a/n: This is a series of one shots where today's heroes meet the ancient ones. Crack solely in the sense that the "how" of how they met is irrelevant (hell yeah, timey-wimey bullshit!). One-shots are disconnected unless otherwise stated. These will not be explicit, and there will be little/no romance, rated T only for language. Updates posted once a day as I write one-shots, so thus very spontaneously. My stories: discord . gg/Q8bDgd8eP6

— I. PERSEUS & PERSEUS: ECHOES —

"You know," Percy started awkwardly, eyeing the older hero, "I'm named after you."

Perseus looked unimpressed, eyeing the son of Poseidon with disdain.

"... I also killed Medusa."

The son of Zeus raised a very unimpressed eyebrow.

"... and my grandfather?"

That eked a laugh out of the ancient hero, who stepped forward to clap Percy's shoulder with unnecessary force, sending the younger hero stumbling forward. "You think that was the highlight of my life?" Perseus asked drily, "That slaying Medusa and my own grandfather were the triumphs I valued most?"

"Uh," Percy said eloquently, "that's what Annabeth said."

"No, young Perseus," the demigod said, "those were not what I valued most. Tell me: why did your mother name you such?"

"She said you were the only hero with a happy ending," Percy explained, "and she wanted me to have one, too."

Perseus tilted his head in thought, then nodded in acknowledgement. "True enough, I suppose," he mused, "Tell me: why did I slay Medusa?"

Percy floundered for a moment before guessing, "The king told you to?"

"Aye, but he ordered me to because he wanted to take my mother as his wife, and thought Medusa would kill me," the son of Zeus elaborated, "My mother begged me not to go, but I knew it was one of few chances to rid us of the king and keep her safe."

The hero watched as Percy nodded in agreement, acknowledging it as a fair reason before he asked the little hero the question in return: "Why did you kill Medusa?"

Percy's smile was bittersweet, "My mom was taken. I thought she was dead, and we were quested to go to Hades to find the Master Bolt." He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "I was planning on bringing her back to life. Medusa just happened to be one of the monsters we ran into on the way."

"Ah," Perseus said slowly, nodding and looking off at the horizon. "We are more similar than I thought," he said, turning back to Percy, "and why did you kill your grandfather? Mine was only by a stroke of Fate, though I never regretted it —not after what he did to my mother."

"Prophecy, I guess," Percy said, "I don't know if I'd have been drawn into this…" he gestures lamely, "mess, without it. I just… wanted to keep my friends and family safe." he laughs tiredly, looking up at his namesake, "Kronos would have taken so much, and it never really felt like I had any choice at all."

"Such is the way of things," Perseus agreed quietly. "It's strange. We heard of your exploits —these are tales that travel unstoppably far— and yet I'm not sure any of us believed them. After all, how does a child kill not only Medusa, but also defy Scylla? Traverse the Labyrinth? Slay the Minotaur?" he shook his head with a laugh, "it may be us ancients who you heroes extol, but ne'er have I ever heard of one who faced quite so many adversaries as you."

"You're unfortunate, I think." Perseus considered. "I'm not sure how —even when— it happened, but at some point heroism became less about the feats and more about the power." Percy looked somewhat confused as he listened to the son of Zeus, but he stayed silent. "At some point, the gods decided strength and stamina was not nearly enough of a gift to us godlings."

"You know, little Perseus, none of us have the… abilities… that you heroes do now? I cannot fly, cannot call lightning to my hands —not without gifts from the gods, at least— not like my youngest half-siblings. And yet, ne'er was I afflicted by hyperactivity or dyslexia. Something about growing up in Argos makes reading and speaking Greek easy, I suppose." he said aside.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked.

"They are the price, I think." Perseus explained, "Your inability-to-sit-still. The instincts ingrained from millenia of heroes. The easy knowledge of Greek. The dyslexia. All are the price of your control of the sea."

"Those don't seem all bad to me," the son of Poseidon argued, "instincts and understanding of Greek are helpful."

"Ah, but what else do they do to you?" Perseus challenged, "Can you relax? Do you feel confident in finding a wife, a lover? In settling secure in a home of your own making. Are you always agitated? How easily does your mind fracture? How easily do your high morals diminish?"

He gestured with his arms wide, "I would have expected you to learn by now that all gifts come at a price. Especially those gifted by gods. Why did Lord Poseidon choose to give you control of the sea at the cost of time with your mother? Of ADHD?"

"Choose?" Percy sounded confused, "He didn't choose my abilities."

"Didn't he?"

— next: II. THALIA & ATALANTA: HUNTRESS(ES)—