The next morning…
Location: Kian's Apartment, Lower Manhatten, New York.
Date: 21st of July 2010
Time: Around 8 AM
Kian's POV
"20 more reps!"
"I'm trying as hard as I can!" I replied to my AI. "I shouldn't even be doing this without a watcher!"
"I mean you could call on-"
"Nope. Not doing that!" I replied sharply. I struggled to lift the heavy barbell in front of me, probably because I've been doing this for the past 2 hours, along with other gruelling exercises.
"Not even a little bit?" My AI asked me.
"Not. Even. A little," I said as I pulled the heavy bar down.
My AI sighed. "Alright."
I carried on lifting the heavy dumbells as I thought to myself, Fall Out Boy playing in the background as I tried to complete this tough workout. It had been almost a year since I came here, trying to resume a normal life as well as I could. It was working so far, but of course, she had to come here!
But at least my friends would be safe this time.
If I recalled correctly, my friends were in Asgard which also brought back another memory of when I visited the place after another adventure. My friends and I got a few items from there. Milena got a pair of gloves, Chris got a huge Hammer, and...I got a piece of Thor's hair. Somehow, it awakened a dormant power inside me, the power of air and storms, you know, standard thunder god stuff. I was told this and didn't believe it until I tried it.
"2 More Reps!" Scars announced loudly snapping me out of my thoughts. I struggled to lift the heavy barbell and squeezed out the last two, propping it on the anti-gravity holders as soon as I was finished.
I laid back on the bench and breathed heavily, relaxing my very tired arms. After I was done, I got up and waved my hands about, feeling my muscles breath a sigh of relief and flooded them with cosmic power, letting my body heal as quick as possible. I wiped my sweat-drenched hair from my face. "How was that?"
"500 reps done in about an hour. Pretty good." Scars replied. "You were lifting almost 50 tons too."
"If I didn't have these anti-gravity generators, the person on the bottom of the flat would be very angry with me," I said chuckling to myself. "I've always had to restrain myself in here, trying to live in a world of normals while I'm superhuman. It felt so good when I fought against Ares like I could release all that coiled energy. "
"You did always have a love of battle!" Scars laughed.
"I've got to take a shower. Let me know if something happens okay?" I got up and headed to my bathroom.
"Of course!"
A couple of hours later...
"Any news?" I asked my AI
"Not really," he shrugged. "Just take-aways, bills and voucher codes you know?"
I sighed. "You know, I was expecting something to happen. But I guess it's a lot boring now."
"Oh wait, there was something." My AI perked up. "The couple from next door left a message."
"What did they say?"
"They just told you to look after there daughter. They're gone for the weekend so they told you to keep an eye on her."
I sighed. "All the power in the world and I have to act as a babysitter."
"You could always join your friends you know," my AI asked me. "Do you miss the action?"
"Of course I miss it. But I just want to be normal, nothing over the top. I just want to live like a regular teenager but I guess that won't happen now. I've given up my innocence, my childhood naivety to gain the power I have now. If I had a choice, I wouldn't do it but that's not up to me. As a Hero, I have to put the needs of others above my own," I dried my hair and teleported it to my towel rack and soon walked into the kitchen where I poured myself a bowl of cereal and then sat in front of the TV, trying to alleviate some of the boredom.
After a while of switching between channels, I managed to settle on one: A news report about what happened to Tony Stark earlier this year. Cue the gasps from readers!
The news report was going on what happened in the Stark Expo, you know, the whole battle against Vanko. As the news presenter talked about what happened, I chuckled to myself and leaned forward. "I guess you had to get into the superhero life, don't you Uncle Tony?"
And before anyone asks, Tony Stark is a family friend of ours.
Cue another set of gasps from the audience!
Harry and his family had links to him and as such, the two of us met him every time we went to the States. He was pretty cool and he always let me play with his toys and-
RING RING!
I glanced to my phone and after looking at the screen, I picked up. "Hey, Tony?"
"Hey Kid, I was beginning to think you might not return the call,'' Tony said. I could hear mechanical whirring in the background, most likely done through his 'assistants'.
"No, I'm still here, so, what are you working on, a new suit?"
"You heard that. Oh yeah, forgot you have a good set of ears, if they grow any bigger we might have to call you Dumbo!"
"Very funny," I chuckled. "So, how you holding up after the whole Vanko incident?"
"I could do better. I've made some new improvements to the arc reactor now. No palladium poisoning," Tony explained. "So what about Harry, does he need a new reactor?"
"Just send it to him by post"
"If I didn't know you any better, I think you might be joking. Can't you teleport?"
"Oh, yeah. Forgot that was a thing," I deadpanned. "I'll come over there in a bit. I need some fresh air."
After hearing him agree to what I said, I cut the call and got myself dressed in no time, arriving in the living room as soon as I finished. I should have been more careful because I felt a gust of wind in the room, meaning I was travelling a bit faster than normal. I changed from my pyjamas to a white shirt and blue jeans, red trainers.
"Scars, make sure my home is safe okay?" I asked it
"Funny. It's not like I can be in two places at once," Scars chuckled. As he did, I felt my watch buzz and saw him appear on my watch face, ready to talk to me at any moment.
Choosing to not comment any further, I grabbed a black jacket and exited my house, making sure it was locked behind me and stepped into the balcony. As I held the railing, I let the fresh air hit my face and automatically I felt relaxed.
"Nice day isn't it?"
I heard a feminine voice and turned sharply to see a young girl smiling at me. She wore red trousers and a green shirt which contrasted her sharp red hair and amplified her green eyes. In fact, seeing her made me freeze up momentarily but I reassured myself, knowing that it wasn't her in front of and it was just another person.
