Scarlet Starlight | By : DarthMeow504 Category: zMisplaced Stories [ADMIN use only] > Spiderman Views: 35790 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3 |
Disclaimer: This is a work of non-profit fanfiction. The Marvel Universe, the DC Universe, the Image Universe, and all characters and elements thereof are copyright their respective companies. Additional disclaimers within. |
[Author's note: Superman, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, the Supergirls, and all the other elements and characters from the Superman mythos are owned by DC and/or the estates of Siegel and Shuster.]
[This one took a little longer than usual to write, it was a tough one to get through but I hope it was worth it. My hours are about to go into overtime at work, so I might slow down a bit but I've got a long way to go before I consider this story finished. To that effect, I have added a new epilogue to the "Interstellar Intercourse" chapter that was meant to be there in the first place and foreshadows things to come, and the chapter after this one will be more lighthearted sexy fun to break from the intense emotions of this one. There is plot to come as well, of course, and mysteries and action and danger and suspense to go with the sex. I hope you enjoy the ride, it's nowhere near over!]
Chapter 12: Look, Up in the Sky... an Angel
For more years than most of it's citizens had been alive, Metropolis had enjoyed the protection of the Man of Steel. But not this day. Even his own death at the hands of the monster Doomsday hadn't kept him from the skies of his city for very long, and no threat had deterred him nor other priority less than a need to protect the nation or the planet itself had pulled him away. But today, he wouldn't be patrolling the skies. He'd called for other protectors to take his place, it would fall to them to fill in where there was a job for Superman. Because there was one thing he valued above his city, his duty, and even his own life, and today she needed him.
For the very last time, she needed him. And no force on heaven or earth would keep him from her side.
Woe be to any who tried to stand in his way.
-----
Diana had been surprised when the call came in. Kal wasn't the type to take days off, hell she wasn't sure he even slept. Given his nature, it was very likely he didn't need to eat or sleep at all, she knew she could skip those things if she chose and her Amazon Eternal's energy metabolism wasn't close to being as total as his Kryptonian solar-powered one. As much as he often infuriated her, she had to admire his dedication. She'd never known a man in all her decades, stretching into centuries, as dedicated to duty as him and rarely one so selflessly committed to his principles. She might often think his principles were misguided or based in cultural values she despised, but she had to credit his integrity. She'd never once known him to lie, or put his needs over anyone else's. That's what made the call such a shock, the look in his eyes and the flat determination that he was going, where he could not or would not say, but he was going at that instant and his call to take care of Metropolis for him was as much delay as he would bear. Perhaps worst of all was that he hadn't mentioned when or even if he'd be back. Whatever it was, it was bad.
In all her years serving with him, she'd never seen him that way. She didn't know if he'd ever even tell her what was so wrong, what could put him in such an emotional state as she'd never seen before, but she wouldn't tell him no. Not when it was clearly so important to him. She might want to slap sense into him on most days ending in "y", but when push came to shove he had her back, and she would have his. So she was here, flying the skies of his city, keeping the people he loved and served safe. It was the right thing to do.
Of course, she reserved the right to slap sense into him verbally or physically whenever she felt the need to do so. She just wouldn't be doing it today. Today, other priorities took precedence.
She wasn't alone in sharing those priorities, or in patrolling the skies of Metropolis. Among those who answered the call, she was the only one who didn't wear the S shield or call this city her home, but she was by far the most powerful and experienced among them. It had quickly been decided to have a senior hero from the Justice League act as patrol leader, both coordinating the others and acting as backup for them if needed. Many of Superman's enemies were well beyond the power of those who carried the torch in his name, and if one of those should choose this moment to attack then the younger heroes could quickly find themselves dangerously over their head.
In fact, two of the three were barely more than children, only just beginning their adult life and career as heroes. John Henry Irons might be significantly less powerful than she or Kal-El, but he was also an experienced adult hero who'd been intelligent, mature, and resourceful long before he took up the mantle of heroism. She expected him to be able to handle problems above his weight class if necessary and protect himself if he was truly overmatched. It was the other two she was truly concerned about.
