56 Elle Bishop, The Poseidon

After her original body was destroyed, Astrid stored all the tangerine-colored energy inside her storage bracelet. It would take years to completely absorb it safely.

"Well, it's over now!", Perseus commented.

"What now?", Elle asked Astrid.

She replied, "Now we wait.", her eyes shining like everything was under her control.

She could feel her strength rising everything time she let a bit of Kronos' source leak out and absorbed it.

Perseus understood what Astrid meant, "They'll sense Kronos' disappearance and come to check... But are we sure?", he was concerned.

"Oh... VERY!", Astrid replied in anticipation, very much looking forward to it.

It didn't take long for somebody to come.

It was Ares.

Unlike the original, here Perseus knew who his father was, and often went to the Temple of Gods to meet him. They had a decent relationship.

And Ares, the jealous little shit he was, naturally went to Hades to plan the resurrection of Kronos to punish his father for "abandoning him", for choosing Perseus over him.

Ares walked in and looked around at the situation. A pile of rock had replaced Kronos, a few mortals he didn't recognize, and, "Perseus!", his eyes lingered there, full of hate and envy.

"Do I know you?", but Perseus had never seen him before.

Before Ares could speak, "That's Ares.", Elle informed Perseus in low voice. She knew thanks to her memories as Medusa.

A flash of understanding appeared in Perseus' eyes.

Astrid commented, "Yes! That's the brat with daddy issues.", not concealing her disdain.

As soon as Ares heard it, he went into rage mode, "What did you say!?", he stared angrily at Astrid. How dare this mortal speak to him like that!

He walked forward, preparing to teach her a lesson before killing her.

Astrid waved behind at others to as not to interfere as she also walked towards Ares, "I don't repeat myself, numpty-balls!".

Ares couldn't take it anymore, "Bo-Boom!!", he broke the sound barrier as he flew toward Astrid and punched at her head.

Picturing her head burst open like a watermelon slightly calmed his rage.

But the expected result didn't happen.

Before his punch connected, Astrid disappeared from her place and appeared behind him.

Then she grabbed his foot, and, "BANG!!", she used his momentum to slam him to the ground.

As Ares slowly got up from the crater, "Time!", he exclaimed in surprise.

As the god of war, he instantly understood what just happened.

Just now, before his punch could connect, Astrid stopped time and got behind him.

"That's right... time!", she nodded.

Ares looked at her in astonishment, "But how! That's Kronos'...".

But Astrid flashed in front of him and held him by the neck, "You don't need to know.", she plunged her other hand into his chest, "After all, god of war... you've earned yourself eternal peace.".

Then she took her hand out with a jerk, extracting a ball of crimson energy.

As soon as it came out of his chest, Ares turned to dust.

This was his divinity.

Thanks to Kronos' source that was starting to merge with her, combined with her soul attribute, devour, now Astrid could take the divinity of any god weaker than her.

"Perseus, come here.", she commanded.

Perseus spoke with hesitation "Aunt Io...", but was met with a fierce gaze from her, "Cough! Cough!", so he coughed awkwardly.

"I mean, Sister Astrid... It's hard to adjust when you're in this form.", he continued.

Elle nodded from the side, "That's right! After we've called you aunty for years.".

Astrid exclaimed annoyingly, "Aunt makes me seem old!".

"Right!", Perseus looked her right in the eyes, and spoke with concern, "Zeus is my father.".

Astrid knew what he was implying, "He'll be fine!", she assured him.

Then she held him by the shoulder and pushed the mass of crimson energy into his chest.

As a result, his eyes rolled back and he passed out.

"What happened to him!?", Elle exclaimed in surprise.

"He'll... need some time to adjust.", Astrid replied while hesitating. This was the first time she did something like this, and this response was unexpected even for her.

Astrid waved her hand, speeding up the flow of time around Perseus.

Perseus slowly woke up.

"How do you feel boy?", Astrid asked as he got up.

Perseus clenched his fist, feeling the power coursing through his veins, "Like I can fight all the gods myself.", he replied with confidence.

______________________________________________________

.

It didn't take long for Zeus and Poseidon to show up.

The two walked in and looked around, "Perseus!", Zeus exclaimed, not expecting to find him in the Underworld, "Hephaestus?", Poseidon recognized Hephaestus.

