Maria had just been released from the day's duty, and was making her way down the streets to the Citadel, the holy halls where one could worship all the gods of the limitless pantheon. Her boots dragged in the dirt road, her defeated spirit making it's public appearance. The setting sun pierced around all the buildings it was retreating behind, and the blazing outlines forcing all pedestrians to keep their heads down and their eyes averted.
Maria wanted to make one last prayer, just one more. Maybe this last one would be the one to save her daughter's life. Sweet seven year old Monica was sick with an affliction that no doctor could diagnose. A new disease, some said. Some form of pox. She was told it was best to quarantine the young girl and let her die. It was a miracle Maria still wasn't afflicted. It was suggested by some doctors that it might have been just a disease that only affected the immune system of children. Maria had prayed to the God of Science, hoping that maybe he could bless Monica with his divine skills, but no answer. A priest, in an insensitive effort to console her, told her that sometimes they can't help us all. She had no idea how much time Monica had left.
Keeping a specific prayer request of her daughter in mind, the young soldier walked into the Citadel, walking softly to respect the peaceful aura of the building, trying not to disturb the murmuring prayers of other worshipers. The stone floor was peppered with the cornucopia of colors shining from the stained glass windows all around. She passed by the statue of Stark, the God of Industry, and Odinson, the God of Weather, and Banner- the God of Science she had spent so much time begging to with no reply. There were so many other gods, it was exhausting. But she knew she had to keep trying. One of them just might save her little girl. She stopped by the statue of Rogers, the God of Justice. Perhaps he would be the one. But then she shook her head and kept going down the line. To be honest, she didn't really know how many gods there were. There were so many that many people just found one that fit their personal values and stuck to that one, never once finding adventure with the others.
So Maria decided to keep going, walking through the Citadel, turning though each hallway looking each stone grey statue up and down, reading the name of the god it was supposed to represent and it's domain. Eventually, she made it to a section of the Citadel that she realized she had never been down before. It was a wing dedicated to the Titan Gods. Titan Gods were divines who had once been human thousands of years ago, but through some feat of chivalry or heroism, were granted immortality and unique powers. Despite this background, many felt the Titan Gods were not as beneficial as the natural Gods, as their domains were often micro branches of other god's domain, or seen as not as powerful due to their previously human status. Perfect example was the one she stood in front of.
The statue was that of a woman with star on her chest. It reminded her of The God of Justice, but this Titan Goddess ruled over the dominion of The Void, a branch off of Odinson. Danvers was her name, and Maria wondered just what the void entailed. It sounded like a mystery, and if she didn't know what was in it, maybe there was a chance that what she needed for her daughter was in there. A long shot and desperate hope, but it was worth a try.
Kneeling in front of the statue, she reached for the embered incense sticks that were available next to each statue and used it to painfully light the wick of one of Danver's candles. It took a while to catch, but when it did, she returned the incense to its holder and folded her hands and bent her hands in prayer.
Titan Goddess Danvers, please heal my daughter of her affliction of pox. No one has been able to save her, human or god. Please search your void for any powers or tools that may heal her, and if you cannot grant that, please grant this: my Monica has a request to see the stars before she leaves this world. I was thinking of taking her to the top of the mountains, where the sky is clearer and she can see the night sky better... so, just have her hold on for me to take her to this. Thank you.
Maria then got up from her kneel and took one last look at the statue. She felt the same thing she felt after every prayer: a small ignition of hope. She was beginning to think she was shamefully addicted to the sense of hope. Turning around, she made her long walk out of the Citadel and back home.
When she got home, Monica wasn't roaming around to greet her. Maria knew it was only a matter of time now, usually Monica was at least dragging her blanket around the house, going from the small library Maria had in her office, to the living room, or sometimes to their backyard to watch the birds and squirrels. It was only six in the evening, and Monica was wrapped up in bed, shivering in her sleep. Maria bit her lip as she wiped a heavy tear from her eyes. She hoped that she herself would die immediately after Monica. Just simply drop dead. She couldn't live without her. With shaking breath, Maria reached over to Monica's end table and picked up a clean folded cloth. From a pitcher of water that was also on the table, Maria wet the fabric. The rag was cool and light with water, and Maria slowly and softly rubbed Monica's slumbering face with it, trying to clear off the sweat.
Maria wanted to do more, wanted to wipe down her baby's chest and arms as well, but couldn't bear to see the child wake up from sleep. The tears dropped without restraint now as Maria put the towel down. She needed a second. She would wake Monica at eight or so, make her favorite soup and then have her go back to sleep, propped upright.
Maria exited the room and sat down in her favorite armchair in the living room. She contemplated pouring a glass of something strong... but before she could decide on what, she fell asleep- just not for long.
