Archive of Our Own

It isn’t something she’s talked to anyone about. She knows she’s Zeus’ daughter, and while she may be more than a demigod, she’s not an Olympian either. She doesn’t want to ask her Mother about this. Doesn’t want the attention it would bring her. The gods give her enough problems. 

Over the years she’s learned some things by experience. Like when she met her first worshipper. 

Worship is different for every god, and for her it doesn’t mean loud proclamations. It doesn’t mean alters or sacrifices. It doesn’t mean quiet prayers or promises or weekly devotions. 

It means action. Taking action when you see cruelty, because it breaks your heart until you fix it. 

There was a woman in the trenches of No Man’s Land, during the First World War. Diana regrets not learning her name, but there was so much going on. 

The woman grabbed her arm and the touch burned as she begged for help for her town. Veld. She had been trying for days to get anyone’s attention; refused to leave the trenches for safer territory until she could get help for her people. She didn’t have the power to do it herself, only her voice and her conviction. 

Her determination was greater than her fear, though fear was drowning her heart’s fire. 

But that guttering spark - that need - to rescue her village despite the dangers sizzled under Diana’s skin. 

She couldn’t refuse. 

The team of men who led her there didn’t understand. Couldn’t feel it. Didn’t believe such a request was able to be fulfilled. 

As she stood tall above the trenches, full armor on display, she caught the woman’s eye, and there was... something. A surge of energy that gave Diana strength. 

It took a couple days before she understood it. 

When she ran through Veld, killing attackers and destroying weaponry, that energy returned. Steve yelled ‘Diana! Shield!!’ and power flowed through her as she leapt into the church tower. 

The explosion confused her a little - she hadn’t expected that much force - but soon the town was celebrating and she was distracted again. Steve’s smile was radiant as they danced. His touch burned in the most pleasant way when they made love. And for the next couple days as they traveled through Germany he seemed to glow.

She thought it was part of attraction. The poetry and novels she’d read described feelings like this. Diana had thought they were exaggerating for effect. She certainly had been attracted to and dated several Amazons before leaving Themyscira, but perhaps he was different simply because he was a man. 

Then that feeling surged as she watched Steve fly away. Ares had her trapped and she knew she had to escape but all she could do was watch that plane. 

In the thirty seconds before it exploded she felt the most overwhelming cascade of emotion - like from that woman but instead of a spark it blazed like the sun. 

She could feel Steve’s heart. His desires. His faith in her.

That power gave her the strength to break free. To continue the fight. To end Ares and the cruelty he planted in the minds of men. When Doctor Maru cowered before her, and Ares’ words pounded in her ears, and she heard Steve’s voice in her memory (I can save today, you can save the world) it wasn’t just his face she saw. 

The woman from Veld felt the same way Steve had. All she had wanted was to save people from cruelty. Save the place she loved. And if there were more like her on Earth, more like Steve, then this world was worth saving. 

If they had this much power in their hearts... this ability to worship... it was no wonder Ares wanted it for himself. 

She saved the world. 

She didn’t know if she would have had the strength without their faith. 

Over the next century she found many people who fought cruelty with love. Not all of them had faith in her, but each taught her more about humanity, and strengthened her resolve. 

And when she met the people she inspired, and witnessed their worship through action, she did everything she could to return the power they gave her. 

She was given many names and titles over the years. When she would tell her story, there were people who tried to define her. 

“If you’re a goddess, what are you goddess of?” someone would inevitably ask. 

Diana would shrug and try to describe what she felt. The things she fought for and against. It was hard to try and find one word to define everything she was. And she didn’t really care to try. Let the humans find comfort in labels. If they wanted to use a specific word to understand what she was to them, her place in their world, then she wouldn’t mind taking that word as a token of friendship. 

Plenty of arguments arose from these conversations, especially once they started comparing her to other gods around the world. 

“She can’t be the goddess of love, that’s Aphrodite!” 

“But Freyja is already the goddess of war and love.” 

“Oh! You’re like Bastet?” 

“You remind me of Lada.” 

Many people settled on concepts, more than comparisons. She liked those a lot more. Instead of trying to separate her battle prowess from her love of mankind, someone called her “The Goddess of Wartime Love,” explaining that love perseveres through fear and hatred. 

“Love conquers all!!” a young man had shouted, raising his fist in the air. The rest of the battalion did the same with a cheer. She had helped them win that battle, and their faith fueled her. 

Goddess of Compassion.

Goddess of Lost Soldiers.

Goddess of Victory.

Goddess of Courage. 

Goddess of whatever they needed in the moment to not fear the days ahead. 

Even when she wasn’t assisting in some war, people would try to define her. When she helped children stand up to bullies, or offered words of comfort to the grieving. 

Goddess of the Defenseless. 

Goddess of the Broken Hearted.

Goddess of Cats in Trees. 

That last one was given to her by a small boy she’d seen sobbing on the pavement outside his apartment building. The cat was named Daggers, and had no problem jumping out of the tree on her own when she felt like it, but it was almost curfew and the boy had to go inside. He didn’t want to leave the cat alone outside all night, so Diana lifted the boy (Hernando) up into the tree, where they sat next to the cat on a branch and talked together until Daggers willingly crawled into her boy’s arms. 

Being given titles was an interesting insight to mankind’s perceptions. It taught her how she looked in their eyes. When she fought beside them she was given words like Strength, Honor, Fearless. When she gave them wisdom or taught a community something new she was labeled as Guidance, Tutor, Enlightenment. 

Enemies had words for her too. The people who enjoyed causing harm, enjoyed cruelty, would spit titles and labels at her for fighting against them. 

Diana didn’t keep those words. She was not their goddess. They had no say in who or what she was. 

