Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The battle was going downhill fast. Monsters were dropping like flies, but Gaea still had her feet firmly planted on the ground. Any water I threw at her was diverted almost instantly. I need a more powerful water source. I sent my senses down into the earth, then further; down to the rivers of the underworld that coursed like arteries below. Being fairly far from the epicenter of the underworld, there was only one river close enough to help and no guarantee which one it was.

The river did have a familiar feel to it, though that didn't narrow down the list much. In my tenure as a demigod I have encountered almost all of the rivers. It didn't really matter which one it was either. I have no other choice. Bitterness welled up in me. That one sentence summarizes my whole life.

I summoned the waters, feeling a deep pull in my gut. If I hadn’t been so used to the sensation, it might have brought me to my knees. The sensation deepened until it felt like my stomach muscles were tearing themselves apart as the water forced itself through the ground, heeding my call. The earth shook as a waterspout formed under the Earth Mother, propelling her into the air.

The river water rained down on The Seven as Gaea, Leo, and Festus were consumed in fire, the dragon the only survivor. As Festus flew into the sunset, I realized what I had done and a deep anguish settled in my bones.

The water I had summoned had an almost milky quality, a paleness unique to only one river of the underworld. A river I had not encountered since my first fight with the titan Iapetus, now Bob, in the underworld.

The river Lethe rained down on The Seven, washing away the consequences of the war; leaving me, whose power protects from getting wet, the only one untouched. The Seven were finally at peace as their lives were erased.

I closed my eyes, as the river water slid off me and made a promise. The Seven would get peace. I would make sure of it. Whatever the cost.

Chapter Text

After Gaea's defeat, I was offered a post as Guardian of Olympus. A placement I gladly accepted. I couldn't bear to remain at Camp after all that had transpired, watching people slowly return to their normal lives. The camp held all my memories. Memories no longer shared with the people I loved. Sure, there was Grover and Juniper, but they were starting a life, a family. I would just be in the way. My staying would chain Camp Half-Blood to the pain and suffering of the war.

My one condition was that the rest of The Seven, at least the living ones, be able to retire and live the remainder of their life monster free. A request the Gods we're happy to grant. I did not ask for any details, not wanting to tempt myself to visit. They would get to restart their lives. My showing up would merely drag them back in.

That's how I found myself as a security guard in the empire state building; a job that paid a little above minimum wage and was close enough to where I lived and go to school. And hey, the Gods couldn’t send me on quests if I’m technically on one long quest of guarding them. I’m alone, but everyone else is safe and alive.

I generally take the night shift, while Steve, the security guard I threatened before the battle with Kronos took the day shift. Well, I call him Steve and he seems to respond to it. If you can call grunts responding. He still wouldn't tell me his name. Though now that I think about it, it was probably something insufferably fancy, like Paraklausithyron or something. Or at least something Greek. Maybe if that’s really his name, which, what a coincidence that would be, I could just call him Parakeet.

On the family side of things, my mom's first book had been a smashing success. I had given her permission to write about my adventures under the condition that she change a few details and it be under a pseudonym right before Hera ‘took me on a girls trip’. Despite the alliteration in her chosen pen name, no one had called them on it. Besides, who would equate Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon with Percy Jackson, Sallysdaughter. Hmm, maybe I had been spending too much time with the Norse. Though, can you imagine Posideon’s face if I started following Norse tradition and went by Perseus Sallysdaughter? The fact it was a different pantheon would be the icing on the proverbial cake.

Mom was actually about to go on a book tour as the second book came out in a few days. Clarisse was excited to get some recognition for her quest. Even if it was from mortals.

Mostly, Percy had gotten an increase in kids asking for the key to the 600th floor. Though that was mainly Steve's problem. He was the one on day shift.

It was a nice, simple life. At least for the first month or two.

A week into my tenure as Security Guard to Olympus was when Sadie Kane appeared on my doorstep. Or at the front desk of the empire state building, whatever.

“Read your mother’s book, it was very helpful in tracking you down. Think she’d write something Egyptian themed?” Sadie smirked at the demigod sitting behind the little counter. “Frankly, this is just depressing. Ready to have some fun?”

“Sadie Kane” I noted. She was in her magic PJs and leather jacket, so she was probably up to something. “What can I do for you and the Egyptians?”

“Well, for one, you can stop pretending to be some kind of professional and hug your friend.” She replied.

A smile curled my lips before I lurched forward for a hug. “Well, if you’re here there must be trouble.” Percy commented. “It’s good to see you.”

“Can’t an old friend just want to hang out? How’s Annabeth and the others?”

The smile melted off Percy’s face. “We had a little incident with The Lethe, they’ve lost their memories. It’s better that way anyway, but I can’t- won’t go back to camp.”

Sadie was uncharacteristically solemn as she extended her staff, touching it once lightly on each of my shoulders and thoroughly confusing me before smacking me lightly on the head.

“Oww! What was that for?” I complained. The room was spinning slightly, it really wasn’t that light of a smack.

Sadie smiled impishly “I dub thee an honorary Egyptian.” Her smile smoothed in to something more genuine. “Seriously, come by whenever.”

"Oh Gods, no." I faked annoyance. "Does this mean I have to deal with Egyptian magic BS too?"

Sadie's face twisted in to a scowl. "Shut up, I'm doing something nice. It's hard so recognize my sacrifice."

Tears welled briefly in my eyes and a smile cracked my lips at the acceptance from the normally volatile brit. “But really, thanks Sadie.”

Sadie smiled ruefully, “I know our pantheons don’t have the best history, but we’re friends. Anyway, now that the sap is over, I actually need your help. A volatile Egyptian artifact was accidentally shelved in the Greek section of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, ignorant sots, and I was hoping you could make sure I’m not smited for trespassing, or anything.”

“Sure, Sadie.”

Chapter Text

Apparently. By ‘volatile artifact’ Sadie meant a bust of Ptah, god of Craftsmen, going around and ‘editing’ statues of Greek gods. Apparently, the restorers had done too good of a job and the bust was too life-like. Because that’s apparently all it takes for Egyptian magic.

Anyway, I was currently attempting to talk a statue of Aphrodite, that currently happened to be imbued with a bit of the goddess’ essence and now complete with a mustache and monocle, down from cursing Sadie to never find true love. Sadie was trying to catch the, actually quite fast, bust. For the record, it was not looking good.

“Ha-” Sadie started.

“I wouldn’t finish that word if you ever want a love life ever again.” I warn. That sounded like that destruction spell Sadie loved so much.

“Am I even in her jurisdiction?” Sadie huffed, “Fine! Get behind me. Heh-sieh!”

"Trust me, she'll find a way." I replied as I dived behind the magician, voice heavy with experience.

The hieroglyphs burned in the air before Sadie seemed to blow on them, turning in a circle. Everything but the two of us slowed to a crawl.

“Grab it before I lose the spell.” Sadie gritted out.

“Right.” I said before rushing over to the little statue moving in slow motion. I grabbed it just before Sadie released the spell and collapsed in a heap. The bust started to struggle in my hands before I drew Riptide, holding the sword at a threatening angle to the statue. It stopped struggling pretty quickly. At least Egyptian statuary has self preservation instincts. Talos and a few other Greek statues better be taking notes. Also, why does a statue have such sharp teeth? It’s not like it needs to eat.

Reaching Sadie, the magician shoved the statue in a bag and then dropped it in the duat. A feat which took a couple minutes. After that she looked pretty spent.

"Get back here and scrub this off!" The Aphrodite statue yelled and was promptly ignored.

I sighed before pulling a water bottle out of her bag and dumping it unceremoniously on Sadie’s head. I can do this. It’s just healing. You've done it before. You won’t hurt Sadie. I can do it. Water is part of me. Unaware of my panic, Sadie immediately started sputtering and complaining before I placed a shaking hand on Sadie’s head, using the water to heal Sadie’s energy levels. Surprisingly, it feels different than when I try to move water. Instead of a pull in my gut, my skin starts tingling. This isn’t so bad. Maybe using my other powers won’t be too bad either.

“How did you do that?” Sadie asked incredulously, “I feel like I could speak another few Divine Words!”

“Well, I figured you were just exhausted and I can use water to replenish my energy, why not yours?” I answered sheepishly, hiding my still trembling hands behind my back.

"Well, thanks." Sadie replied, "what'd ya say we get out of here before the cops show?"

And that’s how a weekly girls night started.

On our way out of the Museum I couldn’t help myself.

“Should we come up with a team name?” I asked Sadie.

“What kind of dorky team has their own name?” Sadie asked incredulously

“Hey, on our last quest my friends and I were known as The Seven or The Heroes of Olympus! It’s not dorky! We could be like the Sirens in Gotham! Except not.” I wrinkled my nose, “Sirens are not that friendly and I refuse to go by the name of something that’s tried to eat me before.”

“No name. If you want to be on a team with a dorky name, you’re hanging with the wrong Kane sibling. Besides, with the number of things that have tried to kill you that doesn't leave many options.”

Chapter Text

“Hit the showers” Batman growled, holding Kaldur back.

Sighing, I headed for the girls locker room. I was the only one who really used it. M’gann has her martian shapeshifting. Though for some reason, she was still following me.

“Hey Artemis, I was wondering if you wanted to have a sleepover? It’s an earth girl thing!” M’gann squealed.

“Can’t. Plans.” I grumbled.

“Oh, that’s Ok! How about next week?” She continued persistently.

“Sure” I agreed reluctantly.

She peeled off squealing, muttering something about cookies.

Cleaning the clay from the fight with Clayface off my uniform took longer than expected. I should have just enough time to check in on my mother in our Gotham apartment before patrol with Green Arrow in Star City. Someone was leaving people on the steps of the Queen Museum of Ancient Cultures. Every body so far had been missing a heart and owl feathers were stuffed in the cavity apparently. Oliver was worried.

Arriving home, I gave my mother a kiss on the cheek before sitting briefly in front of the TV to check my arrows.

Heading out to meet up for patrol, mom was in the way.

“Something came in the mail for you.”

“And you went through my mail?” Artemis fired “Wow, real respectful of my privacy, mom.”

“Just read it.” The ex-Huntress sighed.

Reading through it, I found it was a full scholarship to Gotham Academy through Wayne Enterprises.

“It’s a good school, Artemis. You should be thrilled.” She continued.

“I’m not switching.” I crumpled the letter, throwing it on the counter. “All my friends are at Gotham North.”

“You will be switching, Artemis.” Her mother called. “Or, you can forget about your ‘extra-curricular activities.’”

Oh, so she chooses to parent now. “Don’t make threats you can’t enforce.” I called over my shoulder as I headed for the door.

As I sweep by her, mom grabs my hand. I stop but don’t turn to face her. “I just want you to have the opportunities I didn't have. This is your chance at something better than this.” My mom intoned softly, her gaze sweeping over our rundown apartment and her wheelchair.

I lightly tugged my hand, pulling it from her loose grip and resuming my journey to the door. “I’ll think about it.”

Chapter Text

“Hey Sadie!”

I turned to Norm, the magician who called my name. Norm was about my father's age. You know, if he wasn't a dead Egyptian god host who never visits. Not that I miss him or anything, I barely knew him anyway. Norm also likes to think he's on trend. It's usually cute in a, old-person-thinks-they're-being-cool kind of way.

After everything, Carter had his hands full with the House of Life and I had chosen to work on Artifact Retrieval. Normally retrievals were done in pairs, but I had scared off every partner so far. That’s part of the reason I had originally tracked down Percy. Carter had threatened to take me off the retrieval team and put me on desk duty. In retaliation, I had threatened to sneak off and go anyway. Carter had exploded and said he didn’t care who my partner was, but that I needed one.

I’m pretty sure that was supposed to be a figure of speech, but he did say anyone and Percy was always either on board with my crazy plans or was coming up with her own, equally crazy, plans. Plus, we were friends and the stories coming out of the Greek side of things… well it seems like she needs a hobby.

Once Percy agreed to partner with me, I let Carter know I had a partner and wouldn’t chase them off. If he assumed it was someone from Artifact Retrieval, well he should know better than to assume by now. He should know what they say about assuming. The rest of the department hadn’t questioned Carter’s approval, which is good as Greek gods are still categorized as something that doesn’t exist. Carter doesn’t want any mass panics or widespread existential crises. You know, the fun stuff. That’s why I get put on all retrieval missions featuring other cultures. Let me just say, the Yokai know how to party. Though sometimes the missions are straight up Egyptian magic.

“What, Norm?” I asked politely. For me.

“We’ve got something for you. This time it’s a statue of Ammit the Devourer that seems to be having a little too much fun. It started with minor criminals, but it’s escalated. Two weeks ago it killed a police officer, last week an Assistant District Attorney, and it seems to have gotten a taste for lawyers. They’re probably all crooked if Ammit’s statue is after them, but it’s drawing attention to us. Victims are heartless, stuffed, and posed in front of the museum housing the statue like it’s Ammit’s temple. Well, they were probably already heartless, but it’s literal now.”

“Stuffed? Excuse me?” I asked incredulously, glossing over the heartless comments. It was nothing new, there's a surprising amount of heart-removal in Egyptian mythology.

“Yeah, owl feathers. Symbol of death. More specifically, Ammit’s symbol.”

“Oh, of course.” Uhgg, this job does not make more sense the longer you do it.

“Well, Sadie?” Norm wiggled his eyebrows, “Do you accept your mission?”

“Yes. And Norm? Never do that again.” I said, pointing to my eyebrows.

Time to collect a demigoddess and plan a heist.

Chapter Text

500 years ago, East Kent

A figure stumbled out of the bushes and into the pale light of my lantern. The sudden influx of light revealed the figure's ruddy skin, red hair, and pale grey eyes. The creature tried to pass for human, but it's own features betray it. Despite its humanoid shape and look, it has skin as hard as marble and teeth designed for the rending of flesh. I lifted the lantern higher as the beast noticed my presence. Not yet. It let out a banshee-like scream, calling it's brethren. Good. This would be the last night my people live in fear of these monsters.

The bushes start rustling again and I call upon my Gods. "Sekhmet!" I plead, "Lion goddess of vengeance! Do not abandon me now, in the face of our enemies. My people have been taken from me by this foreign scourge and I demand their corpses in recompense! I will pay what you ask." Each night the creatures haunting the edges of my village grew stronger. Without action, all would be razed.

A bloody, red light filled my senses as the horde charged at me, howling their hunger for human flesh. But, it was too late, the deal was struck. I pulled a stone headed axe from my belt as gold and lions wove their form over the weapon, imbuing it with the power of the goddess. All consuming rage blazes through my veins. I draw power from the emotion as I swing the blade in deadly arcs; cleaving monsters' heads from their bodies. Each action was not without return, though as the aura of Sekhmet lends no protection to a magician.

With a final slice, the final beast was dead, or so I thought. A growl sounded behind me and one last monster stepped from the forest. This one was different from the others; it did not hide behind human skin. This beast was covered in fur, fangs flashing in his mouth and claws clenching as he snarled. This monster was dangerous even before he became a member of the undead.

My bones ache and cuts make themselves known, even as the monster swipes at me. Stepping back slightly, I ready my axe once more.

The beast lunges, teeth snapping at my cloak. In response I spin to the left, sweeping my axe in a downward stroke and severing his head from his furry shoulders. The beast slumps in a pile, me not far behind.

Checking myself, I knew. There's no way I would survive this. I had come alone and in secret. I was covered in cuts and a bite. A bite, oh no… The final beast must have bitten me as I drove my axe through his neck. The former werewolf, now vrykolakas, had infected me. Throwing my head forward in defeat, I gathered the remainder of my magic and spoke a single Divine Word, one I had sworn never to utter. My magic ripped through me as the world faded into death.

Present

"Sadie!" Norm called across the office, beckoning me over with a crooked finger. "Got a weird one for you and this mysterious partner Carter okayed and I've never met."

I crossed the floor towards his desk. Artifact Retrieval had been temporarily moved to a different room. There had been an incident. I had nothing to do with it. On an unrelated note, I was currently on probation for being 'too destructive'. Carter's words, not mine. Don't you just hate it when your older brother is named Pharaoh and is literally in charge of you?

Anyway, we were currently housed in an old annex that was weirdly styled as an Ancient Egyptian police bullpen but with real torches and worse cells than the GCPD. That's speaking from experience. Don't ask, it involves a can of blue hair dye, a living Sphinx statuette, and Jim Gordon's good trench coat. You know, the snazzy one he wears to the important banquets.

Leaning towards Norm's desk, I get a good look at what he's wearing. It seems he's in the Halloween spirit, despite definitely being too old for Halloween. Yes, there is such a thing as too old for Halloween. It happens when your costume would scar young children for life. Like Norm's. He seemed to be dressed as an eight year-old child. Zombie. A child zombie. "What are you wearing?" I asked incredulously.

"Do you like it?" Norm smiled, stretching the fake flesh hanging off his face in a grotesque manner. "I'm a little zombie girl!" My face seemed to somehow encourage him to keep talking. " Yeah, I was going to do something mythological because it would be nice to do something that doesn't actually exist..." I hid a wince at his words. "So, I started looking into different mythologies. Did you know that zombie myths date back to Ancient Greece?" Yeah, they're called vrykolakas, and they're kind of a mix between modern day vampires and zombies. The Greeks were super worried about them, and there were tons of ways to become one. Like, dead werewolves sometimes became vrykolakas. I think that's where the vampire-werewolf archenemy trope came from. Anyway, the only way to kill them is—"

"Norm!" I interrupted. "The artifact."

"Righto!" He chirped before pulling out a picture of a golden axe with lions on it from a file. "Sorry about the paper, computers don't work well here."

"I know, Norm, you don't have to say it every time."

"Right, right. Meet your target, should you choose to accept the mission. Not that you really have a choice, you're still on probation for letting that Ptah statue loose and destroying our office trying to take it out. We're not really sure what the axe does. I've found historical accounts calling it everything from the axe of vengeance to the harbinger of pestilence. It's origin is even weirder. It is very clearly Egyptian, but it was first found in Rochester, England. The rest of the story is in the file, most 'experts' think it was looted by the British and never recorded. We think it was made by a rogue magician channeling a goddess back when it was banned. Well, to each their own. Bruce Wayne recently bought it, so you'll have to get it from him. He's hosting a Halloween gala tonight, and it should be on display, so good news! Have fun! Don't die! Don't kill me! Bye!" With those words, Norm started booking it as far away from me as fast as possible, his wig's blonde pigtails bobbing behind him. He better run, sending me back to Gotham. I'm going to have to wear a dress, aren't I? This'll be a mess.

After retrieving a reluctant demigoddess and, ahem, obtaining some invitations. Costumes for the party I had found at my desk after Norm ran off. Tosser.

Perce and I arrived at the gala in style. Which is to say in the gray sisters' taxi. It's ok, the green in my face added to my costume. It had been very clear who the costumes were for when I found them on my desk, as I am quite a bit shorter than Percy. That's how I ended up dressed as Medusa and Percy was Cleopatra. The irony.

We managed to skip the red carpet with some careful maneuvering around the edges of the crowd and a lot of Mist. Percy still sucks at manipulating it, so I towed her along with her eyes closed while she did her best. I only ran her into a wall once. Or twice.

Once we made it inside. I realized we might have a problem. "Uhm, Sadie?" Percy asked, "this place is ginormous. Where is it?"

"That's a good question." I narrowed my eyes at the offending problem. I set my mouth in a determined line. "Let's split up."

I drifted through the crowd, searching each display case for the golden lion axe we were sent to retrieve.

"Oof." It didn't take me long to run into someone. "Sorry." I mutter to the other girl. Taking stock of her, I notice she has choppy brown hair with feathers woven in it. Her eyes are almost kaleidoscopic in how the color keeps changing. That must be a trick of the light, though. She was dressed as a peacock and seems to enjoy the costume as much as I do mine.

"It's alright." She laughed and it sounded like tinkling bells before leaning in conspiratorially. "Gives me an excuse to pull some of the more ridiculous parts of this costume off and blame it on others. I’m not a big fan of peacocks.” Her face takes on a confused look before sliding back to the mischief she wore before. “Would you mind taking this and throwing it away?"

My hand moves even before I tell it too, grabbing the removed feathers from her hand. "Sure," I say, dazedly before shaking myself out of it. "But first, have you seen a gold lion axe?"

The girl laughed again, sounding like fairy dust. "You're strong aren't you? I heard some servers talking about some axe. Apparently, it's the centerpiece of this new collection and is behind the curtain. Thanks for your help with the dress sitch." The girl left, calling one last thing over her shoulder. "I'm Piper by the way!"

I blinked, it felt like I was coming out of a stupor. Percy was waving her hand in my face while I stared at a pile of feathers in a trash can. I vaguely remember meeting a girl and the fact that the axe is behind the curtain.

Percy, noting I was back in the present, decided to ask me a question. "You good? You look like you got whammied by an Aphrodite kid. Did you find the axe?"

Focusing on the last question, I point to the curtained podium. "It's there,'' I whisper.

Sneaking through the curtain is surprisingly easy. Apparently, the host's kid was hanging from the chandelier and everyone was focused on retrieving him.

As I reach for the axe in its pyramid shaped case, a spark of magic jumps from my finger to the magical weapon. Smoke starts swirling around it and, thinking fast, I drop us through a portal. Blind portalling is maybe not the safest thing to do, but it's not like us magicians can use the Mist, and the last thing we want is Batman's attention.

We land in the desert near an old column that looks like it used to hold a statue. Percy and I roll away from the axe, staying just outside of the smoke. We also both take the opportunity to rip the skirts of our dresses and ditch the jewelry that accompanies them. Just as quickly as the smoke swirled outward, it condenses back in to a humanoid shape gripping the gleaming axe. The smoke reveals the figure. It’s a girl with red, fur-like hair, one eye dark brown, the other pale silver. Fangs gleam in her mouth and cuts cover her body, bleeding freely. Sinking my vision into the duat, I can just make out chains on the girl’s wrists, tying her to the axe. The chains are weird in that they appear feathery and almost completely fallen to pieces. One chain isn’t even connected anymore. A face flashes over the feathers.

Sinking further into the duat, I realize what the chains are made of. They are made of someone’s Ba. I brush my magic against the Ba chains and knowledge fills my head. The girl used to be a magician. She had been fighting a Greek monster, a vrykolakas, and it had managed to infect her. Fearing for her village, and knowing it was too late for her, she had bound the monster she had become into her axe, sacrificing her soul in the process. The bindings should’ve held forever, but this particular monster grows stronger each night it lives, and soon the bonds started to fray. At this time the axe became known for spreading misfortune, bloody vengeance, and pestilence, as the monster and the power of Sekhmet fought for dominance, their power leaking out into the world. The spark of my power had tipped the beast over the edge, partially freeing it.

Recognition burned in my mind. Norm had mentioned these things this morning! Greek zombies! I turn to Percy. “Perce! They’re bleeding vrykolakas. They’re greek.”

Percy, for her part, still looked confused. “I don’t think koalas are greek, and I don’t think that’s a koala. You probably actually said something else, didn't you. Well, if it’s greek, Riptide should work. Do you know how to kill it?” She uncapped her pen, moving in on the monster.

“I don’t know!” I exclaimed, Norm had never mentioned how to kill one. He really shouldn’t leave important details like that out when telling me about supposedly mythical creatures. If I survive this, I’m going to rip his pigtails out.

Percy dodged a few half-hearted slices from the zombie. It seemed to be fighting its chains for the most part. Watching the chains, they seem to keep the monster’s hands fairly low. “Percy! The monster is chained in the duat, it can’t lift its arms too high.”

A terrifying grin bloomed on the demigoddess’ face. “That, I can work with.” she swiped Riptide at the monster’s head, slicing clean through. The monster’s body collapsed, head rolling off. The Ba unwound itself, brushing a feeling of thank you at me before fading. “When in doubt, go for the neck. Usually kills them.” Her grin turned into a frown. “Unless it’s a hydra, then you'd better pray to the Gods for fire.”

Chapter Text

Percy should not have been as surprised as she was when a certain Egyptian Magician walked into the alleyway she was currently fighting in and leaned against a wall. Really, it’s almost like she thought Greek monster fighting was a gladiatorial sport. Not that I needed any help with a Hellhound. Though ever since Mrs. O’Leary I’ve felt guilty killing them. This one must have lost its pack, as it was all by itself. Though, a couple of slashes later and the monster was dead.

As the Hellhound took its last breath, I turned to Sadie.

“We got a mission or something?” I asked, “And, I don’t know how it is in London, but you really shouldn’t lean against an alley wall in New York.”

Wincing and pulling herself away from the wall, Sadie turned to me. “How do you feel about Star City?”

“Ehh” I shrugged, “Little close to Camp Jupiter for me, but sure. What’s wrong in Star City?” Stowing Riptide, I ambled toward Sadie, ready to get to the Mission. “Do you want me to call Mrs. O’Leary to take us? It’s a little far for Blackjack.”

Sadie smiled and seemed to bounce on her toes slightly. “Yeah, apparently there’s a statue eating people’s hearts. But, Yes. Too bad about Blackjack. I’ve always wanted to fly when I wasn’t, you know, an easily distractible bird. What about the monster, are you just going to leave it there? And won’t its body offend her?”

“Uggh, animal transformations are the worst! And what do you mean about the Hellhound, it should already be dusted?” I replied, whistling for Mrs. O’Leary.

“Umm, Percy? Hate to break it to you, but there is still a bleeding and very much dead Hellhound here.”

Whirling around and checking the Hellhound, I saw that its body was still there.

After saying some very uncomplimentary things about a few Gods and their mothers in Greek, something Sadie can’t understand but seems to get the gist of from context, I have a plan.

“Can you just throw it in the Duat?” I ask.

“You want me to throw a Greek monster into an Egyptian realm? A realm with ties to our land of the dead?” Sadie asked incredulously. “That has Bad Idea written all over it. I’m in!”

Now that Sadie mentions it… I sighed. “I swore on the soul of blue cookies everywhere to try to be less reckless and try to do what Annabeth would do, so let’s try it another day when I’ll feel less guilty. I mean, I already killed a Hellhound today.”

We paused for a second before I continued. “Know any good fire spells?”

“I know a couple. I usually prefer pure destruction though. A’max!” The hieroglyph burned over the Hellhound. It was burning pretty fast, but we still have to wait to make sure no mortals stumble on it. I was bored.

“Got any Marshmallows in that Duat of yours?”

When Mrs. O’Leary arrived, she found a demigoddess and magician roasting marshmallows over an intensely burning Hellhound corpse. She didn’t seem too bothered by it.

Chapter Text

Breaking into the Queen Museum of Ancient Cultures was surprisingly easy. Mainly because Mrs. O’Leary leapt from the shadow of a fountain in the main atrium. The museum’s name was quite obnoxious if you asked Percy. Unfortunately, the rich person who donated the money to build the museum had not asked Percy’s opinion. Though if that person was a queen, or just someone whose last name happened to be Queen, Percy didn’t know.

“You know where in this museum the statue is, right?” I asked, watching Sadie look around cluelessly.

“‘Course I do,” She replied with an implied duh. “It’s in the Egyptian exhibit.”

“And the Egyptian exhibit is…?”

“Marked on the map, of course.” She answered, walking toward a standing display of the museum map.

After searching the key and map for the Egyptian exhibit, Sadie turned and walked in the direction I assume the exhibit is in. I don’t know if it’s the ADHD or the dyslexia, but I suck at maps and even spoken directions. It’s like ‘Ok, so you’re going to want to… blah blah blah blah blah’. My brain tunes the directions out in favor of studying my surroundings.

Trailing behind Sadie, I start to feel the hairs on the back of my neck jump to attention, as something scratches at the back of my mind. Scanning my surroundings, I can’t help but compare it to the sensation I get when there’s a monster lurking around. A feeling that screams ‘there’s a predator here’ and whatever it is, it’s smart. Glancing back at Sadie, she seems not to sense anything. It’s not really surprising. Magicians aren’t hunted. Not like demigods are.

I relax my body, imitating Sadie’s nonchalance to put whatever is watching off its guard. All the while, I rest my thumb on the cap of the ballpoint pen in my pocket, ready to spring into action.

The only warning I get is a flicker in the shadows at the edge of my vision, but it’s enough. Uncapping my sword, I swing it around just in time to deflect two darts off the blade. One for Sadie, one for me.

A man steps from the shadows, near where the darts came from. “Go.” I growl at Sadie. “Take care of the statue, I’ve got this.”

The man chuckles, standing in an almost relaxed posture. “You think you can take me, little girl?” he asks. I size him up.

He’s wearing body armor in black and orange, that seems styled more for speed and agility than strength, though his biceps show he is not slacking in that category. Two swords are sheathed on his back, another vote for speed being his primary fighting style. Dual wielders rarely go for strength, the fact they are using two weapons at once already more than halves the force possible from each weapon. That, and the fact they are located on his back indicate a love of flashiness and dramatics. And that he’s usually the one attacking. It’s so much faster to grab a sword at your waist than make the larger movement to grab something over your shoulder. It’s not conducive to stopping surprise attacks. The most concerning part though, is the half black, half orange mask that covers his face. It means he probably has some kind of powers. Oh, well. I’ve taken on others with powers before and been fine, what’s one more? Plus, in my jeans and orange t-shirt, along with the little girl comment, I’ll probably be underestimated. Sending a quick prayer to Hecate to obscure my face, I prepare to fight. Hopefully, she Mists me; not that I can't use the Mist myself, I just suck at holding it.

“Aww, big man have ego issues?” I baby talked. “Don’t worry sweet cheeks! I can take you down a notch.”

The man snarled and lunged. Ducking under the lunge, I felt the power in the strike as it went over my head, as I slashed at the other katana, coming in for a belly strike below its twin. Definitely super strength. And maybe some increased speed and reflexes. My arm felt slightly deadened. Both of us took a step back as we re-evaluated our opponents. A breath later and our blades clashed again in resounding cacophony. I was a whirlwind of slashes and chaotic tumbling, using my environment to my advantage, even occasionally throwing a stab I learned from my time with the Romans in. Meanwhile, my opponent was pure deadly grace. Every move was measured before acting for maximum deadly potential, while still moving at lightning speed.

I stepped closer to the masked man, using the move Luke had taught me all those years ago, sending one of his blades flying towards the gift shop, where it lodged in a commemorative statue of Hera. Ironic, an image of her so you can remember your time at the museum. Once the sword was out of his hand, I used my opportunity to slash recklessly at him. But I had miscalculated.

Most people take a second to switch from thinking how to fight with two swords to how to fight with one. I forgot I was fighting a metahuman. He didn’t need that second.

Swiping my feet out from under me and smacking me in the stomach with the blunt end of his blade, I laid on the floor. Defeated. I tried to curl in on myself to get my breathing back, but cold metal touched my neck and I laid still.

“You are brave, little warrior.” The man conceded. “But you have been defeated. I think you at least deserve the name of your killer for that show you put on. I am Slade Wilson, or Deathstroke, if you prefer. And, you are? Who is the sword who fought so well?” At least, I think that's what he said. He was a little hard to hear and the mask muffled everything he said.

He wants to know the name of my sword? “Riptide?” I replied hesitantly. Glancing around for a way out, I spotted the fountain whose shadow we had come in through. I reached toward the water before an image appeared in my mind. It was Annabeth’s face, stormy grey eyes as sharp as the bronze of her blade. Then, it started raining and as I watched her eyes softened, though not with compassion or anything else good. Her eyes turned to fluffy grey clouds, glazed with a milky white film. She was forgetting. Every time I reached for the water, a friend appeared before my eyes and slowly forgot. Annabeth, Piper, Jason, Leo, Frank, Hazel, Grover, Nico, Reyna, Thalia, even Sadie and Carter, they forgot everything. They forgot me.

Slade lifted his blade to strike me down. Internally, I couldn’t help but chuckle a little. Well, I did peg him as the dramatic type. I stared Slade down, defiance in my eyes. I would not flinch from my death, I would not give this mortal the satisfaction of my fear. And how ironic that, of all the gods, monsters, and those in between it was a mortal of all things that killed me? Well, divinities have always underestimated mortals, a short fall I've warned them of before. Now I'll fall to that same hubris.

Just as he swung downwards, an arrow shot out of nowhere, striking the pommel of the sword and sending it spinning out of Slade’s hands. The man turned, searching the shadows for whoever shot at him.

Shooting into a sitting position, I blurted out “Hey! That could’ve ricocheted and hit me! Be more careful next time!”

There was a pregnant pause in the room as Slade and my new saviour confirmed that, yes, I did actually say something that stupid. “Sorry” I amended sheepishly. “Used to a different crowd.”

I used their dumbfoundedness to draw my sword, which had finally made it back to my pocket and swing at Death-guy or something. Wasn’t really listening when he introduced his ‘villain name’. Mortals and their fads, seriously. The blade passed right through him, but my follow up punch didn’t. He went down like a log, mask cracked jaggedly in two. Well, that’s new. The superstrength is appreciated though, unlike the non-disintegrating hellhounds!

A guy dressed in green with a similarly dressed girl stepped from the shadows as Sadie ran in from another room carrying her staff and boomer-wand. The two dropped into defensive stances until Sadie ran up to me and started checking me over. Other than a small cut on my arm, that Sadie subtly summoned water over, I was ok. You know, other than my sore ribs from getting the breath knocked out of me and hitting the floor.

The two introduced themselves as the ‘Green Arrow’ and ‘Artemis’ and started talking. I tuned them out, Sadie seemed to be doing a good job of distracting them anyway so I let my mind wander.

Hmm. Celestial Bronze doesn’t cut mortals. Chiron said it’s because they’re not important enough. Yet, Celestial Bronze cuts metal, wood, and other stuff. I’ve cut rope with it too. Hmm, rope is a fiber and hair is a fiber. Does Celestial bronze cut mortal’s hair? Or was the rope made of demigod hair? Actually, thinking about it, wasn't it synthetic fibers? So are mortals less important than inanimate objects? “… Sword?”

Looking around, I realized they were all looking at me. Oh, did they want to know the name of my sword too? What is it with these Masks and asking about the name of my sword? “Riptide?” I answered.

Sadie facepalmed.

“OOkay…” Green Arrow said, looking at the two of us with suspicion. “So your name is Nefertiti and your name is… Riptide?”

“Yes.” Sadie lied without remorse. I backed her up. Now was not the time to be laughing about what other words may or may not be in Sadie’s made up name. “Our parents were very cruel when they named us.”

“Though not as cruel as yours!” I added my two cents, “Who names their child after a maiden goddess? Did they never want you to date? And, what, is your mother a great huntress? What about you Mr. Green Arrow? What were all the other colors taken? Why not go with a nice blue? And what happens if you lose an arrow? How would you ever find it again with them all being a dark blendy color?”

“You know our names aren’t actually Artemis and Green Arrow, right? They’re code names.” Artemis rolled her eyes.

“‘Course I do,” I shot back. “That just makes it even worse. It means you chose those names.”

“Alright,” Green Arrow sighed. “You two are obviously powered and are trespassing in a museum at night. I’m going to need to bring you in.”

“Like Hades!” I answered, Sadie sounding off similarly. The four of us got into fighting positions, Sadie facing Green Arrow and me facing Artemis.

Suddenly golden light bloomed in the shape of an Ankh in front of us. “Uhm, Sadie?” I muttered quietly to the magician next to me.

“Not me.” she replied.

“Fear not! Fate has intervened.” Echoed through the atrium. A declaration that just made me tense more. Nothing named fate ever brought anything good.

Chapter Text

A helmet materialized from the glowing Ankh, floating in front of us. Percy’s eyes were bugging out a little, while the ‘heroes’ looked less than enthused. I already had lowered my vision half way into the duat, which is what afforded me the ability to see the spirit attached to the helmet. It was weird, the helmet was in the physical plane, but the spirit tied to it was still in the duat and seemed to be wearing the helmet.

“Dr. Fate.” Green Arrow did not seem enthused. “I thought you were deactivated.”

“I am not able to access my full power without a host, but I am still awake. A Lord of Order’s work is never done, therefore I cannot rest.” The spirit attached to the helmet replied. The helmet’s eye holes were glowing too.

Personally, I was supremely confused at this point. “Excuse me? What in Ra’s name does an Ankh have to do with order? Why does your power materialize as the symbol of life, when you’re supposed to be about order? Shouldn’t your power be feather themed? Specifically an ostrich feather. After all, you are Egyptian themed. An Ankh is not the symbol of the Egyptian goddess of order. Ma’at’s symbol is a feather. The Ankh is Ra’s and, you know, pharaohs. So, are you actually, like, pretending to be the current eye of Ra? And what does fate have to do with order? I mean, seriously, pick a lane.”

Green Arrow smirked. “I’ve changed my mind. I like the scary girl in her pajamas and a leather jacket.”

“Hey! It’s not PJs!” I complained.

Percy snorted. “Why are you here, Featherhead? You want a fight?”

Artemis smirked and mouthed ‘Featherhead’ before shaking her head.

“I cannot fight, it takes all of my power to merely appear here. I am here because they must join The Team. We will need them and they will need us. So Fate has decreed it, so it shall be!” Fate replied before vanishing in another flash of golden light.

“Dramatic parasite.” Green Arrow muttered. “Ok, let’s get you to Batman and we’ll see what happens from there.”

Percy leaned over to me. "What was that about never joining a team with a dorky name?" She asked with her troublemaker smirk on full display.

I frown harshly at the demigoddess. "Piss off." I whisper back, "and 'The Team' is not dorky, it's just bad."

Chapter Text

After Dr. Fate vanished in his ball of light, Oliver signaled for me to continue on patrol while he took the two trespassers to Batman. I nodded in acknowledgment before shooting off a grapple arrow. Why does it all have to be archery themed? It would be so much easier to just have a grappling gun too. These grapple arrows take up so much room in my quiver and they are single use.

As I tug lightly on the cable to make sure it caught correctly, the one with the sword, Riptide, apparently started to run her mouth again. Which, normally I’m all for some sarcasm, but the things that come out of this girl’s mouth are just weird. “Hey, Artemis? You wouldn’t happen to have an absentee dad who really loves haikus, do you?”

Giving the girl, and possible new teammate a flat look, I reply honestly. “He would rather cut your tongue out than say the word haiku.”

The girl hummed before asking another question. “Does he have a passion for boars and bloodshed?”

Before I can even think of a response to a question like that, the girl’s friend is dragging her away. “What?” I hear her mutter to ‘Nefertiti’ “Possible… archery… Aries.”

What does a zodiac sign have to do with anything? Those two are weird. I'll have to tell Robin about all of this. Maybe he can figure out who the two are. Sighing, I let the grapple start to pull me to the roof of the building across the street before running to find Black Canary. Maybe she’d have some thoughts and even if she didn’t, it seems like I'm patrolling with her tonight. With those two and Batman, there’s no way Oliver is getting back before patrol is over.

Chapter Text

After a long meeting, where Sadie did most of the talking and I mostly zoned out, we were told we could go home. All I managed to catch was that we would join the Young Justice Team and we should prepare outfits. Not that they would remember our faces anyway. Hecate’s Mist lasted until Sadie and I vanished back into the city.

The only thing I could focus on was what was wrong with me? I had been about to die and every time I tried to use my powers I couldn’t. The most I could do was keep myself dry and occasionally heal someone. Every time I tried… I couldn’t. Are my powers broken? As much as I would like to blame my issues on the powers themselves and even my father, I can’t. The problem is not the powers. The problem is me. I’m scared of my powers. The last time I had used them seriously was the battle with Gaea where I had hurt my friends. Now, whenever I reached for my powers, that fear reared its ugly head and when that happened it felt like my powers were out of my reach. I know I have them, but the fear blocked my ability to access them.

Settling on my bed with a sigh of relief, I couldn’t help but to wish for a peaceful night. Err day. Not that I get them anymore. I should’ve known it was too much to ask.

A dark canvas appeared behind my eyelids, a featureless expanse of darkness. Then, a light flared in the foreground, forming a humanoid shape. The white, slightly clinical light radiated feelings of family. These feelings were not like Hestia radiated though, Hestia was the feeling of home. This was the feeling of display houses, aloof fathers, and the slight disdain and judgment that hurts ten times more because it comes from family. This was the feeling of family by blood but not by choice.

Before I could determine any distinguishing features of the figure, a second light flared into existence. This one also formed a humanoid figure, though slightly larger. This light was the color of freshly spilt blood and its aura supported that conclusion. It radiated pure berserker rage.

The red figure deferred to the one in white. Kneeling and waiting for them to speak. After a silence, the one in white acknowledged the other. "It is as we feared." They intoned tiredly.

"It was her doing all along." The red one uttered in a tone of agreement.

"You know what will happen, now that she's dead." The white light continued.

"Yes."

"Then you know what must be done. Drastic measures must be taken." The white light sounded slightly self satisfied at the necessity of whatever act had been decided.

"I will start right away, M—" The red light started.

"Wait. Someone is spying. I sense you little Half-blood. Who are you? Well, it does not truly matter. Not for long. GET OUT!"

With a woosh I was thrown out of my sleep. Can’t I get a peaceful year? Apparently not because I know a Demigod Dream when I see one. I wonder where the threat comes from this time. Perhaps a new pantheon to discover?

Sighing, I roll out of bed and check Riptide is in the pocket I had sewn into my PJs. May as well go for a walk, there’s no way I’m getting back to sleep after that.

Walking out of my apartment - a recent purchase so I wouldn’t keep disturbing Mom and Paul with the odd hours I kept and an attempt to limit the number of monsters drawn to them, I took the stairs three floors down to exit.

Turning the corner, I gripped Riptide tightly. Something’s watching me. A dark mass shoots towards me and I uncap the pen, taking a wild swipe at whatever monster it is.

Whoa, Boss! It’s just me.

Letting out a breath of relief I reflexively reply to the black pegasus. “Blackjack! What have I told you about calling me boss?”

Not to. The horse replied But, Boss, I brought a message from your father.

Sighing, I took the message clenched in Blackjack’s teeth. My eyes widened as I examined the message. It looked like notebook paper instead of the usual fancy cardstock Dad uses. Well, I assume he uses; I’ve only received a few messages from him. Ever. Attached to the paper is a paperclip. The page reads ‘I’m sorry. Keep Blackjack close.’ The message is short and a little disappointing. It’s not even signed.

Turning to Blackjack, I can’t help but ask; “Did he say anything?”

Oh! Yeah, Boss. He said the paperclip will obscure your face with The Mist. Something about a small protection while you are irresponsibly following in your cousin’s footsteps. Just attach it somewhere on your current clothing. That and he can no longer help you.

“What do you mean he can no longer help me? Like he can’t see me in person or he can’t do anything?” I asked.

I don’t know Boss, I seemed like a nothing ever kind of thing.

“Great, thanks Blackjack. What do you think about living inside a mountain for the foreseeable future?”

As long as they have doughnuts, Boss.

Chapter Text

Coming up with a costume was fairly easy. All it took was ‘borrowing’ some black, fitted linen and throwing on my leather jacket. I decided to go maskless. It’s not like I have any family to worry about. Carter can take care of himself, plus he has the whole House of Life to back him up. Gran and Gramps are on another continent and Carter and I’ve done a pretty good job hiding our connection. It’s not like Sadie Kane doesn’t already have enemies in the Egyptian world. What’s a few more crazies?

After scrying for and tracking down Percy, we headed to the address Batman gave us. Percy was dressed in ripped jeans and an orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. Over that, she had a bronze breastplate and the arm guard thingies on her forearms. Percy says they're bracers or vambraces if you want to be fancy. Riptide was sheathed at her side and Blackjack was following behind her with saddlebags slung over his withers. These saddlebags must be made for pegasi, as they have cut outs for Blackjack's wings. Based on the slight blurring of her face at the edges of my vision, The Mist was obscuring her appearance.

“Did you suddenly get better at Mist manipulation? And I don’t think it’s working right if I can still tell who you are.” I asked incredulously. There’s no way. Percy sucks at Misting people.

“Gift from dad. It doesn't work if you already know who I am. It came with a really weird note too. I just clipped a paper clip to my bra and it started working. It returns to my pocket too.” Percy enthuses before switching to sheepish. “I may have already lost it once. You?”

“Raided the House of Life’s closet. Apparently, the linen comes in stealth and PJ styles.” I replied with a wry smile.

Reaching the address, I found a telephone box. “Umm. Is this the right place?” I asked hesitantly.

“Yes.” Percy declared. “Telephone boxes are obsolete and Batman is just old enough not to understand how conspicuous his attempt at camouflage is.”

“Alright.” I conceded. “Let’s enter the tardis.” Percy stared at me blankly. "You know, Doctor Who? Time traveling Police box? TV shows?"

Percy snorted. "This is a telephone box, not a police box. Besides, Demigods don't really watch TV. You know, unless we want to star in our own horror show. Especially not some weird, British show, though I think I might've heard Clarisse talking about it. Something about it being good entertainment and attracting sparring partners." I give up on Percy and pop culture.

Do you know how hard it is to fit a Pegasus into a telephone box? Let’s just say. It wasn’t working and I had a front row seat to a really weird one sided conversation.

“You really need to lay off the doughnuts… I’m not-... I didn’t mean... Blackjack, I’m sorry. You are a beautiful Pegasus… Right, sorry. Handsome…”

“Alright!” I burst in on their conversation. “This isn’t working. We’ll just have to fly.” Technically I could teleport us, but that takes energy. Plus, I really want to fly.

Flying from New York to Happy Harbor, Rhode Island only took a couple hours. Of course, at that point we were a little late.

“Sorry we’re late!” Percy yelled as we cantered in the mountain’s back door. “Blackjack wouldn’t fit in the teleporter. But that is OK, because he is a healthy and well built horse.”

As if on cue, Blackjack tossed his mane and added a little more prance to his step. I would’ve facepalmed if I wasn’t still holding on for dear life.

Chapter Text

I watched as the new recruits rode into the entrance area of the cave on a… is that a horse?

The girl in back dismounted first. She seemed to be wearing normal clothes with some minor armour and something that was making her face blurry. After landing safely on the cave ground, she turned to help her friend down. The other girl seemed to be muttering about sticking to portals and camels, but that couldn’t have been right. I probably misheard. This girl was wearing some kind of linen catsuit with a leather jacket. She has some kind of bird-headed staff on her back and what looks like a boomerang on her hip. That’s it. No mask, no armour.

Watching their arrival, I can’t help but remember what Batman told me.

“Keep an eye on these new teammates of yours.” Batman asked. Well, growled, but that’s how he asks. “Their mentor is Dr. Fate and as a league member I have to grant his proteges a place, but something is… fishy. I don't trust him. or them.”

Stepping out of the line up of my teammates, I decided to introduce us. Well, only Megan and Superboy are here with Batman and I right now, but if I’m to get information out of them... “Hi! I’m Robin, this is—”

“Hi! I’m Miss Martian, or M’gann M’orzz! Or Megan Morse! That’s my earth name! I’m a Martian! From Mars! Robin just introduced himself, he doesn’t reveal his identity. He does fight well though! Oh, and this is Superboy! Or Conner Kent! He’s super strong. Our other teammates, Artemis, Kid Flash, and Aqualad aren’t here right now. We have this week off! I’m sure they can’t wait to meet you though! What are your names?” M’gann ended her speech, blinking at the newcomers expectantly.

The two exchanged a look before the ninja looking one stepped forward. “Umm, you can call me Sorceress. I’m a magician sworn to the Path of Isis, so I can do all kinds of cool ancient magic. I don’t really care about secret identities, so I’m Sadie Kane.”

The other newbie stepped forward next. “I’m Nightshade? Also a magician, but on the Path of Sekhmet. That's fighting and healing magic. I’m keeping my identity.”

I narrowed my eyes slightly. “What do you mean the Path of? Are there more of you?” If there were and they decided to work with the enemy, there could be trouble.

“Explain.” Batman commanded.

Sadie opened her mouth to answer, but Nightshade got there first. “Yes? No? There used to be. We were acolytes in the House of Life, but it was destroyed. We were the ones that made it out.”

Sadie shot an unreadable look at her friend, but continued the story, “Uh, yeah. We studied Egyptian magic, focusing on one of the Gods. It's less like worshiping a god and more like learning that branch of magic. That's why we call them Paths. I followed Isis and had a focus on pure magic and P- Nightshade followed, uhh, Sekhmet, so more battle magic and healing than straight up summoning like me. In fact, you probably won’t catch her doing magic other than healing. The rest is rather subtle.”

"So you're not descended from a god or part of a special bloodline or something?" I continued my interrogation.

“Ohh! I made some cookies! Do you want some? Then, maybe we can get to know each other! Do you want to play truth or dare? It’s an earth game! I know Robin wants to spar!” M’gann cut in.

I felt my face pale at the thought of eating the charcoal briquets M’gann called cookies. “Maybe we can start with some sparring. That way we can work up an appetite for your cookies.”

Chapter Text

Walking to the sparring ring, I can feel Sadie's eyes burning holes into the back of my skull. I should probably expect an interrogation later. I'll add it to my list of things that 'I really don't want to do but have to at some point'. It's a real list. I keep it right under the pile of shirts that have gotten on the wrong side of one too many monsters. It can go right below 'Iris message camp about monsters not disintegrating, but above being respectful to powerful beings.

The arena was very high-tech. A development which immediately made me nervous. Leo tried to explain to me just how electronics boost a demigod’s smell once, but I kinda zoned out after he got to electromagnetic radiation and convergent and divergent fields. At that point, I decided to go with magic and stay away from electronics. Not that I really had time for any; my life is basically a mythology based MMORPG, but you only get one life. Or, well, most only get one life. Pretty sure I’m at least on my sixth life. I made it to seventeen! That’s practically ancient.

In the interest of putting off attracting monsters for as long as possible, I let Sadie go first. Her opponent was Miss Martian and she took the girl down hard. But that’s probably because Sadie loves a good fire spell. Well, as long as she can’t use her destruction spell.

“Sadie is best at Words of Power and elemental magic. Fire is her favorite, but she’s great at the other elements too.” I explained.

Robin nodded thoughtfully. “The team is lacking in members who fight well in fire. Nightshade, you’re up.”

Stepping into the ring and adjusting my cuirass, I can’t help but eye the technology distastefully before drawing Riptide. Would the blade even work on any of them? They are mortals, right? I can't hit them with Riptide. “Alright, I’m ready. Who’s my opponent?”

Robin turned to Artemis, but before he could say anything, Superboy jumped into the ring. He did not look happy about Sadie’s quick take down of Miss Martian. In fact, he looked to be seething before he took a breath and visibly made himself calm. It looked like a new thing for him. I can work with this.

Entering the ring, Superboy came in swinging. I sheathed Riptide and started dodging. An act indicating I didn’t see him as a true threat and served to plant a new seed of anger. Every time Superboy missed me, he got angrier until he seemed to be a vibrating ball of rage. He seemed as if he was relying on brute strength and speed with very little regard for strategy, almost as if the concept was new to him. Now that he was sufficiently enraged, I waited for his next Haymaker. When he threw it, I seated myself in a deep stance, letting his left arm fly over my right shoulder before grabbing his bicep with my right hand and his forearm with my left. With a twist, I threw Superboy over my shoulder and into the wall.

That wasn’t supposed to happen. Exchanging worried looks with Sadie, I ran to Superboy. “Are you Ok?” I asked, worried. “Sorry, I don’t know what happened.”

JJust as I reach him, Superboy stands up and growls out a “good match” before storming off.

It was definitely time to call camp. Between suddenly getting new powers and the monsters not disintegrating, someone was messing with something they shouldn't be. I smell another prophecy.

Chapter Text

After Percy checks Superboy is Ok, I drag her off. It’s time we have a talk. Once I’m sure we’re somewhere lead lined and sound proofed, I tear in to my idiotic friend.

“What is going on Percy! I have been patient and waited for you to explain, but you haven’t, so now I’m asking.” I demanded.

