"All mens souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine."
-Socrates
The words were thought through every Gods mind once they were alone . "Why was I chosen to be a God? Why must I go through life as such a symbol to man?" There are no answers to these questions . Even The Fates themselves did not know and they were the ones who held the string of gold that was every man, woman, and child's fate. For the Titans have escaped...and they come with vengeance in their hearts.
~~~~~~~
Snip.Snip.Snip.
The sound of a shears cutting a piece of thread in half, ending another man's life. A woman wielded the pair of shears, wrinkly old hands clutching them tightly."This one would appear to have died at such a young age my sisters. What a waste." The crackly old voice of a withered looking woman was heard ,her face covered up by a gray hood that only allowed ."It was his time of course, though his wife putting a bit of poison in his cup certainly brought it closer to the end don't you think Atropos?." The voice that now spoke was that of a younger woman. Her voice sweet and angelic though speaking of death. The woman was also covered up in a gray robe, a hood hiding her surely attractive features."Lachesis,! Atropos! Stop talking so much about the tasks at hand. You're not a group of old maids with nothing better to do. We have important things to discuss."This voice rang across the room, obviously that of a child from the way her voice sounded. Clear and precise but angelic as well. She was smaller then the other two women, having the body shape of a child.She too was wearing grey robes to hide her face, though her hands were a perfect pale color and looked soft to touch"You are correct sister Clotho...we have much to discuss." Both Atropos and Lachesis looked at each other before bowing their heads in a respectful way towards the child and moved away, placing the shears and cut up thread down.
The child moved close to the instruments, her small hands reaching down and picking up the shears."We are The Fates, so we already know how this war will end." The others nodded and bowed their head replying in unison."We know this to be true."
"Let us watch this Gods and Titans then. For this will truly be the last battle."
~~~~~~~~~~
"Miss would you like to try our newest perfume?"Miss perhaps try one of our famous brandy chocolate balls, they are like gifts from the Gods themselves." The woman who the man was talking to turned around, facing the man who was pushing his products for her to buy. "They eat ambrosia and nectar. Not some five dollar candy balls!" The man gave a confused and abashed look to the woman, his eyes scanning her up and down to most likely give a description to security when she left.
She was probably five feet, seven inches tall. A bit taller than the average woman but that seemed to be in her advantage as she towered over the man. A sweet floral scent seemed to come straight from that silky black hair of hers and her ivory colored skin. Her eyes were the darkest color blue and seemed to sparkle like sapphires, causing the man to stare at them with a rather mystified look in his own eyes. Her red lips were such a beautiful contrast against her pale skin that the man almost had the sudden urge to touch them. The man leaned forward as if to kiss the woman, and that's when she pressed her finger to his forehead, just one simple touch and the man passed out on the floor."I am Hera Queen of the Gods idiot mortal, don't think that you....oh damn." She was about to finish her little monologue when she noticed that several women were watching her with their eyes wide open in surprise. So much for keeping a low profile."OH MY GOODNESS! This man just fainted somebody get help!" She nodded towards one of the woman who then reached into their purse, probably looking for their phone. This gave Hera the perfect opportunity to run down the stairs and out of the building.

"I hate human malls. Whatever happened to simple market places.."The goddess grumbled to herself, her mouth turning into a frown as she moved to sit on a park bench.
It had only been a couple weeks since Morpheus had awoken them rather abruptly from their slumber. The whole Titan thing and being forced to take a human form had been easy to understand. It was the blending in with mortals that caused her both grief and confusion.
"I wonder how the others are doing at the moment.."

"So, they walk amongst us once more. How... inconvenient."

Iapetus, or rather Gregor, muttered this to himself as he drank his morning coffee on the patio of one of the many coffee shops of Downtown LA. Unlike Hera, a passerby would never have thought the old man to be something special - just one of the hundreds of customers that such a shop would expect on a daily basis. But as Iapetus looked at each one of the pedestrians, he saw their fleeting mortal lives falling away, and the exact manner in which they would perish.

"What do you mean, sir?"

Gregor looked up and saw a young waitress, a chipper young thing at the age of 19, questioning the Titan as she removed the empty cup from his table. She was destined for a long, and somewhat happy life before passing away in her sleep at the age of 91, or at least that was the plan before the Olympians returned. Iapetus was momentarily startled to see her end switch to a few weeks from now, but worked it into his response:

"Ah! Nothing much little lady, just reflecting on how the Republicans took office a few weeks ago. It's a shame how some people can get into Congress by promising..."

By this point, the waitress had excused herself and had quickly ran back inside looking for other tables to serve, leaving Iapetus free to think about what he had felt. That was the good thing about having roamed the Earth since the end of the Age of Heroes: You were able to get a decent look at humanity and know just the right way to manipulate them. Iapetus had started a few wars over the last 2500 years that way...

"There are definitely more of them this time," Gregor continued to mutter "No doubt about it. But we know the mortals of this age better than they do, and this time we don't have anything limiting our strength."

Iapetus smiled on the inside. Perhaps this wasn't an inconvenience, after all: In fact, it could be a good opportunity to take revenge on the Olympians.

Apollo woke up in a messy bed and stared at the ceiling. He just laid there for a few minutes, waiting for energy to come to him. He knew that in the home he shared with his family he could walk around in god form and not freak out some bystander, but he liked being little Adrik, and he liked human clothes.
He grabbed the pillow next to his head and put it over his face. The sun coming through the closed blinds next to his bed shined right into his eyes. Thank god that I don't have to actually watch over the sun Apollo thought to himself. That was Helios' duty when the gods fell asleep, and it was never formally given back to Apollo. "Heh, thank me" He said, climbing out of bed, then putting on jeans. He sauntered over to the bathroom rubbing his eyes, when he looked up he saw the mirror had writing on it, looking closer he saw it was lipstick. "Call me" it said on the top, with a phone number underneath. Apollo stood confused for a moment, he tried remembering the night before. He didn't work well with night, or at least not as good as he did during the day, so things usually got jumbled up and he forgot a lot. He started smirking as the details went back to him. "but what was her name?" he thought aloud. he leaned forward and started drawing stars in the lipstick, little ones so that when he was done the first 'l' in call was just a column of stars. He shrugged at the fact he couldn't remember the name and grabbed toilet paper, wiping the lipstick off the mirror "sorry love, I'm not looking for a serious relationship right now". He mumbled, justifying why he didn't really look at the number.
He wasn't out to be an ass to the girls he... got to know, but he didn't like getting serious. He was known as a fun kind of guy, and he didn't want to mess that up. Apollo stared at himself in the mirror. There were still traces of lipstick, but he just shrugged it off and smiled. He was a skinny guy, but taller than the average person. He still hadn't put on a shirt, and he wasn't planning to until he left the house, but first he wanted breakfast. He smiled and left the bathroom for the kitchen.
He grabbed ham, mayo, pickles and Parmesan cheese for a sandwich and toasted some sourdough bread. while the was waiting he inspected a freckle on his chest. "This bread is going to take longer than a millennium to toast" he said, sliding the bottle of mayo on the counter.

It had to be the most embarasing thing to be stared at as she jogged down the street. Demeter, though beautiful, did look to be more like the sports type. She had the slender body with the to-die-for muscles in all the right places. It looked natural and perfect and exotic. But being exotic was the one thing she did best, as the other Gods used to tell her. Pretending not to notice the masculine eyes peaking and the feminine lips pursing as she passed, she instead focused keeping balanced and not crashing into the other pedestrians who were going through their daily schedule.

She was wearing a white exersize tanktop and short brown sophies. Her hair was pulled back in a messy but unnatural bun to allow her hazel eyes to pop out from under the strands of her bangs that had escaped the bobby-pin. Demeter sighed lightly as she came to one of the many large shopping centers. She slowed to a stop to take a refreshing taste of cool water from the bottle she'd been carrying. The brunette drew the back of her forearm across her bronzed forehead, annoyed that she'd even broken a sweat.

As she baked under the morning sun, her mind drifted back to Persephone. How was the child doing anyway? It was hard to explain to any other mortals that the girl - who could have easily been her sister in their human forms - was actually her daughter. Demeter sighed lightly before striding off to stand in the shadows of the mall. Fitting in with the humans wasn't tough for her at all. Since she was so connected with the earth and its creations, she'd had years to observe the ways of living of these mortals. That was the only reason she'd been able to create herself a character that she could easily play without overdoing it. But how were the other God's doing...?

"Excuse me mam, perhaps you could like to buy--" began one of the venders.

"Try someone else," she said, cutting the words from his tongue with a pretty smile. "I don't have any money on me."

He stared for several moments, entranced, before nodding and hobbling off in the other direction. Demeter rolled her eyes and returned to her thoughts. Perhaps she'd pay the others a visit. She always liked their company, expecially the guys'.

Hades – Dmitri Ruslan

The Desert Sphinx

The millionaire had just rolled up to the casino. He strode past the roulette, black jack, and poker tables; the slot machines and bar. His first visit was to the upstairs, where all the casino operations were managed. Men in coats and ties flanked him and strode behind the man who controlled it all. His name was Dmitri Ruslan, Russian descent, and leader of one of the most notorious crime syndicates in L.A., the L.A. Reapers. Of course, not many were aware of that fact except the FBI and his enemies.

As the men in black ascended the red carpeted staircase to the second floor, none of the gamblers spared them a glance. They were too entranced by greed, popping coins, gathering chips, and jerking the slot levers while their eyes burned from rarely blinking, their hearts throbbed erratically, and their mouths watered for the jackpot or any chip that tumbled into their sweaty palms. Dmitri was good at what he did and that was feed.

They arrived on another floor of similar games like the ones below except for the billiards tables, and even an arcade center for the younger visitors—got to get them while they’re young. No turns or ventures down long and shady corridors were required when Dmitri reached a door at the back of the casino that read: Authorized Personnel Only. Only certain workers were allowed into the room, and Dmitri knew the names of each one as well as the names of the men that followed him.

