A/N and here we come with the most hated episode. Seriously? Who puts teenager through exercise that is literately designed to make them fail? Batman of course. This is why I hate this version of Big Bat so much. I love how he is portrayed in most other media (we don't speak about BvS:DoJ), but in YJ he felt just... wrong. Like he was a travesty of himself.

Anyway, like I said it is fanfiction and Batman was removed from the team in this story so we will have a different type of plot here. Have fun :)

Mount Justice
October 16, 16:21

The team watched in horror as Aliens killed their mentors, families, the people they trusted most. Each and every one was dealing with this differently, much like when something happened to Wally.

M'gann was hugging Conner tightly, crying into his shoulder. She just lost uncle J'ohn, the closest family member that remained by her side. She adored him and traveled to earth after him. She really wanted to be just like him. Now, just like that, he was gone... This was a shock. She always believed him to be almost immortal. Even back on mars, he was one of the greatest warriors and strongest telepaths. He was also one of the wisest. And now he was gone. She hugged Conner tighter, wanting him to just miraculously take away the pain. But even superboy had no such power. The best he could do was to be there for her. She looked at his face for a brief moment to see him looking at some empty point in the wall. He was still hugging her back, but she didn't need to use her powers to know that his thoughts drifted to entirely different place.

Conner tried to analyze the situation. He was made to replace Superman if the 'big blue' died. Ever since he joined the team, he believed that this was almost impossible. He was Superman for God's sake. He was indestructible. Or so they thought. The strangest thing was that he didn't really feel anything. He didn't cry after him, but he also was not happy. The realization of his death was completely indifferent to him. This detachment angered him. Not the death, but the fact that he didn't feel anything about it. This was like he was some heartless machine. Like a weapon he was programmed to be. He wanted to be sad. To mourn. To at least be angry and curse the fate for being so cruel, but death of Superman, of the whole league, did not affect him. He hugged M'gann closer. He understood that she needed some anchor, someone to remind her that she is not alone. And he was ready to be that person. For her. His precious martian. His M'gann M'orzz, the best girlfriend he could wish for.

Garth, Tula and Kaldur were by the side, mourning their king and mentor. Tempest and Aquagirl hugged each other while Kaldur just stood there in silence. He knew that he should have remained strong for the team, but he just couldn't. He almost broke down, but he chose to not do it now, in front of the team. The time for mourning would come, but now they needed to work. He tried to push the feeling back, but the harder he tried to suppress them, the harder it hit him. He was aqualad without aquaman. He was a sidekick without a hero. A single tear went down his cheek. Then it was followed by another. And another. And another. Orin, his king became more to him than just a mentor. He was his partner, his friend, someone he trusted with his life. They shared a bond. And now this bond was broken. The two other atlanteans dealt with this better. They lost their king, but they never had such a close relationship with him or the other members of the League. They made some connection, but they did not know them as well.

Robin was frantically analyzing the footage from thousand different angles. He did not have time for emotions. He had to work. Bruce would expect him to work first and mourn only after the work was done. While looking how beams hit the heroes one after another, he couldn't help but cringe. So many great people died in just a second. Then came a video of Batman's ship being destroyed by one of this beams. Being himself, Bruce had a backup plan ready. Sadly in this case it didn't work. 'why him? Why does my family always end up dead. Whoever I attach to, dies...' He looked back at the team. They became his family. He would protect them. Robin could not afford to loose his family for the third time. Not again. He wanted to scream, to cry, to fight, to hit something. But for this there would be time later. Right now there was work to do.

Wally didn't hide his tears. He didn't even notice that subconsciously he hugged Artemis. She didn't mind. His mind played over and over the scene of his uncle Barry and aunt Iris dying. He wanted to scream, but at the same time he couldn't utter a single whisper. His throat kept dry and his mind was slowly clouding. He had no idea what happened with his parents, but seeing the city in ruin... he preferred not to keep his hopes too high. He snuggled into Artemis who caressed his hair, whispering snoothing words to him. Since the time he came out of hospital he started to get closer and closer to her. The memory of the pact he made and knew she made too was still real, but he was willing to accept whatever came at them. As long as the two were together, they would overcome it. He clang to this thought. Paradoxically, he was afraid to actually ask her out. He, who not so long ago flirted with every girl he met was now afraid to ask one girl that he truly liked to go on a date. This was hilarious and pathetic at the same time.

