Chapter Fifteen
Epione led the little procession to the palace. Behind her, hand in hand, walked Clark and Lois. Two paces behind them and one pace further out strode the two guards, with halberds raised in guard position and their heads on swivels, alert for any Amazon dumb enough to attack Superman. Clark also kept watch, although he did his best to walk tall and to appear unconcerned. He knew Lois would not show any apprehension, so he wouldn’t either.
They entered through a different doorway, one which led to a much smaller room than the throne room. On one side, the queen and several of her advisors sat behind an ornate table. In front of the queen, who was seated in the middle of the table, was a plain chair made of thick pieces of wood. To Clark’s farm-trained eye, it looked to have been cobbled together out of leftover scraps.
The guards stopped at the door, where four others in fancy livery joined the group. Epione led the couple to adjoining chairs across the room from the table and to the queen’s left. She motioned for them to sit, then took a chair directly in front of them. No one else sat near them.
The queen lifted a sculpted stone and struck it against the table. “The royal court is now in session,” she intoned. “May truth be the goal of all those gathered here today. And may justice be done.”
The Amazons in the room echoed back, “May justice be done.” Clark leaned over to Lois to whisper something about his hopes that truth would indeed be found, but she shushed him before he could speak.
He straightened as Clio, the royal scribe, stood behind Hippolyta. “Amazons,” she called out, “and honored guests, there is but one matter set before us today. We will discover the truth of the intentions of Diana, Princess of Themyscira. And we will dispense justice according to our laws.”
The association of Diana, Princess of Themyscira, and Diana Prince, PR flack for the Greek embassy, finally hit Clark. He finally understood how Wonder Woman could disappear into the city so easily. Chagrined, he pressed his lips together, thinking that her having a secret identity was too obvious for him to miss, yet he had. He wondered when Lois had figured it out.
Then a door opened at the side of the room. Diana walked in slowly, burdened by golden chains joining her hands in front of her and her feet with a short length. There was also a chain fastened between the handcuffs and the leg chain. Guess they’re afraid she’ll run, Clark mused.
It could have been a scene in a Metropolis courtroom. The only things missing were the orange jumpsuit and cheap slippers usually worn by jail inmates.
Diana shuffled to the rough chair in the middle of the room and plopped down. Her hair was pulled back in some kind of clip, and under her chains she wore a plain white shift that covered her shoulders and fell just below her knees. She still bore some of the marks of her recent battle, but she appeared to be doing at least as well as Lois was. But her head was still high and her eyes were bright and piercing. She still carried herself like royalty.
There was a tiny, tiny part of him which admired Diana’s courage and determination. Of course, that part was completely overwhelmed by the memory of Diana being the cause of Lois’ injuries.
He decided that if she were on fire he wouldn’t spit on her to put it out.
Or maybe that he would.
The queen stood. “This is Diana, Princess of Themyscira, next in line for the throne, and my eldest daughter, whose actions are on trial today. I do not relish being a part of these proceedings. I have offered to step down from my post as judge should any of my people believe that I might not be fair and impartial in my judgment today. My closest advisors have all agreed that I should retain my position in this court, but I wish to know the will of my people. If there are any here – and that includes my daughter and any of her co-conspirators – who do not believe that I am able to judge the Princess’ case on its merit, without regard for my relationship with her, let her speak now. Your voice will be heard, none will be offended by it, and none will suffer for it. We seek only justice, not vengeance.”
She stood straight and tall and silent for a long moment. The only sounds Clark heard were the people in the court breathing, a few sandals scuffing against the floor, and Lois’ heartbeat. He focused on the heartbeat, strong and steady and regular as clockwork, and he relaxed.
No one spoke. “Very well,” said Hippolyta. “I will begin the hearing by questioning my daughter.”
She reached down beside her chair and picked up a stiff coil of silver rope. “This is my own Lasso of Truth,” she said. “I will use this to gain the truth from all who are questioned here today.”
She shook out a loop and swung it once, then tossed it. The loop settled around Diana’s shoulders and the queen tugged it tight enough to make it stay put, but not hard enough to pull the Princess out of the chair.
