The Battle for Sanctuary: The Titan's Legacy: Vol: 2 (Volume 2) (16 page)

“
Now, back to it. Give me
your right hand, Justin.”

With trepidation, Justin extended his
hand, still wondering about the Titan's warning. Prometheus turned
his hand palm up. “Each of us, the Elders, had a particular
skill that we were best at when it came to using our powers through
runes. Our descendants, the members of our Houses if you will, bore
that talent within their very genes.”

“
But, I thought the
hybrids were created in the lab?” Justin said in confusion.

With a chuckle, Prometheus said “Yes,
but it was our DNA that was used to create the hybrids. All except
for Cronus. How he got his genetic material into the human gene pool
to produce you is a mystery. Still, “ he continued briskly,
“here you are. Cronus' most powerful skill was the use of the
earth, as I told you. Anything related to the earth, such as metals
like titanium, or the very stone around him, would answer to his
call. That is why you have such power over the automatons that we
created.” Prometheus pressed his rune against Justin's, as if
they were shaking hands. When the two runes connected, Justin felt
his legs buckle as a bolt of searing energy seemed to pass through
Prometheus' hand into his and up his arm into his chest. He groaned
loudly and began to shake uncontrollably.

“
Hey!” Justin heard
a shout through his pain. It sounded like Aaron but he was too
blinded by the agony of the energy pouring into him to be sure.

Suddenly, he felt Prometheus withdraw
his hand and he collapsed on to his hands and knees, sucking in great
breaths and trying to regain his balance.

As the pain receded, he realized that
Aaron was arguing with the Titan. Justin stood up slowly.

“
Stop it, Aaron,”
he said weakly. “I'm okay.”

Aaron whipped around to look at his
friend. His face was red, but his furious expression faded to a look
of concern as he stared at Justin.

“
You're okay? Are you
kidding me? You can barely stand! What the hell did he do to you,
Just?”

“
Stop, Aaron,”
Justin repeated in a stronger voice. “In case you've forgotten,
Prometheus is on our side.” He looked down at his hand but the
rune looked exactly the same. And then he gasped because, as he was
watching it, for the first time since he'd been branded with the mark
months ago, the rune flickered, faded and disappeared.

“
It's gone!” He
looked up at Prometheus who was smiling at him. The Titan nodded. “It
will appear at need now, Justin. As mine does. And now, if you are
ever caught by our enemies, you won't be given away by its
appearance.” He looked down at Aaron but his expression was
friendly. “He is unharmed, Aaron. I should have thought to warn
you all that my...gift would cause some momentary pain. I apologize.”

Aaron looked sheepishly at the old
Titan. “I'm the one who should apologize, sir. After you've
been so nice to us, I shouldn't have accused you of trying to hurt
Justin.”

“
Okay, now that both
sides have said they're sorry, could someone please tell us what's
going on?” It was Dominic who spoke up and Justin realized that
all of the teens had raced over to his side when he had collapsed. He
turned away in embarrassment, but Maria just patted his arm.

“
Relax Justin,” she
said with a grin. “When we see a friend that we think is in
trouble, we come running.” Then she looked around and laughed.
“Even if we come running in our underwear!”

The others suddenly seemed to realize
that they were dripping with water and not wearing clothes. Julia and
Yolanda both shrieked and raced back to the pool, keeping their backs
to the group as they struggled to put their clothes on. Richard and
Jason weren't far behind. Maria winked at Justin and headed back at a
more leisurely pace, followed by Dominic who was laughing at the
others.

Once everyone was dressed,
they rejoined Justin and Aaron, and Prometheus explained what he had
done.

“
So Justin
can...manipulate the earth around him now?” Dominic asked
dubiously.

“
Something like that,
yes,” Prometheus answered. “But he will have to practice.
It will require skill to use that power and skill comes through
practice.” He looked keenly at the other teens.

“
I assume your bracelets
have now adjusted themselves to fit your wrists?” They all
nodded. “Excellent,” he said. “And now I offer you
all that gift which I gave to Justin; the chance to use the powers
that lie within each of you.”

