Pantheon of Heroes
By
Paul Adams
Thousands of years ago, mankind lived under the rule of Gods. Some were loving and benevolent, while others cruel and self-serving, and still more largely uninterested in their mortal subjects. But as humanity grew and developed, they soon grew out of their need for Gods, and by and by, they were ultimately all forgotten. Until one fateful day.
The attack began with every major center of population around the world simultaneously. No one knew who the invaders were, or where they had come from, but within minutes millions were dead. Various world militaries responded as quickly as possible, but nothing they could throw at them seemed to make any kind of dent. The decision was made by the world's leaders to fire off their supply of nukes, but each missile merely detonated on the surface of the alien war machines, leaving nothing but a scratch behind.
Dr. Meera Chaudry was working with her team at a hospital in Hong Kong when the first attacks occurred. A laser blast struck the hospital, knocking out the power and plunging them into darkness. "Everyone outside, hurry," Meera said, rushing her team out. One of the doctors rushed to a door and pulled it open, finding nothing but open air ten stories up, the other half of the building completely vaporized.
"The other side, hurry," Meera said.
She and her team rushed out the door and down the stairs, hurrying as fast as they could to the exit. The second they stepped outside, however, Meera watched as her research assistant was vaporized right before her eyes.
High above, huge green war machines lumbered on long, tentacle-like legs, one firing off an intense green blast that wiped the Hopewell Centre completely from the skyline. Closer to the ground, strange green creatures with large eyes and dripping fangs flew around on batlike wings, firing energy blasts at people or stabbing them through with large scythes.
Meera's heart raced as her eyes grew wide. "Go, run, as fast as you can!" she told her coworkers.
The group ran, drawing the attention of a couple of aliens nearby. Two blasts took out the oldest member of the group, and Meera's newest intern, both reduced to ashes in seconds. One of the team's engineers was felled when a creature landed on his back and lopped his head off. Soon, the team was down to four members, then three, then two.
Just as one of the creatures was about to slice through Meera's friend Sita, a loud screech rang out through the air, a long pole striking the creature right in the face and sending it flying. A flurry of fur and golden armor whisked into view, striking another one of the creatures before taking down another with a roundhouse kick to the gut.
"Wahoo!" an excited screech yelled. Meera and Sita looked up to see what Meera could only describe as an almost humanoid macaque sitting on a nearby high-rise, wearing freshly polished ancient Chinese armor, a long pole clenched in one hand. His mouth spread into a wide grin, showing large white fangs. "I have not had a fight like this in centuries."
He leapt off the high-rise and smacked another alien across the face, spinning in midair and kicking another with both feet.
Sita looked at Meera in awe. "Is that—?"
Meera looked back at her companion. "If it is, thank the gods he's here," she said. "Come on, run!"
The pair turned and raced to get under the high-rise the monkey had just been sitting on. Unfortunately for them, a laser blast from one of the war machines struck the building at that moment, causing it to crumble in on top of them and crush the two doctors into paste.
Though Dr. Meera Chaudry perished in that moment, her soul, her very essence that had taken up multiple different names and lives throughout all human history, remained. Starting as a warm and gentle glow, it rose up from her shattered form, taking on its true form as a young man of Indian descent, with blue skin and four arms, wearing ornate robes like those worn historically by his people.
"No!" Vishnu said, looking down at his arms and his blue skin, then down at what remained of Meera Chaudry below him. "We had two more years. We were almost there!"
He ran two of his hands through his long dark hair and looked around. His fellow God Sun Wukong was still fighting a horde of aliens nearby, apparently having the time of his life. Vishnu drew the Sharanga bow and fired at Wukong's enemies, striking them all down in one hit.
"Monkey!" he shouted. "What is happening here?"
Sun Wukong spun around, suddenly finding himself without an opponent. He looked up to see Vishnu nearby. "Oh, hey," he said. "I thought I sensed some divine aura."
The monkey loped his way over to Vishnu, stopping to sniff at Meera and Sita's bodies, checking for any signs of life. "Shame," he said. "I assume you were able to accomplish . . . whatever preserving act this avatar was meant to accomplish then?"
"No, I didn't," Vishnu spat angrily. "Two years from now, Meera Chaudry had been meant to discover the cure for cancer. She wasn't supposed to die until that was accomplished."
Sun Wukong grimaced. "Well, that's rough," he said. "So, what now? New avatar?"
"I don't know," Vishnu said. "Every avatar has lived long enough to see their mission through. They're not supposed to die until then. What is happening?"
