One serving of paranoid-ness and angst, coming right up! (I changed my username because I felt like I'm not focusing so much on only overlord? I felt like it. Also this chapter is iffy, wasn't too angsty, Percy is holding in his emotions for now. So sue me.)
Reincarnation [Metempsychosis (Greek: μετεμψύχωσις)]:
(Noun) The rebirth of a soul into a new body. A new version of something from the past.
Heimdall gazed into the stars, seeing countless planets flash by him, as he kept track of the Nine Worlds' threats and weaknesses. As he was checking that Hel was still in her realm, he felt something, similar to a hybrid of powers, flash by him, plummeting toward Midgard. It looked like a glowing figure, but when he was unable to look directly at it. He stumbled back as whatever it was caused Asgard's magical defenses to weaken, and his ability to view into other worlds strengthened, blinding him. Then it flickered, and the magical defenses strengthened, and his gaze was broken for a few moments. As the force fell to Midgard, everything flickered back to normal. Heimdall would have gone to inform someone, but he was too busy being unconscious from the overwhelming amount of information he got from seeing the glowing figure go by.
Percy opened his eyes, and immediately regretted it. He had a headache like never before, worse than the one time he got drunk after the war with Jason and Frank.
"Oh my gods... what happened yesterday?" he moaned, sitting up and blinking. As the location he was in came into focus, he saw an alley. "Am I in New York?" he muttered to himself, confused. 'I don't recognize whatever that building is in the distance. It has a logo for something like Stars, or Stork' he thought. He got up, and regretted it immediately. He stumbled to the side and leaned against the wall, until he felt it was safe to move. He looked down at himself, and saw that he was covered in scrapes and cuts, but they were healing rapidly. Then it all flooded back to him. The loss, the agony, and the power gained from slaying a god. Percy sat down, and considered all that had happened. He shook, sobbing, at the loss of Annabeth, and of all the stress he had gone through. Then, after an hour of sobbing, he finally acknowledged it. She was gone, forever now. All that was left was an emotionless mask of indifference,
He focused on the task at hand. 'This isn't the first time something horrible has happened.' he reasoned. 'I need to figure out what happened after I blacked out.'
Percy frowned at his shredded clothes. 'If only I had something to wear, maybe a hoodie and jeans.' he thought to himself. Instantly his clothes became how he imagined them, a blue hoodie with pockets on the front and jeans. His shoes became the same running ones he had at his house. "Whoa... what the hell? I can change my outfit at will? That's like how the Gods are..." he muttered. Then froze. "Wait. I absorbed Charon's full power, and some of Hades' powers, so does that mean I am a God now?" he exclaimed. "Hmm... I also fell into Chaos as well, so something must have happened." Percy pulled out Riptide, and inspected it for damage. It was in pristine condition, but the essence absorption runes were failing. Luckily the runes keeping the essence within the blade and the unbreakable runes were still there, so the monsters could not escape and wreak havoc upon the world once more. Spinning around to face the alleyway, he darted into the shadows, and focused. He felt cold, like jumping into ice water. The world went dark, and he suddenly found himself on the ground at the other end of the alley by the street. "Okay, note to self, don't shadow-travel when already exhausted. I forgot Nico said that he had once gone to China by accident and got stuck there for a week." He sighed. "Now, what is going on?!" he said aloud, as he left the alley.
Within a secure server in SHIELD, a computer noted an anomaly, and continued scanning the cameras all across the city.
Percy frowned to himself as he sat spinning Riptide in his hand. He had just gone into the Empire State building to see if he could contact the Gods to see what happened after he blew up Tartarus. The issue was, the man at the desk insisted that there was no 600th floor, and nearly called security on Percy.
F
Percy walked into the lobby of the Empire state building, gazing at the familiar structure. The interior of the building looked the same, but something was off, like something was missing. He realized that it was the mist. After working with runes for so long, he had become in tune with the mist, and he could sense it if it was nearby. The thick layer he could always sense over New York hiding Olympus seemed to be gone. Worried, he approached the security guard, who was unfamiliar, but may have been new on the job.