Of them, the one who had taken the name Kon-El or "Connor" was the one most familiar to her. He'd begun as an attempt to clone Superman during the time when the Man of Steel lay dead at the hands of Doomsday, and was chronologically the youngest. Still, he'd been programmed with memories and skills that had served him well in his short career and he'd handled himself admirably in the dark days without a Superman. Since then, he'd continued as a hero and had accrued some experience, so he had proven himself in the field. She had no reason to doubt he could handle most situations well. On the other hand, he'd recently been aged artificially from his former teenaged body into a new young adult form, and he was new to it. He hadn't been close to Superman's power level before, and it seemed unlikely that he would be now or in the forseeable future, but she was concerned that he might overestimate his new body's capabilities and get himself in trouble. She'd stressed the importance of calling for backup in the event of any superhuman encounter, but would he listen? He was a young male. If men, particularly young ones in their most arrogant and stubborn years, listened to women's wisdom she could have retired centuries ago.
The other, the new Supergirl, was an almost entirely unknown factor to her. Diana had worked with the first one, the shapeshifter who worked for the youngest of the Luthor clan and had taken the S shield in respect of Superman's heroism. She had stepped up big after Doomsday, despite having failed in battle with the monster like so many others. She'd recovered swiftly from her injuries due to her malleable nature, and was the first to answer the call in Metropolis' hour of need. She'd begun proving her right to wear the S from day one, handling situations both large and small and providing a reassuring and stabilizing presence in the wake of Superman's loss. She'd proven both capable and dedicated, and Diana wished she was available now. Unfortunately, she had disappeared sometime during the Crisis and had not been seen since. In her place, a new Supergirl had arrived on the scene, and Diana knew little about her. What little she did know worried her.
As with so many others, this new Supergirl had been cherry picked by Alexander Luthor as he sifted through worlds to select what he considered the best to assemble into his "perfect" world. She had come from an Earth where a Supergirl, not a Superman had come from the doomed world of Krypton, and she was quite young and new in her career. As a born Kryptonian her potential power level was quite high, but she was inexperienced and nowhere near the peak of her powers. One day she might rival Diana herself in sheer ability, but it would be years before she reached those levels. For now, by far she was the most vulnerable of the three.
And so, when the emergency call came in on the new Supergirl's frequency it was something of a relief. Yes, she was in trouble, but she'd been wise enough to call for help. At least now, instead of waiting for the hammer to fall, she could take action. This was a job for the Wonder Woman.
-----
In an undisclosed location, the disembodied mind of Lex Luthor, the original and first, examined the data coming in from Metropolis on the incident that had just occurred. Even now, the fires still burned and the damage control systems were still getting a lockdown on the destruction and stabilizing the systems, but Luthor didn't care about that as he sent in one of his bodies to take a closer look. The danger was irrelevant to him, these bodies were expendable and he was never a patient man. He wanted to know what he'd lost and what if anything was salvageable, and if it cost him a pawn body so be it. He'd make more. He could always make more.
As he struggled through the smoke and debris, even as automated systems and maintenance robots frantically sought to contain the damage and stabilize the situation, he was relentless and undeterred. His will was a singular force, and the pain feedback from the abused body he was quickly running into the ground was a mere annoyance, another obstacle to be overcome by his superior mind and will. Thusfar, he'd seen little to indicate anything could be salvaged from this lab or it's project, which was a significant loss but not an insurmountable one. He always had redundancies, contingencies, plans within plans and more pieces on the chessboard. Even a total loss here would only be a setback, not a disaster. Still, this stung. He'd been so close!
Finally reaching his destination at the core of the now-destroyed lab facility, he saw what he'd hoped he'd not but was rather sure he would. She was gone, not destroyed or killed or damaged but gone entirely. That confirmed his hypothesis for the cause of the destruction, it was her. She'd escaped, awakening somehow despite all his precautions, and been horrified at what she saw and gone on a rampage of destruction. That was the only possible explanation, and a possibility he'd known about and guarded against --unsuccessfully, it would seem. The large exit hole he found confirmed this all the more, she was out now. She'd destroyed all she could find here, and then escaped. That meant she could be recaptured, of course. And if not, he had samples of her DNA secured in other locations. It was far more efficient to source her directly for the army of duplicates that now lay dead in their shattered tubes, burned and in some cases torn apart or smashed, but the project could be rebuilt. The data all proved positive that the cloning worked, and he had the basis to restart the program. It would take longer without her, there was a limit to the speed that cultures could be grown from a small sample, but this was a setback and nothing more. He would have his army.
