I walked out of the warm bathroom rubbing a towel through my shoulder length hair, pretty grossed out by it. It still felt gross all greasy and gritty. I think I'd need at least two or four more showers to get it clean again. Grimacing I stared around the living room seeing Chance on the couch, she didn't looked like she had showered, I had no idea how since I'd been in there for way too long, but her clothes clearly clean and not hers. They were faded pink sweatpants and an oversized grey t-shirt, she glanced up at me and rolled her eyes.

"You take longer in the bathroom than I do," she remarked and Alexa walked in at that point as I heard her laugh. I turned around to confirm that it was indeed Alexa and she had sandwiches stacked on a plate.

"It takes time to look this pretty," I joked walking over to Alexa and grabbing a sandwich, noticing the bread was toasted. "Is it peanut butter?"  I asked even as I took a bite, the toast cracking apart and filling my mouth with the tangy of may, the salty crunch of bacon, the sweetness of tomato, and the green of lettuce.I moaned as the sandwich danced across my taste buds and settled down into my stomach. I didn't know much about gods or what they ate, but as of now I had no doubt in my mind that bacon was the food of the gods. I moaned again as I took another bite and had a food-gasm. "Alexa you are a great cook." Though because my mouth was full it sounded more like, "Xa, your a grr 'ook"

Either way she smiled at me and I figured my meaning came across just fine because she smiled at me. "Xander it is not polite to talk with your mouth full," scolded a voice I dimly remembered, I turned my head crumbs sliding down my face and saw a black woman with big brown eyes and really springy curls the same color as her eyes. She was wagging one of her long fingers at me, but her pink lips were smiling like I was funny. She just radiated warmth and I watched as her eyes flashed to gold and I felt warm, soft things cover my body. I looked down and I saw I was now dressed in a brand new pair of dark blue jeans, blue t-shirt and green sweatshirt that was really fluffy on the inside.

"Hey thanks," I said after I swallowed the bit of BLT in my mouth, and I saw the goddess smile at me.

"Think nothing of it," she said as she crossed the living room and saw down in the squashy green easy chair. "Please sit down, we've got quite a bit to talk about."

"Yes ma'am," I sad scooting by Chance who was crossing her arms and I felt Alexa plop down beside me. "Shoot, what's going on?"

"We know where the Fates are," Chance interrupted as Hestia opened her mouth. "And we have a window of opportunity to go and meet them; tonight."

"Don't interrupt people it's rude!" I scolded taking another bite of my sandwich and wishing I had some soda or a glass of milk.

"She wasn't talking," Alexa corrected me, "but Xander's right. Go on," she said glancing at the goddess who had a patient smile on her face still.

"It's okay," Hestia said kindly, "Chance got to the point faster than I would have. "But that is what I was going to say and we have a plan to get her inside the Luxor."

"You mean Chance right?" I asked pointing to her just to make sure I was assuming correctly; the goddess nodded at me. "Okay great! What are we doing?"

"She's going to impersonate a goddess," Alexa said and I saw Chance hunker farther down in the couch and grumble. Clearly she was not keen on the idea of pretending to be a goddess, I did not blame her in the slightest most of them were bitches. I bit into my BLT again and swallowed as my eyes darted between Chance and Hestia.

"Okay which one? And what am I going to do?" I asked staring down at the half of a sandwich in my hand and I contemplated grabbing another one.

"She's going to pretend to be Aphrodite," Hesita replied and I heard Chance groan. "She changes her looks every three days, she was Middle Eastern girl  last time I saw her.  if she shows up as a  redhead to Zeus and Hera's anniversary party no one is going to blink."

I nodded slowly and polished off the last of my sandwich as a hundred thoughts ran through my head. "She's the goddess of beauty right? So doesn't she look different to everyone?" The pieces were falling together in my head sort of. I was willing to bet Hesita stayed in one form all the time, but the world's first harlot? Probably not, so I got why Chance was not too keen on the whole idea, but how was it going to work if Aphrodite looked different to every person?

"That's a good question," Alexa commented, "I don't get why Chance always calls  you an idiot."

"Affectionate nickname," I said as i reached over Alexa to the end table and grabbed another BLT. "But that doesn't answer my question, if this goddess looks different to everyone how can Chance pretend to be her?"

"Because Aphrodite doesn't look different to everyone," Chance snapped at me, hands slapping on the couch cushions with a puff. "Like all the gods she was born with one form and can change it at will. She's the only one who does it all the time, so if I show up looking like a Barbie version of me those idiots won't bat an eye."

"That's my name!" I objected as I took another bite of my sandwich, "and this makes alot more sense now. So what am I supposed to do? Am I going to pretend to be a god?"

"No," Hesita said, "you're going to go in a different way and I'll explain more later, right now we've got to get you ready," she said her eyes zeroing in on Chance who was sinking farther back into the couch like she could get swallowed up by them and avoid this whole thing. "Come on," said the goddess getting up and standing up by the couch, arms outstretched to Chance who bit her lip and grimaced as she excepted the outstretched hands and mumbled something. I couldn't hear it but my guess was it was something along of the lines of "let's get this over with".

She led Chance into the back by the bathroom and I didn't watch them go to figure out what was going on exactly. I was getting back to eating, "So," I said after my mouth was only half full, "think we should worry about Hestia? When Chance is mad she's scary." I made a weird face when I said scary, drawing it out all exaggerated and I wiggled my eyebrows.

