Isis slammed through the atmosphere like a nuclear war head. She and the rest of the few hundred gods and goddesses were on a mission. After Zeus had taken her, Athena, Ma’at and later on Durga to Mount Olympus, it was there she discovered that was the only place close enough to the heavens for what was left of a long running era of godhood to seek refuge. She had no idea that this place had still existed; or at least what was left of it. She had only been to Olympus once in her entire existence and that was during the first beginning of mankind, which was some time before the Flood. Located well beyond the mountain peak of Greece, conveniently named after the kingdom of the gods, for generations it had been an oasis of splendor and indulgence. Solid gold Roman relief pillars atop gloriously built Roman styled architecture surrounded by magnificent gardens underneath a clear blue sky. Pools of crystal clear water where the last remaining water nymphs basked in all of their naked glory, completely unashamed of their ethereal beauty; and where Aphrodite had entertained many of her male suitors from both the heaven and the earth realms. Now, all that remained were the pools with the crystal clear water that had once been marked as the site of pure pleasure. Mount Olympus had fallen into a desolate state that reminded Isis of the Underworld, the Afterlife as her people had called it. No longer were there green pastures, or vineyards that stretched on for miles. The only thing that had withstood the obvious onslaught that had taken place was Zeus’ palace, which was an exact replica of the Temple of Zeus on earth. The only difference between the earthly one and the one in which Zeus resided, was that this one was constructed from pure marble, while the humans who had constructed their version used limestone and stucco. “What happened?” She had asked upon arrival. “We were under siege,” Zeus informed her. “Our fathers are angry. Tartarus has opened, which means that those that haven’t been extinguished by Kitara’s sword or simply faded away into nothingness will be captured and dragged down to the very pits of Tartarus to face a horrific death. Several of them, our fathers appeared bringing hellfire and brimstone and brandishing weaponry that even I had yet to see and slaughtered many of us, while others were captured. Most of us were able to escape, but those that weren’t…”Zeus had looked away, sadness melting away that stone expression he normally carried, exposing a vulnerability that Isis was sure he had not wanted her to see. “I have never experienced anything like this since the days of Cronos…” “I remember Cronos…a titan. You were very brave then. I remember you had called upon Osiris to render assistance but later on you found out you didn’t need his help.” “Ah yes,”Zeus said. “Defeating Cronos had been the high point of all of our existences. At the time, we had all thought that defeating the titans and sending them into the very pits of Tartarus would be the end of any threat to us gods; that we could live on and wallow in the worship of humans for eternity. We never believed that our fathers would turn us like they have and for what? What is worth immortality when immortality has an end? Now we have to flee like vermin. And what makes this all the more infuriating is that at least humans, despite their obvious short comings, and their desires for pleasure and inflicting pain and misery on each other, there has always been someone or something that they could pray to; to look to for guidance and assistance during the time of need. Humans are far more blessed than we are. All we have is immortality at the end of the day. They have something else we don’t have.” Isis looked at Zeus, confused and wondering where all of this was coming from. She couldn’t help but ask ,”And what is that?” Zeus turned to look at her. “Hope. They have hope. And a chance for redemption. Because of who and what we are, redemption is not something we can dare to ask for let alone dream of.” “We WILL survive this.” Isis said emphatically. “That is something we have yet to determine. The only reason why you are even here, still standing among us Isis is because of the knowledge that you possess, just so we are clear. That long awaited fight with Kitara that you took to the public has set a series of irreversible events in motions and you triggered something that was not supposed to happen…at least not now. We were supposed to fight on the side of our fathers when the time came against those who seek to destroy us. And now, as we sit on the edge of extinction I can only hope that you now understand the damage that you have caused and what is at stake. I hope that what you have said is not a lie and that there will be no more acts of betrayal from you. Now, go to the last remaining pleasure pool and recharge yourself there. I will address everyone that is left. As soon as the sun is completely set, we have to act. We don’t have much time.” And with that Zeus left Isis standing in the middle of what had been considered the most beautifully constructed palace in history, alone with her thoughts.  And now as she and the two hundred or so gods and goddesses left, came down hard on humanity, causing natural disasters and leaving chaos and turmoil in their paths, they rode hard from all four corners of the earth towards a battle that they knew most of them were going to surely lose. Poseidon, Hades, Thor, Selene, Dahaka, Athena, Balor, just to name a few all from varying ancient cultures who had managed survive the test of time, sent down hail, bolts of lightning, erupted “sleeping volcanos”, sending humanity into a fearful frenzy. Poseidon, king of the oceans, rose from the seas causing multiple tsunamis drowning small islands across the Atlantic and into the Pacific. Isis sent black lightning bolt charges down, decimating farmland and crops, buildings, highways collapsed as she blew through bridges with powerful gusts of wind. She was going to succeed, even if it meant she used every ounce of strength that she had. It was now or never. Just as the gods approached the outskirts of the White House, the whirlwind of chaos they were creating ceased. It was as if there was a collective knowledge that this earthly version of Olympus, was to remain untouched, and that is when Isis realized that they possibly have made a very foolish and fatal mistake. “This is a very large hell mouth”, she said dryly. “This place is heavily guarded by our father’s minions. If we make ourselves visible, in light of recent