Artemis was focused on helping Wally deal with all of this. She, much like Garth and Tula, did not really have anyone that she was close to in the league. Her family was living... different life. Her mother back in gotham knew how to take care of herself and she preferred not to know what her father and sister were up to during such a dreadful times. Instead, she chose to comfort the boy for who she was willing to give up her freedom. She didn't regret it. Since he woke up, Wally changed. He still was himself, but now he limited the flirting. He stayed by her side and actually listen from time to time. She was even willing to admit that his jokes were not that bad once you got over the initial cheesiness. Instinctively, she touched the necklace. This was yet another secret she kept from all of them. If even one of them escaped, she would be in bad spot.

Zoe stood on the side. She was not even from this world. She had her own fair share of mourning already right now, looking at the couples in the room she couldn't help but wonder. While up in the skies she could see her friends die, she had to mourn the passing of many of them. She was always alone, with no one to share her grief with. Now, looking how they comforted one another she felt... jealous! They had this other people that they shared their troubles now. They also shared happiness. For a really long time she believed that she did not need it. That the other huntress were all that she needed. But in truth, she couldn't share everything with them. She was a lieutenant and had to remain strong. In time, she learned to suppress all emotions. Then came Percy. She had no idea how or why, but he changed her life by 180 degree. He proved most of her perception of things wrong. Now he was there, standing in the middle with angered expression. She was feeling the tremors. As weak as they were, she knew that he was barely holding himself together. Outside, the ocean was probably in the middle of a storm. For a moment, she wondered is she should walk there and comfort him, but she couldn't decide. He was her friend, but she was not exactly that good with this. Some small part of her wanted to hug him. Just hug him and feel his warm body. But the majority of her mind squashed this thought. She would not fall for any male. Not even Perseus. But... maybe...

Percy was standing there in the middle, doing his best not to sink them into the ocean or bring the cave down. Sure, he didn't like most of the leaguers, but some of them were actually nice. And there was Diana. The daughter of Zeus was like an older sister to him. He felt a pain of loss which he was more familiar with than he would wish. He looked up to the map and saw multiple red dots all over the world. The live feeds from different cities were popping and disappearing. He clutched his fists and felt tides outside rising. Memories of Second Titan War and Second Gigantomachy surfaced. He did not try to resist them. Instead, he embraced them. The feeling of being overwhelmed and how he conquered all odds and not only survived, but won. He did not forget all the death that happened back in that days, he never would, but right now he had more pressing matters. Something inside of him broke and a strong earthquake washed over the cave. This caused everyone in the room to stop what they were doing and look at him.

"Enough!" He spoke with authority. There was this weird feeling in his voice. He lost all cheer and now he seemed almost like a stranger. "I know you want to grief and mourn, but we don't have time for this. Most of us lost someone just now, but we can't let this stop us from doing what's right or the aliens already won. I will not speak for you, but I do not plan on standing still while my home is torn apart by aliens. So suck it up. By now most likely everyone on earth lost someone close. Let's not besmirch the memory and legacy of our close ones by standing back while the world needs us. We are the Justice League now and it's time to fight back." While the speech moved them all, the Team was still unconvinced. It was especially the ones that lost their direct mentor and family member that were uncertain. And as always it was Wally who was the most outspoken.

"If I remember correctly, it was Kaldur who was our leader." While he reigned his tears and hid behind the mask of anger, Kid Flash was still shaken by the events that happened not even an hour ago. "You are not even from this world. What do you know about leading eh? Especially in times of war? Some of us just lost our real families not another of..." He was interrupted by a low growl that came from Percy.

