Battle of the Gods: Chapter 1
(Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. Written for entertainment.)
The Flash leaned over the railing and lurched forward, emptying his breakfast into the choppy sea. He groaned and collapsed into a heap, exhausted from having repeatedly hurled. As he sat there waiting for his stomach to settle, he heard a chuckle and turned around, incredulously. It was Superman.
"Sorry. Was just baffled that you can zoom around the world in seconds without feeling a thing and yet a couple of days on a schooner and you're suffering from motion sickness?"
"At least when I travel, I don't have to rock back and forth this violently," the Flash protested with a groan, throwing his head back in agony.
It was Diana who stepped forward to help him. She knelt by his side and began pouring out a special brew of herbs she had prepared for him. It was a secret recipe that Amazons used on Themyscira and would help settle the stomach. "I'm sorry Flash. This is the only way we can get there. Here drink this. It will help get rid of your queasiness."
"Well couldn't we have at least gotten a more high tech ship, with arcades, a cafeteria and a jacuzzi instead of this old junk?"
Diana sighed as she looked at her masked friend's miserable face. She felt a twinge of guilt. It was because of her that they chose to suffer this discomfort. She poured out the brew for him and held it out as he took sips, cringing at the awful taste.
"This schooner is enchanted, created by Hephaestus for the Spartans. It is the only vessel that can get through these mystical waters, filled with whirlpools and water demons, to reach Mount Olympus. It is our only hope before all is lost."
Her friend looked thoughtful in his discomfort and Diana continued in order to distract him. "You know, Hephaestus may be hideous in appearance but he is undisputedly the best in creating mythical weapons and armors. He even created the armor for the great Achilles in the Trojan war upon the request of his mother Thetis."
That got his interest and his eyes widened as he took longer sips of the vile-tasting brew. "But Hephaestus is a mean sort with a sadistic side to him. He always adds a weakness to his creations that only he knows about. Then he lays back and watches what happens. It's like a sport to him. You know…spot-the-glitch. Poor Achilles found this out too late when the arrow struck his heel."
Flash nodded in interest and wondered aloud. "How do you know so much about this Hephaestus dude?"
Diana laughed and took the empty cup from him, delighted to see that he had finished the concoction. "I doubt he'd take kindly to being referred to as "dude". He is a God afterall."
She rose. "He created my armor." She winked at The Flash who was looking up at her in amazement and headed below-decks.
She returned minutes later and stood at the railing, staring out into the sea, now angry and violent, as if it didn't want them there. The clear blue-green waters crashed powerfully against the sides of their modest vessel and then retreated, only to rise and repeat the cycle. Each time it did, the entire schooner shook with the impact. Her jet black hair whipped about her face as the winds blew relentlessly.
She turned and watched her crew. Each of them was kept busy with different tasks. She smiled then, feeling a bubble of pride rising within her. She was proud to be a part of the justice league and to call these amazing individuals, colleagues and friends. She had explained the situation, the risks involved and the possibility of never being able to return. Not one of them had made any excuses or blinked, for that matter. They proceeded with the planning without her having to ask if they would help. What had she expected anyway? Never would they allow one of their own to go alone and face the possibility of death. If they did meet the end, they would do it together.
She cupped her hands over the eyebrows to shield her eyes from the merciless blazing sun and looked up to see Hawkgirl gracefully circling the ship. Her task was surveillance and from her vast military experience, she could easily detect any form of threat. However, it was obvious that Shayera was having trouble seeing through the watery mist created by the violent waters.
Superman and John were raising the sails and trying their best to keep the tiny ship on track with instructions J'onn delivered to them telepathically from the captain's cabin. They could not see a thing but so far, they did not collide with anything thanks to the impeccable navigation. Who else but the batman to see to the most difficult task? She turned back to Wally, and sighed in relief to see that his face was no longer a hideous shade of green. She left for the captain's cabin to join J'onn and Batman just as J'onn exited to take a break.
She leaned against the door frame, her arms folded as she watched Batman tinker with his high-tech gadgets. The stubborn man! She had told him that his equipments wouldn't work where they were going because it was an enchanted place. Even the sea. Obviously, he didn't take her advice to heart and chose to lug all those expensive stuff along anyway. Now he was having difficulty working it if at all.