Security officers were seated at consoles with several screens that watched the tables and the slot rows for cheaters and thieves. They were paid well enough to be able to munch on chips, burgers, and guzzle beverages from the bar while they sat and worked their hours, growing fat by the hour and lazy by the day. As long as they did their job, Dmitri had no complaints. The slackers were always fired at the expense of their lives and their deaths were always covered up by just another sob story for the news to chew on: drunk driving, shoot out, drug possession, disappearance, drowning; whatever story was necessary and proved most convenient.

One of the officers glanced over his shoulder to regard the mafia boss with brows fixed into a stern and straight-lipped expression. He nodded his head—not a greeting, but a form of communication that meant there were certain guests for him in the back. Dmitri regarded the man from behind black shades and returned the slow nod before he and his henchmen passed through the security office into another room that read for a second time: Authorized Personnel Only.

The door opened to a black corridor, which held a long, steel staircase. The air was cold for there was no heat in the room they were descending into. One of the henchmen stayed behind to guard the door as he crossed his arms and slapped on a patient façade. When Dmitri reached the bottom of the stairs, there was a lone, white lamp, shining a spotlight upon two men who sat upon their knees with their arms tied behind their backs. Their faces were black and blue—bruised, swollen, and bleeding.

Dmitri stepped into the circle of light, gazing upon the two men briefly before his eyes rose to glance to the two thugs that had brought them to his fine casino. Pointing to the man on the left, Dmitri questioned curiously, “What’s the story with him?”

The first thug grinned as he stepped into the glowing circle and crouched behind the man. He rested a friendly hand upon his shoulder as it made the man flinch in fright that he might be beaten again. “This is Thomas Henderson. He is an electrical engineer who used to work for the Big Guy until he found out that this scumbag was robbing the company. He had invested his money in a few solar panels and instead of selling his unused power back to the company, he made an underground business on the black market and sold it to people overpriced.”

Dmitri licked his lips before he leaned forward and spat in the man’s face. “Your solicitation is disgusting. Didn’t Stone pay you good enough?” he questioned gruffly.

The man made motions with his head in all sorts of directions. He wanted to shrug but didn’t think it was wise; he wanted to nod but didn’t think it was wise; he wanted to shake his head but didn’t think it was wise; he was utterly terrified. “I didn’t think it was bad,” he whimpered.

A smile elongated across Dmitri’s face before he threw his head back and he and his men chorused with laughter. The mafia boss in the same manner was quick to grow silent, startling the men around him as they immediately shut their gobs and punched anyone in the shoulder that was still snickering.

Dmitri’s face became stoic as he asked, “How much did you sell?”

“I have a wife and child!”

Dmitri stepped up to the man and brought the back of his hand against the side of his face. The blow sent the man tipping over upon his side as he then curled up in a ball bringing his knees to his chest and trying to hide his face against them. “Only 300 dollars worth! I didn’t make any more off of it I swear!” he wailed.

“If Mr. Stone didn’t catch you, you might have ruined his business. You also stole money from the Black community; you did sell the power to ‘ignorant blacks’ didn’t you?” Henderson was silent, and Dmitri sighed in exasperation. “I’m talking to myself. Take a finger off his hand for each 100 dollars he made off that scandal.”

Henderson’s eyes widened in horror as he screamed, “I have a wife and child!”

“And you’ll be returning to them soon enough. When you’re giving your wife a seven-fingered spooning tonight, you will speak nothing of this. If you dare do so, then you won’t have a wife or child, you won’t have anything but those seven fucking fingers to whack off with for the rest of your jobless life! Get him out of here.”

As the thug stooped and took Henderson by the bindings, he dragged him across the floor to a room in the back. He jerked a pair of wire cutters from his pocket and slammed the door closed behind him, whilst the terrified shouts and pleas of the family man were muffled by the concrete walls.

“Next,” Dmitri demanded; he didn’t have time to linger. There was always other business to be had.

The second thug stepped behind the second man who had his head bowed and a frown was slumped on his lips. Before he could speak, the young man interrupted, “I ain’t done nothin’. I don’t even know why I’m here. You know, you can just let me go. I promise I won’t say a thing. I seen people shot ‘round my block all the time. I ain’t tell no cop shit. An’ if that guy was racist, then fuck him. He deserves gettin’ what comin’. Trynna’ rob some niggas; you doin’ us some justice, Sir.”

Dmitri’s lips cracked into an amused grin. He chuckled softly before he said, “I like this guy.”

The second thug only gave his boss a doubting stare, watching the grin that lingered on his boss’s face. He wondered how long that was going to last until after the briefing. He began, “This man is-”

“I can introduce myself! My name is Anthony, and I ain’t done shit.”

The second thug breathed in annoyance before he continued, “I saw him checking out Ms. Winters at the Beverly Center shopping mall. While she was shopping for clothes, this man had followed her into the Victoria Secret department store and was passing glances at her and the items she was buying.”

Anthony blinked in confusion, and then glanced up at Dmitri who was no longer grinning. His smile had turned upside down and was weighing down the corners of his lips in the most furious frown the black man had ever seen. “Oh!” he exclaimed in startle. “No, no, wait. First off, who da hell is Ms. Winters? Oh wait, you mean that fine, blond girl? Shit. She your woman?”

“She and Mr. Ruslan are married actually,” the thug corrected.

“Shit! Why the fuck you sayin’ Miss? And why her last name different? Fuck man, how was I supposed ta’ know? Look dude, I’m sorry. It won’t eva’ happen again. I promise. I’ll do anythin’ to make it up to you, dude. Please.”

Dmitri raised his hands to his shades and pinched the legs of his sunglasses before carefully removing them from his face. He folded them before tucking them into his inner coat pocket. He began working on his coat buttons and then removed it, folding it long-ways before handing it to his henchman behind him. “I’ll handle this fucker myself,” Dmitri muttered ominously. He grasped his neck tie and jerked it loose until he could remove it from about his neck.

Anthony threw himself onto his side as he watched the mafia boss undress. He began squirming like a worm away and the thug stepped aside, watching as the black man pushed himself along with his feet. The thug knew he wasn’t going to get far in those ropes, and Anthony watched as a large wrench was dumped into the open palm of the mafia boss.

The henchman holding Dmitri’s coat quickly fumbled his cell phone from his pocket and called the accomplice upstairs. The accomplice’s phone sounded on a whiny jingle before he removed it from his pocket and raised it to his ear. As soon as he got the call, he walked over to the security officer from before and tapped him lightly on the shoulder. The officer then pressed a button on the console and the casino lights dimmed. Colorful lights and a disco ball lowered from the ceiling as a dance song began to pulse throughout the building, filling the bathrooms as people began to bob their heads and dance, while continuing blissfully with their gambling.

The music muted the noise below their feet as Dmitri marched across the room, his arm dangling from the weight of the wrench. His white, shirt-sleeves were rolled up, and Anthony shrieked when he saw the boss raise the wrench over him. The tool was harshly brought down across the black man’s face. Crack!

Moments after…

The dial tones of Willow’s cell phone hummed into his ear until he heard her pick up. “Hey…” Dmitri greeted softly. He was still in the basement of his casino. His once white and crisply-pressed undershirt was splotched in blood that coated his hands and forearms like syrup. His fingers were combing the stuff through the dark layers of his hair. Stress veins were running along the boss’s forehead like veins as he every once in awhile turned his head away from the phone to inhale a deep breath before he exhaled it harshly from his lips. His whole body was shaking from the adrenaline and rage that passed through his veins like liquid fire. Calm down, calm down his conscience cooed.

He continued his conversation, smiling softly as he questioned, “What’s going on? Are you all right?” He refrained from mentioning Victoria Secret for he knew if he disclosed that information to his girl, she would have suspected that he had men watching her every move; but Dmitri was anxious to know what she had bought. He might even have the opportunity to see her in it.

While he talked to his lover, he walked back over to his henchman, glaring daggers down at the mutilated body of his wife’s dubbed stalker. He slid his shoes from his feet for the soles were leaving bloody prints everywhere, and a man from an exit door across the room entered with a suit bag, containing a fresh new pair of shoes and clothes for the boss.

Dmitri, half-dressed, took the suit bag by the hook and started into a small bathroom where he could wash and dress himself in his new clothes. He clutched the phone between his shoulder and ear as he removed his Rolex and began scrubbing his forearms beneath the mouth of the faucet with a bar of soap. His abdominals tightened into smooth, solid bricks of creamy flesh as he leaned further over the sink, taking the phone in his left hand as he held it against the mirror and stuck his head beneath the water. He rinsed the blood out of his hair, raking his fingers through it before he righted himself. Cold, crystal drops began dripping from his chin and rolling like glass beads down his neck and pectorals. He tore a paper towel from a dispenser and brushed it along his face and hair before disposing it upon the floor where Henderson laid in a fever not too far away.

He was clutching his wrist of the hand that had three fingers removed and was whimpering softly, while the thug stepped around him, cleaning up any mess and placing the man’s fingers into a tuber ware container.

Dmitri’s honey orbs regarded the man in silence as he jerked another paper towel free from the dispenser and ran it along his hair, neck, shoulders and stomach just above the thin happy trail of hair that cut through his navel. He didn’t have to tell his henchmen what to do for they knew his routine. They would get rid of Anthony’s body and drop Henderson off at an infirmary.

Dmitri was dressed in five minutes, tugging on the ends of his sleeves and then adjusting his tie. Before he left, he told the thug in the bathroom with him, “Let Fernando know to keep increasing the jackpots and pay outs. There’s another casino in the area. I want to keep The Desert Sphinx on top as the best in the country.”

“Yes, Sir,” the thug replied.

Dmitri stepped from the bathroom and started across the room, passing by two men who were bagging Anthony’s corpse. He stepped out the exit into an alley where a black Ford waited and slipped into a tinted-window cab where he could resume his phone call. The driver glanced through the rearview mirror into the backseat, confirming that the man in his cab was indeed his boss before he drove off. They had other places to visit.

"Hey punk! You just stepped on my new Converse, bitch!" Mason heard this but ignored this. 'I didn't step on anything,' he thought, 'he's just looking for a fight. Ignore it. There's no reason to engage an inferior foe out of anger.'

