One Of A Kind

Ares sat in his throne, with baby Xena happily drinking her evening meal in his arms. He thought about Hestia's final words to him.

Many of the other gods despised him. If they ever found out just how much this child meant to him, she could become a target, although, most of the other gods were reluctant to harm a child, it didn't account for all of them.

It would be better for them to think that she was one of them, but the only way to do that, was to make her a god. The only problem was that Ares didn't want to put her in any danger, and making her into a god could be dangerous...

It was common knowledge that a mortal consuming Ambrosia was rumored to make them a god, but in all of his millennia, no other god had dared feed the food to a mortal, fearing that it would upset some universal balance.

What they really meant by that, was they feared what any mortal would become when the greed and lust for power overcame them.

But if the Ambrosia did indeed grant Xena godhood, then the gods would feel her life force, would know that she was a god, and would come under Zeus' 'never kill another god' rule. He had to do it soon, though, otherwise Xena would grow, thus disputing his claim of Xena being born a god.

There was only one way to make sure that the food would do it's job, and that was to try it. He couldn't wait any longer...

As quickly as the thought formed, they milky white liquid that filled Xena's bottle disappeared, watery, red liquid taking its place. She could hardly eat it in solid form.

Ares swept the tiny black lock of hair out of her eyes while watching her drink the Ambrosia. "Hey, sweetling, we'll soon see what you're made of...I bet you're going to grow up beautiful and strong..."

The god was struck by a sudden thought. He smiled, "Well, why don't we have a look, hmm?" With a flick of his wrist, a mirror appeared before them. "What do you think? Ten years from now?" he asked the soon-to-be goddess.

Almost as soon as the last word was spoken, an image began to form in the mirror. A young girl, with long, straight, black hair and piercing blue eyes was climbing a tall tree near one of Ares' temples.

Ares saw himself standing at the bottom of the tree. "Xena, you come down from that tree!"

The girl jutted her chin and rose a delicate eyebrow. "Give me one good reason why I should."

Xena shot him a look that said, 'Oh, please, you can do sooo much better than that...' "I haven't had so much as a scratch for as long as I can remember. Don't worry, you'll do better next time!" she yelled down at him happily.

The god disappeared, then reappeared by Xena's side near the top of the tree. The girl just stared up at him, a pout lingering on her mouth. She kept her wide, blue eyes on his face, gauging his reaction to her obvious 'puppy dog' look.

Ares hung his head in defeat, a smile playing on his lips. "What am I gonna do with you...?"

The future image of himself and Xena faded, then the mirror disappeared. Ares looked down at the now-sleeping baby goddess in his arms. He transported them to his chamber, laying himself and Xena on the bed. Just before he fell asleep, he whispered to the slumbering child, "You're going to be a handful alright...definitely one of a kind, sweet."