PERCY
-X-
Percy Jackson grumpily munched on an apple, with a water bottle in hand, as he walked towards the Republic City Academy where, like most people of his age, were currently attending.
"Cheer up, Percy! It's not like your first day at school. All you have to endure are a few weeks of classes and you'll be free from school again" A tall, muscular, and handsome guy clapped his shoulder, trying to cheer him up at this hour of the day.
"You're the only person I know that is cheerful at this goddamned hour of the day, Frank! It's only 7 AM for fuck's sake! I can't believe you're my cousin" Percy frowned as he tossed his finished apple to a garbage can nearby.
"Come on! It's a wonderful day! The weather's great for some Power Disk!" His cousin, Frank, beamed.
"You're a great cousin and person but I really can't 'cheer up', you know. And please stop with the Power Disk thingy; it doesn't help" Percy groaned.
"You're just grumpy because Aunt Sally left early without leaving you some of her blue pancakes, aren't you?" Frank wondered.
"And you just have to remind me about that" Percy groaned harder.
"The weather's clear yet you look like you've been through a fight with an Airbender" Percy jumped as he recognized that sweet yet stern voice. He turned around to meet the calculating gray eyes of his crush, Annabeth. Percy studied her for a moment – the way her princess blonde curls was neatly tied into a ponytail, her white coat that hugged her figure at the right curves, and her intense, calculating gray eyes that twinkled when she looked at him. Percy smiled and waved at Annabeth.
"Good morning, Annabeth! You know how grumpy he is in the morning. I've been cheering him up for minutes and failed. To think that all he needs to cheer up is you" Frank chuckled.
"Shut up" Percy muttered, elbowing Frank in the stomach, which barely did anything as Earthbenders are known for their strong core.
"Good morning, Frank! And good morning to you as well, Mr. Grumpy pants. Here, let me fix your clothes for you" Annabeth grabbed his blue tunic and tugged it to straighten the clothing. She also twisted his belt to its proper place. She also grabbed a brush from her bag and started to approach him but he immediately stopped her.
"I think you've done enough" Percy awkwardly chuckled as he combed his hair with his fingers. Percy noticed a sly grin from Frank. He willed the water from his bottle and splashed Frank on the face. Frank just stood there shocked and betrayed. Annabeth noticed and shook her head.
"Dry him up, Percy. You know his Waterbending isn't that developed yet" Annabeth chided.
It would have confused people if an Earthbender started to develop ability to Waterbend but ever since the portal to the spirit world opened 60 years ago, some benders have been able to bend another element, which supposedly was only accessible to the Avatar. These benders were called Dual Benders. Percy was a Waterbender as well as an Earthbender. Frank was an Earthbender and lately, he's been developing Waterbending. Annabeth, on the other hand, can bend en element which no one can bend before the portal opened; she was a Lightbender.
See, before the portal opened, benders can only bend Air, Earth, Fire, or Water; but ever since the portal opened, rare benders can bend either Light, or Shadow. Lightbenders are rare and Shadowbenders are much rarer.
"Fine" Percy sighed as he willed the water from his cousin's wet clothes and formed a water sphere near his head. "Where should I put this?" Percy asked Annabeth.
"Just use that to water those plants" Annabeth pointed to the potted plants from the building nearby.
"Good morning, Annabeth! Same to you too, Percy and Frank!" Another familiar voice called out to them. They turned to the direction of the voice and saw a petite girl with cocoa skin tackled Frank from behind and hugged him. Frank blushed from the contact.
"Good morning to you too, Hazel!" Percy beamed, happy to get back to his cousin for teasing him with Annabeth earlier.
"They're cute, aren't they?" Annabeth whispered on his ear, which caused him to jump in surprise.
"Anyways, what are you guys doing here? We're going to be late" Hazel grabbed Frank's hand and rushed towards the direction of the Academy. Percy glanced at his wrist watch, and cursed. Hazel was right; they're going to be late!
Percy saw Annabeth run after them and he sprinted as well.
-X-
It was already lunch time when was finally free from anything Academy related – well, half of it. He still has afternoon classes.
Percy examined the people at his table.
First, there was Frank Zhang, his cousin. Apparently, Percy's father and Frank's mother were related making them also related. If you'll look closely, Frank and Percy's appearances were so different that you couldn't tell they were related – Percy has sea green eyes, while Frank has warm brown eyes, Percy's hair was always messy while Frank's was always neat. The only similarities that they have were hair color, height, and build. He was an Earthbender who prefers to use Metalbending – an advanced from of Earthbending developed by Toph Beifong, who happens to be the grandmother of the Beifong Twins, who also happened to develop Power Disk, a sport that Frank loves to play. He was also a Dual Bender like Percy. He was both an Earthbender and Waterbender.
