Chapter 66

Last man standing

At Camp Half-Blood

The demigods were dropped off at Camp while the professor and Logan returned to the Institute with Amara.

They all slept through the entire day.

Dean laid in his bed, sprawled out, and snoring loudly. It was a tiring day after all.

His phone, which had been vibrating for the last hour, slowly moved towards the edge of the nightstand where it fell off.

Dean suddenly woke from the noise of his phone dropping. He reached out, picked it up, and saw that it was full of missed calls and texts from Jean, "Sometimes I forget I have a girlfriend"

Just then Jean started calling him again.

Dean swiped and answered, "Hello?" He said groggily.

"Why have you been ignoring me?!" Jean shouted.

"I've actually been sleeping" Dean said sarcastically.

Jean grunted in frustration, "When are you coming home?"

Dean sighed, "I'll be back in a few hours"

"We need to talk when you get back" Jean said before hanging up.

Dean yawned as he got up, 'Why am I even with her again?' Then the image of Jean naked popped up in his mind, 'Oh yeah, she's gorgeous'

He got up from bed and went to the bathroom. He glanced in the mirror and saw his stubbles had returned.

Dean growled in frustration, "Stop growing already!"

After forcing most of his teammates out of bed they met with Chiron in the big house to debrief him.

"He agreed and sent his daughter with you?" Chiron said in disbelief. He smiled with pride, "This worked out far better than I thought it would" he admitted.

Dean was happy to hear that, "So as long as we send some half-bloods to help, I'm positive that we can call them our allies"

"Something that will definitely prove useful in the future" Joey said.

Chiron nodded, "Now" his tone became more serious, "Your fight with Selene…tell me your thoughts"

They all looked at each other.

Tim looked at Chiron, "We could argue that we put up a good fight, but we were lucky we survived"

Lily nodded in agreement, "Her arrogance was her own undoing"

"I was this close" Billy showed a showed a small space between his fingers, "To having my dick ripped off"

"We were unprepared" Dean said flat out. He looked at Chiron with worry, "If we're supposed to face greater threats in the future then we need to master how to use this godly power" he demanded.

Chiron saw that this quest was a bit of a wake up call for them, that there was still a lot they had to learn.

"You almost got blasted to nothing with that power" Joey pointed out.

"Is it possible for you to teach us this?" Jon asked eager to get stronger.

Chiron looked skeptical, "Learning how to use your inner power is no easy task" he admitted, "For most, it takes years of training to master, some even never learn it"

"We don't have years to waste, there has to be a faster way to do it" Dean said.

Chiron gave it some thought, "Perhaps…there might be a way"

"If there is then we need to start immediately" Tim insisted, "Teach us"

Chiron shook his head, "If you all wish to learn this then I won't be the one teaching you"

Lily wore a confused expression, "But why?"

"Teaching someone how to access their inner power differs depending on the individual" Chiron pointed out, "Because each of you would learn it differently and at different paces it would take years. Something I assume you wish to avoid"

"Well if not you…then who?" Jon asked.

"It's true that all half-bloods that survive to adulthood tend to leave camp and go off on their own. Though most end up dying, there are some that have survived decades due to their mastery of their inner power" Chiron said.

"So we'd each get a different master to teach us?" Billy asked.

"Yes" Chiron nodded, "But they don't live close, so you'd all have to venture out on your own"

"We'd have to leave to learn this huh?" Dean said looking skeptical.

Chiron could see the conflict on Dean's face, "This is a big decision to make, think it over and come back when you've decided"

At the Institute

Dean returned and made his way to his room, purposely trying not to be noticed. His mind was full of conflicting thoughts, his need to improve was pulling him away from the Institute while his friends and girlfriend were holding him here. Metaphorically speaking.

He showered and changed into a clean pare of clothes.

Dean walked downstairs, 'Jean might be a little uptight at times but I still care about her. Leaving at a delicate time like this might mean the end of us'

Kurt teleported in front of him, "Hey Dean!"

Dean was caught in his own thoughts and didn't pay attention to Kurt as he walked past him.

Kurt looked perplexed, "Hello?" Usually doing that would get a reaction out of him. Kurt tapped him on the shoulder, "Yo!" He said trying to get his attention.

"Huh" Dean turned around and noticed him.

"You're really in your own world today, what's up?" Kurt asked.

"I um…might be leaving" Dean said flat out.

"What?" Kurt asked, "Why?"

"I have to find somebody" Dean said before continuing his mindless walk.

Kurt was sort of speechless. Was he leaving for good?

Scott and Rogue were in the lounge watching TV when Kurt walked in with a frown.

"Hey Kurt" Scott greeted his friend.

"Hey" Kurt said sounding sad as he sat on the couch.

Rogue noticed his sad demeanor, "What's up with you?"

"It's Dean" Kurt muttered.

"What about him?" Scott asked curiously.

"You mean you don't know?" Kurt said somewhat surprised, had he been the only one Dean told?

"Know what?" Rogue asked him.

Kurt broke the possibly sad news to his friends, "Dean might be leaving"

"What?!" Rogue shouted, why in the world would he leave?

"Why would he be leaving?" Scott asked utterly perplexed.

Dean seemed perfectly happy the other day, not that it would bother Scott if he left.

"He said he has to find somebody or something, I don't get it" Kurt said.

Dean was walking back to the mansion from a long walk he took to think things over. Unfortunately he hasn't come to a decision.

He sighed, why did everything in his life have to change so quickly? From running away from home, deceived into working for Hydra, being introduced to mutants and dealing with the brotherhood, finding out he's a demigod and training at Camp, discovering his brother, and now he has to leave to learn about his inner power. He just can't catch a break.

Dean revisited the spot where a few months ago he found his gauntlets.

'Have you come for guidance?' Zeus spoke.

Dean looked up as to stare at the sky, "I'm assuming you're already aware of my predicament"

'I am' His father confirmed, 'Learning to use your inner power will be a valuable asset, one that should not be prolonged'

"I know" Dean admitted, he knew very well how important this was, "This is all happening too fast for me"

'Need I remind you that you accepted my offer, and if you don't learn to utilize ALL your abilities you'll be at a disadvantage' Zeus said.

Dean sighed as he looked down, "Yeah, I figured that"

After hearing his father's thoughts Dean went back inside.

As he walked through the front door he spotted Jean siting on the stairs waiting for him.

"Finally!" She said sounding exasperated as she walked over to him.

"Hey I—"

Jean grabbed him and floated up the steps and into his room.

Dean closed the door behind him.

"Why did you leave without saying anything?" Jean said with melancholy, "The Professor and Logan refused to tell me where you went yesterday and I've had no idea where you've been since"

When Dean thought about it that was kind of insensitive, but to be fair he was too worried about other also important things.

"Well?" Jean said waiting for some kind of explanation, "I know you brought that girl back with you but that's it"

Dean pinched the bridge of his nose, 'What the hell am I supposed to say? I had to go kill someone?' he sighed, "I…" he hesitated, "I had a lot on my mind at the time, me and my team were sent to liberate an island of Romans from a sorceress"

Jean stared at him slack jawed in shock, what the hell is he saying?

Dean frowned, he's seen that same unfaithful look before, "I don't know if you believe me and frankly I don't care" he said frankly having had enough of being looked at like he makes this all up, "I might be leaving the Institute, figure out if I'm making that up" he stormed out of his room.

It took her a second to react to that revelation before Jean ran after him, "Wait you can't just leave!"

Dean stopped and instantly turned around. Lightning sparked around him as he glared at her, "Why not?!" he shouted in defiance.

Jean became frightened at the sight of him.

Dean realized the change in his body and took control of his emotions. The lightning faded and his expression softened, "I admit that I need to try harder to make us work, but I can't ignore my responsibilities either"

Jean became more relaxed as he calmed down, "You shouldn't have to go, we've been through so much this past months. You deserve a break" she tried to reason with him.

Dean looked down and shook his head, "I don't know what I'm gonna do, about anything. I need time to think" he left her standing there.

Jean stood there with a worrisome look.

At the Hideout

Tim, Billy, and Jon were playing a friendly game of pool, or at least they were trying to. Lilith wanted to watch them squabble.

"YOU'RE GOING TO MISS THIS!" Billy said trying to distract Tim from making the red "3" ball.

Tim simply ignored Billy and made the shot. The white ball bounced off of the borders 3 times avoiding the other balls and knocked the red "3" ball in the corner hole.

"DANMIT!" Billy shouted.

"I'm telling you, it's all about where you hit the ball" Tim said with a smile.

"I still think it's about the power" Jon said aiming his rod and accidentally hitting the white ball with too much force resulting in it flying off the table and landing in a wall.

"Oh come on already!" Jon complained.

Billy grabbed the ball and removed it from the wall which left a ball-sized gap right next to 6 other similar marks on the wall.

"I can't play pool with you anymore" Billy complained as he passed Tim the white ball, "It's no fun losing all the time"

Tim caught the white ball and put it back on the pool table and aimed his rod, "It's not my fault I'm so good at it" he hit the white ball which knocked the 3 remaining balls in different holes one after the other.

"You see what I mean?! That's so stupid" Billy pouted.

Lily couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Billy getting his ass kicked in pool.

"It's not funny!" Billy yelled at her.

Lily laughed harder, "It totally is"

Tim chalked his rod, "Hey Lily why don't you play a little?"

"Me, play with you?" she asked amusingly, "I wouldn't want to embarrass you in front of everyone" she said cockily.

"Oh really?" Tim smirked playfully, "Well I'm calling your bluff. I think you're scared to face me" He said with a grin.

Lily scoffed, "Alright tough guy, show me what you got then" she grabbed a rod.

"I'll even let you break since I'm nice" Tim said setting up the triangle of balls.

"Big mistake on your part" Lily said aiming her rod, "Now watch carefully" she hit the white ball which knocked into the triangle of balls with amazing precision. Every ball went in a hole and even the black "8" ball went in last to secure her victory. She blew the tip of her rod like it was a gun, "Bang-bang"

All three boy teens were dumbstruck at what just happened.

Jon and Billy laughed their asses off.

"She beat you with one move dude!" Billy said hysterically.

"So much for being good!" Jon said joining in.

Tim would have accepted the fact that Lily was better than him honorably but with Jon and Billy being asses about it he refused to admit it.

New York

Dean returned to his home, hopefully his parents could give him some advice.

He stepped inside the house, still quiet as ever. He made his way to the kitchen where his mother was preparing something.

Agalia turned around and smiled, "My baby" she threw her arms around him.

Dean rolled his eyes, 'At least no one was around to hear that' "Hey ma" he said softly.

Agalia went back to what she was doing, "What're you doing here?"

"I came to ask dad for some advice, where is he?" Dean asked.

"He went out to get something, he should be back soon" Agalia said.

Dean nodded, this gave him a chance to speak to her alone, "Well while I'm waiting I wanna know something" he said looking a little nervous.

His mother picked up on his uneasiness, "What is it?"

"I didn't really get to ask you anything about what happened with Zeus, when I first found out about it. Mostly because there was too much going through my mind at the time" Dean admitted.

"Oh" Agalia nodded, she understood what he was asking, "You want to know…how it happened"

"More or less" Dean said feeling a little awkward.

Agalia cleared her throat, "It was about 17 years ago. Your father and I were already married for some time. We tried, on multiple occasions, to have a baby but nothing worked. We had a few doctors examine me, and they discovered that I was sterile" she spoke with sadness in her voice.

Dean could see that must have been a harsh reality for her at the time, "I'm sure dad wasn't happy about that"

Agalia shook her head, "Neither of us were. And to be honest for a while there I thought he might leave me. A wealthy family like your father's needed a woman that could provide an heir, but he never let that affect the way we felt for each other"

Dean nodded.

"One day, I met this man. He was tall, handsome, and he radiated this aura of authority. He was infatuated with me, and I was flattered, but I refused" Agalia said.

Dean did a double take, "You refused a god? How the hell did you do that?!" He was baffled.

If Dean's body emitted enough pheromones to attract the hottest girls in high school imagine what a god could do. And his mom said no.

"Dean, I love your father, and he's the only man I've ever loved" Agalia said with a joyful expression, "And I believe Zeus realized this, that's why he disguised himself as Eli and—"

"I can fill in the rest of the blanks" Dean stopped her.

"When you were born Zeus came to us, and told us that you were destined for great things" Agalia said.

"Wait, so you did know what I was the whole time" Dean said with a frown.

Agalia's eyes began to tear, "We did, and I wanted to tell you every day that I saw how much it troubled you. Zeus made us promise not to tell you anything because it would have attracted monsters to you. So we kept that secret, and tried our best to raise you right"

"That was why" Dean finally understood, "You were just trying to protect me"

Agalia nodded with a sad expression, "I know it was hard growing up like that, but I'd do anything to keep you safe" she said running her hand through his hair.

Dean hugged his mother and held back his tears, "You did the right thing ma"

Eli returned and found them in warm embrace, "Look who decided to drop in" he said with a smile.

Dean let go of his mother and masked his sadness, "Hey dad"

Agalia stepped away, "I'll leave you two alone for now"

Eli looked puzzled, "What's going on?"

Dean sat outside with Eli, explaining his situation to him.

"I don't know what to do dad" Dean said sounding stressed.

"Sounds like you're in quite a pickle" Eli admitted.

"You can say that again" Dean agreed, "I'm torn between two decisions"

"I can see that. It seems you've taken everyone's thoughts into account except your own" Eli said.

Dean became confused, "What? What do you mean?"

"You're so concerned with what people around you want and think you should do that you've forgotten about yourself" Eli pointed out.

"I…I guess I did" Dean realized.

"You need to accept that your god of a father may not have your best interests at heart, and that your relationship like other things sometimes just isn't meant to be" Eli said, "But listen son, before you make any more major decisions. You have to decide what it is that you want, what you want to do with your life. Because there's no one else that can make that choice for you"

"What I want" Dean repeated his words and contemplated. He was always taught to do the right thing, fighting is his passion, and if there is a powerful threat coming then he has to prepare so he can protect his friends and family.

"I know what I want" Dean said confidently.

At the Institute

Dean knocked on the door to the Professors study.

"Enter" Charles said.

Dean walked in and sat down.

Charles sat with his fingers crossed, "I've been told you plan to leave"

"It's a necessary step I need to take" Dean admitted.

The Professor could see that Dean is beginning to adapt Chiron's ideology.

"Do you plan to leave indefinitely?" Charles asked.

"No, but I have no idea when I'll come back" Dean said.

Charles nodded in understanding, "Then I hope you find whatever it is you seek as soon as possible" he offered his hand.

"I hope so too" Dean shook his hand, "If I'm away for too long I might miss some of the trouble we get ourselves into"

Charles laughed, "I suspect the that the trouble will follow you wherever you go"

Dean got up, "No doubt about that" he walked out.

Charles' smile faded, 'Good luck'

Dean knocked on Jean's door. He heard her hurry over to the door.

Jean opened it with an anxious look, "You're back"

"Don't get used to it" Dean closed the door, "I'll be leaving in the morning"

Jean's expression hardened, "That's not fair! We need to fix this before you go anywhere" she insisted, "You've been doing stuff for yourself and ignoring my existence! That's not fair to me and I don't know if I'm gonna be able to handle this anymore"

"It's not fair to you, but it's also not about you. If you really cared, instead of thinking about yourself you'd be asking me what it is and why I need to go" Dean said angrily.

Jean looked at him, eyes full of sorrow, "If you really think I don't care then get out!" She pointed to her door, "Because if you cared about me you'd take the time to explain why you're leaving rather than expecting me to be here waiting for you"

"If I knew how to explain it I would of but you need to understand that I'm doing this because I have no other choice not because I want to hurt you" Dean pointed out.

"I'm trying to understand but you can't expect me to be ok with you just running off and not saying anything" Jean said.