"Hey, can I have the pass to Olympus?" Percy asked the guard, who stared at him for a moment.
"What the hell are you talking about?" The guard said. "If you're trying to pull something, I can call security to pull you out of here." he said.
Percy frowned. "You know, the 600th floor? I'm sure the big guy wouldn't be too happy if you blocked me from getting up there." Percy said.
The guard chuckled. "Kid, there isn't a 600th floor, so you can go."
Percy smacked the counter intending to intimidate the guy, since there was no way the guard didn't know what the 600th floor was. The result of the relatively light smack was that the counter cracked, and the guard stared. "What are you, some kind of freak? You just cracked solid granite counters!" he exclaimed, reaching for the phone to call security.
Percy reacted, snapping his fingers. "You never saw me. The table cracked because it has been under a lot of strain lately, and some punk kid sat on it, breaking it."
The man's eyes wavered as the mist set in, and blinked. "Of course... have a nice day sir." The guard muttered as he shook his head slightly. Percy left the building even more confused, now worried.
F
Percy had considered shadow-traveling into Olympus, but it would most likely be blocked by some kind of magic if his suspicion was wrong. It also didn't help that Percy was still weak. After messing around with his Godly powers, Percy had realized that he could create cash and pretty much any decent sized item on a whim, and had a nice roll of bills in his pocket. He figured that he must have gotten some of the God of Riches from Hades. On closer inspection, the money had a layer of mist, which he could somehow sense, over the identification, so any mortal would see it as a legitimate bill and not a counterfeit. He visited a few locations, buying a hot dog, and some ray bans, so he could cover his eyes and also look cool. It would be easy to simply create the items, but it felt nice to use a mortal method. He sat in the park, and observed the people around him, happy that he could observe the families happy and cheerful in this monster free world.
Once he felt that he was up to shadow traveling again, he focused, confident in his ability to reach his destination. To help, he also used Charon's powers over boundaries and territories to weaken the bonds between him and his destination. The result was way cooler than he thought. Shadow traveling resulted in his body being thrown through the void, and landing in his destination. It was fast, but not so reliable. It was also discreet, but the landing was difficult. Charon's ability could make it easier. When used in tandem, it results in a portal consisting of swirling black shadows around the edge, and he could see the destination on the other side in real time. He had to wipe a few mortals' minds from one incident.
The portal appeared as he chose his destination. An image of the beach of Long Island appeared, and he stepped through once he was sure no one could see it on the other side. He leapt through, and landed safely on the beach. Glancing around, he saw the island as the same from camp, but didn't see any campers, or signs of nature spirits. He moved forward, and pushed his way through the bushes towards camp. As he reached the center, he saw the lake, and the fields of strawberries, but Big House. Instead there was a smaller building, like a lodge, looking much more modern, and Percy could see a television screen within it, something that would have attracted monsters in no time. There were camper cabins, but not individualized for each god like they should be, but all in matching patterns and decorations. Then he realized what was wrong. He hadn't felt the golden fleece, or the camp borders. It was as if the divine aspects of the world were no longer there. The entire place was like a normal summer camp for mortals. He walked forward, into the camp, willing his jacket to change. It became black, with an insignia of Poseidon's Trident on the back in blue. He also willed himself to be unrecognizable.
As he walked up to the patio, he saw a few adults playing cards on the deck. he recognized one in a wheelchair, and the other was unmistakeable, with a bottle of Coke in his hand. One looked up to him, and smiled. "Ah, Mr. Johnson, what are you doing here? I thought you were on a field trip to the Museum of Architecture with Mrs. Chase?" he said cheerfully. Percy froze, confused, his heart sinking. The man, resembling Chiron almost exactly, frowned and peered closer at him. "What happened to you? Why do you look... different?" Percy felt dread in his chest, both hope and horror almost overwhelming him. He flinched as the memories that were suppressed threatened to break out, and he twitched for a moment trying to force them under again.