When she stepped into the world’s spotlight as a hero, a member of the Justice League, she felt stronger. In her mind, in her heart, and in the faith people gave her. It only deepened her love of mankind. 

Her new friends didn’t seem to care that she was a goddess. When she told her story they just shrugged and continued on with their day, as they had with a Kryptonian, a Martian, and a Thanagarian. Humans really could accept the strangest of things. She loved that about them. 

They called her Wonder Woman. A simple title that suited her just fine. 

It was when the second generation of heroes showed up that the questions returned. 

“You’re a real goddess?” Dick Greyson asked at ten years old. 

“I am, yes,” she couldn’t help but smile at this adorable child. He obviously favored Superman, but the little fire of faith he had for her warmed her skin when he would reach out to hold her hand or climb onto her shoulders. 

“How does that work?”

“My Father is Zeus, king of the gods. And my Mother is Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons.”

“But doesn’t that make you a demigod? Like Hercules or Perceus?” 

“No, Dick, their mothers were human. Mine is not, so I carry more power than my brothers did. I am less mortal.” 

“Oh, okay!” And he skipped away to ask J’onn J’onzz about Martian culture. 

The other children and teenagers would ask for stories of her gods. Some would compare her tales with what was taught in modern history books. Others would have arguments over exactly what word fit her best. Trying to define her in this new generation’s context. 

“It doesn’t matter,” Jason Todd snapped one day.

Diana had been put on “babysitting duty” and was spending the weekend in Titans Tower. Dick had brought Jason along to spend time with other young heroes. She’d done some training with them all, both physical and diplomatic, and now the Titans had decided to finish the day with a movie marathon which was largely ignored for the entertainment of debating Wonder Woman’s goddess domain. 

“But if she’s a goddess she’s gotta be a goddess of something, right?” Gar said. 

“Why?” Jason stuck his chin out, and squinted his eyes at Beast Boy. 

“Cuz every god and goddess is known for something,” Dick cut in, trying to stop a fight before it started. “Hades is god of the underworld, Poseidon of the sea, and Zeus is king, of course.”

Jason scoffed. “Those are just their jobs, idiot. They each had so many more titles than what their positions were. Hades was god of wealth, did you know that? And when you get away from just the main three you get goddesses like Hestia, who was goddess of the hearth, virginity, domesticity, and order in the state. Or Hermes, who was god of messengers, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. None of those things fit into one word! And when you look back at stories of Hermes all you get are examples of mischief, which wasn’t even in his job description! Trying to fit Wonder Woman into a single word is foolish. She’s so much more than we can comprehend, so why bother trying and just accept her for her actions and her heart?!” 

Silence answered his speech and in that instant he looked at Diana, as if he’d forgotten she was sitting in the same room. Horror filled his eyes, and Jason blushed scarlet. He fled, chased by the laughter of teenagers. 

“Looks like Jason got his first crush!!”

“Did you see that shade of red?! Clashed with his outfit!” 

“Guys, guys, leave him alone he’s just twelve.” 

“No way am I letting this one go.” 

“Children,” Diana spoke calmly, but they all mumbled apologies and went quiet. “Continue your movies. I am going to speak with Jason to make sure he’s alright.” 

When she left the room there was no need to search the computer’s log for his location. She could feel his heart blazing, and walked straight to him. Diana opened the door of a pantry on the third floor to see the child wedged between long-term storage bins of flour and sugar. 

“Hello, Little One.” 

Jason curled up smaller without making a sound. 

“I’m sorry for your embarrassment,” she said from the doorway. “Please know that I am touched by your words. May I come sit with you?” 

The boy hesitated, but unfurled a little and nodded. She sat with her back to the shelves perpendicular, legs stretched out so her feet almost touched his. 

“M’sry,” he mumbled into his knees. 

“Why would you have reason to be sorry?” she asked just as quietly. 

“I dunno. I kinda put words in your mouth? What if you have a title you like and just didn’t wanna say? Or if being a goddess of sumthin’ particular matters a lot to you an’ we just won’t get it cuz we’re human?” 

“I have been given many titles in my time with mankind, and they have made me happy. But you were right when you said someone shouldn’t be defined by a single word. It would minimize their place in the world. People change too often to be put in one box forever.” 

“But you’re not people, you’re a goddess.” 

Diana laughed, and the sound bounced around their tiny space. 

“Even gods are people, Jason. They have many hopes and interests, goals and fears. The only thing that sets us apart is a strange set of powers. In fact, you’re a lot more similar to me than I am to Hermes or Poseidon.” 

“I am?” He looked up. 

“Yes. We fight for the same things.” 

His already burning heart erupted like a volcano. The heat that filled the room was overwhelming and it wrapped around her in a cocoon. 

Diana held her arms out, and he didn’t hesitate to crawl into her lap and wrap his arms over her shoulders. She kissed his hair before tucking her chin over his head, holding him tight. 

They sat like that for a long while. Long enough that he started nodding off. 

“Would you like me to carry you to your room?” she whispered.

“Mmhmm.” 

She lifted the boy with ease, his arms still around her neck. As she walked past the room with the Titans, she saw they were all asleep as well, piled on each other on the sofa as the movie ran end credits with gentle music. 

Placing Jason in his bed, he became half aware as she pulled a blanket over his small frame. 

“Diana,” he mumbled.

“Yes, Little One?”

“It doesn’t matter what you’re goddess of. I’ll worship you anyway.” 

He snuggled further into his pillow, not seeing her smile or tears. She kissed his forehead before shutting off the light and closing the door behind her. 

Of all the labels she’d been given in the last hundred years, this is the one she would cherish most. 

Goddess of Jason Todd.