Hyperion's flames hurt.
Rio's bullets felt like paper when I blocked them in my true form. Menoetius's strongest punches hadn't left a bruise. It was hard not to feel invincible with results like those.
This was something else. I had to use both hands to shield my head (the only part of my mortal body that was left) just to keep it from turning to dust. The fire licked at my skin. Everywhere it touched, pain followed.
I screamed. Anyone would. It wasn't just about this pain, though. I remembered everything I'd seen. Hyperion killed my city. That hurt worse than any level of burnt skin.
The attack went on and on, and I took every last bit of it. Something built up inside of me. I felt something I never had before, like an internal gas tank that was filling up fast.
Then, the attack ended. The sky cleared. I stood alone, floating in the air with an aching but operational body. That 'gas tank' was so full it stung. Barely understanding what I was doing, I let all that energy out.
A white-hot beam erupted from my palm. I knew instinctively that it contained the exact amount of power that Hyperion hit me with. Yet it was different from his attack. It was focused into a thin beam, one which struck him in the chest and made him scream.
He was knocked from the air like a bird struck by a stone. He crash landed into an old skyscraper, his body bursting straight through it on his way to the ground. I followed him.
Jumping between rooftops, I landed in the street with a shockwave. Hyperion was on his feet again. He looked different from how I remembered him. Instead of a bearded man with glowing skin, he'd become a two-legged ball of flames. More golden than reddish, his whole body was nothing but fire in the shape of man.
Only one part of his body wasn't bright. In the middle of his chest was a big dark spot, like that patch of flames had been burned to a crisp. It was the damage from my attack.
"You should not exist," Hyperion said.
His voice was still the same— deep, loud, and inherently arrogant. He didn't fool me, though. I could taste his fear.
"You remember me. I'm glad." I cracked my immortal knuckles. "I want you to know who beats you… for a second time."
Hyperion's body reacted to my taunt by burning hotter, causing him to grow a few inches in size. His true form didn't seem to have any permanent height. Like a true fire, it burned higher or lower based on Hyperion's mood.
"I am different now," he said. "You stalled me for a bit while I was weakened, that's true, but my power has returned. You think you can challenge me? Look upon this city!"
"Trust me," I said. "I have."
I was in front of him in a flash. I moved so fast that all the glass around us shattered. I aimed my fist at his head.
He caught it.
"Pathetic," said Hyperion.
His other hand formed a fist, swinging at my head. My body was almost completely immortal… but my head hadn't been affected. One hit and it would turn to paste.
I caught his punch.
It was Hyperion's turn to look shocked. We stood there locked together, each of us holding back one of the other's fists, until I grinned. Energy pulsed from my palm down to my core, funneling into that new organ I likened to a gas tank. I felt the energy becoming my own, begging to be released. I kicked him in the stomach.
Hyperion flew away, bouncing and rolling before hitting a skyscraper. The whole thing collapsed from the force of his body, coming down on his head. I bounded onto the wreckage, knowing that he was nowhere near done.
When I landed on top of the concrete and old rebar, there was no sign of him. I considered the idea that he could've run. Without warning, everything beneath me turned yellow.
A column of golden flames incinerated the remnants of the building. It bathed everything around us, with me stuck in the center. I was forced to hunker down, shielding my head with my hands as my skin singed and stung.
A fist buried in my stomach. Using the flames as a smokescreen, Hyperion had melted all the concrete between us and closed the distance. My head was still covered, but that didn't stop him from striking my ribs.
I was propelled into the air. Up and up, I kept going until I was higher than the hundredth floor on the Empire State Building.
I could see the whole city. All of it— the dead dry riverbeds of the Harlem and the East, the cracked and vacant homes that once housed millions, and the downtown that had been the city's heart, now torn down to become a skeleton. The power Hyperion hit me with filled my fists.
I plummeted back toward the ground, roaring the whole way down. Hyperion tried to burn me. I plowed right through his flames.
