Answers to reviewers' questions or statements:

superpierce: Venom's role in this won't be as large as some of Peter's other villains that will show up, but he'll have his own arc and appear in a few others. There are a total of eleven people that have crossed over into this universe from the Pre-Flashpoint time, technically twelve but I'm not sure if Pre-Flashpoint Lois and Clark's son counts so that's why I say technically.

Guest: Yes Kaine knows about the Void, he alluded to it way back in chapter 23 when he was fighting with Peter. He referred to the Void as 'It'.

xGhostSniperx: I may do something like that later on.

Adtr509: Peter and Bruce will both have a role to play though Peter's role is going to be larger then Wayne's this time around. How and why will be slowly revealed over the course of both this story and the sequel leading up to Dark Knights Metal. Peter will go through the whole self-reflection and letting some things go in this story towards the end.

Jaeson Chandler: The Void will have a part to play in that event and it will relish in what will be unleashed.

Spawn Hades: Things by that point won't be so simple.

spiderman1fan: Norman may be from the Pre-Flashpoint era or maybe he's just somehow able to figure out who Spider-man is, we'll find out soon enough. Several of those stories I plan to have updated soon.

superspiderfan: Yeah Hera will begin to change ever so slowly as the story goes and she'll grow to like Peter, maybe a little more than as a friend? I mean it's not like she's married anymore and hey it's Spider-man which is leagues above Zeus in quality. I won't say the girls will be a harem by that point but several women that do happen to be very fond of Peter will be getting into a rather brutal fight later on, right around the time of Trinity War.

Marvedcfan: If this does turn into a harem I may end up adding her. And if it does end up being a harem it'd be a mix of both.

christian a lebron1: Yeah Zola may be getting a bit attached to her fake 'Baby daddy' and can you blame her? He's Spider-man but darker and less responsible. There'll be more interaction between the two this chapter and more later in the story.

90skid4life: He'll meet Barbara and Starfire at some point in this story, but he won't be pursuing any sort of romantic relationship with them, same with Cassandra, they're a bit too young for him, same as Supergirl. Yeah the Void will have a role to play in the Dark Knights Metal storyline.

Darkspyder: I'm thinking of having Peter meet Sif, after meeting Thor. But as for making her a potential love interest for Peter, I'm starting to lean towards it as it does offer up an interesting opportunity for me to explore. No Peter won't be meeting this universe's Mockingbird, I have another blonde-haired Marvel badass for him to meet instead.

gunman: That flashback was the 'Grim Hunt' that's been mentioned and alluded to a few times in the past. It went down a lot darker than what was in the comics and a big part of it had to do with Norman and Rachel being involved. The big guy will be revealed this chapter.

chimera629: Why would Peter know who Wong is? He didn't lie, he just didn't see a reason to bring it up. It'd get grating for him to bring up every weird guy he meets, especially in his line of work. Peter's Iron Spider Suit didn't have an Arc Reactor in it, or at least the one in the comics didn't, it just happened to be a highly advance suit that Stark made him. That is the suit he's using, with a few other things added on.

Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or DC characters seen, mentioned or used.


Diana rammed into the unknown man with enough force to shake the entire tunnel to its foundations. Chunks of stone fell from both the ceiling and walls as the two powerful beings collided and struggled to overpower the other. Diana gritted her teeth as she felt this man grab her arms and began to push them and by proxy her, back. She tried to dig her feet in and stop him but only ended up making deep trenches in the earth as he slowly but surely overpowered her.

'It's like trying to fight Kal' she thought before she suddenly moved and used the unknown being's strength and momentum to her advantage, sending him stumbling into the wall.

She loomed around for her sword and saw it lying not to far from her. She made to reach for it when suddenly the man in red sped out of the small hole he made and slammed his elbow right into Diana's core, knocking the wind from her and sending her into the wall with enough force to crack it. She barely let out a pained cough before the man seized her by the throat and lifted her up while at the same time he grabbed a punch from Lennox and shoved the man back several meters.

"Like I said… you have no idea what your getting yourself into" he stated with a cocky grin.

At this, Diana's eyes narrowed in anger as she pulled her hands back before slamming them into the man's wrist, creating a loud 'crack' that sounded like side of a mountain breaking apart. The man yelped in pain as he released Diana and gripped his wrist in pain before Diana grabbed the sides of his helm and pulled his exposed face into her knee, creating a small shockwave that shook the entire tunnel again before she gave him a savage kick to the chest.

"AGH!" he growled as he slammed into the wall before glaring at Diana as she was handed her sword by a recovered Lennox. He looked down at his wrist for a second before he smirked as he gripped it and snapped it back into place "Gotta say, this is turning out to be a interesting visit for me"

"So glad you feel that way" Diana said as she readied her sword as the man moved at a blurring speed towards her just as she moved Lennox away and raised her blade to strike-

NO!" Milan yelled and suddenly a swarm of flies numbering in the hundreds of thousands if not more flew from his mouth like a storm and with unnatural speed they quickly covered all of the surrounding surfaces, Lennox, the man that Diana was fighting and Diana herself.

The daughter of Zeus had experienced a multitude of odd sensations in her life, from the greatest of pain be it physical or emotional to the greatest of pleasures. But nothing, nothing could compare to the feeling of thousands of fly's sticking to your body, their tiny legs crawling all over her exposed skin, their wings excessive buzzing sounding like a jet engine going off and even in her ear. Diana would have screamed in revulsion, shivered in disgust at the feeling of these fly's crawling over her body if she could, but these simple incents seemed to keep even her still despite her using every bit of strength she had.

After several tense moments that to Diana felt like a century, a bright light suddenly emanated from the machine that her adversary had brought with him. Its light seemed to force the flies off of them and flee towards the shadows, away from the unnatural light. Diana let out a cough as she swore she accidently swallowed a fly before she turned her attention towards the helmeted man in red.

"All right, no more fighting" the large man said as he brushed some dust off his sleeve while the swarm of flies were sucked back into Milan's mouth as if it were some sort of vacuum "But for the record, you came at me… legs"

Diana's brow twitched as she saw while his eyes were covered by that helmet of his, his eyes were very focused on her lower body. After taking a slightly more calming breath she spoke through gritted teeth as his gaze never moved from her legs "…You are really making it hard for me not to jump at you again"

That, caused him to look up at her with a grin and she could have sworn that he winked at her "Understandable but there'll be time for 'that' later"

Lennox snorted at this as he glanced back at the machine that unleashed that powerful light of sorts "Nice trick, yer little robot's stunning light show, spaceman"

Robot?" he said before he shook his head in amusement as he patted the synthetic being on what Diana and Lennox figured was the head "Heh, A4 is not a robot. It's a technological extension of myself. What I can't do, it can do for me. In danger, it has my backside. It's my right hand"

"Oh… so a smart phone? Got it" Lennox said with a chuckle.

At this, the man glanced torwads Lennox with a slight scowl "Y'know something, my left hook and your stone head are about to be…"

Diana's brow furrowed a little as it looked like he was having some sort of conversation with someone else, perhaps A4 when he spoke in a very low tone.

"No fighting… okay" he nodded to himself before he spoke in a louder voice "My name is Orion. I'm not from Earth- obviously- I just come here to relax. But recently I've learned of a threat to the universe. That the end of time begins with the 'Last of the Line… at the hands of a New God"

Diana and Lennox shared a look at this with the later speaking "A New Go. You think…?"

Diana nodded "Zola's baby"

She then glanced towards Orion with a guarded look "It seems we're here for the same reason. We know of this 'New God' you're after. Our friend, she's thee mother. But it was stolen from her. Newly born… by an old God"

At this Orion's face shifted into that of surprise as did his voice "Wait a minute- the threat to the universe is a child? Well, it has happened before… But I've been sent to battle an infant!?"

