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 19: Prophetic Light Show
The Island of Themyscira, in the Training Grounds of Athena…
"I'm sorry, are we all done being awe-struck by my presence yet ladies?" Apollo asked with a wolfish grin as he turned to address the crowd of silent and staring Amazons, whilst making sure to wink at several of the warrior women in attendance, women who Kal could swear were blushing at the received attention.
"Come on now, give it up for your island's new champion on his first real victory." Apollo's voice was strange to Kal's ears, despite hardly raising his voice it had easily carried across the field. Yet unlike Hera's divine voice that boomed or Persephone's that echoed, Apollo's was melodic and had a slight reverberating quality to it.
At his words, the crowd of Amazons immediately erupted into a loud, roaring cheer that Kal had to refrain from looking awkward at, though even in the midst of his sudden stage shyness, the boy did not fail to notice that some of the Amazons did not cheer as loudly as others… and a few did not cheer at all… in particular…
"Yep, I've still got it" Kal's observation was interrupted when his hearing picked up Apollo quiet statement to himself, which was followed by the Sun God rolling his broad shoulders and turning back towards him.
"Now that's more like it, I love the sound of a cheering crowd, don't you?" Apollo's wolfish grin had morphed into a genuine ear to ear smile, then before Kal could react, Apollo quickly draped an arm around Kal and brought the young warrior into a vice-like shoulder hug.
"You are certainly deserving of it after putting on such a spectacular show for all of us, my young champion." Apollo said in a congratulatory tone. "I particularly liked the moment when you managed to blind my-brother with that flashing light ability from your eyes, what did you call that again by the way?"
"My… my Flash Flare." Kal said after a rather awkward moment trying to recover from Apollo's sudden embrace, whilst also suddenly feeling more than a little embarrassed about his earlier loud naming of his flash attack, but instead of laughing like he would have expected Hermes to do so, the Sun God's smile only broadened at his response.
"A fitting name considering it was created by someone who triumphs with such flare." Apollo complemented sincerely with a warm smile, looking down at the young boy whilst they walked slowly back towards the crowd, well Apollo walked, Kal felt that Apollo's long stride was causing him to be dragged along. "It's nice to see I'm not the only shining star around these parts."
"Th-Thank you." Kal said, finally starting to get over his shock as he stared up at the handsome Olympian grinning down at him. "You're the… Greek God of the Sun, aren't you? Your-."
"Apollo!" Hermes said suddenly from behind Kal, who for his part, had almost forgotten that the Messenger God was there after being so unusually quiet for so long, Hermes than stepped forward and put one hand on Apollo's free shoulder whilst looking down at Kal with a smirk. "This here kiddo, is the best big brother atop of all of Mount Olympus, in all of Ancient Greece in fact."
Hermes action caused Apollo to release Kal from his embrace and halt their brief walk, Kal stumbled slightly from being released from the gods overtly friendly act and caused Kal to realise just how much taller the Gods were than him as he stood before the two of them.
Apollo put both hands on Hermes shoulders, smiling broadly at his younger brother, and before Kal could realise what was happening, the Sun God had pulled the Messengers of the Gods into a headlock, placing him under his right shoulder and grabbing a tight hold of his long ponytail.
Kal was understandably very alarmed by this, as his mother had told him that Gods fighting each other never ended well and was about to try to intervene when he heard Hermes cried out.
"OW, OW, OW, HEY, HEY WATCH THE PONYTAIL!" Hermes protest was half-hearted and Kal could swear the restrained Messenger God was trying hard not to laugh.
"Oh, shut it Hermes, though first off, thank you for the lovely complement brother, and second… say it?" Apollo sounded serious, but one look at his face told Kal that this was something of a regular occurrence given the Sun God's humorous expression.
"What? The kid is fine, and we didn't break anything." As Hermes said this, Apollo turned ever so slightly and made his brother look at the broken and now emptied fountain. "Well, not anything important anyway"
"SAY IT HERMES." Apollo responded by tightening his grip on his little brother head.
"OW, fine okay! HIPPOTYLA, I'M SORRY FOR INSULTING YOU!" Hermes had shuffled around to shout his entirely coerced and insincere apology; Apollo gave another little squeeze. "AND FOR THE WHOLE KICKING YOUR KID ACROSS THE TRAINING GROUNDS THING". Satisfied, Apollo released Hermes who quickly sprang right back up and grinned at his older brother, giving Apollo a light jab on his arm before darting just out of arms reach.
"Hermes, what am I going to do with you?" Apollo asked rolling his eyes with a slightly admonishing tone which contrasted the warm smile he gave the Messenger God. "Please remind me again brother, what was that little talk we had about you playing nice with Demigods?"
"Hey, I was just trying to help the kid here learn the value of using trickery and cunning to defeat more experienced opponents, brother." Hermes said in an innocent sounding voice that no one watching bought for a moment.
"Of course… and taking it a little too far as usual I see." Apollo said dryly before turning back to Kal with an apologetic expression. "I must ask for your forgiveness on my little brother's behalf, young champion, Hermes can be a relentless, annoying, abrasive, egotistical, ostentatious…" Apollo began counting off the words to describe his brother on his fingers.
"HEY!" Hermes objected loudly from beside Apollo. "I am not that ostentatious!"
"…AND the most flamboyant Mockingbird of an Olympian that has ever existed in all of Ancient Greece." Apollo continued with his apology to Kal, completely ignoring his little brother now. "But believe it or not, there is no true malice in his mischief and his heart is always in the right place… I think."
"Apollo!" All three male's heads turned at the sound of Hera's sharp, booming voice calling out the Sun God's name just as the Queen of the Heavens telekinetically called back her borrowed Celestial Sceptre to her hand from Kal's whilst her purple eyes remained fixed solely on the new Olympian in their midst. "Come forth and explain your presence on Themyscira, immediately."
At these rather intimidating words though, Apollo just grinned roguishly and slicked his golden blonde hair back before looking at Kal and Hermes. "Please excuse me for a moment, my brother and young champion, but it would appear I am in high demand with a lot of lovely ladies… not that is anything new for me though." Apollo said as he began to confidently stride over to his stern looking stepmother.
"Watch this kid." Hermes whispered out of the corner of his mouth down to Kal, who glanced at the Messenger God curiously before looking back at Apollo again. "It's going to be great."
"I do believe it's time for the sun to shine his light upon the highest queen amongst all the Olympians." Apollo announced grandly as he walked towards Hera… just before then turning halfway to walk towards Persephone instead, causing Hermes to snicker loudly, Iris to wince noticeably, Persephone to smile smugly, Hera frown become even more furious, all of which the Amazons paled nervously at the sight of.
"Ahh Persephone, my oh so coveted cousin, it's so lovely to see you, truly, you look as beautiful as the very first day of spring, even whilst wearing your dark Queen of Dread attire." Apollo said charmingly as he came to stand before his cousin, opening his arms wide as if to embrace her. "It's no wonder my uncle Hades never leaves the Underworld when he has you all to himself down there."