Alexa laughed and I noticed her laugh was really pretty. Almost like she was singng or something, I liked it. "Nah, μητέρα is tough, she'll be okay!"

"What now?" I asked as I heard her say a word that was not English. It kinda sounded like Nutella, but I knew that wasn't right.

"It's Greek, it means mother," she said as her bronze skin turned a bit rosy.

"Hesita's your mom?!" I exclaimed jumping to my feet. "But how? You'd be in prison...and...and..." I let out a puff of air and hoped I didn't sound like a jackass when I said this. "You don't look like her..." Then a figurative lightening bolt struck me as the words left my mouth, there was only one explanation as to why Alexa called Hesita mom but looks nothing like her. "Are you adopted?"

Alexa laughed and shook her head sending her free flowing blonde hair waving across her shoulders. "No, I'm not, I'm a demigod too, and Hestia is my biological mom."

"Wait up," I said setting my half eaten sandwich back down on the side table as I heard Chance's angry voice shout, "OW!" I winced in sympathy but my confusion kept it brief. "How can that be? You're white and she's black and what's more," I said racking my mind for what i did know about Greek myths. "Didn't she swear never to marry?"

I stepped back waiting for Alexa to kick my ass because I saw her eyes kind of narrow and if she was pals with Chance the female James Bond I needed to be a good distance away from her to keep my injuries to a minimum. I closed my eyes waiting to hear her shout and then beat me to a pulp, a second ticked by, then two, then three. Nothing, four, five, six. Oh come on, I thought.  If you're gonna beat me up for being so blunt please don't make we wait!  I cracked open one eye and saw her eyes were still a bit narrow but then she did something I didn't expect, she started laughing again. "Ummm?" I said feeling incredibly smart as she doubled over giggling. "You're not mad at me?"

"No!" she said straightening up still giggling. "I'm not, I'm just seeing how you got your nickname is all. It's kind of funny because the answers to all of your questions are pretty obvious, but maybe that's why you didn't think of them. See μητέρα changed her form when she had me, if I looked like her it would look weird to any gods that saw us together. It was to protect me, and she's not married, see I-."

At that moment I heard a clicking noise and I jumped, grabbing the plate of BLTs off the end table and smashing the plate, the green shards shattering into a jagged piece of glass. "Alexa run!" I shouted spinning around to face whatever monster had come and found us, heart hammering, blood speeding through my body, breathing ragged as I braced myself for the bloodbath...and it's a person.

A sort of older lady who was kind of fat, not obese, but she had some extra weight around her middle, I also spotted a long brown ponytail and wire-rimmed glasses that hid green eyes like Alexa's. "My gods when did we let the crazy in?" she asked Alexa who had turned a little red, one hand over her mouth clearly trying not to laugh.

"He got here an hour ago, Xander," she said looking back at me. "Meet my Mom."

"But I just did...." but the pieces fell together again, how Hesita had a kid without breaking her oath, why her biological daughter looked nothing like her and why she called Hestia mom in greek and this other one in English. Hestia was gay and this was her partner, I coughed, staring at the broken glass in my hand and tried for a winning smile. "Sorry," I said feeling a blush creep up my neck. "I can clean this up."

"Don't be sorry," she said with a kind smile, "you must've been through alot, Xander right? Alexa and Hesita have told me quite a bit about you and Chance, just sit down for a bit. You're safe now, it's okay."

"Um...thanks and sorry," I muttered sitting down on the couch still holding the broken plate in my hand. "Shouldn'tda freaked out...."

"It's okay," she said again and I heard some ruffling around in a cabinet as I saw Alexa reach out and take the plate from my hands.

"Sorry," I muttered to her. "So two moms huh? That's cool," I heard her laugh again and I then heard her tongue click.

"Stay here," she said stepping carefully across the cream colored carpet flecked with bits of green shards towards the dinning room where she tossed the plate into a garabage and opened another cabinet.

"Why would I go anywhere?" I asked as I heard Chance's shout of pain again. "I don't want to get near that danger zone."

"You mean the glass or Chance?" asked Alexa even as I heard her Mom's voice saying, "take this."

"Chance who else? Glass is a safe thing around her," I said as I saw her come back into my line of sight with a small hand-held vacuum and a first aid kit. She flicked a button and started sucking up the shards with one had and handed me the white box with the other.

"Get some band aids out of there," she said as she moved the little plastic sucker around the mess I'd made. "You cut your hands."

"What...?" but I looked down even as I said the word and saw streams of red across my palms which were starting just now to sting. I hadn't even noticed I'd gotten hurt. "Sorry," I munbled again as I opened the box and grabbed some big band aids out of the little box inside.

"Don't be sorry," Alexa said again as she turned off the vacuum, "it was an accident, just relax and get ready for tonight. You've got a pretty big job ahead."

"Please don't remind me," I said as I tore open a band aid with my teeth and stuc them to the sticky cuts on my palms. I'd flipped out when a woman opened the door to her house, I was in Vegas with a demigod who'd never set foot in the prison like me, just figured out the only nice goddess I knew was gay and that whatever Hesita was doing to Chance I had reasons to worry for her safety. And that tonight we were going to crash my dad's anniversary party. What could possibly go wrong?

Oh and Chance had to pass for the goddess of love, beauty and sex....Ugh, we were doomed.

***************************

So we know a bit more about Alexa and anyone guess why Hesita wants to be mortal and watch the Council go down? I'd love to hear it! So please don't forget to COMMENT and VOTE if you enjoyed this chapter! =)

Write on!