Author's Note: Hi, everyone. Although I'm quite experienced writing here on this site, this is my first story in the Class of the Titans fandom. I'm not too keen on a lot of the cartoons of today, but I was impressed by this show, and got hooked as a result. It reminded of when I studied Greek Myths in 9th Grade (Senior 1) English. That's all I'm going to say for now; please read and review.
Disclaimer: I own nothing of Class of the Titans or its characters; that would be Nelvana and Studio B Productions. This story is written for all fans of the show. I also don't own the rights to the RuPaul song Supermodel (I think that's the one that goes, "You'd better work/Work it, girl/Do your thing on the runway") There's a reference of the song being used in this plot. Please, no lawsuits; I've no money
The World in a Mansion
Chapter 1
After the teenage heroes' latest victory over Cronus in the city of New Olympia, defeating his enormous monsters, the villain declares to them, "This is the most humiliating defeat you have ever given me. You don't know when, you don't know how, but I promise you I will return!" The seven teenage heroes aren't fazed by this threat, and return to Olympus High to celebrate and talk about what to do next.
"I still think we should stay on guard, and see what Cronus might be up to next," Jay insists. "He could come back with something new in three days, at least."
"Will you chill out, man?" Neil says as he files his nails. "We kicked his butt from here to Nantucket. You heard the man, it was the most humiliating defeat we ever handed him. I put my money on us not seeing him for six months."
Archie and Atlanta are staring at Odie, who is busy surfing the Internet. "Odie, you can close down the computer shop now," he says. "The mission is done."
But Odie is looking at a site for a television network, MGM. He becomes fascinated by what he's reading about a new show. "You guys, this is interesting," he says. "It says here they're taking last minute auditions for this new reality show."
"A new what?" Herry asks. Soon, all the hero descendants except Jay gather around the computer.
"It's called The World in a Mansion," Odie tells them, and reads the pitch. "Big Brother meets The Real World as fifteen young people between the ages 16 to 28 live together for two weeks of summer, and experiences a series of unscripted interactions with each other and the world around them. "
"I don't think it's a good idea," Jay protests, and gets up to address the others. "Not only is it another one of those reality shows, but what if Cronus comes back with another nefarious plan on the city while we're gone? When does filming take place?"
"Oh, come on, Jay!" Theresa sighs. "Then again, he may not come back until sometime next year or so – that is, if he knows what's good for him. Besides, a reality show where strangers interact with each other, and not compete for a cash prize sounds like a lot of fun." She goes up to nudge Jay and pinch his cheek. "And when was the last time Jay did anything fun?"
"I'll sign up," Herry volunteers.
"Me too," Neil says. "It'd be a great opportunity to make a whole bunch of new friends, and see what numbers I can pick up from girls. And I wonder what we'll be able to do." He takes out his mirror and fusses over his good looks. "I'd love to engage in a modeling session for charity."
"Uh, Jay, it doesn't say what time frame they'd be filming," Odie informs him. "But like I've said, they are taking last minute auditions. If we make and send out our audition video now, they might still look at it, and pick us."
Jay thinks about the arguments delivered to him, then, "All right, I suppose we can. But I hope we come back to see New Olympia still standing. Where is it being located?"
"In the city of Santa Rosanna, in one of the many mansions of the famous bachelor movie star and director Jack Halpern," Odie answers.
"Jack Halpern?" Archie repeats. "He's in that Steve Hammer, Private Eye series. I love that. And isn't he known for all those police-romance movies that you and I always agree on, Theresa? Didn't he play a lovestruck detective in The Serial Killer's Wife and Julianne?"
"I'm not big on action stuff, but those were okay," Theresa says.
Suddenly, Odie gasps when he notices something. "What is it, Odie?" Atlanta asks.
"The housemates are to have no contact with the news world of any kind – no TV, no radio, no Internet!" Odie says. "Augh! How am I going to survive two weeks without my electronics!"
Neil looks over the page again. "Dude," he points out, "it says we have the option of having music CD's on the appropriate players, as well as music on mp3 players and iPod's. We can download stuff off Livewire and burn CD's on iTunes before we leave."
Odie nods in acceptance and smiles at Jay's approval. "All right, it's settled," he declares. "But first, we take this to Ms. Hera for approval, then we ask Hermes to help us with the audition video."
"I was just thinking about Ms. Hera's approval," Jay agrees.
The heroes leave to speak to the queen of the gods, Hera. In her office, Odie activates the show's site on her Internet for her to learn about it.
