The ruby red plastic-covered seat creaked under Rex's weight as he leaned back and crossed his arms, his customary frown upon his face. From his seat, he had a good view of most of the diner, particularly many of the windows, in case more assailants were on their way. That man at the museum had said they'd been following William and Hercules for some time now, and even though the restaurant wasn't very close to the museum, it was better to assume they'd be discovered at any moment. Who knew how many people might there be next time?

The waitress had already collected their orders, so as the cook started preparing Rex's waffles, eggs, and country ham, the firefighter flicked his gaze to the boy in the wheelchair.

"We might not have a lot of time before you're attacked again," Rex said seriously. It had only been about twenty minutes since they left the museum. This would be an excellent time to catch the trio off guard, especially with how tired Rex was and even William and Hercules must be. That much magic in such a short amount of time really took a lot out of you.

"So I think it's time you explained what you know about Atlas and who sent him, and while you're at it, why on Earth you thought I was with them?" he said steely. He wasn't threatening the boy, at least he didn't think so, but with the revelation had come a bit of anger like a burning ember. Not a full-on bonfire, but a slight smoldering. The boy's secrets were already having near-lethal consequences for those around him. He'd already commanded Hercules to attack Rex, as well as summoning some monster dog that slipped through shadows like a demon to assist, just because he correlated Rex's fire magic to some flaming horses that had killed his father and injured him and his mother.

Rex was not amused.

William sat opposite of Rex and Hercules pulled a chair up next to William. The boy pulled himself up closer to the table and reached for the coffee that was quickly intercepted by Hercules’s massive hand. ”Teens shouldn’t drink coffee.” Hercules chastised the boy. William glared at the prince of power for a second and reached for the soda. “Like the amount of sugar in this is any better for me.” he said blowing a few bubbles into the drink as he thought on Rex’s words. William didn’t like the tone.

”Apologies friend!” Hercules said outright before William could say anything. Hercules took a sip of the coffee and almost gaged on the beverage. Reaching for the cream and sugar he doctored the drink up so it tasted nothing like coffee before he continued. ”They’d be foolish to attack again so soon after losing the first time. Atlas was the only one that was a challenge for me. And the others? I’m confident in our abilities. With you by my side Rex I doubt there is little who can pass us for the boy.” Hercules said sipping his drink now that it was fixed.

“You keep forgetting we have friends to call.” William finally said. Hercules had friends all over, mutant and mystic. Not to mention his harem of masters who would no doubt help because Hercules picked them. They were all good people. Well... all of them. Serena was.... not the nicest. William looked down avoiding eye contact. “Sorry for thinking you were with them...”

”You wield fire, Rex of the flaming sword. Much like the ones that attacked William and his parents.” Hercules put a reassuring hand on the boys shoulder and smiled at him. ”It’s fine William, I can speak if you prefer not to.” he said reassuring the boy.

“It’s fine...” lied the boy still not making eye contact. “The night I summoned Hercules, me and my family were attacked by someone who controlled fire magic. They killed my father and hospitalized my mother. If it wasn’t for the fact that I summoned Hercules... we both would have died. I just saw some cool looking Greek bracers... I didn’t think they were important.” William shifted his sleeve up to show one of the bracers he always wore or kept nearby. It was only important because it was how he first summoned Hercules. It made him feel safe.

”They were linked to me as they were mine in the past.” Hercules said proudly when he glanced that the boy was keeping them on his person.

Rex's own coffee sat there untouched. It was straight black, pure caffeine and no sugar whatsoever. He was not interested in coffee at the moment. He wanted answers.

"Forgive me if I do not share your bravado," Rex said levelly in Hercules's direction, "but I am not interested in tempting God. Do you not think they will come back, better prepared for you and me?" His tone was low and his words were crisp. There was much to go over, so, so much, but instead it seemed like they were stalling.

Rex fought fires. He investigated the causes of fires. He dealt with life and death constantly. He didn't have time to rehash the things they already knew, such as the attack by fire. "So we already covered," he said.

He turned back to Will. After a moment, he unfolded his arms. William was a kid, not a convict. Perhaps...just perhaps...Rex could ease up a bit.

"Why don't you start at the beginning of the night you summoned Hercules."

To the boy that was all they were. Maybe he felt something in them that screamed ‘steal me! No one appreciates me locked behind this glass’. They were a link to the past and a Greek one at that. William’s favorite era of history. The irony wasn’t lost on the boy as he watched the oversized behemoth across from him smile at him for showing off the stupid bracers.

