Chapter Four
Martha Kent stepped down from the Learjet that had carried her from Washington, D.C. to Metropolis. It only took a brief moment for her to look around the tarmac until she spotted her son. She beamed with delight as mother and son approached one another.
Clark enveloped his mom in a bear hug. "Hey, mom. I've missed you."
"Oh, Clark, honey, you know how much I've missed you too." Martha looked up at her son. Gone was the smile as it was replaced with a frown. "And don't you ever forget your cell phone, young man. You had me worried that something awful must have happened to you when I tried calling you. I know you call me at least once a week, but you know as well as I do that you don't lead a normal life."
"I'm sorry, mom. By the time I got your message at home it was very late and I didn't want to wake you. You look great by the way."
"Thank you. I see what you're trying to do though. Well, next time you can send me a text. I'm still your mother and I can't help worrying about you."
A young man of average height came up behind Martha. "Excuse me, Senator, we need to get going. Our agenda for today is pretty tight."
"Ronald, meet my son, Clark. Clark, this is my new aide, Ronald Kaye."
Clark extended his hand. "Nice to meet you, Ron. I'm sure my mom is lucky to have you on her staff."
The aide had to crane his neck up as he accepted Clark's hand. He did not expect the Senator's son to be so tall. "It's Ronald, not Ron. Good to meet your acquaintance." Ronald turned his attention back to Martha, "Senator, please," and lead the way to the awaiting limousine.
At Clark's questionable look, Martha looped her arm through Clark's and whispered so only he could hear as they headed towards the vehicle. "Don't worry about him. It just takes a while to get used to him. He's really a nice boy. A little weird and uptight, but excellent at his job. Very dedicated. And comes from a long line of politicians, you know."
They walked the short distance to the limousine. Martha called out to her aide, "Ronald, my son and I have a lot of catching up to do, and I'd like to have some private words with him."
Nodding his head, he replied, "Of course, Senator. I'll sit in the front with the driver."
"Thank you." Martha and Clark got in the back seat of the limousine. As soon as the door closed, Martha turned to her son, "I forgot to tell you that I'm only here for the day. I have to leave before dinner to get back to D.C. I'm sorry I can't stay longer."
"It's okay, mom. I'm just glad that I get to spend a few hours today with you."
Holding her son's hand, Martha said, "So, tell me what's been going on in your life this week."
Smiling back at his mother, Clark said, "Why don't I just tell you about my day yesterday…"
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On any other day, Centennial Park was a tranquil park set in the middle of a square of historical buildings. It offered a pleasant area for the people who worked in those buildings to escape the confines of their stressful offices during their lunch hour and breaks. That day, the park was crowded with people who had come to see Diana meet with Governor Martin and Senator Martha Kent.
All the surrounding buildings had been searched floor by floor by a joint effort of Metropolis police and federal agents, in an attempt to provide security for the Governor, Senator, and the Ambassador. Secret service agents and police officers were also posted throughout the park and by the raised platform. The platform was at least forty feet wide. Piping and draping on the back side of the platform provided a covered and private area for the delegates and their guests to assemble before publicly meeting the crowd.
Martha and Clark had arrived a few minutes ahead of schedule and waited patiently for the Governor and his wife to join them behind the curtained area. Martha proudly introduced Clark to the Governor and Mrs. Martin when they arrived. When they all heard the master of ceremonies cue their appearance, they walked through the opening that led them to the front of the platform. Governor Martin and his wife took one side while Clark escorted Martha to the other side.
Clark was proud that the people actually respected her and were fond of his mother, so he took a few steps back as Martha smiled and waived to the cheering crowd. He also did not feel very comfortable in front of the cheering crowd. He was just the Senator's son. He felt that he had not earned the people's approval to be standing next to her.
Among the crowd were a couple of reporters who were at the previous day's press conference. One of them, an older man with receding hairline, poked his finger on the sandy-haired younger reporter who stood next to him. "Hey, Barton, isn't that Kent from the Planet?"
