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 12: The Mother of Hellhounds
On the Island of Themyscira, in an open field near the Palace Courtyard…
Having left the crowd of Amazons behind her, Persephone took her time walking over to this… Son of Hippolyta's, who was still playing with his Wolfdog and her own beloved Three Headed Hellhound, seemingly unaware of her approach, wanting to take the time to study his person before finally sating her curiosity by talking to him.
As far as physical features go, she was suitably impressed, he looked tall for his age and was very well built as well, obviously from years of rigorous training, which had already built upon his naturally muscular physique, add that to his midnight black hair and stunningly, shining blue eyes, Persephone could already tell this boy would turn more young ladies' heads than Adonis ever did when he was older… and probably a few older ladies' heads as well.
As her Three Headed Hellhounds lay on their back, eyes still closed in obvious bliss from the boy's belly rubbing, Spot's left eye half opened and saw her coming from an upside-down angle, he quickly went wide eyed and barked once, getting his two brothers Cerberus and Notch's attentions, who opened their eyes and saw her arrival as well.
Then, the multiply headed demonic looking dog rolled back over onto his belly, so suddenly that the boy slipped off their shared stomach and toppled over onto the green grass next to his Wolfdog who was watching her approach with the same canine concentration as all three of her Hellhound's huge heads currently were.
After pulling his head off the ground and shaking his face free of grass, the boy finally saw her coming as well, his eyes widened and his body tensed up, looking ready to run as she came closer.
He's afraid of me, the Queen of the Underworld thought to herself in slight disapproval, expecting much more resolve in the face of the unknown from the Son of the Amazon Queen, so much for the brave, beast mastering warrior prince he appeared to be.
Persephone understood the need to be cautious before people you did not know and thus might be a threat to your person, especially at such a young age, but in her present state, she might look the part of a regal and dark queen, but hardly a threatening force to fear.
But then, quite surprisingly, the boy got up and stepped forward, placing himself between the giant three headed beast and her person, his body positioned in such a way that he could spring into action if he needed to, but clearly not against her, but against Cerberus and his brothers if they thought her a threat, much to the Hellhounds confusion, the boy clearly wasn't aware of her connection to the giant three headed canine behind him.
Oh, he's not afraid of me, but rather FOR me, Persephone realised as she came closer, she was even more curious than before now and feeling slightly endeared as well, not only an Amazon Prince, but someone who was willing to put himself in potentially great danger in order to protect a complete stranger.
As she reached him, the boy raised his hands and opened his mouth to speak to warn not to come any closer, but his words died, and his hand fell when he saw her smile confidently at him before looking straight past him and towards the giant black three headed dog who was staring back at her almost apprehensively now.
The boy and his pet dog watched in silence as this regal looking woman walked right past them and stood before the monstrous black Hellhound, whose three heads all came down closer to her level, each one looking remarkably subdued just by her very presence.
Persephone said nothing as she stared at her trio of runaway pets right in their fiery red eyes, choosing instead to just cross her arms and raise a single eyebrow, it was the same look she always gave them whenever she caught them misbehaving as pups, like when they would chew on Hades bident or dig up the flowers in her garden, it was a look that basically said, Well, what do you boys have to say for yourselves?
Like so many mothers before her, the half-hardened gaze had the desired effect on her boys, with Cerberus, Notch and Spot suddenly all looking the right degree of admonished for sneaking out of the Underworld without permission, the Hellhound lowered all three of its huge heads flat to the ground, theirs ears pressed flat against their furry skulls as they whimpered in clear apology to their master's mate and their adoptive mother for worrying her.
Persephone kept her stern gaze up for a moment longer before she finally broke into a more loving smile and raised her hands, causing the Hellhound to raise their three huge heads once again and lean closer to her, which the Iron Queen started petting each of them individually, not in the joyous overexcited way the boy had been doing, but in a more reserved gentle touch that only a mistress could give to her pets.
"It's okay boys, it's okay, I'm not mad, I'm not mad." She whispered affectionately to the colossal whimpering canines. "Just don't run off and scare me like that again, okay?"
Kal, meanwhile, just watched on in silent fascination as this regal looking woman dressed entirely in black petted the large multi-headed animal as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world to her.
"They like you." The woman said warmly, speaking to him for the first time, her voice sounded strange and somewhat foreign to him, but also beautiful as well, there was an almost ethereal quality to it that seem to echo through his very soul with each word. "You should consider yourself very privileged, child, my pets don't warm up too many strangers, and certainly not all three of them."
Although her tone was a little different, Kal could still recognise her manner of speaking, it was the same regal manner his mother spoke in when she was performing her queenly duties, meaning that whoever this woman was, she was clearly someone of royal rank, but his mother was the only queen on the island?
"Thank you, my lady, I… like them too." Kal said, making sure to sound respectful but also cautious at the same time, he was still unsure of who exactly this woman even was, so he hadn't moved from his spot next Krypto just yet, still he did his best to be polite. "Their very energetic and I think they appreciated the time outside; it seems like the three of them... don't get out very much."
