Chapter 11

"What do we do now?" Shayera asked once they were back in Watchtower.

The viewscreen in the conference room was dialed in on Atom, Steel, and Flash as they did their best to smooth over the marred and blasted Arctic ice. They worked quickly and efficiently. Steel piled chunks of ice into the pockmarked pits while Flash used speed and friction to soften it to water; letting it fill the hole like a filling. Atom did much the same thing as Wally but used a microwave beam instead. They looked like they would be done in a few hours.

Bruce rubbed a chin. It was good to have Clark and Diana back. Those two were heavy hitters, and their presence would help turn the tide in some of the messes the Five Hundred were busy stirring up. Also, the League had never taken a vote to replace Clark as their leader. Bruce had handled most of those duties, but he was more than glad to give that responsibility back to Kent. When Dinah and Zatana turned to him in expectation, he simply shrugged and nodded to Clark.

Kal unconsciously mimicked Bruce and rubbed his chin. He was still processing everything he'd been told a few minutes earlier by Wally. "What do you think?" he asked Bruce. Likely Wayne already had ideas of what they should be doing.

"First thing is we deal with Desaad," he said.

"Send him back to Apokolips," Dinah said with a smirk. "Imagine how ticked ol' rockface will be when he finds out who betrayed his location."

Zatana grinned. "Would serve the pervert right. What he said about my outfit and what he wanted to do to me was disgusting," she said with a shudder. "Let Darkseid kill him or torture him. It's all the same to me."

"No," Diana said. "If we want him dead, we should do it ourselves, but it shouldn't be for vengeance." She stared Zatana in the eyes. "We don't need someone else to do our dirty work. If Desaad is to be put down, let it be through an agency that can give him an impartial trial first."

Dinah frowned. "That's all fine for pie-in-the-sky foolosophy, but this is the real world…" She winced when she realized what she had just said. "Sorry," she muttered.

Diana gave a tight-lipped smile. "Not a problem," she replied. "And in the real world, even the worst criminals are given a trial first."

Kal nodded. "I agree with Diana," he said, immediately noticing Dinah's eyeroll. He usually agreed with Diana, but it wasn't just because she was his wife. She made sense. However, he'd come to understand that some members felt he might be showing Diana favoritism. Such suspicions needed to be confronted and any problems aired. They had already started compromising the League's cohesion even before Kal's long somnolence in Tezcatlipoca's nightmare. Apparently it was still going on.

Time to lance that particular boil.

"Let's put it all out on the table," he said, holding Dinah's gaze. "Say what you mean to say."

Canary shifted in her seat, uncomfortable at being stared at by Superman. It felt a lot like what she imagined a small fish might feel when eyed by a shark. Big Blue wasn't a ravenous monster, but shit, c'mon, the dude was just a small step down from divinity. The man had stared down Zeus, and while she hadn't been there, Wally had assured her that Zeus had been afraid. Who would want to be on the bad side of that kind of power? And right now, he looked pissed. At her. She really needed to learn to keep her mouth, and in this case, her facial expressions shut. She took a deep breath. "I didn't say anything," she began. "It's only that you and Diana always seem to have one another's back."

Shayera quirked a smile. "They are married, Canary," she began. "It only makes sense."

Dinah frowned, her expression turning mulish. "That's not what I meant," she began. "It's just seems like whenever there's League business, they always take the same side."

"We approach matters in a similar way," Kal said. "It doesn't mean that there's some kind of conspiracy going on."

Zatana shrugged. "Conspiracies aren't what Dinah means, either," she interjected. "What we want to know is this: when Diana says something, here," she gestured around her. "In Watchtower, how do you take her words? As the leader of the League, or as her husband?"

Kal leaned back. Nothing he'd heard so far had surprised him. He also knew that nothing he said would satisfy the two women who faced him with expectant expressions. "Who else feels this way? Bruce?" A shake of the head. "J'onn?"

"I trust you," Manhunter answered.

"Who else then?"

"Atom," Dinah said, reluctantly. "And Steel might but he's…" She shook her head. "He has hero worship when it comes to you two."

