Planet: Thebes
"Dad?" Heracles called softly as he entered the hospital room. It was where his father had been living ever since the brio ship crash four months ago that had put him in a coma and had cost Heracles his right arm. "It's me," he said lamely as he nervously took the chair that was always waiting at his father's bedside. "I uh, had another busy week at the shop but I thought I'd let you know I finally managed to finish working on my bike. I mean, you could have had it done in two days, but Iolaus was a lot of help..." He trailed off painfully as he looked his once powerful father over. Amphitryon was toweringly tall and clad in dark robust muscles, he had deep olive skin and curly black hair and a closely cropped beard that covered most of his handsome face. Most days Heracles wished he looked more like his father but instead he had inherited bronze skin and gleaming golden hair from his mother; the woman who abandoned her family only weeks after Heracles was born. But Amphitryon would never say a bad thing about her, it wasn't in his nature to be cruel; and yet somehow nature had decided to be cruel to him. Life really didn't seem fair.
Amphitryon was then so still and vulnerable; absolutely helpless which was so unlike the strong, confident and resourceful dad that had raised Heracles completely on his own. He was an amazing father, and yet Heracles felt as though his dad couldn't have been cursed with a worse son than him. He was responsible for the ship crash; he was the reason his dad had to stay in this dump of a hospital because he was unable to devote the necessary time into taking care of him with his two token-making gigs constantly demanding his attention. It was bad enough he had lost the apartment they had been living in for years because he had to use the rent money to keep his dad in the hospital. "I really miss you," Heracles softly whispered, voice thick with pain. He heaved a sigh and bowed his head, running his hands through his hair with despair. "Lypámai polý, Popa."
He felt so damn helpless; his father had made being a grown man with responsibilities look easy. But it was far from effortless for Heracles, he was constantly second-guessing himself, wondering if he was making the right decisions in every aspect of his life. He was so behind on hospital bills, he lived in a stupid shack with other creatures just as mixed up as he was, his beloved father was reduced to this meek, silent form because of a brio malfunction Heracles should have noticed hours before it failed and they plummeted to the ground. It was hard as hell struggling through life without any guidance, there was no one he could turn to and ask for help. He felt so desolated all the time, it was draining his lust for life.
"I'm so sorry," he softly hissed as he closed his eyes to keep the tears at bay. His HALO tablet buzzed, he swiftly glanced at. Iolaus was asking where he was, apparently he was already at the Atlas Bridge waiting on him. "I...I better go, Dad," he reached out to place his hand over his dad's, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I'll figure things out, I know you'd want me to on my own." He stood up and then gently brushed his dad's hair out of his closed eyes. "I'll tell you next week who won the race," he flashed a pained smile before he hurried out.
The Atlas Bridge wasn't actually just a bridge, it was really a larger-than-life tension cable that literally held both sides of the planet together and generated its own gravitational pull to keep the two halves conjoined. It also provided the entire planet with an artificial atmosphere. Thebes was a weakening planet, its original atmosphere had decayed a few hundred years ago so the inhabitants wouldn't even be alive had it not been for technology, which was just another thing the religious fanatics had a heyday over. They insisted that it was in the intentions of Zeus that they all perished when Thebes began weakening. They deemed technology a vile force outside of nature that was tainting their lives and forcing them to stay alive outside of God's wishes.
Heracles didn't know what to believe himself; if gods and goddesses were real, if Thebes was supposed to meet its Armageddon or not, all he knew was that technology wasn't the villain the local nutcases made it out to be. If it weren't for the technologic aid of life-support than his father wouldn't be alive; that and sometimes tech made the coolest friends, he thought as he joined Iolaus under the section of the Bridge their city was situated under. "Iolaus! Sorry I got here a little late, but did you manage to put my usual bets down?"
