Hall of Justice, 8:30 AM.
July 6th, 2010.
Hours later when the sun is beginning to rise, Diana wakes up to the sound of knocking at the door. With a sigh she gets out of the bed, already dressed in her suit, she opens the door and is greeted by Perseus looking slightly burnt holding a plate of bacon and toast.
"J'onn said you'll like this." He said offering the food to her.
Diana rose a brow, "J'onn huh?" She grabs the plate and takes a bite of toast, "Did you make them yourself Perseus or did J'onn help you?"
Perseus looked off to the side somewhat guiltily, "Well I tried to do it by myself with the info he gave me… but it turns out putting it in practice is harder than just knowing."
Diana looked at her son slowly before bursting out in a fit of laughter; she wipes a tear from her eye before saying, "I don't know what Zatara was so worried about. You're just a boy!" She walks out of the guest room and Perseus follows suit.
"Um, mom." Perseus said hesitantly before quickly adding, "I can call you that right? J'onn let me know how this whole thing is freaky for you, and I don't want to… you know, make you feel disgusted?"
"I'll admit that the source of your creation makes me feel… uncomfortable." She put it lightly before turning Perseus. "Be that is of may, you are still of my blood therefore you are my son. So, it is a given that you should call me mom, though I'd much prefer mother."
Perseus chuckled and walked next to Diana, "That sounds a bit awkward, so I'll stick to mom." They walked in silence until Perseus spoke up again, "I want to be a hero."
That gave Diana pause before she smiled brightly, "Any reason?" She asked but she already had a feeling.
"J'onn didn't just show me the things I needed to be a normal teen." Diana nodded and let Perseus continue, "He also showed me your history; the battles you fought, the people you saved, and I… want to experience something like that."
If Diana's smile could get any wider it would, "And how are you going to do that?" She asked, probing her son's mind for any plan he might come up with. "You're too inexperienced and my enemies are too powerful for me to introduce you so soon."
Perseus froze and began to think, until it clicked. "Those four! At the facility! They were doing some type of team mission right? Three of them were protégés and the fourth one was a clone like me; so, what if I just joined them and we can all learn together." He smiled like he had it all figured out
"That's a fine idea but…" Diana smirked at him, "You plan on leaving the nest so soon?" She teased and Perseus began to stutter.
"Good morning, Diana." J'onn greeted before turning to Perseus, "And to you to Perseus." He pulled out an envelope and hands it to Diana, "Batman requested me to give this to you."
Diana opens the envelope and pulls out a card then reads "For expenses."
"What's it for?" Perseus asks looking at the card.
Diana glances at the black suit Perseus is wearing, "I'd assume it's for getting you civilian clothes." She then turns to J'onn. "Can you ask Batman to include Perseus with your niece with his plans for me?"
J'onn nodded, "Will do." Then he phased into the wall, out of their sight.
"Alright Perseus, follow me." Diana said.
"Are we going to the mall? I think teenagers are supposed to like that place, right?" Diana merely smiled.
The Mall, Washington, D.C., 11:45 AM.
"Two hours…" Perseus said looking dead tired, "We've been here for two hours, why aren't we done yet?"
"Well, as the ambassador of Themyscira there will be plenty of events where you might have to come with me also you can't just have one outfit." Diana said tossing another pair of clothes on the shopping card. Perseus let out a groan causing Diana to sigh, "How about this, you find anything you like then we're leaving. Good?"
Perseus nodded ecstatically, "Yup. I'll see you in a bit." Then he took off to find something.
10 Minutes Later…
"I can't find a thing." Perseus sighed, defeated. With his head down he walks into the merch section of the shop and bumps into a clothes rack. Pulling his head up he sees a black leather jacket with Wonder Woman's crest on its back.
Perseus smiles, he found what he wanted. He was about to turn back to find Diana and leave this "gods forsaken place" until he was stopped by a tap on his shoulder, He turns around to see a short woman with brown hair holding a miniature microphone to his face and a man with blond hair pointing his phone at him.
"… Hi?" He said, confused with his current predicament.
"Hello! My name is Maddie Rutto, and I hope you don't mind me asking but what is your relationship with Wonder Woman? A fan who's following her around? A sick child? Or maybe she's finally taken a protégé?" Maddie asked enthusiastically.
Now Perseus looked even more confused, "Um, my name is Perseus Prince and Wonder Woman is my mother." He answered it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Both Maddie and her cameraman gasp in shock but Maddie quickly recovers with a cough, "She must've adopted you then. How long has she been your mother?"
"My whole life." He said simply as Maddie began violently coughing.
