Artemis didn't complain at all about supporting me with her body. I guess at this point, we'd touched in more embarrassing ways.
We picked our way through the wreckage from my fight with Hyperion. I didn't feel sad when I looked at it. The Titan and I toppled buildings and broke streets. But at the end of it, I knew that Hyperion fell. I couldn't shake the superstition that the city itself knew it too.
After a few minutes I had the strength to stand on my own. We came around a corner and saw them, and my heart warmed like someone started a fire underneath it.
The resistance was emerging from underground. The rising sun illuminated them, bathing them in light again after so long. Prometheus walked near the front, his hands in his pockets, while Katie was limping beside him. Leo was looking around at the busted buildings, letting out a low whistle, while Calypso was with the survivors, using her spells to ease their aches and worries. I stepped a bit further away from Artemis, taking my remaining weight off of her, but Prometheus still saw. He gave me a sly smile.
"Hyperion?" he asked as we approached each other.
"Gone," I said. "Faded."
"Incredible work. Not that I expected any different, of course. Tell me, what did you think of him?"
"Despicable," I said. "But… strong."
Prometheus nodded. "Apt. Could you beat him again, if you were to fight again as you are now?"
"I don't know."
"And someone stronger than him?"
I squeezed my hands into fists. "No."
"Not yet," Prometheus corrected me. He patted my shoulder, smiling. "I was worried you would be getting arrogant. I'm glad to see I was wrong. But having a good grasp of your own abilities does not mean you should give up. We've come far already. Look around! This is because of you."
I saw mortals from Artemis's group still stumbling out of the subway station. I watched the moment when they held up their hands, shielding their face from the sun's rays, feeling its warmth on their skin. I hadn't noticed it underground, but they were all pale. When they stood in the sunlight again they each made the same face, like they were meeting an old friend, and it was one I'd never forget.
This was what I was fighting for— a better future, just as much as any kind of revenge.
I winced, feeling a churning in my gut. Maybe my fight had more aftereffects than I'd realized. The discomfort passed quickly, and I returned my attention to the people I'd saved.
"Do we have to run again?" I asked Prometheus.
"There's no need this time," he said. "Hyperion moved to eradicate the resistance. His brethren will assume the spike of power was him doing just that. Unlike in LA, we are not framing anyone for this. When what we have done is discovered, it will signal that war has begun. But that night will not be tonight."
"Then what will we be doing?"
Prometheus turned his head, studying the resistance behind him the way that I had been doing. They looked more like refugees with how scruffy they were, but that didn't change how hard — and for how long — these people had fought. They'd overheard that Hyperion was gone, and they knew I was the one who did it. Already, the way they looked at me was changing. I could feel their faith trickling in, just as vehement as the followers I gained in Washington. Prometheus turned back to me wearing a smirk.
"We'll celebrate," he said.
O-O-O
The mood that evening was worlds away from the party at the Wolf House, but it was still a celebration. Just of a different kind.
Prometheus took us to the base he and my allies had been using: one of the tallest still-standing buildings between Central Park and the Hudson. It had a nice rooftop lounge area with a great view of the setting sun. That felt appropriate tonight.
There was an odd atmosphere. The New Yorkers in the group spent a long time looking over the skyline. It was bittersweet— bitter because of what we'd lost, sweet because we'd gotten our revenge. The others gave us our space. Then Prometheus got alcohol going around, and a happier atmosphere gradually spread.
Leo bounced around the place shooting off quips and making new friends. I spotted Artemis, Katie, and Thalia in the corner away from everyone else. Some things were said, and their faces looked concerned. Then, that concern melted away, and soon they were embracing. I didn't know what the talk had been about in the first place, but it was good to see they were getting along in the end.
"You have taken her?"
Calypso appeared at my side, watching me watch Artemis with her two Lieutenants. I wasn't completely sure which of the girls she meant but… it didn't actually matter.
"All three," I admitted.
"Well done." Calypso reached out, stroking my back. She had a can of beer in her hand that was pretty much empty. "That can't have been an easy thing to accomplish."