Next was Annabeth Chase, his crush. She was one of the rare benders; she could Lightbend. Lightbenders can do various tricks like Light Beams, Light Flash, and Illusions but Annabeth prefers to use Light Bending to become invisible; she likes to use her tricks on Percy and his friends. She spends most of her time at the library, studying various ways her bending can be used in combat.
Hazel Levesque also sat with them. She was also an Earthbender. She's also one of the rare benders; she's a Shadowbender, which is still quite new for her. Shadowbending allows her to manipulate the shadows to defend and travel – coined as Shadow Travelling.
Annabeth's cousin also sat with them and his name is Jason Grace. Jason was a tall, muscular guy with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was an Airbender, which he was quite proud of by showing how high he could fly. Just like Percy, Frank, and Hazel, Jason was also a Dual Bender. He developed the ability to bend fire but he prefers to use an advanced styled called Lightning Generation, which he used often to playfully shock his friends.
Jason's girlfriend, Piper McLean, also sat with them. Her choppy chocolate brown hair and tomboyish appearance did not deter anyone from noticing her beauty. Piper was a Waterbender like Percy but she prefers to learn the more defensive techniques of Waterbending, as well as its healing techniques. She spends her free time with Annabeth at the library, also learning the versatility of the art of Waterbending.
Lastly, Leo Valdez, Piper's adopted brother, also sat with them. His curly black hair, dark brown eyes, pointy ears matched with his mischievous smile often made people check their pockets constantly. He was a Firebender, which made him being a Pyromaniac dangerous, and just like Percy, he was also a Dual Bender; he developed the ability to bend Earth, which helped him find precious earth materials for his inventions.
"I wish I could stop time" Percy grimaced, his shoulders slumped in defeat.
"And what? Be stuck here in the Academy forever? Then, no thanks!" Piper rolled her eyes as she continued to munch on her apple.
"I mean, I don't want this lunch period to end" Percy groaned, finishing his lunch that he bought from the Academy's cafeteria, which was surprisingly tasty.
"I understand Percy. I also don't want this lunch period to end if I'm in my presence. Everybody loves my presence!" Leo exclaimed; his hands covered in fire.
"Extinguish that fire, Valdez!" Annabeth ordered, which Leo immediately followed. Percy understood. Nobody wanted to face Annabeth's wrath.
"Besides, not everybody can handle your presence. Remember your bullies?" Frank reminded Leo without looking at him as he was busy bending a metal sheet into various shapes.
"That was years ago. Don't worry, Frankie. I'm fine now" Leo grinned. Frank shrugged as he continued bending the metal sheet.
"It's only a few hours until classes end anyway" Annabeth shrugged, finishing her pasta.
"But today is Wednesday! And Wednesdays mean Club Activities!" Percy groaned. Suddenly, Frank stood up, his legs banging on the table as he did so, which shocked everyone at the table.
"I'm sorry but I'll have to go! See you later!" Frank started to sprint but Jason stopped him for a while.
"And where do you think you're going? Lunch is still half an hour until it's over" Jason asked, his eyebrow rose in curiosity.
"Power Disk" Frank immediately answered before he ran off, while everyone else chuckled.
"He's really a fan, isn't he?" Annabeth smiled.
"Ugh. All he talks at home is Power Disk this, Power Disk that" Percy sighed but everyone just chuckled. "What? What's wrong?"
"You're just the same. Waterbending this, Waterbending that. You really are cousins" Jason said, which earned an offended look from Percy.
"Excuse me?! You have any problem with Waterbending?!" Percy glared.
"No, Percy. He doesn't. Just forget about what he said" Annabeth rolled her eyes.
Percy sighed as he dropped his utensils on his plate. He just watched his friends eating their lunch, which Piper commented on as awkward, when he saw the metal sheet Frank left behind. He picked it up and noticed that the metal sheet was bent into a miniature sword. Percy smiled as he pocketed the intricate object.
They may be cousins but for him, they're brothers.
-X-
Percy was really glad he could Waterbend. He didn't need to bring any towel for swimming – his club activity. All he has to do is to bend water and he would be dry.
