Alright, Leo time. Leo is the second person who's POV will be taking over in the story. There is a third one as well and each of these get two chapters each, HOO-style. Anyways, on to the questions.

Going Dark: Yes, Zeus's bolt was left behind on Earth and yes, it wound up on Jason's home planet as well. Like I said in the AN last chapter, I promise it will be explained later how it got there.

394730: Something like that. Little bit of Supes, little bit of Shazam and a whole lotta Jason Grace.

And onto Leo's chapter.

"Sir, Colonel Thomsen is here for his prosthesis."

"Almost finished, Buford. I'll be over in just a minute."

"I will let him know right away, sir," Buford replied.

"Buford, how many times do I have to tell you? It's Leo, not 'sir.'"

"As you wish … sir," Buford insisted.

Leo sighed, slightly miffed. "You are the most passive-aggressive assistant I've ever met."

"I'm the only assistant you've ever met, sir."

Leo removed his mechanical goggles and set down, gesturing his hand at Buford. "See, what did I say? That's passive-aggressive behavior right there." Leo exhaled and dusted off his hands as he smiled at his handiwork. "All done here. Didn't even take me a minute. Let's meet up with Mr. Thomsen now."

"This way, sir," Buford guided with an arm.

Leo grabbed the mechanical arm that he'd just been working on and followed his assistant Buford to meet up with a former decorated Marine by the name of Colonel Jackie Thomsen. The veteran had unfortunately lost his arm while serving a tour in Afghanistan when a missile had struck very closely to him where his base had been stationed. Now, he could've gone to anybody for a prosthetic arm, but he chose the up and rising dexterous Leo Valdez. He was still relatively new to the business game, but the fact that a decorated Marine like the Colonel chose him ... well, it filled him with pride and he made sure to build the best arm that he could've possibly conjuncted. He didn't want to let him down.

The procedure of installing the arm was pretty easy. Next came the complicated bit: seeing if it actually worked. Colonel Thomsen tested it out, digging into his pocket and reaching for his phone.

"That's the best bit," Leo said. "You can actually swipe through your screen like it's a normal hand."

Sure enough, as Leo promised, Colonel Thomsen was able to swipe through his phone with the metallic fingers, which brought a smile to his face.

"So … how does it feel?" Leo wondered.

"Well … I actually can't feel anything," Colonel Thomsen joked.

Leo chuckled nervously. "Sorry, walked into that one."

Colonel Thomsen waved his good hand. "It's fine. But … I really like it. It really … feels comfortable. You've impressed me with your handiwork, Mr. Valdez."

Leo dismissively waved a hand. "Please, Mr. Valdez was my … grandfather. Call me Leo."

"Well, if that's what you want …" Colonel Thomsen said, standing up. Leo saluted army-style him in greeting, which made the colonel shake his head. "A handshake will do."

"With your new arm?" Leo asked.

"With what else?" Thomsen replied with a smile. Leo and the colonel firmly shook hands. "Pleasure doing business with you, Leo."

Leo shook his head. "Please. It was my honor to help out someone who has provided a great service to this beautiful country."

Colonel Thomsen smiled warmly. "Farewell, then."

Leo nodded his parting as he watched the decorated veteran walk out of the room before turning back to look at his surroundings. He owned a three-story building, which probably wasn't much to brag about, but it would do for now. He planned on getting rich enough to get his own tower at some point, though.

"Buford," Leo called. "I'm gonna go work on The Argo Project. Let me know if anybody comes in."

"Of course, sir," Buford answered.

Leo tapped into the holographic screen, expanding the blueprints to the project he called "The Argo Project." Leo's technology was rather advanced, enough that he had holographic computers at his disposal, something that most civilians could only even dream of having. The Argo Project was something that he'd been working on for a while now, an advanced aircraft that could take him anywhere, carry more than a dozen people, have access to all of his tech and could even auto-pilot on its own if Leo wanted. That was the plan at least.

That being said, he got to work, and as he did, he thought back on the humble beginnings he came from.

Leonidas Valdez was technically his full name, but he'd rather just be called Leo (he didn't know what his mom had been thinking, but he was nothing like the Spartan warrior). He was born in Houston, living the first years of his life in a rather run-down apartment. His mom was a beautiful woman named Esperanza who worked double-time as a mechanic at an auto shop and his dad … well, he never met him. Walked out on the both of them before he was even born.

Leo had been born with the skill of using his hands, having picked apart his TV when he was only four years old. He was schooling his classmates in his first grade science class. While they were busy making magnets connect, Leo was building a toy car from scratch, even making a controller to go along with it. During the third grade, he was spending time at the auto shop his mom worked at and would help out from time to time, even got to change the oil on a car himself.

Then came the dreaded day in fourth grade. It was like any regular day, Leo had been helping out his mom at the auto shop. Oil tended to be accidentally spilled all the time in an auto shop. A little bit, that was all it took. Just a little bit of oil.

And then one of mom's idiot co-workers went for a smoke break.

