CHAPTER -2
I Believe I Can Fly
Sup, guys its your boy Cal with another banger of a chapter. A huge thanks to all people who commented. I appreciate it a lot. So, without further ado let the story continue….
I don't own either Marvel or Riordan verse and this is a strictly non profitable story, the only benefit being my personal satisfaction.
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"No man can win every battle, but no man should fall without a struggle."
-Peter Parker
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"Is this what you want? The death of our friends, our family."
The sea roared in response to my anger, as the ship nearly capsized due to gigantic waves striking it.
"Answer me Luke, ANSWER ME", I snarled.
Facing me was Luke Castellan, son of Hermes. His eyes glowed an eerie shade of gold and his lips were twisted in a cruel smirk as he gazed down at me. And when he opened his mouth to speak it wasn't the youthful tone of Luke, but the cold hard timbre of Kronos that I heard.
"You picked the losing side, Jackson and now you shall face its consequences", he said gesturing to the rails.
Despite my misgivings of taking my eyes off the enemy, I looked to the rails. Hanging on the rails tied by a barbed wire was my mother bleeding profusely. She slowly opened her eyes and instead of the warm brown that I was accustomed to, I was greeted by vibrant golden ones. I watched in horror as she opened her mouth and screamed as Kronos laughed.
"Run Percy, RUNNNN".
East 104th and 1st, Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City
I jolted awake, covered in sweat as I panted heavily, catching my breath. Goosebumps ran all over me as I heard the phantom echoes of Kronos's laughter. His twisted glee had been a source of nightmares for the past week, ever since I returned from camp. Exhaling slowly I shook my head to clear off the leftover vestiges of sleep. With my mind fully cleared I focused on my surroundings only to realise that something was seriously wrong.
"What the hell?"
I was stuck to the ceiling. I blinked once, twice. Yup still stuck. I looked at my hands and feet that were keeping me clung to the top of my room. They looked like they did every day, no signs of any change.
'Okay this is new; the life of a demigod just gets weirder and weirder. This wasn't in the manual when I decided to sign up'.
Shaking my head to clear any errant thoughts I decided to calm myself.
"Okay Perce, calm down and stop thinking."
I said to myself as I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself down, which was going as well as you would expect from a kid with ADHD. It took time, but I finally felt myself becoming calmer with each breath I took. Taking deep breaths eventually I felt completely calm and opened my eyes. Only to fall from the ceiling to my bed with a loud crash nearly breaking it.
"Percy what in god's name is going on there?"
I heard my mothers shout, from the kitchen and panicked. I had a sudden instinctual urge to keep this incident from her.
"Nothing mom, all fine up here", I shouted back.
"Well then come down for breakfast, you're going to be late for school"
Relived, I stood up stretching my body to get rid of the kinks, absentmindedly gazing at the full length mirror on my wardrobe. Stretching my back a few more times, I stumbled towards the bathroom when I suddenly realised something.
'Wait a minute'
I looked back at the mirror in shock.
'Oh wow'
I was shredded. And I mean it in the most savage way possible. I was slightly muscular before considering the training and situations I had to endure. My circumstances made it sure that I was physically in the best shape possible so as to avoid a gruesome death. Now however, I was jacked. Almost inhumanly. I had grown a good three inches or more. Each one of my muscles had also become more buff and defined, in spite of still retaining the lean physique. My face had also become more defined and my eyes glowed slightly. Honestly the last part freaked me out.
'What is happening to me'
I slowly started to panic more and more as the matter slowly began settling in. This is definitely not something related to the godly side of things. I was sure of it. I had seen and been friends with several older campers. None of them exhibited any signs of the extreme godly puberty that I just seemed to have had.
'Is it a side-effect of being a child of the big three'
I thought suddenly.
'No, it can't be. I have been in the camp for a long time now and Chiron never mentioned anything of this sort to me. I am pretty sure he wouldn't leave out such important information concerning me. Yeah... he wouldn't do that. I am sure'
Leaving that track of thought behind, I focused on identifying the source of my newfound Herculean build. After brainstorming for a few seconds, I suddenly remembered something from the previous night.
'The bite'
I quickly began searching the room for any trace of the creature that bit me. After a few moments of rummaging around my room I looked under the bed. And lo behold lay a spider. Dead.
'Well, that was anti-climactic. Looks quite normal to me'
As I was scrutinizing the spider, it suddenly glitched with a blue hue. A low-pitched rumble seemed to emanate from it, and it slowly started disintegrating. All while I watched with a shocked expression.
'Well, that is definitely not normal. What the hell was that?'
"Percy for heavens sake, would you get down here. You're late"
Her shout pulled me out of my musings. Deciding to solve this mystery during one of my boring classes, I stood up intending to eat breakfast. I was feeling extra hungry today. I placed my hand on the door knob to open my door and pulled. What I did not expect was the entire door to be pulled of its hinges and fall onto my hand. I stared at the fallen door for a few moments before sighing exasperatedly.
'Honestly I'm not even surprised'
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For the first time in my life, I was not bored out of my mind at school. Oh, don't get me wrong. I still didn't listen to jack-shit of what they were teaching. I usually dozed off, or randomly scribbled on my note during classes. However, this time I had a goal. My powers. Well new powers to be honest.
I held the leg of my steel table and squeezed lightly. I felt the metal fold beneath my palms even with the meagre amount of strength I put behind the action. I held my hand out in front of me and stared at my palm in wonder. I had the strength to bend metal before courtesy of my godly heritage, yet not with this ease. My strength, somehow seemed to have had soared exponentially after the bite.
