Odyssey of Truth

Participants: Diana Prince and Jason Prince
Open/Closed: Closed
Location(s): Themyscira, Aegean Sea and more
Time of Day: Various
Weather: Various
Summary: The unearthing of a sacred prophecy starts Diana on a quest that will change countless lives forever...

The Invisible Plane came to a silent, still halt in the skies above the island. A square of light opened in the empty air, and from it a streak of gold, crimson and navy exploded. Over the idyllic and verdant landscape of Paradise it swept, turning the heads of beast and Amazon alike. The ribbon of color arced to the capital city of Themyscira, and only there, at a marble pavilion high on the cliffs overlooking the rest of the civilization, did it stop.

Diana's booted feet had hardly touched the ground, then she was walking, just barely keeping her pace beneath a run. The two warriors guarding the doors to the structure uncrossed their spears to allow Diana passage and lowered them again after her. The princess stepped into the quiet chamber, its exterior walls nothing but pillars that let in the breeze and sunlight unfettered, and stopped.

Hippolyta stood at a circular chamber in the heart of the wide space. By her side, and the only other person present, was Penelope, the spiritual leader of Themyscira; their high priestess and, above all their oracle. On the table between Hippolyta's bracing arms was a stone tablet riddled with etchings. Mother and daughter traded looks. Penelope worried over the edge of her robe, biting on her lower lip.

Without a word, the Queen pushed away from the table, making room for Diana to move in and survey the tablet and its inscriptions. Hippolyta turned to face the open air between two pillars and Penelope drifted with her, still fretting. Diana brushed the fingertips of her right hand against her lariat and ran her left hand over the grooves of the ancient stone. No deceit lay in the object. Not that Diana expected it. It was hallowed - divine - wrought by the gods. She had felt as much as soon as stepping into the room.

"And it just appeared? After all the upheaval, the destruction and rebuilding over the years, this tablet manifested as though it had always been in the Hall of Prophecy?" Hippolyta's voice sounded a great distance away as Diana read the lines of ancient Greek for the umpteenth time. "Yes, my Queen. I know every inch of my charge. The niche it was resting in was not there just one sunset past." They continued to discuss in soft, urgent voices to one another, and only stopped when Diana finally turned to face them. The prophecy was now as permanently fixed in her memory as it was on the stone.

"What does this mean?" she asked, simply, tone gentle. The Queen crossed the distance between them and lay a hand on her shoulder. "That, my daughter, is for you to find out."

- - - - -

The Aegean Sea glittered like a sea of lapis lazuli beneath her. The wind was up enough to set the water dancing and send Diana's hair lashing in an inky halo around her shoulders. The Amazon's grey eyes looked down at the rolling sea, stretching from misty horizon to misty horizon, a few Aegean isles dotted here and there. A small fisherman's vessel cut a masterful line between the currents in her sight, manned by a single figure. A man who, even at this distance, Diana could see an unnerving amount of herself in.

Jason's life was simple enough. There were the occasional parties, hookups, but most of his time he spent fishing. He enjoyed spending time with other people but fishing was his passion. He wasn't sure what about it just called to him - Perhaps the years he'd spent learning it from Glaucus, how it had been a bonding moment with the man he'd known as his adopted father. Years had gone by since Glaucus had first left him. He hadn't heard a word from the man or seen him for that matter. It'd worried him a lot in the beginning - occasionally it still did - but he knew his adopted father could handle himself fine. The worry had slowly faded away to a numbing and then it'd just stopped popping up in his mind.

He'd gone through feeling abandoned and then lonely. He'd long since decided to just enjoy his life as best he could. Fishing was part of that enjoyment. He wasn't sure if there was anything better - mm well there were certainly competitors - to pulling the net out of the water to discover it was full of wiggling fish. As a boy he'd used to worry about the fishes feelings, suddenly yanked from the water, unable to breathe, only to get gutted and cooked. He no longer worried about that - Glaucus had been very confused when he'd voiced those concerns.

He grunted as he pulled the net back onto the boat. Occasionally he had a crew. Today he'd decided to go out himself. There wasn't any specific reason to it. He'd just had... a feeling. He wanted to be by himself on the boat, on the sea. He poured the fish out of the net, filling a barrel. He'd filled three out of five so far. He wanted to fill all five. He moved to the steering wheel, deciding to try another spot - He preferred to spread out his fishing. He thought if he took too many fish from one area, they might start avoiding the area. That or he might piss off an Atlantean - He'd heard about them.

