Percy stared numbly at the woman on his threshold. He blinked, hoping beyond hope that she was little more than a figment of his imagination. But he was immensely disappointed when he opened his eyes again and saw that she was still there.

As though able to read his mind, Helen smirked,

"I'm real, Percy, now are you going to invite me in or what? It's cold as balls out here, and in case you haven't noticed I'm carrying a heavy load here."

His mouth wasn't working, and his body acted of its own accord as he stepped aside and allowed her to step into the apartment.

"Man it's boring in here," she noted in disappointment, "I knew you Romans were lame but I was hoping that at least you wouldn't have a stick up your ass. Not even Jason is so neat,"

"He's been spending too much time around barbarians," Percy grumbled, "Helen, what are you doing here?"

She slumped down into his favorite chair, and sighed happily as she kicked off her flats,

"Gods that's better. You know I thought they were joking when they talked about your feet swelling but I didn't think it would be nearly this bad,"

"Helen," said Percy, snapping his fingers, "Focus. What are you doing at my home?"

"Visiting you, duh?" She rolled her eyes, "I mean seriously Percy, do you know how hard it was to find you. Low blow by the way, I had to find out you were in Gotham from Rachel of all people. I mean seriously! Did Jason or Reyna even know you were here."

"I wanted to be left alone," Percy crossed his hands over his chest and rested against his kitchen island, his eyes narrowing, "And I'd like it to stay that way."

"Don't be a dick," Helen frowned, her eyes flashing a bright green for a second, "Do you have any idea how worried I was when Diana called me and told me that you nearly died?"

It was Percy's turn for his eyes to flash dangerously, as lightning flashed outside the window.

"She had no right-" snarled Percy,

"I beg to-fucking-differ," said Helen hotly, "Percy you were shot, your ribcage had been crushed, your fucking heart stopped for over a minute. You don't get to keep me out of the loop when your life is in danger!"

"Why?" Said Percy incredulously, "We don't even know each other,"

"And whose fault is that?" Helen glared at him, "You've been blowing me off for years! I'm your sister, Percy. Your sister. I deserve to know when you've been shot by a freak dressed like a clown, which by the way, how the hell did you let that happen."

"We share a sperm donor," said Percy coldly, "And even then, not even. And I haven't been blowing you off, I've been living my own life."

"Bullshit," scoffed Helen, "The bodies hadn't even been buried before you'd disappeared. Nobody knew where you'd gone, I thought you were fucking dead, Percy. Dead. And then the next time I see you, it's getting pulled out of the rubble of some broken building on that hellhole of an island."

Her eyes began to glisten a little, "I just do not understand why you don't want to have a relationship Percy. We're family."

"We share blood," said Percy, "That doesn't make us family. I didn't know you existed until you stumbled into the city."

"That's low, Percy," sniffed Helen, "That's real fucking low. Jason and Thalia didn't know each other existed either, but look at them."

"Yeah, one's a House Representative, and the other is an immortal fourteen-year-old, they really epitomize familial love," snorted Percy,

"Why are you such a dick!" Cried Helen, hobbling to her feet, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, "I just want to know my brother! To have a fucking family! Are you really that selfish that you don't want that too!"

"I'm selfish?" Growled Percy, "I'm selfish? Where do you get off! Which one of us came barnstorming to the other's house unannounced and uninvited. Which one of us tried to live their own life, free from the bullshit that we've had to deal with all our lives. Which one of us disrupted that peace because of their own selfish desires!"

"We're family, Percy. I'm your sister! Are you really saying that doesn't mean anything to you?"

"I'm saying I want nothing to do with your world." Percy deflated against the island. He needed a drink.

"My world is your world, Percy," said Helen sadly, falling back into her chair,

"No it's not," Percy shook his head, "Not anymore. I gave that up. I got out and I've been out. That world, your world, I don't have a place in it anymore, and my life is infinitely better for it."

"Is that what this is about?" Helen's eyes narrowed dangerously, and another flash of lightning danced across the sky outside,

"This is because I'm Greek?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Percy was thrown by the comment, "Did I say anything about you being Greek?"

