Chapter 3-Dramatic Realizations Part 3
(A/N: Originally, I was content with Dramatic Realizations being a two part fic, but then I had an overwhelming urge to write this, ended it with this chapter, and I mean it this time too! ENJOY!!!)
Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons of Themyscira waited with her Royal Guards on the beaches of Paradise Island, as she was preparing for the arrival of her daughter Diana, her...husband Kal-El, and their twin children. By the Gods, she couldn't believe that the two fell in love, bonded in the ways of marriage, and had children no less. If she were honest with herself, Hippolyta would have realized that she had never intended to be anything beyond a Mother, and the be a Grandmother was something entirely...well frightening!
Her Amazon Sisters in the Senate of course had been less then thrilled by the news, as they didn't like their only Princess being with a man anymore then Hippolyta did in the beginning, and even less pleased that there were children from their union. The members of the Bana tribe representing their side in the Senate had been infuriated by this the most, as they felt threatened by this turn of events, and even more so by the fact Diana had sired twins with the Man of Steel.
Hippolyta however, would not have anyone speak ill of her daughter, much less the twins Diana had with the Kryptonian male, and had even come to his defense. It had shocked everyone that she had, but Hippolyta knew that to prove to Diana that she supported their union, she had to do defend it, and show it was worth going against the old Amazon ways they were so accustomed to.
Now here she was, waiting for their return to the island along with the children, and saw them in the distance flying towards them with the three children in their arms.
Wait! Three children?
'Did they have another child?!' thought Hippolyta, as she was shocked at seeing the child in Diana's arms, and the child's face nuzzled into her Mother's bosom.
"Mother! It's good to see you again," said Diana smiling at her Mother, as she landed on the beach with Kal right beside her, and with the twin in his arms before they detached to tackle their Grandmother in a hug.
"And you too my daughter," said Hippolyta, as she gave her Grandchildren hugs before she told them to say hello to Phillipus while walking up to her only child, and then gave Diana another long overdo hug.
It also gave her a chance to have look at her newest Grandchild.
"Mother, I want you to meet the newest addition to our family, and his name is Apollo Kent," said Diana, as she showed the young two soon to be going on three year old baby in her arms, and the boy currently looking up at his Grandmother with wide blue eyes from his Father's side of the family.
"One child named after a mortal man, another after a Greek Princess, and the third named after one of the Gods," said Hippolyta with a smile on her face, and touched the young infant's face smiling up at her with love she never thought possible outside of her own.
"It wasn't easy. I kept wanting to know the gender of the baby when he was inside of me, but the only capable of telling me was Kal, and I told him not to tell me no matter how much I asked. By Hera, I was always changing my mind when it came to this one, and it was the same way with the twins. Kal said I would be surprised when they were born when I asked about them, as I thought I was only giving birth to one child, and he had this smile...this mischievous smile on his face. If it weren't for the fact I couldn't move at the time, I would have punched him for it, or at least thrown a magical weapons at him," said Diana, as she saw Kal laugh at that, and he had walked up to them while the kids talked to General Phillipus among the Royal Guards with stories about the many different things were going on back in Man's World.
"But Diana honey, you did do that on few occasions when you were pregnant with the twins, and young Apollo here. In fact, I had to tell the twins to always knock in a certain way so you didn't throw weapons at them," said Kal, as he saw Diana look at him with a glare, and Hippolyta looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Kal! Don't embarrass me in front of my own Mother," said Diana, as she didn't need her Mother, and Queen to know that her hormones made her go nuts.
"Well, I figured your Mother would love to hear all the stories behind you being pregnant with these three, and how you were saying so many...interesting things while you were in labor," said Kal, as he smiled further at Diana's angry face, and knew that if it weren't for little Apollo in her arms the Amazon Princess would have punched him straight to Mount Olympus.
"Kal!" said Diana, as she was feeling the old urge to punch her husband, and this time there wasn't a huge mountain within her body growing in her womb to stop her.
"Perhaps we should talk further inside while Phillipus and the Royal Guards watch over the twins," said Hippolyta, as she motioned for them to walk with her to the palace, and saw her Grandchildren smiling while still talking to Phillipus with them walking towards the training circle nearby.
She also saw Amazon bracelets on both children with the Man of Steel's symbol on them.
