Ch8- Back to normal, whatever that is…

Watchtower Satellite, 2 days later…

Dinah studied the scene across the commissary, her face a mask of deep thought. Oliver arrived at that moment and decided to join his lady at the table. Zatanna followed close behind. He noticed the strange look on Dinah's face and turned to Shayera, whom sat at her left.

"She okay?"

"She's fine. She'd be even better if she stopped torturing herself over nothing." Shayera replied, clearly agitated with her friend.

Oliver was thoroughly confused now. "What?"

"Apparently, she had this feeling that something happened between Clark and Diana on their last mission. The fact that she can't figure out exactly what –probably because nothing happened—is 'driving her nuts', apparently." Oliver didn't miss the air quotes and sarcasm employed by Shayera. He turned his attention to the scene behind him. Clark and Diana were engaging in mealtime conversation, occasionally eating from the other's plate as they spoke. He turned back to the women at the table.

"So, they eat each other's food. And their faces are, like, millimeters apart. Nothing new there."

"Exactly!" Shayera added.

Dinah finally spoke, her concentration broken thanks to the blathering of the two at her table. "I'm telling you, something happened. Look at how they are gazing at each other. That is lust, people. L-U-S-T."

"So, you assume they had sex?" Zatanna asked.

Dinah shook her head lazily, "Nah, they still look too hard-up for one another to have done that."

"Babe, nothing's going on between those two. How long have we had this debate? Are they very close?"

"Yes." Shayera added quickly, taking a break from the salad she was enjoying.

"Do they do things that appear waaaaay outside the bounds of platonic friendship?"

Another quick "yes" from Shayera.

"Are they kinda hot together? And I mean that in a non-gay way-"

"Again, yes." Shayera answered. "And nobody thinks you're gay, believe me. Dinah as much as confirmed that with her screams the other night."

Oliver was taken aback for a moment. He shot an accusatory glance to Dinah, I thought no one could hear us through the walls! His message was conveyed loud and clear without the need for words.

Dinah shrugged, "What? I am the Black Canary, you know. My voice tends to carry, babe. Most men would thank me for singing their praises."

Shaking his head, Oliver resumed his earlier argument. "Anyway, while all those things are true about those two, that's just the way they roll. They are friends, Dinah. Say it with me. Friends."

"Give it up, Ollie. She's like a dog with a bone." Zatanna quipped. "I'll bet she started this crazy talk the second she saw them step off the Javelin."

"I'm telling you, something happened. You all know how the canaries signaled when things got bad for coalminers? I'm the same way, except I can sense lust." She persisted. In turn, Shayera smacked her palm against her forehead in defeat. Zee shook her head.

"Dinah, babe, you forget one little thing. I've been friends with them both for years and would be the first to know is something's changed. Clark would surely tell me. Besides, Clark is with Lois. And you know how that dude is about loyalty." Oliver reasoned.

"Ollie, babe, what you don't know is that Clark and Lois are history. He's flying solo these days, although I have a feeling it won't be for long." Check and mate, Dinah smirked.

Satisfied with the dumbstruck looks of the faces of her beau and friend, she walked away from the table. It took Oliver a moment longer to process the information.

"Wait-what?" He ran after her. He needed some answers.

Across the commissary…

"I'm glad you're feeling more like yourself, Kal." Diana's dulcet voice drifted across the table.

Try as he may, Kal could not seem to focus on her words, at least not while her lips moved. He was stealing quick glances to her incredible mouth as she spoke, ate, or basically completed any task involving use of her mouth. He was fairly confident no one was the wiser, although Wally caught him staring a few times. Wally gave him a quick wink and rushed out of the commissary in a red and gold blur. You can run, Wally, but you can't hide. He shook his head, smiling shyly as he grabbed a carrot from her plate.

"Yeah, I'm glad to be off that rock. I honestly don't know what happened. One minute I was fine, the next, I wanted to introduce that guy to his intestines." Kal replied. He was truly baffled by his apparent behavior as retold to him by Diana. Honestly, he could remember everything he felt and did, but it was like an out of body experience. Although he wouldn't admit it to Diana, he did not regret anything he did to Zyphonius. His scientific mind had deduced that there must have been some airborne stimulant which caused his aggression, as he and Diana did not eat or drink anything while on the planet. They had yet to speak of the kiss—and probably wouldn't, or of Kal's strange behavior once they returned to the Javelin. Kara Zor-El entered the commissary, her eyes going immediately to the two at the table. She scanned the rest of the room, spotting Zatanna, and gave her a knowing smile. Zee joined her friend and they both approached Kal and Diana.