What felt like just five seconds of shut-eye was actually two hours, and she woke up to the sound of Monica's pitched voice. Maria startled out of her chair. Her baby must have woken up hungry and she forgot to start the soup!
"I'm coming, baby," Maria shouted back. She stumbled through the small hallway of the house and made her way to Monica's room. It was strange, the moment before making it to Monica's partially closed door- there was a bright flickering light coming from the outlines of the door. Maria swore under her breath, trying to figure out how a fire would have started in Monica's room. "I'm here, baby," she said, as she pushed open the door, but as she did so, she had to shield her eyes.
"Mama!" Monica greeted, but her voice was not feeble, as Maria was used to. It was a little hoarse, but full of excitement. "Mama, there's an angel outside!"
Maria lowered her arm, and could see a glowing mass outside the window. Poor child was hallucinating. It was clearly some... bizarre fire roaring in their front yard.
"Stay away from the window, baby," Maria instructed, and left the room, running to the kitchen and pulling open the cabinets under the sink. In there, she retrieved a grey bucket and quickly filled it at the faucet with water. Once two-thirds full, the mother quickly, yet carefully, took the bucket outside the house and rounded the corner of the home to staunch the fire. As she lifted the bucket up, a voice came from the fire.
"I hope you're not planning on throwing that!"
Maria's heart panicked like it never had before, not even in times of war. The voice from the enormous body of flame made her limbs shake and she dropped the bucket, the water gushing out onto the grass.
"I'm so sorry to scare you," the voice continued, and the flames began to subside on their own, and Maria could make out a figure within. "I just wanted to make sure this was the right house, so I peeked in her window... I realize now that that was probably uncomfortable for her, but I wasn't sure how knocking on doors was going to go..." the more the flame spoke, the more the brightness dimmed and the flames stopped roaring and simply began to gently lick all over the figure. It was a woman, and Maria's eyes went wide when she saw the star on her chest.
"It's you!" she said in an astonished whisper.
The Titan Goddess of the Void nodded. "Yes, I'm here for your daughter."
"Are you going to heal her?" Maria asked instantly with desperate hope, not even with an ounce of shame. Why would she have shame?
The goddess frowned sympathetically. "Unfortunately, no, I cannot heal her. Not with my powers," Danvers said, "but, I can answer her prayer. I can take her to the stars."
"Oh?" Maria was hurt, she wasn't going to hide it. So her baby was going to pass after all. "So, to the mountains then?" She sniffed and set her jaw. She wasn't going to cry in front of a Goddess. Maybe at prayer, but not in person. "Let me get our coats."
"That won't be necessary," Danvers reached out to stop Maria from turning away, yet didn't lay a hand on her, just simply hovered. Maria watched Danvers step closer, the goddess interpreting her halt correctly. "I can take her up," and Danvers simply pointed up to the night sky. "There, to see the stars, even closer than any other human before."
"You can do that?" Maria asked in wonder, almost like a child.
Danvers smiled bashfully, "Yes, I can. Would you like to get your daughter?"
"But how will she..." Maria didn't want to say the word: survive. She didn't want to think of her daughter dying any more than she had to, but Danvers seemed to understand.
"As long as I am holding her, she will be able to breath just fine and stay warm. I won't let anything happen to her. I will be holding her like my own."
Maria couldn't stop it if she wanted to. The tears burst forward, and she didn't even know she was holding them. Danvers reached out once more, but still didn't lay a finger on her. She was a hesitant god it seemed. "May I comfort you?" she then whispered.
Maria nodded in reply, sobbing too hard to form words, and simply fell into the god's embrace. It had been so long since anyone had hugged her, not even really good friends and fellow soldiers. She felt her chest become ethereally light, and knew it was the feeling of comfort. It was such a welcomed stranger. The goddess's arms were strong, and she felt supportive and not intimidated in them. When Danvers loosened her hold, Maria knew it was time to withdraw, so she did. Wiping one last thick tear from her eyes, Maria mumbled a "follow me," and turned towards her home.
And so they journeyed into the home and entered Monica's bedroom, and the child was kneeling up in bed, still clammy and blotchy from disease, but her eyes animated with energy and awe that only grace children. It warmed Maria's heart.
"Baby, this is Danvers. She's a Titan God, she's going to do something really big for you," Maria introduced.
"I knew she was an angel," Monica murmured, still in awe. "Well... Titan God is kind of similar."
"It's better," Danvers corrected with a smirk. "Ready to go to the stars?" She held her hand out.
"To the?" Monica couldn't even finish her question. She looked from Danvers's hand to Maria. "The stars, Mama?"
"Yes, baby. Take a coat." It was instinctual. She knew the Titan Goddess promised to take care of her, bit what mother would she be if she wasn't always bundling up her child? Monica slumped out of bed and weakly walked to her closet. Maria wanted to help, but she could sense that Monica wanted to do this herself. Wanted to somehow feel like a "normal" kid again and not need the help of a grown-up. Danvers smiled and retracted her hand and watched Monica drape the coat.
