Cloudburst

by NothingButTheBeat

"A cloudburst? That's a term for a sudden and heavy rainfall. A veritable flood from above. A deluge from the heavens, unannounced and unforgiving. Why the sudden interest?" Rubbing his chafed wrists, he chuckled at the memory. "Some moron I knocked out had that tattooed on his back. Why not something cool, like Nyx in a bikini? I'm serious!"

2. Chapter 2

AN: Hey all! This is my first fanfiction, but don't pull any punches if you have criticism, please. I love reviews, and I only want to improve my writing. Since I kind of forgot to put it in my first chapter,

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the PJO or BoO series, all property of Rick Riordan is his property. I own nothing besides any OC's, and even those are influenced by any and all literature I've read.

Anyways, here's the second chapter of Cloudburst! Enjoy!

Chapter 2:

Hestia nearly flashed into a distraught Sally, who came flying out of Hades' study. 'Aether help this woman. To have lost a child after holding him for only a spell…' Sally's face was covered in tears, and so was Theseus's as his mother held him to her tightly. Hestia wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her back into the study, which now sported a large sofa next to the hearth in the place of armchairs. "Try and calm yourself Sally, Theo needs you right now, and cursing to the heavens won't help Perseus." At the mere mention of her eldest child, a new wave of tears rocked Sally, but she nodded slightly, lifting her hands to dry her child's face of her tears. "I know this is a horrible situation, but we must wait for Poseidon to arrive." Hades' voice startled Hestia, having been focused on the room's other occupant. Hestia nodded an affirmation, and sat with Sally next to the fire, using some of her godly aura to calm Sally's mind.

Not long after harsh sea green light came under the door, followed by two sets of footsteps. Poseidon opened the door, followed by a green-skinned man walking unsteadily behind him. "I'll never quite get used to these 'legs,' father." Poseidon rolled his eyes, exasperated. "Triton, bear with it for now. We're in a crisis." The now named prince of the sea nodded, and tightened his grip on the box he was carrying. As they approached the desk, Hades snapped his fingers and a circular table popped into place in the middle of the room. After setting the box on the table top, Triton backed away to take up a position next to the door. Sally's eyes had tracked his movements ever since he had entered, wary at the unknown intent of her lover's heir. Poseidon caught the gaze, however. "Sally, Triton is here to help. The twins aren't even close in the line of succession, and Triton and Amphitrite both know this. Just relax, he means no harm." Triton emphasized this with a slight smile, which made Sally relax slightly, and approach the table along with the rest of the room's occupants.

Seeing everyone gathered around the table, Poseidon opened the box and began to remove items from within. "We went back and recovered the other two bodies and their equipment. We also interviewed the cyclops guards. I trust you received statements from the harpies, brother?" Hades nodded in the affirmative, and Poseidon continued. "There was hardly anything descriptive on the bodies themselves, save for a numerical tattoo they all shared on the left shoulder. They each had other tattoos, but the numerical ones are the important ones." At this, he motioned to a tablet with two images displayed on its screen. '085, 137.' Hestia was the first to respond, "Do we know how these connect the two? And what about the third? What happened to his number?" At this, Poseidon turned to look at Hestia. "The two numbers you see are from the two assailants I blasted to pieces on arrival. They were dead before the body parts stopped moving. The third man, the one I impaled, reacted fast and made a dash for Theseus. When I stabbed him however, he moved his hand to his shoulder and broke something in his hand. Both his hand and his shoulder were covered in acid burns. We could find remnants of the tattoo, but not enough to make out a distinct number." With that said, Poseidon removed two vials in a plastic bag from the box. "This is believed to be the same substance, but was never used."

"Outside of that, we have almost nothing to go on besides these." Reaching to the bottom of the box, he removed what appeared to be two daggers along with a short sword, all made out of celestial bronze. "The bronze had been blackened, as not to be flashy, and they were all carrying mortal weapons as well. Steel knives and the like." He placed all the evidence on the table, and looked around at the group. "The motive here is clear. They were after the twins, and they knew Sally was in labor, my guards reported that they had been seen among the staff as much as three hours before Perseus was born. Their mission was to kidnap the children, but they were interrupted before they could snatch both." Despite his quiet voice, his rage was shown by the increasing creaks the table gave, close to buckling under the sea god's grip. Hades, seeing his brother lost in thought, examined the photos and started off, "These types of tattoos aren't new, I've heard tales from my judges in the underworld about certain souls that were on track for unavoidable judgment having tattoos that shone bright, bright enough to shine through the clothes they had on. Everyone was noted down, but even their name was a mystery. They only identified by a codename, and their number. To be able to meddle with someone's soul to the point that it has no identity…this is the work of something powerful."

