Chapter Six
They needed to get to Smallville. And because Clark's secret powers needed to stay a secret and the entire group could not be followed by press and other prying eyes, the trip to Smallville required stealth. As predicted, all the reporters and cameramen went rabid when Martha and Clark were joined by Diana in one limousine, while another limousine was occupied by their respective security teams. As soon as they got in the car, Clark called his friend Oliver Queen, a billionaire entrepreneur and another member of the newly formed Justice League, for a favor.
The two limousines pulled into a building that had an enclosed garage and a security check point, thus prohibiting the press vehicles from following them. When the limousines pulled in to the agreed parking area, the passengers from both vehicles exited their respective cars, and approached a non-descript utility van. The door opened and Martha, Diana, the two Amazon guards, and the two secret service agents piled into the back of the van. Clark watched the limousines leave. A black passenger van followed the limousines. Clark silently prayed that the decoy van would work just in case someone was smart enough to think that they would pull a switch. As much as he wanted to sit in the back with the others, he knew he would have a difficult time taking his eyes off Diana for the hour long ride. Clark opened the door of the front passenger door to get in, and was surprised to see the driver assigned to take them to Smallville.
"Hey, Clark. Ready for the drive back to the farm?" The man with the blond hair did not look like the playboy tycoon or the green leather-clad hero. Instead, he was dressed in a baggy grey jumpsuit and wore a baseball cap.
"Oliver, what are you doing here?" Clark demanded.
"What? You didn't think I'd miss this opportunity to meet Princess Diana while helping you out, did you?" Ollie could not wipe the smirk off his face. "Besides, who else would I trust with this secretive favor?"
"Fine. Just make sure we're not followed."
"Yes, sir." Ollie replied as he maneuvered the van around the garage, all the while not taking the grin off his face.
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The van arrived at the Kent farm without incident. During the ride to Smallville, Ollie had questioned Clark about Diana, particularly how well Clark knew her. Although Clark was the type of person to aid a damsel in distress whether the damsel needed help or not, Ollie knew from various reports that the Amazons did not readily welcome any assistance from men. Since the back of the van was cutoff from the front by a steel partition and a small window, Clark told Ollie the truth, seeing that Ollie was very persistent in knowing what he was getting into. It was actually a relief for Clark to tell Ollie about his first meeting with Diana years ago when she ventured out of Themyscira on her own. Clark also told him about their dinner together the night before, that they were just friends catching up on each other's lives.
Ollie was quite surprised with this new revelation. If there was one thing that Clark did well, it was keeping his secrets. From the way Clark talked about Diana, Ollie guessed that Clark had a crush on her. He found that amusing, and he was going to make things interesting once they got to the farm.
As the van pulled up to the house, Clark did a quick scan to make sure no one else was on the property. Satisfied that all was quiet on the home front, both Clark and Ollie got out of the van. Clark opened the rear door, resting his eyes on Diana and smiled. "Welcome to the Kent Farm, your Highness," he said as he offered her his hand.
"Thank you, Clark." Diana reached for Clark's extended hand. Not that she needed assistance getting out of the van, but she understood it to be a courteous and gallant gesture. It was also another opportunity to touch him, no matter how brief and insignificant it seemed.
An exaggerated cough sounded from behind Clark. "Oh, this is my friend Oliver Queen, Princess. He's the man I called to help us with switching the vehicles. "
Diana looked from Clark to Oliver. "I am in your debt, Oliver."
"I am truly inspired by your presence, Princess Diana." Ollie offered her one of his lady-killer smiles as he kissed her hand in greeting. He had gotten out of the grey jumpsuit and was now dressed in a tailored shirt and pants. Ollie could see from the reaction, or lack there of, from Diana's face that she was not a woman who would be simply swayed by charms and good looks. This was something he was definitely not used to. "Clark told me everything about you."
"Is that so? I'm sorry but he's never talked about you before, so you have me at a disadvantage."
Everyone else in the back had gotten out during their exchange. Martha successfully held back a grin as she greeted Oliver. "Thank you so much for helping us out, Oliver. You're such a dear boy."
"Senator Kent, it's always a pleasure to see you." Genuinely glad to see Martha, Ollie gave her a quick kiss on her cheek.
Also during the drive to the Kent Farm, it was agreed that both Martha's secret service agents and Diana's royal guards would combine their forces together, as neither team trusted the other to fulfill their duties. Each team had their own primary concerns for the safety of their charges. Thus, a pair of an Amazon and a male agent started for the barn, while another pair marched up to the house for precautionary security sweeps.
Clark took this opportunity to tell Diana, "You know that League I told you about last night? Well, Oliver kinda runs it. So, he knows that we've known each other for more than just a day."
"Well then, it is my honor to meet you, Oliver. Clark did tell me about some of the good deeds you've accomplished." This time, Diana gave Ollie a relieved smile.
