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Author's Note: Here's the end of things. I think I'm pretty happy with it. There were a few bumps when I was trying to write it but I think I evened things out. This part has the last chapter and a little epilogue, the latter of which sets up a nice sequel for sometime down the road. After this chapter, I'm going to take a break for my video game I think but as soon as I'm done I'll get to work on my next story, a sequel that's been a long time coming for a certain Emerald Archer. I'd like to thank djkauf for the wonderful editing,DC Comics for their wonderful characters and everyone who's read this story and all the the wonderful comments. Thank you very much. I really appreciate it.

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Chapter Twenty Five:

When I followed Circe in the smoke, things were very strange indeed. But being teleported by a Goddess was definitely an experience. It was like being in every place in the world at the same time. I saw everything flash before my eyes---every monument, every natural formation, every capital city---all in a blink of an eye. Then it was all gone. It was kinda disorienting actually. I was real dizzy and had to grab the nearest thing to steady myself. That happened to be a desk. It took me a moment to gain some ground before I looked around. I was in a familiar room; it took only a second or two to realize it was Crossan’s office.

I took a deep breath and noticed something else too, my skimpy outfit was gone. I looked at my arms, the silver vambraces were still there but I was wearing my normal clothes again. I reached up and touched my head; the tiara was still there too. I’m not sure what it all meant but it kinda freaked me out a bit. It was clear that these new things of mine were special and somehow connected to the outfit I was wearing before. I’m not sure what it all meant but it was clear that the Gods were involved somehow. Thinking about them only made my head hurt though. Especially when I thought about Ath---damn it---the old man’s words. He told me that the Father wanted me to recreate the Amazons but I didn’t even know where to begin.

I sighed, running my hands through my fingers. I sat on the edge of the desk, causing a few of the folders there to fall on the floor. One of them fell open. I looked down and saw a list of names. I bent and picked it up. I was surprised at what was there. It was a list of girls, the towns where they lived, a list of their achievements next to them. Crossan---I mean Vanessa---had compiled a list of potential recruits for Circe’s brainwashed Legion. There were over a hundred names here, girls of all ages. I looked from the list to the ceiling. Is this what you wanted? Is this why you sent me to this room? I didn’t get an answer and I didn’t expect to get one. I sighed again, taking the pages from the folder and folding them into my pocket. I guess it was worth a shot. I’m not sure if I was going to do anything with it but I suppose it was the first step.

I was sitting there still trying to think about what to do when the door opened. It surprised me about as much as it surprised the young agent on the other side. Both of us didn’t say anything. He recovered quicker than me, pulling his gun from its holster. I had to smile, wondering if this guy even knew who I was. I didn’t say anything to him, even when he demanded that I stay where I was. I slid off the desk, walked over to him and pinched the front end of his gun, flattening the metal between my fingers. The look on his face was priceless. I patted him on the cheek and slipped past him into the hallway.

There were a few more agents like him, going from room to room. But none of them noticed me. When I walked through the hole in the wall, I found myself in the middle of a lot of hurried activity. The number of people doubled to include a lot more agents and medical personnel. People were flitting about, going left and right. There were a lot of girls sitting on the ground, shaking their heads, looking confused. Whatever effect the drugs had must have finally worn off. I scanned the ground, seeing familiar faces. Karna was sitting on the steps of the platform having her nose looked at, Laris and Anaya had ice packs on their heads. I saw Jay talking with Akila, probably getting her statement.

I tried to find Artemis but she was nowhere in sight. I did see Kate though; she was draped in a DEO windbreaker that was a size or two too big. She looked a little embarrassed, probably because she was dressed like a cave woman. Cameron was with her, talking to her. Kate looked at me and her face lit up. Cameron looked over too and frowned. I moved from my spot, trying to avoid her. I wasn’t in the mood to talk to her just yet. I slipped through the crowd, trying to stay inconspicuous. I saw Amy but her back was too me. Half her shirt was missing and her shoulder was bandaged; her arm was in a sling. There were a few cuts and scrapes on her but I was glad to see she was all right. I looked around for Eddie but didn’t see him. I wonder if he slipped away in the commotion or if they were keeping him by himself so as not to cause a panic.