"Needs a battery change," he explained as if he knew what she was thinking.
"Sure it does."
He grimaced and changed the batteries anyway.
"Enchanted batteries?"
He ignored the sarcasm.
"I think you're wasting your time."
A beep. Then all the machines lit up. Her eyes widened in surprise as he gave her a fat, cocky smile.
"Think again."
"How?"
He turned his attention to a machine that immediately churned out a map of the area. "Zatanna."
"Oh."
Of course, he had taken her advice. The batman always covered his bases well. She decided that perhaps, she had better let him do what he did best, in his way and left the room. The Flash was now up and about, feeling as good as new.
He was at her side in an instant, rejuvenated. "Do you think he would make me an armor?" Diana laughed at the hopeful look in his face. "I doubt so. He thinks of Greeks as superior and sniffs at outsiders. He believes that his work is too good to be freely bestowed upon mere humans, hence only the Gods are privileged."
He threw her a pained expression and questioned. "But you aren't exactly a Goddess aren't you?" He bit his lip at that and looked at her warily, wondering if he had offended her. Diana wasn't the least bit offended. She smiled at him. "No I'm not a goddess but I was created in the likeness of many gods and goddesses." He gaped at her in wonder.
"No way."
"Way." She grinned at him and rushed to give John a hand with the steering.
"Like what?" he said, at her side instantly again. "I don't like to brag."
The Batman rubbed his chin thoughtfully at the lad's question. "Why do you ask?"
"Curious?"
"Why?"
"Geez, can't a guy be curious? I want to know if I'm working with a real Goddess."
"What difference does it make?"
"Dude….that would be soooooo cool!"
The Batman would have rolled his eyes if he ever did that.
"She isn't officially a Goddess since she was created and not born. But close enough."
"She said she was created in the likeness of other Gods and Goddesses."
"So she was."
Wally was exasperated. How could he be so calm and nonchalant about it? Their colleague was a freaking Goddess!! Or at least close to one. It took him some time to get over the novelty of working with a real Alien! And people thought aliens didn't exist. Pfft! But this was much bigger. All these cool colleagues.
I love my job. He thought with a sigh.
He knew Batman would have the answers. The dude probably already knew everyone's secret identity. And they had only created the league five months ago. He just had to prod. "Like what??"
The Batman would have sighed if he ever did that.
He shook his head and began his litany.
"Six members of the pantheon bestowed special graces on her when she was molded from clay. She was gifted with a hunter's heart and communication with animals by Artemis, superhuman strength by Demeter, flight and speed by Hermes, wisdom and courage by Athena, beauty and love by Aphrodite and oneness with fire by Hestia."
"Wow. That would mean…"
"That would mean that she's superfast, superstrong, supersmart and can kick your ass anytime."
"I'm in love…" The Flash muttered dreamily.
The batman would have groaned if he ever did that.
Diana noticed his newfound devotion immediately. He was looking at her in a daze, a sleepy smile plastered on his lips and chin resting on his open palm. She did groan. She knew now that most women in Man's world were flattered when the men showered attention on them and their undying devotion but she felt terribly awkward and embarrassed by all these displays of affection. Her cheeks heated at his constant admiring gaze. Superman, bless his heart, noticed her discomfort and elbowed Wally in the ribs.
"Owwwwwwwwwwww," he groaned dramatically.
"It was just a little tap."
"A tap for you is like a punch for the rest of us."
"Served you right."
"What did I do?"
Clark leaned close to him and whispered, "You're embarrassing her with all those adoring stares."
Wally looked back at Diana, red as a beet and grinned. "She wants me."
They had barely finished their lunch when the schooner jerked forward with such speed that they were all thrown at different directions. Water started to pour in quickly. Diana rose and extended her hand to both Wally and Shayera who were piled on top of one another.
"I thought this ship was enchanted!!" Wally shouted at Diana above the noise of the raging waters.
"It is!!" Diana shouted back. "Something isn't right."
The ship rocked about throwing them around like puppets until John held them all together in a bubble, thanks to his energy ring. Then it stopped suddenly.
