Superman, Son of Hippolyta - A T-Rexcellent Reviews Fanfiction
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Chapter 22: Shades of the Past
On the Island of Rhodes, somewhere in the city… Before the Fall of Ancient Greece
Despite Apollo being the Olympian's best assassin and the greatest artist in the Grecian World. For once, the Light God did not stick around to admire his own destructive handiwork as the Colossus of Rhodes was burnt to a crisp in a matter of moments.
No, for as soon as Apollo was certain that his inferno had cooked the dark magic right out of the Colossus and that the wrecked Automaton would not be putting itself back together again via magical reconstitution any time soon. The Sun God's star student along with his three animal companions, went off racing through the burned and ruined city of Rhodes, choosing to stay on the ground to avoid more Griffin Rider attacks, hoping to find Helios before it was to late.
Unfortunately for the flaming four, they hadn't gotten very far before they were stopped by another obstacle the Telchines had put in their way.
"Going somewhere Serpentslayer?" One of two huge savage Cyclopes asked in tone that somehow managed to sound both menacing and stupid at the same time, an achievement for the inferior subspecies of bestial Cyclopes compared to the original more intelligent race fathered by the Three Mighty Cyclopes Brothers of Mt Etna.
"You're looking a little lost, maybe you should go back the way you came?" The other single eyed giant growled threateningly, or at least what Apollo knew the Cyclopes thought to be threatening.
Apollo did not even bother to answer either of the one-eyed behemoths idiotic questions, his own two eyes were focused solely on the approaching heavily armoured and lance wielding Centaur and the horde of filthy Satyrs skulking right behind him, Apollo felt his glare intensify at the sight of so many grotesque goat-men on his master's island.
All-Mother Rhea Above, did he hate Satyrs and the Centaur currently leading them, knew that… just as Apollo knew who exactly the huge armoured humanoid equine was underneath that horned helmet…
"Hello… Pholos." Apollo said coldly as his old childhood Centaur friend came trotting to a stop before him, standing between the two Cyclopes, with the score of Satyrs spreading out behind them, to block any other path through. "It's been a long time, old friend, I had heard that you had bought into the Telchines promises of equality for all races, but I didn't want to believe that you could be so easily fooled by their lies."
"Let's not make this any more difficult than it already has to be, Apollo." Pholos said as he banged the bottom of his bladed lance on the ground once, which made the two Cyclopes and the herd of Satyrs behind him raise their bone clubs and horned swords respectively. "Just tell me where Helios is hiding the Sisters of Fate and I will let you and trio of pyromaniac pets fly back to your father's mountain unharmed."
"Really, is that so?" Apollo asked contemptuously of his ex-racing rival and for a moment, briefly wondering how things had led to this moment between the two of them.
During his younger years, Apollo and Pholos had competed against one another many times in racing competitions all across Ancient Greece, to the roar of countless cheering crowds, each doing their best to overtake the other on the track, one would win the day only for the other to best them, usually in the very next race.
Somewhere along the line, the two of them had gone from bitter racing adversaries to the closet of friends, with the pair more than once teaming up to win dual races or fighting alongside one another to protect their beloved fans from whoever or whatever dared threaten them.
The Two Renegade Racers of Rhodes their fans had called them, looking back on those fond memories, still made Apollo smile, or at least they used to…
His teacher, mother and sister had all warned him repeatedly not to put to much faith in his friendship with Pholos, as most Centaurs were inherently wild and unpredictable creatures that would surprise you, usually in the worst ways possible, they had all told him that, time and time again.
But every time, Apollo had just ignored their warnings and said that Pholos was different from the rest of his unruly kind, that their bond of brotherhood was stronger than that, that one day, Pholos would rise high as leader amongst his people and that the two of them would stand together to protect the Ancient Greek as the Protector of Delphi and Warlord of the Centaurs respectively.
But then the Centauromachy had broken out, right on Pirithous's wedding day, afterwards, he, Theseus and Hercules had gone out and slain so many dam Centaurs all around Thessaly, that the once forested meadows and green pastures had run red with blood and horse guts, becoming known as Blood Redwoods forever after.
Few Centaurs survived that day and none of them remained in their homeland of Thessaly any longer, Apollo and Pholos bond was not strong enough to survive that. It was also apparent it was not strong enough to resist Telchine promises of power and retribution against the Olympian Pantheon.
His family had been right, and Apollo had been wrong, despite the Delphic saying about him always being right, the proof of that lie stood right in front of him with bladed lance in hand and a small army at his back, standing between him and saving his mentor Helios, who had warned him that this very day would come.
Pholos had been his rival, his comrade and his friend for many, many years, and now… now he was his enemy, and Apollo would treat his old brother in arms like any other opponent he had fought in past.
"Yes Apollo, really." Pholos said firmly before sighting and removing his spiked helmet, revealing the wild mane of horse-like hair attached to his more human head, looking at the Light God without a hint of sadness in his brown eyes. "Please Apollo, just tell me where the Sisters of Fate are hidden and no one else has to die here today."
"That is very tempting offer you've just given me, Pholos, I must admit, but I don't suppose my master's life would also be included in this of yours deal, would it, old friend?" Apollo asked in an overly sarcastic manner, more reminiscent of his half-brother Hermes in that moment than the charming God of Music he was.
"I'm afraid not Apollo, Queen Marcelo's daughter is currently preparing Lord Helios for his execution, and she has ordered me to not allow you to interfere in the dispensing of Telchine justice." Pholos said resolutely with a stomp of his front right hoof on the cracked stone street, causing it to crack even further underneath his weight.
"Now you see, unfortunately, that is a deal breaker for me Pholos, because to the Telchines." Apollo commented in a dry tone and a more furious look on his handsome face. "Justice and murder are the exact same thing."
At this, the Centaur just gave a Horse-like snort of clear contempt. "Well, from the way I see it, pretty boy-
"Hey!" Alectryon squawked loudly from his usual perch on Apollo's horned Aegis covered shoulder, his already ruffled feathers now flaming in anger. "Only I get to call him that! You son of a horse!"
"-the Princess is just trying to reclaim what belongs to her people and by extension, us as well, Apollo." The Centaur continued, completely ignoring Alectryon's outraged cries. "We don't want a war with all the Greek Gods Apollo, only the ones who asked for one, we just want what has always been rightfully ours from the very beginning and we want those who wronged us to be punished for their crimes, we want to be seen as equals Apollo, not subjects anymore."
"You're all deluding yourselves if you think the Telchines have any intention of sharing control of Greece with any of your races." Apollo said aloud, not just to his former Centaur comrade, but also to the pair of Cyclopes with him and the horde of Satyrs as well. "Your nothing but a means to an end to them, if you don't believe me, just ask the Giants how well teaming up with the Telchines worked out for their race."
"What happened to the Giants is nothing but a reminder to the rest of us, Apollo, that your kind never saw any of the other races as equals." Pholos countered, snorting stubbornly. "If your pantheon wasn't so obsessed with ruling over every dam inch of Ancient Greece, maybe both the Gigantomachy and all the later Telchine Rebellions wouldn't have ever happened in the first place."
"Or maybe Ancient Greece would be nothing, but a dark magic ridden wasteland! Pholos! Devoid of all life! Both mortal and immortal alike! Except for the Telchines and their own wicked worshippers!" Apollo snapped back, finally losing his patience with this little back and forth between himself and his former friend, mostly because the Light God reluctantly recognised that the Centaurs words did have SOME truth to them and more importantly that Pholos was clearly stalling for time so that Helios execution could be carried out.
