Who: Hephaestus and Cato What: Just a routine check up Where: Whatever hotel Cato is holed up at. When: BACKDATED 2/27 Warnings: None
Hephaestus looked at his handset. He wasn't eager to make this call, but his hatred of ignorance outweighed his bemused apathy toward Zeus' newest baby boy. He had his readings from the PKE meter, but they were confused and jumbled. Hephaestus was making little headway in deciphering them. He needed something more tangible to help keep his promise to Hades.
With a sigh, he punched in the numbers Hades had sent to him. He found it hard to believe the cow-eyed youth he had seen in the heart of the Subrosa bunker could use anything more complicated than a rock, but he was the brother of Athena. It would be more surprising if he wasn't a fast study. Maybe he had even figured out a name for himself.
The line was ringing.
After a few moments, there was a reply. "Hello!" said the voice eagerly. "Cato here."
Hephaestus wasn't sure what he had expected to answer the phone, but that certainly wasn't it. He double checked that he had secured the line against unwanted listeners. A usual routine of his, it seemed even more prudent in the days since the ill-fated rescue of Zeus.
"Hello, this is Hephaestus," he introduced himself, "I trust I'm speaking to the most recent son of Zeus?" Hephaestus was sure of Cato's identity. He was just being polite.
Cato paused. "I'm not sure on that. Am I the oldest because of when I was conceived? Or the youngest because of when I was born?" He had thought on it a lot, and wasn't sure yet. Though he did feel by now that his sister, perhaps, was the stronger one on philosophical debates. "But, um, yes, this is me."
Typical reckoning was from the moment of birth, but Hephaestus admitted to himself that the situation became muddled when it came to his family. None of that, however, was germane to Hephaestus' purpose.
"I'm glad to finally get to speak with you." Hephaestus continued his courtesy. "However, I was hoping you were available to meet face to face. I have some tests and measurements I would like to run. With your permission, of course. I understand that may be an odd request, but you are something of an unusual case." Unusual was something of an understatement. That was as polite as Hephaestus could be as he angled toward his true goal.
"It doesn't seem that weird to me," replied Cato. "What time? I don't have your address." Was it near a bus stop?
"I was hoping to meet with you immediately," Hephaestus replied. He needed as much time as possible to review any data he gathered from Cato. "But I don't want to inconvenience you. I can easily come to you." Hephaestus wasn't sure he wanted Cato in his house just yet. Not when he wasn't entirely sure what Cato was.
That made two of them. "Okay! Right now then? I'll have to call a cab, can you wait?"
Hephaestus' brows furrowed. Was Cato not listening to him? Like father, like son.
"No. You can stay where you are, and I will come to you." The next step was explaining the situation to Cato in small, loudly spoken words, courtesy be damned.
He had, indeed, missed it. "Oh! Sorry. Yes, I'll be here."
"And I will be there in a few minutes." Hephaestus terminated the call. He felt the beginnings of a headache. This particular headache used to be named "Zeus". Now it's name was "Cato". He took a calming breath. At least Cato had an excuse. Hephaestus repeated that to himself as he walked to his car, drove to Cato's current residence, and walked up to his door. Still feeling unprepared for his encounter with the new born divinity, Hephaestus repeated his mantra one more time before knocking on the door.
Cato answered it almost immediately, and with a smile that practically glowed. Damn, he was happy. "Hi!" He tugged his brother into the room. Though he had been living in it for some time now, it still looked as if he had only arrived; the only thing showing he was actually in it were some clothes hanging in the closet or out on one end of the couch waiting to be folded. He had not yet gotten anything for him to fill the space yet, leaving the room bare.
Hephaestus scanned the room as he set down his briefcase on the carpeted hotel room floor. He scanned it both with his eyes and with his newly modified handset. Bugs and other spying devices were easy enough to find. Of course, the people Cato truly had to fear were unlikely to rely on technological means to sniff him out. They would simply come crashing through the door full of wrath and hatred.
"This is a nice place you have here," Hephaestus said as he finished his sweep. "Who set you up with it?" Hephaestus settled in for some small talk before he got down to business.
"Uncle. He's been very generous," said Cato gratefully, sitting down on the couch. "Do you want anything?"
"No." Yes, he did, but not the way Cato meant at the moment. "Thank you," he added. "Uncle Hades can be quite generous, despite the reputation he's earned over the years from mortals." He was certainly Hephaestus' greatest ally in these modern times, and the whole reason Hephaestus was here was to keep his unspoken promise to help his uncle resurrect the fallen Zeus. However, not everyone was apt to be so kind to Cato.