"I had them made for the children just for this occasion and Kal put his symbol on them at the children's insistence since they wanted to honor both sides of the family. I swear to Hera Kal spoils them too much," said Diana, as she saw her Mother's line of sight, and that they were on the children wrists.
"Perhaps, but they are our children, and I would be a bad parent if I didn't," said Kal in a defensive manner, but the twinkle in his eye told Hippolyta that there was no form of insult behind it, and the same for Diana when making that verbal jab at him.
"What about their combat training?" said Hippolyta, as she had trained Diana at a young age, and wanted to know if her daughter did the same with them.
"I'm training them in our Amazon fighting styles in a specialized training room Kal has created so they could go all out and it helps me to keep my own skills from getting rusty," said Diana, as she saw her Mother looked relieved at that, and so was Diana herself since pregnancies do tend to make you feel a little...out of proportioned.
Nothing helps get rid of stretch marked skin and awakening tired muscles like doing a lot of hard intense training.
"We've also had to be very careful in terms of their potential abilities since they are now slowly beginning to manifest themselves. Helena has already started to fly a little since she inherited that from her Mother while Jonathan has been showing a gradual increase in his speed that he inherited from me when I was a kid," said Kal, as he saw Hippolyta nod, and saw how both children had the best traits from their parents.
"Have any other powers manifested themselves aside from those two?" said Hippolyta, as she knew about their shared beyond human strength, and Kal-El's other powers that could appear at anytime.
"Nothing so far Mother. It will take them a few more years when they are more into their teens when their power start developing and we told them to tell us about them the instant they appear," said Diana, as she along with Kal had told them in the beginning that due to this unique combination that their powers would appear when they got older, and not to hide any powers from them since it was important to learn control.
"Which in a way is fortunate because this gives them time to train in the Amazon ways in terms of training and then I can train them to control their powers when they spring up," said Kal, as he saw Hippolyta nod at that, and agreed since kids with such powers tended to have a lack of control.
"You're more then welcome to have the children stay here to help them further hone their fighting skills and controlling their powers," said Hippolyta, as she saw General Phillipus smiling down at the young children, and could tell the woman was looking forward to teaching them.
"That's wonderful to hear. To be honest Mother, I was concerned that my Sisters would not be so welcome to the fact that I had married, and sired children for...obvious reasons that the children don't know," said Diana, as she didn't have the courage within her to tell the twins what her Amazon Sisters went through, and knew that one day she would have to tell them in a few years after their minds fully embraced the concept of what was good and evil.
"Your concerns were not without validity Diana. Many were upset when I told them the news, as they felt Kal-El here had somehow bewitched you, and were less then happy about the children you sired. Some of the more traditional members of the Senate even suggested a battalion of Amazon Sisters return to your home and attack your husband before taking the twins back here to reeducate them into being proper Amazons," said Hippolyta, as she saw Diana's eyes widen, and saw Kal frowning at her words while his senses were on full alert for anything.
"I take it you convinced them otherwise," said Diana calmly, but like her husband, she was now on full alert, and while she trusted Phillipus...the Royal Guards could only do so much.
"It wasn't easy. I told them that your happiness was centered on Kal-El and your children with the loss of either one bringing swift vengeance down upon our heads by you if we were involved in it. I also told them that the Gods themselves would frown down at such action and we would lose their favor," said Hippolyta, as she saw Diana's body stop being so tense, but still kept an eye out for anything, and she saw her husband doing the same.
"You'll forgive me Mother if I don't fully let down my guard because of the Artemis and the Bana in general," said Diana, as she saw her twins were still out of hearing range of the conversation, and that they did not have the heightened powers to hear beyond normal people as of yet.
'I should have brought Krypto with us. He watches over the twins like they were his own,' thought Kal, as he knew how attached the dog was to the twins, and Diana often referred to the animal as their own personal one headed white Cerberus when it came to watching over the twins.
"Artemis was quite outspoken when she heard the news and was even less then thrilled you had children like you suspected Diana. She even demanded that the your son be put in an 'arranged breeding' process so Bana could have a child of incredible power when he became of age," said Hippolyta, as she could feel the anger rolling off her daughter, and surprisingly enough on Kal-El too.
"With all do respect Queen Hippolyta, but I do hope you told Artemis where she can stuff that deal, and told her that such an 'arrangement' was out of the question," said Kal, as he was not going to have his son be put through that, and Diana was in full agreement.
