If you jumped right here, take a step back; this is a 2-chapters update and there's an interlude before this chapter (though it's not mandatory for the understanding of the story).

Please read and enjoy !

Son

17

"My name is General Zod. I come from a world far from yours. I have journeyed across an ocean of stars to reach you…For some time, your world has sheltered one of my citizens. I request that you return this individual over to my custody….For reasons unknown, he has chosen to keep his existence from you a secret. He will have made efforts to blend in. He will look like you. But he is not one of you….To those of you who may know of his current location, the fate of your planet rests in your hands. To Kal-El, I say this: surrender within twenty-four hours... or watch this world suffer the consequences."

Clark Kent stared at the TV screen, stunned. How had that man –General Zod –found him? His instincts rang in alarm –he disliked the lingering threat he issued against Earth. There was no way-

His cell phone rang. Martha Kent tensed, her eyes alternating between the device and him. Clark dug his hand in his pocket and pulled the phone out. The painfully familiar number appeared on screen. For a moment, he hesitated to pick up. Diana was intelligent; she would have made a connection between the discovery of his origins and those aliens looking for someone stranded on Earth. And even if he hadn't been Zod's target, she would still call because that was the kind of person she was.

"Are you alright?" she asked immediately when he picked up, as if to confirm his inner thoughts.

"Do you believe the message was for me?" was his immediate, dry retort. He could have spoken more politely, but hearing her voice after their last conversation…it still stung.

"The timing speaks for itself," she shot back. "You find your origins and barely two months later, aliens show up." Her tone softened. "Henry, arethese people after you?"

Clark bit his lower lip, wondering what he should do. His mother stared at him worriedly. Diana was known to her as the woman who had broken his heart twice now. If Martha suspected who was on the other side of the phone, Clark thought she might snap the device and give her a piece of her mind.

"Why are you calling?" he spoke eventually. His non-answer would be an answer in itself. "I thought you wanted nothing to do with me."

Her responding sigh sounded irritated.

"You misunderstood me. I told you I would always be there if you needed a friend. Forgive me for worrying about you."

At that very moment, he hated those words and he hated her more. Friends. How could she expect him to consider her a mere friend? She was one of the few who knew his secret and hadn't babbled about it. And to be honest, Clark trusted her to never tell a soul.

"I don't know what to do," he admitted.

"You have twenty four hours to make a choice," she said quietly. "Whatever you decide to do, if you need help, tell me."

"Thank you, Diana," Clark spoke softly, and Martha's eyes widened in recognition. "I know you mean it and I'm grateful."

"Be careful."

She hung up shortly after and he stared at the screen, at loss at what to do.

"She has your number?" her mother asked, calmly, but suspiciously. Clark snorted tersely.

"I called her first," he admitted. "She warned me about Lois arriving and she wants to help if she can."

"Clark-"

"Ma, I need to think." He paused. "This isn't just about me. This is about the people living here." He thought of baby Hippolyte, who smiled and giggled and hugged without a second thought. He couldn't let that little boy die. There were so many innocents like him on the planet, many good people who did not deserve to bear the blunt of an alien attack. But not all people were like Diana. In spite of their short time, he trusted her. The others, the mass, the leaders of this world, could he trust them too? Or would they sacrifice him to protect themselves?

"I need to think," he repeated. He kissed her forehead and returned inside, thoughts mingling together. He really hoped night brought council.

Son

No-one made a sound as the message ended, no-one jumped in surprise when the lights suddenly turned back on. Diana felt her son hold onto her a little tighter as Bruce and Dick's expression turned blank. The two men had fallen on an analytical mode, wheels already turning. Her thoughts immediately jumped to Henry. Without gracing the men with a word, she went straight to where she had let her stuff on the ground. Hippolyte was put on the ground and she searched for her cell phone.

She had little hope he would pick up, but when he did, she was grateful. When she hung up, everyone was staring at her. She was not surprised to read the various degrees of stupefaction and mistrust on their faces.

"Your Henry is this Kal-El?" Bruce asked dangerously.

Diana met his eye squarely, a dangerous glint growing in hers. While she was not surprised by his reaction, she did feel disappointed at him raising his hackles.

"I have already spoken about him, remember?" she replied calmly.

"You said nothing about him being an alien."