I finally found grandma though. She was talking with Detective Schorr. It was strange because I didn’t see any other police officers present. I wonder if he was here with Cameron’s team before or if she called him in afterwards. I vaguely remember her telling him she’d keep him in the loop. Technically this was Schorr’s case after all, what with the bandits having a connection here. He and grandma were apart from the rest of the group and at first, I didn’t know what they were discussing. When I got closer, I overheard grandma say “Vanessa” I looked around, wondering if there was still a swan or if Circe’s spell somehow dissipated when she fled.

Grandma turned and saw me. Her face lit up. I smiled and walked over to her, wrapping her in my arms. I started crying, I couldn’t help it. I was very close to losing her, more than once. It felt good to know that she was safe and sound and out of danger. I held onto her for a long time. She cried too, sobbing into my shoulder.

“Is there room for me too?” asked a familiar voice.

I turned and Connor was there. I didn’t say a thing. I threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck. I nearly bowled him over but I didn’t care. He was mine and that’s all that mattered. When we kissed, it was the most perfect thing in the world. If someone told me this was all a dream then I’d put myself into a coma just to make it last forever. We kissed forever or so it seemed. When we finally pulled away to breath, he brushed a lock of hair from my face.

“You are never to do that again,” I said, still wrapped in his arms.

He laughed. “I thought you were in trouble. I was racing to the rescue.”

I smirked. “I am a Warrior Born, I do not need saving.”

Grandma joined us in our laughing. Then Detective Schorr came over to ruin the fun. I suppose it was inevitable that one of the authority figures would catch up with me. He had a lot of questions and most the answers I had to make up. How do you tell a normal person about a Sorceress and Gods? They’d think you were crazy. So I told him that some crazy cult leader who managed to get away in the commotion organized it all. I said I gave chase but she slipped through my fingers. Ok, so I told a partial truth. He didn’t ask about my powers though. I’m not sure but I think Cameron filled him in there. He did make me promise not to leave the city in case he had follow up questions.

We talked about a half an hour. I thought maybe I was free after that but then Cameron showed up, frowning. I sighed, wondering what she had to say.

“First and foremost, good job” she said, surprising the hell out of me. “Now that that’s out of the way, what the hell were you thinking?”

As grateful as she was that I saved the day it still didn’t stop her from busting my balls---figuratively of course. First she chewed me out about disobeying her direct order---even though I wasn’t technically one of her subordinates. Then she berated me about Eddie. She chewed me out a lot about him. That I didn’t deserve and I told her so which only seemed make her more angry. Lastly, she went off on Circe and my withholding of information. Apparently, she’d already debriefed Amy. Not that Amy knew everything but she knew more than Cameron. In the end, Jay came to my defense.

"How was she to know what we were walking into boss?” he said, stepping in-between us, stopping me from letting my anger get the best of me. “Yes there were some things she didn’t tell us but we’ve been keeping a lot from her too.”

He didn’t elaborate on what, of course.

In the end, Cameron left in a huff. She mumbled something about someone contacting me in a few days to get the rest of the story. After that, we were free to go. Seeing as Amy was my ride---and she was in no mood to drive---Connor drove grandma and me home. None of us said anything; I think both of them were a little tired. Me, I was still pissed that Cameron thought she was the boss of everything. That woman annoyed the hell out of me so much. I’d been as honest as I could with her---as honest as I wanted to be---and she still expected more. There were some things I couldn’t tell because I didn’t really understand them myself. I was hoping maybe grandma had some of the answers. She’d been pretty quiet, especially after what happened to Vanessa. No, she wasn’t still a swan. I was right to think that Circe’s spell only lasted so long as the Sorceress willed it to do so. AS soon as Circe vanished, Vanessa turned back into a human. A pretty pissed off one but a human nonetheless. She got arrested right after that. I told Detective Schorr that the girls weren’t responsible for what they’d done, that somehow Vanessa was controlling them with a combination of drugs and mind control. He was a pretty reasonable guy. He did arrest Karna and the others but he promised they’d see no jail time. Like Persephone, they’d probably get counseling and rehab. I’m sure there was a long road of recovery ahead for them.

