Read The Return of the Titans for Free Online Page B

sir?”
asked one of the older boys from the back.
    “That they were on the
move?” The boy nodded. “We have been watching them, Mister...” Mr.
Fitzgerald glanced at the papers on his desk. “Mr. Benson. We have
been keeping track of them as best we can for many years now. They
are secretive and clever so it did come as some surprise when they
moved. Which is why you all ended up in Sanctuary so
abruptly.”
    “But who are they?” the
boy asked.
    “Ah, I will tell you that
shortly. Let me continue with the background first, if you
please.”
    Justin noticed that the boy looked
rebellious but another older teen beside him whispered in his ear
and he subsided.
    “Thank you. Now, to
continue. As per the information you hopefully gathered, I know
that you also have read some of the legends of the Titans. Old
gods, apparently, that existed before Zeus and Hera and the other
gods took up residence on Mount Olympus.” Several of the others
looked confused by this seeming change of subject, as was Justin.
What's the connection? he wondered.
    Mr. Fitzgerald looked slightly amused. “Yes,
they seem to have nothing in common, do they? But in fact they do.
You see, the Titans were not gods. They were in fact a race of
people.” Again the room buzzed for a moment but quickly settled
down. “Just as the Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon were separate
branches of the human family tree, so too were the Titans. And it
was the Titans who inhabited Atlantis.”
    He began to pace slowly back and forth along
the length of the dais. “You see, the Titans were never a numerous
people. Very few children were born into each generation. Even when
they mated with humans, they weren't very prolific. And so, what
they couldn't make up for in numbers, to defend themselves in a
violent and dangerous world, they made up for in technology.” He
smiled as if to himself. “The old saying, that necessity is the
mother of invention, was literally true for the Titans. While the
rest of the world developed slowly, and inched it's way generation
by generation out of primitive darkness to new discoveries such as
metal working and simple types of healing, the Titans bounded
ahead, learning to create steel, steam power, advanced water
conduits and much more.” He stopped and turned abruptly to face the
room.
    “As you might imagine,
this caused many in the human race to become envious. Over time,
envy turned to jealousy and then hatred. The humans wanted Titan
technology for themselves. And inevitably, there was war.” he
sighed and shook his head. “While the Titan race had the advantage
of living on an island, which is more easily defended, and they had
their technology, there was one thing that they did not have. And
that was the will to fight.”
    “What?” It was Benson
again. “They were too chicken to defend themselves?”
    Mr. Fitzgerald frowned. “No, Mr. Benson. It
wasn't a question of bravery. The Titans lived by a moral code that
respected all life. They simply could not bring themselves to kill
for their own survival.” Now he stared at the teens intently. “Or
at least, most of them couldn't. There was a faction that wanted to
fight. Wanted, in fact, to rule not just Atlantis, but the entire
world. They had no hesitation when it came to using the weapons of
the Titans, weapons which were created more for research sake than
actual use, against the humans. When the first attacks came, it was
a slaughter.”
    Justin looked over at Benson and saw him
smile slightly at this. He shivered and looked back at the
dais.
    “To save the humans,” Mr.
Fitzgerald continued, “the Titans broke their own code and fought
against the rebels in their midst. It was a horrible conflict, as
Titan battled Titan, using their inventions against each other. And
it was this, not the human attacks, that destroyed
Atlantis.”
    Justin watched the man intently. He could
almost see in his mind what it must have been like, fighting in the
streets, using weapons