One thing was for certain, she definitely wasn't an Amazon, that's for sure, as he was more than certain that he had never seen her on the island before, she also didn't dress like one, wearing much in darker colours, her robes where regal and a diadem of dark gold rested on the top of her head, as he looked closer, he could see floral patterns sewn into her clothing, and the hint of some sort of ethereal light seem to surround her.
"Sadly, they do not, not in a long time anyway, especially after the Fall of Ancient Greece." The women explained as she began to reminisce about times long gone by, her voice becoming more wistful as she continued stroking her pet's heads. "I took the three of them in when they were still just pups, a long, long time ago, they were such a small thing back then, even smaller than you, my child."
"My husband found them one night whilst out on surface, hiding in an alleyway, half-starved and scared of their own shadow. The Spring Goddess's explained, her words gradually becoming both sadder and angrier as she spoke. "Some… people had been very cruel to them; they had taken one look at the unique little creature in front of them and then laid judgement before even bothering to measure the true worth of their souls."
Persephone could still vividly remember the night Hades had come home with a tiny three headed puppy in his hands, the poor things whimpering and shaking in his firm grasp before being handed over to her for care. She remembered how the three of them had cried as she healed the bruises and broken bones all along their furry little body, flinching away from her hand as though they were afraid that she was suddenly going to turn around and strike them, the pitiful sound making her heart ache more and more every time.
While it had only taken a matter of moments for her to heal the damage done to their body, it had taken a matter of months for her to heal the damage done to their minds and their souls, which had only made her heart harden against those who had dared to hurt her beloved boys.
Still, Persephone was a patient woman when it came to matters of vengeance, she had chosen not to go hunting for those heartless bastards on the surface, instead choosing to simply wait for them to eventually come to her instead and when they finally did, well as far as she was concerned, the bottomless pits of Tartarus were not good enough for those monsters, no instead, she had made sure that Cerberus, Notch and Spot had finally gotten the much needed closure that they deserved… as well as some new chew toys.
At some point during her ruthless reminiscing, Persephone had ceased her petting, but sensing her sadness, her three beloved boys began nuzzling their mistress with their long furry muzzles, trying to cheer their adoptive mother up, who smiled appreciatively at their attempts to make her feel better.
"But why?" Kal asked suddenly, causing Persephone to break out of her melancholy mood and finally turn and face him, the curious look she gave him causing him to clarify what he meant.
"I mean, why would people do that to something so small and helpless, especially a puppy, just because it looked different?" Kal asked, sounding generally confused and more than a little upset as well, his mother and fellow Amazons had always taught him outward appearances counted for little, that it was what was on the inside that counted most.
"Why indeed, young one, why indeed." Persephone asked rhetorically as Cerberus and Notch continued to nuzzle her, her voice less formal and somber than before, but there was still a touch of sadness in her tone. "But still, were you not afraid when you first saw the three of them?"
"I'll admit, when I first saw them, yeah, I was pretty scared, they had snuck up right behind me and Krypto as we were playing, and for a moment, I actually thought they were going to eat me." At this, Spot's head turned to the boy with a whimper, causing Kal to walk over and stroke his furry brow soothingly.
"But when I almost fell back into the tunnel they originally dug to get here, Spot pulled me back out by my cloak and I realised they weren't going to hurt me at all." Kal explained as the white spotted head let out a happy bark in response to his words, mouth open and tongue hanging out as it panted.
"When you look past the sharp teeth, giant claws, scaly tail and the multiply huge heads on one body thing, the three of them really are just big friendly dogs." Kal said smiling up at his three new huge furry friends, who all looked down at him with affectionate gazes in return.
"You are wise well beyond your years, child, it would seem your mother has every reason to be proud of you dear." Persephone said, sounding suitably impressed, Kal looked up at her smiling at the compliment, before suddenly realising he hadn't properly introduced himself yet.
"Oh, please pardon me, my lady, it would appear I have forgotten to introduce myself." Kal said apologetically before clearing his throat and standing up straight, making sure to take on a princely posture.
"I am Kal, Son of Hippolyta and Prince of the Amazons." Kal said, addressing her with his most formal voice he had and finishing with a small formal bow of respect as well.
This show of royal respect seemingly did the trick, as the regal women before him noticeably brightened up and a warm smile graced her beautiful face. "Oh, my Rhea, dear, aren't you precious, well such good manners are deserving of a proper response, I am Persephone, my young prince, Daughter of Demeter and the Wife of Hades, Greek Goddess of Spring, Nature, Fertility and Rebirth."
"Queen of the Underworld, Empress of Elysium, Lady of Asphodel, Madam of Tartarus, Mistress of the Ethereal Houses, Princess of Plants, the Iron Queen and as you've probably guessed by now, the Mother of Hellhounds." She said, even returning Kal's respectful bow with one of her own, although less deep then his had been.
