Ch18-Something Wicked this Way Comes…

Luther Mansion…

"Lex, I really think you should let me heal your wounds." Talia cooed from her position near the door.

Lex Luther continued changing the bandage on his torso as if she hadn't spoken.

Talia advanced closer into the room, wincing slightly as she got a full view of his wound via his reflection in the mirror. She spoke from just over his right shoulder. "Lex, let me help you. Please."

His response was an irritated sigh, "Really, does no one understand the concept of a closed door? Usually it would imply that the party on the other side wishes to have some semblance of privacy."

Talia gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "Your wound. I can-"

He pushed her hand away roughly, wincing as the wound reminded him of his delicate state. "Don't you think I've already thought of that? You can't heal this." He gestured to his chest, the angry claw marks still a blazing red hue, the edges of the wound still puckered and raw. "Everything I've tried fails. It's just another reminder from Ares that he is not to be betrayed." Even in his weakened state, his eyes held their intensity and Talia had to admit that Lex Luthor was still a formidable opponent.

"Well, you should at least be happy to hear that the Justice League has been run ragged for the last week."

Lex wiped the sweat from his brow as he left the mirror and sat gingerly at his massive desk. "Finally, something's going according to plan. Are we prepared for phase two?"

Talia gave a nod of her head, "It has already been initiated."

Clutching his shirt at the lapels as if to soothe the raging pain of his chest, Lex downed the glass of malt scotch before him. The blip of a red light from the corner of his desk caught his attention. "Talia, as much as I enjoy the pleasure of your company, I do have work to do."

"If you want privacy, just ask."

"Ah, but what would be the fun of that?" He stated, half-joking. He watched her retreating form as it disappeared behind the closing door. Once he was sure she was out of earshot, he activated the speakerphone at his desk. "Speak."

"Mr. Luthor, we have made contact with the target and he is en route to Earth as we speak." A sharp voice hummed through the speaker.

"ETA?"

"Approximately twenty-seven hours and counting, sir."

Despite the burning pain residing in his chest, Lex eased back into his seat, a sinister smile on his face. "Very well." He disconnected the call without another word.

Meanwhile…Watchtower Satellite…

Kal slowly felt himself slipping back into consciousness, the dim lamplight creeping past his closed eyelids. He couldn't remember ever sleeping so peacefully; he groaned slightly and stretched like a giant cat.

"Easy there, Kal. If you want to kick me out of your bed, all you have to do is ask." A warm voice purred.

He smiled fully then, cracking open an eye to greet his visitor. His heart swelled as he was greeted with two orbs of sparkling sapphire.

"Morning, beautiful." He responded sleepily.

Diana drew lazy circles on the washboard stomach that was currently serving as her pillow. "Good morning to you. And here I thought you would sleep the day away." She joked.

He held her gaze a moment longer before seeking the clock at his bedside. 6:43am? He picked up the clock for her to see. "Sleep the day away, Diana? I assure you no one else on this satellite is awake at this hour."

"Really, Kal, I expected a man who rose with the chickens to be up and around with the sun."

"In case you forgot, Diana, we're on the moon. The only sun here is simulated. And its roosters, babe. Roosters signal the arrival of a new day." He chuckled at her misuse of the term. Sometimes she can just be so cute.

She eyed him quietly from her perch atop his stomach, mischief evident in her shining blue eyes. "Well, I can certainly think of a much better way to greet the day."

"Is that so?" He asked, enjoying the playful side of Diana.

"Mm-hm." She purred as she rose on her powerful arms, crawling seductively up Kal's body. She stopped only when they were nose to nose. "As a matter of fact, I can."

Kal gulped at her brazenness, his heart rate picking up exponentially. How was it possible that her breath was so sweet this early in the morning? Or are Amazon Princesses not plagued with morning breath like everyone else? Diana smiled as his gaze became hooded, his eyes fixated on her lips as she placed both hands at the wall on either side of his head. Her left leg lifted and came to rest on the other side of his thigh, effectively straddling him. Kal sucked in a sharp breath at the feel of her firm bottom grazing the sudden bulge in his lap. Well, somebody's up.