Seeing the troubled expressions of all gathered, he continued. "Now, that's not to say that all of them had no name. There were a few, extremely powerful souls, souls that, when they were alive, could have fought minor gods on even footing. All of them demigods, through and through. They had extensive tattoos as well. I fear that the organization responsible for creating them is the behind the kidnapping of Perseus." Hestia took note of the reluctance in his voice, and capitalized on it, trying desperately to seize any information. "Organization, brother? And just how long have these souls been showing up for fast track judgement?" There were innumerable questions that Hades' information had given Hestia, but she had darker suspicions. 'Hades said they just showed up for fast track judgement, does that imply he wasn't the one to put them on that track? Who else has that much authority?' Hades closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead, taking a deep breath before he spoke. "I highly suspect the being behind this organization… to be Tartarus."

Fear struck all other occupants of the room, sinking into their bones. But before Hades could elaborate, both Poseidon and Triton snapped their heads away to the east before locking gazes. "Triton, go investigate, but be careful. I will follow momentarily." Although hesitant, Triton vanished in a sea breeze, leaving Poseidon to return to the table and take a last glance around. Hestia piped up quickly, before he could even open his mouth. "That was Perseus, was it not? His power? I'm coming with you, Poseidon, and that's that." Rather than try and dissuade her, Poseidon set his mouth into a grim line and nodded. He then looked to his elder brother. "Hades, can you look after Sally until we return? I hate to burden you like this, bu-" he was interrupted before he could finish. "Go brother, do what you must, they shall both be safe here. I swear it. Now hurry!" Poseidon and Hestia were gone before he had finished speaking.

"Where are the other three? We were supposed to be at the rendezvous point an hour ago, 82." Code 059 had been part of the handpicked squad for this mission, which had come down all the way from the top. 'This was supposed to be a routine snatch, take the demigod before they made it back to the mother. I'm going to kill August when we get back. There was never any intel on there being two Olympians in that damn hospital, let alone fucking harpies and cyclops thicker than grass inside the place.' "You think I'm not aware? I had barely made it out the back before Pos-the sea god roared. I'm almost positive he caught the other squad before they could snatch the other." Recalling the surprise at hearing that there were twins, he ground his teeth for the fourth time in the last hour. "That's another thing. We got the contract to snatch one demigod. ONE! Not a pair of twins from that crazy sea god back there. That's not even counting that the eldest sibling was patrolling the halls." Sagging back against the tree, he cast a glance back towards the window facing the street. Upon realizing the second squad was going to be late, 59 had made the choice to go ahead to the safe house ahead of them, prioritizing the infant they were in charge of delivering.

Sparing a glance to the back of the room, at the last member of their three man squad, he watched the young infant struggle to escape the arms of the slightly uncomfortable woman holding him. "Does this operation bother you that much, 112? Don't even try to deny it, there's no shame. It's not a fun job. But, this is what pays the bills, and what keeps our organization alive. When we deliver that kid, we're going to get more gold than Midas at a high-five convention." 'Not to mention the kids are twins, and a strong pair at that. Damn kid actually hurt my finger when he grabbed it.' Casting a last glance over the room, he turned to face 59. "We need to go. They haven't reported in, no emergency signals, nothing. I know we pulled them at the last minute to help, but we need to deliver this kid before he spikes his power again. This kid is a monster for power. I about dropped him when he started to cry, about shook himself out of my arms." He moved to gather the bag from the window, and slung it over his shoulder. Taking out his knife to check the edge, he gave his equipment a once over. "I'm positive that that power spike alerted something, or someone. The level of power saturating this area is too intense for there not be an immortal running around close by. Let's go." 59 nodded in the affirmative, also feeling the increase in power close by. Motioning to 112, he moved to the door, unlocking and opening it before poking his head outside.

