After the pair left the abandoned building, Khonshu asked where Eva's home address is. But the little girl only looked at him in confusion. Turns out she can't remember where she lives, nor give any good landmarks that can help. But Eva did share where her mother works at.
"Mommy takes me to a place called court house." Eva said, explaining that her mother would bring her along sometimes.
With that, the boy god concludes that she is referring to the Supreme Court Building of New York. Along the way, Khonshu saw a nearby police officer.
Maybe I can leave Eva to him and let the authorities call her mother. At least it will get Eva off my hands.
He thought and made to move towards the man in uniform. But when he walked closer, he is taken by a suspiciously dark cloud coming from the officer. In his eyes, he can see the dark malicious cloud that have left an imprint on his heart. Like fingerprints left in a crime scene, or blood drops left after a murder
There is something going on with that one.
Khonshu stopped for a while, raising an eyebrow at this. Then he walked briskly past that officer, pulling Eva away to follow him.
Once he is a good distance away, the god tried again with another police officer that is also just standing on the side of the road, but the god can sense the same suspicious aura from the man.
Khonshu quickly turned around, pulling Eva who is now annoyed at this.
"Hey! Stop pulling Stinky!" Eva said loudly. It is loud enough that it caught the officer's attention and he looked around.
Khonshu is immediately alarmed at this and tried to talk to Eva.
"Be quite little one." he said. But this only annoyed Eva even more and she displayed it by complaining very loudly.
"I don't want to walk anymore. I want to go home!" She cried out.
Khonshu can feel the officer look this way, curious at what is going on. The moon god thinking fast, tried to remember what little kids like and said the first thing in his mind.
"If you be quite, I'll buy you ice cream." He said. This finally got Eva to stop crying but she looked doubtful, "Are you sure? You might be lying." She said.
"I did promise that I'll bring you home. And I need you to be quite for now. There is a nice ice cream shop nearby."
Eva pouted skeptically, but in the end she demanded, "I want lemon sherbet with orange sprinkles."
Now Khonshu is confused.
Where am I going to find lemon sherbet?
Until he remembered he passed by a food struck that sells sherbets a few days ago, he even tried one strawberry sherbet out of curiosity. He also knows that it is a lot pricier than the other ice cream shops he bought from, but he really wants Eva to stop crying.
"I know just where to buy one. Now come along." He said and took Eva to the food truck he knows is just two blocks away. Behind him he can feel the growing distance between the officer and himself. Khonshu internally, sighs in relief at this.
As they arrived at the food truck, there isn't much people ordering. Another thing Khonshu is happy for since he is getting tired of waiting in lines. Once he got his order, He gave the cone Eva who happily started eating her frozen dessert.
While I'm here, I wondered what lemon sherbet tastes like…
The moon god then order one for himself, without the orange sprinkles. "Just Lemon sherbet will do." He said to the food truck attendant.
"Are you two related?" the guy asked once he have Khonshu's order, he seems friendly enough but Khonshu can sense tension within him. It's not malicious but it's like a deeply wound up spring. Something is making him nervous.
"Yes, I'm looking after her for the day." Khonshu replied curtly. The god also sensed that the guy is going to ask more, so he immediately turned around and beckoned the little girl to sit on the small set of stools and tables on the side. The guy just looks in confusion at how fast he was dismissed.
Okay, that was rude.
The attendant thought.
While Eva ate her share. Khonshu licked his. His mind went back to the police officers he thought of approaching earlier. For some reason they are not trustworthy and the god can sense ulterior motives.
Looks like I came across some bad apples this time,
He thought. The god also left his phone back in the apartment, so he can't just call the only police officer he trusts. It's not that he hates modern phones. Khonshu just doesn't think that it's necessary for him to take it everywhere he went. Especially since he is aware that it can be tracked with technology.
I'll have to find a way to block that. It shouldn't be as hard as messing with electricity.
He thought as he ate. All he did was affect the electromagnetic waves in the circuit using a very small amount of his energy. It's so simple that ghosts can do that. But it's just pure disruption not manipulation, the god finds it too difficult to even understand how modern technology circuits works. He usually leaves it to his Avatar to figure out.
