Chapter Nine: Ancient History.
The more time passed, the more questions Clark got and the more answers he wanted. Brainiac might have been banished temporarily, but he would come back, and Clark needed to get all of the answers, regardless of what they were.
Thankfully, Brainiac left something behind.
Clark spent a fair amount of time looking over the artifact which came from the fake Brainiac. He had a hunch, something he remembered seeing a while back. At the time, Clark didn't really think too much about the item, so he shoved it into the back of his mind. Now, given, hindsight, he had plenty of time to consider what he had seen all these years ago.
The young man retreated from the Fortress. Now he had his marathon sessions with Kara and Chloe, Clark's mind cleared and he had a lot more to think about. He made his way past the entrance of the museum. It had been opened to visitors on Saturdays, free of admission. Not too many people took advantage of the free admission, which was a pity.
'Let's see if my hunch is right,' Clark said.
Clark stepped back the standard exhibits. He walked past an assembled dinosaur fossil skeleton. He kept walking down the beaten path and turned around an exhibit of Roman armor. The armor interested Clark for a brief moment, but something else caught his eye a bit more. It was the very thing he looked for in his search.
A large stone tablet hung from the wall. He stepped on the other side of the velvet rope and took a closer look. The writings on them shined out in front of his face. Clark recognized some of the symbols as Kryptonian, albeit a much more ancient form of it. The symbols shined in the light.
'Curious,' Clark thought a second later. He would have liked to touch the tablet, but doubted it was possible.
Something about the object beckoned Clark, made him want to take a very close look at it. A closer peak couldn't hurt, could it?
The young man took a half of a step and positioned himself closer towards the other side of the tablet. Clark wondered if he could get away with reaching over the rope and touching the tablet.
A set of footsteps from the other side of the museum stopped Clark in his tracks. He didn't want a security guard or one of the employees or even a guest catching him in the act with what he was doing. Clark turned his attention to see what person came around the corner.
Clark backed away to see who was coming, bringing himself away from the stone tablet hanging against the wall.
Quite a vision came around the corner to greet him. A dark haired woman maybe a couple of years older than Clark, at least by the looks of her, stepped in. Her black hair clipped back on a nice bun which allowed her beautiful face to shine brightly. Her blue eyes shimmered between a pair of eyeglasses. The woman favored the standard purple button up blouse and long skirt combination which dipped down past the other side of her thighs. Her stocking clad legs were slightly uncovered when she shifted. The woman balanced and stood.
Clark saw how tall she was. She was the type of woman who could stand out and didn't even need to try. And her eyes were on him, as if trying to figure out about his presence here.
"Hello," she said. "You're curious about the exhibit, aren't you?"
Clark answered with a nod.
"You aren't the only one," she said. "I have to admit, I've been here for a while and well…."
"Yes," Clark said. "I don't know, it's just something about it which has drawn me, I can't really explain it, even if I tried."
The dark haired woman smiled. "The marvels of the universe are like that in many ways. We never quite know how we're drawn to them. They just draw us. Although, if I can hazard a guess, there's a connection you've had to them, deep in your past."
She stepped forward to get a closer look at the young man. Clark sensed she studied him over the glasses like he was one of the exhibits in the museum. The woman extended her hand for Clark to shake. The two of them moved closer to each other.
"Diana Prince," she said.
"Clark Kent."
The two of them touched hands. Clark noticed the firm grip she had. The strong handshake took him aback for a second. He fixed his look into a more stoic demeanor before pulling away from her, the handshake having concluded.
Diana had been taken off guard for the moment at his strong handshake but recovered quickly.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Diana," he responded.
"Likewise," Diana said.
Diana could not believe the strength of this young man. It took quite a bit for her to feel a grip of someone when they shook her hand. And something told her, he held back about as much she did. This encounter would prove to be interesting.
'There's something about him,' Diana thought. She smiled and looked at him. 'He'd be worth getting to know a little bit better.'
She realized Clark's eyes were back to the exhibit. He turned back towards her and stood up straight to face her.
"So, what can you tell me about the exhibit?' Clark asked.
Diana smiled, many people asked this question, and she had the same answer every time.
"Not much, I'm afraid," Diana said. She motioned for Clark to follow her over towards a bench. The two of them sat down so they could have their discussion in a more leisurely area than just standing around in the middle of a museum lobby. "Doctor Sandsmark, she's the one who led a team who dug it up, about five or so years back. They haven't been able to decipher the writing on it."
Clark thought some parts of the writing looked familiar, but exactly how much, he couldn't really tell.
"You think the language might have been lost to history?" Clark asked.
"Actually, I think the language might have been not of this particular world."
Diana's searching gaze made Clark think she figured out there was something more to him than met the eye. Which might have been just as well as Clark figured there was something a bit deeper to her than he first believed, at least at first.
He wanted to see if she meant what he thought she meant.
"You mean it's of some other planet?" Clark asked. Diana responded with a nod. "I can see why you would think of it. I've seen it before, though. Or at least something similar."
Diana blinked. Curiosity had gotten the better of the woman.
"You have?"
"Yes," Clark said. "There's a set of caves in my hometown, in Smallville, which has the writing. I'm surprised Doctor Sandsmark hasn't heard of them. They belong to the Kawatchee tribe in the area."
"Well, I'm not certain how much she knows about them," Diana said. "Doctor Sandsmark is in a business meeting, trying to get funding for one of her trips. She should be back by tonight, though. Maybe you could ask her then."
Diana paused, a thought having come to mind.
"How about the two of us head out for coffee after my shift ends?" Diana asked. "I'm just curious at how much you know, and….I don't think this is the place to talk about it, isn't it?"
A couple more people flooded inside the museum and Diana thought this could be a pretty sensitive subject.
'Plus, I'd like to get to know him,' Diana thought.
She saw many men since leaving home, but Clark was unlike anyone she ever saw.
"No, it doesn't seem to be," Clark responded to her. "So, about what time do you get off?"
"I get off at five," Diana answered. "So, is it a date?"
"I'll be there," Clark said. "Five o'clock sharp."
Diana smiled. She would have been deluding herself if she didn't think about how much she was looking forward to this little encounter with the mysterious young man. Diana recalled several legends, and the more she thought about it, the more he could fit certain stories.
Could be a coincidence, or it could be something to them. One way or another, Diana endeavored to figure it out.
'Tonight's going to be interesting,' she thought.
Kara arrived back in Smallville, having dropped Chloe back off at the Talon, where she was going to have coffee with Lana. She couldn't have helped, but be pleased with how things progressed at the Fortress. Years of sexual tension, bottled up all at once, threatened to burst out.
Once it did though, it was a beautiful moment.
'Overall, so far so good,' Kara thought, smiling.
Kara recalled what had been going on over the past couple of weeks. Kal had a hunch about the writing on Brainiac's artifact and he went off to investigate it.
Lara continued her modifications on the Fortress and continued to improve it. If Kal-El had to be there to continue his training, Kara wanted the experience to be about as enjoyable as possible. The Fortress would never be home to him because he didn't grow up on Krypton. Kara both knew that and respected that.
