Another Close Call

Julia watched as Brody started doing more push-ups. “ It’s hard to believe we were just talking to the real Heracles! ” she said, thinking about all the stories she’d read about the mighty hero. “ I mean, he’s really famous. Everyone has heard of Heracles. ” Brody sat up and glared at her. “ You sound like you’re talking about a rock star or something, Julia, ” he snapped. “ The guy seems nice. But don’t forget, he is the main thing standing between us and a trip home. What did he do anyway that was so great?” “ Heracles did all sorts of interesting things, ” Julia answered. “ Some things were bad, but a lot of them were good. For instance, he saved Prometheus from having an eagle peck out his liver over and over again. ”

茱莉亚看着布罗迪开始做更多的俯卧撑。 “真不敢相信我们刚才在和真正的赫拉克勒斯交谈!”她边说，边想着她读过的所有关于这位伟大英雄的故事。 “我的意思是，他真的很有名。大家都听说过赫拉克勒斯。” 布罗迪坐起来，瞪着她。“茱莉亚，你听起来像是在谈论摇滚明星什么的。”他厉声说。 “这家伙看起来不错。但别忘了，他是阻碍我们回家的主要因素。他到底做了什么了不起的事?” “赫拉克勒斯做了各种各样有趣的事情，”茱莉亚回答。“有些事情很糟糕，但很多都是好的。例如，他拯救了普罗米修斯，避免老鹰一遍又一遍地啄他的肝脏。”

“ Prometheus? Who’s that?” Brody asked. “ He was a Titan—that’s a different kind of god, ” Julia explained. “ I’m pretty sure Prometheus is the one who created humans out of clay. He also gave humans fire, which made Zeus mad. So Zeus set up the pecking as punishment. But eventually Heracles came along and set Prometheus free. ” Markos looked confused. “ When did this happen? Does Zeus know that Heracles did that?”

“普罗米修斯?那是谁啊?”布罗迪问道。 “他是泰坦神——那是另一种神。”茱莉亚解释道。“我很确定普罗米修斯就是那个用粘土创造人类的人。 他还给了人类火，这让宙斯很生气。于是宙斯将啄食作为惩罚。但最终赫拉克勒斯出现了，释放了普罗米修斯。” 马库斯一脸困惑。“这是什么时候发生的？宙斯知道赫拉克勒斯干的吗？”

Julia shrugged. “ I guess it hasn’t happened yet, ” she replied. “ It probably happens later, when Heracles is an adult. ” Ares rushed toward them. “ Was that Heracles I saw leaving a little while ago?” he demanded. “ Yes, Ares, ” Markos said with a bow. “ He came to see the gymnasium, but Zeus summoned him before he got to look around. ” The war god’s eyes widened. “ You mean Heracles was here without Zeus?” he thundered. “ I missed my chance to destroy him! ” The war god’s hair burst into flames, and he gnashed his teeth in anger. Julia jumped back to avoid being burned by the sparks flying off Ares’ head.

茱莉亚耸耸肩。“我想这还没有发生，”她回答。“这可能要等赫拉克勒斯成年后了。” 阿瑞斯冲向他们。“刚才我是看见赫拉克勒斯离开了吗?”他问道。 “是的，阿瑞斯。”马库斯说着，鞠了一躬。“他来参观体育馆，但还没来得及看，宙斯就把他叫走了。” 战神睁大了眼睛。“你是说赫拉克勒斯在这里，宙斯不在吗？”他咆哮道。“我错过了消灭他的机会！” 战神的头发燃烧起来，他愤怒地咬牙切齿。茱莉亚向后一跳，以免被阿瑞斯头上飞出的火花灼伤。

Meanwhile Apollo wandered over. He smirked at the war god. “ Are you having a tantrum, Ares? ” he asked. “ And in front of mortals—tsk, tsk. ” “ Silence, sun god. ” Ares glared at Apollo. “ You should be upset too. Zeus’ mighty champion was here alone just now, and we all missed him! It was our chance for sabotage! ” “ He wasn’t alone, ” Brody put in. “ His brother was with him. ” He turned to Julia. “ What’s the brother’s name?”

与此同时，阿波罗走了过来。他嘲笑战神。“你在发脾气吗，阿瑞斯？”他问道。“在凡人面前，啧啧。” “安静，太阳神。”阿瑞斯怒视着阿波罗。“你也应该失望。宙斯强大的冠军刚才独自一人在这里，我们都错过了他!这可是我们阻碍他的机会!” “他不是一个人，”布罗迪插嘴说。“他兄弟和他在一起。”他转向茱莉亚。“那兄弟叫什么名字?”

“ Iphicles. ” Julia wished Brody would stop talking to the gods. Ares was another one who made her nervous, with his hot temper and fiery powers. And Apollo wasn’t much better. She knew he was supposed to be Hermes’ friend, but he seemed pretty sneaky. “ Never mind, ” Apollo told Ares. “ We’ll put an end to Zeus’ bragging one way or another. ” With a toss of his head, he suddenly changed into a huge, strange-looking creature. It had the head, wings, and talons of an eagle and the body of a lion. It let out a terrifying scream while pawing the ground.

“伊菲克勒斯。”茱莉亚希望布罗迪不要再和众神说话了。阿瑞斯是另一个容易让她紧张的人，他的脾气暴躁，力量炽热。 阿波罗也好不到哪里去。她知道他应该是赫尔墨斯的朋友，但他似乎很狡猾。 “没关系，”阿波罗对阿瑞斯说。“我们总有办法让宙斯不再吹牛。” 他摇了摇头，突然变成了一个巨大而奇怪的生物。它有鹰的头、翅膀、爪子和狮子的身体。它在抓地时发出了可怕的叫声。

“ Whoa! ” Brody said. “ That’s a griffin, ” Julia said, trying to hide her fear. “ It’s a legendary creature. ” “ Yes. ” Ares sounded bored. “ It’s one of Apollo’s favorites. I don’t see how turning into one is going to help him get rid of Heracles though. ” Apollo transformed back into his usual shape. “ Perhaps it won’t help, ” he said with another smirk at Ares. “ But sooner or later, I’ll find a way to sabotage Zeus’ mighty hero. Just you watch. ” “ Only if I don’t find a way to sabotage him first, ” Ares said.

“哇哦!”布罗迪说。 “那是一只狮鹫，”茱莉亚说，试图掩饰自己的恐惧。“这是一个传说中的生物。” “是的。”阿瑞斯觉得很无聊。“这是阿波罗的最爱之一。不过，我看不出变成这东西怎么帮他除去赫拉克勒斯。” 阿波罗变回了原来的样子。“也许这没用，”他又对阿瑞斯笑了笑。“但迟早，我会找到一种方法来阻碍宙斯的伟大英雄。你看着吧。” “除非我没有先想到办法阻碍他。”阿瑞斯说。