[A/N]: Second Bonus chapter for Goal 1; Next Goal is 500 PowerStones for TWO more Bonus Chapters
Domino blinked as her surroundings suddenly changed from one moment being suspended thousands of feet above the Atlantic held in FURY's crushing grip with yellow energy coiling for a killing blow, to the next moment finding strong arms wrapped around her while warmth flooded through her chest where Tether's connection pulsed with familiar comfort.
She didn't panic. The sensation was too familiar and too safe. Even her body recognized him before her mind caught up.
"You're back, babe?" Her voice came out weak, strained from the beating she'd taken. Her healing factor was already working overtime though, visible wounds closing with each passing second while bruises faded from purple to yellow to nothing.
Jay looked down at her, and for just a fraction of a second something in his eyes was different, older somehow, carrying weight that hadn't been there before. But then his expression shifted to that silly lopsided smile he reserved just for her, the one that said everything would be okay even when the world was burning.
"Yep, I'm back. And I bring gifts!" He gestured toward the sky.
Domino followed his gaze and saw them, golden motes of light falling from the heavens like snow, drifting down across the entire visible sky where each one pulsed with warmth, with life, with promise. They descended slowly, beautifully, painting the world in gentle gold.
"Wow." Domino's exhausted brain tried to process what she was seeing. "She golden showered the whole planet?"
Jay sighed, the sound carrying affectionate exasperation. "Really, Dom? That's what you're going with?"
"What? Too soon?" She grinned despite the pain, despite everything. Because that's what they did. They found humor in impossible situations.
Jay's expression grew more serious, his hand coming up to cup her face gently. "I know we talked about me worrying too much, but that's FURY down there. And I'm sorry, but you can't handle it alone. Not this version. So how about we switch?"
Domino's smile softened as she understood what he wasn't saying, that he'd seen her getting torn apart through whatever cosmic awareness he'd tapped into, that watching her nearly die had probably aged him ten years, that he needed to do this, to face the thing that had hurt her.
"Alright, you're up, partner." She raised her hand for a high five. "Give that clunker hell."
Their palms met with a satisfying smack, the contact sending warmth through both of them in a moment of connection before Jay had to leave again.
But before he could teleport them to safety, Domino grabbed his arm. "Wait. What happened? And what's with this light show?"
Jay's mind flashed back to his most anticipated meeting, the conversation that had changed everything.
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Gaea's Domain
Jay had walked past the rainbow portal that the Ancient One opened for him, stepping through the threshold between worlds, and what greeted him on the other side stole his breath completely.
The first thing he felt was sunlight that wasn't harsh but gentle, passing through the entire plane with a quality unlike anything he'd experienced as it illuminated greenery so vast, so diverse, so impossibly varied that even his enhanced mind would need months to categorize each species individually. Plants that shouldn't exist together thrived side by side. Trees from every era of Earth's history grew in harmony while flowers bloomed in colors that had no names.
And the fauna, creatures exotic and pure moved through this paradise where each lived in perfect harmony with the others, predator and prey existing in balance where the cycle of life was visible but never cruel. Everything had its place, its purpose, its role in the grand design.
The air itself was intoxicating, so pure and sweet that Jay felt lightheaded like breathing pure oxygen after a lifetime in smog, and every breath filled his lungs with vitality, with life itself.
Jay stood transfixed by this dimension's beauty that outweighed even Asgard's golden halls, surpassed Nidavellir's forge, made everywhere else seem pale by comparison until he nearly forgot why he'd come here in the first place.
Until a voice sweet as honey called to him.
"I hope you like the place, child."
Jay startled, spinning around, and what he saw made him freeze completely.
The woman before him was the most astounding being he'd ever encountered with a face that was a striking image of the maternal word made manifest, every culture's concept of mother given form. She was stunning in her own right, impossibly beautiful, but not a single ulterior thought passed through Jay's mind. The only thing he felt was warmth and safety, exactly like a newborn child feels from its mother.
[Image here]
Something fundamental in his soul recognized her for what she was.
