You guys are fantastic! Thank you so much for your patience - It's paid off this time. I'll explain later, at the end of the chapter. Now, for your edification, and I probably should have mentioned this earlier when this character first appeared, but Rhiannon is pronounced (at least in MY universe) as RHEE-Annin.

WARNING: Some Language (maybe) . . .

"I'm sure they're alright," Batman told Wonder Woman as they moved from the golden gate that marked the entrance to the mountainous home of the gods. They had been standing on the lowest level of a great city, just inside the gate, when the light had faded and they could see again. "The ravens should have flown away the moment we left Themyscira."

"I would return to be sure, but I promised you I would stay with Dick and protect him," she said in return. "My mother and sisters are a force to be reckoned with, however. They will be able to defend themselves against a flock of birds."

He wanted to tell her to go, to make sure, but being surrounded by beings who could turn them into a stand of trees, Batman kept silent. Too much was riding on this meeting, not simply the returning of Dick to normal. If it came down to it, he would raise the boy to adulthood a second time and be grateful for the opportunity to correct the many mistakes he had made the first time through. Although, Dick deserved to have his previous life restored to him, it would mean nothing should they all cease to exist.

Batman sighed. Priorities, he reminded himself. First and foremost, they needed the gods on their side and willing to fight.

They began to make their way through the city nestled amidst the jagged mountain peaks, traveling past brilliant white buildings, lush parks with shimmering lakes, streams, and ponds. It was much larger than he had imagined it to be. Peaceful and beautiful, he wondered, would Olympus be safe in this interstitial space between earth and the universe or would it too be destroyed?

He felt Diana's eyes on him, pulling him from his thoughts.

"You understand why I didn't bring it up, don't you?" she asked him.

"The Lasso?" he clarified, although he knew what she was talking about.

"Yes. To try to deny the truth, even making the choice to not answer a question under the influence of the Lasso, would bring discomfort that would increase in strength until the truth is given," she explained. "I do not know how powerful this Gray Woman is, but if she is indeed a goddess, Dick would have suffered as the magics of the lasso and her power warred against one another."

"Discomfort?"

"Pain," she clarified.

As much as he wanted Dick returned to normal, Bruce didn't want him to have to suffer needlessly. As an adult, Bruce knew that Dick would have willingly chosen to risk it, but he wasn't grown man at the moment. As a child, the boy wouldn't be able to understand well enough to make such a decision for himself . . . And, he shouldn't have to, not if there was another, less traumatic, method they could try. That was his hope anyway, the reason he allowed Diana to sway him into bringing the boy with them.

"While the method the gods use to return his memories could still prove uncomfortable, the process should be gentler for him."

He grunted in approval. "I appreciate that you have given this so much thought. I'd prefer it we do this without hurting him."

"But, not if it endangered the universe?" She asked. She had never seen Batman so protective as he was since this change happened, not even when the boy had first become Robin, so many years ago.

"Dick verses the fate of the universe, Diana," he murmured. "I pray that it won't come to that. I would rather not make that choice."

She pointed to the tall, pillared building that sat at the uppermost peak of the mountain. "There is where we are going," she said. "The path leading to it is long and winding."

Batman scooped Dick up and put him on his shoulders as he picked up the pace. Any objections the child might have made were quickly replaced with giggles. Of course, Dick would enjoy the height.

"Hurry, Hippo!" he called down to the pup. The dog was continuously distracted by the vast array of new smells but would bound after them at the first gentle tug on her leash.

"I was hoping we could be back in Gotham by morning, but I don't see how at this point."

"I could carry you both again and fly there," Wonder Woman offered. "It would be a little trickier with the dog, but possible." Batman's answering grimace made her grin. "No worries, Bruce. I won't do that to you again," she laughed. "Time works differently here. With Hermes help, we should arrive back in Gotham before daybreak, no matter how long this meeting takes."

He grunted in appreciation. Necessity made foregoing his pride on Themyscira easy enough, but here on Olympus, the simple act of being mortal already put him at a disadvantage. If he thought his humiliation would improve their chances in obtaining the gods' help, he would, of course, allow it, but Bruce didn't believe that doing so would sway Zeus and the other gods one way or the other. Their moods were so mercurial that there was no sure way of knowing.

He continued the pace he had set.

