People think that Percy lost his powers immediately lol. I must not have made it clear enough, but Percy will lose his powers within the next day. So for the battle of New York, he still has his hydrokinesis.
Additionally, this is something that I've had planned for a while. As a son of Chaos, Percy can't be restrained to only one element, which means that his powers need to grow, and he can't be restrained to only vapor-traveling and hurricanes.
Finally, I can completely see Percy giving up his powers to spend more time with his mortal family. He's confident enough in his skills that he can save the kid without water powers. Additionally, he's hated his demigod life throughout the books, and so I can totally see him being afraid that Chaos is trying to make him a soldier of his own. Is he right? Well… we'll see.
Give it time. I'm playing the long game here. Percy's birthright may be water, but that's not all that he is. :)
Percy watched as the vortex tore a churning rift in the sky, through which reptilian aliens swarmed out in an ant-like fashion. They screeched loudly, and dispersed, flying above the city.
Initially the citizens of New York seemed confused, almost in awe of the giant blue beam above Stark Tower. That awe turned to panic the moment energy beams started raining down on the populace.
It was chaos. Iron Man flew through the sky, blasting chariots to pieces as he drew the attention of the attacking aliens. The other Avengers were nowhere to be seen, leaving the Chitauri free to terrorize the populace of New York.
"Perseus."
Percy turned. Upon seeing who had called him his eyes narrowed and he slipped his hands out of his pockets.
"Lady Artemis." He said, curling his lip.
The Olympian looked exhausted. There were bags under her eyes and her form looked tired, as if she hadn't slept for a while. Her silver clothes were elegant and clean, but frayed. Still, there was a wary spark in her eyes, a predator that had finally caught its prey and had no intention of letting it go.
"It has been a while Perseus. You have been well, I trust?" Artemis asked. She looked almost happy to see him.
"Not the time," Percy said tersely, assessing the situation. They were on the sidewalk outside of his home, and civilians were fleeing around them. Some of the aliens were starting to jump off the chariots and into buildings. People in the city were screaming. "That portal needs to be sealed first. After that we'll talk."
That is, if you actually want to talk. Percy thought.
Artemis shrugged. "The mortals will handle the Chitauri" She said dismissively. "This is not the concern of the Olympians. Zeus is requesting your presence."
"Zeus can suck his nuts." Percy said, summoning some water from the pipes underground. They split into writhing tendrils and spiraled around his fingers. He failed to see the brief surprise on Artemis's face. "Unlike you all, I don't just sit on my ass and let things happen. I help out."
A flash of annoyance flitted across her face. "Do not be stupid, boy. This battle is already ordained to be won. The Asgardian is dealing with his own, and he is more than capable of beating this threat."
There was a loud hissing sound and Artemis nimbly jumped back, dodging a beam of energy shot by a Chitauri. She whipped out a bow and fired with barely a glance, the bullet piercing the alien's skull in less than a second. The beast's vehicle careened out of control, smashing into a building, where it exploded.
Percy laughed loudly. "You just don't get it, do you?" He asked mockingly. "It's not about winning! It's about saving those who can't save themselves. It's about protecting the innocent."
He clenched his hand and formed a water javelin, before flinging it at an alien that had just landed on the ground. It screeched and collapsed, and the water returned to Percy's hand, reforming within the second. He spun it around and glared, his eyes frigid.
"I don't have time for your paranoia goddess," Percy sneered, before turning away from her. He missed the look of hurt on her face, too occupied with the tingly feelings in his fingers as he prepared to vapor-travel.
"Have I done something to upset you Perseus?" Artemis asked. "I am only following orders from my father."
Percy didn't respond, opting to melt into vapor instead. He made to float towards the center of the city, but Artemis flashed in front of him and snapped her fingers. His stomach dropped as his form gained substance, and he was suddenly in his human form again. He snarled, before attempting to vapor-travel again, only to find his form grounded, unable to transform.
"Let me go."
"I'm afraid not Perseus." Artemis's voice was deathly calm. "Now, what has happened that has harbored so much hatred in your heart for me? You were rather happy just moments ago with your mother and sister, if I may say so myself."
"You were spying on me?" Percy asked, ignoring her question. "Do you Olympians have nothing better to do?"
