Chapter 5: World's Finest

Disclaimer: All things Supergirl/Superman and Wonder Woman belong to DC. No infringement is intended.

Kara had never had a best friend growing up. Oh, she had had friends. Growing up on Krypton, there had been a number of girls and boys she had been close with, mostly due to the fact that they had lived in the same neighborhood. None of them had been so close that she would have called them her best friend, though. Not like Clark and the Lane girl, who seemed attached at the hip most days. She had never had that back on Krypton.

On Earth the situation had been even more complicated due to her passing Clark off as her own son. Smallville was, as the name implied, quite small and of course the story they had created to explain her and Clark had made the rounds quickly. The other teenagers around town had been weirded out by her already being a mother, while the other mothers around town had been weirded out by her still being a teenager. Her needing the better part of a year to get a handle on her powers before she was confident enough to regularly interact with other humans had only added to the off-putting weirdness of Karen Kent.

Things had become better in recent years. She was an adult now, so it became easier for the people of Smallville to ignore how young she had been when she had supposedly had Clark. She was friendly with most people in town, she regularly participated in social events around school, and while most people didn't know what she was doing for a living, the fact that she had quite a bit of money to spend certainly hadn't hurt her standing, either, of course.

Still, she didn't have anything resembling a best friend. She was, of course, very close with Martha, but Martha was more of a mother figure and mentor for her. There had been a few times in the past when she had slipped up and called Martha "mom", which the older woman had never minded. Quite the opposite, in fact. Kara could not really convince herself to do it regularly, though. She refused to do that to Alura.

Kara did not lead an isolated existence by any measure, but the requirements of keeping the different parts of her life so sharply separated made it hard to let anyone in close. Many people admired her as Superwoman, but she was the untouchable hero who quickly vanished once the emergency was over. In her life as boss and owner of K-Solutions, quite a few people appreciated her intellect and engineering abilities, but most of them had never seen her in person, as she preferred to walk out of the public eye. Her social life was taking place mostly in Smallville, but again, she had to keep people at arm's length to a certain degree.

So yes, Kara was feeling like she could really use a best friend, a confidant, someone with whom she could share everything. She would never have imagined that said friend would magically appear from a hidden mythological island in the Mediterranean, though.

Rao, she was tall. That was the first thing that went through Kara's mind when she finally had the chance to take a closer look at the warrior woman that she had unceremoniously joined forces with a few minutes ago. A horde of strange looking warriors, looking as if they had sprung directly from an old Hercules B-picture movie, had rampaged through the city of Boston. Superwoman had already been on her way there when she had heard the news that someone was fighting them. Someone described as a flying super-powered woman.

She had alternated between the fear that another super villain had risen and the hope that this woman might somehow, some way be a fellow Kryptonian. She had never told anyone this, but in some distant corner of her heart she kept the hope alive that she and Clark might not be the only survivors of the doomed planet, not the last of their kind. That maybe there were others out there, that some had heeded the El brothers' warnings and had escaped on their own.

The woman in Boston had turned out to be no Kryptonian, though. While she was clearly super-powered, her powers were just as clearly different from Kara's. And she was certainly not a super villain, either, for she protected the innocents from those weird warriors. Kara had quickly begun helping her and the other woman had accepted her help with an acknowledging nod and a smile. Together they had quickly defeated the rampaging warriors who, to Kara's amazement, then seemed to melt right back into the Earth.

"Well fought, sister," the other woman said, giving Kara a smile that seemed to light up the entire city. Kara was aware that she herself was quite the looker by human standards, but Rao, next to this woman she felt like an ugly duckling. "Thank you for your aid."

"No thanks needed, I..." she trailed off, because the other woman grasped both of her forearms and proceeded to kiss Kara on both cheeks. "Ah... I mean... what was I saying?"

Now the other woman frowned, as if not expecting her reaction. "Have you been living in man's world so long, sister, that you have forgotten our customs?"