"I saw first-hand what a world ruled by Telchine tyranny looked like in my visions Pholos! Believe me! All that has happened is STILL better than the alternative and I do not regret my decision to stop that future from becoming reality!"
"According to you Apollo!" Pholos yelled back, his back legs kicking up dust. "But did any of your precious prophetic visions show you what would happen if you and your dam talking Turkey had just minded your own business and left the Telchines well enough alone? Did you see that if the Telchines would have never been exiled from Rhodes in the first place, that your master's home wouldn't be burning to the ground around us right now?"
"I don't have time for any more of your pointless questions, Pholos!" Apollo declared angrily as Alectryon squawked loudly in agreement, needing no words to show who he sided with in this matter, neither did Pyrois or Eous for that matter, it was clear all three creatures sided with their lord on this issue. "I'm going after my master and the Defiler; I'm going to give you and all your freakshow friends here exactly five seconds to get the Tartarus out of my way!"
"Hah, it's not even going to take us that long to carve your pretty face off, skinner." One of the Satyrs snarled savagely, his herd mates all growling in agreement, apparently what Apollo had done to King Marsyas had not been forgotten by his fellow goat-men. "I look forward to showing it off to your five remaining Muse Mistresses… right before I and my herd mates take them in our kings' memory."
It was the threat to his charming Calliope and her four remaining sisters that finally made Apollo snap as he quickly summoned the Great Sword of the Giants, the royal blade that had once been wielded by the Prince Porphyrion the Powerful during the Gigantomachy against the Olympians, the blade that Apollo had taken as the spoils of war after he had slain the Giant Prince in single combat, the giant blade whose edge was forever stained with the blood of its own people afterwards.
Quickly throwing the divine blade like a javelin, Apollo impaled the Satyr who had spoken about harming his Muses through the middle on his massive sword before immediately summoning it back to his hand, with the dying Goat-man still embedded on the end of his blade.
"You will take nothing ever again Satyr, except for my blade through your belly." Apollo spat to the dying humanoid ungulate as he slid off the end of his sword, blood erupting from the great hole Apollo had just made in his stomach. "Please give my kindest regards to your king when you see him down in the Pits of Tartarus for me."
This of course, caused all the other Satyrs to start screaming bloody murder at the Light God and the pair of Cyclops to start banging their colossal clubs on the grounds in preparation of battle, and Pholos reluctantly realised that negotiations had indeed broken down.
"I see now that this is just the way things have to be, very well." The Centaur said sadly as he put his helmet back on his maned head and raised his bladed staff. "I'm sorry Apollo."
"Funny, I'm not Pholos, but you will be when you answer to my master for siding with the Telchines today." Apollo said grimly as he grasped his great sword in both hands and swung it behind him. "Goodbye old friend."
This finale sentiment was followed by the screeches of Satyrs and the roars of Cyclops as they, led by the Centaur general, all charged towards the lone Light God and his three animal companions who all braced themselves for the incoming attack.
Apollo just narrowed his orange eyes and ignited his great sword in a brilliant, blazing light before swinging it back around in a huge slash with an Olympian war cry.
On the Island of Rhodes, somewhere in the city… the Present Day
As Apollo's regretful reminiscing about the Ravaging of Rhodes and the subsequent fall of his mentor's home finally came to a quiet end, the Sun God found himself thinking back to all those he had loved and lost over the years, as well as to all those he had hated and whose lives he had taken.
Over the long years of Apollo's immortal life, since his difficult birth upon the floating island of Delos courtesy of his kind stepmother Hera, nine laborious days after his twin sister Artemis own birth, to the day Greece finally fell thanks in large part to the final battle between Perseus and Hercules. The Greek God of Light and later the Sun itself, had made every person who had ever taken someone he had loved away from him, whether they be mortal or immortal, man, or monster, or both, pay and pay dearly at that.
Eros the Primordial God of Love for example, also known as Eros the Egotistical, had cruelly taken his first childhood love, Daphne the Elusive, the young Water Nymph daughter of the River God, Peneus the Precipice, away from him when he was still just the God of Light and Music, just to prove a point about his power over attracting and un-attracting others to the Brightest Bastard of Zeus, who so boldly thought himself better than even the Primordial Love God in that regard.
Apollo had decided to prove his own point about his own power, by beating Eros bloody in a short but brutal battle and then absorbing the self-absorbed Primordial deity into his person, taking his great power over attraction for his own and subsequently ending Eros's existence forever.
But still, gaining both Eros powers and his death had been poor consolation prizes compared to what the Love God had taken away from him, Daphne was gone, transformed into a laurel tree by dark magic curse that Apollo would later discover Eros had learned from the Telchines.
Farewell, my darling Daphne, Apollo had thought to himself afterwards, as he stood the edge of the river where they had first met as children, this world wasn't good enough for you, I… wasn't good enough for you…
Apollo still kept the tree Daphne had been turned into inside his palace back on Mount Olympus, right alongside the purple flower Hyacinth's body had been transformed into after his death…
Because sadly for the Sun God, it would not be the last time a Greek God had taken away someone he had loved from him for even the smallest of slights…
Zephyrus the Greek God of the West Wind had mortally wounded his Demigod friend Prince Hyacinth the Handsome with a blow to the head from a blown off thrown discus, courtesy of his power over the air as retribution for the handsome Demigod rebutting his own amorous advances.
After staying with his fallen friend until he drew his final breath and turning his body into the flower he loved so much in life, Apollo had furiously raced off after the cowardly Wind God on his Sun Steed pulled solare chariot in a relentless hunt.
Apollo had chased after that pompous windbag for seven days straight, until he finally caught Zephyrus by the wings just over the bottomless pit that was the mouth of one of his aunt Amphitrite favourite pet sea monsters, the Leviathan Charybdis.
Apollo thanked the Fates in that moment as he couldn't ask for a more perfect place to catch Zephyrus over…
The Sun God still remembered how Zephyrus had begged and pleaded with him as he dangled the Wind God over Charybdis mighty whirlpool of a mouth, saying how Hyacinth was just a dumb Demigod, not someone worth killing another God over and that Apollo was simply overreacting.
Apollo's only response had been to viciously cut both of Zephyrus wings off at the shoulders and then take them for his own, before promptly dropping the screaming, bleeding and now wingless Wind God into Charybdis' enormous maw to be slowly digested for a hundred years… give or take a few.
It was a fate that Zephyrus deserved, and it had almost been as bad as what he had done to Satyr King who had slaughtered four of his Muses.
Calliopes four younger Muse sisters, Thalia, Erato, Euterpe, and Clio, all four of whom had been killed by Marsaya the Satyr King and his foul followers; the herd of horny devils had taken the opportunity to infiltrate his private harem chambers in Delphi and violate his Muses whilst he had been away on campaign with his mentor Helios, dealing with yet another failed Telchine Rebellion.
Calliope, the first of his Muse Mistresses and head of his harem, his charming, kind Calliope had been forced to watch each of her sisters be forcibly taken by that devil's herd mates before being taken by Marsaya himself as they all laughed at his Muses misery… and to this day, his younger half-brother Dionysus still wondered why Apollo never liked any of his Satyr friends.
His Muses had eventually overthrown their tormentors with the help of his Delphic worshippers when they had discovered what was happening, driving them off, but not before Marsyas murdered four of Calliope's younger sisters out of spite.
