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FOUR | THE PERFECT PUNCHING BAG

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APOLLOS DIDN'T NOTICE it first, but his hair suddenly grew longer after his conversation with Arishem. It returned to its original state. The Eternal had his hair cut in 1989 to blend in more with the humans and to look more neat and presentable. Though he was incapable of evolution, that didn't mean he didn't want to look attractive in front of everybody.

To be honest, he was pretty damn confident with his looks. He knew he could have anyone on their knees with just a wink, yet when Natasha came into his life, he had never been more anxious.

Apollos leant close to his window, observing the beauty of Earth from above. The clouds before moved constantly, flowing as sheets hundreds of feet apart, yet giving the appearance of one layer below. It reminded him of the time he was in the Red Room facility with Natasha and her former family. The facility supported at least three heavy transport aircraft on a landing platform and maintained a stable position at high altitude. It was the reason why no one detected them because they stayed high up in the clouds.

But, they were going to bring them down now once and for all.

Apollos, together with Natasha, Yelena, and Alexei were brought to the aerial platform, sedated as to not be aware of Red Room's exact location. But, he already knew about the plan to liberate the Widows and terminate the Red Room. After all, he was the one who warned Natasha that someone in their family called reinforcements after the little disaster during dinner. The assassin then confronted her adoptive mother and was able to draw the truth out of her. The three of them then together planned the downfall of the program while Yelena and Alexei talked in one of the bedrooms.

Now, the Eternal sat up from his bed, feeling a bit light-headed. Being knocked out unconscious wasn't something he expected would happen as he was almost immune to that, but well, with Melina and Natasha's combined combat skill, he was out like a light within a minute. He studied his white-walled cell room and pressed a button on his intercom, activating it. "Melina, are you there?"

The sliding glass door squeaked open and he stepped out just as he came face to face with Alexei and Natasha's clone. "How did you do that?" the tall, burly man spoke, confused.

"I designed these cells myself."

"What?" Alexei vocalized then exasperated another, "What?" when Melina removed the mask to reveal herself. "I bared my soul to you and it was just you the whole time?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so." Melina winced and held her finger up to silence him. "But wait, shh, I'm on comms with Yelena."

Apollos glanced at the other side of their cell rooms, tilting his head when he saw that there were almost no guards around. "Yelena, it's me. It's Mama." His intercom was filled with the affectionate, motherly voice of Melina and he smiled. The family dinner earlier didn't go well. A lot of things had been revealed that time and they affected Yelena so much. He attempted to comfort the younger girl, but he didn't know how so he let Alexei take over. "You have a two-inch blade concealed in your beltline."

"What? What are you going to do to me?"

"Outside right hip."

Groans, grunts, and pants later, Yelena was back into their comms, sounding more free than restrained. "You couldn't have told me sooner?" She complained like a child whose candy was taken away.

"Don't throw a fit. There wasn't time."

It was then that Alexei took the opportunity to speak up. He stepped away from them and pressed his index finger to his ear. "Okay, girls, I'm having trouble hearing you, but Natasha... there's something I need you to know." He began, remorse evident in his tone. "I need you to know that I'm sorry. No more excuses, okay? I gave my life for a cause. I thought I was being brave."

Melina interrupted his apology, "You don't have an earpiece."

"What?"

"Uh," Apollos swallowed, scratching the back of his head. How was he going to explain that he wasn't given one because his job was only to distract the Taskmaster. "Yelena can't hear you, Alexei. You don't have an earpiece."

"Why not?"

"Because it wasn't part of the plan." informed Melina knowingly.

"Oh, yeah? Well, what was the plan?"

Apollos craned his neck to search for their way out and once he caught sight of their exit, he smirked, "Bring all this shit to the ground."

The Eternal didn't have to elaborate how much he despised General Dreykov and his Red Room Academy. They took little girls all over the world -- children with dreams, hopes, aspirations in life -- conditioned them into being killers. To him, these girls were just weapons with no faces that he could just throw away, and this pissed off Apollos so badly. It was going to be an honor to terminate the Red Room.

"Come on, now." Alexei confronted Melina, spinning around to face her. They had been passing some hallways for a while now because the next part of the plan was to activate the landing protocol. "If we're just going to press buttons and hack computers..."

Apollos groaned slightly.

"I mean, I don't know. There's nothing for me to do. I want to... I want to break something."

It was then that the glass doors behind Alexei slid open and in came the Taskmaster. The immortal being tapped Melina's shoulder, signalling her that it was time to go. "Oh, you do?"

