Rise of the Titans

[HotCider]

Ares!

Jessup was pounding his fist against the door and the closer Lydia came with her taunts, the faster and harder his fist struck. The door shook against his enraged knocking. The noise was filling the room until with a final, thunderous slam, the mercenary whirled on Lydia and exploded in her face, “DID IT EVER CLICK THAT AH WASN’T TRYNN’TAH KILL YA?”

He pointed a finger right in her face and growled, “Muh goal was t’ah figure out why my employer wanted you dead because she showed me yer file an’ you appeared to be sum normal girl. Ah don’t kill people ah think is innocent. ACA even knows that ‘bout me. Trust me child, if ah wanted yer big-mouthed-ass dead, it woulda’ happened in yer apartment, and none of yer friends woulda’ been able to do a damn thing ‘bout it. So why donchu’ shut yer whore mouth an’ OPEN THE FUCKIN’ DOOR!?”

 

[heartofcourage]

Lydia did not shrink or cower as he whirled around and exploded in her face. His temper was as legendary as the God of War and she let him yell. He was all bark and no bite, she thought as he demanded that she shut her mouth and open the door. She shook her head at him, taking a deep breath to begin her own tirade.

She was quick to slap him. Meek, mild little Lydia had enough of the man before her and she slapped him as hard as she could. “If you ever call me a whore again, I’ll rip your balls off and feed them to the hell hound!”

Her eyes narrowed at him and her nostrils flared, her temper coming to the surface in a blossom of emotion. “Show yourself, Ares!” She demanded again.

 

[HotCider]

Jessup’s head snapped to the side, his cheek stinging from the slap Lydia gave to it. The mercenary didn’t budge as the pain sank in. He couldn’t get anymore fed up after that. The anger he felt made his face redder than the hand-print branded on his cheek.

“I told you not to get in my way,” Jessup said menacingly [note: the missing accent].

His right hand swiftly rose to snatch the knife from his left, and in a fluid motion, he brought the knife horizontally across Lydia’s chest. If she dodged the stroke, there would be more to follow that one in a succession that had no hesitation. The mercenary’s reaction time was so sharp that his brain was reading the movements of his foe at a supernatural level.

Jessup’s eyes were a vibrant-red and his teeth were lined in a sadistic smile as though he were enjoying every second. No words could be risked in hopes to stop the killer in his tracks. He wasn’t going to stop until the girl found the end of his knife.

 

[heartofcourage]

It shouldn’t have come as a surprise when Jessup’s voice suddenly changed but Lydia couldn’t help the surprise that showed across her features. She gasped as his hand whipped out his knife and swiped it across her chest. She yelped and stumbled backwards, glancing down at the cut that appeared in her blouse and the thin line of blood that welled across her skin.

She glanced back up towards him, knowing that he would kill her if he got the choice. His smile was cold and mocking, his eyes narrowed and intent. “So it is you, Ares.” She said softly.

 

[HotCider]

Jessup’s tongue unraveled from his mouth and he dragged the flat, bloodied side of his knife across it. Drawing it back into his mouth, he lowered his knife as he continued to regard Lydia with that eerie grin. From behind that smile escaped an impressed chuckle as he replied, “Not all of me. You are a wise woman to know that it was I locked away in this mortal shell. Who are you, and why do you stupidly get in my way?”

 

[heartofcourage]

“Don’t get too cocky. If you’re in a mortal shell, it means that you’re still mortal.” Lydia said, her hand going to cover the blood that was dripping down her chest and soaking into her shirt. She watched Jessup regard her for a moment and she studied him back, her head cocked to the side.

“I’m nobody in your world but you don’t have complete control over what you are just yet. You fade between your old form and Jessup at a moment’s notice.” She said, trying to get him to tell her more but knowing that she had to be cautious.

 

[HotCider]

Jessup’s eyes narrowed as he silently gazed upon the dark-haired woman before him. He thoughtfully wiggled the knife between his fingers before he spoke, “Lydia; a woman too smart for her own good [he had borrowed the information from Jessup]. You are correct. I am mortal…for now, but I won’t be later.”

