Superman, Son of Hippolyta - A T-Rexcellent Reviews Fanfiction
I of course own no DC Comics properties or characters and make no money off of this, I am merely a giant DC Fan who wants to share my stories with all of you.
Chapter 3: A Falling Star
On a hidden island somewhere in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea…
When Ancient Greece finally fell, many of its unique tribes fell with it, but not all of them.
The Amazons, a society of warrior women who had been wronged by men in the vilest of ways, had fled from the Fall of Ancient Greece to a remote island in the middle of the Mediterranean, gifted to them by the Goddess Hera in exchange for their devout worship and eternal loyalty to her.
There the sisterhood had stayed, on the beautiful, secret island they had named Themyscira, whose location had been forgotten by all but a few into the modern era, their warrior women legacy reduced to myth in what they now called Man's World.
It was on this island, inside Themyscira's Royal Palace of Hera, where a mother and her young daughter watched a meteor shower together, where are story really begins…
"Mother, what's that bright light in the sky." The little raven-haired princess asked her beautiful raven-haired mother, pointing up at the night sky.
Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons and Ruler of the Island of Themyscira walked out across marble balcony and looked up into the night sky at what exactly her daughter was pointing at.
"It's a falling star, Diana." Hippolyta explained, smiling at her daughter's enchanted expression as she watched the shining light shoot across the dark sky, looking back up at the starry night, the queen could understand why the princess was so mesmerised by the sight of it.
It was beautiful.
But it also reminded her that it was well past her daughter's bedtime as well, Hippolyta realised belatedly before bending down to pick up her daughter off the balcony bench.
"Come on Diana, it's time for bed." She said as she turned and walked back inside the palace with her young daughter in her arms, doing so ensuring that neither saw that the falling star they had been watching had suddenly changed course and had started coming even closer to their island than before.
"But mother… I'm not…" Diana whined softly as the queen carried her back into her bedroom before yawning loudly into her mother's shoulder. "… tired."
"Oh really?" The queen chuckled in amusement at her daughter's usual defiance to her bedtime, the princess just pouted though before yawning once more as her mother laid her down on her bed and pulled the blankets over her small body. "That's enough defiance for one night, my rebellious Little Sunlight, it's time for sleep."
"Goodnight mother." The little princess said tiredly right before she snuggled deep into her pillow and fell fast asleep in mere moments.
"Goodnight Diana." Hippolyta said as she tucked a loose strand of raven hair behind her daughter's ear, the princess sighed in her sleep and the queen smiled fondly at the sight she saw every night.
Her daughter, her princess, she was the Future of the Amazon's and a Gift from the Greek Gods, she was the queens little ray of light in this otherwise dark world.
Her Little Sunlight.
She could've stayed liked that for hours, just watching her child sleep peacefully, but even the Queen of the Amazons needed rest herself and got up to leave, but just as Hippolyta reached the bedchambers door, it opened to reveal her royal scribe, a blue eyed and light brown-haired Amazon named Clio.
"Clio?" The queen said in obvious surprise.
"Your majesty, please forgive the intrusion." Clio said gasping, as if she was out of breath from running. "But General Phillippus and the rest of the council sent me to find you". She added as she finally caught site of the island's princess fast asleep in her bed.
Hippolyta looked back at her sleeping daughter before turning to face her scribe again. "Let us take this outside, sister."
The queen and her scribe both left the room, Hippolyta making sure to close the door as quietly as she could and after walking far enough away that she was certain their voices would not wake Diana, she turned to Clio again. "What is it Clio, has something happened?
"I do not know, your majesty, the council has just called an emergency meeting and sent me to bring you back to the Throne Room". Brunette scribe answered after finally catching her breath. "My Queen, General Phillippus and the night patrol, they've… found something."
A little later, in the Palace's Throne Room…
The silver pod was laid out in the middle of the palace throne room by the time Hippolyta and Clio arrived, the council as well as several other Amazons were standing around, curiously examining the strange almost… alien object.
"You say you saw this… pod just fall right out of the sky, Philippus?" The queen asked as she looked down at it curiously.
General Phillippus, a strong dark-skinned woman with black hair maid into a long braid, leader of the Amazon army and the queens second in command nodded. "Just off the east coast your majesty, it flew across the sky before landing in the ocean, it had just washed up on shore when we got to it."
"If it fell from the stars, do you think it was sent by the Gods?" Acantha asked curiously, she was a pony tailed redheaded Amazon with deep green eyes and a senator member of the island's council.
"Maybe, but if so, why wouldn't they deliver it to us in person." Menalippe replied, she was a bleach blonde and blue-eyed Amazon who acted as the island's High Priestess. "They have always done so before, why do so differently now?"
Words of agreement were heard from other Amazons in the room and Hippolyta founding herself nodding in agreement with them as well.
Their Gods or rather their Goddesses at least, were very generous, but at the same time they were never shy about making their presence known to their worshippers when they were bestowing gifts upon them, but if this strange metal pod did not come from any of the Olympians, then where did it come from?
"If this pod did not come from Mount Olympus, then… do you think it came from Man's World?" Oenone a short, dark skinned and equally dark braided haired Amazon and the islands leading Botanist asked rather hesitantly.
This, of course sent the other Amazons around the room back to whispering amongst themselves, more concernedly than before, because if this pod did in fact come from the World of Men, then its arrival here could be the first of many ill tidings for Themyscira, Hippolyta bent down to examine the pod again, this time taking a closer look than before.
Its design and material were unlike anything she had ever seen in any Grecian metal, even that forged by the Smith God Hephaestus, the pod was pointed like a sword, but at the same time, also rounded like a shield, its reflective surface was surprisingly beautiful to look upon, shining in certain light, smooth to the touch, but still remarkable durable as well and as the queen ran her hand along its cooling surface, she could've sworn it almost felt alive, like it breathed.
"Whatever it is… we should destroy it." A new, sterner voice declared.
The crowd of women all turned to look as a group of four heavily armed and armoured Amazon's entered the palace's throne room.
The Queen's Circle had arrived.
Alkyone, the appointed captain of the queen's personal guard was a green-eyed bald-headed woman, with little physical beauty to her appearance and fierce disposition, but still she was one of the island's best warriors and devoutly loyal to the queen as she oft to proclaim to her sisters, it was for these reasons alone she was made Captain of the Queen's Circle.
