Amara had made a rare and unusual request of Aphrodite; she asked for a tour of Olympus. Had anyone else asked she and the other gods would have left her less than a stain on the ground. Amara was far too polite and caring to ask for anything frivolous though and Aphrodite was actually quite happy to take her Amazon Queen on a tour.
Some of the other gods such as Ares needed to be reminded that Amara was no mere mortal and that if he pushed his luck with his insults and leering he would find himself facing down a fairly pissed of Aspect… and his family.
Aphrodite was showing Amara around her own personal home on Olympus when the dark haired Hermes raced in.
"Lord Zeus needs you in his throne room immediately, Aphrodite. This is one meeting you are going to really want to be there for." The Messenger of the Gods smirked before racing off.
Aphrodite frowned; she wasn't sure what to make of that last remark from Hermes. But she wasn't in the habit of disobeying Zeus so she led Amara to the palace and the Zeus' throne room.
What she found made her head snap back to Amara with a suspicious glare.
Her suspicion was clearly justified by Amara's smirk.
Standing proudly in front of the throne that held the seated Zeus and Hera was Clark Kent with his hammer at his belt and dressed in his costume. Behind him stood Harry, Jonathan, Odin, Baldur, Xander and Neville.
"Aphrodite, good. This young Norse warrior has come with an important proposal."
Aphrodite's eyes widened as she realised what was happening. Clark had clearly sought the approval of all the senior males in his life and having received it he had formed a Norse party so that he could propose marriage to her house.
Clark stepped forward and took her hand. "Aphrodite, you have been my friend and companion for two years of mortal time. But I have longed for you for decades. Please, stay with me, join me as my wife and allow me to be your husband."
Aphrodite smiled softly, it was typical Clark, short but heartfelt. "My heart's desire is to be with you forever, my love. If you can find approval in my father's eyes I will gladly marry you."
Clark offered her a smile before turning to the seated Zeus. "Lord Zeus, King of Olympus, I have come to propose marriage to your daughter Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty." He said loudly and clearly.
"I hear your proposal Lord Kal-El of Asgard, but there are traditions." Zeus rose from his throne and addressed the court. "Lord Kal-El has asked for my daughter Aphrodite's hand in marriage. Let the word go forth, in a weeks time a contest of battle will be held where those who would challenge Lord Kal-El for my daughter's hand may face him in battle."
"Lord Zeus, I would like to invoke the right to stand for my Apprentice."
Clark spun and glared at Harry. "What are you doing?"
"Apprentice, shh." Harry grinned.
"That right only applies to family!" A clearly angry voice shouted. A tall muscular man with raven black hair stormed down the steps dressed in armour. "If the foreigner wishes to fight for the hand of the daughter of Olympus he should hold his own weapon."
"Ares, I presume?" Harry continued to smile annoyingly. "I made a declaration years ago that Clark Kent, the god known as Kal-El, was my brother. Any other objections?"
"It does seem a bit… dishonourable, My Lord Death." Zeus said carefully. "There are very few who would dare strike an Aspect, let alone try to kill one."
Baldur was currently glaring at the Greek god; he thought it was a bit of an insult against his father for his late brother's actions. Odin placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.
"How about… my daughter then?" Harry said thoughtfully. "She is practically Kal-El's niece."
"You want to pit the power of a god against a woman?" Ares said mockingly.
Athena and Artemis had come to stand with Amara and Aphrodite and were grinning at the thought. Athena whispered in Aphrodite's ear.
"Father, I would be honoured to have a woman fight for me. My heart will always belong to Kal-El, regardless of who wins." Aphrodite spoke up.
"There are no rules forbidding it, just as there are no rules forbidding Lord Death standing for his brother. But the decision must be Lord Kal-El's."
"I need a moment to confer with my… brothers and fathers."
All six men were beaming at Clark's declaration of family.
Clark moved into a huddle with the men. "I don't doubt Sif's ability and have no problem with her fighting on my behalf but I have two questions, first, why shouldn't I fight and two, do you approve of Lady Sif fighting on my behalf?" He asked Odin.
"We have no objection to women fighting." Odin assured him.
"Ares is the Greek version of Thor." Harry said. "He would find a challenge from a woman beneath him. If there was ever a man who needed to be put in his place it is Ares, and who better to do that than a woman?"
"Alright, but not Sif. If a woman is going to fight for me partly to put a man in his place then the battle needs to be one-sided and we all know the best person to do that."
Whilst they were waiting for the end of the week when the other suitors would meet to challenge Clark's claim on Aphrodite they still had other issues to deal with.
Japan was leading the political offensive on America for their launch of missiles at Mars. Harry was making noise about releasing advanced tech and healing methods to the Alliance.
The main event of the week was the Sullivan funeral.
The explosion that killed the Sullivan family was public knowledge. Gabriel was sent to North Korea where he spent his evenings with Chloe whilst Kyla, Chiho and Musubi took Ku and Chloe around the world to enjoy the experience. They were occasionally joined by some of the others such as Yukari and Sheena.
