"So, what do you think?" Alex asked the man that was examining the statue that Alex had just created. The man was named Mr. Martian and he was a representative for a non-profit organization that was raising money to help cancer patients. The organization was having an auction in about a week to raise money for several cancer patients that were children, and Alex was offering a new statue he had just finish making for the auction. It was a beautiful piece, and life size too boot which made it so rare!

It was a statue of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, clothed in pink robe with golden embroidery with her hair flowing behind her. She was standing in a chariot that looked like it had been grown from a conch shell, and it was being pulled across blue waves of water by six swans, each bridled with silken reins. The glazes that Alex had used to paint the reins made them look as if they were actually silk, until you touched the reins and you realized that the whole statue was made of clay. Mr. Martian looked up and down the statue, shaking his head. "I can hardly believe what I am seeing here Mr. Davis. This is a masterpiece that very few in the world could ever hope to even come close to achieving. Whom ever wins this at the auction is going to be a very lucky person and are going to have a masterpiece to add to their collection. The price tag for this could easily reach the millions." Martian stated with amazement.

Alex only smiled and nodded. "Then all of that money will be perfect for saving children from cancer. Don't let it go to waste." Alex responded as he glanced out his front door and saw a large truck backing up to the front door of his shop in order to load up the statue. Traffic going either way on that street had been halted, and something like that done in the most aggressive city on the planet was bad, but it couldn't be helped. Soon the truck was backed up to the door and the loading ramp was lowered, which was followed by several movers entering the shop, carefully placing the statue on a flat cart, and they wheeled the statue out the door, and started to load the statue into the truck. Everyone that was on the street and in the stopped vehicles was all dumbfounded to see what was getting loaded into the truck.

Martian smiled, and handed Alex a check for the price they had agreed on for Alex to make the statue, which was $5,000 dollars. "Here you go, but you should've asked for more then this. that statue is worth an easy $100,000." Martian stated, Alex shrugged as he placed the check into his pocket. "I would've done this job for free since I know the money is going towards cancer patients. Good luck with the auction." Alex stated, and Martian left and got into his taxi. It took another 15 minutes for the statue to be safely loaded and locked down within the truck, but soon the truck was on its way and the road was opened back up. With a satisfied smile on is face, Alex turned this open sign back on and went behind the counter to wait for his next customer, whom ever they might be.

A Goddess indeed. The mere statue of one, lifeless and too Western for her taste, still, brilliant in execution. Mahadevi admired the statue as it was loaded onto the truck.

Walking the City had been a new fancy of hers. Of course she would not do it completely alone, but she did not require another god's company either. For now, she only had four bodyguards with her, the best of the best, and her trusted old servant, who, once the entrance was free, walked up to the door of the shop and opened it, announcing her arrival.

"Her divine holyness the All-Goddess of India, Mahadevi, the Splendid, Graceful and Eternal in her immaculate person has decided to grace this place with her presence today. All bow in greeting of her divine presence, and praise her shining beauty!"

Before the trusted servant of Mahadevi had walked up to the door of the shop, Alex had looked away from the front door of his shop and was starting to examine a diagram he had drawn the day before, a small statue he was planning on making on his own time. The picture was of a man in his mid sixties with a full beard and going bald, wearing a suit of mystical armor made of white diamond, wielding a great claymore that was also made of white diamond. As Alex looked at the picture, a small tear formed under his eye and is started to go down his cheek. "Dad... I'm sorry..." Alex whispered under his breath, then quickly wiped the tear away when he heard the door of his shop open up.

Alex was about to greet the man that had opened up the door to his shop when the man began a speech, announcing that a deity from India was about to enter his humble pottery shop and he should bow to her. Hearing that shocked Alex to the point that his jaw dropped open. "Excuse me?" he exclaimed in surprise, having trouble believing what he just heard. He had heard of a lot of crazy people, but someone that thought that they were a goddess? That took the cake, but sure enough Alex could see outside his store windows was a woman dressed in elegant clothes with tons of jewelry, and she had eight limbs. It was about that time that Alex remembered from history class in high school that most deities from India had multiple limbs, and this woman had just that.