"Oh, it's you, Olivia," I replied, knowing that she was the only daughter of the middle-aged couple next door. "What's up?"
She chuckled and pointed at me. "I'm going to have a party and you're invited!"
"Party huh?" I raised an eyebrow.
She nodded and strolled over to me. "Since mom and dad are out, I'm going to have a fun night and with you around, I can tell my friends that a hot British guy lives right next to me!"
I chuckled nervously. "Are you throwing it just to get me a date?"
She shook her head. "Of course I'm not! School just ended so we're just unwinding you know. I thought you might like meeting new people, I rarely see you come out of your house."
"Except when your parents called me to have dinner?"
"Well yeah, except that," she agreed. She moved up close making me nervous slightly. "Your a really hard person to read. There's something...mysterious about you."
"Uh-huh."
"Which will make my girlfriends go crazy for you." she smiled so hard that she nearly blinded me.
I chuckled and started walking away to her annoyance. "Hey!" she protested. "Where do you think you going?!"
"I'm going to see a friend. Do me a favour and try not to consume any alcohol during that party. I don't want to take you to AE to get your stomach pumped okay." I said. "Your parents will have my head if that happened."
"Sure I will," she said in a sweet singsong voice. "Have fun Kian!"
Location: Malibu, California. Tony Stark's Lab
Time: 10:20AM
I teleported myself to Tony's lab and almost gave him a heart attack as he recoiled. "Ah, Jesus!"
"No, it's just Kian." I quipped. "What's up Tony?"
He rolled his eyes but he seemed slightly impressed. "Not anything major. Just doing some renovating, a quick spring clean every now keeps my workshop fresh. What do you think, is it still 'cool' enough for you?"
"Well, it doesn't look like anything has changed since I came here as a kid," I looked around and saw suits of armour, all of them custom-built and all running a bit of damage from their battles. The Mark 3 and 4 armours shelved because of said reason. "You know, Tony. Someday, Harry wants a lab this size, won't give up until he gets one and it's been driving all of us mad."
Tony laughed. "He can always ask me, I'll be happy to follow me around."
"He'll leave as soon as you get annoying." I quipped. "So, what did you want to tell me about a new arc reactor?"
Tony gestured to me to follow and that "I built it from dad's designs. He was studying something called the Tesseract."
Carol, me and the Stark Family, that blue cube does have some history on Earth.
"Back when Dad was searching for his old buddy, he fished out of the ocean and from what I know, it's with SHIELD, studying it of course. " Tony continued. "And from that, I've made this." he pointed to his chest. "This little electromagnet, it's keeping me alive, stops the shrapnel from reaching inside my heart."
"Why don't you take it out? You know you don't have to walk with a small nuclear reactor in your chest?" I asked, curious to know his answer
"Technically it's an electromagnet but it's...you know..a part of me now. It's like a reminder of the stress I have to carry with being a superhero now", Tony explained as he tapped the arc reactor. "I guess I shouldn't be complaining when you've suffered much worse than I?"
"Yeah, this whole superhero business, it's not all it's cracked up to be." I agreed.
"So, how are the rest of your friends doing? Do you talk with them after-"
"Yeah, we do." I cut him off quickly. "Every te I get some free time."
"Obviously. So, you wanna help me make a new armour?" Tony walked to his station. "It might make your Superman costume look like a child's toy."
I laughed. "It's just protective equipment, Tony. It's not meant to be like yours. Harry's costume is of course but that's because of you."
"Oh, I know. That little assistant of yours doesn't compare to Jarvis"
"Hey, say that again Goatee!" Scars buzzed to life, taking both of us by surprise
Tony looked surprised at my AI's interjection. He frowned before he looked at his ceiling. "Hey, Jarvis, you want a friend to play with?"
"After seeing your work, that would be nice," Jarvis replied. "Hello old friend"
"Hey, Jarvis, my man, how are you doing?" my AI asked cheerily
"I'm splendid, updating my databases."
"Really? I thought you would be doing stuff you know? Maybe enjoying your downtime, surfing the web?"
"No, still here helping Mr Stark"
"Kina, why does your AI have an American Accent and mine a British Accent?" Tony asked. "I'm not a poet but I like the duality"
"Harry thought it might be funny. So can-"
RING RING
I glanced at my watch face to see Annabeth calling me again which meant that was my cue to leave.
"Who's that, a friend?", Tony asked.
I nodded. "Yeah. I'm going to have to go, it's been nice talking to you."
"Aw, we were getting into armour comparisons!" Scars replied
"You do realise that my armour is nowhere near his right?" I questioned my AI. "I already have enough superpowers, it's just a suit!"
"See ya, Kian. I'll ask Happy to send the designs to Harry, I know he's the tech expert in your group," Tony explained, hand already on a spanner.
"Yeah, he's a better engineer than me, that's for sure," I replied. "See ya, Tony. Try not to get into any fights okay, I don't want to see you hurt too."
"Bye, have fun Kid."
Location: Camp Half-Blood, Long Island, New York
Time: Around 11 AM
Weather: Clear and Sunny skies
I teleported to the front of Camp Half-Blood. Clear Azure blue skies streaked the heavens, not a cloud in sight as I looked up. The winds were cool and refreshing as it rippled my hair. Everything I saw was painted with the golden light of the sun.
To enjoy this sunny weather, I changed my outfit and now I was dressed in a blue sleeveless shirt and denim shorts, pairing it with white trainers too. Gotta keep cool during this hot weather, you know? I did grow up in the UK so sunny weather was welcome from the gloomy grey clouds that usually roamed overhead
Anyway, I glanced to see Annabeth and Percy both near the entrance. They were dressed in orange shirts and blue jean shorts. Guess I wasn't the only one who was trying to keep cool in this nice weather
"Hey guys, I got your call," I replied. "What's up?"