Kara blinked, trying to form a coherent response. "What?" was the only thing that came out, though.

It took them both sitting down on top of a nearby building and talking for a while to clear up the confusion. Kara learned that the other woman's name was Diana, Princess of Themyscira, a hidden island of warrior woman called Amazons. Kara further learned that Diana had won a contest among her own people and been selected as their champion and emissary to man's world, her mission to promote peace and stop the machinations of Ares, God of War. Kara wasn't quite ready to accept the existence of the Greek gods at face value, but she could not see any deception in the other woman's eyes. Diana was so natural and sincere, Kara couldn't believe she was lying about any of it. Besides, the appearance of those warriors - apparently called Spartoi and grown from dragons' teeth - was kind of hard to ignore.

Diana had initially believed her to be a fellow Amazon, which was not that far of a leap, Kara had to admit. How many different kinds of super-powered women could there be, after all? So Kara told Diana her own name (the Kryptonian one) and that she was from a different world and had come here as a child. Kara didn't tell her everything, of course. No mention of Clark, no mention of her life in Smallville, but it still felt so good and natural to talk with Diana. She enjoyed it.

The two women quickly bonded, given their somewhat similar situations. Both were strangers in a strange world, so to speak. Diana's home was alive and well, of course, and she could return there whenever she wanted, but that didn't change the fact that she felt somewhat alone and isolated in man's world. Kara could certainly empathize. They talked for hours, the time passing with neither of them really noticing, and when they finally parted Kara impulsively gave Diana a contact number where she could reach her. It was officially a number registered to K-Solutions, but any call to it would be routed to Kara's personal phone through an untraceable setup of Kryptonian technology.

Diana gave her a big hug goodbye as they parted. Kara stiffened at first, unused to getting hugs from anyone except Martha, Jonathan, and Clark, but she did end up hugging Diana back. It felt right somehow.

Their second meeting was only a few weeks later and instigated by Diana calling her. It had been too cute, actually, as Diana was still unaccustomed to using a phone. Someone called Julia had apparently helped her figure it out. Diana had called to ask her for a favor, actually. The Amazon was apparently afraid that her fighting skills would deteriorate in man's world, as she had none of her sisters present to train with her. She hoped that Kara would be willing to train with her occasionally.

The idea actually appealed to Kara. With her powers it was almost impossible to find anyone she could train with. Clark was slowly beginning to display powers and she was coaching him through it, but it would be a few years yet until he was anywhere near her level. Not that she really needed training, her powers kept her in peak physical condition and at her strength level she didn't really need martial arts. Still, it might be fun to train with Diana.

The idea that it might be fun vanished just a few minutes into their first training session.

"You need not hold back against me, Kara," Diana said, having just put Kara on her back for the third time in a row. "I know you are very strong, but so am I."

Kara groaned, getting back to her feet. Diana thought she was holding back? Sure, she was not outright trying to kill the other woman, but that hardly constituted holding back. Diana moved in ways Kara had never even imagined and certainly had a very hard time keeping up with, despite having the edge in speed and strength.

"I am not holding back, Diana! Not everyone here was trained in martial arts since she was a little girl!"

This actually seemed to give Diana pause, as if the thought was foreign to her. "You have never received any combat training? Truly?"

Kara shook her head. "I grew up a civilian, Diana, not a warrior. And after I arrived on Earth and my powers began to develop, I easily outmatched everyone I met."

Diana stepped closer to her, nodding in understanding. "I see. You are so much stronger than anyone else in man's world, you have never felt the need to learn any but the most basic martial skills. It is understandable, I guess."

"Yes, I... " Kara didn't get any further because suddenly Diana had moved and without really understanding how it had happened, Kara was flat on her stomach, her arm twisted behind her back, and Diana's knee on the back of her neck. She tried to escape from the hold, but leverage was fully on Diana's side and the Amazon was almost as strong as she.

