章 4: Chapter 04
Location: Smallville, Kansas – Earth – 1992
Ikaris flew through the air his mind troubled. It had been decades since he'd seen any of his family or his wife Sersi. Years of solitude had not eased the anguish that filled his mind, no, the only release or escape from the pain came from talking to the only other person who knew what troubled him. His leader, Ajak. She had settled in the small town he currently was flying above, years of travelling the world and this was where she decided to settle? Ikaris didn't understand her but he hoped she still understood him, he needed her to help him, it was isolating keeping the secret he kept. He needed her to show him the way forward, give him comfort that his existence wasn't for nothing and that they would finish their mission soon. His impatience and inner torment over keeping the secret for centuries while watching his family fall more in love with humanity had only grown as time passed and now once more it was consuming him. Ajak could help him, millennia together keeping the knowledge of their mission made her the only person who could understand what he was feeling. She could ease his mind and maybe give him some assurance that this would all be over soon. He wanted to be with Sersi again, fulfill his reason for being and be among his family once more.
Ikaris looked at the small town below him, acres of farmland, forestry, small lakes and multiple windmills. He honed in on Ajak picturing her in his head and then used a power he and his family all shared; a Psionic Sixth Sense. The psionic sixth sense gave them the ability to connect with one another telepathically via a psychic and empathic link. They typically use this to sense and find one another but it had a variety of capabilities, they could use it to feel what another Eternal was feeling, mentally visit one another by projecting their minds to the others location, access one another's skills and knowledge and if both parties were willing they could use the power to communicate and even share thoughts and memories. When they first arrived on Earth they used this power frequently. It came naturally to them back then, almost like breathing to humans. The telepathic link it gave them allowed them to work together in harmony, emotionally connect and learn about one another. Back then, all those millennia ago that's what they needed but as the centuries passed and their family grew closer they began to use the power less, they knew each other well enough that they no longer needed a sixth sense to read each others minds. Then after they began to splinter they started guarding their minds more, they no longer connected to each other as easily as before. They had all become different beings with different beliefs and wants, they weren't a cohesive unit but rather a broken family. The connection hurt more than it helped at that point.
Ikaris remembered the last time he and Sersi linked their minds, he wished he could do it now, his heart still yearned for her. However, he knew if he did link to her he wouldn't be able to stop her from feeling all that he felt and knowing all he knew. Ikaris pushed away his longing for Sersi as the image of her was overpowering his thoughts and he could feel his mind trying to reach her. He couldn't be with her right now, no matter how much he wanted to so he stopped his thoughts from drifting. He felt his psionic sense re-centre itself to Ajak and he reached out mentally and soon he sensed the presence of another Eternal. It was her, it was Ajak, she was on a farm below and she was happy. Envy briefly flooded his mind, how come she was allowed to be happy but he was sentenced to decades of solitude and loneliness? How could she bring herself to connect with people knowing what they were all here for? How did she live with this knowledge and still be a part of the family for millennia? He pushed those thoughts away as he knew envy wouldn't get him anywhere. She was his leader, the one who spoke to the Celestials and no matter what she always found a way to guide them when they needed her to. Maybe her happiness meant she could even show him how to be happy. Ikaris hoped she could but he would be happy just to see some family, it had been a long time since he'd been with any of them and just that thought put a smile on his face as he honed in on her location and flew down into Smallville to see her.
Location: Kent Farm, Smallville – Earth – 1992
Ajak was with her husband, playing with their son Apollo when she sensed an Eternal nearby. They were above her and rapidly descending towards the farm, Ikaris. She had not seen him in a while, she worried about him after he left. She knew how much it must've hurt him to leave Sersi and for him to do that it meant that being with her caused him even more pain. Ajak often questioned whether she should have told him about the secret of the Eternals. Back then she felt like it would help him, he was a loyal soldier to his core, knowing what he was fighting for would only give him greater resolve to complete the mission she thought and in addition to that if she was being completely honest with herself she did it for her as well, so she wouldn't suffer millennia hiding a secret alone. However, she was naïve to think they would stay as they were, that they wouldn't all connect to humanity and each other deeply in a way that would change them. She was proof of that herself, she'd fallen in love with a human and she was planning on raising a boy that fell from the sky. She had changed far more than she would've imagined and he had too, that change was what was causing him pain. He was torn between his mission and his love and Ajak could not tell which side would win out in the end.
Ajak sensed Ikaris get closer having completely locked into her location and then said "Jonathan, we're about to have a visitor. One of my family is coming."
