"I just refuse to believe that's true."

"I mean… it's a myth, so take it with a grain of salt, but yeah, that happened."

"But-but why? What possible reason could he possibly have-what would possess someone to think that's a good idea."

"Local Macedonian literally too angry to die is basically the entire story,"

"He tried to fight a river. A river. A body of water."

"Which won, I might add."

"HOW?!"

"River goddess, didn't you do the reading?"

"…honestly no, I don't know how you can do all of this, I thought you hated reading."

Percy chuckled, and Kara couldn't help but smile, they'd continued their conversation immediately after their Classics class, and they'd seamlessly transitioned to walking from the lecture hall to the nearest campus cafeteria.

"I do." Percy nodded as he pulled a packet of something out of his bag and dumped it into his cup, before swirling the concoction around in his water with a spoon. "But I managed to get my hands on a copy of the texts in Greek."

"And that's easier?" Kara asked perplexed. She knew seven Earth languages herself, but she was well aware that she was the exception and most certainly not the rule.

"Greek is more or less my first language." Percy shrugged. He pulled his spoon out of his now blue water, and picked up his burger.

"Dad was a Greek native, and I more or less grew up being able to speak it. For whatever reason, my dyslexia doesn't bother me so much when whatever I'm reading is in Greek."

"I don't think Dyslexia works like that," Kara said amused as she took a bite of her sandwich.

"Shut. Mouth," Percy said, taking a hefty bite. "Seriously though," he spoke, after taking a moment to swallow. "I can't explain it, don't really understand why, but when I was younger I always had an easier time reading Greek. The letters wouldn't get jumbled around and confusing, but English," he groaned in annoyance. "Absolute nightmare. I couldn't read in English properly until I was in like, fourth grade, and even then it was a struggle."

"Your dad must have been a big help," Kara said, "Being able to speak Greek and all, he must have been able to help you figure things out, after all he had to learn English too."

A strange expression flitted across Percy's features, one that was indescribable to Kara, but it was gone as soon as it appeared.

"Probably would have been if he was around." Percy shrugged, "But I-I never knew my dad, he was lost at sea when I was a baby. Mom raised me on her own."

Kara's cheeks burned in embarrassment, unable to believe that she'd said something so insensitive, as her hand covered her mouth in horror. Only to pause, as she realized with a start that what he was saying wasn't true. His heart beat a little faster as he spoke, an unconscious reaction to the lie. It was strange, but then again, she supposed it wasn't really her business.

"Oh God, Percy, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Linda." He laughed, brushing aside her apology with a wave.

"It's fine. You didn't offend me or anything, dad was a bum and it was probably better that he wasn't in my life to begin with. Ditched my mom the second I was born."

Strange...that hadn't been a lie. There was definitely more to Percy than Kara had initially suspected.

Kara just nodded, her face still warm and embarrassment fluttering in her stomach, she desperately searched for a way to correct her faux pas.

"Honestly…it's really impressive that you've managed to make it so far with something like that, " Kara observed, speaking truthfully, "Dyslexia, I mean. College is a lot of reading, even at the undergrad level."

"I had a lot of help," Percy said, "I had a couple of teachers in middle and high school that saved my ass, probably wouldn't be able to read past an eighth grade level if it weren't for them. For a while, I even thought about being a teacher.

"Oh yeah," Kara said, as dawning realization hit her, "What even is your major, ed?"

Percy nodded, a large grin spreading over his face. "Some of the best people I've ever known have been teachers. If it weren't for them...I don't even know if I'd be here right now." His expression grew somewhat somber, his eyes growing distant,

"There are so many kids who never get a decent shot, and the system just gives up on them. That isn't right, kids are the future you know? They're the most important people we have. They need to be protected, their minds nurtured. I just want to be there for them, like people were there for me. If I can make a difference in even one kid's life, I'll be happy."

It was the most serious that Kara had heard him speak all day, and Kara couldn't quite stop the flutter in her chest at the way he spoke. She didn't need her super hearing to know that he was telling the truth, someone didn't speak as passionately as that unless they truly and honestly felt that way. It was honestly rather beautiful, even if it made her slightly nervous with the way he spoke about heroes.

