Hercules and the Modern Girl
Written By Starswim
Disclaimer: Just to be clear, I don't own the following Hercules characters, the movie and the series. Everything belongs to Disney! I own my OC character and twist of plot.
Rated: T (Violence, language, tobacco, alcohol usage, and other intense stuff that is inappropriate for children.)
Plot: We all know the story of Hercules. But when a modern girl is watching the movie, fate somehow transports her into the animated universe! So now she has to survive high school, a snobbish prince, monsters, an overprotective hero-in-training, and the flamehead himself! Can she survive the cartoon and its possible twists? Can she go the distance to get back to where she belongs? One way to find out...
...
The World's First Twist
"Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself?" the blonde adult asked, slipping on his plain white T-shirt.
His little sister had to suppress an eye roll as she heated up popcorn in the microwave.
"She'll be fine," The middle child stated. He jumped over the stair rail and grabbed his baseball cap from the coat rack to cover up his shaggy raven hair. "This isn't her first time home alone. If she can kick your ass-"
"Brandon," the oldest scolded.
"What?! Mom's at work, and our little sister is no saint when it comes to potty talk."
"Be glad that Mom is at work. Otherwise, Nattie won't be the only one capable of kicking your butt," Johnny turned his attention to his baby sister, who was leaning against the kitchen counter. Her sweet oval face glowed with a hint of rose to her cheeks. Yaya believed Nattie to be an angel. However, the smirk stretching across the girl's face showed evidence that Brandon's words were valid.
Nattie was the youngest of the three. Fifteen years old and about to start the second year of high school this September. Her duty was to live carefree, cause mischief, and wrap someone around her manicured finger. Fortunately for the brothers, their American father wasn't around to be the girl's number one victim to prey on with her puppy-dog brown eyes and rosy pout. Papouli was number one on her list - the only man to provide her the extra scoop of ice cream, a sip from Yaya's wine collection, a preview of the goriest horror films, and tips on how to play cards.
Their mother, who started a family at a too-young age, worked at a medical clinic downtown in Athens. The mini-hospital didn't have an upscale neighborhood like Kolonaki but was always the busiest - especially where the crime and parties took place. The family was lucky to live far away from the nightclubs and could afford to tolerate loud children and booming pop music next door.
Mother always encouraged her kids not to make the same mistakes she had made. She had high hopes for Johnny Junior - the most responsible but the most annoying dad-wannabe attending dental school. Nattie could do right if she pursued a career as a massage therapist or a hairdresser. Unfortunately, Brandon was currently the disappointing son. He repeated primary education once, got kicked out twice for constant absences, and always liked to mingle and play baseball than read a book. What ticked Nattie off the most was that Brandon was currently in a relationship with her best friend - Aria. She remembered going straight to the bathroom and puked after the big reveal. It's a shame they weren't in America, considering that Aria was fifteen and Brandon was going to be an adult in January. To Nattie, their relationship should be illegal, no matter their age.
"Nattie, at any time you need us-"
The girl interrupted Johnny with a smile, "I won't call you."
Johnny huffed and rolled his eyes. He wished for Nattie to lay off the sarcasm for one minute. How her two only friends from primary school - Aria and Cleo - could handle Nattie's wit, he'll never know. It was supposed to be an attractive quality, but it sometimes came off as antisocial. It was almost like Brandon with schoolwork.
Brandon snatched the keys from the dish on the kitchen counter, "C'mon, Bro! Ari is waiting for me! I can't be late for our reservation!"
"Dude, it's Goody's. One: there is nothing fancy or romantic about that place that requires a reservation. Two - maybe, if you studied for the written test, you wouldn't have an issue with punctuality. Better yet, you really should study for your exams if you don't want to repeat another year."
Brandon frowned.
"Atta-boy, Johnny," Nattie praised, high-fiving her brother. "Way to make him feel the burn." If she's lucky, maybe Aria would gain some sense and dump her big brother. Who would consider Goody's Burgers a place to have a romantic lunch? Nattie may not be the type to care, but she knew Aria had fancy tastebuds. Brandon didn't have a job to cover expenses, always begging Papouli or Yaya for money.