“I don’t know! I’ve never been that strong before. That was, like, god level strength, so unless Zeus snuck into my room and made me a goddess while I was sleeping and then forgot to tell me, I’m in the dark as much as you!” Percy hissed back.

“Based on your mother’s book, your stories, and the mythology I remember from Carter’s rants, I wouldn’t put the first part past him. Someone has to have some idea though?” I queried.

“That’s not the only strange thing that has happened. I’m worried there’s another prophecy. Monsters aren’t turning to dust, though they are dying this time. Last time that happened, I had to go through Ta- a lot of things with my friends to fix it. I also had a demigod dream last night.” Percy confessed before running through the dream she had.

“Percy, you need to call your camp” I concluded bluntly, “They’d at least know if there’s a prophecy. Plus, Chiron will want to know. About what happened and the dream.”

“I know,” Percy sighed “I’ve been putting it off, but I’ll call tonight.”

“Great, next problem.” I smacked the back of Percy’s head. “You absolute idiot! Are you barmy? You’re Greek and just claimed to be following an Egyptian God! Do you know what the consequences could be if either pantheon found out? Especially with such a violent Goddess and how jealous your ‘family’ gets!”

“I can’t be Greek!” Percy responded “Diana and Arthur have told The League that the Greek gods are dead. Plus, the leader of the Team is Atlantean. If they found out I was Greek, it’s pretty obvious with my powers that I’m Posideon’s kid. I mean, I heal with water. That makes me a sea princess and a leader can’t be torn between two duties. Divided loyalties make teams unstable. Especially if those loyalties are the leaders'. This way Aqualad can go with his duty to the Team without feeling obligated to protect me from any harm." Her voice softened, "And, I can't be greek. Not right now. You understand, right Sadie?" I meet her eyes and sigh. She clears her throat and continues. "Plus, Google said Sekhmet is the Goddess of healing and fighting! Those are the two things I’ll be doing so I thought it fit.”

“How you can be so smart and such a Seaweed Brain at the same time is amazing.” At this point I’m just exasperated with her. Though that didn't stop me from catching her flinch at the nickname. I'd have to come up with a new one. Something unconnected to her old life.

“Hey! I think I did a pretty good job, Witch Doctor.” Percy returned.

“Did you look at what Sekhmet is also the goddess of? She’s also the goddess of violent rages, war, disease, and complete destruction of her enemies! And while we’re at it; why are you only using the healing part of your powers? And where did you come up with Nightshade?”

Percy stiffened and I realized I'd asked the wrong question. “I just can’t use my other powers, Ok! I’ve tried, they don’t work! And perfect! No one will question anything I do while fighting. Nightshade is after the Huntress, Zoë Nightshade. She died. She was one of the first to die because of me! The one who taught me that being a Half-Blood means devoting your life to the service of the Gods and then dying.” Percy yelled, tears in her eyes. "Plus, you know, Nightshades can be used as a poison and a healing herb, so no one will question it with my powers. What else was I supposed to come up with anyway? Riptide, or Tidal Wave, or something? That's just begging for Tide Pod jokes. Ya know, cleaning up crime one wash cycle at a time?" The uncultured ex-guinea-swine knows memes, but not Doctor Who, who'd have guessed. No, focus Sadie, don't let the ADHD demigod distract you.

“Ok. We're coming back to what you are going to do in fighting that involves those things later.” I give her a quelling look before she can argue. “But, Percy, I have your back. I’ll always have your back. We're friends…"

"But…"

"But you need to tell me these things.” I finished.

Percy gave me a watery smile. “Deal.”

“Good.” I nodded, sealing our deal and mentally curling up in disgust at our mushiness.

“Witch Doctor.”

“Tuna Fish.”

Percy snorted. Before realizing the implications and doing a 'subtle' sniff check. "Hey! I don't stink!"

"Fine. Princess Tuna Fish."

And just like that, we had made up.

Chapter Text

Entering my new room in the mountain, I place a bowl of water stolen from the kitchen on my new desk in preparation for my Iris message. Sadie slips in behind me, claiming she’s curious about Iris messaging. I think she just wants to guarantee I actually call Camp.

Oh, and apparently I now have my own room in the Mountain because Batman goes all Oprah about it. You get a room, you get a room, you get a room! You all get rooms! Sadie’s is next door. I don’t plan on staying too often, I have my own apartment. That’s not to say the room isn’t nice. It’s vaguely reminiscent of Camp Jupiter’s barracks, if there were individual rooms in the barracks. Against one wall is a single, thin bed and directly across from the door is a desk and chair. There’s also a dresser against the other wall and a desk lamp on the desk. Bathrooms are communal and down the hall. Batman said we were free to bring decorations.

Sadie coughs impatiently behind me as a way of telling me to bloody start the call already. I’m assuming that’s what she wants, at least. Maybe she just has the tenth plague of Egypt but it’s after the youngest instead of the oldest this time. What, Egyptian stuff is weird, it could happen!

As I feel the pull in my gut, I steel myself for the phantoms that dance at the edges of my vision. They, along with the pull in my gut, are less intense than when I tried in the museum. A lump forms in my chest before rising toward my throat in an attempt to choke me. I swallow it down. The mist fades before it finishes forming.

I sigh and fish my necklace out from under my Camp Half-Blood shirt, pulling it over my head. After what happened I took my beaded necklace off. It was a painful reminder of the memories my friends had lost. The memories no one had but me. Each bead depicted an adventure we had. The necklace tore my heart to shreds at the physical evidence of what was missing from my life. If I could get rid of my legion brand too I would. It didn't hold as many memories, but it was still painful. A couple weeks after I stopped wearing the necklace, and a small breakdown later, I realized playing with my necklace was a self-soothing technique. Its replacement was a teardrop shaped blue quartz crystal on a metal chain; a nice and neutral necklace.

Placing the crystal under the conveniently placed desk lamp, I refract the light through the blue crystal to form a rainbow on the wall behind my desk. “Oh Fleecy, do me a solid. Show me Chiron at Camp Half-Blood.”

“I thought it was Iris you were supposed to ask? That’s what happens in the book.” Sadie questioned.

“Pfft, that was several years and metric tons of trauma ago. You can't believe everything you read too. The book says I'm a guy, for Hades' sake!” I responded, tossing a drachma at the rainbow. The metal coin hit the wall and bounced off.

“I don’t think that’s supposed to happen.” Sadie commented, looking caught somewhere between worried and laughing.

“It could just be that he’s not at Camp Half-Blood right now.” I’m worried, Chiron is always at Camp. Excluding the time he spent as my teacher. He could just be at another school watching a demigod! Yeah! Though that would mean another powerful demigod and potentially deadly prophecy… I don't know what I'm hoping for any more. I try again, asking for Rachel at Camp with the same results.

“Did they block your calls?” Sadie questioned, leaning further toward worried then laughing.

I huff before trying one last longshot. “Show me Nico at Camp Half-Blood.” This time the coin passes through the rainbow. A picture materializes. The whole screen is taken up with a yellow mass of… is that hair? “Nico!” I yell. The mass suddenly shoots to the side revealing Nico’s pasty and vaguely sickly face and I see the yellow mass is the back of a head. Nico’s cheeks look a little pink and fear burns in his eyes. I feel my eyes narrow in suspicion. The head turns and I see the blushing Will Solace.

Nico’s mouth starts opening and closing, giving him an unfortunate resemblance to a grouper I saw last time I went swimming. My jaw drops before I smile. “Nico! I’m so happy for you! How long has this been going on? Why didn’t you tell me? I’ve always wanted to give a shovel talk, little cuz.” I pout before turning to Will. “You hurt him and I’ve got a few shark friends who will take care of things for me, no questions asked. Plus, the swordfish could use some target practice and Sadie’s been wanting a Greek guinea pig to try tossing in the duat. I told her that I don’t count and getting a guinea pig from Greece doesn't make it a Greek. All I’m saying is there are options. Hurting him includes dying on him, got it?”

Over the course of my speech, Nico’s face had continued to redden. Though it had transitioned from embarrassment to anger. It didn’t help that Sadie was straight up cackling at my threats behind me. “Shut up, Percy.” Nico hissed like a cute skeleton kitten trying to be intimidating. “It’s not my fault you’re oblivious! Plus, you’ve been gone for the past few months! Also, I’m the older cousin and you’re not allowed to threaten my boyfriend!”

“Nope, magical hotel visits don’t count or you would’ve had to fight Gramps. The Fates, Gods, and The Prophecy recognize me as older, therefore I am older.” I tried to maintain my serious facade, but it quickly fell to a squeal. “Ooh! You two are so cute together! And you’re already at labels!”

At this point, Will is completely red and Nico looks like he is going to pass out from the amount of blood in his cheeks. He’s also cursing me out in Italian. I’m assuming his cursing is extremely creative, but honestly I can’t understand Italian. Sadie is still laughing, though she also looks like she’s now taking notes. Maybe she's thinking of taking up Italian as a language.

It takes a few minutes for Nico to calm enough for something other than cursing to exit his mouth. “I am not cute! I am a powerful force of darkness and death!” Nico huffs, “Why are you messaging, Percy?”

“Dang, you kiss the innocent Apollo kid with that mouth?” I tease him one last time before settling down to business. “I was calling Chiron and R.E.D. but Iris couldn’t connect for some reason. Do you know if there is a new Great Prophecy? Weird things have been happening.”

Nico’s face takes on a vaguely distressed appearance. “Chiron, Mr. D, and Rachel have been called to Olympus. I haven’t heard anything about a Prophecy, but I’ll ask when they get back and keep my ears open. If I find anything, I’ll IM you. Just out of curiosity, what kind of weird things?”

I recount the hellhound, dream, and extra strength to my cousin. At some point Sadie chimes in, saying I had been moving faster than normal too, which was news to me. Nico seems unsurprised at what happened to the hellhound, but he quickly transitioned to worry when I relayed the dream. When he hears about the extra strength and speed, he seems almost… relieved? There also seems to be a touch of guilt to his expression when he looks at Will. “The monsters haven’t been disintegrating for us either. Chiron’s had to add a class on proper body disposal to the Camp’s curriculum. He's been making me help teach it because of the whole grave robbing thing.” Nico looked hesitant. “We’ve also had reports of new monsters. Ones never seen before, so watch out. Also, someone saw two Minotaurs. At the same time. I’ll let Chiron know when he gets back that you want to talk to him, but in the meantime, keep your eyes peeled.” Hmm, I wonder what peeled eyes would look like. Robin’s from Gotham, maybe he’d know.

“And the extra strength and speed?” I ask, noting he left that out.

Nico grimaces on the other side of the rainbow. “I can’t tell you. I swore on the River Styx.”

I grimace in sympathy with a slight pout of disappointment. “Who else knows and what can you tell me?”

“Uh, I’m not sure who can tell you. All of the Gods know, but they can’t really say. No one technically told me, but Dad found enough loopholes to clue me in. I think the council would have to vote to tell you, which is unlikely. Reyna might know a bit from her time with Circe, but probably not everything. I think Diana knows, but she might have sworn on the Styx too. All I can really tell you is that it’s perfectly normal. Also, I’m officially more powerful than you.” A buzzing sounds from somewhere and Sadie starts checking her phone while Percy and Will look around. Nico looks sheepish in a pasty and emo sort of way. “That’s me, I’ve got to go. Dad needs something. And thank you, Percy, for ruining my limited time with my boyfriend.” He scowls at me and swipes through the rainbow before I can respond.

Sadie and I exchange a look. “Welp, only thing to do is wait. Chiron will know what’s up.” I conclude.

Sadie nods slowly. “I’m going to ask around at the Nomes anyway.” She decides.

I agree and the two of us head back to New York via zeta tube. Me to sleep and Sadie to poke a few scorpion nests. Blackjack gets to stay at the cave, but he’s fine with that. Ever since she found out about his love of doughnuts, M'gann has been trying to make them for him. They’re a little harder than cookies (read a lot) and she hasn’t been successful yet, but Blackjack is keeping a close eye on her efforts.

Chapter Text

Laying down to bed, I cross my fingers for no demigod dreams. But I wouldn’t be Percy Jackson without some calamity hanging over my head and disturbing dreams of my enemies. Tonight was no exception.

As I slept, a pulling developed in my sternum. Starting as a light tug, it quickly developed into an irresistible force, dragging me from my body and deep into the earth.

The pull dragged me for what felt like hours and could very well have been until it spat me out in a very familiar throne room.

Hades sat on his obsidian throne, clothes crawling with trapped souls, a smaller, empty throne was placed to his right. Before him, Nico knelt.

Now that I'm looking at Nico, he looks different. He looks otherworldly, inhuman; in a dark God sort of way. He looks like his father. He's still in his standard skull t-shirt and aviator jacket, but the black of his clothes and hair seem to blend in with his surroundings. It's almost like his clothes and hair are made of shadows. Not only that, but fire seems to flicker in his eyes. It had been hidden by emotion on the IM, but now I could see it. It wasn't like Ares' fire which was showy and ready to devour its victims in great gouts of flame. Nico's eyes held a darker flame that could cut down to the bone in mimicry of a sword made of flame, cauterizing muscle and sinew as it went. Like a lightsaber. Could you imagine Nico's eyes making shoom, shoom noises whenever he moves? It would be hilarious.

"My son," the God formally proclaimed. "Welcome back."

"Father," Nico hesitated before continuing. "I bring important news. But first, what do you need?" Man, are they always this formal? No wonder Nico's touch starved.

"Let us hear your news first, my son." Hades decided.

"Percy has begun experiencing The Changes." Nico declared. I feel a twinge of betrayal. Why would he tell Hades about my recent strength issues? And what are The Changes? Why does it feel like it needs to be capitalized like it's a proper noun?

Hades hummed deliberatively. "This is good news, son. You shall not be alone." Why would Nico be alone? I try to open my mouth to yell my questions at the scene, but my lips seem glued shut.

"Alone, father? I will still have Thalia, and maybe Hazel and Jason, if they manage to recover their memories. Not to mention all the others. They may be older, but—” The tugging in my chest reappeared. No! This is important! I will myself to stay with all my focus.

"No." Hades' face seemed to age twenty years with his response. "Zeus and the council have ordered a Renewal. You are to remain in the Underworld for the foreseeable future." What's a Renewal? And why does it feel like it calls for capitalization?

The pulling intensifies to the point it almost feels like my chest is burning from the inside out. As the fire consumes me, I am barely able to catch how Nico's already sickly pale face whitens to the color of bleached paper and sparks of pure rage form in his already burning eyes.

Once I regain my bearings, I investigate my new surroundings. We seem to be in some new cave and I'm not an expert on caves, but I'm pretty sure I have never personally been in this one. It's a fact that eliminates a surprising number of cave possibilities. Especially in the mythological world. But then again, it's a cave; who knows.

The only thing I recognize as something I've seen before is the red light that seems to be the center point of this dream.

The red light is standing in front of several TV monitors each with its own fluctuating white light in the shape of a silhouette on the screen. One of the screens speaks, though whoever's voice sounds through the monitors is highly distorted to the point where it doesn't even sound human. "One of our own has vouched for you. They claim you are integral to the speedy success of our… project."

The red light replies, though its response is incomprehensible. Likely whoever the light was had taken further precautions since my last time crashing their party. Now they and their words are distorted. Though it does confirm they possess divinity of some kind. I've only seen Gods and the like successfully perform that trick.

Whatever the red light's reply, the white lights seem to like it. They hum with approval before speaking. It appears though there are multiple things behind the lights, as despite the distortion, this voice is different from the previous one.

This one's message is short. "We accept your… friend's help to achieve our goals. Welcome to The Light." Who in Hades' soul ridden underpants is The Light?

Chapter Text

"Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes…" I gotta say, waking up to some David Bowie is not what I was expecting. Particularly since I live alone. It's easier that way. I mean, I'm only getting older, which means more monsters in higher numbers. I had agreed to stay with Mom and Paul if they agreed to learn a little defensive sword fighting, but they had refused. Paul didn't have time with work and Mom is a pacifist. I don't hold it against them, but it meant I had to move out. For their sakes. And not come over. Like, ever. We'd all still meet at parks and stuff though.

Rolling off of my bed, I head out to the kitchen. If I'm up, I'm going to need some food and to smack Sadie for breaking into my apartment again.

I shuffled out of my room still in my PJs; which consisted of warm Batman pattern flannel pants, a shirt stating 'I survived the Tunnel of Love at Waterland Theme Park', and piranha slippers. The shirt has been a gift from Grover I couldn't bear to throw out. Though it had become a sleep shirt after the third major gash had to be sewn up in it. I had taken it to Mom for sewing and she had insisted it be retired, this was our compromise.

Turning to close my bedroom door, I mentally prepared myself to tell Sadie off and paste an angry look on my face.

When I turned around I did not expect to see a bunch of pot bellied toddlers with the faces of old men in togas. Great, a monster infestation. Some of the old-toddler-men were sitting on the couch, watching the TV I totally don’t have. Having a TV would be irresponsible of me. Others were swinging from the ceiling or messing around in my kitchen. Oh, and did I mention they’re on fire?

Not only was my couch and kitchen on fire, but somehow, the old fire babies had scooped handholds out of my ceiling, reshaping it into a jungle gym.

As I faced the monsters, All noise came to a stop. One that seemed slightly tubbier, with live coals ringing its head came forward. The two others flanked the original. “Perseus Jackson, we are the Cabeiri, the sons of Hephaestus and Cabeiro, spirits of the flames; and we bring your demise.” The monster’s voice sounded like the cracking and popping of flames in a camp fire about to go out and as he threatened me, I noticed his hands. Instead of fingers and palms, for some reason he had crab claws. They all do.

Surveying the apparent leader one more time, he seems to be waiting for some reaction to his grand declaration. Well, I’m assuming they’re hes. The lead one did introduce himself as the sons of Hephestus, but I have no plans to do any checks.

“Am I supposed to have a reaction to that?” I ask the fire crab baby, “If you wanted a trip to Tartarus, you could’ve just asked. What are you again? Cabbage Boys? You going to start wailing ‘Oh! My Cabbages!’ or something?” The monster looked surprised at my response before growling and throwing himself at me.

“We are Cabeiri, Sea Spawn!” He growled, snapping at me with his words and claws before his expression turned solicitous, “and you can’t send us back to Tartarus, not anymore!” Well, I don’t like that. Change always means a big prophecy and quest and enemies. Why can’t I have a normal year? It’s always something.

“Oh, yeah, why’s that, Cabbage Patch Kid?” I ask, hoping to pump the monsters for information while spinning quickly to prevent the three from cornering me.

The monster growled at my taunt. “You ever wonder, boy, why a twelve year old with no training can defeat a monster that took decades of sacrifices to defeat? Tighty-whities or no? Our power had been bound to Tartarus, but we are free now, Sea Spawn! You are no longer protected!” His cackle sounded like when you throw water on to flames.

“First,” I snarled back, stabbing at one of the other two, the leader seemed happy to stand there and talk. “I am not a boy and I haven’t had short hair since seventh grade when Scyla caught me by it and I had to cut it off. Hit my knapsack too and lost a lot of good things. At that point I should’ve just gone for her neck and been done with it! It caused a lot of trouble at ‘C.C.’s Spa and Resort’.” My glare at the memory cut into the Cabbage Boy and he let out an involuntary whine. It actually reminded me a bit of the Hellhound yesterday… Realization flared in my eyes. “Wait, The hellhound! You’re not protected either, anymore! When you die, you die!” See Annie, I can be smart too. I can make it without you.

“Wait, you’re not a boy? But the book…” The Crabby Fire Baby said before realizing the rest of my sentence and backing up. “No! We are immortal! Give up half-breed!” Taking a risk, I stop playing defensively and use their distraction to slice through all three at once. Instantly, all three combusted into fireballs and blew the apartment to smithereens. I barely make it out the door, Go Bag in hand and munching on some ambrosia conveniently located in a side pocket. I wonder where ambrosia and nectar come from. The Gods always seem to have an unlimited supply. Do they just pull it out of their collective asses? Eww, I don’t think I want to eat this anymore. You know what, if Ambrosia is Godly poop, next time I get injured, just let me die. Wait a minute, when did Cabbage Boy have time to read my mom’s book?

That is how I ended up at the Cave at seven in the morning with my Go Bag, still in my PJs and smelling of smoke. Luckily, I had remembered to clip my mask to my bra. I also had my armour/costume. It had taken up permanent residency in my Go Bag after one memorable incident several years ago involving deodorant, a cyclops, and nail clippers. That was an incident I will never unsee.

Chapter Text

Everything is so loud. M’gann moving in her room, the groaning of the base settling, even the bugs scurrying over the surface of the mountain. How does Superman deal with this? Every time I think I have my senses under control…

A loud whirring sound beats into my brain as the zeta tube powers on. ‘Nightshade B08’ sounds from the computer. Great. The smell of smoke and sound of grumbling follow shortly after. Did she set something on fire? I focus on what she’s saying.

“... Hephaestus’ fiery balls of cabbage! What psychopath comes up with this schist! I should’ve…”

Getting up from the couch, I make my way towards the zetas. Her suggestions didn’t seem very heroic and I’d rather not end up on any law enforcement’s radar. Especially since the Meta Tech Act of 2007 prohibits ‘the creation of persons through use of a powered individual’s genetic material’ and details methods of possible destruction for the clone. It’s what Superman would do. That thought is shoved to the back of my brain as anger wells.

“Why are you here, Nightshade?” I asked harshly.

Nightshade turned to me as a smile carved its way into her face. “Good morning!” She responded with sarcastic cheer. Or maybe it's genuine. “Who peed in your cheerios today, Skittles Chest? Never mind, I don't need to know.”

I wince slightly at the volume of her voice as my anger grows and is joined by confusion. I’m pretty sure she was insulting me. As I go to retort, her face twists and she takes a step closer.

“What’s wrong?” She asked.

“Nothing.” I spit back and step away, looking down.

She took another step forward before speaking again, this time more quietly and sedately. “You have super senses, right? Are you over-stimulated?”

“No.” I growled. I don’t need pity, I’m The Superboy. I can handle my powers. “Everything’s just… loud.”

“Pretty sure that’s over-stimulation.” She replies with a slight eye roll. “If you want to feel better, pick something rhythmic and only focus on that. Drown everything else out. Nothing exists but that sound.”

Closing my eyes, I search for one sound among the cacophony in my head. Th-Thump, Th-thump. Closing my eyes, I slowly turn each of the other noises down. No ants on the side of the mountain, no groaning of metal, and no M’gann muttering to herself in her room about some show. There was just a heartbeat. As the noise subsided, my anger left with it, I was just tired.

Opening my eyes, I see Nightshade fidgeting in place. “All better?” She smiled, one side pulling harder than the other, leaving the impression of mischief.

I grunt and head back to the couch, grabbing some candy from the kitchen on the way.

“Right-o.” I hear her mutter behind me before calling out. “I’m just going to move my stuff into my room now! By the way, I’ll be staying here for now, there was a bit of an incident.”

She disappears down the hallway, calling a quick greeting to M’gann as she passes her open door. As her door slides closed, she vanishes from my senses, her heartbeat no longer there and M’gann’s has an excited rhythm, almost as if to go with her personality. In comparison, Nightshade’s heart is calm and steady. With The Bat’s paranoia, everything here is lead lined and sound proofed. Pulling out my bag of M&M’s I start munching on them and turn on the TV to static. It’s not as rhythmic as a heartbeat, but it’s something to focus on.

Fifteen minutes later, Nightshade reappears and changes the channel to some ocean documentary. “I was watching that.” I grumble, not too put out with my auditory anchor back.

“Tough, Skittles Chest.” She replies with a troublemaker grin as she steals some of my M&Ms.

“Skittles Chest?” I ask.

“Yeah, you’ve got the Skittles ‘S’ and all that.”

“This is the house of El.” I respond with a gesture to my chest, getting confused and frustrated.

“Yeah, but it looks like the Skittles symbol. Plus, behind that hard candy coating, you’re just a softy.” She teased.

I harrumphed and closed the conversation. I am not pouting. As I watched, she pulled another blue M&M from the bag. It seemed to be the only color she was eating.

“I like M&Ms better.” I spout randomly.

She smiled before gesturing to the bag in front of us. “I couldn’t tell. Now relax and watch the movie.”

Moving to grab another handful of the candy, I carefully avoid the blue ones, leaving them for her before leaning further back into the couch. As Nightshade focused on the movie, laughing randomly, all I could hear was; Th-Thump. Th-Thump.

Chapter Text

I wake up to sand in my mouth. Well, sand and a snore. Yes, I snore, sue me. Snapping my mouth closed with an audible click, I immediately regret my decision and attempt to clean my mouth of the particles now coating it. Next, I take stock of my surroundings and can’t help but to groan. In every direction I look, there’s only sand. Not again! I wonder which God needs my help this time. Though they’ve never been rude enough to just transport me to a desert before; That’s more the Greco-Roman Pantheon’s way of asking for help. Well, it saves on airfare I guess.

Now, I wonder where Carter landed. They usually get him involved too.

Glancing around I see neither hide nor hair of my brother. Guess it’s a solo mission then. Standing up, I finally take note of my clothes. I am wearing my usual uniform of a leather jacket and linens, though for some reason it’s black linen instead of the typical white. Just great. Black clothes are just what you want to be wearing in the desert!

With a sigh and some work, I summon my little corner of the duat and drag some of my new tools out. I had recently joined the Artifact Retrieval Department, now that Carter and I were making some headway in reforming the House of Life. With that had come certain tools, such as the coke bottle I pulled out of the duat.

Placing the bottle on the ground, I give it a spin. It should point me towards the nearest strong concentration of energy. It wasn’t too helpful in cities, last time it had led me to a power plant, but out here I should have better luck.

When the bottle stops spinning it’s point in… You know, it’s pointing in a direction. I have no idea where I am, the sun looks like it’s straight overhead, and I have know idea what time of day it is anyway, so a direction is about as specific as I can get. Huffing, I decide this is Ra’s fault. It’s all Ra’s fault. Plus, I’m in a desert and it’s hot, so I’m mad at him anyway. I give a one-fingered salute to the sun, which seems to retaliate by beating down impossibly hotter, before picking up the bottle and trotting off in the direction it indicated.

Every once in a while, I stop and spin the bottle again, it seems whatever artifact I’m tracking is mobile. That’s never good. It means either that someone has it, and there’ll be a fight or the artifact has some level of mobility and/or intelligence. Which means there’ll be a fight.

Reorienting again, something appears on the horizon that’s steadily coming closer. As it approaches, it resolves into a black, yellow, and green blur before seeming to trip and roll towards me. “Drowah,” I mutter.

A barrier of light forms in front of me and the blur rolls directly into the barrier. I raise my wand at the blur as it tumbles into two people: A redheaded boy in black and a blonde, grey eyed girl in green. Putting the girl in green to my back, I circle around to the boy. “Annabeth!” I call behind me. “What did you all get me involved in this time? What, are fairy tales real now too? Who’s this, the GingerBread Man?”

Annabeth bursts into hysterical laughter as the ginger in front of me protests his position. “Great. All I want is a peaceful life and what do I get? This. One, my name IS NOT Annabeth. Two, Kid, you can’t just PICK me up and MOVE me because you decide to! I have autonomy! This whole day has been a shit show, and NEITHER OF YOU ARE HELPING! So, you! Get that boomerang out of Kid Flash’s face, Kid Flash, get off the ground. We are going to figure out what is going on and GET OUT OF HERE. Any questions? No? Let’s go.”

I lower my wand and turn to face the girl in green. Now that I get a closer look, she’s definitely not Annabeth. I’m not ruling her out as an Athena Kid yet though. Or maybe an App Kid. That’s the guy with the bow, right? The God App? Anyway, maybe-App-maybe-Athena Kid walks away, Gingerbread and I trailing behind.

As we crest the next dune, Gingerbread turns to me and asks, “who are you anyway?” Not-Annabeth turns to me as well with a raised eyebrow.

Maybe this is an opportunity. “I’m Sadie… ” I hedge, looking at their faces for any recognition. Their faces remain blank. “Kane. I’m a magician.” Something weird is obviously going on here, maybe admitting my ties to magic will give me some credibility.

Gingerbread scoffs. “Magic isn’t real!” Not-Annabeth, whose name I really need to get, seems to disagree with her companion, as I find myself wrapped up in a net-arrow. I’m definitely leaning toward an App Kid now, or maybe a different, yet unknown pantheon? If Egyptian and Greek Gods exist, there’s got to be more out there, right?

“You don’t happen to have an absentee father who likes haikus, do you?” I ask the girl in green. A flash of deja vu crosses her face, before another arrow is pointed at me and the bottle is retrieved from my, now limp, hand. “Hey!” I respond. “I need that.”

“Is this how you do magic? Did you take us here?” The girl asks, “How do you use it?”

I roll my eyes before responding with my usual dry sarcasm “It’s a bottle, you spin it.”

Greenie turns to Gingerbread. “Maybe we can use this to get back!” She exclaims before sitting down with the boy across from her. Taking the bottle, she spins it. The bottle does barely one loop around before pointing decisively at the redheaded speedster.

I sigh in annoyance. Well, at least I know who has the artifact and what it does. Now I just have to wait for them to let their guard down and steal it off of him. “Brills, now you get to kiss him.” I tease, “If you had given me a minute, I would’ve told you; I have no idea where we are and am just trying to make my way home. Now untie me!”

The green girl sputters. I’m sure if her cheeks were visible they would’ve been red. “Fine! Let’s find a way out of this desert. I’m Artemis and this is Kid Flash.” I freeze as she starts untangling me. Artemis? Nah, can’t be the goddess. No way would she tolerate a man or even me joking that she would kiss him. Must be a namesake. At least I know she’s part of the Greek pantheon. Makes me wonder why I’m here instead of Percy and Annabeth though. Maybe it’s Hybrid Magic again and they’ve been pulled in too. I mean, Greek demigoddess with Egyptian magic bearer, sounds like a team up.

“Uhm, guys?” I turn to Artemis and Kid Flash, my voice rising in pitch with excitement. “I think my friends Percy and Annabeth are around here somewhere too! They can probably get us out.” Turning to Artemis, I search her face for recognition from the two famous demigod’s names. Seeing none, I conclude Artemis is a demigoddess who has never made her way to camp. I mean, when on a quest every randomly met stranger is something.

Two white streaks appear and start firing at us. Is that technology? Eww. I mean, I'm all for technology, maybe they'll finally change the dress code too, but since when did ancient deities use modern technology? “Drowah” I mutter again, this time the barrier forms as a dome instead of a wall. Good news, we’re safe. Bad news, we’re trapped and I’m nearing my limit. A crispy Sadie is no help to anyone.

Suddenly, a green and blue blur appears from the opposite direction. It resolves into a green person and crashes the two drones into each other.

The new girl turns to us as I drop the barrier. “Artemis! Wally! Sadie! I’m so glad I’ve found you!” She breaks out in a smile.”

“Who the bloody hell are you people!” I can’t help but ask.

Chapter Text

I come to and immediately reach for Annabeth. Feeling around, there’s nothing but sand. My heart beats faster and I spring up, sword in hand. There’s no one around. No Annabeth, no Bob, no one. I squint my eyes against the burning sun. Wait… sun? There is no sun in Tartarus. Unless… Maybe we fell into a monster’s lair. Maybe one that likes illusions.

That makes no sense, though. Last night, we had all fallen asleep at the shrine, monsters avoid it. Well, unless it was a particularly strong monster. My heart calms as I focus on what needs to be done, bringing me back from a panic attack. I cannot afford to panic right now. Panic is for if we get out of Tartarus. I just have to find Annabeth, kill everything who’s not her in my way, and get to The Doors.

Now, to figure out what I’m dealing with. Looking around, I see no water and no people. Great. Somehow I’ve found a hell in hell. Well, I guess it’s time to start walking.

I make it to the top of the next dune before I catch movement in the corner of my eye. The monster. Continuing my path, I shift Riptide, in pen form, into my hand and wait for whatever type of beastie it is to get closer.

A swish of black flickers in the corner of my eye and I uncap my sword, swinging for the bleachers, all power, no strategy. Hmm, is that the saying? I’ve never been the best at sports metaphors and swinging for the outfield sounds wrong.

Whoever is jumping at me swerves at the last second in surprise. It’s not enough and Riptide still bites into my opponent.

The figure in black lands in a roll before checking where I cut him. There’s no hole. A mortal or an illusion? This monster is trickier than I thought. I bring my sword up to rest on my shoulder. I give the illusion a through once-over. The illusion is of a black haired boy in a red armoured shirt and black pants. He has a yellow belt with lots of pockets on it and a yellow-trimmed, black cape. There’s a black domino mask with white-out eyes on his face and black gloves on his hands. He’s wearing combat boots unsuited to traction on the shifting sand. Ammature. Whoever the illusion is of, it’s no one I recognize. Good, the monster can’t get into my head. Probably. Then I turn and keep walking, ignoring the illusion. Hopefully, the monster will show itself if it sees me disregarding its bait. The illusion squawks and runs after me.

“Excuse me?” it asks, “Do you know what happened? I seem to have lost some of my memory and when I checked my trackers, one of them led me to you.” I ignore the illusion, keeping alert for any strange movements. The monster’s illusion is incredibly realistic. If I didn’t know I’m in Tartarus, I would think I had actually made it back to the surface.

“Hey!” the illusion demands, “Are you listening to me? What happened? Where are we?” The illusion reaches for my shoulder and I tense. If the monster is giving up the ruse of its incorporeal illusions, it must be close.

Just as the illusion is about to touch my shoulder, I duck under the ‘hand’ bracing myself to throw something large over my shoulder. Imagine my surprise when the skinny, weirdly dressed kid is all I get.

I send him sailing into the nearest dune, knocking the air out of him and sending a large plume of sand into the air. Huh, if I can touch him but Riptide can’t, he must be a mortal after all. I stalk over to him. “What’s a mortal like you doing here?” I ask. If there are mortals in Tartarus, something is very wrong. That and it’s probably my fault. I start thinking back, what could I have done? Maybe he was in one of the cars that fell into Tartarus with Annabeth and me? I wince. That would be a bad road trip. Visit Italy and end up in Tartarus. I don’t think they make bumper stickers for that. I have to find Annie, but I can’t just leave a mortal down here; it’s a miracle he hasn’t already become some Empousi’s midnight snack. I sigh, he still looks dazed. “Look, you can stay with us until we find the doors. After that, you’re on your own.”

Chapter Text

After the weird girl in a t-shirt, jeans, and bronze armour throws me into a dune and helps me back up, she’s a lot nicer, though still weird. I keep an eye on her. She seems more a physical fighter than a psychic, but maybe she’s in cahoots with the one who erased my memory. Or she’s waiting for the right opportunity. And who’s us? She looks like she’s on her own. Unless that was a slip-up and she is in league with a psychic! I look closer at the girl. She seems to be muttering something to the baseball bat she tried to hit me with earlier. She had missed, but it had been close.

The girl turns to me and starts asking questions. “Who are you? How did you get to T~ this place?”

I narrow my eyes at her. “You first.”

The girl shifted from foot to foot. Whatever came out of her mouth would be a lie. That, or really embarrassing. “I, Uhm, drank the firewater?” Really embarrassing for the win.

“You were drunk.”

Her eyes widen and flash with something before she seems to compose herself. “Yes.” She nods seriously. I take the opportunity to grab her wrist and slap a bat-cuff on it. The other cuff goes around my own wrist. I look for her bat, but it’s not nearby anymore. She probably left it. Idiot. I don’t trust her and this is the best way to keep a hold of her. “What the Hera’d you do that for!” She complains.

“I don’t believe you! Tell me what you did, or there’ll be hell to pay when we get back to Gotham!” I retort. There’s no way she can get out of Bat-cuffs.

“I’ve got news for you, squirt! There’s no escaping here! Welcome to Tartarus, where even the Gods can’t hear you scream.” She snarls her words at me, an almost cruel glint in her eye.

“Is that a threat?” I question lowly.

She chuckles hollowly. “It’s a death sentence. I won’t be the one killing you, but this place only comes with two options; become the monster or die. Either way, there is no leaving, only death.”

“Yeah?” I ask. “What does that make you? Are you the monster?”

She practically cackles at that. “I’m not one of the monsters here, Shorty.” She leans closer, her breath smelling of dehydration. “I’m much worse, I’m what the monsters fear.”

“My name is Robin.” I reply shortly. “And that’s good, right? If the monsters fear you that means you’re Good.”

She smiles bitterly. “There is no morality here, Puck. Only survival. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an, Uh, Annie, and some doors to find.”

Her bat appears out of nowhere and manages to bash through the Bat-cuffs, destroying them. She takes off across the dunes. After blinking out of my shock- she must have super strength for a bat to break the Bat-cuffs; how ironic is that. I take off after her.

Chapter Text

The weird boy named Robin faded into the background fairly fast. Huh, he must be a pretty slow runner. For some reason he reminds me of Puck from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He always hid in trees laughing at the other characters and generally being annoying too. Annie and I had gone to see it before I was kidnapped.

Bad Percy, don’t think of the annoying mortal boy that’s probably already been eaten. Focus on finding Annabeth! A shot of pain flashes through my system thinking her name.

I slow to a walk. No point in finding Annabeth if I’m too tired to fight at her side.

A color other than the pale, lifeless sand flashes in my vision. Wheeling towards it, white tents populate my field of vision. This must be the monster’s home.

I trek my way towards the spot of brilliant white, ducking behind dunes. Peeking around the last one before the tents, I observe the monster’s illusion.

There appears to be one big tent with a bunch of trucks surrounding it. There’s barbed wire around the whole compound and armed soldiers patrolling. Lights are flashing in the big tent. As I watch, a new truck enters. A dark haired humanoid is pulled from the back of the truck. He fights like an animal, snarling at his captors. He seems to have some kind of super strength, as even the other monsters are having trouble containing him. Maybe a baby Cyclops? It’s looking less like an illusion monster now, and more of a hive situation. I’ll have to rescue Annabeth soon, before they decide she’d taste better now instead of later. She’s fine. She has to be.

One of the worker monsters wanders a little farther from the pack, he’s wearing clothing that covers almost his whole body, probably to protect from the desert heat. He has a knife strapped to his leg too. I take the opportunity to hit him over the head and steal his clothes. Stealth will probably be better. The monster sweat on these clothes will probably cover my demigod smell too. Hopefully. I have to find Annabeth before I take on these monsters. She’ll have a plan, she always does.

Once I have my new, stinky disguise on, I skirt around the barbed wire lining the edges of the camp and head for the main tent.

Entering through the main flap, I duck behind some crates and peek out. No reason to tempt fate.

Most of the inside of the tent is taken up by machines and crates. They seem to be sending some kind of energy through a spherical device. I would almost say it’s electricity, but this is Tartarus. Near the sphere is the maybe-baby-cyclops, tied to a flat table. As I watch, he struggles against his restraints, the metal groaning in protest. Yep, definitely not human.

As I watch, someone in a cloak shifts near the boy. He’s completely covered by the cloak, there’s no way to see what kind of monster he is. I shift impatiently. Where’s Annabeth?

The man in the cloak speaks. I see you little hero. You can’t hide from me! I palm the knife that came with my disguise, holding it in my hand and slightly behind me; out of sight.

He turns to face me, drawing his hood back. The move exposes his monstrous features. His skin is as pale as newly bleached paper and wrinkled like it too. His eyes are beady, with a pinkish cast to them. These features are overshadowed, however, by the state of the rest of his head. Looking at the top of it, his brain is exposed, a thin membrane separating it from the atmosphere. Thin strips of flesh hold the dome in place over his brain. As I survey him, his smile widens to; exhibiting his madness on his face. His mouth doesn’t move as he speaks again. Foolish heroes, making the same mistakes over and over again. Psimon says: show me your worst fear.

The tent and machines melt away, back into the dark, cavernous scenery of Tartarus. The boy on the table fritzes and reveals Annabeth. My eyes lock on her. Finally, the monster has broken the illusion. I think to myself.

Interesting, the voice from before says, before melting into a more feminine tone. “This is your worst fear?”

Recognizing the voice, I turn. “Mom?” I ask.

My mother smiles at me and a little of her face turns to gold dust. “Mom!” I yell running to her, pausing abruptly a few yards away. As I watch, her skin blackens and decays, pieces falling off and turning to gold dust before they hit the ground. She smiles reassuringly at me. It doesn’t quite hit the mark, her left cheek is down to tendons and bone, while on the right side her lips blacken and slide down her face.

She speaks, her voice garbled from decay. “Perseus! I need your help. I’m becoming a monster, but you can save me! Join me!”

Tears gather in my eyes. My mother is becoming a monster, an enemy. No, not her. Haven’t I suffered enough? Hasn’t my family suffered enough? “Perseus!” Annabeth calls from the table she is tied to. “You have to kill her. Put her out of her misery. She’s a monster now and she wants to eat us! Why do you think I’m tied to this table? Perseus, listen to me. That’s not your mother anymore.”

Tears stream down my face as I look between my mom and Annabeth. “Misery” I whisper. The image of a dark woman, choking on poison comes to mind. Just a flash of memory and gone. For some reason, I feel that with her death, all misery would die. I feel a flash of regret, followed immediately by my self-loathing at those thoughts.

“Choose!” The two demand.

Burning agony claws at my chest, my loyalty pulling me towards both of them. Choose? How can I choose? They're both family. I would see the world burn for either of them; how can I pick one over the other? There must be another way!

Drawing my sleeve roughly across my face, I stand. Walking towards mom feels both like it takes an eternity and no time at all, but eventually I stand before her. She smiles and her blackened lips slip further down her face. A tooth falls from her mouth.

“You have chosen well, Perseus.” She smiled, her face filling back out a little. “Now, I need you to~” The smile vanishes from her face as her head rolls clean from her body. The scene fizzles at the edges before vanishing. Outside the tent, the wind starts to pick up, sending sand flying and battering against canvas walls.

“Only my enemies call me Perseus.” I whisper.

I crumple to my knees and the wind outside picks up, gathering storm clouds darken the area.

People think that it never rains in a desert. They are wrong. Rain is rare, but when it does rain, it floods. Heavy sheets come down, drenching everything and sometimes lasting for days in winter. The menacing clouds release their payload as the wind unnaturally continues to swirl in circles, creating a tornado. The tornado created on the ground reaches the rain pouring from the sky, connecting to form a storm of epic proportions.

I don’t care though. Instead, I fall to the ground, banging my fists into the sand and mourning for Annabeth and my mom. Even though it hadn’t been her I killed, it definitely felt like it. And Annie… I had failed Annabeth. We had been separated for so long… No. She is Annabeth, she is fine. She completed the Mark of Athena on her own. She is not dead. She couldn’t be dead.

Still, I raged against the Gods, against everything. I was down in the dark, alone, in the place they disposed of their mistakes. And I broke down.

When I finally glanced up, the tent, barbed wire, bodies, even the trucks had disappeared. I stare out at the dunes as darkness flirts with the edges of my vision.

At some point, the sandy dunes turn into the golden planes of Half-Blood Hill. Storm clouds gather at the borders of camp. Turning, I survey the strawberry fields. The vines are dying.

An eagle cries. Turning to face Thalia's tree, a golden rain falls from its branches.

An eerie breeze blows through the camp, whispering lyrics only half remembered. "... Strawberry Fields... Nothing is real..."

A tidal wave looms over the beach and Nico appears in front of me. He looks desperate. "Get... Gods... Renewal..." He tries to say something, but the reception is poor. Half of it is lost in static and the rest to the elements. Suddenly, the wave crashes over the camp and the storm clouds rush in over it.

Chapter Text

I was getting anxious. Not that I’d be admitting that to anyone! No, I have everything perfectly under control. Everything is going to plan, now that I’ve found the rest of the team. No, no one is missing and I am not being attacked by a cheetah.

After finding Kid Flash, Artemis, and Sadie; the three attack me for some reason! Hello Megan! Probably because they don’t remember me…

Sadie threw the staff she had tied to her back to the ground and it turned into the large cat and starts attacking me. “Wait! I’m a friend! I can get your memories back!” I plead while dodging claws.

As I focus, an arrow zips behind me before exploding into bolas that wrap me up.

I sit down in the sand. “Ok, if this makes you feel better.”

The three of them and the large earth cat surround me, like how they used to on mars. Phantom cries ring out from my memories. Freak! Monster!

Kid Flash speaks first. “Hey, she’s a Martian, maybe she knows Martian Manhunter!”

Kid, you can’t just assume every Martian knows each other, it’s rude!” Artemis cuts in exasperatedly. “How’d you like it if I assumed you know all… red heads.”

“Kid Flash puffed up. “Hey, I’ll have you know I do know every redhead. Our souls all hang out in hell together.” He finished with a smirk and a hint of derision.

“You know my Uncle J’onn?” I asked, perking up. “Hello, Megan! You’re Kid Flash, sidekick to the Flash, of course you know him!”

“Maybe this ‘Manhunter’ whoever that is, should pick a better name. Also, I believe I have found my friends.” Sadie interjected before Wally could protest being a sidekick and pointing to where storm clouds seem to be gathering. Not even the desert sun seems able to burn them off.

Artemis is the one to make the decision. “Fine, fix our brains. Then we’ll find Sadie’s friend. Past six months and only what’s necessary. No more.” She grabs Kid Flash’s hand for support after saying her piece.

Of course. I speak in their minds before pulling them into a room of my mind palace. The room is similar in design to one of my favorite caves on mars; not that the others would know that. I’m able to get the memories relatively in order without looking at them too closely. All the memories are still there, just a little out of place.

Just as I get everything in order, two booms shake the four of us. Opening my eyes, I see a table landed near us with Superboy tied to it and an odd spherical piece of metal. I pull him into my room and work on his memories too.

When I bring them out and back to their bodies, I’m just in time with opening my eyes to see Kid Flash and Artemis jump apart. They wipe their hands off and glare. Huh, wonder what that’s about?

Turning to Sadie, I notice she has paled significantly. “Percy…” She whispers, horrified. Clearing her face, she pastes a look of calm on. It doesn’t fool me, I can still feel her emotions roiling under the surface. “Well, this is great, but I’ve got to go. It’s raining cats and dogs over there, which makes me suspect it is the location of at least one of our missing teammates. Shall we?”

“Yes!” Kid Flash and Artemis practically yell their affirmation before taking off across the sand. Superboy casually frees himself and the Sphere, before following. I sigh mentally. Superboy. He was like the Connor to my Megan. He’s just so… We are perfect together! The perfect Earth experience, with the perfect family and perfect boy. Just like… Well, I already know that.

The five of us brave the storm, though it seems to be petering out. At the center we find Nightshade collapsed face down on the ground. Robin seems to be cuffing her feet together. Her arms already have a couple pairs of cuffs on them, tying them behind her back.

“Robin!” I exclaim, running to my teammate.

“Who are you!” He asks, before spotting Kid behind me. “Kid! You will not believe the day I’ve had. So not feeling the aster.” He frowned. “I don’t know why I said that. But if you think about it, no one uses the word aster. They always say disaster.”

Sadie runs past us to the passed out Nightshade. She takes her boomerang wand out and touches each of the Bat-cuffs and yelling ‘Fah’. The cuffs fall off and the magician flips her friend over. I take the opportunity to fix both of their memories.

Nightshade being the enigma she is, I take the opportunity to peek at some of her memories. All I get is the feeling of flames before some animal yowls. Polecat is whispered in my brain and I instinctively know that’s what yowled. The distraction costs me and a chasm full of fog or mist appears, separating me from Nightshade’s memories.

Kid Flash speaks “Great, I think we have made enough of a mess here, let's head back to the cave.”

Everyone starts walking before Robin speaks. “Uhm, where’s Aqualad?”

My eyes widen and I face palm. “Hello, Megan!”

Chapter Text

I shoot up in bed with a gasp, ready for battle. Behind me I hear a squeak. Turning, hand reaching for my pocket, I come face to face with Kid Flash. It seems as if my explosive awakening startled him.

Relaxing my muscles, I smile at my teammate as anxiety courses through my veins. I need to talk to Camp. Now.

“What happened?” I asked Kid. “Where’s everyone?”

Kids’ attempt at a reassuring smile slides off his face and his eyes suddenly have a million other places to look at. “Uhm, we’ve been taking shifts staying with you since we got back. I’ve let everyone know you’re awake and they should be down soon. Batman is coming to debrief you.”

“Okay,” I drag out my words, contemplating my options. “Can I go to the bathroom?”

“Uhm… maybe?”

“Yes or no, Kid.” I narrow my eyes with accusation.

“Of course you can go to the bathroom, we just have to disconnect your IV.”

I reach for the tube and needle contraption in my arm, ready to yank it out. “Easy peasy.”

“WAIT” Kid yells, “It doesn’t work like that. If you just pull the needle out, you’ll rip the vein open! You have to apply pressure.” The Kid grabs a gauze pad, placing over the end of the needle and pressing down before slowly pulling the needle out. He then makes me hold the gauze while he tracks down some vet wrap; an operation that doesn’t take that long.

By the time he’s finished ensuring my blood stays inside my body, the rest of the team has assembled.

Casting a weary glance at the seven heroes, my heart pangs. They look nothing like The Seven, but there’s something in their eyes, some light that is reminiscent of us when we first set out to stop the giants. A light since lost from all of us. Or maybe I’m just nostalgic.

I lock eyes with Robin. Suspicion wars with the seeds of respect in the lines of his mouth and I assume in his eyes. It’s hard to tell with white films covering them. “What happened?” Robin asked.

I close my eyes and rub at them. Memories flash behind my lids: Attacking Robin, infiltrating the camp, the weird bubble-headed man, Annabeth- no, Superboy- tied to the table, my mothers blood on my hands… NO! It’s not real! I need to focus on what’s real!

My eyes jerk open, slipping from Robin to Superboy. He meets my eyes with his usual neutral stare and my heartbeat slows. Huh, didn’t even know it had sped up. Superboy’s lips curl at the edges into a smirk. In response my eyes narrowed slightly in a pseudo-glare.

Sadie clears her throat, breaking the moment. Turning to face her, my skin heats and stomach churns. Maybe I’m not as recovered as I thought I was. Sadie’s face sparkles with mischief and knowing. I’ll have to ask her what that’s about later. For now I have to contact Camp, without the mortals knowing. These people may be Sadie’s and my teammates and edging on friends, but they don’t -can’t know everything. Our friendship is of polite collaboration, the friendship of coworkers. They haven’t earned my undying trust or loyalty yet. They haven’t proven themselves to me.

I refocus on Robin. “Can we get to that in a minute? I really have to go to the bathroom.”

Sadie shifts closer. “Of course it can wait. I’ll help you there.”

Sadie drags me into the infirmary bathroom before Robin can protest. As soon as the door shuts I start talking.

“I had a dream, I have to call camp.” I whisper anxiously.

“As lovely as that is, Perce, the ‘mortals’ are upset. They found that villain, Simon or something, in the desert sans a head, and apparently beheading is not allowed for heroes.”

Twisting to look at her, my brow furrows. “Seriously? How are we supposed to survive the people trying to kill us if we’re not allowed lethal techniques? It’s kill or be killed.”

“‘Parently, we’re supposed to be better than that.”

“Huh. Weird.”

“Superboy claims not to remember anything. Not sure I believe him, but Miss M bought it. Said something about it being due to him not having memories at that stage. Everyone else remembers. Right, you call camp and I’ll distract everyone.”

“Thanks.” I smile in gratitude at my friend. Sadie puts her battle face on before marching out the door.

I grab my crystal necklace and some drachma from my pocket. I am so glad no one changed me. For many reasons.

Angling the crystal with the overhead lights to form a small rainbow, I toss the coin in. “Oh Fleecy, do me a solid. Show me Camp Half-Blood. Anyone at Camp Half-Blood.”