"What I know about leading? Well for starters I fought in wars since I was twelve. I led wars since I was fourteen. I've seen countless of my friends die in battle or from wounds after it." Here he sent a quick glare toward Zoe and she noticed pain and guilt in his eyes. "I battled Gods and Monsters... Titans, Giants, Giant robots! I led a small army to face an impossible odds and yet managed to emerge victorious. People died because of my choice. I let them die..." His voice broke for just a moment before returning back to the authority he held before. "You are asking me what I know about leading? I know all the pain it brings. I never really wanted to lead, but someone had to and I would be damned before I would let a friend suffer all this pain if I could help it."

"There. There is he. Here is Perseus as I know him. The noble leader that would still do anything for those he care about. This is the Perseus that earned my trust, friendship and who I like... wait what?" Zoe caught herself with thoughts improper for a huntress lieutenant of Artemis, but strangely she was actually getting okay with the thought... and she was dead afraid of it.

"Now I get the pain of loss, but everyone in line. While you mourn, innocents die. What would your close one think if they knew their sacrifice was in vain?" This words finally got deep into their skulls. The whole team gathered up and they proceeded with forming a plan.

Arctic Circle
October 17, 01:01

The Bio-ship landed in stealth mode, raising small cloud of snow. Luckily, the large snow drift hid this occurrence from alien scout ship. The team, all in winter outfit, move out as planned. Miss Martian disabled the ship propulsion and communication system and Artemis sealed the invaders inside. This allowed three atlanteans to bind the ship using water and lock it in place. Scanning the thing, Robin found the crucial spot that had to be cut in order to detach cannon safely. He ordered Miss Martian and Superboy to proceed. Slowly, the rings on the apendage to which connected the weapon to ship began to break and crumble under the combined strength of telekinesis and kryptonian muscle work. One by one, the cables let go and slowly they tore the whole thing away, but as Superboy finally pulled it off, a smaller blast formed up behind his back. Seeing this, Aqualad wanted to act but Wolf was closer. The animal acted on instinct to protect his best friend and pushed Superboy out. While the kryptonian survived, the enhanced canine was caught in the attack and vaporised in an instant. The team, but especially M'gann and Conner, were all a bit dazed, but Percy who just now returned with Zoe from checking the perimeter for additional scouting ships urged them to continue. He was cold and detached. Almost not Percy-like. It was as if he turned into someone completely different.

"Let's get it done and move out. They ought to know about the attack by now."

"To attach the cannon I will need to decloak." M'gann said shyly. She was still shaken by all the death and to be honest the new Percy kinda intimidated her. Most of his kindness was gone and it made the aura of power he always had around himself all the more scary.

"Do it." Was his only response.

The camouflage disappeared and Bio-ship started to slowly form a connection with the cannon. The process was on both physical and mental level. As per Neptune's prediction, seven more scouting ships arrived and started to fire at them. Most quickly ducked between ice formations, except for Huntress and Artemis who stood there shooting the ships one by one with exploding arrows. The ships passed them unable to aim at them without exposing themselves to the barrage. The two archers took out all but one of the attackers, but the last one passed over them and made a sharp turn. The pilot expertly dodged the incoming arrows and managed to fire one time before Artemis arrow turned the ship into burning husk.

The beam was flying and to most people it felt like seconds, but three heroes saw it all in slow motion. Wally wanted to run and save Artemis, but he slipped. He watched in horror how his body fall to the back and he knew there was nothing he could do to save her now. He imagined there was no one else that could save her. Frame by frame he watched as the beam made it's way to her. In the corner of his eye he noticed one more thing. The barrier of ice slowly formed in front of Zoe. To his surprise Percy had his hand reaching toward that place. For a moment he hoped that the barrier would cover them both as they stood quite close, but it did not. Maybe if Artemis was a bit faster and noticed the forming wall, then she would be able to duck, but in reality it was happening in a matter of single second. Zoe herself tried to pull her inside, but she hesitated, unsure for a brief moment whether the beam was aimed at her or the other Archer. She still tried, but the beam was already too close.

The beam hit blonde heroine and she flickered and disappeared. To most of the rest it was just like that. M'gann was in too much shock to actually notice it. But for Percy, it was horror. His Life-sense went haywire. He felt each of her cell being torn to sherds by the beam. She was still there as a whole, but torn apart on the molecular level. Wally's face was a mixture of horror and pure rage. He got up and tackled Percy.

