POV Mateo

"Yeah, dad I'm fine! We took care of it….yeah….yeah I know dad…" Syn syn spoke over the phone to her father as we sat at the table in a fast food restaurant that Hector had insisted we stop by. "We're at a burger place right now….yeah, Dave's Diner, the one with the big cow on the door, about three blocks down from the park…K…k…K!...Bye" She huffed and rolled her eyes as she hung up. "Okay so my dad says to stay put and that the guide would be here soon." In the time we had lost Marie and walked to the restaurant I had learned a lot about the people I was traveling with.

First was Hector, he was, young for 17, tall and lean, quiet but a smart ass. In battle he was resilient and strong, and I soon found him to be an excellent tracker. He picked up Marie's trail and fallowed it a couple blocks, right to a flower shop. He was puzzling to me, he claimed to be a son of Hephaestus (The only one of us to claim to know our godly parents) but there was something about him that didn't quite fit.

Aven was also an interesting read, she was tall and beautiful, with an Amazonian build, she wielded her weapon with power and confidence; she was smart, accurate and loyal, though she had a tendency to show to much concern for every one around her. That would be a distraction.

Then there was Syn-syn she was annoying, impulsive, and rebellious. But she was fierce, bold and fearless, in battle and so made some what of a contribution. Mostly because of her dad who had a direct link to Camp half blood, I assumed because he was one.

"Ugh…we need to be out there looking for Marie!" Syn-syn sighed looking out the window. I rolled my eyes, such a naïve notion.

"How, we're in the middle of New York, and we have no clue where she went."

"Well whose fault is that?" She sneered at me. She was blamed me for losing Marie, they all did, I could feel it.

"What do you want me to do about it?" growled at her.

"Care." She shot back. She was right; I didn't care, not really, not as much as they did. I'd just meet the girl for ten minutes, what was I suppose to do lay my life down, abandon all rational thinking to protect her? I was here for one reason, and making friends wasn't it. I glared at her.

"Okay so you guys, arguing is really going to help!" Aven scolded us. I was older then all of them, but for some reason I quieted my annoyance to a deathly glare.

"She went west." Hector said trying to slice the tension, mouth filled with burger. IT was already half way gone despite the fact our waitress had brought it out 15 minute ago.

"How do you know?" I looked over at him.

"I just do….I'm good at finding people." He shrugged. "Best hide and seek player you'll ever meet." He winked at me.

"Okay, so let's go west!" Syn-syn started packing up.

"Your dad said stay put." Aven reminded Syn-syn

"I'm not done yet." Hector complained

"Please the last thing my dad told me that I actually listen to was 'turn off the singing purple dinosaur!' " She scoffed and picked up her bag.

"Sit down." I told her. It was noble but stupid, we had to get to camp half blood with or with out Marie. "Look it's really sad that she's gone but, we have to do what's best for us, besides she would have just slowed us down. It obvious she has no skills, no clue and if I'm not mistaken she didn't even know what she was till you both informed her." Syn-syn raised and eye brow at me.

"I intend to do what best for us, all of us. That means not leaving one of us out there in the middle of New York City defenseless. Oh! And how long have you known what you where?"

"Since I was 10."

"Really? So then you where the one with the spear...no, no…you had the chain right...no that wasn't you either…you had…the gun….no…nope…..I don't really remember you jumping into the fray either" She quirked an eyebrow at me; I clenched my fits and boiled at her words. "We're all bastards here, we all need to stick together and look out for each other at least till we get to the camp."

"Okay here the thing." Hector whipped him mouth and spoke up. "You keep calling me a bastard! I ain't! I know exactly who my father is…I'm a Hephaestus's kid!" Just as I was about to open my mouth I was interrupted.

"Your orders in." A raspy deep voice came to us and laid a few plates with thick piping hot steaks down on the table. I looked up at our server. He was huge, bulging biceps, triceps, and every other muscle no one truly knows where is. He grinned at us, a twisted nasty yellow grin. This was waiter that brought out Hector burger.

