Chapter 37:
Markus was in his apartment, listening to some music while he played with his Nintendo DS. He was addicted to Super Mario Bros and was hoping to rescue the damn princess and kick Bowser's ass. Seriously, why was Peach always getting kidnapped? She was a damn princess! She could get much better protection against Bowser whenever he tried to kidnap her. Or better yet, save herself! Why was she always relying on Mario to save her? She was the definition of damsel in distress.
Markus wanted to go back to camp, since he hadn't been there since he came back from his training trip. But he wanted it to be a surprise. He wanted to show up in an awesome fashion, looking all badass and stuff, with a cool pose and - oh, clothes! Couldn't forget that.
But the actual reason that he hadn't gone back yet was because of his job in rescuing Nico and Bianca di Angelo. He was going to rescue them, but he was going to let the others handle the legwork. From Silena - who was at camp - he knew that Grover had spotted two 'unknown' half-bloods with a powerful scent, and that he'd already took Thalia, Annabeth and Percy with him. Not only that, but he'd received notice from Hades that his two children were freed and that he should uphold his end of the deal they'd made.
So he gave the group an hour headstart. He wanted to see if they were able to handle themselves. Then he'd swoop in, save the kids and and deal with any fallout that was going to happen. Markus knew that the group would be mad at him for stealing their thunder, but he had a job to do.
Hearing a beeping noise from an alarm that he'd set up, he knew that it was time. Dropping his game, he set out, grabbing his gear and clothes. Done with all that, he vapour-travelled to his location.
Westover Hall, Outside...
Percy Jackson watched in glee as he slashed and hacked at the darting and retreating figure of the disguised manticore, Dr. Thorn. Ever since his brother Markus had left for a trip only gods knew where, he and the others had continued their personal training, and had made excellent progress.
He'd gotten better with his dual-wielding, and had come a long way in using his powers. Like Markus, he could now control ice with ease, along with vapour. Although vapour-travel was still something that he found draining, he'd managed to accomplish it.
Not only him, but Annabeth and Thalia had gotten better than before. Annabeth could now use throwing knives with the same accuracy that children of Apollo could use bows. Plus she was very skilled at unarmed combat. Since Markus had left, she had no one to train her in combat. Understandably pissed, she sought out other sources. She sparred daily with Clarisse and Silena - who'd become skilled in martial combat as well - and learned how to fight. It turns out that being the daughter of Athena didn't just give Annabeth increased smarts. As a daughter of a war goddess, Annabeth had an aptitude for fighting, be it with weapons or fists. It wasn't as noticeable as with children of Ares, but it was there. So she soaked up the teachings like a sponge. She'd also taken to dual-wielding with two daggers, her own one and another one of a similar fashion, but more sharper.
With Thalia, her lightning and wind control had increased greatly. Her bolts were more powerful, and she could now control her lightning in the same manner that Percy had seen Markus do. He didn't know how, but she just said that it was through trial and error. There wasn't really that much improvement in her spear-wielding, since she was already good with it, but she did still train with it.
Even Katie and Silena had made significant improvement in their own personal skills, both impressing and scaring Percy slightly with their progress.
But right now, he was focused on dodging the spikes that produced from Thorn's tail. While the manticore had given himself room, he was left defenseless to the couple of knives that got lodged into his back. He roared, turning to glare at the smirking Annabeth. He made to move, but was then hit by a bolt of lightning courtesy of Thalia, causing him to get fried and smoking.
Behind Grover, stood the two half-bloods that he was sent to protect. They were both siblings. They also had looks of horror and awe at the scene playing in front of them.
Thorn snarled at the demigods. "You'll pay for that!" he snarled, but his voice was filled with pain from the lightning, making it less intimidating.
Thalia smirked, her long hair tied in a ponytail. She'd taken to growing out her hair rather than keeping it short. "Really? Because from where I'm standing, you sound like a drowned kitten, not at all threatening," she taunted. "Also, I'd be careful if I were you."
"And why is that?" Thorn snarled. When Thalia pointed behind him, he whirled, seeing a wave of snow rising and enveloping him, crushing under the weight. He roared in anger and defiance as he was crushed into gold dust.
"Nice job, Kelp Head," Thalia said to Percy, who'd controlled the snow to kill Thorn.
"Thanks, Porcupine Head," he said back, relieved.
Just as the group managed to calm down and go towards the kids, there were loud growls and roars as, past the undergrowth of trees, more monsters appeared. Dozens of dracanae, cyclopes, hellhounds and empousai and more the demigods couldn't fully see. There had to have been over a hundred monsters, all armed to the teeth and covered with armour.
"Why are there more monsters here?!" Annabeth asked, alarmed. Despite being confident in herself and her friends' skills, they couldn't take that many monsters.
"I-I don't know!" Grover stuttered out in fear. "M-Maybe it's because of all of your combined scents! Percy and Thalia are children of the Big Three along with Annabeth!"