Even as the body he was utilizing sucumbed around him to the heat and smoke inhalation, it's vision blurring and dimming as it's muscles failed and it curled up to die, the mind of Luthor was racing, extrapolating from the data he'd gathered and calculating how to next proceed. Even as it died and his mind was ejected from it's now-useless corpse, he'd already forgotten it. As always, death was a mere temporary inconvenience. The mind of Luthor was, as always, focused solely on the future.
A future that would be his and his alone.
-----
At S.T.A.R. Labs, a small group was already present in the waiting room when he arrived. The doctors, her daughter, some people from the Planet that had been closest to her... she'd outlived so many, and those here at the very end were a select group. Even still, one unwanted and uninvited guest had managed to crash the somber mourning party, and despite all his speed Superman was not the first to react.
"Lex Luthor, you son of a bitch!"
Lois White-Lane, daughter of Lois Lane and heir to the Daily Planet jounalism legacy, threw a hell of a punch for a woman who should be retired by now. The recipient of the punch, an equally retirement-age Lex Luthor Jr fell on his ass with a scowl but allowed no sound of pain to escape his lips. Rising off of that ass that was that particular mixture of bony and flabby that was characteristic of the old, his eyes nonetheless held the demeanor of a man still in his prime. His body might fail him, but his willpower never would.
"Now now, Lois, is that any way to treat your ex-husband?"
For a moment, as her eyes flashed with rage and she nearly lunged, Superman was actually worried he'd have to protect Luthor from her. Not that he could think of any more fitting fate for the man, but assault and battery, much less second degree murder wouldn't do well for the woman nor her media empire, especially when the deserving victim was one of the richest and most powerful men on the planet. Luthor would love nothing more than to get the opportunity for Lexcorp to devour the Planet, and Superman would be damned if he let that happen. Not on his watch.
To her credit, she quickly clamped down on her potentially deadly rage, eyes smouldering as she unleashed her wickedly barbed words to do her damage instead. "Mother was right about you, you sorry bastard. State your piece and get the hell out. Youre getting slime on the floor."
He merely laughed. "She usually was, at that. Didn't stop you, did it? Typical Lane woman, best way to get her to do something is to order her not to."
She ignored the verbal counterattack and continued to stare him down, as if she might suddenly borrow an ability from the nearby Kryptonian and render him dead by her glare alone. "Enough small talk, what the hell do you want?"
He chuckled. "Oh, just to drop this off... it's a check. One million dollars, to the Lane Foundation. But if you don't want it..."
She interrupted him before he reached the door. "What's the catch?"
He grinned the grin of the cobra as he turned. "Oh, nothing. Just the knowledge that if you take anything from me you'll hate yourself for it, and if you don't you'll regret it. And that despite wanting to light it on fire and blow the ashes in my face, you won't refuse it because you know how much the money will help people. But despite my refusal to demand anything in return, you'll feel like a sellout anyhow. And you'll be right."
Superman himself interrupted, eyes glowing red. He was already on the emotional ragged edge, and this... suddenly the younger Lois wasn't the one posing a threat to Luthor that they'd regret acting on. Recognizing this, Luthor merely laid the check on a table on the way out, not saying another word. Still, he'd scored a victory, damn him. And they all knew it.
Nobody else said a word, stunned into silence by the whole interchange, but after downing a drink the second generation Lois Lane spoke to him, a joke to break the tension.
"You forgot the accent."
The Man of Steel blinked, confused. "Huh?"
It was her turn to frown in confusion. "The glowing eyes and 'Get. Out.', that was a Terminator impression right? It sure looked like it."
He frowned deeper, more confused still. "Deathstroke? I don't get it."
She shook her head with a soft laugh, weighed down with the sorrow of the day. "When was the last time you saw a movie?"
He blinked again, still not getting it. "Around the time they started ruining them with color?"
She nodded. "I should have guessed. Never mind... you probably wouldn't like it." Then she sighed, and wrangled the subject back to the reason they all were there. "Go... she's waiting for you. We've all said our..." she paused, choking up as the tears threatened to flow again "...our goodbyes. Don't worry about us, go to her. She needs you now."
She needed him. He knew the words that were left unsaid... that she needed him for the final time. And as much as he longed to pretend this wasn't happening, that if he didn't go into that room it wouldn't be real and he could escape fate, he knew. This was something he couldn't defeat, or fly away from. It was the worst thing in the world, and he had to face it. All his power wouldn't help him, or her.