Still refusing to meet anyone’s eye he continued, “I didn’t even want to go to the stupid thing. My dad’s company just got bought by the host of the event. Said it was ‘important that we show our faces’ made it harder to fire him over the transfer. It was a stuffy event. Lots of reach people being snobs and complaining about stupid things. What was in the news, the music that was playing... the food. I was bored. So bored. I started to wander. There were other kids there but they were... just like their parents.” William said recalling into his soda trying to remember all the details. It wasn’t hard for the boy, he never suffered with remembering things. It was one of the reasons he thought he was so good at magic.

Hercules kept his eyes on William ready to jump in any time the boy stumbled with his words. It was a traumatic night after all.

“I ended up leaving the main party, wandering the halls. There was art all over the place. Pieces of history that was... interesting. Ancient swords, made of bronze. Some of copper. Even a few of stone, they had suits of armor shields... I wonder if they were all magical...” the boy trailed off and Hercules cleared his throat aware of the boy’s train of thoughts. ”William...”

“Right... I saw my mom and dad go into a room with the new owner and few of his coworkers. They seemed worried about their jobs too. Looking over their shoulders as they went. I followed them into a stairwell then into hallway laced with brick. Looked almost ancient like in those ‘under Paris crypt documentaries. More artifacts littered the walls and glass cases covered everything that was small enough to pick up. That’s when I saw them.” the boy tapped three times to the bracer then rolled his shirt down past them.

Rex sat as still as a statue as the boy began to speak. The firefighter continued to frown, but it was not in judgement or anger, merely seriousness as he took in the kid's words. Dark, troubling things were afoot and even their assailants knew William had the answers. Normally Rex wasn't one to pry into the lives of others, especially around trauma, but this was a life and death situation. His training and instincts took over.

You didn't stop fires by ignoring them and hoping they'd go away. You stopped fires by going to the source of the problem and extinguishing them. If there were murderous spellcasters targeting this boy to the point of hiring a magical hit-squad, they needed to respond fast.

So Rex continued to frown, his arms still crossed, as the story began.

A long time ago at a party not too far away....

"Why, Ah do declar-uh," Zek said in his best Hollywood Southern accent. "This cheeseburger slider is just downright terrable! It boggles the midn that anyone would evah serve this at just a fancy shindig like this," he said, shoving the rest of the slider past his big white bushy mustache and into his maw.

"Sir, that's a roasted oyster," the server said respectfully as she readjusted the silver tray on her hand.

Zek blinked at the black-clad woman and than back down at his hand. He took his monocle out and rubbed it against his solid white jacket before popping it back into his eye. "Why, so it is!" he said exuberantly. "Then in that case, I'll take another!" Zek reached out and snagged another oyster off the tray with the aid of a little tiny napkin and spun around to find his Featherbutt, his fellow party crasher and co-masquerader.

"Ah say, Ah mean Ah say, Clarence, you have got to try these oyster sliders! They're simply the cat's meow!" Zek said with gusto. "They even make this awful music and the most recent events in the headlines seem acceptable, by their sheer presence!"

The two of them were dressed up like high society snobs and had picked out different accents and costumes, all the better to blend into the black tie gala. So of course Zek was dressed in his favorite powder blue suit, monocle, wingtip shoes, complete with bamboo cane, boater hat, fake mustache, and dyed-white hair. All the better to attend this "wellness" or "whalesaving" or "well, drinking" event that was also supposed to be about formally acknowledging the acquisiton and merger of some company into the "Helios Foundation" or whatever, but after hearing it was supposed to be a "magical" experience, Zek didn't need to hear any more. So he'd invited his partner in crime along to enjoy.

As Zek, tried to catch Featherbutt's attention, a burly man in the finest black tuxedo you ever saw - its quality emphasized by just how valiantly it held itself together when stretched around the man's generous paunch - started making his way through the crowd towards a man, a woman, and their son.

"James Erickson! Welcome! I'm glad you could make it!" the man said in a not-quite-booming tone tinged with a thick Greek accent as he approached the trio. "And this must be your wife and son! Sara and William, yes?" he said, turning to shake each of their hands in order. "I'm Isaac Helios, the founder of well, the Helios Foundation!" He waved a hand at one of the banners nearby, which had "Helios Foundation" brazenly plastered in front of a stylized sun.

"Tell me, are you enjoying the party?" Helios asked with sudden intensity. "I hope you are! I hired simply the best event organizers in this tawdry city and I truly hope they were up to the task!"

“Right... I saw my mom and dad go into a room with the new owner and few of his coworkers. They seemed worried about their jobs too. Looking over their shoulders as they went. I followed them into a stairwell then into hallway laced with brick. Looked almost ancient like in those ‘under Paris crypt documentaries. More artifacts littered the walls and glass cases covered everything that was small enough to pick up. That’s when I saw them.” the boy tapped three times to the bracer then rolled his shirt down past them.

