The last couple of years had been more than a little challenging for Diana, Queen of Themyscira, and Goddess of War. She had seen the throne of Olympus change occupants several times before her father returned to it. She had ascended to the status of godhood among the Olympians, she'd stood by her friend and lover Kal El also known as Superman, as he died saving the world, and she'd had the veil pulled from her eyes about her sister Amazons, and had not liked what she'd seen.
Now, troubled by the recent imprisonment and then release of Donna Troy who now went by the name Amazon, even after she'd murdered the Sons of Themyscira, Diana knew that she had to find some way to set things right. She could not serve as the Goddess of War, the Queen of the Amazons, and Wonder Woman all at the same time. She had to find a way to give up at least one of the mantles, to lay aside something so that her people and the people of the world would not suffer.
The easiest thing would be to give up Wonder Woman, but she knew the world needed Wonder Woman. What her heart wanted was the return of her mother from the curse of being turned to stone, and what was impossible was to give up the mantle of Goddess of War. That would require her death at the hands of another Olympian, and to be honest, there were none that she trusted with the responsibility. All of this had led her to seek out the advice of another member of the Justice League, someone who was an expert on all things magic.
Zatanna had been able to at least help her distill the problem down to the above three choices. She could not resolve any of them for her. She knew no way of returning the Queen of the Amazons from the shattered clay that she had become. She surely could not become their queen, and she could not find for her a fit replacement as War. Moreover, she was incapable of allowing her to be Wonder Woman while being the other two at the same time. But she had at least given her a direction in which to look.
After the recent unpleasantness that had been wrought upon her, Bruce, and this new, married, Clark, by Mogul and the White Mercy, she'd taken a leave of absence as Wonder Woman. She had things to work out as much as they, and those could no longer wait. And that was what found her here, at the gates of Heliopolis on Mount Othrys, the home of the Titans of old.
She knew as an Olympian, this was truly walking into the stronghold of the enemy, but she had no choice. She hoped that the Titanomachy had been long enough in the past that they would at least hear her out. But after a week, the huge iron gates had refused to open, and the denizens behind it had not even acknowledged that she had knocked.
Finally, on the seventh day, as her hope of finding some answer was dimming, a dark-haired woman of a physical age not unlike her own and surrounded by a flaming nimbus of light and fire appeared over the walls. With her was a similarly adorned young man only slightly younger with blond hair. They both wore long robes and cloaks. Inside of each of these, she could feel the spark of the divine clear and obvious, unmasked unlike her own brothers and sisters on Mount Olympus. They landed outside the gates. The woman was a full titan, powerful, and strong, but as new to her status as Diana was to her own. The young man had the small touch of mortal to him. He was more than a demigod, but not quite a god himself.
"What brings the scion of my cousin, Zeus to the walls of Heliopolis?" the woman asked with a smile.
"Cousin?" Diana asked.
"My father is Hyperion, Zeus is his brother and your father I am told. That makes him my cousin, and you my second cousin, I believe. At least that is the way of the mortals," the woman said with a friendly smile. "I am Alessa, and this is my son Mark."
Diana raised an eyebrow and asked, "Mark. That is hardly a Greek name."
"And Diana is?" Mark asked. "Diana is as Roman as Mark."
"Touche," she replied. Looking at Alessa she said, "I have come here seeking information. I have not come to fight, or to spy, or with any other ulterior motive."
"You come seeking information on one who has broken the gorgon's curse," Alessa said.
Diana was surprised at the woman's knowledge of her quest as she had yet to express it herself. Nodding her raven head, she replied, "I have."
"And you come wearing the insignia of the United States," Alessa said with a smile.
"Is that a problem?" Diana asked her.
Again the woman smiled and dropped her cloak and robes to reveal a costume, although considerably different from her own, but still with the same motif. "Not at all. However, I believe that we should speak."
"I am willing to listen," Diana said firmly.
"Good," Mark replied and walked over to the gate. He touched the side column with his hand, and heat and light flared from it, before the gates faded away. "You show more wisdom than I expected Cousin." Diana got the feeling that he was unimpressed with her, and for some reason that bothered her. The fact that it bothered her was even more troubling.
Alessa shook her head at her son and said, "Please forgive Mark. Our family has recently experienced a very disconcerting setback and he's adjusting to a life in Heliopolis he did not expect to experience for several more centuries."