She rolled her eyes.

"I had no idea he was an alien, I just knew he was different and was looking for answers," she retorted. "I gave him my number if he needed a friend and I do occasionally worry for him when the situation demands it."

"Why didn't you keep more precise tabs on him?" he went on, his anger growing every second.

"He was no danger for society and thus did not deserve scrutiny," she shot back. "Or are you telling me I ought to keep an eye on everyone I came across that had a special ability?"

"It's different! He is different and clearly a menace to this world!"

"Like me and our son?"

Bruce opened his mouth to protest but wisely shut it. He must have seen the fury bubbling in her eyes.

"Hip and I are different too," she reminded him coldly. "Is it that behavior Hippolyte will have to put up with as he grows? Are you going to list all his faults, his weaknesses on that computer of yours? Are you going to remind him every day he is different, and so has to be watched every single moment? Henry only aspired for a normal life, not the destruction of the world."

"I don't know his abilities, I can't say how dangerous he is but these-" he pointed at the spaceship. "These are here and the threat is real."

"I can lift a tank and I can punch through metal. I am a warrior through and through and if I wanted, I could do a lot of damage. I don't, because my duty is to protect mankind no matter how depraved and monstrous they can be. It is a choice I made. Henry did not and he has done nothing to earn your animosity."

"Except bring a ship of aliens threatening this entire planet," Bruce shot back.

"Don't fight."

Her son had returned by Dick's side and he looked…she had never seen such an expression on his face, especially as he watched Bruce…and her.

"It's not right," he echoed, his eyes troubled. "It's not right. You shouldn't fight."

And then she sensed it, a tickling wave running down her spine, warm and gentle, soothing. When she glanced at Bruce, he seemed…dazed at best, stunned at worse. Dick was staring at the little boy in shock and Alfred's face had relaxed as much as the butler would ever allow. Hip himself started blinking in the way he did when he was growing sleepy.

And suddenly, his knees buckled and he fell. Dick immediately caught him and held him carefully.

"What was that?" the young man growled. At least he didn't appear afraid of the little boy. Diana's opinion of him steadily rose.

"Hip is an empath, and apparently, he can now influence other's feelings," Bruce muttered. He shook his head, as if waking from a momentary slumber. "Now I understand why I fell asleep last time we all took a nap."

"Are you going to start that file on him now?" Diana said sarcastically. She walked straight towards the young man and transferred her son into her arms. "It's still not too late for us to vanish out of your life if you can't handle that."

"We already had that conversation," he snapped back. Now that Hip's soothing influence had vanished, the anger returned in full force. "I am more worried about what your friend and the state of the world if he does not show up."

"I will ignore that sentence and put it on the fact you are worried in the face of novelty. Yes, the world is at risk but trust me, that is nothing new." Before he could protest, she added: "Let me rephrase this; if Dick's relatives turned out to be…I don't know, terrorists and demand he joins their family else they'll blow cities. Would you be eager to let him go?"

"Not the same situation-"

"Fine, let's pick a different scenario," she interrupted. "If the gods of Olympus demanded Hip to be turned to them, would you allow them to take him back, even though holding him back would unleash their wrath on the world in retaliation?" Bruce's expression turned thunderous. "I thought so. Henry has few friends, but he does have a mother he adores and who adores him back. The only difference is she is a powerless civilian."

"What is your point?"

"My point is, can you blame that man for something happening beyond his will?" When she had decided to join Steve, it had been her choice. No-one, especially not her mother, would have blamed her to remain on Themyscira. Henry though didn't ask for this, something Bruce didn't seem to understand. When he did not show signs of relenting, she sighed. "You have not met Henry, Bruce. I can't claim to know him intimately, but from I do know of him, he will show up. But I forbid you to judge him for what he is." Bruce held her stare for a few moments, before looking away. "I will put Hip to bed."

And upon these words, she carried Hippolyte to the elevator.

Son

According to the clock on the wall, dawn was drawing near and Bruce had yet to resurface from the cave. After the argument, he had needed to blow off some steam. Dick had escaped before he could ask and Alfred left to check on Hippolyte. He first calibrated the closest Wayne satellite on the spaceship, and while the axis was shifting, he launched a program to check his servers and make sure Zod's little broadcast hadn't left something nasty behind. The task done, he had pummeled his punching bags and worked on weights. When his eldest ventured downstairs around six am, he was glaring at the screen with a furious scowl.