“
But how, sir?”
Aaron asked before anyone else could. “I mean, I know that my
ancestor was Coeus, but these other guys have no idea who their
ancestors were. And don't you need to know who we're descended from?”

“
Coeus? So you are of the
House of Coeus? Well, that explains it them,” Prometheus said,
looking thoughtful.

“
Explains what, sir?”
Aaron asked anxiously.

The Titan smiled. “Coeus was
famed for his intelligence and his loyalty. Both traits that I have
noticed in you, young man. And yes, I do need to know which House
each of you is related to.”

Aaron looked down and shuffled his
feet, and Justin grinned broadly at his embarrassment.

“
As for you others, I
have a way to trace each of your Houses, if you wish it.”
Prometheus stepped up to the cabinet and opened another door. This
time, he removed a pale wooden box that was plain and unadorned but
highly polished and made from a fine-grained wood. He set it on the
shelf, opened it and took out an object that shone with a ghostly
white light.

“
Oh, it's beautiful,”
Julia sighed as she saw the contents of the box.

Prometheus was holding a large round
globe made of some translucent material that glowed dimly. It was
inlaid with geometric patterns that seemed to be made of titanium.
The globe throbbed and expanded slightly every few seconds, as if it
was a slowly beating heart. It emitted a low-pitched hum.

“
This is a scanner,”
Prometheus said as he held up the globe. “It will scan the DNA
of whoever holds it and will tell me immediately what House each of
you is descended from.”

“
It, it doesn't need a
blood sample, does it?” Yolanda asked nervously. The Titan
looked surprised.

“
Why would it need a
blood sample?” he asked her.

“
Well, when doctors check
out you, you know, in a physical, they always want your blood.”

Prometheus frowned. “Barbaric,”
he muttered. “No, young lady, I assure you that the scanner
does not need a blood sample.”

Yolanda looked relieved. “Good,”
she said. “I hate giving blood.”

The Titan raised an eyebrow. “Need
I remind you that unless your...doctor is it, has a needle made of
titanium, he would not be able to take a blood sample anyway?”

With a broad grin, Yolanda said “Hey,
I forgot about that! Thanks for reminding me, sir.”

Prometheus nodded and smiled gently.
“Now, once we know from whom you are descended, I will gift
each of you with a rune that will take advantage of your natural
gifts and, hopefully, will help you on your journey ahead.”

“
You mean, you can
inscribe a rune on to our bracelets?” Dominic asked excitedly.

“
Exactly. But I only have
the time and power for one rune for each of you. That is why we must
choose one that matches up with your most powerful talents.” He
looked at the eager faces around him. “So, who wants to go
first?”

Everyone except Justin pushed
forward. “Me, me!” they all said eagerly. Prometheus
laughed.

“
I see that I will simply
have to pick and choose. In fairness, Maria seems to be the eldest,
so I think she should be tested first.”

The others looked a bit disappointed,
but there were no objections. Justin could tell that Maria was
pleased.

Prometheus handed her the globe and
she looked startled as she held it. “Wow,” Maria said.
“It's so light. Oh, and it's soft and warm.” She looked
down at the globe and stroked it gently. Around her the others stared
and as she noticed their looks, Maria laughed a bit uncomfortably.
“Sorry, but it's almost like holding a kitten, minus the fur.”

Maria held on to the globe for a
minute and then it flashed and emitted a musical chime. She jumped a
bit.

“
That's all, Maria,”
Prometheus said as he took the globe from her. “Thank you.”
Everyone watch in fascination as the geometric shapes on the globe's
surface began moving and rearranging themselves into different
patterns. When the shapes stopped moving, Prometheus stared at the
globe a moment and then looked at Maria with a wide smile.

“
Ah, how nice,” he
said warmly. “I am delighted to tell you that you are descended
from one of my best friends from the old days,
Mnemosyne.
She was also the wife of my brother, Crius.”

