Quick feet
There weren't many things Makkari enjoyed as much as running.
Sure, there were evenings with her family, new trinkets or times spend between the humans of the old civilizations they had know. And there where nights with Druig. Warm arms wrapped around her figure and thoughts that mixed with hers, open to her like to no one else in the world and beyond.
Still, running was in her nature. If she stood in one place for too long, the cosmic energy that flowed through her with every breath sometimes started to accumulate in her. It settled in her veins and nerve endings, building up a pressure beneath her surface until she was practically vibrating with the urge to get rid of it, to run until she felt lighter, until she could calm down again.
Her concern for Druig and the stress this whole chaos had caused didn't help with that at all.
As reluctant as she was to leave her man's side, she trusted Thena and she just had to run before the energy inside her drove her mad.
Nevertheless, there was still this spark of worry that probably wouldn't leave her until Druig's eyes followed her again when she took of for one of her runs. It also kept her from going too far away from him and the Domo.
Just a few loops from one end of South Dakota to the other and back. Not far away and not for too long. Normally her runs could last a few hours, the world had such beautiful places that she remembered fondly and loved to revisit from time to time, but today she cut it short.
She had briefly considered stopping by Sersi and the others, but that would have meant slowing down to interact with them and she hadn't really been up to that at the moment.
None of this changed the fact that she was much more relaxed when she eventually did return to the Domo.
The energy that had made her so terribly restless and fidgety wasn't completely burned out of her system, but it was enough to make her much more balanced again. It would last her for a few days, she supposed, if it had to.
She had a spring in her step as she strode through the aisles of the spaceship. Her mood had improved immensely.
Of course, that couldn't last for to long.
When she couldn't find Ajak, Gilgamesh, or Thena in the farmhouse or in the Domo's common rooms, she was immediately struck by a strange feeling. It was quiet, actually. Too quiet
Makkari quickened her pace automatically, and not for the first time did she curse the fact that the walls of the spaceship didn't let her feel any vibrations from the other rooms. The next time a repair came up, Phastos would definitely hear about it, but now her legs carried her to the infirmary in no time at all.
Her heart was pounding against her ribs and it wasn't because of the little bit of running.
She darted into the room as soon as the doors opened wide enough for her slender frame to squeeze through and she sped like a golden bolt between Sersi and Ikaris who had been awkwardly standing in front of the door, almost knocking the latter off his feet and to the ground when she bumped into him.
She came to a halt on the treatment platform and her heart nearly skipped a beat from what she saw.
Druig hadn't looked exactly healthy when she last saw him, just a few hours ago, but he hadn't looked like this either! His skin had been less grey tinted, looking a lot more alive, less cut through by darkish veins that almost seemed to grow from beneath his clothing over his collarbone and towards his throat likes ranks that meant to strangle him.
It was hard to describe, but Makkari knew right away that something had happened while she hadn't there. She put a hand on Druig's cheek and stroked his clammy skin.
Instinctively, she tried to feel the mental bond between them, his presence in her mind, only to realize once again in frustration that he wasn't there. When had it become so natural for her that he was there, she briefly wondered only to realize that it had likely always been.
When she looked up, her gaze met Thena's and she didn't like the warrior goddess' expression at all. It was a strange mixture but Makkari thought she recognized a hint of guilt and that made her heart speed up again automatically.
What happened? He was better off when I left!
"Makkar, I'm so sorry -"
"Makkari" Ajak said for Thena who accepted the interruption without even a dirty look. "It seems like we have a new problem. It wasn't Thena's fault."
She listened with growing horror as first Ajak and then Phastos shared their respective bits of what had happened in the last few hours - really, Makkari thought, it couldn't have been more than two. How could everything have gone so wrong in two hours? - only occasionally interrupted by a throw-in from one of the others.
It hurt.
The speedster had a kind of understanding for her siblings that hardly anyone could really understand, with the exception of Druig who had a similar ability to catch on the smallest changes in someones natural behavior, and so she was more than aware that at least Thena, Ajak and Gilgamesh didn't tell her everything.
She didn't dare ask what that was just yet, but she already knew that it wouldn't let her rest until she found out what exactly they where so hesitant to tell her.
But now the feeling of dread prevailed and, overwhelmed by all of it, she buried her face in the transition of Druig's shoulder and neck, unwilling to listen anymore. Her eyes where stinging.
Her fingers dug into the fabric of his jacket and she closed her eyes, trying, for a moment at least, to block out the conversations and discussions of the others and concentrate on him.
That always reassured her. Always.
