earlier. "You have your boots on."
Clark pulled the sling pack he had over his shoulder. "I thought it more appropriate to meet your mother in my Kryptonian uniform. A show of form, of respect. Honor. Don't worry, Kelex gave it a proper cleaning."
"How can the strongest man be the sweetest man?" Diana asked, taking Clark's free hand.
"No gauntlets?" Clark asked, his hands gently rubbed, massaged Diana's wrists.
"Not today," she smiled. "I have my very own Superman to protect me."
"This is where I would feel awkward," Clark said. "But I don't. Not anymore with you."
"Me too," Diana commented as she looked beyond Clark. "We still have much to do with the world, don't we?"
"We do," Clark said. "Patrick reached out. It looks as though you and I are to be officially celebrated. At an event. In San Francisco, next week. Wednesday."
"Is that not foolish?" Diana suggested. "And in bad taste. So many people have died. Suffered. Such celebration would be grotesque."
"Pretty much what I said," Clark agreed. "But, the powers that be, will be, believe the world needs to see a positive galvanizing event."
"The end of the war? Hitler being defeated," Diana questioned. "That's not enough for right now?"
"Same brain, you and I," Clark replied. "A new meeting conglomerate of countries is being formulated. To be called the United Nations. Countries all around the world having a say in world events. Making sure nothing like Hitler will ever occur again. Humanitarian efforts. It sounds like a positive step. To help introduce this new idea, to the world, they would like us there."
Diana sighed. "That happened fast. I never saw myself being away from Themyscira," she said, feeling out Clark's emotions.
Clark took a pause, he squeezed Diana's hands a little tighter.
"I never saw myself falling in love with an Amazonian princess," he confidently said. "But here I am."
Diana was left speechless at Clark's declaration. She turned her back to him in an attempt to reign in her flying emotions.
"Love, Kal?" she said, feeling his eyes, those beautiful blue eyes, upon her back. "Is that even possible? Maybe you think it, because we were together in such, life and death circumstances. Your emotions are confused."
Diana felt Clark's hand on her shoulder, turning her around. His fingers tilted her chin upwards. His touch, sent such warm and pleasurable sensations throughout her body.
"My emotions, for you, Diana, are not confused," he responded, cupping her cheek with his hand. Clark's heart pounded a little quicker when she placed her hand over his, leaned her face more so into his touch.
"I've had feelings, serious ones you would say, for only one other woman in my life," he continued. "And that was, crazy, I now have to add fifteen years to when things occurred for me. Twenty-two years ago. But nothing, not then, compares to how I feel now, here, when I'm with you. When I'm not, I'm thinking of you. I woke up this morning in my bed, and all I could think. I wished you were there."
"Kal," Diana said taking a slow, deep breath. "I'm about to embarrass myself. But I don't care. I've had. Have, a picture of you. The one from the Daily Planet when you first introduced yourself. Twenty-two years ago, Kal. I've felt, something for you, ever since then. A foolish, delusional attraction. And then you were gone. I searched for you, along with the rest of the world. My heart ached, and I had never met you. And then. And then you were there. For real, scared me in so many ways."
"What are you saying?" Clark asked.
"This is crazy," she said. "We've known each other for but a month."
"Don't hate me, but didn't you know Steve Trevor for less time?" Clark asked.
Diana slightly diverted her eyes from Clark. "I could never hate you," she said. "Steve. Steve was the first man I ever kissed. The first, I ever. Kal? I do believe I loved Steve, but everything, everyone, was so new to me. My senses."
"Paint me confused now," Clark smiled. "I'm not quite following."
"I feel guilty," Diana confessed. "A part of me. A large part, wished you were my first. In everything. What does that say about me, and the time, brief time, that Steve and I were together?"
"So, guilt is a reason to hold back?" Clark speculated. "Steve Trevor must have been a good man for you to allow yourself to love."
Diana smiled, feeling a tension leaving her body.
"You're not desecrating his memory by allowing yourself to be open to love," Clark said.
"I know, Kal," Diana said, lost in Clark's eyes. Again. "What if my feelings for you are stronger? They are. You're on my mind. All. The. Time."
"Then live, Diana," Clark opined. "Just live. What's my favorite color?"
"Blue," Diana said as Clark affirmatively nodded.
"My favorite song?" Clark continued.
"Trick question," Diana replied with a smile. "Song or composition?"
"See how well you already know me," Clark stated. "Song."
Diana sighed, "Very depressing. Down Hearted Blues. By Hera, you had Kelex play it countless times in our ears."
"Come on," Clark replied. "How great, flying with that in your ear?"
"Yeah," Diana grew a little serious. "It's hard to love someone, when that someone doesn't love you."
"And she remembers the lyrics. And Diana of Themyscira, something only you know," Clark asked. "What scares me most?"
Without hesitation, Diana answered, "Hopelessness in the world."