"You mean did I bet on Megara for you?" He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Hey Herc, I wanna introduce you to some friends of mine I ain't seen in a long time. They only recently moved back to this part of the city," Iolaus beckoned for him to follow and led him over to a group of edgy and equally attractive looking androids hanging out around a few parked agility crafts. There was one android in particular though -standing in the middle of the crew under a streetlamp, glowing as if from the light of a halo- that Heracles was so instantly enchanted by that he nearly missed Iolaus introduce them as; "This is my sweetheart, Hebe."
"Wait, what?" Heracles blinked a few times to bring himself out of his daze. "I thought you were ace."
"Well yeah. Ace of hearts. Aces can still date, y'know. Anyway, Hebe and I've had this long-distance thing going back and forth for a while but now I've finally managed to convince them to move back to the city!" He announced excitedly, grabbing Hebe's shoulders to shake energetically. "And I've missed you like crazy!"
"So I can tell," they smiled, it was so soft and beautiful, it instantly had Heracles' attention again. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Heracles," they smiled again when their eyes met. Hebe was a small, gamine creature with a delicately pointed chin, enormous fawn-like brown eyes and had a messy strawberry blonde pixie cut. The underside of their slim jaw had been completely peeled back to display their dark purple tendons for identification, but nothing could mar their plucky elegance; in fact, Hebe didn't look like they even belonged with the rough looking emo crew of androids they were currently surrounded by. The others in the group all looked more than a little unfriendly and suspicious but Heracles could hardly blame them for their lack of enthusiasm to be a meeting a mortal-creature as Iolaus introduced them.
Heracles was too entranced by Hebe to pay any other introductions any attention, that is, until Iolaus said; "And this is Spike." That piqued his interest. Heracles arched an eyebrow as he studied Spike while Iolaus excitedly prattled on; "You may have heard of him though since he's kinda famous."
Ah yes. Spike. Who from the Theban System hadn't heard of him? He was most notoriously known for racing in events that strictly forbid androids from competing; and always winning. Sure, what he did was illegal, and yeah, there were wanted posters on his head, but currently most everything in Thebes was illegal and was plastered up on wanted posters so it made sense that the android legend didn't exactly look too stressed out to be there that night in the middle of an illegal street racing gig. Plus, he was currently wearing a shirt that said Stick it 2 da Man! so it didn't look like much ever worried him.
"I've heard a lot about you," Heracles said as they shook hands. "Nice to finally meet the legend."
"I'm only a legend c'uz I'm an android doin' some shit I was told not to do, if I was a human schmooze then I'd just be another normal everyday motherfucker," Spike sneered, then said "Gotta firm grip in that hand," as he eyed Heracles' arm cynically. "Is it prosthetic?" His tone implied that he already knew the answer. He only had one gray human eye, where the other eye should have been a constant glaring laser green light shined from his chrome eye socket. His temple and half of his forehead had been stripped back to reveal his metal skull though most of his wild black hair streaked with neon green covered his ID Mark since it fell crazily in every direction.
"Uh, yeah, actually," Heracles looked his arm over, nigh self-conscious about it. Since he couldn't afford the extra expense of having faux flesh added to his robotic arm, he mainly just wore an extra tall bike glove that went up to his elbow to keep it concealed.
Spike smirked smugly, "That kinda makes you a little like us, don't it?" His dark gray human eye flashed nigh challengingly.
Heracles had no reply, instead just stared at Spike silently, trying to figure out what it was about this guy that made him feel on edge.
"C'mon, Spike, ease up," Iolaus tried to soothe the tension that was steadily mounting. "We're all here to race and have a good time, right, man?" He glanced at Heracles.
"Right," he agreed, finally tearing his eyes off Spike. "Let's race," he flashed a smile at Hebe and Iolaus before casting one more look at Spike. The android just narrowed his eye. Heracles and the others moseyed down to the sidewalks where the first round of bikers were lining up, Heracles knew Meg always raced in the first round of bikes so he typically raced in the second and last bike round. He hated the idea of competing against her...plus it was sorta a win-win since he bet on her in round one and she typically always won, then he doubled his winnings by racing and typically winning his match.
