Ch 26— Ho…ly shiitake
Clark watched Wally leave, soon followed by Michael, again leaving he and Bruce in the room alone. He reclined back on the exam table, intent on soaking up some more of the simulated sunlight. His recent admission to Bruce shook him more than he'd like to admit. Peeking from behind a closed lid, he chuckled as he saw that Bruce still appeared disturbed by their conversation with Wally.
"If he doesn't learn to take things seriously, he's going to get himself killed one day."
"Nah, death is too serious for Wally." He joked. "He does make a valid point, though." Clark added.
Bruce shook his head briefly then turned his attention back to his friend. Clearly, he still needed more time under the healing rays of the light. "And what point would that be?"
"Making time for your lady. Diana and I have only spoken briefly, but that's only been because she has been a little preoccupied. The point is we still make time to talk. I've yet to see you and Selina so much as hold hands since she's arrived here."
"That's because I don't engage in PDA where I work and Selina respects that."
"And how exactly does Selina feel about that, Bruce?"
"Well…sh-she…I guess I don't know." Bruce dejectedly sat down on the edge of the table. "Well, she hasn't said anything to me about it."
Clark propped himself up on one elbow to look at his friend. WhowouldhavethoughttheBatmanwouldeverbestumped?Howfittingthatitbeatthehandsofhislady?He chuckled quietly, "Maybe it's because she knows you don't engage in PDA at work." He threw the man's words back at him. "Trust me, if Diana was here—I mean, right here with me, within arm's reach-there wouldn't be a force powerful enough to keep me from her or from telling her how much she means to me."
Bruce considered his friend's words. The unsure, timid Clark Kent persona that sometimes surfaced when he and Clark discussed personal issues was nowhere to be seen. In his place there was Kal-El/Superman, sure of his belief in love and the importance of cherishing those we have while they are with us.
"Damn it, I'm going to screw this up, aren't I?"
"Nah, we won't let you do that. Selina's the first person that's ever gotten you to lighten up. Letting her slip away would be like inviting the old sourpuss Batman to come back-and trust me, nobodywants that." Clark deadpanned.
Bruce shot his trademark glare in the man's general direction then gave up once he saw it had no effect. He looked especially vulnerable and un-Batman-like as he dropped his head into his hands. "Ah, hell. You're right."
Wally's Quarters…
Wally exited his bath chamber slowly, allowing the steam to waft out ahead of him. He purposely left the top folds of his robe gape open, giving his audience a good view of his impressive pectorals. He spun deftly as Barry White seductively spoke over the entrancing background music of LoveSerenade. He mimed the words as he took his time reaching the video monitor in his room, stopping intermittently to do a little shuffle, occasionally opening and closing his robe for added effect.
Take it off baby, take it all off…
I wanna see you the way you came into the world
I dont wanna feel no clothes,
I dont wanna see no panties…and take off that brassiere,
my dear, everybody's gone.
I'm taking the receiver off the phone because baby you and me...This night...
We're gonna get it on to love serenade...
When he made it to the foot of his bed, directly in front of the video monitor, he threw his head back in exaggerated fashion before dropping his robe and sprawling seductively across the bed. Donna always loved it when he teased her. He finally made eye contact with the monitor and what he saw made his insides shiver…and the banana in his "banana hammock" followed suit.
Disgust could not describe the manner in which Kara looked at him. Throw in a bit of abject horror and that might put one in the ballpark of describing it. "So.Gross."
"K-Kara? Wha tha hell?" Wally zoomed out of view and returned seconds later wearing his uniform and a trench coat -just to err on the side of caution.
"Ugh—Donna got called away for an emergency meeting and didn't want to leave you hanging—absolutely no pun intended."
Wally grasped the trench coat to ensure it was fully closed. "She could've just left a note in front of the monitor! Man, I have never felt so violated!"
"You? What about me? I'm the one with this damned eidetic memory! Ugh, soooogross." Kara actually shuddered as she spoke the last words.
"Hey! I work out every day, so could you please find another term besides gross?"
Kara scrunched up her face, Heactuallyhasthenervetobeoffended? "Okay…why don't we go with super creepy?"
"Look here, Kara-"
"Oh, no, sir. I've looked quite enough! Anyway, I was just coming to use her video chat to contact Rokk about something. She said nothing about the potential for this…this…creepshow!" There, she shuddered again.
"Just tell Donna to call me later—when she's aloooooonnnnne-uh!" He felt the need to put extra emphasis on the word.
"Whatev, creeper-"
Suddenly, a war cry rang out as the war drums outside the palace beat a frantic staccato. "Trouble. Gotta go, Wally!" Kara blurred out of his line of vision.
Sensing that something was wrong, Wally zoomed out his quarters.
Rushing out as she did, Kara was unaware that Rokk was indeed waiting on the line, his face coming into view after Wally's call ended.
"Dammit! She's not there! Kara! Kara! If you can hear me, I know who the alien is! It's…" He hoped that with her advanced hearing she would pick up on his voice.