"So, it's the members who know me the least well then," Kal said. He looked Dinah in the eye. She was the key to this. "There isn't an answer I can give you that will make you happy. The truth isn't so simple as what you and Zee seem to suspect. I am leader of the League, and I trust all of you and your judgment." He held up a hand. "However, there are those I've worked with longer, and I understand their motivations and fears better than I do others. Naturally, I'm going to listen to them a little more closely."

Zatana snorted. "Like your wife."

Kal nodded. "Yes. But if either of you were paying more attention, you'd see that there are others who I tend to listen to just as much, if not moreso."

"Who?" Dinah challenged. "Because as sure as shit stinks, I can't figure it out. You, Zee?"

Zatana shook her head in negation.

Kal snorted. "Enough. Your fears are going to tear us apart. I won't coddle you or say what you want me to," he said, heat entering his voice. "You've made your concerns known, and now I'm going to give you a challenge: listen to what happens in the meetings and try to actually understand what is going on. It isn't as simple as Diana and I agreeing and over-ruling the judgment of everyone else."

"Why not just tell us?" Canary shot back.

"Because then you wouldn't learn a thing," Kal shot back, leaning forward. "Nor would you necessarily believe me." He smirked. "I'll give you a hint, though." He flicked a glance at Bruce. "Where do you think I would want to send Desaad?"

"New Genesis," Bruce answered without hesitation.

"Why?"
"It's the only planet that you know can give him a fair trial."

"And?"

"It's the only planet where Darkseid can't steal him back," J'onn said, answering for Bruce.

"Is Lex up to speed on what's been going on?" Kal asked. The whole time, he held Dinah's gaze in a challenging stare.

"Yes," Bruce answered.

"You asked his opinion?"

"Actually, Dinah made that call," Bruce answered.

"And he also advised New Genesis, didn't he?" Kal said, more than asked.

Dinah simply nodded.

Bruce smiled. "I think you've made your point, Clark," he said. "And I'm pretty sure, they," he gestured to Dinah and Zatana, who had sunk low into their seats and looked abashed, "have probably figured out what you were getting at."

"What have you learned?" Kal asked Dinah, a more gentle note entering his voice.

Dinah couldn't help but wonder why he kept picking on her. After all, Zatana had thought the same thing. She glanced at her friend who was busy blinking back unshed tears. Zee had a soft spot when it came to being dressed down. Clark shouldn't have made her cry. Dinah's eyes narrowed and she realized something else. Clark couldn't afford to allow them to be weak. She smiled ruefully. A leader's job sucked. So, why was he picking on her? Was he trying to break her? Screw it. Dinah looked into Kal's eyes, showing defiance and steel. "You want more than vengeance," she said. "You want justice. And the only place sure to give Desaad the justice he deserves is New Genesis."

Kal smiled. "Exactly," he said. He settled back in his chair. "There is one other reason." He grinned maliciously.

Bruce chuckled. "You're starting to pick up some very bad habits, Kent."

Dinah glanced between the two of them, trying to understand what they were saying without saying. She was happy to see that Zee looked just as confused. Diana smiled smugly. How in the world could she look hot doing that? Dinah shook her head in irritation. Unfair.

J'onn barked in sudden laughter as realization hit him. "Very bad," he agreed.

Shayera nodded gravely. "Yes, very bad."

Dinah frowned and concentrated on what the quintet were chuckling about. She poured over the words and what it meant for Desaad to go to New Genesis. What did that mean? Why would it make the others so happy? She smiled in understanding. "You're going to let Darkseid know that Desaad betrayed him. Darkseid will wonder what else Desaad might betray and tell Highfather. That'll have old rock face so worried that he won't look to cause trouble on Earth for a very long time. After all, Desaad probably knows everything there is to know about Apokolip's defenses. If Darkseid attacks us, New Gen might use that distraction to destroy Apokolips."

"Right in one," Kal said, feeling like a proud parent. His little girl was growing up so fast. He and the other original members shared a momentary glance of pride. They had all independently come to the conclusion that the foul-mouthed Canary was a natural leader. She might even have what it takes to become the next Leader of the League if something happened to the original trinity founding members. She needed to learn to think like a leader first. She didn't know it, but she was getting training in that arena.

