Ascension

Seven teenagers laughed and joked as they jostled each other, making their way down the corridor of New Olympia High. They looked like typical students yet they were far from it.
"Ouch! Not fair Herry." The blond boy rubbed his shoulder and pouted at the other, a tall and muscular tank.
"Sorry Neil," He laughed "Learnt that from Hercules and i've been dying for an opportunity to use it"
"Yeah well use it on a monster." Neil snapped "Thats gonna leave a mark."
Descended from the great heroes of ancient Greece, the seven teenagers had come together to defeat Cronus and protect the gods yet sometimes all they wanted was to act like normal people.
"Hey," Flame haired and athletic Atlanta elbowed Neil on his sore arm. He squeaked. "Are you guys hungry?"
Beside her was Archie. He put his hands in the pockets of his blue hoodie and grinned.
"Last one to Frankies buys the pizza."
Atlanta laughed "oh it is so on."
The two of them tore off with inhuman speed. The others rolled their eyes but followed. Just one, Jay, hung back. He looked in the direction of the janitors closet and frowned, his hand touching the pendant key around his neck.

"Jay?" slim and pretty Theresa paused on her way out "Aren't you going to come with us?"
"I'll meet you there." He replied "Ms. Hera said she wanted to see me."

—

"Ah, Jay." The queen of the gods looked up when the hero walked in and he greeted his mentor with a warm smile.
"You wanted to see me?"
"Yes." Hera was an imposing woman. She had hard eyes and a strong demeanour and held herself in a way that made it impossible to forget she was a goddess.
She indicated Jay take a seat and he obeyed, realising that she was about to start on a long winded speech or lecture. Hera, however, handed Jay a book.

"The Illiad?" He opened the book, confused.
"What do you know of Homer?" Hera asked.
"Well, he was an author, a poet. He wrote all about heroes."
"You are correct. I want you to journey to the underworld and find Homer. I believe that studying with him will help you to become a better leader. He may have the key to defeating Cronus."
"Great." Jay clasped his book, suddenly excited. "Let me call the others and we can…"
"No." The queen of the gods interrupted. "I want you to go by yourself. This journey will teach you more about yourself than you ever knew."

Jay nodded thoughtfully.
"Ok," He reasoned. "But what about the others? If something happens who will lead the team?"

"That is for you to decide. A good leader will delegate and will chose the one best suited for the task."
She swept out of the room leaving Jay to ponder her words.
Homer, the Homer. This was an incredible opportunity to learn and to study. The man was a genius, he was sure to have ideas about the situation.
Jay's thoughts turned back to his friends. They would be happy for him. They would be jealous. And they may not agree with his choice of leader. So who should he choose? Theresa was the obvious choice. She had proven herself more than capable on many occasions but she reacted to her emotions and that made her unstable. No, he had to choose someone else. Atlanta? Atlanta was strong and fierce but she was reckless. Typically attack first, ask questions later, she would charge in and put them all in danger. Odie? Odie was clever but he was not good with fighting. He would put them all in danger while he worked out a complicated strategy. There was only one logical choice.

—

Neil had been last of six to arrive at the pizza joint. Archie and Atlanta had grabbed their usual booth seat and were arguing about who had arrived first.
"You cheated." Archie shoved her.
"I did not!" Atlanta retorted. "Is it my fault you are slow."
Herry, Odie and Theresa had been sensible and taken Herry's truck. They grinned at the pair and rolled their eyes, used to the competitive bickering.
"That's not fair." Neil complained as he took a seat next to Odie and surveyed the table full of extra large pizzas "I got held up."
Herry looked up from stuffing a crust into his mouth and laughed "A sale is no excuse."
Neil joined in with the laugher and grabbed a slice of supreme.
The plates were empty by the time Jay arrived. He pushed them to one side as he took his place at the head of the table.
"What did Ms. Hera want?" Atlanta offered him a soda.
Jay told them what Hera had told him and as he'd expected, they were angry and jealous that they didn't get to go. There was a loud uproar at the table as they shot angry remarks at each other. Jay waited for them to calm down.
"I know, i wish you could all come with me." He assured them. "But you guys have to stay here to make sure that the gods are protected. And that Cronus doesn't try anything."
"How long are you going to be gone for?" Theresa bit her lip.

"I don't know." Jay confessed.
"So who is going to lead the team?"
"I was getting to that." Six pairs of expectant eyes blinked back at him in unison and Jay knew his next words were going to get them all fired up. He took a breath.
"Hera said i had to choose who would lead the team in my absence and i've been thinking long and hard about it. You are all more than capable of being in charge and making the right decisions but I could only choose one." Another breath. Another chorus of blinks.
"I choose Archie."