Brandon rolled his eyes, leaving the house with a few choice words, "βιδώστε και τους δύο! (Screw you, both!)"
"Love you, too, Brandon," Nattie piped though was overpowered by the door slam.
"Whatever. The punk knows we're right," Johnny kissed his sister on the head and squeezed her shoulders tight. He stifled a plea against her ponytail, "Promise you'll call if anything happens."
"I promise I will think about y'all while whipping a rapist's ass with Mom's belt."
Johnny huffed, offering another kiss on his sister's head. "Maybe you should take this time alone to study for your exams."
Nattie pressed her lips together, trying her best not to start an argument. Every lazy teen knew that nobody wanted to study on a weekend. Johnny Jr. should lay off the fatherly role until he has his own kids. Johnny wished her goodbye before finally leaving the house.
At this point, the girl was home alone, just as she liked it. One Saturday of peace without being forced to go to her brother's game or study for exams on the fifteenth of June. Nattie was determined to make her day by breaking many rules without consequence. For starters, she will be eating popcorn on her mother's couch, crossing the line to the lioness's den.
"I hear your heartbeat to the beat of the drums!" Nattie grabbed the wooden spoon, singing along with Kesha on her Zebra iPod while whipping her head to the beat.
"Oh, what a shame that you came here with someone
So while you're here in my arms
Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young!"
She hurried to the pole that was connected to the spiral stairs, twerking and hooking her legs around to spin. Another house rule to be broken was checked off - never go crazy at the pole.
"We're gonna die young
We're gonna die young
Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young!"
Nattie was trying to hold on with both her hands while climbing the pole with her feet to do a flip like the professionals on Youtube. At least, that's what Nattie tried to do. She leaned back to flip but released the pole too early, falling onto her back and bumping her head against the hardwood floor. The world around her spun like a spiral staircase, and the music in the background faded. She didn't realize that she was laughing and pressing into the bump.
Nattie could see why Mom made this a rule. Maybe she had done this to herself with no one was looking. Nattie was lucky nobody saw it or created a viral video.
"Don't try this at home, kids," she grumbled, finally forcing herself to sit upright. She leaned against the pole, slowly coming back to her senses. Nattie didn't believe she had gained a concussion, for her eight-year-old self had experienced that traumatic injury before in dance class. She remembered seeing stars and hearing a telephone ring, even though no phones were allowed in the studio. That injury was a godsend for Mom finally dropped Nattie from taking any more classes due to her safety and self-esteem.
Nattie returned to reality by hearing a constant beeping in the kitchen. Her popcorn was popped and ready to eat for a movie. She opened the movie cabinet and looked for a good movie to watch. There were different kinds of films to watch, like horror movies, intense romances, comedies, and even Disney movies.
It had been an eternity since Nattie watched a Disney classic. The last movie she saw from Disney was Prom with her friends last year. She hated high school cliches. Thankfully, it wasn't a musical like the High School Musical series. There was one animated movie in the cabinet that caught her eye - Hercules. The film was classic. The characters were realistic, with many pop culture references. Nattie didn't forget Charlton Heston, also known as Ben Hur. Yaya handed the family a video collection of The Greatest Heroes of the Bible, admitting that she had a huge crush on the narrator.
With all those reasons in mind, Nattie had made her decision.
Nattie inserted the disc into the DVD player and changed the TV settings. She closed the curtains to darken the room as if she was in her very own private theater. She hopped onto the couch, propped her feet on the coffee table, and settled the popcorn bag on her lap.
The movie menu popped on the screen, cueing Nattie to reach for the remote on the table. At least the remote was supposed to be on the table. Nattie sighed, knowing she had to get up from her comfortable spot and search high and low for the remote.
"Ugh! Why can't Brandon learn to put stuff away?!" Nattie knew that she was partially to blame for the laziness. Mom always said that the responsibility of tidiness was a third each. While listening to the instrumental version of Zero to Hero, Nattie turned on the lamp to search and locate the remote that was lying above the TV.
"Aha! Finally!" she picked up the remote and hopped back to the seat, switching the lamp off. Another problem arose as she was sitting down.