"Chiron?" he said hesitantly, the man in the chair stiffening, and the Mr. D lookalike tilted his head.
"How do you know that name? Who are you?" the crippled man asked fearfully.
"Well, that is your name, isn't it? At least, you should be who I think you are..." Percy trailed off. Then finally everything clicked. "I'm stupid. I should have seen it all before! You aren't the Chiron I know, and I'm not the Percy you know! I assume Mr. D isn't who I think he is either!" he giggled to himself, realizing that no one from his other world was alive, or at least in this one. "What have I done?" he whispered quietly as he felt all emotion within him stop.
Percy looked back up at the two men, and saw that Chiron had a pistol pointed at Percy's head, and Mr. D was standing up in a combative stance. "I don't know who you are, but you are not Percival Johnson!" Chiron stated, cocking the gun. "So you had better tell me who you are, how you know about my Code name, and who is in charge of you, or I'll shoot you." He said coldly.
Percy tilted his head. "I believe we have a misunderstanding." he stepped forward. "I am Percy J-" *BANG!*
The gun went off as Percy stepped forward, and the bullet went through his arm. Percy winced at the pain, and snarled. Golden Ichor dripped from the wound, but he rapidly removed the bullet and healed with a thought. "Why did you have to go and do that?" Percy said mockingly. "You should cool off." He changed the gun to sand, the bullets falling out of it, plinking as they hit the table. Another thought later, and the air above Chiron condensed into water, soaking him. He pulled out Riptide, and readied himself to uncap it. "I am Perseus Jackson," he began, speaking the words as they came into his head from nowhere. "Not of this world. God of Boundaries and Territories, Ruler of All Who Die at Sea, God of the Oceans and Water, Shadows and of Horses." he said, his voice deepening with power. "Hear my story." Percy began recounting his tale that started all those years ago, with Nancy Bobofit and Mrs. Dodds. Chiron narrowed his eyes in disbelief, but listened. As he heard the story, his eyes widened, but Chiron seemed to believe him somewhat.
Over the next half an hour, Percy told a brief overview of his life, not mentioning any names or events too specifically, because he didn't want to piss off the fates. (It would suck if he screwed himself over and created a paradox of some kind)
"I think my powers as a God have weakened the dimensional barriers somehow, dropping me in this strange counterpart world." Percy finished up, sitting back in the chair he was now in. "So Chiron, mind explaining me what the Hades is going on with this world? I need to know the basics, and I understand that I can trust you, or at least your counterpart. Can you help me?" Percy finished seriously, waiting for Chiron's answer. Mr. D stared at Percy suspiciously, but didn't seem to disbelieve him.
Chiron rubbed his chin. "I can't say I completely believe you Mr. Jackson, if that is who you are, but I would like some proof of your abilities. The rapid healing could have been something injected into your blood." At Percy's confused look, he nodded. "It has happened before." he explained.
"Alright, you want proof?" Percy asked. "Well, I can't show you my godly form, or else you would all die." he said tonelessly. Mr. D scoffed at that, but stopped when he realized Percy wasn't joking. "Alright then, I can prove it." Percy rose, and motioned to the men to follow him. Mr. D rose, and Chiron rolled after him, and they walked to the lake. Percy smiled as he remembered the times he had in his Camp, and the canoe races where he would always win because of his powers. "This camp is way nicer than Camp Half-Blood." he mentioned.
"Oh yes, our facilities at Camp Olympus are very well kept, especially with the generous donations from our alumni and parents." Chiron said proudly.
Percy nodded, stopping at the edge of the water. "Alright, let's do this. Any requests?" Percy asked the two adults.
They glanced at each other. "Just prove your abilities." Chiron requested.
