Vadimas Lugosi (hammerfall) wrote in olympian_rewind, @ 2010-04-27 19:10:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | dante lot, hades, hephaestus, vadimas lugosi |
Who: Hephaestus and Hades
What: Discussions considering Zeus
Where: The offices of Dante Lot
When: BACKDATED 4/5
Warnings: None.
Hephaestus was in a good mood. He had spent the better part of the last month cloistered away in his laboratory, toiling over untangling the mystery that was Cato, his company's bid for the Lunar X Prize, his economic stimulus plan, and his never-ending work pushing the boundaries of science. In short, it was exactly how Hephaestus liked to spend his time, and he was feeling refreshed and energized. As he cruised through the brilliant Miami sun in his convertible roadster with the top down, he looked every bit the self-satisfied celebrity billionaire.
Pulling up in front of Hades' offices, Hephaestus leaped from his convertible, not even bothering with the door. He reached back in and grabbed his briefcase, which contained all of his findings on Cato and his own unique plan to restore Zeus to life, should the impossible happen and Hades proved unable to bring him back. Flattening his newest novelty shirt, which depicted a periodic table being destroyed by the force of Chuck Norris' elemental manliness, and straightening his designer sunglasses, Hephaestus strode confidently through the main entrance.
The main office was relatively quiet with Dante's three employees actually engrossed in their work that could not be put off any longer. Such was the time scale for the company, but Julie, Dante's personal assistant and unofficial door guard to his private office had been trained well. She lifted her head from her drudgery when she heard the entrance door open.
But that was where her training stopped and her fangirlery began. All professionalism went out the window as she forgot herself and stumbled over her words in greeting. The computer geek's king had pretty much strolled on in. "Vadima..."
Luckily for her, Dante was watching on his cameras inside his office and simply opened the door from the inside with his remote door opener with a smirk. "Come on in, Mr. Lugosi, before you completely stun lock my staff."
"Sorry, guys," Hephaestus said apologetically as he waved at the overawed staffer. He entered the office as the automatic doors silently swung shut behind him.
"Hello, [uncle]," Hephaestus greeted Hades, trying to smother some of his good mood. It seemed inappropriate, considering the matters up for discussion. "I hope these past few weeks have been good to you. I know they have to me." Hephaestus placed his briefcase down on a table for emphasis.
"Have had better days and I've had worse days," Hades replied with a shrug. Spending so many evenings in the Underworld or in a backyard shed doing failed necromantic experiments had done nothing to put him into a good mood, but he couldn't deny that it made him feel physically better. And he knew for a fact that no matter how bad this all looked, it could be worse. Perhaps he was still riding a good mood from his pleasant morning. He motioned to a chair, "Go ahead and sit. If you want something to drink, just ask."
Hephaestus waved off his uncle's offer.
"No, thank you." Hephaestus didn't need anything. He briefly thought of asking for some wine, but he dismissed it. It was not necessary.
"Where do you wish to begin?" Hephaestus asked. "Cato? Zeus? More small talk?" Hephaestus decided to let Hades steer the conversation. His uncle was the one upon whose shoulders much of the responsibility had fallen, and Hephaestus didn't want to blather on about unimportant things while he waited for important information.
"We can start with Cato. I'm all out of small talk, not being very good at it. If you had wanted some kind of tea, I might have been able to wing something." Years in Britain required him to be able to and Hephaestus waving off the beverage offer didn't stop Hades from continuing to drink his own tea before him. It was the afternoon. It was time for tea. But on to business, crazy confusing business. "Met with Cato again today. Told him the bad news, which I suppose I have to tell you right now to finish the sentence, that your father is not coming back. I'm sorry."
"I have a father?" Hephaestus asked wryly. "I suppose if you say so, [uncle], I will take your word for it." Hephaestus shook his head. "However, I take no joy in the passing of Zeus. The despair I've seen in others has taken the joy out of it." Hephaestus still believed Zeus' death was his own fault, but saying so would be too much like gloating.
"If I may ask, do you know why you were unable to restore him to life?" Hephaestus didn't want to dwell on Hades' inability to revive Zeus, but, as a scientist, he knew that failure was often more valuable to the pursuit of knowledge than success.
