Jason Grace and the Lightning Thief
This is the first in my new "Jason Grace and the Olympians" series
Summary: We all know what Percy and the Greeks did during the Titan War, but what did Jason and the Romans do? (besides storming Mt Othrys because surely they did more than that) What if Ares was not the one who found Luke? What if, in his Roman form, he sent a demigod to do it for him? A certain son of Jupiter, in fact. Takes place the winter before "the lightning thief".
I
Ambush at the Museum
Jason Grace's great adventure began the time the fifth cohort was attacked by dracaenae when he was eleven and a half. He'd been on other quests before; one does not simply get claimed by Lord Jupiter Optimus Maximus and sit around camp all day. This adventure was different though, because on this particular adventure Jason would save the world from evil Titans.
That particular winter's morning the entire fifth cohort was on a field trip to San Francisco. It was long overdue, and the fifth cohort legionnaires deserved it. They'd been having a hard time since the '80s. Since Michael Varus led that doomed expedition to Alaska. It was as if a curse had been placed upon them. They hadn't won any war games or deathball matches in over five years. Their legionnaires kept disappearing at random. Many fifth cohort kids hoped the arrival of Jason Grace, the son of Jupiter himself, would help change their fortune, but he was still too young. And technically he wasn't supposed to exist. His father had broken oath between him and his brothers Neptune and Pluto to never have demigod kids after World War II. There was also talk of a Great Prophecy that predicted Jason would either save or destroy the gods when he turned sixteen. So Jason wasn't exactly a favourite among the Romans, which meant more bad luck for the fifth cohort. Fortunately for them, their centurions managed to negotiate a field trip into town to the de Young museum. It wasn't much, gods forbid what would happen when so many ADHD kids were stuck looking at art, but they had taken it. Now the camp bus, carrying forty or so heroes, raced towards the Bay Bridge.
Jason sat by the window overlooking the bay, which was hard for him to do since he was ADHD in a bus full of noisy ADHD kids, and he was looking at the ocean. The sea always agitated him, and tried to stay as far away from it as he could. Neptune was known to dislike children of Jupiter with a fierce passion. Jason sat next to his friend Dakota who was drinking Kool-Aid out of a bottle. The son of Bacchus had taken to drinking the beverage since the feast on the winter solstice, and he was already hooked. He was only twelve, but his constant sugar high, coupled with his ADHD, made him look like he was constantly drunk. He was absorbed in making beats with his hands on the headrest of the seat in front of him like a deranged drums player. He sometimes hit the guy in front of him in the head, much to the dude's chagrin.
"Cut it out, or I'll kick your podex!" the guy would occasionally say.
The constant drumming irritated Jason slightly, but he needed to be distracted from the bad feeling he was suddenly getting. The bus was now on the bridge, and the sea was now surrounding them. The sky was now covered in storm clouds. Thunder boomed, but there was no flash of lightning. Now that Jason noticed it, there hadn't been any lightning over the last couple of days. There had been plenty of storm clouds though. The wind picked up slightly, causing hair to whip wildly as it entered through the few open windows. The other kids were too busy with whatever they were doing to notice this strange storm. The bus got off the bridge and made its way into the city. It was bustling with activity, even though it was cold, since it was only two days until Christmas. Jason watched as pedestrians milled about, clad in winter wear but looking quite comfortable. Luckily for them, it never got too cold in San Francisco. It took them a couple of minutes to reach the museum. As the bus came to a stop, Gus, the brown-haired senior centurion stood reluctantly after being nudged by his colleague, Jenny, the athletic blond-haired daughter of Pomona. The expression on her face was like, it's your turn with the little monsters.
"Alright, settle down," Gus began. "You know the rules, no touching the art. You will not tear, smudge, set fire to, or otherwise damage the art in any way. No dancing with the sculptures. No bringing the sculptures to life."
A chorus of "Ah, man!" was heard from the backseat. The heroes who had complained were Dale and Mike, the twin legacies of Trivia. Apparently, the only magic they could do was animating objects for limited periods of time. They loved using their powers for mischief, though. The whole of camp would never forget the time they animated the statue of Bacchus and had it chase down a couple of fauns. The poor hooved guys had thought their patron god had come to annihilate them.
"Those with shields and pila must leave them on the bus," Gus continued. "Only your swords must be on your person."
Noise rose up as a dozen heroes fought to speak at the same time.
"Unless you have a magical weapon, then you can bring it as well," he added.
"What about my inhaler?" a timid voice asked.
"You can bring your inhaler, Roger. Now, any more questions?"
A hand shot up two seats in front of Jason. "What if you are hopeless at using a sword, but really good with a spear?" a girl asked.
Several kids agreed with her, and Jenny had to stand up to shush them.
"Look, it doesn't matter," she said with an exasperated tone. "We're seeing art, not going to war."
"Could be the same thing," another legionnaire said. "I'm going to die of boredom anyway."
A few kids chuckled at this.
"Come on, everybody. Single file," Gus said. "Don't forget to thank Jerry for driving us."