But, of course, the current youth of the world were just idiotic about picking their fights. The kid got right up in Mason's face and screamed at him. "I SAID YOU STEPPED ON MY CONVERSE BITCH!" he roared. Mason could smell the marajuana on his breath, and noticed that his eyes were flitting and unstable. Druggie. Probably on a massive speed or crack high. Mason calmly stepped around him.

Two seconds later, he heard the boy pulling at his clothes. Something clicked. Then a slide. Mason's combat trained ears found the nine milimeter round as it slipped into the barrel of a Glock. Slowly, Mason turned around. "Squeeze," he said calmly. "Don't pull. And use your other hand to steady yourself. With all that shaking you'll probably miss."

That was the wrong thing to do. The youth screamed obsenities and pulled the trigger many times. Mason flickered out of sight for a moment, then came back into existence behind the now gunman. Sure enough, six of the seven rounds missed the silhouette of light he'd left in the air. "Bad form," Mason muttered. "I've met terrorists child soldiers that can shoot straighter than you."

The man turned and fired again, but this time Prometheus caught the rounds with liquid metal gloves, made from the chains on his wrists. He felt the blows, slightly, but didn't even blink. Finally, the gun went empty. As the man stared at Prometheus in sheer terror, the titan planted his feet, one behind his center of gravity, one between the man's feet, and slugged him hard in the gut. Prometheus could feel the bones crack, could feel the rib break off and impale the lung on that side, could even feel the momentary vibration of the spine snapping. 'Damn,' he thought, 'too hard again. Need to remember how it was like to fight with my squad...dial back...about...right, ninety eight percent. That's within human levels.'

As the man fell, Prometheus flickered up to the top of a nearby, thought small, building. In his left hand was the Glock. With one deft motion he yanked back the slide, flicked a switch, and let the gun fall, now in pieces. "Damn idiots," Prometheus growled. He pulled his cell phone out, a sin to most 'holy' beings, and dialed. "Yo, B-Man, one a' yoh' boys just jumped my ass outside'a da hood...Damn right I gotta problem wit dat' man, keep yoh' boys outa mah shit."

The accent and call itself were to an old contact, one that one of his buddies had durring service. That buddy had eaten a round, but since Mason carried the body back a few of his allies had said they owed him a favor. It hadn't mattered much then, but as Mason got used to civilian life again he found it more and more useful to have underground contacts.

A quick reply and Mason shut the phone, then hopped off the roof and began to make his way back to the titans' HQ. He'd come out looking for gods to...hunt...but hadn't found any. Really he was trying to find and report to someone other than Zeus. 'Never working anywhere near him again,' Mason thought. As he walked he kept his eyes open.

"Miss you are quite a vision!" The middle aged Victoria Secret employee practically exclaimed this in her effort to get Persephone to buy practically everything in the store. Persephone smiled slightly, her head turning towards the woman in order to get a good look in her eyes. The woman wasn't lying, she did find Persephone attractive as most mortals did. She was however only saying this to make a sale to her, something that caused Persephone to feel a bit of displeasure. Persephone's own green eyes bore into the woman's gray ones, a small frown on her pink lips." I appreciate the compliment but would you please not warm up to me only in hopes for me to buy something. It's rather cruel of you I think."

The woman gulped and then nodded her head , her eyes moving to look at the cold tile floor."I'm sorry, I..I just.." Persephone smiled and lightly patted the woman's shoulder."It's alright but I would like to..." She was abruptly interrupted by the sound of her phone vibrating inside of her purse. She gave a apologetic smile towards the woman, and then handed her the yellow bags with several pairs of racy looking bras and underwear were in."Ring it up for me please." She said giving a small nod and angelic smile to the woman before answering her phone."Hey..."said the cool and calm male voice that she had come to know and love. Hades. Her husband and the love of her life. Before she could greet him back he spoke calmly into the phone saying "What's going on? Are you alright?". She smiled and then glanced down at the floor. He was always worried about her whenever she was out and about on Earth, something her mother called "Overly protective." "Of course I'm alright, I've just been at the mall buying certain uhm...items." She blushed as she spoke, her cheeks now having a slight pink tint to them. She was married to the man and had obviously been physically involved with him, but every time she thought of lingerie or anything of the sort she always blushed. Hades or rather Dmitri had said he found it endearing that she did this, but the only thing she came up with was that it was childish."How about you? Are you doing alright?" Persephone was more or less unaware of some of her husband's more "illicit" activities knowing that the old saying "Ask me no questions I'll tell you no lies" was a bit of wisdom she had gained from being a goddess. This applied to Dmitri quite a bit.

"Well I think I'm going to go get something to eat. Your more than welcome to join me if you want love." She spoke softly at the last bit of her sentence, her eyes growing softer as well." I'll be at that restaurant..Gio..Giovanni's I believe it's called so if you get the time with work I'll see you there, if not I will see you at home. Love you..." With that last bit she hung up the phone, snapping it closed and stuffing it into her Prada handbag her Aunt Aphrodite had given her. She walked briskly over towards the register and began fumbling her purse again."The total will be 237.58 Ms. Winters. Will you be paying on Mr.Ruslans card again?" Willow nodded and then after finding the card she had been looking for, a slim gold MasterCard, she handed it over to the woman. After a few seconds the saleswoman smiled and handed both her bags and her card back to Willow."Have a good day miss!"
Persephone flashed another one of her angelic smiles and stepped out of the lingerie store. Several men stopped in their tracks to admire the rather small petite female. How could they not after all? Persephone wasn't one to get angry about a man's traveling eye, her husband...wasn't quite as lenient. She distinctly recalled a time when they had traveled out of the Underworld and had visited the La nourriture de la France, an exquisite restaurant her husband owned.

Everything had been going perfectly until one of the waiters got a bit too"friendly" with Persephone as Dmitri had put it. The man had simply given her a wink, which most people wouldn't have gotten angry about.
Hades and asked the waiter if he could go back into the kitchen and see if he could find a different type of wine for them. After the waiter left Hades excused himself and said he had to go to the restroom. The next day Persephone turned on the T.V to see the waiters picture on the T.V with "Missing" in a caption underneath.

Persephone wandered through the shopping center for a few more minutes until she arrived at the limo her husband owned and allowed her to use."Angus, can you be a dear and take me to Giovanni's? I am starving."She said letting out a groan as she got inside of the limo and nearly collapsed in the seats.The older man had chuckled and tipped his black drivers hat."Right away miss..."

"Cassanda Miaose.. perhaps you would like to share your opinions with the class?" Athena turned her head around to the front of the class, realising the professor had caught her talking during his lesson. "Sir, I apologise for my interruption.. but I would love to share what I know on the matter" Athena said, standing up slowly. "Please do" Professor Jameston gestured to the slides on the screen of Sigmund Freud. Athena confidently stepped down the stairs towards the podium. "She's toast.. nobody was told to study Sigmund" she heard a peer mutter. Athena felt incredibly insulted by this comment but shrugged it off. She was the Goddess of Wisdom.. but she couldn't blame the mortal for not being aware of that fact.
Profressor Jameston stood down off the podium, taking a seat in the crowd folding his arms. His focus was up at the screen signalling for her to start when she was ready. His expression said it all.. he did not expect her to do well delivering this speech. Athena stepped up on the podium, shuffling the papers on the professor's desk and looked up at the crowd of eyes staring down at her expecting the same. Her lips turned to a smile as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ears and flicked a laser pointer on at the slide presented.
"Sigmund Freud was never a philosopher however he had great admiration for Franz Brenato and Theodor Lipps. Both philosophers.. Brenato for his theory of perception and Lipps who was a supporter of the ideas surrounding the unconscious and empathy.." she stated, glancing down a moment to press the spacebar on the Professor's computer for the next slide.
"In 1932, Sigmund Freud was giving a lecture on psychoanalysis as a philosophy of life. He made a fine distinction between science and philosophy and can be quoted as saying..." Athena looked up at the ceiling for a second, trying to recall the exact words. She looked back at the crowd of students who were waiting eagerly for her next lines.
"Philosophy is not opposed to science, it behaves itself as if it were a science, and to a certain extent it makes use of the same methods; but it parts company with science, in that it clings to the illusion that it can produce a complete and coherent picture of the universe, though in fact that picture must needs fall to pieces with every new advance in our knowledge. Its methodological error lies in the fact that it over-estimates the epistemological value of our logical operations, and to a certain extent admits the validity of other sources of knowledge, such as intuition"
Athena said, looking back down at the Professor's desk to put on the next slide. She smiled as she glanced up again "Professor would you like to continue your lesson?" she asked. Professor Jameston smiled proudly and started clapping. Soon enough, the room was filled with applause. Athena's face flushed pink as she watched the mortals express praise. It had been a long while since anyone appreciated Athena. It was just a small speech, she never even got to finish..

As class ended, she piled her theory books together with the biggest at the bottom and the smaller books up top. She found it was easy to balance with this method. Grasping her books and carefully watching her step, a fellow student had blocked her way for small talk. "Hey Cassandra, way to go" Her peer Gerald Feigh complimented, putting both his thumbs up. "Ah..thankyou?" she responded, trying to adjust the way the books were supported. Gerald pushed his glasses closer to his eyes. "Here let me help you with that" he offered, putting his hands out to carry the books for her. "No no thankyou" Athena said, moving her books away from him like prized possessions. "I'm fine carrying them myself" she said sharply, nodding then walking off taking small fast steps. From her experience, mortals hardly ever did anything for free or out of the goodness of their hearts. It was sad but true.. for this generation at least.

Out of the building, her eyes scanned the sky in awe. It was nice to be below the heavens looking up rather than being on the heavens looking down for once. This thought soon vanished as she was reminded of the other Gods... and the Titans.

Zeus – Brandon Stone

Olympia (The Electric Company)

His footsteps clapped rhythmically through the lobby, and upon seeing the man dressed in grey, the attendant at the front desk stood from his chair and greeted the company head like an enlisted soldier greeted an officer, “Good Morning, Sir! We haven’t seen you in awhile.”

