Chapter 8. Agents of Divinity face off

*Percy pairings evaluated at the end of the chapter*

Percy felt the shift long before he saw or heard it. A sudden lessoning of his control over the water, and a pulling of the water to one particular point. Percy reached the upper deck and peered to where he felt the water being drawn to, and sneered in disgust. The ship had reached the edge of a large whirlpool, and in the center was Charybdis. The teeth to the massive maw were revolting enough on their own, but the various accumulations of filth and trash made them even worse.

Percy knew that in a choice between Charybdis or her sister Scylla he would choose Charybdis. The ship was equipped with high output engines and a long range grapple winch, so it would be an easy task. Turning the ship to face the rock that Scylla called home Percy took aim with the grapple launcher and fired, the close proximity made the shot all too easy. The high strength steel spike bit deep into the stone, the inch thick, industrial grade cable barely strained against the vortex's power, and the engines were able to make up for whatever the cable might have been unable to tolerate.

Percy could almost feel the frustration of both entities, his vessel was too well equipped to fall to the whirlpool and too far away for Scylla to grab. And the moment the whirlpool began to die down, indicating that Charybdis was about to spit out whatever she had sucked in, Percy gunned the engines and activated the small explosives in the grapple spike. The rock that the spike had been anchored in split enough for it to come loose and be quickly pulled in by the winch. The ship sped off without the slightest damage or delay. Ahead lay the Sea of Monsters, fraught with peril and hiding one agent in need of rescue and another in need of termination.

"Does Divinity have a tool for everything?" Clarisse asked in awe.

"No, but we do make as many of our tools applicable to as many situations as possible. This ship is one of the ten designed with the Sea of Monsters in mind, equipped with state of the art engines, high durability hull, a design excellent for speed and maneuverability, and the winch for use for docking, rescue, or for the entrance itself." Percy explained, getting Annabeth and Clarisse to look at the ship with newfound appreciation.

"And you can just order these anytime you want?" Annabeth inquired.

"Agents like me can, we typically have contracts and jobs that require us to have access to better equipment than those who work in a limited field capacity do." Percy said, taking one of the chairs on deck. He was making sure to keep some attention on the water and some on the onboard sensors.

"And you're a high level agent because of your father?" Clarisse attempted to clarify.

"Indirectly, I'm a high level agent because of my success rate in high danger missions. Which can be attributed to my powers, which come from my father." Percy explained.

"So your mentor, Mike. He's a demigod too?" Annabeth asked.

"Yep, Hermes demigod. Mike was a natural born spy and thief, and had quite the talent with a sniper rifle to boot. He was also an utter pain in the ass when he was my age, almost got into pretty deep trouble several times." Percy said with a chuckle.

"How did you two meet?" Clarisse asked, her eyes widening as she took note of the change in Percy. He once friendly face had emptied of emotion and his posture had become very hostile. "You don't have to if you don't…"

"No, it's only fair." Percy said, turning to face them. Even Tyson, who had been marveling at the ship, could feel a change in the atmosphere. "I only know what Mike and the mission reports have told me. Empousa had found my mother when I was a baby, even then I had a strong scent. She couldn't fight them, so she died. But Mike, who had been assigned to track these Empousa, managed to save me. I was taken to the nearest Divinity base with infant and childcare facilities. The next few days were a slew of database queries, and at the end all that they had found was my name and a distinct lack of living relatives. I was 'adopted' as a ward of Divinity, spend the next six years undergoing typical education for a toddler. Mike was one of the only constants. He would visit whenever his work permitted, he always said that he could sense something about me. Then, just before my seventh birthday, it happened. In a fit of anger I used my powers, which prompted Poseidon to claim me. Mike took me on as an apprentice, and trained me to be an agent. From him I learned strategy, melee combat, marksmanship, and espionage. It was up to me to develop my powers, and I did so with the express purpose of making myself as much of a threat as possible."

"Like what you did with my brothers last year?" Clarisse asked, remembering what Percy had done.

