Pantheon

"Lucas! Lucas! Please, Lucas, respond!" Isolde screams as she tugs on her son's vomit covered suit.

Lucas stands upright, the brightness of his eyes gone, stands there in the middle of the dance hall, catatonic, unable to respond.

"What happened to him?" Asks Maria.

Adam finally turns away from the scene to look at his mother. He fondly looks at her for a moment before answering. "I locked him inside his mind." He responds. "There he can have everything he ever wanted."

"Kind of anticlimactic." Says Kiyana, approaching Lucas. "I was hoping to see a huge fight."

"You want me to bring him back?" Asks Adam.

Kiyana observes Lucas closely, closer than she would otherwise allow herself to. "What do you think is going on in there?" She says, waving her hand in front of his face.

"Get away from him!" Yells Isolde.

"Woah, okay then." Says Kiyana, moving away.

"Most impressive. You have adapted to your powers well." Says Boris, approaching Adam. He extends his hand to Adam. "My name is Boris."

"Good to meet you, Boris, my mom filled me in." He smiles. "Thanks for your help."

"I'm glad you're back." Says Kiyana.

Adam turns to her. "Thanks for looking out for my mom, Kiyana. I really appreciate it."

Kiyana laughs, "I probably could have done a better job."

"No, I was the one that could have done a better job."

Adam turns to face Maria once again. He looks deep into her eyes. "I'm sorry for not being here when you needed me most."

She smiles at him, caressing his cheek with her hand in that way that drives him crazy.

"You're always there when I need you the most."

She closes her eyes, gets on the tip of her toes pulling Adam's head towards her, he leans in and kisses her on the lips. That same feeling he had in the sun, where everything around him ceased to matter, overcomes him as he tastes her soft lips.

Maria lets go, biting her lip she looks at him, a smile on her face.

They stand there for a moment, just staring into each other.

Olivia hesitantly approaches, unsure of what to say. Maria spots her from the corner of her eye and runs over to her. "Adam, could you cover her up with something?"

"Cover yourself up too, while you're at it." Remarks Kiyana.

Adam rolls his eyes at Kiyana's remark, he constructs a blanket over Olivia, it gently wraps around her. For himself, his regular gym shorts and a t-shirt.

"It's good to have you back, Adam." Says Maria, a tired expression on her face.

"I'm sorry for putting you in so much danger." Says Adam.

"I'm sure you all have a lot of catching up to do." Interjects Boris. "Guardian," He says sarcastically, "We have a big mess to clean up. I suppose you and your Pantheon will rely on the services of my people to take care of everything."

"I thought that was what you guys do." Replies Kiyana.

"How convenient for you. Still, there are many memories to erase, a false narrative to provide for the people, and a new possible threat to assess." Says Boris, turning to Isolde, as she goes through the stages of grief.

"You guys can do that sort of thing?" Asks Adam. "Lucas made quite the mess. It's gonna be a little hard to convince everyone that nothing out of the ordinary happened."

Boris puts on a confident grin. "Like the Guardian said, it is what we do."

"What's going to happen to them?" Asks Maria, motioning towards Isolde and Lucas.

"They will both be contained." Replies Boris, "That is also what we do, in fact, containment is our true M.O." He turns to Olivia. "Miss Olivia, I know you have been through a lot recently, the last thing I want to do is put you under any more stress. That said, I have a lot of paperwork to fill out, my superiors will expect a thorough run down of everything that happened, and I'm sure you can fill in a lot of blank spaces."

Olivia turns to Adam and Maria, a reaffirming smile under weary eyes, then back to Boris. "I'll help you with anything you need."

Kiyana seems distracted with something, she speaks out loud to herself. "Hey! Yeah. Okay. Wow, really? Okay. Yeah, okay. Sure. See ya'" She turns to Adam and Maria. "Guess what, guys? Joy just told me the Pantheon asked for an audience with you. She said she'll escort you, that she'll wait for you both at the beach you always hang out at."

Boris seems impressed. "They never make contact with anyone in this realm."

"Jealous?" Asks Kiyana.