But appearances had to be kept and that meant having a funeral for the victims. It was a small turnout on the part of Chloe's mother's side. A solitary cousin had turned up. Clark knew that Chloe had an uncle still living and at least two cousins from that side of the family. Her father was an orphan so there was no one to stand for Gabe except his friends. The Kents specifically took on that role.
After the funeral Clark was mingling with the others telling embarrassing stories that would have Chloe out for his blood when the cousin accosted him.
"You, you're Kent? Clark Kent?" She asked somewhat aggressively.
Clark nodded slowly. "Yes. Are you Lucy or Lois?"
"Lois." She said, slightly surprised that he knew about her.
"Chloe mentioned you a few times." Clark smiled.
"Yeah… well I had a video email from my cuz saying that if anything happened to her I should come and find you. That it was unlikely that she died of anything other than foul play."
Clark frowned. "She didn't say anything about Harry Potter? Or Amara Aquilla?"
"No, she just said you would be able to give me answers." She suddenly got nose to nose with him. "Well here I am farm boy, where are my answers?" She demanded.
Clark noticed they were drawing the attention of the other mourners. "Maybe we should do this another time."
Lois backed slightly as she too noticed the disapproving looks she was getting. "Fine." She hissed. "But don't think you can skip out on me." She turned and stalked off.
"You have such a way of making friends, Clark."
Clark sighed as he turned to face Homura. "I just want to know what it was that Chloe said that makes her think I had anything to do with it."
"In a few weeks you can ask her."
"Do you think she has any idea who I am? She seemed to think I was just a farmer's son. She didn't make any hints about MBI."
"I believe she is more focused on avenging her cousin. Many of the single number Sekirei were the same when Takehito was taken from us. We thought he was dead and in our grief we lost our way. Maybe if we hadn't all separated then Minaka-"
"You saw Matsu's memories Homura." Clark chastised softly. "Minaka would have had his way and only an outside source would have stopped him. He had the Jinki, he could easily control you."
"Watch it you two. It's bad enough we have to mourn Chloe and Gabe, we don't need the pair of you adding to pile of depression." Dani warned teasingly.
"Who's going to show Gabe memories of today?" Clark asked.
"He really doesn't want to see them." Amara answered as she joined her best friend. "I cannot say I blame him, we've had to attend so many funerals and we've even had funerals for ourselves. Jean was the worst before Harry taught her about being a Phoenix."
Amongst the other mourners were various Phoenixes including Hope. The first 'death' of a Phoenix was a big deal ever since Harry had been involved with their training. Hope had offered to handle Chloe's training so as not to put a strain on her friendship with Jean and the Cuckoos. She took the little girl aside everyday and began teaching her, this way she might even be able to complete her training before she remembered everything.
For Clark it had been over a century since he met Kyla Willowbrook.
For Kyla it had been nearly five years since she met Clark Kent.
For Jonathan Kent it had been about a year since he had met Kyla.
Which is why he had a distinct sense of déjà vu as he answered the door to the farmhouse at 5am.
"Can I help you?" He asked the young girl irritably.
"I'm looking for Kent." She said brusquely.
Jonathan already hated this day. "You're going to have to narrow it down a little."
"Clark Kent." She said as if it was obvious.
"He's not here."
With that he slammed the door shut and headed back to the stairs and his bed.
Except the girl started banging on the door.
"WHAT?!" Jonathan shouted. "I have two young kids trying to sleep and they don't need strangers-"
"Jonathan, let me handle this." Martha said as she came up behind him already dressed.
Jonathan stomped off, grabbing Ku on his way and guiding Ryan back to bed as they had both been woken up.
"Now what is your name?" Martha asked.
"Lane, Lois Lane. I told Kent-"
"As my husband already said, there are three Kents currently in this house and none of them are Clark, try using his name. What do you want with my oldest son?"
"Oldest?!" Lois couldn't believe that the woman in front of her who barely looked thirty could have an eighteen-year-old son.
"I'll take that as a compliment." Martha sighed. "Your purpose, Lois?"
"He has answers about my cousin's murder. I told him I would meet him today."
"At five in the morning?" Martha was sceptical about that.
"I never said a time." Lois smirked.
"Well it's a Sunday, you are lucky that Clark won't be in work today. He will be working on the farm instead so until he arrives with the girls you can help me sort out the animals."
"Whoa there Ma Clampett! I just came here for your son, I'm not here for-"
"You woke up my husband and children, Miss Lane." Martha said sternly as she laced up her boots. "You can either wait for Clark whilst helping me or you can leave and come back next week. None of the family are going to be particularly thrilled to meet you based on your attitude so I suggest you prove your mettle now."
"So what? Your beloved son is just going to let my cousin's murder go unsolved?" Lois challenged.
"No. My son just won't help you solve it. He probably has the whole thing already wrapped up with the authorities." Martha grabbed Lois and turned her towards the farm.
"Morning a-eugh! What happened to you three?" Dani asked as she and rest of the farm hands from the castle came to an abrupt halt in front of the barn.
Jonathan, Ku and Ryan did not look very happy.
"We got woken up at five in the morning." Ryan groused. "AGAIN!"
