FicWad

Hehehe, thanks to everyone who reviewed. I have recieved some very complimenting comments and I just have to say...I love you all. Okay, maybe that's a bit creepy, but its so great to hear that your work is appreciated. I write because I love doing so. Also I need some sort of output for my mind, or I'd die. But mainly, it's for my readers, because they are the ones supporting me. This is all for you! Woot!

Disclaimer: Alright, again, I do not own CotT...or do I?

Archie- "No, you do not."

Yeah, but I do own your creepy dad!

Archie- "And you can go right ahead and keep him!"

Chapter 4:

"Jay!" I start towards the kitchen, ignoring a knock on the front door. From the corner of my eye, I spot one of the other tenants coming down the stairs. I recognize her from the girls field hockey team. Pointing a shaky finger in her direction, which stops her in her tracks, I growl, "Do NOT answer that door."

Throwing up her hands, looking a bit afraid, she heads back the way she came.

Trying hard not to dash towards the kitchen, I manage a hobbled, stiff walk back to the kitchen. Damn my heel and not being better yet...

"Jay!" I yell practically behind him as I reach the dining table. The leader jumps visibly, nearly pouring his coffee down the front of himself.

"What?!?" He yells back, grabbing his chest. Hmmm, it's not like him to be taken off guard. Did he not hear me the first time? I'm sure all of New Olympia did.

Trying to calm my voice, I give him a dirty look, crossing my arms. "I thought you and the others did a perimeter check this earlier."

"Believe me, Arch," Odie pipes up, adjusting his green tinted glasses. "We would have known if we hadn't or not."

Always the smart one, huh, Odie?

Jay's about to say something, but a vicious banging on the front door gets everyone staring in the direction of the foyer.

Neil raised an eyebrow. "What, you didn't even answer the door? And I thought Herry was lazy." A glare from said teen shuts him up fairly fast, though.

"No! Why? Because you guy's missed a spot."

Atlanta's giving me an odd look, and looking extremely adorable at the same time. "Missed a spot...?"

Suddenly Jay shoots out of his chair, giving me a disbelieving look. It figures he would get my meaning first. The others still look confused.

Maybe it's the adrenaline running through me at a rockets pace, or maybe it's just my current disposition, but I am really getting impatient. "Hello? People! Daddy dearest is knocking." I bark sarcastically. Now everyone's on their feet. Thank the God's their already dressed, or this would take a while.

Everyone jumps, including me, as another hard blow is dealt to the front door. I look over at Jay, who looks at me, and we exchange a look. I know what your thinking buddy, and it won't-

"We have to leave, now!"

work. Damn it Jay! "And how do you suppose we do that?" I ponder. "The truck's out front."

"We have to get him away from the dorms." Jay replies. "If he gets in, a lot of people will be in danger if we fight him here."

"And besides, if he's working for Cronus, he's probably given him some sort of power like he did me." Odie informs us. Crap, I had never thought about that. A sickening crack is heard from down the hall. Holy-! That door is solid oak!

"Come!" Athena calls, gathering us up. "I'll let you out the back door."

"We have a back door?" Herry asks as we weave our way out of the kitchen and down the opposite way from the front.

"Yes, Herry." Theresa rolls her eyes. "There's a porch with tacky party lights, and a garage where I park my car."

"Oh, yeah."

You sad, sad kid.

Another couple of twists and turns and we make it outside. It's still fairly early, and the eastern sky is painted a neon orange. Athena exits with us, her xiaphos out and at the ready. Heading across the grass, we head inside the garage. Theresa's bright red sports car is sitting there, waiting for us. There's only one problem...

"My car only fits five." Theresa shrugs her shoulders apologetically. "Now what?"

"Me and Arch can go by foot!" Atlanta states pointedly. "We're the fastest runners here, and that evens out the numbers."

"Okay!" Neil cries and jumps into the back seat. Herry and Odie follow suit, Odysseus' descendant sitting up front with Theresa.

Jay's shaking his head violently. "No. I won't allow you two, especially Archie, to put yourselves in danger like that."

"I can take care of myself!" I tell him, a little mad. I've proven the statement time after time, but maybe he has a learning disability or something.

"Would you kids hurry up?" Athena hisses. She's couched down next to the garage door. "I can see someone coming!"

"Okay then. Archie, get in the car, and I'll run with Atlanta." Jay opens the back door and gestures inside.