Much to his surprise, when Meg noticed him on the sidelines she hurried over with her hot pink helmet in hand. "Meg, hey," he smiled brightly.
She barely shot him a sidelong look and instead smiled warmly at Iolaus Heracles had forgotten was at his side. "Iolaus, I heard your name mentioned on the contestants' list. I guess you got your bike up and running?"
"With Herc's help, yeah," he eyed her cagily, puzzled why she was talking to him. But lately she always seemed to prefer talking to him -certainly over Heracles- and even over her own boyfriend at the shop. It seemed he was her preferred creature to do business with, and that kinda stung. Iolaus didn't even like her.
"Cool, well I just wanna let you know I'll be cheering for you; I've even put some tokens down on your bike."
"What?" He blushed. "It's been forever since I've raced -"
"Relax! I saw you practicing in the lot behind Eurystheus' shop. Mad skills!" She winked and then hurried back to her bike without so much as a second glance at Heracles.
"She seems friendly," Hebe said, glancing at Iolaus out of the corner of their eye.
"Hmm? Oh, that's Herc's girl."
"Seemed like it," Spike spoke up as he materialized on Heracles' other side. Heracles shot him a warning look. Spike just flashed his teeth -that seriously called to mind vampire fangs- in sneer. A moment later his attention was brought back to the track as the flag boy, a devilishly stylish satyr, ignited the white flag. The flames began rapidly eating through the fabric; all the bikers revved their engines, the cooling slats on the side of the engines flaring as they took in more air.
"Go!" The satyr dropped the burning flag and then the racers took off at daunting speeds.
As usual, Meg won. She had such sick skills; Heracles once again found his heart swooning at the sight of her celebrating among her friends. Most unexpectedly, she actually came back over while he and Iolaus were tuning their bikes as the agility racers took their turn on the course; that included most of Spike's hostile friends thankfully, but with the exceptions being Hebe and Spike. "I'm feeling generous tonight!" Meg announced as she come striding over. "How about I buy everyone a milkshake after the races!"
"That is generous," Iolaus commented.
"I'm not as heartless as you may think." She winked at him then gave Heracles a curt nod. "Nice bike," she said as she turned to strut away.
"Thanks!" He called after her, feeling ever so flattered as he affectionately looked his black and gold bike over.
"It's not too bad is what I'm sure she meant to say," Spike said as he slithered over. Heracles shot Iolaus a frustrated look beside him as they continued to check over their bikes.
"Spike," Iolaus unsuccessfully tried to get his friend's attention.
Spike was studying Heracles intently as if trying to see right through him. Heracles had no idea what this jackass was looking for and mostly tried to ignore him as he checked the gauges beneath the engine cover. Under the lights of the streetlamps though, the golden scales along the back of Heracles' neck glittered and instantly Spike realized what he was looking for. He plucked at the back of Heracles' shirt and swiftly noted that the scales weren't just some weird trick of the light, they were legit. They ran all the way down over his spine and fanned out across his muscular back like a firework.
Heracles pulled away with a sharp exhale of aggravation. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" He demanded.
Spike didn't even have the decency looked abashed. "Those little golden glided scales of yours aren't exactly normal, now are they? You're slightly weirder than I first thought," he seemed smug, nevertheless.
He shot him a glare. "Yeah, and you're more obnoxious than I originally gave you credit for." The android just sneered.
"Spike," Iolaus sounded so embarrassed.
"And that's another thing," Heracles snapped. "What the Hades kinda name is Spike anyway? You get to name yourself and the best you could come up with was a dog's name?" He shot him a challenging look.
The android snorted. "Yeah, well my boyfriend's really into puppy play so I thought I'd humor him. He seems to like me better on a leash and collar anyway." He flashed his tongue as he mockingly panted.
"Well he forgot the muzzle," Heracles retorted.
"Oooh, burn," Spike shuddered with a smirk.