When we finally pulled up to the house, there were two cars in the driveway. I recognized both immediately, one was Donna’s little VW and the other was Jason’s Mustang. It was a damn nice car, I loved it to death. It was too bad that it was here. If he was here then that meant Mom was certainly here too. I groaned, not really looking forward to this. Grandma leaned over and squeezed my hand, noticing my apprehension.

“I’ll let you two say goodbye but don’t take long all right?” she said as she opened the door and climbed out of the truck.

I nodded. “I’ll be there in a couple of minutes.”

I watched grandma walk into the house. I waited until she was inside. I looked at the front of the house and frowned. Someone had hung a plastic sheet over the broken front window. That was so coming out of my allowance I bet. Then I turned back to Connor and sighed.

“Your Mom huh?” he asked, I nodded. “She might be a mental case but at least she cares a little bit about you.”

Connor barely heard from his Mom, except on birthdays and the important holidays. She was a good person but she was very busy too.
I opened my mouth to complain and he silenced me with a kiss. We kissed for a while and it felt good. I almost didn’t want to pull away. But when I did, he wiped the tears from my eyes. I smiled, kissing him on the forehead and thanking him for being the best guy I know.

“They don’t call me Super-boy for nothing,” he said, puffing out his chest.

We laughed. Then I left the truck and waited for him to drive off. When he was out of sight, I tuned and walked toward the house.

When I walked through the front door, Donna was the first to greet me. She ran across the room and wrapped me in a big hug. She almost knocked me off my feet actually. She cried on my shoulder, babbling incoherently about “doing stupid things”. I tried my best to comfort her. But my real attention was on my mother. She was sitting on the couch with Jason. Grandma was doing her best to tidy up the place; it was still a big mess. Most of it was cleaned up---I’m not sure who did that---but the piles of ash were gone and at least the furniture was upright again. The front window was a total loss and my grandfather’s favorite chair was totaled. I felt real bad about that.

Mom and I locked eyes. It was one of those stares that sane people sometimes had. WE didn’t have to say anything to know what the other was thinking. But looking at this woman, this person who looked like my mother, shocked me. Her hair was a mess and it looked like she’d been crying, a lot in fact. She was grasping Jason’s hand in a death grip and looked like she wasn’t going to let it go anytime soon. He looked pretty uncomfortable, like he didn’t know what to do. I felt the same way. I’ve never seen my mother like this in my entire life, she looked liked a genuine human being for once instead of whatever she pretended to be for the last sixteen years of my life. Ok, harsh but that woman was hardly my mother.

Donna finally let me go, wiping the tears from her eyes. “You have no idea how worried I was when I came home this afternoon.”

“I’m sorry, Donna, I didn’t think.”

I’d completely flaked this afternoon. Of all the calls I could have made, I forgot her. Ok, actually I didn’t forget; I just didn’t want to get her involved. I knew if I called her she’d run home as fast as she could. Then she’d want to be right in the thick of things. It would be like Greece all over again and I’d have to worry about her instead of fighting the real threat. My mind would have been torn in two different directions and that’s how people get hurt.

“When I saw the police and then the state of the house….”

Grandma interrupted. “Donna dear, why don’t you come into the kitchen and help me fix dinner.”

