Mutants & Masterminds: Divine Intervention - [Divine Intervention] Celestial Chorus

[z014]

"Welcome to Olympus, Serenity."

In less than the blink of an eye, Priti found herself swept from the dark chill of Central Park to a grand marble hall. She was reclined on a marble chaise, clothed now in a simple dress red fine linen and cinched by a complicated netting of golden chord. The chaise was set a comfortable distance from a large dias of seven steps. Thrones adorned each step, with one on each side up the first five levels. Each throne was unique and dazzling, leaving no question as to which Olympian it belonged to. On the second highest step was a white marble throne carved with peacocks, their feathers fantastically gilded. This throne was to the right of the highest throne and had no pair on the left. Only the highest throne, made of golden-threaded marble with doves attending the top curve of seat of power and the flickers of lightning tracing down its sides, was occupied.

He was the one who had spoken, and Priti - no, Serenity. He had called her that, and so it was her true name now. Serenity felt His voice rush over her like a thunderstorm, terrifying and awe inspiring. As a man, He would have been impressive - powerfully built, every curve and line of His frame perfectly defined. His eyes were the white-blue, sparkling with the same power that played over the marble of His throne. Dark curls framed a young face, despite the millennium - perhaps near eternity - that Zeus had lived. In her heart some small part fluttered a defiance, demanding to name Him Lord Vishnu, but this was a Greek temple and the gods had, for whatever reasons, chosen to reveal themselves to the world again in this Western incarnation. He smiled and she felt as every meaning in her life was held in the curve of His lips. "Good, you understand. Euterpe was correct, you are the soul for this task."

He stood and descended the dias, holding a hand for her to take once he reached her on the floor of the grand hall. Her own hand trembled as she placed it in His and pulled upward from the chaise. He held her hand against His chest and put His other arm around her waist, directing her to one side of the hall. Graceful columns, caryatids, framed the transition to a massive balcony. The sky was a velvet blackness studded with stars like tiny gemstones; spread beneath the balcony was a city so beautiful that tears traced down her cheeks and her body shook just to behold it. Somehow beneath the city spread out all of Earth, and the cosmos beyond. Her awe was brushed by vertigo and Zeus pulled her closer to Him, his arm supporting her. "This is everything We cherish, Serenity. The universe We have built, loved, and lived in. We each have taken stewardship of some part of Beautiful Creation and kept this wonderful and infinitely complex beingness going for longer than humanity, than Earth as you know it, has even existed."

She was leaning against him, lost in the perfection and love of his voice, her mind both soothed and overwhelmed by this experience. "This perfection has been threatened," He continued, his voice adding notes of sadness and undertones of anger, "by the disappearance of two of our own." His hand tightened on hers and He shifted her to face Him, releasing her from the fascination of seeing nearly all of a Creation in one look, and instead capturing her in the magnificence that was Him. "We gathered the brightest souls in the world to discover the reason for this and to restore Creation to its balance. Those you met in Central Park were the ones that Hermes had gathered. But, Earth needs more than adventurers, more than the simple heroes of ages past, to whether this crisis. The people of Earth where long without Our guidance. We turned our attention to other matters and amusements and We were forgotten." A smoky bitter note had added to his words, but was tempered by a forgiving warmth. "Humanity has grown and changed in the most surprising ways in that time, but you were a lonely people. We have returned and We do not wish you to feel alone," he gestured to the darkened skies, "especially in the dark, anymore."

His hand traced over her cheek and she trembled in equal parts pleasure and fear. "This is where you and your voice, your serenity, can serve the gods." He leaned close to her, his breath tickling her skin. "Will you be my Voice in the world, Serenity, daughter of Demeter? Will you shepherd humanity through this long night as my emissary?"

Zeus

[z014]

Serenity did not remember saying yes, but what other answer could one give? Things moved swiftly and a bit strangely on Olympus. Zeus called for a bevy of nymphs to see to her, taking her to another room in the grand Palace of the Gods. They teased and styled her hair and face to be beautiful enough for the Voice of Zeus another set of the minorly divine spun clothes for her, ones that would travel with her from Olympus to Earth and back again as needed. Others whispered and sang to her as they all worked, telling her secrets her mind could not understand but that settled into her subconscious for when Zeus would choose to speak directly through her.

She was presented to a dizzying array of other gods, Olympians and those that attended on them, passed around like a particularly sparkly bauble for inspection. Her divine mother, met for the first time during this parade, kissed her gently on the forehead and whispered in her ear, "Do not fear, Serenity of the Voice, you were born for such things."