Dickie looked around him in awe from his perch, pointing out every new and interesting thing he saw. Wonder Woman led the way up grand marble steps and through courtyards filled with colorful flowers, perfectly manicured trees, and graceful statues honoring Olympus' many and varied occupants. Fountains and pools were plentiful, and the lilting sounds of trickling water filled the air.

Although, it was still night in Gotham and Themyscira, Olympus boasted blue skies and sunshine. The double rainbows overhead was the most brilliant Bruce had ever seen. Olympus appeared to be a place of splendor and tranquility, but Batman knew how easily it could be otherwise. Stories of discontent and wars happening on this sacred mountain filled the pages of mythology. The gods here were an irascible bunch; petulant, quick-tempered, and easily offended. Not for the first time, did Batman wish he had left the boy and his dog behind, despite Diana's many assurances that Dick could be helped.

Olympus, the city, was perched precariously. High upon a large mountain, its base was invisible as they were well above the clouds here. On earth, he, Dick, and the dog would be struggling for breath at this height, but no one from among their party were in any way distressed. Oxygen appeared to be in abundance. As the mountain bearing its name in Greece wasn't near this height, Batman determined them to be in some sort of pocket dimension, linked to earth through the use of magic.

Music could be heard floating in the air around them, graceful notes plucked on a lyre. A voice sang a wordless tune that sounded both familiar and strange, the singer herself was hidden from view. They did catch sight of various personages, however, as they worked their way up to the glistening golden palace balanced on the uppermost peak. He didn't recognize them by sight. Homer hadn't given but the vaguest of descriptions.

The inhabitants ignored them for the most part with only the occasional curious glance in their direction at the giggling child on the shoulders of the brooding, black bat. He looked distinctly out of place amongst the white, gold, and silver of glittering buildings and godly natives. Bats, on the whole, didn't glow.

"Want down," Dick announced the moment the novelty of riding on Batman's shoulders wore off.

"I don't think that would be a good idea, chum," Batman told him. "We still have a long way to go, and I don't want you to get tired or fall behind."

Dickie grinned. "I won't get ti-yard."

"You might," Batman countered.

"He won't get tired here," Diana said over her shoulder. "I told you, Olympus revitalizes you."

"Not helping, Wonder Woman," he sighed. "He's too easily distracted."

"I no de-track-ed," Dick argued. He stopped, frowning. "What detrack-ed?"

"Distrac-TED," Batman corrected. "It means you will run off every time you see something interesting instead of keeping up with Wonder Woman and I."

"Want down," Dick repeated, unimpressed by the argument.

"On one condition," he told the boy. "You have to hold my hand the entire way."

"Oooo-kay." Although, Dickie agreed readily, he didn't look especially happy about it.

Hippo perked up as soon as Batman set the child on his feet. Barking happily, she immediately jumped on the boy. The sound of the child's laughter brought more attention to them than did Batman's dark presence. Smiles were directed in the child's direction.

Batman held out his hand. "Take my hand. You promised," he reminded the boy.

Dick bounced on his feet. "I walk Hippo!" he announced, taking the puppy's leash from Diana.

"I don't think that is a good idea," Batman said. He shook his hand a little to catch the child's attention. "Hand, Dickie, right now."

"Peeeeease? I walk Hippo," Dick whined, ignoring the outstretched hand as he continued to tug gently on the pup's pink leash. "Pease, Bwoose?"

"Plllllease," he automatically corrected. "And, you are to call me Batman when I am wearing the cowl."

Dick's sigh was large and dramatic. "Plllllease, Batman? I walk Hippo."

"You're dropping your L's again," Batman grumbled, but he handed over the leash, looping it around the boy's wrist for extra security. "We're going to need to find you a speech therapist if Zeus is unable to change you back."

"What is a speech therapist?" a melodic voice asked.

Batman straightened abruptly, turning toward a violet-haired woman standing off to the side. She was tall – much taller than both he and Diana as were all of Olympus' denizens – with lovely, dark skin glistening in the sunlight as if it had been coated in diamond dust. It reminded him of the stars in the night sky. He shook his head to rid his mind of such fanciful thoughts. Dark purple eyes gazed at the boy and his puppy curiously.

Diana introduced them. "Batman, this is Urania. She is the muse of astronomy."

He nodded to the young woman. "Astronomy." His wayward thought now made sense.

Diana smiled. "You can tell by the violet hair and eyes," she told him in an amused stage whisper. "Urania and all her sisters share the same distinction."

Urania knelt beside Dick and the dog. "May I pet your puppy?" she asked.

