Chapter 18: Welcome to Locus

The Next Morning….

Kian's POV

The living room of my apartment instead of having my bench, my TV and all other stuff was now almost empty. Why? Well, I didn't need to be on Earth anymore. Now that Empena had the Warp Gate linking Seattle and all of the neighbouring cities to Locus, she was only 3 days away from bringing the whole planet to ruin via her fleet.

And that was going to happen over my dead body!

The Seal of Solomon burned on my back and I stood in my empty bathroom to take a look at it. The golden yellow light above illuminated me in the mirror and hid nothing from my sight as I took my shirt off.

What is the Seal of Solomon you might ask?

It was a restraining seal, created to limit the amount of power that a Celestial could have at one moment. Think of it as a power limiter, used to train vessel to be to handle their power and to restrict the amount of power they can use at one time to prevent them from exploding inside out. I once used this to train myself to handle 5 minutes of the angels I was the vessels to but I removed it after I had gotten used to the strain of it.

But after I slaughtered Empena's soldiers who had surrendered after I saw Bella "die" in front of me, I decided to restrain the amount of power I could use once again. This time, It was to protect both others and myself from ever slipping into a state where I only think of destruction and death.

I gazed at my scarred and damaged body, years' worth of battles and injuries running along my tanned skin. In the middle of it, an intricately designed seal ran across my body: the Seal of Solomon ebbed and glowed with red and blue light as it wrapped around my stomach, back and chest. This seal meant I could only use up to a maximum of 30% of my power and restricted both my physical abilities.

~~ "If you show any pretty girl that, they'll be all over you!"~~

I scoffed at the voice. "That's why I don't take my shirt off. You think they'll like the scars?"

I traced a deep mark across my chest. I remembered the time when Rashomon had streaked a hot blue blade through my chest when I first fought against him. Tearing his arm off and making him beg for mercy almost made up for it.

~~ "Some do, try it next time!"~~

I massaged my temples. "I told you, I don't have time for this stuff. Anyone who falls victim to this is nothing but weak-minded."

~~ "Ironic given that seal was because of her, right" ~~

"She's different."

~~ "You fell in lov-"~~

"Don't even finish that sentence!" I growled. "She's a comrade and a loyal ally that I can't stand to see stand with Empena. I made a promise to her mother that I would keep her safe, and I have a chance to keep it. That is why I'm so angry."

Lucifer's laugh echoed inside my head. ~~ "Ah yes, the first stage: Denial. You two would have been perfect!"

"Enough about this stuff, Lucifer."

Lucifer sighed. ~~ "A word of advice. What happened to you…don't let it stop you from pursuing happiness"~~

I just laughed as I put my shirt and jacket back on again. "Slaughtering Empena and her army is my happiness."

~~ "Then remove the seal"~~

I sighed. "I can't do that."

~~ "Why not? Your wrath, your vengeance is all justified! She killed the people you love and you won't use it?!"~~

"Because I'll end up hurting everyone around me, you saw what happened back then, you saw how far I went. If Mia hadn't cast that shield, I'm sure the Reaper would have killed them too."

~~ "You had enough restraint to-"~~

"To talk to Harry but that was because of this Seal. If I didn't have it, I would have torn him to shreds. I'm keeping this seal and I'll kill Empena with it."

~~ "Then find a better strategy."~~

"You think I'm just doing nothing?!" I barked at him. "I've already tried different things!"

~~ "Then keep trying. Jezriel is an important ally so I will support your idea to return her to normal. Why do you think it will work?"~~

"Because she gave it to me for a reason. It has to work!" I said angrily. "I won't stop unless she's returned to normal!"

~~ "Very well. I suppose you should get going, you shouldn't keep your friends waiting."~~

I looked at the lightning bolt ring that once belonged to her. She gave this to me before we faced Empena and if this idea worked, it would be an incredible gambit to pull off.

I made one last step into my bedroom where I grabbed the last of my stuff and expertly packed them into a snug backup. I stepped out into the cloudy and windy new york skies. I took in the sight and the fresh wind before the sound of a door opening distracted me.

"Kian? Hey!"

Olivia, the red-headed girl living next door to me with her family, stepped out of her apartment. I hadn't seen her for a while so she caught me off guard for a moment. She was wearing a red sundress, her face was made up and her red hair was shiny and smooth, cascading curls along her shoulders.

"Olivia?" I asked her. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, I'm just going to meet my boyfriend downstairs. We're going to the park." She smiled widely. "Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving," I answered her.

