One day later.
On a devastated landscape filled with the ruins of jutting buildings and broken vestiges of the technology that mankind had been so proud of, a group of men, women and children were huddled together, walking in a straight line down a path between all the remnants of an age that had ended.
Most of them were garbed in yellow coats, complete with hoods that were clutched close to their faces to protect themselves from the cutting wind that kept greeting them as they made their way back home. Most of them were silent, with only a few opening their mouth now and then to call their loved ones close, afraid that they might get lost if they strayed even a few paces away from where they were.
At the very back of the group, Al walked along between the two assistants who were not on talking terms, for once. All three of them had stored away their villain costumes in backpacks that hung from their shoulders, and right now, they were dressed in the torn clothes of refugees that had been handed to them at the camp outside the city.
When Al had said that the camp would be their destination after they had made their spectacular escape, the assistants had agreed without an argument for the first time. Activating the Boots of Hermes, they had made their way easily outside and onward to the place where the residents of the city had been housed using the instructions on the way.
The gods had lent their power to demigods to create places where odysseys could be staged in the most genuine manner possible. However, even this power was limited, so not everything that was needed for a setting to come alive could be forced to come into being. Hence, the demigods, together, had taken the decision that any element in an odyssey that would not figure into the main story too much would be created using holograms, which was much, much easier than actually conjuring entire material objects.
The ruins were, hence, all illusions. Al had checked by passing his hand through them, and it had been quite jarring to see it disturb the hologram that shimmered before going back to normal. All of the other participants were perfectly brainwashed, of course, to not try anything like this, and sure enough, in front of them right now, the residents of the city stayed as far away from the devastation around them as possible.
It had been easy to get into the camp. No identification had been asked, and they had been fed and clothed as soon as they entered. Al had wanted to sleep, exhausted, but the two had gotten into an argument then about what had happened.
What had come as a surprise was that the woman had been impressed by his skills, and had decided to follow him wholeheartedly for the duration of the odyssey. The change in heart was suspicious, but welcome, and Al had taken it in stride… until that brute had spoken against it, and started to argue with his sister.
They had gone back and forth the entire night, forcing Al to eventually shout that they should argue quietly if they had no intention of going to sleep. He had gotten some rest, then… but sadly, a wake-up call aroused all the members of the camp soon after as it was time to go back to the city.
Before sitting out, he had asked the names of the assistants, having gotten sick of referring to them as 'the brute' and 'his sister'.
The girl was called Jessica, and her brother was Jordan. Both of them were only 20 years old, even though they definitely didn't look the part.
As she was dressed in normal clothes for the first time, Al saw that the girl was actually good-looking. Under all that excessive scantiness before, he simply hadn't been able to notice this simple fact, but now, he couldn't help but admit that he did like the way her hair perfectly framed her petite face.
"What's up?"
She looked up and noticed him watching her, and he had to turn away to hide the embarrassment that set his cheeks burning. Both of them hadn't really been surprised when he had taken away his mask, as Jordan had already estimated correctly that he was still a teen.
"Er… Nothing much. Just thinking about the next step. And, oh yeah… about how those bastards found out where we were."
Her reply made him turn to her with surprise.
"Oh! I forgot that I hadn't given you the answer to that, yet. I guessed it while we were running… what can I say, I'm weird like that. In situations like that, my brain always works best! Anyway, the same thing happened last time, too, so I had been pondering on it since then. I think… that it has to do with the way the odyssey system works. Maybe it places the heroes and villains apart in a simple manner, which means that if the specific criteria used to separate them is found out, then the general location of the counterparts of a team can be guessed. They are the Children of the Dragon, of course, so their master must have told them about all the tricks of the system… which I think they used to great effect. If not for you, we would have been toast! So… again, great job!"
He had been quite captivated by the fascinating way in which she talked. It was extremely expressive, with almost every word accompanied by a gesture, or a bob of her head, or a wrinkling of her nose. It had been especially adorable when she had talked about her 'weirdness', as she had smiled at the corner of her mouth and winked in a way that was so adorable.
At first, his fluttering heart made him wonder whether a spell was being cast, but then, he remembered that they had both told him about how they were just one step away from getting their Blessings. Then, he searched for an explanation… and he found it in an unexpected place.
In many of the comics and stories he had read where the protagonist was a teen, the MC would always have a raging hard-on for every woman that he met. It had been quite funny to see such behavior, but he had believed that it must be exaggerated.
'Even if it's not that bad… maybe it's true that the heart of one at this age is prone to being pulled in different directions easily? I think I did read about it somewhere, maybe in a magazine… but I always thought that I was more mature than that. Maybe I'm wrong about it in this area, at least…'
He was thankfully saved from the dangerous stream down which his thoughts had begun to go when Jordan grunted, "We're close."
Looking up, Al saw that the city they had left the day before was looming in front of them. The initial story they had read had said nothing about the destruction of the area around the town, but they had later learned that it had happened due to a battle between New York and a different state.
Huddling closer together, they tried to mimic the people in front of them. Adopting the forlorn and defeated expressions of those who had been ripped away from their homes and then cast into a camp where they had been herded together like cattle, they trudged along, their eyes seeing nothing but the ground, their minds appearing empty except for the destination that was the only source that still held hope.
The soldiers at the entrance waved them through. After entering the city, many of the people paused and looked around, first, taking their bearings and slowly growing happier as they could finally return home. Al used the opportunity to scan their surroundings to see whether the heroes might be watching, but he didn't find anyone.
"What now?"
"Follow me."
A half-hour later, they entered an empty building outside which a board had been placed to signify it as one that was looking for tenants. It was easy to break into one of the houses using Jordan's brute strength, and after settling onto the sofa in the middle of the small room, the man made himself at home.
Jessica remained standing. Cocking her head, she looked at him inscrutably. Al tried to ignore the way she was doing it, but when he saw that his eyes kept going to the gorgeous manner in which she was biting her thick lips, he averted his gaze and looked out the window.
"What's your plan, boss? I bet you have one. Can we hear it, this time, instead of being shoved off a roof again?"
She said it casually, but Jordan scowled as soon as he was reminded of what had happened. Folding his hands behind his back, Al paused, and when he began to speak, it was in a tone that made him seem as if he was confident in their chances of triumph, when the truth was anything but.
"There are two ways to go about an odyssey. I've studied the Dragon extensively; his ways are always straightforward. He never goes into the nuances of a situation presented to the heroes and villains, and I expect that his disciples will do the same. We… won't give them a chance to end it quickly. We will use everything in this odyssey to our advantage, and even though we are weaker… we will snatch victory away from their clutches. Together… Let's make it happen!"