One moment, Diana and Anahid were discussing strategies in the event of the next attack, the next, they were bombarded with flames and violent earth-shattering explosions. The force of the unexpected blast tossed the two women nearly twenty feet in the air. Diana quickly gathered her wits about herself and swooped in to save Anahid seconds before she would have been impaled on a nearby spear. Boom tubes were appearing at an alarming rate, depositing hordes of giant, bi-pedal wolf-like beasts.
"Are you harmed?" Diana shouted over the sudden clamor. She took a moment to take in the scene around her as she floated down. Nearly every inch of the once pristine beach was invaded by the huge beasts.
"No! But I am furious!" Anahid was enraged and ready for battle. As soon as her feet touched the ground she scooped up her shield and sword. "Filthy dogs! I will slay them all! Fight well, Queen Diana, and may the fates be with you." She disappeared into the dark plumes, the only indication of her whereabouts was the steel blade of her sword as it cut through the air at amazing speed.
"May the fates be with us all."
Diana responded quietly before flying into the ruckus. She barreled into a group of the imposing beasts like a wrecking ball, sending the hairy intruders flying in all directions. She would have loved to have had the sword of Hephaestus in hand to repel the beasts, but it was out of reach at the moment. IsupposeIshalljustmakedowithwhatIhave,then. With that, she ripped the hem of her tunic to allow more freedom of movement and armed herself with two of the long staff torches nearby. Spinning at an incredible rate, she rained down upon another horde and alternated between burning the ferocious beasts with the flames and battering them with the solid wood posts. As she continued her assault, she glanced about and saw her sisters valiantly battling the beasts; however it seemed they would not be easily dispersed. In fact, she saw three of her Bana sisters at a decided disadvantage as they were outnumbered three-to-one by the snarling, razor-clawed wolf-beasts. She had just begun to lift off the ground when she was suddenly struck from behind by a massive force. She struggled in vain to raise her head from the sand. She did manage to turn her head a few degrees to the right and her eyes were suddenly bombarded by the brightest light she believed she'd ever seen.
"Ah, Princess Diana, I presume." Sounded the deep voice from behind her. "It appears defeating you will be easier than I expected." He did nothing to disguise the mirth in his voice.
Even though this being was clearly powerful, Diana refused to remain pinned and could feel her body tremble from the effort to rise. For the briefest of moments, fear of failure seized her and she saw her mother's nation fall to this being. The image was enough send a jolt of what could only be described as raw fury through her entire being. She called upon a reserve of strength she'd never known she possessed and pushed herself up from the ground, spinning to face her opponent once she'd made it to her feet. A dull pain ebbed through her body as she stared into the stone face of her opponent. Her chest heaved with the effort to breathe, however, her voice was even as she spoke. "Who are you, fiend?"
The being laughed heartily, his skin a sickly shade. "I am the being that will be remembered forever for destroying the being known as Wonder Woman."
A light began to emanate from a gemstone located within his chest. As the light burned brighter as the stone prepared to emit a powerful beam, Diana found that she could not move her body. She braced herself for the onslaught when a red and blue blur zoomed into her line of vision and the being was knocked clear. Once the dust settled, Kara Zor-El stood in his previous spot.
"Quit the dramatics, A-hole." Kara snarled, landing before Diana. "You alright?"
"I will be. I assume this is the space man Phillipus referred to?" She gestured to the mushroom cloud of sand and dust nearly one hundred yards away, indicating where the beast landed.
"Yeah, name's Mongul. Although, I'd say his skin is more yellow than orange and that outfit is beyond tacky."
"Did Rokk happen to tell you of his powers or how to defeat him?"
"Not exactly. We didn't get to speak, per se. I heard the drums and zipped out. I barely caught the name he yelled-"
Any further conversation was lost as Kara turned her attention to a charging wolf-beast. Her speed and precision exact, Kara struck with lightning fast elbows, knees and fists to immobilize the beast. Just as another beast sought to attack the Kryptonian from behind, Diana landed a double fisted blow to the beast's back, effectively ending the threat. Kara swung around immediately thereafter, giving Diana a quick nod of thanks. Suddenly, Kara's face contorted in pain and clutched her mid-section before crashing to the ground.
Diana sped to her friend's side, scanning the surrounding area for kryptonite—the only substance in the universe to cause such a strong reaction for the Kryptonian. Kryptonite. Her search for the offending stone came up empty, yet Kara continued to writhe in pain and her breath came in ragged gasps. Diana kneeled to pick up her friend and whispered to her, "Don't worry, Kara. I will get you out of here."
Kara's body was taut with the effort she put forth to keep from writhing uncontrollably. "N-n-no. Can-can't leave th' Amazons." She struggled to utter the rebuttal, and her head lolled back without her consent.
Diana eyes widened in alarm, never had she seen Kal or Kara fall so quickly to kryptonite. "We go—now."
She tightened her grip on friend as she prepared to liftoff, only to realize she was now surrounded by the oversized wolf-beasts. The beasts frothed and salivated from the mouth as they barely held themselves back from pouncing upon the Amazon Queen.
"Death-Dealers, stay your hands—or should I say claws?" Mongul appeared from nowhere, floating above the beasts he kept at bay. "Now, as I said, I will be remembered in antiquity as the being that defeated Wonder Woman. Death-Dealers, attack!"