Outsider Chronicles: Winged Lightning

Gods, Angels, Demons and Dragons make for great storys. Well, so long as your not living it. Aw well, at least I can throw lightning bolts! Now if only I could get this bloody Dragon to shut up.

And here we are with more. Lets have some more fun with Luke! Enjoy!

Chapter 2

My eye was twitching as I stared up at my new school. It looked like a castle where an evil Knight would live, all black stone and sharp towers set on a steep cliff that dropped down to steel grey waters. Yep, it was Westover Hall, the military school where Nico and Bianca went. Why was I here again?

"Now listen Luke, we've been detecting some very odd readings from this place. I know its not idea, but you're our best option to infiltrate it."

"Oh yeah, thats why," I muttered as Azazel's voice echoed around my head, "Bloody asshole."

"Language Mr Morgenstern," snapped Mr Thorn the Manticore as he led me through the doors, "Now, do pay attention as I don't intend to repeat myself."

I sighed and followed the Monster through the halls of the school. I wasn't really that worried about him, after all I was suppressing my Demi-god Presence and even when I wasn't, my Fallen Angel blood did an excellent job of hiding my scent. Even if I didn't know how to hide myself, my Demigod powers were so weak I would probably have escaped notice my whole life. On the flip side, that was probably because of my Fallen Angel side as opposed to being just me.

"Pay attention Mr Morgenstern!"


An hour later and Thorn finally left me alone after showing me around the school, ending the tour in front of my new bedroom.

"I hope you remember all that," sneered Thorn, "Tardiness will not be tolerated, even for new students."

"I understand sir," I said.

The Manticore snorted and marched away, leaving me to slouch out of my ramrod straight pose I'd been holding with a sigh of relief.

"Well, time to meet the new roommate I guess," I muttered, opening the door, "Hello, anyone home?"

My roommate looked up from his desk where he was working on something.

"Oh hey, you must be my new roommate," he said, "I was told you might be coming. I'm Grover Underwood, its nice to meet you."

I blinked. Well, that was unexpected. What are the chances I'd end up rooming with Goat Boy himself? I wonder if he'd recognize me? Probably not seeing as he never got a good look at me and I'd grown up a lot in the seven years since our first meeting.

"Luke Morgenstern, a pleasure," I said, "So, which bunk is mine?"

"Bottom," said Grover.

"Fair enough."

I tossed my rucksack next to the bottom bunk and stretched out on the bed, shifting in an attempt to find a comfortable position.

"Man, this thing feels like its been stuffed with concrete," I said.

"Yep, but what were you expecting from a military school?" asked Grover.

"Point taken I guess," I said, flipping back to my feet, "Now, I need the loo."

"Down the hall and to the left."

"Thanks."

I pulled my wash bag out of my rucksack and left the room, heading to the bathroom. Once there I washed my face and cleaned my teeth before leaning against the sink and staring at my reflection in the dirty mirror. Looking back at me was a well sculpted, aristocratic face, with sleek, black hair with a slight purple tint and the standard violet eyes of the Fallen Angel. Apparently my Fallen Angel side overwhelmed my Godly blood, causing the change from the standard blond and gray of most of Athena's kids.

According to my Dad, while I had been born in the same way as my Godly Siblings, a literal brainchild, Athena did take the Fathers DNA while creating the child, hence why they weren't all clones. Thats why I was a Nephilim, as well as a Demigod. Normally a Gods Genetics was much more potent than a Humans, but in this case, the Fallen Angel side trumped Athena, especially considering that, as a Leader Class Baraqiel was stronger than Kokabiel. You know, they guy who faced down both God and the Devil King during the War? Yeah, that guy.

The door opened, snapping me out of my revery. I turned and didn't know whether to be surprised or exasperated when I saw that it was Nico.

"Oh, um, I wasn't expecting anyone to be here," said the Son of Hades.

"Don't worry about it," I said, "I'm new and just arrived, so I wanted to wash up."

Nico stepped fully into the room and I was surprised to see that he had a rather impressive shiner.

"Ouch, that looks painful," I said, "Are you OK?"

"Y-yeah," said Nico as he pressed a wet towel to his swollen eye.

I eyed the younger Half Blood for a moment, before shrugging. None of my business at the moment. I picked my washbag up and moved to leave the bathroom. As I past Nico, he shifted and a Mythomagic card fell out of his jacket. I stopped and picked it up, hiding a smirk when I saw it was a Manticore.

"You play Mythomagic?" I asked.

Nico jumped and looked at me warily.

"Yeah, why?" he asked.

I rummaged in my pocket and pulled out my own deck of cards. I had actually tried the game once in my old school and found that it was actually really fun and wasn't inordinately expensive. Sure, the modals were a bit pricy, but they weren't actually needed to play. I decided I might as well pick it up. As an added bonus, there were more sets than just Greek, Nico was probably just drawn to it since hes a Demigod.