"She was rude to Ma." Kusano scowled.
"You don't happen to have another soul mate out there do you, Clark?" Jonathan demanded.
"What? Not that I know of." Clark denied. "We would have noticed something when Harry killed me in the Hidden City."
"I was not rude." Kyla mumbled quietly.
"You were a little rude." Dani confirmed apologetically. "But you made up for it, right Jonathan?"
"Definitely pulled her weight with less cussing."
"Cussing? In front of Kusano?" Musubi was looking around worriedly for Miya to suddenly spring out with her ladle.
"She was very bad." Kusano folded her arms with a glare.
"I can't do anything for Dad and Ryan, but Ku, come and give me a kiss, that will wake you up a bit." Clark offered.
The normally energetic Kusano dragged her feet as she slumped to Clark where she puckered her lips. Ryan and Jonathan couldn't help but smile at the sight of the little girl kissing her hero. Jonathan wasn't sure how Clark was going to handle things when the girl hit puberty and the kisses weren't so innocent in her mind.
As Kusano's wings erupted from her back she was filled with energy. Something that everyone was aware of as the plant life around them suddenly became fresher.
"The horses in the stables are much happier." Ryan yawned as he could hear the thoughts of the animals munching away.
Aphrodite stepped up to Ryan and caressed his cheek.
He blinked as he suddenly felt very awake. "Wow! Thanks." Ryan smiled.
Aphrodite gave him a smile and a nod before repeating the process with Jonathan.
"You are better than any cup of coffee." He said earnestly.
"A small thing I can do for my family. Shall we go and find Ma, Kusano? I can make her feel better too."
"We can make the grass extra juicy for the cows!" Kusano said excitedly as she took the hand of the goddess and they skipped off.
"So who's the girl that got you out of bed?" Clark asked his father once it was just them and the girls.
"Lois Lane? Something about a cousin's murder?"
"Chloe?!" Kyla asked in surprise. "Chloe mentioned her, what does she think Clark has to do with her murder?"
"I honestly don't know." Jonathan sighed. "I really wasn't paying attention at 5 in the morning." He glared at Kyla.
"Come on girls, let's help old grumpy pants." Dani sighed as she signalled the girls to follow her.
As they walked off Jonathan turned to Clark. "War paint? Feathers?"
"I'm not going to spoil her fun." Clark grinned as he walked away from Jonathan. He wasn't going to mention the tomahawk sticking out of his dad's back.
Clark couldn't help but smile as he watched Lois Lane grumpily toss hay with a pitchfork. It didn't help that Ku was happily running around and playing whilst Aphrodite and Martha enjoyed light conversation as they moved the tossed hay around.
Clark grabbed a second fork and moved to aid her.
"Kent!"
"Yes?"
"Not you, the other one."
"You'll need to be more specific dear."
Lois just glared at the smirking Martha Kent. She turned back to the man helping her. "Where the hell were you this morning?"
"No swearing!"
Lois looked at the little girl incredulously. "I didn't swear!"
"You said the 'h' word. I'll tell Miya!" Kusano threatened.
"You really don't want her to tell Miya. That woman swings a vicious ladle." Clark warned with a smile as he continued his work. "Ku, why don't you take Ma and Aphrodite to get some drinks?"
Ku nodded with a big smile before bouncing off.
Once they were alone Clark continued. "So what makes you think I know anything about Chloe and Gabe's murder?"
"My cousin sent me a video message, it said that if I got the video she was dead and that if anyone had answers it would be Clark Kent."
Clark was going to have serious words with that girl. "I know everything there is to know about the explosion, what is it you want to know?"
"I want to see the autopsy report."
Clark stopped work and leant on his fork. "That is part of the official FBI investigation. You will need to apply to them for that information."
"Your Mom said you were working with the authorities." Lois argued.
"That doesn't mean they are just going to turn over confidential reports. What are you looking to find?"
"Proof that Chloe is still alive."
There was a loud crack as Clark accidentally snapped the fork handle. He sheepishly tossed it aside. "You think she's alive?" He asked trying to seem surprised.
"Chloe is too smart to be done in by Luthor." She stood up and thrust the fork into Clark's hand before marching off.
"Where are you going?"
"To check out the remains of the house." She called over her shoulder as she retrieved her jacket.
Clark groaned as he sent out a mental message to his parents that he would be skiving off his farm work to try and keep Lois Lane out of trouble.
"Oh god." Lois muttered as she surveyed the wreckage of the safe house that was supposed to protect Gabe and Chloe. "Uncle Gabe was the sweetest man. He always had time to just talk or even play." She said wistfully as she stepped over the outer foundations.
"He always made sure there was enough food in case Chloe invited one of us over." Clark nodded.
"Why would someone do this? She was just a school kid." Lois sighed.
"She knew too much. We all kept track of what she was doing and she was smart enough to come to us when she got in too deep. She could have sat on the information or handed in anonymously but she wanted justice done so she made herself a star witness." Clark explained.
"What could Chloe know that would get her killed?" Lois asked sceptically.
"That Lionel Luthor killed his parents."
