Hercules and the Modern Girl
Written By Starswim
Disclaimer: Just so we're clear, I don't own the following Hercules's characters, movie, and series. Everything belongs to Disney! I own my OC character and twist of plot.
Rated: PG-13 (Violence, language, and other intense stuff... to be safe)
Plot: We all know how the story begins and ends. But somehow a modern, teenage girl gets transported back to Ancient Greece only it didn't take place in the Hercules movie, but Hercules's time before he becomes a true hero before he meets Meg and defeats Hades. So now the modern girl has to survive high school, a snobbish prince, monsters, an overprotective hero-in-training, and above all, the hot-headed flame himself - Hades! Can she survive the cartoon and its twists? Is she going to be Hercules's friend or Hades's ally? One way to find out...
...
The World's First Twist
Edit: 6/2019
"Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself?" the older blonde adult asked, putting on his plain white, loose T-shirt.
The chestnut brown haired girl in a purple tank top and shorts had to suppress an eye roll while heating her favorite food on a paper tray - stuffed clams.
"She'll be fine," The seventeen-year-old middle child stated, jumping over the stair rail, grabbing his baseball cap from the coat rack, covering up his shaggy raven hair. "If she can kick our a-"
"Brandon," the twenty-year-old blonde hissed warningly.
"What?! Mom is at work, and our baby sis ain't innocent when it comes to foul language."
"Be glad that Mom is at work. Otherwise, Nattie won't be the only one capable of kicking your butt." Johnny turned his attention to his baby sister, who was leaning against the kitchen counter. Her sweet oval face glowed like an angel with a hint of rose to her cheeks. However, the smirk stretching across her face showed evidence that Brandon's words were valid. She was the youngest of the three - fifteen years old about to start the second year of high school this September. It was her duty to cause trouble, not only with violence but wrapping someone around her polished black finger. Fortunately for the brothers, their American father wasn't around to be the girl's number victim to prey on with the puppy-dog brown eyes and rosy pout with the perfected cooing voice. Papouli was number one on her list - the only man to provide her the extra scoop of ice cream, a sip from Yaya's wine collection, a preview of the goriest horror films, and tips on how to play cards right without Yaya or Mom looking.
Their mother was working at a medical clinic downtown in Athens - the mini hospital didn't have an upscale neighborhood like Kolonaki but always the busiest - especially where the crime and parties that took place. The family was lucky to live far away from the nightclubs and could afford to tolerate loud children and booming pop music one house down.
Being a single mom who started a family at a too young age, she always encouraged her kids not to make the same mistakes she made. She had high hopes for Johnny Junior - the most responsible, second most annoying dad attending dental school. Nattie could do right as long as she pursued a career like being a massage therapist; everyone wanted her to be. Unfortunately, Brandon was currently the disappointing son: repeating the primary education once, getting kicked out twice for constant absences, and always liked to mingle and play baseball than read a book. What ticked Nattie off the most was that Brandon was currently in a relationship with her best friend - Aria. She remembered going straight to the bathroom and puked after the big reveal. It's a shame that they weren't in American, considering that Aria was fifteen and Brandon was going to be an adult in January. To Nattie, their relationship should be illegal no matter the age difference.
"Nattie, at any time you need us-"
The girl cut off Johnny with a smile, "I won't call you."
Johnny huffed, rolling his eyes. He wished for only one minute his sister could lay off the sarcasm and act sober. How her two only friends from primary school - Aria and Cleo - could handle Nattie's wit, he'll never know. It was supposed to be an attracting quality, but it sometimes came off as antisocial. It was almost like Brandon with schoolwork.
Brandon snatched the keys from the dish on the kitchen counter, "C'mon, Bro! Ari is waiting for me! I can't be late for our reservation!"
"Dude, it's Goody's. Alpha: there is nothing fancy or romantic about that place that requires a reservation. Beta - maybe, if you studied the written test, you wouldn't have an issue with punctuality. Better yet, I haven't seen you touch a book since school is out. You really should study for your exams if you don't want another repeat year."
Brandon frowned with disapproval, not saying a word as Nattie high-fived Johnny.
"Atta-boy, Johnny," Nattie praised. "Way to make him feel the burn." If she's lucky, maybe Aria would gain some sense and dump her big brother. Who would consider Goody's Burgers a place to have a romantic lunch? Nattie may not be the type to care, but she knew Aria had fancy tastebuds. Brandon didn't have a job to cover expenses, always begging Papouli or Yaya for money.
