Summary: Artemis lives in a society separated into two factions: the Naturals and the Augmented. Can she overcome her own prejudices and work with the Augmented Agent Percy Jackson? Together the two uncover secrets long hidden by the government and some other unexpected enemies as well...
"An Augmented just broke into the Imperial Bank Co. headquarters and stole a total of three million dollars-and killed three innocents along the way."
Artemis glared at the TV. The reporter, Silena Beauregard, looked expressionless as she undoubtedly read her report on a cue card. The pretty reporter had her long black hair tied up into her signature bun and her make-up was heavy. She looked gaudy. Nevertheless, she was the face of the Titan Group, a mainstream media monopoly. Silena's flat tone and red lipstick was everywhere-for all to see.
She spotted a man running down the main street, in a dark cloak concealing his face and reached his feet. The camera only caught another glimpse of him before he was gone.
Artemis pulled out her knife and threw it at the TV, breaking it into pieces. Those damn Augmented. They knew no mercy, all they knew was to kill and steal and lie. "The police are in hot pursuit of the suspect in the Market Circle-"
Artemis groaned as she realized that she had left her radio on. "Damn it." Her hand itched for her pistol. She needed to catch this criminal. The police wouldn't be able to catch an Augmented, not with their incredible power. No Natural could match them. Artemis laughed to herself as she twirled her knife in one hand. No Natural but her. She was infamous for her ruthlessness towards the Augmented.
The Augmented were modified humans, they went through procedures to get certain wirings and sometimes even replaced organs. These changes allowed for powers beyond a normal human. These powers were called "augmentations."
She turned off the radio, calmly, and left her apartment. Immediately after she opened her door, she heard sirens. There had to have been at least ten of them going off at once. Artemis cursed herself for buying an apartment that was on the tenth floor as she rushed down the stairs. What was she thinking? Her feet moved too slowly, and time seemed to move too fast. Her heart began to race with the anticipation of catching another Aug.
Artemis finally made her way out of the apartment building and sprinted down the streets on her way to Market Circle. She ran into dozens of people, but she merely shoved them aside and kept going. The city of Olympus was one of the nicer cities in the world, and yet the streets were filthy, and there was a large homeless population. After the fall of neuropozyne supplies, many of the Augmented had fallen as well. That was why Naturals were superior, Artemis thought. They didn't have to rely on a drug that could cost anywhere from 1000 credits (those were often the illegally sold drugs) to 5000 credits.
Artemis hopped over a newspaper stand, which had been in the way, and felt herself run even faster after seeing the sign for Market Circle. Those police would see her catch the criminal that they couldn't, and they'd beg her to join their ranks. She decided to first search the alleyways-it was likely that the coward would be hiding there. "Hey, watch it lady!" an Augmented man said, as she nearly tripped over him.
"How about you get out of the way, clank!" Artemis shouted back at him, glaring at the man. She turned and kept running. That alleyway was empty. She cursed herself when her breathing became labored. Artemis hadn't had such a chase in a while.
She was on her third alleyway, and was about to scream in frustration when she saw a glimpse of black cloth turning around the corner of a building. Artemis narrowed her eyes. It had to be him. "Hey! Stop!" Using a new surge of energy that had appeared upon seeing him, she chased after the black figure.
Her lungs began to burn as their chase continued. She was always ten steps behind him. He turned his head, looking behind him. Artemis scowled at him, knowing he was looking at her. She heard a click, it was barely audible, and then the man was going so fast there was no chance for her to keep up with him. "Damn it," she growled. She had never seen that Augmentation used in person before. It was very rare and costly. Not many had enough energy to sustain it, either.
It became clear that this was no ordinary Aug. It would only make the chase all the more thrilling.
Artemis decided that she would not give up. She ran full speed in the direction that he had gone. There was no trace of him, but she would find him.
She reached an open part of the Market Circle, there was a railing by the water and a bench had been pressed against it. And on that bench, was an Augmented man. Artemis approached him slowly. "Have you seen a man around here? Wearing a black cloak?" She was less interested in his actual response and more interested in his reaction. Augs tended to look after each other, and did not trust Naturals such as her.
The man's eyes shifted behind her, and then he looked back into her cold, narrowed silver eyes. He shook his head. "No."
Artemis smirked slightly. She arched a perfectly groomed brow. "Really?" She asked slowly. "You're sure?"
