Chapter Three
It didn’t take long for Superman to locate Wonder Woman. She was dodging gunfire behind a Cost Mart on Hoover Avenue.
Apparently she had interrupted some kind of illicit exchange between two armed groups of gangsters, and both groups were shooting at her. Superman held back for a moment, watching as Wonder Woman ducked behind a dumpster for cover and then leaped over it to hit the smaller group of four from above. Not surprisingly, the larger bunch of seven kept firing their pistols at her even while she was taking down the smaller bunch, not caring that they might shoot their fellow criminals.
The gunmen apparently considered the sights on their weapons to be simple decorations – like the turn signals on the cars in Metropolis – since only three bullets came anywhere near the tall woman. On the first two, she lifted one fist and a bright flash appeared against her forearm. The third near bullet was similarly deflected away from her legs by a sweeping down-and-outward movement of her other arm similar to a low inside-out block used in many martial arts styles.
Two of the gunmen pulled out automatic weapons, so Superman decided it was time to intervene. He swooped down and grabbed the weapons away from the gang-bangers, then whirled around them until they dropped to the ground, unconscious from lack of oxygen. As long as he didn’t maintain the ultra-low pressure area for too long, he knew that no permanent harm would come to them.
He stopped and landed next to Wonder Woman. “Are you injured?”
Instead of answering, she applauded. The moment reminded him of his first meeting with Lex Luthor on the billionaire’s balcony, when Luthor had sardonically applauded him. It seemed to him, though, that Wonder Woman’s approval was genuine.
Her brilliant smile lit up her face. “That was a most excellent tactic, Superman! I assume that they will recover?”
He turned to check on them. “Yes. One or two might have headaches for an hour or two, but nothing long-term.”
She nodded. “Do you know what they were doing here?”
“All I really know is that they were all shooting at you. Were you hit at all?”
She smiled wider and lifted her hands in front of her. “No. I was able to deflect the bullets with my bracelets.”
Superman looked at the metal bracelets covering most of her forearms. As she turned her arms to display them to better effect, he looked deeper, trying to find some flaw or dent in them. All he noticed was a few tiny fragments of lead flattened against them. “Those are some pretty useful bracelets.”
“Yes. I am strong and I heal quickly, but I am not invulnerable as you claim to be.”
He neither confirmed nor denied her assertion. “You had mentioned in one of your interviews that you hoped to meet me. Is there a particular reason for that?”
“There is, yes. Please observe.” She stepped back and turned around slowly as if modeling her outfit. “My costume is red, white, and blue, representing the best of human society.”
“You mean the U.S.?” She nodded. “You should know that this country isn’t perfect. It has many problems, not the least of which is the crime rate.”
“What you say is true, Superman, but America is also the country which is most honest about its problems and seems to be the most determined to correct them. Does China separate its criminal trials from its political structure? Or France, or Russia? Do most countries place their wayward political leaders in the media and reveal everything about them? No. Even the people of England do not enjoy the economic opportunity and level of personal freedom afforded the citizens of this nation. Why do you think so many wish to come here to live and work, many in violation of the laws of this country? Even the illegal immigrants who come here are better off financially than they ever could be in the country of their origin.” She stepped forward and put her hand on his arm. “You have chosen to assist a mighty nation, Superman, and your choice displays true nobility.”
Her praise, combined with her touch, made him uncomfortable, but he wasn’t sure why that would be. “Thank you,” he answered. “Will you stay with these men so I can bring the police?”
She removed her hand and looked around. “I had assumed that they would be here by now. I called them before I engaged these ruffians in battle.”
It was good to know that she was prudent. “Maybe they – wait, I hear the sirens now.”
She tilted her head and waited a long moment, then nodded. “Yes, I also hear them. Your hearing is most acute.” She smiled warmly. “It goes well with your strength and your forbearance. They suit you.”
Okay, he thought, that’s almost creepy.
He tried to reroute the conversation. “Look, I wanted to meet you because you’d mentioned that you wanted to meet me, but you still haven’t explained why. Mind doing that now?”
She stepped back and tilted her head at him. “I think, perhaps, that we should continue that discussion at a later time, after we have become better acquainted.” She nodded her head toward the street as a patrol car slid around the corner of the alley. “Should we both speak with the police or would you prefer to report this incident yourself?”
“Both of us were involved, so both of us should be interviewed.”
She nodded. “I agree. Perhaps we could continue our discussion later.”
“Fine with me. Oh, there is one favor I’d like to ask you.”
Her eyes lit up. “A favor for the Man of Steel? If it is within my power to accomplish it, this favor shall be done.”
“Maybe you should wait to hear it first.”
She tilted her head to one side and smiled yet again. “I trust you, Superman. You would never ask me to do anything which might be considered wrong.”
