Legendary

It was pretty cold up there on the roof, even though my suit was warmer than the last one had been, and I started to shiver as I crept around the roof watching for trouble to arrive. Where was everybody? I could really use my cape.

As I eased around to check the only road to the Acropolis, I nearly fell off the roof when I heard a stern voice in my head. "They won't be striding through the Propylaia like honest warriors," Athena chided me. The 'idiot' at the end there was implied.

"Depends on how arrogant they are," I muttered. "They're not expecting to be caught."

There was a considering pause before the goddess spoke again. "That is possible. Yet they are climbing the rock over by the Erechthion." I felt a pressure on my jaw as if an impatient hand was turning my head to the right, at the as-yet unrestored building at the edge of the plateau, past the ruins of the old temple of Athena that had been superseded by the Parthenon. That was good, because I didn't really know what all the other buildings on the Acropolis had been and the way the goddess pronounced things was different than the current pronunciation.

"That's stupid," I breathed. It was a lot more difficult to climb the rock--both harder and more dangerous. There was the ancient approach to the temple and a more modern one. I looked around; the olive trees and gardens that Dagny had planted were still young but she'd kill me if anything happened to them. I arranged myself cautiously so that I had the best view of the area that Athena had indicated the Typhon operatives were coming over and waited. I kept listening, though, in case they weren't the only ones. I started to hear faint scrabbling sounds and somebody swore as a handhold or foothold gave way. As soon as I saw movement, I settled an arrow on the bowstring.

Six individuals crept over the edge of the plateau, and I figured that the group was complete when they turned and started hauling on a rope. I held my arrow until a net with bags of equipment was placed on the ground and opened. My vision felt sharper and I let the bowstring hum as I sighted the arrows effortlessly and each found a target.

"Well done," Athena said approvingly in my head.

I was about to modestly thank her when the austere voice I remembered from the temple in Themyscira spoke crisply. "Thank you. This is not a bad vessel." I had to remind myself that this wasn't the time to pick a fight with a pair of goddesses. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and cut off the backpatting going on in my head. Bold as brass, four figures came up the stairs and strode toward the Parthenon. I grinned and crept over the peak of the roof, sliding down toward the edge, gaining speed. As I slipped off into space, my wings snapped out and I dive-bombed the new group, using my mass to knock them aside. OMG, that was fun.

"Indeed," Athena said approvingly. I bounced up immediately, pulling my sword and my longest dagger as I faced the four who were finding their feet. So slow. Athena kept me focused and dampened my desire to do too much damage. She was worse than Bruce, but on the other hand we did need them for questioning. I took control and cut somebody's hand when they pulled a gun, and then the fun started. I could feel Artemis prowling around in there and it was a little distracting, but with Athena also rattling around in my head, it was like I'd rolled a 20 on a d20. I dodged and ducked and spun as the four went on the attack, my dance combat coming more easily than it ever had. I exploded out of a turn and sank into a lunge, throwing the dagger at one of the goons that had come over the edge and was trying to escape. It struck his middle rather than his shoulder, but then, it wasn't made for throwing, and I heard the two goddesses discussing whether it was my lack of skill to compensate for this or if it was a legitimate reason.

"Will you two shut up?" I hissed through clenched teeth; I needed my concentration. And while I was actually having fun, it wasn't easy to manage four even if most of them weren't very skilled fighters. I disarmed the last one and slammed him down on his face, holding his arm to dislocate it.

"Talking to yourself?" a familiar voice quipped. "That's not a good sign."

"Took you long enough, Tony," I said as he and the Kryptonians finally showed up. The four I'd been fighting were easily taken into custody. By the time everybody else arrived, all conspirators were collected and restrained, wounds treated and consciousness regained, and we were exploring the contents of the net. Bricks of old-fashioned C-4, easy to make in these days. I frowned. That much explosive would have destroyed a good chunk of the plateau as well as the antiquities on it.

The others looked around in dismay at the lack of anything for them to do, then Damian chuckled and gestured for me to put away the wings, draping my cape around my shoulders. His lips skimmed the back of my neck, and in my head, the two chaste goddesses tutted. I rolled my eyes.

The police showed up and we surrendered custody of six goons, Zara, a pyrotechnics expert known to Wonder Woman, Helmut Zemo, no fan of the Avengers, the Riddler (my lip curled and I wanted another shot at him,) and Talia al Ghul. When her mask was taken off, my snarl turned into a smile. She locked eyes with Damian, but her son just shook his head and turned away. A look equally composed of love, longing, and fury settled on her face. I made sure that I had found all my weapons and restored them to their places (except for the arrows; I'd broken their shafts and left the arrowheads in the goons for more advanced medical care to address) before talking to the highest-ranking police officer who was skeptical about my good work.

I described the search of the temple and how I'd watched from the roof of the temple. "Did you do any damage?" the officer asked. "Because you'll be billed for it. That construction is new and the temple is very important to us." I felt Athena preen and Artemis roll her eyes.