"I'm ready," Monica breathed out. Danvers walked forward and held her hand once more. Monica took it eagerly and was pulled in by the Titan God, swooping her up and holding her against her chest with one arm like one would with a toddler. "I'm not a baby," she protested.
Danvers laughed, "I don't think your mother agrees. You'll always be a baby to her, and I promised to take care of you."
"Mama! Tell her I'm grown!" Monica grumbled, yet leaned forward to drape her arms around Carol's neck.
"You'll always be my baby," Maria's voice cracked as she supported Danvers's statement.
Danvers flex her jaw for a moment, tearing her eyes away from Maria. The goddess knew Maria was on the brink of tears again, and obviously wished not to see it. Yet her happiness resumed instantly as she continued to talk to Monica, as she walked out of the house with the child in her arms. Once outside, Danvers was listening eagerly to Monica point towards the night sky, asking questions about each star and if the Goddess knew its name and more.
"Ready?" Danvers asked the now giddy child. Monica nodded fervently, but then leaned forward and cupped the Goddess's ear and whispered something. "Oh?" the Goddess teased. "Adding things to your prayer last minute, I see?" The Goddess turned around, seeing Maria a few feet away.
"How long will you be up there?" Maria asked, putting her hands in her pockets.
"However long you want to be there," Danvers answered.
"Excuse me?"
"Your daughter wishes for you to join us."
"What?" Maria asked in disbelief. "Join? But- don't be ridiculous, you can't carry us both!"
Danvers raised an eyebrow, "Hey now," the goddess said in a mock warning, "Now I have to take you up there." She extended her free hand. "Come on, I'll hold on to you tight, too."
Maria's mouth fell open, searching for words, but why would she deny a once in a lifetime opportunity? Why was she trying to back out?
Composing herself quickly, Maria turned her head to face Monica and said one last time, on reflex, "This is your prayer, baby, it's okay."
Danvers's hand began to slowly lower.
"You're my prayer too, Mama," Monica sniffled, resting her head on Danvers's armored shoulder. "Please, Mama, come with."
"I've got you, it's okay," Danvers whispered. "Come fly with us."
Maria looked down at the goddess's hand. She felt as if this moment was a life defining one; there was a path waiting to spring into action if she took it. This wasn't going to stay an ordinary life if she accepted, but she did, and her hand locked into Danvers' perfectly. The Goddess beamed a charming and satisfied smirk and pulled her in against her. Danvers wrapped an arm around Maria's waist, while Maria wrapped hers across Danvers's back, cupping the furthest shoulder. Danvers's hold as was she promised: tight. Maria felt completely flush with the goddess's side.
"Ready?" Danvers asked Monica, full of zeal and smiles. Monica giggled and shook her head violently affirmative. Then the goddess turned back to Maria and asked the same question: "Ready?" but softer, prodding for any signs of fear to douse. Maria nodded.
"Off we go then!"
For a flash of a second, Maria felt overwhelmingly hot, and quickly blinded. They were engulfed in the goddess's divine flames, and before she knew it, the yard was shrinking beneath their feet, and then the city, and then the nation, and then the continent.
"Mama! Everything is so small!" Monica exclaimed, pointing down to the world underneath them. "It was like a little ant city!"
"Yes, baby, it was," Maria agreed, keeping her eyes down to witness the view. Maria felt a little dizzy from the rapid ascension, but it all began to sooth away with a quick squeeze of her hip done by Danvers. She couldn't tell if she was just simply reassured, or influenced by divine touch, like a medicine.
They went higher and higher until they could see the earth in its entirety. Danvers moved quickly with them in her arms, but kept gripping them firmer every now and then, helping them tolerate the force of the movement through space. They circled the globe and awed at the sight of all the continents, the evidences of forestation or deserts, or mountain ranges. Monica swore that she looked hard enough to see minuscule waves in the ocean bodies.
And then Danvers took them further into space, taking the time for the two to marvel at Mars, then the the Jovian masterpiece of Jupiter and its magnificent eye, and then to Saturn, for them to become enchanted by the perfection of its rings. All this time, Maria swore Monica didn't blink. She was soaking every sight up, and Maria didn't doubt that her child's heart was beating stronger just from the experience.
Monica asked the Titan Goddess so many questions about the universe, and the Goddess happily answered what she could, imparting all the awe and spectacular facts she could, obviously enjoying this experience as much as Monica.
"What about you?" Danvers suddenly asked.
"What?" Maria baffled, coming to attention.
"Do you have any questions?"
"About the universe?"
"Anything, I don't mind."