"And you just let her investigate this stuff?" She accused.
"You don't 'let' Chloe do anything. She does it and you just have to prepare for the clean up." Clark chuckled in fond memory. "She got herself in trouble more than once and had to call for help in sorting things out."
"There's got to be something here." Lois scowled as she poked around the debris.
Clark was far more interested in the sound of an approaching helicopter. He saw it flying low over the fields. "Lois, do you know anything about this?"
Lois looked up at the black unmarked helicopter.
"It looks military." She answered. Her eyes widened as it came to hover a few metres away. "They are preparing to repel!"
"Why not land?" Clark asked loudly over the increased sound of the aircraft. He was not amused when he saw men covered from head to toe repel to the ground with covered faces and guns.
"Lois, start running." Clark said seriously.
Lois was just standing there so Clark began dragging her away.
"Why are they after us?" She asked as she kept running and another helicopter came over the hills.
"I don't know and I don't intend to see if they will tell us!" Clark shouted back as the second helicopter swooped down in front of them blocking their path.
"I don't think they are giving us any options!"
"We always have options!" Clark shouted. "And I always have backup!"
Clark and Lois were surrounded by helicopters and men with guns. It did not look good.
Clark just smiled at the nearest man and stretched out an arm pointing at a hill several metres away.
Lois followed his arm and saw a distinct glint, a reflection off of something like a scope or binoculars.
Clark then pointed to some trees in the other direction and there was another glint.
The man put a hand to his ear and spoke, Lois couldn't hear what was being said over the whir of the blades but Clark could.
He could hear the man saying they were being targeted by snipers and was awaiting further orders.
Clark just smirked and then pointed straight at the primary blades on the helicopter in front of them. Even over the sound of the helicopter the sniper bullet that hit the engine was clearly audible, as was the second and third shots that took out the engines of the other helicopters.
The men with guns immediately created a defensive perimeter to try and pick out the threats as the engines shut down.
It was suddenly very quiet.
"Put your weapons on the ground, get on your knees and put your hands behind your head." Clark instructed calmly without raising his voice.
The soldier still facing him moved to raise his gun but spun around instead when a loud slicing sound came from behind him. The soldier had barely enough time to move out of the way as the entire tail rotary section of the helicopter came crashing to the ground… neatly cleaved from the body.
"I won't repeat myself." Clark said having not moved even slightly.
Lois had darted behind Clark though.
"You have three seconds before my protection detail takes action." Clark warned. "Three… Two…"
"Everybody do as he says!" The soldier ordered quickly as he got on his knees and placed his gun on the floor with his hands folded tightly behind his head.
The others obeyed, some quicker than others.
"What the hell are you playing at?" Came an angry voice from the helicopter behind them. "I told you to ignore the snipers and take them in."
Lois and Clark spun around to see an Army General exit the helicopter that had landed behind them.
"Dad?!"
Clark looked at Lois to see the girl was shocked, she clearly had no idea her dad was involved.
"Do as you are instructed, on your knees, hands behind your head." Clark barked far more harshly than he had at the other soldiers.
General Lane pulled his side arm and pointed it at Clark.
There was a loud band and Lois and Clark where splattered with a warm liquid.
The General was now a lefty.
As realisation set in he began screaming in pain as his entire forearm was missing from the elbow joint.
Clark swore as he removed his belt, knocked the General to the floor and began tying off the wound. "If any of you are medics I suggest you get over here. My people can hear me and they won't shoot unless you make aggressive moves."
"You heard the man Medic. The General is down. Help tend the wound." The lead soldier ordered; the fear was evident in his voice.
None of the soldiers had any intention of getting shot.
Lois rushed to her father's side in distress. "Why are you doing this?" She begged tearfully.
The General grunted in agony. "Yeeesss Keeent… whhyy arre you dooooing thissss?" He said tauntingly through clenched teeth.
"No, not him. You Daddy, why are you doing this?" Lois said as anger to crept into her voice.
"To p-p-protect yooou. Toooo p-p-protect Am-m-m-erica."
"He's going into shock." Clark said loudly. Clark lightly charged his hand with a stunner and bopped the General on the forehead knocking him out.
"What did you do to him?" Lois demanded frantically.
"I knocked him out. He was panicking and it wasn't helping his body. With his mind asleep he won't aggravate his heart too much and affect his respiratory and cardiovascular systems."
"It's the best thing we could do for him ma'am." The Medic acknowledged.
"Keep an eye on him." Clark instructed the Medic.
He turned back to the lead soldier. "I have more bad news for you. My people have called an air ambulance for the General; they are en route now. Miss Lane and I are leaving now and I will have her escorted to the hospital once she has cleaned up. My people will be covering our exit, how you handle explaining the General is up to you." Clark instructed.
Despite his face being covered the soldiers eyes showed he was clearly scowling.
"Lois, we need to go."
"I'm not leaving him!" She said anxiously.
"Lane! If you stay you might lose your chance to find out about your cousin. You are currently a witness to some very illegal black-ops activities and they would happily put you in a deep dark cell just so you can't talk about it." Clark said as he easily lifted her struggling form from the ground beside her father.
