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Chapter 70: Waiting
🕑 Added 2022-10-17 16:01:20 +0000 UTCDiana raised her blade and slashed down, only for it to be deflected by the clone's ki blade. Nathan backed away, showing a gap towards the wormhole, but before she could take advantage of it, Steppenwolf appeared. With his sword in hand, he slashed at her, forcing her to raise her shield to block it.
She glanced at Nathan's clone, who kept Aquaman and Superman at bay. Even though he appeared to be weaker than his main body, they still couldn't force him back. He defended the wormhole for 10 minutes already and they still had made no progress. His defense was an indomitable wall that closes any gaps as soon as they appear.
Aquaman stabbed his trident at him, which he dodged with ease before side-kicking him out of the room. The building containing the research facility had long turned into a sieve with all its holes. It was astonishing that it hadn't collapsed with all the damage it had sustained.
Nathan extended his hand before charging up an attack if all his glowing fingertips were any indication. A moment later, several ki blasts were fired, each aiming for another member of the league.
Superman was the closest and therefore unable to dodge, so he just crossed his arms and tanked the attack. The resulting explosion pushed the Man of Steel away until he hit the far-off wall.
Hawkgirl swatted at the ki blast with her mace. The ki blast deformed under the force and instead of being sent flying, it exploded, stirring up the dust inside the room. The shockwave fluttered their clothes and hair and threw the fragments of the once expensive equipment of the laboratory through the room. Of course, besides that, it didn't rattle the extraordinary individuals in this battle.
The knocked-out guards and scientists were long being brought out of the building, which had given Nathan's clone and the new gods some precious time to stall them until now.
GL used a construct to envelop the ki blast. The following explosion was barely contained by it as well, causing GL to be knocked to the ground. J'onn used his telekinesis to move rubble in front of him, causing the ki blast to detonate further away. J'onn still backed away until he almost exited the room as the heat of the blast radiated out.
He probably had it the worst when fighting Nathan. With him using ki blasts that generated all this heat, which was easily hot enough to melt stone. Not even mentioning the ki-generated flame that Nathan sent towards the Martian. All this made him a tough opponent to face, especially if one's weakness was fire. It was the reason they had tasked J'onn with facing Raven back then instead of Nathan.
Aquaman, who had just returned from the outside, was swiftly met with a ki blast as well. He calmly but quickly slashed through the attack with his trident, causing it to blow up. The resulting blast washed over the Atlantean, scorching him. The King of Atlantis was just stunned for a moment before continuing his way back into the room.
The attacks weren't strong enough to take them out, but they were strong enough to force them back to separate them and stall them long enough for Nathan's partners to drive each member of the Justice League in different directions.
The one Diana identified as Steppenwolf crashed into Superman and with him through the wall. Big Barda, the leader of the furies, took on J'onn, using the lightning her spear produced to prevent him from turning intangible.
Aquaman, Hawkgirl, GL, and Zatara were soon faced with the other new gods of the furies. Despite them being separated, Diana was confident in her team members' ability to deal with them. Not only that, she knew they were at a clear advantage. If it wasn't for Nathan's clone interfering from time to time, they would have been long victorious.
However, despite their seeming advantage, they were running out of time. Nathan's clone, the furies, and Steppenwolf weren't fighting to win. They were stalling for time until the three had changed the past.
Her attention snapped back to Nathan, who met Batman's violent assault with the same intensity. Although it looked like Nathan was being put on the back foot, being forced to dodge Batman's ki-absorbing hands, Diana could already see Batman's suit falling apart. Diana shelved the topic of why Batman had built a suit that perfectly countered her boyfr- Nathan to the back of her mind.
Batman's movements were fast, but he still couldn't touch Nathan. The Saiyan just dodged it with ease before nicking Batman's armor with a punch here and kick there. The scene reminded her of the time when these two were sparring and Nathan would taunt Batman by singing, "You can't touch this".