As they continue to eat, Khonshu is now aware of the hidden eyes across the street.
This is sherbet is always delicious, if only I wasn't being watched.
It wasn't immediate but when Khonshu brought Eva to the food stall earlier, he felt someone is staring at him. He brushed it off since everyone looks all the time now. But now the stare has intensified a notch and they are mostly towards Eva. The looks do go to him, but it quickly goes back to Eva and back to him.
He then glanced sideways and saw the food truck guy glancing at him, across the street, then back to him. Khonshu can also see the guy's shoulders are more tense, and acting more anxious than when he gave the sherbet to the child god.
Something is up, we can't stay for too long. And I'll just escort Eva myself.
He thought as he quickly finished his sherbet and waited for Eva to finish hers. But he kept his senses open now that he is aware that he was being watched.
As soon as Eva finished, Khonshu waste no time on getting them away. Eva looked annoyed as usual but she followed quietly.
Thankfully, none of the stares followed him.
Khonshu then mentally checked his internal map to see if the Supreme Court building is close enough for them to walk to. But unfortunately, it's on the other side of town. He doubts the little girl have the patience to keep walking in her shiny yellow shoes.
She's going to complain half way there. Unless I could try something faster.
He thought and made a turn to his left, heading towards the nearest train station.
As soon as they did, Khonshu moans at the long line infront of the ticket counter, but he also noticed more of the suspicious police officers standing nearly. He raises an eyebrow at this. Wondering why are there suspicious and possibly corrupt officers are standing in a place of public transportation.
I can't make a scene though, so I'll have play along.
The god stayed quite, passing by one who only looked at him but Khonshu quickly walked into a crowd, pulling Eva long and making sure the girl didn't stray away from him. He then brought them to the line, and as they waited, the boy god got out his wallet.
And he just stared once again as he realized how little money he have left now. He end up spending too much again and he only have enough to pay for 2 tickets now.
Guess I'll be walking home, and getting another part time tomorrow. He thought.
Once it is his turn, he handed over the money. Khonshu can see the ticket lady staring at him, to Eva's clean attire and back to him.
The god knows that it is a bit suspicious that someone so clean and clearly from a privilege background, is being accompanied by someone who's shirt and pants haven't been washed in months.
"She's my cousin, my parents don't live with hers." He said curtly yet politely, hoping that confident yet arrogant tone of his voice is enough for the ticket lady to not ask questions. And like before, he quickly left before the ticket lady could say anything. The god just hopes that she won't call the authorities about this. It would be annoying to try and explain this to Grey.
The two then walked to the crowded platform and wait for the train to arrive. There was a spot where a lot of people are standing so Khonshu stayed a little close to them.
"Stay close Eva. It's easy to get lost here." he reminded as he can feel Eva looking around.
The sound of the incoming train echoed from the tunnel ahead and everyone stood in attention, hoping to be the first to get in once the train came to a halt.
Slowly it stopped and the sound of the doors opening can be heard. Khonshu pulled Eva inside through the door in front of them and to a vacant seat.
Eva made some protesting noises on being pulled many times by someone who is not her mother, but she eventually calmed down once Khonshu helped her get settled on her seat. She then placed her teddy bear on her lap like it was a valuable pet. The boy god sat beside her and unlike the oblivious girl, the god was looking at the passengers who are still coming in the train.
He can see a few tense people and some relaxed ones, the crowd is overwhelming enough that no one did anything dangerous. Some of them are more anxious and in a hurry get in the train before it could leave. Most of them are deemed harmless to the god, but there are a few who are notKhonshu glanced to what look like a drunk man sitting near the door.
The moon god made a note on that man, he have a feeling in his gut to keep an eye on the drunk.
Soon he can hear the train doors close and feel the vehicle depart. The people are slowly settling down now, though some still looking for a seat while other's settle to just stand. It took a few minutes before some started to take out their phones to play games or listen to music. The movement of the engine is felt, slowly rocking the car in a rather comforting way. Like how a crib is being rocked back and forth. Khonshu can feel Eva put her head on his arm as the little girl slowly drifts off to sleep.