Still, he walked through the doors anyhow. She needed him to be there for her. And he'd be damned if he let anything stop him, even his own breaking heart.
-----
Of all the things Diana expected to find when she responded to the distress call from the second Supergirl, it was not the first Supergirl pursuing her in a clearly murderous rage. Flying up between them with the Moonshield at the ready, she sighed internally with relief when the woman pulled up short instead of attacking. Not that she feared her, the shapeshifter was powerful but not that powerful, but because Diana would have hated to need to hurt her. She'd been a hero, saved lives, it would be a tragedy to have to cut her down in battle. A negotiated settlement was always superior when possible, and this was especially true when the enemy was an attractive member of the fairer sex. She might know it to be unjust and attempt to be as impartial as she could, but she had to admit she was biased in favor of women over men, and beauty over monstrousness. Both nature and nurture led her to be so.
As the attacking Supergirl pulled up short, the victim hid behind Diana and cried out. "She's gone insane, Diana! Tried to kill me!"
Diana nodded, and kept her eyes locked on the attacker. "Is this true?"
The attacking Supergirl growled in frustration, eyes still glowing a deadly blue, and made her demand. "Stand aside, Diana... she has to die. There can't be any of them left, they have to be destroyed!"
Diana blinked... she sounded rational, if enraged, but what she was saying was madness. "You'd best have a good explanation for this."
The shapeshifting psion nodded, and said simply. "Open your mind, it's easier if I show you."
Diana paused for a moment, considering this. There was the risk of attack, but she had the opportunity to attack already and chosen to talk, and if she wanted to blast her mind she could have done so from the start just as easily as she could have attacked physically. And besides, Diana could open herself enough to recieve communication but still shield her deepest mind, her training plus the headband she wore protected her to at least some degree. It was risky still, she could be vulnerable despite her efforts to take precautions, but Diana chose to take the gamble. She wanted to get to the bottom of this, and it seemed this was the quickest way.
Moments after giving her permission, Diana felt her mind flooded with images and experiences, a full accounting of what had led to this point. And it was horrifying. Awakening in a mechanical bed, restrained with machines and probes hooked to her body, computer readouts speaking of samples taken and analysis data like she was nothing more than a lab rat. Breaking free and finding row upon row of tubes wherein new clones were being grown, some only begun to develop and others nearly complete, all duplicates of her. Computer screens detailing a weapons project, an army based on her genetic template, and the Lexcorp insignia on both screens and equipment. Betrayal, rage, and a shattering of self-image. And then a rampage of destruction as she sought to wipe out everything, methodically destroying everything that could be used to make more, killing every nascent clone and destroying all of the machinery and computers, scrambling the lifeless flesh so it's DNA was useless to copy from again. And then, once the grim work was done, escaping with dark thoughts weighing her mind, and intentions that vacillated between revenge and self-destruction. She clearly didn't mean Diana to percieve that part, but it came through loud and clear anyhow. The only thing that had derailed her downward spiral was encountering the second Supergirl as the young Kryptonian responded to the destruction, and mistaking her for another of the clones. That part could be easily remedied, the rest... clearly Diana's toughest task would be saving the shapeshifter from herself.
First things first, though. "You've got it wrong, sister... she's not one of them. I'm absolutely certain of it."
The shapeshifter scowled. "You'd best not be lying, Diana... the consequences if the project survives are devastating."
Diana shook her head, sighing softly and saying gently. "Don't take my word for it. Come up to the satellite with me, we'll run tests and prove it. If I'm wrong, we'll figure something out. I don't want Luthor having an army any more than you do." she paused, letting that sink in, and then offered her hand. "Fair? Stand down, please... come with me. We can solve this without violence. I swear to you by the Goddess herself, let Artemis strike me down if I fail you"
The woman hesitated, a storm of emotions playing out behind those glowing eyes, but she gradually forced herself calm, eyes fading to normal as she took the offered hand. "I hope by all the gods you're right."
Relief flooded Diana as her offer was accepted, the conflict was over. The danger had passed. Now, what work lay ahead of them could be tackled without risk of violence between them. It was a good start.
