"Who?"
"It's Ororo. The weather controlling meta, remember?"
"Oh! White hair with the blue eyes. Hard to forget. That's one lucky catch. How the hell did you manage to get a girlfriend like that?" We were already at a noisy bar which was the best place to get that drunk feel, even when you haven't even gulped a pint.
"Well it's nothing special and I've known her for like three years now so it just happened." We were at a table near the bar where we could get the gist of everything that was happening around us.
"That basic huh? Not like I expected anything different when it comes to you. I can stake my next glass that you didn't even know when you entered a relationship." He said with a loud laugh that drew some temporary gaze at us.
"Okay, that's uncalled for. I'm not that dumb."
"I'm not saying you are. I'm just saying that I thought you wouldn't have cared. It's hard imagining you being committed to someone. Nat and the others don't count, they are basically family so that's different." Clint explained. "I figured you would be that type of guy that would rather go and get laid at a motel than allow someone inside. Seeing you willing to accommodate Nat and Yelena and even take care of them like some sort of sibling was a good surprise for us though. You're changing man, I'm glad."
The way he said it made me think if I was ever like that. Sure I knew I changed a lot, which was normal, considering I went from a 40 year old man to the peak of my youth and also with HYDRA and my powers. Everyone was bound to change drastically if they were put in my shoes.
Clint had once mentioned that the reason I joke a lot was to cover up the trauma I received from HYDRA, which was wrong.
I think the reason why I mellowed down was because this was a second life. One more dangerous, more exciting, more thrilling… more fulfilled than any dream I could have dreamt.
It was one of the reasons why I gave my romance with Ororo a chance. It wasn't a way to live, brooding all day long for the rest of my life.
This was my Marvel re-do and I was trying to live it the best I can. I still took things seriously, but it was all hidden under the façade of calmness and nonchalance.
I've changed, yes. But I wasn't that different than I used to be.
"I have to. The world keeps spinning, me not changing with it would be redundant to myself. It's basic human biology after all." I said while signaling for a waitress to bring more bottles.
"I don't think it has much to do with biology but more to do with being a man. It's something to be proud of bro. I ever told you I got a son?" Clint seemed intoxicated but it shouldn't have affected him to the point where he would be blurring out his secrets like this. So whatever he was saying, he was well aware.
I shook my head. "No, you never mentioned it."
"Well I got this little boy, a real bundle you know. It changes everything man. First it starts with the little glances and the occasional jabs, then it balls up to a date… and a few years later, she's the most important person in your life. That's the moment you think 'this is it! This is the life!', but it's not, at least not fully. A few years go by and then you make the decision and a few months later, one of the toughest you've ever lived, he comes by. A very small life that you can squeeze out with your hands, but you can't. You won't. Because that right there is all the proof you need. Who you are, who you could ever be, the culmination of your life: that's what he represents. Your child."
"That sounds beautiful." It honestly did.
"It is. And then everyday after that, all you can think of is how you'll go home and look at him, hold him in your hands above your head, because that's where he belongs. It's the life I tell you. The last thing you would want is for him to know about all the fucked up things you did. I'm not talking about you failing a test or stealing some cash, I'm talking about you being contracted to kill 12 people because all their life meant to you was just target practice and a reputation boost." He was hurting. Not because of what he did but because he knew that that was the life he lived, the life he was living until the foreseeable future, and the life he hoped to get out of.
"But… you still read him his favorite bedtime story because it's the least you could do." The soft smile on his face was already enough for me to know that he put his family above all. "You do all that because that's what it means to be a father." He looked at me as he said that.
"I'm not ready for that yet. I still have a long way to go before I get a picture as beautiful as that I'm afraid." I said.
He nodded at my words but his eyes didn't leave me. "I know. You have a long way to go, but you are getting there."
"I don't think so. I don't think I can settle down currently. I have too much to deal with." I wasn't looking to get tied down anytime soon, it wasn't worth the trouble. Though I had plans of settling down, I wasn't going to do it now.
"Oh I know. But the thing is, it's not something you plan for… it just happens. And trust me, when it does and she says yes, nothing else at that point would matter. Not even if the world crumbled."
We remained in silence after that, just drinking and immersing ourselves in the lively atmosphere of the bar.
Clint ended up becoming drunk and as the sober one of us two, I had to take him home.
Not the apartment where he lived in the city, but his house in the middle of nowhere.
I was half expecting Laura to put a gun to my head for just appearing in the middle of the field, but instead she just let out a sigh of exasperation on seeing Clint's drunken state.