"Let's move." Moving fast, they cut a fast pace down the sidewalk, careful to not to outpace the other foot traffic. With his head on a swivel, 82 cast a glance across the street, internally swearing at the silver clad woman that had nearly found them earlier. 'I'm certain that was Artemis. If she's actively hunting for us, then we're in deep shit.' Casting a glance back at 59, he took note of the man's tired eyes. Using his augmented powers had taken a toll on him, but his gait was still steady. 'To be expected of a veteran. I can't imagine having active status for more than 20 years. Let alone surviving the 8 years of training.´ He was snapped out of his thoughts however, when Perseus began to cry. Not just tears came forth though, a harsh emerald light shone from within the blanket, and the skies above immediately began to darken. 'Shit. How did Zeus find out about us? This is crazy, there's absolutely no-' at that, Perseus screamed, and a sudden flood came with it. A pit formed in all three people's stomachs as they witnessed such a display from an infant. "There's, th-there's no fucking way! He's only two hours old, at most…" A sickening realization hit 82, however. "That power surge just gave his location. We have to split. 112, have any sedative left? I know we used most on guards, but he can't keep giving up our location like that." Instead of a reply, 112 merely reached into her satchel and removed a syringe, and popped off the cap in a smooth motion.

After Perseus had fallen asleep, they resumed walking, trying to talk out a plan of action. 59 made the final call. "Artemis will have his trail by now, and Poseidon will have sensed that power surge in his domain. This jig is up, but we can still get the kid to the retrieval point. 112, you're going to make for the point, no stopping, this is the absolute priority. 82, you'll cover for her. You won't do any good against an Olympian, your powers are more suited to espionage like 112. I'll lead them away, you two get going. 82, split off once 112 and the kid are away. I'll meet you at the original rendezvous point at 0600, are we clear?" 112 looked skeptical, but nodded. 82 knew that 59 was correct, but still didn't like it. "You'd better be there, old man. You're buying breakfast when we get there." Not wasting any time, the two cut a brisk walk down the street, not sparing a backwards glance. Turning his gaze back to the direction they had come from, he took up a post leaning on a light pole, and began to concentrate. Soon enough, an orb of grey light detached itself from his chest, and began to float up until it reached the center of the street, where it rose and exploded, letting loose a pulse of power to all in the vicinity.

Artemis was worried, heavily so. First, Hestia calls in a favor to turn a blind eye to the gathering of monsters around a hospital. 'That in itself was not significant. I trust Hestia, as she has only the best in mind for Olympus. But that surge of power, I know that to be Poseidon. But why was he at that hospital? There is always the chance that he has sired a demigod, but I hope that's not the case. Father will surely want them exterminated, and I take no joy in killing infants. Despite her loyalty to her father, Artemis had her own code of honor, and killing children infringed upon it. 'Still, I must get to the bottom of this before father takes notice and does something rash.' With that in mind, she flashed to the location of the first surge she had felt outside the hospital. Arriving inside an empty room, she could still feel remnant traces of the sea, but it didn't feel quite right. 'Poseidon is involved, one way or another. I'll get in touch with Hestia soon to get down to the bottom of this nonsense.' Before she could examine the room further, another pulse, stronger than the last, ran through her. 'What in Tartarus was that? That wasn't strong enough to be Poseidon, but that gave me tremors from a distance. Just what is going on here?' After pinpointing the pulse, she flashed onto the scene. What greeted her was an empty street, but torrential rainfall, to the point that visibility was 20 feet in any direction at most. It didn't last long however, before it began to calm. 'That was strange. I felt the divine power in it, but it hardly lasted long at all. But still, regardless of the duration, a deluge of such strength?' Her gaze searching as the rain began to recede, she was shocked to see a green-skinned man holding a trident approaching the center of the street. Ducking into an alley, she watched his movements.