He was just about to turn the engine back on when he froze. There was... this feeling. It was like a presence. He looked around but he was truly alone on the boat and there weren't any other vessels he could sea. He risked a glance overboard but couldn't see anything obvious in the sea. The presence felt so familiar as if he'd known it his whole life, almost as if it was a part of him. Yet... He knew he'd never felt this before. Unsure, he turned his gaze to the sky.

---

441 words
Diana Prince

Diana did not know how long she planned to remain there, looking down on that lone fisherman in the lap of the Aegean Sea. She was ordinarily fearless in all things, but there was something about that next step. Something intimate and vulnerable and momentous. Diana felt that many things were about to change, and that, looming over her, had her suspended in time, mulling over so many thoughts and emotions that nothing was accomplished.

Then the fisherman shifted. He looked upward, and Diana felt their gazes lock, even though each was a speck to the other. Diana inhaled slowly, and offered one last prayer up to her gods to give her wisdom and foresight. The Amazon drifted, still upright, downward. Within a dozen heartbeats she was floating directly over the boat, and she and the fisherman had not stopped staring into the other's eyes at any point. "My name is Diana," she said gently, in Greek, when only a span of ten feet separated them. "May I come aboard?"

Poseidon had stilled the waters of the Aegean, turning the surface tranquil. Diana waited for confirmation, then hovered down until her booted feet touched the deck of the proud vessel. Standing now just out of reach, Diana stared into the face of Jason, the fisherman. There were a dozen similarities - the lines of their proud cheekbones, the set of their chins, the particular, glossy black sheen of their thick, wavy hair. Above all, Diana looked into Jason's bright, blue eyes, and remembered her own, the same exact brilliant hue, that she'd had until the goddess Athena gave her the grey ones she now bore.

Wordlessly, Diana reached for her hip and collected the lariat that hung, coiled and waiting there. She did not doubt what her eyes beheld, but she could not trust that alone. Not in the world she lived, with the enemies she had. Diana held it in that circle of shimmering rope, offering the other end of it to Jason. His sturdy, sea-callused fingers curled around it, and the truth poured through both of them.

Diana's breathing hitched. She saw a woman near the dawn of humanity, struck down by her mate; her soul and that of her unborn child held in beloved safety by the gods... no... not "child," children; the soul of the woman, made into the Queen of the Amazons; the prayer of that Queen answered by the soul of one unborn child breathed into clay; and the second, little soul secreted away by Zeus, put in its own newly-formed body and given to a fisherman.

From there, the hallowed visions of the lariat split into two prongs. While Diana watched Jason raised by that fisherman, trained in the ways of the sea and of the spear, growing into a dutiful and noble man, Jason saw a seamless tide of the events of Diana's own existence. Lifetimes witnessed in a moment, bringing each side of those prongs back into a reconciled single stream in that instant, a minute before, where they had locked gazes.

Diana's grey eyes brimmed with tears. "Brother," she gasped, and closed the distance, wrapping her arms around him and crushing him against her. She wept tears of joy, and the lariat of truth behaved of its own accord, winding around the Themysciran twins and lighting them up like lanterns of gold. Never before had Diana experienced such a revelation of absolute truth - a lifelong deceit or secret laid to rest - and as a conduit for the power of truth itself, she and the lariat overflowed with power at this profound example of it.

Jason Prince

His eyes widened when he saw her. There was something so familiar about her. He knew who Wonder Woman was, yes, but this feeling... It went beyond that. It was the sort of familiarity that usually came with knowing someone your whole life. He didn't know how he knew she was there, Wonder Woman. His eyes were on nothing more than a speck yet his heart said there was so much more there than a little speck. He had the sudden urge to fly up there and join her despite knowing it was impossible.

The connection he felt between them only seemed to grow, becoming warmer with the distance she crossed as she floated closer and closer. His heart felt like it came to a complete stop, the breath catching in his lungs when she was suddenly directly over the boat and thus him. His eyes had never once wavered from her. She spoke in Greek and hearing his native tongue just made him feel that much closer to her.

"Jason," he supplied, Greek accent dripping from the name. He nodded in response to her question, doubting he could stop her if he wanted but very much not wanting to. His blue eyes watched her, never wavering from her grey ones, as she landed on the ship.

There was something so familiar about her - far more familiar than when you just see someone on television or in the paper. There were details he almost recognized from when he looked into a mirror. But... What did that mean? What did it all mean?

