A/N: Yeah, still playing in the toy box! ^_^ Forewarning, though, the only reason why the posts have been this close together is because I've got a good portion of this particular story written already, I can guarantee you it'll slow down after a few more chapters... Enjoy!

Chapter 4

"I know," Harper's voice groaned from the livingroom when the boys finally got back to the dormitory that night. "Things got a little out of hand."

"Well at least being back, you can relearn strategy," Athena said, not even looking up as the boys entered the room.

Harper sighed and rolled her eyes. She was seated on the sofa in front of the window with a pillow under her bandaged knee while Teresa and Atlanta smirked from Athena's side on the larger sofa.

"Hey, guys!" Atlanta greeted them, still smiling—apparently enjoying the conversation she'd been watching. "Where have you been?"

"Library," Odie answered, dropping a pile of books onto the coffee table.

"Hera thinks Cronus might be after some blue rock," Neil added, sounding bored as he went to check his reflection in the television.

"A good example," Athena said. "Of research tactics."

She smirked at Harper who groaned again.

"If I find a way to leave, I will," she countered.

"Well, thank Zeus for Chiron's intelligent ways of keeping you grounded," Athena said and got to her feet. "The rest of you, make sure she doesn't try to sneak out—she was infamous for running off when her team was here."

"Why?" Archie asked, watching Athena as she retreated to the kitchen. "Where are you going?"

"I have work to take care of," she answered. "Watching heroes isn't the only job I have, you know."

"It's not?" Neil asked, looking absolutely surprised, but Athena was already gone.

Harper, however, was staring at Neil incredulously. "What did you think she was? Your personal housekeeper?"

"Well, yeah," Neil said, his expression blank.

His teammates exchanged glances as Harper raised an eyebrow at him. In all honesty, none of them had really had time to think about it.

"So," Jay said to break the silence. "Who are you bunking with, Harper?"

"Bunking?" Harper repeated. "Oh! Noone—my room's still here."

"It is?" Herry asked, stopping in midstep on his way to the kitchen. "Where?"

"Top floor, all the way down," Harper said. "It's strange. I didn't know that I'd left so many things here...SO—what's this about a rock?"

Jay and Teresa exchanged glances.

"It's not like she's going anywhere," Odie said, with a shrug. "And maybe she can add insight."

"Yeah," Atlanta agreed. "Plus, it'd be way easier than trying to not talk about it around her."

"I don't—."

"And its not like she's not one of us," Herry said over Archie's protest.

"But she's not—."

"Herry and Atlanta have got a point," Jay said, cutting off Archie.

"You guys don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Harper offered. "I mean, it's not like I'm gonna stay after my leg heals."

"You're not?" Herry asked, looking a little disappointed.

Harper blushed and gave him a meek smile, which broadened as she looked at the rest of the team. "Here," she said, pulling out her headphones, "I'll stick these in my ears and blast the Ambrosia Flight for the next ten minutes, fair?"

"No," Teresa said, "you really don't have to—."

"Don't worry about it," Harper said, already getting one earphone on. "I mean, it's not like Hera wants you to take care of the Blue Calcedony or something."

Archie, Jay, Herry and Odie stared at her, then gave slow nervous laughs.

"Hey," Neil said slowly. "You know, that sounds kinda familiar."

Harper's smile fell and she stared back at the boys in shock, her eyes flickering from face to face. Then she forced out a laugh. "You've got to be kidding me," she said. "She's really moving it?"

"Somebody want to fill us in on what's going on?" Teresa asked.

"Yeah," Atlanta said, "what's the big deal about the blue... uh..."

"Blue Chalcedony," Odie said.

"Right, that," Atlanta said, waving her hand impatiently. "What's so important about it?"

"You know those people who believe that gemstones have powers?" Jay asked.

Teresa and Atlanta nodded.

"Well, they're right," Archie said, folding his arms.

"Oh come on!" Atlanta said with a laugh. "You mean someone can become a superhero just by holding a rock?"

The boy shrugged.