Reluctantly the boy’s memory racked on the night in question. He had a good memory so it wasn’t hard. It was hard remembering his parents for what they were not what they would come to be.

-------

It must have cost millions not only to physically rent one of the tallest buildings in the New York sky line but to have retrofitted it to look like some ancient castle. William’s mouth hung a jar as he exited the elevator struggling to not adjust the tie his father insisted on.

“William, stop fussing with it.” the large hand of his father rested on his shoulder as he guided them out into the party. “Best behavior.” James said in a low voice. William’s father could command a room with his voice. Something the boy was used to his father almost seemed... scared by tonight’s event. “He already promised James. Our son is a man of his word right?” Will looked up to his mother, Sara and pouted slightly and then nodded in agreement. Waffles were on the table. Not first thing in the morning but the late night kind the boy often argued the best kind.

“We just have to be seen by your new boss and then we can go and I can take this monkey suit off right?” James his father chuckled, “I’m a man of my word!” William slowed as one of the medieval looking bricks that lined the walls caught his attention. Was that a Greek etched into it?

Unbeknownst to William his parents kept walking and smiling as they headed to the table where the food was displayed along with the drinks. They were here to mingle. William was just here because he had to be. However this lone etching was drawing him closer. It was almost reflective, was there silver poured into the etch? How did it get there?

Curiosity was something William was always full of. A trait his father passed down, he was in the archeological field with his main interest being ancient Greek and Roman history. He was also a tech nerd which was why his company was recently purchased they had new methods for finding ancient cities, buried mysterious as his father called it. So when William spotted the Greek letter the boy was hard to ignore it.

>>>> "James Erickson! Welcome! I'm glad you could make it!"

The voice called out to his father and the boy turned his attention. It was a momentary distraction but when William turned back to look at the bricks the moment was gone. Or rather the letters he thought he saw. Interesting. William was about to explore it further when he felt the gaze of his mother and knew he was needed elsewhere.

“This is them!” His father forced a nervous smile and then gestured to them both. His hand on the small of Sara’s back as he reached over with a free hand to William who walked up to it.

>>> "I'm Isaac Helios, the founder of well, the Helios Foundation!"

“Pleasure to meet you.” Sara said shaking Isaac’s hand. William offered his hand up next as the man went to shake his as well. “Finally get to put a name to the face! I’ve heard so much about you from my partners.” James said smiling more. His initial fear for the evening vanished as he met his new boss a man that practically paid cash for his company. “We are! Thank you for inviting us!” James said.

William’s eyes studied the man and immediately decided he didn’t like this man, the way he talked about the city nor the way he carried himself... like he owned everything. It reminded him of some of the bully’s in school who looked down on William because his dad didn’t own a yacht nor belong to any country clubs.

The Irishman hated wearing suits. Even when he was ‘in’ character. In fact that was the only thing that was keeping him from tearing off his clothes and flying out the nearest window. It was a party of smug elites . One he wouldn’t typically be caught anywhere near. However the idea of a free meal and free booze gave him enough reason to tag along with Zek. That and the possibility of everything going sideways. It was... expected now whenever he hung out with Zek. It was rarely boring.

His tail shifted uncomfortably under the suit jacket as he cleared his throat. ”I should say... the drive in to this dreary city best be worth it.” his hair was slicked back under a magical top hat. The jet black cane he wielded wasn’t the disco staff, a last minute discission to prevent them from being bared at the door. Well it would have... if they took the door. Someone was nice enough to leave the balcony windows unlocked. No party was crash proof when it came to the two of them.

Reaching up and grabbing an oyster he took a bite. ”Hardly any sand. Lovely.” Carrick said drawing out each word the way he would imagine an old timey rich person would. He snagged two more ignoring his wings as someone bumped into one of them. “Heavens!” the woman said as she realized what she bumped into. “Watch where you move those thing.” before rolling her eyes and whispering “I’m surprised they let it in.” to her date for the evening.

Carrick smiled ignoring the comment and tucking a bracelet into his side pocket before saying, ”Aye he has just as much right being let in as you!” he scoffed and then looked to the woman’s date shook his head then turned to Zek. ”Don’t let it bother ya mate. Is that... bacon I smell!?!?” his tail perked up behind him which got a few more looks.

Zek clutched the pearls around his neck in outrage as the woman's words were brought to his attention. "Why, Ah do declar-uh," he said in the mosat insulted tone he could find, "That is downright rude, madame! Now, you're lucky I am a gen-tul-mun or I'd be fixing to fight you over my honor!" Zek turned his nose up high, giving her a good look at his oversized 'stache. "Ah say, Ah say Ah say Ah say, good day, madam!" he said, to a small chorus of "ooohhhs!" from the nearby partygoers.

