I don't know about everyone, but I had a long week and I could use some positive reinforcement. So, I'm submitting a new chapter for you. I hope you enjoy it.
Moments ago -
Serena was ushered into the back of the limousine by her chauffeur, Winston. She looked out through the window at Corey, who looked on as she was about to leave. Winston sat in the driver's seat and prepared to leave. He adjusted the rear view mirror to watch the young teenage girl and made note of her particular interest in the teenage boy she'd been with earlier.
"Milady, are you alright?" he asked.
"I'm fine, but do we have to return home?" Serena asked.
"Your mother made it clear that you're not to interact with anyone. I am simply following orders." Winston said.
"She's always interfering. Why can't she understand that I want to live my life on my terms?" Serena bemoaned in frustration.
Winston could provide no answer, not that he didn't desire to anyway. He did at least silently acknowledge the boy, but his name escaped him. It didn't matter now, so Winston set the limo on its way. Serena continued looking out the window at at Corey, and she barely caught the faintest of glimpses of a white owl flying overhead. Only a few moments later, Serena started seeing people running in the opposite direction. Some run down the sidewalk and others, at their own risk, we're running on the street itself passed the limo.
The reason became clear as day when a huge animal resembling a lion appeared. It was on a rampage across the street, swiping its massive claws side to side and damaging anything within reach. It lunged forward for the next target, which turned out to be the limousine. Winston swerved the vehicle to try and get around the monstrous beast, but the limo still suffered a glancing blow. The hit was enough to send the limo careening into the rear of another parked vehicle. The occupant of that care had already escaped while Winston attempted to restart the limo to no avail.
"Winston, get us out of here!" Serena cried out.
Winston tried again to get the limo running, but it was no use. Desperation took hold and Winston rushed out the driver's seat and toward the rear of the limo. He opened the door and tried ushering Serena out, but the limo was suddenly and violently pulled away by the beast and sent toward the opposite side of the street. Serena was tossed around but she luckily had her seatbelt on, so she was relatively unharmed. The door was still open on the other side, but the beast was right there roaming around looking for victims. It saw Serena still in the back limousine and stalked toward her. It let out a blood freezing roar that horrified Serena to the point where she couldn't move.
Meanwhile, Corey rushed around the corner of the street only slip right back and out of sight of the beast. "What the hell is that thing?"
Athena landed nearby and replied, "That is the Nemean Lion, the first of the 12 Labors undertaken by Hercules."
"Oh my God. Serena's trapped in that car." Corey said with terrified realization.
"Corey, I know I shouldn't ask this of you, but you're the only one who stop the Nemean Lion."
Corey made no effort to reply and he was reluctant to do anything at all. Host first impulse was to simply walk away and forget everything was happening. But he looked around the corner again at the Nemean Lion as it stalked near thee we damaged limousine. It roared and amid that was the sounds of fearful screaming. Serena was still trapped in the limousine crying for help. Corey backed away, reluctant to act.
That was when he recalled his father's words to him about the potential for good in people. Looking down at the mark on his hand, Corey began to understand. He rushed away from the scene, but he wasn't running away. Athena knew this. Corey ducked into an alley out of sight of anyone. He looked directly at the mark on his hand. It was now or never. He shut his eyes and clenched his hand into a fist as tightly as humanly possible. He focused, concentrated and then, in he faint trembling of thunder sounded around the area. Streaks of lightning flashed across the sky and, in that very moment, Corey opened his eyes wide and they shined in white light and crackling lightning.
The Nemean Lion continued its rampage, attacking the partly destroyed limousine with Serena still trapped inside. Serena tried to escape on her side, but the door was stuck. All she could do was back as far away from the side of the limo where the beast was clawing to reach her. It was getting closer, reaching its massive paw into the back seat. Its claw shredded the leather seat inches away from its victim. Each move caused Serena to scream in horror. It would've only been a matter of time before the Nemean Lion caught its prey.
Then, the Nemean Lion stopped attacking but still growled out of a sort of protest. The beast was seemingly pulled away from the limo and leaving Serena unscathed but still frightened. From her seat, she watched with stunned disbelief as someone had the Nemean Lion by its torso and tossed it aside. Serena barely managed to get the faintest glimpse of her savior, but it was enough to confirm it was the same man in silver armor as the previous night. He was keeping the beast at bay and eventually subdued it long enough to quickly rush back to the limo.
"C'mon, let's get you out of there." he said, and he reached his hand to her.
Serena recoiled, still too scared to move. "No, no, please stay away! Stay back, please!"