"It does sound very enthralling, indeed," Hera says. "I must say, it's one of the nicest ways to spend one's summer vacation. Of course, given your victory over Cronus, I'm going to accept this for you. This will give you all an opportunity to see life outside New Olympia. To give a chance to build relationships outside this social circle. I believe this will be a very good experience for you all." She looks directly at Jay. "Especially you, Jay. As the leader, you've been working expressively hard to protect this city from the doom of Cronus' rule. Although I'm proud, I'm afraid it may take a toll on you if you don't slow down. I urge you to participate in this."
Theresa nudges and winks at him. "Told you so," she says.
The next day, after explaining the situation to Hermes the night before, the heroes prepare to make their audition DVD. The god of messengers is holding a camera in the Olympus High gymnasium. "Ready, everyone?" he asks.
"Ready!" the heroes chorus.
Hermes turns on the camera and the heroes introduce themselves, starting with Jay. "Hello, everyone," he says. "I'm Jay, I'm seventeen years old, and a descendant of Jason, leader of the Argonauts."
"I'm Theresa, I'm seventeen, and a descendant of Theseus."
"Name's Herry. I'm seventeen too, and a descendant of the mighty Hercules."
"I'm Archie, and I'm seventeen as well. I'm the descendant of Achilles."
"Hi, I'm Neil, and I'm sixteen going on seventeen. I'm the good-looking descendant of Narcissus."
"I'm Odie, also sixteen, and a descendant of Odysseus."
"And I'm Atlanta. I'm just fifteen years old, and a descendant of Atalanta."
"And we are going to show you what life is like for us here in New Olympia and Olympus High School," Jay says. "Basically, as the descendants of the legendary Greek heroes we mentioned, it was our destiny to come here to save the world from the evil god of time, Cronus. However, in our last battle, it seems that he has vanished, and will be taking a long time planning something really big for us. But in the meantime, we would like to show you how we work and play." He is surprisingly calm and cool on camera.
They stay in the gymnasium as they show off their practice modes first. Jay and Theresa are practicing their sword fighting, as are Odie and Neil; it seems the latter team can't keep their swords up. Archie perfecting his skills with his Hephaestus Whip, slashing a long steel pipe; Atlanta working with her bolas. Herry doing four sets of eight with one thousand pounds on dumbbells, first with two hands, then one hand, then doing one hundred one-arm push-ups. Then, Hermes sends everyone to the racetrack.
He films everyone's running skills. "One lap around the track," he says. "See if you can do it in less than three minutes." In that time, Atlanta manages to do anywhere between ten and fifteen laps, before the other heroes complete their first one.
After the gymnasium scenes, Hermes decides to show off some of the group's intelligence. He takes Odie to his control room and says, "What new upgrades can you provide for us, Odie?"
Odie goes directly to work, and in a span of ten minutes, creates a working video screen for his and the others' communicators. He also installs a telecommunications system on Hermes' computer, and direct contacts to all communicators. "There you go," Odie declares. "Now, you'll be able to contact us wherever we are with this new system." Then, as he still stares at the camera, "Oh, and you may want to edit out some of the upgrading process, for both time restraints and to keep the show's producers from getting bored."
Unfortunately, Hermes and the other gods of Olympus High cannot leave school grounds, so Odie has to do the camera work. When they arrive at the park, Theresa starts off by saying, "Here is one of many places where we like to go when we're not out to save the world. Sometimes we'll take a walk around the pond, me and Jay holding hands, or we'll sit on a bench and talk about whatever is on our minds. Jay and I are so close, there's nothing that we can't tell each other." She, too, is calm and cool on camera.
Archie grins at the camera a little. "Same with Atlanta and me," he says, holding her.
They start their walk around the park as Atlanta jogs, then suddenly, Theresa stops, having another one of her clairvoyant visions. Jay briefly explains this to the camera, then asks her, "What is it, Theresa?"
"I see a major crime spree down at the mall!" she says. "Gang members robbing all the major stores. Hundreds of dollars worth of items being stolen. And the security guards can't handle it all."
"Then we have no time to waste!" Jay declares. "Let's go!" The group rushes to Herry's truck, and are off to the mall, the camera turned off the whole way there.
When they arrive at the mall, Odie pauses to turn the camera back on. They get inside just in time to see the crooks leaving. Jay, Theresa, Archie and Atlanta activate their weapons, while Herry and Neil prepare to use their strength and luck, respectively. Odie moves off to the side so he can capture it all on film.