Diana turned her attention towards her Half brother as she slowly approached him "Milan… I don't believe that what Orion says is true. But you must help me, help us"

At this Lennox tapped her hand which still held her sword "Must is a tricky word with a sword in your hand"

Diana glanced down at the blade in slight surprise, she had forgotten that she still held it in her grip "Oh, your right. Thank you, Lennox"

"Are you really my sister in fact?" Milan said in a low tone as he looked down at the floor "Because that means bad things. A Hellride for the both of us"

Diana had to resist the urge to sigh as she kneeled down before her brother and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. The physical contact caused him to tense slightly, not used to such acts that weren't violent as she spoke "Yes I'm your sister. Trust me, this is frightening for me as it is for you. I'm anticipating… a Hellride. But it's one worth going on"

Milan shook his head at this "You don't even know what Hellrides are"

'Clearly you've never been around the Justice League on a mission…' Diana thought before she spoke "But I do know a child is never born bad. We are born many different ways, that might be difficult… that we struggle with but bad… that's something learned. We need to make sure this baby isn't taught that way"

Milan didn't respond as he looked away from Diana, his covered gaze on the trash bunched up in the corner.

"Lennox told me you have the power to help us-" she started only to be taken back as he began to shake his head while holding his hands to it.

"Don't make me. Don't make me" he began to repeat over and over again.

"Diana, you're wasting your time. He's crazy-" Lennox began only to be interrupted by Diana.

"In pain, Lennox" she corrected as she looked over her shoulder at her half brother "He's in pain. And he's my brother"

"New sister…" Milan said softly as he stopped his panicking "You are a nice new sister. A bad baby is a bad idea"

He then took a deep breath as he reached up to the blindfold over his eyes and began to pull it down to reveal something that took Diana back in surprise.

His eyes were hollow… and filled with maggots!

"Let me see if I can help you" he said before he suddenly let out a pained yell as some sort of light began to grow in his eyes.

"What does he see?" she asked as she watched with worry, wishing she could try and console Milan but she wasn't even sure he was even 'there' at the moment.

"Everything" Orin said simply as the three of them watched.

Finally, after several seconds, Milan stopped his thrashing and screaming as a sort pf peace settle dover him. When he spoke, it sounded as if his voice was a hundred miles away and yet they could all still hear it perfectly "I can see a bird man… in a castle of roots… with a tree lady"

Diana's eyes narrowed at the description she was given, only one Greek God could fit that description and last time she checked, Gaia was still soundly asleep. If the old Primordial was awake, she would have felt it, hell every being with divine blood or magic in them would have.

It was then that Diana's attention was dragged back when Milan continued "And the baby… with stars for eyes"

Before anyone could question him on what he meant by that, Milan let out a pained yell as he suddenly covered his eyes and clenched his teeth in pain "Starry eyes! Bird man! Tree lady?... the Queen of roots"

Diana kneeled down next to Milan and gave him a comforting hug as his body shook from the experience. Lennox and Orion each exchanged a confused glance as they mulled over what Milan said.

"Queen of Roots?" Lennox said in confusion.

"Demeter" Diana said with a sigh as she looked at the two men "Hermes is hiding the baby with Demeter. But I have no idea where that could be"

At this, Lennox smirked a she took a long drag from his cigarette "S' a good thing you keep your enemies close…"

It took a second for what he said to register before Diana smirked too "Ah… I told you Hera would come in handy"

She had just stood up and was about to help Milan up as well and try to convince him to leave this place for something less… well this when he began to speak again.

"Starry, starry eyes…" he repeated as if in a trance of some sort.

"What is that Milan?" Orion asked with a frown.

It was then that Milan looked up at the three of them with surprise and disbelief "The baby… it saw me"

"I could have taken him…" Kaine grumbled as he rubbed his sore throat "Easily"

"I know…" Zola said as she rubbed Kaine's back in a soothing gesture "Hell you were able to go toe to toe with Apollo and give him a good ass kicking from what I could see. That 'God of War' over there looks like he'd barely last a small skirmish"

Kaine chuckled at that as he took a sip of his water "Yeah… maybe"

The two stared at each other for a moment before Zola cleared her throat as she looked away "So after we find my baby, what do you plan to do next?"

Kaine's brow furrowed at the question, what was he going to do next? After several moments of pondering he shrugged "I'm… I'm not sure really. Never really thought about it until now. Originally I was gonna head back to L.A. Guess I'd see what happens once we find your kid and then go from there"

"Heh, one of those go with the flow types?" Zola said with a grin.

"Something like that" Kaine replied as he took another sip of his drink "Why, you want me to stick around?"

"I… wouldn't mind" Zola said before her eyes widened a bit as a blush crept up her face "You know, to help me with the baby. I mean Hermes is out after the shit he just pulled and well Diana's gonna be busy with the whole Wonder Woman thing and Peter has his own Spider-man things to do and I can't exactly rely on Hera given her own history when it comes to raising kids. I mean just look at Ares over there"

Kaine followed Zola's finger to the Greek god before he let out a snort "Yeah, son of the year right there. His mother must be so proud"

Zola chuckled at Kaine's remark before she took a sip of her drink "So… you in?"

Kaine was silent for a moment as he stared down at the table in silence. After several moments he gave a slow nod "Yeah… could be fun"

Zola beamed at this as she suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck, taking him by surprise as she slammed her face against his with the largest grin she ever had.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" she squealed in joy as she tightened her grip on him.

Kaine for the most part blushed a bit as he let out a cough "Uh yeah… no problem…"

As the two continued to discuss Kaine sticking around to act as Zola's 'baby daddy' Peter and Zatanna sat a little ways from them. Peter for the most part was watching Kaine and Zola with a small grin on his face. It's been years since he's seen the dark minded spider look so happy, it reminded him of better times for not only them, but for the other members of the long dead spider clan…

'Heh… Ben and Jessica would have never believed me if I told him that Kaine seems to have finally found his kinda gal… let's hope she's up for the infamous Parker Luck that follows us' Peter thought with a small grin before he saw Zatanna was looking at him "What?"

"Nothing… it's just" Zatanna began before she shrugged "You just looked really… content, is all"

"Aren't I always?" Peter asked with an amused look.

"Usually but this looked, I don't know more peaceful I guess" Zatanna said as she looked at the scene that Peter was watching "Even him, mister 'I'm dark and a badass that pretends not to have a fuck to give' seems pretty… happy"

"Well, out of all of the people I've met over my life time, Kaine's more than earned his happily ever after. And Zola looks like she doesn't mind being his" Peter said with a nod towards the two.

"Gets you thinking, doesn't it?" Zatanna said as she brushed her foot against Peter's under the table "About how you want to spend the rest of your life"

"Yeah… it kinda does" Peter said, however his thoughts were somewhere else entirely…

Several minutes of silence passed with the only sounds between the two belonging to that of the ever constant coming and going of the various patrons of the Oblivion Bar. After a while, Peter decided to talk to Zatanna about something he's been meaning to not long after they arrived.

"So… who was the guy you were talking to earlier?" Peter asked as he turned his head slightly to keep Ares and Hera in his line of sight while he spoke to Zatanna "What was it, Wong?"

"He's an old friend of my dad's. He and I were just discussing something I've been noticing about you from time to time. He just helped me confirm it is all" Zatanna said with a slight shrug.

"And what's that?" Peter asked with a curious expression, wondering what she and this Wong guy were talking about in regards to him.

"About you being a potential mage" the raven-haired woman replied with a simple shrug.

"Oh, well that expla-… wait what?" Peter said with wide eyes "What do you mean 'potential mage'? Like I can use magic and stuff?"

"Yep" Zatanna replied with a nod.

