It was not often that any of Nate's old contacts would reach out to him since he set out on the straight and narrow road. A major reason for this was Nate clearly telling his old contacts not to call or message him again. The men he knew were off-color, so there was little reason to keep in touch.

It was a surprise, then, when an old contact e-mailed him about a job. What was most surprising to Nate was the legal nature of the job. All he was being asked to do was paint a portrait for a rich woman.

Well, that was not "all" that mattered about the job offer. For one, Nate was told that he came to mind when the request came up because "he was usually pretty good with other weirdos." The woman was unique; most likely a mutant, and more notably a physical mutant. If that information was not intriguing enough, it was mentioned that the client believed herself to be a goddess.

Yes, Nate was being asked to paint a portrait for a goddess, with followers and everything. He was unsure whether the woman truly believed in her divinity or if it was just a very effective ruse to rally followers and money; (if it was the latter, he would have to give credit where credit was due to a fantastic and elaborate con.) The one point that was stressed to Nate was to treat the woman with reverence, especially if he was hoping to get paid.

And get paid, he probably would, judging by the "goddess's" living arrangements. He was told to meet her in her incredibly lavish suite in the Hotel Plaza Athénée. Nate researched the job, threatened his old contact, and cleared the whole thing with a wary Quin, but everything seemed on the up and up.

Nate spoke with someone at the desk in the lobby and was informed in return that he was expected in the top floor penthouse suite. Still in awe that the job seemed to be the real deal, Nate gathered his supplies and followed a bellhop who escorted him to the elevator and then to the top floor.

Nate tipped the young bellhop, who took the elevator back down to the lobby, and took the short walk to the door he was instructed to knock on, and knock he did, now very nervous to meet his client for the day.

The portrait was not Mahadevi's idea. It was just one of the things on the long lists people around her seemed to be miraculously equipped with; whoever came up with 'how to manage a goddess' checklists forgot to update them for the 21st century. Hence the painting, instead of a photograph.
What a drag.

The Goddess sat on a pile of silk pillows, jeweled and painted and ready to sit still for a few hours. She was excellently trained in sitting still. It went with being divinity.

Her old and faithful servant opened the door and escorted the painter in. Mahadevi tilted her head just enough to take a look; then she nodded in approval. He was allowed to enter the room, and the servant shuffled away to return with tea later on.

An older gentleman answered the door, inviting Nate in to a room that put any other he had been in to shame. Even the night he spent with that shady business executive during his first week in New York couldn't match the extravagance of the "goddesses" room.

And speaking of the high and mighty herself, she was richly adorned and seemingly ready to receive her divine treatment. She was surprisingly young in relation to her wealth, and most likely from an Asian country, probably India. The idea of her being Indian made even more sense when he quickly realized she had four sets of arms. If it had been Nate's first time meeting a physical mutant, it might have phased him, but he taught at a school with a gargoyle teenager.

Nate almost took a step too close to shake the woman's hand before remembering the need to massage her holy ego. He stopped and bowed, "My name's Nathaniel, your holiness," he spoke in the most respectful tone he could manage.

The artist placed his supplies on the ground, leaving just the easel in his hand, ready to be set up. "If you are ready, I would be honored to paint your portrait." Whether she was divine or crazy, she was a very beautiful young woman, and if he was looking for a model to paint, he could do much worse.

>> "My name's Nathaniel, your holiness. If you are ready, I would be honored to paint your portrait."

Well, at least they found an artist that knew how to approach a goddess with respect. Of course his manner was not perfect, but she would let that slide, he was an American after all. With a small nod of her head, the Goddess motioned to him to take his place.

"We accept your offering of talent and skill" she announced, hands slightly shifting.

She watched him set up his things. There was really nothing special about him; nothing to tell her what kind of a person he really was.
Then again, did it matter?

>> "We accept your offering of talent and skill"

Nate set his easel on the ground. "Oh, I've got plenty of those, miss." He placed a canvas on the easel, hoping she was not offended by his cocky comment.

As he began removing bottles of paint from his bag, he asked, "So, how would you like your portrait? Atop your cloud of pillows?" It was a classic enough pose, specially for someone of noble stature and beauty, two things the young goddess seemed to have in spades.

>> "Oh, I've got plenty of those, miss. So, how would you like your portrait? Atop your cloud of pillows?"

She thought about that for a moment. The painter certainly seemed at ease with the situation; then again, artists usually did. She let is slide that he addressed her as "miss".

"That is how we are usually depicted" she answered carefully, jewels jingling as she moved her arms and head. She looked at the easel and the paints he was unpacking.

"... would you suggest something else?"

He was the artist, after all. Even the divine respect the artists.
Especially the divine.

>> "That is how we are usually depicted"

She sure had the whole divine lack of modesty going, relating herself to the gods of myth. Nate was a skeptic of any religion, but he also lived in a world where mutants were as commonplace as coffee shops. For all he knew, maybe she was a true blue goddess.

>> "... would you suggest something else?"

There were other poses that would suit their purposes, of course; goddesses have been shrouded and standing and even floating across the years. Still, her choice was just as appropriate and he did not want to question her decisions. "Not at all. Your pose right now will allow me to perfectly capture your beauty."