“
I
thought Cronus and Hyperion were your brothers, sir?” Justin
asked, a bit confused.

“
They
were, Justin. Did I not mention Crius?” When Justin shook his
head, Prometheus simply sighed. “It isn't important. Crius was
never involved in politics and was happy to follow Cronus' lead in
all things.”

“
Who
was Mnemosyne, sir?” Maria asked quickly, as though afraid that
Justin and the Titan might start another long discussion.

“
Mnemosyne
was a warrior, Maria.” Prometheus looked off into the distance,
remembering. “She was beautiful, strong and loyal. And her main
skill was quite unique.”

“
What
was it?” Maria asked eagerly.

With a smile, the Titan said “Speed.
In battle, she had the ability to increase her reaction speed a
hundred fold, taking down opponents before they could even touch
her.”

“
Wow.”
Maria looked thoughtful. “That could be useful.”

“
Very,” he replied
dryly. “I suggest that when you have the time along your
journey, you spar with some of your fellow Titans.” Seeing the
worried look on Maria's face, Prometheus added “Do not worry.
As long as you aren't fighting with very sharp or titanium weapons,
you won't do each other any harm. And it will help to activate your
new abilities.”

Maria nodded her understanding and
stepped back, looking intently at her bracelet.

“
Next should be, let me
see, ah yes, Richard. Correct?”

“
Yes sir,” Richard
moved closer to the Titan, who handed him the sphere.

Again, after he had handed it back to
Prometheus, the shapes on the globe realigned themselves into a new
configuration.

“
Yes, yes. I see,”
the old Titan said. “You are a member of the House of
Phoebe,
young man.”

“
Who
was she, sir?” Richard asked, looking excited.

“
She
was the sister of Coeus, Richard. And her most outstanding ability
was the gift of healing.”

“
Healing?”
Richard sounded dubious. “Is that really useful? I mean, aren't
Titans very tough and difficult to injure?”

Prometheus chuckled. “We are
indeed. But because of that toughness, when we are wounded, the
healing process is often significantly longer and wounds can be most
difficult to treat.” He glanced down at Justin's hand. “Except
for the wounds that you received on your runic mark. It is a special
case.”

Justin glanced at his palm and
shrugged. “Okay,” he said simply.

“
But
why is healing so hard for Titans?” Richard wanted to know.

“
Because
we are so resistant to most known forms of treatment. Drugs do not
work on us, even if you could find a titanium syringe. The same
applies to sewing up wounds. Taking drugs orally doesn't work either;
our cells are simply too dense to allow the absorption of most
chemicals.” Prometheus spread his hands. “So you see, the
power to heal is immensely valuable to us.”

Richard looked thoughtful as he
wandered off.

The rest of the teens went through
the same procedure. Jason ended up being of the House of Iapetus. His
power, Prometheus explained to an excited Jason, was controlling
lightning.

Yolanda and Julia found out that, by
a happy coincidence, they were both descendants of Tethys, the wife
of Oceanus. Her power, like her husband's, was controlling water.
They went off together, chatting happily about the possibilities.
Prometheus looked amused at their conversation.

The last one to learn of his ancestry
was Dominic. Justin found himself tensing up as Prometheus received
the orb from Dominic and reading the shapes on its curved surface.

The Titan looked searchingly at the
teen for a long moment.

“
Ah,
yes,” Prometheus said quietly. “This is most
interesting.”

“
What
is it, sir?” Dominic was almost vibrating in his eagerness to
hear of his ancestor. The Titan smiled slightly.

“
Yours
is the House of Crius. My brother.”

Dominic looked shocked. “Your
brother's House? Are...you okay with that, sir?”

Justin wondered if Dominic had picked
up on Prometheus' suspicions.

“
Of
course I am,” the Titan replied with good humor. “To know
that my younger brother's line continues is a gift, Dominic. And I
thank you for it. As for his power,” and here Prometheus began
to laugh, “he was always playing pranks on us when he used it,
but it is a mighty gift all the same.”