Theogony Chapter 47: Children Like Unto Gods, a God of War + Worm Crossover fanfic

A/N: Chap 46 review responses are in my forums as normal. Thank you for reading.

Chapter Forty-Seven: Children Like Unto Gods

Four days after she wiped out the entire Empire 88, and ten days before her father became famous the world over for personally ending the threat of Moord Nag, Taylor Hebert gave her first ever press conference.

Sarah found herself in wildly unfamiliar territory as she struggled to set things up. The Church of Telos did not have a press secretary—it didn't have a secretary at all. Marie, on a good day, could type five words a minute. Her hand writing was so beautiful it was offensive, but she wasn't allowed a computer in her repressive Gestapo-run home and had never learned to type.

Sarah set her up with a laptop and learn-to-type games.

Lacy Waters actually could type, and at a respectable 50 wpm even if it sounded like she was trying to beat the keyboard into submission. The problem is that she wrote like she talked. "Press conference at 3 pm. Get your fucking asses there or Kurt'll beat you" was probably not the message Sarah wanted to send. And Taylor tended to break whatever she typed on. Her power over nature ended the moment an electrical circuit became involved.

So it fell to Sarah herself, with the help of "The Idiot's Guide to Press Relations" to type up the press release. They didn't even have letterhead yet, though she was working on it. Once she had the press released typed, then she had to figure out what to do with it. She didn't exactly have strong press contacts, and Director Piggot had made it clear that the PRT would not be involved in any church business.

She solved that problem by doing an online search for Telos and then picking out a few names from the top articles in the top publications. She sent those reporters direct emails with the press release announcing the news conference. She made sure to note that this was not a PRT-sponsored event.

Confirmations came within ten minutes. Within the hour, every major news media in the country, four from outside the country, and two dozen smaller ones all expressed interest. Which meant her next call was to the police to make sure they knew what was happening.

~~Theogony~~

On the morning of the press conference, Sarah woke before dawn. She'd dreamt of a temple that looked completely different than what their low-budget architect had drawn up for across the street. The centerpiece had been two massive, dark oak trees shading fountains, walkways and alcoves for prayer and meditation.

She climbed out of bed, having showered the night before, and dressed in her best slacks and blouse. She, Marie and Lacy were talking about a common mode of dress for church staff—like a smock for a priest. Sarah was leaning toward a robe over more comfortable clothing, but Marie wanted a habit.

Of course, Marie wanted a habit.

When she came down stairs of the small house where her goddess was raised, she was not surprised to see Shaquelle and her brother Ty there. The teen girl was a complete believer; Ty came because of Shaquelle. One of Lacy's adult daughters had cooked breakfast—omelets with vegetables from the endless garden behind the garage that somehow always had food ready.

Outside, through the windows of the kitchen, she could see shimmering waves of blue and green. With a smile of greeting to Ty and Dorea Coolidge, Lacy Water's eldest daughter, she touched Shaquelle's shoulder and said, "Come on."

The girl followed without hesitation. It was still November, if just, but cold and brisk when they stepped outside into the endless fields. Maria was already there, kneeling in the grass behind the house. Shaquelle hadn't been over while Taylor was still asleep, so the girl's breath caught in her throat. She gripped Sarah's hand so tightly it almost hurt, and walked in step as she knelt down beside Maria.

Telos's mountain top glowed with golden flame, but the sky over the dome of her domain shimmered with auroras like waves on the ocean, shining brilliant blue, green, yellow and red light down across the enclosed world below them.

"She dreams," Marie whispered in a thick voice.

It wasn't the first time Sarah had seen the sky of her god's domain when Taylor slept, but the novelty never wore off. The sharp surge of emotion felt almost like a punch to the chest, filling her up so fast that it stole her breath. Her eyes watered with an almost uncontainable joy that this was real; that there was magic in her life. That her soul existed and could continue beyond her mortal shell.