Alex couldn't believe his eyes and ears. This announcer guy was serious! Alex was so surprised that he dropped the piece of paper he was looking at back on the counter in front of him, and didn't notice that the picture was now facing towards the door so anyone entering the shop could see the picture right side up. Alex looked like a complete idiot with his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide open as well. "You guys are serious, aren't you?" Alex stated quietly, forgetting completely that the man had told him to bow.

>>"Excuse me?... You guys are serious, aren't you?"

The graceful form standing in the doorway, one toe lightly touching the floor inside, looked at the man with a questioning look. The old servant cleared his throat and whispered something in Hindi.

"I'm sorry, your holiness. I apologize for the manners of this man."

Mahadevi acknowledged the whisper with a nod, and then stepped inside, looking around with mild curiosity.

"The statue" she said in her accented yet smooth English "the statue of a woman we just saw. Was that your work?"

Even when the old servant whispered to Mahadevi about Alex's rudeness, Alex still stood there with his mouth hanging open and his flawless cyan eyes were wide with surprise. In this shocked state, Alex watched the woman deity enter his shop as she glanced around. It wasn't until she asked about the statue that had just left his pottery shop that Alex found his voice. "Yes... I made it..." Alex stated, though his voice had a squeak to it.

It wasn't until Alex said this that his senses suddenly came back and he realized just how rude he was being. He quickly blinked his eyes, shut his mouth, cleared his throat., and quickly bowed to Mahadevi. "What happen to my manners? My sincere apologies for my rudeness! It's not everyday that a goddess enters my humble pottery shop. Your presence here shocked me to the point that my mind was no longer functioning. I'm Alexander Davis." Alex stated calmly, and there wasn't any hint of the squeak being in his voice this time. Deep down Alex thought that she was just a mutant like he was, but everyone around her thought otherwise and he could tell it would be a bad idea to go against them.

Alex was still in the bowing position, and he noticed that the drawing he was looking at was currently facing Mahadevi. Deity or not, she didn't need to see that, so as he finished bowing and stood back up to his full height, he grabbed the piece of paper and flipped it over so she wouldn't see the picture on it. "And yes, I did make that statue that was just taken out of here. Do you have any questions about it? I'll be happy to answer them."

>>"Yes... I made it... What happen to my manners? My sincere apologies for my rudeness! It's not everyday that a goddess enters my humble pottery shop. Your presence here shocked me to the point that my mind was no longer functioning. I'm Alexander Davis."

The man called Alexander finally seemed to have found his manners. Mahadevi forgave him with a graceful nod. It was only human to forget about manners in the presence of a goddess, and that was even more true for men, naturally weak in the presence of the feminine.
Mahadevi glanced at the paper curiously just before he turned it away.

>>"And yes, I did make that statue that was just taken out of here. Do you have any questions about it? I'll be happy to answer them."

"Do you work after models?" the Goddess wanted to know with mild curiosity "There are plenty of statues sculpted after me in shrines all over India, but here, I have none. I wish to commission a talented artist to create one for me. I wish it to be something special, to capture the attention of even those who do not believe in the divine."

Alex noticed Mahadevi giving him a graceful nod when he found his manners, and was slightly relieved to see that she forgave him for not having them at first. He also notice her glancing at the paper he had flipped over, and was wondering if she was going to ask about it. Most people with money or power always seemed to think that they had the right to know everything and they believed they could take the ground right out from under your feet... and it was your own fault if you didn't get off of it fast enough, not theirs. He was wondering if she felt that way too. If she did feel that way, Alex hoped that she wouldn't ask about the paper, because she wouldn't like the answer he would give her.

When the goddess asked Alex if he worked with models though, Alex shoved his current thoughts aside and raised one eyebrow, clearly puzzled. He was about to say that he hadn't worked with a model before but before he could open his mouth, Mahadevi continued as to the reason why she wanted him to make a statue of her, one that would capture the attention of even those that thought the divine were myths. Thinking about it, Alex crossed his arms over his chest and rubbed his chin. "Hm... I've never worked with models before, but I'm sure I could. That statue you saw was made from imagination only. Having a person to model the clay after would be much easier.... and faster. That Greek goddess statue took me a better part of the week, because I had to constantly change the statue since I kept changing my mind. Hm..." Alex stated then continued thinking.