"Me?" he said as he pointed to himself "Peter Parker… a possible mage… basically someone that can manipulate magic and use it to do all kinds of sorcerer stuff like fly on a broom, cast the Patronus spell and pull rabbits out of top hats?"

"Yeah, why is there another Peter Parker out there in the world that I don't know about?" Zatanna teased with a grin as she watched as Peter stared at her like a fish out of water. Wasn't every day that one could take Peter by surprise this much.

"It's just, I mean I've never casted a spell in my life, how the hell could I be considered a Mage?" Peter questioned with a frown "Are you sure you guys were talking about me? Because I know like two other spider guys that would fit that description a lot more than me. Well one of them is a woman and the other is a sort of cosmic god that has a thing for Victorian era clothing but that's beside the point"

"Peter, even I can sense the latent magical potential in you" Zatanna stated as she folded her arms on the counter "And as much as I pride myself on being one of the most powerful mystics on Earth. When it comes to sensing another mystical being, I wouldn't be what you call an expert on it. So, the fact I can sense it from you speaks volumes on how powerful you could become"

"Really?" Peter said with an unconvinced look on his face.

"Yeah… I mean haven't you ever noticed that weird unexplainable feeling inside you whenever you're surrounded by mystical energy, like on an instinctive level that can't be quite described?" Zatanna asked as she gestured towards him "I mean in the past you've remarked how certain abilities of yours were seemingly enhanced to a degree when around magic. Or how you can see through some of the most powerful mystical allusions there are. If that doesn't scream potential mage, then I don't know what does"

Peter hummed at that as he did a quick mental recap of all of the times he's gone up against magic and his interactions with beings of a mystical nature in the past. Fate, Zatanna, Wanda, Constantine and even Madam Xandu in the past reality and even to an extent in this one has all stated that Peter seemed to understand magic a lot better than most people, like beyond the simple mechanics about it, but they never sensed any real connection to it like a mage. So, the question he had to ask himself, what changed?

After several minutes of thinking it over, Peter glanced at Zatanna with a slightly nervous look.

"Uh… would you… be willing to teach me a few things?" Peter asked carefully "I mean if I'm gonna learn magic, and fulfill my childhood fantasy of being a super OP badass of a wizard, might as well have one of the most powerful mages on Earth help me out"

At this, Zatanna smiled in a way that caused Peter's heart to skip a few beats at the sheer joy in her eyes "I would love to Peter…"

While Peter and Zatanna began to work up a possible schedule for Peter to start learning how to access and use his magical potential, Zola had excused herself to the bathroom to freshen up. On the way there she passed several beings that both fascinated and frightened her, and that was saying something considering she spent several months in the Underworld and was nearly thrown off Mount Olympus.

She had just reached where the restrooms were when she saw a person standing outside one of the doors. She groaned at this as she felt her bladder getting ready to explode "Please tell me there isn't a line!"

At this, the person turned towards her with a grin and spoke in a voice that was both captivating and sounded just the tiniest bit drunk "For you, there's no line at all"

Zola's eyes narrowed at the man's appearance. He had short red and orange hair, orange eyes, a black leather jacket over a black and white wide V-neck shirt, dark blue pants and what looked like a small fox tail attached to his pant's belt.

He glanced over her shoulder to where Kaine, Peter, Zatanna, Hera and Hera were all at and smirked in amusement "Interesting crowd you hang with"

"Yeah… they certainly are" Zola said with a small laugh "Though the old guy… not really sure what his deal is yet"

At this, the man spoke "His deal? He's here to kill Wonder Woman"

"HA! Gimme a break" Zola said as she gave the unknown man a unimpressed glance "I don't know what you know about-"

"Her? Doesn't matter" he interrupted coolly before he leaned in towards her and began to whisper "Let me tell you what he's capable of…"

He then began to speak in a low voice that even at this range Zola had trouble hearing until certain words and descriptions began to take form in her head. Images and sounds of what could only be described as horror incarnate raced through her mind's eye so fast that it seemed her mind had to struggle to replay them to get a better view of them. Zola held a hand over her mouth as she felt something vile rising up in her throat as the man pulled away with one last detail that caused her stomach to churn in a way that It almost hurt. The man, who was now chuckling couldn't get out of her way fast enough as she barreled through him and into the bathroom. Not a second later he could hear the violent sounds of vomiting.

"Heh, and that's him on a good day" he said before he slowly faded away, leaving only the aroma of grapes and wine in the air.

Zola let out a chocked cough as she spat some of the vomit that lingered in her mouth after her initial discharge. She took several shallow breaths and glanced up at the mirror to see that her face was red and sweat was pouring down her brow before she felt another wave of nausea hit her as the man's words echoed back into her mind followed by horrific scenes of brutality. She leaned back down and unloaded another stream of vomit into the half full sink's bowl before she switched the faucet on and watched as her stomach's contents slowly went down the drain with the aid of the crystal clear blue water.

'Holy fuckin Christ…' Zola thought as she tried to steady her breathing before another voice, this one belonging to a woman spoke up that caused her to groan from the coming headache she was already getting from it.

"My… that's one way to lose the baby weight" they teased as they shuffled around in the stall behind Zola "Sorry. There must be something that's truly bothered you"

Zola hear the sound of a toilet flushing before the door opened to reveal Strife standing there with a smirk on her face as she leaned against the door frame "Well then… good thing I'm here"

"So Zola…" Diana began hesitantly "Your child… it may bring the end of time"

She waited a few moments for a response before she continued "What's that supposed to mean?"

Again, she waited for a reply before responding herself "Well, the end of everything. Life- the afterlife- done and gone"

She waited for several moments as she took a deep breath before she very reluctantly forced the words out of her mouth "Then it has to die!"

She then turned with a glare on her face "What you think this was some decision I came to lightly? Peter, the end of everything is at stake here! Yes, I know we don't have any right to make these decisions but tell me, if you had to pick between one life and the trillions of lives in the universe, which would you choose? Would you really risk all of their deaths, deaths that they do not deserve on the off chance that this child might not bring about the apocalypse? Can you truly live with that if you were wrong? Oh wait you wont know because there will be no universe left"

She then rounded on another and jabbed her finger at the individual "Oh shut up Hera! Don't think we've forgotten that you tried to kill Zola and her baby all because-"

"What are you doing?" Orion said with complete confusion on his face as he and Lennox stood before the door to Peter's apartment. Next to them, Diana had for the past several minutes been having some sort of one sided conversation with herself.

"Figuring out how to say what I need to say before I say it" Diana said as he rubbed her temples as the voice of Zatanna calling her a typical child killing Amazon came to mind 'Oh shut up you street magician reject before I take those stripper heels of yours and shove them right up your-'

"Huh" Orion sounded before he chuckled "You don't strike me as a woman who thinks before she speaks"

"An' that's a strike against you Spaceman" Lennox smirked before he was suddenly grabbed by Orion.

"My name is Orion" he growled towards the still smirking Lennox.

"Oh…kay" he said as he was released.

"STOP!" Diana said as she glared at both men as she took out the key card that Peter gave her earlier "Look, I don't need you two bickering. I've already got these-"

She came to a stop as she entered the apartment and saw that all of the lights were off and sounded like no one was home.

"Peter? Zola?" she called out as she entered further into the apartment followed by Orion and Lennox.

"Anyone here?" Diana said as she tried to see if perhaps Zatanna was still here.

"It appears the birds have flown the coop" Lennox stated dryly while Orion looked around.

"But I told them to stay here!" Diana said angrily "I told Peter that having them out in the open can be dangerous, more so because now Hera's mortal and everyone she's ever hurt will likely be out for her blood now!"

"Must not heard yea…" Lennox said.