Grandma walked over and took Donna by the shoulders, she numbly followed. It was clear that Donna was a little shaken up. I felt bad about putting her through all of this but I was a lot happier that she was safe and sound. As soon as they were gone, it was just Mom, Jason and me. Mom and I were still looking at each other. Jason looked from her to me and back then slipped his hand from Mom’s grasp. He got to his feet like a stiff soldier. Or maybe that’s how he always stood up; I never really seemed to notice until now. He smiled weakly at me.

“I think I’ll leave you two ladies alone.”

He made a quick exit. I had half a mind to run across the room and strangle him. How dare he leave me alone with her?

Mom didn’t look too happy about the prospect either. We were both uncomfortable. I slunk over to grandpa’s chair. It was still tipped over, broken. I righted it and sat down; a spring stabbed me in the butt. I hardly noticed, more concerned that my mother was about to pass out or something. I’ve never seen her so pale and I was certain now that she’d been crying. Her eyes were red and her makeup was streaked. Mom never wore much, just some eyeliner and blush. I could lines in it from where the tears had run down her cheeks. She was trembling too. It was slight but it was pretty apparent. I thought maybe she was cold so I looked around for a blanket. Grandma usually kept one on the back of the couch but it appeared to be gone now.

I looked around the chair, thinking maybe it somehow got dislodged in the fight. But I couldn’t find it.

Then Mom spoke. It was soft at first but then she spoke louder and what she said made no sense. “To Hell with them.”

Whatever she said seemed to fuel her next move. She jumped to feet quickly and was across the room in an instant. I flinched, wondering if she was going to attack me. Instead, she threw herself at me and her arms went around my neck. It took me a few seconds to realize it was a hug. It was kind of messed up one but it was hug nonetheless. I was shocked, not sure how to react. Mom had never hugged me in my entire life. Then she started crying. She sobbed for the longest time, her head on my shoulder. It was different than when grandma did it earlier or even from when Donna did it only moments ago. I’m not sure what it was but I liked it.

I gently touched the back of her head and stroked it. We stayed like that for some time.

“I’m sorry,” she sobbed finally. “I’m so so sorry.”

“It’s ok Mom,” I said softly. “Everything is going to be ok now.”

She shook her head, pulling away from my chest. “Its not ok, it’s never been ok. They tried to steal you from me, my baby; they tried to take my baby.”

“They were bad people Mom. I stopped them.”

Mom shook her head. “Not them, not now.”

I was confused. “What are you talking about?”

“When you were born,” she said slowly and softly, finally getting her tears under control. “When you were born, I had a dream. Hera came to me, told me how special you were. I was so proud. Julia used to tell Vanessa and me stories, used to fill our heads with great adventures about the Amazons. She told me I was special and I think Vanessa hated her for it. That’s why I was chosen I think, I was special. I thought I was the one, you know.”

I nodded. “You are special Mom.”

She shook her head. “You’re the special one. I’m sorry I didn’t see it before but I was angry. They used me and then they told me that I couldn’t keep you.”

“Grandma and grandpa?”

“No” she said “Hera. She said you were destined for greatness and to be great, no mortal woman should raise me. She wanted to spirit you away, raise you on that island with the best tutors that she could find. She’s a horrid woman you know, you can’t trust her.” I nodded. “But I fought back; I wouldn’t let them take you. She got angry, very angry. I’m not sure what she did but suddenly it was like you didn’t matter anymore. For the longest time you didn’t matter. Inside I was screaming but on the outside I was bitter and cold, so very cold.”

“Its ok, Mom. Everything is ok.”

But it wasn’t. I’d never been so angry in my entire life. I knew Hera was no good, I knew the myths and legends. But it was the damn hardwiring. I think she did something to me too, made me loyal to her. I’m not sure when it all changed, maybe during the fight with Artemis or maybe after. Things were different now; my mind was clear in that. The hardwiring was still there but it wasn’t driving me so much. I’m sure if I spoke to her again she’d have some explanation, some way to weasel out of it. But it didn’t matter, especially not after what she apparently did to my mother.

