A Destiny Foretold
Disclaimer:
This fanfiction is based on the characters Superman and Wonder Woman from DC comics. Also, some elements from the series “Lois and Clark – the New Adventures of Superman” are used. With that, I don't mean to infringe on anybody's copyright. OD
As she had done every night for nigh on a thousand years, Hippolyta, Queen of the proud Amazons of Themyscira went down to a secluded place at the shore of her island home, only wearing her usual light tunic in the warm breeze coming from the sea. As had become a habit, she carried with her a small figure made from clay, bearing the shape of a beautiful baby girl, a child she never had the chance to have. And yet, this child was as real to her as could be, and she was secretly yearning for the day she'd hold a real, living baby girl in her arms.
As she arrived at her usual spot on the shore, Hippolyta undressed herself by quickly removing the clasps from her tunic. In a movement as smooth as it can only become after countless repetitions, she stepped out of her royal garment, the baby figurine cradled in her well-muscled and yet soft arms. She then knelt down and, holding the child of clay with only one arm, arranged her tunic to cover the sand before finally putting the baby in the improvised cradle. Then she began with her nightly prayers, accompanied by the chirps of the crickets.
In her heart, the Queen knew praying was futile, as the Gods hadn't seen fit to answer any prayer in a very long time. As a matter of fact, even Hippolyta herself was not sure that the Gods were still there, but she prayed nevertheless, for prayer and hope was all she could offer. Thus, she went about her nightly business.
All of a sudden, she realized that something was not as it should be, but she did not comprehend the nature of the disruption. Then, it became obvious as a bright light appeared in the sky, a light that was growing larger and brighter with every passing second. Gazing in something near to disbelief at the approaching light, Hippolyta rose to her feet. Was this, indeed, an answer from her gods? It definitely looked like Helios was approaching her with his chariot, although she could not even guess the reason. But then, the Queen of the Amazons was well aware that the gods did not need any reason to do something, although they needed even less of a reason to refuse to do something. Still, she had no idea how to respond to this miracle shown to her.
Still, Helios kept approaching in a ball of golden light. The light itself was so bright that Hippolyta had to cover her eyes in fear of being blinded. She did not know what alerted her to the fact that something was amiss, but whatever it was, it made her jump aside at the last possible moment. “Hera!” the surprised Queen exclaimed in shock as that *thing* she had mistaken for Helios' carriage landed on her precious baby made from clay.
The light had gone out, and Hippolyta turned to have a look at what had fallen from the sky, but it took her awhile before her eyes were able to re-adjust to the dark. When she was finally able to really look at what had fallen – almost literally – in her lap, she gasped. This thing was made of some strange kind of metal, and it looked like nothing the ancient Queen had ever seen before. It was about as big as a small horse lying down and roughly egg-shaped. At the end which was pointing away from her, there were several fins sticking out of a cylindrical object, reminding her of the feathers in an arrow. Wondering what that might mean, Hippolyta continued to inspect the surface of the object, which was covered in strange symbols she had never encountered before. One golden symbol that reminded her of an angular depiction of a small omega stood out as it covered the front of this something. Ever the curious – one of her few sins – she touched the metal, and to her surprise, a lid opened. Taking a peek inside, Hippolyta found herself look into the sea-blue eyes of a little baby girl – at least she was sure this child was a girl – and she felt herself drawn in by the baby's unearthly beauty. Thick black locks were covering the tiny head that was dominated by the bluest eyes the Queen had ever seen. A tiny nose with a slight upward turn was set above the loveliest tiny mouth in the world. With a gasp, the woman reached for the little girl, adoration plain on her beautiful face.
“How?” Hippolyta asked in wonderment, but of course, the baby could not answer her. Unexpectedly, a slight glow within the vessel caught her attention.
A slowly rotating globe was rising into the air until it was about the height of her face. The light coming from within the globe changed, and the image of a serene-looking couple in strange clothing appeared in the air in front of the Amazon. The man then began to speak – in comprehensible, if somewhat stilted, Themysciran, “I am Don-Ra of the noble House of Ra, and this is my wife Seela. You, stranger, have come upon our beloved daughter Zara. We sent her away in hope that she, of all our people, might survive, for our planet is going to explode due to...” Hippolyta couldn't make sense of what was following that statement, but the rest was very clear.
“Our daughter will not be able to conceive a child from a man of your world, but the mate of her soul, Kal-El, betrothed to her at birth, has been sent to your planet as well.” Hippolyta, proud Queen of the Amazons, was outraged at that. How could someone betroth his daughter to someone when she was still a babe in arms? Did this girl have no say in what to do with her life?
Heedless of the fuming Amazon, Don-Ra went on to describe how his daughter would grow up with unusual abilities, abilities that were truly strange even to the Queen of the Amazons who was used to the abilities of gods and monsters alike. If this was the way the little girl would develop, she must truly be blessed by the gods!
Suddenly, the man stopped speaking, and the couple watched Hippolyta holding their baby daughter serenely for a moment. Then, the image faded and the globe sank back to where it had come from.
All this left Hippolyta speechless, but her mind was racing. How was it that the man got to hold an endlessly long monologue while the girl's mother wasn't even allowed to say one single sentence, one “I love you.” to the girl she had to give up? Didn't have women any rights there?
Still, that left her with a baby girl to raise. So, what was she to do? Take the little girl in as her daughter, Hippolyta decided. Although, truth to be told, her Amazon sisters might be less than thrilled at the prospect of their beloved Queen claiming the child as her own. Unless... What if she told her Amazon sisters that her prayers for a child had been answered? She might just get away with it without being questioned by her loyal subjects. Besides, she would be able to make sure the little one got raised the right way. Always speaking her mind (instead of just looking serene), being used to make her own choices, and, of course, she would get the benefit of the Amazons' martial arts training. And should that wretched Kal-El ever dare to show up on her island, well, if he was looking for a woman like the girl's mother, he would be badly disappointed. Hopefully, it would be enough to save her precious daughter from the likes of him.
Imagining how the baby girl would be raised, Hippolyta made a decision. The gods had indeed answered her prayers. All she had to do was get rid of that *thing* her new daughter had arrived in. Oh, and she still needed a name for the newly arrived Princess. But first things first. Gently, Hippolyta laid down the precious infant before she turned to the capsule that had brought her. One last time she inspected the object that had brought her daughter, and a number of the foreign symbols caught her attention as they were highlighted by the rising moon. These symbols looked oddly like her very own Greek letters.
With only a little bit of imagination, she could read them as a name: DIANA. “Diana, Princess of Themyscira,” Hippolyta said aloud. Hearing her new daughter's delighted squeal, the Queen decided to keep that name. Then she raised the capsule over her head and threw it with all her might into the ocean. She noticed with satisfaction that it landed a far way away from the shore, so it wasn't likely to be found by any of her Amazons. Finally, she picked up her new daughter and wrapped her in her own garments before returning to the palace, her soft noise of her bare feet meeting the ground accompanied by the chirping of the crickets – and the gurgling of a baby girl that had just come into this world.