"Oh he heard me alright, but once again he's going off like he knows better and that he can take whatever the world can throw at him" Diana seethed in silent rage as she began to go through some of the rooms to see if she could find any clues as to where they all went.

"Diana, he's fine. Bloody fool knows 'ow to take care of 'imself" Lennox said as he placed his hands in his pockets "And he knows hot to keep them safe. He's got that brother of 'is to help"

Diana continued to go from room to room with increasing worry "Maybe… maybe they didn't leave but were taken"

"That's…" Lennox started only for his eyes to narrow slightly "Possible…"

"Lennox, they could be anywhere in this city or even the whole world!" Diana said as she began to panic "What if Hades decided to get his revenge on them? What's been a few days for us could have been a year for him! A year to seethe and brood over what happened"

She then came to a stop as she reached into a small compartment of her armor and pulled out a small high-tech communicator "Maybe I should call the Justice League, they can help me cover more ground"

"If you want to bring them into this. Though I don't see how they'll be able to help us find our Motley crew when we have no idea as to where to even begin-" Lennox began before he was interrupted by Orion.

"This Motely Crew" Orion said as he held up a single strand of blonde hair "Is one of them blonde?"

Diana was about to respond before she suddenly heard a loud crash that echoed throughout the whole apartment. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed that the sound came from Peter's 'trophy room' and began to slowly approach it.

"The hell was that?" Lennox asked as he looked around for what may have broken.

"Wasn't me" Orion said before he looked towards A4 "Anyone else in the apartment with us?"

Its reply was a negative as Diana slowly opened the door to see that the entire shelf that the Nth metal helmet was on was on the floor along with all of the items on it… and the helmet sitting up, halfway towards the door. Diana slowly glanced around the room as she resisted the urge to shiver under the empty gaze of the ancient looking helmet.

"Is there anyone in here?" she said as she took another step into the room.

After receiving no answer, she glanced down at the helmet with a frown. Right now, every ounce of her being was telling her that something was wrong, terribly wrong, with this helmet and that she should take it and throw it in the deepest, darkest hole she can find and hope the memory of this thing left her forever. But, the helmet was Peter's for the time being and as such, he had final say in what should be done with it.

'Though after this, I think even Peter will start to consider putting this somewhere else' Diana thought as she kneeled down and raised the helmet up and looked into it's empty eye holes before she wandered over to the remaining shelves and brushed several of the Vultures feather knives along with the armor that Hephaestus gave Peter and placed it there.

She then turned and left the room unaware that a pair of bloodshot eyes had appeared in the helmet's eyeholes, watching her as the door closed.

"Let's go" Diana said as she glanced at Lennox and Orion.

"What was it?" Orion asked as he nodded towards A4 and sent a mental command to prepare to open a Boom Tube to the location of the owner of the strand of hair he found.

"Nothing" Diana said as she folded her arms "Just a shelving unit came loose is all"

"Really?" Lennox asked.

BOOM!

"Yes… really" Diana said evenly as she and the others stepped into Orion's Boom Tube that would take them wherever Peter, Zola, Zatanna and Hera were.

"Zola… let me handle this" Strife said as she emerged from the restroom with Zola tailing behind her slowly.

"Strife?" Zatanna said as she came to a stop at the sight of the Greek Goddess.

Said deity saw the young mage and her eyes sparkled "Ah so you're that little mage that I've been smelling on Peter, interesting…"

She was about to continue on that more before she saw Hera and Ares at the bar and rushed towards them "MOTHER!"

Zatanna watched her go before she glanced at Zola with a confused look "What's going on?"

"I have no freakin idea any more" Zola said tiredly as she wiped some trace remains of vomit off her mouth.

Hera, who was in the middle of drinking her newly mixed martini jumped in surprise as Strife suddenly appeared, snatched the drink from her hand and landed a small kiss on the side of her face all in the span of a second.

"Strife?" she said in shock while Ares grumbled at the appearance of his sister.

Strife pulled back from Hera and looked at her for a moment before her eyes widened "Ooh"

"What?" Hera said nervously.

"I was going to ask you what it was like to be mortal… but those little winkles around your eyes are all the answer I need" she said as she turned from her now sulking mother towards Ares "Hello War"

"I'm spared a kiss?" he said with narrowed eyes.

"Of course not, brother" Strife said in a cheery voice as she leaned up to kiss him before she began to whisper in his ear "I'm on to your game"

"My game?" he responded in an equally low tone.

"You heard me" Strife said with narrowed eyes.

At this Ares smirked a little "Here this strife… it's not my game"

Strife pulled away at this and stirred her drink with a finger as Zola, Zatanna, Peter and Kaine came up to the bar "So, here we all are"

"Unfortunately" Hera grumbled as she took a sip of her new drink.

"Mother" Strife said as she gave the former Queen of the Gods a look "I know this must be difficult, but take some comfort… your surrounded by family now"

"Why is that?" Hera asked.

"I'm not sure yet" Strife said with a simple shrug "But it will come to me-"

BOOM!

No sooner did the sound of a Boom Tube open up that every being in the bar minus Ares, Strife and Hera turn towards the swirling portal with a wide assortment of weapons and powerful magic spells that could reduce entire city blocks to ash.

"Ah who the hell invited these people!" Kaine said as he aimed his Venom blasts towards the portal, waiting for Paradmeons to swarm out.

"They tend to invite themselves" Peter said as he unsheathed his stingers "Their that guy at the office that no one wants anything to do with, but he keeps trying to include himself in everyone else's business"

"I just got done fighting a fuckin alien invasion!" Zatanna growled in annoyance.

"Welcome to my life" Peter said with a snort before his eyes widened as three figures emerged from the Boom Tube before it closed.

It was Diana, Lennox and to Peter's surprise, Orion of New Genesis!

Peter's eyes narrowed at the sight of the New God standing behind Diana 'What the hell is he doing here?'

"…You fed a hair into your machine and it was able to locate the head it came off?" Lennox said to Orion as the Boom Tube closed behind them.

"I fed a machine hair… something like that, sure" Orion said as Strife approached the trio while the rest of the Bar's patrons lowered their respective weapons at seeing it wasn't an attack.

"Why look who it is!" Strife said as she held her arms up as if to hug the tree "The day is-"

She stopped as she took in Orion's appearance as he removed his helmet "Ooh… and you are…?"

Orion looked at her strangely as he answered "I am called Or-"

"STOP!" she said as she was practically drooling at him "Don't stop"

"Strife" Diana said with slight disdain to the purple skinned goddess "I should have known you were behind this"

Strife shook her head at this as she kept mentally undressing Orion with her eyes "No baby sister… behind me be your 'this'. And I wouldn't mind handsome here being behind me…"

Diana had to suppress that image before she vomited as she walked past Strife and saw that Zola was there along with everyone else, safe and sound. She let out a sigh of relief before she saw Peter looking at her with a sheepish grin.

"Peter, I can't believe you…" she began only to trail off as she saw who was standing between him and Zola "…It's you"

Ares gave Diana a grin as he held up his glass "Know I look a shade different from last time we met, but then so do you… little one"

Before Diana could respond or Peter could come up with a very good reason as to why he disobeyed Diana's request to keep Zola and Hera safe at his apartment, Zola suddenly pulled a knife from her sleeve and moved to stab Ares.

"Wonder Woman run! He's here to kill-" she began only to stop as Ares was suddenly behind her, her face now in his hand as he lifted her up until her toes weren't touching the floor and the blade she tried to attack him with was in his other hand, the tip resting neatly against her throat as he spoke in a low voice behind her.

"He's here to kill screams the assassin holding a knife. He now mutters 'I'm only here to drink'. He then wonders, might this assassin's blood quench his thirst?" Ares said, his voice both strongly amused and threatening.