"Sorry for popping up unannounced but I figured he would rather spend the night at home than his apartment. My name is Draul by the way."
I introduced myself to her after depositing Clint to the bed as this was the first time we've met.
"Call me Laura. Clint talks a lot about you. Beverage?"
"Water is fine. I'm guessing I'm one interesting study case right?" She laughed as I said that but shook her head.
"Not like that, no. Interesting is one word, though not one that defines what he speaks of you. I would settle for unique." She handed me the glass of water which I took with thanks and gulped it all down. "Unique, huh."
"You're not in a hurry are you? Make yourself at home while I whip up something in the kitchen for you. God knows you need it if Clint got drunk."
It's not like I had anything pressing on my plate these days but I agreed and sat on one of their couches, picked up the remote control and started flipping through the channels.
I was in the midst of flipping through the channels when a moving shadow caught my attention.
It was a boy, no older than three years old, hiding behind the stairs.
"Hey there little soldier."
He shrunk more into his hiding spot as if to hide from my view, which he was failing at, but I won't say that since he deserved some point for being cute.
Laura walked in with sandwiches and a glass of hot milk but paused as she saw the little boy.
"That's Cooper. We don't get visitors around here." She sounded embarrassed saying the last part out loud. Though not an ideal situation to raise a child, they had their reasons, valid ones. "Come here sweetie. This is Uncle Draul."
The boy, emboldened by his mother, walked out of his hiding place and came to meet me.
"How are you doing, Cooper?"
"Fayn." He replied timidly, not nearly enough to not take my outstretched hand for a shake.
"He's cute." I muttered to Laura as the boy climbed onto my legs.
"He is." It was the same tone Clint used in talking about him and Laura that she used in answering, making everyone who heard her know how dearly she loves her first child.
I ate the sandwiches while Cooper played on my legs, sometimes pulling on my beard only for him to be taken by his mother who patted him till he fell asleep.
"So, why is Clint drunk?"
"That would be my fault. I took him to the bar for a bros day out, we ended up talking about some stuff and he just took to the bottle." I said truthfully, not entirely.
"He told you, didn't he?" She asked in a soft voice.
"He did." I knew what she was talking about. Clint was a killer, yes, but not a cold-blooded one.
If it were the Clint he used to be, the one he had told me about, he wouldn't have even bothered about who his arrows killed as long they were conscious of their actions.
Clint was not for this life. What he was doing now was something no different than a tenure for the favor Fury did for him and Laura.
"You don't have to worry about him, he's okay. Frustrated, but okay."
"I know. But it doesn't change the fact that I would rather have him here than out there. I guess we can't have it all after all. We are trying all what we can to be the best for Cooper and his future siblings, but even that can't change what we used to be. Maybe this is our karma." She brushed the hair out of Coopers face and set him down on another chair in comfort.
"I don't think karma has anything to do with this. You both are already doing the best you can, which is a lot in my opinion, sure it's not how you would want it but at least both of you are trying. THAT is beautiful, regardless of what you or anyone else might think." Coming to this house made me realize something; I already had the perfect picture I wanted. Two soldier brothers, two assassin sisters and one Draul. It might not be the standard perfect picture but it was MY perfect picture.
"Clint was right when he said you were on hell of a conversation partner. Thanks for that."
"No problem. I should leave now. Tell Clint I said no drink for the rest of the month."
"Haha, will do. Do try and visit, I'm sure Cooper would love that."
"I will." And with that I was gone from the Bartons. Today had been more thought provoking than what I was comfortable with, but it was nice.
Unlike Clint, the enemies I had to deal with were more up the ladder in every category.
I already had a family, not related by blood but stronger than one. And like him, God knows I would do anything for mine.
All these were things I didn't have to think much about. What was is already past, what could be would depend on how much I could influence the future .
Time for me to go for the Power Stone and begin the assimilation.
I haven't experimented on how much energy I could draw out since, well there was no place for me to experiment on, but that would change soon.
There were hundreds of dead planets out in the universe. One getting destroyed won't be cause for alarm. It was fine as long as it wasn't anywhere near our galaxy.
[Ororo Munroe POV]
Honestly, Ororo didn't know what to expect when she came back here.
A word of advice, some lost teachings or maybe even learning why she always felt drawn to nature aside from the people calling her a Goddess.
Her expectations were nothing grand, but what she received turned everything on its heels.
From the moment she saw that woman, she immediately understood what Draul was saying about Gods and them being real.