During the battle, Jay swipes at several robbers with his double-edged sword, Archie knocks several items out of another robber's hand with his whip, and Atlanta's bolas tie yet another robber's legs together, making him fall. Theresa uses her karate skills to take out the same robbers Jay had battled, and hits yet another one repeatedly with her nunchucks. Herry picks up three more and throws them directly into a flower shop across from the battle, making them crash into a display. He punches out a fourth one until the robber is unconscious. With Neil's luck, he's been ducking punches, and takes off into another direction during a chase, making the robber crash into a wall. He also takes Odie out of the battle before he can get hurt, or the camera gets smashed. (However, every time he rescues Odie, he will also pose vainly for the camera.) When the whole gang is defeated, Odie waits around to videotape the police making arrests.
Odie turns the camera Jay's way so he can explain, "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is another useful way of us honing our skills."
Odie turns the camera off as the items are being returned. The heroes decide to stay at the mall for a while. When the camera is back on, it's focused on Theresa and Atlanta. Theresa says, "This is one of our favorite hangout spots in all of New Olympia. Here, Atlanta and I like to spend some 'girl time,' shopping for the latest in fashions, makeup and CD's."
Atlanta rolls her eyes as she adds, "And I let her talk me into the occasional perfume sample, too."
Odie follows the girls around the Madgasen department store as they do their shopping. Theresa shows a size five sundress to the camera, and takes Atlanta for a search of a matching hat. Atlanta takes interest in a few clothing items from a rock star's fashion line. They go to the music section next, but can't find anything from the artists they are looking for. Theresa sighs and says, "Let's go see what's available at Music Express."
On their way to the checkout, they are stopped by a perfume saleswoman. Theresa is enthralled by the latest scent on the market, Vienna Spring. Atlanta gags on her Curious sample. They pay for their purchases, Theresa using her credit card, then the three walk quickly to their favorite music store. When they get there, Atlanta says to the camera, "This is Music Express, our favorite music store here. The CD's and DVD's here are more expensive than those at Madgasen, but this has more of what we want." They spy Archie mulling over the rock section, and go to join him.
In the middle of Archie and the girls talking about rock bands, Odie looks away to videotape Jay and Neil looking at DVD movies.
"Odie!" Atlanta huffs. "Will you focus on us, please?" But Theresa notices Jay and Neil, too, and after making a few selections, goes to join the boys. Odie follows her, and Atlanta gives an annoyed sigh.
After a few minutes, Odie films the gang buying their purchases, then as they leave, he asks, "Hey, anybody seen Herry?"
"He's down at the video arcade, trying out the new championship boxing game they have," Jay answers.
Odie sighs in heavy regret, the fact that he's not down there with the brawny one, and turns the camera on himself. "Nice," he says sarcastically. "Herry's somewhere else, having fun with electronics, and I'm stuck here, with no one else to hold the camera."
Jay checks his watch. "It's getting on two o'clock. Herry said we should meet him at the food court for lunch."
"Let's hope he hasn't cleaned it out by the time we get there," Atlanta says, and everyone laughs.
Sure enough, they meet Herry just outside the food court. He speaks to the camera, "And last but not least, the infamous mall food court. Best place to have lunch. Sometimes, if we come here on weekend afternoons, we'll have dinner here." Odie films some restaurants. "Bertenelli's has the best pizza and pasta ever – though sometimes we tend to choose Santa Maria's Pizza down the street for food to bring back with us – and SuperSubMan has the best submarine sandwiches and cheese steaks ever in the whole city."
"And let's not forget Master Feng's with all the Chinese dishes," Archie adds.
They decide to take a break from filming while they have their late lunch. But Odie goes with Herry to SuperSubMan and orders a six-inch turkey sandwich. He films Herry ordering a cheese steak and a foot-long meatball sandwich.
When they get home, Neil takes Odie to his dorm to get some video of Neil modeling.
They spend fifteen minutes filming while Neil poses in selected outfits, from a red and black "playing card" sweater and black jeans, to a purple sweatsuit, to an unbuttoned white shirt and matching Capri pants. He even poses shirtless in pair of blue jeans, cowboy boots and ten-gallon hat, the last shot they get.
"And cut!" Odie declares as if he's directing. "That's great, Neil. The show's producers are going to love that part. I'd say you were a shoo-in to go into the mansion."
"Hey, your camera loves me," Neil replies. "What can I say? The female viewing audience is going to love me on the television."
"I'll ask Hermes about a special editing trick for this part," Odie says. "I'm thinking a flash and freeze frame for every outfit, like pictures being taken."
"Very authentic idea," Neil agrees. "It may even increase my chances."
After dinner, Neil and Theresa decide to rent some movies for the group. Odie decides to come along with, as part of this "day in the life" video.