As she called up to the satellite to both announce her impending arrival as well as call for a replacement to patrol Metropolis in her stead, she looked again to the shapeshifter she sought to save. Her relief had not been for herself, she didn't fear the woman despite her power. What she'd feared had been the thought of being forced to destory her, and she still feared being unable to save her from herself. She smiled a bit inside at the soft thrill of attraction she'd felt at the touch, and admired the beautiful form the female being wore. She could think of much, much better things to do with her than letting her die.
And if she had her way, she'd show her exactly how she felt.
-----
Nothing could have prepared Superman for what he saw. Nothing he'd ever faced had pierced him to the core like the sight of her, so weak and frail with all her years written in every line. The machines around her seemed like parasites, draining her with their tubes and probes despite that he knew that it was the opposite and they were all that protected the fragile thread of life she still clung to so precariously. Every instinct screamed at him to rip her free, fly her away somewhere, that somehow if he just cradled her in his arms and flew away like so many times before he could save her. Once again, he could save her.
He couldn't save her. Nothing could. All of his power was nothing more than a shout in the face of a maelstrom.
Steam rose from his eyes as his tears met the heated emotions glowing in his eyes, but as she opened her eyes and locked them on his, the rage and desperation drained away and a soft, sad smile found his features. After all these years and the ravaging they'd done to her face and body, her eyes were still the same. The eyes of love itself.
"You came for me. You always do."
He nodded, as he went to her side. The final events were set in motion now. No more panic, no more chance to run away or change the inevitable. In it's place grew a grim acceptance and determination to be here for her. Nothing else mattered.
"Always."
It was an oath, repeated time and again and proven every single time. He would not falter, would not fail her now. She needed him by her side, and here he would be even if the planet itself crumbled around them.
"There's so much I know we both want to say, and I know every word. You'll say I love you, and I'll say I love you too, and you'll beg me to take some sort of heroic measure and I'll say no. Don't ask me... please. I don't want to see your heart break any more than I already have."
"But Lois, I--"
"No. That's final. What's been arranged is interference enough. It's time, and that's that. I've had a damned good run. Not many people see 100."
His voice broke. In all his decades, even as a child, he'd never felt so weak or helpless or afraid. "And what good is the next hundred if I don't have you in it?"
She softly smiled, and stroked his hand. "You're stronger than even you know. You'll be strong for me, and for them. One day, you might even learn to be strong for yourself. Because you promised me you would. And you have never, ever broken a promise to me."
He nodded as that sense of grim acceptance washed over him again. "And I never will."
She nodded softly, eyes still bright blue and shining with tears of her own. "I know."
She glanced down, at a particular set of machinery that looked different from the others and gleamed with the crystalline structures of Kryptonian technology. It's lights were all green... it was ready. He was not. But he knew what he had to do.
"I love you, Lois Lane. Forever."
Still, he hesitated when his hand hovered over the activation button. A simple touch was all it required, and yet lifting a mountain would have been easier. The breath he didn't need to take became choked in his throat as his vision blurred with fresh tears, but then he felt her hand on his and the gentle push. The machine hummed and lit brightly as it became active, and then his world went white.
-----
High above, in the JLA satellite that served as their headquarters, the results of the DNA scan of the two Supergirls were coming in. Diana was no scientist, but she could put the results up on screen side by side and explain what the readout said. The system practically worked itself.
"Supergirl...s? It's ready."
Realizing the ease of confusion, the younger Supergirl chuckled with an almost giggling tone in that teenagerish way, and smiled. "Call me Kara, or Linda if you prefer my human name."
Diana chuckled softly herself at that, Kryptonians and their three names. Clark aka Kal-El aka Superman had been much the same.
The older of the two Supergirls was not so cheerful, frowning in hesitation before finally making a decision. "He named me Angela... supposedly after an old lover of his father's who had died. I hate having anything of his... but it's the only name I have."
Diana sighed softly, sympathy shining in her eyes. "Many people are named by parents they come to hate, and who use or abuse them, but their name is still their name. It's yours, and no one can take it from you. No matter how vile the one who gave it to you is, it's yours now to make your own and make mean what you want it to be."
The shapeshifter blinked those beautiful blue eyes, absorbing this. "Alright... then... call me Angel if you like. I always liked that nickname."
Diana smiled. "Angel it is, then."
The soft moment was interrupted by the teenager in their midst, ever impatient as her nature demanded. "Umm, can we get to the results? I'm curious now."
