THE START OF IT ALL

Most people believe that myths are just that, myths. Well, news flash, they're wrong. Have you ever wondered why science still can explain "paranormal" events? It's because they're not normal. They don't follow any scientific laws for a reason, after all. But of course, all but a few people deny that. If you've witnessed a strange sight, you're not alone. Beings such as gods(not the one dude with a capital G; a lot of people believe in that one) exist. So do those famous monsters we read in books and see in movies. Don't believe me? Well, don't say I didn't warn you.

My name's Yiannis Cirillo. The first name is pronounced hee-an-nis. I'm a freshman at the Bronx High School of Science, one of New York City's most elite schools. I can guess what you're thinking. A smart kid like me believes in those stories of old? How'd someone like me even end up in a specialized school? Well, because I think I might be a demigod.

Now, I don't have any definite proof. But when I was little, I realized I was able to control time. In fifth grade, a boy tried to punch me. Instead, he froze without explanation. The same happened to his friends, who were pulling my hair and mocking me. After an hour, they were able to move again, but they had no clue what happened. What caught my attention was when he checked the time on his phone; it was thirty minutes behind. The next day in class, I pictured a clock in my mind. School ends at around two in the afternoon, but I imagined the bell ringing right at noon, and to my shock, it happened. I tried it again the next day, but this time I tried to make the day an hour longer, which worked as well.

Through this and other "experiments" I've done, I learned quite a lot. One, I can speed up or slow time. However, the extent to which I can do it is limited. The bigger the area, the lower the magnitude of time I can affect. I was only able to speed up time around the school for only two hours. When I tried to do three hours, nothing happened. As for a single individual, it's about five hours, although I suspect it's more. I've used the power for a lot of things, from dealing with bullies to getting my hands on answer sheets for tests.

The counterargument might be that I have physic powers and that myths are just myths, but hear me out. In kindergarten, I swear I saw a one-eyed man stalking me on the playground. Last year, I saw what looked to be a harpy flying in the air. Those are mythical creatures, although I'm pretty sure most people can't see them. People would scream if they saw a monster. That's what happens in the movies, anyway, but nobody seems to notice.

But back to school. My class was going on a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum. Our history teacher, Mr. Chiron, instructed us to pick any artifact and write a report about it, based on what we learned in class. He pointed towards a statue of a large man. "Can anyone tell me who this is?" One kid raised his hand. "Zeus?" Mr. Chiron nodded. "Correct. Yiannis, can you tell me who Zeus was and his importance to the Greeks?"

"Um, Zeus was the king of the gods. As the god of the skies, he had control over whether it would rain or not. That meant he could decide how plentiful your harvest could be. Many people gave offerings to Zeus to ensure plenty of food." Behind me, a girl named Fu Yuan snickered with her friends. Mr. Chiron coughed. "Fu, I assume that you're talking about history? Would you like to add on to what Yiannis said?" Busted.

Fu blushed. "No, I'm sorry." Mr. Chiron nodded. "Very well. Moving on then." He told the students to divide into groups of two. We had an hour to look around the museum to our heart's content.

I felt a tug on my shirt and turned around. A boy with brown hair parted to the side smiled at me. "What do you want to look at?"

"I'm not sure, Julien. I never really cared about school trips." Julien's been my only friend since we were in elementary school. I saved him from getting harassed by a couple of jerks, and we've hung out since.

"Is there anything you want to see?" I always thought museums were boring, but Julien loved them. His family was ridiculously cheap and abstained from spending on what they deemed "unnecessary." I have no clue how he can live a day without any sort of entertainment. It would drive me crazy.

Julien nodded. "Anywhere would be fine. This is my first time in a museum, so I would like it if I saw everything."

"We only have an hour, Julien." Julien pouted. "So? That's plenty of time." He grabbed my wrist. "Come on. Next up is some cool knight armor." I sighed. "You're like a little kid," I muttered. "What was that?" I shook my head. "Nothing at all."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something quite peculiar. A woman dropped a black bookbag on the floor. Well, the top half was a female human. The bottom half was that of a snake. Her legs were replaced by a big, scaly tail. I was confused at how nobody noticed it. It made me wonder how she was hiding it.

"Hey Julien, could you go on without me? I need to use the restroom." Julien walked ahead of me. "Sure. I'll wait right here, so hurry up." When his back was turned, I ran to the black bookbag.

I'll admit, the bag piqued my curiosity. I mean, who wouldn't wonder what a snake woman carried? But then, I was in a public space. What happened if it turned out to be dangerous? I zipped the bag open and dropped its contents in my bag. A pair of scissors fell out onto the floor. Thankfully nobody bothered to pay attention to it. I pushed the scissors into my pocket and jogged my way back to Julien.

A woman stopped. She looked like that old hag from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The evil queen's disguise. "Yiannis Cirillo. You have some nerve, boy." I didn't like the tone of her voice. Also, I didn't even know her, so why was she angry with me?