So she was talking about Artemis. "Easier than you might think. She changed when she lost her powers. A lot of her opinions changed too. She actually initiated it, right before Hyperion attacked."
Calypso winced. "That won't do!" she said.
She left my side, walking to the women in the corner. When she got there, she said something to Artemis. The goddess stepped back, while Katie and even Thalia blushed.
"So bluntly—!" Artemis said.
Calypso said something else I couldn't overhear. Slowly, Artemis dropped her arms. Calypso walked back toward me and Artemis came with her.
"Let us go," Calypso announced.
"Go where?" I asked, feeling lost.
"To right an injustice."
O-O-O
The three of us slipped away from the party. From there, Calypso led the way. All of us were gods. Without mortals to travel with, we could move as fast as we wanted. The three of us flickered through the air, beaming ourselves forward at hundreds of miles an hour.
The way that gods traveled was interesting. From the mortal point of view, there was just a bright flash and then they were gone. Most people thought it was teleportation, but gods always insisted it was just superspeed; more than mortal eyes could track. It got weirder when you were the one doing it, or maybe it was just strange for me because I'd been mortal once. Completely intuitively, you could decide to speed up and your body would listen. Only the soles of your feet turned to your true form, but that was enough to properly you at insane speeds. It felt like skipping.
Calypso took the lead. I still didn't know what we were doing. Traveling north for a couple of minutes, we crossed state borders into what was probably Northern Maine before Calypso lifted her hand.
She stopped, and Artemis and I landed behind her. This part of the country used to be an endless sea of densely-packed trees and vegetation, yet behind us was a sea of barren scorched dirt. Hyperion's wrath against everything natural had been widespread and fierce. But even it had its limits.
Ahead of us, woods stretched away. There were trees in all the colors trees were supposed to be. Bushes and grass sprouted from the dirt. Birdsongs could be heard. Artemis walked forward, nearly stumbling, until she was on the threshold. She looked back at us.
"Go!" Calypso said.
Artemis bolted. A silver blur disappeared into the nature, giggling and crying with joy. Calypso came to stand in front of the first trees. We could hear her exclamations, and every once in a while see a blur pass by, fast enough to make the leaves shake.
"Is this what you brought us here for?" I asked.
Calypso squinted at me, then shook her head. "You will understand."
The silver blur appeared in front of me.
"Come!"
Artemis's hands wrapped around my wrist, yanking me along with her.
I stretched my legs to their maximum to keep up. Even up close, I could only catch glimpses of Artemis. She was moving too fast, flitting back and forth like a small bird inside a bush. Once I'd been brought along, she let go of my hand, abandoning me in the woods.
I temporarily lost sight of her. I'm not sure how deep we'd gone. At least a mile or two at the speed we were moving. Nature was on all sides, the songs of birds and cries of beasts twice as plentiful as they'd been at the forest's border.
A single giggle behind me made me twist around. I was too slow. A finger tapped the base of my neck, disappearing in a blur by the time I turned around. There was a moment of nothing. Then the blur passed by again, this time poking my back.
So this was what we were doing. I took a deep breath, standing straight, and shut my eyes.
There were no footsteps, just a caressing breeze each time she blurred by and occasional giddy giggles. She tapped me on all sides, disappearing faster than I could turn toward her. I paid attention to everything. The breeze touched my skin before she did. It was by less than a second, but it was true each time.
The skin on my right arm was touched by a cool breeze. I changed.
My body shot up in height as everything below my neck adopted my true form. I moved so fast that the shockwave made branches overhead sway as if in a thunderstorm. When the branches stilled, my index finger was extended, pressing against Artemis's forehead.
"Caught you," I said.
She looked different. Her clothes were gone, and her features weren't quite human anymore. Her skin had taken on a silvery hue. While I'd grown taller in my true form, Artemis had shrunk. Her eyes were large and slightly slanted, with silver pupils, while her small nose reminded me vaguely of a cat's. Two antlers stuck out of her head, thin but sturdy with their branching tines. There were three large flat leaves on her— one over each of her breasts and the third over her crotch. I thought they were part of her true form, but as we stood there they fell away, drifting to the forest floor, revealing pink nipples on her small breasts that stood out against her skin as well as the protruding, shapely lips of her vagina.