Brandon rolled his eyes, leaving the house without saying goodbye, "Screw you both!"
"Love you, too, Brandon," Nattie piped though was overpowered by the front door slam.
"Whatever. The punk knows we're right," Johnny kissed his sister on the head, squeezing her tight. He stifled a plea against her ponytail, "Promise you'll call if anything happens."
"I promise that I will think about y'all while whipping a rapist's ass with Mom's special spatula."
Johnny huffed, offering another kiss to the head. "Maybe you should take this time to study for your exams, too."
Nattie pressed her lips together, trying her best not to start an argument. Every lazy teen knew that nobody wanted to study on a weekend. Johnny Jr. should lay off from playing the fatherly role. It didn't suit him. Maybe when he had kids of his own, but not his siblings. Johnny wished her goodbye before leaving the house. At this point, the girl was home alone, just the way she liked it. It was almost summer break, but every other Saturday Nattie tried to have peace without being forced to go to her brother's game or flea marketing with Yaya or studying for exams on the fifteenth of June. She was determined to make her day quietly pleasant, and a lot of rules will break without consequence. For starters, she will be pigging out clams on her mother's couch, crossing the line to the lioness's den, jamming Ke$ha on her zebra-striped iPod while waiting for the clams to cook. The top pick song playing, she couldn't help but to sing and sway her hips at the beat.
"I hear your heart beat to the beat of the drums!" Nattie grabbed the wooden spatula, singing along with her favorite singer, whipping her head to the beat.
"Oh, what a shame that you came here with someone
So while you're here in my arms
Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young!"
She hurried to the pole that was connected to the spiral stairs, twerking and hooking her legs around to spin. Another house rule to be broken was checked off - never go crazy at the pole.
"We're gonna die young
We're gonna die young
Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young!"
Nattie was trying to hold on with both her hands while climbing the pole with her feet to do a flip like the professionals on youtube. At least, that's what Nattie thought they did. She leaned back to flip but released the pole too early, falling onto her back and bumping her head against the hardwood floor. The world around her spun like the staircase, and the music in the background faded. She didn't realize that she was laughing and pressing into the bump.
Nattie could see why Mom made this a rule. She was lucky nobody saw or make it a viral fail video.
"Don't try this at home, kids," she grumbled, finally forced herself to sit upright. She leaned against the pole, slowly coming back to her senses. Nattie didn't believe she had gained a concussion for her eight-year-old self experienced that traumatic injury before in dance. She remembered seeing stars and hearing a telephone rang, even though there were no phones in the studio. That injury was a godsend for Mom finally dropped Nattie from taking any more classes due to her safety. Nattie finally got to choose an afterschool activity that was more helpful and more dangerous - pankration (also known as - greek martial arts).
Her mind found her reality by hearing a constant beep; only the beeps were real for it came from the microwave. The clams were done.
Nattie knew not to do any more stunts today for she was indeed home alone. She paused, thinking about what she should do, while eating the stuffed clams. She could study for her exams in the fifteenth. The girl dismissed that idea immediately. Could she play Kingdom Hearts again? Nope, for she couldn't pass the trickster boss in the Wonderland level. Maybe she could facebook message her friends. Not a good idea either. Alpha - she forgot my password to get in facebook. Beta - Aria was on a 'date' with Brandon. Chi - Cleo and Nattie talked this morning, and it didn't last long for Cleo wanted to study for the exams. Nattie could relax in a hot bath - too dull. The only desperate option Nattie had left was to watch a movie.
"Might as well," she said out loud.
Nattie opened the movie cabinet and looked for a good movie to watch. There were different kinds of film to watch, like horror movies, intense romance, comedy, even Disney movies.
It had been an eternity since Nattie watched a Disney classic. The last movie she got to see from the Disney was Prom with her friends last year. She hated cliches. It almost reminded her of High School Musical 3 only thankfully it wasn't a musical. There was one animated movie in the cabinet that caught her eye - Hercules. The film was classic. The characters were realistic, many pop culture references, and Danny DeVito and James Woods were in this. She made her choice.
She put the disc in the DVD player and changed the TV settings. She hopped onto the couch, propping her feet on the coffee table and enjoying the clams.
The movie menu popped on the screen, cueing Nattie to reach for the remote on the table. At least, the remote was supposed to be on the table. Nattie sighed, knowing she had to get up from her comfortable spot and begin searching high and low.
"Ugh! Why can't Brandon learn to put stuff away?!"
