Ch 22- Tell me more, tell me more
"Wally! For the last time, I will not do it!" Donna yelled at her boyfriend.
Wally pouted as he grabbed her by the waist, stilling her movements. "But, babe, you know how it psyches me up for battle."
"Then get somebody else to do it!" She replied, fighting to keep the grin from spreading across her face.
"Ba-aaa-aabe." Wally pleaded, placing soft kisses along her neck. "Pleeeeaaase?"
Donna giggled at the feel of his kisses on her neck, squirming as she tried to escape his grasp. "Wally, babe. You know I love you, but you can't honestly expect me to sing to you as you fight."
At that moment, Zatanna and Kara walked past the couple as they made their way to the Watchtower's commissary. Zatanna leaned in to whisper to her good friend, "And they think I'm weird for wearing panty hose when I fight?"
Wally looked at Donna in mock exasperation, "Not sing to me, babe. Sing for me. It's really very simple." How many times would he have to explain this to her? "Every superhero needs a battle hymn, it's like…a law, or something."
Donna looked at him in disbelief, her hands resting on her hips. "A law? Really, Wally?" She rolled her eyes. " Besides, I don't think Billionaire can be considered a battle hymn, anyway."
"Look, babe, a battle hymn is whatever gets you psyched and ready to kick some bad guy butt. Billionaire just so happens to do that for me." He explained. "I wanna be a billionaire, so frikkin' baaad-" He halted his singing as he saw Clark and Diana emerge from the transport pod. "Let's just ask Clark and Diana."
Kal and Diana paused their progress as they saw Wally barreling in their direction.
Kal chuckled as he heard Diana mumble "Oh, boy."
Wally came to a skidding halt just scant inches from their feet. Kal took a small step in front of Diana as if to protect her. She smiled at the sweet—but totally unnecessary—gesture. He just couldn't help himself sometimes.
"Whoa, Wally. What's the emergency?" Kal asked.
Donna rolled her eyes as she approached Kal and her sister, completely embarrassed she even had to be a party to this particular conversation. She pinched the bridge of her nose as she answered for her boyfriend. "He wants to know if a pop song is a good battle hymn and wants me to sing it before he fights."
Diana narrowed her eyes, uncertain if she heard her sister correctly. Looking from her sister to Wally, she shrugged her shoulders in amused acceptance of the situation. It was their way.
"What song?" Kal asked.
"Billionaire!" Diana replied in frustration.
"By Bruno Mars? Really, Wally?" Kal asked in shock.
Donna threw up her hands, "That's exactly what I said!"
"I mean, everybody knows that heavy metal music makes the best battle songs." Kal replied matter-of-factly.
Diana chuckled as she took in the disbelieving look on her sister's face. The woman looked utterly baffled. She spun on her heels and walked away from the group, throwing her hands up as she did.
"Psychos. I work—with—psychos." She shook her head as she rounded the corner.
"Just another day at the Watchtower." Diana murmured as she eased past Kal and Wally, intent on finding a snack in the commissary. Kal tensed as he felt her hand graze his backside as she strode by him. Kal stayed her with a hand to her wrist, his eyes hot as he looked at her. Diana returned the same look.
"Dudes, get a room." Wally joked, patting Kal on the back as he continued on his way.
Kal drew her close, never breaking eye contact. Once she was within reach he wrapped an arm around her waist, smiling as he did so. "You're playing with fire again, Diana."
Her gaze quickly grew hooded. "Well, I guess you should cool me off then, Kal." She surprised him by pressing him into the wall seconds before claiming his lips in a kiss. She ended it just as quickly, leaving him against the wall with his eyes closed and lips still puckered.
Kal opened his eyes to find he was alone in the hallway. He let out a short breath, "That woman is gonna be the death of me." He headed for the Monitor Womb; his shift was due to start in a few minutes.
Diana entered the commissary minutes later, smiling brightly as she thought of the state on which she left her boyfriend. Boyfriend. She threw the term around in her mind a few more times, deciding she loved the way it sounded. Her mind absently began drifting back to the events of last night, this morning, and the wonderful way Kal woke her from her nap…
".God. You got some, didn't you?"