"Not in that exact wording Kal-El, but I assure you that I told Artemis the idea of having Diana's son, or now in this case sons being used in such a manner was an insult to Diana if not to me," said Hippolyta, as she saw the two calm down, but still the Amazon Queen knew they weren't going to let the issue leave their minds, and were going to defend their children at all costs.
"Thank you Mother, but while we are here, I would like Phillipus along with the Royal Guards to watch my children while young Apollo stays with us," said Diana, as she was not about to lose any of her children to a man hating Bana Amazon, and swore to teach the Artemis what a Motherly instinct driven Amazon could do when protecting what was hers.
"I assumed you would so I already gave to the order to Phillipus and the Royal Guards to watch over the twins while you are with me," said Hippolyta, as she saw Diana smile at that, and was glad her Mother had thought ahead.
"This is one of the reasons why you are still Queen of the Amazons Mother," said Diana, as she looks at her Mother, and saw that the woman still had more then enough life in her to rule over Paradise Island.
"I've ruled it for 3000 years my daughter. Just because I will leave the throne one day so you may be its new Queen doesn't mean I intend to get rusty," said Hippolyta, as she saw her daughter smirk, and look at the twins in the distance showing Phillipus some of the close combat fighting skills their Mother taught them.
(Not Far Away)
Artemis of the Bana-Mighdall tribe looked on from her position with narrowed eyes at the twins having a now friendly spar in front of Phillipus. When she heard the news of Diana being with that alien of a man from the stars, it made the red haired woman want to vomit in disgust, and even more so when word reached Artemis of Hippolyta's daughter siring twins with him. The Princess of the Amazons had become a full fledged woman at the hands of the Man of Steel, which showed in the children showing that Diana had done well in training the two, and it angered Artemis that one of twins was male.
Had Diana just sired twin females like a real Amazon should, then Artemis wouldn't have cared so much, and she would have felt it was a victory for the female race. However, the fact that one of the twins was male made the Bana woman feel anger within her body she had not felt since losing to Diana when competing for the right to be Wonder Woman.
Artemis had of course argued before the Senate that Diana should not be the one to go out into Man's World due to her defiance of the Mother the Amazon Queen. However, it was determined by the Senate that even though Hippolyta had forbidden Diana to enter, it was not up to the Queen, but the Gods themselves, and they had set forth the rules for any of the Amazons to compete in the tournament. It had made the Queens order for Diana not to enter the competitions void and thus granted the Amazon Princess the right to be their chose Amazon Champion.
Now here Diana was again on Themyscira with that alien male, as their abominations for children currently showing that they were indeed their parents offspring, and saw how her Greek Sisters watching on with pride showing on their faces. The question now was, how to deal with the twins, and the tainting alien male that had the nerve to come to the island of female purity?
'No doubt Diana is making sure that Phillipus along with the other Royal Guards watch over them while they are staying here on the island for time,' thought Artemis, as she had originally planned to kidnap the female of the twins, and then reeducate her in the ways being a true Amazon before having the girl denounce her brother in being a monster like her bastard Father.
But it seemed that wouldn't be happening anytime soon so Artemis would have to find another way to get close to the children and educate them properly in the true ways of the Amazon lifestyle.
(Amazon Banquet Hall-Later that Day)
To say everyone was surprised was a complete understatement, as the Amazons attending the feast to celebrate Diana's return back to Themyscira were now seeing the twins, Kal-El, and Diana with baby Apollo in her arms for the first time in several years. Many were cautious of Kal-El, but were very affectionate to Helena, and Jonathan to a lesser extent though the young boy knew why since his Father had told him that they were mistrustful of men due to the evils of a select few. However, as the feast continued, the young boy was able to win over the cautious women with his young boyish charm inherited from his Father, and showed that he was not some uneducated child that believed women were just objects to use to his benefit.
As for baby Apollo, he was showered with attention from Hippolyta, and Phillipus seeing such a child with blue eyes filled with curious wonder. The Queen even got to hold the young baby in her arms, which caused the woman to remember those memories about the times she held Diana like this, and how she would giggle up at her like Apollo was doing right now.
"He's so beautiful. So full of life," said Phillipus, as she looked at young Apollo, and was a bit envious of her Princess having such a wonderful son with the help of man like Kal-El.
"Yes and just like his siblings he will be quite the handful," said Diana, as the twins had their own moments crying at night when they were babies, and Apollo was the same.
