Leo Valdez



 Leo Valdez 

Leo is a demigod son of Hephaestus and Esperanza Valdez. He is the only living child of Hephaestus with fire ability. He is currently counselor of Cabin Nine. His best friends are Piper McLean and Jason Grace. Leo is one of the seven demigods in the Second great Prophecy

History 

Leo was born in Houston to a mechanic with the name Esperanza Valdez. He had a babysitter with the name Tía Callida who was actually Hera in disguise. The most likely reason for her to have watched Leo was if she knew he was one of the seven in the prophecy. She once tried to “kill” him by putting him in an active fireplace and by letting him play with knives. When she tried to make him poke a rattlesnake, he refused. Hera did this to train Leo to be strong at a young age. When he was a little boy he drew a flying boat with a bronze dragonhead as the masthead in crayon. It was taken by the wind when he was about to sign his name. Tía tried to make him use his abilities to start a fire, and he ended up burning his fingerprints in the table.

When Leo was eight he was visited by Gaia, who intended to break his spirit. Leo tried to use his fire ability as defense and to save his mother, but lost control and started a fire. His mother didn’t make it out. None of his relatives would take him in, so he was sent to many foster homes.

His mother’s death haunted Leo for years. The emotional strain caused him to run away from his foster homes. The sixth time he ran away he was sent to the Wilderness School. There he met Piper, who unbeknownst to him and her was a daughter of Aphrodite. When Hera switched Jason and Percy she manipulated the Mist so Leo would think Jason was his best friend, although they do become friends later on.

Leo and Piper’s back-story is rare as they are the only known case of demigods befriending each other before either of them knows their demigods.

The Heroes of Olympus 

THE LOST HERO

<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt;font-family:Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;mso-font-kerning:.5pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Leo goes to the Wilderness School with Piper and Jason. He partners up to complete their assignment with Jason on their field trip to Grand Canyon. During their ride there, Jason states he doesn’t remember anything and Leo thinks it’s a joke. When Coach Hedge yells at them from the front of the bus, Leo says they can’t hear him and tells him to use the megaphone. When Hedge turns on the megaphone it sounds like Darth Vader or shouts out phrases like “The cow says moo,” something that Leo had done as a prank. He seems to know Piper very well, knowing who her dad is and knows that she likes to fight her own battles. When they’re on the sky-walk, a storm appears around them Leo notices the storm is only in their area. As the storm gets worse, most students run back inside, leaving Jason, Leo, Piper, Dylan and Coach Hedge.

<p style="margin-bottom:3.0pt;line-height:21.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt;font-family:Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;mso-font-kerning:.5pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Dylan reveals himself to be a ventus (storm spirit), and attacks with help from two other venti (plural of ventus). Leo is thrown off the sky-walk and slams into one of the Canyon walls. While Jason and Piper fight Dylan, Hedge shows his true self, a satyr, sent to protect Leo and Piper. He jumps over the side, grabs Leo and pulls him back up. At last minute Dylan tries to abduct Leo, but Hedge interferes and is abducted instead.

<p style="margin-bottom:3.0pt;line-height:21.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt;font-family:Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;mso-font-kerning:.5pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Annabeth and Butch then come in a chariot and bring them to Camp Half-Blood. On their way to Camp Half-Blood makes a few jokes about butch being a child of the rainbow goddess. When Butch threatens to throw him off the flying chariot, Leo backtracks his saying that rainbows and ponies are very manly. Once they arrive at camp Leo is claimed by his father Hephaestus, and goes on a tour of the camp with Will Solace, who brings him to Cabin Nine. He there meets Jake Mason, the current head of the cabin, who’s in a full body cast after trying to stop the Bronze Dragon that’s gone crazy and is attacking camp. Jake also explains that after Charles Beckendorf’s death, the cabin’s been under a curse making all their creations junk. When Leo asks if anyone in the cabin can control fire (something he can), Nyssa answers that only a few people in history have had that power and it’s considered a curse because it usually causes big destructions. That evening at the campfire, Leo’s quiet until Rachel gives Jason a quest. When Jason’s supposed to pick quest companions, Leo offers. Jason gives him one condition, which is that he can come with them if he can get them a way to fly.

<p style="margin-bottom:3.0pt;line-height:21.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt;font-family:Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;mso-font-kerning:.5pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Leo captures the dragon and fixes him up the best he can, before the dragon runs with Leo on his back to show him Bunker 9. It is in bunker 9 that Leo finds a magic tool belt and a set of bronze wings to give the dragon. The next day Leo appears with the dragon and introduces Festus. Jason then comments that Festus means “happy” in Latin. When they ask where he found the wings he says in the forest. Jason keeps his promise and chooses Leo as quest companion along with Piper.

<p style="margin-bottom:3.0pt;line-height:21.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt;font-family:Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;mso-font-kerning:.5pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">They fly to Quebec, Canada to talk to Boreas in order to find out where Hera is being trapped. Festus is not allowed in being a fire dragon, so Leo flips a switch and Festus is turned into a heavy suitcase. When a third child of Boreas comes down the stairs, Leo falls in love with Khione. Khione dislikes Leo since he can summon fire (Boreas’ children can smell fire). Leo is not allowed to go and meet Boreas seeing how ice and fire wouldn’t be clever in this situation. While Piper and Jason are gone, Jason cleans up the oil and dirt gathered on him from fixing Festus. When Jason and Piper return Leo is upset to hear that they made Khione mad, since he was planning to ask her to prom, not knowing that she likes to collect demigods. When Jason later explains this to him, Leo’s grateful.

