≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾
THREE | THE PRIME ETERNAL
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
EASY, FUNNY, AND CHARMING.
Those were the words Apollos would use to describe Budapest.
The city had a heart, a rhythm and a beat. From the trees in the parks to the beautiful architecture around, Budapest was alive.
It was a city with small places to sit and dine as people went about their business. The rest was parks and wild spaces, where one could go for a walk in the woods or ride your bike along the pathways. But it was the Danube River, the Hungarian capital's lifeblood, that Apollos adored in Budapest.
The city was quiet and tranquil, with few people on the streets. The café Apollos stayed at for a while was made of strong grey stone, and the streets around it were cobblestone-paved. He smiled at the beautiful scenery in front of him.
The Eternal was currently staying in Budapest for vacation since he wanted to get away from the "divorce" of the Avengers. Actually, right after the physical altercation in the Leipzig/Halle Airport, Paul was given the choice to stay in the Avengers compound since he signed the Sokovia Accords, but he declined. He didn't want to stay somewhere he wasn't supposed to be in. He believed he was just dragged in because they thought he was an individual born with these abilities and could be useful in fighting future global threats.
At least, that's what Apollos told them all. He would never reveal his race to the humans. He knew the U.N. will come and search for the rest of his former family and that might jeopardize their mission in bringing the Emergence into completion.
Just as the man was about to sip his coffee in peace, he heard a warning inside his head.
Away from your table.
Immediately, he stood up and went far from it, bracing himself from whatever harm was coming. He was just outside the café and surmised that there was perhaps a vehicle of some sort that would crash. Not even five seconds later, a motorcycle collided with the bistro tables behind him, eventually reaching his own before stopping.
Apollos crouched down, raising his arm to shield himself from the pitched splinters. The vehicle stopped near him and the man crossed his eyebrows when he saw the familiar waves of red hair before him. Throwing her head back, he pursed his lips. It was Natasha Romanoff, his recruiter, with someone else. A blonde haired girl, presumably younger than her.
What was she doing here in Budapest? Apollos heard from Tony and the others that she ran away since Thaddeus Ross issued an arrest warrant on her. According to them, she was in violation of the Sokovia Accords for assaulting the king of Wakanda.
Their eyes locked on each other for a fleeting moment and at the same time, they tilted their heads, surprised.
"Romanoff?"
"Paul?"
Get down.
Instinctively, he got down to the ground as a rain of bullets zipped by near him, the gunfire sounding like angry bees going past his head. The crowd around him dispersed in panic, screaming and causing a stampede that injured a lot of people. Without thinking about the matter twice, Apollos grabbed the edge of a round bistro table and flung it at one of the shooters, making them swerve and crash on a nearby shop.
"Thanks, Paul!"
"You know that guy?"
He heard the blonde ask Natasha with a heavy Russian accent as they sped away, revving their engine. Multiple motorcycles and a heavy armored vehicle swiftly passed him and the Eternal concluded that they must be after Natasha. Of all the places he would see his recruiter again, it would be here… in Budapest like some fate orchestrated timing.
Snatching his keys from the ground, Apollos made his way to his car, deciding to chase them down the street. Natasha Romanoff was certainly in trouble not only with the authorities, but also with something else. The least thing he could do is provide help since he could feel she needed it.
Hitting the road, Apollos swerved his car to chase down Natasha. He whipped his automobile around, nearly running into a tree and driving over a few pedestrians who were recording the chase. Pulling and pushing down the hand brake, he turned around a shortcut, hoping to get ahead of the chasers, but instead came across Natasha and her blonde companion at the end of the passageway, running away. Their motorcycle was disposed of at the side, smoking.
Hurriedly, he stopped his car behind them and just as the two women aimed their guns, he stuck his head out of his car window. "Get inside."
"You again?" complained the blonde haired woman.
Natasha declared, "I'll drive."
"Who is this? Your boyfriend?"
"No."
