Despacito (Slowly)

The rest of the week was very uneventful, to Steven’s eternal gratitude. As the new moon passed, just like the ol’ bird had predicted, both he and Marc got their energy back, and were once again co-fronting at nights with Jake. Unfortunately, with the new moon most of Jake’s powers went away too so neither Marc nor Steven were able to see their soulmate use shadows to move around, but now they were more aware that yes, Jake never got lost.

This came particularly handy when Dr. Alraune sent Steven to the museum’s warehouse section, which Steven had never been too. Jake took over, and was in and out of the place with the relics that Dr. Alraune needed in record time, while Steven only had to pick the right ones by half reading what it was said on them.

Marc had commented on it, how when they were alone, Steven’s understanding of hieroglyphs seemed to be far deeper than when there were people around. Steven knew that it meant Marc was worried about their Ennead nature showing up more, about something else that made them different and once again hated Wendy Spector for all the damage she had done to them.

“Well, I can’t really explain how I know what a symbol that was not in the Rosetta stone is supposed to be read, can I?” Steven pointed out, trying to lighten up the mood. “I don’t think ‘our Dad is an ancient Egyptian god’ would look good in any of our resumes.”

“You’re the only one of us who has a job that requires a resume, Steven,” Marc replied, hugging him tight in the inner world as Jake led them out of the warehouse, and Steven had to take control again.

On the second day after the New Moon was over, Steven was surprised to see Crowley back in his fountain, entertaining tourists. Jake, of course, swore up a storm in Spanish about how they should have tied him up to the doctor’s bed, that those thugs could come back and what if they did and they were away as Moon Knight? It was obvious to Steven that Jake cared a lot for their mutual friend, even if he wasn’t sure if Crawley knew Jake. So he stayed out of Jake’s path, while telling Crawley about all the changes in his life, and just hoped that that attack had been a one off.

Not that he complained later, when Marc decided that checking out the fountain area for any kind of criminal activity was something that the Avatar of Khonshu should do every night, at least until they were sure Crawley was completely healed.

But as much as they had managed to get into a new routine, he was still nervous about everything that was coming up to them. The failing glamour that protected them was first and foremost on Steven’s mind, and while he now thought he had an ironclad defense for their Old Bird, Steven wasn’t sure that it would hold if the Ennead found out their relationship to Khonshu.

“Vamos a estar bien, Corazón,” Jake told him, as he hugged him in their Inner World. “Solo tienes que respirar.”

“What he said,” Marc insisted, grinning as he looked at Steven in the mirror of their bathroom. “Jake has already meet this doctor, and Khonshu vetted him. He is not dangerous.”

He is a true believer, Khonshu interrupted. But he is not part of the group that captured me. He belongs to the other church, the one that didn’t need to see me to believe in me.

“So you just… left them to their own devices?” Steven asked, as he grabbed his messenger bag and walked to the door. He had promised to meet Reese at their usual juice spot and she’d take them to the clinic from there.

They stayed in Egypt at first, Khonshu explained, sitting down next to the fishes. The three immediately swam towards his figure, obviously happy to see the god. Steven smiled at that, wondering if in the future, they could ask the Old Bird to babysit them if they had to go somewhere.  And I was not allowed to manifest in Egypt outside of my temple, which was forbidden to them.

“Pinches pendejos los del Ennead,” Jake muttered from a left mirror.

“Fuck the Ennead,” Marc agreed.

“Except maybe Tawaret, and our Old Bird,” Steven corrected, smiling at Khonshu as he opened the door.

Time to face the piper, or, in this case, the Doctor.

*          *          *

Reese ordered her usual strawberry Frappuccino as she waited for Steven to arrive. They had agreed to meet around 4:00 p.m because that was usually the time where Dr. Badr had some free time in the clinic, unless something really bad happened.

As she thought that, she knocked on the table she was sitting at. Knock on wood, keep the bad luck away, as her gramma used to say.

She looked at her watch and frowned again. Steven was late, which was not like the shy linguist. She knew that he was nervous about meeting Dr. Badr, because even if he hadn’t told her that, it was obvious in his demeanor, and she couldn’t understand why. After all, she had checked him out -in secret, with the help of Soldier who had way too many extra skills for being “just a college student”, but that was a mystery for another day- and it was clear that he wasn’t part of Ammit’s cult. He wasn’t part of any of Khonshu’s churches either, as far as she could tell. Dr. Badr hadn’t recognized his name, and he knew pretty much every family in his church, and while finding out about the American Khonshu cult was even harder, the fact that Steven had never been to the United States made it impossible for him to be part of that.