"I'm sorry for insinuating that you weren't hers but um…" Maddie wanted to bury herself in a hole, "Anything you want to say to the people back home?" She shakily pointed at the camera as she thought to herself. Where has Wonder Woman been hiding her teenage son for so long?
Perseus holds up his jacket to the camera showing the yellow crest, "I like this jacket?"
West Home, Central City, 1:30 PM.
Wally and Superboy are lounging around watching a movie. Wally's mother, Mary West, walks in and grabs the remote switching the channel to the news.
Wally shoves a handful of popcorn in his mouth before immediately complaining, "Come on mom! It was just about to get to the good part!"
Superboy rose a brow, "They were just going to the beach…"
Wally gasps dramatically before shoving another handful of popcorn in his mouth, "Don't worry Supey!" He wraps his arm around Superboy, "Someday I'll make sure you learn the beauty of beach babes."
Mary huffs in annoyance before smacking Wally with the remote, "Quit it! It'll only just be for a moment, Iris told me to check the news." She turned to the tv and on the screen shows a shaky video of Perseus answering Maddie's questions.
Wally immediately sits up straight and Superboy focuses on the screen, "That's the other clone!" Wally exclaimed.
Superboy nodded, "Why is he on the news?" He asked then quickly got his answer.
"-But what is your relationship with Wonder Woman? A fan who's following her around? A sick child? Or maybe she's finally taken a protégé?" Maddie asks.
Perseus says, "... She's my mother." Then the video shrinks showing a frantic news reporter holding a disheveled stack of paper.
"That's right!" He said with a smile, "Earlier this day a teen was seen with Wonder Woman in a mall at Washington D.C. and I know we can't draw a conclusion that he is her son just because he said so but come on!" A photo of Wonder Woman and a clearer one of Perseus are shown side by side, "This has to be the most obvious familial relations ever! Now that brings the question… just who is the father?"
Wally pulls out his phone and sighs, "And it's trending."
Superboy leans over Wally and his eyes widen, "Why are people saying Superman's his dad?! He looks nothing like him!"
"It's just one of those things people do Supey…" Wally said as his phone suddenly starts ringing. "It's Rob." He says, answering the call.
"KF did you see the news? It looks like he has no clue what subtly means."
"Well, Wonder Woman wasn't big on subtly anyway. Remember when she said her not so secret ID to the world? I am Diana of Themyscira, or something like that."
Wayne Manor, Gotham City, 1:38 PM.
Robin was in his room watching the news on his laptop, "Yeah, but this time Batman isn't going to be happy about it. Imagine all the trouble this is going to cause."
"… The bad guys are going to target him to get at her." Wally said after a short moment.
"Exactly!" Robin snapped his fingers.
West Home, Central City, 1:43 PM.
"Think the League is going to try to cover it up?" Wally asked.
"No," Robin said quickly shocking Wally and Superboy who was listening in. "It's impossible to completely erase something as big as this. The best they can do is have Wonder Woman speak on it directly. Anyway, I gotta go, later."
"… Think Superman would do the same for me?" Superboy asked Wally.
"Uh, yeah, sure."
Diana's Apartment, New York, 3:00 PM.
Diana opened the door to her home with a sigh followed by Perseus carrying several bags of clothing. "Make yourself at home Perse. I have to go and… explain your existence." She then mutters, "I hope Zatara don't mind me using him for a story."
Perseus ignored the nickname and focused on the apartment, "It's… empty, why's that?"
"Because I don't usually stay at this place for long." Diana then smiled at Perseus, "I hope you're ready because when I get back is when you'll start your Amazonian training." She said before taking off in the air.
As Perseus stared at her disappearing figure and wondered, "What am I supposed to do now?"
Something productive.
"You're the voice that spoke to me in Cadmus." Perseus stated, "Who are you?"
You. Well, the part of you that's connected to the essence magic. I was the one protecting your mind from Cadmus' brainwashing.
That really got Perseus' attention, "How? If you're me then around that time you shouldn't be able to function."
Perseus could feel it shrugging. Magic works in mysterious ways. It wanted to protect you from not being able to think on your own, to experience freedom, so it created me.
Perseus thought about it for a while but ultimately changed the subject, "What is this productive thing you mentioned?"
Learning! Specifically, how to easily use magic, we need to create a mental trigger for you using your magical capabilities!
"How? I'm pretty sure we can't just create a mental trigger willy-nilly."
It nodded. Yeah, it would be difficult as most mages use vocal conduits to wield their power, but we aren't them. WE'RE THE NEPO BABY OF MAGIC!!! She helped create us after all so she's basically our second mom… or first.
"Huh?" Perseus did not get what it said at all.