Taskmaster drew closer, his approaching footsteps heavy on the floor. "Oh, there is something you can break." the woman added, gesturing to the enemy behind them. Alexei inclined his head and crouched down to engage in a fighting stance. "Melina, if this is the last time that we..."

But, Apollos and Melina were already gone.

They left him alone to handle the Taskmaster, knowing fully well he would be able to distract him for a couple of minutes. They needed to be in the control room to descend the facility from the sky. Just as they were about to barge in the small confinement, Apollos paused in his tracks, sensing an incoming danger in Yelena's way. Not missing a second, he turned away and spoke into his intercom, "Yelena, you have something coming in your left."

A loud grunt and he finally heard Yelena's Russian accent. "Are you in the surveillance room?"

"No." Apollos followed Melina into the control room where they were about to hack their way into the system.

"Then, how did you know I was going to be attacked?"

"I can feel the future. More like sense it like that." he simplified his answer. There was a more elaborate and scientific explanation for it, but the Eternal was not in the mood to talk so big about it especially in their current situation.

"Oh, that's great! So, can you tell me if we're all going to die here?"

The Eternal sighed. "I'll warn you first if we are."

"You better or I'll -- Oh, shit! Gotta go, bro in law! Bye!"

"Bro in law? What?" Apollos repeated in confusion. What Earthly jargon was bro in law? The only word he could associate with it was Brother-in-law, but why the hell would Yelena call her that? He shook his head, chuckling. Natasha's younger sister reminded him so much of Sprite.

"Now, I know why Natasha insisted for you to come with me." remarked Melina, typing away manual codes into the computer as Apollos stood behind her. "It is impossible for Dreykov's greatest weapon to replicate your powers. Skills, yes. But, this... precognition. You'll know if I'll suddenly betray you all because I'm still somehow under Dreykov's control."

Apollos clasped his hands behind his back. Natasha did indeed tasked him to keep an eye on Melina in case something happens, but he wasn't going to tell that, of course. He believed the adoptive mother's will was strong. "She trusts you."

"Unfortunately," the woman breathed out. "I don't trust myself."

"I trust you." he admitted, certain of his words. "So do Natasha, Yelena, and Alexei. Everyone trusts you, Melina."

"How are you sure?"

"I just know."

It wasn't long after that they encountered a bump in their road for their computer suddenly shut down and they could no longer gain access. General Dreykov must've caught onto their plan and was planning to use the situation to his advantage. With this, Apollos and Melina crawled into the vents and exited on the propellers, attacking the patrolling guards without mercy. The Eternal watched as Melina shot the propeller engine, obliterating it completely. He blinked, once, twice, before finally registering that they were now going to crash.

"Was this part of the plan?" asked Apollos, following behind her as explosions occurred beside them.

"No."

"We're going to die."

"Did you sense that?"

"No."

"Then, we're not going to die yet." Melina, not missing a second, spoke into the intercom. "Yelena, slight change of plan. I completely demolished one of the engines and we are going into a controlled crash."

A bit of static. "Fantastic. I'm heading to the widows now."

"Apollos..."

The Prime Eternal snapped his head up, breaking his trip from memory lane. Standing in front of him was Sersi with a glass of water on hand. She offered it to him with a smile and he took it from her kindly, their fingers slightly brushing against each other. "I thought you might need some water to hydrate since you and Sprite have been drinking so much wine." she informed, her voice soft. One could already tell the immense amount of kindness in her heart by just looking into her eyes and listening to her voice.

His fingers flexed and trembled to their own beat, small flutterings that reminded him of the beating of a bird's wings in flight. Sersi was all about simplicity, making things simple for those around her, and encouraging them to relax and be content with what they had. Perhaps it was her inner beauty that illuminated her eyes and softened her features that made her skin sparkle so brightly. He couldn't help but smile and laugh along with her, even if it was only on the inside. Being in her presence, regardless of the season, felt like being warmed by summer rays.

Truth was, Sersi was Apollos' first love and they were a couple for seven hundred years until he sensed her growing feelings for Ikaris. By then, he let her go because he believed that when you love someone, you set them free.

"I wanted to, uh, catch up with you." confessed his fellow Eternal and past lover, her eyes fluttering over to Ikaris and Sprite who were both asleep. "It's been thousands of years since I saw you last. How are you?"

Apollos scoffed lightly, his index finger circling the rim of his glass. He once again remembered Natasha and her questions of concern to him. She would often ask him how he was. "Right now? I feel like shit. This plane is taking too long. The Avengers' quinjet travels faster than this."