"Hello Apollo." Persephone said rolling her eyes at the Sun God whilst summoning a wild vine from between the cracks in the stone floor and placing a firm leafy hand on his near naked and muscular chest, shoving him back before he could embrace her. "I'm surprised to see you out of your pleasure palace, finally gotten tired of Calliope and her sisters constantly clinging to you?"
"You mean have I gotten sick of my marvellous Muses affections for me yet?" Apollo asked in mock appal before grinning back at her once more and answering. "Never, though I must admit Persephone, if I wasn't such a polyamorist playboy at heart, I'd have readily agreed when my darling aunt Demeter and my own lovely mother Leto suggested that we be betrothed as children, the most beautiful of flowers always bloom in the brightest of lights after all." The smile Apollo gave then could cause any women's heart to melt, and Kal saw more than a dozen Amazon's behind Persephone almost swooning at it.
"Careful Apollo, you know what my husband Hades does to Sons of Zeus who attempt to court me." Persephone playfully warned the Sun God with a wry smirk, clearly unaffected by his flirting, but still obviously enjoying it all the same. "Remember what happened to Theseus's friend Pirithous when he tried."
"Yes, but to be fair to my Underworldly uncle, I think we all know that pompous prick had it coming, but you are correct Persephone, being chained down to an uncomfortable stone chair by steel serpents in the Underworld for all eternity, doesn't really fit my sunny disposition in life now, does it?" Apollo asked aloud, his voice taking on a more thoughtful tone before he once again grinned broadly at the Lady of the Underworld, slipping back into full flirt mode.
"Of course, cousin, if you were down there as well, chained right next to me for all eternity, then it might just be worth it…" Apollo's charming words trailed as he heard a low, warning growl and looked down to see the large, white Wolfdog by his cousin's side, snarling at him with bared teeth, the canine clearly did not appreciate Apollo's advances towards the Underworld Goddess.
"I see you've found yourself another guard dog Persephone." Apollo commented dryly with a curious expression, if the Sun God was feeling threatened at all by the growling albino beast before him, he certainly wasn't showing it as he glanced back up at Persephone. "What's the matter cousin, Cerberus and his brothers getting too big to fit through the palace front doors anymore? Or has Kynegetis and her pack of Stygian Huskies become too wild to have inside the Ethereal Houses?"
"Yes and no, but while we are on the topic of beings that are like a dog with a bone, Apollo, are you still trying to get our beloved aunt Hestia to give up her chastity and surrender her virginity to you?" Persephone asked with a raised brow, whilst petting Krypto's furry head in a calming manner, succeeding in getting the white Wolfdog to finally stop growling. "It's okay boy, that's just how Apollo is, don't worry, your still my favourite dog around here."
"Am I still trying? Am I still TRYING? Cousin, your question implies that I ever stopped trying." Apollo said aloud with fake offense on his handsome face, a hand placed over his heart before he just grinned roguishly at her again. "Though I don't know why you feel the need to make it sound so needlessly sexual with phrases like 'surrender her virginity to me' Persephone, this is not about that at all. I merely want to repay our wonderful aunt Hestia for all the loving care she showed me and my sister growing up, in best way I know how, by pleasuring her beautiful body, as is deserving of such a gorgeous Greek Goddess as our aunt, I always thought it was a tragedy how she was the least worshipped member in our pantheon."
"Yes… and the fact that you have had crush on her since we were children and also have a thing for women in positions of power has absolutely nothing to do with it." Persephone asked rhetorically with an exasperated expression on her gorgeous face. "Just like it didn't with Calliope the eldest of your Muse concubines, the Nymph leader Daphne, Princess Coronis, Kassandra of Troy, Lady Hekuba, Queen Marpesia and me of course, not to mention countless others the historians HAVEN'T heard of…"
"Okay Persephone, I get it, we ALL get it." Apollo said, finally conceding to his cousins' tangent. "I have a crush on our aunt Hestia and I also have a thing for woman in positions of power, yes. Not to mention that as being a Goddess of the Hearth, she has that hot older women thing going for her as well, regardless cousin, she was still great to my sister and myself growing up and I sincerely want to show my gratitude to her for that, besides, I'll be damned if I'll let our uncle Poseidon have her first."
"Yeah, well, you and our uncle Poseidon have been fighting over her since before Greece Fell and neither of you has-" the rest of Persephone's comment was drowned out by a rather frustrated Hera.
"Apollo…!" Hera growled out the Sun God's name in a voice that was like the rolling of far-off thunder. "Do not ignore me in front of my worshippers, come here now!"
The Sun God responded to this divine demand by merely lifting a hand up to her and gesturing to give him a moment by raising his index finger, all whilst still looking directly at Persephone. "Oh, come on cousin, we both know Hestia secretly loves the attention and that she much prefers the sun over the sea, I tell you Persephone, I got this close during the last party Dionysus threw, this close."
"Apollo?" Persephone raised her eyebrows, clearly indicating that she was disapproving of how dangerously he was acting with Hera now.
"Yes, my beloved cousin" Apollo smile had taken on a mischievous quality that Hermes was loving from his position on the field, the Messenger God was clearly struggling not to laugh out loud and although Kal wouldn't admit it, he too was fighting off smirking at how Apollo was driving his new godmother more than a little mad at that moment.
"Go talk to her before enacts some convoluted revenge scheme against you or sicks her pet Hesperian Wyvern on you." Persephone spoke calmly all whilst shaking her head at Apollo's usual indifference to Hera's wrath. "I swear, one of these days she is going to snap and decide to just drop the heavens on your handsome head, Apollo."
"She can try, cousin, but I'm very good at seeing schemes coming before they happen and if you do recall from my younger days back in Delphi, Persephone, I am great at slaying serpents." Apollo adjusted his jewellery and clothing whilst he asked his question fixing himself up after his brief tussle with his brother. "Now tell me on a scale of one to ten, how mad does she look?"
Persephone glanced over towards Hera who was visibly seething and was clearly approaching her last measure of Queenly restraint. "I say about a high seven or a low eight, oh wait, she's gritting her teeth now, definitely a solid eight."
"APOLLO! YOU ARE TRYING MY PATIENCE!" Hera's voice boomed across the field and even caused more titles from the temple roof to fall off. Kal noticed that several of the amazons glanced at their Goddess with surprise as Hera sounded less like a queen and more like a stepmother going crazy at being ignored. "COME HERE AT ONCE!"
Both the Sun God of the Sky and the Spring Goddess of the Underworld shared a smile at Hera's usual ominous anger. "I think the Queen of the Heavens is officially angry with you Apollo."
"What else is new cousin?" Apollo asked rhetorically before turning and to finally face his stepmother with a charming smile and a tsk in his voice.