Suddenly, Peter's Necro-stinger was at his throat while Kaine grabbed the God by the shoulder, his own Necro-claws digging into the deity's shoulder and causing him to grunt in pain.

"Meanwhile, the spider watching the he and the assassin wonders which will be tastier, the 'He' or the 'Assassin'?" Peter said with narrowed eyes as he dug the tip into Ares's throat ever so slightly "Let her go Ares"

"Or Olympus is gonna be short another god" Kaine hissed.

Ares was still for a second as he settled his focus on both men before he smiled as he settled his eyes on Diana's tense form and released Zola who immediately rushed behind Kaine "Of course… now get those things away from me before I rip them out"

"Oh I'd like to see you-" Kaine began, his eyes starting to glow before Zola's hand rested on his shoulder, drawing his attention to her.

"Hey, it's okay…" she said as she tired to pull Kaine away. After hearing what Ares could do from that guy, she had no intention of seeing what he'd do to Kaine.

Kaine stared at her for a moment before he let the light in his eyes fade and he retracted his claws from Ares's shoulder who placed a hand on it to stem the bleeding a bit.

"Thank you" he said before turning to see Peter retract his stinger but kept his eyes on him 'Heh, I'm starting to like these people…'

He then turned towards Diana and smiled as he gestured towards the bar "Now, Little One… join me for a drink?"

"Hermes took the baby to Demeter" Diana said several minutes after everything had calmed down and Zatanna went to speak with the owner of the bar and convinced him not to throw them out. She was now standing at the bar with Ares and Hera while Kaine and Zola sat at their own table with Lennox, Strife continued to fawn over Orion and Peter watched Diana, Hera and Ares with a watchful gaze.

"The thief is clever" Ares said with a simple nod as he drank his glass "Taking the child to Harvest is hiding it the first place anyone should look. Well, anyone with wits"

"I won't take you there" Hera said, her voice starting to slur from all of the liquor he's been drinking, it was a miracle she wasn't shit faced already… all those years of drinking wine were paying off.

"What- Hera?!" Diana said as she stared at the former Queen in shock "After I've taken you under my-"

"It sounds like she's refusing but mother's mortal now" Strife stated as she stared longingly at Orion who was looking around at the various patrons of the bar "Only Olympians can move between realms uninvited"

"So you can't either?" Diana said dryly.

"I hate the silly rules too" Strife said with a shrug "But I will tag along"

"Not on my watch" Ares grunted from his seat.

"Will you take us?" Diana asked with growing anger.

"Of course not" Ares scoffed before he continued as he downed the last of his drink "I'll take YOU"

Diana closed her eyes and took a deep breath at this as Lennox stepped forward stepped forward "Diana, you can't trust this man. What if he's the one that will make the child evil?"

"Lummox, he's the only one that can get her there" Orion said as he came to stand next to Diana before he did something no one saw coming.

He slapped her ass!

Diana jumped in surprise before she rounded on the smirking New God with a glare to freeze even Hellfire "WHAT THE-"

"-Hell do you think you're all doing?!" Zola shouted as she slammed her hand on the table in rage as she glared at everyone "It's MY BABY and you act like I'm not even here!"

"Zola…" Diana began as she turned towards the young woman before she sighed "I'm sorry, sometimes I take control of things- and it's controlling I know…"

"I don't mind, usually" Peter interjected.

Diana snorted at this before her face sobered as she placed her hands on Zola's shoulders "But I only want to bring your baby back to you. This is the best chance I- we've got"

She then pulled her into a tight embrace "Can I do this for you?"

"Perhaps I should go alone and get it myself" Ares said plainly as he stood up and adjusted his coat.

"Don't let that happen" Zola said as she glared at Ares.

Several moments later, Diana and Ares made their way out of the main area of the Oblivion bar and towards a stair case that led up to the roof. Ares gave several patrons a friendly grin that received glares of distrust in return, a number of them already aware of who he claimed to be.

Ares then glanced at Diana with a frown "It pains me Little One, to find you no better off than when I left you all those years ago… or for that matter, no worse"

"I don't want your help, War" Diana said as she glared at the Old god as they climbed the stair case.

"But you need it" Ares said in a tone that sounded more disappointed then smug.

"And 'all those years ago'… it was only ten" Diana said with a confused look "Isn't that just a drop in the bucket for you?"

Ares didn't respond at first, as they climbed several more floors "…Just ten years. Hmmm. Seems longer. My life…it's like I experience it in reverse. When I was young, the days were measured in the nights. Now that I'm old…they wont end"

"Where are you going?" Diana asked as they made it to the roof access.

"The bartender mentioned that they have a rooftop garden for both it's customers to use and for them to brew specialized herbs and the like for their drinks. I bet that's something to see… so lets" Ares said as he pushed open the door to reveal a garden that looked like it was pulled straight out of some fantasy.

Flowers, leaves, stems and more that seemed to just glow with magical energy, plants that she's never seen before, even on the beaches or deep in the jungles of Themyscira. Even the air was filled with mystical energy as she and Ares entered the Oblivion Bar's green house.

Ares tapped one of the leaves of a plant that looked like it had a small sun in it's core with a thoughtful expression "Hmm, the things one can do with these…"

He then gestured for Diana to follow him into the garden, one that looked far bigger than what a single rooftop could hold.

'Magic' Diana thought as she and Ares moved ever deeper into the garden.

Peter waited until his spider-sense could no longer detect Diana and Ares before he suddenly turned, his eyes and veins glowing as they filled with Tantric and Chaos energy from the Web of Life and rammed his fist right into Orion's surprised face with enough force to shake the entire room.

KA-KOOOOOOM!

Kaine grabbed Zola as she stumbled from the force of Peter's attack while Hera and Strife ducked as Orion's form went flying over them and into the wall. The entire building felt like it shuddered at his collision while everyone in the bar gaped at the spectacle.

The bartender watched the whole scene as he cleaned a glass with a sigh 'Thank god for insurance… and magically re-enforced walls'

Orion let out a pained groan as he cupped his face, a large bruise already forming on it's side as he glared at Peter "What in the fiery pits of Apokolips was that for?!"

"That…" Peter growled as he glared at Orion "Was for smacking Diana's ass"

Orion raised a brow at this before he smirked as he stood up "Well what can I say? She has an ass worth smacking. What don't tell me you haven't tired? Or are you jealous that I could before you and she didn't seem all too bothered by it?"

Peter let out a dark growl as he began to approach Orion who had cracked his neck and placed his helmet on in preparation for the fight. Meanwhile, the Void had manifested next to where Kaine and Zola were with a wide grin etched on his dark face.

"Ooooh… this is gonna be good, hehehehehe" the malevolent entity chuckled as it watched Peter prepare to attack Orion again before Zatanna spoke up.

"POTS!" Peter and Orion were suddenly frozen as they both made to punch each other.

Peter let out a sigh as he watched Orion try to move but failed with each effort.

"Why can't I move?!" he demanded as he gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Because I said stop" Zatanna said as she got in between Peter and him, her eyes were glowing lightly with magical power as she stared down the New God before turning her attention towards Peter. Her look softened ever so slightly "Are you finished?"

Peter was silent for a moment as he glared at Orion one more time before he let out a small sigh and let the light fade from his eyes.

"Awww boo!" the Void chuckled as it appeared next to Peter and began to whisper in his ear "Come on Petey… we both know he has it coming to him. Eying up 'your woman' like he has any sort of claim to her. Why not put this little dog in his place? His deadbeat dad won't be coming to save him that's for sure… hell if anything Darkseid will reward you for killing this sorry excuse of a god"

Peter's reply was a low grunt that caused the Void to frown as it slowly faded away back into his mind while Zatanna, unknown to Peter's brief conversation, nodded in acceptance to his earlier answer before she turned towards Orion and watched as he glared at her with a dark scowl that looked oddly familiar for some reason. She mentally shook her head as she placed a hand on her hip "And you Orion? Will you play nice if I let you go?"