Sersi chuckled. "So, you really interfered, huh? Why?"

"It's kind of a long story."

"We have all night."

Apollos sighed, setting aside his glass. "I, uh, I fell in love..." he scratched his thick eyebrow. "I fell in love with something I forgot death could touch."

"A human..."

"And an Avenger." Apollos' glazed stare fluttered to the side as if he was going on a trance. He missed her so much. The scent of her fiery red hair whenever he would wake up beside her and her delicate hands entwined with his. Sometimes, he felt like he was living in a dream, one he didn't want to wake up anymore from. "The kindest, most caring, compassionate, strong-willed, and independent woman you'll ever meet. Natasha Romanoff."

"How did you two..."

"Meet? Long story short, I got involved in their conflict over the Sokovia Accords and then we met again in Budapest." He chuckled when he realized he pronounced the capital of Hungary wrong. Natasha would correct her very much if she heard him say it. "Budapest. We crossed paths there and it just -- it just started there."

Sersi smiled. "You loved her so much."

"Is it not obvious?" remarked Apollos, the corner of his lips quirking upwards as he remembered Natasha once again. "To the point that I know I will never love someone else the way I loved her."

"I'm so sorry you lost her."

"It was her choice to leave, but it's... it's painful, you know. I feel like I wasn't enough of a reason for her to choose to live." He recalled that day like it was yesterday. "Natasha was desperate to bring Yelena, her sister, back. She and Clint's family were among those who were dusted."

Sersi reached out to hold his hand and he squeezed her hand for support as tears welled up in his eyes. The wound was still fresh and he knew it would take a millennium before it would heal. A great sense of weariness swept over him, sucking his energy with it. Then, he shook his head, inhaling sharply. "Fuck, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for that."

"It's okay, Apollos. I'm sorry for bringing her up. Don't worry -- "

"No, uh, just... let's just -- uh, tell me about you. How are you? I was told you have a new partner? Dane Whitman, right?"

Sersi's lips licked her lips. "Yes, he's my partner. He's a scientist and a historian. Actually, he just asked to move in with him."

"And?"

"I said no."

"You should've said yes." Apollos retorted, wiping the hot tears that threatened to fall from his eyes earlier. He paused then in his movements, eyeing the charming olive skinned woman in front of him. "Please don't tell me you said no because you're considering going back with Ikaris."

"What? No, I -- "

"He left you alone for no reason, Sersi. Remember that."

At that, the Prime Eternal heard a grunt behind him. "I can hear you, you know."

Apollos tilted his head. "That was exactly the plan, Ikaris."

Just as his fellow Eternal stood up from his seat as if to challenge Apollos' statement, the human pilot emerged from the cockpit, hands inserted inside his pockets. "We've arrived at New Delhi, sir." declared the man, checking the whole situation. Apollos nodded. Finn James, his newly hired pilot, knew all about his immortality, but not of his Eternal origin. "Is there a problem?"

"It's okay, Finn. Thank you for flying us safely."

"Of course, sir. The plane's on auto-pilot. We'll be landing shortly."

Apollos stood up from his seat and just as he was about to follow Finn inside the cockpit to leave, Ikaris snatched his arm, keeping him in place. "I don't know what your problem with me really is, Apollos."

The current Prime Eternal smirked. "Want me to enumerate them all chronologically or alphabetically?"

The air was as thick as butter and the tension so sharp one could nearly cut it. Apollos raised one thick eyebrow, waiting for Ikaris to retaliate. He would gladly fight him and then and there to settle all his mounting anger with him. The Divine beings knew he had been looking for some outlet for his frustration.

Ikaris would be the perfect punching bag.

He clenched his fist, but Sersi reprimanded, "Apollos, Ikaris. Not now."

Apollos let out a slow controlled breath and felt Ikaris loosen his grip on his arm. With a sharp tug, the Eternal gathered himself and walked away like a clockwork soldier. He gave his shoulders a wiggle and lolled his head in a circle, letting his stride slacken to a more casual pace. His eyes moved with the alertness that came from heavy stress and his hands remained clenched by subconscious demand. "I'll deal with you after all this, Ikaris. I will." he proclaimed, shutting the cockpit door close.

"LEGEND OF IKARIS, seriously? Why not Legend of Apollos? I mean, my story's better." stated Apollos, strutting inside Kingo's movie set. His leather shoes whacked against the floor like dropping the book of judgement, over and over. The man was neatly dressed in a pressed suit, shined shoes and perfectly rolled-up sleeves. It was as if he was ready to take the world by storm.

