The Deviants were terrorizing Babylon in 575 BC. Makkari used her super-speed to get the civilians out of the way while Thena sliced a Deviant's head off.
The humans were in awe at seeing Babylon, one of the most important cities in the ancient world.
"Alexander the Great used to rule Babylon and eventually died there," Steven said awkwardly. Knowing that Alexander the Great was Ammit's avatar put a lot of historical events into perspective.
"He was an ass," Gilgamesh said.
Ikaris saved a girl and used his laser beams to blast a Deviant's head off. "Do not fear," he said in Babylonian.
A flicker of a smile passed Sersi's face. She always found Ikaris most charming when he protected humans with all he had. She was aware that he didn't love humanity as she did, but he protected them anyway; ever the dutiful soldier.
Gilgamesh made sure that all the humans got to safety inside the walls of the Ishtar Gate.
Layla's eyes widened at seeing the Ishtar Gate while Steven shrieked, "The Ishtar Gate?!" Seeing all these historical and archeological monuments intact caused too much excitement for the two of them; it blew their minds to realize just how much the Eternals had seen.
"Not much is left of the original Ishtar Gate, however, a reconstruction of it was built in a museum in Berlin with excavated material from the original Ishtar Gate," Layla explained. "Ishtar was also the Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility, and most famously, demanded Gilgamesh to become her consort in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh refused."
The group looked to Sprite, who snickered. "I had to create drama in the story somehow."
Gilgamesh shook his head, exasperated. Obviously, that never happened since it was a story that Sprite created, but of course, he would refuse Ishtar's offer. His heart would always belong to Thena.
Enkidu the Deviant charged at him, but was hit by Gilgamesh's punch. It got up and threw Gilgamesh away, who was caught by Makkari.
"No wonder Makkari was mistaken for Mercury, the Roman God of Speed," said Peter.
Druig nudged Makkari's shoulder as he signed what everyone else was saying about her, causing her to grin.
Ikaris, Thena, Kingo, Makkari, and Gilgamesh worked together to take the Deviant down, however, it got back up. Gilgamesh slapped the Deviant down, killing the creature.
The Avengers and Guardians were highly impressed at seeing Gilgamesh's punch. It was one deadly punch.
Ajak stood inside the walls of Babylon where the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were present.
The humans were speechless at seeing the Hanging Gardens of Babylon; seeing Babylon at its peak was incredible.
"Babylon," Steven said weakly.
Ajak closed her eyes and activated the sphere, and Arishem appeared. She was extremely miniscule compared to Arishem and only half of the Celestial's face was visible.
Except for Ajak and Eros, everyone else's jaws dropped at seeing the sheer size of Arishem. Most of the Eternals had never seen the Celestial and were gobsmacked as well.
"Ego wasn't that big," Quill said faintly. Ego also didn't look like Arishem, but he could change his appearance so he supposed he hadn't seen it before he died.
"That's what your father looks like?!" Scott hysterically asked Quill and Mantis, who were unnerved themselves. The Eternals still couldn't believe that there were in the presence of the children of a Celestial.
"No, Ego looked different. He was a planet, but he could take different forms. You saw Ego in Star-Lord T'Challa's universe," said Quill.
"Besides Ego, I've seen Knowhere and that's a severed head of a Celestial. Knowhere wasn't this big either," said Wong.
"This is Arishem, the Prime Celestial, so of course, he's going to be bigger than the others," said Eros. He was slightly doubtful that Ego had been a Celestial, but the Guardians seemed to be sure that he was. He'd rather not think about Gamora and Nebula near a Celestial, but the two of them appeared unharmed.
"Who was the Prime Eternal on Titan?" Thena asked Eros, who stilled. Gamora and Nebula were highly interested in the answer.
"My father, A'Lars. He's dead now, so it's me. It's not like it matters now anyway, everyone on Titan is dead with barely any survivors," Eros said quietly. Ajak and Ikaris realized that Eros knew the truth about the Eternals' mission as well if he was the Prime Eternal. Titan must've been a failed mission.
The Avengers and Guardians instantly recognized the name. The Red Skull introduced Thanos as the son of A'Lars on Vormir.
Ajak informed Arishem that Babylon had become the most populated city on Earth.
"It was also the largest city on Earth at the time," said Layla.
"The Eternals serving their missions across the galaxies will learn from your success," Arishem said.
Eros rolled his eyes. The rest of the other Eternals always wondered what Ajak and Arishem spoke about in their meetings.
"Thank you. I respect your grand design, Arishem. But I have noticed something special about this planet. And I fear that maybe this time the cost may..." "Do not become attached to this planet. You must focus on the true purpose of your mission."
There was a moment of silence before all of them turned to Ajak for an answer. Ikaris looked away, Eros's face hardened, and Ajak braced herself for an onslaught of questions.
"What cost?" Thor demanded.
"Why did Arishem say not to become attached to Earth?" Natasha warily asked.
"What's the true purpose of our mission? I thought we were on Earth to protect humans from the Deviants. Is that not why we're there?" Sersi questioned.
Ajak shook her head sadly. She never wanted the other Eternals to think that there was any other reason for their presence on Earth, but now they knew there was something else that she and Arishem were hiding from them. "I can't tell you. Arishem has forbidden me to," she said. And she wouldn't have told them even if she wasn't. As the Prime Eternal, she was forced to bear the truth of what would happen to Earth one day, but she didn't want anyone else to go through that. She told Ikaris because she had to tell someone and he would rather die than go against her and Arishem's orders.