"Percy told me, how you said you would train him?" Annabeth asked curiously, one hand on the knife. "You agreed?"
"Nothing wrong with wanting some help." I shrugged. "So, where do you want to do it? I would do it right here but I don't think using swords in public is safe for the others."
"The Sword Training Arena," Percy stated and pointed to said Arena. "It's where a we-well train with swords. It's self-explanatory."
I chuckled. "I thought you would come up with cooler names. Greek Heroes all have cool names. Achilles, Hercules, Perseus. That's just a few!"
"Oh yeah?" Annabeth crossed her arms. "What would you come up with?"
"How about Crucible?"
Annabeth shrugged and wiped a strand of hair from her face. "Fair enough. Well, from seeing you in that battle against Ares, you must know your way around with a sword?"
Percy agreed with his girlfriend. "Yeah, that arm blade you did was cool!"
"Thanks guys." I turned to Percy. "So, do you want to start then? I can go through the basics if you want me to."
Percy shook his head. "No, it's okay. Luke-" his eyes seemed to flash with regret and sadness before it faded "-when I came into Camp Half-Blood, when I was yet to be claimed, he trained me on how to use a sword."
"I see. Luke was the same person who let Kronos possess him, right?" I asked. "Alveus told me about that and I'm sorry for your loss. I-I-You have my condolences."
"Thanks, Kian," Annabeth stated. "If you knew about him, why didn't you come and help us?"
Percy agreed. "Why didn't you?"
"I only learned about the war you guys fought after it happened. When I learned about what you guys did, I was shocked that so many kids died and I wasn't there to help you. If I could somehow, I would have time-travelled and saved everyone who died." I stated. "According to Alveus, I wasn't supposed to interfere with that. Fate and all."
Annabeth dropped her arms from her chest. "I see. Well, I think we've spent enough time chatting. Let's get to training Percy then."
"Wait, Annabeth. Just one question. Why do you guys have a combat arena? Do you have it for PE lessons or?" I asked her. "I mean, I think sparring with swords is a bit much for a camp don't you think?"
"Kian?" Annabeth asked me. "How much do you know about demigods?"
"Well, one half is human, one half is greek god. Depending on your parent you go into a Cabin. Alveus didn't tell me much about you guys, he only told me about the Olympians." I explained. "Why? Is there something I should know?"
"Well, demigods train so that they can defend themselves when faced against Monsters."
"Like the Minotaur? Yeah, that sounds tough but once you killed it, it won't bother you again."
"If it were only that easy," Percy stated. "Kian, monsters don't die like you think they do. Once they've been killed, their essence is sent back to Tartarus where they regenerate. Sometimes it takes weeks, months or even years but they'll come back."
"And when you're a demigod, all they do is hunt you down over and over again." Annabeth finished.
"Are you serious?!" I asked her.
"We wish we were." Percy shrugged. "But that's just the story of our lives."
"Jesus, I never knew that!" I said alarmed. "Can't people see monsters running around?"
"It's covered up the Mist, a veil that separates the greek world from the world from mortals," Annabeth explained. "Only demigods, clear-sighted humans can see through it."
"I see. I'm sorry, I should have asked Alveus for more information." I apologised.
"Kian?" Percy asked. "Do you guys-I mean angels have a mist? And monsters?"
"We don't. If an Angel wanted to erase our presence, we could erase it from the minds of humans through our telepathic ability," I explained. "And monsters, that's something else entirely. Sometimes it's smaller demons, aliens with special abilities or in some cases, other angels."
"So angels can see through the Mist?" Annabeth asked me.
"I never really knew about that until recently. I've never seen a Greek Monster running around, and I didn't even know what to look out for either," I replied. "But that may be because I lived over the Atlantic for most of my life. Even when I was here on holiday, I never saw a Greek Monster just prancing around New York."
"Right," Annabeth shuffled in place. "I think we've spent enough time chatting."
"Wait!" Percy said suddenly. "Kian, have you ever gone to Hell?"
I recoiled slightly and Percy noticed, his awe and wonder now replaced with embarrassment. "I meant like-"
"It's okay, I knew what you meant." I raised my hand to stop him.
"So have you?" Annabeth asked me.
~~The field of dead bodies surrounded me~~
~~Weapons and equipment scattered along the battlefield. Hands and face covered with the blood of the dead in the horrific battle~~
~~ My knees against the ground, clad in armour as I stared up at the blood-red skies~~
~~The stench of rotting corpses and death filling up my nose as I screamed for who knows how long~~
"No, not really," I said with a wide smile. "Now are we really done here or do I need to get something to eat?"
"We're done chatting." Annabeth agreed. "Do you need a sword? We can get one if you don't want to create one from your hand."
"There's no need for that. I have a sword." I imagined my spear and using my space powers, summoned it into my hands. The said weapon appeared in a flash of blue light and my right hand across the leather grip. Since I wanted it in sword form, I willed it to be so and in my hands was now a sword instead of the spear.
"Wow!" Percy said as he glanced at my sword. "That's cool!"
"Thanks, Percy. This used to belong to my Dad before he gave it to me."
"Mine too!"
The blade of the sword was around half of me. I'm around 1.90m (around 6ft 2in) so do with that what you will. The blade itself was a deep and vibrant scarlet-red with black markings on it. It had a crossguard resembling a pair of black metallic angel wings over the grip. It was pretty cool if you asked me. In my hands, it felt light and easy to use as I swung it around, humming like a lightsaber as it sliced through the air.