"Um, what exactly are you referring to?" I bit my lip. There was nobody in the vicinity(except us). I just had to wait a bit. She won't be able to do anything to me if we're not alone.

The hag seemingly read my thoughts. She grabbed my arm. "Come, foolish boy. We shall discuss this elsewhere."

"Let go of my arm. I have to meet a friend-"

"Silence." The hag led me to a room filled with murals. But there was nobody in the room. It was as if she had somehow set up everything in advance. But what was she up to?

"Yiannis Cirillo," the hag said again. "Did you really think we would not notice?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Quit playing pretend. Confess your sin, and you will suffer less punishment."

"I have no clue what you're talking about." The hag grinned. "A painful death it is!" her skin darkened until it was as black as ash, and wings sprouted from her back. So it was an evil queen's disguise. But the Disney movie missed something: the woman was hideous.

She swung her arm at me, almost ripping my head off with her claws. The scissors dropped out of my pocket. Yeah, that's totally the best weapon. It probably does nine thousand damage per second and poisons the enemy. Jokes aside, it was the only thing I could use, so I had no choice.

When I picked up the scissors, they transformed into a double-edged scythe. The handle was black, but the two blades on the end of each side were bloodred. They also had spikes on them. I guess now I have a weapon that really can do nine thousand damage.

The hag flew at me. "Die!" I slashed right through her. She dissolved into black dust. "Eww!" After wiping it off of me, I realized the scythe had a little button on the handle. I pressed it, and it became a pair of scissors again. I shoved them back into my pocket.

I found Julien nearby. "Sorry if I took a long time!" Julien shook his head. "I saw an old woman taking you somewhere. The look on your face told me something was wrong."

"Um, did you witness all of that, then?" Julien raised his eyebrows. "Witness what?"

"Um, well, you see, she kinda turned into this monster and almost killed me." Julien laughed. I could tell it was forced, so he was likely lying. "Stop being silly. Monsters don't exist."

"Yeah, you're right. I think that hag was a terrorist or something. Pretty sure I saw a couple of bombs with her." Julien was wide-eyed. "Really? How'd you get out alive?"

"There was a metal stick on the ground. I banged that hag's head with it, so she won't be causing any more trouble."

"That's a relief." I nodded. "Let's look around some more. Where would you like to go next?"

Julien brought me to a marble statue of Zeus. "I've always been fascinated by Greek mythology. I really loved the stories I read as a kid."

"You read them a lot, right?" Julien nodded. "I think I memorized most of the monsters."

"So you can tell me what type of monster that hag was, right?" He made that really easy. "Yiannis, you shouldn't joke around like that. You could have died, you know." I heard a nervous quiver in his voice. He saw what I saw, all right. He just wouldn't admit it, so there was no point in pressing him further. "Yeah, you're right. I guess she was just so ugly I thought she was a monster. Anyway, an hour has almost passed. We should head back now."

I was glad to be back home. I went up to my room and put my bag on my bed. Then I went to my little sister's bed and knocked on the door. "Hey, Sis! Open up!"

My little sister was named Helen, after the beautiful princess who caused the Trojan War. She was just as beautiful, too, even if she was crippled. "How was your first day of middle school?" I asked.

"Decent enough, although..." Tears formed in her eyes. I held her hand. "Helen, did you get bullied again?" She nodded, telling me how a couple of older boys swiped her cane from her and took her lunch money. I cursed under my breath. To hell with them, I thought. Helen hugged me. "I'm sorry. I know I can be a burden-"

"You have nothing to apologize for. It's those jerks who are going to be sorry."

I caressed her hair. "If you want, I can pick you up after school." Helen's eyes lit up. "Really?" I nodded. "Ever since Mother passed away, Dad's been in a world of his own. He's never bothered to take care of you, has he?"

"Yiannis, don't be so hard on him. Dad really loved Mom. He was devastated by her death."

"I suppose you're right. But-" Helen put a finger over my lips. "Let's stop talking about that. It makes me sad."

"Sorry. You adored Mother, too, didn't you?" Helen nodded. She tied her dark hair into a ponytail. "You loved her too, right, Yiannis?"

"Yeah. It all just happened so suddenly. One second we were all having dinner together, and then after a flash of lightning, our roof was demolished. We all cried as we held mother in our arms." Helen lay on her bed. "Are you going to sleep now?" I asked. She nodded. The look in her eyes troubled me. Mother was still a sensitive topic to her. Usually, she would be bawling her eyes out, but now she was barely keeping herself composed. "Yiannis, if you don't mind, would you stay by my side?" I pulled a chair next to her and sat down. "Is there anything else you want?"

"Could you hold my hand?" I nodded. "Helen, how long do you want me to stay?"

"Until I fall asleep. Please." Ever since Mother died, Helen was afraid of sleeping by herself. She thought another thunderbolt would zap her as well. Sometimes I would have to sleep on the floor next to her.

"I'm sorry about this, Yiannis. I know I'm getting scared over nothing, but-"

"Your fears are legitimate, Helen. I promise to stay by your side. Just fall asleep for now." Helen clutched my hand tightly. "I'm glad you're my older brother. I love you, Yiannis."