And then she was alone in the Hall with Zeus again. He pirouetted her, taking in the work that had been done, then kissed her lightly on the lips. She felt a charge in the kiss, something more than the notoriously promiscuous god's flirtation. "And now it is done. First, you shall address those gathered at the United Nations building in the United States. A press conference has been arranged," He was amused at this, she could tell, though she did not know Him well enough to understand His amusement at modern telecommunications. "You will tell the world who you are now and that you speak with My voice and my authority. Skepsi shall travel with you and tell you where to go from there. Also I have given you command over the Opados. They will attend your needs and be your companions." The minor goddess and the dozen or so nymphs named stepped silently into the Hall and bowed, first to Zeus and then to her.

He brought her hands to His lips and kissed them, "It is time."

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

A crowd had been gathering outside the United Nations building for hours now. It was four in the afternoon and still pitch-black from the sky, but electronic lights from the lamp posts, spot lights, and video cameras lit up the podium that had appeared on the green in front of the tall building at noon with a harsh glare. Serenity blinked and turned her face away for a moment to give her eyes time to adjust; the crowd hushed at first, awed by the sudden appearance of nearly a dozen women - all clad in sheer finery and most obviously inhuman from their beauty - and one solitary mortal man who looked very confused for the moment, then they pressed inward with shouted questions. It was chaos and cacophony for a moment, and then Serenity spoke.

"Please, calm down." The crowd quieted again, now eager in silence. She blinked, gathered her scattered wits; her brother had managed to wend his way next to her and gave her hand an encouraging squeeze behind the podium. He didn't have a clue what was going on, but he'd found his sister and until she explained, that would have to be enough. Serenity cleared her throat and started again, "My name is Serenity and I am the Voice of Zeus on Earth. The gods have heard our prayers and our fears and they are seeking Apollo and Helios, to find why they have abandoned their duties and left our world in darkness."

"Apollo and Helios are why the sun is missing?" some brave soul shouted from near the back of the crowd.

"All gods have their place in the Cosmos," Serenity explained as well as she could. "Apollo and Helios are responsible for lighting the world each day. The star that is our sun is still there, but without the guidance of the gods of Light and the Sun, the Earth does not experience sunlight. These two gods have been unaccounted for for the past week, and so we have been left in darkness during the day." She took a deep breath and pressed on before another question could interrupt her. "Zeus has sent Hermes to gather the twelve brightest mortal souls in the world to discover where Apollo and Helios are and return them to their heavenly tasks. Take heart and know that the gods are with us during this frightening time. The world will be returned to its natural balance as quickly as possible; until then, have faith and take this time to reach out to one another. No one should be left alone in the darkness."

There was an expectant pause, but instead of continuing Serenity stepped down from the podium. Skepsi, the golden-haired goddess that kept watch of Zeus' thoughts, nodded to her and motioned for her, Nishthavana, and the bevy of nymphs to follow her. "You did well to begin, Serenity," she said quietly, her words cutting through the din of reporters speaking into cameras or demanding more answers from the flock of politicians that had emerged from the building when they had all appeared. "Now we must go to the places that cannot hear these broadcasts. We will start in Russia-"

"I don't speak Russian!" Serenity squeaked in a moment of fear.

Skepsi chuckled, not entirely unkindly. "You will when you speak as the Voice. Language is not a barrier to our great Father." As they were walking, Serenity noticed that the scenery was not keeping pacing with them - well, more accurately, they were not keeping pace with it. It felt as though they were still walking on the sidewalk at the UN building, but there was ocean rushing beneath her feet and she could already dimly see the outline of European shoreline ahead of them. Skepsi glanced at her brother and informed him, "You, mortal, have been granted a place by your sister's side. We are here to see to her duties as the Voice of Zeus. You are to keep her safe from other mortal dangers or distractions. Do you understand?"

Nishthavana swallowed hard and nodded, pulling closer to Serenity. "Ye-yes, ma'am."

"Excellent," the goddess replied and motioned to the small Russian town they had arrived in, a crowd gathered around a small stage the same way the reporters had been gathered in the US. "They are waiting for you, Serenity."

The same flutter of fear and excitement that had always put butterflies in her stomach before a performance passed through her. She stepped up onto the stage. "Moye imya Spokoystviya i ya golos Zevsa na Zemle..."

Pictures

Serenity's dress, jewelry, and hairstyle.

Skepsi