"Much like you were when you were a child my daughter," said Hippolyta, as she saw Diana's face go red with embarrassment, and heard Kal chuckle at the woman's expense.
"On this island filled with mystical creatures, one can only imagine what trouble Diana got into, and how you disciplined her for them," said Kal, as he saw Diana glare at him, and punched his shoulder since she was now free from holding children to do it.
"Kal! Stop encouraging my Mother!" said Diana, as she saw the Man of Steel now rub his shoulder, and the twins laughing at them.
"Can you tell us about when Mother go into trouble Grandmother?" said Jonathan, as he saw his Mother give him a glare, but chose to not look at it, and focus on the amused look of his Grandmother.
"Yeah! She never tells us anything. Only that she got into trouble, but never said what, or gave examples," said Helena, as she saw the amused look on Hippolyta's face grow, and heard her Mother groan while her Father laughed.
"I'm sure I can come up with a few stories before your bedtime," said Hippolyta, as she saw the twins getting excited by that, and even Apollo seemed overjoyed in hearing a story related to his Mother.
"Mind if I listen in?" said Kal, as he got punched in the shoulder again, and saw Diana was fighting back the idea of using a sword on him.
"Kal! It is bad enough the twins will use this against me, but not you, and I'll make sure they're in a magic surrounded room so you can't overhear with those ears of yours," said Diana, as she wasn't about to have both her twins, and husband poke fun at her for past embarrassments when she misbehaved as a child.
"Your no fun. Oh well, I'm sure the kids will tell me anyway when you're not around," said Kal since the kids would tell him if he asked, and even if he didn't they still would.
Farthest from the long table was Artemis, who was looking at the family with narrowed eyes once more, and was seething at the sight of the third child sired by Diana. Another male sired by the alien to once more oppress women in the world with their powers and were no doubt now immune to the likes of magic thanks to their Mother.
"You look angry Artemis," said Magda, as she was sitting beside the woman, and saw the angry redhead looking at her.
"Of course I am! Our Princess has been defiled by an alien man she calls her husband and has sired three children with two of them being male. Suppose one of those two takes the throne and not the girl? A King ruling over us until either one of them finds a female to rule with as his Queen? You've heard the rumors of the Kryptonian's aging being slower then that of a normal mortals. It could be decades, maybe even centuries before they even decide to choose one of us to become their Queen if one of them becomes our King. The thought of it all makes me sick inside my stomach!" said Artemis, as she could stomach Diana's daughter ruling over the Amazon's, but either son ruling did not, and was going to voice it to the current Queen when the Princess was not around.
"You forget that it will happen sooner then you think when the Princess becomes our Queen and her husband becomes King beside her," said Magda, as she saw Artemis's green eyes nearly glowing with fury, and it was all aimed at the Man of Steel.
"I will never acknowledge that man as a King of our people nor any of his sons for that matter as Princes. I would rather be sent to Tartarus then do that!" said Artemis, as she drank from her goblet, and saw Diana now holding her youngest son again.
"If you keep acting like this Artemis, then you may get your wish, and Diana will make it happen personally," said Magda, as she was growing concerned now by the way Artemis acted, and decided to inform the Queen later.
(Nightfall)
Diana and Kal slept together in the same bed that night though they promised not to do anything that would possibly help sire a fourth child in the near future. Young Apollo was in a crib that was once Diana's when she was a baby and sleeping soundly knowing that his parents were near to protect him. The twins were in rooms across the hall with smiles on their faces while sleeping after hearing an embarrassing tale of their Mother getting into trouble with a couple of Nymphs on her birthday.
Apparently, stealing a large egg from a nest in an attempt to raise what was inside of it yourself did not go well with the actual Mother of said egg, and even less with Diana's own when the destruction the incident caused had ended.
As for guards on duty, Magda had informed the Queen of Artemis's venomous dislike for the two male Princes, and Kal-El with signs of the Bana woman doing something very rash. Hippolyta knew of it too, as she had seen it long before this day happened, and had already put her most trustworthy guards on duty in the corridors with orders to keep the red haired Amazon away from them.
Still, it didn't stop the Bana woman from trying to do something, which was why a figure entered the room via the window of the two adult, and one baby with a dagger in hand. As the red haired Bana looked over at the sleeping, as well as helpless infant lying in the crib, Artemis readied the jeweled dagger that she was sure would slay the baby at such a young age, and prepared to end the life of little Apollo Kent. Afterwards, she would plan a way to kill the baby's sibling Jonathan so only a female Amazon would succeed Diana, and even then it wouldn't be long after Artemis herself gave young distraught Helena the proper Amazon education that Diana had failed to give.