"Yeah, but there should be only up to roughly twenty monsters, not over a hundred!" Percy said, holding out his swords, even though he knew it was futile. He could try crushing them with snow or using the nearby water, but he could see archers among the army of monsters. They would probably shoot him down before he could even try.
"It doesn't matter!" Thalia yelled, brandishing her spear and shield. "We have to fight!" Although her voice was a little shaky as she said that. She was trying to hide her fear. The scene was similar to her death at Half-Blood Hill, and she was getting bad flashbacks.
"We're going to die!" the little boy behind Grover cried out, no longer feeling awe at the scene and realizing the situation that they were in. He buried his head into his sister's side, who tried comforting him to no avail.
Just as the demigods were about to fight, they saw silver arrows shoot from the side covered by trees towards the front line of the monsters, killing some while others deflected the arrows.
Percy looked to Annabeth as she sighed in relief. "The Hunters!" she called out, relieved.
"Oh... wonderful," Thalia groaned beside him, not happy to see them.
The son of Poseidon looked to where the arrows had come from and after taking note of their cloaks and drawn bows, he was shocked when he saw that each of the attackers were girls near his age, some a year or two younger. One in the front, with long black hair and a silver circlet around her head, drew her bow back further, before she spoke. "Shall I shoot, Milady?"
A young girl around the age of twelve or thirteen said from the back, "Negative, Zoe. There's too many of them for a single shot. Hunters, stand ready. The enemy may be vast, but I have faith that-"
The girl was interrupted by a loud sound that came from something crashing to the ground, right beside Percy. The snow and ground cratered under the unknown figure's landing. Percy jumped in surprise as he raised his swords. The other demigods and Hunters trained their weapons on the obscured figure. The gathered monsters also turned their heads to the scene.
The smoke created from the landing kept on obscuring the figure, but the only thing seen were two glowing green eyes that seemed familiar to the demigods. The figure waved their hand, the smoke being pushed away. What was revealed was a very handsome boy around the age of seventeen or eighteen. He wore a grey jacket with white fur lining the collar which was left open, showing a black muscle shirt that that showed his very defined muscles underneath. Added to that, he wore black jeans held together by a black belt with a gold buckle. Topping it off he wore brown leather boots that went up to below his knees. He had gold earrings pierced on his ears. Thalia, Annabeth and Bianca blushed at seeing him, liking what they saw. Although the former two felt like they knew the boy.
Another thing that was noticed was a sword at his hip that was sheathed. It was a Japanese katana held in a black sheath. It had a gold guard along with a white and black hilt.
Despite his normal appearance, he had a dangerous aura around him, like he was going to kill everyone there. His eyes scanned his surroundings like a predator. He looked over the demigods from Camp Half-Blood - who he smiled at, confusing them - then looked at the Hunters of Artemis, his eyes lighting up when he saw a few of them. His gaze drifted towards the gathered monsters who looked at the boy with confusion in their eyes, and his gaze turned from friendly to bored, as if he didn't consider them a threat. Finally, his gaze landed on the two siblings behind Grover, who squirmed when his eyes landed on them. Seeing this, the demigods tensed.
"Who are you?" the girl that spoke before asked him, her voice powerful and suspicious.
The unknown boy ignored her, something she didn't take kindly to. "Answer me, boy. Who are you?" She said 'boy' like it was meant to sound worse than it actually was.
He ignored her again, his gaze landing on Percy, who felt a shiver run up his spine. His eyes were glowed with power, but also shone with mirth.
He grinned, showcasing perfect white teeth. "Well, nice to see you again, baby brother." His voice was deep and strong, confidence lacing his tone.
Percy's eyes went wide, as did the others demigods and satyr. Only one person they knew called Percy that, something that they knew that he hated. Now they knew why the person seemed so familiar. "Markus?!" they exclaimed in shock.
Chuckling, he nodded. "Good to see you, too. Though I wish I could meet you guys again on better circumstances. I'll take care of our 'guests'." He gestured to the army of monsters, who still hadn't attacked yet, for some odd reason.
Markus unsheathed his sword at his hip, the blade curved and beautifully crafted. Something the demigods also noted was the fact that there were some markings on the blade of the sword, something that they couldn't read.
And with that, he vanished. Eyes wide in shock, they tried looking for where he went, before hearing the sound of feet hitting the ground behind them. Whirling around, they saw Markus standing in front of the army of monsters. They roared and screeched, advancing on the lone demigod. Instead of fear, Markus had his previous bored expression. "Pathetic," he scoffed.
Then he disappeared again. Before the others could look for him, he reappeared again in the same spot, his body in a stance that was similar to how samarai did, at least in their eyes. His sword was being sheathed at a slow pace. When it was sheathed with a click, the monsters were surrounded by what looked to be purple lines that appeared at different angles above and between them.
They suddenly screamed as the lines slowly faded, disappearing into gold dust one at a time. It happened so quickly that neither of the demigods, or even the Hunters watching, could follow.
