{{PART ONE}}

"Commander, we've established the team that's going to fight against Gaea."

"Which team?"

"The new group of seven, ma'am."

"But they've only been working together for less than a day."

"Yes, but they're the only group that volunteered."

"Hm… Alright. Hopefully they've got a grasp on their powers. Bring them to the office for a debriefing."

"Yes, ma'am."

TWO MONTHS AGO

-1-

Percy Jackson was on his way home from the skate park when the earthquake happened. It was weird because earthquakes didn't happen often in Manhattan. Weirder because he didn't feel a thing as cracks began to appear on the roads. He didn't even notice how the cars swerved, traffic lights swayed, or how almost everyone around him was tripping or holding onto a building—not until he heard the screaming. How he hadn't noticed, he had no idea. His headphones weren't even that loud. He should've noticed it all before.

As the scene unfolded before him, he felt a strange sensation his chest—familiar, yet not. The minute this happened, the feeling of slight recognition, everything stopped. The air felt stale as he inhaled. There were birds frozen in place in the sky. It was complete and utter silence around him. The most peculiar thing was how Percy was surrounded by a perfect circle of uncracked pavement, and beyond his arms span were cracks—thin and crooked, zigzagging and breaking off, but they were everywhere.

He breathed once more and time seemed to move again. The sounds and scuffles of people crying out, the alarms blaring from buildings and cars pierced his ears. Percy scanned around him. People were on their knees, or lying on their back, eyes wide with shock. A car was jammed into another, one crashed into the wall. People were crying, bleeding, and unconscious. And he stood in the middle of it all, unharmed and standing straight as a statue, like nothing had happened.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Percy tried to calm the jitters he felt crawl up his arm as he watched the scene unfold around him. In a blink, the fire hydrant beside him squealed loudly- water exploding violently from the sides, blasting him hard in the chest.

Percy stumbled backward by the pressure, then stepped back further, trying to get away from it. His back hit a wall just as the water began to recede, pouring out in weak bursts before trickling down the sides. He clenched his fists in frustration, and that's when he noticed his clothes and body were completely dry. He patted his shirt to double check, and yes he was dry. This was completely nuts, it didn't make any sense at all.

Something on the floor caught his eye. He looked closer, mouth gaping as he watched the cracks on the floor where he stood, merging themselves back together, and the spot he had been standing on seconds before began to slowly reveal crisscrossing cracks.

What the fuck is happening? Percy thought.

-2-

Annabeth is sitting by the dining table reading her physics textbook she propped open, when her stepmother turns on the TV and the news anchor states: "BREAKING NEWS – A Massive Earthquake hits New York Causing Pandemonium on the Streets"

Annabeth's head whips up at the announcement, eyes going wide. She frantically reaches into her pocket to pull out her phone and immediately begins to search for Percy's number. Tapping his number, she puts the phone against her ear, her other hand clenched into a tight fist under the table.

The news anchor's voice continued. "The quake that hit New York and most of the East Coast ten minutes ago was approximately a 5 on the richter scale. Many individuals were injured due to debris from buildings and car accidents due to the quake. Authorities are still attempting to rescue people from collapsed buildings and bring them to safety. If you have any friends or family in the area please call…"

The dial tone against her ear was incessant, and the anxiety began to build and build in her chest. After the ten billion ring, it lead the voicemail. "Is this Percy's phone? Who knows, maybe you should leave a message."

She swallowed hard, heart beating hard in her chest, opting to send him a few messages instead, telling him to call her ASAP to let her know if he was okay. The send bar went halfway across the screen before stating "unable to send."

She continuously tapped the resend button in frustration. God, all she wanted to was contact Percy somehow. A loud buzzing noise erupted from the living room before the television flashed white, then went back to normal. Yet on the screen, the news anchor's face was shifted to the left, a gray static overlaying it, their voice breaking off as they continued to spiel about the incident.