She still didn't know where he heard that song or whether he had come up with it himself. Even though Batman's countenance didn't change, she could tell he was pissed back then...
Although she was reminiscing, she didn't stop moving. Her hold on her lasso tightened before throwing it around Nathan's leg. She pulled down the lasso hard, dragging Nathan to the ground. Batman used that moment and arrived in front of Nathan.
His open palm slammed into Nathan's nose, but at the same time, Nathan countered with a hook to Batman's chin. Batman stumbled back before dropping to the ground. Nathan was disheveled as well and took several steps backward. His body appeared to be transparent for a moment before it re-materialized again. Diana used that moment of distraction and arrived in front of the clone.
She pulled at the lasso while slashing at him. He lost his footing, but in a fraction of a second, he kicked the biceps of the arm, holding her sword, causing her swing to stop. A step back made Nathan lose his hold on her. Before his foot touched the ground again, she was already on him again, slashing ferociously at him.
There was no need to worry about his well-being if he was just a clone, so for the first time, she slashed at him with the full intention of 'killing' him. Her arm turned blurry as she unleashed a fury of slashes.
Only the reflected light bouncing off her sword's edge could be occasionally seen, but Nathan's clone dodged the slashes with meticulous precision and minimal movement. Her blade only ever grazing, shaving off layers of skin. The occasional draw of a wound on the clone was tilting the battle in her favor.
However, it wasn't until a Batarang flew into their view that he was distracted enough for her to sidestep his counter and step into his guard. Her shield slammed into his sides, making him flinch in pain. She was about to slash at him when his eyes widened and his entire body turned into a golden wave of energy flowing into the wormhole.
Her mind froze for a moment before she looked at the wormhole and the outlines of two figures growing larger and larger until they jumped out of the wormhole. Supergirl, Nathan's girlfriend, jumped out of the wormhole, with Flash following closely behind her. The only one that was able to bypass the clone, having used his ability to accelerate to close to his top speed in an instant before this stalling battle had started.
Supergirl landed and ignored the stares of the other members of the Justice League, who had mostly subdued their opponents. Instead, she turned around and looked at the wormhole expectant with an aggrieved and anxious expression on her face. Her expression made Diana's emotions drop to her stomach.
"Did something happen?" Diana didn't realize who asked, but she wanted to know the answer to it. However, Supergirl didn't react to it. Flash, on the other hand, stared at her, contemplating.
What was it?
"Where is he?!" The voice was harsh and threatening. It took her a moment to realize that it was her voice calling out.
"There was a problem. Raven lost control after hearing that her siblings had attacked Portland only in this timeline, which is likely the result of this time travel. The wormhole was already closing, so he sent us ahead..."
"And you let him?!" Her eyes bore into Flash before they snapped to the back of Kara's head. Just when she was about to fly into the wormhole, Superman's hand grabbed her wrist, pulling her back to the ground after having jumped. She just wrestled her hand free when the wormhole closed. The closing was several times more violent than when they had arrived in this timeline.
The light was intense and for a moment she believed she saw a figure inside the wormhole before she had to raise her arm, preventing the light from blinding her. After the surroundings calmed down, she lowered her arm and blankly looked at where the wormhole was just at.
"I would have been a burden... He... They won't die... Not to something like this!" Supergirl gritted her teeth as she said this. It was as if she wanted to convince herself, but it only caused Diana to be enraged.
"How would you know!? You should have dragged him out! He's dead, just because-" She swallowed her words of dismissing the demon's life. Raven had been proven to be innocent. It was just because of the circumstances that she disliked her. Nathan and Supergirl obviously have a deep relationship with Raven, and it wouldn't be righteous to let the demon die.
Although she could understand why they wouldn't abandon her in the wormhole, she would rather have Nathan grieve over his loss than- A fist slammed into her face. Drops of blood splatter on the tiled floor. She took several steps back as she rose her shield, blocking another strike by the other woman.