"Time for you to meet your end abomination," said Artemis, as she raised the dagger over her head, and would have struck true in ending young Apollo's life had it not been for the fact she couldn't move her limb down to strike.
When she turned her head, Artemis was staring face to face with into the angry glowing red eyes of the Man of Steel, and even in darkness of night the Bana woman thought the last Kryptonian's appearance was equal to that of an angry God. Behind Kal-El was a fully awake Diana with an equally angry look on her face with sword in hand ready to bring bodily harm to Artemis should she try anything on their baby.
"Diana told me you would try something Artemis, but even I didn't want to believe one of her own Sisters would stoop so low into killing one of our children, and right under our noses," said Kal-El, as he squeezed the woman's wrist tighter until Artemis let go of the blade, and it made a clanking noise on the floor before picked it up off the floor.
"Believe what you want alien scum, but the fact remains, I will not accept male royalty to the throne of Themyscira, and I will never let it happen," said Artemis, as she knew any type of physical blow she landed on him could be shrugged off by him, and saw Diana ready to strike her down she even tried.
"Be as that may Artemis, you fail to realize that I will not accept some things either, and one of them is a man hating bitch trying to kill my family," said Kal in a deadly whisper, as his eyes glowed further with great intensity with the red light filling the room, and saw the fearful look in Artemis's green eyes that the Bana woman was trying to hide.
"Kal, wait! Let my Mother deal with Artemis," said Diana, as she too had been filled with the growing desire to run her sword through Artemis, but the look of murderous intent made her realize that Kal's desire to protect his family was possibly greater then her own.
Kal had very little growing up on a farm while raised from humble beginnings, which had made the Man of Steel realize just how fortunate he was to have what he did in terms of family, and even more so when he found out about his origins. After his Father died of a heart attack, his Mother had been all he had left for a while with the sweet woman getting frailer as time went on, and it wouldn't be long before she died too. The loss both of his surrogate parents, who loved him like he was their own had a great deal of impact on the Man of Steel, and had manifested a bit of a protective nature to defend his family from anything they couldn't defend themselves against.
In this case, it was his children, who while were growing stronger with each passing day, were still children nonetheless, and could be hurt until their powers manifested like his own. As for right now, the youngest of his three most treasured children was also at this point the most vulnerable, and the Man of Steel was not about to see any harm befall the boy when there was so much for the child to see. Even now, it was taking nearly all of his willpower not to turn the upper half of this Bana woman into ash, and send a message to any of her followers to leave his family alone.
"You're right Diana. The last thing that our son needs right now at such a young age in his life, is to hear how I betrayed my own convictions, and take the life of one of your Amazon Sisters. Even if she is a dishonorable one," said Kal, as he had always tried to balance the human attachments he had with his Kryptonian nature that reminded him on a subconscious level that he was the last of his people with the exception of his children, and the desire to protect them from people like Artemis by any means necessary.
"How pathetic! You two are so weak, as neither of you have the courage to slay the one, who wished to end your youngest life, and your family's happiness," said Artemis, as she was disgusted by them, and cried out in pain before falling to her knees when the Man of Steel viciously squeeze her wrist until a snap was heard indicting it was broken.
"No Artemis. What's pathetic is the Bana Amazon whose wrist I just made useless by turning the bones around it into powder," said Kal, as Artemis's cries of pain caused the guards outside the room, and see the Bana woman on her knees while her arm was held by him with Diana keeping her sword pointed at her Amazon Sister.
"Take Artemis away, but do it quietly, and without disturbing the twins across the hall," said Diana, as she would have Artemis be dealt with by her Mother, and away from her children until they were old enough to understand.
"Yes Princess," said one of the Amazon guards, as they took Artemis away, and left the two heroes along with their youngest alone in the room.
"Thank you for stopping me," said Kal, as he saw Diana put away the weapons, and then wrap him up in a hug while burying her head into his chest.
"Your welcome Kal. Though I have to admit, I was more then tempted to run my sword right through Artemis for trying to hurt our baby, and show that foolish woman what it means to face a protective Amazon Mother" said Diana, as she wanted to do more then that, but kept herself under since it would improper of her to describe it.