"Where to?"

"I'm leaving this place." I sighed. "I'm moving out."

"Oh," her voice dropped slightly. "What happened? It's okay, you can tell me all about it."

She had moved closer almost within touching distance. She looked up at me with kind eyes that made me want to tell her about what happened, about Empena, about Bella, about everything but I knew that wouldn't be good for her. Her family and herself were devout Catholics and if I were to tell them that angels were real, I didn't know how she would react.

"Something happened back at home and I need to go there to fix it," I told her. "It's really important."

"Like what exactly?"

"A property dispute. Someone's been trying to get my parents out of their…place and I need to help them."

"I see. Well, I shouldn't keep you waiting from helping your parents." she sighed and stepped back. "And I have to go-"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Have a lovely time."

She walked in front of me but before she could fully leave, she spun around and walked back to me. She wrapped her hands around me and gave me a hug which I didn't expect.

"Thanks for taking care of me while you were living next to us," her head buried into my chest.

"Yeah, no problem," I muttered.

She pulled out of my hug and grabbed my phone. I didn't know how she managed to do it without me knowing. "Here, I'm having a party. Bring some friends over for me okay?"

"I'm not su-yeah sure, I'll try. But no promises."

She smiled and walked away leaving me alone on the balcony just in front of my flat.

"Cute girl right?"

I spun around to see…no…it couldn't be her. Her face seemed to change as I looked at her, one moment looking like someone I knew and then back to her, it was always her. From the divine power that radiated off her, I knew who this was.

"Aphrodite. What do you want?"

She wore an elegant red dress that I had seen Bella wear to the Eden Prom a few years back. I remembered her coming to find me to take me after I was crying in my bedroom. I remembered how she comforted me, gently getting me to slowly come even if I was hesitant to do so.

Aphrodite chuckled and walked toward me but I stood my ground. She looked back at Olivia as she met someone below and then at me. "You know I could make that girl fall madly in love with you. She wants to take care of you, I could make her abandon her boyfriend anytime you would like."

"I'm going to have to say no to that. I'm not interested in her like that and besides, why would you want to break an innocent guy's heart?"

"It's fun sometimes, seeing how they react."

"Then you're just like what I thought you were. A bully. I thought you said you were going to change. Was that a lie or are you just joking?"

She chuckled and then looked at my door. "You know, the moment you walked out of the Throne Room, we did our best to track you. Hecate cast so many spells that the poor girl had a headache. My husband-well ex-husband crafted so many of his gadgets to try and track you but he couldn't find anything. You had every Olympian under the sun try and fail to find you."

"You call yourself gods and you can't even track a 17-year-old?" I chuckled.

She ignored my question and looked at Olivia before looking at me. "That girl, Olivia, I set her up with her boyfriend. They went to the same school. He's cute but he was scared of asking her out, can you imagine that? The last girl turned him down and he's been scared ever since."

"Yeah, I can imagine."

"So I had him meet her at the park and they hit it off. I gave him the courage to ask her and she said yes. It was so cute," she squealed

"Lucky guy," I said sarcastically.

"And now…I realise that you were living next to her all this time. A Nephilim born of an angel and a demon was living just right here." She walked to my door and looked at it, fingers just before the oak wood door.

"I wouldn't touch it if I was you,"

"Why not?"

"It's been enchanted to keep gods and any magical being out. If you touch it, I'm not sure you'll like where you'll end up."

Aphrodite raised an eyebrow. "Who could cast magic so powerful?"

"Just a friend."

She turned away from the door. "Well, finding you isn't going to be a problem so I won't have to take a chance on that."

"Why are you here?" I asked her. "It's not to give me some romantic advice is it?"

"Why it is!" she smiled widely. "You saw her, didn't you? The girl you love?"

I chuckled with no humour. "You've got it wrong. I don't love anyone."

"Yes you do!" she insisted. "Don't try to hide your feeling from me, I know everything that goes inside your heart."

"No, you don't," I repeated through my teeth. "If you can't track me, then you sure don't know what's going inside my head or my heart."

She wiped her red hair out of the way. "Stage 1: Denial. It doesn't take magic to read a teenage boy. You're scared, aren't you? You shouldn't be, just say what you feel and it'll turn out well."

"Let me ask you something Aphrodite," I looked at the cloudy morning sky. "Have you ever been rejected by a guy or girl? Have you ever been turned down romantically?"

"Of course not!" she said happily. "I am the goddess of love and beauty!"