After changing, he grabbed his bag and walked to the Academy's gate where his friends were.
"Finally! Aquaman's here!" Leo beamed.
"You've just arrived a few seconds ahead of Percy. What kept you, by the way?" Piper asked.
"The Stolls asked for my help so I did" Leo grinned, while everyone grimaced. The Stolls were twin Airbenders who love to prank everyone. They usually ask Leo for help with setting up their pranks though so they grimaced at the thought of what their prank could be. Leo seemed to understand what they're thinking so he laughed.
"Oh, no! It's not about pranking. They need help with math" Leo followed everyone as they walk back to their homes.
"Good relief. Their pranks are great unless you're the subject" Hazel pouted.
After talking while walking for a few minutes, everyone parted ways and that only left Percy, Frank, and Annabeth. Percy pocketed his hands when a sharp object pricked his finger. Percy remembered the object from lunch and decided to return it to Frank later.
"Well, guys, this is my stop. See you tomorrow!" Annabeth waved as she entered the apartment building where she resides with her family.
Few minutes later, they also arrived at their home. Percy immediately ran to the kitchen where he knew his mom would be.
"Mom! Why were there no pancakes earlier?!" Percy cried. Sally just chuckled, wiping her hands on her apron.
"I need to get to work earlier so I had no time to prepare. I also knew you'll react this way so I prepared these!" Sally offered Percy a plate of freshly baked blue cookies.
"You are the greatest mom ever!" Percy kissed Sally's cheek before he grabbed the cookie, which was still piping hot. He dropped the cookie back to the plate, before he used his Waterbending to heal his burn.
"They're fresh out of the oven, Percy. Go change first, and then call Frank" Percy nodded before he ran to his room – well he and Frank shared a room, so their room. He heard a tiny splash as he opened the door and saw Frank's half-drenched shirt.
"You're practicing Waterbending?" Percy asked, amused, before he grabbed a shirt and changed, not minding the other person in the room.
Frank sighed. "Yes" He answered weakly, his eyes casted downwards.
"Then why are you practicing in secret?" Percy sat on his bed, where he faced Frank from the other side of the room.
"I'm… disappointed" Frank sheepishly rubbed his neck, giving Percy a shy smile.
"About what?" Percy lay on his bed, arms crossed under his head.
"Well, I can't Waterbend as good as you and people expect a lot from me since, you know, we're cousins" Frank sighed.
"So what? I can't Metalbend as good as you and people expect a lot from me since, you know, we're cousins" Percy teased. He grabbed the item in his pocket carefully, not wanting another pricked finger. "Here, catch!"
Percy tossed the miniature sword in the air, which Frank Metalbent into his palm. "I thought I lost this"
"I kept it since it was yours" Percy grinned. "I'll train you with your Waterbending but under one condition"
"And that is?" Frank curiously asked.
"I'll have that sword" Percy said.
"But you already had it before you gave it back!" Frank cried.
"Oh. You're right. Well, I want it as a pendant. Also, I want you to dull it a bit, It's quite sharp" Percy showed Frank his pricked finger. Frank immediately ran to him and started to heal his minor wound with Waterbending while muttering a series of apologies. Percy raised his eyebrow.
"You said you can't Waterbend!" Percy said, surprised.
"I said I'm not good with it; I didn't said I can't" Frank shrugged.
"I have another condition" Percy grinned.
"Now what?" Frank wondered.
"I'll train you with Waterbending and you train me with Earthbending" Percy beamed.
"Deal" Frank smiled.
"By the way, mom's baked some cookies. You want some?" Percy asked, but before he could stand, Frank was already out of the room, probably to devour every cookie his mom baked.
"Hey! Those cookies are mine!" Percy chased after him.
-X-
Percy's favorite day of the week finally came. No, it wasn't Saturday. And it wasn't Sunday, either. It was Friday.
Percy excitedly devoured his lunch at the table where his friends usually sat.
"Aren't you too excited for the Bending Competition this week, Percy?" Annabeth wondered.
Percy swallowed the food from his mouth before he answered. "Well, I've been waiting days for this. Besides, it's the only thing I enjoy in this torturous jail complex called school"
"But you always win! Nobody can beat you with Waterbending. Also, mind you young man, if ever we battled each other today, please be nicer. You got water in my ear last time" Piper frowned.
"Well, sorry, ok? Besides, today's competition isn't like any competitions before" Percy said, grinning excitedly.
