Sons of Sparta - A Story of the Spartans, Book 3
(inspired by the story 'Spartan' parts 1 through 4)
by argouru
Note: All credit for the creation of the Spartans and Amazons, as well as the Spartan mythos belongs to the author 'CF', to whom I owe special thanks for his allowing me to write about these incredible people.
WARNING: Portions of this installment of the series includes a section regarding mental illness.
"You're kidding!" Sam said as he sat at his desk, his mouth literally hanging open.
Keith shook his head slowly as he sat in the chair in front of Sam's desk in the head priest's office in the back rooms of the temple. "I knew he was fast for a human, but now he's... Well, to borrow the phrase, 'inhumanly' fast! I've never had to work that hard to match anyone before in my life. His innate skill, behavior and training made him quite skilled... More than capable against any human and able to last a few seconds against a Spartan... But now? He's an even better warrior than me! I'll admit to being fairly jealous!" Keith finished with a self-deprecating smile.
"Sorry I missed the show," Sam said heavily, shocked that his head of security, the single best fighter Sam had ever met, was now being outstripped by the last person the head priest had ever believed would possess such skill. John was so quiet, withdrawn and nervous all of the time that Sam had thought that John's first instinct in a fight would have been to run for his life. What has Apollo done to John, I wonder, to make him so strong?
Keith took his leave soon afterwards, still at a loss for words. Sam had been sorry to miss the show, but he knew he wasn't much competition for Keith as his own sword skills were passable, but nowhere near as good as those of his head of security. He had no illusions he could stand up to someone as apparently skilled as John. Tartarus! He couldn't even match some of the better men of the temple's security detail! To think that such a timid and quiet man had become a force to be reckoned with was cause for concern.
What will he do now? How will this change him? I hope Lord Apollo hasn't created a monster.
"Relax, Sam. I know what I'm doing," Apollo said, materializing and sitting on the corner of His priest's desk.
"Lord," Sam said, but Apollo waved him down.
"This is a family, visit, Son. Let's not hang on formalities for the moment. I understand your concerns about John, but have no fear. I trust his judgment, as should you."
"But Father, for a man to go from powerless to powerful... What is that going to do to him?"
Apollo gave Sam a measured look. "You underestimate your son-in-law, Sam. John knows better than most what it is like to have been a victim. He sacrificed himself to Me because he was afraid of hurting others. That's not the type of person who would abuse the power I gave him."
Sam mulled that over. "You really think so?"
"The thought of hurting others to make he himself feel better is offensive to John. I know that he won't abuse the gift of being Spartan. He'll be fine, so don't worry."
"I guess You're right... Maybe I should mentor him more intensely, let him know more of what all to expect. I had to stumble through the facets of changing species on my own, but he doesn't have to."
"That's a very good idea Sam," Apollo said, nodding in approval.
With that, the deity faded away, leaving His son to think more on what they had discussed...
John looked in the mirror the next morning, staring at himself once again and admiring his new body. It was now well tanned and athletically muscled, having the sharply defined physique he had always wanted. His hand ran over the scars on his chest and throat self-consciously. He didn't hate them, but they did serve as a reminder of what he had done. John felt some shame at that, remembering the look of deep hurt and fear that had been in Henry's eyes. He never wanted his husband to look that way again and would do everything he could to make sure he didn't. John looked at his reflection again, and in a slight surge of lust at what he saw, began flexing, loving the way his muscles moved under the skin.
"Am I going to have to start calling you Narcissus? 'Cause I will if you keep doing that," Henry teased from the doorway, the light from the hallway making the edges of his frame glow.
"Hey! I have every right to be happy with myself," John countered smugly. "After all, I finally have the kind of body I always wanted. I love looking like this," he said thickly, running his fingers over the washboard abs he'd always wanted but had given up hope of ever achieving.
"Hmm," Henry said thoughtfully as he sauntered over to his husband's side and gazed at John's reflection. "You do look pretty hot like this. Not that you didn't look sexy before, that is." He wrapped his strong arms around John's well-muscled chest to hug his husband from behind while resting his head on John's shoulder.
John frowned into the mirror. "Yeah right."
"Hey," Henry said, releasing and then turning John to face him. "John, I -did- find you sexy before. I never thought any less of you because you were human. You're my partner and husband and I've always loved you no matter what."
"But I always felt so weak..." John said softly, then noted the look of guilt on Henry's face. "You thought I was weak too, didn't you?" he asked with sad resignation in his voice, but no trace of accusation.
