Chapter Seven
They’d filed the story about Superman and Wonder Woman’s joint salvage of the railroad car. They’d met with the other two Daily Planet reporters who’d ended up at the scene and had copied their notes. They’d returned to the office and briefed Perry on the latest Wonder Woman story. And Superman had set up a meeting with the railroad maintenance executives to finalize a plan for recovering the contents of the frozen tank car from orbit.
But Lois hadn’t mentioned Wonder Woman’s worshipful gaze to Clark.
Dinner that night was a quiet affair. Clark kept trying to engage her in small talk, to which Lois responded with single-word grunts. Not until they were washing the dinner dishes did she dare to broach the subject.
She scrubbed a fork and handed it to him. “Here you go. By the way, what do you think of Wonder Woman?”
He stared at her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see his expression morph from ‘Do what?’ to ‘Oh, I see.’
He wiped the fork dry and put it in the silverware drawer, neatly slipped on the bottom of the stack. “Oh, I don’t know. She did help Superman today.”
“You could have taken care of that tank car by yourself.”
“Yes, I could have, but it would have been far more difficult. And she really did help keep it balanced before I put it in orbit.”
She attacked the butter knives in her hands. “So you’re saying that she contributed materially to the resolution of the situation?”
“Yes, that’s what I’m saying.”
“Well, isn’t that just terrific.”
He turned to face her. “Lois, what’s really wrong? Are you mad at her?”
“No.”
“Are you mad at me?”
She handed him the knives and growled, “No!”
He bit his lower lip and sighed. “There’s something wrong. But that’s all I know. And if I don’t know what I’ve done wrong, I can’t correct it.” He touched her elbow gently. “Please talk to me.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“I think there is.” She didn’t respond, so he added, “Something’s bothering you, honey, and it has something to do with Wonder Woman. I need for you to tell me, because beyond knowing that there’s something wrong, I don’t know what it is. Please tell me.”
She leaned on the edge of the sink and gritted her teeth. “Fine! She’s in love with you.”
Clark’s rapid blinking told her that her statement had taken him completely by surprise. “She – she what?”
“She thinks she’s in love with you, Clark! You’re the ‘ideal mate’ she’s been looking for!” She snatched the dish towel from her shoulder and angrily dried her hands. “And I can’t say she’s wrong.”
She turned away from him and stepped toward the living room, but a pair of hands placed softly on her shoulders stopped her. “I can say she’s wrong,” he said.
The level of control in her own voice surprised her. “I’ve always thought you were ideal.”
“But only for you, baby, only for you. There has never been anyone else. There will never be anyone else. If I’m ideal for anyone, I’m ideal for you and you alone.” He hesitated as if waiting for her response, then continued, “I’m not ideal for anyone else. No one else can complete me like you do. No one else can be the love of my life.” He stopped for a breath, then said, “You are the only one.”
She tried not to shudder. That low, soft, warm tone of voice always calmed her. She couldn’t count the number of times he’d talked her down from some seeming crisis point in her life using that tone and a gentle touch.
He slowly drew her backwards into his embrace, meeting her halfway. She felt his kiss on the back of her head and another on her neck. She wondered for a moment why she’d let her hair grow out again, then she remembered that Clark liked it long and she wanted to please him.
And she thought she was getting to the age when she needed to sacrifice for the man she loved, even if he never asked her to.
The tears threatened to spill, but she grabbed onto them and refused to release them. He brushed her hair aside again and nuzzled her neck, then said, “There is only one woman in this world for me. There will always be only one woman in this world for me. And I’m washing the dinner dishes with her right now.”
She spun and grabbed him under the arms. His embrace enveloped her and the hot tears pushed past her clenched eyelids.
*****
The thought that Wonder Woman believed that she was in love with him – or, at least, with Superman – stunned Clark. He’d never dreamed that such a thing could happen, that she could be laboring under such a terrible misapprehension. He didn’t want to offend her, of course, but he most desperately didn’t want a repeat of the Mayson Drake situation, with a determined woman chasing him who refused to accept that she had no shot with him. He didn’t know what he’d done to encourage Wonder Woman, but he was certain he’d find out and never do it again.
Most of all, though, he hated that Lois had harbored any doubts about his total commitment to her. The realization stabbed his heart like a spear, and he cast about in his mind for a way to make it up to her.
“Lois?” He tried to lean back to look at her face, but she just gripped him tighter. “Honey, I’m not going anywhere. I promise you, there is no other woman in the world for me.” He kissed her forehead. “No matter how wonderful she thinks she is.”