Artemis's large eyes looked at me. She only came up to my ribs in her true form, but this just seemed to excite her more. My clothes had torn and strained from my transformation, and as I focused on them and flexed, they shredded completely. My dick appeared, erect after studying Artemis's nude body. In my true form, with my increased size, it was over a foot long. Artemis shivered. My finger slid up her head without moving as she slowly sank down her knees, wrapping both hands around my shaft. The hunter had been caught. Now, it was time for me to claim my trophy.
Artemis stretched her lips as she opened them as wide as they could possibly go. Sliding her head forward, she engulfed my cockhead and kept sliding lower.
Her hair was auburn still, but now with natural silvery highlights. I got a great look at it staring at the top of her head as Artemis slid me into her throat. My dick was enormous compared to her, but Artemis had immortal durability. Her throat expanded around me, reshaping and straining to accomodate my size. Her whole neck bulged out as my cock filled it. She felt incredible— a warm, willing prize.
Goddesses don't mess around. Artemis pushed her head forward until she'd taken every last centimeter I had to offer. She began bobbing her head back and forth. When she tightened her lips and sucked with all she had, I felt my cock throb even in my true form.
Calypso appeared from among the trees. She leaned against one, planting her hand on its bark, and watched.
"I see you've begun," she said.
I smiled softly. My hand landed on Artemis's head, but I didn't push down. I just stroked her hair. She looked up with both eyes. I hadn't been able to see it while she was standing, but Artemis had a tail— a short short puffy one like a deer's that matched her antlers.
"Do you get it now?" Calypso asked, and I looked back at her. "When Artemis gave you her first time, she did not regret it. But it was not a perfect choice. She was frightened, afraid that her first time would be taken."
Maybe gods could still blush in their true forms, because when I looked down, Artemis hid her face by pressing it against my groin, her antlers poking my ribs. I stroked her head more softly as things fell into place. I thought living underground had changed Artemis. And that was true, but it wasn't the whole reason she brought me to that rooftop: she'd been backed into a corner. I should've seen it earlier.
Now, however, there was no corner. Hyperion was gone, and for tonight, it was just us here. But this was still what Artemis chose. I curved the motion of my hand, cupping Artemis's ear, which had become pointed like an elf's.
I didn't need to use words. That gesture was enough to signal what was coming.
Artemis pushed her face against me again. She tensed her whole throat, exerting considerable strength. I flexed my back, then let my muscles relax. Cum began pouring into Artemis.
Her stretched neck bulged further as she swallowed it all. Gradually, once the stream had run its course, Artemis pulled back, allowing me to slide out of her. She caught her breath but didn't miss a beat.
Artemis turned around, planting her hands and chin on the forest floor. She raised her legs straight, arching her back. Her womanhood was presented like a fruit to be harvested. The hunter was as much a part of nature as any of her prey, and now, she was in heat.
Her chest might have been modest in her true form, but her slight frame had muscular thighs and glutes beyond what any mortal body could boast. Her tail twitched in anticipation. Because of her short stature, I had to drop onto my knees to line my waist up with her entrance, even though both her legs were extended.
"Take her," Calypso urged.
I didn't need to be told.
My first thrust snapped branches on the closest trees. Artemis's crotch was just as tight as her mouth— tighter, even. Her stomach showed a slight bulge each time my dick entered her, beating against the womb that had always been untouched. Her body was superhumanly stiff, but her backside still shook slightly after each collision. My thrusts grew faster, the shockwaves making Calypso's dress blow around her ankles and shattering the bark of the closest trees.
"Ahhhhh!" Artemis cried. "Ahhh! Ahhhhhhhh!"
She screamed like a wild animal. There was no reason in her mind to hold back her voice. It was alluring, and soon I was grunting and moaning equally loudly. Calypso's dress melted away as she watched. She adopted her true form, her breasts swelling while her waist curved in. Calypso's fingers dug into her pussy as she watched, and she slowly slid down the tree she had pressed her back to, adding her own softer moans to the symphony.
