Kim Soo Min's Story

Lamborghini Aventador. That's Italian-made.

All white, though the windows were tinted a deep black. Harsh sharp corners where they were necessary. Sensual suave curves where they weren't. Low-profile even-tread high-traction tires, great for going fast. Very fast. Batman wishes he drove a car this badass.

Carter Washington whipped that ten-ton million dollar metallic demon into the front gates of the university, bending the curve effortlessly. He almost overlooked a woman who had begun walking across the street moments earlier, but he deftly avoided her. To the untrained eye, it might've looked like Carter swerved sharply, but in reality it was a gentle back and forth. Like avoiding a pothole.

He didn't bother glancing back at her, but he knew he'd left an impression of some kind. Oh well. On first met his eye, he immediately pegged her as a Californian girl—they just dressed differently from most. New to the school. Probably early 20s, maybe younger. He didn't hit her with his baby, and that's all that matters.

Still, maybe he was going a bit fast for a university road...

Preparing to downshift, he gripped the wheel with one hand, the other reaching faintly for that manual "shift" "stick" that accompanied most low and mid-end cars with manual transmissions. For such a measly affordance, one could place their hand upon ultimate style. Class. Elegance. Full control over the force of pure lightning in their hands. The thunder in their bellies. The unmistakable intake of air. For all the things he loved about this car, that was the one thing that annoyed him: the Aventador relied on computers to do its shifting. No stick to grasp. No clutch to depress. All he had to do was press a paddle on the steering wheel and viole! the gears would shift for him.

Kinda takes some of the fun out of it.

As he downshifted, the engine purred so loudly that it might've shattered some nearby windows. Carter grinned, feeling as cool as he knew his all-white beast looked. Just a little bit of the fun, though.

It was a damn sexy car.

As he flew into a vacant parking spot—he chose an end space close to the sidewalk and parked at an acute angle away from the spot on his left. Perfect frame for the admiration of passers by. Plus, it just wouldn't do to have some unthinking douche ding up his baby with their side door when parking next to him.

He stepped out of his car like he owned the place. He hadn't meant to step out like that, he was just accustomed. And the car door opened upward, so there's that. Though he hadn't taken four steps before he realized he'd just zoomed through some sort of... scene. In front of him were four people.

Carter pegged them each immediately: Country boy. Beat cop. Hippie. Formidable. Country boy had a gun strapped to his back. The cop didn't like it. Hippie and Formidable seemed unfazed. Save for the cop, this bunch seemed oddly... interesting, for some reason. Hmm. Perhaps he could make some friends here?

And so he sauntered up to the campus security officer as if he ran the place. Ran the world. "What are you doing here, sir?" A strange sort of power purred just below the surface of his every action, just like his Lamborghini. The man tried to meet Carter's eyes but failed, instead looking somewhere over his shoulder. "This man has committed no crime," Carter continued, pointing. "You heard him, he has a permit. I've seen it with my own eyes." The poor officer looked confused, doubt assailing his features. He sputtered something about regulations, but Carter talked over him effortlessly. "There is no reason to harass the student body of this institution any further. Don't you agree?" With a final glance in the gun-toting man's direction, the security officer grunted, mumbling something about "shoving that car up your ass". Carter thought little of it, turning his back on the man as he slinked away.

"Hello," he said, walking up to the gun toting student. He instantly felt guilty about pegging him as a simple country bumpkin. There was something... fascinating about him. Heroic, even. Like a star. Heroic? Stars? Where had these thoughts come from?

With a million dollar smile, Carter raised his hand professionally, as one businessman about to shake hands with another—a friendly gesture. "Nice to make your acquaintance. My name is Carter. Carter Washington. And you?" He extended the "ou" in "you" as he glanced over at the other two students. Twins, by his guess. He wasn't sure why he guessed that. Now that he thought about it, it was pretty much a stab in the dark, all things considered.

Something about these people... they all just seemed so interesting.

He had to at least know their names.

---

---

The distinctly non-dulcet tones of some modern pop artist or another (she was almost certain this one was Ke$ha, but she really didn’t care to know) interrupted Soo Min’s REM cycle, which was incredibly inconvenient. She would, however, deal with it, as today’s events demanded promptness and left no room for rescheduling. Propping herself up in her hotel bed, she tapped the on/off switch with a measure of irritation, feeling for the appropriate trigger since she couldn’t see it. She pushed stray strands of hair out of her face with her other hand as that one went to the bedside table and fumbled about until she found her glasses, which she slid onto her face.

Her fuzzy surroundings became clear, though there was little familiarity to them. Her parents couldn’t really afford the time or the cost of seeing her off to college themselves, so she’d been flown here with what few items she could spare, with instructions to stay at this lower middle-class hotel and buy what she needed for her room at a later date. Fair enough—she wouldn’t require much. She never had.

After a shower, she swathed herself in her usual gossamer-thin gypsy-layers: a mint-green long-sleeved shirt beneath a violet t-shirt covered partially by a patterned poncho. Her dark blue skinny jeans tucked well into her knee-high boots, and she quickly braided her wet hair into a tail over either shoulder. Her fingers bore a number of rings, her throat a couple necklaces, and these jingled just faintly together as she walked, a regular, rather soothing sound. When she was so easily lost in thought, it was better to have external things like that to focus on when necessary.

