Chapter 17

Things Get Serious

At the Institute

"Mystique" Dean said with anger in his voice.

"Yes, that's a smart boy" Mystique said mockingly.

"What have you done to her?" Dean demanded to know.

"I told you I always get what I want, oh and I haven't done anything besides kidnap her…yet" Mystique said ominously.

"Don't you dare harm her!" Dean shouted.

At this point Jean had already contacted the Professor to come and see the commotion and was now with the rest of the crowd listening to the conversation.

Mystique chuckled, "Oh don't you worry now boy, I won't hurt her as long as you do as I say"

Dean clenched his fist tightly, "What do you want?" he said in the calmest manner he could manage, which isn't very much.

"This is what you're going to do. Tomorrow at one o'clock you will come to the Brotherhood Boarding House where you will join my team and our cause, if you don't you can say goodbye to your dear mother" Mystique said with all seriousness.

"Understood" Dean said concealing his rage.

"Good, then I'll see you tomorrow" Mystique said before she hung up.

Dean hung up the phone. In his mind he was reliving the feelings he had when he was forced to do Strucker's bidding. He clenched his fists and his whole body started shacking from the frenzy that was going through his mind.

Charles could guess most the situation, "Dean I—" he went to calm him down but stopped mid-sentence.

'No. Someone using my family against me is one time too many. I'm not a weak defenseless kid anymore, and I won't let anyone take my mother away from me. NEVER AGAIN!' Dean thought.

Everyone in the room was now staring at Dean.

Every couple of seconds golden lightning would spark around Dean's body.

"Dean look" Jean said pointing at him.

Dean looked down and noticed the lightning sparking around him.

Dean snapped out of his rage as he realized what his body was doing. The lightning then seized to emerge.

Dean didn't know what that was about but he's going to find out, right after he gets his mother back.

"I have no choice" Dean said reluctantly.

"That's not true. We can rescue her—"Scott was cut off.

"No Scott!" Dean said glaring at him, "This is my problem, and I have to handle it" he went upstairs.

Jean ran after him, she caught him in the hallway, "Dean wait"

Dean stopped but didn't face her, "What is it?"

"I…I don't know what to say" Jean said.

"Don't, you don't have to say anything" Dean said.

"We never meant for this to happen, honestly, Mystique never tried something like this on anyone before" Jean said.

Dean leaned on the wall and stared at the ground, "I guess that makes me special"

Jean lifted his face so they would be eye to eye. This was the first time Dean ever showed weakness to someone here, Jean could see in his eyes that he was vulnerable.

"You helped me see the truth about Duncan. That means a lot to me, you can talk to me about anything" Jean said.

Dean sighed, "I'll be fine, and I've learned to live with worse"

As he went to enter his room Jean wrapped her arms around him, "Be strong"

At the Boarding House

Mystique hung up the phone and looked at Dean's mother smiling, "It's the simple things in life"

Agalia glared at her, "I'm warning you, you are making the biggest mistake of your life"

Mystique laughed, "The biggest mistake of my life? This might be the best thing I ever did. With your son at my side, my Brotherhood will swat the X-men like flies"

Agalia snorted, "Just remember I warned you. You might not live to regret this stupid decision of yours"

"Don't you get it? Your son can't do anything about it, he can't even touch me. Cause if he does, you die. If he fails to cooperate, you die. If he tries to rescue you, you die. If by some miracle he somehow manages to kill me. You. Die" Mystique said.

"Who's going to kill me when you're gone? Your pathetic little lackeys?" Agalia asked.

Mystique frowned at the thought of her Brotherhood screwing it up, again. She put tape over Agalia's mouth so she didn't have to hear her bickering anymore, "TOAD!" Mystique yelled.

Toad came hopping up the stairs and into the room, "Wassup yo"

"I want you to watch her while I'm gone" Mystique said.

"But why do I gotta do it yo?" Toad complained.