"I do what I can as the Green Arrow to make sure the corrupt are appropriately dealt with." He flashed another charming smile. "You can call me Ollie, your Highness."
"Then you must call me Diana."
The security teams came out of the house and the barn, signaling that all was clear.
Martha waived to acknowledge them. "Come, let's go inside. And once I go through the kitchen, Clark, I'll need you to pick some groceries. Oliver, you're staying for dinner. Call it a token of appreciation."
"Thank you, Martha. I'd love that. May I offer to walk both of you ladies to the front door?" As Ollie stood between Martha and Diana, he held out his forearms until they each took one. "You know, I was going to be at that fundraising gala tonight that you were originally scheduled to attend…"
Clark looked on at the three people walking towards the house. Somehow, he did not like the idea of Oliver sticking around for dinner.
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Back in Metropolis, Etheon emerged from the bathroom of his hotel room looking fit and whole. He had cleaned up and put on fresh clothes. No one would have guessed he had just been in a fight for his life; that he was wounded by Princess Diana of Themyscira on the rooftop of one of Metropolis' historical buildings earlier that day. Etheon had watched the news stations on the TV in his room when he got back to his hotel. Each station could only speculate on the whereabouts of Wonder Woman, as they now called her.
The media had seen Diana leave the hospital with Senator Kent and her son in a limousine, with their security teams closely following them in another limousine. The limousines entered a parking garage and re-emerged several minutes later. Not knowing which vehicle to follow as they headed in opposite directions, the various media crews split up to be led on wild goose chases. Each limousine turned out to be devoid of passengers as the drivers later got out and opened the passenger doors for all to see.
Etheon was still fuming over his failure to kill the heir of Themyscira. But he was a very patient man. Since he had waited a few millennia to exact revenge upon the Amazons, he was not overly concerned that he would have to wait an extra day or two to complete his mission. Sooner or later, the Princess will come out of hiding, and he will be better prepared to end her life.
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Driving back to the farm with the groceries, Clark finally answered Lois' call to his cell phone. He knew that if he did not answer at least one of her numerous calls, she would personally try to track him down until she found him. And he did not want to risk having her come to the farm. "We're fine, Lois…especially my mom…no, we don't need any help. Really…yes, secret service agents are with us and they don't want us to talk to anyone…You know I can't tell you if Princess Diana is with us or not…just tell our boss that I will write a personal account of everything that's happened once this is all settled…yeah…okay. I will. Thanks." Clark let out a sigh as he turned the phone off.
As he pulled his truck up to the house, Clark was relieved that no one was on the front porch, standing by the front door looking as if they were protecting Fort Knox. If the goal was to keep Diana and Martha hidden, then the Amazons and agents needed to stay out of sight. Anyone who had a telescopic lens attached to a camera would be able to spot anyone on the porch from halfway down the long driveway. Clark was glad they had listened to him, and even if he did not have super vision, he would bet that the Amazons and agents took posts behind windows throughout the house. And he was not wrong as he stepped into the house to find an agent standing by the window closest to the front door. Clark acknowledged the agent known as Simms as he headed to the kitchen.
It always warmed his heart to see his mom in the kitchen. Not that Clark believed that a woman's place was limited to the kitchen, but the sight of his mom making preparations for dinner brought back happy memories of growing up in this house and how much he missed having her around. He looked over in the dining room to find Diana and Ollie setting the table.
"Oh, good. You're back just in time." His mom greeted him. "I'll need you to wash and cut the potatoes so that I can put them in the oven."
"Need me to speed up the cooking process? I know you usually prefer to roast them in the oven for over an hour."
"That's not a bad idea. I'm sure everyone is just as hungry. Just cut the roasting time in half. I still have the veggies and chicken to prep but those don't take as long as the potatoes."
"You got it." In a matter of seconds, Clark had completed his task. Since the agents and guards were stationed in other parts of the house, Clark used his heat vision to partially cook the potatoes.
A chuckle caught his attention. He looked up to find Ollie standing much too close to Diana as they were still setting the table. "What is it, Oliver?" Clark asked, the annoyance in his voice barely concealed.
"Nothing really. I was just wondering if that's how you cook dinner if you brought a date home. Certainly saves time in cleaning up the pots and pans."
Clark glared at Ollie, but only for a moment as Diana spoke up.
"Ollie, that wasn't very nice of you chastising Clark like that. He's a really a good cook. In fact, he did use the pans last night."
"I'm disappointed in you, too, Oliver. I thought you'd have better manners than that." Martha added as she took the pan of potatoes from her son.
"You're right, Mrs. Kent, Diana. I won't do that again, at least not in front of both of you." Ollie looked his best to look contrite. As soon as Martha turned her back to him, he winked at Diana. "My bad, Clark."