This time, the shockwave of my impact broke more than windows. Entire buildings came down around us. My fists hit Hyperion right in the chest, pounding him into the ground. A crater formed beneath us. When the force hit Hyperion's body, golden ichor sprayed from his mouth.
His body shrunk to become a single wisp of flame, flickering a few feet away before reverting. When his body reformed, Hyperion was down on one knee.
"You should not exist," he said.
"I agree," I said. "But it's the Titans' fault that I do. It's time to finish this."
"Yes, I'm done here," Hyperion said.
With a puff of flames, he hurled himself from the crater, fleeing through New York.
Anger lanced through me. After all the slaughtering he had done, he wanted to run now? As soon as he faced a real opponent, his pride went out the window? I couldn't let him pull it off. Not only would it ruin our plan to rebel, the very idea of him escaping made me angry to no end.
"Hyperion!"
I sprinted after him, my steps leaving small craters of their own. He was fast, but so was I. We blew through the streets of the city, the distance between us shrinking. With a mighty leap, I prepared to tackle him.
Hyperion spun on a dime. He was grinning. His hand shot out— faster than it had been. Much faster. I bent my torso back grabbing his wrist with both hands. He was stronger, too. Flames danced on his palm, hotter than the heart of a volcano. I felt the skin of my face bubble and blister.
"Mortals talk about the arrogance of Titans, but I think it's their arrogance that stands out the most," Hyperion said. "Did you truly think I was scared of you, fledgling?"
His hand kept coming closer. It felt like I was getting a sunburn crossed with the sharp pain of touching metal inside an oven. My head was going to melt. I would be left as a puddle on the ground, conscious of everything as I tried and failed to reform.
But the heat was filling me with a different kind of energy. I popped my lips like I was spitting, ejected all the stolen energy in a filan bid to stay alive.
A beam of heat, almost a laser, pierced Hyperion's hand and forced him to yank it back. He howled. I didn't fully understand why until he stumbled back, and I saw a hole through his chest, right in the middle of the singed patch I created earlier.
"You… worm!" Hyperion gasped.
I had dropped to my knees. I felt lightheaded from the pain. I just came so close to…
I couldn't think about that. I struggled up. The worst of my burns were healing, but it would be a long time before they were completely better. I had to fight anyway. And I would.
Hyperion was breathing hard. His flames were burning brighter than they had been at the start. I realized he'd been holding back a portion of his strength just to catch me off-guard. It nearly worked. But despite everything, he looked worse than I did.
"You hid among them, didn't you?" Hyperion asked. "You wrapped yourself in wool and joined the flock, but you were a wolf. You were luring me in."
"And it worked."
"Maybe. We will see. But what is certain is that you sealed their fate."
He started to laugh. I lunged, swinging my fist, but he blocked it easily. We locked together, grappling like we had been after the first exchange of blows.
"Your precious resistance is doomed, without you there to protect them," he said.
I pushed him back a few inches. "Not as long as I destroy you here."
"I don't have to be the one to do it," he said. Hyperion's fiery chest ballooned up. Instead of preparing an attack, it allowed him to roar at a hundred times his usual volume. "FEAST UNTIL YOU'VE HAD YOUR FILL!"
His words echoed throughout the city. Slowly, the ground began to shake.
O-O-O
It didn't take long for Artemis to lose sight of their battle. It galled her, standing on the sidelines like some spectator. She wanted to fight at Perseus's side again, as they did atop Mount Tamalpais when they trapped Atlas beneath his burden once more. But… she would only get in his way.
In this state, Artemis had no place in such a fight. Hyperion would toy with her. Worse, he may use her against Perseus. The best way for her to help was to stay far away and uninvolved. She hated it, but she knew not to act rashly.
After some time, she heard it. Hyperion's call to arms.
Her initial reaction was a brief thrill. If Hyperion was issuing orders to his minions instead of acting himself, then Perseus was still alive.