The waves faded as the eastern horizon grew pink with the approaching day. Like clockwork, the young goddess woke with approaching day. They could see her rise on top of her mountain, with her hands stretched over her head and her wings spread wide. The burgeoning sunlight seemed to gather around her, illuminating the nimbus that always seemed to be there until her whole body was lost in a burst of pure, breath-taking sunlight.

The sun broke over the horizon, the new day was born, and Telos of America floated back down to her mountain top to begin the day. She stepped off the cliff and glided down to those watching. It did not surprise anyone that Dorea had come out with Ty. Taylor landed in front of them with a flap of her wings. She'd taken to wearing her PRT-designed costume all the time, at least while not at school. Since she never experienced human things like sweat, the costume never got dirty. And school wasn't going to take much longer. Who knew that Gods learned so quickly?

She greeted them with hugs. Warmth radiated off her and seemed to soak right to Sarah's bones, banishing any hint of a chill. "We have a press conference today!" she said.

Sarah grinned. "Yep. Have your speech ready?"

"I had a much better idea than just a speech," Taylor said. "I'm going to give them a miracle! Hey, I have an idea for a robe, too!"

And that was normal life with a young goddess—a swirl of happiness, excitement, and ideas.

~~Theogony~~

The plaza in front of the PRT building was actually part of the old Episcopal church that burned down during the late-eighties race riots that marked the arrival of the Allfather and Empire 88. It was officially city land, though many people mistakenly thought it belonged to the PRT.

Despite attempts to clean it up, Sarah could still see scorch marks where Taylor destroyed the three armored vans that transported many of the Empire 88 attackers to the PRT.

Under an overcast sky, Sarah had the Dockworkers set up a podium and a microphone for the non-divine speakers. The dockworkers themselves were providing unofficial security—Ty Washington was among them, joined by Don Franklin and, to Sarah's bemused surprise, Brian Laborn's father.

Brian, she was pleased to note, was doing well in Florida with his sister. He'd joined a corporate rogue parahuman team that provided private security for public events.

The press-corps would have made Tattletale nervous. Pythia, High Priestess of Telos, on the other hand, viewed the dozens of news vans with growing excitement. She wore a hastily tailored white robe trimmed with cloth-of-gold and embroidered runes that Taylor had enchanted in the course of just minutes.

While she wore the robe, Sarah was essentially a brute.

Miss Militia stood behind the podium, with Aegis and Clockblocker as a Protectorate presence in case any capes tried anything.

"We ready?" Sarah asked Marie and Shaquelle.

The younger girl looked nervous. "You sure I should be here?"

"You've accepted her as your god, right?"

Shaquelle nodded. "I'm just a kid, though."

Sarah bit back a grin when Marie, the recovering Nazi, took the younger girl's hand. "She accepted you as an initiate. You belong here with us."

"Let's go prepare the way," Sarah said.

She turned and led the two girls onto the podium. "Thank you all for coming," she said into the microphone. "My name is Pythia. I've invited you here on behalf of Telos. I don't have much to say, other than to present my goddess."

Their rehearsals consisted of Sarah encouraging Telos to go into full Deus Ex Machina mode. The reality blew any ideas she might have had out of the water.

The clouds billowed away in a perfect circle over the city, allowing the sun to shine down unfettered for the first time since dawn. Behind them in the Bay, the water began to whip up in great crashing waves against rocks and breakers. A cool wind that smelled of loam and growing things flowed through the city, and in a gleaming stream of golden light, Telos dropped down to the ground in front of the podium in her costume.

Where her bare feet touched, concrete crumbled into dust and thick, rich grass grew up around her. Without a word, she walked directly toward the waiting press, leaving a perfectly straight path of green grass in the midst of the concrete plaza. Startled press moved out of her way with their cameras and in some cases tri-pods in their hands. She stopped two hundred feet from the PRT building and knelt down. Her wings spread to counterbalance her, and the sun overhead seemed to pulse with light as she planted an acorn.

Stepping back, she lifted her hands and chanted in her mother's tongue. The sound of it filled Sarah's ears and her heart, and she knew the reporters were affected just by how many ducked their heads in alarm.