Serena had no idea it was Corey thanks to the latter's helm concealing most of his face, so he knew he had to be careful. "Serena," he said with a gentle, measured. "Serena, it's okay. Take my hand."
Serena was stunned; how could this man possibly know her name? She couldn't waste time wondering and grabbed his hand. He pulled her out of the limo, holding her so she wouldn't trip. They still close for a brief moment, as if time stood still. Serena looked up at her savior, noting the difference in height between them. She also noted something strangely familiar about him, but she couldn't pinpoint what was causing such intuition.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah." she whispered.
A loud roar was heard and the Nemean Lion was upright again. Looking toward the beast, Corey subtly whispered, "Go. Get somewhere safe."
Serena was still stunned even as her rescuer ushered her away and started approaching the Nemean Lion. "Wait," she said. "Who are you?"
Corey stopped short, his eyes widening slightly being asked such a question. He turned around to face Serena directly and replied to her, "I'm Zeus."
Serena was figuratively shocked but not frightened. She instead felt a sense of... perhaps reassurance that everything would be okay now with this man, who called himself Zeus, protecting her. After another glance at the Nemean Lion, she rushed away toward anyplace that wasn't rendered unsafe. To her relief, Winston caught up to her and escorted her to the nearest building where other people were hiding themselves away. But the Nemean Lion had taken notices of the escaping humans and prepared to lunge for them. A bolt of lightning struck down and Corey, or rather Zeus, stood in the beast's way.
"Hate to break it to you, Simba, but I'm sending you back with the rest of the Disney trash."
The Nemean Lion stalked paced around and growled at it's supposed prey before roaring and bounding forward. Bracing himself, Zeus took the full force of the beast's charge. He shifted himself and grabbed hold of its massive neck. He tried holding it place while it struggled to get loose. The Nemean Lion won this first exchange, hoisting its head and taking Zeus with it. Zeus held on and applied pressure around the neck, but he didn't expect the monster to drop down and pin him to the ground. The force was enough to make Zeus release his grip, and the Nemean Lion assaulted him with a barrage of claw swipes. Zeus managed to get back up only to take one more swipe that set him flying into a destroyed car.
The Nemean Lion seemed to roar in self-approval, if that were possible, and Zeus was in the midst of recovering. "Okay." he snarled before he rushed back into the fight.
Back at the Mercer home, Maggie was sitting in the leaving room when she shouted, "Mom, Dad, that guy's on TV again!"
John was the first one to entered the room while Patricia followed close behind him, and he stood behind his daughter watching the TV. The footage appeared to show a monstrous lion attacking the town. A lone figure was trying to fight it off, and that figure appeared to resemble the same man who save him. John determined that it was the same man, and he felt a sudden urge to confront him directly regardless of the danger. At the same time, Patricia held her hands to her mouth while her eyes widened in horror. Realization struck her right at that moment.
"Oh my God. Corey's there." she said in terror.
John and Maggie looked incredulously at Patricia, shock and fear gripping them both. But while Maggie appeared on the verge of tears, John made a break for the front door. He'd grabbed the keys to his car and rushed outside, and Patricia hastily followed. She was already too late to stop her husband from pulling out of the driveway and driving away entirely. Patricia could only watch as Maggie joined her, and mother and daughter embraced in fear of the worst.
"Are Dad and Corey going to be okay, Mom?" Maggie asked.
Patricia only replied, "I don't know, baby."
Zeus was pushed back by the sheer brute force of the Nemean Lion but he still managed to stay upright. He was crouched down, steadying himself by one hand and both feet still planted firmly on the ground. Looking ahead, Zeus saw the Nemean Lion charging straight for him like any rabid animal on the hunt for its prey. Zeus steeled himself as the beast bared its teeth down on him, and he grabbed its maw to hold it back.
He could smell the foul stench of its breath, and that normally would've caused him to pass out. But he wasn't normal anymore. Zeus pushed back against the Nemean Lion, moving forward one forceful step after step. It was his resolve that won out, and Zeus shifted his stance to bring the beast down on its side. He pinned the monster and held it there, then he drove his elbow down repeatedly into its head in an effort to knock it out.
The Nemean Lion recovered, rose back up onto its massive legs and started charging forward. It shifted to the left and slammed itself straight into a wall, with Zeus taking the brunt of the impact. The Nemean Lion rushed across the street and slammed into another wall, forcing Zeus to take the impact again. Zeus still held on to the monster as it continued its warpath before he noticed how it was veering closer toward civilians. Acting quickly, Zeus pulled hard on the mane and directed it away. They rushed back toward the center of the street where the fight began, and then something happened that Zeus never expected.
