From the Heart of Dixie to Olympus

A/N: Alright guys, here is my newest story. It is set in and around the events of the Heroes of Olympus but there will be some changes made and I hope you guys like them. Also, for those of you who were wondering what happened to my story Power's Legacy this is the replacement for it. I wasn't really happy with it so I decided to put a new twist on it. Anyways, be sure to leave a review and let me know what you guys think!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except any O.C and all rights belong to their respective owners.

Chapter I: I Show New York Some Southern Hospitality

I never thought my life could get any more bizarre.

One day, I'm sipping on a glass of sweet tea enjoying the Alabama sunshine then BAM! I'm fighting monsters with a bunch of teenagers.

Allow me to explain, my name is Alex McCann and it all started on the day I went to visit my cousin Percy up in New York City.

I was walking down the street in Manhattan and boy did I stick out in a crowd. I looked like I had just herded a bunch of cows on some ranch somewhere. I had on loose boot-cut blue jeans with a navy blue fishing polo on. My cowboy boots clicked on the pavement as I walked to the address my dad gave me for Aunt Sally's place. I hadn't seen my aunt since the family reunion back when I was still very little. That was before Percy had been born and I still hadn't met the guy. Apparently, he was quite the troublemaker and always had to move schools.

I remember hearing about him when uncle Gabe said he trashed his Camaro and killed Sally. Even a guy who was a clueless as me was smart enough to know that wasn't true.

Anyways, I finally found the place and decided to enjoy a quick smoke before knocking on the door. I lit a match on the heel of my boot and used it on my cigarette. I took a few puffs and suppressed some coughs before finally knocking on the door. My ears picked up on some people talking inside but the voices piped down immediately after I knocked.

"I'll get it mom!" a voice yelled before the door swung open and Percy stood there with a disinterested look on his face.

"Can I help you dude?" Percy asked with a bored tone. There were circles of exhaustion under his sea green eyes that made me a bit concerned.

"Percy…it's me…your cousin Alex," I said with a forced smile. The awkwardness of the situation was almost unbearable.

Percy gave me a blank expression until realization finally dawned on his face.

"Oh, I'm so sorry man feel free to come in!" Percy said as his face flushed red a bit from embarrassment. He also had on blue jeans but his fit a bit tighter and he had on a blue t-shirt.

"Don't mind if I do," I said as I entered the apartment. It wasn't anything special just a standard two-bedroom apartment with a kitchen and a small family room with a couch and a coffee table facing a T.V leaned up against the wall.

"Who was it honey?" Sally asked from the kitchen.

"Alex is here," Percy answered.

The sound of shuffling feet soon came from the kitchen as Sally made her way out of the kitchen. She had her brown hair tied back in a bun and had on a flannel shirt that was blue and green.

She ran over and gave me a friendly hug; it felt nice to be with my mom's side of the family even though my mom passed away during childbirth. My dad always said that I was just like her and had her rebellious spirit.

"How have you been Alex? It's been ages since I last saw you!" Sally said with a cheery tone.

Before I could say a word a girl with blonde hair walked in the room and took Percy's hand in hers. She had startling gray eyes that were scary to look at and she had tan skin like she belonged out in California somewhere.

"You never mentioned that you had a cousin, Seaweed Brain," she said.

Seaweed Brain?

"Sorry about my cousin miss, the name's Alex McCann, it's a pleasure to meet you," I said with my signature grin as I reached out and shook her hand politely.

"My name's Annabeth and this Seaweed Brained cousin of yours happens to be my boyfriend," she said as she playfully nudged Percy's side with her elbow.

I shared a laugh with them before Sally guided me to a guest bedroom where I would be sleeping. It wasn't much but it would do. A bed sat in the middle of the room with a nightstand next to it with a small reading lamp. I walked over and noticed some framed pictures on the nightstand.

One was of my mom and dad at their wedding reception with Sally. I could recognize my mom due to our similar features. She had dark brown hair like mine with matching brown eyes much like my own. We also shared the same smile that said that we were definitely up to no good. It was only a few months after the wedding that I was born and sadly my mom couldn't withstand the pain of the procedure and passed away shortly after. It hurt to think about even though I never met my mother. I just felt a connection to her spirit and sometimes I couldn't help but feel that she was out there watching me.