The businessman beamed, his pearly-white grin, shining with a joyful radiance. “How are you, Mr. Jung? Did your boy ever get accepted to the UC (University of California)?”

“Yes, he did, Sir. He’s majoring in accounting,” Jung replied exuberantly.

Brandon arched a dark brow before he pointed at the attendant and spoke, “You tell your boy that when he’s finished, I’ll be reserving him a place here at this power company if he succeeds.”

“Yes, yes I will, Sir. Thank you!”

Brandon winked. “No problem.”

Before the company head stepped into the elevator, the steel doors rolled open and a young woman stepped out only to stumble in startle upon seeing the boss before the doors. “Oh my, Mr. Stone!” she squeaked as the thin stack of papers in her hands went rocking to the floor. “I was just about to meet you at the door.”

The young woman stooped in her black heels as she began picking up memos and letters that needed to be sent out. “Here, let me help you,” Brandon offered as he set down his suitcase. As he collected papers, he observed the woman curiously. She wasn’t an employee he was familiar with. He handed the stack back to her and rose as she did. “Excuse me, but who are you?”

The secretary blinked her grey eyes from behind black-framed glasses before she said quickly, “Oh yes, I am…” She held her hand out to the man as he took it firmly in his own. “Cynthia Nickels.” She shook his hand and averted her eyes from his deep gaze. She felt blood rush to her cheeks as every time her lips curled into a smile, she’d quickly straighten them again. It was so awkward. He was staring so deeply at her.

Brandon’s chocolate eyes rolled over her outfit. She was wearing a dark-grey suit with a pink undershirt. He could tell just by her suit size that she was an intern. The jacket was too small, revealing a few inches of her wrists and the buttons looked about ready to burst about those C-cups she tried to squeeze within it. Jesus Christ.

“Mr. Stone?” Cynthia called.

The company head released her hand and turned away from her as he brought his fingers beneath the orange-tinted shades on his face to touch the corners of his eyes. “Ugh, I’m sorry, it’s morning,” he muttered.

The secretary smirked in amusement as she watched him play off checking her out. “I’m your new secretary. You have a few phone calls and emails, but besides that nothing else is new.”

Lowering his hand, Brandon bent over to pick up his suitcase once more and then held it out in the direction of the elevator. “Shall we?”

Cynthia turned away from her boss and quietly stepped into the elevator. As Brandon followed behind, he tilted his head, gazing at the skirt that hugged her round bottom. He didn’t know what was with business skirts, but they always made a woman’s ass seem bigger.

Mr. Jung watched as his boss disappeared into the elevator with Cynthia and shook his head. He already knew how this was going to end. If only he had someone to bet cash with.

Inside the elevator…

I’ve been meaning to tell you…

In the elevator, an old 80s song was playing as the car seemed to slowly elevate up the floors. Brandon was gazing straight ahead while Cynthia stood next to him with her clip pad against her lap.

I got this feelin’ that won’t subside…

Cynthia glanced out of the corners of her eyes at her boss, eying his strong jaw. She could smell his aftershave and the soft spice of his cologne. Her eyes darted back to the doors as she waited patiently for them open. She felt so naughty for sneaking a peek at him.

I look at you and I…fa~nta~si~ze…You’re mi~ne to~ni~ght.

Out of her peripherals, she saw his head turn and his dark eyes rove over the side of her face. It made her tense. Did he know she was watching? She swallowed softly, watching as his eyes lowered to stare at her chest. But why? She felt they were well-tucked away.

Reluctantly, her eyes crept down to see that her collar was parted too wide. Her whole ensemble had been too small to begin with, exposing the round tops of her fleshy hills. Her diamond, heart necklace was tucked into her cleavage, twinkling like a crystal that he just wanted to reach in and pluck free.

Now I’ve…go~t you in~my si~ghts.

Cynthia turned her head and felt her heart leap when she met the eyes of the man that had been staring at her. She grasped her shirt collar and folded it over the tops of her breasts as she slowly turned her chest away from his sights. He was holding her gaze in those dashing eyes. The way his dark brows furrowed over them made her breathing deepen.

With…these…hun~gry eyes~

Bing!

The elevator doors rolled open and Brandon stepped out onto his office floor. He had an entire floor to himself at the top of his firm. Cynthia’s desk was outside his large office, waiting for her to take a seat.

Seconds after her employer stepped out, she followed still holding her shirt collar as her cheeks continued to glow in her embarrassment. The whole situation was embarrassing and she didn’t know why it had to happen. Her boss was such a pervert. Silently, she took her seat as Brandon disappeared into his oak-door office. She set down her clipboard and just stared at her desktop. She felt as though her daily routine had been thrown off course. What did she have to do again? She felt so…lost.

Brandon sighed as though expecting work to be uneventful. He hadn’t been in the office for a week. He worked back at the manor, making sure to check his emails daily. Being the head of a monopoly was too easy when all you had to do was meet with managers from the satellite businesses across the nation. He even had a branch in Europe and was hoping to get one in Asia. He opened his suitcase and pulled out his Vaio laptop. He placed it on his desk and moved his suitcase to the floor.

Maybe I should be thinking about dinner tonight. he mused. He grasped his glasses and slid them up to rest upon his head as he stared at his laptop screen, waiting for the damn thing to load up. Rib eye sounds good. Ares enjoys his protein. I’m sure the chef will provide greens for the girls.

Brandon pressed the button on his intercom that linked him to Cynthia’s desk. “Cynthia,” he hailed.

Cynthia jumped, having not expected to hear his voice so soon. “Yes, Mr. Stone?”

“Please get in contact with Hermaine, and tell her that there will be rib-eye for dinner tonight.”

Hermaine? Who was that? His wife? “Yes, Sir,” Cynthia replied weakly. She stared at the intercom box a little disheartened, and then it hummed on once more.

“She’s not my wife.”

Cynthia blushed again. The bastard! ‘Like she cared if he was married or not. She stroked a cinnamon strand behind her ear and got on the phone to contact this, Hermaine.

Brandon grinned playfully. He felt so clever.

"Thanks for the new perfume, Ms. Délovely", a new paid costumer said to a young looking honey blond Avon Lady, "All in a day's work, Ma'am. You have a nice day", she chide in before walking down the steps back to her car. The costumer smiled back at her and told her that she would be buying from Avon more often. With the door closed behind her, the Avon lady walked down leisurely to her new silver Rolls Royce and hopped in quickly. The buxom blond beauty who just sold a new prefume bottle of Curve went by the name of Anette and to make her name sound even more lovely then it already was it was ended with "Faye Délovely". She threw her briefcase on the passenger's side and took a deep breath, "Another fine paid costumer, indeed", she thought, happy to make another satisfied costumer feel like a "beauty" like her....well almost like her.

She smoothed her silken fine hair back and sighed while looking ahead outside her automobile. The street was quiet as she was in a private closed-off neighborhood. She gave the rear-view mirror a tug so it was facing her enchanting mesmerizing face that really liked a mirror gazing at her. She smiled happily to herself knowing she could back that shit up with being the most damn beautiful woman in the whole wide universe. How can a girl like her complain with that? Anette put her keys into the ignition and then put her hand on the gearshift, pulling it down hard. The new engine revved up pretty quickly and Anette was off down the street in high speed; it was as if the tall palm tree's leafs, that were lined up on the street, were blown away by the great affect. She didn't take her time with starting the car up as she wanted to coast down L.A.'s rocky edged roads with great momentum; the car purring like a sex-kitten.

While driving, Anette pushed a button on the dashboard that signaled the hood of the car to skim backwards, giving it an open-view look. She smiled, kind of showing off, as her hair now blew in the wind gracefully. She took a sharp corner down the remote highway and let the car screech with a hissing sound. Anette chuckled softly at the car's vicious attitude towards her as it was moved down the highway with much recklessness. Anette was prone for adventure and it would always come up to her doorstep in a heartbeat; I guess you can say that they were the best of friends, thrilling each other to no end. A lot of people, who didn't know shit about her, saw her as a danger-prone and much careless attitude woman but Anette just went with the adrenaline rush that came to her like lighting. She took her white framed box-shaped designer glasses out of the glove department and quickly adorn her face with them.

To finish her "on-a-whim" look, Anette took one french manicured hand off the steering wheel and unbuttoned her white silk blouse until it showed half of her cleavage. She didn't have to worry about her black pencil skirt because it was hiked up too high for a lot of eyes to wonder upwards. Now her dangerously sexy appearance was complete, all she needed to do was smile for the lensed camera, "Ya gotta love me....", she whispered that sounded much like a hiss coming from her sweet gentle cupid's bow pink lips. As she rounded another rock-edged bend, Anette took off her white neck scarf and let it fluttered in the wind, blowing away into a different direction. Anette then pushed the radio button on the car's mass-media bass stereo and out came loud smooth jazz music that boomed with the wave of the car's exhaust pipe's fumes, trailing behind the car in streaks of mass smoke. This rare of a beauty loved playing around with danger; it was as if she was mating with it like a man, calling it her "new boyfriend".

Not to mention the mouth-watering lust crazed male species but mortal and immortal men alike would never obtain her love, let alone her presence anyway. She would be too hard to catch and loved to be left alone in her own domain. Her standards were too high for their reach and she would always put herself on a risen pedal-stool. It still didn't stop her amusement of them chasing her down on a regular bases; she loved a wannabe stalker and it made her feel so wanted and appreciated because of that all too well known fact. And the haters, not to mention the infuriated bitchy haters, were Anette's favorite "groupies". They boosted her moral and made her feel even more like a goddess because in stone-cold reality, she was....and always would be. The goddess of love, beauty, and desire; who in the fuck wouldn't envy that? "Keep your enemies close and your nemesis' even closer....", Anette would always say as words of wisdom with a sharp witted tongue.

But all of that personality was not sealed with narcissism and carelessness. Anette had a more understanding and gentler side that made her notorious with being befriended by most people; she was always their shoulder when they needed it the most. The people who were number one in her life, like her close friends and relatives, would experience themselves being put first while she was put last. Anette would have an open ear when problems arisen and it mostly would be solved by her affectionate mercy and grace. Enough about that! Anette's white pointed stiletto heel pushed down on the gas pedal even harder making the sliver chrome-plated car zoom down the road insanely. Anette laughed wildly, liking the wind whipping against her flushed cheeks and the car hissing at her occasionally. Anette was glad to be awaken in the new century and she was living life and loving every second of it!

