Regarding pronouns for Caenis, I had to literally make it easier for me at least for this chapter to just refer to her as 'she' or female pronouns. The initial draft just made it so that the conversation with some characters got too confusing, so I had to make the necessary changes in order to make it readable.
Remnants of the Theomachy
"If you think that I'm going to g-grovel down on my feet while… ack…" blood was spat out as they raised their sword flimsily as their grip was already losing any weight it held. "...while I can still hold b-breath, you've got another thing coming to you…"
"Wouldn't do you any good if you showed any amount of cowardice at all but you have spirit, surviving old hag Demeter's banshee wails. You didn't die quickly unlike the others, which I can definitely respect." Caenis said as her shadow loomed over her prey. With her spear in hand and her shield in the other, she tracked one of the last stragglers that were running around Olympus.
The blood trail of this specific servant was caught by the scent and while this was not a job that her master specifically told her to do, she took it nonetheless, more so because of boredom.
This one in particular caught her interest, however, their tenacity even as one of those horrid Olympians razed their entire rebellion to the ground just made her remember her own life in some way. Bloodied like this, their helmet broken to kingdom come and their armor shattered yet they remained standing with their weapon facing the enemy made her smile inwardly.
She wouldn't show it of course, what was on her face was casual indifference, indifference given the sheer gulf of power that existed between them. Admittedly she didn't know why she didn't just kill this servant already, perhaps a part of her was still nostalgic after all of this time as she reflected upon those days when to prove her might and station, she had to wade through blood, sweat and tears to justify even having a name worthy of legend.
Or perhaps she was becoming soft.
A grin struck her face.
NAH.
"I'm not one for final words, but if you wish to fight back before I bash your skull in, I'm willing to make you earn that last hit." She proclaimed as she stabbed her spear on the ground.
THRUM!
A small tremor was felt as Caenis' muscles rippled with strength. Yet she dismissed her shield for a moment, making it disappear in motes of light as she crossed her arms with a challenging smile that was neither mocking nor pretentious. She looked at the servant who perked up from her words as their trembling hold on their sword made Caenis curious as to what their next move would be.
"I-I ain't giving in to your chivalry or any other bullshit h-honorable custom you have..."
Caenis' grin widened. "It ain't that I assure you."
"D-Don't you dare lob me in with that condescending tone, you fucking god-loving exhibitionists." The servant angrily said as their eyes seethed in anger. They then screamed and charged forward. Red electric arcs coursed through their armor and sword, albeit weaker than they were as the cracks were ever-present in both of them. Their sword was aimed in a thrusting motion, right down into Caenis' chest but as the servant closed the distance, the already flimsy and broken spirit origin the servant had forced the sword to break into pieces the moment it made contact with her chest. The red electric arcs of the ornate sword and itself could have done damage if the servant was not as weak as they were, or if they were summoned in a traditional grail war, but due to the circumstances of this Lostbelt and the current state of Caenis' existence, the attack merely left barely any damage at all.
The servant did not falter however, they threw the sword away and transitioned their gauntleted hand to throw a punch at Caenis' face with what strength and might they had left…
Only for Caenis to catch it in mid-air in a feat that made the servant widen their eyes in shock.
THROOOOOOOOOOOOUMMM!
The surroundings behind and beside Caenis cracked for as far as two surrounding buildings as the mitigated shockwave still displaced air and brought forth a small gust of wind that an ordinary resident of the Olympus would have been thrown across the entire block if exposed to it.
A small trace of smoke even remained on Caenis' hand as she looked at the servant's shocked gaze through their destroyed helmet. Their green eyes and clearly blonde locks look at her finally in both fear and overwhelmed emotion.
"Calling me a lover of the Gods was a mistake…" Caenis stressed as her eyes' red glow intensified before fading back to normal as she looked at the servant. "But you're not fit to know why I'm doing this anyway."
THOOM!
Her fist crashed against the servant's chest. Shattering what armor remained on their upper torso as the bloodied blonde girl, finally revealed underneath all of that armor continued to look at her in defiance, but it was frankly, too late.