“I will now ask you, Diana of Themyscira, are you a princess of the royal blood?”
Diana gritted her teeth and answered, “You know that I am.”
“Are you currently in the line of succession?”
“Yes. I am next in line, pending the birth of my first daughter.”
“And had you chosen a mate for yourself on your recent journey to the outside world?”
“Yes,” she growled. “I thought I had found the ideal mate for an Amazon princess.”
The queen took a deep breath. “Yet you later discovered something which interfered with your plans, did you not?”
Diana shuddered, apparently trying to resist, but after a moment she spoke. “That is correct.”
“What did you discover?”
“That – that he was already married.”
“Is it your understanding that an Amazon princess should attempt to bear a child by a man who is already married?”
Diana gritted her teeth, then shuddered and breathed out, “No.”
“What did you do next?”
The princess lifted her head and took a deep breath. “I arranged for the Queen to allow the Challenge of the Wiles.”
Hippolyta’s expression didn’t change, but Clark thought that her face lost some color as Diana spoke.
“Did you intend that this challenge be the ancient challenge or the modern one?”
“The ancient one.”
“The ancient challenge, in which the contest would be concluded by the death of one of the contestants?”
“Yes.”
“Was the queen aware of this?”
“No.” Diana’s eyes flashed. “You were so easily fooled.”
For the first time, the queen’s voice took on an edge. “You admit that you deliberately deceived the queen of Themyscira?”
“Of course. You would not have allowed the ancient challenge had you known that was what I intended.” Diana surged to her feet and stood as tall and straight as her bindings allowed. “You are weak, Mother! You seek to deal with the outside world from a position of submission and fear! I would deal with them from our strength and our power! They would not find us easy to defeat!”
“No, my daughter, I suppose they would not. On the other hand, however, you were not able to defeat the outsider woman whom you kidnapped to fight.”
Diana’s head snapped around as if she’d forgotten that Lois was in the room. Her resolve seemed to crumble and she slipped back down in the chair, still looking at Lois. “That – that was an error on my part. I was not in harmony with the ancient laws when I did that. I admit to this crime and waive any defense of it.”
“And was the outsider woman’s husband aware of the Challenge?”
Diana turned to her mother and blinked, but didn’t answer.
Hippolyta’s fist tightened on her lasso and Diana flinched again. “No! He – he was not aware of the Challenge!”
“He was not informed? Despite the portion of the ancient law concerning the Challenge of the Wiles which required that he be aware of both the contest itself and its consequences?”
Diana turned back to Lois again. Clark thought she was pleading for understanding. “No,” admitted Diana. “He was not informed. In this, I also admit that I was not in harmony with the ancient laws.”
Clark looked at Lois, but her eyes were fixed on Diana as if they were somehow communicating mentally. He heard a rustle and several angry murmurs from the members of the court, along with some apparent dismayed comments from the spectators, but Hippolyta quieted them with a single word.
“Amazons.” The room went silent. “We have not finished our business here.” She adjusted her grip on her silver rope and said, “Princess Diana, we have not heard you name your co-conspirators. The court requires you to do so now.”
Diana looked back to the queen and stiffened again, apparently resisting the compulsion to tell the truth. “I – I – ask that – I be permitted – to do this in – in private session.” Then a sob burst from her lips and she all but shouted, “Mother! Please! Do not shame me thus!”
Hippolyta’s eyes filled and she ducked her head for a moment. “This is a painful moment for me. My eldest daughter stands accused of treason against our nation. She also stands accused of plotting to take the throne before the natural succession takes place. She has already admitted to the forceful abduction of Lois Lane from her homeland.”
The queen lifted her head and ignored the tear which crept down her cheek. “As a mother, I cannot countenance any harm coming to my child, no matter her age or her offense. But my duty as queen supersedes my duty as a mother.”
Her voice sharpened and she barked, “Diana! Tell us the names of the Amazons who plotted with you! And tell us also the roles which they played!”
For a moment, Diana vibrated in the chair, resisting, then cried out in pain and anguish. “Enough! Enough, Mother! I will tell all!”
And she did.
And Clark almost wanted to cry for her.