"Alright then." Percy turned to the water, walking out onto the surface, leaving the water perfectly smooth as he walked upon it. He pulled water to him with a thought, condensing it as he did, and surrounded himself with it so he was in the center of a water orb. He pulled in a few confused fish, who turned to regard him. He greeted one mentally, and they all turned to face him.
'Greetings Lord.' The fish said kindly, swimming around him.
"Hello, how do you know who I am?" Percy asked in confusion.
'We just know Lord, it is ingrained within us to recognize our Lord upon sight. We have never met one though. We must spread the word of your appearance! You are the one ruler.' they explained.
"Fair enough." Percy responded, hoping he didn't just create a cult of fish that follow him. He looked up to see the two men staring at him in shock through the water, and he grinned. Percy elevated the ball up to around 20 feet in the air, and made a waterslide out of water to carry him back down. He aimed the bottom so he would hit the two men at the last second, and right before he impacted them, he shadow traveled right behind them, and tapped them on the shoulders, causing them to jump.
"So?" He asked as the water fell behind him. "How'd I do?"
Chiron stared at him for a few seconds, then nodded. "I believe you. I think it is time to explain our backgrounds."
Percy nodded, and pulled up a chair of water from the lake and sat on it. Chiron began speaking to Percy as Mr. D stood on the side listening.
"I used to he a spy for a company called SHIELD. It stands for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, but when I worked for them, it was called the StrategicHazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate. This company is a US government division, with power over even the President depending on the circumstances." Percy whistled at that. "I was one of their top spies, until an accident crippled me, and I retired. My name is John Brunner, and my Code name is Chiron, because I trained some of the best spies and assassins of this generation. Mr. D here, he was my friend during that time, and supported me, now he owes me and is helping out at this camp. This camp is where many students come to study Mythology, and learn Greek. We also have mostly ADHD and Dyslexic students, but are equipped for that."
Percy snorted. "Well that explains a lot. In my world, the kids here are children of the Gods, demigods to be exact, and have abilities. Luckily, that isn't true here, right?"
Chiron, (Percy needed to remember to call him Mr. Brunner) nodded. "We do not have unusual powers here, but I doubt that the people here are much different from yours. So, what are you going to do now?"
Percy considered his options. "I don't have a place to stay, although I plan to make a realm of my own soon, since apparently I am the god of everyone who drowns or dies otherwise at sea. I have to deal with that, and even though I can go around being a God and do whatever, it would be nice to have a human life here otherwise." He paused, thinking. "Actually, how about I work here, at this camp?" Percy asked, excited.
Mr. Brunner was shocked at the decision, but Percy cut him off. "Don't worry, I won't screw with your Percy or his girlfriend. Just as a counselor teaching Greek and helping out. It would be nice."
Mr. Brunner was nodding slowly, rubbing his chin. "This might just work. You look much older than Mr. Jackson, our camper, and you can change your age, no? I agree to this. Now, the board in charge of this camp might need to be talked to, but they should like you."
Percy smiled. "I am also good with horses, and can help with keeping the lake clean, as well as being lifeguard trained. Hang on, let me introduce myself properly." He turned to Mr. Brunner, and held out a hand, his clothes shimmering to change to an orange camp shirt emblazoned with a pegasus and greek writing, jeans, and sneakers. He also grew to look around 21 years old, and had some stubble on his chin. His bead necklace was on his neck, and his pen behind his ear.
"Hi! I'm Perseus, your new camp counselor! I'm excited to work here!" he smiled.
Percy smiled up at the counselor cabin, which was a standard cabin, but he changed the trim to be blue and the porch to have his name on it with a snap of his fingers for dramatics.
"Will these living spaces be good enough for you, oh great god?" Mr. D said sarcastically. Percy smiled at him.
"Man, I feared you a lot more when you were a God and were able to threaten me with your ability to turn me into a porpoise or some other animal." he said.
"Really? I was a God?" Mr. D asked amusedly. Percy laughed, grinning.