Suddenly looking up, he saw a black military helicopter pierced through the Mist surrounding them. Concentrating, Markus made the pilot of the helicopter burst from the inside, using his blood. The pilot screamed in pain as his body exploded in a shower of blood, skin, chunky flesh and messy organs that splattered the windows of the helicopter. The aircraft fell towards his father's domain, hitting the ocean and exploding in a huge display. The others watched, confused at the whole scene.
Markus sighed, cracking his neck. "Not even a challenge," he commented, walking towards the two siblings protected by Grover. He ignored the awed looks from the demigods and the wary looks from the Hunters.
"Halt, boy," the girl from before called out. Markus continued ignoring her. "I said halt!" she almost yelled out, her calm composure fading to reveal an angry one.
Markus kept walking, his hand reaching up to catch the arrow sailing towards his face. Looking to see exactly where it was shot, Markus applied kinetic energy to the arrow and threw it back to the Hunter who shot it three times as hard initially. It pierced her hand, the pain coming to her a moment after it hit her hand. She screamed in agony as the motion and projectile almost allowed the arrow to go through her hand. She dropped her bow in pain, cradling her injured hand. Other Hunters surrounded her, tending to her hand. The rest glared at Markus, but shivered as he glared back, anger dancing in his eyes.
Instead of retorting, he disappeared again, reappearing in front of Grover, who almost tripped over his hooves in shock. Smiling apologetically, Markus reached behind him, grabbing the two siblings, easily carrying them with his superior strength.
"Hey! Hey, let us go!" the younger boy shouted, trying to move out of Markus' grip. The girl was doing the same, trying to kick and scream at him, but to no avail.
The Hunters shot at Markus, angry at the boy for insulting their patron and injuring one of their own. Faster than they could see, Markus disappeared again in pure speed, the arrows hitting where he stood and shocking all those present.
He came to a stop when he was far away from the two groups, carrying the two siblings who were still struggling. "Hey. Hey!" he said to to the two. "Calm down! I'm not going to hurt you. Relax." He held his arms out, showing that he wasn't going to hurt them.
Nico and Bianca visibly calmed down, though they still looked at Markus with suspicion. "Who are you?" Bianca asked.
Markus smiled, making Bianca blush slightly. "A friend," he answered simply. "And I'm just doing a job for a... relative." Turning to one side, he hissed, "Alecto!"
Suddenly, shadows folded and formed to reveal Alecto in her Fury form. Grabbing the two siblings again, he pushed them towards the Fury, who grabbed them in her hands.
"H-Hey! You said that you weren't going to hurt us!" Nico shouted out, now angry and trying to move out of the struggling Fury's grip. Bianca was the same, looking towards Markus with anger and betrayal.
Wincing slightly at their look, Markus said, "And I won't. I'm just bringing you to someone who wants to see you very dearly." He nodded towards Alecto. "Protect them," he said simply.
Alecto nodded, baring her fangs. She dragged the struggling siblings towards her, shadows wrapping around their forms and transporting them away.
Scowling, Markus ran back to the clearing. When the Hunters saw him again, they raised their bows to shoot, but stopped when Markus unleashed his bloodlust among the clearing, scaring all of the occupants and bringing them to their knees except the one girl who'd spoken before, though she did look tense.
This bloodlust was a little trick he'd learned while training. It was basically him bringing out his desire and lust to kill, something that he'd seen Zerith do. Due to the added demonic power and power he had, his bloodlust was more potent.
Percy and the others gasped in shock and fear as they were brought to their knees, the sudden shift in presence affecting them heavily. It made their fight or flight instincts flare, with the latter seeming like something they were leaning towards. Percy, Annabeth and Grover compared it to the time to Hades' aura when they met the god, though it was much less potent but still very powerful. The demigods and satyr flinched as they literally saw their own deaths in their minds, even if the bloodlust wasn't aimed at them.
Markus glared at the kneeling Hunters, his eyes turning red. "Did it not occur to you," he hissed silently to them, "that you could've hit the children? That, in your stupidity, you would've injured innocent children who have done no wrong?"
The Hunters choked, trying to get rid of the almost unholy feeling that was directed at them. They were saved, however, when the little girl still standing up released a godly presence, signalling who she was.
"Do not insult my hunters, boy," the goddess spoke sharply. "They're skills are top notch. And should you not bow before an Olympian goddess?"
Markus scoffed, calling off his bloodlust since she countered it with her godly aura. "I bow before those I respect, Artemis. Just because you are an Olympian, does not mean you have my respect. You earn it. And your Hunters are judgemental fools who can't see things for what they are."
"How dare you insult Lady Artemis you disgusting pi-" the girl with the silver circlet and long black hair angrily spoke out, before she was cut off from moving due to Markus controlling her blood to stop her from moving. He did it to all the other Hunters, except those he saved from Circe's island which he recognised. The Hunters' eyes were wide as they struggled to break the mysterious hold that they were in, but Markus' control far surpassed their willpower.
"I wasn't talking to you pissant," Markus spoke arrogantly, glaring daggers at the frozen girl. "When your better addresses you, then you can speak."
