The Zealots travelled by plane. The storm had dissipated after Susan's last exam, as though some higher power approved of this mission.
There is no higher power, Susan chided herself. There is only us—we are the higher power.
The others – Oliver, Dani, and Alex – were ready. Besides their phones, they didn't bring much else. This wasn't a pilgrimage, where travellers had to prepare for their sacred journey and shared a special caravan of some sort; Susan wouldn't be surprised if some crazy group had travelled across the Atlantic by boat during the storm. Cultural groups were crazy, and religious groups were the worst of them.
Susan stretched upon disboarding. The jet lag fatigued her. She wanted to rush to the battle, but if the Parthenon had guards, the Zealots needed to be alert and sharp. She booked a hotel—two rooms for the four of them. The website also contained tourist-attracting photos of various Greek cultural sites, the Parthenon among them. Since most old places were connected to a religion, they'd all be gone, reduced to crumble along with the Parthenon. A twinge of regret twisted at Susan's heart, but she refused to back down. What's a few stones to the freedom of people?
The demigods weren't the only cautious ones in this war. The Zealots did their own scouting, too. Susan amassed the information on the six that formed the opposing team: Shoon Wu, daughter of Hermes, the youngest and loudest but also the fastest and trickiest; Piper McLean, son of Aphrodite, a pretty boy without any noticeable powers—Susan wasn't concerned about him; Leona Valdez, daughter of Hephaestus, a loudmouthed Spanish girl who'd fit in with the engineering students in Susan's university, with a fiery personality and fire powers that would be dangerous; Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, who would be in his element so close to the ocean; Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, whose strategy made her the de facto leader of the group—Susan was wary of her; and Jason Grace, son of Zeus, making him – according to their myths – the highest-ranking of the demigods, a prince of sorts.
Susan despised princes. Also, he seemed unstable. Already, the Zealots were outnumbered, and judging from the teenagers' conversations, they were missing a few more members: a child of Hades, a child of Ares, someone who could heal, and someone who was good at music. Susan recalled from studying Greek mythology in high school that Apollo was the god of healing and music, so she prepared for three extra enemies.
The Zealots were outnumbered, but their mission was mighty. There might only be four of them to initiate their revolution in-person, but thousands—no, millions more supported them. Surely no one had a grudge against Greece, per say, but in a war against religion, that hatred would, according to a consistency argument, extend to Greek myths.
Susan led the charge. There were only four demigods near the Parthenon, making for an easy one-on-one for the Zealots. Shoon waved a flag with a silhouette design of ten figures—but weren't there twelve Olympians? "For Greece!"
Apparently, Dani had prepared her own flag, because she waved a black-and-white-spotted cloth. "For the world!"
Leona shouted, "Greece is part of the world!"
And then the battle began.
As planned, Alex went for the firegirl. Alex Black had an uncanny power as a Zealot: he could nullify anything divine – which made for some humorous visits to Duckling churches – including demigod powers. Leona furrowed her brows and pursed her lips, but no fire appeared. "Watch out for the Goth kid!" she shouted before wrestling Alex the old-fashioned way.
Kid? We're older than you, Susan wanted to retort, but the Parthenon was becoming chaotic. There were barely any tourists around, so the demigods and the Zealots had the place all to themselves.
Percy uncapped a ballpoint pen that transformed into a sword. He charged for the most conspicuous of the Zealots: Dani, who wore neon purple and pale blue, the colours furthest from Duckling yellow and orange.
Dani retaliated with a bright yellow-and-orange parasol. She caught Susan's glare. "This is the only umbrella I have!"
Oliver wielded a giant multi-coloured pen; each colour ink corresponded to a different element. He pushed down on the red cartridge, setting Shoon's string trap on fire.
"Damn," Shoon blurted as she cut the string.
Before it could fall, Oliver switched to the blue cartridge, freezing the string on icy legs. The fire over the ice created a spectacular display for a second before the fire melted the ice and doused itself.
"Percy!" Shoon called out.
"A little busy at the moment, Shoon."
"Water!"
"Cover for me!"
Percy turned his back to Dani, trusting Shoon to speed to his side. Shoon raced toward Dani before the Zealot could stab Percy with the bladed tip of her parasol. Shoon coiled string around the weapon, but Dani ripped through the trap by opening her parasol and twirling it, casting the fragments of string aside.
Percy manipulated the water into a giant whirlpool. Oliver sighed, a hand over the black cartridge of his broadsword-sized pen weapon. "I really didn't want to have to use this."
He pushed the deadly black button. Ink shot out in a violent stream. Whatever it touched dissolved; the whirlpool became mist that concealed Susan as she enacted her part of the plan. She climbed onto the top of the Parthenon, where her own power would be strongest.
Annabeth was waiting for her at the top. Her long blonde curls blew in the wind. The rainstorm was over, but another storm was brewing. "Your mission," Annabeth said, "is doomed. I won't let you destroy this temple."
Susan sneered. "Because it's dedicated to your precious mommy?"
"Actually, no. Athena and I aren't really close. Not that it's any of your business, but few demigods are even on speaking terms with their godly parents."
"Yet you worship them anyway."
"Also false." Annabeth smirked. She was obnoxiously pretty—Susan hated her. "You can't worship someone you don't respect or fear."
With those words, Susan's power wavered. The Zealots' supporters were wavering. Her knees almost buckled; she held her ground, digging her heels into the stone. "Then why? Why do you fight for them?"
"This isn't for them. This is for us, and so many people like us—and even people who aren't like us. Everyone believes in something, and it's wrong to take that away from them. Beliefs form culture, and culture creates an experience unique to our species. It makes us human."
The last of Susan's supporters abandoned her. They'd come back eventually, forgetting Annabeth's words and remembering their anger, but for now, Susan had only her own strength to rely on.
She yelled with a rage that surrounded her fist, which she plunged down toward the Parthenon.