Chapter 22

"The Drumbeat Grew Louder"

Evening

John Stewart was tired. Between his Lantern duties and the League, he'd been on the go for almost twenty-six hours. As he made his way up to his apartment, his only thoughts were of a hot shower and a comfortable bed.

The moment he opened his door, he knew those would have to wait. The green glow of her ring outlined her figure in the darkness. Katma Tui. There was history between them, but somehow he knew this wasn't personal.

"Hello, John Stewart, we need to talk," she immediately said. The fact that she had broken into his apartment wasn't mentioned, it was straight to business.

"You're a long way from your usual stomping grounds, aren't you, Katma," he asked. He turned on the light over his drafting board to get a better look at her. It didn't provide that much illumination, but at least it helped see her a little clearer. She was lovely as always. There was a time when just the sight of her in or out of that uniform sent John's heart racing, but that was in the past. Those memories flash through his mind while he waited for her to begin. For some reason he always associated the scent of cinnamon with her. It always lingered in the room, even after she'd gone.

"You look tired, John Stewart."

Now he knew for certain it was business. She always had that irritating habit of using his full name when she wanted to be professional.

"I've been pretty busy," he offered.

"Yes, the Guardians have noticed," she replied. "You do remember them, don't you? The primary people you work for?"

"Is there a point to this?"

That got a brief smile from her. She moved slowly towards him. He couldn't help but admire the fluid grace that seemed to be an innate part of everything she did. Katma ran her fingertips along the back of his couch, as if wanting to get a tactile sense of her surroundings. She looked at him again, but the smile was gone.

"Yes, it seems your involvement in the Justice League has made you lax in your responsibilities to the Guardians, John Stewart. Your job isn't just to fight crime in this sector, but to report all major events back to the Guardians."

"I know what my job is, Katma," John said in irritation. "The Guardians have my reports. I've kept them up on all the major events in this sector."

"Are you sure," she asked. She crossed her arms in front of her. The pose she struck clearly a challenge to him.

"Yes, but since you're here I'm assuming there's a reason," John replied. "If you think I've failed to report something, why don't you stop this game and just tell me what it is?"

She walked towards him and stopped only two feet away. She picked up the newspaper from the table and held it up in front of his face. It was the cover with Superman and Power Girl.

"They're dating, I'd hardly call that a major event," he said dismissively.

"The Guardians disagree, John Stewart," she replied. "They think it is a rather important occurrence. One that you should have reported."

"Since when do they care who's dating who," John asked.

"Since it involves Superman," she answered. "Superman and another Kryptonian is a major event, John Stewart."

"I don't think so."

"The big picture isn't your concern," she said. "But it is the Guardians."

'The big picture, are you serious?" John laughed. "Those little guys have too much time on their hands if they've started worrying about who Superman's dating."

She looked at him with that superior gaze that never failed to infuriate him. Without saying a word, she made him feel like he was just some novice floundering around. He wondered if they would ever get passed the teacher/student dynamic in their relationship. He knew what was coming next and she didn't disappoint him. There it was, the disapproving headshake. Katma turned and walked over to the window and gazed up at the stars.

"What do you know about the Kryptonians, John Stewart,' she asked.

"They're no more," he replied. "The planet exploded and just a handful survived."

"And before their planet exploded?"

"Not much really," he admitted. "They were a technologically advanced people I understand."

"Yes, they were," she said. "They are also a much older race than humans and most others in the galaxy. Did you know their society had a rather loose caste system? The scientist and warrior castes tended to be the most important. Let your mind think about that for a moment, John Stewart. A race that is far superior to most in technology with militaristic leanings. Does that not sound like someone the Guardians would want to keep an eye on?"

It was, John knew, but that was ancient history.

"But they're gone, Katma. If they Guardians were so worried about them, why didn't they do something back then?"

"Kryptonian society was severely xenophobic," she replied. "They didn't leave their home world, so the Guardians felt there wasn't a need."

"So we're back to where we started.'

There it was again, the disapproving headshake, only she'd added a new wrinkle to it, a slight bow of the head. John had the distinct feeling of being back in school and had just given a hopelessly wrong answer.

"Not quite. The other reason the Guardians haven't been more concerned with the Kryptonians, especially since their planet was destroyed is much more basic. Kryptonian DNA is complex enough to make them unable to conceive with most of the races in the universe, including humans. There is one exception Daxamites are compatible. They also happen to be rather xenophobic."

"I'm sure this is all very fascinating but what's the point," John asked. He was tired and didn't want to play this game with her. She finally turned and looked at him again.

"One Kryptonian man, Superman nearly conquered this planet, John. That alone should raise concerns"

"He was brainwashed by Darkseid," John argued.