"Yes," the man replied, pretending to look confident. Artemis did not have a social Augmentation, but she knew how to read someone. The way his eyes shifted to the left when answering her told her everything she needed to know. She nodded and turned away. Artemis remembered where he was looking, and her eyes landed on a manhole cover. She narrowed her eyes at it. Seriously?
Feeling thoroughly disgusted, she opened the cover and began to climb down the ladder. She saluted the man, who was staring at her with wide eyes, before she disappeared underneath the city.
"Ugh, this smell," she whined. Her hands felt grimy against the ladder. Was this really worth the glory she would have facing the police with this criminal? She truly wondered.
Sounds of dripping water made her cringe. This experience was not pleasant.
"I swear, if he isn't actually here…" Artemis growled.
"If who isn't here?" a voice called behind her. She turned around to the voice before she felt a sharp pain on her head.
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"Ugh…" Her head was throbbing, and it felt like there was a heavy weight in her head instead of a brain. Her hand slowly came up to cradle her forehead, where there was a constant, unbearable sharp pain.
"Anyone have any painkillers?" A voice called out, seeming so far away the speaker couldn't possibly be in the same room. Heavy footsteps neared her, but the sound felt...fuzzy. She groaned again, frustration building that the pain in her head wouldn't stop. "You know," the voice said again, and Artemis realized that the voice was distinctly male. "I just realized I don't have any water, either." There was another groan, this time it wasn't hers.
"Gee, ever heard of just getting it yourself?" This voice was female, and heavy with exasperation.
"I have to get Director Zeus, Annabeth. I'm preoccupied."
Annabeth scoffed. "Yes, preoccupied. With the Natural here. She's fine, just give her time to rest."
Artemis tried to turn her head, but winced when a sharp pain stopped her. The man snorted. "Yeah, she's fine." Artemis heard the rattling of pills in a bottle. She guessed they were the painkillers he asked for. Footsteps sounded again, this time leaving the room.
Artemis brought her palm to her forehead. She moaned softly.
"You're awake?" the man asked.
"Ugh…" Artemis answered him. She wanted to go back to sleep. It was a whole lot less painful than this.
"I know it hurts. Just give Annabeth a minute to get some water. Unless you can swallow a pill without it?" the man was approaching her with heavy footsteps. She assumed he was wearing boots. He couldn't have made that much noise otherwise. He was an Aug, right? Had he ever heard of the leg silencers Augmentation? It seemed like he needed it.
"Guhhh…" she replied. Artemis could not force herself to say the word no. The man made a small noise of acknowledgement. "Alright. Then you're going to have to wait for Annabeth. We have some Ambrosia from AmbrosiaLife."
Ambrosia was a fast acting drug that eliminated almost all pain and sped up the healing process ten-fold. Ambrosia was invented and manufactured by AmbrosiaLife, a pharmaceutical monopoly. The company also manufactured the essential drug, neuropozyne, which kept the human body from rejecting its Augmentations. Every Augmented needed the drug, which was why it was so valuable. Some needed it more than others.
"Hughhh…" Artemis moaned. This pain was starting to become unbearable.
The man suddenly walked away, probably to find that Annabeth girl. She heard the door close, and she heard two voices outside. "She's in a lot of pain," the man said. "Almost too much pain."
"She's a Natural," Annabeth's voice came sharp and harsh. "She doesn't feel pain like we do. She's much weaker."
Artemis was almost too tired to feel angry. Almost.
I could probably kick her ass, she thought, though it took a while for her mind to string the words together into one coherent thought.
The man only hummed in either agreement or in a neutral standpoint. "We were all Naturals once, Annabeth."
"You think I'm not aware of that, Seaweed Brain?"
Seaweed Brain sounded defeated. "I'm just saying. You always speak of them like they're the scourge of the Earth."
"And you think they aren't?" Annabeth barked. "Look at what they've done to us. Slaughtered us, left us all behind. They chase after us and treat us like animals."
It was silent for a few moments.
"They're just people, Annabeth. We're all just people."
"Yeah. We're all just people fighting for our rights as people. Just whose side are you on?"
Artemis decided to interrupt their conversation. Something told her that the distraction would be in Seaweed Brain's favor. "Ughh," she made sure to be extra loud this time so they could hear her. The door swung open and the heavy footsteps were joined with lighter ones. "Just give her the Ambrosia and get it over with. Are we showing her to Zeus or just tossing her back into Market Circle?" Annabeth sounded bored and uninterested in Artemis' fate. It was evident she really didn't care about her well-being.