*****
Lois tried to summon some modicum of understanding, some measure of compassion for Wonder Woman, but she couldn’t. Lois had been kidnapped and beaten almost to death, and all because she was married to the greatest man in the world. She’d been in danger before, but those times had been due to her pursuit of justice. This time, she was just unlucky to have been so lucky that Clark loved her.
And it struck her, as she listened to Diana detail the surprisingly small circle of co-plotters she’d used, that Clark had stayed by Lois the whole time. She still didn’t remember his arrival to stop the fight, but she’d been told that he’d ignored Diana after he’d knocked her down and that he’d cradled Lois tenderly and insisted that she get the best care possible or the entire island would suffer the consequences. He’d slept beside her sickbed. He’d sat and held her hand as she’d either slept or groaned in pain, especially those first few days. And the only time he’d seen Diana was when he’d told her, in no uncertain terms, that there was nothing between them, would never be anything between them, and that she was never to set foot in Metropolis again as long as he lived.
Dummy! she thought. The big lug loves me! And it doesn’t matter why or whether I think I deserve him or not! It just matters that he does!
She sat back and relaxed for the first time since they’d entered the courtroom. She’d beaten Wonder Woman after all.
In truth, it really hadn’t been a contest. Not ever. And now Lois finally understood why.
She might not deserve Clark’s love, but she had it. She always had and she always would. And it didn’t matter whether or not Lois felt like she was the best woman for him. That’s what he believed, and that was what really mattered.
She sighed and smiled to herself, then put her uninjured hand around his arm and leaned her head on his mighty shoulder. It was okay, she told herself. Everything was going to be okay.
*****
Diana’s testimony was complete. Each of the named conspirators had been brought before the court and given the opportunity to testify in her own defense. Each one of them had declined the chance, had admitted her guilt, and had agreed to accept the court’s decision without appeal to the Court of Nine. The queen and her court had met briefly in a side room, then returned to announce the sentences for each conspirator.
To Clark’s relief, none of them would die for their roles in the aborted revolution.
A shaken and exhausted Diana was escorted out of the courtroom to begin her banishment. Four others would be incarcerated with her, and as many as a dozen more would receive some sort of punishment for their part in the plot.
Clark regretted the punishments, but he thought that banishment to the northernmost island of Themyscira for various periods of time was far kinder than many sovereigns might have decreed.
Of course, Diana might prefer execution to serving twenty-five years of almost solitary confinement and permanent removal from the line of succession, not to mention that any daughter she might bear would also be excluded from the throne. It was a steep fall from her previous position, and Clark hoped she might do something constructive with her life when she was released.
And despite his unfamiliarity with the Amazon culture, he detected a definite change in the attitude of the spectators. Some had been cautiously supportive of Diana at the beginning of the trial, some had been open supporters of the queen, and about half had seemed to be waffling between the two. But after Diana had admitted her failure to fully follow the ancient laws she claimed to support, the mood in the courtroom had shifted to open condemnation. He had overheard two quiet apologies from one Amazon to another, and one offer of surrender to the court for supporting the budding coup. That Amazon had been quietly escorted out of the room.
Once all of the sentences had been pronounced, Hippolyta slumped in her chair behind the table. Phillipus leaned over and put her hand on the queen’s arm, then whispered something in her ear. They both glanced in Clark’s direction, then Hippolyta nodded.
Phillipus stood. “Superman, the queen has requested that I complete this hearing in her name. We – that is, the entire nation of Themyscira – officially offer our apologies to both yourself and your wife for the injustice done to you. We also offer our continued medical assistance to Lois Lane as long as she desires it. And we wish to permanently establish that you, Superman, are permitted to walk among us anywhere at any time.”
He leaned close to his wife. “Do we officially accept their apology?” he whispered.
She looked over the women behind the table, then turned and whispered, “I think we should, yes.”
“Any other thoughts? They look like they’re waiting for some response.”
She frowned in thought for a moment, then whispered, “I’m taking them up on their offer of medical assistance. I can’t believe I’m healing this fast.”
“Me neither. Although I’m really glad of it.” He sighed. “Maybe they have something that will make your hair grow back faster.”