"There is one other thing that Kal has not mentioned," Diana said. "Were we to send Desaad home to Apokolips, he would certainly face torture. I object to that, but that wasn't my only reason for arguing against sending him back. Darkseid is no fool. Mistakes in judgment happen. It wasn't incompetence or a coward's heart that caused Desaad's betrayal. It was deception, something anyone can fall for." She shrugged. "In actuality, what Desaad managed by fleeing with his Master's body and keeping him safe will probably count for much. Desaad will be tortured, but likely only for a short time. After that, he will then regain his former perch at his Master's side, advising him. By sending him to New Genesis, we take away our enemy's most trusted advisor and deprive him of one of his greatest assets."

Dinah grinned in admiration, glancing at the older members. "You guys are sneaky."

Diana nodded acknowledgment. "My mother will be pleased that you think so," she said.

"What happens after we get rid of the perv?" Zatana piped up.

Shayera grimaced. "Then we have to deal with the one who started this whole mess."

"The so-called god named Tezcatlipoca," Kal said, grimly. "Do we have any word on where he might be?"

"No, but there was something odd that happened shortly after you awoke," J'onn said. "Someone activated the key to the Phantom Zone."

Kal frowned. "We're supposed to be the only ones with access to the Zone. Who else could have it?"

J'onn shrugged. "Unknown, although the origination point was within the star system of Apokolips."

"Tezcatlipoca," Bruce said, almost in a hiss.

Diana was puzzled. "What would he think to gain by trapping himself in the Zone?"

J'onn chuckled dryly. "I imagine escape was his main motivation," he said. "He has three very powerful individuals who are extremely unhappy with him. It is likely the only place within the Universe he thought he might be safe would be within the confines of the temporal prison."

"That still doesn't answer how he learned the combination to the key," Bruce said with a frown.

Kal sighed. "He probably got it from me during my nightmare," he said. "Another time," he said to their quizzical expressions.

"He had help," Shayera said. "The Aztec. I've been thinking about it, and from what Wally found, this guy was locked away in some kind of stasis chamber for the past seven hundred years or so. Someone let him out. Had to be another god."

Bruce nodded. "Other than Isis, the only one powerful enough to break the seals of one of those stasis chambers is Zeus."

"I'm confused about that," Dinah said. "What are these chambers and why would these so-called gods lock themselves like that?"

"I can answer the first question," Diana said. "Something happened amongst the gods several thousand years ago. Prior to that time, they had always existed in uneasy peace with one another; the different pantheons steering clear of each other. That all changed and for reasons that aren't clear, they fell to fighting. We haven't ever learned why, but when sanity was restored, many of the gods had died. Those still alive begged Hephaestus to make these chambers so that they could take themselves away from the world. He made them utterly impregnable to all but the most powerful of the gods, such as Zeus and Odin and Isis. Odin, of course, died centuries ago when the Fenrir finally broke free and killed him."

"How many of these chambers were made?" J'onn asked.

"Six," Diana answered. "Only six were made before Hephaestus was killed."

"I think I know why they started fighting," Zatana said. "It might have something to do with an ancient prophecy," she began. "Wally found it when we were looking for whoever did what was done to Diana and Clark." She glanced at her computer pad. "It's vague, but it warns the gods that the barren child of the gods, hidden from the world will step in to the light. She will consume the son and bear it fruit."

They all waited for Zatana to say more but nothing more was forthcoming.

"What the hell kind of goofy shit is that?" Dinah asked with a scowl. "Crazy words like that, and the wusses threw in the towel?"

Shayera snorted in disgust. "Gods are weak and worthless."

Diana frowned. "The gods of Olympus have been a blessing to my people," she disagreed. "Without them, there would be no Themiscyra. I would not be."

"So, they managed to do one thing right," Shayera said. "It doesn't absolve them of everything else they're reputed to have done. The birthing of Ares, for instance, almost negates their help in creating you."