"Yes, that's true, but now he's found one of the only truly genetically compatible women in the entire galaxy. A highly advanced, technologically superior, militaristic race that was near extinction could be reborn through them. Think about that for a moment," she said. "We haven't even touched on their amazing gifts, yet."

She was painting a dark scenario, but he wasn't going to go there. She didn't know Superman or Power Girl, for that matter. He did and she was all wrong about them.

"He's not like that," John protested. "First of all, I think you're jumping ahead several steps. Like I said, they're just dating right now. You can't assume where it will go between them. Even if they had a child, I'd hardly call that the flowering of their race."

"Most species have an ingrained biological urge to reproduce. Kryptonians are no different."

"It's amazing," John offered. "You've been able to twist two people falling in love and having a child into something sinister. You really have a gift, Katma."

"One child? You're forgetting their technology, John Stewart," she countered. "They developed and perfected a birthing matrix for reproduction. With it, we're not just talking about one child, but possibly hundreds, thousands. If that seems unlikely to you, I would point out the technology still exists. Superman has it. He has all the technological advancements of his people locked away in that Fortress of his."

John didn't want to believe what she was implying. He knew Superman. Superman would never do something like what she was suggesting. He'd never actually been to the fortress, but it didn't jib with the man he knew.

"You're wrong, Katma, he's not like that."

"Perhaps," she replied. "But let me pose just one more scenario to you, John. This highly advance, militaristic society produced General Zod, among others. Now imagine Superman and Power Girl having offspring. Imagine those offspring coming into contact with the Daxamites. I should point out the Daxamites have nearly the same gifts under a yellow sun as the Kryptonians and they also still think of the Kryptonians as their blood brothers and in many ways superiors or leaders. There are three billion Daxamites, John Stewart. Tell me, if they ever decided to, what force in the universe could stop them?"

John had no answer for her. Katma picked up the paper and walked towards John. She looked him straight in the eye and then pressed the paper against his chest.

"Now you understand why he Guardians think this is a major event. They're not alone in that belief around the galaxy."

The Watchtower

Bruce's word had been rolling around in Diana's head all day. She tried to dismiss them as just his unique paranoia, but they continued to linger. Kal was her best friend and she felt she knew he better than anyone. She hadn't been around for that tragic time when Darkseid brainwashed, but she knew it affected him deeply. For a man like him, one of compassion and honor, few things were worse than the lose of trust. He never spoke of it, but she could tell that the distrust and suspicion governments and citizens still harbored towards him wounded him deeply.

Diana didn't really know Power Girl all that well. She was a fierce warrior and reminded her of her Amazon sisters. She was also rather irritating and could be blunt to the point of rudeness. Now she was with Kal.

That surprised Diana.

Frankly, she had always just assumed there could be no other for him besides Lois Lane. She was another blunt and annoying woman. Apparently that was Kal's type. While Diana was new to the interactions between men and women, she had never really seen it between Kal and Lois. For that matter, she didn't see it between Kal and Power Girl either.

Yes, she was physically attractive, in a showy way. Power Girl apparently lacked modesty, if her outfit was any indications, Diana thought. To flaunt her body so openly was something Diana had a hard time understanding. If the men of the League were any indication, the leers and comments directed towards Power Girl certainly made it plain they approved of her shameless display.

Is that what Kal is attracted to, she wondered? Are all men attracted to that sort of thing? Diana shook her head realizing there was so much she didn't understand about the man's world.

She was sitting in the cafeteria watching her fellow teammates. Since her conversation with Bruce, Diana had become aware of an undercurrent on the station. She had been so distracted by her anger at Wally and the others she hadn't noticed it before. It seemed to be centered on the very thing Bruce had been talking about, Superman and Power Girl dating.

Walking around the station, Diana could hear members whispering about them. It wasn't the normal gossip that she'd learned to expect. Diana hadn't been able to put her finger on what was different at first, but as she sat at her table it came to her, fear. Her teammates were uneasy and uncertain what it meant for Kal and Power Girl to be dating.

At a table near where Diana was sitting a rather heated argument was going on about just that topic. Vigilante and Wildcat of all people were defending Kal and Power Girl against Captain Atom, STRIPE and the Question.

Plastic Man was telling dirty jokes that seemed to have nothing to do with the argument.

Diana sat and listened. The thrust of the argument seemed to be around two points. Given the examples of his attack while under Darkseid's control and the Justice Lords, wasn't it just prudent to be concerned about two very powerful beings like them being together? The Question laid out several elaborate scenarios under which Kal and Power Girl poised a serious threat.

Diana wasn't sure she followed all his connections and some of them seemed tenuous at best. How Marilyn Monroe and Snuggies fit into it all, she hadn't a clue.

STRIPE's concerns seemed to be centered on the League itself. He worried that ordinary people already saw the League as some sort of Demi-Gods on high and this would only further alienate the League from the very people they were trying to protect.