Jason's eyes moved only when he caught her hand moving out of the corner of his gaze, shifting to watch her grab her lasso and wondering what that meant. Did she feel the connection between them too? Did she see it as a threat? No... She didn't mean him any harm. He had no doubts about that. He looked at the end he was offered then looked back up at her before taking it.

His breath hitched in unison with hers. He didn't know how it was possible, seeing what the lasso showed him, figuring out what it meant. Her life flashed before his eyes and the knowledge of what this meant, what they were, crashed into him. He gasped when it was over, letting out breaths in shocked huffs before finding himself suddenly in her arms. His eyes had widened again and it took him a minute, arms hovering near her before he returned the hug fiercely, perhaps even desperately.

Jason had been alone ever since Glaucus had left. He'd had companions over the years but nothing and no one had ever stuck in his life, stuck with him. His only constant companion had become his ship. He'd been lonely - so lonely - but hadn't ever fully realized it until then, until he realized he wouldn't be lonely ever again.

<"Sister,"> he breathed out in Greek, burying his face against her shoulder as he clung to her. He wondered if she'd been as lonely he had. That familiarity at once seemed to be their bond as sister and brother but also... Still more. It felt like his soul recognized hers from before they'd been torn apart. <"I missed you.">

---

541 words
Diana Prince

"And I you," Diana whispered, clutching her brother firmly in her arms. It was a battle of will not to lean into her hallowed strength and crush him. Leaning back, her hands went to his face, a thumb of one hand brushing his sharp cheekbone and the fingers of the other twining in the windswept hair. Her eyes watered and Diana smiled, soft but incomparably bright. "You are so beautiful."

For a long moment they stood there, memorizing each other's faces. Then a thought rose up through the happiness. If Jason had been infused with the fires of Hestia just then, as Diana had, then he would know the reason they were finally reunited. Characteristically, tragically cruel of the Fates, to bring them together for the first time since their souls shared a womb under such grim circumstances.

"I am sorry there is not more time to bask in this moment." Diana closed her eyes mournfully, taking a deep breath. "It seems you and I are to play a pivotal part in the well-being of the Olympians." The Amazon tilted her head, worried that Jason would, understandably, fret or fear at the weight of that burden. "Don't worry," she added, comfortingly, "you get used to it."

- - - - -

Another cruelty added to the list was that Diana could not bring Jason back to Themyscira directly. With every step and passing moment, the etchings of the prophesy that'd brought the twins back together was becoming more and more profound and clear. Time was essential and their heading, for now, clear. Mere minutes had passed, but Diana had already carried Jason into the Invisible Plane and set a course. The misty curvature of the earth bent in the image seen through the windshield before the cockpit.

(OOC: Diana's plane at our plot point was a gift from Batman and isn't invisible to the passengers. So they look like they're in a normal plane right now.)

Jason Prince

Jason chuckled faintly, Diana's hands on his face, his cheeks darkening faintly at the compliment. "I suspect it's genetic," he said because she was quite beautiful herself. He couldn't help staring at her because the longer he did, the more similarities he noticed between them. It was... a mixture of emotions. Shock and surprise because he'd been an only child growing up yet... It was all too familiar at the same time, as if they had never been parted, as if they'd grown up together this whole time. He knew logically that they'd only just been reunited after years, years apart but he felt like he'd known her that whole time.

But this was a reunion and one that was happening for a very specific reason, it seemed. Had Glaucus known about this? A bit of a heads up would have been nice, even if he'd been a kid at the time. Though that probably would have just left him longing for a home, a family far away that he didn't know how to reach. Perhaps it was for the best that he hadn't found out as a kid, if Glaucus had even known the truth.

He sighed faintly when Diana spoke again because she was right - There wasn't more time for them, for this moment specifically at least. He wondered how long it'd taken her to get used to it, having to bail the gods of Olympus out of trouble time and time again. His sigh turned into a chuckle and he gave her a soft smile as he replied, "You'll have to show me how." Somehow he had a feeling he'd turn out alright - possibly even better than alright - with her as his teacher.

- - - -

He'd had to get his boat back to the harbor - after all boats weren't cheap - but that wasn't hard with Wonder Woman as a sister. He'd needed her help getting into her plane, eyes wide the second his feet landed inside. Despite all he now knew, he still had plenty of questions. One was if she'd ever let him fly the Invisible Plane but that was probably best left for when the Olympians' well-being didn't weigh on their shoulders... If it ever wouldn't. More questions regarded, well, powers. Would he ever get any? He liked to think he'd handle them fine if he did manifest any - and if he didn't handle them fine, well again, he'd have a good teacher in his sister.