A soft growl caught Persephone's attention and she turned her head to see that the prince's Wolfdog had risen from where he sat in the grass and was now padding over to her.
"I see I'm not the only one who has a fondness for fearsome looking canines." The Iron Queen commented as Krypto came closer to this woman who smelled of flowers, earth, and life in general, Persephone turned once again back to Kal. "May I, young prince?"
"Of course, your majesty, Krypto sit." The prince commanded and his pet obeyed, the Wolfdog sitting back on its huge furry haunches as Persephone kneeled down in the grass before him and raised her hand, which the canine sniffed for a moment before leaning into her touch with a pleased growl.
"Hello Krypto, I take it you're the one whose howling caught my boy's attention all the way down in the Underworld, it's been a long time since they've met a surface dog who wasn't afraid of them." Persephone said pleasantly as she ran her hands along the Wolfdog's face and neck, Krypto's panting clearly indicating he was enjoying the feeling of having this woman's fingers stroking his thick fur.
"He's beautiful, you are very lucky to have such a noble creature by your side in this world, Prince Kal." Persephone said smiling at him as she stood up, but then suddenly her eyes turned back to the crowd of watching Amazons and her gaze narrowed ever so slightly.
Kal of course, noticed this and was just about to ask what was wrong, when Persephone turned back to face him, her eyes glowing with an ethereal green light and Kal felt as if she was peering into his very soul. Which Kal suddenly realised might just be the case given exactly who she was, her eyes ceased glowing after a few heartbeats, and she suddenly raised her hand towards him.
"Now then, my young prince, before my pets and I depart your island, I would like it if you were to escort me around the palace gardens, as we have much to discuss, my pets will ensure we are not disturbed and your furry friend here my join us, if you wish." Her voice, while still warm and friendly, now had a clear commanding undertone to it and her eyes also possessed a regal nature with hints of untold power within them now.
Realising he had just been given an order from a queen who was not his mother, Kal quickly nodded and took her hand, surprised by just how warm Persephone felt, then proceeded to link his arm in hers, he felt a little uncomfortable with the intimate nature of the gesture, but her tone and gaze allowed no argument on his part, and regardless, his mother had always told him to respect the members of the Olympian pantheon when and if he ever should ever find himself in the presence of one.
So, Kal swallowed his nerves and led the way to the gardens that he suddenly realised where actually named after the Greek Goddess he was with, as Persephone herself seemingly made no move to guide their course, Krypto thankfully walking by his side while the giant Hellhound stood up and positioned himself between the gathered Amazons standing not far away and the path which their mistress and their two new friends were heading down.
Kal looked back over his shoulder once to see his mother watching him with a look that said she was struggling with the maternal urge not to run over and stop them from leaving her sight, but they both knew she couldn't do that, no matter how much she clearly wanted too, instead she only whispered words that only she and unknown to her, Kal could hear.
"Kal, please be careful."
Kal turned back around to see Persephone looking down at him with a warm, almost motherly smile, but there was also an ominous glow in her eyes as well, and the young boy suddenly felt a seeping dread fill his soul as he realised what this little walk was really about.
He was being judged by a Greek Goddess, not only that… but a Goddess of Life... and a Goddess of Death.
Greetings to all my fellow fanfic readers and writers, I hope you all enjoyed Superman, Son of Hippolyta Chapter 12: The Mother of Hellhounds, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, but I'm afraid I can't take full credit for this one, guys.
It was actually my creative consultant and Greek mythology expert, Luke5921 who wrote most of this chapter himself at my behest, what your reading is my revision of it, but this chapter wouldn't be half as good if it wasn't for him, so please remember to thank him as well in the review section for this chapter for all of his hard work.
Important note, there's also been some slight rearrangement of this story's chapters and names recently, the order is still mostly the same, but a new chapter 5 called The Wolf and the Lioness has been inserted, pushing all previous chapters before it up by one, please keep that in mind.
Now onto answering another fan question from all of you…
Guest: The answer to your question mate is both yes and no, Kal will eventually meet all of the Greek Gods and Goddesses, at least the most famous ones anyway, some will be his friends and allies while other might be his rivals or even his enemies, but most, if not all, will start to take an interest in him after this day and his relationships with them will definitely change as the story progresses.
My List of References featured in this Chapter.
1. The title for this chapter which also happens to be one of Persephone's personal titles as well as her parental relationship with her Hellhound's three heads is a reference to Daenerys Targaryen's most famous title The Mother of Dragons and her parental relationship with her three Dragons from Games of Thrones and the A Song of Ice and Fire Book Series.
2. Persephone meeting Krypto is a reference to Valka meeting Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon 2.
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 as well as my new creative consultant and Greek mythology expert Luke5921, proud to have you onboard as an advisor as I write this story mate.
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, Erika Lopes, SilveerKnighT, SuperKamiGuest, dakota, Shall-lin and d,Chinook 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.