Jonathan immediately reacted, they had been together for years and although Ajak often talked about her family none had come to visit her while they were together. Jonathan stood up straighter as if to make himself look more proper and Ajak chuckled.
"Mummy's family is coming?" Apollo innocently asked excited about possibly having more people to play with.
Ajak smiled and said "Yes Apollo so you have to make sure you're nice remember?"
"Be nice to everyone" Apollo said reciting what his parents taught him about kindness the first time they let him play with kids.
"Exactly and what else?" Jonathan asked their son.
"Don't be too rough" Apollo replied with confidence proud of himself for remembering his rules.
"That's right" Jonathan said as he ruffled Apollo's curly black hair.
Ajak smiled at the two of them, the second rule came about after he accidentally threw one of his toys through a wall. They knew he was going to be different from people but he was far stronger and faster than either of them anticipated. Even at his young age his strength and speed was incredible. She had not been able to deduce what exact species he was and where he was from but she was trying. She had tried to access the tech he came with in hopes it would give her answers but thus far she had had no luck. At one point she briefly thought of asking Ashirem but decided against it fearing what his reaction to her having a family that could possibly get in the way of the mission would be. She considered giving it to Phastos but after Hiroshima he had gone his own way and was focused on himself and not technology, and Ajak thought he deserved his own peace and his own happiness. Outside of Jonathan Ajak was on her own right now and Jonathan was only human, his knowledge of the cosmic was non-existent meaning he wasn't able to help her find where Apollo was from. Ajak mentally sighed as she thought of their son, she hoped that she could find answers soon because she knew Apollo would have questions about why he was different one day.
The sight of Jonathan trying to tidy his own hair and clothing pulled her out of her thoughts and centered her. Those problems and their solutions would come to her in time, right now this was her focus. Being a mother and a wife, having her own family and being present with them. Enjoying every moment, she could share with the man she fell in love with and the son she loved more than life itself. Ajak chuckled at the sight of her husband standing up straight and adopting a formal expression while Apollo was bursting with energy hopeful that he could play with someone new today.
"Relax Jonathan, I assure you it's nothing to worry about" Ajak said an amused smile on her face.
"I'm sorry Ajak but your family are immortal beings that are the basis of a lot of gods from human myth, I can't help but feel a little nervous" Jonathan replied.
"Gods, myth" Apollo repeated his eyes lighting up due to the belief he was going to get told an exciting story.
Ajak laughed again and then said "I assure you we are not gods".
Apollo's brow furrowed as he tried to understand what his parents were talking about, the confusion evident on his face.
"Don't worry about it Apollo, I'll explain it to you when you're older" Ajak said to ease her son's mind.
"Which one of your family is it?" Jonathan interjected anxiously. "Is it the witch? The actor? Please tell me it's not the mind controller" Jonathan said his nerves getting the better of him as the thought of meeting another Eternal was clearly putting him on edge.
"It's Ikaris, the flying one. Now relax, it'll be fine. What do you think he's going to do, shoot his laser eye blasts at you?" Ajak said to her husband sarcastically.
"He shoots lasers out of his eyes!" Jonathan said incredulously and Ajak kicked herself mentally realising she hadn't told him that he did that.
"Technically it's not lasers, it's transmutable dynamic energy merged with and empowered by cosmic energy" Ajak answered simply as Jonathan just stared at her in shock. "If this is too much you can take Apollo upstairs to our bedroom and play with him there while Ikaris and I catch up" Ajak said in an amused and faux bossy tone as she playfully challenged her husband.
Jonathan looked at Ajak and he moved forward before taking her hand and saying "No I want to be here, be here with you. I may be nervous but I can do this. They are your family, if they're even a tenth of as amazing as you are then everything will be alright." The two smiled at each other and Ajak squeezed his hand lightly.
"Yay, we're staying. I didn't want to go upstairs" Kal said.
Jonathan laughed and then said "of course you didn't champ, that's cause you're much braver than me. You've got the heart of a lion don't you?" Jonathan playfully and rhetorically asked their son.
"Yeah!" Apollo said before trying to roar. Jonathan and Ajak laughed and Jonathan roared back as the two got into a roaring contest while Ajak laughed even more as she took in the moment.
Ajak heard Ikaris stealthily land outside on the farm before he began walking towards their doorstep and she calmly said "he is here".