Whilst his Delphic worshippers had made a valiant effort in saving five of his nine Muses and slaying that devil's foul herd mates, something he would always remember them for, especially the ones who had died doing so, they had been unable to kill Marsyas himself, leaving the gruesome task to him alone… which was just fine by Apollo.
The Sun God frowned at the echo of Marsyas smug voice telling how he had made Calliope, and her sisters scream louder in bed more than Apollo could ever hope to, but then Sun God smirked as he relished the memory of the sadistic Satyr screaming for mercy as Apollo both slowly skinned and roasted Marsyas alive-
-before making an Aegis out of his horned hide and seasoning his flesh for the memorial feast, that they would be holding later that evening for his four murdered Muses as well as his Delphic worshippers who had died avenging them, where they would all dine on the meat of the Satyrs who had killed their loves ones.
Speaking of loved ones lost… there was also his mother… Leto…
Leto the Lovely, the Queen of the Nymphs and Greek Goddess of the Earth, a Forest Nymph whose royal beauty could rival any Goddess on Olympus, even the likes of Hera and Aphrodite, had been taken captive by the Giant, Tityos the Terrible after one of their many clashes with the Giants during their war.
Tityos had taken their queenly mother as the spoils of war as he had called it, Apollo called it kidnapping, plain stupidity and Tityos signing his own death warrant, his twin sister Artemis had wholeheartedly agreed.
The God of Light and his Goddess of Moonlight sister had hunted the big dumb, brute down and filled him with more arrows than was thought physically possible, but even as the carrion birds came down to feast on Tityos rotting, punctured flesh. The Twins of Bow and Arrow had arrived too late, for Queen Leto's horrific treatment at the Giant hands, had proven too much for the Earth Goddess to survive.
"I'm so proud of both of you… Artemis… Apollo… my beautiful children… knowing your alive and safe… now… now I can rest."
The Queen of Nymphs and Greek Goddess of the Earth, Mother of the Bow and Arrow Twins, had died peacefully in her children's shaking and sobbing embrace, before being taken back to Delos to be buried on the same island where she had given birth to them, a literal legion of her Nymph aunt's, sisters and nieces coming from all across Ancient Greece to mourn her passing.
Apollo's father though, had noticeably not bothered to show up…
…just as many had come to mourn Eos when she had died…
Eos the Goddess of the Dawn, Helios's little sister who had godling-sat Apollo and his sister when they were both still just little Olympians, who had been the most marvellous musician at court that even his stern stepmother Hera and his belligerent half-brothers Ares had been moved to tears by her performances.
It was she who had taught Apollo how to better play his lyre in order to impress Calliope and her sisters and had trained him in the art of making love when she had seen how nervous he was about making a fool of himself in front of the Muses on the night he was going to claim them, all nine of them, at the exact same time…
… and it was Eos who had helped him save their entire pantheon when the God of Dreams, Morpheus the Malevolent and his army of Oneiroi, had betrayed the other Greek Gods and joined forces with the Telchines in order to lead the Olympians into a trap of their own dreamscapes.
Morpheus had locked each of his fellow Greek Gods and Goddesses in their own specially designed nightmares supposedly for eternity, so that he and his Telchine allies could take over Ancient Greece whilst all the Olympians suffered endlessly in their sleep for the rest of time.
Except for himself and Eos, who as the Goddess of the Dawn, was immune to Morpheus's mind tricks whilst Apollo being a God of Light was naturally resistant to the Telchines darker enchantments.
Together, Apollo and Eos had freed their fellow Olympians, defeated Morpheus and his Oneiroi, driven the Telchines away before the former's damming dreamscape plan could be completed, but even as the Telchines fled and Morpheus lay defeated on the ground before them, the backstabbing God of Dreams had managed to stab Eos through the heart with a magical Telchine dagger.
As the other Olympians mournfully gathered around a sobbing Helios and Selene who held their dying little sister in their arms, tears of grief streaming down their divine faces onto her slowly fading one, Apollo had walked away to deal with Morpheus.
Feeling both anger and anguish at the sudden, unexpected loss of such a beloved member of his pantheon, he had stalked over to the mortally wounded Dream God, who only proceeded to laugh bitterly in his face about his failure to protect his mentor's little sister.
The young God of Light that he had been at the time, response had been to pick Morpheus up off the ground and hold him in a tight bear hug, much to the Dream God's confusion just before he began to turn up the heat.
Apollo remembered staring coldly into Morpheus screaming face as the Dream God begged and pleaded with him to let him go, all the while the heat from Apollo's fiery form spread to Morpheus struggling spiritual one, which only caused the flames to spread faster and temperature to rise even higher.
He had stared into Morpheus burned out eye sockets as the Dream God struggled, thrashed, and screamed for mercy, until finally the Greek God of Dreams had been reduced to nothing but smoke and ashes in his embrace, Morpheus dreams of power literally going up in smoke.
Afterwards, Apollo and the rest of pantheon had hunted down and massacred the rest of the Oneiroi, all nine hundred and ninety-nine of them, with Helios and Selene gruesomely killing Morpheus's brothers Phobetor and Phantasos in particular. For the crimes of enabling their king's treacherous plan, aiding in the Telchines hostile takeover, not warning their fellow Gods of it and indirectly causing the death of Eos.
After it was over, Apollo and the rest of his pantheon had watched as the remains of the last of the Oneiroi faded away on the wind, like the last echoes of a bad dream…
Unfortunately for him and his pantheon, Eos's death hadn't been a bad dream or even a nightmare… it had been reality…
… a reality almost as bad as Selene's death during the final battle with Giants at the end of their long and bloody war, where they had lost many friends and allies, amongst both their fellow Greek Gods they fought with and the very Giants they had fought against, including their second Hecatonchires Gyges.
Selene, the Greek Goddess of the Moon, and Helios older sister, who had taken his sister Artemis under her wing as a student, just as Helios had done for him, Selene who had been just as much a mother to him as his own had been, Selene who had helped train him to become the great warrior and master shot that he was today.
Selene, who had driven the Giants into a retreat, felling one after another with her lethal Lunar Lance, only to be unexpectedly felled herself by the badly burned and disfigured Giant Prince, Porphyrion the Powerful in a surprise attack, the same Porphyrion the Powerful who Apollo had apparently failed to kill the first time around during their legendary duel during the Siege of Mount Olympus.
Needless to say, he had not failed the second time…
Apollo and his pantheon had won their war against the Giants and secured the Olympians place as the top ruling race of divine beings in Ancient Greece, but it had come at a great cost for his fellow immortals, especially for Helios and for the Giants…
… a great cost, that Apollo for all his prophetic powers, had not seen coming, just as he hadn't seen what was coming for his Oracle or her disciples either…
The Oracle of Delphi and her devoted disciples, his most loyal mortal female followers who had spread word of the many magnificent myths about him to entire throngs of travellers and helped make his island of Delphi one of the greatest divine domains in all of Ancient Greece.
Not to mention, there wonderful figures and beautiful faces had also filled out his bedchambers quite nicely, literal waking up every day surrounded by a harem of worshipping women, his worshipping women, had been Apollo's idea of Elysium.
That heavenly harem had all come to an end though when the Donkey-eared, golden touch cursed mortal King of Phrygia, Midas the Mad, had gone on his accursed rampage inside Apollo's own temple and turned his Oracle and her disciples into gorgeous golden statues.
Gorgeous and golden as they have may have looked in death, Apollo still preferred them as flesh and blood, when they were all still alive.
Needlessly to say, Midas had to suffer for what he had done, and Apollo had made sure he had… for eternity.
