Chapter 3 – Another Amazon Birthday

It had been a perfect end to a near-perfect day for the now fourteen year-old A-ko Magami, or - as was written on her American birth certificate - Martha Kent. A-ko (or Martha) was sitting up in bed, feeling very grown up at the moment and very content with her stomach stuffed full of cake and ice cream. She had just celebrated her fourteenth birthday with a party.

But this had not been just any birthday party. This celebration of her entrance into the world had been special to her. Her father, known to the world at large as Superman, had outdone himself with the food, and most important of all, with the cake. By any account, it had been a masterpiece. Even her mother, also known as Wonder Woman, who almost always shunned contact with the neighbors or any outsiders, had been more than happy to play hostess this day.

These two superheroes had ended up in Japan to get a little anonymity and the chance of a quieter existence. Fourteen years ago, the first Graviton City had been destroyed by the impact of an alien spaceship carrying the infant princess C-ko in a stasis tube. Luckily, the child had been found after the blast and had been raised by a caring Earth couple. The disaster had resulted in not only the loss of many lives but also the destruction of nearly all official records. Taking advantage of the chaos, they became the Magami family and so far had managed to keep their true identities secret.

This birthday had been more special than A-ko's other birthday parties. It had been her first boy-girl party that her parents allowed her to host. Because of this special moment in her life, A-ko had made sure to invite enough male friends from the local boys' high school and military academy. This had made this party a new and exciting experience for both the young redhead and perhaps most of all for her cousin Zoey Valcuria, who had flown in with Aunt Donna from Themyscira Island, home of the Terran Amazons, to celebrate the anniversary of A ko's birth.

Even C-ko had been happy with the day's events. She had been thoughtful enough to show up with one of her infamous concoctions (she called it a casserole) to help celebrate the happy event. A-ko's father, known to the world at large as Earth's greatest hero, proved it by actually eating most of C-ko's so-called birthday treat! A-ko had known, or at least had reason to have hoped, that not even C ko's cooking would be able hurt her dad. But when she reflected back on what had happened to her whenever she'd been so foolish or brave to sample her friend's cooking, even she had begun to have her doubts about her father's safety. The reason her father had made this sacrifice was so his daughter's best friend wouldn't have her feelings hurt. Another reason was because he had known if any of his daughter's guests were foolish enough to sample the little blonde's cooking, there wouldn't be enough room in front of the Magami home for all the ambulances that would be needed to carry them to the hospital. Even her mother had tried to her part and to help her husband by eating a portion of C-ko's cooking for herself. However, she had paid for it by spending the rest of the afternoon in the bathroom, being punished for her good deed.

Then there had been party games, the two favorite being "Spin the Bottle" and "Post Office". A-ko had a good reason to enjoy them; even C-ko in her own way had seemed interested. But it was Zoey's enthusiasm for the game that A-ko had found most surprising, and - in the end - most endearing. Zoey might have been shy at first and even reluctant to participate. But by the time the games had ended and the party had broken up, her smile had told her cousin that not only had she'd enjoyed the party, but her first tentative kiss with a boy as well. These thoughts ran through the birthday girl's mind as she lay in bed wearing one of her father's old white dress shirts. She stared up at the ceiling, fingers interlocked behind her head, and began to think about the future. It was while A-ko was contemplating the future that she heard the knock at the door.

"May I come in?"

"Sure, Mom," was A-ko's answer.

The door opened and in glided A-ko's mother. Even dressed in a simple house dress, she still looked regal. Nearly six feet tall, her dress did very little to conceal her well-muscled athletic form. She was nearly seventy years old, and anyone who ever had the luck to see her now would have sworn she was no more than twenty- five. As she made her way to her daughter's bedside, A-ko saw at once that she was carrying a ornate carved wooden box. As she sat down on the edge of her daughter's bed, she placed the wooden box on her lap. She then reached over and gently and tenderly stroked the bangs of her child's flaming red hair.

Spying the box her mother held in her lap, A-ko asked, "What do you have there, Mom?"

"A final gift," answered her mother.

She protested by saying, "I got more than enough presents already today, Mama."