"Have you ever been ridiculed for having the audacity of loving someone?"

"No-"

"Then don't come here saying what I should do!" I squeezed the railing in front of me and I left a permanent dent. "You have no idea what real people face, do you?! You don't have any idea what I've faced so don't come here giving me this bullshit!"

"Oh?" she recoiled slightly. "Why is that?"

"I'm a soldier, I defend the innocent from people who would do them harm. I am a machine that does its functions and has no place for such… weakness."

"Weakness?" She laughed at me. "Was it not love that brought you into this world? I'm sure-"

"Stop trying to set me up or get me to try and change my mind." I cut her off abruptly. "You can try but you won't be able to do it."

"Why wouldn't I?" she said quizzically. "You do realise I can make any girl fall in love with you right? Which one would you like?"

I scoffed. "You gods aren't as powerful as you think you are, you can try but you won't be able to mess with free will. You can try and force it but it won't work."

She sighed and sat on a chair that came out of nowhere. "This is going to be a difficult problem to solve. You're scared that you won't find someone who loves you right?"

"Even if I am, the "Happily Ever After" you read and fantasise about only happens in TV shows and Movies, not in the real world. Sorry to disappoint you."

"What about Percabeth?"

"Who?"

"Oh, it's my ship name for Percy and Annabeth. Cute right?"

"Yeah sure," I crossed my arms. "What about them?"

"Well they're a real couple, aren't they? And they aren't in a TV show or a film. That makes me wonder if I could get them a part on Olympus TV-"

"They're a real miracle in this world."

"But they are real, aren't they? And it means that there is a happy ever after in this world, so why don't you-"

"You don't seem to get it, do you?" I looked her directly in her green eyes "I'll tell you something I haven't told Percy when he first asked me this. I. hate. ROMANCE. I hateit even more than Empena. I hate how it can twist your mind and make you do things that you never would. I hate how it kept me up at night, how it ruined my days and made me feel like shit. Love is a poison that pollutes the mind of the weak and fills their heads with illusions. It robs you of your happiness and leaves you there to drown. Everyone grows up thinking that they'll find someone they'll love either by meeting them in person or on dating apps but the ones who truly understand this life knows the cold harsh reality. Not everyone finds love in this life. Why? Well, it's because of how they look, how important they are in their social setting or just pure bad luck. The truly tragic thing? Sometimes it's not even in their control. Life just deals a bad hand to them just because it doesn't discriminate in its harshness and a goddess who meddles in love doesn't make it better. I've seen so many boys and girls who try and go on countless dates to try and find a partner only to turn up short, they cry their eyes out because they can't get what they want, some of them turning into a cold husk of who they once were because of that. I realised this cold truth a few years ago and I've removed that poison from ever entering my head. Archangels are the best of the best, the ultimate weapon of Heaven and we do not need something that kills us from the inside."

Aphrodite sipped on her cup and kept her eyes on me as she finished. "You sound like a whiny little bitch. That is not what I expected from you."

"Whiny bitch?" I raised an eyebrow and just chuckled. "It probably is, but it's the truth. Makes sure I don't waste time on this stupid thing."

She leaned back in her chair. "I can't change your view on this can I?"

"Finally," I laughed. "Now you get it!"

She sighed sadly and looked at the skies. "Hera was right. You have so much pain in your heart, I can sense it, it's almost overwhelming."

"Whatever."

"You truly believe that no one loves you do you?"

"After what I've done and what I've yet to do. I don't need to really care who does or not. Sacrifice is second nature to me. I've sacrificed so much for where I am, some of which I didn't want to happen but this poison called love, I'm glad I've sacrificed this."

"There will always be someone for someone," she said softly. "Even if they don't think they deserve it or they think they can't find it."

"Again," I sighed. "Only happens in movies and tv shows. Those people that you've described usually die without someone next to their deathbed. Sad isn't it?"

"What if I tell you that I know what happens to those people?" she asked. "What would you say then?"

"I'll say that you're making it up," I answered.

She looked me in the eyes with kindness and empathy that I didn't expect from her. "What happened to you?"

"That's not any of your concern," I said bitterly. "What, are you going to time travel back and fix what happened to me? I don't think you gods have that kind of power. I told you before, I don't care about this, it's a distraction."

"A distraction? From what?"

"From gaining power. I can bench press a car, I can fly so fast that I make fighter jets look like snails and now, I can defeat even an Olympian God with so much ease. How can I ever sacrifice this much power for that?!"

