Energy Unbound - Tower Defense

A scream, rabid and panicked in its ferocity, rang out from the forest approaching Camp Half Blood.

"Run! Keep running, don't look back!" a male voice yelled. He had only just reached maturity, by the pitch.

"Ah!" another yell, this one softer and somehow more vulnerable, "I… I can't! Go on without me!"

"I'm not leaving you!" the first voice yelled back in defiance.

"There's too many! You can't die too. Just… just promise me you'll take care of yourself! That's... what mom would have wanted."

"NO! I'm not leaving you!" he called back. "We're together in life and death, sister! I stand beside you!"

-LB-

Ari sighed and turned away from the monitors in the Hermes control center. "Cabin, how many enemies are following them?"

Fifty hellhounds, twenty five dracaena and a large bull of some kind are 200 feet away from the demigods. Closing fast. The bull has a high energy density. It is likely some kind of minor god.

Ari raised her eyebrows. Fifty, twenty five and one? My my, Tartarus is certainly feeling mathematical today, she commented internally. "Are the defenses ready?"

Affirmative. All towers active.

The crimson haired girl smirked. "Time to show the gods just how outclassed they are. Bring the system online and clean house."

Acknowledged.

-LB-

The two in the forest were surrounded. A mass of monsters stood between them and the safe haven of the gate to Camp Half Blood. The rest of the Tartarus spawn had encircled the younglings, trapping them in the clearing just before the gate. They were outnumbered, outmaneuvered, and definitely outplayed. The demigods dropped their weapons and resigned themselves to their fate, disbelieving of how close they had come to safety. In their heads, they cursed the gods.

If only they had been born mere days earlier or arrived at camp the previous week. The monsters may have stood a chance then. They perhaps might have even won that night.

But it was not a week ago, and the New World calls.

Just as the bull god finished its megalomania filled speech, which was so cliche it actually hurt, a low humming began. It seemed to be everywhere surrounding the clearing. Both demigods and monsters looked around trying to find the source, but all they could see was a dark forest.

That is, until the first monsters died.

At an extremely fast pace and accompanying a high pitched whirring sound, beams of orange light raced out of the previously dark forest. They illuminated the barrels of dozens of gun turrets mounted on tall towers, each with two barrels spinning and raining Hades. Several monsters raised their shield instinctually in an attempt to defend against the onslaught. It did no good; the beams went right through. Those shielded (and not) found their essence cores targeted with extreme prejudice. The minor bull god fell to only three hits, delivered in rapid succession once the first failed to kill it.

The massacre was over in seconds. Piles of ash were what little remained of the monsters' gear. Their bodies were gone, turned to dust in the blink of an eye. It actually wasn't so much dust, no; they had been vaporized into subatomic particles. The two demigods stared in awe at their surroundings, now clear. A path to the camp lit up on the ground with orange arrows.

-LB-

Ari grinned. The test of the Camp defense system had gone flawlessly. The weapons had even proved capable of defeating a minor god. "Good first run, Cabin. Any issues?"

The minor god took three hits to bring down. Other than that unexpected turn of events, the test was successful. All turrets are reporting nominal status, no damage to internal or external shielding systems.

"Good. Begin deploying clusters, along with dome shield tunnels, throughout the forest. Place entry gateways at the edges and cloak them via the Mist. I want only demigods seeing these things, Cabin," Ari commanded. "Oh, and include a primary shield relay with each launch. I want to be able to cover the entire island if I have to. After that, prepare some long range gateways; I want one in every major city on Terra."

Acknowledged. Beginning construction of launch drones.

With that, the Hermes cabin began humming.

-LB-

The monsters' obliteration was so complete that Tartarus had to reach out and save them himself, rather than his automated systems doing it for him. He had been only the first higher being to bear witness. The immense amount of energy released by the killing of seventy five monsters and a minor god, all within a mere few seconds and in the same area, drew the entirety of Olympus' attention.

"What in the name of us?" Apollo asked, the first to speak in the council chamber after the scene played out.

Zeus looked thoroughly furious, leading the rest of the gods to be wary of his reaction.

"Brother," Poseidon cautiously spoke.

Zeus shot a glare, but it wasn't at him. "Hephaestus, I thought I forbade you from allowing your automatons to aid our children attempting to prove themselves," he growled.

The mentioned god scowled. "And you will likely also remember my response. Sadly, however much I'd like to take credit for defying you, these are not my creations. While their construction is beautiful in every sense of the word, they are too… I believe the mortal word is 'high-tech' for my tastes," Hephaestus defended himself.

Zeus scowled. "If not yours, then whose?" He suddenly had an idea and spun on his daughter. "Athena, have you enlisted the help of mortals?"

She looked taken aback for several moments before staring daggers at her father. "No, father. You forbade me as well, in case you don't remember," she hissed. "I wish my children safe from the harm you see fit to put them through, but this is not my doing."

Zeus pointedly ignored her defiance and roared. "Then whose?!"