Although she was taught from a young age that the gods existed, all she had in them was faith in their existence and nothing more. She believed them to be real and not once did she ever thought she would be in the presence of one, and not just anyone, but one so exalted by all other Gods.
Gaea, the Mother Goddess of Earth.
…
FLASHBACK*
The last thing she remembered was praying before a bright light enveloped her and then she found herself in what she would call the most natural place she'd ever seen.
Everything seemed to be in their truest state, shape, form and location. The air, the flowers, the trees, even the animals all exuded a natural air around them that couldn't be found in anything she'd seen on earth.
And it was then she saw her.
Exuding the same warmth as a mother's embrace. Grace, reality, love, security: these were all emotions she felt as she saw the woman in front of her that embodied all the earth's nature.
She knew who she was instinctively but before she could recover herself, she found herself being pulled into the warmest embrace she's ever felt.
"My daughter." A soft voice that seemed to wash away all worries filtered into her ears.
Ororo didn't know what she could do in such situations. Years and years of training never prepared her to be hugged by someone she very well knew was a Goddess. And it also didn't help that the hug was that intoxicating that she didn't know when she started leaning in for more.
She spent more than a few seconds in the woman's embrace, with said woman not even the least bit put off by the extended hug as she just gently patted her white hair.
"I'm sorry about that." Ororo apologized after she finally got the strength to pull away.
The woman however just smiled at her and then beckoned on her to follow. She led them to a small clearing that was surrounded by glowing flowers and then sat down and pointed in front of her for Ororo to sit.
Ororo sat there for a few minutes in which the woman did nothing but just smiled warmly at her which made Ororo embarrassed.
"Uh… I…"
"Ask whatever you wish, my dear." The woman encouraged.
Ororo took in a deep breath before asking: "Are you my Goddess?"
Instead of being offended, the smile on the woman's face widened a bit, looking at Ororo with the same fondness she had held since the beginning.
"My sister sure would love to meet you, child. As for your question, the Goddess you are talking about would be my sister, Oshtur."
Ororo didn't understand who this Oshtur was, but given that this woman called Oshtur her sister, then it stood to reason that Oshtur was also a goddess, her goddess.
"But if we worship Oshtur, why is your temple in the presence of my people?" Ororo asked. She had no ill thought to this goddess but she had to ask.
"Oh that? Well, Oshtur likes to move around, never settling in one place for long and over time her descendants started praying to me. That temple is a link to me as well as her." The woman explained.
Ororo then asked about the identity of the goddess before her. "Forgive me for asking, but who are you? I know you are a Goddess, but which one?"
"You can call me Gaea, The Mother Goddess of Earth. My sister, Oshtur, is known as the Goddess of Balance and Order, and also the Bright Lady as you call her." The woman, finally known as Gaea, introduced herself. "We have a lot to speak of, daughter. First of all, let's begin with why you came back." Though Gaea knew, she nevertheless asked. It was the very basics of keeping a conversation going after all.
Ororo then explained everything to her; her life, her friends, the ones she gained, the ones she lost, her goals, why she fought, her favored, and her desire for strength. She told Gaea everything.
"Hmm, if you wish to learn more about yourself, then I'm afraid I'm not the one to tell you. You are Oshtur's descendant, so by right she should be the one to tell you what you wish to know about yourself. I am only here because I wished to speak with you, child."
Ororo became slightly frustrated by that, only slightly.
As if, probably, knowing what was going through her mind, Gaea chuckled.
Her chuckle brought back Ororo from her thoughts. "You said you wanted to meet with me, may I know why?"
"For two reasons, dear. The first being that I wanted to finally meet someone who was as connected to me as you were and secondly was because of your boyfriend."
While the first had somewhat flattered her, the second made her curious.
"What do you mean, Goddess Gaea?"
"What I mean is that he is walking a path of absolute destruction, one where the universe would be affected. And the worrying part is that he knows this all too well."
That made Ororo's blood run cold.
She wasn't as shocked as she was frightened.
"W-what do you mean?" She asked frantically.
"You have seen it, have you not? That red embodiment of destruction. What he is goes far deeper than anything the mortal eyes could see on the surface." Gaea said.
"I'm afraid I do not understand. What are you trying to say about him, because I can assure you he is no demon of destruction." Ororo defended.
"I did not mean it that way, my child. What I meant was that regardless of his unwillingness or his knowledge, he is a being of destruction. One so absolute that not even this universe would remain should it manifest. I know you worry about him but as it stands, you can't in no way help him." The Mother Goddess of Earth gave her advice, although it was one Ororo couldn't accept.
