The New Beginning of Project Kr
Chapter 12
A storm had come to the island of the Amazons. Lightning flashed across the sky, starting small fires when it struck trees in the dense jungle. The wind howled stirring up the flames and causing the trees to sway in its fury.
"What have you done boy?" Zeus asked with barely suppressed rage. A thin aura of electricity clung to his body and set his pale toga aglow. His pale blue eyes crackled with electricity and his braided white beard swayed in the furious wind that swept across the island.
Connor straightened up.
The wound on his chest slowly grew closed as his body absorbed the sunlight that filtered through the storm clouds that covered the island.
Incredible, Hippolyta thought when she saw Connor's wound close right before her eyes.
She was brought out of her thoughts when Connor spoke.
"I have corrected an injustice."
"You have doomed the world," Zeus snarled.
Connor raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to one side, "How?"
Zeus looked at him incredulously and gestured to Hades, "You have freed my brother. Now he will try to dethrone me and plunge the world into war in the process."
"Who says?" Connor countered.
Zeus blinked at him, "I say," he said is if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "I know my brother," he turned to glare at Hades, "I know he will try to overthrow me."
Connor nodded, "So, you imprisoned your brother on a suspicion," he clapped slowly, "very paranoid aren't you? You sure do live up to your legend."
A dark look crossed Zeus's face and he glared at the young kryptonian, "I am the king of Olympus boy, and I demand your respect."
Connor stepped forward and glared right into Zeus his face, "Respect is earned. So far you have given me no reason to respect you."
Zeus raised his hand and summoned a golden staff topped with a crystal lightning bolt. The staff crackled with electricity as he aimed it at the boy in front of him, "I should kill you for your insolence."
Connor smiled showing his teeth, "Go ahead. Show everyone here that you're just as arrogant and prideful as I believe you to be."
Zeus and Connor glared at each other, the promise of violence hung heavy in the air.
Phoebe and Hippolyta glanced at each other, a silent question passing between them.
What do we do? They wondered, Connor is disrespecting our god, but Zeus did something dishonorable.
Hades stepped forward his ebony armor flashed blue with each bolt of lightning that streaked across the island.
Zeus moved his staff to Hades and Persephone tensed.
Hades raised his hands in a pacifying gesture and kept his face blank. Even though he wanted to tear his brothers had off for his unjust imprisonment. "Brother, I swear on the River Styx that is long as you don't endanger the mortals, or caused the destruction of Olympus with your actions. I will not try to overthrow you."
Thunder boomed at Hades promise and Zeus frowned as he thought over his brothers words.
Persephone step forward and grabbed her husband's hand, "Father, do you honestly think I would allow Hades to overthrow you?"
Zeus winced. He had been so caught up in imprisoning his brother so he could never overthrow him that he forgot that he had accidentally imprisoned his daughter too. Well that's definitely going to make things awkward for the next couple thousand years, he thought.
Zeus slowly shook his head, "No daughter, I don't think you would allow Hades to overthrow me."
Persephone gazed at her father with pleading eyes, "Then please do not imprison us again, please allow us to breathe fresh air and feel the soft grass under our feet."
Zeus thought it over. I have Hades promise that he won't overthrow me, he thought, and I do owe my daughter for imprisoning her. He nodded, "Fine, I won't imprison you."
A wide smile spread across Persephone's face. She leapt forward and wrapped her arms around her father, "Oh, thank you father, thank you."
Zeus tensed then slowly wrapped his arms around his daughter and patted her awkwardly on the back, "Yes, yes, dear you're welcome."
Persephone let her father go and stepped back to her husband's side.
"Well," Zeus began straightening his toga, "why don't we head back to mount Olympus?"
The King and Queen of the underworld nodded.
Hades turned to Connor and offered him his hand, "Thank you for freeing us from our prison."
Connor grasped Hades hand firmly and shook it, "You're welcome."
Persephone step forward and kissed Connor on the cheek, "You are an honorable man, and I hope you find someone worthy of you one day."
Connor lifted his hand to the spot Persephone kissed and blushed, "Thank you Lady Persephone, but I didn't do anything anyone else wouldn't have done."
Persephone shook her head, flashed him one more smile, and then rejoined her husband.
The godly trio vanished in a flash of light, taking the storm that surrounded the island with them.
Connor's shoulders sagged in his head drooped. He would've fallen if Hippolyta wouldn't have caught him.
"Are you all right?" Hippolyta asked.
I'm so glad that didn't happen in front of Zeus, Connor thought to himself. He nodded, "I'm fine. I'm just tired."
Hippolyta turned to Phoebe, "Help me get him to the infirmary."
Phoebe nodded and grabbed Connor's free arm.
With their help, Connor slowly began making his way through the dense jungle. With any luck, he thought to himself, Hippolyta will forget to ask me about my parents.
"So would you rather tell me how you came to be now, or after you're healed?" Hippolyta asked as they walked.
Well so much for that, Connor thought.
PKR
An hour later, Phoebe led a fully healed Connor down a well beaten path through the dense jungle towards a large circular building that overlooked the ocean. His pale white toga flapped about him from the wind that made its way through the trees.
