Have I gone over this chapter already?: Yes!
Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't updated as fast as I had hoped to. This week has been very busy. So I have decided to make this chapter even longer than any of the others. I would like to thank Kipling Bunny, Ni Castle, and Kita chan for commenting and/or reviewing. I hope you enjoy this chapter; it goes deeper into Diana's thoughts. Don't forget to review!
"lamron ot nruter" A puff of smoke, yet nothing happens.
"won ssecorp esrever" A flash of light, yet there are no desired 'sparks.'
"won odnu!" She commands with a growl.
"namuh emoceb!" "kcab tfihs!" "mrof larutan ot nruter!" "regnol on regit a eb!"
Hissing the words out angrily, she shouts them out, one right after the other, in rapid fire. Still that does not give us the desired results.
It has been two hours. Two hours in which Zatanna has tried, with the upmost determination, to return the tigers back, to once again being Bruce and Kal.
I watch her, a little worried as she hunches slightly over, panting and annoyed beyond her limit. Shaking her head she angrily mutters incoherent things about goddesses, and their magical tricks.
Straightening, she looks to me apologetic.
"I'm sorry Di, but I gave it all I got, and nothing seems to work." She rubs her temples. "I even tried casting my own spell – you know to like turn them into frogs or whatever- but that didn't work either. I mean whatever spell Circe cast on them she did it good. So good in fact, that only she has the ability to reverse their form."
I can feel my lips tighten irritatingly in response to the last segment of her news. Knowing that, further proves my theory. Circe has something cooking up in that head of hers, and whatever it is; I know it's not good. The image of her eyes, as she looked at me before changing both Batman and Superman, flash through my mind.
My stomach falls slightly.
The sight of Kal pacing the room lazily brings me out of my burdened thoughts.
Shaking my head, I move to stand next to Zatanna.
"It's alright Zi. At least you tried. Because of you, we now know that we can't reverse... this." I wave my hand slightly around, to indicate both tigers.
"So what now?" She asks quietly.
"Now, we go to plan B." I reply
She looks at me expectantly, waiting for me to continue. Taking a deep breath, I once more look down at my two tigers. Bruce lifts his head, and gazes back at me steadily.
"We find Circe." I say determinedly.
Zatanna shifts next to me and places a well-manicured nail on her chin thoughtfully.
"Now that's something I may be able to help you with."
I raise a brow at her, and she quickly continues to give an explanation.
"Let me check and see if one of my 'providers' is in town. If he is, then more than likely, I can complete a locator spell."
"When you do find out, please contact J'onn. I don't know how much longer I can stay up here on the Watchtower with these two. Right now it is fine since the place is almost empty, due to the fact that practically every league member is assisting with clean-up in the Andromeda Galaxy. I know that they will be back soon though, and I can't have them pent up here in my room forever."
I breathe out a sigh. "What am I going to do with them?"
"You can't make up some story." She asks. I smirk.
"You know how bad I am at lying; I already tried that with Wally."
"Really? What did you say?" She asks, genuine curiosity etched across her features.
"Let's just say it involved the Princess of Kasnia."
"Well what's wrong with that? It's not a whole lie, you do know her."
"How many people do you think will believe that Princess Audrey owns two tigers?" I raise a brow at her. "Come to think of it, she even publicly admitted that she couldn't keep her fish alive." I add dryly.
Zatanna chuckles in amusement, then her eyes light up with an idea.
"What about the embassy?" She exclaims, snapping her fingers for emphasis. "Surely you have a private room there that's big enough for them."
I shake my head.
"It is under reconstruction because of that last fight with Cheetah. She did extensive damage to the place."
Zatanna pouts slightly, at the fact that her solution, isn't very much a solution.
"Oh well, I'm sure you'll come up with something. You always do."
I smile wanly at her. I only hope she's right.
"I've got to go Di. I have a show to host soon. Gotta make money one way or another, not all of us are lucky enough to come from a royal blood line." I chuckle at that statement, and wrap her in a hug before taking a step back.
She tips her hat at me, and with a puff of smoke, she is gone.
My smile disappears.
Thoughts are swirling in my head. I feel deeply irritated, and frustrated all at once, and that in itself annoys me. I can't help it though. The stress has been building up over the months. The feelings of pain, anger, betrayal, confusion, and loneliness have been eating away at my insides ever so slowly.