"God, no." Atlanta almost looks horrified. "You'll never keep up with me. Archie is the only one who can, and besides we have our PMR's. We'll be alright."

"You both know I don't like this idea." Jay say's sternly.

"Do you have another plan?" I ask him back.

"Oh for the love of-!" Theresa finally intervenes, reaching over and grabbing our leader by the collar. "Jay, get in the car."

He stands there for a moment, but finally does as she tells him, if a bit reluctantly. I guess we know who'll wear the pants in that relationship. Giving a heavy sigh, he fixes me and Atlanta in a strong stare. "Head for the school. If you both aren't there in half an hour, we're coming to get you, got it?"

"Aye, aye, captain." I flip him a salute as the garage door winds it's way up. As Theresa hit's the gas, he just gives us a worried glance before he and the others are gone. Glancing outside, me and Atlanta watch the headlights of the sports car blink red once, then turn out of sight. Man, I have to get me one of those.

"So what's the plan?" Atlanta looks over at me, her face determined. At any other point in time, I would have been jumping for joy while the sun shone and the birds sang because I'm alone with my dream girl, but at the moment I feel as if the sun has just gone super nova and the birds have all been shot. There's no better way to ruin a moment than to have a psycho on your tail.

"I think we should take the park. If we cut through it, we'll cut our travel time by half, and there won't be many people there at this time of day. Also, we'll have the tree's for cover should we need it." I ramble off my designated formula, figuring it's the best plan of action.

Athena and Atlanta are both giving me approving nods. Hey, I guess it helps to be trained by the God of War. And it's the fastest, since Jay only gave us half an hour.

"It's time for you two to get moving!" Athena whispers. Crap! If she has to whisper, he's in hearing range. In other words, close enough to-

SMASH! The back window to the garage just got busted! Glass shards fly everywhere, and I throw myself in front of Atlanta so she doesn't get hurt by the debris. She gives a cry of shock and fear, but I'm not waiting to see if he heard her. Grabbing the red head by the arm, I make a wild dash out into the early morning.

She recovers fast, and I'm soon the one following in her wake. Speeding out of the alley at an incredible speed, we hit the main drag and make a right. We're nothing but a twin pair of blurs to the public eye, but there are few people around. A few are already at work, and the others are probably just getting up. It makes out hike a lot easier though. A quick left brings us down past a few restaurants before we make it to the park.

The place is huge, I swear. It has it's own mini lake, for Zeus' sake! And the paths are great. Pushing details to the back of my mind, I can't help but take a look over my shoulder. No one's in sight, except for an early morning jogger. It's not like I expected him to be able to follow us, but you never know with Cronus and his minions.

Running for ten minutes, we're still not out of the park. Like I said, it's pretty big. Sweat is running down into my eyes, making it hard to see anything. I can also hear Atlanta beginning to breathe heavily.

" 'Lanta!" I call to her, using a nickname I gave her a while back. She looks back at me, her cheeks flushed. "We should stop for a moment."

She nods, almost gratefully, and slows her pace. We jog up off the trail and under a patch of tree's for cover. Grabbing her knees, Atlanta looks beat. I know how she feels; running that fast for that long can kill a person. That's something we're trying to avoid here!

She Glances at me and smiles. I'm practically hugging the tree to stay on my feet. "I think we lost him." she snickers. I can't help but laugh.

"Could you imagine where you'd be if Jay had gone with you?" I mention, poking a bit of fun at the Greek boy.

"Probably back at that Italian restaurant." She snickers, managing to find her breath again.

"Or in a better hiding spot." Comes a cold voice from above me. I freeze, every muscle in my body tensing. My fists clench and my nails dig into the tree's rough bark. Against my better judgment, I look up, and my legs almost give out beneath me. A few branches above my head is my father, crouching as smug as a cat as he stares down at me, his eyes anything but welcoming. Oh. My. God.

"Arch?" Atlanta asks me. "Did you say something?"

My only answer is silence as I slowly walk backwards away from the tree. My dad jumps down to the ground, easily landing on his feet. I hear a surprised gasp escape Atlanta's lips. And it isn't just because he's here. I think it may also have something to do with the huge, black feathered wings that are protruding from his back. The poor lighting of the canopy must have hid them from my sight.