She gave him a quiet smile. “I’m just glad I still have a head where it can grow back. Now talk noble to them. You’re so much better at that than I am.”
He stood and took a breath. “We thank you for your apology. And we formally accept it. We are also willing to accept your offer of continued medical assistance for Lois. I am very glad that she is healing so quickly, and I’d like to thank the healer Epione for her skill and her care.”
Phillipus’ face softened as if she were relieved. “Thank you, Superman. And thank you, Lois Lane. We offer the two of you our hospitality for as long as you wish to claim it.”
Lois called out, “That’s very nice of you, but if it’s all the same to you I’d rather go home.”
Hippolyta snorted a very un-queenly laugh, and the rest of the Amazons displayed various degrees of amusement. “We understand your desire, Ms. Lane,” answered Phillipus. “We ask only that you discuss your departure with Epione to make certain you are well enough to travel.”
“Oh, I will, don’t worry.”
Clark smiled and reached for his wife’s hand, then said, “Is there anything else you need from us, Chancellor?”
Phillipus shook her head. “No. We thank you for attending this hearing, despite its painful nature. We had to be certain that the Princess gave factual testimony.”
Lois stood beside her husband and nodded. “As far as what happened between the princess and myself, she didn’t lie about anything.”
“Thank you, Ms. Lane. This hearing is now adjourned. Rest well, all.”
Hippolyta stood and made eye contact with Clark. “Lois, I think the queen wants to talk to us privately. How tired are you?”
“Not that tired. Let’s do it.”
*****
Lois didn’t like being the one who got waited on, but Clark insisted and Perry backed him up. So she sat on the love seat in the living room, outwardly as docile as a pet mouse, and waited as her husband brought her a coffee refill.
“So you and Superman didn’t have to testify?” asked Perry.
She shook her head. “They just wanted us there as insurance, I guess. And to let us know that they wanted their proceedings to be transparent to us. No secret trials, no conditional sentences, nothing like that.”
“What happened next?”
“We went into a side chamber – thanks, Clark, cream and two sugars this time, please – to talk to Hippolyta and some of her advisors. I thought they just wanted to apologize again, but instead they asked Superman to do them a huge favor.”
Perry sipped his coffee. “And the queen wanted Superman to do what, exactly?”
Clark sighed. “She wanted Superman to work directly with the new ambassador from Themyscira to establish relations between them and the United States.”
“I take it that Superman said no?”
“Not quite, Perry,” said Lois. “He told them that he wasn’t associated with any government and had no legal standing to assume such a position. But he did tell them that he could set up a meeting with the State Department – a secret one if that’s what the Amazons wanted – to discuss formal relations.”
The editor sat back on the couch. “So what do they plan to do?”
“Superman is going back there tomorrow evening to pick up their formal request for diplomatic relations and deliver it to one of our contacts in State. Clark and I have the exclusive on that story, by the way. And he’s going to report to Epione on my progress.”
“Epione is their doctor, right?”
“More a holistic folk healer than a doctor,” answered Clark, “but she’s very good. Except for Lois’ hair, in another week she won’t have any physical evidence of her little visit to Paradise Island.”
Perry nodded, then fixed her with a fierce glare. “I’m glad you’re doing so well, Lois. But I absolutely don’t want to see you in the office until your own doctor here in Metropolis gives you the all-clear. You hear me?”
“You got it, Chief. I’ll wait for Dr. Klein to give me the thumbs-up.”
Both Perry and Clark stared at her for a long moment, then Perry said, “What did you just say?”
She chuckled. “I know, I know. Five years ago I would have argued with both of you to let me jump back in the saddle again as soon as I could stand up. But I’m almost thirty-five now, and I’m just not as young as I used to be.”
“None of us are, darlin’.” Perry leaned forward and set his cup down. “Speaking of which, I think it might be time to give our heroine here a little promotion.”
Clark smiled. Lois frowned and said, “What kind of promotion?”
