Hydra

Hooked on Percy Jackson and Greek myths, I am going to continue this highly entertaining greek mythology lesson with the Hydra. In Greek myths and legends, the Hydra was a vicious monster with multiple heads with one immortal and invincible to all weapons. When one head was decapitated, two more snake-heads would grow in its place. Hercules eventually defeated the Hydra, by having his nephew, Lolous burn each stump after he had cut it, before the heads reproduced, then tore off the immortal head with his bare hands, and buried it under a giant rock.

When Percy Jackson sent Tyson to look for powdered doughnuts so he could talk to Annabeth in the Sea of Monsters (Book 2), Tyson went out and came upon a Monster Doughnut store. Tyson, being a monster, was somehow able to summon the outlet bringing the Hydra with it. It was large and lizard-like, with long necks and seven heads to match. It had many rows of razor-sharp teeth, its hands were clawed, had a tail, and spat acid. According to Annabeth, another Monster Doughnut shop popped up every time it grew another head. She says that Hermes' children found a way to use the hydra's life-force to make a new chain of stores. Percy, initially tries to defeat it by slicing off its heads, but succeeded only in making more. Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson were saved by Clarisse when the Hydra's heads were lit aflame and burnt off by cannon fire from the CSS Birmingham.