The girls glared at him, but he just sneered at them. Artemis stepped forward, allowing Markus to see her features. Even as a twelve year old, she was breathtakingly beautiful. She had long auburn hair and silvery-yellow eyes that were glaring lasers at him. If he were any lesser man, he would've wilted under her glare. She had milky skin that reflected in the moonlight.
"Release my Hunters from your hold, filthy male," she snarled, power glowing in her eyes. Markus didn't feel threatened in the slightest. He even grinned. "Make me," he challenged. Wanting to add fuel to the fire, he mentally commanded them to move their bodies. He could've done it without a word, but it was much more fun saying words. "Kneel," he ordered, making the girls - that were controlled - go down on one knee, gritting their teeth in frustration and anger, but powerless to do anything.
He looked towards Artemis, who's aura was visible and glowing in rage. He shrugged. "I wouldn't be doing this if your Hunters hadn't shot at me. I'm a pretty easy-going guy, despite having a temper. But your bitches just had to shoot at me when I basically did their job for them and protected two innocent half-bloods. But no!" He was purposefully taunting the goddess, wanting to make her snap. The reason being was simple: he was bored and wanted a challenge. The monsters were boring to him. Due to his training, he hadn't had much of a challenge, in terms of training or fighting. He wanted something to make him sweat, and fighting a goddess was just the thing he needed. He didn't care that he was being arrogant, as he had the advantage. The snow and the nearby ocean.
Practically burning holes into his head, Artemis snapped her fingers, trying to transform Markus into a jackalope, wanting to punish the foolish demigod. Suspecting this, Markus quickly called on his own divine energy and coated his entire body in it, shielding himself from the goddess' transformation. It was a trick that Susanoo had taught him. When gods turned mortals into animals, they usually do this by exerting their godly willpower over them, dominating them and successfully turning them into animals. But since Markus defended himself with his own energy, and the fact that he had a rather powerful will, he was saved from this.
At the goddess' shocked look, he grinned. "Was that supposed to do something?"
Snarling, she brandished two silver hunter knives in her hands out of thin air. She dashed forward, moving at speeds faster than any mortal could hope to achieve.
Good thing Markus was used to such speeds.
As the goddess came closer to him, Markus reached out, grabbing the wrist that was about to stab him with one of the knives and held her wrist firmly, using his strength to do so.
At her shocked look, he grinned. "Got to do better than that, girlie."
And so Markus raised his foot and Spartan-kicked her in the chest, sending her flying like a human airplane. Artemis flipped and landed with grace and elegance. Now, she wasn't mad. She was furious.
"I will skin you alive, boy! Then I will castrate you and send your remains to your father!" she roared in absolute fury, her form shimmering. Her silver clothing shone brightly and her eyes were nothing but a silvery pool of hate.
She disappeared in pure speed. Markus decided to use his War God Speed Impulse, for caution's sake, of course. As his reaction time sped up, Markus could see the slow moving Artemis, looking to kick him in the chest. Seeing her small but lithe form tensing, he could tell how much power she was packing into her kick. Markus simply stepped to one side, dodging the attack completely.
As she passed him, she struck out, going for a wide kick that would've knocked his head off if it had connected. Using his War God Speed Impulse, Markus bent backwards. But instead of letting her pass, he grabbed her outstretched leg.
He grinned at her shocked face. And then he smashed her body onto the ground while holding her leg, her twelve year old body making it easy for him to do so. The ground cracked where he slammed her into. And then he slammed her again to his right. And again to his left. And again to his right. (A.N. - Identical to the scene where Hulk manhandled Loki in the Avengers movie).
He grinned as he held her dazed form. Then, spinning, he swung her around like a rag doll and threw her, the goddess sailing through the air and gaining serious distance before destroying several trees in her landing, her body hitting a part of the forest.
The Hunters watched, horrified. They wanted to help their mistress and kill the male, but they were unable to move.
Markus whistled. "Man that was some distance," he noted. Suddenly, his arm reached up and caught the arrow that would've pierced his skull and destroyed his brain. His hand smoked lightly from the contact. Artemis must've infused her divine energy into it to make the shot more powerful.
Markus looked up to see Artemis coming from the clearing, but instead of being in her twelve year old form, she was now eighteen years old. Her auburn hair was longer, her face was more beautiful, her curves were prominent and became full, and her muscles had increased.
"You will show me respect, boy," she growled, her aura becoming more powerful than before.
Markus scoffed, snapping the arrow in his hand. "You are seriously so one-dimensional. Boy this, male that. Come on, where's your battle banter? Does no one have any good battle banter these days?" Markus quickly tilted his head to dodge a speeding arrow. "You missed." He ducked his head to avoid another arrow. "Missed again." He vibrated his body, phasing through one that packed a lot of power into it. "Are you even trying anymore?" he asked mockingly.
"Will. You. Shut. UP?!" she howled in fury, her power flaring. She moved forward, her figure faster than before.