Dick smiled, nodding enthusiastically. "He name Hippo!"

Urania laughingly fended off Hippo's happy kisses. "He? I do believe that your puppy is a girl," she told him.

"Uh huh," Dick nodded distractedly, staring at her. "You eyes peety."

"Peety? Oh, you think I am pretty. Thank you," she smiled graciously. "What's your name, little man?"

"My name am Dickie," the boy said brightly.

"Your name is Dickie," she corrected gently.

Dickie frowned. "Jay-Jay say 'am'."

Urania looked at Batman. "Who is Jay-Jay?"

"Jay-Jay is Jason, the boy's . . . brother. He is home," Batman explained. "The child's language skills aren't well-developed yet, thus the need for a therapist who specializes in speech."

Urania looked thoughtful. "Perhaps, one of my sisters might help with that," she offered. "Euterpe would be the best at it. She could gift him with lyrical speech that would thrill men's souls."

"His ability to sing isn't our most immediate concern," Batman told her.

"That's a most generous offer," Diana inserted. "My companion doesn't mean to appear ungrateful."

"No. Of course not. My apologies," Batman murmured. He needed to stay on these beings' good side, but the gift of song wasn't exactly a pressing need.

"Tis but a small thing to do. Any of my sisters or I could correct his speech," Urania said lightly.

"Would you do this for him?" Diana asked the muse. "The child's command of languages was quite impressive at one time. His memories were stripped from him, however, and with them, most of his vocabulary."

Urania tilted her head curiously at this. She tugged the leash, using it to draw the child close to her. She ran a hand over his head, gazing into his blue eyes for a long moment. Stepping closer, Batman placed a hand protectively on Dick's shoulder should he find it necessary to pull him away from the muse abruptly.

"You are right," Urania announced a moment later. "The words are not in him. He speaks as one much younger than himself."

"We are lucky in that he can communicate with us at all. He was nineteen-years-old a few days ago until he met up with one of your kind," Batman told her. "I brought him here in the hopes that one of the gods here might be able to reverse what was done to him."

"A goddess from an unknown pantheon is responsible for this," Diana explained diplomatically. "We came to discuss this goddess with Zeus and beseech him to have the boy returned to his original form, memories and all."

"You will need my mother for that," Urania murmured.

"Is Mnemosyne available?" Diana asked. "Would she be willing to help us?"

"If I asked her, or if Zeus petitioned her for help, I am certain she would agree," the muse confirmed. "As for returning the child to his previous age, Chronus would be the god to ask . . . or, perhaps Aion, but care must be taken. Both are ancient primordial gods. They do not feel empathy for mortals. Either one of them could as easily decide to change the child into an old man on the cusp of death as to return him to his proper age."

"Couldn't Zeus forbid that?" Batman asked, alarmed.

"He can, but with the ancients, it's still what you might call . . . Um, what was that human term again? Oh yes, a 'crapshoot'. In either case," Urania smiled as she stood back up, "you should see my mother first. If she can return his memories, you will not need my help. I will gather my sisters, regardless. Calliope would be my first choice. She is the muse of poetry and can bless the child with, not only his vocabulary, but an eloquence of words."

"Thank you. If you can bring your mother and sisters to Zeus' palace," Diana told her, "that is where we are headed now."

The muse ran a graceful, bejeweled hand over Dickie's dark head of hair. "You are lucky to have a father who risks so much to help you," she told him. "He must love you very much."

Dickie's hand finally slipped into Batman's own leather-clad one. He looked up at the man in the cowl confused by the term. "What fah-der?"

Batman met the boy's gaze. "It means daddy,"

Dick's bottom lip jutted out. "I no have daddy," he said forlornly.

"Yes," Bruce murmured, making the decision that had been haunting him for the last couple of days, "you do." He squeezed Dick's hand. The child's eyes widened with hopefulness.

If Dick was surprised by his answer, Diana was not.

"Of both you and Jason," he explained to the grinning boy. He met Diana's gaze. "I'll be drawing up the paperwork as soon as we return to Gotham."

Diana raised a curious eyebrow. "Even should Chronus or Aion be able to change him back to his former age?"

Bruce's jaw firmed beneath his cowl. "Even so," he said gruffly. "I should have done this years ago."

"Yes," she agreed. "You should have."