Orion glared at Zatanna before he very slowly nodded "Fine, but if he hits me again, I'll rip his arms off and beat him to death with them"

"If I had a penny every time I heard that" Peter grumbled before he was silenced by a hard look from Zatanna.

She then released both men as they gave one another one more glare before Orion grunted as he turned and stalked away towards the far end of the bar, followed shortly by Strife. Kaine came to stand next to Peter before he bumped his shoulder with his.

"How'd that feel?"

Peter glanced at him for a second before he snorted "Honestly… pretty good"

Kaine's response was to laugh as he slapped Peter on the back before his genetic template joined him. Peter then glanced towards Lennox with his eyes narrowing slightly "So what did you mean about 'make the child evil'?"

Lennox stared at the two men for a moment before he pulled out a cigarette and lit it "Short version or long?"

"Long, we ain't going anywhere" Peter said as he folded his arms.

Lennox nodded at that as he took a long drag and let out a plume of smoke "Well according to Spaceman over there…"

"I'm not the same as you left war" Diana said as she stepped over a large vine that looked like it was moving on it's own.

"Really?" Ares said as he ducked under a tree branch.

"Really" Diana affirmed.

Ares nodded at that "Then tell me, what advice have you needed- other than that from the voice in your own strong head? You don't ask many questions, because you don't need any answers"

"My answers come from my heart" Diana said as Ares came to a stop at a plant and sniffed it's leaves and looked at from several different angles before he nodded.

"An endearing trait in a girl but you're not one anymore" Ares said with a grin as he looked back towards Diana with a knowing look in his black eyes "I have to say, you chose well"

"What's that?" Diana said with a frown.

"Funny enough, it's Sage" Ares replied, though Diana knew it wasn't the answer she wanted to hear. Granted she didn't know what she wanted to hear, but it wasn't that.

She then looked down into the pot he tore the plant from and her eyes gaped at what she saw "Amazing…"

"Is it?" Ares said with a raised brow before he shrugged "I find it rather banal and have… since long before you were even a glimmer in your father's eye"

He then cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders as he stepped into a hole that revealed a large stair case made of plant vines and tree bark, a path to Demeter's realm.

"Lets go rescue his child" Ares said as he and Diana stepped into the portal.

Diana nearly stumbled as the distance between the portal and the ground was a bit farther than she originally thought. The chamber they were in was massive and made completely of vines, leaves, and a host of other plant material. It was lighted by what looked like some sort of fire fly though the light they produced was longer lasting than the brief flashes she's seen fireflies create.

Ares brushed several of the glowing insects away as he scanned the chamber for any signs of Demeter or Hermes "Let me ask you something princess… when you have the child, what will you do with it?"

Diana glanced at Ares with a frown as she answered "I'll give Zola back her baby"

"But it's a prize" Ares said as he gestured for Diana to follow him down a passage "Means something to many. So, this Zola- knife withstanding- she can keep her child safe?"

"No" Diana said with a small sigh, as brave and as strong as the young woman was, she was nowhere near strong enough for the trials that she will face from both man, monster… or gods.

Ares hummed at that "Then are you willing to devote your life to being it's protector?"

"I'll…" Diana began before she paused for several moments as she and Ares made their way through a large chamber filled with large mud pits "I'll find a way"

"I'm sure Apollo feels the same" Ares stated with a dark chuckle "He's found his way to keep you away from him, though your heart. See 'the gods work in mysterious ways' was a phrase we coined to ignore our obliviousness"

It was then that the two heard another voice echo though the chamber "War your self-hatred… it offends me"

Then, before either Diana or Ares could react, a figure raced by them and slashed the God of War across the chest with talon feet. Ares barely managed to grunt in pain before he was slashed across the back as well. Diana quickly rushed to grab him before he fell while the figure that attacked him came to a stop a few meters away holding a sword with it's blade being made of some sort of blue energy.

Diana's eyes narrowed in rage at the sight of Hermes.

"We gods do as always what needs to be done" Hermes said as he raised his sword towards Diana while she helped Ares to his feet.

"I've been waiting for this day, Wonder Woman" Hermes said with a regretful frown on his face "Dreading it actually. So much time, thinking about what you thought of me... thinking what I would say to you"

"And?" Diana asked as she eyed the glowing blade just an inch under her eye, the tip just shy a centimeter from her cheek.

"The best I could come up with is I'm sorry" Hermes sighed heavily before his gaze hardened as it returned to Diana's "Though now seeing who've you allied yourself with... I'm not"

"Trust me Hermes, as bad as you think War is… him and me being here is a mercy for you" Diana said with narrowed eyes "Kaine has special plans for you when he get's his hands around your throat"

She then suddenly summoned two swords into her hands and launched herself at Hermes who was just barely able to get his own blade up in time to defend himself. The enchanted metal clashed with his weapon's energy, creating a sort of ripple like effect as the two tried to overpower the other. Diana and Hermes's arms became a blur as well as the swords they held as they tired to disarm or injure the other. However, fast as Diana was, Hermes was just a little faster and used a slightly opening in Diana's attack to knock her blade from her hand.

Diana to her credit didn't even pause as she sent a powerful punch into Hermes's face, causing him to stumble and nearly trip from the sheer force of the blow. He cupped his cheek in pain as he saw that the sword he knocked out of Diana's hand earlier had re-materialized in her hand. His eyes narrowed at this.

"So, it's not only War that's your ally, but the Smith as well?" Hermes said with a shake of his head "Hardly matters- you haven't managed to turn all my family against me"

"I don't want to fight Hermes" Diana said as she held her blades at the ready as Hermes began to hover above her.

"What is it you want?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.

"The baby" Diana said evenly even though on the inside her blood was beginning to burn at the fight before her.

Hermes smirked at this as he held his sword at the ready as he waited for her to move.

Diana couldn't help but grin a little darkly in a way that gave the Messenger God pause "If that's how you want to play this Hermes, remember… I gave you a chance to hand it over"

And then she lunged at the god with a yell and their blades once again clashed all the while Ares stood up and brushed some dirt and blood off his jacket. He glanced up at the two fighting and shook his head while he turned on his heel and began to walk away from the fight to where Demeter and the child were.

'Honestly, they thought that a few scratches from that flying chicken would stop me?' Ares thought with a shake of his head as he crept into the vines and vanished from sight.

"Your skills are impressive Diana…" Hermes growled out as he blocked another swipe from Diana's sword and narrowly avoided a swipe from the other.

"I am an Amazon" Diana gritted out as she formed a 'X' with her swords to stop a overhead swipe from Hermes.

"And the daughter of a god" Hermes stated before he suddenly lashed out with his talon feet at Diana's chest, leaving two deep bleeding scars and causing her to let out a pained scream as she fell to the ground and landed on one knee and used one of her blades to keep herself up "Seems though…you haven't learned the dance. Speed can't be taught"

He then smirked at Diana as she glared up at him "And there's no one faster than I"

'Head to Central City and we'll see about that' Diana thought as she stood up and held back a hiss of pain as her newly inflicted wounds roared in protest all the while Hermes hovered above her.

"Zola's baby- it's well being was charged to me" Hermes said as he began to circle Diana.

"But you asked for my help" Diana said.

"And you helped me. But now that role is over" Hermes said as he rested the blade of his sword on his shoulder and looked down at Diana with a blank expression "The child is mine"

"No… the child is Zola's" Diana hissed in anger as she prepared to attack the god again before he suddenly blitzed her at a speed she could barely track.