Diana sighed. Why did Shayera always have to bring up her anger at gods? Diana opened her mouth, about to answer angrily, but decided at the last moment to let it be. She and Hawkgirl had had enough arguments about the divine to last a lifetime. Besides which, Diana was finding herself uncomfortably close to thinking of the gods in much the same way as Shayera. It certainly wasn't as intense as what Hawkgirl felt, but Diana wasn't their devoted servant any longer, either. It was only long-standing loyalty that still caused her to want to defend them against Shayera's accusations.

She shook her head. Let the gods defend themselves.

Diana smiled ruefully. "Please allow that I feel slightly differently about them than you. I shall always be grateful for my existence."

Shayera gave her a surprised look, before nodding acknowledgment.

"Zeus," Kal mused. "You think he's still mad that we killed Ares."

Bruce nodded. "Makes sense. And like I said before, only Zeus had the kind of power needed to break a stasis lock."

"Then we'll have to pay a visit to the Lord of Olympus," Kal said.

"You're a fool. I hope you realize that," Hera said as she entered her quarters.

Her husband, Zeus, the powerful and rightfully feared god of thunder, stood outside on the portico and gazed unseeing over a slumbering Olympus. There, the favored few of ancient Greece lived on in an eternal summer, protected and coddled from the ravages of time and death. But also from growth and achievement.

He had once laid claim to a far greater realm, but now this single city, this heavenly abode was all that remained of his domain and dominion. How had he fallen so far? He sensed his wife's approach, but didn't bother to respond to her statement.

It was something he'd heard from her many times before over the centuries.

She came and stood silently next to him, close enough that their arms brushed.

He glanced at her briefly before looking away. All the infidelities; the heartbreak; his callous decisions; his millennia long struggle against the inevitable: it had brought them all to this point. His world was crumbling, but the question that loomed largest was more personal: had he ever brought his wife happiness?

He considered the notion. Minutes passed, but eventually, he nodded to himself. Their years together, though difficult on many occasions, hadn't been devoid of pleasure and love. Many had been the time when they laughed and shouted in joy and splendor.

Back, long ago, after he had first knelt before that strange and large crystal – almost a boulder, really – and had arisen, changed and transformed from mere cave dwelling mortal to immortal god of thunder; when he had travelled the land, seeding it wide and far, he had found Hera, living in the northern wastes, wasting away. In age, she had been a woman, but in appearance, she looked to be a scraggly boy, slim hipped and flat-chested. She had her beautiful raven hair, but little else to recommend her. Even her features had, at best, been plain, though some might argue that she had actually been homely.

But her smile had entranced him. He never understood why, but even now, millennia later, seeing it, he found, brought joy to his heart. And when she had first spoken to him, a young Zeus could have sworn he heard a choir singing. Or music at any rate since truthfully choirs had not yet been invented yet. Hera had come before them, so rightfully, a choir sounding like Hera speaking. And of course, there had been her mind; so witty and bright.

She wasn't comely, but then Zeus had never been one overly burdened with scruples nor was he overly particular. He bedded whoever came his way. They only had to be willing, and Hera had been willing. Most willing. He smiled in remembrance. All that pent up passion, and no man to quench it. So, he had taken her, and promptly left her, expecting to forget Hera as he had already forgotten the dozens of women he had already seeded in his travels.

But, there had been something about her that he had been unable to forget; a singular presence that made all other women, no matter how fair, seem dull and empty in comparison.

So, Zeus went back to her, again and again, until the day dawned when he realized he loved her. And because he loved her, he took her with him to the crystal, lying hidden and still in a cave in the sea. Only with his help was she able to reach it. She stood before it much as he had and was transformed.

The next morning, she walked free of the sea, no longer the plain, or even ugly women she had been, but as proud Hera, queen of the gods. The waters had streamed off of her, and her clothes had clung to her full and beautiful body.

He still remembered how glorious she had looked coming forth, the sun highlighting her from behind, caressing every lush curve. Her change had made her into the object of both a man and god's most carnal desires.

It took five straight days of lovemaking to slake Zeus' overwhelming lust for her.

Over the years, many women had shared Zeus' bed, but always he came back to Hera. None could compare with her splendor. He wasn't so priggish or foolish as to believe that Hera hadn't herself taken lovers in the long years of their marriage. But then again, she too had always come back to Zeus.