It was unforgivable.

“I’ll make it up to you,” Mom sobbed. “I promise I’ll make things right again.”

She cried some more and I let her. Grandma came to the entryway separating the kitchen and the living room. She was crying, too. She was angry as well; I could see it in her eyes. She probably felt as betrayed as I did. Hera might not have been responsible for Circe but she was as much to blame for it. She played me like a fool. This whole time, telling me all that crap about Amazons. She was trying to force me to be someone I wasn’t, someone I wasn’t prepared to be. But I was almost there now, almost to the person that I was meant to be. Not the person she tried to create. Grandma and I locked eyes and I think she knew what I was thinking. I think she was thinking it, too. There was something else at play here, something far worse than Circe. The Gods were playing with me and I didn’t like one bit.

Grandma came into the living room after a few more moments. She managed to get Mom away from me and lead her into the kitchen. Mom was a wreck and it was all Hera’s fault. I followed shortly thereafter. It was quiet at the dinner table for a while. Then Mom started talking. She apologized to everyone and then told us when things changed. She was in the middle of class and it was like a switch was flicked. I think it might have been around the time I put the vambraces on. It kinda made me happy inside to know that I might have saved my own mother from herself.

We talked a lot. We all talked for hours. Mom wanted me to come back to the city with her but I wasn’t ready. I wanted to but there was so much stuff I had to do here first. I think she understood, she said she was happy and she’d wait. It would probably be a while before things were really good between us but it was a start, right? After that she wanted to know all about my life, it was as if we were meeting for the first time. She asked me loads of questions and was particularly interested in Connor. Never once did she mention my old life as Charlie, it was if this was who I was meant to be all along. We also never mentioned my new status, whatever that was. I think she might have been a little weary about the whole super Amazon thing. It was a hot topic with us and one day we’d have to deal with it but it was fine that that day wasn’t tonight. I never thought I’d say this but I actually enjoyed talking with my mother.

I talked with Mom until it was time to go to bed. She and Jason left, both of them hugged me at the door. Mom and I made plans to meet up after school tomorrow, to start some real bonding time together. I’m not sure if it was going to last though. There was a lot of bad history between the two of us and I really liked all this new her but for some reason I was afraid of it too. I still don’t understand what Hera did to her and if this release was temporary or not. I knew from Greek Myth that the Gods took pride with screwing with mortals and Hera was particularly vengeful. She held grudges and didn’t like it when her plans were ruined. I’m not sure what her ultimate goal was but I was certain it was no good.

When I went to bed that night I was kinda sad when I looked at the window. I’d gotten so used to Glaucus sitting there that it was strange that he wasn’t. I’m not sure where he went but I think whatever job he had was now over.

After taking my shower in the morning, I went downstairs to a surprising sight. Jay and Kate were gone; I guess I was expecting that. But what I wasn’t expecting was Agent Faraday. He was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a cup of coffee. The newspaper was sitting in front of him. I paused in the entryway, wondering what this was all about. Grandma was at the stove, fixing up some eggs and bacon, I noticed an extra plate. It looked like the Agent was going to be joining us for breakfast. I took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen like everything was normal. I kissed grandma on the cheek and sat in my usual seat. Faraday sipped his coffee and smiled at me.

“Good morning Cassie” he said pleasantly “sleep well?”

I nodded. “As well as can be expected, considering”.

I looked at the newspaper. I half expected to see something about the spa on the front page. Instead, it was another story about Olivia Queen, someone tried to kill her again. I didn’t really read the details but it sounded like she was having some real problems in California. I looked from the paper back to Agent Faraday. He took another sip of his coffee then grandma served us our breakfast. She looked at Faraday a little wearily as she sat down. For the longest time the three of us ate in silence. It kinda freaked me out that he was here. He made it very clear the last time he spoke that if I ever saw him again it was going to be bad news for me. I suppose after everything I did it was pretty obvious that he’d want to talk to me.