"You play too?" asked Nico, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the cards.

"Yep, I don't collect the figures, but I play," I said, "I'll play with you some time if you want."

Nico nodded rapidly, looking happy. I handed him back his card and left the room, heading back to my bedroom. Grover was in bed by the time I got back, so I slipped quietly into bed. I lay there for a while, staring up at the bottom of Grovers bunk. I'd always regretted not offering Thalia and her friends a hand. Sure, I was still pretty weak back then, but I could have tried to convince Dad to help them get to Camp Half-Blood or something. I sighed and turned on my side. At least it would be easier to help Nico and Bianca out in the future and I could even use the opportunity to get a break from Azazel's antics.


My time at Westover was pretty much as hellish as I expected. Combine the standard woes of school with early morning drills, long distance runs and fiercely enforced discipline and it was making me nearly climb the walls out of frustration. Fallen Angels had a natural distaste for discipline, even those trying to get back in Gods good graces, a side effect of the Falling, and I was no different. Sure the Grigori was a well built organization and very effective in battle, but it was also extremely relaxed when not at war.

Just about the only things keeping me from losing it and destroying the entire place with a lightning bolt was Nico and Bianca. The two kids were pretty withdrawn and didn't have many friends, so both jumped at the chance to hang out with me. Bianca was a little weary of me at first, but soon lightened up after spending some time watching me pit my Shinto deck against Nico's Greeks. I also became good friends with Grover since he was my roommate and in a few of my classes. Plus, being friends with me put the Satyr in an excellent position to keep an eye on the two Demigods. I think he was starting to have suspicions about me as well if the odd looks he kept shooting me were anything to go by.

Speaking of ulterior motives, I had figured out what the odd aura Azazel detected was. I have no idea how, but the School has somehow got its hands on a legitimate Holy Sword that was currently hanging in the Main Hall. According to Azazel's research, it was Masamune, a Katana type sword with the power to manipulate shadows, change its length and replicate itself indefinitely, although the replicas were no where near as powerful as the original. The reason Azazel hadn't recognized the readings was because, like the Amu no Murakumo, Masamune hadn't been forged by God. In fact, it had been forged by a Mortal and no one could figure out how in the world it had become so powerful.

In more mundane news, I found out why Nico had had a black eye on my first night. It turned out he was being picked on by a massive boy in my year. The guy was built like a brick shithouse and thought that he was the bees knees due to his standing as the Football team captain (naturally) and popular. I quickly proved him wrong after he tried to cause problems for me for playing with Nico. He was big and strong, but I was quick and just as strong thanks to a crap ton of combat training. He couldn't even catch me he was so slow. Needless to say, I made my displeasure at how he was treating our underclassmen quite clear. As far as the faculty know, he fell down the stairs and broke an arm and both legs. Yeesh, I guess that my Fallen Angel side made me a wee bit sadistic.


"Why the hell am I still here?" I growled, glaring at the image of Azazel in the mirror I was using to communicate with the Grigori leader, "I found the source of the Aura months ago!"

"We can't leave something as powerful as a Holy Sword just laying around," said the Fallen Angel, "We're trying to figure out a way to get it away without causing to much chaos, but we're having trouble."

"I could just swipe it," I said.

"You could, but that would cause problems," said Azazel, "Besides, you can't say your not having fun. I've heard about that little girlfriend of yours."

I inhaled, trying to keep from exploding. Ever since Azazel had found out about my friendship with Bianca (who I think did actually have a bit of a crush on me), he'd been teasing me none stop.

"Shes not my...oh, never mind," I said, "Look, just hurry up or I really will steal that stupid thing and be done with it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a dance to prepare for."

I waved my hand over the mirror before Azazel could make a crude comment and headed back to my room where I changed into a white shirt with purple sleeves under a high collared leather jacket, black jeans and purple and white trainers. Hey, it may be a dance, but its not like it was a formal event. Grover had already gone down, leaving me to make my way down on my own.

I arrived in the Sports Hall to find the party in full swing. Everyone seemed to have gone a little crazy. There were black and red balloons all over the gym floor and guys were kicking them in each others faces, or trying to strangle each other with the paper streamers taped to the walls. Girls moved around in packs, wearing lots of makeup and spaghetti-strap tops and brightly colored pants and shoes that looked like torture devices. Every once in awhile they'd surround some poor guy like a pack of piranhas, shrieking and giggling, and when they finally moved on, the guy would have ribbons in his hair and a bunch of lipstick graffiti all over his face. I made a note to avoid them since my long hair would be a beacon for them. I ghosted around the side of the gym to where Nico and Bianca were sitting on the bleachers. Apparently Nico had done something to annoy his sister as she seemed to be scolding him.

"Yo, whats up?" I asked as I reached them and sat down on the bench above Nico.