His overconfident grin once again expanded on his face. “I am the mercenary, and he is me. We have the same passions and interests. The conflict that exists between us is morality. I murder without discrimination. My mortal discriminates. Do I care that there exists a war between the titans and the gods? Yes. I welcome the war for I AM war.”

Excitement escaped Jessup on a wicked giggle as he spread his arms to either side in invitation. “I am perhaps the only god that will have servants worshipping me until all humans are destroyed. Mortals love war just as much as I. It is because of their love for murder that I exist and am empowered.”

Lowering his arms, Jessup’s lips sealed behind a smirk. “A part of me is missing and when I find it, I will no longer be a ‘mortal.’ I will once again become the God of War; I will absorb my power; and I will paint the earth red with the blood of Titans.”

The crimson in Jessup’s eyes faded, leaving behind golden hues. The presence of the ominous god was gone, leaving the mercenary spooked and bewildered.

“Ares…Ah’m Ares?” he wondered aloud. The shock made him weak in the knees. He settled upon them and uncurled his fingers from around the grenade belt and knife. The world seemed different now. Of course it had been different since he encountered the so-called super humans and the demon dog, but the idea that he was a god…Well, what Hayden and Lydia had been trying to tell him just made more sense at that moment.

Staring wide-eyed at the floor, Jessup was lost for words.

“What does this even mean? What do ah even do? Shit, ah’ve been me muh whole life, ah wasn’t expectin’ this.”

He glanced up at Lydia and the slash across her chest. For a brief moment, he had felt the impulse to apologize and help her, but he resisted.

“Y’know, ah was gonna apol-uh-gize but since you gone went and slapped me and been actin’ like a bitch, ah’m glad he gave you what was comin’.”

 

[DeathsKnight]

Hayden Condan

He was clenching his fists and jaw as he watched Jessup turn into half god and half mortal. The only reason he stayed back was because of Lydia, he knew that a sudden move might trigger a full out attack on her, but when Jessup dropped the weapons, Hayden stepped closer.

"We have to keep him away from his relics. I know Ares as I am sure you do too Lyria. He may be a powerful ally, especially in his godly form, but what happens when the Titans have been banished or god forbid, destroyed?"

He looked at the stunned mercenary,

"He will just find ways to instigate war and death. In mortal form he is more...human."

He paused and then stuck out his hand to Jessup,

"I'm Hayden by the way."

 

[HotCider]

Jessup glanced over the offered hand and frowned. He had no interest in shaking the giant’s hand or even making friends with him and the librarian, but it seemed he had no choice. Sighing irritably, the mercenary gave in and took Hayden’s large hand. He rose to his feet and gave his hand a firm shake.

“Ah know yer name. Ah also know hers and his,” he said pointing at fly boy across the room. “Ah’m Jessup King.”

He retracted his hand and crossed his arms. Jessup peered at the floor in thought before he spoke aloud what was on his mind, “You ain’t answer my questions. Ah gotta god livin’ in me or ah’m him or he’s me or somethin’. You ain’t want to keep him from gettin’ whatever he’s lookin’ for, ah understand that, but how do ah fix this problem? How do ah go back to normal or…” He rested a hand on his face. His confusion was giving him a headache. He recalled Hayden’s and fly boy’s powers and lowered his hand. “Does this mean ah got powers too? What can ah do, and how do ah learn so ah can go kill that bitch and her dog?”

 

[heartofcourage]

“You might not have a power.” Lydia said, moving her hand to glance down at the bloody wound on her chest. She sighed and looked back up at Jessup. “And we can’t let you get to Ares’s item that would unleash his powers. If we did that, Jessup King would cease to exist and we’d all be in for a world of hurt.”

She glanced over at Steve as he came beside her with a towel and she used it to wipe off the blood, glancing up at Jessup from time to time. “I hate to tell you this, but there is no normal anymore. Everything you thought that you knew isn’t true. You aren’t simply a human. This isn’t going to be easy.”

“What’s the woman’s name that you’re working for? I already know the dog, but who is she?” She asked, her brow furrowing as she tried to piece everything together.