So why was Steven nervous about meeting Dr. Badr? Especially when he agreed with Reese that there was something going on at the museum, that there was some active, modern attempts to erase Khonshu from history?

Another mystery she wanted to solve, she figured. Her mother always said that she was too curious for her own safety, and that she’d be better suited to be a detective than an archeologist but Reese insisted that there was not much difference. After all, an archeologist solved mysteries too, only mysteries from the past rather than mysteries of the present.

“And here you are, finding mysteries in your daily life.” She muttered, as the waiter brought her Frappuccino, and she took a sip of it. “Next thing you know, you will be trying to find out the identities of the Avengers…”

“Well, the Hulk is Dr. Bruce Banner and Iron Man is Tony Stark… those aren’t very big mysteries…” Steven said, answering her as he sat in the seat before her. “Sorry I was late.”

“Hey, Steven,” Reese smiled at him and his bad joke. “You’re late.”

“I ran into some… troubles… coming here,” Steven said, and Reese frowned at the pause he made. Because it was as if he was trying to downplay whatever that had happened to him.

“You ok?” She asked, worried. She knew that he had probably ordered a drink before coming to sit next to her, so they wouldn’t be leaving to meet Dr. Badr soon. “What happened?”

“Oh, nothing big, I swear. I just… witnessed a mugging… The bobbies wanted my testimony, and it took a while,” he said quickly, still smiling to calm her down. The thing was, she knew he was lying. She wasn’t sure how she knew; it may have been because he was not looking at her eyes, or the way he paused before he said what had happened.

But then, he didn’t look hurt, so she was left with one more mystery as the waiter brought Steven his drink.

*          *          *

Steven was trying hard not to panic, as Jake and Marc reassured him in the back of their mind that if anything happened, they’d be there to back him up and Reese led him to the clinic where Jake had taken Crawley the last new moon. Jake insisted that Dr. Badr seemed like a good person, and so far, Jake was a good judge of character, so Steven wanted to trust. But he couldn’t forget that the last time he had met someone who worshiped an Egyptian god? He had ended up chased by invisible jackals.

“I’m sure Reese’s friend doesn’t have access to the same powers that Harrow did,” Marc commented, yawing a bit. “And even if he did, he follows Khonshu so he wouldn’t send a jackal after us.”

“Y si lo hiciera, ya sabes cómo encargarte de ellos,” Jake added, unhelpfully. “Aunque necesitarías el traje… y ese no sale sino hasta el anochecer.”

“Not helping,” Steven muttered under his breath.

“Did you say something?” Reese asked, as she was about to knock on the door of the clinic.

“Nothing,” Steven smiled at her. “I’m just a bit nervous. I’m not good at first impressions…”

“Says the guy who made Dr. Alraune rave for an hour about his ability to translate hieroglyphs and friended Soldier in less than 10 minutes.” Reese shook her head, smiling. “Trust me, if you can make Soldier warm up? You will get along with Dr. Badr. He doesn’t bite.”

“I really don’t understand why people say that since humans usually don’t bite as a first defense impulse. Punch or kick, yes, bite, no,” Steven blurted before he could stop himself.

“I can assure you I don’t do either,” A new voice said, which Jake immediately identified as the doctor who had taken care of Crawley. “It goes against my oath as a doctor.”

Dr. Badr opened the door as he spoke, and grinned and greeted Reese before turning to see Steven. His eyes widened a bit, and Steven hoped that he was not going to recognize him as the man who had brought him a beaten patient nights before. But after a pause, the man smiled and offered him his hand.

“I’m Dr. Badr… you must be Steven Grant. Reese here has spoken wonders about you.”

“Nice to meet you,” Steven took the offered hand, and shook it while asking Jake if he thought they had been recognized. To his initial concern, Jake didn’t immediately answer, and when he did in the negative, he sounded as if he had just woken up. “Reese has also told me a lot about you.”