Ikaris had a bitter taste in his mouth. Ajak refused to tell everyone else, but she burdened him with the knowledge.
Eros knew that everyone else had to find out the truth soon, but how could someone even begin to start that conversation? He was cursed with knowledge, and he hated it.
"That's bullshit," Rocket scoffed.
"I understand that it's difficult to go against the word of a Celestial, but if what Arishem is telling you to do isn't right then you have to go against him," Mantis said kindly. She'd done everything Ego had told her whole life until she finally mustered the courage to tell the Guardians the truth about what he did to his children and helped kill him. She never regretted making that decision when it had given her a brother and a family. She loved all the Guardians, she truly did.
Ajak faltered. She had her doubts about the cost of the Emergence on Earth, but how could she go against Arishem, the Prime Celestial, even if she wanted to?
Druig wasn't surprised. He knew they were pawns to their leaders and were blinded by loyalty; he didn't trust Arishem one bit.
"I understand. I will not let you down," Ajak said. She deactivated the sphere and appeared back in Babylon.
The Avengers, Guardians, and many of the Eternals sent Ajak a suspicious look, knowing that she was hiding something. However, she refused to tell them, but they'd find out one way or the other. If Uatu didn't show it them by the end of this, they'd force her to tell them. However, they had an inkling that they'd find out the truth eventually; Uatu hadn't driven them down the wrong path yet.
None of the Guardians trusted Arishem even before they'd seen him. They hadn't forgotten about Ego and while not all of the Celestials may be like that, they weren't going to believe a single thing that came out of Arishem's mouth.
Ajak entered the Domo where Phastos was working on a steam engine, showing Ajak a hologram of it.
Tony, Bruce, Jane, Stephen, and Peter were amazed that Phastos had holographic technology in 575 BC. He was centuries ahead of human technology and Tony, Bruce, Stephen, and Jane knew that they probably owed their scientific careers to Phastos since he'd shaped humanity's technology and caused it to be what it is today. Humanity had rapidly advanced in terms of technology only in the past twenty years, they couldn't imagine how much it had changed across 7000 years. Phastos watched humanity develop knowing that he had a hand in it. It must be unbelievable.
"A steam engine during the Babylonian era?" Peter said, gobsmacked. Those words didn't seem to fit together and yet, he here was watching it.
"We're creating a multiversal research team and we could use you," Sam told Phastos, who nodded.
"I'll help you guys."
"It's gonna freak them out," Sprite said. "I mean, they only have had the wheel 1,000 years, so..." Druig added.
"That's just depressing," Tony stated.
Phastos didn't think humans deserved the steam engine either. He would protect Earth till his dying breath, but only for his husband and son.
Some humans still couldn't believe that they were watching the behind-the-scenes of history. The Eternals had always been prominent figures throughout human history and they only had to take one look at various mythologies to know why.
"You know, we could do that thing where you use your mind to control them and then they could do it quicker," Phastos said. "Ajak, you listening to this?" Druig said.
The Avengers had wary expressions as they were reminded of Druig's powers.
"How about not controlling anyone's mind," said Clint.
Ajak thought it would be too soon to present humanity with such technology and asked for something simpler.
"That's probably true. Considering the steam engine was created in the 1700s and it's only 575 BC, there's still a long time to ago," said Bruce.
Phastos then presented a plow with extreme disappointment.
Phastos felt a flicker of irritation toward his past self. He'd been naïve back then, thinking humanity could create wonders with the technology he could give them. Turns out that they could create wonders—destructive wonderous atomic bombs.
Tony chuckled. Except for Wakanda, his technology was twenty years ahead of the rest of the world's and he knew how frustrating it was to wait for everyone else to catch up. There'd been many, many knockoffs when he first created the Iron Man suit, and Justin Hammer's attempt still made him laugh. He couldn't imagine how frustrating it must've been for Phastos to have created the steam engine in 575 BC and not be able to do anything with it. No wonder Phastos was mistaken for Hephaestus, the Greek god of blacksmiths and carpenters.
"Listen, humanity may be coming along slower than some of us want. But there is no telling what wonders they will discover as they advance," Ajak said.
Ajak didn't think it would matter anymore. The Emergence was occurring and humanity would be destroyed anyway. It was the natural order of things; it happened millions of times before and it would happen millions of times afterward. She had her doubts about the cost being too high this time, especially after hearing what the Avengers had done to bring half of the population back, but how could she go against Arishem? If she went against his orders, who knows what would happen?
Later that night, Sprite used her illusions to showcase and embellish Gilgamesh's exploits and defeat against Enkidu to tell the Epic of Gilgamesh much to the awe of Mesopotamians.
The humans listened to Sprite's story in wonder, knowing that she was shaping history.
"One of the people there wrote the epic on the tablets, which is how everyone still knows about the story today," Layla said, stunned. She was an expert in archeology and history and grew up at dig sites so it was just astounding to see history play out in front of her eyes. She was in the same room as the real Gilgamesh! The author of the original version was never known, but she knew who it was now.
"Wait, Enkidu was a Deviant? The same Deviant that Gilgamesh defeated outside of the Ishtar Gate? That's not how it goes in the story, Enkidu and Gilgamesh were friends," said Steven.