The coin vanishes into the mist and someone forms in the IM. The person in the message isn’t anyone at Camp Half-Blood though. The image resolves into a girl with white hair and eyes. She’s wearing a tie dye shirt with ROFL emblazoned on it. It’s Fleecy. “Percy!” She whispers urgently. “I don’t have much time, but I had to warn you! Iris! She’s-”

“Fleecy! What are you doing, you know-” A voice sounds from the side. It sounds like Iris. Fleecy’s eyes bug out and the message ends.

On high alert now, I fish another coin out of my pocket, throwing it through the rainbow. “Oh Fleecy, do me a solid and show me-” I’m cut off by the rainbow rippling and a face showing in it. She has black hair and brown eyes. She’s wearing a tie dye ROFL shirt and is dripping in beads and jewelry. Iris.

“Perseus.” She glares at me, her eyes simultaneously lit with every color and none.

“Iris! What’s going on! Where’s Fleecy!”

The coldness in her eyes reminds me that as hippy-like as she looks, she’s still a millennia-old goddess. “I see you no longer pray to me for your messages. A fact to be remedied, Daughter of Poseidon. Or not. As of now, your messaging plan is revoked. All demigod messaging plans are revoked.”

My eyes widened in surprise. Iris is going to stop delivering demigod’s messages? Is she rebelling? Something settles in my stomach at that thought. Iris had only ever been helpful. I don’t want to fight her. “What? Iris, what’s going on?”

The goddess sighs. “My twin sister, Arke, used to be the messenger. Did you know that? When the Titans fell, she fell with them. Zeus ripped off her wings and threw her into The Pit. I am the Messenger Goddess, I connect the Gods to humanity. That is my purpose. I do not want to end up like my sister, Perseus. Do you hear what I’m saying?”

Was there some calamity that came after the giants? Some enemy that now rises? “No, I don’t know! Can you just tell me?”

The goddess’ eyes hardened back to rainbow crystals. “I have helped you as much as I can, Perseus. I am still beholden to my oaths. Do not ask for more.”

“But-” I start.

“No!” She growls, glowing with power. Instinctively I close my eyes, just in time for the IM to splinter under the weight of her true form.

I sigh. Guess I’m going to camp. Maybe Batman isn’t here yet and I can skip the interrogation first? When have I ever gotten lucky like that?

Chapter Text

Percy is up to something. Her story doesn’t line up. In the desert the supposed Egyptian had babbled about Gods and Tartarus; and, while there are Gods in Egyptian mythology, Tartarus is a Greek construct.

Betrayal burns in my chest at the lies. We took them in! We gave them a team, a home! And all they did was lie. A tear trickles into the adhesive of my domino mask. I narrow my eyes at my body’s response to my emotions. I hate hormones. I stiffen my spine and narrow my feelings into a cutting Bat-glare. I turn my eyes into a laser, imagining it burrowing through the bathroom door and into Nightshade’s head, excavating all of her secrets.

“You know staring at the loo won’t make her move any faster.”

I whirl on the person who dared interrupt my Batman-ing to find Sadie with a smirk on her face. A smirk that only deepens in the face of my Bat-glare.

“You know, my cat, Muffin, has a better glare than that. Particularly if you interrupt her nap.”

I tilt my head slightly, feeling as if the magician is messing with me, but unable to figure out how. Before I can figure it out, there’s a rush of air behind me and Nightshade exits the bathroom.

I spin to face her, my cape flaring. “What happened? You were at the epicenter of a storm! We found pieces of technology and tent scattered for miles in every direction, not to mention the body pieces.” She winces at that. “We still can’t find one guy’s head! So. What happened.”

She hesitates for a second. Liar. “I don’t remember anything.”

I narrow my eyes behind my domino. I’m calling her on it this time. “A—”

“I have to go before someone at home misses me.” She turns and makes a B-line for the zetas.

I go to follow her when Kid Flash grabs my shoulder. “Let it go for now, Robin. We all have things, traumatic things, we’d rather not talk about.”

Thwing! A wire snaps. Gasps, a call of my name. The sickening sound of two bodies hitting the ground.

“That has nothing to do with a mission though!” I argue. “This is about a mission. One that I was

on! She has to wait for Batman at least!”

"And you would tell us if it was about a mission?" Kid retorted.

A loud bang sounds behind me before I can answer. “If she doesn’t remember, she doesn’t remember. Your complaints won’t change that fact.” Superboy pulls his fist out of the metal table he slammed it into and exits the infirmary.

I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. Great, nothing to report to B and another thing to tell him has to be fixed.

Chapter Text

Nightshade B08

I take the zeta back to Manhattan. It’s the closest zeta to Camp and much closer than Happy Harbor, Rhode Island. The zeta activates with a flash, startling a few pigeons roosting in the alley. Other than them, the alleyway is as empty as always.

Exiting the alley, I do a quick sweep for monsters. I see the normal New Yorkers hurrying by, surreptitiously keeping an eye on everyone else while still avoiding eye contact. Continuing my survey, my eyes meet with someone else’s, locking together. I can feel our eye contact through the dark shades perched on his nose, a nose that seems to have been broken many times. The man is built like a brick and his face looks like he enjoys slamming into one in his free time; repeatedly. Scars line every piece of exposed skin. Even though he’s on the other side of the street, I can hear him clearly when he speaks. “Get over here, Punk.”

I swallow roughly before walking to the nearest crosswalk and legging it through the next lull in traffic. If Ares is seeking me out it can’t be good. I palm Riptide just in case the god wants to fight. After what happened with Iris, running into another god so soon can’t be good. It’s never good to run into a god. Two in the same day? Particularly this god? My fishy senses are tingling.

Stopping in front of the god, I stare at him for a second. “What do you want.”

The edges of Ares’ sunglasses start melting as the red light shining behind them brightens. “Might want to rethink how you address me, Punk.” He leans in closer, his breath smelling of rancid meat and carnage. “‘m here on behalf of my sister. Zeus has confined her to Olympus, but her apple is missing and someone has to find it.”

I wait expectantly for Ares to elaborate. All he does is grunt in annoyance. “So a goddess lost her apple and you came to me to find it? Why can’t you just buy her a new one.”

His mouth curls into a snarl. “Because, Punk. I am the personification of war, not stupidity.” Debatable. “And when my sister says she wants her apple, and for you to get it for her. You will get it for her. Or maybe, next time you get in a fight, you won’t be so lucky.”

My mouth drops, flabbergasted. “What do you mean, get lucky? Are you threatening me?”

Ares chuckles and starts glowing. “I am the personification of war, Punk. If I didn’t want you to, you wouldn’t have survived your first war. You chose to enter my domain, but I chose to let you out. Here’s your prophecy, Punk ‘cause I know you want one.

“Get the apple now,
then bring it to Olympus.
Or die horribly.

“Look at that, it’s even a haiku.”

With that, Ares flashed out, barely giving me the time to close my eyes.

“Wait! I called after the god. You didn’t tell me where to look! Or even which apple it is! There are sooo many!” Gods, always going for the dramatic exit instead of telling you where to look. There’s not even a ‘go west’ this time. Plus, is he aware of the number of apples, just in Greek mythology? Just off the top of my head, there’s the golden apples of the Hesperides, the golden apples of Atalanta, and the apple of discord! All of which are bad. Why can’t Ares find someone else? Haven’t I done enough? Guilt roils in my belly at that thought. No! That’s no justification to make someone else suffer as I have. I will protect the next generation of Half-Bloods from what I have gone through. None of us deserve it, but I will endure it for them. Looks like getting to Camp will have to wait. I’m sure others have been having dreams and the borders will protect them. Everything will be alright.

While contemplating my life, a dagger flies past my head. “I will get the apple for my mistress, she deserves it!” damn it!

Chapter Text

I sighed, staring at the front doors of Happy Harbor High School, silently cursing Batman’s insistence on me going to school. Well, Batman and Carter, for his support of the idea. As of today, I was on semi-permanent leave from the Artifact Retrieval Department and forced to attend my ‘junior year’ of High School. Apparently being sixteen qualifies me for this torture. No matter that I hadn’t attended school since Year nine, and that had been in a different country.

I close my eyes, wishing against every sign that Percy would show up and drag me on some BS mission.

After storming out yesterday, Percy hadn’t come back. It probably meant she was tangled up in some mythological thing, though usually she lets me know. I’m not worried, Percy can take just about anything. If she’s using her full powers. She’s fine. The others had questioned me about where she was. I told them she was probably grounded. When they asked how she was grounded if we had grown up in the House of Life and it was destroyed, I made up a story about some scandal of her father having a child outside of the organization and how it was a whole big thing and that Nightshade doesn’t like talking about it. Looking back on it, it was kind of true.

Note to self. Tell Percy absurd backstory I made up for her and totally didn’t base on the version of her story in her mother’s book.

I opened my eyes to the same depressing red brick school I had closed them to.

“I’m so excited!” M’gann squealed from my right. Superboy responded with a grunt.

Oh yeah, those guys.

M’gann, or Megan Morse as she was going by at school, is a two dimensional character. She has crafted ‘Megan Morse’ to fit what she thinks she should be, and that is an annoying cheerleader. Plus, I don’t trust peppy. Standing in front of the school, she looks two seconds away from grabbing some pom-poms and breaking out into a High School Musical style dance number. Ugh, where’s some evil sorcerer waiting to mummify you when you need one? At least when they liquify my brain it will be fast; M’gann’s squeals cause a slow and tortuous curdling of my brain.

At least Superboy is quiet. Though, apparently he was going by Conner Kent at school. I didn’t care enough to ask why. I wish he’d just tell us what he was thinking instead of brooding it like Batman. Though he and Perce seem to have some weird thing going on. Should I be giving him the shovel talk? Nah, Percy’s got it, well she will when she comes back.

And I can always lock him up in a shabti if he blows it. Does that work with non-Gods? Ehh, it's worth a try.

For some reason, the three of us were the only ones forced to go here. Robin, Kid Flash, and Artemis went to school back home and Aqualad had vanished at some point. Though, apparently he graduated from some Atlantean school. Maybe Percy could pull some strings and I could go there? Sounds more interesting and fun than regular old normal school.

Well, if a supervillain isn’t going to attack, I better get my schedule and locker assignment from the office. I give the universe a second to respond to my statements.

It seems the universe is feeling very unironic today.

If my locker combination is 13/32/33 and I get Carter’s and my magic locker, I’m going to excreate some Gods.

Chapter Text

I rolled, dodging the dagger, which continued its flight into a slightly defunct looking blue postal box. Taking Riptide out of my pocket, but not uncapping her, I dart into a nearby alley. The monster screeched behind me before following me around the corner.

Turning to face the creature, I lower my sword a little. “Oh, it’s just you.”

The monster screeches in indignation at that comment. “Fear me, Perseus Jackson! I will not fail my mistress again! Today you die!” Well, at least she’s ditched the number 2 pencils and pop quizzes. I’d rather fight some monsters than be in school right now. I wonder what Sadie’s doing right now? Probably training. Lucky.

I turn to the Sphinx, holding Riptide loosely by my side. “What? Do you have another riddle for me? Who even is your mistress anyway?”

The Sphinx perks up before seemingly having a conversation with herself. “It has been so long since I have had a nice riddle.”

Her voice deepens, seeming to respond to herself. “No! We must stay on point. Mistress has given us a mission, this is a chance to redeem ourselves!”

“But a riddle…”

“The mission comes first!”

“But…”

“Not to cut into this stirring conversation, but how about a deal?” I propose. Wow, the labyrinth’s collapse must have really scrambled her noodles. “If I answer the riddle, you tell me where the apple is. If I can’t answer, you can eat me. Then there will be no complication in finding the apple.”

The Sphinx turned, muttering back and forth to herself before seemingly coming to a resolution. “We accept, Half-Blood. Your riddle is such: What is my name? You have three guesses.”

“You have a name?” I ask, “It wouldn’t happen to be Rumplestiltskin, would it?”

“Of course I have a name! Where I come from I am one of many Sphinxes. Did you think I just went by my species name?”

“Kind of” I reply in all seriousness.

She harrumphed back. “What a rude and speciesist little girl you are.” She leaned closer, her voice getting rougher and deeper. “We’re going to have fun gutting you, Perseus Jackson.”

“Uhm, can I phone a friend?”

Chapter Text

"Welcome to Health 11, which I will be teaching." A man bellowed at the front of the room. "You can call me Coach."

“Now,” He continued. “I am a new teacher here, so don’t expect me to treat you all like precious pansies like all the other slow and miserable teachers here, No. You will all feel the full brunt of the misery our continued presence in this classroom causes me. So, if one of you grows scales and fangs and tries to rip all of you other demon’s throats out, I’m not stopping class. In fact, he’ll probably be my favorite. Good?”

The class blinked slowly at Coach before a slow and off chorus round of ‘yes’-es sounded out.

Coach nods to himself before starting the lesson. “Great, our first unit is CPR. Can any of you idiots tell me what those letters stand for?”

He looked around before his eyes seemingly caught on one of the students. “Not you Greenberg! Put your hand down! Why did you have to follow me all the way to the other side of the country?!”

I drop my head to the table. This seemed like a good place for a nap. It seems school is no more interesting on this side of the pond. That, or maybe dealing with mythical BS has ruined the excitement factor of everything else.

I drift off into a light slumber, letting ‘Coach’s’ voice roll over me. It quickly turned to background noise as I let my thoughts drift. Just as I am finally drifting into a nice fantasy involving Walt and Anubis, I feel the static at the back of my brain that usually indicates Miss Martian's psychic connection.

Sadie! Coach is about to~ *Wham*

Her psychic message is cut off by a textbook slamming into my desk. Reaching for the duat, I grab my wand before looking up into the coach’s face. Oh, it’s just him.

“What did I just say about sleeping in my class?” He blusters, spittle occasionally streaking from his mouth. His complexion has turned vaguely tomato-y.

“Not to do it?” I ask, raising a single eyebrow.

His face darkens, and he starts sputtering. A vein on his forehead appearing to want to escape into orbit. Hopefully he doesn’t have a heart attack. We haven’t learned CPR yet. Once he gets his words back, his response is less than inspired. “Kane! Detention!”

“Yes sir.” I salute sarcastically, but the attitude doesn’t seem to make it across the language barrier because he nods sharply and returns to the front of the class. And by language barrier, I mean non-idiot to idiot.

I return to praying to all the Gods of Egypt, and some of the Greek ones for a villain attack.

Chapter Text

"Can I phone a friend?"

The Sphinx laughed at that. "What friends do you even have, Jackson? You, who pursue quests instead of saving your so-called friends. Not that you can save them. No, you'd just die with them."

My skin grows cold, goosebumps breaking out, as my heart beats faster and rushing sounds in my ears. “What do you mean?” I ask, the threat in my tone artificially deepening my voice.

The sphinx tisks mockingly. “You only get one question, Demigod, and you still haven’t answered what my name is right.”

My hand tightens around Riptide as I tense. If there is a threat to my family, and the Sphinx knows about it, I will cut it out of her. One chunk of flesh at a time. Just as fast as I tensed, I shake myself loose. I can’t afford to be tight when I make my move. Until then, it’s a game of distraction. “Gianna? You look like a Gianna. Every Gianna I have ever met has been bitchy- like you!”

“What?” The Sphinx looked taken aback. “I’m originally Egyptian. What in that makes you think my name would be Gianna?”

I nod solemnly. “There was a Gianna at a school I went to. Her stuff always had to be perfect, but she would mess up others’ things. She insulted everyone and picked at their weak points. She’d order everyone around too. Once, I pretended not to know who she was and she almost had a coronary.”

“What.” The Sphinx asked.

I nodded seriously. “Yeah, we were on the same team, and she call me out by name as I was supposed to be sitting with her. I walked over and introduced myself. I said ‘Hi, my name is Percy. And, you are?”

“I am Ho-” The Sphinx started before cutting herself off.

“No!” She growled in that deeper voice, snapping at her own flank. “You almost gave away the answer!”

She whimpered in the original voice in response, before seemingly turning her ire on me. With a snap of her teeth in my direction, she snarled out a “Nice try, Half-blood, you won’t fool me!”

All I could do is laugh. “Your name is Ho? How did you get that name?”

She snarled. “My name is Hor-em-akhet! The mighty ‘Horus In The Horizon’! And you will tremble!”

I laughed harder, barely getting my words out. “That’s even worse!”

She snarled before pouncing on me. “You have failed three times, Jackson! Now I get to eat you!”

I raise Riptide. “You should really check the terms of our deal.” I throw the blade with a fancy twist, lodging it neatly between two of the overgrown harpy’s primaries and pinning her to the wall. “Now, what is threatening the Half-Bloods, and where is this Gods-forsaken apple?”

She twists against Riptide, nicking the shafts of her primaries just enough that blood starts to flow from them. I take the time to grab her by the throat. “Tell me.”

“Ok! Ok!” She squeals. “The apple is in the forsaken city! Gotham! Once you’re there, you can’t miss it! Just look for the discord.” Damn it, it’s the apple of discord. That can’t be good. Adding a powerful Greek artifact to a melting pot of insanity like that is just asking for disaster.

“And the threat to my family?” I ask. I squeeze tighter as she struggles again.

“I cannot! Kill me if you must, but I have sworn.” I snarl. That seems to be a common problem recently.

“What can you tell me?”

A change takes over her body, she stands more confidently, and a dark smile full of schadenfreude curls her lips. My hand relaxes on her skin. “Those who are selfish remain, and those who are weak are culled. I smell it on the winds, Half-Blood, and I smell it in you. The universe requires balance and when it is not given, it takes it. So be wary, little demigod, and trust in the monstrosity of all; you have a choice to make.”

With that parting message, she rips herself off of my blade and flies away, listing a little from all the missing feathers and occasionally dripping blood.

Chapter Text

After health, we had Maths. A class in which both Superboy -sorry, Conner, and Megan managed to earn themselves detention. I’m not entirely sure how, I think it was something to do with Conner’s temper and Megan backing him up. Megan got out of it with cheerleading, though, so… Yippie for favoritism and sports?

Look, I get that we’re teammates, and I should care about them; but after being blackmailed to join the team… Ok, maybe I’m still feeling a little jibbed.

Other than the detentions, the school day was a cliche out of the most basic Disney movie. Though, now that I think about it, isn’t getting detention on the first day a cliche too? Man, talk about bad role models.

Reaching the room my detention slip indicated I would be spending the next hour in, I slipped inside, followed by Conner. The teacher assigned to watch us is already at the front of the room. He’s kind of short and his legs look bent a little funny, and he’s wearing a baseball cap on his head. When he turns to face me, I see a whistle hanging from his neck. Great, Coach.

The coach looks around quickly, before locking the door. I tense, stepping in front of Superboy and preparing for a fight. What monster wants to rumble now?

Coach clears his throat. “Sit down, Cupcakes.” He booms.

I push Conner into a chair. Better to play along until I can get a better read on what kind of monster he is. Could he be Greek? Has Percy’s smelliness rubbed off on me? I start trying to access the duat for my gear.

The Coach starts pacing at the front of the room. “Now, you all know me as Coach Finstock. That is an assumed name. I am here as a personal favor to Diana, on behalf of the League. End of story. I will be incharge of getting you out of school on the occasion a mission occurs during the hours you are mandated to attend here. Any questions?”

His asking for questions sounded largely rhetorical, so I deemed it necessary to ask some. I cleared my throat and Coach swiveled to me. “Alright, if you are here as a favor to Diana, Why are you telling us now? And who’s Greenberg?”

“I have chosen to inform you now, because you have a mission. It was supposed to be the three of you and Kid Flash, but apparently Miss Preppy has better things to do than save lives. As for Greenberg…” His cheeks darken slightly. “She’s my niece. By marriage.”

“Who are you?” Conner speaks up, his brain finally seeming to have caught up to the conversation.

Coach grins savagely. “Didn’t I mention, kid? Name’s Hedge. You can call me Coach Hedge.”

Chapter Text

Getting to Gotham was surprisingly easy. Camp would keep my family safe, so I had decided to continue the quest. The mortals don’t know the danger they are in. My family will be fine. Turns out, there’s a zeta tube that goes there. In hindsight, that makes sense, considering Gotham is Batman’s city. Hopefully taking the zeta to Gotham didn’t set off any alarms. What are the chances? Damn it, Percy, stop giving the fates openings! You know how they like to make you think one thing and then yell ‘sike!’

Either way, I put as much distance between the zeta and me as possible before anyone or anything pops up. Once I am suitably lost, I wrack my brain for how I’m going to find the apple. Gotham is not a small city and I can’t just ‘follow the monsters’. I seem to remember something about a son of Victoria, the Roman version of Nike, living in Gotham. Apparently, he is a real family man and always helps demigods passing through the city. Assuming you have the right introduction papers. He is an ex-legionnaire.

Redirecting, I use some available maps to head towards Old Gotham, where he has some kind of business. Something about Italian Shoes? It’s been a while since Reyna had made me memorize all the safehouses and names of those running them for demigods on quests.

After wandering a while, I decide I’m lost. Looking around, all I see are a few buff looking guys in ill fitting suits smoking and watching the people walking by.

“You lost, sweetcheeks?” One with a thin, greased mustache asks.

“Who ya lookin’ for? Maybe we can help ya find ‘im.” A second one adds. This one has a bowler hat that is attempting to cover his bad combover and a scraggly goatee.

Turning to face them, I make eye contact with Greasy Mustache and pull a touch of my wolf stare into my expression. It doesn’t take much for him to understand that however bad he thinks he is, I’m worse. Gulping, he drops his gaze.

“Yeah” I reply. “I’m looking for my cousin, Carmine, Carmine Falcone. You know him?”

The third guy’s cigarette drops to the ground as his eyes bulge. The expression, along with his chin length, greasy black hair make him look strung out. “Who’re ya to claim Falcone as kin? I hope you ain doin’ so lightly. The Roman ain’t known for ‘is forgivin’ nature.”

I smile slightly. It seems the son of Victory was still in the city. Must have some good shoes to be so well known. Looking at the men’s feet, they are wearing some kind of leather shoes. Who knows if they’re Italian, but that’s probably how they know him. They even have a cute nickname for him. Though, it makes you wonder if they’re in on the secret. “I’ve never met him before, but I assure you, we are related.” I flash my roman brand at them to check, but they don’t seem to register it. Seems they’re not in on the secret and the mist is hiding it from them.

Bowler Hat puts his cigarette out on a nearby wall and walks over. “Ok. We’ll takes you to ‘im. You die, it’s on you, those.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Why would I die looking for a shoe importer? Have monsters taken over the safe house?

After a maze of alleys to make the labyrinth proud, we end up in front of a warehouse. Not suspicious at all, guys. Maybe they're monsters. Nah, They look too human.

Turning to Bowler Hat, whose name I had learned was Bill, I raise an eyebrow. “You know this looks extremely suspicious, right?”

“Hey, little Falcone. If youse who youse say, there ain’t nothin’ to worry ‘bout.”

Rolling my eyes, I pull my shoulders back and march into the building. I thought he imported Italian Leather shoes or something. This is some Godfather shit.

Entering, Bill and the other two direct me to a back office. It doesn’t look like much is going on in the warehouse today, just a bunch of suspicious lumps under tarps.

The man in the back office, presumably Carmine Falcone, is on the older side. Particularly for demigods. He is greying at the edges of his dark hair, and though he is certainly not out of shape, he’s not legionnaire fit either. He leans back in his chair, fingers steepled as her observes us.

“What’s this, boys?” The man asks as we enter the room.

“Found ‘er wand-ring, boss. Said she was youse cousin or somethin’” Bill responded. “Brought ‘er fer ya judgement.”

He turns to me and raises an eyebrow. I show him my legion brand. I can feel his eyes lingering on the trident. “You must be Perseus.” He says to me and my eyes widen. “We get news, all the way out ‘ere. It’s an honor to meet you. I presume you are looking for something?”

“I prefer Percy, and yes, an apple for the ‘fairest’.” I reply.

The lines around Carmine’s eyes deepen. “That is serious, particularly here.”

“Boss?” Bill asks.

“She tells the truth, Bill. Now leave. I believe it’s time to catch up with my cousin.”

Chapter Text

I couldn’t help but be confused, and confusion makes me mad. Am I supposed to know who this is?

Sadie’s scowl curling into a smirk seems to indicate so. “I’ve heard some wild stories about you, you old goat. You gonna live up to the hype?” Is old goat a term of endearment for someone middle aged? I’ll have to remember that.

Coach grunted before grabbing something from behind the desk at the front of the room. For a second, out of the corner of my eye, it looked like a cudgel. Once I got a better look at it I realized it was a megaphone. That makes more sense. He is a coach after all.

“I’m not here to put on a performance for you.” he grouched, “I’m here to relay missions and help train you cupcakes. I’m not having Jackson going soft on me, nor any of you.” Who’s Jackson?

“Who are you to be qualified to teach a hero,” I question, standing. “You’re no one special.”

The coach’s face invents a new shade of red. “I’ll teach you little punk! I’ve trained all the greats! Perseus, Jason—"

The names register in the back of my head, from the information from Cadmus. There was a lot of information on Greek myths. “Wait, you trained Perseus, slayer of the gorgons and Jason, of Jason and the Argonauts?"

Coach Hedge pauses his tirade, focusing on the new question and seemingly pondering it. He seems satisfied that I know of his past trainees. "Well, Percy definitely killed those snake haired bitches, maybe even a couple times, and Jason wasn't the leader on the Argo, but yes. I trained them." His chest puffs out a little before seemingly straightening.

Wait, those myths are all the way from back in ancient Greece, and this guy trained them? I thought the amazons don’t let men on their island. My frown deepens. "How old are you?" I ask.

“SIT BACK DOWN, CUPCAKE!” He yells in my face. I wince at the auditory overload before finding something to focus on. I choose the tisk-tisk-tisk of the lawn sprinklers I can just hear outside. Did I say something wrong?

“Now, I’ve got a mission for you.” The Coach continues. Sadness seems to leech into his eyes. “You will be transporting an artifact from a personal collection to safe keeping with the league. This artifact is extremely useful in certain circles and is sought by many dark magicians and the like. It can grant visions of the past, present, and future to its owner, so as you can imagine, the league wants it.

Sadie seems confused. It does not take her long to speak up with why. “What culture is the artifact from? Does it have a name? You may as well send us to bloody Narnia with that description.”

Coach Hedge looks at Sadie, brow furrowed. “It is called Katropis. I assume you’ve heard the stories?”

If possible, Sadie paled further and her eyes bugged out. “Some of ‘em. Just us and Kid Flash?” She replied. What’s Katropis? I don’t know that name.

“Just you three,” Coach answered. “You know what to do.”

Sadie nodded, though it seemed more to herself than the coach, and in a manner as if she had just made up her mind about something. Meanwhile, my anger grows at the almost coded conversation the two seem to be having. I push it down. I don’t care. I don’t feel left out.

Chapter Text

“An apple for the fairest, you say.” Surveying my ‘cousin’ I can’t help but think that maybe this would work out well. “How about we make a deal.”

Percy’s eyebrows furrowed. “I thought you had to give me sanctuary, what with me being a legionnaire on a quest?”

I smile at the girl. “Yes, I do have to give you sanctuary, on my honor as a Roman, and you are welcome to stay anyway this conversation ends. I would like to offer you my help searching for the apple. I have many contacts in the city. I can’t give you my help for free though, I have a reputation to uphold, as you know.”

“As an Italian shoe importer?” She asks, looking confused.

I smile. So we’re pretending she doesn’t know. I can work with that. “Yeah, as an Italian shoe importer. You scratch my back, I scratch yours, you know. It would just be dropping ‘shoes’ off to customers, or protecting shipments coming into the port from vagabonds. Gotham is a dangerous city, after all.”

She relaxes, smiling. “Sure, I can do that while I’m here.”

I curl a lip and stand, gesturing to the door. “Excellent, let’s get you settled in, cousin. Marlon, just outside the door, will drive you to your accommodations. I have a ship coming in tonight and the boys could use some back up tonight. He’ll give you the details.”

With the princess of the sea protecting my cargo, the raid tonight is sure to fail miserably, Bat or no.

I pick up my phone to call the boys. There would be a few changes to tonight’s proceedings. They would also need to be on the lookout for a gold apple and whoever has it.

Maroni will rue the day he challenged me for this city. I will watch it burn before letting it fall to him.

Chapter Text

Finding out about the newest mission was child's play. All it took was hacking the Bat Computer from his wrist gauntlet in school. It was pure luck the new mission had just come in. At least, that’s what he’d tell B when he found out he was skipping to go on the mission. Really, Kid had let him know.

Kid Flash B03

Superboy B04

Sadie Kane B09

The successive zeta tube calls pull me out of my thoughts as my teammates materialize on the streets of LA. Wally immediately starts talking. “Wow! We’re in LA! Why isn’t it really hot? Where is everyone? When do you think we’ll see somebody famous?”

I use the opportunity to swing down from my perch on the nearest building and ‘appear’ behind my teammates. “Probably because it’s September, Kid. And not everyone in LA is famous.” I relish my team’s responses to my little prank. Kid jumps almost a mile into the sky, and Sadie suddenly has her boomer-wand in her hand. Once she realizes it’s just me, she starts muttering about juvenile pranks and wolves for some reason. Superboy doesn’t react. Probably heard me coming. I’ll get him one day.

“Right.” It’s time to take charge. Without Aqualad here, someone has to lead. “Let's get going.”

“I’m sorry,” Sadie questions accusingly, “Are you even supposed to be here? Coach said it would just be us three.”

“Yes, Yes I am” I lie.

Sadie narrows her eyes at me before shrugging. “Your funeral.” She then types something into her phone before stalking off in a random direction.

“Hey!” I say, typing the directions into my gauntlet. “You don’t know where you’re going and you can’t just walk down the street! We’ll be recognized!” The directions load and point me in the direction Sadie’s heading in.

Sadie throws a bird over her shoulder. “It’s LA, they’ll think we’re promoting a movie or something; Crosswalk the Musical: Sidekick Edition or something. Or they’ll just think we’re one of the crazies. Works either way.”

“We’re not sidekicks!” I sigh, reluctantly following the magician, with my other teammates following behind. “How do you know where to go?” Any data we had on Sadie Kane said she had never been to LA.

She angled her phone for me to see, not stopping her forward march. “I read the mission details, Mr. Pigeon.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “It’s Robin and I thought you didn’t care about this team.”

“I don’t.” She responded candidly. “I generally don’t care for people who blackmail me. If I wanted to be a ‘superhero’ I would be one. I do care about living though and you’re in Nightshade’s and my world for this mission. Our world always has a 90% chance of certain death, and your survival increases my chances of survival.” That was a little harsh.

Understanding with a touch of disbelief settled in my stomach. I feel like I understand the two magicians a little better now. Though one point still eludes me. Who wouldn’t want to be a hero?

Chapter Text

I throw one last beaming smile over my shoulder before slipping behind the darkened windows of my limo. As soon as the door slides shut, my grin falls from my face.

“Where to next, Alfred?” I ask, ready for today to be over. My cheeks ache from keeping up my dumb and slightly aloof smile.

“I believe your schedule is done, Master Bruce. Shall we return to the manor?”

“Yes, Alfred. Where is Dick?”

“Very good sir. And it appears Master Dick has snuck out to spend some time with his friends in LA.” The answer garners no reaction from me. At this point, it’s expected. As long as no distress beacons are activated, I’ll wait to discipline him until he returns. “Shall I steam your usual suit for tonight, sir?” Alfred continues.

I grunt affirmatively in reply. Word on the street is Falcone is receiving a shipment tonight. No word yet on what it is, but apparently it will ‘change the fate of this city’. Though that could mean anything from weapons to artifacts.

“Very good, sir.” Alfred responds. “If I may add, it appears the young master skipped a Maths exam to go on his foray with his friends today, sir.”

I grunt in acknowledgement at the news and mentally extend the length of Dick’s punishment.

Alfred pulls into the driveway around Wayne manor, idling in front of the door. I step out and begin making my way to the Bat Cave.

“Shall I meet you in the cave after you’ve gotten something to eat, Master Bruce?” Alfred asks, putting the car back into gear.

I grunt in reply, changing my course towards the kitchen.

“Very good, sir.” Alfred acknowledges, before driving off to park the car.

Falcone and his shipment are going down tonight. But first, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a cup of juice.

Chapter Text

Walking through LA took forever. Maybe that’s because I had to go at a normal speed with everyone else. Either way, we did eventually make it to the Malibu residence of the people who had the knife we are after.

I couldn’t help but sigh. We had formed our own team to be taken seriously and though we had some fun adventures, we still had to do retrieval duty. Not to mention Aqualad and Nightshade were currently MIA, Artemis apparently ‘couldn't miss school today’ and M’gann was stuck cheerleading. At least if M’gann was here, we could have some fun. Robin still has a bee (or maybe a bat) in his bonnet about the two new sorceresses and Superboy was… unresponsive to humor. Sadie looked like she was about to attempt to relieve Robin of his spine. She always looked vaguely pissed though. Maybe she just has a resting pissed face. Hmm, would that be a RPF? Ha, that sounds like someone laughing as they rip something!

Surveying our destination, I process the scene in mere seconds, my speed coming in handy. Turning to my teammates, I can’t help but to laugh. “Is that a fountain over there? Why does it have an Aphrodite statue in the middle?” I ask, pointing to fountain with a marble-looking statue centerpiece styled to look like Aphrodite on the half-shell. I speed out to the fountain to get a closer look and notice the barely-visible chisel marks on the statue. Wow, it was actually chiseled, that must have taken a while. “Damn, she’s looking fine.”

I hear a choking noise from behind me. Turning, I see Sadie trying to avoid looking at the statue. “Come on.” She huffs, marching toward the front door. “Let's get this job done.” I can’t help but notice the wide berth she gives the fountain. Maybe she’s hydrophobic? Nah, she's fine around Aqualad and Nightshade. Maybe statue-phobic? That’s a thing, right?

Shrugging, I follow the ‘magician’ to the door, stopping briefly to blow a kiss at the statue. Is it my imagination, or did the statue wink back? Nah, magic isn’t real.

Sadie raps sharply on the door, just before Robin can. The bird takes the opportunity to scowl at her.

“Coming!” A voice calls from inside. The door swings open to reveal a woman with black hair and eyes that seems to glide more than walk along the ground. “Yes?” She asks, hesitantly.

“Mellie?” Sadie asks, the woman stiffening slightly before nodding. “I’m a friend of a friend, my name is Sadie Kane…” She continues before ‘Mellie’ cuts her off.

“Oh! You’re here for Katropis!” She relaxed at Sadie’s words. “Did anyone else come? She’s not any better I’m afraid.”

“No, no!” Sadie hushed quickly, raising several eyebrows all around. “These are the m-super-heroes, Robin, Kid Flash, and Superboy. They are here to help with transportation. Nightshade is currently out.”

Understanding flashes in Mellie’s eyes, while the rest of us are only further confused. Robin’s eyes are narrowed further and I know this has added another point in the don’t-trust-the-magicians category. I sigh. Now, this is all I’m going to hear about at our next sleepover.

“Poor girl.” Mellie whispers. “Again?”

“It seems so, it’s not like they send out a bulletin. Especially not to us.”

What is going on! These two know each other and are concerned for Nightshade? Why? She’s a badass warrior magician! I clear my throat and Mellie and Sadie jump.

“Right.” Mellie says, pulling us back on track. “Why don’t you four come in and I’ll fetch it for you.”

As soon as Mellie drops us in a very fancy living room and turns to retrieve the blade, I start touching things. I zoom around the room, examining every inch of it and the first thing I can tell you is that there are a lot of pictures. Most of them feature a girl with choppy brown hair and kaleidoscopic eyes.

There are pictures of her with Mellie, Tristan McLean, and an assortment of friends. Never a mother though. For some reason, half of the ones with her friends, the girl is covered in dirt.

There’s one picture though, that I keep coming back to. The picture had eight people, four girls, four boys, and a dog in it, all absolutely covered in dirt. In the center were two girls; one a curly blonde with piercing grey eyes holding a New York Yankees cap in one hand, the other with dark hair and sea green eyes that danced with mischief and a cricket bat resting on her shoulder. The two girls had their arms around each other, with the dark haired one smiling roguishly at the blonde. On one side of the blonde was the girl from all the other photos. She was smiling at the blond boy with electric blue eyes next to her, holding one of cricket stumps by her side. The blond, on the other hand, seemed distracted. The boy next to him, who vaguely resembled a latino elf, was holding some kind of lighter and seemed determined to use it. On the other side, near the dark haired girl, was a barrel chested asian boy. He seemed to have a cricket bat strapped to his back and was staring at the girl next to him, a little red tinting his cheeks. The girl next to him had curly dark hair and shining gold eyes. She was holding another cricket bat and seemed to be talking to the boy on her other side. A boy as pale as a corpse, with dark hair and eyes. The boy also seemed to be absently petting the dog next to him, who seemed to be some kind of giant mastiff.

Sadie seemed to notice my attention and picked up the picture. “You know,” She said randomly, but instantly gained everyone’s attention. “Nightshade used to be different, she used to be part of a team. It’s part of why she freaked out so badly after that mission went wrong.”

I held my breath, not willing to disturb this moment to learn more about our new teammates.

“A team?” Robin asked.

Sadie laughed. It was a bitter laugh, full of derision. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not telling you this for your little ‘bat-notes’ or anything. I’m telling you this because Nightshade deserves a little consideration from you lot and if this is the only way… Well.”

Sadie cleared her throat before she started talking. “Yes, Nightshade was part of a team. It was actually a team pretty similar to what this one’s becoming. Or, what it could be. They weren’t just a team, they were a family. They even had weird nicknames for each other, like you all insist on. She had her Wise Girl, always ready with a plan and able to take down anyone, powers or no.” Her eyes flicked briefly to Robin. “The Blond Superman, ready to do anything for a friend, but holding his emotions close to his chest.” Superboy. Obviously. “Haze, willing to die protecting her friends and family.” That could only be Aqualad. “Fai, a master bowman who always has everyone’s backs.” Bowman? Was that Roy or Artemis? It had to be Roy, He'd be the one on the team in the end. “Their Beauty Queen. She could charm anyone and fight like a demon.” Maybe M’gann? I don’t think she’s quite there with the fighting. She is a charm, though. “And their engineer. He had a heart of gold, but he hid it behind snarky comments to disguise his pain. He insisted everyone call him Supersized McSizzle too.” At that, Sadie’s eyes met mine and it felt like my lungs couldn’t hold the air I was breathing as my whole body seized. She looks away pretty quickly though, and once I’m not under her observation, my body releases. I breathe quickly to calm myself. Damn, maybe Sadie’s more observant than she lets on.

“Gee, I didn’t know you were that invested in all of this.” Robin snarked, “I’ve never heard of this team; heroes or villains. What happened to them?” The smug satisfaction seemed to indicate he thought he caught Sadie in a lie.

Sadie leveled a glare on Robin. “They were heroes, and you don’t know them because they are gone.” She punctuated her statement by setting the picture in its frame back on the table, maybe a little harder than necessary, before isolating herself from the rest of the group in a corner.

Gone. As in dead? I mean, I knew heroes die, but a team… and younger than us? I shake the thoughts from my head to deal with later as a girl steps into the room. She's holding a knife and is ready to fight. “Who are you guys?” She asked. Turning to face her, I see the same girl as in all the pictures.

“You must be Piper McLean.” Robin states.

Chapter Text

I arrived at the docks a couple minutes late from what Carmine had said. It’s to be expected though; somehow I’m always either early or late, there is no ‘on time’. I am ready to work though, with my hair up in a bun and a baseball cap pulled low over my eyes. I'm also wearing slightly baggy clothing; it's what I could scrounge up. It's not like I had time to grab clothes between storming out of the cave and running in to Ares. I don't look like most of the others, but I'll be able to fight.

When I get there, Bill waves me over. Trotting up to him, he hands me a card. Reading what is says takes a minute, but I get it. It seems to be an address. I turn to Bill, raising an eyebrow at him inquiringly. Bill grins back at me, revealing a dead, black tooth among a sea of yellow ones. “What yer lookin’ fer is there, lil Falcone.”

My eyes light in understanding and I turn to leave. It’s time to get The Apple and leave.

“Where yous think yous goin’?” Bill asked. “We’s still got ta finish here.”

“But...” I protest.

“It’ll still be der tomorrow.” Bill dismisses. “Yous gotta pay yer debt and youse don’t mess with Scarecrow without plannin’.”

I sigh. Of course one of Batman’s theatre kids has already found the apple of discord. Oh well, what could Scarecrow do with the Apple of Discord and one more day? I turn back to the boat and start unloading crates.

Man, are these crates heavy for Italian shoes. Plus, shouldn’t they travel in something… safer? Italian shoes are supposed to be nice, right? You'd think Carmine would worry about scratching the leather.

I unload a few crates before I feel eyes on my back. Subtly checking the shadows, I pin point someone in the shadows on the roof of one of the old factories near the port.

Leaning back into the shadows of the crates, I weigh my options. I could use the chaos of whatever is coming to leave and find the Apple. But, Carmine is family. I sigh and start searching for a suitable weapon. Whatever’s coming, there’s a 50/50 chance it’s mortal. Though sometimes mortal threats are worse than the monsters; less predictable at least.

Before I can find anything, an explosion goes off on the other side of the docks. Clouds of suspiciously green tinged ash, somehow laced with golden sparkles rolling towards me.

Darting my eyes toward the roof, I see whoever is up there has ducked lower in surprise. I narrow my eyes, a chill traveling up my spine like when you’re watching a horror movie and suddenly realize there has to be two killers and everyone’s suddenly a suspect again.

With mounting horror, I grab a plank off the nearest crate and run towards the commotion, barely taking a second to lift my shirt over my nose in an effort to stop myself from inhaling copious amounts of airborne debris.

Just as I enter the cloud, a roar sounds behind me, a very familiar roar followed by my mother, screaming for me to run.

"Beefcake" I mutter, spinning to locate him and uncapping Riptide. All that surrounds me are vague dark shapes and flashes of glowing red eyes.

Pain slashes along my bicep. Lifting my hand to the spot, I feel a bloody stickiness coating my arm below a long furrow, narrow at the tip before widening. That's not from a blade.

I duck as low as possible, avoiding the red eyed beasts I'm cutting my way through as I search my memory, thinking of what could cause a gash with a widening diameter. All I can come up with is an arrow, but that doesn't feel right, I didn't feel any fletching on my arm. Could it be a bullet?

That would make sense of why Riptide was no use against these monsters, they're of human design. The stupidity of humanity will never cease to amaze me.

Darting through the smoke, which only seems to get denser and greener, I look for something different from the rest. If there's one thing humans like just as much as monsters; it's control of those monsters.

Finally, I spot it. This beast's eyes are golden not red and he has a more corporal look. His smirk is the same as Luke's when he hosted Cronos, though his skin looks… off in a way the titan lord's didn't in his final moments, almost like it's made of burlap. The gold sparks swirling in the fog come from him. No, that's not right, they come from something gold in his hands. An apple.

'youse don’t mess with Scarecrow without plannin’' floats through my head. This must be Scarecrow.

The monster's mouth opens, but the voice that comes out is neither Luke's, nor Cronos'. The voice is raspy, like he'd been breathing his own gas in, but has the confidence of an experienced lecturer followed by a snarl of insanity. "You thought you could snoop around my operation, Falcone! See what my new secret weapon is? Well why don't you get a good look! Happy now?"

I snarl and lunge for The Apple.

Chapter Text

“So, do you believe Sportsmaster? Is there a mole on the team?” Red Arrow, Roy, cocked an eyebrow at me.

I return his look with an impassive stare. “I do not wish to suspect my teammates, though such accusations are troubling. I will investigate. Quietly.”

Despite my nonchalance to his question, my mind is a whirlpool of possibilities. Roy turning to leave breaks me from my thoughts and reminds me of a topic I wished to discuss before Roy vanished again. “Red Arrow, when you were in need you contacted the Cave. Not the League and not Green Arrow. Why?”

Roy stops his retreat. With his head dipped and angled slightly to the side, I can just see a smirk curling his lips. “What can I say? The team has my respect. If you need me, you know how to contact me.” Firing a grapple arrow, Roy vanishes into the shadows.

I turn and head for the nearest zeta tube, my face composed into a stoic mask. Fuck. If we have a mole, this team will be over before it’s even started. Even if we don’t have a mole, the possibility could ruin this team as assuredly as having one. It will be hard to avoid the spines of this lionfish.

My thoughts swim wildly like a school of fish stuck following itself as I enter the zeta tube. It could be anyone. Or no one. Better to investigate quietly.

Entering the Cave, the main room is empty, save for Red Tornado. I open my mouth to report the possibility of the mole to my superior officer when my own voice reverberates in my head. It could be anyone. Perhaps informing Batman would be the proper move? No, Batman expects the team to handle its own problems and, as team leader, I will step up.

“Aqualad. The majority of the team is on a small retrieval mission and should return shortly. I will return after monitor duty on the Watchtower.” Red Tornado heads for the zeta tube I exited. The move seems as fishy as a stationary shark.

“I thought you were exempt from monitor duty?” I questioned, “Since becoming our… den mother.”

Red tornado activates and enters the zeta before responding.

Recognized Red Tornado 16

“I agreed to cover for Green Arrow. He has an… interpersonal event with Black Canary. A 'hot date'.”

With that remark, I am left to ponder the possibility of a mole on the team and the implications of Green Arrow’s ‘hot date’.

Chapter Text

“You must be Piper McLean.”

Robin’s exclamation pulls me from my scheming. Looking up, I spy a brown haired girl with braids and multi-coloured eyes. This is The Piper McLean? I thought she’d be taller.

“Wh-who are you?” Piper asks with a slight stutter of terror, gripping her left forearm with a white knuckled grip. “Mellie!”

Her eyes appear clouded. instead of the bright, jewel-like tones I had heard rumors of, her eyes appear simulant of them. They appear to have almost a flat, pastelish shade to them. But, then again, this isn’t the famous Piper McLean of legend. This is what war has left.

Robin steps forward, hands raised to show he means no harm. “I’m Robin and this is my team. Mellie let us in. We’re here to pick something up for safe keeping.”

Piper mirrors Robin, stepping back as he steps forward. “I don’t know you.” She accused. “You’re not in any of the pictures, so you’re not to be trusted.” She gestured to the picture frames scattered around the room.

My eyes dart back to the picture Wally had picked up. It was a picture of Percy’s Seven and Nico. All of them look a little worse for wear, though resilience shines in their eyes and reflects off the weapons they hold. Most of those eyes are now clouded with confusion. Of those in the picture, only Nico and Percy remember. Everyone else was washed between the ears with the Lethe. Well, except Leo. He died with Gaea in a blaze of glory. If we had fallen in line with the House of Life… If the Egyptians relied on Prophecies just a little more… As much as I fight with the big lug, I’m glad Carter’s alive.

Mellie runs around the corner with the dagger in a sheath and quickly takes in the situation. “Piper,” she coos, “These are friends. They’re here to make sure Katropis stays safe. They’re taking the dagger for safekeeping.” Yeah right.

At the reassurances, Piper ducks behind Mellie and relaxes slightly, some of the confusion clears from her eyes. “Right.”

Robin steps forward to take the dagger but I cut in front of him and take it from Mellie before it falls through Robin’s non-mythical hands. “Thank you, this will be returned to where it belongs.” I say carefully. The metal of the handle is a burning cold. It very much doesn’t like me; probably because of either my differing roots or Aphrodite. Hopefully it's the differing roots, not something personal.

Robin narrows his eyes. “Right, thank you. We’ll make sure this is somewhere where no can use it ever again.”

Mellie meets my eyes. “Thank you. Both for what you do today and what you’ve done for her.”

“I didn’t do it for her, just needed some back up. If it happened to drive ‘Pharaoh’ up a wall too? The more’s the merrier.” I grunted back, self consciously.

Mellie ruffles my hair as I swat at her hand. “You’re a good kid, Sadie Kane.”

My eyes narrow as Robin giggles behind me. Turd. “If you tell anyone I’ll cut your tongue out with this dagger.” I snarl at the room. The laughter cuts off abruptly.

Piper lets out a small hiccupping laugh. She’ll be alright. Eventually. Probably.

Chapter Text

I watch Falcone's crew from a ledge above the docks as they unload crates. A scan of the crates reveals gunpowder residue and indications of a large quantity of C4.

I sigh and tuck my incendiary smoke bombs away and retrieve a steam based one. It would take longer and still produce less smoke, but it was a necessary sacrifice to preserve the lives and functionality of the surrounding people and locale.

Just as I go to drop the device, an explosion blows me backwards from the other end of the block. I retreat to a darker corner to reassess the situation.

Clouds of green, shot through with strands of gold drift over the docks, almost innocent in their flurry. One of Falcone's men grabs a plank from the cargo, rushing the mist. As I watch, people fall.

Some of them scream and cry for help, while others bare their weapons and fire wildly. It must be Scarecrow's Fear Toxin. Slipping my rebreather from a pocket in my utility belt, I secure it over the exposed part of my face and jump to another roof for a better angle.

As I watch, the gangster with the board enters the mist and it slowly starts to affect him. At some point, he drops the board and finds a strangely colored gold baseball bat. He swings the bat wildly around him, but doesn’t seem to connect with the other gangsters around him. For a second, the bat seems to turn into a sword, but that doesn’t make any sense. Where would a gangster get a sword? No, it must have been a trick of the light.

Then someone pulls a gun. One of Falcone’s men, deep in the fear of what surrounds him, draws his weapon and fires into the mist. His shot grazes the gangster with the bat, who drops low to the ground.

I shoot my grappling hook for a higher building, using the momentum gained through the distance to swing down into the crowd, knocking some gangsters out with well placed kicks on my way down.

On the ground, I start by knocking Scarecrow goons and aggressive gangsters out, sticking to the edges of the crowd. I don’t have enough individual cures for now, I’ll have to come back and dose them later. Hopefully Scarecrow doesn’t notice me until I’ve thinned the herd a little.

Glancing up, I hear Scarecrow speak, thrusting a weird looking apple forward. "You thought you could snoop around my operation, Falcone! See what my new secret weapon is? Well why don't you get a good look! Happy now?" It seems I’ll have to speed up my efforts to reach Scarecrow if he’s calling out Falcone directly. I only have about a third of Scarecrow’s and Falcone’s combined forces down. Hopefully Scarecrow is just trying his hand at Fright Apples, or Suprise Apples, or something. I swear if that thing’s magic, Constantine is getting a very strongly worded text to keep his problems out of Gotham.

Suddenly a blur of black with a streak of gold leaps at Scarecrow, tackling him to the ground. The blur resolves into the gangster with the baseball bat. There’s no way he was able to move that fast and isn’t enhanced.

The gangster tosses the bat to the side before slugging Scarecrow in the burlap sack. And no, that was not an allusion. Scarecrow goes limp, knocked out. Definitely enhanced strength. Enhanced speed too. Probably the basic strength, speed, durability package then.

The gangster retrieves the apple from Scarecrow, standing to his full height. I blend with the shadows, hoping to gather some more information before charging into the fight. As the gangster stands, a hat falls from his head with a cascade of hair falling behind it. Re-evaluating the perp’s profile, I realize he is actually she, just wearing baggy clothes. Maybe I need to review my profiling.

She steps away from Scarecrow, back towards the edge of the docks. I step forward, preparing to confront her and retrieve the weapon. She tenses as I move forward, but before I can step any further, the man in the bowler hat she had been talking to earlier steps into her path.

“Good job little cousin! I didn’t think you’d finish up so fast.” The man said, eyes glinting red and seemingly boiling with flames. He must be another meta. I tense, preparing to take them down. There are no metas allowed in my city.

The female meta growls at the man, throwing the apple at him. “Here’s your stupid apple back. Take it and go. I have more important shit to deal with right now.”

The man catches it without effort and smiles at her anger. A flame of rage at these metas, who act like my city is their playground. grows in my chest. It chokes my breath and blurs my thoughts. I reach into my utility belt, grabbing a few Batarangs and small explosives to neutralize the threat.

