“It’s Atalanta by a nose!” called Mom. She had the megaphone now. “Atalanta wins!”

The whole stadium went wild. Boar and the three bears flung themselves into a group hug, roaring and jumping up and down with glee. The whole stadium shook as if there were an earthquake.

Hera and Aphrodite were screaming, “Rematch! No fair!”

They had a lot of nerve, talking about “fair.”

At last Mom gave the megaphone back to the announcer. “Quiet!” he yelled.

Everyone settled down.

“Judge Rhea has called the race in Atalanta’s favor,” the announcer told the crowd. “So if everyone will settle down, Atalanta will run a victory lap.”

“No!” cried Atalanta from where she stood on the track. “Let me speak!”

The crowd hushed. Even the immortals. What was she going to say?

“I have raced for months now,” Atalanta said. “I have beaten every young man in Greece who came to race me. I’m finished racing. I won’t run even one more lap.”

“Way to stand up for yourself, Daughter of Artemis!” cried the goddess of the hunt.

“I have a job to do,” Atalanta continued. “And now I’m going to do it. I’m going to save my friend, Meleager.” With that she turned and began jogging toward the stadium exit.

“Atalanta!” It was her father. He’d grabbed the megaphone again. “Wait!”

Atalanta stopped. She whirled around and glared up at the king’s box, her hands on her hips. “Well?”

“Bring me the apples before you leave,” said her father.

“No, bring ME the apples!” cried Hera.

“They’re not yours,” King Iasus shot back. “My daughter won them, fair and square.”

“Ha!” cried Hera. “They’re mine, MINE! And they’ll always be mine!”

“My lawyers say different!” shouted the king.

“Your lawyers can go jump in the lake!” cried Hera. “It’s my tree that bore those apples, and that makes them mine!”

While the two argued over the apples, Atalanta simply walked out of the stadium.

“Be right back, P-phone,” I said. I put on my helmet—POOF!—and astro-traveled to Atalanta’s side. ZIP! She was heading toward Calydonia. As I fell into invisible step with her, I could hear King Iasus and Hera in the distance, still fighting over the golden apples.

“I’m here, Atalanta,” I told her. “But I’ve got the helmet on. Nice race.”

Atalanta smiled. “Thanks. I didn’t want to do the bear thing—it kills my knuckles.” She held up a hand. It was badly scraped up. “But I had to win.”

Suddenly, pounding hoof beats sounded behind us. I turned. There was Boar! And hot on his heels were the III bears.

Boar called:

“I’d hold up if I were you.

You need help—here comes your crew.”

Atalanta grinned. Then she looked beyond the furry trio, and her smile faded.

“Melanion!” Atalanta cried as he came running after them. “Beat it!”

“No!” cried Melanion. “I want to come with you. I want to help!”

“Yeah, right!” said Atalanta.

My sentiments exactly.

“I do!” Melanion paused a moment to catch his breath. “Sorry about those apples.”

“Don’t be,” said Atalanta with a smile. “They’re going to save my friend Meleager. Now, go away.”

“First hear my side of the story,” said Melanion, walking fast to keep up with Atalanta. “The newspaper didn’t get it right. Sure, I held the record for the V-dekameter dash when I was at Laurel Leaf Junior High School, but that was years ago. Now I’m the Laurel Leaf Junior High School track coach.”

“So?” said Atalanta.

“So I was camped outside the palace with two of my speediest students,” Melanion said. “I coached them, and they ran against you.” He shrugged. “Just not fast enough.”

Atalanta smiled.

“After they lost, they went home,” Melanion went on. “I was packing up the tent to go home, too, when twin flashes of white light appeared before me. And suddenly Hera and Aphrodite were standing inside my tent.”

“Were you scared?” asked Atalanta, still walking fast.

“Yeah!” said Melanion. “Especially when Hera said I had to help them, or I was toast.”

“All right,” said Atalanta. “You can come with us. But if you try to get these golden apples back, my crew and I will make you sorry.”

“I won’t!” said Melanion, eyeing Boar’s big, pointed tusks. “I’m on your side.”

Atalanta and her crew traveled to Calydonia quickly by hitching rides. When Atalanta stood at the side of the road with her thumb out, the next wagon to come along always picked her up. And by the time the rest of the party stepped out of the bushes, and the wagon driver discovered that he was getting more passengers than he’d bargained for, including invisible me, there wasn’t much he could do.

At last we made it to the base of Greek Peak. We hurried up to the top, arriving midmorning. Atalanta banged on the door of Feus and Plexippus’s mansion.

“What, what, what?” said Feus testily as he opened the door. “Whatever you’re selling, we don’t want any. Oh, it’s you and—” He stopped when he saw Boar and the III bears standing behind Atalanta. He turned and cried, “Plexippus!”

“I’ve come for the log, Feus,” said Atalanta.

Plexippus appeared at the door behind his brother. “Where’s the dekamillion dollars?” he asked.

“I’ve got better than a dekamillion dollars,” said Atalanta, and she pulled first one, then a second, and finally a third golden apple from her pocket.