"I had to take some creative liberties. I didn't expect that the Epic of Gilgamesh would become as famous as it is," Sprite said.
Kingo looked at the story and illusions in awe.
Kingo had a fond smile. He always loved Sprite's talent for storytelling and the humans did too since many of her stories were now classics. She inspired him to create movies and tell stories through films. He probably shouldn't have ditched Sprite, but people got freaked out when they saw a child stay the same age for years.
Thena walked away from the celebration. "Come and have a drink with me," said Ikaris. "No," she said. "I can't let you go and fight Deviants on your own," he said. "I didn't come to this planet to cower behind walls," she said.
Thena nodded; she longed to fight again, but she'd done nothing but live a simple, peaceful life with Gilgamesh for the past five hundred years. She loved their life and everything he'd done for her, but she was, first and foremost, a warrior.
"We need to trust Arishem's design for this planet," said Ikaris.
The Avengers knew that the Guardians didn't trust Arishem so they were going to listen to their friends, who had much more experience with Celestials than they did, and follow their lead. They trusted them.
Irritation welled up in Eros' chest. Arishem was wrong and the price was too high.
"Thena. It's an honor to fight alongside you," Ikaris said. "And you," Thena said.
Thena had never fought Ikaris, but she always wanted to. She always appreciated his strength in battle and believed he would be a fierce opponent.
Ikaris was well aware that he didn't get along with everyone on the team, but he respected each one of them. They were his family and he loved them all, which is why it hurt so much to keep this secret from them, especially Sersi.
Makkari raced over to Druig and a group of men. "My beautiful Makkari. You're late," Druig greeted warmly.
Makkari burst into a grin at Druig calling her 'his beautiful Makkari' while the rest of the Eternals narrowed their eyes. Makkari and Druig had always been close, but they had never been flirty. At least not in front of them.
Makkari wanted to trade with the Mesopotamians and placed artifacts on the table. One of the men whispered, "Just lie to her," to his partner in Babylonian.
Makkari rolled her eyes.
"What a fool," said Druig.
Makkari grabbed his hand and signed, with Druig translating into Babylonian. "I can sense vibrations. Even the tiniest movement including your voice when you speak. Did you two just waste my time?"
"Yes, they did, but they didn't know who they were dealing with," Druig said while signing. Makkari beamed in delight.
"The Emerald Tablet you're searching for is a myth!" one of the men said.
"I don't think it's a myth considering I found it," Makkari signed with Druig translating.
Steven and Layla gasped. "You found the Emerald Tablet!" she said, stunned.
A fight broke out and Druig used his powers to stop it. Makkari reminded him that Ajak told them not to interfere when humans had a conflict.
"Why do you insist on controlling people's minds?" Natasha said Druig.
"Do you know what it's like to have the power to make people do whatever you want but you can't use it because you're not allowed to interfere in human affairs?" he said. "Do you know what it's like to watch people destroy themselves and not be able to lift a finger? Don't pretend that you wouldn't try to do the same thing if you could do what I could and have lived for as long as I have. You don't know what it's like to live for 7,000 years and live through countless human conflicts. Do you know how many times I've seen history repeat itself because humans refuse to learn from their mistakes? You ask why we didn't help throughout history, but you also don't want me to interfere and make people stop fighting."
"You can help without controlling people's minds like how Sersi and Makkari do," Carol said.
"Those are my powers."
"Well, then maybe you shouldn't interact with humans anymore if all the conflict bothers you so much," Bucky said testily. He wasn't interested in listening to Druig's justification of why he found it okay to take someone's autonomy away. "The Deviants aren't all gone like you thought they were, but it's not like you guys are the only ones who can defeat them. Earth isn't as defenseless as it was back then."
"We've dealt with worse things than a Deviant. Besides, Scott can just turn giant-size, step on the Deviants, and call it a day," Rhodey said, causing Scott to laugh.
The Eternals blinked.
Druig agreed to not tell anyone about Makkari stealing items if she kept silent to Ajak regarding what he had done.
Ajak shook her head fondly.
Ikaris and Ajak watched Sersi, who was dancing with the locals.
A smile flickered across Ikaris's face. Sersi was always beautiful, but he found her the most attractive when she interacted with humans.
He promised Ajak that his feelings for Sersi wouldn't distract him from his mission.
Ikaris swore that he would always put the mission first. He loved Sersi, he truly did; he loved her for several millennia and would love her for several more. They didn't have much time left on Earth, but he'd love her in one lifetime or the next. However, it was precisely his love for her that he had to leave her because he would've ended up telling her the truth if he'd stayed any longer, which would've distracted him from the mission.
Ajak said that she could feel his strong faith in Arishem, however, he could live a life and encouraged him to tell Sersi how he felt.
Ajak wasn't surprised that Ikaris told her about his feelings for Sersi. He did it in every lifetime, on every planet. Sersi and Ikaris loved each other on every mission, but it never worked out. They were doomed in every lifetime. Who was Ajak to stop them from falling in love even if it ended? Ikaris was allowed to live a life before it ended and they moved on to the next planet. She may have burdened him with the knowledge of what's coming, but she'd been so lonely carrying the truth for all these years. How could she love her son and not give him a chance to prepare for the end? She would've loved to do the same for the others, but they weren't as faithful to Arishem as Ikaris was.