His voice was thick as he spoke, "Diana. This is dangerous territory."

Closing her eyes at the feel of Kal grinding slowly against her, Diana whispered breathlessly in his ear. "Kal, I am the real danger."

He had no time for a quick response as Diana captured his lips in a hot kiss. She kissed him fully on the mouth twice before drawing back to look at him, enjoying the peaceful look on Kal's face. He wore a lazy smile on his face and his eyes were closed, his head leaned back as he thoroughly enjoyed Diana's idea of starting the day right.

"You are so beautiful, Kal." Her voice was thick with emotion. By Hera, I love this man. She shook herself slightly before her emotions threatened to overwhelm her, using her index finger to trace his facial features. He simply smiled and let her continue her ministrations. "I could kick myself for almost turning my back on this. On us." She chided herself, helpless the resist the urge to kiss him again.

Soon, their moans were the only sounds heard in the room. Kal's hands tightened on her hips as she pressed herself more fully into him. Kal was losing himself to the feelings she was stirring in him, it felt as if her hands were everywhere at once. He was helpless to stop the shudder that raced through him as he felt Diana bite down on his earlobe. The lower half of his body responded automatically, unconsciously grinding against her apex; she released his earlobe and flung her head back at the sensation, her breathing suddenly becoming more difficult. Kal used his hand at the back of her head to guide her lips back to his, his tongue instantly dueling with her own. Soon, their moans were accompanied by the distant sound of twisting metal. Kal's head turned to the source of the sound, his eyes widening as he saw that Diana's hands had somehow found the headboard behind him, the metal protesting as her grip tightened.

"Diana, open your eyes." He commanded softly.

She complied, surprised the see the mangled headboard before her. "Great Gaea."

Kal chuckled at her, "Guess you could say we're awake now."

Diana buried her head in his shoulder, a small giggle escaping her lips. "Aaaaand there goes the mood."

"I wouldn't say that. Every guy loves to know a girl will mangle solid steel for him." He joked.

She untangled her limbs from his, "Well, I guess I should be getting back to my own quarters anyway."

Kal grabbed her hand before she completely abandoned the bed. "Wa-wait, wait. Stay with me a little longer. Pleeeeeaaase?" He gave her his best puppy dog expression. "We'll just talk. I promise."

Diana eyed him warily.

Kal eased back on the bed. "They don't call me Boy Scout for nothing, you know."

"Okay, but just for a little while. I should be getting back to my quarters soon. All I need is for Donna or Kara to see me leave your quarters and the entire galaxy will think we're bumping beauties."

Kal slapped a hand over his mouth to quiet the laughter. "Uglies, babe. It's called bumping uglies."

Diana merely shrugged her shoulders as she sat down on the bed, between his open legs, leaning back into his embrace. "Kal, I'm not vain by any means, but you and I don't have anything ugly to bump."

Kal wrapped his arms around her, resting them on her abdomen; Diana placed her hands atop his, marveling at the contrast they posed. His hands were so large and masculine whereas hers, while larger than most women, were much smaller than his and decidedly feminine. She smiled as she thought of how perfectly they fit together, tracing the contours of his hand lightly. They sat in companionable silence for some time, simply enjoying their moment of peace together.

Diana's soft voice broke the silence. "It's bad, isn't it? I mean, these last few days have been leading up to a much bigger battle. It feels as if they've been toying with us, doesn't it?"

Kal exhaled a small breath, resting his cheek atop her head and enjoying the silence a moment more before responding, as if he feared that vocalizing the imminent danger would bring it to pass any sooner. Looking over Diana's shoulder, he smiled at the size difference in their hands, loving the way they fit together.

"Yes. But we'll overcome this just like we've always done in the past—together."

Diana smiled; he always had such confidence in the team, in the two of them. She reclined her head on his shoulder, content with his reply.

"Thank you, Kal."

"And what would you be thanking me for, ma'am?"