Bruce sensed Dick approaching and greeted him with a sharp nod. The young man leaned back against his desk, hands in his pockets.

"You stayed overnight?" Bruce noted. Dick nodded.

"Alfred showed me the guest room. We spoke a bit, with Diana, I mean. She's approachable when she's not tearing you a new one."

The older man snorted.

"Yeah, she is something."

"And a metahuman. Seriously Bruce, to quote Alfred, why can't you find yourself a normal girl?"

"Normal is overrated for us," he replied absentmindedly. "It's a long story."

"I have time." he added, nodding towards the electric equipment. "It's not like you can do more than you already have."

Bruce sighed and leaned back in his chair. It was true that aside from a scrupulous surveillance, he could not do much. Kal-El, or Henry, had a little less than twelve hours to make a decision. If Diana was right, he would show up eventually. If she wasn't and he decided to hide…Bruce ran a hand over his face. The tiredness was getting at him. He should get some rest, if only a few hours.

"How is Hip?" he asked eventually.

"Sleeping. Last night he woke up long enough to eat some soup and fell right back asleep. Looked exhausted too." Dick paused, inquiring eyes on him. "I take it this was the first time he sent some…vibes?"

"The second, actually. First time we –Diana and I –didn't really realize what was happening."

And so he told Dick about the induced nap so many months ago, and upon the young man's request, narrated their reunion and every event following through. Dick listened to the incoming information –her age, her exploits, her armor –with admirable coolness. He might have been tipped off by the events in the cave. But still. His protégé had learned to take in surprising news without blinking anymore.

"You don't think her capable of containing an invasion," he concluded.

"I believe she is a force to reckon with, but against so many opponents, she alone won't be enough." Bruce leaned forward, rested his elbows on his knees. "I spared with her this afternoon for the first time." He snorted. "And I am hopelessly behind. If this Henry and his kind are as strong as or stronger than her, we are in serious trouble. If they were more like her on our side, I would not be so…"

"Scared?" Dick offered.

He paused before biting back a snarky reply. He wouldn't say 'scared', but…

"It's not fear," he said slowly before nuancing: "Not quite fear. Metahumans were not considered to be more than a theory a few years back."

"Which you knew was accurate, with Poison Ivy and Dr. Freeze…"

"But I never met someone like Diana before. I didn't expect my own kid to be…" he sighed. "And then there is Luthor. I will still have to deal with him once this is over, one way or another."

"If I can help in one way or another," Dick started. His voice trailed off when they heard the elevator doors move open and the unmistakable sound of heels on the ground.

Diana showed up, wearing her metallic bracers under a loose t-shirt and odd-fitting pants. The boots peeking from underneath the fabric were metallic and the shape of her hips looked a bit odd –and he realized she was wearing her armor beneath the civilian clothes. Her hands was clenching at her phone and her skin pale. She approached them determinedly, her step angry but controlled. Bruce watched as she handed him her mobile. A text message was opened.

"Read," she ordered coldly.

The sender was an unknown number, received barely two minutes ago. The nine black words seemed to jump out of the white screen.

'Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith.'

He met her eyes.

"He's going to surrender. Are you happy?" she asked quietly.

No, he was not. He had overreacted, dug into his instincts and questioned her judgment.

"I'm sorry."

Diana huffed, took back her phone.

"I suited up," she said, confirming his theory. "I would rather be prepared if he decides to attack." He opened his mouth to speak. "If it happens, you stay here and watch over Hip."

"You want to leave him behind?"

"I have been killing things from other worlds long before you were even born. If I watch over him, I will be distracted." She paused. "I would rather have him with his father than on his own."

Their previous argument returned to his mind. He didn't really want to raise the subject yet, though they would have to deal with the tension sooner or later.

"If Zod doesn't keep his word, he will make a move within hours," she went on. "What are your cameras reporting of the ship's location?"

"They are hovering over Smallville, Kansas. A military camp is stationed there. As far as I can tell, contact has not been made yet."

"You don't think they'll attack a small town, do you?" Dick imputed with a frown.