"I understand" Dean said looking down in sadness. His gaze rose to meet hers and inched closer before placing his hands on her hips, "When I come back I promise to try harder" he leaned in and kissed her.

Jean's eyes teared and she looked down to hide them as she buried her face in his chest, "Ok" she whispered in melancholy.

At the Hideout

The group had moved on to a different activity.

Billy and Jon were playing a fighting game on their console.

They both clicked the buttons on their controllers as fast as they could.

"You're gonna lose" Billy said with a smirk.

Jon grit his teeth, "Using that same move"

Tim and Lily watched them.

"I didn't realize a video game could be so competitive" Lily said watching how intense the two of them were.

Billy kept on using the same move that annoyed Jon and laughed.

"Stop that already!" Jon shouted.

Billy snickered.

"Gaming is a hobby we take very seriously" Tim admitted.

Billy beat his larger friend, "Oh yeah!"

"Fuck!" Jon crushed his controller angrily.

Billy moved his pelvis in Jon's direction, "Take it! Take it!"

Lily and Tim laughed lightly.

Jon growled.

"I bet you love deez nuts in ya mouth" Billy joked grabbing his crotch.

Jon swung his fist downwards towards him.

Billy backed away from the fist that smashed the couch they were sitting on.

Lily laughed a little harder.

"Hey what did I miss?" Dean asked walking in wondering what all the laughing is about.

"Nothing" Jon said looking pissed, "Nothing at all"

"Nothing as in you just got your ass handed to you" Billy said with a smirk.

Jon went to hit him again but Dean stopped him, "Relax"

Jon crossed his arms and turned away from Billy.

"Did you come to a decision?" Tim asked him.

Dean nodded, "Yeah, I'm gonna do it" he said proudly.

"That's good to hear" Lily said, "It'll be good for all of us to learn this"

"Maybe then Jon will actually stand a chance against me" Billy bragged.

Jon turned around and glared at him, "You think you can beat me?" He asked as if looking for a challenge, "Only one person here could even hurt me"

Billy smirked, "I think I can beat all of you" he said cockily.

The other three looked back and forth between the two.

"Ha!" Jon scoffed, "What a joke"

"Is that so?" Tim said referring to both of them.

"You both have a lot of confidence for a bunch of dimwits" Lily said mocking them.

"I don't think a brawl is a good way to spend our last few hours before we part ways" Dean said skeptically.

"I disagree, I think some of us have something to prove" Tim pointed out, "Also we need to establish a pecking order"

"For what?" Dean asked.

"While you were missing from the fight with Selene we had an issue with deciding who should call the shots. If the team can't function when the leader is absent then we have a problem" Tim said.

Dean nodded, "So what do you propose we do?"

Tim smirked, "I think I know a way to kill two birds with one stone. We'll have a free-for-all battle royale"

"Say what now?" Billy asked.

"One big fight between all of us, same rules as the team fights at camp, the last person standing wins. The pecking order is decided from the order we're eliminated" Tim said.

"Interesting" Lily said sounding intrigued.

Jon looked confused, "What happens if someone is higher on the pecking order than Dean?"

Dean raised an eyebrow.

Tim shrugged with a sly smirk, "I guess since whoever comes out on top will have the highest authority, that they can be the leader"

Dean sighed as he stared at him, "So that's your play"

Tim looked around, "Any objections?"

Billy looked excited, "I think it's only fitting that the king of thieves steals the position of leader"

Jon cracked his knuckles in anticipation, "Let's do it"

"I have no problem teaching you boys some manners" Lily said nonchalantly.

Dean gave in, "Alright then, I guess this is happening"

The group moved to the wide room where Dean, Tim, and Billy originally fought Gorgeous George. The human indentations in the walls and ceiling from Dean being knocked around were still present.

They stood in a circle, equidistant from each other, all holding their weapons.

"So how do we start?" Jon wondered, wanting to begin.

"I got it" Tim took out a shuriken from one of his belt pouches, "As soon as it touches the floor, start. Ready?"

They all nodded with anticipation.

Dean twirled his blade, not how he wanted to spend his day but nonetheless he'll enjoy himself. He only held his bronze sword since his shield was destroyed in the fight with Selene.

He purposely didn't replace it, it's this strange feeling he seems to get when he breaks his weapons. He feels like he failed them in some form of manner, the same reason why he never had his titanium swords fixed. So for the time being he's gonna stick with a single sword.

Jon glared at Billy with a sadistic grin as he squeezed the handle of his axe, "Ready to be squashed?"

Billy hopped around, warming himself up, "Oh I'm ready, to lay the smackdown on your candy ass!"

Tim flicked the shuriken upwards. It went up a few feet and then it dropped.

As soon as it hit the ground Jon swung his axe at Billy.

Billy sidestepped, avoiding the swing, "Nothing but air" he mocked him.

Jon chased after him with a determined look.

Dean stared at the other two in front of him without clear targets, 'Now how's this gonna wor—'

Tim and Lily suddenly charged at him.

Dean deflected a thrust from Tim with his blade then blocked a slash from Lily with his gauntlet, "Really guys?"

"No rules against teaming up" Tim threw a couple shuriken which sliced the side of his face since he was distracted.

Lily slashed downward and would have cut him open from neck to groin if he didn't back away, letting his chest piece take the brunt of the attack.

Dean jumped backwards to give himself some room. He looked at his chest piece which was practically cut in half, "You guys aren't playing" he sounded impressed.

"We realized that unless we aim to maim we won't be able to take you down" Lily said.

Dean nodded, "Alright then" he took off his chest piece since it was practically useless now.

Jon swung his axe again and Billy dodged letting him cave in the ground.

Billy retaliated by slicing his calves.

Jon swung his axe wildly trying to catch him.

Billy hopped over the swing and kicked him in the face.

Jon barely felt it but was still aggravated at his inability to hit him.

Billy grinned as he hopped around.

Jon chased him around swinging his axe, smashing the ground like a whack-a-mole.

Billy laughed, "You'll never hit me with that heavy thing"

Jon grit his teeth but then he paused, he gave him the solution. He tossed his axe aside, "You're right, I'm better off with my mitts"

Billy felt a little stupid for giving him that idea.

Dean moved fluidly and bounced between Lily and Tim, blocking, parrying, and deflecting at impressive speeds.

Lily slashed diagonally and Dean parried it.

Tim then swung his staff towards his head.

Dean blocked with his gauntlet and then went to grab the staff.

Lily then went to shield bash him.

Dean jumped off of her shield and propelled himself backwards.

Tim tossed a handful of explosives.

Dean crossed his hands like an X letting his gauntlets take the brunt of the explosion that covered his field of vision.

An arrow flew through the smoke and pierced his shoulder.

Dean landed in a crouch as he pulled the arrow out.

Tim leapt towards him, spinning his staff above him to build momentum, and then came down with it.

Dean pivoted to the right, narrowly dodging, and letting the staff hit the ground.

Tim's staff cracked the concrete floor.

Dean raised an eyebrow, 'When did he get so strong?'

Lily charged forward and stabbed towards his center.

Dean moved at the last second letting the blade slice into his ribcage.

Lily then used her momentum to spin and shield bash him in the chest.

Dean was taken by surprise by the amount of force behind her bash which sent him flying back, 'Her too?'

Lily and Tim pursued their target.

Dean planted his feet and skidded to a halt. He glanced to the side where Jon was chasing Billy around who looked like he was making progress since he was getting closer.

'If I interfere with them maybe I could shake these two off me' Dean thought as he went to run towards Jon and Billy.

Dean stopped in his tracks as two arrows flew by his face. He then backflipped over a low swing from Tim, 'They're not gonna let me get away without a fight'

Billy grew concerned as Jon's attacks slowly became more accurate. It made it hard for him to get close enough to attack.

Billy sped by him trying to slice his ribcage.

Jon turned around aiming a backhand at him.

Billy bent backwards letting his arm fly right over him.

Jon then went to knee his face.

Billy slashed his stomach and rolled out of the way.

The wound bled down Jon's hip. He ignored it and continued his assault.

Billy moved nimbly to avoid Jon's punches which didn't seem to be tiring him.

Jon brought his fists down and Billy moved out of the way letting him smash the ground.

Billy stabbed him in the shoulder but Jon swung around before he could pull the dagger out so he hopped back.

Jon pulled it out, luckily it wasn't deep, and he threw it up.

The dagger imbedded into the ceiling.

"Shit" Billy muttered squeezing his single dagger nervously. If he loses his other one he's gonna have to get real close.

Jon noticed Billy's uneasiness, "You're scared to get close aren't you?" He deduced as he charged at Billy.

Billy dodged a right hook and went to stab him in the chest.

Jon used his other hand to block, letting the dagger stab through his palm, and snatch it out of his hand.

Billy went to grab it but hesitated as he saw Jon's other hand coming towards him. He backflipped to get some breathing room.

Jon winced as he pulled the dagger out of his palm, "Worth it" he threw it right next to the other one on the ceiling.

"Fuck" Billy said not looking happy.

Jon forced his wounded hand to close into a fist despite the excruciating pain that he felt, "Yes you are"

Billy grit his teeth, "Ok fine" he took off his armor to lose any unnecessary weight, "I think it's time to switch to third gear" he bent his knees before taking off at an impressive speed.

He closed the distance between him an Jon, punched him several times, and then backed away before the son of Ares could react.

Since Billy has trained and is now comfortable in bronze armor, his unhindered speed has increased.

Tim swung his staff, striking Dean in the stomach and sending him flying towards Lily.

Lily slashed him and then bashed him with her shield in the same direction sending him flying towards the wall even faster.

Dean crashed into the concrete wall making a sizable gaping hole.

Tim twirled his staff as he approached the hole, "You're having trouble, why don't you get serious?"

"If you don't soon you won't get the chance" Lily said as she also approached the hole.

Dean chuckled from the inside, "As if I'd waste it that easily" he crawled out of the hole, covered in dust and his head split open, "But you're right, If I don't do something soon I won't get the chance" he opened his free hand's palm and summoned a lightning bolt.

Tim and Lily both raised their weapons to defend against a predicted counterattack.

Instead Dean remained where he stood, patiently waiting, 'They want me to waste my energy, but if I stall long enough I won't have to' he thought as he glanced over at Jon and Billy who's battle was heating up.

Lily noticed his glance and figured out his plan, "Stalling won't help you" she lunged forward.

Dean blocked her blade with his own, then when she went to shield bash him he pressed his lightning bolt against it.

The lightning traveled through the shield, since metal is an electrical conductor, and went into Lily's body.

Lily felt temporarily paralyzed as the electric current coursed through her body.

Dean kicked her in the chest sending him tumbling across the floor.

Tim quickly lunged forward and attacked before Dean could charge another bolt.

Dean blocked an overhand swing and then went to shove him back.

Tim planted his feet and held him at bay, "That's a cool trick you learned" he admitted.

Dean smirked, "Yeah I was reading this book about electrical conductance and resistance" he tried to sweep his legs.

Tim hopped over the sweep which allowed Dean to successfully shove him. Tim flipped midair and landed gracefully as he skid back a few feet.

Dean ran at him as he summoned another lightning bolt to his palm and threw it.

Tim sidestepped, avoiding it, and also ran at him.

Dean threw multiple lightning bolts as they closed in.

Tim moved side to side, avoiding all of them, before spinning his staff downward.

Dean deflected one end, only for the other end to spin around. He used his free hand to grab the staff as he simultaneously summoned a lightning bolt.

The lightning traveled down the staff but stopped when it reached the leather grip.

Dean raised an eyebrow, that's odd.

Tim smirked, "I put a layer of rubber underneath the leather grip"

Lily stabbed him in the back, avoiding any vital organs.

Dean cried out as he elbowed her and unconsciously let go of the staff.

Lily had her shield up but he hit it with enough force for that it hit her in the nose, breaking it.

Tim went to thrust his staff into his stomach.

Dean grabbed the staff, and for a split second, the right side of his body sparked with lightning and he hit Tim with a haymaker that sent him flying.

Lily swung her shield, aiming at her blade that was still stuck in him.

Dean deflected her shield with a swing of his sword. He then winced as he pulled out her blade.

Lily looked satisfied with his injury.

"I bet you're a lesbian, seeing as how you like to thrust people in the back" Dean joked as he dropped her blade.

Lily laughed, "If you want I'll give you a good pegging when this is over" She jokingly winked at him.

Dean sneered in disgust, "Ugh, you've been spending too much time with Billy"

Tim carefully approached, not wanting to be hit like that again. There was a crack in his armor where Dean struck him.

Dean backed away so he wasn't directly between them.

Tim and Lily came closer and converged on him.

Dean sighed, 'This is getting tough'

Jon leapt towards Billy, throwing punches that hit nothing but air.

Billy avoided them, and struck Jon with repeated punches to the face.

Jon threw two punches back at him.

Billy tilted his head to dodge the first then ducked for the other before punching him a few times in the gut.

Jon threw a wide right hook.

Billy dropped to the floor, held himself up with one hand, and drop kicked him in the chest.

The force of the hit was sufficient enough to make Jon take a step back.

Jon brushed it off and kept on pursuing, "That the best you got?" He mocked him.

Billy began to feel frustrated, his attacks were barely affecting him, "I'm starting to get bored, I think I'm done with this!" He constantly sped around Jon and endlessly punched him.

Jon swung wildly trying to hit him but he moved around too radically.

"This is the best I can do!" Billy shouted as he pummeled Jon.

Jon punched with his left, nothing, threw a right hook, nothing, stomped on the ground behind him, nothing, "I'll get you eventually!" He promised.

Billy stopped circling him and stood across from Jon, panting from fatigue, "You'll never catch me"

Jon's entire body was covered in small bruises, at first the punches had a minuscule effect but after several dozen times they began to wear him down.

Jon glanced at Billy's hands and noticed that they were severely bruised and his knuckles were bloody, "It doesn't matter how fast you are, there's nothing you can do to take me down" he charged at him.

Billy sped around Jon again using the same tactic, this time his rapid attacks were slower, those punches were taking their toll on Billy just as much as Jon.

Jon threw an elbow behind him, narrowly missing Billy.

"Speed and agility trump strength every time!" Billy punched him several times in the face before Jon swung wildly, missing.

Billy slowed down his rate of attack to focus more on dodging any counter attacks.

Jon stomped on the ground to the left of him, almost tripping Billy.

"I can get in hundreds of punches while you can't even get one!" Billy punched him in the face but as it connected he felt one of his knuckles crack, disrupting his flow of movement.

Jon grabbed his hand before he got away and grinned, "I only need one" he pulled back his fist and laid him out with a haymaker to the jaw that sent him flying.

Billy zoomed right past Dean and smashed into the wall right behind him.

Dean, Tim, and Lily looked back to see Billy, unconscious, inside a mini crater in the concrete.

Tim shook his head in disappointment.

Jon then focused his attention on his next target. His gaze fixated on Dean.

'Looks like it's my turn' Dean thought, "Since you two like being together so much why don't you face off?" He said to Tim and Lily as he approached Jon.

The two of them stared at each other.

"Finally get that rematch I was looking for" Tim said with anticipation.

Lily smirked as she recovered her sword, "Maybe you'll fare better than last time" She replied with equal anticipation.

"Probably, I mean I was holding back last time" Tim boasted with a smirk.

Lily laughed dryly as she grit her teeth.

The two of them ran at each other.

Dean sheathed his sword as he walked up to Jon.

Jon stood still, seemingly not interested in retrieving his weapon, waiting to see what Dean would do.

"You're not gonna get your axe?" Dean asked curiously.

Jon shook his head in amusement, "No" he looked at his injured hand, "Gripping it would be too hard, a brawl sounds more fun anyways"

Dean smiled, "It does" he took off his sheathed sword which was strapped to his back and dropped it.