Apollos climbed out of his car instantly and got into the backseat. "Be my guest."
"Woah, you're dating a giant." commented once again by the blonde Russian woman as they got into the front seats of his car. "On what dating site did you find this guy?"
And then, gunshots were fired.
Their rear windshield exploded, shards like bullets peppering the interior leather. Apollos and the blonde ducked to avoid being hit.
"Okay. Any time now, please."
"Shut up!"
Just like that, they fled away from the street, weaving through the traffic. Apollos muttered a swear as his 2017 Audi RS7 slammed back down to the pavement. Gunshots sounded out and they all ducked in their seats to take cover.
"Okay, you got a plan, or shall we just stay duck-and-cover?" asked the blonde.
"Yeah, my plan was to drive us away!"
Silence.
"That’s a shit plan."
The Russian woman reached over to Natasha and yanked the steering wheel to the left. Their tires screamed in agony, smoke and burnt rubber filling their cabin. Swiftly, she kicked open her car door and let a street lamp hit it, causing it to crash into their chaser behind, disorienting them. Their car spun back around, wheels trailing smoke, around the corner.
"You’re welcome."
Apollos sighed. There goes his seventeen million dollars.
Then, the heavily armored vehicle from earlier, the size of a tank, barged in, trailing not far behind them.
"Oh, shit. He’s back."
Apollos glanced at the fast approaching conveyance, pursing his lips grimly. He took hold of his own seatbelt just as he and Natasha ordered the girl to, "Put your seatbelt on."
"You’re both such a mom and dad."
Arrow to the right.
"Romanoff, drive the car to the left!" commanded Apollos and Natasha swerved, avoiding the explosive arrow that was aimed at them. The car on their side ignited in flames and skid across the pavement with them crashing it to drive through. People around screamed as shards of glass flew by, some striking them. Apollos shut his eyes. He couldn't ignore what was happening. A lot of civilians were getting injured because of this enemy that was set to kill Natasha and this girl with her.
So, he made another decision. He'll interfere.
It wasn't his first time anyway.
"Wait, hold on." Apollos unclasped his seatbelt and climbed through the sunroof to face the rival giving chase.
"What? Paul! What are you doing?" Natasha yelled, turning around to another street.
"Is he out of his mind? Hey, you're a powerless -- "
Narrowing his eyes, Apollos summoned his golden shimmering bow and arrow, drawing back. The hooded tactical armored man shot an arrow before he could, but the Eternal only took as a challenge, smirking. Aiming directly, he fired his own cosmic-powered arrow and met with the incoming arrow, incinerating it to dust. It hit the vehicle's hood and exploded from underneath, making it tumble across the road.
"What the…" uttered the Russian woman, staring at him incredulously. "You couldn't have done that earlier?"
The Eternal blinked then pointed at Natasha. "I was waiting for her to tell me to do so."
"Oh, I get it now. You're a bottom." the blonde smirked.
"Jesus."
Their car burst beneath them, sending them rolling and skidding across the slick cement road. The man exclaimed, stinging pain piercing his entire body. He might be immortal, but that didn't mean he was immune to pain. As he looked over to Natasha on his right, he let out a grunt. They were both upside down, and his nose was flooded with the sharp odor of gasoline.
With what power he had left, Apollos kicked open his car door and crawled out, assisting Natasha in exiting.
"Natasha, no." grunted the assassin's companion. "I think I’m bleeding. I’m…"
"No." rejected Natasha, firmly. "Not now, trust me."
As they left the scene, the three slid down a platform in an escalator to escape the towering robotic-like individual chasing them -- or well, the two women.
Incoming shield.
"Get down!" alerted Apollos as they reached the bottom platform, crouching down immediately with Natasha and the other girl. The metallic circular shield flung at them narrowly missed their heads and the Eternal released a sigh of relief. Natasha ordered the Russian to purposely drip some of her blood to a door that led to the underground tunnels. Not wasting any second, the three made their way then to the vents with Apollos using himself as a leverage to lift the two women. When they were finally secured inside, he followed them inside, crawling beside Natasha to hide.
