The New Justice League: Blood Is Thicker Than Water
Chapter 1: Family Visits
Ares, the God of War, paid the warm sun and shimmering waters surrounding Themsycira no mind as he neared the shoreline. He made no effort to silence the clunking sounds his armor made as he walked. Queen Hippolyta, he was certain, was well aware of his frequent visits but had chosen not to interfere. Most likely because she didn't care-no one on the island cared for the person he was visiting.
"Ares!" was the only warning he received before a small body slammed into him, arms wrapping around his waist. "I missed you," Donna smiled up at him.
Ares chuckled in amusement and returned the hug. "I can see that. Tell me, sister, have you fared well while I was gone?"
Donna shrugged and pulled away so she could re-adjust her white tunic. "It was okay. Nothing exciting happened but Mother says they're going to go on another raid soon."
"Lovely," Ares deadpanned as he rested his arm on her shoulders. "I bring news of our other sister," he said casually.
"Really?" curiosity shone in her blue eyes. "How is Diana doing?"
"It would appear that," Ares forced himself not to break down in laughter as he had earlier, "she has a son."
"What?!" Donna's mouth fell open and she stared at her half-brother in shock. "She has a son?" the thought of her sister having a child was difficult to comprehend let alone a male child.
Even though his helmet covered his face Ares's smile could still be heard as he said, "Oh yes and not only that but he has five fathers, none of whom is Steve Trevor."
"Hera," Donna gasped then looked worriedly at Ares. "Will she kill me for saying her name?"
Ares shook his head. "Despite what your mother would have you believe the gods do not take notice of someone speaking to or about them. If they did then I have no doubt that they would already destroyed humanity."
Donna giggled. She had heard some of the twisted versions of the gods' tales and was certain that her father would not be pleased. "I want to meet my nephew," she decided. "Can you take me to Man's World?"
Ares looked in his sister's large eyes and sighed. "Of course I will but you are aware that Diana will not allow you to return and spread news of her son."
It was a statement, not a question and Donna nodded. "It's alright-there's no one to miss me except for Mother and even she won't care that much."
"As you wish," Ares grabbed Donna's hand and teleported, leaving an empty beach.
In her private chambers Queen Hippolyta started, one hand flying to her chest. "Oh great Athena, I ask you-keep my daughters safe. Let them remain uncorrupted by Man's World so that they can spread our message of peace and love to all others." She hesitated then added, "I pray that, if nothing else, please allow my precious Donna to break free of her curse and give her strength so that she may break the chains of fate that bind her."
"Whatcha doin'?"
Diana looked up to see Billy standing in the doorway, curiosity written all over his face. "I am returning to Themsycira for a short time so that Mother does not worry about me so much," she answered.
"Cool," Billy fully entered her room, eyeing her small bag. "You're not taking a lot," he said doubtfully.
Diana graced him with a smile. "I still have most of my clothes there," she explained. "Besides, most of this is presents-things I thought my Mother and sisters would enjoy."
"I thought you only had one sister."
"While it is true that Donna is my only biological sister living there I count all of the Amazons as my sisters. We are all one family: our bond of sisterhood ties us together and nothing can ever change that."
"Uh-huh," Billy was still looking at her skeptically and she winced when she realized just how corny that sounded. Perhaps she had been spending too much time with Clark. "Can I come?" he asked eagerly.
Diana froze mid-movement and slowly turned her head to look at him once more. "Absolutely not!" horror seeped into her voice, her expression mirroring the sentiment. "It is forbidden for a male to step foot on Themsycira. It was bad enough when Steve crashed on the island-to knowingly bring a man would violate the sanctity of our refuge and the goddess Athena would surely abandon us, if not outright destroy us."
Billy blinked. "Don't you think you're overreacting just a little bit?"
Diana continued speaking as though Billy hadn't said anything. "Not to mention what Mother would say. She would be humiliated beyond belief. No, I simply can't take you-I would never live it down. Besides, it's not like you're my son or anything. I mean, you're not even a real person."
Billy's bottom lip quivered then he turned and fled, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Wonderful," Diana groaned. She and Batman (and Superman-once or twice) had been on the receiving end of more than one lecture concerning Billy's fragile mental state. Apparently spending one's entire life being tortured resulted in mental instability-another weakness of man. She was certain that if Billy had been created as a female then there would be none of this nonsense-no power surges or bursting into tears every few minutes. After all, women had much better control over their emotions then men did after all. Still, she should probably go and see if she could placate him with a gift from Themsycira or something to that effect.
The board meeting was beyond tedious and only years of training kept Mercy Graves from yawing. She stood in the corner, slightly behind Lex, her eyes flickering over each board member, quietly assessing their potential to be a threat. Richard Stack, one of her biggest concerns, was droning on about how napkin rationing was supposed to shave over fifteen thousand dollars every year. Mercy didn't really care and she knew that Lex didn't, if the twitch in his right eye was anything to go by.
It was a bit of a shock when someone's cell phone went off. Everyone jumped and reached for their phones. Mercy glanced at hers and raised an eyebrow when she realized that hers' was the one ringing. The caller id startled her even more and she bit her lip before glancing at Lex who nodded. She left the room, ignoring the irritated grumbles behind her as she closed the door and nodded to Raoul who gave her a thumbs up before entering the conference room.
"Hello?" Mercy waited until she was in Lex's office before answering. If this conversation went south then she would rather deal with the fallout in a private setting.
"Hello, Mercy," even though she knew it was him hearing her father's voice still came as a surprise.
"Why are you calling me?"
There a chuckle on the other end before he said, "That's my girl-always expecting the worst. I'm going to be in Metropolis this afternoon and I was wondering if you would like to have lunch with me."
Mercy stiffened but managed to not break her phone. "I-I don't know. I'd have to check Mr. Luthor's calendar first."
"That's fine-just let me know. Bye."
"Goodbye." Mercy hung up then fell into one of the overly comfortable chairs Lex had for meetings, her mind in a daze. What on Earth was she going to do?
The park that Billy had zetaed to was beautiful but he paid his surroundings no mind as he sat on a bench and wrapped his arms around his legs as he pulled them to his chest. He sniffled, desperately trying to hold the tears back. He knew that she hadn't meant to be cruel, to hurt him that way but she had. He didn't see what was so bad about being a boy-all of the other members of the Justice League were guys too. Batman had said it was an Amazon thing so did that mean everyone she knew thought the same way? He was so caught up on his thoughts that he didn't notice someone coming up behind him until a large shadow fell over him. Billy looked up and let out a loud shriek of terror.
A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this up but I had to read up on Donna Troy first as I don't know that much about her.
If anyone is curious this series will be split into 4 parts. The first part will consist of 12-13 stories that set the stage. The second part will cover the next 20 years that lead up to the inevitable crisis and part three will cover the crisis and it's immediate aftermath while part four is the obligatory 'let's go back in time and fix everything' fic and will also include several side stories that take place in-between parts 3 and 4, afterwards and even maybe a few before everything starts.