by Gideon Mills
The sexy redhead nodded. “She’s my intel person. The one that gets me to the right places to help others.”
“That is really cool,” I said. “I’d love to have a team. Been thinking about joining a team.”
I looked at the two with hopeful eyes. Lola winked at me, but Fleur ignored me. I’d get her to accept me. I knew it. Just a matter of time; I already had Lola on my side. That much was clear.
“Teams are great,” Fleur said. “So you said Eris, the God of Strife or whatever, is here. I believe you.”
“She’s here,” I said. “We arrived together. It’s my fault, and I’ve been trying to find her. A friend tracked her to Hell’s Kitchen, but I’m not sure if she is still there or not.”
“She’s not,” Lola said. “She was there, but not anymore. Tracked her to Jackson Heights, but she’s been moving around, doing a lot of little things.”
“That’s her skill, her trick. If you add up enough little things, you get a war. That was her greatest trick. She has that ability to do just the right small thing to cause war.”
“Well. she is about to start one,” Fleur said. “The city has been battling itself, what with the Paragons fighting, and then you add in the gangs, the old-school mafia. We are on the brink of a full-scale battle between them all.”
I closed my eyes. This was modern warfare, and I could feel the power surge through me. The intensity of all that fighting and violence. All those deaths. It would bring me to life.
I let out a sigh. “We can’t allow that. I don’t know why, but I feel like we are on the edge of something big.”
Fleur looked at me with a surprised look. “I have that same feeling, but first, this Eris.”
“We’ll find her,” I said. “The three of us can work together and find her.”
Lola walked over to me and slapped me on the butt. “We sure can, big guy. And finally, I get some eye candy.”
Fleur groaned. “Ares isn’t a toy.”
“I could be,” I teased.
Fleur groaned. “Please, can we not talk about your sexual desires, and focus on saving my city.”
I winked at Lola and nodded. “We can. Let me get dressed.”
13
Homebase
After I dressed in what I guessed was going to be my superhero costume, I joined the women. It was just my old Greek war armor, but many found it to be intimidating and I went with it. It helped bring home the point that I was a God.
Fleur and Lola had been talking out in my tiny living room. “This place isn’t secure,” Fleur said. “Against my better judgement, Lola wants to bring you to our base of operations.”
I smiled. “I’m going to the inner sanctum. Nice.”
Lola giggled, but Fleur gave me a dirty look. There was no winning with her, but that was okay. Even Aphrodite took a little bit to win over. Not that I ever fully won her. That fool of Craftsman and Fire God has Aphrodite. How he stole her heart, I’ll never know, but I have to accept that. It's not like she was the only one that I have been with, but still.
I’ll win over Fleur. The gorgeous redhead will learn I’m not a jerk. That I have a heart of gold. That was the key, and I knew it. I could get her. While I show her what I can be, I had Lola. At least, I was reasonably certain I did.
“Slow down, cowboy,” Fleur said. “You seem too eager to see it.”
I laughed. “I’m always eager. You’ll learn that about me. I aim to please, and am easily pleased.”
“See,” Lola said. “He’s just a big kid.”
It was my turn to glare and give a dirty look. No man liked to be called a big kid. We think with our little head more than we should, and act before we think. That didn’t mean we were kids.
Lola smirked. “Let’s go.”
The hacker was up and leaving my apartment. I looked to Fleur for whether I should follow, and she groaned and gestured for me to join them. I walked out and saw a bright red convertible. One that was way too nice for this part of town. It stood out like a sore thumb and looked way too cramped for all three of us.
“Nice ride,” I said.
“As much as she says she doesn’t like flashy,” Lola said. “Fleur likes to show off.”
She sure did, and not just with her car. That outfit she had on screamed “Look at me, I’m confident, and I’ll kick your fucking ass if you dare touch me.” It was part of her appeal; the confidence she oozed, and the beauty.
Fleur and Lola took the front seats, and I looked at the rear. Even with the top down I wasn’t going to fit well. It was a bright sunny morning. “I’ll follow you.”
They both looked at me. “Do you have a car?” Lola asked.
“No,” I admitted. “Been thinking about getting a motorcycle. Maybe a Honda CBR1000RR.”
Lola tilted her head. “That’s a fast bike, making up for something?”
“Hardly,” I said. “I just like fast bikes. And I don’t need it. Drive, I’ll be able to keep up.”
Both gave me quizzical looks but didn’t question it. One would think that with Paragons that had superspeed, flight, and teleportation, they wouldn’t be surprised. I’d been reading the magazine more. I went to the library and read many of the back issues.
When I got back to Mount Olympus I was going to need to talk to Hermes, who was the closest we had to a God of Reading. Maybe that needed to be fixed. Wonder how my father would take to that.
Since this was New York City, it was easy to keep up with the girls. Traffic was as heavy as usual. The red car weaved through the city, taking a roundabout way to the location. I wasn’t sure if that was to confuse me or to make sure we weren’t being followed.
Either way, I was able to maintain my pace. One of the benefits of being a God was that I had nearly unlimited stamina. If I were in a game, I’d be one of people’s favorite characters as I wouldn’t continuously need to pop potions or whatever the game has for stamina.