Caenis struck her fist again into the servant's revealed face.
THOOM!
The ground cracked, creating a small crater around them as blood and teeth were ejected into the air. The servant, now beaten within an inch of their life, still looked up to her in pure anger despite their agony.
"F-Fuck you." They intoned poorly as Caenis raised her foot…
And finished the job.
THOOM!
There was silence afterward, as the servant faded away into nothingness but Caenis made a small sigh as the voices of Demeter and her lackeys were calling out to her.
A scorn of anger developed in her heart, but she pushed it back down.
"Caenis," his voice said.
Her master still needed her.
SIX DAYS AGO…
"CAENIS! OI! Why the fuck are you just standing there?!" a voice in her head said as Caenis blinked and saw Mordred, her ally evacuating the rest of the burning ship's civilians into Rider's (Drake's) vessel. The roundtable knight was in her casual, civilian wear while holding her sword as this was a sudden job that was just told to them merely minutes away, earlier back on the beaches of Port Nelson in the Caribbean. The event, hosted mostly by Rider was a freeform mission to both sell some of the medicine in that part of the Atlantic as well as gather goodwill amongst the local islands, including Cuba.
A ship burning off the coast was merely a sudden alert to them since they were the closest. More so since the vessel was a cruise ship and multiple civilians were on board. Caenis never particularly cared much about this side of the new job that was given to her by her master…
Nor did she feel uncomfortable seeing the faces of enemies and allies alike from Olympus who remember nothing of the role she played there.
Yet it was tedious doing these little side gigs, saving people and all. She was no bastard who would kill or maim random people on a whim, even if they enraged her, but this sort of thing was more so suited for the likes of Heracles and the others who were more valorous than her. Still, she would fulfill the debt and orders her master had given her, so try as she may on being lazy with this part of the job, her more honorable side (which was a bitch) still shined through.
Which was odd, given this was what? The twentieth time in the span of a whole month where she was exposed to the public to deliberately save people in very notable ways. It was as if fate never learned what sort of monster she was in the Atlantic Lostbelt and was now forcing her to be the valorous, heroic individual that this world now alludes her to being.
Or perhaps her master was simply trying to be an asshole, and this was his way to make fun of her.
"Piss off, I'm doing my part, just do yours." She spat back as her blonde companion hissed at her as she continued to relay the civilians to board Drake's vessel calmly without them pissing her off. One person actually mouthed off a ton of complaints but the simple indifferent glare from the roundtable knight quickly forced all of those notions down.
Caenis however, stood at the deck of the burning ship which was now hitting its worst stage as she allowed the authorities of the fish bastard to calm the seas around them while periodically helping Mordred in making sure that the evacuations were successful. So far, no casualties of the worst kind were noted and any injuries or so were quickly resolved when Drake's current crew, humans who were hired by Olympia were quickly giving first aid.
Her presence however still got the most attention, as she and Mordred were the first on the scene as her blonde companion rode with her as they surfed the waves of the Atlantic towards their destination. The fire of the ship was blazing like an incandescent and unstoppable blaze when they arrived, but Caenis used her spear to reduce the flames to a more manageable state. The authorities of the fish bastard which was strangely still ingrained in its most powerful state within her thrummed in power and she was able to create a scene that would make people talk for weeks to come.
The entire act made her realize that people watched her in awe and…
Well, it only further created this sort of persona going around the world of how powerful and 'symbolic' she was as a hero… whatever the fuck that meant.
Cut to the current state of things, Caenis watched as she maintained some level of vigilance on the incoming number of people being safely moved off the ship. A dozen of people praised her more so than even Mordred even if some did prefer the roundtable knight's presence. However, her entire visage was definitely casting a large shadow on most of the people in this incident.
Inwardly she hated that the little show, she, and Mordred made as a small friendly spar down the beach was canceled due to this debacle. A good fight was something she yearned for because 'saving' people like a goddamn saint was making her bored as hell. Drake even made the onlookers bet on who would win between them earlier even If Caenis herself and Mordred were far too distracted by their little spar to care.