"Aw man, my spot is cold!"
With a dismissing huff, Nattie extended her arm and aimed the remote at the TV screen before pressing enter. The movie started rolling, developing imagery of the Greek mythology statues.
Ben Hur began the tale, "Long ago in a faraway land in Ancient Greece." Nattie pulled the bag apart, spilling some popcorn on the couch.
"Damn it," Nattie cursed under her breath as she picked up the mess and ate it.
"There was a Golden Age of powerful gods and extraordinary heroes. The greatest and strongest of all these heroes..." The vase of the Son of Zeus appeared on screen, "...was the mighty Hercules. But what is the measure of a true hero? Now that... is where our story... Excuse me, miss! I am trying to narrate!"
Nattie ceased her bite and froze at the unexpected line from the narrator.
"That's right. I am talking to you. Stop that smacking at once; it is distracting."
So her ears didn't deceive her. Ben Hur the diva called Nattie out for smacking popcorn!
Finally, Nattie found the words to respond with her mouth full of popcorn. Some fell out of her mouth as she spoke, "Uh... what?"
"I believe you have heard me loud and clear, my dear. Please, do try to be considerate."
Was this for real? This wasn't part of the show. Did her brothers return home to prank her? She could easily picture them doing this, hiding upstairs out of plain sight. Johnny being the imitator, while Brandon snickered in the background.
"Ha! Ha! Boys, very funny." Nobody replied, which was typical. Then again, looking back at the screen, the muses weren't present. She was already two minutes into the movie. Brandon must've edited this clip to add his mischief... No, that didn't make sense either. Brandon wasn't supposed to be the clever one in the family. Nattie must've hit her head harder than she thought. Maybe she didn't wake up from the fall. Maybe she was in a coma-like state... that was a scary thought.
What would happen if she had made funny faces and called the old timer names? The problem was she couldn't think of a good insult for the good man. Yaya would smack her for doing such a thing.
Instead, Nattie decided to play along, costing her sanity, "Okay, Mr. Heston. No more popcorn. No, sir." She moved the bag off her lap and quietly swallowed. She forgot to bring a soda can to dislodge any remaining bits in her throat. Nonetheless, she sat still, waiting for a response from the narrator.
"There! It's gone! Happy?"
"Thank you," the narrator breathed with relief.
Nattie gasped, covering her agape mouth in shock.
"Now we can resume this tale... right now."
"What the fu-" Nattie didn't have a chance to finish for the screen gone dark along with the room. "Uh... hello?" she waved at the screen, "You still there, Handsome Hur? Are the muses going to perform or what?" She reached for her phone on the table to see it completely dead. First the TV, her phone, now the lamp wasn't working. This couldn't be a coincidence. Now Nattie believed that she had lost her mind.
Nattie stood on her feet to open the curtains, only to feel the ground shake below her, forcing her to fall back onto the couch.
"Holy shit! Earthquake!"
The candlesticks, china plates, and the rubble from the roof came falling. Nattie followed her instincts and crawled under the coffee table, bumping her head again. She learned in school that in case there was an emergency - crouch down into a fetal position, shut up, try not to panic, and there was something else. What was she missing?
Before she could think to do anything else, the TV screen in front of her was glowing white until it became brighter and brighter than the sun.
"What the hell!" She shielded her eyes from the light, looking around to see her whole world turn white. Nattie screamed and cursed, falling into oblivion. Where did her furniture go? Why was her head no longer - nevermind, she could still feel the bump. The white slowly gained a spin of color: the ROY G BIV. Nobody taught Nattie what to do when her house became the World of Color. Her only option was instinct - scream and hug herself for dear life.
If only the family cat was still here to keep her company, even though Cuddles became a nuisance. Then again, legend had it, Cuddles's spirit still remained in the house, no doubt ready to exact his vengeance on her.
"Spare me, Cuddles! AAAAHHH!"
Then, she felt it — the cool breeze against her face. She let go of her knees and clenched her fists, pulling itchy straw between her fingers. Why was she kneeling on grass and not her hardwood floor? She took the risk by fluttering her eyes open but quickly closed them, wincing at a blinding light above her. Having enough strength and courage to move her left arm, she used it as a sun visor. Her eyes opened again to see that the sun was shining. Her ears perked at the sound of birds chirping.