Sighing, Markus decided to continue his test run. Quickly speeding up his bloodflow, he activated his Second Gear. Just before she reached his position, he disappeared in pure speed. Whirling her head around, she tried locating where he was. She found him a few seconds later when she felt a fist punch her on top of her skull from above, courtesy of Markus punching her while he was suspended in the air. The force of the punch was so hard that Artemis' face was dented into the ground and formed quite a large crater.
Markus landed on the ground, dismissing Second Gear. While his opponent was down, he concentrated on the snow beneath his feet. He used the snow to write exploding runes out of snow and channelled his magic throughout the ground, similar to sonar. His trap set, Markus grinned in anticipation as he waited for the goddess to recover.
He didn't have to wait long. Artemis sped out of the crater and headed towards him, a mad glint in her eyes. She had no weapons, she just ran at him with her fist raised, ready to pummel him.
Wanting to test out his powers even more, Markus mentally summoned lightning from the heavens, calling a giant bolt of lightning down and striking the incoming goddess. Artemis screamed in pain as she was electrocuted, her form being zapped very heavily and even caused an X-ray vision of herself to show as she was shocked. Did gods even have skeletons?
Still pondering, Markus caused the lightning to spread across her body, causing her to kneel in pain as she panted, smoke drifting off her burnt body. Parts of her milky skin had blackened.
Markus raised an eyebrow mockingly. "Kind of ironic that a daughter of Zeus was hurt by lightning. Then again you're a goddess and not a demigoddess, so maybe it's different for you. Oh well."
Markus was having fun, if he was being honest. He was never this calm or cocky when fighting an opponent. So he was going to enjoy himself and act a little playful.
Grinning widely, Markus cast his first spell during this battle. One that he personally invented. Holding out his hand, golden lightning coated it. He gave the lightning form and substance.
Artemis made to interrupt him while he was preparing his spell, but was caught off guard by the explosion runes that he mentally activated. The goddess caught the full force of one of the explosions, which contained a sizeable chunk of magic. Thankfully, he was able to form his spell thanks to the distraction.
On Markus' right arm was a gold lightning dragon's head, which had red eyes and a sharp and a deadly lightning maw. It roared, eager to destroy the one it was about to be unleashed on. Artemis' eyes widened while Markus gave a sadistic grin.
"Dodge this!" he yelled to the goddess, pulling his fist up and punching forward, calling out his spell. "Lightning Dragon King's Demolition Fist!" he roared, the dragon head being unleashed and launched forward at the speed of lightning towards the injured goddess loud roar.
If it weren't for her reflexes saving her, Artemis would've been in trouble. She managed to avoid the spell by dodging, but she wasn't completely unscathed. Her right arm was caught by the lightning dragon's head. As soon as it made contact with the limb, the head grew in size before detonating, unleashing a massive wave of electricity that shocked Artemis intensely and caused an explosion to occur. One that gathered a large amount of smoke and destroyed most of the ground that she stood on, as well as made the surrounding demigods and satyr move.
The stray arcs of lightning from the spell struck bits of the school that was behind them, destroying bits of it. Thankfully, the mortals were fooled by the Mist and weren't harmed.
Markus wasn't focused on that, however. What he was focused on was the clearing smoke and the damaged, almost broken figure of the moon goddess. Artemis was practically on her last legs. Her body was stooped down and she was cradling her useless, blackened, and almost crispy arm that dangled loosely at her side. The arm was held by practically strips of flesh. Ichor was pooling at her feet and coming from wounds all over her body. Her clothing was almost destroyed on her chest and legs, showcasing a silver bra and panties that also looked destroyed. One thing that hadn't changed was her burning glare, even with all the injuries that she'd suffered.
Suddenly Artemis bent over, one arm slack, and coughed out ichor due to the pain that she was in. She looked up, looking absolutely livid at the cocky smirk on Markus' face.
"THAT IS IT!" she screamed out, her silver eyes showing hatred and madness. She probably went insane at the idea of a demigod - no, a male - leaving her in such a state. "I WILL DESTROY YOU BOY! I WILL MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE SENT TO TARTARUS!"
Her aura was now shrouding her entire form. Markus watched as she grew in size, growing higher and higher. She stopped when she was about fifteen feet in height. Her massive bow aimed down at him in preparation to wipe him off the face of the Earth.
Markus sighed. "Damn. And I didn't even want to bring it out yet. Oh, well." Markus vapour-travelled towards the opening where the cliff was, and then he fell. Straight towards the ocean. He made a diving motion as he was unconcerned about the height, it not being a bother to him.
As he hit the water, he felt the usual increase in power that he got whenever he got into contact with water. And he knew what to do.
As Artemis stared, a gigantic water geyser rose upwards from the ocean. The geyser easily surpassed her in terms of height. Then at the top of the geyser, part of the water split into twelve long branches that grew in size at the top. The top of the twelve branches formed into familiar heads. Dragon heads.