(A/N: When in sword form, it looks like the Demon Dweller Sword from Black Clover, but the blade is a Scarlet Red and the crossguard resembles that of Angel wings. When in Spear Form, it looks like Gae Bolg from Fate/Stay Night: UBW, the Spear Lancer used in the show.)
"Guess it's my turn then," Percy pulled out a ballpoint pen
"Your taking the quote 'The pen is mightier than the sword' quite literally'. Stop messing around and bring your actual sword." I quipped
As I did, Percy took off the cap and the pen turned into a shiny bronze blade, approximately half the size of him, complete with a trident symbol near the middle of the hilt. "Good thing I've got both!" he said triumphantly.
I whistled in appreciation. "Well, consider me impressed!"
Location: Sword Training Arena
Time: Around 11:10 AM
"Kian, your sword, what's it called?"
"What was that?" I looked around, taking in the sights of the arena. It was like a stadium but the floor was filled with soft grass and there were straw dummies scattered all over the place, probably used as practice dummies for someone who wanted to have a go at hacking it to bits. I looked back to Percy and saw that he and his girlfriend were strapped up in armour. I didn't bother with the armour since their weapons would pass through me.
"Before I tell you that, I want to ask you something. What do you know about Satan?"
"Well," Annabeth started. "He's supposed to be like all the source of evil in the world right? He's like Tartarus."
"...Not her too!..."
"Tartar sauce?" I raised my eyebrow. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Tartarus, not Tatar Sauce," Annabeth corrected. "It's where monsters go when they die and where the Olympians imprison some of their worst enemies. Kronos used to be there before we scattered him again."
"I see. Annabeth, continue?" I asked her.
"Satan had many names. Belial, Beelzebub, Abbadon and Samael just to name a few. He was also called the Lightbringer and the Morningstar because he used to be one of Heaven's greatest and best angels," Annabeth explained. "He was his father's favourite son."
"...She knows her stuff..."
"Someone's been brushing up on the Bible." I chuckled.
"Yeah," Percy laughed. "Now I know why you've read those old dusty books!"
Annabeth continued. "But he was cast out because he was evil. Satan wanted to rule over humans and he convinced his brothers and sisters to follow him as he rebelled against his father, God. In the end, he and the rest of his rebellion were cast out by his twin brother, Saint Michael. Is there Anything I missed?"
"No, not at all."
"What does this have to do with a sword?" Percy asked me. "Sorry, Kian but if I expected a story, I would have brought some snacks with me."
"We get there when we get there," I replied. "The sword in my left hand is the demonic twin of my mother's sword," I summoned my second sword in my right hand, this one blue and with white wings instead of black. "This is called the Sword of Michael and both swords are used by the vessels of said Archangels."
"The sword used by Saint Michael to cast his brother out of Heaven," Annabeth asked me. "Why do you have it?"
"Exactly. Micheal and Lucifer-Helel as he was originally called, were the firstborn twin angels, each one as powerful as each other and the first to hold the rank of Archangel. And since they were twins, each of them had the same weapons."
Annabeth's eyes darted around. "Wait, then that means that-"
"Yeah," I swallowed dryly. "The sword that's in my left hand is called the Sword of Lucifer, that is the name of the sword you asked." I finished her train of thought. "The demonic equivalent of the Sword of Micheal in my right hand."
"And you said the Vessels of those two wield those two swords right?" Annabeth asked again.
"That is correct."
Her grey eyes seemed to sit between shock and surprise at the same time and she placed her hand on her dagger. "No way, you-"
"When I was 13, I became the vessel for both Archangels Michael and Lucifer. My mother gave me the name Michael because eventually when I was old enough, I would become Michael's vessel but it happened earlier than expected." I explained.
"No way!" Percy was very alarmed. "They're in your body? Satan is in your body?!"
"Why would your parents do something like that?!" Annabeth asked in horror. "What did they do to you?!"
"In one of my adventures, I was stabbed in the heart and I needed their assistance to heal it. If not for my parents, I would have died at the tender age of 13. So my parents did that to save my life." I said sternly. "And Lucifer isn't all that bad, at least when it comes to the humans."
"And you know this how?!" Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "How can you say that. It's Satan! He is evil!"
"No, he's not!"
"How can you know?!"
"Because I'm his vessel!" I raised my voice slightly. "He's watched over me since I was a child and he saved my life so many times."
"Why would he watch over you?!" Annabeth asked. "Is he manipulating you?!-Wait, is that why the Olympians are afraid of you, you're being controlled by Satan?!"
"He's not manipulating me! He never was and he's not evil, it's something I was scared of at first but it turns out that was a lie, something made up by the humans!" I explained.
"...Yeah, tell them Kaliel!..."
"Enough about Lucifer, let's get some practice." I rubbed my temples and teleported the Sword of Michael back where it came from leaving me with the Sword in my left hand.
"Where did it go to?" Annabeth asked.
"I can teleport items to my location, provided I've seen it of course." I switched the Sword of Lucifer to my right hand and looked at Percy. "Ready to go?"
"I am," Percy put his left leg forward and brought his sword hand in front of him. "Let's go!"
Without warning, he charged forward slicing vertically, a slice which I parried with a strong right swing of my own. I followed that up with a slash towards his neck but to my surprise, he ducked and from his body positioning, I could tell he was trying to sweep me off my feet. I jumped and dodged his sweeping movement.
I brought my sword down against his head only to meet his bronze sword in a clash of metal. He grinned at me and pushed my sword up, rolling to my right side just as fast. He slashed at the opening forcing me to bend over in half. Not wanting to give him an opening, I put my arm on the ground behind me and flipped over.