Not only strength, right now as I was sitting in the classroom barely paying any attention to Mrs. Johnson's lecture, I could still hear what was happening in the classroom opposite to mine. My eyes could see the dust particles in her jacket as she turned around to write something on the board. I could smell the chocolate Betty was eating three rows behind me. Despite the physical changes my body had experienced, I felt complete control over every fiber of my body. Hell, I could even think much faster now. In spite of still retaining the ADHD my dyslexia had been completely eliminated. For the first time in my life, I could read English with complete ease.
This actually a tear to my eye. For a long time in my life, before I had known I was a demigod, I was ashamed of myself because of my disorder. I felt like I was an unnecessary burden to my mother. She couldn't help but love me as I was her son and she suffered for it. She worked double shifts and had to marry Gabe in order to support me through school, even though I sucked at it. All because of the dyslexia. She even quit her dream of being a writer to provide a better future for me. Aware of her hardships I tried my best at school, even sitting down at great lengths of time and studying despite my ADHD. I attended multiple remedial classes and worked my ass off to score a better grade. None of it helped. And neither did the mortification of knowing that my failure only burdened my mother further. However, despite the ineptness of her son, Sally Jackson never once blamed or humiliated him for his incompetence. She happily greeted him after every school year with a smile and a warm hug. Nevertheless, her constantly doting on him throughout the holidays did little to diminish his grief. Now however, it had all changed. He could feel his brain solve all the complex problems Mrs. Johnson had written on the board without even having to work on it. His intelligence had taken a leap from above average to genius within a single night.
"Perhaps Mr. Jackson can answer this question for us, since he seems too intelligent to pay attention to the class"
I was pulled out of my reverie by Mrs. Johnsons sarcastic remark. Looking toward the board I saw two linear equations written on the board. My mind instantly comprehended the question and solved it within seconds. Looking back at Mrs. Johnsons superior than thou expression I answered with a trace of smugness
"The value of x is 25, and y is 12"
Watching the shocked expressions one her's and my classmates faces brought me no small amount of happiness. The fact that I was the most academically disinclined student in the class was no secret. I enjoyed the dumbfounded expression of the "self-proclaimed" smart students who had previously bullied me due to my disability. Mortified Mrs. Johnson asked me to sit down as she continued with the class.
I felt an odd sense of peace as I sat down. I knew what I had gained. I had been berating my lack of power ever since the previous summer. Ever since Princess Andromeda.
'Grover'
Shaking my head to clear my depressing track of thoughts I began formulating my plan. Ever since returning from camp I had trained in an abandoned warehouse near the edge of the city. I had practiced tirelessly every day without fail to prevent something terrible from happening to my friends. I trained till the sun went down, ignoring my aching body and sweaty clothes.
In spite of my efforts, I knew I was nowhere close to stopping Luke. He was not called the best swordsman in a century for no reason. I knew there was a chance I might be able to beat him if we fought under the right circumstances, like near a body of water. But that was not a guarantee for victory. Taking on Luke without the confidence of being able to defeat him put not only mine, but also my friends lives at risk. I knew he would not hesitate to kill my friends to achieve his goal. And this was a fact that haunted my memories every night.
I never had enough power to accomplish my dream. Never enough to fight the really strong monsters single handed. Never enough to protect my friends. Too weak to make any real change. Unable to shoulder the burden placed on my back as a child of the big three. Hated by some gods and campers alike. I had spent all my life fighting against the tide.
But now, now things had changed. I was faster, stronger and smarter than before. I even looked better. Taller with a broader shoulder and sculpted musculature, I now looked like a Greek God. Oh, the irony. My wishes had finally been answered and the playing field had changed considerably.
'They will have no idea what will hit them'
As if to affirm my thoughts, the bell rang signifying the end of today's class.
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Swinging from the chains hanging from the roof for the umpteenth time I let out a loud yell of joy. I felt light, almost weightless as I swung from one chain to another. Running on top of the trailer, jumping over the boxes and other obstacles at an unimaginable speed I felt like the wind. Untouchable and unstoppable. I vaulted over a trailer with a single jump and continued sprinting through the warehouse. My motions were quick and precise possessing an agility that was unthinkable.
I casually ran over the walls with my newfound powers and flipped across the air to land on two trailers stacked on top of each other. Panting after my three hours of constant parkour, I basked in the afterglow of my prowess. Looking down from the height I felt almost invincible.
Exploring my recently developed abilities was as fun and exciting as you would imagine it to be. I was discovering entirely different aspects of it that I hadn't even thought about till now, like my enhanced reflexes and improved taste sense for example. Glancing at the ground another thought entered my head.
'What... if I could fly. Holy shit that would be so cool. And amazing. And a big fuck you to uncle Zeus's face'
Trying to control my growing excitement and subsequently failing at it, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
'C'mon Perce you can do it. All you need to do is believe in it. Anything is possible if you believe in it. C'mon Perce, c'mon'
Opening my eyes while exhaling. I prepared myself mentally and jumped. For a second as I hovered in the air, I thought I had succeeded. Only to come crashing down on the cement floor with a painful yelp.
'Uh, the believe it and it will work quote is such a lie'
Surprisingly the fall barely hurt me considering the height from which I had jumped.
'Increased resistance to pain. Gotta add that to the list'
Pulling myself back to my feet. I felt a newfound sense of accomplishment and vigour enter me. My eyes gleamed and my muscles tensed. I took a deep breath as my will solidified.
'This is it gramps. This is it. You guys are so screwed now'
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Okaaaaay, and that's a wrap for now. Thanks a lot guys for the views and the reviews. Those are literally the only motivation I have in this shitty life. My life is literally as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.
Anyways it was great seeing all of your reviews and once again a great thanks to everyone. Its your boy Cal out.