Don't worry about it; just try and create a ball of pure magical energy in your hands. And don't forget to close your eyes and concentrate!
Perseus closed his eyes and followed its instructions to a tee, a small spark of silver sprang into existence and disappeared as quickly as it came. Focus! Try to find a feeling of unnatural naturality, grasp it and don't let go! Perseus tried with all his might and continued to push forward.
2 Hours and 10 Minutes Later…
Perseus is gritting his teeth with a face full of sweat as he glares at the basketball sizes magical energy filled with swirling silver and gold colors. "I-I thought you said I was magic's nepo baby?!"
He felt it nod with annoyingly smug satisfaction. That you are. It usually takes beginners months or maybe years to create something of that size.
"Years!!" Perseus' eyes widened but were still focused on the ball in a effort not to lose it again.
Yup. Now you got the feeling of tapping into magic right? Perseus nods. Great, now associate something with that feeling and whenever you think of that thing. It should be easier after that.
Perseus thinks for a moment before speaking, "The whole process felt like… trying to break free from being shackled… does that make sense."
I don't know but you're going to have to self-learn from now on.
"What? Why?" Perseus asked alarmed and he felt as if it was trying to pat his shoulder.
I was created to defend your mind from intruders; this teaching thing was both temporary and only so you could get a grasp of what you need to do. Oh, and one last piece of advice, try to be creative with your use of magic and not just use spells others teach you; magic has infinite potential and so should you.
"I guess this is goodbye?"
Not at all. I will always be here within your mind protecting you and whenever you truly need advice, I'm sure I'll be there.
Perseus smiles, "Then I'll see you later Mind Perse…"
Later and good luck! Suddenly a feeling of absence entered Perseus' mind but as soon as that feeling entered the door opened to reveal his mother, Diana, in all her glory and she seemed to be holding an assortment of wooden weapons and shields.
Diana smiles as her eyes land on Perseus, "Take your pick and meet me outside." She said dropping the weapons on the floor. Perseus picks up a random weapon without thinking and rushes outside to meet her. Diana takes a look at the spear in Perseus' hand and nods, "Great choice, though I would've gone with the sword myself."
"So, when are we going to start?" Perseus asked, getting into an awkward stance.
Diana fixed his stance with a chuckle and took flight, "Not here, I got something in place for you." She stopped for a second and asked, "You can keep up right?"
Perseus nods lifting himself up to her height albeit less gracefully, "A little bit, where are we going?"
"To a city in Rhode Island." She said before taking off.
"Huh- wait!" Perseus exclaimed trying to follow behind her, "What's this city called? And could you slow down a little?"
"Happy Harbor!" She turned to face him, still going faster than he could keep up with a smile. "And unfortunately for you this is part of training. Let's hope you get the hang of it before we get there."
Forests, Happy Harbor, 6:30 PM.
Diana lands on the forest ground and begins waiting patiently. For 5 minutes she heard nothing but then came the faint shout, "I CAN'T STOP!!!" Within seconds of hearing that Perseus crashed right beside Diana creating a sizable crater.
"You need to work on your landings but overall, you get a C-." Diana said leaning over the crater.
Perseus groans and began to crawl his way out of the 'him' sized crater, "You know that was only my third time flying right?"
"Which is why I'm so proud you got a C-." Diana said focusing on the mountain in the distance. "I have, with some help from Batman, made a training course for you. The goal is to reach that mountain within 2 days; if you could do that then you could join the other protégés."
"So just reach the mountain?"
Diana nods, "And obviously there will be not flying."
"Guess I better get going." Perseus takes a step forward, spear in hand and… he falls in a pit.
"Remember no flying!" Diana calls out. "And hopefully we'll meet at the mountain on the 8th!"
Perseus crawls out of the pit only to come face to face with something that has a bull's face and a man's body. He looked around to see his mother missing and turned back to face the bull-face.
"You don't happen to be the Minotaur, right?" Perseus asks cautiously, it only roared in his face in response and its visage flickers a bit. "Not real… okay then." Then Perseus swings at it with the spear but once it connected the monster it shattered.
Perseus' eyes widen as he looks at the broken weapon in his hand, "… Maybe I should stick to something that doesn't break easily." He said as the Minotaur huffs and punches Perseus through a tree.
"Ow…" Perseus looks up to see the Minotaur charging at him, he gets up as fast as he can, clenched his fists, and uppercuts the monster sending it flying through a tree of its own. "I need to get moving, fast."
Not even a second after he says that he hears the growls of the Minotaur and turns around to see it bigger than ever and a giant sword in hand. Perseus sighs, "This is going to take a while…"