I expected to see Percy a few feet in front of me but to my surprise, he somehow managed to get close to me and with a sharp elbow, struck me in the middle of my chest. I didn't expect him to hit so hard and I was left breathless for a moment. Percy was unpredictable, to say the least. I expected him to use his sword to try and defend himself but he did all sorts of moves, all different from each other.
So I had to be as unpredictable as he was.
I thought of another sword, this time one that did not belong to me but to someone, I did know. I formed the image of it in my mind and as Percy moved in for a would-be fatal blow. I flipped my red sword into a reverse grip and summoned the new sword in my left hand. Using the sword in my right hand, I sharply brought it in front of me and let Percy's sword run across the length of it and let his momentum take him off balance slightly.
With a quick move, I placed the silver sword against the back of his neck and the scarlet red one against the front, trapping him in place. "I think I win."
"Y-Yeah, you did," Percy replied. "Can you put your swords away? I like my head very much on my body."
I withdrew my swords and spoke. "You did well. Why do you need me to teach you anything?"
"Really?!" Percy asked me with wide eyes. "Am I that good?"
"Well, you're pretty good with that unpredictable fighting style of yours. I thought you would stick to just using your sword but you've surprised me. In fact, I think I can probably learn a lot from you actually." I stated.
Percy looked at my left hand. "Hey, what's that? Do you have another sword that you used?"
"Oh, this?" I chuckled. "This doesn't belong to me, it belongs to a friend of mine actually." I teleported it away into where it originally was. I knew Marcel would get angry at anyone if they touched his stuff so I sent it back as soon as I could.
"So," Annabeth said while in the stands. "Your pretty good."
"Why wouldn't I be?" I replied. "I've been trained by a lot of good swordsmen and women since I was a child."
Annabeth leaned forward but she kept a hand on a knife and her grey eyes seemed to calculate a billion things at once. I knew she wasn't like this before so what could have caused her to turn so cold all of a sudden.
I didn't get to think any further because I heard footsteps and turned to see someone walking into the arena.
"Oh, it's you"
It was Clarrise, the same girl who Percy had told me about. She had a headband tied across her forehead and her pale brown hair was a mess of spikes to complete it off, she was built like a Rugby player, one that would tear through defences like paper.
"Hi, you must be Clarrise. Percy told me who you are. I'm Kian by the way," I greeted her politely.
"Did he now? I don't think I said thank you for what you did yesterday, you saved all 200 of us from those monsters, just with a snap of your fingers." Clarrise explained.
"It's nothing, I couldn't just stand there and let you guys get hurt, could I?" I replied.
"Why are you still here then?"
"I thought I might stick around so something like that won't happen again," I explained.
"That's cool. If you weren't there, I don't think any of us would have survived, no one expected something like that to happen out of nowhere." Clarrise went on, clearly very distraught about what happened. "I tried to take the person who did it but I was pushed away so easily."
"You gave it all you got so don't feel bad about being defeated by him," I explained. "He's not...like you guys."
"That man, did you know him?" Clarrise asked me. "You sounded like you knew him."
"Auras?"
She nodded.
I chuckled remembering what happened between the two of us over the years. "That's...a long story. What I can tell you is that he won't be attacking this Camp anytime soon, all of you are under my protection."
"Thanks, Kian."
A moment of silence passed between everyone before Percy spoke up. He looked at Clarrise with a smug look. "Look at you, you're being nice for once!"
Clarrise gave him a scathing glare. "I'm always nice, Percy! I-I don't want others to get hurt again, especially after what we've been through."
"Because of the war last year?"
Clarrise gaped, "H-how did you know what are you, some kind of mind reader?"
"I told him about it!" Annabeth jumped in.
"Clarrise," I stated. "If you want to get more practice in, I would be very happy to help."
"You would?"
"Yeah, I can see your pride has been hurt so a little fighting would help it wouldn't it?" I asked her.
"Uh yeah, sure, that would be okay," Clarrise then looked at my sword. "I want to spar against someone with a spear instead of a sword. Do you want me to get one from the armoury?"
I willed my sword to turn into a spear and it obeyed my command, turning a scarlet red pole in a matter of seconds, all in a flash of bright red light. "I think I'm fine Clarrise. So, you ready?"
Clarrise had a surprised look on her face. "Are you sure you're not a demigod?"
"I'm certain, I'm as mortal as I can be," I pointed the end of my spear towards her. "So, shall we begin?"
"What about my training?" Percy asked me.
"I told you, you don't need too much of it. I'll take her through a class
Percy's POV
I watched as Kian taught her how to be better with her spear, all the while with Annabeth and I watching from the sides. Kian even though he was just a year older than me, already looked like he knew what he was doing with his spear.
I turned to Annabeth to ask her about it but she seemed way too focused on Kian. "Hey, Annabeth," I said, snapping her out of her focused state. "What's up?"
"Oh," she replied. "It's just that...Percy, outside right now." She motioned for me and got up from her seat in the stands to do exactly that, leaving me confused.
I didn't question it as I followed her outside. "What was up with that?!"
"Sorry, I had to make sure Kian wasn't listening," Annabeth explained. "I remember he said that he has super hearing, so I thought we could talk about this where he couldn't listen in."
We were just outside the Arena but Annabeth dragged me further and further away from the entrance. "Annabeth, why do you not want Kian to listen in?"
"He said it himself. He's the vessel for Satan," Annabeth explained. "The Prince of Darkness, King of Hell and its Demons. I think Satan is in there manipulating Kian."
"Annabeth!" I said sharply. "Kian said that wasn't the case!"