Throwing her messenger-style bag over her shoulder, she took her roll-along suitcase in one hand and checked out of the hotel, heading to campus, which was just a short walk away. The front building, which served as something like a gate, took her things and told her they’d move them for her, which was weird, but maybe it was a perk of this mysterious scholarship that she’d won or something. Given her grades, she’d received many offers of a like kind, but this was an excellent school, and besides that… she’d been concerned that going to the same one was the only way Lilly would go to any college at all. She preferred being at home and would likely want nothing more than to be a homemaker or something like that. Mina didn’t think there was anything wrong with that, if it was what she really wanted, but she did want her best and only friend to have a real degree to fall back on if she ever needed to.

Not that she’d ever tell anyone that this had figured into her reasoning processes. Reason was to be free of sentiment; that much was simply obvious. That she’d committed such a cardinal sin against logic with full knowledge of it was edging into “deep, dark secret” territory for a person like Soo Min.

The walk signal had just flipped at her intersection, and Soo Min was stepping off the curb and into the road when a car blew past her. Not just any car. She’d read her father’s car magazines on more than one occasion, hungry for knew things to know and that nice little sigil on the back was the Lamborghini logo. She was more satisfied that she’d seen the license plate number, however. If some idiot thought she was so negligible as that (her actual size notwithstanding), he’d have another thing coming.

She didn’t hold grudges. She’d be perfectly fine leaving the incident be—as soon as she’d gotten her own back, of course. She wondered how he’d feel if she slid underneath that car and tinkered with a few things. Probably righteously outraged and entitled. Was there any other kind of person to be found behind the wheel of a car like that? Chauffeurs excepted, of course.

Her progress further into campus eventually took her past the car again, and she spared it no more than an aside glance—memorizing it so she’d know it in future—striding right past it and almost into the middle of some sort of low-budget drama. She raised a brow at the picture it made, flicking black eyes over the details: plaid shirt, gun, dreadlocks, a musician’s hands, expensive cologne, breakfast residue on the officer, but she did not stop. She wouldn’t be late, not even for the fact that she was eighty-seven percent sure that the person with his hand extended to shake owned the car that had nearly hit her a few minutes ago.

She found the building she was supposed to be in, and the room. There were already some people present, including a bald man in a wheelchair, likely someone important from his position at the front of the room, some guy with slicked-back hair, and Lilly. The last actually produced a small smile from Soo Min, notable if only for the fact that it was genuine. Scanning the name plates, she found hers easily enough, situated on the right of someone named ‘Carter Washington,’ and no more than a few away from the male named something Angelo. Unfortunately, it was rather a distance from Lilly.

Settling into it, she observed that the back was inscribed with Greek letters, and her smile dropped into a frown. She hadn’t had much classics since sophomore year, but she could still read it. ‘Hermes’? Was this some kind of dorm assignment or something? Leaning over, she read the back of Carter Washington’s plate, and snorted. Zeus. What the hell was up with this place, anyway? Well, at least they were different. Chances were good she wouldn’t want to be in the same anything as someone with a name as pretentious as that.

Chase looked over as a big hick looking fellow approached her, with a gun strapped to his back. Her eyebrows shot to her forehead. “Whoa.” She muttered. "'Morning. Nice day, ain't it," He said and she nodded. “Sup.” She said and her head jerked some, as she caught a small headache,
She lay over his deathly pale body. Sobbing. “ I’m sorry, my love.” She said as she pulled her arrow from his chest. She felt someone approach. She knew who it was. “ Are you happy now, Brother!” She cried, clutching the body to her chest. “ Does my pain, fill you with joy.” The person started to explain but she didn’t want to hear it. “ You tricked me! You made me kill him! I loved him!”
Chase was shot back to reality, there was a tear in her eye and she blinked it away just as others approached them as well as a campus cop. She was about to go off, suddenly protective of this gun toting man but someone else seemed to have something to say, so she crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one leg, ready to step in. Once he was done with the cop and he sulked away, the man turned to them. Introducing himself as Carter Washington. Chase arched an eyebrow. “ Chase, Chase Hunter, This is my Brother, Dominic.” She said and her eyes kept falling onto the gunman. She felt something from him, she didn’t know what it was exactly but it made her feel strange. Like a mix of guilt and sadness.

---

---

Calenia skipped toward the school’s campus. Her black curly locks bouncing around her tawny brown face as she made her way happily towards school. She was so glad to be in America. She’d went through all the struggles of doing well is school to earn a scholarship to one of the best schools in the World. Thankfully, it was still a little warm, she was a little nervous about the weather. She’d never seen snow before but she heard it was cold. She didn’t really like the cold. She was a Caribbean girl, after all. She noticed an interesting bunch congregating in the middle of the Quad. SHe noticed a girl with dreadlocks. She looked cool, as well as a guy whose hair she wanted to run her fingers through. A man with a gun. Interesting. Another man whole looked like he was worth more than her country. Sexy and a cute asian girl walked by them and into the school. Calena walked by them too. Her gladitor sandals scuffing a bit on the marble floor of the expensive school. She’d much prefer where a little less expensive but c’est la vie. She earned her way here. She walked up to the Asian girl, she looked nice enough and Calena was uber friendly. “Hello T’ere!” She chirped to the girl. “I’m Calena, I am new here." She said holding her hand out to the girl with a bright smile.

((Edited ._.))

Lilly looked up when a professor approached her. Oh no. He was probably here to tell her that the scholarship had been a mistake and that she had to go home. Actually, the more Lilly thought about it, that didn't sound too bad. She was unprepared for his warm greeting. In fact, Lilly was already out of her seat reciprocating the motion when she realized someone else was in the room. She flushed a little and quickly sat down.