"There it is, I'm an open book to you," Clark said, caressing her smooth, strong face. "And you for me. Do you believe that?"
Diana silently mouthed, yes, waiting for her next words to change her life.
"I love you, Kal," she said, leaping towards him as their lips crashed into each other. Clark's body absorbed Diana's passion and strength as their kiss became a promise to each other. He slowly pulled his head back as Diana's tongue took a last taste of his upper lip.
"So, you're my girl," Clark stated as fact.
"No," Diana said, her arms locked around Clark's shoulders and neck. She little realized herself hovering a couple of inches above the ground to be at Clark's eye level. "I am your woman, Kal-El. And as long as I live, no harm shall come to you."
"Duly noted," Clark said.
"Are you ready?" she asked.
"Themyscira?" Clark confirmed. "Your mother?"
"Is that trepidation in your eyes?" Diana asked. "Fear, even?"
"Yep, and yep," Clark said. "Your mother is, is thousands of years old. That's a little intimidating."
"Mother can definitely be that," Diana replied. "But if I know you so well, I know her better. If you are consistent with her, she will accept you. Over time, she will love you, Kal. She won't be able to help herself."
"Despite her history with man?" Clark asked.
"Well, it won't be overnight," Diana said. "Give her a couple of decades or so."
Clark laughed. "Oh, okay, that's all. Well, my mom already adores you."
Diana's contagious laugh filled the air.
"Your mother is very nice. She raised a great man. I very much like her, too," Diana said, looking up to the skies. "Shall we."
"Just a sec," Clark said, bringing Diana's body back down to the ground.
He looked over her shoulder. A figure stood, maybe a mile away, near the waterside. A man, Clark determined, who was not moving. He wore a dark gray pea-coat. A swastika band around his right arm. His head downcast, a Nazi commander hat atop it, obscured Clark's clear vision. Regardless, Clark scanned through the head cover.
"Glass," Clark breathed as Diana had already turned.
Both looked in all directions, not only to make certain there were no civilians near, but also to check for Glass' brother, Gunter.
"So he is alive," Diana observed.
"About time," Clark said as he watched Glass lift straight up into the air, moving closer. Clark attuned his hearing senses further outward. All seemed normal. Calm. No strange sounds. He handed his pack to Diana. "Let me handle him. You look too beautiful in that dress for a fight right now."
"You say the sweetest things, Kal," Diana grinned.
"Herr Kent. Fraulein Diana. So good to see you both again," Glass greeted in German as he got nearer. "I was so hoping for this."
"As I knew you would," Clark responded in German, remaining grounded. "What hole did you crawl out of?"
Glass stopped and hovered ten yards from Clark and Diana.
"You will come to realize, Herr Kent," Glass stated. "You may have the Fuhrer. You may have many of our soldiers. But the beliefs, are not so easily discernible amongst the world's populace. We have loyal members of the Reich everywhere on the planet, even within your precious United States. United States. A foolish name considering the disharmony you have there. Disharmony provides perfect fodder for disillusionment in any piety, or is it secular American dream."
"The righteousness of Nazis," Clark replied.
"And arrogance," Diana chimed in, also in German.
Glass laughed as he landed down onto the ground. His face still had deep bruises and cuts from his last fight with Clark.
"Arrogant, fraulein?" Glass questioned. "In what manner?"
"That you truly believed, you would surprise us with your return," Diana answered.
"You think us, us being the rest of the world, less smart than a Nazi," Clark said. "Of course we know removing Hitler is only one step. A needed step in order to move forward, but only one. People like you need to be weeded out. Finessed into showing yourself. Duped into letting us, indirectly, know how you're obtaining information. Your last words to me were how weak I was. Am. Yet, you are predictable. Here for some pyrrhic victory? Doomsday device?"
Glass looked momentarily doubtful. A snort re-energized his cockiness. "You're saying you predicted me here?" Glass asked. "Then tell me Superman, how will you stop me from…"
The heat vision from Clark's eyes streamed out as Glass reached to unbutton his coat. It made burn contact with Glass' hand that sent the super-Nazi twirling before he fell to a knee. His hat, prisoner to the gusts of wind, sailed towards the water. Glass took one measured breath before Clark was over him. Clark reached for his coat collar, just as Glass led with a backhand connecting with Clark's chin. Clark stumbled several steps backward, his hand coming up to his face.
"You're stronger," Clark said, massaging his chin. "You took more of the SS."
Glass stood, taking off his coat. He was shirtless. His arms and torso were veiny and supercut; not overly muscular, but so well-defined Clark detected very little fat.
"No, Herr Kent," Glass announced. "I took it all."
"This is your plan?" Clark incredulously asked. "To fight. Did you know Hitler thought the same thing? It did not turn out so well for him."
"The Fuhrer was not a soldier," Glass said. "I am. This isn't just a physical fight, Kent. It is a fight for the future. You must be beaten into submission. Death if necessary."