"You could have saved her! You killed her!" He screamed while trying to choke the demigod, but Neptune's armor made it impossible. The neck was reinforced, probably to stop any blood sucking creatures. It also served him well when trying to avoid being strangled. The ring on Wally's finger was glowing with burnt red light, but nobody could notice that. He felt immense rage overcome him. There was this hole in his heart that was created by her departure and now the ring filled it with anger.

The rest of the team was still shaken, but they noticed the exchange. Finally, Percy punched Wally in the gut and sent him flying away. the mask opened and he took down the googles. They noticed some tears going down his face. "You think I wanted this? I wanted her die? I made a choice. Protect one or the other. I made a wrong choice and I will have to live with it." They noticed a grim shadow in his voice. "But for now we must move. Reinforcements are bound to be coming this way. Is the ship ready?" Emotions disappeared from his voice as he spoke. He returned to the cold war leader persona. M'gann was still shaken and didn't register that the question was directed at her. Conner hugged her, also shaken by this event. Deaths of the Justice league members were on thing, but this was personal. And Wolf was now gone too. "We must move now." Percy urged her and she finally caught onto his train of thoughts.

"Yeah... Everything is ready... I think..." She was still barely holding, but being so close to Conner helped her get a grounding.

"Then move out."

"Where now?" Asked Kaldur.

"I will tell you my plan inside." Was the only response they received.

Somewhere over the Atlantic
October 17, 00:16

"You want to do what?!" Wally screamed at Percy.

"Split up. It's the most rational move. We need allies. I would call the Amazons, but Queen Hippolyta closed the borders of Themyscira. For all intended purpose the island doesn't exist. No one can enter or leave the island. We need an army to fight the invaders and Atlantis may as well be the only nation that can actually go on par with them." Percy reasoned. His voice didn't waver even for a moment. He became this cold, calculative, emotionless leader of small resistance. He had no idea what really was going on. He couldn't recognize himself. Deep down he was screaming. He wanted to help his friends, but for some reason his personality changed. Only once before he was like this: in Tartarus. The memories were constantly flooding him. How he used monsters and giants and titans like a puppets to ensure survival of him and Annabeth. the memory of how he choked Alkhys with her own poison was one of the most horrific memories from that time. It wasn't like the others where he had to fight for survival. Back then, in that small moment he became the monster. He caused misery to feel miserable and he was ready to push it further. Back then only thing that stopped him was Annabeth. Right now he knew that he was doing the same. He used everything to achieve his goal. He became a dark, twisted reflection of himself. And there was no one to pull him back this time. And this scared him to the bones.

"But why send all three of our atlanteans and not just one. Or use communication?" Robin tried to get a grip on the strategy.

"All the satelites are cut off the powers which means no long range communication. And when... if Atlantis mobilize their armies and agree to send us the reinforcements they will still need us to guide them. Like it or not we are the Justice League now. They just lost their king. They will need a symbol of hope. Three of the most prominent students will do nicely as a symbol."

"Wait." Zoe chimed in. "You say reinforcements. For what?"

"After every war there are marauders, the army in disarray tends to get more violent. After we defeat their main force we will need help to clean the remaining forces."

"You talk like defeating the aliens will be easy. We would need a whole army. If our mentors failed, what chance do we have?" Wally was burning with anger. He didn't like Percy at all right now. While the original was nice and all this one was irritating. He was like Batman.

"We will. A small hit squad that will take out their main command. Like during second giant war." Nobody got the reference except for Zoe, but they didn't dare to ask. "Once we take down their leaders the war will end." Percy opened the map and started to analyze the situation with the invasion. "The mother ship landed in Smallville so that's where we must hit."