"That was a moderately advanced application, the manipulation of water temperature, and then physical hydrokinesis. Most of my other abilities are a touch more basic, some are more advanced. Like my action against the bull back at camp." Percy said.

"I've been meaning to ask about that, what did you do? Its head just…fell off. I couldn't see any water manipulation." Annabeth asked, recalling the bull's defeat.

In response Percy reached over and pulled a can of soda out of a cooler, whose contents were quickly downed, and held the empty container in the palm of his outstretched hand. "Industrial water drills are able to cut through sheets of steel when used properly." The moisture on the can was pulled off, floating as if in space, before accumulating into a singular mass. "In metal cutting water drills the addition of abrasive materials is what allows the metal to be cut through, in my case…" The moisture began to form a doughnut shaped mass, before beginning to spin. The water picked up speed but also began to change shape, thinning and stretching until it was a long, thin oval. Within seconds the water was a double layered stream only somewhat thicker than a thick hair, so thin that Annabeth and Clarisse had to lean in close to see it. "I allow the existing materials, such as sediment grains, near microscopic flakes of metal, or solid contaminants to serve as my abrasive. And when I get it to where I want it…" The strand darted away, leaving both Annabeth and Clarisse confused. Then they saw something that impressed and terrified them. The can in Percy's hand fell apart into several pieces, cut so cleanly that the only indication that it had ever been a single piece was the logo that now lay in pieces.

"How long did it take you to learn how to do that?" Annabeth asked, a mix of awe and fear in her voice. Now that Percy had demonstrated such a skill she was dead scared of even irking him.

"It took about five months to get to that point, and another two to make it combat ready. And that was almost a year ago. I've been practicing with it almost every day since, now I have perfected it. What you just saw, was just a demonstration. When you see the real deal you'll understand why monsters don't scare me anymore." Percy said, casually tossing the pieces of aluminum into a trash can.

"Beep" Came a sound from the console. Percy dashed over and took note of what kind of alert it was. It was a distress beacon, but its signal was weak. Likely why it had taken so long to get it, the Sea was running interference. Percy gathered his power and manipulated the water beneath the ship, creating a powerful current which, in conjunction with the engines, more than doubled their speed. They were cruising at almost fifty-five knots, faster than most speed boats but a tad slower than racing boats. The others had to hold on to the railings to not be sent flying back.

An island up ahead grew bigger at a rapid pace, it looked like it had once been a regular island but had been split in half. A small bridge could be just barely seen spanning the gap. Pulling up to the shallows Percy allowed the ship to stop, the island before them beckoning with an oddly peaceful air.

"Are you sure that Grover is here?" Annabeth asked.

"Each Divinity agent is equipped with a biotech homing beacon on the base of the skull, it can be remotely activated in times when we need to find the agent or activated via a distress switch built into the standard issue environmental assessment system." Percy said.

"Environmental assessment system?" Clarisse inquired with a raised eyebrow.

Percy held up his wrist, showing what appeared to be a simple, if somewhat large, digital watch. A two inch wide face and a half dozen buttons on the sides completed the look. Percy pressed some of the buttons in quick succession and gazed at the watch face.

"It is currently seventy-two degrees with humidity at nineteen percent, a north-western wind of about two miles per hour, and an atmospheric content of…" Percy frowned.

"What?" Clarisse asked, kind of impressed with such a small piece of hardware.

"The oxygen and methane content of the surrounding area is exceedingly high. I would recommend against any fire based weapons." Percy said.

"Aw darn, so no flamethrower for me?" Clarisse quipped with a smirk.

"If you want, just wait until we're clear. We actually have a new model of flamethrower on the ship that I've been itching to try out." Percy said, causing all of his companions to raise their eyebrows.

"Shall we?" Annabeth said, starting to head off towards the path that lead up to the bridge.

"Let's." Percy said, bringing his shotgun to bear.