"Blood, the essence of life. O how you flow from wounds open by my blade. Blood, O Blood, thy essence so divine. Wash freely over my my hands; stain them crimson. Blood, O Blood, how I hunger for thy sweet drink." Typhon sighed at the short poetry, his mind, a smile, for the crimson stains upon his hands. Standing slowly, he took in his surroundings, and remembered where he was. A cage, he was in a large chain cage, a one inch ivory colored mat covered the stone flooring beneath him. A large splash of crimson stained the ivory mat, and the iron tang of blood filled the air. Hot white lights assaulted his back, but he did not seem to notice it. His blue spandex suit was torn in many places, thankfully, his privates weren't showing again this night, as he didn't want to embarrass the men around him once more.

Stretching his, somewhat, tired muscles, he arched his back, and howled triumphant. A roar from the gathered crowd beyond the light had answered him, and a man's voice echoed across the room. Staring down at the ground near the crimson pool, he noticed a limp and, obvious, lifeless form in a white leotard. Walking over to the body, he nudged it, flipping it onto it's back. No emotion etched the "Wild Man's" face, but pity had entered his eyes. "You have fought bravely, young warrior," he whispered softly, "May the realm of Hades grant thee Eternal Rest." Walking over towards the cage, he glared out at the shadows of a high balcony, his benefactor's private viewing area. "Release me," he rumbled aloud, his eyes clouded, and many believed that they saw black clouds gather behind them. The cage then began to lift, slowly, of which he became increasingly annoyed.

Gripping the cage, Typhon heaved it higher, lifting it with ease. However, with so many humans watching, he made the impression that it was heavy, and had his muscles bulge. The crowd cheered as he lifted it high above his head, and walked under it. He gave a mental sigh, and rolled his shoulders before heading off to the locker room. Once inside, he was met by a man in a dark suit, who handed his a manila envelope. Taking it gingerly, he shrugged his thanks, and began to walk out the nearest exit. Looking inside the envelope, he found several stacks of bills of Benjamins staring back at him, a small smile had creased his lips. "They want more, ya know," a soft voice pierced his mind, "They want more of their famous 'Wild Man'." The voice chuckled lightly. Looking up, his eyes took in a small female human. Her features marked her as someone born into an Asian family, but her eyes were of the deepest of blues. A rare sight, indeed, and one of many reasons why he allowed her to follow him around.

Dark hair, pale skin, soft features, and saucer sized eyes. "Staring at me again, eh 'Wild Man?'" She laughed as he sighed, "Whatcha make this time? Five K, three K?" Her eyes grew wide as he handed her the envelope, and a whistle escaped her lips. "Wow, Ty," she stared up at him, "Theres about ten K in here."

"That would be about twenty thousand in two banded stacks, Min. Ten percent is yours for the use of your apartment, as we had agreed." Typhon said with an exasperated sigh. He was starting to grow impatient, and pushed her out the door. They had entered an alley way, and began to walk towards the street, when Min asked, "Whats ten percent of twenty K?" Without missing a beat, he replied with, "Two thousand, Min," and when she opened her mouth once more, he sighed, saying, "There is a calculator in your room. I'll show you how to use it later, OK?" She beamed a smile at him, which made him sigh once more.

"Where we headed, Ty?" She asked happily, obvious at the prospect of earning her twenty thousand. Typhon stared down at her, stopping suddenly, and sighed once again. "I am going to see an old friend. You are going back home, and I'll take you out to an expensive restaurant, OK Min?"

"Do I get to pick the spot?" She gave a high pitched squeal of delight when he nodded, and hugged him as hard as she could, which wasn't very hard, and waited patiently as he gave her about five thousand dollars instead of the two thousand he promised her. She squealed once more, shoved the money into her pockets, and dashed out of the alley.

Sighing heavily, Typhon watched as she ran around the corner, and felt the rage within him bubble up into the open. Oh how he wanted to rage on the humans, all of them, for multiple reasons. One of which, was a secret that only a few others knew, but would not speak of, even in private. Making sure that he was alone in the alley, he stared up into the skies above, and shimmered out of focus, whispering, "Iapetus."

'Damn...damn...damn...damn...DAMN!' Mason's thoughts raged in his head as he rode the elevator up Olympia Electricity...or whatever the arrogant sunuvabitch called it. Either way, Mason didn't want to be here, and the part of him known forever as Prometheus was debating whether or not to attempt murder just for kicks. 'No,' he forced rational thinking into his mind. 'If I kill him, the titans win, and I get screwed in the end. I wanna be able to fight with Marines for as long as I can. Killing the leader of the team fighting for humans would be stupid.'

So Mason took a deep breath, avoided touching the scar that had been etched into his abdomen thousands of times by that damned eagle, and checked himself. Zeus didn't like him, he knew, but he probably loved having a double agent that could move around so freely. Half of the reason for the dislike was probably the way Mason dressed. He had his standard Battle Dress Uniform pants, black muscle shirt, and combat vest...but not much else. He wore combat boots and everything besides the shirt matched a general desert cammo theme. Aside from his chains, of course. He looked like a cyberpunk brawler, to be honest. 'Cyberpunk...' Mason thought, amused. 'I love that word.'

Bing

As Mason stepped out, he looked to the secretary, whom he'd known on an associate's level at least, and was surprised to find that the person there was new. 'Damn and damn again,' he thought. "Mason Swagger," he said, half introduction half telling her what to tell Zeus. "Brandon wants to see me about a business transaction. Top priority."

He watched her reaction and mused over how people were so set in their ways. No one could adapt anymore. Humans were supposed to be adaptable. That's what made them so amazing. As a Marine, Mason had been constantly taken off guard, until he got accustomed to it, by how fiercely the soldiers adapted and put themselves into harm's way for their allies. Now that it was a commonplace thing in Mason's life, he'd come back to civilian life, and hated it. 'Where were they when I had to kill that kid?' he thought. 'Why did I have to kill that kid anyway? If another guy would have jumped in and distracted him, or just said something, I wouldn't have had to end him...oh well, Hades is always looking for souls.'

Mason waited patiently, though when he first saw Zeus again he gave him his literally burning 'go to hell' look. Prometheus liked to remind him that he could torch his high horse every now and then, even if he would end up dying in the end. Still, his presence alone said that he had good information about Titan troop movements, locations, or important targets. So it was slightly unlikely that the two would fight...to the death anyway.

Hades – Dmitri Ruslan

On the way to Giovanni’s Italian Ristorante

Of course I'm alright, I've just been at the mall buying certain uhm...items.

Dmitri smirked in amusement as he imagined her blushing over the line. He knew exactly what she was buying, which made him more anxious to ask what specifically. She might have bought them as gifts for herself, but he thought they would be gifts for him too. “I am fine, My Dear.” When she had mentioned Giovanni’s, his smirk stretched into a pleasant smile. “I will be there.” He clapped his phone close, still choosing to use the old technology for encrypted purposes. His golden rings rose to meet the stern eyes of his driver in the rearview mirror. “There’s been a change of plans. I am to meet my wife at Giovanni’s.”

The driver nodded. “Yes, Sir. Shall I call ahead and tell them to proceed without you?”

The millionaire fanned his hand at the man softly. “Of course. Be sure to stop by a flower boutique. I want to pick up a gift.” Flowers were only suitable for the spring beauty. It was how they had first met despite the dark tendencies behind it. Dmitri slid his cell phone into his pocket and closed his eyes, resting them as he thought about seeing his lovely wife. It hadn’t been long since they last woke except he had to leave before dawn even shined its light. She was still asleep, and he hated to leave her side. He wanted her to stay wrapped within his strong arms and her sweet perfume to linger in his nostrils.

“Are you all right, Sir?” the driver questioned. “You seem fatigued.”

“It’s been a long day,” Dmitri replied; and he knew it was about to become longer. His mafia was suspicious of the casino in his territory and though not all of them were secretly minions, he had to play along with the illusion that the Titan’s casino was just competition. He hoped that was all it would be for he wasn’t in the mood for a conflict so soon. If there was to be one, then let it be Zeus’s problem, not his.

Dmitri turned upon the plush seats and laid flat on his back across them. His right arm folded behind his head, while his left hand rested on his stomach. “I am going to rest for awhile. Pick up the bouquet. You know the flowers I always get for her,” he ordered.

“Yes, Sir.”

As the mafia boss decided to nap, the driver had eventually done as he was asked. He stopped by the flower shop, picking out an assortment of flowers that were arranged into a vibrant and healthy bouquet. When he returned to the vehicle, he opened the back door to gaze upon the sleeping boss and smirked softly in amusement. He placed the bouquet upon his stomach as though the man were a cadaver awaiting a funeral. The driver then closed the door and hopped back into the car to continue onto Giovanni’s.

Giovanni’s.

The driver stood outside the Ford as he awaited the presence of Ms. Winters. He knew she would find him and more than likely recognize the vehicle he stood before. Hopefully, she wouldn’t find a sleeping Dmitri within. He had let him sleep longer than he might have wanted to, but he was never given an order to wake him. He actually sympathized with the man for he knew how hard he worked. The day was still not complete.

Zeus – Brandon Stone

Olympia (The Electric Company)

Cynthia had called Hermaine and told her of the evening dinner arrangements. She still didn’t know who the girl was, but she sounded too young to be any lover of Mr. Stone’s, unless, he was into young girls. He was a pervert after all. The secretary was on Facebook and scraping a nail filer along her nails when the elevator sang, and a strange man emerged. He was dressed like a soldier, and as she tilted her head in confusion, he had been quick to introduce himself as Mason Swagger. Swagger was an odd last name. Hesitant at first, Cynthia slowly stretched her hand over to the phone’s intercom on her desk and held down a button, “Mr. Stone?”