"Won't lie to you. Don't really know what your origin is. Everything I know from those days are through not completely reliable narrators on the matters and textbooks," Hades muttered a little in explanation and then set down his tea again. There was something almost relaxing to be able to talk to someone that could think of using the word 'joy' in relation to Zeus' passing. It made him feel better about the secret happiness that he kept hidden deep down inside himself; it would be too difficult to make most understand it so it was better to keep it hidden. "I do. At least, I'm pretty sure I do. The rules have changed since our day but I can't restore him to life because I don't have his soul and ripping it out of Cato would bring unknown consequences if that would even work."
"I understand," Hephaestus nodded. "That information is in line with what I have discovered from examining Cato." Hephaestus opened his briefcase and pulled out several thick stacks of notes and pictures and one DVD. "I have prepared two complete copies of my notes on Cato for you, one hard copy and one digital copy. In short, Cato is as we are. It is as if he was cast from Olympus with us, rather than born of a coupling in this age. Which, perhaps, is to be expected. I have found trace amounts of Zeus essence in Cato's ichor, and with enough time and a steady supply of ichor, I could distill pure Zeus ichor from Cato. However," Hephaestus paused to sigh, "ichor is not a soul, and I am unsure if that would be of any help to you." Hephaestus knew of many uses for it, but discussion of that was for later.
Hades sighed a little. If only the soul was synonymous with their divine ichor. He had gotten the body pulsing ichor again before he had given up. It had been alive as far as medical science was concerned. "It does confirm for me what I felt when we were in the bunker when I touched Cato and what I thought I saw at his birth. I'm glad I told him the right information but no, without the soul, no matter what I do with the body, it wouldn't be Zeus."
Hephaestus paused, gathering his thoughts. What he was about to suggest was undoubtedly going to be met with refusal, but he felt he must say it, if only because he could.
"I have a plan of my own which would result in limited success," he began. He drew out another thick stack of notes and another DVD. "I believe that with enough distilled Zeus ichor, an artificial brain crafted of orihalcum, and Zeus' body, I can return Zeus to the land of the living, after a fashion. Essentially, I will create an android Zeus within the shell of the original. I can ensure that he will walk, talk, and act like Zeus. Will he truly be alive? Undoubtedly. Will he be Zeus? He will certainly seem it, and he will believe it. However, the soul is not of my domain. I do not know if even my most advanced artificial intelligences have crossed that ethereal barrier. The Zeus crafted at my hands may not be the Zeus the family wants returned to them, but for myself, the line between life and artificial life does not exist." Hephaestus thought of his three girls, as real to him as any person he had met in his long life.
Hades tapped the desk as he thought about that particular plan. It sounded much like his zombie plan that had had dismissed only more acceptable. Androids were just more acceptable than zombies were in this culture and time. But it would be almost the same result. "At least you accepted the fact it wouldn't be the Zeus the family would want." Hades wouldn't comment on the fact that Hephaestus also admitted that it would be good enough for him. Instead he would say, "If you swear to keep a secret, I'll confess something to you about the following steps I'm going to have to take."
Who am I going to tell? As the thought entered his mind, Hephaestus thought of someone he would tell, so he was forced to take Hades' request more seriously.
"I swear to keep your secret, [uncle]," he said earnestly. "By whatever oath you think appropriate." Hephaestus appreciated that Hades had not outright rejected or mocked his plan. He would certainly return the favor with whatever it was Hades was about to tell him.
Hades nodded, accepting the oath and then continued in hushed words, "In a little while, I'm going to announce to the family that I'm going to organize a f...memorial for Zeus." He couldn't even get the word 'funeral' out of his mouth before it was quickly corrected into a more apt term. It would be no funeral. Funerals were to put souls to rest and that would not be happening. "I'll say that I'm putting his body to rest but I have no intention of that. What am I? Stupid? He's in a coffin that can preserve him. Perhaps one day Cato will die, too, and I can grab both their souls, maybe one day my powers will be stronger... who knows? But I doubt many in the family would appreciate me just holding onto the corpse." However, it did seem right to tell Hephaestus this particular confess considering his previous plan.