Two hours later, we arrived at an industrial building that didn’t look like much from the outside, but knowing what little I did about Fleur I had little doubt this was a state-of-the-art place.
“That was fun,” I said.
Lola was the first one out of the car and headed to a door. There was a keypad next to it; Lola didn’t enter a code but bent in front of it. It was an iris scanner. Like I thought, a top of the line place. No average building would have that type of protection to just get in.
The door opened and the three of us walked in. My jaw nearly hit the floor. This place was even more fantastic than I had imagined. It was the bat cave on steroids. It made team Arrow or Flash look tame.
“You like?” Lola asked. “I decked it out with top of the line.”
She spoke faster and faster. Lola went on a million words a second describing the place’s contents. I couldn’t keep up with a word. I just took it all in. The first room was large and open with a bank of monitors. A low hum rose from the computers.
That was just what I could see. From what Lola was saying there was so much more.
“Slow down, sweetie,” Fleur said. “He’s an ancient Greek God, remember. I’m sure he’s a Luddite.”
I laughed. “I’m a God and old. But I’m no Luddite.”
But compared to these two I was. No way I could keep up with them in the computer world. My laptop gave me more than enough problems. Back on Mount Olympus, I would seek out some of the others for help. A few of my brethren had a knack for computers and the like.
“I’m sure you aren’t,” Lola said. “Those fingers look like they can handle a keyboard.”
“Among other things.” I gave her a glance and a smile.
Lola sultry-walked to the center of the large warehouse-like room. I spotted several doors on the far side. “You guys live here?”
“Not gonna tell you where my bedroom is,” Lola said. “Yet.”
“Oy vey,” Fleur said. “Focus. The task at hand. Eris. Her starting a war.”
I breathed in deeply and tried not to
picture Lola going down on me in her bedroom. I had a vision of it being very pink and very sexual in her room. Along with her knowing what she was doing.
I shook my head; I needed to focus on the here and now. Not on Lola moistening the Pope, as pleasant as it would be.
“My sister,” I said. “Let me tell you about her.”
I gave the women all the information I could about Eris. It was hard to pinpoint what might help or not.
“You really know a lot about her,” Fleur said.
“God. I know you don’t believe me, but I’m telling the truth.”
14
Watching her work
Later that day I stood in the center of the hideout or lair. I wasn’t sure what they wanted me to call it, but this was for sure a secret base. Straight from the comics, or movies. It was all a lot to take in, but I loved it.
Even from Mount Olympus I hadn’t seen anything like this. Though I hadn’t known to look for it. Next time I went back home, I would be keeping a better eye out for the little things that humans did.
Not that I knew what to look for. Maybe my sister or one of the other Gods would be better at predicting the future of the humans and their ingenuity. I wasn’t much good at that.
Lola’s fingers danced across the keyboard. The more I watched her, the more I was sure that she was a Paragon. No human should be able to type that fast. Even Hermes wouldn’t be able to move his fingers that fast, and he did everything more quickly than the rest of us.
In many ways, Hermes was the first super speedster. The Flash had to be inspired by him and his abilities. Anyone that said otherwise was just lying to themselves.
“You’re impressive,” I said. I couldn’t take my eyes off Lola.
The hacker giggled. “If you say so. You’re the real impressive one.”
“I am, but I can’t do that.” I gestured at her as she worked. “I tried and tried. Even reached out to Janet McGarrett.”
Lola sighed. “She’s good for a cop, but she’s not me.”
That was the truth, and I knew it. Lola was in a league of her own, and well beyond any others I’d worked with in my history. So was Fleur. The humans of today have evolved and adapted to the times. It was amazing.
If they only knew what it was like back in the past. The wars I had fought in. Not just the Greek and Roman ones. I was here for the Crusades, fighting as a high-ranking Templar. The Knights Templar were a strange and interesting group and a fun time for me. I got to kill many people, all in the name of their God. One that I hadn’t met. Good times.
The time of the French Revolution and its Napoleon wars was great for me. Some of the best years I spent on Earth. The last time I was here, for World War II, the way people had written about Napoleon was off. He was much more than what he’d been portrayed by history. He and I had a great time in our battles.
But these two women were more impressive than any of them. More than Napoleon, George Washington, Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, and Julius Caesar. They were better than all of them combined.
Lola jumped from her seat and went to a printer and pulled a piece of paper. “I think I have it narrowed down,” she said and handed the paper to Fleur.
White Angel was the leader of the group and the muscle. Well, until I showed up, and took that last title. Maybe I’d take the lead too. I was a general for most of the wars I was in. I learned from some of the best in history.
“Interesting,” Fleur said. “She’s actually close to your place now.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You sure?”
She handed me the paper, and it was some sort of table and map. With different dots and info. “Yeah. I can’t read this.”
Lola giggled and slapped me on the back as she walked past me. “All you have to know is that the place she’s been at most in the last two days is a block from your apartment.”
“Fine,” I said. “Let’s go.”
Only Fleur and I headed out, and I took the passenger seat. “Oh, so now you’ll sit in the car.”