"Well," the coffee cup in her hand vanished into thin air. "Now that I know where you are, I can help you get over this whiny bitchy attitude towards love."

"Good luck," I said sarcastically.

"That time we met on the streets of New York, do you remember what I said to you?" Aphrodite asked me. "

"Not sure, stopping Empena was more important than what you said."

"I wanted you to be happy, that's what I said to you," Aphrodite answered her question. "I thought that your attitude that day was because of how you didn't like how we had treated mortals but now, I see that there's something more. I don't think you were always like this. I think once upon a time, you very much believed in love or a least you didn't think like this. Something happened to you didn't it? Something terrible."

~~ "She's got you there Kaliel! ~~

"SHUT UP!" I roared at her. "JUST SHUT UP!"

"Oh?" she blinked. "Why is that?!"

"YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT ME!" I screamed at her. "YOU JUST WANT TO SEE ME SUFFER, YOU JUST WANT TO MAKE FUN OF ME!"

"I will do no such thing," she defended herself but I knew it was a lie despite what my truth sense told me. People like her, people like them, they always have an ulterior motive. She just wanted to draw out my weakest moment and throw it back in my face.

Just like Carran….

"If I did want to make you suffer, I would have done so many worse things to you. I could have transformed you into a goblin or a gargoyle but how could I ever do that to that handsome face of yours?"

"JUST SHUT UP!"

"Kian…." she said her name like Bella would say it and my heart cracked further. "You are right, about your question. I've always been accepted by anyone I wanted romantically but you don't know what happened after do you?"

"What?!"

"My romances with mortals…they always end up the same. I find a good man or woman and we spend a good time together but I always have to leave. I've found some amazing people that could spend their lives with me but I can't do the same. The fates are so cruel. I've endured heartbreak after heartbreak with each mortal, I wish it was different but it's always the same." Aphrodite answered. "It's worse with the Olympians, my ex-husband Hephaestus was only married to me as a way to keep the other gods from trying to kill each other. I tried my best to love him but…I couldn't."

"Shallow isn't it?" I said angrily. "That's all what love isn't to you isn't it? Who looks the best?!"

"Of course not," she said quickly. "If love was just how you looked, then these humans wouldn't have advanced past the stone age. Hephaestus tried his best but knew he wasn't a match for me. I liked to read romance novels and help couples get together. He would like to work in his forge non-stop, coming up with creations that I couldn't wrap my mind around."

"So you cheated on him with that brainless buffoon Ares? Smart choice!"

"He was someone I chose to be with," She looked at me. "How would you feel if you were married to someone you didn't know to keep a family from squabbling and trying to kill each other."

"I would feel angry, embarrassed, trapped and disgusted at them and myself. I would feel like I was used, a lesser being."

"Ares was someone I chose to love and matched with."

"Not sure how love and violence can go hand in hand."

"They are much more intertwined than you think. You would know that wouldn't you?" Aphrodite looked at me with accusative eyes.

"What could you find attractive in a blood-thirsty monster like Ares?!" I changed the subject quickly. "He's a bully!"

"He's different when he's with me. He's kind, gentle and there's this other side of him that he only shows me," she said dreamily. "Which brings me to you. If someone as violent and war hungry as Ares can be loved, then you have nothing to worry about. You will find someone, I promise on the River Styx. Open your heart you'll see what you wanted was right in front of you all along."

My watch went off and I quickly took a look at it.

Harry 9:51 AM:

Kian, meet us here in these coordinates, we ran into some trouble.

On my way!

I looked back at Aphrodite. "I appreciate the optimism but my heart became cold a long time ago," I said sadly. "And I can't go back to who I once was, if I do, I'll lose everything. Goodbye, Aphrodite."

I quickly vaulted over my balcony and burst into the skies, leaving my apartment block behind me in a sonic boom and flew as fast as I could to get to my friends.

XxX

Somewhere South of Seattle…

11 AM

I landed behind an alleyway and saw Harry, Mia, Violet and Varahard standing in the middle. I landed gently near them. There were open trash bins all around us which irritated my nose and put me off this place.

Mia pouted at me and was the first to speak as. "What took you so long?!"

"Flying at around Mach 4 was already risky enough, I had to cloak myself from all radar equipment," I explained. "How long have you been waiting for?"

"We've been waiting here since 8 AM," Violet explained. "Had to emergency teleport via the Warp Gate."

"I just picked as south as we could go before I requested a teleport," Harry explained further. "Luckily, the Warp Gate on Asgard had a remote activation feature!"