"It is a pleasure to meet you again." Lilly scrutinized the man a little closer. She was almost positive that she'd never talked to him before this moment, but something seemed vaguely familiar.

"Sorry, but when was the first time we met?" Well, this day was going great. She was probably going to offend a prestigious teacher on the first day of school. The other student sat down next to her and introduced himself. Lilly gave him a small smile. "Hello. I'm Lilly."

Tears filled her eyes as she watched him leave her home, probably for the last time. The others didn't understand, wouldn't understand. "You're always welcome while I'm here," she whispered to his retreating form.

Lilly had a feeling she'd been staring at Tom for quite some time now. She quickly looked away and towards the door, just in time to see Mina enter. Now the day was looking better. Lilly grinned and waved once their eyes met, but her smile faded when she saw how far apart they were. Hopefully that didn't mean they'd never see each other in classes or anything.

Orion Lee

God Almighty, his head was really hurting him, Orion found. The police officer was driven off, but he couldn't quite shake the feeling of weirdness that had hit him ever since this little situation began. He looked over at the people around him. There was the rich Yankee who had kindly gotten the officer off his back. He couldn't help but be intimidated. The guy's clothes alone looked like it was worth more than his Pa's business and his car... Well, he liked his old American-made junker, but he couldn't help but be impressed. It looked like it was worth more than his entire family put together. But it was more than that. There kind of an aura of power about him, like clouds gathering around in the sky to create a great thunderstorm...

"Great Z-, I mean, dear God. Thanks for your help, sir. I'm much obliged," he stated. What was he about to say? Great something or other. He didn't know. It was like his mouth moved on its own. Then his eyes turned to the twins. The older one made him feel uneasy, but the girl. Christ, she was gorgeous. He hadn't seen anyone look so pretty without putting any discernable effort into it. Yet, as he looked at her, a fist seemed to squeeze his heart and a hammer rammed into his head.

He could feel his shade shedding itself from its body. Doubtless, Lord Hermes would be here soon to escort him to the Underworld to face Unyielding Hades. He looked at his love mournfully as well as her brother.

"It is my fault, my love. The Fates punish those who have committed the sin of hubris. I only pray that I am not judged so harshly after death," he whispered mournfully, hoping she could hear him. Truly, he had done wrong. He presumed himself equal to a god to claim his sister and tell him what he should do with himself.

She turned to leave, but Orion didn't want to see her go away just yet. He stated, "Wait! I mean, what room are you going to? I have orientation with a Professor Chiron Brunner."

Tom Angelo
The professor chuckled a bit. He seemed to find their reactions amusing, which bothered Tom slightly. He smiled at Lilly and spoke, "We met, long ago. You'll soon learn more."

Tom was staring at the girl for much too long. He looked away, but offered her a small grin. It was painful to look at her. He felt like he wronged her somehow and Tom didn't like it. He could be vindictive, but never without reason. And what was with that... vision? Was he going schizophrenic?

"Don't worry. College life isn't so bad once you find good friends," he told her before glancing as another person entered. It was a girl. She looked Asian. Somehow, though, he imagined a youth with an impish smile and a strange staff. He shook his head. His head hurt. Then another girl entered. He gasped for breath.

He looked into one of his viewing crystals as he sat in his throne. He had been doing so for months. He could not look away. She was beautiful, perfect, so full of... life. It was unlike anything he had ever seen, even amongst the gods and goddesses of Olympus. He could not sleep, he could not eat. This would be a problem for a mortal, but he was a mighty god. At last he rose from his throne. Demeter's objections be damned. Zeus had already promised her to him and he would collect.

"You will have all the riches of the Underworld, my love. Just be my Queen," he whispered, his voice hoarse from disuse. He ordered the souls he had chosen as his servants to ready his chariot. His dark horses neighed and snorted like perdition itself as he raced towards the surface.

Tom rubbed his head. What was that all about? Still, he couldn't take his eyes off the girl as she sat next to him. It awakened an ache in him that was familiar yet strange at the same time. Still, he reigned it in and gave her his most charming smile.

"Hello. You're not from New York, are you?"

Chiron watched in trepidation, waving slightly at Persephone as she sat next to Hades. He should have known better than to seat them together. There was no telling what memories would awake in either of them before he explained to them what was happening. He had thought nothing of seating the students how they sat together on Olympus with the heroes off to the side, but now he wasn't so sure.

---

---

On the other side of campus, nowhere particularly near the appointed room and not really of a mind to care much about that, a man stood on the sidewalk, taking a smoke break. Of course, this was nothing particularly unusual in the university atmosphere, but several factors did make this specific inanity something of a curiosity, for those with the skill to observe correctly. First was the fact that this man, in contrast to the cheap, heavily-taxed American cigarettes to be found in the pockets of most of these nicotine addicts, was actually standing with the elegant curve of a pipe dangling from between his lips. Dark wood, intricately carved, and almost surely with a hint of ivory inlay to compliment the mother-of-pearl, it was probably worth more than the average student vehicle. Antiques were funny like that.

It could also be said that there was something peculiar about the smoker himself. Though he paid none of his environs any particular mind, at least from the looks of things, the same could not be said for the students in their natural habitat. Though his activity was as innocuous as smoking, and perhaps pacing a bit, for he was rarely still, this fellow, it managed somehow to draw the eye of every single individual that passed him by with uncanny accuracy, like their gazes were little ferrous things and he some inexorably-powerful magnet. Male, female, old, young; it didn’t matter—they all looked at him, some losing their train of thought in the process or stopping mid-sentence.