Concrete crumbled as the acorn sprouted. The sapling grew, reaching upward with questing branches as its trunk spread and broke yet more concrete. Thin branches grew thick to massive. The sound of the wood growing groaned and creaked, while the crumbling concrete popped and shattered.

The trunk split abruptly, growing as wide as a large van's interior. Columns of wood formed up around narrow openings, while an actual alcove formed within the massive trunk itself.

The tree continued to grow up and out as Telos furled her wings and stepped inside. She stomped her foot and a plinth of stone shot up to form a basin within the wooden alcove. Water welled within, trickling down the sides into a ring of ground concrete gravel.

She knelt down just outside the trunk and lifted a piece of broken concrete. In her hands, the concrete melted into a cruciform shape, only with her wings forming the T-shape, and enough of a swell at the hips to suggest the feminine. She stepped inside and placed the cruciform Telos symbol against the growing wood.

Only then did she step out and lift gently into the air with her wings spread until she stood on the podium. She didn't need the microphone. Her voice reached every ear there, guided by the gentle air currents that obeyed her will.

"I am Telos of America," she announced. "My father is Kratos of Sparta, Son of Zeus and God of War. My mother was Freya of Vanaheim, Queen of Asgard and goddess of magic. Like my parents before me, I am a divine being. A god, as worshipped throughout the ages of humanity. I present this alcove to the city that raised me in appreciation and love. The water within will flow for as long as the city remembers me. It is a holy spring, and will bring a moment of peace to those who seek it.

"My parents brought me into this world as a protector against the demons that destroy it. Endbringers, monsters and destroyers will come to fear my name, while those who suffer at their hands will know hope for respite and peace.

"Until the time comes for me to lead that fight, I have tasked my dearest friends with the formidable job of founding a church. Any who seek healing; who seek peace or purpose will be welcome in my church. I do not require you to abandon your own gods, only to accept me into your heart. I do not command any to condemn those who do not share your faith, because hate is the only path of damnation I know of. I offer instead love, healing and protection to all those who seek it. My blessings to all those in need. Thank you."

With that, she rose effortlessly into the air, rising toward the sun until the clouds rolled back in in her absence.

The trick, Sarah knew, was to make sure Telos only made statements, while her followers handled the questions. Which meant it was time for her to return to the microphone. "By her blessing, I have been named by Telos has her high priestess and the administrator of her church. I'm prepared to answer any questions you may have."

There were a lot of questions.

~~Theogony~~

Sarah didn't mean to buy the school. She'd already spent some of the Church's money (as well as some of the bounty money Telos received for taking down the Empire 88) to buy up the properties on the blocks opposite Taylor's domain. That just seemed like the logical place to put the temple for their small but growing church.

But she kept having dreams of the two massive trees. She'd visit Winslow High School every day and walk around the massive trunks that shut the school down. Unlike the tree that Telos caused to grow by the PRT headquarters, these trees could not be cut even by Telos herself. Their bark was smooth and stronger than iron. They weren't quite as tall as redwoods, but they were easily the tallest trees in the city. More importantly, they were sprouted from Taylor's blood.

Sarah could feel Taylor in them. What the PRT was describing as a Master effect was, to Sarah and the believers they already had, a feeling of Telos herself.

When the school board announced that school had been condemned because of one of the trees breaking both the foundation and main water line, and because of the 'master' effect of the trees as noted by the PRT, Sarah signed up to speak. She attended the school board meeting in her embroidered, enchanted robe. She didn't realize at first that Taylor's magic lent the robe a certain glow, but that night she took full advantage of it.

It brought her attention as she stood before the bored, tired board members.

"Good evening. I am Pythia of the Church of Telos. Most of you know that the trees grew from Telos' blood. The black ichor of Olympus that runs through her veins is very powerful, and in other circumstances could have resulted in monsters the likes of which the world hasn't seen since Olympus fell. But because Telos is a kind and forgiving god, even when wounded by betrayal, her blood still created life instead of destroying it."