Clark heard strange clicking noises above him in the atmosphere. He saw another figure, large figure, who hovered just below cloud cover. A camera was in his hands.
"Gunter," Clark breathed.
"Ah, yes," Glass confirmed. "My brother will record this. As the West once feared our V-6 rocket capability when they saw the film, they will now fear. And respect! The power of the Reich motherland!"
Clark looked back at Diana, who was intrigued with watching Clark in action. She had moved and sat down at a restaurant's empty, outdoor seating area. Clark's bag rested in her lap. He turned his attention back to Glass. Clark slowly walked towards him. Then Clark went superspeed. Glass dodged Clark's attack and punched him in the ribs. Clark took the blow, stumbling to his right.
"Not bad," Clark said. "Your speed awareness, reaction have increased. Interesting thing about the mind, it has the ability to carry your body to greater depths when needed. I've yet to find my bottom."
"Meaning what?" Glass said, actually stalking Clark.
"I rise to the occasion," Clark said. "I'll end this quickly."
Clark moved at a speed that even Diana found difficult to follow. Before Glass realized Clark had moved, he felt the man of steel's flat, open hand connect with considerable force upon his chest. Glass' body flew parallel to the rocky ground as it eventually succumbed to gravity, landed and rolled multiple times until it collided with a cement, breakwater slab.
Clark heard Gunter's thick body sailing down towards him, while Diana saw too, the massive super-Nazi on a collision course. Diana looked to Clark, who made no movement, suggesting he saw Gunter. It appeared Clark was oblivious, still focused on the struggling-to-stand, Glass. Diana absently twisted part of the metal chair's armrest. Her body started to move up and out when her mind overruled, it declared Clark knew. He had too. And so Clark did, she smiled, sitting back down to enjoy the finale.
Gunter's demonic smile widened as he believed contact with America's Superman was imminent. His arms outstretched, were ready to pulverize the world's hero. And then there was contact, just not in the manner Gunter foresaw. While Clark maintained eyesight on Glass, he super-sped his right arm behind him to catch a Nazi. Clark's hand and fingers collapsed around Gunter's neck. Clark made sure to slack his grip and arm just enough to not break every bone in Gunter's upper body. Clark, did however, hear Gunter's clavicle snap.
As Glass started to wobbly stand, he caught sight of Gunter's body heading towards him courtesy of Clark. Glass' legs were not moving fast enough. He began to fly upwards, but that too, was not fast enough as his brother's hulkish body pounded into him. Both bodies were in motion, crashing in and through the breakwater slab. They came to a rest on the thick, sandy beach.
Clark tapped a nearly hidden device in his right ear. "You can come in now, Patrick."
Seconds later, a cadre of at least a hundred ally agents and military came upon the scene from air, land and sea.
Clark floated over to the fallen Nazi brothers. Diana closed behind him.
"Two more off our list," she said on landing down on the beach, having first removed her sandals to feel the sand between her toes.
"It was only a matter of time," Clark replied. "Hopefully, they were the most dangerous still on the loose."
"You were impressive handling them," Diana said. "The no-look neck catch, was that to impress me?"
Clark smiled, looking over the still unconscious brothers. "Did it?" Clark asked.
Diana rose on her toes a bit, she was only a couple inches shorter than Clark, to whisper into his ear, "Very much so, Superman."
She gave Clark a quick peck on the cheek as Patrick Wayne and many other soldiers neared.
"Clark, Diana," Patrick greeted. "Almost didn't recognize you in civilian clothes."
"Hello, Patrick," Diana replied.
"They finally made an appearance," Clark said. "Thanks for the possible heads-up. I trust you found the insider working with him?"
"We did," Patrick said. "A bit disconcerting how high up this person is, England Deputy Commander Swain."
"Swain?" Diana said. "We met him in Nuuk. Remember, Kal?"
"Yeah," said Clark. "Any reason to believe he was not working alone?"
"Don't know," Patrick said. "It's going to be arduous finding them all, if there is an all."
"We must tread carefully," Clark advised. "This can't be a witch hunt. If it becomes that, so much of what we can be, should be, will be lost."
"Like I said, arduous," Patrick responded, hand signaling his people to remove Glass and Gunter. "Are these two good for transport?"
"Yes," Clark said. "You have the restraints Kelex constructed. They'll hold. Just make sure to put them in the appropriate rooms."
"Glass is electricity, Gunter is concussive," Patrick replied. "Got it. What's next for you two?"
"Continue helping out where needed," Diana said. "Kal told me about this get together in San Francisco next week. Is it that important?"
"Diana," Patrick said. "I think it might be the most important world gathering ever. The world gets more dangerous every year. The stakes much higher. So, yeah, it's that important. And you two being there will bring that significance more to the forefront, not only for skeptical countries, but also the people. Will you come?"
Diana and Clark looked to each other. Each amazed at how much they knew what the other was thinking.
"We'll be there," they said in unison.