"Where are we, Wonder Woman?"
Adrian frowned, glancing across the strange landscape beside the youthful Diana.
This version of Diana Prince seemed more open and less hardened than the legendary Wonder Woman from the future he had once encountered. Perhaps it was her age, or maybe first impressions were deceiving, but she carried an unmistakable nobility mixed with genuine warmth.
"You can call me Diana," she replied, brushing sand from her grey trench coat, its cut hinting at the strength beneath. "This place we stand on is an island."
"An island?" Adrian's brow lifted at the word, immediately recalling another deserted isle where a certain stranded archer once waited.
"What island?" he asked.
"Themyscira," Diana said, her voice steady yet soft, "my homeland."
Adrian shifted his gaze toward her. "I heard men aren't allowed on Themyscira."
"That's true," she said. "Once a male sets foot here, he's usually expelled and sometimes hunted. But with your abilities, my sisters wouldn't have to worry about catching you."
She pushed aside a hanging branch and walked toward the shoreline, the wind stirring ivory sand beneath her feet.
"This city, this island, it was once my home," she said quietly. "When I first left, it was after a heated argument with my sisters. I always thought I was made from clay, and I heard them whispering about me, as though I didn't belong."
Diana's cadence softened then, as if the memory still stung. "Later, I learned the truth: I wasn't made from clay… I am the daughter of Zeus."
"Oh," Adrian said, shrugging. "That sounds like news you wouldn't take easily."
She looked at him with a faint smile. "I had trouble with it. I left here with confusion and ignored even my mother's earnest calls. I was afraid to stay, yet lost everywhere else I went."
Adrian studied her features for a moment. "I don't use magic," he said slowly, uncertain why she brought it up.
"Yes, you may not use magic," Diana said with a knowing gaze, "but there is a darkness within you that resonates with the magic of this island. It reminds me of something from a night under a strange moon."
She began to speak of ancient rites and a witch named Hecate, how once in her youth the priestesses had branded her forehead with a blazing symbol — a full moon and crescent — an act her mother denied, but one Diana knew had happened.
Adrian listened, trying to grasp the breadth of her tale. His mind sifted through fragments of magic and myth he knew — Hecate as the progenitor of all witchcraft, the source of untamed power, and the first to teach mortals what magic could do. Though he didn't understand all the implications, a chill passed through him as Diana spoke.
Somewhere out there, something ancient was stirring, and both their fates seemed tied to it.
Still, Adrian had learned enough to be cautious, yet he found himself thinking that Diana might have allies, not only enemies.
They continued onward until the forest gave way to a broad stone road. At its end rose magnificent structures of ancient Greek architecture — pillars of marble sparkling in the sunlight… or at least they should have.
For here, unnervingly silent, no birds sang, no voices echoed through the square.
"That's strange," Diana murmured.
Normally, the island bustled with the sounds of her sisters training or laughing in the sun. Not today.
Adrian's gaze narrowed as they entered the plaza.
Before them stood crowds of Amazons frozen in time — statues of warriors caught mid‑stride, spears poised as though just seconds away from battle.
Diana's breath caught.
Her mother, Queen Hippolyta, stood at the center, arms extended as though shielding her people — but carved in stone.
Diana rushed forward, trembling, fingers brushing cold marble. "Mother?"
But her hand met stillness. There was no warmth. No life.
Adrian watched silently as Diana crumbled to her knees, sobs erupting from her in waves of grief.
"Mother!" Diana cried, her tears soaking the ancient stone floor. "I'm sorry I'm too late!"
Adrian watched a moment, silent before the frozen figure of the queen.
Then he turned and began walking away.
Diana rose to her feet, her expression hardening with resolve.
"Why are you following me?" Adrian asked quietly.
"I will find whoever did this," she said, voice steady but fierce. "I don't use magic, but I can sense it. Whoever caused this… even if it's Hecate herself, I swear I will face her with my sword."
Adrian regarded her with a thoughtful look. "You think the culprit is Hecate because her priestesses worship her?"
"Yes," Diana replied, "the magic here feels like what was around me back then," she said.
"Very well." Adrian nodded and said nothing more.
"I'm headed to Mount Etna," Diana said, her gaze steady. "I seek the God of Fire — Hephaestus. Maybe he can craft weapons that match the threat ahead. Will you come with me?"
They had fought side by side; Diana's courage impressed him. She hoped he'd join her.
"No," Adrian said firmly. "I don't need to."
Diana inclined her head. "Then we will part. When I am ready I will return. Find me again, Adrian Kent."
With that, she turned and strode toward distant peaks.
Adrian remained where he stood a moment before descending toward Earth — Smallville.
Standing in the ruined remains of the Kent Farm, he bent and picked up a cracked photo frame. Inside was a Christmas picture — him and Clark, smiling and grim, frozen in a happier moment.
Adrian brushed the dirt away gently.
This farm had been home. It had held memories of family, hearth, laughs and shared pain — all gone now.
A flicker of vulnerability crossed his face, buried immediately beneath layered anger.
His emotions had always been buried, probably because of his system, he was a hardened soul, yet a strange ache clawed inside him now. For the first time he felt truly lost.
Behind him, a voice called out.
"Adrian?!"
He turned and saw Pete, his arm in a cast, limping toward him.
"Thank goodness you're alive," Pete said. "Many buildings exploded in town, especially around the LexCorp chemical plant. But most people got out."
"Pete," Adrian asked bluntly, "my parents and Clark — did you see them?"
Pete's eyes were grave. "The fire department didn't find them."
Adrian didn't flinch. "Where are Lana, Lois, and Chloe?"
Pete hesitated. "No one's seen them since before the explosion. But someone said they saw the three of them in town that day, and… there might have been marks on their foreheads."
Before Pete could elaborate, a gust of wind swept through the farm.
In a blink, Adrian was gone.
He accelerated upward, breaking the sound barrier in thunderous sonic booms.
His eyes scanned Metropolis frantically, searching for any clue, any trace.
But nothing registered. A deep sense of powerlessness curled around him, unfamiliar and unwelcome.
Driven by rage, his speed escalated — five times the speed of sound, then ten.
At unimaginable velocity, a Wayne Enterprises satellite suddenly collided with him and shattered into debris, its fragments raining toward Earth. His impact cratered part of the moon, dust spiraling into space.
At that moment, something inside him shifted — the dormant "Homelander Template" awakened.
A voice resounded in his mind:
"Homelander Template progress has reached 100%!"
____
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