The three demigods and cyclops made their way to and over the bridge without incident. On the other side the reason behind the unusual air composition. The other side of the gorge was a lush paradise of beautiful greens, oranges, reds, and yellows. In various fenced off areas were sheep of varying sizes, some as big as rhinos, and off in the distance was one of the objectives. Hanging on a tree, glittering in the sun, was a golden sheep skin. Even from here Percy could feel the power of the Fleece. But of all of the objectives, the Fleece was the least important one. Percy could easily see the signs of a camp on a ridge overlooking the lush field, but if it was friend or foe remained to be seen.

"Is that what I think it is?" Annabeth asked, pointing at a large boulder that was suspiciously nestled against a rock face.

"The cave of Polyphemus? Yep, so let's not go near it shall we?" Percy said, beginning a rapid departure from the cave and towards the camp.

When the group got there it was clear to Percy that this was Grover's group. There were too many tents for just the one rouge agent, and a smell of goats lingering. Percy stopped in the middle of the camp, and waited. This was a typical Divinity move, a seemingly empty camp with sniper points all pointed right at the center. Which meant that an assault specialist or two would be right behind them by now, boxing them in with suppressing fire.

"Hello Grover, fancy meeting you here." Percy said, confusing the others in his group.

"Hey Percy." A voice came from behind. Annabeth, Clarisse, and Tyson looked back to see Grover Underwood, satyr, new agent of Divinity, and current assault specialist, walking side by side with a nymph, also an assault specialist. Both were wearing standard Divinity field armor for their respective species.

"Grover, you're ok. I was so worried." Annabeth said running over to Grover and engulfing him in a hug.

"Good to see you in good health. Report." Percy ordered.

"Polyphemus is holed up in his cave right now, we've spotted another agent in the area but they haven't identified themselves. Cause for concern?" Grover responded.

"None, your mission is done. There is a ship down at the beach, grab all gear and some additional provisions from the trees and I'll rendezvous with you later. Tyson…" Percy directed.

"Yes?" The larger figure answered.

"You and the girls head back as well, but I need you to retrieve the Fleece first. The sheep may confuse you for Polyphemus so you should be fine." Percy continued.

"Why should we leave?" Clarisse demanded.

"Because your objective is complete as well, or will be once Tyson grabs the Fleece." Percy said, only to have the Fleece almost shoved in his face. Tyson had gone and retrieved it almost too fast. "How did you…?" For the first time in years, Percy was stumped. But he didn't question good fortune when it happened. "Ok then, all of you go. Now." Percy commanded.

Annabeth wanted to argue, but the memories of what Percy did on their way over here made her reconsider. The camp was able to be taken down in seconds, the equipment and Fleece all packed away. The group all retraced their path, but Percy broke away to approach the cave. He knocked on the boulder with a fist sized rock then jumped away, waiting for the occupant to exit. Percy didn't need to wait long. The boulder shifted aside with great suddenness, and in the gap stood Polyphemus the cyclops. His great size and musculature not intimidating Percy, but his milky eye was somewhat amusing.

"Who is there?" Polyphemus bellowed, his near blind eye swiveling about to try and find Percy.

"Percy Jackson, Agent Tsunami of Divinity, son of Poseidon, take your pick. There is someone on this island that I'm looking for, and I have a sneaking suspicion that they're in your cave." Percy said, drawing Polyphemus's attention to him.

"A demigod? Good eating tonight." Polyphemus said with a smirk.

"I don't think so fat ass." Percy said, pulling his pistol and putting a round into each of Polyphemus's knees.

The massive form dropped down, howling in pain. Percy darted forward, driving the point of one of his kukri knives into the round belly of the cyclops. He jumped back in time to make use of Polyphemus doubling over, clutching at the wound in his stomach, to point his shotgun at Polyphemus's eye.

"Pop goes the dumbass." Percy said with a savage grin as he pulled the trigger. The close proximity and power of the shotgun made Polyphemus's head turn into a mass of splattering meat jelly. The once mighty form slumped to the side, its threat ended for good. Percy looked back at the cave just in time to see a small movement. Readying himself he approached, Percy kept his gaze wide. Every movement in his immediate area was seen, but that still left a few areas of blind spots. Like above.