"Father!", Perseus called out, feeling very complicated at this moment.

"Hephaestus, what's wrong with you? Perseus, what's going on here? Who are they? And where is Kronos?", Zeus was clearly alarmed by the situation.

In response, Astrid walked forward and released a blast of energy that pressured Zeus and Poseidon to take two steps back.

"This is Kronos...", the two brothers were speechless, their eyes were filled with disbelief and horror.

"That's right! I have his power. I absorbed him.", Astrid replied as she continued to walk towards them.

Poseidon took two steps back in fear.

But Zeus had changed after getting to know Perseus. He was no longer that horney narcissistic peabrain, but a true king, and a god.

People can change, let alone gods who are closer to perfection. True perfection is a constant evolution. A progressive change that does not stop. That way it has no flaws.

Zeus cared more about his son now, "Perseus... why?", in a tone full of desolation and depression, feeling betrayed.

Perseus was also feeling guilty. He didn't know how to explain.

"Actually, Perseus is the reason why you may get to live.", Astrid spoke.

Zeus was feeling very complicated at the moment. Betrayal, sadness, confusion, but most of all anger.

He took a deep breath to stop overthinking things and focus on the situation at hand.

His eyes shone in white light, arcs of electricity running in his hair. He stared at Astrid, gripping his spear tightly, he asked, "What do you want, outsider!?".

"Hmm...", Astrid replied thoughtfully, "Before that... I believe it's vital we understand where we stand.", then she suddenly moved.

Giving him a punch to the face that connected with his cheek.

Zeus was caught off-guard, he flew back, but Astrid didn't give him time, she flashed beside him and began a relentless assault.

Hades had found another way besides faith energy - feeding on people's fears. That's how he still had that much power even in this era.

But Zeus wasn't Hades. He was weakened now, nowhere close to his prime.

On the other hand, Perseus, Elle, and Sage attacked Poseidon.

Perseus just became the god of war, and this way he could get familiar with his new powers.

Astrid wasn't an idiot. From the very beginning, she had been using her time powers to speed up the consumption of Kronos' source as much as possible.

By now she had already devoured a lot of his physical strength, plus after adding the strength of her original body which was as strong as General Zod, she had become physically stronger than these gods.

This "lot" was still just a fraction of Kronos' true power. It would take centuries to completely devour. That's just how strong Kronos was.

Just before another kick connected, "HAAH!!", Zeus released a blast of white energy from his body, pushing back Astrid. Then he followed up by thrusting his spear at her.

Astrid responded by releasing a mass of tangerine energy at the incoming spear, making it slow down considerably.

Then she disappeared from her place and appeared behind Zeus, and held her hand at the position where the spear used to be before Zeus attacked.

Her hands glowed in tangerine energy, "HAAAH!!", after much effort, the spear disappeared from Zeus' hands and appeared in hers.

Then without wasting time, she twisted the spear in her hands, generating momentum, flashed in front of Zeus, dodging the thunder attack he released, "BANG!!", she slapped him away.

This time, before Zeus could get up, he held the spear tip at his neck.

Looking at his weapon glowing in tangerine energy, he asked, "How did you do it?".

"It was created to restrain Kronos, but I'm not him.", Astrid replied, "It might still work if Hephaestus still had his divinity, but good for me, he doesn't.".

At this moment, Zeus could only feel endless regret.

Astrid knew that the only reason she was able to defeat him was that this was the Tartarus, where except for Hades, all other gods are restrained.

Plus without the Spear of Triam, it was impossible for them to defeat her.

Now Hades was away with his Pitchfork, Zeus' thunderbolt was in her hands, and Poseidon's trident would soon fall into her hands. The Spear of Triam would never be completed.

Astrid looked down at Zeus, and spoke, "Now do you understand? You are not in a position to negotiate.", then she looked towards Poseidon, who was about to succeed in destroying Sage's Vibranium armor, and commanded, "STOP!! Or he dies!".

Poseidon looked at his brother on the ground and stopped.

"Give her your weapon.", Astrid threatened.

Poseidon hesitated, but in the end, he did what he was told, handing his trident to Elle.

"What do you want?", he asked with indignation.

