"Patient's vital readings are normal, but he's still unconscious. Other than that, he appears to have an unusual healing ability. I'll have the nurses watch his continuous progress. Otherwise, he'll make a full recovery."
The Doctor finished before leaving and was followed by two nurses after they were done attending to the patient.
"Hello Raymond!" The unconscious patient began to stir. Slowly opening his eyes, he immediately shut them and tried again more and slowly adjusting his pupils to the ambient light.
"I definitely need to see the other guy."
Seeing the source of the voice, Raymond groaned and tried to turn to his left giving his back to the last person he wanted to see. His right hand was stopped by cold metal, gently lowering his gaze to his hand, he saw a pair of handcuffs.
"Grroorreaally?"
"Take it easy kid. You shouldn't speak, Doctors' orders. They really did a number on you. As for your cuffs, I put them there. Consider it as me testing a theory."
"Ho-ow are y-y-yoou he-hear."
"It's nine. My shift ended about a couple hours ago. I was just passing by to pick a medical report and imagine my luck seeing you brought in, in the state you're in. What happened to you? You look like you got mauled by a herd of cape buffaloes." Det. Kyle (one of two detectives who interrogated Raymond) was rewarded with another groan.
The Detective grabbed a nearby glass and poured him some water before giving it to him.
"Take small sips. Your muscles are still in shock. What happened really, I'm genuinely curious?" He asked before pulling a chair and taking a seat.
"I got into a brawl."
"With what? Usually you're the kind of guy that I would arrest, no offense. And you look like shit." His tone did a lousy job hiding traces of amusement.
"You wouldn't believe me."
"Try me?" Kyle's curiosity peaked.
"I'd rather not."
"Suit yourself. Anyway, if you want to write down a statement you know where to find me." He removed his cuffs before giving his chest a light tap that elicited another painful groan from him. "The PCA is on your left." He left and shut the door leaving Raymond to search for the device. He was only alone for a few minutes before the door swung open again.
"Hey! You're back." Charles greeted when he got in. He looked no worse for wear. "You look better than you did yesterday. Your healing has improved." He promptly took a seat.
"I still feel like I've been run over by a semi."
"Yeah, it's usually what happens when you pick a fight with a Minotaur. More like took a beating, but a good feat nonetheless."
"He was a Minotaur? Damn! He was too strong. How did you find me?"
"I didn't, Athena did."
"Why didn't she intervene on my behalf?"
"She wouldn't. You have a lot to learn about gods. Having a goddess of her caliber personally intervening a fight between mortals would definitely not go unnoticed."
"She could at least heal me like the last time." Raymond sulked.
"Like I said you have a lot to learn. When you get back on your feet, you should try and read more into your mythology. It may not be completely accurate, but it'll give you a rough idea."
"You make them sound like they are monsters."
"More like indifferent but I get your point. With the power they possess, I wouldn't be surprised if they were. Add in the fact that they are even less friendly to humans than they were back when they were revered as gods.
"Nowadays they are nothing more than overpowered deities with no responsibilities other than playing politics."
"When are they discharging me?"
"At the rate, you're healing. You could leave by evening. But we don't have time to wait that long. We'll have to improvise before you draw too much attention."
"What do you have in mind?" Ray asked eagerly.
"You're going to tap into that divine power you have locked up in you."
"How?"
"Close your eyes," after a moment's pause waiting for Raymond to do what he said, he continued. "Take a deep breath."
"I can't, my chest hurts."
"I know, but you're going to have to trust me." Charles firmly replied. Flinching, Raymond did as he was told. The pain in his chest came back to life once more. Luckily for him, he used the PCA to lessen it and allowed him to concentrate.
"Picture your body as a whole," after a slight pause, "now will it to wellness. Focus on all parts that hurt."
Raymond tried to make them feel better and slowly he felt the familiar coolness settle in as he his cuts began closing, and bruises together with several broken ribs healing. After a full minute of concentration, he finally let out a long sigh, and he sat up to stare at his fully healed body. "Awesome!
Ripping apart the casts and bandages he confirmed how he felt.
"Good. Once you're done admiring yourself, we need to get a move on before the nurses get back."
Raymond was quickly pulled back to reality as he heard several alarms from the hospital equipment monitoring his vitals going off.
"Oh shit!"