The next picture was of an infant Percy in a bathtub as a younger looking Sally tried, and hilariously failed, at doing. Percy also had a small tuft of black hair on his tiny infant head and his sea green eyes were visible as well and I couldn't help but feel sad looking at the picture despite how happy Sally and Percy looked.

You see, my dad, as much as I loved him, had his hands full trying to raise me on his own throughout the years. He would never let me know that though. He always tried to be positive and tried to mold me into a respectable young man. He managed to do a pretty good job even though he worked three jobs and hadn't maintained a relationship since mom died.

My dad managed to send me to some pretty expensive schools even though I insisted that he not. I passed with pretty good grades and got accepted to my dream college of Auburn University to study in film. That had been my dream since I was a kid to make movies and ever since I was little I could be seen running around the house recording stuff with a video camera. My dad encouraged me to go to school and things had been going good. I had just finished up my sophomore year when I went up to visit Percy and I was excited for what the rest of my trip would hold.

That night, Percy and Annabeth decided to take me out for a night on the town. They kept giggling at my reactions to seeing all the big skyscrapers but I didn't mind. I was raised in the Deep South; the tallest thing I had seen was a silo grain on my neighbor's farm.

They couple continued showing me the sights of Manhattan. We saw the Empire State Building, Central Park, and Times Square.

I stood in utter awe and amazement at the sights and I didn't want the fun to end. Of course, it was that same night in which my life got flipped upside down, Fresh Prince style.

We were walking down a random street and it was very late that night. This was the time that my dad had warned me to be careful of trouble but that didn't cross my mind as I munched on a slice of New York style pizza while Percy and Annabeth held hands and Annabeth had her head snuggled into Percy's shoulder. I couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy with my cousin. I hadn't really been in an honest relationship my whole life and it actually hadn't bothered me until now.

Before I could mope over my love life anymore, we passed a dark alleyway where the sound of a scuffle could be heard. I peered down the alley and spotted a guy curled up in the fetal position on the ground as three thugs kicked and pummeled him relentlessly.

I heard Percy sigh behind him at the sight but he kept walking with his girlfriend. I shot them a scowl, "So you're not going to do anything? That poor fella is getting his teeth kicked in and you're content to just walk by as if nothing is happening?" I asked with anger evident in my voice. Back home, if someone who was defenseless got beat up on like that, another person would usually intervene and come to the weaker person's aid.

Percy looked at me and his expression was solemn, as if he could feel the pain of the guy who was getting mugged.

"You know what? Forget it, I'll take care of these punks myself," I said as I quickly stormed down the alleyway before Percy or Annabeth could try to stop me. I heard them give out an exasperated sigh before they took off after me.

I stormed right up to the muggers and cleared my throat before speaking, "Hey! Knock it off!" I yelled.

I immediately started to regret my decision once the muggers diverted their attention from the guy on the ground to look at me.

They were each over six feet tall and one had on a pair of bloody bronze knuckles while another had a gun sticking out of pocket.

"You got a death wish cowboy?" one said as he eyed my clothes. I probably looked like the sheriff in those old Westerns who always came in to break up trouble in the saloon.

"I just noticed that you were beating up on that poor fella who couldn't even defend himself. My pa always told me there was nothing more cowardly than beating up on the people who can't defend themselves," I said with a false sense of confidence. I tried to look my toughest in front of the muggers but I kept glancing over at the one with the gun and I couldn't help but feel scared.

"I hate to break it to you but this ain't Kansas no more punk. So how about you take yourself and your two friends here and beat it before things get ugly," he said with a snigger before turning his attention back to the guy who they were beating up. He was bloody and beaten and his clothes were now just a bunch of sweaty and dirty rags that barely clung to his body. I felt myself blush a bit at his reference to the Wizard of Oz. I clenched my fists in anger and started breathing very deeply.

Annabeth must've noticed this because she put a hand on my shoulder, "C'mon Alex, lets get out of here and go back to Percy's place," she said trying to keep me from losing my cool. It was for nothing because I stepped forward and tapped one of the guys on the shoulder. He turned around to face me and I punched him hard across the face and sent him stumbling back into a dumpster.

"Alright kid, I warned you," one of the other mugger grumbled before trying to grab me.

I was a blur fighting the muggers, I punched, kicked, and dodged until the three muggers were sprawled out on the concrete groaning from the beat down they just received.

I turned to Percy and Annabeth and gave them a dramatic bow like I was the main act of a play. They both smirked at me before they both had looks of terror. I gave them a confused look before turning around to find a gun pointed at me.