Still, he had a lot to learn from his Kryptonian heritage and from the past. Those who failed to learn from their pasts had often been doomed the mistakes made in the present.
Kara stepped away from the front entrance of the Talon and almost ran into a figure who walked inside. Her hands shot out and caught Lois before she took a half of a step forward. Lois staggered back. Kara grabbed her wrist gently.
The two of them lingered together before Kara made sure Lois could stand upright. When she did, Kara pulled away from Lois.
"Oh, hey, Kara," Lois said. "Sorry, I'm just….checking on Chloe. She wasn't answering her phone earlier, and….I'm afraid she might have gotten in trouble again."
"Oh, you don't say?"
Lois didn't really understand half of what Chloe was up to when she tried to delve into the mysteries of life. Okay, she could understand the allure, a little bit, some of the time. There were other times though where Lois wanted to bury her head in her hands in frustration at everything Chloe did.
"No, she's fine," Kara said. "She's actually inside having a cup of coffee with Lana."
"Oh, that might seem harmless," Lois said. "But, if Chloe gets too hyped up on the coffee, she tends to get ideas."
Kara's eyebrow rose up at what Lois suggested.
"Weren't you just going in for the same thing yourself?" Kara asked.
"Actually, no, I was just hoping to ask Lana whether or not she heard from Chloe, but I figured, since you told me, there's no need for me to ask about anything," Lois said. She slowed down her rapid-fire pace of speaking. "So how are you finding Smallville?"
Loaded question, and Kara decided to give a calm answer.
"It's interesting," Kara said.
Lois smiled and managed to hold back her laughter to try and be polite. Or at least as polite Lois could potentially be.
"You must have lived in the pinnacle of boredom if you find Smallville interesting," Lois said. "Sure, there's…the occasional meteor shower….which I suppose is interesting. But other than that, it's just your typical town in the middle of Midwestern America."
Lois decided to ask something which had been bothering her for a very long time.
"Why did it take you so long to contact Clark?" Lois asked. "He's been here…what about eighteen years? And that's the first he's heard of any biological family."
Kara already had a story together, she would have to. Lois would be among the most harmless of people who would end up asking questions.
"It's complicated," Kara said. She figured Lois wasn't going to go for that particular explanation. "The truth is, I didn't know where he was until very recently, or he even lived in Smallville. My father and his…they weren't that close."
"What happened to your parents anyway?"
Kara sighed.
"They died," Kara said. "And I went to an Orphanage in Minnesota….I'm sure Chloe told you all about this, and I lived there until I was eighteen."
"Yeah, Chloe told me all of this," Lois said.
Lois couldn't believe someone like Kara would have popped up pretty much out of nowhere, overnight, and she looked too good to be true. And Lois automatically looked at things which were too good to be true with an extremely critical eye.
It wasn't like she was concerned for Clark, okay maybe a little. Someone had to keep an eye on him to keep him in line, and Lois decided it might as well be her.
"You've got your questions, I've got a lot of questions too," Kara said. "I don't remember a lot about my life before the Orphanage, and…..it was just a miracle that I happened to be in Smallville when I did, to find Clark. Any later, and I would have missed him."
"And your life would have been a lot less interesting if you did," Lois said.
"So, what do you think about Smallville?" Kara asked. Lois opened her mouth. "Seriously, about all of the weirdness….I want to know what Lois Lane thinks about all of the insanity."
The raven-haired girl tried to figure out what to make of this particular question and how to answer it without sounding too overtly salty. To be honest, Lois didn't give it much thought, she just rolled with whatever happened. Spending half of your life moving around from military base to military base prepared someone for anything, and yet, Lois almost had been caught off balance by life in Smallville.
Sometimes though, she just rolled with the punches.
"Well, I don't spend half of my life obsessing over it like Chloe does," Lois said. "But, I'll be honest, underneath all the madness, Smallville…well, I don't know how to say this. But, it seems quaint."
"Quaint?"
"Yes," Lois said. "It's the most stable home I've ever had and the Kents have been great taking me in. I don't know if you've noticed this, but I can be a bit of a pain in the ass sometimes."
It took every bit of self-control Kara had not to smile at Lois's bitterly honest feedback of herself.
"No, I can't believe it," Kara said smiling. "The Kents are great, and I couldn't have been happier Clark found them."
'He did turn out right, in the end,' Lois said. 'For all of his oddness, he turned out alright in the end.'
"So, what do you think of him?"
Lois almost jumped up in surprise. Kara asked the question which nearly pierced her armor.
"I'm…well…he's….he's not too bad," Lois said. "I guess deep down, I have a soft spot for the big lug. He can be….well he can be endearing. He's the embodiment of Smallville. That's what….I call Smallville, Smallville, because…"
Lois stopped before she shoved her foot deeper down her throat. Kara only smiled at her.
"Don't worry, I understand."
Kara saw the deeper connection having been formed between Lois and Clark. Whether or not it was meant to develop further, Kara had no idea. Still, she would have to keep an eye on Lois.
Just to see how things would go with her. She had a lot of issues to work out, but then again, didn't everyone at Lois's age?
Lara parked herself in front of the computer at the Fortress. Finally, the place ran at her specifications, at least most of her specifications. She figured there would be quite some time before everything ran up to the standards she expected everything to run out. Regardless of this particular fact, though, Lara found herself rather pleased at how things were going. At least for the most part, Lara really couldn't complain.
Now, she could study what other surprises awaited them after the latest meteor shower. Lara sat back and waited for the Fortress to full a wide scan of the entire planet.
The moment Lara locked onto anything suspect; she would know precisely what they were dealing with. Lara placed her fingers on the edge of her mouth and the frown on her face, if it all possible, just deepened. The flashes dancing across the screen concerned her.
"Enhanced them."
Lara turned her head around. She still grew used to her new body. Her old one was quite missed, even though it perished along with Krypton. Lara spent some time moving around, making some adjustments in this particular body. Weeks later, Lara adapted it for her uses.
'Still going to get used to this,' Lara thought. 'But if it's going to help out my son, and niece, all the much better. Anything to make their lives a lot easier, anything. I'd do absolutely anything for them.'
Lara smiled knowing deep down in her heart anything, meant anything. She wasn't going to go to certain extremes which her husband had been willing to go to help their son achieve his destiny.
One problem at a time, Lara noted. She fixated on the spots.
"Just as I thought," Lara said. She made a few notes down on the piece of paper. "The Interdimensional Disturbance opened up a number of sizeable looking rifts between dimensions."
Lara double-checked and eyeballed some measures. She noted down a couple of potential problem spots. She would have to study them in closer detail later.
Hopefully, they didn't end up opening portals up, before she could properly address them. It might have just been usual spots in the fabric, nothing to be concerned for.
"Nothing too alarming, at least nothing too alarming just yet," Lara said. She made a couple more swift notes. "Still, there are a couple of things worth noting on."
Lara smiled when the entrance to the Fortress told her they would be having visitors. She upped the security on it as well. Lara would be the first to tell you nothing in the world was foolproof. And those who thought as much had often been proven to be a fool.
Still, she had a lot of confidence the new security system would work. Lara turned to face her son and niece when they stepped into the Fortress. They had been deep in conversation about something or other the moment they stepped inside.
