grumpywolf
patreon
[Caterpillar] Chapter 10 - Origins
🕑 Added 2023-12-24 23:56:05 +0000 UTCAN: The reactions towards Naruto's "limiter" were mixed. I'm not upset with that, I was expecting it. I mean I can see why it would be annoying for some but on the other hand, I did not want to make Naruto ridiculously OP either. There have to be some consequences for him using a power belonging to the realm of the gods. I want him to be powerful, not invincible. With the DC characters' power levels being restricted mostly to the ones they have in the animated movies/series, if Naruto did not have a limiter to his power, he would just stomp everything. But it goes the other way around too: if Superman or Darkseid or Wonder Woman were as powerful as they were in the comics where they could destroy gods and planets with a fart, Naruto would similarly get stomped.
So there has to be a balance. At least in my opinion. Furthermore, I think this limiter makes sense. As I have explained to someone in a pm, when Naruto draws in natural energy, it's like he's drinking from a well. I think it makes sense for him to become ill if the water in the well is poisoned.
Enjoy the new chapter!
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
Chapter 10 - Origins
"Yes, a burrito with extra cheese. Yes, the top floor. The name is Diana Prince."
Placing her smartphone on the coffee table in her spacious living room, Wonder Woman focused on drying off her wet hair with a head towel. She had just come out of the shower, proof of that also being that there was only a white towel wrapped around her torso.
A few minutes later, the doorbell rang and she left her head towel on the backrest of the sofa as she sat up and went to open the door.
"Good evening, ma'am. Here's your-"
The delivery boy's words died in his throat 2 seconds after that door opened.
"Good evening. Is there a problem?" Wonder Woman asked, completely oblivious.
"N-No," he said, his face quickly becoming as red as an apple.
Long black hair, wet, barely out of the shower, striking blue eyes, defined cheekbones, full lips and a body even a model would be envious of... a body wrapped in only a white towel that strained to contain her voluptuous breasts and left her soft shoulders and strong yet still feminine thighs and legs bare. In truth, the costume she wore on a daily basis in public while fighting crime did not cover much more than the bath towel but there was a stark difference in the atmosphere surrounding her at that time and in the present.
Till the very end of the transaction, the delivery boy fumbled very flusteredly. He almost dropped the package with food when he handed it to her and, after getting her money, he bolted away, forgetting to give her the change. But he turned around after a few seconds, his face even redder than before, boiling, upon realizing his mistake.
Wonder Woman giggled softly.
"It's alright, you can keep the change. Thank you and have a nice evening!" she said with a smile and waved in goodbye.
She may have been oblivious in the first few seconds but Wonder Woman was not stupid. She realized the reason for the boy's embarrassment. After starting to live as Diana Prince among regular people, she began to understand how big was the effect of her physical appearance on most men.
'What I don't get is why almost everyone acts like that when I'm Diana Prince but nobody shows any reaction in front of Wonder Woman...'
Scenes like the previous one when men became "star-struck" were not really that common (hence her amusement) but it was a fact that dozens of men had tried to hit on Diana Prince during the past few months since she adopted this civilian identity yet hardly anyone seemed to like Wonder Woman as a woman.
'Maybe it's because Wonder Woman looks like an untouchable being, powerful and dangerous, while Diana Prince is a normal but attractive and rich human girl?'
What Wonder Woman was completely unaware of was that her hero persona was way, way more popular with men (and not only) than her civilian identity. It was just that nobody would dare to express their honest thoughts in front of someone who could bend steel with her bare hand and throw cars around like they were pebbles. If she had browsed the internet for even as little as 2 minutes, typing 'Wonder Woman' in the search engine, she would have seen how different the situation was. But she had never done that. She did not know about the hundreds of blogs dedicated to worshipping Wonder Woman or about the existence of websites like rule34...
With these idle thoughts, Wonder Woman came back to the living room and, after plopping herself down on the sofa, she grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. Then, she opened the paper bag and grabbed the burrito from it. She took a huge, very unladylike bite from her burrito and an expression of bliss appeared on her face.
"...what looked like an enormous ship of alien invaders appeared above Jump City-"
Wonder Woman put her burrito down for a moment with a dissatisfied expression and changed the channel.
"Everyone is asking the same question: who is the newly-emerged hero?"
The princess' expression darkened and she changed the channel once more.
