My apologies for the long pause, but it's been crazy for me this last little while. Graduation season is just insane in the flower business (which is where I work). But, here's an update so it's all good, yes? Thanks for the reviews.
Disclaimer: I don't own Class of the Titans. If I did, the show would defy the summer rerun schedule and launch a second season immediately. Ah well, I can dream of what's to come, right?
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Splits
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As soon as they were out of sight of the two quarrelling deities, Jay seemed to recover his senses. He blinked and looked around, slightly clueless, but said nothing as they sped through the quiet halls. His attention stayed on the Neils they passed, his mind churning with ideas. He knew, in some way, that whatever had happened to get him away from Chronus was important, but could be worried about later. At the moment, Jay had come to a decision.
He motioned for Atlanta to stop. "We've got to stop running," he said, standing up. "Theresa and the others are still captured, and we still have no idea what happened to Neil." Jay glanced at the nearest room number, a smile lighting as he realized where they were. "Come on." He grabbed Atlanta's wrist and drew her inside.
"I'm all for turning the situation around, but how exactly are we going to do that? The Neils just pick themselves up and keep coming, uglier than before." The hunter made a sweeping motion with her hand toward the hall. "And it took a goddess to get us away from Chronus alive. I don't think we'll be that lucky again."
"Aphrodite, was it?" Jay mused absently, searching cupboards that lined the far wall of the classroom. He had experienced similar blanks in his memory before, but usually they ended rather painfully at the hands of Theresa. "That means our Neil is in over his head, or completely off the map. We can't waste time."
Atlanta crouched beside him, scanning shelves over his shoulder. "So what plan are we putting into action?"
The leader glanced back at her. "Archie's, or at least part of it." He smiled, just a quick flash of teeth, and then turned back to his task. "Since the direct approach didn't work, and running away is getting us nowhere," he said, examining a dark green bottle, "we need to start trying other things. At the very least, we should be able to meet up with the others. After that, well, we'll see." Jay set the bottle aside and reached for another, this one a clear brown. "Have you ever taken Chemistry?"
"No, just Biology." Atlanta glanced at the label on the bottle Jay had set aside. "Acid?" she asked, confused. "I guess it would be more effective than just straight water, but wouldn't we run the risk of getting burned ourselves?"
Jay shook his head. "The acid is a catalyst. At least, I'm pretty sure it is. My memory is a little foggy but it's bound to be better than nothing." He handed Atlanta the brown container and a blue one, grabbing the green bottle and straightening. "Take those over to one of the benches and find a flask we can mix them in. A big one."
"Boy, do I feel reassured," she said rolling her eyes. "Is it possible that whatever we're doing might blow up in our faces if your memory proves to be too foggy?" She was all for new ideas, but things like what they seemed to be attempting were usually left in the capable hands of Odie, who knew exactly what he was doing.
"I don't think so," Jay said distractedly, searching through a drawer. "Ah, here are the hotplates."
--
"Herry, duck!" Theresa shouted as she vaulted a table, aiming a kick at his double's chest.
Herry was quick to dip down as the fighter sailed over him, her blow striking his mirror image squarely in the chest. The statue stumbled backward with a soft grunt and Theresa flipped skillfully to land neatly on her feet in a crouch. She quickly dove to knock her fellow hero out of the way of a flashing whip from Archie, who hadn't moved but had decided to get involved. Her own clone was busy retrieving her weapon, which had gone skittering across the room minutes earlier due to another kick from Theresa.
"This is ridiculous," she panted, climbing back to her feet. An angry glance was flicked in Pam's direction. "Which side are you on, anyway? You helped Odie, but now you're going to sit back and let them capture us again, and Chronus gets to rule the world?"
"You don't understand," Pam said, "Chronus –"
"Took something from you, yeah, I get it." Theresa ducked a wayward blow from her double and backed off a few paces. Archie's whip caught her wrist and she bit back a yelp of pain. "But we can't help you if you don't help us."
Herry managed to throw off his double and grabbed at the whip, pulling. "Please?" he added hopefully. "You can trust us. Really." He tugged sharply and managed to yank the weapon out of Archie's hands.
Pam glanced between them, at the opposing Theresa's staring each other down, at the two brawny heroes meeting and breaking apart as their strength matched, and at Archie's self-satisfied smirk as he, too, played observer. "Hold them," she said finally, "and I'll see what I can do."
"Herry?" Theresa shot him a look.
"Got it," he said, opening his arms wide. "Send them over."
As if sensing an impending end, the three statues charged Theresa at once, hoping to overwhelm her. Herry grabbed at her while Archie aimed a low kick to her shins. Her duplicate settled for aiming a blow at the fighter's head. Theresa quickly sprang backward as her fellow hero stepped forward to embrace the trio in a crushing hug.
She smiled gratefully at Herry. "Thanks."
"No problem," he grunted, struggling to keep his grip. "But can we hurry it up?"
The sculptor stepped forward and laid a hand on the closest, struggling duplicate. Almost immediately the color drained from them and Herry was able to step away. They had been reduced to simple life-sized statues. "There," Pam said, taking a few quick breaths. "Happy?"