The vents were quite small, but he pushed himself to fit through. He had to. Gently shutting the sliding, the trio watched as their pursuer jumped down to the tunnels. Leaning his head against the wall, Apollos finally let the pain in his body continue to roll in waves and a dulling ache began to ground into his temples. They were safe for now.
"You two okay?"
Apollos nodded.
"Yeah. Great plan." grumbled the Russian. "I love the part where I almost bled to death. This is cozy."
"Barton and I spent two days hiding out up here."
"That must have been fun."
The towering Eternal who was now squishing himself inside the vents asked, "Who the hell was that guy?"
"I'm sorry, who are you?" The blonde answered back. "I never got your name."
"I'm Paul, Paul Vernon. I'm acquainted with Agent Romanoff here."
He and Natasha shared a glance. It had been some time ever since they last saw each other and to be honest, Apollos felt like he was where he was supposed to be.
"I'm Yelena, Natasha's not really baby sister." replied the blonde woman. "What you just saw down there, Paul, was Dreykov’s special project. He can mimic anyone he’s ever seen. It’s like fighting a mirror. Dreykov only deploys him for top-priority missions."
"This doesn’t make any sense." breathed out Natasha.
Apollos didn't understand as well, but that was because he just got himself newly involved in the problem. He didn't know Natasha Romanoff very well, other than she was a spy, an assassin, and an Avenger. She was also the one who uploaded all of S.H.I.E.L.D. 's secure files on the internet, including along with her past and was present during the Chitauri Invasion in 2012.
"Well, the truth rarely makes sense when you omit key details."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Wait, who's Dreykov?" Apollos once again asked.
"Why don't you ask her?" countered Yelena.
"Dreykov…" breathed out Natasha, her eyes fixed on the ground as if she was recalling some memories. "Was a high-ranking officer in the Soviet Armed Forces, and is the current overseer for the Red Room. The Red Room is a top-secret Soviet training program that turns young girls into trained killers. Yelena and I were part of that program."
Yelena retaliated, "You didn’t say one word about Dreykov’s daughter. You killed her."
"I had to." admitted the former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, her expression ridden with guilt. "I needed her to lead me to Dreykov. Dreykov’s daughter was collateral damage. I needed her to be sure."
"And here you are, not so sure."
Apollos felt a heavy burden build in his chest. He couldn't imagine the pain and the guilt she had been carrying around.
Natasha sighed. "I needed out. Come on, we can now go."
The man nodded and once they all got into the ground, Natasha confronted him. Her emerald eyes shone with pain and guilt that the Eternal wanted to remove them, but didn't know how. Actually, he didn't understand why he wanted to help her, he just felt like he needed to.
"You don't have to come with us. This isn't your fight."
"Let me help you, Romanoff."
"If Ross knows you're helping me, he's going to come after you."
"He's not the first one who tried to catch me and he's not going to be the last." reasoned Apollos, shaking her head.
"Paul," Natasha mentioned his name like she was almost pleading. "this is going to get messy."
Yet, he still nodded, certain in his decision. He didn't care it was going to be dangerous, all he knew was that he wanted to help Natasha -- even protect her if he could. "Good. I like messy."
"WE'RE BOTH DOING a really good job!" Yelena commented, giving a thumbs up to show to Natasha. The redhead below them was complaining about Yelena's piloting since she was almost hit by the tail rotor. Apollos was sitting beside the blonde woman, co-piloting together with her, struggling to maintain control of their aircraft. They were now in the Seventh Circle Prison in Russia where they were to free an incarcerated individual named Alexei Shostakov.
Yelena glanced at Apollos, giving a knowing look. "You should've called your contact to get us a jet. This aircraft sucks."
"Your sister didn't want me to do it."