"Hey, you! Have we gotten every single person accounted for already?" Caenis heard Mordred say as she pointed Clarent towards one of Olympia's hires talking with the captain and the crew of the ship.
"We've yet to confirm ma'am!" the hire said as Caenis continued to watch the scene undisturbed.
It was all going peacefully for the most part even with the annoying number of people thanking her as she gave off a practiced fake smile, but she was quickly given pause when her ears heard the voice of a woman begging one of Olympia's hires.
"My daughter! Please… I couldn't find her down there! T-there was too much smoke, we couldn't get to her on time." The woman begged with tears as she grabbed the hire's uniform, and her voice was already starting a ruckus. Caenis sighed as she walked towards the woman just as a part of the ship near the end had set off a blaze that made everybody scream.
FWOOOUMM!
Caenis, unperturbed alongside Mordred who kept at it with her job, approached the woman who was now crying, losing hope that her daughter was alive. She then placed a hand on the woman's shoulder, a bit roughly as she stared into the surprised woman's eyes.
"Where did you last see her?" Caenis asked directly.
"I-In the cabins… t-the lower floors of the ship."
Caenis then turned towards the hire who had one of Olympia's devices on their arm. "Is she correct? Any life signs in that zone?"
The man quickly checked and nodded at her. "Y-yes ma'am, b-but the flames down there and the structural integrity of the ship isn't going to last much longer."
Without bothering to reply Caenis turned in Mordred's direction. "Saber! Get everybody to the ship safely." She shouted as her blonde companion looked at her in confusion.
"Where the heck are you going?"
"Just get everybody out," Caenis stressed as she reared herself to jump, she then launched herself into the air like a missile and crashed into the ship, penetrating it layer by layer until she stopped herself on the floor where the supposed kid was.
THROUM!
Fire glazed her vision and body as she watched her surroundings burn. The loud sound of various objects, environments, and materials burning in swift progression made everything hard to understand or perceive. The smoke was also proliferating at an alarming rate for regular humans to survive in, but Caenis was unscathed with the entire affair. She looked around, spear in hand as she tried looking for signs or for any evidence of the girl's position.
Her ears twitched above her head as they fine-tuned themselves to specify what exact sounds she needed to hear within the surroundings. She quickly caught wind of that and was able to identify the direction to where the sounds of a sobbing child were located at.
She ran forward, breaking everything in her path like a brute that could care less about the ship crumbling around her, but she was able to quickly get to her destination as she smashed another wall with pitiful ease using a kick. The entire section crashed onto itself as it created a hole for her to walk through…
Then she saw the crying kid who was holding onto a plushie.
She walked to her and saw that the young girl was looking at her in awe. Her crying halted completely as Caenis stood in front of her.
"You okay kid?"
The young girl, clearly overwhelmed and shocked at her presence, only managed a faint nod as Caenis offered her hand. She was not one who hated children, in fact, she actually cared quite a bit as she recalled memories of her own youth in Thessaly. She may come off as brash and rude to most people, but to children, she loses some of the straightforwardness, much to even her own surprise.
"Come on kid, I'm going get you back to your mom." She offered as the young girl slowly took her hand and Caenis carefully lifted her in one arm with ease. Seeing that she was comfortable Caenis looked at the scared kid's face with a small smile.
"Close yer' eyes. It'll be much less scary that way… or don't, it's your decision."
The kid did not respond, but instead, Caenis found her leaning into her shoulder and chest, closing her eyes, and clinging onto her as if her life depended on it. The strange show of affection made her pause for a moment before she readied herself again to jump.
A second later with a burst of strength and speed while raising her spear upwards… they were in the air in a thunderous roar, completely safe and unharmed from the entire ordeal as the little girl opened her eyes in awe at the height, they were compared to the burning cruise ship below.
They then soared downwards towards Drake's ship a second later, landing with such dramatic flair that even the sea surrounding the ship had risen slightly in response to the shockwave emanated. Thankfully, since most of Drake's ship was built out of magic, the vessel survived without any issue and the people onboard who watched in awe saw the Caenis stand up with the girl in her arms.