"What?" Teresa yelped.

"It's not that surprising when you think about it,"Odie said, sitting on the armrest of Harper's sofa. "For hundreds and hundreds of years every culture has believed in at least one gemstone's power to bring protection or bravery or good health or—like with the Blue Chalcedony—."

"Heightens strength, endurance, and wards off other attacks," Jay finished for him, leaning against the foosball table.

"Other attacks?" Teresa asked.

"Magical and Psychic," Harper said. "Basically the stone can make someone pretty freaking close to impervious."

"Wow," Atlanta said, dropping back against the sofa. "No wonder she wants to move it. With Cronus around—."

Harper gave a dry laugh. "No worries there," she said. "Cronus can't use it. Powers don't work for gods just by holding a stone."

"But," Herry said slowly, "didn't Hera say...?"

"That if he got the stone his powers would be worse," Jay said, nodding in agreement.

"Well, yeah, under special circumstances they could be," Harper said, then sighed. "Did Hera tell you why my team was here?"

"We didn't get around to it," Archie said.

Harper met his suspicious expression with narrowed eyes before she turned to the others. "We were kind of a special task force," she said. "I mean, all descendants from heroes and all that, but it's not like you guys going against Cronus. Our job was to locate the concentration of powers—the world was expelling too much to be left in the hands of mortals or near creatures. Long story short—we're the ones who collected the powers into the main stones and brought them back to Hera. Or, well, Dionysus so that he could defuse the powers properly."

"Looks like he forgot one," Odie said.

"Or couldn't defuse it," Atlanta added.

"Not surprising," Harper said, her eyes focused on the table as her expression grew dark. "I had help with that one—it had the most out of all of them."

"Still does, from the sounds of it," Jay commented.

"And Cronus can't use this against us because...?" Archie asked.

"Because of the way we sealed it inside the stones," Harper said. "You can ask Persephone, we sealed it well enough to make it almost unbreakable as a diamond."

"Almost," Archie repeated. "So he can still use it."

Harper frowned at him. "If he figures out how, yeah."

"So we don't tell him," Herry said with a shrug. "No big deal. Who wants waffles?"

"Waffles?" Harper repeated, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I'm hungry," Herry said, shrugging again.

"When aren't you hungry?" Odie pointed out. The others laughed as Herry smirked and gave another shrug.

"Athena'll flip if you eat this close to dinner," Atlanta pointed out.

"Aww," Herry groaned. "Not fair."

This brought another round of laughter.

"C'mon, I'll race you around the block then," Harper offered, pulling herself upright.

"You?" Atlanta asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "Race?"

Harper smirked and pulled out a pair of crutches. "Don't let my knee fool you," she said, her eyes twinkling. "I'm really very fast on these."

"Yeah right," Archie scoffed, earning him disapproving looks from Jay and Atlanta.

"No one said you have to watch," Harper pointed out, getting up. "C'mon, Herry, last one to the park has to bake with Athena tomorrow!"

"What?" Herry asked, looking at her in confusion for a second, then he grinned. "Yeah, ok, sure."

Harper smiled and swung herself forward on the crutches. The others watched as the two quickly left the room and then pass by the front window.

"What do you think?" Odie asked, turning to Jay, who'd started tapping his chin in thought.

"I'm not sure," he said.

"About what?" Atlanta asked, sharing a quizzical glance with Teresa.

"Hera thinks Harper appearing is a really big 'coincidence'," Neil said, making quotations in the air with is fingers before deciding to inspect his nails. "I mean with Iris going missing and the stones and all I think she's a little 'high strung'."

"Iris is missing?" Teresa repeated, raising an eyebrow at Atlanta. "This could be bad."

"Well it's a good thing she's not planning on staying then," Archie said.

"Not Harper, Archie," Atlanta corrected. "Iris."

"There's nothing we can do right now," Jay said quickly. "If Harper helps us, then she helps us, but tomorrow we have Ares's weekly challenge to focus on. Once that's over, then we'll decide what to do."