"I love you, too." I pecked her forehead as she fell asleep, then headed back to my room.

If my memory's correct, there were three items in that black bookbag. One was that scythe I killed the hag with. I wondered how powerful the other two were.

I unzipped my bag. The other two items were what appeared to be a toy lightning bolt and a helmet, but the thunderbolt was what interested me. It reminded me of what killed my mother. It was then I knew that her death was not by chance. It was premeditated by none other than Zeus, the king of the gods.

If I was right, then the other item had to be Hades's helm of darkness. How the hell did that snake woman snatch the weapons of the two most powerful gods?

I was walking on thin ice. I have the weapons of the two most powerful gods, and one of them already suspects me. That's the reason that hag tried to kill me. They might even come after Helen. Whatever the case, I couldn't keep the weapons on me, but I couldn't just throw them out, either. If Zeus got his toy back, he'd fry me in an instant. Hades would likely kill me too.

I lay down on my bed and sighed. I couldn't think of a place to hide the weapons. Hades lives down in the Underworld, so burying them would essentially be giving him a present. Zeus lives in the sky, so he could see everything that occurs on the ground. I couldn't hide the objects in my room, either. What if Helen or dad found them? My best bet was to keep the weapons on me at all times. As long as I don't take it out of my bookbag, Zeus won't see his little thunderbolt. Hades was a bigger problem. The Underworld was filled with monsters, all of which obeyed him. But now that I had the scythe, I could fight them. I doubted the gods wanted to cause chaos, so I figured I should always be around groups of people. They can't attack me in public, plus I could blend in with the crowd and run away if needed.

I must have been weary because I fell asleep without even realizing it. I'm not sure whether I was having a dream or a nightmare. My surroundings were pitch black, and I could not see a thing. Then I heard a raspy voice. "So you're my son, eh? Very inexperienced, but perhaps you'll do." There was no emotion at all in his assessment of me, even if I was his son.

"Who are you?" The voice laughed, a sound not so different from the one heard when scraping ice. "Haven't you guessed by now? I am your father, Kronos. I am the Lord of the Titans."

Yipee, my life just got worse. If the gods found out my father was the one who cannibalized them, Helen and I would be screwed.

Kronos laughed again. "You've analyzed your situation well. Do you wish to protect your sister?" I nodded. "I may hate the gods for killing my mother, but how am I supposed to trust you? According to the myths, you weren't any better."

"Perhaps, child. But how will you strike down the gods without me? A single hero cannot do it alone."

"A single hero can't seriously expect to ally with you and not be manipulated either. But then again, you have a point. So I'll ask again. How can I trust you?"

"Join my cause, Yiannis, and you'll see."

"See what?"

"The baggage of lies those myths are. I will admit some of them are true; however, it was not the gods who were wronged; it was me."

"Are you saying that because you're mad that Zeus cut you into pieces and took your throne?"

"Partly, yes. I will not deny I want revenge. However, the gods are cruel. They care little about humanity, and in truth, they are nothing but puppets."

"Puppets of who?"

"The earth, Gaia, and her husband, Uranos. After I slashed the sky, I took the throne from Gaia. Then, as you know, Zeus did the same to me. However, I did not eat my own children. It was nothing but a ploy by Gaia to rally the gods against me." I was ready to dismiss that as some fabrication, but he sounded genuine. The hatred and bitterness in his voice felt real. "So, after that, I'm guessing Gaia and the gods twisted the stories we all know so well?"

"Indeed, my son. Propaganda is quite useful in wartime. It can be used to cause divisions or win others to your side."

"Are you using it to win me over to your side?"

"I don't need to use such tactics to convince you. You already wish for the demise of the gods, do you not?" Kronos had a point. "I suppose you're right. You've even sent me some toys to play with." I smiled at that thought.

"You knew I sent the helm and the bolt to you?" I nodded. "As you said, a single person can't do much on their own. How much help did you give to that snake woman?"

"Not much. The gods are ridiculously arrogant. They thought no one would dare rob them, so they have no security measures. I had a demigod run away with the items. However, a little problem surfaced."

"Which was?"

"Ares had caught the demigod. I helped the hero escape, but Ares still searches for her."

"We're talking about Ares, as in the war god, right?"

"Correct. What are you thinking?"

I grinned. "It's settled, then. I'll help you overthrow the gods. I even have a plan to deal with Ares."

"Which is?"

I told Kronos about my thoughts. The Titan cackled. "You really are my son! I had the same idea as well!"

"You approve, then?"

"Most of it, yes. However, I would like to make a few edits." He told me what was wrong with my idea and why.

"So the Oracle's new prophecy is about me?"

"And the child of Hades, my boy."

"Who's his child?" I heard the Titan snigger. "Oh, you'll see. Shall I have Ares come to you?"

"Yes. Tell the war god that I'm one of your messengers who will deliver the items to him as well as your advice. Have Ares meet me at Manetta's somewhere around eight or nine."