Turning on his heel, he tugged the boy after him. Dick trotted along with him happily. Hippo ran to keep up, barking enthusiastically. As they passed through a quiet section of parkland, Batman released the boy's hand. He could see a fair distance in front of them and knew Dick couldn't disappear on him before he could catch up with him. His lips twitched as the child and his pup ran in circles around each other, barking and laughing joyfully.

"Alas," Diana lamented quietly beside him as they watched the child and his dog frolicking, "I think I will miss him at this age." She looked at Batman, her knowing eyes meeting his opaque lenses. "Won't you?"

He was silent for the time it took them to cross the park. Dickie and Hippo started up yet another set of steps leading to the next city level. The boy turned around and waved.

"Hurry, Bwoose!" he yelled from the top. "Hurry, come see!"

He glanced at Diana, relenting. "Perhaps," he agreed, "just a bit." He called up to the boy, "Dick, stay where I can see you . . ." but Dick and his dog were already gone.

They took the steps two and three at a time as the sounds of splashing reached them.

"Richard John Grayson," Batman growled, taking off after the two escapees, "Get out of that fountain this instant."

Diana laughed.

While the growl might have frightened any of the criminals Batman dealt with on a nightly basis, the little boy understood instinctively that, when the big, black Bat was around, he was safe. Dick squealed in delight as he tried to outrun his father's long-legged stride through the shallow water, the puppy barking madly at the two of them. Batman swept down, scooping the soaking wet boy up and into his arms.

If the Batman smiled or chuckled at the boy's antics, she pretended not to notice. The dangers they were facing were real, and if the man and his son could find a moment of joy in the midst of it, all the better, she decided. Diana had lived nearly two thousand years and knew, even without this latest threat looming over them, that she would certainly outlive her friends.

So, let them laugh while they could.

A short time later, they found the palace of Zeus looming large ahead of them. Diana handed Hippo's leash over, entering first. If the leader of the gods was in a sour mood, she was better prepared to handle it. Batman slowed his footsteps, lowering Dick to the floor as he swept his cape around the boy. At least, until he better understood what they were walking into.

"Stay close to me," Bruce instructed him.

Wide-eyed, Dick leaned into Batman's side, wrapping his arm around the man's leg as his thumb found its way into his mouth. Still wary of strangers, the boy seemed to understand that the giants inside the palace weren't as friendly as the pretty muse he met earlier.

As Diana kneeled before the throne, Batman chose to remain standing near the entrance.

Only vaguely resembling the god that has been rendered in a multitude of statues and paintings, Zeus' hair and beard were more blonde than white, his eyes were a pale blue color, startling in their intensity. He appeared as a man in his prime. Larger than life, Batman guessed him to be well above nine feet in height. Zeus loomed over all who were present. If his power was reflected in his stature, they might actually have a shot at this. Unfortunately, Batman knew well that looks were deceiving, having himself toppled powerful enemies who had towered over him.

"Ah, Diana. How good of you to join us," Zeus greeted as he noticed her. "As beautiful as ever. How is your mother? Did Hippolyta ask after me?"

Diana glanced up from her position. "My mother is as formidable as ever, my lord Zeus," she said diplomatically.

Her eyes flicked over to where Hera, the god's infamously jealous wife, stood. The last thing the Amazons, or anyone needed right now, was another vengeful goddess wreaking havoc. Hera, too, stood head and shoulders over the Amazon and humans in her presence. Her vibrant red hair was swept up in an attractive loose bun and secured with golden twine, and green eyes flashed suspiciously.

Seeming to recall his wife, Zeus turned to the matter at hand. "Did you bring . . .? Ah, yes, I see that you did," he murmured, spying Batman standing near one of the columns. "You do not kneel before us, mortal?"

"Members of the Greek Pantheon are not my gods," Batman explained carefully. He preferred not to offend anyone until after Dick had been helped.

"Whom do you worship, then? Science?"

"Justice," he said carefully. "I prefer to make my own destiny rather than leaving it up to the uncertain mercies of unknown gods with prickly dispositions."

"Batman," Diana hissed in warning.

So much for not offending anyone, he thought with a shrug. But then, Zeus laughed, the sound rumbling like thunder through the throne room.

Amused, Zeus waved them in. "Step forward, Batman. Let us speak to one another about this strange new goddess I've been hearing tales about. She has the world in an uproar?"

Diana stood as Batman entered the throne room, keeping one hand on Dick's shoulder. He would have preferred to have remained closer to the entrance. His preference denied, he searched out potential exits instead.

