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The Life and Tales of Janus (MCU/Eternals)
Chapter 3: A plan forming (1)

Chapter 3: A plan forming (1)

Time: 4900 BCE. Location: Mesopotamia.

Despite spending decades researching the Enternals' body composition, Janus made little progress in his quest to understand their physical makeup. There were a variety of factors contributing to this. The first was that his drones were unable to see beyond their protective skin layer. After all, the technology was developed under the supervision of their Celestial Overlord, who would not have been so careless with the tools he provided for the Eternals. Second, he was unable to dissect himself or his clones on purpose, though this was not due to a lack of effort on his behalf. His initial trials were interrupted whenever he considered examining the inner workings of his own arm by something within himself, almost instinctively pulling his thoughts away from the act itself. It was as if something had taken hold of him and influenced his decisions.

Despite his best efforts, he was unable to break free from the mental compulsion for years. The closer his surgical knife got to his skin, the stronger the demand became. When Janus was finally able to draw blood from his arm, his body automatically reacted by recoiling and shutting down. His duplicates were out for days, which brought much attention from his companions and the humans alike. Janus apologized and briefly blamed the incident on his Deviant research. The Eternals were not persuaded, but they decided to let him go because there were no long-term consequences. Ajak kept tabs on him for months before calling it quits since she couldn't keep track of all of his clones.

Back to the compulsion, Janus assumed it was an automatic defense, of sorts, placed to avoid self-harm or research onto themselves. Moreover, Eternals were incredibly durable. It was rare for them to get injured. Therefore, all he could collect were some samples of blood, skin, and muscle tissues from the crew, mainly Ikaris, in various fights against the Deviants.

It was mind-numbing for Janus to find out that his mind was being controlled and that some of his actions were not his own. He was enticed with all his powers, new settings, and the possibilities of immortal life that he rarely thought about his purpose nor why he was sent here. 'Just a pawn, huh?' Janus thought. He believed himself different, superior somehow, due to his knowledge of the future. However, he was still just a servant to the Celestial and might be another chess piece to whoever sent him here. The train of thoughts depressed him yet, it brought him clarity. He felt a sense of comradery with the Eternals. Janus didn't want to purposely harm them in any way for his research due to his emotional connections with his companions. The thought of spending millennia alone was not comforting to Janus. Harmony was valuable.

He had thoughts of sending one of his clones to fight against a Deviant so it could get injured. However, if he was to die, Janus had no idea how it would affect his own mind if a part of himself were to be terminated. Moreover, Deviants could gain sentience from consuming him and acquiring some of his abilities. It was not a risk he was willing to take, not yet.

From the limited resources he found, Janus compared the abundance of data he took from the Deviants. Eternals' cells were mere camouflage. There were no movements, no cell divisions, no deaths, and yet he and those like him could feel pain. The cells might as well be inorganic materials. Janus theorized that the actual mechanical parts were much more profound in their bodies, bones, and organs, if they had any. Although, they could consume food like regular mortals. They didn't need to, but the five senses were present. 'How does that work?' He had little understanding of the machinery side of the equation, which resulted in one of his duplicates spending most of his time listening and learning from Phastos. It was not hard to do so since Phastos was always proud of his inventions. The man could talk for days on end about the pieces of machinery and how they worked. Janus was often found close by, listening to his explanations. Standing in a room on the Domo with Phastos, Janus stood quietly, listening to the man's explanation about his most recent design. The scattering golden blueprint zoomed in and out to highlight each individual part.

"Now see, this one here, I called it the chariot. Simple enough design, right? Now the metals part might be tricky, but I think I can get Ajak to approve teaching them metal works." The excitement in his voice was contagious.

"I'm afraid she won't approve of your invention. They just barely started working with stones. I doubt metalwork is the plan anytime soon." Janus replied with a forever stilled face.

"Alright. So no metal. How about this one? It's a wooden carriage. They can attach it to horses. It will help them travel." Phastos tried to pitch another of his ideas to the man in purple armor.

"That's a maybe. Still, I'm not sure if Ajak will accept it just yet. The details are quite intricate for their current development." Nevertheless, Janus didn't want to entirely shoot down the idea.

"I'll take a maybe any day." Phastos hummed in excitement.

"Why do you think we aren't allowed to create our own constructs? Your ideas are brilliant. There is no harm in making prototypes for these designs to be used only by ourselves." Janus had learned that they had a restriction on creating devices for their own uses. In one of his visits to Phastos, he had hoped that their immortal engineer could design a new version of his drones, free from Arishem's limitations, which came with a polite refusal and a quick, polite refusal.

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"Ajak said that Arishem feared our technologies would fall into the humans' hands. It would be destructive." He waited for a few seconds then replied, but Janus could see the question playing havoc in the man's mind.