"Ummmm….sorry sir we didn't order anything." Aven said looking at the plates the waiter had set on the table they where four giant steaks, steaming hot, and covered in sauce.

"Complements of our cook," He tilted his head.

"Bu-"

"Shhhh!" Hector hushed her harshly. "It a free steak dinner woman!" Hector exclaimed eyeing the meat. "It's the American dream!" Ever one, with the acceptation of Hector examined the meal wearily. I looked up at the waiter, this was not our waiter.

"Ummmm…thank you but we really do have to be going, we have a friend to look for." I said feeling the rapid need to get up and leave, and from the looks on Aven, Hector and Syn-syn's face the agreed.

"No, you can't go, not until you eat your steaks." He grinned, with such authority it chilled me. "You need to eat, me and my brothers like our meals to be nice and hearty." I looked around and spotted 7 more of them, sitting at booths and lingering at the jukebox, all of them looking at us like they where thinking of the best way to put us on a plate. Large, hugely muscular, cannibals, I knew what he was.

"Laistrygonians…" I whispered. Pride shimmered in the giant's eyes; pride and hunger. The exits where blocked and we where surrounded on all sides, not to mention there where other people around us.

Syn-syn raised her hand.

"Hey, um Mr. Cannibal guy, look we need to go to the bathroom." Every one just looked at her like she was stupid. She could not seriously think that was going to work. The giant laughed.

"Girl, how dumb do you think I am?" She shrugged.

"Well, I think that in a few minutes, this steak isn't gonna be on this plate." She smiled sweetly.

"wha-" Before he could finish the word Syn-syn through the plate at his face.

"Ugh!" He growled when the slab of meat hit him. His brothers took note and began coming over. Syn-syn snatched a scarf out of her bad and tied it around her face; she jumped on top of the table and pulled out her gun. Back at the park I hadn't really seen it, but that close up to it; I could tell that thing was amazing. It looked steam punk with gold plating on the Handel and writing on the barrel that was in ancient Greek. It said

Little Bastard

She opened fire, loudly. The restaurant jumped into frenzy, as people stampeded out of their booths and to the nearest exits.

"Are you crazy!" I looked up at her. She had clearly abandoned all sanity.

"Why are you still sitting down ass-whole?" She bellowed at me still firing. I looked around Aven and Hector where already up and engaged in battle. Syn-syn leaped off the table, and kept a steady fire going at our former waiter, another Giant grabbed her around the shoulders, and grabbed her gun hand. Before I could come to her aid she flipped him and blasted his face off.

"We need to get out of here!" I called to her.

"No Shit Sherlock." She turned to me, after the Laistrygonian was deposed of. "Once again I noticed you not helping!" She crossed her arms over her chest. I scowled at her, picked up a fork and lunched it just past her head, my aim was always dead on. The giant that had been creeping up behind her howled in pain and stumbled back, clutching its eye. Syn-syn fired a double tap on it and then turned back and looked back at me.

"Yeah, if you think that little stunt earned you any cred with me, you are so wrong."

"Fine next time I'll just let you get stabbed ya snotty bitch." I shot back over the sounds of chaos. We had to get out of that place; we had to move, before… I heard sirens in the distance. Shit! Some one had called the cops. "Well Billy the kid! Thanx to your gun slinging some one called the cops!"

"Fighting is not gonna help!" Aven cried.

"I'm open to suggestions!" Syn-syn round house kicked her guy in the face.

"We need something big, A! Like Broadway big!" Hector called, his chain wrapped around the trunk of another giant. Aven looked at Hector and then she nodded. In the midst of the war raging around her Aven stood, feet together in prayer pose.

"What is she doing?" I exploded.

"She's about to save you ass." Hector told me. I watch her face as it contorted into a look of pure concentration. Suddenly from behind the doors that lead to the kitchen there came a sound. It was a low rumbling sound that quickly grew louder and louder, until a title wave came exploding out of the doors. At first I thought it was going to sweep us all away, so I shut my eyes and prepared myself for impact. But it never came, when I opened my eyes I realized the water had flown around me. I was completely dry, in fact we all where, every one but the Laistrygonian's who where swirling in a giant orb of water.