Astrid replied, "For your kind to...", she disappeared from her position and appeared in front of Poseidon, and plunged the spear into his gut, "Submit to me!", she completed her sentence.

"NO!!!!", Zeus screamed in rage and indignation and used sheer force to break free from the restraints of time that Astrid used to bind him.

On the other hand, Astrid took out Poseidon's divinity, turning him into dust, then turned around and blocked the energy attack from Zeus.

"That's surprising!", she commented, not expecting Zeus to be able to break free.

Just then, before attacking Poseidon, she used her time powers to bind Zeus, making it an established fact that - he existed in that position, and making it unchangeable.

Perseus appeared in front of Zeus, "FATHER STOP!!", he yelled, "Or you'll really die.".

"She killed Poseidon, and probably Hades... both my brothers are dead!", Zeus replied sadly, with a voice filled with hate.

"Hades is fine...", Perseus replied, "Nobody else has to die.".

Hearing that one of his brothers was still alive, Zeus calmed down slightly, "What do you really want?", he asked Astrid, but his eyes only contained hate.

"Over the years, you must've noticed that your strength is waning, you're getting weaker, and there's nothing you can do about it.", Astrid replied, "I want to present a solution.".

"What solution? Don't beat around the bush.", Zeus asked impatiently.

"Give me your divinity.", she replied.

"That's the same as killing us. We'll turn into mortals and die.", Zeus replied.

"Not really. I'll grant you another kind of immortality.", Astrid spoke.

"How? Even Kronos couldn't do something like this.", Zeus asked.

"I'm not Kronos!", she replied, "Why don't you give it a try? Come here, give me your divinity. If you do it on your own accord, you won't die and will only become a mortal. Then I'll show you what I can do.".

Seeing him hesitating, Astrid continued, "It's either this or I use force. You can't escape. If you resist, you die.".

Remembering what happened to Poseidon, Zeus agreed.

Astrid took his divinity and added it to Kronos' source, transforming it, and making it stronger.

The power of darkness, earth, and the fire wasn't her style, but Zeus' powers were just too suitable for her.

Then she gave Zeus the immortality Elixir and transformed him into a Dhampir.

"This is incredible... simple magic could be used in such a manner!", Zeus looked down at his young body in amazement.

"Yes you didn't...", Astrid replied, "And now you're forever cursed to never be able to use magic.", that was the main reason she turned him into a Dhampir.

"That's not completely true...", but Zeus didn't agree, "It can only be said that I can't use magic in certain ways... Runic magic, for example, is still available.".

He was right, but in the end, he was still much more restrained than he would be if he was only given the Elixir.

Furthermore, the evolutionary potential of Dhampirs was almost non-existent. Astrid's original body was destroyed because of this.

Astrid commanded, "Elle come here...", then she took out Poseidon's divinity and pushed it into Elle's chest.

Elle's eyes rolled back and she instantly lost consciousness.

It would take her a few days to completely merge with Poseidon's divinity.

______________________________________________________

.

Zeus had many regrets in life, things he did as a god.

Giving away his divinity was hard. He was coerced and wasn't really given a choice, but when he went through with it, he felt a huge burden lifting from his shoulders. He felt free.

Astrid used Zeus' authority to take Hephaestus' divinity, then after freeing him from compulsion and granting him immortality, she sent them both to mount Olympus to inform the rest of the gods.

It didn't matter what they might decide now, whether they chose to fight or submit, they had no resistance in front of her.

Astrid, Perseus, Sage, and the unconscious Elle went back to Argos.

A couple of days later, Elle woke up. Now her only task was to get familiar with her new powers.

In the end, Hades eventually came back, but the gods were wise... Well, some of them anyway, and they persuaded others to not be foolish.

Only some minor gods attacked and they were easily taken down.

______________________________________________________

.

Astrid learned that one of her generals had died in battle, and the other had fallen in love with a local and would not be following her back.

Perseus and Danae wouldn't be following her either because Perseus, the new god of war was in love with Princess Andromeda.

According to this relation, after the death of the previous king, now Perseus would be the new king of Argos.

As a blessing to show her approval, Astrid gave Artemis' divinity to Andromeda, after some modifications.

Astrid now had Zeus' authority over the divinities of his pantheon members, so she could modify any divine ability, and add or subtract parts of divinities.