Wukong looked up at the sky, as more and more war machines arrived. "Wish I could tell you. I was taking a nap on Tiang Tan Buddha's lap when suddenly my bed disappeared."
More aliens turned and came their way. A weapon appeared in each of Vishnu's hands. "I suppose we'll figure that out later."
Wukong gripped his pole excitedly. "If we have to," he said.
The two gods clashed with the aliens, striking them down one by one. They were surprisingly strong, Vishnu noted. He was used to strong adversaries in his avatars, but in his God form? As he fought, he did his best to protect the humans still running for their lives.
"Run! Hurry!" he told a family of three who looked at him in stunned surprise. He slashed at an alien in flight, cutting it out of the air as it aimed for a pair of teenagers. Across the plaza, he spotted an old man sitting on a bench, not moving.
"Old man," he shouted. "You must awake."
The old man remained where he was. Vishnu struck an alien with his chakram and rushed over. "Old man," he said, jostling the man's shoulder. He pulled back when he realized it was . . . sticky.
"Old man?"
A loud screech filled the air. Vishnu turned to see another alien racing toward them with its scythe outstretched. Before Vishnu could react, the creature impaled the man through the gut.
"No!"
The alien's face stretched into what looked to Vishnu like a satisfied grin. It made to pull its blade out only to find it stuck fast to the man. The alien let out a screech and pulled, but no matter what it did, it couldn't pull away. It slashed at the man's face with its claw, only for that to end up stuck fast too.
Now that Vishnu could see the man up close, he realized it wasn't a man at all. It was a wooden puppet, covered in glue.
"What the—?"
Before Vishnu could begin to wonder what was going on, a series of long white threads draped around the trapped alien, wrapping around it and tangling it up. The alien realized what was happening too late, struggling in vain as it and the puppet were yanked up into the tree above, where a giant black spider with a human face emerged from the canopy, quickly wrapping the creature up into a cocoon of webbing.
"Is that—?"
"Hey, Nancy!" Sun Wukong shouted, landing beside Vishnu, a wide smile on his face.
The spider looked up from its work and smiled back. "Goku!" he shouted.
Leaving his dinner behind, the Spider God Anansi crawled down the tree to greet them. He and Sun Wukong performed a minute-long handshake that incorporated all of his eight legs and the Monkey King's two hands, two feet, and tail.
"Hey, what are you doing here, Nancy?" Sun Wukong asked. "I haven't seen you in centuries."
"I was on the run from . . . someone." The Spider God looked a little sheepish. He looked around at the invasion going on. "Saw all this going on, figured I might as well get a snack out of it."
"Well, we could use your help, if you're willing to offer it," Vishnu said.
Anansi considered for a moment. "I mean, personally I'd rather get back to my—"
He stopped, looking up. Vishnu and Sun Wukong followed his gaze. Sitting on a branch near the mummified alien was a single white dove.
On the other side of the world, the sun rose over the Gulf of Mexico, an ancient Egyptian barque rising through the sky with it. On the deck of the ship, Egyptian Gods went about their business, fixing up the rigging, stashing away the weapons, and repairing damage from the most recent battle. The Sun God Ra sat on a throne at the center of the boat, smoothing out the feathers of his eagle head and looking over a fresh new scar.
"Well done, everyone," he said, gripping the scepter in his left hand. "Another night, another victory over our adversary. Please, get some rest and prepare for tonight's—"
Ra was cut off as a bright green blast struck the side of his boat, making the vessel rock wildly back and forth in the Duat. Ra gripped his throne as his aide Bastet rolled, managing to catch the deck with her claws, her fur standing on end, and the warrior Sobek clung onto the side of the boat.
"What was that?"
"We're under attack, my king," the Red God Set shouted back.
"By whom?"
"I don't know."
Ra looked up, his eagle eyes glowing as he took in the sky around him. A swarm of large green spacecraft had filled the skies of the Earth. Looking to the north, he could see that large cities such as New York and Los Angeles were under attack, and to the south, Rio de Janeiro was likewise in distress. Apparently, one of the ships had spotted the Sun Barque as it emerged from the night.
"Evasive maneuvers!" Ra shouted. "Everyone to your battle stations."
Ra's soldiers dutifully got to their feet, but he could see that they were tired. Near his throne, the Goddess Hathor was fast asleep in her cow form, resting from her time as the violent Goddess Sekhmet. He hated to have to wake her so soon.
