Janus swore loudly as another five men filed into the warehouse. "You have got to be kidding me!"

He had been losing to begin with, but this was an impossible fight now. He almost started shooting again, but he only had a few charges left. Not enough for twelve.

Pulse rifles and beam pistols were aimed at his chest in a series of loud clicks. Janus' small blaster looked like a toy against the higher powered guns. There was a moment of twelve guns pointed at one stubborn man.

"Put down your weapon and get on your knees!" One of the men shouted. "Hands in the air!"

No one moved for a long moment. At least three of the men powered up their weapons, preparing to shoot. Janus could have withstood the fire, but he would have passed out. He muttered another curse and dropped his blaster. There was a reason he used cheap guns.

He stepped back, hands lifted just above his shoulders and knelt down. He watched in silence as two men ran over with thick steel cables. They set them down in front of Janus, then backed up.

Janus looked down at the cables in confusion. What were they for? If these men thought they were going to effectively bind Janus with steel cables an inch in diameter, they were very wrong. No way they'd be able to bend it enough to-

The door banged open. A tall, very muscular man walked in. He had his black hair cut almost down to his skull, his hair looking like black fuzz. He regarded Janus with intense green eyes. "Well... seems I caught myself an Olympian." His eyes fell on Janus' right hand.

Janus bristled. He knew who this was. Atlas. Zeus had warned about the Titans before sending Janus off to find Poseidon. His predicament was even worse than he thought.

Atlas tromped over and picked up one of the steel cables. He bent it easily. Janus closed his eyes, this wasn't so bad. He could get out of this. Zeus had said this guy was stupid.

Atlas forced Janus' arms behind him and wrapped them in the heavy steel cable. Janus winced as the metal bit harshly into his arms. He couldnt see what Atlas was doing behind him.

Another steel cable was grabbed, this one was wrapped around his legs after he was shoved face first against the floor. There were still three more cables.

Janus twisted as Atlas began wrapping the remaining cables around his chest. He was starting to realize he probably wouldn't be getting out of this anytime soon. A quick punch to the side of the head stopped Janus' hopeless fight.

When his vision stopped spinning, Janus had been picked up and had already been carried outside. The warehouse sat along the coast, in a line with many others. Janus struggled again, but it didnt do anything besides cause the cables to cut deeply anywhere they touched bare skin.

Atlas chuckled as Janus started cursing him very loudly. He carried the steel bound Janus across the beach to a small motor boat. Janus was thrown into the bottom of it and Atlas got in by the motor. In seconds, they were speeding out into the open ocean, skipping across the waves.

Janus banged around on the bottom of the boat. His head struck the bottom and sides so often that he was half way unconscious when the boat stopped.

Atlas hoisted Janus up and held him up before him. Janus panted angrily. "Not brave enough to kill me yourself?" He growled.

Atlas snorted. "My hand will throw you into the ocean. That is enough for me."

Janus wasn't able to formulate another taunt or witty remark before he was flung into the water.

Janus sank like a stone. The unexpected toss into the water left him out of breath. Not a good sign. Maybe Poseidon would pick this moment to show up, pull of a dramatic rescue as the resident Water Boy and save Janus the trouble of trying to track him down.

Janus understood now why he had been wrapped in so much steel. He sank quickly through the dark water. The shimmering surface growing farther away and less distinct. Janus closed his eyes against the burning saltwater. He didn't fight his body's instinctive need to breath. There was no point delaying the inevitable.

The salt and water burned his lungs and he arched in his steel cables. He coughed out the water, only to inhale more. Each choking gasp only brought on more water. One thought flashed through his mind just before he blacked out.

This isn't going to kill me.

Three years later

A series of choked gasps and coughs shook Janus into consciousness again. His chest hurt and his lungs burned like fire. He had lost track of time in the blackness of the ocean and had no idea how long he had been breathing the water or drifting in and out of painful consciousness.

Now however, there was air and the steel cables were gone.

Janus opened his eyes and rolled to his hands and knees. He fell straight back to the sand, continuing to cough up water. Blood mixed with saltwater soaked his clothes and he could feel the scraped places burning. Those were minor.

He could breathe again. It took him several minutes to stop coughing. He lay there on the sand, looking up at the sky and breathing deeply. He moved his eyes to look around for whoever had saved him.

A lean, short, matchstick of a boy sat cross legged on the sand, watching Janus curiously. He physically appeared to be young, but the look in his ocean blue eyes pegged him as early teens at least. His shaggy hair was dyed blues and white to resemble water. He wore a yellow shirt with a surfboard graphic and the words 'Hang Loose' along with a pair of horrid Hawaiian shorts covered in large flowers.

The boy grinned at Janus. "I thought you were dead for sure, dude!" he said, sounding far too excited.

Janus groaned and rubbed his chest, finding that his shirt had been shredded. "Yeah well... dying isn't something I do."

The boy laughed loudly, as if this were the funniest thing he had ever heard. "You were, like, all wrapped in that steel! It was so covered in junk and you were half buried, but I could see that you were having troubles, man. How long were you down there?"

Janus forced himself to sit up. He attempted to brush the sand out of his hair. "Ah... that depends really. Is it September?"

The boy raised one eyebrow. "Nah, dude. It's August."

Janus let out a long breath. "August... great..."

"Would the year help you? It's twenty-two forty-one."

Janus' blood ran cold, through part of him was impressed with himself. He whistled. "Well... that complicates matters. What's your name, kid?"

The boy looked confused. "Poseidon."

A small, amused smile touched Janus' face. "And how old are you?"

Poseidon grew suspicious, but didn't get up. Either he was stupid, or knee he could beat Janus in a fight. "Fifteen."

Janus managed to hide his surprise. He had been sure the kid was younger. Of course, Janus himself still looked to be in his mid twenties despite the fact he was over two hundred.

Janus held out his right hand, the one with the tattoo, to Poseidon. "The name's Janus. I was looking for you."

Poseidon looked down at Janus' hand, then up at his face. He gave a start when he noticed the mismatched eyes and the common trick of the light making it appear that Janus had two faces.

A tug.

The waves stopped their crashing. The sands stopped swishing in the wind. Dried weeds stopped crackling. Silence filled the air.

"Take your time," Janus said calmly. "But do be considerate. I'm dreadfully hungry."