Artemis was the goddess of wild animals, hunt, vegetation, chastity, and childbirth. Astrid just removed the 'chastity and childbirth' part and added the divinity of a minor god, Nike.

Just like that, Andromeda became the goddess of wild animals, hunt, vegetation, and victory.

Now it was time to depart.

Sage, Elle, and Athena would be following Astrid.

[Images]

Astrid was impressed with Athena and didn't take her divinity. Instead, she made her the new General.

And so she now had three Generals once again, Sage, Elle, and Athena.

______________________________________________________

.

- Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters 2013

The Year 1999.

Sometimes the gods have children with humans, called half-bloods.

In the early morning, when the sun hadn't completely risen yet.

Four little children were running through the woods, breathing heavily, yet still struggling to go faster, sometimes looking back with fear, clearly being chased by something.

They were headed to camp half-blood, the only place on earth safe for their kind.

Suddenly, a tree came flying at them from behind.

The blonde boy who was constantly looking back noticed it, "Look out!", he yelled, then jumped aside.

Other others did the same.

But the boy with goat legs running in the front didn't get up.

"Grover! Luke, help him!", a girl screamed.

"Grover, you ok?", Luke asked.

"My leg. It's stuck!", Grover replied painfully.

On the other hand, accompanied by beastly roars, whatever was chasing them was coming close.

They freed his leg, then helped him get up.

However, it was already here, "Roar!!", the shadows could be seen approaching from the woods.

The other girl spoke with determination, "Keep going! I'll hold them off.", she was constantly observing the movement in the woods.

Her voice seemed calm, pupils were dilated, but her eyes were dead, indicating a calm mental state, her short and heavy breath suggested that her body wasn't listening to her, every instinct telling her to run, bursting with adrenalin, a consequence of facing death in the face.

"No! No, Thalia, they'll kill you.", the first girl tried to convince her.

But Thalia knew. Either she'd hold them off, letting her friends survive, and maybe creating a chance for herself in the end, or they all die here together. There was no other choice.

At this time, "Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!", they came.

One-eyed monsters, cyclops, each about eight meters tall, their footsteps so heavy they made the ground shake.

"Go, Luke! Go! I'll be right behind you.", Thalia urged her friends, then ran away in the other direction.

She was the most powerful here, therefore the most attractive to the cyclops, so they chased after her.

At this time, three bright spheres of light appeared out of nowhere, right in front of Thalia.

On the other hand, that first girl never ran, she was hesitating, not wanting to abandon Thalia.

Seeing her not moving, "Annabeth, let's go!", Luke pulled her arm, urging her to run.

"Luke, look!", Annabeth pointed back at the spheres of lights that appeared out of nowhere, "That must be one of our parents.", she spoke with anticipation and excitement.

But Luke would never believe that those selfish jerks would ever help them, "It must be more monsters... we need to go. Now!".

At this time, Grover spoke, "No, look! they're blocking them.".

These light spheres were blocking the path of those cyclops.

But the light faded away, and the spheres disappeared, revealing three women in medieval garments. Two blondes, one brunette.

They appeared and looked around with interest, a hint of caution in their eyes.

One of the blondes spoke to the brunette, "Sister Astrid, why here?".

But the brunette didn't reply, instead, she looked back at Thalia, "You are Thalia, right?".

Thalia nodded, "And... who are you?", she asked cautiously.

"Me...", Astrid didn't know how to reply, "Well, let me just show you.".

Then her pupils glowed in tangerine light, surrounded in intense thunder light. Her hair became edgier, with lightning flashing in them, as in Super Saiyan 3 but brunette.

Thalia wasn't scared by this scene but surprised. She felt something familiar from this lady, like family.

Then Astrid turned around, looking at those cyclops cowering in fear, too afraid to even run away.

She raised her hand.

In response, "BOOM!!", the sky darkened with dark clouds, and thunder and lightning full of intense grievance.

She brought her hand down, "THABOOMM!!!", thunder fell on the cyclops.

Thalia covered her eyes, she knew she was standing too close, but for some reason, the aftermath of the explosion didn't affect her.

When the light faded, the cyclops had become charcoal, their body structures still somehow intact, like black sculptures just lying there, excluding heat.

"Do you understand?", Astrid asked Thalia.

"You are... but... But how!?", Thalia was speechless.