"So, how are you holding up?" Clark asked. Lara looked towards him with a smile. "Seriously, are you doing alright in your new body?"
Lara placed her hands on top of Clark's and looked her son in the eye. She edged closer towards him and smiled.
"I'm holding up as about as well as someone would think in a brand new body like this," Lara said. She turned her head around and gave a cracked her neck. "Still a bit weird….but I'm sure over time, I'll adapt."
Those who did not adapt often suffered a huge downfall. Lara understood this and learned it very well over time.
"You will," Kara said. "So, what's the problem?"
Lara retracted her hand from her son's and turned her attention around. She pointed towards the large map of the world.
"Brainiac and the meteor shower for a start but they're just tips of the iceberg," Lara said. "The stones when they had been joined into the Fortress crystal, they've caused an interdimensional disturbance. And this interdimensional disturbance looks like it may have crossed over multiple universes."
Clark's feeling in the pit of his stomach grew a bit sourer. He focused his attention on Lara.
"So, how bad of a situation we're talking about?" Clark asked. "And are we prepared for it?"
"Well, I'm not sure how bad the consequences are going to be," Lara admitted. "It could have long-lasting consequences over multiple universes. Or it is nothing of consequence."
Clark's frown worsened. He had a pretty good idea which of the two it was going to be. The past five years of Smallville taught him there were few things which were nothing of consequence. Everything had a consequence. It was just a matter of what and how long reaching they would be.
"And as for if we're prepared," Lara said. "We are, but at the same time, you never truly can be prepared. And given this event is unprecedented, I'm not even sure what's going to come out of any interdimensional disturbances."
Kara studied the interdimensional disturbances with a careful eye. She could see them going either way, either just fixing themselves or complicating matters. She couldn't really decide which way things would go, for now.
"With any luck, they will heal themselves," Kara suggested.
"Pretty much, yes," Lara said. "So, what are the two of you up to?"
"I visited the museum, the older one in Metropolis," Clark said. "And there's a stone table with Kryptonian writing on it."
Lara looked thoughtful at Clark's declaration. It pleased her to see his idea was on point.
"Hmm, interesting," Lara muttered. "Could be anything. Could be someone's journal they left behind, or it could be the plans to something dangerous….or something useful. Or it could just be a piece of an artifact which had been left behind on Earth, with no meaning at all."
Kryptonians visited Earth a time or two long before Kal-El. They had these bad habits of leaving their things lying around.
"I have a date with Diana, she works at the museum," Clark said. "Hopefully she'll be able to tell me more about it."
Lara smiled. Clark really didn't need as much encouragement as she thought. This bode well for his future.
"So, is she a beautiful girl?" Lara asked.
"She's quite beautiful in fact," Clark said. "And she has a pretty firm handshake."
Lara smiled, well this date would prove to be quite interesting.
"Well, you don't want to be late," Lara said. "That's the type of woman you don't want to make a bad first impression on."
Clark smiled at his mother's not so subtle commentary. He could see his cousin's grin.
"I'll deal with you later," Clark said.
"Oh, I'm sure you will."
Kara made a decision to tag along with Clark on his way to the museum. She wanted to meet Diana, and also she wanted to have a closer look at the tablet herself. And given it would be when the museum was not at peak hours, she could get a closer look at it without being disturbed.
Diana stood at the front desk. She had a conversation with someone at the desk about something.
"Oh, Doctor Sandsmark sounded pretty pleased?" Diana asked.
"Yes, she did, I think she finally secured the funding she needed."
Diana couldn't help and smile at this particular result. Doctor Sandsmark deserved all of the funding she could achieve and then even more. She turned her attention and saw Clark walking in.
"Clark, wow, you're a bit early," Diana said.
It wasn't a complaint by any means, merely an observation.
"Well, I'd figured I'd make the best impression possible," Clark said. He stepped closer towards her. "Did you expect me to be late?"
Diana smiled.
"No, I didn't," Diana said. "It's just most people put much stock on being punctual, even though it's important. And the fact you're here five minutes early really speaks for myself."
Diana looked to see Clark was not alone. Her eyes drifted towards the beautiful blonde girl and Diana was momentarily distracted from Clark.
'She wouldn't be out of place back home,' Diana thought.
"This is my cousin, Kara," Clark said. "She's interested in the slab as much as I am."
Diana looked at the tall blonde and smiled. She extended her hand to shake it.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kara," she said.
Kara took her hand and shook it with a smile.
"You too as well, Diana."
The two women let go of their hands after having a firm handshake. Kara thought Clark was on point about her having a firm handshake.
'Guess a firm handshake runs in their family,' Diana thought.
"So, what drew you to the slab?" Diana asked.
"My mother studied similar artifacts before she died…"
"I'm sorry to hear about that," Diana said, in a sincere voice.
"Thank you, it's appreciated," Kara said. She drew in her breath and continued to talk. "My mother studied these artifacts, trying to do what she could to unearth the mysteries of the universe. I don't remember too much, but the writing is fairly ancient. And the most basic translations have been lost to time."
Diana nodded in response. She came to the same conclusion, as did Doctor Sandsmark. And Doctor Sandsmark had this artifact longer than Diana worked at the museum, so she would know.
"And Clark mentioned Doctor Helena Sandsmark might know more about where this artifact came from," Kara said. "And if she told me about it, I'd be happy to share some of my mother's findings, the ones I can remember anyway, with her."
"She'd like that, she's had a long day, she needs something to perk herself up," Diana said. She looked towards Clark. "So, are you ready to go?"
Clark paused for a moment and looked around. He could have sworn there was someone else in the lobby watching their every move. He realized now was not the time to see people watching him. He turned towards Diana and smiled.
"I'm ready," Clark said.
"Excellent, the coffee shop around the corner serves the best coffee, and the best pie….well at least I've had in Metropolis anyway," Diana said. "We can just go for a nice walk, it's a beautiful night."
"Sounds like a good idea," Clark said.
The two of them departed from the museum, leaving Kara alone.
Diana frowned. She sensed something in the museum before they left, something which put her on guard.
'Hopefully, it's nothing,' Diana thought to herself. 'I really hope it's nothing anyway. I really hope it's no one from back home stalking me.'
Diana took a step around, resolving to enjoy this night to the best of her abilities. She hoped no one would ruin it.
Chapter Ten: Wrath of the Gods Part One
Kara walked deep into the museum to get a closer look at the exhibit now Clark was off with Diana. She waited patiently for Helena Sandsmark to finish off a call. The few snatches of conversation Kara caught out of the side of her ear showed how important it was.
'Guess I better wait, I wouldn't want to disturb her.'
She could wait, she had the patience to wait. Kara took a half of a step off to the side and leaned against the wall. She acted casual when looking around. A quick glance delivered to the right side of her and a quick glance delivered to the left side of her. The moment Kara turned all the way around, she saw no guards were on their way around.
Daring thoughts entered Kara's mind. It wouldn't hurt to take more quick peak before Doctor Sandsmark was ready to meet with her.
Kara took a casual step over the velvet rope. She prepared to move the moment anyone approached. Curiosity damned her and got the better of her. Every single moment she walked closer to the exhibit, Kara experienced an amazing pull towards it.
