Part Eighteen: Best Laid Plans

STORY

Part Eighteen: Best Laid Plans

How to Be Super: The Dragon Within (Book Four)

In which everything begins to fall apart for Hermes. His time in Marfa did not play out as expected, his game with the Titans took a sudden turn for the worse, and now his son, Dante, is stepping up at taking control — but not in the way he had intended.

20 min
9+
Topics: AngerSuperheroes

How to Be Super: The Dragon Within (Book Four)

Part One: How We Fell

Part One: How We Fell

We learn about the very first American incarnation of the god Hermes and how he was able to change history using his superpowers of cunning, deceit, and manipulation.
31 min
9+

Part Five: The Messenger

Part Five: The Messenger

Virgil flees to West Texas and encounters his old friend Linda who tells him about the Lights of Olympus - incredible lights that come out from the ground.
24 min
9+

Part Four: Untethered

Part Four: Untethered

Virgil’s mentoring and training regimen is suddenly interrupted by an unfortunate discovery: that the girl from his class is, in fact, the daughter of his teacher.
29 min
9+

Part Three: Amends

Part Three: Amends

Virgil Tramposo deals with the fallout from his poor choices and confides in a fellow Violet Crown initiate. He also meets his new mentor, George Lee.
21 min
9+

Part Two: The Flood

Part Two: The Flood

Young Virgial Tamposo lets his ambition get the better of him while being mentored by Zeus and the results are far worse than he could have imagined.
33 min
9+

Part Twenty: The Dragon Tamer

Part Twenty: The Dragon Tamer

Hermes travels to Goliad in advance of the coming Titanomachy and prepares to bring all three groups — the Gods, the Titans and the Monsters — together to witness a major transformation.
34 min
9+

Part Nineteen: Outcasts

Part Nineteen: Outcasts

Hermes travels to San Antonio to make a deal with the Titans but instead, meets the outcast Titan Iapetus, sometimes called “The Piercer", who has a proposition for him.
30 min
9+

Part Eighteen: Best Laid Plans

Part Eighteen: Best Laid Plans

Everything begins to fall apart for Hermes as things don't play out as expected as his son, Dante, is stepping up at taking control — but not in the way he had intended.
20 min
9+

Part Sixteen: The Ultimate Weapon

Part Sixteen: The Ultimate Weapon

Hermes figures out how to bend the will of not only the monsters, but the gods and titans, and realizes he has the ability to create a powerful weapon that could change the course of history.
25 min
9+

Part Thirteen: Milkshake

Part Thirteen: Milkshake

The backstory of the powerful monster everyone calls Milkshake is revealed including his deepest motivations and insights on who he would truly like to be.
28 min
9+

Part Twenty One: What Happened (Final Episode)

Part Twenty One: What Happened (Final Episode)

In this last story in The Dragon Within, we learn how this extraordinary ending came to be and how the deployment of the Dragon Tamer changed everything — including the Dragon itself.
17 min
9+

Part Seventeen: Arges the Cyclops

Part Seventeen: Arges the Cyclops

We learn Manny’s story — from when he learned that he was Arges to the moment he becomes Hermes’ most important worker: the one who will make the ultimate weapon.
30 min
9+

Part Fifteen: Pan

Part Fifteen: Pan

We learn the story of Linda Dang, the twelve-year-old girl who learned she was the current incarnation of the god-titan-monster Pan, including her acceptance of her powers and destiny.
29 min
9+

Part Fourteen: The Reckoning

Part Fourteen: The Reckoning

Hermes finally faces the man he believes to be his enemy: Dionysus and is surprised to see that Dionysus won’t put up a fight. Did he just make a terrible mistake?
25 min
9+

Part Twelve: The Turn

Part Twelve: The Turn

Dante finally comes to the Downtown Tower — but not in a way that Hermes expects. They meet in his office and Hermes officially invites him to join the ways of the Olympians.
28 min
9+

Part Eleven: A Particular Power

Part Eleven: A Particular Power

Virgil learns that he has more power than he first thought — and a particular power that will become incredibly useful in the days ahead!
26 min
9+

Part Ten: Weakness

Part Ten: Weakness

After welcoming Persephone into the fold, Hermes decides to contact Dante’s mother, BeeLee. He immediately sees his mistake and frantically tries to manage the consequences.
23 min
9+

Part Nine: Meeting at the Park

Part Nine: Meeting at the Park

Hermes realizes that his old rival Dionysus is beginning to exert his power over Dante and decides to meet with both Dante and Dionysus face to face.
21 min
9+

Part Eight: The News

Part Eight: The News

Virgil learns that the current incarnation of Zeus — the person he has been seeking the most urgently — turns out to be his own son.
18 min
9+

Part Seven: The Team

Part Seven: The Team

Virgil fully embraces his destiny as Hermes and begins to assemble the new team of Olympians — including a group that he believes may be even more powerful than the gods.
22 min
9+

Part Six: The Return

Part Six: The Return

Virgil spends a year in West Texas developing a new business and then returns to Austin in a position of power — and offers to work with the Violet Crown.
25 min
9+

Get our Newsletter

Sign up to receive weekly email updates with new stories, Sparkle news, and seasonal activities!

Stay Connected

Download on the Apple App StoreDownload on the Google Play
©2025 Sparkle Stories. All rights reserved.