Sersi's eyes were dull with sadness. She and Ikaris had been happy for thousands of years, but would it have been better if he hadn't told her how he felt because he'd left her in the end? She didn't know how to feel about him at the moment; maybe she should find Dane or someone else and give their relationship a go instead. It seemed easy with Dane, but it had been easy with Ikaris too.
Sersi was outside Babylon, helping the farmers. She planted a crop and used her powers to change dirt into water.
Many of the Avengers and Guardians didn't like Druig very much, but they liked Sersi. They didn't know what to make of the others, but they didn't trust Ajak much either. Nebula and Gamora, however, were wary of an entirely different person. They knew that just because Eros was Thanos' brother, it didn't mean he was like him as they were daughters of Thanos and the last thing they wanted was to be like him, but they were still slightly suspicious.
Sersi indulged Ikaris' assistance in her humanitarian activities, and he observed her love for humans and tried to understand it.
Eros understood Sersi's love for Earth because he had a similar love for Titan. Titan had given him everything—his parents had taken him in and he even got a brother. Thanos, for all his many faults, was still the person whom he played with, watched grow up, and cared over. But then all of it had been taken away and he'd lost everything.
Ikaris and Sersi were outside of Babylon in a deserted area. She gave him a small stone as a gift because it matched his eyes.
Melancholy passed Ikaris' face. He still had the stone that Sersi gave him. There was a human saying—ignorance was bliss—and it truly was. He and Sersi had been together for five thousand years and those years were like a dream. He had everything he could've dreamed of, but the guilt of keeping Ajak's secret consumed him. He couldn't tell her and the other Eternals the truth because Ajak forbade him to and he was the perfect soldier. He believed in Arishem and his grand design, and the mission always came first even before his personal feelings. He promised Ajak that all those years ago in Babylon. He wished she had never told him the truth so he could've lived whatever time he had left on Earth with Sersi in peaceful bliss.
Sersi's eyes were prickling with tears at seeing how the two of them had been at the beginning before Ikaris had left her. She didn't know why he left and nor did know if she wanted to know the reason either. She thought about him every day, but she'd been a mess when he'd left. She refused to put herself through that again.
Ikaris fumbled through his attempts at telling her that she was beautiful in Babylonian, saying that he was beautiful. She laughed and corrected him.
Ikaris's face flushed at everyone else seeing this side of him, which only Sersi saw. The rest of the Eternals' brows shot up; they had seen Ikaris and Sersi in love for thousands of years, but they'd never seen him like this.
He gently grabbed her hand. "I'm yours, Sersi, if you'll have me."
Sersi couldn't help but laugh and then instantly felt awful about it. "Sorry."
"No, you're right. I left," Ikaris admitted with a hurt expression.
The two kissed and spent the night together, expressing their love for each other.
Ikaris and Sersi turned a bright shade of red.
"Let me tell you from personal experience, the outdoors isn't sexy," said Tony. Peter was mortified.
Ikaris and Sersi got married in a temple in the Gupta Empire, in 400 AD. All of the Eternals were in attendance and beaming with joy, except for Sprite.
Ikaris and Sersi looked away at seeing their wedding which held nothing but bitter memories now. Sprite's face soured and the rest of the Eternals winced at seeing the wedding. It had come as a shock to all of them when they heard that Ikaris and Sersi separated after spending five thousand years together.
Kingo had a pained expression at seeing Sprite's unhappiness at Sersi and Ikaris's wedding. He loved their wedding and had a great time, but Sprite needed to get over her crush on Ikaris. It's been millennia! He hated seeing her like that; she was like his little sister. But he had enjoyed the time the Eternals spent during the Gupta Empire since it was the Golden Age of India.
Cut to the present day with Sersi, Ikaris, and Sprite arriving at Ajak's ranch in South Dakota. The house was abandoned and empty.
A chill ran down everyone's spines and the color drained out of Ajak's face.
"I'm sure Ajak's alright. She can handle herself," Gilgamesh said, his voice thick with fear.
Sersi walked into the yard and saw a body in the distance. She ran to it and gasped when she found Ajak's greyish corpse.
The Avengers and Guardians sucked in a breath while the Eternals felt nothing but blind terror.
Panic flared in Ajak's eyes at seeing her own corpse. She'd lived for seven thousand years in this lifetime and lived for millions of years before that. Her body was dead, but Arishem would reboot her and she would join the Eternals on the next mission.
"Ajak's dead?" Kingo gasped, tears blurring his vision. She was his family and practically the Eternals' mother. "How is she dead?"
"Who killed her?!" Sprite cried.
Dread twisted in the Avengers and Guardians. The Eternals were incredibly powerful people and immortal, but they weren't unkillable. Who was capable of killing an Eternal? There were too many suspicious events happening at the same time—the global earthquake, the re-emergence of the Deviants, and now Ajak's death. Plus, Ajak was refusing to tell them about the real reason why the Eternals were on Earth.
Eros gaped. This wasn't the death of just any Eternal; it was the death of the Prime Eternal. He eyed the other Eternals from Earth; which one of them was going to be the next Prime Eternal?
Sprite collapsed to her knees and Ikaris's face was stony. "It was a Deviant," he said.
Ikaris clenched his fists. "Makes sense. The Deviant in London healed itself like how Ajak can; it took her powers. They were targeting Sersi and Sprite in London so they must've gone after Ajak too." This was the worst time for Ajak to die since the Emergence was occurring; how was he supposed to lead the Eternals during this time?
