Metropolis

April 11, 18:37 EST

Garfield scooted back several inches as he looked stared down the barrels of the guns before him. One moment he was crouching in the vents listening in on Intergang, the next he was lying on the ground. Exposing himself to the enemy was not how a stealth mission was suppose to go.

Clicks of hammers perked Garfield's ears, the image of a common housefly popped into his mind. As soon as the shooting would start, he'd be impossible to hit.

Sure enough, as the guns went off directly at him, Garfield morphed into a fly. Yet right as he was in the middle of his transformation, Superboy burst through the outer walls of the warehouse.

Conner slipped in between the opposing sides, shielding Beast Boy from the enemy fire. The bullets bounced off of his Conner's skin, but he paid no mind to it. He just had to make sure that Garfield was safe enough to transform.

Only anything would have been more helpful than a fly.

"Seriously? That's what you're going with?" Conner's voice screaming with annoyance.

The small green fly buzzed right at his head, leading him to take that as a yes.

"Well, then you should go meet up with the others," Conner yelled at Garfield. The bullets richocheing off of him getting louder with each passing moment. "Tell them I'll take care of this!"

Garfield fled as Superboy charged into the crowd of thugs before him.

Mount Justice

April 11, 20:23 EST

Batman paced back and forth in front of the four squad members. Bumblebee and Lagoon Boy stood silently, Robin and Beast Boy both had their heads lowered, no doubt in fear of looking the angered Leaguer in the eye. Superboy was the only one who looked as though they stood by their actions. Nightwing stood a few feet away from the group without saying a word, making the younger members of the squad feel like the whole situation was an execution. Batman had yet to decide who would loose their head first. He made that decision however when he stopped in front of the stoic Superboy.

"A simple recon mission," disappointment evident in his tone. "That's become more of a suggestion than an order with this team."

Bumblebee and Superboy smiled a little while Tim swallowed. Batman began his pacing again, to only stop once he had stepped away from the group and was close to Nightwing.

He sighed heavily, "You not only gave away your position, started a fight that endangered the lives of your team members, and to top it off, you let them escape. But given the information that you aquired, I'd say the mission was not a total loss."

Nightwing quickly interjected, "Beast Boy, Robin, and Superboy are excused. Get some food, get some shut eye, and report back here tomorrow."

The three named heroes looked over towards Bumblebee, as she was not named. Pressing the matter any further might have been dangerous as Batman, though given what he wanted, was not pleased about how their mission was carried out. So begrudgingly, the three filed out of the room, leaving their friend behind.

Karen spared no time wondering why she was there, "Sir? Why-"

Batman cut her off, "Intergang will be attacking Themyscira correct?"

"Yes," Karen stated. "But why-"

"The home of the Amazons is strickly forbidden to outsiders. Wonder Woman however has opened up relations between us and her people. Yet men are not allowed to step foot onto the island. You and several other members of the team will go to Themyscira and offer any aid you can to them. Nightwing will remain here and be incharge of comms."

Karen smiled, "When do we leave?" She turned her head to see Dick smiling in return, nodding.

Themyscira

April 11, 21:04 EEST

The jungles of island were a lot less denser than Cassie could have imagined. Instead of being covered in vines, logs, and broken branches, the jungle floor was clean and easy to navigate. Yet it was still thick enough for her not to be spotted by anyone after she escaped from her final trial.

Her failed trial.

Cassie pushed the thought away as she pushed back plants and branches that were in her way. She had no idea where she was going, but she knew she could not go back to the arena. Not that she could find her way back though. Every tree looked like every other, there was no marker or anything to tell Cassie if she was walking around in circles.

Huffing in defeat, she found herself walking over towards a tree that had a decently sized boulder lying down next to it. She was not tired from her walking, but she did want to take a moment to breathe and relax. All her running had gotten her far enough into the jungle that no Amazon could have possibly followed her. Taking a break would not hurt her.

Laying down on the boulder, one knee bent up while the other hung off to the side, Cassie found herself at peace with her surroundings. Closing her eyes, the subtle wind brushing up against the tops of the trees, the distance sounds of birds chirping, and the cooling night air gave her more peace than she had since she arrived on Themyscira. Before she realized it, a smile had started to form on her lips.

The quiet breeze then suddenly picked up around Cassie. The wind howled, trees bent, even leaves were torn from their branches, scraping at the resting girl's skin. It's ferocity almost left cutts on the exposed limbs of her body.

Shooting up, she covered her face, hoping that the wind would die down. Instead, it turned into a near squall. Cassie was afraid that the force of nature would pick her up and carry her away as if she were a piece of paper.

As her fear grew with each passing moment, the strange act in weather became stranger. The leaves that had pelted her mercilessly diverted around her, parting like the Red Sea. The leaves grew innumerous, becoming two thick waves of pure green closing upon the poor girl. They swept past Cassie towards something behind her. She had to conclude that they somehow wanted to to follow.

Now that she had gathered the courage to see where the leaves were flying to, the unforgiving wind died down enough to let Cassie see where she was walking without her long, blonde hair being slapped across her face.

She started to hear the distinct sound of water in the distance. Whatever was waiting for her, it was trying to lead her to the island's cliffs.

Reaching the edges of the jungle, the girl had found herself correct on her assumption. Only two feet separated the jungle from the near 100 foot drop down into the deep water below.

However, the drop was not what caught her attention. Before her stood the beginnings of an elegant staircase, or an outline of one. Instead of typical stone or wooden steps, it was constructed out of a material that reflected the bright moonlight. It looked as though it was invisible, or camouflaged.