All Leo remembered that day was the color orange. Orange flames spreading everywhere in the shop, burning all of the other employees to a crisp. When it was just him and his mom left, surrounded by flames, Leo remembered his mom being terrified as he held him close, dreading what was going to happen to them. It was the first time he'd ever seen her cry. He remembered the fire reaching them, the flames engulfing his body whole. He remembered being saved by a firefighter.

Everybody died in that fire. Everyone except for Leo.

He remembered people questioning him, asking how he came out of the shop alive. He remembered doctors telling him that there was no way he should have survived that fire, that he didn't even show any signs of burns -Leo would end up making a discovery about himself when he was older about why he survived that fire.

He remembered crying at his mom's funeral. He remembered his family relatives coldly neglecting him, as if somehow him being alive was the cause of his mom's death. He remembered CPS placing him under foster care, the final nail in the coffin that told him his family wanted nothing to do with him.

Leo Valdez suffered a lot from anxiety after the death of his mom, spending most of the time to himself and distancing himself away from other kids, tinkering with objects with his hands for most of the time. His foster parents were cold and distant as well, as if Leo needed the reminder that they only had Leo under their care because the government was paying them a lot to do it.

But still, sometimes he wanted to get some of their attention at the very least. He wanted to feel like someone was there for him, because he wasn't even getting that treatment in his own home, if he could even call it a home. And he only got that attention when he stupidly placed his hand on the stove fire and felt no sense of pain. None whatsoever. He remembered his own foster parents screaming and calling the cops on him and before he even knew it, he was on the run.

Leo Valdez spent a lot time surviving by himself across a few states, but eventually the cops caught up to him and him placed with other foster parents.

During his time he spent by himself as a hitchhiker was where he started to use and learn more about his newfound pyrokinesis, otherwise known as the power over fire. He wished he knew how he had it. He almost wished he had died with everyone else in that fire.

Leo didn't see his fire powers as a gift. If anything … they were terrifying. What kind of person would be amazed that he had control over fire? And for that reason alone, he swore that would never use them.

At least, until it rained and he needed a fire to cook his meals.

After police caught up to him again, he was sent somewhere new. San Francisco was Leo's big break. Leo wouldn't say he had the most amazing foster parents during his five years in San Francisco, but at least they weren't cold. They would actually go to his room and check up on him from time to time. When Leo entered high school, it was a new experience for him and he remember being excited for it. It was a new school in a new place and that meant that Leo was free to be himself and nobody would think differently about him.

Leo then made a friend in one of his classes named Jason Grace, and the two hit off immediately, instantly clicking. They spent a lot of time together whenever they could, although much later on, Leo did often find it weird more often than not when Jason was so secretive about what he did. Like Leo would ask if they wanted to go eat buffalo wings one night and Jason would say he had plans. What plans, Leo would ask and Jason would say 'stuff.'

Leo smiled as he remembered finding out Jason's secret. His friend's big secret was that he fought crime at night, running around in his pajamas and a headband for a mask. He remembered Jason stuttering to explain himself before Leo showed off his ... ability with fire. He remembered telling Jason he was going to make him a suit, because nothing was more embarrassing than fighting crime in his PJ's. Leo got to work and he made Jason a suit like he had promised. Purple was Jason's favorite color and because of his lightning-based abilities, he slapped a bolt crest on the middle of it. And some headgear to go with that, so that he could cover most of his head and hide his identity.

During his time in high school is when Leo found out about why he pyrokinetic powers. Using his chemistry class's equipment, he studied his own DNA and discovered an anomaly: he had a genetic variation. Like a ... mutation, of sorts. It was enough to spook Leo but it made a lot of sense. His genes were altered to not only adapt to fire, but to control it altogether. He had stared at his hand and to prove his point, he willed his hand to make a small blaze. Sure enough, a small fire lit over his hand before he closed his fist to put it out.

Leo's conclusion on the matter: he still wasn't overly joyed about his gift.

Jason and Leo remained good friends up until they graduated, where they diverted and went their separate ways. Jason was getting into journalism and Leo was going cross-country, having earned a full-ride scholarship to MIT. College is where Leo skyrocketed to fame, making groundbreaking inventions, especially ones involving clean energy, that sponsors were begging him to put their name on. He made his own tech, which absolutely baffled the superiors, wondering how Leo was so talented. He finally had his IQ tested, and he scored a 200, easily labelling him as a genius.

It really was not a surprise that he graduated early.

At the age of 20, Leo Valdez would kickstart his own company, Valdez Inc., crafting military planes and other vehicles at first until he eventually branched himself out from the military stuff. He would eventually move back to San Francisco after he gained sufficient funds and rented a small three-story building until he eventually purchased it altogether, for the meantime, at least. He was looking at the bigger picture, literally. He wanted a whole tower to himself and slap his name on it for the whole world to see. Everyday he could remind himself of the humble beginnings he came from and where he stood now.

If one asked Leo, this is who he was, a genius inventor, not a pyrokinetic user. That side of him was simply a painful reminder of the sacrifice that was made for Leo to be where he was now.

Now at 25, Leo Valdez was dangerously approaching the billion-dollar mark. He owned cars his high-school self could've only dreamed of owning and his own private plane waited for him at his hangar at San Francisco International whenever he wanted to fly somewhere. He owned a mansion in the Oakland hills. Was he living the dream? Of course he was, he was building and inventing things with his own hands and making a lot of money out of it.