"Hera, Hera, Hera, is that really any tone to take with your favourite stepson?" A silent, but furious glare, that Kal felt had enough heat behind it to turn even the Sun God to ash, was Hera's only response to Apollo's attempts to charm her, but the God of the Sun was not discouraged in the slightest.
"Come on now, my stern stepmother, don't forget who it was who saved you from the Giant Prince Porphyrion the Powerful during the Siege of Mount Olympus." Apollo's quick response at playing his favourite ace with Hera was enough to cause the situation to deescalate, if only slightly. "You would think that the Goddess of Family would be far more grateful to one of her least annoying stepchildren for such a kind act of heroism."
Hera's furious face lost some of its insulted anger as she sighed in irritation. "Like I need to KEEP being reminding of that bit of our history." Hera said to the grinning Sun God standing before her. "But regardless of your 'kind' acts of heroism towards me in the past Apollo, that does not give you and your flaming Rooster here the right to come waltzing onto my Amazons Island whenever you wish."
At this royal reprime, Apollo just smirked so smugly that it made Hermes look almost humble in comparison. "Oh Hera, you should know better by now that the sun shines everywhere, especially a tropical island such as Themyscira, not even the darkest of heavens can block out my light." Still grinning, Apollo leaned in even closer to the stormy expression on Hera's beautiful face. "No matter how much their queen may try."
Hera's eyes started to become dark as storm clouds as she felt her tempest of a temper start to overtake herself as she felt herself being made a fool of by the Sun God in front of her Amazonian worshippers on the very island, SHE had gifted them. "How dare you come down here and disrespect me-."
"Careful Hera." Apollo interrupted the Sky Goddess suddenly; his charming grin was now gone and his voice had taken on a distinctly more dangerous tone than before. "You're playing with fire."
The Sun God's orange eyes were now glowing an ominous red and the air around him had quickly heated up enough that not even the tropical island dwelling Amazons couldn't help but wince at the sudden, intense temperature. "And I'd just hate to see you get burned, Stepmother."
Hermes' for his part had lost his amused attitude, his face now the picture of concern at the rising tensions between his favourite male relative and his least favourite female relative, even Iris and Persephone looked suitably affected by the rising heat.
Apollo however, just revelled in it, as he leaned even closer to the Olympian Queen, grinning almost sadistically, as did the Phoenix perched on his shoulder, the bird seemingly unphased by his proximity to an Olympian who could channel the very power of the sun itself through his body.
Hera though, clearly was, judging by the tears in the corners of her eyes as well as the dabbles of sweat forming on her impeccable forehead, two things Apollo quickly took notice of and chuckled at.
"What's wrong Hera? Can't take the heat?" The Sun God asked smugly, red eyes flashing ominously. "It's okay your majesty, a lot of women can't help but get hot under collar around me."
Kal though, while just as alarmed by the Sun God's sudden show of aggression as the others, didn't back away from the scorching temperature, unlike everyone else, he didn't feel burned by it, on contrary… he felt rejuvenated by it, the light energy chasing away the dregs of fatigues from his fight with Hermes…
"But you should know by now that I do not take kindly to queens who think their high positions give them the right to talk down to me whenever they wish." Apollo continued ominously, his every word coming out like the lethal lick of flame from a roaring fire.
"Or do I also need to remind you what happened to Niobe the Nimrodic when she thought it was a good idea to insult my mother, the Nymph Queen and Goddess of the Earth, Leto the Lovely, right to my face?" That word was spoken with a flash of intense heat that made everyone who wasn't a being of light flinch from the wave.
To her credit though, the high and mighty Queen of the Heavens stood her ground, quite literally in the face of this fiery display, but the heat was clearly worse for her, due to her close proximity to Apollo. The Kal was sure if she was anyone else or even just a little less prideful, she would have had to take a step back from the sudden intense burst of temperature.
"Does the phrase 'Roasted Royalty' mean anything to you, my queen." Apollo asked in a threatening tone of voice.
"Hmph, and here I thought you were better than playing the role of a misogynistic God who can't handle a woman talking down to him… just like your father." Hera's response was cold, calculated and spoken venomously, and Kal could see from the smirk on the Queen of the Heavens face that she had hit her mark.
"I am NOT my father, Hera." Whereas Apollo had merely been posturing before, Hera's cruel quip had cracked through his sunny veneer and caused his right hand to curl up into an angry fist that was clenched so tight that his knuckles went white with solar energy, and the heat seem to concentrate so intensely in that single spot that it seemed that the very sun itself was alive inside Apollo's hand.
The air around the two Olympians was practically sizzling as they stared each other down in silence for a moment before Iris finally cleared the suffocating tension with a flap of her beautiful rainbow-coloured wings. "I think what Queen Hera meant to ask you Apollo, is what brings the former Great Protector of Delphi to the island of Themyscira? I am sure you are not here to cause any trouble."
Apollo's searing gaze suddenly snapped over to Iris, but quickly lost its heat as he felt Alectryon slap the back of his handsome head with his wing and the Sun God saw his Phoenix friend give him a pointed look that said, your letting Hera bait you again Apollo, snap out of it, pretty boy.
Apollo unclenched his fiery fist as his burning red eyes returned to his usual gorgeous golden orange colour, nodded a thanks to his feathered friend as he looked around and become aware again of the fear rising from the Amazons at his fiery outburst.
Cursing him for having fallen for Hera's ploy to present himself as an arrogant dangerous male Olympian, he quickly recovered his composure, forcing his charming smile to reappear on his handsome face as he turned to answers Iris's generously asked question.
"Ahh Iris, of course not my dear, you remain as level headed and situation defusing as ever I see, rainbows always do find a way to shine even in the most tumultuous of times, don't they." Apollo followed his statement by taking the Rainbow Goddess's hand and placing a small kiss on it, which sent shivers down her equally colourful spine. "Also, Iris, may I just say your wings look especially beautiful today, did you preen your feathers recently?"
At the Sun Gods complementary words, the winged Goddess couldn't help but blush furiously, her multicoloured hair all turning various shades of red, her wings pointed straight up in the air, something Hera rolled her eyes at, but otherwise chose to let her anger go for the moment as Apollo continued to talk in that charming tone of his. "But to answer your original question my radiant rainbow herald and my mighty Queen of the Heavens, I just happen to be flying by on my solare chariot when I saw what was taking place here on Themyscira between my half-brother and this islands newest champion and I just had to come down here see it for myself."
"Really?" Hera asked in an extremely doubtful tone of voice, one elegant eyebrow raised and with her arms crossed over her chest.
"Yes Hera, I was." Apollo answered honestly, though not without another carefree shrug of his shoulders, not really caring if Hera believed him or not as he turned to look at the crowd of Amazons with a charming smile. "Though, please forgive me if I'm interrupting anything, ladies."
"No apologises on your part are necessary, Lord Apollo." Menalippe answered quickly, if not eagerly, stepping towards the Sun God speak on behalf of her Amazonian sisters. "You have not interrupted anything at all, your surprise visit to our island is merely an… unexpected pleasure."