Jon clenched his fists and held them up, preparing himself, "You're not gonna hold back are you?" He'd be offended if his friend didn't take him seriously.

"Against you?" Dean queried before shaking his head while smirking, "Never" he grunted as he brought out his lightning with some effort. The lightning crackled around him and his hair spiked.

Jon smiled with excitement, he's been waiting for this.

Dean struck him with a lightning charged fist to the stomach.

Jon hunched over and wheezed from the force behind it.

Dean then elbowed his back with his other hand, trying to pummel him to the ground.

Jon surprisingly held his position but the ground beneath his feet crumbled under the force of the blow. He then counter attacked with a powerful uppercut that sent Dean flying into the ceiling, severely cracking it.

Jon then leapt upwards, pulling back a fist in preparation to punch him right through the ceiling.

Dean quickly regained his bearings, pushed off the ceiling, and came down with a lightning charged kick.

When they converged, the kick struck Jon's face first before his fist could connect with Dean due to the lower limb having the advantage in distance.

Jon landed harshly on the concrete floor. He tried his best to land upright and on his feet but only managed to land in a crouching position with his hands on the floor to keep him from hitting it face first.

Dean landed gracefully and dashed in his direction in one swift move.

Jon caught a glimpse of Dean's golden hue from the corner of his eye, knowing that he wouldn't have enough time to react if he looked in it's direction and tried to think of a counter, he simply threw an overhand right.

Dean ducked underneath it and elbowed Jon in the back, knocking him forward.

Jon stumbled forward a few steps but regained his composure before spinning around with a left hook.

Dean hopped over his arm and struck him in the side of the face with a spinning kick.

Jon spat blood and his body moved from the force of the kick but not before he grabbed Dean's leg. Jon swung him around and slammed him into the floor making a small crater.

Dean held his hands up to his face and braced himself as he impacted the floor.

Jon maintained his firm grip on Dean's leg and swung him overhead, slamming him into the floor again making a small crater.

Dean grit his teeth as he was whipped around like a rag doll.

Jon swung him overhead once more to slam him into the floor again.

This time Dean placed his hands on the ground first, which harshly impacted the concrete floor, and swung Jon overhead with his leg who was still holding on to it.

Jon slammed into one of the already existing small craters and made it a little bigger.

Dean immediately sprung into action and pounded away at Jon's ribcage.

Jon winced from the pain before he swung wildly trying to hit him.

Dean raised his hands and blocked but was still sent tumbling backwards. He lowered them just in time to see Jon mid air coming at him.

Jon came down with a downward right punch and Dean quickly raised his hands to block.

Dean's arms absorbed most of the impact but the devastating force of the punch created a small crater under him, but he simultaneously raised his knee so when Jon collided with him it would drive it straight into his ribcage.

A few cracks could be heard as Dean's knee drove into Jon's ribcage.

Jon fell backwards and clutched his side.

Dean sat upright, his left eye was black and the rest of his face was somewhat bruised. He looked over to Jon and saw that he was gravely wounded.

Tim and Lily clashed as they ran at each other.

They pushed against one another in a power struggle, her sword and shield against his staff. They were equally matched.

Lily grit her teeth, trying her best to push him back.

"What's the matter? You don't look as confident as before" Tim said with a tiny smirk.

Lily tried to push him back but couldn't muster the strength, "Words won't help you win—" she bobbed her head to the left to avoid his incoming fist.

After she avoided it the fist faded into nothing, an illusion.

Given the momentary distraction, Tim pivoted and struck her in the face with the end of his staff.

Lily's head turned and she spat a tiny bit of blood as she took a few steps back.

Tim then swung his staff low.

His staff swept her legs out from under her, but Lily placed her shield arm down to hold herself up as she flipped over to a standing position.

Tim used his momentum to spin around into a thrust.

Lily maneuvered so his staff would come between her and her shield, and when it did she pulled her shield close.

Tim tried to pull back his staff but it was wedged between Lily's armor and her shield.

Before he could do anything else Lily slashed towards his arm forcing Tim to let go of his weapon and back away.

Lily dropped her weapons, tossed his staff upwards, then shot two arrows to pin his weapon to the wall high above reach.

Tim drop kicked her in the chest, sending her tumbling backwards. He then kicked away her discarded sword and shield, "Was that really worth it?"

Lily rolled to a crouch, pulled back an arrow and fired it at him, "I got rid of your best weapon"

Tim dodged the arrow and then laughed lightly, "My best weapon" he tapped on his head, "Is this"

Suddenly a dozen copies of Tim appeared around Lily.

"What is this?" Lily said looking around her.

"My power" All the Tims said simultaneously as they ran around her in a circle, "You've never experienced it first hand have you?"

Lily started feeling dizzy watching him run circles around her. She pulled back an arrow and shot it at one of them.

The arrow went right through him and the image faded.

"Maybe you'll catch on eventually" the Tims said as they pulled out a few shuriken from their belt and threw them.

Lily dropped her bow and covered her face. The real shuriken imbedded into her arms.

Tim then kneed her in the gut, knocking the wind out of her, and followed with an elbow to the chest.

Lily fell on her back and avoided a stomp from Tim. She then swept his legs from under him.

Tim fell and hit his head before Lily elbowed him in the face making him spew out blood.

Lily then went on top of him and started beating on him.

Tim took a few solid hits before he caught her fists.

They struggled to overpower one another.

Tim paused his struggle as he realized she was sitting on top of him in a provocative position.

Tim groaned internally, 'Why couldn't we be like this under different circumstances?' He stared at Lily and could see the determination on her face.

Lily wasn't going to go down without giving it her all, and Tim wasn't sure if he had the stomach to beat her to a pulp in the process.

'Beating the snot out of your crush is a sure way to get her to hate you' Tim thought as he let her gain some ground, 'I guess I'll have to wait for my rematch with Dean' he let go of her and Lily started walling on him.

Tim didn't even try to stop her.

After a minute of endlessly punching, Lily paused as she realized he wasn't even defending himself.

Tim slightly opened one eye to peek at her.

Lily glared at him, "What're you doing?"

Tim's eyes narrowed as he stayed silent, he didn't know how to answer.

Lily put 2 and 2 together and figured it out in her head. She grabbed him by his breastplate and yanked him closer, "Listen carefully, and this goes for you and the other two idiots that have been trying to get in my pants since I got here. I'm not looking for any special treatment! And I sure don't want anyone to go easy on me. You wanna impress me? Then beat me with everything you've got, assuming you even can"

Tim nodded in understanding, "Yes ma'am" he head butted her in the nose and heard a crunch.

Jon punched Dean in the face with a haymaker that sent him tumbling backwards.

Dean got back on his feet right away and took a second to catch his breath. That gaping wound that Lily caused him earlier really hurt and had bled a lot but it was slowly closing. However if his fight with Jon dragged on it could be detrimental.

Jon clutched his side as he ran at Dean. Broken ribs were agonizing, any bit of movement caused the pain to resurface. Even breathing hurt.

Dean ducked under a wide hook and struck him in the ribcage with a lightning charged fist.

Jon winced and backed away, "That really fuckin hurts"

Dean suppressed his lightning to conserve energy, he managed to maintain the elevated state roughly 20 minutes this time compared to his previous 5 minutes against Selene.

Dean breathed heavier, "C'mon Jon, this can only go one way"

Jon ignored the pain and charged again, "Doesn't matter, I'm going to make it as hard as possible for you" he let go of his side and attacked with whatever stamina he had left.

Dean dodged a few punches before throwing a right hook.

Jon took the punch and grabbed his wrist before he could get away.

Dean tried to yank his hand back but Jon's grip was too tight.

"You're not as fast when you're not charged" Jon pulled Dean close and hit him with stone crushing punch to the face.

Dean's head turned and he spat out blood as well as a few teeth.

Jon pulled him back again and struck him with another powerful blow to the face.

Dean went to fly back from the force of the blow but was pulled back over and over like a paddle ball.

Jon went to pull him back again but this time Dean punched Jon in his gut with a lightning charged fist.

Jon doubled over and spat blood.

Dean struck him in the chest with an open palm, knocking him back a couple feet, and he jumped up. He spun around several times, building up speed and momentum, and then topped it off by charging his right leg with lightning.

He landed and with blinding speed launched his tornado kick at Jon.

Jon had a split second to react so he instinctively raised his hands to guard his head, to prevent him from possibly being knocked out.

Dean's kick stopped dead in its tracks right as it reached Jon's ribcage. The shockwave of his kick sent Jon skidding back a few feet.

Jon lowered his guard with a shocked expression, if the shockwave alone moved him that kick would have been devastating, "Why didn't you hit me?"

Dean lowered his leg and rubbed the swollen half of his face, "Your ribs are already broken, if I hit you at the very least they would have punctured your lungs and killed you"

Jon sighed and dropped his hands, "That's it for me then" he admitted defeat as he looked down in disappointment.

Dean inched closer and lightly tapped him on the chest, "Hey"

Jon looked up with a sulking expression.

"Don't be like that, you gave it your all" Dean said sincerely. He offered Jon his hand, "Respect"

Jon half smirked and grasped it to pull him close, "Thanks brother"

Lily slashed repeatedly, trying to slice Tim into pieces. She now held her blade with both hands, one handed would have been too tiring.

Tim, having discarded his armor, moved fast enough to just barely avoid each attack.

Lily went to slash upwards and suddenly felt dizzy. After suffering two hard hits to the nose she'd been severely bleeding from it for a while.

That gave Tim the opportunity to block her arms from raising her weapon with one of his and hit her with a right cross in the face with the other.

Lily took a few steps back and felt everything around her spin.

With her momentary distraction, Tim attempted to snatch her weapon out of her hands but she swept one of his legs and elbowed him in the face.

Tim tumbled backwards until he sat in an upright position where he moved out of the way of a downward slash from Lily.

Lily went to pursue him again but found 6 Tim's around her. Only now with her dizziness it looked like 12.

"This again?" Lily groaned.

"You said not to go easy on you, so I won't" The Tims all said.

Lily feared she might go down in this next assault so she felt a surge of adrenaline that helped her initiate this time by slashing at one, it faded away.

A shuriken flew at her from behind but she turned around and swatted it away with her sword sending it flying into another one of the Tims, it faded away.

The other Tims closed in on her so Lily swung around herself 360 degrees.

Two Tims were close enough to get hit, both faded away.

Lily then slashed at another one, this time when her blade ran diagonally down his chest it drew blood.

Tim backed away from the sudden sting of her blade. He had a deep cut where she slashed him.

Lily then went to follow up with another slash but for some reason this time when her blade touched him he faded away.

For a split second she was confused but then she turned around with a wide horizontal swing, 'It was a decoy!'

Lily turned around just in time to see the last Tim charging at her. As her blade went through his chest she expected to feel some resistance but for some reason this one faded away as well.

Before she could even think something really hard hit her in the back of the head knocking her down and out.

Tim stood behind her, holding her discarded shield with a scar diagonally down his chest, "Good fight" he dropped it and looked over to where Dean was standing, Jon had walked off a minute before and he was watching.

Dean was beaten up badly and half his face was swollen, he probably couldn't even see out of that eye.

Tim had his fair share of cuts and bruises, but he used up the last of his power against Lily. On top of that neither of them had their weapons, which meant Tim didn't have the advantage of distance.

"I wasn't sure you had it in you to beat her" Dean admitted as he inched closer.

"To be honest I wasn't either" Tim agreed as he looked him over, "You though, I knew you'd make it this far. I was hoping Jon would go after you first and then Billy to tire you out even more, but I suppose this is good enough"

"You planned this all out in your head? Why am I not surprised" Dean shook his head.

"I had time to think this through from the moment we all agreed on a leader. Who to throw at you first" Tim ripped the shredded shirt off his chest and tossed it, "How to counter you" he pulled out rubber straps that he wrapped around his fists, "Which strategies would work on you" he went to grab something from his utility belt, "And the most effective way to incapacitate you" he rolled a small sphere the size of a baseball a few feet in front of him.

Dean backed away instinctively, not knowing what to expect.

The sphere stopped and then clicked as the top half rotated and lit up.

When it lit up a deafening sound echoed through the whole room.

Dean shouted as his eardrums felt like they were going to explode.

Tim put earplugs in his ears and then slowly approached him, "I remembered from when we met Jon that your hearing was exceptional so I decided to use that against you"

Dean dropped to the floor and covered his ears but it didn't help at all, it was like nails on a chalkboard times a thousand.

"To any other person it would be really annoying, maybe a little painful. But to you it must be excruciating" Tim kicked him in the chest sending him skidding back into the wall, cracking it.

"If I had to guess you probably have a little more energy left than me, let's fix that!" Tim threw a downward punch.

Dean took the hit to the jaw and spat out blood. He grit his teeth as he fought through the pain and threw a lightning charged punch at Tim.

Tim caught his fist with his rubber wrapped hand and punched him again.

Dean's head turned from the force of the hit.

He counter attacked with a lightning charged sweep but Tim jumped over it and kicked him in the face sending him tumbling across the floor.

Tim then went to jump on him to press the attack.

Dean however got up in a frenzy, caught him midair, and smashed him against the ground over the sphere, breaking it.

Dean let go of him and dropped to one knee. His ears were bleeding and there was a constant ringing in them.

Tim got up and charged at him, not letting him rest for a second.

Dean rushed to get up as the two of them went back and forth, punch, block, kick, dodge, counter, sweep, jump, parry.

Dean threw a right hook which Tim ducked under, when he looked again he lost sight of his opponent.

Tim elbowed him in the small of his back.

Dean tumbled forward, he couldn't hear anything but the ringing at the moment.

Dean and Tim locked hands in a power struggle. At the moment they seemed to be equally matched, as well as equitably fatigued.

They simultaneously went to hit the other with their knee, clashing, and knocking each other back.

Tim breathed heavily, he tried using his illusions but they dissipated before they could even fully form. He's out of juice.

Dean mirrored his friend's heavy breathing. He willed some of his energy to surface and a few sparks appeared around his arm for a moment, 'Just enough for 2 good hits, maybe 3'

The ringing in his ears suddenly stopped and he felt some of his energy diminish as a result of his body healing itself.

'Make that just one good one' Dean thought, 'But if I miss it's all over, it's too risky'

They both continued to fight relentlessly. Trading blows and persevering through the pain and exhaustion.

They both punched each other simultaneously and knocked each other back.

They both wheezed, trying to catch their breath.

They barely could keep themselves standing, both were on the verge of collapsing, their energy depleted, their bodies completely spent, nothing but sheer willpower keeping them on their feet swinging.

"You….gonna….give up?" Tim asked between his wheezing.

Dean wiped blood off his chin, "No….way"

Tim rolled his eyes, "I thought so" he stood up straight and raised his hands in preparation.

Dean grunted and did the same. He stared intently at his friend who began to steam.

Steam?

He looked closer, no that wouldn't make sense. It was like there was pressure emanating from Tim's body that moved with the air currents and constantly shifted.

It resembled that strange aura that Selene had except it had no color and was barely visible. Like a kindling.

On the other hand Tim stared at Dean who was undergoing the same effect. Pressure emanating off him and blending with the air, like a gas.

They both felt the same heat spark within them as they both charged.

Their bodies felt new life flow through them, invigorating, but slightly overwhelming. In some ways they felt stronger than before.

Their fists clashed creating a shockwave that slightly shook the building.

They stared at their fists in awe for a moment, unable to process the metamorphosis that was occurring within them.

Not having the time to think about it they continued their fight.

As they exchanged blows they noticed that the power behind their fists fluctuated wildly.

Some punches were as powerful as their first, others had no effect.

Tim struck Dean with a powered fist to the chest which sent him flying back into the wall, cracking it.

Dean shrugged it off and charged back at Tim, punching him in the face.

Tim's head turned slightly but he kept on swinging.

This exchange went on, every so often an attack from either of them would be inexplicably ineffective.