"That's…that's incredible Percy," She smiled, "I love that, that's such a noble goal."

Percy flashed her a dazzling grin and her heart jumped a little, "Thank you. How about you? What do you want to do?"

Kara bit her lip nervously, feeling more than a little self-conscious, her own desires were nowhere near as honorable or pure as Percy's, especially considering she didn't even really know what she wanted to do.

"I honestly have no idea," She admitted, "I just want to find something I enjoy doing, but honestly I don't really have much of a plan." She self-consciously played with a few loose strands of hair dangling from her forehead as she averted her eyes. She didn't want to see the scorn or disapproval in Percy's face, not when everyone else seemed to already be judging her.

Percy gave her a comforting smile, "There's no shame in that whatsoever, and who knows, you got four years here, don't stress about it. You'll find something you love, just take the classes that interest you and eventually you'll find what you love to do." He shrugged. "Besides, we're all just making this up as we go along, that's like ninety-percent of being an adult right?"

"You're not," She observed.

"I'm the exception, not the rule. Besides, at least you have a plan, you have any idea how often I ask people what they want to do and they just say 'I dunno, I'm just here 'cause I'm supposed to be.' You may not know what you want to do right now, but you've got the drive to do anything you want. You'll be fine."

Kara couldn't understand how Percy seemed to know exactly what to say at all times to calm her down and relieve her anxiety. She was so thankful for their strange introduction that morning, she felt as though she'd known the man for several years, rather than only a few scant hours.

Kara hesitated for a moment, biting her lip before throwing caution to the wind,

"Thank you for today Percy," She said softly, "I…I was having a really bad day, and you made it into a really good one."

"What are friends for?" He asked nonchalantly as he dunked a fry in a small saucer of ketchup,

"Oh?" Kara asked amused, "I didn't know we were friends, a little presumptuous of you isn't it?" She was teasing him, but even in the short time she'd known Percy, she knew that he was a bit of a king of sass, and could give as good as he got,

"Nah," Percy replied as casually as possible, "We're friends, no take-backs."

"Maybe I don't want to be friends," Kara stated, though she was smiling broadly.

"If we weren't friends we wouldn't have spent the last like three hours hanging out." He replied.

"Maybe I just pity you," She replied.

"Nope," Percy dismissed. "Not allowed, sorry Lang, you're stuck with me."

She tried, and ultimately failed, at concealing the giggle that escaped.

"You're such a dork," She teased, and he just shrugged and was about to say something, when he was interrupted by a beeping coming from Kara's clutch under the table. Groaning as she recognized the sound of her communicator, she reached under the table and she dug through the small purse before pulling it out. The small communicator looked like a standard smartphone. There was an alert from her cousin that he needed help with cleaning up a volcanic eruption in Hawaii. Sighing as she stood up, she shot Percy an apologetic look.

"Work?" He asked understandingly,

"Yeah," She groaned, biting her lip for a moment, "I really had a good time today Percy, maybe we can do it again sometime?"

His face lit up in a smile, "I'd love that, think we can meet up at the library tomorrow or something? I need help with some of that course-work for my stats class. Math kills me,"

Kara beamed, "Lucky for you, I happen to be something of an expert when it comes to numbers," She said smugly and Percy chuckled.

"Tomorrow at three?" He asked, and Kara grinned, unable to control the way her heart seemed to beat just a tiny bit faster at the idea of seeing him again.

"Sounds great," She said, before her communicator beeped again, shooting Percy another apologetic look, she waved a goodbye and dashed from the table.

She didn't stop thinking about him for the rest of the day.

BREAK

Percy watched Linda leave, a smile on his face. It was the first real friend he'd made since coming to this strange place. He could still remember it as vividly as though it had been two hours, and not two years since he'd arrived in this new world. Washing ashore a strange beach, surrounded by women claiming to be amazons. Were, Amazons. Just not the one's he'd been accustomed to knowing. Thanks only to the timely intervention of his…cousin, Percy had no doubt he would have been killed on the spot, weakened as he'd been.

