Hurricane ~ L. Valdez

1.13- Valdez And Jackson: Cyclops Fighters

      "Torque, you pathetic excuse for a Cyclops, get her!"  Torque barreled towards me, and I ran out of the way. I shot my hands out, shooting electricity at the monster , throwing him back. Right as he flew back, a three-ton yellow metal claw slammed the Cyclops in the back so hard. Thank the gods for Leo Valdez. He landed flat on his face. Before Torque could recover, the robotic hand grabbed him by one leg and hurled him straight up. 

      "AHHHHH!" Torque rocketed into the gloom. The ceiling was too dark and too high up to see exactly what happened, but judging from the harsh metal clang, I guess the Cyclops had hit one of the support girders.  Torque never came down. Instead, yellow dust rained to the floor. Torque had disintegrated.

      Ma Gasket stared at Leo in shock. "My son...You...You..." 

      As if on cue, Sump lumbered into the firelight with a case of salsa. "Ma, I got the extra-spicy—"  He never finished his sentence. I shot lightning at him and Leo spun the remote's toggle, and the second robotic arm whacked Sump in the chest. The salsa case exploded like a piñata and Sump flew backward, right into the base of Leo's third machine. Sump may have been immune to getting hit with truck chassis, but he wasn't immune to robotic arms that could deliver ten thousand pounds of force. The third crane arm slammed him against the floor so hard, he exploded into dust like a broken flour sack. 

      Two Cyclopes down.

      Ma Gasket locked her eye on him. She grabbed the nearest crane arm and ripped it off its pedestal, roaring. "You busted my boys! Only I get to bust my boys!" 

      Leo punched a button, and the two remaining arms swung into action. Ma Gasket caught the first one and tore it in half. The second arm smacked her in the head, but that only seemed to make her mad. She grabbed it by the clamps, ripped it free, and swung it like a baseball bat.

      It missed Piper and Jason by an inch. Then Ma Gasket let it go—spinning it toward Leo. He yelped and rolled to one side as it demolished the machine next to him. 

      "And only I get to bust MY boy!" I yelled, shooting lightning at woman. I soon realized that an angry Cyclops mother was not something you wanted to fight with... even with lightning. She chucked a spare part at me absentmindedly, hitting my leg. Gods, it hurt.

      "Any more tricks, demigods?" Ma Gasket demanded.

       "Heck, yeah, I got tricks!" Leo raised his remote control. "Take one more step, and I'll destroy you with fire!"  Ma Gasket laughed.

      "Would you? Cyclopes are immune to fire, you idiot. But if you wish to play with flames, let me help!"  She scooped red-hot coals into her bare hands and flung them at Leo. They landed all around his feet.

       "You missed," he said incredulously. Then Ma Gasket grinned and picked up a barrel next to the truck. Leo just had time to read the stenciled word on the side—kerosene—before Ma Gasket threw it. The barrel split on the floor in front of him, spilling lighter fluid everywhere.  Coals sparked. Leo closed his eyes, and I screamed.

      "No!"  A firestorm erupted around him. Leowas bathed in flames swirling twenty feet into the air.  Ma Gasket shrieked with delight, and I fell to my knees.

      The kerosene burned off, dying down to small fiery patches on the floor.  Piper and I gasped. "Leo?"  Sure enough, Ma Gasket looked astonished.

      "You live?" Then she took that extra step forward, which put her right where Leo wanted. "What are you?" 

       "The son of Hephaestus," Leo said. "And I warned you I'd destroy you with fire."  He pointed one finger in the air and summoned all his will. It didn't really work.

      Ma Gasket laughed. "An impressive try, son of Hephaestus. It's been many centuries since I saw a fire user. You'll make a spicy appetizer!"  A chain snapped and an engine block fell, deadly and silent. 

      "I don't think so," Leo said.  Ma Gasket didn't even have time to look up. "Not immune to engines, huh?" Leo said. "Boo-yah!"  Then he fell to his knees, his head buzzing.

      I gasped, hopping over him to help him up. "Leo! Are you all right? Can you move?"  He stumbled to his feet, hugging me tightly. I let out a small gasp.

      "I thought you were going to die, idiot."

      "Can't get rid of me that easily, tormentosa." He said, before we pulled away. "MY boy?" He questioningly teased and my face flushed.

      "Shut up and help me get Piper and Jason down, Repair Boy."

      It took us a long time to get Piper down from her chains. Then together, we lowered Jason, who was still unconscious. Piper managed to trickle a little nectar into his mouth, and he groaned. The welt on his head started to shrink. His color came back a little. 

      "Yeah, he's got a nice thick skull," Leo said. "I think he's gonna be fine." 

       "Thank god," Piper sighed. Then she looked at Leo, almost looking fearful. "How did you—the fire—have you always...?" 

      Leo looked down. "Always," he said. "I'm a freaking menace. Sorry, I should've told you guys sooner but—" 

      "Sorry?" Piper punched him in the arm. When he looked up, she was grinning. "That was amazing, Valdez! You saved our lives. What are you sorry about?"  Leo blinked. He started to smile, before frowning and nudging me.

      "They're forming again," He said. "Look."  I stepped away from the dust.

      "That's not possible." I said, shaking my head. Monsters dissipate when they're killed. They go back to Tartarus and can't return for a long time." 

       "Well, nobody told the dust that." Leo watched as it collected into a pile, then very slowly spread out, forming a shape with arms and legs. 

      "Oh, god." Piper turned pale. "Boreas said something about this—the earth yielding up horrors. 'When monsters no longer stay in Tartarus, and souls are no longer confined to Hades.' How long do you think we have?" 

      "I don't know," Leo said, helping support me again to help my leg. "But we need to get out of here."