But Khonshu is anything but sleepy, if anything he is far more awake than ever. As the Patron of Travelers, he is inside a vehicle whose sole purpose is to travel from one place to another. The god is in his zone. The only way to make it even more on-point, was if he was in a train during a full moon.
The train made a few stops and slowly passengers are exiting the train until only a handful remained.
It was after the 3rd stop did Khonshu finally felt someone is looking intensely at him specifically. He doesn't need to turn his head to know it is the drunk man he spied earlier.
The moon god's bangs hid his eyes, so it a bit hard for others to know if Khonshu is looking at them or not. Something he much learned and finds advantageous, so he chooses to not cut his bangs, no matter how many times Fran asked him to.
"K, your hair makes you look like Justin Bieber but way worst. Please just cut it." Fran said one time but this only made Khonshu more adamant on doing the opposite. Even saying stuff like how it is a fashionable trend in his home or how it is a sacred hair style that is believed to bring good luck. Both of them know that the excuses are pure BS.
Back in the train, Khonshu can still feel the drunk staring at him. It's almost predatory now, like how a mouse found a large block of cheese in the open.
If the god had his way, Khonshu would try and lure the man to a hidden place with no witnesses and break his windpipe with a good plank of wood. Or anything he can get his hands on, or even just his hands. But unfortunately, he has Eva to look after, and the girl is his current priority. He does crave a little action, but for now he will have to save it for another day.
The moon god gently shook Eva awake. The red-head opened her eyes and gave a groggy look at Khonshu.
"Are we there yet?" she asked as she lightly rubbed her eyes.
Khonshu didn't answer immediately at first, he stood up and pulled Eva to do the same.
"No, let's find another place to sit first. This chair is attracting some bad eyes." He said calmy but lowly enough that only Eva can hear.
The god led them further to the front of the train, passed the threshold connecting to the next car. Khonshu made sure to quietly close the door behind him once they passed through.
The car they entered is a little more crowded, unlike the previous one. He can see around 9 people standing and maybe more sitting in the center of the car.
Khonshu looked for an empty seat and he spied one a little further away. Just as he, bringing Eva, walked passed the more crowded place, the moon god sense someone intoxicated approaching his general direction. Then he heard someone sliding the door, as well as the light sound of footsteps.
Though the god is anything but panicking, he didn't turn around and simply kept his pace across the car. Deliberately tensing his shoulders and glancing side to side.
Just as he expected, the drunk man followed behind him.
By the time he reached the middle of the car, he quickened his pace until he reached the other side.
Then he stopped and waited. Inside his head, he counted.
1...
2...
3...
Suddenly, a teen's voice is heard yelling, "Hey, what are you doing man?"
Khonshu let himself smirked a little, glad that someone finally noticed.
The drunk man just turned to who said that and yelled back, "Mind your own bussinezz!" His intoxication made him slur out that last word.
But this didn't scare the passerby. Khonshu turned to see who it is and noticed that it is a medium sized teen of African American descent. He is standing while holding one of the safety rails in one hand, and the other is inside the hoodie pocket.
Khonshu can see that the teen have alert eyes, but there is a sense of laziness on his stance.
No, the god decided that it is not laziness. It is more of someone who is experienced enough to disguise a fighting position as a standing position. Or the teen is just cocky.
And while the drunk's attention is now on someone else, Khonshu pulled Eva further away from the commotion he knew was going to erupt.
"I saw you staring at that kid. That's just disgusting." the teen continued, not a hint of fear in his voice.
The drunk, more annoyed now, stalked towards the teen. The teen though, didn't back down, though he did take a step back but Khonshu can tell that it is a move of preparation, not one out of fear.
Eventually the other passengers are starting to notice the drunk man's antics. They are mostly bored and just want to see something happening in their mundane travel.
Once the drunk is directly infront of the teen, he pulled his arm back to swing at the younger one. But the later quickly dodge sideways and again.