"Oh, yeah. It sure looks like him." As if something suddenly clicked in his head, Barton told the other one. "Man, Liebowitz…Clark Kent is Martha Kent's son! I should've remembered who his mom is."
Scratching the top of his head, Liebowitz came to another speculation. "That would've explained how Kent got his job, too. Come on, who hires a new reporter that hasn't got a college degree but whose mother just happens to be a Senator? You know as well as I do that anyone else would've started in the mail room."
"Huh. I spent six months interning at the Globe before I could submit any articles of my own. I guess what they say about nepotism is true. Lucky bastard." Barton thought about something else, and wondered if another story was really possible.
Mrs. Martin, who had joined her husband on greeting the crowd, took her position towards the back of the platform, across from Clark, as Martha and the Governor shared the podium. They took turns giving short speeches about how honored they were to be standing there and meeting the Princess to promote peace. And when they were done, they both announced the timed arrival of the Themysciran Ambassador.
Diana, followed closely by Elora, walked through the opening of the drapes with a warm smile on her face. It seemed everyone gasped in awe at her appearance. Even Clark was taken aback. She wore the same tiara, girdle, and bracelets. Instead of wearing another long tunic, Diana wore a crimson top that could only be described as a bustier with the same golden eagle and double W symbol that were on her guard's armor. She also wore crimson shin guards instead of the gold her guards wore, and a blue pleated skirt instead of the crimson skirt that fell just below her mid thigh. A blue cape held by a gold broach hung over her shoulders and down her back. Clark recognized that attire from a photo from one of her meetings in D.C.
Clark thought Diana looked incredible, like some sort of warrior Princess. He glanced over at the Governor, who did not have enough discipline to close his hanging mouth. He did not blame the man for admiring Diana's appearance, but Clark thought he could do it with more class. Because she was standing right next to him, Martha gave the Governor a nudge to remember his manners. Clark also noticed that Mrs. Martin did not like that her husband was having a hard time deciding on whether to rest his eyes on Diana's face or the swell of her ample cleavage. Clark also did not like the older man's leering eyes, but other than burning the man's eyes out with his heat vision, there was nothing he could do about it.
Diana first greeted the Governor with a polite smile and handshake. She greeted Martha the same way, except that her smile held more warmth and admiration for Martha to see. Then, she turned and waived respectful greetings at Mrs. Martin and Clark, but her eyes lingered just a little bit longer on him, as they were still standing several feet away from them before turning her attention back to the cheering crowd before her.
Diana began her salutations with a clear voice. "Greetings people of Metropolis. It is my honor and pleasure to be here today…"
From high above on one of the rooftops, the assassin positioned himself in a covered spot that shielded him from the watchful eyes of policemen and federal agents. He had succeeded in eluding the law enforcement officers while they were doing a security sweep of the buildings earlier. Inept fools, he had thought of them. The rifle in his arms was in position as he looked through the scope that locked on to his target. This was a definitely a good day to honor his family. A small smirk of satisfaction formed on his face as he pulled the trigger.
Clark heard the sound of the bullet being fired from above. In that split second, he could only guess that the shot was aimed at Diana. Before he could even call out a warning or expose himself as the Red Blue Blur by launching himself in front of Diana, Diana successfully deflected the bullet with one of her bracelets. She had heard that same shot but her reflexes were fast enough for her to react. Once again, Diana had amazed him.
The crowd was confused at what just happened. They stood where they did in shock until more shots were fired at Diana. Pandemonium broke out with screams of hysteria as each person ran to find shelter from bullets that were not even directed at them. Federal agents and police officers searched frantically around for the assassin, radioing one another to find the shooter.
The assassin was shocked and furious that he had missed his intended target. So he pulled the trigger once again, and he was not going to stop until he hit his mark or ran out of bullets.
Diana kept deflecting the bullets aimed at her. Those who stayed and watched the events unfold before them were mesmerized by Diana's amazingly quick reflexes as she dodged each bullet. Normally, Clark would have stood in front of anyone to shield them from oncoming projectiles. But seeing that Diana was very capable of taking care of herself, he ran to his mother and stood over a hunched Martha in an effort to protect her from stray bullets. This gave him a chance to see where the shots were coming from.