Making sure I keep myself between my dad and Atlanta, I return his hateful glare. His deep eyes create a shadowed effect, making his look that more menacing. "What in the hell are you doing here?" I growl at him, every fiber of my being sending off waves of hatred towards him. For his sake, he'd better get the hint.

To my extreme annoyance, the man has started laughing. Bringing up a hand, which puts me in high alert, he snaps his fingers. At the sound, the black wings have begun to turn to dust. A second later, they fall to the ground, exploding in a cloud of black dust. Taking a step forward, he grins satanically. "Now," he says, his voice smooth and deep, "is that any way to greet your dad?"

"You're no father of mine!" I spit venomously at him. Oh, how I want to walk over there and beat the smirk off his face, and the only thing holding me back is a hand on my shoulder. Atlanta has moved out from behind me, and is now at my side. I shouldn't have expected anything less from her. I laugh harshly at him. "What makes you think you ever deserved the title?"

He just sighed. "You sure have grown up. How long has it been...ten years? Ten years since you put me away." Now he's done with laughing. Now he looks pissed.

"Ten years since you destroyed my life, you mean!" Reaching into my pocket, I grab my Hephaestus whip. Hitting the correct button, the razor sharp spur rockets away from the handle, revealing the long, thin metal rope.

With a casual shrug, he says, "Whatever." Oh, he's going to die! Trying to rush forward, the hand on my shoulder holds me back. Atlanta leans in to my ear and whispers, "That's what he wants you to do. Let him play the fool." Oh, but it's so hard to do!

"Everything would have been fine if you had just died like you were supposed to." he glares at me. Let me at him Atlanta. Please! As if reading my mind, he glances over at my friend. "And you must be Atlanta. Cronus told me you were fast, but that was a very impressive performance."

"You don't know shit about me." she growls. I grin widely; that's the girl I love!...Wow. I love her. When did it transform from a crush to all out love? Maybe when she first stood next to me in battle, like we are now, willing to give her life for mine, and my life for hers...

Suddenly I blink and he disappears from my sight. I hear Atlanta gasp and I know I'm not insane. It's like someone turned off a light; he was here just a second ago, now he's nowhere to be seen.

"Like what you see?" A voice comes from behind us. We both spin around, taking a couple steps away from my father. Holy fu-

"How did you do that?" Atlanta blurts out, obviously shocked to see someone other than me with as much speed as she does. You read my freaking mind, 'Lanta!

"It's simple when you're working for the God of Time. He knows quite a lot about you and your team. When he first came to me in jail, I was a bit unsure. But now..." the mad man stares at his hands, as thought they're telling him some grand secret. "Now, I can truly see the truth in his words."

"One crazy psycho believing another crazy psycho?" I taunt. "It's almost poetic. Please. Don't stand there and act like you know us. Like you know me. You never have and nev-"

I suddenly find flying through the air, my stomach numb from the punch I've just been dealt. Another second later, white hot pain rips through my body as I slam into a tree. On impact I can feel a few ribs practically shatter under the force of the hit, and I cry out in agony.

"Archie!" I can hear Atlanta's voice, though it's distant and soft as my head spins. Quiet footfalls coming closer tells me Atlanta's on her way, which now, as I can see clearer, is quite the distance. Where the hell had that come from?

Before I can ever fall to the ground, a knee comes out of nowhere, catching me on the chin. My head snapping backwards and my vision goes blank as the kick slams me back into the tree. The rough brown bark chews away at my hands as I try to save myself from any further damage. It feels like forever, but then the ground and I finally meet, face to face, crushing the remaining air from my lungs in one solid hit. It feels like I landed on concrete.

Oh, lord, everything is on fire! I...I can't move anything! I try moving my arms, but they're not budging. Neither are my legs. Oh, please don't tell me this man's paralyzed me?!? Suddenly soft hands are on my head, stroking themselves along my body and through my hair. My vision is just coming back, and I can see my dad's dark black shoes take a few steps back, and his laughter fills my ears. I then pick up on another sound; a soft, hitched breathing is coming from above me, and I feel a drop of water hit my hand. Atlanta...

"I wouldn't try to move for a while," by the sound of his voice, my fathers really enjoying himself. "Being beaten to a pulp by your old man is a bit pathetic there, son. Even if I do have the strength of an immortal..."

"You son of a bitch!" I hear Atlanta shriek, her breaths coming in small gasps. "He's your own flesh and blood!"

"Flesh and blood doesn't send you to prison." My dad barks viciously.