Actually, Apollos offered his full services earlier. He told her he would get his best contacts to provide the best equipment -- guns, transportation, and whatever else she needed, but Natasha declined. She insisted on making use of whatever she had, plus she was paying her contact to give the equipment she needed.
"You shouldn't have listened to her."
"I respect her wishes."
"Yeah, and now we're stuck in this ancient plane that is going to fall any minute and kill us." grumbled the blonde haired woman. "Tell me the truth, do you like my sister?"
Apollos' right eye twitched. "I like… yeah, I do. She -- she's cool."
"No, I mean, romantically."
"We just…" He paused, not knowing what to answer exactly since he knew he was just there to help Natasha, not woo her. "we just met."
Another round of bullets peppered the radar dome of their aircraft. Yelena rolled her eyes and unbuckled her seatbelt, exasperating, "Okay. Enough of this. Grab the wheel for me."
"Yeah, sure." The towering Eternal took over in maneuvering their plane, moving far back up from the ground to give space to Natasha as she cleared the way for Shostakov. Apollos watched the assassin move gracefully like water and deadly like a snake. One may think that Natasha Romanoff is harmless, but she can poke someone's eye with a needle without them knowing it.
That's when he heard a loud booming noise behind him and he turned to see Yelena holding a bazooka. "Ha!" She yelled in victory. "You see that, Paul? I did that!"
The air was then cracked by explosions, and the snow broke and slid in a large sheet. It moved fast, wreaking havoc on anything that dared to get in its route.
"Did you just seriously cause an avalanche?" exasperated Apollos in disbelief.
"This would be a cool way to die." chuckled Yelena, astounded.
"No! You're going to bury them all alive!"
With a crack as deafening as any sky-born thunder, the snowpack split in half. The portion that had broken free rushed down the frozen ground to its final resting place deep beneath the remaining storm cloud, its body crushing and ferocious.
"Get us outta here!"
"Hold on!" yelled Apollos, maneuvering the plane around. Pursing his lips, he steered to the right to avoid an explosion and circled around a watch tower. He was planning to get them more leverage. Apollos had piloted many planes before so this was nothing new to him. As a matter of fact, he loved the thrill that buzzed in his veins.
Glancing below, he saw Natasha together with the prisoner catching the rope. "Yes!" uttered the Eternal, maneuvering the plane away from the site, carrying along the two who were holding onto the rope tightly. Finally, Natasha and her companion were able to get onboard and Apollos pressed a few buttons in the control panel before giving the seat back to Yelena. The Eternal took it upon himself to stay behind them, listening as Shostakov roared Farewell, Douchebags! to his prison.
"Oh, that was exciting." expressed the tall, muscular man whose hair was slightly thinning and shaggy. "Oh, I’m so proud of you girls." He then finally noticed Apollos and pointed his finger at him. "Who's this?"
Apollos let out his hand for a shake, their towering heights just equal. Both of them were six foot and three inches tall. "Paul, Paul Vernon. I'm -- "
"He's my friend." interrupted Natasha, pressing a button on the panel.
Alexei grinned, displaying all his teeth. "Ah, Paul Vernon, welcome to the family."
THERE WAS A reason why there were eleven Eternals, why Apollos was both a thinker and a fighter, and why Ajak visited him as much as she could.
Arishem the Judge, their creator, solely built Apollos to be the Prime Eternal always.
It was never supposed to be Ajak, but him, and he knew this all along.
Though Natasha knew he was a genertically-engineered synthetic being, she never knew that Apollos' primary mission here on Earth is to ensure the birth of a Celestial. He was about to when they were off to Vormir, but he hesitated. Actually, before he even realized thatt he loved her, he was quite certain he was just going to let the Emergence happen. He had nothing that attached him to this world after all, but that mindset of his changed when he met her.
"No." was the first thing Apollos expressed when he first saw Arishem, ardently refusing to communicate with the one being in the whole universe he loathed the most.
