Ares, being a consummate professional, had given us the breakdown before the fight. The plan was the usual plan when you fight a HYDRA, I mean, hydra.

Cut the heads off, burn the stumps.

Simple plan. Not about to waste time making any changes to it.

A reptile head as big as a couch, the leftmost one, snapped towards us. Steve jumped in front and parried it with his shield, teeth clashing on vibranium. Bucky jumped forward, sword in hand, and sliced forward, catom blade cutting through scaled flesh. He got about halfway through.

The hydra screamed, blood pouring out from it. It tried to pull back, but I jumped forward and grabbed that head, using my strength to hold him in place for another slice from Bucky. The other four heads, realizing what was happening, moved to surround us, but Ares and Jen jumped for a head each.

“Raaagh!” Jen punched one head, sending it snapping back in a shower of teeth.

“Have at you!” Ares roared, jumping on top of another head and shooting it in the eyes with his assault rifle. His grenade launcher was aimed at the main body of the hydra, and explosions surrounded its feet and chest.

“Ha!” Bucky sliced the head off with a vicious blow. I immediately let go and raised my hands, unleashing plumes of flame, burning the stump into a crisp. The smell of burnt reptile rose in the air.

Another head tried to bite into Bucky, but a shield came crashing into it. Steve caught the shield in the air and brought it up in front of him.

“HYPER CHARGING STAR!”

Steve shield bashed one of the heads, teeth smashing on his shield, and looked over at me in confusion for a sec. “Why did you yell that?”

“Because you never call out your cool moves,” I said with a grin. Another head snapped at Ares. I controlled the plants near the head to snap upwards and wrap around that head, vines as thick as a wrist holding it in place.

“SHEEEEE!!!!” the trapped head screeched.

Ares, not one to let a free shot go, shoved his grenade launcher into the hydra’s right nostril and pulled the trigger. The grenade exploded in the nose of the hydra, sending the head back a step. It screamed a nasally scream, the other heads shuddering in response to that explosion. Ares, in a smooth motion as fast as Pietro ever did, switched his assault rifle for his sword and sliced the head off while the hydra was confused. I unleashed hell, blasts of flame cooking the bloody stump, liquid sizzling.

“Fall before your betters, you bastard!” Ares barked. “Jennifer?”

“I got one ready!” she jumped into the air, flipped around, and kicked outwards with both feet, smashing the middle hydra head like an emerald cannon.

Jen’s job in this whole thing was the same as Steve’s. Jen’s strength and Steve’s shield would beat the heads of the hydra, forcing them away from Ares, Bucky, and me. Both of them were fast and strong enough to daze the heads, and leap from one to another before they could recover.

Bucky and Ares’ jobs were to slice the heads off. Simple enough, if only something people with super-strength like theirs could pull off.

I controlled the plants around us to wrap around another head, more vines grabbing the main body. Ares cut off another head, which I burned.

Three long necks lay limp, heads removed and ends turned to ash. Two more stared at us with rage, snarling and spitting.

“Dial, if you could,” Steve asked politely.

“On it Cap,” I reached out mentally again. The plants around use exploded. It was like nature itself turned on the hydra. Which, you know, was exactly what happened.

The vines wrapped around and around its body. The hydra, panicking, started biting and clawing at the bonds that surrounded it.

“Captain!” Ares shouted as he rushed towards Steve.

“Jen!” Bucky said at the same time.

“Right!” Jen and Steve called out.

Ares jumped up and landed on Steve’s shield. Bucky’s boot landed in Jen’s cupped hands. Together, Steve and Jen heaved upwards, sending their cargo high into the sky.

Bucky Barnes and the God of War flew through the air with swords raised.

“DIE, DIE, DIE!” Ares laughed, his sword still dripping, Bucky silent in his wake.

“GRAGH!” I shouted, struggling with my bond over the plants. The vines twisted and pulled the last two heads into position for my allies, keeping the necks in place. Bucky and Ares slashed out with all their strength and cut through the necks of the hydra at the same time.

As soon as the blood was spilling, I created two balls of flame and tossed them, the flames exploding on the stumps. Then I kept pouring it on, over and over. The body of the hydra shuddered. Ares and Bucky landed, rolling to their feet and spinning to face the monster.

For a tense moment, we watched. Then the necks finally lay on the ground. The body shook. I stopped unleashing fire, Jen and Steve walking up to my sides to watch the hydra for a moment.

“...It is done!” Ares shouted in satisfaction. “And now I have hydra blood to add to my bullets! YES!”

“Nice!” Jen called out with a grin. “Except that blood thing, I don’t know where you’re going with that.”

“That was fun,” Bucky added.

“Indeed, it was,” Ares looked around. “Um… thank you,” he said hesitantly. It was like he wasn’t used to saying it. “I don’t often fight with other heroes at my side. This was a good experience.”

“Hey, no need,” Steve grinned up at the taller man. “I’m glad we could help with this.”

I watched as Steve patted him on the shoulder. Ares was… well, interesting to see in action. He wasn’t how I would have expected him. Still very eager for a fight, but it was like he’d spent his whole life with people shitting on him, and only now was getting any positivity thrown at him.

