^^Romulus, Father of Rome^^

--- William D'antonio ---

The sun rose over Jacksonville with a burst of green, the day of my Fifteenth Birthday.

I looked up from my mechanics, and hummed in surprise, then when back to rotating the nigh-microscopic gears of the tiny fruit bat-shaped surveillance drone I was making, complete with a camera, echolocation, radar, and storage unit.

Satisfied that it worked, I activated it, and watched it fly around for a moment, before checking my computer.

I grinned, looking at the perfect sound-map of my workshop, perfect down to the last detail. The bat roosted with the others, it's work complete, and I grinned, gathering my schoolbooks when the alarm for 6:00 rang on my phone.

My car was old, but sturdy, with a 1964 carbon-steel frame, built to withstand just about anything.

Also, with the auxiliary electric engine I'd placed into the trunk of the 1964 Mustang, it was also a Hybrid, and got a near-perfect gas mileage ratio of 120 miles to the gallon.

I parked in the school parking lot, in my spot as Salutatorian, (2nd best grades in the school,) then got out, locking the car.

Nearby, a group of guys from the Senior Varsity Football Team saw me, and cheered, waving me over.

I approached. "Any good news about the canceled rally?" I asked calmly, catching the ball one of them threw with nimble hands.

"No, seems the County is freaking out about this whole gas leak situation." The captain of the team shrugged, and I threw the ball to him, sitting on the dropped tailgate of his truck.

"That sucks. I was looking forward to the cheerleaders' new routine. That freshman girl was supposed to be lead." I sighed dramatically.

They laughed, and then the bell for classes rang, replacing their laughs with groans of disappointment.

---

I parked in the spot allotted to me by the apartment complex, and climbed out, stretching with a few cracks in my joints. I grabbed my bag, slinging it over my shoulder, and started up the stairs.

As my keys slid into the lock, I heard people in my apartment.

I frowned, then removed the key silently, and went around to the other side, sliding in through the back window. I picked up the shotgun that was next to my bed, and kicked open my door, cocking it once.

Mother blinked in shock, and I reared back. "Mother? What the-" I put the gun back on the gun rack, and sighed, hugging her tightly. "Why didn't you guys call me? You can't just break into my house!" I smiled, belaying my words as the Italian flowed over my tongue like silk.

My dad patted my head. "Well, at least he's safe from unwelcome guests, huh?" He chuckled.

I nodded and took the slug out of the chamber, pushing the safety back into place, then locking it to the gun rack once more. "Always... now did the whole family come? Ah! Indeed they did!" I walked into the family room, and grinned at everyone sitting on my couch and recliner.

They greeted me happily, and I grinned even wider, happy to see my family. They brought out a cake, and I groaned. "You didn't. Seriously? You came all the way from Italy to bring me a cake?" I sighed, shaking my head at them, though my face was still lit up like a Christmas tree.

We ate the cake, which was a soft, American vanilla sponge cake, but it was nice to have my family with me.

"How goes your schooling?" Father asked, as I washed the dishes with my little cousins.

"I am Salutatorian, the Second of all the students, academically. The Valedictorian is a little genius, she is only 10, but she's already a freshman, and she never gets anything wrong. It's kind of cool." I chuckled.

He hummed. "I see..."

"Second Place is good, Papa. I am respected, I get my own parking spot, the sportsmen respect me, I have many friends. All is well." I assured him.

My littlest cousin, who was only 5, finished drying the dishes, and stacked them as best he could on the counter.

I smiled and ruffled his hair. "Good job, Lorenz! Go sit with your Mama, eh? I will turn on the tele!"

He gasped and giggled, running off to leap into his mother's lap.

I rolled out the television I'd repaired, a large plasma screen that the school had called a lost cause. I rescued it, and repaired it, then hooked it to an old VCR I'd likewise repaired.

I pushed in an old Italian translation of a Disney movie, and then sat with the adults as the children crowded in front of it.

"How are the Babies, Julio and Rufino?" I asked my youngest aunt, who had just had twins a year before, just after I left.

"They are growing so fast! Their papa and his mother will handle them for the week we're here." She nodded.

I blinked. "Week?!?"

"Yes. Grandpa has talked to your landowner, and he has let us rent the room next to yours, for the week." She nodded.

I smiled. "Ahhh. I see... I'll have the couch moved over, and the TV, for the children.  The couch turns into a large bed, they'll all fit." I nodded.

She kissed my cheeks. "Good boy. Now, what about girls, hmm? I've heard some nasty things about American girls. You haven't been getting in trouble, have you?" She poked my chest.

"No, auntie. I have not. There is a very cute girl in my school I've been... talking to, but the stories you hear about American girls are very exaggerated." I said soothingly.

She nodded. "Good. Your mama and I would beat you, otherwise!"

Mother laughed and patted her sister's head. "No I wouldn't. He's a man, now! He's free to have women falling over him, so long as his studies do not suffer!" She said sternly.

I smiled. "Of course, Mama."

Grandpa Guillermo cleared his throat, halting all conversation, even the children, who hurried to pause the movie. "Young one. As you know, your 15th birthday is a very important day. By Roman Law, you are a Man. Do you understand?" He asked me directly.

I nodded. "Yes, Grandfather."

"Hm. And you will accept the burdens of your bloodline?" He asked, leaning forward.

"Which... are?" I asked slowly, looking at father.

"You are the next in line to attempt to become Romulus, child." Grandfather said simply.