If another would have been strangely puzzled by this, or perhaps even ‘weirded out,’ as the expression went, this man accepted the hungry stares of passers-by as a perfectly normal occurrence, perhaps even his due. He had been the focus of the attention of others his entire life, though naturally the nature of such attention had changed as he matured. He’d never counted anyone as his friend, but the nanny who’d raised him he’d trusted enough to believe when she told him that looking at him was a bit like looking at what one desired most in the world, but also knew one should never reach out and take. She'd, incidentally, seen a son. It was a piece of information he’d turned over in his head for a while, and then, deciding it fit the data, proceeded to take ruthless advantage of, propelling his lord father’s pedestrian business into a multinational corporation somehow able to broker the trickiest business deals out there: the Chinese, the Russians—nobody was able to say no.

If he did indeed carry some aura of being dangerous, it was something that most were apparently content to ignore. Exhaling a cloud of smoke in a sensuous coil, Ian inadvertently locked eyes with a pair of females likely on their way to the library, but a short distance from their present location. Half-smiling, he winked without any real thought. “Ladies,” he greeted with a nod, and he privately thought it was probably the accent that sealed the deal: posh, British, and rich as velvet. That, he’d intentionally engineered, the result of a psychological experiment involving influence and how to extend it without being seen. So now, he sounded like indulgence as well, though not so overtly as to invite comment, oh no. One had to be subtle above all.

He watched them melt with an inward sigh of disappointment. Sometimes, it grew boring to be the player in the game with all the cards. There was no challenge anymore, once he’d divined the rules. It was simple tactics, strategy, and occasionally a bit of minute adjustment for individual preferences. Formulaic, uninteresting, predictable. So he looked away and invited no further conversation from either. Eventually, they took the hint and left, spell broken because he’d snapped it over his knee. He could have it working again with a word, and that actually marred his visage with a frown.

His pipe was burning low, and so he spent the extra few minutes letting it go out, then tapping the ash out of the bowl and into a nearby garbage receptacle. From the back pocket of his darkwash jeans, he withdrew his travel information, the time and place for his so-called ‘orientation’ staring up at him from the page. Ian never felt compelled to do anything—quite the opposite. His actions were only ever a matter of his choice, and at times, this lent them an air of inconsistency or randomness. He enjoyed keeping people guessing more than he would have enjoyed any of the benefits of constancy, and so he chose by whim. Earlier, his whim had been to wander the campus, but it seemed that right now, his whim was to attend this meeting and see just how useless it would be to him.

Which is how he wandered, some time later, into a large lecture hall currently occupied by only a few people, including two sitting next to each other and obviously staring like they’d never seen another attractive human being before, a girl looking rather pointedly at the back of her name plate, the small mar between her dark eyebrows evidence of her displeasure, and another, sitting a fair distance away from the first, looking lost.

Around the same time, another woman entered, waltzing right up the Asiatic-looking girl and holding out her hand with an introduction. He supposed he had to give her credit for not wasting time. The other girl looked up from her nameplate and blinked owlishly behind her glasses, scanning the newcomer’s face before accepting the hand and giving it a single shake. “Mina.” She summarized succinctly, and like that, he had two names of about six, including the man at the front of the room. The nameplates would eventually take care of the rest, anyway.

Speaking of which… Ian’s wine-colored eyes flickered to the bald man in the wheelchair, but something about the image seemed off to him, as though he shouldn’t have it. He’d never been one to dislike someone based on a disability or think it was unnatural, but here something just… bothered him about it, as though for some reason, that man should be standing tall, strong, and with a voice that boomed out over the training field. Wait… the what? The only sport Ian had ever played in his life was rugby, and he’d quit a few years ago because he’d never liked it that much.

Brushing aside the stray thought, he found his seat, off to the side a bit, and immediately next to only one other. Well, perhaps that was appropriate. He didn’t feel much like the people in this room anyway. Still, looking around at the number of vacant nameplates still present, he raised a brow and directed himself to the old man. “And here I thought I was going to be late. It seems some of us have carried that far past the fashionable.”

Orion Lee

Orion felt dizzy. He didn't understand what was happening with him. He was feeling things he had no business feeling right now, particularly if it's prompted by a complete stranger. It was ridiculous and he knew it, but he couldn't help it and he wanted to find out why. He glanced at her brother. He felt a little nervous around him, but he wasn't sure why. He was sure he could take the guy in a fight. He was beefier and he looked more like a poet than a fighter. Still, he felt unease.

"If it's okay with your brother. If not, I guess I'll see you over there," he said with a shrug.

Tom Angelo
Tom laughed. She was a country girl. He had never really met any of those. In fact, he had scarcely left New York. The only plantlife he had ever seen was in Central Park. He smiled at her.

"People here can be a little guarded or, in college, intellectual snobs that think they know what's what better than anyone else because of their professors and education, but don't try to challenge any of their pet theories or politics. I'm Tom. Stick by me, here. We're both strangers in a way. I never expected to goto college," he told her, taking her hand as a shiver ran down his spine.

"Hello Persephone," he told her silkily. His voice was dry from lack of use, but the dark charisma that came from his essence as a god permeated his voice, "I've had a talk with your father. He has agreed that you are to come with me now."

He offered her his hand with.

"I am Hades. Lord of the Underworld and all precious metals. Master of the Dead."

Tom blinked, looking away. Another person had entered the room. He looked like a drunk to him. He didn't know why. He just got that impression.