They spent next half an hour forming the plan. Half-way through the planning they dropped Atlanteans as close to underwater kingdom as possible, but they couldn't do much more. Percy sat in his chair trying to find some holes in the defense. He was feeling tired. Suddenly there was a loud scream in his head. His head started to ring a bit. Suddenly, the image in front of his eyes started to flicker. It was as if he started to blink really fast, except instead of darkness he saw what looked like a dungeon cell. The walls were made of stones and there was large bronze bars in front of him with crude locking mechanism. Suddenly, something... a head appeared in front of him. It was one of the scariest things ever and it caused him to jump in his chair. If he was later to describe it, he would be unable to do so. It just was and then passed.

"Everything okay Perce?" Zoe, who was sitting next to him asked. She was starting to get worried about her friend. "You've been acting strange lately. What's going on?"

"Nothing. It's just that I am tired. I need some rest." He wanted to leave, but she stopped him.

"No. I know when you are tired and this isn't it. So either you talk here and now or I punch you." She had to think fast to figure out a threat. Most of her usual ones wouldn't work so she resolved to something simpler. To her amusement he actually appeared worried.

"Fine. But not here." He stood up and walked to the back of the ship. She followed him and made sure to close the doors.

"Now spill."

"Okay. No need to get jumpy Z. It's just that... Since the invasion started it's been like the previous wars all over again. A group of heroes trying to save whole world from threat bigger than themselves." He started to open, but something stopped him. He felt as if there was something influencing him.

Zoe put a hand on his shoulder. The weight calmed him and allowed him to break through the mental barrier. It was as if her very presence had a good influence on him. "I know how you feel..."

"No you don't. You were a huntress. An immortal maiden." She was about to punch him, but he continued. "Between one war and another you had breaks. You could rest and had time to deal with all of this. Me? Since I was twelve I was fighting one war after another. The Fates must've really hated me because I had more experience with monsters in this six years than Heracles, Achilles and Theseus combined. Name whatever monster you remember and I faced it. Heck, I even fought Egyptian monsters and their gods. I came here to have some rest. Fighting criminals is one thing, but this is another full scale war in which I lead..."

"Tell me why you do it. Tell me why you constantly throw yourself at harms way? Why don't you just walk away? There are others ready to do it. I am sure Kaldur or Robin would plan something and win. You could go into the deepest part of the ocean and live on only Nectar and ambrosia and be safe. So why are you here?" She tried pushing him so he would get to the realization himself. And it worked.

"Because I can't let other suffer. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I allowed others to suffer while I could do something about it. I would gladly give my life for others. That's why the war scares me. Because there is no way to save everyone and Artemis is already dead. I could have saved her... I could have tried and..." His voice started to break. "Because of my choice she is dead."

"It's not your fault..." Zoe wanted to say more. Tell him how she dealt with the pain after one or more hunters died. But her body decided not to follow the orders. Instead she felt herself hugging him tightly. She had to watch out or she would crush him with her strength, but at the same time she wanted to be as close to him as possible. This male was something completely different than any other she met before. Perseus was... someone she could love. Wait what?! No. That can not be happening. I would never... No! No! But at the same time she was getting comfortable with this. It was scarring the hell out of her. She was going against all she believed. Even by associating with male she was pushing the boundaries. This felt so wrong, but at the same time it felt like the only right thing. The only constant was that now it was terrifying.

The team finally arrived at Smallville. Robin was now armed with at least three belts full of explosives. Kid Flash carried another two.

"Let's go through the plan one last time." Percy said and they nodded. "Superboy. You create a distraction. Go about full frontal assault but don't even think about doing some heroic sacrifice thing. Get them out of the box and retreat. Miss M. will pick you up in camouflaged Bio-ship and you will meet us at the extraction point. Me, Kid Flash, Huntress and Robin get inside. Wally and Dick will set up the explosives at their power core and move toward the exit site. the hardest job was left for me and Zoe. We will sneak to their command center and take out all the leaders."

"Wait. Take out as in kill?" Robin was surprised that this part evaded his attention.

"Yes. Kill. Listen. I know your mentors taught you that killing is wrong and all that, but we are in the middle of a war. They won't hesitate to kill you and you can't either. It's kill or be killed. I would ask if anyone want to back away now, but then we could all go home now and just wait for them to come and kill us all."