Myrto, a tall, blonde women with ice blue cold eyes and a blonde head of hair tied back into a short ponytail, the Atlantean trident she carried was almost as tall as she was, its three points jagged reaching up to her stern face.
Charis, a broad, muscular women with dark hair and equally dark skin, stood out amongst the Queen's Circle and all of the Amazons in general as the strongest women on the island, she wore a steel helm with a Leopard skin around her shoulders as a cloak, in her hands she carried a pair of spiked maces fashioned from the bones of animals she had killed with her bare hands.
Philomela, was the slightest and shortest of her circle sisters, blue eyed and raven haired, but what she lacked in statue and strength, she more than made up for archery skills and was considered by many to be the deadliest bowomen on the island.
Alkyone, the one who had spoken, pushed her way to the front of the crowd and looked down distastefully at the alien pod before prodding it with the tip of her sword, she then turned to Hippolyta. "Whatever this thing is your Majesty, it can only bring pain and misery to Themyscira, especially if comes from Man's World, we should destroy it immediately."
"We do not know that, Alkyone." Hippolyta retorted to the captain of her personal guard. "We don't even know if it poses a threat or not."
"Anything that comes from the World of Man is a threat to the Amazonian way of life, my queen." Alkyone reconfirmed before turning to glare at Philippus. "General Philippus has forgotten this, it would seem, she should have destroyed this… pod the moment it washed ashore."
Philippus narrowed her eyes at the bald women and while the other Amazons argued about what to do with the strange alien pod, Epione, the islands Head Healer, a light brunette and green-eyed Amazon, curiously bent down and pressed her ear to the top of it, trying to listen it over the sounds of her sister's bickering voices.
A moment later, Epione eyes widened and she pulled back with a loud gasp, which immediately got the attention of the other Amazons around her, the queen included.
"Epione, what is it?" Hippolyta asked, sounding concerned.
"Your Majesty, I heard… breathing coming from within the pod." Epione said uncertainly, looking up at her queen slowly in shock. "I think there's something alive inside of it."
The other Amazons exchanged surprised and uncertain looks of their own, before Philippus stepped forward, spear in hand and took charge.
"Stand back sister." The General ordered as Epione moved out of her way, Philippus then moved the tip of her spear along the pods rim until she finally found a gap within the strange metal, but just as she began to push the tip inward, to her amazement and that of every other Amazon in the room, the top part of the pod began to shift, to move, to… open.
"By the Goddesses." Hippolyta heard some of other women whisper as they watched what was happening when a loud snake-like hiss was heard as the top part of the pod slid slowly open, realising a cloud of pressurised mist into crowd, the Amazons reacted instinctively, falling into battle ready stances whilst the circle surrounded their queen, weapons already drawn.
But as the mist eventually dissipated and no surprise attack came for any of them from within it, Hippolyta ordered her guards to lower their weapons while the other Amazons in the room slowly relaxed their stances.
Turning her gaze to the now opened pod, Hippolyta walked past her guards in order to see exactly what was inside it, the other Amazons in the room all leaned in to see as well, their curiosity finally getting the better of them.
But as Amazons of Themyscira looked down into the pod, what they saw shocked and astonished them.
"My queen, what is it?" Alkyone asked urgently, from where she stood at the back of the gathered crowd, the bald captain could not see what was inside.
"It's… its… a child." Hippolyta said simply, too surprised at that moment to say anything else as she stared down into the open pod.
The child was only an infant, lying fast asleep in a makeshift crib of comfortable cushioning with what looked like a white Wolfdog pup curled up by its side, the babe was dressed in a blue cloth from shoulder to heel and a tuft of dark hair the colour of night sky atop a small head.
Why someone had placed this child inside this strange pod was not obvious to the group of warrior women at that moment, but what was obvious after a few moments of staring, was that this child was not female.
But before anyone of them could comment on this rather obvious fact though, a bright light emanated from the front of the pod before it shot outwards a few metres away, projecting moving holographic images… of people, a man, a woman… and a child.
"By the Goddesses!" Menalippe gasped aloud in shock.
"What manner of sorcery is this?" Acantha exclaimed, the senator just as alarmed as the other Amazons were by the sudden sight of these transparent strangers in their throne room. "Is it some kind of illusion?"
"No, it's not an illusion sister." Hippolyta said calmly as she finally realised just what they were seeing. "It's a memory."
The Amazons were all silent after that and proceeded to watch as this… memory unfolded before their very eyes.
"Jor, I can't leave you." A beautiful blonde-haired woman said whilst holding a crying child in her arms to a dark-haired man holding the buckling door against whatever force was trying to break into their home, the sounds of numerous demonic shrieks and growls could be heard just on the other side.
"You have to Laura! Go! Save our son!" The dark-haired, blue eyed man told her as he strained himself against the near constant savage blows that were being delivered upon the door, it was clear he wasn't going to be able to hold it for much longer.
The women, Laura rushed forward and kissed the man, Jor, before turning and running deeper into their home with a stifled sob, clutching her crying child tightly in her arms.
A few moments later, and the sound of the door being broken down was clearly heard followed immediately by the roars of battle, but the mother did not turn back to help her husband, instead choosing to honour what was clearly going to be his dying request, as she ran, the sound of many fast footsteps followed her, before finally, she came to a large room and closed the door behind her.
Immediately after, those same animalistic sounds from before were heard on the other side of the door, followed by relentless clawing and pounding as the pack of marauding creatures fought to break into the chamber.
Laura looked back to make sure the door would hold for the moment, before rushing over to a metallic pod pointing towards the roof of the room, beside it was a control panel and a basket with something barking inside it.
The mother set her child down in the basket for the moment before frantically punching commands into the pods control panel and with a pressurised hiss, the top part of the pod opened revealing the cushioned crib inside, the women then quickly bent back over the basket, but instead of picking up her child, she picked up what looked like a small, white wolf pup instead.
"Krypto, you know your duty, protect my son, above all else, keep him safe." The women said to the young pup in her hands, who barked enthusiastically at the order before licking the women's face sympathetically and despite her obvious dire situation, the women laughed slightly before placing the canine in the pod.