Merrick Caspian paced restlessly outside of the building which might determine his future. He could walk in there like some fresh faced kid, eager to learn and to better himself. Or he could walk in there as himself, stubborn, uneducated and most likely the oldest in attendance. It wasn't like him to be so concerned about what people thought about him but Merrick had always followed his interests. Adventure and mischief and the horses, he blazed his own trails with no thought of what anyone thought of him. Here he’d have to toe the line…some line he assumed. He just wasn't sure if he was up for it. Of course he hadn't come all this way to turn back around. The school had paid for him to get there he doubted they’d pay for him to turn tail and run.

Running a tan, calloused hand through his shaggy blond mane he sighed in resignation and trotted up the stairs and into the building. Tugging at his basic blue knit sweater he’d paired with faded jeans and work boots he straightened his broad shoulders and entered the room that held the key to his past. Merrick realized then just how late he was and nodded an apology, his red face giving away his embarrassment. Merrick desperately wanted this to be over, he hated the whole first day of school madness and it hadn't changed since he was a boy. Quickly he found his name placard, printed Merrick Caspian on one side and some gibberish on the other. Fitting his long legs beneath the desk he observed the rest of his classmates.

To the Welshman it seemed a strange amalgamation of people. Most of them looked like kids to him though he himself wasn't much older. Merrick supposed that having been on his own for so long had required him to grow up quick when in all honesty there wasn't much truth in that statement. He was very much like a boy stuck in adolescence. He wanted what he wanted and he wanted it right now and when Merrick didn't get his way everyone knew about it. In some sort of fashion or another.

Finally his eyes fell upon the professor, the one who’d summoned them here. Merrick observed him casually, finding himself drawn to the man in the chair. It was almost like a feeling of deja vu though Merrick was sure he’d never met the man before. Not in this lifetime at least the thought came to him unbidden. His curiosity piqued, Merrick decided he would give this place a chance.





Bryony awoke with a start and realized she was late…extremely late. Stumbling out of bed she dragged a comb through her messy blonde hair and tossed on whatever she could find in her still as of yet unpacked suitcase. Without a sound she grabbed her bag which held the information she needed, like where she was going and how to get there, and ran out the door. Doing her best to run and follow the small map of the campus in her hand she was quite the sight. Bryony’s taste in clothing tended to run towards the eclectic and this morning she’d grabbed from her wardrobe a pair of orange skinny jeans which hugged her long, thin legs topped with a short, blue silk kimono type jacket tied loosely around her waist. Beneath that a white shirt with black pinstripes and finished off with clunky work boots that she adored. She often turned heads but today it was unclear whether that had to do with her beauty or the blinding colors she adorned herself in. Either way the tall blonde couldn't have cared less. Give them two weeks and everyone would be walking around in silk kimonos and combat boots. She was a trendsetter, what more was there to be said?

Finally finding the correct building she flew into the classroom, breathless and full of apologies. “Oh god, I’m so late. I’m so sorry. My alarm didn't go off. Or my phone died…I’m not quite sure. Anyway, I’m Bryony. Hi.” She finished distractedly as she looked at her phone and tried to make heads or tails of her predicament. With a final shrugs of her thin shoulders she tucked it away and realized they had assigned seating. How elementary, she could get behind that. Slowly the statuesque reincarnation of Aphrodite made her way through the rows of seats, taking her time in finding her spot she also took time in checking out all of her classmates. With a small smile here and there, or a slightly arched brow in the direction of someone she found attractive, Bryony finally found her spot and took a seat. She liked the looks of this place so far, and besides making a terrible first impression, things didn't seem to be going to terribly awful. Yet.

It wasn't particularly hard to find out where she was supposed to be. A stuffy old lecture room. Flinging the door open, Lady Devinna strutted in like the Queen she was. She had utterly no interest in the occupants of the room, not a single one of them.

She just wanted to be in and out of there. She hadn't come all the way to New York to be stuck in some school with a bunch of losers and be educated in things she did not care about. This was just a cursory visit. Of course she had to turn up for the first day, but after that who would care? Devinna certainly didn't care enough to show up.

Not even sparing a glance for her fellow students, Devinna found her seat at the front of the room. She was not happy about that at all; she'd rather be lounging in the back row. Oh well, she'd just have to lounge in the front.

The large Louis Vuitton slipped off her arm and landed with a thud on the floor besides the desk. Devinna's attention was caught by the sign that had her name written across it.

And was that Greek?

Yes, she was certain it was. She'd preferred learning Latin when she was in school but her Greek wasn't so bad either. And the Greek inscription next to her name was easy enough to read . . . Hera . . .

As in Goddess?

Devinna raised a defined brow and then looked at the empty desk next to hers. Carter Washington . . . Zeus.

Okay then, Devinna snorted. She guessed it was some sort of initiation game or something. Weren't college and universities doing crap like that?

Well, at least they got it right. She would not have stood for being anyone less then the Queen of Olympus, even for some stupid introduction game.

Sliding into her seat, Devinna turned to side, facing Carter Washington's empty desk (Whoever the heck he was), slipping one leg over the other Devinna pulled out her iPhone and started texting.

She hoped this thing started soon and end sooner . . .

---

"People here can be a little guarded or, in college, intellectual snobs that think they know what's what better than anyone else because of their professors and education, but don't try to challenge any of their pet theories or politics. I'm Tom. Stick by me, here. We're both strangers in a way. I never expected to go to college." Said Tom, taking her offered hand in his; causing a shock to sizzle up her own arm.

Cora gasped.