"I admit it," Hephaestus said, holding his hands up in mock surrender, "your plan is better, and more practical, than mine. However, I did not doubt that would be the case. I suppose I simply wanted to let someone know I could do it." Hephaestus sighed again, reflecting on his doomed plan. A thought struck him, and his eyes narrowed. "Is the memorial part of the secrecy oath, or may I tell others about that? By which I mean, tell others that there will be a memorial." Hephaestus didn't want to make a mistake after swearing an oath to his lawfully-minded uncle. Especially since said uncle still held sway over the minerals of the earth, of which Hephaestus had great need.
"Oh, no. The only part of the memorial that is part of the secrecy oath is the fact that part of it will be a complete sham." A very impressive, showy sham if anyone even bothers to come to the first part when he proposes it but a sham. Hades shook his head, "I do plan on telling people about the memorial, I just want to tell Hera first that I don't think there is any reason to hold on to hope. Just don't want her to find out about that from someone calling her because they check their phone very quickly."
"Then I will hold my tongue until such time as you tell Hera." Hephaestus promised. "I do not envy you that task. Hera has never been reserved in her wrath." Unlike Cato, Hades needed no warning about Hera. Hephaestus just enjoyed doing it.
"If she takes her wrath out on me, that's fine. Will just deal with it." For a moment Hades lowered his eyes in thought. Perhaps he would deserve it if he did become the target of her wrath. Not for that, but for his actions against her previously. He could so clearly remember storming over to her, threatening her and swearing an oath to make her life hell if she did the right thing. He had been wrong and tricked, but that doesn't absolve the sin. He shook the thought away. Not now, not here. "Better me than Cato. He's too new to know how to respond, even if he does seem to have Zeus' memories."
"I agree," Hephaestus said. "Not that I want Hera to use you as a punching bag, but when I met with Cato, he did not strike me as particularly intelligent or mature. The lack of either is certainly not a crime in this family, but each of us has had thousands of years to learn how to survive. Cato facing Hera in her wrath would be like throwing a lamb to a lioness, unless Cato has access to the raw power that made Zeus a force to be reckoned with." Surely Cato had the tools to access that power, but would he? Would his nascent power be enough to fend off Hera? Hephaestus knew that answer, and he did not like it.
"I came to Miami believing I had everyone's ire. If I gain Hera's for a decent reason and for a just cause I can live with that." Hades pulled the hard copy of the findings closer to himself to flip through them as he he continued, "And it will give Cato some time to get his life in order and hold on to that optimism he has just a little while longer. I don't know if Hera is in a wrath mood right now but she did curse him at his birth."
"Maybe I've misjudged her, then," Hephaestus said sarcastically. "This time she only used words. She's mellowing in her old age." Hephaestus chuckled a little at his own witticism. "Cato does seem interested in building a life for himself. He told me he wants to go to culinary school, but then he nearly fainted from the needle I used to draw his ichor." Hephaestus chuckled again, less cynically. Cato was hilarious in much the same way as a lolcat.
Hades didn't especially enjoy when people took shots against his little sister, but he wouldn't stop Hephaestus from doing so, just as he wished people would allow him against Demeter. The fact that no one ever did was not the point, but he was much more comfortable when it all shifted back to Cato. It also distracted him. "Culinary school? Really? His aunt must have made quite an impression on him." The ichor part was equally distractingly curious. "Maybe he simply isn't used to it being his ichor. If I understand what is going on with him correctly, he is seeing and feeling through someone else' eyes for most of his life." Hades was half a thought in about perhaps Cato should speak to Persephone since she had experience with something like that before he had shut the thought down. No. He was not going to be thinking about that.
"I had the same response when he mentioned culinary school," Hephaestus said, leaning back in his chair. Mocking Hera had relaxed him, as it often did. "I suggested he work in Hestia's bakery to see if he was truly interested in working in a professional kitchen." Hephaestus had watched enough Hell's Kitchen to know it wasn't as easy as preparing a meal in your own home.
"And it wasn't his ichor that caused him distress," Hephaestus continued. "He was reeling from the pain of the needle I used." It had even been one of the Japanese-designed needles made to reduce pain. "I do believe it may have been his first experience with pain in his own body. It made me worry for him more than anything else I learned about him." Physical pain was a constant when you were in Hera's crosshairs. Or when you worked in a professional kitchen.