Brandon had folded pieces of paper into the shapes of paper llamas and was stacking them in a cheerleading tower before his laptop. He had one more to place on top as he leaned close to the base of the llama pyramid and carefully inched the final llama toward the top. He held his breath. His brows were knitted and his eyes tense with focus. When Cynthia’s voice suddenly barked over the intercom, his breath shot from his lips to send the paper llamas spiraling in a tiny typhoon to the floor.

“Argh!” Brandon cursed before he dropped his fist upon the desktop. The llama was crushed within his clutches before he released its wrinkled form to tumble along with the others to the floor. Sighing in exasperation, Brandon pressed the speaker on his phone and spoke with the most pleasant voice he could muster in his annoyance, “Yes, Ms. Nickels?”

Cynthia hesitated to press the button as she took in the sound of his voice. She could hear through the facetious mask that she had annoyed him. He must have been working pretty hard. She informed, “There is a man here named Mason Swagger. He says that you have a business transaction with him.”

Brandon frowned before his eyes glanced off to the side in thought. He searched through his memory bin, pulling out crumpled memories and smoothing them out with his fist as he tried to recall ever making an appointment with a Mason Swagger. What kind of last name was Swagger? His eyes slowly lowered to his computer screen that had a rather erotic screensaver of a woman weighing her breasts in her hands. He slid his finger over the touch pad to make the screensaver dissolve and gazed at all the emails in his inbox that he had yet to read and respond to. Maybe Swagger had been one of those neglected emails?

Ah well, he thought. Brandon pressed the speaker again as he said, “Send him in.”

Cynthia drew her hand back and as though Mason were deaf, she informed, “Mr. Stone shall see you now.”

As soon as the soldier stepped through his doors, the feeling Brandon got from the man brought a hot rage to his flesh. The lamps in the office began to flicker and the quiet boom of a distant storm, perhaps a mile away, shook the building with its vibrations. After Mason had closed the door to the office, Cynthia gazed outside, seeing the sun was shining but some dark clouds had suddenly gathered in the distance.

“Darn, I hope it doesn’t come here. I didn’t even bring my umbrella,” she grumbled.

Brandon’s eyes had turned pure white and tiny branches of electricity licked like serpent tongues from them. “You have some balls coming here,” he growled. He then rose ominously from his chair to gaze upon the Titan in disguise. “Hopefully you didn’t come alone. I’d love to send your brethren back to Tartarus. You should have stayed hidden you traitorous dog. I wouldn’t mind chaining you back to that rock in the middle of the ocean after you stole from the gods and cursed the humans with not only creation but destruction!”

Cynthia returned to her Facebook as she didn’t hear the conversation that went on in the boss’s office. He and Mason could have been as loud as they wanted to be and she wouldn’t have heard for Brandon had sealed the sound within it.

After the morning run, the day went on as usual. First a shower, then a healthy meal of fruits and vegetables - she preferred eating anything that she'd made grow on the earth and animals weren't one of those - before heading out of the house to her job. Demi herself wasn't a big fan of where she worked nor the motives of the company. But it payed nicely and it was better to do something productive instead of sitting around all day while waiting for her afternoon job began. When done with the two hour morning job, she would head to the self proclaimed Southern Grill to serve as a bar tender and waitress. It was fairly relaxing and had fair pay, and it was somewhere she could go to escape the other gods and all their mayhem.

The brunette pressed through the front door of Fabulous, a new modeling company that was becoming rather well-known in this area. Immediately she was swarmed by the many hairdressers and stylists of the center (aka, all hopeless girls who wouldn't get anywhere in life with the skills they believed they had). Truthfully, Demi hadn't come to become one of the models at the company by her own want. A friend of hers who worked there as a model, a nymph, had been showing off photos of them at some lame party they'd gone to several nights before. The manager had immediately called her up and insisted upon hiring her. She had fought, being the hard-to-get goddess she was known to be (only Zeus had ever gotten past that and now their daughter was married to the devil) but was eventually overthrown as she began having troubles keeping her house on just the pay of a waitress.

Demi allowed the girls to pull her into the back room and prepare her for the daily shoots. Her lips remained in a tight line and her hazel eyes cold as makeup was applied and hair was tugged. Gods, I must be a fool to have ever woken from that slumber, she thought disdainfully. She obediently pulled on a restricting dark brown, almost black dress and then headed into the back room. Flashes and snaps blinded her as cameras snapped pictures of other higher models. Humans and their lust, she grumbled to herself before stumbling to one of the white canvases.

It didn't take long to take the pictures, but it felt like eternity to her. Though she smiled her dashing smile, there was a cold frown piercing in her eyes. As soon as they were done she marched off, kicking off the heels and storming into the dressing room. She shook out her hair and dressed into her more comfortable clothes (a white tank and light pink booty shorts). It was her normal attire, but she dressed for comfort, not to be unique or look beautiful. Demi pushed through the crowds of admirers in the front lobby, applied her shades, and somehow managed to get outside without having to kill someone. Aphrodite should replace me. I'll have to talk to her about it, she thought as she pressed down the street, black converse almost making no sound despite her hasty pace. Maybe I'll skip work tonight and visit everyone...

Outside of Beverly Center Shopping Mall:


" Be to her, Persephone,
All the things I might not be;
Take her head upon your knee.
She that was so proud and wild,
Flippant, arrogant and free,
She that had no need of me,
Is a little lonely child
Lost in Hell,—Persephone,
Take her head upon your knee;
Say to her, “My dear, my dear,
It is not so dreadful here.”

Coeus let out a dark chuckle as he whispered the words. How silly Hades was to have allowed her outside of the little cage he had placed her in so many years ago. Her human form was just as tempting as her true form how could he think no man or Titan for the matter wouldn't want her? He had been following her for quite some time now, right after Hades had come out of the Underworld with his dainty bride.
"Foolish foolish deathly God. To allow a precious flower to grown and blossom unguarded will invite dangerous bees to test her nectar." His tanned rough hands moved down into his pants pockets, seeming to be looking for something. He pulled out a small watch and looked at it. It was nearly dinner time. His ears perked up as he listened to Persephone or rather her human name...Willow speak to her driver."Angus, can you be a dear and take me to Giovanni's? I am starving." Giovanni's. He knew the place quite well .
He rummaged once more in his jeans, and then let out a delighted "Ah-hah!" when he had found his Droid phone."Successful!" He inputted a few numbers before placing the phone close to his left ear, the sound of a dial tone going once...twice...three times before a grumpy man's voice answered."What?" Coeus raised an eyebrow and then let out a chuckle."Good evening to you as well Mr. Morgan, so kind of you to speak like this to your boss."Silence. Possibly the man was contemplating about whether he would live or die tomorrow."I apologize sir, I have a bit of a headache and..". Coeus cut him off.
"I don't care about your headache that was more than likely your own damn fault for drinking. I need you to follow someone for me.""Uhm...alright sir who is it you need me to follow?" Not it was Coeus's turn to pause."I need you to follow a Willow Winters. She looks to be in her 20's, probably five five, or five six.
Blondish brown hair with green eyes. She will be in a black Mercedes and will be heading towards Giovanni's restaurant in possibly 10 or so minutes. Don't be late."
Coeus shut his phone off and placed it back inside of his pocket. A wide grin spread across his tanned and scared face."Forbidden fruit is always the sweetest."

Persephone laid back inside of the vehicle, her head resting against the leather seats. Usually she preferred walking anywhere finding most vehicles odd and noisy. Today she was simply a bit too tired to protest with anyone about driving. As Angus drove (quite fast , and certainly over the speed limit) Persephone let out a small sigh. She liked being out of the Underworld. It was refreshing and something she looked forward too.
She missed her Mother, the other Gods, and the way the wind felt on her skin. Dmitri was always so upset whenever their six months together came to an end.

His dark eyes glazing over in both anger and sadness whenever she walked up those stone steps and back into the light of Earth. Truly she did love the man, even when he was in one of his "moods". His jealousy let her know that he loved her and wanted no one else to have her. His anger let her know that he was worried about her, and his sadness let her know that he would miss her.

She smiled as she thought of him and then was jerked back into reality when Angus slammed on the brakes."Were here Miss!" He said letting out a jovial laugh while stepping out of the vehicle to open the door for her. She shook her head and several strands of hair made their way over her face. She rolled her eyes at Angus and then stepped out of the car.


She noticed the familiar car and driver outside of the restaurant. A small chuckle escaped her pink lips and she shook her head as she walked towards it. She waved at the driver whose name escaped her, and walked briskly over to him."Where is Dmitri? Or did he send you to dine in his place?"She said flashing him one of her breath-taking smiles. The driver shook his head and laughed."We'll Miss actually he's..."He gave a small nod towards the car and Persephone chuckled quietly."Is he asleep again? That man works so hard. He's only..." She paused, about to say "He's only human" which was half true at the moment. Just your average God taking human form for a bit.


"Oh Miss he did buy you these though." The driver revealed the set of beautifully arranged flowers. Lilies and daisies. Her favorites of course. She reached a hand out and took the flowers from him, pressing her face close to the petals of one of the lilies."They smell wonderful. I shall have to thank him." Before the driver could say anything else Persephone stepped quietly towards the back of the car, opening the door just as silently and moved carefully inside of the car.

His black hair was pushed away from his hazel eyes, and his jaw was set tightly as if he was dreaming of something. She smiled and reached forward stroking his tanned cheek with the back of her pale hand. The contrast of his dark skin and her ivory colored skin was much like them.
He was the darkness and she was the light. They needed each other .

She sat still beside him and slowly began humming. She would allow him to sleep and to relax after a more than likely hard day at work. After all they were immortal.