Hades? . . . 'I've had a talk with your father. He has agreed that you are to come with me now.' The Lord of the Underworlds words rang in her ears as she stared up at the unearthly imagine before her. Where was she supposed to go? The Underworld? She could not go there. She did not belong there. Her heartbeat maddeningly against her chest as her eyes flickered to his proffered hand and back to his hauntingly shadowed face. Persephone took a slow shaky step back . . . and then another. The Narcissus still clutched to her breast. And then she turned to break out in a run. Her foot had not even touched the ground as the steel grip of an arm wrapped around her waist and she was being pulled down into the ground. Her piercing screams burned her throat but the sound was noiseless as the ground above her closed over. The magnificent sunlight dying as she grabbed fruitlessly at the air above her, seeking a miraculous escape from her inevitable decent to the Underworld . . .



Cora hastily pulled her hand out of his. What was that?!? Actually, she knew the last part of that . . . vision? The part where she grabbed out at the air screaming as the ground closed up around her and she fell deeper and deeper but always waking before she reached the bottom; it was a terrifying dream she'd had since she was a child. But never had she seen it while fully awake and in her right mind.

Her unease around the man next to her increased. But her good manners prevailed as she tried to push away her uneasiness and recall what he had said.

Stick by me here.

“I-I, I never wanted to go to college either.” She admitted. “In fact, to be honest I don't think I'll really be staying. The city, college it's really not for me. I have a feeling I'll be back home in Kansas before the month is out.” Cora explained; she felt it necessary to let him know that there would be no sticking by him without being out-rightly rude, for though he unnerved her she did not wish to hurt his feelings.

Tom, after all had been kind enough to speak to her.

Cora watched with half interest as others entered the room; a man with blonde hair and then a very beautiful woman who said her name was Bryony; lost in her thoughts of the enigma that was Tom. He seemed very nice but at the same time he frightened her a little bit . . .

Her distracted attention was caught when a dark haired beauty regal in manner entered and took her seat at the front of the room. There was an aura about the woman although she said not a word to anyone. Not even a hello. A city slicker no doubt . . .

Carter operated by his own schedule. He had his own set of rules, and was rich enough to back them up. As his father had always said: in the business world, if you find yourself dancing to the other guy's tune, you've already lost.

He knew he was supposed to be headed toward the main lecture hall to rendezvous with the other students, but he'd elected to take a casual stroll around campus instead. Whatever they were discussing, it could wait. He was Carter effin Washington for christ's sake. That the Washingtons are as kings in heaven is a saying common to all men.

Carter sighed, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He couldn't help but feel slighted by the actions of his peers. The big fellow hadn't deigned to shake his hand. Hadn't even responded with his own name. The other two, Chase and Dominic, muttered a few choice words before evacuating the area, as if he had the plague or something. Cater rounded a corner, deftly avoiding the protruding branches of an ill-placed oak tree, pondering his latest interaction. Perhaps he had been too forceful in dismissing the officer. He ran his fingers along his jaw, coming together at his chin. His beard was as stubbled and rugged as he'd left it this morning. His hair was expertly groomed, and his overall ensemble dapper in appearance—even regal, if he did say so himself. Was he truly so intimidating?

Carter jerked to a halt, a look of pure incredulity ripe upon his face at the sight before him. An oddly familiar building. He pulled the university's welcome pamphlet from his back pocket, flipping to the page titled "Orientation". His gaze oscillated from pamphlet to building and back again. No way. There was no mistaking it. Even though he'd walked in the complete opposite direction, he somehow ended up in front of the Orientation building anyway.

It was as if the very fates themselves demanded his attendance proper.

Checking his watch—an expensive black titanium fluidic-display HYT H2 timepiece—he noted the time. While he wasn't exactly early, he technically wasn't late either.

Okay, so he was "technically" late, but whatever. He made his own time.

"Great," he muttered sarcastically, almost sardonically. He briefly considered milling about, at the very least to perfect his fashionably late entrance, but ultimately decided against it. Though the campus was indeed beautiful, he had grown bored of aimless wanderings—although the eagle he'd spotted flying overhead a few minutes earlier was certainly a pleasurable sight to behold.

As if the entire planet were waiting breathlessly for his arrival, Carter sauntered into the lecture hall like a king approaching his throne. His posture was straight, his nose slightly upturned, lips pursed. He'd paused but for a moment in the doorway, allowing the room's occupants a chance to behold him in all his glory. “Good afternoon” he announced to the room at large, looking around. He saw a few familiar faces, but most were simply strangers. Neat. He'd have a chance at making many connections here.

That's when he noticed the seating arrangements. For the briefest of instants, his face contorted in a look of perturbation. Name tags? That's how we're doing this? Slowly scanning the room, he spotted his name on some sort of plaque. Next to it, he saw the word "Zeus". He couldn't help but grin at that. "What manner of child's play is this?" He muttered to himself, only loud enough for those nearby to catch.

With an arguably contemptuous grunt, Carter Washington took his seat.

Orion Lee

Orion nodded, feeling sympathetic. He was glad it wasn't only him. He checked his watch and frowned. Great, they were all late for orientation. That wasn't the impression that he wanted to leave. He looked at them apologetically before speaking.

"I think we better get going. Come on," he told them as he headed into the building. They would follow him, he was sure. There wasn't anywhere else that they could go anyway. He hoped that they didn't get in trouble for being late. He could probably handle whatever happened to him, but he'd feel guilty if anything negative happened to the two twins because of him.