The young man shook his head and said, "I simply don't understand how her reality can shrug off these kinds of events when ours couldn't."
"Because her reality has not experienced them, Mark. You forget. No matter how powerful your grandfather, or any of the others are, their might is still is a shadow of that of the Omniverse's Patrons."
"I don't understand," Diana said.
"That is why you are here, Diana of Themyscira. And it is why I have been sent to aid you. My father holds no grudges against the Olympians as long as they do not seek to imprison the Titans again. He hopes that by offering the new Goddess of War aid in her quest, that his brothers and sisters on the other side of the Titanomachy will come to peace as well." She smiled and said, "I find it ironic that the first of the Olympians to come to us in peace is the Goddess of War."
"And what role do you play among the Titans?" Diana asked.
"The reason she has been sent to you," Mark said. "My mother has ascended to the role of Titan of Heroes. I believe that is a title that has been applied to you. That is why she is playing Mentor to your Telemachus."
"Telemachus was trying to save his mother," Diana said.
"And you are trying to save yours," Alessa replied.
"Yes," Diana agreed as she followed them into the marbled city of Heliopolis. She was surprised at how many mortals walked the streets, and how many modern conveniences seemed to have crept into the world.
"Your city is much different from Olympus," she said. "You surprise me."
"Sometimes one must lose before one can learn from one's mistakes. My father is a wise man. He has told me many things of the Omniverse, and has suggested that I share them with you." She turned to Diana and asked, "You can fly?"
Diana nodded and said, "Yes."
"Then follow us," the woman told her as she took to the air. The young man dropped his cloak to reveal a white and blue costume much like her friends in the League might wear, and joined his mother.
Flying across the city, Diana saw great wonders of science, art, and even technology. Heliopolis was not the static power-filled halls of Olympus. It was a thriving, growing city where the mortal and the divine lived side by side in a harmony that surprised Diana to find outside of Themyscira. Then she remembered the events on her home with the Sons of Themyscira and realized that that peace and harmony had been a sham. The Amazonian ideals of justice, sisterhood, and peace had been a poorly constructed facade that had disguised rape, murder, and attempted infanticide. The thought brought to her a sadness that weighed heavily on her heart. Diana had lost much of her innocence over the past few years, and she fought to keep it from making her jaded.
Finally, reaching a section of the city that was constructed of huge white marble estates with well-cared for lawns, fountains, and wind chimes some of which defied the laws of physics, the trio landed in one of the courtyards. Alessa smiled and said, "Welcome to my home."
"Thank you," Diana told her as she touched down and felt the pull of gravity on her once more.
"Can you genuinely help me find a cure for my mother?"
"Mark, why don't you go and ask Alcestis to prepare some afternoon refreshments for us. Then please join us again," Alessa said.
When the young man turned to leave, Alessa replied, "I think I might be able to put your feet on the right path. It won't be easy, and the price may eventually be high. From what I've come to understand you seek someone to first repair the damage of your mother's crumbled statue, and then break the curse that turned her into it in the first place." She stopped and said, "But first, let me express my condolences on your recent losses." She turned to look at the retreating form of her son and said, "Mark and I understand great losses."
"How do you know this?" Diana asked.
"Because you are on a hero's quest," Alessa said. "That makes it my job to know."
Still unsure of her surroundings, or even of reality, Diana simply nodded. Heliopolis was nothing like she was expecting. She had expected it to be on a physically larger scale than Olympus, but instead it was much more like a mortal city—with an infusion of technology that she' would never have guessed.
"And you know someone who has done this?" she asked.
"I know of someone. But as I said, the price of that information is likely to be high, possibly higher than you are willing to pay," the woman told her calmly. There was a sadness in her eyes that cut Diana to the core. This woman had known loss not unlike her own.
"I understand," Diana replied. "But I cannot continue holding three different roles that are in conflict with each other." She sighed and then added, "And technically, it is not the gorgon's curse but one lain on my mother by Hera for daring to have an affair with my father. Even she was unable to remove it."
Alessa nodded and said, "Such is my Aunt's way. She never seems to be able to let go of her anger. Granted, much of it directed toward her husband is justified, but she takes things too far by attacking the women he seduces and their children."
"She is after all the goddess of marriage," Diana said sadly. "My father's indiscretions make a mockery of that role." Yes, she was angry at Hera, but she could not bring herself to hate the goddess who'd been a patron of Themyscira from the beginning.