Then the women bent back down and picked up her child, the infant was still wailing away, but she quickly calmed him back down with a few calming words and her maternal presence, slowly the child stopped crying and looked up into his mother's blue eyes as she held him in her arms, smiling both lovingly and sadly at the same time.
"I love you Kal, my beautiful boy." The mother said tearfully to her child, holding him to her heart one last time before putting him in the pod with the pup and sealing them both inside as the top part of it was closed shut.
The blonde-haired women took a deep breath and reluctantly looked once again at the panel, her eyes focusing on the largest button atop the device, which was flashing a red light, with a heavy heart, she pushed it.
A moment later, the ceiling above her opened up, to reveal a blood red sky filled with fire and smoke, she looked up at it for the briefest of moments, before looking back down at the pod, just as jets of flame began to erupt from its sides, seconds later, the metal pod was launched out of the building and shot straight up into the air, seemingly by its own power.
The mother watched as the pod containing her child and his pet protector flew higher and higher up into the ominous sky, away from the nightmarish world below until eventually it disappeared completely from her sight, lost within the darkness of the abyss
"Be safe, my son." Laura whispered to herself, tears streaming down her face. "May Rao's light watch over you, wherever you go
Before she could say or do anything else however, a sudden was crash was heard as the door was finally broken down, the creatures that came through it were obscured by smoke, but one could still make out their demonic appearances and glowing red eyes filled with malicious intent.
The women turned around to face them with an expression of defiant resolve in the face of almost certain death, she pulled out a sword that was strapped to her back and lunged towards her adversaries with a fierce war cry.
But before any of the Amazons could see what happened next, the projection was cut off abruptly as the light suddenly retreated back into the pod before dying down, leaving the recently very noisy room, deathly quiet and the crowd of warrior women stunned silent by what they had all just seen.
Eventually though, each of the Amazons slowly snapped out of their trance before looking back at the pod, back at the infant and his pup who still slept soundly inside.
"By the Goddesses." Menalippe gasped again.
"He's… he's an orphan." Cydippe realised.
"She gave her life… so that he could live." Oenone whispered.
"She fought bravely." Hippolyta said solemnly, both to herself and to Phillippus who was standing beside her, still looking in the spot where the projected holograms had been moments before.
"That she did, your majesty." Phillippus agreed quietly, the queen's second in command was likewise, just as subdued by what they had just seen and for a few moments, the majority of the Amazons were respectably silent, honouring the final brave act of this Laura woman that they did not know.
Hippolyta barely noticed; she was too deep in her own rather troubled thoughts at the moment, seeing this Laura women, this fellow mother who fought with the spirit of an Amazon, send her child into the unknown to save him from certain death, would I be able to do the same thing, send Diana away from Themyscira and into Man's World for her own safety, if some threat came to Themyscira that I could not protect her from?
The queen honestly did not know if she ever could do such a thing, she only hoped she would never have to make such a terrible decision like that, but regardless of her own maternal fears, Hippolyta could not help but feel touched by the devotion this Laura women and her husband had for their child, willing to sacrifice their own lives to save his.
Some however, where not so touched.
"This change's nothing." Alkyone all but stated without an ounce of sympathy in her voice, the scarred warrior then turned around back to loom over the metallic pod where the boy and his pup still soundly slept with a cold glare.
But not for much longer, as Alkyone reached down and grabbed the sleeping babe by his left leg before hoisting the infant roughly up into air.
Naturally, this quickly awoke the boy from his slumber and he immediately began to cry while his pup who was also now awake started barking angrily at the towering women.
"Be silent mongrel!" Alkyone snapped, although, it was unclear if she was speaking to the barking pup or the wailing babe that she continued to hold upside in a not so gentle manner, the bald-headed women then pulled a cruel looking dagger from her belt.
"Alkyone! What are doing!" Acantha exclaimed in alarm.
"What does it look like I'm doing." Alkyone snarled as she pointed at the wailing child's middle with her dagger. "I'm gutting this little beast before it has the chance to grow up and rape one of us!"
"No, sister you cannot!" Cydippe said in panicked protest.
"Just watch me." Alkyone spat as she took aim for the boy's belly and drew her dagger hand back, ready to plunge it into the child's-
"Alkyone! Release the boy! Immediately!" Phillippus demanded in a dangerous tone of voice and all the other Amazons recognised the general's words as that of an order from a superior officer, not of a request from a sister.
The Captain of the Queen's Circle stared coldly at the General of the Amazonian Army for a long moment, before finally swinging the child back over the pod he arrived in and dropping him into it with the same care one would show a bag of garbage.
Despite landing back on his cushioned resting place, the boy instantly began to cry and wail even harder as soon as he was dropped, his pup attempted to comfort him, while at the same time still keeping a surprisingly savage eye trained on Alkyone.
Philippus glare towards Alkyone intensified but the bald-headed women only snorted at her superior in disgust, meanwhile Epione, who was standing closets to the pod, quickly bent down and picked up the crying infant, cradling him in her arms.
"Ssshhh, calm down little one, calm down, it's okay, it's okay." The healer said soothingly as she could, doing her best to calm the boy down, but his pained cries only continued to increase in volume to the point that they were becoming an assault on the other Amazons ears.
"Will someone shut that brat up already." Myrto snapped in annoyance, speaking up over the child's wails.
"Epione, give the boy to me." Hippolyta ordered, holding out her arms, the islands head healer rather reluctantly did so and once she did, the queen began gently rocking the boy in a practiced manner, humming a melodic tune while she did so, surprisingly after just a few seconds, the infant finally stopped crying and slowly started to calm down.
After she was convinced that he had calmed down enough, Hippolyta ceased humming and brought her gentle rocking to a stop. Thankfully the boy did not resume wailing when she did so, but instead looked up at her, almost in gratitude with the most stunning pair of blue eyes she had ever seen in her life, not sky blue like hers or her daughters, but a sapphire blue that shone like stars in the darkest night.
Beautiful, was the only word the queen could think of to describe the infant's eyes as she stared down into them… and he stared right back into hers.
"Your Majesty?" Hippolyta looked up to see all her sisters staring at her and more alarmingly, Alkyone the Captain of her Queen's Circle standing right before her.