"'Sup, cuz? Diana." Kara announced her arrival, seating herself at the table. Zatanna followed suit.

Diana's smile was genuine, glad to see the younger woman. "I can't thank you enough for protecting Boston in my absence. I trust it was not a strain?"

"Nah. Watching over Boston and Metropolis was a piece of cake. By the way, you're welcome, Kal."

Kal's smile was tight, "I was just about to thank you, Kara. One would assume you would have learned a little bit of patience in the twenty-third century, cousin."

Zatanna's bark of laughter was loud. "Ha! Patience? Kara? Oh, that's rich, Blue."

Kara gave her good friend one her famous glares, effectively shutting up the woman. "Anyway," She continued to glare at her friend. "How was the trip to Zyphon Xia?"

Diana answered without any preamble, "It was not very fruitful, I'm afraid. But, I did manage to convince their Prefect that coming to Earth in the future would not be wise."

"Thank you again for that, Diana. That one act may have saved an entire race of Zyphonians." Kal's sincerity shocked her. He thanked her repeatedly over the last two days, the guilt of his inability to stay focused on his mission weighing heavily. She reached for him, laying a warm hand on his own.

"Kal, no thanks are necessary. It's what we do."

Here we go again, Kara thought. Do they truly forget other people are here or do they do it on purpose? Shaking off her mild annoyance, she interrupted the moment. "Anyway. Hey—yeah, you two. We're still here."

Diana blushed this time. Kal looked at his cousin suspiciously. What does she know? And why does she have that smirk on her face?

"Yes, Kara. We are well aware of your and Zatanna's presence." He retorted dryly.

"Great. So, anyway, did you guys get a chance to mingle with the planet-folk while there?"

"Not really. Diana and I landed, met with their leader, assessed it was a waste of time and left." Kal purposely left out the details.

"Hmm. So, you didn't get to eat and food or partake in any…cultural activites?"

Kal could feel his slight unease slip into downright annoyance. "Kara. What?"

Kara feigned innocence. "What, what?"

"Don't 'what,what?' me." He warned.

"Kal I'll 'what, what?' all I want, cause I don't know what you're talking about."

"Well, I think you know exactly what 'What' I'm talking about."

"Kal, if I knew what 'What' you were talking about, would I say what 'What" are you talking about? What?"

Zatanna leaned into Diana, "I don't know about you, but if I hear one more 'what', I'm gonna whip out some magic on these two."

Diana chuckled at the younger woman. Deciding to save the two Kryptonians , she spoke up. "Kara, I think Kal simply is confused about your sudden curiosity about our trip."

Kara rolled her eyes exaggeratedly, tossing an arm over the Amazon's shoulder. Her eyes practically danced with mirth. "Oh, Di—can I call you Di? I thought you were infamous for your patience. Anywho, Kal, did you notice anything strange while on the planet?"

"Strange how, Kara?"

"Oh, I dunno, did you feel freer? Were you more inclined to speak your mind? Do things you've always wanted to do?" She looked directly at Diana as she asked the last question.

True to form, Diana's face gave away nothing of her emotions; meanwhile, Kal stared at his cousin, mouth agape. She knows! I don't know how she knows, but she knows! Diana could see her friend floundering and decided to help him out before he embarrassed himself. She caught his gaze and gave an imperceptible shake of her head, indicating she would take things from here. She gave Kara and Zee a sugary sweet smile, but her tone was unmistakably dark as she spoke to them.

"Clearly, ladies, you have some idea of what transpired on our trip. Or at the very least, you know that Kal was affected by something in the atmosphere. Now, my friend has toiled over this for two days and it appears you have the answers he seeks. Now, are you going to drop the act and tell us what you know or I am going to have to remove my gauntlets so the three of us can engage in a little bit of sparring?"

Kara and Zatanna both gasped audibly at the not-so-veiled threat from Diana. Zatanna slid clear across the table, leaning on her co-conspirator for support, fear vibrating off her body.