Jay quickly regained his senses, bowed his head, and used his hands to greet her with a traditional namaste. "भूदेवी।" (Goddess Earth)
The woman surrounded by flora and fauna, her hair a mix of green and blue representing the planet itself, was a giant in all terms as befitting her station and power, standing easily twenty feet tall with her presence filling the space without overwhelming it.
She called gently, her voice carrying across the distance. "It's been a long time since someone called me by that name. Come here, my child."
Jay tried to crack a joke to ease his nerves and set the mood as he walked toward her, careful not to overstep even the smallest insects or saplings. "Technically, I'm not your child since I'm not from this world."
Gaea smiled warmly as she placed her giant hand on Jay's head, ruffling his hair with care that belied her size. "You're wrong in this case. Any and everyone who walks this land are my children. It's a mother's nature to look after even strays, as she looks after her children."
Jay shuddered suddenly, hearing the maternal note in those words, the same ones he'd heard from his Dadi, his grandmother, in another life that felt both distant and immediate. The loss hit him fresh again, the memory of love unconditional and pure.
He sighed, emotion thick in his throat. "I'll be blessed to be your son."
Gaea's smile widened, genuine pleasure radiating from her. "So what does the great Power Broker need from me, which even you can't achieve with your awesome powers?"
Jay smiled as he formed sentences carefully, mindful not to offend the literal will and representation of the planet. "Nothing is hidden from you, Lady Gaea. You must have seen my struggles and victories. And you must have also seen my limitations, whether they be metaphysical or philosophical."
Gaea made a face that Jay could swear was a pout, though he didn't dare put those thoughts to words. "Even still, my child, you haven't answered my question."
Jay let his heart speak, emotion bleeding into his voice. "Lady Gaea, I have this friend, Peter Parker. He's just a kid, but in my world, he grows up to be the greatest hero of all time. But even then, his story is full of tragedy. Whether it be his father figure, his first love, his firstborn, his first marriage, everything would be stripped away from him, leaving him a shell of a man. The only thing holding him together is his responsibility."
He paused, gathering his thoughts and his pain. "Whenever he's starting to rebuild his life, that same responsibility of saving someone always comes in between. Something similar happened in this world. Even though I made sure to help him with his Parker luck, his uncle was still in mortal danger. And that too from the lucky quarter I gifted him."
Jay's voice cracked slightly. "And then the breakdown the poor kid had, the way he blamed himself, and his questions, they tore through my heart. Even I couldn't find answers for him. He asked, 'Why do bad things always happen to me? Why do people always need a hero to save them?'"
He looked up at Gaea, meeting her eyes directly. "So I ask you the same thing. As a mother, why let such things happen to your children?"
Jay saw Gaea suddenly smile, her expression shifting as she answered in the most soothing voice, completely different from both Lady Death and the Queen of Nevers. "Child, this world works on balance. A food chain needs to be followed for the sustained growth of life, which is my prime responsibility. Nobody is made equal, and everyone, after they've grown, is responsible for their own actions. You must, of course, know of Karma."
Jay, now unsatisfied, spoke with more intensity. "That's a half-baked answer, and you know it. You claim yourself to be the mother of all, but how can a mother be so partial? How can you favor humans over other animals? How can even among those humans, some like Jamie and Jim are born with powers equal to or greater than your own?"
His voice rose, passion overtaking caution. "How could your heart not break when you see common people out there losing their lives to just mere actions of these powered juggernauts? Why do they need people like Peter to make sacrifices of their childhood and life?"
Gaea, ever the sweet mother, took Jay's words as those of a curious child rather than being offended. "Child, tell me, if everyone were to be made equal, what would you eat? The food you ate last night was made from a poor chicken's loss of life, whose whole life was spent trapped in a cage, its fate already decided to be slaughtered for your consumption."
She gestured around them. "What of the trees you cut away and animals you displaced when building your home in the Savage Land? And you, my child, are the most favored by the mark of the One Above All itself. Not everyone can be the same. Such a world would soon stagnate. And I too have my responsibilities as an Elder Goddess."
Jay found no rebuttal, could only swallow his frustration as the logic was sound, even if it hurt to accept.
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