Power Play

"Wonder Woman, thank you for meeting me on such short notice," said Superman. Diana of Themescyria- superheroine and the most powerful and beautiful woman on the planet.

"No problem," said the gorgeous amazon. "but what is so urgent and why did you want to meet here on the outskirts of Metropolis?"

"Diana, where were you last night?"

"Supe....Kal, I was at the Watchtower all night doing research."

"By yourself?"

Wonder Woman crossed her arms.
"Yes, by myself. Why? What is this all about?"

Superman walked to the edge of the cliff they were standing on and looked out over the city.
"I was attacked last night by a woman dressed all in black with a mask covering her face. She was very strong and fast. Strong enough to hurt even me."

"What are you getting at?" questioned Diana.

"She was wearing an Amazonian bracelet just like yours. I saw it with my own eyes."

"And you think that was me? You think I would outright attack you and in disguise no less?!"

Superman could tell she was getting angry.

"No of course I don't think it was you. Its just that...I don't know what to think."

Wonder Woman walked over to Superman's side and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Kal, you know me. You know I would never do something like that. How many times have we fought side by side in battle? You've been there for me when I've needed you plenty of times, and the same goes for me."

She looked him straight in the eyes. "You trust me don't you?"

He returned her gaze, looking into her brilliant blue eyes.
Superman respected her more than anyone, and trusted her the same way.
"Of course I trust you," he said.

"Besides, we both know what would've happened it WAS me that you had been fighting," said Wonder Woman.

"Oh, and whats that?"

"I'd have won," she replied smiling at him. He smiled back. She touched her hand to his cheek for a moment before taking off into the sky. Superman watched her soar off into the distance. Deep down he knew he loved her. Not quite the same way as Lois, but still in a very intimate way nonetheless. He watched the sun set before flying back into the city.

*****

It was a loud explosion. His super hearing detected where it came from in the city instantly, and he
knew it had to be STAR Labs. Superman swooped down from the night sky toward the location.

He surveyed the scene from the air, and saw what he had feared. The main and interior walls of the laboratory were already knocked down with debris and destruction everywhere.

"Superman!" he heard a voice shout.
It was Professor Hamilton running toward him.
"Thank goodness! The person is still in there, Superman! I think hes after what I've been working on. I barely managed to get out of the building....and.."

"Don't worry professor, I'm going to take care of it. You should get a safe distance away from here as fast as you can."

Superman walked right through the flames of the fire that had started to burn around parts of the building. He passed through the swath of destruction, making his way to where Hamilton's lab used to be, and there he saw her. The same black clad woman from the other night. He saw her place the professor's invention into a protective metal box.

"So its you again," Superman said, anger in his voice. The woman whirled around to face him, casually placing the metal box back onto the lab table. Suddenly, she launched herself at him with both fists first. He was ready this time and dodged her. She then threw a hard right punch at the Man of Steel, but he caught it in mid-strike. Superman pulled his fist back ready to deliver his own attack, but he hesitated. A thought ran through his head, piercing his mind, that he couldn't shake.

"What if it IS Diana under that mask?"he thought. Even if it wasn't, the fact remained that it was still a woman.

The mystery woman made Superman regret his hesitation however, as she clocked him with a thunderous blow that sent him crashing through a couple of walls. He was back up in a flash and this time he wasn't going to hold back. Superman connected with a solid uppercut that sent her through the ceiling, and he quickly followed through the gaping hole that it had left.

To his surprise, she seemed barely fazed by it and wasted no time in resuming her attack. She lifted a large steel girder out of a pile of rubble and swung it like a baseball bat, connecting with her target. Superman was knocked to the ground. The woman came at him once more, wielding her weapon, but Superman blasted her with his freeze breath. Shards of ice pelted her as she was blown clear into the parking lot, smashing into a parked car.

"Its over. Give up peacefully," Superman demanded as he approached the woman. He picked up the girder she had dropped, bending and wrapping it around her body, trapping her. Finally, it was time to find out the truth once and for all. Superman almost didn't want to do it for fear that it would confirm his earlier doubts, but he reached for the mask.

Just as he was about to close his hand around it, he heard the sound of metal straining and snapping. With some effort, the woman managed to break free and kicked Superman in the gut sending him flying back.

He cracked the blacktop as he landed, and he heard someone shouting.
"Superman are you alright?!"
It was Hamilton again. Blast it! Why hadn't he run away to safety?

"Professor get back!" shouted Superman, but it was too late.
The woman swooped in from the air and snatched the helpless scientist with one hand. To Superman's horror she pulled her arm back, like she was pitching a baseball and launched Hamilton straight toward a large building in the distance.

Superman rocketed into the sky after him, desperately hoping to catch him before he was splattered onto a concrete wall. Using every bit of his super speed, he got within arm's reach. The building, however, was closing in fast. Too fast. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion.Superman saw the terror in Professor Hamilton's face at the same moment that he realized he was not going to be able to save him. No! He was so close.

Right then, Superman noticed something strange. He saw a flash of gold and blue, and the professor seemingly vanished before his eyes.
The Man of Steel streaked to a halt and looked around, bewildered.

"Glad I decided to stick around," a familiar voice said.

"Wonder Woman! How?" Superman wondered aloud. She was holding a badly shaken professor in her arms.

"I was in the area and heard the sounds of battle. Then I looked up and saw your friend here heading straight into the building. I may not be as fast as you, Kal, but I can be pretty quick when I need to be."

"Diana...the woman I told you about. She is the one that did this," said Superman as he regained his composure. Secretly, he was deeply relieved that it was not his trusted friend and ally behind the attacks after all. The trio then headed back to the remains of the lab.

The woman was gone again as well as the invention.