Homecoming (Complete)

Chapter Twenty-One

A few days later, once Kate was a little less drugged, and feeling much better, Alex convinced her to see her father. She told Kate what he had done to make sure that Alex and the others would be able to see her, and Kate finally relented. Jacob was currently in Kate's room, and Alex was heading to the cafeteria for a coffee when Diana caught up to her.

"Diana! What are you doing here? It's good to see you," Alex said with a genuine smile. "If you're here to see Kate, Colonel Kane is in with her right now. When he's done I'm sure she'll be happy to see you."

"We need to talk," Diana said urgently as she took Alex's arm and steered her toward a quiet corner of the cafeteria. "Sit. I'll grab us coffee." She left Alex sitting, bewildered, at a table in the farthest corner.

"What's going on?" Alex asked when Diana set a cup of coffee down in front of her.

"Drakon," Diana said and looked at Alex expectantly.

"Uh....," Alex said in confusion. "The corporation my father was head of?"

"Dragon's Gate, Cunning Dragon, Hidden Dragon," Diana said slowly. "Drakon. The Dragon."

"I'm not following you Diana," Alex said. "Obviously you got the information from Bruce, but I don't know what you're saying, or trying to ask."

"I'm sorry, Alex," Diana sighed. "I didn't make the connection when you mentioned the Drakon Corporation the other day, and I only did when I read through the information Bruce gave me. I'm not deliberately being vague I just don't think I know what I'm trying to ask." She leaned her forehead down into her hand and rubbed her brow then looked back up at Alex. "I guess maybe...is there anything you know about The Dragon that wasn't on that drive?"

"Not really...," Alex shook her head and paused to review her memory of what she had included. "From what I know, and was able to search out over the years, Drakon—the company my father was head of when I took him down—had potentially existed for thousands of years in one way or another. They always appear to have been at the root of whatever evil was going on in the world at the time, but I could never find definitive proof—just hints of hints and shadows of shadows." She cocked her head at Diana. "Why?"

"Thousands of years ago," Diana said slowly, "before I was born, Hercules led his men to the ancient home of the Amazons and attacked them, enslaving those that weren't killed during the battle. Eventually the Amazons, led by my mother, broke free, escaped, and then found the island we now inhabit." She looked into Alex's eyes. "Hercules's second in command was known as Drakon—the Dragon. It was believed that he was one of the driving forces behind the attack. He violently hated women, and believed they were only good as toys for men to use in whatever manner they wanted." Alex sat and stared at her quietly as she thought.

"Are you trying to say that....?" Alex shrugged helplessly. "Okay. My brain makes connections at a pace most computers can't keep up with but... This is too much. Too many variables." She took a distracted sip of her coffee. "What are you trying to say? All those variations of Drakon throughout history are tied to this Dragon guy in some way?"

"Ugh!" Diana said in exasperation. "I don't know Alex. This just keeps getting more convoluted and complex at every turn!" She sighed. "It's just a strange coincidence that this man—The Dragon—is tied to my home, that Umbra Mortis speaks the language of my home, that the corporation you destroyed was called Drakon... I don't like that much coincidence!" She looked at Alex with a hint of desperation in her eyes. "I think I was hoping you would have some sliver of information that would make all the pieces drop into place."

"I wish I did, Diana, but I don't think I do," Alex said sadly. "I've been researching Drakon my entire adult life, and what I put on that drive was everything I ever uncovered. I did come across the odd thing here and there that spoke of Drakon as a man rather than a...thing, but the mentions were illusory, and never traced back to much fact. Variations of the Drakon Corporation—as vaguely mentioned as they were—had a more solid reality to them." She put her hand on top of Diana's on the table in front of them. "But you've just given me more information than I ever had before. It doesn't get me any closer to figuring out who this new Umbra Mortis is, but maybe it's given us a fresh avenue to explore. Do you know what the Dragon's name was? If I had a name I might be able to go back to my initial research and find out more. Maybe his real name will open more pathways."

"I don't," Diana said ruefully. "I was never a good history student. I'm afraid I had my head in the clouds dreaming of the future, and what was beyond our borders, most of the time. I didn't pay as much attention to my lessons as I should have." She paused to chew on her lower lip while she thought for a moment. "Philippus should know. She was there," she murmured.

"Philippus?" Alex asked. "Was there? When...?" Diana looked up.

"Oh! When Hercules attacked," Diana said. "Philippus is a sister from Themyscira that lives here in man's world. Actually she takes care of my home in Washington. Our home, I should say." Diana seemed a bit flustered. "She's more like my second mother... It's a long story."

"I understand 'long stories'," Alex grinned then said quietly, with a hint of wonder, "I forget how long-lived you are...," then a little more loudly, "and you say Philippus was there when Themyscira was attacked? Before you were born?"

"Yes. The city of Themyscira," Diana said. "The island the Amazons live on now was named after our original home."

"So you think that Philippus might remember the Dragon's real name? If you can get me that I might be able to track down some new information," Alex said, eagerness in her voice.

"Philippus is away right now, but I'll ask her as soon as she gets back," Diana nodded. "I'm not sure when that will be, but I'll get you an answer, one way or another, as soon as I can."

They sat and chatted about lighter topics until Colonel Kane came to say hello to Diana and goodbye to Alex.

"It's good to see you again, Jacob," Diana said. "How did it go with Kate?"

"Well we're both stubborn idiots so I guess it went as well as could be expected," he chuckled, "but I think there's a chance we might be able to talk to one another once in a while without it devolving into a war of words. At least not immediately." He turned to Alex. "Thank you for that. I don't know what you said to her but she gave me a chance to apologize, and I think she actually listened to what I had to say. We're never going to see eye to eye on certain things—I think we both know that—but maybe we can look past that to the things we do agree on." He smiled. "It's a start. I just want my daughter back in whatever capacity she's willing to accept me. So again, thank you."

"You're welcome, Jacob," Alex smiled. "I hope this means we might get a chance to get to know each other."

"Let me walk you out, Jacob," Diana said then turned to Alex. "I'll poke my head in and say hi to Kate on my way by. I'll let you know as soon as I find anything out, okay?" She stood and put her hand on Alex's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze before taking Colonel Kane's arm and walking out of the cafeteria.

The Dragon..., Alex thought to herself, shaking her head as she finished her now cold coffee, mentally flipping through every reference to him that she had encountered during her research into the Drakon Corporation. This just gets weirder and weirder.