She lifted one hand and lightly brushed her fingers against the edge of the tablet. A spark of energy caused her skin to light on fire. Kara reached into her bag and pulled out a scanner developed of spare parts in the Fortress. She flickered the device on and ran it over the tablet a few times. The frown deepened the more as she took in the tablet. The scanner didn't hit any match and this thought confused Kara to a new degree.
'Right here, it looks like there's no trace of any technology, 'Kara thought. 'That's extremely odd.'
Kara double checked to make sure the settings had been calibrated properly. She scanned the tablet. No signs of energy again, after the second scan.
'Someone carved these symbols in here, a long time ago,' Kara thought. She took a chance and touched the symbols. She didn't notice any super-secret hidden technology buried within the carvings. 'There's nothing out of the ordinary, although the writing is curious.'
All Kara scanned the symbols writing. There were no literal translation, but with the Fortress database she should be able to piece together a more concise scan of them.
Kara stepped back and took a step back over the ropes. Despite the scans coming up as negative and everything else coming up as very empty, Kara couldn't help, but see something was wrong, and very out of the ordinary. She just couldn't put her hand on what might have been wrong. She did have a feeling something was going on.
'Extremely odd,' Kara thought.
The phone conversation continued in the next room. Kara listened for Doctor Sandsmark to wrap up the call. She figured an interview with her would unearth some answers to this item.
Only, a chill went down Kara's spine.
'I'm not alone.'
A flash of light caught Kara's attention's further. The actual lights in the museum began to flicker and cause a slight disturbance. Kara stepped closer towards the edge of the room and frowned at the lights flickering at a very interesting and crude pattern.
'I knew there was something up.'
Kara stepped in the general direction in front of the disturbance. Nothing here other than some very ancient Earth armor. It looked like she could damage it with a strong burst of her super breath. Hell, it looked like she could tap on it and ding it pretty good.
The only recourse was to pick up her scanner and take a closer look. Kara waved her hand in the air with the scanner. The scanner blipped and showed some foreign residue entered the air. The residue circled around the statues and showed something was amiss.
The light grew even more blinding and three shadowed figures appeared out of the portal. Kara stepped closer towards them. The trio of guards stepped out of the portal. Their attired consisted of a rather bulky armor which didn't seem too convenient for skilled battle. They looked more apt for brute force and to bull over armies without any strategy.
Kara stepped closer towards them and for the longest moment, none of them really reacted. The nearest of the soldiers extended his arm and caught Kara in the face. The huge punch caused her to launch up into the air and slam hard onto the ground.
The wind knocked out of Kara. It surprised her how strong they were. Something augmented their abilities, and Kara realized what it was.
'Magic, of course it is.'
The three soldiers walked closer towards her. Kara took a closer look, with them having ignored her now she exited her direct path. They weren't based on technology, rather they were based off of some mystic abilities. The enchantment swam around the soldiers when they approached.
"War will be at hand!" one of them bellowed. A sword had been withdrawn. "Come forth with my brothers! Our master's prize awaits us!"
Kara jumped in front of the soldiers when they continued their march. One of them looked at her like she was a mere annoyance. The arm extended and Kara dodged a gust of wind before it took her out. She ping-ponged off of the wall and flew at him back at them.
A long clang caused a surprising amount of pain to spread up Kara's body. She never expected anything to hit her like the solider did.
A shield extended around the body of the soldier. A rubber band effect shot Kara up into the air and sent her flying all the way down to the ground. Kara clutched onto the ground and struggled to get to her feet. Her knees almost slid out underneath one side of her. A small drop of blood spilled from her mouth.
'These soldiers are going to wreck the museum if I don't put a stop to them.'
One of the soldiers withdrew a spear and charged towards her. Kara caught it before the spear impaled her. Two of the guards stepped over and helped their guns towards the soldier. The soldier lifted his hand and the guards slammed off against the wall with solid thuds.
Kara jumped on the back of one of the guards. She tried to aim her fist at the fleshy part of the guard's neck. The guard turned around, yanking her by the hair off of him. The guard whipped around and hurled Kara back out of her path.
She noticed, perhaps a bit too late for it to do any good, these guards only fought her when they attacked. The moment they pitched her off to the side, the guards returned to their business as of nothing outs of the ordinary happened.
Kara brushed herself off with a harsh frown. She stepped outside. The guards had made their way outside and would be storming the city in a matter of moments.
She dropped down onto the ground and looked up at a bright light engulfing her. The soldiers disappeared into a flash of light, leaving a mild amount of carnage.
'So, I'm not the target,' Kara thought. 'If I'm not the target, then who is?'
Kara had been visited with more questions than she had answers, and nothing added up, at least in her mind.
'It's very odd.'
Clark settled in for a nice cup of coffee and a rather refreshing helping of stew. He had to admit it was pretty tasty, even though nothing could beat his mother's cooking. His own biased opinion might have been at work there.
Diana sat across with him for a smile. It was nice to have a rare night out with someone and not have to worry about any responsibilities.
Sadly, there wasn't any doubt in Diana's mind she would pay for this lack of responsibilities later.
"It's different than what I'm used to back home," Diana said. "But, variety is the spice of life, isn't it?"
"Where are you from anyway?" Clark asked.
Diana smiled and took a drink of coffee. Clark sensed the eyes of someone who was gauging how much she could tell Clark this soon.
"I'm from the Mediterranean," Diana said. Granted, it would take a little bit of explanation to tell Clark where she was from, and Diana wanted to have a nice relaxing meal. "The autumns are quite jarring, though, but it's quaint in a way. Much like Smallville is, and….it's a change of pace."
Diana figured she would take this nice and slowly before she ended up dropping the princess bomb on him. She figured being the princess to a nation of strong warrior women might be off-putting for most men and thus not really a good topic for conversation on the first date.
"The tornados and bitter winters are a change of pace from the sun of where you're from," Clark said. "Granted, I only know it from reputation…"
Diana smiled and took another long drink of her coffee.
"Well, there's a lot to love, although when you live some place for a long time, the magnificent can turn mundane."
She laughed and finished downing her coffee.
"The beaches are relaxing, and there's an interesting culture if one is willing to learn about it," Diana said. "It's just….some aren't as interested in learning all of the lessons of the past. They want to interpret the teachings of the goddesses in ways they were never meant to be interpreted."
Clark raised an eyebrow.
"Goddesses?"
"You've…you've heard of the Greek Goddesses, right?" Diana asked.
"You mean like Aphrodite, Athena, Hera?" Clark asked.
Diana smiled, granted she read the few of the myths about them. Hera did not come across as very favorable in many of hers. Diana suspected it was because of the many bastard sons of Zeus spreading misinformation about her.
"Yes, among a few others," Diana said. "Some of them left home when they had a conflict with how it was being run…they thought….well it really doesn't matter."
Diana really was about where she wanted to be in life and to her. These facts were the only thing which mattered right about now. She looked up in time to see Clark's hand extend over the table.
"So, was that the real reason you came over here?" Clark asked. "To get away from the politics at home?"
Loaded question, despite so, Diana felt he deserved a clear and concise answer.