She heard murmuring in the back, and noticed two of the board members looked distinctly uncomfortable. Both had deep reservations of Telos' divinity. Like many, neither had any issue vocalizing their concerns, either.

"For us, these trees are a holy testament not just to our gods' power, but to her goodness. That is why the Church of Telos is offering to buy the school grounds. At the same time, we acquired four blocks of land in the northern Docks area surrounded by Pinehurst and 56th Street. We originally planned to use this as our first temple. We are willing to donate it to the Board for the purpose of a new high school as part of our proposal."

The seven-member board voted 4-3 to enter negotiations that night. It turned out the board also had a staunch Church of Christ member who, like the Muslim and Catholic members, also had deep reservations about Telos. Those reservations were not enough to stop the sale.

~~Theogony~~

Three hundred people knelt in the grass behind the Hebert home in the domain of Telos. They brought casseroles and pastries; some brought bushels of apples. They watched as a goddess dreamed. They watched raptly as images sometimes appeared within the scintillating waves of auroras that washed out from the glowing mountain top where Telos slept. Each person saw something unique and personal.

Her domain had grown; the mountain was now several hundred feet high. Her waterfall and sacred spring now formed a small lake at the base of the mountain. Someone was singing, her voice carried through the crowd like a breeze. Perfectly in tune, though Sarah's power told her the woman was making the words up as she sang. Pure inspiration, possibly divine. Likely a cape.

Sarah recorded it on her phone, knowing it would become a hymn for their fledgling church. She'd be talking to the blonde cape with feathers in her hair about formally joining the Church staff. Maybe she could type, too.

The sun rose, and Telos rose to greet it. Those below watched in wonderment. They were not the only followers the church had; Sarah and Marie worked out a schedule to limit the crowd since this was still their home. But enough of their followers were able to enter the domain and feel Telos's magic and spirituality that they became devout followers.

Sarah also knew that the PRT and Protectorate were quietly monitoring every person for signs of Mastery. In modern parlance, religious enlightenment looked a lot like Parahuman influence. Sarah knew the difference, but also knew that for those outside the realms of faith, understanding would never come. While capes like Heartbreaker, Teacher and Valefore existed, faith would always be suspect.

Telos floated down after greeting the sun, an excited, happy smile on her face. She didn't stand apart and preach. She walked among her followers, touching them and naming them. She laughed at their joys and dispensed hugs and healings for their hurts. She was not born from an evangelical faith; the gods of ancient Olympus did not proselytize.

Sarah's god had no need to preach of miracles; she performed them daily.

When Shaquelle and Marie escorted the flock out with Ty and DeMarcus Franklin walking nearby to try and make sure any protesters outside the domain didn't get rowdy, Sarah found herself in a hug. "I dreamed I was going to get a visit tonight," Telos said excitedly.

Ever since Sarah learned who Brigid was, Telos had been biting at the bit to go to her. The fact that it took Alexandria, Legend, and the US Secretary of State to keep her from just flying out was proof of her determination. Sarah knew their concerns; after the Simurgh's second attack on London, the United Kingdom was reeling with internal conflict, driven in no small part by the underlying resentment that waves of immigration were the cause of London's destruction, rather than a Zizzed cape.

The UK was a powder keg, and Telos couldn't help but be a spark.

True to her dream, late that night Alexandria herself appeared outside of their domain with another cape that Sarah recognized from research. Telos, sensing their arrival, stood outside waiting for them. That late, most of the protesters had gone home, leaving the police barricaded areas mostly free. Each day that Telos's flock grew and the world didn't end, the protesters lost steam.

"It's morning in the UK right now," Alexandria said by way of greeting. "I've been asked by Lord Nelson, the head of the King's Knights, not to join you. Are you sure about this?"

"I have to go," Telos said simply.

The Triumvirate member motioned to her companion. "This is Strider. He has a legal agreement with the UK. He'll transport you to an agreed location where you will meet UK representatives. Please try not to cause an incident."

Telos laughed. "I'll do my best."

In the blink of an eye, she and Strider were gone. In their absence, Alexandria glanced at Sarah. "Pythia, huh?"