Tim threw a punch at him.

Dean blocked it with his gauntlet and then threw a high side kick.

Tim blocked in a similar manner by raising his forearms but when the kick connected his forearms felt brittle.

Dean had been blocking with his gauntlets, sparing him any damage over time.

Tim threw two consecutive punches.

Dean blocked both of them and countered with a heavy right hook.

Tim maneuvered so he could dodge and grab his arm before pulling it towards himself. He then threw up his knee to strike Dean's head as he came closer.

Dean reacted by elbowing downwards. His elbow clashed with Tim's knee knocking each of them back a couple feet.

Not wasting a second they hurried back into the fray. Without even realizing it they moved way faster than normal, knocking into each other and tumbling away.

For a moment they moved at Billy's top speed.

Dean and Tim resumed their fight, pushing themselves even harder to win. As they went on they lost all patience for battle strategy and it became an all out slugfest.

Tim hit him in the face with a right cross, making Dean's head turn, and then he went to grab something from his utility belt.

Dean grabbed his hand and then hit him with an uppercut to the abdomen.

Tim doubled over and spewed out blood.

Dean then grabbed his utility belt and wretched it off his waist before smacking him with it, letting any equipment scattering all over the floor.

Tim staggered back.

Dean dropped what remained of it and and threw a side kick.

Tim took the hit and then went to elbow his kneecap.

Dean kicked off Tim's chest before he could and tumbled backwards before springing back to his feet.

They ran back at each other amping up the intensity.

Blow after blow they whaled on each other continuously until even their newly awakened inner flame was nearly extinguished.

Tim threw a heavy right to Dean's jaw knocking him on his ass.

Tim wobbled around deliriously, the fact that he was still conscious was astonishing, 'Ok, I think that's the end of—'

Dean slowly sat upright.

Tim shook his head, 'No…no, no, no fucking way!'

Dean somehow willed his trashed body to crawl to his feet.

"Just…stay down" Tim groaned in annoyance.

Dean wobbly stood up, "What kind…of example would I be…if I just gave up" he managed to say between breaths.

Tim sighed, 'Oh he makes it so hard to hate him sometimes'

Dean raised his hands, "Let's get this over with"

"Agreed" Tim said as he mentally prepared, 'I don't have anything left, if I try to move I feel like I'll fall, if I hit him again it won't be effective enough to keep him down, and if I get hit I'll crumble to nothing. I have to try to get him to miss, maybe I can use whatever's left of this power to fuel my illusions'

'One last attack, that's all I can afford' Dean considered his only option, 'If I start charging it now he'll see it coming, I have to time it right'

Tim focused on creating an illusion but found it difficult, this power within felt like it wasn't meant for that so it took longer to form.

'It's all or nothing' Dean thought as he bent his knees and leapt off the ground with as much force as he could muster.

Whatever was left of Dean's inner flame focused in his right arm as he dashed over to Tim.

Tim finally produced the illusion of him running towards Dean.

Dean summoned the minuscule amount of lightning he had left and stacked that on top of the power he had already gathered.

His right arm suddenly bulged slightly as lightning sparked around it.

Tim watched as Dean prepared his last attack, 'C'mon, just waste that last little bit of energy and I win'

Dean felt pressure building up in his arm, so much that it felt numb, 'My muscles are expanding too quickly and I can barely even move my arm anymore'

Dean was so preoccupied with his arm that he didn't notice how fast Tim was coming at him and didn't have time to attack, 'Shit!'

Tim watched as Dean went right through the illusion without attacking. He froze and his eyes widened with shock, 'Why didn't he attack it?!'

Dean went through the illusion and saw Tim with a fearful expression, 'Good thing I didn't waste it' as he got closer he rotated his torso to wind up his swing since his arm wasn't responding.

Tim held up his arms to block and fell backwards to try and dodge.

Dean saw him falling and aimed his swing low. His hand, which wasn't clenched so it was more of a chop than a punch, hit Tim's arms as he fell.

Tim went to shout as he felt the bones in one of his arms crunch but passed out from the pain and he went flying.

Dean's arm muscles expanded so much that his began to rip apart. He fell and clutched his arm, his power faded as well as his lightning and his arm muscles shrank down.

Tim was hit so hard he bounced hard off of the ground a few times until he made a mini crater in the wall where he landed.

Dean laid on the ground and smirked.

They all sat around the table in a cloud of smoke.

Billy held an ice pack to his broken jaw, "Let's not do that again anytime soon" he mumbled as he tried to ignore the pain.

Jon laughed a little before he coughed and held his broken ribs.

Tim wrapped his forearm in a cast, "Definitely not soon"

Lily held an ice pack to her head and groaned.

Dean, with a big smile, held a steak to his swollen face, "Yeah, I wouldn't wanna fight me either"

The others looked away in annoyance, the eternal bragging rights that comes with winning is the best part.

Dean sighed in satisfaction, "I gotta admit Chiron was right. Having fought against all of you and seen it up close, our styles really are different"

"It's a little odd that that's what you're thinking about" Tim pointed out.

"I don't know it fascinates me" Dean admitted, "Like the way Billy fought on Nova Roma when you played that song"

"Oh yeah" Billy remembered, "I always listen to hip-hop when I train, it helps me find my rhythm"

"By hip hop you mean anything with a loud and fast beat" Tim assumed.

"Yeah that's the best part" Billy said with a goofy expression.

Tim shook his head, "Nah, for me it's the rap itself. I listen to music with amazing lyrics and a slow beat because it helps me focus"

"Hmmm, I never really listened to hip hop. I always stuck with rock, maybe some hard rock when the training would get intense" Dean said.

"I don't bother with that bogus genre" Jon said referring to hip-hop, "It's all about the metal for me. The sound of the electric guitar helps me focus my inner rage"

Lily looked at them weirdly, "Why would you listen to music when you train? Wouldn't it distract you?"

"I guess not all minds think greatly" Billy said rolling his eyes.

Jon scratched his head, wasn't that saying different?

"So you never listened to anything rap related?" Tim asked.

Dean shook his head, "No, not because I don't like it, I just got my music taste from my dad. I never really considered giving it a try"

Tim looked curious and pulled out his phone. He scrolled the his list of songs until he found a suitable one, "Listen to this" he played I'll hurt you by Busta Rhymes.

It started off with a violin playing with a steady beat.

{Listen, now every time I come and I hit you niggaz with shit regardless You get retarded and then the niggaz ain't got a clue

On how the fuck I do what I do and say what I say and spit what I spit you ain't never even gotta question who

Cause you know that I'm the only nigga that can ever come and spitefully turn the place in to a motherfuckin zoo

Then I come and I spit all crazy sh-sh-sh-shit and m-m-m-make n-n-niggaz do exactly what I want 'em to

From my point of view instead of trying to step up you still trying to play catch up and keep up with the way a nigga grew

These niggaz panick and freakin get schizophrenic and let they emotions out and I doubt they can ever test my crew

Take a second check it I wreckon my records are better than whatever record you recorded that's why ya shit is through (WOO!)

You fuckin idiot I don't think you get it I'm one of the greatest ever period every syllable is true!}

Dean bobbed his head to the beat. This genre had a different feel for it than the one he was used to.

{Now if you ain't runnin you ain't handicappin your vision

I think it's simple enough think that it's really plain to see

No matter how much you try, no matter how much you make an effort you niggaz can never ever really fuck with me

Cause I'll hurt you, and I will learn you a thing or two and I'll hurt you, and I'll finish your career for you, I'll}

"Oh here's the Eminem verse" Tim got excited and turned up the volume.

{Shit on a mic and do do, my doo-doo

You do not have a fightin chance to move you you were covered in my poo-poo

Smothered in my manure while I spit saliva fluid do-do-do-do-do-do g-g-g-goobers secluded you

You don't have a clue as to what we're about to do to you so just sit back and watch somethin you just gon have an a-chew

You just made me sneeze I'm allergic to beats like these please excuse me my allergies are actin up thanks a lot Scott}

Dean noticed how this part's lyrics went faster.

{Your probably wonderin why there's thunderin everyone is runnin and duckin up under everything up on the block

Cause Bus a Bus and Flipmode just tip toed into the club with shady quietly tryin not to start up a riot with Doc

But since we always started we might as well have a party so gather 'round everybody come on let's get our drink on

And you ain't got to do nothin special for this occasion just reach in the closet put somethin on and get to the club}

Tim paused it, "So?"

"It's different" Dean admitted optimistically, "But it's intriguing. I just wish I had more time to download some"

"Gimme your phones guys" Tim said having thought of something.

Each of them placed their phones on the table.

Tim took all the phones and synced them before transferring certain files, "There, now we all have each other's music"

They took their phones back.

"I don't see why you had to do that for mine" Jon said.

"Just leave them on there in case you ever get curious" Tim figured.

Billy shrugged and put his away.

"I'll definitely give them a try" Dean said getting up, "I should probably get going, I gotta pack for tomorrow"

"May you have a safe journey" Lily said sincerely.

Dean saluted them, "Until we meet again"

"Cya" The guys said in unison.

The next day

Percy's nightmare started like this.

There was a deserted street in some little beach town. It was the middle of the night.

A storm was blowing. Wind and rain ripped at the palm trees along the sidewalk. Pink and yellow stucco buildings lined the street, their windows boarded up.

A block away, past a line of hibiscus bushes, the ocean churned. Florida, maybe.

Then there was sounds of hooves clattering against the pavement. The image changed to that of Grover running for his life.

Grover is a satyr. From the waist up, he looks like a typical gangly teenager with a peach-fuzz goatee and a bad case of acne. He walked with a strange limp, but unless you happen to catch him without his pants on you'd never know there was anything un-human about him. Baggy jeans and fake feet hide the fact that he's got furry hindquarters and hooves.

Grover had been his best friend in sixth grade. He'd gone on this adventure with him and a girl named Annabeth to save the world, but he hadn't seen him since last July, when he set off alone on a dangerous quest—a quest no satyr had ever returned from.

Anyway, in his dream, Grover was hauling goat tail, holding his human shoes in his hands the way he does when he needs to move fast. He clopped past the little tourist shops and surfboard rental places. The wind bent the palm trees almost to the ground.

Grover was terrified of something behind him. He must've just come from the beach. Wet sand was caked in his fur. He'd escaped from somewhere. He was trying to get away from…something.

A bone-rattling growl cut through the storm. Behind Grover, at the far end of the block, a shadowy figure loomed. It swatted aside a street lamp, which burst in a shower of sparks.

Grover stumbled, whimpering in fear, "Have to get away. Have to warn them!"

Percy couldn't see what was chasing him, but he could hear it muttering and cursing. The ground shook as it got closer.

Grover dashed around a street corner and faltered. He'd run into a dead-end courtyard full of shops. No time to back up. The nearest door had been blown open by the storm.

The sign above the darkened display window read: ST. AUGUSTINE BRIDAL BOUTIQUE.

Grover ran inside. He dove behind a rack of wedding dresses.

The monster's shadow passed in front of the shop. Percy could smell the thing—a sickening combination of wet sheep wool and rotten meat and that weird sour body odor only monsters have, like a skunk that's been living off Mexican food.

Grover trembled behind the wedding dresses. The monster's shadow passed on.

Silence except for the rain.

Grover took a deep breath. Maybe the thing was gone.

Then lightning flashed. The entire front of the store exploded, and a monstrous voice bellowed: "MIIIIINE!"

Percy sat bolt upright, shivering in my bed.

There was no storm. No monster.

Morning sunlight filtered through my bedroom window.

Percy thought he saw a shadow flicker across the glass—a humanlike shape. But then there was a knock on his bedroom door

His mom called, "Percy, you're going to be late"—and the shadow at the window disappeared.

It must've been his imagination. A fifth-story window with a rickety old fire escape … there couldn't have been anyone out there.

"Come on dear" Sally called again, "Last day of school. You should be excited! You've almost made it"

"Coming" Person managed. He felt under his pillow. His fingers closed reassuringly around the pen he always slept with.

Percy brought it out, studied the Ancient Greek writing engraved on the side, Anaklusmos, Riptide.

Percy thought about clicking it, but something held him back. He hadn't used Riptide for so long…

Besides, his mom made him promise not to use deadly weapons in the apartment after he'd swung a javelin the wrong way and taken out her china cabinet.

Percy put Riptide on his nightstand and dragged myself out of bed.

He got dressed as quickly as he could and tried not to think about the nightmare or monsters or the shadow at his window.

Have to get away. Have to warn them!

What had Grover meant? The dream couldn't have been real.

'Last day of school. My mom's right, I should be excited. For the first time in my life, I'd almost made it an entire year without getting expelled. No weird accidents. No fights in the classroom. No teachers turning into monsters and trying to kill me with poisoned cafeteria food or exploding homework. Tomorrow, I'll be on my way to my favorite place in the world—Camp Half-Blood. Only one more day to go. Surely even I can't mess that up' Percy thought.

As usual, he didn't have a clue how wrong he was

Sally made blue waffles and blue eggs for breakfast. She's funny that way, celebrating special occasions with blue food.

Percy think it's her way of saying anything is possible. Percy can pass 10th grade. Waffles can be blue. Little miracles like that.

He ate at the kitchen table while his mom washed dishes. Sally was dressed in her work uniform—a starry blue skirt and a red-and-white striped blouse she wore to sell candy at Sweet on America. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

The waffles tasted great, but Percy wasn't digging in like he usually did.

Sally looked over and frowned, "Percy are you all right?"

"Yeah…fine" Percy said trying to hide his concerns.

But she could always tell when something was bothering him. Sally dried her hands and sat down across from him, "School, or…"

She didn't need to finish. He knew what she was asking.

"I think Grover's in trouble" Percy said before telling her about his dream.

Sally pursed her lips. They didn't talk much about the other part of his life. They tried to live as normally as possible, but his mom knew all about Grover.

"I wouldn't be too worried, dear," Sally said, "Grover is a big satyr now. If there were a problem, I'm sure we would've heard from…from camp…" Her shoulders tensed as she said the word camp.

"What is it?" Percy asked.

"Nothing" Sally said, "I'll tell you what. This afternoon we'll celebrate the end of school. I'll take you and Tyson to Rockefeller Center—to that skateboard shop you like"

Oh, man, that was tempting. They were always struggling with money. Between his mom's night classes and Percy's private school tuition, they could never afford to do special stuff like shop for a skateboard. But something in her voice bothered him.

"Wait a minute" Percy said, "I thought we were packing me up for camp tonight"

Sally twisted her dishrag, "Ah, dear, about that…I got a message from Chiron last night"

Percy's heart sank. He wouldn't contact them unless something serious was going on, "What did he say?"

"He thinks…it might not be safe for you to come to camp just yet. We might have to postpone" Sally said regrettably.

"Postpone? Mom, how could it not be safe? I'm a half-blood! It's like the only safe place on earth for me!" Percy pleaded.

"Usually, dear. But with the problems they're having—"

"What problems?" Percy cut her off.

"Percy…I'm very, very sorry. I was hoping to talk to you about it this afternoon. I can't explain it all now. I'm not even sure Chiron can. Everything happened so suddenly" Sally said.

Percy's mind was reeling. How could he not go to camp? He wanted to ask a million questions, but just then the kitchen clock chimed the half-hour.

Sally looked almost relieved. "Seven-thirty, dear. You should go. Tyson will be waiting"

"But—"

"Percy, we'll talk this afternoon. Go on to school" Sally insisted.

That was the last thing he wanted to do, but hid mom had this fragile look in her eyes—a kind of warning, like if he pushed her too hard she'd start to cry. Besides, she was right about his friend Tyson. Percy had to meet him at the subway station on time or he'd get upset. He was scared of traveling underground alone.

Percy gathered up his stuff, but he stopped in the doorway. "Mom, this problem at camp. Does it…could it have anything to do with my dream about Grover?"

