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Heirs to Olympus: Light of Day

Chapter 1

By Terrance L Williams JrPublished 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago 13 min read
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Heirs to Olympus: Light of Day
Photo by Artem Kovalev on Unsplash

On a hot July day, I was walking down the street with my best friend, Maria. We were on our way home from the gym. We had been working out every day that summer, training our bodies and minds to become as strong as possible. We were training so intensely because we had a goal very few have, to become superheroes.

 

See, we live in a society full of monsters and villains, as well as champions who defend us against them. About a century ago, monsters from ancient stories came from the shadows and started attacking humans at random. After a few years of these attacks becoming more and more rampant, civilization began to decline. This eventually led to the Ancient Greek gods revealing themselves to humanity once again. They called upon their mortal children to serve their roles as protectors in this world once again. Now we are in the midst of this role becoming a profession, despite much controversy. Many believe that demigods should serve their role without any benefits because the gods literally commanded them to do so. Many others believe that if they’re going to lay their life on the line like police or any other emergency responder, they should be compensated for it.

 

The law for heroes to legally act in response to emergencies involving monsters and villains came to pass just before the summer. Maria’s mother had never supported her intentions of becoming a hero because it was illegal, but now she even pays for our gym memberships so we can train. Maria had the most potential to be a hero out of the two of us, because her father is Zeus. That’s right, the king of the gods.

The truth is we live in a poor neighborhood in the Bronx, but Maria and her family did not have to live there. After Maria was born, Zeus gave her mother an Olympian drachma, and has given her one every year on Maria’s birthday. One Olympian drachma is worth a million dollars, so they have a little under fifteen million dollars. The only reason they stayed in the Bronx is because of Maria’s grandmother. She has lived in the neighborhood since she immigrated to America from Colombia. She is a pivotal member of the community. Everyone knows and loves Abuela Delgado. Anytime someone in the neighborhood needed help, she was the first person to offer it, even before the drachmas.

 

Anyway, we were headed home from the gym when we were suddenly confronted by Sam Spelman, full mortal guy with a serious distaste for demigods. He was a big macho guy, starting linebacker on the high school football team. He and I played together in middle school, but demigods are not allowed to participate in sports in high school, because we have an “unfair advantage.”

 

“Well if it isn’t Sparky and the Human Lightbulb,” Sam mocked.

 

“Hi Sam, got another daddy issue you want to take out on us?” Maria asked, “We’ve got plenty of those ourselves, you know?”

 

“Yeah,” he scoffed. “I bet it’s so hard having parents who sit on clouds while they make the world play out in your favor.”

“If my father was making my life easier, he would’ve shot you with a lightning bolt the moment you thought about getting in my face,” Maria retorted. “Unfortunately,he doesn’t care enough to do that. Now move out of the way.”

 

“And what if I don’t?” He leaned in toward her, “You gonna hit me with that lightning yourself?”

 

Just then a truck crashed into a car in the street next to us. We all focused our attention on the crash. The driver’s door of the truck shot off its hinges and slammed into the wall of the building on the other side of us. A massive man was behind the steering wheel. He stepped out and focused his one, large eye in the center of his head directly on Maria. He subtly sniffed the air and grinned.

 

“A daughter of Zeus.” His grin faded at the sound of police sirens.

 

I looked at the car he crashed into. The truck appeared undamaged aside from a few scratches, but the front of the car looked like a compressed accordion. I could barely make out the driver through the cracked window. It was a woman, and she was definitely unconscious and her head was bleeding. I looked back at the cyclops, then at Maria. This was not the first monster she had encountered, but she had been scolded in the past for taking down a hydra, even though she would have died if she had not. She was always hesitant to take on a monster since then.

 

Monsters often eat people to gain power, but demigods are like eating ten people at once for them. And the more powerful the demigod, the stronger that monster will become.

The cyclops grunted and reached for Maria. I jumped in the way and put up my hands. I gathered energy into my hands and released it all through my palms. A bright light flashed and the cyclops stumbled into his truck.

 

“Maria, get out of here!” I ordered.

 

“What are you talking about?” she said. “I’m not leaving you!”

 

“He’s after you!” I yelled back. “We don’t have time to argue! Go!”