Diana chuckled gently. Had she truly ever been that young? If so, Diana hoped she had managed to be as endearing in her annoying way as this young one. Smiling, she led them to the large screen and showed them the readouts displayed there.
"This one on the left, that's Kara's. It's pure Kryptonian, of completely natural origin with no signs of tampering of any kind nor of having been duplicated. A natural birth."
She let that sink in, and then continued.
"This one, on the right, is Angel's. It's a marvel of genetic engineering, similar in many ways to the Martian genetic standard far more than the Kryptonian, which explains the entirely different powerset. Still, it's not simply a clone or derivative of the Martian set, it's something unique. An adaptable matrix, able to duplicate foreign genetics and adapt itself to become like whatever species it's assimilated into. The computer hasn't seen anything like it before, and I dare say no one else on the planet has either. It's definitely of extraterrestrial origin and advanced far beyond the state of the art even for Cadmus or the Future Foundation. Here, let me show you."
She hit the 'next' button on the display, to move to the next frame of the demonstration the computer had created for her. She was intelligent to be sure, but no expert in this field or in any of the sciences, really. She could operate the computer efficiently, and do a fairly decent job of translating it's output into plain language, but she could never have done this analysis on her own. Fortunately, thanks to the incredible computer systems here that could literally operate themselves when given verbal commands, she hadn't had to.
"This is Angel's gene side by side with Kon-El or Connor, the Superman clone created by Cadmus. You can see here the rather crude in comparison mix of human and Kryptonian genetics, with clear markings of standard techniques used by human science. Angel's gene is at least an order of magnitude more complex and subtle. No offense to Connor, but comparing the two is like the difference between a Model T and a modern Mercedes. There is simply no way the creators of the one could come close to the advancements necessary for the other."
Angel absorbed this, while Kara was starting to look bored. Smiling still, Diana called up a video game program for the teen girl to amuse herself with while she focused on Angel.
"What it means is, Luthor's people didn't create you. Whatever story he told you is likely lies, but wherever he got you from it wasn't from a human laboratory. You're the result of advanced alien technology, far ahead of anything here. That makes you unique and special, physically, just as you've proven yourself to be special by your character and actions."
The beautiful alien shapeshifter bit her lip slightly and loked down, still unsure, and Diana came to her and gently lifted her chin and locked eyes on hers.
"Listen to me. Luthor's a bastard, and he lied to you and manipulated you and used you, but you are -not- his creation and he does -not- own you. You were young and new to the world and believed his lies because he's a clever manipulator, but you are not responsible for how he used you. You're not his tool anymore and you're not to blame for when you were. Many people come from bad homes where they were abused and hurt and used horribly, and the natural thing they all do is blame themselves. It's the natural reaction, but it's also wrong. With help and support, they can come to learn that they are not what they came from, that their personhood and their future is in their hands and theirs alone. It's never an easy path, but it does get easier. Time does heal."
Her words were truth, and they were getting through, but still there was hesitation. "Diana, I--"
Diana shook her head, and spoke with conviction and passion in her words. "No. No buts. I know you, I've fought and bled by your side. Your true nature was shown in the heat of battle, and it is strong and good. You are a brave and noble warrior, and by your actions you made his lie into truth. He meant you to be a false hero, but you proved yourself as a real one. What he meant you to pretend to be, you really are. And I would bet that drives him mad."
The beautiful blonde smirked at that, amused at the thought of giving torment to that vile snake of a man, but she still wasn't entirely convinced. "Are you sure, Diana? Can you really believe in me despite everything?"
Diana nodded, no reservation in her eyes. "I believe it with all my heart. You're a good person burdened by crimes committed against you in your youngest and most vulnerable time, which makes you a victim at worst. Despite that burden, you have shouldered the duty of saving lives and protecting the innocent, even as your own innocence was abused. You have transcended your victimhood and become a true hero. You are a good, true, and beautiful person and I am happy to know you. And without a doubt, I am certain that anyone would be fortunate to know you and even more fortunate still to get to love you. I only hope that you can come to see yourself as I do."
Angel blinked. "...love...?" She bit her lip and blushed, but then locked her eyes again on the brilliant moonlight blues of the Amazon. "Show me."