Cheers instantly came her way as she placed the little girl down and she was slowly being swarmed by the civilians on board. Annoyed, Caenis merely remained silent as people from all walks of life thanked her, even the hires of Olympia.
Yet, what stood out to her most was the mother thanking her for saving her daughter… and the kid herself looking at her with wonder and starlight in her innocent eyes.
She… she did not know how to feel about it. Nor the many receptions she received from the past twenty occurrences that seemed to cement her presence into the public mind and consciousness of this world. It was odd, given that she knew what type of person she was...
And truth be told, she was no true hero.
So, when she acted like one in this world, it was an odd feeling that trumped even her own personal victories as Caeneus in the past or the victories she shared with the Argo.
"Fucking show off!" Mordred said out of the noise and cheers as Caenis felt her companion punch her in the shoulder. She glared back but given the feral, challenging grin the blonde knight had; she knew she didn't mean it. If anything, they had something to brag about and talk about later when they were free from all of this. Another point for her in the unofficial competition they currently had when it came to feats.
"Jealous? I can already kick your ass hand to hand, and I got you beat in this." Caenis jested. It was ironic that they were this close now, given she was the one to end the blonde knight's life in Olympus. It was strange having transitioned from the Lostbelt to this world…
Even if in some way this felt right in most cases.
"Ah screw you… I'll be sure to kick your ass later in something."
Caenis was about to reply until Drake cheerfully interrupted them by placing them both into her arms. Their heads were forced close to the buxom woman's chest as the infamous sailor laughed.
"I know a nice spot later where we can celebrate! Drinks on me of course… I still got a good, nice deal with the local distillery… and their rum is magnificent."
The two tried to pry themselves off of Drake's hold as the sailor continued to laugh until the Rider servant placed a hand on Caenis' shoulder.
"Master's entrusted you with the cleanup."
Caenis looked confused at first before looking at the burning remains of the ship, and the spill of oil in the water, possibly poisoning this part of the sea for weeks or even months. Quickly she sighed and without fanfare felt the blessings of the fish bastard enter her veins again as the cheers were silenced for a moment as each person felt the heavy pressure of divinity coming off of her.
She then tapped the butt of her spear audibly on the ship's deck and everybody watched as a burning ship was engulfed in a blast of water from the seas that completely made it disappear entirely with the forces mustered by the fish bastard's power.
THROUUUUUUUUUMMMM!
The awe-inspiring sight made people gawk as moments later as the water crashed back down safely into the waves, none of the ship's remains were seen anymore. Not even the oils that spoiled and spilled over the waters were present…
The act quickly made people turn to her as a new 'perspective' opened for them.
Caenis found herself unsure of how to properly react to the reception of her actions…
For it seemed like they now looked at her close to being a goddess in human form.
Her fame, the attention, and the sheer following garnered by the world around her had made her realize in some ironic way that she was being looked at as a symbol. As a deity in the most modern sense.
Being that she was an existence that always detested the Gods in Olympus…
She was unsure of how to feel when the world deemed her as a figure worthy of praise and excellence.
"Fuck." She cursed as the people around her cheered again.
Worse, Mordred was grinning at her.
PRESENT…
"It's quite the place, isn't it?" the blonde bastard said. The air of his words, his presence, and even just his full appearance radiated with such importance, ego, and pathetic supremacy that if her master wasn't here along with the orders given to her, she might have already torn this place in two. Casualties be damned.
Yet her master was here and she had to hold back some of those urges, lest their entire venture collapse onto itself.
Still, this hapless fool while pitiful with his attempts of being cordial was not worth the anger in the slightest. This world in general, with all of their 'heroes' were all poor caricatures of Jason, of all people, and even then, her idiot captain had more merit than each of these bastards both in combat and even in attitude. That said quite a lot, given she was not the fondest person when it came to interacting with the bumbling captain.