"I'll have to keep that in mind as I keep watch on him until he settles in more. If it really is just him getting used to pain, it should fade, but if it doesn't that is a major problem." Even outside of Hera's crosshairs and professional kitchens, physical pain was ever-present. The modern world was constructed with sharp edges and misaligned steps. "He has enough on his plate without needing that as well. Setting up a mortal life is hard enough. Everything from scratch is something few would envy." Hades did but he kept that to himself.
Hephaestus shrugged. He was less worried about Cato establishing himself.
"Much of the family has enough money to throw around to set up Cato in whatever life he may choose." Hephaestus thought of his own fortune, barely diminished after spending billions on both a space program and a nation-wide series of museums. "I'll tell you what worries me the most about Cato. I don't know where he fits in. I don't know what drives him, what drives his power. He has no established role in the universe, so far as I know. I feel an existential crisis coming on just thinking about it." Cato's own naiveté protected him from feeling the same way, it seemed, and Hephaestus considered that only a blessing.
That part did not concern Hades but perhaps it was because existential crisis were the least of the problems on his own plate. "Considering I believe he has powers and divinity at all because of his consuming of Zeus' soul, I figure he will fall into a similar place and piggyback off the residue that Zeus used to get from being acknowledged. When hurricane seasons kicks in, he'll probably figure his place out in that regard."
"I hope so," Hephaestus said, concern in his voice. "If not, I've devised a battery of tests to run Cato through to help accelerate the process. Of course, I have a feeling you will be proven correct in time." Hephaestus may pride himself on his intelligence, but Hades was much more adroit at taking the long view of events.
"Probably." Hades wasn't going to be modest that he thought himself right about Cato's situation. Even though it was incredibly complicated, the most likely successful outcome seemed so simple. But Hades could also see the most likely unsuccessful outcome, "Assuming he can better separate himself from Zeus in his own head. Ironically, even though his place may be similar to his father's, he's going to need to get out of the mindset of being on with him or he's going to go down a road of madness."
"Again, I believe you are correct," Hephaestus agreed. "However, Cato seems to have already grasped that he is not Zeus, even if he shares some of Zeus' memories." If Cato's descriptions of how Zeus' memories felt hadn't convinced Hephaestus of that fact, his decision to go to culinary school would have. "Now to see if he comes back from culinary school and demands to be acknowledged as king." Hephaestus punctuated his statement with a derisive snort. He may like Cato, but he wasn't bowing to him.
"Already told him there are no kings anymore. If he comes back from culinary school demanding to be bowed to I will try to politely not laugh." Hades shook his head a little at the thought. He had only bowed the few times he had to Zeus and Hera in Miami to humor both of them, not out of any real belief on the matter. Now that he thought the age of humoring over... Suddenly a thought stuck him and he smirked a little bit. So few would understand but Hephaestus would, "And selfishly, I especially don't want him to do that. Just don't have time for it. If he starts demanding things like that -" he began to count on his fingers, "I have to sleep with Hera, find golden apples, buy stocks, get divine lightning, kill Apollo. So busy. Got four kids and a foster-child, where do I find the time for all that? And then Hera and the boy just die anyway and then I don't know what to do because I stop being written in favor of Herakles dressing up like Thor."
Hephaestus broke down in laughter at his uncle's proposed scenario. He had not been ready for such comic nerdery.
"I don't want to become a bad guy," Hephaestus said, still laughing. "Even a dead Apollo doesn't make up for that. It'll ruin my image as a geek icon. However, if the time comes, you can have my stocks in the Olympus Group." Even if they were real, Hephaestus doubted he would do anything with those stocks, assuming he was given any.
"Glad to hear it. It'll save me some time if you just hand over the stock if the time comes." The reference had just been so perfect and even the Rich One had to justify buying the Incredible Hercules at times. Interjecting it into real life seemed good enough and it just felt good to have a lighter perspective on this whole matter. He was sure he wouldn't have that luxury when he had to talk to Hera or when he had to tell the family about the permanency of the death and especially not at the memorial. He would take the luxury now while he could and brace for impact when it all came crashing back down upon his shoulders, "And I don't want to become a bad guy either even if I'd be the most interesting character in the story so we really got to hope Cato manages in this new world as a new man."