The bright, beautiful film lights flashed across the set and Apollos finally removed his sunglasses to make himself known to the public. He confronted a short, stout man who greeted him with a warm smile. "Swagat hai!" He welcomed them in Hindi, clasping his hands.

Ikaris and Sprite glanced at Sersi and Apollos.

Apollos began to introduce himself in Hindi. "I am Paul Vernon -- "

"I know who you are." interrupted Karun, grinning excitedly. "You are the great and mighty Apollos. I am Karun Patel, Kingo's valet. It's truly an honor to be in the presence of the great Eternals." He acknowledged the rest of Apollos' companions, his accent had such a playful tune, as if he was totally starstruck and in the Prime Eternal's opinion, why wouldn't he be? Karun was currently face to face with the Earth's first heroes. "Woah, so it's true, Kingo had always said you're a natural superstar. It's like you're made for movies!"

Apollos smirked, appreciating the valet's enthusiasm. "Thank you, Karun."

A bell rang, reverberating across the room, cutting the dancing film scene. "Cut! Okay, everyone, that was good. But, we could do ten percent better." Kingo announced to his co-actors, congratulating them for a job well done. He patted their backs and shook their hands, grateful for their active participation. Once he was out of the spotlight and caught them standing by, he laughed. "My friends from college are here! Hello, boss one!" He hugged Apollos tightly then proceeded to do the same to Ikaris. "Boss two! Perfect timing!

Kingo wrapped his arm around the tall Eternal's shoulder. "Oh, Apollos! You're here! I've missed you, my friend! Everyone, welcome to the set of..." he paused then spoke in Hindi. "Legend of Ikaris! I'm playing you! You like the costume?"

Honestly, Kingo and Apollos were such great friends that even after they all parted ways, the current Prime Eternal took it upon himself to watch all of his friend's movies. He supported him in the path he chose by attending the premieres and witnessing them all in the theatres. He never missed one as he believed this was his way to show his support.

Ikaris blinked in surprise as if he had been struck by lightning. "We need to talk." urgently stated he.

"Tell the director I have some notes for him..."

"We need to talk to you in private." Sprite pointed to her right as a sign that Karun must not be around when they discussed things, but Kingo only brushed the matter off.

"Oh, Karun, he's worked with me for fifty years. I trust him completely." He then chuckled. "Oh, actually, when we first met, he thought I was a vampire, and he tried to stake me through the heart."

Karun chortled, apologetic. "I have apologized so many times."

"Not quite enough times." quipped Kingo. "Very close, though. I'll let you know." He unwrapped his arm around Apollos' shoulder and stepped in between Sersi and Ikaris. "Oh, I have to get ready for the next scene. Come to my tent, we'll talk there."

Kingo resumed his talk as he strolled over to his vanity mirror. Sersi and Apollos squinted his eyes, wanting to get a word in. "You guys are gonna love the next scene. I come in on a wire 'cause, you know, I can't fly." He shrugged. "We're going to shoot your fight! Yes, both of you here in this movie are rivals! The mighty Ikaris battles the ferocious Apollos! It's going to be intense!" He gesticulated his arms like how he would act in the action scene. "I was inspired by your clash in Babylon! Wait, are we getting back together?"

"We need to talk." Sersi firmly repeated Ikaris' words.

Apollos raised his hand to stop Sersi for a moment. "Wait, I wanna know, who's going to win that battle?"

Kingo sat down on his chair and picked up an eyeliner, tracing the rim of his eyes. "Of course, it's Ikaris. He's the protagonist."

Apollos frowned. "I'm going to hate this movie. Change the plot now."

"What? I cannot -- "

"It's not accurate. It's blasphemy. I never lost any battle against this guy."

Kingo tsked, shaking his head. "Unfortunately, my friend. It's already been written plus I've been waiting for the day the world learns the true identity of the Shadow Warrior."

As if Sprite finally had enough of the pointless conversation, she butted in the, "Ajak's dead."

This revelation ultimately caught Kingo's attention and he set aside the eyeliner in shock. His eyes darkened with worry and his heart looked like it had lurched in his throat. It was as if fear shimmered through his body as Ikaris continued, "She was killed. It was a Deviant."

Apollos hung his head low, feeling sympathetic with Kingo's dread since he felt it too in his office when his fellow Eternals came in. He was going to leave the life he knew and loved to fulfill his original mission. He placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "I know how much you love what you are doing, Kingo, but the Deviants are back. We don't know how many there are."

Kingo swallowed.

"You need to come with us."