"Because I said so! Now here's what you're going to do, every four hours you're going to switch shifts in watching her with someone else except me, do you understand Toad?" Mystique said in a mocking tone.

Toad nodded, "Yeah, I got it"

"Good, now don't disturb me. I have some planning to do" Mystique said as she walked out.

"Punk ass bitch" Toad muttered.

Mystique turned around, "What was that!"

"Um, I said I won't snitch" Toad said in fear.

"That's what I thought" Mystique turned around and walked out.

Toad stuck his tongue at her.

Downstairs Fred, Lance, and Pietro were sitting in the living room while watching TV.

"Ah man why does he have to come with us?" Fred complained about Dean coming to join them.

"Because he took whatever we threw at him and still fought back" Lance explaining the logic behind it.

"Oh check out Mr. Smart over here, like we didn't know that" Pietro said mockingly.

Lance glared at Pietro, "Well Blob didn't know so I explained it, you gotta problem with that?" he replied with a threatening tone.

"Yeah I gotta problem with that. I'm starting to think you actually think highly of this guy" Pietro said referring to Dean.

"I don't think highly of him, I'm just admitting that he's good. No matter how hard it is to believe that" Lance said with a tint of resentment towards the beating they got at the hands of Dean.

"That's another thing, how does he have so many abilities? I mean he can keep up with Blob's strength and he actually managed to touch me. He managed to touch me! Nobody without super speed can do that" Pietro ranted.

"Well whatever his mutant power lets him do, I've got a score to settle with him. We all do, so when he gets here I suggest some payback. What do you guys think?" Lance asked.

"Yeah" Pietro and Fred say in unison without noticing it.

At the institute

Dean had been in his room ever since the phone call, thinking about what he was going to do in a few hours.

This will probably be the toughest thing he has ever had to do. He was going to have to betray his newfound friends and allies in order to keep his mother alive.

Dean reached inside his shirt and took out his silver cross. The one his father got him many years ago. It always reminded him how much he loved both his parents, and that he would do anything for them.

Dean had called Eli earlier to make sure at least he was alright. He was, but barely. His father didn't know what to think when he was smacked by a guerilla apparently.

Dean assured him everything was alright and explained to him what he was going to do. His father agreed 100% that there was no other way to settle this little problem of theirs. He trusted his son to do the right thing or the just thing depending on how you look at it.

Dean took a second to look at his silver cross, 'Why is this happening to me again?'

All of a sudden he heard a knock on his door.

"Who is it?" Dean asked.

"It's Rogue" he heard from outside the door.

Dean sighed, "Come in"

Rogue walked in and closed the door behind her, "I guess this is a bad time to get back at you for tickling me huh?" she asked with a tiny smile trying to lighten up the mood.

Dean would have smiled and made a comeback if he wasn't already furious.

He turned his head and Rogue could see the sadness deep in his expressive blue eyes.

"Are you alright?" Rogue asked and got an annoyed look from Dean, "Dumb question," she said while she mentally cringed at herself.

"I still wanna use Mystique as a punching bag if that answers your question" Dean said.

"Yeah I know what you mean, I have my own issues with Mystique" Rogue said reluctantly.

"Hmm, what did she do to you?" Dean asked showing no emotion.

Rogue sat on the bed next to him, "She used me because she saw me as a weapon that she could use against the Professor. She impersonated some of the X-men and tried to attack me. I thought that they were the enemy so I ended up joining up with Mystique, but after I figured out her lies I took a piece of her mind. If you know what I mean" She said pointing to her hand.

Dean nodded, "It seems like we have something in common, memory lane is not that fun to visit"

"Well I hope you start to feel better" Rogue said.

Dean got up and walked over to his window, "Sorry Rogue, the only thing that'll make me feel better is my mother being safe or Mystique's head at the end of my blade" He said with anger.