I shrugged. “I fit here, and not there.”
The back seat was beyond cramped. Fleur rolled her eyes, those deep green ones. She started the car up and took off. The wind whipped around her. As she drove, I watched her as much as I dared. Typically, I didn’t care if I was caught staring, as most of the women liked it. Once they “caught” a man, they asked him to bed.
The red-haired woman was different, and I didn’t want to mess that up any more than I already had. Soon she would be in my bed, hopefully with Lola. That would be a fun time, and I couldn’t help imagining it. Fleur in sheer purple lingerie and Lola in red panties.
I shook my head. Eris. That was the key, that and this feeling that I had of something bigger going on. That kept creeping back into my bones. I didn’t have any foretelling ability, like a sibyl or seer. No psychic abilities for me, but I was somehow sure that this was more than Eris. More than me. More than even my father.
Looking up to Mount Olympus. “Athena, Hera, what is going on here? You have to know. Tell me.”
Fleur looked at me. “Did you just pray?”
I let out a chuckle. “In a sense. I was talking to my sister and mother.”
“How many sisters do you have?”
That number was too high to count. My father wasn’t known for keeping his willy in his pants.
“That depends on what you count as sisters or brothers,” I said. “My father is Zeus. I think I read that the number is ninety-two kids.”
“You’re sticking to the Ares, Greek God story.”
“Fleur, maybe someday I’ll show you Mount Olympus, and you’ll believe me.”
In the past, I hadn’t had this much trouble getting people to believe me. I wasn’t sure if the new skepticism was because of the existence of Paragons, or just that people now figured anyone that claimed to be a God was crazy. I was fairly certain that it was a combination of the two, and it was frustrating.
She shrugged. “Sure. Okay.”
The rest of the drive to my part of the city, the Bronx, was spent in silence. She didn’t make detours this time, and I was grateful. This time I was able to figure out where their place was.
When we got to my place, we found a surprise guest.
Standing in front of it was Eris.
15
Join Me
“Brother,” Eris said. “I see you made a friend.”
Fleur was out of the convertible, and in a stance ready to attack. I had no doubt that she would be able to hold her own against Eris. My sister was strong and capable, but so was Fleur.
“This is White Angel,” I said. Fleur gave me a slight nod. I didn’t think she would want my crazy sister, the Goddess of strife, to know her real name. “She’s a powerful Paragon.”
Eris laughed. “I can see that, brother.”
“What are you doing here?” Fleur asked.
“The real question is what are you doing here,” Eris countered. “You here to suck on my brother’s cock? He does like redheads.”
“As attractive as Ares is,” Fleur said. “I’m not jumping him. I’m here for you.”
“I’m honored,” Eris said. “But I’m not into women.”
Fleur ignored my sister, not bothering to honor that comment with a response. The White Angel glared at Eris with intense disgust in her eyes. “This is my city, and you have been causing problems.”
The Goddess of Strife shrugged. “I like to think of it as laying the groundwork. Getting Earth ready for what is to come next.”
“What is that?” I asked.
Eris’s thin lips twisted into a smirk. Her black hair seemed tamer than before, resting on her shoulders, but she still had the batshit-crazy look going on, and that was a cause for concern. “Like I’m going to tell you. As much as you like to pretend you aren’t, you’re a momma’s boy. You’d run back to dear mom, and then she’d tell dad. I can’t have that.”
“Please,” I said. “Tell me.”
Er
is rubbed her chin as if thinking about it. “How about you join me?”
That had been out of nowhere and completely unexpected. “Eris,” I said. “We’re Gods. And I’m an Olympian.”
“You would make a great piece for the puzzle.” Eris appeared to have not even thought of this before. “Yes. A great addition to the coming storm. Join me, brother.”
“I’m not going to cause harm to Earth or the humans,” I said. “They are our people. We are the protectors of the realm. Of the people.”
Eris groaned. “Dad doesn’t even like humans. Nor do any of the Titans.”
That wasn’t true, and she knew it. At least not fully. Sure, our father was a grade A dick, and not a fan of humans, but at this point in his life he accepted them. Some of the Titans even liked them. There was a reason that Prometheus did what he did.
“I’m not going to bring the downfall of Earth,” I said.
Eris stepped close to me, and Fleur tensed, her body rigid and ready to strike the Goddess.
“Think of the power you would have,” Eris said. “With the war and destruction. The violence. That is what gives you strength, and makes you feel alive.”
She wasn’t wrong, but I had turned over a new leaf. One that I was holding onto for dear life. I was doing my best not to be the blood-hungry man I used to be. I didn’t want to be associated with that type of action anymore.
“Pass,” I said.
“Very well,” Eris said. “Back to plan A.”
She snapped her fingers, and suddenly we were surrounded by men and women in costumes, and one of them was extremely familiar. Thunderdick was here. I had figured as much. He was no real hero.
Fleur saw him and frowned. “ThunderBolt, what are you doing here.”
“Helping out the real power,” he said.
“You knew who I was looking for,” I said.
The man nodded. “I did. She predicted you would arrive at some point. I was just doing my part for our leader.”