"Damn television" her step-mother muttered, shaking the remote like it was at fault.

There was a soft sound by the window, the pitter-patter of rain against the window pane, and Annabeth knew what was going on. Either a storm was starting, or one was on its way.

"Don't worry about the TV," Annabeth said. "It's probably the rain. We can watch the news later anyway." She shoved her phone back into her pocket once the text finally sent. She hoped Percy would get back to her soon. She was getting worried.

"That doesn't make sense. It was supposed to be sunny all week!"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Meteorologists can be wrong you know."

Her step-mother nodded stiffly. "Yes, I know that, but it just doesn't add up."

"Yeah, yeah." She replied, picking up her stuff to move back into her room upstairs. "If the news goes back on, tell me what they say about the quake."

Her room was the furthest from the stairs, so she quietly made her way through the hall as to not disturb her sleeping half-brothers. Annabeth gave a small sigh, maybe if she took a nap like them, she'd be able to take her mind off Percy. It could even help her with her studying.

The bedroom door swung open with a tiny push, and Annabeth gasped at the sight. Her window was drawn open, her blinds swinging with the wind. On the windowsill was an owl with piercing yellow eyes. It tilted its head, before turning back around and flying into the storm.

Annabeth dropped her stuff on her desk, giving a loud sigh as she went to shut the window. She grabbed for the panel, and her hand slipped right through.

She pulled her hand back, a breath stuck in her throat. Her hand looked fine, the gray nail polish Silena had pull on her a week ago was chipped. Then her hand disappeared, and she let out a short screech.

-3-

Jason lifted an arm to block his face from the mix of sleet and hail. He tucked his chin down, pushing against the harsh wind. There was only one more block to his apartment, where he'd be safe and sound from this stupid storm.

The loud crackle of thunder startled him. He sped up his pace as lightning flashed above, hitting the building to his left. He passed by two other people scurrying into their car and Jason thought how smart that would've been.

This family meet up could've turned out better if he had just brought his freaking car.

He might've had a chance to catch up with Thalia when she stormed out the room if he had brought it. But when he finally managed to get away from the rents, she was gone. And he knew it would be another few months before he heard back from her.

Okay, not true. She would try her best to contact him, but his parent's would never allow it.

The rain poured harder and Jason sprinted further down the block. His jeans were soaked, rain splashing everywhere. A couple was arguing under the balcony of one of the apartments, and Jason slowed to a walk. He squinted to help himself see through the water spots on his glasses. The guy pulled at the woman's purse and ran off toward the park, away from Jason's apartment.

Not a couple then, Jason thought. Jason speed up again, yelling at the woman that to wait and that he'd get her bag back.

Thunder rumbled above him as he chased the thief through the storm. Jason was nowhere near catching up to the man, so he pushed harder, willing the wind to aid him rather than push against him. He sped up, his feet flying over the ground.

A bright light blinded him, the hairs on his arm rising to static. A strange heat filled his very core, a rubbery smell of something burning filled his nose. The thief's stopped abruptly, and Jason ran into him with a loud smack. Lightning struck from all directions, entrapping Jason and the thief in a circle of pure energy.

Jason didn't think twice about the strange way electricity was moving, he simply turned the guy around, lifting him up with the lapels of his coat. "Give back the lady's purse."

Throughout the nation, people found themselves gaining strange abilities. People talked of seeing someone raise the dead, of someone shifting into different animals, there was even talk of seeing someone controlling people with the sound of their voice.

Many of these people with powers kept them a secret, or tried to at least. Those who were found with abilities were taken in by a newly created organization called SPQR. They were observed day to day, studied as to understand their abilities and why they were formed. The main question they were trying to answer was so: why was it that a certain person obtained a power, yet another was left powerless?

But as time went by, crime rates skyrocketed. People abused their powers to gain more of what they didn't have. And SPQR had to change their tactics. Those they had studied, were now to fight against those criminals.