And it didn't fail this time either, even without the presence of him in her thoughts that told her without words everything would be fine. His heartbeat under her fingers, the gentle rise and fall of his chest, the smell, the warmth, the feeling was so unmistakably Druig.
Normally these impressions were associated with pure luck for her, now one different thought was in the foreground.
She couldn't lose him.
She had seen entire worlds collapse had seen ancient advanced civilizations arise, had helped shape them and protected their people only to see them die in fire and war, natural disasters or disease. She had endured it, accepted it was given, trusted in Ajak's words of a greater good only the godly Celestials could know of, but this... it would just be too much to endure for her.
Makkari took another deep breath, her fingers tracing familiar words against Druig's shoulder, words that were only theirs to whisper in the dark, his smile and the twinkle in his beautiful blue eyes telling her whenever their eyes met, then she straightened up again.
The others had turned away as to not just stare at her in pity and were exchanging information about that Deviant attacked Sersi's group in the old fire station and she felt like it would be important for her to listen as well.
"We have actually seen something like this before." Phastos said. "The Deviant Kro. After absorbing Ajak's powers, more and more resilient Deviants appeared. They got stronger, smarter too. And after doing the same with Gilgamesh, he gradually became more and more like us."
He hesitated in his tipping on the holopad he always carried with him, sighed and placed the device down on a counter top behind him.
A holographic picture from the Deviant that had attacked them at the beach on the day of the Emergence appeared in the middle of the room.
Thena frowned, as did Ajak. Makkari barely stopped herself from wincing and rubbed her neck at the memory of how it had felt when that beast had grabbed her for a moment and Gilgamesh didn't even try not to pull a face at his equally unpleasant memory.
"It's like they evolve as they feed on Eternals." Phastos said pensively, rubbing his chin like he sometimes did when he tried to concentrate. He waved a hand through the air and the picture of a second Deviant appeared. This one was still far more anymal like and had a distant resemblance to bear monster with claws and teeth that would have made any saber-toothed cat jealous.
"Sounds disturbing." Sprite said.
"Agreed." Gilgamesh said.
"Yes. I thought about it for a while before already and I think I found the reason for it. The source of your powers. The cosmic energy. That's it... The cosmic energy in our bodies allows the Deviants to further develop their physical and mental capabilitys."
Sersi frowned. "So basically it's... Deviant Evolution?"
"Yes, exactly!" Phastos nodded eagerly, fully in his sience mode that made him seem a little to exited, all things considered. "By using Eternals as their food source."
"I absolutely hate every single thing you just said." Kingo noted with a grim expression.
"Wait, wait a minute." Gilgamesh rubbed his face, clearly thoughtful and obviously not liking whatever was on his mind either. "So that means the more cosmic energy this Deviant drains from Druig, no matter if it's injected to him by Ajak or if he recovers it on his own over time, the stronger it will become? And probably smarter too, until it can eventually duplicate his powers to use them itself?"
"And that was the source of that sudden headache? A mental attack? Like... the Deviant was trying to take over our minds the way Druig does with humans?" Sersi asked, beside her Sprite grimaced.
"I am afraid so."
"In other words." Sprite said, throwing up her arms in a very much upset looking manner. "We're fucked."
Phastos sighed. "Yes, you could say that."
Ajak rubbed her forehead. She had a deep frown on her face and an expression as if she was wondering how a simple mission could have turned into such an disaster so quickly. "Then we have to prevent the Deviant from being able to absorb any more energy. Who knows how far it has developed already."
"How do you imagine that to work?" Thena asked. "If it's using Druig's body as a link to the cosmic energy, then..." she didn't finish her sentence but everyone present understood.
"Then we must destroy the link." Ikaris finally said into the tense silence that had just tried to settle over them.
"Ikaris!" Sersi hissed in horror and glared at him immediately. "You can't mean that!"
Ikaris tried to take her arms in his hands like he had always done to calm her down in the past. Sersi swatted at him and he frowned but sighed and took the hint. It did not stop him from talking.
"What other choice do we have?"
"We find another way, that is not an option!"
"I'm with Sersi here" Kingo agreed. "We saw what happens if we don't stick together. You don't sacrifice your family no matter why."
Ikaris threw him a glare. "Look, I'm not saying that because I -"
"Try it." Thena said, a sharp and cold tone in her voice. Her eyes locked on Ikaris' and although her face revealed nothing, a determination burned in them. "Just try and see."
Gilgamesh shifted slightly behind her. He had always rather been one for peace but no one doubted his intentions should Ikaris actually accept the challenge.
It had been hard enough for him to fight Thena that one time and even if Sersi and Kingo decided to stay back everyone still knew who carried the title as the strongest Eternal and why.