Inside the store, Neil says to the camera, "Here is another one of our favorite places – Stage 14 Video. It's the only other place for lots of New Olympia movie buffs to go, other than the mall movie theater. This store contains over five hundred movie choices. Naturally, none of us can leave here without at least one chick flick for Theresa."
"As well, it has an awesome display for candy, chocolate, popcorn and drinks," Theresa adds. "We also never leave here without a bag full of treats."
Odie turns to camera on himself and says, "I prefer a sci-fi and thriller myself."
He follows Neil and Theresa along the new releases. She selects Before Heaven, a romance about three newly-killed young men who want to spend one last time with their surviving loves, and The Sympathizers, another romantic drama about American siblings falling in love with British people. Theresa says, "I'm sure Jay will be interested in this one." She has Odie follow her to the section of older romance movies, where she picks Jack Halpern's movie Julianne.
Odie goes back to the new releases in search of a good thriller. He is immediately attracted by Learn to Fly. "This is one of my favorites," he tells the camera. "A plane hijacked by terrorists, and the pilots are unconscious, so two ordinary Joes who know nothing about flying have to learn in order to get the other passengers to safety. I'm not giving away the plot, but trust me, it's cool stuff." He then remembers he's almost finished, and mentally reminds himself of his next task. He puts the selection back. "Maybe next time."
Suddenly he hears Theresa call, "Odie, where are you? We're almost ready to go."
He sees Theresa and Neil at the counter picking out snacks. He joins them just as Neil is taking a bag of popcorn twists. Odie also films three more bags of chips and candy, and two regular bags of popcorn. Just as Theresa pays, he says to the camera, "Well, that's our life in the city on an ordinary day, though we may not do this all the time. See you back at the dorm." He shuts the camera off.
Back in the dorm living room, Odie decides to film one last scene. Neil and Theresa are passing around the snacks, and Herry already gets into the popcorn. Odie concludes, "Well, ladies and gentlemen, we're so glad you had a chance to meet us. We look forward to all your impressions. See you."
"Goodbye," everyone else says as Odie films them one last time. He smiles, shuts the camera off, then leaves for the school.
"You're not going to watch the movies with us?" Archie asks.
"Can't," Odie replies. "I'm taking this to Hermes; this thing has to be edited for viewing. This could take most of the night."
The next morning, the group is back in the living room, Odie holding a DVD with the final product. He slides it into the player and sits with all his friends.
They're entirely impressed with both the practice and battle scenes. Jay says of the latter, "Oh, good editing skills, Odie. You managed to get all of us in battle. And nice job on the karate, Theresa. You'll definitely get noticed."
They're laughing at Atlanta's reaction to the perfume. She glares at them and says, "I thought that Curious was too girlish for my liking! Why could they have samples of women's cologne, like London Nights or something?"
They're also impressed with Neil's modeling, each pose contain a short white flash then freezing, as RuPaul's Supermodel plays in the background. Archie comments, "Wow, I'm actually impressed. Your vanity can actually get you somewhere, like in the mansion."
"Hey, I'm not hoping," Neil says. "I know they'll choose me. Why wouldn't they?"
They don't say anything more until the end of the video, then when Odie shuts it off, the rest of the heroes applaud. "Brilliant job in editing, you and Hermes," Atlanta says. "You two must've stayed up all night."
"Actually, it only took us until two, maybe three in the morning," Odie replies. "It takes a lot to cut out unnecessary footage, and put the rest onto a DVD disc."
He activates his laptop and the show's website, and takes down the mailing address. He goes to see Hera about a bubble-wrapped envelope and stamps. She views the video on her computer and says, "It's a bit long, considering what producers of most reality shows want to see, and most wouldn't go for 'day in the life' vignettes. But I'm sure they'd be interested in you all. Check the mailing supply room for what you'll need." She makes a quick copy for the gods among the staff to watch.
Odie goes to find a perfect-fitting envelope and three fifty-cent stamps. He puts the DVD in a protective slot, and puts it in the envelope for mailing.
Two months pass without another sign of Cronus or his shenanigans in New Olympia. Everyone except Odie is in the gymnasium practicing anyhow, at Jay's insistence.
"Honestly, Jay, will you just relax?" Theresa sighs harshly. "I haven't had any visions of danger ahead here for the past two months."
"Theresa, nobody knows when or where Cronus will strike next," Jay argues.
Suddenly, they are interrupted by Odie, bursting in with a cordless phone in hand. "You guys!" he calls. "It's the producers from World in a Mansion. They just looked at our video!"
He leads his friends to the area in school where the gather for meetings, all the gods of the school gathered around them. Odie puts the phone on its hook, and puts it on speaker phone. They hear a man's voice, probably a man in his early forties.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," the man says. "I'm Steve Halpern, Jack Halpern's younger brother, and producer of The World in a Mansion."