Jerry was a retired legionnaire that had volunteered to drive the camp bus. He was a cheery guy in his twenties who was constantly chewing gum. Gus and Jenny led the line out of the bus which Jason joined after Dakota. A cold breeze greeted him as he stepped outside. He zipped up his jacket to lock in the heat and followed the other legionnaires into the museum. As he went through the wide entrance, he looked back at the camp bus. Jerry waved enthousiastically through the misted windshield. Jason watched as a second bus pulled up in front of the camp bus. It was white and had some sort of college crest on its side. Something about the bus gave Jason a bad feeling, yet he forced a hopeful smile and entered the building.
The day at the museum went by quickly enough. It was fairly large, so it took hours to see every different artwork there was. Surprisingly enough, no artwork was torn, burnt or brought to life. The legionnaires managed to behave themselves despite their ADHD. They were Romans, after all. They were disciplined. Jason took his time going over more modern paintings, with Dakota trailing behind him. He didn't find the art very interesting, but it was a welcomed change from legion life. Jason also noticed a group of students who came in after them, milling around in the museum. They were mostly girls, and they were all college aged. Jason guessed they were all from some women's college. He had never heard of any women's colleges in San Francisco, but then again he never got out of camp much. The girls were pretty, but they all looked eerily similar, like they were all related. One of them walked past him, and Jason thought he heard the rustling of grass.
"Whoa," Dakota said, interrupting him from his thoughts. "Is that the Mona Lisa?"
"No," Jason sighed. "Seriously, man. You need to lay off the Kool-Aid."
"Yeah, yeah," the curly-haired boy said before he turned and aimed his bottle at the paintings like a gun.
A short distance from Jason, a group of girls were huddled together in front of a painting, and they were in a heated discussion.
"-so boring," one girl was saying. "And I'm getting really hungry too. When do we get to eat the demigo-" another girl placed her hand on the first girl's mouth, effectively shutting her up. She furtively glanced at Jason to see if he had understood, but he was already backing away.
So these girls were not regular mortals. They had to be monsters. Dread crept over Jason like a shadow. There had to be at least sixty of them in here. And they had them surrounded. Jason hadn't noticed at first, but they were spread in between legionnaires. They had even covered the exits. Jason had to warn his friends.
"Dakota," he stage-whispered, so that the son of Bacchus could hear. "We need to get out of here. All these college girls are monsters."
"What!" Dakota shouted. "All these college girls are monsters?!"
The girls nearest to them all snapped their heads towards them. Whispering and muttering filled the grand room. The Romans were slowly realising just how much trouble they were in. Many gripped their swords, ready for any confrontation. A tall, black-haired girl walked towards Jason and Dakota, a savage grin adorning her features.
"Well done, sson of Jupiter," she said, dragging the "s" in "son". "You have dissscovered what we are. Now prepare to die."
A couple of heroes drew their swords as college girls bared their teeth menacingly at them. Jason instinctively slipped a hand into his pocket, the single coin in its folds growing heavier and warmer to the touch. Before he could use it, he heard Gus's voice cry out from the other side of the room.
"Fifth cohort!" he shouted. "We've been ambushed! Initiate escape plan quintus!"
As soon as he spoke, the girls lunged. Some changed form in mid-leap, while others waited to change before they attacked. Jason watched the black-haired girl in front of him. Her fingers turned into savage claws. Her skin took on a sickening green tinge. As she stepped forward, her legs transformed into scaly snake trunks. She was a terrifying sight, and Jason's eleven year old self almost whimpered in fear. Almost. Years of monster classes at camp had taught him that she was a dracaena, a dragon woman. She leaped at him, her outstretched claws aiming for his neck. His ADHD kicked in, analysing the scene before him with posthuman precision. It was a learning disability in the classroom, but on the battlefield it meant survival. One of Lupa's teachings was to embrace the disorder and use it to your own advantage. Without it, Jason would probably have been food for the wolves.
It was as if the world was in slow motion. Jason was suddenly aware of everyone's position in the room. He saw Dakota desperately trying to make it to the exit while two dracaenae cornered him. He saw his fellow legionnaires draw the weapons they had as the dragon women leaped at them. He saw mortals cowering in the shadows in confusion and fear. Who knew what they saw through the Mist. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Gus the centurion grip a metal canister tightly in his hand. It was part of the escape plan. The legion always practiced exit strategies just in case they were ever overwhelmed by enemy forces. Jason had found them dull and repetitive, like having a fire drill twice a week, but now he was thankful of them.
He forced himself to focus on the monster in front of him, whose claws were mere centimetres away from his face. He pulled out the golden coin from his pocket, but the dracaena was upon him before he could flip it. He managed to duck his head away from the razor-sharp claws, but the monster's body slammed into him, sending them both rolling head over heels across the museum floor. Winded, and with his breath catching in his throat, Jason slowly got to his feet. His right hand, where the coin was, was clenched into a tight fist, the coin cutting a circular mark on his palm. His eyesight was swimming, but he forced himself to focus. The black-haired monster got on her feet and snarled, ready to attack again. Without any hesitation, he flipped the coin.