"How can you be so sure?!" Annabeth countered. "I read up on what the Greeks knew about Lucifer and it's...terrifying. Lord Zeus only mentioned that the land that would be known as Jerusalem was off-limits for everyone. Zeus just didn't do it because he didn't like it, he did it because he was scared of Lucifer. Can you imagine that, Percy? Zeus, the King of all gods being afraid of someone. Your father and Lord Hades met him once and they were defeated to an inch of there lives, so can you really trust what Kian said about Lucifer?"
"I guess you do have a point." I agreed uncomfortably. "But Kian would never do such a thing!"
"You saw what he did to Ares. Kian has made it clear that he doesn't like the Olympians and with how powerful he is, he could wipe them all out in an instance." Annabeth went on.
"But that's just the gods, Kian won't hurt humans!" I protested.
"That may be the case but with Lucifer, the symbol of Abrahamic evil with him, I'm not sure if he's all that good." Annabeth summarised. "What if he saved us at the start so he could go to Olympus and announce his presence, what if he went to the same school as you to complete his plan? Lucifer, before he fell, was one of the wisest and smartest angels, who knows what he's planning." Annabeth crossed her arms.
"That's not true!" I raised my voice slightly. "Kian's a good guy!"
"How can you be so sure?" Annabeth crossed her arms.
"Because he saved my life! He saved all of our lives!" I continued. "Kian said he grew up on Earth despite not being human, he wants to protect our world. I've known him for a year and I know he's a good guy! What do you have against him, Annabeth?! Why are you suspicious of him now?!"
Annabeth's grey eyes turned soft and she put her head into my chest, wrapping her arms around me. "I just don't want to lose you, Percy. It was Kronos at first and now it's Satan, inside the body of an alien who looks like a human. It's all moving so fast and I don't know if we'll ever get a break from all these world-ending adventures."
I let that sink in. She was right, our lives were always in danger and now it seems like it went up a level. "Annabeth," I pulled her chin upwards. "You won't lose me if we are together, okay?"
"You promise?"
"I promise." I followed it up with a kiss on her blonde hair. "And one more thing, if Kian is the vessel for Lucifer, can't we ask him personally?"
"What?!" Annabeth stared at me with wide eyes. "You want to talk to Satan?!"
"Well yeah, if Kian said he wasn't evil and if we trust him, then Lucifer won't be evil right?" I explained. "And Kian said that Lucifer watched over him as a child, so how can be the symbol of evil then?"
She thought to herself. "That's...a good point actually. Okay, but if something goes wrong, then it's all your fault okay?"
"Zeus, Posideon and Hades aren't here so I think we'll be fine." I chuckled. "And didn't Kian say that someone called Michael was his angel too? The guy who kicked Lucifer out of Heaven? If that's the case then we'll be really safe!"
Annabeth chuckled. "Your right. It looks like spending time with Kian made you that much smarter huh? Did Lucifer make you smarter too?"
"Hey!" I said angrily. "Kian's just been helping me with homework every now and then."
"I'm kidding, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth chuckled and kissed my cheek. "I know you're a lot smarter than you look."
We arrived in the Arena just as Kian was sparring with Clarrise. It looked like both were matched but then I realised that Kian was moving a lot slower than he was with me, his strikes and swings were controlled and fast enough for Clarrise to react to.
"You wanna ask him now?" I asked Annabeth.
"Not with Kian using a spear!" she replied quickly.
I glanced back to the spar and noted how Kian and Clarrise moved. While Clarrise used sharp and aggressive thrusting movements, Kian used gentle swinging moves with a thrust now and then, each one controlled like he had done this a 100 times.
It all came to a sudden finish when Clarrise rushed ahead and aimed a thrust towards Kian's head. Kian backed off slightly and with a flick of his right hand and a swing of his spear, he deflected the blow. While the spear was in motion, he used the back of it to sweep Clarrise off her feet easily.
"Don't go charging in, that's how you get defeated." Kian stabbed the rear end of his red spear on the ground. "You did good for today, take the positives from today."
While Clarrise grunted and stood up, I spoke up. "You guys done?"
"We are," Kian twirled his spear in one hand before pointing it towards us. "What did you two have to talk about that made you two go outside?"
"Um?"
"Kian, are you going to be here tomorrow?" Clarrise asked him
He turned to her but kept the spear pointed at us. "Oh yeah, probably. I'm not that busy right now so I might pop up here and now you know?"
Clarrise grabbed her spear and walked off. "Thanks, I've got to take care of the younger kids in the Ares Cabin. Dad sure gets around a lot!"
"Does he now?" Kian's spear started to give off a red and black glow for a split second but it vanished the moment it appeared making it look like it was just a trick of the light. "Take care!"
"Kian," Annabeth stated as she watched Clarrise leave. After she left completely, she spoke, clearing her voice. "Is Lucifer a bad guy?"
"Of course not," Kian replied sharply. "He tried to do something but he went about it in the wrong way."
"Is he planning to destroy the Earth?"
"What?!" Kian recoiled slightly. "Of course he isn't. He doesn't want to kill any human nor any innocent person. What's gotten into you?!"
"She thinks that Lucifer is going to destroy the world," I explained. "And that he told you to come to my high school so you can tell the Greek Gods that Lucifer is going to kill them."
"Percy!" Annabeth elbowed me in the ribs.
Kian chuckled. "I see. And that's why you went outside. Now it makes sense."
"So," Annabeth crossed her arms. "You said you were his vessel right? Can we speak to him?"
"What?!" Kian raised an eyebrow. "You want to talk to him?"
"So I can see that he isn't a bad guy and he's not controlling you," Annabeth stated.