"Not everyone may be so generous with you, however," Hephaestus warned. Cato, at least, would have an opportunity to defend himself, and Hephaestus felt compelled to help him do so. He didn't want to see anyone else suffer so soon after their birth. "Hera, certainly, will be no friend to you." Another understatement, certainly, but he didn't want to scare the boy.
Cato winced at the name. "I'm aware. I do not expect anything less from her," he said quietly.
Hephaestus chuckled mirthlessly to himself.
"You are aware of nothing. You know nothing of what to expect from her." A harsh edge crept into Hephaestus voice. It was a sore subject. "She threw me from Olympus for a crime no greater than being ugly. I can only imagine what she has in store for you." Hephaestus looked into Cato's eyes, trying to convey the seriousness of his warning. "You are as responsible for your 'crime' as I am for mine, but that will not matter to her. The crimes she holds most hated in her heart are those of the father, yet she visits her punishments only upon the sons." Hephaestus sighed, trying to regain his composure. "However prepared you think you are for Hera, increase it a hundredfold. A thousandfold. Maybe then you will survive. You are only fortunate that Olympus is not quite as high as it once was. You may survive the fall without being crippled." Hephaestus turned away and reached for his briefcase. He opened it and began assembling the tools he would need.
Cato's face became somber as he listened to his brother's words. He had suspected them, but hearing them was something else entirely. It was hard not to show the shiver that ran across his skin. "So, um, what tests were you thinking of?"
"Nothing too invasive," Hephaestus assured the nervous youth. "Just some more intense scans than I was able to take at the scene of the battle. I'll also need to take a sample of your ichor." Hephaestus paused for a moment. "It might sound rather nefarious, but if I can get the information I need now, maybe I can help defuse some of Hera's anger later." Even if he brought back Zeus, he doubted Hera's anger would entirely dissipate, but he left that unsaid. That type of Hera's hatred was more Herakles' area of expertise, anyway.
The younger/older brother nodded along, trusting his brother's greater experience. "Will these tests, ah, hurt?"
"Drawing the ichor sample may pinch a bit," Hephaestus admitted, "But everything else is passive. Just like taking a picture." Or getting a CT scan. Hephaestus assembled three thin, cylindrical devices from the pieces in his briefcase. The devices stood about four feet in height, and Hephaestus arranged them in an equilateral triangle about four feet on a side.
"We'll save the invasive test for last," Hephaestus said, gesturing to the triangle of pylons. "Just step between the scanners there and we'll begin." Hephaestus entered a command into his handset, and the scanner hummed to life.
Invasive? Cato balked a bit like that. Invasive... sounded, well, invasive! The younger god swallowed a bit, but remained where he was; this was the brother who had helped him in his own birth, as well as his twin's. He could trust him!
Hephaestus' eyebrow quirked at his new relation's hesitance. Hephaestus supposed that all of his demands could be overwhelming. He reminded himself that not everyone's mind worked the same way as his, and that his innocent and beneficent plans could look quite draconian from the outside.
"Watch," Hephaestus told Cato. He stepped into the triangle of devices. Their humming intensified a bit. "See? Nothing to be afraid of. As I said, just like a picture." Hephaestus stepped out from between the scanners. He already had detailed scans of himself.
"Okay." Taking a few steps forward, the god stepped into the machines and waited for... something. He did his best to mimic how Hephaestus had stood to make sure he didn't fudge it up.
"You don't have to be so stiff," Hephaestus said, trying to smother a chuckle. "Just stay within the triangle of devices and it will work fine." Hephaestus checked his handset. The scanners seemed to be working properly. The data was streaming back to his home terminal for further analysis. The scan would take a few minutes, and while Hephaestus was fine sitting in silence, he wanted to keep Cato calm and in place so the scan would finish successfully.
"Do you have any plans for the future?" Hephaestus asked. He admitted to a certain amount of curiosity as to just what, exactly, Cato would do with himself. "Anything you want to do now that you have the ability to do it?" Hephaestus tried to ready himself for whatever Cato would answer, but he suspected his preparations would be insufficient.
Cato relaxed a bit. "I... I don't know." He sighed, and tried to ignore the desire to squirm within the machine. "People keep asking me that, but I honestly don't know. I met with Polyhymnia... She is going to school. I've thought about that. But even then, I do not know what I would study." He began to shrug but caught himself quickly. "I would like to enjoy life. But, I do not want to be selfish either. I don't want to live off of my family forever."
"Don't worry so much about that," Hephaestus said, trying to sound reassuring. "Some of us can afford to support you forever." Hephaestus' own wealth could support a small army of Catos until such time as the current mortal civilization collapsed. He did not envy Cato's situation, however. Cato had never directly experienced the zenith of Olympus' power. The universe wasn't pushing him to fill a cosmological purpose. It was up to him to determine his place in the world. A tall order for anyone, human or quasi-divinity.