Percy dove forward into a roll, getting to his feet and facing the area where he once stood. He felt his left wrist get grabbed and a fist impacting his gut, then a sudden shift in his weight and he was airborne. His shotgun was wrenched from his grasp as he flew, but he still had the sense to turn the flight into a roll. Rising once more Percy stayed crouched, ready this time. But who he saw made him stop.

"Agent Hudson?" Percy exclaimed, observing the river nymph in Divinity armor.

Agent Hudson was one of Percy's old teammates, it was her that had given Percy the inspiration for many of his current hydrokinetic moves. Yet here she stood, a sneer on her face.

"Hello Percy." She spat. "So, Agent Voleur sends his little pet after me now. Did he tell you why Divinity sent him after me?"

Percy was silent. He was curious as to why Divinity would send someone like Mike on a mission to eliminate a rouge agent. Most of the time Mike was a Shadow, a special operations agent who investigated possible traitors and reported them to the Daggers, the eliminators of traitors. The only reason that they would send Mike to be a Dagger was for a situation that required a subtler touch.

"Allow me to demonstrate." Agent Hudson said with a brutal smile. She charged forward much faster than her armor should have allowed, and when Percy tried to counter he was dodged and struck on the side of his face. He felt like he had been punched by a cinderblock. Agent Hudson was much stronger and faster than what should have been possible. Then it clicked in Percy's mind.

"The armor." He said.

"That's right. The latest miracle the labs cooked up. The Divinity Battle Suit. Equipped with strength enhancements. Neuro connectors to increase speed and reflexes, and most importantly…" Agent Hudson placed a helmet on and promptly disappeared. Percy extended his senses out and only realized where she was when her fist was an inch from his face. Again Percy went sprawling, his mouth now bleeding.

"Well, now I get it. I had heard that there were some new, impressive toys about to be released. But these ones are very impressive. But there is still something that you're forgetting." Percy said, looking up at Agent Hudson.

"And what is that?" Agent Hudson asked, her voice distorted by the helmet's audio system.

"Armor like that blocks distorts sensing abilities." Percy said. A sliver of ice he had been forming and sharpening out of sight then shot forward.

Agent Hudson, as fast as she was now, was not able to fully dodge the razor sharp blade of ice. It came close enough to her throat to nearly slice through the body suit section covering that area. As she reeled from this near death experience she noted, too late, that Percy had caught the blade, flipped it into a reverse grip, and drove it into the back of her knee.

Pain exploded in Agent Hudson's mind, before it was numbed by the suit's build in anesthetic injection system. She tried to face Percy again, but her head was knocked back by a pommel strike from one of Percy's kukri knives, while the blade of the other's edge bit deep into her throat.

She could only gaze up from within the helmet, observing Percy's face. Noting, in her last moments, the sheer lack of pity for her. Percy sheathed the kukri he had pommel butted her with, placed his now empty hand on her helmet to steady her head, then viciously pulled the remaining blade through her throat. The blood sprayed far and wide, what few remaining twitches and jerks of Agent Hudson's limbs were progressively weakening, and even now Percy could feel the fluid inside the body lessoning by the second.

When Annabeth, Clarisse, and Tyson next saw Percy, he was carting a large, crudely made cloth sack. From the top stuck out a number of weapon handles jutted. He smiled warmly but they all could tell that there was something wrong. They had a suspicion that it had something to do with the plume of smoke that had started to rise less than ten minutes before Percy showed up. None of them suspected that the smoke was from a pyre, and that within that pyre was the burning corpse of a water nymph.

No words were spoken, Percy retired to his own room for the rest of the night. The rescued agents operated the ship back to the US, while Percy's companions grew steadily more worried. In the few days it took to get back to the mainland they came close to the Princess Andromeda, but it quickly adjusted course from them. What was weird was that Percy didn't pursue. None of them knew that it was only because Luke had, using a high powered telescope, seen Percy's face. And something told him that facing him now would be a grave mistake.