Athena walked to the college parking lot still carrying her pile of theory books from philosophy class. "Hmm?" she turned around and caught sight of the sun still shining as always in the sky.. yet there were dark clouds starting to appear and gather. "Father must be mad at something.. again" she concluded, shaking her head as she flung open her car door and rushedly shoved the textbooks in the back seat. She opened the driver's door and stepped in attempting to sit herself comfortably. The attempt was futile. She moved a lot in the car seat trying to position herself in a manner that was suitable but it was rather awkward even after all those years of experiencing mortal living.
Much of the human ways had changed. She grasped the rough black steering wheel and frowned, leaning her head against it and closing her eyes.
Much had changed since the slumber of the Gods.
She opened her eyes again and started the car engine. The world is no longer the way it was.. that is certain. She reversed the car with ease as she drove straight for home. She had to drop off her things and go to work. She stared at the now mortal world... the parks, the animals.. the buildings. It was all so different now. Part of Athena was proud of the way the humans evolved.. another side of her was sad.
She could hear the beating of her heart slow down in pace as her vehicle came to a halt at a red traffic light. It is a joyful thing that the humans have discovered methods to make labour simple and efficient however... She looked in the car's side view mirror and observed the line of cars behind her.
However... what happened to good ol' labour? Technology is creating a new world where machines do the work for them in a matter of seconds like that computer clicking.. is this not a negative turn? she thought. What happened to the distaff to spin fibers..and the use of aegis and spears for battle! Now they use atomic bombs that kill hundreds of people? Where is the dignity in that when they don't even set foot onto the battleground! She shook her head.
It is simply unnatural! she reasoned, slamming a fist onto the center of the steering wheel causing a loud..
BEEP! BEEP!
She heard mortals screaming from the cars behind her, cursing. The horn had angered them especially since the light had turned green and her vehicle had not moved an inch.
She stepped on the gas startled as her vehicle lurched away from the scene. She sighed to herself, wondering if anyone was home.
It is a lonely role sometimes to be the Goddess of Wisdom.. I am always expected to know the most of anything. Who do I have left to talk to..?

Hera

Hera glanced up towards the sunny sky, watching as several black clouds moved together."Someone's obviously upset. Wonder what's wrong with him." Hera stretched her arms up and wagged her fingers in the air. It was then she heard a conversation from an arguing couple nearby. Hera's ears picked it up and she turned her head to the side where she could better see where the arguing was coming from. A tall tattoo covered bald man was currently yelling at a shorter semi-attractive blond woman.

"My fault? How the fuck is it my fault?" The man yelled, causing several bystanders to jump and even one to spill his coffee.
"So that girl came on to you right? She just walked on by and said"HEY! Why don't you jump into my pants and see what's going on down there!" This statement caused a serious amount of group blushing from the now large group of bystanders huddled around the couple.

"Listen I said I was sorry even though I didn't even do anything. What the hell more do you want from me huh?!" Hera actually felt slightly sorry for the man seeing as how he looked close to tears, and the fact several veins looked close to popping from his head.

"Time to work some of my magic I suppose. " Hera jumped off the bench and straightened her self up before marching over to the couple. She pushed through several people (and one child) before finally standing forward in front of the couple.

"Pardon me for saying this but I do believe your situation." Both the man and woman turned and looked at Hera. The man looked up and down at her and his mouth slightly dropped once he took fully took notice of her. The woman's reaction was one of confusion and displeasure.

"Listen lady I think it's best if you ba-." Hera didn't give the woman a chance to continue, instead she lightly touched her purple ring and then placed an hand lightly on the woman's shoulder.

"Men are idiots, which is why women need to learn to be more forgiving."Hera herself didn't always follow this personal rule but it usually worked well for the people she helped. The woman's body language completely changed as Hera's soothing voice filled her ears. The woman slowly relaxed and a small smile was now spread across the woman's face.

The man now stood quietly, simply watching as his wife(or girlfriend Hera wasn't completely sure) stood smiling up at Hera."Uhm not to be rude Miss but.." Hera then turned towards the man and smiled, her flawless white teeth shining brightly . Her dark blue eyes sparkled at the man and she nodded."Women can be harsh, but men must also learn to deal with such things. She is only jealous and angry because she loves you so much." Hera lifted the hand she had on the woman and now placed it on the bald mans shoulder. His posture and expression changed to match his companions.

"Now isn't that better." As Hera stepped back and watched the two people embrace each other she was greeted to the sounds of clapping. Her audience had clearly liked her little "performance" and one man even stepped out from the crowd to speak with her.

"I'm Marcus Masterson. I run L.A Pulse T.V network and I was wondering ...have you ever worked in television before?"
Hera raised an eyebrow and shook her head."No I haven't why do you ask ?" The man smiled and then stepped back as if appraising her, like a farmer would before purchasing a cow.

"I think I might have found our new talks show host for the segment "Marriage: Heaven or Hell."
This was going to be a loooooooooong day.

Mason ignored Zeus's rage. He pulled something from his pocket and flung it to the table. It was a tooth. A fang, to be more precise. It was as long as Mason's considerably large hand was from palm to fingertip, and looked like it was stained with blood. "The Hydra has been pinned down for the time being. That's one of the fangs that cut through my chest during the fight. Its heads haven't multiplied, but it's still alive and royally pissed off now. I also downed a group of Gorgons gaining numbers and power near the southern boarder of the state. You may also wish to be aware that a few harpies have been stalking around the city. Saw them on the way here. Didn't engage."

Now Prometheus looked Zeus in the eye and let himself burst into flame. "Let me be clear, you arrogant bastard. I don't give a rat's ass about you or any other god, but I do care about the humans I fought and stole for. If you live, so do they, end of story. I offer my considerable help as a soldier and as a double agent. Iapetus doesn't know I'm here, and because of a few assorted devices of concielment he never will. I'm a ghost to both worlds, and you need me."

Prometheus took a breath, closing his eyes. "I don't expect you to like me, but I do expect you to use this. Suck up your pride for once, like everyone else on the planet."

This was dangerous, Prometheus knew. If he didn't say exactly the right thing, ride on the line of uncomfotable partnership and full out raging warfare, he would either fall under Zeus's wing again or cause him to strike. A gamble. 'Good thing I've become a lucky bastard,' Prometheus thought. He didn't smile at the amusing thought. That would anger Zeus more. But he did keep eye contact. 'Not afraid, even against a force that can end the world...Oorah."

The car was the fastest most durable vehicle down the highway. The people, or should I say, mortals, who's hair blew in the wind by the momentum of the car, looked in awe as well as mortified. They never saw a car zip so fast pass them with much ease and grace. Anette's car was so fast that it looked like it was floating in midair. Anette just smirked at the dumbstruck look on people's faces as they tried to recollect with what just went by them. Anette stepped on the gas pedal once more and the car roared, screaming like a bunch of angry large cat-like beasts who were being barred in cages.

The day so far for Anette was amusing and she couldn't wait to cap it off with an evening with the gods. They were a colorful bunch; spanning with different unique qualities that made them so infinite and great. She was very proud to call them her family. No one, and I mean no one, could ever reach their fanatical potential that they all so show off. Anette took her hands off the steering wheel and put the car on cruise-control.

She sat back in her seat and rummaged in her pink D&G tote for her make-up bag. It was surprising to see that she didn't crash into anything as the car's wheel miraculously steered itself without extra help. She got her make-up and took out her pink tint lip-gloss. Anette put her eyes onto the rear-view mirror and applied a light coat on her already soft pouty lips, "Good girl, keep steering for me....", Anette silently cheered the Rolls Royce as she threw her lip-stained tub back in her bag.

Anette then pulled out her compact blush applicator and smoothed a light rouge coloring onto her cheeks. To finish the "angelic" touch, she put hot pink eyeliner around her eyes, making her lavender glass-orb irises pop out. After she applied the rest of her make-up and sashayed her shades back on, she snapped her slender finger and instantly was parked in a remote parking-lot near the L.A. beach. People who was there when that mysterious event happened could never explain to tell the tale about how Anette disappeared on the highway so suddenly, "That will give the humans something to ponder about", she thought amused as she stepped foot out of her car.

To make the walk more comfortable and relaxing, Anette took off her white stilettos and tossed them in the back of her vehicle. She then slammed the door and started treading on the beach. The sand felt warm against her feet and she loved the feel of the ocean humming quietly to her. The tides reseeded back and forth, occasionally tickling Anette's small slender pedicured feet. She let out a long sigh and took a long drag of breathing, "Mmmm....serene, I say", she delightedly moaned as her hair blew in the wind softly.

She had to be back at the Pegasus manor before the evening was threw so she tried to spend as much quality time alone with herself. She had enough of people at her job, at photo-shoots, at online school, and at home breathing down her neck, worrying her with new problems that she had to tackle down. All she wanted to do was take it easy and relax; not be so hype over too many "massive" issues. She stopped in her sandy tracks and turned her body towards the sea, embracing the god, Poseidon's, splendors of the ocean. "Uncle Poseidon did a glamorous job with this one", she admired to herself while she smoothed her hair back nonchalantly.

Hades – Dmitri Ruslan

Giovanni’s Italian Ristorante

At Willow’s gentle touch, Dmitri’s eyes opened to gaze up into her sea foam-green eyes and his dark brows pinched together as he narrowed his eyes at her in surprise. She was already here? With a soft breath taken in through his nostrils, the mafia boss sat up in the seat, sliding back into the corner feeling embarrassed and slightly angry that Bernard hadn’t woke him. “How long have you been here?” he questioned groggily. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and then tossed all his previous emotions aside. His love was here now. “Did you enjoy my gift?”

Bernard had crept around the back of the Ford to gaze at the open door that Ms. Winters had climbed through. Seeing her and his boss together was quite a breath of fresh air. He knew how much he loved her, and it made him wonder if he too would find a girl in the future that he could love in such a way.

“You look beautiful,” Dmitri complimented as he lightly brushed his rough fingers across her neck and leaned forward to take a kiss from her sweet lips. He sipped from her love as though it was the sweetest nectar. He would have savored her more, but he didn’t wish to embarrass her in public for he cared not what others thought of their love. He would have taken her in the car, in a corner, anywhere that satisfied his lust for her.

Dmitri licked his lips as he pulled back resisting his urges as he reminded, “We should head inside.”

Persephone smiled when he awoke. He asked her how long she had been here and she shook her head chuckling."Not very long love, but long enough to note that my husband works too much."

"Did you enjoy my gift?" He asked in a groggy fashion. She practically beamed when she looked down at the flowers she had placed next to both of them, now picking them back up to once more inhale their sweet scent.