Rogue understood why he was like this, she was the same way when Mystique used her. What she can't get is why Dean is acting so…out of character. She thought that the minute he hung up the phone he would have been out the door, 'He probably doesn't want to take any chances, I wouldn't' she thought.

Rogue walked over to him and embraced him tightly. She rested her head on his broad chest but making sure not to touch him in the process. He returned with his own embrace also making sure not to touch her directly.

She felt the warmth of his body, it was soothing. Rogue listened carefully to his heartbeat, it was slow and steady.

Rogue realized what she was doing and decided to end it before she was tempted to go further, "I should go now" She said backing away a little from Dean.

"I'll see you tomorrow then" Dean said as he turned to face the window again.

A little later at the Boarding House

It was a very quiet night, one of those nights that would be perfect to watch a horror movie.

Upstairs was Fred watching Agalia.

Toad had switched with him about two hours ago and was now sleeping. He woke up to a familiar feeling, he had to go to the bathroom.

Toad got up and walked to the bathroom. He tried to open the door but found it to be locked.

"Occupied" Lance said.

"Ah c'mon Lance, I gotta go. Just let me in for a second" Toad said.

"No way Toad, I'm gonna be awhile. Go outside and take care of it" Lance said.

Toad hopped his way outside, "This some bullshit yo, we need a second bathroom in this damn house" He stopped and looked around to see if anybody was around.

Nobody, "Finally some peace" Toad unzipped his pants and took care of business.

All of a sudden something really hard hit him over the head knocking him out cold.

Inside the house, Pietro was sleeping.

Probably dreaming of the day he could finally stand by his father's side. His father, Magneto, the master of magnetism and one of the most powerful mutants on the planet. His father's expectations were always too high and complicated for him to fill.

Or perhaps he was having a nightmare about his sister, Wanda, where she came back for revenge. Nah, nobody would ever release her from that mental institution, who would be stupid enough to do that?

Pietro suddenly felt a hand wrap around his mouth and nose preventing him from breathing, he tried to break free but to no avail. Before he could do anything he was out cold.

Lance finally finished in the bathroom. He walked out looking dead tired when all of a sudden something really hard hit him in the back of his head knocking him out.

Fred was upstairs sitting while watching Agalia. He was falling in and out of slumber, he suddenly thought he heard something so he woke up only for something to hit him really hard at the back of the head resulting in him falling face first to the ground with a Thud!

Mystique had been pacing back and forth for hours tirelessly. She expected the boy to have showed up by now with his X-men allies to try and negotiate for his mother, this might be easier than she thought it would be.

All of a sudden Mystique heard a Thud in the next door room. She made her way into the room where Agalia was being held and she spotted Blob lying on the floor.

'That buffoon can't even stay awake for four hours. Maybe it's time for someone else to keep watch, its Avalanche's turn soon anyways so he might as well switch now' Mystique thought to herself as she headed for the staircase.

She heard something behind her and turned around, prepared for someone to attack, but found nothing, 'must have been the wind'

Mystique turned around only for a foot to hit her hard in the face knocking her down.

Mystique suddenly felt something sharp pointing at her stomach and against her throat. She looked for the figure with the blades in his hands and recognized his face, "You!" she said with fear in her voice.

At the institute

Logan had checked a few hours ago to make sure everyone was in bed as usual. But today he wanted to make sure nobody went rogue on them and tried to do something drastic.

He really hadn't expected Dean to react the way he did. I mean he was mad of course but he expected something totally different. Like for Dean to run off to go get his revenge. Thankfully he didn't because it would have been hard to stop him.

Logan came to a stop outside Dean's room and opened the door to check if he was still there. He seemed to be in bed, Logan went to close the door but noticed something. Dean's scent, it was kind of weak. Like he's been gone for a while.

Logan went up to Dean's bed and removed the sheets to find a couple of pillows stacked together to form a fake body lump.

Logan's eyes widened at the realization of what happened, "CHUCK!" he yelled hoping to wake up everybody in the process.