That was the dream for Leo Valdez.

Leo glanced up to the sky. He was never a big believer in religions but he hoped that if there was a heaven, he hoped his mom was looking down at him with pride. Everything he got, it was straight out of the mud. He built an empire from the ground up by himself and he hoped to leave behind a legacy.

"Alright," Leo said, coming out from under The Argo Project and entered through the back hatch. He took a seat in the pilot seat. "Come on, now. Work with me."

He flicked on some switches and tried to turn on the engine, which crepitated but unfortunately showed no signs of revving into life. Leo lightly slapped his fist on the panel.

"Mierda," he swore, tending to only say cuss words in Spanish. He was a patient man, but even now, he was starting to wonder if he should give up. He'd been working on this project for a few months now and he still couldn't get the engine going.

Leo shook his head, refusing to concede. He believed in himself, he didn't get to where he was now for no reason, he worked extremely hard for it. He'd just have to work on it tomorrow some more, see what else needed to addressed. He was sure that soon enough, he would have this baby off the ground. Soon.

Leo came out of the back hatch, wiping his hands on a dirty rag before flinging it aside, deciding to call it a day and head home for a shower.

"How was progress, sir?" Buford asked as he walked up to Leo.

"I'll get it going," Leo promised. "Just a few tweaks I need to do and I'll get it flying. It's looking promising."

"That doesn't sound promising, sir," Buford argued.

"Oh, Buford. That's why you just stick to being the assistant and don't question the genius, yeah?" Leo asked, matching Buford's tone.

"Apologies, sir," Buford said. "Of course, you are correct."

"It's alright," Leo said. "I'm just in a bit of cranky mood. I'm gonna head home. You're gonna stay or you're gonna leave?"

"I'll stay for a bit, sir," Buford said.

Leo shrugged. "Well, it's up to you."

"Have a safe drive, sir," Buford bid. "I will see you tomorrow."

"Later, Buford!"

Buford was an interesting story. Leo had met him at a convention and had taken an instant liking to him after he praised Leo in his welcoming speech. Leo asked if he wanted to be hired by Valdez Inc. and surprisingly enough, Buford agreed to it. Ever since then, Leo has had a very trustworthy assistant to his aid.

Leo entered his own parking garage and walked up to his black Aston Martin Vantage and climbed inside before turning on the ignition, the engine purring to life. Oh, what his high school friends would have thought if he rolled up to them in one of these babies.

Leo backed out of the parking space before zooming off in his supercar.

...

What was the point of having a mansion if only you were gonna live there? Leo didn't know, but it scored him a lot of hookups and parties to host. Plus, everything was just really nice to look at.

Compared to other superstar mansions, Leo's was actually relatively smaller, considering only he lived there. Okay, maybe it wasn't that small, but compared to Drake's crib? Yeah, his place wasn't all that. It had three floors, with eight rooms (including a room strictly for gaming) and five bathrooms, an indoor basketball court, a massive swimming pool and the most important room to Leo, the room where the magic happened, his garage. Technically, it could fit up to six cars, but instead, it was just filled with projects that Leo either was currently working on or ones he had completely abandoned altogether (yes, sometimes even he had terrible ideas).

Leo was really living the lavish and privileged lifestyle he never got to live as a kid.

Even his bathroom was nice, with the shower automatically turning on as he entered it, the water softly sprinkling over him and rinsing off the grime and sweat off his body.

Once he was done, he checked himself in the mirror, feeling slight insecurities about his figure. He was relatively skinny, which made him think maybe he should've asked for a house with a gym. He had grown quite a bit since high school. He used to be 5'6" back then and now he stood at 5'10". He didn't grow much facial hair and even when he did, it didn't look good on him. Even stubbles looked weird, like they did now.

Seeing himself in the mirror was a good enough reason for him to decide to shave.

Once finished, he felt temporarily satisfied with how he looked before the sound of his fancy doorbell rang throughout the house.

Leo frowned. 'Huh, wonder who could that be?' he thought. He wasn't expecting any visitors.

"Coming!" Leo yelled as he quickly found a shirt and shorts to put on.

He strode over to the door, not expecting a surprise to be waiting for him at his door. But when he opened it, Leo stood there shocked at the sight of a familiar face that he hadn't seen in years.

'What is he doing here?' was the only thing Leo could wonder at the moment.

"Hey Leo," Jason Grace said with a nervous smile. "Long time no see."

You've never seen a character like this before, a fire user who's great with tech. Oh, wait, yes we have and his name's Leo Valdez, our second hero up to the bat. His abilities are pretty straight to the point, the ability to control fire and the ability to use his hands, like a mix between Human Torch and Tony Stark (not Iron Man, just Tony Stark). Leo is a really smart fella and this was the chance to display it, but it was also a chance to show his more sensitive side. He's also gonna be like the backbone of the team, since he's basically the one inventing things. And to cap it off, Buford and the Argo were both integrated in their own way. You'll see Festus in the next chapter, too, so look out for that.

That's all for now. Chapter 4 will be up in no time.