He paused for a moment to digest that bit of information, then continued. “I have some friends at the Daily Planet who want to interview you in depth. If it’s not an imposition, they’d like to sit down with you and get your story.”
Her eyebrows rose. “The local print media? Would it not be preferable to deal with a national television audience?”
“I know these folks. They’ll treat you fairly. They won’t try to exploit you in any way. And their story will be picked up and printed by the national media, both print and broadcast.”
She pursed her lips in thought, then nodded. “Very well. I will speak with these people. When should I meet with them?”
“Just call the Daily Planet and ask for either Lois Lane or Clark Kent. They’ll set up the meeting.”
She tilted her head. “I believe that I have met them. The names are familiar to me.”
“They’ve written several stories about you. They’re honest and they won’t try to trap you and they won’t misquote you.”
“I will do as you request. Oh, look, one of the sewer dwellers is attempting to escape.”
He turned to one of the crooks he’d put down. The man was trying to crawl out of sight on his hands and knees. Superman aimed one finger at the man and called out, “Stay down, pal! Don’t make me chase you.”
He pointed at the man until the criminal lay down again and put his hands behind his head. “That’s better,” said Superman. “Now don’t move until the police tell you to.”
“Aw, man, not again!”
Wonder Woman took two abrupt steps in his direction. “Silence, dog! You are fortunate that I have not already slain you!”
The perp’s eyes bugged out and he tried to shove his face into the asphalt.
Superman touched Wonder Woman’s elbow. “Hey, wait a minute here. Unless you’ve got a badge I don’t know about, you can’t threaten these criminals.”
The first car skidded to a stop and two officers jumped out as Wonder Woman hissed, “These men were discussing the sale of a large quantity of illegal pharmaceuticals for the purpose of selling it to addicts! They do not deserve my compassion!”
“Superman!” called one of the officers. “We had a report of multiple shots fired. What happened?”
The two garishly costumed heroes turned almost in unison, but she beat him it. “I am Wonder Woman. I was the one who contacted you concerning this gathering of pigs.”
The young officer nodded. “Yes, ma’am, I’m sure you did, but we’re responding to the gunfire. Is this all of them?”
“It is.”
He looked around. “How many are still alive?”
She appeared to be taken aback. “Why, all of them. They are not worthy to die at my hands.”
“Ah – right. Okay, Ms. Wonder Woman, can we get your statement?”
“Of course. And you may address me simply as Wonder Woman, young man.”
“Right. Officer Walters, would you take Superman’s statement, please?”
The middle-aged woman glared at the younger male officer but only nodded in response, then accepted Superman’s statement. By the time they were finished, she seemed to be more relaxed.
The young officer who’d taken charge, however, was not having such a good time with Wonder Woman. She answered most of his questions with a condescending tone, and more than once she appeared to grow impatient with him.
“Looks like Billy’s bit off a little more than he can chew,” observed Officer Walters. “That woman don’t like him much.”
“I don’t know why that would be so. He’s just trying to do his job.”
Walters shook her head. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think she didn’t like men in general.”
“Really? What do you know about her that I don’t?”
“Not much.” The older woman pointed at the bickering heroine. “But that suit she’s wearin’ is a teenager’s fantasy outfit. She wants attention, sure, but not from other women. She’s lookin’ for a particular man, and she ain’t willin’ to settle for no boy. Besides, I seen how she was actin’ around you when we drove up.”
“Wh – what? Acting around me? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Walters chuckled. “It means I hope you don’t have a jealous girlfriend, ‘cause that Wonder Woman may be lookin’ at you to be her next ‘relationship,’ as the young folks call it nowadays.” She looked again at Billy trying to deal with the Amazon and sighed. “I better go give him a hand or we’ll be here all day. Thanks for the info, Superman. If you learn anything else, just call the local precinct office. I know you know Sergeant Horowitz.”
“I do. How’s his knee coming along?”
“He’s almost finished with the rehab and getting more antsy to get back on the street. I tell you, if I ever get shot I’m taking medical retirement.” Wonder Woman’s voice hit another decibel level. “Whoops, gotta go.”
Superman stayed long enough to watch Walters calm down both the Amazon and the young officer. By that time, the eleven gangsters had been handcuffed by the other officers on the scene, had heard their Miranda rights explained, and had been herded into police cars for transporting to the processing center. Another team of officers had gathered the weapons Superman had taken from the shooters, unloaded them, and bagged and tagged each one. Superman was glad he no longer had to impress the bad guys by crushing their firearms. Nowadays he allowed the police to perform ballistic tests on them, and occasionally they used the data to solve other crimes.
It was time to get back to his other job. He lifted into the air and waved once at the officers. Two of them waved back as he flew out of sight.
Wonder Woman was still emphatically giving her statement. He wondered just how detailed that statement would be when it was finished.