Jonathan and Apollo stopped playing and stood together as Ajak happily walked to the door. The father and son quickly followed suit wanting to greet Ikaris as he entered their home. The three of them all feeling different emotions; Jonathan a little anxious, Ajak happy to see family again and Apollo excited to meet new family but all three feeling strengthened by their love for one another. United in their love the kindly couple and their son all walked towards the door ready to welcome in the first member of Ajak's family they would meet.
Ajak opened the door and when the two locked eyes they both lit up and the two quickly embraced.
"It's been so long Ajak" Ikaris said his voice filled with relief and joy as he hugged the only person on the planet who would understand him.
"I'm happy to see you too again Ikaris, we have so much to catch up on I'm sure" Ajak replied as she cupped his face and looked at him.
Ikaris nodded and Ajak could see the turmoil had not eased in the decades since they last talked and it broke her heart a little to see that. Ikaris finally looked up from his embrace with Ajak and noticed the two people standing behind her. One was a man, he was very tall and had brown hair and blue eyes while the other was a toddler with eyes so blue they seemed to glow, he figured based on his size he was around 4 or 5. Ikaris stared at the two of them and the little boy excitedly waved at him. Ajak turned to her husband and son and beckoned them forward.
"Ikaris, I'd like to introduce you to my husband Jonathan and our son Apollo" Ajak said as she tried to read his face and gauge his reaction to what she just told him. Ikaris simply clenched his jaw a little and then smiled.
"You weren't kidding when you said we had a lot to catch up on." Ikaris stated to Ajak and she sheepishly smiled.
Jonathan stuck out his hand and the two shook hands. Ikaris could tell he was human just from shaking his hand, he was strong by human standards but still nothing compared to an Eternal.
"Nice to meet you" Jonathan politely said. "I've heard a lot about you".
Ikaris raised his brow at that and then glanced at Ajak before simply replying "I wish I could say the same but Ajak and I haven't talked in quite some time".
The two finally stopped shaking hands as the little boy said "I'm Apollo, nice to meet you".
Ikaris smiled at him and said "you can call me Ikaris".
With the welcomes done they all walked into the house. Apollo and Jonathan went to the kitchen to get Ikaris something to drink and Ajak and Ikaris went to the sitting room. Ikaris looked at the pictures around the house, they were many of Ajak and Jonathan as well as a few of the little boy.
"So a family" Ikaris started trying to keep his voice neutral. "Is this part of Arishem's design?" he asked coldly.
"Ikaris-" Ajak said trying to cut him off but Ikaris spoke over her.
"No, I am a loyal soldier to Arishem. Millennia have passed and you've never done something like this before, what's changed? How much have you told them about yourself, about me, about Sersi, about all of us? What about our purpose and the mission Arishem gave us? A family will only get in the way; how can you not see that?" Ikaris said his voice raising slightly. He was clearly hurt about this turn of events he had come to her for help dealing with his isolation only to discover she was the furthest thing from isolated and was doing something that could endanger the mission.
Ajak moved closer to Ikaris and put her hand on his chest.
"Ikaris you must calm yourself. I know you are mad but this is not a betrayal to Arishem I can assure you. I did not plan on any of this it all happened unexpectedly, and that to me is the greatest gift the universe gives all of it's inhabitants, endless possibilities". Ajak spoke passionately as she looked into Ikaris' eyes. Ajak reached out to Ikaris using their psionic sense and let him feel her emotions. All the joy, the worry and most importantly all the love.
Ikaris let out a breath and his eyes watered a little as Ajak's emotions washed over him.
"I never imagined I would be a mother and wife and get to raise my own child nor could I have imagined that two members of my family would have a love that lasted thousands of years. The universe gives us all endless paths to walk and this is the path I found myself on. How can that be against Arishem's design?" Ajak asked Ikaris lovingly.
Ikaris blinked away the tears that were forming in his eyes just as Jonathan and Apollo came in with tea and orange juice.
Jonathan looked at the two of them and said "We'll just leave these here, it's clear you have some Eternal thing going on right now. I'll be playing with Apollo."
Ajak looked apologetically at her husband, clearly she wanted the meeting to go a little differently but it was naïve of her to think meeting Ikaris with her family would be easy and smooth.
"Can we play tag?" Apollo asked looking up at his father right before his father tagged him and bolted out the door. Apollo gave his father a light head start before chasing after him. Ajak smiled as she watched the scene unfold and then she walked and poured tea for both herself and Ikaris then handed him his cup before beckoning him to follow her outside.
The two then sat on the porch and Ikaris said his voice filled with disappointment "It's not happening anytime soon is it?"
"No, it's not" Ajak replied simply.
