Chapter Four - To Be Determined

"Where's Percy?" I asked, "Where's my brother at?"

Mr. Brunner's eyes widened as he fully took in my appearance. I honestly couldn't blame him for not noticing the resemblance sooner. Due to my height and slight frame, I looked a lot younger than I really am.

"Did he come here with you?" I pressed on. "Can I see him?"

Mr. Brunner opened his mouth to say something when a hologram of a skinny, ginger-haired boy in a shimmering rainbow suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of us.

"Chiron, I lost him!" The boy said.

"Grover, calm down," Mr. Brunner said. "What's going on?"

"Grover?" I asked. Oh, yeah! Percy's satyr from school.

"Percy?" Grover shouted, turning his attention to me. "What happened? How'd you get...?"

"Whoa, hold up!" I said. "I'm not Percy, I'm his sister. Where's Percy? Is he who you lost?"

"Please, Mr. Underwood," Chiron Brunner said. "Take a breath and start from the beginning. What happened?"

"We were riding the bus into the city from school, as you know, and I started reading Percy in on the whole being a demigod thing like we agreed," Grover said. "Only the bus suddenly broke down in the middle of nowhere, so the driver had us all get out. That's when Percy noticed a group of..." he paused, glancing nervously at me before continuing, "...old ladies knitting a pair of socks. One of them looked him right in the eye and very deliberately snipped the yarn so loud it could be heard from across the road."

"Oh, my." Mr. Brunner said.

"We got back on the bus right after that and it started up again. Then when we got to the city, I turned around for just a minute only to find that he'd run off! I tried tracking him down, but he must have got a cab because I couldn't find his scent passed the street."

"He likely would have gone home," Brunner said. "I believe it is somewhere in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. I can get you the address as soon as I get back to my office." Mr. Brunner glanced at me for a moment. "When you get there, be sure to have Mrs. Jackson call me. There is something she should be made aware of. In the meantime, sit tight and remember your training."

"Yeah," Grover said. "Yeah, okay. Thank you, Chiron."

Mr. Brunner nodded and waved his hand through the shimmering rainbow, disrupting the image and ending the call, before turning to me.

"I am sure you have questions," he said, his tone gentle. "However, for now it would probably be best to wait for the answers until your brother can be found, and your mother reached."

I winced. "My mom is dead," I said. "She died years ago, when I was six. There was a monster - a hydra - and the building blew up. I was there. I watched it happen."

"Miss Jackson?" Mr. Brunner asked, and I nodded. He spoke slowly, deliberately; "At least so far as I know, your mother is very much alive. That is to say, I last spoke with her on the phone just a couple of weeks ago."

"My mom... Alive? Home? What? Where? I..." my mind was racing. I could feel my inner fire blazing within, burning to escape, but I couldn't stop it. Instead, I let it come. Fire erupted across my shoulders and down my arms spreading warmth without burning. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly until the flames rose and fell with the timing of my breathing. Once I felt like i had a better control of myself and my powers, I opened my eyes to see Mr. Brunner staring at me in shock. "Sorry."

"No, no," he said. "I completely understand how this news could come as a shock, and as I said I am certain you have many questions. However the answers will have to wait for now. I'll speak to Mr. Fletcher about releasing you from bed rest, but I ask that you remain at the camp until we can hear back from Mr. Underwood. I have every faith that your brother will be found and brought to camp as late as tomorrow, and he could most assuredly use a friendly face in a new environment."

I hesitated for a moment before nodding my agreement.

"Glad to hear it," he said with a small grin. "In the meantime, I'll have Mr. Castellan show you around. He's one of our most senior campers, and looks after most of the new arrivals."

"You talking about me behind my back?" asked a male voice.

"Ah, speak of the devil and he shall appear," Brunner chuckled. "Miss Jackson, meet Mr. Castellan.