I never have shown it. I have remained my controlled, fierce, compassionate, strong, and confident self. I have masked every problem and situation that has arisen lately. To everyone else I seem and act just the same as I always have. No one suspects anything. And if anyone did, they would automatically assume that I was unaffected by these problems. I am an Amazon after all, a power head Meta, an almost invulnerable superhero which means that I can handle anything and everything. That is what everyone knows and sees. They wouldn't understand. They forget that although I am an Amazon, I have in a way, become human. I will always be a descendant from the ancient race of Woman Warriors, always be fierce in keeping up the good fight, always be fearless in the face of danger, and always be strong in the way of my beliefs.
Still that does not change the fact that this world has changed me, softened me in ways I could not imagine.
Hence the reason for masking this… this… uncertainty, frustration and pain. But I can only keep the mask up for so long. There are times when it cracks, splinters and breaks. Exposing me for the entire world to see. That is why I make sure to only let it happen in private. That way no one will know that something is wrong.
I glance up and realize that I have subconsciously led myself to the observation room. I gaze through the glass window that practically fills up the entire wall space, and my eyes soften slightly at the sight before me. The earth is tilted, spinning slowly as it rotates around the sun. The darkness of space clashes with the bright blue hue of our world, creating a marvelous site. This world is my home. It has had a hand in creating a different path of thinking for me, and for the way I see men. I still believe that they can be foolish, stubborn and at times power hungry. But I have also seen the other side of them. The compassionate, and caring side. Their thoughtfulness, strength and steel like will that they possess.
Knowing this is a gift and in a way a…
Curse.
There is no way that I can remain as naive as I once was before. I have come to know the good side, but I cannot always get to experience the good without the bad.
My throat tightens as one name pops into my head uninvited.
Tom.
He was such a good man. He was everything a woman wanted, and looked for in a male companion. He was tall, blonde, smart, handsome, funny, and caring. He was close to being the perfect specimen.
It was all just an illusion. A show that he played to ensure that I'd get reeled in. I found out later what kind of man he truly was after walking in on him and his lady 'friend.'
I can remember the morning clear as day. It was beautiful, warm and sunny. All was right with the world. At least it was until I swung that door open. Time seemed to freeze as I had taken in the site before me.
There, on my own living room couch, sat two people. Giggles and whispered conversations filled the air as I watched on horrified. Anger boiled within me, yet I wasn't able to move. I had no control over my own limbs, thoughts or emotions. The handle on the door crumpled under my clenched fingers.
"Tom!" I roared out, as soon as I had found my voice, and was able to speak.
The 'couple' jumped apart, terrified. His head jerked up instantly, and confusion flickered across his face as he peered at me stupidly. Once the fog of confusion had lifted from his eyes, he quickly jerked his head back to the women beside him, and panicked. He jumped up off of the couch, as if it were on fire.
"Nice try Tom, but I think not." I say through clenched teeth, already knowing that he was desperately seeking a reasonable explanation for all of this.
Through narrowed eyes I glared harshly at the women. She was familiar. I immediately remembered her from the grocery store that I and Tom had so frequently shopped at.
"Get. Out." I said through gritted teeth. Seemingly faster than flash, she jumped from the couch, grabbed her purse and flowers from the floor and ran through the front door, making sure to close it behind her swiftly.
That's when I finally felt my heart break… for the second time.
I had broken up with him quickly after that. The break-up was brutal. At least it was for me and him. Not once in our relationship had we argued so fiercely. There was no holding back during this one, we fought, argued, and screamed at each other.
Once I mentioned that we were through, he became furious, and unreasonably so. He couldn't believe what I was saying. He argued that I wasn't thinking straight, that I didn't know what I was saying. When I replied back, saying that I was a hundred percent sure of what I was doing, he back-handed me across the face.
That led to him gaining a black eye, some bruises, and a broken wrist. As far as I was concerned, he deserved that, and more.
He got off lucky.
The following week had been painful for me. That had been the first real relationship I had ever been in. To find out that my boyfriend really was a lying two-faced pig rather than a sweet honest gentleman had put me in a sour mood.
I hid the pain well. No one found out the reason behind the break-up. When asked I would only reply with a "just didn't work out" speech and a slight shrug. It wasn't a lie; it just wasn't a very detailed explanation. Nothing more, nothing less, and they accepted it believably.
Kal doesn't even know the reason behind the break-up. "I have yet to tell him."