"My queen, please, hand the boy over to me." Alkyone asked, the bald women held out her hand as if she was automatically expecting Hippolyta to comply with her request, her large curved dagger still remained gripped in her other hand, just waiting to be used. "I shall see to it that he is silenced for good."
Hippolyta instead stepped back and pulled the child closer to her in an almost protective manner, but before she could say anything, Philippus beat her to it. "Alkyone, what is wrong with you?"
"What is wrong with me? What is wrong with you, General?" Alkyone snapped back at Philippus with a cold glare before turning to address the other Amazons in the room.
""You all know the law, sisters, no man may set foot on the island of Themyscira and live, our dear General seems to have forgotten that?" The Captain of the Queen's Circle said as her cold gaze went back to the small child in her queen's arms, who quite noticeably shrank back into Hippolyta's embrace at the captain's stare. "The boy's life was forfeited the moment he arrived on our shores?"
"Alkyone, its obviously clear to everyone in this room that the child had no choice in coming here?" Philippus countered at the captain with a glare of her own. "Besides, he poses no threat to us, he's only a boy."
"Regardless general, that boy will eventually grow up into a man and men are forbidden to live on Themyscira." Charis said, answering for her captain. "At least for long anyway."
"Men are forbidden from living on Themyscira Alkyone, not children." Epione argued back. "The child may be a male, but he is still only a child, one who has done nothing to us."
"Epione, you are not actually suggesting we allow this boy to stay here with us, are you?" Philomela asked, sounding genuinely horrified at the idea.
"Of course not, not permanently anyway." The healer clarified before continuing. "Only until his mother comes for him, then-."
"Sister, were you not paying attention to what we all just saw." Myrto said as she gave Epione a sharp look. "His mother is dead, his father most likely as well, even if they weren't, we could never allow them to retrieve their offspring and leave our island alive, lest we risk making Themyscira's location known to Man's World."
Alkyone nodded in agreement with her circle sisters. "Myrto is right, sisters, the boy's parents are no more, there is no one to come looking for him." She said turning back to face her queen who was still holding the now very frightened infant in her arms.
"My Queen, I ask you again, please, give the boy to me so I may end this future threat here and now." Alkyone asked once more, her face firm and unrelenting.
"Hippolyta, please." Epione pleaded of her queen. "You cannot allow Alkyone to do this, it's not right."
"Wrong Epione, it is right, it is the law of the Themyscira." Alkyone declared, almost proudly before looking back at their queen. "Your majesty?"
The Queen of the Amazons said nothing for a while, she just looked down at the babe still curled up in her arms, as if sensing her gaze, the boy looked up at her again with frightened, pleading eyes and Hippolyta, after staring into for what seemed like an eternity, sighed almost sadly.
"I'm sorry little one." She told the child as she made her decision, she turned to Phinea, the brown eyed, brown haired seamstress of the Amazon's.
"Phinea, take the boy out to the edge of the jungle and leave him there." The queen said as she handed the babe in her arms over to the Phinea, the boy immediately began to cry again as he was put into the other women's arms. "If we are lucky, it shouldn't take long for the beasts to find him."
"As you command, your majesty". Phinea said dutifully before turning around and walking way, as she did so though, the boy looked over the seamstress shoulder at Hippolyta, wailing louder as he was carried away and desperately trying to reach out to the queen with his short arms.
The queen saw this and her saddened face became further distraught, but in the end, Hippolyta did not call Phinea back, only turned away as the child continued to cry out to her while his pup barked repeatedly in helpless objection from the edge of the pod.
As for the other Amazons watching, some looked just as stoically distraught as their queen did, Epione and Philippus among them, others were more neutral about the proceedings and only had a blank gaze, but a few had relieved or even satisfied expressions on their faces, Alkyone and the rest of the Queen's Circle especially.
But then, just as Phinea had reached exit to the throne room, in a bright and brilliant flash of light… she appeared, with sceptre in hand and a crown upon her head, one that was far more lavish than their own queen's crown was.
Immediately, Hippolyta and every other warrior woman in the room dropped to one knee and bowed their heads before the female leader of the Greek Pantheon.
"Queen Hera!" Hippolyta said, sounding very surprised, which she was. "We were not expecting your visit us so late, we are honoured to-."
"Rise Hippolyta." Hera interrupted the Amazonian Queen with a bang of her Celestial Sceptre on the ground, before turning to address the whole crowd of women before her. "Rise my brave Warrior Women of Themyscira." The Goddess commanded in a voice that demanded respect from those around her.
Rise they all did, but before Hippolyta could even finish her previous question, Hera turned her head and regarded a startled Phinea with a piercing gaze, or rather at the still wailing boy in the seamstress's arms.
A sudden, purple glow surrounded the crying child right before he lifted out of Phinea's arms and levitated over to the Goddess, the boy's cries quickly became subdued as he came face to face with the Queen of the Greek Gods.
The Amazons were all silent as the watched Hera study the infant before her with an impassive but also intrigued look on her divine face, the boy for his part had become all but silent, the only sound coming from now was a slight unsure whimper as he felt the Goddess's gaze on him.
"Sleep child." Hera ordered as she waved her elegant hand in front of his face and almost instantly, the boy fell into a deep forced slumber right where he levitated, his whole body going lax in the air, held up only by the Goddess's telekinetic powers.
A long, almost awkward silence followed before the Queen of the Greek Gods spoke once again.
"My Amazons." Hera announced loudly again, in a firm tone of voice that she rarely ever used with her women worshippers. "You will spare this boy's life."
Most of the Amazons, were simply shocked into silence by this unexpected declaration, Queen Hippolyta included, but of course, as to be expected, this commandment did not go over well with some of warrior women.
"What! No! Queen Hera!" Alkyone said furiously, stepping closer to their Goddess and glaring death daggers at the now unconscious boy levitating above her palm. "You cannot ask this of us, we cannot spare his life, even you have no right to-."
"Alkyone! Be silent!" Hippolyta commanded of her circle's captain, who reluctantly did as she was commanded by her queen, Hippolyta then turned back to their Goddess and apologetically said. "I'm sure Queen Hera has a perfectly good reason for commanding us to do such a thing."
"I do, Hippolyta." Hera said firmly before turning to address the whole crowd of women who all came closer to hear what their Goddess had to say.