That foolish thought didn't last long. With or without Hyperion, the Titan's forces had more than enough power to crush their enemies. Her people were in danger. Artemis moved.
She flew off of the roof, leaping over the ledge. As she fell, she ran down the wall, speeding herself up. She rolled through the landing to maintain speed. It wasn't enough. She needed to be even faster.
The monster camp they had passed was empty. She flew down the stairs to the subway station. Halfway down, she met the monsters from behind.
The Dracaena brave or foolish enough to stay after Hyperion's aborted attack were marching at the rear. Artemis blurred between them, hunting knives slicing them to dust.
Past them, she met the first of the hydras. They were poor opponents for her. There was nowhere she could strike them that could end their lives in one blow. They had multiple brains. Only one heart, but it was buried deep in their chest, well-defended. Artemis did the best thing that she could.
She slid underneath the monsters from behind, slicing their legs. Such wounds wouldn't kill them, but even the most powerful monster couldn't walk without working tendons. They crashed to the floor hissing and spitting acid. Artemis was too quick to be hit. She kept running.
When their camp came into sight, she thought perhaps they could escape this. She had fought her way in, maybe they could escape this. Her hope lasted until she saw what awaited her.
Her people still lived. That was the bright spark. Or maybe that was worse— this way, she would have to watch them die at her side.
The mortals had been pressed into a huddle with no space between them. Katie was lying on her back, bleeding from her head. Leo was still up. Anything that could be set on fire was burning. The boy was nothing but a bundle of flames, torching titanic monsters coming from every direction.
"You think Leo Valdez is scared of you!" he shouted. "This is my chance to be the big damn hero who saves the day! I'll barbecue all of you if I've gotta! I'll—"
He ducked a glob of acid, ending his speech prematurely as he dove aside, throwing back balls of fire. His eyes went wide as a Hydra's head shot out. Before it could strike him, Artemis slammed her body into it from the side, making it miss.
"If you are going to die, do it standing," Artemis said.
Leo grinned, hopping up. "I knew you had a soft spot for me!"
"Your personality is abysmal," Artemis said. "An example of everything a man should not be."
"Ouch, Momma A."
Artemis sighed. "However, despite your foul personality, you do possess a decent heart." She surveyed the monsters around them. "There are worse options to die alongside."
These Hydras were something she had never seen before. It was apparent Hyperion had been keeping his best weapons hidden all this time, because what was in front of Artemis was so horribly mutated that it seemed like a whole new species. Each of them was so huge that they cracked the ceiling as they crawled through the tunnels. They had perhaps a hundred heads each, their bodies thick with the brutal amount of muscle needed to carry such immense weight. Heads jostled with each other to get the first bite. They were sadistic creatures, even by monster standards. Artemis could see the depravity in their serpentine eyes.
"I will take the south tunnel. You handle the north," she said.
"Will do, Boss Lady!" Leo saluted.
They both knew they would fail.
Artemis spun her knives in her hands. She walked toward the monsters, determined to kill at least one. If she had her divine powers they would be— no, she could not think that way. It would only hinder her. She bent her legs, preparing to spring forward. Behind her, she heard metal grinding on stone. She saw them from the corner of her eye— people lifting their makeshift weapons, preparing to fight even when their opponent was insurmountable. Pride filled her despite the situation.
"I always told the gods that mortals showed their greatest character in the toughest times. You all rarely listened. I expect now, Artemis, that you'll be more agreeable to that idea, hm? The moral of the story is to listen to me more often."
Artemis spun, training her knife on the man who'd gotten so close to her. She stopped just shy of his throat. A tuxedo, scarred face, and ponytail.
"Prometheus? Why would you possibly be—"
"Shhh." Prometheus put a finger to his lips. "That's no tone to take with your savior, is it? I'm here to bring help!"
What help? Artemis wanted to ask. But they were already there.