"For stopping me from my own foolishness-"

He rocked her in his arms gently. "Shh, stop right there." His voice was smooth as silk. "You got spooked. Heck, so did I. But, nothing bad came of it and everything's fine now, right?"

"Right."

"Besides, the wisdom of Athena doesn't allow for foolishness."

Diana swatted his hand and laughed at his lame attempt at levity. She grew silent once more in deep thought.

"What's on your mind now, αγαπημένος μου?"

Diana's initial reply stuck in her throat, shaking the cobwebs free, she responded. "My first thoughts are when did you get so fluent in ancient greek?"

Kal shrugged his shoulders, "Well, I have been around you for ten years now and whether you like to admit it or not, you have your moments when your native tongue slips to the forefront."

"Like when?"

"Like whenever you have a strong emotion about something. I'll bet when we make love you'll be speaking greek all night long." His voice dropped an octave near the end of his statement.

Diana was glad Kal could not see her blushing furiously at his bold statement. "Well, you are certainly sure of yourself, Kryptonian."

Kal gave a brief laugh. "I'm a man of reason, Diana. It's the only logical assumption of what would happen given the empirical evidence-"

Diana stopped him with a hand in the air. "Kal, you know your mind is one of the things I love and admire most about you, but the scientific talk is killing the mood."

"Ah, sorry. Should I tell you how I've dreamed of how hot and bothered I'm gonna have you?" He peered over her shoulders, allowing her to see the suggestive wag of his eyebrows.

Diana laughed at him then, he could be so silly sometimes. "Anyway…back to your original question; I was thinking of how much I miss my work at the embassy—even the boring and often frustrating politicking of it all."

"I know what you mean. I actually miss the hustle and bustle of the Planet. I even miss Perry's crazy witticisms and Jimmy calling me C.K."

"I guess we didn't realize how much we'd miss the mundane parts of life until they're taken away." A tinge of sadness colored her words.

Kal sat up quickly, startling Diana and almost knocking her over in the process. "What if we did something?"

"Something like what?"

"Got back to our mundane little live for a little while?"

"What?" She looked at him, mildly confused. His eyes danced with excitement.

"Yeah. You could take care of some business at the embassy and I could drop in on the Planet. You know, tell Perry I was momentarily passing through town en route to another secret location with my government contact person." His smile grew, and Diana found it to be infectious as her own smile grew. "I mean, it could only be for a little while, but it'd be good for us, don't you think?"

"I suppose."

"Trust me; it'll be just what the Kryptonian doctor ordered." He interjected.

Shaking her head at his silliness, she gave it consideration and feeling her excitement grow. "I could use some time in my own space and could get a bit of work done in a few hours. Make some calls, sign a few orders…" She swung her legs over the side of the bed.

"I'll let J'onn know our plans for the day and he can contact us if necessary. And afterwards, I'd like you to meet me for dinner."

"Come again, Kal?"

He chuckled at the dirty joke that popped into his head, deciding now was not the time to vocalize it. He urged her to stand and followed suit. Turning her to face him he took her hands in his own and gazed into her beautiful eyes. "I said I would love if you would agree to accompany me on a date this evening, Diana."

She was taken aback for a moment. "I'd love to, Kal." She accentuated her answer with a brief kiss on his lips.

Just as Kal was about to deepen the kiss, he heard his phone skittering across the small nightstand as it vibrated. Inwardly cursing the distraction, he gave Diana a quick peck on the lips before turning his attention to the insufferable vibrating phone. Activating the touch screen, he saw that he had a new text message. Who sends texts before 8am?

U & DI MEET ME BC. -B

Diana's body wrapped him from behind as he read the text, feeling the defeated sigh he released.

"What is it?"

"It's Bruce. He wants to meet with us apparently."

"Good. The sooner, the better."

"Guess so. But we'll meet with him after we've relaxed a little and done as we've planned." He stated as he fired off a response to Bruce.

K. 6P.-K

"So, we'll see him at six tonight. That should give us ample time to take care of work and before we go to dinner."

Diana gave him a quick squeeze, "Sounds like a plan."