Mistrust

(Note: I am posting this at 2:30am, so my proofreading skills are not quite what they should be. Sorry.  :P  Also, I've also gone back to an earlier chapter and written in the fact that Diana is almost always wearing boots.  She likes boots.)

   "What did you see happen?"
   "I saw a bullet hit my living room window, and ran downstairs to catch up with my friends."
   "And when you got down there, what happened?"
   "I heard gunshots, and saw the others running back inside the building.  We found a safe place to hide and waited for the authorities to arrive."
   "Do you have any idea why these men would've been after you?"
   "No."
   "You're sure about that?"
   "Yes."
   The others gave the police the same story: that they'd run back inside when the gunmen started shooting, and somehow managed to avoid being shot.  None of them had any idea how the car had been crunched, or why the two men were shot dead in their seats.
   Eventually, the police left Bruce's tower, taking the window with the bullet in it. Fortunately, Bruce had several spares, as he was slightly paranoid about windows being broken.  Alfred, being a one-man housekeeping crew, was more than able to change a common household bulletproof window pane.  When he was finished, the Star journalists and Bruce sat back down in the living room.  Alfred shut the blinds, but that didn't help Lois's mood.  "Bruce, are you sure it's safe to be up here?  I mean, they shot right at you while you were sitting here!"
   Bruce kept his tone calm—as calm as Bruce ever got, anyway.  "That window is completely bulletproof.  Unless they fire a missile at us, we'll be safe."
   Lois looked worriedly at the window, then at Bruce. "...can they fire a missile at us?"
   "No."
   Lois realized that Bruce was somewhat annoyed at her questions, and noticed that he wasn't even making eye contact with her—he was staring across the table at Clark, his eyes slightly squinted in a suspicious manner.
   Clark, looking annoyed and angry at Bruce's silent assault, finally responded. "Yes, Bruce?"
Bruce leaned in slightly, his tone being somewhat gravelly as he spat out the words.  "You want to tell me how you punched a two-ton car like it was a tin can?"
   Clark sighed and lowered his head.  He wasn't sure how to explain it all, and he slowly gathered his thoughts.
   The girls weren't bothered in the slightest by what Clark had done.  They were both in a slight state of wonderment, but they didn't share Bruce's suspicion at all.
   Lois just accepted the fact that Clark had done it, and—while she was certainly curious—it didn't matter to her how he'd done it.  Despite her reporter's instinct, she trusted Clark, no matter how apparently indestructible his fists were.  For once in her life, she was simply able to accept something at face value: that Clark was some kind of herculean hero, and that she was forever grateful to him.
Diana had always suspected that something was different about Clark—as though they shared a certain kindred state of being.  She was surprised when Clark had punched the car, but not shocked.  She was excited to hear his explanation.
   As Clark began speaking, the girls leaned in, wide-eyed.  For once, Alfred wasn't busy cleaning the house in the background; he stood near the kitchen, intently watching and listening.  Bruce didn't shift in the slightest, keeping his unblinking stare centered on Clark.
   "I'm... not human."
   Lois was actually surprised.  Diana was intrigued.  Bruce simply said "obviously."
   "I'm from... another planet.  I don't know very much about it, but something went wrong on that world, and my parents sent me here in a spaceship when I was a baby."
   Lois's mouth was hanging open, with her left eyebrow raised in an "are you serious?" expression.
   Bruce was unconvinced and highly sarcastic.  "So, what, you're an interplanetary Moses?  Right."
   Clark was annoyed.  "Bruce, I don't know what other proof you need.  I got into a fistfight with a car and won.  I'm not of this world."
   Although Bruce wanted to be skeptical, he could see that, at the very least, Clark believed what he was saying.  He redirected his anger at Diana.
   "And what are you?  Some kind of amazon warrior?"
   Diana couldn't help but smile a little.  "Yes, actually."
   Lois's eyes went wide. Holy crap! I was right!
   Bruce gave Diana a very serious "WHAT?" face.
   Diana continued. "I'm from an island in the Aegean Sea; my people are indeed the Amazons."
   Bruce decided to humor her.  "So what are you doing here?"
   Diana, unlike Clark, didn't hesitate before declaring her heritage.  "I am Princess Diana of Themyscira, daughter of Queen Hippolyta, and Ambassador of Truth to the world of man."
   Lois was slightly confused. "Wait, hang on, Ambassador of Truth?"
   Diana smiled. "Yes. My charge is to one day become the ambassador to this world; an example to its people.  I've been... gifted with certain abilities, like Clark"—she shot an uncomfortably affectionate smile Clark's way—"and one of those gifts is the ability to seek out truth.  In this world full of deception, I can use that ability to protect others."
   Lois was still giving her a quizzical look. "...how?"
   Diana pulled a long, golden rope from her purse.  It shone like metal, but bent as easily as silken cord.  It was looped at the end.
   "This is the Lasso of Truth.  Under its influence, no man, woman, or god can lie."
   She reached across the table, holding out her hand towards Lois.  Unsure of exactly what was going on, Lois reached her hand back across the table.  Diana gently took Lois's hand, and wrapped the lasso's loop about her wrist.
   She spoke with authority, and a twinkle in her eye. "Lois, how do you feel about Bruce?" The lasso began to glow with a golden-yellow light, and Lois's body went slightly limp under its influence.
   "I... I love him."
   Bruce's eyes went a bit wider with surprise, but he quickly relaxed.  She'd never said that she loved him before, and hearing her say it had a calming effect on him.  Bruce wanted to say that he loved her as well, but his immense pride would never allow for it.
   Clark, seeing Bruce's awkward predicament, tried to change the subject.  "So who were those guys?  Luthor's men?"
   Suddenly remembering that he had a human weapon of mass destruction in his home, Bruce flipped back into aggressor mode.  "Why do you care?! You took the impact of a car; I doubt bullets can harm you!"
   Clark leaned back, his face going grim. He kept his tone calm.  "No, they don't."
   Bruce started yelling. "So what are you even doing here?! What do you care about this city, or anyone in it?! None of this even concerns you! YOU'RE NOT HUMAN!!"
   Although Bruce's opinion held little meaning for Clark, his heart ached.  This was the second time that he had been rejected because of his true nature, despite his most noble efforts.
   Clark slowly stood up.  He walked to the sliding glass door that led to the penthouse's balcony, opened it, and stepped outside.  He slightly turned his head back, as if to say one last thing over his shoulder, but changed his mind.  He looked toward the night sky and floated upwards, away and out of sight.
   Lois looked like she might faint out of awe.
   Diana shot Bruce a look that would have made a lesser man shrink in his seat. "Why are you attacking him?!  I'm not any more human than he is!"
   "You didn't make solid steel bend around your fist like cardboard," Bruce replied.
   Diana stood up, looking down at Bruce with disdain.
   "I could have."
   She walked to the balcony, stopped when she got outside, and turned back towards Bruce.  She, like Clark, lifted off the ground, but stopped in mid-air, hovering just outside the door frame.  Her shimmering lasso hung from her belt, and her silver bracelets shone with the moonlight. With both of her booted feet tipped toward to the ground, she resembled a graceful dancer in flight.  Her eyes, however, burned with the fire of a warrior.  She glared at Bruce for a few seconds longer, as though to send a final silent reproach.  And with that, she flew away.