Phil and Junebug were the weirdest parents Leo had ever had. And the best.

They had traveled the world purely for fun. Every national monument knew, and more no one really knew, had been visited. The Statue of Liberty, the Washington Monument, Big Ben, the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China (Leo felt a pang of humor at that one), even the big Coffee pot of Seattle (the bottle of cream and jar of sugar was nearby). And the Lotus Casino. That one was strange. At each landmark he had been asked by June to put his hand on the wall and tell her how it felt. This may sound weird, but it was like he could feel the gears turning on his hand. Leo had always hated magic and curses, machines made more sense to him. That's how he knew the Lotus Casino was evil. It radiated death.

And the engineering fairs and shows. Oh the glory.

Then there were the fires.

Phil and Junebug were obsessed with camping. Usually he knew where they camped, but they seemed to be on some mountain. They also always had to have a fire. Yet they never had matches. Or gasoline. Yet Leo would always be told to start a fire.

"Come on, Thomas," crooned Junebug "Light the campfire. You know you know how to warm up these old bones!"

"Yeah, Thomas," smirked Phil as he came to sit by Junebug. The two exchanged a small scowl, but Leo wasn't sure if he had seen it correctly. Then again, it seemed as if there had been 'trouble in paradise' lately. 'Wonder why?' Leo couldn't tell, but it had something to do with him. Nevertheless, here was Leo, being asked to make a fire. Out of sheer force of will.

"Uh, sure," sputtered Leo. "I'll just go get a match for this fire-"

"No!" This came from June. "I mean, surely you must have some idea of how to start a fire independently. Perhaps you feel a stirring in your gut-"

"No." This time, it was Leo. "I hate fire. Forever and always."

June pursed her lips in a frown. "Fine."

So she lit a fire, but June looked disappointed. Which made Leo feel worse than he smelled (Phil and June didn't believe in bathing). He hated disappointing her.

-CHANGE IN P.O.V-

Hera put wet wood over the fire, and then went to the tent she and Zeus were sharing. For now anyway.

Zeus scowled when she came in. "Your plan is flawed. He can't even use his gift."

Hera felt a blush creep onto her cheeks, but she pushed it down. "He will be my hero. As Jason Grace is my champion."

"Some hero. He's your grandson."

"Our grandson. Jason's purely yours."

"Oh, baby, don't do this again," Zeus pleaded as Hera huffed and turned to face the wall. "Look, let's talk about the plan, what's the plan?"

Hera sighed, but turned back around. "Because Leo is having such a hard time using, or even discovering his powers, we are going to help him. When he learns, we are going to drop him back into the real world, he'll forget all about us and his powers, but unconsciously he'll feel something when he hears the word 'fire'. Then, when the prophecy comes to pass, he'll be prepared.

Zeus sighed. "No demigod has had to face this before. We didn't. And the greatest demigods of all time, Dionysus and Heracles, couldn't even help us. How can Leo Valdez, Jason Grace, and the rest of them possibly do what the greatest couldn't?"

Hera ran a hand through her hair. She locked eyes with Zeus.

"Then they'll become the greatest."

Sorry that it's taking me so long. Please review!

And expect a new character next ;-)

MukunaMatata