Set steered the boat to the left, around the alien ship. Bastet, Sobek, and Serqet all took their places at the ship's starboard side, striking out at the alien ship coming their way. Choosing to let Hathor rest, Ra got to his feet, raising his scepter and blasting the enemy ship with a blast of pure sunfire. The ship careened away from the blast, but when Ra cut off the stream, he could see that the ship had only received light damage.
"How is that possible," the Dwarf God Bes asked.
"I don't know," Ra said. "Set, get us out of here."
"Yes, sir!" Set shouted.
The God did his best to maneuver around the alien ship, but it just kept coming, blasting the deck and striking Serqet, sending the Scorpion Goddess crashing across the deck. The Goddess Tawaret hurried to her side.
"How is she?" Ra asked.
The Hippo Goddess looked up at Ra, a look of genuine fear on her face. "She's not good," she said.
Ra stared at her. He looked back up at the aliens. "Take us deeper into the Duat! Hurry!"
"I'm trying!" Set shouted.
The aliens kept coming, another green energy blast building. Ra could see they weren't going to make it in time.
Then, just as the ship was about to fire, a huge green serpentine shape slammed into its hull from below, making its shot go wild. Ra and his crew stared in surprise.
"What was that?" Bastet said. "Was that . . . Apophis?"
Ra's eagle eyes traced the path of the serpent as it circled its way around the barque, catching a glint of bright green and red feathers. "No," he said. "I believe it is a friend."
The feathered serpent suddenly rushed the port side of the boat, flying up and over and landing on the deck, flaring its large wings.
"Ra," it said, its bright glowing eyes fixing on the Sun God.
Ra smiled. "Kukulkan," he said. "It's been a long time."
Kukulkan flicked its tongue. Ra's eyes spotted a slight burn scar across it. "Yes, it has." He turned and watched the alien ship coming back around to attack again.
"I hope you have some sort of escape plan."
"Yes, we do," Ra said. "Set, get us deeper into the Duat now."
"Yes, sir!"
The air around the boat shimmered slightly, the boat descending to a new plane of reality, leaving the physical plane and the alien ship behind. For now, they were safe.
Ra's soldiers breathed a sigh of relief and lowered their weapons. "That's better," he said. "We owe you a debt of gratitude, my serpentine friend."
The feathered serpent didn't respond. His yellow eyes shifted back and forth, studying the new sights and sounds around him. He watched for a moment as Tawaret and Bes tended to Serqet's wounds. "Seems humanity is in a crisis."
Ra nodded. "It appears so."
"Against an enemy capable of harming Gods."
Ra said nothing, watching his follower cling to life. He rubbed the ankh in his right hand, lost in thought. A gentle glow caught his eye, and he looked up to see a white dove resting on the ship's bow.
"It appears we have been summoned," he said.
Meanwhile, the same battle waged over the Mediterranean, as the Asgardian warrior Thor blazed through armies of aliens, smashing through them with the hammer Mjolnir and whipping up a powerful lightning storm to blow their ships around.
"You think to challenge Midgard today, mortals," he boasted, his voice booming like thunder. "I think you have chosen poorly."
He swung Mjolnir again, aiming for one of the nearby ships, and slamming down on it as hard as he possibly could. To his surprise, he barely left a dent.
"What in the Nine Realms?" he said.
He wound the hammer up again, to try it a second time, only for a lightning bolt to blast through the sky and strike him in the chest, sending him flying all the way to Corsica.
"Ow," he said, shaking his head and sitting up. "Who dares challenge the—?"
His question was answered before it began. The clouds parted above him, and a large man with curly white hair and a beard, wearing an ancient Greek toga, appeared.
"Zeus," Thor snarled.
"Thor of Asgard," Zeus's voice crackled. "You have been warned time and time again, that you are not welcome in the domain of Olympus."
Thor rolled his eyes and shook his head, getting to his feet. "This again, old man?" he shouted. "If you haven't noticed—"
"Silence," Zeus roared, ignoring the green ships laying waste to Rome in the distance. "I rule as King and Lord of Thunder in these lands. You are not welcome here."
Thor cursed under his breath. "Alright," he said, swinging around his hammer. "If that is the way you want it."
He swung his hammer and took off into the sky, striking Zeus across the face with it. The strike was returned by a palm thrust to the chest that sent a million volts of lightning coursing through him. He was thrown backwards again, but managed to catch himself, watching as Zeus built up a terrible tempest around himself, bigger than the one he'd made the last time they'd clashed.
"I don't want to fight you, Zeus," Thor said. "But if I must to protect the people of Midgard, I will."