She wouldn't meet his eyes, "We'll talk this afternoon, dear. I'll explain…as much as I can"

Reluctantly, he told her good-bye and jogged downstairs to catch the Number Two train.

Percy didn't know it at the time, but Sally and him would never get to have their afternoon talk.

In fact, he wouldn't be seeing home for a long, long time.

As Percy stepped outside, he glanced at the brownstone building across the street. Just for a second he saw a dark shape in the morning sunlight—a human silhouette against the brick wall, a shadow that belonged to no one.

Then it rippled and vanished.

At the Institute

The next day Dean was up and about early getting his things ready for his trip.

He remembered that he'd asked Forge for a favor and decided to inspect his progress.

Dean went downstairs into a room specifically designed for creation, Forge already seemed quite fond of the room.

He found him toying and tinkering with a couple of gadgets and other things until he stopped.

"It's finished" Forge said with satisfaction.

"What you got for me?" Dean asked as he approached him.

Forge sat up from his workstation and showed Dean a black mechanical belt of some sort. It had a dial with numbers on it for the buckle and black squares all around the waist part.

"It's a personal gravity device" Forge said, "You put it on, adjust the dial, and it'll create a personal gravity field around you. It has the same effect on an individual that the simulation has but is fully portable"

Dean inspected it, "How durable is it?"

"I used titanium so it's not fragile but try not to break it because I doubt you'd know how to fix it" Forge figured.

Dean nodded, "How high does it go?"

"This one's the prototype, it was only designed for 5x but I'll be able to modify it to go higher in the future" Forge said, "Go on try it out"

Dean put it on and turned the dial to 5x earth's gravity.

A few seconds later Dean felt the difference, "Seems to work fine" he walked around and felt the strain he usually felt.

"Do the batteries run out or something?" Dean asked.

"No I took care of that, I've installed mini solar panels on it so the battery can recharge while you use it" Forge said pointing to the black squares on the belt, "Handy right?"

"Very" Dean said truly impressed, "I owe you one"

"You owe me two" Forge said reminding him the first time he built him the gravity simulator.

"I won't forget" Dean said genuinely. He turned off the belt and took it off, "Well I better finish getting ready, see ya later" Dean said walking out.

Manhattan

Percy's day started normal. Or as normal as it ever gets at Meriwether College Prep.

See, it's this "progressive" school in downtown Manhattan, which means they sit on beanbag chairs instead of at desks, and they don't get grades, and the teachers wear jeans and rock concert T-shirts to work.

'That's all cool with me. I mean, I'm ADHD and dyslexic, like most half-bloods, so I've never done that great in regular schools even before they kicked me out' Percy thought.

The only bad thing about Meriwether was that the teachers always looked on the bright side of things, and the kids weren't always...well, bright.

Take Percy's first class today, English. The whole middle school had read this book called Lord of the Flies, where all these kids get marooned on an island and go psycho. So for their final exam, their teachers sent them into the break yard to spend an hour with no adult supervision to see what would happen. What happened was a massive wedgie contest between the 9th and 10th graders, two rock fights, and a full-tackle basketball game. The school bully, Matt Sloan, led most of those activities.

Sloan wasn't big or strong, but he acted like he was. He had eyes like a pit bull, and shaggy black hair, and he always dressed in expensive but sloppy clothes, like he wanted everybody to see how little he cared about his family's money. One of his front teeth was chipped from the time he'd taken his daddy's Porsche for a joyride and run into a PLEASE SLOW DOWN FOR CHILDREN sign.

Anyway, Sloan was giving everybody wedgies until he made the mistake of trying it on my friend Tyson.

Tyson was the only homeless kid at Meriwether College Prep. As near as Sally and Percy could figure, he'd been abandoned by his parents when he was very young, probably because he was so…different. He was 6,5 and built like the Abominable Snowman, but he cried a lot and was scared of just about everything, including his own reflection.

His face was kind of misshapen and brutal-looking. Percy couldn't tell you what color his eyes were, because he could never make himself look higher than his crooked teeth. His voice was deep, but he talked funny, like a much younger kid—like he'd never gone to school before coming to Meriwether.

He wore tattered jeans, grimy size-twenty sneakers, and a plaid flannel shirt with holes in it. He smelled like a New York City alleyway, because that's where he lived, in a cardboard refrigerator box off 72nd Street.

Meriwether Prep had adopted him as a community service project so all the students could feel good about themselves. Unfortunately, most of them couldn't stand Tyson. Once they discovered he was a big softie, despite his massive strength and his scary looks, they made themselves feel good by picking on him. Percy was pretty much his only friend, which meant he was his only friend.

Sally had complained to the school a million times that they weren't doing enough to help him.

She'd called social services, but nothing ever seemed to happen. The social workers claimed Tyson didn't exist. They swore up and down that they'd visited the alley we described and couldn't find him, though how you miss a giant kid living in a refrigerator box, who knows.

Anyway, Matt Sloan snuck up behind him and tried to give him a wedgie, and Tyson panicked. He swatted Sloan away a little too hard.

Sloan flew fifteen feet and got tangled in the little kids' tire swing.

"You freak!" Sloan yelled, "Why don't you go back to your cardboard box!"

Tyson started sobbing. He sat down on the jungle gym so hard he bent the bar, and buried his head in his hands.

"Take it back, Sloan" Percy said.

Sloan just sneered at me. "Why do you even bother, Jackson? You might have friends if you weren't always sticking up for that freak"

Percy clenched his fists. He hoped his face wasn't as red as it felt, "He's not a freak. He's just…"

Percy tried to think of the right thing to say, but Sloan wasn't listening. He and his big ugly friends were too busy laughing. He wondered if it were his imagination, or if Sloan had more goons hanging around him than usual. Percy was used to seeing him with two or three, but today he had like, half a dozen more, and he was pretty sure he'd never seen them before.

"Just wait till PE, Jackson," Sloan called, "You are so dead"

When first period ended, their English teacher, Mr. de Milo, came outside to inspect the carnage. He pronounced that they'd understood Lord of the Flies perfectly. They all passed his course, and they should never, never grow up to be violent people. Matt Sloan nodded earnestly, then gave Percy a chip-toothed grin.

Percy had to promise to buy Tyson an extra peanut butter sandwich at lunch to get him to stop sobbing.

"I…I am a freak?" Tyson asked.

"No," Percy promised, gritting is teeth, "Matt Sloan is the freak"

Tyson sniffled, "You are a good friend. Miss you next year if … if I can't…" Tyson's voice trembled.

Percy realized he didn't know if he'd be invited back next year for the community service project. He wondered if the headmaster had even bothered talking to him about it.

"Don't worry, big guy," Percy managed, "Everything's going to be fine"

Tyson gave Percy such a grateful look he felt like a big liar. How could he promise a kid like him that anything would be fine?

Their next exam was science. Mrs. Tesla told them that they had to mix chemicals until they succeeded in making something explode, Tyson was Percy's lab partner. His hands were way too big for the tiny vials his were supposed to use. He accidentally knocked a tray of chemicals off the counter and made an orange mushroom cloud in the trash can.

After Mrs. Tesla evacuated the lab and called the hazardous waste removal squad, she praised Tyson and Percy for being natural chemists. They were the first ones who'd ever aced her exam in under thirty seconds.

Percy was glad the morning went fast, because it kept him from thinking too much about his problems. He couldn't stand the idea that something might be wrong at camp. Even worse, he couldn't shake the memory of his bad dream. Percy had a terrible feeling that Grover was in danger.

In social studies, while they were drawing latitude/longitude maps, Percy opened his notebook and stared at the photo inside—his friend Annabeth on vacation in Washington, D.C.

She was wearing jeans and a denim jacket over her orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt. Her blond hair was pulled back in a bandanna. She was standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial with her arms crossed, looking extremely pleased with herself, like she'd personally designed the place.

See, Annabeth wants to be an architect when she grows up, so she's always visiting famous monuments and stuff. She's weird that way. She'd e-mailed Percy the picture after spring break, and every once in a while he'd look at it just to remind myself she was real and Camp Half-Blood hadn't just been my imagination.

Percy wished Annabeth were here. She'd know what to make of my dream. He'd never admit it to her, but she was smarter than him, even if she was annoying sometimes.

He was about to close his notebook when Matt Sloan reached over and ripped the photo out of the rings.

"Hey!" Percy protested.

Sloan checked out the picture and his eyes got wide. "No way, Jackson. Who is that? She is not your—"

"Give it back" Percy's ears felt hot.

Sloan handed the photo to his ugly buddies, who snickered and started passing it around.

They were new kids who must've been visiting, because they were all wearing those stupid HI! MY NAME IS: tags from the admissions office. They must've had a weird sense of humor, too, because they'd all filled in strange names like: MARROW SUCKER, SKULL EATER, and JOE BOB. No human beings had names like that.

Percy walked up to Sloan, "I said give it back" he said menacingly.

Sloan smirked, "Why don't you make me Jackson?" He went to shove him.

His hand practically bounced off of Percy as he stood completely still.

Percy could easily kick Sloan's ass, but he's a pacifist. His main reason for never standing up to bullies, and for not training. So ultimately he could do nothing.

Percy looked down in defeat.

"Ha! That's what I thought" Sloan said in satisfaction.

The ugly buddies ripped the picture to shreds.

"These guys are moving here next year" Sloan bragged, like that was supposed to scare him, "I bet they can pay the tuition, too, unlike your retard friend"

"He's not retarded" Percy had to try really, really hard not to punch Sloan in the face.

"You're such a loser, Jackson. Good thing I'm gonna put you out of your misery next period" Sloan said in anticipation.

His huge buddies chewed up Percy's photo. He wanted to pulverize them, but he was under strict orders from Chiron never to take his anger out on regular mortals, no matter how obnoxious they were. He had to save his fighting for monsters.

Still, part of him thought, 'If Sloan only knew who I really was…'

The bell rang.

As Tyson and Percy were leaving class, a girl's voice whispered, "Percy!"

Percy looked around the locker area, but nobody was paying him any attention. Like any girl at Meriwether would ever be caught dead calling his name.

Before he had time to consider whether or not I'd been imagining things, a crowd of kids rushed for the gym, carrying Tyson and him along with them. It was time for PE.

Their coach had promised them a free-for-all dodgeball game, and Matt Sloan had promised to kill Percy.

The gym uniform at Meriwether was sky blue shorts and tie-dyed T-shirts. Fortunately, they did most of their athletic stuff inside, so they didn't have to jog through Tribeca looking like a bunch of boot-camp hippie children.

Percy changed as quickly as he could in the locker room because he didn't want to deal with Sloan.

He was about to leave when Tyson called, "Percy?"

He hadn't changed yet. He was standing by the weight room door, clutching his gym clothes.

"Will you …uh…"

"Oh, Yeah" I tried not to sound aggravated about it. "Yeah, sure, man"

Tyson ducked inside the weight room. Percy stood guard outside the door while he changed. Percy felt kind of awkward doing this, but he asked him to most days. Percy think it's because he's completely hairy and he's got weird scars on his back that he never had the courage to ask him about.

Anyway, they'd learned the hard way that if people teased Tyson while he was dressing out, he'd get upset and start ripping the doors off lockers.

When they got into the gym, Coach Nunley was sitting at his little desk reading Sports Illustrated.

Nunley was about a million years old, with bifocals and no teeth and a greasy wave of gray hair. He reminded Percy of the Oracle at Camp Half-Blood—which was a shriveled-up mummy—except Coach Nunley moved a lot less and he never billowed green smoke. Well, at least not that he'd observed.

"Coach, can I be captain?" Matt Sloan asked.

"Eh?" Coach Nunley looked up from his magazine. "Yeah," he mumbled, "Mm-hmm."

Sloan grinned and took charge of the picking. He made Percy the other team's captain, but it didn't matter who he picked, because all the jocks and the popular kids moved over to Sloan's side.

So did the big group of visitors.

On Percy's side he had Tyson, Corey Bailer the computer geek, Raj Mandali the calculus whiz, and a half dozen other kids who always got harassed by Sloan and his gang. Normally he would've been okay with just Tyson—he was worth half a team all by himself—but the visitors on Sloan's team were almost as tall and strong-looking as Tyson, and there were six of them.

Matt Sloan spilled a cage full of balls in the middle of the gym.

"Scared" Tyson mumbled, "Smell funny"

Percy looked at him. "What smells funny?" Because he didn't figure he was talking about himself.

"Them" Tyson pointed at Sloan's new friends, "Smell funny"

The visitors were cracking their knuckles, eyeing them like it was slaughter time. Percy couldn't help wondering where they were from. Someplace where they fed kids raw meat and beat them with sticks.

Sloan blew the coach's whistle and the game began. Sloan's team ran for the center line. On Percy's side, Raj Mandali yelled something in Urdu, probably "I have to go pee!" and ran for the exit.

Corey Bailer tried to crawl behind the wall mat and hide. The rest of his team did their best to cower in fear and not look like targets.

"Tyson," Percy said, "Let's g—" A ball slammed into his gut. He sat down hard in the middle of the gym floor. The other team exploded in laughter.

Percy's eyesight was fuzzy. He felt like he'd just gotten the Heimlich maneuver from a gorilla. He couldn't believe anybody could throw that hard.

Tyson yelled, "Percy, duck!"

Percy rolled as another dodgeball whistled past his ear at the speed of sound.

Whooom!

It hit the wall mat and blew a hole in it, and Corey Bailer yelped.

"Hey!" Percy yelled at Sloan's team, "You could kill somebody!"

The visitor named Joe Bob grinned at him evilly. Somehow, he looked a lot bigger now…even taller than Tyson. His biceps bulged beneath his T-shirt. "I hope so, Perseus Jackson! I hope so!"

The way he said Percy's name sent a chill down his back. Nobody called him Perseus except those who knew his true identity. Friends…and enemies.

What had Tyson said? They smell funny.

Monsters.

All around Matt Sloan, the visitors were growing in size. They were no longer kids. They were eight-foot-tall giants with wild eyes, pointy teeth, and hairy arms tattooed with snakes and hula women and Valentine hearts.

Matt Sloan dropped his ball. "Whoa! You're not from Detroit! Who…"

The other kids on his team started screaming and backing toward the exit, but the giant named Marrow Sucker threw a ball with deadly accuracy. It streaked past Raj Mandali just as he was about to leave and hit the door, slamming it shut like magic. Raj and some of the other kids banged on it desperately but it wouldn't budge.

"Let them go!" Percy shouted at them

The one called Joe Bob growled at Percy. He had a tattoo on his biceps that said : JB luvs Babycakes. "And lose our tasty morsels? No, Son of the Sea God. We Laistrygonians aren't just playing for your death. We want lunch!"

He waved his hand and a new batch of dodgeballs appeared on the center line—but these balls weren't made of red rubber. They were bronze, the size of cannon balls, perforated like wiffle balls with fire bubbling out the holes. They must've been searing hot, but the giants picked them up with their bare hands.

"Coach!" Percy shouted.

Nunley looked up sleepily, but if he saw anything abnormal about the dodgeball game, he didn't let on. That's the problem with mortals. The Mist obscures the true appearance of monsters and gods from their vision, so mortals tend to see only what they can understand. Maybe the coach saw a few tenth graders pounding the younger kids like usual.

Maybe the other kids saw Matt Sloan's thugs getting ready to toss Molotov cocktails around. (It wouldn't have been the first time.) At any rate, Percy was pretty sure nobody else realized they were dealing with genuine man-eating bloodthirsty monsters.

"Yeah. Mm-hmm," Coach muttered, "Play nice" And he went back to his magazine.

The Laistrygonian named Skull Eater threw his ball.

Percy dove aside as the fiery bronze comet sailed past his shoulder.

"Corey!" Percy shouted.

Tyson pulled him out from behind the exercise mat just as the ball exploded against it, blasting the mat to smoking shreds.