 

“No!” She ran to the car the cyclops crashed into. She grabbed the door and ripped it off.

 

The cyclops regained his footing and managed to focus his bloodshot eye on me.  He sniffed the air again. “Ah, a son of Apollo, of course. Perhaps I’ll have you as an appetizer, and the daughter of Zeus as the main course, and this weepy, little mortal can be dessert.”

 

I looked at Sam. He was, in fact, crying. More embarrassing for him, was a big wet spot on his pants I had not noticed before. I put myself between the cyclops and Sam. I was panicked, but I was trying to keep on a brave face. My brain raced with a million thoughts at once. ‘What should I do? What could I do?’ Sure, Maria and I had been training, but were not ready to fight a monster, at least I was not.

The cyclops grunted and reached for Maria. I jumped in the way and put up my hands. I gathered energy into my hands and released it all through my palms. A bright light flashed and the cyclops stumbled into his truck.

 

“Maria, get out of here!” I ordered.

 

“What are you talking about?” she said. “I’m not leaving you!”

 

“He’s after you!” I yelled back. “We don’t have time to argue! Go!”

 

“No!” She ran to the car the cyclops crashed into. She grabbed the door and ripped it off.

 

The cyclops regained his footing and managed to focus his bloodshot eye on me.  He sniffed the air again. “Ah, a son of Apollo, of course. Perhaps I’ll have you as an appetizer, and the daughter of Zeus as the main course, and this weepy, little mortal can be dessert.”

 

I looked at Sam. He was, in fact, crying. More embarrassing for him, was a big wet spot on his pants I had not noticed before. I put myself between the cyclops and Sam. I was panicked, but I was trying to keep on a brave face. My brain raced with a million thoughts at once. ‘What should I do? What could I do?’ Sure, Maria and I had been training, but were not ready to fight a monster, at least I was not.

 

Suddenly the cyclops was hit in the side of his head with a bronze object that appeared similar to a hammer, but with a large, oval-shaped top. It bounced off the cyclops’ head and flew back where it came from. It shot into the hand of a man levitating in the air. His suit was blue with a white chest plate, gloves, and boots. A bronze crest rested in the middle of his chest. A Greek omega was engraved on the disk. I had never seen this hero before.

 

The cyclops collapsed to the ground, but he was not unconscious. Maria slowly approached and struck him in the back of the head with her fist. The impact made a loud boom, and he went limp. The hero descended to the ground and immediately checked on the woman in the car.

 

“I couldn’t get her out,” Maria said.  “Her legs are crushed.”

 

“Thanks for your help, young lady,” the hero said. “I’ll take her to the hospital.”

 

He dropped to one knee and, like a living Jaws of Life, managed to slowly open up a gap big enough to get the woman out. He pulled her out of the car and flew away. The sirens were getting closer.

 

“We should probably get going, Maria,” I urged.

 

She nodded, and we ran the rest of the way home. When we got to our building, we found Maria’s grandmother sitting out front with my twin sister, Kelly.

 

“Hola, Abuela," Maria said, “Hey, Kelly.”

“Maria!” Abuela exclaimed. “You said you’d be back twenty minutes ago.”

 

“Lo siento, Abuela. We got sidetracked,” Maria apologized.

 

Abuela eyed her up and down. “You seem shaken, mija. Did something happen?”

 

Maria’s grandmother had a knack for reading people.

 

“Just Sam Spelman again, nothing we can’t handle,” Maria answered. “I’m going inside. I need a shower.”

 

She entered the building and left me to her grandmother's inquisition.

 

“¡Hola, Abuela!” I forced a smile. “¿Como estas?”

 

“Bueno, bueno.” She grabbed my wrist and pulled me in close. “Now tell me what else happened.”

 

Her eyes pierced through me like an arrow. It was really hard to disappoint Abuela Delgado.

 

I let go of the fake smile and sighed. “She didn’t lie. Sam did bother us…right before a cyclops came after us.”

 

“Did she fight it?” She asked.

“Not really. She just punched it once. A hero swooped in so we were safe,” I answered, “I should probably get a shower, too. Is mom inside, Kelly?”

 

“No,” my sister answered, “She’s working late at the hospital again.”