"Now that you said it, I think I saw a poster earlier about that. Just wait here while I grab one" Annabeth stood up, grabbing her lunch tray before she disposed of her used utensils at its proper place and leaving to the hallway where she saw the poster. A minute later, Annabeth returned with a poster in hand.
"This week's Bending Competition will be special from the rest of the competitions held before. This week, all Elemental Champions will face each other to showcase the balance between each element – how each element has its own strength and weaknesses. However, in order to symbolize each element's uniqueness, subtypes of the four main elements would currently be banned for this week only, meaning benders can only bend either air, earth, fire or water but not its subtypes like ice, metal, lightning, and lava" Annabeth read the poster out loud before she laid it down to the table for the others to read as well. "I can't believe they banned Lightbending"
"Wait, no Metalbending? That sucks" Frank frowned.
"We know Percy's the best at Waterbending and Jason's the best at Airbending but who's the best Firebender and Earthbender around?" Piper asked.
"Hello, Piper? I'm the best Firebender around! Can't you see?!" Leo demonstrated his skill at Firebending by crafting a miniature dragon that circles around his palm while breathing tiny flames.
"No bending during lunch!" Piper whispered with a glare. "I know you're a great Firebender but we can't guarantee you're the best since you never had any of the Battle Competition Medal yet"
"If it's based on the number of wins then it would be Iroh III, great grandson of Fire Lord Zuko. Have you seen his flames? They're huge!" Leo beamed.
"I think the best Earthbender around would be Hazel, if it's also based on number of wins but she utilizes her ability to Shadowbend to outsmart her opponents, right Hazel?" Frank asked.
"You compliment me, Frank. It's true that I use Shadowbending to outsmart my opponents but since the poster said only the four main elements would be used, I don't think I could win easily" Hazel blushed at the compliment.
"The poster never said anything about Dual Benders though. I only assumed that Lightbenders and Shadowbenders are banned since it's not part of the four main elements but the poster never said about using the elements for Dual Bending" Annabeth explained.
"Then let's ask Mr. Brunner. He should know" Percy suggested.
"I don't think we have enough time; lunch is almost over. I guess we have to ask any faculty about this later" Frank suggested.
Percy checked his watch as saw that they only have two minutes before classes start.
"See you later!" Piper pulled Percy form his seat and ran to the class they shared.
-X-
"Any question?" Ms. Amphitrite asked her students.
Percy raised his hand. "Is the class over yet?" Percy asked.
Ms. Amphitrite sighed. "I've already told you Percy, wait for the bell to ring. I'll ask again, Any questions about Waterbending's subtypes?"
Percy raised his hand again. "What now, Mr. Jackson?" Ms. Amphitrite groaned and everyone in the room chuckled.
"It's not about Waterbending's subtypes but have you read about the Bending Competition to be held later?" Percy asked. After a nod of confirmation, Percy continued. "Well, the poster never said anything about Dual Benders so I just want to ask if we're allowed to use more than one element? Also, what if our second element is not one of the four main elements?"
"The rules would be explained to you later, before the competition start, so please wait patiently, Mr. Jackson. The Bending Competition is only two hours away, anyway" Ms. Amphitrite explained. The bell rang exactly after Ms. Amphitrite explained.
Percy walked with Piper to their next class, which was History. He groaned as he aimlessly followed Piper to his next torture session when he bumped into Matt Sloan – an Earthbending bully who likes to think that Pure Benders are better than Dual Benders.
"Why are you even bothering befriending this scum, McLean? You know that Dual Benders are freaks and weak. Unlike us, they use other elements to look strong" Matt snarled, his fist curled.
"They are not freaks, Sloan. They are also Benders and human, unlike you who is a pig. Come on, Percy, ignore him" Piper walked past Matt, pulling Percy with her.
"I wish I can pulverize you, Jackson. Oh wait; I can pulverize your cousin later but I think Levesque has a better chance of dueling me than that weakling. I'll show her how strong Pure Benders are" Matt cackled. Percy turned and tried to punch him in the face but Piper stopped him.
"He's just messing with you, Percy. Both Frank and Hazel are strong. Trust me, they'll show that Sloan is wrong. Come on, we'll be late" Percy glared at Matt before he followed Piper to their next class with Annabeth and Leo.
-X-
Classes soon ended and the Bending Competitions finally began.
"I hope everyone read the posters about this week's competition. For those who don't, I'll make this quick - only the four main elements can be used and for us, we can only use water; no subtypes; and the winner will face the other winners from other elements, got it? Any questions?" Coach Triton asked.
