Legendary

I slept in a little the next morning and felt great when I woke up. After breakfast, we took a family horseback ride, then the kids had a playdate at my parents' that would be an overnight thing. Damian and I spend much of the afternoon canoodling, then after dinner, our superhero friends came for a present exchange and dessert before the meeting. Then I related my adventure; Serena was the only one who laughed when I described sliding down the roof and crashing the Typhon principals, but then, she knew the joy of the wings, of flight herself and how satisfying it was to use in combat. Predictably, Hawkman had a fit over my 'flippancy' with the goddesses, as he called it.

"You can be respectful without groveling," I said firmly.

"You're going to push someone too far with your lack of awe at the power of the gods," he snapped back. "Don't come crying to me if a god punishes you for your pride."

"You are probably the last person in the world I would go to cry with," I shot back. Superman coughed. "Athena and Artemis were fine with me. It isn't your place to tell me how to interact with anybody, flyboy." He gathered his breath for a bellow, and Diana stood.

"Alex is correct. She pleased them well enough that the goddesses assisted her in combat," she said sternly. "If the gods do not protest, who are you to cry blasphemy?"

"Sit down and shut up," Tony said testily to Hawkman, who was practically purple with rage. "I promised my pregnant wife ice cream on the way home and we need to move this along."

Steve cleared his throat. "The Athenian police are still questioning the would-be demolitions crew. The underlings don't know much, but they've given up the location of a small base in the Aegean and the identities of their immediate superiors. The big four aren't talking, and I suspect that it's only a matter of time before they're broken out." Then there were discussions about how to get more information about the new base and what the next steps would be. By the time they left, we had a workable plan.

I love the week between Christmas and New Years; it's kind of a lazy week and I like to use it to get things caught up. I also put out feelers to see what kind of personnel were out there to see if there were enough to pad our teams, maybe start another one. My parents wanted the kids for New Years, so Damian and I were going to a party where we could dress up and dance and keep the business to a minimum. I'd borrowed a green velvet and satin evening dress from Steve, so I looked as good as I felt. The next day when Miles and Iris returned, we gave them new books to read and spent some time reading out loud as a family; we'd done the same thing with Martha and Xander and had sent them books too.

After that, the holidays were over and it was back to the grind. With the agreement with Callahan and Mei, I'd kind of boxed myself out of doing a lot of the work and into figurehead status where I was the face of the company and did the initial interviews for the more complex projects, and I was ambivalent about that. It freed up time I needed to be Valkyrie, but I wasn't doing much of what I wanted to do when I started my company.

I decided to bide my time and wait until we took out Typhon before making any changes. Serena agreed, over a dim sum lunch one day, that now was a good time to be grateful that we had people working for us that we could rely on. "You can't be everything to everybody, and without our staffs, we couldn't do Valkyrie and the superhero stuff. I fell into the trap of thinking that I was irreplaceable, that nobody could do what I do, and to a certain extent that's true, but new heroes are coming up all the time and they can do things that I can't. So after this, I'm going to let go of the superhero biz and have what I haven't had for a long time--a job where nobody's trying to kill me, maybe time for a family. Travel, just for fun. Get a hobby." We smiled wryly at each other.

"Honestly, I'm not sure what it would be like to leave the superhero biz behind completely," I confessed. "Damian is ready to give it up after Typhon too. I'm not quite sure how it will be, not having to conceal secret identities, explain away inconvenient absences and injuries... Come to think about it, I've been involved at least peripherally in the superhero game since I knocked on my uncle's front door. I think the only time I haven't been concerned about heroes was during grad school when I was out in California, and that was pretty much because I was head down in studies, getting the background I needed for the business my brother and I had planned, getting that EMT credential, because my uncle was not in the field anymore. So I'm not quite sure what I'll do with all that time."

Serena laughed. "I dunno, time with your kids, husband that you don't have to schedule? I get your point, though. And you have that little secret in the basement, so it's not like you'll be getting away from it entirely." I nodded. "I have a love/hate relationship with the adrenaline rush from a mission. I think I'll miss that the most. Maybe I'll take up skydiving to compensate." We both hooted at the idea of jumping out of a perfectly good airplane on purpose and finished lunch.

That weekend, we had a family outing: our little bunch, plus Bruce, Selina, and Tabby, Tony, Ann, Steve, Emma, and Nessa and all their kids went to the zoo; Bucky was working. He'd recently gotten a new assignment in the Temperate Territory with the adorable red pandas and he'd told us when the pandas were most active. He came out to explain some interesting facts and details about the animals in this area and told us in confidence that the zoo was going to be announcing that they were getting giant pandas, which would be placed in this area in a new exhibit. And he was being trained to care for them too. So exciting! Who doesn't love the big black and white pandas? But they can be dangerous too, so my uncle was an excellent choice of keeper. We ate at a cafe in the zoo and afterward went out into Central Park, played in the snow, had fun.

After that, Damian and I went to Budapest. It was exactly as much fun as I'd hoped for; I had my husband's undivided attention and he had mine. Although I loved the city and how much it had to offer, I most valued the time I had with Damian to stroll through streets and favorite places like the Bastion hand in hand, not in a hurry, and with very minimal planning. "We'll have to do this more once Typhon is brought down," he murmured one night. "We'll just have to be careful not to fill the spare time with more work. And once the kids are older we can bring them along. We ought to go to Disneyland next year." And so we started expanding our horizons.