"Flesh and blood doesn't kill their own!" I breathe, barely loud enough for him to hear me. It's excruciatingly painful with my busted ribs, but I can't hold it back. I don't care to hold it back anymore, anyway. Giving a cough, a bitter metallic taste overwhelms my tongue; great, now I'm spitting up blood. I have to get myself to Chiron.

With strained effort, I manage to force my body onto my elbows, feeling returning to my hands. My legs still refuse to move, and I can't help but think the worst. I cough again, and spit blood out onto the grass before I decide to speak again. "What do you mean, strength of an immortal? The only person with that strength is Herc..."

I stop in mid sentence, my mind racing around the facts. Speed faster than Atalanta, the strength of Hercules. He knew where to find us...cunning...like Jason and Odysseus...oh, Gods. We can't stay here a second longer!

"You," I gasp as pain rips through my torso. "You...have our powers don't you?"

I hear him chuckle slowly, a low rumble that tears me up worse that the bark. A shiver runs down my spine as he answers, "Yes."

He walks back up to us, slowly this time, almost mocking. "I told you I knew a lot about you. Cronus is a wealth of information on you brats. He knows your strengths, just not where your weaknesses lie. Maybe that's why he came to me." He shrugged.

Grabbing her wrist laser bow, Atlanta aims it straight at the mans face. "Don't take another step, asshole, or I'll blast your head clean off."

It won't work, Atlanta! He has your speed! He has Herry's strength, Neil's luck...even if you did shoot, the chances of hitting him are slim to none. And he proves me right. With a sudden burst of speed, he slams Atlanta away. I cry out as I see her frail body bounce off the ground and roll away, her face a mask of hurt. Coming to a stop, she isn't getting up. I don't have much time to think of anything else - her safety, her life - before my father leans down and grabs me by the throat. My neck, already in pain from his kick, flares up as he hauls my body into the air, pinning me against the tree and stopping my breath.

I kick feebly as I fight for air. Clawing at his hands isn't helping, not with his power. He's laughing at my sorry attempts to save myself as I punch at him, hitting his arm with everything I have, which isn't much. The world is starting to spin and growing dimmer by every passing moment. Suddenly, through the haze, I see him lean in with a satanic smile.

"You can win against time, but not one another. Every move you make, I'll counter it. Every plan you create, I'll ruin it. I'll be around every bend in the road you follow. The bitch is right, you know. I don't know you. I am you!" he whispers, his hand tightening, if it's even possible. I can't believe that. I can't...

"Game over."

Before crossing the point of no return, a rock the size of a Volkswagen fly's by my face. His quick reflexes aren't enough to save him this time, and my father is plowed over by the kamikaze piece of granite. The hand on my neck is wrenched away and I topple back to the grass as I hear Herry's unmistakable voice cry, "Alright, buddy! Now I'm really angry!"

Thank the lord for GPS! Hitting my knees, I commence into a coughing fit, the burning in my lungs beginning to ebb away as fresh air is forced into them. My ribs protest, but I block it out. Seconds later, Odie and Theresa are at my side, holding me steady. Finally finding my voice, I give them each a grateful look. "Thanks, guys."

"Not a moment too soon either!" Odie reassured me. "Theresa had a vision, co we turned the car around and headed here. Why didn't you call us on your PMR?"

I ignore the questions the genius is asking me, mainly because Herry is wrestling with my dad...and losing! The other two, obviously noting my lack of attention towards them, follow my eyes and are both taken aback as well.

Muscles straining under his mint green t-shirt, beads of sweat roll of Herry's forehead as he fights for dominance over my old man. Fingers locked together, toes dug deep into the ground, they both battle to push the other back. I can see Herry's loafers losing ground as my father picks up momentum. With a final shove, Herry's sent to the dirt, skidding to Jay's feet. The leader looks stunned, as do we all, as he helps the teen to his feet.

"Well," the man sighs, giving us a salute, "it's been fun, but I want to save some for later!" With a snap of his fingers, a sickening crack echoes around the tree's. From his back protrude a new pair of pitch black wings. With a wave, he takes to the air like a mutant bird and is soon lost from sight. I can't help but watch the sky, even after he's long gone. His voice is still ringing fresh in my head. I am you...

(-)

Sorry about the wait. I hope I didn't make anyone too mad about that. Well, please let me know what you thought, and I'll update soon!

- Clandestine Fire