She didn't have to wait long for action. No sooner had he reached the middle of the street before a bolt of murky gray light shot out at him from the other side of the road. He reacted fast, but not fast enough for her to miss the movement. His upper body twisted to avoid the light, which turned into a roll to the side to avoid any follow up shots. More bolts of light traced a path at him, giving Artemis an idea of where they came from. Knocking an arrow, she didn't draw, but merely assumed a ready stance as she eyed the four-story brick building housing the assailant. Using the still present rain water, the man she suspected to be one of Poseidon's court erected a wall of water between him and his attacker, before two flashes of light erupted down the street. She was more than surprised when none other than Poseidon and Hestia strode down to the other man, before exchanging words. "Yes father," was the response of the green man before he vanished in a sea breeze. 'What in Aether's name is going on that warrants their presence? This is not good at all. Hestia might be able to sens-' She was pulled out of her thoughts as Hestia stepped back from Poseidon, before snapping her gaze to Artemis. Said goddess tensed as Hestia held up a hand and made a beckoning gesture. Poseidon seemed to care less as he took the existing wall of water and sent it through the windows of the offending building.

Not wanting to risk any anger from either child of Kronos, Artemis slowly approached from her hiding spot, never once taking her gaze off of Poseidon. Upon reaching the goddess, Hestia pulled her to her side, minding the still knocked arrow on her bow. "Niece, have faith, and all will be revealed. But right now, stay quiet, and stay out of our way." Artemis was at a loss when she heard the iron in Hestia's voice, not having heard that tone from the goddess in a very long time. Merely nodding, she turned her gaze to the building front, seeing Poseidon standing still as a man surrounded by water was dragged out of the building, covered up to his neck in the liquid. Poseidon wasted no time, and the water pinned the man to the brick wall behind him. As the excess water gathered around Poseidon's feet, she finally got a good look at the mysterious attacker. He wore dark clothing all around, nothing that was loose or could flap around. A sword hung on his back, along with a satchel over his shoulder. Poseidon relieved him of both, which he handed to Hestia. Sparing a narrowed gaze at Artemis, he returned to his captive.

Without any warning, he tore the left sleeve off of the jacket said assailant was wearing, exposing a numerical tattoo on the shoulder. Poseidon spoke in what could only be described as a growl. "Shall I call you scum or 059? It matters not. Where. Is. HE?!" Artemis took a step back at the volume of the last utterance, but the man pinned to the wall, not a foot from Poseidon, never reacted. Instead, he replied calmly. "Likely already gone. Damn brat was more powerful than we expected. But it's too late." Artemis was suspicious of the tone. 'Is he resigned to his fate? Was this a planned diversion?' Hestia quickly approached Poseidon, and before he could summon his trident, put a hand on his shoulder. "Let me, brother. We need him alive." Poseidon was reluctant to back down, but did so. His love for his son overriding his hate. "Hestia closed her eyes and laid a hand on the man's head. "He has traces of Perseus' power all over him. He likely held him at some point." At this, Poseidon stiffened. Hestia's hand began to glow, however, and soon the smell of burnt flesh permeated the air. The man stiffened at the pain, but said nothing, merely looking at the sky, almost fervently searching for something. Like an answer from on high, a bright light, accompanied with a loud crack, lit up the surrounding area. "That's the signal flair. He's gone."

Hestia wasted no time in slamming his head into the wall behind him, rendering him unconscious. Looking to Poseidon, she noted his expression was on the verge of tears. Hestia spared a glance to the unconscious man, before he vanished in a flash of light. Returning to Poseidon, she laid a hand on his shoulder, attempting to comfort the sea god. Turning to Artemis, she spoke, "Meet me at my palace on Olympus, niece. Within the hour. I will be there." With that, they vanished in a flash. Confused but curious, Artemis decided to withhold the information from her father for now. 'That was all the proof I needed, Poseidon surely has a demigod. Although, it would seem he was kidnapped. But who would dare to steal the offspring of a god?' Similar thoughts crossed her mind, but she put them aside. "This had better be good." And she was gone.

112 never liked the doors. 'That feeling isn't something I'll ever get used to.' She exited slow, careful of the infant she held. As soon as she was all the way through, she opened her eyes to the familiar lobby she had come to know. Dark stone walls, fluorescent lighting, and lots of dark clothed individuals, some armed, watching the doors. She was quickly relieved of the infant by an officer, who hurried off down a hallway to the right, most likely to get him to the lab. 'To Tartarus with this mission, I just want to sleep.' Being a natural born daughter of Janus, she found it odd that she hated the doors she could make with such a passion. She had received the basic augment, like most of the other people here. A big needle, some glowing gold liquid, and she was stronger, needed less sleep, and healed faster, just to name big attributes. If she hadn't been augmented, she would surely have long since kicked the bucket. 'Two doors, one into the hospital, and one back into base. I need a raise.'