"What's so urgent that you had to text me?"

"We had a little bit of trouble in Seattle," Varahard explained. He was dressed casually, in a set of blue jeans and a white shirt instead of his eye-catching golden armour that would have caused more questions.

"What kind of trouble?"

"SHIELD."

I sighed at the name. I knew who this was. Tony's father was one of the main founders of it. This organisation was an extra-governmental counter-terrorism and intelligence agency that was built to defend the planet from a hypothetical alien invasion. I didn't know how they managed to trace me but somehow they had been trying to talk to me ever since. And since that incident in Seattle a few years ago, I was apprehensive about governmental agencies.

"How did they find you?"

"They said that they monitored a change in the atmosphere in Seattle when we were done with cleaning up our tracks but as we were about to leave the city, a red-haired spy and an archer said they wanted to talk to us. They wanted us to follow them but we did a runner when they weren't looking."

"I ruined my shoes because of that!" Violet looked at him angrily. She was wearing a casual outfit consisting of a blue shirt and black tracksuit pants and like she said, dirty white trainers.

"It's that or we get captured." Harry stood strong. "Anyway, can't you clean them or something?"

"Glad to know that I can count on you to not get caught by spies," I said.

"There was something else," Violet started. "They said that they wanted to talk to you directly."

"Me?"

"Yes, something about the 'Avenger Initiative' "

I knew what this was. It was named after Carol Danvers, a programme to gather as many special people as possible to protect Earth and keep it safe from harm. Tony told me about this but he had no interest in it; said he didn't work well with others.

"Are you sure you shook them off?"

Harry laughed. "If we didn't, they would pop out in 3, 2, 1…"

Nothing happened.

"I see your point."

"What is that?" Mia asked me.

"It's what we are but for people on Earth," I explained. "To gather as many superhuman people as possible so that when Earth needed them, they could fight the battles that normal people couldn't. Tony told me about it."

"Did he?" Harry asked

"Well, he mentioned something about that the last time I went to one of his parties he invited me to," I explained.

"How was it?" Varahard asked me.

"Lots of drinking and a few women that couldn't wrap their heads around that I was still under 18."

"So like…a normal Tony Stark Party?" Harry chuckled.

"I left after 10 minutes. It would have been okay if there were more people my age but, hey, I'm not complaining."

"I wanted to go," Varahard complained. "I would have gotten so much-"

"So what, do you want to join?" Mia interrupted him. "Are you sure about this Avenger Initiative, Kina?"

"I'm not sure," I answered. "I've been protecting Earth for this year on my own and I've been doing just fine. Also, there's the issue of answering to someone else's heed and call."

"Heed and call?" Varahard asked me.

"I'll have to answer someone else's call about whether I should go into a fight. SHIELD is part of the US government and I do not get along with authority figures."

"Yeah, that figures," Harry said casually.

"Besides, if I do become part of this, I'll end up having to juggle hero work on Locus and Earth. That's too much, I just want to be a normal person on Earth, a normal kid."

"Minus the powers," Varahard said.

"Yeah, minus the powers," I said.

"But how do they know about you? Please tell me you've been careful when you're a superhero here?" Harry asked me.

"I'm sure." I winced. "Right now, the only thing I can think why SHIELD knows what I can do is because Carol might have told them about me."

"Can they find you?"

"I took care to hide my records. The apartment I was in was off the books, property of Tony Stark. Facial recognition? I've had SCARS scrub them."

"Then why did they know we knew you?" Varahard asked.

"Again, Carol must have mentioned you," I answered.

"Why is she saying our names?!" Violet pouted. "We don't need to be chased after governmental agencies again!"

"She's only doing what she thinks is best. Think about it, after her and Tony, we're the only ones powerful enough to protect this world."

"But still, she should have asked us before she told them."

"I'll have a word with her after this," I said. "And tell SHIELD to back off."

"Alright, let's go-"

I turned and bumped into someone and I heard the guy who I had just encountered, hit the deck and groan.

"Ow!"

He had close-cropped blonde hair and a purple shirt that said SPQR and he was wearing a bag that he quickly picked from the floor as he got up from the floor.

"Sorry, are you okay?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Sorry, we're just trying to hide from the cops!"

"Why?"

"Jason!"

Behind him, a Hispanic girl with dark braided hair ran after him and joined his side. She looked at him and then at us. "Who are you?!"

"We're just…some friends hanging out," Harry said quickly. "Who are you and why do you have a spear with you?"