While that is happening, a man stepped forward towards the fight. "Knock it off dude, he's a little too young for you." he said. The man is wearing a white shirt. Khonshu can also see that he have a more built body, like someone who exercises more than regularly.
This only agitated the drunk even more and he turned around to punch the man. Though, much to the dismay of the drunk man, his new target quickly grabbed the arm and twisted it. He then put the drunk on a head hold, all while pushing him down to the ground like how a wrestler does it.
Now more people are growing interested on the fight and took pictures. Some are now cheering on as the fight continues.
Khonshu can see now that they are not in danger, so he let himself relax a bit.
"Let's take a seat here Eva. That man won't hurt us anymore." He said. But Eva just voiced her complain, "My feet hurts, When are we going to see mommy?"
"We're almost there Luv. Just one more stop" Khonshu said to reassure the girl, but he quickly realized that he just used British slang. And there is only one guy he knows who uses that informal language a lot.
Great Bulls of Heaven, I sound like the Worm. He have infected me with his annoying speech patterns...
Khonshu just froze at this slip. Eva, though is completely oblivious to the god's internal distress and is more focused on getting to her seat. First she slightly wiped the seat with her free hand, then used it to push herself up. This proved to be rather difficult for her as she kept slipping.
Khonshu was having his internal crisis when he heard Eva's grunts, so he acted on instinct. The god absent mindedly bend down to put his arms under Eva's arm and lifted her to her seat. This took Eva by surprised, but she is pleased to be in her seat again. She adjusted her butt for a while to make herself comfortable and said, "Thanks Stinky."
Khonshu is still tired from thinking about the Worm to complain now, so he just let it slide and took his own seat.
A minute passed before he can feel someone walking to his direction, he looked up and noticed that it is the teen who first called out the drunk man.
"Hey, Are you two okay? That guy didn't hurt ya or anything?" The teen asked.
Now that the stranger who closer to him, Khonshu can get a much better read on the teen. And the god can feel that the person standing infront of him is not an ordinary person, at least not like most of the other passengers.
Khonshu can feel some sort of dormant energy underneath the teen's skin. But the child god notices how normal and natural it flows, like it is just regular blood circulating. Khonshu can also see that it isn't hurting the teen in anyway. Besides that little physical quirk, the moon god can't see any malicious intentions.
This is definitely one of the good souls around here,
He decided.
Khonshu also notes how oddly familiar it is, but he can't put his finger on it just yet.
"The man didn't harm us. I noticed that he was staring and quickly moved but the man followed us. Thank you for noticing." Khonshu answered.
The teen nodded at this and said, "No problem, this kind of stuff happens more than often so we need to look out for each other."
Khonshu agreed and it comforts him that someone saw the signs and took initiative instead of stepping back. Though the god now knows that the teen have some special abilities and could probably overpower the drunk man with no effort. The god was tempted to ask about that, and if the teen would still step forward if he didn't have that physical quirk. But Khonshu kept himself from doing it.
It would be suspicious if I just asked out of the blue.
He thought as he watches the teen walk away with a look of satisfaction.
After the initial scuffle. The passengers are now talking amongst each other about the fight and exchanging pictures. The drunk man is out cold on one of the seats, looking as harmless as a sack of alcoholic sack of potatoes. Khonshu suspects that the man in the white shirt knocked him out once he got too out of control.
The high eventually died down enough that everyone return back to their seats and acted like nothing happened.
Soon the train left the underground tunnel and is travelling on the overpass bridge across the city. Khonshu can see the city skyline move across through the windows. The rumble of the engine is once again the only thing felt in the car. Khonshu don't always take the train, due to him constantly spending too much money to afford a ticket but he does desire to take the train more often, just to be absorbed the traveling atmosphere.
Eva then asked out of the blue, "Why don't you cut your hair Stinky? It looks really weird."
"For good luck, and demons will eat all my candy if I cut my hair" Khonshu replied dryly in his most unemotional voice. This only further confuses Eva and tilted her head, before she quietly mumbled, "Weirdo."
