YEAR: 1940.
Roni kept her promises. She visted Marcos and Sameer very often, making sure they were happy and living. Sameer got to live out part of his dream: he hasn't become a famous actor yet but he was in the small business and Roni couldn't be happier for him. Marcos was content with his job in Greece and he took care of the house and garden that Melaina had left him.
Whenever she visited Marcos, she was afraid to even go near the weapon's shop ever since Mr. Serapis had commented on her professions, which she had never mentioned to anyone. Roni knew she should've barged into his store and demanded to know how and why he knew that but she was too afraid. So she never did.
Of course, another war had begun. Another Ludendorf had made himself heard and become the enemy. Another millions of lives were being taken. This time, she had no Steve Trevor to motivate her. No old group to join. Not even Diana had tried to contact her. Maybe she was still believing that mankind didn't deserve her. Roni wasn't so sure. Part of her wanted to intervene, to look up another spy agency to join. The other part didn't. It wanted to see what the humans would do without her help. Either way, she was too scared to use her powers. She still hadn't mastered them and more kept revealing themselves by impulsive acting.
Sitting on the sandy beach with her book in her lap, she was stuck. She had nothing more to write at this point which was almost a motivational reason for her to join the war. She enjoyed the sound of the waves, ones that she so rarely heard on Themyscira, but then opened her eyes. Another presence had just joined her, causing her entire chest to tighten. It couldn't be.
"I'm glad you've made yourself at home somewhere. Though I didn't expect it to be a beach. Not really our type." A male voice said from behind her.
Roni quickly stood up and turned around. Her lips parted and her eyebrows pushed themselves closer when her gaze landed on a familiar face. Mr. Serapis stood there, hands down his pockets, not aged a day. It wasn't possible.
"How? Wh– How have you not aged? It's been years." She stuttered.
"I could ask you the same." He retorted.
"Serapis..." She whispered to herself and closed her eyes in frustration. "I'm so stupid. I should've figured it out. I thought you were dead. Ares killed the Olympians."
"He did. But I'm not an Olympian. I mean, I am technically, but I never left the underworld. I was never at Olympus so when Ares had his little breakdown and went on a murder spree, I stayed put and he forgot about me." Hades explained shortly. Tears started to heavy her eyes but she refused to cry in front of him.
"You left me and yet you think it's okay to meddle in my life without telling me?" She questioned sarcastically. "You're unbelievable. I don't want anything to do with you or Eris."
"Can you please let me explain? I know you don't want to hear it but please, I need to." He pleaded and took a few steps closer. She held up her palm shortly before sighing and sitting down. He carefully joined her side and pulled his legs up against his chest.
"If I can write it down right now. It'll distract me from wanting to punch you as you talk." She demanded and opened a new page in her book, spinning the pencil between her fingers.
"I never abandoned you. When you were born, Zeus threatened to kill you. Yes, a child. He would've killed you just for being a potential threat to him if I hadn't left you at Themyscira. I never wanted to leave you but it was to protect you. I knew Hippolyta despised me but I thought that if she got to hold you for a awhile, that she would see you were just a kid, that she would treat you as her own. I've learned now that she didn't and I'm so sorry. If I had known, I would've come but she made me promise that I nor your mother wouldn't ever visit you and if a god breaks his promise... that gives consequences. You can't break a promise as a god or goddess. That's why I never visited. When you left, I used the skills Hephaestus taught me and forged weapons because I knew you'd want them. I was going to tell you the second you entered my store but I just... couldn't bring myself to do it."
"Why not?" She cut in and glanced at him. "I was right there, so many times. You should've told me."
"I know. It was my mistake not to. I was afraid you'd hate me too much to listen to me and then disappear. As a weapon's seller only, you trusted me, became my friend. It was selfish of me, I'm aware, but I liked where we were at. Then you went to war and I panicked. I contacted your mother–"
"Who scared me so badly that I went into a mental breakdown." She muttered under her breath.
"–and asked her to help. That's why she warned you when you crash landed on Themyscira. She had a feeling the war would scar you for life in more ways than one but since you went anyway, she watched over you, helped you when that gas got to you. I know you hate her but she's... complicated."
"That's an understatement. Look, it doesn't matter what you say about her, I will never consider her my mother." She wanted to make that clear. He sighed and looked down for a brief moment.