events,” Isis said nervously. “They know we are here. We just cannot destroy this unholy architecture. It sits directly on top of a pentagram from which our fathers draw some of their power,” Athena said, having appeared next to Isis. “It has its own barrier to which none of us can cross.” “Our brethren grow impatient,” Zeus said, appearing out of the ether. “It is now or never. This city, just as that Potential is ours for the taking!” “I don’t think so!” came a familiar and quickly approaching voice from behind them. In a menacing ball of white light, blasting across the sky, neither Zeus, Athena or Isis had enough time to react as Kitara slammed into them, knocking them out of the sky, sending them spiraling down to the earth. They hit the earth with a large impact, leaving an eight foot deep crater in the middle of a busy street. Kitara was up and out in an instant with Isis hot on her heels. People rushed out of their houses, and from the local business establishments to see what the hell just happened. And with the now visible Athena and Zeus staggering to their feet, the atmosphere became thick with panic. The other Destroyers, Sage, Naomi and Celeste emerged from their own energy folds into the panic stricken crowds. Police and fire sirens rang in the background, as Naomi immediately went to work on one of the demonic deities from ancient cultures. He was as grotesque looking as they come with his bulging large eyes, green scaly skin and multiple arms and legs. With her mighty Sword of Babylon in her grip she went to work, slicing off apendages and eventually decapitating him. How are we going to completely destroy these demons without Oblivion? If someone starts praying over this creature again, he could rise. Naomi said mentally to Kitara who was busy blocking Isis’ black bolt blasts. Just fight. You put down Osiris with that same sword and he hasn’t been called forth yet. They are all nothing bust distractions anyways. I have to put down Isis, Kitara mentally shot back to her. Zeus and Sage were going to blows, Zeus having gained the upper hand having yanked Sage by her thick red hair and flung her through the window of a local coffee shop. The patrons ran out screaming in terror while one of the baristas kneeled down by the semiconscious slayer and tried to render assistance by taking one of the clean cloths she used to wipe the tables to apply pressure on her bleeding forehead. “You’re gonna be alright,” the 20 something brunette said. “Help is coming.” Sage moaned in response. “Sage!” both Celeste and Naomi cried out, but both were too busy fighting off a string of deities who had turned their attentions to the fleeing humans. Celeste clapped her hands and instantly a portal opened up. “Help us!” she called into it as several Aztec and Incan warrior spirits dressed in their traditional warrior garbs emerged. All of them tall and very well built, with gleaming bronze skin and hardened expressions rushed into battle with their battle axes and bow and arrows onto the electrified streets of D.C..  Kitara still locked in battle with Isis who had increased in strength had decided to use her dark magic on the innocent human population. In between sending out dark lightning bolts at Kitara, she reached down and placed her hand on the frozen asphalt and summoned forth thousands of spitting cobras from the ground. Out of nowhere they appeared, angry and hissing; ready to attack anything as they slithered into the crowds of people. The screams of terror and chaos was deafening. Oblivion, what am I to do? She thought to her angelic friend as she sent out white light blasts in the direction of the snakes. She knew she could not allow herself to get too distracted, Jose and the rest of humanity’s life was at stake. Hold on Kitara. Michael is coming. Call on nature to help you. Kitara closed her eyes, focusing all of her energies inward. Michael is coming. Call on nature to help you, she heard Oblivion’s voice say again in her mind as the visual images of the crystal pyramid, hidden deep underneath the waters of the Bermuda triangle, that white light source of infinite power. It was a part of her; coursing through her veins; she could feel the white hot intensity ignite at her core. She could feel all of her Chakra points light up, her irises turning platinum silver. Her long thick locks levitating off of her shoulders as she began to ascend. “Sage!” she heard her sisters cry out. She could feel the destruction the gods were wreaking over the city. Buildings burned as people flocked to the streets for cover; several of the most wicked deities such as Balor and Thoth had captured several humans, having had them bound and gagged preparing to take them down beneath the earth’s crust for several rounds of torture. Police and various other agencies of law enforcement had taken the streets, making futile attempts to shoot down what could not die in the physical sense. “Somebody please help us!” a woman carrying a small child screamed as she ran from another one of those strange looking goddesses with multiple arms and a menacing long tongue. “Kali,” Kitara grumbled underneath her breath. Naomi, however was the case, in hot pursuit of one of the oldest and longest lived deities in the world, Sword of Babylon raised, righteous indignation and rage combined with the adrenalin rush that fueled her. Naomi was a blur; she was the wind in the air, the chill of night, her eyes perfectly adapted to darkness she launched herself full throttle at the demon goddess, slicing off one of her many arms, bringing the goddess’ pursuit of the woman and baby to an immediate halt. Kitara saw all of this through her mind’s eye, as shr continued to draw strength from the remaining energy reserves from Atlantis. She wondered why she could never do this before, but then she quickly realized that had become entirely too dependent on Oblivion to get the job done. And then she saw Sage’s body being lifted into an ambulance, a brunette was with her, speaking to one of the EMT’s. Noooo, Kitara thought to herself. And that is when she snapped. Raising her arms to the heavens she sent up a massive white light beam that hit the sky with a sonic blast. Isis took the moment as an opportunity to escape. She could sense the Potential’s close proximity to one of those townhomes in the very short distance. Athena appeared next to her in an instant, her Greecian robbing flapping against the cold air. “Shall we?” Athena said with a smile. Isis said nothing more as they vanished into thin air making their way to Naomi’s house.