He and Zeus clashed again and again, each blow creating bright flashes of lightning and deafening thundercracks. Thor swung with his hammer, while Zeus threw bolt after bolt, their battle creating one of the most devastating hurricanes the world had ever seen, adding more and more to the destruction already being wrought by the alien invaders. Their battle may very well have laid waste to the entire Earth if it hadn't been for a still, small voice.
"Peace. Be still."
Zeus and Thor stopped. They looked around themselves to see their storm clouds dissipating, transforming from a hurricane back into a peaceful, blue-skied day. Thor looked down at his hammer. "What is happening? What is this power?"
Zeus scowled. He had experienced such a thing only once in his millenia of existence. Only one being had ever been able to override his storms.
"Elohim's boy."
Far below, a glimmer of light appeared. Zeus and Thor descended to the surface to see a lone man walking toward them, walking on the water as if it were solid ground. He looked to be of Middle Eastern descent, with long dark hair and a short beard, wearing a long white robe. He smiled genially up at the pair of them as he approached.
"Hello, gentlemen," he said. "Lovely day for a battle, but is fighting each other really the best use of either of your talents right now."
He looked around, noting the chaos and destruction occurring all across the Earth around them.
Zeus growled. "Stay out of this, Jehovah," he said. "The fate of mortals is no concern of mine."
"It is of mine," Thor said. "Please, Jesus Christ is your name, is it not?"
Jesus smiled and nodded. "Just like both of you, I have many names. But Jesus suits me just fine." He turned to face Zeus. "The fate of mortals may be of no concern to you, but I do fear it may grow to be your concern. I wish to meet with the both of you. Now. In the House of my Father."
Zeus scoffed. "If you think I'm going anywhere with—"
He stopped as the trio suddenly found themselves inside a large stone building lined with marble pillars, a long table laid out with all manner of fruit and meat before them, five other Gods already seated.
"Ah," Jesus said, turning and addressing a dove as it lighted upon his shoulder. "Thank you, brother. I see you have already gathered the others."
The bird seemed to coo, but instead of sound, words of comfort and joy seemed to fill Thor's mind, putting him at ease for the moment. Jesus allowed the bird to take off, and it seemed to vanish into pure light.
"Please, gentlemen, take a seat."
Thor did so happily, digging into a large dish of lamb set before him. Zeus, however, remained standing. "I thought I didn't qualify to enter your oh-so-sanctimonious Heaven," he sneered.
"Oh, imagine that," Sun Wukong said across the table, picking through a bowl of fruit. "The serial rapist doesn't qualify to enter Heaven. I swear, standards just keep getting stricter and stricter every day."
Zeus snarled. "Watch your tongue, Ape. You have your own share of misdeeds."
Wukong shrugged, swallowing an apple whole. "Maybe. At least all of my lovers wanted me."
Zeus scowled, but he finally sat down. Thor looked across the table at those who had joined them. They were all faces he was vaguely familiar with, Gods of other pantheons he had crossed paths with in his adventures. Vishnu from the Land of India sat beside Sun Wukong and a giant spider named Anansi who had once tricked Thor out of his hammer for a month. At the far end of the table sat the Egyptian God Ra, one of the oldest Gods he had ever encountered, and beside him curled a massive serpent with bright colorful feathers. Thor had encountered a handful of those, occasionally confusing them for the World Serpent Jormungandr, but he wasn't quite sure which one this was.
"Thank you for coming," Jesus Christ said, standing at the head of the table. "I'm sure you're all aware of why I have summoned you."
"These invaders," the feathered serpent said.
Jesus nodded. "Yes, Kukulkan," he said. "In less than twenty-four hours, over half of the human population of Earth has been wiped out. Their weapons and their armies have failed them, and if nothing is done soon, it will mean their extinction."
Zeus sniffed. "And why should we care? Mortals die all the time."
His response evoked an uproar from about half the table. "We are their Gods," Vishnu said with disgust. "We created them. They pray to us for safety and for sustenance. Surely we have a responsibility—"
"They did pray to us," Anansi corrected. "I don't know about the rest of you, but few have prayed to me in years. Humanity abandoned the Gods, decided they didn't need us. Perhaps it is best to let them deal with it."
Kukulkan ruffled his feathers. "For what it's worth, my followers never abandoned me. Though," he looked at Jesus, "no thanks to your followers, of course."
Jesus looked down. "It is no secret that many of my followers have done great evil in my name," he said. "And they will receive their justice when the time comes. But I still consider all of humanity my brothers and sisters, my Father's children. And I intend to fight for them."