Diana nodded, and opened her mind to the radiantly attractive telepathic shapeshifter. After long, astonished moments of absorbing Diana's thoughts and feelings and being awed by them, a look of determination washed over her features. Moments later, Diana found herself being joined in a more physical way as the blonde vision of loveliness pressed into her with a powerful kiss charged with intense and stormily mixed emotions. Diana smiled, even as she responded with equal intensity born of genuine affection, attraction, and sexual response. She had succeeded, the woman was safely away from the brink of danger to herself, now. She had a long road to travel in her healing, but it had begun. And Diana knew the next steps to take and looked forward to them.
Angel, by contrast, was not so sure as embarrasment flooded her and she pulled away to second guess herself and mutter an apology. Diana instead merely smiled, and surprised her by initiating a kiss of her own. As the stunning blonde blinked and absorbed this, Diana smiled softly and spoke.
'Yes I believe in you, and yes I admire you in all the ways you hope it means. I cannot be yours alone, I belong to no one person, but if you wish it you can have me tonight. I would be most pleased if you say yes."
The stunning shapeshifter was herself stunned, but found the presence of mind to nod, at least. She was rewarded by a brilliant smile from the amazing Amazon, and yet another kiss.
"Come with me, Angel? I know a place that would be very happy to have you. Good people, friends and companions and teammates, a place to call home and a purpose for the future."
Angel nodded, eyes misty as she welcomed the thought. "I'd like that very much."
Diana again flashed that brilliant smile, and offered her hand. The Martian Manhunter had already said that he could handle the Metropolis patrol duties indefinitely, she was free to pursue this without worry. The young Kryptonian Supergirl would hardly notice they'd left. They were free to go.
As they took to the sky together, following the sun west across the sky, it was ironic that they be chasing the setting sun as they embarked on a new day and a new life for the shapeshifting Supergirl. Then again, Diana would not be alone in welcoming the night to come.
-----
When the man of Steel's vision cleared, he was no longer where he had been. And where he was now could easily be described as heaven.
Once, many years ago, he and Lois had posed as a married couple for the purpose of investigative reporting, and had shared a honeymoon suite in a Niagra Falls resort. At the time, he had insisted on propriety and that he sleep on the couch, though she did convince him to share the bed in a chaste way by the end of the trip. In the years that followed, they'd always talked about it as the closest thing to a honeymoon that they'd ever have, and spoke wistfully of what could have been had not the combination of his powerful Kryptonian nature and her fragile human body kept them apart, and instead nature had allowed them to marry instead of keeping their relationship strictly platonic. Not that they ever talked dirty per se, he got the feeling that she would have liked to fantasize that way but refrained for his benefit. Perhaps it was better that way, it was hard enough coming to terms with their inability to take their relationship to the next level without discussing the precise reason it could never happen. Romantic musings with the assumption of passion just off-screen were already painfully wistful enough.
Somehow, without even testing it, he knew that was not the case here. He was still strong, perhaps he could even use a few of his powers at low levels, but he felt none of the dangerous levels of power that made the human world and human bodies so fragile to him. For the first time since childhood, he wasn't living in a world made of tissue paper and populated by people barely more durable than balloons. For once, he could be a man and not only a Superman. This was a job for Clark Kent.
He also knew before he saw her that she would be here. Somehow he could just sense she was near, even before he noticed the little telltale clues such as her things neatly scattered about or the soft scent of her perfume still lingering in the air.
"Lois...?"
"I'm here, Clark. Come see."
He followed her voice, out to the balcony and then paused in the doorway as his voice and will failed him.
There she was, young and vibrant like she'd been the last time they were here, perfect in every imaginable way but her human frailty, and this time that was not a problem. Her ebon hair was tossed in a soft moist breeze, cool but not cold, as was the semi-sheer nightgown she wore that revealed her sillouhette beneath as the bright sun shone through and cast her lovely body in shadow against it's surface. His breath caught in his throat as every desire he'd ever surpressed welled up in him, and when her face turned to his even that was forgotten as her angel's face enraptured him and the beautiful blue eyes of love cast him into a trance. When she laughed, it was like the tinkling of bells in the halls of heaven, even as she teased him.
"Are you going to stand there in the doorway like a lump, or are you going to come join me?"
He blinked, hesitating but a moment as he stepped out and to her side, and his arms slid instinctively around her as she leaned back against him.
"Much better. The view is amazing, isn't it?"