It was very doable actually... there was one thing holding him back though... and that was that this woman was, or at least claimed, to be a goddess so she wouldn't accept anything less then perfection. One small flaw and she might fly off the handle. He would just have to nail it. A second problem was time. If she wanted the statue to be life size, it could take him a whole day to make it, or more... unless he used his mutation to do it, in which case he could have it done within hours, if not one hour. "Hm... I guess I could do it and I can make it life size too, but I must beg you not to tell anyone how I made the statue." Alex stated, and he left it at that.

He then realized something... he wasn't quite sure how the people of India made their statues look. He had bought a few books on making Indian art pieces, but he never took a good look at the statues. Luckily most of the books were under the counter. "Hm, I'm sure I have a book on how they make divine statues over in India. Give me a second..." Alex stated and quickly bent over to look under the counter, not realizing he left the paper with the picture of his father drawn on it unprotected, so Mahadevi could grab it and glance at it while he was down there. "Ah! Found it!" Alex stated after searching for about a second, and stood up... and gave himself a bonk on the back of the head from the underside of the counter when he stood up. "Ow. Why is it I always become a klutz in front of customers?" Alex asked himself as he rubbed the back of his head and placed the large heavy book on the counter, and opened it up to the page that talked about Indian statues.

The moment Alex saw how the end result of most Indian statues were, he bit his lower lip and gulped nervously. Now he was having second thoughts. He glanced up at Mahadevi, back down at the book, then back up at the goddess again, this time with a little bit of blush on his cheeks. "Uh... oh dear. I think I might have to stray a little from normal India artwork." Alex stated with a second gulp. Sure, all of the statues were in unique posing positions, but he could manage that. Most of the statues that had multiple arms had a different object in each hand, and that was also doable. It was how the statues were clothed... or lack there of... that had Alex worried. "Uh... every single statue of people in this book are a bit... what would be an appropriate word... exposed. Um... how close to traditional Indian artwork do you want this to be?" Alex stated hesitantly, unable to hide the blush from his face.

>> "Hm... I guess I could do it and I can make it life size too, but I must beg you not to tell anyone how I made the statue."

The Goddess was intrigued now. There was a secret about this place, rather, a secret about the artist, and the paper on the counter, and the lifelike statues, and she was determined to find out what the secret was. She deserved to know. And if he did really well with the sculpture, she might honor his request and keep his secret too.

>>"Hm, I'm sure I have a book on how they make divine statues over in India. Give me a second... Ah! Found it!... Ow. Why is it I always become a klutz in front of customers?"

She allowed him time to rummage around under the counter; a slight nod of her head instructed the old servant to close the door of the shop and turn the OPEN sign. Now they had all the time in the world. The Goddess studied the face of the mysterious artist as he looked through the book.

>> "Uh... oh dear. I think I might have to stray a little from normal India artwork. Uh... every single statue of people in this book are a bit... what would be an appropriate word... exposed. Um... how close to traditional Indian artwork do you want this to be?"

"Not at all" she answered with a small, amused smile "I want it to be your very best, something unique that has not been done before. Do not worry about clothing though. There is no reason to hide perfection from the eyes of the devoted."

It wasn't until after Alex had begged Mahadevi not to reveal the method of how he was going to make her statue that he saw something about the goddess's eyes change. Was she intrigued with him now? He couldn't really tell since reading a person's face expression was a skill that he royally lacked. Even so, Alex could tell that she was thinking that he had something that she was entitled too. What ever it was though, she would have to learn that in the western world, everything comes with a price, deity or not.

After Alex had asked if they were sticking to traditional Indian art for the statue, he noticed that Mahadevi had instructed her servant to close and lock the front door to Alex's shop, and the OPEN sign was now turned off. Apparently she wanted him to do the statue right then and there, not at a more appropriate time. With a sigh, Alex pushed a button under the counter which closed the shutters for the front windows so there wouldn't be any prying eyes watching them either. The back of his shop was too cluttered for this work, and there wasn't enough room in the basement of his shop either. This bit of artwork was going to be done in the shop itself since it was the only place that Alex had enough space for him to work and for her to pose.