If he didn't manifest powers? The thought made him pause briefly before taking a seat. He... He didn't think he'd be upset if he didn't get any. Powers were nothing compared to what had just been given to him. He had his sister again. He had a family. He was no longer alone. He had someone to look after and someone to look after him. He liked to think that was and would continue to be enough for him.

"Are we stopping by Themyscira...?" he started to ask, the images of that place, seen from Diana's own memories, still fresh in his mind. His voice trailed off, however, as he realized that wasn't likely to happen at all. He was aware of the rules of the island through Diana's memories. His mother, their mother, was on that island. At least, he thought, he'd gotten to see her with the lasso's help, see her through Diana's eyes.

He cleared his throat a bit awkwardly. "What's the plan? I take it these things aren't usually easy?" He smirked as he asked the questions as a quiet way of letting her know he was prepared to handle anything uneasy thrown at them.

---

608 words
Diana Prince

Jason's first question after they settled into the plane and she set their course struck a heartsick chord in Diana's soul. She looked at him with an empathetic sorrow in her grey eyes. "I would love nothing more than to take you there. To meet our sisters- our mother. And I will... Once the trappings of this prophecy are dealt with." She conveyed her sincerity and determination for that promise with a significant look, then turned her attention back to the controls at the helm.

Diana adjusted several settings. She appreciated Bruce supplying her with this hi-tech approximation of her original vessel, but every time she used it she couldn't help but draw unjust parallels between the two. Diana's first Invisible Plane had been like an extension of her will and body. That's how easy it was to manage. And, while she had no shortage of experience or skill with the Wayne tech aircraft that had replaced it, they... Weren't the same.

"Rarely are these matters straightforward. Already this prophecy explains more than most, for which I am grateful. Still... Much is left in the way of mystery. We have a location, but beyond that?" Diana pressed her lips together in a firm line, somewhere between determination and dislike. She loathed going into a situation blind, but that was unavoidable just then. Just like keeping Jason out of the conflict was unavoidable.

"We'll find out together," she said, giving her twin a small and apologetic smile...

. . . . .

The Invisible Plane touched down on the small isle - Diana wondered if it could be called even that. The jut of rock had room only enough to permit the craft. Craggy, sheer cliffs fell on all sides into a churning sea. Beside the spire of stone the ruined remnants of perhaps a larger land mass were visible faintly just below the ocean's surface. Diana turned her focus from that, though, to the lip of earth that rose ahead of them... And the gaping cavern entrance that yawned there.

Jason Prince

Jason couldn't help looking away, eyes lowering as Diana talked about him meeting their sisters and mother. Blue eyes however snapped right back to her with surprise when she said she would, indeed, take him to meet them after all was said and done. The thought of meeting them all was both exhilarating and suddenly quite nerve-wracking all at once. What if they didn't like him? He wasn't strong like them. He didn't have powers. What if he disappointed them-? He glanced away, looking out the window and focusing on the clouds passing by, interrupting his own thoughts. Through Diana's memories, he felt like he already knew their sisters, their mother. Worrying was pointless. If Diana believed they'd accept him - and he had no doubt that she did - then they would.

He trusted his sister.

"Thank you," he said, turning his head to look at Diana once again, smiling sincerely. He hadn't had a family since Glaucus. He'd spent far too long on his own. He used to think he was fine - lonely at times but fine. He was starting to realize he'd been far lonelier than he'd previously been aware of. It was as there'd been a constant longing, as if somehow he'd known he had family out there, just waiting to be reunited.

At Diana's next words, he couldn't help wondering how many prophecies she'd been a part of but the answer was quickly supplied by his own mind since he'd seen her memories. He leaned forward slightly resting his arms against his knees. He could practically feel her worry for him and couldn't blame her, even if he wanted to assure her he'd be fine. She'd seen his memories and knew Glaucus had made sure he'd received training - that and he'd at one point had a habit of getting into fights. He could wield a spear better than majority, if not any, fishermen out there.

But he didn't have powers. He didn't have armor. He wasn't desperate for those things. He was admittedly curious if he had powers that were just latent but that was a question, a thought to ponder, best left for another time. A time when they didn't have some prophecy looming over their heads. Besides powers and armor didn't matter much to him. Family was much more important and he'd already been gifted with that. But his lack of those things made it easy to understand why Diana would worry. He was more vulnerable to injury than she was, even if she wasn't bulletproof.