"I loved them! I had just been thinking about ho-" She was unable to speak as his lips moved against hers and quieted her angelic voice. She knew how passionate he was towards her and it filled her up with even more happiness then she ever thought she could bear. She kissed him back softly and then smiled as he pulled back from her.

"We should head inside now." A statement rather than a question. She chuckled because she knew if they lingered the car that they were currently in might have been ruined by the next day.
"Of course..." She stepped out and waited for him to escort her as he usually did inside the restaurant.

As she was waiting she took notice of a rather thin pale man with a camera taking pictures of either Persephone or of Hades. The man was wearing a black ball cat and had sunglasses on.
"How odd..." She muttered under her breath .

“Wind speed: fifteen kilometers an hour; direction south-south east,” said his spotter. He himself made the appropriate adjustments to compensate. “Target within 200 meters and remaining stationary,” his spotter added.

“I have a shot,” he stated. His aim was at the man’s abdomen through the window in a building a ways away from their position on a nearby rooftop. No witnesses. Ares took deep breaths to steady himself as he looked through the scope, and in a silent instant the man behind the window fell onto desk, blood leaking where Ares intended the shot. “That’s it lets go.”

All evidence of his and his spotter’s presence on the roof was quickly gone, any investigation would turn up fruitless; they didn’t exist after all. The contract for his “father”-he uses the term loosely-was now complete, but Ares didn’t enjoy one bit of it, especially not from a sniper rifle. Guns were fine, but silenced and so far away from his quarry? It gave no thrill; it was too easy, too quick, and too clean for his taste. Better were the days when you could look into the eyes of another as you took his life, establishing your dominance directly. But that was the world today, so impersonal.

He would be lying however if he wasn’t in awe of the advancements in warfare and weaponry. It was unfair to him having missed it all, how rapidly things had come to past, especially in the twentieth century.

Two world wars. Two wars that were so vast and influential that they concerned every corner of the globe, and with the second’s finally spawned for decades to come an arms race with weapons so devastating, it was feared by all that it would be catastrophic to all mankind.

That, to Ares, was power, an admirable achievement of man that was only rivaled by their traveling beyond the stars. If he wanted, he could summon such a weapon and end this conflict between them and the Titans, but that was of course detrimentally unfavorable for the people he had come to admire and wished to protect from these older gods. And there was no telling what such a summoning on that scale would do to him; he was an immortal sure, but what if such a device was more powerful than his and his brethren’s divinity? The power of the cosmos itself literally radiated from it.

Ares and his accomplice were already long gone from the scene before anyone would find the body, and they drove to his accomplice’s home, an old unnoticeable apartment building here in L.A. They exchanged few words with each other and they simply parted ways from there.

Ares had many partners for his contracts which ranged from intimidation, to hits like the one he just made, and all of them from his own private “guild” which he had formed, picking up people with combat training or served in armed forces. They had no name yet, but the way Ares saw it these were the first soldiers in his army. The contracts he completed were merely a means to an end, and the end was the end of the Titans. Most of the money went into either recruiting new members of buying weapons, some of which aren’t exactly “legal”; they would need every advantage they could get anyway.

He reached his own home, no better than his partner’s in anyway; a small, cramped room with a few “bells and whistles” in the closet. He proceeded to wash himself over the sink, wiping off the sweat from his brow. He gazed at himself in the mirror, shirtless. Same chocolate eyes, same short dark hair, same chiseled body scarless body that was always there since before the great slumber. Unremarkable in this form save for his height and visible muscles, at least unremarkable to his eyes in comparison to his more commanding presence.

One thing that bothered him the most had little to do with the new world, and more with how his brethren participated in it. That is to say they were participating in it. While he was out forming practical ranks what were the other doing? Gallivanting like they always did, they most certainly hadn’t changed upon awakening. Zeus was still sitting on his ass making orders while he got other his “employees” to render other services, Hera was still putting up with it, his half-sister Athena was trying to be “normal” attending classes that didn’t even have anything to do with tactical warfare that she boasted having so much knowledge for. Hades was the closest person with something close to an arms force, but they were all just thugs, not soldiers.

Was the god of war the only one actually preparing for it? Was he the only one among them taking the responsibility that was humanity’s survival in his own hands? It sure seemed that way.

If only he and his ranks were the one thing truly standing between humanity and its destruction with no help from his brethren, then so be it.

They would only weigh him down with their petty habits anyway.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

He finished as he felt the flesh in his mouth slide down his throat, still warm. He welcomed the euphoria it brought almost with reverence. A few feet away from him in the corner was the near unrecognizable carcass of someone who was once a beautiful young woman, now defiled in ways that out of decency for the mind shall not be disclosed. Decency of course was a concept that was never present in this “man”, to him it was but an illusion such as many illusions that people seemed to embrace.

Concepts such morality, code, honor was complete bullshit invented by his children and their children. The beliefs that one had control over their lives or that they held any special purpose was complete fantasy for he knew the truth: the universe was chaos incarnate, no more.

When he ruled there was no such thing as wrong or right, everyone did what they wanted with no consequence; “The Golden Age” as he called it. But his sons and daughters overthrew and imprisoned him, for the crime of doing what he wished. It was they who created morals not he, the greatest lie in the world.

But soon, very soon they will get their comeuppance. He will devour them all, and restore the cosmos as he intended it. The only reason why he hadn’t flushed them out yet was to let the other Titans have their fun first.

A wry smile formed on his lips, stretching from ear to ear, and taking his knife to his face he licked the fluid residue on it. This knife, the very same one which he used in one of the most glorious and satisfying moments of his life; the castration of Uranus his father. To him every stoke he made with it on another’s flesh was like reliving that moment again and again, displaying his dominance as he took apart and devoured them piece by piece.

He knew that Zeus’ flesh by far would be the sweetest.

"Iapetus, I do not like this. They should have stayed in New York, but now," Typhon shrugged. He stood on a sandy shore in Santa Monica, and stared out at the rolling waves. A storm would be coming soon, but what would the humans do? Panic? Most likely. He was positive that the humans' military would be called in to deal with them, and he also knew that they would all die. "I had thought that they would have left us be, and not harass us after we left Greece, guess that "agreement" is over." Again, he shrugged, and tapped the bluetooth earpiece in his right ear. Even though the earpiece was broken, he did not enjoy the prospect of being marked as "crazy" to the general public for talking aloud, and to himself.

When cell phones had first come out, he was absolutely thrilled. Because he could then talk aloud, and seemingly, in to the bulky cell phone. As the years had past, and the cell phones became increasingly smaller, until the bluetooth earpiece was established, he could be found walking, sitting, or standing still, speaking into a cell phone for a while. Now, he just places the earpiece securely into his right ear, and speaks aloud, uncaring about those around him. He gave a mental chuckle when the humans in white coats had tried to take him away. He had to disappear for a while, and change his identity for the millionth time, because of the many bodies which lined the morgue's walls. 'Stupidity. Thy name is Humanity.'

"Olympia, huh?" Typhon stared off towards the direction of the building, "Guess I'll just have to make things interesting soon." He sighed, and turned his direction towards Chinatown. "Chimera has grown up quite a bit since you last saw her, Iapetus. She will be happy to see you again." He was about to speak more, when he noticed that a group of men of Mexican decent had surrounded him. "Sorry brother, but it seems that I have some unwanted company, and must address them properly." He reached up and lightly tapped the earpiece, as though he were turning it off, and turned towards the head of the group.

'What can I do for you?" He asked slowly, a small smile, and a glint in his eyes spoke of the madness of battle soon to come. "Your money or your life, puto," a skinny bald man came forward. He wore a white T-shirt, baggy black pants, with his boxers protruding out, along with a pair of Nike sneakers. His head was shaved bald, and he wore a short goatee upon his face. Tattoos adorned his exposed arms, and a Rolex, or an imitation, was strapped to his right wrist. When he didn't respond to the obvious gang member, the man turned, shrugged at his friends, and spun back around with a switch blade in his hands. The man charged at him, but vanished quite suddenly, as the sound of thunder echoed around them.

The madness had taken over Typhon once more, his eyes were dark and thunderous, fangs began to grow from his mouth, and the glow of a red and orange fire erupted from behind his fangs. The other gang members didn't know what to think, and several of them began to run, screaming in their foreign language. Unfortunately, large serpents erupted from his hands, and lashed out at the fleeing men, wrapping around them tightly. The sounds of bones crushing could be heard, and the smell of fresh urine was strong in the air, almost completely masking the scent of blood. "Cronos will enjoy tormenting you," he grinned ever wider, as his body began to stretch and grow. Serpents began to erupt from his arms and legs, and two gang members died from the frightening sight of him, while one of their members' minds had broke, and began to scream like a small child.

Frowning, he lifted one of his serpent-like legs, and squashed the screaming human, reveling in the scent of blood that filled the air. He noticed that one of them had begun to call out for help to the people that walked past them on the streets. His cries fell on deaf ears, for Typhon would not allow the humans to see him just yet. However, he knew that the Olympians would soon take notice of his presence, if they haven't already. "The Great Father will enjoy feasting upon your flesh," his voice boomed, and watched as it blasted the remaining four to their knees. Reaching down, he gripped the four pleading and piss soaked humans, and enveloped them in his destructive energies, blasting them towards where ever Cronos may be. "A gift," he whispered, "Of greater flesh soon to come."

Turning towards the Olympia building, Typhon drew a deep breath, and howled his rage and frustration at it, knowing that only a few would take notice to his invisible cry. He soon began to shrink after his cry, and began to calm down as well. He sighed softly, and relaxed his body, easing it back into the muscular form of his human body. "Soon," he whispered, "Soon, our war will begin anew, and this time," a slight chuckle escaped his lips, as the madness receded to the back of his mind, "Zeus will fall completely."

As his body settled, and his mind cleared, Typhon smiled softly, and shimmered out of sight once more. He left no evidence of his passing, save for a pair of foot impressions in the sand, but that, too, vanished as well. Because the tide had begun to come in, and washed it away.