A weasel ran past her. As it approached the hydras, it transformed into a kangaroo. The kangaroo leaped forward with its powerful muscles, and as it flew, swelled into a bull elephant. The nearest hydra was slammed back, momentarily stunned. The heads struck as soon as they recovered, but there was nothing to hit. The elephant had become a small bird and flown away.
Artemis smelled ozone. A blast of lightning cracked through the tunnel. The stunned hydra was hit in the chest, right over the heart, a blow that proved fatal. It collapsed and turned to dust, revealing an identical monstrosity right behind it.
Artemis felt a sharp pang of hope, only for it to be crushed. It wasn't her lieutenant who had appeared, but a blond boy wielding a sword. She should have known not to hope—
"You look different, My Lady."
She spun on the spot. Had she hallucinated? If she was hearing voices then…
"Thalia," she said.
Her lieutenant was there. Older. Different. But at the same time, still the same. It was her.
Thalia drew her bow back. The hydras attacked, and for a horrible moment, Artemis they would get their prey. But a dark skinned girl was standing beside Thalia, and she said, "Stop."
The heads hesitated. Charmspeak. Thalia let her arrow fly, shrouding it in lighting as she did. It pierced the hydra's scales and stabbed it straight in the heart.
"Not bad, right My Lady?"
Thalia's cocky grin faded as Artemis grabbed her, drawing her into a hug.
"How can you be alive?" Artemis asked.
"A lot of luck," Thalia said. "Most of that being who took me in."
Artemis released her Lieutenant.
"Who?" she asked.
There were only a few bings strong enough to help Thalia survive who would be willing to aid a daughter of Zeus in this world. Artemis could only think of enough to be counted on one hand. Of those she saw here, Prometheus was the likeliest answer, but she could not imagine him taking such a risk alone.
"You'll see," Thalia said. "She's on her way right now."
While these demigods thinned the numbers on this side, there were more monsters coming from the tunnel Leo was supposed to guard. Without warning, the hydras froze. Someone strolled out from behind them.
She was as beautiful as a goddess of love, but right now she looked like a spirit of war. Her dress was stained with blood. A rope dangled from her hand, heads strung onto it. The heads were furry with huge ears— trophies from slain Pandai. Most terrifyingly, the woman's smile was perfectly friendly.
"Artemis!" said Calypso. "It's good to see you. Have you been eating well? You look thin. Leading a resistance must be exhausting. We'll have to feed you well when this is done."
Five of the nearest hydra's heads noticed the decapitated heads of its masters. It roared, reacting like a guard dog, and struck. All it took was a look from Calypso to restrain it.
"Foolish beast," she said. "All of you behemoths are pathetic. How many lives did he feed you? Those were not yours to take."
Calypso tossed the heads aside. She formed shapes with her hands, then pushed both palms toward the floor. Every single hydra began to shake. Their necks bulged. Green bile began leaking from their necks. This wasn't the kind of acid they usually spat. It was stomach acid. At the same time, thousands of hydra heads started to wretch. They kept vomiting and vomiting, disgorging every feast they ever had. When they ran out of contents in their stomachs, they spewed vital parts of their body. One by one, they collapsed and dissolved. Calypso approached them with a soft smile.
"You've reverted," Artemis said. "I never expected to see Atlas's lieutenant active again."
Calypso giggled, waving her hand airily. "I found someone worth fighting for, that's all."
Artemis didn't need to guess to know who. Although the threat here had been stopped, the ground was still shaking slightly overhead. There was only one cause.
"Please win, Perseus Jackson," Artemis whispered.
O-O-O
My muscles strained. Ever since I became a god, it felt like I had infinite strength. I could achieve feats mortals would only be able to dream of, and I made them look easy. Even other immortals fell to my punches. Now, I understood the truth.
I didn't have unlimited strength. I'd just been punching down against weaker immortals.
Hyperion was awful. He was a genocidal maniac. He was arrogant and wrathful. He was everything an immortal should strive not to be. But he was strong. I couldn't get the upper hand against him.