"Even after I said he doesn't want to kill anyone, even after I said that he isn't a bad guy, you still don't trust me? I've been his vessel for 5 years, known him inside out and yet you would take his word over mine? Someone who has made his life goal to stand up to injustice?" Kian said sternly. His voice turned deeper and it had an aura of maturity behind it. It was so sudden that it made me go on edge, not knowing what Kian was going to do.
After a moment of silence, he spoke. "I can't let him talk to you because...I don't want to. But I can give you this." He cleared his throat. "I promise on the River Styx that Lucifer will not harm the residents of Camp Half-Blood nor the Earth and its inhabitants and neither do I. If it takes, I will give my life to defend Earth from the God Killer if it means the safety of everyone on the planet."
Thunder boomed overhead signalling the completion of the oath.
Kian looked at a stunned Annabeth and me. "I suppose that solves your issue with Lucifer and me, right?"
"Y-yeah, it does." Annabeth agreed and it seemed like all the nervousness and fear all vanished from her face. "I'm sorry if it seemed like I didn't trust you it's just that-"
"You've been taken advantage of your trust right? betrayed by someone close?" Kian finished her sentence.
"How did you know?"
"I had that happen to me. It left a bitter taste in our memories." Kian explained. "But that's all in the past now and I don't want to dwell on it!" Within a moment, he changed from super serious to a calm and laid back attitude. The spear in his hands vanished from sight and he walked over to the stand and sat on it. "I'm just going to take a break, feel free to talk about yourself."
"Erm yeah," Annabeth said surprised at his mood shift. She then turned to me. "Make sure you get along with him, I was sure he was going to lose his temper at me asking that question."
"Uh yeah sure." I agreed. "I'd be happy to hang out with him."
"Try and make him open up a bit more, okay. I'll be teaching the Ancient Greek class. See ya," Annabeth kissed my cheek and waved goodbye.
"See ya Wise Girl!" After I turned back to Kian, I noticed he was trying to hide a faint smile on his mouth, all the while he was drinking out of a bottle. "What are you smiling about?"
"Oh, nothing. It's just your pet name: Seaweed Brain? For someone who defeated Kronos, it's not exactly something I was expecting for her to call you." Kian sipped on his drink. "But it's not my choice of course."
"She used it as an insult when we first met, but now I guess it stuck around," I explained.
Kian nodded and continued drinking. "You know, not all teen relationships work out, but I think you two will. Just try not to have too much fun, okay?" He said with a wide grin.
My cheeks and ears burned at what he said. "Dude come on, stop!"
Kian chuckled. "Sorry, that was low hanging fruit, I'll stop." He stopped laughing. "It's just you and Annabeth remind me of I-some friends I know. They were like that." I could see his expression change, his eyes trembled again. could sense he was holding something back, something painful.
"D-Did something happen to them?" I asked concerned
"Yeah. Unfortunately, it didn't work out between them," Kian said sadly. "We were kind of sad to see it end."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"I-It's okay, it's all in the past now so there's no need for you worry about it," he said as he finished the bottle.
I couldn't help but think of what happened in the Olympian Throne room. How Aphrodite said she was interested in him like she was with me. Knowing how Kian didn't like the Olympians, that wasn't good news for both of them.
"Kian, what Aphrodite said, did it bring up something?" I asked. I remembered the Olympians, shocked at how he snapped at them, all because of Aphrodite said, the temperature dropped too, almost like it was winter. It was clear to anyone that he was angry, very angry!
Kian shook his head slowly. "Yeah, Something like that. I hate that she tried to get involved in my life, it's one of the things I hate about her. She has to learn to not stick her nose in other people's businesses!"
"She said the same thing to me, about a few years ago," I explained. "How she's going to make my love life interesting," I stated. "I mean, I don't think anything has changed."
"Apart from you being a chick magnet."
"A what?!" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"A guy who attracts girls to him like a moth to a lamp. I'm surprised you haven't noticed. All the girls back in high school were throwing themselves over you." Kian explained. "Hmm, thinking about it, I think she gave you a good perk, huh?"
"Chick Magnet? Me?" I said with a raised eyebrow. "They were just friendly!"
"Wow," Kian sighed. "You still don't see it, do you? Even after you told them you had a girlfriend, they didn't believe you."
"If anything, you're the chick magnet!" I replied, trying to get the attention away from me.
"Oh, I know I am. Lucifer made puberty hit me like a train!" Kian chuckled.
"He can do that?" I asked confused
"A vessel gets their angel after they've gone through puberty-or angel puberty in this case. It's because an angel can affect a vessel's body when they're still growing," I explained. "Lucifer and Michael did there best to not affect me but I ended up with some physical changes. It's why I look better than average and it's why I guess all those girls tried to get my attention."
"Sweet!" I exclaimed. "If I could look better with an Angel in my body, then I would take it."
Kian chuckled. "Of course you would, wouldn't you?"
"Percy," Kian asked me a question. "Can you try something for me?"
"Yeah, what is it?"
"Have you ever seen the show Avatar: The Last Airbender by any chance?"
"Of course I have!" I said proudly.
"Have you by any chance, controlled blood?"
"What?!" I asked him. "Why Blood?"
"I was just wondering. Blood and water are liquid-based and as the son of Posideon, the Greek God of the Ocean and water, I thought you might have manipulated blood by accident." Kian summarised. "But I suppose that's not the case with you is it?"
"Uh yeah. And isn't controlling blood a bad thing?" I asked him
"Yeah, it is. Just ignore what I said then." Kian explained as he summoned another bottle in his hands, only to drink it just as quick.
"Kian, what is that?" I pointed at his bottle.
"Oh, this? It's just a banana smoothie. Although the bananas aren't grown on Earth and as such, are incredibly high in energy. One bite of this and you could fill the stomach of a man for half a day." Kian explained
"It's not from Earth?!" I said alarmed.