The girl looked at her spear and then at us with curious eyes. "You can see it?"

"Why wouldn't I be able to?"

"Reyna, I just bumped into them," Jason said quickly. "Are the cops still after you?"

"I managed to shake them off. I have what Mars had requested to get." Reyna answered him. "I saw you running here and I had to make sure you were okay."

"Reyna, I'm fine."

"Praetors have each other's backs, I won't let you go alone."

"Looks like they aren't the only ones running from the government!" Varahard chuckled.

As the pair looked at him, I heard the engine noises of a car, more exactly Dodger Chargers. Either the police here were all good at tracking or these kids were sloppy when it comes to covering their tracks. There were multiple heartbeats, all of them steady around 80-100 bpm

All of them were cops and if I could, I would have stopped the pair in front of me from progressing further but looking at the two people in front of me, their souls glowed with positive energy: Integrity, courage, bravery, kindness, etc. I couldn't let them get caught by the cops whatever the reasons they were running from.

"You two, I can hear the cops coming this way," I announced.

Reyna and Jason looked behind them and then at me. "I don't hear them?"

"They're about a mile away. You better make a move before they get you." I said quickly. "There's another alleyway behind us, if you go through it, the cops won't be able to find you."

"How do we know you aren't trying to lead us to our deaths?" Jason asked.

"If we wanted you to die, we would have already done it, wouldn't we?" I shrugged. "And come on, we just met, how would I already want to kill you?"

"We've met people like that before," Reyna said.

"Again, if we wanted to kill you, we would have done it. Trust me, we could do it if we wanted to."

Jason thought about it, shrugged and sighed. "What about you 4, what are you going to do if they come here."

"Don't worry about that," I said with a smile. "Go, they're getting closer!"

Jason turned to Reyna and she reluctantly nodded. "Thanks-"

"My name Is Kian and Don't worry about it."

Jason shook my hand and I felt a static shock between our hands, the same electric spark I felt inside Zeus's lightning bolts and the same smell of ozone around him. Jason's eyes looked like he noticed something happening but he didn't say anything.

The pair ran ahead behind me and I watched them leave. I turned back to the rest of my friends. "That was…interesting."

"You can say that again."

"Are we done here?"

"Yeah. I'm reading Warp Transport right now." Harry tapped something into his watch and we soon left Earth again in a flash of light.

XxX

Sometime later...

Percy's POV

Asgard

"So..what's it like in Locus?"

I walked with my stuff in a carry-on bag behind me, Marcel walking next to me. He was dressed in a black shirt with a pair of white metallic wings on it, constantly making sure to look behind him.

"It's like Earth but with more aliens and superheroes," Marcel explained. "You'll love it."

"Is there a Justin Bieber on Locus?"

Marcel laughed. "We have the Justin Beiber of Earth's music on Locs. I'm guessing you don't like his music?"

"His music is…awful," I answered."It's the same lyrics over and over again, it makes my head hurt."

Marcel chuckled. "Yeah, I don't like it either. So, what sort of music do you like?"

"I don't know, just whatever comes on the radio, just not Justin Beiber."

"Great, then you'll love it on Locus."

A moment of silence passed between us. "Do you speak English over there?"

"We do but we also have translation earpieces, convert any language that we hear into one that we understand," Marcel answered. "We also get taught other languages from different cultures and planets, it's fun."

"Does that include you?"

"Yeah, pretty much everyone in the team knows at least one language. Kian knows French but he hates it."

"He didn't mention that."

"Yeah, that's understandable. He hates speaking French."

"Why would he?"

"It's simple. Kian's British."

"R-right."

We walked together in silence before Marcel spoke again. "What was Kian like as a classmate?"

"He was pretty cool, did well in tests, stood up to any bullies if he saw them hurting someone, didn't take part in football even though he could sprint faster than anyone in the school team and I would usually find him just messing around with the soccer team, doing fancy tricks."

Marcel laughed. "That sounds like the Kian I know, when we had some time off classes, he would usually be kicking a football on the playground."

"You mean soccer ball right?"

"Football, not soccer ball." Marcel corrected me. "If he was a normal human, he would have been a football player, could have played at the highest level, he was really good."

"What else was he good at?"

Marcel chuckled and just glanced at me. "He's worked very hard to get there, that's the type of person he is, never giving up until he got what he wanted."

"What was he like…before that happened?"