Hermes had been quiet, not so much as even muttering. He usually had some kind of snide or sarcastic comment during these meetings. Every eye turned towards him suspiciously.

"What?"

"You know something, brother," Athena stated.

"Don't be ridiculous," he scoffed, though his eyes weren't in it. "My knowledge of technology starts and ends with 'smartphone'."

Ares eyed him even more suspiciously. "I've seen many prisoners sweat an interrogation, Messenger. You look much like they do."

Hermes gulped. "I cannot speak of it."

Oh crap, Athena cursed internally. He can't mean this is HER doing? Exposing herself is reckless!

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'YOU CANNOT SPEAK OF IT'? I AM YOUR KING!" Zeus bellowed, causing storms to surge across the U.S.

Another thought, horrifying in it's content, brushed past her mind as Zeus screamed at his son. Maybe she doesn't care anymore.

Hermes stared up at his father, who was leaning over him with his hands on Hermes' throne, with fear. "I cannot say, Father. I have been forbidden."

Athena facepalmed, as her daughter would say. It is her. Great.

Zeus' eye was twitching, every other Council member waiting on bated breath. "You cannot, or you will not?" he asked dangerously.

Hermes met his father's eyes. "Can't."

"The being that forbade you, that can supercede my authority," Zeus spoke, drawing out his words, "are they the cause of these weapons?"

Hermes gulped. "I cannot say."

Zeus narrowed his eyes. "That means yes," he deduced. "If you cannot answer a yes or no question, it means yes."

Athena spoke up. "Not necessarily, Father. If the being was smart enough, they might make it so one of us could not speak either affirmatively or negatively."

Zeus whirled on her, abandoning his inquisition of Hermes. "'One of us'?"

Athena's eyes widened. Oh crap again.

"They got to you too," he realized, looking around his Council members warily. "How many more of you cannot answer my question?"

Gulping, Artemis, Apollo, Hades, Aphrodite, Demeter and Poseidon raised their hands. This left only Hephaestus, Ares, Hera and Zeus himself unaffected. Athena's eyes grew even wider. She's gotten to that many?! She might as well rule Olympus!

Seeing the raised hands, Zeus growled. "How could this happen under my watch?!"

"I cannot say," the affected found themselves saying, including Athena and Hermes, in unison.

Athena could see the calculating gaze Zeus employed at that. It wasn't very well known, but her father was scarily smart. Not as much as she, being the Wisdom Goddess, but still very bright and clever. His usually bratty attitude, as Ari would say, kept it hidden.

Oh no, he's going to figure it out! She realized, just as his eyebrows raised.

"The girl…," he breathed, barely a whisper.

Hermes choked. "What?"

Zeus spun on him and pointed a finger. "The girl! Your daughter! SHE is the one!" he declared.

Hermes' eyes grew even wider. "I… I cannot say," he replied, covering his mouth a second later.

Zeus narrowed his eyes. "She is a threat to my reign. I hope you said goodbye to your daughter, Hermes, because I am going to end her. And after that? You are banished from Olympus!" he declared, before transforming into lightning and storming out the Olympian doors.

His destination? If her senses were right, Zeus was heading straight for Camp Half Blood in a blood rage. The Wisdom Goddess abruptly felt the locks on her very being disengage, signaling that one of their unlock states had been reached.

Athena looked at Poseidon, Poseidon looked at Hermes, and Hermes looked at her. They all shared a look which told of them sensing their locks coming undone too. "We must stop him before he angers her!" they shouted, and transformed into their own elements before sweeping after Zeus.

Hera glanced at the unaffected members of her family with a strange look. She stared at the affected ones after that. "Any idea what they meant?" she asked smoothly.

Apollo exchanged a glance with Hades, who nodded. His words were heavy, weighing down the Sun God. "It appears our limitations have disappeared. If that's the case…"

"She already knows," Hades finished in monotone. His already pale face looked even more ghostlike.

The amount of dread in those words sent shivers down the gods' nonexistent spines.

-LB-

Out of nowhere Ari felt the locks she'd given several Olympians disengage of their own accord. Their shutdown command systems relayed the reason they unlocked to her over the telepathic connection she shared with all her creations.

Discovery had occurred.

ALERT, the Cabin announced, Incoming high energy event. Identified as entity named Zeus.

Ari sighed in frustration, pinching the bridge of her nose. "So much for secrecy," she muttered, "looks like the cat's coming out of the bag a little early." She almost absentmindedly established a subspace link with the command override codes she'd placed on various Olympians and sent the default acknowledgement message.

Shall I raise the energy defense grid?

"No. Charge up Project Omega and raise the primary shield of the Camp. Target Zeus with Omega, but do not fire without a signal from me," she declared. With a nod to the unconscious form of Luke, she stepped outside her room in the Hermes Cabin and began the trek to the entrance of Camp Half Blood.

-LB-

"COME OUT, DEMIGOD!" Zeus bellowed, lightning crackling in both his hand and across the sky.