"I don't care!" She cried as she struggled against him.
Clark just kept walking. "I will take you to the hospital myself Lois. I promise."
Clark took her to the trees where the nearest sniper team was.
Lois looked up but couldn't see the snipers.
"Sōgankyō." Clark called up.
He deftly reached out and caught the dropped item before handing it to Lois.
Lois snatched up the binoculars to look back at her father.
The soldiers had retrieved their weapons and were again forming a perimeter.
Clark began speaking in a language she recognised as Japanese even if she didn't understand it. She was surprised to hear a woman's voice respond in the same language.
"What? What's happening?" She demanded.
"I'm just making sure that the sniper teams keep letting the General's men know we are here and not to try anything stupid."
The woman called down again.
"The emergency chopper is coming in." Clark translated as he pointed at the hill.
Lois went back to looking at the scene, watching for the next few minutes as her father was attended to by paramedics and then loaded onto the chopper. His severed hand, still clutching the gun, was placed in a medical cooler.
Once the chopper was out of sight the men started hiking away.
"Why aren't they using their radios to call for a pick up?" Lois wondered.
"Because we are blocking their transmissions." Came a new voice.
Lois dropped the binoculars and moved into a defensive position only to see two men and several women in camouflage marching up. Several of the women including the man in front carried sniper rifles.
"Which of you bastards shot my dad?" She snarled.
"I shot the man who had the gall to point a weapon at a member of my family." The man said as he got up into her personal space. "You should be damned glad I didn't decide to take his life."
"Did you pick up any chatter?" Clark asked, trying to break up the staring contest between Xander and Lois.
"Nothing revealing." Matsu said disappointedly.
"We'll report it to the Prime Minister and give him the footage." Xander said dismissively. "We'll make sure he passes a message on… next time we kill them all."
"Who the hell are you people?" Lois asked as she began to pale. She was starting to realise that armed people who had no reservations about killing and that she was related to their last target surrounded her.
"Japanese Diplomatic Protection Detail." Xander smirked.
"You're Japanese?" She scoffed.
"I have Japanese citizenship."
"Ladies, I want the helicopters searched for anything that might give us more information. Matsu, keep monitoring the airwaves." Clark ordered.
Lois couldn't help but feel a little… inferior as the stunningly beautiful and well-endowed women walked past her.
"Xander, I'm taking Lois back to the farm to clean up. Afterwards I'll be taking her to see her father."
"Not without a visible escort you won't be." Xander muttered. "I'll have them waiting for you."
Lois couldn't believe what she was seeing as she exited the farmhouse. Outside was a limo and arrayed in front of the limo were three of the women that had been with the snipers. They were all dressed casually… and some of them indecently. None of the three women wore trousers, and their hemlines barely passed their crotches. The amount of cleavage on display was… indecent.
"What the hell Smallville? You said you were taking me to see my Dad." Lois snapped irritably.
Clark had been arguing with another woman who was dressed much more conservatively in a Japanese styled long skirt and blouse.
But she had purple hair.
The pair were conversing heatedly in Japanese, they stopped at her voice.
"I am Lois."
"Then what's with all the United Barbies of Benetton?"
"Lois, you really need to check your attitude." Clark snapped. "Less than two hours ago we were attacked by armed men led by your father, the only reason we aren't sitting in a cell somewhere is because of these women."
"That's what I want to know Smallville. Why do you have all these femme fatales following you? What's with the expensive limo?"
"Didn't you do any research on me before you met me? I'm Clark Kent, the owner of MBI and a close friend of the Japanese Emperor. I have Japanese diplomatic credentials and myself and my company are retained as diplomatic advisors to the Ambassador from Japan." Clark was now in Lois' face. "Your father almost started a full on war with the Alliance."
"You expect me to bel-"
"You have a phone, look me up." Clark said before turning back to the limo. "These three ladies are Tsukiumi, Kazehana and Musubi. Any problems that arise they can handle. This is Miya, their leader."
"They can handle fully trained soldiers in hand-to-hand?" She scoffed.
Clark rolled his eyes as the three bodyguards looked fairly indignant.
Miya just smirked. "You have just proven that they have won the initial battle. They have caused you to underestimate them. Clark, we will see you for dinner. Girls, stay alert." She instructed before walking past Clark and Lois and back into the house.
"Lets go Lois before you decide to become any more insulting to my friends." Clark was not happy with her.
"What do you do Lois?" Musubi asked as they sat in the back of the limo on the way to the Smallville Medical Centre.
"I supposed to be going to Metropolis U this year. I might drop out if I haven't found Chloe by then." Lois said wistfully. "What about you what do you do?"
"I hit things!" She declared happily.
Clark and Kazehana chuckled at her response as Tsukiumi scowled. "That is not what she meant thou Dillard! She meanest thy job, and thy interests."
"I hit things for my job too!" Musubi argued.
"I like to hit things too." Lois smirked. "The bigger the better."
"Would you like to spar with me?" Musubi asked excitedly.
"Maybe another time Musubi." Clark said with quiet authority. "You can't go around asking to spar with everyone."