“All lies, I assure you,” Dr. Badr let them in the office, where Steven couldn’t help himself and stare at the huge Khonshu statue that dominated the waiting room. It was just like Jake had described it, and exactly the kind of statue that Steven had fantasized about having in their home when they had been children, so that their Old Bird could materialize in his full size and not the smaller, action-figure like size he had to use around them.

“This is an impressive statue of Khonshu,” he finally said, to cover the silence that had fallen on the room. “Not something I see outside the museum…”

“It was commission made,” Dr. Badr said, with pride. “Given what Reese has told me about you, I guess I don’t need to explain myself and my beliefs.”

“You’re part of the Church of the Healing Moon, which worship Khonshu, the ancient god of healing, the moon and justice,” Steven said, trying to sound casual and scientific, rather than thrilled that they had found someone who gave their father the proper respect. “Right?”

“Indeed,” Dr. Badr smiled as he motioned to them to sit. “Although I’m surprised you heard of us. We try to keep our heads down.”

“No le digas que Khonshu nos dijo,” Jake said, his voice sounding more tired than before.

“Obviously,” Marc piped in, mid yawn. “Steven is not stupid.”

“I was attacked by the Ammit’s cult a little before the Gaza incident,” Steven said, ignoring the chatter by his soulmates. “They… they wanted me to help them find Ammit’s tumb. After that, I decided to find out if there were others who still worshiped the old gods.”

“I can assure you, we’re nothing like that bunch of terrorists,” Dr. Badr answered, his distaste for the Ammit’s cult quite obvious in his voice. “We worship a justice god, and we do it in peace. Khonshu wouldn’t appreciate us trying to take over the world. His commandments were clear. Protect the Innocent, the Travelers of the Night. Heal the Sick, Guide the lost.”

Steven frowned, a bit confused.

“ I had never heard the last two,” he said, making a mental note to ask their Old Bird about it later. “Just the protect the Innocent and the travelers of the night part.”

“Well, that doesn’t surprise me,” Dr. Badr said as he motioned Steven and Reese to sit down on the comfortable looking couches in the waiting room area. “Reese mentioned you had found tablets where Khonshu’s name was erased… whoever did it, or their ancestors, may have also erased the full credo and laws of our god.”

Steven nodded carefully, hoping that neither Reese nor Dr. Badr would take that as him agreeing that Khonshu was also his god.

“Most of the tablets we found are letters from common people, not priests,” Reese piped in as she made a beeline to the coffee maker that Dr. Badr had out. Steven guessed that she had been there enough times to feel comfortable making coffee. Even if at the time, he felt as if he had just drank about seven cups of it in a row.

“People who wouldn’t feel the need to mention the other aspects of Khonshu,” Steven said finally. “Just the one that they needed to invoke at the time, protections to their travels.”

“Yes, that is the tradition…” Dr. Badr smiled, obviously happy to be able to talk freely about his beliefs. “Whenever you go on a trip, long or short, you invite Khonshu to come with you, and carry his name so he can find you if you are in trouble.”

“Not that he considers missing baggage to be trouble,” Reese joked, and, to Steven’s surprise, Dr. Badr laughed.

“Let me explain… that’s how Reese and I met. The airline lost both our luggage and we had a long time to talk while waiting for word of our belongings,” Dr. Badr took the cup of coffee that Reese offered him, smiling at the memory. “Indeed, that is not the kind of trouble Khonshu protects his followers from.”

“If you don’t mind,” Steven said, also taking the cup that Reese gave him before sitting down herself. “ I would love to hear all about your church’s traditions and creeds, and what you know about Khonshu and how he is to be worshiped.”

Steven wasn’t sure, but Dr. Badr smile grew bigger. And then, he began to talk.

*          *          *

It was about 11:00 p.m. when Reese and her friend, Steven Grant, finally left the clinic. Dr. Badr stretched and prepared himself for the long night shift, before thanking Khonshu for the lack of patients that night as he had been able to talk freely… and listen to the silences of Mr. Grant.

Mr. Grant had fascinated him. At first, when he came in, Badr had been sure that he was the man who had brought him a patient in the middle of the night not a week before.  However, the impression was broken pretty much the second Mr. Grant spoke up with a strange accent that was not quite that of a british native, but definitely not the one one would expect from a Spanish speaker. Still, he could be a twin of the man who had brought the other man to his care, and then left after lighting the candles in his Khonshu’s shrine.