Marcel's red eyes glanced left before talking. "Less likely to face Empena on his own. If we ever fought or any of us was in trouble, he would rush to help us. He believed that he was still a hero. Locus loved him."

"Loved him?"

"He's their Superman. On Locus, he's almost like a movie star, he's like Ronaldo, Messi or Lebron James. Wherever he went, people wanted to talk to him. He had to wear disguises to avoid being mobbed in the street. That's how popular he was."

"Why would he leave that?"

"After what he's seen, you can only see the dark side of this job. Being a hero, doing this as a job is messier than you think. You can't just wear tights and go beating people up, you have to train, learn the legal proceedings and earn your place as a hero. There's a lot of stuff that goes on behind the scenes that the pros hate about the job."

"Like what stuff?"

"Heroes are celebrities on Locus, the stronger you are, the more fame you have. It's just like on Earth, you'll know who Brad Pitt is but you won't know a simple broadway actor. This leads to….problems. Some of those heroes, they don't fight to save people, they fight for fame and it's awful." Marcel shuddered as he said it. "I don't blame Kian for one second for taking a leave."

"I think I understand what you mean."

"Good, because I don't want to go into details. Ever since Kian's been gone, all of Locus is waiting for the return of its greatest hero once again."

"But why would Kian leave?" I asked him. "He's a nice guy, right? So I don't think he'll get in trouble or anything."

"Kian's not the person who lies basking in fame, he's not the type of person who wants to be put on a pedestal," Marcel answered. "To him, being a hero isn't something that makes him deserving of praise, to him he sees it like it's a normal thing."

"But Kian said that he's not-"

Marcel laughed. "He could save a burning building full of people and a kitten orphanage and he would still somehow find a way to not accept the praise. Kian's more heroic than any of us, it's in his blood!"

"In his blood? I thought you said that both sides of him were violent and led a rampage across the universe."

"His parents were the exception. They did lead the war once upon a time but they stopped, they got tired of fighting and realised cooperation was the only true way forward. They became heroes and it's because of them I'm here today. It's because of each other in this team that we're still here." Marcel explained. "Which reminds me, I'll need to book a meeting with the Celestial High Council to give you the full story behind Empena."

"The who now?"

"They control the superhero subdivision part of the Locus government, responsible for training new heroes and making sure that heroes don't go out of order."

"That sounds long and complicated," I yawned. "Who's on there?"

"That.." he smiled to himself. "I'll save for later. Come on, we're here."

We were in the same place we were before when we first arrived in Asgard yesterday. It was the same clear blue sky as before but this time, instead of it being empty, there was chatter and talking. Nigel and Chris were chatting to Nico and Sakura was busy giving Annabeth and Thalia fashion advice. Everyone present had their luggage bags with them, all dressed up like they were going to go hang out in a shopping mall.

"Hey guys," Marcel announced. "How's everyone doing?"

"Pretty well," Annabeth answered. "It's not every day that you spend the night in the homeplace of the Norse Gods."

"How did you like the gardens?" Marcel asked

"Much better than fighting the Dark Moons." Once Annabeth saw me, she walked over and hugged me. I hugged her back, her hair smelling like lemons and strawberries and planted a kiss on her cheeks.

"What were you doing here?" I pulled back and looked at her.

"I had a lot of questions about this place, how the weather is always sunny, how there's a day-night cycle despite not being a spherical planet," Annabeth explained.

"She's a clever one," Sakura said. Her black hair was framed all around her face and her dark eyes completed the look. She wore a set of jeans, a white shirt and a cut-off black jacket with a sweet-smelling perfume that made her look stylish and smell great.

"Sakura's the costume designer for all our costumes," Marcel said.

"Yes I am," Sakura said proudly. "I can also design and sew clothes too."

"Her mum is a fashion designer," Thalia explained. "She's been telling me all about it."

"You can thank her for our awesome costumes," Marcel said. "Made us stand out on Locus."

"The secret is allowing your personality to be seen in your clothes, they immediately tell others what kind of person you are. It's the same with everyone here. That reminds me, I'll need to create costumes for you too!" Sakura said happily.

"I don't think that's necessary," Annabeth sweatdropped. "We're quite used to fighting like this. We might need some Bronze Armour."

"Harry can look into it," Marcel answered. He put his hands in his pockets and looked around. "Glad to see everyone up and early."

"Wait," Nico asked. "Where's everyone else?"

"Some of us are already back on Locus," Marcel answered. "We're waiting for the rest of them back on Earth."

"Are they okay?" Nigel asked. "Last time I checked the chat they said there was some trouble back on Earth."