His cousin, Diana, was one of the only real friends he'd had since arriving on those distant shores, and even then he used the term loosely. Ally would maybe be the more applicable term. She lived up to her namesake, Wonder Woman, and bore the title of hero far better than he ever had. Not only had the woman got Percy off the island and away from the murderous Amazons, but she'd even pulled some strings and managed to get Percy set up with an apartment, financial assets, and even a recommendation to Metropolis University. Naturally there had been a bit more to the story to that, but the long and the short of it was that he had virtually no friends in this strange new land.

It hadn't necessarily been for lack of trying, Percy had tried to make friends with some of his neighbors, with some of the other students in his classes, but he just hadn't been able to pursue much else beyond basic pleasantries. There was just something about the students that made it impossible to create close bonds. He had no doubt that his own raging guilt at those he'd left behind that played a role. It had been two years since his arrival, two years of raging guilt, of being haunted by the names and faces of his friends, his loved ones, the one's he'd sacrificed everything for. His only consolation was that he could take some small measure of pride in knowing that what he'd given up, meant that they continued to live, that much Janus had made certain.

Even more problematic in his attempts to form any sort of bonds with others, was the simple fact that the students here…were civilians. They were innocent, untainted by the horrors of the world. No doubt some knew the hardships of living, some had lived difficult and trying lives and were hardier for it, but it wasn't the same. Not to him. Call him insensitive, call him a bastard, call him whatever pleases you, but the fact remained that these children, these kids had no idea what it was like. No idea what it was like to know that the fate of the world rested on your shoulders, knew what it was like to watch as friend after friend were brutally cut down by the most vicious monsters that history had ever concocted. They didn't know what it was like to be hunted like dogs, knowing that the best they could hope for was to live sixteen short years. Sixteen years of running, of being hunted, of hiding.

Innocent.

Percy couldn't help himself but feel bitter and angry, angry at these children for worrying only about where the party that night was being held, who could get them a fake i.d., or who was sleeping with who. But even more than that, he was angry at himself. Angry that he was unable to allow himself to find any happiness, angry that he allowed himself to wallow in sorrow and pain. Angry that he allowed himself to despair in silence.

Angry.

All until this morning.

He wasn't sure why he'd approached Linda. Wasn't sure what had compelled him to approach the sobbing woman. He blamed his mother, she'd always stressed that when he could, he should step in and help someone in need, and the woman had most certainly been in need. And maybe it was because she reminded him of Annabeth, of the life he'd left behind. Regardless of the reasons, something about seeing the stunning young woman had pressed something inside him, and before he could stop himself he'd been approaching the woman.

He'd known Linda only in passing, they'd worked together in class occasionally, and she possessed a passion for learning and knowledge that was matched in Percy's experience, only by the children of the Goddess of Wisdom. She was always so composed, so in command of herself, that seeing her in such a state of utter distress had been more than he could bare.

Well, when he'd started something, Percy finished it. He wasn't going to leave the woman alone until he'd helped her with whatever problem that she'd been having. To his utter surprise, the longer he'd spoken with her, the more comfortable he became. It had been a long time…years even since he'd connected so readily with another. Since he'd been so comfortable in another's presence. But there was simply something about Linda Lang that set him at ease. Made him comfortable and allowed him to forget the troubles haunting his every thought, and allowed him to live in the moment.

It was a blessing he'd never known he'd needed.

He'd been all too happy to spend the afternoon with her, reveling in the calmness she provided, in the way he could just…talk. He was relaxed in her presence, and felt more like himself, like how he'd been before coming here.

And now that she was gone…he felt the strangest sense of loss. The mounting sense of despair once more pressing against his chest and threatening to consume his thoughts.

Blessedly, a distraction came in the form of a soft pinging from his coat pocket. Reaching in and pulling free a small smart phone, he saw a familiar name flash across the screen. It was Percy's benefactor, the man that had been keeping him busy the past several weeks. Just last night, he'd been forced to summon a miniature tsunami to deal with a pack of Cadejo, dog-like monsters the size of buses, off the coast of El Salvador.