Alessa nodded and said, "Then there are some things you need to know."
"Such as?" Diana asked with far more patience than she felt.
"I am sure that you are aware of the existence of the multiverse. The very fact that Olympus, Heliopolis, Tartarus, and such all exist, and that you have traveled to them tells me that much."
"I am aware," Diana said. "I am also aware of parallel realities with fifty-two separate Earths from ours."
Alessa nodded and said, "That is the multiverse as you know it." Offering Diana a seat in the shade next to a fountain that flowed sideways along the garden wall, she continued, "But what you may not know is that there are far more than just one multiverse."
"Please explain," Diana said falling into the learning mode she'd learned as a young girl among the Amazons.
Alessa smiled and said, "Let us wait for Mark's return. I think he may have some insights you may find valuable."
Remembering the young man's eyes, Diana said, "I do not think that he likes me very much."
"It's not you that he dislikes. It's the fact that you wear the symbols of a country you do not represent. He feels that you dishonor both Themyscira and the United States by doing so." She frowned and said, "And to be honest, he has heard of the fate of the Sons of Themyscira and is very unhappy with the rape and murder of men on the seas, and then the murder of those who were taken in by Hephaestus. He has a soft spot in his heart for that particular Olympian."
"I don't understand," Diana said.
Alessa leaned back, and seemed to be considering how to answer when the young man in question entered the courtyard and snorted, "So much for the Wisdom of Athena."
Alessa jerked her head toward her son and said, "Mark, mind your manners."
He bowed his head and said, "As my mother wishes. If you would prefer I leave?"
"No, not at all," Diana quickly said. "I am curious as to what I might be missing."
The young man nearly rolled his eyes before looking at his mother seemingly to be asking permission. The other woman nodded her head and said, "Look closely at my mother. You are analogs of each other. You each are the daughter of the ruler of your divine kin. You each were sent into the outside world, outside of the safe haven of your homes to help mankind in their hour of need. You have earned the mantle of true godhood through word and deed, but you are but a dark reflection of her."
"Dark reflection?" Diana asked surprised.
Looking again at his mother and then to Diana, he said, "Dark. For a goddess you do not recognize loyalty and friendship when it is offered by anyone other than another woman. I see it as a reflection of your twisted upbringing on an island of rapists and women who would murder their own children."
Diana felt her fists clench at her sides, but remained seated. She'd come here seeking help, her temper would do her no good at this time. And his accusations were not without their merits. "Exactly what do you speak of?" she asked.
He shook his head and said, "It is not important. Perhaps it is a mystery you may discover on your quest." He stopped and said, "I honestly hope you do. My mother and I have lost our outside world, but perhaps you won't lose yours."
"This is the third time you've spoken of loss," Diana looked back to Alessa. Taking a moment to study her again, she could see the resemblance. Yes they were distantly related, second cousins at best, but there was an analogous symmetry between them that she had not before noticed.
Alessa nodded and said, "Mark and I have only recently returned to the safety of Heliopolis. Like Olympus, this city, this mountain, sits on a nexus point of realities, touching many Earths. Some are more easily reached than others. The reality to which I was sent to aid mankind was very far away from this small cluster of realities. The Earth where Mark was born was recently destroyed by forces far more powerful than even we gods."
"You mean like Darkseid?" Diana asked.
Mark scoffed and replied, "Darkseid is but an annoyance to these beings. Should he threaten an Earth under their protection he would be as easily wiped out of existence as you would swat a fly." Taking a deep breath, the young man said, "Perhaps we should start with some basic information for you. I'm afraid that your new status among the gods may not have made some facts of reality, or realities as it were, clear to you."
Diana was unsure if the young man was being belligerent or not. She held her own temper and said, "Please explain." She was very proud of the fact that she kept out of her voice the edge of anger she was beginning to feel.
The young man smiled at her and said, "Neither the gods, nor even the Titans created the universe, nor even the Earths. To the contrary, it is the other way around. The omniverse created the various universes. It then created the First, the Titans. From the Titans descended the gods. The Titans and the Gods then spread out over all realities and began to shape parts of it to their will. This is true of our people, it is true of other gods as well. First came the giants, then the gods. Each of the gods created their peoples, using the elements of the world to forge them, but using a template upon which they all agreed. Some used metals of the Earth, some used wood, and some used the raw red clay." He smirked, "It took your father five times to get it right. I have heard it said that it is because he refused to read the instruction manual."