She stared at Supergirl's furious, tear-stained face. "They. Are. Not. Dead. I trust Nathan. If he said that he could handle it then he would!" The two women glared at each other. Diana also trusted Nathan with her life, but some things are just out of their control.
Being left stranded inside the tumult created by ripping a hole into time and space wasn't something one could just brush off. Kara, blindly followed his orders as he sacrificed himself for a silver of chance of saving that Girl... She just couldn't accept her decision.
"Don't worry. Call it divine intuition, but I believe you are right. They wouldn't die this easily." Big Barda said as she put a hand on Supergirl's shoulder, comforting and calming her. Big Barda, like the other new gods, was bruised up, with a busted lip, a nosebleed, and a drooping arm. She was the one that came out of the fight the least hurt.
"Indeed, if he had died in the stream of time, it wouldn't be a simple death. He might have been erased from existence. The fact that we still know him means the possibility that he survived is likely." An old voice called out with a cough. He waved a hand in front of his face while holding onto a device in his other hand.
"Dr. Wakati, are you sure?" Supergirl's attention instantly turned away from her and to the old scientist. The old man nodded at her question. "You see, the time machine isn't simply allowing a passage back through time, but the resulting interference through the machine affects the entire time, past, present, and future. If someone died there, it will affect the person's past, present, and future, so his death would ripple through time."
Although the consequences of death seemed cruel, his words were still comforting given the circumstances. It was like a cold water bucket drowning out her hot temper. It was a shock to her system, but she wouldn't describe it as bad, considering what she wanted to do in the heat of the moment.
"You also said that any changes we made in the past would be swept away without another time machine in the past to stabilize the changes, but Raven's presence in the past had caused changes... What if you are wrong again?!" Kara half shouted half pleaded.
"Well, yes, it seems like the conjunction I had made through the tests from Savage's scientists was flawed, but the result just showed that the time machine and all changes and interference made were more impactful and permanent to our time than previously thought. Given that Hakai's- I suppose it is Shallot now - death would have made waves before this discovery, it certainly would now. Of course, I will research the specifics to exclude any repeating incorrect assumptions and statements of mine. Until then, although just a theory, I suggest you keep hoping because I am pretty confident."
After finishing his little speech, which had reduced the rising uncertainty made by Kara's question, he turned towards the members of the League.
"Now, I will have to remind you people you destroyed the property of Westmob in an experiment signed by the city of San Francisco. Any damage will be billed to you." The scientist said before walking out of the room, leaving a dumbfounded Justice League behind.
"I- We will retreat for now," Batman said without the usual strength in his voice. He sounded tired, and she, too, could feel the circumstances weighing her down.
Not even mentioning Nathan's collusion with Westmob, which was an entire bag that she was too tired to get into, but his disappearance was already concerning enough. Though with his strength, he should be able to handle most situations that weren't as dreadful as going against time itself. As long as he wasn't dead, everything will turn out fine.
Diana glanced at the solemn and beaten new gods as they left and followed Dr. Wakati to riddle him with questions and the distraught Supergirl who followed them, listening in on his answers. Diana hesitated to stop the new gods because of how she had found them in prison cells underneath Nathan's house, but that would wait for now.
However, the sight of Supergirl, the words she said to her and the things that Diana had researched about her and Nathan's relationship, forced her to speak to her. Although they were at each other's throats a moment ago, she needed to express the League's intentions. She hesitated for a moment before grasping Supergirl's wrist, making the other girl tense up.
"We shouldn't have... Time is dangerous to play with and we didn't want you to make an irreversible mistake, especially with what we had gone through..." Even to her ears, the words sounded like excuses, but this was her truth. "... I can tell you that none of us wanted this to happen. We never wanted to endanger your lives. Our only goal had been to stop you from changing the past and bring you back before something happened. We will do our best to bring him... and Raven back."