“Well, I’m not as young as I used to be either, and Alice has been telling me that she wants me to hang around the house for a lot of years, and she’s worried that I’ll work myself into an early grave, so between us we’ve created the position of associate editor-in-chief. The person who fills this slot would do some of the things I’ve been doing for the past twenty years and more, and eventually would take over for me. I think it’s getting close to time for me to retire for real.”
Lois’s eyebrows rose to astronomical heights. “And – and you want me to – you think I should – ”
Clark leaned over and kissed her gently on the side of her head. “I think it’s a fantastic idea, Perry. When does she start?”
“Hey! I haven’t said ‘yes’ yet!”
Perry and Clark laughed together, then Perry stood. “You two talk it over and let me know what you think. Let’s see, this is Monday evening, so if you can get back to me by Friday mid-day, we can set the wheels in motion. Assuming, of course, Ms. Lane, that this is the career path you’d like to follow.”
Lois nodded slowly. “I’ll definitely think about it.”
“Thanks, darlin’. That’s all I can ask.”
Clark looked at his wife and asked, “Shall we tell him about their family setup?”
Lois rolled her eyes. “Why not? He won’t believe it any more than I do.”
Perry lifted an eyebrow. “What about their family setup?
Clark shook his head. “It’s a little complicated. You know that their laws say that men aren’t allowed on the island, right?” Perry nodded. “Well, that’s just the main island. There’s another smaller land mass about half a mile north-east where the Husbands’ Village is. All the men live and work there.”
Perry’s eyes bloomed and he leaned forward. “They what?”
Lois shook her head and made a rude noise. Clark ignored her and continued his story. “The men live in individual houses, most of them made of stone to withstand the occasional hurricane. They have their own ruling council, their own farms and crafts and shops, and they’re just about self-sufficient. The only restriction is that they can’t leave.”
“Not ever?”
“I said you wouldn’t believe it, Perry,” Lois put in. “The men have their own island and their own little society, and their wives have a regular visitation schedule. There’s even a couple of huts down on the north beach where they can go and be alone together.”
Perry shook his head. “And that’s the only time they – I mean, they don’t get to – there’s no – they don’t have – relations – except on a schedule?”
Clark grinned. “I know. I couldn’t hold it together if I only saw Lois for three or four days out of the month. But it works for them, and the guys I talked to said that it wasn’t ideal, but it was as good as some of the marriages they’d seen in their own countries.”
Perry shrugged. “Oh, well, if it works for them, it works for them. Hey, wait a minute! Where did all these guys come from?”
Lois put her cup down on the table. “A few of them are the sons of Amazons, but most of them are from South America or West Africa. A few are from Europe, some from the US, and I swear I saw one little girl who was part Japanese.”
“Huh. Interesting. How many of the Amazons have husbands?”
“A little more than half,” replied Clark. “Some of them just leave the island, find a man they like and seduce him and come back to have the baby, but most of them get married. The ones who don’t marry aren’t cast out of Amazon society, but they are viewed as having made the second best choice.”
Perry nodded. “You know, those folks are gonna make some sociologist very famous.” He glanced at his watch. “Whoops. Time for me to saddle up and head out. Thanks for the coffee, folks.”
Clark stood and walked Perry to the door. “Thanks, Chief. And, uh, thanks for letting the Wonder Woman story come out the way it did.”
The editor stopped and turned to face him. “We can’t go around bad-mouthing super-powered people in the news unless they deserve it. Last thing I want the Daily Planet to be is a gossip rag about the spandex crowd.”
“I still think you should have published the truth about the princess,” Lois growled from the living room. “We didn’t have to tell everyone that she’d been called home to deal with ‘pressing government issues.’”
“If she hadn’t been dealt with by her own people, I would’ve led the crusade against her myself. But it wouldn’t help anyone to do that now, and it would just get in the way of normalizing relations with those folks.” Perry chuckled ruefully. “I just hope they understand what kind of bear trap they’re stickin’ their heads into. Every country on the planet will want that cloaking technology. And who knows what else they have that folks will want?”
“Hippolyta wants to approach the US first to establish a mutual defense pact,” said Clark. “She thinks that will protect them long enough to convince the not-so-nice countries to leave them alone.”