"You just... You were always so huddled in on yourself all the time, like you were terrified of being attacked and were making yourself into as small a target as possible. Then there was how Dad Daniel getting furious at Fred practically made you have a fear-induced heart attack... John, you were afraid all the time, weren't you?"
"Kind of," he answered softly, then sighed. "All of you are so much stronger than me that I felt helpless if anyone got violent. I've always been weak... I hate being like that. I just want to be able to take care of myself, you know? To know that whatever happens, I'll be able to hold my own. I hate being a wimp."
"For someone who keeps staring in the mirror, you really don't get what all has changed for you, do you?" Henry said with a smile.
"What do you mean?" John asked.
Henry rolled his eyes. "John! You're Spartan now! That means your strength is now several times what it was before!" He saw John staring at him in disbelief. "Put some shorts on and follow me," he instructed. They left the apartment with Glenn in his stroller and made their way down to the parking lot, stopping at Henry's sedan, which he'd had since he traded in his Mini a month into his gestation of their child so that he would have a more practical vehicle for transporting the three of them safely and comfortably.
"What are we doing here?" John asked.
"Proving a point... Lift my car."
"Sure... Let me just go grab my superhero costume first," John retorted sarcastically.
Henry grumbled with disgust. "Don't get grease on those!" Then he glanced around and leaned in close to whisper: "I haven't washed the cum stains out of them yet. Besides, next time I get to be Spiderman and you be the Green Lantern."
John smirked at that in guilty pleasure. Costuming had become a strong fetish for them and they did so often. "Okay," he teased, "I can be flexible."
"You sure can," Henry purred, remembering lustily the last time John had been Spiderman. He cleared his throat with regret, bring himself reluctantly back to the task at hand. "Just watch." He walked over, squatted, then placing his hands under the back bumper of his car and lifting with his legs, he raised the back end of his vehicle with only partial effort for several seconds before setting it back down with a mild grunt of satisfaction. "Your turn," he said to his husband.
"You're kidding, right?"
"No, I'm serious. You should be just as strong as me. Maybe a little more so. Come on already." John walked over and got into position. "Remember to lift with your legs. No sense in throwing out your back on a stunt."
John grunted with effort and lifted the car rapidly as he rose, underestimating his new strength. "Oh shit!" he exclaimed in shock at what he had done.
"WOW!!!" a young boy from the complex said as he stood there, having wandered over to see what was going on. "That's so awesome!"
"Thanks," John said, letting the car down gently. "Don't try that yourself, okay? You'll get hurt."
"How's come you can do it?" the boy asked.
"Because we're Spartan. We're stronger than humans like you."
"You mean you're the men who can have babies?" the child asked. "Is this your baby?" he added, looking at Glenn who stared at the inquisitive child with interest in his eyes.
"That's right. Little Glenn here is Spartan too and we're both his daddies," Henry answered the child.
"Which one of you pooped him out?" the boy asked innocently.
"What?" John asked with shock, stunned at the child's question.
"Well my dad says you two stick your cocks up each other's butts and you have to put your cock inside of someone to make them pregnant. The baby comes out where the cock goes in, right? So which one of you pooped him out?"
"It doesn't work that way for us," Henry said slowly.
"Then how does it work?" the lad asked boldly, full of curiosity.
Henry and John exchanged nervous glances. "I don't think your parents would want us telling you things like that," John answered nervously.
"Chester!" a woman said, walking over quickly with an expression of annoyance. "Sorry if he was bothering you," she said to the Spartans, looking uncomfortable and slightly shamed at her child's bluntness.
"It's fine, we don't mind," John said with a shrug.
"He wasn't bothering us much." Henry added.
The mother looked at Glenn, who stared at her with his mouth open in interest. Other than Rachel, he had little experience with women outside of the temple. The woman smiled and knelt down to look at the baby more closely. "He looks so normal. It's hard to think he isn't human."
"He -is- normal," Henry replied with a slight edge to his voice. "You'd only know he wasn't human if his filaments were out."
The mother looked up at him with shock, paling slightly. "Yes, well... I-I should be going. Come along, Chester," she said nervously, looking highly embarrassed as she hurried her child away.
Sighing at the woman's uneducated attitude, they went back into the house, having to wash the grease of the car off their hands before touching Glenn. John cleaned up the stroller while Henry changed Glenn, who had soiled himself. They fed him, Henry nursing the boy then burping him and the couple settled down for a nap. Having a child was exhausting and they now slept any time they got the chance. They fell asleep nude, John spooning up behind Henry as they slid into slumber...