Nattie knew that she was to blame as what her mother would put it. However, Nattie would rather not own up responsible if she wasn't the only one who learned not to put things away. As she was listening to the instrumental version of Zero to Hero, she searched the remote at the table next to the couch, under the sofa, and in between the cushions of the couch; until she finally found it lying above the TV.
"AHA! Found it!" she picked up the remote and hopped back to the seat. Another problem rise as she was sitting.
"Aw man, my spot is cold!"
With a huff in dismissal, Nattie extended her hand to aim at the TV, before pressing enter. The movie started playing immediately, developing an image of statues of Greece mythology.
The narrator began his tale, "Long ago in a faraway land in Ancient Greece. There was a Golden Age of powerful gods and extraordinary heroes. The greatest and strongest of all these heroes..." The vase of the Son of Zeus appeared on screen, "...was the mighty Hercules. But what is the measure of a true hero? Now that... is where our story begins..."
Then all of a sudden, the electricity went out.
"Oh, come one! What happened to the muses?!" Nattie huffed dramatically, knowing that she has to get out of the chair again and find something else to do. The girl found it odd that the electricity went out normally caused by storms, but it's sunny outside. Maybe the fuse blew up, again. Papouli did tell Mom to order a generator as back up. Unfortunately, stubbornness runs in the family, and Mom was too cheap. Once Johnny becomes a dentist and owns a practice, he can afford the whole family a generator and an annual trip to Universal Studios.
Nattie forced herself back on her feet, in time for the whole place to shake.
"What the hell?!" Nattie fell back against the couch, clenching into the cushions. "Earthquake!"
The candlesticks, china plates, and the rubble from the roof came falling. Nattie followed instincts and crawled under the coffee table. She learned in school that in case there was an emergency - crouch down into a fetal position, shut up, try not to panic, and there was something else. What was she missing?
Before she could think to do anything else, the TV screen in front of her was spinning and glowing rainbow colors.
"What the f-"
Before Nattie could get a word out, a vacuum sensation was pulling the furniture and herself towards the rainbow colors. She couldn't grab hold to anything except the coffee table, but it didn't have nails tick to the floor. Both were doom inside the television screen. The worst part was that no one was here to bid farewell.
Nattie screamed and cursed, falling into oblivion. Colors were all she could see around: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. The ROY G BIV. What's happening? Nobody taught Nattie what to do when a TV was taking an entire being hostage - literally not metamorphically taking your brain's attention. Her only option was instinct - fall, scream, wave her arms and legs to slow herself down. The latter was stupid for it only made her fall faster. With all her might, she pulled her knees against her chest, tucking her head in.
"Save me, cuddles! AAAAHHH!"
She closed her eyes, refusing to meet Mr. Death. She couldn't believe she was going to die by the TV. That's one twisted fate.
Then, she felt it — the hard impact against her back and once again, her head. Her knees popped from her grip, lying supine. She remained still, and eyes squeezed shut. Nattie waited for life to leave her body, then paused, then waited again.
Was she dead already?
Clenching her fists, she felt something soft but string in between her fingertips. Why wasn't the ground stone cold? Why can she move when she's supposed to be dead? She took the risk by fluttering her eyes open, but quickly closed, wincing at a blinding light above her. Having enough strength to move her left arm, she used it as a sun visor. Her eyes opened again to see that the sun was shining. Her ears perked at the sound of birds chirping.
Was she outside her house? She could've sworn that she fell inside a TV? What the hell happened?
"Holy shit," the girl cursed.
~000~000~000~
"And that, dear readers, is where this story begins," the narrator continued, showing a vase of the modern girl falling from one world to another.
"What this girl is about to discover-"
"Would you listen to him?!" A female voice perked. The narrator turned his attention to the Hercules vase where five muses took place - Calliope, the leading muse of epic poetry; Clio, the knowledgeable muse of history with a scroll in hand; Thalia, the spunky muse of comedy;Terpsichore, the spikey muse who loves to dance; finally, Melpomene, the woman of tragedy with hair that was amazing as Beyonce's.
Thalia snatched a drama mask from Melpomene, rolling her eyes at the annoying narration. "Dude, you turning this story into some Greek tragedy!" She put the mask on, cueing the sad face.
"This is Disney, not a History documentary!" Terpsichore placed hands on her hips, shaking her head in disapproval. "Lighten up!"
"I think we'll take it from here, darling," Calliope batted her lashes, sweetly swaying their narrator to let them take the lead.