"Hydro manipulation…" My eyes bugged out of my head and I looked over at Aven whose hands where now swirling round in time with the water container the giant where in. She was controlling it! She could control water! I could only think of one God whose children could do that. The ball continued to swirl and toss it's captives who fought against it's current in vain. I was amazed as I watched the ball move and grow like it was alive. The only thing that snapped me out of my wonderment was the sound of sirens parking out side the restaurant.

"GO!" A strained yell came from Aven. I looked over at her and noticed the look of pure pain and determination that she had. I was pulled through the kitchen doors by my wrist.
"C'mon, She'll be fine" Hector insisted dashing out the back doors and then out in to an alley way. Syn-syn fallowed slamming the doors behind her. We all turned sharply as we heard and explosion of glass, and the fierce Whoosh of an immense amount of water. We all looked back at once. Every cop car that had come to the restaurant was now washed into the middle on the street like wet toy hot wheels, along with the broken bits of glass and rubbish that use to be apart of Dave's Diner. The look on all of our face was pure amazement. Aven had done all of that. The blast was so force full and the water was still exploding out of the building. There was an eerie silence as the same thought passed through all of us.

"She couldn't have ma-…" I began to say but before I could finish, Aven busted out from the back exit running towards us, looking out of breath and tired.

"Run NOW!" She yelled in exasperation. We all took off down the street, feet pounding the pavement; pretty soon our lungs where burring for air, but I pushed them on. We had to get as much space between us and the restaurant as possible.

"Oh…My….God…" Syn-syn sobbed between greedy gulps of air when I finally let them stop.

"I think …I left…my lunch…on third….street…." Hector commented and they both laughed, and almost passed out while doing it. It wasn't all that bad for me, the running, that is. I loved to run; I had trained myself to run long distances so it took me a little shorter to catch my breath.

"Aven, that was-"I looked over at her and stopped dead in the middle of my thought. Aven was collapsed on the ground, eyes fluttering, body lip and blood oozing form her nose. "Aven?" When she didn't respond, I found myself running to her side. I was soon joined by Hector and Syn-syn.

"Ohmahgod! Is she okay? Is she okay?" Syn-syn chattered frantically. I examined her body, she didn't seem to have much bruising, or visible injuries; her skin was fire itself, but she was shivering.

"Hector, does she usually have headaches after using her power?" I asked, touched her skin gently, almost withdrawing from the heat.

"Umm…yeah sometimes, but that's the biggest she's ever done it." Hector was clearly shaken up at the sight of seeing her cousin like this. Her body had gone into shock from the sudden use of so much power.

"She over exerted herself, it was too much for her body to handle." I said "We need to get her out of the open. Somewhere she can rest, somewhere safe." We had to move quickly. I scooped her up, as soon as I did symbol swirled into existence above her head. Her she was in the middle of a possible seizure, and it was now that she was to be claimed, I may sound it but I wasn't surprised. It always amused me how; demigods had to almost kill themselves for our parents to acknowledge our existence. The symbol solidified itself and began to glow.

"No way…"Syn-syn murmured wide eyed. I myself was speechless. The symbol over was not a triton; it was a sea shell, a violet glowing sea shell, clear as the day. My mind ran thought every symbol I could think of, every book on Greek mythology that I ever read, every story I ever dreamed up until finally it hit me. Poseidon was the only god with power over the waters, but not the only being….

"Calypso." whispered out loud in pure disbelief.

Syn-syn: I so didn't see that coming...

Aven: My mom Is Calypso?

Me:Yep *smiles*

Aven; But wait...so was my dad?

Me:...

Aven: And why is Hector even here if he knows who his dad is?

Me:...

Aven: And Where's Marie?

Me:...

Syn-syn: That's Wirtter for 'I have no clue!'

Me: Hey I gave you a mom! What more do you want from me?

Aven: It'd Be nice if I lived.

Me:...i'll think about it...

Aven and Syn-syn: 0.o WHA!