They had endured as husband and wife. They had been the rock and mortar upon which Olympus had been built. It had been her genius and cunning and his forcefulness and power that had inspired the ancient Greeks to raise temples in their honor, and in the honor of those the king and queen chose to bring to godhood as well.

They created a pantheon that all the other pantheons dared not challenge.

Without the crystal, none of it would have been possible.

Eventually, though, as all things must, the crystal was destroyed, cracking shortly after Hephaestus had been brought before it. Hephaestus had been granted all of his powers as a god, but the lame boy had never become beautiful like the other members of the pantheon, to his eternal shame and torment.

Still, Zeus and Hera had done well. Had the gods of their pantheon not been strong and powerful? If they had not been overly wise, what of it? Wisdom and intellect were over-rated. In the wars of the ancient world, a strong arm counted for more.

And so, Zeus and Hera, while they might have raged against one time and time again, in the moments that counted, they stood back-to-back and fought off all comers and enemies.

It seemed idyllic until the one called Christ died. It was shortly thereafter that all became madness.

The thought of the Lamb brought a frown of disgust to Zeus' proud brow. What a fool he had been.

"What troubles you now," Hera asked, her voice still eliciting a thrill deep inside Zeus' heart. "You think of times past, I would venture. Always the past," she said. "Always when most troubled, you think of Him. Of what He represents."

"Yes," Zeus said. "He came to Olympus after He had risen from death, do you remember? He offered me salvation." Zeus smacked the railing in anger. "What a fool!"

Hera kept her silence. She knew how brittle her husband's pride could be. He was the first of all gods – despite what Greek myths proclaimed about the titans, there had been no such creatures – and he had long grown inured to the idea of his divine supremacy. The possibility that he stood below another sat very poorly within him. It would be a cold day in the truest Hell before Zeus ever bent knee to another god, no matter how exalted that being claimed to be.

Yes, Hera understood her husband all too well. He was the last of the pantheon kings – Isis didn't count being a woman. Hera hid a smirk at the thought. Even now, in this day and age, her husband never failed to amuse her with his quaint notions. Regardless, he was the last of a very rare and powerful breed, amongst the most powerful beings that had ever walked the Earth.

Although there were now those who challenged that claim.

Others had come forth; changed by the green crystals the Kryptonian had brought with him from his dying world, somewhat like the original gods had been transformed by those other crystals. Humans walked, not yet raised to godhood, but who nevertheless, had powers that rivaled that of the few remaining gods.

And one in particular who might exceed them all.

Beyond that, though, Hera knew of another who had once walked the halls of Olympus; one whose power had been such that even his homicidal crime against the gods had, to this day, gone unpunished. It was not the Christ, though. It was another. This man had a power that far outstripped that of any known god.

A beautiful seeming man named Lucius the Fair.

He had visited Olympus shortly after the Christ. The goddesses had been atwitter at his arrival. Lucius was even more handsome than Paris, but he ignored them all, even Aphrodite in her brazen nakedness. Instead, Lucius had gone after the one goddess no one had ever thought would succumb to a man's lustful entreaties: Artemis. Lucius had succeeded where all others had failed, deflowering the proud virgin goddess upon the altar and within the very temple given over to her purity.

He had then quickly seduced and slept with every other goddess, including Hera. Her face burned as she remembered their embrace. Only Zeus had ever been able to touch her like that.

Olympus had been thrown into upheaval as the goddesses began fighting for the right to bed the man.

Her husband had called forth all the gods to attend to him and had demanded the presence of the man, Lucius, as well.

It was then that the madness of the gods had begun. Lucius made an offer. He had commanded that all the gods in the world should bow before him in obeisance, and in return, Lucius would save them from their doom. Lucius had proferred a prophecy: she will spring forth from the lineage of the gods, and though she be barren, she will bring an end to all gods once she bears the fruit of the last son. He claimed the ability to protect them from the agent of the prophecy.

