Chapter 10: Museum Monster

AN: The projections are in italics

Together they all walked back through the door and raced to claim the best couches. It took a while before silence fell and Percy looked as the next projection started.

In front of him were rows of school bus seats. In one he sat with Grover who's horns were not visible and who still had a bunch of acne as well as the first showing of a beard. Percy still had his windblown black locks and sea green eyes. He was scrawnier than now, not having built up his muscle yet. He was at least two feet shorter as well. He was still quite adorable and you could see the handsomeness that would be there in a few years.

"It had to be this," Grover groaned.

"Don't worry buddy. I have to suffer through it too," Percy soothed.

"I'm pretty sure that means almost all of us will," Frank whispered to Hazel. She looked around her. Would they see everything?

Grover was shrinking into himself as pieces of a sandwich were lobbed at him from behind. The owner of the sandwich was a redheaded girl with neon orange freckles with an upturned nose as pointed as an arrow. Pieces of the sandwich dripped into his hair. Red dripped across the brown and pieces of peanut butter stained his forehead.

"What kind of sandwich is that?" Sam asked crinkling her nose.

"Peanut butter and ketchup," Grover and Percy answered together.

"And who's that girl that I need to deck?" Thalia asked.

"That is Yancy Student and kleptomaniac, Nancy Bobofit. You know I should really thank her," Percy mused.

"For what?" several people asked.

At the same time Grover said, "Don't."

"Let's just watch," Zia suggested. "I am sure we shall see what Percy is talking about soon." Under her glare with fire burning in her eyes everyone shut up.

"I'm.. deck her," Percy mumbled.

"It's okay… peanut butter," Grover soothed.

Another piece of lunch missed him as he lurched forward.

"That's it!" Percy started to get up with a determined and angry look on his face but Grover grabbed his arm and pulled him back down.

"You're already on… if anything happens," he chided.

"What were you on probation for?" asked Alex interestedly.

"I really don't remember. I got expelled that year for something much more interesting."

"As interesting as a shark tank?" Leo asked skeptically.

"Scarier too," Grover said.

"Shut up then. I want to see Prissy do something stupid," Clarisse ordered.

The scene moved on from the bus onto to the students on the bus sitting on the steps of the museums. Some kids were throwing crackers at seagulls, which had Thalia and Grover cursing under their breaths. Nancy was trying to steal something from a women's purse. Percy and Grover sat together on the edge of a fountain. Their teacher sat in his wheelchair with a raid umbrella behind him reading a book while chewing on celery.

"That's Chiron!" Jason said.

"Yeah. He was my Latin teacher."

"Who's Chiron?" Carter asked.

"A centaur. He taught all the old heroes and trains all of the Greek demigods now," Apollo explained.

"A Centaur?" Blitz blinked.

"Half man half horse," explained Chris. "You'll probably see. It's better than it sounds."

As Grover ate his apple and Percy started to unwrap his sandwich Nancy walked up and dumped her half eaten food on Grover.

"Oops," she smirked.

In front of their eyes the water of the fountain reached up and pulled Nancy in. She was sitting in the water on her butt screaming. "Percy pushed me!"

"That was you?" Jaz asked curiously.

"You saw when he came in. Percy can control water. Most of us have powers over our godly parents domains," Nico explained.

"Did you know you were doing that?" Magnus asked. "Or did it just take over."

"It did. I was just trying to keep calm. Didn't work," Percy shrugged.

"That was because Grover's your friend. Nancy hurt him and emotions are powerful," Piper explained.

"Sometimes more than logic," Annabeth agreed grudgingly.

"Well sometimes I wish they weren't," Percy said. "Can we start?"

"No," came the voice of the Fates from the ceiling. "We have a change to add to our projections. As you watch Perseus's actions he will be reliving them himself."

"I'll be what?" Percy asked.

"You shall feel as you did before. There will be times when you will fight as well, doing as you did in the past. There will be no harm."

"Sure. Anyway we can't do this?' Percy asked. There was no reply.

In front of them materialized a short wrinkled woman with black hair streaked with gray pulled back in a tight bun. She wore jeans and a biker jacket and wore a cruel smirk.

"Now honey-"

"I know… erasing workbooks."

The teacher growled, "Come with me."

Nico looked at Percy in alarm. "Is that who I think it is?"

"Mrs. Dodds? Yeah," answered Percy, Annabeth and Grover.

"You're in a lot of trouble," Thalia moaned.

"Nothing new it seems," Sam said to her brother. (Alex was feeling boyish at the moment.)

"Wait, who exactly do you think that is?" Reyna asked Nico.

"Don't tell," Percy warned.

"Fine," the fourteen almost fifteen year old pouted.

"It is a monster," Tyson said simply.

"Yeah dude but which?" Chris said. His reply was the projection starting up again.

"Wait! It was me…. her," exclaimed Grover.