At the very least Jason did not attempt to show how beyond he was compared to the rest. The idiot was a coward and more so just full of air with himself, but when the situation called for it, his meager head pulled them out in a lot of tight situations than she expected. The entire venture in Atlantis and all the strings involved was a victory that was not possible without the gambles the blonde idiot took and given that Chaldea had won and surmounted every odd possible with their tenacity, spoke wonders of how good Jason's creative tact was.
A compliment that she would keep to herself of course, given that she knew how well that idiot would react should she say it aloud.
These people, however? All talk and bluster, their faces pasted on nearly every major country and city. Their products, their names, and their… popularity spoke volumes of what they were as people. Fame was important to these caricatures, and they carried that fame and grace as if it were the most important thing in their lives.
"Starstruck? I always get that…" the man said as he started walking towards her. "…normal people on the street would do anything to get a glimpse of me. Some would ask for autographs, some would faint on the spot just breathing the same air next to me, and… well, some would ask for unreasonable requests. You know what it is." He jested as he giggled to himself, far too pleased.
The fish bastard, loath as she would admit was not this proud. If anything, he was subtly insecure as far as her memory told her. Insecure because the top brass, his younger brother was King of the Gods. She never met the thundering manwhore of the skies, not even within the Lostbelt in any close interaction, but talking to Heracles and those that were victims of the pervert's unending lust told her enough of what she needed to know.
Now she was curious how the infamous son of Zeus would react to this man. The man was much, much more patient than her, but the resemblance and air might make him react more.
"Though, perhaps it's different with you this time. I mean, meeting you? The infamous Lancer. Are you aware of the many names you've garnered just this year alone? From the US to Germany, to the Philippines, hell… even North Korea of all places. You're special… and that's saying a lot."
She finally looked at him when he said those words. Not because she was interested, no… but because of the names now attached to her. That little interaction made the man smile, however, pleased and happy that her attention was in some way caught, but Caenis remained silent.
"That's why it's an honor meeting you. Not even my teammate Queen Maeve has this much attention and fame attached to her." He then waved both hands in the air accentuating his point as he continued talking. "Imagine if the media caught wind of this, two of the greatest heroes on Earth meeting in one, uninteresting room. Some would sell their organs to even get a scoop of this but… I'm pretty sure that's not something worth talking about now."
"Hm." She hummed as she turned her head towards the nearest gym equipment. Her finger traced it slowly as the blonde idiot continued to smile. Though the air was much more tense than before.
He approached her a little bit closer and offered his hand. "What should I call you?"
Caenis turned to him, almost eye to eye now as the space between them became uncomfortable, but her obligation overrode her fury as she gave a small neutral smile and simply spoke. "Lancer." She said before walking away a bit again, leaving his hand empty in the air as a small scoff into a fake laugh appeared on the man's face.
"Lancer it is then. Not The Amazon? Or… Lady Bird? Oh, here's a good one, Aquawoman! Heh, Deep was quite upset about that you know… but none of them could ever hold a candle to you." He said, almost happy about that as Caenis looked at him again. "You're special… and I'm quite glad you exist by the way."
"Why'd you say that?" she asked in a straightforward manner, her curiosity piqued.
The man, celebrating this little turn and victory for getting her attention fully smiled warmly. The kind that made Caenis remember Poseidon, both before the night ended and in the day after.
Homelander then walked closer towards her again, sitting on the gym equipment that she traced her finger earlier as he adjusted his cape behind him. He then focused on her and grinned, his face turning contemplative.
"Have you ever heard the statement, 'uneasy lies the head that wears a crown'?"
She tilted her head in question, it was enough of a subtle hint that she didn't as the man quickly understood.
"Well, it's from something William Shakespeare wrote, it basically details that a person who has immense, great responsibilities, like a king for instance, is constantly worried… lonely, and incredibly exhausted being at the top of the world." He then smirked as he continued. "I don't really mind the worried nor exhausted part, you know how it is when we compare ourselves to everybody else… but, what really stands out to me, is the lonely part."
Caenis inwardly rolls her eyes. Her 'mask' was at full use as she kept it neutral.