A chuckle forced its way in between soft sobs. “You’re sure?” she pleaded.
“I’m positive.” He gently tilted her head back. “I love you. I love only you. I am married to you. I will be married to you so long as we both live.” He kissed her softly. “I made that promise five years ago, and I’m not going back on it. For better or worse, remember?”
She almost smiled. “For richer or poorer?”
“Yes. In sickness or in health – ”
“Until death parts us.” She freed one hand and swiped at her cheeks. “I remember saying those words. And I remember hearing them come from you.”
He looked deep into her eyes. “But do you still believe them?”
Chagrin bent her smile slightly. “Yes. I guess – I guess I just needed to hear them again, that’s all.”
He smiled his best ‘I love you’ smile. “You can hear them any time you want. I’ll put them on television and radio commercials. I’ll skywrite them above the city. I’ll rent a billboard with those words on it once a week for the rest of my life.” His hand brushed her hair back. “I’m sorry that I ever allowed you to doubt my love for you. Whatever I have to do to make sure you know that my love for you is real, I’ll do it.”
Her hands found his face and she whispered, “You’ve done it. I’m convinced.”
“Good.” He folded her into his massively gentle embrace again. “I love you.”
Her hands moved to his back and she gripped him tightly again. “And I love you.”
They stood together, melding their hands to the other’s body, until Lois pulled away and announced that it was time for bed.
And Clark held her close all night, hoping to chase every vestige of doubt away for all eternity.
*****
Diana made the adjustments to her viewer and flipped on the switch. Almost immediately a frown filled the screen.
“You are behind schedule, Princess,” the young woman scolded. “Our timing is predicated on certain developments, and we are in danger of losing our window of opportunity.”
“I know what the schedule is, Cydippe. I am the one who wrote it.”
“Nevertheless, the schedule cannot slip. It must be maintained.”
Diana wanted to reach through the viewer and slap the girl, but she controlled herself with no little effort. “Have no fear. The schedule will be maintained. Have you made contact with Niobe?”
Cydippe frowned even more. “In a manner of speaking, yes. It is difficult to speak with your spiritual advisor at times, and a proposed takeover of the government appears to be one of those times.”
“Of course it is difficult. Were it not, we would not need you to perform the task.”
One of the younger woman’s eyebrows rose. “Very good, Princess. Had I not known that you would attempt to manipulate me, or how skilled you are, I might not have detected it.”
Diana snorted. “Never mind that! What did she say to you?”
“Many things, none of which may be construed as either an endorsement of our cause or a threat to betray us. I wonder if we were wise to attempt to recruit her?”
“It is too late to ask that question, Cydippe. What other news?”
“Euridyce has given birth to a healthy girl. She has not yet revealed the name, but many believe she will name the girl after either the queen or her mother.”
“Hmph! Yet another blind follower.”
Cydippe shook her head in the negative. “You know Euridyce. Her accomplishments are second to none. She has excelled in everything she has attempted, and had you faltered in the competition last year, she would now be where you are, wearing the man-trap and panting after Superman.”
“I won because I deserved to win!”
“I do not dispute that, Princess. I know of no one who does so. I merely wish to remind you that the margin of difference between you and us is slimmer than you might believe.”
The effrontery! How dare she, a mere commoner, compare herself to one of royal blood! This was too much to bear!
For a moment, Diana wanted to kill the girl using one of the ancient methods. She wanted to break her legs and leave her on the beach as the tide came in and slowly drowned her. She wanted to pull her arms out of their sockets and throw her in a pit with only a single rope as an escape route.
But Diana still needed Cydippe. She was Diana’s agent in the capital, working behind the scenes where Diana could not. And the girl was trusted by many who might not follow Diana’s lead so enthusiastically were Cydippe not totally committed to the cause.
So Diana suppressed her deep fury and merely sighed. “This is not important. I must tell you that I believe I will soon embrace the Man of Steel and conceive his child. I expect to be home within a fortnight.”
Cydippe shook her head again. “That is a slender margin of error, Princess. Are you certain of your time line?”
“Yes. I am certain.”
The girl pressed her lips together. “I am pleased that one of us is so positive. Signing off.”
The viewer went blank before Diana could respond. And just like that, she realized that time was slipping away from her in more ways than just the one.
She had to accelerate her seduction of Superman. It was the only answer, the only option. If she did not carry his child by the fourteenth day, the entire movement might disintegrate. And her heritage would not insulate her from a charge of treason.
She picked up the archaic telephone and called the embassy to inform them that she was ill and would not be in the office the next day.
It was time to discover Superman’s other identity.
