WHO: Xander Christopoulos and OPEN! WHERE: Near the Empire State Building in Manhattan WHEN: Tuesday Afternoon WHAT: Xander smells good to monsters, so TA DA! Hydra. WARNINGS: Violence. Minor language.
The first clue that something was wrong should have been the pointing tourists. Regular New Yorkers had a tendency to ignore things around them in favor of getting to where they're supposed to be on time, but tourists are taking in the sights. So when they suddenly stopped and started pointing upwards in shock, it should have been abnormal to Xander. Unfortunately it wasn't until he heard the roaring that it clicked; in the real world, outside of the protection of the golden fleece, monsters were very, very attracted to the scent of his blood.
He wasn't sure what it was the mortals saw thanks to the Mist, but whatever it was couldn't be nearly as terrifying as what Xander saw when he pivoted on his heels to come face-to-face with the Hydra, the five-headed beast that Percy himself had faced with an embarrassing lack of knowledge. The middle head roared again and spewed fire into the air--and whatever the mortals saw happen caused them all to scream and take off running in a wave that almost swept Xander away with them. This? Was bad. He looked down at the cell phone in his hand (he had been in the process of calling Penny)and cursed to himself in Greek. This was why he wasn't supposed to use his cell phone. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Word of advice? Don't chop off any heads.
"I'll keep that in mind," Xander grumbled, fumbling through his pocket for the pen that would turn into Riptide the second it was uncapped. Thankfully he could run and search at the same time, because the monster had finally caught sight of him and was focusing in on his afternoon snack. A scaled paw lashed out and demolished part of the building directly over Xander's head, spraying debris that bit at his skin as he rolled desperately out of the way. He would definitely need back-up with this one, but his phone lay demolished somewhere (and really, it was partially the reason he was in this predicament in the first place).
Worst, however, was that the crowded city had caused a jam in its attempt to flee from the danger, and the Hydra wasn't exactly being careful in where it was stepping its gigantic feet. Innocent people were going to get hurt if he didn't get this thing out of the crowd and back to Tartarus quickly. Without being caught on camera. And with minimal damage and casualties. From the middle of Manhattan. Because that wasn't impossible at all.
"Oi! Walnut brain!" He yelled up right as the thing was about to step onto a comically full taxi. He waved his arms like he was trying to land a plane, the celestial bronze in his hand glowing like a beacon to get the monster's attention again. The thing turned last minute, barely missing the cars and putting a monster-sized footprint into the concrete sidewalk. Now he had its attention, but no plan of attack. He could sorely use an Annabeth or a Grover right about then.