She could see the indignation in her eyes. The Kryptonian took a deep breath. "He told you that nothing would change, and here we are. You were right, even if we had changed nothing, our mere presence was problematic, but it's the fact that you didn't want to listen to his words. Weren't you supposed to love each other in the other timeline? ...At least he and Raven are not here, so you could rub how right you were in his face..." She ripped her hand out of Diana's hold and walked off.
The Amazonian watched her leave her behind and her words roused some unpleasant emotion deep in her stomach, but she knew that Supergirl just wanted a rise out of her. She could only shake her head and give her some time to cool down before they could have a proper conversation.
Hawkgirl called out to her. She nodded and followed the others back to the Watchtower. They didn't discuss anything yet, so they went to have some rest. When she arrived in her room once again, she directly dropped onto her bed.
Her sigh was long and drawn out as she tried to relax. She glanced at the empty cupboard next to her bed and couldn't help but curl in on herself. Having lost the love of her life twice in a row was almost too much to handle, especially with the thought that even if they brought him back from wherever he was, the person who his arms would hug wouldn't be her.
In that regard, she envied Kara for having the prospect of having a happy ending.
...
Diana blankly stared up at the ceiling. It had been a few months now, and the anniversary of the Justice League was approaching. A slight smile appeared on her face when she thought about how much they had accomplished in a year.
The smile turned into a sad frown when she remembered the current circumstances of him still being missing before she sighed and jumped out of the bed. She was never the person to mop away in the morning.
The same couldn't be said about Kara. If she didn't drag her out of it, she probably would remain in it for the entire day. It had been a recent development that almost made it seem like she always had been a morning grouch.
Several weeks ago, she suddenly became rather eager to sleep, as if she was looking forward to something. Her mood had been exceptional since then as well. It was also at that time when she was more open to her. She didn't see her with empathetic pity anymore, but they were able to befriend each other.
To be honest, it had come as a great surprise when Kara offered a place for her to live in, even though she was clearly reluctant to open up to her the previous day. However, now they had bonded over their grief and yearning and grew closer because of it. Either way, she saw it as her duty to drag her out of it.
After quickly getting dressed, she stepped out of the guest room Kara had arranged for her on the ground floor. She walked through the kitchen towards the stairs before heading for Kara's bedroom. After a gentle knock and Kara's acknowledgment, she stepped inside and was surprised to see her already ready.
Kara was dressed professionally, with black trousers and a button-down shirt, and some simple black shoes. It seemed like she was ready for her intern interview, though she still looked nervous. Honestly, it was funny considering what she had been up to lately.
"Don't worry, they will love you. They wouldn't have come to you if they weren't impressed by your portfolio." Diana said while smiling gently as she encouragingly placed her arms on the younger woman's shoulders.
Kara took a deep breath before smiling back at Diana. "I know, but this is something I had been hoping for some time now even if animating isn't really in my repertoire. Drawing pictures isn't the same as animating something."
"That's why you want to join them, to learn, right? So, it's a bonus that you don't know everything. And I am sure you will do just fine. Come on." Diana said before walking downstairs towards the car parked outside. Kara followed closely with a little bag slung over her shoulder before sitting in the passenger's seat.
During the entire drive towards their location, Kara was nervous and repeatedly checked if she had everything with her. "Just remember, stand up straight and be confident. Have a firm handshake and during the interview be polite, but not submissive, and remember to ask them the questions that will apply directly to you and how the work is going to be, so if there are any project managers and whether you report directly to them or someone else, who are the colleagues you will be working with, what are their backgrounds and how is the communication between the team members. You know the questions we had gathered last night. "
Kara looked at her. "I haven't asked yet, but why do you know these things? I thought you hadn't gone to any job interviews?"
Diana snorted at that. "Having a martial instructor on Themyscira isn't that different when it comes to certain manners. Not to mention the political discussions I had in recent times had prepared me for similar situations. Don't forget a lot of or even all soft skills can be used for all kinds of situations."
