Darkseid's eyes beamed, and his rays hit Rao on the calf; he smiled pleased with himself as Rao's face distorted in pain.
"Nooo!," screamed Kal outraged, and hit Darkseid with his own heat rays. The dark god did not even wince, and just turned his stone face towards Kal and said:
"Kal-El, don't."
"I helped you, but not to hurt Rao," said Kal as he helped Rao to get up.
"Kal, you are so naïve. Do you really think Rao cares about you? You are just a pawn for him, a mean to an end. Ask him Kal, ask him why he want you to be his heir, and how he left Krypton to die."
"What you are talking about?," asked Kal astonished.
"Don't listen to him Kal," pledged breathlessly Rao, still in pain.
"He doesn't want you to know that Krypton died because of his arrogance. He could save your parents but he chose not to, because of him you are an orphan, a prince without kingdom. You know why you heard those voices? Because he bestowed you with most of his powers, and those were the voices of supplicant kryptonians whom called for him at their late hour, but he refused to listen to their prayers. Tell me Kal, is that a merciful god?"
Kal was bewildered, for the first time since he met Rao, Kal looked at him with ambivalence.
"Quiet!", screamed Rao as he hit Darkseid with his own heat vision rays on the chest. Darkseid took a step back because of the powerful ray, but then the dark god smiled, while subtracting something from his belt, he pushed a bottom and a portal opened in the middle of the air. Kal knew immediately something was wrong, and send one of his beams of thermal rays but it was too late, Darkseid had jump inside the portal, and vanished in the air.
"Why Kal, why did you help him?," Rao rebuked him.
"I could feel his pain and I took pity on him. I thought I was amending a wrong, and I still think I did... the phantom zone is such a cruel place... Is it true what Darkseid said?"
"You do not trust me," said Rao more as an accusation than as a statement.
"I trust you, but you keep hiding many things from me and all I kept hearing from you are vague responses or silence".
"Why should a god prove himself with his subjects," said Rao deeply offended.
"Because a god does not exist without them," mentioned Kal with sadness, and left, he flown directly to the sky deeply disappointed, and drifted away for hours, eventually Rao called him.
"Kal, we need to talk."
"There is no need."
"Perhaps, but I still want to," Rao said imperatively but he spoke with softness, looking directly to Kal into the eyes. "Indeed I choose to remain silent when I should have told you many things. Yes, over the centuries the kryptonians disappointed me and I though it was better to start over again; in the end, when tragedy stroke I decided against it and tried to help, but it was too late, most of them perish."
"So it is true, you decided to let the Krypton die?"
"I did not kill my people," said Rao almost with fury, but his voice remained stern while he kept looking at Kal "You have to understand Darkseid is evil, and dangerous. He will twist the truth and manipulate you in ways you cannot even imagine. He is a god, and remember: even with your powers and lineage you are not one."
"I do not want to be a god," replied Kal with stern.
"Good. Now pack your things, is time for you to get back with your parents, and to Smallvile."
"That's it? I'm dismiss?, " asked Kal with bitterness. Rao always puzzled him, often he appeared warm and even loving, while other times he was indifferent and gave Kal harsh responses. He could not believe that after all the training, sacrifices and long hours, he was discard and tossed away, but he was not going to ask for forgiveness for something he thought was right.
"When I choose an heir I wanted a person who will embody the true spirit of Krypton," said Rao, and he gave Kal a look so penetrating that Clark felt like he could read his soul. "I believe you are more than that, you have all the potential to transcend and bring peace, prosperity and hope to Krypton, but you will do none of that if you stay here. Now that Darkseid knows of your existence and he will not rest until he get you by his side to use you as his pawn. Get ready Kal-El, dark times will come."
Inside the Palace of the Olympus, was the Council Hall where Zeus sat restless on his enormous throne of polished black Egyptian marble, decorated in gold. The mighty god of the Olympians was frustrate, no matter how many oracles he consulted; the prophecy remind the same, a dark god will come to destroy the Olympus, and only three champions will have a slim change against him. Zeus waited for the champions to reveal themselves, however, as the years went by and there where no sign of any of them, he obsessed about the prophecy; he believed Rao had been deceive, and the dark god was someone else, someone more cunning than Darkside and with an ulterior motive: Hades. Zeus sent spies to the realm of the god of the underworld, waiting for an indication that confirm his suspicious, but nothing came out as such, dissatisfied, he urged Apollo everyday to predict when the dark god would come and how the champions would look like.