Those simple words jolted her back to reality. She then realized she was surrounded by nearly every female member of the league, her dear comrade Dinah leading the pack. They all stood around her, arms folded across their chests. Waiting. Diana didn't bat an eye as she took in the group surrounding her and she even nodded acknowledgment of their presence.
"Ladies. Now, if you will excuse me, I'd like to find something to eat around here." She indicated her desire to pass and made a path through the crowd, making her way to the salad bar across the room. Her unlikely entourage followed her progress.
"So, uh, Di…in need of some refueling, huh?" Dinah asked coyly.
"If by that you mean I am in need of sustenance, then yes." Diana continued preparing her plate as she answered.
Shayera could barely conceal her grin as she spoke, "And whhhhyyyyy would you be needing sustenance, Diana?"
"One must fuel the body if one wishes to continue existing, Shayera. It's a simple matter of biology." Diana responding, refusing to give them what they so obviously wanted.
Zatanna made a sound of mock disgust, "Screw this. Diana, what these hens are trying to get at is did you get penetration or not?"
"Whoa! Whoa! Can we not refer to it as…as…penetration? The penetrator in question is my cousin!" Kara spoke up from the back of the crowd. After a beat, a look of horror crossed her beautiful face, "Oh, gah, I can't believe I just said that!"
Zatanna shook her head at her friend's obvious unease. "Okay, okay. So… did you and Supes…engage in a little…horizontal dancing? You know, of the bodies-pressed-together variety?"
Kara grit her teeth at her friend. "That's not any better, Zee!"
Biting the inside of her jaw to keep the bark of laughter that threatened to spill from her lips, Diana was silent as she finished preparing her snack, stopping to grab a bottle of water before sitting at the nearest table. She grinned as she noticed the ladies following her every move. "Zee, you know I am not one to kiss and tell."
"Believe me, Diana, we don't care about the kissin'." Dinah quipped.
Diana chuckled aloud at the comment. "You're not going to leave me alone unless I answer you, are you?"
"NO!" The group shouted back in unison.
"And I don't suppose you all could wait until after I finished my meal?"
"Diana…" Dinah pleaded. "Pleeeeeaaase. We're all living vicariously through you at the moment. Just don't tell Wally I said that."
"Uh, correction—not ALL of us." Kara piped in from the back.
Diana shook her head at her comrades, they could truly be just a bunch of girls at times. "Very well, where should I begin?"
"You can start with what happened after you left the mansion."
Diana looked up, shocked to see Selina walking through the doors of the commissary, a wry smile playing on her lush lips. Not that she minded seeing the woman who was becoming a good friend, but she was unaware she was allowed aboard the Watchtower.
"Not to worry, Diana. Bats brought her around a few weeks ago. She's got full clearance to be on the satellite." Zatanna explained. "Now, back to your story."
"Well, after we left Bruce's mansion, we flew to Metropolis for a late dinner. That's when Kal surprised me with a walk in the park-" She was momentarily interrupted by a chorus of aww's and how sweet's. "To my surprise, he had planned the whole evening out. We enjoyed live music by Sean Hayes and other artists."
"No. Friggin'. Way! I stalked his website for, like, weeks trying to score an invite!" Zatanna interrupted, much to the annoyance of her fellow ladies. In return, they shot her glaring looks. Thoroughly reprimanded, she inclined her head to Diana. "You were saying?"
"We ate, sang, and danced into the night. Afterwards, we flew back to the Fortress and retired for the evening." She ended her story with a coy smile.
"That's it?" Donna asked.
"Yes. You asked for details and I supplied them. Now, may I eat?"
"Diana, you can't seriously think you can end the story there." Dinah chimed in.
Selina raised a manicured brow, "Unless of course, she expects us to believe she and Big Blue are as mild-mannered as they pretend to be." She narrowed her eyes as she regarded her friend. "We all know that's a lie."
"Aaaaand that's where I check out of this conversation." Kara stated, then proceeded to plug her ears with her fingers.