"Understandable, but still a mistake," Diana said, her voice as sweet and even as ever. "Sooner or later you will meet an opponent just as strong or stronger. Than you will need skill to survive, not just brute strength."

"Point... taken!" Kara groaned out. "Care to let me go now?"

Diana did not care to let her go. From that particular hold, yes, but she then proceeded to throw Kara around their training area - a deserted clearing in the woods somewhere outside Boston - as if she were a rag doll. Kara tried everything to get even a moment's breather, but Diana was relentless in her assault. Kara's advantages in terms of strength and speed were ruthlessly negated by the Amazon's far superior skill level and Diana did not pull her punches, either. Kara was sure she would be bruised all over... well, for a few minutes anyway, before her regenerative powers restored her. Still, it hurt. Not even fighting the Parasite had hurt this much.

When Diana finally let up, Kara simply collapsed onto her back, her eyes stinging with tears of humiliation. Diana squatted down next to her, somewhat sweaty and out of breath, but looking far too pristine for Kara's liking. She had managed to land maybe two or three hits on the other woman, no more. And those damn bracelets of hers even reflected her heat vision, when she had finally restorted to using it. To no avail, mind you.

"I am sorry for this, Kara," Diana said after a moment. "But I truly fear for your safety, as it's clear that you have given far too little thought to developing your fighting skills."

"I would have taken you at your word," Kara said angrily. "There was no need to beat me to a pulp!"

"Really?" Diana asked, raising an eyebrow. "You are the mighty Superwoman, world-famous heroine. I have read up on you. You have encountered, what, two or three people on this world that were truly dangerous to you and you beat them all in a matter of minutes anyway. Would you really have taken this seriously just on my say so?"

Kara grumbled, sitting up slightly so her body rested on her elbows. "Okay, maybe you're right and it would be a good idea for me to get better at fighting, but the next time you've got a point to make, make it with words, okay? Friends do not beat each other up!"

"Huh, I guess things are different here than back on Themyscira," Diana said, shrugging. Kara was not sure whether the Amazon was having her on or not, but when Diana rose and offered her a hand, Kara took it and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. Thank Rao the sun was high in the sky.

"So, twice a week until we get you up to speed?" Diana asked her, smiling brilliantly. Kara simply groaned.

Kara's first visit to Themyscira happened a few months later. There had been a big battle of some sort where Diana had faced off against Ares, the God of War. Kara had only been involved on the sidelines. Diana had said something about Ares joining forces with Hades, God of the Underworld, thus gaining control of the dead. To be honest Kara wasn't sure how much of that she really believed, but there had been this huge army composed of rather dead-looking Greek warriors and mythological creatures attacking Washington DC. Kara fought to keep the city safe, while Diana apparently confronted Ares directly and defeated him.

Diana had been gravely wounded in said battle, though, and been taken back to her home island to recover. Kara had quickly started to worry about the lack of news regarding her friend until she had finally gotten a phone call from Julia Kapatelis, Diana's friend and mentor in man's world. Julia had told her to come to Boston harbor. There she had met Julia and her young daughter Vanessa, and they had all gone on a ship together. A ship that looked like it had sailed directly out of a movie set in ancient Greece, manned by a crew comprised entirely of staggeringly beautiful warrior women.

"You are the one called Kara?" one of the Amazons asked her, which caused Julia to look at her in surprise. Okay, so one more person knew her Kryptonian name now, she guessed. Nothing to it. Vanessa seemed utterly distracted by the Amazons, who were expertly steering the ship out to sea.

"That would be me. Is Diana all right?"

"She is recovering nicely. She will have to remain on the island for a bit longer to recover fully, but she has asked us to bring her friends from man's world for a visit. You should feel honored; we do not usually allow outsiders onto our soil."

Kara was a bit put off by the Amazon's stern demeanor, but she guessed that was to be expected after living in isolation for so long. She herself had needed quite a bit of time to trust anyone apart from the Kents. She still didn't trust easily.

"Thank you," she simply said, bowing her head. "I look forward to seeing your home, Diana has spoken of it often."