After cutting off the very hand that had mineralised his Oracle and her disciples, Apollo had dragged the one-handed cursed king all the way to Mt Etna, Midas leaving gold veins in the earth as he clawed and grasped at the ground, begging, and pleading with the Sun God to spare his miserable life, which he did not.
Instead, Apollo had thrown the crazed king into a waterfall of literal lava that ran off from the main magma river coming out of the volcano, then watching as Midas screamed in equal parts agony and terror as he thrashed about in the molten rock, moments before he and all the lava around him turned to solid gold.
As the Sun God walked away from the rather terrifying piece of artwork he had indirectly made, Apollo could just briefly recall hearing Midas still screaming in pain from inside his ironic prison, indicating the Mad King was actually still alive inside his molten coffin of gold to suffer for what looked like forever.
Truthfully, Apollo did not know, mostly because he couldn't be bothered to check if he had heard wrong or not, but regardless of whether he was alive or dead, one thing was for certain, King Midas the Mad wouldn't be giving any other mortals his golden touch anytime soon.
Apollo had put an end to the mad king's curse and his rampage in one fell swoop, but the damage had already been done, his Oracle and most of her disciples were gone, Apollo had their cold corpses melted down and reforged into the golden armour he wore now today, as a reminder of his failure to protect his most famous followers.
Well, second most famous followers, anyway, there was also the Dragonfang Archers, of course…
… his Dragonfang Archer to be precise, skilled bowman who had protected his island domain of Delphi from Great Serpents and Satyrs alike, all of them brave, formerly mortal men who had followed him into war against both the Giants and then the Children of Echidna, as well as helping put down numerous Telchine Rebellions.
The Dragonfang Archers, his followers, his soldiers, his friends, his brothers in arms…
They had all died fighting against the forces of Achilles the Aggressive during the Trojan Wars, each of his bowman brothers fallen slain upon the sword of the near invincible Demigod before Apollo could finish him off with a well-placed arrow shot to his then forever famed heel.
To think that home wrecking fool, Prince Paris of Troy, who had STARTED this whole mess with the Spartans by stealing their trophy queen Helen in the first place, actually had the nerve to take credit for it and to arrogantly claim to his surviving Trojans afterwards that his fatal shooting of Achilles was proof he was in fact Apollo's own son, sired during the Sun God's tryst with his Lady mother Hekuba before she even became Queen of Troy.
As his mentor Helios was so fond of saying, what a load of Cretan Bull crap, and Apollo had been very quick to correct his supposed son about both of those lovely lies when he had crashed the prince's personal celebrations with what was left of the Trojans after the war.
The foolish philander had actually stepped down from his personalised throne to embrace his 'father' trying Apollo's already frayed patience with the tool of a Trojan Prince who he had to physical stop from hugging him.
Right before Apollo very publicly warned him that if he ever took credit for killing Achilles or claimed he was Apollo's son again, the Trojan Prince would wish to be handed over to King Menelaus instead, because the Sun God had promised him, what he would do to Paris would be so much, much worse.
But even those two wonderful moments of vengeance, that is killing Achilles and humiliating Paris in front of his remaining people, were overshadowed however by the grim task of having to bury his friends on Delphi whilst the rest of pantheon were still squabbling and bickering over who really won the Trojan War.
As far as Apollo was concerned, like most wars fought for the stupidest of reasons, no one really did.
The next love lost for Apollo wasn't really a person, but rather a place… his place… or more specifically, his place of worship, Delphi.
Delphi…
His island, his realm, his kingdom, his home… it was gone now… all thanks to the Nosoi… and to the Telchines.
The Nosoi, those foul spectres of sickness, had been furious at Apollo's son, Asclepius for curing so many mortals of the diseases that had ailed them and protecting them from their poisonous powers, but even more furious when Apollo had refused to do anything about his son's humanity efforts.
In retaliation, the plague spirits had joined with the Telchines to spread illness and famine all across his island, killing almost the entire population of his mortal worshippers and leaving the island a desolated wasteland for centuries after, despite his and Asclepius best efforts to heal it.
The Desolation of Delphi, the historians had called it, Apollo had called it the Nosoi's greatest and final mistake as he hunted them down and captured every single one of those sick spirits, before roasting them all alive over the Torch of Prometheus, the eternal fire that kept Olympus floating high above the earth.
But even after the Nosoi were nothing but burning embers in the wind and even though the plague-ridden rock that had once been his domain had been purged and purified by both his cleansing fire and his son's healing touch a half a hundred times. Apollo still refused to ever set foot on Delphi again, there was nothing left for him there besides to many bad memories… and to many shades of the past.
With his realm in ruins and no central place of worship left, Apollo had abandoned Delphi and returned to live with the majority of his pantheon back atop Mount Olympus in his mentor's palace, followed by Alectryon, his two Sun Steeds, his five remaining Muses and a handful of his surviving worshippers… but not his son Asclepius, despite his repeated commands to do so.
Asclepius…
Apollo felt himself stop as a memory so painful of a loved one lost, more recent than most hit him like a rampaging Minotaur, and it took all his willpower to not shake in equal parts rage and grief.
Asclepius… his son, his only non-mortal child who had proved his worthiness a thousand times over to him back in Ancient Greece, to be able to transcend to Godhood to live alongside his father and the rest of his immortal family, to become the last member of Greek Pantheon of Mount Olympus.
His son's time atop Mount Olympus had not lasted as nearly as long as it should have…
Asclepius the Amazing, the Demigod boy who had risen high in the mortal world and almost entirely on his own merits as well, to be recognised and worshipped as the Greek God of Medicine even before he transcended, the divine doctor whose team of medically inclined worshippers saved more mortal, and immortals lives through his fantastic healing powers than his father's arrows ever had.
The Sun God had initially been disappointed that his only divine child had neither the skill at arms or the stomach for war that he had growing up and thus would never be able to follow in his footsteps as a master archer assassin.
But Apollo was not his father and still loved his son regardless of his perceived shortcomings and in time, and after a rather… unpleasant period of silence between the two of them, the Sun God had become proud of the brave heroic healer that his son had grown up to be, bravely risking his life running into active warzones to saves lives on the very brink of death, his own included.
Asclepius… his son who always felt like he could not live up to his father's legacy as the Olympian's Greatest Assassin, being natural opposed to violence and preferring to make peace with others, including their enemies, something that had been a source of contention between the two of them when it had come time to finally put the Telchines down for good.
He and Asclepius had argued about it for the longest time, but eventually his son had been able to see that peace simply wasn't an option and went along with his father's way of ending the war, playing an instrumental part in keeping his fellow Olympians alive during the Carnage at Crete.
The choices his son had made in his life had always made Apollo proud as a father, even the last one which had resulted in his death.
While it was true that his heroic half-brother, Perseus the Protector had been the one to finally slay Hercules the first time around, Apollo knew that his more human half-brother Perseus would readily admit it was mostly thanks to his noble nephew Asclepius intervention that he had been able to do so in the first place, Percy was never the boastful sort like so many other Demigods were…
For as the two Greatest Demigod Sons of Zeus, duked it out while Ancient Greece fell all around them and the Amazons fled to their new home of Themyscira, Asclepius had braved the dangers of battle once more, and used his powers to keep healing Perseus throughout the fight with his deranged descendant, until finally, they had run dry but by then, Perseus had finally managed to slay Hercules, at the cost of his own life.
Apollo had arrived on the scene just as Perseus soul made its way to the Paradise of Elysium and Hercules was being dragged down to his specially made prison in the Pits of Tartarus, the Sun God was relieved, sad, and grateful all at once.