"I told you all before, I do not kiss and tell." Diana reminded them. She then focused her attention on the salad before her, and couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt as the defeated looks on the faces of her friends. Why not throw them a bone? She sat up straighter in her chair and made sure to give them all the eye—indicating she was about to divulge something that need not ever be spoken again. "Very well…let's just say my toes have yet to uncurl themselves. It was more than I think I ever imagined." It felt great to be able to share her joy, to simply gossip like one of the girls. She smiled inwardly at the awestruck looks on their faces, then, just as quickly she was all business again and began eating her salad. I hope Kal doesn't get angry with me for sharing, even though I didn't go into much detail.
Apparently, the morsel she supplied was enough for them as they swooned and ooh'ed and aah'ed as a collective—with the exception of Kara. No, she stood a few feet from the group, her hands now clasped over her ears. She saw the dumbstruck look the group wore and that Diana has resumed eating and figured the deed must be done. She made her way through the group and joined Diana at the table.
"Hope you don't mind that I chose to stay out of 'the know' on this one. Look at'em-" She indicated the group before them, they were obviously satisfied with her response and had begun to disperse—all of them walking blindly, their feet shuffling them off in various directions. "They're like mindless piles of goo. What the heck did you tell'em? And please, leave out all the gross details."
"Nothing, really. I just let their imaginations fill in the blanks for them and save me from embarrassment." Diana shrugged as she answered.
"Well, looks like it worked." Kara stated. "But, really, Diana—you've got to know how glad I am that you and my cuzzo finally got your heads out of the clouds and got together."
Diana laughed at the young woman at her side. "Yes, we have, Kara. Kal makes me happier than I thought possible."
Kara nodded at the statement, taking the Amazon's hand in hers. "And Kal feels the same way. You two are good for each other. Kal couldn't have chosen a better woman to be in his life. You know, I've always considered you the sister I never had. I can't tell you how honored I feel to have you in my life."
Diana was momentarily taken aback at the sentiment voiced by the young Kryptonian. She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat and gently squeezed Kara's hand. Just as she was about to respond, a claxon rang throughout the entire complex. She heard J'onn speak telepathically to her seconds later.
Diana, your presence is needed in the monitor womb immediately.
On my way.
Monitor Womb
Diana entered the womb seconds after the alarm rang out, Kara and Donna fast on her heels.
"J'onn, Kal, what is it?"
"We've received word that Themyscira is under attack. It's serious this time, Diana." Kal replied, his eyes watching her closely.
"How long ago did the distress call come in?"
"There was no distress call, Diana."
She was confused by his statement. "Then how do you know the island is under attack?"
"Because I told them."
Diana turned to find her good friend, Artemis, entering the room. She noticed the woman favoring her right side. Broken ribs. An ugly bruise was also forming above her right brow. Artemis took two steps into the room, then bowed to the Amazonian royalty before her. "Princesses." The strain was evident in her voice.
Diana rushed to her friend's side. "Artemis, I've told you to stop doing that. Now, sit. Please, tell us what happened." She gestured for her friend to sit.
Artemis grimaced as white hot pain shot through her body as she eased into the chair. All in the room noticed and their concern increased tenfold. Diana held in her gasp as she took notice of the angry gash on the woman's back. "We were preparing for a celebratory feast as it appeared we'd finally defeated Ares' armies enough that they'd stayed away for good. The ceremony had just begun when the island was wracked with terrible vibrations, several of our sisters were injured by falling debris. It felt as if the island was trying to rend itself apart. Just as we were recovering from the shocks, there were loud explosions coming from the air above as creatures seemed to appear from the sky."
"Boom tubes." Bruce chimed in as he entered the room.
"Then that would mean…" Kara began.
"Darkseid." Kal gritted out.
Diana's eyes widened momentarily at the mention of the fiend's name. "How is our Mother?"
Artemis' gaze dropped to the table before her. "We tried to defend the palace, to protect the Queen. But, she would have none of it-she jumped headlong into the fray. Everything happened so quickly after that."