She was snapped out of her train of thought by a call from her left. Approaching from the center of the room was the operation's commanding officer. 'Tartarus help me survive this debriefing.' 038 was a nice woman, but she was a stickler when it came to work. "Head to the briefing room, we'll talk there." She wasn't spared a second glance as 38 strode to the laboratory at a brisk pace. Not bothering to ask, 112 made her way to the room. 'This isn't going to be good for anybody. Three agents MIA, two agents still in the field, one of which is probably dead or captured. No, this is going to suck ass.' Sighing, she grasped the metal door knob and turned. Upon opening the door, she was stunned to see the vital readout on the monitor. The entirety of the second squad was dead. The sensors all had a signal as well, meaning that there was no doubt. 'To be expected, in all honesty. They went toe-to-toe with Poseidon, after all.' Turning to look at her squad vitals, she saw that there was no connection to 59, while 82's pulse was fast, but overall normal values. 'He's been captured or worse. I'm positive that the cat is out of the bag this time. He won't break, but if they bring in somebody who can manipulate memories, he has his orders.' Running her tongue over her own fake tooth, she moved to take a seat around the table and wait for 38 to return.

Perseus rested quietly in the cradle, oblivious to the situation he had fallen into. Behind the glass, 38 watched the lab personnel carefully, wary of their constant bustle. There was a cough behind her, and she turned to acknowledge it. "He's a freak of nature. Nothing less. His powers are off the charts. On top of that, he's got one hell of a combination of powers." Dr. Gress was the head of the augmentation division, but you'd never tell it by appearance. Casual to a fault, his brown hair was short, and his lab coat was a crisp white, as usual. But his black eyes shone with an unusual intensity, their gaze directed at the newest occupant of the nursery. 38 greeted him, his scientific ramblings informing her she was the last thing he was concerned with. "Doctor. I trust he is in good hands, yes? It's not every day we get a child of the big three." He never took his eyes off of Perseus. "He's going to be a one of the elite, should he live through the augmentation. He's going to be the first of a new breed. It's nearly orgasmic, really."

'He never fails to awe me with his marriage to science, but a new breed? What's wrong with normal augmentations? Don't tell me this is part of that new project…' "A new breed, doctor? What do you mean?" 38 followed Gress to the window, but her attention was snatched by activity at the far end of the nursery. Gress continued without pause. "When we augment demigods and clear sighted mortals, we've always used concentrated ichor, as in high amounts, it can pass on some divinity with heavy dosage. But you know this, you're augmented as well, after all. Which type again?" 38 shivered as she recalled the process. "I was given the type-4 augmentation, not a pleasant experience at all. My past aside, what are you rambling about, Gress? My patience is wearing thin." 'This has Tartarus' scent all over it. I don't like it one bit, but then again, the council has the final call on all augmentation, surely they wouldn't allow anything too drastic?' Dr. Gress' smile grew, if anything, as the back doors of the nursery parted, and two women in white garb came through, a heavy cart between them. "Here, we've been creating stronger demigods and mortals for close to 60 years now. Why leave well enough alone? Why indeed, when we could have more. And one of our sponsors has given us the means to reach even further beyond. Look, there."

His slim fingers motioned to the nurses now standing over Perseus. The doctor pulled out a piece of paper, somewhat worn, but intact. Examining it closely, he handed it to 38. "Go on, read it. A marvelous name. Strength, oh my dear, the strength. He, Perseus Ajax, will be more." The nurses, much to 38's distaste, had pulled out the augmentation apparatus. A needle, the greater part of a foot. A nozzle, for a bottle of concentrated ichor. A handle resembling a pistol grip, to give leverage. And finally, the bottle of gol- "Doctor, what is the mea-,"38 backed away, not understanding what she was seeing. 'Ichor is gold. GOLD. Th-that, whatever that is, is SILVER.' Dr. Gress gave a nod through the glass to the nurses, motioning to continue. "This is a necessary step, if we are to move forward." He trailed off as a cry erupted from the nursery, drowning all else out. The nurses never reacted as everything around them began to shake, windows breaking and showering the doctor with glass. Soon enough it all quieted, and the vial of silver liquid was empty, every last drop coursing into Perseus.