"No one can pronounce the Greek word for Priestess," Sarah said with a shrug. Her power whispered to her, and she smiled. "With her gone, the effect isn't as strong, but her divinity remains. Would you like a few moments at the mountain?"

Alexandria tilted her head, her eyes hidden and her lips unreadable in the shadows of the late evening. Wordlessly, she nodded and followed Sarah into the domain of their goddess.

~~Theogony~~

Pythia, this is Dragon. The Triumvirate requested that I provide transportation services to Kratos. I wanted to let you know that I am en route to Brockton Bay with Kratos, Narwhal, Glaistig Uaine and a few other capes who have been granted a temporary pardon from the Birdcage.

PRT ENE has been notified, but they do not have the facilities to house these individuals. Can you assist?

Sarah blinked a moment as she stared at the unexpected text message on her phone. Finally, her power and intellect kicked in and she started thumbing a response. Telos domain does not permit the admittance of any that might mean her or her followers harm. I can't imagine Birdcagers could get in. We do own Winslow High School. We've only demolished certain parts of the school since we thought to open our own elementary school. That means we have empty classrooms.

I think that will work. If you contact Director Piggot, she has been charged with making supplies available. We will be there in four hours since I am having to fly subsonic. Dragon out.

Sarah hit a programmed number.

"I know," Emily Piggot said sourly the moment she answered. "Winslow?"

"Winslow. We'll need portable showers, cots, sanitation equipment and water since the main is still broken. Plus…clothes or costumes, presumably? And food."

"I have my marching orders. Get your people over there and we'll start moving things."

~~Theogony~~

Sarah stood flanked by Maria on one side and Lacy Waters on the other, while Kurt and a few of the DWA boys helped PRT officials prepare rooms for their "guests". Dragon's faintly pterosaur-shaped flying mecha reared flexible wings as it roared to a relatively clear spot in the shattered parking lot not far from the second of the two massive trees.

Even from a hundred feet away, when Telos's father walked down the ramp Sarah's breath caught. Beside her, Lacy let out a hysterical laugh. "Look at that man!"

Kratos wore desert camo fatigues, over which he'd draped an ancient pauldron of some type of lizard skin. A massive axe hung from a harness in the back, while wickedly shaped swords hung at his hips, connected by chains to his wrists. His head and bare arms were the color of old ash.

He walked to the nearest tree and placed a hand on the smooth bark as he lowered his head.

He can feel Taylor's power.

Behind him, others followed. The first to come down the ramp was Narwhal, considered routinely to be the most powerful and dangerous hero after the Triumvirate. Her costume consisted of lavender scales of her forcefield power, while she'd formed a long, distinctive horn on her head like her namesake. Her seven-foot height and pure white hair made her unmistakable in or out of costume.

Behind her, though, came a former vigilante whose hatred of villains became so violent he went after their families. Gavel was infamous because it was his actions, and the response of his enemies, that led to the unwritten rules against going after families.

He didn't look like a hardened murderer, though. In his orange prison sweats, he looked tired and haunted.

The cape a step behind was known to even have a connection to Telos through her mother. Lustrum appeared to be a woman approaching sixty years, with tired eyes and a thick, muscular body. She'd cut and patched her prison sweats into something resembling cargo pants and a jacket. Being a Brockton Bay native, Sarah supposed this was a homecoming for her.

The next cape to come out, though, made Sarah nervous. String Theory was Birdcaged because she made a mass driver capable of destroying the moon and proved herself willing to use it. Even now, she looked about curiously and without any sign of guilt for her crimes.

After the tinker, others came. Galvanate, a trump who gifted invincibility and electrocution powers, Black Kaze, a sword-bearing, teleporting mass murderer. Marquis, a former villain of Brockton Bay who actually knew Kratos in his Danny Hebert guise. Amy Dallon's biological father, her power whispered.

Tattletale would have gloried in that tidbit. Pythia filed it away.

The last to emerge, of course, was the reason for the release in the first place. Glaistig Uaine stepped down the ramp in intentionally slashed sweats that hung off her like a shroud. Three ghostly figures hung behind her.

