DEMIS (A Clash With Lightning)

7

"You are too weak." Ares complained. 

Josh rolled his eyes as his father's unsolicited input. He had quite literally just tossed a 200 pound boulder clear over a tree. In what universe was that considered weak? Ares had been breathing down Josh's neck the entire training day, and Josh could feel his patience thinning with each passing moment. 

"Apologies, dad, but for me to have only just started using my powers yesterday, I would say that was pretty impressive." Josh replied through gritted teeth. 

"Hardly." Ares crossed his arms. Ares had ditched the magic circle and had actually bothered to come spectate their training in person. The situation must have gotten worse. "Your main power source is your strength, and Alexander is more than ten times as strong as you."

"Why don't you go assist one of the others with their training?" Josh suggested. "Your constant bickering is doing nothing to help me."

"I am here to push your limits." Ares said as he crossed his arms. "Perhaps you are just lazy."

"Lazy?" Josh scoffed. "I have and always will work my ass off you piece of shit."

"And yet you have nothing to show for it." Ares said with a mocking smile upon his usual stoic features. 

"I have plenty to show for it! I was top of my class-" 

"I care nothing about that human trivial nonsense." Ares interrupted with a wave of his hand. "You have nothing to show for the side of your genetics that truly matter."

All of a sudden, Ares was sent flying across the jungle and smashed into the wall of the cave the demigods had been taking refuge in. Ares blinked in surprise as he tried to assess what had just happened. Once his vision finally cleared, he witnessed Josh charging at him in anger. Ares smiled as he had finally managed to get a rise out of his son after hounding him all day. 

Ares jumped out of the way of Josh's second attack. "Do not blame me for your shortcomings, son." He taunted. 

"Get down here and say it to my face, old man!" Josh shouted from the ground. 

"No. I do not think I will." Ares called out. "Why don't you come up here and do something about it?"

Before Ares was even able to finish his sentence, he was dodging another of Josh's attacks. How had he gotten up there so fast? He didn't even see it. Josh began throwing a series of punches that Ares found himself barely dodging before being swiftly pinned to the ground. He tried to throw Josh off of his chest with no luck. With his powers drained, Ares was terrified to realize that this boy he had gave life to... was stronger than him. 

"Josh!" Rose shouted as she grabbed his arm and attempted to pull him off. "He isn't worth it!" 

Josh ignored her request before lightly shoving her away. Rose groaned before calling to the rest of the group urgently. "Can I get a little help over here?" 

Keith and Jasmine wasted no time climbing to the top of the cave and helped Rose successfully pull Josh off of his father. Rose was shocked to see that Ares' face was bleeding and swollen from taking the beating. 

"Brother..." Rose began not really sure what to say. 

"He had it coming." Josh said in Jasmine and Keith's arms. 

"You're right." Ares coughed out with a smile. "I underestimated you just like the rest of Olympus continues to underestimate all of you. Use your rage against your parents as your weapon when fighting Alexander. I feel confident that the world is in good hands in your group."

Everyone was shocked by Ares' praise, especially Josh. It probably wasn't the best course of action to attack his father, but he only had so much patience. His father had been degrading him the entire day. He could not just keep taking the verbal assault. He never dreamed that he would get praise for beating his father. The gods truly were a different type of phenomenon.