"Being interesting is overrated," Hephaestus said dismissively. "My life has gotten a lot more interesting since our family came back into my life, and while there has come some good, I would rather have not fought the Egyptians or dismantled an insane terrorist organization." Hephaestus scoffed in frustration. "I'm already a billionaire industrialist. That as close to being a comic book character as I want to be. Especially a Marvel character." Marvel characters suffered often-crippling emotional issues while dealing with improbable scenarios, intractable foes, and events that serve only to crush their spirit. Wait a minute...
The memories of fighting the Egyptians, of first finding the Egyptians and the various and sundry dealings with Subrosa all flashed in Hades' mind in a moment and it made him shake his head again. They were interconnected and all Poseidon's fault and that knowledge made him sigh heavily. How dare he bring this on this family and then flee to a Spanish para... No. He cut the thought off there before his blood was angried up any further and chose a different path, "Marvel's version of me does seem to have more fun than I do, but even without that I wouldn't want to be a villain in a Marvel comic book. Rather not have a chance of being defeated by Squirrel Girl when writers remember to write me."
"Marvel's Hephaestus reminded me a lot of me, and not in a good way." Hephaestus sat up straighter and once again fixed his clothing, as if it would distance himself from his pulp counterpart. "However, I'm sure he will soon fade thankfully into obscurity." Hephaestus was fine with that. He didn't need Marvel to keep his ink counterpart in the spotlight to feel good about himself, either physically or emotionally.
"Though, if he gets sent there by Squirrel Girl, I won't mind." Hephaestus chuckled a bit. "I would be in good company, at least." Squirrel Girl was a mighty vanquisher of cosmic evils. Hephaestus could do worse in choosing a hero to defeat him.
"Just wouldn't want to be defeated by the power of squirrels myself, but Marvel forgot about his storyline it seems." Being forgotten was something Hades could identify with though he was sure his comic counterpart didn't care. Not only did he not truly exist but he was always depicted so jolly. "Or I think so. Been so busy with..." He motioned to the file and the DVD that Hephaestus had provided for him to imply the events surrounding why they existed, "that I have a pile of unread comics that I probably won't get to any time soon."
"I have that problem, as well," Hephaestus said sympathetically. "Though my work is less worrisome than your own." Hephaestus's sympathies once again went out to his uncle. Hades always seemed to bear the brunt of the responsibilities in times of crisis, and Hephaestus knew that he had come to rely on his uncle doing just that. "But I am not so busy developing a space program and building big fucking things that you should hesitate to ask for my help if you need it." Hephaestus would not ignore the needs of his uncle or, he begrudgingly admitted, the rest of his family. He hadn't in the past, no matter how attractive the option had seemed.
"Will keep that in mind, [Nephew]. It's good to have allies." It was also something Hades had to still become accustomed to. For the majority of his awake, adult life he had been left to his own devices to keep the horrors that lurked in the shadows away from the family. To have allies to actual help him was still so odd and novel. Hades glanced over to the playpen in the corner of his office. His children were still asleep. "There is something you can do to help me out. You can catch me up on some of the books. Got time. My other meetings aren't until later and there's no demands for me from the corner."
Hephaestus had spent much of his time during Olympus' reign creating his own devices and lurking in the shadows away from the family. He regretted not expanding his own realm deep enough to connect it with Hades' own realm. Together, they may have been able to improve their lots. At the very least, they would have had someone to share drinks with and complain about Zeus.
His uncle's request made him smile. Despite his earlier claims, Hephaestus was largely caught up with his comic reading. There were always times when the world slept while Hephaestus was still awake, and he often filled those times with comic books when he wasn't engrossed in his own work.
"That I can certainly do, [Uncle]." Hephaestus settled once again in his seat, preparing for a long session of comic geekery. "Where would you like me to begin?"
Summary: Hades and Hephaestus discuss the topic of the now wholly dead Zeus. Also on the docket, Cato. The serious business concludes as Hephaestus regales his uncle with tales from the funny books to ease Hades' worries.