"Yeah, you were Dionysus, God of Wine. You drank Coke because Zeus was punishing you for something you did a few decades ago. Another part of the punishment was working for the camp. I think the reason for the punishment was chasing a young Nymph that caught your attention when you were drunk."
Mr. Brunner laughed at the story, and Mr. D sputtered. "Me? God of Wine? I mean, it makes sense, I was an alcoholic way back, but I was told I could not if I were to work here, so that stopped a long time ago. Although I do sneak a bottle on occasion." he admitted.
Percy chuckled, and waved his hand, a sheet of papers appearing. He had simply thought of what papers he might need to work at a legitimate camp, and they appeared. "Here you go." Percy handed the papers to Mr. Brunner, who stashed them in his chair side pocket.
"I assume that is all?" Percy asked. Mr. Brunner nodded, looking out out of camp. "Ah, it seems Mr. Johnson and Mrs. Chase are returning now with the rest of the campers."
Percy turned to see a bus coming back. He realized the implications of what Mr. Brunner had said, and winced as the memories surged to the forefront of his mind, before he suppressed them again. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow first thing! I have to go set up a place to stay besides the cabin." Percy explained, and fell backwards into the shadows, leaving the two men to think over how this will change their lives.
"Director Fury, these are the reports we have from today. We're sure it's nothing, but..." a technician said to a man behind a table. Instead of finishing, Fury snatched the manilla folder from the technician. As he was scanning through it, his eyebrows rose.
"You thought this was nothing, why?" Fury asked. "If we have a non-human on our hands that was not investigated immediately, I could lose my job. I'm taking this matter into my own hands." He reached over and hit an intercom button. "Can someone send up either Romanov or Barton? I have someone they need to find." he said roughly before stalking out of the room. As he left, one photo from the folder was visible, and showed Percy jumping through a portal in an Alleyway.
Perseus Jackson, God of Boundaries and Territories, of the Dead of the Seas, of Oceans, Shadows and of Horses. (As well as blue food and awesomeness, but that part is self proclaimed)
He has the ability to strengthen or weaken any boundary, whether physical, mental, dimensional, anything considered a boundary. Also ruler of the dead, specifically all that have died at sea or of drowning. Can shadow travel and create shadow portals, create Hellhounds, and summon the dead he rules over.
(Note: Valhalla is for people who died a hero's death, Hel is for most deaths and for the deaths of sinners, and among the other underworlds is the one of the people who died at sea, Davy Jones' Locker. Also Percy inherited the titles that apply in this world that are not yet taken by Norse Gods, and match his personality. Pretty much is a weaker mix of Poseidon, Hades, and Charon's abilities, and is getting stronger over time.)
NN (Nyx Note): Hey! this story is going pretty well, if I do say so myself! Might be a bit iffy here and there, but I accept criticism. I've dumped a decent amount of angst into this, but don't worry, Percy is happier now, less emotional impact, although the camp is merely a nice place for him to stop at and relax, and hang out with what is almost the same as his old life. There will be trouble when SHIELD appears, and Perseus gets involved. Also Percy will be referred to as Percy or Perseus when the other Percy is around, and the non-god Percy will be Percival or some other name. SHIELD has a target, now that his appearance was caught on camera, but do they know who he is yet? Find out soon! Next Chapter, camp events, and Davy Jones' Locker.
I binge-watched RWBY for the 5th time so far, waiting for Season 5, Episode 1 next week! I've been working on major stuff that will start going out on Christmas, which I mention more in my Armored Alchemist series before the chapter. Speaking of that story, I'm torn between decisions, so it will be a little bit before I update it. Anyway, I have paused time in the little room where The Reading of the Dragon Who Lived is taking place, at least until someone continues it. I may start new reading stories for that author's other works because they're pretty good. Also, I went to see the No Game No Life: Zero movie in theatres! It was really good! (I'm addicted to anime, help). That's pretty much it. R&R!