"And how many times has she kicked your ass Smallville?"
"What is the meaning of this title: 'Smallville'?" Tsukiumi asked in confusion. "Art we to refer to thee by thy birthplace? It would hardly seem logical as the three of us were born in Tokyo."
"It's a nickname of sorts Tsukiumi." Kazehana explained with a playful smile. "A term of affection and endearment. Just like how Diana and Grandfather have special names for Kusano and we call her Ku."
"Ah." Tsukiumi said knowingly as she ignored the mortified and red faces of Lois and Clark. "But knowest this Lois Lane, thou must be approved by Clark's other wives as well as us before-"
"Tsukiumi!" Clark interrupted quickly.
"Other wives?" Lois asked weakly.
"Long… classified… private… story." Clark glared at Tsukiumi.
"But she shows affection-"
"That was not affection, I was making f-"
"You should really stop talking." Kazehana interrupted. "Nothing you say will end well for you on this subject."
"Just remember Alicia and what happened there." Clark told Tsukiumi.
Kazehana turned back to Lois. "When we aren't working we help out at the Kent farm. None of us are really farmers but we are close to the Kents and enjoy helping them. What do you do for fun?"
"What most kids do I suppose. Go out, go clubbing, dancing, drinking-"
"Drinking?! Thou art too young!" Tsukiumi gasped in mortification. "Clark, we must speak with this girls parents immediately!"
"Ok, what the hell is with you?" Lois scowled. "Nobody talks like that! All those thous and thys."
"This was how I was taught to speak. It is the way a proper lady speaks." Tsukiumi said as she looked down her nose at Lois.
"The girls only recently learnt to speak English." Clark explained. "Somebody kept giving Tsukiumi… translations that were slightly off. She only speaks an older dialect of Japanese."
"I think it's nice." Musubi offered.
"Thank you Musubi." Tsukiumi said sincerely.
"We've arrived." Kazehana announced as she moved for the door.
As the group moved through the Medical Centre doctors, nurses, receptionists and patients greeted them alike. Kent and Potter were household names in Smallville. Henry Small had actually proposed renaming the town Pottersville or Kentville. Harry had just laughed but the unofficial nickname of the town was now Clarksville. The man in question was still mortified.
They took the elevator to the top floor, Clark and his Sekirei each took notice of the undercover agents that were loitering about. They were likely military intelligence.
"Miss Lane is here to see her father." Kazehana informed the soldiers guarding the door.
"No visitors." The guard said flatly.
"That's my dad in there, soldier." Lois snapped at the man.
"No visitors. No exceptions." He enunciated.
"On whose orders?"
"The General's."
"Dr. Bryce, do you know who is treating General Lane?" Clark asked Helen as she walked by.
"No one. He won't let anyone see him and neither will these soldiers. We put him in the room and then he had us thrown out, we didn't get to see to his injuries or anything." She scowled. "They damn near broke Dr. Scanlan's arm."
"Does Harry know?"
"We haven't informed him yet."
"I'll do that now." Clark said as he pulled out his phone.
"I'm here! I'm here!" Harry called out as he jogged down the corridor in his white coat.
"Wait… I know you! You're Doctor Harry Potter, friend of the Supers!" Lois exclaimed.
"And this is why I like working in Smallville." Harry sighed. "Everybody already knows me and doesn't feel the need to keep stating the obvious."
"Oh my god! Harry Potter! Have you really seen Superman, just how hot is Wonder Woman?" A nearby man asked excitedly as he stood there with his young son.
"Get out of here Alec!" Harry snapped without malice. "You keep this up and I'll be round your shop and I'll switch all the price tags around!"
The man just laughed and walked off with his son.
"Anyway, as I was saying, aside from the occasional nut job-" He glared after Alec. "-privacy is respected."
"This is Mr. Pot calling Mr. Kettle." Clark muttered causing the Sekirei to laugh.
Harry glared at Clark before turning to Helen. "I sent Scanlan home with a partially dislocated shoulder. He'll be fine for paperwork or as long as he has someone to do the physical stuff for a few days." He then turned to the soldier. "This is a private hospital. Not a motel. If your General is here then he has to see one of our doctors, otherwise pack him up and take him elsewhere."
"Our orders are to guard the General until an authorised doctor arrives. No exceptions." The soldier glared back.
"You have ten minutes to speak to your General before I call the Sheriff. You should probably warn him she has a thing for men in uniform." Harry smirked as he walked off.
Unfortunately Lois was hot on his tail.
"You can't just throw my dad out! He's badly hurt!"
"Miss Lane, right?" Harry asked as he continued walking. "If your father was that badly hurt he would have let us see to him. If he can wait for a doctor to arrive then he can just as easily visit them. Especially as I pretty much know the extent of his injuries."
"How could you know? You just said he wouldn't let you see him."
"The Paramedics who collected him were very thorough."
"Harry, she just saw her dad get seriously injured." Clark said warningly as he and the Sekirei came up.
Harry sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I apologise Miss Lane. The fact of the matter is that despite the fact that your father will need a prosthesis he will live. All that remains to be seen is how he copes mentally."