"Amazons of Themyscira." The Queen of the Greek Gods said gravely. "Hercules will one day return."
Silence ruled the room for a moment, before several of the Amazons let out hushed gasps of horror as their eyes widened in very obvious terror at what their Goddess had just said.
"No, that… that cannot be." Hippolyta said, her voice a fearful whisper. "He and his Barbarian horde have been imprisoned in the Underworld since the Fall of Ancient Greece, you and the other Greek Gods saw to that yourselves."
"We did, Hippolyta." Hera confirmed before continuing in her grave tone. "But as the centuries have passed, the chains that hold him as well as his horde down in the Underworld become ever weaker, sadly, little of my demands to my oafish brother to reinforce his deranged Demigod's restraints have been heeded."
The Queen of the Greek Gods let her grim gaze wash over the assembled Amazons for dramatic effect before continuing.
"I fear that when he finally does break free, there will be little that I and my fellow Goddesses can do to stop him from trying to finish what he started back before Greece fell." Hera said sadly and as expected a horrified hush fell over the audience of Amazons, the Goddess allowed the panicked whispers to go on just long enough, before finally silencing them with a raised hand.
"But fear not my loyal Amazons." Hera said with a warm, almost motherly smile. "For I have given you a weapon to defeat my brother's bastard son and his horde of marauding madmen for good." She announced while gesturing to the unconscious floating child beside her.
"The… the child?" Phillippus asked while looking at the still levitating infant, sounding surprised and very confused. "But, but your majesty, he's just a boy, even when he grows up, he can't hope to stand against Hercules and his Barbarians."
"Ah, yes, but this boy is special, Phillippus." Hera explained to the general and her fellow Amazon warriors. "I have discovered that his strength will one day rival that of my brother's bastard, surpass it even, he will be our secret weapon against Hercules and his horde, our Champion of Themyscira."
The audience of Amazons were all shocked into silence by Hera's divined declaration, until finally their queen spoke up once more. "What would you have me do, your majesty?" Hippolyta asked quietly and humbly before her Goddess.
Hera stared at Hippolyta for a moment before levitating the sleeping boy back into the Amazonian Queen's arms.
"You will care for this boy Hippolyta, and raise him alongside your daughter as though he was your own son." Hera explained simply and from the Goddesses tone, it did not sound like a request.
"What!" Hippolyta exclaimed in shock, staring down at the still knocked out boy in her arms before looking at Hera in disbelief. "No! Queen Hera! You cannot be serious-."
"I have never been more serious about anything, Hippolyta." Hera replied coolly and with narrowed eyes.
"But! But! Your majesty?" The Queen of the Amazons argued, sounding more and more alarmed with each word. "If what you say is true and his strength will one day rivals Hercules, what will stop him from turning on my sisters and I when he becomes a man?"
"Calm yourself Hippolyta." Hera ordered swiftly and the warrior queen fell silent once again at her Goddess's command.
"I have already considered that possibility and have created a solution, that I believe will neutralise it." With a snap of her divine fingers, three small objects appeared in Hera's hand, two silver wrist bands and a gold women's bracelet, all three divine items were decorated by a large green emerald placed in the middle of them.
A moment later, all three objects shot out of the Goddess's grip and launched themselves at both the queen and the young child in her arms, the pair of silver bands snapped around both of the boy's small wrists while the gold bejewelled bracelet slipped itself over the queen's right hand.
"This divine bracelet and bands will allow you to restrain him, should you ever feel the need to." The Goddess explained as Hippolyta watched the divine bracelet settle itself onto her wrist. "If the boy ever proves himself treacherous as most men oft are, simply press down hard on the emerald and the bracelet will do the rest."
The Queen of the Amazons examined the gifted gold bracelet as well as the pair silver bands around the boy's wrists, the green gems embedded in each separate piece of divine jewellery seem to glow with barely contained power.
"But Hippolyta, do not use it unless you feel it is absolutely necessary, unless you feel you have no other choice." Hera said, sounding deadly serious before smiling wryly. "The best attack dogs are trained with affection, not fear after all."
Finally, after a long moment, Hippolyta sighed in begrudging acceptance before looking up to once again face her Goddess.
"As you command, Queen Hera." Hippolyta said resolutely with head held high. "I will raise this boy, this Demigodling, for your glory, for Themyscira, for my sisters, for our daughters, for my Little Sunlight."
Hippolyta looked down at the sleeping child in arms as she declared. "For our vengeance on the bastard Hercules."
Hera smiled at her favourite Amazon's words. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear Hippolyta, there is no else on this entire island I would entrust to bear this burden." She said consolingly before turning to once again address the rest of the women in the room.
"I'm afraid I must leave you now." The Queen of the Greek Gods told her warrior women worshippers. "But do not worry or allow yourselves to give into despair my Amazons, it will still be many years before Hercules and his fellow Barbarians will be able to escape the Underworld."
"Until then, go about your lives as usual my brave warriors, enjoy the paradise I've given you… and prepare yourselves for the nightmare that is to come." Then with a loud bang of her Celestial Sceptre on the throne room floor and in another brilliant flash of light, the Queen of the Greek Gods was gone.
The crowd of Amazons were silent in the aftermath of their Goddess's abrupt departure, they turned to their queen, who was once again staring at the sleeping child in her arms before eventually giving a tired sigh.
"Epione". Hippolyta said, turning to the brunette healer. "Take the boy to the infirmary and keep him they're until morning, if he should wake up before then, please, tend to whatever needs he has." The queen ordered as she handed the infant over to Epione.
"As you command, Queen Hippolyta." Epione said with a slight bow of her head before turning to walk to her medical ward, with the child in hand.
"Phillippus, take the boys… dog to the kennels." Hippolyta ordered of her second in command. "We will reunite them in the morning". Phillippus simply nodded and moved to pick up the pup who had begun barking again as he saw his charge being carried away.
"What can I do to serve you, your majesty." Alkyone asked stepping forward with her circle sisters at her back.
"Alkyone, you and the Queen's Circle are to take the pod the boy arrived in and place it inside the palace vaults." The queen ordered and her personal guard obeyed without question, all four of them grabbed the metal pod by its side before hauling it out of the room.