...Ah. Yeah. That’s exactly what had happened to him, wasn’t it?

“I can’t guarantee anything, but I can at least say I will speak on your behalf,” Steve said earnestly. “We’d love to have you help us. If you’d like.”

Ares blinked. “That… yes. I would like to continue my work here, however. My son goes to school here, and I’d like him to stay with his friends.”

I blinked, walking over. Alex… He existed. The son of the God of War. In the comics, he was the reason Ares would eventually become a hero. Maybe this version had taken the same path.

“You have a kid?” Jen said, blinking. “So, he’s like a demigod? Or did you and Aphrodite-”

Ares scoffed. “No. Thank god. Sophia has taught me the term toxic relationship. Truly, I wish I had known of it before that whole mess centuries ago,” he shook his head. “Alex is a normal boy. And I’d like to keep him that way. Understood,” he growled, looking around at us.

“Fine by me,” I looked at the hydra. “Man. I almost feel sorry for it.”

“Don’t,” Ares eyed me. “A warrior has no time to feel sorry for an enemy like a hydra. They have no feelings beyond rage and fear. They deserve no more sympathy than you would give a mosquito. Heed my advice.”

There were those dad vibes. My own father talked the same way sometimes. I missed him.

“Ya. Ya, I get that,” I said thoughtfully, staring at him.

Nat had said he was the best guy for what I needed. Granted, she hadn’t told me who to expect, but she said I’d understand once I met him...

Ares took out a bottle and kneeled next to the hydra’s nearest stump. He ripped out a section with his sword to let the blood flow out, the liquid dripping into the bottle.

“What are you doing?” Steve asked.

“Hydra blood is poisonous to even demigods,” Ares said. “That’s how my idiot brother died. I would rather have it available.”

“Just in case, huh?” I said.

“If this thing is poisonous, should we really be leaving its body out here-” Steve was interrupted when the hydra began to dissolve quickly.

“Oh, looks like he was self-cleaning, and/or magical,” I said while staring at the giant monster turning itself into goop. Gross.

“A bit of both. It’s extremely corrosive,” Ares said with a smirk. “Only its life force protected it from it’s own blood. It will destroy its body, then fade away.”

“Uh… good?” Steve placed his shield on his back. “Let’s head back then.”

As we began to walk off, I tried to figure out how to approach Ares.

------

When we got close to the base, I’d figured it out. Just be direct as fuck about it.

“Hey, can you guys give us a moment with Ares?” I asked Steve and Bucky just before the entrance.

Steve looked between Jen and I, then nodded. “Sure. We’ll meet you there.”

Bucky gave us a look, then followed Steve inside.

“Do you mind if we talk over there?” Jen asked Ares, pointing at a secluded section of land away from the base, near where he’d been training his recruits.

The god of war looked between us. “Why?”

“We kinda wanted to ask you a question,” I said.

“...Hn,” with that grunt, Ares turned and walked off towards the field. “Well, make it interesting.”

“Huh,” Jen looked at me, green eyes crinkling with skepticism. “You sure about this?”

“No. But Nat said to ask. And she’s never steered me wrong,” I said. “You still want to-”

“I’m with you until the end,” Jen said with a smile.

I stared at her for a second. Then I grabbed her by the hips and pulled her in, kissing her.

Jen grinned against my lips, then took over the kiss for a bit.

“Hey!” Ares called back. “What are you doing!?”

I pulled away quickly, if reluctantly. “Sorry! Coming, coming!”

Jen laughed, following quickly.

Ares was glaring at us as we joined him. “I swear, if you idiots wanted me here to watch you kiss, I’m going to beat you to a pulp.”

“That’s uh, not why we wanted to talk to you,” I said with some embarrassment. I couldn’t help it, man.

I took a deep breath and released it. “Recently, there have been a lot of bad guys in the world. I doubt I need to explain who. Right now, as I am, I’ve managed to do a lot of good with these powers. But I can’t just stand idle. I need to keep finding ways to push the envelope. I’ve been training with Black Widow.”

“A good decision,” Ares nodded gravely. “She is a warrior of some renown.”

“More than that. She’s the best teacher I’ve had,” I said with a smile. “But recently I asked her for advice about improving myself in my alien forms. You mentioned my recent war. Do you know what I went up against?”

Ares scoffed. “Of course not. I am the god of war, but that doesn’t mean I know everything about all wars everywhere.”

“Wait, how does that work then?” Jen asked, befuddled.

He looked a little reluctant to explain it. Finally, he let out a sound like a mountain cracking apart for a few seconds. “I call it the fog of war. I may not know the details. But like all soldiers, I know war when it is happening. On Olympus, I could simply look down on Earth and follow my instincts to track the battle. Here, I get mostly the gist of things. It’s clearest when the battle is over. I am not a god who can simply sense things. Even Athena is not that omniscient.”

That… kinda made sense. Ares was connected to war, sure, but mostly to soldiers. The guys who were boots on the ground. The only generals Ares was tied to were probably like Steve. Leaders who fought alongside their men.