"Did something happen to our Mother?" Donna tried valiantly to keep the frantic tone out of her voice. She failed.
"I…I…don't know." Artemis answered, truly baffled.
"What do you mean, you don't know?" Kara spoke up then. She had always thought fondly of Queen Hippolyta. Kara would be forever grateful to the Queen for taking her in and allowing her to train alongside the other Amazons, giving her back some of the family she thought she'd lost as well as a sense of sisterhood.
Artemis again seemed at a loss for words. She shook her head, indicating her hopelessness and helplessness in that moment.
Although internally she wanted to scream, Diana approached her friend and placed a warm hand to hers. "Artemis, tell us what you recall. Please."
Looking into the eyes of the woman she called her Princess and friend, Artemis found her voice. "She… saved me. I was too busy focusing on one of the beasts before me that I did not notice the other until it wrapped its taloned grip around my throat. I had nearly lost consciousness when Queen Hippolyta appeared from nowhere, swinging her sword and beheading the beast at my back. She was magnificent to watch." The Amazon's gaze became wistful, her voice much smaller than its usual, boisterous self. " We fought together, driving them away. All of a sudden, there was a huge thunderclap and an explosion that seemed to center right beneath our feet. When I awoke, I had been thrown clear across the battlefield and the temple of Apollo lay in charred ruins. It had suddenly grown so quiet. The Queen was nowhere in sight. We searched for hours to locate her and found nothing. She has either been taken away from the island, or-"
"Don't say it, Artemis…please." Donna pleaded.
"Donna, it's a logical and fair assumption given what Artemis has sai-" Bruce began.
"My. Mother. Is. Not. Dead." Diana spoke tersely, interrupting him. Kal watched her even closer as he could see a chink in her ever-present armor.
"O—of—of course not, Princess Diana." Artemis rushed out, feeling foolish for even having hinted at such.
"Donna. Kara. We leave for Themyscira in five minutes." Diana spoke firmly. The two younger women nodded, her tone brooked no argument. "Artemis, you will receive healing here on the satellite and will return to the island once you are well." She placed a hand on the woman's shoulder, having felt bad for her reaction mere moments ago. Artemis bowed her head in acceptance of the order.
"As you wish, my Queen."
"Queen?"
"Yes, Kal. With Queen Hippolyta missing, Diana is the de facto Queen." Kara explained.
"Kara, I know the law. I just thought there was …a grace period of sorts." Kal responded.
"Our people need a leader now, Kal. Until my Mother is returned, we follow Diana." Donna answered briskly. She nodded her thanks to J'onn as he escorted Artemis to the infirmary for treatment. "Please, tell Wally I will return as soon as I am able." She left with Kara to wait for Diana at the transport pod.
Diana stood from her seat, her face a mask of determination, her voice even as she spoke. "Kal, Bruce, I will return once I have assessed the damage to the island and gather information about my mother." Her progress to the door was halted by Kal. The unspoken question was clear in his soft gaze.
"Kal, it is my duty…and my mother."
He nodded his head, taking in a deep breath, "It's just…how do we know this isn't a trap? "
"We don't." She answered matter-of-factly. "But that does not change what must be done."
"Diana, Darkseid is involved; I think we should accompany you?" Bruce added.
Kal held her gaze for a moment, willing her to agree and all the while knowing she wouldn't. "No, Bruce. She is Queen and will decide how best to handle this."
Diana's gaze softened at the conviction in his voice. She placed her hand to his cheek, his eyes immediately closed of their own volition. She answered Bruce although her eyes never left Kal. "The laws of the island are still in effect, Bruce." Her voice was noticeably lower as she spoke. "We will be fine."
Kal opened his mouth in an effort to speak, however, no words left his lips. Diana nodded and held Kal's gaze a moment more, their silent communication conveying more than words ever could. Then she swiftly turned on her heels, leaving he and Bruce in the room.
Both men stared after her as she left, Bruce's gravelly voice piercing the silence. "You know we should have gone, don't you?"
Kal was silent a moment more, worrying gnawing at the back of his mind. "I know."