At this obvious opportunity, Apollo just grinned amorously and quickly closed the distance between himself and the Amazons priestess. "Well, that is a relief Menalippe, because as I hope you know, I do pride myself on my ability to give women… pleasure." Apollo stated in a suggestive enough tone that it caused the priestess and many of her fellow Amazons faces to flush with heat from the implications of his words, all of which only served to further annoy Hera, if such a thing was even possible at this point.
"The Last Oracle of Delphi and her hundreds of disciples could all attest to that gospel truth Menalippe, I assure you." Apollo had made sure to lean close to the blonde priestess and whispered those words into her right ear in the most sensual of voices he could possibly say them in, causing Menalippe to noticeably shake in excitement and all of which Kal picked up due to his superior hearing.
"Apollo." The words were nearly a whisper on the wind but caused Apollo to snap back to reality and focus all his attention on a single being.
It was in Hippolyta's direction the Sun God turned, even though the Amazon Queen had spoken the word so softly it was nearly lost to the winds, Apollo still heard her say it, just like he always did…
Everyone became silent as Apollo stared at the Queen of the Amazons with a near emotionless expression on his handsome face, before stepping forward and giving both Hippolyta and her young daughter a graceful bow. "Hippolyta, Gracious and Mighty Queen of the Amazons, please forgive my intrusion. It has been too long since I have been able to be in your royal presence."
"I must say, it warms my flaming heart to see you and your daughter are both well." Apollo said respectfully as he stood back up to face Hippolyta, his orange eyes briefly connecting with the princess's bright blue ones for the briefest of moments as something passed over the Sun God's good looking features, a moment that did not go unnoticed by everyone…
Alkyone, now back in her usual Captain of the Queen's Circle attire, had been walking back around the corner of the Training Grounds of Athena just after Apollo had arrived on the scene and had been watching from the shadows ever since.
"Also, pardon my forwardness your majesty, but you are looking more breath-taking than ever Hippolyta." Apollo said back in his usual charming tone of voice. "I have done something new with your hair?"
"I have, thank you for noticing my lord." Hippolyta said with a smile on her and a suddenly bright look in her blue eyes. "It is… good to see you again, Apollo."
The bald Amazons scarred features frowning and her green eyes turning into a burning glare as she watched the handsome Sun God talk amicably with both her queen and princess…
… and she was not the only one.
"What is HE doing here?" Alkyone turned at the sound of a new, much angrier voice and was shocked to see Mother Magala standing alongside her, her sealskin hood over her white-haired head and her dog skulled staff in her hands.
To say the usually alert circle captain was surprised was an understatement, the elder Sorceress had always had a knack for seemingly appearing out of nowhere, but this sudden arrival was different, it seemed to Alkyone to feel… darker somehow.
Mother Magala's usually jovially voice had taken on a decidedly more menacing tone as she stared at the charming Sun God with a glare that easily outdid Alkyone's and could have very well eviscerated Apollo if it was able to.
Although, as the two of them stood there in that shadowy corner of the Training Grounds of Athena, Alkyone could've sworn that there was something… off… about Magala's ancient features, misshapen even, her eyes seemed… colder and her expression… far more youthful… her once warm face now seemed to exude nothing but raw and unadulterated hatred.
Even so, the circle captain said nothing to the Sorceress standing right beside her and for the most part, it seemed like Mother Magala wasn't even aware Alkyone was their herself, because despite the scarred Amazon's typically fearless disposition in life, something told Alkyone that it would be very unwise to bother the Sorceress at that moment as the older woman's eyes were focused solely on the shining Olympian at that exact moment.
Speaking of which…
"I must say, it is good to be back on Themyscira again, it reminds me so much of Delphi before the Telchine Rebellions." Apollo said causally to Hippolyta and Hera, complementing the island's lovely tropical landscape and its equally beautiful residents before turning to directly address his stepmother with a genuine smile. "As a deity of the arts, I can never help but marvel at what you've manage to make for your worshippers here Hera, a true island haven kept hidden from the rest of the mortal world, a paradise worthy of the Fields of Elysium, Great-Grandmother Gaia would be proud."
At this most charming of complements from the handsome Sun God, even the stern Sky Goddess Hera had to eventually give a small smile towards her least annoying stepson. "Flattery as always continues to be your saving grace around me, Apollo."
"Yes, my ability to charm others is almost as good as my legendary good looks… and I am very good looking." Apollo said with a smug smirk that wouldn't out of place on his half-brothers Hermes face as he cast his gaze around the gathered crowd, in particular the younger generation of Amazons, especially Hippolyta's daughter before finally falling back on the young boy behind him. "Still, for the sake of the young ones among us, I believe a proper introduction of my shining self is order here.
"It has been sometime since I was last here after all" The Sun God turned to the fiery Phoenix still perched on his right shoulder guard who up to this point had remained entirely silent
"Alectryon, if you'd be so kind?"
"Mighty Amazon women and girls of Themyscira, Gods and Goddesses of Mount Olympus, young champions and their canine companions alike, I present to you Apollo, Greek God of the Sun, Music, Archery, Medicine, Prophecy and Dramatic Poses." Alectryon announced proudly from his position on the Olympian's shoulder, extending his fiery wings out in a dramatic fashion as he continued to speak in a grandiose tone of voice.
"Son of Queen Leto the Greek Goddess of Nature and Student of the former Sun God Helios, the Prince of Prophecies, the Serpentslayer, the Master of the Lyre, Tamer of the Sun Steeds, Guardian of the Prometheus Fire, Archon of the Theatre of Orpheus, the First Archer of Mount Olympus, the Best Chariot Racer in all of Ancient Greece and Greek Pantheons Greatest Assassin." The talking bird paused momentarily to take a deep breath before continuing even further.
Apollo rolled his orange eyes and motioned with his hand for Alectryon to speed it up, giving both Hera and Hippolyta an apologetic smile for the length of his introduction.
"The Lightbringer, the Plague Ender, the Chaser of Nymphs, the Skinner of Satyrs, the Bane of Giants and the Terror of the Telchines, Ex-Leader of the Dragonfang Archers, Hero of the Gigantomachy, the Former Great Protector of Delphi, Handsomest of all the Greek Gods and the Brightest Flame on all of Mount Olympus, THE SUN GOD APOLLO!" The Phoenix said before panting heavily, at long last, finally finished reciting his master long list of impressive titles.
A smattering of applause broke out from the Amazons with Kal quickly joining in, not sure of the protocol for a God's announcement so elected to follow suit by applauding with the rest, to be respectful.
Apollo for his part gave a showman's bow to the clapping Amazons, as did Alectryon, though the pair continued to talk under their breath to each other, which thanks to his superior hearing, Kal heard as though he was standing right next to them.
"How was that Apollo?" The Phoenix asked the Sun God whose shoulder he was currently perched on as the pair continued to wave.