"I would advise school," Hephaestus offered. "As for what to study, the answer is simple. Study everything. Anything. Whatever looks interesting. Don't focus on getting a degree at first. Simply find those subjects that interest you and you have an aptitude for." Hephaestus could devise a method to more quickly determine Cato's talents, but college had another benefit for Cato. "Also, it will help socialize you with the humans, a very important skill for us." Hephaestus and the rest of the family had had years, centuries, to learn that skill, and some of them were still fairly terrible at it.
The younger brother nodded. "I thought about that, too. I'm waiting for Uncle Hades to get my papers all together, then I'm going to start applying." He considered for a moment. "Culinary school sounds like fun."
Culinary school? Hephaestus hadn't expected that. He had expected something more grandiose.
"Perhaps you should talk to your Aunt Hestia, then," Hephaestus suggested. "She owns her own bakery. She may have contacts and experience that would be valuable to you." Hephaestus thought for a moment. He didn't know Hestia's opinion on Cato. "You should have Hades introduce you some time." Hephaestus felt the awkwardness of his addition, but Hades would know whether or not Hestia was in a receptive mood.
"We've met! She's so nice and sweet, I do like her very much. She's just how I remember her," he chuckled. "That is a good idea, though, asking her."
Remember her?
"Remember her?" Hephaestus asked, genuine surprise in his voice. He looked quizzically at Cato. "How? And what exactly do you 'remember'?" This was an unforeseen circumstance, though not exactly unprecedented, Hephaestus supposed. This was the first sign that Cato was anything like his sister.
"I've met her before. Or, seen someone meeting her." Cato sighed, slumping a little, forgetting he was in the machine. "It's really hard to explain. And as much as I keep saying that, it doesn't get much easier! Heh." He held a hand up to the side of his head, tapping it lightly. "The world I knew... I saw through Father." As he paused in thought, his expression became more pensive, the smile faltering. "I... I don't know how much of what I remember are my thoughts or his thoughts. Maybe they're both." Or, he feared, not his at all.
Hephaestus did not envy Cato his identity crisis, but in the back of his mind, he thought that there were worse memories to have.
"If only we could get you in touch with Athena. She might know how to help you with that." Hephaestus had seen Athena briefly in the recent past, but he didn't know her current whereabouts. Frankly, that suited him just fine. "I, however, would not worry. Existential crises are rarely worth the stress. You are here now, so make the most of it, whoever you may be." Hephaestus had no formal training in psychology, but growing up in his family and then dealing with three robots that had developed their own sentience had given him a large amount of real world experience.
"I haven't seen much of her," he said sadly. "She must be very busy, I'm sure..." Cato shook his head free of that. His sister would be there when it was the right time. "You're right, of course. Erm, I don't mean to be rude, but how long does this scan take?"
The sensor towers chimed in a manner very similar to a cell phone message tone. Hephaestus checked his handset. The sensors had scanned to the full extent of their ability.
"That long, apparently," Hephaestus answered wryly. He swiftly disassembled the sensors and tucked them back into his briefcase, withdrawing another set of tools for gathering another type of data. A needle, several vials, all the tools necessary for the taking of blood. Or ichor, in this case. They were not tools Hephaestus used often, but he was as skilled with them as any other.
"Now, unfortunately, we must move onto the less pleasant portion of my examination," Hephaestus said apologetically. "If you wouldn't mind, stick out one of your arms, please." Hephaestus didn't think that a simple needle prick was anything to get nervous over, but he doubted Cato's experience with pain quite matched his own.
The youngster sat back on the bed and watched his brother with interest. "Your things look so complex! They're beautiful."
"Don't think you can get out of this with flattery," Hephaestus mock admonished. "But, yes, I've always found there was beauty in making an object where its form perfectly matches its function." Hephaestus tried to quell the urge to preen, but it was not often his work was so openly complimented. Still, there was work to be done.
"Your arm, please," Hephaestus asked again. "If you're cooperative, I'll let you come to my house and see my workshop sometime soon." Cato wouldn't be the worst guest Hephaestus had shown his house to, that much was certain.
Obediently, Cato handed over his arm into Hephaestus' hands. "I'd really like that, brother."
Hephaestus found it hard to dislike Cato with his earnest attitude, but perhaps Cato's flattery and the fact that Hera was no doubt irate over his very existence was coloring Hephaestus' judgment. There would be time to sort out his thoughts later. For the moment, Hephaestus concentrated on the task at hand.