"I don't think so Mr. Underwood," she said giving him a death glare so scary he trembled.

"But-"

"You…. here."

"It's okay… for trying."

"Honey, now!"

Percy gave a smirking Nancy a stare that made them all shiver even after all the horrible things they had seen. Mrs. Dodds was now at the museum entrance. A second as later Percy turned around to look at Grover he was inside. When he found her she was in front of a Greek painting growling in an empty room.

"You've been … honey."

"Yes, ma'am."

The projection paused. "Of all the times to be respectful," Rachel said. "You choose now. Why not run?"

"Hey! I didn't know!"

"Seaweed brain."

"Did you really think… with it?" Mrs. Dodds said straightening the sleeves of her jacket.

"I'll try… Ma'am."

"We are not fools… you will suffer less pain," she threatened.

Percy stood there confused with a blank expression on his face. For a second he looked like he had thought of something before it faded away.

"Wait, did you know what she wanted?" asked Jaz.

"No. I thought she was talking about an essay I had plagiarized," Percy replied receiving a smack from Annabeth.

"What did she want?" Walt asked.

"That's a spoiler," Annabeth said. She made sure they all stayed quiet until the projection started again.

"Well?" Mrs. Dodds asked waiting for an answer.

"I don't…."

"Your…. up," she hissed.

In front of their eyes Mrs. Dodds became a creature out of a graphic novel, a female man-bat. Her wings were coated with black and had huge claws at the end. Her eyes glowed black and orange. Her mouth was foaming and full of rotten fangs.

"What on the nine worlds is that?" Blitz sputtered.

"A Fury. Torturers of Hades. Mean," Ella replied.

"That sums it up pretty well," Grover agreed.

"They're horrible. All three of them," Thalia said with a haunted look in her eye.

"It looks creepy. That might even give me nightmares," Sadie said.

"I wouldn't blame you. I had them too," Percy agreed. "Now this is where it gets exciting. Watch."

The wheelchair bound teacher appeared in the door and yelled. "What ho, Percy!"

An object came flying through the air, a ballpoint pen. The monster reached forward for Percy. On instinct he dodged and caught the pen, which became a sword on his hand.

"A pen sword! I knew that wasn't a stupid idea," Magnus cried. He received a bunch of stares.

"Magnus who are you talking too?" Frank said inching away from him slowly.

"His sword Sumerbrander. It is magic and can talk," Sam explained.

"What? I want a talking sword. Annabeth think Riptide can do that?" Percy asked.

"No."

"Where is you sword?" Hazel asked curiously.

"I asked for him to be a pen. He wanted to be this instead," Magnus said. He drew the runestone off his necklace so it became a blade.

"Well Riptide is awesome," Percy bragged. "I can write with it."

"You can compare swords later," Annabeth said. She paled before blushing a furious red. "Move on."

With a shaking hand Percy held the sword looking at Mrs. Dodds.

"Die, Honey!"

She flew straight at him and disintegrated into yellow dust as Percy passed a sword through her. He stood there with a ballpoint pen in his hand. He stood there for a moment shaking staring at the pen and looking around in confusion.

"A Fury? That was the first monster you killed?" Will asked in shock.

"Yeah," Percy replied in confusion.

"You do understand Percy most demigods would have died with no training facing one of the kindly ones," Reyna explained.

"Really?"

"Yeah, probably," agreed Clarisse. "Even some of the tougher ones like me."

Percy stared at them dumbfounded.

"We should probably move on before he figures out what you're saying and becomes bigheaded," suggested Thalia.

Percy walked back outside to where it was raining. Grover was sitting by the fountain where Nancy Bobofit was still glaring soaked from the fountain and the rain.

"I hope Mrs. Kerr… you butt."

"Who?" asked almost everyone in the room. Percy held up a finger.

"Who?" he asked in confusion still staring at the pen.

"Our... Duh!"

Percy stared for a few minutes. "What are you saying?"

Nancy grumbled and walked away with her friends leaving Percy with Grover. "Where's Mrs. Dodds?"

Grover paused. "Who?"

"Not funny… serious."

Thunder boomed and the projection stopped.

"Mortals," Leo tried breaking the tense atmosphere, "So oblivious."

"It's the mist/duat," Hazel and Sadie said at once.

Percy nodded "Yeah, it could drive one crazy." He looked around. Everyone was still staring at him. He shrugged and looked up at the ceiling.

"Can we move onto to where I'm not insane?"

"When's that?" Thalia whispered to a laughing Annabeth. Everyone stared as the two girls laughed.

"I think Percy has infected Annabeth and Thalia with his insanity," Leo said making Calypso giggle.

"That's not possible," commented Apollo.

"Neither is all of this," pointed out Rachel before shutting up. Apollo was her patron after all. Besides the still laughing Annabeth and Thalia everyone contemplated Rachel's comment as the next projection appeared in front of their eyes.