"Henry must be living in the area," Diana announced bluntly. "I think he mentioned growing up in a farm once. It would make sense the people tracking him had actually the means to find out the general idea of his location and wait for him to come to them."

Bruce side glanced at her. He had come to the same conclusions earlier, but hadn't expected her to voice them out loud, especially in front of him. She stared openly at him.

"You," she went on, "will get some rest. If anything happens, we need your brains operating at their best," she added, more softly.

He hesitated. The olive branch was there, and he was a bit tired.

"Go Bruce," Dick added. "Diana and I will keep watch."

He released a sigh and stood from his chair. He knew when he was overthrown.

Son

The next moments were spent in silence. With Bruce gone, they had little else to do but stare at the screens and take in every little detail. While Dick was used to surveillance, he did not particularly enjoy twiddling his thumbs. Diana had her eye fixed on the spaceship, the little frown of worry unmistakable between her eyebrows. He wondered what was going through her head.

They had exchanged a few words earlier, when he had left the cave before Bruce could recruit him as a living punching bag. She had sounded nice enough, even though she was clearly still reeling from her earlier outburst…and upsetting her son. The little boy had sought refuge by him and Alfred during his parents' argument, something that hand't gone unnoticed. Diana was clearly not proud of her behavior. She had been so distracted during their conversation; he would bet a month's salary that she couldn't remember a word that had been said. Truth be told, neither did he –meaningless pleasantries he shot automatically for random conversation.

The silence didn't suit him well. He was not quiet by nature, and curiosity had nearly gotten the best of him before. He and Diana were alone for an unaccountable amount of time –aka until this 'Henry' or aliens made their move, whichever came first. He wondered if tackling the subject would upset her.

"Should we look for Henry's identity while we're waiting?" Dick offered anyway. The woman glanced at him sideways.

"Henry is not his real name," she replied. "I don't know what it is. The line was cut before he could tell me. I didn't ask again." She paused and her frown grew deeper. "I only know he is in his early thirties and his adoptive father died about ten years ago."

Dick could not help but blink, startled.

"You are giving out intel now?" he asked, annoyed.

"This intel, as you say, was not relevant before," she retorted dryly. "Had Bruce not gotten on his high horses, I would have shared this earlier." He couldn't help snorting. True, Bruce tended to get worked up when he didn't have all the intel he wanted, but that did not excuse her holding back because he had vexed her. The silence stretched for a few minutes before she picked up and admitted: "I am not used to work with others. When my friends need help, I will come and help as I can. When I encounter trouble, I tend to…"

"Go ahead and charge?" he suggested. The tone was far from accusing and Diana caught the note of amusement. She snorted in turn, but the corner of her lips tugged upwards.

"Not quite, but yes. Some of my foes are…closer to Henry's kind than yours. I cannot ask a mortal to fight against gods."

"Bruce would," Dick said softly. "He would go against your monsters. He fought tougher than you may think."

The draft of smile vanished and her expression hardened. He then remembered that according to Bruce, this woman was three thousand years old and had lived through the two World Wars.

"The first man I ever loved was toughened by experience too," she whispered. "He still died because he needed to save the day." She then shook her head, as if chasing sad memories, and went on: "You are surprisingly easy to open up to. I haven't really spoken to Bruce about this."

"Well, I do have the superpower to keep being friendly with my exes," he teased. "And your relationship with Bruce is still new. I'm the outsider, hence neutral party." He turned serious again. "I won't tell him of our little exchange, but you should-" he waved his hand around. "You know, come clean about stuff like this."

"Thanks to Hip, I am in the long haul," she retorted sarcastically. "When this is all over, we will have a long conversation." Her demeanor softened. "I do like him a lot, don't worry about that."

He had thought she was smitten with him, especially given her reaction when Alfred and he had walked down the cave and caught them in a compromising position –thank god Hippolyte had been too distracted by the environment to fully focus on his parents making out. It was still nice to hear the oral confirmation. He could have gone on with a vaguely unimportant matter to lighten the atmosphere, but something else came to mind. Something he had thought of upon hearing Hip was an empath, and something he suspected neither Diana or Bruce had truly thought through. Although in their defense, the discovery was recent…

"Say, about Hippolyte…when he hugged me, I think he might have used his power on me too."

"Feeling at peace and happy?" she hazarded with amusement.