They had all seen them fight alongside each other. If Thena was lucid, her and Gilgamesh where unconquerable. And Ikaris knew that as well.
He sighed and backed up a little.
"Look." he repeated in a calmer but still strong voice. "I know what you all think. I don't want this either, believe me, I don't. But if we have no other choice? What then? We can't allow a Deviant like that to roam free, and we can't - "
Anything else that came out of his mouth after that was absolutely meaningless.
That suggestion, the outrageous thought of doing so alone, had absolutely been the last straw.
Makkari knew that Ikaris could be inconsiderate, she knew that he most likely did not mean it but at this moment she really wanted to beat his nose in with the power of a sonic blast.
He could say whatever he wanted, swear that he didn't not actually mean harm to Druig as much as he liked to, but Makkari would never forget. She had dreamed to often of t hat day on the beach, of the first attempt to form the Uni Mind and of the cold and heartless expression Ikaris, one of her brothers, one of Druig's brothers, had worn just before he had grabbed her love around the throat and taken him away.
She remembered her scream and thought she had never heard it and had no understanding of voices like others had, she still remembered the way the sound of anguish had echoed through her whole body, had shaken her bones to the very core.
She would always remember. And, as much as she loved her family, as much as she had loved Ikaris at one point and maybe still missed that feeling sometimes, none of that reached her love for Druig. She remembered. And she would never forgive.
However, she also knew that they needed him to hunt down that cursed powerful Deviant in order to save the man she loved. That was the only thing holding her back from attacking Ikaris with as much force as she had on that day when her deepest wish had been to bust open his skull on the rocks.
No. She needed him. And getting him to calm down after such a punch would have taken to long for her taste. Also, what she really wanted was a permanent reminder that being a bastard had consequences, even for him, not something that would be fine and forgotten again with a simple wave of Ajak's hand over a broken part of his face. She wanted him to at least remember, if not the pain then humiliation.
And so, while Ikaris still argued with Sersi and now, surprisingly, with Sprite as well, in the blink of an eye, she raced down from the platform and stood in front of him.
Ikaris barely had time to register her movement and definitely he didn't have time to react as she already swung back and kicked him between the legs with all the strength her fast legs could muster. He had had no chance to dodge her at all.
The other Eternals eyes widened almost comically. He let out a groan and fell like a tree cut from it's trunk, much to Makkari's immediate satisfaction. That was something she had wanted to do for far to long. It did nothing to ease the memories but it did calm down the raging anger that had risen up in her chest a little.
Kingo let out a pained groan as if feeling the pain himself.
Gilgamesh and Phastos seemed at least a little sympathetic and grimaced while Sprite just stared at her wide-eyed for a moment and Sersi covered her mouth with a hand, her gaze fixed on the collapsed Ikaris. Ajak rubbed her temple more furiously but otherwise remained quiet.
Only Thena's lips showed a slight, quite amused smile, a small but obvious upturn of her lips.
There was silence for a moment, except for Ikaris' small, pained noises.
What? Makkari signed as she turned back to the others. He deserved that. For many things.
"Ouch." was Sprite's dry yet unimpressed comment. She shrugged, seemingly having caught herself again. "That's fair, I guess."
"Makkari!" Kingo groaned and whipped his hands through the air in disbelieve, visibly struggling for words in both, sign language and vocal sentences. "You can't just..."
"No, no, she's right." Thena said, completely unmoved and unyielding as always.
"Thena!" Sersi scolded but there was clearly less horror in her voice than before, when she contradicted Ikaris, and much more resignation.
She shook her head and knelt down next to the fallen Eternal to help him up as soon as he could.
"Just wait, you - " he growled and Makkari's foot itched to deliver another kick as if the cosmic energy from before her run had returned into her body with the snap of his fingers.
"Enough." Ajak stepped between them, successfully stopping Makkari's temper from getting the upper hand again and shutting down whatever curse Ikaris had been about to shoot her way.
The former leader looked at both of them with the expression of a mother that was more than done with her children and their shit.
"None of that." she said. "I will have no more fights between any of you. We will not give up on one of our own and we will not tear into each other or override the decision that have been made by the majority of us."
She looked from Makkari, to Thena and finally settled on Ikaris. Her strict eyes and her voice made it clear that her decision was final, there was nothing left to change.
"Woooo..." Gilgamesh uttered.
He sighed once more, more a way of blowing out air, before shaking his head as well.
"Alright. That was something. Hope you feel better at least?" Makkari grinned maliciously and nodded. "Good, because if I got that right we have more important matters to take care of."