Toward the end of summer, we thought we knew where Typhon's headquarters was based and we thought we had an inkling of when and where their first big strike to announce themselves as a global power would take, so I started putting a lot more effort into training. Hogun was posted to Midgard for the duration so I could brush off the rust with the two swords. I intended this to be the last mission for Valkyrie, so it didn't matter if my cover was blown. I wanted my best weapons with me. I kept up the training with my other weapons, of course, bouting with Diana with the sword and shield, practicing archery with the Hawkeyes or Green Arrow, throwing spears and javelins, keeping up my knifework, practicing with energy pistols. And flying practice. There was nobody I could spar with in the air--the Hawkpeople flatly refused--so I did the best I could. It was mostly about building wing strength and maneuverability anyway.

Diana and Daniel were married Labor Day weekend; it was a fairly small event, all things considered. Larger than they wanted, smaller than the people who would have liked and invitation would have wanted. The family was there, of course, friends of the couple, some unavoidable business acquaintances and friends of the extended family, and a massive contingent of incognito superheroes. Even the Hawkpeople were there, less dour and superior than usual. A banner day all around. Diana wore the simplest of white silk gowns with a whisper of lace here and there; her long dark hair was dressed beautifully and she wore flowers in her hair rather than a veil. The couple had chosen sky blue and a color right between pink and red for their colors and these colors were reflected in the flowers that were everywhere except in Diana's bouquet. She was entirely in white, and Daniel was in black and white. Emma had created thin platinum bands that curved around each side of the beautiful engagement ring to provide protection for the edges and Daniel had asked for and gotten just a plain shining band of gold. Everything was simple and elegant, and it was a very moving ceremony and a joyous reception. They went on their honeymoon, and one evening they went sailing in the Aegean and met Hippolyta in the mist. She had brought along Antiope as well, so both of them could meet Diana's new husband, as well as the priestess Menalippe. Daniel said later that while he was intimidated by them, they were very pleasant to him and Menalippe had blessed their union. They had asked after me and my daughters, which was very nice of them, and extended an open invitation for me to visit when I pleased.

Halloween, there was a special event at the zoo. Members of the Avengers and Justice League came in costume for an event to benefit children's charities. There was trick or treating at stations throughout the zoo, zookeepers talked to the kids and their families about the animals and their habitats, and you could meet all the superheroes who came. The event was open to the public and was packed. Kids all got in free, thanks to a grant from the Justice League, and parents and guardians got in with donations for food pantries. Donations could be in the form of shelf-stable food items, cash donations of any size, or signing up to put in an hour or two at a food pantry or soup kitchen, so almost everybody could join the fun. We had a chat with our kids about how some heroes might look like somebody they knew, aside from Tony, Uncle Bucky and Uncle Steve, it was probably just a resemblance, and in any case, unless they were invited to chat, they should treat all costumed adults as people on the job. They'd known from an early age to wait for a grown-up who was talking or doing business to talk first. Iris went as a ninja and Miles as Nureyev. We were going to a matinee of Swan Lake featuring Nureyev and Fonteyn just before Christmas. The heroes were very popular, and given the size of the crowds around them, the kids just waved to their uncles, but they waited in line to meet Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Wolverine (who was minded by Professor X), Spiderman, Zatanna, Supergirl, and Black Widow. Natasha was a surprise, and the kids both got hugs and chatted with her. Apparently what we told the kids didn't quite resonate truth with them, and I caught them squinting suspiciously after having met Wonder Woman and whispering. We distracted them by having them take some water bottles over to Steve, Bucky, and Tony, who were mobbed and wilting.

"You lied to us, Papa," Miles said accusingly as we headed back to the house after the fun. Damian's face was blank as he tried to figure out what he'd lied about. He is usually very careful to avoid an outright lie. "Auntie Diana is Wonder Woman."

"And we saw Flash and Superman and Supergirl at Uncle Daniel's wedding," Iris said. "And Batman looks familiar."

So we had to explain to our kids why some superheroes wanted to keep their personal and professional lives separate and prudently added praise for the kids not outing anybody. Alfred and Delara were waiting when we got home and served how spiced cider all around while the kids told them all about the fun they'd had. They did not say much about the superheroes who weren't already out, but they'd run into family and a few friends from school and chatted about that as Damian and I quickly searched their treat bags just to be sure all the candy was on the up and up. We removed a few with torn wrappers, then sat back and watched as the twins started trading candy. There were some types of candy that nobody liked, so either Damian or I would take them to work and put them out. Each kid was allowed two pieces, then sent off to bed.

"They're a little more perceptive than Martha and Xander were at that age," Damian remarked, rubbing his eyes. "You might want to be more cautious when you're flying, Sweet Pea. Keep away from their windows." I nodded.

Soon after this, we got information that Typhon's main base was said to be in Egypt, near either Luxor or Karnak. "It makes sense," Superman said slowly. "The Egyptian monuments aren't being restored for some reason, and their pantheon has been silent since the Return. No that many Returned, actually. I was surprised by that, actually."

"Add to the Greek conquest in antiquity, and the gods that Ares has recruited to their cause aren't exactly foreign," Diana said thoughtfully. "It makes sense."

"It is blasphemy!" Hawkman exploded. Hawkwoman was rigid in surprise. I suppressed my sigh at his... persnickityness. He was red with rage and lurched to his feet. I looked at him with more interest. This was something different from his usual behavior.

"How do you know?" I asked, frowning slightly. Hawkman drew a deep breath, but instead of bellowing as I expected, he let it go and looked at Hawkwoman, who met his gaze gravely.

"It is time," she said. Hawkman's fists relaxed and he felt for the chair he'd pushed back before sinking into it.

"Many lifetimes ago, I was known as Khufu."