Little Baby Markus!

The amazons celebrated, the sounds of cheers and the blowing of horns signified the coming of a joyous day. The day Queen Hippolyta would give birth to her first child. They feasted and danced. Ate music and sang songs and poems of valor.

In the Queen's chambers, Hippolyta, accompanied by her sisters, Astarte, Antiope, Atalanta, and her general Philippus.

" Come on, Hippolyta, you are almost there." Antiope told the woman. She Held her hands out and slowly received the child's head as Hippolyta pushed with all her might.

" GAAAAAAAAAH!" Hippolyta gave one last hard push, screaming to the top of her lungs as she did so.

The women all smiled as the sound of a baby's wails filled the air around them.

Antiope took the small babe into her strong hands; she cut the umbilical from the babe's stomach and then handed it over to Atalanta and Astarte for cleansing.

" You did great, Hippolyta." Antiope told the woman.

" Where is she? Let me see my child." Hippolyta spoke. Her breathing was hard, and her voice was tired, and yet the woman's body was still as strong as ever. Hippolyta sat up from her bed without much trouble at all and looked to her two other sisters as they cleaned the babe.

Hippolyta looked on and watched as the smiles on the faces of her sisters changed to dread. What could it be that's spooked them so? Was something wrong with the little girl? Oh, just the thought terrified Hippolyta.

" Astarte? Atalanta? What is wrong?" Hippolyta asked the woman.

" Sister, the baby." Astarte spoke.

" Yes? What is it?" Hippolyta asked. Her concern began growing more and more by the second. What could it possibly be?

Astarte handed the baby to Antiope and the woman, sighed. She then turned to Hippolyta and held the baby up to the woman's face. Hippolyta grabbed the child and brought it close to her chest.

" It is a boy, sister." Antiope spoke.

Hippolyta's world nearly shattered to pieces. The woman could not believe what had happened. Hippolyta despaired. It was rare that a male be born on Themyscira, let alone for the Queen to give birth to one.

" What are we going to do?" Antiope asked.

" Kill it. It is what we have always done." Atalanta told the woman. She grabbed her sword, ready to strike, but Hippolyta stopped the woman without hesitation.

" No, sister." Hippolyta told the woman.

" What are you doing sister?" Atalanta demanded to know. " It is a rule that has been for years. No man is allowed to be on Themyscira. We must get rid of this child." She exclaimed.

" You would kill a child of Zeus sister, and risk his wrath on all of themyscira?" Hippolyta asked the woman. " We cannot kill him."

" Then what are you going to do, sister?" Antiope asked once more.

" Astarte, tell the amazons, that the child died during birth." Hippolyta spoke. " Philippus."

Philippus stepped forward towards the queen and placed her arm across her chest. " Yes, my queen?" She asked.

" Take the child, down to the dungeons and lock it away. Forever out of the sight of the amazons. Never again to be seen or heard of." Hippolyta looked upon the child, taking in his black hair and his soft blue eyes. then she shut them, and with tears on her face, she handed the boy over to Philippus and watched in sadness as the woman, disappeared beyond the doors to her chambers.

Soon, word spread all over Themyscira. Queen Hippolyta had lost her child during birth.

The Amazons wept for their queen, they prayed to the gods for Hippolyta's health and safety, completely unaware that below the grounds of the Island a lone child was locked away in a cell. Weeping alone in the dark.

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For the first year of the infant's life, all he had known was darkness. For hours of the day, he would cry alone in his cell, until night fell, at which point, Hippolyta would venture down into the depths of the prison. Though she wished not to see the boy, as every time she laid eyes on him, her heart broke, she still needed to ensure the boy survived.

And so night after night when no one else, save for those in charge of guarding the island through the night, was around, Hippolyta would sneak down to the boy's prison and feed him.

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When the boy was old enough to stand on his own two feet, Hippolyta would no longer visit, instead. She would have one of her sisters or Philippus, deliver food to the cell. For what little he knew, the items that he would awake to find staved off the bad feeling within.

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When the boy turned four, he began to understand he was different. His mind wandered outside of his cell. There was a small window in the boy's room and one day, while sitting on the floor, the boy heard the sound of voices, and out of curiosity he searched for the source of the voices.

..........

It was just another day for Antiope, the only difference is today, it was her turn to feed the boy. Normally she, along with her sisters, hated this time of the day, where they would be forced to come down to bring the boy food and water, though Antiope had to admit, she was beginning to feel sorry for the child. He had no name, and it was not his fault he had been born as he was.

As Antiope approached the hidden chamber, Antiope heard the faintest sound of a boy grunting.

" What is he doing in there?" Antiope wondered. She spoked her head inside the room, and watched as the boy punched the air repeatedly. Antiope was shocked.... And a little intrigued.

He was sloppy, but there was power behind each of his strikes.

She watched quietly as the boy continued.

He punched the air a few more times, trying to imitate the women he was watching from afar as they spared with one another. He then watched as one of the amazon women, threw a roundhouse kick, and he tried to imitate it. He lifted his leg into the air and spun around, and though he gave it his best, he still came up short and ended up falling on his head.

The boy rubbed his head where he hurt and from behind him, he heard a noise. His head snapped back quick and the sight of the woman standing in the doorway, spooked him. He had never seen one so up close. He was scared.

" What are you doing, boy? Stand up." Antiope told the boy. She walked into the room and placed his food down on the small bed and then turned back to him. " Can you understand me?" She asked.

" Yeah?" The boy replied.

Antiope was quite shocked, in all her time, she had never heard the boy speak. Not even once. But then again, he wasn't a normal boy.

" Well, then. Let's keep going. Your punches are strong, but your stance is sloppy and you're all over the place. Now, hit my hand." Antiope told the boy.

" Who are you?" The boy asked.

" I am General Antiope." Antiope replied. " And I am your aunt."

" Aunt? What's my name?" The boy asked.

Antiope hesitated for a moment.

" That's right. We never did give you a name, even after all this time, have we? From now, on I'll call you Markus. How does that sound?" Antiope told the boy.

The boy nodded; he had a name. It made him smile.

" Now, let's continue. Attack me." Antiope told the boy.

Markus did as Antiope asked and punched her extended hand, and all though Antiope was strong herself, she noted the boy's unnatural strength.

He's much stronger, than any child his age should be- Antiope thought to herself.

Antiope spent hours of the day sparring with Markus, and by the time they were finished, Antiope had placed Markus in bed.

A look of delight on his face.