22nd March
18:31 GMT -4
There's no sense getting frantic. Diana was quite clear that that may be the result Eris was looking for. Just because you can't find something you suspect to be there doesn't mean that there's something there that's too well hidden for you to locate. I've scanned the building from top to bottom. I've redone the background checks on everyone who will be in attendance and scanned them thoroughly just to make sure. I've also done the same on all of the security guards and secret service agents. On everyone who works here. Near here. Close to here.
Close-ish.
There's a puff of displaced air as Donna flies back into the room we've been using as a base of operations. I turn to face her in the faint hope that she'll have something. She sees the hope in my eyes and shakes her head. "I've been over the whole place. I.. couldn't see anything."
"Thank you.
"
"So…
Do you think Eris was just winding you up?"
"It's possible.
"
"Maybe.. you.. shouldn't have turned her down."
"Did Clio tell you about that?
"
"Clio." She nods. "And Jocasta. And Galene." I sag. "Your…" Her eyes dip and her cheeks colour slightly. "Your whole forearm, huh?"
"I've been wondering: Olympians. Are their Human-shaped forms their
actual forms, or are they just… Avatars. Because I remember reading the story of
Semele…
"
"I've only met Zeus a couple of times with Diana. Asking about his old lovers when Hera was right next to him didn't seem like a good idea."
I nod. I suppose I could
now…
"So… No idea?
"
"Not really. If it helps… I mean, my powers come from the same place and I
think this is what I really look like." She turns her head towards the door and then back to me. "Do you wanna go and tell Clio that you're done?"
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea.
"
I follow her out of the room and down the corridor in the direction of the stalls. Official 'start arriving' time is 1900 so the auditorium should be largely empty. Clio said something about last minute stage direction changes that she wanted to think about. Is she worried? Normally I'd just look and tell but since I handed all of the Amazons Spell Eaters and scry wards just in case the threat was arcane in nature my empathic vision isn't giving clear returns from them any longer.
I won't be watching the play myself. Since it's the one we read through on the plane I already know the outline of the story and I'm supposed to be on guard in case my ability as a security guard is required. Assuming nothing explodes on the first night we're probably safe.
Several Secret Service agents are already monitoring the auditorium as we enter, though the one next to the door we enter through barely even bothers to register our presence. Ring, just double che-. Yes, he's fine. I spot Clio talking to Mala in the far isle. On the stage the set for the opening scene is already in place. Since they're designed for amphitheatres, Amazon plays are usually light on set dressing but Clio wanted to try and make the most of the opportunity the set up here affords.
"You know, I've.. sort of…
"
"What?"
"Well… What exactly
is your relationship to the Olympians?
"
She looks away. "That's… Kind of… Complicated."
"Curtain doesn't go up for an hour and a half.
"
"Okay, well, you know you can track magic based on.. both what goes into it and how the spell is put together?"
I nod.
"Yes.
"
"That's it."
"What?
"
"That's it. I'm full of the same magics
they are, that Diana is. No one really knows
why or
how. I did wonder if I was, y'know, one of Zeus' illegitimate daughters. Or maybe one of the others…"
"And?
"
"None of them said anything, and I've met most of the ones who.. do that sort of thing." She shrugs. "I'm still a little curious, but at this point in my life finding out wouldn't really be that big of a deal. What makes you ask?"
"Oh, just curi.. ous.
" Oh.
"What?"
"You've got the exact same powers as Diana, right?
"
"I can't detect lies like she does, but apart from that, yeah."
"Obvious suggestion that someone's probably already checked: is there any chance you were made in the same way she was? From clay and magic?
"
"Um." Her eyes drop as she considers the idea. "I… Suppose it's possible. But, Diana was made in Gaea's Grove eighty five years ago. I'm sure someone would have noticed if someone had done it again."
"Not necessarily. Diana took me there on my first day on this planet and no one else was around. The area isn't restricted and Queen Hippolyta told everyone where her new daughter came from.
"
"It's.. not
impossible. But then how did I get here from Themyscira?"
"Where is 'here' exactly?
"
"A burned out apartment block in Harlem. The fire fighters found me when they went through the rubble after they put the fire out. You.. really didn't know that?"
"I've.. been trying to cut back on my snooping. So, what: you were just
there?
"
She nods. "Not as if the fire was going to get hot enough to hurt me. Or the smoke, or the rubble."
"What did people
think happened?
"
"The woman who owned the apartment I was found in was called Dorothy Hinckley. My birth certificate says she's my mother, but… No one who knew her thought she was pregnant. I don't think she was, but by the time I was old enough to know about this stuff I didn't really care anymore. Mom and Dad are my Mom and Dad."
"Ah.
"
"It
could have happened like that, but I don't see an Amazon making a child, getting Gaea to bring it to life and then travelling all the way to America only to die in a fire."
"No. I suppose their absence would have been noti-.
"
"Troy Girl! Orange Lantern!" Clio turns away from Mala to smile at us. "Is everything in order?"
"As far as we can tell. You all set?
"
"I believe so. First nights are always a concern, but I'm certain that we will do Themyscira proud. There was one thing I wanted to check, however."
"What was it?
"