"After your Mother gets through with her, Artemis will wish the same thing, and know what it means to mess with two generations of Amazon women," said Kal, as he looked down at Apollo sleeping like nothing was wrong, and smiled at their baby boy.
"You would know considering you've had to deal with those same two Amazon women in the past," said Diana, as she looked up at him, and smirked at face before kissing the man chest.
"Yeah. One hating me because I'm a man and the other hating me for that same fact while you were pregnant and throwing a variety of weapons at me for it," said Kal, as that got him another hit to his body though Diana's chuckle knew it wasn't to be mean, and she now wrapped her arms around him.
"I told you I was sorry after it was over," said Diana, as she kissed him on the lips now, and they now hovering in midair.
"Yeah, but the phrase 'I swear by Hera, I'm going to rip off that appendage of yours when this is over, and send to my Sisters to put it in a metal cast' makes one a bit...cautious," said Kal, as he see Diana laughing at that, and he knew that she didn't mean it no matter how off her hormones were during the pregnancy.
"I still can't believe I said that. Artemis would actually be proud of me for saying that to you," said Diana, as she wrapped her arms around him more, and felt him do the same.
"Shhh. Its late. Let's not talk about Artemis right now," said Kal, as he descended to the ground of the room, and kissed Diana passionately.
"Yes. Let's not. I can think of something else we can do while here," said Diana, as she smiled mischievously at Kal, and the Man of Steel raised an eyebrow at her.
"I thought we promised your Mother not to do any such activities that would cause us to have another child?" said Kal, as he knew Diana's Mother would most likely blame him before her daughter, and there was also the fact their youngest was in the room too.
Granted he was out of it, but there was need to make unwanted noises that would wake the boy up, and scream with lungs equal to a meta-human.
"True, but I was never one to obey my Mother on certain levels, and I have a tendency to break certain rules," said Diana, as they became more passionate, and her hands began to wander just as his did.
"I've noticed," said Kal, as he had seen Diana break a few rules regarding Amazon law, and it wouldn't hurt to break one more. even though technically a Mother's rule.
By the time the night was over, the two had silently defied Queen Hippolyta, and made sure not to disturb baby Apollo from his sleep too.
(The Next Morning)
To say Hippolyta was upset was an understatement to say the least, as she had been told of Artemis's treachery to kill her youngest Grandchild, and seething with rage. The 3000 year old Queen of the Amazons even went so far, as to begin swearing in ancient Greek, and it was fortunate that none of her Grandchildren were around to hear it.
Shortly after hearing this news, the Queen stormed down to the dungeons where Artemis was being held, and the guards instantly let Hippolyta through to see the chained Bana woman looking down at the ground. When Artemis looked up, she glared hatefully at the Queen, and it was clearly returned a hundred if not a thousand fold.
"You were told of my actions I take it," said Artemis, as it was more of a statement, then a question, and saw signs of the Queen itching for her sword.
"It was difficult not hear the news of your treachery considering how you tried to kill the youngest of my Grandchildren. Did you really believe you had a chance in getting away with such treason Artemis? Did you really think that you could sneak into my daughter's bedroom with her lover by her side and simply end that baby's life? My daughter's senses have not dulled once in the slightest while away in Man's World and from what I know of the Kryptonian senses they can hear glass shatter on the other side of the world. It was easy for Kal-El to hear the extra heartbeat that entered the room, the words you spoke in your arrogance to end his son's life, and see you standing over the crib ready to stain it in Apollo's blood," said Hippolyta, as she saw Artemis snarl in disgust at her, and spit on the ground at her feet.
"So the alien male scum got lucky. When the time comes, I'll kill that boy, and the older one too in order to keep the throne of the Amazons fit for women only," said Artemis, as she saw Hippolyta draw her sword, and the point of it was less then an inch from the red haired Bana's face.
"There won't be a next time for you Artemis. A part of me wishes you would die at my hands through my sword for the attempt on my Grandson's life, but if I stain my sword with your foul blood I would have to destroy it, and this just so happens to be my favorite sword. No, what I have planned is far worse then giving you a simple death, and it is to keep you here to let you drown in your hate until it is time for your soul to crossover to the Underworld," said Hippolyta, as she saw the Bana woman looking at her with shock, and then anger at choice of punishment.