"How are you so sure they are killing us all?" Wally questioned their self-appointed leader. "I analyzed the beam and it give Zeta radiation as well as some tachion reading. It's almost exactly like our Zeta tubes system." He saw Percy's expression darken.

"You saw Artemis die. I not only saw it, but also felt it. Her body was torn apart molecule by molecule, but her soul, spirit, essence or whatever you call it was still there. She was not sent away but rather torn apart. It was more cruel way to kill someone than I imagined possible." They all winced at the description. "So yeah, not a teleportation. I know you want to cling to this little spark of hope, but it was better if you let go and don't expect the impossible. I felt Artemis pass so the best you can do is honor her memory and make sure others don't have to suffer." This put Wally back into his place. He was still angry, but he had all the alien invaders to vent on.

Superboy was first to move out. In just two leaps he landed on the wall. Anger fueled his strength when he tore out the large cannon from the wall. Almost immediately aliens deployed response force. Dozens upon dozens of fighters flew out and tried to take Conner, but he kept firing. The disorder and amount of ships now flying in the air allowed four-person squad to sneak in undetected. The battle outside was not going well. Conner was getting overwhelmed. The whole area started to turn red as rage overwhelmed him. He kept firing and then he tossed the cannon at one of the passing ships. He leaped high in the air and grabbed another of this ships. He then spinned in the air and threw it at a squadron approaching him. He was slowly falling, about to land on another ship when suddenly he just like that disappeared. The explosions were enough of a distraction for M'gann to fly between them and quickly catch him inside. But this was not over yet. In dread she found out they kept shooting at her. They were under attack. One after another the beams almost hit them. She decloaked and strated to fire back, but it was already to late. She overextended and now both her and Conner would die. All because of her stupidity. In last desperate attempt she aimed the ship at the hangar bays. She could at least detonate rest of their ships. They were flying down. She grabbed the still dazed Conner and pulled him into a deep kiss. She was ready to go out in flames. Instead, an overwhelming pain went through her body. Suddenly, there was nothing more. One of the beams finally connected and evaporated Miss Martian, Superboy and the Bio-Ship from the face of earth.

Percy felt the souls of his friends pass from this world. He stopped for just a moment and looked behind him. The others also noticed something. Robin tried to get a grip on M'gann, but with no avail. The realization dawned on all of them. She and Conner were gone.

"We can't stop now. There is still the mission." To their surprise it was Robin who said that. The boy wonder then motioned them to move forward. Percy once again felt an immense headache. The images in front of his eyes started to flicker. The dungeon was there. He noticed someone who looked a bit like a scarecrow from Wizard of Oz, but all twisted and wrong. It was just a second before it all returned to normal. Percy shook his head and started to walk forward. His mask had an enhanced reality function and there was a glowing sea-green line in front of him, guiding him toward their goal.

The four heroes walked together for some time until there was a forking. Robin displayed the map and red dot appeared. "Okay. We are here. The main generator is down this way." He pointed right. "While the elevator that will take you to command center is that way. Be careful for patrols. Let's go. It's time to show this alien scum that Earth will not be theirs' as long as we stand!"

Neptune and Huntress silently nodded and run as stealthily as possible toward the elevator. After one sharp turn they ended up face to face with large group of giant walkers with cannons on their heads. A wicked smile crept at both of their faces. Percy and Zoe both charged, smashing through mechs at incredible speed. The orange beams were flying all over, but they were agile enough to dodge before anything hit them. At some point Neptune sent a wave of tremor energy through air, crushing few dozen of the robots. Probably every alien on the ship tried to get to them, but at that point both would gladly welcome some anger relief. Zoe was firing faster than machine gun. Each of the arrows either exploded, taking around three alien machines, or pierced straight through their cockpit, thus killing the pilot and leaving mech to fall out of control. The two of them moved slowly through waves of enemies. While it could be worrying that they will at some point get overwhelmed, Percy actually counted on it. It would mean that they got all the attention and Alpha Squad (as they brightly called Robin and Kid Flash collectively) would be free to finish their part of the mission and whole ship would be gone.

