Aphrodi was a "defective" child. Being born of man and God, that God being Aphrodite, no less, Aphrodi was born without genetalia (and, of lesser importance, no bladder). It was the decision of him live his life as a male, despite the fact that scientific reports also pointed to the fact that he may have been female. There were also signs that he may have been completely sexually ambiguous due to abnormalities in his chromosomes (they had various characteristics of XY chromosomes, problem being that they had varying effects and weren't exactly "full"), but they just wrote it off as unlikely. His mother, Aphrodite, wasn't permitted to be with Aphrodi's father by Zeus, and thus Aphrodi has not yet met his mother. For most of his early life (birth to present) he lived in Maryland. Due to his androgynous appearance and mixed interests, Aphrodi was often made fun of and insulted in school, and the fact that he was dyslexic and had ADHD didn't help. However, when he arrived in High School and hormones kicked in, he was quite popular, especially with females due to his feminine appearance and slender yet muscular build. He didn't relish in how his "abnormalities" made him popular, in fact, he often cursed the fact that he was born that way and he hated the way he looked; he strived to look more masculine, but there wasn't much that he could do about that.
One day, he went with his class to the New York Museum of Natural History. It was a normal trip for the most part. Then, a thunderstorm occurred. It was a massive storm, so massive that the class was forced to retreat the bus and enter the museum in a rush. Once inside, the guide handed out towels that they had on hand. Aphrodi noticed a woman, clearly not of the class, who seemed to be looking for someone. Upon further inspection, she looked...odd. Her skin was something of a greenish tone and her legs seemed to be...dragging? No...they weren't legs at all, it was more of a snake's tail. He wrote her off at a part of the museum...at least at first he did, but he noticed that no one else paid her any mind, as if she wasn't wearing a costume at all. She then spotted him, and she started moving closer and closer, until she directly in front of his face. Her face was actually quite something of a freight, and yet, she was very alluring. Then, suddenlty, the power went out and everyone started to panic. Suddenly, a hand was brought over Aphrodi's mouth and eyes and then an inexplicable feeling came over him. It was only for a split-second, but once it the feeling was gone, so were the panicked voices of the the others. "Welcome, my grandchild," said a grand voice. The hand was removed from his mouth and eyes and he looked at his kidnapper.
"G-grandchild?" He said in a surprised voice. "Do I kno-" he stopped and analyzed the man. Great white mane, grand voice, muscular build...he had to be. "Are you...Are you God?"
"Indeed," he said, ignoring the fact that Aphrodi was referring to the Christian God. "I am Zeus, father of Aphrodite and ruler of Mount Olympus, where we are currently." Zeus spread his arms out, as if to represent the importance and augustness of his position and Mount Olympus. Aphrodi looked around, and it was indeed a breathtaking sight. Still...it wasn't quite what he was expecting. He was on the peak of an actual mountain, rather than the Mount Olympus of myth. There were indeed several "Mount Olympus'", so it may have been some sort of clever joke, but what with all of the recent events, that was the last thing on his mind.
"Wait a minute," He said. "Um...Grandpa...do you know where my mother is? Can you tell me who she is?" He said with pouting eyes.
Zeus looked at Aphrodi for a few moments, put his hand on Aphrodi's shoulder, and said, "You remind me so much of her."
"She's...dead?" Aphrodi said in a somewhat raspy voice, tears dripping from his eyes.
"Heavens, no. She is away on assignment to take care of a small...infestation," Zeus said. "But that's not important. What is important is that there is a war of sorts going on, and we need your help.
"What can I do?"
"As I said, Aphrodite is your mother, and I, Zeus, am your grandfather. You are, indeed, a demigod." Aphrodi started to laugh, but then his face changed into one of conflict. This conflict then turned to pondering, and the pondering to surprise. "The oracle requested you. The Titans are back, and we need your help."
"But what can I do?" He repeated. "I don't exactly have powers"
"You saw the gorgon when no one else could, isn't that enough to convince you that you're something special?"
"The woman in the museum...she was a real gorgon?"
"One of many, and you were able to spot it." Aphrodi looked away from Zeus, still not fully convinced. "You also have the ability to control others, be it in emotions or intentions." Aphrodi remained silent. "And if that is not enough..." Zeus held his hand out and lightning struck, a glorious golden sword appearing in his hand. "Take Vrondi, it is yours now." He looked behind Aphrodi and said, "Ah, Pandemos, it's time that you met your partner." An Espeon walked appeared from below the peak, almost as if it had been waiting for its moment to appear, and looked at Aphrodi. "You are linked together. You will live together and you will die together. Now, I will ask you the same thing I asked him: will you join our effort to defeat the Titans. If not for the Earth, and if not for your grandfather, at least do it for your mother."
Aphrodi looked to Pandemos, then to Zeus, who looked back at him. "This is all...too much." He turned away from Zeus and Pandemos and looked down. He didn't exactly know how to use his powers, the two years of Karate he took certainly wouldn't help him with swordsmanship, and to top it all off, he certainly wasn't sure he'd be able to defeat a titan, let alone a gorgon. That said, he was never normal, he wasn't even a "he", he was simply an Aphrodi.
"Just remain on Mount Olympus and think it over, you have time to decide. We will, of course, train you; we certainly don't want you to die," He said. "If you agree, you won't see your home for quite some time, so you must think this over carefully." Zeus started to depart, but then he stopped and turned back to Aphrodi. "I won't permit you to be a facade, Aphrodi." He said this, and lightning struck Aphrodi. It wasn't exactly painful. Surprising, but not painful. He looked down and gasped at what he saw. He was in a toga, his regular clothes were nowhere in sight and something else was missing as wel... "Do not limit yourself, Aphrodi. You were born a Demigod and were forced to live life as a male human, cursed with the beauty and voluptuous nature of your mother and the lack of any body parts that would distinguish you as male or female. You bear the weight of the chastity your mother was to uphold, and while I cannot forgive myself for allowing you to be alienated for so long, I will not allow you, as my grandchild, to turn away from who and what you are. You are neither male nor female, you are both human and god, you are Aphrodi. Do not forget that." With those words, Zeus walked away. Aphrodi was finally free of the chains and bonds of gender, and after the speech he couldn't help but feel a little proud. He was neither a "he" or a "she"; he was Aphrodi, and he was darn proud of it.
In the end, Aphrodi agreed, and he ended up going to a training camp, specializing in Psycho and emotional manipulation and swordsmanship. It's currently been two and a half years since he left home for training, and his abilities have grown to heights he never would have imagined on arrival. He is able to actively manipulate others and the lightning sword, Vrondi, has become much easier to use, and sword fighting has become natural to him. He's also become quite adept in Fencing.