That alone had picked Badr’s curiosity, because seeing Mr. Grant’s reaction to the shrine made Badr convinced that he was in the company of another believer. One that was not part of either the Church of the Healing Moon, nor the Church of the Traveling Moon… which was odd.  After all, who else remembered Khonshu, given how little information the general public had of his god?

Reese had said that Mr. Grant was just a researcher like her, curious but sure that the old myths were just stories that the ancient civilizations told themselves to explain the truth of the universe. But Mr. Grant’s questions… and the way in which he remained silent as Badr went on and on about the story of his people,  told Badr otherwise. Mr. Grant hadn’t come to his doorstep just because he was curious about another pagan cult. He knew something that Reese didn’t, and now Badr wanted to know what that was.

He believed Mr. Grant completely when he said he had been kidnapped by the Ammit cult led by Arthur Harrow. There had been a lot of Khonshu’s followers killed by the Crocodile followers, but they also choose to target people outside the conflict between the churches.  But as much as Mr. Grant seemed to know about Ammit’s followers, he was completely in the dark about Horus’s followers, who were far more dangerous to Khonshu’s loyal believers.

Badr was almost convinced that Mr. Grant had come to believe in Khonshu due to his experience with the Ammit’s fanatics when something happened that made him change his mind completely. As he was explaining about the night prayers to Khonshu, Mr. Grant recited it, in the same language that Badr had been taught the verses: Ancient Egypcian. Surprised at that, Badr asked, in the same language, where he had learned to speak the language, to which Mr. Grant replied that he had a teacher who knew it, when he lived in the Colonies.

That, Badr didn’t quite believe. Because when the man spoke the ancient language, his eyes changed. They shone lightly, so light that Badr didn’t think Reese had noticed it.  But the shape of Mr. Grant’s pupils also changed, to form perfect mid-circles, making them look the same as the moon that was shining in its half phase that night.

Whoever Mr. Grant really was? There was no doubt in Badr’s mind that he had been touched by Khonshu. Was he perhaps a messenger from the god, who had come to test Badr’s faith? It was a possibility, although Badr didn’t really think he was important enough to get the attention of Khonshu. And the questions the man asked made Badr think that he was new to his position as Khonshu’s chosen. Maybe the truth was that Khonshu had chosen this man for some mission, and wanted Badr, the only member of his church currently living in London, to give him some guidance.

Whichever it was, Badr considered, he would do his best to follow his god’s designs. And then he prayed that Mr. Grant would come back, preferably without Reese, so that Badr could answer all the questions he hadn’t made that night.

*          *          *

Steven arrived at their apartment feeling as if he had just had three shots of adrenaline straight to his heart. He knew that both Jake and Marc were now asleep, as he had felt them go out at Dr. Badr’s office, and while he had panicked at first, he remembered how Jake had described the days Steven and Marc had gone out.

“So Jake is the New Moon, I’m the Half moon, and that means, Marc is going to be the Full Moon,” he muttered at the door. “That’s… interesting.”

He opened the door to an empty apartment and frowned, as he expected Khonshu to be there, chatting with the Guses as he had been doing when he wasn’t following them to the museum trying to be discreet about it. Marc pretended that he hated the mother hen act, but Steven knew that deep down, they all appreciated it. After so many years alone, and the years thinking that Khonshu only saw Marc as a tool, the fact that they knew their father was always watching, always protecting them, warmed their hearts.

“Da… Old Bird?” He asked to the empty space, fully aware of what he had almost said. But he wasn’t ready, not yet. And even less when Khonshu wasn’t there to hear it. “Where are you? I thought you’d follow us to Dr. Badr’s office…”

I believed you’d like some privacy, in case you needed to ask something you’d thought I wouldn’t want to hear.

“You are getting soft in your old age, Old Bird,” Steven smiled, seeing Khonshu appear in the window still, the half moon shining behind him. “Dr. Badr told us a lot of interesting things, but nothing that could guide us to our mother or what the Church of the Traveling Moon did to you. I don’t think they knew about it… He gave me the impression that you never picked an avatar from the Church of the Healing moon…”

I didn’t, no. I… left them mostly to their own devices, as they stayed in Egypt for a long, long time.

“And still survived when worshiping you became unpopular,” Steven added.