"That's what I said. It's not that different from a normal banana actually." Kian explained. "Would you like to try it? It should help with your Curse of Achillies?"
"You know about that?"
"Alveus told me that Achillies was dipped in the Styx to grant him invulnerability apart from just one spot. He also told me how it made him sleepy and very hungry. His body couldn't just create strength out of nowhere could he?" Kian summarised.
"Have you ever felt something like that?" I asked him. "You sound like you know what you're talking about."
"I have. See, Percy. Angels and Demons are both strong warrior races, each one built to endure the harsh conditions of the battlefield. As such, my body requires a high amount of energy for muscle growth." Kian explained. "It's like your Curse but it's permanent all the time."
"Wow, doesn't that get in the way?" I asked him
"It still does. I solve it by using a passive ability of the Fragment," As if on cue, Kian's body started to give off a light gold hue from his skin like steam. His hair started to stand on end and his eyes seemed to brighten.
"What's going on?" I asked in concern. "Are you about to go Super Saiyan again?"
"Oh no, not at all." Kian chuckled. "I can use the raw energy behind this ability to my wounds and sometimes even solve my hunger problem. Comes in handy when there's little food available."
"I see. Kian, if you don't mind me asking, when were you born?"
"Don't you know?" he raised an eyebrow.
"I know it's just a year, I don't know the exact date," I explained.
"I see. I see no harm in telling you this so here you go. I was born on the 25th of August 1992, just after midnight actually. My dad told me that when he looked at the sky, the stars seemed to shine 10 times brighter. I guess that's what happens when the Lightbringer himself was watching after me."
"And where did you learn to use your powers? There's no way that you learned it all on your own." I asked him
"You would be right," Kian answered. "My parents taught me a few things here and there but most of it I learned in school."
"School?" I asked
"Yeah, school. After that, there was a programme that gave me the level of training I have today. Does that answer your question?" Kian asked me
"It does. Just one more thing." I stated. "This school of yours. Was it just for angels?"
"No, it's for anyone with abilities. Anyone can attend there as long as they pass a few exams." Kian explained. "It used to be only for a few people but I-along with a few friends of mine-changed it, made it so that anyone could join."
"That sounds nice," I agreed
"It is. This is going to sound corny but my parents told me that the reason I have these powers is so that I can use it to help others you know, to defend others from harm. I did my best to change the restrictions in the school I went to, so I think I lived up to that," Kian smiled widely.
"If you don't mind me asking, what were your parents like?" I asked him. "They sound nice."
"They are, they took good care of me when I was a kid and made sure I grew up to be someone I can be proud of." Kian went on. "Dad's a good cook and he used to own a casino actually, now he's a PE teacher. Mum was a teacher before she became a Headteacher."
"That sounds cool. My mom is just a writer and an artist," I replied. "My dad is of course Posideon."
"That sounds great, one of the things I wanted to do was when I was a kid was to draw. I haven't learned how to do it yet," he sighed. "Even with all this power, I can't do something as simple as that."
"Really?" I chuckled. "That sounds crazy."
"Well, I have my limits." Kian went on.
"And your alien name-"
"Angel name," Kian corrected.
"Angel name?" I questioned him. "What's that?"
"All Angel names end in el. Michael, Gabriel, Raphael. It's a tradition." Kian explained. "El means like God."
"That makes sense, Kaliel ends with el doesn't it."
"Yes, it does."
"Did your parents pick that name out before they realised it sounded like Superman?" I asked Kian. "You have to admit it does, doesn't it?"
Kian sighed defeatedly. "I knew this was coming. And yeah, my parents wanted to call me Kaliel but they changed it last minute, instead choosing to name me after a friend of theirs."
"And did they tell you that you were an alien?"
"Of course." Kian chuckled. "My Mum told me that if she could, she would capture my expression in a picture forever."
"And did you know any other angels?" I asked him. "People like you."
"Of course I did. I know a lot of them actually. In fact, a friend of mine is, in fact, half-angel half-human. They used to be incorrectly called Nephilim but that's not the case anymore. They are just called Half Angels because well...there half angels."
"How does that work?" I asked him. "If it's anything like how the Greek Gods have kids, then I'm worried for them."
"This is where Angels and Greek Gods are different. A vessel of an angel chooses to have a child with a human and said vessel stays with them to look after them from birth. After Lucifer was cast out of Heaven, vessels tend to stay very close to there family, unlike the Greek Gods." Kian explained.
"I see. So Dad was Lucifer's vessel right?" I asked him
"Yes."
"Did Lucifer...ever talk to you?"
"Only mentally. They don't have to use the body of a vessel to talk to people. In fact, when they do use there vessel's body, they work with the vessel instead of just taking over completely." Kian explained
"Have you and your angels ever done that? You know, linked together?"
"Not really. My body isn't strong enough to handle two angels at once and even then, linking with even one of them would tire me out really quickly. As of now, I can only use my incomplete Archangel Mode for 5 minutes. It's why I'm trying to increase my body's endurance so I can defeat the God Killer."
I was about to speak but I heard footsteps and turned to see Annabeth walking in. "You guys still here?"
"Sorry, I guess I must have lost track of time." I quipped
"Well, you better finish up quick because someone just popped by."
"Who?"
"Thalia."
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you have any questions about this story, or what you think I could have done better please let me know, I'm always open to criticism and improvement
As for the timeline of events, this story takes place after the events of Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor and just before the events of The Avengers in the MCU.
For the PJO part, this takes place a year after the Last Olympian
Why is there a year in between? Well, the next chapter might answer that. Until the next time. Happy reading!