"So long as they don't release the Kraken," he said, settling for a joke with a smile he hoped would bring her comfort. "I think we'll be fine." He then added, about their destination, "I hope it's somewhere tropical."

- - - - -

Jason arched an eyebrow as he looked out at their destination. "Tropical" unfortunately wasn't a word he'd use to describe it. His brows furrowed as he followed Diana's gaze to the cave. Right. They were going down there, weren't they? Had he brought a spear with him? He suddenly couldn't remember. Of course Diana probably planned on taking the lead as they entered - It made both tactical and rational sense. She knew the prophecy and out of the two of them, she was the best suited to stop any threat that might arise. He didn't think he'd grabbed his spear before entering the jet. Damn it.

Even if Diana was more than capable of handling herself - and even that felt like an understatement - the thought of leaving her to fend off any attacker by herself felt wrong. It felt like abandoning her. But... That was admittedly a problem for later. They weren't under attack right now. He forced his mind to turn elsewhere.

"That's... Not an entrance to the Underworld, right?" he asked, partially joking and partially quite serious because she had a better chance of knowing than he did.

And he really didn't want to take a trip to the Underworld today.

---

663 words
Diana Prince

Jason wasn't being serious, she thought. But she answered, anyway. "No... The mouth of Hades has a different kind of solemnity to it. Death is natural. The realm that receives it is not a foul place; not all of it. This, though..." Diana studied the gloom that crowded and gathered in the mouth of the cavern entrance, grey eyes narrowed and lips pursed in consideration. "There is a malice. Can you feel it? A will that repels."

The Amazon was fair in guessing that for miles around the islet, that same malevolence drove off any living thing, all the way down to microorganisms. Diana wondered if another foot had touched down on that bit of Gaea's flesh since she was spun forth from Almighty Chaos. She shook her head, ridding it of thoughts that wouldn't change what had to be done.

"In any case, you have a choice to make." Diana walked Jason to an outer compartment of the plane, pressing her palm flat against it, her biometrics were scanned and a panel opened, revealing a small arsenal of Themyscira's finest weapons. "Would that I had proper armor to give you, but the Amazons don't have any meant for your sex, and there was no time to fashion it."

When Jason had selected whatever he wished from the trove of Greco-Roman weapons, Diana closed the panel, took a moment to clasp his shoulder and give a reassuring smile, then turned to face the cavern entrance beside her lost twin. "The first of many trials I hope we conquer together," she said, softly. Then lead the march.

Jason Prince

Jason nodded at her response as if he knew the answer all along without any doubts whatsoever, even adding for good measure, "Right, I knew that." Her memories had supplied him with plenty of information but it was still a lot to sift through and remembering he had her memories to go to, not just his own, was a task in itself - One he was certain he'd get quicker and better at as time went on. Already his mind was sifting through the visions he'd had, trying to find anything that could give him a clue as to where they were, not wanting her to have to do all of the work.

He followed her gaze to the cavern's entrance, frowning faintly at her question. He'd been aware of the feeling in the back of his mind, something that pushed at him, snarling at every bone in his body that he needed to go home, that he'd be much safer on his boat in the middle of a storm than here. Acknowledging the feeling seemed to make it more real, more prevalent to him. He didn't think it suddenly got stronger, just that he'd become more aware of it, causing it to move from the back to the front of his mind. A shiver shot up his spine.

"Whatever it is," he said, looking around them at the lack of, well, anything. "It seems good at what it does." He wasn't about to run away, no matter how much whatever was here wanted either of them to. After all, he was a Prince. He'd never been one to lean toward cowardice and he suspected that was genetic. That and he hadn't been raised to run, especially when lives were at stake.

He followed Diana, watching as she revealed weapons contained in the plane. He eyed them carefully, noting the beautiful craftsmanship. They were certainly better options than his fishing spear. "You sure I can't squeeze into something?" he asked jokingly at the mention of armor. He reached out, brushing his fingers against the length of a spear before grabbing it and testing the weight, the reach, giving it a small spin. He could wield a sword just fine but a weapon like this was what he was best with and most comfortable using.

Jason met her eyes when he felt her hand on his shoulder and mirrored her smile. He gave a nod, feeling more confident by the minute that whatever was behind this, they would discover it and put an end to it together. He followed her to the cavern's entrance, eyes searching as they entered. He was starting to think that there was potentially nothing they couldn't do, especially since they were together.

---

455 words
Diana Prince