The heads were more unique than normal dragon heads. Their eyes were wide and sea green, the same as Markus'. Their design was similar to the ancient dragons in the myths (A.N. - The dragon heads and wings are identical in design to the Red Dragon Archfiend from Yu-Gi-Oh).
Next, the lower body of the geyser formed the lower body of the monstrosity. Large claws on the hands were created, along with the torso becoming thick due to the added hardened water. It's legs touched the water and slightly sank, although it didn't hinder its movements. The large wings that formed were large and dangerous, showcasing large spikes and fangs on top of the corner.
Twelve sets of sea green eyes glared down at the moon goddess, and the dragon heads roared. Artemis looked at the water construct with shock and a little fear, but hid it very well.
Markus stood on top of one of the heads, smirking down at his opponent. He spread his arms, showcasing his creation.
"Well, Artemis," he spoke with arrogance. "You wanted to play with size? Here you go. An Olympian goddess versus my Twelve-Headed Dragon Construct. I wonder which one is stronger?"
And with a wave of his hand, one of the dragon heads gazed at Artemis and shot highly pressurised water from its mouth towards the goddess. Despite increasing in size, the goddess hadn't lost her speed. She managed to dodge the attack that pulverized the ground beside her, creating a gigantic hole that was cleanly cut and made.
Artemis propped an arrow on her bow and launched it, the projectile humming with power. The arrow hit two of the heads, destroying them instantly. Looking at the smirking goddess, Markus raised an eyebrow and used the ocean that he was standing on the regenerate the destroyed heads, looking good as new. He smirked at her shocked face.
Just as he was about to continue, he was interrupted by a bolt of lightning that wasn't summoned by him heading straight for him. Rolling his eyes at the interference of Zeus, Markus commanded one of the heads to move, catching the bolt instead. However, instead of disintegrating, he mentally commanded the dragon head to absorb the electricity. The head, instead of being made of just water, was now a lightning-water dragon head.
Multiple bolts of lightning rained down from the sky, with Markus absorbing each one into his dragon heads. Now his Twelve-Headed Dragon Construct now had lightning added to it, ultimately making it stronger.
Markus smirked as the bolts stopped firing, doing no damage. "Thanks King Dumbass! You just made your daughter's defeat even easier!"
Seeing him distracted, Artemis - instead of using her bow - fired a powerful beam of moonlight from her palm towards him. Not even looking at the incoming attack, Markus commanded one of the heads to fire a storm laser composed of water and lightning. Both attacks collided and caused a massive explosion to occur where they had contacted.
Not being deterred, Markus had three of his dragon heads dart forward, passing through the remains of the explosion and biting down on Artemis' bow arm, neck and shoulder. The goddess screamed in pain as she was electrocuted from the dragons and had said parts almost crushed from the combined water pressure.
Taking this chance, Markus had his dragons fire continuous storm lasers from each head. The attacks were fired simultaneously, connecting with the goddess one after the other. Artemis could do nothing but scream as each laser damaged her even further. One powerful one blasted through her arm completely, leaving a giant hole in it and evaporating any ichor leaking it out. The cauterised wound made Artemis screech even more. Another was launched at her shoulder, severing her other arm. Another was launched at the side of her face, burning the side of her face.
The barrage of lasers were so powerful and destructive that the demigods, satyr and Hunters (who were now free from Markus' control) ran out of the clearing, heading into the forest to avoid the beams.
Westover Hall was hit by a few stray lasers that destroyed half of the school. Panicking mortals ran out, some crying in fear and others praying to any higher power listening to save them. Dozens of unfortunate mortals were either vaporized or crushed underneath any stray debris, killing them instantly.
Markus called back the laser barrage, looking down at the remains of the goddess. Large amounts of smoke were created from his barrage, so he called upon the wind to sweep away the smoke to see the result.
Artemis lay on a crater, passing in and out of consciousness. All she felt was pain. She couldn't feel anything, wasn't even sure she was alive. Despite being immortal, she wished that she could 'die' so that she wouldn't feel the pain. Her throat croaked, trying to say something, but nothing came out. Her good eye could only look up to the sky, hoping that her father would save her. To save her from this... this monster. That was what Artemis thought he was. No mortal could ever have this kind of power. Even the gods and some Titans couldn't put this kind of fear that she had. The thing that was even worse was that it was a boy that had done this to her. All remnants of pride left her at that thought. She spent her whole life preaching about the superiority of women and how disgusting and weak men were. And yet she was on her back, defeated and broken, at the hands of a man. If she had any strength, she would spit in disgust.
As her silver eye looked up in the sky, she saw something that scared her. Those sea-green eyes gazing down at her. The colour reminded her of the one who did this to her. Who broke her and destroyed all of her pride and replaced it with fear. Something that scared her even more was the gathering of a storm laser in the mouth of the dragon head that he was standing on.
"No," she whimpered, a tear sliding down her somewhat normal cheek. "Please. N-No... no more." She didn't care how pathetic or weak she sounded. She just wanted the pain to stop.