Quickly, he grabbed his clothes while Charles watched out for the nurses and the two stealthily exited the room before locating the closest staircase for their exit.
"That was close," Ray admitted after they were out of the compound and he was dressed. His shirt had a few holes and tears, but surprisingly his trunks were relatively undamaged.
"You did good," Charles replied before hailing a cab, and they both got in.
"Southern Bay." He told the driver once they were in.
"Aren't we going home?"
"No. Twice now you've been in trouble, and you could've almost been killed the last time. It's about time I sped up your training." The rest of the ride went on in silence until they arrived at the docks. They got out, and Charles took them to an old abandoned warehouse.
"The port is owned by one of the gods. It should be safe for us to practice in." Charles led them further to the middle of the warehouse.
"From now on we shall be coming here every evening for your training."
"It's starting to sound more like a chore," Ray replied, his initial curiosity quickly turning into annoyance.
"You think this is a joke? You almost got killed yesterday, and you could be killed at any moment before you actually unlock your immortality or achieve your godhood." Annoyed by Ray's naivety, Charles turned to face him, his breathing slowly rising.
Charles could almost feel his inhuman side slowly taking over. He proceeded to remove his shoes and t-shirt before throwing them into a dusty corner. Then he turned again to face him. Raymond took that moment also to do the same, having sensed the slight change in his friend���s demeanor.
"Now I want you to attack me."
He took a few seconds to stretch his healed-up body, testing his muscles and without warning, rushed at his roommate. It was, however, a lot more complicated than he expected when he found himself face down on the cold floor.
Rising up, he went with a punch which Charles block with his left arm effortlessly and proceeded to backhand Ray several feet away only to land on his ass.
"Aargh!" Raymond groaned.
"Humans are weak and beneath me. Clearly you have no skill, at least show me some strength. Appeal to your divine side and show me what you got." A stoic Charles berated.
Getting up, this time he went for a quick punch. Charles easily parried it again effortlessly. Raymond then threw a left punch followed by another right punch but Charles dodge one after the other.
"Is this how you fought the Minotaur? Did you even throw a single punch? If I recall correctly, you are only good at taking a beating, nothing more." Charles finished by dodging a clumsy kick aimed at his torso then he retaliated with a smooth twist and a double kick to Ray's jaw.
The resultant impact sent Raymond flying and to land on his back a several meters away. "You're still relying on your human side, where is the strength?"
Groaning Raymond got up again. Pain shot through his jaw as he tried to rub it away.
"Fine!" He growled. "You asked for it."
"That's the spirit." Charles for the first time since they walked into the warehouse, smiled. Glancing around him, Raymond recalled the fight he had with Adrastea and decided to try something new.
Narrowing his eyes on Charles, Ray focused his will on the air currents surrounding Charles who raised an eyebrow when he saw no attack coming.
"What are you—" Charles didn't get to finish before a powerful gust of wind slammed onto his chest, throwing him into the air. Grinning at his success, Raymond tried again, and another gust of wind slammed the suspended Charles on his back hurtling him forward towards him. Raymond took that opportunity to deliver a double kick at his off-balance target only for Charles to block his kick with both hands, the resulting impact cancelled Charles' momentum.
"Nice trick. But you're going to need more than flashy powers to win a fight."
Growling, Raymond's tight fists flattened into open palms as he thought of a different attack. This time, however, Charles made the charge. Ray was taken aback by his swiftness and was caught off guard by a kick to the chest that had him whizzing as he smashed into one of the support pillars. Cracking it in the process before dropping down.
Ray groaned again as he felt his spine almost snap in several places along his back. Greeting his teeth in pain, he raised his to face to see a smiling Charles.
"That really hurt."
"I know. I did put some effort into it. What are you going to do about?"
Opening his palms again, Ray tagged on the air currents, this time directing it under him and applied as much force as he could master before letting it go. He shot up at almost blinding speeds towards Charles who almost popped his eyes out as he was once again caught by surprise at what the young god could do effortlessly. He had to remind himself that Ray was out of his league in the supernatural hierarchy, when Ray kneed him in the chest.
The force of the impact made him understand just how personal the attack felt as he was the one rocketing up and hitting the roof a good twenty meters away, before dropping on to the floor.