"Apollos…"
"Arishem." acknowledged the Eternal, bowing his head even though he wanted nothing but to rip his creator apart, bit by bit. "Ajak was killed by a Deviant. We think it absorbed her power."
"Then, I assume she has chosen you to take her place as the Prime Eternal." proclaimed the looming crimson Celestial. "The human population of this planet has reached the required amount. It is time for the Emergence to begin."
Apollos seethed in his place beyond comprehension, but he attempted to plead to his creator to spare Earth. "I respect your grand design, Arishem. But, I believe Earth has something special. I fear the cost -- "
The Celestial interjected, "Do not become attached to this planet, Apollos. You will bring this mission to completion as you have always done for millions of years, understood?"
He bowed his head. "I understand."
"Do not fail me this time, Apollos."
With their connection now ending, Apollos forced his body to release the Sphere. He was back in the plane and he clenched his fist. Panting, he levitated it back to Sersi. "You should have it, Sersi, not me."
Ikaris moved between him and Sersi, his eyes boring straight into his. "No! Ajak chose you!"
"And I don't want it! Sersi, you must know -- "
Ikaris dragged him to the very far end of the plane, shutting the door along the way. "It is for the best that you are the Prime Eternal, Apollos, again. Sersi would be furious if she knew what the Emergence is. She will never agree to the destruction of this world to give birth to billions of lives even though we are solely built to ensure that happens. I know certainly she is going to find a way to stop it."
Apollos pushed him away, disgusted by his words and behavior. He always knew Ikaris stuck by the book, never straying away from what was told of him. Actually, when they first knew of their mission, they were adamant to let the Emergence happen as they believed they were only created to ensure it and nothing more.
The tall sentient being pursed his lips and inhaled. "The Emergence must happen." He said, firmly. "It is the reason why we were created in the first place."
"Exactly. Now, we are going to meet with Kingo. You are not going to tell any of this to Sersi or Sprite, alright?"
Apollos glared at the hand that was on his shoulder. "If you get your hand off of me, then I will."
Ikaris sharply inhaled, retracting his hand back to his side. The other Eternal sucked in another breath before presenting himself to the others like nothing happened earlier. "Apollos…"
He turned to Sersi, "I apologize for my behavior earlier. I was just shocked that Ajak chose me to assume her position. I thought I wasn't ready."
Sersi's expression softened and she stood up to place a caring hand on his cheek. "You are ready, Apollos. Lead us as you always do."
"Woah, you're in this magazine!" Spite exclaimed, showing a page of a magazine to them. It contained his fake identity's whole life story. From his job to his first involvement in the divorce of the World's Mightiest Heroes, his fight and loss in Wakanda, and finally, his victory in the fight against Thanos. "You were with the Avengers!"
He sighed. "Yes, I know, I know."
Sersi crossed her eyebrows. "You fought in the battle against the Titan? But, we were strictly told not to interfere in any wars that didn't involve Deviants!"
"I had a reason why I did that. Either way, Ajak knew."
His heart clenched at the thought why he fought in Wakanda and participated in the Time Heist. His beloeved Natasha was the reason why he joined in all of them. He wanted to help her, to make her feel she wasn't at fault with their loss in Wakanda. He also wanted to bring back Yelena since theh heard she was among those who were snapped out of existence. Recalling all of these, he walked away, leaving everyone to lock himself in the comfort room.
The Eternal looked at himself in the mirror. Natasha would never agree to the destruction of Earth. She will tell him to make sure it never happens. She would even help him in this. He could imagine her tagging along, meeting the other Eternals, and convincing them to save Earth and humanity.
But, how was he going to stop the Emergence when he was just a mere fleck of dust next to a full-grown Celestial? He wasn't even sure if his fellow Eternals will join him in this, but he had to try.
He was going to do what he had done in Centuri6 before. Rebel against Arishem.
He just had to talk with Sersi first.