Disclaimer -We own nothing except Bran and C.C., and they're the best part.

The Broken Road
By Ellen 26 and Sister Grimm Erin
Chapter 3:
Misery Loves Company

"You are such a hero," C.C. accused Bran. "We have a quest to do, a sacred bird statue to steal, we can't be rescuing little girls who you aren't even sure are in trouble! And what's with the premonition thing? If you were a son of Apollo, sure, but Hera's not a fortune teller." Thunder rumbled vaguely in the distance at this assertion. It had continued to rain on the car ride, and had only gotten worse once they exited the black S.U.V. Buckets poured down, soaking the two teens thoroughly. Bran's gray shirt clung to his body and his jean shorts were soaked. C.C., on the other hand, managed to work the weather to her advantage- her white T-shirt would not be considered coherent with his middle school's dress code and her cords were beginning to look too tight to be legal. She would look good anywhere, the son of Hera thought with reluctant admiration.

It could be seen as a slight bright side that the thunder and lightning had ceased. Talking over it had grown tiresome. Of course, Bran speculated that Zeus was probably planning something a little more dangerous than the stormy weather, but there was no way to find out, and the teens had too much to be worrying about whatever he might be planning, for now. There was a little girl to be saved.

The clouds evaporated again, rain ceasing and the sun was revealed for the third time that day.

"1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7." C.C. counted slowly under her breath before the rain returned with a vengeance, almost stinging as it hit their backs. "What is that?"

Bran frowned. "I dunno... we've not got time to worry though. We've gotta save the girl."

"Do you have any idea where she is, even?" asked the demi-immortal impatiently.

Blood rushed to Bran's cheeks. "No... I just thought it would come to us."

"Give the Force a listen then, won't you?" asked C.C. practically.

Bran squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to do what she had said, but when he opened them, C.C. was running as a blur of little girl headed into a back alley. Figures.

"Look, we're here to help you," said C.C. in what she probably thought was a soothing voice. The problem was, C.C. was much too intimidating and larger-than-life to be very soothing. The girl ran.

Bran sprinted after the girl, though he was quickly outrun by the nimble C.C. as easily as he'd been outrun by the tree nymphs at camp. It wasn't that C.C. was perfect, he reminded himself, it was just that he sucked at sports, which could make him feel like an outsider among demigods. Little girl. Pay attention. Right. He dragged his ADD brain back on track.

It was Bran who found her, though. She had run into the dead end of an alley, and looked at them with terrified eyes. "Look, it's okay," Bran said in a much more calm voice than C.C. had managed. "What's wrong?"

The girl would have been pretty if her face was clean and she wasn't wearing torn jeans and a boy's jacket. Her hair looked as though it had been cut with safety scissors, and was matted with weeks of dirt and grime. Her eyes were wild, and her clothes were torn. She was panting. "Yeesh," C.C. said, surveying the girl with a strange kind of understanding in her eyes. "Breathe, kid." She took out her water bottle- not nectar, and offered it to the urchin. The girl mumbled a thank-you but kept her head down. She drank in gulps, nearly choking on the fresh water. Once she had downed the water bottle, she swallowed and said, "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize-," began Bran, but he was cut off.

"I am Belinda Melete. Daughter of Medusa. Please don't hurt me. I'm not working for her, I don't wish any harm to you demigods- I'll just leave-," there was a hint of hysteria and desperation in her voice. Bran blinked, too shocked for a moment to respond, but C.C. was right on target.

"No, don't leave," said C.C. gently. "I understand." Her voice was kinder than Bran had suspected she could be. Maternal, even. Who would have thought?

Belinda locked disbelieving, slitted jade eyes with C.C.'s green ones, then the younger girl's pupils widened unblinkingly. "You do," said Belinda, as though this were a novel idea, and to her, it might be. "What you want isn't what you need."

"Do you want to travel with us?" asked Bran.

Belinda eyed him, and Bran had the sense of being Judged. It was a little spooky, those old eyes, but Belinda was also a little girl. She reminded him of his cousin/adoptive sibling Kelly at that age. Thinking of his family made him ache. Will I ever see them again?

She looked at him with the faintest trace of pity, then nodded somberly. Suddenly, her face broke out in a smile, and she ran and pulled them into a warm, enthusiastic, and shocking hug. "I love you guys!"

"Why is that?" asked C.C., amused but unruffled.

"Because we'll have so much fun!" she squealed. "It'll be the best!"

Bran could only laugh at the girl's infectious good humor, and C.C. grinned broadly. "Glad to hear it, girl-chick."

Thunder rumbled vaguely in the distance then. "Did I mention the wrath of Zeus?" Bran asked reluctantly.

Belinda shook her head, still smiling. "This sounds interesting."

"Not as interesting as shopping," said C.C. to Belinda.

"Shopping?" Bran groaned to C.C. "First painting and redecorating, now shopping? Some heroes we are."

C.C. smacked him. "She needs clothes, and we can't get to Alaska on ambrosia and nectar."

Belinda blinked. "You don't have to do that for me."

C.C. snorted. "We'll get arrested if we don't clean you up, no offense. Plus, shopping is fun. I promise."

Bran sighed. "You sound like my sister," he told her.

"Your sister is a wise and most likely attractive young woman," she informed him quickly. "Now... I know someone who'll let us use their shower if we're quick."

"Who's that?" asked Belinda with interest.

"The Boys' and Girls' Club of Manhattan," said C.C. "My mom used to teach martial arts there." Her eyes clouded over momentarily.

"Persephone used to teach martial arts there?" he blurted without thinking.

"No. My real but non-biological mother used to teach martial arts here." She looked exasperated at his surprised look. "What, you think I was raised in a cardboard box? That Mr. D. bottle-fed me?"

"No..." Bran murmured. "I just didn't have time to think about it."

"Sorry," said C.C., gripping her shoulders a little to avoid seeming vulnerable. "It's just... she's dead. Because of me."

Belinda gripped her new friend's hand. "It wasn't your fault. She was protecting her daughter."

"Do you read minds?" Bran asked, hoping to divert C.C.'s attention.

"Not really. Just painful memories."

"Then you should be able to see a lot about me," C.C. told the girl. There was a kind of heaviness about her posture, as though the thought of returning there weighed her down. Bran felt strangely tempted to reach out and comfort her but she then made her shoulders straighten. "Come on, Bran. Maybe we can pick up some supplies from the Lost & Found too."

Bran smiled suddenly. "What?" C.C. asked, confused.

"That's the first time you've said my name," he told her, and then looked at the ground and blushed.

"Haven't noticed a lot of mine being said," C.C. told him, as they walked in the direction of the Harlem neighborhood where the Boys' and Girls' club was contained.

"Well, what's C.C. stand for?" the son of Hera asked her. "Just having the initials is kind of strange."

"I don't like to talk about it," she told him. "My foster mother called me Kass, but I prefer C.C."

Belinda interrupted then. "Guys. Run."

They took a look down the corner at the woman with a camera, and ran.

--

Ellen's AN - We're SO SO Sorry!!! I mean it, school sucked, and it's been hard enough keeping on top of my own fics, never mind the joint ones, or anything else. So this is... late. Anyway, I think Erin wrote most if not all of this chapter. :) Reviews are love dearys.

Erin's A/N: Our apologies. School sucks. At least... well... at least you have this? XD Love, Erin.