I still my body in preparation to attack. As I blink, the male meta disappears from his spot, reappearing with the female’s throat in his grip, lifting her from the ground. He leans in, whispering something in her ear. His face is hidden by the back of his head, with no chance of reading the words from his lips. The female nods slightly at whatever he says. He drops her unceremoniously and I toss several Batarangs at them. The male vanishes in a shockwave of red, prompting me to release several small explosives around them.

The female dodges all of the bladed projectiles but misses the explosives. They blow her back with a concussive force. She doesn’t get up. I shake my head, clearing a haze of red aggression from my vision. As the influence fades from my mind, I realize I was maybe a bit excessive in the force I employed to take out the metas. Must be another power she has. Some kind of emotional manipulation. Looks like that backfired on her in the end.

Reaching the remaining meta, I feel for a pulse. Her heartbeat is slow but steady. I grunt softly as I lift her head and slip a generic inhibitor collar on. It can be tuned more to her specific powers later. For now, she has an appointment with Belle Reve.

Chapter Text

I narrow my eyes at Sadie’s back as we walk through the streets of LA, returning to the zeta tube. Her story doesn’t make sense! She’s an Egyptian magician who grew up in some secret cult that’s now destroyed but she knows a famous Cherokee actor’s daughter? Far be it for me to judge people on their origins, but I don't see how their paths could’ve crossed.

Checking my wrist gauntlet, I note that the daughter had gone missing for several months and came back with amnesia. Hmm. I wonder where she was that whole time? Maybe she was caught in a magical war where she helped defeat a threat to life as we know it during an epic quest, losing her memories in the process. And maybe the House of Life was destroyed in the meantime! Nah, that’s crazy even for us.

Besides, who is this ‘Pharaoh’ Sadie mentioned? More mysteries added to the enigma that is Sadie Kane and Nightshade.

Keeping an eye on Kane, I noticed how distracted she seemed to be. She had Katropis in one hand, the other held her wand. She also seemed to be muttering something under her breath. There seemed to be a slight shimmer gathering at her wand tip.

Slipping next to her, I narrow my eyes in slight suspicion, while I put a slight smirk on my face. “What are you doing?” I whisper next to her ear.

In quick succession to my inquiry, she yelps, a flash of light sparks from her wand, and she whirls around, smacking me with the carved piece of wood.

A static spark jumps from the wand to me. “You idiot!” Sadie snarled, “Don’t you know not to interrupt a magician casting a spell.”

I raise an eyebrow at her uncharacteristic aggressiveness, not that she can see behind my mask. And not that she isn’t usually aggressive, just normally in a more sarcastic and biting way. I open my mouth to ask about her spell when a sound echoes through the alley we are currently traversing. The sound starts as the soft hiss of a reptile before ending in the snarl of a large cat. It comes from behind us.

Turning, I come face to face with one of the strangest creatures I have ever seen. It has the head of a crocodile, the mane and front of a lion, and the back half of a grey, rubbery creature. Possibly a hippo? The creature would be terrifying if it wasn’t also the size of a house cat.

“What is that?” Kid asks.

“That,” Sadie replies, “is what happened when Robin interrupted my spell. My spell to repel anything connected to magic has attracted something magic. We should still be fine as long as no one has a heart heavy with guilt. And that's not me being poetic”

The creature does its strange hiss-snarl again and starts to walk towards me, seeming to grow with each step it takes, not changing its focus, seeming to zero in on me. I pale a little.

Sadie mutters something to my left and a shield forms in front of the creature. The creature struggles a little, but ultimately walks straight through the shield.

I pale at the lack of affect the magic has on the beast, running through a litany of curses in my mind.

The magician turns to me. “What did you do?” She snarls, accusatorially.

“Nothing!” I protest.

Sadie Kane raises an eyebrow in disbelief. “Ammit the Devourer doesn’t appear for nothing, Robin! She’s the punisher of bad deeds. Now. What did you do? What do you feel super guilty about?”

“Uhm,” I think hard. “I snuck out of the house to go on this mission? And then lied about it. What’s it going to do?” That’s not big enough for some mythological monster to come after me, right? I mean, these things can tell the difference between some slight misbehaving I feel really bad about and being a bad guy, right?

I take another look at the ‘Ammit’ approaching me. All signs point to no.

Sadie gives me a look of disbelief. “Ammit goes after anyone with a heavy heart. If I were to rip your heart out of your chest, weigh it against a Feather of Order, and the heart is heavier, Ammit will go after you. She will rip your heart out of your chest, eat it, stuff the cavity with owl feathers, and string you up for your loved ones to find. That’s how she works.”

Kid Flash gulps behind me, all of us backing up from the croco-li-po. “That’s a ‘she’?” I squeak out.

“Under debate, but yes.” Sadie replies. “If you’d like to check, be my guest. Until then…” Sadie ties a piece of black fabric around the handle of Katropis, takes aim with the dagger and throws it at Ammit of the indeterminate gender, though probably a she.

As the dagger spiraled towards Ammit, she yelled something that sounded like ‘immune’. It triggeres a black cloud to envelop the dagger. As the dagger hits Ammit, it vanishes.

“Sadie!” I yelled, turning on her. “That was our objective! Without that dagger, we fail the mission! You failed our mission!”

“It’s a dagger!” She snapped back. “and you said it was powerful! How is a dagger powerful and still not good at killing things!”

“It shows glimpses of the future!” I argued back.

“That’s stupid, why would a knife show glimpses of the future! You'd think they'd pick a crystal ball or at least a mirror.”

I yell in exasperation at the magician.

“Hey, guys?” Kid Flash interjects, “monster here, trying to kill us? ARGUE LATER!”

Right. I’m the leader, I can figure… “Run!” Sadie yells, “I’ll take care of Ammit. You guys don’t know magic, you’ll just be in the way. I’ll meet you at the zeta!”

I pause and turn to the magician. “But…” I start.

Sadie turns to me as her eyes start to glow a whitish blue. The energy bleeds from her eyes and down her form, making a hard-light shell around her in a vaguely human form. There’s something off about the form’s head though. “Go!” She yells, her voice overlapping with another. The other voice is also female, though older and raspier.

My eyes widen at the sound. “Nope, I’m outta here!” Kid yells, scooping me up and running. Superboy jumps after us, clearing tall buildings with a single bound.

Between Superboy and Kid Flash we reach the zeta pretty fast, though Kid can’t stop freaking out. “Ohmygoshweshouldn’thaveleftherwhatifshediesit’llbeallourfaultohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!”

“Kid!” I yell at him “slow down, we can’t understand you.”

Wally stops talking in favor of wearing a divot in the pavement. I fiddle with my utility belt, nervous about the choice we made. If only I hadn’t come! Then the monster never would’ve shown up in the first place! This is all my fault.

Superboy clears his throat. “Sadie knows magic. If she couldn’t handle it, she’d know.”

I turn toward him, studying his awkward body language, obviously not accustomed to comforting. “Yes.” I say, definitively, “She’ll be fine. If she’s not here in ten minutes, we’re going back.”

I set a timer just in case, watching it count down.

At 34 seconds, I hear a large slurping sound. Wheeling in the direction it came from, my team and I prepare for whatever strange, new creature will round the bend, falling into defensive stances.

The creature rounds the corner to reveal…

A Sadie. With a Slushie. “What’s up guys? Are we heading back to the Cave?”

Chapter Text

I’m standing in the Throne Room of Olympus. Gods sit on their thrones, though it’s obviously not a council meeting, not every seat is taken. Apollo’s golden throne is empty, as is Hermes’. Artemis is also not present and Hestia’s fire is unattended. Artemis is probably with her hunt, Hermes is busy with his job, and Hestia comes and goes as she pleases. Apollo is usually there though, so his absence worries me. Not to mention how some of the Gods seem to have aged decades since I last saw them.

My own father looks more like Nereus with his ‘old man of the sea’ title than his usual self. His hair is fully grey and sun spots cover his skin; he leans forward on his trident as if it’s what gives him the strength to stay upright. Something must have gone terribly wrong.

The other Gods vary in their state. Some look to be in a similar state to my father, while some seem to be in their usual states.

My musings are interrupted by the doors to the throne room swinging open, revealing Rachel and Chiron. The two enter, bowing before the King and Queen of the Gods. I float to take up position next to them.

Zeus examines the pair, lingering on Chiron slightly longer before speaking. “Do you know why we have called you to Olympus?”

“Uhh, no. sir?” Rachel asks, “Not to rush you or anything, but we’ve been here waiting for you to tell us the problem for days. If you could just spit it out?”

Zeus narrows his eyes as his master bolt crackles forcefully at his side. “SILENCE!” He bellows, “This generation shows such blatant disrespect to its betters. You will speak when spoken to.”

Standing so close to RED, I swear I can hear her mutter ‘OK Boomer’ under her breath. I snort out a silent laugh at her sass.

“Husband.” Hera reminds Zeus lightly, resting a hand on his forearm flexing with anger from repressed daddy issues. “We call you here, Oracle, to inform you of an issue occurring.”

“Yes, we have been having some issues with our Oracles.” Zeus continued. “You are here as part of our investigation on why your kind is broken.”

Rachel raises an eyebrow, visibly offended to those who know her. “Oookay? Where’s Apollo? He’s God of Prophecy, so he’d be the one to give me a check-up, right?”

Zeus cleared his throat. “Apollo is… out at the moment. You are to be checked over by Hephestus.”

Rachel’s second eyebrow joins her first in attempting to escape her forehead. “I’m not a machine.” She replies flatly.

“Rachel,” Chiron interjects, “Go with Hephaestus. Now.”

Rachel sighs before nodding to the God of Fire. After her acquiescence the two vanish from the throne room in a flash of light.

Chiron stands in front of the Olympian Gods having aged decades over the course of the conversation. “I beg of you,” Chiron entreats, “don’t do it.”

Hera responds to the question, cold regalness engulfing her like a shroud. “It must happen and it must be now. The Western Flame is dying. Its Renewal is imperative, regardless of the cost. Our survival depends on it.”

“These demigods have been through so much, with Kronos and Gaea.” Chiron weakly protests, “They deserve to rest.”

“And they will.” Zeus declares, a small smirk curling his lips. He looks as if he has come up with something smart. It’s a novel look on his face. “They will rest peacefully after the Renewal. In fact, I swear on the River Styx that this will be the last I ask of the demigods of this generation, from now until they pass through the gates of the Underworld.”

Thunder booms in the distance before it morphs into the buzz of a holding cell door opening.

I leap to my feet as guards rush in, cuffing my arms and feet before hauling me towards a prison transport van parked in front of the detention center I had called home for the past few weeks while I had my trial. I have to get to Camp! As soon as possible. Something is going on, my dreams have been clear about that.

The guards unceremoniously shove me into the transport. Stumbling into the van, I land in one of the other prisoner’s laps. Scrambling upright, I turn to face the person I landed on to apologize. The other prisoner has bleach blond hair, blue eyes, a muscular build, and the standard black collar around his neck. An accessory that adorns my own neck. Not that it does anything. Oh, and a pissed off look in his eyes. A strangely familiar pissed off look that I just can’t place. Either way, I open my mouth to apologize. “Do I know you?” That is not an apology.

“No.” He replies shortly as the guards haul me off of him and chain me into a free seat next to him. Moving slightly, I can feel Riptide in my jumpsuit pocket.

A girl across from him who looks identical aside from being female speaks up for her less verbose counterpart. “I think what Tommy be meanin’ is that you mighta seen us on the TV. We recently gone toe to toe with Superman.”

I humm, looking between the two blonds. Both of them feel familiar. I just can’t place it. “No. That’s not it.” I declare decisively.

“You can get to know me!” Another prisoner leans around ‘Tommy’. This one looks like he had a less than favourable run in with Khoine and ended up made out of ice. Somehow though he is still able to communicate wiggling his eyebrows despite his whole face being made of ice.

“Shut it!” The one of the guards riding with us shouts. It seems they have finally sorted themselves out and are ready to go. Disgraceful. If they were in The Legion, this slow of a response would have earned them latrine duty for a month.

This is going to be a long ride. May as well use the time to plan my epic break out.

Chapter Text

“Dude! Dude! Your sister is sweeeet!” Ice boy brings me back to the surface of my thoughts with his dulcet tones. “How ‘bout you put in a good word for me? Or even with the other one?” He asks eagerly. I wrinkle my nose.

Before Blondie can reply, one of the guards hits him with the butt of his gun. “Sit down! We’re here.” The guard demands. Pretty sure that’s abuse, considering Icee wasn’t trying to escape. That’s probably illegal. “Welcome to Belle Reve.”

The sounds outside the transport change, like we’ve entered a tunnel. A long one at that. Eventually, though, the van rolls to a stop and guards start pulling us out. Huh, prison transports are kind of like kidnapper vans. Especially this one, since it has more captive minors than adults in it. Huh.

During the disembarkation process, I’m thrown into ‘Tommy’ again and my cheeks redden in embarrassment. Where do I know him from? Camp maybe? No, not unless he changed his appearance drastically. With his blond hair and intense eyes, he almost looks like an Athena camper. It doesn’t fit him though.

I clear my thoughts as I line up in between the blond siblings and Ice boy with some weirdo adult with a bubble on his head on the far end. Maybe we’ll get to introductions some day. It’s not like I just know who these people are.

A balcony looms above us with a woman on it. She has a tough expression on her face and is flanked by a creeper in round glasses. Yippie! More authority figures to piss off.

“I am the law of last resort.” She starts her welcome spiel. “My name is Amanda Waller. I am not your mother, your maiden aunt, or your friend.” Finally, someone who actually introduces themselves. “I am your warden and you are my prisoners. The proprietary collars you wear are custom designed to inhibit your specific meta abilities. No strength, no ice, no nothing.” Why would I need powers? It’s not like I’m trying to break out or anything. “In addition, the collars can and will be used to discipline inmates. A con who breaks the rules gets one warning.”

The warden presses a button on a remote point and electricity crackles through the collars. The other four bend in pain. I remain standing, narrowing my eyes and staring down the warden in challenge. I will not bend to her intimidation schtick.

The warden meets my eyes, turning up the voltage on my collar. I refuse to flinch. Eventually, she grunts and the guard behind me kicks me in the back of the knee. I fall to the ground and the Warden gives it a minute before she turns the collars off, continuing her warm welcome. I get to my feet, gritting my teeth to enforce a filter on myself. Play the long game Percy. You’ll show her when you escape. You don’t need to be watched extra closely. That would just make everything harder. “If order has not been restored, the next shock will render the offender unconscious. At the slightest hint of trouble, this facility goes into lockdown. Belle Reve’s walls are thick enough to hold Superman, we know, we checked.” Why was Superman imprisoned here? “No one’s ever escaped Belle Reve. No one ever will.” We’ll see about that. I excel at impossibilities.

The man flanking Waller cleared his throat, prompting her to introduce him.“Oh, this is Professor Hugo Strange. He is your maiden Aunt.”

“Actually,” Strange cut in, still rolling with his creeper vibe, “I'm the prison psychologist and I promise you a sincere attempt at rehabilitation.” Eww, a psychologist. This just gets better and better.

“Because we know you types are all about sincerity.” Waller adds on. Rude! I’ll have you know I am a model demigod.

Waller then dismisses us. The boys are taken to the male wing, while the other Blondie and I head for the other side.

We walk along the metal walkway until we reach an empty cell. For some reason the layout of catwalks and layers reminds me a little of Amazon headquarters. Even the orange jumpsuits and collars would fit in. At least for the modern Amazons. Apparently there are some Amazons that never left their island in the Sea of Monsters. Not that the groups are still in contact. I doubt the ancient Amazons even remember the new ones. The whole way, Blondie has a look on her face like she’s trying to get something out of her teeth. That or she’s talking to someone in her mind. Miss Martian has the same look on her face when she is speaking to someone in her mind. It’s probably the first one, though. Based on Waller’s speech, she either has super strength or ice and she doesn’t look like it’s ice. Not like Bubble Boy and Icee do. Not that she’d be able to use her powers here.

Once we’re in the cell I turn to my new roomie. “Who are you again?”

She looks surprised I’m speaking to her. “My brother and I, we’re the Terror Twins, I’m Tuppence.”

“Huh.” I reply, sitting on the lower bunk.

“Who‘re you?” She prompts.

Hmm, what do I want to say? I can’t be Percy here. That’s just what I need, villains after my family when I break out. “Perseus,” I decide, “I’m Perseus.” Well, these people will want to kill me anyway, may as well call me by the same thing everyone else who wants to kill me does.

Chapter Text

As long as I can remember, I have known I was born to die. That is simply the role of a child or Ares. We’re born, we fight for the glory of war and eventually die gruesomely. This was the fate of an Ares kid more than any of the other demigods.

As children of the God of War, our father expects us to die on the battlefield. This is a fact of life. There is no safe place for us, we pick monsters and demigods to challenge or Ares picks for us.

This is to be my and all of my sibling’s fates.

Staring at the borders of camp, this was more evident than ever before. An army of monsters seethed at our borders, held only at bay by the barrier. Dark clouds roll overhead, an impossibility with camp’s constant summer brought to bear.

I sigh before stomping into the Big House and sitting in the chair at the head of the ping-pong table and kicking my feet up on the playing surface. The table had recently been expanded to for the minor Gods’ head counselors. Only about a third of the counselors are missing due to other duties. They disrespect you by not showing up. An insidious and angry part of my mind whispers. One that can only be inherited.

“Valdez! Stolls! Update!” I bark at the Hephaestus and Hermes counselors. Leo hastily drops his chair back to all four legs and the Stolls leap away from Butch of the Iris cabin. They had been trying to see how much silly string they could pile on his face.

“Yes, Sir!” The brothers chorus, earning themselves a nasty glare. Was that sarcastic? I can’t tell.

“Despite the Demeter cabin’s best efforts, with help from Pollux, our food supplies are still running low.” Travis reports, gesturing to the empty seats where Pollux and Katie usually sit. "The magic plates and cups are also still not working."

Conner takes over from there. “We have raided the camp store, and those supplies are low as well. I’ve spoken with Will and the infirmary is low on ambrosia and nectar as well. Normally, Chiron gets that for the infirmary, but Rachel and him are still on Olympus with Mr. D for that emergency meeting.”

A line appears between my eyes as I contemplate our options. “Valdez?”

“Right!” The Hephaestus counselor comes to attention. “Caly and I have tried flying over the monsters with Festus, but every time we try, the flying monsters swarm us and we have to turn back. We’ve even tried getting the Apollo Cabin to back us up, but there were too many. We’re stuck.”

I growl. I refuse to accept defeat. It is not in my nature. “Solace! Where’s Di Angelo?”

The Apollo counselor looks up from the bandage he had been fiddling with the whole meeting, dark circles under his eyes. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since Iris messaging went down. He went on an errand for his father, but he should be back now.”

My lips curl in a snarl. “Butch! Clovis! How is getting messages to Camp Jupiter going? Any luck?”

Butch gets the last of the silly string off his face and straightens. Taking one glance at the sleeping Hypnos camper, he answers for the both of them. “Still nothing. Clovis is still trying though.”

I let out an impressive string of curses in a mix of Greek and English. “We plan to fight then. Malcolm?” Malcolm brings a map of camp to the table, laying it in front of all the counselors. “Right. Travis, Conner, and Leo. Take the Hermes Cabin and half the Hephaestus cabin and lay traps near the climbing wall and amphitheater. Have the rest of the Hephaestus cabin making as many weapons as possible. On your way tell Katie and Pollux and the Demeter cabin they’re off food production and to make the forest as overgrown as possible. Get the Nymphs and Satyrs to help them too. Make sure Bunker 9 is still accessible for now, though. Drew and Holly, take the Aphrodite and Nike cabins and start making sure everyone has their armour and we have enough weapons. Butch, Clovis, keep trying to contact Percy and Camp Jupiter. Malcolm, bring your cabin back to the Big House. War has come to Camp Half-Blood.”

“But, we’re safe, right?” Holly, counselor of Nike, protested. “We have the barrier, everything will be fine.”

Drew Tanaka and I exchange a look, both of us remembering when Thalia’s tree was poisoned years ago. “Better safe than sorry.” I reply grimly. “Now go!” This stalemate won’t last much longer. The battle is coming, I can feel it in my bones. All we can hope is that Camp Jupiter and Percy get our message in time. Maybe it’s time for the Seven to come out of retirement.

Thirty minutes into our strategizing session Lacy and Mitchell burst into the Big House, followed by a blonde girl dressed all in black. “A bird turned into a girl and said she needed to speak with you!” Lacy spoke fast, Mitchell panting behind her. “Which is really weird, because I know this girl, Sadie and I used to go to school together with Drew. I taught her brother how to dance and I was pretty sure they aren't demigods, but apparently she’s a bird person and I don’t remember that from Greek mythology, well there are bird-people but she’s clearly not a harpy, and~”

“Sadie Kane” The girl interjected, “Percy or Annabeth may have mentioned me before.”

I grunted, narrowing my eyes at her. “The Vulture thing? Yeah, Annie and I had a good laugh about that. We never let Pris- Percy forget it. Why are you here?”

“Right.” She said, “I came to return something.” The girl focused on the space in front of her, the air wavering slightly before she plunged her hand through the rift and withdrawing a dagger. I tensed, feeling the Athena kids follow my lead behind me.

Lacy breaks the tension, gasping at the dagger. “Katropis!” She takes the dagger from the magician carefully, almost reverently. “Where did you get this?”

“Heisted it off of some mortals.” Sadie replied casually, “wasn’t that hard. An ancient death artifact I hadn’t had a chance to drop back at the House of Life, a little invisibility, and a quick recapture. The little Justice League had no idea what hit them. I was going to give it to Percy to bring back, but she’s MIA right now…”

My head shoots up. She’s not a demigod! She can get past the monsters! She can get a message to Camp Jupiter. I nod at Lacy, who’s still holding the dagger. “Lacy? Take care of it.” The Child of Aphrodite’s smile brightens as she jumps excitedly. I turn to the magician, giving her a nod of thanks. “You may have noticed our issue outside. Would you mind carrying a message to some outside help?”

The magician checks a nonexistent watch on her wrist. “Sure, I have time; as long as no one tries to shoot me out of the sky, you lot are a little trigger happy for my tastes.”

I smile deviously. “You’ll have the right papers, I’ll sign them myself. The Romans will let you in.”

Sadie cocks an eyebrow. “That’s not in the book.” That damn book, I am burning every copy I find! I didn’t shove Prissy’s head in a toilet to be mean, it was a lesson. Demigods who can’t even stop someone from giving them a swirly don’t last long. Though the new one should have my quest in it, so it might be better. Nah, reading’s for nerds, I’ll just wait for the movie to come out. How bad could the movie be?

Instead of saying that, I grunt. “A lot’s happened since everything that happened in those books.” Picking up a scrap piece of paper I write on it in Greek. ‘Sadie Kane may speak to the praetors on urgent business from Camp Half-Blood.’ I then sign it as Chiron and hand it to Sadie.

“You sure you don’t want me to stay and help?” She asks, grabbing her hall pass.

“Nah,” I reply, “A puny magician wouldn’t be much help. You’d probably faint at the first dracaena. Between us demigods, the satyrs, and the nymphs we can take whatever these monsters throw at us.” I dismiss her, turning back to the strategy board.

There’s some scuffling behind me before Lacy and Sadie vanish back through the front door. Mitchell stays, shifting behind me. “Did you have something to say, Mitchell?” I ask, working on suppressing my anger at the disruptions.

“Yes” He squeaked, “Uhm, some of the monsters outside the barrier we don’t recognize.”

“Get the satyrs to identify them.” I order him.

“Uhm. The satyrs are missing. Along with the dryads, naiads, even the maenads. I did manage to get something about the Gods cursing people to be new monsters. Something about Demeter cursing people who don’t like cereal to have antlers, fur, and an insatiable hunger for human flesh; making cereal haters into serial killers?” He jokes nervously.

I wheel on the Aphrodite boy. “Why didn’t you start with that?” I turn back to the Athena kids huddled around a map of Camp. “Sophia, Alden. Investigate the new monsters. Get the Hecate cabin to help you. We’re going into this as knowledgeable as possible.” The two nod and run out the door, followed by Mitchell.

I share a quick glance with Malcolm before we turn back to the map of Camp on the table and start tossing ideas back and forth again.

Clarisse!” The call of my name was punctuated by the slam of the door to the big house against the wall as Lacy flung barreled through the entryway, Katropis clutched in her hand. “I saw it! I saw it!”

The Aphrodite girl started babbling incomprehensibly in the doorway. Crap! What should I do? How do I… emotions, eugh. Panic bubbled under my skin, leashed only through practice. Between the situation at Camp, lack of sleep due to our, a glance at the clock tells me just shy of 22 hours, strategizing session, and Lacy; I’m nearing my limit. “Malcolm?” prod the Athena Counselor into motion, indicating he should take care of it.

“Right.” He answers, ushering Lacy into an overstuffed chair. He makes sure the door is fully closed behind them. If Lacy is panicking, it wouldn’t do for whatever she’s worried about to get out. Those Aphrodite kids can be toughies, they just don’t always show it.

Once Malcolm gets Lacy calmed down, we’re able to get the whole story. “I was polishing Katropis.” She started, “She hadn’t been well cared for recently and needed some love. While I was working on her, a vision appeared in the blade. I saw Michael blow the conch for dinner and everyone in the pavilion, eating. Then we were at the campfire and there were meteors, streaking across the sky. Everyone stopped to watch them. That’s when the barrier fell and all the monsters rushed into camp. Everyone died.” Lacy trailed off and Malcolm and I exchanged glances.

“Forewarned is forearmed." I awkwardly comfort Lacy, bending over to pat her arm. “We know when they will attack now and without the element of surprise they can’t win.”

“But Clarisse,” Lacy continued, “Leo wanted to do something romantic for Calypso, so he asked us. My siblings and I suggested stargazing, so we looked up celestial events and tonight the shower will be visible to the naked eye! The monsters attack tonight!”

“What?” I ask, the color draining from my face. Lunch time just passed. “They attack tonight? You’re sure.”

Lacy nodded vehemently. “That’s what I saw.” Crap. She’s starting to hyperventilate again.

“Lacy, I need you to do something for me. This is very important.” I pause to make sure she is listening and after a teary nod, I continue. “I need you to get everyone under ten into Bunker 9, take the path the Demeter Cabin left clear and get most of our remaining food supplies in there with him. Tell Harley to enact plan ‘HPP’, then seal them in the Bunker and get the Demeter and Hecate cabin to grow the path over and booby trap the forest. Can you do that?” She nods, determination flooding her face as the tears halt. She has something to do.

“Most importantly, Lacy,” I warn her. “Don’t tell anyone what you told me. We have a plan, but we can’t have any of the younger or less experienced campers panicking.”

Lacy runs off to do as ordered and I turn to Malcolm. “Plan HPP?” He asks.

“Yes,” I reply with a smile. It’s not a nice smile, it's a smile that says ‘I will rip your arm off and beat you with it if you get in my way. “Plan Dirty Laundry too.”

Malcolm cracks a small smile at that. “I believe we’re rubbing off on you, Daughter of Ares, that might just work even if the Romans and the Seven don’t make it in time.”

“Oh please, Son of Athena. They may not be as pretty as yours, but war always has a plan.”

Chapter Text

The sun set on Camp Half-Blood as Campers ate in the dining pavilion, laughing and play-fighting. As each finished their food, they meandered down to the campfire, settling in for the nightly campfire celebration. The campfire stayed a low, golden-red as the campers settled in for their nightly ritual.

The night started with a rendition of I Am My Own Great-Great-Great-Great Grandpa followed by This Land is Minos’s Land. As the final notes of the song drift into the quiet of the night, meteors streak across the sky. The Half-Bloods stop to watch the celestial phenomenon.

As they peer at the sky, holes burn themselves in the barrier keeping the monsters out, eating outwards from their origin. Monsters come pouring in. At first they have no trouble but soon they meet resistance. To the East, as they pass the climbing wall and Amphitheatre, The ground fails under them, dumping the first wave of monsters into a ravine of lava originating from the climbing wall. To the West, the overgrown and impassable woods block off a majority of the way, funneling the monsters through the stables and strawberry fields, each of which are rigged with greek fire land mines, as is Fireworks Beach to the north, and most of the hill to the south. The only exception is the volleyball pit, which has become a deep pit of quicksand.

Still, too many monsters make it to the fire pit, using their keen senses to surround the campers, who still sit there calmly.

As they fall on the campers, I cancel my illusion and collapse backwards from the strain.

The campers become a pile of smelly, dirty laundry. The more visually oriented monsters blink in confusion at the change, while their more olfactory comrades continue to attempt tearing at the ‘campers’.

In the confusion, the archers fire indiscriminately on the monsters from perches on the surrounding cabins and even from Pegasus back as air support. Festus, with Leo on his back bathes any airborne monsters in flames. The fire pit explodes in a wave of monster guts and char. The campfire burns in the center with a low black flame.

I have to say, monsters not disintegrating has been inconvenient lately. Ever since Gaea’s death, monsters have been leaving corpses. It makes it harder to keep mortals ignorant of our world.

I look at the Hermes campers stationed on the roof of their cabin with me. The Stoll brothers grin at me and I smile back, signaling that I’m OK and draw my twin daggers. Together, we jump into the fray, the campers fighting with a mix of knives, swords, spears, and the occasional mace. The cabin, trained to fight together since each of them were claimed, smoothly integrate me into their formation.

Surveying the battlefield, I see Clarrise, electric spear in hand leading the Ares cabin in slaughtering a path through the monsters. To my left, I see vines covered in thorns and poisonous looking blooms weaving through the hordes. To my right, Hephaestus Cabin’s giant mechanical bulls tear through the monster's ranks. Yes, we’re winning. We will win.

I yell a battle cry, positive my eyes are shining with the flames of my mother’s torches as I behead the Minotaur. Then I hear a snort behind me. Turning, I see the minotaur? How are there two of them? Is this an illusion?

Either way, I steady my stance, loosening my hold on my one remaining knife to allow for maneuverability. The other is stuck in the corpse of a lamia that I downed what feels like ages ago, but couldn’t have been more than a minute before. The minotaur snorts again, then charges, arms extended to either side. I shift from foot to foot. I have to time this right. As the minotaur closes in, I sprint towards it, recklessly narrowing the distance. Once I’m close enough I can feel his warm, slightly moist breath on my neck, I drop into a slide, jamming my knife into his chest and dragging it with me as I roll out of the way of his hooves. The result is a J-shaped slice starting just below his ribs and bisecting his liver.

I stand, suddenly feeling light headed with a sharp pain in my leg. A quick inventory shows that the minotaur scored a couple lucky shots. He nicked my Brachial Artery, based on how heavily my arm is bleeding and broke my leg. Quickly clamping a hand over the arm wound, I limp through the edge of the fighting to the Apollo Cabin’s emergency med tent. I’m no use to anyone if I bleed out in the next few minutes.

As I get bandaged by an Apollo camper, I survey the battlefield. The whole area is littered with monster corpses, both recognizable and never before seen. There are demigod corpses too. Not as many as monsters, but our forces are dwindling and we are losing our forward momentum.

As I watch, Stymphalian birds tear through our resident dragon, downing Festus near the medical tent. The dragon explodes as he hits the ground, probably due to any unused ammo he carried. We’re also down several Pegasi. Clarrise still charges forward, demigods falling into formation behind her.

At the edge of the medical area, Calypso appears with Leo. The pyromaniac is unconscious, a giant gash on his chest, through his breastplate. Will immediately rushes to help him, removing his armour and pressing what looks like the remains of a t-shirt to his wound.

"He's losing too much blood! We have to cauterize it!" Will tells Calypso, hair wild and slightly bloody like he had run his fingers through the blond strands, not bothering to clean them first.

"Couldn't that cause internal bleeding?" The Titaness protests.

"He is going to die if we don't stop the blood loss. We’re out of Ambrosia and he’s had too much recently anyway. When I take the compression off, I need to press the cauterizer on him immediately or he will bleed out.” Will commanded, gesturing to something resting in a nearby brazier. “Ready? 3, 2, 1, now!"

Will removed the rags he had been using to stem Leo's blood flow as Calypso pressed a sword, heated to the point of glowing red to Leo's wound. Leo started screaming in pain.

"We're hurting him!" Calypso cried.

"Good, screaming is good. If he can scream he's still alive." Will replied grimly.

"The wound, it's not cauterizing!" Calypso cried.

"Zeus' tighty whities, he's fire resistant.” Will cried, “The fire must not be hot enough! Damnit Valdez, your powers are going to get you killed."

I grit my teeth and as soon as I’m stitched up with gauze and a compression bandage on my arm, with my leg splinted I stagger to the edge of the building and summon fire. I light several monsters on fire, including something that looks suspiciously like a Wendigo and something that resembles a Kelpie. I’d heard the Gods were cursing mortals again, but I didn’t realize they would be so plagiaristic. I wonder if monster designs are patented, or if pantheons have some kind of plagiarism punishment. Can a God get detention? No, that’s silly. Dionysus has had detention at Camp Half-Blood for decades.

Releasing my magic, my skin feels hot and tight from overuse of my powers. It feels like my humanity is too small to contain the divinity that flows through my veins. I fall to my knees and then to the floor, almost tapped out.

I use my last bit of magic to send my consciousness outwards in a last ditch attempt to help. All that means I feel when Leo takes his last breath, blood slowing to a seep from his chest. I feel Clarisse impaled by the tusk of a giant boar monster. I burn with Calypso’s pain as she releases her magic with a screech, incinerating countless monsters. Yet countless more fill their spaces and eventually a monster with blades for arms surprises her from behind, bisecting her long ways.

I feel my sibling’s lights extinguish as they too burn through their magic and countless others fall to the horde of beasts. The Stolls are incinerated in Greek fire from some monster made of it. Their skeletons, locked around each other in a hug, are the last part of them to burn. Malcolm is eaten alive by Harpies, screaming for help as they scavenge his entrails. No one reaches him in time. Will dissolves in the acid dripping off some toxic looking sludge monster. He dies trying to save everyone else.

Soon, I am all that remains of the demigods of Camp Half-Blood.

I snap back to my body, rousing myself for one last bit of magic. I summon my rage and life force to fuel my curse, but before I can speak the curse into being, a spear plants itself in my gut. As the world fades and Charon’s waiting room crystallizes in my view, a smile can’t help but curl my lips. My chapter may be over, but this isn’t the end of the story. My vengeance will be sated.

Chapter Text

Perseus and I step into the prison gym side by side. The gym is neatly divided in two, with a glass pane separating the men from the women. I know from Robin’s briefing the glass is bulletproof and laced with nth metal.

Through the glass, I see Superboy and Icicle Jr. enter. Jr. seems to be speaking a mile a minute, while Conner occasionally replies. The two stop a short distance from where Icicle Sr. and his posse recline on the gym’s bench seating. In their conversation, I feel a spike of sadness from Conner. Before I can ask him about it, a man in a metal mask attacks Jr.

The man isn’t part of the mission, but is still familiar from the villain flashcards Robin has us memorizing. Wally always jokes he doesn’t need the flashcards because he’s already Kid Flash. He had the idea of watching the meteor shower tonight, which I thought would have been a great team bonding activity. Too bad the mission had to happen now.

I just catch Conner pulling the metal-faced man off of Icicle Jr. when Perseus pulls me harshly to the right. I stumble, just missing a five-pound weight flying past my face.

I turn to thank my roommate, but she’s already gone, heading to the back of the room, near the glass and Killer Frost.

Catching up to her, I’m able to catch the end of her muttering something about establishing dominance quickly.

My attention is drawn from my roommate when I feel panic seeping off of Conner. I quickly realize he’s been recognized and my eyes glow briefly as I scramble the metal man’s memory. Turning my attention back to my side of the room, I’m barely in time to stop from running into Perseus’ back as she stops just short of Killer Frost and Devastation and turns to me.

“Who are those two?” She asks, pointing at the blue haired and thorn covered villains. A wave of relief crashes over me. She didn’t notice.

“That’d be Killer Frost an’ Devastation.” I answer, just remembering to use an accent. Does she not know any villains? I’d check her mind if I was sure she wouldn’t feel it. Maybe tonight when she’s sleeping.

She nods, walking towards them. “Now, I wouldn’t…” I start, but before I can finish my sentence or Perseus can reach Frost, a blur of sandy fur lands on my roommate. Perseus kicks her attacker across the room. Should she be able to do that with her powers inhibited?

The furball stands, revealing Cheetah. The supervillainess says something in smooth language with sharp spikes of consonants, made even sharper by the growl hidden in the language before charging at Perseus again.

Perseus spits something back in the same language before doing some move too fast for me to register. The two end up with Cheetah face down on the floor and Perseus sitting on her back, messing with something in her pocket.

Killer Frost approaches the two fighters, appraising Perseus. “Who might you be?” She asks, circling the other villainess.

“Perseus.” my roommate responds, standing smoothly from Cheetah’s back. The cat themed villainess takes the opportunity to slink back into the crowd with one last hiss at Perseus.

“Hmm,” Killer Frost intones. “I don’t know you. What are you and how did you get here?”

Perseus’ mouth quirks up on one side giving her a troublemaking smirk. “Just someone with a little extra strength and speed. Batman took offense to me busting up ‘his’ docks.”

Frost curls an arm around her shoulder. “Have you met Devastation? I think you two will get along swimmingly.”

Perseus smiles at the Ice Villain. “I love meeting new people, especially such upstanding citizens as yourselves.” The two laugh together. This is my opportunity. Something went wrong with me being Frost’s roommate, but now I have a chance to get back on mission.

“Hi!” I cut in awkwardly, last minute remembering to keep up the accent. “Pardon, I’m a just mosey on in here, but I’m Tuppence. My twin over there and I ‘re the Terror Twins. I know youse heard of us.”

Frost glances at 'Tommy', sitting with Icicle Sr. on the other side of the glass and then to Perseus, raising an eyebrow.

Perseus sighs. “My roommate over here is one such upstanding citizen I’ve recently met.”

Frost raises an eyebrow. “Well, then I guess it’s nice to meet you too, Tuppence.”

Devastation looks between Perseus and me and grunts. Perseus offers her a troublemaker grin and a fist bump, which the villainess takes her up on. I can’t help but notice the fist bump slides Perseus backwards on the floor, though neither party seems to be in pain. Maybe, when all this is over I can convince Conner to get ice cream for me. I can get a little stuck to my nose, and he can wipe it off with his thumb. That sounds nice. Picturesque.

Killer Frost takes Perseus to the side as Devastation stands in my way. The two lean on each other, laughing and whispering like best friends. The emotions coming off the two couldn’t be more serious.

The conversation goes on for long enough that I debate using my powers, chances of getting caught or not. Finally though, they rejoin Devastation and I, satisfied smirks on their faces.

I decide waiting until she’s asleep is the better option, a conviction that lasts through dinner and back to our cell.

After checking the villainess is truly asleep, in which I take the drool dripping from the corner of her mouth as proof enough, I make sure Conner knows I won’t be available and why. He disagrees a little with invading the privacy of a convict who’s only been nice to me, but caves easily. It’s not like he could stop me anyway.

I dive into Perseus’ mind and immediately something goes wrong. Instead of her memories or even her subconscious, I find myself in her dream.

Perseus is standing in an endless field of strawberries with a man in black robes. If he could even be called a man. He is very tall, with skin so pale you would think it should be transparent. His black eyes glitter coldly with intelligence. He looks one step away from trying to figure out how to manually divest you of every important organ you own while keeping you alive.

The man is saying something. “... too late, but not for you.”

“Uncle, what’s happening? What’s the threat?” my roommate asks. He’s her uncle? Not much family resemblance. I thought related humans were supposed to look like each other.

“I can’t tell you.” The man states, a faint scowl curling his lips and making him look more dangerous. “All I can say is run. Maybe you can break the cycle. The Council has voted against~”

He cuts himself off abruptly, turning and making eye contact with me. “I see you, eavesdropper. Come out.” His eyes burn with purple flame, enticing me to come out while simultaneously threatening to burn me alive if I do.

With more effort than it should take, I wrench myself away from the man’s pull and violently eject myself from my roommate’s head.

Back in my own body, I gasp as a sharp headache rockets through my brain. My roommate shifts below me and I hold absolutely still; pretending to be asleep.

When the other girl settles back down, I let Conner know I’m fine and pass out.

Chapter Text

I soar over the Oakland Hills, heading for Camp Jupiter. The nearest zeta had been in San Francisco. A place not far on a map from Camp Jupiter, but the flight in my kite form felt to take forever. The Camp had been surprisingly hard to find for such a concentration of magic. I blame the storm clouds swamping the whole coast. The whole sky was darkened by clouds, some with a greenish tinge almost to herald a hurricane. Not that hurricanes usually happen on this coast. Godly interference or Global Warming?

The weather reflected my thoughts as I snapped my beak in irritation. How dare that Ares girl! I am not some weak little magician, just because I don’t swing a sword! I am Sadie Kane, former Eye of Isis and all around badass. I’ll show her.

I flare my wings to slow my flight, landing very uncomfortably in the median near the Caldecott tunnel. Raptors are not made to land on the ground.

I change back to human, brushing off the instinct to find whatever smells so delicious. As I regain my human senses and brain, the delicious scent takes on a more metallic and salty cast. It smells like blood.

Looking around, I see red splatters on the ground, leading to the entrance tunnel. A tunnel that has featured in Percy’s stories about her time with the Romans. That’s not good.

Entering the unguarded tunnel to Camp Jupiter, I see monster corpses littering the ground. Blood is smeared on the walls of the tunnel; some red, some other disturbing colors. Even entrails drip from the pipes lining the ceiling. Looking up, I see the shadows of bodies laying in the overhead pipes. One monster even looks to have been strangled with another’s intestines as it dangles ominously about ¾ of the way down the hallway. That or maybe the knife through the jugular that looks to be pinning the intestines in place killed it. The only sound is the drip, drip, drip of blood.

“Definitely not a bad sign” I mutter sarcastically to myself in an effort to break the tension. ‘Bad sign’ echoes back at me, prompting a shiver down my spine. I pull my wand and staff from the duat, just in case and start walking down the tunnel.

About halfway down the tunnel, and just as I can glimpse the river, I hear the scuff of a foot behind me. Turning I see nothing. “Who, what are you? Come out!” I call.

“You… Out.” echoes back to me. I keep my wand and staff pointed into the tunnel as I slowly back up towards Camp Jupiter. I wince a little as a drop of blood slides down the back of my neck in my inattention. My focus stays on whatever is in the tunnel with me. Something I can’t quite catch shifts in the tunnel. Moving towards me as I back up. After this, I’m totally going to be brushing up on my Greek nasties. I still won’t tell Carter he was right about doing research though. I’d let Ammit eat my heart first.

As I exit the tunnel, I shift to find my footing and put my back to the cliff face near the tunnel’s exit. The thing that had been following me followed me into the light.

Whatever had been in the tunnel was hard to pin down. She, and it seemed to be a she, almost seemed to blend into the surroundings. She was never quite fully there, and seemed to disappear from my thoughts when I glanced away.

“Why are you here? What are you?” I ask, keeping my guard up.

“Here… you.” She replies, gesturing in the direction of the Camp.

I shift my gaze to the Camp, keeping the girl in my peripherals. That doesn’t stop me from paleing and turning to fully face the Roman’s headquarters once I get a glance. “Crap. That’s not good.” I sigh.

“That’s not good.” Camo Girl agrees. She heads towards Camp and I follow. There have to be some survivors.

The camp is in ruins. All of the barracks are burned to their foundations, most with suspiciously body shaped lumps decorating burnt, twisted metal monstrosities that were probably once bunk beds.

“I thought the Romans prided themselves on their preparedness, but these legionaries died in their bunks.” I asked Camo Girl. She was predictably unhelpful in parroting my words back.

“These legionaries died in their bunks” she said. Then she pointed further down the road.

Traveling in the direction I was pointed, I exit the encampment on to some sort of field. There I come across the might of the Roman army.

The neat lines and military precision I’d heard so much about are nowhere to be seen as I survey the field of Romans, bodies thrown like dolls in a kid’s tantrum. Flies dance above the sight. The smell of blood, death, and decay hangs over the field like perfume applied in choking quantities.

I take a second to puke my guts up before mentally smacking myself. Get it in gear, Kane! My grandpappy can handle dead bodies better than that, the old goat. Somehow, Coach’s version of a pep talk running through my internal dialogue hardens my stomach.

“Hello?” I ask. “Anyone still alive in there?”

Silence echoes back at me and it’s only then I realized Camo Girl is gone and I am alone with a bunch of dead bodies.

Just as I’m about to give up and check on the equally destroyed city, which has a ring of destroyed statues around it, a weak voice calls out for help from somewhere near the middle of the battle field.

Weaving around fallen bodies, monster and demigod alike, I try to avoid stepping on as many organs as possible. Though at one point I step on a pegasus’ intestines that are spilling out of a slice in his lower abdomen. I apologize to the pegasus and the girl with the purple cape and gold armour who died with him for good measure. The girl looked like someone important, like she was a leader.

Reaching the area the call for help came from, I called out again. “I’m nearby. Where are you?”

“I’m here!” A distinctly male voice answers from behind me. Turning, I spot a skinny, pale, blonde boy with a narrow, pinched face and blue eyes that glint with something not right in them. He’s also covered almost head to toe in blood, to the point I can’t make out the symbol in his legion tattoo. All I can tell for sure is that there are seven bars of service under it.

“Can you help me? My leg is pinned under a monster.” He grits out. Oh, yeah, and some giant serpentine monster is pinning his legs. Probably saved his life; hid him from the other monsters.

I hurry to assist him, laying an amulet under the beast’s scaly hide. Activating the amulet reveals a camel, lifting a coil off of the boy.

I quickly pull him out from under the monster. The Camel farts once in the boy’s face before returning to its hand-held form. I wince at the amulet, taking a second to feel embarrassed. Second over, I start my inte- questions.

“What happened here?”

The boy’s Adam’s apple bobs. “It started when Iris messaging went down. We couldn’t reach anyone. We sent some people to contact Camp Half-Blood, but no one came back and we didn’t hear from them. When people started falling asleep, we knew something was wrong. No one who fell asleep could be woken up. After that, we diverted all efforts to tracking down whatever monster made it past our defenses and was doing this. No one could find any record of something similar happening. Well, except the Battle of New York, but that was just mortals.”

Ok, sneering at mortals. Definitely not a Red Flag. “Then what happened?” I prompt.

“We figured Hypnos was mad at us or something. The new inferior augur made some sacrifices. Still, no one woke up.” He continued his story. Damn, someone has a chip on his shoulder with this new augur. What’s an augur? Never mind, it doesn’t seem that consequential to why we’re standing in a valley full of dead bodies. “On maybe the third or fourth day with no sleep, the monsters came. Some we’d never seen before. They burned everything, killed everyone. That was last night.”

After a pause of awkward length, where I don’t know how to comfort the older boy, he sighs and kicks a severed monster head like it’s a soccer ball. “Such is the life of a demigod, ehh?”

I nod, gulping and pull my hair back into a ponytail. I should have enough time to bury some warriors before searching out some new allies for camp. Sorry Camp Half-Blood. I don’t think you’ll be getting any help from the Romans.

Chapter Text

“So, how come you ain’t sittin’ with your Pa?” I asked Icicle Jr, joining him at his table. My muscles were tensed under my orange jumpsuit. Despite how much trouble they had caused me before, I couldn’t help but wish for my superpowers to work. The breakout could be any minute now.

‘Cause my ‘Pa’ is a jerk! Who only wants me around when he needs me.” Icicle replied, anger and disappointment saturating his voice. “I try not to live or die over getting his approval. You know?” As much as Junior is a villain, he does have some good points. I wish I could just forget about impressing Superman. That’s not who I was programmed to be though…

I’m broken out of my thoughts by Junior’s abrupt change in topic. “So, tell me about your sister. And her cellmate if you know anything.”

“What?” I asked surprised. “Ugh, she’s a pain, my sister is. An’ her cellmate’s a chicken short of a coop. Keeps claimin’ we know each other. Why?”

“They’re hot!” Icicle reasoned. “You can’t see ‘cause you’re family and, I don’t know, maybe you’re blind, but I look at them and I think… These chicks get me. And so what if one of them is a, uhm, ‘chicken short’, that’s really all you need. I’d take either one of them, I see the psycho that they both are and like them anyway.” Icicle sighed.

“Yeah…” I responded. My thoughts drifted to someone. Someone who sees who I am, how I struggle. Someone who not only accepted who I am, but also supported me. My stomach started to feel weird. It was a euphoric and scary feeling at the same time. I think there’s something wrong with me.

“I know that look.” Junior grinned, unabashedly. “Who is it?”

The feeling in my stomach started rising up my esophagus. It felt like it was almost blocking my airway and making my lips curl in a smile at the same time. I stuffed the feeling back down and cleared my throat to answer. “What? No one, just a friend.”

Junior snorted at my proclamation and raised an eyebrow. I took the opportunity to change the subject before he could get another word in. “Say, you must be some kind a evil genius.”

Junior’s grin widened. “Word.” He replied, offering a fist bump. I reciprocated. What does he mean by ‘Word’? Is this slang? I’ll ask Nightshade when I get back, maybe she’ll know. And if not, we can have a good laugh about the ridiculousness of it. My stomach swirled harder at the thought.

“That’s it old man!” Rings out from another table, turning I spot Mr. Freeze. Once the man is sure he has everyone’s attention, he weaponizes his food tray to smack Icicle Sr. out of his seat. “I’m done! Belle Reve needs a new Capo!” His call for revolution ends in a scream of pain, clutching his collar as electricity courses through his body.

“This ain’t Arkham, Freeze.” A guard with the name Wilcox on his badge stated, holding the remote to Freeze’s collar.

Freeze fell to his knees and was dragged off by two or three guards.

“Come on!” Icicle Jr. says, dragging me towards the door as guards start rounding everyone up to return to their cells.

M’gann! I call out with my mind I think the breakout is starting.

I receive a faint flutter of acknowledgement as Junior and I start down the hallway to our cells.

Out of nowhere, Icicle Sr. appears behind us. The man grabs his son and throws him into a wall. Junior huffs in pain as he hits the cold, hard metal. Placing one hand on the wall over Junior's head and bearing down over him, Senior growls at his son. “There’s a glitch. Can't reach Frost.”

I cut in. This is my chance to join the operation. “ ‘cuse me,” I drawl, “but I couldn’t help overhearin’.

“That’ll happen when you eavesdrop.” Icicle Sr. glared aggressively back at me.

“Yeah, well.” I brushed the accusation off. “I can help. I got this mind link with my sister.”

“I know your stats boy, super strength only. No telepathy.”

“It don’t pay to advertise when they slappin’ collars ’round ya neck.” I reason, curving my body like I’m sharing a secret.” Thank you Black Canary’s lying lessons. “We’re twins, see? Got the psychic thing in utero. So, you talk to me, I talk to Sis, Sis talks to Frost.”

“Fine, boy.” Senior decides. “Tell them the breakout’s happening now.”

I pass the message to M’gann and give Senior a stoic nod when I get confirmation back from M’gann.

Senior walks away and I check on Junior. “You okay?”

Before he can reply, alarms start sounding and the lights die in our collars. I take the opportunity to remove mine, just incase some kind of failsafe triggers later while I’m trying to stop the breakout. The Icicles remove theirs too. Disappointing. Hopefully most of them leave the collars on. It’ll be easier to round them up later.

From there it’s pretty much chaos, though M’gann and I are in contact the whole time. Most of the prisoners riot while the Ice Villain ringleaders seem to have some plan going. They are freezing and smashing the walls. They aren’t getting through the wall very fast, but they are making progress. M’gann says it’s the same on her side. It’s all stuff we can deal with until something happens to M’gann.

Conner! ~Ah! She mentally yells in my head

M’gann! I call back with no response. I’m so focused on trying to get in touch with M’gann that the Icicles manage to sneak up on me. M’gann, please. I will reach you. Please be okay.