"Any news?," asked Zeus impatiently, as lately the courtesies were lost on him, he wanted answers even if it meant to put his own son under pressure.
"No," replied Apollo visibly tired.
"Are you losing your powers Apollo?," asked Zeus his voice laced with disdain.
"No, is just that the future is always in motion. My visions change each time but…" Apollo went silent, and he blinked, Zeus knew his son, he only blink when there was something in his visions he did not like.
"Your visions are dark. Did you see our dead?," asked Zeus deadpan.
"Is a possibility, " replied Apollo without conviction.
"Did you see the champions?"
"I saw a glimpse of them, but mostly just shadows. The only thing I could see among the darkness was a shiny symbol, a letter, a W."
"What does that mean?"
"I do not know, I cannot figure it out. It is just something that kept appearing, in all my visions, is the only constant, a silver W, that shines in the dark."
"Leave and call Ares," said Zeus with frustration. Apollo left quickly before the anger his father was trying to hide, exploded. Zeus crossed his arms and waited for the god of war, after a while he appeared in front of him in all his glory. The latest war among the mortals had granted him more power and he looked younger, his skin and armour were glowing, and he had an aura of self-entailment around him. Zeus looked at him and smirked, he did not want any of his sons to become too proud or powerful, because maybe they may get the idea of overruled him.
"You are late," said Zeus scolding.
"Sorry father, the remains of the war among the mortals had kept me busy, but here I am, what can I do for you?"
Zeus looked at Ares with severity; he disliked the cheeky tone of his son.
"You seemed so proud about that war" said Zeus with contempt, and immediately Ares's eyes glow with irritation, "While is just another insignificant fight for power among mortal kingdoms that no one will remember in a couple of years."
"It was not a petty fight, it was a world-wide war that lasted three years and involved all the nations on earth and hundreds of thousands mortal men died."
"Mortal men die all the time, and not all the nations took part in your war, Themyscira did not and neither Oa."
"That is because Hippolyta is a coward, she retreated and as for Oa, there are not neutral, they keep fighting with my allies in a guerrilla war using their army of green lanterns, but I will destroyed them and…"
"I do not care what you do about them. We have more important things to deal with now," interjected Zeus. Ares closed his hands into fist trying to control the boiling frustration and anger he felt.
"What is it?," Ares asked with annoyance.
"The dark god is coming."
"How do you know that?; did my brother see him?"
"Your brother is useless; but Rao left Darkseid escaped, and he insists Darkseid will come back seeking revenge against earth, and that he is the dark god the prophecy mentioned."
"So let's go and kill him before he get to us", said Ares while walking away, but then he saw by the corner of his eyes how his father did not move, so he held still and turned around to faced Zeus "You don't believe he is the dark god."
"No, I don't. He was capture by Rao and spend many years in the phantom zone, by now he should be a weak shell of his former self, I cannot conceive how he could defeat all of us, if he was so easily defeated by Rao."
"Rao spend many years recovering from his fight with him, even now, he is not in the best shape."
"Rao is not an Olympian, he could not stand a fight like us. Darkseid and him had a long story and he choose to believe he was the dark god, a convenient truth for him to settle an old grudge. But I believe the dark god, is someone else, someone more clever that has hidden, waiting for the right moment to attack us."
"Who?"
"Hades"
"Do you have any prove?"
"Not yet. But it does not matter, we need to be ready for when he decides to attack us, as he did before."
"How?, Do you want me to charge against the underworld? Is not that easy and you know that."
"We will defeat him with the champions."
"The champions?!," Ares rolled his eyes and could not repress a snort "We do not even know how they look like."
"Exactly, all I have done these years is waiting for them to revealed themselves. I am tired of waiting. I will make them come forward, and you will help me."
"How?"
"You will organize a championship, a contest for all the greatest warriors on earth, only the best three will survive, and those will be our champions."
"I like the idea. What will be the prize? "
"I will grant the winners their ultimate heart's desire."
Ares arched a brown "That is tricky, what if one of them wanted to conquer the world, or kill us all?"
"I can grant a desire under my own terms. Don't worry about that, just do as I told you."
"Yes, father," replied Ares and started to leave the council hall.
"And Ares…."
"Yes?"