*****
Batman nodded to himself. His equipment had intercepted another transmission, and this time he’d been in the Batcave to witness it. Machines which would work without constant supervision or regular substitution were more than valuable, but human intuition could perform tasks no computer could be programmed to do.
His decryption routines had made some headway on the recorded transmissions, but not enough to read them. This latest message, however, told him much that his most powerful computer could not have discovered.
One point of this transmission had originated in Metropolis as had the rest, but the other point was different by a few degrees. And the tone of the communication seemed different, too, as if two different people were talking. Or, perhaps, that only one party was different. Either way, there was an urgency in this transmission which was lacking in the previous ones.
Decrypting such codes were the province of a computer which could work for days on end without dropping off to sleep or going to the bathroom or getting hungry or cranky or missing a key item because it was sleepy or bored or because it yawned at the wrong time. All it needed was a clever programmer to tell it what to look for.
He reviewed the latest interception and compared it to the parameters he’d already set up. Many more queries and the program would start coming up with false positives and duplicate matches, but it couldn’t be helped. This was a task which took as long as it took, and he had the time.
He hoped that Superman felt the same way.
*****
The clock radio woke Lois from a soft, pleasant dream. The DJ talked over the intro to Orleans’ “Still The One” as she wiped the sleep from her eyes.
Those eyes finally opened to see her husband’s smiling face inches from hers. “Good morning, darling,” he purred. “Did you sleep well?”
She touched her lips to his and yawned. “Slept well, just not long enough.” She reached over and tapped the snooze button as the guitar break on the song ended. “Is it Friday yet?”
Clark chuckled. “Only Tuesday, I’m afraid.”
“Nuts.” She took a deep breath. “I demand a recount.”
He laughed again and pulled her closer. “I’ll see what I can do about speeding up the work week.”
“Mmm. Thank you, my love.”
“What do you want for breakfast?”
She yawned again and stretched out her arms. “Oh, I think just toast and coffee, and maybe half a cantaloupe will do me today.” Her hands sought and found his shoulders. “And I wish I could lie here in your arms, my husband, but nature calls and she won’t just leave a message this time.”
He laughed once more and sat up, then held out a hand for her. “I’ll have breakfast on the table by the time you get out.”
“Wait until I get out of the shower, okay? Wouldn’t want my coffee to be cold.”
“Oh, no, then I’d have to make a new pot.”
She smiled and kissed him again, this time with more enthusiasm. “Don’t be silly. I’d drink it cold and get you to warm me up.”
His smile turned wistful and he touched the side of her face and head. “I’ll always be there for you, no matter what you need.”
She sighed. “You know, I’d love to pursue that thought with you, but I have an urgent errand to run.” She slipped out of bed and padded to the bathroom. “See you in about ten minutes. I’m not going to wash my hair.”
“You could get it cut short again if you wanted to.”
She paused in the bathroom doorway and looked back at him. “What would you think if I did get it cut?”
“I’d be thrilled. I would love you even if you were bald, Lois.”
She slipped into the bathroom as she smiled and said, “I don’t plan to go quite that far any time soon.”
*****
Diana flew over the city, looking for what she had come to call in her mind ‘Superman situations.’ They were the best places to find the Man of Steel, considering that their two meetings had taken place at a gang shootout and a railroad accident. These people were so disorganized, she grumbled silently. It was yet another source of wonder and puzzlement to her that Superman had never attempted to bring order and peace to this society from a position of strength and power, two things he had in abundance.
Perhaps he simply had never considered the problem from her perspective, she mused. Perhaps he only needed her input to realize how much good he could do if he forced these people to live in harmony with each other. Perhaps –
There! A fire in a multi-story building, one with women and children in danger. The fire department was responding quickly, but the fire had spread rapidly in the old building and had cut off the people in the two top floors from the inside stairways. And the ancient fire escapes on the outside were either broken or dangerously decayed.
This was a job for Superman, she thought. And since he had not yet arrived, she would begin the evacuation.
She alighted on the roof beside the access door and felt it to test the heat behind it. Finding it cool to the touch, she pulled it open and stepped to one side in case she’d misread the situation.
A wall of smoke billowed out but quickly thinned. She ran down the steps and began calling for people to follow her. Most did, but a few of the older residents couldn’t climb the steep steps, so she carried them up.
With all of the people she could find now safely on the roof, she flashed down to the firefighters below and told them about the rooftop refugees. As they began reorganizing their efforts, she flashed back up to the roof and told them that help was on the way.
Then she ran back down to the top floor to check all of the apartments. The first two locked doors she encountered yielded to her strength, but she found no one inside.