Elora ran to Diana to shield her with her body. She knew it was an unwise and futile move, but it was Elora's duty to protect the Princess – no matter what.
"Elora, no!" Diana cried out to her. But her warning was too late. A bullet struck Elora in the chest and she fell to the floor.
The rest of Diana's guards came up behind her to aid her but she commanded them to hold their positions. Secret service agents arrived and relieved Clark of protecting his mother and moved to get her out of harm's way. Another set of agents had also done the same for the Governor and his wife.
Clark finally got to Diana but it seemed the shooter had run out of bullets as the shooting stopped. He stood in front of her while she bent down to check on Elora. Diana touched her shoulder and looked at her wound. There was blood soaking her uniform and down onto the carpeted platform. She felt her pulse. It was very weak but she was still alive. Fury coursed through Diana as she helplessly looked at her fallen guard.
"Diana, the shooter is still on the roof." Clark called out to her. "I'll go get him."
"No! Don't. Elora needs immediate attention. Can you please take her to a hospital? She doesn't have much time." At Diana's stricken plea, Clark bent down and picked Elora up.
The other guards started to protest but Diana reassured them that Clark was an ally to be trusted.
"I'll be right back." Clark told Diana. He walked back to the curtained area with Elora in his arms where no one would see him speed away to Metropolis General.
Another guard called out to Diana, "Princess, we must get you to a secure location!"
Diana shook her head. There was vehemence in her voice as she spoke, "No, Delleia. He's still up there. I see him." And Diana flew towards the rooftop where the assassin stood, leaving the rest of the guards back at the platform.
Those who still remained in the park were astonished to see the Amazon Princess fly up of her own will. Gasps of bewilderment could be heard throughout the area. Even the assassin was shocked to discover that the Themysciran Princess was blessed with the power to fly.
He came out of his hiding spot and waited for her to land on the roof. It was going to be a pleasure to kill her with his bare hands.
She landed on the roof and faced her would be assassin. Diana did not recognize him but there was something about him that her instincts warned her that he was not all that he appeared to be. "Who are you?!" she demanded.
Seeing that there was no harm in hiding his identity from her, he answered, "I am Ethan, but my birth name was Etheon of Parnapolis."
"Etheon? I don't know you and have done you no harm. Why is it you wish to kill me?"
Etheon gave Diana a chilling smile and simply said. "Retribution."
Before she could get another question out, Etheon charged at her. He leapt in mid-air to strike a blow to Diana's head but he missed her as she side-stepped his approach. Turning back to face her, Diana readied her stance just as he charged at her again. This time, Diana blocked his oncoming punch and returned the favor with an uppercut punch to his jaw that sent him flying across the rooftop. Etheon crashed into the steel door that was the only access point into the building. To Diana's surprise, he got up effortlessly from the crumbled metal. Hera, he shouldn't be getting up, she thought.
This time, Diana did not wait for him come at her. She met him halfway. Both of them engaged each other in hand to hand combat, each matching one another in strength and prowess. She found it disturbing that Etheon was skilled in the same fighting techniques that she had been trained with on Themyscira. These techniques were Hellenic in origin.
Etheon was once again disappointed that it was not going to be easy breaking the Princess' neck, but he found a perverse satisfaction over the challenge she presented. It had been a while since he engaged in an exhilarating fight. However, he still wanted to end this quickly, so he pulled out a dagger that was sheathed to his thigh after he managed to strike Diana's cheek with his fist.
Diana recovered quickly. She caught Etheon's descending arm with both hands, twisted her body away from him, and plunged the dagger into his stomach. She quickly released her grip on his arm as Etheon staggered away from her. Diana was in for another shock. Instead of watching Etheon fall, she watched him pull the dagger out of his bleeding stomach, and his grimace of pain turned to smirking laughter.
"Great Gaea…" Diana whispered.
With a gleam in his eyes, Etheon said, "You cannot kill me, Princess. I'm an immortal who cannot be killed by weaponry. Granted by Ares to avenge the death of my father, King Eleos. Your mother killed him!"