When the goddess stated that she wanted something unique that had never been done before, Alex was relieved, or at least a little. From his point of view, he had interpreted what she had just stated as she was going to pose fully clothed. However, that sense of relief and that thought both vanished when Mahadevi continued in saying that there was no reason to hide perfection from the eyes of the devoted. Did that mean she planned on posing with a different dress that was far more elegant... or was she going to be exposed just like the Indian statues in the book? Alex wasn't sure. Either way though, he had to get ready to do this statue.

Clearing his throat, Alex walked into the back of the shop. "Okay then, but I have several different types of clay. Sometimes the most expensive isn't the best. Let me show you four different types of clay. We'll begin as soon as you decide on a type of clay. Also, do you want me to paint if afterwards so it will look exactly like you?" Alex stated as he opened up a few cabinets in the back of the shop and grabbed a few blocks of clay for her to take a look at.... and once again, he had left the picture of his father unattended to.

Soon the malachite manipulator came back with four blocks of clay in hand, each wrapped up in clear plastic. One was a reddish brown, another was pure white, and another one was the normal gray. The last one was golden in color, and to the untrained eye it looked like Alex had just placed a brick of solid gold down as one of Mahadevi's choices. "We'll do it right here since this is the most open spot of the shop I have." Alex stated as he started to remove the clay stained smock he had been wearing, then removed the white button down shirt that he had on under the smock, so now he was only wearing a t-shirt. As a result his arms were fully exposed, revealing the malachite bracers he was wearing on his forearms, along with a few of his battle scars that were on his arms. The underside of his black Pegasus with red demon wings tattoo was visible as well.

"I'm ready when you are." Alex stated calmly as his flawless cyan eyes started to glow green.

>>"Okay then, but I have several different types of clay. Sometimes the most expensive isn't the best. Let me show you four different types of clay. We'll begin as soon as you decide on a type of clay. Also, do you want me to paint if afterwards so it will look exactly like you?"

"I trust your judgement on your art" the Goddess allowed as she looked at the tyes of clay, her gaze naturally falling onto the golden one like a magpie's. Gold had always been the symbol of divinity and nobility. She wondered what kind of clay that was, and how a humble artist like this one could get his hands on such exquisite materials.

>>"We'll do it right here since this is the most open spot of the shop I have. I'm ready when you are."

She looked up when the artist spoke, and golden clay instantly went forgotten as she saw his eyes glow.

"You are one of those people gifted with special powers, aren't you?" she asked curiously. The old servant who had been sitting in the corner for a while now looked up anxiously, but didn't make a move. "Is that why your art is so unique?"

Alex was waiting patiently for the goddess Mahadevi to make up her mind about which clay to use, but in truth Alex was guessing she would use the golden colored clay. It was a very rare brand of clay in that you couldn't buy it from anywhere, but you had to basically make it yourself by mixing several dyes into pure white clay. The malachite manipulator had just enough to make the statue, but he wouldn't have any left over afterwards... not even enough to fill a thimble. So when his important customer stated that she trusted his judgement, Alex was about to reach for the golden clay. It made sense alright since she was basically a goddess... or at least that what people believed her to be.

However right as he reached for it, Mahadevi derailed Alex's train of thought by asking him if he was among the people that were gifted with special powers. Before answering, Alex turned back to face Mahadevi and stared into her eyes for a moment... and looked away only after a single tear had made it half way down his cheek. "Yeah, I'm among those who have special powers... but mine is anything but a gift. Curse would be a better term. Sure, it's the reason why my art is so unique but it's still a curse." Alex stated as he wiped away the tear with a hankie he had in his back pocket, then reached out towards the blocks of clay he hand brought out.