He couldn't have chosen a worse time to do it. Somewhere in the room, there was a large bang and a flash of light. Before he knew it, green smoke rolled across the room like a sickly mist, consuming everything in its path. For a moment he couldn't see anything in front of him. A dull clank resonated from his feet, where his coin had fallen. Except the sound it made indicated it was no longer a coin. His eyes slowly adjusted to the green fog, even though it was getting thicker. The fog was magical, created by the engineers at camp to help legionnaires in sticky situations. Heroes could see through it while monsters were technically blind in it. The canister Gus was holding had produced it. Jason knew they had only minutes before it cleared. They had to act fast.
Jason's world had turned green, like he was looking through a filter. Everything had taken on a greenish hue, but luckily he could see clearly again. On the floor in front of him lay an Imperial gold gladius that shone eerily in the green fog. His coin, Ivlivs, had fallen on heads. Before he could pick it up, the dracaena leaped again, her sharp claws glinting like daggers. He ducked, rolling on the floor and picking up the sword in the process. He twisted and slashed on reflex. He missed the monster narrowly and she used his imbalance as an opportunity to attack. Leaning back at the last moment, Jason raised his sword to below the chest, the point towards the oncoming dracaena. Her eyes bulged as the blade of Ivlivs sank into her abdomen. Before she could fully comprehend what was happening, she crumbled into yellow dust.
Around him, the monsters slashed wildly, blinded by the smoke bomb. The legionnaires ducked and maneuvered themselves around the vicious college girls, slowly making their way towards the exit. Jason followed suite, his head ducked low to avoid stray claws. By the time he reached the doors, nearly all Romans had managed to escape the dracaenae and were now running towards the camp bus in an ordered panic. Most heroes were covered in scratches and a few were bleeding. As he passed through the doors, Jenny grabbed him by the scuff of his jacket.
"Are you the last one?" she asked him.
"I think so," he answered. For a moment he was frightened more by the centurion than the monsters in the museum.
"Help me close the doors," she continued. "That will hold them for a while." Her eyes looked wild. "We've been ambushed," she said, more to herself as if she could not believe what was happening.
Even though they were close to death, Jason couldn't help feeling sorry for Jenny. She was fifteen, and already she was a senior officer in the cohort with the worst luck in the legion. Now she had to save the entire cohort from possible decimation. That was enormous pressure to put on anyone.
That's it, Jason decided. He was going to help her and the other legionnaires as much as he could.
Gus, the other officer, stumbled out of the doors with a sword in one hand. At the last minute, the dracaenae had realised that their meals were escaping and were making a beeline for the doors. After much struggling and heaving, Jason and Jenny pushed the doors shut and leaned against them as the monsters fought to escape their temporary prison.
"Alright, Gus," Kate grunted as struggled to keep the doors shut. "Do your thing."
With a grim nod, Gus placed his hand on the lock and 'did his thing'. Jason watched as the older kid closed his eyes in concentration, and a moment later there were clicks coming from inside the doors as the locks slid in place. Gus was a son of Mercury, and his powers allowed him to open locks since his father is the god of thieves. Apparently his power extended both ways; it could both lock and unlock doors.
"That'll hold them for now," Gus said as he turned towards the bus. "But not for long. Let's get out of here."
Jason followed the centurions to the camp bus where the other legionnaires were already seated. He took his seat next to Dakota as Jerry started the engine. Gus and Jenny once again stood at the front and took a quick roll call.
"Make sure the person who was next to you is still there," Jenny was saying as Gus was tending to the wounded. "Is everyone here?"
"Wait, where's Dale," a kid asked.
There was a rise in clamour as everyone searched for the missing hero. Moments later, a head popped up from under a seat.
"I found my- wait, why are you all looking at me?" the dubious boy asked.
His brother's cries of concern were drowned out by the roar of the engine as the bus sped back into the highway. The vehicle's tyres screeched as it swerved and weaved through traffic, heading back the way it came. Looking back through the rear window, Jason saw the white monster bus quickly gaining on them. Escape would not be easy.
They managed to get halfway across the Bay Bridge before the monster bus caught up to them. As the camp bus raced across the bridge, the other raced alongside it and rammed it to the side rail. Despite Jerry's driving skill, the bus was sandwiched between the monster bus and the rail, and within a few short moments it had skidded to a stop. Heroes scrambled out of the bus and found themselves face to face with a small army of hissing dracaenae. This time they were in their battle armour and they were carrying an assortment of weapons and round shields.
"Fifth cohort, form ranks," Jenny commanded loudly as the last Roman exited the bus.
Traffic was starting to build up because of the accident, and mortals were shouting in frustration and confusion. The Romans divided into two units with a lane of cars between them, each centurion commanding a unit. The monsters did the same, except their formation was more disordered, more chaotic.
Gus tightened the grip on his sword.
"Brace yourselves," he shouted.
Jason swallowed a mixture of anticipation and fear. With a shout, he, together with the rest of the fifth cohort, charged the advancing monsters.