Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan does, I don't own the book Cyborg - Martin Caidin does, nor do I own the old TV Show Six Million Dollar Man. I just wanted to make that clear.
Story: Cybernetic Hero
Chapter 26: Champion of Chaos
Mount Olympus – Throne Room
Third Person POV
"Luke," Thalia said. Her voice was filled with a mix of surprise, anger and sadness. Annabeth and Nyssa placed Luke's unconscious body on the marble floor.
"Is he dead?" Jason asked, as he eyed his sister curiously.
"He's barely alive, Kronos is not in his body anymore," Annabeth said.
"What do you mean?" Thalia asked in shock.
Percy walked up to the others and stood in front of Luke's body. He looked down at the still form of the son of Hermes. His green eyes looked at the body without any emotion. It looked like he was analyzing Luke's body and threat potential.
"Kronos has merged with Typhon," Percy said calmly. Everyone looked at the son of Poseidon in alarm.
"How did you know?" Nyssa asked.
"I can sense it. My power has increased since last we met," Percy said as he stared at the wall of the throne room. He looked lost in thought.
"Seaweed Brain, what's happened to you?" Annabeth asked worriedly.
Percy looked down at the daughter of Athena. His eyes were calm, but Annabeth's eyes widened as she realized that his laser eye was gone.
"Your eye is back, how did you do it?" Annabeth asked curiously.
"Damn! I didn't notice it," Thalia yelled. She was clearly annoyed that she had missed that particular piece of evidence.
"I was about to die. I made a deal. I'm no longer a cyborg," Percy explained.
"What are you now?" Jason asked. The others were still too stunned to speak.
"I'm a machine. An automaton. I'm Chaos's champion now." His voice was devoid of emotion.
"What? Why did you agree to that?" Annabeth asked desperately.
Percy looked at her like he was trying to figure out a puzzle or an equation of some sort. Annabeth stared at him nervously.
"I would have died. I had to stop Kronos and now I have the power to do so," Percy said.
Annabeth stood up and glared at this new Percy. "Is there any part of Percy within you?" Annabeth asked incredulously.
"Percy… I mean my memories are still here, we… I mean, I know who I am," Percy said. The others just stared at him worriedly.
"I can't believe-" Annabeth started to say before she was cut off by a loud noise from outside. Everyone ran to the display pool on the edge of the throne room. They peered into the pool to see across the Hudson River into New Jersey. On the other side of the river was a massive storm cloud that stretched from the ground to high in the air. Explosions and blasts of light could be seen erupting from the storm clouds.
"Kronos and Typhon are here. I must destroy them," Percy said as he looked into the pool.
Percy's friends looked at him in disbelief. "How can you destroy that?" Jason asked skeptically.
Percy stared into the eyes of the son of Jupiter. Jason turned away; the penetrating stare unnerved him. "I have more power than any of you can imagine," Percy said before he ran out of the throne room. The others followed. Percy's legs began to glow until they turned into a rocket engine. The rocket exploded, propelling the Champion of Chaos into the air.
Annabeth, Thalia, and Jason stood on the large outdoor plaza that looked down upon Manhattan below.
"Percy is gone, isn't he?" Annabeth said sadly. Thalia gave her best friend a sympathetic stare. Annabeth looked like a small child at the moment, something that reminded Thalia of their time together on the run.
"I know it seems that way, but this is Percy. We thought him lost before and he returned. What makes you think this is any different?" Thalia asked hopefully.
A lone tear travelled down Annabeth's cheek as she turned to look at her best friend. "He's not even human anymore. He's just a machine," Annabeth said in defeat.
Jason cleared his throat. His sister and her best friend looked at him expectantly. "Before we give up on anyone, let's make sure the world is still in one piece first," he suggested.
"He's right; we still have that thing on its way here to destroy us. We have bigger things to worry about now," Thalia agreed.
Annabeth wiped the tear from her cheek and stood up straight with a determined look on her face. She looked off into the distance in the direction where Percy had flown. "We need a good vantage point to see Percy's battle with Kronos," Annabeth said. Suddenly, her eyes widened and a small smile crossed her mouth. "The George Washington Bridge. It's certainly tall enough and strong enough to withstand their fight-"
"Unless Kronos decides to run into it," Thalia interjected. Annabeth glared at her, but Thalia just shrugged her shoulders.
"What are we waiting for?" Jason asked.
"Let's go," Annabeth said before she ran off toward the elevator with Jason and Thalia hot on her heels.