"Make sure Diana of Themyscira takes part in the contest."
It was a bright day at Themyscira, the sun was up in the sky, the waves clashed softly in the near shore and the birds were signing, however, above the sounds of the idyllic paradise island, it could be heard the echo of headed sparring match between two amazons and it was clear the black-haired woman was winning.
"Diana has improved a lot. You are a good teacher," said the god of the underworld to the daemon of combat while he contemplated from a distance how his daughter was fighting fiercely against the red-haired amazon commander of the royal guards, Artemis.
"Thank you my Lord, but she is naturally gifted, she will be a great warrior, worth of legends," replied Polemos full of pride.
"Yes, she will be a great commander of my army," mentioned Hades absentminded.
"Are you planning a war exercise, My Lord?," asked Polemos confused.
"It would not be an exercise," replied seriously the god of the underworld.
"My Lord?," was all Polemos could say, even after all the years he had spent around Hades, the god was still a riddle to him, a mystery in itself, and his answer really caught him by surprise.
"Are you familiar with the prophecy of the dark god? a god who will end the other gods and will rule this world, unless three heroes stop him," said Hades casually strolling down the shores of Themyscira.
Polemos was speechless and simply nodded.
"My brother fears that prophecy. As the years had pass and there is no clue of the three heroes the prophecy mentioned, he has become more anxious and paranoid. Lately he had come to believe Rao was deceive and took down the wrong god, and since I fit the dark god description so well he is starting to get suspicious of me."
"But you have not done nothing wrong my lord," replied Polemos instantly.
"I did defy him once, and that is enough. Besides, now I am more vulnerable than ever, before Diana came into my life, I did not have a weakness per se, now he only needs to threaten my daughter, for me to tremble. I don't like that feeling, I don't like to feel trap," said Hades with fire in his eyes.
"What are you going to do my Lord?"
"I renewed my alliance with Zeus, but that will not put his doubts at rest for long."
"Are you planning to tell Diana about this?."
"No, she is still very young and innocent in the ways of politics and war. But that is why I need you to prepare her, to make her the best warrior in the Olympus, so she could defend herself against any attack at least until she turns eighteen," said Hades with earnest.
"If I may be so bold to ask, what will happen then?"
"She will be able to stay at my realm without any side effects, and I will take her to live with me permanently," said Hades with a satisfied smile.
"Her mother will object to the idea," stated Polemos.
"Perhaps, but she cares deeply about Diana and knows that her army won't stand a chance against Zeus, whereas my army of dead souls will be more suitable to fight him. Besides, is where she belongs as my only heir; not here as an idle Amazon princess. " concluded Hades.
"What if Diana doesn't want to go?," asked Polemos carefully.
A dangerous shadow pass for Hades features and for a moment his face distorted in the face of a demon.
"The decision is not up to her."
"My Lord, why are you so concern about Lord Zeus attacking Diana? She is immortal."
"Polemos do not fool yourself, been immortal does not equal invulnerability, Zeus can hurt Diana without killing her in many ways. I will not take that risk. "
"But my lord, what if the real dark god appears as well as the three heroes? If that happens you will be exonerate of any suspicion and Diana will remain unharmed," Polemos said, he did not want his pupil to live forever in the underworld, he knew it that was not a place for her, her soul would slowly die until she will be nothing but a pale shadow of her former bright self.
"Unlike my brother, I do not believe in prophecies. I believe in making choices and taking the opportunities you are given. If Zeus decides to come after me, he will find me ready for battle with the best warrior on the Olympus by my side: Diana."
"My Lord, the last time you faced your brother was not a pleasant sight, and even as skillful as Diana is, Zeus is a powerful god, "
"As well as I. And I refuse to let him come and threaten me or my daughter as he pleases. Prepare Diana well Polemos, we may face war soon, " said Hades gravely, while he put his helmet on, turning invisible and getting back to his realm.
It was a rare moment for Diana, she usually was surround by a lot of people, tutors, guards, maidens, ever since the Ares' incident she was heavily guarded, even in the nights there were guards outside her door. But now she was alone at the beach and she loved her brief moment of solitude. She sat on her favourite rock, from where she could watch how the waves gently covered the shore, and how the sun got down in a beautiful sunset, while painting the sky with different tones of red, orange and purple. For a moment, she felt happy without a worry in the world. Carefully, she took out from within her tunic, something that she wrapped and hid carefully: a silver pendant with in the shape of a W. She contemplated it, and let her mind recall the moments she lived so long ago, but then, the sound of a horse approaching interrupted her thoughts and in a hurry, she hid the pendant again within her clothes. Soon the slender figure of Artemis appeared in front of her.