"Kian said that it's all sorted," Sakura said.

"What do we do until then?"

"We wait," Marcel sat on the floor. "I could tell you-"

I heard a burst of noise and I turned to see Kian, Harry, Mia, Varahard and Violet appear in the middle of the room. They all looked ready for action given how they were all standing.

Marcel rolled his eyes. "You planned that, didn't you?"

"No, that was just a coincidence. Is everyone ready?"

"What did you do on Earth?" Annabeth asked him.

"Getting some stuff, had a run-in with Aphrodite, unfortunately." Kian rolled his eyes but I sensed some stiffness in the way he spoke like there was something he wasn't telling us for a good reason.

"What did she say?" I asked.

"Nothing useful really," Kian shrugged. "Always the same stupid bullshit that I expected of her."

"Listen Kian," Annabeth stepped forward slightly. "About yesterday…"

"Save it, we have bigger things to worry about than what happened yesterday." Kian glanced at her. "Locus needs our help now."

"What I'm trying to say is that I understand why you did what you did."

"Really?"

"Marcel told us about why you did it. You became an Archangel because you had to, right?"

"It's a bit of both actually, I've always wanted to be an Archangel so it lined up. I became one to protect the universe from Empena, not to wage war and kill."

"You didn't do those things because you wanted to, right?"

"I told you before. I did what I had to do, Annabeth," Kian explained. "I didn't kill because I wanted to."

"Can you promise me one thing?" She asked him.

"What?"

"Can you promise me that you won't hide anything from us from now on?"

"Are you sure about that? There might be some things that you might not like about knowing."

"I understand. Surely it can't be worse than what you did right?"

Kian looked at her blankly before he sighed. "Well, you're too deep in the pool to come back out now. I won't hide anything from you if you ask anything."

"We'll kill Empena together okay?"

Kian hesitated for a second before nodding. "Guess so." He turned to everyone else. "Is everyone ready?"

"First time on a different planet, so exciting," Thalia said happily. "I wonder what it's like."

"Don't get your hopes up." Kian grabbed a pair of sunglasses from his bag and quickly removed his jacket to replace it with a black hoodie."It's just like Earth for better or for worse."

"What's with the hoodie?" Nico asked him

"You'll see soon enough," Kian smirked. "Harry, we're ready. Get your disguises on. We don't need to be mobbed again."

Everyone around me quickly put on sunglasses, hoodies or baseball caps in a matter of seconds.

"What's happening?" Nico asked. "Why do you all look like you're at a baseball game?"

"Stops us from being recognised," Kian answered.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "There's no way that can work."

"You would be surprised." He smirked. Kian looked at Harry. "We're ready, do it now!"

"Varahard, we're ready!" Harry spoke into his left arm and in a flash of white light, the scene changed.

Gone were the golden arches and the beautiful oceans of Asgard. In front of us was a park that stretched as far as my eyes could go, all of it lit by the bright sunlight. There was a central monument of a man with a long cape, trees around him and a plaque underneath him. Around us were people like us, who were flashing into existence.

"Huh, Acochester Central Garden," Kian looked around. He pulled his hoodie over his head even more. "That's an inconvenience."

"Damn it," Harry complained. "I forgot to adjust the sensitivity on the gate."

"I really don't mind," Kian chuckled. "Nice to see the gardens."

"How long has it been since we last visited?" Mia asked the group.

"Longer than it should be," Harry replied. "We haven't seen Njoro's statue since the Empena Offensive began."

"What is this place?" Annabeth asked. "And why are people just appearing out of nowhere?"

"It's a legal arrival zone," Harry answered.

"Legal arrival zone?"

"Yeah, you can't just arrive in the middle of the road or someone's house, can you? It's just inconvenient and could get messy. Locus has all its warp gates leading to the planet, locked into certain arrival zones, making travel easy and simple."

"Just like an airport?"

"We don't use planes or cars-Well, that's a lie," Harry smiled. "We do use cars but we don't use fossil fuels."

"What do you use? Solar power? Nuclear?"

"Close," Kian said. "This whole planet is powered by a nuclear fusion reactor somewhere on this continent."

Annabeth blinked at the pair. "But that-"

Kian chuckled. "Just follow my lead, I'll take you to where you'll be staying while you're here."

"What is this place?!" Annabeth asked with wonder in her eyes.

"I told you it was like Earth," Harry chuckled. "Welcome to Locus, I hope you enjoy it!"