Athena - Into the Eyes of the Beholder

"So, explain to me the situation, mister drooling our way," I say in a mocking tone.

He laughs, "It was just a joke to lighten the mood, it seemed dense in your head," he explains, he comes closer and holds my left hand.

 "You could tell, huh," I say in a low voice, lost in the thoughts of the moment with Athena.

"Of course I could, it was all over your face like it is now," he says pointing to my face, amused.

Giving him back my attention I pout and slap away his pointing finger.

 He chuckles.

"Brief me of the pertinent information, what's happening? Where are we going? Why are we needed?" I ask, changing the topic to the important matter after returning from a brief moment of reminiscence. "It doesn't seem too serious if you are teasing around."

"You have to fight in good humor to make the right decisions'' 

I nod, going so out of mind would do no good.

"The alert came from Batgirl, Selina, she told me that there is an invasion all around the world, they are at different important cities causing chaos." He says, taking a more serious tone.

We make a quick stop at home for me to pick my sword, shield and lasso. Then, take off.

"Who are these invaders?"

It has been a long time since an invasion occurred, back then Bruce and his wife Selina were alive and my kids were still mostly toddlers.

"According to the information that Altair sent to Selina it seems that they are beings from another dimensional realm, from an unknown planet. Their purpose is unclear, they just are causing destruction whenever they go, not minding the victim." He says with frustration in his voice tone, "I don't know why this type of being exists, I am tired of them." he complains.

'Kal is right, why do these beings exist in the first place? What's their purpose? Will there always be beings like these?' This is tiring for sure...' Kal keeps explaining to me the situation but my though null my understanding of his words, 

 'why there always has to be a bad invasion? Is there any good invasion?... Not that I can record… 

Will it be like this forever, is there no stop to this 'rat race' 'superhero rat race'? 

Why are there bad people?

Why are good people? 

Can they live without the other? 

Am I good or bad? 

What is truly good? 

What is truly bad?'

I used to know the answer to these questions but now no more, the older I get the less meaningful those answers are, yet the questions persist. 

In the sight of the love I have come to understand, the line between the two became a blur.

It doesn't matter who I have questioned with the lasso, they all truly believed that they were doing the right thing. 

Then, 'What is right and what is wrong?' 

Kal snaps his fingers waking me from the tempest flooding my head.

"Hey wake up" he exclaims in a voice not too high but not too low, "we are almost there."

I shake my head in order to concentrate, "thanks" I say grateful for what he did.

From a few miles from Metropolis is visible the smoke and the sounds of disaster happening in the city, the aliens can be seen coming from rectangular portals, which is new, normally the portals are ovals or circles. They come in ships of different shapes and sizes, their signature color is purple, and they have what seems to be some symbolic lines in yellow and red. Don't like the combination but it is not that bad. 

Years of fighting have led me to value the aesthetics of the enemy, I wonder if Kal does too. I look at him, he is focused on examining the different areas of the city, assessing where to go first.

"There!" Kal signals a building on fire then flies to the spot.

I follow him in no time.

The building is on the verge of collapse and there are people inside, there are invaders shooting with what looks like plasma guns at people indiscriminately. Their faces are masked with a helmet making me unable to see their faces, and their bodies are protected with war gear all in the base of purple with lines of red and yellow. 

I fight them with my lasso, throwing them out of the building, then I take to a safe place the people inside, two by two, one in each arm, the fastest I could without harming them, same do Kal.

"The building is going to collapse!" Kal shouts trying to reach my ears in the midst of the destruction.

I come out of the building with the last people flying to the safe zone near the harbor, where young heroes are protecting and healing the citizens and fallen heroes.

Some of the young heroes are surprised by our appearance, some others are amazed, sending looks of admiration to Kal and me, which is good it lifts the morale of the group.

He gives some orders for the enhancement of the post, then we take off to the battlefield again, we take different ways this time, he goes up to fight the flying ships while I go down to defend the citizens on the ground.

I take out my sword and shield ready to start the fight. 

I jump and fall over one of them incapacitating it, slash another, hit with my shield the other, and save a girl who was laying down on the pavement scared, the shot of the plasma gun is deflected by my shield, I throw him my tiara boomerang to his gun and then jump to him smashing my shield of his helmet. 

The helmet breaks letting me see inside, his position of submission, trying to stop me from killing it. I look directly into its big yellow eyes and all I can see is desperation, fear, and the most interesting of emotions, hope.

'Why hope?' it is rare to see this kind of emotion in an invader, isn't it? No… it is not… remembering those same eyes in many others, some full of resentment or rage, but there is always a bit of hope, 'why?'

I shake off the idea and go back to duty, I carry the girl and two other people to the harbor post and then go back to the battlefield. 

There my objective changed slightly, What are these invaders thinking? What is giving them hope? That is what I want to figure out.

I force down many more and break their helmets finding the same eyes in all of them, intriguing, 'what is their drive?'

I save some heroes then I fight alongside them, their spirits all high sending grateful praises to me.

These young heroes fight with all their might, focus on saving everyone, no doubt, only hope and the sense of protection of what they love. Their gaze nearly the same as those invaders, the only difference is the pain and fear that is in the invaders' eyes.

After creating a safe area in the inner city, I take one of the invaders' fallen soldiers, tie it up with the lasso of truth, securing it on the spot I question him emotionless, 

"Why are you invading us?" 

The soldier, surprised to hear his own language being spoken by a foreign entity, asked, "How can you speak my language?"

"Under the spell of the truth, I can speak your own," I answer.

A glint of joy passed his eyes for a brief moment, fast, I could almost not see it. 

"Answer my question now!" I commanded with a deep voice, "why are you invading us."

The hope that was hidden came out in all its glory, "We want a new home," he answers with conviction.

"Why attack us?" I ask, confused at their approach, crumbling deep within.

"Because it is the only way to ensure our existence," he replies.

"Who told you that?"

"Our Father Lord," he answers, as if gold were that person, with respect and admiration.

They are the same as the other heroes fighting for the earth.

"Who is he?" 

"Our supreme leader," He answers the same way he did before.

"Where is he?" I ask.

"He is somewhere on this planet, he came first, on the Royal Ship," 

"Where is that ship? Why don't we know about the ship?" I ask, controlling my emotions, I didn't hear from Clark nor the other heroes about a flagship, they have only come to witness what seems like their regular battleships.

"We don't know, we never know, the Royal ship has deep secrets that I a mere soldier cannot know, " He looks at me with determination and mockery and exclaims, "You will never find it, we will accomplish our goal, we will have this planet as our home, and we will protect it forever and we will not lose it again. Is our duty as people of Kevalieb!" 

The soldier then presses a button on his chest.

"For a new Kevaliab!" He shouts with pride and vigor before he goes still as his body dries up, leaving a slump of flesh on my side.