"Very good Alectryon, I have goosebumps, pun intended." Apollo said smiling in approval of his feathery familiar's reciting skills. "Though you may want to trim off some of the longer titles at the end my fellow flaming friend, they kind of make me sound… pretentious."
"Hey, it's not my fault that you have so many dam titles my Lord Apollo." The Phoenix said sardonically with a feathery shrug of his shoulders, before glancing at the princess and the other young Amazons present. "I even removed some of the more… licentious ones for the sake of the children in the audience."
"Smart move there Alectryon." Apollo said, praising his Phoenix friend once again for his good thinking. "I mean, the last thing we need right now is a repeat of the Peacock Incident." At this, Alectryon gave his lord an annoyed look.
"Okay, why do you feel the need to keep bringing up the Peacock Incident with me?" Alectryon in agitation, feathers quite literally ruffled, Apollo was just about to answer when he was interrupted by what was in hindsight a question that a lot of people who weren't personally familiar with the Greek Pantheon would understandably ask.
"Your bird can talk?!"
More than a little surprised, the shining Olympian and the fiery Phoenix turned to look at the boy standing behind them, staring at them agape in shock, though mostly at Alectryon
Both Apollo and Alectryon shared a sideways glance as the Sun God finally responded with a simple and slightly awkward. "Yes…"
"Also, for the record their, sport." Alectryon responded to the boy's question in his usual snarky manner. "I might be sworn to him as a familiar, but I still like to consider myself my OWN bird, not anyone else's, thank you very much."
"But how? How can a bird just be talking like that?" Kal asked, still clearly in a state of disbelief over what he was seeing.
In response, the Phoenix just gave a feathery shrug of his shoulders. "I don't know sport, how can YOU be talking like you are right now, hhhmmm?" Alectryon asked back, even more snarky than previously before.
"Seriously kiddo?" Hermes asked, speaking up for the first time in a while. "You live on an island that has small two headed Vipers and large striped Lions, you and your white Wolfdog regularly play with gigantic Three Headed Hellhound like it's the world's largest Pitbull and it's a self-cooking, talking Turkey that astounds you, really?"
The Phoenix gave the Messenger God a heated look as his orange feathers became literally enflamed with sizzling anger. "I'm NOT a Turkey, Hermes."
"You sure about that, bird brain?" Hermes asked doubtfully as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I mean, you're about the same size as one."
"I'm sorry messenger boy, but are you comparing me, a Phoenix, majestic blazing bird of myth to a fat farm fowl?" Alectryon said, squawking angrily.
"Yes, I am." Hermes cutting reply was as quick as the God himself. "Was a not being clear enough for you, you dumb Dodo?"
"I am NOT a Dodo bird!" Alectryon screeched loudly with an angry flap of his fiery wings. "And how do you know what a Dodo bird even is, you glorified postal worker!" At this point, the Phoenix's feathers had started to flame up and Apollo knew he had to intervene before things started getting fiery… and feathery.
"Alectryon calm yourself." The Sun God ordered his fiery familiar as he grabbed the Phoenix by the beak, keeping it and thus Alectryon himself, firmly shut. "And brother, please refrain from angering my feathered friend anymore." Apollo told Hermes with a deadpan tone of voice, implying that saying this was a regular occurrence for the Sun God. "That's my personal pleasure in life, you get to annoy everyone else, but pissing off Alectryon is a privilege reserved solely for myself."
Apollo then turned back to the boy with a slightly sheepish look on his handsome face. "Once again, my apologises for my feathery friend's unexpected outburst, young champion, Alectryon has some… humanity issues I guess you could call them, said issues are actually the reason why he even CAN talk, believe it or not." The Sun God said before he finally let go of his friend's beaked face.
"Really?" Kal asked the blazing bird who just sighed heavily and nodded in response.
"Yes, my egomaniac master is unfortunately correct." Alectryon said reluctantly before gesturing to his flaming feathered form with his right wing. "For the record sport, THIS is what happens to you when you get caught up in the middle of a affairs among Olympians."
"Hey, Alectryon, come on, it's not so bad for you now, is it my feathered friend?" Apollo said in an honest attempt to cheer up his fiery friend. "I mean, yeah, sure, you got turned from an everyday mortal into a Rooster, sure, but then I used some of my aunt Hecate's magic potions to transform you into an immortal Phoenix, I made you my familiar to replace that lying Crow Corvus I used to have, and now you live with me atop Mount Olympus, a place very few mortals have ever gotten to see…."
"… Where I now spend the majority of my time waking you up after your nightly trysts with Calliope and her sisters, fooling around with Aphrodite's pet Swans and going to the bathroom on Ares suits of armour, not to mention following you around all day on your solare chariot as you go on your little joyrides road trips." Alectryon muttered back sardonically. "So… yeah, I suppose it could be worse."
"Yeah, I mean, you could've have gotten turned into a Cow like Io had instead of a Rooster." Apollo said to which Alectryon audibly groaned at. "I'm pretty sure that would be much worse, because last time I checked, people don't eat Roosters, but they definitely do eat Cows."
"Don't remind me Apollo." The Phoenix said dejectedly. "I went to go visit her once back when I was still a Rooster and ever since, people always referred to the two of us as 'Cow and Chicken' for some reason, I'm not a Chicken, I'm not even a female." Alectryon ranted as he and Apollo shared the sort of light hearted exchange only life-long friends could have.
"Truthfully dear, Apollo's pet Phoenix is always talking, almost as much as Hermes in fact." Hera said to Kal, interrupting the two fiery friends' conversation in a not so quiet voice from where she stood off to the side. "Honestly, it's getting the pyromaniac Parakeet to shut up every once and while that's the real trick."
At this, Alectryon turned to regard the Queen of the Heavens with a Persephone approved glare before asking in a tone that was all beak biting. "Okay Hera, I know what Hermes and Apollo did to piss you off today, but what exactly did I say to earn that cutting remark from you just now?"
"It's not what you said Alectryon." Hera clarified sternly with a heated glare. "It's what you did."
For a moment, the firebird stared at the glaring Goddess in confusion before he finally understood the meaning of her words.
"Oh, for your mother Rhea's sake, Hera, are you still mad at me about the Peacock Incident?" The talking Phoenix asked the stern Sky Goddess in the most exasperated tone of voice possible. "It was over a year ago and I already said I was sorry like ten times now."
"And yet your still surprised that she continues to hold a grudge against you for it." Apollo asked in his fiery feathered friend aloud in a rhetorical tone of voice. "You really should know my stepmother better by now Alectryon." The Sun God then turned his attention to the young boy whose presence had originally brought him here and who had been the subject of one of his most intense visions in literal ages…
"And speaking of people I should really know better…" Apollo said as he walked closer to the boy and then knelt down to his level, over the Sun God's none Phoenix occupied shoulder, Kal saw his mother noticeably tense up for some unknown reason…
"You seem familiar enough with my name young champion, though I must admit, I can't recall meeting you before." Apollo said charmingly with curious tilt of his handsome head before asking in his most polite tone of voice. "Who are you and where exactly did you come from; may I ask?"
