𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 - 𝙙𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙜 [COMPLETE]

o n e

CHAPTER ONE:

"the beginning"

THOUSANDS OF years ago, the Eternals came to Earth to protect its people from Deviants. There were eleven of them; each had their own specific abilities and skill sets. Not one of them was alike, and yet they became a family.

At first, Hera hadn't known where she fit into the puzzle that was the Eternals. There were the fighters– Ikaris, Makkari, Thena, Gilgamesh, and Kingo– and the thinkers– Ajak, Sersi, Sprite, Phastos, and Druig. And then there was her.

Her abilities made her valuable in battle. She could create force fields from cosmic energy, earning her the title of "the protector". However, she felt more at home with the "thinkers" of the Eternals. They were more empathetic of the humans; they had more love for them. They also relied on their brains rather than their brawns, which Hera especially appreciated.

No matter where her heart felt at home, Hera was sent to battle Deviants with the rest of the fighters. She had quickly grown used to the fast pace and danger of the battles. They had taught her to always keep an eye out, and to never rely on the strongest in the room.

In the beginning, Hera had been sheepish in their fights. She had stayed towards the sidelines, helping in evacuating the humans caught in the midst. Ikaris had noticed this.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked once, a strong hand wrapped around her upper arm as he dragged her away from the others.

She was stunned– eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. "What do you mean? I was helping the people–"

"You should've been helping us. That's why you're here, Hera." He replied, brows furrowed. "That's why we're here. To fight the Deviants."

"We're also here to help the humans," she replied, eyes narrowing. She shrugged his hand from her arm and took a step back. "And if you have a problem with me doing so, then perhaps I shouldn't fight beside you anymore."

Ikaris fell quiet, eyes never leaving hers. After a moment he broke the silence, "I understand you care for them, but we have our mission. Eradicate the Deviants. Don't get attached. You need to use your abilities to keep your family safe. The humans will repopulate. Us Eternals will not." With that, he turned and stalked away from her, back towards the others.

She watched him go with a fire of anger burning inside of her. It was consuming. She could no longer see Ikaris as their fearless leader. No, instead she saw him as heartless. How could he not care for the humans? They needed her and her family. They needed to be protected and saved, and Ikaris was too focused on completing the mission to care.

After that chat, Hera could no longer stand Ikaris. He was too proud– too much of a show-off. She would roll her eyes every time he would toss a Deviant into the air, flying after it with a fist raised. The human girls shrieked and giggled, enraptured by him. Hera, however, was not fooled.

However, if anything good had come from his "pep talk", it had been Hera developing her powers further. She became stronger, and she began to help her teammates more, but she never forgot about the humans. She would always try to help them too, even if it meant holding two force fields to keep Gilgamesh from getting squashed by a rather large Deviant, and keeping a mother and her children from getting crushed from falling debris.

Perhaps she owed Ikaris a thanks– but she would never give him one.

—

The Eternals moved around the globe quite a bit. Wherever a Deviant would appear, they would go without hesitation. Experiencing the different cultures of the people in the places they visited only caused Hera to fall in love with the people of Earth even more. She and Sersi were similar in this aspect. They would spend hours with townspeople, helping them with their chores or learning different skills.

Ajak called the two the heart of the Eternals. They were loved, not only by the people, but by their family as well. They were the shoulders to cry on, the helping hand, the one you could always talk to. Perhaps that's why Ikaris fell in love with Sersi.

Their love was tooth-rottingly sweet. He would watch her as she walked through a farmer's field, using her abilities to water crops or grow plants. He was always by her side at parties, eyes glued to her as she smiled and laughed with others. He was like a lovesick puppy, and Hera found it insanely annoying.

"Sersi," she had whispered once as they braided the hair of some of the town's children. "Your boyfriend is creeping out the kids. Tell him to get lost."

Sersi's eyes widened, shooting towards Ikaris, who was leaning against the doorway of the hut they were in. "He's not my boyfriend!" She whispered back, quickly averting her eyes back to the little girl's hair that was in her hands.

The little girl giggled, having heard their conversation. "Miss Sersi, Ikaris is your boyfriend?"

Sersi's eyes widened in horror. "No, no! He's– he's a close friend." She tried to recover, causing Ikaris to grin and Hera to snort.

"Please, go be with him. I can handle these little deviants," Hera encouraged her friend. Although she would rather not see Ikaris happy, she knew Sersi liked him, and she would do anything for her friend.

Sersi smiled thankfully and excused herself. Once she made it to Ikaris, he grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers. The little girls cooed and giggled, while Hera faked a gag.

"Why don't you like Ikaris?" One of the little girls asked as the couple walked away. Hera sighed as she finished her braid.

"I just don't agree with him, that's all. No need to worry about it." She smiled at the little girl.

"On that, we agree." A voice spoke as a new presence filled the spot Ikaris had recently deserted. Hera looked up, slightly startled. When her eyes landed on Druig, she grinned.

"Hello, Druig. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Ajak needs to speak with you. It's urgent."