They awoke a few hours later to find themselves aroused. John had eagerly embraced his new Spartan virility and they made the most of it. Henry loved the changes to John's genitals, which were now larger to match the rest of his body. The testicles, which had already been larger than average for a human, were now the size of small tangerines and the shaft itself had grown from six to eleven inches in length. Not only that, but his circumcised head now boasted a restored foreskin and increased sensitivity along with it, much to both their pleasure. Henry was grateful for this, as he had always found circumcised penises to be very unnatural. They sighed in mutual satisfaction after an enjoyable sixty-nine blowjob for both of them, then Henry spun around so that they could cuddle more.
"I still can't believe how much cum I pour out nowadays," John said in a happy, sleepy tone.
"Yes, it is rather nice, isn't it?" Henry half mumbled in contentment. He smiled at John, who gazed at him with half-lidded eyes... Until Glenn started crying. They hung their heads in resignation. "I'll get him," Henry said and slowly, reluctantly, left the bed. He returned a few minutes later with their son. "I think he was just lonely," Henry said, easing into bed with the child.
"Come here," John said, pulling Glenn over to him once Henry had set the child onto the bed. Glenn looked to him and let out a small sigh of contentment, then closed his eyes. Henry climbed into bed long with them and the trio were soon fast asleep...
The next Saturday was dinner night with Sally and Rachel, so they headed over at six and were let in, the gals getting their first good look at the transformed man. Rachel stared in shock, but Sally looked more thoughtful than anything else. They sat down in the living room to chat while the turkey Sally was roasting in the oven finished up. Henry kept smiling sweetly at Sally, who stared at him as if his hair had suddenly turned neon orange, then after he persisted, she stuck her tongue out at him playfully. He continued to persist, however, until the Amazon sighed in disgust. "I'll get the bench," she said with resignation as Henry grinned and fished a five out of his wallet.
"Every single month!" Rachel said, shaking her head sadly. "What kind of fool are you?" she asked him. "I'd have thought you would've learned your lesson by now."
Sally returned with the bench and set it down as John brought over some folding chairs and passed one to each of the combatants. They took their places and set down their money, then clasped hands. "Rachel," Sally said liltingly.
"Just finish this quickly," the human groaned, placing her hand over their clasped fists. "One two three," she said dully in rapid speech and lifted her hand away, bored with the whole affair.
They went at it, but as usual, Sally overwhelmed the Spartan over the course of several moments until he once more suffered the humiliation of defeat. Henry groaned, hanging his head in shame. "Easy money," Sally said slyly as she went to pocket the cash.
"Not so fast there, Speedy Gonzales," John said. "I'm challenging you and -this- time, you can't say no just to avoid the risk of hurting me."
"I don't know," she said uncertainly, looking worried.
"Sally," Henry said. "It's okay. John's fully Spartan now. He even lifted my car the other day."
"Half a car," John corrected. "Please Sally?" he begged.
She sighed. "Let me get my strength back first," she bargained. "After all, when I take you, I want to be at my best," the Amazon finished, batting her eyes coyly.
They chatted for a few minutes, Rachel and Sally fawning over baby Glenn until John smiled at Sally sweetly. "Oh fine," she groaned. "Let's get the humiliation over with."
They got into position. "Henry?" John said and his husband placed his hand over theirs, gave the three count and let go. John struggled against Sally, shocked at just how strong she was for someone thinner and several inches shorter than he was. They grunted and groaned with effort, each trying to get the better of the other. Henry and Rachel were shocked when they realized that the pair were lasting longer against each other than the match between Henry and Sally, but after several minutes, Sally finally got the upper hand. John struggled with all of his might, but in the end, his hand was the one to be slammed down against the padding of the workout bench.
He moaned sadly at his defeat, panting with effort, his muscles and lungs burning with strain from his efforts and his body drenched in sweat. "I can't believe I lost," he forced out between pants.
"I can't believe," Sally gasped, just a sweaty and exhausted, "that you lasted that long against me! No one's ever done that before!"
"Well it sure as fuck took everything I had!" John wheezed, surprised with his own performance. Finally, he recovered. "Well, you won fair and square," he said, offering his hand.
Sally shook it with a smile. "Anytime you feel like losing more money," she teased good-naturedly.
Dinner was ready soon afterwards and as Henry ate, he couldn't help but to gaze at his husband with pride and admiration at his performance...