Was she outside her house? No, she was nowhere near her house or neighborhood. Did she run into the woods somewhere? No, this place was anything but familiar.
"Holy shit," the girl cursed.
~000~000~000~
"And that, dear readers, is where this story begins," the narrator continued, showing a vase of the modern girl widening her eyes and clenching her hair as if she was having a mental break.
"What this girl is about to discover-"
"Would you listen to him?!" A female voice perked. The narrator turned his attention to the Hercules vase where five muses took place - Calliope, the leading muse of epic poetry; Clio, the knowledgeable muse of history with a scroll in hand; Thalia, the spunky muse of comedy; Terpsichore, the spikey inspiration who loves to dance; finally, Melpomene, the woman of tragedy with hair that was amazing as Beyonce's.
Thalia snatched a drama mask from Melpomene, rolling her eyes at the annoying narration.
"Dude, you turning this story into some Greek tragedy!" she put the mask on, cueing the sad face.
"This is Disney, not a History documentary!" Terpsichore placed hands on her hips, shaking her head in disapproval. "Lighten up!"
"I think we'll take it from here, darling," Calliope batted her lashes, sweetly swaying their narrator to let them take the lead.
The invisible storyteller huffed, "Very well. You go, girls."
The muses shook their hips to the beat on cue.
"In case you didn't get the memo," Calliope gestured the opened scroll in Clio's hand before she tossed it over her shoulder and curtsied with her soul sisters, "we are the muses, the goddesses of arts and proclaimers of heroes." Calliope flexed her arms.
"Heroes like Hercules," Terpsichore fanned herself.
"Honey, you mean Hunkles!" Thalia slid down to Hercules's face, cooing at the boy's perfections. "Boy, do I like to make some sweet music with him-"
"Our story," Calliope scolded her sister for a brief moment before returning her attention to the fans and readers ahead, "actually begins not the tale alone, but the twist. You may think you're reading the same story, but you're not. Not when the Modern Girl dropped by."
"Who?" Clio mocked the question, pretending to have no idea.
"You don't know? Well, let us sing it to you," Calliope created a staircase for the girls by the vase border.
"Oh yeah!" Thalia cried. "Cue the remix!"
(Song: The Gospel Truth - Remix/Pop Version - remixed by seoulhangungmal- sung by Jocelyn Brown)
The women vocalized, and the music that was once played before changed into a more upbeat, pop tune. A bright spotlight shined from the disco ball. The invisible narrator was in charge of lights. Four of the muses danced down the stairs, but instead of Thalia following them down, she beat them by sliding down Hercules's painted frame.
"I'll come back for you, baby!" Thalia cooed at the hunk. Once the muses had caught up to their short, overweight companion, the woman began her solo as the music quietened down.
"And that's the world's first dish!" The girls threw their hands in before raising them, changing the vase imagery. The jar showed the trapped titans while Zeus and his lightning bolt reigned supreme.
"Zeus tamed the globe while still in his youth!"
The rest of Thalia's sisters vocalized with her. "Though honey, it may seem impossible, that's the gospel truth! At Mt. Olympus, life was neat and smooth," the women slid to the right, "as sweet Vermouth." The women individually posed like the beginning of the original story.
"Though, honey, it may seem impossible, that's the gospel truth!"
The upbeat resumed, and the lights continued to flash. The girls swayed and spun to the beat. Terpsichore didn't have any issues showing off her gymnasium tricks.
"You may know the story of Hercules!" Calliope began the tale while Thalia did some vocalization.
"How he got stolen away from Olympus as a baby," Melpomene lifted a vase of the imps stealing the poor infant while his parents found an empty crib upstairs. It zoomed down to the mini-demons feeding baby Hercules. "Turned mortal."
"Poor Herc!" Clio cried in agony.
