Hera sat behind the mostly bare desk in her new office. She had been taking notes by hand into a notebook, but decided that she might as well use the down time she suddenly had while Former Principal Bev was taking her lunch break to practice using her computer and was now transferring all of her notes to a word document. She, being a goddess, didn't need to eat anything other than ambrosia, but as her predecessor didn't need to know that, she had just claimed to want to eat alone so she could make a phone call.
From her seat, she had a direct line of sight through her office window out to the main office. Hermes was back to struggling through instructions with Shirley, but was starting to get the hang of assisting the few students who wandered in seeking help. Odie had left shortly after Jay, wanting to track down his friends and compare schedules and, in a moment of panic, Hermes had requested that the cat be left behind.
Hera knew the real reason, that he hadn't wanted to risk such a dangerous creature getting stressed or scared while surrounded by civilians, but he had passed it off as concern for the cat's safety. Neither god felt secure with the cat's current location; curled up in Shirley's lap.
Hera blinked and looked away from the window when her office door opened. Former Principal Bev peeked in, grinning wide, and hurriedly gestured for Hera to follow her. Hera narrowed her eyes in confusion, but stood and did as she was directed.
"I need to live vicariously through you for a moment, if you don't mind." She led the goddess across the office towards one of the exterior windows, holding her ringed hand to her chest as if feigning royalty. "I am a married woman now and therefore cannot gawk."
Hera couldn't help but chuckle at the human's antics, but then caught sight of what, or rather who, she was supposed to see and gasped.
"I know. Isn't he a dream?" Former Principal Bev didn't seem to notice Hera's expression wasn't one of desire, but rather shock and fear, but the goddess managed to school her features and twist out of view before Chronos had the chance to look in their direction.
"Oh, uh, yes. He certainly is. Um, who is he?" Hera asked.
"That's Chronos. He runs that private school Odie and Jay attend."
Hera, being careful to stay out of sight, looked again. Chronos stood out by the edge of the small yard in front of the office, leaning against the trunk of a large oak tree. Students, parents, and teachers milled about with him, none even so much as suspecting the danger they were in.
"Chronos." She whispered under her breath.
"Yeah, I used to think it was an odd name as well. I mean, I know some people choose names from religious figures. We had a Muhammad here a few years back, and one of the lunch ladies has a son named Thor, but Chronos the god is known as a violent, terrible, child-eating monster." Former Principal Bev broke off and stared into space. "Or, wait. Was it… I can never remember if it was Zeus or Chronos that ate his kids." She put a finger to her chin in thought as Hera and Hermes exchanged bewildered looks.
"Uh, you were right the first time. It was Chronos." Hermes made a mental note to go over the curriculum later to see what, exactly, was being taught to the kids.
"It was? Anyway. His name, the way he changes the subject whenever anyone asks about his past, and how protective he is of his students have kind of clued us in on what his childhood must have been like. It's a pity that… whatever happened to him happened, but he's managed to raise seven smart, sweet kids."
Sensing an opening to find out more about the heroes (and deciding to ignore the other woman's misguided musings), Hera decided to push. "Oh, really? I heard something about the police being called out to that place just a little while ago."
"Yeah, but it was a false report." She shrugged. "Those kids are some of the most well behaved students we have. If kidnapping wasn't illegal, Jay and Odie would be packed in my car right now."
"Uh, w-what?" She shook her head, wanting to refocus. "Are you sure there isn't something going on? The cops aren't usually called to do safety checks on kids unless something's wrong."
Former Principal Bev frowned, but walked away from the window. She led the goddess over to Shirley and Hermes. "Could you go get the files for Chronos's Kids, please?" she asked the receptionist.
Shirley stood and, before he could protest, deposited Manny on Hermes's lap. The poor god looked horrified and froze, which caused the cat to glare up at him.
"Oh, here. Manny is usually super sweet, but he might just need a little time to warm up to you. His treats are in here." Former Principal Bev opened the top drawer in Hermes's new desk and pulled out a little baggie with a picture of a happy cat on it. She shook out a few treats, gave one to Manny and the rest to Hermes.
"Here you go." Shirley handed over the requested files and dropped back down into her seat. "Are you planning to eat those or feed them to the cat?"
Hermes eyed the treats and then the cat wearily, but a nod from Hera made him hold out his hand. Being this scared of what everyone else believed to be a normal cat would definitely raise suspicions. Manny sniffed his fingers before digging into the snack happily.
Shirley chuckled. "You feed him, you've got a friend for life."