The journey on the ship was surprisingly short (magic, Kara figured) and when they finally approached the island (after going through a curtain of mist that tingled uncomfortably on Kara's skin and was impenetrable to her vision powers) Kara quickly realized that Diana's words had not done the place justice. Themyscira was a veritable paradise, a lush green island with long shores, vast forests, and a hauntingly beautiful city built in ancient Greek architectural style. Even Kandor, Krypton's most beautiful city, would have been hard-pressed to rival this place's splendor.

The Amazons took them into the city and towards the biggest building there. Well, Diana was supposed to be a princess, right? It would figure she would live in some sort of palace here.

"Diana," Vanessa squealed, the girl quickly ignoring the beautiful surroundings when she spotted Diana coming down the steps of the palace to greet them. Diana immediately hugged the girl, at the same time giving Kara and Julia a smile.

"Thank you for coming, my friends, and welcome to Themyscira!"

Kara awaited her own turn for a hug, she was glad to see that Diana was all right. She could make out the faint traces of healing wounds on her friend's arms and legs, but Diana was walking with confidence and seemed well on her way to recovery, thank Rao.

"I am glad to see you, Diana," Kara said, holding her close. "You really scared me there for a minute and not hearing anything about your condition for days on end was not helping."

"I am fine, sister! Even more so now that all my friends are here."

The following days were the closest thing to a vacation Kara had experienced since she had gone public as Superwoman. She had worried at first about being cut off from all communication, but the Amazons had shown her how to navigate the mystic barrier that sealed off the island. Her phone, augmented by Kryptonian tech, picked up a signal if she just flew out to sea a few miles beyond the barrier's reach. So she could keep apprised of happenings in the world outside and talk to her family, just to check if everything was all right.

She met Diana's mother on that first day. Queen Hippolyta was a stern woman at first glance, but quickly warmed up the moment she stepped out of the role of ruler and was simply the mother of her friend. She immediately welcomed Kara into her home. Kara could see how worried Hippolyta was about Diana having been hurt, but so very proud of her at the same time. Kara figured she would probably end up doing much the same when the time came for Clark to go out on his own and be the hero she knew he could be.

Diana and Kara spent most of her time there together and Diana showed off her home. They went swimming in the ocean, they rode the huge Amazonian horses along the beaches, and just generally enjoyed each other's company. Kara had never felt so relaxed in her life. Even so, she would probably not get used to the Amazonian dress code anytime soon. Togas were one thing, but the Amazons had few taboos when it came to public nudity, especially during leisure time. Seeing Diana walking up to her fully naked had been a bit of a shock that first time. She was still not used to it.

She quickly learned that pretty much every single Amazon on the island considered Diana to be a niece or baby sister. Something to do with Diana being the only child born on the island, the others all having been born in ancient Greece and not aging ever since. So Kara met quite a few of them during her days there, all of them excited to see the outsider that Diana had apparently described as "as worthy of the title Amazon as any of us". It also led to quite a few friendly bouts of fighting, making Kara very, very glad that she had trained hard under Diana's tutelage these last few months. She still wasn't a match skill-wise for most of the Amazons, but she was just skilled enough that her vast edge in speed and strength allowed her to win more fights than she lost. Of course it also helped that the average Amazon was nowhere near as strong as Diana and unable to fly, either. Anyway, the Amazons quickly warmed up to Kara and basically adopted her as one of their own.

When the time came for them to leave, there was a huge farewell banquet thrown in honor of the outside visitors. Julia and Vanessa had also been accepted by the Amazons, it seemed, so there was no animosity there. The celebration went well into the night and the two mere humans quickly fell asleep on the boat that took them home to Boston. Kara left under her own power after promising to visit again soon.

As the island vanished into the mystic mists behind her, Kara could not help but smile. It had only been a few months, but she was certain that she had found a life-long friend in Diana. The woman had fought by her side and invited her into her home, made all the more special by said home usually being closed to all outsiders. Kara really wanted to return the favor. Of course this led to problems all of their own.