In truth, Apollo already had a very good idea of who exactly the boy was from what he had heard of the brief conversation between Hermes and Hippolyta earlier, but the Sun God had to be one hundred percent sure that no deception was being played here…
"My name… my name is Kal, Lord Apollo." Kal answered the Sun God's question after a moment of awed hesitation. "Prince of the Amazons, the new Champion of Themyscira and the Son of Hippolyta." The boy said in the same formal and princely voice as he had when he first met Persephone all those weeks ago, though he really didn't need to bother as that last title was all Apollo needed hear…
"Really?" Out of the corner of his orange, shining eyes, Apollo glanced at Hippolyta and gave her a pointed look, a look that no one else, not even Kal saw, but one that said so many words in so little. "The Amazons of Themyscira have a prince now, I was not made aware of this."
"That is because what transpires on MY worshippers island does not concern you, Apollo." Hera said sternly with a tap of her Celestial Sceptre on the ground, which sent a strong gust of wind through the training grounds.
At this, Apollo stood back up and regarded Hera with a heated look for a long moment before giving another carefree shrug. "Very well stepmother, I can sense when the sunshine is not wanted." The Sun God then turned around with a toss of handsome haired head and a swish of his golden, glowing cape.
"But so, you know Hera, I DID just have one of my biggest prophetic visions not so long ago-." Apollo said casually without even looking at the gathered crowd but still knowing he know had their full attention before turning to the bird on his shoulder. "-and it was a VERY intense one, wasn't it Alectryon?"
"Indeed, it was actually so intense that pretty boy here fell out of his solare chariot WHILE he was still flying it." Alectryon added snarkily to which Apollo shot him an annoyed look for in response.
"THANK YOU for bringing that embarrassing moment back up my fiery friend." Apollo said tersely which was followed by the audible sound of a tail feather being plucked and a bird's squawk of pain.
"But yes, I just had a rather intense vision concerning the future of your worshippers and their island's newest champion, and by extension you, yourself Hera." At these particular words, the crowd of Amazons became visibly interested and even Hera herself looked suddenly very intrigued by what Apollo had to say.
"Now I WAS going to tell you all about it, ladies." Apollo continued ever so casually. "But as our mighty Queen of the Heaven herself has just said, what transpires on Themyscira is not my concern, so I won't bother you with the all-boring little destined details, good day to you all."
With that said, Apollo nodded towards the young prince he had just met and began walking away from the training grounds, without even a single look back at the crowd behind him, while they couldn't see his face, everyone could sense that the Sun God was smiling.
Hera meanwhile, was quite visibly struggling with herself from not giving into Apollo's obvious baiting of her until finally, she couldn't stand it any longer. "Wait!"
The moment she said that word, Apollo immediately paused in his step and turned back around with the smuggest smile he could possibly manage before saying. "Yes stepmother."
"Apollo… please… stay" Hera said tersely through gritted teeth. "Tell us more about your latest vision, Great Prince of Prophecies."
"I knew you'd see the wisdom in my words eventually Hera." Apollo said in his usual charming tone as he walked back around to where he was standing before, right beside Kal. "Granted, you took a little longer than I thought you would, but still you got there eventually."
At this, Hera just rolled her purple eyes in annoyance but otherwise chose to let the comment slide as she walked closer to the Sun God. "Yes well, this 'vision' of yours had better not be some elaborate prank at my expense, Apollo."
"Hera, Hera, Hera, you know me better than that." Apollo said while shaking his head and crossing his arms. "I would never lie about a vision of the future or make up a false prophecy, remember the old Delphian saying stepmother, Apollo is always right." The Sun God said smugly.
"But why tell you what I see, when I can show you instead." The Sun God then turned to his message delivering brother. "Hermes, would you please go get my Hyperion Helmet from my palace, Calliope knows where I keep it."
"You got it brother; I'll be right back." Hermes said nodding, before quickly taking off for Mount Olympus as fast as he could, kicking up dust as he left.
"What's the Hyperion Helmet." Kal asked looking up at the shining Sun God after the dust had settled in the wake of Hermes sudden departure.
"The Hyperion Helmet is a divine relic formerly owned by my mentor Helios who took it from his father, Hyperion the Titan of Light in the aftermath of the Great Titan Wars." Apollo explained to the bright boy beside him who he found so very interesting. "It was used by my master during the Clashes with the Giants and later by yours truly during the various Telchine Rebellions, it helps enhance the natural prophetic powers of vision seeing indivuals like myself."
"So, you can really see the future?" Kal asked curiously, he knew from Mnemosyne's stories that the Greek Gods all had incredible powers, Persephone ruled over all plant life, Iris controlled the weather, Hermes had both invisibility as well as super speed, Hera could command the very Heavens themselves and Apollo obviously had power over the sun, fire and heat, but he had never heard of a God who could see the future."
"In parts, yes, but… usually only in very brief glimpses of the future, really." Apollo couldn't help but smile at the boy's awe of his most unique ability amongst his fellow Olympians, not since his younger days back in Delphi had he gotten such looks of amazement from those around him for his prophetic gift, which had so intrigued the Sun God Helios that he had taken him on as his student.
"That's amazing." Kal couldn't help but say aloud, to the Sun God's satisfaction and breaking him out of his reminiscing about his dead teacher.
"Thank you, I know I am." Apollo said smirking before frowning ever so slightly as he became more thoughtful. "But there are times, where it is almost as much a curse as it is a gift, young champion."
"What do you mean." Kal asked, frowning ever so slightly himself.
"While it's true that my visions never lie, young champion." Apollo continued to explain to the Amazon prince. "They're not always as clear or as obvious in what they show as some would like, sometimes their quite literal, other times their more… metaphorical."
The Sun God closed his eyes and sighed heavily before opening them again. "To put it simply child, prophecy is never wrong and it does not lie, but prophets can be wrong and sometimes they do lie, even to themselves."
Before Kal could ask what exactly Apollo meant by that, Hermes suddenly came rushing back with a golden ornate helmet underneath his left arm. "Here's your helmet, Apollo." The Messenger God said as he stopped beside the Sun God and handed him the helmet.
"Thank you, Hermes, another timely delivery as always brother." Apollo praised as he took the helmet and placed it on his handsome head, allowing Kal to get a good look at it as he did so.
The helmet was a pristine golden colour that shined like the sun itself in Apollo's hands, for an armoured piece of headwear though, it looked more decorative than protective in its design, with a flaming ruby embedded in its centre and a long orange crest in the shape of a rising sun.
"Well, my young champion, I think I've kept my adoring public waiting long enough now, wouldn't you agree." Apollo asked Kal as he and the young champion stood directly in the path of the afternoon sun, the Hyperion Helmet's sun rising crest catching the light as the red ruby in its center began to glow.