Narwhal was considered the most powerful hero after the Triumvirate. Glaistig Uaine? She was considered the most powerful cape after Eidolon and Scion. Unlike Eidolon, she also had the potential to grow more powerful yet.

She looked about hesitantly before her eyes settled on Kratos. Narwhal drifted to her side without saying a word, and both watched as the ancient god finished his brief meditation. He stepped back from the tree before speaking a single word to the capes he'd freed. He then began walking toward Sarah.

Lacy stepped out and grabbed the god of war in a huge hug. "Fuck my fat ass with howitzer, you look good, Danny!"

Maria choked on spit and started coughing violently.

The most remarkable thing was that, for all the god's menacing appearance, he accepted the hug without hesitation, and returned it in kind. "It is good to see you again. I see my daughter's blessing on you."

"We took her in for a day after the PRT pulled their heads out of their assess," Lacy declared. "Come on, meet your girl's priestess. This one's name is Sarah. She's a kid, but smart despite it. Taylor calls her Pythia."

Kratos gaze had weight. It felt almost like a physical force pushing against her. Despite it, she bowed. How else to greet the parent of one's god? That heavy gaze moved to the still choking Marie, who bowed as well.

"We have bed, showers, food and water ready," Sarah said. "The local PRT will assist with clothing and costumes."

Kratos nodded, and with that gesture said more than most leaders could with a speech.

~~Theogony~~

Marie was so terrified of Glaistig Uaine that, even with Narwhal as an escort, Sarah decided to spare the girl. Sarah found it interesting that her sister in faith was not afraid of Kratos. In fact, she actually seemed drawn into his orbit as he led the other capes into the school.

They had a separate classroom set aside for the infamous cape. A cot with a roll-out mattress sat in a corner, with a portable shower, sink and standing thirty-gallon water tank stood in the other corner. Unlike most of the other rooms, Glaistig was not going to share a space with anyone.

Though her gaze did not have the weight Kratos' did, Glaistig had a powerful presence about her.

"You believe this Telos is a god," the cape said in a voice that echoed with multiple tones.

"I do," Sarah said.

"And yet you carry a fairy within you—the Negotiator. An apt power for one who speaks for their god." She turned to Narwhal. "You carry the Coruscant Blade, and yet you use it as a shield. Your purpose was to kill, not protect."

The tall, statuesque cape looked down on the much smaller one with a wry expression. "I was never supposed to be a cape, Glaistig. Any more than you were. My mother was a goddess too, my father a mortal who loved the Sea. The seed of power was planted in me to pervert my destiny. Just like you."

"So the War God says," Glaistig said. "We tire. Leave us."

Sarah's power told us how utterly confused and upset Glaistig Uaine was at that moment. The abrupt dismissal was driven as much by her confusion and fear as it was by any feelings of superiority. And in that moment, Sarah's power helped her understand why Kratos went to the Birdcage and the cabal Alexandria was a part of.

Narwhal's words set the stage, but Sarah's own power filled in the gaps. "You are a daughter of Brigid," she said.

The mildly insane cape went perfectly still. "We said to leave us."

"You stand in a holy place," Sarah continued. "This building was sanctified by Telos' own blood. Those trees you saw grew from her very being. Not even Legend could scorch them. You are welcome here not because you are Glastig Uaine. You are welcome because you are the child of a God my god owes a boon to. Sleep well."

She bowed, then left with Narwhal at her side.

"You have some balls of steel underneath that robe," Narwhal noted as they walked away. "I've seen video of that girl take on Eidolon's entire PRT team and win."

"The extraordinary thing about actually meeting your god is how easy it is to have faith in her," Sarah admitted. "I know I have a soul because she's shown me. And I know when I die my soul shall find shelter and peace within her domain, because I've seen it and speak to those whose souls are already there. All Glastig can do is kill me, but my soul will always be Taylor's."

Neither woman saw how Glastig listened and slowly removed the trappings of her prison costume.