He was an older teen-aged boy with sandy, blonde hair and blue eyes that seemed to gleam with a secret only he knew. His orange camp shirt was faded like he'd had it for years, and the sleeves had been ripped off leaving thin hanging threads. What really stood out the most to me about his appearance, however, was the deep scar across his face. He noticed me looking, and I thought he'd be angry or defensive. Instead he grinned, his scar stretching awkwardly.

"Hazards of the life we live, kid," he said. "Name's Luke."

"Penelope," I replied.

"I''ll leave you to it, then," Mr. Brunner said, back his chair out and wheeling off to the front of the building.

"First timer?" Luke asked, and I nodded. "Thought so. Andromeda mentioned accidentally breaking a newbie. Do you know who your parent is?"

"No," I said. "But I do know it's probably not Apollo."

"Well until it's official, you'll be with me in cabin eleven," he said finally. "The cabin dedicated to Hermes, god of travelers. His cabin is open to everyone, misfits and delinquents alike. You know what that means?"

"No," I said. "What?"

"We're literally the reject cabin," he said with a self-deprecating smirk. "Let me be the first to welcome you to the dysfunctional family."

"Careful with that line of speaking, Luke," another boy said, interrupting. "You might offend someone."

"It's not my fault if someone can't take a joke," Luke replied. "Besides, you're assuming someone even pays enough attention to get offended."

The boy was younger than Luke, with a shoulder length shaggy mop of dirty blonde hair and a dusting of freckles across his face. The bags under his eyes were so deep, it looked like he could carry his shopping around in them. Shaking his head, the other boy turned to me and said; "My name's Lee Fletcher, head healer here at the camp. Chiron told me about your... issues with the cold. That was my bad, sorry."

"I get it," I said. "As much as I dislike it, I get it."

"Right," he said. "Well, before I let you go, I'm going to need to ask a few questions about your general health and whatnot. Luke, you can wait outside until we're done."

"Got it," Luke said. "Might as well take the time to get the newbie pack in the meantime."

"Don't get caught or I'll have to rat you out," Lee said. Luke's only reply was a scoff. Once Luke was out of earshot, Lee closed the privacy curtains and turned back to me. "Alright, so I'd like to ask some questions that will help me establish a medical history for you."

"Oh, hang on," I said, looking around. "Um... Where's my bag?"

"It's under the bed," Lee answered, reaching under the bed. "Here, let me get that for you."

"Thanks," I said, taking my bag from him and rooting through it. "Ah, here we go! We figured my medical situation would be weird enough that it would be best to have some proper records. Here ya go, courtesy of Doctor Phoebe."

"Doctor Phoe...?" Lee asked, then groaned. "Oh, dad..."

"Huh?" I asked, confused by his sudden exasperation.

"Sorry, sorry. Doctor Phoebe is my dad," Lee said.

"Your... Dad?"

"Apollo, god of many things. Doctor Phoebe is his 'pediatrician' persona," Lee said. "He claims that kids find it easier to open up and be more receptive to the advice of female doctors. Still if you have records from him, that's more than good enough for me."

Apollo. Doctor Phoebe... Was Apollo? On the one hand, wow. I was definitely glad he wasn't my dad - that would be awkward as hell. On the other hand... Wow. He and Lady Artemis were twins, right? I had only ever seen Artemis in her teenage or younger forms. Did that mean she'd look like that if she took a more grown up form? I felt myself start to blush and quickly shook that line of thought away. Would it be strange to apologize to her out of the blue? Lee was looking at me with a raised eyebrow. Wait, what was he saying?

"Sorry," I said. "Could you repeat that? I was... um... Lost in thought."

"Uh-huh," he said. "I was saying with this information in hand, you're good to go..."

"Great, thanks!" I said, quickly scrambling off the bed and running out before he thought to stop me. Hopefully this would be the last time I would actually need to be in the infirmary. I already disliked hospitals, and while this infirmary wasn't as bad, I definitely didn't want to spend more time here than necessary. Luke was waiting by the door for me when I got outside.

