AN: Here we go with a little aftermath chapter, and a bit of what Adam is doing as well.

Chapter 92: You Idiot!

Styrofoam cups and bullshit, those things were the order of the day as far as Adam was concerned. The two other officers in the meeting room all bore a ridiculous number of medals and ribbons on the uniforms. Yet, for all the combat they supposedly led or at least planned, they still did not grasp the current logistical situation.

"Captain Johnson. This little game has gone on long enough," said the man with the most shiny bits and pieces on his uniform. "We can't allow Lieutenant Jacobs to continue to do as he pleases. You are to take him into custody during the next agreed upon meeting."

Adam looked at the Colonel closely for a moment then shook his head. "Sir, with all due respect, that would be impossible."

"Are you ignoring a direct order, captain?" asked the colonel. The other men in the room grew agitated. It was written on their faces. How dare he talk back to the colonel.

"Sir, I'm stating the fact that you want me to apprehend someone who is both immortal and capable of simply leaving the planet at will," said the captain.

"I don't want your bullshit excuses, captain! We cannot allow this man to continue to do as he pleases. You will obey orders or..."

"Or what? You do realize that I can do the same as he can, correct?" asked Adam.

"Captain, watch your tone!" snapped the major sitting to the colonel's right.

Adam inclined his head. "I apologize if my words seem harsh, sir. The truth is still the truth. You are ordering me to apprehend the man responsible for granting us access to superhuman powers."

He took a breath and then continued, "Do you really think it's a good idea to piss him off? What if he decides that America should be left out of the program, but allows the other countries to keep their programs operational?"

"We'd arrest him for treason, of course."

Captain Johnson stared at the colonel like he'd lost his mind. "Who's going to arrest him? The man can throw cars around." Before the colonel could speak, Adam continued, "Bullets won't do much, if anything, to him. He can explode a forest with his mind, and even if we did manage to kill him he would simply be resurrected at some other location."

"He is not a god!" snapped the colonel. "One man cannot do all of that, and even if he could he is not more powerful than the combined might of the US army!"

"He might as well be. He could slaughter an entire division if he wanted," said Adam. It was not strictly true at the moment as Scott's reincarnation reduced his fighting prowess by a good bit. However, at the rate things were going he would be stronger than ever soon.

"Captain. This not a discussion. You will comply. Take Lieutenant Jacobs into custody," said the colonel.

Adam gazed coolly at the higher ranked officer. "No."

"What did you just say?" snarled the colonel.

"You are endangering the safety and the welfare of the United States of America due to your complete lack of understanding regarding the situation," said Adam. "I will not be a party to the destruction of our country solely because you are an idiot... Sir."

The colonel leapt to his feet and flung his chair away. "That's it! You'll be court-martialed for this!"

"If you wish. It won't change anything, though. This conversation made up my mind for me, anyway," said Adam.

"What are you talking about?" asked the major, while the colonel seethed.

Adam smiled pleasantly. "Court martial proceedings will take a while. I only have a short few weeks left in my contract, and I am a man of my word. I'll remain here for the trial, if you like. However, I will be taking my leave of this world in roughly three weeks."

"You really believe all this hoo-hah?" asked the colonel, after calming down slightly. "You're out of your mind. Everyone involved in this bullshit is out of their damned mind!"

"Yes. Of course I am. Now if you will excuse me, gentlemen. Since this meeting is over, and it is the weekend, I'll take my leave," said Adam.

"Where do you think you're going?" snarled the colonel.

"Home," said Adam. He then gestured with his hand. A blue screen appeared before him, and he pressed the travel function. He faded from view and left Earth behind.

"What? Where did he go...?" asked the colonel surprised by the sudden disappearance.

"Sir, the reports say that our personnel involved in the program can transport themselves to that other world at will," said the major.

"Hogwash! It's all hogwash!" The colonel glared hotly at the major. "You really buy that malarkey?"

"Since I was transferred into command of this horse and pony show, people have tried to sell me on this stupidity. Who would believe any of it?" asked the colonel with a snort. It was obvious that everyone involved was born stupid.

"The pentagon did... With all due respect sir, didn't you just see him transport over? He's insubordinate, clearly, but nothing he said is incorrect."

"I saw a clever magic trick. That doesn't mean that any of it is true," said the newly appointed colonel in command of the operation.

"Sir, the goddess has shown many miraculous..." began to major.

"There's only one god, and he isn't some blue haired slut!" exclaimed the colonel. "Whatever she is, she isn't god!"

The major started to say something, but the colonel glared at him. "You got that!"

"Sir, yes sir," said the major while fighting his desire to deliver a tired sigh. None of this was going to go over well with the senior officers. The new commanding idiot might have just wrecked the entire project.

--

Harsh words echoed through the hospital as a certain angry elf maiden unleashed verbal hell upon her true love. Rhea seethed internally. She breathed rapidly in and out, her face red as a lobster.

"You idiot!" she cried before smacking him on the shoulder. Tears slid down her cheeks as she smacked him once more, her face a disturbing combination of anguish and anger.

Scott sat on the bed and let her berate him for a while. Her anger made perfect sense. He'd gone too far with his training and nearly died. While it was not a major issue in the grand scheme of things due to the fact that he was part of an event, the simple reality was that if he'd done the same outside of an event he would have possibly been forced to reincarnate after a few days.