Sure enough, the cat curled up on his lap and began to purr.
Former Principal Bev opened the top file and turned it so Hera could see Archie's latest school photo. "Archie was orphaned at five years old. He was written off as a disobedient problem for years after that. When Chronos adopted him, he was provided with the first stable home he'd had in a long time. He was able to go from mistrusting everyone, to a group of close friends he has healthy relationships with. Neil," she flipped open the second folder, "lost his twin brother to homicide as a small child, only to have his parents decide it was too painful for them to keep him around. They put him up for adoption. Chronos took him in so he'd at least be with familiar faces who could help him get through everything."
Hera took the files, looking carefully at their photos. They both appeared to be well taken care of, but something in their eyes… something was off. And she didn't trust it.
"Herry's only living family is his seventy year old grandmother and, despite attending regular school in addition to classes at home, Chronos always makes sure he has enough time to visit her every day. Atlanta and Theresa live far enough from their families that daily visits aren't possible, but they both get scheduled to have a week off of school every year to spend their birthdays at home. The summer between his final year of middle school and his first year of high school, Odie decided to start going by he/him pronouns rather than they/them. Chronos walked him to school to talk it over with staff and make sure that there would be no problems and that his student would be safe." She set the stack aside and held up the last file.
Hera knew automatically whose it was.
"Jay is the student you want in your class if you ever need a teacher's assistant for whatever reason. He's smart, level-headed, and doesn't give into peer pressure. I've been petitioning Chronos for a while to let me get him tested for some sort of eidetic memory, but no luck so far."
She handed the folder over and Hera took a moment to examine the enclosed photo of the boy who was supposed to have been her pupil. His smile was bright… and clearly practiced. It didn't quite reach his eyes. Not the way it used to.
"These seven are well-adjusted, well-behaved, well-provided for, and well looked after. If you still have concerns about the validity of that phone call, I've got a copy of the report along with a statement from the lead investigator himself saying that it was a false call and they are not in any danger. They also sent over proof that every parent vouched for Chronos. They've known him for years and fully trust their children in his care."
"I wasn't trying to suggest anything. Merely voicing my concern." Hera assured.
"And I respect that. It's good to want proof that your students are safe when circumstances look suspicious. But this incident has already been handled and dealt with. The kids and everyone else have already been stressed out enough, and I need to be sure that you understand that a large part of your job is also making sure they feel safe when they're here at school. If you keep pushing at things like this all they will learn is that they need to work harder to hide when they actually need help. It's a difficult line to walk, but that's the job you signed up for."
Yyyyy
"So, what do you think?" Jay asked, taking a seat next to Odie on Granny's wooden porch and handing over one of the two plates he was carrying.
Odie accepted it and moved Manny off his lap. "I hacked into their system when Herbert was distracted helping Jacob. All the new staff have resumes and letters of recommendation from their former districts that at least look legitimate. And, well, we know our school has been petitioning for more staff and funding for a few years now."
Jay nodded and, after making sure Granny wasn't watching, tore off a small piece of turkey from his sandwich for Manny. Pepe intercepted it and got smacked in the face with a small, angry cat paw for his crimes.
"So you think we're safe to return to school?" Herry kept his voice low, both to keep Granny from overhearing, and as a subtle signal to the pair to lower their voices.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. So long as we stay on guard, we should be fine."
"No worries there." Atlanta walked up as Odie grabbed Pepe and dropped him off the porch and into the soft dirt of the garden to save his small manticore. "I'm pretty sure Jay will have you do background checks on all the new students as well before our first day."
Odie just let out a dry, humorless laugh. "One, don't give him any ideas. Two…" Odie dropped the smile. "That already happened."
Jay chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "In my defense, I agreed that that was probably going too far."
"Yeah. Because I told you that that was probably going too far. And refused to do it." Odie handed Manny a piece of turkey from his own sandwich, which the small creature happily snatched and ate.
Yyyyy
"Jay, can I see you for a minute?" Chronos called on his way out the front door.
Jay looked up from where he had been going over Odie's notes for the PMR upgrades. "Yeah, sure."
Archie watched as his friend followed their mentor out and dropped down into the spot he had just vacated. "How are things going?"
Odie sighed and dropped his screwdriver to the table, letting it clatter amongst the pieces of Chronos's dismantled PMR. "If your PMR breaks in the next week, you're going down to the hardware store and buying a pack of walkie-talkies. We can just survive on low-tech equipment until I decide to throw myself into this bullshit again."