Life settled down for the most part and two weeks later, the family gathered together for their monthly dinner, with Matthew's younger brother Martin, his partner Brian and their sons Jacob, Dexter, Ethan and Nelson. All of the family, especially the younger generations, ogled John shamelessly, examining his scars and taking in his new physique with approval, several joking that he looked much better now.
Matthew stared at his grandson-in-law thoughtfully. Look at him... He's not sitting all hunched over like he was before, like he was trying to make himself invisible. Now he sits tall and proud like a true warrior. Then there's what happened during his training against Keith... From what I've heard, John nearly wiped the floor with him. It looks like Henry's partner has become his own man at last, the older Spartan thought, smiling to himself. He turned to his own partner and was shocked to see the sour look on the human's face as he glared at John, then at Giorgos. His silent question was answered by David's sudden inquiry to the Grecian man.
"So let me guess..." David grumbled sourly. "You'll end up changing into a Spartan too, right? At this rate, I'll end up the only human in the whole family!"
"No," Giorgos said, shaking his head emphatically. "No, I am perfectly happy to stay human like you," he said with a weak smile.
David sighed and shrugged. "Okay... Sorry to act like a jackass, but first Sam and now John... It's getting so you don't know -what- a man is anymore!" he said, beginning to chuckle as his ill mood broke, then pecking Matthew on the cheek. "No offense, Matt, but I'm starting to feel like an endangered species here."
"Fair enough," Matthew said, chuckling along with his partner.
"In my defense," Sam added with a smile, "I -was- dying of a brain tumor at the time."
"True," David said, sighing as he sobered.
"You're all forgetting something else," John said quietly. "In Sam's case, it was an act of mercy. In mine, it was an act of pity."
"John," Steven said, shocked by his brother-in-law's admission. "Don't you think you're being a little hard on yourself?"
John shook his head slowly. "It's the truth. Apollo Himself told me that my death was unnecessary. He said He would have transformed me like I'd wanted if I'd only asked, but I couldn't get past my own lack of self esteem to do so. Don't get me wrong... I'm very grateful for all He did for me, but it was my own fault that it came to that. All because I couldn't allow myself to trust anyone. I don't want to be like that ever again. What happened to me was a good thing, but I'm not very proud of how I got there."
"John," Jason said, "don't beat yourself up over it. You made some mistakes, sure, but Apollo was merciful."
"Yeah," Marcus added. "He brought you back for your sake as much as Henry and Glenn's. Try to be happy with what you have."
"I am," John said. "I'm looking forward to a long and happy life now. Also," he said, looking to Henry, who smiled and nodded with approval. "We've talked it over and next Emergence I'll be the one to carry our next son."
"Good luck with that," Fred chimed in sarcastically. "I'll make sure to record every gripe and moan you make during both gestation and birth to play for the kid later!"
"Ha! Ha!" Henry said, giving his brother a scathing look.
"Well," Daniel said, "we'll help you out when the time comes, assuming Steven or the twins don't become Emergent first, of course."
"Yeah," Steven said. "Don't go jumping the gun just yet. We haven't had our first go at fatherhood yet."
"You two been getting wild and nasty?" Fred teased.
"Mind your own bee's wax," Steven countered with a look of suffering.
The family resumed eating, trying hard to ignore Fred's friendly barbs...
That evening, Steven and Giorgos returned home to their apartment, which was slightly over half way to the college campus from the Xarhakos family bistro where Giorgos continued to work. They had been living happily together for almost ten months now and very much enjoyed having their own home, even though Steven had to work a part-time job just to help them keep the place until the Spartan graduated from college and got a full-time job. Because of this, the couple had little time to be together, much to their sorrow. They showered, settled into bed and embraced, kissing each other with passion. After awhile of this, Steven sighed.
"What is wrong?" Giorgos asked with sympathy.
"I just wish we could have a son already," Steven said softly. "I'm sick of waiting. Humans don't know how good they have it. They can have all the kids they want whenever they want. I hate having to wait for Emergence like this."
"Steven... Do not be this way. We must be patient. I too wish for us to become fathers, but it will happen when the time is right and not before."
"I know. It's just seeing Henry and John with Glenn makes me wish we had our baby already... It just sucks, is all."
"Then let us practice some more," Giorgos suggested lecherously, kissing Steven's neck and working up a deep hicky on Steven's throat, much to the Spartan's delight as he held the Greek man in his well-muscled arms...