The invisible storyteller huffed, "Very well. You go girls."
The music began, and the muses shook their hips on cue.
"In case you didn't get the memo," Calliope gestured the opened scroll in Clio's hand before she tossed it over her shoulder and curtsied with her soul sisters, "we are the muses, the goddesses of arts and proclaimers of heroes," Calliope flexed the arms that didn't have much muscle.
"Heroes like Hercules," Terpsichore fanned herself.
"Honey, you mean Hunkles!" Thalia slid down to Hercules's face, cooing at the boy's perfections. "Boy, do I like to make some sweet music with him-"
"Our story," Calliope scolded her with disapproval for a brief moment before returning her attention to the fans and readers ahead, "actually begins not the tale alone, but the twist. You may think you are going to read the same story, but you're not. Not when the Modern Girl dropped by."
"Who?" Clio mocked the question, pretending to have no idea.
"You don't know? Well, let us sing it to you," Calliope created a staircase for the girls by the vase border.
"Ladies, we're not old! We still got style!" Thalia cried. "Cue the remix!"
(Song: The Gospel Truth - Remix/Pop Version - remixed by seoulhangungmal - sung by Jocelyn Brown)
The women vocalized, and the music that was once played before changed into a more upbeat, pop tune. A bright spotlight shined from the disco ball. The invisible narrator was in charge of lights. Four of the muses danced down the stairs, but instead of Thalia following them down, she beat them on the ground floor by sliding down Hercules's painted frame.
"I'll come back for you, baby!" Thalia cooed as she came down. Once the muses caught up to their short, overweight companion, the woman began her solo as the music quietened down.
The girls threw their hands in, before raising them, changing the vase imagery.
"And that's the world's first dish!" The jar showed the trapped titans in their imprisonment while Zeus and his lightning bolt reigned supreme.
"Zeus tamed the globe while still in his youth!"
The rest of the girls joined in, "Though honey, it may seem impossible, that's the gospel truth! At Mt. Olympus, life was neat and smooth," the women slid to the right, "as sweet Vermouth." The women individually posed like the beginning of the original story.
"Though, honey, it may seem impossible that's the gospel truth!"
The upbeat resumed and the lights continued to flash. The girls swayed and spin to the beat. Terpsichore didn't have any issues showing off gymnasium tricks.
"You may know the story of Hercules!" Calliope began the tale while Thalia did some vocalization.
"How he has stolen away from Olympus as a baby," Melpomene lifted a vase of the imps stealing the poor infant away while his parents were finding an empty crib upstairs. It zoomed down to the mini-demons feeding baby Hercules. "Turned mortal."
"Poor Herc!" Clio cried in agony.
Melpomene turned the vase to show the imagery of Hercules raised by Amphitryon and Alcmene - the boy's adoptive parents. The time when Toddler Hercules raised the house with his mother inside. The ten-year-old shaking another mortal boy's hands who cried in pain from his grip. Teenage Hercules was taking down the entire market place by a single disc with the other people expressing disgrace at the boy. "Raised by mortals."
"Oh, no!"
"That is until he discovered his true parentage," Calliope concluded with a wink, opening a scroll to show Hercules meeting with the great statue Zeus.
"That's right, my boy, to be a god again," Thalia deepened her voice to imitate Zeus while she moved the king's lips in sync like a paper puppet, "you must become a true hero!" She tossed the paper puppet behind her and hopped into a painting of Hercules flying with Pegasus and begging Phil to train him.
"So he set out for his quest with the help of his bird-horse buddy and the goat boy trainer - Philoctetes."
"A lot has happened after Herc had gone the distance," Melopomene put on a punch of emotion drama masks. First, it was the happy face, "Excitement." Next, it was the terrifying face with tears, "Danger." A blushing mask that had lipstick on the cheek, "Romance." She tossed the last mask behind her. "Let's just say there is a lot of drama, but I'm sure you know that already for you have seen the show."
"What you don't know, baby!" Thalia jumped next to her friend to address the readers. "Is that this story will be twisted! Let us introduce you to..." Their eyes raised at the vase behind them with a self-portrait of the previous traumatized, teenage girl. "Nattie Camden!"
"Who?" Clio mocked her question, again. Thalia glanced at her as if she was dumb.
"For someone who is supposed to be the muse of history, she sure is dumb."
Clio placed hands on her hips, pursed her lips to show disapproval. Didn't Thalia know the definition of sarcasm? She's supposed to be the muse of comedy.