Khonshu just ignored that.
For a while things were calm. Until the train came to a sudden halt.
Screeeeeecchhhh...
An ear piercing screech echoed across the car as the breaks suddenly activated. This took everyone by surprise and many were thrown out of their seats.
Khonshu managed to get his bearings and he quickly grabbed Eva before she too was thrown out of her chair.
An growing air of fear quickly took hold on everyone.
" What is going on..."
"Why did the train stop..."
Among the chaos, Khonshu spied a movement in the back. He would normally think it would be the other passengers, but he spied a familiar red hoodie walking backwards quietly.
Too quietly…He thought as he witness the teen with the red hoodie calmly slip away from the crowd. This is enough to tell Khonshu things are not what they seem.
The other passengers though, are anything but calm. Many stood up from where they sat, asking questions that no one have the answers to. Things are escalating quickly until someone said, "Get the conductor, he should know what is going on."
They all agreed and one volunteered to do the search. Until they heard someone slide open the connecting door and walked in. It was a lady wearing the conductor's uniform.
"Sorry for this short delay everyone." she said loudly, "I just received word that there is a fight nearby and it cut the power." She said calmly in a voice that tells that she experienced this many times before.
Khonshu wonders just how common this have happened. On his side, He can feel Eva freeze up.
The little girl remembers the moment she realized she lost her mother, everyone was panicking and confused. Just like what is happening now. Though it is not as intense as before but it is enough for Eva to remember the fear that washed over her when she realized her mother is gone. Her breath quickened and she clutched her teddy bear harder. Trying to keep herself from crying again, until she can feel a steady hand around her shoulder.
This shocked Eva out of her memory and she looked up to see that it was the stinky boy. The red-head quickly recalled that the boy promised to help bring her home. And Eva didn't hesitate to push herself closer to the dirtier boy, not caring about how horrible the smell of his shirt is. She is just relieved to not be alone unlike last time.
Now this took Khonshu a little by surprise. He expected the girl to return the action but he was thinking of just her holding his hand, not her pushing herself to his side like baby koala. Still, the moon god can feel the fear and terror in Eva and how fresh it is. Khonshu just pulled her to a tight hug until he can feel the terror subside.
Up ahead, the conductor lady continued to try calm the passengers, "Just relax everyone, the emergency power should automatically activate if ever something like this happened. This happened often enough that the City prepared a back-up." She explained.
Someone in the crowd then asked, "Just how long will this take?"
"A couple of minutes, sometimes 10 or 20. They still need to connect the circuit and power it up. But it the train will be up and running soon." She said to the passengers.
So far this is enough for the panicking passenger and most took their seat again, sighing in relief. There are some skeptical looks but the air is more breathable now. Khonshu can even feel Eva calm down. The child god removed his arm from the initial embrace but settled on holding her hand instead to keep the comfort of physical contact.
Now, the passengers are a bit bored on what to do until the emergency power kicks in, fortunately they still have their phones.
Khonshu will never understand how a simple communication device can take up so much time for mortals these days. He understands the importance of communication, but this obsession on the modern "Smartphones" is getting way out of hand. Then again, the god never bothered to "play" with his phone besides receiving a call from Grey on a few cases that require his assistance. Settling to leaving it on the table for the rest of the day.
A few more quite minutes passed when one passenger suddenly, "There's a fight being livestreamed nearby, it could be the same one that cut of the power." She said and showed the livestream that is still going on in her phone. This caught the attention of the others and they all looked up the stream for themselves.
On the video, a civilian is clearly standing on the street, recording the fight with his phone but it is also very shaky as he is clearly trying to avoid getting hit. There is a lot of smoke and dust in the air but people can clearly see the black armor of some humanoid creature. Then one of the creatures charged at the camera, a loud Fuck was heard before the phone was clearly dropped and a scream was heard of off camera.
No one said anything after that.
Another passenger then scrolled down their phone and found another livestream, this one looks like it is on a higher vantage point. While the previous livestream was taken on the ground, the next one looks like it is taken from the window of an apartment building. The voice of the one holding the phone is explaining on how the aliens suddenly popped up and started destroying everything until Ironman arrived to control the situation.