"Do you need a hand?" Archie wasn't sure what help he'd be, but it was obvious that his friend needed… well, at the very least a listening ear.
"...no. I'm just frustrated."
"Do you want to take a break?" Odie hesitated, but didnt say no so Archie took that as an opportunity to stand, grab Odie by the hoodie sleeve, and pull him to his feet. "Come on. Let's take a break. Play some video games, maybe read a book, and then you can get back to this with a clear head."
"I-," Odie cut himself off, tight jaw and closed eyes belying his annoyance and frustration, but before anything could come of it he gave his head a hard shake. "I'm going to go shower. I… I just… I don't know. There's just too much going on right now. I'll be out in a bit." He gave a half-hearted wave and walked off down the hallway, nearly bumping into Atlanta who was distracted talking on her PMR.
"He did what?... I'm glad he's okay." Atlanta's eyebrows were drawn together in worry, but she nodded a greeting to Archie as she made her way to the kitchen door that led to the small back porch. It was near Manny's pen, but about the only place to get some privacy in their house. "Yeah, this sounds like something we should be worried about."
The door closed and Archie turned to raise an eyebrow at Theresa, who would be the one most likely to know what was wrong, being her roommate.
Theresa sighed and zipped up her school backpack, deciding to just finish packing later. "When we were separated and being attacked by the gods, Ricky caught Atlanta sneaking out and the two got into a pretty bad argument. She says that he's been avoiding conversations with the entire family ever since."
"They're not mad at her, are they?"
Theresa shook her head. "No. From what she's told me, it doesn't sound like their parents know what happened."
"Do you know what the argument was about?"
"I don't, but this is Atlanta and Ricky. The two of them have always had a bit of a rocky relationship."
Archie nodded, casting a worried look at the back door. "I hope everything turns out alright. We've got enough to worry about here without getting distracted by drama at home."
Theresa let the concerned look fall from her face, narrowing her eyes slightly. "She's worried about her brother. That's a little more than 'family drama'."
Archie returned her light glare with one of his own. "You know what I mean. We're supposed to be focusing on survival and saving the world. That's hard enough to do without also having to attend high school to keep up appearances, plus training-,"
"Just because your brother is on our team doesn't make it any more worrying when he's having issues than Ricky."
"What are you saying, Theresa?"
"I'm saying it sounds like you're writing her family issues off as a minor annoyance."
Herry and Neil, who had been reading on the couch and in Chronos's chair respectively, looked at each other, rolled their eyes, and left the room. Theresa and Archie were friends, they got along, they always had each other's backs, but whenever there was a fight amongst the team, it was almost always them.
"That's not fair. Of course I'm concerned about her family, but you have to admit we kind of have bigger problems to deal with at the moment. Besides, Ricky's always been a quiet kid. He's probably just pouting and will be back to normal in a few days. I mean, it's not like we haven't all been fifteen before. When you get into a fight all you want is to be left alone, not have people hovering and asking what's wrong."
"Of course you would say that."
Archie blinked in surprise, slightly taken aback. "What's that supposed to mean?"
To her credit, Theresa looked like she regretted her words, but it was too late to take them back.
"... I'm sorry I'm not well-versed on the inner workings of a perfect, nuclear family."
"Archie, I didn't mean-"
"But neither are you. So you can stop acting all high and mighty. Just because I'm concerned about making sure Atlanta isn't distracted the next time the gods launch a surprise attack doesn't mean I don't care about her relationship with her brother." With that, he stormed out of the room.
Theresa tried to grab his hand to stop him, but he just yanked it back without breaking stride.
Yyyyy
Neil flopped down on Jay's bed, flipping through his book to try and find his page.
Herry gave up pretending to read after only a few moments and dropped both his book and glasses on his bedspread.
"You alright?" Neil glanced at him over the top of the pages.
"Yeah, it's just…. tensions are running high with everyone. We're all stressed out. Our first day of school is tomorrow." Herry rubbed his eyes. "I… I've been reading the same damn line over and over again and my mind just won't focus on it."
Neil watched his friend for a moment, and then snapped his book closed again, swung his feet over the side of the bed and stood up. "Do you think you'd rather listen to an audiobook? I have a few in my room."
Herry paused, but ultimately shook his head. "I just can't wait for everything to settle down."
They could both clearly hear when Archie slammed his bedroom door, clearly signaling the end of his and Theresa's fight.
"Should… we go out there?"
Neil shrugged. "We'd probably do more harm than good. Let's just give them some space."
Herry nodded in agreement and laid back on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
The mattress dipped as Neil mimicked his position beside him. "Want to talk?"
