My youngest/eldest grandson looks up from the scroll he's studying, distinctively black eyes alighting on my face for a moment before his mouth remembers to smile. He isn't a naturally sombre youth in the way that his brother is, but he is a good deal more nervous. I once asked Pavlos why -after appropriately bracing myself- and he said that it was because he reached his present physical maturity without the years of experience that a normal person would have. And as a consequence Mitchell doesn't have the instincts for social situations that other adults have.
Only programmed responses to social stimuli, like a meat robot. And that's assuming that was even done for him once they realised he was less stable.
I remember the conversation well, because he then paid me a rare compliment. He commended by wisdom in crafting Diana as a babe, rather than as a maiden. Honesty compelled me to tell him that not making her a babe never crossed my mind, which caused him to smile roguishly and exclaim that I made the decision by wise and well-honed instinct.
Though I suspect said babe was at least not
completely new-born age. Lets her skip over the whole 'long sleepless nights' part of motherhood while still having the adorable little one phase.
'Hera forgive me, but I still feel a twinge of pain every time I heard that word. I still feel too young for that...'
His eyes move from me to the scroll, and for a moment I wonder if he's found once of those scrolls. Much as I might wish it otherwise, Amazon erotica is.. generating a rather large part of our foreign currency income at the moment, and I'm not sure if it's due to the quality or the novelty. But, no, or at least not directly. It's Hippasia's work on familial relationships. I remember it well, because I was there when the knife-marks which repeats every few inches were made. Hippasia was a Discordian, and thankfully one of the ones who left for the mainland rather than one of those who sacrificed themselves. She entered the cult with that scroll; decrying the female group family structure and calling for a change to what Diana calls 'the nuclear family'. It was ridiculous; she was born on Themyscira. She'd never even seen one.
On the upside, the mere
existence of their library of ancient hellenic tales and songs is probably doing wonders for literary historians. I mean, would they have more complete bodies of work from such ancient legends as
Sappho?
"What are you studying?"
"Families."
At least this scroll doesn't involve the act of
making them. I bet Mitchell took a look at some of
those, turned red and promptly put them right back.
He answers in a relaxed frame of mind, but I see it in his face as he realises that I might be offended by what he said and begins to try to ward off my anger.
"I-. I mean-."
That lack of social experience showing full force.
I take the bench next to him, then reach out to put my hand on his arm.
"It's alright, Mitchell. Calm yourself."
Ah, what some young men wouldn't give to be in that position. Fortunately he's still at that innocent stage that he'll probably be confused if he ever mentions this to his friends.
Gratifyingly, he does.
"It's-. Amazons have… Mothers."
Well, everyone has a mother... Except him and Kon. is that what this is about, I wonder? Or is it something else...
"And we have fathers. They did not used to play a large role in our lives beyond our conception, but we-. Until Pavlos involved himself, every Amazon knew that she had a father and most knew who he was."
"But if they didn't have anything to do with… Ah, being a father, how come they all know?"
Ironically, she's one of the few Amazons who
can talk about her father in the
present tense, given her partly-divine origin.
"To… Avoid incestuous pairings later in life."
"Oh. Ah, right." He frowns, his eyes avoiding me for a moment before alighting on where my hand remains on his forearm. Then he lifts his eyes to me. "Did..? You have any brothers?"
That could be a bit
awkward. Meet a handsome lad, potentially decide to bed him, only to learn that the two of you share a great-great-grandfather or something.
"No. At least, I do not believe so. For a very long time I believed that I was my mother's only child. Then Pavlos brought me word of Astarte. I suppose the fact that my memory was altered means that I may well have had other brothers or sisters than I no longer remember." I asked him to show me a picture of her face, in the hopes that it might stir my memories. It did not, though I could not deny the family resemblance.
Honestly that was something of a mercy. Imagine growing up remembering that you had an older sister who went away to protect everyone. Imagine the shadow that would leave on you, even if it wasn't obvious.
"And your dad?"
"Ares."
He nods. "What kind of.. relationship do you have with him?"
As little of one as possible, given he's practically the cultural enemy of her people.
"Ares has always been an unwelcome presence in my life. I have spoken to him directly on only a handful of occasions, and then it was to reject any of the plans he had made for me or for Diana."
"Because they were..? Um, bad? Or because fathers don't do that in Amazon culture?"
Unless Ares is very much
not like his usual DC character, I would say downright
evil bad.