Nate began swirling paints together to blend a perfect collection tans and mochas for every shade of her skin. "Would it be wrong to ask for a name I could call you, your highness?" Oh, highness was for royalty, not divinity, was it not? Ah well, one swing and a miss. Probably close enough.

>>"Not at all. Your pose right now will allow me to perfectly capture your beauty. Would it be wrong to ask for a name I could call you, your highness?"

Well at least he was polite. He lacked the proper words for addressing a goddess, but as far as she knew, the English language was pretty low on those to begin with.

"They call me Mahadevi, the All-Goddess" she supplied patiently "People address me by many names, depending on which face of the Goddess they would like to pray to. Any of those, of course, is a part of the whole, and acceptable."

And if he did not know his Hindu mythology... well, he could just call her Goddess.

>> "They call me Mahadevi, the All-Goddess. People address me by many names, depending on which face of the Goddess they would like to pray to. Any of those, of course, is a part of the whole, and acceptable."

So according to her, she was not just a goddess, she was the goddess. He was pretty sure Mahadevi was a Hindu goddess, which made sense for a young woman of Indian descent. "Well then, it's an honor to pain the All-Goddess."

Content with his colors, Nate decided to first begin with the silk pillows Mahadevi rested upon, so he could have a base to work with. "So... Mahadevi..." well, that was a weird name to use in conversation, "How does a goddess acquire the wealth for a suite like this?" Was there a paycheck that came along with divinity?

>> "Well then, it's an honor to pain the All-Goddess. So... Mahadevi... How does a goddess acquire the wealth for a suite like this?"

The painter started a conversation. Conversation being the oldest form of entertainment, the Goddess did not object to it; it was better than spending hours sitting quietly. Gods and goddesses had the privilege of getting bored and taking it out on humans, who usually ended up paying the price. Mahadevi liked to think of herself as merciful.

"People present me gifts of their choice" she might as well educate the American "It is not always something of material value, but that makes no difference in the eye of a Devi. I also appear in films, and then people pay to see it in theaters."

Bollywood was generous like that to its gods and goddesses.

>> "People present me gifts of their choice. It is not always something of material value, but that makes no difference in the eye of a Devi. I also appear in films, and then people pay to see it in theaters."

So she had quite the following if it garnered her such a decadent room. She even spent some time on India's silver screen. "Well, I guess that makes you the first goddess and the first film starlet I've painted." He was putting a major dent in his bucket list that day.

Nate cleaned his brush and took a new one to start on the goddess's legs. "Excuse me for saying so, but you appear much younger than I anticipated for a goddess." Unless she had eternal youth, (what was he even saying?) she could not have been older than twenty.

>> "Well, I guess that makes you the first goddess and the first film starlet I've painted. Excuse me for saying so, but you appear much younger than I anticipated for a goddess."

"I am just one incarnation of the divinity" she explained patiently, watching him work. She could not see the picture, but she could see the movement of his hands, and some of the colors. It just peaked her curiosity. "Divinity has no age. I am divinity made flesh, and flesh has to age. But I am still young, and I have a lot to do."

Places to see, people to meet. Gifts to accept.

"Do you watch films from India?" she knew Bollywood was not as great in the USA as it was in her own country. Such a pity. Hollywood never quite measured up.

>> "I am just one incarnation of the divinity. Divinity has no age. I am divinity made flesh, and flesh has to age. But I am still young, and I have a lot to do."

As weird as it was, the idea of Mahadevi being the reincarnation of a goddess made more sense than her being a goddess of eternal youth, comparatively at least. "This body you are enshrined in is beautiful." Hopefully compliments nurtured a goddess's ego like it did any other pretty woman.

>> "Do you watch films from India?"

"I'm not much of a film buff, sad to say." He began painting the first of eight arms, each positioned carefully and impressively. "I have no doubts you are magnificent, Mahadevi."

>> "This body you are enshrined in is beautiful."

He sounded honest. Then again, most men did, especially the ones that worshipped her. But coming from an artist, it still made the goddess' lips curl into a small smile.

>>"I'm not much of a film buff, sad to say. I have no doubts you are magnificent, Mahadevi."

"I don't expect you to compliment me if you have not seen the thing you are complimenting" she waved one hand before she returned it to its carefully designed position. She could tell from his glances that he was working on her image now, so she remained still.

"Tell me about your art. Is this what you do for a living?"

>> "I don't expect you to compliment me if you have not seen the thing you are complimenting."

So Mahadevi was not looking for unwarranted compliments. She was not just another high-profile woman looking for a yes-man. "Fair enough. I'll just have a movie night sometime soon."

>> "Tell me about your art. Is this what you do for a living?"

He was not the only one who could ask questions, as Mahadevi decided to show an apparent interest in Nate's work. "Sort of. I do a lot of commission work, and I also work as a teacher down at a school for mutants in the city." If he mentioned being a mutant, would it affect her at all? It was likely, after all, that Mahadevi might be a mutant herself along with being a possibly diety.