"My mother? She hasn't fought in a battle, let alone killed anyone, in over three thousand years!"
"And I have waited patiently in all that time for the Amazons to return to this world. Imagine my delight when I found out she had a daughter to exact my revenge on! But it seems I will have to wait a little bit longer."
Etheon knew he needed a little time to recover from his wound to take on Diana and needed a distraction. There was a billboard behind him near the edge of the rooftop. Turning around, he pulled the massive billboard out of its position and threw it over the crowd of people below who were watching their fight.
Concerned for the people on the ground, Diana flew to catch the falling billboard. She was successful as she caught it with her hands. Diana made sure that those who were below her had enough time to move away from the immediate area before she landed on the ground with the billboard above her head.
Clark had just returned from the hospital to see Diana carefully place the billboard on the ground. He ran the short distance to her in human speed. As her back was to him, he touched her arm and called her name.
Diana whipped her body about, her arm ready to strike a blow, but she caught herself when she realized it was Clark and not Etheon.
"Hey, it's me." Clark saw the slight bruise on her cheek and his other hand came up and gently lifted her chin to examine it. Concern shone in his eyes. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Diana touched his arm that held her chin. "Did you get Elora to the doctors in time?"
He nodded. "They're working on saving her right now."
"Good. I must get back to the roof." She said as she moved away from Clark. "The man who tried to kill me is still up there."
"Wait," Clark said as he scanned the rooftop and the rest of the building. "He's gone. I can't see anyone running away."
Diana cursed in her native Greek, "It's probably because he's had some mystical help. I'll explain later. Right now we need to see if anyone else is hurt." The rest of her guards arrived by her side. Before any one of them could say a word, she commanded, "I'm fine. See to it that if anyone else is injured, they receive immediate medical help."
"But what about the assassin, your Highness?" asked one of the guards.
"He's injured and has disappeared. I doubt he's capable of another attack right now." Diana replied.
"But my guess is that he'll try again at some point," Clark added. "Oh, great. Here comes the circus." He indicated behind her.
Diana turned to find microphones and cameras pointed at her as reporters anxiously and simultaneously shouted questions that she could not answer all at once. Her guards chose that moment to disobey Diana's orders and formed a circle around her. For once, she was not upset at them for keeping the reporters at bay.
"I'll find you later." Clark whispered to Diana. At her slight acknowledgement, Clark made sure the other reporters could hear him as he told Diana. "I'm glad to see you're alright, Princess. I have to go check on my mother. It was nice meeting you. Good luck with everything." He left her side as he made his way back to find Martha.
Barton, the reporter from the Globe, who was amongst the crowd of reporters rabidly questioning Diana, had witnessed the tender exchange moments ago. He heard what Clark said, and noted that Kent reporter was really bad with lame excuses. He doubted that the Princess would allow any man to touch her the way Kent did, without suffering consequences from the guards or Diana herself. Barton knew there was something there between the Princess and the reporter. Later, he would have to find his photographer to make sure the man got all the interesting shots. Right now, like the rest of his colleagues, he wanted answers on the amazing Amazon's capabilities.
Rather than walking away with her guards in tow, Diana stayed and answered questions one at a time. This was not how she wanted to reveal her special abilities to the public, but she did not want to cause any more distress or any mistrust had she left them to their own speculations.
One of the reporters actually thanked Diana for saving their lives. "I just did what was the right thing to do…What anyone else would've done if they had my abilities." Diana answered modestly.
Someone shouted, "You are a wonder woman, your Highness."
That new nickname appealed to the other reporters. "Yes, that's it. You're Wonder Woman!" "Wonder Woman, yeah!" "That's our Wonder Woman!" "Woohoo for Wonder Woman."
Diana could only smile at the public's approved nickname for her. She could not decide what to make of it. As a matter of fact, she was a little embarrassed by it. She signaled her guards that she was ready to leave. Diana waived and said her goodbyes to the crowd as she informed them that she needed to check on the status of her guard who was shot. And she silently hoped that the new nickname would soon be forgotten.