"Run!" Percy told his teammates. "The other exit!"

They ran for the locker room, but with another wave of Joe Bob's hand, that door also slammed shut.

"No one leaves unless you're out!" Joe Bob roared, "And you're not out until we eat you!" He launched his own fireball.

Percy's teammates scattered as it blasted a crater in the gym floor.

Percy reached for Riptide, which he always kept in his pocket, but then he realized he was wearing gym shorts. It had no pockets. Riptide was tucked in his jeans inside his gym locker. And the locker room door was sealed. He was completely defenseless.

Another fireball came streaking toward him. Tyson pushed Percy out of the way, but the explosion still blew him head over heels.

Percy found myself sprawled on the gym floor, dazed from smoke, his tie-dyed T-shirt peppered with sizzling holes. Just across the center line, two hungry Laistrygonians were glaring down at him.

"Flesh!" they bellowed. "Hero flesh for lunch!" They both took aim.

"Percy needs help!" Tyson yelled, and he jumped in front of him just as they threw their balls.

"Tyson!" Percy shouted, but it was too late.

Both balls slammed into him…but no…he'd caught them. Somehow Tyson, who was so clumsy he knocked over lab equipment and broke playground structures on a regular basis, had caught two fiery metal balls speeding toward him at a zillion miles an hour. He sent them hurtling back toward their surprised owners, who screamed, "BAAAAAD!" as the bronze spheres exploded against their chests.

The Laistrygonians disintegrated in twin columns of flame—a sure sign they were monsters, all right.

Monsters don't die. They just dissipate into smoke and dust, which saves heroes a lot of trouble cleaning up after a fight.

"My brothers!" Joe Bob the Cannibal wailed. He flexed his muscles and his Babycakes tattoo rippled, "You will pay for their destruction!"

"Tyson!" Percy said, "Look out!"

Another comet hurtled toward them. Tyson just had time to swat it aside. It flew straight over Coach Nunley's head and landed in the bleachers with a huge KA-BOOM!

Kids were running around screaming, trying to avoid the sizzling craters in the floor. Others were banging on the door, calling for help. Sloan himself stood petrified in the middle of the court, watching in disbelief as balls of death flew around him.

Coach Nunley still wasn't seeing anything. He tapped his hearing aid like the explosions were giving him interference, but he kept his eyes on his magazine.

Surely the whole school could hear the noise. The headmaster, the police, somebody would come help them.

"Victory will be ours!" roared Joe Bob the Cannibal, "We will feast on your bones!"

"You're taking the dodgeball game way too seriously!" Percy said.

Joe Bob hefted another ball. The other three Laistrygonians followed his lead.

Tyson couldn't deflect all those balls at once. His hands had to be seriously burned from blocking the first volley.

'Without my sword…I have a crazy idea' Percy thought. He ran toward the locker room.

"Move!" Percy told his teammates, "Away from the door"

Explosions behind him. Tyson had batted two balls back towards it's owners and blasted one of them to ashes. The other one, Marrow Sucker, caught the ball but flew through the wall behind him leaving a gaping hole.

That left two Laistrygonians still standing.

Another ball hurtled straight at Percy. He forced himself to wait—one Mississippi, two Mississippi—then dove aside as the fiery sphere demolished the locker room door.

Now, he figured that the built-up gas in most boys' locker rooms was enough to cause an explosion, so he wasn't surprised when the flaming dodgeball ignited a huge WHOOOOOOOM!

The wall blew apart. Locker doors, socks, athletic supporters, and other various nasty personal belongings rained all over the gym.

Percy's jeans just so happened to land right in front of him.

He hurried and put his jeans on.

Percy turned just in time to see Tyson punch Skull Eater in the face sending him flying backwards. But the other Laistrygonian, Joe Bob, had wisely held on to his own ball, waiting for an opportunity. He threw just as Tyson was turning to face him.

"No!" Percy shouted.

The ball caught Tyson square in the chest. He slid the length of the court and slammed into the back wall, which cracked and partially crumbled on top of him, making a hole right onto Church Street.

Percy couldn't believe that Tyson could still be alive, but he only looked dazed. The bronze ball was smoking at his feet. Tyson tried to pick it up, but he fell back, stunned, into a pile of cinder blocks.

"Well!" Joe Bob gloated. "I'm the last one standing! I'll have enough meat to bring Babycakes a doggie bag!"

He picked up another ball and aimed it at Tyson.

"Stop!" Percy shouted, "It's me you want!"

The Laistrygonian grinned. "You wish to die first, young hero?"

Monsters were the only exception to his pacifistic moral code. When its a matter of life and death, the calm ocean mentality he normally dons turns into a raging sea.

Percy clicked Riptide and it changed into its blade form. He held it with two hands as he glared at the Laistrygonian, "I'm not the one who's going to die" he ran towards him.

Joe Bob laughed, "My lunch approaches" He raised his arm and threw the ball.

Percy slid underneath the ball and sliced Joe Bob's calf.

Joe Bob cried out as he went to stomp on him, "I'll squash you!"

Percy rolled out of the way and sliced his ribcage.

Joe Bob grunted and backhanded him.

Percy had an opportunity to dodge but hesitated and was sent tumbling backwards, 'I'm a little out of practice'

Joe Bob grinned as snatched Percy and held him upside down from one leg.

Percy went to swing his blade but noticed it wasn't in his hand anymore, it must have flew out of his hand when he was knocked back.

Joe Bob licked his lips, "I wonder if you'll taste like fish" he opened his mouth and went to bite his head off.

Percy reached into his pocket where he found Riptide back in its pen form. He took it out, clicked it, and thrusted it forward as it grew and impaled him right through his mouth and out the other side of his skull, "You'll never find out"

Joe Bob's grip loosened, letting Percy fall, and then his lifeless body dropped.

Percy got on his feet again right as Marrow sucker came running from behind him, grabbed him by the waist, and dragged him across the gym floor tearing up the wood.

Percy groaned, 'I think I'm gonna be picking splinters out of my face for a week'

Marrow sucker then smashed his face into the wooden floor after seeing he was still conscious.

'Make that two' Percy thought as he sliced off Marrow's arm that held him.

Marrow sucker cried out in pain.

Percy wretched his head out of the hole in the floor, blood trickled from gashes on his forehead down to his chin.

Marrow sucker growled, "You measly little wor—"

Percy slashed diagonally upwards, cutting into his torso and stopping halfway through due to how thick it was.

Marrow sucker glared at Percy with hatred in his eyes.

"Shit" Percy muttered as he tried to yank the blade but it was stuck.

Marrow sucker punched Percy in the face, breaking his nose, and knocked him on his ass. He then ripped Riptide out of his torso letting pools of dark red blood spew out of him.

Percy felt dizzy as he sat upright, he's never been hit like that before.

Marrow sucker tossed Riptide aside and slowly limped over to Percy, leaving a trail of blood behind him, "Come here boy" he snarled hungrily.

Percy wobbly got onto his feet, and backed away to give himself more time for Riptide to return to him.

Marrow sucker leapt towards him.

Percy felt his pen in his pocket so he grabbed and clicked it.

Marrow sucker was about to crash into him when Riptide grew in Percy's hand and he slashed downward diagonally.

His blade sliced into his torso, connecting with the previous cut, successfully cleaving him in two. The two halves of Marrow sucker flew in different directions.

Percy exhaled heavily, "That was too close"

He suddenly heard footsteps stomping towards him.

Percy instinctively swung around but Skull eater grabbed Percy's hand that held Riptide.

"If your sword is in your hand, then it won't go back to your pocket" Skull eater grinned as he squeezed his hand.

Percy felt his hand being crushed so he tried to get Skull eater off by punching him in the face.

Skull eater laughed as the boy's fist had no effect on him, "I didn't expect a son of Poseidon to be so weak" he raised his other hand and clenched his fist, ready to crush Percy's head.

Percy gulped in fear, he ran out of options.

Suddenly the Laistrygonian's body went rigid. His expression changed from gloating to surprise.

His forehead split open and he grew something like a horn—no, not a horn—the glowing tip of a blade.

Skull eater's body dropped like a ton of bricks.

Standing behind him was his friend Annabeth. Her face was grimy and scratched. She had a ragged backpack slung over her shoulder, her baseball cap tucked in her pocket, a bronze knife in her hand, and a wild look in her storm-gray eyes, like she'd just been chased a thousand miles by ghosts.

Matt Sloan, who'd been standing there dumbfounded the whole time, finally came to his senses. He blinked at Annabeth, as if he dimly recognized her from my notebook picture. "That's the girl …That's the girl—"

Annabeth punched him in the nose and knocked him flat on his ass, "And you" she told him, "lay off my friend"

The gym was in flames. Kids were still running around screaming. Sirens wailed and a garbled voice over the intercom. Through the glass windows of the exit doors, the headmaster, Mr. Bonsai, wrestling with the lock, a crowd of teachers piling up behind him.

"Annabeth…" Percy stammered. "How did you…how long have you …"

"Pretty much all morning" Annabeth sheathed her bronze knife, "I've been trying to find a good time to talk to you, but you were never alone"

"The shadow I saw this morning—that was—" Percy's face felt hot, "You were looking in my bedroom window?"

"There's no time to explain!" she snapped, though she looked a little red-faced herself, "I just didn't want to—"

"There!" a woman screamed. The doors burst open and the adults came pouring in.

"Meet me outside" Annabeth said, "And him" She pointed to Tyson, who was still sitting dazed against the wall. Annabeth gave him a look of distaste that Percy didn't quite understand, "You'd better bring him"

"What?" Percy asked with a look of confusion.

"No time!" she said. "Hurry!"

She put on her Yankees baseball cap, which was a magic gift from her mom, and instantly vanished.

That left Percy standing alone in the middle of the burning gymnasium when the headmaster came charging in with half the faculty and a couple of police officers.

"Percy Jackson?" Mr. Bonsai said. "What…how…"

Over by the broken wall, Tyson groaned and stood up from the pile of cinder blocks, "Head hurts"

Matt Sloan was coming around, too. He focused on Percy with a look of terror, "Percy did it, Mr. Bonsai! He set the whole building on fire. Coach Nunley will tell you! He saw it all!"

Coach Nunley had been dutifully reading his magazine, but just my luck—he chose that moment to look up when Sloan said his name. "Eh? Yeah. Mm-hmm"

The other adults turned toward Percy. He knew they would never believe him, even if he could tell them the truth.

"Come on!" Percy told Tyson and jumped through the gaping hole in the side of the building.

Bayville

Billy was walking on the side of the highway, a bag full of his things hung from his back as he held it with one hand.

Walking instead of speeding his way to his destination, surprising right? When he was on his own he thrived on living in the fast lane, but ever since he found his friends, he's learned to appreciate taking things slowly.

In fact, he may not let them on about it, but Billy truly cared for them. So much so that as he walked they were the only thing he could think about.

Billy frowned as he pointed his thumb in the direction he was going to hitchhike a ride, 'I'm gonna miss hanging out in the circle'

A car pulled up next to him that was playing loud music and full of attractive women.

A girl winked at him, "Hey cutie need a ride?"

Billy grinned deviously, 'But there's other things to look forward to'

Lily rode her horse towards her destination.

As she did Lily thought of her new male friends.

She never thought that she'd get close to a guy, yet alone 4 goofballs.

Lily smirked, but they're slowly growing on her, especially one of them.

She's learned a lot living in man's world, one being how easy it is to get attached to those you spend time with.

Lily hopes that she's never found, or else she might endanger her friends.

Something she chose not to mention, when she left the Amazons she never said they let her go willingly.

Lily assumes that they're still looking for her, and if they are it's only a matter of time before they do. Hopefully going on this journey will throw them off her scent.

Long Island

Annabeth, Percy, and Tyson walked towards Half-Blood hill.

"Where'd you find him?" Annabeth demanded, pointing at Tyson.

Now, under different circumstances, Percy would've been really happy to see her. They made their peace last summer, despite the fact that her mom was Athena and didn't get along with Poseidon. He missed Annabeth probably more than he wanted to admit.

But he'd just been attacked by cannibal Laistrygonians, Tyson had saved his life three or four times, and all Annabeth could do was glare at him like he was the problem.

"He's my friend" Percy told her.

"Is he homeless?" Annabeth asked.

"What does that have to do with anything? He can hear you, you know. Why don't you ask him?" Percy said.

Annabeth looked surprised, "He can talk?"

"I talk" Tyson admitted, "You are pretty"

"Ah! Gross!" Annabeth stepped away from him.

He couldn't believe she was being so rude.

Percy examined Tyson's hands, which he was sure must've been badly scorched by the flaming dodge balls, but they looked fine—grimy and scarred, with dirty fingernails the size of potato chips—but they always looked like that. "Tyson," Percy said in disbelief, "Your hands aren't even burned"

"Of course not" Annabeth muttered, "I'm surprised the Laistrygonians had the guts to attack you with him around"

Tyson seemed fascinated by Annabeth's blond hair. He tried to touch it, but she smacked his hand away.

"Annabeth" Percy said, "what are you talking about? Laistry-what?"

"Laistrygonians. The monsters in the gym. They're a race of giant cannibals who live in the far north. Odysseus ran into them once, but I've never seen them as far south as New York before"

"Laistry—I can't even say that. What would you call them in English?" Percy asked.

She thought about it for a moment, "Canadians," she decided.

"The police'll be after me" Percy figured.

"That's the least of our problems," Annabeth said, "Have you been having the dreams?"

"The dreams…about Grover?" Percy asked.

Annabeth's face turned pale, "Grover? No, what about Grover?"

Percy told her his dream, "Why? What were you dreaming about?"

Annabeth's eyes looked stormy, like her mind was racing a million miles an hour, "Camp," she said at last, "Big trouble at camp."

"My mom was saying the same thing, but what kind of trouble?" Percy asked.

"I don't know exactly. Something's wrong. We have to get there right away. Monsters have been chasing me all the way from Virginia, trying to stop me. Have you had a lot of attacks?" Annabeth asked.

Percy shook his head, "None all year…until today"

"None? But how…" Her eyes drifted to Tyson, "Oh"

"What do you mean, oh?" Percy asked.

Tyson raised his hand like he was still in class, "Canadians in the gym called Percy something…Son of the Sea God?"

Annabeth and Percy exchanged looks.

Percy didn't know how he could explain, but he figured Tyson deserved the truth after almost getting killed.

"Big guy," Percy said, "you ever hear those old stories about the Greek gods? Like Zeus, Poseidon, Athena—"

"Yes," Tyson said.

"Well…those gods are still alive. They kind of follow Western Civilization around, living in the strongest countries, so like now they're in the U.S. And sometimes they have kids with mortals. Kids called half-bloods" Percy explained.

"Yes" Tyson said, like he was still waiting for him to get to the point.

"Uh, well, Annabeth and I are half-bloods," Percy said, "We're like…heroes-in-training. And whenever monsters pick up our scent, they attack us. That's what those giants were in the gym. Monsters"

"Yes" Tyson said plainly.

Percy stared at him. He didn't seem surprised or confused by what he was telling him, which surprised and confused Percy, "So…you believe me?"

Tyson nodded, "But you are…Son of the Sea God?"

"Yeah," Percy admitted. "My dad is Poseidon."

Tyson frowned. Now he looked confused. "But then…" he paused.

Percy was about to ask why, when he looked up at Half-Blood Hill and understood.

At the crest of the hill was a group of campers. And they were under attack.

Bayville

Jon slowly walked through a cemetery with a bouquet of flowers in his hand.

He stopped in front of a gravestone and stared at it.