Artemis bristled. "I was ordered to find you as soon as possible and bring you in. I had no wish of involving your family in such an ordeal. I hoped you would appreciate such a gesture, but it seems that I was wrong."
She slowly pulled an arrow out of her bow, and nocked it. "I have attempted to play nice with you Perseus, but this mission has taken up much of my time as it is. This is your final warning. Come with me immediately or I will bring you in by force."
Percy, sensing a fight, hefted his javelin and crouched into a fighting stance. Artemis gave him a sad look before she fired her bow, the arrow whizzing towards Percy, who dodged and lunged towards her. He feinted a swipe and she ignored it, opting to instead sweep low and trip him, which she did successfully. He rolled away before flinging his javelin towards her neck.
Artemis casually flicked her wrist and the water javelin disappeared with a large crack, leaving Percy weaponless.
Well, shit.
He weaved around an arrow and charged towards her again. Instead of jumping back she swung at him, and they traded blows. Despite her slender form, Artemis hit much harder than Percy, and he grunted as he deflected a punch that he immediately knew would bruise his arm. He rolled away to avoid her next blow, but wasn't prepared for the knife that sliced his bicep, ripping his jacket and drawing blood. With a small hiss he darted away, reaching for more water from the sewers. He let the water cling to his skin and heal him, as a knife made of ice formed in his hand.
Artemis raised her bow, but a small cry of pain distracted them both.
A young girl was in the middle of the road. A piece of rubble had landed on her legs, which were crushed, and she was directly in the line of fire of the flying Chitauri ships.
Percy acted as if he hadn't seen anything, instead charging at Artemis, who was distracted enough that she was unable to properly block his blow. She stumbled backwards, and immediately disengaged, racing towards the girl. She fired a storm of arrows towards the aliens, before dragging the girl off the road and propping her against a wall.
She turned towards the son of Chaos just in time to see him fading into vapor. Percy was proud to say that he was able to successfully flip her the bird before disappearing completely.
Artemis growled in rage, before darting somewhere deeper in the city, no doubt to track where she thought he would show up.
A few seconds later, Percy appeared at the top of a high building at the edge of the city, the ocean at his side. He collapsed on all fours and promptly vomited Sally's blue cookies on the gravel. He dry heaved for a few more minutes, before sitting up, ignoring the rolling feeling in his stomach.
I think Artemis just cursed me, He thought. He may have broken Artemis's concentration and vapor-travelled away, but it seemed that some residual bonds still remained, greatly weakening his primary method of transportation. Thankfully the pain rapidly passed, and he found himself feeling back to normal within moments.
On the bright side, I won't have vapor-travel after tomorrow. He chuckled dryly, grimacing at the taste of bile in his mouth, before rinsing his mouth out and promptly hocking a loogie at the Chitauri that had just landed in front of him. It squealed loudly before Percy punted it off the roof. It fell for a few seconds, before crashing into a bloody pulp into the ocean.
The ocean…
Percy leapt off the roof, plunging into the water below. Ignoring whatever consequences might arise from entering Poseidon's domain, he carefully summoned gallons of seawater, willing it to swirl around him rapidly.
Final day of having powers, Percy mused, as the wind picked up. He raised his arms and floated to the surface of the water, a wicked grin on his face.
Let's make it count.
Look, I didn't edit it, alright? Some select people wouldn't stop hounding me so I released this, now stop bothering me ahhhhhh.
Percy can't beat an Olympian in a fair fight lol. Not yet, at least. Artemis is gray in this fic btw. She's no angel, yet she's going to have more depth than the stories that demonize her. No, this fic isn't a Pertemis.
The MCU has taken up a lot of my time, so I know have a strong idea of how I think this story should go. Rest assured I will be covering Age of Ultron, Civil War, Infinity War, and Endgame. I also intend to have a short arc of something almost akin to a screenplay. Imagine if Percy had his own MCU movie, with side characters, a villain, etc. Yeah, I wanna do that. :) If I do it though then it's going to be a HUGE chappie, like well over 10K or 20K words, and I'll cover the whole story in one go. But, I'm getting too excited. Be patient with me. :)
We have 3 more chappies until the Avengers arc is wrapped up. Yes, I may have written them all. No, you're not getting them all at once. Mwahaha.
See you next week. Yeap, totally next week. Next week, yes indeedy. :)