Markus looked down at the defeated goddess with boredom, wanting to finish it. However, before he could fire, he saw a small figure from where he was standing running towards Artemis and facing him, defending the goddess and trying to protect her. How cute.
Using his increased eyesight, he focused on the figure. His boredom faded away as he saw that it was a Hunter. To be specific, one of the girls that he saved from Circe's island last year.
"Please! Don't shoot! Please!" the girl begged, going onto her knees and begging. Some of the Hunters went to her and tried to remove her, but she didn't budge. "Don't take her away! I know you're a good person! You proved that by saving me when I was on Circe's island! So please! Spare her! I beg you, please!" Tears ran down her face, not caring that she was begging.
Markus just looked down, contemplating on what he should do. He had no qualms on sparing her. He started this fight, he was damn well going to finish it. But did he really want to do it? While he had no care of wiping all of the standing Hunters out, the girl that he'd saved struck a chord in him. He didn't think it was mercy. His moral compass was pretty wonky at this point. And he already tested out his skills, which he found adequate. And while he had no fear of the Olympians, he guessed that killing one of their own wouldn't help him in the future. He wasn't worried about that, however.
Sighing, Markus cancelled the gathering energy in his dragon head and dismissed his construction. The Twelve-Headed Dragon starting falling apart, with Markus not giving it the command to hold. The water started falling towards the ocean, the lightning being dispersed. Markus used the wind to slow his descent, practically levitating downwards. All eyes were on him as his feet touched the scorched and almost destroyed ground.
He stared blankly at the gathered Hunters, acting like a shield for their member who'd begged for them and their goddess. He didn't see how Artemis was doing, nor did he care. He already knew that she was broken and defeated.
"Take your mistress and leave," Markus told them, looking directly at the one with the silver circlet. He guessed that she was the lieutenant or second-in-command. "Don't bother me again. Be thankful for the one that saved your goddess."
And then he turned and walked towards where his friends were, ignoring the glares being aimed at his back and the fear that they tried to hide but failed. He did take note of the grateful look the girl that he saved from Circe's island gave him.
Markus walked through the trees and entered a clearing, seeing all of his friends. He gave them a friendly grin. "So? How are things?"
They all just stared blankly at him, none of them even saying anything. The shock and fear was that great.
Markus squirmed a little at the fear-filled glances they were giving him. "Well, don't just stand there. Say something."
After a moment, Percy spoke. "W-What the fuck was that?" he asked, his shocked face not moving away for a while.
"Baby brother, you're going to have to be more specific," Markus said, trying to go for humour to snap them out of it. It didn't work.
"You damn well know what he's talking about!" Thalia snapped, her earlier expression gone. She marched up to him and poke him in the chest, hard. "Where the fuck did you get a Godzilla wannabe out of water shooting freaking lasers, and then-then all of that other shit that came out of nowhere! I know you're strong, but how the hell did you defeat a goddess? At full strength?!" Truth be told, Thalia's shock was replaced by relief, envy and a little lust. Relief that Markus was okay, envy that he could do all of that shit and be so damn overpowered and lust because... well, she was attracted to power. And she was a little turned on by the display of power Markus showed. Plus his new looks only added to her lust.
Markus smirked, reaching out and hugging the daughter of Zeus, getting her to squeak slightly. "I missed you too, princess," Markus said, actually meaning it. He hadn't seen her or the others for so long, and despite acting aloof he was really happy to see them. Thalia's new look did surprise him, but it looked good on her.
Thalia groaned, blushing slightly in embarrassment. "I could really go without that nickname. And where the hell were you?!"
"Training," Markus answered simply. Not a lie, just the whole truth. "I went on a... self-discovery trip and along the way I picked up a few things. By the way, when did you grow out your hair?"
Thalia removed herself from the hug, blushing a little at his question. "I... I decided to do it. Just because. New look and all. D-Do you like it?" she asked a little shyly, cursing herself for sounding weak but wondering whether he did like it. Even though she would deny if she was asked.
Markus smiled, seeing that she wanted his opinion. Due to him being more aware, he noted that she had a crush on him just as he did her. "You look more beautiful than you did before," he answered honestly.
Thalia's face resembled a tomato due to how much she was blushing. "T-Thanks," she said quietly, though Markus still caught it. He smiled at her.
The others watched the scene in shock. For as long as they knew Thalia, she never acted so... shy. She always acted so tough and gruff that it was confusing to see her like this. Well, Percy stared in confusion. Grover had an inkling of an idea as to why and Annabeth was glaring at the two in hidden envy.
"Hello!" she said loudly, catching Thalia's and Markus' attention. "You two can make lovey-dovey eyes at each other later! Where were you?! You were supposed to help me in helping me train!"
Thalia turned to glare at Annabeth while Markus raised an eyebrow. "I missed you too, Annie," Markus said, walking forward and wrapping her in a bear hug, making sure to squeeze hard.