The gravestone wrote, "Here lies Chloe Espinoza"

Jon looked sad, he tried his best to hold back his tears, "Hey mom" he knelt to feel closer to her, "I know I…haven't visited…in a while" tears trickled down his cheeks and he looked down, "It's…just hard to be around here" he sniffled and wiped away his tears with his wrist, "I've been doing ok, I made some friends, surprising right?" Jon laughed lightly, "I was always alone as a kid but I found other people like me, I finally found a place I belong to"

A breeze blew by blowing some leaves around.

Jon frowned, "You always wanted me to have friends, I wish you could have met them all" his eyes teared some more, "I…I wasn't there to protect you…but I will do whatever I can to protect my new family. So I'm gonna be going away for a while to get stronger" he placed the bouquet by the gravestone and stood up, "I promise to visit when I get back"

Tim rode a shuttle bus to his destination.

He held a shuriken between his thumb and index finger and spun it like a fidget spinner.

Tim looked out the window with an intense look, he was completely focused on his purpose, not wasting any of his thoughts on his friends.

Not that he doesn't care about them, he just knows that they'll each succeed in their own way.

Every one of them has their own conviction driving them. Billy's need to have friends due to his lonely life, Jon's habit of distancing himself from his friends due to his inability to save his mother which fuels his endless rage, Lily's struggle between her own equalist ideals and her Amazonian upbringing, Dean most likely strives to repent for his dark past in some way, and Tim is driven by the lingering absence of his father.

Ever since he found out about his Olympian heritage Tim has wondered what kind of genius his mother fell in love with that resulted in his existence. He's created this idea in his mind that whoever his father may be he must have extraordinary intellect.

But his own speculations aside, Tim was already speculating what using this power was like and practical uses.

Essentially it seemed like an internal power that you have to focus on and it's uses appear to be limitless. Mater manipulation, elemental kinesis, regeneration, psychic prowess, physical augmentation, energy dispersion, levitation, and who knows what else.

The possibilities are endless.

Camp Half-Blood

Mythologically speaking, if there's anything Percy hates worse than trios of old ladies, it's bulls.

Last summer, he fought the Minotaur on top of Half-Blood Hill. This time what he saw up there was even worse: two bulls. And not just regular bulls—bronze ones the size of elephants. And even that wasn't bad enough. Naturally they had to breathe fire, too.

"Oh, man," said Annabeth, looking at the battle raging on the hill.

What worried Percy most weren't the bulls themselves. Or the ten heroes in full battle armor who were getting their bronze-plated asses whooped. What worried him was that the bulls were ranging all over the hill, even around the back side of the pine tree. That shouldn't have been possible. The camp's magic boundaries didn't allow monsters to cross past Thalia's tree. But the metal bulls were doing it anyway.

One of the heroes shouted, "Border patrol, to me!" A girl's voice—gruff and familiar.

'Border patrol?' Percy thought, the camp didn't have a border patrol.

"It's Clarisse," Annabeth said. "Come on, we have to help her."

Normally, rushing to Clarisse's aid would not have been high on Percy's to do list, She was one of the biggest bullies at camp. The first time they'd met she tried to introduce his head to a toilet. She was also a daughter of Ares, and Percy had a very serious disagreement with her father last summer, so now the god of war and all his children basically hated his guts.

Still, she was in trouble. Her fellow warriors were scattering, running in panic as the bulls charged. The grass was burning in huge swathes around the pine tree. One hero screamed and waved his arms as he ran in circles, the horsehair plume on his helmet blazing like a fiery Mohawk.

Clarisse's own armor was charred. She was fighting with a broken spear shaft, the other end embedded uselessly in the metal joint of one bull's shoulder.

Percy clicked his pen. It shimmered, growing longer and heavier until he held Riptide in his hands, "Tyson, stay here. I don't want you taking any more chances"

"No!" Annabeth said. "We need him"

Percy stared at her, "He's mortal. He got lucky with the dodge balls but he can't—"

"Percy, do you know what those are up there? The Colchis bulls, made by Hephaestus himself. We can't fight them without Medea's Sunscreen SPF 50,000. We'll get burned to a crisp."

Percy gave her a strange look, "….Medea's what?"

Annabeth rummaged through her backpack and cursed. "I had a jar of tropical coconut scent sitting on my night-stand at home. Why didn't I bring it?"

He'd learned a long time ago not to question Annabeth too much. It just made Percy more confused. "Look, I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm not going to let Tyson get fried."

"Percy—"

"Tyson, stay back." Percy raised his sword. "I'm going in."

Tyson tried to protest, but he was already running up the hill toward Clarisse, who was yelling at her patrol, trying to get them into phalanx formation. It was a good idea. The few who were listening lined up shoulder-to-shoulder, locking their shields to form an ox-hide—and-bronze wall, their spears bristling over the top like porcupine quills.

Unfortunately, Clarisse could only muster six campers. The other four were still running around with their helmets on fire. Annabeth ran toward them, trying to help. She taunted one of the bulls into chasing her, then turned invisible, completely confusing the monster. The other bull charged Clarisse's line.

Percy was halfway up the hill—not close enough to help. Clarisse hadn't even seen me yet.

The bull moved deadly fast for something so big. Its metal hide gleamed in the sun. It had fist-sized rubies for eyes, and horns of polished silver. When it opened its hinged mouth, a column of white-hot flame blasted out.

"Hold the line!" Clarisse ordered her warriors.

Whatever else you could say about Clarisse, she was brave. She was a big girl with cruel eyes like her father's. She looked like she was born to wear Greek battle armor, but Percy didn't see how even she could stand against that bull's charge.

Unfortunately, at that moment, the other bull lost interest in finding Annabeth. It turned, wheeling around behind Clarisse on her unprotected side.

"Behind you!" Percy shouted, "Look out!"

He shouldn't have said anything, because all he did was startle her. Bull Number One crashed into her shield, and the phalanx broke. Clarisse went flying backward and landed in a smoldering patch of grass. The bull charged past her, but not before blasting the other heroes with its fiery breath. Their shields melted right off their arms. They dropped their weapons and ran as Bull Number Two closed in on Clarisse for the kill.

Percy lunged forward and grabbed Clarisse by the straps of her armor. He dragged her out of the way just as Bull Number Two freight-trained past. He gave it a good slash with Riptide and cut a huge gash in its flank, but the monster just creaked and groaned and kept on going.

It hadn't touched Percy, but he could feel the heat of its metal skin. Its body temperature could've microwaved a frozen burrito.

"Let me go!" Clarisse pummeled his hand, "Percy, curse you!"

Percy dropped her in a heap next to the pine tree and turned to face the bulls. They were on the inside slope of the hill now, the valley of Camp Half-Blood directly below them—the cabins, the training facilities, the Big House—all of it at risk if these bulls got past them.

Annabeth shouted orders to the other heroes, telling them to spread out and keep the bulls distracted.

Bull Number One ran a wide arc, making its way back toward Percy .

As it passed the middle of the hill, where the invisible boundary line should've kept it out, it slowed down a little, as if it were struggling against a strong wind; but then it broke through and kept coming.

Bull Number Two turned to face Percy, fire sputtering from the gash he'd cut in its side. He couldn't tell if it felt any pain, but its ruby eyes seemed to glare at him like I'd just made things personal.

Percy couldn't fight both bulls at the same time. He'd have to take down Bull Number Two first, cut its head off before Bull Number One charged back into range.

His arms already felt tired, he realized how long it had been since he'd worked out with Riptide, how out of practice he was.

Percy lunged but Bull Number Two blew flames at him.

He rolled aside as the air turned to pure heat.

His foot caught on something—a tree root, maybe—and pain shot up his ankle.

Still, he managed to slash with his sword and lop off part of the monster's snout. It galloped away, wild and disoriented. But before Percy could feel too good about that, he tried to stand, and his left leg buckled underneath him. His ankle was sprained, maybe broken.

Bull Number One charged straight toward Percy . No way could he crawl out of its path.

Annabeth shouted, "Tyson, help him!"

Somewhere near, toward the crest of the hill, Tyson wailed, "Can't—get—through!"

"I, Annabeth Chase, give you permission to enter camp!" She proclaimed.

Thunder shook the hillside. Suddenly Tyson was there, barreling toward him, yelling "Percy needs help!"

Before Percy could tell him no, he dove between him and the bull just as it unleashed a nuclear firestorm.

"Tyson!" Percy shouted.

The blast swirled around him like a red tornado. Percy could only see the black silhouette of his body. He knew with horrible certainty that his friend had just been turned into a column of ashes.

But when the fire died, Tyson was still standing there, completely unharmed. Not even his grungy clothes were scorched. The bull must've been as surprised as he was, because before it could unleash a second blast, Tyson balled his fists and slammed them into the bull's face, "BAD COW!"

His fists made a crater where the bronze bull's snout used to be. Two small columns of flame shot out of its ears. Tyson hit it again, and the bronze crumpled under his hands like aluminum foil.

The bull's face now looked like a sock puppet pulled inside out.

"Down!" Tyson shouted.

The bull staggered and fell on its back. Its legs moved feebly in the air, steam coming out of its ruined head in odd places.

Annabeth ran over to check on Percy.

Percy's ankle felt like it was filled with acid, but she gave me some Olympian nectar to drink from her canteen, and he immediately started to feel better. There was a burning smell that he later learned was him. The hair on his arms had been completely singed off.

"The other bull?" Percy asked.

Annabeth pointed down the hill.

Clarisse had taken care of Bad Cow Number Two. She'd impaled it through the back leg with a celestial bronze spear. Now, with its snout half gone and a huge gash in its side, it was trying to run in slow motion, going in circles like some kind of merry-go-round animal.

Clarisse pulled off her helmet and marched toward us. A strand of her stringy brown hair was smoldering, but she didn't seem to notice. "You—ruin—everything!" she shouted at Percy, "I had it under control!"

Percy was too stunned to answer.

Annabeth grumbled, "Good to see you too, Clarisse."

"Argh!" Clarisse screamed, "Don't ever, EVER try saving me again!"

"Clarisse," Annabeth said, "you've got wounded campers"

That sobered her up. Even Clarisse cared about the soldiers under her command.

"I'll be back," she growled, then trudged off to assess the damage.

Percy stared at Tyson, "You didn't die"

Tyson looked down like he was embarrassed, "I am sorry. Came to help. Disobeyed you."

"My fault," Annabeth said. "I had no choice. I had to let Tyson cross the boundary line to save you. Otherwise, you would've died."

"Let him cross the boundary line?'" Percy asked. "But—"

"Percy," she said, "have you ever looked at Tyson closely? I mean … in the face. Ignore the Mist, and really look at him."

The Mist makes humans see only what their brains can process … I knew it could fool demigods too, but…

Percy looked Tyson in the face. It wasn't easy. He'd always had trouble looking directly at him, though he'd never quite understood why. He thought it was just because he always had peanut butter in his crooked teeth. Percy forced myself to focus at his big lumpy nose, then a little higher at his eyes.

No, not eyes.

One eye. One large, calf-brown eye, right in the middle of his forehead, with thick lashes and big tears trickling down his cheeks on either side.

"Tyson," Percy stammered. "You're a …"

"Cyclops," Annabeth offered. "A baby, by the looks of him. Probably why he couldn't get past the boundary line as easily as the bulls. Tyson's one of the homeless orphans."

"One of the what?"

"They're in almost all the big cities," Annabeth said distastefully. "They're … mistakes, Percy. Children of nature spirits and gods … Well, one god in particular, usually … and they don't always come out right. No one wants them. They get tossed aside. They grow up wild on the streets. I don't know how this one found you, but he obviously likes you. We should take him to Chiron, let him decide what to do."

"But the fire. How—"

"He's a Cyclops." Annabeth paused, as if she were remembering something unpleasant, "They work the forges of the gods. They have to be immune to fire. That's what I was trying to tell you."

Percy was completely shocked. How had he never realized what Tyson was? But he didn't have much time to think about it just then. The whole side of the hill was burning.

Wounded heroes needed attention. And there were still two banged-up bronze bulls to dispose of, which Percy didn't figure would fit in their normal recycling bins.

Clarisse came back over and wiped the soot off her forehead. "Jackson, if you can stand, get up. We need to carry the wounded back to the Big House, let Tantalus know what's happened."

"Tantalus?" Percy asked.

"The activities director," Clarisse said impatiently.

"Chiron is the activities director. And where's Argus? He's head of security. He should be here." Percy said.

Clarisse made a sour face. "Argus got fired. You two have been gone too long. Things are changing."

"But Chiron … He's trained kids to fight monsters for over three thousand years. He can't just be gone. What happened?" Percy asked.

"That happened," Clarisse snapped.

She pointed to Thalia's tree.

Every camper knew the story behind the tree. Six years ago, Grover, Annabeth, and two other demigods named Thalia and Luke had come to Camp Half-Blood chased by an army of monsters. When they got cornered on top of this hill, Thalia, a daughter of Zeus, had made her last stand here to give her friends time to reach safety. As she was dying, her father, Zeus, took pity on her and changed her into a pine tree. Her spirit had reinforced the magic borders of the camp, protecting it from monsters. The pine had been here ever since, strong and healthy.

But now, its needles were yellow. A huge pile of dead ones littered the base of the tree. In the center of the trunk, three feet from the ground, was a puncture mark the size of a bullet hole, oozing green sap.

A sliver of ice ran through Percy's chest. Now he understood hy the camp was in danger. The magical borders were failing because Thalia's tree was dying.

Someone had poisoned it.

Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson made their way towards the big house.

Ever come home and found your room messed up? Like some helpful person (hi, Mom) has tried to "clean" it, and suddenly you can't find anything? And even if nothing is missing, you get that creepy feeling like somebody's been looking through your private stuff and dusting everything with lemon furniture polish?

That's kind of the way Percy felt seeing Camp Half-Blood again.

On the surface, things didn't look all that different but there was an air of danger now. You could tell something was wrong. Instead of playing volleyball in the sandpit, counselors and satyrs were stockpiling weapons in the tool shed. Dryads armed with bows and arrows talked nervously at the edge of the woods. The forest looked sickly, the grass in the meadow was pale yellow, and the fire marks on Half-Blood Hill stood out like ugly scars.

Somebody had messed with Percy's favorite place in the world, and he was not … well, a happy camper.

As they made their way to the Big House, Percy recognized a lot of kids from last summer. Nobody stopped to talk. Nobody said, "Welcome back." Some did double takes when they saw Tyson, but most just walked grimly past and carried on with their duties—running messages, toting swords to sharpen on the grinding wheels. The camp felt like a military school. And believe him, Percy knows. He's been kicked out of a couple.

They arrived at the Big House.

"Who invited that? "

From the head table a familiar voice drawled, "Well, well, if it isn't Peter Johnson. My millennium is complete" Mr. D said sarcastically.

Percy grit his teeth, "Percy Jackson … sir."

Mr. D sipped his Diet Coke. "Yes. Well, as you young people say these days: Whatever."

He was wearing his usual leopard-pattern Hawaiian shirt, walking shorts, and tennis shoes with black socks. With his pudgy belly and his blotchy red face, he looked like a Las Vegas tourist who'd stayed up too late in the casinos. Behind him, a nervous-looking satyr was peeling the skins off grapes and handing them to Mr. D one at a time.

"Mr. D is Chiron still here?" Annabeth asked.

Mr. D lazily pointed inside the big house.

They hurried inside.

They found Chiron in his apartment, listening to his favorite 1960s lounge music while he packed his saddlebags.

As soon as they saw him, Tyson froze. "Pony!" he cried in total rapture.

Chiron turned, looking offended. "I beg your pardon?"

Annabeth ran up and hugged him. "Chiron, what's happening? You're not … leaving?" Her voice was shaky. Chiron was like a second father to her.

Chiron ruffled her hair and gave her a kindly smile, "Hello, child. And Percy, my goodness. You've grown over the year!"

Percy gulped, "Clarisse said you were…you were…"

"Fired" Chiron's eyes glinted with dark humor, "Ah, well, someone had to take the blame. Lord Zeus was most upset. The tree he'd created from the spirit of his daughter, poisoned! Mr. D had to punish someone."