Right after his left arm was fully extended towards the clay, a rod of malachite grew out of the malachite bracer on that arm and extended out over the clay. Once that was done, three claws grew out of the rod and each one grabbed onto a block of clay, but the gold clay was left alone. The rod retracted with the claws still holding onto the clay till it was roughly a foot long, then Alex aimed it towards the back of his shop. Once again the rod extended, and the three claws carried the three blocks of clay into the back of the shop. In appearance what Alex had made out of his malachite was very similar to a conveyer belt, though the contents hung from it instead of riding on top of it. It wasn't a half a minute later when several dozen blocks of golden clay, each one wrapped in plastic, was brought into the front of the shop via Alex's malachite conveyer and placed onto his counter. Now he had plenty of clay to work with, so Alex fully retracted the malachite till it had melted back into the bracer on his wrist.

That done, Alex turned back to face Mahadevi. "Anything you need to do before we begin? This will take at least an hour, maybe two."

>>"Yeah, I'm among those who have special powers... but mine is anything but a gift. Curse would be a better term. Sure, it's the reason why my art is so unique but it's still a curse."

Mahadevi watched in confusion and fascination as the malachite came to life. It was, once again, quite the spectacle to see someone's gift at work, but she was distracted by wodnering why he would see it as a curse instead. She saw nothing that would have been a curse, not by the measure of the Hindu gods anyway.
Maybe American gods were just not that creative.

>>"Anything you need to do before we begin? This will take at least an hour, maybe two."

"Time does not matter to the divine" she smiled a bit, dropping her outer garments until she was standing in front of him in a long flowing skirt hanging low around her hips, and strips of silk wrapped around her chest. She had never been ashamed of her body.
Also, she kept the jewelry on.

"I wish that you explain to me your curse, if it does not hinder you in making your art" she announced, gracefully lifting her arms in a sign of blessing.

Alex did notice Mahadevi's confused yet fascinated look on her face as his ability to manipulate malachite sprang to life as he moved the golden clay into the front of the shop while he prepared to create the statue of the deity that stood in his shop. After Alex had brought all of the clay into the area that he was going to work and had it all lined up on his counter, Alex then had a malachite rod stretch into the back of the shop and bring forwards what looked like a flat cart on wheels. He was going to have to move the statue around Mahadevi while he was making it since he couldn't see every side of her at once. This wasn't a picture that you only needed to see one side of the person you were painting... this was a statue that required Alex to move the statue around as he sculpted it so he could see different sides of the goddess when he needed to. While it would be easier to just have her stand on a turn-table and have it slowly rotate her as he created the sculpture, but Alex didn't have one of those.

Once the rolling flat cart was ready, Alex glanced over at Mahadevi as she removed her outer garments and stood there was only a few pieces of silk covering her. Seeing her like this immediately made Alex blush bright red and his eyes went wide. Clearly when she stated that she wasn't going to hide away perfection, she meant it. It took the malachite manipulator a few seconds to clear his head and focus back on what he was suppose to be doing right now, but he was still blushing. "Oi... I'd face an army without feeling fear any day, but put me with a beautiful woman or goddess and I turn redder then a ripe tomato..." Alex muttered under his breath, and he was hoping he had been quiet enough for the deity of India to not hear him. Finally ready to start, Alex extended his left arm towards the golden clay as two rods of malachite grew out form his bracer and reached for nearest block of clay.

However the moment that the almost seemed to demand that Alex explain why his ability to control malachite was more of a curse then a gift, Alex hesitated and glanced back at her before answering. "It wouldn't hinder me, but I'm not sure I should tell you. What you are asking requires me to trust you to the point that I'd be willing to put my life in your hands. That type of trust is built up over time and not given out on the spot, not even to a deity." Alex responded with a rather flat tone as the malachite rods grabbed onto the first block of golden clay. As Alex brought the clay towards him, the tips of the rods changed shape till they had what looked like razors on them and they started to shave away chunks of clay, then those chunks were reattached at a different angle and were also reshaped. After walking around Mahadevi once to make sure he had her back just right, the hunk of clay he was forming was a perfect replica of her left foot up to her ankle, and it was just as flawless as Mahadevi's real foot. Being careful not to change it shape, Alex lowered the golden clay foot onto the flat cart, then started to use another hunk of clay to form the right foot.

>>"It wouldn't hinder me, but I'm not sure I should tell you. What you are asking requires me to trust you to the point that I'd be willing to put my life in your hands. That type of trust is built up over time and not given out on the spot, not even to a deity."