I blinked slowly. "The founder of Rome."

"Sì."

"Son of Mars and Rhea."

"Sì."

"Twin brother of Remus, and the original Were-Bear."

"Correct. Do you accept that responsibility?"

I looked at father, and he nodded urgently, murmuring 'humor him.'

I smiled. "Of course, Grandpa. I accept all responsibility my family needs of me."

He grunted. "Good! Come here, boy!" He held his hand out.

I gripped his palm, but his hand slipped from mine, and gripped my forearm.

I grunted as a burning sensation ripped through my arm, and tried to pull away, before a voice in my mind roared savagely. 'Do not retreat! Never retreat!!! You are to be the Father of Rome. The Spirit of Rome. ACT LIKE IT!'

I growled softly and gripped grandpa's forearm harder, making him grin widely.

The tattoo that had graced his forearm for as long as I'd known him faded a bit, and a fresh one appeared on my forearm, the skin around it swollen like a Brand.

I growled softly, and then flexed my forearm. "That stung... what was that, Grandpa? Magic?"

He nodded. "Indeed. Whosoever wears that brand is acknowledged as next in line for the Ascension. You will make our family proud." He said simply.

I sat down slowly, my legs like jello. The ladies on the couch moved a bit for me.

Then my eyes rolled up in my head, and I passed out.

---

I gazed down at the Five and Fifty men of my Senate, arguing loudly in Latin. I hummed at an odd ringing sound in my ears, and stood slowly, halting the conversation.

A glowing wind began to spin in the center of the cathedral-sized room, and I glimpsed a being made of fire in it.

I grinned and knelt. "Pater. Quae pervenit."

'Father. You have arrived.' The translation slipped into my mind slowly, like a wisp of knowledge I'd had all along.

The being spoke, a deep, resounding voice that caused pain to every mortal present, but not me: Romulus, Father of Rome.

"Adpropinquant mihi filium. Quae satis diu vixit in mundo mortale." 'Come near me, my Son. You have lived long enough in this mortal world.'

I stood, and strode towards him, squaring my shoulders.

As I stepped into the wind, I gritted my teeth to keep from screaming, as it ripped at my skin, cutting and burning me incessantly.

"This is a Test... and I will not Fail." I growled in perfect Italian, and stomped forward, making no further sounds as my body was savagely ripped to the bone.

The being made of Fire smiled slowly, staring down at my bleeding form, now possessing only my bones and organs.

He touched my forehead, and I broke my teeth, clenching my jaw so hard to stop myself from screaming as my entire body ignited.
-
I woke up in a place covered in golden light.

My body was also made of light, when I looked at it, and I hummed. "Am I now a God? Or only Dead?"

"You are Both. You died, and became a Deity. However, the process by which you became a god took too long, and the gods gave your City a New Matron. Bellona, Goddess of War." The being made of fire answered.

I stood quickly. "They gave my city away? To a WOMAN?!?" I yelled indignantly.

His hand snaked out, (or what I assumed was his hand, if gods had hands,) and slammed upside my skull. The pain was akin to having a spear struck through me, though there was no physical damage.

"Do not insult your elders. Bellona has earned the right to govern your city through centuries of trials and combat against beings you wouldn't dream of in your darkest nights." He snarled.

"I thought you were the god of war?" I asked.

He grunted. "Not exactly. I am the god of Righteous Rule by Might. Tactics and warfare are definitely a part of that, but Bellona... she is Only a goddess of War. She has no other duties, no other responsibilities, nothing, except making Rome ready for War." He explained, sitting on a white chair he summoned with the flick of a hand.

I frowned, the expression feeling odd on a face with no features. "And how do I win my city back?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment, then shrugged. "Challenge her for it. She will accept. If you fail, she will likely kill you. As a New God, you are still vulnerable. Let it rest for a few centuries, gain your followers and strength,-"

I snarled and launched myself out of the room, sniffing for the smell of blood and death, as a god of war should smell.

I stumbled into a clearing that appeared instantly, and a tall woman made of dark flame gazed at me calmly.

"Ahhh... the son of Mars and Rhea, yes? Romulus... what do you seek, boy?" She asked, her voice like the wind over a flaming battlefield.

I stood straight. "I want the city you stole as I slept."

She blinked slowly, and then laughed loudly, a gorgeous sound like metal roughly slamming a legionaries shield.

I reared back as the sound slammed against me.

"Stole? Oh you poor, deluded boy!!! I am no thief. I claimed your city, and carried it to new heights. I have assisted Rome to Conquer nearly all of Europe, and the Sands of the east, the sands of the south, and even the Greeks have bowed before us!" She giggled.

I steeled my spine, and was surprised when my entire body turned to a liquid metal, my skeleton forming from harder metal.

She laughed again. "And so new at your power as a god... tell you what. You may challenge me in a Century, when you have gathered your strength. I will permit you to live, until then." She said reasonably.

I roared back savagely, my body taking the form of a giant brown Bear. "YOU WILL PERMIT?!? I WILL STRIKE YOU DOWN WHERE YOU STAND, WENCH, AND RECLAIM MY HOME!" I surged forward to slam my heavy paws down on her, and her eyes became visible, burning a burnished gold in the darkness of her form.

My Paws touched her fire, and ignited like tinder, sending me away and scrambling for the pond nearby, diving in. The flames continued to burn, and I finally let loose a screech of pain as the flames consumed my heart.