Judging by the amount of damage caused on the ceiling, he knew he was going to be out for at least a minute as he gathered his strength.
That hit reminded Charles of the first time he got hit by a Minotaur. At this rate, Raymond was going to be a formidable foe once he got serious with his training.
"Why did you stop, did I hurt you that bad." Charlese decided to stall when he realized Raymond paused his attack.
"I'm not the one on the floor," Raymond replied, a little more serious than he should have as he slowly closed the distance and offered his hand.
"We can call it a draw for today." Charles snorted before kicking Ray in the knee, causing him to stumble back, drawing a small grunt in the process. That gave him time to get on his feet.
"At least you're not a complete waste. I shall start your training tomorrow."
"And what was that we were just doing right now?" Raymond asked as he recovered his balance. "Ray, you got subdued by a Minotaur. Tell me how many punches were thrown from your end?" Raymond remained silent. "I thought so too. I wanted to know you could fight even when the odds were against you." Charles explained as he went to pick up his shirt.
"That would be your first lesson of the day. Tomorrow I will show you to throw a punch." "What's wrong with my punches?" Raymond frowned; he wasn't that bad.
"Wild haymakers won't win you a fight. At least not when facing an experienced fighter."
"What about my abilities, who's going to teach me?"
"I don't know, Hera is the most likely candidate since she shared most of Zeus' abilities, but that's a no. So maybe Athena she spent more time around Zeus than his own wife. Anyway, Zeus didn't really leave behind a manual, and the most I know are the ones I saw him using. Some I just heard from other people." Charles was surprised to find an eager expression on Ray's face by the time he was fully dressed. He sighed; he knew exactly what Raymond wanted to hear.
"Firstly, you need to understand what you inherited for lack of a better term. By now, I'm sure you aware of the enhanced strength. What you don't know, however, is that you're going to get stronger and stronger as you embrace your divinity. How strong? That's for you to figure out. You can heal on your own now as long as you focus on your body.
"In a couple more years, you're probably going to stop aging completely, but that can be controlled. You'll also have access to three forms. Now you only have your mortal or human form, but later you'll develop your divine-form or call it Olympian form, and finally, with practice, you can grow into your Titan form.
"Those are the most basic forms of all the gods. There other forms but they vary depending on abilities or the level of power a god may have. For Rulers, however, you'll have an added advantage. You could be one with your dominion though that may limit your physical presence." "That sounds cool, but I'm more curious about my lightning abilities?" Raymond asked, eagerly.
"Don't get ahead of yourself. You're still not ready to wield the Thunderbolt. It's the most powerful weapon in existence for a reason, and I don't think it will be wise for you to use it at this level.
"Why not, isn't it supposed to be mine?"
"It's too powerful and very destructive in the hands of a noob like you."
"Who has it then?"
"Athena, but don't bother asking for it. She will never give it to you anytime soon."
"So, I will never hurl lightning anytime soon?" Raymond said dejectedly.
"Not really. If you could learn how to control the weather, then it shouldn't be hard. The downside though is you would draw a lot of attention to yourself."
"What else is there?" He asked, his initial excitement now completely abated.
"Magic, though that is the hardest power to learn with little reward. It's why powerful gods like Poseidon and Zeus never bothered much with it. Why waste time on it when you could just pound your opponent into a bloody pulp. Hades, on the other hand, is a different matter."
"And one last thing that I almost forgot. You could command any flying animal to do your bidding. I guess that covers it."
"I also saw Adrastea, you know her?" Charles nodded. "She vanished into thin air."
"Nymphs don't vanish, at least not the average ones. What she did was use the Aether. It is a form of connection between all things physical, that also happens to be your dominion. You'll find things falling under your dominion easier to practice and master due to your affinity towards them as compared to others like magic." Charles explained after dusting himself.
"Can you teach me at least on how to access the Aether?"
"Nope, I don't know how. I can't access it myself, but I can tell you from what I've heard so far. It's simple from what I hear, the Aether like I said is what connects us with everything in the physical world, all creatures that have a connection to magic can use it.
"That would come really handy. I bet you'd love that, wouldn't you? I can picture you sneaking into female restrooms rooms you pervert." Charles teased.
"Funny you should put that in my head," Ray retorted.
"I'm out of here. Are you going to be okay?"
"I'm good."
"Ok take it easy."