Leo

Leo's day was not starting very well.

Coach Hedge had waked him up from the nap he'd been taking. He'd been operating the Argo II for ten hours straight and needed some sleep before he dozed off and crashed the ship. Finally, the coach took over and told him to go to bed. Leo followed the orders gladly, falling asleep like Morpheus himself had cast a spell.

Then the spell ended when Coach Hedge stormed into his cabin, yelling about how Festus was clicking and groaning again. Leo groaned himself. If Festus was making noises this frequently, there had to be something seriously wrong.

Leo forced himself to get out of bed, running a hand through his dark curly hair. Flames sprouted on his fingers from agitation. After patting them out, he followed Hedge to the helm, where Festus was looking out at the night sky. When Leo got close enough, the metal dragon masthead clicked and whirred in Morse code, describing what was wrong and what they needed to fix.

After Festus was done explaining the situation, Leo cursed. No one but him would be able to get these supplies. He'd have to go down to a machine shop himself. Everyone else would have to stay on the ship to protect it.

"I've gotta go down to a town machine shop to get the stuff to fix the Argo II," Leo told Hedge. "And I'll have to go alone. We'll need everyone else to stay on board and protect it. The defenses are down, so we'll need every weapon to make up for it while I'm gone."

"I don't like this, Valdez," Coach growled. "But I guess you have to. Get some rest. You'll leave to get stuff in the morning."

"Let me navigate to the nearest town," Leo said.

Leo took the controls and maneuvered the Argo II to a small town in South Carolina called Little Ridge. He made sure the ship was docked before going back below deck to his cabin to catch up on the sleep Coach Hedge had interrupted.

Marci

Marcela wasn't sure what was wrong with her motorcycle. It had started up this morning. It had even made it all the way into town from her house out in the woods. But now when she tried to start it to go back home, it wouldn't work.

She fiddled with the ignition, thinking it was just the way she tried to start it. When it still wouldn't work, she knelt on the ground to check out the gas line and the engine.

Being an inventor, she knew some stuff about mechanics. Seriously, you can't be an inventor without knowing the ins and outs of everyday objects. Like motorcycles, and cars, and robots, and…well, everything, really. Marcela took stuff apart all the time just to see how it worked, then she'd either put it back together, the way it was or better.

She'd come to town to get some copper wire and batteries for a little robot she was working on. The supplies were in her messenger bag, which was slung over her shoulder. She also bought some more gears, which she tended to run out of a lot.

Finally giving up, Marcela stood, kicked the curb where her bike was parked, and cursed. She yanked the keys out of the ignition and started storming back to the machine shop where she got her invention supplies. Her anger tinted her vision red and made her almost blind.

So when she ran into the boy with curly dark hair, she stopped and cursed at him.

"Watch where you're going," she growled. "My day's bad enough as it is."

He grinned at her, the kind of grin that makes you wonder what's going on in this kid's head. He was taller than she was, which wasn't really saying much, because she was pretty dang short. He wore suspenders over an orange tee shirt that said something about a camp. He wore pants with some sort of padding on the knees. And to top it all off, he was covered in grease and dirt.

Marcela probably wasn't looking any better. She knew she had grease all over her too, considering her issue with her motorcycle.

"Hey," he said, "sorry 'bout that."

"Yeah."

"So your day's not goin' so well? Neither's mine. But maybe we can make each other's days better. I'm Leo." He grinned that grin again, and stuck his hand out for me to shake.

She shook it tentatively and said, "I'm Marcela."

"Marcela," he mused. "Can I call you Marci?"

"No."

"Great! Well, Marci, where's the nearest machine shop?"

Leo

When Marci ran into him, Leo almost spontaneously combusted out of shock.

She had curly brown pigtails and pine green eyes. She was wearing overalls over a brown tank top, which normally would turn Leo away from a girl, but Marci pulled it off. She wore scuffed, buckled engineer boots. Her nails were bitten to the quick and grease was smeared across her face.

She was the most beautiful thing Leo had seen in a long time.

Luckily, Leo didn't go up in flames. Instead, he did the smart thing and asked her wear the machine shop was.

"I was just going there to look for a part for my motorcycle," she said. "Just come with me."

"Wait, whoa," Leo made a time-out sign with his hands. "You have a motorcycle?"

Marci gave him a look. "Yeah, so what?"

"Nothing. I just think that's awesome."

She rolled her eyes and stopped in front of a garage and shop. "Well, here we are."

They walked inside and were greeted by the smell of metal and oil. Leo looked around the store; the walls were covered with boxes of every tool, material, and mechanical supply imaginable. It was just the place Leo loved to be.

"Hey!" Marci yelled. "Brady, I'm back! My motorcycle's busted."

At Marci's call, a burly man with a misshapen face and tangled beard stepped out. Leo gasped. It was Hephaestus.

Marci gave him a strange look. "What?"

Hephaestus, aka Brady, shook his head furiously behind Marci's back. "Oh, uh, nothing," Leo stuttered.

"Ookaay…anyhow. Brady, there's something wrong with my bike. Think you could take a look? I can't figure out what's going on."

"Marcela, I can't, I'm busy working on a project," Hephaestus said.

"Brady's always building stuff," Marci explained.

"Nothing unusual," Leo grumbled.

"Maybe your friend here could help you out?" Hephaestus said, giving Leo a look. "Let me take him to the storeroom first. He looks like he needs something other than to help you."

Marci nodded. "He asked me where the nearest machine shop was. While I'm here I'd better pick up a new screwdriver…" she drifted off, walking over to a shelf.

Hephaestus grabbed Leo's arm and pulled him into the storeroom. "What are you doing here?" he growled.

"Festus needs repairing and this was the closest town. But why are you here? Didn't Zeus put Olympus on lockdown?" Leo retorted.

"The girl. She has a strong aura, I'm surprised she hasn't been attacked by monsters yet."

Leo's stomach plummeted. "Please tell me she's not my sister."

"Oh, Hades, no!"

"Thank the gods," Leo muttered. "Then why's her aura so strong?"

"She's the daughter of a god, and her powers are getting stronger. I'm not sure why she hasn't been claimed yet. She's fifteen…" Hephaestus trailed off. "Anyhow." He snapped his fingers. "Your supplies are on the Argo II. You're welcome. Now, you need to get going. A monster has sensed you and the girl."

"What about her bike?"

"You can fix it. Now go!" Hephaestus hobbled up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "And happy birthday."

Leo ran out of the storeroom, shouting behind him, "Thanks, Dad!"

Marci was standing at the counter, a puzzled look on her face. "Did you just call him…"

"No time to explain! We have to go." With that, Leo grabbed her arm and pulled her out the door and down the sidewalk to her motorcycle just as the little shop burst into flames.