So he could sense war, but only the way a soldier could. Knowing it was there, knowing their own place in it, but not really seeing the bigger part of it. Too bad. Could have been a way to cheat and find HYDRA.

“Well, during that war of mine, I got tested in a few ways. Ended up passing. But I want to get stronger. And Black Widow said she couldn’t help me. But she knew someone who could.”

“Me,” Ares said, proving he wasn’t as dumb as people thought. He crossed his arms. “You want me to train you.”

“Not just him,” Jen said.

“Hn,” Ares looked between us. “Why should I?”

Damnit. That was a good point. What did we have to offer besides things the guy already had?

“Hey, I have no idea why we’re even asking you,” Jen said. “Nat said it, and Mahmoud apparently agrees, but all I’ve seen is that you’re pretty good with a sword.”

“He’s also a millennia-old god of war who has experience training warriors,” I said simply.

“Isn’t Thor a god of war? Along with the other stuff, I mean.” Jen asked.

“No, he is not,” Ares spat out, annoyed. “Honestly, explain to me, Mahmoud Schahed. Why should I spend any time training you?”

“...Because I’m asking nicely?” I said helplessly.

“...Are you joking?” Ares said with a look on his face like he had swallowed hydra blood.

“Dude, I just- Okay, let me think,” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Earlier, when we were going after the hydra. You gave me good advice. Advice I was already thinking about, but that was reaffirmed when you said it as well. That made me think you could be a great teacher for me.”

“I would be,” a hint of pride entered his voice.

“Yeah. But as for why you should do it. I mean, what do you want from me, Ares? I doubt I have much to offer you.”

“Oh? Not wealth, power, lands?” he said sarcastically.

I scowled, annoyed now. Damnit, why was this so hard?

“You don’t need those things. You aren’t some greedy asshole who wants money. You have a shit-ton of power already. And what lands can I offer that you can’t just buy for yourself?” I sighed. “Ares, I just want to help people. There’s a war coming soon. Not just against hydra-”

“Capitalized, sweetie,” Jen said gently.

“Yeah, I mean, HYDRA. But also against that!” I pointed upwards. “There’s a whole lot of shit I need to be ready for! Galactus, Thanos, the Beyonders, Dormammu, Mephisto! Demons, aliens, gods! I can’t sit on my laurels, ever, when I know the shit that’s coming! But I got beat by Ulik the fucking troll! In my strongest form! How can I know that I’m going to be strong enough if I don’t have a teacher, a sparring partner, that can help my alien forms? Nat can help my human form get stronger. But I need someone who can help me with superhuman-”

“Enough,” Ares growled. I shut up. He glared at me. “You talk far too much.”

“It’s part of my charm.”

He grunted, sounding like mountains breaking apart once more. Then he looked at Jen. “And you?”

“I want to learn how to kick butt. Don’t really have a preference except that the last time I let this dummy go off on his own, he got kidnapped,” Jen gave me a soft smile. “So I’m protecting him.”

“I’m not a lost puppy,” I grunted.

“Just as cute,” she chuckled.

“...Gods, I might end up regretting this,” Ares rose to his feet, uncrossing his arms. “Very well… I would like to see then. If I’d be wasting my time.”

“Wasting your time?” Jen asked, cocking her hip. “Weren’t you training those soldiers earlier?”

“I was pushing them to run faster,” Ares smirked. “That’s different… Fight me.”

“...Ah, shit,” I whispered.

“As I said. I don’t want to spend my time teaching spoiled brats who will give up the second things get tough.”

“We’re here because shits going to get tough,” I growled, clenching a fist and raising the Omnitrix.

Ares seemed to loom over us. He smiled, teeth flashing on a face set in shadows. “That’s a good start. But show me your resolve with actions. Not words.”

I got ready to press the Omnitrix, while Ares clenched his fists.

“Wait!” Jen said, waving her arms. “We’re like, five feet from a military base. Shouldn’t we find somewhere a lot less, you know… breakable?”

Ares smiled. “Yes. Which is why I’m taking you there.”

He literally disappeared into a blur of motion. Then he was a foot in front of us. I went to press down on the Omnitrix while Jen tried to punch him. Ares pressed a palm on each of our stomachs.

“Don’t vomit,” he said evilly.

I felt an impact like a gunshot to my stomach, and suddenly I was flying back like I’d been launched by a catapult.

“OH FUUUUUUUUUUUCK!” I screamed, arms and legs waving while the sky and ground spun around and around me.

“That asshole!” I heard Jen somewhere nearby.

I managed to smack the Omnitrix through the skilled technique of panicked flailing, transforming midflight.

“Diamond-fuck! Ow, ow, damnit, son of a-FUCK”

I hit the ground, bounced upwards, then hit it again, grinding into the ground facefirst. I swallowed some dirt along the way. When it was over, I rolled to my back and stared at the sky. “...Did someone get the name of that asshole?”

“Ares!” the man himself landed nearby, cratering the ground and rushing forward, sword first. He smashed me into the ground, then kicked me away with immense force. “NOW GET THE FUCK UP AND FIGHT!”

I blame Nat for all of this.