"L-Let go of me!" she stuttered in embarrassment, her face now going like a tomato. Although she felt like she was being squished, she did like the close contact with him and his defined muscles. Annabeth's eyes turned a little dreamy as she felt them against her.
"Uh, Annie?" Markus asked, confused. Instead of struggling, she seemed to bury her face into his chest. Maybe this wasn't a good idea at a comeback. She kept wriggling in his grip that Markus got a little excited. Which showed as his groin hardened a little, liking the contact. "You can let go now." Or don't, a part of his mind offered, not really bothered by her body and even liking it. She really did grow while he was gone, even if it was two months for her.
Blinking, Annabeth let go of him slowly, absolutely mortified and not looking at anyone. Percy and Thalia glared at her, for different reasons. Grover just looked amused at the whole scene.
Wanting to forget the awkwardness, Markus walked up to Grover. "Good to see you, G-man," he greeted, giving the satyr a bro hug.
"Blahaha! Good to see you too, Markus," Grover greeted in his typical satyrness. Then his eyes widened in realisation. "Wait, the kids! Where did you take them?! We need to take them to camp!"
Getting the same questioning looks from the others, Markus sighed. He wondered how he was going to weasel his way out of this one. "I took them to see... someone. But don't worry, they're safe."
"But they need to go to camp!" Percy said with urgency. "They need to be trained, protected and-"
"They will receive protection and training from the one who's taking care of them," Markus interrupting, waving his brother's concern off. "Trust me. They're more protected in where they're are than they ever will be at camp."
"Want to tell us exactly where you took them and who wanted them?" Thalia asked suspiciously. "For all we know, he or she could've been a monster or even a Titan or-"
"No," Markus interrupted again, looking at Thalia. "I'm telling you, the person who wanted them is someone powerful, but it's not a monster or Titan. They're in good hands. And this person contacted me to retrieve them. So I did. In exchange, he gave me... something. Let's leave it at that. But they're well protected."
"A god, then?" Annabeth guessed, trying to figure out who it was. "Or possibly their parent?"
Markus just smiled at her, annoying the daughter of Athena.
"Anyway, let's get back to camp. I'm eager to meet the others."
"And you plan to stay this time?" Percy asked, his earlier worry forgotten for now. "Not go off on another trip or battle gods?"
Markus smirked, cuffing his brother's head playfully. "Damn straight, baby brother. I'm staying. I've missed you all."
"Get off of me!" Percy yelled, trying to struggle out of his grip, but it was useless. He did smile though, happy to have his brother back.
Markus chuckled, removing Percy from his hold. Percy scowled, but ended up smiling. "Good to have you back."
"Good to be back," Markus responded. He instructed the group the hug each other while he vapour-travelled the group to Camp Half-Blood.
Well... I'm done.
Hope y'all liked the chapter. I'm pretty happy on how it came out.
So, we have Markus and the others reuniting (yay!), meeting the Hunters of Artemis (meh.), a quick preview of how the others have developed over the last two months, saw Yamato in use for the first time (awesome!), Markus rescuing Nico and Bianca, pissing on the Hunters, and defeating Artemis with little to no ease. Which I was very eager to write.
Several things to note:
1) The fight with Artemis. I wanted to extend the fight between the two, but if I did, the surrounding area would be completely destroyed. Also, Markus was toying with her. He still has much, much more tricks up his sleeve that he hasn't revealed yet. Also, I had Artemis use her 'giant' that all gods have to fight rather than using her divine form. Reason? I mainly wanted to introduce the Twelve-Headed Dragon (whcih was very cool writing) while also using something different than her divine form.
2) The rest of the campers - well, the ones that I focus on - will be much stronger and skilled than their canon counterparts. You probably already know this but I'm just putting it out there.
3) During the quest, I'll add more elements to it, like more enemies and monsters, along with twists and turns, to the questers. I want to spice things up and add a little excitement. If I didn't, I'd write the entire quest with Markus one-shotting everything and everyone. It'd be a bit boring, so I want to give other characters their little spotlight.
4) The harem. No changes just want to list the members. Some people don't know who's in it, so I want to list the members:
Annabeth, Thalia, Silena, Katie, Zoe, Bianca, Piper, Aphrodite, Hestia, Athena, Artemis, Hylla. These are the members that are definitely in. I may add others later.
5) Responding the the Guest reviews. First, the Markus vs. everyone fight. I will put that up later since that's a really (and I mean REALLY) exciting and fun piece to write. That will definitely be written up. Second, Markus' own brand of magic. That is a very interesting idea and I can juggle it in my mind for later. Thanks for the idea, since it's really cool and I'd like to add it possibly. Third, pressurised water cutting is a very awesome idea. I will add it to his arsenal. Never did think of it until now, so thanks. Finally, the camp's reaction will be SO funny to write to the new Markus. Girls fawning over him and guys envying him... oh, that's going to be very funny to write.
Yeah, that's pretty much it. Dunno what else to say.
Thanks to all those who f, f, r and r the story. Again, I love all your support. Thanks very much.
Read and Review!