"I'm a version of your father and your grandfather... at the same time. But also not!", Astrid tried to explain, "Does that make sense? Because it still makes no sense to me...", Astrid scratched her head.

She was confused. She didn't expect this at all. Getting Zeus' divinity didn't just mean getting his abilities, but god's divinity was also their identity.

When people prayed to Zeus, now Astrid would hear their prayers, constantly calling her, Zeus. That's how she would get faith energy and become stronger, expediting the process of her absorbing Kronos' source.

She was confident that she could find another way eventually as Hades did, but for now, she was also Zeus.

"Not really...", Thalia replied awkwardly.

At this time, "We're from a different universe, kid.", Elle intervened, "There are an infinite number of universes, each one is different, and we're from one of them. She's another version of Zeus, and I'm another version of Poseidon.".

Then she asked Astrid, "Sister Astrid, I thought we were going Kronos hunting again... why are we here?".

Astrid looked at Thalia complicatedly, and replied awkwardly, "Well... I just... We're just stopping by, that's all." since she was now temporarily Zeus, she might as well save Thalia now that she was here.

What's more, she felt a familiar feeling from Thalia, an instinct to protect her. This was rare, so Astrid chose not to ignore it.

"Alright! We can't stay here. Let's go. Thalia, you come with us.", Astrid spoke.

"But my friends...", Thalia hesitated.

"Do you really want to spend the rest of your life confined in this little camp?", Astrid asked.

Thalia hesitated.

"We'll put up a protective barrier around this place to protect your friends from any monsters.", Astrid spoke.

And with that, Thalia had no reason to refuse, "Let me say goodbye.".

Astrid didn't know how to use her powers so expertly yet, and neither did Elle, but Athena did.

But when Astrid looked back to ask Athena, she wasn't there.

Astrid called out, "Athena!", when she followed Elle's gaze, she found her standing in front of those kids.

Athena was looking at Annabeth in wonder, not saying anything, and Annabeth was looking at her.

Grover and Luke were cautiously standing on the side.

After a while, "Who are you?", Grover asked vigilantly.

At this time, Elle's voice came from behind, "Athena, what are you doing? We have to go.", Elle and Astrid came over.

Athena spoke absentmindedly, "This child... it feels familiar.".

When Annabeth heard their conversation, her eyes lit up in anticipation, "Athena... are you, my mother?".

Athena wanted to ignore her newly emerging maternal feelings and kill this child, as logic dictated. She didn't want to be influenced by feelings. It was a weakness. This child had to die... But... But for some reason... if it was a part of her, then perhaps it was best to leave it alone.

However, how could Astrid give up such a wonderful opportunity? She had always been thinking about how to make Athena better.

Just straight up ignoring all the feelings wasn't the answer, but experiencing them, yet having the choice of when to consider them and when not to.

Living by feelings and emotions, yet fighting and advancing by logic. That was the right way for her general.

Feelings were only a hindrance while making calculations, but they were the basis of empathy. Without empathy, you're hollow, not having the ability to judge if someone can be trusted for something. That's which hollow is weak, easily fell.

"Athena, let's bring her with us.", Astrid spoke.

"What!", Athena was surprised, "No... No we can't.".

"She's your daughter.", Astrid gave her a commanding look that said it wasn't for discussion.

Then she looked at Annabeth, who had her head down in sadness, eyes filled with despair, asking why her mother wanted to abandon her again. What did she do wrong!

Astrid gently rubbed Annabeth's back and wiped away her tears, "Annabeth right? This is your mother, Athena. I know she seems a bit cold and without feelings, but that's because she never had you. She needs your love. You would come with us, right?".

When Annabeth calmed down, she asked hesitatingly, "Can Luke and Grover come too?".

"Sorry darling, we're not an orphanage.", Astrid refused.

Annabeth looked at Luke, then she looked at Athena. Although she was cold to her, she was her mother.

She hesitated, but in the end, she agreed.

What do orphan children hope for most? - A family.

Athena soon put up a barrier around camp half-blood as it was in the original, but only much stronger.

Then after when Thalia and Annabeth said their goodbyes, they all departed in spheres of bright light.

______________________________________________________

They'll go home in the next chapter, then The Vampire Diaries arc will finally begin two chapters later.