"I read the papers," I said tersely. "I'm not the one who was here to cause damage." Then I smiled. "And how would you bill me, anyway? Valkyrie has no known address." Superman, who'd been listening, waiting for his turn at being questioned, sputtered a laugh.

That brought up a whole bunch more questions about what I was doing there, if I'd joined the Justice League, and a lot more that I thought were more about the man's curiosity rather than this incident. It was getting irritating, and the goddesses started to fume. I wondered why they were still hanging around. I was about ready to give up and poof away when the officer, apparently made bold by the appearance of the press, insinuated that I was in fact one of the villains and for some reason I'd turned on my former colleagues, possibly in order to get myself publicity. I staggered a few paces as first one and then the other goddess erupted from me, glowing faintly, barely seen visages but VERY MUCH present. And pissed off.

Diana gasped and took a knee. The shade of Athena started in on the officer, castigating him, exposing all his petty misdeeds and small abuses of his power and Artemis circled around him. He peed his pants and the other Greeks followed Wonder Woman's lead and knelt. The other heroes weren't quite sure what to do, so they settled for removing their cowls or other headgear, but those keeping a secret identity left their masks on.

"So were you possessed by the goddesses?" one broadcast journalist muttered to me, edging up.

"Not exactly, they didn't take over my body," I said absently, watching the show.

"What was that like?"

"Distracting," I decided. "But also kind of awesome."

"That's pretty irreverent," the reporter said, aghast.

I shrugged. "I've dealt with gods before."

"Nice costume," she said, touching my shoulder. "So are you one of the real Valkyries, Odin's chosen?" I stepped away as she tried to get a better look at my backpack and laughed.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Well, yes."

"Not today," I said, smiling. "By the way, somebody ought to restore the sanctuary of Artemis here, given that both of these goddesses showed up to defend the Acropolis tonight." I turned from the reporter and the goddesses paused in their haranguing of the officer and regarded me.

"Thank you for your help," I said politely. "I'm done here, so I think I'll leave now."

"You did well," Athena allowed, and Artemis nodded. "You have my gratitude for helping to avert the destruction of my temple."

"You have skill," Artemis said with grudging approval. "You need practice, continually, to improve." And with that, the presence of the two goddesses vanished, and whatever they'd used to create their forms spattered on the stone and dirt.

Abruptly they faded, drips of whatever they'd used to make themselves visible pattering down on the stones and soil.

"What is that?" Dick asked in an 'ew' voice.

"Probably mostly blood plasma," I hypothesized, and shrugged. "Later," I said to the heroes and police, and blipped back home. The kitchen, actually, and I chugged a large bottle of Gatorade from the refrigerator, sitting on the floor against the cabinets as I waited for it to work, shivering and depleted.

The lights flickered on, and I opened my eyes, apprehensive, but instead of my kids it was Alfred in his dressing gown. He cast a look over me and crouched beside me. "How did it go, Miss Alex?" he asked as he deftly removed my helmet and mask; I'd only jerked it up enough to drink.

"We got them," I murmured. "Talia was one of them." I quickly hit the highlights as he took off my helmet and mask--I'd only peeled it back enough to drink--and I shucked my gloves, unbuckled my swordbelt, and released the clips on the cape, quiver and the backpack. Even that wore me out. He tutted as he found how dehydrated I was. He set his mouth and picked me up, taking me to the library and tucking a blanket around me before returning with an additional Gatorade. He took my gear away, silent as I drained the electrolyte drink, returning with an IV, which he deftly inserted into the back of my hand, and in his place came Eira. She's nice and warm and was concerned about my depletion. He handed me the plate that had the iced cookies that he and the kids had made for Santa for quick energy. Gradually I stopped shivering and felt better.

He shook his head. "You do have the most extraordinary experiences, Miss Alex." He was about to continue when a feminine voice said, "Is everything well, Alfred?" and Delara came into view, clutching Alfred's apparently spare dressing gown around her. I assumed it was his, it was huge on her. Alfred looked discombobulated and Delara's eyes widened as she took in the scene in front of her. We blinked at each other, mutually astonished, for a moment.

But my work butler was just as efficient as Alfred, and she quickly set her garment to rights, tying the sash, before briskly moving into the room and inquired what I needed. My work butler was almost as efficient as Alfred and she left quickly, only to return shortly with some soup and some rolls to help restore my blood glucose levels.
I yawned. Alfred took the needle out and folded my other hand over a cotton ball. "If you have no plans, Delara, you're invited to Christmas here." She and Alfred exchanged a glance, his mouth crooked in a smile, and she smiled in return.

"Thank you, Ms Barnes, that's most kind of you," she said briskly, folding the blanket efficiently as I sat up.

"You can call me Alex," I said, heaving to my feet.

She was silent a moment as she took in my clothing. "Will you be needing assistance with your... garment, or will your husband help, Ms...Alex?"

"Damian's not here right now," I said. "He'll be back in time for Christmas, though. I could use a hand."

So she and Alfred bundled me into the elevator and Alfred placed the water pitcher and glass on my nightstand before retiring. Delara helped peel me out of the suit and handed me my nightgown, dislodging a cat and turning down the blankets. She picked up my suit and boots before I could say anything. "Good night, Ms Alex," she said discreetly, and shut the door on her way out. Well, I was too tired for this now, so I snuggled under the covers and fell asleep immediately.