"The rest of you are dismissed, this emergency council meeting is officially over." Hippolyta ordered and the rest of the Amazons left without argument, Hippolyta waited for all of her sisters to leave the throne room, before sighing tiredly and turning to leave herself.
But, despite her exhaustion, the queen did not head to her royal sleeping quarters. No, instead, Hippolyta made her way back to her daughters' room, which upon arriving, she opened it and saw that her Little Sunlight was still fast asleep.
Closing the door quietly behind her, Hippolyta walked over and sat down beside her daughter's bed, watching as her princess peacefully slept in her bed as the queen was oft to do when she was troubled by something.
How can I raise this boy alongside my own daughter? How can I allow him to live on Themyscira, amongst my sisters, knowing what a potentially powerful threat he will one day become to us as he grows into a man? The queen thoughted conflictedly to herself, looking down at Diana as she continued to sleep, blissfully unaware at what was troubling her mother.
But if I don't and Hera is right? If Hercules does one day escape from his prison and finds Themyscira… Hippolyta shuddered at the thought and the nightmarish memories that came rushing back to her nearly made tears spill from her eyes, but the queen wiped them away before they could even fall, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath to calm herself, the queen opened her eyes again and stared down at her child.
"I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe, my Little Sunlight." She whispered to her still sleeping daughter, stroking her raven locks of hair gently, Diana smiled in her sleep.
Hippolyta remained there for a long time, just gazing down at her precious princess's sleeping form, the sole ray of sunlight in her life at that moment as she tried to come to terms with the terrible burden her Goddess had placed upon her.
Only to be broken out of her silent sentinel duty by the sound of approaching footsteps, she turned her head around just as Clio opened the door.
"My queen, I'm sorry to call upon you once again this evening." Clio said awkwardly as she entered daughter's bedroom unannounced for the second time that night, making sure not to speak loud enough to wake the sleeping princess. "But I'm afraid that-."
"What is it, Clio?" Hippolyta asked tiredly, letting her warrior queen mask fall for a moment and showing the women underneath, the queen was not in the mood for anymore unexpected events this evening.
"It's the… boy, your majesty, he's awoken and-." This time, Hippolyta didn't allow her scribe to finish, she just moved past her as she hurriedly made her way down the hall, Clio hot on her heels as before.
As the pair of warrior women neared the palace's infirmary, the familiar sound of an infant crying reached Hippolyta's ears and the queen felt her throat catch uncomfortably at its implications.
"What is going on here." She demanded as she and Clio approached Oenone who was standing just outside the infirmary. "I thought I ordered the boy be taken care of when he woke up."
"Our apologises my queen." Oenone explained as calmly as she could whilst the horrible sound of a child crying continued to echo inside the room. "The boy woke up just about half an hour ago and he has not stopped crying since, he won't eat or drink anything we give him and when we try to pick him up to see if he's suffering from an injury, he only cries harder."
At that moment, particular loud cry assaulted the ears of all three women in the hallway, Hippolyta looked past the island's chief botanist and towards the door, where the source of incessant wailing was coming from, Clio and Oenone right behind her.
As they entered the medical room, Hippolyta saw that the boy was placed out on one of the healer's patient beds and that he was now very much awake, as his loud, echoing cries had clearly indicated.
Epione and her fellow healers were all standing around him, trying desperately to figure out the cause of the child's distress, his white Wolfdog pup was they're with him as well, she assumed Phillippus had brought the animal here when it was heard the boy was awake, the canine was licking and nuzzling the boy relentlessly in a fruitless attempt to calm him down.
Looking around the room for a moment, Hippolyta saw that many of other Amazons were there as well, standing around and leaning against the walls of the infirmary, many of them obviously wanting to be of some assistance to their sisters in this stressful situation, but clearly not knowing how.
Hippolyta walked over to Epione, to ask her if she had discovered the cause of the child's wails yet, and at that moment, to the amazement of every warrior women in the room, the boy ceased his crying completely and looked up at Hippolyta, staring at her through tear filled eyes.
The child's sudden silence did not go unnoticed by Hippolyta, the queens back noticeably stiffened as she felt the boy eyes on her, the sad little sniffles he made felt like icy blades being stabbed into her heart and when she looked down into his eyes, she saw the plaintive question in them.
Where were you? I woke up and you weren't there, his teary blue eyes seemed to be asking her and in that moment the queen felt truly ashamed of herself. Please don't leave me alone again.
I shouldn't have left him alone, he's my responsibility now and I left him to wake up scared and confused, surrounded by people he doesn't know, in a place he's never been before, as Hippolyta mentally chastised herself for her earlier bad decision, she also realised the room had become shockingly quiet, none of her sister were making a single sound.
But unfortunately, this did not last long as the boys rather unnerving silent staring did not go unnoticed by the other Amazons in the room
"Strange." Epione said curiously gazing at the now completely quiet child before turning to her queen "That's the first time he's stopped wailing since he woke up".
"Perhaps the sight of our queen… calmed him?" Cydippe, the queen's personal handmaiden suggested hesitantly as she came to stand beside Hippolyta.
"Or perhaps he's just decided upon which one of us will be his first conquest when he comes of age?" Myrto said coldly from where she leaned against the infirmary wall.
Hippolyta stared at the boy and boy stared right back, before finally she sighed and did what she knew she had to do.
"Sisters, please leave me?" The queen ordered to the crowd. "I will tend to the boy myself."
As expected, the command got her several surprised and hesitant looks from her fellow Amazons, some even looked ready to object, but the sharp look she shot them as they opened their mouths, silenced their words before they could even be heard and they closed them again.
Most of her sisters turned and left the infirmary, Epione and fellow healers included, but not General Phillippus, Captain Alkyone and the rest of the Queen's Circle, they stayed.
"Phillippus, take the boy's pup with you, I'll send for the both of you when I am done." Hippolyta ordered her second in command, Phillippus nodded before grabbing the boy's pup by the scruff of his furry neck, the small white canine immediately began yipping and barking as she carried him out of the room, leaving only the Queen's Circle.
"Alkyone, my command to be left alone was for you and the Queen's Circle too." Hippolyta said firmly.
Three of her royal guards did not move or speak, but she could see the dismay clearly on their faces, their captain Alkyone however stepped forward. "Hippolyta, my queen, please, I do not believe it to be wise for you to be alone with this-."