A few moments passed again when one passenger got up, "You know what, I'll just take a cab. I have an appointment in 2 hours and I can't just wait for the back-up generator." He said. This one looks like a business man holding a suite case.
"Sir, the power can come back anytime. You can just take a seat." The conductor tried to explain but the man insisted on leaving.
"Isn't there an emergency ladder build on the overpass bridge? The city should have one or I'm filling complain for not having basic safety regulations. And this an emergency." The man demanded. The conductor agreed on that but she still insisted on waiting.
"You guys can wait here. I have a meeting to catch and I cannot be late. So how do you open the doors?" the man said, ordering the conductor to open the train doors that open to the outside.
The conductor lady, seeing as there is no way to get the man to stop, went to open the doors herself. She assumed than the man will just do it himself so she rather do it properly. It took a little while but the conductor used the emergency latch to slide the train door, showing off more of the city skyline from the view of the overpass. Everyone can now hear the sound of crashing and some laser blasts in the distance. Then the man jumped off to the tracks below, walked to the sidewalk and started his brink walk.
The remaining passengers are now wondering if they should follow or wait for the back-up power to come. And while they argue, Khonshu closed his eyes and quickly let his senses expand to the sky. In less than 2 seconds, he now have a bird's eye view of the city.
Khonshu quickly zoomed in on the train he is in. And from above, he can see the business man as a black dot. The god can see the emergency ladder a little distance further in the rear of the train and it would take minutes for the man to reach it.
But that isn't what the god is looking for, he zoomed out and looked for what looks like the sign of a fight. And he did saw what looks like the remains of one 10 blocks south of where the train stopped.
Khonsh can see black figures scattered around the streets as well as the destroyed public properties. Fallen Street lights, parts of the road is gone, crushed cars and buildings have lost their front facade. There is also a very familiar humanoid suite flying. Khonshu already knows who it is.
Even in this world, Tony Stark uses the same color scheme and general suite design.
He said to himself as he looked at Ironman blasting the remaining black humanoid creatures.
Even though Khonshu can't hear what he is looking at, he is slowly developing the ability to slightly read the "heart" of them. And the black humanoid creature feels like nothing he have seen in his long travels. He have meet aliens who integrated themselves to human society but the creature he is looking at is completely extraterrestrial.
Definitely an alien.
Khonshu thought. He then caught a movement in the side of his vision and noticed what is supposed to look like Spider-man enter the scene. But he quickly noted that the suite is black, not the usual red. And that Spider-man looks oddly smaller than usual. The god is confused at this, until he looked closer and recognized the soul aura coming from it. It is exactly like the teen the god talked to earlier.
You are a vigilante then, I wonder if you're are an acquaintance of Peter Parker to follow the same suite design.
The god asked himself as he watches the two heroes try to take down the single large alien left. This one looks less humanoid and more of the 4-legged large creature. And it is huge, the god can see that is as big as an SUV. Ironman seems to be having trouble trying to subdue this one as each blast just bounce off like it is nothing. Even the new Spider-man is having difficulty trying to subdue the beast.
Then Khonshu noticed the beast acting oddly. He knows that it is practically indestructible but instead of attacking the 2 heroes, it is now just running around in circles. The creature would pause, raise its head to the sky, and run in the one direction before it would paused again and repeat the action.
What is it doing? Sensing a message from it's master?
Khonshu wonders as continues to watch the alien run around directionless. Until it suddenly sprinted north, much to the confusion of everyone.
Ironman and the new Spider-man quickly didn't waste a second to chase it down, worried that the beast might start harming the many innocent civilians, but for some reason, the beast completely ignored them. It would just run past by everythng without a glance. Completely determined to go to its destination, wherever it is.
Iron man quickly flew close and tried to blast it, but the alien would quickly dodge that and run past the flying billionaire every time.
It took a few more seconds for the moon god to realize it is making a bee line directly to where the halted train is.