Kitara knew the instant Isis had disappeared, but Atlantis had taken over and she couldn’t stop what had begun. Against the darkness she was a living lighthouse, and that is when the gates of heaven literally opened up. A battalion of angels, beings draped in gold light poured out into the atmosphere by the thousands. A familiar face, the same face who first gave her his hand with a message from On High nodded in her direction, as they collectively unleashed a heavenly onslaught on the gods and goddesses who had spent eons turning humanity away from the truth. Zedkiel said nothing as he followed his brothers into battle, golden wings spread, shimmering against the darkness. It was amazing to finally see him in full battle mode. Using her mind’s eye she scanned what was going on down below, and there was nothing but pure chaos. Humans were running, and ducking for cover, but to their avail, there was nowhere to hide. The White House was on lock down, the streets were running rampant with terrified civilians and officers; gunshots rang about, cries for help deafened the series of honking of cars that rang throughout the city, and now that the state was in a state of panic, the military had been called to action. It broke Kitara’s heart to see several young men, of African descent get ripped apart by another Hindu deity of death, with a black tongue and yellow eyes, and rows upon rows of sharp teeth. And even after feasting off of all of that, the fiendish creature was still hungry for more. It tore her soul to shreds to see a young Hispanic woman get pulled by her ankles by a snake like deity from Aztec tombs, wrap it’s coils around her tightly. Its entire body was that of a python but it possessed the head of a human, who wickedly expressed a large toothy grin as it expanded its jaws to take a bite. The woman had already turned blue from lack of oxygen and was on the brink of losing consciousness when Michael the Archangel, unsheathed his sword and with one quick swing decapitated the demon, whose coils immediately unraveled from the young woman. Michael quickly scanned the young woman whose life energy had yet to leave her body before taking off into the air again after another goddess who had long ago escaped his grasp. It was a shame that these very special beings of light could not be seen by the human eye other than by those who possessed the gift of “sight” and even that was limited. To some, there was nothing but busy white and gold orbs of light, fluttering about the scene leaving ash and gook in their wake. To others, there were illuminated sillouhettes of extremely tall men with no defining features other than large stature, and wings. Kitara remembered Queen Dahiya telling her in one of her final moments that when the world was coming to an end, they would only be able to see the darkness before they could accept the light. Kitara had no idea what she meant by that until now. Just send an army helicopter buzzed by sending firestorm of bullets in her direction. The bullets that whizzed by melted away from her light, and she wondered how long she would remain tapped into the Atlantean energy source. The pilots looked at her stunned and confused as to what to do next. She mouthed the words, “Go, home” hoping that they would take the hint and retreat, to which of course they did. Dozens of wicked deities were destroyed that day, and Kitara was glad that she didn’t have to do it alone. Her sisters, with the exeception of one, did an amazing job of holding their own, and of course all praise and glory be to the One Above who always remained true and steadfast in His word. He said she would never be alone and she wasn’t. Zedkeil, after what seemed like an eternity appeared to her finally, covered in dirt and soot and said,” It is done. You have learned to harness the power that was once stolen from On High. There are only but a few that remain. Go.” And just like that he and his brethren ascended back into the heavens in a flash. Kitara allowed herself to let go of the power that took hold of her and she as she plummeted to the ground from hundreds of feet midair, one name quickly came to mind. “Isis!”