Ikaris nodded and then looked out at Jonathan and Apollo chasing each other laughing and smiling as they did so.
"How did you two meet?" Ikaris asked looking to understand Ajak's situation more.
"There was a fire in an apartment complex I was staying in when I first moved to Smallville. He ran in to save people and found me with a child I had shielded from the flames. He thought I was in danger so he helped us both out of the fire. Afterwards I managed to find him and thanked him. He was very humble and caring and before I knew it we were going on dates and falling in love" Ajak answered.
"Everything I've grown to think are the best parts of humanity I see in him; the kindness, the resilience, the will, the compassion and the love" Ajak said as she adoringly spoke of her husband.
Ikaris took in what Ajak was saying and thought of Sersi, she was who he loved more than anyone in all of creation. He took a sip of his drink and wondered if somehow he could be with her. Could he have what Ajak has? Happiness, a family? Would the mission allow for it? Would Sersi even accept the mission? He knew she loved humanity more than any of them, would she be willing to fulfill Arishem's design if she knew what it was? Ikaris doubted it and as long as he doubted her loyalty to Arishem then they couldn't be together. They would break each others hearts, either she would break his by choosing humanity or he would break hers by choosing Arishem and his design for the greater good of the universe.
"You can be with her you know" Ajak said breaking the silence that had fallen between them.
Ikaris chuckled to himself, rolling his tongue in his mouth as he did so. "Is that so? How can I be when I know what I know? She'll find out the truth if I'm with her and that may break her and if I have to lie to her everyday that will break me".
"It doesn't have to; the mission is decades away. Allow yourself to be happy, this path of isolation isn't healthy" Ajak said as she tentatively took his hand and then looked Ikaris deep in his eyes.
"There is more to life than being a soldier, millennia of fighting and even you know what gives you joy is not the evil you vanquish but the life you save. Life wouldn't be worth living if we had to go through it without love all alone. Ikaris go to her and let yourself be happy, forget the mission at least for a while and live" Ajak practically pleaded with Ikaris.
Ikaris' face looked torn, what Ajak was saying was what he wanted more than anything but how could anything be more important than the mission? How could he betray his purpose, his reason for being? Ikaris opened up his mouth to speak but just then Apollo came racing towards them at incredible speeds. Jonathan chased after him, he was clearly out of breath and sweating meanwhile Apollo looked like he may as well as have not been playing at all. He wasn't tired or sweating, if anything he looked like he had more energy now than he did before they had started playing. Jonathan made it to the porch and started catching his breath. Ajak smiled at him and he smiled back as he continued to try catch his breath.
"Can we go again Dad?" Apollo innocently asked.
Jonathan just chuckled and said "give your old man a second or two to catch his breath".
Ajak watched the scene unfold before thinking of something. She looked at Apollo beaming with energy his bright eyes filled with joy and then looked at Ikaris who was deep in his own thoughts and an idea came to her mind.
"Ikaris why don't you play with Apollo?" Ajak softly suggested.
Ikaris was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard his name and looked at Ajak wondering why she thought him playing with her son was a good idea.
"Really you want to play with me?" Apollo said excitedly "what do you want to play?"
"Why don't you two play catch" Ajak suggested before Ikaris could even protest. Jonathan raised his eyebrow at his wife looking at her as he took deep breaths.
"I thought I wasn't supposed to play catch with anyone?" Apollo said questioning his mum.
"It's okay to play catch with Ikaris, he's Mummy's family" Ajak replied to her son. "Now go get your ball."
The words had barely left Ajak's mouth when Apollo darted off, racing into the house at speeds well beyond any child that age should be capable of achieving. Jonathan having finally caught his breath walked towards his wife and looked at her questioningly.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Jonathan asked trying to understand what his wife was thinking.
"It'll be okay, I promise. Ikaris is even stronger than me. Apollo couldn't hurt him if he tried".
Ikaris now completely puzzled at first wondering why he was coerced into playing games with a child and now wondering what Ajak and Jonathan were talking about decided to move closer to the two of them so he could get answers.
"Excuse me" Ikaris said his voice and facial expression conveying his confusion. "What is going on? Why am I playing catch with your son? Why are you worried about him hurting anyone?"
Ajak and Jonathan looked at him, Jonathan's expression was guarded and analytical like he was trying not to give anything away while simultaneously working to figure out if he could trust Ikaris. Ajak looked far more playful, like something amusing was going to happen.
"Play catch with him and you'll understand" Ajak said to Ikaris simply.
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