"I was afraid you would say that" he shouted as he suddenly grabbed both of Diana's hands with his feet, his talons digging into her wrists and holding her arms down while he prepared to strike her with his blade when-

BOOM!

A Boom Tube suddenly opened above the two and before either could respond, a lone figure raced through and swept Diana from Hermes's clutches.

Diana glanced at her savior and gasped "Orion?"

The New God glanced at Diana, his face half hidden by his helmet except for that insufferable smirk of his that was marred slightly by a large bruise of his face "Looks like you owe me"

"What?" she said in surprise as she climbed on to his back as he piloted A4 who had since transformed into some sort of flying harness.

"Hey don't pretend I didn't just save-" he began only to narrowly avoid being hit by Hermes's talons.

"You can't outrun me Diana" he yelled in rage as he sped after them.

Diana smirked at this as she held on to Orion "Maybe not. Can you Orion?"

His response was for the flight harness to speed up to the point that things became a blur. Diana tried to hold back a laugh as she saw the surprise on Hermes face as they raced ahead of them before he put on another burst of speed to try and catch up.

"How'd you get here?" Diana question as she turned her attention for the moment to her newest ally.

Orion smirked at this as he raced over, under and in between various trees, vines and roots "You think when I slapped your ass it was out of affection? DNA, Legs. Once I have it-"

"It doesn't matter what dog you bring!" Hermes interrupted Orion's explanation as he tried to swipe at them again with his talons.

Orion's mood darkened at this "Did he just call me… enough of this!"

He just began to turn around and confront the speedy little God when Diana stopped him "No Orion- speed on. We're here for one reason- Zola's child!"

"That I was sent to destroy…" Orion said with a sigh before he continued in a lower tone "I really don't want to destroy a baby…"

Diana smiled at this, having just barely heard the New God "That's good to know"

"Diana…" Hermes shouted as he began to gain on the pair "You've brought this on yourself- to be the last- of the last-"

"Can you slow this thing down on my word?" Diana whispered to Orion, ignoring largely what Hermes was saying.

"Why would you want me to do that?" Orion responded with curiosity.

"-Of the Amazons!" Hermes shouted in rage, unaware of the two's planning as he was within meters of them.

At this Diana spoke as she summoned a sword "Word!"

Orion suddenly decelerated as Diana lashed out at the passing form of Hermes, her target being one of the wings on his feet. The blade through a combination of Diana's strength and Hermes's momentum allowed the blade to easily slide through the feathered wing, destabilizing Hermes's flight and causing him to scream in pain as he crashed through a number of tress for hundreds of feet.

"What did you just do?" Orion asked in surprise as he raced away from where the Old God crashed.

At this Diana smirked as she dismissed the sword "I crippled him"

Orion nodded at this "Nice…"

"Trust me Orion, what he's feeling pales in comparison to what Kaine would have done to him" Diana stated as the duo raced off towards Demeter all the while Diana wondered one thing…

Where in Hades was Ares at?

"Harvest… do you realize how childish this all is?" Ares asked as he stared up at a large figure that laid against a tree and seemed to be made of wood.

The large wooden figure's head moved ever so slightly and looked down at Ares "Considering what's at stake, are you trying to be clever war?"

Ares shook his head as he approached the vines and roots that were crawling up the figure's side "I wasn't, though sometimes I do think I am. I suppose my jokes are lost on all of you"

"Perhaps that's because never been anything funny about you" Harvest replied through the large structure as Ares made his way up it's surface and towards the entrance to Demeter's home.

"Really? Look at me" Ares said as he forced several walls of vines apart as he dug his way through "Stumbling around like a fool, out of his mind. That's not humorous to you?"

"No. It's pathetic"" Demeter shook her head as she stood within her stronghold next to where her seat of power rested as Ares had finally entered her home and stopped shy several meters from her

She wasn't very tall, and her skin was a pale green almost like that of the villain Poison Ivy's and her hair looked to be made of actual leaves tied together by a vine. Her dress seemed to be very thin flexible sheets of bark that left many wondering how she could wear such a thing.

"Empathy, Harvest? I would expect nothing less, given your realm. The seasons…they live, fade and die, holding on to each other as they slip away…" Ares said as he came to stand right behind Demeter "Kissing farewell until same time next year eternally… without consequence"

Ares said as he stepped closer to Demeter who responded by slowly backing away.

"You're right, you are out of your mind" Demeter said, her voice harsh.

"Bored right out of it" Ars said with a slight shrug as he stared at his aunt "Do you know what it's like to be me? To exist on the principle where life and death heave against each other… to live on an edge, then come to regard it as dull…?"

He then plunged his hand right into Demeter's stomach, causing her to gasp in pain as his hand dug around inside of her.

After a second Ares smirked as he felt what he was looking for "Well, well, well…"

He then pulled Zola's baby from Demeter and held it up by the scruff of a blue onesie that it was given. Ares looked him over with a thoughtful expression "Look at you"

The baby's response was to start to cry as it stared at the bloodied from of Ares.

Minutes later Diana and Orion had finally arrived at where Demeter was and the two had little trouble making there way inside to find the goddess in the main chamber of her home, alone.

"Goddess Demeter…I have only respect for you" Diana said as she slowly approached the hunched form of Demeter after she and Orion saw that Ares wasn't here yet, oddly enough. Both figured he would have been here by now…

"Entering my house uninvited… is that how you show it Amazon?" Demeter hissed in anger and pain.

"No" Diana shook her head.

"Yet you do so. With an intent that drives you… warrior" Demeter said as she than turned towards Diana to show a large gaping hole in her stomach.

"Oh… my…" Diana gasped in shock as she quickly helped Demeter to her chain "Did Hermes do-"

"Of course not" Demeter scoffed, annoyed and a little offended that the Amazon thought Hermes could do this to her even if he tried. While her warrior days were long over, her power hasn't waned that much "You think ill of him- and he's given you reason… but it was War. He took the child you came for"

She settled into her chair and let out a sigh as her stomach began to repair itself "You came in my house with a purpose. But thinking me wounded… my well-being became more important" she shook her head at this "No wonder War hates you. Perhaps more than he hates himself"

"There was a time when the songs of war would echo through Olympus… his voice it was glorious" Demeter shook her head in pity "Now it's little more than a rasp. Like locust wings rubbing against dead wood. He ripped me open and took the baby. And I let him do it"

At tis, Diana's eyes winded in shock before they narrowed in rage "You let him?"

"I couldn't stop him…" Demeter bowed her head in exhaustion and pain "No more than I could stop a lonely child hurling a pebble into the sea, creating ripples. That one day crash violently against a distant shore. I happen because of that. You are created and nurtured to be what your creators envision for you. Sometimes you don't live up to that. Sometimes you surpass. Now go"

Diana stared at Demeter as she seemed to meld with her chair until she became a solid statue of bark. The Amazon princess stared at Demeter for several moments before she gritted her teeth in rage and turned on her heel and marched away with Orion right behind her.

"How could I have been so stupid!" Diana yelled angrily as she got off A4 and stomped towards the roof access while the Boom Tube closed, having returned to Peter's apartment after departing from Demeter's realm.

"You're asking me? I just met you" Orion said with a raised brow as he detached from A4 and let it condense back down to its normal looking state "For all I know, this is the way you always-"

"I was an idiot to trust War!" Diana screamed in rage as she smacked the door open and stalked inside.

"But you didn't trust him, did you?" Orion said as he followed Diana inside and saw she was already making her way down the staircase.

Diana huffed as she fell on to the stairs and held her head in her hands as she tried to stem the growing feeling of rage and hurt from War's apparent betrayal "I took a chance I needed to rescue that baby…"

"Still do" Orion said with a sigh as he began to slowly make his way down the stairs while also removing his helmet "So stop beating yourself up"

"STOP?!" Diana shouted as she glared up at Orion "Do you have any idea how bad this is? This child you yourself said would end time- in the hands of War?"