"Anyway!" Calliope jumped in the conversation before things start to get heated like the disco lights around them. The two women downstairs resumed their sway but looking away from one another. "Nattie Camden - the Greek American girl had no direction in life until 2012, on a summer mid-day, changed her life forever!" She spun the jar to show the girl falling into the TV - to the land of Ancient Greece. "She is in our world now! She is gonna have an adventure that every fangirl or boy alike dreams of living."
"Be careful what you wish for, boys and girls," Melpomene advised, "for this won't be pretty. As I said," she whipped out the mask that she tried on earlier, "there will be excitement, danger, and teenage hormones!"
"Oh yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" Thalia vocalized.
"Eck!" Terpsichore stuck her tongue out while doing flips around the handle of the vase. "Why do you have to say it like that? Can't you just say romance, Mel?"
Melpomene rolled her eyes.
Terpsichore gasped and stopped her swing in thought, "Is it possible that this girl might steal Hercules's heart instead of-"
"Don't go jumping ahead, girl," Clio scolded. "This is only the beginning. The Modern Girl will be facing a lot of choices! She must face ancient cultures," she tossed each scroll in the dancing muse's arms, "academic education, bullies, monsters, and worst of all the you-know-whos."
After tossing the last scroll, Terpsichore reached up to catch it only for the pile to fall from her lap. She tried to grab both only for her to fall backward herself off the handle of the vase. The other muses winced at the crash but calmed when Terpsichore assured them by a waving her white fan.
"I'm okay!"
The girls lined up in front, all four did. Meanwhile, Terpsichore was trying to shake off the fall. No doubt, her muscles will bruise later.
"Yes, Nattie will face challenges, meet Wonderboys and flaming monsters alike. But can she do it? Can she survive our world? You'll just have to read and see."
Terpsichore returned to her spot just in time to resume the song.
"And that's the world's first twist!" Thalia vocalized.
"Tell it, girl!" The dancing muse commanded.
"The Modern Girl will spin the earth round, right round!"
"I thought the earth was flat," Cilo questioned out loud, earning a shush from her comrades.
"Though, honey, it may seem impossible - that's the gospel truth!" The muses sang. "At Mount Olympus, life was neat and smooth then boom!"
With a snap of their fingers, the muses looked to be hanging upside down, but it turned out to be the vase that flipped over. A point proved that the earth will shake right round by one teenager.
The girls rushed to the last piece of art now in the Hercules collection. The girl hasn't been here long and already the Fates displayed changes in their woven tapestry.
"Though, honey, it may seem impossible - that's the gospel truth!" The girls continued to sing as the cloth unraveled a colorful poster of Nattie holding the remote control with the TV behind her. In the TV screen, the characters from the beloved classic were there, smiling on the outside but bracing for the significant changes that are about to come.
Oh yes, there will be changes when the girl of 2012 comes to play. Let the games begin.
A/N: After visiting Disney World for my vacation and watching the 2019 version of Aladdin (I was almost tempted to write a Jafar fanfic - for he is hot, not going to lie - but I was afraid that I might do too much and abandon it or worse my other stories that I didn't finish. I will put a hold on the idea until I am done with a story) I decided to revamp season one of HatMG. I bought Grammarly to fix major grammar mistakes - at least, to the best of my ability. Instead of one person POV, which I hate. I will switch it to third POV in season. Beware of the small changes that will take place. I know most of you are mad that I am not writing season 4, but I didn't feel right writing season 4 knowing that season one is a wreck, especially the first meeting with Hades. In my opinion, it was too fast for my liking. I was fifteen when I started writing, an amateur writer. In a way, I am still an amateur that is still learning, desire to improve. I hope many of you understand. If so, you have my thanks. If not... I apologize. How will you know that a chapter is remade, I will have the word 'edit' and its date on top just so you'll know.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the remake of the first chapter and the addition of the muses introduction. Again, the credit to the remixed song belongs to seoulhangungmal from Youtube, sung by Jocelyn Brown, and the song alone composed by Disney. If you guys are curious as to who I picture Nattie's brothers look like - Johnny: Austin Butler and Brandon: Alex Storm. Zoey Deutch will always be my pick to be Nattie. I love her sense of humor.
I will try to finish the series ASAP. I admitted that I have been neglecting my writing due to the fact that I have been to Disney World last week. I can't wait to return there again. Anyway, now that I am back and the excitement has calmed down, I will continue my passion to write as normal. Thank you all for continuing to share the love for this story. You guys, rock!