"Alkyone, do not test my patience this night." The Queen of the Amazons finally snapped uncharacteristically harsh. "Leave me now and take the rest of your circle sisters with you".
Begrudgingly, the Queen's Circle turned and left the room, Alkyone being the last to go, shooting the boy who was still staring silently at their queen a hatefully look as she skulked off.
Hippolyta waited until all guards had walked far down the hall and the sounds of their footsteps had faded into silence, leaving the queen completely alone with the boy their Goddess had entrusted her with raising.
She looked back down at him again; he had never stopped looking up at her.
Sighing, the Queen of the Amazon's bent over and picked up the boy in her arms before turning to leave the infirmary, almost immediately, the boy curled up in her arms again and clung to her like he did back in the throne room.
As she walked down the hall, towards her own private quarters, Hippolyta was still keenly aware that the boy had not stopped staring at her, she looked down at him for a brief moment and immediately regretted doing so, as his eyes were two shining stars filled with relief and gratitude
Stop staring at me like I'm some kind of Goddess that has come down on from the heavens to save you, Hippolyta thought as the boy continued to stare at her with those beautiful blue eyes of his. I nearly had you left in the jungle for the beasts to feast on, for Olympus sake.
But the child obviously couldn't read her surprisingly guilt-ridden thoughts, as his intense staring continued all the way to her room.
Once inside her private quarters, the queen went about feeding, bathing and dressing the boy no differently than she had done with her own daughter when she was an infant, remarkably unlike Diana though, the child was entirely calm and compliant as she did so, eating the food she spoon-fed him without a fuss, not splashing at all as she washed him in a basin of warm water, or wriggling in the slightest as she redressed him in a small toga fashioned from cut sheets.
Only when she had finished and picked him back up in her arms did the boy start misbehaving, wriggling in her grasp so much she actually had to sit down on the end of her bed to stop them both from falling over, but even then, he didn't stop squirming, twisting around in arms and looking all around the room for… something?
What is he looking for? The queen thought both curiously and as the boy looked over her shoulder again and again, his pup perhaps? No, she didn't think so, Hippolyta had a feeling the boy knew his animal friend would be returned to him soon enough, but if not his canine companion, then what was the boy looking for.
Then she remembered, she had seen this sort of behaviour once before, back when Diana was still just an infant herself, she had left her daughter alone for an hour to tend to important courtly matters, only to come back to find Diana crawling all around the floor frantically.
Cydippe, who she had left in charge of the princess while she gone, had said that her daughter had been looking all around her bedroom for her mother since she had left, the queen smiled fondly at the memory.
Then the realisation hit her.
He's looking for his parents, Hippolyta knew suddenly, and that tragic conclusion was followed by an immediate wave of pitying sadness that fell over the warrior queen as she watched the boy in her arms continue to look in every possible direction for the mother and father, she knew he would never see again, knowing that no matter where he looked, he wasn't going to find them.
"Your parents can't be with you anymore, little one." She said softly and suddenly, not really even knowing why she had said it, as despite the boys alarming awareness of his surroundings, the queen did believe he could actually understand what she was saying to him.
To her immense surprise however, the boy stopped wriggling almost immediately and looked at her with wide eyes before slowly looking back down, becoming completely silent.
A moment later, the queen looked down again when she felt the blue-eyed babe in her arms begin to cry, his little body shaking and shuddering with every grief-stricken sob he made against her chest.
Hippolyta watched as the child continued to cry and immediately felt horrible for what she had just said, realising to little too late, that on some level the boy had understood what she had told him and he was now being forced to deal with the first major loss in his life at too early an age.
The Queen of the Amazon's knew she had to do something, because for better or for worse, he was her responsibility now and only one thing came to her mind.
"There, there, come now little one." She said soothingly as she brought the boy closer to her face and began to gently wipe away his tears with the back of fingers. "Come on, no more of that, come on."
After a while of wiping away his tears, the boy looked up at her, he had ceased his outright sobbing and shaking, but a few tears still leaked out from the corners of his blue eyes and he was sniffling sadly almost constantly.
"There you go." She said smiling warmly and the boy seemed to smile back at her through the last of his tears.
"I know it hurts, but you are going to have to be a brave boy now." Hippolyta told honestly, but not unkindly as she stroked his back in comfort, the boy stopped sniffling as she did so.
"I lost my mother when I was young and so did many of my sisters." Hippolyta admitted to the infant who seemed to be listening to her now with surprising intensity, his awareness of the world around him astounded her.
"But if it makes you feel better, I'll look after you, just until your strong enough to stand on your own two feet." She then raised her hand and gently began to wipe away the last of the tears from his face-
-only for the boy to reach out with his tiny hand and grab a tight hold of her finger.
Hippolyta straightened in surprise at this and for a moment she didn't know how to respond before her gaze began to soften again and she smiled.
"Well, well, aren't you strong." Hippolyta said as she playfully tried to pull her finger free of his grasp, the babe giggling as she did so while the queen marvelled at the child's already formidable strength at such a young age.
He's so young and yet already so strong, the queen thought, both intrigued and surprisingly pleased by this revelation, you will become a great champion for our sisterhood one day, child, and when that day comes, Hercules's and his horde will pay what they have done to us…
…Hercules will pay for what he has done to me…
Completely unaware of the warrior women's vengeful thoughts, the babe eventually let go of her finger, he then yawned tiredly before curling up in her arms again and in a moment, he was fast asleep.
Broken out of her thoughts by the child's yawn, Hippolyta watched as the boy slept peacefully against her and felt her heart warm at the sight, strangely, the queen found it just as soothing to her soul as when she would watch over her daughter whilst she slept.
Speaking of which…, Hippolyta thought as she looked towards the door, before standing up from her chair, being careful not to wake the sleeping infant in her arms and made her way out the door and down the hall, towards her daughter's bedroom.
Arriving at the door, she opened it slowly, the wood creaking as she did so, it was darker in the room know, but the lit torches in the hallway cast just enough light that she could clearly see her daughter still fast asleep in her bed.
After closing the door halfway, the queen quietly walked over to the bed and bent down beside her sleeping daughter
"Diana, wake up my Little Sunlight." Hippolyta said softly as she gently shook on her daughter's shoulder in order to wake her, Diana's eyes scrunched up before slowly opening. "There's something you need to see."