“Might work,” offered Perry. “I figure they know how to fight, so anybody dumb enough to attack them might just be grabbin’ a wolverine by the tail. What else do they have to trade with?”
“They have some pretty advanced tactical weaponry that they want to keep to themselves, but I think they plan to offer medical assistance to underdeveloped nations in exchange for favorable trade conditions. Epione mentioned something about training a new generation of healers from other countries. And her eyes lit up like a pair of headlights at midnight when she was talking to me about it.”
“I hope that’s what happens, son. Well, I got to skedaddle on home. Alice is waiting dinner for me. And you two need to call her and set up a time for us to get together, y’hear?”
Clark smiled. “We’ll do it as soon as Lois’ hair grows out a little.”
Perry laughed aloud. “You know, if those Amazons had some kind of hair-restoring somethin’-or-other they’d never have to pay for anything anywhere. Every man in America over thirty-five would be a customer.”
“I’ll ask Superman to mention that next time he goes to see them.”
Perry winked. “Yeah, you make sure he does that. Clark, I’ll see you in the office day after tomorrow. Lois?”
“I’ll be a good girl, Perry! I promise.”
“I know you will. Goodnight, you two.”
Clark closed and locked the door, then returned to Lois. “Are you tired, honey?”
She stretched. “A little. And my shoulder is sore. That physical therapist must have learned her craft from Torquemada.”
He grinned. “Do you want me with you to come to the next torture session?”
“No. I’ll just tell her some jokes to loosen her up.”
He gave her a wary look. “What kind of jokes?”
“Oh, like the one about the sadist and the masochist walking down the street.”
His eyes narrowed. “What about them?”
Her mouth didn’t smile but her eyes did. “Well, the sadist and the masochist were walking down the street together when suddenly the masochist grabbed the sadist and yelled, ‘Hit me! Strike me! Please! Anything, just hurt me!’ and the sadist grinned evilly and said, ‘No. Your therapy session doesn’t start for another forty minutes.’”
Clark snorted, then laughed out loud. Lois joined him.
When their laughter settled, he asked, “What do you think of Perry’s job offer?”
She frowned in concentration. “It might be a very good idea at that. We’re both too well-known to do undercover work any more, and even straight investigative reporting is getting harder because of our reputations. People who have things they want to hide don’t want to talk to either of us, and especially not together.”
“That’s true. But the editor’s chair takes up even more time and puts pressure on whoever is sitting in it.”
She gave him a raised eyebrow combined with a sideways grin. “I assume you talked to Perry about this offer before he brought it up.”
“I did. But I did not assume your answer. If you want my input on this decision, I’ll give it to you. And if you decide to start teaching Yi Chi at Lin’s martial arts studio, that’s okay with me too.”
“You mean it’ll keep me out of trouble.”
“No.” He put his hand on her knee. “I mean that whatever you want to do with your life is fine with me, as long as we’re together. If teaching Yi Chi makes you happy, great. If sitting in the editor’s chair makes you happy, that’s great too. If you want to quit working altogether and be a housewife, I’ll back you on that, too.” He let a small grin appear. “Although, if I were a betting man, I don’t think I’d put money on that horse.”
They laughed together for a moment, then Clark took his wife’s hands in his. “Oh, Lois, I’m so very glad you’re okay. I don’t think I could have survived losing you.”
She smiled at him. “You could have, Clark. And some day you might have to. I think you’ll probably live a lot longer than I will.”
He dropped his gaze. “I – don’t like to think about that.”
“I know, darling.” She touched his chin and lifted his head with one finger. “But I want you to know that I hope you find someone who will love you and someone you can love after I’m gone.”
His eyes turned shiny. “I don’t think I’ll ever love any woman like I love you.”
She smiled. “I know. And I don’t think you’ll ever find any woman who loves you like I do.” She reached out and tugged him into an embrace. “You are the most wonderful man alive, and I am so lucky to be loved by you.”
He held her close. “And I feel the same about you. I am so blessed to be loved by you. I hope you never doubt that.”
She kissed his earlobe and ran her fingers through his hair. “I won’t ever doubt it, my darling. Not for as long as I live.”