Did she want to risk telling Diana about Clark?

It took her another few months to work up the necessary courage and even then only after several talks with Martha and Jonathan. They trusted her judgement, they said. If Kara thought Diana was trustworthy enough to meet her family, Clark included, then they had no complaints. Also, they were probably somewhat excited to meet the heroine the media called Wonder Woman.

When the day finally came, Kara met up with Diana in Boston. The Amazon was dressed in casual clothing that didn't really manage to hide her height and amazing beauty, but should work well enough for a lazy day in Smallville, Kansas. Together they flew high above the clouds until they finally reached the fields of her home. With Kara quickly making sure that the coast was clear (which now regularly included checking the lead-lined water tank for eavesdroppers), the two dropped down and walked towards the Kent home.

"It's beautiful here," Diana said, looking around in awe.

"Well, it's not Themyscira," Kara hedged, well aware that her home could not match the exotic paradise that was Diana's island.

"Of course not. There is no place on Themyscira so... vast and open. The fields around here seem to go on forever, like oceans made of plants. It's amazing!"

Kara looked at her friend, who was gazing around with wide eyes. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, she reminded herself. For someone who had spent most of her life on a relatively small island with hills, forests, and endless beaches, the vast flat fields of the American Mid-West seemed to hold an exotic beauty all their own.

"Karen, there you are," Martha said, coming out of the house to greet them. "And you must be Diana. Karen has told us so much about you!"

Diana gladly hugged Martha back, at the same time looking at Kara and mouthing "Karen?" at her. Right, she hadn't really explained the multiple-names thing to Diana yet.

"Welcome to our home, Diana," Jonathan said, having followed his wife out of the house. "We are glad to have you with us."

"I am glad to meet you as well," Diana said, shaking his offered hand. "I was looking forward to meeting the people who have shaped Kara into the wonderful woman that she is."

Kara blushed, even as she mentally steeled herself for what was to come next. She trusted Diana, she really did, but there was one aspect of her life where she would have to lie to her friend. It had nothing to do with Diana and everything to do with Clark, who was even now exiting the house and coming towards them. When the time came to tell the truth, it was Clark who deserved to hear it first. Not Diana, not anyone else, only him. Until that day, he would be her son as far as anyone but her, Martha, and Jonathan were concerned.

Then again, after all this time, was it really a lie anymore? She had been Clark's mother for nearly a decade now. He had been her son far longer than he had ever been her cousin. She remembered the way Hippolyta looked at Diana and realized that she was looking at Clark the same way. So maybe it wasn't really a lie at all. At least not when it came to how she felt about him.

"There is one more person I really want you to meet, Diana," Kara finally said, walking over to Clark and putting her arm around his slim shoulders. Her boy was gazing up at the towering Amazon before him in awe.

"This is Clark," she told her friend. "My son."

Diana's eyes widened, looking back and forth between the two of them for a long moment. Her gaze clearly said that Kara would have some explaining to do later on, but then she smiled and held her hand out to Clark.

"Great to meet you, young Clark," she said. "The son of my sister-in-arms is family to me as well!"

Clark could only nod with a very goofy smile on his face.

"Let's head inside, ladies," Jonathan said. "Time for the world's finest heroines to enjoy a good old Kansas lunch!"

Kara walked into her home arm in arm with her best friend, ready to enjoy a great day with her family.

End Chapter 5

Author's Note: Wonder Woman as she appears in this story is mostly based on the George Pérez reboot of the character from 1986, with some elements from the Gal Gadot version thrown in for good measure. Diana is a lot older than Kara, but has so far lead a rather sheltered life on Themyscira and is new to man's world. She can fly under her own power, no need for a jet. I am not yet sure whether I'll go with the classic made-from-clay origin or have her be a child of Zeus like in the movie, but it will probably not be important for this story anyway.