Melpomene spun the vase to show painted imagery of Hercules being raised by Amphitryon and Alcmene - the boy's adoptive parents. The time when Toddler Hercules raised the house with his mother inside. The ten-year-old shook another mortal boy's hands, who cried in pain from his grip. Teenage Hercules crashed an entire marketplace down with a single disc. "Raised by mortals."
"Oh, no!"
"That is until he discovered his true parentage," Calliope concluded with a wink, opening a scroll to show Hercules meeting his father in statue form.
"That's right, my boy, to be a god again," Thalia deepened her voice to imitate Zeus while she moved the king's lips in sync like a paper puppet, "you must become a true hero!" She tossed the paper puppet behind her and hopped into a painting of Hercules flying with Pegasus and begging Phil to train him.
"So he set out for his quest with the help of his bird-horse buddy and his satyr trainer - Philoctetes."
"A lot has happened after Herc had gone the distance," Melpomene put on a bunch of emotional drama masks. First, it was the happy face, "Excitement." Next, it was the terrifying face with tears, "Danger." A blushing mask that had a ruby kiss on the cheek, "Romance." She tossed the last mask behind her. "Let's just say there is a lot of drama, but I'm sure you know that for you have already seen the show."
"What you don't know, baby!" Thalia jumped next to her friend to address the readers. "Is that this story will be twisted! Let us introduce you to..." Their eyes raised at the vase behind them with a self-portrait of the traumatized teenage girl. "Nattie!"
"Who?" Clio mocked her question again. Thalia glanced at her as if she was dumb.
"For someone who is supposed to be the muse of history, she sure is dumb."
Clio placed her hands on her hips and pursed her lips to express disapproval. Didn't Thalia know the definition of sarcasm? She was supposed to be the muse of comedy.
"Anyway!" Calliope jumped into the conversation before the heat could intensify any further, like the disco lights around them. The two women downstairs resumed their sway but looked away from one another. "Nattie Camden - the Greek American girl had no direction in life until her life changed forever on a summer mid-day of 2012!" She spun the jar to show the girl on her knees in shock, taking in her current scenery.
"She is in our world now, baby! She is gonna have an adventure that every fangirl or boy alike dreams of living."
"Be careful what you wish for, baby," Melpomene advised, "for this won't be pretty. As I said," she whipped out the mask that she tried on earlier, "there will be excitement, danger, and teenage hormones!"
"Oh yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" Thalia vocalized.
"Eck!" Terpsichore stuck her tongue out while doing flips around the handle of the vase. "Why do you have to say it like that? Can't you just say romance, Mel?"
Melpomene rolled her eyes.
Terpsichore gasped and stopped her swing in thought, "Is it possible that this girl might steal Hercules's heart instead of-"
"Don't go jumping ahead, girl," Clio scolded. "This is only the beginning. The Modern Girl will be facing a lot of choices! She must face ancient cultures," she tossed each scroll in the dancing muse's arms, "academic education, bullies, monsters, and worst of all, the you-know-whos."
After tossing the last scroll, Terpsichore reached up to catch it, causing the pile to fall from her lap. She tried to save them, only for her to fall off the handle of the vase backward. The other muses winced at the crash, but Terpsichore waved her white fan, assuring them that she was okay.
All four girls lined up in front. Meanwhile, Terpsichore was trying to shake off the fall. No doubt, her muscles will either bruise or be sore later.
"Yes, Nattie will face many challenges and meet Wonderboys and flaming monsters alike. But can she do it? Can she survive our world? You'll just have to read and see."
Terpsichore returned to her spot just in time to resume the song.
"And that's the world's first twist!" Thalia vocalized.
"Tell it, girl!" The dancing muse commanded.
"The Modern Girl will spin the earth, round right round!"
"I thought the earth was flat," Cilo questioned, earning a shush from her comrades.
"Though, honey, it may seem impossible - that's the gospel truth!" The muses sang. "At Mount Olympus, life was neat and smooth as sweet, then boom!"
With a snap of their fingers, the muses looked to be hanging upside down, but it turned out to be the vase that flipped over. A point to prove that their world will change by one teenager.
"Though, honey, it may seem impossible - that's the gospel truth!" The girls continued to sing, smiling on the outside but bracing themselves for the significant changes that were about to come.