With a mighty bound, the Nemean Lion leapt into the air. It shifted so would come down back first, and Zeus realized in that moment what was about to happen. They crashed down into the asphalt and left a series of cracks. The Nemean Lion got back up onto its legs, while Zeus laid flat on the asphalt trying to recover. He struggled to rise while the beast circled around him, waiting to pounce at any moment. Zeus managed to rise up to one knee, only to be swiped back down by the beast. On his back, Zeus looked toward the gathering of people watching the scene, and Serena was among them. There was nothing she could do outside of cover her mouth in disbelief. Before he could react, the Nemean Lion was on top of him and swiped its claws across his face.
Outside the area, John arrived in his vehicle and rushed to the scene. Some of the officers there tried to stop him, so he had to show his police badge to get through. Pushing through the crowd, and unknowingly standing right next to Serena, John watched as the man who saved his life prior was being mauled by this monster that looked like something out of a horror movie. He had his gun, but it would've been no use to him. John could only watch helplessly as the superpowered man was being destroyed, not knowing that it was actually his son.
Zeus continued taking punishment from the Nemean Lion. Swipe after swipe, blow after blow, he could do nothing to stop the monster. It seemed as though the Nemean Lion was playing with him, prolonging the agony before the inevitable. One swipe sent Zeus' head to the side where the crowd was in full view watching the beating, and that was when time halted. Zeus caught sight of John in the crowd, and for that brief moment, he was Corey again. In that moment, Corey recalled his father's words to him; Show the world exactly who is Corey Mercer.
The Nemean Lion halted its attack for a brief second to roar in seeming triumph before it went for one final swipe. The attack was stopped dead its tracks when Corey, back to his godly persona as Zeus, grabbed the claw and held it back. The Nemean Lion snarled and bellowed, but Zeus' eyes lit up with crackling white light. He pushed back against the monster as it protested in rage. Thunder sounded as dark clouds formed in the sky.
Zeus was now upright, holding the Nemean Lion back with only one hand. He thrust his hand forward and pushed the beast back, and the Nemean Lion roared with even more rage. The clouds swirled in the sky, as though a giant storm was forming right before the eyes of the people watching the entire spectacle. The Nemean Lion saw it too, and bestial outrage took hold and forced it into a charge. In response, Zeus outstretched his right hand and focused.
Right when the Nemean Lion was nearly on top of him, Zeus unleashed and massive blast of lightning. The blast hit its mark, and the Nemean Lion was engulfed by the lightning. It roared in pain as it was rapidly and brutally electrocuted. Its hide was gradually charred beyond any recognition and its mane seemed to burn away. After a literal, lightning-quick moment, Zeus ended his assault and the Nemean Lion remained standing only to collapse dead to the ground. At the same time, the storm clouds broke and the Sun returned to view.
The gathered crowd, John, Serena and Winston among them, looked up at the clearing sky. John shifted his attention to Zeus, still unaware that it was Corey looking back at him. It was broad daylight, yet John remained seemingly oblivious to his own son clad in silver armor and helm, standing in the midst of a war zone. John noticed movement from the corner of his eye. Several officers of the Dover Police Department were moving towards Zeus with their guns on him.
One officer shouted, "Freeze, don't move."
Another one shouted, "Get down, now, or we will open fire."
Zeus looked at the officers thinking, Are you friggin' kidding me? He knew they were just doing their duty, but still...
In an unexpected move, John rushed out in front of the officers with his own badge and shouted, "Stand down. I said stand down, all of you. That's an order."
Dad, what're you doing? Corey wondered.
As if he'd somehow heard Corey's thoughts, John turned his head to look directly at him. He gave a telling nod, and Corey took that as a sign that he needed to leave the area quickly. The other cops moved closer only for John to hold them back, and Corey knew at that very point that now was the time. Surrounded by a swirling vortex of lightning, Corey launched into the sky and vanished from view. The likes of John and Serena weren't the only ones to watch Zeus depart. The same mysterious figure that Athena had seen earlier had been watching the events unfold from afar.
"Zeus..."
Author's Note: That's puts this chapter in the books, and Corey has now fought his second monster while protecting a new friend in Serena as well as concealing his identity from his father. Meanwhile, the main villain is watching intently. How will Corey, now adopting the name of Zeus, respond when he meets this new foe? Tune in next time to find out. Peace.