Zeus had scoffed upon hearing Lucius' words. Her husband had laid hands on the man, preparing to throw him off Mount Olympus, but Lucius would have none of it. He had disdainfully slapped aside Zeus' hands and shoved him to the ground. It was shocking display of power. Lucius wasn't finished, though. Before anyone could prevent it, he had killed Artemis, slicing her throat with just a jagged fingernail.

With that, he had laughed in their faces and disappeared. His last words still rang in Hera's mind: The true Heaven, whence I was the first, is greater in glory than anything thy puny minds can conceive. As am I. As is the lamb.

They never saw him again, but it was his words and his actions that began the madness when pantheon began warring with pantheon.

So, yes, while Hera understood her husband's pride in being, perhaps first and last of his kind, she knew he was a fool. Greater powers than his existed in the Universe.

She had known it the moment the Christ and then Lucius the Fair had walked beneath the marbled columns and halls of Olympus.

It might even be that the Aztec surpassed Zeus. Certainly not in raw power, but in cunning, there were few that were fiercer. And her husband had allied with Tezcatlipoca. Zeus thought she didn't know of it, but very few things slipped past her.

The Aztec was a god who spoke in such a way that all believed him to be saying exactly what they to hear, and more importantly, believe. He was called the Smoky Mirror because he could almost perfectly reflect what a person wished him to be, simply with his words and his posture.

None of it was real. He was the greatest liar ever birthed.

Now, she had to convince her proud and overly stubborn husband to see reason. Alliance with the Aztec would lead to ruin.

"In what way am I a fool on this occasion," Zeus asked finally, turning to his wife. He knew what she would even before she said it.

"The Aztec," she replied.

He silently congratulated himself on his powers of deduction. "Yes," he said.

"What will you do when he comes against us?"

"Why would he?"

She shook her head in disbelief, a slight smirk on her face. All that power Zeus had, but very little cunning. "Why would he not?" she asked. "He made common cause with you in order to overthrow our rule," she said.

Zeus smiled smugly. "I found him to be far less treacherous than Ares."

Hera glanced at Zeus. "Truly? Do you not know of his reputation? Of his abilities to convince one and all of his sincerity. That is his true power: the ability to make any lie seem real."

"I am not so great a dunce as you would believe," Zeus said in a patronizing tone. "He knew what would happen if he had gone against my wishes."

Hera rolled her eyes. "You are so smug in your power," she said. "The lightning is simply a type of power. It is not the ultimate power. You left Tezcatlipoca to rule on Apokolips for several months. Even worse, you allowed him to trap Darkseid within one of the Aztec's nightmares. Did you not think that perhaps Tezcatlipoca could learn the power of the Omega in such a situation?"

Zeus nodded, almost as though he expected, or even desired such an outcome.

Hera frowned, not sure what her husband was thinking. It was troubling. Usually, he was as easy to read as a still pond. She shook her head. Regardless, the fool had stepped in it this time. She wasn't ready to let him off the hook just yet. "You compounded your stupidity by allowing the Aztec to trap Diana and the Kryptonian as well. Diana may be…assuaged, but the Kryptonian will not. How will you answer his complaint? He will not be turned aside," she said. "And do not speak to me of your power. We both know the Kryptonian is a rival." She shrugged. "Besides the lightning is not the most powerful weapon in the Universe. Do you not remember how little damage it did to Lucius, or how utterly ineffectual it was against the lamb?"

Zeus scowled. "That man's name is never to be spoken in my presence," he said.

Hera nodded dismissively, not sure if Zeus meant Lucius or the Lamb. "Certainly, great Lord, but you should consider your options and plan for the worst," she said. "You may have spent the past days brooding over your lost opportunity at vengeance, but the world goes on. The Aztec likely opened the doorway to the Prison; the place where She is held."

Zeus' eyes showed fear. For the first time since Lucius, he showed true fear.

"Ah, so you finally understand," Hera said.

Yes, Zeus understood. He understood far more than his wife gave him credit for. He had never expected the fool Aztec to make such a desperate move. The Warden was fearful. None knew the extent of her power. Zeus finally sighed in infinite sorrow. "We have already lived too long," he said, softly. "I had hoped that this one last act; vengeance for Ares, and we might set aside the burden of life."