 

“So you’ll be having dinner with us tonight,” Abuela said. “Don’t even try to argue with me.”

 

I grinned. “Wouldn’t dream of it. ¡Gracias!”

 

“¡De nada!” She said as I walked inside.

 

I was not fluent in Spanish, but I tried to use it as much as I could around Abuela. I was lucky to have her around to look out for me and my sister. My mom was a nurse and she never got any drachma from Apollo, so she worked a lot of overtime to give us a good life. Abuela and Maria’s mom constantly offered to help us, but my mom was a little too proud to accept it. They helped in small ways, like having us over for dinner when our mom works late.

After I showered, I made my way to the roof of the building where Maria and I meet up to train our powers. We had a bunch of makeshift targets and practice dummies made of cardboard and old couch cushions, held together with duct tape. She bought us bows and some practice swords. Neither of us was very sure what kind of weapons we would use when we eventually became heroes, but since I am a son of Apollo, archery is a natural talent.  The only problem with that is I prefer to fight up close. Maria has Herculean strength, wind, and lightning powers, so she does not really need a weapon unless she wants one. My power is pretty basic. I can shine light through any part of my body. I can use it like a flashlight, and I can will it to heal injuries. My output depends on how much of my own energy I put into it, so I can drain myself pretty fast if I use too much energy.

 

Maria had beat me up to the roof and she was already hard at work assaulting practice dummies. She punched one so hard the top half flew off the roof.

“You know we have to remake them every time you destroy them, right?” I asked.

 

“Do you know who that hero was?” She asked, completely ignoring my attempt at comedy.

 

“No idea,” I answered. “He seemed pretty legit though. His costume looked military grade.”

 

“Yeah, but what hero that no one’s ever heard of has that kind of suit, that kind of weapon, and that kind of power?” She asked.

 

“Beats me,” I said. “By the way, I told Abuela about what happened.”

Her eyes focused on me, just as piercing as her grandmother’s.

 

“Why did you tell her?” She asked with strained calm.

 

“You know I can’t lie to that woman,” I answered.

 

“You can’t lie at all,” she corrected me. “It gets annoying sometimes.”

 

Out of nowhere, a figure appeared right next to me. I looked up at it and it was the hero who had rescued us. He was tall, with curly brown hair, tan skin, and a handsome face. His eyes were green with tints of gold in them. His suit fit tightly around his dense muscles.

 

“Hello, children,” he said. “I’m Omega.”

 

“Omega,” I repeated. “Um… where did you come from?”

 

“The hospital,” he answered. “After seeing you two in action, I wanted to meet you.”

 

“In action?” Maria said. “We didn’t do that much.”

 

“You knocked out that cyclops with a single punch,” Omega responded.

 

“Why did you want to meet us?” I asked.

“Right, I’ll cut to the chase. Now that hero work is legal, I have joined a team of superheroes. We’re called the League of Champions. Some of us are looking to recruit sidekicks. Your generation is going to inherit a lot of work as our society changes. We need young heroes with great potential,” Omega explained.

 

“Are you saying you want to recruit us?” Maria asked.

 

“Yes, precisely that,” Omega answered. “What do you say? Would you like to become my sidekicks, and walk down the path of a hero?”

 

Maria and I looked at each other. It was a strange moment. On one hand, this hero was offering us a clear path to becoming heroes ourselves. On the other, we had never met him or heard of him before. He saved us, but he could be dangerous. I could see Maria’s answer in her eyes. Undoubtedly, she was planning to say yes. I decided to set my reservations aside and go along with her. We both looked at Omega and in unison said, “Yes!”

 

“Great!” He exclaimed. “We’ve got a lot to do. Meet me here at six in the morning.”

 

That night I barely slept in anticipation of what that next morning would bring. I was super nervous, but I felt a sense of calm I had never felt before. It was as if I had been searching for the smallest light in the dark, and now I was surrounded by a warm, bright light. I had no idea what the feeling meant, but I was very excited to find out.

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About the Creator

Terrance L Williams Jr

Hello all, I am a young man from Akron OH. I have loved writing my entire life! I am a huge nerd and it shows in my writing. I hope you all enjoy my stories! Thanks for any and all support!

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