“Gaaaaaa,” Feus croaked when he saw the golden apples gleaming in the morning sun.

Plexippus reached out to grab the apples, but Atalanta pulled them away.

“First, the log,” she said.

Feus and Plexippus turned and practically tripped over each other in their rush to get the holly wood log. Not half a minute later, they brought its charred remains to the door.

Honey unwrapped the blue scarf from around her neck. She stepped forward and held it out in her paws. Atalanta nodded, and Feus tossed the log into the scarf. Honey wrapped it up with great care. Atalanta snuffled something to Honey that sounded like thanks. Then she handed over the apples.

“Next stop, the palace of Calydonia!” Atalanta cried. She and her crew headed down the hill.

It would take them a couple of hours to get there, so I figured I had time to astro-travel into Calydonia and get a bite. ZIP! I took off my helmet—FOOP!—and went to a little lunch spot called Dino’s. I had one of Dino’s fine ambro-pot pies and a Necta-Lite. That pepped me up.

Ah, I felt godly again as I walked out of Dino’s. It was good to be visible again, too. Sometimes, when I wear my helmet XXIV/VII, I start to feel as if I’m fading away.

I figured I still had time for a stroll before I went to the palace. I walked down the street, turned a corner, and there were Feus and Plexippus, staring into the window of a jewelry shop. They were talking excitedly, pointing things out to each other. They went into the shop.

As I passed it, I heard them arguing with the jewelry clerk.

“What do you mean you don’t accept golden apples?” cried Feus.

“They’re gold!” said Plexippus. “G-O-L-D! Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

“Sorry,” said the clerk. “Cash or checks only.”

I chuckled as I went on past the shop. It hadn’t occurred to Feus or Plexippus that golden apples might be hard to spend. Shopkeepers all over Greece knew about Hera’s golden apples, and they knew that sooner or later, she always found a way to get them back.

I astro-traveled to the Calydonian palace—ZIP!—and joined Atalanta and her crew on the doorstep. Atalanta had just finished the introductions.

“Come in, come in,” said Queen Althea, her crown for once centered on top of her head. She turned and called, “Meleager! Come, quickly! Atlanta is here, and she’s brought back your holly wood log.”

A minute later, Meleager hurried down the hallway. He looked thin and pale and not very heroic. But he was smiling. “Hey, Atalanta!”

Honey unwrapped the log, and Atalanta held it out to Meleager. “You are safe now, Meleager,” she said.

“How in the world did you manage to get it?” Meleager said, looking up at Atalanta. “Thank you. You’ve saved my life.”

“Here, give the log to me,” said Queen Althea. “I’ll put it back in its secret place.”

“Uh, Mom?” said Meleager. “No offense, but I think I’ll find a place to hide the log.”

“What, you don’t trust me with it?” said the queen, her crown sliding sideways.

“I trust you, Mom,” said Meleager. “But not your brothers.” He hurried back down the hallway to stash the log.

“Let’s celebrate!” said Queen Althea. Minutes later, Meleager, Atalanta, Boar, the bears, Melanion, and I were all seated around the royal table. I picked a seat next to Boar.

“So, Boar,” I said as a servant passed around a platter of bacon, lettuce, and artichoke sandwiches. BLAs for the mortals and ambro- BLAs for us immortal types. I’d just eaten, but hey, I’ve got a godly appetite. I took two. “How is life back at your cave?”

Boar finished the bite he was chewing and said:

“Quiet, Lord Hades—

About drives me crazy!”

“So, you miss the action of the ring?” I asked, my godly heart swelling with hope.

Boar nodded.

“I miss it, all right,

All day and all night.

Miss the roar of the crowd,

Miss the cheers, long and loud.”

Yessssssssssssssssss! This was music to my godly ears.

“Boar, you’re a champ, and you always will be,” I said. “What would you say to me trying to get you back into the ring?”

Boar smiled.

“You get my move back, Hades, my king,

This Boar will roar back into the ring!”

“I’m on it!” I said.

Now I turned to Atalanta, who was sitting on my other side.

“So, Atalanta,” I said, finishing off my first sandwich. “Any idea what you’ll do now?”

“Yep,” said Atalanta as she lunged across the table for another sandwich.

Everyone grew quiet. Everyone wanted to hear what Atalanta, the Princess Hero, was going to do next.

“I’ve already broken some important barriers,” said Atalanta. “When I sailed off with Jason on the Argo, I became the first female to go on a major quest.”

She sounded like Artemis!

“When I beat all the suitors who came to race me in Arcadia,” Atalanta continued, “I earned the title of fastest runner in Greece. Not the fastest female runner, but the fastest runner, period.”

“What now, Atalanta?” said Meleager. “What barrier will you break next?”

“I want to enter the Olympic Games,” said Atalanta.

Everyone gasped. I nearly spewed my NectaCola all over the table cloth.

“That’s my ambition,” said Atalanta. “To be the first mortal to compete against the gods.”