She was clearly talking about the stunning view from the edge of the railing, revealing nature's wonder in all it's spectacular splendor, but he barely saw it. And when he agreed, it was her beauty that filled his mind's eye as he spoke.
"Oh, you." She softly chuckled, sensing his distraction, and then she was turning in his arms, eyes locking onto his, and then meeting him in a kiss the likes of which had haunted his dreams for decades. Yes, this was heaven. There was no other way to describe it. When the kiss finally broke, the words he most longed to say sprung to his lips unbidden, welled up by emotions even his legendary strength could not hold back.
"I love you, Lois. I love you so damned much."
She smiled in response, eyes sparkling and locked on his still as she spoke with soft determination. "Show me."
Nothing on earth could have prepared him for the hours that followed. Nothing in his imagination or experience could have come close. In every way possible every touch, every kiss, every caress and every moment before, during, and after their joining was perfection and affection and the very definition of 'making love'. For the first time, all the rhetoric of romance stories and love songs made sense to him as he experienced the total expression of pure, perfect love. Lost in one another, day turned to night as they engaged together with all else forgotten, until blissful fatigue finally claimed them and they settled into the warm, soft drift of afterglow.
In spite of the stereotype, it was she who fell asleep first, and his eyes misted with loving tears as he watched her sleep. A perfect angel, sent from heaven. Tonight, he would sleep on a cloud of love wrapped in the wings of her affection. As he drifted off to sleep, he knew that nothing would ever be as wonderful, as perfect and amazing and beautiful as this day had been, but he knew the memory would live in him forever. No matter what, he wouldn't trade it for the entire universe.
-----
When he awoke, he knew what he'd see when he opened his eyes. The beautiful dream was over, the cold waking world was now awaiting him with empty arms and no way to turn back. His heart was shattered as he looked down to her silent, lifeless form in his arms, looking for all the world like she was merely sleeping but both his senses and the machines told him different. He gently kissed her forehead, eyes blurring with tears as he cradled her now empty body and sobbed.
-----
Hours later, in his Fortess of Solitude --never had that name been more appropriate!--, he plugged a crystal into a machine marked "Earth II" and activated it. On it's readout, he could see the result as the Lois Lane of the timeless, pocket city of eternally Golden Age Metropolis recieved the memories of her counterpart here, a full century of life experiences that would now never be lost. He saw her Superman, a weaker but somehow older Superman who was not so strong he would break her if he touched her, a Clark Kent who had married his Lois Lane. He saw him, her husband, gently take her into his arms to comfort and protect her through the process of absorbing so many years. It was the only measure of saving her that his Lois would allow, and it was small comfort but some nonetheless. Part of her would live forever in the pocket paradise maintained by the machine, eternally protected from the ravages of time and change. A slice of heaven for them both.
For this world's Superman, though, heaven was a memory. Only the Earth remained for him, and it was akin to a cold hell without the warmth of her in it. Even when his parents had died he hadn't felt this empty. Even when Doomsday had killed him it hadn't hurt this much.
But she was right. He would be strong for her, and for the world, as he promised her. He wasn't sure when he'd be strong enough to go out and face that world again, the void of a world without her in it, but he was sworn to her to do so. And he had never, ever broken a promise to her.
And until he joined her in heaven, he never would.
-----
While AFF and its agents attempt to remove all illegal works from the site as quickly and thoroughly as possible, there is always the possibility that some submissions may be overlooked or dismissed in error. The AFF system includes a rigorous and complex abuse control system in order to prevent improper use of the AFF service, and we hope that its deployment indicates a good-faith effort to eliminate any illegal material on the site in a fair and unbiased manner. This abuse control system is run in accordance with the strict guidelines specified above.
All works displayed here, whether pictorial or literary, are the property of their owners and not Adult-FanFiction.org. Opinions stated in profiles of users may not reflect the opinions or views of Adult-FanFiction.org or any of its owners, agents, or related entities.
Website Domain ©2002-2017 by Apollo. PHP scripting, CSS style sheets, Database layout & Original artwork ©2005-2017 C. Kennington. Restructured Database & Forum skins ©2007-2017 J. Salva. Images, coding, and any other potentially liftable content may not be used without express written permission from their respective creator(s). Thank you for visiting!
Powered by Fiction Portal 2.0
Modifications © Manta2g, DemonGoddess
Site Owner - Apollo