You mean Illegal, my Little Scholar, Khonshu said, getting down to sit on what they all now considered “his” chair. My followers were persecuted by the Pharaon, hunted to extinction… or so they thought.

“And since the Ennead was more active then, they would’ve known about your followers if you appeared to them, right?” Steven nodded, understanding how much it might have hurt Khonshu to have to cut off from some of his followers, being unable to help them directly. “Yet, they still believe in you. Dr. Badr was very clear on that. They even celebrate a holiday for you!”

As he spoke, he unconsciously called on the suit, all of it except for the mask. He was feeling restless, and he knew that there were people outside that needed help that only he, well, the Moon Knight of Khonshu, could provide.

Little Scholar? I understand today is the beginning of your moon phase, but you don’t need to patrol like Jake did, Khonshu said, worry obvious in his voice. Steven realized right then that, while their old Bird had never showed any preference for one of them, he did worry differently about each of them. He worried about Jake’s loneliness, about Marc’s self confidence… and of course, about Steven’s physical well being.

Once more, Steven wished that they had known he was their father before, that they hadn’t been separated, and had been able to live together with him from the start, even if then the Ennead would’ve probably been gunning for all their heads way sooner.

“I…” Steven hesitated, as his own wishes now confused him. “I want to patrol, Old Bird… I dunno how far I can go without a car, but… I know that there are people out there who need us.”

You all have a big heart, Khonshu said gently. Still, I do not know if I want to see you jumping across the roofs of London like Marc does…

“Well, it’s not as if I can put a sign on the door that says Travelers of the Night that need help, come in,” Steven joked, as he moved towards the window. The half moon shining filled him with confidence. He could do this, just like Jake and Marc. When it came to fighting moves, if they knew how to do them, so did Steven. “Although that would be cool. Something like Dr. Badr’s clinic… a place where people could know that they will get help, and look for your protection too, if the Horus’s cult starts something like the Ammit’s cult did.”

Horus’s believers don’t need that kind of actions, they won when he was named god of the moon and sun and me and my father were banished.

“I’m not that sure that they got the memo,” Steven said, finally jumping out of the apartment, feeling the night wind against his face. It was only then when he remembered that he needed to conjure the mask too, and he did so, smiling under it. “According to Dr. Badr, they have been working under the radar for centuries… his last Avatar was a Republican senator.”

Horus always liked power… Perhaps I missed something about his grudge against me and my family while worrying about Ammit.

“You can’t be everywhere at once, old Bird” Steven said. He jumped easily to the next roof, as he heard a scream. It was time to do his part as his father’s fist and protect those who traveled in the night.

*          *          *

Tawaret was not happy.

This was most annoying for her, as she usually was the happiest of the Ennead, even as her current job as the captain of Anubis’s ship went against her normal job as a fertility goddess.  But right now, she was feeling annoyed because everyone seemed to think that just because she was happy, that meant she was an idiot.

She expected that from Osiris. The king of the Ennead might have a soft side, but he also was a bit too proud and easy to dismiss others after a bad first impression. That was why there were so many of the Egyptian gods trapped in Ushabitis now, Tawaret figured. It wasn’t as if ALL of them had done something to deserve it, but Osiris didn’t care. With him, it was one little mistake and it was all over.

Now, Khonshu treating her like a child was also sort of expected. They were roughly the same age, but Khonshu had lived so much more than her in many ways. He had been down with mankind while she was still being the good girl for Osiris to avoid getting trapped, seeing them grow and change. And now, she realized that Khonshu was right: the Ennead had been wrong in abandoning mankind. It had cost them not only followers, but also understanding. And that was why Ammit’s freedom had been such a surprise.

But having Layla, her own Avatar, keeping secrets from her? Now that was just too much. Sure, Tawaret had promised that Layla would have privacy and in that sense, yes, of course she could keep secrets. But Tawaret had the feeling that the reason why Layla was keeping a block between them was because of something about the souls of Khonshu’s Avatar. Did it mean that Layla didn’t trust her? If so, that hurt Tawaret’s feelings and it made her sad.

Tawaret hated being sad.

“Oh, this is not good…” She muttered as she looked over the Duat. While for mortals it looked like a huge desert, she still could see the souls turned into sand. It was part of the job, after all, to make sure that all the unbalanced souls stayed where they were, and didn’t cause trouble in other afterlives that were connected to the Ennead’s realm.

