Chap 2

News spread like a wildfire that the Hermes cabin had gotten a taste of their own medicine.

Everybody was waiting for them at lunch. Bets were being cast as to whether or not they would show. About ten minutes into lunch, people started to hear screaming from the Hermes cabin.

"I don't wanna go!" Only Evelyn could make as high of a pitch as that. "All my clothes were out, so I look like a lollipop hippie!"

"Come on! It's not that bad!" That had to be Chris. He was the calmest of the Hermes children.

"Let her starve if she doesn't want to came. Lets go." That was Travis's voice, and to the delight of everybody in the pavilion, several pairs of feet were heard walking towards the pavilion. Despite their recent squabble with Evelyn, the remaining children of Hermes walked sheepishly into the pavilion. All eyes were already on them, and the entire pavilion broke out laughing at the same time. Even Chiron had to crack a smile. He'd yelled at the Hermes children many a time, but this seemed a far better consequence. Their clothes must have been out in the open, because they had a fair amount of paint on them. But the real joke was in their hair. Barely an inch was left uncovered, and the colors were bright and vibrant. Connor and Travis's brown curls had been replaced by multicolored mops of hair that fell into their eyes. Andi had her hair drawn back into a tie-dyed ponytail. The wetness suggested that they had attempted to shower and shampoo the colors out with no success.

Andi blushed as she sat at the Hermes table. But then something strange happened. Something that had never happened before. Travis and Connor, as they took a seat besides her, were also blushing. The stoll brothers were actually embarrassed? Impossible. But there it was. It seemed that Chris had stayed behind with Evelyn, and left his siblings hanging.

The laughter finally died down, and the meal resumed. But the conversation at the Hermes table was dark and angry.

"I've never been so embarrassed in my life." Andi growled.

"Don't let them know that. Act normal." Connor suggested.

"We'll have a revenge meeting in the cabin after lunch." Travis snarled.

"Why not go now? We'll take some food back with us and eat there. I'm tired of listening to people talk about us." Andi said, glancing distastefully around the pavilion.

"Sounds good to me." Connor said as he loaded up his plate from a passing nymph.

"Me too. Lets get outta here." Travis stated as he rose.

Back in the Hermes cabin, food was reluctantly shared with those who had skipped lunch. And then, the meeting of the Council of Revenge commenced. "I would like to welcome you to another meeting of the Council of Revenge. Now, to start…" Travis was interrupted by a knock on the door. He looked around."I guess I'll get it…" he grumbled.

He swung open the door and a surprise stood waiting on the other side. He was tall and slim, and curly black hair fell fashionably into his eyes. He wore a plain black t-shirt and blue jeans, finishing the look with winged reeboks.

"Daddy!" Evelyn cried out.

Hermes smiled. "I must say, it looks like the Iris cabin in here." Everybody looked around. They couldn't deny it. He was right.

"Dad! You're just in time for the meeting of the Revenge Council! Care to join us?" Andi hoped that he could stay. They would need his evil wisdom.

He smiled again. "Let me get through the door first. And I actually have some exciting news."

Chris looked up from his paint-splattered bunk. "Really? What is it?"

Hermes clasped his hands together and smiled. "Zeus has deemed that Dionysus, while certainly not done with his sentence here, deserves a break. He was allowed to take a three week vacation as long as another god volunteered to be substitute director. He asked me, and I said yes. I'm satying at Camp Half Blood for three weeks."

Stunned silence. Then, all at once, the entire cabin broke into grins and mobbed him.

"You're gonna be here for 3 weeks?" Connor asked, dumbfounded.

"Thats awesome!" Andi cheered

"Yippee!" Evelyn cried gleefully.

"Percy, Annabeth, Malcolm and Denis had better watch out. They're not gonna know what hit them." Travis said with an evil smirk.

"Epic." Chris summed up.

"So,"Hermes said. "Let's start this meeting of the Council of Revenge." He sat next to Connor on his bunk as Travis stood up front. Every child of Hermes had a specialty. Travis was revenge. Connor's was practical jokes. Chris rigged great traps. Andi was a master thief. And Evelyn was a smooth talker. They were good at all these things, but they still had their specialties.

"Obviously, we cannot let the transgressions of this morning slide. I have an idea for a staged attack plan. Prank plan 44 to be specific. What we are going to do is called the four day strike. We come in on the first three days with lame typical pranks, causing them to put their guards down to a 'biggie'. We then strike with a prank to blow them out of the water on the fourth day. Questions?" He looked around. Nobody had their hands raised. He continued, "So today will be the first day of this plan. We will start with some basic pranks. Each person will be in charge of one, while I work on the master prank. But first, who votes to accept my plan?"

Everybodys hand went up. Even Hermes's. "Awesome. Can we count on help from all parties?"

Andi and Chris nodded. "You betcha." Connor said. Evelyn grinned, which he took as a yes. And his eyes move to Hermes and….

"Count me in" His dad grinned. So did Travis.

"Alright. Let's see. How bout Evelyn, you Saran Wrap some of the doorways of the Athena Cabin. Chris, you do the same to Poseidon. Andi, you take our fake toothpaste tubes and switch theirs for ours in both cabins. Connor, put red dye in all of Percy's fountains. And Dad.." Travis trailed off.

"Waiting on your order, Mr. President of Revenge." Hermes teased him.

Travis grinned and started talking again. "Dad, hide set alarm clocks around the Athena cabin. I'll do the same in Poseidon."

Connor checked his watch. "Meet back here at….."

"No later than one thirty." Travis said matter-o-factly. "Hands in."

They all put their hands in the center, even Hermes. Looking down at his kids, he never felt happier than knowing he would be spending the next three weeks with them."Split!" Travis called, and they all raced out the door, either to start or to gather supplies. He couldn't help but smile again. This was going to be epic.