"Mother, I'm still tired, can't I sleep a little…" Her daughters sleepy question died in her throat when she finally caught sight of the infant in her mother's arms as her tired eyes widened in surprise and she sat up in her bed.
"Mother, what is that?" She asked curiously, now wide awake.
"He's a boy, Diana." Hippolyta answered as she brought the child closer to the bed and let her daughter have a better look at him.
"Really?" Diana asked as she leaned in even closer in order to examine the sleeping infant with great interest now, up until this point, the princess had never seen such a young child before, much less a boy for that matter.
"He's so… small." She said after a long moment as she watched the babe shift in his sleep before turning over in her mother's arms. "But really cute." She added happily up looking at Hippolyta as if in approval.
"Yes." The queen agreed quietly, a slow smile spreading across her face at the sight of her daughters delight with this new child. "I suppose he is."
The young princess then turned her head around as if suddenly expecting there to be another person in the room with them. "So, where is his mother?"
"Well…" the queen began, hoping this new development in their lives would go over well with her daughter. "I'm going to be his mother now."
"You are?" Her daughter asked with wide eyes and a clearly shocked tone.
"Yes." The queen nodded to her daughter "Diana, say hello to your new little brother."
Diana stared at her mother in surprise before looking back down at the baby in her arms in astonishment, at that moment, the boy stirred slightly from his sleep and smiled at the young girl in front of him through half-opened eyes.
To the queen's relief, her daughter smiled back. "Hello, little brother." She said happily and reached to gently stroke his head of black hair; the boy cooed at his new adoptive sisters' touch.
Realising that her daughter was not going to have a problem with sharing her mother's attention with this new male sibling, Hippolyta told Diana to go back to sleep, saying both she and her new brother needed their rest, her usually very defiant daughter would have normally argued, but luckily for the queen, after the shock of having a new sibling had worn off, the princess tiredness came back in full force, her head hit her pillow and she was fast asleep the moment her mother turned away.
The queen then walked over to the bowl-shaped crib on the other side of the room, it was the same one her daughter used to sleep in when she was younger and placed the boy inside it, he squirmed in his sleep when she put him down, but luckily, Phillippus came in at that moment with the boy's now equally restless pup and set the animal down next to him, the canine curled up around the boy and they both instantly calmed down, the pup following its master into sleep moments later.
Both Hippolyta and Phillippus watched as the boy and his dog slept soundly, neither warrior women said anything for the moment.
"I take it, that the princess took well to her new… brother then?" Phillippus asked, looking back over at the sleeping princess.
"Yes, better than I could have hoped for, in fact." Hippolyta answered, never taking her eyes of the sleeping babe and his now slumbering pet resting right beside him, once again she found the sight strangely calming.
"When he's strong enough to begin training for battle, I want you to be his teacher Phillippus." Hippolyta said turning to look at her general, advisor and oldest friend in the eye, speaking not as her queen for the moment, but as her sister.
Phillippus only nodded. "Of course, your majesty."
"You will train him long and hard every day, you will teach him everything you know of war." The queen continued looking back at the boy. "You will do whatever it takes to make him ready to face Hercules when the time comes."
"As you command, my queen." Phillippus nodded again before turning and walked out of the room without another word.
Hippolyta watched the boy for a moment longer, then turned to follow her sister out of the room, but stopped just at the door and looked back at her only… no, at her two children.
"Goodnight Diana, my daughter, my princess, my Little Sunlight."
"Goodnight Kal… my son, my prince, my Little Fallingstar."
Greetings to all my fellow fanfic readers and writers, I hope you all enjoyed Superman, Son of Hippolyta Chapter 3: A Falling Star, the first chapter helped set up the premise and the tone of this story while the second set up the background and the intrigue.
This third chapter, however, sets up the plot and the drama that will take place later on near and after the first chapter, so brace yourselves guys, because this story will definitely have many unexpected twists and turns in it.
Know I have a question I would like to ask you my loyal followers, what would you like to see in the next chapter, Kal still as an infant or become a young boy between the ages of five and ten, or would you rather see him enter adoscelent already, I have my own ideas of course, but any suggestions on how to write his childhood on Themyscira will be most helpful to me.
Also, here's a list of the named Amazons in this chapter, their various positions on the island as well as their hair and eye colour just to help distinguish them in the future for you my loyal readers.
Hippolyta - Queen of the Amazons and Ruler of Themyscira – raven-haired and blue eyed
Diana – Princess of the Amazon's - raven-haired and blue eyed
Phillippus - General of the Amazon Army and the Queen's Second in Command – braided raven-haired, dark skinned and brown eyed
Alkyone - Captain of the Queen's Circle and the Islands Executioner – bald headed and green eyed
Myrto – Best Spear Fisher and the Circle's Second in Command – blonde-haired and blue eyed
Charis – Chief Hunter and the Strongest Member of the Queen's Circle – brunette-haired, dark skinned and brown eyed
Philomela – Ace Archer and Fastest Member of the Queen's Circle – raven-haired and blue eyed
Menalippe – High Priestess on the Island's Temple's – light blonde-haired and blue eyed
Epione – Head Healer on the Island – brunette haired and green eyed
Oenone – Chief Botanist on the Island – short curled raven-haired, dark skinned and green eyed
Cydippe – Queen's Personal Handmaiden – short red hair and green eyed
Acantha – Court Senator – pony tailed redhead and green eyed
Clio – Queen personal Scribe – bunned brunette-haired and blue eyed
Phinea – Seamstresses – long brunette-haired and brown eyed
As always, a shout out to my amazingly supportive friend and fantastic fellow fanfic writer Ricardo753 for supporting my work, go check out his own stories, their T-Rexcellent.
Now please allow me to thank all of you who have followed, favourited and especially reviewed this story.
SuperWonderStan, ManOfSteel, Luke5921, cabrera1234, Joel, HeartOfChaos13, GR8ER3241, Kalel4444, JustAnotherIntern14, please keep the reviews coming guys, their what fuels these chapters and to all my other readers, if you write me some reviews in the future then you can be seeing your name here to, until next time this is T-Rexcellent Reviews signing off.