"Right. Remind why we're friends?"
"Clark, I've got everything under control in the kitchen. Why don't the three of you talk about how Etheon should be handled?"
It was more than a suggestion from his mother, and he knew it. So at Clark's signal, Diana and Ollie joined him in the living room.
They were still debating on options and strategies half an hour later when Martha called everyone to dinner. Diana had insisted on coming out of hiding to tempt Etheon to attack her again, while Clark and Ollie opted to pursue Etheon through investigative methods and research. Even Agent Simms, who was still rooted to his spot by the front door, offered the assistance of his agency. Diana appreciated Simms' offer but she politely declined it with an explanation that this was a foreign matter that did not require the assistance of the American government.
The group was so involved in their discussion that it took Martha to come to the living room to get them to come to the dinner table. Like school kids finally listening to their teacher, they followed Martha to the dining room.
Martha insisted that everyone ate together at the dining table. So both security teams were already waiting for the rest of them. As Diana took a seat at the other end of the dining table, Ollie quickly occupied the empty chair adjacent to hers. With Delleia already seated on the opposite chair across from Ollie, Clark was mildly disappointed he was not sitting next to Diana. He was annoyed once again with Ollie. As much as he adored his mother, Clark had to settle for the chair adjacent to Martha's at the far end of the dining table.
"Martha, the meal you prepared is delicious. What do you call this?" Diana asked.
"Thank you, dear. It's just seared chicken breast with lemon beurre blanc. The vegetables are green beans almondine, and those are herb roasted red potatoes. These are all very easy to make. And I do miss cooking a family meal." Martha smiled over at her son.
Clark smiled warmly back at her. "You taught me how to cook for myself and left me the recipes, but you just make the food better than I can. My culinary skills don't compare to yours, mom."
"You should open your own restaurant, Martha. I'd be happy to be your investor," Ollie added.
Everyone else at the table nodded and agreed as they paid compliments to the chef.
Martha shook her head. "Oh, no, running a restaurant is not for me. I'm quite happy cooking for friends and family when I can. Thank you, though."
Once dinner was over, Clark ordered his mother to relax in the living room while he cleaned up and washed the dishes. All the guards were first to disperse, taking back their watchful positions around the house. Diana offered to stay and help, hoping to spend more time with him. Clark was internally happy about that, until Ollie decided to stick around and help too.
Clark began washing the dishes as Diana stood next to him to dry them.
Ollie came up behind them, noticing the shy glances they exchanged. Holding back a grin, he smoothly nudged his way between them. "Hey, Clark, why don't I take over the washing? Since I don't know where anything goes, you should put them back before I put the clean dishes and glasses in the wrong cabinets. No sense doing double work."
Clark was stood there dumbfounded. Sadly, Ollie had a point that he could not argue.
Diana could not hide the amusement brimming to surface from behind her eyes as her lips twitched.
When Ollie finally rinsed the last of the glasses and shut the faucet off, he turned away from the sink and looked down his now soaked shirt. "If I'd known I'd get a shower out of this, I would've taken my shirt off before." Ollie began unbuttoning his shirt. "Clark, you got a dry shirt I can borrow? I don't want to catch a cold." Ollie had unabashedly taken off his shirt as he stood there leaning against the counter.
'What in God's name is Oliver doing?!' Clark already knew Ollie had been shamelessly flirting with Diana all evening, but this stunt caused him to begin doubting Ollie's sanity.
Diana looked at Ollie's bare torso, noting that the handsome man was in excellent physical shape. She was positive that his wealth and influential position in life also made him irresistible to other women. She respected his deeds as the Green Arrow. But she found herself still not attracted him. Diana knew Ollie was flirting with her but she sensed there was something more behind the twinkling in his eyes. She quickly glanced to see how Clark was reacting and saw that he appeared none too pleased at Ollie. Whatever game Ollie was playing, Diana secretly enjoyed Clark's irritation at his friend. She looked back at Ollie and commented, "You're a very fit man."
Ollie flashed a grin back at Diana, "You like what you see, Princess?"
Diana did not get to answer as Martha walked in. "Oh, my…" She was going to ask if anyone was joining her in the living room. Looking at the younger, half-naked man in front of her, Martha forgot why she came into the kitchen.
"Jeez, Oliver. You could've at least waited a minute before taking up a second job as a stripper." Clark retorted. "I'll be right back with something dry for you to wear." As Clark went to his room to find a shirt for Ollie, he could hear him apologizing to Martha and Diana if he made them uncomfortable. He heard his mom reply, "Not at all…", and tuned out anything else that they were saying. He was not sure why, but Oliver was really getting on his nerves tonight.
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Author's Note: Since Ollie has his shirt off in every other Smallville episode, I thought this would be another perfect time for him to show off those fantastic abs and chest. ;)