"Besides himself, you mean," Percy growled. Just the thought of the camp director, Mr. D, made him angry.

"But this is crazy!" Annabeth cried. "Chiron, you couldn't have had anything to do with poisoning Thalia's tree!"

"Nevertheless," Chiron sighed, "some in Olympus do not trust me now, under the circumstances."

"What circumstances?" Percy asked.

Chiron's face darkened. He stuffed a Latin-English dictionary into his saddlebag while the Frank Sinatra music oozed from his boom box.

Tyson was still staring at Chiron in amazement. He whimpered like he wanted to pat Chiron's flank but was afraid to come closer. "Pony?"

Chiron sniffed. "My dear young Cyclops! I am a centaur. "

"Chiron," Percy said. "What about the tree? What happened?"

He shook his head sadly. "The poison used on Thalia's pine is something from the Underworld, Percy. Some venom even I have never seen. It must have come from a monster quite deep in the pits of Tartarus."

"Then we know who's responsible. Kro—"

"Do not invoke the titan lord's name, Percy. Especially not here, not now." Chiron insisted.

"But last summer he tried to cause a civil war in Olympus! This has to be his idea. He'd get Luke to do it, that traitor." Percy said.

"Perhaps," Chiron said. "But I fear I am being held responsible because I did not prevent it and I cannot cure it. The tree has only a few weeks of life left unless …"

"Unless what?" Annabeth asked.

"No," Chiron said. "A foolish thought. The whole valley is feeling the shock of the poison. The magical borders are deteriorating. The camp itself is dying. Only one source of magic would be strong enough to reverse the poison, and it was lost centuries ago."

"What is it?" Percy asked, "We'll go find it!"

Chiron closed his saddlebag. He pressed the stop button on his boom box. Then he turned and rested his hand on Percy's shoulder, looking him straight in the eyes. "Percy, you must promise me that you will not act rashly. I told your mother I did not want you to come here at all this summer. It's much too dangerous. But now that you are here, stay here. Train hard. Resharpen your skills. Then set out on your journey"

"Why?" Percy asked. "I want to do something now! I can't just let the borders fail. The whole camp will be—"

"Overrun by monsters," Chiron said. "Yes, I fear so. But you must not let yourself be baited into hasty action! This could be a trap of the titan lord. Remember last summer! He almost took your life."

It was true, but still, Percy wanted to help so badly. He also wanted to make Kronos pay. You'd think the titan lord would've learned his lesson eons ago when he was overthrown by the gods. You'd think getting chopped into a million pieces and cast into the darkest part of the Underworld would give him a subtle clue that nobody wanted him around. But no. Because he was immortal, he was still alive down there in Tartarus—suffering in eternal pain, hungering to return and take revenge on Olympus. He couldn't act on his own, but he was great at twisting the minds of mortals and even gods to do his dirty work.

The poisoning had to be his doing. Who else would be so low as to attack Thalia's tree, the only thing left of a hero who'd given her life to save her friends?

"What if I get help! That other son of Zeus, Dean!" Percy remembered, he was strong when they met, together they could definitely handle whatever Chiron was worried about.

Annabeth was shocked at the sound of that, "There's another child of Zeus?!"

Chiron shook his head, "No it's too late, he and his team have been sent on another mission. You must do this alone"

"Damn" Percy muttered, "It would have been nice to have him with me"

"Chiron what source of magic can reverse the poison?" Annabeth asked.

Chiron sighed, "The only one I know of that can definitely reverse it…..is the Golden Fleece"

A conch horn blew across the valley. I hadn't realized how late it was. It was time for the campers to assemble for dinner.

"Go," Chiron said, "I will contact your mother, Percy, and let her know you're safe. No doubt she'll be worried by now. Just remember my warning! You are in grave danger. Do not think for a moment that the titan lord has forgotten you!" He trotted away in a hurry.

Percy and Annabeth were left there standing dumbstruck. Where the hell were they going to find that?

Bayville

Dean stood outside the mansion with a duffel bag in his hand. He was saying his goodbyes to everyone.

After going through everyone he finally came to his girlfriend.

"Remember your promise" Jean reminded him with a sad expression.

"I will" Dean said giving her a small kiss.

That seemed to get a small but unnoticed reaction out of Scott.

Dean looked around in confusion, "Where's Rogue?"

"Couldn't find her, must have went somewhere" Logan guessed.

Dean sighed, he was so busy he never got a chance to talk to her. He felt a little guilty, he forgot that she might also be upset that he was leaving.

"Well, I should get going" Dean strapped his duffle bag to the back of his chopper.

"See ya around kid" Logan said before turning around and leaving.

Dean smirked as he sat on his bike, Logan was never the type to get sentimental.

Charles rolled towards him, "Have a safe trip to…wherever you're going"

"Thanks Prof, see ya guys" Dean waved as he rode off.

Kitty sighed, "Things won't be as interesting without him around" she realized that most significant events involved him.

Scott rolled his eyes, "I think we'll manage without him" he said almost sounding happy.

Kurt scratched his head, "Wait…if he took his bike…then his car is still here" he realized.

Kurt and Evan looked at each other.

"Dibs" Evan ran to Dean's room to find his keys.

"Not if I get the keys first!" Kurt teleported inside.

The gates opened and Dean rode out to the street. He hit the brakes and stopped as he spotted Rogue leaning against the wall that surrounded the institute grounds.

Headphones in her ear probably listening to something.

Dean got off his bike and walked over to her.

Rogue kept her eyes away from him, choosing not to acknowledge him.

Dean sighed and leaned against the wall next to her. He looked over to her and opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out.

Would anything he said change anything?

Dean looked ahead and stared into space, "I didn't get a chance to tell you this, but I fought a sorceress the other day"

Rogue kept giving him the cold shoulder.

"Up until now, for the most part I've dealt with people that are somewhat comparable to me" Dean said, obviously there were exceptions like the Hulk.

Rogue glanced in his direction for a moment and then looked away again, she was listening.

"But that woman was in a whole other league. She toyed with us, like we were insignificant. And ever since then it's all I could think about, that despite how far I've come, in the end it didn't even matter. And then that got me thinking even more, what if there are more people like that?" Dean asked curiously, "What if they're even stronger than that?" He wondered out loud.

Dean ran his fingers through his hair, "I had all this swirling around my head yesterday, along with the enigma of what my own ambitions are…and I realized that…." He hesitated, "…I'm afraid"

Rogue frowned and looked at him.

"I'm afraid that if I don't train I won't be able to protect anyone" Dean looked at her with a sad face, "If it's possible that everyone I care about will die, then I'm willing to sacrifice my own happiness to save them. Even if it means alienating myself from my friends"

Rogue punched him in the shoulder, "You don't have to do that you idiot!" She shouted in frustration, "If you distance yourself you'll end up losing everyone you care about"

"There's nothing I can do if no one believes what I say" Dean with a hint of resentment.

Rogue sighed, "You've got a point there, but no matter what I'll always believe you"

Dean smirked, "Then you're one of the people I look forward to seeing again the most"

Rogue made a sour expression, "First Logan goes off on his road trips and now you're gonna be gone too"

"Hey" Dean looked her in the eyes with a sincere look, "It may not seem like it but I've grown fond of this place, I could never just abandon it on a whim. I promise you that I'll be back, I give you my word"

Rogue smiled, his reassurance made her worries wither away. She wrapped her arms around him and embraced him in a tight hug, "You better" she playfully warned him.

Dean chuckled, "Alright" they separated. He got on his bike again, "Oh before I forget" he reached into his pocket, "Since I won't be around for a while I figured you might need a ride" he tossed something at her.

Rogue caught it and saw it was his Camaro keys.

"Take care of it while I'm gone" Dean said with a smile right before driving off.

Rogue smiled as she looked at the keys.

As Dean rode towards his destination he recalled the conversation he had with Eli.

Earlier

"I know what I want" Dean said confidently.

Eli could see that he found his conviction, "Tell me"

Dean's expression hardened, "I…I've seen the many faces of evil" he clenched his fists, "Those monsters who spread chaos and prey upon the weak, they make me sick" he said with disgust, "I'll make it my mission to get stronger and defeat all of them until the world becomes the peaceful place it should be"

Eli looked happy, "I guess buying you those Captain America comics when you were younger gave you some inspiration"

Dean nodded, "He always inspired my need to help people"

Eli laughed lightly, "You know, you two have that in common. You do whatever you can to help people, even at the cost of your own life" he placed a reassuring hand on Dean's shoulder, "There's a name for that son…..it's hero"

Dean heard the word and felt a little overwhelmed.

"What you want to be, what you aspire to be, is a hero. The noblest cause there is" Eli spoke highly of it.

Present

Dean grinned, 'I'll train hard, and when I'm ready I'll do my best to be a hero' he hit the gas and rode as fast as he could.

The Island Nation of Genosha

Two individuals watched from afar as Mutants were used as a slave work force.

They were forced to obey the orders of the sovereign nation who captured them.

They wore explosive collars around their necks, preventing them from escaping or disobeying their captors.

The Genoshans must have discovered the existence of Mutants in the world and kept that secret to themselves in order to take advantage of the immense benefit they could have.

Kratos leaned over the mountain ledge he stood on as he watched with curiosity, "The cruelty of mortals never seizes to surprise me"

Behind him, lurking in the shadows, Magneto sat on a metal throne. Fuming over these insolent homo sapiens, "They think they can defile my people, strip them of their freedom" he banged his fist angrily against his armrest, "Persecute them…" he whispered with hate under his breath, "And not feel the wrath of my scorn?!"

Kratos smirked, he liked where this was going.

"These humans will regret ever laying hands on my people…their penance will be an example for all those who dare make the same mistake" Magneto vowed.

Kratos drew his blades, "I'll clear any resistance there might be" he eagerly leapt down and began the merciless slaughter of Genoshans.

Magneto fondly watched as Kratos decimated the Genoshan army. Soldiers, guns, tanks, none were enough to stop him. Especially now that he was enhanced by Magneto's machine, Kratos was fortunate enough to keep his augmentation.

Magneto however was caught in that energy shockwave that reversed the effects of his enhancer, which meant he was currently feeling a lot weaker than his normal self. He'll have to find some alternative to boost him back up to his previous power level, or better yet beyond that.

Kratos deflected a tank canister with his blade and it exploded not too far from him, not affecting him.

He then leapt on top of the tank, ripped off the hatch and pulled out the driver.

The soldier pulled out an assault rifle and fired at point blank range.

The bullets dented as they struck Kratos's skin and fell to the ground.

The soldier gasped in terror, "What are you?"

Kratos stabbed him in the chest and then proceeded to vertically rip him in half, "The wrath of the gods"

Despite everything that was happening, his mind could only think of one thing…his brother and how he had humiliated him. Kratos will get stronger, and the next time they face his brother will crumble at his feet.

Somewhere in Southern Florida

Joey was already on his way back to Nova Roma with a group of half-bloods from camp. They'd left before the incident with Thalia's tree so they were unaware of the situation.

They had stopped in Florida to restock on supplies for their journey.

Joey was currently out on his own retrieving such supplies.

It was nearing sunset, it's final rays being swallowed up by the horizon.

Joey walked in the direction of his boat, not a single other soul on the street. Suspiciously so, but Joey was oblivious to this.

"Man, I never thought I'd miss ketchup so much. I wonder how it'll taste with the roasted potatoes in Nova Roma?" Joey wondered out loud.

He heard a loud noise down an alley to his left.

Joey stopped and stared down the alley. There wasn't any light to illuminate it and without the sun he couldn't see much.

Joey put down the bags and drew his knife. It could be a monster trailing his scent, and if he chose to ignore it he could be endangering his fellow travelers.

Joey cautiously walked down the alley.

A stray cat whizzed by, running for its life.

Joey took a deep breath and leaned against the wall as he inched closer to the corner.

He heard some ruffling of trash bags.

Joey turned the corner ready to stab whatever was there but found nothing.

"Ok?" Joey put away his knife, "I guess not"

He turned around only for a hand to wrap around his throat and lift him off the ground.

Joey choked and his legs flailed in the air as he struggled to free himself. He glanced at his assaulter.

He stood about 6 feet, his body was covered in a skintight black metallic suit that had a red diamond on his chest. On his back hung a shredded black metallic cowl, with a tall red collar around his neck. His face, the only exposed part, was chalk white, his flattop hair was onyx black, and his eyes glowed a faint red. On his forehead was a red diamond, most likely his insignia.

He wore a menacing expression which combined with his appearance would freak out anyone with a single glance.

His dark red lips curved into a grin revealing his razor sharp teeth, "Hello there Joey, you can call me Mr. Sinister"

Joey looked terrified, he had an iron grip and he didn't look like he was trying very hard, "W-What do you want?"

"I'm glad you asked Joey" Sinister said sounding pleased they skipped straight to the point, "I want you to tell me everything you know about the world of half-bloods, be my eyes and ears within camp, and most importantly" putting quite an emphasis on most, "I need you to keep a very close eye on that boy Dean"

Joey's brow furrowed, this guy knows something, "What do you want with him? He's a nobody"

Sinister tilted his head in confusion, "Is that so? Then why does he carry the mark of the 12?" He said speaking of something very few mortal souls know of.

Joey's eyes widened in horror, 'He knows!' he drew his knife and went to stab him in the ribcage, "I can't let you change fate!"

Sinister grabbed his wrist with ease before it could reach him. He looked amused, "That wasn't a request" he slammed him against the wall, cracking it and creating a human sized indentation.

Joey got the wind knocked out of him.

Sinister placed his palm on Joey's forehead, then the red diamond on his own forehead glowed as he tried to forcefully invade his mind.

Joey grit his teeth and braced himself as he tried his best to resist the mental assault.

Throughout the struggle Joey could feel Sinister's mental presence since they were connected. But his wasn't the only presence he could feel, there was another. It was faint, lurking in a deep crevice inside Sinister's mind.

Sinister's brow furrowed, "It seems Chiron placed adequate psychic blocks in your mind to protect you"

Joey breathed heavily as Sinister paused his assault and removed his hand. He heard the other presence whisper something to Sinister, too low for him to hear.

Sinister looked over his shoulder in frustration, listening to the whisper, "They're too strong to simply power through them"

The other presence then whispered something else, sounding slightly aggravated.

Sinister looked intrigued as he glanced at Joey, "It seems he wants to handle things personally" he gently placed his hand on his forehead, this time with caution as if he didn't know what would happen when he did.

Joey's mental projection was hiding behind the walls placed by Chiron to protect the information he was trusted with. He then felt someone approach.

He looked to see who but the approaching figure was shrouded in darkness.

The figure placed it's hand on the wall and it shattered like glass.

In the real world Joey was screaming bloody murder from the intense pain.

This time Sinister's diamond glowed with a faint dark purple hue.

Joey's body trembled as he screamed at the top of his lungs. It felt like someone was drilling a dozen holes into his brain simultaneously.

Sinister grinned deviously.

Joey's eyes rolled back into his head as he felt his mind being bended to the figure's will.

When the trembling subsided, the purple glow faded and Sinister finally released him.

Joey fell face first onto the ground.

Sinister cleared his throat, "Joey?"

Joey slowly got off the floor until he was on one knee, still staring at the ground, panting from exhaustion.

"Tell me…who do you serve?" Sinister asked curiously.

Joey slowly looked up until he stared at Sinister, his signature red diamond on Joey's forehead. He wore a maniacal expression that made him look unhinged, "En Sabah Nur"

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's note: Damn that really took a while! Lol and that FINALLY concludes part 1. I tried to include everyone who was going to be getting a bigger role in the future, and set up upcoming threats. Part 2 is on its way so in the meantime just be patient true believers. Hope you enjoy the read! Please review! :)