"No," Diana said. "There were other reasons. My mother encouraged me to get out and have a chance to see the wider world before I had a chance. I managed to look out Doctor Sandsmark and she had a job opening for me when her old assistant went on an extended sabbatical."
Diana later found out the old assistant had gone mad and ended up in Arkham Asylum in Gotham City. Diana found out a little bit about the place and knew from her experiences it was a place with some of the sickest people in the world. She prayed to Hera ever night they would gain the peace and the solace they needed.
'Mother was right, I needed to get out and enjoy the rest of the world for what it's worth, unwind a little bit,' Diana thought. She flipped a lock of the dark hair away from her face. 'It's not the easiest thing to do, but at least I found something interesting. And something I want to find out more about.'
Diana enjoyed the coffee she shared with him.
"So, your cousin mentioned….."
Just a second before Diana could properly ask a question, a scream cut in through the night from outside. Clark almost bolted up in a hurry, but Diana didn't notice it. She turned her attention from the window outside and back to Clark who sat at the table.
Who was not at the table, but another scream coming outside distracted Diana. She pulled herself up and dropped the money down on the table to pay for the rest of the meal. The dark haired princess stepped out of the back door.
'Time for drastic action.'
The moment she walked out of the back, Diana walked further into the back of the alleyway. She spun around three times in the alleyway. A flash of light flickered through the alleyway.
Diana stood dressed in a red, white, and blue one piece suit which showed off her long legs. Red boots had been pulled up. She dressed in a tiara and a pair of bracelets. The ancient Amazonian armor gave her enhanced power.
A woman trembled on the ground, and her two children were yelling at her, but those words had gone on deaf ears. Several ancient soldiers charged towards her and were about ready to flatten her.
"Mommy, please wake up!" one of the children shrieked in terror.
A blur shot out off from the side and scooped up the two children and yanked them out of the way in the blink of an eye. The mother followed, being slid out of the way.
Clark dropped down to the ground and came face to face with the lead warrior. The warrior raised a huge iron mace and swung it towards Clark. Clark caught the mace in his hand and jumped high in the air with his hand wrapped around it.
The soldier gave a grunt from his weapon being parted from his hand.
The mace ripped out of the hand of the soldier. Clark spun it around and the mace connected with the stone skin of the soldier and knocked him onto his back. Several stone fragments shot up into the air.
The second of the soldiers charged Clark with a sword from behind. The sword came precious inches from hitting Clark.
'No.'
Diana rushed on in and blocked the sword from slamming into the back of Clark's head. She clung the sword back into the place where the shoulder and chest of the stone warrior connected. The stone warrior's eyes shifted in anger when he pulled back his arm and lunged at the Amazon Princess.
"You!"
The growling coming from the warrior showed Diana someone very dangerous pulled the strings. The wondrous woman's experience told her exactly who was behind this latest round of trouble.
"Yes, it's me."
Diana jumped behind him, and she turned towards Clark.
"I'll handle them, see if there are any more civilians who are in need of care!" Diana yelled.
No time to ask any questions, both of them would have plenty of time to hash this out later. Clark sped off in a search for the civilians. The sounds of battle occurred over his shoulder and intensified.
'Guess there is much more to her than meets the eye.'
The sound of a second of the third soldiers falling brought some new found hope to Clark. He finished the search for civilians, but with a sense, there was someone else watching him.
'What more can happen tonight?'
A large statue loomed in front of the red skies which flashed with lightning. A figure made his way forward, his footsteps approaching. Some people considered his domain to be absolutely useless. Fools didn't know the necessity of war, a necessity of the work that he did.
The natural state of humanity was chaos. To consider anything less, would be foolish. They were all bloodthirsty. This state of bloodthirstiness didn't extend simply to humans. No, it extended through a variety of realms and all over the universe.
The figure took a half of a step forward and walked even more. He made his way into the temple. Several weapons hung from hooks on the walls. The man walked past the weapons and took them all in. He stopped in one particular spot which looked very vacant. The lack of item in front of him caused fire to burn through the eyes of this particular monster.
'It should be here.'
This particular thought flashed through his mind. No matter all of the spoils of war which had been gained or lost, this particular item missing dug underneath the skin of Ares. He placed a hand on the side of the bare spot on the wall.
Hatred burned through his walls. The Amazons, with Athena's questionable wisdom, took his most prized possession away from him.
He must take it back by any means necessary. His entire life had been incomplete. It was made for him.
The figure in battle armor turned to the army of warriors he assembled. They ran into a snag which caused the god's teeth to curl into a furious snarl.
"So, they've run into the son of Jor-El."
Ares shared several things in common with many gods. They traveled to other planets beyond their area of worship to see what it was like on the other side. Ares found many individuals who were of like mind to himself. One of those people who impressed him beyond all else was General Zod. Zod's ruthlessness proved to match Ares, and he respected the man.
It was a pity Ares could only observe, and not guide, because of the rules that bound him to only Earthly matters. Zod had some kind of spark in him which was beyond greatness.
Sadly, in the end, Zod failed, thanks to Jor-El. The only solace which kept Ares mostly calm was the fact the destruction of war had ended up destroying Krypton at the very end. The end result of a very long and rather stubborn planet who refused to learn the lessons.
They saw the dangers of trying to avoid war at any costs. They could not prepare themselves for true conflict, for true bloodshed. When it happened, they could not survive.
The son of Jor-El was someone who did survive all of the conflict and all of the war. Ares crushed his fingers together, teeth gritting together in an obvious growl.
'I will crush the son of Jor-El, he is nothing, he's very much like his father. He impedes the progression of war, and for that, he will must be sacrificed.'
Ares turned to the army before him. If only Jor-El's son had been the only problem, then Ares could rest easily. However, there were other difficulties. He noticed her show up instantly.
'Hippolyta's daughter,' Ares managed to get out with a rather prominent growl. He clutched his fist together until it had gotten blue in the face.
It was only appropriate in some twisted way the daughter of Hippolyta joined the battle. Hippolyta had been one of the ones who had attempted to keep Ares and his precious armor away. The thought of it resulted in a sickening feeling to enter the pit of the stomach of the God of War. He needed to make her pay, he needed to make her suffer.
She took down two of his warriors. The Princess never understood the first battle was always the easiest. It was always a mission to find the weaknesses in his opponents and exploit them to his best abilities.
Ares focused his complete attention on the third person, the one who met his warriors at the museum when they had been activated.
'Yes, she's rather interesting given her bloodline,' Ares thought. 'She has a thirst for bloodshed and for war she's struggling to keep at bay. Well, we just got to find a way to get that out of her. It's always a delight to see the warrior spirit forced out of anyone.'
Ares was pretty sure he located the armor. It was only appropriate it had been located inside a quaint little farm town. The armor was so close, he could taste it.
"Come forth my children, and claim for me what is rightfully, and truthfully mine!" Ares yelled.
It had been a while since he had led a campaign of decimation. It was only fortunate enough the goddesses had been preoccupied for reasons which had unknown.
"Your target is a town called Smallville, in Kansas," Ares said. "I want you to destroy everyone who stands inside….you two…go back up your brothers against the Daughter of Hippolyta and the Son of Jor-El."