"Good afternoon, Mr. Halpern," Hera replies. I am Hera, the principal of Olympus High. I trust you received the video that these young heroes put together."
"We got the video just close to the deadline," Mr. Halpern says. "I take it this was something you put together at the last minute."
"Not really," Odie says. "Normally, I don't visit TV network websites, but I visited MGM-TV on some personal surfing, came across your show just weeks before the audition deadline, and talked all my friends into signing up. I like this concept of fifteen housemates rather than seven, like on The Real World."
"Thank you," Mr. Halpern replies. "Anyway, we received your video, and although it was longer than what we normally wanted, we were immediately fascinated. So fascinated, in fact, that I insisted we watch the whole thing. Under normal circumstances, reality shows pass over audition videos that are 'day in the life' of that wannabe participant. However, given who you are and what you do, and the abilities of some, I am convinced that you lead very extraordinary lives. People like you would make for great reality television."
"This is Jay speaking," Jay says, "and on behalf of everyone here, I would like to say it was great to hear that."
"Your video stood out from all the rest," Mr. Halpern says, "and I wish we could cast you all this season. However, we have already picked eleven other people to go into the first season mansion here in Santa Rosanna. We decided to save the best for last, so to speak, and pick four of you."
There is a pause, then Mr. Halpern speaks again. "First off, Atlanta, I'm sorry, but at fifteen years old, you are too young to go into the mansion. However, this leads us to our first random choice, and that would be the other girl, Theresa."
Theresa jumps up and dances around in giddy excitement as the gods applaud. She goes over to hug Jay, then gets a congratulatory hug from her mentor, Persephone.
When it's quiet, Mr. Halpern announces, "Neil, we loved your modeling and the way you used your supposed luck in that mall battle scene. You'd be perfect catch for the females in our demographic audience. You will be going into the mansion as well."
More applause as Neil jumps up and pumps a fist in the air. "Boo-yah!" he cries. "Thank you, kind sir!"
"I knew just from seeing that video copy, that you'd be selected," his mentor, Aphrodite, gushes. "You know you're beautiful enough for television. Ooh, I'm so proud." She kisses his right cheek.
"The third young hero to go into the mansion is…" Mr. Halpern announces, "Herry."
Herry is surprised to hear this. "I am?" he asks, at first not believing it. But after seeing wide smiles from Theresa and Neil, and more applause from the gods, he cries, "Oh, I am, I am, I am!" He goes to hug his housemates, then gets a surprise noogie from his ancestor and mentor, Hercules.
"Attaboy, Herry," he says brashly. "You just be sure to keep up that strength of yours. You'll be very competitive with Neil fer all the girls."
All attention returns to the phone as Mr. Halpern announces the last housemate. "And now, the moment we've all been waiting for, who will be fifteenth young person to go into my brother Jack's luxurious mansion?"
The young heroes are literally sitting on the edge of their seats.
"The last housemate to go into the mansion this first season is…"
Archie, Jay and Odie lean forward in suspenseful anticipation.
"Jay."
Jay is shocked, surprised. This shock immediately wears off when he gets an impromptu squeeze-like hug from Theresa. Among the applause from the gods, she says, "Oh, isn't this exciting? Now you and I will be able to spend some real time together. We'll be closer than ever before. Oh, I'm so happy for you."
When it is quiet again, Mr. Halpern says, "As for Archie, Atlanta and Odie, don't worry. We loved your video so much, that we've decided to give you three reserved seating for one of our upcoming seasons. Either season three or season four, when we're sure Atlanta's old enough, depending on the success of this series. As for Theresa, Jay, Herry and Neil, we'll be filming for two weeks, as you know, from July 25th through August 8th. We have lots planned for you guys, so your experience will be plentiful. All hotel stays and airfare to Santa Rosanna prior to arriving at the mansion will be paid for by the producers. You'll be expected to be in the city on July 24th or earlier."
"Thank you, Mr. Halpern," Jay says.
"And thank you for calling with the announcement," Hera says. "We look forward to sending these students your way then. Have a nice day."
Odie hangs up, then Hera goes to Jay and says, "I'm proud that you got selected, Jay. This will be a very good experience for you. I trust you will relax, have fun, and not worry about what Cronus will be up to while you're gone."
Jay looks at Theresa, who smiles and waves back at him. "I'll try my best not to think of Cronus," he says.
A/N: Sorry to all you Archlanta fans, but I'm playing around with the Jaresa pairing this time. Anyway, I'm sure most of you will be pleased with the selections. See you next chapter.