"Yeah, I'll hand her over to Zeus. He'll probably have a use for her. She was able to catch up to me, after all. She must be one hell of a Natural." Artemis' lips curled slightly.
Annabeth scoffed. "Whatever. I'm out of here." The lighter footsteps left the room, becoming nearly silent altogether after the sound of the closing door. Heavy footsteps became the only sound in the room. The man pressed a water bottle to her lips. "Drink," it was an order but the tone was soft. Artemis obeyed, even though the drug he would give her might've been poison, not Ambrosia. She decided to take her chances. She took a small sip of water and a pill was pressed to her lips. Artemis swallowed the pill, and was thankful when she felt the pain cease, and she was out like a light.
When she awoke, the room was empty. She was sitting on a metal chair, one of those cheap foldables. The room was white, and spotless. In the middle of the room was a table, and on that table there was a laptop. Artemis lifted her hand. She smiled as she turned her hand and noted she did not receive the same wave of pain she had received before from that movement. Slowly standing up, she looked up to the ceiling. A camera was following her every movement.
Artemis was there for what felt like an hour and she was becoming bored. Terribly bored. She wondered where Seaweed Brain and Annabeth had gone to. Artemis knew this was a dangerous move, but she decided she would try it anyway. She walked close to the camera, and threw a small device at it. The camera would malfunction and she would have no one watching her. Artemis approached the laptop and saw that it was already signed on. She opened the lock screen.
There was a new email that had been sent.
Agent Chase,
There has been an urgent matter occurring involving the Titan Group. It has been suspected they are hiding critical material from the public. I would assign Agent Jackson to find the evidence, but you know how he is with subtlety. Let me know if you are willing to take the job, though infiltrating the Titan Group is no cakewalk. I will give you more information on the job if you meet me personally. Ask Agent Kai for the keycard.
-Director Zeus
Artemis backed away from the laptop. She had no doubt the man or Annabeth would enter the room out of suspicion. She walked back to the chair and sat down.
As expected, she hadn't counted more than 60 seconds before the door swung open. Into the room walked in a tall, blonde woman with her hands behind her back. She glanced around the room and her grey eyes settled on Artemis. She narrowed her eyes at her. The woman would be pretty if not for her constant frown. She had harsh features framed by curly blonde hair. She wore a vest over a shirt and cargo pants, as well as combat boots. "The security camera is not working."
"I like my privacy," Artemis said, primping her long auburn hair.
Annabeth glared at her with malice. "And I like my own as well. I would prefer it if you did not look into my computer."
Artemis glared back at her. It was a battle between silver eyes and grey.
Annabeth relented after a few moments and turned away from Artemis momentarily. "We don't appreciate it if you ruin our toys here. This isn't your house." Artemis scoffed. They were the ones who knocked her out cold and locked her in a room with nothing to do. She shrugged. "I was bored."
"Oh, please tell me what is so entertaining about the invasion of one's privacy," Annabeth replies sardonically. Artemis could only intensify her glare in response. Annabeth smirked, realizing that she had won. Artemis plopped down into her seat. "What are you doing here," she said, her voice flat and bored.
"I am here to bring you to Director Zeus' office."
Artemis only gave her a cold stare in response. Annabeth shook her head and turned around to the door. "Follow me."
Artemis slowly got up from her chair, making it clear that she wanted to test Annabeth's patience on the way there. She would not back down easily. "I suggest you don't run," Annabeth said, looking back at her with stormy grey eyes. "We've got agents all throughout the building. And they're not afraid to shoot."
They left the room together, and Artemis was amazed with what she saw. They were in an underground facility, that much was clear, though the unpleasant smell had gone. There were strange cubicle-like formations where agents stood by their computers. Newspapers laid littered on the desk, and large TV screens with Silena Beauregard's face on them. Artemis wondered if there was a time when the Titan Group wasn't completely dominating the entertainment, cable, and media industry. She heard long ago, she didn't remember where, but she recalled someone telling her stories of when comedy shows and romance movies were played instead on TV fifteen years ago. She didn't remember it. She had been five then.
Artemis wondered, not for the first time, where the hell she actually was.
As if reading her mind, Annabeth said, "Welcome to the Augmented Rights Organization of Olympus."
Artemis wanted to laugh. That name did not sound nice when abbreviated. Annabeth smiled as she noticed that her companion was attracting unwanted attention. "They don't like you here," she told her quietly. Artemis noticed how the other agents were either staring or glaring at her. Artemis was proud to be a Natural, and so she showed it. She wore a gray tank top and pants that showed a little skin to indicate that her legs were not Augmented. "I suggest you don't look back at them," Annabeth commented casually when she noticed Artemis engaging in a staredown with one of the Captains, Reyna. Reyna was not the kind of person you wanted to be on the bad side of.