The two soldiers dropped down to their knees before the god of war. Ares only just barely kept himself from breaking out into one of the wider smiles possible.
'They fail to understand humanity's natural state is war. But, they will learn.'
Diana dropped down hard onto the ground and just barely avoided one of the soldiers taking her head off with a very violent punch. She pivoted off to the side. The two she had taken out rejoined the battle. One of them charged towards her.
Clark popped up right next to her and blocked the sword before it sliced through the top of Diana's head. Clark and the soldier struggled to fight each other. A punch caught the soldier and knocked him up off of the ground.
"So, it appears there's more to you than meets the eye," Clark said.
"Yes," Diana said. She caught the ax from one of the soldiers. The Amazon's knees buckled in an attempt to force the ax back. She summoned all of her strength against the attacker, pushing him back against the ground. "Do you really think this is the time or the place where we should be having this particular discussion?"
Clark shook his head in negative.
"Not really," Clark said.
Most certainly not given the enemies coming at him from all sides. Clark had to dodge the swing of the sword blade before it cut into his chest. A flash of light emitted from it.
Diana was glad for the challenge. She noticed a portal opening up on the side and two more of these soldiers came out. The soldiers threw daggers at Diana.
Before Diana could take any actions in blocking the daggers, a blast of heat vision popped up and nailed the daggers. The daggers dropped to the ground, a smoldering bit of ash when they connected to the ground.
Diana opened her mouth. She had been impressed. Kara hovered over them in the air. The soldiers turned their attention towards her.
"Okay, now they want to give me the time of day," Kara said. Kara jumped down on the ground and drove her elbow down on the side of the soldier's neck. "At the museum, these soldiers never wanted to give me the time of day."
"They attacked you at the museum?" Diana asked. "Is everyone okay?"
Kara spent the second smashing the heads of the soldiers against the wall. They both landed with a thud.
"Yes, everything's fine, some people are a bit shaken up," Kara said. "And there were just three of these things when I saw them. Now, there are five?"
Diana caught one of the soldiers and hooked him before slamming him down onto the ground. The blow only rocked the soldier ever so slightly. It did little other than to take the wind out of him, at least for the moment.
"There's going to be a lot more than them unless we stopped them soon," Diana said.
The soldiers crowded around in a line. They all raised their hands and created a mild shockwave .The shockwave caught Clark, Diana, and Kara. They tried to push through but it caused them to slide back a couple of inches.
Kara noticed a portal opening out of the corner of her eye. She raised her hand and threw a disc on the shoulder of one of the soldiers which they passed through the portal.
"They stopped attacking us," Clark said.
Diana answered with a shake of her head. Ares really stopped an attack until his hand had been forced by the goddesses. Unless of course, there was something better at stake elsewhere which he needed all of his forces.
"They're heading to Smallville," Kara said.
Clark tensed a little bit. No more than Diana did. Something snapped in the back of her mind as if she had forgotten it until now.
"We need to beat them there, now," Diana said.
Diana knew it would be hope behind all hope. Regardless, if her hunch was right, that's where the Amazons hid it. One of the last places on Earth where anyone, Ares would expect to find it, but obviously the notion had not been foolproof.
'Oh, Hera, help me,' Diana thought.
Diana didn't voice the thought, but her tensing up raised a red flag in Clark's mind.
"What's wrong?" Clark asked.
"I'll explain when we're there."
Chapter Eleven: Wrath of the Gods Part Two
Tranquility had been enjoyed by the people of Smallville. Those who had stuck around for the past fifteen years had dealt with two meteor showers and also an army of the meteor infected. They almost had been used to the weirdness. Very little rattled them these days and for very good reason, and the mysterious forces which took down these meteor mutants had been speculated in whispers. No one knew the truth, but many people were not immune to speculation and trading rumors.
The most common theory happened to be the people in Smallville believed there was a special task force which helped take down these meteor mutants. No one had ever seen it, it was just the various meteor mutants caused havoc and then they were stopped. Some of them may have died and those were the ones who could be verified. Others only just disappeared in a blink of an eye, where everything changed.
There were going to be many mysteries for a town which fifteen years ago, was only known for the production of corn.
An old man looked up into the sky. This was going to be a beautiful summer and he couldn't wait to get the crops in. A smile crossed over his face when taking in the atmosphere.
A swirling light above his head caused the farmer to drop his rake on the ground. Three figures, all dressed in armor dropped down to the ground. The farmer took a step back before standing up to his full height. These hooligans, whoever they were, looked about ready to trample all over his crops, and he wasn't about to have anything to do with this.
"Hey you, get off my property!" the farmer yelled, waving his fist. "Yeah, you heard me. Get going and get off my property!"
The soldiers took a step forward. The farmer's blood pressure rose when he realized these men, whoever they were, did not listen to a word he said. One of them knocked down the fence as if they didn't hear what the farmer did. The farmer's eyes bulged out and he ran into the barn.
Seconds passed before the farmer returned with a shotgun and aimed it at the soldiers who dared intrude on his property. He cocked the gun and fired the moment one of these armored gentlemen got close enough. The bullet connected with the soldier and the farmer thought for a brief second he connected with the soldier. The soldier staggered back and the farmer prepared to fire again.
The farmer gasped in surprise when his gun had been blocked. He looked up to one of the last sights he expected to see in his life.
The soldier flashed forward in front of the farmer and grabbed the gun from his hand. The gun ripped out of the hand of the farmer. The farmer struggled when the soldier hoisted him up above his head. The farmer screamed and kicked his feet, making a valiant attempt to break free from the grip of this particular soldier.
The soldier slammed the farmer down onto the ground, the resulting impact having knocked all of the wind out of the farmer. The farmer rolled over and tried to get back up. His ribs cracked, and one of his arms had been broken.
Several more of these gateways opened, the light of which almost blinding the farmer. One of the soldiers walked down the road and raised his hand. He touched fingers down upon the ground. His general indicated a scorched earth policy and everything would be burned to the ground.
A cop car skidded to a stop and two officers stepped out. They looked at the soldier who turned around to hail the other men. The soldier's eyes locked onto the cops.
"Alright there, freeze!" one of the cops yelled. "That's right, nice and slow…no sudden movements or…."
The soldier took another step forward and almost dared the cop.
"I'm warning you. Not another step, or I'll….."
The cop fired the moment the soldier came towards him.
The soldier's fingers caught the bullets which had been fired at him and flung them back. The bullets pierced the side of the police cruiser. The cops took a half of a step back. The soldier lifted the police cruiser up over his head.
The cops dodged the car which is thrown towards him. If ever was a time for some kind of special task force to come in to deal with these soldiers, now was the time. The car flew over the side of the road and burst into flames the moment it dropped to the ground.
A quartet of soldiers marched down the streets towards their destination. The cops held guns in their hand and they tried to steadily aim at their attacks. The soldier's hands glowed with some kind of strange energy. The entire countryside was being wrecked and they just rebuilt after the meteor shower as well.
A large sign with the words "Smallville: Meteor Capital of America" written on it blew up when one of the soldiers incinerated it. The choking fire and smoke spread through Smallville.