"You couldn't reattach his hand?"
"No, it wasn't sliced off, it was shot off with a high-calibre bullet, it shredded a good deal of the arm."
"Oh god." Lois whimpered.
"It could have been a lot worse." Harry said firmly.
"He lost an arm!"
"He could have lost his life. He pointed a gun at a man with diplomatic immunity and a member of my family. The protection detail doesn't usually show compassion for men like your father. In fact they didn't… they were showing compassion for you." Harry said heatedly before he stormed off.
Lois looked to be building up a head of steam.
Kazehana stepped up to try and cool her off. "Clark is Harry's brother, Lois. That is why Harry is angry. You need to remember that not two hours ago that armed men in helicopters were chasing you and that they threatened to kill Clark at the very least. Clark has never done anything to deserve that and what is more is that he is protected politically by the Japanese government."
"Come on, let's go get some coffee and ice cream." Musubi suggested as she took Lois by the elbow.
"Aren't you supposed to be guarding Smallville back there?" Lois asked as she looked over her shoulder to see Tsukiumi and Clark staying put as Musubi and Kazehana dragged her off.
"Don't be silly. Clark protects us. We are here to protect you." Musubi laughed.
The time had finally come.
Clark would now have to face any challengers for the hand of Aphrodite.
Or at least his champion would.
The challenges would take place in Harry's home world just as the challenge between Clark and Thor had. In attendance were the entire courts of Olympus and Asgard… and nearly every friend of Clark and Harry's.
There were literally thousands of beings standing or floating around in a circle waiting to watch what would happen.
Zeus stood on a cloud high above them all. "I greet you all in the name of Olympus. A week ago Lord Kal-El of Asgard came to me and asked for the hand of my daughter Aphrodite in marriage. As is the custom of Olympus, any who wish to challenge Lord Kal-El's claim may do so in combat.
"Anything is acceptable as Lord Death has agreed to stave off true death for this event.
"In agreement with myself, Lord Odin and Lord Kal-El, the Lady Miya, Goddess of the Sekirei will fight in Lord Kal-El's place."
A bright purple light suddenly moved out from amongst the assembled Sekirei and castle residents. Miya's power was exceptional and it was all on display as she landed gracefully dressed in her uniform with her sword by her side.
"Who is the first challenger?" Zeus asked.
"I am."
Dressed in midnight blue armour with a cape and helmet that obscured all but his red eyes stepped out Ares. The Greek God of War.
"Aphrodite is mine and I will crush this wench and then teach her her place." Ares spat.
There was a rush of wind and Ares was suddenly flat on his back with a huge dragon's claw pinning him down. Harry's muzzle was dripping fire as he bent his angry visage towards Ares.
"Mind your tongue boy." He hissed. "Insult my wife again and there will be no challengers as I will kill you myself."
"You interfere with sacred rituals!" Ares gloated. "The Asgardian has forfeited the match to me."
"No he has not." Athena spat as she marched up. "He confronted and attacked you before combat was declared and he did so because you made an attack on his family."
Ares tilted his head back so he could lookup at Zeus.
"You are only making things easier for Lord Kal-El." He shrugged.
"I will allow you to continue your challenge… but only so my wife can punish you herself." Harry sneered as he morphed back to human form. He teleported back to his wife and kissed her deeply. The wings on her back glowed too brightly and all had to cover their eyes.
When the glow abated Miya was seen standing there alone with her sword out and ready to fight.
"Let combat begin!" Zeus declared.
Ares roared as he began to charge.
So did Miya. "HAVE AT THEE!"
Back in the crowds Clark was banging his forehead with the palm of his hand. "What is with you people?" He asked exasperatedly.
"It is a noble war cry!" Thor, who had travelled with many of Harry's friends from his universe, said happily.
"And manly too." Hercules added as he puffed out his chest.
Miya swung her sword and it sliced through the air.
Ares was still several metres away when the shockwave hit him and sent him flying backwards.
He groggily picked himself up off the floor.
*Clang*
Ares looked down and saw that the bottom half of his breastplate had fallen to the floor having been neatly sliced.
"CURSE YOU WOMAN!" Ares roared as he began another charge.
Miya just stood there with a sly smile as she raised a hand and pointed at Ares sword.
Ares chanced a glance at his raised weapon and came to a stuttering stop.
He still held his sword… but most of the blade was missing.
"What trickery is this?" Ares demanded. "You would use magic in a battle of blades?"
Miya's smile dropped into a scowl and she leapt high into the air where she raised her katana and swung it down with all her might.
The force created a crater twenty metres in diameter. In the bottom of the crater was Ares lying flat on his back. His helmet fell away from his head revealing that it too had been sliced in two.
"Do you concede? Or must I end your life?" Miya asked angrily.
"I will never… surrender to a… woman." Ares said as he struggled to his feet.
Laughter erupted from the crowd.
Miya turned away and walked back towards her husband.
Ares frowned and looked down.
As he had stood up the remainder of his clothes fell to the floor.
Ares roared in rage and charged at the purple-haired goddess with his bare hands.