"Um… as bad as it sounds?" Orion said as he rubbed the back of his head before his shoulders slumped a little "Look, it wasn't a chance, it was a risk. And given the stakes, you did right taking it"

"Not this time…" Diana said sadly.

"That's what next times are for" Orion said as he placed a comforting hand on Diana's shoulder "We'll find him"

Diana smiled a little at that as she looked back towards Orion "Thank you"

Orion nodded at this before he stared at Diana with an intense gaze that caused her to blush a little. While Orion could be brash, and a little pig headed, he was a decent person from what she's observed, and she couldn't deny how handsome he looked. She was just starting to move closer to him, willing t let whatever will happen, to happen, before he spoke.

"Y'know, you're kinda cute when you get mad"

And like that, whatever mood there was, died faster than any hope of mercy from Darkseid in the depths of Apokolips on a bad day. Diana rolled her eyes in annoyance at the New God as she stood up and began to make her way down to Peter's apartment to give the rest the bad news. Orion watched her go before he looked towards A4.

"She so wants me" he said with a grin.

A4's response was to simply stare at Orion before it followed Diana down, causing the New God to look at him in surprise as he followed "What you know it's true!"

"Everyone…" Diana began to explain as she and Orion entered the apartment before stopping as they saw everyone was huddled around the couch "What's wrong?"

"What isn't?" Hera grumbled before she was silenced by a look from Zatanna.

"Diana?" Zola spoke up from the couch as Diana approached it, causing the others to part.

"Zola, are you…" Diana began only to stop and stared in slack jaw surprise as there sat Zola and Ares… and the baby!

"He brought my baby back" Zola said softly as she hugged her child while Kaine shook his head in amusement.

"I swear, no one is going to believe this, Ares, the God of War brought a baby back to his mother, safe and sound"

"Believe it boy" Ares said with a smirk as he took a sip of his drink.

"War?" Diana said as she glanced at the god in surprise.

"You owe me little one" he said with that mischievous grin that she was torn between wanting to rip off his face… and see it more often.

Diana couldn't help but smile a little "If you mean an apology. Then…"

"I was wrong about 'im, Diana" Lennox said with a sigh.

"Oh Lennox, but you weren't…" Strife grinned darkly.

"If it helps Lennox, we can say you were half wrong about them. That way everyone wins" Peter said as he patted the man on the shoulder "Trust me, being partly wrong about someone is better than being fully wrong"

"Since when?" Kaine asked with a snort.

"Since I met you and the 'others'" Peter smirked at the man who responded by giving him a less than child appropriate finger gesture which in turn caused Peter to snicker.

It was than that Zola looked up at Diana with a smile "Do you want to hold…?"

She held the baby out and Diana very carefully took him in her arms as the small blanket the child was wrapped in fell away to reveal…

"It's a boy" she said in surprise.

"Thank the stars" Orion breathed out in relief, causing everyone to turn to him with question glooks. He raised a brow at them as he shrugged "It'll be easier on me if I have to destroy a boy baby rather than a girl baby"

Diana, Zatanna, Strife, Hera and Zola all gave Orion scowls while Peter and Kaine shook their heads while Lennox muttered something under his breath that sounded like 'dumbass'. Orion saw all this and rolled his eyes "You people are all sexist"

It was then that Peter noticed something about the way that Zola was holding her child that caused him to wince "Uh Zola?"

"Yeah?" she said as she looked up at Peter to see his worried look on her "What is it?"

Instead of answering, Peter simply kneeled down to her level and carefully adjusted the position of her arms and hands "Your uh, holding him a little wrong here. He needs a little more support for his head and neck. Bones and muscle haven't really developed enough yet to sustain his own weight"

"Oh… thanks" Zola said with a thankful smile before shooting some of the other people in the room a few dirty looks "Thanks for letting me know guys"

"In my defense, I've only ever been around one baby and even then, I was never allowed to hold her" Kaine said with his hands held up in defense.

Lennox snorted as he looked at Peter while nodding towards Zola and her son "Wha', they teach you 'ow to hold a baby in hero school or somethin'?"

"No… it's… something I had to learn myself" Peter said as he stood up.

"Why'd you learn how to hold a baby?" Diana asked with a slightly curious expression on her face. While learning such a thing wasn't bad, especially with how often they've had to rescue babies because of one reason or another, it did peek her interest a little as his answer seemed to have more meaning to it beyond what he's said.

Peter's response was silence while Kaine suddenly cleared his throat, diverting the conversation's topic for the time being "So, what are we gonna name this guy?"

"I'm… not really sure yet" Zola said as she stared down at her son "Any suggestions?"

"Phil?" Kaine suggested.

"Hmm…" Zola sounded as she rubbed her child's cheek with a finger.

"Henry?" Peter offered.

"Hector?" Diana spoke up with a raised hand "Or perhaps Jason?"

"Those could work" Zola hummed in thought.

"What about…" Orion trailed off as he tired to think of a good name "Nathan?"

Everyone stared at the New God for several moments, causing him to shrug "What?"

"Dude, weren't you like hell bent on wanting to kill this kid like not even two minutes ago and still kinda are?" Kaine asked with a frown.

"Yeah, seems kinda weird to have this kid's potential murderer name him is all" Peter said with a nod before his face contorted into an unusual expression "Jesus that just sounds messed up saying it"

"I know right?" Zatanna nodded in agreement.

"Even I can recognize how warped that sounds… and I'm a God that revels in war of all things" Ares said as he took a sip of his drink.

"Ah screw you all anyway" Orion said as he folded his arms across his chest and sulked.

"Still, Nathan is a good name" Zola said as she looked down at her son with a small loving smile "But I was thinking of something a little simpler. Easy to remember but still somehow unique"

"Lester?" Peter offered.

Hera frowned at that "How's that simple to remember?"

"Because there's not many people named Lester, so the name would stick maybe?" Peter said with a shrug "I don't know, I'm not what one would call great at picking names for people… just ask Diana"

"It's true… he's pretty bad" Diana giggled as the name 'Human Spider' came to mind.

Kaine snorted at this, having a good idea what they were referring to, while Zola chuckled as she gave a small kiss on her son's forehead "I was thinking… Zeke"

She then glanced up at Orion and gave him and amused grin "And Nathan would make a good middle name"

"I… I'm good with that" Orion said with a cough as he turned away.

"Aww I think he's blushing" Peter said with a grin as he bumped his shoulder into Zatanna's who replied with an amused yet tired grin.

As the unlikely group of friends… a family, watched over the smiling and giggling baby, across the street and atop another building, a lone figure stood. The figure was an odd-looking being, it was vaguely humanoid but still clearly something not of the Earth or that of any planet whose race has visited this world in the past.

They possessed grey skin, no hair, and their eyes looked to be a small universe was swirling within. They're were clad in some sort of hyper advance armor, far beyond anything ever seen by any one in this universe or the others. It had several sections glowing an odd orange like color that each gave off an energy signature that was beyond the combined power of every star in this universe and yet, it was as cool as water to the touch.

The being's eyes narrowed in interest as it stared at Peter specifically, it very carefully reached out towards his mind before stopping as another presence within him reached out in defense.

"So… it's still within you" they muttered, their voice light but powerful.

After several moments the being sighed as it began to fold in on himself, becoming something akin to a singularity before he vanished entirely, leaving no trace it was ever there at all... it was still too early to approach the Spider and there were still a few things it had to see to first.


And done.

Next chapter, Peter begins to take his first steps in trying to learn how to harness magic and afterwards… the long-awaited family reunion.