Then mysteriously, the water drained out of the ship by itself. One by One they scrambled above onto the deck and realized that the ship was raised several feet above the sea by a fountain of water. But how?
A large amount of water sprayed the deck and the six leaguers held on to anything they could grasp. Then another large body of water rose up above the schooner, threatening to wash them out completely. But it didn't. A body formed in the waters.
They heard the loud, booming voice clearly as it demanded with great authority.
"Who dares trespass in these enchanted waters?!"
They stood watching the figure in amazement. The water actually spoke to them. Then the figure became clearer. He appeared in a body of water with a crown on his head and carried a trident in his arm. It was a frightening vision.
"Humans?! You must have a death wish for your actions." He boomed, his voice shaking in anger and disbelief.
It was Diana who rose and stood forward to face it. Superman rose too in an instant to reach her side but she waved him away. "Please. Let me handle this."
She turned back to the creature and bowed deeply before speaking loud and clear.
"Lord Poseidon! God of the seas! Forgive us for our impertinence. We are here to help with the war. Hermes sent us the message and requested that we journey to Olympus to aid in the battle."
Poseidon replied incredulously, as if disbelieving her tale. "You want me to believe that the Gods have resorted to recruiting the help of mere humans? How deplorable and degrading!"
Although he sounded outraged, the anger left his voice and that told Diana that he was probably pleased that she had known him and acknowledged his authority. She played on that and spoke up.
"Great God of the seas! I tell you no tales. We will help in anyway we can if you would but take us to Mount Olympus."
Poseidon appeared to be contemplating her request for a long moment. Then he asked curiously.
"Who are you child? You do not appear to be just another human."
Diana took off and raised herself to face him. She bowed again.
"I am Diana, Princess of Themyscira. My mother is Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons."
Understanding dawned upon Poseidon. Of course. The Amazons were created by the Goddesses because they had the desire to form a race of humans who would champion their ideals. Although Zeus, along with his wife Hera and the other male Gods did not care for the idea, it was done anyway.
The five primary Goddesses of the pantheon; Athena, Artemis, Demeter, Hestia and Aphrodite had travelled to the underworld to the well of souls to seek out the tortured souls of women who had been murdered by man's hatred. They drew forth these souls and released them into a Greek lake. The souls mixed with clay in the sea-bed to create the rebirth of these women. The first to emerge from the waters was Hippolyta who then became Queen of the Amazons. This was the daughter of the Amazon Queen.
Although he was one of those against the ridiculous idea of creating these perfect female humans, he was wise enough to realize now that perhaps the idea had borne fruit. He loathed admitting it but the Gods were facing terrible times and things did not bode well. They needed as much help as they could get. What more than from the Amazons! True, they might not be Gods but they were created in their likeness, hence, they had many amazing abilities. Quite possibly, they would not survive the fight but at least it would increase the resistance of the Gods. Let the Amazons do their jobs then, since they were created to champion the Olympian ideals in the first place.
"Who are these Humans then? Only the females were decreed Amazons!"
"These are my friends from Man's world. They are as great warriors as we Amazons and I have asked for their assistance."
Poseidon did not care. One human was as good as another and these humans were definitely not leaving alive from the way things were going.
"And the rest of the Amazons?"
Diana lowered her head at that.
"They should be arriving soon. Hermes has sent the message. The Amazons have sworn fealty to the Gods and Goddesses. They won't desert Mount Olympus in its time of need. I assure you."
Poseidon didn't care to ask why the princess of the Amazons was in contact with humans from Man's World where they have sworn never to set foot on.
"Alright human. I will assume that you are indeed here to help and I will grant your request to take you to Mount Olympus. But heed this, Princess of Themyscira, if you have not told the truth, you and your friends will perish forever."
Diana bowed again. "I thank you for your kindness Great Poseidon."
Then the immensely large figure disappeared into the water and it crashed back down into the sea, taking the schooner with it. The small ship floated rapidly on the water surface as if being carried by invisible hands, until it was set upon land.
They set foot on the sandy shores of the unknown land which glowed with a brilliant golden radiance.
"Wow."
It came from the Flash. They looked up and there it was.
Mount Olympus, glowing golden and perched high in the clouds. It was a magnificent sight to behold.