Chiron

Tom glanced away. He felt as though his head was cracked open with a sludgehammer and the images that were flying through his head confused him. What was going on? Was he going nuts? He hadn't had a history of mental illness before unless one counted the ghosts... God, maybe he was schizophrenic. But was it just him or was the girl visibly disturbed?

Chiron, for his part, nodded slightly as the last of the group sat down. There were many empty seats. His heart felt heavy when he saw the empty seats of Achilles, Jason, Theseus, Perseus, and the other heroes. But they were also missing others. Where was Athena, Ares, and Hephaestus? Had Kronos' minions already killed them all?

"I am glad that most of you are here. You are not here by chance or luck or even by skill. There is a reason why you are here. Why you were fated to be here. Not just anyone could have entered this room. Most would have just seen a wall where the door is supposed to be," he began. He sighed. It was best that he made a visual demonstration before he continued.

He began to stand from his wheelchair, kicking out the fake legs that were concealing his real front hooves. He began to emerge from his wheelchair, his horse half emerging from a wheelchair that should have been far too small for it. He clapped his hooves experimentally. He sighed, taking a small amount of comfort from freeing himself from the wheelchair which was, despite Hephaestus' best efforts, rather cramp.

"That's better," he stated with a smile. He glanced at each and every one of them, "I am not an ordinary human and neither are any of you. In fact, your true identity is that of the name tag in front of you, written in Ancient Greek, but still understandable to the likes of you."

Orion, for his part having sat down, looked over at his nametag. He snorted, "It says Orion on both of mine."

Chiron smiled slightly, "Indeed. In this life, you are Orion Lee, but thousands of years ago, you were Orion, son of Poseidon, a demigod."

"But there's only one God... And I hope it's none of these guys here, no offense," he stated bewildered. Chiron chuckled.

"Don't worry. I'm talking physical, not necessarily metaphysical. The Greek gods were always bound to this world. They did not create it," he said, continuing on with his explanation.

"Before the race of gods, there were the Titans. They ruled the physical universe and were under the rule of their king, Kronos, Titan Lord of Fate, Harvest, Time, and Justice. The fourth one is ironic, but gods and Titans didn't have to embody the attributes they ruled over. Zeus, for example, could be very unjust and dishonorable, though he ruled over both Justice and Honor along with the Sky, Hospitality, and Lightning.

"Kronos received a prophecy that his own offspring would overthrow him and so, when his sons and daughters were born, he swallowed them whole, one by one until his wife, Rhea, hid the youngest away. This youngest was Zeus. With Rhea's help, Zeus was able to infiltrated Kronos' palace as his cupbearer and fed him a mixture of mustard and wine, causing him to vomit up his brothers and sisters.

"The gods emerged victorious with the aid of the Cyclopes and Hecatonchires whom Zeus had freed from Tartarus. Kronos was cut up into pieces by his own scythe and flung into Tartarus and imprisoned there along with the rest of the Titans who fought beside him. The gods ruled the Greek and, later, Roman world well until humankind stopped worshiping them before withdrawing upon a new religion's growing popularity. With a lot of reluctance on Zeus' part, I might add. I believe he wanted to create a lightning storm instead to remind people of himself, but the other gods overruled him in a vote.

"But Kronos was not destroyed in the war that ousted him. A few decades ago, Hades reported that Kronos was rising from Tartarus. Kronos could not be defeated there nor could he be prevented from rising and reaching earth, where he can and must be defeated. The gods could not fight him in their immortal forms. Outside of Olympus, the gods have to put effort in maintaining their forms without destroying causing great destruction on earth. Outside of battle, this is easy enough, but within a battle, this kind of distraction is fatal. It was agreed then, that the gods would incarnate themselves as human beings, but they would not be alone," Chiron finished. He sighed sadly, he looked at the empty seats.

"Many mortal heroes agreed to leave Elysium to fight alongside the gods, but they are not here. I fear Kronos' forces have gotten to them along with a few of the gods. If so, then time is shorter than I fought. You must regain your powers and skills and learn to handle them in mortal form soon or the world as we know it will end."

---

---

There were a bunch more arrivals in short order, and unfortunately the pretentiously-named Carter Washington guy was the same one as the person who’d nearly run her over with his pretentiously-expensive car. Soo Min couldn’t help but think to herself that she probably should have seen that coming. And she was sitting right next to him. Fantastic. Could this day get any better? At least the girl from Barbados had managed to not be completely annoying yet.

“Onyx, California,” was Mina’s reply. It was, after all, where she was from. Maybe not originally, but most recently, and she didn’t really feel like going into her whole life story, especially not when it looked like things were at last about to start.

Within the first thirty seconds of orientation, their professor had stepped out of his wheelchair to reveal the fact that his lower half looked like a horse. “Yeah, that’s not weird at all,” she muttered, though quietly enough that probably only Carter Washington the Jerk and the empty spot on her left (marked Ares) could discern the words. It really only got stranger after that, though she had the presence of mind left to snort softly when some guy in a plaid shirt mentioned hoping that none of the people in this room were God. Bet I can name at least two who think they might as well be, she thought to herself, definitely thinking of the dark-haired woman with an obvious superiority complex and the absurdly rich (if his clothing, car, and watch were anything to go by) guy next to her. This observation, however, she kept to herself.

So the guy knew his mythology, which she supposed you’d have to if you were going to try and pull something like this, but then, it was strange. No matter how hard she looked, no matter where she directed her observations, nothing about him, his words, or his demeanor rang false. Either he was completely insane and somehow able to hide it from everyone who might have stopped him from running a school, or he was telling the truth.