"It tried to kill and absorb Sprite too. Deviants are already a pain to deal with, can you imagine a Deviant that can control illusions?" said Gilgamesh.
"We'll just have to make sure that all of the Deviants are gone this time," Ajak said in a shaky voice. Tony, Natasha, Gamora, Loki, Jane, and Vision looked at her with sympathy since they knew how difficult it was to grapple with the fact that they were dead in the future.
Ikaris and Sprite were inside the house. Sprite created an illusion of herself and Ajak dancing with tear tracks down her face.
There were tears on Sprite's face, and her breathing was shallow and ragged. The hearts of the rest of the Eternals jumped into their throats at seeing Sprite's lifelike illusion right after seeing Ajak's corpse.
Ajak's throat tightened at seeing Sprite mourn her, but she was sure that Ikaris could lead the team in her absence just as well.
"It was the last time I saw her. Ajak asked me to check on Sersi, so I went to London. Turned out, both of us were lonely and we needed each other. I guess, in her way, Ajak never stopped trying to take care of us," she said.
Sersi failed to suppress a sob. Of course, she was lonely. She'd been lonely ever since Ikaris left her, but she loved having Sprite live with her. She was her little sister.
The Avengers and Guardians' eyes softened. They didn't trust Ajak, but it was clear that she was the mother figure of the Eternals and now she was dead. Both teams had only existed for a couple of years, but they loved each other dearly; the Guardians were like family, while the Avengers were friends for the most part. They couldn't imagine what the Eternals were going through since they'd spent thousands of years together.
"It's the first time in 7,000 years one of us has died," Ikaris said.
The non-Eternals still couldn't wrap their heads around living for seven thousand years since even the Asgardians of the group were much younger than that. The closest in age was probably Khonshu, but even he was thousands of years younger than them.
"We never should've split up. It was a mistake. We should've stuck together and then maybe Ajak wouldn't have died from the Deviant," Kingo said, wiping the tears from his eyes. "And now the Deviants are targeting us so more of us might die."
"Ikaris, Sersi, and Sprite are bringing the group back together so all of us will find out eventually," Makkari signed.
"We would've split up anyway. Druig left, and Thena needed to stay away from the fights so her Mahd Wy'ry wouldn't be triggered and I would've gone with her," said Gilgamesh.
"I don't regret leaving," Druig said in a quiet voice, more subdued than usual. He'd lost his trust in Ajak since that day in Tenochtitlan, but seeing her death brought him no joy.
"I think the Deviant that attacked us in London killed Ajak and absorbed her power," Sprite said. "Deviants have never done that in the past," Ikaris said.
"Well, they do now," said Ikaris. He didn't understand where these new Deviants came from.
"It healed itself just like Ajak. I swear, I almost heard it speak," she said.
"I did too. I don't know exactly what it said, but the Deviant mumbled something," said Stephen.
"So, they're evolving," Vision realized.
"Great, that's just what we need. Evolving monsters. Can Earth just never catch a break?" Scott said.
Sersi mourned in front of Ajak's body when suddenly the sphere came out of Ajak's body and entered Sersi's, making her the Prime Eternal.
The Eternals and Eros's eyes widened in shock. Sersi was the Prime Eternal?
Ajak and Ikaris's brows furrowed. In the event of Ajak's death, the Prime Eternal would've been Ikaris. Both of them knew that so what changed?
"Me? Why me?" Sersi asked Ajak, flabbergasted.
"You love Earth, Sersi," Ajak said, still somewhat confused. At least she was guessing that's why 616 Ajak made Sersi the Prime Eternal. Her choice had always been Ikaris in the event of her death, but she had a sliver of doubt about the Emergence now. Ikaris was loyal to Arishem until the end so he would carry out his orders, but Sersi would protect the people of this planet. Compassion was a strength and Sersi loved humanity more than anything.
Sersi appeared in front of Arishem, who told her it was almost time before she lost concentration as Sprite shook her.
"No!" everyone shrieked, except for Ajak, Ikaris, and Eros. They wanted to know what Arishem was talking about.
"Time for what?" said Jane.
Sersi told Sprite and Ikaris that the sphere went inside her. "Did you talk with Arishem?" Ikaris asked. "Yes. He said it's almost time," Sersi said.
Ikaris's face hardened. The Emergence was occurring and how Sersi would find out the truth, which was the last thing he wanted; it would break her heart. However, he didn't understand why Ajak made Sersi the Prime Eternal, and based on Ajak's confused expression, she didn't know either. He loved Sersi with his whole heart, but she wasn't a leader.
"I'm going to lose my shit if this turns out to be another Expansion situation," Quill muttered.
Sprite and Ikaris pushed Sersi to confirm what happened, but she said that she didn't know how to use the sphere properly and couldn't replicate the event. Ikaris suggested she may have Mahd Wy'ry, causing Sersi to look at him sharply.
Sersi's heart pounded at the thought while the rest of the Eternals looked at Thena for an answer. "You don't," Thena said, confidently. "All of us saw Arishem."
Sersi let out a sigh of relief.
"Mahd Wy'ry?" Kate questioned.
"It's a degenerative disease as a result of the vast number of memories an Eternal acquires due to our immortality. It's sort of like dementia. I have it," Thena said quietly. She wasn't ashamed of her illness; she just needed help sometimes.