"To be quite frank, yes, a little bit." Says Boris, handing the fan to Maria.

"Are you sure you don't want to get some rest?" Maria asks Olivia.

"You two go do what you have to do." Replies Olivia.

"Mr. Adam, I too would like to set up a date for us to have a chat as well." Says Boris. "I'm sure the time you spent in the sun has given you a perspective few could compare to. The universe is a big scary place, and it needs people like you to help keep order."

Kiyana is about to say something when Adam responds. "Sure, Boris. Just give me some time to recuperate." He turns to Maria, a smile on his face. "I think we all need some well deserved rest."

"I understand. We will be in touch."

"See you soon." Adds Kiyana.

Olivia gives them a warm smile as Adam takes Maria by the hand, behind her, Isolde leers at the two of them. Adam doesn't pay her any mind, with a flash and a crack they leave the dance hall, now finding themselves in a moonlit beach. Not too far away, Joy, holding a spherical paper lantern on a stick walks towards them.

"Hi, Maria. Hi, Adam, glad you're back." Says Joy.

Adam just smiles, Maria greets her with a hug.

"Damn, Maria, you were absolutely amazing out there." Says Joy.

Maria offers the fan to Joy. "Thanks. This is yours."

"Why didn't you help?" Interrupts Adam.

"You can return it to the Pantheon yourself." Says Joy to Maria, she turns to address Adam. "The Pantheon will answer that. Adam, just know that you're taking a role in something huge. Bigger than you can imagine."

"Why do they want to meet with us now?" He asks.

"I remember specifying that their audience with you could be at literally any moment. This is it. By the way, congratulations!" Says Joy, patting Adam on the shoulder.

"For taking care of Lucas?"

"For kissing your mom, dude." Says Joy, a big smile on her face. "Next thing you know you'll get to first base."

Adam grins, Maria blushes and turns away, toying with a strand of her hair.

A wooden door appears. "Go on. The Pantheon is waiting for you on the other side."

They open the door, walking through, their sight adjusts to the light. They look around and find themselves in a beautiful garden. Fruit trees, flowers, and all kinds of other plants all around them. An older woman, dressed in overalls, a black and blue flannel underneath and a straw hat busies herself, digging a hole. Adam recognizes her, she's the woman that appeared when he received his powers.

"Welcome." She says, looking up at them. "Quite the day you had."

"I remember you. You appeared all of a sudden while-" Adam stops.

The woman laughs. "You were quite busy at the moment. Come on over, I'll explain as much as I can. We can work on the garden while we chat."

Overwhelmed by a sense of calm, Adam's urge to demand answers dissipates. He and Maria help the woman remove dead branches on the shrubs and bushes, the woman busies herself with digging holes to transplant some shrubs she has waiting on flowerpots.

"I used to have a name, something like that seems irrelevant at this point, but you can call me Madam." She says, focusing on her work. "I'm part of the Pantheon, there are many of us from every realm. We dedicate ourselves to serving the Eternal force."

"What is the Eternal force?" Asks Adam.

"We've been working to find a clear answer for eons. We have come to the conclusion that it could never be explained or reasoned. All we know is we can tap into it," She turns to Adam. "Whether we are aware of it or not, it is what fuels our power. I'm sure you felt something in your time in your system's sun."

Adam recalls the inexplicable sensation of being one with everything.

"We have failed to apply any type of moral compass to the Eternal force." She continues. "Though it may seem completely random, in a long enough timeline, sometimes a motive can be discerned." She finishes digging up a hole big enough for the shrub she's going to plant. "That's how men like Lucas are permitted to be granted the power. The Eternal force does not take into consideration the chaos that some of its users may unleash, so that's why we at the Pantheon assign guardians, to maintain a balance." She pulls the shrub out of its pot and places the roots in the hole she just dug.

"So even you don't know why I was given this power?" Asks Adam.

"What I do know was that you are special." She answers.

"Why's that?"

She finishes transplanting the shrub, looks up at Adam, then looks over at Maria and smiles. Adam understands.