"Princess, I just wanted to come and congratulate you, it was a fair fight and you are a rightful victor."
"Thank you Artemis, today the gods smiled at me. It was a great honour to fight you, I feel privilege to be your contender."
"Do not be modest child, you are good, and today you were a better than me, come share a drink with me, we will have a toast in your honour."
Diana smiled and got up, but soon the hidden pendant slipped from within her tunic and felt right between the rocks. Her heart stopped as she saw helplessly how the silver pendant was falling down the rocks, making a tiny cling each time, and then, just before it hit the ocean, the pendant got caught by a sharp rock. It was about to be washed away by the sea when in a swift movement she managed to retrieve it barely holding it from the chain, once she had it again, she sighed with relieve. Artemis did not say a word, she simply observed her. Diana knew in that moment, she may have to answer an array of uncomfortable questions, but what follow next was only silence. Eventually Artemis broke it, delivering the questions Diana feared.
"Why you keep that thing with you?"
"It is a memory of a promise. A token from a dear friend."
"What made him so special? You had plenty of friends here at Themyscira."
"You are my sisters, I love you all and I gladly give my life for you, but Bruce is different. He was the first person of my age I have seen in my whole life; at first when we met, I was terrify, I thought he was a demon! I fought against him with everything I got, and I was ready to blow the death stroke, when I saw he was as scared as I, then I realised I did not want to be a mindless warrior whom strike at innocents without a reason, so I let him go. However, he decided to follow me around, and kept asking me questions in a way nobody ever did, it was annoying. "
"So far he does not seem like a good friend to me."
"Bruce is far from perfect, he is stubborn, arrogant and proud, he really can get out on your nerves, but even with all that, he was sincere and true to me. After our first fight, he treated me with respect and as his equal, he listened to my stories with genuine interest and taught me things because he wanted to share his wonder with me. For him I was simply Diana, not a princess, not a pupil, I was his peer, his friend and I liked it. The last time I saw him he was wounded, because he tried to protect me from Ares; and when his parents died, I wished I was there with him, because I know how much he suffered. Now here I am, powerless to help him even though I know he is still in pain."
" How could you possibly know that?"
"Because I can feel his pain."
Without them knowing Thebe overheard their conversation and decided to contact Ares, whom she rarely saw lately. Thebe knew she was loosing him, and saw the information as an opportunity to talk to him again, however, many days passed before she could met him at their usual hideout.
"My love," Thebe called Ares in a sweet voice; she was dress seductively but he did not even look at her.
"What do you want Thebe?," he replied at her coldly.
"Do I need a reason to see you?"
"I'm busy."
"Yes, I noticed, we have not see each other in almost a year."
"I cannot come and go from Themyscira as I used to."
"I understand, but if I live outside Themyscira, and we could see each other more often."
"No, your place is in that island, is where you belong, is where I need you to be as a reliable ally to keep an eye on the queen and her daughter."
" I have news then, Diana is improving as a warrior, and she is connected to the mortal boy."
"What do you mean they are connected?"
"She can feel how he feels, when he feels it."
"Interesting…"
"You have that look in your eyes, what are you planning?"
"Father is getting restless, years had passed and my stupid brother has been unable to find the champions he needs to destroy a potential treat looming over all of us, my father's paranoia is coming up to a point where he thinks Hades is the one who will try to overruled him. So he is planning a safe against him."
"And how does Diana enter in that plan?"
"Hades loves Diana. However, nowadays is almost impossible to spirited her away from Themyscira, but if she leaves by her own devices, we could hold her ransom and make sure Hades does not try something against us. That is why I need you, to make sure it happens."
"How?"
"I'm organizing a tournament, all the mightiest warriors on earth will participate; but only the best three will win. As usual, I will invite Themyscira to take part on it. If I recall correctly, according to the rules, the Amazons will have a tournament of their own to decide who will be their champion. I need Diana to enter in that tournament, and win."
"That is easy, the girl is already the best warrior among us. However, I doubt her mother will allow her to take part on it."
"I'm sure you will find a way."
E/N: Love to read your comments on the chapter.