Everyone else ached with sympathy at hearing about Thena's condition. Immortality was starting to sound like a curse.
In 1521, the Spanish Conquistadors brutally massacred the Aztecs in Tenochtitlan.
Sersi's eyes were shining with the threat of tears at seeing the destruction and the Avengers swallowed down their frustration. The fall of Tenochtitlan was just one of the many bloody events that happened throughout history, and most of them didn't think that they would be able to watch it happen and not do anything about it, especially Steve. He couldn't ignore a situation pointed south. He was ready to retire as Captain America because he knew Sam would do a wonderful job and he was content knowing that other heroes would protect the world. The new generation was pretty damn great; they were the future. However, the Avengers didn't exist in the 1500s and the Eternals just stood by and watched as the Aztecs were slaughtered.
Druig's face darkened. Tenochtitlan had been his breaking point with humans and their destructive tendencies. It had also driven a wedge between him and the other Eternals and this was the first time he'd been in the same room with all of them since then.
Makkari raced to save a child out of harm's way and ran back to the Eternals who were in a forest outside of the city.
Makkari's face fell. There was a large chance that the child she saved would've been killed by the conquistadors anyway, or by the Smallpox that the Spanish brought with them. She liked humans for the most part; she didn't love them as Sersi did, but she didn't like seeing them suffer either.
Makkari signed to Ajak that they had to split up. "There were more Deviants than you said," Thena said. "Well, I'm sure that was a lot of fun for you," Phastos said. "It was," Thena playfully agreed.
Thena's lips twitched into a smile. Although she loved her life with Gilgamesh, she longed for the good old days when she got to fight. She was the Goddess of War for a reason.
Phastos pulled up a hologram of Earth. "Once the others kill these last Deviants, we will have eliminated them all from the planet."
Phastos snorted. "Clearly, I missed some."
"How did your technology not catch the other Deviants?" Kingo asked.
"I don't know." And Phastos hated that he missed the other Deviants.
There were gunshots in the background as the Spanish shot the Aztecs without mercy.
The humans flinched. The siege of Tenochtitlan directly led to the downfall of the Aztec civilization and marked the end of the first phase of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire.
T'Challa's irritation flared. The same thing happened in Africa in countries around Wakanda, just as it happened on every continent. However, not every country had been as privileged as Wakanda to sit out European colonialism.
Druig tried to use his powers but he was stopped by Ajak. "Don't. We don't interfere in their wars," she said. "This isn't war. It's genocide," he said.
"Still don't want me to use my powers?" Druig asked the Avengers, who had nothing to say because Druig was right, it was genocide and he had the power to stop the Conquistadors. Besides, who cared about the lives of the Spanish? They were the ones massacring the Aztecs, including the children.
"Their weapons have become too deadly. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea helping them advance, Phastos," Druig said. "Technology is a part of their evolutionary process, Druig. It's not exactly something that I can stop," Phastos said.
"Druig was right, though. It was a mistake," Phastos said. More than four hundred years later, he'd come to the realization that humans weren't worth saving and he'd given up on them a long time ago. If it wasn't for Ben, and eventually Jack, he wouldn't have bothered wanting to fight Thanos or help save the multiverse. He joined the Avengers' multiverse research group solely for them. Humans were more than capable of destroying themselves and if they wanted to do it, who was he to stop them? Maybe destroying themselves was a part of their evolutionary process instead.
"I wish I wasn't," Druig said. He'd cut off most contact with the Eternals since Tenochtitlan, but he still spoke to them once or twice each century. Phastos was the one who reached out to him after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, telling him that he'd been right about humans. However, he never exchanged a single word with Ikaris and Ajak since he'd left the group.
Tony felt a jolt of anger toward himself. Weapons in the sixteenth century were capable of immense death and destruction, but it was absolutely nothing compared to the weapons in the current day—weapons that he had made and was responsible for. He didn't control what others did with Stark weapons, but he did unleash those creations onto the world, didn't he? He put a dangerous tool into someone else's hands, so were they responsible for the atrocities committed with the weapons, or was it him, for creating it in the first place?
"No, you can't. But I can," Druig said.
The Avengers had mixed expressions. Some of them had their minds messed with and were naturally wary of Druig, but they couldn't help but think he had a point in a situation like this. It was genocide, and if he could stop it, shouldn't he?
"Stay strong," Makkari signed.
Druig's eyes softened. His beautiful, beautiful Makkari. She was the one who gave him strength.
Thena's eyes turned white as the gunshots and violence triggered her. "It's too late. Everyone is going to die," she said, suddenly turning on the group, wounding and nearly killing Sersi, Phastos, and Makkari.
The Avengers and Guardians were horrified at seeing Thena's Mahd Wy'ry. She would've had to deal with it for centuries and they felt a surge of admiration for her. Many of them dealt with mental illness and they knew how difficult it was. Marc, Steven, and Jake, especially knew what it was like to deal with bouts of memory loss while another alter took over. However, what did Thena mean by 'everyone is going to die'?
Fear paralyzed Thena at seeing what she'd done to her family; she nearly killed them. She had never seen what she had done during her Mahd Wy'ry episodes. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she cried.
"It's not your fault, Thena. All of us are okay," Sersi said kindly.
Ajak tried to help her using her powers. "Don't listen to your head, Thena. Listen to my voice. You are safe. You are loved. You're our Thena."