Then he spun on his heel and marched off into the crowd. "Onwards, to the bacon!"

About a third of the room away, Helios leaned back with laughter as he finished shaking James Erickson's hand. "Your partners say a lot about me, do they? All good things, I hope! I'd hate to fire them all!" he chortled in a louder-than-polite voice as he laughed at his own joke, yet a keen observer might notice the smile didn't make its way to his eyes.

He moved to shake Sara Erickson's hand. "I'm delighted you're enjoying yourself! Here, have some more champagne! I had it flown in from my private island just this morning!" he said, snagging a flute from a passing server and handed it to the woman. "It adds a nice touch of class to a place as rugged as this, does it not?"

Then he was looking at William. His smile grew wider, though it still didn't touch his eyes, and his hand might've squeezed just more than was comfortable. "Ah, my boy, I fear even a party as acceptable as this one has few delights for a child of your age." He leaned down a bit to get more on William's eye level. "How about in a little bit, I arrange a small tour for you of my latest acquisition of Greek artifacts? Lots of shiny swords and armor! You'll love it, I'm sure!"

Then there was a loud clattering from about thirty feet away. Zek stood with hands filled with bacon-wrapped shrimp as a silver tray sputtered to a standstill on the floor as a server tried to vanish in horror. "Ah found the bac'n! And shrimp!" Zek shouted.

James cleared his throat and threw his hand up to wave off the possible insult making sure none of his business partners would get in trouble. “Nothing bad I can assure you. They just talked about your passion, your drive and how it's... infectious.” none of this went over William’s head. The boy was bored but he was observant. The laughter from his father's new boss made him uneasy almost like a cartoon villains. All he was missing was a handlebar mustache and a hot air balloon. This man made his father uncomfortable.

His mother as well. “You’re too kind!” Sara said awkwardly while quickly finishing the one to accept the other. William took a step back when his father's new boss crouched low to ‘get on his level’. It was demeaning, he hated how his teachers did it. “That does sound cool.” he said reminding himself he had to be polite.

The clatter distracted all and William turned his head to the source of the distraction.

Across the room Carrick sniffed a glass of champagne and downed quickly and let out a fabricated gasp at the sound of the commotion. ”Good Heavens!” a hand grabbed some of the appetizer as the other hand set down the empty flute glass. His tail flicked as he stepped over the food shaking his head to Zek with a mouthful of shellfish. ”Accidents happen shame. It was delicious.”

Helios laughed at Will's response as if it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. "Wonderful! A boy should see many great things in his life! I promise you, history will truly come alive for you!" he boomed.

Then his head snapped around at the clattering and his smile spasmed into a scowl. The man in a the powder blue suit and the one with a...tail?...were causing a distraction, and not one he'd planned for. Oh no, this was too soon for that.

But he wasn't going to make a scene, not just yet. He could be...magnanimous.

Helios turned back to the Erickson's and his smile was immediately restored. "If you'll excuse me for a moment," he said ever so politely, "I just need to sort something out with some of our other guests. Perhaps we will be starting the tour early?"

Then Helios slipped off into the crowd, reappearing swiftly between the troublemakers. Two men in dark suits and earpieces appeared as well, a triangle of formality appearing around the two.

"Friends!" Isaac Helios said, clapping a hand down on the blue-suited man's shoulder. "Let's save a few of these appetizers for the others, shall we? I promise there will be plenty to go around. But in the mean time, would you care for a personal tour of my antiques collection? Some of it would make even the English crown drool with envy!"

The flash of annoyance on Zek's face at the physical contact quickly turned to avarice. "Why I do declare-uh!" he declared extravagantly, "That do sound like the most outstanding use of mah time! Come, my friend, let us see these priceless antiques!" He winked dramatically at Custard and then put an arm over Helios's shoulder. "Lead the way, mah friend!"

For a brief second, Helios's congeniality flicked and something dark appeared, but it was gone just as quickly. "Then follow me!" he said as he steered them back toward the Ericksons.

"Master Willy!" Helios announced, "What say you to starting that tour now? I'm sure all these adult parties can be so odious to one as young as you. If you'll just follow me...." With that, Helios started stepping past the family, but not before glancing at Will's parents in passing. "James, Sara, feel free to mingle! I'm sure you have important things to do here and people to meet! Your son will be under my personal supervision!"

Again, the smile didn't reach his eyes as he looked into James's eyes. Helios didn't want these troublemakers around the other adults. William was just an excuse to get them out of sight for a moment, until Helios could give them a talking to. Or at least distract them. It wouldn't do to throw them out so soon or people might talk and they couldn't have that, could they? The look Helios gave James tried its best to convey all of that. And a bit of a threat.