"The Justice League has yet to release a statement in regards to the previous incident so we don't know what exactly had transpired-" the host of the show on TV said but one of his partners interrupted him:
"Nonsense! It's as clear as day that he's a hero. Everyone saw and heard that hologram of the spaceship's commander. Those alien freaks would have destroyed the entire city if they hadn't found their allegedly dangerous prisoner. This new hero saved millions of people that night in Jump City and with no collateral damage at that! If that ain't what being a hero means then I don't know what is."
Her face now scrunched up in annoyance, Wonder Woman changed the channel again. It was a music channel this time. A large group of women dressed in a bikini and other types of promiscuous outfits were dancing on the beach while two men were singing:
"Bitches ain't shit but hoes and tricks
Bitches ain't shit but hoes and tricks
Lick on these nuts and suck the dick" (1)
Suddenly, the sound of a crash was heard when the remote control was slammed into the large flat screen of the tv, cracking it beyond recognition. A small vein was pulsating on the temple of Wonder Woman.
"Men! All men are the same!" she said in anger.
But she closed her eyes and breathed out in an attempt to regain her composure.
'No, there are good people among men too.' She conceded in her mind once she calmed herself down a little.
It had been almost one year since she had come to "The Man's World" and she had seen in her fellow members of the Justice League that men were not all that bad. At least not all were as bad as she had been taught to believe. There were also brave, honest, noble and self-sacrificing characters among them.
'But they are a minority. The average men out there...'
She let out a long sigh and massaged her temples with her hands. Since the Justice League's clash against the alien mercenary in Jump City and the Gordanian Ship's following destruction, the Earth had been thrown into an uproar. Her level of stress and her worries were off the charts.
Videos of the incident in Jump City spread on the internet like wildfire. The videos did not contain scenes of Naruto's clash against the Justice League because all the civilians evacuated the area after Koriand'r went on a rampage but they all contained the scene of a man glowing in yellow and red light, almost like an angel, annihilating the enormous half a mile-long alien spaceship. In the general population's eyes, he was a newly emerged hero. They had no idea that he had fought against the Justice League at first.
That said, the entire Justice League was very rattled by the incident. Batman hid in his Batcave and has not spoken to anyone ever since, John Stewart was summoned to Green Lantern Corps' HQ in an urgent fashion and Wonder Woman herself just stayed at home all day, in her apartment, eating junk food and hiding from the crazed reporters. The rest of the Justice League did the same too but after seeing the huge disparity of power between them and the alien, Wonder Woman, in particular, was almost starting to question her abilities. Of what use had it been that she had trained for thousands of years as an Amazon when someone could just obliterate everything in their path with a snap of their fingers?
But she was stopped from continuing that line of thought when the doorbell rang again.
"Who could it be at this hour?"
It was already past 10 pm; it was night. Furthermore, she had no real friends or social life outside the Justice League and if they wanted to contact her, Martian Manhunter would have done it through their comms or even telepathy. There was no need to come all the way to her apartment. But when she looked through the door's peephole, a startled cry came out of her mouth:
"Mother?!"
⁂
Long blonde hair, blue eyes and wearing a white robe and a golden tiara on her head: it was none other than Hippolyta, the Queen of the Amazons and Wonder Woman's mother.
"We haven't seen each other in so long. Don't I get a hug from my daughter?" Hippolyta said.
Wonder Woman embraced her mother tightly and she took her hands in hers after she broke the hug.
"What brings you here?"
"Does a mother need a reason to visit her child?" Hippolyta asked teasingly.
"You've never visited me before and I..." Wonder Woman trailed off.
For a little while, mother and daughter became silent. Due to their laws, as the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta had had to exile her own daughter even despite the fact that she had broken those laws for the sake of saving their lives. Because of that, Wonder Woman could not visit her mother and her fellow Amazon sisters even if she wanted.
"Yesterday night, while I was in meditation, I sensed an incredible magic power. It was like the power of a god. I've come to the Man's World because I was worried about you."
"We met a very powerful foe. The strongest we've ever faced. He defeated the entire Justice League effortlessly. We could not do anything against him. If he had been evil, I don't know how many of us would have been alive now."
Hearing Diana's words, Hippolyta took her in her arms and embraced her again.
"My little stars and sun!" she said lovingly.
"Mother." Diana also said and hugged her back.