Hera glanced at her husband in surprised speculation. Her eyes widened in shocked realization. "You meant for the Aztec to overthrow you," she guessed, unsettled at the revelation.

"Yes," Zeus admitted. "Two can play the game of lies." He shrugged. "I allowed Tezcatlipoca to believe that I had fallen for his lies. In truth, he fell for mine." He shook his head sadly. "If only Ares had even had a modicum of the Aztec's guile. Just think what we could have accomplished."

Hera was too struck by her husband's fatalistic attitude to pay much mind to his words regarding Ares. "What else did you plan?" she demanded, "How long have you felt this way?" she demanded, suddenly realizing how little she might actually know her husband.

"Centuries," he said. "I enjoyed watching mortal man develop in such astonishing and unexpected ways. They put all our puissance and majesty to shame."

Hera rubbed her arms, unsettled and almost feeling vertiginous. "This is most unlike you," Hera noted, sick with the abrupt knowledge that the god she had married more than four millennia prior was suddenly a stranger. "What are you hiding?"

"As I said, we have lived too long," Zeus replied. He gestured to Olympus. "Look upon

our fair city," he said. "It has not changed in eons. It has not grown and become more than what we imagined it to be upon its founding." He shook his head in sorrow. "It is a terrible curse we have given to those who live there."

"They have peace," Hera argued. "They live lives of good fortune."

"Yes. Peace. And yet, what is the worth of this flaccid peace we have given them if they can never grow to become more than they already are. They are frozen. It is a lingering death."

Hera nodded, surprised again at Zeus' insight. "I've felt much the same about Themiscyra," she finally admitted. "I do not think they worship us any longer. At least not as they once did," she said, an undercurrent of bitterness in her voice. "Are we not their gods?"

"Yes," Zeus said, softly. "But it seems the true God has a much more expansive reach."

Hera snapped a look at him. "The true God? What are you speaking about?" she asked. "You have never been one to believe that another might overarch you. You're speaking foolishness. What is the meaning of this?" she demanded.

"Many things," Zeus replied. "I had hoped that Tezcatlipoca would gain the Omega. He would then have the lightning when I gave it to him." At Hera's hiss of shocked disbelief, he chuckled. "I am still furious at the death of Ares, but I am no fool. I wanted to punish your Diana and the Kryptonian, possibly kill them, but I did not want to leave the world undefended against the might of those such as Darkseid." He nodded. "I knew that the rock-faced devil would break free of the Aztec's nightmare, and when he did, if Kal-El and Diana were trapped or dead, I wanted the world to have a protector."

"The Aztec?" Hera asked in disbelief.

"He is cunning and ruthless and a god of war. Just what the world would need should it be deprived of Diana and the Kryptonian."

"Why not you?" Hera asked, feeling as though she were swimming in treacherous and uncertain waters. When had her husband's mind changed so? She would have never conceived that he could have thought in such far reaching terms.

Zeus sighed heavily. "I am tired of this unchanging life," he said. "It had to be him. He still has the vigor for it."

"And yet, Tezcatlipoca may have acted in a way that you have not anticipated," Hera said. "What will you do about him?" She was still in a state of shock. Who would have guessed such deep thoughts swam in her husband's mind? Four thousand years of marriage, and still, he could surprise her.

"What can I do?" Zeus asked. "If he brings forth the Warden, then we are all doomed."

"Ask Diana's friends for help."

"I suppose that is best," Zeus agreed.

Hera smirked. "Who would have predicted that our last hope for salvation lay in the hands of mortals?" she asked, a teasing edge to her voice.

"Our salvation came two thousand years ago. We were simply too stupid and proud to recognize it at the time," Zeus answered. "When I spoke earlier of fools and the Lamb, I was speaking of myself. I should have accepted him then."

"As you say," Hera replied, still in disbelief. Was this how mortals felt when the ground was taken out from under them?

Zeus turned to her. "Contact Diana. Feel her out," he commanded. "Agree to any demands she makes."

"As you wish, my husband," Hera said, bowing and taking her leave.

After she left, Zeus stood in silence and gazed at the night sky. "What will you have of me, my Lord?" Zeus murmured.