Diana couldn't help but smile at that comment. Her father did have a reputation of not being willing to listen to the advice of others. "I've been called clay before."
The blond young man raised an eyebrow and said, "Actually, there I was referring to the Christian legend of Adam being made from the red clay of the Earth. It was not meant as an insult." Diana had no idea how easily his tone, his attitude could flash from contempt to contrition.
Diana nodded and said, "I have never been under the delusion that my father nor any other god created the Earth, or the universe."
Mark smiled and said, "Good. That's a start. But you have to realize that the Omniverse, the combination of all the multiverses in all of creation, has its own servants, and they are as powerful as any of the gods." He stopped and looked at first his mother and then Diana. "You both are new to your status as gods, and haven't quite come to understand all the nuances of what it means."
"And you do?" his mother asked raising an eyebrow.
Mark smiled and said, "Like I've told you before, Grandfather and I speak a great deal, on a great many subjects. I may not have your power, but I think I understand it far better than either of you do."
"So the child teaches the parent?" Diana asked with a smile.
"I've learned that sometimes out of the mouths of babes can come the wisdom of the gods," he told her. "Now do you wish to hear what I'm trying to say?"
"Go ahead," Diana told him.
Looking at her, he said, "You are now your Earth's holder of the Greek divine mantle of War. But you are not yet fully aware of what that means. The only way you can lose that mantle is to be killed by another being from your same blood line. And your world, the world on which Themyscira sits, is both your power-base and your weakness. You can die in any other reality, but you will always reform on that Earth. If you die there, however, you will die forever." He smiled and said, "Like I told you, it is your weakness and your strength."
Diana turned to Alessa and asked, "And your Earth?"
"Destroyed by a being of immense power who wished to see obliterated, any Earth with powers beyond mortal. But I was born here in Heliopolis, so this is from where I draw my strength. Mark was born on that other world. That means he will never be able to ascend any farther than he already has." She smiled at her son, took his hand and said, "And I know that thought bothers him."
The young man shrugged and replied, "I will learn to cope." Again Diana was surprised at how swift his emotions could change. "I have family I can visit and that always helps."
"Please continue," Diana said.
He sighed and seemed to gather his thoughts. "One thing that neither of you yet know that you can do is to project a portion of your power into other realities."
"And you do?" Alessa asked.
"Grandfather taught me, but as you pointed out, I have not fully ascended so the process is extremely tiring for me. For my Mother and our guest, it should be ridiculously easy," he told them.
"Are you making fun?" Alessa asked.
He snorted bitterly and said, "Only at myself." Then turning to Diana, he said, "And this is a skill, that you will have to master before you can fulfill your quest."
"Why?' Diana asked.
"Because you need to go to a world you may not visit as a goddess. You are forbidden by the Patrons of the Omniverse to go there in any form other than an avatar."
"A manifestation of my will of considerably less power than my true form?" Diana asked remembering her lessons as a child about the nature of the Patrons of Themyscira. "Where is this world?"
"I don't know," Mark said.
"Then how can you help me?" Diana asked.
"First off, we don't know where it is, but we know someone who does. But you are going to have to convince him to tell you. And to do that, you're going to have to go and ask him, and that means you will have to leave this cluster of fifty-two parallel Earths and venture a bit further along the web of the omniverse."
"Exactly what am I looking for?" Diana asked.
The two Titans looked at each other and finally Alessa said, "The children of Selene and Endymion."
"They had fifty daughters," Diana replied. "Which one?"
"Not those," Mark said. Perhaps you have not heard the rest of the tale. I would be surprised if you had. Endymion is your half brother by your father. But that has never stopped Zeus in the past. Eventually, he became as enchanted by Endymion's charms as Selene, but could not win the heart, or in this case, the loins of his own son. When Selene asked as a favor of Zeus that he should make Endymion immortal so that she might always be with him, Zeus in his usual fashion twisted the request. As repayment for standing with the Olympians against her own brothers and sisters, Zeus put Endymion into an eternal sleep so that he would always be preserved for Selene. But if he could not have him, neither would she."
Diana shook her head. She did not doubt this one bit. Zeus had once tried to take her as a lover as well, and had reacted poorly when Diana had rejected him. "So which of their daughters?" Diana asked.