So the group made it back to camp safely. The Fleece went to work quickly, Hermes himself passed a message from Poseidon, asking Tyson if he would like an internship in his undersea palace, Annabeth and Clarisse never mentioned Percy's water wire ability, and Grover's team headed back to the nearest base for debrief.

Mike himself approached Percy, having dropped off Leonard. The two rode back to Percy's private safe house in silence, the sack containing the retrieved armor nestled in the backseat.

"Someone will be by to retrieve it in a few days Percy." Mike said, as Percy parked in his garage.

The young demigod was silent for a moment. "Why didn't you tell me it was her?"

Mike looked over. Percy and Hudson had been very close, the two had even begun to see each other in a romantic light. But the fame that came from Percy's contract to recover the master bolt last year put immediate tension on whatever relationship that they had.

"Would you have done what was needed if you had known?" Mike asked rhetorically.

"…Yes, I suppose I would have." Percy said in a low, defeated voice.

When he got no response he turned, noticing that Mike had left. The armor was still here, awaiting the courier who would retrieve it. Percy fished the helmet out and simply stared at it. The tears that had been held back thus far had begun to flow, Percy's steadiness broke, and, clutching the helmet to his chest, he dropped to his knees weeping. A woman he had begun to truly care for, his oldest friend, was now dead by his own hand. As the weight of what he had done truly began to crush him he howled for the whole of the woods that surrounded him to hear. There was no gravel, no sky, and no cold. Only the helmet in his hands, the tears streaming down his face, and the breathlessness that followed each scream of anguish.

Percy Parings. Who, why, and why not.

So there have been a few comments requesting that Percy be paired up with Annabeth or Clarisse. While I have stated that in terms of romantic writing I am woefully unskilled I will give it an effort. There are at least three possible choices for a pairing with Percy. Annabeth, Clarisse, and, only because of how often they are paired in fanfictions, Artemis. Others are options if commenters wish, but here are the reasons why and why not for these three.

Least likely- Artemis.

Why an option? Artemis is one of the few gods that has Divinity's respect. In later chapters I will have Percy meeting and interacting with both Artemis and her hunters, and in those interactions Percy makes it clear that he is not a typical male. His own hunter methods and usually clean efficiency make him a source of interest for Artemis, his abilities and uses of power make him terrifying to both Artemis and the hunters who follow her.

Why not an option? Fanfictions have Artemis falling in love with Percy, and then willfully breaking the very oath she has maintained for millennia. Not only is this not in her character, but she is the goddess of maidenhood.

Second least likely- Annabeth Chase.

Why an option? The canon story has them meet up, interact like awkward pre-teens, grow more observant of each other's attractive traits, then finally get together after the titan war. They fit pretty well with each other and butt heads just enough to make the relationship believable. They fit the brains and brawn matchup nicely and complement each other's strengths and weaknesses.

Why not an option? Annabeth is someone who would only irritate my version of Percy. Her immense pride is a constant issue, and her ego in regards to her intellect make any interaction between her and Percy one where she is likely to die.

Most likely (for now) - Clarisse La Rue

Why an option? Her personality fits well with Percy's. They both love a fight and both have a penchant for violence, often needlessly. These two would feed each other in a vicious cycle that would result in each one going further to prove themselves. And while Percy has all ranges covered, Clarisse has close range covered. These two would likely find themselves working nicely, each one have that time together when needed, then time apart.

Why not an option? Ares still holds a grudge towards Percy, though his kids also dislike him they respect him for his skill. The biggest reason why Percy wouldn't get together with Clarisse is the same as why he wouldn't get together with anyone. He has been conditioned from a young age to be an agent. Much like Master Chief from the Halo universe. Percy is comfortable in combat and in areas of danger, but social and romantic endeavors are almost beyond him. Especially with him killing his first crush.

Anyway, if you have another paring for Percy then please comment it.