Artemis ignored her and kept her stare with Reyna. Eventually Reyna huffed and turned back over to her documents. Artemis smirked in triumph. Tired of her games, Annabeth rolled her eyes and grabbed her shoulder, practically tugging her over to Director Zeus' room. She grabbed the key card from her pocket and unlocked the door. Annabeth pushed Artemis inside and closed the door behind her.
"I don't need to go to Agent Solace, I'm in perfect battle condition-"
Artemis took a few steps forward. An older man, likely in his mid-sixties, sat at his chair, facing her. Despite his age, he looked strong and powerful. He had a large black beard with streaks of white. His electric blue eyes landed on her, and she felt the need to back away. He was intimidating.
The man that wasn't facing her was tall, and had wild black hair. He wore armor and looked ready to break into a large corporation's headquarters. A rifle was strapped to his back. As Artemis slowly approached the desk, feeling a little embarrassed she had interrupted the man, he turned around. Artemis couldn't help but stare. The stranger had the most handsome face she had ever seen; he had beautiful sea green eyes that seemed almost like they glowed, and perfect lips. And his jawline, though…
The stranger raised a brow at her, and she held back the urge to swoon. "Annabeth couldn't even wait twenty minutes." She realized that she recognized his voice. He was the man who had given her the Ambrosia. What had Annabeth called him? Seaweed Brain. That's right.
Seaweed Brain sighed and walked past Artemis. She wanted to swoon again when she smelled his cologne. "I'll be back when you're done speaking with her." He left the room.
The room was silent for the next few moments. Zeus eyed her suspiciously, and Artemis felt herself tense. "Have a seat," he said, his tone was that of a strong command. Artemis obeyed, and sat at the chair before him. "Why have you come to seek us?"
Artemis looked away. She didn't want to look into Zeus' cold blue eyes. "I was chasing down an agent of yours. Or at least I am assuming he is an agent," she knew it was not in her best interest to lie to this man. It would likely catch up with her. "He killed three innocents. The police weren't catching him, so I decided to take matters into my own hands."
Zeus nodded slightly and laced his fingers together. "Artemis," he said, "I do not like to beat around the bush. I am a straight-to-the-point kind of man. You have proved to be a very capable woman, tracking down one of our best. But I am afraid that since you have seen our headquarters, we cannot let you go." He leaned forward, and he kept her gaze. "You will work with us and for us. Agent Jackson insists that you are to be spared. He even said he would take you in as his partner."
"You don't know me," Artemis growled. "I'm a Natural, aren't I? I'm supposed to be weaker, I can't live up to your standards, now can I?" her tone had taken on a mocking quality to it.
Zeus smiled, though the smile did not reach his eyes. They remained as cold as ever. "I know you, Artemis. You're a mercenary, the infamous Huntress of the Augmented. We know you're in all sorts of trouble with the Titan Group since you took their CFO out of power. Trust me when I say I know the extent of what you can do. Do not try to play innocent and weak with me."
Artemis scowled at him, her arms crossed over her chest. "I would rather die than work with the Augmented."
Zeus' gaze darkened. "I'm afraid you do not have a choice, Artemis. I would release you if that was your choice, but I'm afraid the Titan Group would have you killed. We are not the bad guys here. If we can prevent a death, we will."
Artemis was prepared to shake her head, when all of the sudden, someone was yelling. It was frantic, and she could hear the commotion outside.
Zeus got up and looked out of his window. His eyes widened slightly, and he left the room. Artemis paused, before following him.
Every agent in the room was gathered in front of the TVs, and everyone was silent. Silena Beauregard's voice was the only one to be heard.
"The recent bombing near Main Avenue train station has fatally injured thirty and killed twenty-two. Recent evidence has revealed that this bombing was orchestrated by an Augmented, as shown by security footage."
Author's Note: I will definitely keep writing this. So there are some disclaimers here, basically the universe this is set in is the Deus Ex: Mankind Divided universe. I just thought the AU would be really neat with Pertemis and paralled well with the PJO universe. Although I borrowed many elements from the video game (that's right, it's a game) most of the plot will be my own ideas. (BTW, sorry for the bad summaries. It was kind of difficult for me to write a summary for this.)
I hope you enjoyed!