"The princess said that you have been calling her Gray Woman . . ." Zeus said, looking to Wonder Woman to confirm this. "Tell me, why should we interfere? We haven't meddled in the affairs of men in more than a millennium."

"She is part of a legend called 'The End of All' or 'The End of Everything'," Batman explained. "Have you heard of it?"

"A legend." Zeus scratched his beard. "You disturb me for a rumor? I hardly see the need to get worked up over the likes of a bedtime story."

"You requested my presence, Zeus. You must believe there is more to this legend than a mere rumor. I can vouch for you that this goddess is real. More than eight hundred people have died instantly by her hand," Batman told him. "The power she exudes is terrifying."

Zeus lifted an eyebrow skeptically. "Have you faced her, then? You, who shroud yourself in darkness, have felt this fear?"

Batman clenched his jaw. "What I fear is that she is a threat the Justice League will not be able to defeat alone. We will need the help of another god if we are to have a hope of stopping her."

"And yet, here you stand before me none the worse for wear," Zeus commented as he reached for his goblet.

"What I have discovered is that this goddess, this Gray Woman, moves from dimension to dimension, destroying the universe of each and ending all life therein."

Zeus smirked, wiping mead from his beard with the back of his hand. "We are gods. We have nothing to fear from one such as this."

"So, you will flee then, like the Fae?" Batman asked. He took a calculated risk by insulting the god. "They've been staying ahead of her destruction by jumping dimensions and settling within new universes each time she appears."

Zeus' face darkened with anger and a rumble of thunder moved throughout the palace. Bruce could feel the vibrations through the soles of his boots and the echo of it in his chest. It might have intimidated him had he not experienced Gray Woman's power first. Dick, however, whimpered quietly, tugging at his arm from beneath his cape.

"She come?" he asked softly.

"No. She won't come. Not here," Batman said to comfort him, and prayed he was right.

Zeus frowned, curiosity replacing his anger momentarily. "Who is that? To whom are you speaking, mortal?"

With only a slight hesitation, Batman lifted his cape and drew Dick forward. The boy looked up to him for reassurance.

"You brought a child here?" Hera asked, intrigued for the first time since their arrival. She moved to where they stood, and although she knelt, the goddess still loomed above both Bruce and the toddler.

Batman kept one gloved hand on the boy's shoulder protectively as Dickie wrapped an arm around his leg.

"You eat us?" Dickie asked the giant lady.

If she was surprised by the question, Hera hid it well. "No, darling. I'm afraid we don't do that anymore," she promised him with a smile. "Who are you?"

Shy, Dick leaned closer into Bruce's leg, sticking his thumb into his mouth. "I Dickie," he mumbled around the appendage.

Batman ran a hand over the boy's dark head as he answered what the goddess really wanted to know. "He's my son."

"It was I who suggested he bring the boy to this audience," Diana quickly explained. "You see, the child was a young man until a few days ago when he met with the Gray Woman face-to-face."

"For reasons unknown to us, she transformed him into a child, stripping him of all his memories," Batman inserted. "We brought him here in hopes that you might reverse this and have his memories returned"

"He met her?" another voice interrupted the entreaty. "How is it this boy still lives? Who is this child to the Destroyer that she would leave him breathing when all else falls to dust at her feet?"

The woman, human based upon her size, was followed into the hall by four gods. She wore a brown hooded cloak beneath which was glittering chainmail over a dark-green gown. A sword hilt peeked out, dangling from one hip, and a pair of daggers were tucked into her thick leather belt. She looked as though she had just stepped out of the annals of history and was decked out for war.

Hera stood. "Ares, Artemis," she said, acknowledging the pair of gods who entered wearing their own armor. Her eyes moved to the two bringing up the rear. "Hades, Poseidon, what brings you two to Olympus?"

Ares answered for his uncles. "I invited them here to a council of war."

The thunder rumbled as Zeus rose from his throne, his ennui replaced by a lightning-quick temper. "You assume much, Ares," he growled. "We do not concern ourselves in the affairs of man anymore. Mankind has long since turned its back on us. I would not have us entering into a foolish war on their behalf."

"Even if we do not take part in the affairs of men, the earth is still considered our dominion. Allowing their destruction at the hand of an unknown god would make us appear weak. You would allow others to usurp our place in the cosmos, then?" Ares snapped.

Zeus turned away. "If it is the age of man, let their scientists deal with this."