Every reincarnation would take him closer to his final life, and then if he lost the last one he would be gone beyond her ability to return him to the world. He would move into the true reincarnation phase and possibly end up in a different universe altogether. In short, his actions endangered their possible eternity together.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" she asked him heatedly.

He reached over and slipped his arm around her shoulder. She threw his arm off immediately. "Talk to me, you idiot!"

Scott looked into her pain-filled eyes for a moment then slowly opened his arms. He said nothing, merely waited for her to make her next move.

A little snot ran free of her nose as she sniffled loudly. "You..."

He offered her a nervous smile and raised his arms a little. She looked down and to the side.

Rhea sniffled loudly then turned her back on him. Despite her supposed aloof attitude, Scott slipped forward and wrapped his arms around her.

In response she gritted her teeth a little and snapped her head back to smack him in the forehead. It hurt, but he held her tighter.

"Get your hands off me..." she growled. Scott nuzzled his chin in the crook of her neck.

"Don't act like you care!" she snapped angrily. At least she did not head-butt him again.

His lips softly caressed her cheek while he held her as tightly as he could. The subtle sensation of his breath against her cheek calmed her after a moment.

Scott could feel her heart beating through her back. Occasionally, she would sob a little and her body would shake.

Several minutes passed before she finally spoke again. Tears slid down her cheeks as she said, "You promised..."

His cheek rubbed softly against her ear while she sat there quietly in his embrace. Neither of them spoke for a time. They merely stayed together and tried to collect their thoughts.

The old Scott would have made excuses. He would have tried to defend what he'd done. It wasn't his fault. It was an accident. He has to take risks if he wants to grow stronger. All of those words would have spilled from his mouth like rancid bullshit.

Rhea had every right to be angry with him, and he knew it. Risks were part of the job, but there was a level of risk that was not acceptable. There was a line of risk versus reward that should not be crossed, and he crossed it.

"I've missed you," said Scott softly before nuzzling her neck with his chin.

She snorted loudly. "Did you?"

"You know I did," said Scott.

A soft sigh slipped free of her lips. "I hate this..."

"I know," said Scott, before pulling her backwards. The slid down on the bed, her back still to him.

He cuddled close to her and she allowed it. After a moment though, she said, "I'm really mad at you, you know."

Scott merely held her and nuzzled the back of her head. He said nothing with words, but spoke volumes with his body language.

Eventually, Rhea drifted off to sleep once more. Her angry breathing became a more natural rhythm. Scott snuggled against her and allowed himself to drift off to sleep as well. Her anger was justified, as was her fear and disquiet spirit.

After about an hour, Rhea logged out from ARS and awoke as her true self back in her room in the divine city. Origin removed her tiara from her head then slumped back in her chair.

She sat there for a few minutes, a look of utter depression on her beautiful face. Slowly, her delicate fingers curled into fists. She gritted her teeth and she hissed out, "Dammit!" before she flung her tiara at her monitor.

A knock at her door caught her attention. Origin muttered, "It's open."

Mid walked into the room. "Hey, I saw that you were back..."

Origin sighed softly. "Yeah..."

"How you holding up?" asked Mid softly.

Origin slowly raised her head then looked over to her older sister. Tears tracked down her cheeks and her lips quivered.

"Oh, dear childe..." said Mid before moving over to give her sister a hug.

Origin took a shuddering breath as her sister held her. A moment later she asked, "Am I a horrible person?"

"Why do you ask?" asked Mid gently.

"Scott... He..." Origin closed her eyes tightly then shook her head.

"Did he do something?" asked Mid curiously.

"He almost died..." said Origin.

"Yes. Did anything else happen?" asked Mid.

She shook her head softly and gripped her older sister's arms in her slightly shaking hands. "No, he was practically perfect..."

"He's perfect, hmm?" asked Mid while rubbing her chin against the top of Origin's head.

The blue haired goddess nodded her head mutely. She poked her lower lip out a little then screwed her mouth slightly to the left.

"What's wrong then?" asked Mid.

"Well, it's..." Origin took a deep breath then loudly sighed. "The moment I woke up and saw him lying next to me, I started screaming at him."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. I was such a ... a..."

"Bitch?" asked Mid helpfully.

Origin then snorted loudly then bit her lower lip. She also did not deny Mid's suggestion.

"I was that word you said, yes," she admitted after a moment.

"Dear childe. Of course you were!" Mid laughed at her little sister's misery.

"Mid!" cried Origin in surprise.

The older goddess chuckled a little then sighed warmly. "My silly little sister. You do know why you yelled at him, right?"

"Cuz he's stupid..." mumbled Origin. She looked to the left and poked out her lower lip a little.

"Because he scared you," said Mid.

Origin nodded. "Yeah, the jerk..."

"Little sister. I knew you had it bad, but this is adorable," said Mid after a while.

"Oh, you!" growled Origin before she puffed her cheeks out and snorted.

Mid could not help but tease her. Scott was fine, and Origin was so worried about him that it actually made her angry. It was obvious that she could not stand the idea of him being hurt, even if she did smack him a few times for his supposed stupidity.