First story on this account. (Not my first fanfic, though, so feel free to be harsh. I've gotten tough in my "old" age.) Let's celebrate!
Okay, so the first few chapters of this will be fairly short, to kind of get my bearings. It's been a while since I've written anything that wasn't for school. They'll also sort of establish what kind of place the Olympus Testing Facility is, and get things started for our characters.
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or wish to make money off of this story. It is purely for fun. All rights belong to Rick Riordan and whichever studio owns PJO (Fox?). Please don't sue me.
Chapter One: New Arrival
Frank Zhang was new to the Olympus Testing Facility. His mother, Emily, was dead, a soldier killed overseas. His father, Mars Zhang, was high up in the military ranks, and traveled often. He had lived with his grandmother until yesterday, when he officially started living at OTF.
He remembered her reaction, two months previously, when three men in suits showed up on their doorstep. She was scared, but she knew it was coming. They gave him two months to say goodbye, to prepare to leave his home. The time went too quickly. Before Frank knew it, the men were there, forcing him into a black car with tinted windows. He had watched as his grandmother stood on the front porch of their house. She wasn't crying, but she was obviously upset. It hurt Frank to see his grandmother hurting.
They had driven for a long time. He fell asleep in Vancouver, Canada, where he lived, and woke up somewhere in New England. When they got out of the car, they were at a large building in the middle of the woods.
Now, he was in the cafeteria of the facility. It was filled with people ranging from age four to age twenty-one. They were as different as possible. Some were tall, some short, male and female. They were of all races, all hair and eye colors. The only thing they had in common was their outfits. They all wore the same thing as Frank.
All of them had a pair of jeans, tight on some, loose on others. Their shirts were tunic-like, with tank tops or t-shirts beneath. Some of them wore hoodies over their tunics. A pair of slip-on shoes that matched the tunics were on everyone's feet.
The outfits were many different colors. The most popular seemed to be pink amongst the girls, and black amongst the boys. Frank glance down at his gray uniform, and felt out of place. He stood awkwardly, holding a tray with a bowl of oatmeal, eggs, bacon, and a glass of orange juice, in his hands.
A boy sitting at one of the tables waved him over. Frank glanced behind him, but saw no one. He turned back to the boy, pointing at himself, and mouthing "me?" The boy laughed, and nodded, waving him over, yet again. Frank walked to the table, where the occupants were making room for him. He sat by the boy, at the end of the cold metal bench.
When they were all comfortably settled, the boy spoke. "I'm Percy Jackson," he said. He turned He was tall, and muscular, with an easy going smile. He had black hair and green eyes, which reminded Frank of the sea. As Frank would learn soon enough Percy was popular amongst the – to quote him – "freaks of nature" that inhabited OTF.
Next to Percy was Annabeth. She was from California, and as skinny, tan and blonde as one would expect. However, her hair was curly and wild, and her eyes a scarily piercing gray. Percy bragged whispered that she was probably one of the most frightening people on the facility. Frank made a mental note to avoid getting on her bad side.
On Annabeth's right was another girl, this one a few years younger than Percy and Annabeth. She was short and skinny, and looked underfed and slightly scared. Her skin was the color of mocha with cream, and her eyes were a rich gold. Her brown hair was curly and frizzy. Percy said her name was Hazel Levesque. Frank couldn't help but think that Hazel was beautiful.
Across from Hazel was a tall girl with black hair and electric blue eyes. Percy introduced her as Thalia Grace, or Pinecone Face. They were cousins, and as Frank observed, they were close. She had grinned, and flicked Frank a peace sign upon her introduction, then she had turned back to her conversation with her neighbor.
Said neighbor was Jason Grace, Thalia's younger brother. He was tall, with blonde hair cropped short, and electric blue eyes that matched his sister's. He seemed nice enough, if a little intimidating. There was just something unforgiving about the look on his face.
"So," said Percy, "what are you in for?"
"What?" Frank looked confused. Annabeth smiled kindly at him, whacking Percy gently upside the head.
"Don't be rude, Seaweed Brain," she cautioned, turning towards Frank. "He means why do they want you here, away from society? I'm here for my intelligence. My IQ is at least three times higher than average. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
Frank was incredulous – he didn't know people could be that smart. Hazel giggled at the look on his face.
Before Frank could answer Percy's question, there was a commotion from the corner of the room. A skinny, tall girl was being dragged out of her seat by a pair of guards. The black uniform she wore nearly swallowed her, and even from here, one could see her wincing.
"Leave her alone!" yelled a boy with a raspy voice, as if he barely used it. He stood from the table by where Frank and his new friends sat, dark eyes flashing, and black hair messy. He too wore a too big black uniform, and he had dark bags under his eyes. The guards turned towards him. He gulped, but stood his ground.
"Can't you tell she needs rest?" he called, voice shaking with fear, "You just tested her yesterday!" The girl beside him tried to tug him down. She looked like she could his sister, with the same dark hair and eyes. The girl was muttering in another language, sounding reprimanding, but the boy wouldn't have it.
"Mr. di Angelo!" yelled a man from the door. He was in a wheelchair, with brown hair and a graying beard. He looked tired, but proud, as if this act of defiance from a teenaged boy was somehow doing something good for him. Frank had met this man when he first arrived. His name was Chiron Brunner (He asked to be called Chiron), and he was in charge of the activities and well-being of all the patients at OTF. Though from the looks of things, he wasn't doing a very good job.
"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, rolling over to the boy whose last name was di Angelo. The boy frowned.
"Chiron, you know they tested on Capuano yesterday," he protested, "You know how draining the tests are. Look at her, she looks exhausted." Chiron frowned, looking over at the girl who was nearly falling over in the guards' arms.
"You two!" he called the guards, "I told you to collect Ms. Gardner for testing, not Ms. Capuano." Frank shuddered a little at the anger in Chiron's tone, and glanced around the room. It had gone cold and quiet at Chiron's arrival.
"I am aware that they share a room, but that does not make them easy to mistake. If I find you have made a mistake like this again, you will be replaced immediately." The guards nodded obediently, and dropped the girl, who fell to the floor like a ragdoll. Instead, they approached a girl near the other end of the cafeteria, who stood shakily, following them quietly from the dining hall.
Chiron and the boy hurried over to the girl, tending to her fragile state. His sister, Percy, Jason, and Hazel, exchanged looks. Hazel dropped her head into her hands, and the boy's sister walked over, taking a seat at an empty chair at their table.
"Stupid Nico," moaned Hazel from behind her hands.
"I know," said the other girl, "Our brother really outdid himself this time." Hazel nodded into her arms. Annabeth frowned.
"He never acts out," she said, raising an eyebrow, and looking around the table for confirmation. When both girls nodded, she continued. "So, why did he defend her? He hardly knows her. Maybe from group testing, since they're the same age, but that's it. Not even from class – Capuano is Level One, but Nico is Level Four."
They shrugged, musing for only a little longer on the mystery of Nico di Angelo before they were dismissed to morning activities. Frank followed Annabeth and Jason, who were Level One, like him, down a long hallway, reflecting on his interesting first hour with the other patients.