"Because they were bad." I sigh as I call the scene to mind. "He wanted me to carry on my mother's work. To continue her wars, her slaughter and subjugations. He was very unhappy that I didn't want to."
"Was he..? More unhappy because you were his daughter, or..? Do you think he'd have been unhappy anyway."
That's a good question. If she had been a warmonger, would he have been silently judging her tactics? Her aggression? Her choices of target, even?
"Having me as a daughter was a point of ego for him. He was more unhappy because someone he saw as an extension of himself wasn't doing what he wanted them to." I shake my head. "He bears no love for me, and I bear none for him."
"Do you think..?"
Ah, the kind of parent that treats children as
accessories, not people in their own right. Those are never pleasant childhoods.
And I watch as his fears and uncertainties defeat him, and his eyes go back to the scroll as his mouth refuses to continue.
"Do I think what, Mitchell?" I pat his arm. "I won't be angry."
Ah. I doubt Ares has been whispering in his ear. Something lingering from the Anti-Life, or is this closer to home?
"Do you think..? You could have had a relationship with him? Maybe… If you'd fought… I don't know, big monsters or something? Would he have been okay with that?"
"Ares is not Athena, Mitchell. Ares stands for the most brutal slaughters. Morals, goals, even martial skill, are second to the slaughter and to humans becoming savage monsters. That is what he revels in."
While that is a strongly Athenian viewpoint, most hellenic city-states did reasonably consider his kind of battle to be bad. If I understand it right, Sparta was the most kindly-disposed towards
him, and even
they didn't like him that much.
"You don't think he could meet you halfway?"
"Would you accept a sword that would only cut the skin of your enemy?"
...To be fair, some shallow cuts can bleed like motherfuckers. Especially head wounds.
He nods. "Yes? That sounds really useful. You'd never have to worry about causing an internal injury by mistake. And if you were sparring-."
I pat his arm, and he stops talking. "Would Ares?"
Somehow, I don't think the answer is 'yes'.
"I guess not. So it was just… Be exactly what he wants you to be, or he didn't want to know."
"No, he knew. He took it as a personal insult. I would say that we have a worse relationship than the one he has with Amazons who are not his daughter."
Which honestly does explain some things about his comics portrayal, and his adversarial relationship with Diana.
Though still better than the one the Heraklya have with their father. But I don't understand why Mitchell is so concerned.
"I thought that you and Conner had a better relationship with Clark now. Has something happened?"
So, has Supes been thinking of them more like younger brothers or cousins than biological offspring, or..?
"No!" Mitchell emphatically shakes his head. "He's great! I was thinking about our other father."
…
"Lex Luthor?" He nods. "I thought that he was your brother's father, but not yours."
That's a good point, But Mitchell probably still thinks of him that way.
He shrugs. "He had me made. I don't have any of his genetics… I mean, I guess my father is Jor-El. But I can't talk to him."
I take a moment within my head to hypocritically chastise my daughter's reticence in the field of romance.
Now, now. At least Diana has a fairly chaste lifestyle. Or is that the problem? She needs to date a nice guy who can... Shall we say 'loosen her up a little'?
"Do you want to talk to Lex Luthor?"
"I don't know? I know he's… A criminal, and he made me so that he'd have a weapon to use against Superman, and there's… Basically no chance. But Paul tried to.. persuade him to stop being evil, and he thought he nearly had it."
And you think you can succeed where he failed? ...While wearing the face of his self-declared mortal enemy?
"Pavlos… Is a remarkable young man, but I have know his judgements at time to be a… A little…"
"Weird?"
Well, you said it, not her. But yes.
"Outlandish."
"Yeah." Mitchell nods. "But you know what he says about evildoers?"
Besides the 'rejoicing when he finds evil' bit?
"Which thing in particular are you thinking about?"
"You should either try and make them better… Or you should kill them so they can't hurt anyone else. Or…" He shifts awkwardly, then manages to look me in the eyes. "Get a god you know to.. hit them real hard with a giant hammer?"
Sadly, killing Lex isn't an option. Nor is divine smiting.
I still can't stop myself smiling, though I imagine if it had happened to anyone else it would be a smile that Ares would approve of.
"It has been known to work, but I do not recommend it for you. Am I to understand then that you want to redeem your father?"
Talk about setting a lofty goal for himself.
He nods. "I'd like to try."
I nod hesitantly. "I think that this is something that you should speak to your mother about."
If nothing else, she can make it clear the
challenge it would be.
