CONTROL

"I think I caught one!"

"No you didn't."

"I swear I did! Look at the thing!"

"Fucking hell! You really did it!"

Herakles stared in disbelief at the gigantic serpentine body writhing before the golden bubble. It had to be about a hundred and fifty feet long and ten feet thick, every inch of its body covered in glistening green scales that reflected light. A thin golden line extended from within the monster's crocodilian head which lead to a golden fishing rod in Athos' hands. His muscled arms flexed as he reeled the monster in for a closer look. Hundred tons of pure muscle yanked back - pulling on the golden line, but Athos' hands were so still that one would never guess that a Sea Serpent was at his mercy.

"See, I'm simply more talented", He grinned, showing his pearly white teeth. It had been two days since they'd begun this fishing session and all his father had caught were a few sperm whales. To add insult to injury, a Skolopendra had used its long whiskers to snatch one of the two whales that his father caught.

"Bah! It's barely eating size. Poseidon should release the little ones", Herakles harrumphed, mournfully staring at his very own golden rod that seemed to repel fish.

Athos raised an eyebrow, "Little ones? How big do they get?"

"Big enough to warrant the attention of Barnacle Beard", Herakles answered, warily eyeing the Sea serpent thrashing about. "This is one of the smaller ones. The crocodile-headed serpents can merely grow a few thousand feet."

"...a few thousand...merely...", Athos mumbled, looking at the Sea serpent that had not ceased its attempts at freedom. Everything after his metamorphosis seemed so surreal. He now had the strength to pulverise mountains, he had atomized an Olympian, his weapons had evolved and he was now fishing with his dad. It had been two months since the event and he had spent it honing his fighting skills, and his new powers and whiling away time fishing and exploring the sea. He was now fully accustomed to his new body but his fathers experience more than made up for the difference.

He had informed Nereus of his current circumstance and after a great deal of pleading, managed to make the grumpy sea god agree to extend the deadline for the Apple of Immortality. Meanwhile, the golden bubble they were in had already crossed half the Atlantic Ocean and their destination?

Kansas.

Sure, they could've gone faster, but his dad had decided he needed a break and he couldn't agree more. He had gone through so much in the short time frame of a month - enough to make anyone go insane, and had even elevated his state of being. He had infuriated a Primordial so much, that she had almost wiped out all life in an attempt to take his own, suffering immense backlash in the process.

Perhaps his father feared he would bring about another extinction event if he went out too early or feared he would go piss off Tartarus too, but whatever the case, the break from the outside world had helped him far more than he realised.

"Are you gonna let the poor bastard go?", Herakles said, interrupting his thoughts.

"Do you want to do the honors? Perhaps it'll cure you of that abysmal luck you've been having?", Athos suggested.

"Very funny...", Herakles grumbled but cut the line anyway. "Now stand. It's time to train."

Athos' eyes lit up. Training was his favourite time of the day.

***

"What have I been teaching you?! Put your back into it!"

"Your kicks need work!"

"I saw that coming from a mile away!"

"By the Gods! Keep your eyes on ME!"

"Too slow!", Herakles muttered swatting away the hundredth punch. Athos grit his teeth before retreating a few steps back. The spars with his Father were all about honing his body control and technique - they both never used much strength in their punches and kicks. The only thing he didn't like about it was that he was not allowed to pull out Leviathan even once in the past two months no matter how much he wanted to practice his axe skills - it was always Pankration and mixed martial arts.

"How are you going to use an axe when you can't throw a damn punch!", was his father's eloquent response. He wanted to argue, but after getting thrown a few kilometres into the sea, he complied. His father was Herakles after all.

He grit his teeth and feinted a punch to the liver before sliding under the block and hooking his father's arm over his shoulder.

'Got you!', his eyes gleamed, but before he could flip Herakles like he'd always wanted to, he felt his vision tilting.

"Huh!"

THUD!

He landed on the golden floor with Herakles' knee against his spine and arm against his neck.

"You should watch your legs", his father smirked. "This is your hundredth loss! Congratulations!"

Athos sighed in defeat before standing up begrudgingly.

"You know, I'll never be able to suplex a lightning bolt", he grumbled. No sane God who knew who he was would try to fight him in close combat. So what was the point? He knew his dad knew better than him, but this didn't make sense no matter how much he thought about it.

"You want me to throw you again?", Herakles grinned, cracking his knuckles. "I think with enough force I'll be able to get you Kansas the hard way."

"Whoa whoa! Let me stop you there. I make a good point, don't I?"

"You don't. You don't suplex the lightning bolt. You suplex the God."

"My point still stands."

"When was the last time you summoned your lightning?", Herakles suddenly asked.

"Aha! I caught you! You're trying to divert the top-

"Answer my question", Herakles sighed.

"Fine. It was two weeks after you explained it to me.", Athos said looking a tad confused. His lightning had been the most uncontrollable one of all his powers. No matter how hard he tried, he was never able to tame it. Even his Draconic Aura, which practically drained him of all energy was easier to practice and control. He'd tried for days but it was in vain. He had eventually shifted his focus to his body control that could be trained quickly choosing to mull over it later. Why was it brought up all of a sudden?

"Bring it out now", Herakles replied.

"Now?"

"Did I stutter?"

"Alright, but I still don't see the poi-eh?"

CRACKLE!

The black lightning that burst out of his palm seemed far more different than before. Unlike last time, it didn't smash into the golden barriers around him. Make no mistake, it was just as powerful, unruly and wild as before but this time seemed more...calm. Like controlled chaos.

"What's going on?", he looked up in shock at his dad who was sporting a smug 'I-told-you-so' look.

"When you first fought after your metamorphosis, I noticed that your strength and powers were all over the place. The main thing you lacked was control. Your lightning originates - not from your soul - but from your body, or else you'd be using divinity to generate it. That's how it goes for all demigods for that matter, such as how Zeus' sons also generate lightning and fly. Thus, the more control you have over your body, the easier it becomes to tame said power. It's similar to how demigods seem to grow more proficient with their powers the older and more experienced they are. Practice is indeed a factor, but body control is a must", his dad said, his grin growing wider and wider.

"Couldn't you have told me this sooner?", Athos grumbled for the second time.

"I just wanted to throw you around a bit."

"Hey!"

***

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( Pls gimme more powerstones too!!! I love em! They taste like candy! )