They were warriors, born for battle and they were both several thousand years old... but when it was just the two of them, Diana and Hippolyta were not Wonder Woman and the Queen of the Amazons but just a daughter and a mother that loved each other dearly.
"It's time I told you the truth, something I've hidden from you forever," Hippolyta said and then she took out a pendant from her neck.
An incantation spoken in an Ancient Greek language came out of her mouth and the pendant started glowing with dark blue light, coating the entire living room with its colour.
"This is a very powerful spell, one that was cast upon this medallion by your father himself. For a short while, no one will be able to see or hear what is happening in this room."
"My father?" Diana asked in a strange voice. "What do you mean? You said you sculpted me from clay and the Gods of Olympus themselves blessed me with life and their powers."
"Oh, the Gods did bless you with their powers after you were born. But they did not give you life. I gave you life...together with your father."
"This-...!"
Wonder Woman was at a loss, unable to find her words. She was almost 3000 years old. For three millennia, she believed that she had been made from clay. That was also why her devotion to the gods was so intense. Because she believed that everything she was, was because of the Gods. But now, her mother suddenly told her that that had been a lie from the beginning.
"Why did you lie to me? All this time, I-" Diana said in agitation.
"I did it to protect you. To protect you from those that would have wanted to kill you if they had known about your true origins."
"Who would have wanted to kill me? Who would have even been able to? The Amazons are under the protection of the Gods!" Diana said.
"You and I both saw how much protection the Gods gave us when Faust had turned everyone to stone. The Gods... they do not care about the Amazons that way. We... are expendable. Just tools that they can use as they see fit. If we broke, they would just create another set of tools to replace us. In front of the Gods, mortals mean nothing."
"Mother!" Wonder Woman shouted scandalized.
What Hippolyta had just said could very well be considered as blasphemy against the Gods! It was the first time that Wonder Woman had ever seen her mother speak like that about their gods and wearing that expression of bitterness on her face.
"You've ever wondered why the Amazons were punished to guard the Gates of Tartarus for eternity?" Hippolyta asked.
"Was it not because you aided Hades and the Titans in their battle against the Gods of Olympus?" Diana replied.
"But why would Hades, Zeus' brother try to plot against him by siding with the Titans? And why would we, the Amazons, support Hades in his rebellion? Do you really think I was so blindly in love with Hades that I just went along with whatever he wanted without questioning the fate of my people?" Hippolyta continued to ask.
Seeing her daughter falling silent, she continued:
"One day, Hades came home while I was bathing and he joined me in."
"Mother!" Diana cried out, her cheeks instantly turning rosy in embarrassment. She did not want to hear any details about her mother's sex life. But Hippolyta continued unbothered by her daughter's protests:
"Like any other couple, we started to make love. But I noticed that the way he was kissing me was different from before. Hades was a gentle lover, very caring and conscious of my needs. But that day, he was acting strangely. Rougher, more dominant, more selfish. I did not like it... However, by the time I realized that something was terribly wrong, it was too late. He had already spilt his seed inside of me. Him being such a quick shot and then teleporting away immediately after that further cemented my suspicions: that man had not been Hades. It had been someone else."
"Don't tell me!" Diana muttered with her hands covering her mouth in disbelief. It was not hard for her to guess what had actually happened.
"It had been Zeus all along. You know very well the history and how many women he had raped before. In my case, he had not dared to do it openly. He had disguised himself as Hades, who was my lover at that time. Naturally, I did not hide what happened from Hades. You can imagine his and my rage at Zeus. But we could not do anything against him. He is the king of Gods for a reason. No one could ever defeat him, except for goddess Athena maybe, one day."
"Coincidentally, around that time, the Titans waged war against Olympus. Hades jumped at the chance to get his revenge against Zeus. Though I hated Zeus too for what he did to me, I was reluctant to join him. As the leader of my people, I did not want the Amazons to be embroiled in a war of the gods. But he guilt-tripped me into accepting it, accusing me of colluding with Zeus behind his back. Zeus forcing himself on me that day...it had changed him. He became more taciturn, quick to anger, and always ready to explode. Hades became very different from the man I had once fallen in love with."
"As for the rest, it is as you know it: the Titans lost the war and Hades was exiled to Tartarus while the Amazons were punished to guard its gates for eternity for having sided with him."
A poignant silence followed.
"I assume Hera would have wanted to kill me if she had known that Zeus cheated on her again?" Diana asked.