Kara hummed slightly when she heard that. After a ten-minute drive, they arrived in front of the big company's entrance. Kara opened the door and stepped out of the car. She was about to close the door after saying goodbye when she stopped and bend down to look at Diana inside the car, "Thank you, Diana. For everything."
"Of course, you know I am-"
"You are doing this because you felt guilty about how you guys approached both situations without the usual calm and you want to repent. I get that and I already told you it wasn't necessary. We were all on edge at that time and we three certainly didn't look good with everything that you found out. Still, that doesn't mean I can't be thankful for your help... I really needed it, so for that. Thank you."
Diana couldn't help but chuckle. "That had been my initial reason, but what I actually wanted to say was that I am your friend and I am happy to help. So, you're welcome... And thank you as well. You weren't the only one that had needed someone to lend an ear." Kara smiled slightly before she closed the car door and headed for her interview.
Diana watched her being received by the secretary before she smiled slightly at how fast Kara was growing. She had picked up drawing as a hobby and was rapidly getting more skilled to the degree that companies reached out to her after seeing the works she had released online.
Although it was meant as a distraction, she seemed to really love to express herself that way. To be honest, some things she drew were... too explicit for Diana to hang up in her apartment, but she couldn't deny her skill and passion.
Honestly, she didn't truly need the job at the company if all she wanted was to establish herself as an artist, but her ambitions didn't lie with a stable job. She wanted to learn more about art and the different mediums it could be represented with.
Even her hero's work extended to other countries now with Wonder Woman's guidance and her skill and strength in the physical department were taking leaps in progress.
There was also the fact that she had taken it upon herself to handle some business from Westmob, which caused some concerns with Clark and the League, but it was clear that she wanted to steer it to better humanity without the shady side of things that Nathan used to establish the company to what it was now.
Of course, she couldn't deny the signs that she also put a lot of effort into researching time and inter-universal travel, but those research topics/experiments were all checked by Wayne R&D to ensure any attempts for time travel were prevented.
Not that it would work anymore, Dr. Wakati had mentioned that Savage's time machine could not cause any fluctuations in time anymore. The details eluded her, but this conclusion was agreed upon by several independent researchers.
She drove off back towards Nathan's home with her thoughts still on Kara's currently busy life. Initially, she had worried that Kara took too much onto herself, that she was drowning herself with stuff to do because she didn't want to think about Nathan being gone.
School, helping around at Kent's farm, being Supergirl, training in martial arts, helping in Westmob, taking up drawing as a hobby, while trying to have a social life, and now the new internship. It was a lot.
However, Kara had insisted on her activities, saying that it had been long overdue for her to stop being lazy and do things she wanted and enjoyed doing. Nathan seemed to have long tried to push her to be more active, and now that he was gone, she seemed to feel obligated to go through with it all.
If it wasn't for Nathan's time-slowing device, she would barely have any time to do all these things, but since she seemed to enjoy all her activities and was even more energetic than at the beginning, Diana let her be. Though she took it upon herself to help Kara and check up on her constantly, so she wouldn't overexert herself.
Diana parked in front of Nathan's house, looking around. In her timeline, the two had imagined a similar surrounding to build their house in, with a lot of nature around them.
She stepped inside the house, changed into her armor, and then went to the basement before falling down the empty elevator shaft. She quietly entered the 'Hyperbolic Time Chamber' and increased the gravity to 1000x. Courtesy of Batman.
Batman was very conflicted about Nathan being a secretly 'good' mobster with the goal of seeing his family... his parents, once again. Although he disapproved of his methods, it was his way of showing that he hadn't given up on him. The increased gravity wasn't the only gift that would wait for Nathan. His chamber had seen some upgrades compared to a few months back.
Diana swung her sword as she went through the form with extreme precision, even with the heavy pressure acting upon her body, sword, shield, and armor. Her motions became more strained as her body got more exhausted, but she persisted. At one point, she even activated these anti-gravity androids to have them attack her.