But if he thought, he was going to lock me up somewhere he had another thing coming.

He finally spoke again. “That was a fantastic meal, Mrs. Kapatelis” He picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth. “It reminds me of when I was a boy.”

Grandma thanked him.

I got impatient. “You didn’t come here for breakfast. So what’s the deal?”

He smiled. “Right to the point. I like the direct approach.”

Grandma cleared her throat. “I assure you Agent Faraday that my granddaughter has done everything right. She saved your men last night and stopped a very dangerous thing from happening. You can’t still think that she’s a threat to national security.”

Faraday laughed. It kinda freaked me out actually. Then he reached into his jacket and took out a large envelope, how he concealed it I don’t know. He set the envelope on the table and then smiled at grandma. “Mrs. Kapatelis, I’m not here to drag your granddaughter to prison. In fact far from it actually.”

Now I was confused. “But you said if I ever saw you again…”

He waved it off with a laugh. “I was trying to scare you.” He laughed some more, I didn’t think it was very funny. “No, the real reason I’m here is to tell you that you impressed the hell out of my boss, which if you knew him is a very hard thing to do I assure you. As I’m sure you know the Department of Extraordinary Operations doesn’t really get impressed very often. We’re a relatively new organization and we’re still trying to work out the kinks but my boss made it very clear that you are a great asset to this country.”

I knew where this was going I think and it kinda shocked me. “What are you saying?”

Faraday pushed the envelope across the table. “I’m offering you a position in our organization, Cassie. You’ll work directly under me in the Department of Metahuman Affairs, junior agent level. Your job will be on a case-by-case basis, meaning you’ll come in when we need you. Much like with Agent Allen, you’ll work with your own kind.”

I didn’t take the envelope. I didn’t really know what to do or say. When I found my voice, I surprised myself. “I’m not sure if this is really what I was expecting.”

He nodded. “No one expects this but it’s better than the alternative.”

“Which is?”

He shook his head. “You don’t want to know.”

“So in other words I don’t have a choice in the matter?”

He smiled and stood up. “Welcome to the DMA, Agent Sandsmark.”

I sat numbly at the table as grandma led Faraday too the door. I stared down at the envelope in front of me. For the longest time that’s all I did. I couldn’t believe the gall of these people. They didn’t give me much of a choice. Either get locked up or work for them. It pissed me off that they decided what the rest of my life was going to be like. I suppose I could fight it; after all, there wasn’t much they could do to stop me. But I had others to think about. They couldn’t hurt me but they could hurt grandma and Mom. They might even go after Donna and Connor too. Hell, these bastards would go so far as to hurt Cissie too. I groaned, knowing that there weren’t many options.

Work for the government or go to prison. Great choices there. I took a deep breath and finally grabbed the envelope. I opened it up and dumped the contents onto the table. It was a lot of legal stuff I didn’t understand. But on the top of that was my name and picture. Cassandra Elizabeth Sandsmark, underneath which was another name.

CODENAME: Wonder Girl.

Epilogue

The old man sat on the park bench, feeding breadcrumbs to the birds. It was a bitter night, too cold to be sitting in the park like this. The wind was blowing; a bad winter storm was already predicted. In the background, he could hear the faint sounds of rumbling thunder. There hadn’t been a storm like this in the Midwest in a very long time. He’d listened to all the weather reports before he came out this evening, knowing very well that they said that unnecessary travel was not recommended. He would have been scared if he were human. But he was as far from human as a dog or a cat. He only lived in the city periodically, had a little place near the lake. It served its purpose when he needed it but it wasn’t really home. He didn’t really have a home, not anymore anyway.

They were travelers, beings from another dimension. Their real home was destroyed a millennia ago. When they opened a rift in the wall of reality and found this world, they were greeted with fear. The primitive people they discovered didn’t know how to react to such glorious beings. They took on human forms---afraid that the people would not understand their non-corporeal selves---and tried to live normal lives. It didn’t take long for them to realize that normal was not in the cards for them. So instead of living amongst the primitives they went to the highest mountain and set up home there. The primitives started calling the twelve of them Gods and named them Olympians after their home.