He glanced up at the clear blue sky and watched doves fly through the air, occasionally stopping long enough to rest on a tree or pick up a seed from the ground. It's hard to believe there was a storm raging here an hour ago, he thought to himself.
He was brought out of his thoughts when they reached the marble steps that led up to the circular building.
Connor glanced at his escort, "What is this place?"
Phoebe glanced back at him, her red hair bounced as she climbed the stairs, "This is the throne room, where the Queen meets all new guests." She told him, narrowing her blue eyes.
The boy of steel got the underlying message. So basically, don't screw up or try anything funny, he thought to himself.
They reached the top of the stairs and walked past the thick marble columns that held up the domed roof.
Connor saw more Amazons lining the room with their weapons trained on him. And here I thought they would trust me after I rescued their Queen, he thought.
They stopped before a large square pool that separated the throne from the rest of the room.
Phoebe placed a hand on Connor shoulder and forced him to his knees, Connor could've resisted, but with all of the magical weapons around he thought that would probably be a bad idea.
Phoebe snapped to attention with her hand still on Connor shoulder, "I have brought the prisoner my Queen."
Hippolyta's eyes flashed and she sent Phoebe a hard look, "I told you he was to be treated with respect."
Phoebe shifted nervously and her eyes drifted to the floor, "I apologize my lady, but past experience has taught us that men cannot be trusted."
Hippolyta sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "I agree, but this man journeyed into Tartarus to save me, so how about we give him the benefit of the doubt," she said glancing around the room.
The Amazon grudgingly nodded.
A small smile appeared on Hippolyta's heart-shaped face, "Good, now leave us," she said with a wave of her hand.
The Amazons around the room began to protest loudly, with Phoebe being the loudest of them all, "My lady I must protest."
Hippolyta's light blue eyes hardened and she glared about her, "Do you think I am weak," she asked in a hard voice.
Silence fell throughout the room at the Queen's question. Each Amazon shook her head slowly.
"Then leave now," the Queen ordered.
Each Amazon slowly filed out of the room, but not before giving Connor a glare that promised death if he tried anything.
"Well that was pleasant," Connor said into the silence that followed the Amazons departure.
Hippolyta raised her hand, the silver bracelet around her wrist glinted in the sunlight that filtered in between the columns. She flicked her wrist and thin golden chains shot out of the pool and wrapped around Connor.
Connor cried out as he was dragged into the pool and hoisted into the air.
Hippolytus tucked a strand of her wavy brown hair behind her ear and watched with narrowed eyes is Connor struggle to break the chains.
He looked at Hippolyta with rage filled eyes, "What is the meaning of this?"
Hippolyta relaxed on her throne when she saw that Connor couldn't break the chains, "Those chains, like my daughter's lasso will force you to tell the truth."
Connor tensed and stared out at the ocean. So much for only giving her half-truths, he thought to himself.
"Now," Hippolyta said, placing her hands in her lap and interlocking her fingers, "are you really my grandson?"
At the Queen's question, the chains holding the boy of steel glowed and Connor felt his mouth move on its own, "Yes, I am the son of Wonder Woman and Superman."
How could my daughter not tell me she had a son? Hippolyta thought with a frown. Her light blue eyes narrowed, "Tell me everything."
The chains glowed once more and over the next hour Connor told Hippolyta everything, from waking up in the lab at Cadmus to washing up on Themyscira.
Hippolyta listen to it all with a thoughtful frown on her face, when Connor finished, she waved her hand. The chains withdrew, dropping Connor on to the tile floor of the throne room.
The boy of steel grunted when he hit the ground. Thanks for being so gentle grandma, he thought.
"Your mother would not be happy with you if she knew you erased her memories," Hippolyta said.
Connor opened his mouth to defend his actions, but Hippolyta cut him off, "I know you did it to protect your parents. That's why I'm going to train you in the ways of the Amazon."
"What?" Connor choked out.
Hippolyta nodded, "I was impressed with the way you fought against Hades," she glanced up and down his body, "I'm assuming your mother trained you?"
Connor nodded dumbly, still unable to believe that the Queen of the Amazons was offering to train him.
Hippolyta nodded thoughtfully, "I'm sure had you finished your mother's training you would be a great warrior."
Connor bristled at that statement. I think I've done pretty well thank you very much, he thought to himself.
Hippolyta looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Well, aren't you going to say anything?"
"Why would you train me? I mean I am a man after all."
Hippolyta smiled, "You're right, you are a man, the man who marched into Tartarus to save me and freed Hades from an unjust imprisonment." She stepped down from her throne and walked around the pool to stand before Connor.
She placed both hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eye with a proud smile on her face, "For all that and resisting Persephone's advances," Connor blushed, "I am so very proud of you."
Connor surprised both Hippolyta and himself by wrapping Hippolyta in a hug, "Thank you grandmother, it's a great feeling to know that I've made you proud."
Hippolyta wrapped her arms around Connor and awkwardly patted him on the back. It had been a long time since she had been hugged, and it had been centuries since she had been hugged by a man.
After a few minutes they separated, and Hippolyta smiled, "Now let's begin your training. The sooner we make you stronger, the sooner you can defeat Cadmus and return your parents memories."
Connor paled. That is one conversation I am not looking forward to, he thought.