"You really don't have any limitation on what you are allowed to do with your power. Even killing your fellow Eternals isn't that big of a deal. It's when you then absorb that power that we begin to take notice." She gets up and walks to another empty spot on the ground, carrying another flowerpot with a shrub. "Like planting two different types of seeds in the same hole, you can't take up a space you already occupy, especially in your delicate realm where the fabric of reality is already spread thin enough. You were fortunate that Lucas did not know how to use his power properly. Even you who are lacking in wisdom were able to beat him in his state."

"He seemed pretty adept to me." Remarks Maria.

Madam chuckles. "He was a quick learner, and good at imitating others. What he lacked was imagination. That's how you beat him, Adam, even though he had absorbed two other Eternals, his close-mindedness limited his abilities. You, on the other hand, don't seem to have a limit."

Maria smiles, proud of her boy.

"Not only that," She continues, "Maria seems to be guiding your moral compass quite well. I think you could do great things." She pauses for a moment, turning back to the two of them. "The reason I asked to speak to you was to warn you." A solemn look appears on her face. "In the realm of Olympus, where most Eternals can be found, there is a man that is causing a great disruption. Like me, he has found names to be irrelevant, those that follow him call him Emperor."

"What's he up to?" Asks Adam.

"He wishes to unite all of the realms into one. While that doesn't sound malicious, his intention is to first rid existence of the Eternal force, and all other forces for that matter, then, by uniting all of the realms, he would tear apart all fabric of reality, and thus destroy them. His logic is that reality would restart; a new creation, with the absence of the Eternal force."

"He wants to destroy all of creation, so that something new can take its place?" Asks Adam.

"Yes, with the intent to not allow the Eternal force to take part in this new creation."

"Why?" Asks Maria.

"I wish I knew." Answers Madam. "Regardless, he's willing to take the countless lives that are spread all across creation. But most importantly, as servants of the Eternal force, we can not allow anything to happen to it."

"That's what's important?" Remarks Adam.

"Yes." She answers, without elaborating.

Adam can understand Boris' reluctance to trust the Pantheon.

"Do you want to hear something scary, Adam?" She asks.

Adam nods.

"This man that I speak of is not even the strongest being to walk creation. He makes up for it in his ability to convince others of equal and greater strength to willingly join him. Manipulating them, most of the time, even so, he has amassed an army of Eternals. Even in a realm like Olympus, where the great majority of the inhabitants are also Eternals, he is seen as a great threat."

"Why not build up an army to fight back?" Asks Adam.

"It is difficult to motivate so many individuals with limitless power to do something they do not want to do. Yes, there are many like Joy, or Kiyana, with an innate sense of justice and order, but truth be told, most end up abusing their power like Lucas. That is why you are so special, Adam. What you seek isn't as simple." She once again turns to Maria and smiles.

"You want me to fight this guy?" Asks Adam.

She finishes transplanting the other shrub, she gets up and dusts her hands off. "No, just to warn you that he has taken an interest in you. We believe he motivated Lucas into seeking you out. Do not ask why, I will not be able to give you an answer."

"You think this guy would send his army to come get me?" Asks Adam, also getting up, and brushing himself off.

"He would have already done so if he deemed you that important. I do not believe anything that drastic would happen, but the Pantheon has taken a liking to you, Adam. We don't even expect you to stand up to him, or do anything about all this. We just found it fit to warn you of this danger."

"I appreciate the heads up." Says Adam. "By the way, why not just use your power to do all the maintenance on the garden?"

Madam gives him a warm smile. "For the same reason you don't manipulate your mother to do your bidding. Some things are worth more if you have to put in a little effort to achieve them."

Adam smiles.

Maria, remembering the fan, hands it over to Madam. She takes it in her hand, then makes it disappear.

"Thank you, Maria." She says approaching her. "Your ability to use magic is astounding. I do not want to reveal to you things that you will eventually find out yourself, just know, while not an Eternal, your power is just as infinite. Do not limit yourself."

Not sure of what she means, Maria nods.

A door appears behind Madam. "Farewell, good luck, and have fun." She says with a smile.

She walks through the door, and as she disappears behind it, the garden disappears. Once again, Adam and Maria themselves alone on the moonlit beach.