Manhattan – Near the Hudson River
Kronos moved towards the mighty river, destroying everything in his path. Explosions, flashes of light and strange noises echoed around the monster as it walked toward the river. The monster stood by the shore of the Hudson River and looked across the water to the island of Manhattan. The gold eyes of the new more powerful Titan lord glowed in anger as it looked toward the Empire State Building.
The monster looked down into the dark waters of the river before stepping into the stream like a giant funnel cloud. The waters of the river began to churn and bubble as the monster walked across the bottom.
Suddenly, massive celestial bronze cables shot out of the water and began to encircle the monster. Kronos tried to move away from them, but a bolt of lightning struck the monster head on causing an explosion that stopped the monster in its tracks. The explosion was so powerful that it blew the windows out of buildings a half dozen blocks away.
The monster halted as the cables continued to circle its legs and waist. Suddenly, an army of Cyclopes burst out of the river. The army was a hundred strong; they pulled onto the cables trying to drag down the monster into the depths of the river.
A blue light shone in the water as it approached the monster from the harbor. The light became brighter as it approached the creature. Suddenly, a golden chariot erupted from the water. It was pulled by a dozen hippocampi and riding in the chariot was a tall man with pitch black hair and matching beard. His muscles flexed under his golden armor. The man held a familiar trident in his hand that pulsed with blue-green energy. Poseidon, god of the seas, had joined the battle.
Poseidon leveled his trident and aimed at Kronos, a blast of energy shot from the weapon and toward the monster. The monster's eyes brightened as time stopped around it. The energy blast from the trident stopped as well as the Cyclopes army. The monster moved the chain until they were directly in the path of the blast. Time began again as the blast of energy struck the mass of chains, disintegrating them in an instant. The monster roared one again as it thrashed and struck the Cyclops army, sending them into the air and onto the rocky shoreline. The few Cyclopes that remained were too injured to fight.
The gods all continued to strike against the monster, but it was too powerful; even with Poseidon; they were no match for the combined power of Typhon and Kronos. The monster was now only a few steps from Manhattan and everyone could sense that the end was near.
Suddenly, the sky lit up as a small object flew towards the monster and hovered just above the Manhattan shoreline. Once the object came close to the gods and the monster, they could see a boy with legs that were now a rocket engine. He had black hair and shining green eyes. He hovered just above the shore as he watched the monster.
Kronos moved a massive arm at an impossible speed, but the son of Poseidon dodged the blow easily. The monster roared in frustration. "You shall not defeat me, little one. I am unstoppable," Kronos growled, his voice sounding like the combination of a lion's roar and a howling wind.
"I think not," Percy said as his body began to glow. The light was so bright it was like a small star come to Earth. Everyone turned away, monster, demigod and god, when the light subsided a new creature stood on the opposite shore of the river. The creature was roughly as tall as Kronos, but he glowed like his body was made of light itself. Everyone stared at this new entity in complete shock.
"Who are you?" Kronos/Typhon asked.
"I was Percy Jackson, now I am the Champion of Chaos. I am here to destroy you," he said.
Kronos moved forward like a massive hurricane as wind, rain, lightning and kinetic energy swirled around the monster inside it. He let loose a powerful blast of lightning and energy toward the Champion of Chaos, but nothing happened. The champion absorbed the blast easily.
The champion's eyes glowed like two stars that were about to go supernova; a blast of energy erupted from them and hit Kronos with the force of an atomic bomb. Half the water in the Hudson River evaporated in an instant. Giant waves struck the shoreline, destroying everything that stood near the water. The George Washington Bridge strained against the assault, but held firm.
Everyone watching stared toward Kronos; the monster was surrounded in a cloud of pure cosmic energy. The ball of energy rose into the air and continued to climb until it left the atmosphere. All those who had witnessed the power of the champion, stood in awe of the energy he wielded. The cloud of light continued to climb until it appeared like a satellite in the sky.
The Champion of Chaos stared at the cloud of energy that now orbited the planet. Suddenly, the cloud of light exploded sending a shockwave across the Earth. The blast was so powerful that the lights in the city flickered and the earth shook. The light faded until nothing was left of the cloud or the monster within it.
The Champion of Chaos glowed again and when the light faded all that was left was the figure of a teenage boy, Perseus Jackson.
AN: One more chapter to go. A big thank you to Starlit Reader on another outstanding job. One more chapter to go.