The third locked door, however, revealed three young children and no adults. The children wore only dirty diapers and the eldest appeared to be no more than five.
“Come, children,” she ordered, “we must flee to the roof. You are in danger here.”
The youngest one sat down on the trash-strewn floor and began wailing.
“Come with me now,” she ordered again. “I will take you to safety.”
None of them moved toward her. Diana’s patience, never her strong suit, gave out, and she snatched up the three of them and ran to the hallway. She checked both ways for open flames, then sprinted up the steps to the roof, eager to be rid of these filthy, screaming brats.
She stepped closer to one of the calmer women in the group. “These children were alone in one of the apartments. They would not come voluntarily, so I brought them.”
The woman’s nose twitched and she flinched, then she sighed dramatically. “I suppose you want me to take care of them?”
“Only until their parents are located, or until all of you are transported to the ground.”
“Well – oh, all right! I think these are the meth babies. They’ll be better off away from their no-good parents anyway.”
Wonder Woman released them to the woman’s distant embrace and stepped back. The scent of the children’s soiled diapers clung to her like a fog. It was most distasteful.
She shook her head. “Have the firefighters given you any instruction?”
“No. I think nine stories is too high for a ladder or a trampoline. Maybe they’re waiting for Superman.”
Wonder Woman’s face became stern. “We shall wait no longer. I will transport as many as I can to safety.”
The woman nodded. “I suggest starting with the older ones.”
Wonder Woman nodded back. “That is a good suggestion. Please indicate the two most likely to survive the journey.”
The woman’s eyes grew large. “Well – unless you’re planning to throw us down on the ground like so many sacks of potatoes when you land, we all should survive.”
“Then please indicate the two you would take first.”
The woman turned, then pointed. “There. The Goldmans. They’re so sweet. They’re in their eighties, been married for – ”
“Very well. Please organize the people as best you can for my return.”
****
As Wonder Woman landed softly with the Goldmans, Superman landed on the roof beside a woman with three unkempt children around her feet. “Hi,” he said with a smile. “How about a lift?”
The woman smiled back and tried to brush her hair away from her face. “Well! Hello, Superman! It’s about time you got here!”
“I just heard about the fire. We need to get you folks off the roof. Who’s first?”
“Well, your lady friend just took the Goldmans, so how about Mr. Preston and Mrs. Jones?”
“Sounds great. Who are they?”
“Right there. Mr. Preston is the one in the dark blue robe.”
“Thank you. I’ll be right back.”
Between them, the two heroes cleared the roof within two minutes. Superman flashed back into the building to smother as much of the flames as he could, while Wonder Woman lifted a hose higher than the ladder truck could to pour water onto the top floor. The combined efforts of the firefighters and the two heroes put out the flames within twelve minutes.
Wonder Woman stood beside the firefighter’s command post and listened as the fire captain received reports from his people in the building. Apparently the blaze had begun on the eighth floor when an overloaded electrical outlet had shorted out and ignited a pile of loose laundry in one of the units.
Superman touched down beside the command post, on the opposite side from Wonder Woman. “There aren’t any more hot spots, Chief,” he said. “Your men doused the last two just a moment ago.”
The fire chief heaved a sigh of relief. “That’s good. I thought we were going to lose the whole building.”
“Will this structure be repaired,” asked Wonder Woman, “or is it too badly damaged?”
The chief rubbed his chin. “I don’t know yet. May be condemned, may be fixable. Depends on how much insurance the owner has and whether or not he thinks it’s worth it.”
“Who is the owner of the building?” she demanded. “I will make certain that he ensures that these people have a decent place to live!”
The chief shook his head. “That’s not my department, lady. You want legal action, go see the District Attorney. Or one of Metropolis’ many hard-working and conscientious trial lawyers. They’re listed on the front of the phone book.”
Wonder Woman frowned. “You will not assist these people?”
“That ain’t what I said – Hey, Superman, can you explain things to the lady here? I got a job to do.”
“Of course, Chief.” Superman stepped closer. “Wonder Woman, could I have a word with you?”
Her face cleared immediately and she smiled. “Of course, Superman. Of what do you wish to speak?”
He pointed up. “Follow me, please.”
He rose into the air with Wonder Woman at his heels.
*****
He chose a white cumulus cloud at about thirty thousand feet, where they could speak without being overheard or seen. “Is this too high for you?” he asked.
“No,” she replied brightly. “It is an excellent choice.”
He crossed his arms and faced upwind so his cape wouldn’t wrap around his face unexpectedly. “Wonder Woman, I think you may have made some presumptuous assumptions about our relationship.”