"She's the goddess of discord, Roni. She thrives on chaos, it's how she was born. It's what she was born to do. But when she had you, a part of her changed. She doesn't create disasters, mankind do. She simply... whispers ideas and absorb the pain and anger that chaos brings. With you in the world, she's trying so hard to change."
"Did you just..." She frowned and held up her pen. "You just said Roni. I never corrected you in Greece."
"It's your name now, isn't it? At least that's what I've heard." He shrugged. She stared at him before turning her focus back to her book.
"How do I even know you're speaking the truth?"
"Ask Hippolyta."
"Yeah, cause she's been so truthful to me before." She scoffed and stood up. "I can't trust you, Hades. I've been alone my entire life, I don't need you to try and be a father after thirty years or more. I don't even know facts about myself. I've spent all my birthdays alone, which I haven't been been sure were on the right date and–"
"April 5th." He stated while standing up as well. "That's the date you were born. April 5th."
"Great. So I've been celebrating myself on the wrong date. Awesome." She shook her head slowly and allowed a few tears to roll down her cheeks now. "You can convince yourself that you didn't abandone me but I will never buy it. You did abandone me. You left me on an island with a woman who looked at me as if I were an abomination. The second Diana was born, she never cared for me anymore. She treated me as an object to train and that was it. I never got to meet anyone other than her and Antiope. I had no parental figures, not even a proper mentor to guide me. All I had was a sword and a battle strategy. Wasn't I worth breaking a promise for? Not even your daughter? I've coped through and I've turned out pretty good but not thanks to you. I've shaped myself and I don't need you now. You're too late, Hades. You don't even deserve to have me in your life!" She vented angrily, clenching her fists beside her body.
"I can help you with your powers." He suggested. She blinked at him, trying to come up with a way to murder him. The one thing she did need help with and he played that card. "You're right. I am too late to be a father. But if anything, I can help you with your powers. You've got so many from both Eris and I and I want you to be in control. Don't you?"
"I hate you." She proclaimed with a soulless voice. He nodded once in understanding.
Before accepting his help, Roni marched forward and punched him across the face. Hades bent down a little and stroked his jaw. Somehow he sensed that she wasn't done. She took a quick look at him, remembered that he looked her in the eyes so many times in Greece and straight up lied to her face. So she punched him one last time and then backed away.
"I take that as a yes?" He assumed and she rolled her eyes. "You look just like–"
"Don't. Say it." She quickly cut him off and started moving toward her small home. He followed like a lost puppy and took a look inside as they entered. With crossed arms, she stared him down until he spoke.
"It's easier to sit. Brings you closer to the earth." He suggested and sat down himself, legs crossed. Sighing, Roni sat down with her legs bent to the side and her hand supporting her upper body. "You have a lot of powers and abilities. Which ones have you discovered?"
"The first thing I did was to become invisible. Well, rendered to my surroundings." She answered and pursed her lips.
"Okay, good. That's an ability that really doesn't require training as much... when you become invisible, you allow your physical appearance to, like you said, render to your surroundings. Nothing more, nothing less. What else?"
"I can control shadows."
"My favorite. Let's practice. Grab those shadows." He ordered softly and nodded toward a corner.
Roni sat with her back straight and legs crossed. She gave him a skeptical look before moving those shadows to in between them. He placed a hand inside it and frowned with his lips.
"Now what?" She questioned.
"A shadow is a reflection. You have the power to transform it into a solid material. Can you do that?"
"Yeah." She nodded before narrowing her eyes and slowly clenching her fist as she focused on making it more solid. Then she wrapped the shadow around his wrist and tightened the grip just to mess with him.
"Wow, that's good." He laughed and snapped his fingers, instantly dissolving the shadow.
"Hey!"
"I can see that you focus too much. When you discovered these powers, in what sort of situation were you in?" He asked.
"War." She deadpanned. "I never focused, I was just in a difficult situation and I tried my way through. I just thought of what I wanted and it happened."
"Exactly. We don't work on strategy and discipline. Our powers come from emotion, impulse. All you really have to do is imagine what you want the shadows to do and they'll do it. Soon you won't even have to use your hands." He explained and she pouted jokingly.
"But that's the fun part. Waving my hands like a sorcerer." She whispered and dramatically circled her hands up and down. He laughed and so did she for a brief moment until she remembered who she was laughing with. "No! No, no, we're not having a good time. Go on. What else can I do?"
"In Germany, you tried something. Eris told me you tried to block a missile." He stated carefully. She bit on the insides of her cheeks and looked to the side with glossy eyes. "Sorry. I know it's a sensitive topic."