After they moved into another corner the corridor became too narrow to dodge effectively while walking side by side Huntress stepped back and allowed Neptune to lead, providing rear guard and taking out all the aliens chasing them. He on the other hand formed large bubble of water in front and made ice shield which constantly barraged all aliens with icicles coming from random points. This was brutally efficient until they got to large pile of aliens blocking the way. It was impossible to move the bodies in short amount of time and in the back their enemies kept coming.

"What now Z.?" Neptune sceamed while he joined her in battle firing more icicles.

"I don't know. We are kinda getting overrun by the enemies. Also, we are running out of time. Alpha squad will soon detonate the ship core no matter if we are on it."

This seems like a lot of running. Percy wanted to give a snarky remark, but only thing that came out of his mouth was "Let's hope that at least one of them has the guts to do it."

As if on cue, the whole ship was shaken by explosion and it took only a second for a wave of unbearable heat to reach them. The walls crumbled and were consumed by flames or torn apart by sheer force generated by the destruction of reactor core. Both Neptune and huntress were quickly engulfed by it. When Percy opened his eyes, he was laying on his back. There was this ringing sound in his ears that made it hard to focus. His sight was distorted and he could barely make out anything around him. There was a thick cloud of smoke around them. It got into his lungs and scratched his windpipe making it hard to breath. There was also burning pain all around his body. He could feel that his armor was damaged in multiple places. The mask he used to wear was now probably in pieces and his belt lacked few satchels. He pulled several squares of Ambrosia and ate them. He did not worry about burning up. Either he built up a tolerance or with his change he could now consume more of it without problems. The healing took it's effect and wounds started to close. Once the ringing ended, he could finally stand. To his left Zoe was slowly getting back in shape. Her wounds closed by themselves without the need of ambrosia.

What really got his attention was his life-sense. Two souls nearby just passed to the underworld. His head snapped in general direction and what he saw froze the blood in his veins. There were two bodies burned to charcoal. The only sign by which he could actually make out their identities was a pair of red googles on the face of one. They were half-melted, but it was obvious they belonged to Wally. Another two of his friends died because of his plan. It was like with Beckendorf all over again. At least they may now rest in peace. We won.

He summoned his trident and miniscule hurricane dispersed the smoke. What came into sight caused him to boil in anger. There came another ship, almost exact copy of the previous one, only this one was larger. It landed next to the crater after previous one, raising dust from the ground. Percy let out an unearthly roar. His mind was clouded with anger and his sight turned red. All that sacrifice. All that planning. All that fighting... All for nothing. In his peripheral vision he noticed Zoe running toward him, but at that point he didn't care one bit. He wanted to destroy all the aliens, no matter what it would cost him. He spun the trident over his head and plunged it in the ground with all the strength he could muster. The crack appeared and started traveling toward the ship. With every feet it traveled, it widened. Before it reached it's target, it was already wide enough to eat it all. When the earth under the ship finally cracked, the whole alien creation fell deep inside the earth down to the core.

The strain caused Percy to stumble on his feet. To achieve this, he tapped into all the power reserves he had. The pull he used to feel in his gut was overwhelming and he was about to puke. The crack began to close, but it was slow process. Zoe was getting to him and he turned to her. Percy intended to walk toward her, but his leg slipped on the ground and before he noticed it, he was falling into the dark hole of his own creation, the one which was supposed to lead to certain death. And he had no way of escaping. The gravity started to pull him down and he was falling. And falling. And falling. And falling. And he fell down the dark chasm. Only this time he was falling alone.

Once again the image in front of him flickered, only this time he was no longer in solitary cell. There were now three... no, four people in the room. The scarecrow, two men dressed in bulky armors that was glowing red and a woman. He recognized Zoe almost instantly. He wanted to do something, but darkness engulfed him once more. Suddenly, below him appeared something red. He saw the all too familiar sights of Tartarus.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

A/N I know you want to kill me for this cliffhanger (not literal this time, thank you very much Uncle Rick), but bear with me. I have winter break now and I will be able to update soon. I simply had to break it into two parts or it would be 11k word or so. I try to stay around 7k. Sorry if some characters were OOC, but that was my goal. Don't get angry just wait for the second part.