There was a loud BANG and then I felt a pinch in my gut. I looked down and saw a circular wound trickling blood. As soon as I saw the wound, my vision swam and the pain crept in. It felt like someone had placed a blowtorch on my skin and had it on full blast.

Percy ran over to the guy and swiftly kicked him in the face sending the gun out of his hands and skittering across the concrete. I fell to one knee as my vision started to get dark and I fell into unconsciousness.

The rest was a hazy blur as I slipped in and out of consciousness, I saw Percy arguing with some guy who had black hair and sea green eyes like him. I also saw Percy talking with a doctor about what looked like a blood transfusion or something. I guess that made sense since me and Percy were related but he seemed hesitant to do it, as if I would explode or something. Before I could see anything else, I faded back into blackness.

I was woken up to the sound of Percy snoring. I was in a recovery room in the hospital and Percy and Annabeth were siting next to my bed, Percy was passed out asleep on Annabeth's shoulder as she read something off of a laptop.

"Wha?" I croaked getting the couple's attention. Percy immediately snapped awake and he and Annabeth both let out a sigh of relief.

"Good, you're awake," Annabeth said as she closed her laptop.

I suddenly remembered that my favorite football team, the Auburn Tigers, were playing the day after I arrived in Manhattan and by the looks of it, I had been out for quite a while.

"Did…did Auburn win?" I asked.

"Who?" Percy asked.

"The Auburn Tigers, they had a game on Saturday and I blacked out on Friday…did they win?" I asked after explaining.

Annabeth managed a chuckle before nudging Percy in the ribs, "I guess being a Seaweed Brain just runs in your family huh?" she said with a smirk that Percy returned.

They looked back at me and after realizing that I was still waiting on my answer, Annabeth said she would look up the score on her laptop.

"Sorry Alex, but they lost," she announced and I let out a few choice swear words that I would never say in front of Aunt Sally.

Suddenly, the man I saw when I was out opened the door and stepped in the room. He gave me a friendly smile that awfully familiar to the one Percy had.

"Glad to see that you are awake Alex," he said with a genuinely friendly tone.

"How do you know my name?" I asked confused.

The man let out a sigh, "I guess I should just go ahead and cut to the chase here Alex but after the mugging we had to find you a donor and my son Percy here had the same blood type as you," he explained with a tone that sounded as if he was telling me my dog died or something.

"Ok, well what's so bad about that?" I asked.

The man let out a deep breath before he spoke, "Alex, I am the Greek god Poseidon and you are now my new adopted son," he said.

You could've heard a pin drop in the room after he said that.

I stammered trying to form words, I remembered those mythology lessons I took in high-school about the Ancient Greeks and their gods but I never thought I would be standing in front of one and that I was the son of one.

Percy walked over next to his dad and gave me a smile, "Welcome to the family brother," he said and I immediately fainted back into unconsciousness.

A few months later

Remember a few lines back when I said how awesome my life had been going?

That I was enjoying college and my dad was supporting me?

Well, becoming an adopted son of a Greek god has essentially squeezed most, if not all, of the happiness out of my life.

I couldn't go back to college because of my demigod scent and the monster attacks and that was a tough pill to swallow but I was allowed to go visit my home and gather my things before telling my what happened.

He thought I was crazy at first before I pulled a knife from the kitchen and scratched my palm before healing it with water.

I knew it was a lot to take in and I personally knew from experience. However, I wasn't prepared for what came next. My dad got a terrified look in his eyes and started going ballistic saying I was some sort of demon or something. He started screaming as he frantically backed away in terror.

It broke my heart but I was left no choice but to grab my stuff, hop in my car, and drive back up to New York and to my new home at Camp Half-Blood in the Poseidon cabin with the Seaweed Brain himself.

Now, here I was sitting at a bar in Manhattan. I still had on my cowboy boots and jeans but I traded my polo shirt for a red and black flannel shirt under a denim jacket due to the colder weather. I had also grown a full beard that I had let grow wild and my usually short brown hair had also extended to where it reached the back of my neck.

An empty beer bottle sat in front of me on the counter as I absentmindedly watched a baseball game on the T.V that sat on the wall facing me. I wasn't really paying too much attention to the game as a girl walked up and sat down next to me.

"You're looking pretty lonely there," she said, "Think I could interest you in a drink?"