"The tale is yet finished," Alessa said. "One night several decades ago, she stole away with Endymion to a world that fell more under the influence of another group of gods. There she worked to eventually free the sleeping Endymion from Zeus' curse. After years of work, she managed just that, and the two had a short time together. Selene became pregnant once again, and birthed twins, a boy and a girl."
"That seems to be a theme of late," Diana said bitterly thinking of her own missing twin, Jason.
"It does, doesn't it. These twins, Artemis and Apollo, you and Jason," Alessa voiced Diana's thoughts.
Taking a deep breath, Alessa continued, "Eventually, Zeus found out about it and was so enraged that he sent one of the gorgons to destroy the whole family. But Selene had made allies with the old gods who held greater sway in that world, and protected her children. Endymion was the only victim of the gorgon."
Mark picked up the narration, "But being the children of a Titaness, and an Olympian demigod, the twins proved to be more than a match for the gorgon's curse. It took them about fifteen years, but they eventually freed their father, and Selene took him away where they now live quietly and out of the infighting of either the Olympians or the Titans."
"And this place is where?" Diana asked.
Mark shrugged and said, "We don't know. My grandfather is far more willing to make peace with the Olympians than he is with a Titan who stood with is enemies during the Titanomachy. She has never lived here in Heliopolis."
"Do you know how I might be able to find her?" Diana asked. "Or better yet, where I might find her children?"
Again the other two looked at each other. Finally Mark sighed and said, "I know who you can ask. It is an Earth to where you can travel. Actually, it is an Earth you've been to before but don't remember it. Where you met defeat in the most illogical ignoble way I can imagine. How you, the daughter of Zeus could be felled by a lightning bolt thrown by a mortal while in the sky, I have no idea. You weren't even grounded." Diana shook her head, and for a brief instant and African woman with white hair and eyes flashed across her sight before fading away.
Alessa took a deep breath and said, "But to go there is dangerous. Your brother Ares still holds the mantle of War there. If you kill him there, he will return. If he kills you, it will have no effect in your world, but it will keep you from the one to whom you need to speak."
Diana nodded and asked, "And to whom do I need to speak?"
"The thunder god, Thor," Mark said with a mischievous smile. "It is a reality where he likes to go and play."
"Play?" Diana asked.
Mark nodded and said, "Yes. He's convinced the mortals there that the Asgardians are only advanced aliens who were once thought of as gods. He tones down his powers to a fraction of what they are, and plays at being a superhero. He's even allowed himself to appear to be killed on occasion."
"That is just weird," Diana told him.
"The Norse are a strange people. But Selene has made allies with one of the Norse goddesses and one of the Jotuns. Thor can take you to one of them, and they can help you find Selene and her twins."
"But you must be wary. The Earth on which the twins now reside is one where you may only enter as an avatar. You may not go there as the Goddess of War. It has been sealed for reasons involving a war in which you do not wish to embroil yourself," Mark said.
"Hence you will teach me the technique to project an avatar?" Diana asked. The young man nodded and smiled. "And what price do you ask for that service?" she added warily.
"Only that you deliver a message and a package for me," he said.
Alessa suddenly looked at her son in surprise. "What message, and what package, and to whom?" she demanded.
Mark took a deep breath and said, "I think you know to whom, Mother. As for the message and the package, that is my concern."
Diana turned to the other woman and asked, "You are concerned about this?"
Alessa shook her head in resignation and said, "Yes, and no. On our world, Mark had been involved with someone."
"Someone of whom you disapproved," Mark said.
"I hold no animosity toward the Daeoni, Mark. I simply did not desire one as a son or daughter in-law."
"I am confused," Diana said.
Mark pulled from his belt a letter and handed it to Diana. Looking to his mother, he said, "It's a proper good-bye, Mother. Nothing more, nothing less."
"And that round shape in the envelope?" she demanded.
"I am returning the ring xe gave me," Mark said. Then turning to Diana, he said, "When you reach the world with the twins, please give that to Prion Hunter Daire of Feyhold for me. Tell xem..., tell xem..., I'm sorry. For everything." Diana could see hard fought pride shoved down in the young man's eyes with the last request. The Amazonian princess nodded and slid the envelope under her bracer.
"I will see to it," she said looking at Alessa who seemed to be processing what had just happened. It was clear the other woman was not happy with the agreement, but she was going to live with it.
"Now, let's get to your lessons," Mark said. "They should not take long and then I will open the gate to this other Earth for you. From there, you will have to find your own way."