Figured I'd get a Lacy chapter in here.
Tiny time-skip to a few months later. The OC is pretty much no one. Just someone to help fill up story space.
I own nothing you recognize as canon.
XLIV
LACY
Lacy Jackson wandered the streets of New Athens, dragging a new girl, Angela Hart, with her. Angela had just stumbled into camp a few days ago, claimed by Apollo. Her preferred weapon, a rusty old sword she had somehow found on her journey to camp, was busted up and in desperate need of repair. Lacy had accidentally beaten it to a pulp during practice, so she had volunteered to take Angela to the best repair boy in New Athens.
"Why are we going to see someone in New Athens?" Angela asked. "The Hephaestus cabin makes cool weapons, and the tool shed seemed pretty cool."
"You like your sword, don't you?"
Angela cradled the remains of her sword. "It kinda grew on me, yeah."
Lacy smiled. "Then shut up and keep moving. This guy is the best in the 'biz. He's the strongest demigod of his generation."
"Percy Jackson?" Angela asked. "He can fix my sword?"
Lacy rolled her eyes. Like Dad could even create a sword, let alone fix one! "No. My dad may be strong in terms of straight one-on-one combat, but this guy is legendary. He's done things no one in their right mind would dare to do."
"Really?"
"Oh yeah." Lacy smirked. "Mostly it's because this guy's mind isn't right to begin with. He's insane."
Angela looked nervous. "Insane?"
Lacy laughed. "Yup. He says thinking interferes with being nuts, so he doesn't really plan ahead for a lot of things. Thankfully, his wife is there to do that for him."
"He sounds dangerous."
"He is. But…" Lacy put a hand on Angela's shoulder. "…he's the nicest guy you'll ever meet. If you're ever alone facing giant monsters, he's the guy you want by your side. And if you're ever in need of someone to listen, he's the guy. He's a great listener, even if it doesn't look like he's listening."
Angela seemed intrigued now.
"Oh, and if he catches fire, don't worry; he does that sometimes. He's fireproof, so he can't be burned."
"But what if he tries to burn us?"
Lacy giggled. "He'd never do that. Threaten to, sure, but all in good fun. Like I said, he's the nicest guy I know. Can incinerate primordial goddesses but wouldn't intentionally hurt you or any honest and innocent demigod."
Angela gulped, but relaxed a little more.
They finally found the Valdez repair shop. The forge was smoking and loud, and the shop itself had Rolling Stones music blasting out of the speakers.
Angela grimaced. "A little loud," she commented.
Lacy shrugged. "It's his favorite band."
"I guess he's not into One Direction, then, huh?"
Lacy laughed and went through the front entrance, which was the reception area.
Inside it was just a little waiting room with a few chairs lining the side, a couple magazines on a tiny table, and two doors. One was off to the left, which led to Calypso's garden and meditation area (for stressed out waiting). The other was behind the reception counter.
A Telekhine was sitting behind the counter, doodling on some scratch paper.
Angela yelped and hid behind Lacy. "That's a monster!"
The monster looked up and tilted his head. "I prefer people say, 'That's an Andy,'" he said.
Lacy smiled. "Angela, this is Andy. He's an intern getting his Business Management degree. He needed a job as an assistant or receptionist, so they gave him one."
Angela looked pretty spooked still.
Andy waved a flipper. "Hi," he said, shyly. "I'm not that bad, honest. There is such a thing as a good monster."
"I've never met any," Angela spat.
Lacy shrugged. "They all work here. We've got good harpies that clean the camp. My family owns a hellhound named Mrs. O'Leary, and I've got a Cyclops for an uncle. And the mailman here in New Athens is a vegetarian hydra named Steve. He loves tofu."
"It's not that bad a diet," Andy said. "Mr. Valdez's tofu burgers and tacos are really amazing!"
Angela seemed to come out of her shell a bit. She slid out from behind Lacy and shuffled her feet.
Lacy cleared her throat. "Anyway," she said. "Is he busy right now? Angela's got a busted sword, and she hasn't met the 'Ultimate Repair Boy' yet."
Andy checked his computer and shook his head. "He doesn't have any appointments, currently. Whatever he's doing right now is completely busy work."
"Mind if we go back and see him?"
"Go right ahead."
Lacy led Angela to the back.
When they were through the swinging door, the music was three hundred times louder. Lacy plugged her ears and yelled, "Hey! Tone it down a bit!"
She could barely hear her own thoughts, so how could anyone hear her voice above the Sympathy for the Devil?
Angela looked like she was in pain, sticking her fingers in her ears.
Lacy shouted, "I got this."
She went over to the speakers and slashed them with her own sword. The sound whined and crashed, stopping in seconds.
"Oi! Who's breakin' my stuff?"
Angela cowered at the booming voice. Lacy rolled her eyes. "Echoes. He's not as big as you think. I think he has a Napoleon complex."
"I heard that!"
Lacy looked up and squinted. "What are you doing up there?"
Leo was hovering near the ceiling, leaning forward a little and grabbing a light bulb. "One of the lights went out," he said. "Figured I'd change it."
Angela had wide eyes as Leo lowered down onto the ground. His hover-chair became a regular wheelchair and he wheeled himself forward.
"Hola," he said. "The name's Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus, Ultimate Repair Boy."
He held his hand out and Angela nervously took it. "Angela Hart. Um, daughter of Apollo?"
Leo smiled. "Nice to meet you. So, why are you here?"
Angela shook her head and held out the remains of her sword. "Ah…Lacy said you could fix this?"
Leo flailed around dramatically. "What have you done to it!? Give that here! This poor sword!"