Thena's lip trembled and Gilgamesh squeezed her hand. It broke his heart to see her like this. "Remember, Thena," he said softly.
It didn't work, and Thena stabbed Ajak.
"I'm sorry—" Thena frantically tried to apologize.
"It's alright. I healed myself. I'm alright," Ajak said with a small smile.
Gilgamesh tackled and tried to restrain her, but she broke free of his hold and began to fight him too.
Thena let out a sigh of relief. Gilgamesh would stop her from harming anyone else; he always protected her.
He blocked her attacks while trying to get her to remember. Not seeing any other solution, he used his powers to knock her unconscious.
"I'm sorry, Thena," Gilgamesh said, apologetically. He hated seeing the effects Mahd Wy'ry had on her and how she struggled with it.
"You did what you had to do to protect me and everyone else. That's all that matters," said Thena.
Ajak healed herself, Makkari, and Phastos.
The Avengers and Guardians thought that was a convenient power to have; they would've liked to have at least one member on their respective teams who could do that.
Thena lay unconscious at the Great Temple as the Eternals surrounded her. "I thought Mahd Wy'ry was a myth," Sersi said. "There is no cure...so no one really talks about it," Phastos said.
When has anyone ever talked about mental illness? Sam thought with a bitter taste in his mouth. Before he became the Falcon again, he tried his best to guide vets on how to deal with their PTSD and other issues. He hated seeing them struggle.
"Even if there's no cure, it doesn't mean you can't learn how to live with it," said Marc. There was no cure for DID either, but he didn't want to ditch his alters anyway.
"I think I'm getting better at living with Mahd Wy'ry. I've gotten used to it," Thena said.
Thena breathed heavily as she woke up, her eyes were back to normal. "What happened?" she asked. Ajak told her what she had done. "I don't remember," Thena said in a broken voice.
Everyone's faces were set in resigned sad lines at seeing Thena struggle. The Eternals naturally formed groups within the team and some members didn't like the others, but everyone liked Thena. All of them highly respected and cared about her, and they only wanted the best for her. They were glad that Gilgamesh offered to look after her because none of them wanted her memories to be erased.
"You have Mahd Wy'ry. Your mind is fracturing under the weight of your memories. And all I can do is erase them so that you can start over," Ajak said.
"Erase them?!" the Avengers and Guardians cried. How could Ajak even suggest that?!
"If Thena's memories are erased, she'll just be an empty shell of who she once was. Her memories make her who she is," said Vision. He'd seen the same thing happen with White Vision, who was still Vision, but not the same version as him because they had entirely different personalities. It was sort of like seeing his twin brother.
"How can you even suggest erasing her memories?" Carol asked Ajak, her temper sparking. "There are so many other options before jumping to that!"
Thena was taken aback by the ardent defense, but she was touched. "It's alright, my memories weren't erased."
"Why does only Thena have Mahd Wy'ry when all of you guys have lived for just as long?" Gamora questioned. The Eternals glanced at each other, confused. They didn't know either.
"I will have to inform Arishem and take you back to the ship where we have the technology to help you," Ajak said.
"Arishem's a little bitch," Quill grumbled.
"But she won't be Thena anymore," Makkari signed.
"Exactly!" Makkari signed. She couldn't imagine Thena not being Thena anymore.
"What if it happens again? She could've killed you. She could have killed all of us," Kingo said.
"So, you help her. Aren't you guys supposed to be a family?" Jane said. How could the Eternals even consider voluntarily erasing Thena's memories, effectively erasing her personality?
Thena was heartbroken and her eyes welled with tears. "Please, I...I want to remember. I want to remember my life."
"And you will," Gilgamesh said.
Thena gave him a soft smile. "Thanks to you."
Bucky and Carol clenched their fists at hearing Thena pleads. Any normal person would want to remember their life, especially if they've lived as long as Thena has. Ajak and Druig were both getting on their nerves.
Ajak said that it wasn't important if she remembered or not as she would always be Thena deep inside, and to trust her.
The Avengers and Guardians scoffed, and Druig rolled his eyes. None of them trusted Ajak.
"That's...not true. She won't be the same Thena because she would've gone through different experiences. Our memories shape us into who we are," said Loki. Watching his variants taught him that much.
A lump formed in Thena's throat at just thinking about losing all of her memories. She didn't want to forget Gilgamesh.
"Why should she trust you? You're asking her to let you erase who she is," Druig said.
Some of the Avengers hated that they were agreeing with Druig, who rubbed quite a few of them in the wrong way.
"Druig, I know you're upset, but..." Ajak said. "Upset?" he snapped. "We've trusted you for 7,000 years, and look where you've gotten us. I've watched humans destroy each other when I could stop it all in a heartbeat. Do you know what that does to someone after centuries?"
Makkari had a pained expression at hearing Druig's confession. It broke her heart back then and it broke her heart now.
An ache pushed against Ajak's heart. This was the first time she'd seen or spoken to Druig for the past five hundred years, and she regretted leaving things the way they had.
"Could our mission have been a mistake? Are we really helping these people build a better world, huh?" Druig said.
Phastos had a bitter taste in his mouth. They weren't helping humans build a better world, they were helping them destroy it. That's all most of them were good at. And apparently, protecting humans and helping them advance wasn't even their true mission, but Ajak wasn't telling them what was.