"No," scoffed Helen, "You talked about how it's my world, not your world but my world. Say what you mean, it's because I'm Greek right, you always had a problem with Annabeth and Leo. I guess I get it now, it's because you're nothing more than a fucking bigot."

"Are you kidding me," Percy laughed, unable to help himself, "You're insane! It has nothing to do with you being Greek!"

"Then what is it really about Percy!" Helen stormed over and got as close to Percy as her protruding belly would allow. Percy snarled, his anger snapping as his exhaustion and agitation reached a boiling point.

"No, you don't get it. You've never gotten it. I can't go back, because if I do, if I let myself step even one toe over the line and back into your world, then there's no turning back. That's not a switch that can be flipped back off. I have a life now. A life away from them, and I'm proud of my life. I'm sorry that you feel like I'm trying to butt you out, but you can't expect me to feel guilty about not wanting to jump back into bed with those people. Least of all because of a woman I don't even know."

That was the straw that broke the camels back. The tears began to flow freely, and without another word, Helen grabbed her discarded shoes and disappeared in a flurry of mist.

Percy groaned, leaning onto the island and resting his head in his arms. He'd been too hard on her. He knew it. She just wanted to have an actual relationship with any kind of family. He didn't know much about the woman, but he knew that her home life had been far from ideal. He couldn't blame her for wanting to actually know the closest thing to family she actually had.

But Percy wasn't going to sacrifice his life for her sake. Helen didn't get it, and he doubted that she ever would. Percy was happy with his life, happy that he actually had something resembling a normal, mortal life. He was not going to sacrifice that for anything.

With a grunt, he walked over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of bourbon.

He needed a drink.

BREAK

"You sound like shit,"

"Why thank you Monty, I'm fine thanks. Feeling great, just had a building fall on me, no big."

"Serves you right for being a dumbass."

"How is this my fault?"

"It's not," chuckled Montoya, "I just like busting your balls a little. You sure you're good to get back to work, it's only been like two days."

"I'm good," said Percy as he brought his car to a stop at a red light, "Whatever the League has in their super secret base is some good shit,"

"No shit," snorted Montoya, "You get a good look while you were there? Most people would give an arm and a leg to see the League's operation."

"Nah," lied Percy smoothly, "I was under the whole time. Woke up this morning in my own bed with a sticky-note on my stomach telling me what happened."

"Classy," said Montoya, "Well, if you're serious about coming in, head downtown. I'm meeting with Jim in twenty."

"Not at the precinct?" Asked Percy, as he turned his lights on and pulled a u-turn,

"About that…"

"Oh god, what now?"

"One-Seven is being shut down,"

Percy very nearly slammed into the rear-end of the car ahead of him in surprise.

"Fucking what?!"

"I know, nobody has heard from Winston since he called you, Gordon is sending some uniforms up to his place now to see if he's there, but Wise and Cavello have gone dark too. Gordon decided that now is the time to shutter the precinct, got the green light from the mayor and everything."

Percy let out a low whistle, "So are we out of a job?"

Montoya snorted, "Don't bet your ass on it, you on your way?"

"Yeah, see you in a bit," Throwing his phone onto the passenger seat, Percy let out a low breath.

"That can't be good."

Montoya was waiting for him as pulled into the lot attached to One Police Plaza.

"You look even worse than you sounded," said Montoya as Percy stepped out of the car,

"I can really feel the love and support, Monty," Percy tapped his heart as they fell into step towards the office, "Right here."

"Shut it, dipshit," Montoya slugged him in the shoulder, "Glad to see you in one piece though." She didn't say any more, and Percy didn't offer anything. They walked in companionable and comfortable silence all the way up to Gordon's office.

Gordon looked about as terrible as Percy had felt the other night. He was sporting a rather nasty black-eye, and his nose was bandaged so thickly it looked like he had a snowball sitting on his face.

He grunted as he took in Percy's appearance, a bloom of smoke trickling from his lips,

"Wasn't expecting to see you Jackson, not to say it's not damn good to see you up and around." He reached out and Percy gripped his hand in a tight embrace.

"Good to see you too, sir,"

Percy realized that they weren't alone in the room. Standing by the window, gazing out over the town below was the District Attorney. Percy met Gordon's eyes, and he subtly shook his head.