"Yeah."

Diana's smile returned. It was the most fascinating thing, he thought, to witness how gentle she could appear in contrast of the blunt description of her abilities Bruce had given him earlier. He understood why his legal guardian had fallen for her looks –those expressive eyes…Hippolyte had definitively inherited the intensity of his stare from both parents.

"I don't think he did it on purpose. From what I know of my boy, he was just very happy to welcome a new member in the family." She lost her smile. "Does it bother you?"

"The metahumans we met up till now were not very friendly, so when Bruce hinted he was seeing one, I was cautious," he admitted. "I don't know you or Hip very well, but Bruce wouldn't lower his guard with anyone and I trust his instincts." He paused and added with a faint smile: "I trust mine too."

"But?"

"Hip is young, his lack of control is understandable. Bruce isn't wrong when it comes to take notes about metas' powers." She closed her eyes, breathed in sharply. He went on, feeling she needed to hear this from him, the neutral party, and not the stubborn old man. "Bruce told me a little about your common past," he continued gently. "Perhaps your perspective is different because you grew up with your powers and could manage them without the stress-"

"Actually, I didn't." He paused, eyed her with a quizzical eyebrow. "I trained with my sisters as an equal. My aunt pushed me harder than anyone, but it wasn't until…the day before I left my homeland, that I realize I could do things the others couldn't. The rest, I found out on the battlefield."

"But Hip is not an adult," Dick countered. "And he will be growing –so will his abilities –in a very different environment you did. Empathy is a very special power –especially if he can project his emotions on another -and he is already doing this at five. He shouldn't be watched over twenty four seven, especially since he's just a kid, but it's not a bad thing to have a contingency plan to stop him if he ever accidentally hurts someone –or himself."

She kept silent, her lips pursed in distaste, but he knew he had gotten to her. Dick suddenly realized he might have left an important piece out of his speech.

"I'm saying this because Hip seems like a great kid and he would likely be upset if anything came to happen beyond his will. I was surprised when he called me 'Bruce's son' and his half-brother, but in a good way." He paused and added quietly: "Jason came to be my brother, but it was not as…easy. Neither he nor I have blood legitimacy when it comes to him."

"Neither Bruce nor I would consider you anything else," she said spontaneously. Her tone was neutral though, as if seeking a hidden meaning in his words. Dick winced involuntarily, he hoped the earlier easiness wouldn't recede because he tackled a matter too quickly.

"I know and I really don't want to sound ungrateful with what I said about Hippolyte. I just want to look out for him."

Diana said nothing for a while, but he eventually sensed her shoulders relaxing and the posture less hostile.

"Thank you," she merely replied, and her eyes focused on the screen. "Let's find out who is Henry, then."

For the next fifteen, they entered the data necessary to recover Henry's identity. They had narrowed their founding to two people: Kyle Sawyer, age 31, son of Nathalie and deceased Thomas Sawyer and Clark Kent, age 33, son of Martha and deceased Jonathan Kent. At the picture visualization, Diana pointed at the latter.

"Him," she said without hesitation. And then, her attention was distracted by another screen. "Something's happening."

Dick immediately focused. Though it was still early, the satellites caught a vague flying form approaching the military camp.

"He's there," he whispered and stood. "I'll wake up Bruce."

"Not yet," she shot back. "He's just approaching."

They watched in eerie silence as 'Henry' aka Clark Kent slowly followed soldiers into the base. For the next following hour, nothing happened. The tension in the cave was so thick Dick didn't even bother piping a word. Then, Clark walked out of the base, in the direction of the desert. The alien ship landed seconds later.

"I'll wake him up now," she said and darted to the infirmary. Dick followed the exchange, noted when not one but two people followed the aliens inside –Clark and another form, not military but civilian if his eyes weren't tricking him. Who on earth would the aliens abduct other than who they came for? He asked the question when Diana returned, but she had little answers.

"The only people in the know that I can think of are his mother and Lois Lane," she said quietly. The journalist? Dick was very tempted to ask for details, but the moment was interrupted by Bruce arriving and he figured it might not be relevant after all. "They are taking off."

The three stared as the pod took off and vanished in the atmosphere.

"Now what?" Dick asked. Diana and Bruce had matching grim faces.

"We keep waiting."