"Humans can create wonders, Druig," said Sersi.
"Really, Sersi? You're not that naïve to think that," said Druig. "I know you love humans, but come on, you've seen what they can do. What they've done."
"It's nothing that every race isn't capable of," said Thor. "The same thing that humans have done has happened on Asgard, Hala, Xandar, Titan, and the rest of the galaxy."
"As a human, I agree that we're...destructive, but there are many good aspects of humanity," said Sam.
"I feel like I have to mention that Ultron spent five minutes on the internet and decided humanity had to die so..." Clint trailed off. The original Avengers grimaced.
Druig looked out to see the destruction below. "We're just like the soldiers down there. Pawns to their leaders. Blinded by loyalty. It ends now."
Ajak's throat thickened. "Druig—"
"Don't lie, Ajak. We are pawns to our leaders. Not just you, but to Arishem as well," said Druig.
"Arishem is doing this for the good of humanity and the galaxy. Who are you to question a Celestial?" Ikaris said.
"Celestials aren't always right, you know? They're capable of a lot of destruction," Quill said, biting back his anger at the reminder of what Ego had done to his mom. "Have you ever spoken to Arishem?"
A flicker of irritation passed Ikaris's face. "No," he admitted through gritted teeth.
"Seems like you're the one who's blinded by loyalty to someone you've never even met."
"Arishem's a Celestial," Ikaris stressed.
"And Peter and I are the children of a Celestial and we hate our father," Mantis said.
Ikaris shut his mouth.
Druig used his powers to make the Spanish and the Aztecs stop fighting.
The Avengers disliked that the Eternals had stood by and let people die for centuries, but some of them also disliked Druig's powers so it was galling to see that the conflict had finally ended due to him.
"Druig may have stopped the fighting, but it didn't really change anything in the end since the Spanish colonized Mexico anyway. Mexico City is literally built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan," said Layla.
Ikaris shoved Druig into a wall, "Let them go." "You're gonna have to make me," Druig said. Ajak told them to stop and Ikaris let go.
Ikaris swallowed down his frustration. He followed whatever Ajak did because she was the Prime Eternal, but he couldn't help but wonder why she'd chosen Sersi instead. Why couldn't the other Eternals see that this was for the betterment of the galaxy?
The non-Eternals were getting the feeling that Ikaris was unpopular with a lot of the Eternals.
"If you wanna stop me, you're gonna have to kill me," Druig told Ajak. He deserted the Eternals and ended the conflict himself, taking a group of humans with him.
Druig had a blank expression. Those humans had founded the camp he ran in Peru and their descendants lived there for generations. It was much more peaceful than the rest of the world.
Makkari had resigned sadness in her eyes at seeing Druig leave. It wasn't the last time she'd seen him because she wandered out of the Domo a couple of times each century, but she missed when they had always stuck together.
The Avengers thought they had problems, but the Eternals seemed to have it worse since their arguments lasted for centuries. Their civil war lasted for two years before the Watcher forced them to get over their issues, but even without that, it would've only lasted for seven years, not five hundred years.
Gilgamesh offered to watch over Thena. Ajak warned that he might have to kill her, but he was willing to take the chance. Thena was on the verge of tears as she looked at him gratefully.
"I never had to kill her. She always remembered in the end," said Gilgamesh. And he never doubted that she wouldn't.
Tears were running freely down Thena's face. What had she done to deserve someone like Gilgamesh in her life?
None of the Avengers and Guardians were quite sure if Thena and Gilgamesh were platonic friends or a romantic couple, but they didn't doubt the deep love the two had for each other. Gilgamesh had been taking care of Thena for the past five hundred years; that kind of devotion was something else. The ones who knew about the Epic of Gilgamesh knew that Gilgamesh's heart had been shattered when Enkidu died of an illness inflicted by the gods. Sprite had been telling them his story all along, it was written in the epic as clear as day.
Ajak told the Eternals that they could go as the Deviants were gone. "I want you to go out there and live a life for yourselves. Not as soldiers. Not with the purpose you were given. Find your own purpose, and one day, when we see each other again, I want you to tell me what you found."
Ajak closed her eyes. She had made many mistakes with the Eternals in the past seven thousand years, but now she couldn't help but think she was making the wrong decision in allowing the Emergence to occur on Earth. Ever since Tenochtitlan, she'd traveled all around the world, living amongst humans and she knew they were different than the others. However, she had to let her children go out into the world for the sake of their wellbeing even if Arishem hadn't allowed it.
Ikaris's heart sank. His single purpose for thousands of years had been to protect humans from the Deviants, but then Ajak had told him the truth about their mission, and his purpose after that had been to protect humans from the Deviants so the Emergence can occur. He'd lived a life with Sersi for millennia, but then he'd left her, and he had no purpose until now when the Emergence was finally about to occur. He'd sacrificed everything for Arishem, Tiamut was going to be born no matter what.
"I haven't done much. I've just been sitting in the Domo reading books," Makkari signed.
"Have you seen my movies, Ajak? I'm quite famous all over South Asia," said Kingo.
Ajak smiled. "I have. You've mailed me the reels, the VHS tapes, the DVDs, and eventually just told me to stream it. I like them," she said, causing Kingo to beam.
"You've mailed them to all of us," Sprite said, exasperated.
"Well, I wanted everyone to see them!" Kingo defended.