She floated almost to arm’s length in front of him. “I do not understand. Please clarify your statement.”
This wasn’t going to be easy, he thought. “I have been told – by someone I trust – that you seem to view me as more than a colleague.”
She tilted her head quizzically. “That is true.”
Now for the dangerous question. “Exactly how do you view me?”
“As you say. More than a colleague.”
“That’s not a very informative response.”
Her gaze softened and she drifted closer. “I apologize. I am not attempting to obfuscate. May I elaborate?”
“Please do.”
She put her hands behind her back and looked down at her feet. She reminded Superman of a teenaged girl trying to work up the courage to flirt with her first crush.
Her eyes rose and she smiled. “I have long believed that the two of us might build a relationship which would transcend that of mere colleagues, and since I have met you I have become convinced of the truth of that belief. Your courage, your nobility, your strength, your selflessness, all combine with your natural abilities to produce a nearly perfect man. You are every woman’s ideal mate, Superman, yet I know that no woman has publicly claimed you. Therefore I have concluded – ”
“How do you know?”
She seemed to be thrown off-guard by the question and the interruption. “Er – how do I know what?”
“How do you know that I’m – an ‘unclaimed blessing’?”
“A what?”
The Kansas slang had taken her off-guard. “Sorry. How do you know that I’m not married?”
She seemed taken aback. “But – you wear no ring! Males in this society wear a ring to proclaim their status as husbands, do they not?”
“Usually. But not always.”
“And what woman would be wed to such a man and not proclaim it throughout the land?”
“A very careful and wise woman.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Are you saying – are you informing me that you are a married man, Superman?”
“I am informing you that Superman cannot have a public romantic relationship with any woman. It would be too dangerous for both herself and for me. A writer of the previous century referred to a wife and children as ‘hostages to fortune,’ and with me that would literally be true. I would have no peace in public, and they would have no life apart from me. They would never be able to appear in public without me there to protect them. Criminals the world over would threaten them in order to apply pressure on me to leave them alone or look the other way.”
“But surely this would not – ”
“It’s already happened! Several years ago, a criminal organization threatened my friends with death unless I ignored their activities. We all managed to get through that crisis without getting anybody hurt, but I’ve never forgotten the danger my friends were in simply because they were my friends.” He leaned closer to her and bared his teeth in irritation. “How much more danger would my wife be in? Not to mention any children!”
She floated back, seemingly startled by his outburst. “I’m sorry,” he continued, “but I wanted to make sure you understood my position. Superman cannot and will not have a wife, or even a girlfriend. The danger is too great.”
She took a deep breath and seemed to recover. “I would not suffer the same disadvantages as a normal woman, Superman. You have seen with your own eyes that I am capable of defending myself. I am also able to assist you in emergency situations. And while I am grateful for your assistance at the fire just now, even as are those whom you rescued, the situation was not such that lives would have been lost without your efforts.”
He sighed. “Look, what you’re saying is true, but you can’t build a relationship with me based on your abilities. We’d have to be compatible on a personal level, have to have some shared experiences, have to get to know each other better. You don’t know what my favorite type of music is, much less my favorite song. And you don’t even know what kinds of books I like to read or what I like to do with what little leisure time I have.” He shook his head. “I’m not saying that it could never happen, but I just don’t think we’re anywhere close to ready for any kind of relationship outside of helping out at emergencies.”
“I see.” Her tone grew tight and her body stiffened. “In that case, perhaps I might be granted a boon from the mighty Superman.”
Oh, boy, he thought, that’s not the response I was hoping for. “If you want a favor from me, all you have to do is ask.”
She knelt in mid-air before him, her head almost level with his. “Then I beg this boon of you. Allow me to prove to you that I am a suitable potential mate. We might then continue this conversation, should your grace permit it.”
She was mocking him. This wasn’t submission, this was a thinly veiled challenge. He had to defuse this before it got out of hand. “I don’t know what you might do to prove your suitability that you haven’t already done – ”
“I will find something.”
And before he could respond, she turned and flashed away.
He could have caught her, but he didn’t know what good that might do. And as Clark he had a lunch meeting with Lois and the deputy mayor to discuss the latest upgrade project for Suicide Slum. No way he could miss that.
He sighed and turned to descend. He had intended that his last statement dissuade her from trying to prove anything to him, but instead she’d seemed to take it as a challenge. And he needed a super-powered groupie trying to prove her worth to him like he needed another Lex Luthor to appear on the scene.
Some days it just didn’t pay to get out of bed.