Vigilante and Wildcat's counter argument surprised her. They were older than most of the members and had always seemed like the hard-bitten realists of the group. They spoke of love and the individual. Wildcat said that when you start taking away one person's rights for things that might happen; you were on the road to taking away everyone's rights.

Vigilante added that they all knew Superman and what sort of man he was. Didn't he deserve the same chance at love? Didn't he have the same right to a private life like everyone else?

Diana was moved by their words, but also a little disconcerted. Until Vigilante mentioned it, the idea of Kal being in love with Power Girl hadn't crossed her mind. They were just dating, she told herself. Was Kal in love with Power Girl?

Before she could ponder that question, her attention was drawn back to the argument. Captain Atom spoke up. His argument was different. He said that while he agreed Superman was a great hero and Earth owed him a huge debt, that they should never forget he was an alien. He asked what did they really know about the Kryptonians? Yes, there were heroes like Superman and Power Girl, but hadn't General Zod been a Kryptonian too? Didn't Earth have a right to be nervous that now two Kryptonians were together? They destroyed their own planet didn't they, the Captain asked?

A strange silence fell over the cafeteria. Everyone suddenly seemed very nervous. Diana turned to see Kara walking towards Captain Atom. She stopped right in front of the table.

"I'm a Kryptonian, Captain," Kara grumbled. "Would you care to repeat what you said about us?"

"I wasn't talking about you, Supergirl," Captain Atom replied. "I'm just saying what's out there. Given your people's history and powers, people have a right to be concerned."

"Because we're aliens, right?"

"Yes."

"So the fact that my cousin has saved this planet countless times means nothing," Kara spat out. The anger was obvious on her face. "I always knew you were kind of an asshole, but now I find out you're a bigot too! "

Captain Atom slowly stood up and looked at her. His temper was up and he wasn't going to take this from her.

"Your love of your cousin obviously clouds your judgment, girl. Earth is my home and I have a right to be concerned over what might threaten it. It doesn't make me a bigot if I point out worries many have. I'll let it go this time, but watch your mouth from now on."

"Or what, Captain? Is this just more big talk like slandering my cousin when he's not around or are you going to man up for once," Kara sarcastically replied.

"Why you little bit.."

"Hold it! Hold it right that," Vigilante cut in. "Let's all calm down a bit.'

"Let's remember we're all on the same side," Wildcat added.

"Are we," Captain Atom asked.

Captain Atom and Supergirl stood glaring at each other.

"You are such a douchebag, Captain," Kara said. She balled up her fist, but before she could do anything, Diana stepped in front of her.

"I think it would be best if you walked away, Kara," Diana sternly said.

"But Diana, you heard what he said about Clark," Kara complained.

"Walk away, Kara."

Kara grumbled, but eventually gave in. She shot Captain Atom a withering glare and then stormed out of the cafeteria.

"Thank you for stepping in when you did, Wonder Woman," Captain Atom said.

Diana turned and looked at him.

"I would suggest from now on you remember Superman is your teammate, Captain. If you have concerns or accusations to make," Diana replied. "Make them to his face, not behind his back or to his teenage cousin. Just for the record, I stepped in to save you from her, Captain."

Diana held his gaze for a moment and then walked out.

"You certainly have a way with women, Captain," Vigilante teased.

'They misunderstood what I was trying to say," Captain Atom defended himself.

"Somehow I think they understood what you were getting at, Captain," Wildcat offered.

"I think we've all had enough debate for one day," Vigilante said. "What we need is to relax. How about another game of Tonk, Captain? You really seemed to be getting the hang of it there towards the end."

"You know the government invented the card game Tonk as a way to control highway workers minds, don't you," the Question asked.

"Have any of you heard the one about Lindsay Lohan and the Pope at the balloon factory," Plastic Man smiled.

Everyone turned and looked at him.

"What? It's a great joke!"

Smallville

Clark had spent the last few hour back home with Martha. He didn't get back to the farm as much as he wanted to these days. It was good to be back home. Ma wanted to know all about Karen and made him promise to bring her so she could meet her. They had dinner together. Ma insisted he eat, as he looked thin to her. They talked about Kara and how fast she was growing. Ma worried Kara was too thin as well.

The time had flown by. Being on the farm felt far away from all the problems of the world. Unfortunately, the outside world always had a way of finding Clark.

He heard the car long before it was even close to the house. The sun was just setting as he kissed Ma goodbye and promised to come back soon, with Karen. He stepped out onto the porch, as the sports car turned down the drive. The Porsche pulled up by the barn and Bruce Wayne stepped out.

The two men stood looking at each other for a moment.

"So you finally got around to coming to me, Bruce," Clark asked with a smile.

"We need to talk, Clark," Bruce replied.

"All right, let's take a walk."