As always happened when Percy received these calls, Percy was wracked with a horrifying sense of guilt. Coming to this world had been a gift, a boon granted to him for his sacrifice, and a way to escape the fate he otherwise would have suffered for staying behind to close the Doors. It had been his opportunity to have the life of normality he'd always wanted. A chance to be normal, to just be another mortal among the vast seas of other mortals. To find a wife, to start a family, to live. Surely it was what everyone back home would have wanted for him. But he couldn't. As much as he wanted a normal life, he'd simply been unable.

He'd been approached by his benefactor a year ago, while Percy had been wandering the beach near the piers of Metropolis. The old man had somehow knew exactly who and what Percy was, and moreover, had offered him an opportunity to do as he'd done his entire life. A chance to fight, to slay monsters, and to protect humanity from the things that went bump in the night.

Percy had leapt at the chance.

He could have blamed it on his inability to sit still, of his many faults as a man, his need for action and danger was in his very blood. Being in one place for too long, after a life of being forced to always look over his shoulder for the nearest threat, had made him impossibly antsy. But deep down, he was well aware of the true reasons.

But he didn't wish to dwell on that for too much longer.

It was all a farce. He'd taken Diana's offer to go to school, merely because it was what he thought his mother would have wanted for him. He found journalism an attractive offer, merely because after a life of being lied to, he felt the strongest desire to pursue the truth, but at the end of the day, he didn't have the love for the craft that many others did. Percy was merely playing at being a student, hell, these days he was really only playing at being human. Deep in his heart, he hoped that maybe this newfound friendship with the enigmatic Linda Lang was what he needed, a bond to help tie him to this new world. A reason to keep waking up every morning.

But did he even really want that?

Did he want to move on?

It felt like a betrayal. Like a spit in the face of those he'd left behind. As though their honor and loyalty were nothing. Intellectually he knew that was crap, but he couldn't stop the thoughts all the same.

Sighing, he brought the phone to his ear, "Kent," He said,

"Afternoon my boy," An elderly voice said into the phone, "Hope I caught you at a decent time,"

"Perfect, actually." Percy said, staring at the empty seat Linda had just vacated,

"Wonderful," Kent exclaimed, "Just got word from an old friend of mine, looks like there are traces of Penanggalan killings in Malaysia, think you're up for it?"

Percy only hesitated for a second. He was still sore, and his ribs were still bruised from his fight the night before, but he was more than confident that he could deal with a knockoff vampire.

"Locked, cocked, and ready to rock,"

Kent chuckled on the other end of the line,

"The exuberance of youth." Kent laughed, "I'll send you the coordinates, happy hunting."

The phone clicked, and shortly after it buzzed with an incoming text. He took a moment to memorize the coordinates before checking his watch. He saw that it was just short of two in the afternoon, which meant that it was going to be just short of two in the morning in Malaysia. Penanggalan, vampiric-like creatures whose heads separated from their bodies and hunted newborn infants to feed on, did their hunting at night. If he hurried, he could get across the ocean just before three in the morning, which would give him enough time to find his quarry, kill the monster, and be back in time to hopefully catch a few hours of sleep before his morning classes.

Putting his phone in his pocket, he hefted his gym bag, full of his equipment he needed for a hunt, and began making his way to the nearest abandoned alleyway, where he would use his father's gift of mist-travel to arrive in the nearest body of water.

It was time to hunt.

AN: Okay…so wow, I've never had this supportive of a response to literally anything I've written so far. Over 300 follows in the first week? Ya'll are insane, and I love you all so much! Thanks for following me along on this fun little idea, I hope you've been enjoying it so far, and I know you're going to love what I have in store! As always if you enjoyed this but haven't checked out my other work, give them a try you never know you might find something else you like. I'm also on discord now, where I and a bunch of other writers hang out, chat and brainstorm ideas, you just have to copy the link that's in my profile bio if you want to come and hang out with us. Stay safe, stay healthy and have an awesome week

Love, LilDB