“Still in touch with your sister?” Senior asks. “Everything copesthetic in chick central?”

“Uh, yeah.” I stammer. “Copesthetic.”

“Then why ya both standin’ around?” Senior snarled, leaning in agressively.

“We’re on it Dad!” Junior replied in a way that made me think he cares a little more about what his ‘Pa’ thinks than he’d previously admitted to. Junior then drags me towards the wall the women should be breaking through.

M’gann! I keep calling as Junior coats the wall in ice.

“This wall adjoins the women’s wing” Junior explains.

“Uh, oh yeah.” I respond, trying to pretend I hadn’t studied the layout of Belle Reve before coming here.

“We work it from our end, while Frost and her ladies work it from theirs.” Junior explains as I step up to the wall and start punching through the weakened concrete. “Then the babes cross over into our wing and we all walk free together.”

After a few more punches a plan comes together in my head. It’s not perfect, but it’s something. “Junior listen.” I start, “I just got me a warnin’ from Tup. Collars are turnin’ back on in the women’s wing. Could happen this side any minute.”

“Aw, man. We better tell Dad.” Junior whines.

“Or… We could show some initiative.” I smirk. Come on, take the bait.

Junior smiles in response and the two of us head towards the Warden’s office. There Junior and I take out the three guards posted by his father. I leave the villain in the hallway, darting into the office to turn the collars back on.

As soon as my mission is successful, I run back to the adjoining wall. It’s time to get M’gann out of here.

Chapter Text

I navigated the marshes of southern Louisiana as quickly as possible, swimming for Camp Half-Blood. It looks like Belle Reve will have to change its escape record from zero to one. Though hopefully they won’t notice I’m gone. As the water shifts from fresh to salt, I mentally thank whichever architect had the grand idea to build the prison in a swamp with water on all sides, even below. Hades, the prison was even slowly sinking into the marsh, it’s a miracle it hasn’t sprung a leak yet.

Well, now it has.

Every day in ‘gym class’ I had slowly worn a hole in the floor straight to the sewer system. A system that dumped into the swamp outside. They need to rethink their environmental policies too. I’m pretty sure they should be the ones locked up for illegal fecal dumping.

I was almost sucked into my memories multiple times, but focusing on how my family needs me helped. And maybe Strange’s sessions were helpful too.

My escape hadn’t been glamourous, but it had been successful, something I couldn’t say for Killer Frost and her buddies. I do feel a little bad agreeing to help, only to leave them in the lurch, but they would do the same to me. It’s not like we’re friends. Besides, I have to get to Camp before… before.

The icing on the cake of my escape was actually a certain empousa.

I was about to crack the gym floor and was wondering why the other female inmates weren’t trying to get to the men’s side through the divided gym (surely glass would be easier to break than solid cement) when I heard the clank of a metal leg.

Turning, I’m just in time to catch the empousa charging at me. “Kelli?” I asked incredulously, “What are you doing here?”

She smiled, an insane light in her eyes. Surveying her, she seemed less well-kept than usual. Her cheerleader costume was reduced to a few threads and she seemed almost feral as she snarled at me. “I am here to end you Perseus! This is all your fault! My benefactors have spoken and you are to die!” drool dribbled down her chin with her words. Taking a closer look, I noticed she actually had festering wounds decorating her entire body. As I watched, I saw a maggot wriggle in the side of her neck. The smell of rotting meat perfumed the whole room. Her fire seemed weaker than normal, almost out, and her donkey leg trembled beneath her.

“What happened to you?” I asked as she swiped wildly at me. Gone was her cheer and precision, she almost seemed to be more wild beast than girl. At least she can still talk, maybe I can get some information from her.

“I have been selected to end you, Perseus.” She cackled. “He was given the responsibility of taking care of his mistake and I have been chosen as his emissary. I’ll admit, I took some convincing, but I am going to enjoy this! The Renewal has begun and I will have the honor of ending it!”

“What’s the Renewal?” I ask.

Kelli’s smile widens and blood starts to drip from one of her tear ducts. “Everyone swore on The River not to say. Well, almost everyone. No one cares about a single empousa.”

“So you can tell me?” I ask.

Kelli’s bottom lip rips and a maggot crawls out of her flesh as her smile widens to proportions not supportable by her skeletal structure. “All you need to know is that you’re too powerful and now you all die.” Kelli giggled.

A shiver travels up my spine. “All?”

“Five, six, seven, eight! Soon our bloodlust shall be sate! This little piggy gets slaughtered, and that little piggy gets its head on a pike! Each and every little tike!” Kelli sang quietly to herself, switching tunes half way through, while I processed my reality. Someone’s going to kill all the Half-Bloods because of me. No, Camp is too prepared. They’ll never be taken.

“Who.” I ask with an icy calm I’m not known for. “Who is after the Half-Bloods.”

Kelli clucked as she waggled a finger in my face. “That would be telling! Though it really shouldn’t be hard to figure out.”

Something on my face must have been amusing to Kelli, as she threw her head back, shrieking with laughter. Suddenly the icy dread and anger in my veins flared into a fiery rage. My vision goes black and when I return to reality Kelli is dead at my feet with not a single mark on her. Did I do that? I didn’t mean… I’ve got to go.

I concentrate hard on Kelli, weaving as much mist as quickly as possible around her body. Once I’m fairly sure the mist is thick enough to fool Batman ~not that it’s hard, man’s as stubborn and closed-minded as coral~ I dive into my newly created escape hole.

A small shock from my collar lets me know Waller has the prison back under her control. I rip the device to pieces with a strong riptide. The current kind, not my sword. The chances of it having a tracker are too great to leave it on now that it’s reactivated.

Taking a deep breath of water, I focus back on getting to Camp. It’s not too late, I can still save them. I can still make sure they live.

Chapter Text

I grab a shovel out of the duat. You’d be surprised how often a shovel comes in handy when dealing with Egyptian mythology. It uncovers artifacts, works as an impromptu weapon, and sometimes works as an ideological symbol to confuse ancient deities with. Today, it’s used to bury demigods.

I turn over a little bit of dirt. “What are you doing?” The surviving demigod asks.

“I’m giving them a decent burial?” I question.

The demigod turns so his side faces me and rests his weight onto his back foot. “Who are you? You’re not a demigod, any demigod who would know how to find camp would also know we burn our dead.”

I shift slightly, unconsciously mimicking the demigod’s defensive stance with the shovel still in front of me. “I’m Sadie Kane, Egyptian magician. I’m friends with Percy. Who are you?” I return the question.

A glint of something reminiscent of disgust flits through the other demigod’s eyes. “Percy, you say? Well, any friend of Percy’s.” His stance relaxes, though his body still seems to almost vibrate with tension. “I’m Octavian, a friend. Percy might not have mentioned me before.”

An itch scratches at my brain with his name. I’ve heard it before. The itch erupts in my head as a shooting pain and I wince in response. I shake my head to clear it, but my brain still feels a little foggy. My previous recognition vanishes into the reaches of my mind and I notice my shovel is now on the ground. “It’s nice to meet you, Octavian.”

I catch the man right as he takes a swig out of a weird flask, so I wait for him to finish. “It’s nice to meet you too, Sadie.” He smiles a little crookedly and my instincts scream something is off. My brain disagrees though, Octavian is perfectly safe. He’s a Half-Blood, just like Percy. “I think we’re going to be great friends.”

I nod and smile back at him. “Tell me,” He says, “It’s been so long since I’ve seen my favorite Son of Neptune. How’s Percy doing?”

I open my mouth and start talking. A voice, slightly off from my own, whispers in my head; it’s only Octavian, he’s Percy’s friend and he’s concerned. I should tell him everything.

As we talk, Octavian and I head out of Camp Jupiter and the events of the last few days suddenly seem less important. It’s time to keep Octavian up-to-date on Percy.

As we walk through the Oakland Hills, Octavian takes another swig from his flask and flashes me a charming smile. My shovel remains behind in Camp Jupiter.

Chapter Text

I dragged myself out of the surf a klick from the border of Camp Half-Blood. As soon as I’m not touching the water I start to feel dizzy and fall to my knees. I have to keep moving. I have to warn them.

Focusing on the sand in front of me, I see a pair of black combat boots. The boots lead to army pants, which are attached to a stained wife beater. Hovering over the wife beater is a fugly face only interrupted by wraparound shades.

I stare at Ares for a second before dropping my head back into the sand. Maybe if I lay here for another minute he’ll disappear. It’s possible.

“Punk.” The God of War prompted. His word was followed by a kick to the head with his combat boot. That was probably supposed to be a nudge.

Hauling myself to my feet I glare dolefully at him. Then, completely ignoring the God, I start walking toward Camp Half-Blood.

Ares doesn’t bother following me, but it’s not long before I come across another obstacle.

“Moo.” A cow stands suspiciously in my path, staring at me. As I watch a fly lands on the cow’s eye. The little beast flicks its tail in an effort to deter the insect. It does nothing. I wonder if animals ever feel like Half-Bloods, sent on pointless errands, sorry quests, only to die in random ways in the name of the Gods.

“You’re one of Hera’s stealth cows that used to harass Annabeth, aren’t you.” I ask flatly.

The cow moos in response.

I grumble a little before turning back to the beach. I drag my feet to Ares, making eye contact with one of the eyelets on his boots. “What.”

“You aren’t upholding our deal.” Ares grumbled.

“You mean your blackmail.” I correct.

Ares clears his throat, a sound reminiscent of shifting gravel or Batman’s voice. Seriously, get the man a lozenge. “You are to return to the team of Mortal Heroes.”

“How do I know you’re keeping your side of the deal?” I ask, suspiciously. I did learn some things from Annabeth. Number one, never trust a God who hasn’t sworn anything. “Swear it on the River Styx.” A crack of thunder sounds in the distance.

Ares’ mouth curves into a craggy smile. “You’re learning punk. The only question is if it’s too late. Very well. As long as Perseus Jackson holds to her side of the deal, no harm will come to any of the demigods currently living at Camp Half-Blood~”

“~Or Camp Jupiter” I interject.

“~Or Camp Jupiter. This I swear on the River Styx.” Thunder booms in the distance as a slight sheen of white reflects in Ares’ slightly glossy eyes.

His eyes clear and we Man Nod at each other, sealing the deal.

I turn and head back to the sea. “Now if you’ll excuse me, your War-iness, I’m going to take a long nap and swim back to Mount Justice.”

Chapter Text

A dark mood hung over the Bio-ship as everyone tried to come to terms with Artemis’ death. She was fine one minute, then she was gone…

A scratching noise distracted me from my thoughts, glancing around I see something scuttering in the corner of the Bio-ship. Leaning to get a better look, all I see are spiderwebs. Hmm.

“We have to move on.” Aqualad declares. “Artemis died, it’s horrible, but she would want us to save as many people as possible. We are still alive, and with every bone in our bodies, we will fight on.”

Everyone turned to gape at the team leader. Kid Flash blurred and was suddenly in Aqualad’s face. “So we just forget about her?” He hissed, “move on like she never existed? You may not have feelings, but the rest of us miss our friend!”

“No.” A voice cuts in, turning I see Nightshade speaking for the first time since we left Mount Justice. “Aqualad is right. We have to move on and save as many people as possible. There’s no time for grief. We do not forget our fallen, but we also do not let them hold us back from saving others.”

Kid Flash deflates like Nightshade’s word’s cut the only strings holding him up. He retreats to his seat. I listen to Nightshade’s heart, though she talks a good game, the speed of her heart betrays her, she moments from breaking down.

“It is the Atlantean way.” Kaldur states, giving Nightshade a weird look.

Robin tightens his fists, the fabric on his palms making a slight squeaking sound. “They’re right. They all might be gone, but we can still save people. We need to get to the Hall of Justice.”

In what feels like no time at all, we reach the Hall of Justice. An alien ship is menacing the Hall, US military trying to fight against them. The ship buzzes low over the defending military force, firing its ray gun. This one seems different from the other ships though. People hit by the beam don’t disintegrate. Instead they change.

Their bodies swell to bulbous proportions, splitting near the middle of their body. Their neck swells too, merging their head to the upper split of their body as their arms seem to split into two long spindly sticks. Two more limbs erupt from each side of their bodies. The former humans screech as their eyes multiply and turn pure black and beady. Each soldier hit by the beam becomes a giant spider.

The neat lines of military personnel scatter as suddenly they’re under threat from the alien ship above and their own mutated comrades.

Aqualad grunts at the new development and starts issuing orders along the mental link. Kid Flash and Nightshade, rescue the remaining military personnel. M’gann and Superboy, take out the ship. Robin, scout the area. I’ll randevu with their commanding officer.

An affirmation flutters along the bond from each of us and M’gann opens a hole in the bottom of the Bio-ship. Everyone except M’gann and I drop through the new hole. I wait until we are over the foreign ship to drop down on top of it while M’gann lays down coverfire.

I dig my hands into the material coating the ship. Whatever that material is, it isn’t metal. The ship’s hull is made of woven fibers, each fiber is smooth looking but strong. Together they are kind of sticky. I let go a little from my grip on the hull. My hand is stuck.

Glancing around, I see the ship is coming by for another pass. The ship aims it’s main gun, mounted on top of the ship, at Nightshade. Adrenalin courses through me, enough to rip my hand free of the offending material and launch myself upward, twisting the phaser to the side just in time. The beam hits the man next to Nightshade, who she was trying to protect.

My eyes widen as a feeling rises in my chest. I viciously push it down, wrestling with the ship’s gun, my feet twisting in the material making up the machine. How is this thing withstanding the air velocity when I dent it just by touching it? No enhanced strength needed.

I manage to twist the blaster free, dropping with it through the rest of the ship and tearing a hole in it. A bunch of foamy stuff sticks to me as I drop through, landing like a seismic event on the cement fifty feet below.

I immediately take off towards where my team was fighting the giant spiders, though something is odd about them. They all seem focused on Nightshade. Sure, they’d retaliate against anyone else who attacked them, but they were actively going after her. The other odd thing is that nothing anyone does seems to harm the spiders. Except Nightshade. Golden blood runs down her blade and several spider corpses lay at her feet. Robin looks a little pale at the sight.

I step over the corpses and drop into a defensive stance at Nightshade’s back. I don’t ask any questions, just get ready to have her back and funnel as many monsters onto her sword as possible. She takes a second to throw a small smile over her shoulder as she shifts to accommodate me.

After that is a whirlwind of long, hairy legs and flashing metal. Bronze, a voice in my head corrects. Before long, every giant spider is curled towards the sky, dead.

I poke the one nearest to me with my boot and its legs twitch. Maybe not dead? I scoot a little further from it just in case.

Distantly, I hear Aqualad talking to the soldiers, probably planning our next moves. All I can focus on is figuring out what’s wrong here. There’s something wrong with this scenario, but I can’t put my finger on it.

Before I can question everything more, M’gann calls out, running towards a fallen statue. Digging into the rubble, the martian pulls someone out. Is that Martian Manhunter? I think in disbelief.

“Ha!” Wally declared, “I was right! It is a teleporting beam! Martian Manhunter must have been phasing when it hit him and that’s how he escaped!”

“That.” Martian Manhunter winced, holding his head, “Seems unlikely.”

“Well,” Nightshade asked abruptly, drawing everyone’s attention. “What happened then?” I can’t help but notice she still hasn’t put her sword away and it’s leaking spider guts onto the floor. I maneuver myself to her side. I can tell from the glare she has aimed at the martians that she thinks something’s wrong too. I exchange glances with Robin and he falls in line with us too.

“Something’s wrong.” The Boy Wonder voices for the three of us. “I’m not talking about the spiders, though that’s… weird. Something is off about this whole situation.”

Nightshade nods once in agreement and I add a grunt of agreement as well, and Aqualad has a confused look on his face. Wally is already across the room examining part of the wall.

“What do you mean?” M’gann asked, looking hopeful. “If my Uncle is alive, that means everyone probably is!”

I wince at a sudden headache. “Right.” Robin said, “Right. We have to rescue everyone.”

Nightshade still looks confused and is blinking like the light is too bright. Before she can speak up though, Aqualad starts issuing orders. “Gather anything that could be useful and any wounded. We’re leaving.”

The general or major, or whoever is currently most qualified to lead salutes from his position in Aqualad’s shadow and starts barking orders at his men.

We gather around the spot of wall Wally was examining earlier just in time for it to fold outward into a zeta tube. I am supporting most of The Martian Manhunter’s weight as he leans on me.

“All right!” The speedster grinned manically. “Let’s get everyone out of here.”

Aqualad steps forward to take command. “Excellent work Kid.” He then turns to Martian Manhunter and the soldiers, dipping his head to the commanding officer and Martian. “Commander, we will evacuate you and your men first. Martian Manhunter, if you would configure the zeta for unapproved guests.”

The martian nods, grimacing imperceptibly to anyone who can’t feel the slight movement. “It can only be one at a time.”

“Do it.” Our leader responds solemnly.

“Incoming!” Echoes through the partially destroyed hall. Turning, I see Nightshade running towards us, scatter shots from another ship trailing behind her. Each shot mutates parts of the ground into new spiders.

Aqualad jumps in front of us, forming a shield of water in front of us. “Martian Manhunter.” He intones calmly. “I believe speed is of the essence.”

There is no response from the Martian other than the zeta firing up. Meanwhile, the ship takes pieces out of Aqualad’s water shield, each shot turning more of the water into spiders that are quickly killed by Nightshade.

Some part of my brain notices Kid Flash muttering something about scientific impossibilities, mutantagenic capabilities, and molecular entanglement in disbelief. I focus on driving the spiders toward Nightshade’s blade. Not that they need encouragement, they are all practically running for her.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I realize all of the soldiers are safely out of the Hall of Justice and it’s now our turn. All of us start backing toward the zeta and Robin slips through followed by Miss Martian.

At this point, Aqualad is almost out of water and I notice the pile of spider corpses is starting to move.

The pile of spiders starts to writhe, undulating in a wave of legs and eyes before it slowly starts to stand. The behemoth is vaguely spider shaped, if spiders had hairy heads sticking out of every possible orifice of its body; for its pores to mouth. Each with its own hairy mandibles and eyes.

The monster took a single step towards us and opened its mouth. A voice warbled out something that vaguely sounded like ‘Perseus Jackson’. Nightshade took the opportunity to cut one of its legs out from under it.

The monster toppled forward, swiping wildly at us. One of its legs is aimed irreversibly at Nightshade. My eyes widen as I lunge for her. I’m too slow. I know it, she knows it.

I blink for what feels like forever and when I open my eyes, Aqualad is in front of Nightshade; A spider leg hits him. As I watch, he crashes into a wall and is buried in debris. His heartbeat fades to nothing under the rubble. No time to mourn.

Martian Manhunter calls us, it’s time to zeta out of here. I turn to Nightshade to make sure she knows. She nods slightly at me to go and turns to the fallen spider, which is now struggling to its feet.

“What are you? What do you want?” She asks the giant spider. She also shoots me a look that she will be right behind me and turns back to the monster. I start inching toward Martian Manhunter, who I force through the beam before me.

“We are the Dreamweavers.” They chorus. “Children of Morpheus and Arachne, and we desire revenge!”

Nightshade spits something in another language, some of them probably curse words.

The spider chuckles, finally regaining its feet, only for them to be swept from under it again as some kind of earthquake shudders through the room. “Even monsters get lonely and take comfort from others over a millenia.” Their voice hissed like the scraping of corn husks against each other. That’s the last I hear as the Hall of Justice evaporates and the zeta room of Mount Justice crystalizes in front of me.

I jump out of the way and anxiety is just starting to rise in me when the machine revs up again and Nightshade falls through.

As soon as we are all in the mountain, we move to the center of the room and start tending to our wounds. Robin and the commander, who I learn is actually a lieutenant with a field promotion and is the highest ranked soldier left, start strategizing our next move. I take the opportunity to scoot over to Nightshade, who seems to be working some things out in her head.

“What was that?” I ask her.

“What was what?” She replies with a faux innocent look.

I give her a deadpan look with a hint of exasperation. “The spider talked and you seemed to understand what was going on.”

“They said they were the Dreamweavers.” She mused under her breath. I only pick it up with my super hearing. “Then this must be a dream. Which means…”

She turns to me, something like fear and regret swirling in her sea-colored eyes. “What?” I ask. “What does it mean?”

She backs away from me slowly, shaking her head. She stops a few feet from me and straightens her spine. “Shh, They’re listening.”

A chill runs down my spine and I drop into a ready position. The room stills as everyone turns to us.

“What’s going on?” Robin asks.

“The aliens, they’re here.” I state.

Tension fills the room as the rest of my team drops into ready positions and Robin starts calling out orders. “Commander. Set up with your men in the zeta tube, protect our retreat with Martian Manhunter. Miss Martian, link us up. Everyone else? Get ready.”

We stay towards the edges of the room, Nightshade and I are to the right of the zeta, while Kid Flash, Miss Martian, and Robin are to the left. My ears pick up a creaking above us a split second before the roof starts to fall. I dive on top of Nightshade as I see a flicker of lightning opposite us. A mothership breaches the mountain, setting down mere feet from us.

How did they find us? How did they get so close without an alarm going off? Robin asks along the mind link.

A spike of fear shoots down the connection from Nightshade as mental barriers start to cut her off from the rest of us. Miss Martian flinches from across the room. “What’s wrong?” I ask the girl next to me.

Hesitation flickers across her face, but it seems she quickly makes her decision. “They have a spy.” She declares. “Those aren’t soldiers.”

I relay the information to Robin and Kid Flash grabs Martian Manhunter as the Lieutenant steps forward. “I see you have figured it out, Sea Scum.” His head twitches unnaturally to the side as all the remaining soldiers flicker into giant spiders. He grins. Don’t ask me how giant spiders can grin because I don’t think I want to know and you definitely don’t. Anyway, his grinning mandibles drip with venom. He opens his mouth to speak again, when suddenly a sword is growing from his chest.

Turning, I see Nightshade in her usual outfit, but with a few upgrades. A helmet sits on her head of spartan design. Her sword is no longer sheathed at her side, probably because it’s in the giant spider. I can see several knives sticking out of various parts of her ensemble, including a large one in her boot. She looks fierce and ready for battle. She looks beautiful. As I watch, several of those knives find new homes in several giant spiders. Then she situates herself in a corner. Though somehow she has just as many blades as she started with.

“This is a dream.” She states, firmly, not an inch of improbability in her voice.

“A dream…” Martian Manhunter echoes. “That’s right.” The Martian stands tall behind the rest of the team as giant spiders pour out of the Mothership. “There are no captives. The disintegration ray is just that, a disintegration ray. There is no one to save.”

Kid Flash turned to Martian Manhunter in horror, just in time for the superhero to cut him down, swiftly followed by Robin. Nightshade didn’t notice, too absorbed in throwing some green gook in a jar at the Mothership. The shattered jar released green flames that started consuming everything, including both martians and our teammates' bodies.

Everything burns except a single spider that steps out of the inferno before it could be consumed. “Our revenge will be sated. “ It hissed, clicking its mandibles in anger. “If not us, another.”

The spider and Nightshade charge each other, sword to razorsharp spider legs. Wait, didn’t she throw her sword at another spider? How does she have it back?

The two meet in a clash of violence, each aiming to filet the other. Nightshade quickly overcomes the spider and the spider fades into wisps of mist along with the other spider carcasses.

I sigh in relief and rush to Nightshade. “You alright?” I ask.

She lets out a broken chuckle, turning to me with tears in her eyes. “What is alright?” I feel the urge to hug her, so I lean forward, tucking her into my arms as much as possible, a cocoon against the current state of our world.

I suddenly feel a sharp pain in my back as tears wet the front of my shirt. My eyes widen as I look for another spider. The world fades to black as I realize there aren’t any.

I gasp into awakeness, shooting up, on a bed in the cave. The rest of the team is around me, slowly waking. Beside me is Nightshade, slowly stirring from her place. I flash back to her betrayal and what must have been a kryptonite knife in my back. I glance away quickly.

“What happened?” It takes me a second to recognize the croaking voice as my own.

“It was a simulation.” Batman grunts. “There were some… unforeseen happenings.” At his words, the room fades and I remember. A training exercise. Train for failure.

Batman seems to have hit his limit on emoting with those words, so Martian Manhunter takes over for him. “You went in knowing it was a simulation, that’s why when Wolf died, you barely mourned. But something happened with Artemis’ death. M’gann’s mind refused to accept any other reality. She had a death grip on the scenario. It allowed corruption to seep in. It seemed Nightshade had some kind of mystical eggs in her head, most likely left over from some other encounter. Thankfully, they seem to be gone now. Naturally, as soon as I realized the situation, I entered the scenario myself to put an end to it, though I was swept along with the might of M’gann’s mind. It was only when Nightshade somehow broke through M’gann’s mind that I remembered. I then immediately took steps to decrease the amount of psychic noise. We are lucky everyone was extracted properly.”

“You mean when you killed us!” Wally blustered.

“It was the only solution.” The Martian replied.

I look at Nightshade and she studiously avoids my eyes. She saved me from an eternity stuck in my head. Instead of saying anything though, I peel myself off the cot and retreat towards my room, my teammates also retreating with their mentors to lick their wounds. I have some questions that need answering, but not tonight.

Chapter Text

I stared the beast down in defiance as she let out a humming sound, considering her best avenue of attack. I tensed and prepared to fight.

“I want you to think of me as someone you can talk to. I’m here to help you.” I gave Black Canary a passive face despite my body being on high alert. I tracked everything that moved, felt every brush of air on my skin and every droplet off the waterfall behind me. Seriously, who has a full water fall in their psychology room? The rushing of the water is a little distracting. Huh, the tempo of the water changed again. I think it’s the tempo, maybe it’s the rhythm? Or are those the same thing? It kind of sounds like that song. I don’t remember what it’s called but it kinda goes bum, bum pa-oosh. “~you.”

Black Canary pulls me from my thoughts on the last word of what she was saying. I blink at her, then smile and nod. Hopefully she didn’t just ask a question. I’m 80% sure she didn’t ask a question. Okay, now that I’m thinking about it, 75%.

“Excellent.” She says. Crap, what did I just agree to?

“So, tell me about your family. Are you an only child?” She asked, a considering look on her face.

“No.” The less I say, the less she can get off of me.

“She hums consideringly and asks another question, “Do you have a close bond with your parents? What about your siblings?”

I shrug. She prompts me for more with a raised eyebrow. “Half-siblings.” I answer, “I have a lot of half-siblings.”

“Do you ever feel like you and your siblings have to compete for attention?” She asks.

I release a snort before I have time to stop it. She just raises her other eyebrow. “Dear old dad gives me plenty of attention.”

She hums again at that and I crack. “I mean, I get more attention than my cousins get a lot of the time and every family has its favorites. It doesn’t really matter that it’s mostly to help out.”

“Has your family always asked you to do so much, or is it just recently?” Black Canary prompted.

“Well recently my dad had a mental breakdown and I had to go help. His dad and grandma were just making it worse and someone had to take care of the three of them.” I replied sarcastically, "Look, I didn't want to be a hero, I was done with that. But you guys asked me, the world's in trouble and I'm here, OK? I'm here.” The words flowed out of my mouth like an unstoppable tsunami, inescapable.

“It’s interesting you equate helping your family out with hero work.” Black Canary mused. “As for not being a hero, that’s something you should talk to Batman and Dr. Fate about. We are not in the business of forcing minors to be heroes. Your life is your own, the world in trouble or not. If you don’t step up, someone else will.”

I feel my eyes widen as shock shows on my face, destroying my neutral expression. Ha! If only it worked that way! I would’ve turned in my weapons years ago. Maybe become a sailor or a pirate! I think pirating would be cool. It doesn’t work that way. I am the daughter of Poseidon, there is no way out of that.

My face softens as I smile. “You’re right.” I lie through my teeth. “Though I didn’t originally want to join the team, I have really found my place here.”

Black Canary smiles back at me. “I’m so glad you feel that way. Are there any members of the team you are particularly close to?” She may be a psychologist, but she’s just as blind as anyone else.

I contemplate for a minute. “Sadie and I are close.” I decide, “We have been friends for a few years. Though I don’t know where she is right now.”

I had returned to Mount. Justice to find no Sadie, a flooded cave, and a complaining Blackjack. He objected to being left behind and didn’t like that his tail was slightly singed. Apparently, Red Tornado knockoffs, hence dubbed Red Torpedo and Red Inferno, had attacked the cave and corrupted their lookalike. Half the team had almost drowned and half had almost burnt to death. We’d then learned the team had a mole. A revelation that immediately set my stomach turning. In my paranoia the glint of Artemis’ arrows turned into a glittering scythe charm, taunting me from the corner of my eye. The charm continues to taunt me in the corner of my eye and my nightmares. I often find myself warding against evil with the three clawed gesture Grover taught me so many years ago. It never lasts. We then immediately went on a quest that ended with Superboy adopting a giant wolf. The two were pretty cute together.

Superboy had also proved I could count on him to have my back during the simulation. He had my back even when he knew things didn’t add up. He believed in me and I killed him. Another recurrence in my nightmares was killing Superboy.

Everyone thought I had realized we were trapped in the simulation but that couldn’t be further than the truth. I had thought myself back in the Pit, tormented by my enemies covered in illusions of my friends. I had truly believed Superboy was the enemy and I had killed him. It was a mistake I couldn’t afford to make again.

“Nightshade?” Black Canary asked, concern tingeing her tone. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I replied, “I mean, I’m the one who realized it was fake. I’m fine.”

“Just because something’s fake doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect us.” She prodded before moving on. She seemed to sense she had hit upon a sensitive topic. “What about any others?”

“Sorry?” I asked.

She smiled kindly. “Have you made any new friends on the Team? You already knew Sadie.”

“Superboy and I are friends.” I answer, “We have each others’ backs. We know how the other is doing and check in with each other. He even saves me a seat at dinner, which isn’t necessary because it’s usually only the four of us, but it’s a nice thought. He also watches whatever I want on TV and saves me the blue M&Ms. The others, well Robin has been suspicious of me, especially lately with all of this mole business. It doesn’t make it easier to make friends.”

“And the two of you are friends?” She asks.

“Yeah, that's what I just said?” I ask, confused.

“You’re right.” Black Canary sighed. “Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?”

“Nope.” I said, scuttling for the door as fast as possible, now that my time was up. “See ya, Doc Canary!”

“I expect you back for another session next week!” She yelled after me, “These sessions are not optional.”

I threw back a thumbs up over my shoulder as I escaped the monster’s den. I had made it through without sharing any information or reeling any secrets. I had been a completely mediocre and, most importantly, mortal superkid the whole session. Ha, I was a great actress.

“Why are you trying to pat yourself on the back?” Kid Flash asked, a confused expression on his face as he zoomed by.

I lowered my arm, going for a more discrete lower back pat to reward how well I’d done with Black Canary.

Chapter Text

I stepped into the main part of the cave, my eyes immediately seeking out Superboy. He was considering a roll of toilet paper like it held the secrets of the universe. I approach him, better to talk about what happened with Arachne’s children now instead of later. It still grosses me out that I had monster spider eggs in my brain.

Reaching Conner, I step in close so the others don’t overhear and start helping him wrap the toilet paper into a decent facsimile of mummification. “I know you have questions, I’ll explain everything. Just, not with the others around.” I mutter it low enough he could only pick it up with his super hearing.

“I’m holding you to that.” He replies. “For now, where’s your costume?”

“My costume?” I reply, dumbly.

“Yeah, we’re going to the school’s Halloween dance.”

“I don’t do monsters.” I reply. I see enough monsters in real life, I don’t need to dress up as one. Besides, I’m the daughter of poseidon. Pretty much all of my siblings are classified as monsters. Dressing up as one seems almost like a step down the same path as them.

Suddenly, I’m swamped in fabric. With some wiggling, I’m able to get my head and arms through their proper holes. Looking down, I find myself in Conner’s Superboy shirt, which is a little big, particularly in the shoulders, but fits well enough. I look up at him in question. The boy is not looking at me, instead his head is turned to the side with some pink darkening his cheeks. “Robin said we can’t wear our costumes to the dance. But maybe you could be Superboy?”

I smirk and nod, while following his line of sight to Artemis and Zatanna. Zatanna was dangerous. As a magic user, though not a very well practiced one yet, she was one of the only few who could call me out on not being an Egyptian magician. Though I am surprised and grateful the cover has lasted so long. I really didn’t expect it to. It’s good though, Zeus would smite them all if they found out in the hopes it wouldn’t make it to the Justice League and world at large. The Greek world relies on belief and there is a difference between believing in something and knowing something.

The two girls exchange some more words as Conner gets redder before Zatanna mutters something under her breath, releasing a bust of magic. Suddenly both girls are in their superhero getup and heading for the zeta.

“What are they talking about?” I ask Conner.

“What?” He startles, releasing a sharp word. “Oh, they’re not coming to the dance tonight.”

“Shame.” I hum, “It would’ve been fun to have them there too.”

M’gann trots over to us in her zombie bride costume as Conner’s blush fades. Luckily she looks nothing like the zombie Sadie and I fought last Halloween. “Alright! I think we’re all ready! let’s go!”

Wally follows behind her in his werewolf costume as a scowling Captain Marvel makes for the zeta, yelling something about candy. “We’re ready when you are, Sweet Cheeks.” He winks at Miss Martian before leaning back with his hands up in claws, howling at the moon.

Miss Martian giggles as we exit the mountain and head toward town. The journey is short and we arrive at the dance before long. Miss Martian immediately leads the way to her friends, introducing them to Wally, who attends school in Central City. Wendy and Karen, Megan’s fellow Cheerleaders immediately circle around them while Mal comes towards Conner and me. Mal is wearing a Superman shirt with a leather jacket and shades. “Hey, man.” He greets Conner, giving me a short nod. Conner nods back.

Marvin follows Mal over after taking a minute to drool over the cheerleaders. The nerd immediately starts talking about some kind of invasion. I perk up to listen, but it shortly loses my interest. If monsters aren’t invading, it’s not my problem. Well, kinda. I’m supposed to be a superhero now.

I never really made friends at Happy Harbor High. I missed a lot of school, between moonlighting as Ares’ errand boy and my incarceration. I also didn’t need normal friends that would just get dragged into my shit. Sadie and I would hang out and get into mischief. Speaking of Sadie, I’m starting to get worried about her. She sometimes goes off on missions for the House of Life, but she usually lets me know first or brings me along. If she doesn’t show up soon, I’m going to have to try and get in contact with Carter.

I’m still mulling over what to do about Sadie when the power goes out. I immediately turn to Superboy. “Conner, what’s going on?”

Chapter Text

I hush Nightshade as I listen into Marvin’s snickering as his prank unfolds. Miss Martian connects us, and I relay the contents of what I hear to the rest of the Team. A smirk curls each of our lips as our emotions unite in the purpose of petty revenge. We start to spread out when the front doors of the gym burst open.

In the gym doorway appears Marvin in the guise of a stereotypical Martian. I feel a curl of disbelief and offense course through the mental link from Miss Martian along with a quick spike of amusement from Kid Flash. Nightshade seems almost to fade from the link, her presence masked by a thick cloud of intense focus.

Marvin makes some kind of garbled roaring noise in the doorway, but before any of us can move, something silver streaks through the air, ripping the mask from Marvin’s head and sending it sailing through the crowd. Shock shoots down the link, temporarily piercing Nightshade’s all encompassing focus. Realization, amusement, and alarm chase the emotion from Nightshade's connection and fully dissipate her focus.

I head toward where the mask landed, only to find it impaled on a silver arrow at Nightshade's feet. “I would rethink your desperate grab for attention, boy, before someone does it for you.” A girl’s voice curled through the air, full of disdain.

Three girls appear in the doorway as Marvin scampers towards the bleachers and out of their line of sight. The girls are dressed in silver hunting clothes and arranged in a triangle formation, with one in front and two further behind. The two behind have the hoods on their silver jackets up and black masks covering the lower half of their faces. They have no distinguishing features other than all the silver they wear and appear to be young and female. The middle girl, on the other hand, wears a silver circlet on her brow in addition to the rest of her outfit. All the silver seems to emphasize her eyes; a bright blue that almost seems to burn like lightning, ripping at the hairs on the back of my neck. Her eyes seem almost familiar, but different.

The girl’s eyes narrow on to Nightshade. At my side Nightshade tenses, her hand drifting to her pocket, lifting the too-large shirt of mine she’s wearing to access it. Her eyes narrow at the threat in the doorway and I realize why the girl’s eyes are familiar. As much as Nightshade’s eyes swirl with the depths of the sea, the girl’s reflect the fury of the sky. Between their gazes, it is as if the seductiveness of the sea, drawing you into its deadly embrace clashes with the uncaring wrath of the sky, ripping the world to shreds.

The girl’s face twisted into a snarl as she charged with a spear. I prepared for the hit, bracing on the floor in front of Nightshade. Before the spear hit, a blade appeared in front of me. The spear hit the sword before sliding to the ground. With the clash of spear and sword, our mental link seems to shatter and in that split second Nightshade spins, kicking me to the side as her sword clashes with the spear again. “This is my fight.” She reprimanded.

The two clash with whirls of violence, neither seeming to overcome the other. As the fight nears the minute mark the two break from the fight, skidding in opposite directions. I step forward to intervene only to feel something sharp prick my neck. Looking back, I see one of the other girls holding an arrowhead to my throat. As I breathe, I feel the metal prick my neck. A small drift of blood falls from the cut. I try to breathe less. Who are these girls? Are they aliens? Magicians? They certainly have it out for Nightshade.

Looking around, I see Wally and Megan in similar situations and the civilians just trying to stay out of the way.

Suddenly, all of the hairs on my body rise to full attention and my ears pop from a pressure change. Looking at the fight, I start to struggle again. The girl in silver has her spear raised to the roof of the gym. Nightshade charges the girl as lightning arcs down to the raised spear. The deadly light hits the spear and deflects straight for Nightshade. My teammate seems to catch the beam of death on her sword, sending it back to the girl in silver. The two are blown away, one crashing into the bleachers and the other a wall.

The silver girl pulls herself off the wall as Nightshade lays motionless in the bleachers. She staggers to Nightshade, lifting her spear. The girl behind me loosens her grip on the arrow. I take the opportunity to throw her and charge the girl in silver, throwing her into another wall.

The girl loses her spear but somehow gets loose from my grip almost immediately only to run into the point of a certain, familiar blade. “I win.” Nightshade smiles at the girl sharply.

The girl sighs, raising her arms even as her eyes seem to continue to shoot lightning. “No fair. There was interference from him.”

“He has a name and you weren’t saying that when you used Jason as a human shield last time.” Nightshade returns, lowering her sword. I exchange glances with Wally and Megan.

“Nightshade?” I ask my teammate, “Who’s this?”

“Nightshade?” The girl asks, receiving a shrug before smiling ruely. “I think she would have appreciated it.”

Nightshade snorted. “That or killed both of us for taking her places.”

“She knew what she was doing, now all we can do is continue her legacy.” The silver girl turned to me and harrumphed. “Not much to look at, is he? Probably wouldn’t know a thing about surviving the real world.” The words triggered a slow roil of anger to bloom from my chest and wash down my arms as my hands clenched into fists.

“T,” Nightshade replied, “These are my m-superhero teammates. Can’t you be nice? Just this once?” I feel M’gann and Wally step to my sides. The three of us stared down Nightshade and ‘T’.

T’s face twisted. “Don’t call me that. You know I hate it when anyone calls me anything other than Thalia.” She then turned to the three of us. “Hi. I’m Thalia. Nightshade’s cousin.” She then turns to Nightshade again. “Happy?”

“Yes.” She replied, “Now why~”

“Hold it!” Wally cut in, receiving a glare from the trio in silver. “Time out.” He even makes a dorky ‘T’ with his hands. “Hi gorgeous,” He smiles at Thalia, “I’m Wally, nice to meet you. Is there anyway we could Ixn-ay on the uperheros-ay around the ivilianc-ay?” Glancing around, I see lots of curious high schoolers crushing closer, only held back by the power of the other two silver girl’s glares.

Thalia gives Wally a withering look before turning back to Nightshade. “Do they know?” She asked bluntly.

NIghtshade’s eyes dart to me briefly before she replies after a suspiciously long pause. “Know what?”

Thalia sighs. “Well, it seems as if our cousins could use some help and the two of us are just the ones for the job.”

“Our cousins or our cousins?” Nightshade asks.

“Our cousins.” Thalia returns.

Nightshade’s eyes narrow with finality. “Count me in.”

Thalia throws an arm around Nightshade and they head for the door, the two others trailing them. As they reach the door I hear Thalia snap her fingers. The sound echoes through the gym, reverberating more than any natural sound. “Nothing happened tonight, it was a normal halloween party. That idiot~” She gestured to Marvin who was half hidden by the bleachers, “decided to play a halloween prank and spiked the punch. Someone kicked a basketball through the ceiling. Go back to your regularly scheduled activities.”

Everyone’s eyes seem to glaze over, the music starts back up, and I’m left by myself in the middle of the party. Everyone seems to have forgotten everything that happened except me.

Chapter Text

As Thalia and I exit the school gym, she snaps the Mist over everyone’s eyes, obscuring the time since her arrival. Glancing back, I see Superboy staring at our backs, eyes clear. I widen my eyes in surprise, though it should be expected at this point.

The ability to see through the Mist has to do with how flexible your brain is. That’s why younger kids have an easier time seeing through it; they’re still open to the possibilities. Despite looking like and having the knowledge of a 16-year-old, Superboy’s brain was still only about six-months old. He also still questions what Cadmus has told him about the world, leaving him open to the possibilities.

You would think my other teammates would be just as open, seeing all of the weird things they have. Unfortunately, it seems to have the opposite effect. Wally’s stubborn belief in magic not being real and Robin’s insistence he knows everything almost make them blind-er to magic than the Bat. And Batman’s insistence on everything having a logical explanation makes him pretty damn blind. While less blind than Kid Flash and Robin, Artemis is pretty grounded in her version of reality. Magic exists, but Gods and monsters as part of everyday life are a little far-fetched for her. Magic has a time and a place, and that is not daily life. I don’t know why Megan can’t see anything. Maybe she’s too focused on what her TV shows have told her life on earth is like. I’m glad she can’t see into my world though. I have to assume Zatanna can see the Greek world as a magic practitioner. She probably ignores as much of it as possible though. I can’t blame her, who would want to get involved in this shit show. Kaldur definitely can see through the Mist as an Atlantian. It’s part of why I’m careful to maintain my cover as Nightshade as he is certain to have heard of my exploits as Perseus Jackson.

Thinking about it like that, Superboy would be the most open to the Greek World. I’m sure what he saw in my head only that it left him more open to the possibilities. Oh god, I killed him. I killed him! So much for personal loyalty.

I reach over and grip Thalia’s arm, stopping her from speaking. “Not yet.” I mutter, before speaking in a slightly louder tone. “I’ll be right back Superboy. I will explain everything as soon as I can.” I promise. Thalia’s eyes widen in surprise as we see Conner nod slightly in acknowledgment behind us.

As soon as we are a suitable distance from the gym, I turn to Thalia and her hunters. Thalia takes it as her cue to speak. “A mythical artifact has surfaced.” she took on a serious tone, her eyes expressing her true age in a way her youthful looks don’t. “It’s not Greek, but it’s powerful. Think you’re up for a field trip?”

I quirk a small smirk at Thalia. “I’m always in for some cousin time, Thalia! You don’t have to convince me. Is Nico coming too? I haven’t seen him in a while. We could get in some real trouble, Little Big Three style!” I end with some awesome finger guns, though Thalia doesn’t seem to agree on their awesomeness, as she rolls her eyes. I lower my voice as I continue. The topic feels a need for further secrecy. “Speaking of, Some strange things have been happening, Monsters are leaving bodies and something’s going on at Camp. Have you been recently? What’s going on? Has Artemis said anything?”

Thalia traded glances with the other two girls in silver as they start looking around in paranoia. “Our Lady is acting weird too. We’ve been camped out in the same spot for months now. Everytime we pray for direction she tells us to stay put. We haven’t seen monsters in that whole time, it’s like they’re avoiding us. The three of us actually snuck out for this, that’s part of why we need your help. We were the only ones willing to disobey the order.”

I suck in a breath and straighten at the information. The Hunters are not known for idleness. “Then we should get this over with as soon as possible. I’ll call Blackjack and Porkpie, we can fly wherever we need to go.”

Thalia pales and starts muttering curses in Ancient Greek as I let out two taxi cab whistles to summon the Pegasi. The girl on her left nudged her. “Right, the sword we are after is from Germanic lore. In the most common translation of the tale, the sword was actually destroyed, though that seems to be a slight exaggeration or mistranslation, your pick. It’s called Nægling and it was recently stolen from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.” I wince, having brief flashbacks to Ms. Dodds and Peanut Butter and Ketchup sandwiches.

Hey Boss! I hear from Blackjack as he lands, Porkpie behind him. Got any donuts?

“Blackjack, you know donuts aren’t good for Pegasi. Isn’t M’gann feeding you enough?” I chastise.

Yeah, but nothing’s like a good New York donut. That’s where we’re going right? Plus, I may have promised Porkpie some for helping out.

“Fine. After though.” I conceded, mounting the black steed and pulling Thalia up behind me. The other two hunters get on Porkpie. “We’re going to the MET.”

Blackjack rears and flaps his wings to take off. Immediately my last breath leaves my body as Thalia’s arms crush my diaphragm from behind.

Awesome! They have this great statue of my uncle there, he…

“Great.” I squeezed out around Thalia’s crippling fear of heights crushing my ribs. Yeah, crippling, for me.

I take a small sip of air, feeling as if I’d pass out from lack of oxygen as we winged toward New York and Blackjack's story fades into background noise.

…Then he kicked Hitler in the head!

“Wait, what?” I asked Blackjack.

My uncle! You have been listening, right Boss?

“Yes, of course Blackjack.” I reply as his hooves touch down on the roof of the MET. “Thalia, we are on solid ground now, you can look.”

The four of us dismounted our pegasi and Porkpie flew back to wherever she’d been before. Blackjack decided to hang around a little. Probably making sure he gets those donuts. "Finally! Air!" I exclaim. The dirty look from Thalia was totally worth it.

I glanced down at the fountain out front of the museum. The fountain’s mechanisms still throw water high into the air, just to splash down into the surrounding reservoir. I almost imagine I can feel the spray all the way on the roof. An impossibility that comes with the faint sound of ‘Percy pushed me’ echoing in the wind along with so many 'what if's and 'if only's. What if I hadn’t gotten mad at Nancy Bobofit that day? If only I had lasted a few more months undiscovered, then this would all have been someone else's problem. After all, I had never wanted to be a Half-Blood and I pity anyone who would. It’s only a death sentence.

I’m not here to reminisce though. I’m here for Nægling. Before any Harm befalls mortals innocent to its nature.

Chapter Text

The three hunters and I dropped from the roof of the museum, following some path that only they could see.

“How do you~”

“Shh!” Thalia interrupted, dragging me flat against the wall. “Callie?”

One of the hunters turns to us. “There be a spirit hanging near. Some attached to the current holder of the sword.”

Thalia nods to her. “See if you can communicate with her, let’s get up to speed.”

I raise my eyebrow at my cousin as the other hunter turns to follow the lieutenant's order. “I didn’t think we had another cousin around” I hissed in her ear.

“She’s not our cousin.” Thalia replied lowly, “Her father’s the Ferryman.”

“Char~” I blurted loudly before stopping myself. “The Ferryman has kids?”

“Just one,” Callie replied, annoyed, “and prithee you be silent. I try to commune with those passed.”

“Sorry!” I whispered loudly, prompting another twitch from the hunter. As we wait, I start tapping my foot, drawing more looks of ire. I promptly stop tapping my foot. I switch to popping my knee in and out. It’s quiet. Thalia makes a face when she sees me doing it, but doesn’t say anything.

Callie suddenly gasps and her eyes fly open. The pupils glow an otherworldly brown. It’s a sickly and dull color. “Secret!” She calls. “Secret.”

The light fades from her eyes and she slumps to the ground. “That is all the spirit would say. She died quite young and tramatically, not much of her remains sane. She also directed me to a locale. The sword may be thereabouts.”

“Yes, let’s go ‘thereabouts’.” I replied, much to Thalia’s annoyance. Something my shin feels sharply. Callie humps and turns her nose up, but starts us in the right direction. The other hunter gives me a deadpan disappointed look and follows her.

After about fifteen minutes of walking, we came to a small copse of trees behind an apartment building. At our feet was a small grave with a smaller headstone. Made of wood, someone had crudely carved “Greta Hayes, Beloved Sister” into the marker.

A great pume of fire erupted from the bottom floor of the building. Shortly after, two girls exited the storm cellar doors for the building. Though covered in ash, the green and white on their uniforms shone through. It was Artemis and Zatanna.

I stepped forward to greet them, only to be pulled into the darkness by the hunters. The three of us hid in the seemingly too small shadows of the trees. Probably a hunter thing, Mastery of Hunting Blinds or some BS.

As we watched the two mortal heroes went to the grave, reciting the inscription on the wooden marker. As if called, a ghost rose from the mound. The ghost was of a little girl dressed in silver, no older than eight. She almost looked like some of the youngest hunters. The melancholy drifting off her soul made me wish Thalia had found her before it was too late. Maybe the hunters could have saved her.

“This is your grave.” Zatanna marveled, falling backwards in suprise “This is your secret. This is you.” The little girl looked down, almost in shame of her situation. The one who should feel shame is the one who killed you.

“A ghost. An actual ghost.” Artemis sounded as if her brain was breaking. Great, another person to watch for the Mist to stop working with.

“Ahh~ Ahh, how did you die?” Zatanna asked. I winced. I know if I ever actually fully died I wouldn’t want to talk about it. The ghost girl didn’t seem to mind the question as she held out her hands, an illusion of a long dagger forming in it. The dagger almost resembled Annabeth’s old one with its leaf shape. That wasn’t possible though, it was lost to Arachne.

“Harm’s dagger!” Artemis exclaimed as the wall of the building behind them blew out. The air crackled with the scent of lightning as bolts of it seemed to surround the newcomer; an older teenage boy in a ragged trenchcoat and wife beater.

“They defile Harm’s holy place.” He snarls. My hand tightens around the pen suddenly in my grip. I don’t know when I grabbed it, just that Riptide is as ready to rend this poser limb from limb as I am. Maybe that shirt should be called a sister instead of wife beater, because I’m pretty sure this guy killed his baby sister.

“We defiled it? You did this to her! To your own sister!” Artemis exclaimed, her voice breaking in anger. That’s it. This guy is dead.

Anger consumes the hunters and I as Harm smirks in amusement.

One of the hunters steps out from the trees, the one I don’t have a name for. Thalia and Callie follow. I step behind them in a diamond formation with Thalia as the front point and myself as the back one. Callie and the other hunter watch the mortals as Thalia and I turn to Harm.

Thalia does not call for mercy, she instead knocks an arrow from her quiver and draws on Harm.

“Curious.” Harm intones, cocking his head sideways “it has more friends. Silver friends.” Thalia shows no acknowledgement of Harm speaking. Instead she lets go. The arrow streaks toward Harm. Harm is faster, bringing the weird shrunken arm that was the sword of Beowulf’s sheath up to block the shot.

“Silver it is fast.” Harm concedes, “But not fast enough.”

Thalia smirks in response. “I wouldn’t be so sure.”

Harm looks at the sheath to see it impaled with a silver arrow. Blue-ish white lightning dances along the arrow’s shaft, dueling with the sheath’s yellowish lightning. As we watch, the lightning’s arcs get more and more violent before the shriveled sheath explodes in a blast of multicolored lightning. The power of the sword is destroyed. Chunks of meat and human leather rain down on all of us as Harm screeches in pain. “It has hurt Harm! How has it this power?”

