Blood of Olympus FanFic {completed}

3: LEO

CH 3: LEO

Honestly? Leo was tired of quests.

Yeah, yeah, he knew he would be kicked out of the Junior Hera Quests Club but he didn't care. 

He was tired of risking his life day and night, and of his friends' murmurs and theories about where he had been when Khione had blasted him out of the sky. Like, dude, gimme a break.

Now there was another hostile intruder aboard and Leo was the one who was going to end up dying. 

Frank wiped muffin crumbs off his now-sturdy chin and stood. Everyone followed silently. Leo hated their transformation from normal, carefree teenagers to these warriors. Even he had changed. And yeah, it wasn't only because of Calypso. 

Calypso... he tried not to think of her name, but it surprised him, popping out in his blank mind every now or then, causing a stomach-clenching pain in his gut. He felt so guilty about letting her go, yet so determined about getting her back. And there were the days where he just didn't think.

It doesn't work that way, he told himself. The gods are cruel.

"Speaking of gods," a voice said dryly.

Leo yelled, whipping around. A pancake, slathered with maple syrup shot from Piper's cornucopia, Jason jumped, startled, and Hazel was suddenly holding a large golden crown. Only Frank remained unruffled, and deadly calm. 

Man... Leo wondered how the big guy had changed so much.

But he didn't have time to think, since a man with caramel colored hair and a black Jansport bag was advancing on them. The man held out his hands in a placating gesture as if to tell them he was no threat. Instincively, Leo's fingers rested on his tool belt, Hazel's clenched over her cavalry sword, and Piper's twitched on her horn of plenty.

"Well, you"re certainly one good crew!" The intruder smiled, and lowered his hands. Then, the smile melted off his face and a contorted expression replaced it. For a mere second, a new man was in his place: a man in a jogging outfit with a messenger bag. Then, the image was gone and the new man was back.

Something in his mannerism reminded Leo of Connor and Travis from Camp Half Blood.

"Mercury," Hazel confirmed.

"Yes. Mercury... or Hermes. Whatever you prefer," The dude- No, god- said, with a wry smile.

Leo raised his hand. "Um, is there a difference?"

The god suddenly looked extremely annoyed, an expression Leo was used to having directed at him. "Of course, Leo Valdez! I am nothing like my counterpart, Hermes. Argh!"

As he said Hermes' name, he again morphed into the man with the jogging suit and the much more relaxed kind of look.

"Hermes?" came a puzzled voice.

Leo turned to see Percy, who was smirking slightly

Mercury looked confused. "Have we met?"

"Yeah." Percy grinned at the god, who didn't smile back. "But... you were at Olympus. And you were taller. And more athletic. And you were wearing a jogging suit."

Mercury's face suddenly became red and contracted. His body tensed. Leo thought it made him look constipated. Then he thought that Calypso wouldn't like him thinking that of a god, and the familiar pain in his gut was back.

"Will...You...Stop...That!" Mercury choked, his form flickering dangerously. 

Percy raised his hands. "Hey. Sorry!"