"It's been quite lonely this past decade. Especially when you're the only person who can pick up the slack with all the world's responsibilities on my shoulders. The others? The Seven? We all know none of them hold a candle to myself and I'm the only person that can feasibly keep the world safe, given how easy everything is to me… the others? You can basically call them heroes of America, not of the world."
He then sighed in a manner that was very fake. "… I mean what can the other shmucks do? Deep is a Fishman that can… talk to fish and swim very fast. A-train can run fast, I mean cool, yeah… but I can fly twice as fast. Maeve is…" he giggles. "…Maeve is every little boy's wet dream come to life, and try as she may she doesn't hold a candle to you. What else is there? Translucent? He turns invisible, who the hell wants that in a power? Lamplighter is a pussy that can make candles burn hotter… and Black Noir, he's good." The last statement made Caenis perk up.
"I like Noir out of all of them, but he's very limited with what he does. I've forgotten that one other loser in the team, but I think I've already told you enough why they're all useless."
She crossed her arms as she looked at him. "A bit odd for the precious golden boy to talk shit about his comrades huh? Why the heck are you being honest with me? Knowing that I'm pretty much a rival?" she genuinely asks as the blonde idiot grins widely.
"Well, that's the thing, Lancer. You're nothing like them. They're all useless compared to you. They're all beneath you. Like ants… and what does one ant do to try and change the environment around it? Nothing."
Caenis was still confused.
"You and I? We're the ones that are at the top. In the clouds… we look down on the poor mortals below because it's our responsibility to. They shout our names… they praise us, idolize us, and we save them, doing feats that far surpass imagination… you already know what this song and dance means." He said with affirmation as he stood up, walking closer as Caenis still looked dumbfounded.
"It's why I'm so happy. Because I'm no longer alone up there. There's somebody else." He then grins. "Somebody that's as perfect as me."
Oh… Oh!
Caenis' eye twitched. Her anger blossomed within her chest as her neutral smile turned aggressively predatory, and not the perverted kind. The blonde idiot, however, didn't seem to read the air as he smiled back.
"Take one more step and I'm decking you in the face." She warned. Her voice was stiff but it only made the man laugh as he thankfully backed away. His laughter was almost celebrating with how freely comfortable and happy he was as Caenis looked on in confusion and annoyance.
"See? That's what I wanted. That's why I'm happy, because not only am I thrilled to hear that there's actually someone out there who's as great as me, but I find that she's also like me. Looking down on everybody, because they don't measure up to us."
Caenis suddenly laughed. Hard.
She could not believe it, every word from this man's lungs sounded so incorrigibly stupid that she could not help herself. The man laughed as well as Caenis finally stopped a second later. Wiping her eyes from the stray tear she then looked at him.
"Buddy… I think you've massively misunderstood the situation when it comes to me. I can't even tell you how much wrong there is in your statement… but I gotta give you credit, it was funny as shit."
He kept that smile, yet she knew that the condescension in her words had pulled a nerve.
"It doesn't change the fact that you are beyond everybody else… well, except for me, but you already know what I'm saying, right? We take charge of our lives. We get what we want, regardless of what anybody thinks about it."
Caenis grinned. "Hm, you did get one thing right. I am someone that gets what I want without anyone having a say in it…"
He was about to agree with her until she raised a hand to stop him. "…but not to the point that I have to be an asshole to people around me."
He then sighed, disappointment lingering on his face. "You're one of those types huh? Perhaps I misjudged you a bit… but is it really worth it to do all of this? Just to be a hero and save everyone?"
"Well, you did misjudge me Homelander. Thinking that I'm a fully-fledged hero like those idealistic, dreamy stereotypes. If you've truly met me as I am, you should be glad that I'm this tame." She ominously remarked as he looked at her with surprise… and even shock.
"Huh… then I'm glad we still have things to be surprised about with each other." He said as he took a step back. "Call me John." He offered with a thoughtful look.
"What for?"
"Let's just say, I'm the one right now that's quite starstruck."
Oh, for fuck's sake.
AN: One more chapter and we're done with the introductory phase!