Even though I can’t see her, I feel the left edge of Thalia’s lips lift in a slight smirk, one mirrored on my face. “You do not mess with the motherfucking power of Zeus.” She replies.

“Literally.” I can’t help but to add on. My smirk narrows with my eyes into a predatory look. I bare my teeth in a silent snarl as the wrath of the sea threatens to drown my prey from my eyes. Because that’s all the Harm is now without his toys. Prey.

The hunters step back. On the edge of my hearing I hear them speaking with Artemis and Zatanna. I only have ears for the monster in front of me.

Without his magic sword, our fight is unfairly skewed in my favor. Even as exhausted and saddle sore as I am, Harm falls quickly beneath my sword, though I draw out the experience. I had once heard of something called the Death of 1,000 Cuts. I don’t have the patience for that. Instead I take him apart piece by piece.

First the Achilles tendons on the back of the ankles. Can’t have him running. “She relied on you, trusted you.” Radial collateral ligament, outside of the elbow, non-sword arm. “She did everything you asked of her.” Lateral cruciate ligament, outside of the knee, left than right. Quickly followed by the medial cruciate ligament, the inside of the knee. “She loved you, even when you hated her. Even when she knew you hated her.” Then the iliofemoral ligaments on the hips. “She loved you despite all your faults because you're family. You repaid that by killing her.” Finally I cut the ligaments in his sword arm and he drops the blade. He’ll be lucky if he’s able to move anything below his shoulders ever again and it will never be without pain. Am I talking about Greta or me?

I turn back to see the hunters and ghost watching me. Artemis and Zatanna are gone. “He’ll live.” I reply to their questioning stares. “I don’t kill mortals and that’s all he is now. He’ll never walk again though. Well, if paramedics reach him in time, otherwise he might bleed out.” Callie spits on Harm’s immobile body.

The ghost gifts me a small smile before fading into her grave. Thalia places a drachma on the mound of dirt.

I swing what used to be the sword of Beowulf- now just a sword -over my shoulder as the four of us leave Greta to rest. It’s a pretty sweet sword, shaped just like Riptide and almost balanced as well. Best of all, it’s a mortal sword. Perfect for Nightshade.

“How did you get the mortal heroes to leave?” I ask casually as we walk back towards the museum.

“Robin’s a daughter of Cydoemus, God of Confusion. Between her and the Mist, they have their own version of what happened tonight. Even the magician. She may have potential, but not enough to overpower a demigoddess and hunter.” Thalia replied.

“Who’s Robin?” I asked, “and does she have anything to do with the myth of Robin Hood?”

The mysterious, nameless hunter smiled mysteriously in response.

Chapter Text

I dismount Blackjack just before entering the mountain, hoping that everyone is already asleep and explanations can wait until morning. Waiting for me is Superboy.

I sigh and nod to Blackjack. The pegasus continues while I stop before Conner. “I guess I owe you an explanation.”

Conner gifts me a weak smile. “You did promise.”

I turn and head back out of the mountain and on to the beach. I don’t need the security cameras witnessing this. Conner trails behind me, stopping just out of arms reach.

“I lied.” I admit, not daring to face Conner. Instead I stare out into the sea, gripping my new sword. “I’m not an Egyptian Magician, I’m a Greek demigod.”

“Why?” Conner asks, voice flat. “Why did you lie? It doesn’t matter to us which pantheon you come from.”

“See, but it does.” I respond, “Being a Greek demigod means adhering to their rules. The Egyptians have… greater freedoms. I didn’t want to be a demigod for a while, so I made up a lie that would free me from the burden. Then I made up excuses to keep the lie. Well, that and Diana told everyone the Greek Gods are dead.”

I turn to Conner, hoping to bring some brief levity to our conversation. It doesn’t seem to work. I see a flash of Conner, choking on his blood, betrayal filling his eyes. I grind my palms into my eyelids to physically remove the memory.

“Their rules?” Conner asks, “Are you in danger?”

A laugh rolls off my tongue without my permission. “We’re always in danger, demigods. If we know who we are or not. It’s survival of the fittest, and one day you won’t be the fittest. You~”

I’m cut off as a broad chest slams into my face and arms wrap around my back. I tense slightly at the unexpected hug before relaxing. “I’m sorry.” Conner says, “I’m sorry you had to live like that. From now on, you won’t have to. I ~We have your back. You’re part of the team now.”

The sympathy I can hear in his voice makes it impossible to hold the tears back any longer. They stream down my face, making a large wet spot on Conner’s shirt. Ugh, tears. “But the Mist, the Mist keeps mortals from knowing, and knowing is dangerous, and” I babble.

“Hey,” Conner smiles wryly, “We’ll figure it out. You’re not alone. Though for now, why don’t we get out of the rain.”

I look up in surprise at the sudden rainstorm. Damn it, I thought I had my powers under control by this point. At least you can’t see my tears this way.

Conner escorts me to my room. The tears seem to have wiped out the rest of my energy. Standing in front of the door I roughly wipe my face. “Can we go over the rest later? I’d like to sleep now. That’s the basics anyway”

Conner nods sharply before turning to leave. He pauses before he takes the first step. “Before I go, can I ask which Greek God?”

My lips tilt up. “Poseidon” I dart into my room as soon as the word exits my lips, slumping against the door as soon as it closes. I give myself a moment before changing into my PJs. As soon as my head hits the pillow, I imitate a Medusa victim, which is to say I sleep like a rock.

My dreams are not uninterrupted though.

I open my eyes in a shadowy throne room. The throne room is almost gothic in appearance. In the throne is a hulking man, though shadows obscure his image. “Who are you to wield my sword?” Despite his size, his voice squeaks several octaves higher than expected. This must be Beowulf.

“Percy. Percy Jackson” I find myself compelled to answer.

“Ah, a Greek. I pity you, child.”

Anger blazes in my veins at Beowulf’s chevalier response. “Who are you to pity me?” I bite out.

“One who knows of what your future holds.” He squeaked. “I see you do not.”

“Tell me!” I demand.

“Why should I?” Beowulf responded.

“I wield your sword. I stopped Harm from sullying your sword’s reputation with evil deeds.” I stab in the dark, hoping to have hit something that matters to him.

“Hmm.” Beowulf thinks, “Are you sure you want to know? Once you do, you can’t go back.”

I nod affirmatively. “Yes. Tell me.”

“Very well. The Greek pantheon relies on the Western Flame. As long as the Flame burns and their domain exists, they exist.” Beowulf stated.

“That’s the basics.” I complain, “I already know that!”

“What you don’t know is that the Western Flame is finite.” Beowulf continued. “The Flame runs on faith. The more who believe, without proof so the God’s progeny don’t count, the more power there is to go around. That power goes to the Greek Gods, Demigods, Nymphs, Monsters, everyone in varying amounts. The closer to the source, Chaos and Order, and the older the creature, the more power.”

“What does that have to do with me?” I ask.

Beowulf sighed and squeaked on. “Must I explain everything? As demigod lifespans get longer, they get more power and less goes to the Gods and that is something they can’t have. The most powerful, the children of the ‘Big Three’ are particular power drains. Especially with the rise in monotheism. Bah, as if one all powerful entity could control the whole world. What is he, bipolar? No. Instead, the Gods take… drastic action.”

“Is that why monsters are just dying?” I realized. “They draw on the power, so getting rid of them frees up power for the Gods?”

Beowulf laughed at my answer. “No, child.” I twist my face at the child comment. “ Monsters are quite distanced from the source, most of them don’t have much power. That was you. Monsters faded into dust not because you killed them, they were merely transported right before their deaths.” Like my mother all those years ago. She faded to dust just like a monster when Hades took her.

“Who?” I asked.

“Who but your greatest enemy? Who else could turn something to dust? To earth?”

“Gaea” I breathed. “The deaths started when she was defeated. But then what are the Gods doing? What drastic actions?”

“They eliminate the largest power drain. The Demigods.”

Chapter Text

“The Gods will see you now.” I startled, turning to see a lanky man about my age with floppy brown hair.

Chiron inclined his head to the guy and I snorted and affected a snarky tone. “About time. How long have they had us waiting? I guess only the Gods know.”

After the initial meeting with the Gods, and getting my third eye checked by Hephestus of all people, Chiron and I had been shown to the waiting room again and told to wait. We had been here a while.

“The Gods have more important matters to deal with than you.” The man replied blandly.

“Never mind they called us up here in the first place.” I muttered.

We entered the large throne room, resplendent in its God-like glory. I couldn’t help but curl my lip. All the blinding white and gold gave me a headache. The whole thing needed some color. Glancing at my paint covered jeans, I smirked. Guess that’s me I’m the color. I’m always the color.

Looking at the towering thrones, I raised an eyebrow when I noticed all but one were empty. The occupied throne was just off the center of the circular arrangement and it was fit for a queen. Probably because it is for a queen. I couldn’t help but notice how Zeus’ throne dwarfed even his queen’s.

Reaching the center of the throne room, Chiron bowed on one knee as I do my best approximation of a bow, my gut roiling. I do not wish to bow to Hera, but the alternative could be worse.

Hera looked at the two of us with a detached, distanced look. “You may go, Oracle, Centaur.” She dismissed airily. “You too, Ganymede.” The brown haired man bowed and left immediately.

“What?” I asked. “You summoned us!”

“Your purpose for being here has been served.” She waved off. “Now you may go.”

The fear in my gut turned to burning anger as I pivot to leave, Chiron keeping pace. I hear Hera sigh behind me and I explode.

“You could be so much better, you know?” I snarled.

“Excuse me?” Hera asked, narrowing her eyes in offense as she drew herself up to her whole height.

“Yeah, without that leech you call a husband dictating everything, just think of what you could do. Don’t forget, I know your myths and they would be so much better without him.” I continued. I’ve started now, if I’m going to be incinerated, may as well make it worth it.

“How dare you comment on my marriage! On my domain! I am the Goddess of Marriage and I hold that domain sacred. No feeble mortal will pity me.” Her eyes start burning with a pure, white light. Chiron shifts nervously next to me.

“I am Rachel Elizabeth Dare, I dare to do a lot of things and don’t you forget it! Domains can change, I’ve seen it! Dionysus with his diet coke -not wine by the way! And Ares. Ares doesn’t limit himself to a spear! Domains advance, they change. Without change, you become obsolete and guess what? Marriage includes divorce now.”

The fire literally and metaphorically faded from Hera’s eyes. “He is my husband, without him I am obsolete. I think it’s best you leave, before I reevaluate your usefulness.” She sounded almost tired.

I stare at the Queen of the Gods one minute more before I turn and leave. “You can’t help those who do not want to be helped.” Chiron murmurs from my side. Looking at him, he looks to have aged a thousand years. A look he had sported since the first time the Gods called for us.

“Why did they call us up here, only to send us back?” I questioned the ancient trainer of heroes.

“I hope with all that I am, from my withers to my feathers, that the Gods have changed their minds.” Chiron replied, almost mournfully.

“Chiron?” I asked, suddenly all the more worried.

“Let’s go home, Rachel, and hope.”

Chapter Text

Sadie walked through the front entrance to Mt. Justice, whistling. As the doors closed behind her, a faint smirk colored her lips. The girl may have been missing for the past few weeks, but she looked exactly the same as when she left the mountain. Well, except for the new knife in her boot.

“Percy?” Sadie called as she entered the kitchen. No one was there.

A flicker of disappointment darted past me in the dark. I strain against my chains.

A shout sounds out from down the corridor and Sadie runs toward it. Entering a cove partially filled with water, Sadie sees Zatanna kneeling on the ground. Artemis is running in from another hallway.

Sadie skirts the water, careful to stay as far from it as possible before stopping near the other girls.

“My dad!” Zatanna cries out, “he just vanished!”

“I’m sure we’ll figure this out soon and he’ll be ok.” Artemis puts an arm over the other girl’s shoulders in comfort. She then raises an eyebrow at Sadie to prompt her to say something.

“Uhm, I’m sure he’s hanging out in E- uhm, The Field of Reeds?” Sadie tried, mechanically patting the other girl’s back below Artemis’ hand. Zatanna looked up from Artemis’ shoulder at me before bursting into tears.

“Wow.” Artemis looked vaguely irritated and slightly impressed. “You are even worse at this than me.”

The intercom crackles to life before Sadie can reply. Robin’s voice comes over the speakers. “It’s not just Zatara who’s missing. It’s everyone! Everyone over eighteen, at least. I’ve activated comms and I’m calling for everyone in the system to call in. Kid Flash is the only one to call in so far. He’s set up a refugee center in the high school gym. I’m telling him we’re all heading over there to help.”

Artemis nods affirmatively, “Got it.”

“Wait!” Sadie calls, “Where’s Percy? I’m going to go get her. It’s all hands on deck, right? We’ll meet you at the school.

Sadie slips off down a corridor, heading for the dorms. She slips the knife out of her boot as she rounds the corner. It was just her and Percy left in the base, everyone else was dealing with Klarion’s fun.

Quietly easing Percy’s door open, Sadie shuffled into the room. The lights were still off in the room, a Percy-sized lump under the covers. Typical of Percy to be a deep sleeper. You’d almost think she was a Medusa victim at this point.

Sadie raises the knife above her head. I strain harder at my chains, the manacles cutting into me.

Sadie brings the knife down on the sleeping daughter of Poseidon, stabbing where the stomach should be and ripping downward to cause as much damage as possible and spill her guts.

A link on my chains breaks, but it’s too late.

Chapter Text

As the dream ends, I bolt upright and book it to the door. I don’t even realize I’m still in my PJs until after I’ve dived into the surf. It doesn’t matter right now, I have to get to Camp. Ares will not stop me this time.

I surface at Fireworks Beach, as the sun rises, making possibly the best time I ever have. No Gods stop me.

Stepping on to the beach, I see large holes in the sand and bodies, monster bodies. My hopes soar at the lack of demigod bodies until I realize the beach is quiet. Too quiet.

I gulp as dread boils in the back of my throat and walk towards the Big House.

The ground on the trail to the Big House is ripped to shreds. Walking past the mess hall, there seems to be something wrong with the cabins.

The cabins seem to be in disrepair and littered with bodies in a density not seen elsewhere in Camp. Some of the cabins still seem to be on fire, and other than the crackle of those flames, all I hear is silence.

I drop to my knees. There’s no way anyone’s left.

I let out a heart wrenching scream and the ocean explodes behind me. A 60 foot wave crashes over the camp, dragging every monstrous corpse out to sea. The demigods are left untouched. They deserve funeral rites. In my mind I feel the water crush each monster to dust, pulverizing any evidence of their existence, erasing them.

The Gods have gone too far this time. They will rue this day if I have to drop every God, Titan, and Primordial off the ledge to dissolve in Chaos. I swear vengeance.

I trudge into the circle of cabins. The first I see is Clarisse. She lays near the burned out fire pit with a giant hole in her chest. Protruding from the hole is the tusk of a giant boar. There’s no sign of the monster the tusk belonged to. It was likely crushed in my wave.

I crouch in front of the burly warrior’s body and incline my head. I pay respect to my long-time rival. Though we worked through our differences long ago, our rivalry made each of us stronger, pushed us to try harder, to survive. Though we never talked about it, we were friends. After the Final Battle with Gaea, it was Clarisse who dragged me out of mourning, challenging me to duel after duel.

Suddenly, I heard a harsh rattle. Clarisse gasped. I immediately started searching my pockets for ambrosia. “Hold still,” I urged the other demigod, coming up empty on any godly food. “I’ll get you some ambrosia from the big house.”

“No, too late.” Clarisse coughed up blood, “Find… Bunker Nine…”

The girl stilled for a final time as her open eyes glazed over, staring at the breaking dawn.

I let myself break down for one minute before I pull myself together, closing Clarisse’s eyes. I roughly wipe the tears and snot from my face. There will be blood to pay, but for now I will honor Clarisse’s last request.

I make my way out of the circle of cabins, heading for the forest when I hear a call of my name. “Percy!”

I turn, uncapping Riptide as I spin, having left my new sword at the mountain. I swing for the neck. Everyone’s dead. But maybe a monster stuck around for stragglers.

My brain catches up with my sword when I hear a gasp. My eyes focus and I see Rachel, my blade part way through her neck. I drop the sword.

“What’s wrong?” RED asks, “What happened here?”

“The Gods.” I reply, “They killed everyone.”

Rachel’s gasp barely registers as I continue towards the forest and Bunker Nine.

Reaching the Bunker doors, my nose wrinkles at the smell, the whole area smells like a Harp took a dump there. I ignore it, and Rachel trying to get my attention behind me as I leverage the doors open. They don’t open. Instead, a portion of text on the door lights up. It’s written in Greek but I know what it says.

I pull Riptide from my pocket again, uncapping the blade. As soon as the weapon is fully formed, I run the blade over my palm to split the skin.

I then place my bloody hand on the door.

The edges of the doors flare brightly and mechanics grind. The door slowly opens. At first the Bunker looks empty, then I see movement.

A little, soot covered boy steps forward. Harley.

Behind him, more kids step forward. I count them off as the show themselves. It’s every camper under ten. Good job Clarisse, you saved them. You saved the ones you could. I promise you, this will not be forgotten or forgiven.

Chapter Text

Peering through my own eyes, I see stuffing explode, like an over-stuffed pillow pet, around the knife my body had buried in ‘Percy’. I crack up, laughing with the release of stress and relax slightly. “She’s not here!” I yell into the void that surrounds me in my own mind, taking on a darker tone to swear an oath. “I will get out of here! You will rue the day you thought you could control SADIE KANE.”

A voice chuckles back. It’s on the higher side, but still obviously a male voice. “She may not be dead yet, but I will gut her like so many plushies have perished by my hand. Now, Simon says sit down and shut up.” I feel the chains constraining me in my own mind tighten, the links repairing. A ball of despair and panic bubbles in my chest, compressing my lungs.

“Never.” I growl, “You may have taken control of me, but you will never take my voice. Not here, not inside my head.”

“This wouldn’t be necessary if you weren’t so stubborn.” The voice whined, “Why can’t you just be a good girl.”

“You’d better kill me now then, because I will never be a good girl. I have too much self respect. I will never be a nice, obedient, good girl. I would rather die now.” I then exercised the only movement I could and turned away from him with my mouth set stubbornly and my nose in the air.. “Besides. You could learn something from Dale Carnagie. You suck at Making Friends and Influencing People. Even Psimon was better at this, and he had a glass skull. Oh, maybe that’s because these powers belonged to him and you’re just a parasite, Octavian.

Octavian snarled in response and tightened my chains. I refused to make any sound of pain. Octavian took that as a challenge and threw me deeper into my subconscious, to where I can’t even see out of my own eyes. I begin the arduous process of climbing back up.

By the time I reach central processing again, hours have passed and I’m just in time to see Zatanna put on Fate’s helmet. We must have been fighting because now I feel aches and pains developing along my body. I can also start to feel the faint feverishness of using too much magic. Damn it, the idiot’s going to burn me out. Well, I’m definitely dragging him down to the afterlife with me. I can’t wait to watch Emmet, the sweetie, eat his heart. If Walt and Dad have any say, it’ll be bloody.

I watch as Fate refuses to release Zatanna, but I’m a little busy dealing with my own chains. Visualizing the hieroglyphs, I speak the Word of Power into being. “Fah!” Release. At the last minute I feel the other consciousness in my mind intervene. It redirects the Word to Zatanna, freeing her from the helmet.

“Thank you.” Octavian chuckled, “I wondered how long it would take you to figure out you could still use magic. We needed the magicians out of the equation, and you have given us exactly what we wanted. Good Girl.”

I swallow my fear and replace it with anger. “Why did you need me to do it? You’ve obviously been using magic without my consciousness.” Suddenly realization comes over me and I smirk, sitting back. “You can't use ,y power from hosting an Egyptian goddess, can you? There’s no way any Egyptian God would lend a Roman her power, particularly mine. Do you even know why? Rome conquered Egypt. They took it from Cleopatra, a previous Eye of Isis. You might have gotten away with it as a Greek demigod, but Rome is the enemy.” I laughed condescendingly, wrapping Isis’ power around me. “You may have control, but you don’t have the power and Percy will know something’s wrong. You’re time here is limited and I will be fighting you every step of the way.”

“No!” Octavian threw a fit. “I have the power! The power is mine! I win! I am important!”

Chapter Text

I watched M’gann drop the last group of displaced kids back off at the school. Even though Klarion and the sorcerers were defeated, there were still kids that needed to be taken back to their parents. As the last kid exited the Bioship, which currently looked like a school bus, in order to give the kids some sense of normalcy and hold all of them, he ran up to M’gann. The kid gave the red-headed martian a big, gap-toothed smile and hugged her knees. “Thank you, Ms. Frizzle!” the kid exclaimed, before running to his parents. 

I hear Wally chortling in the background as I take the opportunity to leave. 

Heading to the Supercycle, I pass Superman and Batman talking.

“Zatara is taking a break from the league.” My DNA donor tells Batman.

“Hnn” The Bat replies, clearly already knowing.

“I don’t blame him.” Superman continues, “He’s not going to let Zatanna near any of us any time soon either.”

Batman grunts and I can just hear the swish of his cape before he speaks. “It is clear we need to reevaluate Dr. Fate’s position. For now, I think it is best that the helmet is kept… elsewhere.”

A beeping and whooshing sound disrupts my attention before I can hear The Donor’s response. “Hey.” I offer the ‘cycle lamely.

In response, the Supercycle does a circuit of me in ball form as Wolf bounds up next to me as well. “How do you feel about a field trip?” I ask the two of them. The Supercycle immediately folds out into something rideable and Wolf jumps into a newly formed sidecar.

The ‘Cycle barely gives me time to get on before it shoots off South. Looking at navigation I see a blue dot blinking along the edge of Long Island. A red arrow indicating us is centered on the screen leaving a bunch of other colorful dots at the Mt. Justice headquarters. “You track all of us?” I asked the ‘Cycle incredulously.

The Supercycle beeps and whirs in response before showing a slideshow of times our teammates went missing on its screen.

“Fair.” I reply, resigned.

The Supercycle drops Wolf and I off on the road in front of a strawberry farm. The navigation says Nightshade should be just over the hill. For some reason the ‘Cycle won’t take us any further. “Well, looks like it’s on foot from here on.” I tell Wolf.

Wolf barks at me in response before circling and laying down next to Supercycle. “Oh, I’m on my own, am I?” I huff at the animal. “Are you a wolf or a sheep?” Wolf puts his head down in response and pretends to go to sleep. I sigh and prepare myself for a potential fight, both physically and verbally. I know how stubborn Nightshade can be.

Cresting the hill I see a giant tree encircled with cables. Wait a minute, those cables have scales… Is that a head!

Before I look any closer someone clears their throat. Turning, I see a ten year old in cornrows staring me down. “Who are you?” He asks rudely.

“I’m, uh, I’m Conner.” I introduce myself. I’m not sure if these people know about Nightshade’s heroism or demigod-ness, so I’ll assume they don’t.

Stepping towards the kid, I run into a barrier and reel back a little. The incident seems to give the kid some more bravery. “Why are you here?”

“I’m looking for my friend.” I hedged. For some reason it’s really hard to remember Nightshade’s features. She does something to disguise herself without a mask and it’s definitely not just the Clark Kent effect. “She has a sword.” I finish lamely.

The kid raises an eyebrow. “That really doesn’t narrow it down.”

“Look,” I respond, irritated. “Can you just let me in and take me to an adult? It’s important.”

The kid stuck his chin out in stubbornness. “No. I’m a head counselor, that means I’m one of the adults. You deal with me.”

I try to keep my face neutral instead of adopting an expression of disbelief. “Look, kid~”

“Austin” The kid corrects.

“Austin,” I am definitely annoyed now. “Can you just get whoever’s in charge? Or my friend? She’s about 17, brown, maybe black hair, green, maybe blue eyes? Excellent with a sword?”

Austin’s eyes widened then narrowed. “How do you know Percy?" He demanded harshly. I can’t believe that worked. My description was a little vague.

Uh oh, I don’t think she wanted me to know her name. I desperately try to forget that fact as I justify myself to the kid. “We’re good friends. I know she’s been having a hard time lately and I haven’t seen her in a while. I just wanted to make sure she’s ok!” Wow, I don’t think I’ve rambled like that before.

A smile of absolute joy and mischief curls up Austin’s face as he pulls a conch shell from nowhere and blows it. “Why didn’t you say?” The demon asks before turning to all the kids running up the hill. Every one of them has a weapon. “PERCY! Your boyfriend’s here!” All the color I don’t have drains from my face.

Chapter Text

A voice dripping in childish mischief calls over the camp. “PERCY! Your boyfriend’s here!”

My first reaction is relief. The younger campers know what happened to their siblings and seem to be following the standard ‘tough it out’ mentality all demigods seem to. Maybe it’s genetic? My second reaction is confusion. Because I don’t have a boyfriend. Do I? Nope, pretty sure I don't. It’s been a long few days and I have a history of memory problems. Though last time I at least partially remembered, even losing my memory. I don’t think I have a boyfriend though. 

I head for the barrier, seeing a crowd of demigods crowded just inside the barrier. “What. Is going on?” I ask. The kids startle, some dropping into defensive stances and all of them grouping together. My heart chips a little more.

Realizing it’s me, one kid is pushed to the front. “Percy’s got a boyfriend!” Austin sang.

“Oooh!” The other demigods teased from behind him.

I huffed in response. “Can I at least see who you’re talking about?” The mass of kids and weapons parts down the middle leaving an aisle through which I see Superboy in normal clothes. I raise an eyebrow at him.

“They just started calling me your boyfriend!” He defended, leaning slightly against the barrier “I~”

I smile at him and approach the barrier. “I, Percy Jackson daughter of Poseidon, give Conner Kent permission to enter Camp.”

Conner stumbles as the barrier vanishes under him. I grab his arm, hauling him up. “Don’t you all have duties to perform?” I ask the kids watching us. They all scatter except Austin, who’s grinning like a maniac. “Austin~”

“My duties are here! I’m on barrier duty!” He protests.

“Go find Kayla.”

“Fineee” He whines. Turning to go down the hill he shoots Conner a look, presumably thinking he’s behind my back. The kid points to his eyes and then Conner, giving the teen a stare down. Austin, like most Apollo kids and the God himself, thinks he’s more subtle than he is.

“Now.” I tell him. He runs off quickly after that and I turn to Conner. “Why are you here?”

The teen shifts a little and won’t meet my eyes. “You just kind of disappeared. Then we had a mission and everyone over 18 vanished. They’re back now by the way. But, you told me about you and I promised to be there for you. So, here I am…” the teen trailed off at the end as red creeped up his cheeks.

I hum. “We’re not dating, are we?” I ask. Best to clarify now. I swear to Hera, if someone stole my memories again! It cannot be good to have this much memory loss. Next thing you know I have brain damage.

Conner chokes, “No!”

I nod in reply. “Oh good.” No brain damage! Yay. For now, at least.

The boy looks oddly offended at my response. “Would dating me be that bad?”

“Yes.” I blink, “No! I mean no. I was just worried I’d lost my memory again.” I cringe in embarrassment. Turning to my teammate I look him up and down. He’s actually pretty cute now that I’m looking. His face is really red though for some reason. Too bad he’s into Miss Martian. No! We’re teammates. Just teammates. He could have better taste though. I swat the errant thought from my mind and focus back on Conner.

“Oh. Again?!” The red boy replies.

“We can go correct them if you want.” I offer. “They just haven’t had much to be happy about recently and if teasing me makes them feel better…” I shrugged.

Conner seems to think about it for a minute and I watch in fascination as the red creeps up his ears. “No, that’s OK.” He mumbles, “I don’t mind if it helps them.”

“Perry Johansson.”

Riptide is out of her sheath and pointed at Mr. D’s throat before anyone can blink. “You are not welcome here.” I snarl.

The God’s eyes start to burn purple. “Put down the sword or you will go on a killing spree longer than Heracles’. Do not test the God of Madness.”

“You can be first.” I tightened my jaw in anger. “Your head would be on the ground faster than you could get the words out. Why are you here?”

“I bring a message.” The God responded, slouching to his normal posture and eyes turning back to a rheumy blue. “Zeus wants you to turn yourself over to him. He has sworn on The Styx that after the conclusion of the Renewal, no demigod of your generation will be touched again. No monsters, no quests. All your forgetful little friends will be safe. Forever. All it takes is your death.”

The God turned into a dark splotch before seeming to melt, forming a puddle of wine where he once was and leaving the faint smell of grapes. Seems I have a decision to make.

“Looks like we have some catching up to do.” Conner watches me. “This time, you’re telling me everything.” I nod in response and lead him into the Big House.

Chapter Text

“Will you help me?” Percy asks the question, her blue-green eyes glittering and wide. I blink in response. To be fair to myself, it was a lot of information she’d just dropped. Sifting through the information I learned gives me a headache, so I focus on Percy in front of me.

Her eyes almost glow, churning with the repressed power of the sea. When she pushes a fallen piece of hair back behind her ear I see a small scar near her hairline. Her fingers are calloused from her sword and her lips are chapped and bitten. I lean in towards her and the rest of the room starts to vanish from my perception. Too bad she doesn’t like me like that.

“Conner?” She asks, blinking and releasing me from her spell. I clear my throat. “Yeah.” I reply gruffly, “I’ll help you get justice. The Gods will pay, but we’re not killing them and you’re definitely not taking their offer. You’re not dying either.”

Percy blinks back in surprise before her eyes darken and a crooked smile blossoms on her lips. “Oh, I don’t plan on killing them. That would be the easy route.” Her eyes glint with a strange light. “No, they will live to regret their choices.” Good, now we just need to figure out how to imprison Gods.

“The team will help too,” I continue. “Why don’t we go back and get their help?” Percy’s face twists a little. “You’re going to need help, other than the few demigods you have left. The oldest of them are ten and you don’t know what the other Camp looks like.” Percy shifts indecisively.

A voice rasps suddenly behind us.

Hope, Magic, and Tide shall face the forsaken,
They shall recover the loyalties unjustly taken.
Once they have faced his mighty smite,
Bells will toll and all will crumble in the light.

A red head in paint covered jeans spits out the rhyme before collapsing. Percy charges forward and catches her, resting her against a wall. “What.” I ask, freaked out, “Was that.”

“Oh, that was just Rachel. She’s slightly possessed by the spirit of the Oracle of Delphi.” Percy said casually.

“Right. Just a possessed girl. Totally normal. She’s not going to start floating and contorting, is she?” I asked hesitantly.

Percy was smiling slightly. It contrasted greatly with the lines that had just formed themselves on her forehead. “That is possibly the most normal and most worrying thing that could’ve happened.” She turned to me. “Welcome to your first quest.”

“Me?” My voice seems to find new octaves as it cracks in the middle of the word.

“I’m not usually the one interpreting the prophecy, but it doesn’t take an Athena kid to know that hope, magic, and tide means you, Sadie, and me. The insignia on your usual shirt does mean hope, doesn’t it?”

“Y-yeah” I reply. Great, didn’t she just tell me people usually die on quests?

“Great.” We better start looking for a mole on the team and whatever the forsaken means. Hopefully Sadie has something for lightning too, because we’ll need it. Well, unless that part means we all die.” Percy strides purposefully out of the room. “It looks like someone agrees with us. Let’s crumble some Gods.”

I follow in Percy’s wake, sending looks back at Rachel, still passed out against the wall. “What about Rachel? Shouldn’t we get her to a hospital or something?”

“She’ll be fine, she’s used to it.” Percy called back. “Come on, Hope, we’ve got a quest to prepare for and a horse-person to talk to!” I feel my ears burning as I hurry after the demigoddess.

Chapter Text

“We're right above the Quraci-Bialyan border.” Robin called from his seat on the bioship, tense. M’gann nods from her position flying the ship while affirmations sound from the rest of us in our seats. As soon as Conner and I had returned from Camp, Batman had placed us all on this mission. I had to find the mole, then I could convince the Team to help me catch the Gods. Or maybe convince them to help me erase them from history. That would be nice. They would slowly, painfully fade away. That plan I was a little iffy on. Greek mythology is more than the Olympians and that plan would destroy everyone, innocent or not.

I ignore the discussion happening over my head between Kid Flash and Robin as I assess Sadie on the other side of the Ship from me. Something is wrong with her, she’s acting suspicious. She couldn’t be the mole, could she? Maybe something’s wrong at the Nomes? Either way, I’ll figure out what’s happened.

“Deploy. But stealth mode. If the Bialyans know we hit them, this becomes an international incident.” Robin’s call draws my attention as I watch the others prepare to drop from the bioship, changing into their stealth suits. I glance down at my armour. There’s not really anything I can do to make it stealthier, save throwing a sweatshirt over it. Something tells me that isn’t the aesthetic the ‘heroes’ want. I shrug before dropping out of the ship. Superboy is kind enough to catch me as I fall. Day-um, he’s got muscles. Must be the super.

The fight is over soon. None of the opposition has any form of powers, so it’s easy to discourage the bialys and force them back across the border. Isn’t a bialy a type of food? It’s kind of like pizza. Ooh, I could go for pizza right now.

My thoughts were interrupted by a freckled face inches from my own. “Who are you? I don’t recognize you.” The boy asked.

“I’m Nightshade.” I grumble. I feel Superboy shift slightly behind me as he loomed like a mountain at my back.

The boy’s eyes shift to my giant shadow and then back to me. “Got it.” He squeaked, “I’m Garfield. Or Gar. You know, either, really…” My shadow shifted again and Garfield darted off back towards the others.

“Do we need to have a conversation?” I asked.

“About what?” Superboy asked from behind me.

“Well,” I started, “It looked like you were being overprotective of me. But that isn’t possible, because you know I can more than fight my own battles and I know when to ask for backup.” Liar, you never ask for backup. “Especially against a kid half my weight who is harmless.”

“I have your back. That wasn’t just for demigod stuff. I’m here for you.” The boulder stated.

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean you have to be attached to my back at all times. It’s not like it’s~” I cut myself off before I mention my achilles spot. “Look. I need some ‘me’ space every once in a while. I like spending time with you, but I need people breaks.”

Superboy huffed before drifting further away. “Thank you” I called to him, feeling guilty now about asking for space.

Turning back to the rest of the Team, I see a screeching monkey jump on Superboy. “Hey! Get it off!” He yells, flailing. I smile at the sight.

“Ha, ha, ha. It's okay. Meet Monkey.” Garfield tries to explain, taking the monkey off of Superboy.

“Good name. But I hate monkeys.” Superboy grouched. The monkey responded by screeching again and throwing a protein bar, beaning the boy in the head. Peals of laughter burst out of me at the sight of the burly half-alien defeated by a small monkey.

“Looks like Monkey hates Superboys. Dude, be glad he only threw a protein bar.” Robin cheeks.

Glancing over at the group after I don’t hear Superboy reply, I meet his eyes. He’s watching me with some unidentifiable expression.

Robin and Garfield walk off as Superboy keeps staring. I drop my eyes in embarrassment, which is strange because I can’t think of anything I did. Unless he’s still upset about earlier. Or maybe it was when I drank out of the milk carton a week ago? Maybe he could smell it? Oh I knew I should have taken that bear up on his~

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you laugh before.” Conner interrupts my thought process and I startle a little.

“What do you mean, I laugh all the time?”

“No, not like that. You snicker, you smirk, but you don’t laugh.” He rebuts.

“Oh.” I think about it. It’s been a long time since I laughed just because I couldn’t not laugh. That’s probably not good.

Suddenly, Conner’s head shoots up, pulling us all away from whatever Garfield is putting in the VHS player. “Aircraft, headed this way.” He says down the mental link we still have at the back of our minds. The two of us run towards the house and our team.

“Gar, stay put.” I hear Robin say “And Superboy, keep your emotions to yourself, we could feel them through the mental connection.”

Superboy’s face pinks and he turns to me as the five of us run towards the planes. “Did you…”

I shake my head. “No, I wasn’t paying attention to the connection.” I was actually trying my hardest to forget that someone was messing with my brain again. Wait, where’s Sadie?

I split from the others towards the nearest source of water I can find. I hear a commotion behind me, but I focus on clearing my mind and grabbing the water. While one half of my brain does that, the other searches my memories for the last time I saw Sadie. It had to be when I saw her drop out of the bioship. Where could she have gone?

“What is it?” I hear Robin ask the lady whose sanctuary we’re in.

“Where's my son?” She asks, stepping towards our leader.

“I ordered him to stay inside.” Robin replied defensively.

“He's 8, he doesn't do orders!” The lady replies, angrily as Robin’s eyes widen in surprise. I can’t help but agree with my team leader. I know some eight year olds who are pretty good at following orders. Guess that’s a difference between demigods and normal mortals.

“Mom!” Gar yells from the barn, “It's okay, I got the animals out!”

Out of nowhere, one of the planes dives towards the barn, spraying bullets. I redirect my geyser to the plane, but I’m too late. Garfield’s mother yells his name as the barn explodes from the force of the aircraft quality, point-blank shots. Garfield collapses under the weight of the wood surrounding him.

“I told you there'd be consequences.” the mother throws at Robin, cuttingly.

“Always.” Robin replies grimly, “Let's get him inside.”

They put Garfield in his room, hooked up to a heart monitor. The mother, who’s apparently named Marie, starts talking about how to save him with Robin and Miss Martian. I finger the ambrosia in my pocket before dropping it. It’d be so much easier to save him if he was a demigod. Now’s when I wish I carried around unicorn draught.

I move away from the trio, there’s nothing I can do to help. I can find Sadie though. Glancing around the small room, I see everyone but the Egyptian magician.

I leave to see if she’s in the other room. It’s confirmed that something is wrong, Sadie doesn’t just disappear. Maybe it’s something to do with her pantheon or maybe it has to do with the prophecy, but either way I have to find her.

The others follow me out into the living room not long after. Everyone except Miss Martian.

“KF, can you find a news station?” Robin asks.

“Sure. Which remote is it?” The speedy hero replied, pressing buttons, and not metaphorical ones this time.

The shrill of a bell draws my attention sharply to the TV screen as Miss Martian appears and a theme song plays.

My teammates stare, gobsmacked, while I narrow my eyes in suspicion. We all group around the screen. Well, they do. I subtly back up to a spot that still has a good vantage point. I don’t want to ring the dinner bell too loud. Monsters are just what we need to add on top of this shit show. Pun not intended. “Maybe it's a coincidence.” Superboy offered weakly as the show continued to play.

“Oh. Hello, Megan.” The on screen character says, exactly like our now extremely suspicious teammate does. Megan walks to the front door, opening it to a dark haired boy with a necklace who looks kind of like Superboy.

“Conner!” Megan squeals as the audience track ‘ooh’s

Looking towards Superboy, I see him stiffen sharply. He turns on his heel and marches out the door, slamming it gently behind him. Well, gently for what he’s capable of.

“Oh, yeah, pure coincidence.” Wally snarks in the silence left by Conner’s exit.

“It's done. All we can do now is wait.” Miss Martian surprises the boys as she enters. Kid Flash desperately presses buttons to switch the channel, finally getting to the news.

“My fellow Quracis…” The Quraci president starts as I slip out the front door to find Superboy.

I find him in the remains of the barn, kicking stuff around. I sit on a mostly horizontal piece of wood and wait. I don’t have to wait long. “Am I just a part of some perfect human fantasy she has?” Superboy asks desperately. “Some toy she wants to play with? The Conner, like how I was The Superboy before? A pawn in someone’s make believe game?”

I hummed. “Is that what you want to be?”

“No!” Conner exploded.

“Then don’t be.” I concluded simply. “You are Superboy and Conner Kent. These are names given to you by other people, but you have made them your own. You choose their definition, not what other people say they mean. Or, choose a new name. A different name, a clean slate to invent yourself as someone new.”

“That’s an option?” He asks.

“Of course,” I reply, “Though Batman might be mad if you take that one. He just finally finished all of the paperwork to make you exist. He’d have to start again.”

A little smile curved his lips at that. “No, we wouldn’t want that. Batman always looks mad, him actually mad is something I don’t need to see. Besides, you’re right. I have made them my own, slightly creepy crushes resulting in both of them notwithstanding.”

I raised my eyebrow at that and Superboy’s face reddened a little. “I’m pretty sure Lex created me because he has a creepy crush on Superman and M’gann helped me pick out a name Identical to her idol’s love interest.”

I chuckle at that. “Well, at least you know she like likes you, or however normal people say it.” My heart suddenly feels uncomfortable with the turn in conversation. Eww, mushy stuff.

“If only she was the one I liked.” He mutters in reply, facing me with his eyes slightly downcast. I feel my eyebrows reach for my hair.

“Well, I’m sure whoever you like like feels the same.” I reply to the comment, attempting a light tone as his eyes focus somewhere on my face. When did he get so close?

“Hey! Superboy! Nightshade! It’s time to go!” At the sound of Robin’s voice in our heads, Superboy is suddenly halfway across the pile of collapsed barn. I let out the breath I didn’t notice I was holding as I hop down from the piece of wood I’m still sitting on. What was that?

“Are you coming?” I ask Superboy, heading towards Robin. He huffs in frustration but does follow me over to the rest of the team.

“Harjavti's alone.” Robin whispered in our minds as well all peered from our perches at the Quraci President.

“Has anyone seen Sadie since we got here?” I asked. 

“Sadie can take care of herself, Harjavti obviously can’t.” Robin replied brusquely. “We’ll find her after we help him.”

We all drop into the President’s room as a voice sounds in the quiet. “Such noise. You think you’re being quiet, but when one has mastery over the very brains you use to communicate, you are just so loud.”

“Psimon!” Robin spits.

A figure in a dark robe steps out of some particularly dense shadows, tsking. “Good guess, but unfortunately my learned colleague did not survive your little trip in the desert. Isn’t that right, Nightshade.”

I glare back at the hooded figure, unrepentant. “That’s what happens when you mess with someone’s brain while standing in the way of their hallucinations. Now, who are you?”

“Don’t tell me you don’t recognize me, Graecus.” He snarls as he pulls his hood back.

I relax slightly from my guarded position. “Oh, it’s just you, Octavian.” I turn to my team, showing the ex-agur just how much I consider him a threat with my back. “You can all go home, I can take this poser by myself.”

“You will die, chocking on your own blood!” Octavian snarls at my flippancy, f freezing everyone except me in place, isolating movement impulses to the brain. “Face me, you nit!”

“Oh, you're joining the world of mortal villains now.” I ask, dropping a little bit back into my stance, so I’m ready. “So, what's your name?”

Octavian tilts his head in confusion, snarling. “Octavian? You know that.”

“Yeah, but now you need a fancy villain name.” I tell him like he’s the idiot I know he is.

“That's not our way.” He protests, “What?”

“All the cool kids are doing it. Well, I guess that explains why you're not.” I needle, “Well, you still need one if you want to play. I'm thinking: The Taxidermist.”

“The Taxidermist?” Octavian questioned in confusion.

“Yeah, fits with your need to rip fuzzy stuffed animals apart. Even your new power has to do with stuffing people and posing them. Also, you're creepy.” I respond, stalling for time. My teammates are slowly spreading out as Octavian loses concentration.

“I am not going by The Taxidermist!” Octavian blusters “I will be—”

“Too late, it's on record.” Robin cuts in, seeing I’m losing him. “You're the Taxidermist now.”

Octavian growls at the two of us. “I’m not falling for this anymore, Jackson. I can feel the thoughts worming around in your head. This is what you do, talk until you win. I refuse to play.”

And just like that, everything went black as The Taxidermist attacked our brains and we all collapsed.

Chapter Text

I groaned, my brain aching like someone drove a semi through it. Looking to my right, I see Miss Martian already on her feet. Everyone else is still passed out around the room, but I can hear their heartbeats. They’re still alive. “Octavian?” I ask.

“He brain-blasted you. I stopped him.” I look to the corner, seeing Sadie passed out against the wall with Octavian slumped next to her, drooling and epitomizing the phrase ‘lights are on but no one’s home’.

“When did she get here?” I ask.

“She was a mole.” Miss Martian replied. “The Taxidermist had control of her mind, so it wasn’t voluntary, but still…” The martian shook her head like she was swatting away a thought. “Everything is fixed here. I’ve called Bioship to take us back to the animal rescue so we can regroup.”

Almost as if cued, the Bioship appears above the now cracked open dome. I grab Percy and Robin as M’gann levitates the others into the ship. The journey back to the sanctuary is rather quiet, and Robin just starts to stir as we touch down.

It takes another hour and a half for everyone to be up. Percy is last, receiving the brunt of the mental attack. Well, besides Sadie. They’re both fine though. According to M’gann she’s just recovering from the mind control. We left her on The Bioship. The extra time gives M’gann a chance to check up on Garfield and for me to get everyone inside. We gather in the living room, sitting on the couches and nursing our headaches.

The sound of a door closing spikes pain in my head, drawing me from my thoughts and to where M’gann just left Garfield’s room.

“Hello, Megan.” Kid Flash asked, speeding into her face, still looking a little queasy. He hit a button on the TV remote on his hand, starting the suspicious TV show. “Something you'd like to tell us?”

M’gann sighed in response, standing near us on the couches. “Growing up on Mars was not a happy time for me. I started watching the broadcasts my uncle sent from Earth to teach us about our sister planet. And when I saw Hello, Megan! Something just clicked. Maybe it was the similarities in our names, maybe it was the way all Megan's problems could be solved in 22 minutes. All I know for sure is that Megan helped me smile through a lonely childhood.” She chuckled wryly to herself, turning to Marie who appeared from the kitchen area and headed to her son’s room. “So when I came to Earth and had to adopt a human form, I chose you. Well, Megan.”

“Which begs the question, what do you really look like?” Robin, ever suspicious, asked.

Avoiding eye contact with everyone, M’gann’s hair morphs into the rest of her head as her cheekbones and other facial bones become more prominent.

“Bald M'gann.” Kid Flash, ever at ease, smirks. “Still hot.”

Robin smacks the back of his friend’s head. “We don’t care how you look, just what you do.”

“Yeah,” Nightshade pipes in, “If you thought a different face would make me treat you differently, you’ve clearly never met my brother.”

There’s a slight pause before Percy elbows me in the ribs. “What they said.” I grunt.

“I do it for me.” M’gann replies, “This is who I am inside.” She turned to Marie, “Please don't be mad.”

“Mad? I'm honored.” Marie answers, “M'gann, you saved my son. He says he's your blood brother now, and I agree. You're family.”

“Thank you. You can't know what that means to me.” M’gann tears up at Marie’s words before the mother returns to her son’s bedside.

“Well, I guess there’s only one thing left to discuss.” Robin drew the attention back to him. “What do we do about Sadie?”

Chapter Text

“Sadie will be on probation, pending a mental evaluation by Martian Manhunter and Black Canary.” Batman growled at the assembled team.

“I’m fine.” Sadie shot back. I know Sadie, they’re going to need magic to corral her into that.

“The rest of you are free to go. I understand some of you have Thanksgiving celebrations to get to.” Batman continued, pretending not to hear Sadie’s objection or the angry grinding of her teeth at the dismissal. “Except for Nightshade.”

Wally snorted and quickly peaced out, closely followed by Robin and Artemis. Miss Martian and Aqualad chose to retreat deeper into the base, just leaving Sadie, Superboy, and I. Sadie vanishes quickly though as Martian Manhuter’s name is called out by the zeta system.

“What do you need me for, you self-aggrandizing furry?” I asked, knowing full well he wants to ask me about Octavian.

“Your presence is not necessary.” Batman instead says to Superboy. 

The half-kryptonian doesn’t move. I sigh. “It’s fine, I can handle Batman. I know you had something you wanted to do even if you won’t tell me what it is.”

Superboy B04 sounds from the zeta system.

“I understand you are familiar with one of the perpetrators from your last mission.”

“I’m afraid I don’t know which villain you speak of, would you mind mentioning them by name?” I cheek in response.

“Octavian, no last name mentioned. Sometimes known as The… Taxidermist.” Batman replies.

“Oh! That villain.” I widen my eyes in pho-realization while trying not to laugh at both Octavian’s supervillain name and Batman saying it. “Yeah, he killed my ‘pet when we were younger.”

“...He killed your pet.” Batman responded as I smiled impishly, practically seeing him note down ‘early displays of psychopathic tendencies’ in his mental file.

“Yeah, he ripped out Perry’s entrails too.” I added, doubling down on the category. I'll take psychopathic tendencies for 200, Alex!

“I see.”

“Yes, I’m sure you do.” I respond distractedly. “I’m sorry. Did you say it’s Thanksgiving earlier? Boy, how time flies when your brain is repeatedly messed with. I have to go, I’m having Thanksgiving with my family.”

Before Batman can stop me, I make a break for the zetas, slipping through one to New York. I don’t miss his following grumble about this ‘not being over’, despite how hard I try.

Chapter Text

I exhaled slowly as sweat dripped over my eye. I feel a slight weakness to my muscles, not enough to make me sit out of the act, but enough to be noticeable. M’gann, sorry, Dawn Danger throws me into the air and I refocus on our trapeze act. I turn through the air, once, twice, four times before reaching for the other fly bar as I fall.

I miss the bar by centimeters as I fall towards the ground. Looking below me, I see no net. The crack of breaking bones echoes in my ears before I shake it off. Looking down, I make eye contact with Superboy, now Dean Danger, just as he chucks one of his strongman barrels at me. The force propels me back towards the trapeze setup, but not quite far enough. Miss Martian uses her powers to pull me the rest of the way back. I give them a look of reproach and inform them, again, through the mental link not to use any powers.

I settle back into the familiar rhythm of the trapeze as I mentally review the mission. Recently there have been thefts of advanced technology across all of europe. Each theft corresponds with a location the traveling circus had been at. I had manufactured a mission supposedly from Batman in order to clear Haly’s name and catch the real culprit. That’s how we had come to be at the circus. I am currently Dan Danger, trapeze artist with Dawn Danger, M’gann’s cover. Superboy was Dean Danger; Strongman, Artemis was Diane, with an archery act, Nightshade and Sadie were Daisy and Daphne Danger. They had an animal taming act with animals they had gotten… somewhere. I was doing my best to ignore the rash of escaped zoo animals that now seemed to follow us across Europe. I have enough to deal with. 

For some reason, Nightshade, or now Daisy Danger, had felt the need to follow my briefing with a message for Batman. Apparently, she was distracted midway through their debrief on Octavian and wanted me to inform Batman that Perry was a panda Pillowpet and that Octavian had once stabbed someone in the back with a spear to test for temporary immortality. Also that he had some limited future predicting abilities that seem like they should be more concerning than she made them out to be. The whole conversation was missing some context that Nightshade didn’t seem willing to provide, but I noted it on Octavian’s very short file. The guy didn’t even seem to exist. There was no record of him other than what Nightshade had provided. Nightshade’s file was even shorter. No one could even remember the color of her hair when they looked away. Just that it was dark. Presumably Superboy knows more, but he has been less than forthcoming.

I can’t trust someone I don’t know the true identity of. Maybe she’s a mole too? No, the whole reason Roy decided not to come was that we had caught the mole. Sadie was checked by Martian Manhunter and Black Canary before being cleared for missions. The mole issue is over.

The sound of clapping draws me back to the present just in time to bow to the crowds before retreating backstage with the other Dangers. I plan on laying down until mission time later. Hopefully I’ll be over this flu before then. Come to think of it, I’m not the only one looking a bit peaky.

Several of the other performers were feeling off recently. Looks like I’m not going to be laying down for a while. Looking for any of my team, the only ones who hadn’t vanished were Superboy and Nightshade, who were whispering near the train cars. Nightshade seems relaxed in a way I haven’t seen before and Superboy seems to curl a little towards her. There’s an awkwardness between them too. If those two aren’t dating or at least kissing by the end of the year, I’d eat Batman’s cowl.

Time passes fast when spying on circus performers, not that there’s much downtime before it’s mission go time.

I gather the team outside a warehouse.