"Hey Luke," said Bianca, looking a little flustered at my sudden appearance.

"Luke, did you bring your cards?" asked Nico eagerly.

I smiled and pulled out my deck.

"AWESOME!" yelled Nico as his sister groaned.

"Do you two have to play that tonight?" she asked.

"Why, do you want to dance?" I asked.

Bianca gave an atomic blush and immediately started spluttering. I laughed and put my deck down across from Nicos as he drew his hand.

"Lighten up a little Bianca, the night is young," I said, "Nothing is going to happen tonight."

Aaaand I think I just jinxed myself because as soon as I said that, the doors opened and emitted Grover plus three. I could feel their aura from where I sat. I don't know why I was surprised though all things considered. I kept one eye on the three Demigods as I played against Nico, proving as I did that I did get something from Athena by holding my own against the skilled Nico, despite having my attention split. I was just finishing off Nico's Hercules card with my Susanoo when someone cleared their throat behind me. Nico and Bianca looked up and promptly went white, giving me an excellent idea as to who it was. I turned and, sure enough, there was Thorn the Manticore, sneering down at up like we were some scum he'd found on the bottom of his shoe.

"Can we help you sir?" I asked.

"Yes, Mr Morgenstern, you can," he said, "I need you three to come with me. Now."

He reached down and grabbed me and Nico by the collors, yanking us to our feet and frog marched us across the gym floor with a scared looking Bianca on his heels.

"Hey, this isn't necessary!" I protested, "We're coming!"

Thorn ignored me. I briefly entertained the idea of electrocuting the Monster, but quickly discarded the idea. To take out a Monster as powerful as the Manticore, I'd need a very powerful bolt or Spear of Light and that would attract a lot of attention, not to mention destroy a good portion of the gym. I'd wait until we were outside before unleashing Hell on the ass.

Thorn shoved us through a door that lead into a dark corridor, before pausing and seeming to sniff the air. His lip curled and he shoved Nico and I into the wall, followed by Bianca.

"Don't move," he said and vanished into the shadows.

A moment later, Percy Jackson himself emerged from the gym, Riptide in hand. I eyed the Celestial Bronze sword with interest. All Celestial Bronze and Imperial Gold weapons were technically low level Holy Swords, stronger than the mass produced Light Swords used by Exorcists, but not as strong as full blown Holy Swords like Excalibur or Durandal. Riptide on the other hand was much stronger than that, nearly as strong as the Masamune in the main hall. I'd have to take a look at that thing later.

"It's okay," said Percy, breaking me from my examination of his sword, "I'm not going to hurt you."

I would have made a smart comment, but this wasn't the time for that.

"My name's Percy," he said, "I'm going to take you out of here, get you somewhere safe."

I caught sight of Thorn emerging from the shadows behind the Son of Poseidon. I cleared my throat and pointed at the Monster. Apparently, the kid was an idiot because it took him a few seconds to figure out what I was pointing at by which time the Manticore had stabbed him with a spine and slammed him into the wall.

"Idiot," I muttered.

"Yes, Perseus Jackson" said Thorn, "I know who you are."

A dark silhouette now moved toward us. Thorn stepped into the dim light. He still looked human, but his face was ghoulish. He had perfect white teeth and his brown/blue eyes reflected the light of Percy's sword.

"Thank you for coming out of the gym," he said, "I hate middle school dances."

Percy tried to swing his sword, but he was just out of reach.

WHIIIISH!

A second projectile shot from somewhere behind Thorn and my sharp eyes spotted his tail before it vanished again. Next to me, Bianca yelped as the second thorn impaled itself in the stone wall, half an inch from her face. I narrowed my eyes and made a note to use him as target practice for my explosive feathers later.

"All three of you will come with me," Dr. Thorn said. "Quietly. Obediently. If you make a single noise, if you call out for help or try to fight, I will show you just how accurately I can throw."

And since that serves as the end of a chapter in the book, it'll do here as well. Next time, an actual fight, Nephilim vs Manticore.

Most of this chapter was filler so I could get Luke to CHB without just sending him there. I'm skipping the first two books because I don't really like the Sea of Monsters and I don't want to skip a whole year.

I don't plan to pair Luke up with Bianca, although she probably won't be dieing. Truth is, I have no idea who I'm gonna pair him up with, so suggestions are welcome. She does have a crush on him though.

God genetics. An iffy subject at the best of times, but I reason that Athena must take something from the father, otherwise all her kids would be identical. As such, this Athena does something very similar to actual conception only without a physical swapping of stuff. Normally her 'genes' are dominant because, well, God, but since Barquiel is stronger than she is, his black hair and purple eyes won out, even a generation down the line.

Luke playing Mythomagic. Why not? I needed a reason for him to befriend Nico and that worked nicely. Think of it as this worlds version of Magic or something.

And with that, I'm done. Please leave a review on the way out!