"You're weak Hippolyta! Your sister Antiope was right to leave after our people took their rightful revenge on Hercules and his men. But you chose to listen to one of the Olympic Gods, who didn't help you until long after the everything that happened to you, and even then it was under their terms that you not seek your revenge. The Bana should have been rewarded for what we did, but we were shunned for it instead, and had to walk to road of mortality while the Gods of Olympus blessed your Greek Sisters along with you with it Immortality. Then nearly 3000 years later, my people suffered further after your wish was granted to have a child by an act of the Gods that would become your Princess, who then bested me in a tournament that she shouldn't even have participated in to become our Champion to conquer the evils men have created in the Patriarch's World, and then falls in love with one of them. And not just any male, but one from beyond the stars, and wields incredible power that rivals a God. It is an insult to your late sister, the Bana, and all the Amazons as a whole to allow such a union to happen with them having children of immense power. How can you even consider embracing that man's sons as your Grandchildren and call them an extension of the Amazon race? Tell me how you cannot look at them with disgust and not drown them in a river?" said Artemis, as she saw Hippolyta look at her with sadness, and pity before walking out of the prison cell.
"Because unlike you Artemis, I let my hatred of men slowly die after Diana was born, and saw the truth that was in front of me long after she left our island to fall in love with the Kryptonian. After Diana left to be with Kal-El, I wondered what it was that drove my daughter to do such a thing, and I realized that it was love that drove her to be with him. It was love that brought them together, to be married in a union, and in he process have three wonderful children that have no trace of evil in their hearts. That is why I cannot do what you suggest Artemis," said Hippolyta, as she left Artemis to rot in the dungeon, and ignored the woman's screams mixed with swearing.
Hippolyta did not give into her anger 3000 years ago to kill Hercules after what he did and she was not about to do it now to kill Artemis like the Bana woman wanted.
Artemis was going to die alone, in this dungeon, and die free of her hate...or die being consumed by it.
Either way, it was more then fitting for Artemis, and Hippolyta wasn't going to show an ounce of mercy to anyone making attempts to hurt her Grandchildren.
(Several Days Later)
"Its a shame we can't stay longer," said Jonathan, as he walked with his Father to one of the many beachheads where the Man of Steel scooped him up, and his sister to take them back to outside world.
"Is that it? I thought you just want to hang around and work that Kent charm on some of the Amazon ladies," said Kal, as he saw his son blush, and had a sheepish smile on his face.
"That too," said Jonathan, but more to himself, then to his Father, and made sure his twin sister didn't hear it.
Hera forbid his Mother overheard him too and watched his actions like Zeus on Mount Olympus.
"Wait until your older son and then I'll explain some things about that along with what it means to charm Amazons that are skilled with sharp weapons," said Kal, as he picked up hi son while seeing him raise an eyebrow at him, but gave the boy the "when you're older you'll understand", and saw Jonathan nod in understanding that he would have to wake.
"Daddy!" said Helena, as she tackled her Father, and he picked her up with her giggling while he gave her Eskimo kisses.
"Hello my Amazon angel. Behaving yourself like you promised? You're not getting into trouble and giving your Grandmother potential gray hairs now," said Kal, as he heard his daughter let out a giggle, and hugged him around his neck.
"Me? No. not me daddy. Never," said Helena, as she saw her Father give her a look that made the girl giggle again with a sheepish look on her face, and the Man of Steel sighed while shaking his head.
If they were this bad now, the Man of Steel may not survive when they grew up, and hit puberty that would cause him along with Diana quite few headaches.
"Did you at least say goodbye to your Grandmother before coming here?" said Kal, as he saw his wife approaching with baby Apollo in her arms, and his daughter nodding.
"Yes daddy!" said Helena, as she knew family was important, and loved all her family members.
"Me too!" said Jonathan, as his Grandmother kept telling him how handsome he was, and how she may have to keep her Amazons Sisters back from making attempts to seduce him when he was older.
"Me three and Apollo make four," said Diana, as she had overheard his question to the twins, and decided to add her input on it while Apollo just made baby noises.
"Then let's head home," said Kal, as he took to the air with Diana beside him, and the twins cheering on about how great this was along with how they wished to fly soon.
'To think, this all happened after I came to the realization that I loved Kal, and he loved me back. Now here we are, married, three kids, and the approval of my Mother along with the majority of my Sisters. I could not ask for more,' thought Diana, as she was glad she came to the realization that she did, and wouldn't change anything about her life.
FIN
