"What do you mean your brother Ares? I thought you said that all the Olympians besides you were dead?" Thea asked the goddess.

"Not Ares. He was cast out of Olympus centuries ago by my father Zeus for betraying the Gods. Ares detested the human race and corrupted them by introducing them to the concepts of war and violence." Artemis said.

"So, he's kind of like the Lucifer of your Pantheon?" Thea asked randomly, only to be quiet when Artemis gave her a look.

"Anyways, my father was furious that Ares corrupted humanity, since he saw them as his prized creation. And because of that, Ares was cast down from Olympus and into Tartarus." Artemis said.

"Then how did he escape? I thought you told me that Tartarus was basically the Olympian supermax?" Thea asked.

"I don't know. But somehow he escaped and returned to the world of men, continuing where he left off, but much more subtly." Artemis said.

"How could he do that without you gods noticing?" Thea asked.

"Because by the time he escaped, we'd already begun to consider war to be a part of humanity's nature and didn't give it a second thought. We became complacent and in doing so, we not only allowed Ares to escape, but also to regain his former power, since just like how I get my power from the moon, guess where he gets his power from?" Artemis asked and Thea's blood ran cold.

"War." Thea said.

"Yes. War, conflict, bloodshed, basically things that have become second nature to your kind by now. He feeds off of it and humanity's ever constant need for war has given him his power back and made him stronger than ever. But even then, he was not foolish enough to try and challenge the full might of Olympus. So instead, he found a way to drain our power and our life force into himself." Artemis said.

"He turned the ones who cast him out into living cosmic batteries." Thea said and Artemis nodded.

"Yes. And in doing so, he's made himself nearly unstoppable." Artemis said.

"But he didn't get your power. Not all of it?" Thea asked and Artemis nodded.

"I sought you out when I felt my end nearing and in doing so, was not only able to infuse you with my power, but I was also able to fool Ares into thinking I was dead like the others, which has allowed me to start recovering my power." Artemis said.

"Now that you mention it, I have felt my powers growing stronger." Thea said and Artemis smiled at her vessel.

"That is because as my power recovers, our connection strengthens and the stronger you will become." Artemis said and Thea nodded.

"So, if you stay long enough, will you eventually be able to come back to life?" Thea asked and Artemis nodded.

"Yes, but it will take time for me to get to that point. And even if I do manage to recover, I cannot leave the void until we can be sure that Ares cannot begin to siphon my power again. Otherwise we will just end up back where we started." Artemis explained and Thea nodded.

"What can I do in the meantime, since I'm assuming that you wouldn't be telling me this if you just wanted me to sit on the sidelines?" Thea asked and Artemis smiled, since Thea's warrior spirit was one of the reasons she'd chosen her.

"You and your team must begin preparing to fight Ares." Artemis said.

"Uh, fight a god, I think that might be a bit above our paygrade. Especially since we're kind of short handed right now." Thea said, thinking that Nyssa had chosen a bad time to go pit hunting.

"I'm aware, but what I meant is that there are those who can help you that just have not found yet." Artemis said.

"Really?" Thea asked.

"Just because the other gods are gone does not mean that they left this world unprepared for this possibility. There are two kingdoms that have been hidden from the world of men that can help you. Though neither of them will exactly be eager to help you." Artemis said.

"What kingdoms?" Thea asked.

"Kingdoms that were thought to be nothing more than legends to the world of man. The kingdoms of Themyscira and Atlantis." Artemis said.

"Wait, Atlantis? As in the lost underwater city?" Thea asked.

"It's real Thea. As is Themyscira, the home of the Amazons. My father hid it away from the land of men to protect them from the cruelty of men." Artemis said.

"And the Atlanteans?" Thea asked, quickly accepting the fact that the made up story about Atlantis was real, since honestly, that wasn't even the craziest thing she'd heard over the past few years.

"Forced underwater due to their own carelessness." Artemis said.

"So, how do I find these allies?" Thea asked.

"Themyscira will be slightly easier since in addition to being my vessel, you're also a woman, so they'll take your presence slightly better. If you can find it and convince them of your connection to me, they'll be honor bound to help you, since you are technically a god of Olympus." Artemis said and Thea nodded.

"So, how do I find them? It sounds like your dad tried pretty hard to keep it a secret." Thea asked her.

"Fortunately, there is a map to the island's location and it should be relatively easy for you to acquire." Artemis said.

"Why?" Thea asked.

"Because it's currently in your family's possession." Artemis said, much to Thea's surprise.

"What?" Thea asked.

"I believe your mother bought it thinking it was a piece of ancient art, when in reality, it's a navigational chart that reveals the island's location." Artemis said.

"Meaning that it's somewhere in my family's art collection." Thea said, honestly relieved, since she'd been meaning to visit her mom anyways, since she hadn't seen her since Oliver had returned from Lian Yu in this universe.

"Correct. That will be easy. Atlantis on the other hand, that will be a lot trickier." Artemis said.

"Yeah, I'm guessing that even though I'm your vessel, that doesn't mean I can breathe underwater?" Thea asked.

"Unfortunately not. Your body is still mortal, which means it does have the limitations of mortals. You'll need to find someone who has atlantean abilities to help you." Artemis said.

"Any chance you can tell me where I can find that someone?" Thea asked and Artemis chuckled.

"Fortunately, there is someone who might be able to help you, even if she doesn't know it yet. The daughter of an Atlantean and a human. She lives here in Ivy Town, but does not know of her heritage." Artemis said.

"And can I get a name?" Thea asked.

"Her name is Zara Williams. If you can find her and convince her of her heritage, she can help you enlist the aid of Atlantis in this fight, since you'll need every asset you can get in the fight with Ares." Artemis said and Thea nodded, since she knew the goddess was right, since honestly, fighting the god of war head on now, that just seemed suicidal. She knew enough about tactics to know that she'd need to take time to prepare for that fight. She just hoped she'd have enough of it.