We were still grappling, our hands locked together as our bodies pushed with all we had. The street had cracked a long time ago, broken by the shockwaves we were creating. I was growling as I dug deep to find more strength, but Hyperion simply laughed.
"Did you think I would be weak because I was a coward? You must have, to challenge me in this way. If mother allowed it, I would've sliced Ouranos to pieces with my own hands. I could have ruled all Titans! You have no chance against my might!"
He pushed me back, but I grinded my teeth and found a tiny burst of strength, returning us to a stalemate.
"Why fight so hard?" Hyperion asked. "You cannot win. Do you do it for the resistance? They're nothing but bugs. As we speak, they've already been slaughtered. Give up."
This wasn't working. Hyperion had me beat thousands of times over when it came to experience. I was going to run out of strength at this rate. I had to destroy him here, no matter what. So I did what I do best: something crazy. I let go of his hands.
What happened next was too fast for ordinary eyes to follow. Hyperion tackled me as I stopped resisting, slamming me to the ground with his fiery form on top. He was so surprised by the sudden change that he hesitated, but only for a brief moment. He lifted both arms and slammed them down, intent on crushing my head. I blocked with one arm.
Grappling against his strength with both my arms had been a stalemate, so shielding with just one was idiotic. Pain of a kind I'd never felt shot through my system. My forearm pressed against my forehead, barely keeping my brain from being crushed. Hyperion was already raising his arms for another blow.
My arm ached enough to turn my vision blurry. I was in so much pain. But through the haze, I saw my city. I remembered all that rage I felt. Hyperion landed another blow, and I blocked this one too, my arm throbbing even more.
"Gnat!" Hyperion bellowed. "Give up!"
His arms lifted, then descended a third time.
My anger was spent. It all hurt too much. What was I so mad about? What was New York again? Maybe, if I ran now, I could escape. Maybe—
My mother's face appeared in my head. Not the twisted version Morpheus showed me in nightmares, but the real Sally Jackson. I saw her and Paul and imagined them living through the cataclysm that struck the East.
Hyperion fucked with my mom. There was no way I was letting that slide.
My arm came up again. It took the hit from Hyperion, and this time I felt the bones shatter and snap. I screamed. Not because of the pain, though. That tank in my stomach was overflowing with energy.
"You… shouldn't… have… touched… my… CITY!"
My right arm had been doing nothing this whole time, waiting for its moment. That moment was now. I brought my fist up, slamming my knuckle into the middle of Hyperion's chest wound.
Wind exploded around us. Fire blasted out of Hyperion's back, lighting the early morning like it was midday. Once the shockwave had passed, things became strangely quiet. My arms flopped down at my sides, one injured and the other exhausted. Hyperion's fiery head was looking down at his body.
There wasn't much of it left.
His entire torso had been blown away. All that was left were barely-connected arms and legs. The last of his sparks started to sputter.
"Impossible," Hyperion said. "To a mere fledgling…"
He lost shape and cohesion. His eyes were the last thing to disappear. If I had to guess his final emotion, I'd say befuddlement. Just before he disappeared, there was a flash so bright that even I had to shut my eyes.
I hoped the resistance was still underground, because if they looked at this they'd definitely go blind. There was a strange smell in the air, like a mix of gunpowder and bronze armor. Strangely, when I opened my eyes, I knew what I just witnessed. Hyperion hadn't merely lost. He faded, disappearing forever.
I'd won, but I didn't have the energy to get up. So I lay there a while, half-conscious until I felt someone pet my forehead.
"That tickles, Calypso," I said.
She didn't answer, which was strange. I relaxed as I felt the touch soften. It did feel nice. Something wet fell on my face.
That was strange. I finally made an effort to open my eyes and look up, only to find myself staring into tearful silver eyes.
"Thank you for fighting the battle I could not," Artemis said. "I will not forget this."
She bent down, kissing me on the lips.
Turns out, being a god can come with some pretty nice perks from time to time.