“If Interpol's already on this, why are we bothering? We have other things to take care of.” Superboy questions.

I feel a spike of anger that I quickly tamp down. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know what this place means to you. “Because Batman said so.” I reply tersely, trying to restrain my anger. “Why? You had something better to do?”

Superboy goes to reply, but Artemis cuts him off. “How do you know the thieves will hit here? There are more obvious targets.” 

“And Interpol will have them covered.” I rebut, before sighing. Good leaders explain. This isn’t like working with Batman, these are newbies. “I’ve analysed the tech already stolen and the pattern suggests this is the place. Is that enough explanation for everyone? Great, let’s get into position.”

“Geeze, what rat crawled up his tights?” I heard over the mental link and turned to Sadie. She shrugged. “Still getting used to this mental link stuff. Didn’t know you could hear me.”

“Just get into position. All of you.” I growl, swinging my cape over my shoulder and jumping to a higher but still overlooking perch.

“Well, he is not feeling ‘whelmed’.” I hear Nightshade say, the finger quotes audible.

“Or the mode.” Sadie replied. “Edna Mode, that is. He sure likes the drama of that cape too.”

“You know I can still hear you, right?” I ask, curling up on my perch to conserve energy. I’m still not feeling great. “Now get in position, they could be here any minute.”

Chapter Text

“Contact. Northeast quadrant.” I send the message down the mental link as I see a figure vault over the fence, looking suspiciously like a certain Acrobat. “Looks like we know why Carlo missed a performance.”

“Could be Carlo, could be his brother. Move in.” Robin orders. I slip the box of DNA suppressors out of my pocket and slap one of the shields on my upper arm, under my sleeve before following the directive.

As the shield touches my skin my worry fades and my purpose becomes clear. My muscles swell with adrenaline. This is how I’m supposed to be. I wish I could feel like this forever.

We gather on the roof of the warehouse complex and I start scanning with my X-Ray vision. Power tingles in my eyes sending a heady rush through my head. “Did you see where he went?” Robin asked.

“There.” I point, cutting off my vision and letting the power curl back under my skin. Percy flashes me a sharp grin before we all drop into the building. Something else bubbles under my skin, different from the power radiating from my arm.

Robin laughs as he lands in a crouch above the villain, who seems to be pulling some kind of technology out of a crate. The rest of us fill in around him. “Caught red-handed. Red-faced too, I’ll bet.”

“Acrobatics won’t get you out of this.” Artemis added, ready to get the trash-talk over with.

The perp doesn’t say anything, just pulls a flare out before breathing fire towards us. Robin and Nightshade jump to the side, Nightshade dragging Sadie back with her. Artemis flips backwards, loosing an arrow. I charge forward, the fire licking at me and burning off the sides, just like the euphoria I feel warming me.

I lose track of the others as I pound towards the fire-breather. Suddenly an explosion sounds behind me, throwing everyone to the ground as a large avalanche of metal covers me. “That guy’s dead meat.” I seethe.

“Superboy, no.” Robin calls, grabbing my arm. I roughly shrug him off in response. “You need to get her out.”

“He’s getting away!” I throw back, muscling my way forward.

“Holy anger issues Batman.” Someone mutters behind me before a smaller hand grabs my wrist, turning me to face her. Suddenly, Sadie is in my face. “Oi, P-Nightshade is still stuck in the building and the fire is too hot for Miss Martian to get her. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you will get your ‘is it a bird or a plane’ ass in there and drag her out before she dies of stupidity and for once not her own.”

My eyes widen as some fear creeps in and I turn to the warehouse immediately and blow through the doors. Looking around, every surface is consumed in flames. Using my hearing, I track Percy through the crackle of the flames to find her sitting and staring into the blaze. With my enhanced hearing I can just hear her muttering. “...To storm or fire, the world must fall. They watch worlds fall and don’t care.”

I grab Percy’s shoulder and pull her towards the door. My efforts are only met with a sword at my neck and empty eyes. This sword is different from Riptide. This sword can cut me.

I swallow and my adams apple scrapes the blade. “Percy, we have to go. This place is burning down. Nightshade, we need to get out of here.”

Percy’s head tilts a little and confusion enters her eyes before they clear. “Let’s go.” Now Percy is the one pulling me towards the edge of the blaze. Well, she’s trying. She seems to be a little directionally challenged and starts to lead me deeper into the fire before I just grab her and fly out as the roof collapses. Her eyes narrow at me from the move. “We’ll be talking about how you can fly now later. And how.” She whispers as we set down next to Robin and Sadie. 

“I sent Miss Martian and Artemis after him, but I don’t have much hope.” I nod in return as exhaustion seeps into my bones with the shield wearing off. Suddenly I don’t want to do anything anymore.

“Let’s get back to the trailer.” I sigh, slumped and heading vaguely back to the circus.

Chapter Text

I lay in my bunk as the team fights the villain. They had mentioned something about a ‘Boson Collider’ or something before leaving. I have no doubt they will get him. I was so useless for these recent fights. First I’m possessed, then some B-rate villain knocks me out of the fight before it can even start.

I sigh. It’s about all I can do right now. That, and think about the prophecy and everything Percy had told me about when she’d been gone.

Hope, Magic, and Tide shall face the forsaken,
They shall recover the loyalties unjustly taken.
Once they have faced his mighty smite,
Bells will toll and all will crumble with the light.

According to Percy, prophecies are rarely straightforward and things ended badly if you misinterpreted them. While we could assume ‘Hope, Magic, and Tide’ were Conner, Percy, and I; There are other possibilities, even within Young Justice. M’gann is always hopeful, Zatanna does magic too, and Aquaboy could easily be Tide.

But other than those possibilities was something else that bothered me. The second line, particularly the plural on ‘loyalties’. Someone else is a mole. It’s time to figure out who.

Ugh, if only I could stomp whoever it is into submission. Figuring out who the mole is will be harder than I thought. Who has been acting weird lately: everyone. They’re a bunch of people who choose to be involved in dangerous things instead of being born into them. It’s guaranteed they’re a little off their rockers.

I manage to haul myself out of bed and start towards the town. Even if I’ve been benched from fighting until I recover, I’m not an invalid and my highlights need touching up anyway. Maybe a change in color too.

I don’t make it far into Geneva when a door swings open in my face. Only the fact I almost tripped stops me from running into it. I did it on purpose.

A curly dark-haired and skinned girl exits the bookstore I almost ran into. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there!”

“Just watch it next time.” I grumble, totally not a little out of breath.

The girl leans closer to me, narrowing gold colored eyes at me. “Are you ok? I know a nurse, she can check you out if you want.”

“No.” I reply. Has the world always been this blurry? I focus on the sidewalk as I take another step forward, only for it to shift out from under me. My last thought before I go down is that maybe this wasn’t such a great idea.

My eyes open again to see a fan circling above my head and beeping near my head. Glancing around, everything is sterile looking.

“Oh, good, you’re awake!” The girl from before calls, glancing backwards, I see her in a chair near my head. She seems to be holding some kind of weasel. “I’m Hazel, it’s very nice to meet you and this is Frank.” She introduced herself and the weasel.

“Where am I?” I ask, slightly panicked.

“Don’t worry,” She soothed, “You’re in hospital. In my room.”

“Your room?” I asked, skeptically.

She shifted, looking away as Frank chittered at me. “That doesn’t matter. Point is, you are patched up, a little bit dehydrated, but good to go.”

“Right…” I reply, shifting up and yanking the electrodes off of me. “Why do you have a ferret?” I ask instead of the other million burning questions I have. It seems to be the right one, because Hazel perks right up.

“Frank is a weasel! He was given to me…” Hazel focused like she was trying to remember but couldn’t. “Well, Frank and I don’t know how long, but we have each other and that’s what matters.”

“Right…” I replied again.

“Do you want to talk about it?” She asked. “I’m a good listener and it’s not like you’ll see me again.”

I put down my stuff and decide to give it a whirl. “Have you ever felt like you can’t trust yourself? Like you’ve let down people who care about you?”

“Yes.” She replied, solemnly.

“Well, I did and I can’t take it back and now there’s a Quest mixed in with everything and I’m not Greek, I’m not supposed to have to do their quests. But I can’t let Percy down, especially if I’m integral to her plan, but I’ve heard stories and I really don’t want to die, and I feel horrible. This isn’t me. I’m the tough one, the one always ready to kick ass. I think I’m going to throw up.” I finish to see Hazel and even Frank staring at me. “No, seriously, bucket please.” The two of them scramble into motion and a bucket lands in front of me just in time. “Ugh, I’m never getting sick again.”

Hazel giggles at my commentary before replying. “You just have to take it one step at a time. I mean, that’s why Frank and I are here.”

“Here?” I ask, keeping the bucket real close and handy.

“Yes.” She smiled calmly. “I woke up here with no memory. Well, I have some memories, but nothing from the past five years and what I do have, it isn’t right. I mean, there’s no way I’m 83 years old. The people here have been trying to help me recover my true memory, but it doesn’t seem to be working. I feel like I’m disappointing them all the time. But Frank always reminds me we do our best and that it could be worse. I don’t know anything about quests, but I’m sure trying your hardest is all your friend can ask.”

“You’d be surprised.” I mutter. The least Percy asks is that we stay alive and that’s pretty iffy. Somehow I feel better though.

“Wise words from Hazel Levesque.” A nurse calls from where she leans against the doorway.

My mind blanks. This is Hazel Levesque? Daughter of Pluto? The demigod? Wait, but that means… My eyes drift to Frank the Weasel and I wince. How did that happen? Was he a weasel when The Lethe hit him and now he can’t remember he was anything else?

My skin pales at that possibility. The room seems to go silent as I watch Hazel and the nurse talk. I think I’m ready to go back to my circus now, I don’t need this one's flying monkeys. I’m going to have to tell Percy now, aren’t I?

This will be fun. Ooh, and we still have a traitor to root out. I can feel it, in my bones.

Chapter Text

I storm down out of the bioship. I’m so angry and I feel horrible. It’s nothing like the rush the shields give me. I can’t wait to use them again. My body physically aches without them. It feels like I’m missing a part of myself.

“Conner Kent.” Percy snarls, following me. I don’t care though. It doesn’t matter. I finger the packet of shields in my pocket. Crap, I’m almost out. I’ll need to talk to Lex again soon.

I head out of the bay only to find my way blocked by an equine menace. I don’t have time for this.

“Are you ready to talk now?” Percy asks.

I see Kid Flash and Aqualad behind Blackjack start to step forward. Robin just shakes his head at them and ushers everyone else out of the bay. Sadie is the only one to pause. She whispers something in Percy’s ear before leaving. It looks like I’m not getting out of this. I sigh and turn to Percy.

“Great.” Her grin looks slightly shark-like. “In that case, what the fuck is wrong with you?”

I reel back. “Nothing! I’m fine. Better than fine, I finally have all the powers I should have.”

Percy narrowed her eyes and huffed. “We both know it doesn’t work like that. You’ve been moody and not thinking before attacking! I know what ‘performance enhancers’ look like, I’m not stupid.”

“What do you want me to say?” I shoot back. “It turns out I’m only half Superman? I will never have the powers he does? I’ll always be second best? Always half the hero he is.”

“You are not second best.” Percy hissed fiercely. “So your powers are different than Superman’s. Batman doesn’t have powers and can knock the βδελυροσ boy scout down a peg. Hell, I don’t have half the powers of my father. Does that make me less of a hero than him?”

I look down, quelled. Percy’s right. Her problems are much worse than mine.

“Oh no. I know that look and you’d better wipe it off your face right now.” Percy put her hand on my shoulder and I looked into her -now much closer- eyes. “We are not comparing trauma. That never ends well for anyone. What I am trying to say, badly, is that you are enough. You don’t need whatever is giving you all these extra powers. You are just as good of a hero without it, better even. So, do yourself a favor and toss it? Please?”

I sigh, feeling slightly ashamed for using the shields. “I need everyone to be safe, for everyone to live.” I admit softly. “You- you all mean a lot to me. The first people I knew. The people who accepted me when not everyone did.”

“Trust us to have your back.” Percy pleaded. “You don’t need whatever they are, you have us.”

“Ok.” I breathe back, the conversation fading from my mind as I focus on how close our faces are now. I lean in closer to Percy, giving her plenty of time to pull away as I close my eyes. Anticipation runs through my veins as our lips touch. I hear a small explosion of air from off to the side.

I have to admit, kissing Percy is not what I expected. Her lips are rubbery and soft, with some light hair over them. They don’t feel like the right shape. I chalk it up to it being my first kiss.

Wheezing comes from wherever the gasp originated from. I open my eyes, expecting to be staring at Percy's gorgeous face. Instead, I open my eyes to a black muzzle and glaring eyes.

Turning to the side, I see that Percy is the one wheezing. She appears to have had the breath knocked out of her.

Turning to Blackjack, who is now my first kiss, I narrow my eyes. Blackjack continues glaring, lifting his lips to reveal yellowed horsey teeth in a smiling threat. His ears are pinned to his skull and the horse also seems to be attempting to hiss at me. A sound that comes out as more of a asthmatic wheeze.

Percy picked herself up off the ground, and trotted over to me. She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before glaring at Blackjack. “I like you too, Conner.” A faint redness colored her cheeks. “I, uhm, I didn’t think you…” Percy froze, seeming to be glitching between me, Blackjack, and door out of the bay.

She huffed. “Come on, Conner. We have a prophecy to fulfill. Sadie says she has something important to tell me.” The girl started dragging me into the cave, muttering about overprotective ass adjacent animals under her breath. I didn’t care. Percy likes me too. It wasn’t a promise of anything, but we would talk about it later. I would make sure. And maybe invest in some horse bribery. What do horses like anyway?

Chapter Text

I tapped Riptide against my thigh as I waited in the line for airport security. My mind roiled with what Sadie had told me about Hazel and Frank. I was kicking myself for not thinking of it sooner. If everything from the past few years was erased from Hazel’s memory, her last memories would be of the 1940s. No one would believe that, especially combined with amnesia. And Frank… Frank only learned how to change shape recently. There’s no telling if he knows he’s human and can’t change back, or if his animal form exacerbated the effects of the Lethe. Maybe he thinks he’s always been a weasel. I’m not sure which is worse. The whole situation had blown what happened with Conner to the back of my mind. Which, did he actually like me? No, he’s Conner and I’m Percy. Sure, he knows the most about me out of the new team -minus Sadie- but still. With everything I’ve done… All I’ve told him and what I’m still holding back…

“License.” The TSA agent prompts me gruffly. A jolt of surprise shoots through me, noticing I’m at the front of the line and I fish it quickly from my pocket, handing it to the hunched balding man behind the safety glass. Pay attention Jackson!

The agent scans it and returns the ID, directing me to an x-ray line. Glancing at the ID I see Penelope Johannasson listed on the fake Robin handed me for this covert mission and head for the indicated line.

Grabbing a bin, I put my ratty backpack in with my equally holey sneakers. There’s no way I’m flying in anything I like. With the current chances of Zeus swatting me out of the sky due to my refusal to follow his ‘request’ to die, I’m just happy most of the trip is over water. Especially since it had to be me on this mission as the only one the target won’t recognize.

I line up for the personal x-ray, stepping into the machine and putting my hands over my head and hold as still as a nervous demigod can. Stepping out of the machine, I see the screen to the side is red with the word ‘NO’ on it and a yellow box over my jeans pocket highlighted. Damn it, I forgot Riptide.

A TSA agent pulls me off to the side, swabbing my pocket and pulling out Riptide. “I’m going to have to take this.” She insisted.

I huff at the arbitrariness of the ruling. I’m sure plenty of people travel with pens. “Fine.” I grit as lightly as possible. I don’t have time for ‘additional screening’, especially since Riptide will reappear in my pocket anyway. It’s the principle though.

My first stop is a bathroom, where, after a very long line, I throw on my armour, but not the paperclip bending The Mist to hide my identity and throw a long sleeve shirt over it. I leave the stall with a much lighter, though still occupied backpack and shoe laces still dragging from when I shoved my feet in them after security.

Finding my gate, I finally take a moment to tie my shoes while glancing at my fellow passengers. Glancing in my backpack I confirm everything is as it should be as my eyes catch on a tanned woman with coarse black hair hidden under a baseball cap. A silver briefcase sits at her feet. Cheshire.

I follow the assassin onto the plane, making sure my vision doesn’t settle on her. My seat is two rows back from her as planned. I’m in one of the last rows on the plane.

Take off, as with my other airborne experiences, is terrifying. I feel myself leaving neutral territory for my uncle’s domain. At first the turbulence is light, almost as if Zeus is no longer keeping track of me and didn’t notice my feet leave the ground. Maybe everything will go OK.

Almost instantly the scent of ozone fills my mouth as I breathe it in and I know. I fucked up.

“No” I mutter to myself. “He’s always threatened to, but there’s no way he’d actually…”

The lady next to me shuffles a little further from my aisle seat, watching me suspiciously. I’m not… OK, maybe I’m a little crazy.

The fasten seatbelt light dings on seconds before the  pilot’s intercom crackles with an announcement. “Hey folks, uh, there seems to be a bit of a, uh, storm forming around us here. So, uh, we’re going to try and get above it. It should be nothing to worry about, but, uh, I’ve turned the fasten seatbelt sign back on. If everyone could please return to their seats that, uh, that would be much appreciated.”

The blood drains from my face as I wrestle between bailing on the mission and jumping out the emergency exit to hopefully spare the rest of the passengers or stopping Cheshire from possibly killing even more people.

I’m frozen too long as all the hair on my body stands on end. A light flashes as thunder booms outside and oxygen masks drop from the ceiling all over the plane. Looking around I see people screaming silently, my ears blown from the thunder. The lady next to me frantically pages through the emergency procedure pamphlet from the seat back in front of her as the plane tilts nose down at a dangerous angle.

The plane levels a little and I close my eyes as the intercom comes on again. “Uh, folks, we’re have lost some on board computer function, but luckily most of the plane is mechanical and as long as the wiring holds we maintain some flight control. We will now attempt an emergency landing. If everyone could follow the flight attendants’ instructions in preparation for our landing, that is much appreciated.”

The flight attendants stay by their seats as they start yelling directions to scared passengers. In the chaos I almost miss Cheshire unbuckling and walking to an emergency exit with a strange backpack and the briefcase.

The villain blows the hatch as I unbuckle and dart towards her. She turns at the last minute, saluting the passengers before the air pressure drags her out backwards. Unbuckled, I’m dragged right behind her and the two of us free fall.

I squeeze my eyes closed against the wind blowing in my face and reach out my other senses for any water I can find below me. I sense a large body of salt water under me. I try to release a breath of relief, but it’s stolen by the wind. Instead I twist my body into a diving form as the water reaches for me, cradling my safe landing. Glancing around I see a parachute disappear into a bowl of mountains on an island nearby. That must have been what was in Cheshire's strange backpack.

Also above me is a plane trailing smoke. My gut twists with guilt and power as I make the sea reach for the falling plane and cushion its fall. There’s no guarantee everyone survived, but at least more would live than if I’d done nothing. “Asshole!” I yell at the sky, flipping it off as the thunder booms louder once more before the whole storm folds in on itself, vanishing. I ask a passing pod of whales to keep an eye on the downed plane as I pull Nægling out of my backpack, nudging aside the apple I brought to stress eat on the plane. I unclip the magic Mist disguise that hid it through TSA and clip the disguise to my shirt.

I propel myself towards the island and Cheshire as I use my communicator to update Robin. Time to skin a cat.

Chapter Text

The Bioship flies low and slow over the water, pausing over a shape below. Nightshade propels herself into the ship with the water. My eyes narrow in contemplation at the Atlantean-like move. I have suspicions ‘Nightshade’ is from a lost Atlantean tribe or perhaps the daughter of a minor ocean spirit, but now is not the time or place to raise them.

“Nightshade, report.” I command. Nightshade shifts position, straightening to a military posture. She only holds it for a second before relaxing, but I have completed my mandatory service, I recognize the move, as I have recognized several other of Nightshade’s habits during her time with the team. I wonder if she fought in the Titan War as I had. It took everything for Atlantis to hold Oceanus’ forces back. Repairs are still in progress.

“Cheshire escaped the plane crash via parachute, landing in the bowl of mountains. No sighting of any backup, but I’ve been focused on assisting with the crash. She has a package of something with her. The stunt seemed planned, though I’m not sure how she could predict a lightning strike.”

Hmmm, maybe there is godly intervention in this, though I don’t know what my king and I would do if a mission were to have us defy Poseidon. I nod tersely at Nightshade, directing M’gann to fly the bioship to the island.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Kid Flash gaped. “Are we just going to ignore that Nightshade suddenly has water powers? Where did that come from? Am I out of the loop?” he gasped “Robin! I’m unlooped!”

I rested my hand on his shoulder as he whipped around to me. “This is not the time. We will have a discussion once we return to the cave. For now, the mission comes first.”

“Right.” He nodded, refocusing.

“We’re here. Linking us up.” M’gann said in our heads as the bioship hovered on one side of the mountain bowl. The new team member, Rocket, winces slightly at the sensation of the mindlink settling into place, but keeps her questions to herself. We had explained the best we could on the way over, but time was limited. I resolve to keep an eye on her for the duration of the mission.

Everyone readied their weapons, preparing to drop.

“Now.” I command, the hatch immediately opening below us and depositing us on the ground. The bioship, still cloaked, retreats until M’gann calls for it.

We scan the snow covered terrain. “Well, well. Looks like the brats have come to keep us company.” Cheshire purrs, stepping from behind an outcropping of rocks. “Hi Artemis, I see you’ve brought your friends to play.”

Artemis grumbles before replying. “You’re outnumbered, Cheshire. Give up peacefully and hand over the briefcase.”

Cheshire tuts reproachfully. “Well, your imagination is your only weapon in the war with reality. I’ve brought my friends too.”

We turn back to back in a defensive circle as rock shifts on all sides, revealing Riddler, Shimmer, and Mammoth, interspersed by goons with Apokoliptian technology. Superboy cracks his knuckles, stone faced, as Miss Martian draws a breath of surprise. “I didn’t even sense them…”

Nightshade draws water out of the ice surrounding us, siphoning some over for me to supplement my Water Pack. I draw my Water-Bearers, channeling Atlantean energy down them and forming two short swords. “Robin, Artemis, take The Riddler. Nightshade, Shimmer. Rocket and Kid Flash, Mammoth. Try to contain him in one of Rocket’s bubbles. Miss Martian, Sadie, Superboy. Take down the goons. I’ve got Cheshire.”

I receive nods of confirmation from my team and as one we spring for our chosen opponents.

Cheshire catches my first strike with her left sai, forcing me to dissolve and reform the blade as I block her second sai’s attempt on my ribs. My change in focus allows Cheshire to flip backwards on to a higher rock, releasing some throwing stars in my direction. I flatten and widen one of my blades, holding it defensively as the projectiles impact it. The impromptu shield is almost too thin I note, as one of the shuriken pokes through it. Something to work on. I lurch towards the villainess, slightly unsteady from the terrain. 

From there it’s a deluge of strikes and I don’t have time to check on my teammates as I do my best to block every strike. A gash opens on my bicep as one of Cheshire’s shuriken gets a little close. Immediately I feel the strength begin to leech from that arm as I struggle to continue. Each movement pushes the toxin through my bloodstream faster.

A clash of metal on metal surprises me and I turn to see Nightshade at my side. “Mind if I cut in?” Her smile at the question looks more like the snarl of an angry wolf. “Shimmer is down.” Glancing over, I see the other villain buried to her neck in snow with an apple jammed in her mouth. Where Nightshade got the apple, I don’t think we’ll ever know.

I nod solemnly. “As Kid Flash likes to say, ‘shall we tango’?”

Nightshade’s eyes widen as she gapes at me like a grouper while dodging a thrown knife. “Did you just make a joke?”

“Of course not.” I respond drily doing my best to refrain from smirking. “Kid Flash is indeed a fan of the expression.”

Nightshade huffed, renewing her assault on Cheshire. The villain’s distraction allows me to change my short sword into a water whip, wrapping her up and successfully catching her.

Looking around, I see the other villains are restrained, there’s a large pile of broken Apokoliptian technology, and the briefcase we are after sits innocently next to Miss Martian’s foot. The sight has no effect on the pit still weighing down my stomach. Someone had tipped them off, there’s still a mole on the team. “Let’s return to base.” I speak aloud despite the mind link. “I think there are a few things we all need to speak about.

Chapter Text

I cut silently through the water as I approached la isla Santa Prisca, beaching myself at the thinnest part of the beach. After the Team had talked out our secrets, I had decided this was the best option. Who’d have thought that M’gann was a white martian, not green and that Sportsmaster and Cheshire were Atremis’ family. Not to mention Superboy is only half Kryptonian, with Lex Luthor as the other donor. I think that makes him more of a force grown test tube baby than a clone, actually. On my part, I had admitted to being a Greek demigod and daughter of Poseidon instead of an Egyptian magician. Not that I had done a good job hiding that. Based on Aqualad’s face, we’d be having a long discussion about that later.  I still hadn’t told them my name.

“You have made the right decision,” A voice gruffs above me. “This is for the best.”

Anger simmers through my blood with each beat of my heart as I look up into sunglass-covered eyes. “Let the war begin.”

Ares and I clasp forearms as he pulls me from the surf. He grins crookedly, somehow making his face even uglier. He releases my arm as soon as I’m fully out of the surf before turning and leading the way to an inland clearing.

Looking around the clearing, I push surprise to dart across my face as I look at the others present. Superboy stands next to Lex Luthor, with Mercy a step behind them. I’m still not sure if she’s a cyborg or a robot, but it doesn’t matter if she bleeds red or black oil. She’s not my biggest concern. I keep one eye on Ares. Blockbuster and Queen Bee stand to one side as Aretmis and Cheshire join Sportsmaster, all looking vaguely menacing.

“Hey Ches-y,” I greet the cat themed villain. “Hope our little plane adventure didn’t get your fur too wet. I hear cats get pissy when you bathe them.”

“Nightshade.” She purrs, lip curled in distaste, “Or should I say Perseus Jackson. I wouldn’t try that game with me, I always win.” Cheshire waved a sai in my direction.

“Jellyfish toxin won’t work on me. Knowing my name, you should know that too.”

“Oh, I do.” Cheshire smirked. “What about your mother and all of those delightful little books she’s written, though? Practically a primer on defeating you. The shadows know everything.”

My muscles tighten as Cheshire threatens my mother and I go on guard, staring the supervillainess’ mask down.

“Ladies.” Lex Luthor interjects, stepping forward. “Save the animosity for the Justice League, hmm? I believe our last… guest… has just arrived.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see M’gann touch down as I position myself to keep eyes on both Cheshire and Ares. The first real sound I process comes again from Luthor and it’s one I know means things have gone to shit. Red Sun.

I forcibly relax my muscles as Luthor gathers the villains, moving towards a secondary location. We can’t let that happen.

Luckily, I don’t have to do something as Artemis starts shooting arrows at the villains. At least until Miss Martian pulls her off, dangling her in mid air.

Rage drifts through the clearing, Ares amplifying the already present emotion as battle breaks out.

“You can’t interfere in the affairs of mortals.” I remind him, keeping one eye on the battle as Kid Flash streaks in.

“Not directly, but I am everywhere there is war. This is my domain. We fought once in yours, care to face me in mine?” The god asks.

I lower myself and charge the god as if I was one of his boars. As I close the distance, his sunglasses start to bubble, burned by the flames making his eyes. The sunglasses burn into nothing. He lowers into a ready stance, ready to start a contest of brute strength. 

Just as we are about to hit, I drop even further, sliding right past him and into the forest. “I think you will find, Ares, that I’m no longer the skinny eleven-year-old with something to prove you fought on that beach all those years ago.” I taunt, retreating further into the underbrush. “If you want me, come find me.”

Ares burst into laughter. “You underestimate me, demigod, I do not want you. You still have a part to play in this plan. For that, you will escape me. But mark my words, Perseus Jackson. Next time we meet, your strength will fail you.”

I drop to the forest floor as my arms burn, my eyes instinctively squeezed closed just as Ares erupts into his True Form before vanishing. Worry takes up residence in my mind as I remember the last time Ares cursed me.

As soon as I regain my bearings, I drag myself from the bushes to see the Justice League leaving with their new prisoners contained by a green lantern. I join my team still in the clearing.

“A+ for communication!” Robin smirks, “Now I really know all of your dirty little secrets.”

The others groan as the file back to the bioship, leaving Superboy and me in the clearing.

“So, Perseus.” He smirked at me shifting on his feet a little. 

I groan. “It’s Percy.”

“Ok… Percy.”

I smile up at him as we stare into eachothers’ eyes. His face seems to drift towards mine slowly.

Suddenly, a blur resolves into Kid Flash right next to me, making us jump apart. “So, Perseus.” Kid Flash chatters like a monkey. “If you have a ship and you replace all of the parts of it, is it still your ship?” Further ahead on the trail, I see Aqualad stumble a little at my name.

“That’s Theseus, Kid Idiot,” Artemis corrected from next to him, “Not Perseus.”

“Oh, right.” Kid replied, mock serious. “Not The-seus, just Per-seus. Hey, maybe one day she'll even be Dr. seus!”

I smile at the two, cracking up at the bad joke despite a churning mix of disappointment, fear, and uncertainty churning in my stomach. “It’s always my ship. I’m the demigod of the sea.” I like them. They're cute together.

Kid Flash squints his eyes at me as we enter the bioship. “Yeah, I still don’t believe in gods. Super powerful, ancient metahumans or aliens, maybe, but all powerful beings? Pass. Hey, maybe they’re aliens from a super advanced society that conquered the Earth in ancient times and pretended to be gods!”

I snort. I hadn’t been sure about Kid Flash previously, he was kind of abrasive but just with that comment, I decided I like him. It takes a special person to be so willfully ignorant of the supernatural. “I wish I could pass. Maybe one day.”

Chapter Text

Landing in the cave, Wally whoops before speeding to the kitchen for ‘celebratory cheese fries’. The rest of the team laughs and follows. 

As I head down the ramp, my arm is caught by none other than Kaldur'ahm. He pulls me to the side. “You did not tell me who you are.” He points out.

“Well, duh.” I scoff, “That’s why it’s a covert team.”

“I have not shown you due deference.” Kaldur replies, “I cede my position as team leader to you as the more experienced and higher ranked.”

A cold chill runs down my back. No, I can’t lead again. I don’t want that responsibility, that guilt. “No.” I bark, turning harshly. “You are Team Leader, you are who they respect. We are not in Atlantis. My title is honorary anyway.”

Kaldur straightened into an alert position. “Yes, General.”

I pouted. Damn Atlanteans, always so stuck on titles. Yes, technically Dad declared me general in absentia. If he’s not there, Atlantis’ forces fall to my command. That was mostly in case I needed soldiers for some quest or something. As General, they’d have to do what I say. “No, not General, Nightshade. Your teammate who you give orders to, not the other way around. Non-fish me, this is why I didn’t tell you.”

“Non-fish me?” A slightly confused look made it through Kaldur’s schooled impassivity before he shook it away and refocused. “May I just say, General, it is an honor to meet you. We learn about your battle techniques in the academy. To get to meet one of the Giant Slayers, it’s more than I imagined. You are truly a titan of your field, pun not intended of course.”

I groaned. What do they learn from my battle tactics? Flying by the seat of your pants? Or would it be swimming by the seat of your pants? I don’t exactly do well flying, as this week has shown. I can’t believe that Zeus actually went through with his threat and shot me out of the sky. And why do people never understand my Fish Jesus jokes? “You were doing so well, Kaldur. You think I don’t get enough ass-kissing in Atlantis? Move past it.”

Kaldur blinks, refocusing on me and straightening back to attention. “Right, of course. If you wouldn’t mind giving me som pointers though and maybe a spoiler on the second book in the series written on you. Big fan, I don’t know why they made you male though.”

I sighed. “Let me just be another teammate and I will get you a pre-release copy. Capisce?” I think I’ve been spending too much time with Falcone, if I’m saying Capisce.

Kaldur nodded like his head was going to fall off. I took the opportunity to drag him towards everyone else. Tomorrow’s going to be a big day. I can feel it in my gills. Well, I would if I had gills. My collar bones twinge a little at the thought.

Chapter Text

Stepping into the mission planning room of The Cave with Percy next to me, I see the rest of The Team and Batman already there.

“Did we miss some kind of memo?” Percy asks me, as we scrutinize the line up in front of us. Something tickles at my neck, warning that something is off. I feel Percy tense next to me as she falls into a loose defensive position, almost invisible to those who don’t know her. Clearly, I’ve spent enough time with her to tell.

Superboy’s eyebrows crinkle, probably sensing a change in Percy’s or my heart rate. “Roy, Red Arrow, is the mole.” He grunts.

Percy shifts in front of me with eyes widened in surprise as disbelief colors my expression “Bul~” I wheezes as Percy nails me in the stomach with her elbow. Ow, she can really hit hard. “But how could he do that to us?” I finish once she gets my breath back. Thank you Percy, so much.

Aqualad steps forward. “Are we to help with the search for Red Arrow?”

Batman grunts. “Roy is a league problem now that he has joined us. You kids stay here, but alert a Justice League member if he shows up here.” The Dark Knight spins his cape out as he dramatically exits through the zeta tube, leaving us with Red Tornado.

Something magical niggles at my perception as Percy turns to me. “Do you feel…?”

“Absolutely,” I confirm. “Bad magic mojo is floating around here, how did you…?”

“I have learned some things from my adventures.” She smiles wryly. A story about a specific guinea pig spa retreat comes to my mind. I tense as the feeling of magic comes closer, turning I’m just in time to watch Red Tornado shut down, hand out-stretched towards me.

Suddenly, Kid Flash appears, studying what’s in the android’s hand. “Cool! Looks like alien nanotech! Would make a good souvenir, if we were actually on a mission.”

I step closer, studying the pink abomination. The scent of blood saturates the air around it as the phantom sounds of blades meeting and the screams of people dying whisper through the air. “I feel some high-grade magic coming off of that thing, real nasty shit. Couldn’t tell ya what kind though, not Greek or Egyptian. Feels a little like chaos and bloodlust though. Maybe a little possession-y. Got a similar whiff off of Batman.”

“Batman called us ‘kids’.” Robin added. “He’d never call us kids.”

“Bloodlust and chaos?” Kid Flash adds, “That sounds like Klarion and that Ares guy Perce was fighting. Plus mind control, total bad guy move.”

Chapter Text

Reaching the Watchtower is suspiciously easy. Though I guess getting there isn’t the real danger. The real danger is definitely the mind controlled supers. 

After sneaking through the zeta tubes, we pause to confirm Red Arrow has disabled security. Robin confirms from his little wrist gadget. For now we have the element of surprise, though knowing us, it won’t last long. Percy splits off from the others and I follow her towards the main hub of supervillain control. I scan my surroundings as I walk, dropping into battle mode.

Peeking around a corner, Percy and I see Klarion with some kind of magic-technology hybrid screen, controlling the heroes. Ares stands to the side, behind a woman in a chair. The new woman is sitting in her chair with perfect posture and a look of disdain that says the chair should feel awed she deigned to sit in it. Her pitch black hair tumbles down her back, held away from her face with a golden circlet. She wears an all white pantsuit that seems to shimmer with every color possible.

“Perseus.” She calls, her voice technically perfect. Perfect enough to send shivers of fear down my spine. “I’m glad you could join us. I see you brought a friend.”

Percy stands, gesturing for me to follow her into the room. Riptide hangs at her side, non-threatening, but ready.

“What~” I start to ask before the goddess, and she could only be a goddess with how magic practically drips off of her, turns to look at me. Suddenly I feel small as I feel all my mistakes loom in her gaze. 

“This is a family matter dear.” The goddess sniffed, like there was something much stronger than dear she wanted to call me. “Why don’t you run along and play with your little friends.”

Percy stiffens. “If there’s something you want to say to me, you can say it to Sadie too, she’s practically family.” My heart warms at Percy’s declaration.

“It’s about the Renewal.” The goddess arched a sculpted eyebrow. My own eyebrows knit in confusion as the blood drains from my face. What have I missed, and why do the Greek gods always have drama? ‘The Renewal’ is a pretty scary name for something.

Percy’s grip on Riptide tightens, but she turns to me. “Sadie, would you mind helping our friends? I think I can handle these two.” My gaze slides to Klarion and Percy follows my look. “... three. I can handle these three. I’m sure the team could use some help with the more magically inclined members?”

My eyes slide to the two Greek gods, but I nod slowly, knowing she’s right, they will need help. “Shout if you need backup.” I tell the demigod. She smiles in reply, and turns her full attention back to the duo.

I turn and leave. The words ‘It didn’t have to be this way, you know.’ follow me out the door and leave me kicking myself in the future.

I follow the sound of skirmishes, because they definitely know we’re here now, until I find Dr. Fate. I wonder who they put the helmet on? I thought he was deactivated. The good doctor seems distracted trying to pin down Kid Flash, and I take the opportunity to approach from behind. 

Fate almost tags Kid with an ankh, and I decide to draw his attention. “You know, I’ve never been much of a fan of fate, always too, written on a big, stone tablet to me.” I grin fiercely. “I’ve always been good at breaking big stone tablets, family trait, why don’t we take a crack at it.” I toss a small bit of yarn at him I snagged from one of M’gann’s crocheting projects. Kid Flash runs after the Flash, racing over every surface possible.

I don’t put any magic behind the yarn as Dr. Fate already has summoned a gold ankh to cut through it. Instead a mutter I’mun and disappear inside my new dark cloud while Fate can’t see.

Fate burns away the cloud as he starts glowing from within, the distraction gives me just what I need to get behind him. “Se-” I start to intone before Fate’s head seems to turn 180 degrees around on his shoulders. His hand twists with him as well and another blast is thrown out. I duck and cast my staff down. The newly formed lioness distracts him just long enough for me to say the magic words, “Se-kebab!”.

Ice crackles across the room and over the Lord of Order. I skip up to him and stick a nano-thing to his neck that Robin said would fix him. The ice remains as Fate passes out, the helmet slipping off his head as his neck stretches an unbelievable amount to the floor. It leaves Plastic Man passed out in front of me.

Chapter Text

We gather in the Watchtower’s main assembly room as we wait for the Justice League to wake up. My eyes and ears scan my surroundings to find a certain demigod.

I locate her standing near the large bank of widows, staring out at space with a lost expression. I walk up behind her and rest a hand lightly on her shoulder. Percy whirls around to face me with a fierce expression. We make eye contact and her face smooths into a small smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

“We won.” I tell her. Her eyes glisten and her smile widens as she jumps into my arms, hugging me tightly with her head buried in my chest.

“Was there ever any doubt?” She teases lightly, lifting her face. We stare into each others’ eyes as my mouth goes dry.

“Hey, Lover boy!” Wally calls from where the others are assembled. My cheeks heat as the two of us join them in the center of the room.

Aqualad crouches over the disarmed Red Tornado. It seems his dismemberment hasn’t damaged his higher functions, as he takes the opportunity to speak. “Congratulations, Team. You have won the day.”

We take a moment to breathe in relief.

Suddenly, the Watchtower’s tannoy activates. “Happy New Year, Justice League!” It announces as the date and time pop up in front of us in a blue hologram.

Wally smiles from next to Artemis before picking her up. “I should have done this a long time ago.” He declares.

“No kidding.” Artemis agrees, kissing him before he can do the same to her.

A small smile curves my face before I turn to Percy next to me. I lean in and kiss her slightly chapped lips.

Percy kisses me back almost desperately as something wet touches my cheek. I pull away to check on her, only to be interrupted by a shout.

Turning to the entryway of the Watchtower meeting room, Wonder Woman enters, an angry expression on her face. “Perseus Jackson!” She yells. "Get your ass over here right now!"

Everyone seems to be frozen in surprise of Wonder Woman cursing as I whip my head back around to Percy, but she’s not there. Listening for her heartbeat, I can’t find it.

Percy has disappeared.

Chapter Text

Five Years Later

“Nightwing, report.”

Despite the many years and the added strain to our relationship, I still feel my spine straighten at Batman’s command as his cape follows him into the room. Captain Marvel follows him in. “We received notice of activity possibly linked to The Light in Bialya. Intel suggested that Queen Bee would be present, so Miss Martian, Sadie, Bumblebee, Wonder Girl, and Batgirl were assigned the mission with Miss Martian in command and Sadie as a senior team member.”

I pause, remembering what Miss Martian had reported to me as Captain Marvel shifts restlessly against the wall and Batman grunts to tell me to continue.

“Right. Miss Martian reported that something was off with the mission and the psychic link from the beginning. She thinks she was telepathically hacked, though she has no idea how. Anyway, after searching several defunct sites, they eventually found some action…

“Why do I have to be left behind?” Wonder Girl muttered to herself. “I can be stealthy!” She continued, kicking the sand and sending up a giant plume of dust.

“Hi there.” A voice said from next to her.

Cassie shrieked as she turned, spotting a dark haired and sallow skinned teen sitting on the ground near her.

“You really shouldn’t be here.” He continued, “Unless you’re here to help?”

Wonder Girl stood from her defensive stance and his unagressive behavior. “Of course I’m not here to help, we’re here to stop them!” She snarled, angrily.

The boy sighed in what seemed to be disappointment. “Too bad, you really should change your mind. They’re lying to you, you know.”

“Who’s lying?” Cassie asked, intrigued. “I fight with the power of Zeus on my side. I fight for what’s right.”

The boy sighed and flipped a coin at her. “I told them you are a lost cause, they disagreed. Well, I’ve done what I’ve promised. Now it’s up to them.”

Cassie caught the coin, asking “Who asked you to do what? What do I do with this? Who are you?”

“Mythos.” The boy whispered as he faded into shadow.

Cassie examined the coin. It was finely wrought and silver in color, one side depicting a coiled serpent and the other a cow. She would have to examine it later though, because a car pulling up to the facility pulled her from her daydreams.

A figure stepped from the vehicle. Blonde, skinny, it had to be that kid everyone said reads minds. The one who was definitely dead.

Shutting down the mind link, Wonder Girl sneaks into the facility, finding the others loosely grouped in the middle of the compound. Warning them, the team retreats to the rafters as Octavian enters the warehouse.

“Come out.” He whines, “I know you’re there. We’re on the same side now.”

“No.” A woman’s voice comes from everywhere and nowhere at once. “We are not on the same side.”

“Yes.” The boy said, taking a swig out of a flask and enunciating like he thinks the woman is slow. “We both fight against~”

“No.” The voice halts his words in their tracks. “We do not beat them by becoming them and you, Octavian, are just like them. You have stolen powers from others to perform terrible acts. You do it now. I know what that flask contains, I know what became of Psimon and his powers. We do not accept you, you will not be allowed to continue.”

Octavian collapses to the ground, shaking. “What makes you different? You are just like them too! A monster.” Blood rushes out of Octavian’s orifices as if evacuating a sinking ship and turning the ground sticky and red. He’s dead.

A woman steps out next to him. She wears a form-fitting black suit with Greek armour and a sword sheathed on her back. Covering her face in lieu of a mask is a featureless mirror without any eye or nose holes. “Nothing. It is true, they have pushed me too far. I will take them down with me though and we will swim the river of fire together.”

The woman lifts her head. “Come out. I know you’re there. I am Cassandra and we are Mythos. I offer you hospitality.”

Wonder Girl drops first from her perch with a hissed ‘follow my lead’. Landing on her feet, she turns to Cassandra. “We graciously accept your hospitality and will do nothing to jeopardize it. I am Wonder Girl. What is Mythos and who are you?”

Cassandra smiles as the rest of the team drop next the Wonder Girl. “Welcome, Wonder Girl. I am Cassandra, I speak the truth with every breath, though you will not believe me.”

A voice speaks up from behind the team. “I am Io.” Turning, they see another female figure dressed in the same dark suit but covered in a cloak and armed with a staff.

A third voice spoke from another direction, dressed the same as the first but with leaner armour and a spear and shield at her sides. The shield is decorated with a head ringed in snakes. “I am Medusa, I curse the gods to my last breath and will fight them until my bones are dust. We are Mythos.”

Cassandra tilted her head at the team. “One of your team will not return with you today.” She commented.

Bumblebee shook her head. “No, you’re wrong.”

“They always say that.” Cassandra sighed.

“Is that a threat?” Batgirl asked, drawing a batarang and glancing down at Octavian. “What did you do to him?”

The three women continued to surround the team. “It wasn’t a threat.” Medusa assured. “You’ll know when we threaten you. As for him?” She shrugged. “The world found a better use for his blood than keeping him alive.”

“What about the boy outside?” Wonder Girl cut in, showing them the token he’d given her. “Is he one of you?”

Io chuckled but no one replied.

Miss Martian’s eyes started glowing as she reached for Cassandra’s mind. Before she could reach it, a spear had sprouted from her calf.

“You have attacked us, your hosts, unprovoked.” Io intoned.

“No.” Wonder Girl muttered, turning to Miss Martian. “You’ve broken the code and we still know nothing about them!”

Mythos struck hard and fast, knocking out Miss Martian. Bumblebee shrunk as Sadie started a protection spell, Batgirl took to the rafters, and Wonder Girl scooped up her fallen teammate and placed her on an out of the way ceiling joist. 

Bumblebee was quickly swatted by Medusa, one look at the villain’s shield paralysed her, making her easy prey to be swatted with a spear which had somehow returned to her hand. 

Next, Sadie started a spell, magic condensing around her hands. Before she could fire it off, Medusa’s spear pierces her chest. Whatever magic is in her hands seems to turn inward, eating away at her as she turns to dust.

Batman grunts as I finish the account from my team, all of which had been shared with me psychically thanks to a recovering Miss Martian. “After that, they grabbed Miss Martian and ran.”

“The coin?” The dark knight asks.

“Wonder Girl still has it, I think she and Batgirl are trying to track them with it.”

Batman’s silence is indication enough of his approval.

Captain Marvel takes the chance to speak up. “So, Cassandra, Io, and Medusa. According to Zeus, those are all women from Greek myths who have offended the gods. An oracle who is never believed, One who was punished by the gods before fleeing to Egypt, and one who desecrated a temple. Any idea who they really are?”

“Not a clue.” I reply, “But we’re working on it.”

I stand and head for the door, stopping as I swing it open and stand in the doorway. “Sadie’s funeral will be this saturday, we were hoping Percy could make it, but she’s still MIA. Sadie’s brother should be there though, if you actually care about this death and want to attend.”

Chapter Text

I coughed the ozone out of my lungs as I reoriented myself to my new surroundings. Sudden summonings are rude, but I was used to them with the family I am a part of.

“Zeus” I sighed at my brother from the center of the circle of thrones. “You’ve summoned me?”

“Yes.” He replied in what probably sounded like a rumble to everyone else. I could hear the whine of my little brother under the tone. “Demeter has been slain. Her throne is rubble and her cornucopia is shattered.”

I turn to Hera’s side to the Olympian omega of thrones to see one is missing. My eyes widen. Zeus it right, it’s nothing but ash. “I knew there has been much death among the minor gods. Despite the recent Renewal, many have entered my kingdom, but for Demeter’s throne to be gone…”

“Yes,” The blond brute cuts me off. “Someone has not only killed an Olympian, but they have found a way to destroy their power. Unlike Kronos who may rise again, no more will there be a Demeter. The Olympian gods now number eleven and this cannot stand!” At this point Zeus’ face was burning red and splotchy as if he had recently had a large amount of alcohol. “Someone has declared war on the gods and we must answer them with death!”

Hera places a hand delicately on Zeus’ forearm and his whole demeanor seems to still as he sinks back into his seat. He is still on the brink of an explosion, but a contained and directed one. “Tell me, brother. Your judges must have seen Demeter’s last moments before she was sent to Elysium. Who killed her?”

I breathe deeply, flaring my power before summoning the Judge who had presided over Demeter and definitely not sent her to Elysium.

Darkness fluttered away as William Shakespeare took form. Oh, this would be interesting. The bard loved challenging himself and was seven decades into a challenge to speak in nothing but iambic pentameter.

“William.” I acknowledged. “I give you leave to tell the assembly of the woman formerly known as Demeter’s last moments.”

The bard swept his feathered cap into a flourishing bow to me before turning to the assembly. A grin almost imperceptibly twitches my lips. 

“Demeter came to me one judgement night,
With tales and memories of some great fright.
Betwixt the midnight changing of the hour,
Did come one of more than equal power.
With stolen face and heart filled hate,
Blade to corn, she felt nobody's sharp fate.”

The bard bowed once again before vanishing back to his post in the underworld. Looking up, I could see Zeus’ eye twitching.

Applause broke out from Apollo to one side. “I don’t know why you always get the good ones, Uncle.” Apollo praised. “You should let some talent out of that dreary place every once in a while.”

“They’re dead.” I deadpan, “They are where they belong.”

“What.” Zeus breathed. “Was that.”

“It was perfectly obvious, Father.” Athena, the brat, sniffed. “Someone of great power broke into Demeter’s palace at midnight and broke her Cornucopia, the symbol of her power. They then killed her. The person who did it had the same face as Demeter and identified themselves as ‘Nobody’.”

Zeus growls and summons the Oracle from Camp Half-Blood. The mortal appears in stained jeans and holding half a paint brush, the functional side cut off from the portal. 

“Hey!” She squawks at the intrusion. “Warn a woman first.”

“Speaker of the Oracle.” The King of the Gods intones, ignoring her outburst. “Speak the prophecy. “

“That’s not how it works, you~” Her sentence is cut off as she wobbles and green smoke starts to surround her. No one can mistake that the Oracle of Delphi is here.

A fate they have sealed in the decisions of their once great hall,
The Children of Oaths, once denied, have come for you all.
One chance remains to mend the once great thread,
That which once was wild must go free in your stead.

Chapter Text

I held on to the inside of the time capsule as it spun down within what I hope to be the cave. I really hope this worked. If not, I’m dead.

The doors release in a cloud of steam, just enough cover to pull my mask on as I leap out and strike a pose. Just enough cover to help me get away if I'm in the wrong place. Gotta convince them.

“Computer, lock down Cave.” A man in a skin tight black suit with a blue design on it commands. A flash of relief goes through me as I recognize Nightwing with Red Robin, sorry, Robin, and Beast Boy behind him.

“Well, I think we found our unknown energy impulse.” The green boy cracks. We may not have complete records in the future, but we’ve scrounged together what we could.

“Impulse?” I ask, my fake smile widening to the point I feel my face is going to crack. “That's so crash!” I enthuse, contemplating the word while I ready myself to show off my speed, zooming around the three contemporary heroes. “Catchy, dramatic, One word. Like Nightwing. And Robin. And Beast Boy… except that's two words.” Before they can start questioning me, I slip in one more. “Blue Beetle's two words but Nightshade is one. Hey, are they here too?” I laugh nervously as I pause a millisecond for their answer. Instead of waiting, I throw a comment over my shoulder and take off into the base, laughing in relief that it actually worked.

Zooming through the base, I can’t help but notice a lack of people as I dodge the two Nightwing sent after me, outsmarting them and setting traps.

After searching the whole base, it’s time to get caught. No one is here and the best way to get intel is probably letting them think they won. I dodge Nightwing’s marble trick and stop to gloat. Internally I wince. Back home this would get me killed. If not by them then by the pushups I’ll have to do to make up for making such a simple mistake. Here it’ll still hurt, but hopefully she never hears about this.

I fall to the ground releasing a puff of air from Nightwing’s fist in my pancreas. I stay down as Nightwing cuffs my hands and feet. “Now, that was crash.” He deadpans.

“For you maybe. Me, I'm totally feeling the mode.” I scoff back as I curl up to dig the lockpicks Lily gave me before I left out of my boot and start picking the cuffs. I don’t get far before I’m hauled off to the main chamber of the cave for interrogation. That’s okay though, this is a much better position for picking a lock though. Nightwing probably doesn’t expect a kid with powers to have other skills. Amateur, he wouldn’t survive the future. Well, he doesn’t but, you know.