"About what?"
Neil laced his fingers behind his head. "Anything… on your mind?"
"Nope." Herry responded, popping the 'p'. "You?"
Neil glanced at Herry out of the corner of his eye. "Well, now that you mention it…"
"Is this going to be advice, you wanting advice, or just venting?"
"I'd like some advice, if you have any."
"I'll see what I can do." Herry cracked his knuckles absentmindedly.
"Okay. Have… have you ever been really sure of something? Like, really sure to the point that you never thought to question it? But then… something changes and you keep finding yourself questioning if you were wrong all along?"
"I don't suppose I can get any more information?"
"..." Neil bit his lip and turned away.
"Are you alright? Like, this isn't a medical question?"
"No! Don't worry. I always take medical issues seriously." Neil had been chosen as the team medic for mainly that reason, after all.
"Okay, well… I have been wrong about things before." Herry started slowly. "I have also thought I was wrong about things only to find out that I shouldn't have doubted myself to begin with. So,"
Neil looked over at his friend, taking note of the look of concentration on his face. He was clearly trying to choose his words carefully.
"I guess if there's a reason you're doubting what you knew, you should probably investigate. On the one hand, if it turns out you were right the whole time than you're right back to where you originally were-,"
"Except-," Neil interrupted Herry, but then cut himself off before he said anything else.
"...except..?" Herry prompted.
Neil let out a breath in silence, gaze turned to the wall opposite Herry. "Except… I don't think I can go back. If- if I investigate this, and it turns out that I'm not- that I was right to begin with," growing rather frustrated, Neil dragged his hands down his face and sat up, Herry following suit and looking even more concerned.
"Neil?"
"I'm afraid that if I look into this and end up being wrong, I… someone might come out of it hurt. And I don't want that." He finally said in a rush, like he was worried if he didn't say it fast enough, he'd never say it.
"Hurt?"
"Not 'hurt' hurt. More like… feelings? I'm not… I'm not good at this sort of thing."
Herry put a hand on Neil's shoulder. "I might not be the best person to ask about this. At least, I don't know what to help with without a bit more information."
"It- it's alright. I think I might not actually be as ready to ask for advice as I thought."
"Your face is bright red."
As soon as Herry said that, Neil cleared his throat in embarrassment and looked away. 'Away', however, happened to be right out the window. The sun was starting to set, but it hadn't darkened much at all yet.
"Hey, Herry?"
"Hm?"
Neil got up and stood in front of the window, looking around for something. "Chronos called Jay outside for something."
Herry joined him at the window, now also looking around for their friend and mentor. "Yeah. Their talks don't usually last this long. I wonder where they-,"
"Down there." Neil pointed a ways down the treeline.
Sure enough, Chronos was strolling between the edge of the woods and the wire fence they had surrounding their vegetable garden. His hands were in his pockets as he appeared to be having a casual conversation with his walking partner.
The thing that caught the attention of both Herry and Neil, though, was the fact that he wasn't walking with Jay.
No.
He was walking with Agnon.
Every so often, the giant would cast a look into the woods, almost like he was searching for something, but he otherwise kept pace with his boss.
"Maybe Jay came back inside?" Herry wondered aloud.
Neil shook his head. "We would have heard the door. Besides, Theresa is still out in the living room. We would have at least heard them talking."
"Where do you think he went?"
Neil shook his head. "I don't know." Normally, this wouldn't have raised any concern, but with everything that had been happening lately… he couldn't put a finger on it, but something just felt off. And whenever his gut instinct told him something was 'just off', he'd learned to listen as it was more often than not his ability giving him an annoyingly vague heads up.
Yyyyy
"Odie would be a good pick." Chronos mused, shoes brushing aside a few early fallen leaves.
Agnon grunted in response.
"True. But brute strength isn't all that matters on the field of battle. I take it that means you'd pick Herry?"
Agnon snorted in agreement.
"Not to disagree, but just because Herry is great at making decisions when he's fighting alone, or following his leader's orders if he's part of a group, doesn't mean he's ready for this. He's not had very many successes at being team lead. Being a good soldier doesn't automatically make someone a strong leader."
The giant took a few full-stride steps and passed Chronos, picking up a rather large branch from their walking path and setting it aside, out of the way. Once again, he let out a few soft grunts.
"Hmm. Archie and Atlanta have both led their own teams in practice fights with varying degrees of success, but both tend to be impatient, hard-headed, and stubborn. Those can be good qualities to have at times, but…" he dropped the thoughtful finger from his chin and shook his head. "Neither is ready to be in charge."