*****
Lois didn’t even flinch when Clark reentered the news room. He’d finally learned to make that final adjustment on his tie before he stepped into a public area, but other than that it looked to be business as usual at the Daily Planet.
Below the surface, however, Lois felt a curious mix of anticipation and trepidation. She wondered what Clark and Wonder Woman had said to each other. She wondered if he thought her attractive. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know whether or not she had found him attractive.
Clark signaled her with his eyes and headed for the conference room. They’d performed this particular piece of seeming telepathy so many times that the veterans on the paper accepted it as the norm, while the newbies held them in awe, wondering if they’d ever once be able to communicate so well without speaking.
Lois closed the door behind her. “So, how’d it go?”
He didn’t seem to notice her oddly phrased opening. “I think she’s agreed to meet us for an interview.”
“You think? You’re not sure?”
“I couldn’t very well set up an appointment in the Suit, now could I?”
Why was he so snappy? Was it – her?
“Okay, so how did Superman leave the interview question?”
He sighed and seemed to release some tension. “She said she’d call and set up a time with us. That’s really about all I could ask her to do.”
She frowned and stepped closer. “What’s wrong, Clark?” Her hand found his and she gripped it. “What happened out there?”
She was sure he would be pacing if she hadn’t grabbed his hand. “I – I’m not sure,” he replied. “Something just doesn’t quite feel right with her.”
“Okay,” she replied softly, “then maybe you should sit down and tell me just what happened.”
He hesitated and looked into her eyes, then nodded and sat, still holding her hand. “I found her in the middle of a shootout between two groups of gang-bangers in Suicide Slum. She’s very fast, very strong, and she has these metal bracelets she uses to deflect bullets.”
Lois’ eyes widened. “She uses her bracelets to deflect bullets?”
“Yes. I don’t know how, but she does. I saw her do it. She’s very quick. She said it was because she’s not invulnerable like Superman is.”
Lois took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay, she’s got some unusual abilities. What else went down?”
“She’d called the police before she engaged the gunmen, which I thought was wise – or, at least, the calling the police part was wise. After the crooks were all down, she complimented me on my handling of the situation.”
Lois paused, then said, “You sound like you didn’t appreciate her approbation.”
He glanced at her, probably because he was surprised at her vocabulary choices, thought Lois, then he continued, “I liked it until she started describing me like she was writing Superman’s Who’s Who entry. Or like she was trying to sell me to the highest bidder.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, yeah. For a moment I felt like a prize bull with the auctioneer asking for a record bid.”
“What?” Lois leaned back. “Clark, that makes no sense at all! Why would she say something like that?”
He dropped her hand and stood, unable to restrain his pacing any longer. “I have no idea! And there’s something else. I didn’t realize it while I was talking to her, but do you know who she reminded me of?”
“Your mother?”
Clark abruptly stopped pacing and almost spluttered a laugh. “My mother? Good grief, no. They’re light years apart.” His face grew serious again and he leaned closer. “She reminded me of Mayson Drake.”
It was Lois’ turn to drop her jaw. “Mayson Drake? I haven’t heard that name in years! I don’t think I’ve thought of her for years, either.” Wonder Woman reminded Clark of Mayson? It was almost absurd, almost –
It was almost frightening.
Mayson had pursued Clark with single-minded determination despite his attempts to discourage her. She’d focused on Clark to the exclusion of all the other men in her life. And she’d never permitted herself to believe that Clark would end up with any other woman.
Then Lois shook her head and dismissed the comparison. “You must have misread her. She just met Superman today for the first time, right?” Clark nodded. “Then she was just impressed with his strength and control. Some women look at the outside more than they do the inside. Even the best of us sometimes fall into that trap, remember?”
He returned her tiny tease with a slight smile. “I do remember. I don’t know, Lois, but maybe you’re right, maybe I misread what she said and what she did because of our cultural differences. I don’t know what’s socially acceptable wherever she comes from, and it’s likely she isn’t all that familiar with Metropolis customs.” He let out a long breath and seemed to relax. “Okay, I’ll try to make nice with her. But just to be on the safe side, we’d better interview her together.”
*****
Wonder Woman flipped on the communicator and sat down in the comfortable chair, mentally preparing for her mother’s disapproval. She’d failed to draw Superman into a personal conversation on their first meeting, something which irked her. Over the years, the stories of her mother’s first meeting with her father had been transformed from romantic reminiscences to subtle slights and backhanded critiques of her own actions. She was tired of being compared to the Queen of the Amazons and losing every contest.
Her mother’s visage appeared in the viewer, every hair in place and every skin cell in perfect order. Even her smile seemed to obey Hippolyta’s merest whim.
“I am here, my daughter. Please report any progress you have made.”