<p style="margin-bottom:3.0pt;line-height:21.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt;font-family:Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;mso-font-kerning:.5pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">After they leave, Festus is knocked out of the sky and crashes into an abandoned car factory. Leo goes to find out where Festus landed, which turns out to be in a row of porta potties. The reason Festus had crashed was because his wiring had frozen over, something that is unnatural, since the head was supposed to be hot. While Leo fixes Festus, a face appears in the snow that tells him to abandon his friends and save himself. He tosses a toilet lid at the face and it sinks into the sludge.

<p style="margin-bottom:3.0pt;line-height:21.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt;font-family:Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;mso-font-kerning:.5pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">When Leo returns, Jason and Piper have been captured by three Cyclopes lead by Ma Gasket. Piper sees Leo sneaking around an keeps the monsters distracted while Leo creates a remote to control some heavy machinery. When one of Ma’s children leave, he attacks, taking out her son by tossing him through the roof and then crushing the other metal claw when he returns. Ma Gasket is also defeated when Leo uses his fire ability to break a chain, causing an engine to fall upon her. While freeing Piper and the unconscious Jason, the Cyclopes begin to reform.

<p style="margin-bottom:3.0pt;line-height:21.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt;font-family:Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;mso-font-kerning:.5pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">When the three have left the building they have a talk about Leo’s special ability. Piper thinks Leo’s fire powers are cool, but Leo still considers it a curse since it killed his mother. He also tells them what Nyssa told him about how children of Hephaestus are only born with fire ability when something bad is about to happen. Jason cheers Leo up by suggesting they are born with those special powers when they are needed the most.

<p style="margin-bottom:3.0pt;line-height:21.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt;font-family:Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;mso-font-kerning:.5pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">They get to Chicago, and Leo takes a whistle out of his pocket and teaches Festus to come when he is called. After that Leo makes some food for them, they follow a group of storm spirits into the shopping mall owned and run by Medea. She starts to charmspeak the three, but Piper’s able to resist. Leo and Jason go around shopping, forgetting why they were there in the first place. Medea soon turns Jason and Leo against and tries to force them to kill each other. Piper, trying to get the boys back to their senses, gets Medea to admit that she can see the future and told her patron about Leo being one of the seven, leading to the death of his mother. This is enough to break Leo and Jason’s spell, but Medea lets the Sun Dragons loose to fight them. Leo calls Festus who is able to fight off the dragons, and Piper, Jason, Leo, the venti and Coach Hedge are able to fly off, in the last second before the building explodes.

<p style="margin-bottom:3.0pt;line-height:21.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt;font-family:Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;mso-font-kerning:.5pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">While flying, Leo falls asleep and meets his father, Hephaestus in a dream, who is using an old pirate radio broadcaster to speak with Leo with out Zeus knowing. Leo’s really angry at his father at first, but during the conversation he softens seeing Hephaestus doing the same things as he does when he’s nervous. Hephaestus explains that they closed themselves off their children, because Zeus felt ashamed that they’d needed mortals help. Zeus was also afraid that the god’s activities on earth helped Gaia to wake. Hephaestus has to stop conversing since Zeus is sensing an illegal conversation.

<p style="margin-bottom:3.0pt;line-height:21.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt;font-family:Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;mso-font-kerning:.5pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">When Leo wakes up, Festus is crashing to the ground and Leo tells Jason to fly Piper way. Jason’s unwilling to leave his friend, but follows Leo’s orders. Leo tries to reboot Festus. Once the dragon comes back online it’s to late and they crash in the yard of a large house. When Leo comes to hi senses, Festus has been destroyed by the house’s defense system. Leo asks his father to bring Festus’ head back to Bunker 9 to be reused. Leo is very sad about his loss, and acts coldly and mean towards Jason and Piper for a while, but turns back to normal when Jason tells Leo that Festus was probably given the best treatment a dragon had had in years. The house turns out to be belonged by King Midas and his son Lit. Everything goes fine until King Midas turns Piper to gold, and Leo tries to attack him with fire, but is unable to. Leo is also turned into a gold statue, but is freed when Jason defeats Lityerses and washes of Piper and Leo in the river. Jason uses the storm spirits to fly them away. They set up camp, and Leo makes tofu burgers for Piper and the newly freed Coach Hedge.

<p style="margin-bottom:3.0pt;line-height:21.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt;font-family:Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;mso-font-kerning:.5pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Shortly after, they’re attacked by a pack of wolves lead by Lycaon. He says their weapons won’t do any good as werewolves are only hurt by silver. Leo tries to hold the wolves back with fire, but it isn’t enough. Luckily the Hunters of Artemis arrive and they have silver arrows. Leo falls in love with Thalia once he sees her, thinking she’s way too hot to be Jason’s sister, but doesn’t tell him that. One hunter stays behind with Thalia, while the others hunt the rest of the wolves and sets up camp and takes care of Piper and Coach Hedge, Leo starts to follow, but Jason asks him to stay behind while talking to his sister. Jason learns about how he got separated from Thalia and about his mom, making Leo feel bad for Jason.

<p style="margin-bottom:3.0pt;line-height:21.0pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:13.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt;font-family:Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;mso-font-kerning:.5pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">When Piper is fully healed, Thalia shows them the way to Aeolus’ palace. Leo asks why a wind spirit would need a bridge. Thalia answers by saying it’s more of an anchor. Leo remembers that Hera said something about Jason being a bridge, and a bridge has to connect with something. His mind starts racing to fast, and he looses control of his fire powers, so his body heats up and the bridge starts to crack. Jason is able to get Leo to the other side, while Thalia stays behind saying she’ll meet Jason at the wolf house.