I release a heavy sigh, and rub the bridge of my nose absentmindedly. I was going to tell him. Up there on the roof, I had made a decision to do so. I had planned for things to go smoothly, I had agreed to have a sit down with him, to talk, and to confess all of these emotions, and insecurities. Of all the people I know here non earth, there is only a selective few that I can truly express my inner feelings to. Kal is one of them.
It would have seen so much easier to lessen the burden of all of... this. To share my secrets with someone I care for, and trust. Yet the fates choose to make my path all the more difficult.
Then there is Bruce. I haven't uttered a single word to him about the break-up either. I don't even believe that he's even figured out himself yet. If he has, he hasn't shown any indication of knowing. He could very well track Tom down and get all the information he needs from him, but deep down, I think that he's waiting for me. Waiting for me to tell him on my own, when I am good and ready. This wouldn't seem so bad, in fact it'd be kind of sweet, only in the sense of me knowing what his true intentions were for this plan of action. I can't know for sure on whether he intends to berate me for my choice in men, or something else that I am not yet sure about.
Bruce.
Now that is another matter entirely by itself. Don't even go there. I warn myself.
I breathe in deeply, closing my eyes and resting my forehead against the cool glass. If only there was a place I could go to, where I could escape all of this.
All these problems and hardships weigh heavy on me once more, and there is no one left to share my burden.
Not my mother.
Not my Sisters.
Defiantly not Tom.
Not even J'onn.
Being a Telepath, he has enough on his plate. I couldn't bring myself to burden him even more.
Banishment. One word yet it threatens to bring tears to my eyes. I clench my fists, digging my nails deep into the palms of my hands. Tears. They are the enemy. If I let them fall, they will never stop. I will break down, and right now I need to stay pieced together. It's not the banishment that hurts me the most. No. It is a big part, but there is even a bigger reason. My queen is the person to have had exiled me. She is my queen, yes, but she is also my mother. I had thought that she at least would have shown something, an ounce of emotion, a reaction of some sort.
But no.
As the words left her lips, her eyes remained blank. Her voice uncaring, her motions, stiff and formal. One word she said, and I was doomed to never step on my homeland, never able to see the faces of my sisters or family, ever again. It wasn't what she had said that hurt me, as much as what she didn't say.
During the private time that she personally escorted me off of the Island, she could have said something, but she didn't. We parted as a Queen and her warrior, not as a mother and her daughter.
Bowing to her in respect, I looked up into her eyes, and only saw disappointment. That was all she had cared to reveal to me, and that was the third time my heart broke.
My eyes snap open, and I back away from the glass. Anger surges through my very being, and I feel the need to release some pent up energy.
I pull my arm back; my fist clenched even harder than before, and punch forward.
I can feel the wall break beneath my knuckles. Swiftly I wrench my arm free, and wince at the size of the hole that I have just created. Pieces of steel and dry wall fall to the ground in a heap, and once again, I sigh. Another mess in my life.
Backing away, I once again, let my gaze fall upon that of earth. So seemingly peaceful, and calm, but within it lays chaos, hate and pain.
Tightening my lips into a thin line, I whirl around abruptly, and fly down back the corridor, not noticing the dark, black, tail twitching silently in the shadowed corner.
With a soft hiss my door slides open. After the visit to the observation window, I had decided to head to the simulation room. I felt tired, exhausted and worn out, yet in a way... I also felt... refreshed. I move to my bed, and lie down on the mattress with a soft moan of delight.
Kal moves to the carpet on the floor next to my bed. He settles himself comfortably, before placing his head on his paws. Reaching over, I scratch his head.
He purrs happily, and I smile at him lazily, before reaching my right hand outward, and switching off the lamp light with a light click. Closing my eyes, I feel the growing sensation of eyes boring unto me. Cracking an eye open, I immediately spot two green eyes glowing in the dark, watching me intently. I proceed to ignore them, and close my eyes once again in response.
Exhaustion lays heavy within my body, and I feel myself drift off into a deep, fitful, sleep. When suddenly, I feel the bed dip ever so slightly behind me, with that of added weight. The feel of fur, and heat is now present at my back.
Bruce has decided to lie next to me on my bed. He doesn't cuddle or press close, but he is still surprisingly there.
His presence makes my body relax even more, my breathing deepens, and I can feel myself go under. I can't help but smile as I finally drift into much needed sleep, by the sound of his steady breathing.
So what do you think? Good, bad okay?
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So what do you think of the cover that I uploaded for this story?
Too simple or is it alright? Let me know! I like hearing from you.
