Lightnings Twin (Male OC X Pjo/Hoo)

We take a zebra to Vegas

The war god was waiting for us in the diner parking lot. I had a eagle on my shoulder so I could look through its eyes

Ares:"Well, well You didn't get yourself killed."

Percy: "You knew it was a trap,"

Ares gave him a wicked grin.

Ares: "Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. You looked good on TV."

Percy shoved his shield at him.

Ares: "You're a jerk."

Kaze: "that is his Forte"

Annabeth and Grover caught their breath.

Ares grabbed the shield and spun it in the air like pizza dough. It changed form, melting into a bulletproof vest. He slung it across his back.

Ares: "See that truck over there?"

He pointed to an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street from the diner.

Ares: "That's your ride. Take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas."

The eighteen-wheeler had a sign on the back, which I could read only because it was reverse-printed white on black, a good combination for dyslexia: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.

Percy: "You're kidding."

Ares snapped his fingers. The back door of the truck unlatched.

Ares:  "Free ride west, punk. Stop complaining. And here's a little something for doing the job."

He slung a blue nylon backpack off his handlebars and tossed it to percy.

Inside were fresh clothes for all of us, twenty bucks in cash, a pouch full of golden drachmas, and a bag of Double Stuf Oreos.

Percy: "I don't want your lousy—"

Grover: "Thank you, Lord Ares, Thanks a lot."

Kaze: "tch cheep god."

Ares: "now now I heard a rumor from a reliable source about you and ar-"

Kaze: "jeez  I got it sorry "lord" Ares."

Percy gritted his teeth. It was probably a deadly insult to refuse something from a god. Even though I Had done so millions of times before. Especially Aphrodite. She is a creep.

I asked the eagal to look back at the diner, which had only a couple of customers now. The waitress who'd served us dinner was watching nervously out the window, like she was afraid Ares might hurt us. She dragged the fry cook out from the kitchen to see. She said something to him. He nodded, held up a little disposable camera and snapped a picture of us.

Great, I thought. We'll make the papers again tomorrow.

I imagined the headline: TWELVE-YEAR-OLD OUTLAW BEATS UP DEFENSELESS BIKER. Or maybe THIRTEEN YEAR OLD STEALS A EAGLE THE NATIONAL BIRD.

Percy: "You owe me one more thing, You promised me information about my mother."

Ares: "You sure you can handle the news?"

He kick-started his motorcycle.

Ares: "She's not dead."

Percy: "What do you mean?"

Ares: "I mean she was taken away from the Minotaur before she could die. She was turned into a shower of gold, right? That's metamorphosis. Not death. She's being kept."

Percy: "Kept. Why?"

Ares: "You need to study war, punk. Hostages. You take somebody to control somebody else."