At the Boarding House

"You!" Mystique said to the young man with his blade at her throat, "How did you get in here unnoticed?"

"You have terrible recruits, but that's not something you should worry about right now!" Dean slashed with his blades.

Mystique rolled back and onto her feet, "You're a fool to come here alone"

"I beg to differ" Dean charged forward.

Mystique morphed into a tall dark grizzly bear and swiped with its talons.

Dean stabbed right through the beast's hand.

The bear cried out in pain.

Dean removed the blade and ran past her side slicing the beast's ribcage.

The bear morphed back into Mystique who was bleeding. She went to get back up but Dean kicked her in the face, "Don't get up!" he placed his gladius right by her throat and pushed her against the wall to keep her from moving.

"I surrender, take her and leave" Mystique said trembling.

Dean's eyes were bloodshot and his expression would put fear into any man.

"No, I'm not finished with you yet!" Dean punched her in the face while he still held his blade, "You think you can just take what you want? Is that it?!"

Mystique looked frightened, "What're you doing? You can't do anything to me Xavier doesn't—"

Dean looked like he was about to lose it.

"So? You think I care?!" Dean shouted, "You were willing to kill my mother like her life meant nothing to you, so why should I treat you any different?!" Dean shouted as he went to plunge his sword through her stomach.

Mystique trembled in fear from what the boy was about to do.

'Stop!' Dean suddenly heard the voice making him freeze, "Dean stop!" his mother shouted.

Dean looked back at his mother.

"Don't" Agalia said with a sad face.

Dean got up and cut the ropes binding her, "Why? She'll just do more harm to others"

"I don't want you to go down to her level. You're better than that" Agalia said.

Dean squeezed the handle of his sword in anger. He wanted to do it…she deserved it…but his mother was right. He didn't want to continue down the path Strucker put him on.

Dean slowly walked over to Mystique who was still frozen and placed the tip of his blade at her throat, "Now listen carefully. If you ever do anything to my family again, I will find you. I will hunt you down, and next time there won't be anyone there to save you" He said with the outmost hatred in his eyes that made Mystique shiver.

"Let's go ma" Dean said walking out with her.

At the institute

"I can't believe I let him sneak out" Logan said putting one of his boots on while hopping towards the front door.

Charles was rolling right behind him, "You couldn't have foreseen this, none of us could. What matters now is making sure Dean is safe" He said stopping by the front door where everyone else was ready to go.

"Alright Professor, is everyone ready?" Scott asked.

"I believe we—"the doorbell rang.

Everyone looked to the door wondering who it could be at this hour.

"Logan would you please" Charles asked.

Logan opened the front door only to find the last people they were expecting.

Dean and Agalia.

"Took you long enough to figure it out" Dean said sounding disappointed.

"Ms. Nobili are you alright?" Charles asked.

"A little shaken up but in one piece" Agalia kissed Dean on the cheek, "Thanks to my little boy"

Evan and Kurt snickered.

Dean looked embarrassed, "Ma, not here" he whispered, "Professor my mother's going to need a ride home"

"I'll take care of that" Logan said.

Later on Dean decided to get some fresh air outside. It was night time and the full moon was shining brightly.

He slowly made his way outside carefully not alerting the others so no one bothered him. He entered the woods and stopped after leaving a good distance between him and the institute.

Now would be a good time as any to try and speak to the voice.

'Reveal yourself!' Dean mentally shouted trying to get the attention of the voice.

There was no answer.

'I know you can hear me!' Dean thought.

'You're a persistent one' the voice spoke.

'Who are you?' Dean asked.

'Pater' the voice said.

It said that word before but he never heard it before. Yet somehow he was able to understand it, 'Pater…that's Latin for…..father…you're my father? But who are you? And how can you talk to me like this?'

'Demigods have strong bonds with their parents' the voice said.