"Is that so?" He replied. It was ridiculous to think that the Eternals would let their own devices fall in the hands of men. Even more so if Arishem thought the humans could forcefully take them away from them. 'So why?' His best guess was to minimize the growth of the Eternals. Technology itself is a kind of evolution process. The more they studied it, the closer they were to defy the all-powerful Celestial.

"What's going on with the humans? Your designs are mainly focused on vehicles and transportations lately. Did I miss anything?" Janus changed the subject.

"You didn't know? With your duplicates and drones, I thought you would know by now." Phastos gave him a puzzled look.

"I have been… preoccupied with my research." Janus gave a general statement without going into the details.

"Ah yes, I guess few can break your concentration when you are deep into your work. The settlement had grown so much. Some of the mortals are unhappy with the current leading family. They planned to break away from the community and establish another village to the North." Phastos replied.

"That makes sense. I should probably go see if there's any need for my help." With Janus's comment, another clone split off towards the entrance of the Domo. Phastos just nodded, used to the other Eternal's antics. Janus-two kept saying, "Please continue. I am curious about what else you have in store."

On his way, Janus-two saw Thena and Druig standing near a window, staring at the village below. The Domo had been hovering over the town for a century now. The humans believed it was the home of the gods, which was true. Ajak mentioned that their presence was crucial for now, but they would find the right location to hide the ship in the future. 'I could dally a little bit.' Noticing him walking towards them, the two turned to Janus, gave him a nod, and returned to their conversation.

"I don't see why I couldn't just will them to stop. Having another faction of humans might bring chaos and conflict in the future." Druig said with his brows furrowed. His hands were folded behind his back, grasping at each other.

"While I care little about human dealings, having more human colonies in the region will change the attention of the Deviants. So far, this settlement has been a perfect trap for them." Thena added in. Both of them looked at Janus for his input.

With his new understanding of their chains, Janus believed they should let the humans be to their own accords for now. Humanity breeds war and death but also hope and beauty. He had hoped to change the future against humanity's worst atrocities, but he wanted to let them free of shackles for now.

"I believe we should let them grow. I understand your concerns, Druig, but that is their freedom. Free to make their own decisions, no matter who it affects. Besides, Prime Ajak would be furious if you do so." He directed towards Druig, who turned away in annoyance at the situation.

Janus placed a hand on his chin and thought about Thena's comment. Having the Deviants' focus diverging from here would be a problem. 'Ajak was adamant about them staying together. However, what about short missions to clear out Deviant's Nests or defending other communities?' Janus silently questioned. Eternals were not allowed to create tools for themselves, but they could use him as a communicator of sorts. Relaying positions and information back and forth. He could use this reason to get the fighters to help improve his combat training.

A fight in the Deviants' Nest is also unpredictable, so who knows what might transpire. It is possible for an Eternal who specialises in researching to lose an arm as a result of his lack of fighting experience. This is a terrifying notion, yet it is vital for Janus to understand the anatomy of Eternals. His thoughts were beginning to form a plan.

"Thena, I think I found a way to help ease your worries," Janus said, which gained her interests as well as Druig.

"Please, do tell," Thena replied.

"With a stable communication line using my duplicates as well as my understanding of the Deviants, we can form teams to go on extermination or protection missions to other settlements when they are formed," Janus explained.

"I can see the perks in your plans. We can expand to farther regions and fasten our pace." Thena seemed to be thinking about the possibilities of his plan. "But you are…not combat-ready. So the risks are high." She continued. Janus could see a smirk adorned on Druig's face.

Janus was a bit embarrassed, but he concurred. "I understand the risks and am willing to take them. I had basic combat knowledge. However, if you or Gilgamesh are willing to help train me. I can learn enough to defend myself." Ikaris mainly relied on his flight, Makkari on her speed, and Kingo was a ranged fighter due to his finger guns. Thena and Gilgamesh were the most suitable for the task.

"Very well, if you propose the plan to Ajak, I will stand behind you." She gave him a nod. Druig was carefully looking at Janus, determined to find out his intention.

"Thank you for your time. Now, I will leave you to yourself. I have much to prepare." Not wanting Druig's interests any longer, Janus exited the room.

Druig stared at Janus' back as he left, hoping for some new lights on what was said. 'Why was he doing this? Purposely putting himself in harm's way? Strange indeed. The Deviants would die out sooner or later. What was the rush? It can't be fully for research or Arishem's mission. He's up to something.' Thought the man.

"He is indeed a strange one," Thena said out loud. Druig was astonished and dismayed. Thena was a person who rarely began conversations.

"He's the over-curious type. Who knows what he's planning." Druig responded to that. Observing the people below in silence, they didn't say anything else.