"Hey squirt," he said, handing me a rolled up towel. "Got you some things from the camp store. Toothbrush. Soap. That sort of thing."

"Ah, you didn't have to do all that..." I said. "I, um, came prepared. You know?"

He quirked an eyebrow, then noticed my packed bag that I had slung over one shoulder and chuckled, "It's all good. Hang onto it. You never know when more will come in handy, and if it comes down to it, you can always use it to barter for other things."

"I see," I said. "Thank you."

"No problem," Luke said. "Now, let's get you shown around so you don't get too lost, yeah? Andromeda mentioned she'd shown you the activity area already before you collapsed, so I guess next stop would be the dining pavilion. It's almost lunch time anyway, so it'll be a good place to introduce you to everyone."

By the time we reached the dining area, there was a line of kids scraping portions of their food into the central fire directly from their plates.

"Either the food here is terrible," I said, "or lunch time is already over."

Luke chuckled; "It's not like that. They're offerings to the gods. It's not enough that they're all powerful beings, they need to feel appreciated. So, we scrape off parts of our meal and offer prayers to our parents. Some of the kids who haven't been claimed send more general prayers in hopes of getting their parent's attention."

"Does that work?" I asked.

He hesitated; "Sometimes. Come on, let's get in line."

There was the usual fare of hot dogs, burgers, steak and chicken as well as a variety of grilled fish, fruits and roasted vegetables on skewers and even a couple different kinds of pizza. The side dishes consisted of baked beans, coleslaw, corn on and off the cob, and a variety of salad options. Following Luke's lead, I took a sampling of everything and followed him to the brazier. He tossed a chicken wing into the flames without pausing as he walked by toward a crowded table.

I hesitated, staring into the flames. I could feel my own inner fire stirring, the heat felt good after the unexpected ice pack from earlier.

"Hey, um..." I said, suddenly feeling very much put on the spot. "I guess I'm your kid or whatever? I don't know if you're even paying attention or if you even know who I am. I don't even know if I know that answer myself. I suddenly have a family again. My mom, who I thought was dead, isn't. I have a twin brother that I forgot about, and I'm going to meet him soon. Is it selfish of me to want another parent, then? I... I'm rambling, I guess. Sorry," I took a breath and let it out slowly. "I don't know who you are, but I would like to. If that's alright with you?"

I waited for a moment, feeling self conscious, then turned away to head to the crowded table only to pause. Luke was sitting right next to Andromeda! From where I was standing, it looked like she was showing him something in her hands. She was smiling and talking animatedly, though I couldn't hear what she was saying. My heart hammered in my chest. No, I decided. I would sit somewhere else. If I tried to sit there, I'd only make a bigger idiot of myself. Suddenly there was a collective gasp as everyone either pointed or turned to look at me.

"What...?" I started to ask.

"Look up," said a kid nearby, so I did.

Floating above my head was a fiery orange hologram of an anvil with a hammer and tongs. Suddenly there was a flash of light and a bird made of pink light flew around my head three times before merging with the anvil. There was a second, almost blinding flash of pink light, and suddenly my whole outfit had changed.

Before the flash, I was wearing a t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. Maybe not the most fashionable outfit, but it was comfortable. Now, I suddenly found myself wearing an ankle length white dress with gold accents. My sneakers had been replaced with sandals with straps that went halfway up my legs, and I suddenly had delicate gold bracelets and armlets on both arms and a braided gold chain choker around my neck. Thank whatever god was responsible that I didn't suddenly find my ears pierced too! My hair, usually kept short, was now much longer and pulled back into a cascading ponytail. I didn't have a mirror on hand, but I could somehow tell that I was also wearing makeup.

"What the f-...?"

Mr. Brunner cleared his throat and tapped his cup to get everyone's attention before saying; "Hail, Penelope Jackson. Daughter of Hephaestus and..." he hesitated for a second. "And Legacy of Aphrodite."