"Yes," Hippolyta answered. "But if Zeus has one quality that is that he cares about his children. Together with Great Athena, they made a plan. They gave me an enchanted necklace that hid my pregnancy and they also told me to sculpt a baby out of clay. When it was time for you to be born, they pretended to give life to that form of clay."
"Knowing that, as the daughter of Zeus, your strength would far exceed that of your fellow Amazons, Great Athena sealed your powers. To remove any possibility of Hera becoming suspicious even of your sealed strength, goddess Athena organised a birthday party for the newborn you, a party where she invited the rest of the gods to bless you."
"Goddess Athena blessed you with her wisdom."
"Goddess Demeter blessed you with her strength."
"Goddess Aphrodite blessed you with her beauty."
"God Hermes blessed you with his ability of flight and speed."
"Goddess Artemis blessed you to have unity with nature and wild beasts and affinity to fire."
"Goddess Hestia blessed you with the power to discern the truth."
"...and now, the truth shall set you free."
"You are Diana, the Princess of the Amazons, the daughter of Queen Hippolyta and the King of Gods, Zeus!"
The sound of chains being snapped was heard and an aura of power and nobility burst out from Wonder Woman's body. Had it not been for the powerful spell coming off from the medallion that Zeus had enchanted, just that release of aura would have blasted the top floor of the building to dust.
"The spell will not hold on for too long, Diana!" Hippolyta said urgently. "Where are your bracelets? Put them on immediately!"
Though extremely bewildered by her mother's words and the massive changes she could feel taking place in her body, Diana automatically listened to her mother's words and tried to run to her bedroom where she had left her uniform.
"Wait, don't move away from this spell's range! Just tell me where they are and I'll get them for you!"
Not long after that, Hippolyta returned with the Bracelets of Submission and gave them to her daughter. After she put them around her wrists, Hippolyta said:
"Unless it's a matter of life and death like it was two days ago, never take these off. They will continue to suppress and hide your true nature and powers as long as you wear them. Never tell of your identity to anyone, unless you don't have a choice. The moment you take them off, the Gods will take notice of you and Hera will learn of your identity as well. An angry and jealous Hera is no less dangerous than her enraged husband."
Looking at Diana who was still silent and had a lost look in her eyes, Hippolyta took her once again in her arms and hugged her to her chest.
"I'm sorry I had to hide this from you for so long. If I hadn't been afraid I could lose you, I would have never told you the truth. I never cared about how powerful you could be while you were at my side. All I ever wanted was for you to be happy. To be safe and to feel loved."
Diana could feel her mother's tears wetting the crook of her neck. She had never seen her cry, she had never seen her as vulnerable as that before.
Hippolyta broke the hug and she raised her hands to cup her daughter's cheeks, making it so their blue eyes locked on each other.
"Even though Zeus forced himself on me, I never regretted giving you birth, Diana. I swear this on the River Styx."
"You are my little stars and sun. You are the joy of my life, my beloved daughter. Never think otherwise!"
Hearing her mother's pleading and filled with love voice and seeing her tears made Diana's eyes start swimming in tears too. She leaned into her mother's touch and hugged her tightly once more. Though her heart had been shaken by these revelations, the love and respect she had for her mother only increased after learning the truth.
That night, Hippolyta did not return to the Island of Paradise. That night, Wonder Woman, a 3000-year-old woman, a valiant and tough warrior, slept like a vulnerable little girl, curled up in her mother's embrace. In contrast, Hippolyta stayed awake for a long time, watching her daughter sleep. A gentle expression was on her face as she softly caressed Diana's head.
AN: It's a story similar to the one in canon but with my own little twist on it. I think it's weird how they always did Hades dirty in most animations when, if you look at Greek Mythology, Hades is actually one of the more decent gods out of the entire Pantheon. He is not completely good but he is okay-ish when compared to how degenerated others were. He also joined hands with Zeus and Poseidon against the Titans. But in the animated JL series, he betrayed Zeus for no reason. We have no explanation.
I combined the two versions of Wonder Woman's origins with a tiny bit of mythology and the JL series' storyline. I think Hades' betrayal of Olympus makes a bit more sense this way. But do feel free to let me know what you think about it in the reviews if you have a different opinion.
(1) For those who are curious, the lyrics are from Dr Dre feat Snoop Dog - Bitches ain't shit. I've always found hilarious the thought of someone like Wonder Woman coming into contact with the world of rap music lmao.