He and his people were flattered and after a time grew to enjoy their new status. But he enjoyed the simple life, the only one who liked to live amongst them regularly. The others were scared of man and all the darkness their hearts. But he cherished them. He loved them for their minds, for their compassion and yes, for their ability to never give up no matter what. He also loved that for all their faults, they seemed to stand up and fight back no matter what.
A loud boom of thunder sounded, followed by a bright flash of lightning. Suddenly he wasn’t alone on the bench anymore. Another man was there, arrived in a blink of the eye or so it seemed. The other reached over and took some crumbs from the little bag, scattering them for the birds as well. Neither said anything for a few minutes. Then the Other spoke:

“Why do you wear this form, my Daughter?”

The old man sighed. “It soothes me, Father.”

The Father laughed his black beard bobbing. “It unsettles me, change it please.”

The old man nodded and his form dissolved. His body transformed into a beautiful woman with long raven hair. She was dressed in a bomber jacket, tight jeans, knee-high boots. She wore glasses even though she didn’t really need them and her cane transformed into a ring on her finger, which looked like an owl’s head. She turned to the man sitting next to her, her father. He was dressed in a long duster coat with a wide brim hat, looking like a detective from a 1930's serial. She smirked, wondering if he knew his look was so outdated and clichéd.

“Is this better, Father?”

“Much my Daughter” said the man as he leaned and kissed her on the forehead.

The Daughter smiled. “Was all this really necessary? We let her go after all. I could have locked the Sorceress up for another thousand years for all she did and yet you made me let her go. She could have told us who was behind all this.”

The Father sighed. “That is why I am me and you are you. You take everyone as if they will tell you the truth. If we had captured her and interrogated her, she would have lied. Or else your Brother would have interfered, he loves her so.”

“You think he is involved?”

The Father laughed. “I think that any chance he gets your Brother will take it. He’s a bitter man.”

“I could take him Father?”

“No, my Daughter, he’s too smart for that. There’s nothing connecting this to him. He’ll have covered his tracks far too well.”

She sighed and nodded. “What of the Mother? What is her plan in all this?”

“Jealous I believe. You know how angry She gets. I think she thought she was teaching me a lesson. She’s already been dealt with. The patronage of the Amazons has been returned to your sister, your Mother will no longer have any control in what goes on there.”

The Daughter smiled. “And what of the Amazons?”

The Father smiled. He reached into his coat and took out a picture. It was a recent one; he took it himself only a few mere hours ago. It depicted a blonde girl of about sixteen, on her way into school. He reached forward with a finger and gently stroked her face. He sighed. Oh how he wished to hold her in his arms again. He’d already risked too much with her as it is. Especially when he carried her off to bed that night when she fell asleep on the couch. He broke his own rules then, going into her world like that. But he couldn’t help it; it had been so long since he’d actually had a mortal daughter.

“Father? Are you all right?”

He sighed and stuck the picture back into his coat. He nodded. “The Amazons are in good hands. Your little sister is strong and powerful. She has a lot of trials ahead of her but she will prove herself to be the new Queen. I could not be more proud of her.”

The Daughter nodded. “My Brother won’t like that you’re showering so much of your time on her.”

The Father nodded and stood. “Indeed he won’t.”

“What do we do?” asked the Daughter.

“We watch and wait. Your Brother will get impatient and try something. But I have a feeling something wonderful will happen to stop him.”

The Father disappeared after that, leaving the Daughter alone. She smiled, transforming back into the old man. She reached into the bag and scattered more bread crumbs. There was a distant hoot and she smiled. Her little sister was powerful, that she had no doubt. She would make a great Queen of the Amazons and something wonderful was going to happen.

Something Wonderful indeed.