That was her mother. Polite to a fault and never putting verbal pressure on her. She’d heard the Queen – what was that term she’d learned today? Oh, yes, ‘chew up’ younger, less accomplished Amazons who’d made the slightest of mistakes. But Diana had never experienced such a session with her mother, either within the family structure or the government organization, no matter what her offense had been.
Be totally formal with her, thought Wonder Woman. It was the only way to retain any control of the conversation. “I have made contact with Superman, my Queen. I anticipate more such meetings in the near future.”
Hippolyta’s smile widened microscopically. “That is good news, Diana. I wish you continued success in that endeavor. Have you had the opportunity to make any friends at your job or in your social circle?”
Wonder Woman frowned. Making friends was not her goal here. But it would be better to appear to follow her mother’s advice rather than reject it out of hand. “I have met several people, my Queen. I have not yet had the opportunity to pursue those relationships.”
“Take your time, my daughter. You have not been in Metropolis for long. And be patient. Sometimes our plans work out in ways other than the way we expect.”
That was advice she’d heard hundreds of times before, and it was no more useful this time than at any previous time. Rather than restart that old argument, she said, “I have no further information to report at this time. I do not believe that these people can intercept or decode our signal, but they may be able to detect it. In the interest of our security, I believe we should keep our contacts brief.”
Her mother’s smile seemed to waver – but surely that was a trick of the viewer. “Very well, Diana. We await your next scheduled contact. Transmission ended.”
Wonder Woman flicked off her viewer without repeating the usual polite signoff phrase. She could hardly wait until she had mated, had conceived, and was living by herself – away from her overbearing and suffocating mother.
*****
Hippolyta flipped off her viewer and leaned back in the soft couch. Her sigh did not go unnoticed by her lifelong friend and companion.
Phillipus handed a flagon of light wine to the queen. “Family relations can often be complicated, my Queen.”
Hippolyta took a long, almost unladylike pull from the flagon before putting it down on the table beside her. “My relationship with Diana is more than just complicated, Chancellor. She is next in line for the throne, and she must learn to deal with people as more than just subjects or inferiors. Our people – our very survival – may depend on it.” She shook her head in exasperation. “If Diana is to succeed me, she must learn to deal with the nations of the outside world. If we are to come out of hiding after all these centuries, we must have friends upon whom we can rely.”
“She does not wish to travel that path. She wishes to restore the ancient traditions.”
“She does not understand the ancient traditions! Our ancestors lived as they did from fear of invasion and conquest. My daughter and her followers view them as heroes of the classic mold, not frightened women hiding from men to keep themselves alive. For us to return to those ways would be an unmitigated disaster!”
Phillipus nodded. “That may be true. But if it is so, why did you allow her this chance to gain a daughter of her own? The law requires that she receive such an opportunity, but it does not state a time frame. No one on the council would have disagreed with you had you made Diana wait a few years. Without issue, she cannot rule, yet you are handing her a lance upon which she may soon impale you.”
The queen closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose with one forefinger and thumb. “What you say is true, but Diana has enough followers among the younger nobles that I cannot simply command her to obey me. It would be best were she to follow me because she wished to do so.” She dropped her hand to her lap. “And I remember my own time among the outsiders. I learned a great deal, much of which contradicted my childish assumptions and attitudes. It is quite possible that my daughter will achieve a level of maturity which would be greater than any she might find here.”
The chancellor stood silent for a long moment, then said, “My queen, there are rumors among both the nobles and the commoners that some believe that Eurydice would have been a better choice as our ambassador and representative.”
Hippolyta’s voice didn’t waver. “I have heard those same rumors. Do you believe that we would not have heard the opposite had Eurydice prevailed over her cousin in the contest?”
“I do not.”
“But you do not believe that they would have been as persistent or as emphatic as they are now, do you?”
There was no answer for a long moment, then, the chancellor responded, “I believe that we would have heard fewer rumors. I do not believe that there would have been less passion attached to them.”
“Ah. Then perhaps the rumors that you would not support my daughter should she ascend to the throne are also true.”
Phillipus didn’t speak for a long moment, then quietly said, “What I say now is from one friend to another, from one mother to another, not from chancellor to queen. Diana is old enough to take a mate, old enough to bear a child, old enough to succeed to the throne, all according to Amazonian law – but were she to do all of those things I doubt that I would retain my position for long. I doubt that we would remain in hiding for long, and I doubt that Themyscira would remain neutral in the outside world’s conflicts. And I am not certain that the outside world would allow such a queen or her land to live in peace.” The other woman gathered her robes and stood. “Nor am I certain that I would wish to live in a land ruled by one such as she. So I hope very much that your wisdom will once again outshine my own and I will be proven wrong.” She bowed and padded softly from the room.
The queen’s muttered response did not escape the chancellor’s exquisite hearing. “As do I, my friend. As do I.”