Perseus the Protector had been finally felled, Percy was dead, his beloved little half-brother whose death Apollo and many other members of his pantheon were all equally distraught over, even Ares and Hera, but they all took comfort in the fact that at least Perseus had died as he had lived in his Demigod life, a hero and gone off to join his beautiful mortal wife Andromeda in Elysium for all eternity.
Hercules, meanwhile, was finally being sent straight to Tartarus where he belonged and Apollo had been relived for that, both for Hippolyta and her Amazons sake, as well as any of the other mortals who happen to be lucky enough to survive the Fall.
But the thing most important to the Sun God at that time, was that his son had survived the Dance of the Demigods and would be coming home to Mount Olympus with him alive and well.
If only that was how it had ended… but no…
The storm that had been raging all across Ancient Greece when the duel between the Demigods had first begun, suddenly picked right back up, with winds so strong they could even keep a father and son apart… but not a grandfather from his badly injured grandson… unfortunately.
For as the gale force winds and relentless rain held Apollo back from reaching Asclepius, an ominous boom of thunder was heard overhead and both father and son looked up just as lighting began to build up in the black cloud, covered atmosphere… right over where Asclepius was.
Injured, exhausted, and temporarily depowered, Asclepius could do nothing but kneel there and stare up at the sky as an electric execution was being prepared for him.
As the thunder cracked and the lighting flashed around, Asclepius looked at his father with smile that spoke of love, sadness and… acceptance.
"Goodbye… Father."
"ASCLEPIUS! NO!" Apollo was sure he had screamed that out as he tried one final time to reach his son, to save his boy from a fate he did not deserve, but his words had been so drowned out by the condemning boom of thunder that even he couldn't hear them, just moments before the divine bolt of lightning came down from the dark sky and struck Asclepius dead on.
Apollo was thrown back and knocked out from the blast, only to wake up later in a static filled daze, the dark storm gone from the sky and his sun shining bright over a levelled world, his levelled world.
Stumbling forward and moving in great pain, Apollo desperately looked everywhere for Asclepius, until finally, he found his son… lying motionless in a lighting created crater, but no matter how much he would shake and beg him, Asclepius would just not wake up.
Asclepius, his son, his boy, was dead and there was nothing Apollo could do about it.
Now Apollo knew how his mentor Helios must have felt after losing Phaethon.
Grief stricken and distraught; The Sun God solemnly carried his son's body all the way to the Underworld himself before riding back to Mount Olympus… alone.
When he had finally arrived there, he went back to his palace and took solace in Calliope and her sisters loving embrace, it took all of his willpower not to storm into the throne room and unleash every single flaming arrow he had right into his son's murderer's face.
Because for all of the people Apollo had ever loved and lost to the lust, greed, jealousy, anger and pride of others, Asclepius was the only whose killer still lived to this day, or at least, Apollo hoped he was the only one anyway…
… but that would not be that way forever, Apollo had promised himself as he stood over his son's lifeless body, because as much as he wanted to immediately avenge Asclepius death, The Sun God was many, many things, but he was not a suicide sniper, not if he could help it, especially not for a kamikaze mission without a guarantee of success.
No, for now, Apollo would wait, like the Master Assassin he really was, for the perfect moment to strike, the best time to achieve his vengeance with greatest chance of success and then… well…
… then… his father… no, then Zeus would pay for what he had done to his son Asclepius, just as Marcelo and her entire tribe of Telchines had paid for what her defiling daughter had done to Helios.
So caught up in his thoughts of vengeance was Apollo, that the disguised Sun God did not notice the large, grey, Bloodhound lying down in front of him until he had stepped on its tail.
BARK!
Apollo stepped back in surprise as the dog suddenly leapt up in pain and barked at him angrily, startling Alectryon, whose avian instincts immediately kicked in despite his friend's best efforts to control himself, causing the large fowl to flap off Apollo's shoulder in fright and right into the busy crowd of people around them, creating quite a ruckus in the process.
Apollo sighed in frustration before looking back down at the dog, only to find that the canine had already disappeared in the chaos, not even leaving a single strand of fur to suggest it had even been there in the first place.
Sighing once more in agitation, Apollo turned back around to track Alectryon through the busy city streets.
After asking several pedestrians if they saw a large, loud, and annoying Rooster come flapping by, Apollo finally heard the familiar cry of a farm fowl in distress not too far away and ran towards it, eventually coming upon a dark alley, with three thuggish figures holding a very familiar looking bird upside down from his feet, who was flapping and cawing for help.
Huh, I didn't realise Ares still had any worshippers left? Apollo pondered as he crept closer to listen to what they were saying before he decided to intervene.
"So, what to do you guys think?" The thug holding Alectryon upside down asked, indifferent to the bird's obvious distress as much as his two companions were. "Good enough to be sold at the cock fighting ring."
Good enough? Are you kidding me mortal? Alectryon was champion cock fighter before I found him, Apollo thought to himself in bemusement from where he stood, these fools wouldn't know quality fowl if one came up and clawed their faces off… which is likely to happen very soon if Alectryon has anything to say about it.
"Maybe, if their looking for pre-match fodder." The smaller of the other two men said after a moment of inspection. "This guy doesn't look like he would last a single round with a real cock in the ring."
… and you would know all about being able to not last against a REAL cock, wouldn't you? My clueless, cuckolded cretin, Apollo thought mockingly to himself as he glimpsed at the cheap looking wedding ring on the man's finger, I'm sure your soon to be ex-wife and her paramour would readily agree with me on that.
"Probably, but he should still be worth a good deal if sell him to the right rookie trainer." The third and final man of the trio said aloud in the same obnoxious voice Apollo had ever heard. "And if we can't sell him, then hey, free chicken dinner."
Okay, this was funny at first, but like one of Hermes jokes, it has now officially gone on for too long, Apollo thought, a flash of fiery anger burning through him as he stepped around the corner and made himself known to the three fools currently holding his friend hostage.
"Please pardon me, my good meatheads." Apollo said grandly as he announced his presence to the trio of twits that were down the dark alley way. "I'm so sorry to have to interrupt your intellectual debate, but I'm afraid I must inform you all that the Rooster your currently holding isn't worth anything at all, he actually belongs to me."
At this particular choice of words, Alectryon stopped thrashing in the thug's grip and turned to look at Apollo with an annoyed expression that said, what took you so long? And would you care to rephrase that, pretty boy?
"Who the hell are you?" One of the three fools asked angrily, his two companions looking equally annoyed at Apollo's unwelcomed presence and perceived insults.
"Oh, I am sorry my oafish fellow, how rude of me, I was so caught up in watching you three make fools out of yourselves, that I forgot to properly introduce myself." Apollo said mockingly as he looked down at them from the rim of sunglasses. "My name is Apollo, perhaps you've heard of me, I'm the prophetic serpent slaying Greek God of the Sun and I would like my Rooster back now, please."
At this shocking revelation, the three foolish mortals stared at Apollo blankly for a moment before all three burst out laughing at once, Apollo's smug smile only widened as he waited for them to finish making fun of him.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute, are you being serious?" One of the three thugs asked after they had all finished laughing. "Is your name really Apollo?"
"Why yes." Apollo said, still smiling broadly at the three men who were just tempting the Sisters of Fate at this point. "Yes it."
"So, what, was your mother like, Roman or something?" The shortest of the three asked jokingly.