The woman lowered her hood, revealing sun-kissed skin and long, dark-brown hair held from her face with two braids. Her eyes were so dark as to be black. "More fool are you, then, my lord," she told the thunder god boldly.

"You DARE?" Zeus roared, making Dick jump. Batman lifted the boy up in his arms.

Poseidon stepped forward and raised a hand to calm his brother. "What harm would it do to hear the humans out?"

Barking echoed throughout the marble hall, interrupting the argument. Diana scooped the little black dog up as it growled at the giants in the room.

"Easy, pup," she crooned. "They aren't angry with you."

Artemis found a smile. Having an affinity with animals, she admired the pluck of one so young. "Who is this brave little pup?"

Dick whined, leaning in Diana direction. "Hippo mine!"

"Hippo's fine, Dickie," Batman told the boy. "Diana will keep her safe."

Hades took note of the side drama with interest. "Whatever possessed you to allow a human child here, brother? Going soft, are we?"

Hera sliced a hand through the air. "Enough with this bickering. What the Amazon and the bat person has told us hearkens to what Ares' little druid has been asserting since she arrived here. You might at least hear them out before you dismiss these stories completely."

"I should have banished the priestess the moment she arrived," Zeus lamented. "She's done nothing but make a nuisance of herself with all this talk of war and the gathering of armies."

"Say your piece, priestess," Hades told the woman.

"Yes, speak quick," Ares urged, "ere my father changes his mind."

Artemis smirked while petting the little dog in Diana's arms. "Indeed. We've discovered our father changes his mind as often as any woman might."

"First, I must ask, are you Rhiannon?" Batman held a hand up as he asked his question.

"How do you know of me?" Rhiannon asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"From a mutual acquaintance amongst the Fae," he told her.

"Saileach, yes. I know her. She is called the Creeping Willow . . . Has she been telling tales of me?" her eyes dropped back onto the child. "I hope you were not foolish enough to bargain with her. One taste of the wee one's blood would allow her to track him anywhere in the world, all for the chance to sip more from his veins when the child was alone and unprotected."

"No bargains were struck, but she told of a legend about the end of all," Batman said. "That is why you are here, is it not? Because it is not a legend but truth."

"May I assume, then, that the world still lives?" she asked.

"It does," Diana admitted, drawing the druid's attention. "The goddess left, however, with a promise to return. We came in hopes of entreating the gods here to stand with us in preparation for that day."

"An Amazon," the priestess remarked. "I've heard tales of your kind. We could have used your assistance two thousand years ago when first we faced the goddess."

"We knew nothing about this threat at that time" Diana assured her. "Had we known, we would have joined you on the battlefield."

The druid shrugged. "You would have only died there with the rest of my kinsmen." Frowning, Rhiannon's eyes darting again to the child in Batman's arms. "I cannot see her granting anyone a reprieve, however. You said this child met her?"

"He did, at which time she stole years from his life, took his memories, and left him marked," Batman told her.

"She marked him? For what purpose would she do such things?"

"We don't know. Only that she has plans to return for him," Batman admitted.

"And, destroy the world in the process . . ." Rhiannon snapped. Her sword appeared in his hand. "Perhaps, if she had no reason to return, we might be spared." She lunged forward swinging a longsword with dangerous precision.

Batman reacted instantly, tossing a handful of smoke pellets down, he threw himself and the boy to the side. He curled his body protectively around Dick as they rolled. The druid burst through the smoke even as Diana leapt to confront her. The Amazon's sword blocked the druid's with a loud clash of metal. As Batman came to his feet, he prepared to grapple his boy away should Diana somehow fail to stop the attack, but he was not without his own line of defense.

Suddenly, both women were disarmed. Swords, twice the length of their bodies, were held at their throats to stop the fight. Hermes dropped the women's swords at the base of Zeus' throne a second later. Only then did Ares and Artemis stepped back, releasing the women as they sheathed their own weapons.

"You can have your weapons back only if you sheath them," Ares declared.

Diana walked over to retrieve her sword. "We came in peace, but I will defend my colleague and the child with my life."

Blood dripped from Rhiannon wrist. She pulled the batarang free, dropping it at her feet. "You move fast, demon," she said with unnerving calm.

"When it is necessary," Batman agreed. He slid his grapnel gun back onto his belt.

Rhiannon nodded to the immortals. "For now, it will be as you wish," she told them, tearing a piece from her cloak and wrapping her wrist as she went to retrieve her own weapon.