Agnon held up both of his hands, palms up, like he was weighing two things. He then grunted a few times.
"Neil's luck can only take him so far, but Theresa tends to overthink. Hmm. Jay says he's decided who he wants to ask, so perhaps he's looking at a different criteria set than we are."
The giant shrugged.
"Cronos."
The god looked back towards the house, where Herry and Neil were standing on the front porch. "Yes?"
"Where did Jay go? You called him outside to talk and he never came back in." Neil shivered in the fall evening breeze, apparently regretting not grabbing his jacket.
"What's going on?" Theresa followed the boys out.
Chronos held up his hands as a signal to the three that he was about to speak. "Jay's just giving me a hand with something. He won't be gone long."
"What's he doing this late on a school night?" Theresa asked, wrapping her arm around Neil in an attempt to warm him up.
Chronos just shook his head and gestured for them all to head inside. "You'll see soon. In the meantime, I'd like to have a word with all of you."
"Well, that sounds foreboding." Neil muttered, leading the way through the door.
"Everyone, to the living room, please!" The god called.
Atlanta came in through the backdoor, quietly putting her PMR back in her pocket.
Odie, dressed in his night clothes and towel-drying his hair, trailed after Archie, who still seemed to be fairly testy. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall, pointedly avoiding making eye-contact with Theresa.
"Given your recent run-in with the gods, Jay and I have been talking. He's voiced a few concerns to me and we've agreed that, right now, our best next step is choosing a backup leader. Someone to weigh in on difficult decisions. Someone to take over in case Jay is ever…"
Chronos suddenly trailed off, realizing that his discussion with Jay regarding a second in command came right after their talk about Jay's boyfriend. He wouldn't… he wouldn't have been hinting at… adding a civilian to the team. Would he? No. No, Jay was too smart for that. But he was young. And impulsive.
The rest of the kids, suddenly left hanging, were busy trying to figure out what Chronos had been about to say.
"'In case Jay is ever' what?" Odie prompted.
"Getting groceries?"
"Dead?"
Theresa and Archie, guessing at the same time, whipped around to glare daggers at each other.
"Wow. Really? You just jump straight to the worst case scenario?" The psychic snapped.
"He hesitated. We are at war with gods. Do you really think he was leading up to Jay grocery shopping?"
"That's enough. Both of you. You have school tomorrow so tonight's test can't last for too long. But, yes. It would be a good idea to have a stand-in leader in case Jay is ever… otherwise occupied. Regardless of what he may or may not be occupied with, we want to be sure that you don't have to waste time trying to figure out who should be in charge. Therefore, tonight's test will be to show not only how well you all fare without Jay, but also shortlist one of you to a bit of a promotion."
The six teens eyed each other wearily. Jay hadn't mentioned any of this to them. And it was starting to grow dark outside.
"Now, Jay wanted me to assure you all that, should the one chosen decide that they're not cut out for the position, you will not be forced."
"Shouldn't Jay be here for this? You keep telling us what Jay said, or what Jay wants. Why isn't he telling us?" Neil asked, voicing what they had all started questioning.
Chronos just smiled, which eased none of their fears. "Agnon and I were just giving Jay some time to set up for the test."
"So, we're going to have to prove we can work well together without Jay. What will we be doing? I take it this won't be hide-and-seek again?" Theresa leaned against the back of the couch.
"Oh, no. You'll have Jay for this test."
The kids looked at each other in confusion. As Chronos kept talking, however, that confusion gave way to realization.
"To make this a real challenge, you will be fighting an opponent who knows you better than anyone. Someone who knows the terrain, knows your strengths and weaknesses, is trained on every weapon in your arsenal, and has shared in every victory and defeat this team has accrued over the years."
"Wait…"
"Are we-,"
"Oh, this isn't going to be fun."
Chronos opened the door and led them all out to the driveway. "Jay is out there in the woods. He's got a head start, but you have the numbers. There will be no time limit, but keep in mind that no matter how long it takes, you will still have to attend school in the morning so it is in your best interest to not dawdle. Find Jay. Capture him, and bring him to me. Ready?"
The kids looked at each other, and then the woods, which were steadily growing darker by the second. They weren't ready. They always hated surprise tests, but Jay had always been with them in the past to both lead them and encourage them. They'd been split up before for lessons, but never six against one.
Chronos didn't seem to pick up on their unease. Either that or he didn't care. With a wave of his hand, he signaled the start of the last test of their summer break. "Go."