"It's time to get this prophetic light show started." Apollo said as his orange eyes glowed a bright golden hue in stark contrast to the fiery red inferno they had been before when he had gotten angry, suddenly a beam of gorgeous golden light erupted from the ruby and shot out towards the ground, before spreading out, solidifying and taking form… or rather various forms, all of which showed the future to those who were watching, unknowingly or otherwise.
"Hhhmmm, metaphorical this time instead of literal, interesting." Kal heard Apollo mutter quietly to himself as he concentrated on the projection whilst Alectryon kept watch on their surroundings from his master's left shoulder.
From where he stood beside the Sun God, Kal saw everyone watching, even the talkative Hermes and the intimidating Persephone, become awed to silence as the prophetic light show played out before their very eyes, especially Hera herself, who stepped even closer to the projection, her face become entranced by what she saw, eager even to see what the future held.
"Show me what you see, Apollo." Kal just heard Hera say almost breathlessly and for once, the Sun God did not make a charming remark at his stern stepmother's expense. "Show me the future… show me what glory awaits me…"
Kal couldn't help but frown at that last sentence and instead decided to focus on the vision and what it meant for HIS future…
… for one thing, Apollo was right, visions were sometimes metaphorical rather than literal, this one certainly was…
The projected image was of a mother Nemean Lioness and her young cub walking towards two groups of large animals with something in her mouth, a herd of Actaeon Deer with numerous fawns who stood in the light of a meadow and a pride of Shadow Pantheress with several cubs who clung to the shade of the jungle.
The two stand out creatures however, were a beautiful Purple Peacock with fine feathers perched high upon a branch, far above all the other animals and watching the proceeding below with vain interest, and a single Black Sheep standing far off to the side on a hill, all by itself, staring silent and unblinking.
A sudden, loud barking was heard as both the group of Deer and Panthers turned and looked at what exactly the Queen of the Beasts had brought with her.
The mother Nemean Lioness gently set the jet-black, blue eyed Wolf pup down on to the ground with care, the small canine barking happily at its freedom before affectionately nuzzling the mother Lioness's face, who after stilling at the unexpected contact, began nuzzling the puppy back in a loving manner.
This surprisingly beautiful display was interrupted though by the Lioness's cub suddenly pouncing on the Wolf pup as the two juvenile animals began to play with one another under their mother's watch eye, rolling and bounding in the grass, running through the legs of the Actaeon Deer whilst making sure to avoid the pride of Shadow Panthers.
Eventually, several of the young Deer fawns joined in on the pairs playing and even a few of the Pantheress cubs as well, the image of was one of pure infant animal adorableness… that is… until the four Lykaon Hyenas showed up.
The leader of small clan, a scarred and savage looking matriarch, came rushing towards the group of potential young prey, with open drooling jaws and her three sisters on her tail.
Seeing this, the Deer fawns ran back to their mothers as did the Panther cubs and even the young Lioness as well, leaving the Wolf pup all alone and without anyone to protect him, the canine turned to run but fell over before he could get very far and cried out in pain as he suddenly found himself pinned down by the paw of lead Lykaon Hyena.
The Wolf pup whimpered in fear as the Hyena matriarch loomed over him with intent to kill in her sickly green eyes. But just before she could bite down on her helpless prey, the matriarch was sent flying back by the paw of the mother Lioness who immediately began fending off the other three attacking Lykaon Hyenas.
Howling in defeat, the four Hyena's ran off, but not before the matriarch gave the Wolf pup hiding behind the mother Lioness alongside her cub a hatefully snarl, once the threat was gone, the female big cat turned to the two youngsters and laid down beside them, the cub and pup curling up between their mother's front legs as the other animals watched.
The scene than switched to the Wolf pup, now slightly larger, playing with a larger white Wolfdog and three very large black Hellhounds, before running off on his own as he chased after Jackalope Hare, before stopping as he lost his prey and found himself all alone again.
Things quickly went from bad to worse for the young Wolf just then as a large, golden Caucasian Eagle began circling high above him just before swooping at the canine with open curved talons, screeching loudly as it descended as fast as a bolt of lightning.
The black Wolf luckily dodged the attack and ran from the giant bird of prey who continued to fly after it screeching in fury, before slamming right into the front leg of a huge Ceryneian Elk who then reared up and tried to stomp on it before nearly running headlong into the head of a large Cretan Bull, once again the young Wolf turned and just missed impaling himself on the bovine's huge horns who then proceeded to charge after it alongside both the Eagle and the Elk.
Still running from the trio of threats, the Wolf headed towards the jungle but was stopped at the edge by a giant Libya Python wrapped around two trees and a scorpion tailed Wyvern hovering between them, both reptilian creatures hissed threateningly before lunging with fanged jaws and barbed stingers respectively at the young Wolf, who once again dodged, but this time, just barely.
The young canine once again turned to run away but quickly found himself stopped by both the Ceryneian Elk and the Cretan Bull who blocked his path with their horns and antlers, forcing him back towards the edge of the jungle just as the Wyvern landed and the Libya Python came slithering down from the trees.
The young Wolf quickly found himself surrounded on all sides by the four larger beasts while the Caucasian Eagle soared high above them all, screeching in terrible triumph at this turn of unfortunate events for the canine just as sixth and final threat came stalking out from the darkness of the jungle.
The Nemean Lion was the biggest and most fearsome looking creature to appear in the vision by far, with a full black mane of fur, red eyes and fresh blood still dripping from its teeth and claws, it was clear to all the creatures present who the true apex predator here really was.
Other four threatening animals parted to allow the Lion's approach to their cornered prey, the big cat growled a clearly mocking greeting to the young Wolf who couldn't help but whimper at the sight of him, the Nemean Lion noticed this and began roaring in obvious laughter, followed by the other four towering beasts and the Eagle above.
The young Wolf realising this, growled deeply in the back of his throat before howling in fury and launching himself bravely at the Lion's face, but the big cat just immediately swatted him away with his huge like he was nothing, this humiliating act was then continued by the other beasts who seemingly made a game out of throwing the younger animal around.
A game that ended with the Caucasian Eagle who swooped down and grabbed the beaten-up Wolf while it was still in the air with its taloned feet and threw him towards a great tree which the young canine painfully collided with before sliding limply to the ground.
Whimpering in obvious pain, the young black Wolf barely managed to rise to his feet and despite his badly beaten state, managed to bare his fang back in a daring growl as the six larger animals came in to finish him off.
But just as all hope seemed lost for the young wolf, a brilliant gold and flaming Stallion leapt out from behind the other creatures and came galloping to the young canine's defence, snorting smoke and kicking up flames at the group of approaching animals.
After a few more moments of the threatening infernal display, the group retreated with both the Nemean Lion and Caucasian Eagle being the last to leave, growling and screeching angrily.
The Sun Steed Stallion snorted at their departure before turning to check on the young Wolf who had already limped over to the shining equine, the two most radically different of animals, a Black Wolf and a Golden Stallion, then shared the most touching of moments as they nuzzled their heads against one another affectionately.