"What if I get stronger? Can't I protect the people I care about with my strength, Goddess Gaea?" She looked at the being who was called the mother of all life and asked, hope in her eyes as she seeks affirmation from one who stood above all others.
"Even if you grow stronger, will your strength be able to match his current's." Before she could answer, the world around her changed and what replaced her surroundings were red skies and red lightning streaking along the clouds. "This is Mars."
"Oh goddess." Shock and fear vibrated through her body and she saw a scarred Mars along with half of the Olympus Mons utterly destroyed.
She could see the effects of the increased gravity in the planet and the ground broke apart as magma spewed out.
The destruction she was seeing was more than enough to wipe out any country from the face of the earth and in the midst of it stood a huge red figure, that although different, but not unrecognizable.
"This is him. The strength he currently wields is acknowledged in the vast universe. Can you ever hope to compare, my dear daughter? The more time passes, the more powerful he becomes. The more powerful he becomes, the more the forces of the universe and those beyond take notice, that's if they have not already."
Ororo saw as Draul shifted back to a form she was all too familiar with. He whistled looking at the destruction he had wrought on Mars, scratched his head and disappeared from the planet.
"If you think this is an illusion, it is not. This already happened."
"Why are you showing me this, Goddess Gaea?" She asked after taking in the scene to the fullest. Yes, she knew Draul was strong. Yes, Draul had told her about his fight with the Nordic Gods Thor and Loki.
But that wasn't the only thing he had told her. According to him, there were hierarchies even more so when it came to Gods.
Truly strong Omegas could fight some Gods, minor ones and maybe a few weak major ones.
And above those were the Skyfathers – the leaders of the Pantheons as it were.
Those, those were of the 'You don't fuck with us' variety that Draul had been quite specific on stressing.
And above that, though he only mentioned it once, the Elder Gods.
To everyone else, they were at the very top of the food chain, the top of the universe.
He had told her a lot of things, even about himself that he joked that there was hardly anything that she didn't know about him. But one thing he never told her about was how strong he was. She never cared so she never asked.
"The reason I show you this is not for any malicious purpose, far from it. I care for you, daughter of mine, and I can't stand to see you make an ignorant choice, not when chaos is on the horizon."
Ororo took a deep breath and calmed her thoughts.
"I want to know." Was the only thing she said, but it was enough to make the ever present smile on Gaea's face light up.
FLASHBACK ENDS*
….
The past few days had been an eye opener for the weather goddess.
Her talk with the Goddess Gaea shed away the layer of ignorance that had been covering her for her entire life.
Though she didn't have an in-depth comprehension about the wider universe, or should she call it the multiverse now, gods, who surprisingly were not the top as she had thought.
Cosmic beings and Abstracts Entities ran amok under the endless starry sky.
Guess Draul hadn't been lying about the Phoenix being unmatchable in the universe.
She spent the days talking with Gaea about, well just anything and everything, and she had to say Gaea truly was a mother to all.
Her view on life and death being a compulsory cycle was completely out of what Ororo expected from the Goddess of Life.
-"Now learn the lesson you have forever so feared. If you would save all creation… look beyond each single life. Let those who must fall, fall. Mourn the facing of each dead leaf. But do not pause to stop it. Instead, you create anew. Create out of ashes and death. Create out of darkness and chaos. That is how existence fought for life. Remake yourself, Ororo. And rise."-
She had been quite conflicted on that but Gaea urged her to take her time to think.
What Gaea had given were random knowledge that those who were strong enough to know, knew.
And then she met Oshtur.
From Gaea she had known that Elder God's could have different personas in different mythologies.
Gaea for example existed in different incarnations in over more than ten pantheons, same for Oshtur.
Ororo's first impression of Oshtur was a loving mother who could turn strict at a moment's notice.
You could find comfort in her presence, though not like Gaea, but you also knew not to get too close.
She strongly reminded Ororo of the fading memory of her own mother.
The first word that flowed between them after she was accepted into Oshtur's presence was the mild tease and chiding of the Elder God of Balance and Order.
"So you finally decided to visit me, child of mine." It took only those words for Ororo to fall into the Goddess' pace throughout their entire meeting.
It was from Oshtur that Ororo truly learned about her heritage, her powers and much more than she would have known about herself.
All this only made the burning fire inside her heart burn fiercer.
...
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Read up to 30 chapters ahead at pa*treon /Draul_TheOminous.