"Percy asked Ms. Amphitrite earlier but she didn't exactly give an exact answer. Are we allowed to use our second element? What if our second element is either light or shadow?" Piper asked.
"Ah yeah, I forgot. Dual Bending isn't allowed this week, so Percy, you'll only be using water, understand? So maybe that also answers the question about Lightbending and Shadowbending?" Coach Triton scanned his students. "Good. Now, are you ready? As usual, each match lasts 5 minutes. Remember, no maiming, stabbing, decapitating, or doing anything fatal. Just push your opponent of the ring. If no one wins before the timer ends, the match is a draw. First match goes to…"
Percy ignored the matching as he waited for his match to be called.
-X-
Percy felt someone nudging him and saw Piper.
"I can't believe you fell asleep. It's only been thirty minutes. Coach is calling for you. You're against Poli – a hater of yours, I guess based on the glare he's sending you" Piper whispered, as she pushed Percy off the seats.
"Good to see you awake, Mr. Jackson. You know the rules. Ready, go!" Coach Triton blew his whistle.
Percy readied his stance, slightly crouched with his left foot in front of his right, his hand drawn near him.
The moment Paul created a water whip; Percy created a Water Cloak, an arm extension made of water to deflect the attack. He continued to deflect as Poli started a barrage of Water Whips. Percy jumped to the side as he saw Water Bullets coming his way. He ran around the ring, silently creating a stream of water to follow him as Paul continued to fire Water Bullets. When Poli's attacks slowed down, He shot the stream towards Paul, the water spiraling like a drill. Poli created a wall of water to block his attack. With Poli's vision obscured, he ran forward with his right fist drawn back and prepared for his own Water Whip. Poli counterattacked with a wave of water from Percy's right so Percy did the best things he could think off he slid under the wave and under Poli's legs before he grabbed Poli's legs with water and threw him out of the ring but before he could land on the water at the ring's side, Poli created a wave and surfed around the ring. Percy just stood there, chuckling.
"What's funny, Jackson? Feeling scared?" Poli teased as he continued to surf around.
"Actually, you are funny" Percy continued to chuckle, releasing his Water Cloak, letting the water soak the ring.
"I am funny? You aren't even doing anything" Paul frowned.
"Hey Poli, are you an Airbender?" Percy called.
"What? No, why?" Paul asked.
"I thought you were one" Percy sat cross-legged on the ring, which only ticked Poli.
"And why would you think so?" Poli asked, speeding the wave up.
"Because you fly like one!" Percy threw his arm out, bending the wave to stop moving. The momentum of the sudden brake sent Poli flying towards the seats.
Coach Triton blew on his whistle, signally the end of their battle.
"You didn't have to play with him, Percy. You only made him angrier at you. I don't even know why he's mad at you. Congratulations, by the way" Piper clapped Percy's back.
"I also don't know but he's Sloan's friend right? Maybe he has a thing against us Dual Benders" Percy shrugged.
"Well done everyone! Now, for those who are drenched, get yourselves dry. The battle between the champions of the Bending Competition will start in 10 minutes. Go!" Coach Triton ordered.
"Wait, it's over? Who won?" Percy asked.
"Idiot. Your battle against Paul was the championship match" Piper laughed.
"Really? But his skill less superior that yours! How come you lost?" Percy wondered.
"Khione somehow froze my feet for a millisecond, which caused me to lose balance and knock me off the ring. I tried to tell coach that Khione used Icebending, but he said he never noticed"
"That's a bummer, I guess. Anyway, do you think Jason won?" Percy wondered.
"Of course! It's Jason we're talking about" Piper grinned.
"Whatever. I guess the battle's at the main field" Percy guessed.
"Yup! Come on! I know Annabeth's been waiting for hours, reading her book" Piper pulled him along towards the main field, where the first Battle of the Champions would be held.
-X-
Author's note: I decided to make the children of the Big Three NOT cousins. Also, I decided that each of the Big Three has their own family tree. Descendants of Poseidon would be related which explains Percy and Frank's relationship. Descendants of Zeus would also be related excluding Leo, which explains Annabeth and Jason's relationship. Hades' descendants also work the same way.
P.S. I do not know whether I should put this on crossover or not because most characters are from the PJO, specifically HOO, with mentions of characters from Legends of Korra. Of course, Avatar and stuff are from LoK. So should I put it in crossover or not?