"Actually, she was Greek, though my name was the only one the Romans ever translated correctly." Apollo explained, still smiling at the trio of twits who didn't believe him for one second. "You three wouldn't believe how much that pissed off the rest of my pantheon when they found out the Romans got all their names wrong."
"So, then you're saying that you're really the God of the Sun?" The final one asked in disbelief.
"That's right and as I said before, I would like my Rooster back now please, he and I have somewhere to be." Apollo asked once as politely as he could, holding his hand and giving them one last chance to comply.
But, instead of complying to his rather reasonably request, the three mortal morons began to advance on Apollo in what he assumed they thought was a threatening manner as the one holding Alectryon spoke. "Okay Mr Sun God, if you want your pet chicken back so badly, how about you strike us down with power of the sun and take him from us, before we punch your pretty face in."
"Well, I didn't want it to come to that, but if you insist it's the only way to get my friend back, then so be it." Apollo said as a literally bright idea came to him and he then took off his sunglasses to reveal his now glowing white eyes to the shock of three thugs, eyes that burned as bright as sunlight.
"What the fu-?" The thug holding Alectryon began to say before Apollo interrupted him with this divine declaration.
"FEEL THE POWER OF THE SUN!"
The dark alley was suddenly lit up by a bright, brilliant flash of light that was immediately followed by the three thugs crying out in terrible pain as they felt their eyeballs getting scorched from inside their own skulls.
Alectryon meanwhile, just gave Apollo a surplus look that said, Really Apollo? You're copying the boy's blinding flash ability?
At this, Apollo just replied with a carefree shoulder shrug, why not? It's very effective.
"AAAHHH! MY EYES! MY EYES!"
"IT BURNS! IT BURNS SO BAD!"
"I CAN'T SEE! I CAN'T SEE!"
"Yep, that's probably because I just flash fried all of your retinas." Apollo casually explained as he put his sunglasses back on his handsome face. "Don't worry though, your sight will come back in a few hours; the spur scars your about to receive however… will probably be permanent."
Apollo's prophetic words were proven true as Alectryon suddenly broke free from the lead thug's tight grip and immediately went to town on the trio of idiots who thought they could treat HIM like common chattel.
SSSHHHRRRIIIEEEKKK!
AAAAAAHHHHHH! AAAAAAHHHHHH! AAAAAAHHHHHH!
The alley way echoed with the caws and shrieks of a very angry bird as well as the pained screams of three blinded brutes, the trio stumbling away in terror as the revenge seeking Rooster viciously clawed at their faces and bodies with his sharp talons and leg spurs, all the while Apollo just stood off to the side and laughed.
"AAAHHH! THE CHICKEN'S ATTACKING US! THE CHICKEN IS ATTACKING US!" One of three thugs screamed whilst the other two just… well, in general, screamed.
"Yes, I can see that." Apollo commented… after he finally managed to stop laughing that is.
"This Chicken is going to skewer you!" Alectryon screeched as he slashed one of the three fools across his thuggish looking and blinded face, rivers of bloods rushing down it as he screamed even louder than before.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!
Apollo allowed Alectryon to have his vicious vengeance on the three foolish thugs for a few more minutes before deciding that they had wasted enough time here.
"Okay Alectryon, you got your revenge already, wrap it up pal, we got somewhere to be, remember?" Apollo announced just as the Rooster chased the three fools into an open dumpster, which they immediately closed afterwards to protect themselves from the furious fowl.
"Fine, just let me do one last thing Apollo." Alectryon said before using his Phoenix powers to super heat up his spurs and use them to wield the lid of the dumpster down, trapping the three, blinded men inside it before flapping back over to the Sun God's shoulder. "There, now they can be where they belong, with the rest of the garbage."
"How very poetic of you Alectryon." Apollo said as he nodded with approval before turning around. "Nice to I see I'm starting to rub off on you, old friend."
"Hey! Were stuck in here! Let us out!" One of the three thugs said from inside the dumpster as Apollo walked out of the alley with Alectryon back on his shoulder, neither of them listening to the trapped thug's cries for help.
"There, you see Alectryon, you got to savagely claw something tonight after all." Apollo said as they headed down a less busy street, towards their destination. "You feel better now?"
"Why yes Apollo." Alectryon said with a very satisfied smile on his beaked face, appearing very pleased with himself in that moment. "Yes, I do."
Times might have changed for the two of them and the rest of their pantheon but putting arrogant mortals in their place remained as amusing as ever.
So pleased with themselves the pair was though, that they never noticed the stray Bloodhound from before, appear right from around the corner, watching them walk away with an ominous growl, before silently stalking after them from the shadows…
A little while later… Just outside the Rhodes Museum of Greek History…
"I'm sorry sir, but tonight's event is invitation only and I'm afraid we don't allow… animals into the Museum either." The security said as he stopped the insanely handsome man and unusual pet from entering the premises.
"I understand my good guardsmen, but if you could just check your list again, I'm sure you'll find my name on it." Apollo said in his usual charming tone of voice. "My associate, a Mr Mercury and I have actually donated a lot of the artefacts and relics that the very Museum your guarding has in its collection, and in return for such, your curator, Dr Julia Kapatelis included our names on the guest list at every major Museum event." The Sun God's powers of persuasion working almost immediately on the mortal man who quickly checked his list again as if a deity told him to, which one DID…
… which also caused the little get your names on a guest list enchantment Hecate had taught both Apollo and Hermes when they were just boys to activate on the guard's clipboard as well.
"Hold on, there actually is a Mr Mercury on the list, and it says here that he and his half-brother do have special all year-round access to the museum, including special invents, how did I miss that?" The security guard said in surprise.
"It appears the Fates smile upon me this evening, my gate-guarding friend." Apollo said, smiling knowingly at the dumbfounded security guard.
"It appears they do." The guard said as he looked up from the list of names with a bashful expression. "I'm so very sorry for this inconvenience sir, what was your name again?"
"It's quite alright my good man, I understand you're just doing your job in keeping this truly marvellous museum safe and secure, displaying a diligence my uncle Hades would surely approve of." Apollo said sincerely in his most complimentary of tones. "My name is Apollo sir, Mr Apollo Sol."
"Your name is Apollo?" The guard asked in genuine surprise. "Seriously?"
"Indeed, seriously." Apollo said, barely able to contain his amusement anymore. "Fun fact, my sisters name is Artemis."
"Ahuh, okay, and the Rooster on your shoulder?" The man gesturing with his pen towards the large fowl on this fascinating man's shoulder. "What his deal?"
"Oh, his name is Alectryon, he's my emotional support bird, I need him in there with me for… emotional support."
"An emotional support Rooster? Huh." The guard said slowly before nodding in acceptance. "Well, that's a new one for me, but okay, you're all checked in, I do hope you enjoy the rest of your evening sir and once again, my sincerest apologises for holding you up."
"No apologises needed my good man." Apollo said, patting the guard on the shoulder. "But thank you regardless, oh, and should you ever end up in Asphodel and meet my uncle who runs the place, do let him know that his nephew Apollo highly recommended you, he might just offer you a job guarding his palace, he pays very well, I assure you."
"Really? Well, thank you sir, I'll keep that mind." The guard said smiling as Apollo walked past him and up into the museum before suddenly turning around and asking. "Wait, how well I know your uncle when you see him?"
"Oh, trust me my good guardsman, you'll know him, he's hard to mistake for anyone else down there." Apollo said loudly over his shoulder as he walked up the museum steps. "Tall, carries a bident, usually has three dogs beside him and kind of grim looking with a gruff exterior, but deep down, possess a heart of gold, just don't trying anything with his wife, seriously, don't."