"I failed." She stated and looked at him.
"But it's possible. Come on."
Hades stood up and left her house. With a confused expression, Roni hesitantly followed and folded her arms together. He looked at her and smiled as he noticed that she was still wearing her bracelets. She followed his gaze.
"What? I never take them off."
"That's good. I want you to summon as much shadow as you can." He motioned around them.
Roni inhaled deeply and did as she was told. Surveying the area, she raised her hands with her palm facing the sky to the level of her hips and simply imagined a big cloud of shadows in front of her. Then it was there. Hades smiled proudly before he told her to solidify it.
"This is as far as I came in Veld. What now?"
"A forcefield is electric. Use your bracelets but don't smash them with all you've got, please. That never ends well."
"Alright..." Roni mumbled and raised her arms. She simply put her bracelets against each other with little force and grinned when they created sparks of electricity that manifested itself on the wall of shadows.
To test if she succeeded, Hades carefully flicked his fingers against the forcefield and winced when it forced him backwards. Then he tried to punch it but was only knocked down. Roni gaped happily and tried to contain her excitement.
"Well done." He smiled and rose up.
"This is so awesome!"
"It is, isn't it? Once you've done this for a few times, you'll be able to create much bigger walls while not tiring yourself as much. Is there anything else you've discovered?"
"Yeah." She answered in a hoarse voice and pulled her fingers through her hair. It'd been so many years but she still remembered exactly how it felt to watch Keith die. "My least favorite one."
"Controlling the dead?" He guessed and she nodded. "It's... it's a tough power to get used to. It's also the hardest one to control. You see, the dead are dead. All they want to do is rest and be at peace. When you force them out of that, they can become a liability. The longer you use them, the bigger the chance that they'll stop obeying you and wreac havoc which is why you shouldn't use this unless you know exactly how to force them back to the underworld."
"And how do I do that?"
"If they go willingly, they'll return once you're done. When they start to act out, your mind control isn't enough. You have to physically grab them and travel down with them, otherwise they can resist it. But since they're dead, a touch from you is enough to put them back. However, you'd have to use them for a long while until they get enough. I'd say... tops fifteen minutes. So you can control them, see newly deceased souls and..."
"Feel their death as they pass through me to the underworld?" She finished. He frowned at her and then sighed. "Yeah, that's happened a few times. No need to lecture me about how painful it can be."
"That'll get easier too eventually." He offered but she only scoffed and looked down.
"I've also discovered minor things. Like, I can literally dress myself without changing clothes. I can force people to sleep, I can sort of transport myself from spot to spot which I've decided to call shadow traveling and I'm super strong."
"Sounds about right. Those are from me. Your mother passed on her... sense of chaos, but not in the way you think. You don't thrive on it like she does but you're as passionate and impulsive as she is in the middle of it. You might feel mighty but once it ends, you'll hate feeling that. You should also be able to somehow sense when chaos is coming. Can you?"
"I've... had these dreams." She confessed and fidgeted. "In my first dream, I was standing on a field with blood in my hands but it wasn't mine. Then I was at a funeral. Both those things happened. I don't want to have these dreams. I don't like them."
"I suppose that's how you sense it. I'm sorry you have to bear this."
"You're sorry?" She laughed but without humor, which quite frankly scared even him. Just like that, they were back to square one. "You should've thought of that before you banged the goddess of discord! What did you expect?!"
"I didn't– I fell in love with your mother, okay? I'm sorry you have her powers as well but we can work through it."
"I don't want to!" She yelled. "I don't want anything from you! So if you're done training me, I'd like you to piss off, okay. I can work it out myself from here, I've done a good job so far. Thanks for teaching me the whole forcefield trick. Now if you're done, please leave."
"Roni..."
"Leave." She repeated harshly and looked at him with dark eyes. He was going to object but noticed how her hands were absorbing shadows and raised his hands defensively.
"Just... be careful, okay?" He said before disappearing in a black smoke down to the underworld. That's when Roni broke down.
Falling down to the ground, she pressed her fist against her lips and tried to suppress her cries. It was just all too much. She wasn't even sure if she wanted her dad to leave and she wasn't sure if she could handle all of her powers with no one by her side to help. Burying her face against her kneecaps, she sobbed as quietly as she could, hoping the waves would drown it out. At this point she wouldn't even walk away from Diana.