He tied a rubber strap around Cato's bicep, swabbed the insertion point, instructed Cato to breathe in, and quickly inserted the needle. He quickly filled nearly a dozen vials with the black ichor that identified Cato as a member of the family. In a little over a minute, it was all over. The vials were capped, the tools put away, and Cato sported a largely unnecessary bandage on his arm. Hephaestus had made sure the wound was sealed and clean before even putting on the bandage. Ichor was not to be taken lightly.
"There, all finished," Hephaestus declared. "Just be careful if that wound opens. Even the smallest drop will kill mortals in an instant." Hephaestus was sure Cato had been told this before, but extra caution was always warranted.
Ow. Owwwwww. Physical pain was an entirely new thing to him still, and Cato had a hard time hiding the wince when the needle went in. The room spun for a moment, so he closed his eyes tight until his brother said the word. Letting out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been keeping in until that moment, he flexed his arm a bit. "Okay."
Hephaestus once again furrowed his brows. Cato's reaction had been a bit more extreme than Hephaestus had expected.
"You know," Hephaestus began slowly, "if you want to go to culinary school, you're going to have to get used to pain. Cuts, punctures, and burns are all commonplace in a professional kitchen environment. You may want to seriously consider working in Hestia's kitchen before beginning courses at a culinary school." Doing so would either inure Cato to minor pain or convince him to look elsewhere for personal fulfillment.
Cato blushed with shame. "S-sorry. I'm just not used to feeling it. I could feel Father's pain, but even grievous wounds were usually not that horrible to feel. Well, usually..." He visibly shivered as he recalled the moment of his birth. That had been a different matter entirely. "It was his emotions that hurt more, they could be just insane to keep up with."
Any sympathy Hephaestus may have felt for Cato was immediately crushed by wave after wave of jokes at Zeus' expense. Hephaestus had to very quickly compose himself so that it did not seem like he was laughing at Cato. He hadn't meant to embarrass him.
"No, I'm sorry," Hephaestus apologized. "I didn't mean to chastise or embarrass you. I was simply trying to help. If you have dealt with Zeus as long as you claim to have, you may have known greater pain than I. And I fell from Olympus. Twice." Which he had mentioned before, but Hephaestus never let an opportunity to bring that fact up escape him.
Cato laughed a bit as well. "It wasn't all bad! I mean, it wasn't all great, either. But, you know." He rubbed his palm at the spot where his the older god had taken blood lightly. "What do you expect to come out of these tests?" Maybe he was a really a mouse! Oh no!
"Why, nothing more than information," Hephaestus replied. "Your case is unprecedented in this modern age. Everything is different since the fall of Olympus, and I want to know just how you fit in to that difference." Hephaestus left unspoken that he was also looking for a way to thresh the wheat that was Zeus from the chaff that was Cato. Actually, Hephaestus liked that metaphor better in reverse.
That made sense. "More information always seems to be a good thing," he agreed. "If there is any way I can help you, I would be glad to help you." Cato offered his brother a wide smile. "I want things to be better between us than it was between you and Zeus. I mean, as long as you want to, that-that is."
"So far you don't appear to be Zeus, and that is a very encouraging start," said Hephaestus. He added mirthfully, "But I'll see what the test results say before making any definite statements." Cato had something about him that put Hephaestus in a good mood. It must be similar to how humans felt around puppies.
"As for help," Hephaestus began, "I would say you've helped out quite enough for today." Hephaestus punctuated his words by snapping shut his briefcase. "Thank you. It is not often that those in our family are so accommodating." The family was a lot of huge egos wrapped in crippling emotional problems. It often made cooperative efforts between them difficult, to say the least.
"You're welcome. Please, feel free to take anything else you need."
"I think the only thing left for me to take is my leave," Hephaestus joked. "It was nice finally getting to meet you." Hephaestus had not only family business to take care of, but his own work as Vadimas Lugosi. He couldn't spare much more time for Cato, infectious good mood or no.
"All right!" Standing, Cato gave his brother a pat on the shoulder. He wasn't sure if hugging would be quite welcomed; his brother did not entirely seem like the sort who liked touching all the time. "Thank you for the visit!"
"You're welcome, and thank you for your cooperation," Hephaestus replied. "You have my cell number. Don't hesitate to call, though I can't promise I'll always be able to answer." Hephaestus moved toward the door, already starting to plan his examination of the data he had just acquired.
Summary: Hephaestus talks with Cato for the first time. What starts as merely a science experiment for Hephaestus turns into an actual conversation through Cato's upbeat attitude. Hephaestus still completes his experiment, though.