With that amusing interaction over and done with, Apollo stepped through the door and entered the Rhodes Museum of Greek History… and immediately realised he was completely underdressed for such a function as the High Class Gala he had just walked into.
That's easily fixed though, Apollo thought confidently to himself as he quickly stepped behind a Greek marble statue of how he used to dress and moment later, walked back out now sharply dressed in a bright white suite and tailored long pants, with black shoes.
"Thanks for the cover, handsome." Apollo said to the statue of his godly self as he began to walk confidently about the gala, with no one thankfully noticing his sudden change of attire.
"You know Apollo, you could've just changed inside a stall in the museum bathroom." Alectryon whispered dryly into his Olympian friend's ear. "It would've been a lot less risky than you just suddenly changing behind a monument to your Olympian ego."
"I'm sorry Alectryon, you expect me, Apollo, the Greek God of the Sun, to change inside a public restroom." Apollo said in the most appalled tone of voice possible. "Do you have any idea what mortals do in there?"
"Yeah, the exact same thing I do on Ares suits of armour all the time." Alectryon answered in his usual snarky tone as the pair of disguised immortals mingled among the gala guests and studied various the museum exhibits as the waited for their moment to strike.
"Behold puny mortals, archaeological finds from all across the Greek World, rare relics from a bygone age of Great Gods and Terrible Monsters, with the line between them often being hard to see." Alectryon muttered dryly in a rather unimpressed tone as he examined the numerous archaeological discoveries out on display from his perch on Apollo's shoulder. "Huh, more like a Greek Mythology garage sale, I swear Apollo, this whole place is filled with nothing but cheap scraps and sentimental mementos, theirs barely any real Olympian objects in here."
"That's because I had Hermes 'appropriate' any of the real relics the Museum found and then replaced them with Hephaestus forged replicas, Alectryon." Apollo muttered under his breath to his best bird friend. "We can't have curious mortals hanging onto anything potentially very powerful in the wrong hands…"
"…and by the wrong hands, you are of course referring to your stepmother Hera, your uncle Poseidon, your half-sister Athena, your half-brother Ares, your foster sister Aphrodite and last but not least… your father." Alectryon muttered. "So… pretty much half of your family then, Apollo."
"Yeah, pretty much." Apollo answered quickly just as waiter walked past carrying a tray of glasses full of champagne.
"Drink sir?" The waiter asked politely, lowering the tray to Apollo's gaze.
"Thank you, my Disciple of Dionysus." Apollo said as he took two glasses of champagne, one for himself and one for Alectryon, as he quickly downed his then put it back on the tray, before holding the other one up for his feathered friend to drink from, who did just that, much to the waiter's surprise.
The unlikely duo of disguised immortals then made their way over to inspect a line of great statues depicting several famous Greek mythical figures, including two certain Demigods the pair knew all too well, both Apollo and Alectryon bowed their heads in respect to the statue of Perseus and barely refrained from spitting on the statue of Hercules before moving into the Gallery of the Greek Gods themselves…
…with neither never noticing the pair of dark eyes watching them from across the hall with almost predatory intent as the person they belonged to shifted through the crowd towards the gallery, where by now Apollo and Alectryon stood before a display of statues, depicting a trio of certain Olympian brothers, standing tall and proud over the defeated body of their tyrannical father…
You know, as much as I may hate to admit, my father and I do have something common, besides our charm and ladies-man skills, of course. Apollo thought to himself as he stared up at the great statue of his father holding his famous Thunderbolt Blade in the air triumphantly, we both have a way with dethroning rulers…
"I don't know why the Ancient Greek sculptors were always so Underworld-bent on giving your father and his brothers such, big, long beards, Apollo." Alectryon pondered aloud just as he finished off his glass of champagne, breaking Apollo out of his thoughts as he set it down for his friend. "It kind of makes them look a lot like this 'Santa Clause' guy we keep hearing so much about in the modern day, didn't anyone in your pantheon ever bother to tell them that even Gods shave on occasion?"
"Apparently not Alectryon, and please would you keep your voice down, remember, were in public." Apollo said as he quickly glanced at their surroundings, trying to see if someone had overheard him talking to his avian friend, thankfully though, that did not seem to be the case. "Roosters do not talk like Macaws, especially not in entire sentences either."
Little did either Apollo or Alectryon know, someone had heard them…
"Admiring the artwork handsome?" An exotic and wholly unfamiliar female voice spoke out from behind Apollo, causing the disguised Sun God to turn around and see a very attractive, tanned skin, raven haired women in a very flattering purple cocktail dress smiling wickedly at him, with dark eyes peering at him from behind a glass full of champagne.
Well, I am now, it seems the Fates really do smile on me this evening. Apollo thought happily to himself as he let himself drink in the vision of the shapely black-haired beauty standing before him, while the Sun God had certainly enjoyed the pleasures of women of all types throughout his long life, brunettes, blondes, redheads, and those were just the mortal hair colours, he had always had a particular preference for raven haired women…
Apollo assumed it was because they always reminded him of Calliope and his Muses… as well as one other woman that he considered his and his alone… despite what two of his half-brothers thought to the contrary…
"Hello yourself, beautiful, allow me to introduce myself, my name is Apollo, and you are?" Apollo introduced himself as charmingly as possible as he gave a slight bow, taking the opportunity to let his orange eyes trail up every inch of this women's curvaceous figure as he looked back up at her gorgeous face.
"Apollo, is it? My, my, someone here certainly thinks a lot of himself, doesn't he?" The exotic women chuckled in a sultry tone of voice that Apollo certainly felt himself instantly get ensnared by. "Is that a nickname for you, handsome or was your mother just a big fan of Greek Mythology?"
"Funny you're actually the second person to ask me that question tonight, my dear, though to be fair, you are much prettier than that blind fool was." Apollo said smugly, letting his roam over her figure once more. "But no gorgeous, it's not a nickname, God-given actually."
"I see, the Rooster on your shoulder is appropriate than, as you certainly seem pretty proud of yourself if I may say so, Mr Sun God." The women said smiling in a truly devious manner as she took a sip from her champagne glass, Apollo had to admit that he found her boldness when talking to him exciting, very exciting in fact.
"You may and it's just Apollo please, my lady, Mr Sun God was my foster father." Apollo said to this strange woman he suddenly found himself so very fascinated by, perhaps he would hold off on meeting with the Sisters of Fate until tomorrow, very late tomorrow…
"But I'm afraid you still have me at a slight disadvantage my lady, as I still do not know your name." Apollo said smiling imploringly at this mysterious soon to be future mistress of his who had unexpectedly walked right into his life. "Who are you exactly?"
At this repeated question, the mystery women just smiled knowingly at Apollo and finished her glass of champagne and putting it down on a table, before leaning in close to his handsome face and whispering her answer into his ear.
"Just call me Daphne."
Greetings to all my fellow fanfic readers and writers, I hope you all enjoyed Superman, Son of Hippolyta Chapter 22: Shades of the Past, I actually had to cut this chapter into two parts as it was both getting too long and taking too long publish, hopefully though, finally putting something out will get the creative engines revving again.
Sorry about the continuous delay's guys, my YouTube channel has been taking up a lot of spare time and as always, depression has been killing a lot of my enthusiasm for writing lately.
This chapter is dedicated to the memory of the Great Gilbert Gottfried, the comedian actor whose legendary portrayal of Iago the Parrot from Disney's Aladdin was one of the main inspirations for the character Alectryon the Phoenix in this very story, so thank you Gilbert Gottfried, for bringing laughter back into my life, especially at times when things were at their darkest for me, please… Rest in Peace.