"Spike," Hebe spoke up. "Stop being an antagonizing jerk."
Heracles didn't wait around to see if that was going to happen, he jumped on his bike and fired it up, cruising down to the racetrack. His mind was already racing, racing with the same confusion and frustration as always when he thought about his serpentine scales. The golden scales began at the base of his neck and went down over the backs of his arms and filled his entire back, and no amount of ripping them off with side-cuts ever seemed to keep them away. It was just another thing that took up space in his mind as he tried to figure out the rhyme or reason behind them.
A moment later Iolaus' blue and chrome bike joined his at the starting line, his best friend gave him a sympathetic look. Heracles flashed a reassuring smile before putting his helmet in place; it wasn't Iolaus' fault that all of his old buddies were a bunch of assholes. At least his current best friend was an okay guy, Heracles thought.
Just then Spike's glossy black and neon green brio bike coasted up to the start line right at Heracles' other side. Spike looked as smug and thrilled as if he had already won the race and winked at Heracles before flipping down the visor of his helmet which was expertly painted to look like an anime girl's exotically made-up eyes framed in eyelashes where his eyes would be underneath.
"Everyone, start your engines!" The flag boy trilled as he caught the white flag on fire and held it above his head. All the bikes revved their brio engines, sparks occasionally sprayed free from the heat vents. Spike's helmeted head was still turned to the side so the painted eyes were blankly staring right at Heracles who was trying to ignore him. "On your mark!" Spike flexed the throttle a little extra hard, so his bike roared a louder than everyone else's as he continued to dead-eye Heracles. "Get set!" He revved the bike up again, clearly itching for a reaction. Heracles finally turned quickly to flip him off. Spike tossed his head back laughing with satisfaction.
"Go!" The flag dropped and the bikes were off.
The racetrack was a dramatically curved rink that was encompassed by neon flashing hoops the hover bikes zoomed in and out of, they could only fit through in single file, so a lot of bikes crashed together trying to make the squeeze. The track itself was elevated off the ground and weaved around one of the enormous support pillars beneath the Bridge. Heracles' bike expertly swung wide before he swiftly brought it back down front and center when approaching the first ring, he was then side by side with Spike's bike competing for the lead. Spike gunned his bike and tilted it back so it went sailing past Heracles upright, neon green flames shot out from the exhaust pipes and then the bike leveled out just in time to make it through the ring with Heracles right behind him.
This guy was unbelievable! Heracles couldn't pass! But at the same time, this was more competition than he was used to receiving and that kinda added to the thirst for winning which compelled him to do some crazy stunts he ordinarily wouldn't have to use. He too tipped his bike back and briefly flexed the cooling vents so for a few seconds, the vents sealed shut and the engine was super-heated with even more energy before he allowed them to open once more. But that risky move was all the extra speed he needed to be right back beside Spike again. The other racer briefly looked behind him and then forward at the next ring they were closing in on and then suddenly eased off the throttle, Heracles' bike sped forward for the lead and effortlessly passed through the ring. Weird. Did he intentionally let him take the lead? Before he had another second to think on it, a tiny bullet of some sort sped through the air and buried itself within his bike. The end of the shrapnel exposed briefly flashed before his bike's engine abruptly exploded.
Heracles was flung through the air from the blast and pieces of his bike flew through the sky like fiery pieces of confetti, his head was throbbing within his helmet as he plummeted through the air towards the concrete down below. His entire body was too numb from the quaking explosion to even attempt to reach for anything to catch; he couldn't even hear the creatures below screaming as he neared the ground.
Suddenly a mammoth dove, one hundred times larger than the one he seen just the other day, swooped down from the skies and fastened its golden feet around the demigod. Everyone in the crowd was astounded at the display, gasping, and pointing in disbelief. The dove powerfully surged higher up into the skies and then a mere moment later, a nigh invisible rainbow shimmered overhead, and the dove and her prize disappeared as they passed through it.