"What is wrong with you?" Diana snapped at the other woman as she passed. "We are facing extinction and you would risk alienating your best hope for assistance by attacking an innocent?"

"Innocent? He bears her mark!" Rhiannon snarled. "You would betray humanity for the son of devil? How does he know such things?"

"You are out of your mind," Diana declared. "Batman is just as human as you, and his son is just a little boy. We came here for the same reason you did, to petition the gods for their help."

"The child is not just anything," Hera announced, drawing all eyes to her. "The mark he bears, I believe, is a warning."

They turned to where the queen had kneeled next to Batman and the boy. Her husband, Zeus, turned his attention to the child for the first time.

"Yes. I can feel it now," he said. "The mark is a sign of ownership, but by whom, I don't know. I did not recognize it for what it was before as the goddess it represents is foreign to me."

Poseidon glared at the priestess in disapproval. "You would bring your goddess' wrath to Olympus with your foolish actions, druid."

"She is not my goddess," the woman retorted angrily.

Zeus shook his head. "Enough! I grow weary of this drama. Take the child; return to the earth. All of you, go."

Rhiannon fell to her knees, for once, contrite. It had been long since she had dealt with god-like beings. She had forgotten how to be circumspect over the centuries without the daily rituals that made up druid worship. For so long, she had only one to fear, only one who could still make her knees quake at the thought of standing before her, face to face - and it was not these.

"I beg your forgiveness, my lord. Please, I beseech you to reconsider. My own gods have fled before the Destroyer, as have the Tuatha De Danaan. Without the might of the Olympians at our sides, our world - all worlds - end."

She watched the immortals warily. Rhiannon didn't know these gods, couldn't predict how they might react, but with her own pantheon of gods missing or dead, she had no choice but to seek their favor. She couldn't let her quest end like this. She could not fail.

She glanced at the one dressed in black as if he were some kind of bat and the child he held in his arms. Despite her distrust, she knew it was best if she kept them in sight. The boy was important in all this, although she didn't know how. Her memories of their battle with the Gray One more than a millennium ago was as fresh in her mind as if it were yesterday. The blood, the death, the pain – the fear!

No one knew much about the Destroyer, not even Morrigan. Everyone who might have had knowledge of the rogue goddess was dead. Everything she had learned about her came from her time spent in the realm of Faery, but even that source had its limits. The Fae had fled from the coming of the End of All, staying but a few steps ahead of extinction over the course of many eons. They hadn't remained around in any of those universes long enough to learn anything of worth.

Apparently, the druid trap had been the first victory against the goddess in the history of time itself . . . such as it were. Their victory had only been temporary. Morrigan knew this. It was why she had left this dimension on the same eve they finished burying the orb in the metal box. They didn't know when the gray goddess would escape her prison, only that she would.

The spells cast upon that cursed ground had been well enough to keep most of the curious and unwary from discovering the iron box. Rhiannon had only needed to venture from Faery thrice over the centuries. Her judgment on those unlucky souls had been swift and merciless. No whisper of the death that lay beneath the altar within the circle of Rowen trees could ever be allowed to escape.

But, they had apparently been unsuccessful in encouraging forgetfulness amongst the villagers that had survived near the edges of the battle zone. Someone had remembered. Worse! Someone had spoken of it. Obviously, the details had been varnished over throughout the course of the ages, enough so that these last seekers believed the box had held treasure and not the annihilation of their reality.

This was her failure. She should have simply struck them down. Instead, she had allowed her memories of her own people, her home, her own earthly realm to stay her hand. To prevent the obliteration all she had known, Rhiannon had to fashion herself into the form of her enemy and become an instrument of death.

It was the worst sort of irony.

She couldn't complain, however. She had volunteered for this duty. Her eyes flicked again to the boy and his protectors. They were the key to all of this. Now, if only she could solve the puzzle.

REACTIONS?

When I finished this chapter, it was immense. As I might have mentioned before, I had hoped to keep Olympus to just one chapter, but it was just too ridiculously long. (Somewhere around 13,347 or so words, in fact, without my author's notes!) I know some of you like long chapters, but I had to split it up. This one is still a respectably lengthy size. The next will be even longer. The really great news is that they are BOTH finished. I have only a little editing on the newest piece and it will be going up as well - in just a few days!

That's right! TWO CHAPTERS both out within a week of each other. You can expect the thrilling second part on or before this Friday . . .

**Please, don't leave without a review! Let me know what you think of the story so far.