A large truck pulled out and several uniformed men stepped out. They had run the entire gambit of military mutants, some of them having been secured in a secret facility for testing in an attempt to create a cure to bring them down.
This may have finally entered a couple of notches above their pay grade. The leader of the army turned his attention towards the military men and stepped forward.
"You have decided to declare war against our leader," the head of the army said in a rough and gravelly voice. "You must pay the consequences."
The leader of the special task force had no idea what to do or say. A second truck pulled up which brought his thoughts out of the conversation. A large broad-shouldered man stepped out of the back of the truck and shouldered a rocket launcher.
The rocket launcher fired and took out the entire street which the soldiers stood on. Smoldering rubble flew up in the air.
"Looks like we got them."
One of the soldiers closest to the blast zone looked horrified. "You might want to take another look, look at it again."
The uniformed men took a step back and gasped in horror. These soldiers were not going down, not without a fight. Many of them remained standing, those dangerous and deadly eyes locked on the soldiers. The military men all took another step back.
They realized they were dealing with something even more incredible than anything they ever faced in the past, the present, or maybe even the future. One of them opened his hand hand and shot a bolt of energy at the leader of the task force. The bolt lifted the man off of the ground and launched him back, dropping him down like a piece of garbage.
Ares viewed the battle from afar. No matter how much he always enjoyed watching the world burn, he would not forget what he came for.
"Let them deal with this….pitiful resistance," Ares said. "They know nothing of true war. It would have been amusing had it not been so insulting."
The God of War opened his hand. It was almost close, so close he could feel it in the palm of his hands. He knew the armor was here in this Smallville, hidden within a mansion of some sort. All he needed to do was track it down.
Two children huddled together, shaking in absolute terror. The events of today would be a constant fixture of their nightmares for some time to come. The stone cold stone warriors approached them and one of them withdrew a dagger.
"All who stand in our way is an act of war," the soldier said. "All must suffer, all will meet their demise."
A blur came down the road and plucked the children out of the way before they could be trampled. The two children trembled in fear. They looked at their equally shell-shocked mother. The two children rushed over towards her and clung to their mother's leg when trembling with fear.
Kara deposited herself on the ground in the smoldering wreckage. Said wreckage turned her stomach; it resembled Kandor during the siege, in the months before the disappearance. It was an extremely awful sight to look upon.
The soldiers turned towards a man who trembled when going down the road. A knife flew towards the man's head. Kara reached out and caught the knife between her fingers. She turned the attack around and launched a knife attack into the chest of one of the soldiers.
The second of the soldiers caught sight of Kara. The hideous and angry expression on the soldier's face caused Kara to take a step back for a fraction of an inch. She wanted them go after her, and leave civilians alone.
"Come after me," Kara said. "Wouldn't you want a real fight against someone who can fight back? Or are you too scared?"
Calling them cowards stirred them up quick nicely. The stone warrior approached Kara with a large battle ax swinging wildly. when charging towards her. She dodged the swing of the ax and hopped high into the air. A huge kick caught him flush in the face and sent him careening to the ground with a sickening thud.
The Woman of Steel wiped out a Soldier of Stone with one kick. Kara dodged another dagger. He tried to attack her again, and this time Kara caught it in her hand, before she flipped up into the air. The dagger went flying and the soldier decided to switch the play by swinging a sword.
A flash indicated Diana had shown up. The very powerful and skilled Amazon clanged her sword together with the soldier. The skilled warrior drew back the sword and smashed it into Diana's. The two of them went back and forth, sword to sword, with neither of them giving the other any quarter.
Diana dipped up from underneath the soldier and managed to use the leverage to stagger him back a slight amount. The Princess of the Amazon's managed to drive her fist into the side of the soldier's face and drop him down to the ground.
'One down,' she thought. 'Several more to go.'
Diana lifted a shield to block the daggers propelled at her from one of the soldiers. The Amazon drove the shield back and pushed the enemy back from this particular position. The two struggled against each other, the battle growing more heated by the second.
Clark returned from his battle and noticed the soldiers marching in a very alarming direction. He locked eyes with Kara and both of them came to the same conclusion. The soldiers headed their way towards the Kent Farm.
From the distance, Clark noticed Lois standing at the edge of the road when the soldiers closed in on her. She staggered back when she noticed the soldiers which were coming her way.
'Oh, Lois, your timing is always bad.'
Clark grabbed Kara by the shoulder and pointed towards the farm house. Kara sped off in the direction of the farmhouse and managed to grab the Kents before the soldiers reached the front door.
Lois had no idea what these soldiers were after. It completely and utterly defied all things weird if she was perfectly honest. She looked up and observed the soldiers coming. One of them held a huge battle axe up in the air towards her.
Someone or something grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of harm's way. Lois's entire heart had stopped and it had started up again when she had found herself standing outside of the city limits.
Lois dropped down onto the ground. The smells of burned flesh hit her one hundred percent when she flopped down onto the ground. The dark haired woman drew in her breath and she wondered what the hell was going on.
Clark skidded off to a stop and nailed one of the soldiers with a huge punch to the side of the head. The punch knocked the soldier's head clear off. He still functioned without a head despite not being human.
"So you never mentioned what these soldiers are after," Clark said. He stood back to back with Diana when the two soldiers came after them from either end.
Diana blocked the punch from one of the soldiers and came back with a jaw jacking punch. Another soldier dropped to the ground.
Now, Diana had room to breathe, she happily enlightened Clark on what they had to deal with.
"They are heralds of the god of war, Ares," Diana said. "And his most valuable possession, a suit of armor, is hidden somewhere in Smallville."
Clark blocked one of the punches and tried a maneuver he learned in his training at the Fortress. He created a miniature vortex by spinning around one of his arms, to launch the soldiers high into the air and send him crashing down hard. The moment they had space, Clark decided to ask the obvious follow up to Diana's statement.
"Do you know where it's being held?" Clark asked her.
Diana avoided the ax swung at her. She didn't really have a second to answer, mostly because she could see the soldiers had been increasing. She took a half of step back and tried to block out the very real frustration she was feeling.
'Okay, time for drastic measure.'
Diana pulled out a medallion dangling underneath her arm, secured around her neck. When her mother gave it to her upon her trip, she told Diana to keep it close to her heart. Personally, the Princess of the Amazon hoped it would work as intended because she was running rather low on options.
'Here goes nothing.'
While Diana used the medallion, she was pleased Clark took out these soldiers rather well.
Clark's vortex tornado arms wiped out one of the soldiers and dropped him to the ground. Kara dropped down on the ground to assist in the battle. The dust cleared and several soldiers have been taken out.
"All of the civilians have been moved," Kara said. "It's going to be a challenge trying to move them all back, and they're going to be confused, but….."
"We'll worry about it later," Lara said. "Can the two of you hear me?"
Clark smiled, his mother's voice was pleasant.
"Crystal clear," Clark said. He turned and looked up the street to see another small army marching directly at them.
"And just in time, because we have a problem," Kara said.
Clark lived in Smallville for long enough to understand this, and an entire army of stone cold stone soldiers qualified as an emergency, at least in his mind.