It was then when she noticed that there was a gap in the desert. A soul that was supposed to be there, frozen forever, but wasn’t there anymore.

“This is definitely not good,” she said to herself again. She knew what soul was supposed to be there, and the fact that it wasn’t… well, it couldn’t bring good news. The soul in question had been in the Duat for a very short time, less than a month by human time. In all her time working as the ferry of the dead, Tawaret had only seen two souls being able to come back from being turned to sand: Steven and Marc, Khonshu’s lovely avatars.

Now, there was a third… who had also been under Khonshu’s rule.

Arthur Harrow.

Tawaret narrowed her eyes, her ears flattening against her head. This was not a good thing, not at all.  It was time to talk to Layla, and figure out where Khonshu was hiding so she could talk to the old bird seriously about his avatars and their tendency not to follow the rules at all.

*          *          *

Khonshu watched proudly as Steven walked around the streets of London with purpose. No one turned to see him, no one thought strange to see a masked man dressed completely in white. He knew that Steven hadn’t noticed it yet, but Khonshu knew now that that was one of his abilities. He wasn’t invisible, not exactly, but he was walking on the dark side of the moon… no one would see him unless he wanted to be seen.

Ten minutes before, Steven had crossed paths with a crime scene. Without hesitation, he had walked towards the cops, and asked what was going on there, what seemed to be the problem. And the cops accepted Steven’s presence without much questioning, besides a casual “Are you one of those Avengers chaps? Didn’t know we had one based on London,” from one of them.1§2

Steven was putting them at ease, his empathic nature augmented tenfold by the light side of the moon. His powers were subtler than Jake’s, as far as Khonshu could see, but still very in tune with his little Scholar’s natural abilities. With simple questions, he found out that a meta human was robbing stores in the neighbor and disappearing without leaving any trace of his presence and then promised the cops he’d do his best to keep an eye on the situation before leaving without anyone protesting.

Are you going to look for the meta? Khonshu asked, watching Steven walk into a dark alley seemingly without direction. It was different from Jake’s apparent aimless driving, but the god knew that just like Jake, Steven knew exactly where he was going.

“He won’t attack again tonight, but he did leave some clues,” Steven replied, kneeling down. “Next time he does, we will all be awake so either Jake or Marc can take care of the fighting, if it is needed.”

What clues, Little Scholar? Khonshu was amazed at how his son had grown in the few weeks since he had revealed himself to him again. He had always known that his Little Scholar had a soul made of steel, but it was great to see him grow stronger.

“I’m not sure I can explain, old Bird,” Steven said. “It’s… like here. See this half-bent pipe? He hit it. He’s angry, but not at being chased…”

Oh?

“No… he’s angry at…” Steven stopped and looked up at him. “I can read his intentions from his movements. It’s like a language, right? That is my ability…”

It seems that way, Little Scholar. A very useful one, if you ask me.

The mask of the suit retracted, and Steven gifted him with a bright big smile. Then he remembered that he was supposed to have a secret identity, and the mask came up again, making Khonshu chuckle. His fledglings always surprised him, one way or another.

*          *          *

Steven arrived at their building, still wearing the suit but without the mask, smiling. He hadn’t had any physical encounter as Jake had had on his solo nights, but he had a bunch of new missions lined in as he had found many people in need of help. He still thought there should be an easier way to find those in need, to make sure he, Jake and Marc could be there for those who didn’t have the Avengers living in their city.

He was quite relaxed, especially after Khonshu told him how he had managed to become sort of invisible to others while walking on the streets. That seemed to be as useful as Jake’s teleportation through the shadow and now he wondered what abilities Marc had. He knew they didn’t have access to them while the three were awake, but it still made him wonder about how they could work better as a team now that they knew what they could do.

“Nice suit, mon ami… I didn’t know you had taste,” a voice behind him with a clear French accent said, just as Steven was going to open the door to their apartment and he turned around, confused.

Behind him there was a Spanish looking man, with brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a pilot cap and a button up shirt that had seen better days. Next to him there was a woman with long black hair that looked ready to have a fight.

Before he could say anything, the woman spoke.

“What’s wrong, Jake? Aren’t you going to say hi to me and Duchamp? You haven’t been answering our calls, so we decided to come to check up on you.”