"This is a special gift, my child." She held her daughter to her breast protectively before she whispered into her ear. "Those gifts you received from your friends, your Aunt Donna and Zoey - and even the ones you received from your father and I - were children's gifts given to a child." A-ko watched as her mother placed her hand on top of the box in her lap. "This is a gift that one woman gives to another. Most important of all, it is a gift from a mother to her soon-to-be adult daughter."

She handed the box to A-ko, who took it tenderly into her own hands. Placing it on her own lap, A-ko lifted the lid and was greeted by the sight of a pair of long black bracelets. A-ko ran a finger down the length of the bracelets before she said, "They're gorgeous, Mama, but where did they come from?"

Her mother smiled at her before she answered, "They were the ones I wore when I was pregnant with you. I noticed your bracelets were getting a little tight. These will expand as you grow older and larger. They will also give you finer control over your powers and emotions." She then added, "Your father and I both noticed that it was getting harder for you to control yourself, both emotionally and physically. These will help."

Slowly and carefully A-ko removed one bracelet - the same one she'd worn every day of her life for as far back as she could remember - from her wrist. As she did so, she began to shake as she fought for emotional and then physical control. She lightly tossed her old bracelet onto the night table, but instead, it went flying across the room and embedded itself into the far wall of her bedroom. Suddenly, an almost-maniacal look of rage slowly spread across the girl's face as her suddenly-concerned mother quickly took hold of her shaking arm.

There was a brief struggle between mother and daughter. But her mother's own legendary strength proved superior to her daughter's as she was still able to place the new bracelet on her daughter's wrist. Diana continued to do the honors for her daughter by first removing, then replacing, her old childhood bracelets with her new ones. When she finished, A-ko held up her arms and, while opening and closing her fists, tested how well they seemed to fit her.

"How do they feel?" asked her mother.

With the new bracelets on her, A-ko stopped fighting with her mother and let out a deep sigh. "Better, much better. They don't pinch at all, and I also feel - well, it's hard to explain, Mama-"

"Calmer? More in control of your emotions?" asked her mother.

A-ko thought about it for a moment, and then told her mother, "Yes, and I feel much more relaxed also."

"Good, very good! I was hoping that they would have that effect on you. You were beginning to outgrow your old childhood bracelets. Besides, they soon would have been unable to control your emotional or physical rages much longer," explained her mother.

"And they really look cool, too," added A-ko.

Smiling back at her daughter, her mother told her, "I suppose they do!" After a final hug and a goodnight kiss, A-ko's mother stood up over her daughter and told her, "Sleep well, baby. You have a decision to make tomorrow, and you will need your rest."

"What decision is that, Mama?" asked A-ko.

"Tomorrow. We will talk about it tomorrow! Your papa will be up soon to kiss you goodnight and tuck you in." She paused at the doorway, turned once more to face her only child, and told her, "Don't forget to dig that bracelet out of the wall tomorrow, and make sure you put them somewhere safe."

"Why, Mama?"

With a knowing smile her mother said,"You might need them for your own daughter someday." Diana made sure to leave quickly and not look behind her, to ensure that she wouldn't see the wide-eyed expression of shock on her daughter's young face as she left.

A-ko went back to staring at the ceiling and thinking about the future - only this time she did so with the brand-new possibility her mother had just entered into the equation.

Diana made her way to the den and sat down next to her husband. As she leaned her head on his shoulder, he asked her, "How did A-ko like her present?"

"Loved them!" she answered. "She's feeling better already. And if I'm any judge, she's also feeling very grown-up at the moment." She then quickly added, "But she's still waiting for her daddy to tuck her in and kiss her goodnight."

"Then I'd better get to it!"

As he began walking up the stairs to their daughter's bedroom, his wife told him, "When you're done saying goodnight, I have something to discuss with you."

He stopped in mid-stride and asked, "You're sure it can wait?"

"It can wait," she replied.

As he knocked on A-ko's door and then went inside, the one-time Princess of Amazons thought to herself, "When we do have our little talk, and my love discovers what it is that I want to talk about, I think my Kansas farm-boy's head is going to hit the roof!"