Mahadevi stood motionless like a real statue; she had great practice in that, if nothing else. She was an object of worksip, has been all her life, and she the infinite patience of the immortal.

"I don't require trust from people who do not know me" she said, only her eyes moving to follow his movements with immense curiosity "I only require faith. What seems crucial for mortals is nothing but a grain of sand for the divine."

It was sometimes so hard to make them understand. Maybe it would be easier to just let them believe.

"You carry the burden of a curse you believe to be true" she stated; the eight-armed goddess was also the divinity of compassion "I wish to see why. Special powers that most mortals do not possess are believed to be gifts in my home, but I have come to understand it is very different to be gifted over here."

The moment that Mahadevi stated that she required faith instead of trust, Alex hesitated when he heard her and fumbled with the golden clay in his malachite and his hands, resulting in a large thumb-print being pressed into the top of the foot his was sculpting. It wasn't any big deal, but as he started to gently rub the thumb print out, the goddess stated that was seemed crucial to him was virtually nothing to her, and Alex froze where he stood and stared at her, feeling a bit hurt and it showed on his face. Here she was demanding to know why he thought his mutation was a curse instead of a gift while at the same time saying that it was a trivial matter to her. What else she said had gone in one ear and out the other at that point.

The malachite manipulator felt as if his blood was starting to boil. Had she basically just said that he didn't have a choice in the matter? That he had to tell her why his power was a curse even if he didn't want to because she was... no, viewed herself as a deity? And that it was a trivial matter to her but she was entitled to know it anyway? Was that it? Alex started fuming as his malachite retracted back into the bracers on his wrists and he crushed the golden clay in his hands... turning it from a beautifully sculpted foot into a pile of goo that was seeping out from between his fingers.

Without a word, Alex's hurt face expression turned to one of anger as he threw down the golden clay in his hand and it landed on the other clay foot he had just finished, ruining it too. "Shut up." Alex hissed at Mahadevi as he grabbed a rag off of a stool and whipped off his hands. The possibility of getting a whole bunch of money for making a statue for her had blinded him for what was really going on, and the anger that was festering inside of him had cleared his head. She wasn't a deity at all, just another mutant that was living in a delusional world of self importance... and he had almost supported that viewpoint by making an idol for her! What was more was that she hadn't given herself these viewpoints, but had been raised in them by someone else. Alex had seen this before, and he was putting his foot down.

"Do you truly view yourself as such an important being that you're entitled to know the deepest secrets of everyone you meet because the people in your country told you that your a deity? And because you view yourself as a deity, everything life changing event that has torn a person from the inside out is trivial to you?" Alex stated with a scowl as his glowing green eyes faded back to their normal cyan coloring. It was then that Alex's mind registered what she had said about how being gifted is different from her home to here in his. "You were raised in an environment in which you've never lost anything, so let me paint a picture for you so you understand what the real world is like. Power comes with a price, and in every case the price is too high to pay. Some people, like myself, lose everything to the price that they had to pay for the power they never wanted in the first place, while others, like most tyrants, force everyone around them to pay the price of their power for them so they can live in luxury." Alex stated as he stomped away from Mahadevi and took a seat behind his counter. The shutters for his shop were down and the door was locked, so until she or her attendant raised them and she got herself dressed, she didn't have any choice but to listen to him.

"And before you think your different, think again! I can see the price that you had to pay already, and that was your free will... and you paid for it so long ago that you don't even know that you've lost it. Sure, you're position lets you live in wealth and has people idolize you, but I'm guessing that not once were you ever allowed to choose to do something that you wanted to do. You're forced to be a goddess even if you didn't want to be... and the moment you stop acting like a goddess they'll toss you out like a leper! Another thing is that no government allows someone else have as much power as you have unless they can profit from it. Do people have to pay money or make an offering in order to even catch a glimpse of you? How much of those offerings are being pocketed by the government or your loyal priests I wonder. And you're pocketing some of it too in the form of expensive clothing, jewels, and exotic foods." Alex stated as he continued his verbal assault.

He then calmed down and folded his arms across his strong chest. "If you can prove to me that this isn't the case, then I'll take it all back and you'll get that idol you want for free. Otherwise, get out."