I sensed a change coming inside of Artemis, and my thrusts relentlessly beat it closer. She became tighter, tighter, and tighter still. Her folds continued to moisten. I gave a thrust so strong that it upended the closest trees, and Artemis screamed.
"NNNNNNHHHHHAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
Artemis's insides constricted as if trying to crush me, but I was too sturdy to break. The indescribable tightness made my sanity buckle for a moment. As soon as Artemis orgasmed, our surroundings reacted.
The grass grew to three times its original height. The broken branches on trees grew back, then branched into three or four new ones. Flowers bloomed on pine trees. From the holes where felled trees had housed their roots, new trees appeared, growing taller in minutes than they would have in a hundred years. This was what it meant to be a nature goddess. Artemis didn't just love the woods, she was a part of them.
As amazing as all of this was, a haze had come over me. Something primal urged me on. Artemis was offering herself to me, and she felt so good. My instincts demanded I make the most of this.
My thrusts sped up. The area around us continued to be torn up by the force of our lovemaking, but Artemis's influence was growing it back twice as fast. Calypso's face was wrinkled with pleasure as she touched herself. When I couldn't pound Artemis any faster on my knees, I grabbed her antlers.
Even in the kind of lustful trance I'd entered, I knew to be gentle enough that they wouldn't break. But they were extremely strong— enough that when I stood up, I could hold her whole body up with them.
Artemis's legs and arms dangled off of the ground as I pounded her. Bits of silvery liquid dripped from her crotch as I thrusted into her, and as it touched the ground, vibrant red amaranth sprouted. Artemis's sacred flower.
Now that I was touching them, I discovered that her horns were actually covered by a coat of short fur. They were soft to the touch. She could feel my touch through them as if I was holding her skin. Gripping tightly with four fingers, I stroked them gently with my thumbs at the same time, noticing Artemis's moans change.
With the hand that wasn't busy touching herself, Calypso cast a spell. A cloud formed in front of Artemis that was reflective like a mirror. In it, we were able to see ourselves.
For Artemis, she could see herself held up with my body looming behind her. And for me, I could see her stiff pink nipples as her small breasts shook. I could see her toes curled into balls as they hovered above the ground, swaying each time her body was thrusted into. Finally, I could see her face. She was smiling the happiest smile I'd ever seen on her. That, more than anything, pushed me over the edge.
I gave a final thunder-clap like thrust. Calypso brought herself to another orgasm, causing her cloud to shimmer and mostly disperse, but it had done its job. Artemis and I orgasmed at the same time.
My cum poured into her, filling me with a rush of power I'd never felt before. Goddesses were different from mortals, and this was no ordinary goddess. The feeling was as if I'd slept with a hundred women, maybe more. I caught a glimpse of my face in the remnants of Calypso's cloud, and found that my skin had turned the same color as the rest of my body (like human skin, but slightly more copper) and my eyes weren't green anymore. They were every single color you can imagine but just a drop of each, all sharing the same irises and coexisting.
The cloud faded and I lost sight of myself, but I knew what it represented. I could finally call on all of my true form when I wanted. But I still had a long way to go. Facing Hyperion after Menoetius had made clear that in a true battle, it took more than having your true form to turn the tides in your favor. That was something to worry about another time though.
My hands slipped off of Artemis's antlers, moving down her body to her chest. I lifted her, pulling her back against my torso without my penis leaving her. She was panting. Despite having immortal stamina, she was less used to this than any other goddess out there.
I could hear bird songs around us. Somehow, wildlife had realized it was safe now, and they were flocking this way. Squirrels appeared on branches, snakes slithered through the grass, and birds and bats flew overhead. A fox appeared beside Calypso, sitting and nuzzling her side. Artemis and I watched it all as she rested her head against my chest.
Without saying anything, Artemis looked straight up. She shut her eyes, waiting, and I leaned down, kissing her lips from above. I understood what this meant. It was a contract. She was promising herself to me, and she'd stay that way until the end of the road. No matter how near or far that end may be.