I woke up a few hours later and had to use the bathroom. When I returned, the door opened and Damian came in, looking a little tired but none the worse for wear. "Petal," he cooed, and I went in for the snuggle. "We'll talk later," he murmured as he squeezed me, then accompanied me to our bed. "You must be exhausted." I nodded as I drank more water, still feeling thirsty, then cozied up to him before going back to sleep.

I was abruptly jerked awake when the door banged open and two small bodies hit the bed. "Mama! Papa! Get up! It's Christmas!" Miles commanded. Damian grunted.

"Santa came!" Iris insisted.

"Are you sure about that?" Damian grumbled, and I managed to pry my eyes open in time to see my daughter swat her father. "See, that's what I'm talking about. Naughty kids, assaulting their parents."

"Daaaaaad," she moaned, and I smiled, then sat up.

"Ok, give us a minute. You kids need your robes, it will be chilly down in the library yet. What time is it, anyway?" It was hard to tell in the dim light.

"Six thirty!" my daughter said triumphantly. "It's snowing!"

"We've been waiting FOREVER,' my son groaned.

"Get slippers and robes and your mother and I will be down shortly," Damian instructed his offspring, and they bolted for the door. He let me have a head start on the bathroom, and I hit the highlights of last night's action and my afteraction report.

"Delara, huh?" he mused, brushing my hair and pulling it back into a ponytail as I finished brushing my teeth. I nodded.

"Let's see how that goes," Damian said, shrugging. "At least she understands what it means to be a butler and she won't be surprised at Alfred's position in the family. You're sure you feel ok, Sweet pea?"

"Just tired," I assured him, and we put on our own robes and slippers before following the sound of the kids downstairs where they were circling the tree and poking at the presents, discussing their possible contents with animation. Torunn ambled in too, stopping to rub Eira's tummy.

Alfred, fully dressed and ready for action, summoned us to breakfast; it was a french toast casserole with sausage, the kids' favorite, and a lovely fruit salad. And lots of life-giving coffee. Alfred rose once and escorted Martha, Xander, and J in.

"You're late," Iris said critically. "You'll have to eat fast to catch up." J grinned and tickled her until she giggled, and they did eat fast. Of course, it was really good, and that helped. After breakfast, we trooped back to the library and I passed out stockings to everybody before settling on the sofa between Damian and J.

"Oh, nice," J said, investigating the contents of his. "Santa gave me a new stethoscope. Just what I need, I can keep the other one in my travel kit for when I go to satellite clinics." Then, after looking around and seeing everybody absorbed in their presents, he lowered his voice. "You look like shit, sis. I saw that Valkyrie was out and about, very unusual situation."

"Just really tired. That kind of travel takes it out of me," I assured him, also sotto voice, and promised to see my doctor if I wasn't feeling better after a good night's sleep and also to talk about the depletion I felt from shifting myself around; maybe he could help. Damian claimed my attention with a kiss for a custom-made stock pin for his dressage outfit and riding gloves and urged me to investigate my stocking; it had tickets for two to Budapest after the new year.

"Somehow I think you came out on the short end there," I said ruefully, and he kissed my hair.

"No, I love the pin and I needed a new one, I bent the old one. The gloves are wonderful. And you need a nice, relaxing vacation. We'll do touristy stuff, stay in a lot, sleep in, watch the snow. Your brother said he'd watch the kids."

"It's sad how cheaply I can be bought," my brother grumbled. I looked at him and he smiled. "Alfred's catering the event." I poked him with my finger. He just rolled his eyes and swatted my hand away. Then Damian made Xander distribute the rest of the presents, and we enjoyed ripping through pretty paper into our gifts. Afterward, I had Iris and Miles clean up the mess since they'd made most of it it, and the group dispersed a bit. Alfred brought around glasses of eggnog for everyone; mine was a little paler than my husband's. I didn't get the spike of rum this year. Well, it would probably put me out anyway. Then we trooped up to the main house after the rest of us got dressed, and exchanged presents with everybody there. After that, I escaped for a few hours and got a power nap in before dinner. Delara joined us for that, and Alfred introduced her to the family who didn't know her. Aslyn raised her eyebrows and smiled as we huddled.

"How long's that been going on?" she asked quietly.

"No idea," I said. "I got home last night and there she was."

"You ok?"

"Yeah, it's just going to be an early night. They look cute together." She agreed, and we all went in to dinner.

"There's a mission debriefing tomorrow night," Uncle Bucky murmured afterward. "Can you make it? You look peaky, sweetie." I reassured him, and as soon as was practical, we collected our kids and went home; we lit the Yule log and the kids went downstairs to play in the pool with my brother. I relished the time with my two older kids; it was rare because everybody was so busy. I went up to bed not long after Martha and Xander said goodbye and Miles and Iris were packed off to sleep. J and Damian stayed up to chat with Alfred; I woke only once, briefly, when Damian came to bed.