"Wonder where these go," Cassie's quietly asked herself.

She tilted her head to look up and see where the staircase led, but the steps only climbed up into the air. Wherever they lead, it was too high and too dark for the naked eye to see.

Reaching out over the open air, Cassie felt around hoping to find a railing attached to the steps. After a moment she was able to find what she was looking for, and get a tight grip around it.

"Only one way to find out," she whispered to herself.

Taking the first step with unease, Cassie climbed the staircase, unsure of her fate.

Mount Olympus

April 11, 21:52 EEST

Cassie found herself walking inside one of the most vast buildings she had ever encountered. She didn't know when she left the staircase that ascended into the air for a gargantuan palace, but an odd sense of familiarity filled her. As if she was safe at home in her bed.

Dozens of towering columns lined the whole way down hall that she stood in, giving off the illusion that the room went on forever. Every inch of the place was carved in pristine white marble. Cassie had to squint her eyes as the general glow of the room was blinding her.

She eventually came across a rather peculiar doorway. Instead of being a monstrous size as befitting the rest of the building, it was sized like an average doorway in her world. The open passage became a siren call to the young girl.

The new room she had stepped into was bathed in even more splendor than the hall outside, as in the dead center of the room sat an unrivaled ivory throne. The seat, though draped with layer upon layer of silks, made Cassie feel that it was the chair of a supreme being.

A deep baritone voice suddenly boomed, "Who dares to enter the great hall of the gods?

Cassie stumbled away from the direction of the terrible voice, but as she could not find any good place to hide, she just jumped back and forth in fear and confusion.

Her moments of uncertainty of what to do left her wide open to be blindsided. A strong burst of wind threw her off of her feet, smacking her backside against the ground.

"Name yourself mortal," the incredible voice cried out. "Or you shall face my wrath."

The blonde quickly got up to her feet, "Cassandra! Cassandra Sandsmark!"

When no other sound came from the one who demanded to know who she was, Cassie decided that she would risk her life and being to look up at the apparent god standing before her. However, no thought of what her reaction to this person came to her mind. Thus, her reaction was unexpected, even to herself.

Every illustration in her children's mythology book ran through her mind as she looked upon the giant in front of her. She took little pieces of each drawing and placed them upon the man to see if they matched; curly white and and beard, long flowing himation covering his body with a chiton hiding underneath, and even the cliche golden wreath sitting upon his brow. In her heart, Cassie knew exactly who this man was. It took every ounce of herself not to burst out laughing and say, "Of course."

Instead, one word slipped from her lips, "Zeus."

The older man said nothing to confirm nor deny the girl's statement. A solemn stare was the only thing that she could read from his face. Much different to anger that spewed from his lips moments before. The almost one hundred foot tall man slowly treaded towards his appropriate throne, without uttering a word.

Only after he was firmly settled into his seat did he speak, "Why are you here, mortal?"

"I have no idea," she spoke truthfully. "I failed my trials with the Amazons and-"

"For what purpose were you on Themyscira?" Zeus queried. His dominating voice echoing off of the stone surrounding him.

Cassie cleared her throat, "Wonder Wo- Diana, thought that I could have superpowers. She wanted to test me to see if I did have any dormant powers.

Zeus's face betrayed no emotion, so when he spoke up in an uninterested monotone voice, it worried Cassie.

"And do you have these...superpowers?"

A silence fell between the two, "No, sir."

The King of the Gods stated steady as a rock while Cassie lowered her head. The memory of her failed test came back to sting her. She could only imagine what the immortal, who just so happened to be her father, was thinking. She must have been a disappointment to him, as history had shown so many of his other children were beyond exceptional. And here she was, a half-mortal hybrid without any powers.

Suddenly, a thought popped into Cassie's mind. Hercules and Perseus, both children of Zeus who received gifts from their noble father and went on to become heroes of antiquity. It might as well been a pipe dream, but she was willing to try.

"Um...Mr. Zeus, sir?" She asked.

This caught the god's attention, "Yes?"

"Could you...um…" all the nerve Cassie had completely left her. "I was wondering if you could...allow me to have superpowers."

Another silence passed.

Cassie realized her request wasn't good enough, "I want to do good you see, I-I want to help Diana-"

"You dare beg of me to grant you a boon of strength?" Zeus's voice staying chillingly calm as he stood up from his throne.

If Cassie didn't already feel like an ant to him, she did then.

She stuttered for a moment, "It doesn't have to be strength."

The god only took one step, as it was exactly how far Cassie was away from him. His imposing stature was not enough to cause Cassie to back down though.

"I don't expect you to do me this favor. Even if you do, I don't want you to do this for me just because I'm your daughter," Cassie's voice rising up to the challenge of not sounding afraid. Yet as she blurted out the word 'daughter', she saw his angry expression waver into one of fear. Only for a moment though. " I want to help Diana in the outside world, and you know I can do it. I bet it takes someone special to get up here in the first place isn't it?"

One of Zeus's eyebrows raised up quizzically at the girl's statement, "You presume much."

Cassie shrugged, "Maybe, but you didn't tell me if I was wrong."

A small chuckle came from the back of Zeus's throat, "Indeed."

With that said, the god strode away from Cassie, ready to leave her in the throne room alone once again.

"I shall consider your request," his voice taking on richly smooth voice. "You may wait here if you wish."

Hours after Zeus had left, Cassie stayed firmly in her spot.

Author's Notes: Hey everyone, hope that you all are feeling well. Finally got this up after going AWOL for a while. Hope it was worth the wait, if not, there is more to come.

You know the drill: comments are welcomed, reviews are loved.

Cheers,

EKG