"As do I," Thor said.
"And I," added Vishnu.
Sun Wukong fiddled with a mango. "Isn't this all supposed to be 'part of your Father's plan,' anyway? Why bother?"
Jesus looked down. "Because this isn't part of my Father's plan."
The Gods around the table looked surprised. Jesus rubbed the palm of his hand. "Neither he nor any of his prophets foresaw this occurring. And I suspect, neither did any of your seers. Zeus, has Apollo heard anything from the Oracle of Delphi?"
Zeus awkwardly shifted his seat and took a bite of ambrosia. "I . . . wouldn't know."
"And Thor, have the Norns come to Odin with word of any of this?"
Thor shook his head. "No. I only learned of it because I was visiting Midgard today."
"Exactly," Jesus said. "Something is wrong here. Something is interfering with divine destiny. Which means these aliens are likely far more than any human could ever face. They need us."
Ra clicked his beak, speaking up for the first time since the meeting began. "That does bring up a point of concern, however," he said. "These creatures are defying divine destiny, bypassing all divine plan and prophecy. Vishnu, you said that your avatar was killed, even though she should have had divine protection until her earthly mission was completed, yes?"
Vishnu nodded. "She was two years away from eradicating that beastly virus from the face of humanity altogether."
"And one of my own soldiers," Ra said, "a God, like unto myself, is now in critical condition aboard my barque, injured far worse than any of us have been harmed before, even in our daily battles against Apophis. Considering all this, I find it a very real possibility that none of us will be able to rely on our immortality if we choose to take them on. It may be more prudent for us to withdraw all of our forces into our divine realms and let humanity die."
Zeus stared at the elder God. "Are you saying we might actually perish in this fight?" he turned to look back at Jesus.
Jesus nodded. "I had considered the same possibility as well. I believe if we combine our forces, and reach out to the other pantheons around the world, we just might stand a chance as a united alliance. But I cannot guarantee that all of us will make it out alive."
Zeus dropped his remaining food on the table and stood. "Well, I'm out then," he said. "I don't intend to put my own life on the line for these humans, and I don't expect any of the rest of you would either. Would you, Ape? Or you, Thor? Or even you, Jesus?"
Jesus fixed the God of Thunder with a stern gaze. He raised his right hand and turned it, revealing two small holes, one in the palm, and one in the wrist. "I already have."
"As have I," Vishnu said. "My avatars have given their lives countless times in the service of humanity."
"Those were your mortal lives!" Zeus shouted. "The both of you were restored to your divine states immediately after. If what Ra says is true, then if you die, you will be gone. Permanently. Is that what you want?"
"I've already accepted that my permanent death will come at Ragnarok," Thor said. "If it must come a few years earlier, then so be it." He turned to Jesus and set his hammer on the table. "I'm in."
"As am I," Vishnu said, laying down his chakram. He looked up at Zeus. "My avatars and I bear the same spirit. I am the Preserver. My role is to ensure humanity's continued existence. How can I just stand by now."
The feathered serpent ruffled one of his wings, dropping a feather onto the table as well. "I too intend to protect humanity," he said.
Zeus shook his head, looking around at the other Gods at the table. "Surely the rest of you can see this is madness."
Sun Wukong fiddled with his pole, considering for a moment. "Eh, I've stacked up enough methods of immortality," he said. "Surely I'll be able to take a few hits before I'm down. Plus, I could never say no to a good fight."
He set his pole down on the table as well.
Anansi looked up from the silk tapestry he had been weaving through the entire discussion. An ancient Akan spider design adorned its front. "It'll make for a good story at least," he said, laying the tapestry down on the table as well. "I'm in."
Zeus turned to Ra, the only other God remaining. "Lord Ra, surely," he said.
Ra considered for a moment, gripping his scepter and his ankh. "I have watched empires rise and fall," he said. "Extinction is a mere fact of life. But I have never once watched humanity go quietly into the night. Every single time, they have fought with the intensity of a white-hot sun for their very survival and right to exist, even without the promise of an immortal life. The least I can do is match such courage."
He crossed his scepter and his ankh, and laid them both on the table as well. "You can count on Egypt's aid."
Zeus stared at the other Gods in exasperation, realizing he was alone. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Fine," he said. "Let's say we did form this alliance and save humanity from these aliens. I assume you have a plan?"
Jesus nodded. "I do," he said. "First things first, we ensure that all of humanity dies."