I zone out, telling the story as I pick the cuffs. The ones around my wrists fall loose just as I finish the story and I can’t help but feel rusty.

“You're a tourist from the future?” Robin asks.

“Why so surprised?” I scoff in discomfort at the interrogation by the batboy who arguably rivals Batman’s detective skills. “Half the meat at Comic-Con are from my era.”

Robin’s eyebrow starts to rise and I start word vomiting things out as fast as possible while still at normal speed to stay afloat. “Look, look, guys, we should all be friends! I'm really one of you, part of the heroic legacy, right? My name's Bart Allen. You know, grandson of Barry Allen?”

“The Flash.” Beast Boy smirked, flicking his tail. “Noted. Not believed, but noted.”

Anxiety flashes through me. “What's not to believe? I've clearly got Flash's speed, his amazing good looks.” I preen, showing off. “Frankly, I can't wait to meet him!” My eyes widen for a millisecond at the slip up. “Uh, you know, back when he was in his prime.”

“Well, Bart ,” Nightwing walks over with a glass of water and a look of suspicion. “Coming all the way from the future, you must have worked up quite a thirst.”

“Thanks.’ I smile vapidly before realization blooms across my face. Take that Indigo, I’m a great actor. “Oh, ah. You're trying to get a DNA sample, you need my spit.” I hack out a dry laugh. “That's such a Dick Grayson thing to do.”

“How did...?” Robin reacts while Nightwing stays impassive. 

“See? I know stuff only a future boy would know.” I grasp for straws. Looking at Robin’s face I think I may have overstepped with the names. The records say the bats don’t trust, something had to have happened for me to know their names. I decide to go all in, it’s too late to walk it back.

“Dick Grayson. Tim Drake. Garfield Logan.” I say, pointing at each as I name them and making sure my smile is still pasted on my face. “I play with your kids all the time!”

“Your name's Tim? And yours is Dick?” Garfield chuckles.

“Oops, spoilers. This secret identity thing is so retro.” I fake wince in remorse and start babbling again. Afterall, any chance to change the timeline. Sophia was on about some butterfly thing. “I mean, you can call me Impulse or Bart or Bart Allen or Bart "Impulse" Allen. It's all crash.”

“Is it possible he might actually be telling the truth?” I relax at Robin believing me. He may not be the detective he becomes yet, but his opinion still holds weight. “Could he really be from the future?”

“Tell us something we don't know yet. When do I become leader of the Team?” Beast Boy asks eagerly, pouncing down in front of me. “When do I join the Justice League? When do I get my own reality show?”

“Sorry, BB. Never was the best history student.” I apologize, trying not to remember the historical record and Beast Boy’s dead, broken body with a hole through the chest. “Besides, can't risk altering the time stream.” I add ironically. “Do that, we're all feeling the mode.”

“And the mode would be bad?” Beast Boy asks quizzically about the expression I just made up. 

“Doesn't get any worse.” I respond in a rare moment of solemnity. Well, rare in this new persona. “Always better to crash the mode.”

“Uh... Noted?” Beast Boy asks.

Malcolm Duncan A10

I perk up at the sound of the zeta. It doesn’t look like I’m getting much info here, I may as well hit my first turning point and save a friend. Maybe more than one. “Ooh. Sounds like a door opening some where! That's my cue, bye-bye.”

I think that was a great start. I’m going to like it here I decide as I wrinkle the list in my sleeve.

Chapter Text

Three years ago

Ding-dong

The ringing of the front door bell was followed by increased muttering and banging from upstairs. I sighed. I’d meant to disconnect the doorbell months ago, not that knocking was much better. Maybe I should switch the doorbell out for a less jarring one or one that connects to my phone.

I swing the door open to see a woman on my front porch. She was rather tall, with deep black curls pulled back in a ponytail and a small scar on her cheek. It was her eyes that were most familiar though, a blue green that seemed to swallow each other, dragging themselves to a watery death. Someone I was almost positive was dead.

“You’re not welcome here, Percy.” I tell the demigod.

The last time I saw Percy was almost four years ago. She knocked on my door with tears in her eyes to tell me my Annabeth was gone.

“Please.” Her voice cracked. “I need to see her .”

I hesitated. A loud bang echoed through the house from the second floor. “Today’s not a good day.”

I shut the door, but before it can latch, a foot shoves its way in between the door and its frame. “Wait! I think I can fix everything.”

I almost continue to shove Percy back out the door, possible solution or not. It’s too good to be true. It’s too late though, hope has caught a handhold on me. I sigh again and let Percy in. 

Sitting her in the foyer, I brew a pot of tea and fix us each a cup. I add milk and a lot of honey to hers, the way I remember she liked it when Annabeth brought her over while they were dating. “I was told you were dead.”

Percy took a sip of her tea before answering with a rueful smile. “Rumors of my demise were greatly exaggerated. I’m going for a record for the number of funerals accidently held.”

The joke fell flat as I just stared at her. She sighed. “Buckle up, it’s a bit of a long story.”

“It all started when I took a job at Olympus. I worked with the doorman, I called him Steve, but that’s not his real name. Anyway, while I was there an old friend came to see me about tracking down some artifacts causing trouble. I was never one to turn down an adventure, so I agreed.

“On one of our heists, we were caught by the Justice League and… asked… to join one of their teams. The team consisted of mortal heroes, so we came up with lies to explain our powers and fought with them for a while. We made some friends, but as with everything, godly issues came up.

“The gods draw their power from the Western flame, which runs off of belief. Well, there’s only so much belief to go around and with demigods living longer lives and knowing about their powers, the Olympians could feel their power diminishing, so they decided to get rid of the extra power drains. Camp Half-Blood is gone, the gods gathered the monsters and opened the gates for an all-you-can-eat buffet. Camp Jupiter was wiped out too, along with New Rome.”

I lean back in my chair, the breath stolen from my lungs and my tea set to the side to go cold. “Everyone? Every demigod is gone? Are they coming for Annabeth next?”

Percy hesitated. “Every demigod is gone, or will be soon, but not every person. I think I’ve found a way to sever people from the pantheon. They’d just be normal. Mortal. The problem is…”

“You don’t know if it works.” I rub my eyes under my glasses before fixing them back in place.

“Yes.”

“You want to try it with her.”

“Yes.”

I get up and lead the way to the second floor. At the top of the stairs I turn left to be met with a white closed door, identical to the other three in the hallway. What’s inside the room is very different from the rest of the rooms. Opening the door, I let Percy follow me in. Annabeth paces the middle of the floor in a divot in the carpet, muttering to herself. There’s no longer any fluff where she’s walking, just the mesh that holds the fibers together. In one corner of the room is a bed, perfectly untouched with a faint layer of dust on top we brush off every month or so. It’s the walls of the room that really draw the attention.

Written in every color and medium Annabeth could get her hands on, over and over is one word: ‘Remember.’ Interspacing the word are drawings of various mythological creatures from every mythology the world over. The Greek minotaur is drawn next to a Inuit Amarok, a Scottish Nuckelavee is with a Wampanoag Pukwudgie. “It’s like she knows, but can’t quite find herself.” I tell Percy sadly. 

She gives me a weak smile that doesn’t reach the pain in her eyes. “She’s the daughter of Athena. Even if she can’t remember, she’s smart enough to see the holes. If this works, she won’t be the daughter of Athena and she’ll be able to find a new self and move on.”

“And you?” I ask the weary demigod.

Her smile turns bitter. “I’m in it until the end. Someone has to make sure those windbags pay.”

I nod at her as a viscous feeling of retribution twists my insides. “Give them hell.”

She nods back. “There are a few things I need from you for this.”

I raise an eyebrow. “What do you need?”

Chapter Text

I step out of the zeta tube, hearing the end of my call sign. I haven’t been in the cave much recently, but Nightwing called a team meeting, so here I am. I head for the conference room Nightwing set up once the team kept growing. Most of the people within the room are members of the original team, but I can just see some of the newer members trying to peek through the windows behind Nightwing’s head. Lucky for us, it’s a trick window, the room would look empty. A necessity when you remember the enemy has a mind reader and how many spies we’ve had on the team previously

I sit next to Wally, who looks just as excited as me to be there. Which is not at all. He does seem happy to have Artemis next to him again, though. She was on a long undercover mission until recently. Also at the table are Kaldur, Malcolm Duncan, a former classmate and current operations manager for the team, Roy Harper, the clone, and M'gann. The martian almost had a small moat around her for some reason.

Dick cleared his throat. “Right, We all know why we’re here. To get on the same page with our individual operations in order to best take out The Light.”

Wally and I exchange glances as Nightwing starts his debrief.

“Several of the core league members are standing trial for their actions taken during the mind control episode five years ago on New Years. This has left Earth with weakened defenses and we have been called to help shore them up.”

Kaldur took over the debrief. “As part of this effort, Artemis and I temporarily defected to spy on The Light as one of them. An action hindered by Miss Martian's recent actions. Events that we will be discussing further. The information I have learned from these efforts has been transferred to your data pads.” Damn, what did M’gann do?

I clear my throat to continue. “At New Years five years ago, we know Percy discussed something with Klarion and two other, unidentified members of The Light. Something that led to her disappearance. I have been investigating her disappearance and what led up to it.”

“Any progress?” Dick asked.

I kept my face and mind blank as I speak my first lie of the night. “No, no luck on finding her or why she disappeared.” I’m sure there are more to come.

Wally and I exchange glances as Roy talks about finding his original. I glare at him, non-verbally communicating that we’re doing the right thing by not telling them. Wally’s return stare replies that they could help. My decision, however, is final. No one else is getting involved in this.

My attention returns to Dick at his next sentence. “... Mythos, who seems to be working with The Light. On a recent mission, they killed Sadie. This has made them a priority; they killed one of our own. They seem to have a Greek gimmick, going by Cassandra, Medusa, and Io. Three Greek mythological figures. Wonder Girl also saw a man who may also be working with them.”

A hologram is displayed in the middle of the table, reconstructed from Wonder Girl’s account. It shows three women dressed in dark clothing and armour of slightly different styles, faces covered by mirrors. One holds a sword, the second a shield and spear, and the third a staff. Next to them is a tall, skinny man dressed in dark clothing. There don’t seem to be any distinguishable facial features as they look blurred.

“Hmm,” Kaldur contemplated. “I know the myth of those three, though Percy would be the one to ask, as the truth often differs from the myth. Each of these three were cursed by a god. Cassandra was cursed by Apollo, for he coveted her and her ability to know what is to come. She was cursed to watch her fortellings come true with no one believing her. Medusa was a priestess of Athena, coveted by Lord Posiedon and cursed by her goddess for Lord Posiedon’s assault on her. Io was coveted by Lord Zeus and cursed by him to hide the affair from his wife. Each were considered… wronged… by a deity.”

Nightwing’s frown deepened, if possible. “Shazam told very different versions of those stories. Either mythology is lying or the Greek gods are putting spins on their stories.”

Wally cleared his throat and I stepped on his foot. Hard. The speedster winced. Nightwing turned to him. “Something to add?”

“No.” Wally squeaked, “‘think I’m just coming down with something.”

I spend the rest of the meeting staring down the speedster as the rest cover a few different things and talk of the upcoming missions.

Eventually, the meeting is dismissed. I give Wally a bro hug, passing him a slip of paper on my way out.

“Wait!” Nightwing calls me back. “You know, you can always move back to the cave. We have the room.” He offers. “It’s been five years, you really think you’ll find her?”

I smile slightly. “Gotta have hope. Plus, I have a hotel room in Las Vegas that’s pretty cushy. Free all you can play arcade.”

I slip out towards the zeta tubes just before I get there, I run into one of the newest members of the team, a speedster. A fact I learn when he zooms up in front of me. “Hi! I’m Impulse, I’m from the future. Can we talk?”

The boy raises his sleeve to show me a brand on his forearm. It’s five lines, like a barcode, under a DNA double helix and it’s something that’s pretty familiar.

“You’re a demigod? Legacy?” I ask.

The kid hesitates. “No, I’m not a demigod. The future isn’t as happy as I’ve led the others to believe. Anyone with powers is hunted, so we stick together. Greek, Metahuman, Egyptian, Norse, it doesn’t matter. There’s a reason the Romans were known for their military might. We’re all Legion now; the resistance.”

“Fancy a trip to Las Vegas, kid?” I sigh. I need to get him to Percy, especially if he’s from the future. He can help us figure out how to defeat the gods and save everyone.

The kid perks right up. “And meet one of the greatest heroes of all time! Do I ever! This is gonna be so crash!”

Chapter Text

Three years ago

I approached Annabeth, watching her pace the floor. Dr. Chase had left to grab what I’d asked for and I had a rare few moments to myself. A chance for closure. 

Annabeth had grown older. Well, I suppose we both had. Though I had not seen the daughter of Athena in person for four years, I saw her almost nightly in my dreams and in my nightmares.

Both of us should be twenty now, but Annabeth looked a little older. Her hair was wild and her eyes distressed, a sick light shining in them. The years cursed by the river Lethe and my actions had taken a toll. “If I had known this is what the gods meant when they promised peace to you, I would have done more. I thought you were better off without any interference.”

Annabeth didn’t reply as she continued her pacing and muttering. I stepped closer. “I need you here with me for this to work.” I tell her, touching her shoulder.

At the light touch, she spins violently and we’re suddenly eye-to-eye. She looks sharper than I’ve seen her yet.

“I know you.” She tells me. “But I don’t.”

“Yes,” I tell her. “I’m Percy, we knew each other, once upon a time.”

Her head tilts to one side. “That’s not how the stories start. You’re supposed to start with the fingers. Dawn’s fingers, Dusk’s fingers, Rosy fingers… someone’s fingers. Or maybe that's the middle...”

I sigh, sitting on the ground, an action she mirrors. I can work with that. “Ok, sorry. ‘Dawn’s rosy fingers’ touched and we knew each other. We were very important to each other. We worked together to protect people and I need your help to do it one more time.”

“You’re younger than you should be.” She told me in response. “I don’t know you, but I know that.”

A small smile tilts my lips against my best judgments. Annabeth will always be the most observant person I know. It’s a bad sign that it’s already visible, even if just to Annabeth. We have to finish this quickly, before it’s too late and the gods figure it out. I look younger than I should be because I’m starting to take over my father’s domain, what the gods have been afraid of happening and what led to them killing everyone. I have reached the age where I should be replacing him, I don’t have my own domain, and I’m not dead, so the process is starting. My blood is already getting a bit of a yellow-y tint. It’s something Annabeth doesn’t have to worry about. She doesn't know she’s a demigod anymore. As long as that’s true, she doesn’t have to worry about becoming a god, she's not claimed as a successor. If what I’m doing works, she’ll never have to worry about the gods again.

Dr. Chase peeks his head back into the room, carrying a large box. “I’ve got it here. Is that all you need?”

I shoot him a thumbs up. “That should be it. If you could give us a few minutes?”

He smiles nervously and backs out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

I go to the box, opening it to reveal a beautiful golden cradle with intricate designs of buildings and architecture scattered across the surface. “Every demigod has a tether.” I tell Annabeth. She rocks back and forth from her position on the ground. “Something tied to both them and their immortal parent. Gods have them too, symbols of their power. Do you remember when you explained symbols of power to me? Probably not. Well, they can be used to give up your position in the pantheon too.”

I drag the cradle over to Annabeth and sit in front of her, the cradle between us. “You once told me children of wisdom are imagined by the goddess before bursting from her brain in the same way she burst from her father’s head. That the goddess then delivered you to your father in a golden cradle. This is that cradle and your link to her.”

I look Annabeth straight in the eyes as I uncap Riptide. “Do you want to get better, Annabeth?” I ask her.

“Yes.” She replies breathily.

“Repeat after me.” I tell her and we say the words together.

“I, Annabeth Chase, daughter of the goddess of wisdom, battle strategy, and crafts, patron of the once mighty city-state of Athens, among other titles, sever my connection to her and any gifts I have received. All that was once given to me through Olympian blood, may it be returned.”

On the last word I bring Riptide down on the cradle, destroying it and Annabeth’s physical link to her mother. The cradle shatters into a million glittering shards and fades into non-existence. This is a fate that one day awaits Riptide.

Looking into Annabeth’s eyes, I see the startling grey color that marks her the daughter of Athena fade to a more natural grey-blue shade. The tension in my shoulders releases. It works.

“Annabeth?” I ask, softly. 

“Yes?” She replies, “I’m sorry, who are you? And… and what happened to my room!”

The girl spins around looking at the destroyed space as the Mist starts to fill in her missing memories. My heart cracks a little at her not remembering me, but mostly I’m glad. She’s going to be ok. She’s going to have everything I imagined her peace to be.

I take the moment of her distraction to slip down stairs to talk with Dr. Chase. 

“She should be better.” I tell him. “She won’t know anything about her time as a demigod and anything having to do with the mythological, so it’s best I leave before she makes it down here. The Mist will fill in the gaps.”

I turn to leave and Dr. Chase puts a hand on my shoulder. “Thank you, Percy. I know this can’t have been easy.”

I give him a watery smile. “If anyone asks…”

“I never saw you, as far as I know, you’re dead.” He finishes.

“Dad!” Annabeth calls, walking down the stairs. “Something trashed my room!”

She stops when she sees us talking. “Oh, I didn’t know you had a guest. Who’s this?”

Dr. Chase starts to respond, but I cut in first. “Oh, I’m just an old student. I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by and say thank you. Everything I learned really changed my life.” I smile painfully large, thinking about all the times Annabeth tutored me in Ancient Greek or about the different monsters I could encounter.

“I’ll just be going now.” I tell the two of them, making a run for the door before anyone could stop me.

It hurt, what Annabeth and I once had and how it came to an end, but it was an old hurt shoring up a scar that didn’t heal right. I’ve moved on with my life and now Annabeth can too.

Chapter Text

I slip through the hallways of the Warworld dressed in my Cassandra outfit, Riptide sheathed on my back and face covered by a mirror. I’d left the other two members of Mythos back on Earth. Superboy activated his emergency beacon, so I would make sure he was okay, but we couldn’t jeopardize the mission either. If it came down to it, Sadie and Thalia could finish as Io and Medusa.

Creating a supervillain team was something I had originally written off as ridiculous. Demigods don’t publicize their quests. After all, there’s a reason the Mist exists. That’s what had convinced me it was so genius. It was a giant red herring to the gods as well as a way to shove their mistakes in their faces. As they searched for the mortals trying to destroy them, we worked in the shadows. No one would expect demigods, especially ones thought to be dead, to break from the mold. It’s not something gods did or expected. It’s how I’ve survived so long.

Reaching the Warworld was no picnic. I was lucky Superboy had buried my access in the justice league’s system so it was still active. I just had to hope no one found the breach and that the person following me for the past five minutes was friendly.

I leaped upwards as a blaster bolt plants itself where I was just standing. “Great, this bullshit again.” I grouse, turning to see one of Green Arrow’s knock offs. “You learn that move from your mentor?” 

“Hands in the air.” Speedy? Red Arrow? One of the red heads growls.

I sigh, lifting my hands. “We’re on the same side here.” I tell him. “Do you want to save your friends or not?”

“You’re a supervillain. Why would you want to save them?”

I lower my hands, shrugging. “Maybe I want to kill them myself. Can’t do that if someone else takes the glory.” There’s definitely one person here I want to kill for getting himself into this.

Buzzcut shoots me a skeptic look. “Hey,” I justify, “It’s not like you have much choice in allies. Temporary truce?”

The robot armed man doesn’t stop glaring at me, but his machine arm abruptly shifts back to be vaguely hand shaped.

“Hey, that thing doesn’t get WiFi, does it?” I ask. If it does, we're about to be buried in monsters. Not that I can tell him that. “Your roaming charges must be out of this world.” I finish lamely.

The yet to be named Green Arrow protege huffs. “Blue Beetle has turned on us. Whatever Egyptian magic crap messed up his Beetle before seems not to be working anymore and we’re kind of down a magic user. I don’t know where they’re keeping the team.”

I sigh. It looks like Impulse was right when he told me what happened in his future. Good thing it’s not a prophecy. It can be changed. This is going to get messy. “You go to the control room, see if you can get anything off the systems to tell you where they are. I’ll distract them.”

The boy gives me a look of distrust.

“Hey, just wait until the guards go running and connect to the systems with your arm, then skedaddle as soon as possible. Are you a hero or a coward? No risk, no reward.” Leo would have loved his arm.

“Fine.” He replies. “You’re annoying enough this might work.”

I grin crazily and pat his shoulder. “Get a new haircut too. There’s a line between caution of someone grabbing your hair and being able to see your scaly scalp.”

I run before he can respond, heading for the crystal key room, ponytail whipping behind me. The best way to get everyone’s attention? Go for the starter key for the giant, world-sized weapon.

Turning the corner, I see two league heavies guarding the door. Good, I can take these two down easily. I scale the wall until I’m hanging from the ceiling like an octopus. It’s one of the new skills I’ve developed. I don’t like to think about it too much, but at least I can’t turn my head all the way around, that’d be really creepy. Thankfully, not a sea creature skill.

I crawl over Captain Atom and Doctor Fate’s heads, dropping to the floor behind them with a loud clang. The two whirl around as I steal the comm out of the good Captain’s ear. I lower my voice to a growl that hopefully sounds like one of the heroes guarding the room and key. “Breach in the key room, requesting backup from all available Reach onboard.”

Crushing the comm, I turn to the two in front of me. “You know, I know someone with a PhD and a pilot’s licence. That makes them a Doctor and a Captain and you both obsolete.”

Captain Atom fires a blast at me as Reach guards fill the corridor behind them. I cackle, throwing myself to the side with just a little too much flexibility to be human. “Looks like you have a little bit of a problem with that bottleneck situation you’ve got there.” I gesture to the door. Why don’t you come in? I skip over to the Warworld’s crystal key, picking it up, my sword still sheathed on my back, and hook it to my belt. “Why don’t you come in?”

The whole group charges at me as I slip under them, placing a familiar Yankees cap on my head. I had expected the hat to be depowered after Annabeth gave up her place in the pantheon, as one of her gifts from Olympus, but maybe giving it to me had made it mine?

The group dissolves into the chaos of two forces not used to working with others, stray shots hitting each other as they look for me. I take the opportunity to roll a can of Aphrodite’s knockout gas I borrowed from her when I snuck into her palace, looking for her symbol of power. I still don’t know what it is, but I'll find it. Everyone in the room collapses into a vision of what they love most. I hear someone murmuring about hotdogs as I leave them to their daydreams. Glancing back, I see Doctor Fate still standing there. He gives me a nod. “What is Fated will happen. The prophecy is spoken.”

“That which once was wild must go free.” I quote with a nod. Four down, eight to go.

The sounds of fighting echo down the hallway. Peeking, I see a group of kids taking out the few Reach guards that didn’t fall into my trap. I slip by them and find Buzzcut Kid in central command, doffing my baseball hat. “I’ve bought you time.” I startle him. “It sounds like you have some backup now, so I’ll be going. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone I was here. I’ve got a rep to protect, I’m sure you understand.”

I give him a man nod and slip away before he can answer. I’m supposed to be dead, the less they know about me, the better.

I wonder how long it’ll take them to realize I took the crystal key. No one needs that power and leaving it is just a temptation. I’ll toss it in a hydra horde or something and no one will realize what it is. The Mist will hide it and nature spirits have no use for it. Oh, and I’d have to get Sadie to deal with Blue Beetle. Maybe she can discretely kidnap him and curse him again, more permanently.

Chapter Text

Three Years Ago

I slip through the streets of Las Vegas, headed to my home for the last two years. I use the walk from the zeta tube to compose myself, thankful Harley was able to keep the travel option available without giving away my position. As much as it hurt to see Annabeth again, it was less than I expected. I was even happy to be able to give her life back to her, though I know it’s the last time I’ll see her, I’m okay with that. We have different paths now and I wouldn’t wish mine on anyone else.

Finding the correct casino, I walk up the drive, past the lotus flower fountain and through the front doors of The Lotus Hotel and Casino . Hey, if it worked for Hades to hide from the gods, it could work for me. Poker Face plays in the background as I’m approached by someone carrying a tray of lotus flowers and a dazed look in his eyes. “Can I offer you a lotus flower?”

I look closer at the person. He has short blond hair with electric blue eyes. The real draw of my attention is the scar on his lip. An injury I knew was caused by trying to eat a stapler as a baby. Jason Grace.

I smirk and ruffle his hair. Now I can save him too. “No thank you, but there is something else you could do.” I drag him over to a Daughter of Athena, Sophia, while quickly pickpocketing him for his gladius. Well, not exactly pickpocketing, it’s a large sword, so he definitely saw me, but I was fast enough he couldn’t stop me. “Prjoect Scorched Earth is a go.” I tell the little seven year old, who takes the sword from me with a nod. She knows what to do. “Make sure you send Grover with whoever goes for Hazel and Frank. Frank is stuck as a weasel.” I tell her.

The elevator ride to my room is a little rough, especially because of how raw I still feel from seeing Annabeth again. It’s worth the effort though.

Entering my room, it feels like a pound of weight slides off my shoulders. Conner smiles at me from across the room and opens his arms for me. I blink and I’m across the room, melting into his arms.

He supports my weight as I take a moment just to feel him in my arms. This is one of the rare moments where it’s just the two of us. I breathe him in and my heart settles back into my chest. He’s my person.

Conner found me six months after I left on New Year’s Eve. It was hard to leave all of the friends I had made, mortal heroes or not, but it was necessary. One day, Conner appeared in front of the Casino, dark bags under his eyes, his hair a mess, and skinnier than when I had left. He’d looked pretty rough.

After swearing him to secrecy, I let him in to help.

“It worked.” I sigh into his chest.

His arms flex tighter around me for a minute before he releases. “Good.” He affirms, pulling back a little to look me in the eyes. “That means we can free you and all of your cousins.”

My hand fists as a dark possibility forms in the back of my mind. My eyes flick from one of his eyes to the other as something pulls my facial muscles downward. I push it away, it’s not too late yet.

My smile is all teeth as someone knocks on the door and I pull away from him.

The door opens without waiting for an acknowledgement and a redheaded man walks in with a hand in front of his face and a mischievous grin. 

“Wally.” I deadpan.

If possible, his smile gets larger as he drops his hand. “Hey, just gotta make sure everyone’s decent before I walk in, seaslug.”

Wally helped Conner with his search for me and was also there when they found me. Conner had argued for not erasing his memory, citing that he could help hide the demigod kids and set up new identities for the ones without parents, after they are no longer scions of the Greek Pantheon. At this point, he was like a very annoying brother to me. Whether that was an older or younger brother depends on the day.

I snarl and lunge at him. “Just wait for someone to answer the door instead of walking in, then!” Conner catches me before I reach him, turning my face towards him by my chin and kissing me gently.

We’re interrupted from the grown man behind me gagging. “I will make you eat dirt.” I threaten him. 

“Ha! Try and see what happens!” My fists clench as Conner rubs a soothing hand up and down my back.

“You need him,” He reminds me. “To place the demigods without parents. You love him like a brother too. You’d be sad if you killed him.”

Just because I know he’s right doesn’t make me feel less disgruntled. I settle for huffing and crossing my arms. “Don’t you want to know if it worked?”

“‘Course it worked.” Wally grinned, “I never doubted you for a second. So, what’s the plan.”

I narrow my eyes. “We take out the gods one by one, starting with those with fewer kids and whose kids are less essential to our operations. We sever each kid from the pantheon, then take out the god. They will pay for all the deaths and misery they have caused over the centuries.”

Chapter Text

Clouds gather above the mountain as I stare at what’s left of my family. They argue with each other. Where did it all go wrong? We had maintained supremacy on this rocky planet through The Light and the heroes beholden to us, feeding them what they needed to know. We were ready to expand, spreading worship of the Greek pantheon across the universe, growing the Flame of the West and our power. Soon we would’ve been as powerful as during the Age of Heroes. The only gods.

The system had been in place for so long, no one could challenge it. The power was tied to our thrones. The strong prevailed and the weak fall, as it should be. I will live forever, if I can just defeat this interloper. I glance around the Olympian omega of thrones from my place at the top, in the grandest throne. Four thrones are missing and the fire in the pit is larger than in any mortal’s living memory. Only eight tethers remain, including most of the strongest tethers, but that wouldn’t last forever.

Ganymede, as blank as ever, enters the throne room with a scroll on a silver tray, holding it up to me. I take the scroll, my eyes following him as he leaves the room, licking my lips. I snap the letter open as he leaves the room.

A crash of thunder echoes through the room, following a flash of lightning. Instantly, the remaining gods fall silent. Hera’s hand rests delicately on my bicep, but I hardly feel it over the rage clawing at my insides. I throw my master bolt, blowing a chunk out of the side of the throne room. Screams sound below as the marble crumbles to the next lower layer of the magical mountain, probably landing on some nymphs. Oh well, there’s always more where they came from.

“Poseidon is dead.” I tell the assembly. Muttering starts up almost immediately, glances thrown at the still standing throne in confusion.

Athena clears her throat. “His throne still stands.”

“Yes.” I mutter, feeling all of their accusing eyes on me and more. It feels as if each shadow in the hall watches me in addition to the deities.

Ares slams his fists on the arm rests of his throne. “How can you suffer this threat to live, sister!” He roars, “You are our strategist, you should know how they are operating! Or something, at least.”

Yes, she should. Athena should know.

“I have looked as hard as I can! The pattern of victims makes no sense. If they wanted to go after the weakest of us, why start with a daughter of Kronos? If they want to take out the powerful, why Dionysus?” Athena spat back.

Hera cleared her throat delicately. “Perhaps the interloper has a spy, someone picking targets for them, maybe even someone here. Someone who is smart enough to orchestrate all of this. Though I loath to think one of my family could suffer such a betrayal.”

Yes, a spy, then who? Who would benefit? Who could do it?

“I will not tolerate a spy!” I boom, darting my gaze between my remaining Olympians: Athena, Ares, Hermes, Apollo, Aphrodite, and even Hera. “Who plots to usurp my kingdom!”

Athena scoffs, laughing lightly. “There is no spy, not among the council at least.”

My face turns an enraged puce as I face my proud daughter, leaning forward on my throne. “You dare question my intelligence? I have determined there is a spy, so there is one!”

Aphrodite smiles weirdly, like she needs to shit. “We’re not questioning you, great king. We merely fail to see who it could be. I am content where I am, as I believe your remaining children are, and no one else has access to council meetings.”

I recline back on my chair, contemplating what the goddess of beauty said. Perhaps she is right. None would dare usurp me. None of them are that arrogant.

“Perhaps someone else should be in charge of the war efforts against this interloper if Athena is making no progress.” Ares grumbles, staring down the goddess. “Though, it makes me wonder how she still retains her position. You’d think anyone who knows our pantheon as this person seems to would take out the goddess of battle strategy first, before she can move against them.”

My gaze swipes towards the goddess, narrowing in contemplation. Athena draws herself up, pride shining in every inch of her form as she summons her armour and spear. “How dare you accuse me! I am loyal to my king!”

Ares guffaws. “I mean no offense little warrior, merely that it is strange you know nothing, when it was your daughter who was first severed from the pantheon, as the interlopers are doing.”

I draw back in surprise. “What?!” I boom, emphasized by a new flash of lightning and crack of thunder.

Ares shrugs. “Athena’s not the only war deity. I’ve made my own inquiries. Annabeth Chase, Athena’s favoured daughter was the first cut away from us.”

My eyes narrow further at my last remaining daughter. “You can’t believe this!” Athena scoffs dismissively. 

“She is very proud.” Hera mutters from my side, “She has never been content as second best. Certainly neither of my sons ever had any ambition like her.”

My decision is made. “Athena!” I growl as the storm grows larger outside. “You are found guilty of betraying the gods and are hereby sentenced to death!”

“No!” She screams, her calm facade breaking. “It’s a trick! They knew they couldn’t take me on themselves, so they’ve trick~” The goddess gasps, eyes widening, as she cuts herself off. “Wait, I know who the traitors are, it’s~”

“BOOM”

The problem vanishes in a flash of my master bolt as Athena vaporizes, armor and all. The flames in the center of the room flare brighter as the throne room shakes and Athena’s throne immolates. My hands clench. That wasn't supposed to happen.

“Hmm.” Hera hums as my face mottles bright red. “It appears she was prepared for her death and still managed to have the last laugh.”

I motion for a glass of wine. “Ares! Hunt them down. No mercy.”

Chapter Text

Five Years Ago, the day The Light took the Justice League

“It didn’t have to be this way, you know.” Hera chides. “It wasn’t designed to be this way.”

“What do you mean?” I ask the goddess, tightening my grip on Riptide slightly.

The goddess laughs, her smile glinting like icicles, “Oh, you can put that silly thing away. If I wanted to do something to you, it’d be done and there’d be nothing you could do about it.” Remembering when she kidnapped me and how much I’d been able to stop it, I reluctantly release my sword. “That’s better dear.”

Ares grunts and steps forward. “Klarion?”

“Yes, yes.” The Lord of Chaos waves off. “Vow of silence. This will only sow more chaos, I’m all for it. The old Order farts need shaking once in a while too.”

Ares walks up and stands in front of me. I raise and eyebrow at him when he thrusts his hand out. “Nice to meet you.” He grumbles, “I’m Trevor.”

I stare back at him blankly. “I’m pretty sure you’re Ares.”

“Well, yes.” He splutters, before getting mad. “Ares is a title, the original. I was born Trevor, a half-blood, like all you little punks.”

“... but now you’re Ares.” I ask.

He grunts and steps back. Hera takes back over the conversation. “I believe you have been apprised of the situation with the Renewal?”

“Yes. The Western Flame only has so much power from people’s belief and when Half-Bloods get too old, they draw too much and the gods kill them so they can keep their power.”

Hera shakes her head with a disappointed sigh. “One the basest level, yes, you are correct. On a more… involved … level, power shifts in Greek mythology.” Hera took on the tone of a weary teacher who thinks you’re a little slow in the head. “First, there were the primordials, then the titans, then the gods. Power passed down, either peacefully or not, but the power transitioned. As each generation came of age, they grew stronger as the previous generation weakened. Do you understand what I’m saying, child?”

My fingers and toes tingle as cold spreads through my body. “Zeus and the other gods kill the demigods because we’re supposed to inherit their domains?”

“Yes, child.” Hera gave a slight smile of approval. “I have watched over the millennia as the power has grown stale, it’s how Kronos was able to rise again. It is time a new generation took power.”

“What’s your name?” I blurted.

The goddess recoiled from me. “I am Hera.”

“I know, but before.”

“There was no before, there has been no one to inherit my power. I am the original.”

“Oh. What about Heracles? Triton? The Romans have adults.” That doesn’t fit with what she’s telling me.

“They have been granted their own domains, and are thus exempt from inheriting. The Romans who make it to adulthood have weak blood. They do not have the power to draw as many monsters or inherit a domain. Not like many Greeks, who descend from the god’s original forms, and offspring of the more worshiped roman gods. Still, they are not spared the Renewal. Any threat to Zeus must go.”

I deflate. “Why are you doing this? What do you get out of it? Why now?”

“This has been in the works for quite a while.” Hera waved away, “I am nothing if not a patient goddess, and I have orchestrated The Light to cover my own actions. Afterall, here we are talking. Outside my current husband’s domain and with all his god-powered little lackeys distracted.”

“Current husband?” I ask, mind blown by all I’ve learned.

Hera waved a hand dismissively at my tangent. “With how Zeus gets around, do you really think the current one is the original? My hand comes with the throne.”

“Why are you here?” I ask Ar- Trevor.

“I’m here because Zeus decided to overstep his bounds, mess with something not his to mess with. He killed my kids, I was grooming Clarisse to take over too." Trevor groused. “No one knows better than war, that war never lasts forever. We pass the mantle on honorably. In single combat to the death.”

“So, Perseus, will you join us?” I think back to what I found at Camp Half-Blood. All those bodies, all those kids who are doomed to die early due to monsters or their own parents. I think to my father, to his cryptic message all that time ago and my resolve firms.

Chapter Text

I arrive at the Empire State Building with little fanfare. The lobby is empty except for Steve, who leans against the elevator doors. “600th floor, please.”

Steve grunts. “I’ve been ordered not to let you up.”

I puff up, ready to argue or plead, whatever gets me up the elevator fastest when Steve steps forward, handing me the key. “Let the last act of Paraklausithyron be to open the door.” He proclaims, pretty puffed up for looking like a middle aged security guard.

I press the button and enter the elevator, Steve fading away behind me, his purpose fulfilled.

No elevator music sounds as the elevator rises and I settle into my battle mindset. I’ll deal with all of my feelings after. Nothing can distract me now.

It’s with an analytical eye I’ve developed in the past six years that I step out onto Olympus. The mountain is deserted, Annabeth’s architectural creations crumble around me as I walk towards the god’s council room. The city is almost worse off than during the Titan War. Perhaps that Great Prophecy wasn’t truly done with the end of the War, ‘Olympus to preserve or raze’. It certainly looks razed now.

The council chamber of the gods is falling apart in front of my eyes. One wall is missing and the glow of fire is visible from outside. Entering, I see what has become of the once great hall. The fire in the brazier central to the room flares large, taking up most of the room. Past it, at the front of the room are two remaining thrones, flanked by several piles of rubble. The King of the gods reclines in one, alone. His normal suit is disheveled, as is his hair. His tie is slightly loosened and cockeyed. Resignation flickers through me at the empty throne before I burry it under my rage.

“Zeus.” I call out, my face twisting with the anger that has fueled my crusade.

“Perseus.” He snarls. “I should have known it was you. Do you have any idea what you’ve done? What comes next?”

I draw Riptide and point it at the god. “Yes. I know everything now. I come as your death.”

Zeus lunges out of the throne, a flash of lightning striking out at me. “I am eternal!” He roars, spittle flying in my face as he brings the Master Bolt back around for another strike. “Even if the other Olympians are dead, you cannot defeat me!”

I turn and dive out the missing wall, Zeus following me over the edge and into the city proper.

Overhead, the skies reach out to the seas below, battling for supremacy. Waves crash and thunder booms with every strike of Riptide against the Master Bolt.

I smack the flat of Riptide’s blade into the Bolt, slamming it back into Zeus’ face. He grins wildly at me, nose crooked and with gold ichor coating his teeth. “I’ve come a long way since I first fought Ares on the beach. You will not win this one. Your reign is at an end.”

Zeus spits out the blood. “This is not the end of the Greek Pantheon! Perhaps monotheistic is the better choice anyway. I will rule over them all.”

“You’re not in your right mind. You’re trying to control the Western Flame and the power is burning through your sanity, not that it was all there to begin with.” I chide the god, the skies opening and rain pouring down on us. Power fills my frame again with the refreshing down pour.

Zeus snarls and jumps at me again, exchanging blows almost too fast to see. Duck, jump, slice, stab. The combos blur together as I rely on instinct, waiting on my opening.

My opening comes when Zeus tries some flashy, fancy move, leaving the shaft of the Master Bolt exposed. I take the opportunity, stabbing through the center of the traditionally long ranged weapon and some of his fingers. Two digits drop to the ground, leaking golden fluid.

The weapon releases a flash of light and a giant boom as it finally immolates. Zeus and I are thrown in opposite directions, the heat of the explosion searing our skin.

I wipe blood off my face and flick it off my arms as I get back to my feet, inches from the edge of the floating mountain. I purposefully don’t look at the damage. Only half of the fight is over, I can worry about everything else later.

I approach the downed King of the Gods as he tries to rise back to his feet, cradling his burnt hand, missing two fingers.

I grab him by his decorative neck noose and drag him back to the god’s council room with its remaining two chairs and giant fire. He chokes, clawing at the tie the whole way there.

Reaching his throne, I throw him onto it, pinning him down with Riptide through his shoulder, twisting. He groans in pain before it turns into a chuckle. “You haven’t won yet, and you don’t have the balls to do what needs to come next.”

I crackle a laugh back. “You don’t know anything about me. I may not have balls, but I do have a fatal flaw of personal loyalty. I would do anything for my loved ones.”

“Even hurt them?” A shiver runs down my back, but I can’t let him get to me now. I know what needs to happen and nothing he says will change it. “Rule with me Percy. We can control the cosmos. The original gods were fools to split up domains. Who needs a family, when you can have ultimate power!”

“You know,” I muse to the god, wiping blood from my forehead, or maybe spreading more. I’m covered in blood.  “I thought I needed you to admit to how you killed everyone and every other wrong doing. I’ll take that statement as proof of how twisted you are. I am not like you, and I never will be.”

Zeus hacks out another laugh. “Give it another century. You and I are the same, Perseus.”

Rage flutters through my lungs, stealing my breath and my vision turns black, my heartbeat echoing in my ears, as I rip Riptide out of Zeus’ shoulder, planting it in his heart.

Zeus’ body crumbles around the sword, turning into ashes which drift on a nonexistent wind into the fire in the center of the room, the Western Flame. As soon as all of the ash is eaten by the Flame, the throne at the front of the room crumbles into dust.

“One left.” A single tear forges a path through the marble dust coating my face from the fight. The tear drops on a tongue of flame, prompting a hiss and small puff of smoke.

I turn and leave Mt. Olympus to continue crumbling. There’s a few things I need to do and then everything will be over. For good this time.

Chapter Text

Knock, knock

I wait outside an apartment door, nervously adjusting my t-shirt. Conner shifts behind me and throws a supporting arm over my shoulder.

The door opens to a familiar woman with brown, curly hair. “Percy.” She breathes.

“Hi mom.” I wince.

“PERSEUS JACKSON! Do you have any idea how much trouble you’re in?” She demands. “SIX years! You don’t call, you don’t text, hell, you don’t even send a messenger pigeon! I had to find out from the news you joined a superhero team! Don’t you dare deny it either! You used the Mist to hide your identity and I see right through that! Well, what do you have to say for yourself!”

I smile self-consciously. “I missed you too, Mama. I thought you said you wanted a break from all the danger and violence.”

“Six weeks is a break, maybe three months!” She hisses, “I would never abandon my baby, except apparently she’s decided to do it for me. I thought you were dead.”

Regret bubbles up in my throat. It’s not that I could have told her anyway what I was up to, but I could have put her more at ease. I guess that’s why I’m here now.

“I’m sorry, Mama. I love you, Mama.” I mutter, searching for a quick distraction. The weight on my shoulders gives me an idea.

I drag Conner’s arm off my shoulder and propel him like a shield towards Sally Jackson. “Mom, I want to introduce you to Conner.”

My mom looks to Conner as if suddenly realizing he’s there. “How do you do, ma’am?” He asks her, all charm.

“Oh, hush. Don’t you ‘ma’am’ me.” She tells him, giving him a searching once over. “Are you the reason my baby has been missing for years?”

“No!” I butt in, “No, mom. This is Conner. He’s kept me alive and, well…” My cheeks heat as I show her my hand and the engagement ring on my finger. Conner knows me too well, the ring is indestructible. The stone is made from the heart of a dwarf star and the setting is nth metal.

“I would have asked your permission, er, Mrs. Jackson, but Percy had kind of faked her death at the time.” Conner apologized, shifting foot to foot and trying to stay on his best behaviour and kind of curling over me.

A smile bursts to life on Mom’s face and she bursts into tears. “Why don’t you all come inside and we can keep talking.” She turns back to us for a second, assessing. She must see what she’s looking for, because she turns to Conner specifically. “You can call me Mom, afterall, it looks like you’ll be part of the family soon anyway.”

She ushers us into the apartment and to sit on the couch. She keeps chatting as she puts together a plate of blue cookies and tea. “Paul is out with Estelle right now, your little sister. She wanted to see that new animated movie, with the animals.”

“Oh. Well, make sure to apologize for me for going MIA for years and for missing them. I’d have liked to meet my little sister.” My heart sinks.

Mom sits in a chair across from us. “Tell me everything.”

We do, we trade back and forth on the narrative, telling her about how Sadie and I were caught by Green Arrow of all people, through the deaths of Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter, all the way to the gods’ death. I skim over a lot of the scarier parts.

A tear drips down her face. “That’s a lot. I knew the gods were… but all that. And Poseidon was in on it… I’m so sorry, bubala.”

She visibly pulls herself back together. “But it’s over now, they can’t hurt you anymore. You’re home.” Her eyes drift back to Conner. “So, how did the proposal go?”

Conner’s cheeks brighten as he rubs the back of his neck. “It was the fifth time I’d asked Percy. She kept saying what we’re doing was dangerous and she didn’t want to get married, only for her to die. I snuck her into Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, into the simulation room. We were a little limited in possible locations, hiding from the gods. I was able to simulate Atlantis, from a combination of Percy and Kaldur’s stories of the place. I proposed there. I told her that I didn’t care how dangerous the mission was, I’d rather have her for however long we had and lose her than to never have had her at all and lose her. I’d fallen for her hook, line, and sinker. Marriage or not wouldn’t change my grief if she died.”

Blushing must be contagious because I could feel one tinting my cheeks now too. That was right after I had defeated Hephestus. It was a difficult fight and I had received a nasty burn for my efforts. I had added a condition that we not plan or actually get married until all of the gods were gone. I wanted to say yes every time Conner asked, but that would make it so much worse for him later. Afterall, there was one Olympian left. 

A beeping tone sounds from Conner’s pocket and he pulls out his league communicator. “Something is going on, it’s all hands on deck. Something about weather machines.” He tells me, “The mission is over, all of the Olympians are dead, so are you in?”

A small smile curves my lips. “Yes, for old time’s sake. Let me just call Sadie. She’ll grab our gear and meet us at the cave.”

Mom smiles at us. “You’ve come so far, bub. I’m so proud of you. I’ll be here when you’re done. Come see me every once in a while. I like knowing you’re alive.”

“I love you, Mama Bear.” I whisper.

“I love you too, Baby Bear.” She smiles.

The two of us arrive at the rendezvous point at the same time as Sadie and just in time to interrupt Robin, sorry, Nightwing now, with the fact we are still alive. Apparently they had funerals and everything. No one took it well when I said it wasn’t my first. Usually I get to attend the celebration at least though.

Nightwing rounds us back up pretty fast though, it seems he’s practiced these last few years. He tells us about how the Reach are overreaching what they’re allowed to do and have decided to destroy the evidence along with the planet. And we have to stop the ‘chrysalis’ with Lex Luthor. Definitely not his biggest fan, what he did to Conner was so not cool.

Conner and I take on one of the devices in the outskirts of Metropolis. He draws the defences and I run the device through with Riptide.

Landing next to me my fiancee smiles. “I can’t wait for this to be every day. Taking on superpowered villains wouldn’t be the same without you.”

My face feels stiff as I smile back. “What if I want to retire?”

“Then it wouldn’t be the same without defending whatever city you’re in.” My smile relaxes and a bolt of longing shoots through me.

The two of us kiss and head back to the zeta tube. As we walk along I see three familiar ladies sitting in front of a running store, knitting. This time they’re knitting a yellow beanie, not a sock. A beanie that would only fit a conehead with how long it is.

My face pales, watching as one of the Fates takes out a pair of scissors and snips the thread halfway through the row. As I watch, the loose thread starts to unravel the whole hat, leaving nothing but a mess of yarn.

I close my eyes.

“Are you alright?” Conner, well, Superboy for now, asks. He should really get that changed. He’s not exactly a boy anymore, even if he’s not aging. Even if neither of us are aging.

I sigh. “I’m fine. ‘just not used to the whole, public hero thing anymore.”

The zeta sounds as we land on the watchtower to see what I can only describe as superheroes attempting panic quietly. I know ten-year-olds with more chill than this bunch. Well, I did know them, they don’t know me anymore. 

There’s one more device, hidden by the Earth’s magnetic field due to its placement and the Flashes are trying to stop it. It’s already critical. The rest of the league is watching what’s happening on the big screen.

I slip into an empty hallway with Sadie. “We have to save him.” I tell her, “He’s a good friend and has helped me so much with the demigods and defeating the gods.”

“We’ll help him.” Sadie affirms, “Can you…?”

I look around, seeing no one else around. “Close your eyes.” In a flash of light, we appear a few meters from where The Flash, Kid Flash, and Impulse are attempting to diffuse the Reach device. A few minutes later, several of the faster leaguers appear too.

“Percy!” Conner calls after hitching a ride on someone. “You shouldn’t be here, there’s nothing you can do.”

I watch as Kid Flash is hit by successive energy bolts and his form starts to waver. A rock churns in my stomach. “There’s one thing I can do.”

“We can do.” Sadie corrects.

I turn to Conner, cupping his face. “Conner, I love you so much. That’s why I didn’t want to get engaged. It’s too late.”

“What?!” He asks, eyes swimming in confusion. “What’s too late?”

I smile ruefully. “When Poseidon died along with the destruction of his trident, his throne survived along with the tie to the Western Flame. That’s because I still exist. I was old enough that I had already taken over his domain. It came in handy when fighting the other gods, but it came with a cost. To set the Flame free, I have to die.”

“No!” Conner yelled. “I won’t let you! There has to be another way!”

“I’ve looked, there isn’t.” I tell him sadly, gesturing to Sadie. “At least, this way, my death can save someone else.”

Sadie releases a piece of rope, yelling the word of power to bind Conner. “Tas!”

“No!” He roared, straining against the rope. But he’s a Super. They’re always weak to magic.

“Thanatos!” I call, “Don’t take him, take me instead! You owe me for saving you in Alaska.”

The darkly beautiful god materializes in a flash of energy. “Death is fair. If I took trades, everyone would want an exception.”

“You owe me.” I demanded firmly. “I trade my own life, the life of a god is more than fair. Plus, it would put right a great wrong. The Western Flame would be free.”

The god contemplates it as behind me Sadie stuffs a rag in Conner’s mouth. “He’s not a believer. He’s not under my jurisdiction.”

Sadie steps forward. “What about two death gods?”

I step towards her. “No, I can’t ask this, I~”

“It’s not like that.” Sadie cut me off. “Anubis or Walt, his host… Is kind of my boyfriend. We’ve been talking about moving in together. Granted, it’s more permanent this way than I thought it’d be, but this way I get to see him and my dad all the time.”

“I believe two death gods would do it.” Thanatos weighed in.

I nod. It’s decided. I draw Riptide and stab the blade into the snow, coating it in the frozen water. I force the water through every notch in the blade, expanding them wider, fracturing and then breaking the blade. It shatters into pieces, taking its long history of betrayal and death with it.

“No!” A ragged shout echoes behind me. Conner has worked the gag out of his mouth. “No. You can’t.”

“This is the only way to end the pantheon. To save future generations from the same fate my friends suffered. To save you and everyone else. Once the Western Flame is free, so is innovation and everything else. Can’t you see how much everything is stuck in ancient Greece? Just look at the architecture. We need new visions, new ideas, and for gods to stop killing their kids.” I breathe deeply. “I’ve made my decision, Conner. I love you and this is how I will protect you, my mom, my stepdad, my sister, everyone I love and any future generations to come from them.”

A man appears next to Sadie, looking at her dotingly. He could only be Anubis… or Walt? Honestly, I’m confused when it comes to the Egyptian pantheon.

The two death gods give each other man nods and start to glow.

Conner rips through the magical bindings and lunges for me, tears in his eyes. “No!”

He falls right through me, collapsing in the snow. My engagement ring falls from my fading finger into the snow in front of him. He roars, tears trickling down his face. An avalanche starts a mile away. The pain in his eyes drives a stake into my chest and it feels hard to breathe. Particles of light start to form from my skin while Sadie takes on a faint translucent quality. The three Flashes twirl around the energy vortex one last time and it fades away too. All three survive.

I feel the last binding on the Western Flame fall away as it blazes brighter than ever, consuming Mount Olympus and shining like a crown of fire over the Empire state building for a few seconds. Then it disappears, free.

The last thing I see is Conner’s teary face as I fade into star dust. I’m at peace, but I leave him in pain.