I didn't pay her any attention as I laid some cash on the bar and the bartender placed another beer in front of me before giving me nod.

The girl let out a scoff before going back to trying to seduce me.

"Well, I guess since that is out of the question…how about we just talk?" she asked.

I turned to face her and took in her appearance. She was very pretty but not in a natural way due to her layers of makeup that she had on. Her hair was a dirty blonde color and she had a set of light blue eyes to go along with it.

I hated to be so brief with her but I just didn't feel the need for a woman in my life right now despite how lonely I was. There just wasn't a longing for anyone in my heart and I didn't want anyone to get too close to me due to the risks of dating a demigod. We live such dangerous lives and I don't want to drag someone else into it.

"Sorry miss, but I have to go," I said as I got up from the bar and abruptly left the place without even touching my last beer. The poor girl was so stunned that she didn't even say anything to me as I walked out the door over to my car.

The car I drove was basically a relic on wheels as it was a midnight black 1969 Dodge Charger that I had Jake from the Hephaestus cabin restore for me. I unlocked the door and cranked it before heading out on the road back to camp.

I plugged my iPod in and put on some Waylon Jennings and whistled along as I made the long drive to camp. Many people at camp had often joked with me about my taste in music but I didn't mind. They have their music and I have mine.

After the long drive, I finally arrived at camp and parked my car before checking in the trunk to make sure my stuff was there. I always kept my weapons locked in the back trunk just in case of a random monster attack (trust me on this one, they happen a lot). The weapons were all in place as I had my trusty hunting rifles as well as some shotguns, a Celestial Bronze broadsword, and some revolvers that I kept in the back along with the .44 Magnum that was stowed away under my seat up front.

After checking everything and grabbing one of the rifles and slinging it over my shoulder, I walked through the borders and said hey to a few of my friends before going to my cabin and changing into some camouflage and then heading off into the forest.

The forest at camp was always stocked with all sorts of monsters so I had started going on small hunting expeditions to keep myself busy. My dad had taken me hunting for deer a few times before and while it did help me with my aim and my hunting skills, there's a big difference when the thing you're hunting wants to literally eat your face off.

I started carefully meandering through the woods listening carefully for any signs of potential prey until I heard the sound of leaves rustling. I brought up my rifle and aimed it in the direction of where I heard the sound.

"Taking a little trip in the woods Alex?" a familiar voice suddenly asked from behind startling me.

I whipped around only to see the air shimmer a bit before Annabeth appeared holding her Yankees cap of invisibility.

"Jeez Annabeth, you scared the Hades out of me," I said as she smiled at me.

"Sorry, I started following you after I saw you entering the woods to see what you were up to, didn't think I would find a wannabe Huntress of Artemis," she said with a smirk.

"Thalia would be jealous of my skills," I joked and Annabeth laughed.

We had become good friends ever since the night I was shot and I was also her go-to guy whenever she needed to vent about my brother Percy.

I looked down at my gun still in my hands and looked back up at Annabeth, "You ever fired a gun Wise Girl?" I asked.

Fun fact: Percy and Me are the only ones she's allowed to call her that and I figured it reflected how close of friends I was with her.

"I have a few times but not at anything that's alive, if that's what you're thinking," she replied.

"Well, how about you join Alex's Super Awesome Hunting Adventure of um…Awesome!" I said excitedly as I grabbed her arm and dragged her deeper into the forest before she could argue.

We searched around looking for a target before I finally spotted a Scythian Dracenae standing in a meadow with it's back facing us. I motioned for Annabeth to duck down below a bush with me before I handed her my rifle.

"Ok, its pretty simple, just line the target up in your crosshairs and when you're ready to shoot, hold your breath and gently squeeze the trigger," I instructed her in a hushed tone.

Annabeth simply nodded and pressed the gun against her shoulder and took aim at the monster. After a brief silence where only the sound of the forest could be heard, a resounding BANGrang out as Annabeth took the shot.

Within seconds, the monster was reduced to a pile of ashes as Annabeth landed a perfect headshot, killing it instantly.

"Wow! That was amazing Annabeth!" I complimented her as she lowered the rifle to admire her shot.

Her face twisted into a grin as she handed me back the gun.

"Alright, Coral Boy, lets head back to camp before Seaweed Brain gets too worried," she said before we started the trek back to camp. Little did both of us know that the Earth Mother herself was stirring and we would be thrown into complete and utter chaos. Just another day for a demigod right?