"Very. Now, come on." Theresa grabbed Pam's wrist and pulled her toward the door. She made a point not to look in the direction of the Neils. "If you come with us, Chronus can't hurt you and we'll get him off your back."
"I'm sorry if I don't feel reassured, considering he's intent on hunting you down." Pam blushed as her eyes eventually strayed. "Your friend has an interesting… mind."
The fighter had to smile. You have no idea how much he loves himself, she thought, thinking of all the time Neil spent in front of his personal mirror. They drew up short in the hallway as Theresa searched for Odie and Archie, who were nowhere to be seen. "They couldn't just wait for us before running off somewhere, could they?"
"Maybe they left to avoid Chronus," Pam said with a shrug. "I think I saw them head that way." She pointed to the right.
"Then let's get going." Herry urged the two down the hall, casting a glance back at the art room as if suspecting their clones would appear and give chase.
--
Chronus, cursing under his breath, used his scythes to keep the surging Neils at bay, especially the misshapen ones. He cast a sneer in Aphrodite's direction, silently damning her to the Underworld for her interference. "You want to know where your precious Neil is so badly?" he asked. "Fine. He's off having fun realizing a genetic wish that's been passed down through the generations, ancestor to ancestor." The Titan grunted as he shook off the rather persistent gasp of a multi-handed Neil.
"Thank you," Aphrodite said graciously. She waved her hand and the advances stopped. The goddess turned to sweep off down the adjoining hall but paused. "You know, dear," she added, as an afterthought, "vengeance doesn't really look good on you. Think about getting a hobby, or at least a better suit." She was quick to skirt off out of range around a corner, as Chronus raised a scythe with murderous intent.
--
Archie eyed the Physics room suspiciously. "We're really going to find a secret weapon in here?" he asked from his seat on one of the desks. His heel was really starting to kill him, even with the help of his crutch. "What have you been doing in here, Odie?"
The thinker rolled his eyes as he searched the large teacher workbench. "Nothing really, just your average calculation of vectors and forces. But we're not here for anything like that." Odie straightened up with a grin, holding up a small silver key. "This room shares a storeroom with some of the other Physics labs, including the ones currently studying combustion and electricity." He strode to a door half-hidden behind a small bookcase full of Newton's cradles.
"So what, you're going to make a bomb?"
"Hardly," Odie said, unlocking the door and peering inside. "But I do have an idea or two, depending on what I find in here. Be back in a second." He stepped in, groping in the dark for a light switch. The muffled clinking of jars and sliding containers was soon the only sound.
Archie bent to examine his heel, frowning at the dent in his brace. There was little chance it would get better with the brace constantly biting into his skin. He carefully pulled it off, gritting his teeth. It clattered to the floor beside the desk, revealing pale skin and a purpling bruise that caused him to wrinkle his noise in distaste.
A familiar voice broke into his thoughts. "Do you think they went this way?" Archie smiled at Herry's bemused question, picturing the look on his face.
"Guys," the warrior called, pulling himself to his feet and hastily grabbing his crutch. He hobbled to the door, pulling it open so quickly that it banged against the wall loudly, the sound ringing out into the hall. "In here." His voice echoed.
Herry and Theresa turned at the noise, twin smiles lighting on their faces as they spied Archie. "There you are," Theresa said. "We thought you ran off somewhere."
"Yeah, buddy," Herry agreed. "We're glad we found you."
--
Neil stifled a small yelp as his back hit the cold metal of the refrigerator. His head felt light again as his mind tried to comprehend what was happening. Galen pressed him back, holding his wrists above his head in a strangely cool grip. His double's eyes were hard.
"Hands full?" the model asked, a small kernel of worry resurfacing. Was he wrong? Had he made a mistake after all? Neil tried to brush it off. Galen is probably getting his thoughts mixed up, he reasoned. By hands full, he's hinting at something else. Something decidedly nice. But the hero wasn't sure anymore. His earlier doubts returned, the thoughts of robot clones and secret plots screaming at him that he'd been an idiot.
Galen dipped his head in suddenly to kiss him, dragging a shaky, startled moan from the blonde. "Oh, completely," he murmured, their noses brushing. "You're quite a handful."
Neil tried to push Galen away but he hardly budged. He turned his head away from his own mocking eyes. "There are more like you," he said, suddenly realizing. "You were made to get me away from the others, to separate us so the prophecy would be broken."
"More than that, good-looking. Chronus tried that angle over and over with the same success. He's gotten smarter." Galen grabbed Neil's chin with his free hand and forcefully turned his head so that they gazed at each other. "I've done more than simply separate you from them. You love me, don't you?" His smile was cruel. "And you want to believe that I love you."
"You said you did, when we met." Neil's voice was quiet. His head throbbed from a building headache as his fatigue weighed down on him. He felt isolated, cut off from his friends whom he had foolishly left. The strange one-sided conversation he had heard while still half asleep came to mind.
As a sense of understanding dawned in the hero's eyes, Galen smirked. "That's right," he said. "I'm not going to break the prophecy simply by keeping you here. I'm going to do it by breaking your heart." He leaned in as if to kiss Neil again. A voice cut him short.
"Get away from him!"