He put it onto his lap and instantly wheeled towards the forge. The girls followed him.
Angela whispered, "He's…"
"He can be a bit much to take in," Lacy said. "My mom says he's seriously ADHD, even for a demigod. You'll get used to him."
"But…"
They stopped at the entrance to the forge. Leo turned and wiggled his eyebrows. "My ears are burning," he said cheekily. Indeed, the tips of his ears had caught fire.
Show-off, Lacy thought.
"Sorry," Angela said. "It's just…you're…um…"
"What?" Leo cocked an eyebrow. "Tall? Rugged? Handsome?" His eyes sparkled mischievously.
Angela scratched her neck in embarrassment. "…in a wheelchair?" she finished.
Leo tilted his head, then smiled. "Ah, yes! I always forget that one. There was an incident a few months ago, rocks crushed my spine, life of a demigod, yada, yada, yada."
"I'm sorry for staring and pointing it out sir, but I just…is it hard?"
Leo looked confused. "Is what hard?"
Lacy kinda wanted to punch Angela. These were personal questions that she had no business asking.
"Being…in a wheelchair?"
Leo shrugged. "At first, yes. I got used to it. It's actually pretty easy to overcome if you're in a kick-ass hover chair like mine. My son designed it, but I improved it. It gave me something else to think about during those first few weeks."
Angela stepped a little closer. "Can…can you maybe…um…?" She took a deep breath. "Can you make one for my little brother? My mortal mother got into a wreck recently and he was in the passenger seat. He's paralyzed, too, and he isn't himself…do you think you could help him?"
Leo smiled. Not impishly, like he usually did. No, this was a genuine smile. "Of course, sweetie. I'm actually trying to get my son to patent this idea. The materials don't have to be bronze, of course, and all they need is some sturdy…"
He began to ramble. Lacy snapped her fingers and cleared her throat. He blushed. "Sorry. Anyway, sure. I'll build him one. He can totes be the poster boy for this whole invention!"
Angela laughed. "Raymond isn't much of an attention-seeker."
"Well he's gonna be once he gets one of these!" Leo patted his chair. "Comfortable as a cloud. I haven't gotten many, ah, ghost feelings from my legs since I got in this chair. Feels great."
"I'm glad. I hope he'll like it."
Leo grinned. "I'm sure he will. Even without all the weapons systems, this is still a cool chair! Now, about your sword…"
He began discussing styles and grip motions for the soon-to-be-fixed sword with Angela. Lacy left them to it and wandered the shop.
She spied Tulio working on another hover chair, melding some of the materials together with his bare hands. Lacy tapped him on the shoulder.
He turned and grinned. "Hey, Lacy."
"Hey," she said. "Haven't seen you around, lately."
"Well, y'know, Papi wants me to patent this hover chair idea. I'm trying to make it perfect so I can present it properly."
"Why can't Leo try to patent it?"
Tulio smiled. "He wants me to do it. He said he's getting old and should let me have the spotlight for a change. I don't mind, since I'm doing what I love—which is pretty much what Dad loves anyway."
"Are you nervous about presenting that to a board of potential investors?" Lacy asked.
Tulio shrugged. "If I can sing Let it Go in front of a Vegas audience without passing out from sheer embarrassment, I think I can handle a few businessmen."
Lacy snapped her fingers. "That reminds me! Arey Stoll was using Chiron's computer and he told me to tell you that the show you did was filmed by someone in the audience. It's all over YouTube and is one of the top 5 videos of the year! Everyone's commenting on your special effects and how lovely your voice is."
Tulio blushed and looked away. "Shucks," he mumbled. "That's outrageous."
"A lot of girls wanna be your girlfriend," she said.
"Whatever," Tulio snorted.
"Anyway," Lacy said. "Good luck on your hover chair invention. I'm glad to see it works for Leo."
"Yeah." Tulio stole a glance back at his Papi, who was cheerfully discussing some of the benefits of his chair and lifestyle nowadays. "Even in private he's happy, though sometimes I see he thinks about his legs. I asked if he was okay a few days ago, and he said he's fine—he would rather be paralyzed and alive with his family than dead at this age."
"That's good to hear." Lacy patted him on his shoulder. "I'll leave you to it, then. Say hi to Migs for me, will you? You two any closer?"
Tulio rolled his eyes and smirked. "We're still in love, Lacy."
"Sad news for all those fan girls," she said dramatically. "Their flaming hot idol is taken by our good little Mi-mi!"
"Go away," he said. "Go bother Andy, or something."
She kissed him on the head. "Bye, butt-head."
She walked away, smiling as she heard Tulio mutter dark curses at her for bringing up his love life and his 3 minutes of fame.
Lacy looked back at Leo, who was still smiling as he led Angela into the forge. Her smile got wider when she thought back to how Tulio said he was happy with his life, no matter how bad it seemed. The son of Hephaestus took in the bad, threw it away, and kept on smiling. And at this point, the bad pain didn't seem to faze him, at least not like it did when he was a teenager. By now he dealt with whatever the Fates threw at him, as long as he was with his family.
All of the Seven are pretty much like that now, she thought. And there's nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all.
A/N: I am almost certain I can squeeze one more chapter out. Just one more, and the story is done. I want to end this on a nice even 45.
Anyway, anyone care to guess who Mi-mi/Migs is? Hint: it will be Tulio's true love in the Aphrodite Discovery story I'm trying to write. Cookies to anyone who guesses who Migs is.
Also, say hello to Andy! Now Steve the friendly hydra has a friend in New Athens, yay! And the business management degree is at an online thing from a mortal uni, Not a monster uni (lol now I wanna watch that movie)