"Kara, I'm scared!"

Kara, while afraid, was convinced Diana was bluffing. Her voice shook as she faced Diana, "You-you wouldn't! T-t-take them off, I mean. You know you'll go all beserker Amazon in this place!"

Diana leaned across the table, intent to let the two see just how serious she was. "Amazons don't make empty threats."

Kal watched the exchange at the table, a little more than intrigued by the crazed gleam that shone in Diana's eyes. Forget intrigued, boy! That is downright H-O-T, hot right there!

Kal laughed as the mask of confidence fell from his cousin's face. She gulped loudly, "Okay! Okay! I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything I know. Just don't take those things off, okay?"

Diana eased back into her seat, encouraging Kara to continue with a wave of her hand.

"Well, when I woke from my nap, Zee told me Bats was all peeved that you guys flew off to Zyphon Xia. When she told me, I was so shocked that I gave poor Zee a spit-shower-" she babbled on nervously, casting a glance to Diana every so often.

Zee cringed at the memory, "Kara! They don't need to know everything! Just tell'em about the Zyphonians. Jeez."

Diana and Kal exchanged amused glances, each trying to contain their laughter.

"Right, right. So, uh, anyway, you remember how Green Lantern said that region of the galaxy was full of hedonistic cultures? Turns out the Zyphonians are the reason the whole galaxy has that lovin' feeling."

Kal leaned forward in his chair, his interest clearly piqued. "How?" He asked slowly.

"Historically, Zyphon Xia was a mining planet, specializing in mining red dirt. Only the dirt wasn't dirt. The planet was bombarded by hundreds of meteorites from Krypton which had apparently come into direct contact with a red cloud storm in the planet's atmosphere before hitting the planet."

Kal sucked in a short breath, face-palming himself. He shook his head, "Oh, no."

Diana looked at her friend curiously, she was still out of the loop, apparently.

Kara was somber as she continued, "Yep. Red Kryptonite. The planet is littered with it. Practically made from it. I'm sorry, Kal."

Diana's eyes widened at the revelation. She glanced towards her Kal, whom still had his head buried in his hands. Over the course of their friendship, he'd told her how various forms of Kryptonite affected him physically while others affected him emotionally. In either case, he hated the feeling because he wasn't in control of himself during the encounter.

"Kara, you do realize what that does to us? To me? I almost killed a man, for God's sake!" Luckily, the commissary was cleared and no one was around to witness his outburst. "I hope the laugh you got was worth that, Kara!" Dejected, he dropped his head back into his hands.

Diana saw Kara and Zee both shrink back in their seats, heads hung low. "Yes, Kara, you should have contacted Kal or I to warn us as soon as you learned of our departure. And that's enough from you, Kal-" Her friend looked at her, his face a mask of confusion.

"That's enough? That's enough? That isn't nearly enough! Diana-"

Diana raised her hand, cutting his protest short. "Kal. Yes, you were exposed to red kryptonite and you responded as such. The good news is, no one was hurt—that didn't deserve it, that is. Now, we've had this discussion before, you can't blame yourself for what could've happened, we only deserve to think about what has happened and what we can do in the future. Right?"

Kal exhaled, seeing the reasoning behind Diana's argument. Of course she was right, she was always right. No matter how hard he tried, he always felt responsible and guilty for things outside of his control. Diana was always there to help him see otherwise, just as she did now. "…right. Sorry for yelling, you two."

Kara sheepishly regarded her cousin, "So…we cool?"

Kal folded his arms across his chest in a very Superman-like manner, staring at his younger cousin. He wanted to make her squirm a while longer. "Who else did you tell?"

"Kal!" Diana reprimanded, knowing full well what he was doing.

"Oh, alright. Yes, Kara, we're cool." He gave his cousin a hug, casting a playful glance to Diana. "Madame buzzkill."

"What about me?" Zatanna asked in a small voice.

Kal smiled as he opened his arms, "Get over here, Zee." He gave her a brief hug.

Kara mumbled something into his chest. "What was that, Kara?"

She looked up from the embrace, a sweet smile on her face, "I said I may have mentioned it to Ma and Pa Kent….Ow, Kal! You're squeezing me…Kal!"