What would Nathan say if he knew she was training in his 'secret' facility? Or that she was sleeping in his place to support Kara and offer her company in this empty place because Kara refused 'to let the house gather dust' and moved into it. He probably wouldn't be too pleased.
She still had her house, which the former Nathan and she had called home, for when Nathan came back. He probably wouldn't want her to live with him. The thought made her feel bittersweet, causing her attention to break for a moment. The laser beam fired from one android caught her off-guard and sent her kneeling.
She raised her shield and blocked a shot from another android before approaching an android and pressing its shut-off button. She ran through the androids as fast as she could, turning them all off.
Just when she was about to continue, a beeping from the communication system of the chamber attracted her attention. She walked to the screen on the wall and read the message sent by Shayera. She answered positively and stepped out of the chamber to shower quickly before the Thanagarian arrived.
After getting dressed, the doorbell rang and the winged woman stood in front of the entrance. Diana invited her inside and let her sit down at the table in the kitchen for a tee.
"I would have thought you wanted to hang out if it wasn't because you wanted to meet me here. Did something happen?" Diana asked though she could already guess what Shayera wanted to ask. It was something that she had gone to Batman to consult about.
"To be honest, at first I thought it was a hallucination or illusion, but they kept coming back... Memories. I slowly remember our lives in this timeline."
Diana nodded. It was what she had expected. "Yes, Batman and I have the same happening to us, and I assume the same will happen to the others. It seems to happen to the ones with the closest relationship to Nathan, the fastest." Shayera's eyes widened at that revelation.
"What does it mean? Is this supposed to happen?" Shayera asked.
"To be honest, I am not sure about the details, but it seems like time is correcting itself slowly, just like Savage's time machine won't work anymore. Dr. Wakati mentioned it should happen faster or even instantaneous, but for some reason the effects are slow. We will gain memories from this timeline over the course of the next few months. What I am worried about is whether we will lose the memories of our timeline."
Shayera opened her mouth in realization before she closed it again with her lips thinned. "... I wanted to come here and figure out if anything here would trigger some memories. I had heard that it would work with people who had lost their memories, but I wasn't sure whether it would apply to my- to our situation." Shayera admitted.
Diana denied it with a shake of her head, "It won't work, at least it hadn't for Batman and me, though you are free to look around. I am sure Nathan wouldn't mind if you tried your luck. You were- are pretty close, after all."
"Yes, we are. It's weird though, having a brother-like buddy even though he is also just a colleague to me. I mean, I always admired him for the warrior he was. Now I still feel that we aren't close to each other, while simultaneously feeling like we get along exceptionally well. It's strange to have that outsider's perspective while being involved..."
"Well, you have something to look forward to when he comes back, right? I am sure it will be awkward for you in the beginning, but since this Nathan was the one you befriended, I am sure you can continue to get along now."
Shayera nodded as she stood up, having finished her tea before deciding to walk around the facility to see if anything would trigger her memories. After a while, she went through the entire property, but it didn't have the effect that she had hoped for.
The 'secret' chamber that now every member of the Justice League knew of after the debacle with Westmob, had brought no results either, at least not until the two women sparred against each other, which ended up in Diana being almost tied up while Shayera tanking several hard landing attacks.
Shayera sat up pinching her nose, preventing the nose blood from staining the floor tiles, while Wonder Woman freed her arms from her lasso. Although it didn't trigger any memories, for some reason it made the two feel nostalgic.
After their break, both received an emergency call coming from the Watchtower. The two looked at each other for a moment before they quickly got up and rushed towards the orbiting Watchtower.
It didn't take the two superpowered women long to reach the station. They quickly entered the meeting room. Several members of the Justice League had already arrived and were standing around a broken table with a giant wormhole hanging up at the ceiling. The dust had just settled before it revealed the figures inside of it.