The scene then changed again, this time, to what could only be described as two armies of animals facing each, one made up of almost entirely of Calydonian Boars and the other a mixture of Actaeon Deer's and Shadow Panthers, above them both hovered the Caucasian Eagle and the Purple Peacock, squawking at one another angrily.
At the head of the horde of Boars, was the same Nemean Lion from before while on the other side, leading the army of both predators and prey, was the Mother Lioness and her young cub, who was now a young adult feline and the Black Wolf who had grown as large as both of them.
Both the Lion and the Lioness roared their command and the two armies charged at one another with savage speed before the image once changed again, this time, it was only of the Nemean Lion and the Black Wolf fighting each other in a brutal battle of beastly ferocity, until finally, the Black Wolf won and stood victorious upon the slain body of the Nemean Lion, howling in triumph.
But the vision did not end here though, as the Wolf leaned down and as if almost compelled to do so, began to feast upon the flesh of his fallen enemy, something then happened to the canine, his blue eyes took on the same bloodthirsty red that the Nemean Lion's had been and he grew even larger and fearsome looking, before turning to the now frightened horde of Boars and licking his chops.
With a nightmarish howl, the now monstrous looking giant black beast of a Wolf lunged towards the retreating herd of pigs and began slaughtering them left and right with obvious ease, it was not a hunt, it was not even a battle anymore, it was a massacre, until finally, there were no more Boars left to kill.
Then the Wolf, now three times his original size and looking very feral, still covered in blood and caked in gore, red eyes still burning with bloodlust as stood upon the slain bodies of his enemies turned to the Lioness and her mixed predator and prey followers who all visibly cowered under his gaze as he howled once more.
Then, only then, did the vision end and the prophetic light projection from the Hyperion Helmet fade away, leaving only the haunting imagery of what it had shown embedded in everyone's minds and the terrifying echo of the Wolf's howl in the air.
Silence ruled for a long while before Hera finally broke it with a breathless. "Fascinating." She said to herself aloud as she stroked her chin in deep thought. "Simply fascinating."
Kal was not so sure he agreed with his godmother in that regard.
"But what does it mean exactly?" Kal asked Apollo, whose eyes by now had returned to their normal orange colour as the gift of prophetic sight had faded away, the Sun God then took off the Hyperion Helmet with a relieved sigh and handed it back to his brother Hermes who put it in his satchel for safe keeping.
"Like I told you, my young champion, I see many things in my prophetic visions." Apollo explained wearily, it was clear to Kal, that wearing the Hyperion Helmet for any period of time, even for the Prince of Prophecies himself, was a very draining experience. "Sometimes it's not as clear as we would like, I'm afraid this is one of those times."
"Regardless of your clarity, Apollo, your prophetic powers have served me well today." Hera said with a very pleased smile on her face, a little to pleased in fact. "This is a good sign you have delivered upon my worshippers this day, my stepson; your teacher Helios would be most proud of you."
Just then, Alectryon, who up to this point had been silently watching the surrounding jungle, must have seen something as he turned back around to whisper into Apollo's ear, which caused the Sun God to frown rather furiously as he pulled out his golden bow from his back along with three silver arrows.
"Thank you, Hera." Apollo said in a clearly grateful tone before his voice grew more heated. "Though it seems you are not the only one who has taken an interest in my little light show."
Apollo then quickly spun around and with incredible speed, shot a trio of silver arrows right into the jungle canopy directly behind them.
SHRIEK! SHRIEK! SHRIEK!
This was immediately followed by three loud, separate bird-like shrieks as three, winged and feathered humanoid, female figures burst forth from the jungle treetops and landed out on the open ground, rather clumsily on their huge taloned feet before pulling their arrows from their bodies.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't my father's favourite feathered trio of Harpy harlots, the Sisters of the Storm themselves, Aello, Ocypete and Celaeno." Apollo said in a variation of his usual charming tone that was clearly faux as pulled out another trio of arrows from his quiver. "Torment anymore poor blind kings lately, ladies?"
The trio of Harpies, which Kal could now see were wearing gold plated armour and each had different coloured hair, one red, one orange and one blue, did not even bother to give the Sun god the luxury of an answer, unless of course one counted several hateful hisses as such, before the three bird ladies stalked even closer to the gathered crowd who pulled out their various weapons at their approach.
But then, the Sisters of the Storm stopped once more and the redhead one, their apparent leader, stared at Kal in a clearly predatory fashion before turning to address Hera who had come to stand beside the boy along with Apollo.
"Surrender the boy to us now, Hera." Aello ordered the stern Sky Goddess. "Your brother, your king demands it."
Greetings to all my fellow fanfic readers and writers, I hope you all enjoyed Superman, Son of Hippolyta Chapter 19: Prophetic Light Show, I'm particularly proud of this chapter as I believe it holds the record so far for the highest number of references to Greek Myths in a single chapter, something I try very hard to do as I write this story.
I've got great news as well, my friend and Greek mythology expert Luke5921, has published his very first story on his own fanfic account, it's another Superman like my own called Kal Son of Odin and it's set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so if you're a fan of both Superman and Marvel which I AM and I know many of you are, go check it.
Also, If any of you would like to support my work in other ventures, I have YouTube channel under the same name as my fanfic account, T-Rexcellent Reviews, if you're interested, please consider giving it a look, a like and subscription as it would really help me out.
Now onto answering some more fan questions from all of you guys.
1. Guest, thanks for commenting, mate, just so you know, Kal shouting Flash Flare in the last chapter was for dramatic effect, a shout-out to a few of my readers who I know also happen to be Dragon Ball Z fans and to be fair, it WAS set up by Hermes's "Any last words." Line right before, I couldn't really think of anything else better to write in that moment, please rest assured though, it was probably only a onetime thing.
2. Guest, thanks mate, I'm glad you enjoyed the latest missing chapter, my friend Luke and I worked really hard on it, I felt like the story was still missing some very necessary set up for future plotlines as well as some more early character introductions as well as some more exposition, thus the creation of the Queen's Son chapter and I appreciate you reviewing it.
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 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.
Thanks to SuperWonderStan, ManOfSteel, Luke5921, cabrera1234, Joel, HeartOfChaos13, GR8ER3241, Kalel4444, JustAnotherIntern14, Erika Lopes, SilveerKnighT, SuperKamiGuest, dakota, Shall-lin, d,Chinook, MoonKnight030, StevenBodner, Daka, evolution-500, Goldenhue, welcome007, Dak, Arik Kkuznetsov, Yeye anaawangazia, HaywireEagle, TheCrackKing, Artimuos Sen, CrazyCaz, Bashleyz, Falcon6, Al, 80sarcades, Vahn, Djberneman, XxGargantuaxX, beastblau12, epantoja521, Supabec, gomezgerman17, give-evil-a-win, justareader21, ed and all of my guest reviewers, 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.