'Demigods? But…' Dean looked at his hands, 'The lightning from before, you're…'

'I am Zeus, King of the gods and lord of the sky'

'This is crazy, I think I'm going insane' Dean thought.

'How else do you explain your natural battle instincts? The reason why no one knows what you are? Why there's a part of you that's not human?' Zeus asked.

Dean felt confused, 'Let's say I believe you. What do you want from me? Why come to me now?'

'In the near future an ancient foe will rise from his slumber and bring forth the earth's demise. I have foreseen this and it must be stopped at all costs, and in order to stop it I need a worthy champion capable of carrying out this task. Gods cannot interfere with human affairs, at least not directly. I need a strong champion who is up to the task'

'And you want me to be your champion?' Dean asked.

'Two sons of Zeus exist, and only one can be my champion. If you accept, then when the time is right I will test you by undergoing trials of my choosing in order for you to prove to me that you are worthy of this task. Whoever succeeds will be my champion and I will personally train them to complete the process, then and only then will you be ready to take on your biggest challenge' Zeus said.

'I have a brother?' Dean asked.

'Yes' Zeus confirmed.

'And we're both competing against each other?' Dean asked.

'It may seem strange but it's the only way to know who is worthy enough to be my champion' Zeus said.

'Can I at least meet him? Where is he?' Dean asked.

'I think it's best the two of you do not meet' Zeus said.

Dean could tell his father was hiding something from him. Meeting his brother would probably be beneficial, there must be a reason Zeus would keep them apart.

'You're hiding something' Dean plainly said.

'That is of no consequence. Now what is your answer?' Zeus asked.

'If I do this, do I gain anything else besides training with you?' Dean asked.

'In time you will be rewarded, yes' Zeus confirmed.

Dean didn't have much choice, save the world or not, 'I accept your offer. Now when do these trials begin?'

'They will begin when you learn to utilize all your abilities. Go to Montauk Long Island, there you will find a place to hone your skills. For now I leave you with these boy' he said as a thunderbolt struck the ground in front of him temporarily blinding him.

Dean waited till the scorched ground cleared up so he could see what the hell just happened.

The smoke cleared and Dean spotted what seemed to be metal gauntlets? He took a closer look and picked them up. The light metal shone in the moonlight and he also spotted yellow thunderbolts on each side of them.

"I'm guessing that you won't tell me how to use them so I can keep myself busy?" Dean said out loud but with no answer, "That's what I thought"

Dean checked them out, 'I wonder how you put them on' he thought trying to find a way to open them.

Suddenly the gauntlets turned into liquid and wrapped around his wrists and returned to their original form.

'I don't know whether to geek out or freak out' Dean thought.

Sparta, Greece

A young man knelt as he listened to his father Zeus speak to him. If he stood he would mirror Dean's exact shape and size.

He was bald with a hardened face. He had a red tattoo that began over his left eye and swirled over his chest and down his left arm. He wore black cargo pants and black combat boots. His torso was bare revealing his rippling muscles.

"I will do whatever it takes father" He spoke with the outmost respect in his voice.

'Very good. Take these for your journey' Zeus said and a thunderbolt struck the ground in front of him.

The young man looked at what was presented before him.

Two small short swords with brown leather grips, celestial bronze hilts, and thick adamantine blades.

"Thank you father" the young man expressed his gratitude.

'Farewell Kratos' Zeus said.

Kratos lifted the blades and stood on his feet. He must get stronger for the coming battle. And somewhere out there he had a brother he never met, perhaps it's time they did.

Author's note: (Insert God of war theme) DUN DUNUNA! Ok, finally got to the greek mythology part. Now, some of you may be skeptical about Kratos and how he'll fit in this story. But honestly, every protagonist needs a good rival to push him to his limits, and I can't think of anyone more suitable for that role than the ghost of sparta. Next Chapter we'll see how Dean's teammates react to these news and his first visit to Camp Half-blood, till next time!