"No, I uh... I don't... it's hard to think right now. My brain is still trying to absorb everything I've seen so far," Maria laughed.
Danvers smiled deeply, creases at the corners of her eyes forming.
"Are you alone up here?" Monica bluntly asked.
Danvers's face panned, her smile gone, but her face wasn't upset.
"I..." she turned her head to face Monica to her right. "Not all the time, but most of the time, yes. Not a lot of gods come up here to visit me. I see Odinson from time to time, sometimes even Strange-"
"Who's that?" Monica asked, picking at the goddess's armor.
"Don't do that, baby," Maria instructed, reaching out to lightly smack Monica's hand away.
"The God of Time," Danvers informed kindly. "Sometimes I see Quill."
"He's a Titan God, like you," Monica shared.
"That's right," Danvers nodded. "His domain is commerce. His job is to help traders and oversee all markets."
"That's a silly domain," Monica stated matter-of-factly.
Danvers shrugged, "There's a lot more too it. He doesn't just cover material items, he is supposed to oversee anything that becomes a transaction. He is really important in finding and stopping trafficking of any kind. He is great at intercepting thieves and other bad people. Not a lot of humans know of this."
"Why not?" Monica asked.
"Because people don't really give us Titans much attention."
"Why are there so many gods?"
"I don't know," Danvers smiled, "but I like to think it's because, especially in terms of Titan Gods, anyone can bring something to society. We become a more protected community when we understand that there is strength in numbers, and we become more productive as well by dividing responsibilities. It reminds people that there is no such thing as one being who knows or has everything, human or god."
Monica looked away to ponder the answer, and she was silent for a long time before finally turning back to look at the goddess, and said: "You should come over for dinner tomorrow night."
Both Danvers and Maria looked at the child, aghast.
"Monica," Maria warned.
"Mama, she said she's lonely."
"Well, I didn't really say that..." Danvers muttered, blushing from embarrassment.
"She took us to the stars, Mama. We can make her dinner as a thank you."
"You mean I can make her dinner?" Maria corrected with a smirk, "You know you're not gonna help me."
"I will this time!" Monica protested. "Goddess Danvers, do you eat? Do gods eat food?"
"Yes, of course," Danvers chuckled, "But we don't need it to survive."
"When was the last time you ate a home-cooked meal?" Monica pried further.
Danvers took at least twenty seconds to answer, "I think... perhaps... 10 years ago."
"Mama..." Monica began with an amused tone, "The last time she ate was when I was born."
Both Maria and Danvers laughed heartily.
"Well, if that's the case..." Maria said, "If you would like, Danvers, to come to dinner, you may. But I don't think I can cook to please a god."
"Don't sell yourself short, Maria," Danvers encouraged. "I would love to come to dinner, thank you."
Monica was beaming, pleased with herself.
"Okay, uh," Maria instantly became self-conscious. What had she fallen for? A god in her home for dinner? Was this normal? "Let's... let's go back home..."
"Of course," Danvers agreed, her face becoming serious as if she was a soldier accepting a mission. "You both must be tired from the journey. You'll sleep very well tonight."
The journey home was just as magnificent and inspiring as the trip to. The stars zoomed past them at light-speed, and before they knew it, they were re-entering Earth.
With a gentle landing, all their feet touched the grass of the Rambeau front yard. Danvers gently released her grip on Maria's waist and set her free first. Then she handed Monica over to her mother, as the child was doing her best to keep her eyelids from fluttering.
"She's beat," Danvers grinned.
Maria bit her lip after she cradled her baby in her arms, her daughter resting her head on her shoulder. "I..." she began. "Thank you so much. For this. For what you did. I couldn't even imagine this would be our night. The stars... the actual stars. Thank you. For what she has left, I'm sure she won't forget it..."
Danvers grit her jaw for a quick second, then looked down at the grass. "You're welcome," the god replied. "It was the least I could do." She then looked back up. "I'm sure you're a wonderful mother. I am so sorry..."
"It is what it is. The gods can't save us all, right?" Maria attempted to laugh as she paraphrased the priest's words from days before.
"They should." Danvers said bluntly. Her demeanor was different now than what it had been since her arrival. The goddess now had her chest puffed out and her hands clenched into fists at her side. Her face was stoic, and an eyebrow raised in irritation. "Maria... they should."
The goddess took a couple steps back, distancing herself from harming Maria, catching flame. The holy fire reached up all around her, like desperate hands reaching to grab the shoulders of their savior. They raced all the way up from her heels to caressing her scalp, lifting her hair with billowy energy. A fire began to burn in her eyes.
"I have to go now, Maria. There are... things I need to tend to. I will see you tomorrow. Sleep well. " The goddess bowed her head quickly before taking off into the night sky, dissolving trail behind her, like that of a shooting star.