As always, I recommend my friend and Greek mythology expert Luke5921 Superman story, Kal Son of Odin which is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with some DC elements added into it, so if you're a fan of both Superman and Marvel, which I AM and I know many of you are, go check it out, it keeps getting better all the time.
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…
ManOfSteel: Thanks a lot mate, trying to write good comical chemistry between characters who share a big guy and little guy dynamic is both surprisingly hard but also a lot of fun, the duo of Apollo and Alectryon takes inspiration from a lot of other famous duos in fiction, such as Jafar and Iago, Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter, Kratos and Mimir, Spyro and Sparx and even Sabrina and Salem.
Thank as well for your concern for my well-being mate, your kind reviews mean so much to me and have helped lift me up whenever I'm feeling down, rest assured, I will be okay.
Lightbringer616: Yes mate, I suppose that's true, as the last living Kryptonian, Kal technically is the heir to the legacy of not only his people and planet, but also the Great Sun God Rao, who you may have noticed, is a character in this story.
689capa: Hello mate and thanks for asking your question, I assure you, that Rhamnusia is still in this story, she just hasn't gotten a lot of page time yet, she does appear in chapter 7 though and will reappear again in the future.
Andy: The reason why Epione and Myrto do not like each other is multi-folded, as in, theirs more than one reason why they don't get along.
First off, is the fact that Epione actually cares about Kal while Myrto hates him and wants him dead, this has naturally caused the rift between them to become even wider than it already was.
Second, Epione and Myrto are both on opposite ends of the Amazonian ideology, with Epione being an empathic healer while Myrto is a brutal warrior, Epione was actually a great warrior before deciding to become a healer and leave her life of violence behind her, as you can imagine, Myrto looks down on her for this.
Third, being the older of the two sisters, Epione is ranked higher in Amazonian society than Myrto, has a place on the council and is also considered more popular among her fellow Amazons after saving so many of their lives in battle over the years, which has left Myrto very jealous of her sister's position, even if she will never admit it, how would you feel living in a society that forces you to take orders from someone you have so little respect for, especially when that someone also happens to be your older sibling
The fourth and final reason for the divide between the sisters is because Epione and Myrto are actually half-sisters, that's the reason they have different hair colour, same mother, but different fathers, so they've never been particularly close growing up due to that.
As for Alkyone and the rest of the Queen's Circle, yes, all four of them are basically female foils to Hercules and his horde, but please be rest assured my friend, the Queen's Circle will get what's coming to them one day, Kal will make sure of it…
For now, here's a little… preview for all of you on what exactly I have planned for Alkyone and her circle sisters…
"You know what Alkyone, your right, I get it, I finally get it now and for that I want to thank you."
"All this time, I've been making the same stupid mistake that my mother and her sisters have been making for years, I made the mistake of treating you and your people like you were… people, instead of what you four actually are."
"But I know better now, I understand now what our tribe needs and what it doesn't need, Alkyone, it doesn't need you or your sisters, what it needs is a champion who will put the bitches back in their place…."
My List of References featured in this Chapter.
1. The dialogue between Apollo and Pholos forces before there battle is a reference to the dialogue between Optimus Prime and Brawl before there battle in Transformers: Autobots the Nintendo DS Game.
2. Pholos the Centaur's design is based off of Oreius the Centaur from the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 2005 with elements like his bladed lance taken from the Centaur's from God of War III.
3. The designs for the Cyclopes and the Satyrs are based off of their creature designs in God of War III.
4. The designs for Pholos the Centaur, the Cyclopes and the Satyrs are based off of their creature designs in God of War III.
5. The design for the Great Sword of the Giants is based on the Blade of Olympus from God of War III.
6. Apollo's Telchine nemesis title of the Defiler is a reference to Azog the Defiler, the Pale Orc and Thorin Oakenshield's nemesis from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
7. Apollo ripping the wings off of the Wind God Zephyrus before dropping him into Charybdis open mouth and claiming them for his own is a reference to Kratos ripping the wings off of Icarus back before letting fall back into the Underworld from God of War II.
8. The death of Artemis and Apollo's mother Leto at the hands of Tityos is a reference to the death of Anakin Skywalkers mother Shmi at the hands of the Tusken Raiders from Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones.
9. Morpheus the God of Dreams betraying the Olympians by siding with the Telchines and trapping his fellow Greek Gods in an endless sleep is a reference to Morpheus betraying the Olympians by siding with Persephone and trapping his fellow Greek Gods in an endless sleep from God of War: Chains of Olympus.
10. Eos's design and attire is based off of her character's design from God of War: Chains of Olympus.
11. Porphyrion the Powerful's design and attire is based off of his character's design from Blood of Zeus.
12. Apollo dragging King Midas to Mt Etna before throwing him into the lava waterfall to be burned alive and turned into a molten golden statue for all eternity is a reference to Kratos dragging King Midas to a lava waterfall before throwing him into it to be burned alive and turned into a molten golden statue for all eternity from God of War: Ghost of Sparta.
13. Midas title of the Mad King is a reference to Aerys the Second Targaryen who was also known as the Mad King from Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire Book Series.
14. Apollo wearing the golden melted down remains of his Oracle and her disciples as armour is a reference to Kratos wearing the ashes of his first wife and daughter from God of War.
15. The name for the destruction of Apollo's Island of worship, the Desolation of Delphi is a reference to the destruction of Dale, the Desolation of Smaug from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
16. The design for the Torch of Prometheus is based on the Flame of Olympus from God of War III.
17. Apollo referring to his half-brother Perseus as Percy is a reference to Percy Jackson the main character from the Percy Jackson Book Series.
18. Apollo referring to the epic battle between Perseus and Asclepius against Hercules as the Dance of the Demigods is a reference to the Targaryen Civil War called the Dance of the Dragons from Game of Thrones, House of Dragon and A Song of Ice and Fire Book Series.
19. Apollo claiming Alectryon isn't worth anything to the three thugs and that he's mine with Alectryon responding with would you like to rephrase that is a reference to Jasmine claiming Iago isn't worth anything to a large thief and that he's mine with Iago responding with would you like to rephrase that from Aladdin the Animated Series Season 2 Episode 3: Do the Rat Thing.
20. Apollo shouting. "FEEL THE POWER OF THE SUN!" at the three thugs before blinding them is a reference to Helios shouting. "FEEL THE POWER OF THE SUN!" at Kratos before blinding him from God of War III.
21. Alectryon shouting. "This Chicken is going to skewer YOU!" at the three blinded thugs is a reference to Doomwing shouting. "This Chicken is going to skewer YOU!" at the Power Rangers from Power Rangers: Dino Super Charge Episode 15: Wings of Danger.
22. Alectryon comparing the artifacts and relics of the Rhodes Museum to a Greek Mythology garage sale is a reference to Cronus comparing the artifacts and relics of a Greek Museum to a garage sale from Class of the Titans Season 2 Episode 7: Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself Greek Mythology.
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 so far.
Big 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, Ltbutterfly287, Barbatos, DaddysLiitleGirl, Bigreader in the Omniverse, Lightbringer616, 698capa and Andy and all of my unnamed guest reviewers.
Please keep the kind reviews coming guys, their what fuels these chapters and to all my other readers, if you write me some kind reviews in the future, then you can be seeing your name here to, until next time this is T-Rexcellent Reviews signing off.