She was still looking at option 1, but the horse-body thing was admittedly quite compelling.

When we have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

So, new question: was the fact that she was the mortal vessel of the Greek god of tricksters, thieves, sports, and invention impossible, or merely improbable? Secondary question: everyone else seemed to match the gender of their god. Why the hell was she a he? Mina’s brows furrowed noticeably, and she ran deductions in her head at a mile a minute. It would have been impossible not to see the gears turning in her head, if one knew to look.

Her attention was drawn in short order to one corner of the room, quite close to the teacher himself. There was a man there, and he’d lit a pipe. It actually didn’t smell unpleasant at all, and she immediately identified the tobacco as being Cuban in origin. Her father was a smoker as well. It wasn’t this that drew her notice, however, but the fact that he was the first to speak.

“And why should we?” he asked, his accent immediately placing him as both well-to-do and British. Taking an inhale from the pipe, he tipped his head back and breathed out a cloud of smoke. She could have sworn she saw shapes in it, figures whirling around in circles like dervishes dancing. Leveling his strangely cabernet eyes on the room and then Chiron, he shrugged casually. “Assume, for just a moment, that what you’re saying is actually true. You’ve just admitted that these Greek… gods, did not make the world. Why should any of us bother saving it? What’s worth the effort of saving? If those heroes and other gods are already dead, chances are good that we will follow. It seems that, if you are correct in all you have said, our choice is between living our lives as we want to for however long we’ve got, or else pouring our efforts into something entirely futile, which will have the same result, less pleasantly.”

Mina’s lips pursed. “Again assuming the truth of what’s just been said,” she used ‘assuming’ as though it were a dirty word, “why assume we would fail?” The man fixed her with an incredulous look, raising a brow.

“Look around the room. Do you see anyone here you’d trust to stop an apocalypse? I certainly don't. If these oh-so-wonderful Titans are indeed on the cusp of breaking away from their prisons, they are not a bunch of untrained, unaware human beings who have remained ignorant of their natures until now. Also, wouldn’t you look silly if homo sapiens equus here is lying?” he gestured to Chiron with the end of the pipe, though something that looked vaguely like guilt passed over his eyes when he did.

Clap.
Clap.
Clap.

Carter stood, his obviously-sardonic applause ringing out in stark contrast to the room's newfound silence. "Bravo, sir," he announced with mock enthusiasm. His facial expression mirrored that of a man on the verge of raucous laughter. "Bravo. All of you. For this grand show." The abrupt termination of his monotonous clapping was only due to him wiping a fake tear from his eye. "Really. And you especially, professor." He pointed the man at the head of the room. "If you're even a real professor. Very well done." He looked around, scanning the hall's walls and cupping his hands about his mouth.

"Hey, you guys can come out now!" He spoke jovially, believing the walls were filled with a camera crew poised to pop out and yell "you've been punked!" "Joke's over. And bring ol' horsey's smoke and mirrors with you!"

After a few moments of silence, it dawned on Carter that either the camera crew were stuck in the walls or they weren't coming out at all. The amusement melted from his face like ice against a flame thrower. "Okay, enough of this god crap. Titans? Zeus? Apocalypse? Pfft." Pushing in his chair, Carter began wading through the other students, heading for the exit. "Listen. I don't have time for this. You guys have fun playing 'gods of the horse realm' or 'cross-dressing with Hermes' or whatever brand of insolence this is."

He shrugged his shoulders, straightening his pristine jacket. "I have a business to run."

Lilly nodded absent-mindedly at Tom. He had already been distracted by the girl who had just sat down next to him. Cora. That was a pretty name. She gave her a grin before looking towards the door. Lilly watched with slight interest as several people began to slowly file into the room. Some looked just as worried as she felt while others obviously couldn't care less. But each one seemed... familiar somehow. Which was crazy because, outside of Mina, Lilly had never seen any of these people before in her life. Luckily, there was no nameplate on the opposite side of her. I won't have to be completely surrounded by strangers.

She faced the front once again as the professor began to speak. Lilly let out a small gasp when he stepped out of his wheelchair on horse hooves. That was definitely not a normal part of a college orientation. In all honesty, the small mythology lesson that occurred after that was hardly heard. The words "Your true identity" had caused a small panic inside of Lilly's mind. Being a goddess did not sound appealing. Especially if they were supposed to be trying to save the world. Wouldn't that involve fighting? She examined her nameplate warily. Hestia. Who was that?

After racking her brain for a few minutes, Lilly remembered a small piece of information about Hestia. She was the goddess that stayed at home and took care of the house. Yes! Finally, a piece of good news. Then again, all of this was only if what the professor was saying was actually true. Although the hooves did give some merit to the whole situation. A few people, including Mina, had seemed to grasp the idea more quickly than everyone else and were already voicing their opinions.

"And why should we?” Lilly looked on the opposite side of the room and fixed her gaze on the man who had spoken. That thought had honestly not crossed her mind until then. She'd assumed that, if this was true, everyone would be willing to help. Apparently, that assumption had been wrong. Mina was quick to respond, as usual, but he wasn't fazed in the slightest. At this point, someone else began to voice his opinion on the professor's story. Very loudly.

Lilly listened to his mockery and frowned. He probably could have been more polite than that. Just because you don't agree with something doesn't mean you have to be so harsh. Lilly didn't even know if she believed the professor, but that didn't mean she was going to laugh right in his face. And besides, that took guts. Something that Lilly didn't have a large stock of.