Lex Luthor reclined in the Luthor Mansion. It had been difficult to get any kind of television or radio reception. One would think with the best technology money could buy, Lex could get a crystal clear high definition television signal. One would be wrong though, and it just showed why people should not make assumptions.
"Hello?" Lex asked.
He tried once again to dial the phone. Once again, Lex had been on the outside looking in. Something happened in the area, some kind of disturbance. Lex took a step forward and made his way to a side office. He tried to monitor the security system.
The Luthor Mansion security system had been a bit of a running joke in some circles. Lex thought it would be unfair to criticize it, but yes, he conceded it was in desperate need of an upgrade. He flipped through a few switches, frown getting deeper when he tried to dig into it.
'Hopefully, the guards at the front gate are competent enough to keep any intruders out.'
Lex tapped the side of the security console. He might not have any alarms or cameras, but he heard his own hearing.
The sound of gates crashing open on the outside was a security breach. Lex stared up at the ceiling and watched hanging lights flicker before they had blown out.
Lex took a step outside and ended up in a hallway. He had a few ways to defend himself against intruders, and one of them was a specialized security force which patrolled the mansion. A security force Lex could not reach. He tried his best.
"If any of you can hear the sound of my voice, meet me at the front hallway," Lex said. He stopped at the edge of the door and pressed an ear towards the side of it.
'Trouble.'
Lex took a step back and opened up the door. He took a lot of things in extremely careful stride and one of those things he just had to take in stride was several rather rough-looking soldiers who peered down at him.
He cast a look down on the ground to see the crumpled up forms of two of his security guards. Lex frowned and looked towards the soldiers who were staring a hole through them. It was almost like they were waiting for something and Lex knew the look of subordinates which couldn't function on their own without any type of orders.
Lex stepped back a couple of seconds and looked back at the soldiers.
"I don't know how you gentlemen got in here," Lex said after a long moment's pause. "My guess is we are in desperate need of some security upgrades."
The door swung open and an imposing looking gentleman who towered at least two heads over Lex stepped into the room. Lex stood up to face this rather tall man. He had a presence which was both divine and commanded respect. A small part of Lex just had to respect that even a larger part of him didn't respect the fact this particular man decided it was a good idea.
'Time to get to the bottom of this.'
"May I help you?" Lex asked. "Just who are you?"
"My name is Ares, and you have something which belongs to me."
Lex took a moment to look at the man. He had a couple of intriguing thoughts which passed through his mind. Regardless, he looked back towards Ares.
"I wouldn't bother summoning for your security; they would not be very effective in this situation."
Lex only responded with a half of a raised eyebrow before speaking in a rather cool tone of voice.
"So, I gathered."
Lex stepped forward and the two soldiers took a step forward on the other side of their employer. Ares cleared his throat and the two soldiers fell back in line. Lex had to admire that kind of loyalty, which did not come along too easily.
"I don't know what your game is, Mr. Ares," Lex said. "But, one thing I do know is you also don't have an appointment with me. So, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
Ares only responded to Lex's words with the driest chuckle possible.
"I don't think you fully understand what you're up against, mortal," Ares said. "I'm no mere man, I am Ares, the God of War. And I am the one who will lead to your end."
Ares raised one finger in the air and flicked it into the chest of Lex. Lex lifted off of the ground and smashed up against the wall with a sickening impact. His head slid off of the wall and bent at an unhealthy angle.
The God of War surveyed his latest conquest and stepped forward. He could feel it, almost taste what was rightfully his. It put his heart into a flutter when walking forward. The God of War grabbed onto the edge of the door and forced it open.
He entered a trophy room which had been filled to the brim with interesting items. No doubt someone else who raided this room would concern themselves with the conquest of war. However, there was only one item he had his eyes set upon it.
Ares ripped the armor from the trophy case and turned around. He stepped out and came across the slumped down form of Lex Luthor. He stood over the young man who was only slowly regaining consciousness.
He pulled Lex over onto the floor and stood on top of him, standing on top of the man's chest.
"Let it be known you were bested," Ares said. "And thank you for holding my armor for me. Allow me to return the favor by taking it off of your hands and relieving you of the burden of securing it."
Ares stepped back to allow the battered and bruised form of Lex Luthor to slump to the ground. His soldiers left the area, having found what they came for.
Lara really wished she could have been out there, but her body still had a couple of flaws in it which she had not quite ironed out. Then again, given this body was technically deceased and just held in stasis, there was going to be a couple of drawbacks.
Thankfully, those drawbacks were being worked through, and Lara was able to help her son and niece and friends in other ways.
"I have pinpointed the source of the strange energy," Lara said. "And the source is heading west, right towards your direction."
"West?" Diana asked, frowning. "What's out west?"
Clark looked out towards the distance and realized something. He should have known.
"Luthor mansion," Clark said. "Lionel had the armor, well Lex has it right now, and…"
Both Clark and Diana groaned, having shared the same thoughts.
"I'm not certain Lex will have it much longer," Diana said.
Diana had a feeling in the pit of her stomach this was too late. Ares, proving to be a master of war, put the lives on countless on the line as a distraction to regain his precious armor.
Speaking of his soldiers, three more came up the road. Clark rushed towards one of the soldiers and started to pound him. A series of punches rocked the soldier.
Clark put a lot of unanswered fury and frustration into all of these punches. He had no choice, but to take them all down, given how much they put Smallville in danger.
Diana came up towards the second of the soldiers. The soldier stabbed a spear towards her. Diana blocked it with her sword, and the two of them went head to head with each other. Neither party broke because neither party could in fact break. The Amazon's knees started to buckle a slight amount, with a heavy breath coming from her body.
Kara caught one of the soldiers with a rough uppercut punch. She threw herself into more attacks and came back with a barrage of kicks. The soldier stepped back and opened his hand. A gust of wind and sand caught Kara in the face.
More soldiers came up the street. Clark slammed his hand into the chest and pulled out the purple pin, the medallion hooked to the soldier. He yanked it out and a flash of light recalled the soldier back to where he previously stood.
"I found a weakness!" Clark yelled in triumphant.
Kara rushed the warriors and ripped two of their medallions from them. His theory proved to be more than correct when they disappeared into the distance.
Diana used her sword to block the attack of one of the heralds of Ares before ripping out the medallion and causing him to disappear in a flash of light.
"We're making progress, "Diana said. "But more are appearing!"
She realized Ares had been sending his entire army into Smallville out of spite to crush her, innocents be damned in the process. Diana flipped a lock of hair out of her face and screwed up said face to pure determination. If she was going to fight, she was going to fight hard.
A flash of light appeared and three women dressed in the royal guard attire of the Amazons dropped down to the ground. The leader, a redhead, nailed one of the guards in the chest with an arrow, taking him down.
"Hello Artemis," Diana said when she moved to fight side by side with the woman.
"The Queen figured a situation would occur," Artemis said. "It's good to see you again, Princess."
She turned towards the young man who moved with precision. No doubt he was a curiosity, but they had to get down to business.
"Ares may have the armor."
"If he set out to get it, he most certainly does," Artemis said. The Amazon General turned her full attention to the soldiers. "Otherwise, the chaos wouldn't have been so prolific."