Anti-Hero || Leo Valdez

1 - Monsters With Chest-Faces Lead Our Dad To Us

Via was not a fan of danger. Danger led to people getting hurt, and since Via was a healer, she did not like people getting hurt. Especially if those people were people she cared deeply about.

But of course, being a demigod came with danger coming at you from all sides.

Like right now. Via was peering over Emmie's shoulder at the street cameras Jo had hacked into. Something had caught the blemmyae's interest, and that something had drawn the weird monsters with the chest-faces to the square in front of the Waystation. Before the emperor had arrived, Via had interacted with the blemmyae pretty frequently. They'd been nothing but pleasant and polite. Then, over the past month, they were still pleasant and polite — only now they seemed determined to kill or capture anyone who stood against the emperor.

Ergo, they were dangerous and Via did not like them.

"What are they doing?" Via wondered, shaking her head. The blemmyae didn't usually gather this close around the Waystation. It was possible that the blemmyae had discovered this hiding place, a safe haven for lost demigods in the middle of Indianapolis. One of the half-bloods the emperor's forces had captured must've talked. There was no other way the blemmyae could've discovered where they were.

No, Via chided herself. If they were attacking the Waystation, they'd have brought weapons, and they don't have any weapons.

Jo grunted. She'd been the first one to see the blemmyae after Agamethus had pointed them out, milling around outside, surrounding a random bulldozer. "I don't know. But they're a little too close for comfort. Even if they're not here for us, I think we'd be better off without all these blemmyae standing around. Pat, can you help me fire up the crossbows?"

Pat, Via's twin brother, grinned from Jo's other side. Pat loved projectile weapons. He was an excellent archer. Like really good. Probably Olympics-level good. "Do you even need to ask?"

"Wait," Emmie said, pointing towards the screen at three figures sitting in the bulldozer that the blemmyae were gathered around. These people obviously weren't blemmyae. Via couldn't make out their faces since the street cams only gave them a posterior view of the scene, but she noticed that one of them was slumped like a rag doll between the other two.

"They're injured," Via realized with a jolt. She knew now that she wouldn't be able to stay out of it. If someone was hurt, she needed to help them; otherwise, she'd start to feel guilty and useless.

"We won't be able to fire the crossbows without shooting them," Jo said. "Not unless they manage to duck in time, and there won't be much of a warning after the turrets are locked and loaded."

Via frowned. So if they could get a warning and duck in time, the crossbows wouldn't be able to hit them.

"I'll go out there and warn them," Via said.

Jo, Emmie, and Pat all looked surprised.

"Uh, Vee?" Pat raised his eyebrows. "You sure about that?"

Via felt a twinge of annoyance. Sure, she wasn't much of a fighter, but she was more than capable with a bow, even if she wasn't as good as Pat, and she was tired of sitting around and doing nothing. She wanted to help.

"Yes. The sensors will recognize me. The crossbows won't shoot me."

Emmie placed a hand on Via's shoulder. "I'll go, too. We'll keep each other safe."

"Be quick," Jo warned. "Make sure they hit the deck. Save the talking and explanations for after the blemmyae have been taken care of. Got it?"

Via and Emmie nodded.