New York had become overcast, darkly so, in the few minutes it took the King of the Gods to get from Olympus to Camp Half Blood. He could have flash travelled there, but felt like taking the scenic route to get his head in the right space.

"Jeez, no need to yell, Thunderhead," a young woman's voice abruptly spoke, making him jump.

The veins in his head stood out at the infuriating nickname, just now realizing where it had originated. "YOU DARE MOCK THE KING OF THE GODS?!"

The girl sighed. "Zeus, you take everything as a mock. No, if I was mocking you, it would be painfully obvious," she stated in the most patronizing tone he'd ever heard.

Zeus was about to reply when he noticed a gathering of people on the top of the hill where his daughter's tree still stood. They were watching the exchange with rapt attention. "Begone, children!" be bellowed, and waved his hand to send them back to their cabins himself.

Imagine how absolutely shocked he was when a colored field of light flared into existence between him and the camp temporarily, blocking his godly power.

Zeus was dumbfounded. "What?" he asked.

Another sigh brought his attention to the girl he had come to punish. When she saw his eyes were on her, she explained. "There is a defense shield around Camp Half Blood, Zeus. It blocks unauthorized or hostile influence of any kind from entering."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Mortal technology could not have advanced so far, so quickly."

She rolled her eyes at that. "You gods really need to stop pulling conclusions out of your collective ass."

Zeus gaped at her. Nobody had ever dared speak to him that way. "Do you not understand who you address, demigod? Or do you merely have a death wish?"

"Neither," she replied. "I just can't respect a glorified toddler with a big weapon who uses his children, hell his grandchildren, as cannon fodder and kills cause it's fun."

Jeers and boos rose up from the campers at her words, and Zeus knew he would have to silence her. "You have interfered in the proving process of our children, disrespected Olympus, and show no remorse for your actions. It is with a heavy heart that I sentence you to execution," he decreed.

The demigod of Hermes rolled her eyes. "Bring it on, Gramps," she taunted. Instead of getting into a fighting stance, though, she merely let her arms fall to the sides.

"Very well," Zeus growled. He summoned his bolt to his hand, which extended into existence from thin air. He drew his arm back and launched it at the demigod. Everyone expected her to dodge, fire back, do something. But she just stood there staring down Zeus' symbol of power that was en route to end her existence. Just as it was about to hit her, the unexpected happened.

The bolt stopped midair, two inches from her body, and she grinned.

Zeus' mouth dropped even further than it already had when the demigod moved slightly to the right and grasped the bolt in her left hand, hefting it up and down as if testing the weight.

"Hmm… kind of weak sauce, but it has potential," she commented.

"H… how?" Zeus whispered.

She glanced up at him while absently spinning his symbol. "I said I was a demigod, Gramps. You're the one who assumed that meant half mortal."

Zeus was taken aback at her trickery. "You are divine?!"

"A bit more than that actually," she chuckled.

He blinked in confusion. "What… what are you?"

"The mighty King of the Gods doesn't know!" she exclaimed with glee. "Oh this is a first. Well, to fill you in, I'm not mortal. Not even close. My mother is a Universal."

It was then Zeus knew, with a terrifying certainty, just how badly he'd fucked up.

"Celestial," he whispered.

She nodded and grinned. "That's right. I'm a Celestial. How's your bravado now, tough guy?"

That word, when spoken from her lips, resonated at the deepest parts of his being. It demanded nothing less than absolute obedience, reverence, and duty. But it also brought to mind the last Celestial Earth dealt with. The one that gave Olympus their dominance. She had looked an awful lot like the being who stood before him now. They might even be sisters.

The last thing anyone on Earth wanted was to piss off Progress again, much less anyone related to her. Zeus' eyes showed something he hadn't felt in millenia. Fear.

"Please, I didn't mean-" he began to apologize, but she cut him off.

"Ah, ah, ah. No interrupting. It's rude," she scolded. "And since you got to attack me, it only seems fair that I get a shot off too, no?"

Zeus fell to his knees. "Please. Don't kill me. I'll do anything."

She raised an eyebrow. "I'll take that offer. I won't kill you, Zeus. Unlike those of our family, I'm not an asshole who continues the chain of killing their relatives."

Zeus sighed in relief.

"Still taking my turn, though. Say hi to my other grandfather for me, aye? Tell him I said to give you my VIP suite for your stay."

Wait, what? Stay? Where? And other grandfather?

That would be the father of her mother, but that was…

Oh, crap, he thought, just as a beam of concentrated energy erupted from the sky, from far beyond Zeus's sphere of influence, and slammed the King of the Gods into the ground. The raw agony was immense as an energy blast far stronger than the force holding Zeus' essence together blew through him. His form was overcome; with that failure he vaporized into nothing. When the light cleared and the smoke dissipated, the only thing left was a smoldering crater in the ground the size of a semi truck and the shape of an omega made of glass inside.

"Check, mate," Ari stated, grinning from ear to ear.