Miya kept walking until she knew he was close enough, she spun on her heel bring her sword up in two quick motions.
There were three separate thuds as Ares fell to the floor, his arms following separately.
Ares suddenly screamed in pain.
It was muffled by his face being planted firmly in the ground.
"Do you yield or must I remove you soul from your body?" Miya snapped.
"I. WILL. NEVER. YIELD!" Ares roared as he attempted to manoeuvre his legs beneath so he could kneel.
"Miya… end it." Clark instructed from the crowd.
She grunted in displeasure but placed a foot on Ares' back and swung her sword before bringing it down.
There were a further two thuds.
There was a lot of cheering from one section of the crowds… mainly those of Harry's friends.
From the rest there was a stunned silence.
"Are there any others that would challenge my husband's brother's claim to the Lady Aphrodite's hand?" Miya called out.
Kyla who was standing near by noticed that the Flash was whistling innocently. The Flash was invited in his role as the Avatar of Time.
"Really? You were going to challenge Clark?" Kyla laughed.
"Not really." He said earnestly. "But… it's Aphrodite! I figured the least I could do was make an effort. A woman like that deserves it!"
Nobody would ever admit it but The Flash suddenly found himself pushed out into the arena. The assembled gods and beings gasped.
"Avatar of Time?" Zeus asked incredulously. "You would challenge Lord Kal-El for my daughter's hand?"
The Flash snapped around to glare at Xander, Neville and Logan who had all been standing behind him… and were all wearing the happiest smiles.
"The lady deserves an effort." Logan grinned.
The Flash turned to look at Miya who was rubbing the bridge of her nose in frustration at her in-law's antics. Then he looked to Zeus who was clearly very worried and Aphrodite who was attempting not to giggle.
"My Lords and Ladies." He said nervously. "I- erm… I would be a fool not to admit that I am envious of- erm… Lord Kal-El for making his claim." He swallowed and tried to think of how to worm his way out of this. "But I am an Avatar of Time… I would be err… wrong? Foolish! That's it; foolish to think I could… or even should come between an Avatar of Love and the one they love.
"So… So! As the Avatar of Time I offer my blessing!" He figured he had made his excuse and now he could sweeten the pot. "May their union last from now until the end of Existence."
He gave a very deep bow and then vanished in a blur back to his place in the crowd.
"You do that to me again and I'll push you out!" He muttered loud enough for the three monkeys to hear.
"Thank you… Avatar." Zeus said carefully. "If there are no other challengers?"
Nobody was stupid enough to try and take on Miya. Those who relied on strength and the sword had no idea how to get in range to attack her and those who relied on magic weren't sure how to defend against her attacks.
The rest had too much respect for the man who rescued Death.
That or they were too chicken to piss Death off.
"Then in accordance with our customs I present my daughter, Aphrodite to Lord Kal-El of Asgard!"
A great cheer went up from the majority of the crowd.
The rest were pretty pissed at antiquated and demeaning assumption that the goddess was something to passed around like a bowl.
Clark simply rose up into the air and flew steadily to the cloud that his future wife and father-in-law were seated on.
Zeus held out Aphrodite's hand and Clark took it, all three were smiling.
"In one month we shall hold a celebration of their joining. Let all the pantheons rejoice!" Zeus declared causing the crowds to erupt in cheers again.
The month long wait was at both Clark and Aphrodite's request so that Chloe could join them.
"I have waited for tonight for so long." Aphrodite smiled seductively at him as she put her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.
When they eventually broke apart Clark was a little confused. "Tonight? I thought we had to wait till we were married."
Zeus chuckled. "You are married. You have met your challengers and won the hand of my daughter. The celebration is just that… a celebration."
There was a sudden drop in noise as Harry appeared in the centre of the arena.
They watched as he reached out and at the end of his hand, Ares' soul appeared. He silently placed the deity back in his decapitated body before making it stand up with arms or head. He then picked up the head and rammed it on to the shoulders. A wave of his hand and the head was firmly attached and the shoulder stumps were sealed… but without arms.
Ares suddenly woke up and looked furious… but powerless.
"You insulted my wife." Harry said clearly for all assembled to hear. "You will now pay for your crime. For ten years you will live without arms, having to rely on the kindness and charity of others to help you. If you have learnt to be a better man I will restore your arms."
"I may not be able to touch you Aspect." Ares growled. "But I will destroy everything you hold dear. Your life will be miserable as you hear the screams of your women and children as my people defile them! You will wail in-"
There was a horrible wrenching sound and the crowd was shocked as they watched Kal-El vanish from beside Zeus and Aphrodite to behind Ares where he simply pulled off the man's head.
"Master, he does not deserve to exist." Clark snarled at the soul he could sense.
Harry's face was a mask of neutrality. No emotion was evident. "Your judgement is sound, Apprentice."
For a second time the soul of the Greek God of War appeared before it began to scream silently as it was dispersed to a final death.
"The judgement of Lord Death is final. The Judgement of Lord Death is just."
Everyone turned to see Ares of the X-Men's world standing just inside the arena.
His words weren't instructions; they were just a statement of fact.