Without questioning the man's presence, Percy and Montoya sat down in the chairs across from Gordon who cleared his throat,

"How bad was it?" Percy asked as gordon emptied his pipe out and refilled the tobacco in a fluid set of motions,

"Bad," grunted Gordon, "Eighty dead, hundred and forty-eight more wounded. Fucking nightmare."

Percy let out a soft breath, slouching in his chair. He had expected as much. Given the sheer number of bodies that he alone had passed on his secluded corner of the island, he could only have guessed how full-scale the damage really was. Though the worst part about it was likely the number of innocent lives caught in the madman's crossfire. There were, after all, more than doctors and cops on the island. How many cooks, janitorial staff, clerks and ordinary civilian staff members had lost their lives because of a madman and his schemes?

"Before we get to that, however," said Gordon, bringing Percy out of his reverie,"There are other matters I want to get to. I'm not sure how much Montoya has filled you in Jackson, but Winston filed his resignation late the other night." He shot a meaningful look at Percy and Montoya, before clearing his throat,

"I shouldn't have to explain to you the implication there," continued Gordon, and he was right. Since Winston had been the one to order Percy to the island, if he knew that Percy had been brought off the island alive, then he would have known that he would be investigated, thoroughly. Winston might have been criminal scum, but he wasn't so stupid as to think he could stick around after something like that.

"Given the state of the precinct, as well as the blatant attack on you, Jackson, I've decided it's high time that change is implemented. I've officially petitioned and since gotten the approval from the Mayor to dissolve the One-Seven. I'm moving Major Crimes to my own office for the time being. Given the recent uptick in…major meta-human activity, and given the recent activities of certain major players in the town, the D.A.," He eyes darted over to Dent who was still standing by the window,

"The Mayor, and myself are of the opinion that Major Crimes needs to be taking a more active role in certain ongoing investigations."

Percy and Montoya shared a look. He hadn't ever heard of something like that ever happening, but he didn't know how much power and latitude Gordon had in Gotham. Still, such a shake-up like that, it wouldn't go unnoticed. That would grab the attention, both within the city and within the underworld. Still, Percy approved of the decision.

"With that out of the way," sighed Gordon, taking a deep inhale from his pipe and breathed out a plume of smoke,

"What the fuck happened on that island, Jackson?"

The question did not come from Gordon, but instead came from Dent. He was still not looking at Percy, but Percy could tell that his jaw was clenched so tightly that he was likely risking chipping a tooth.

"How much do you know, sir?"

"Assume we know nothing," said Dent, and Percy shot a furtive glance at Gordon, who gestured for him to proceed. Taking a breath, Percy leapt into a detailed, albeit slightly abridged version of what happened. He was interrupted only a few times by the odd probing question from Dent,

"How many people, excluding us, know what happened?" Asked Dent,

"As far as I'm aware, Batman and maybe the Justice League," said Percy, and Dent nodded in satisfaction, sighing as he ran a hand through his hair,

"Let's keep it that way,"

"Yes sir," Percy had no plans of telling the world his story. Percy knew that Dent wasn't doing him a favor, but the department. Percy's involvement would lead to questions about his being there on the island, and those questions would have uncomfortable answers regarding the state of the department, more specifically the state of the precinct lieutenants. It would be a bad look. While it might have been the most poorly kept secret in the city that the majority of the department was dirty, they didn't need to be airing such dirty laundry to the general public.

No more was said about the Joker, and nothing more was needed to be said. Percy didn't need praise, didn't need a pat on the back and an "atta boy." He was more than happy enough to know that he was the one to a bullet in the bastard himself.

"There's going to be an investigation," said Dent, finally stepping away from the window. The moon had started rising and was casting half of his face in a dim shadowy light. He pulled a silver dollar out of his pocket and idly began to flip it between his fingers. Percy followed the roll of the coin, mesmerized by the hypnotic motion.

"But, given the state of Internal Affairs these days," Dent shrugged, "I have difficulty in believing they're going to find anything too interesting,"

"The department never was the same after you left, was it Harvey?"

Dent snorted, "I don't think the rest of the department sees it that way, don't think I don't know what the rest of you bastards used to call me behind my back." He shook his head, "Regardless, Jackson, I wouldn't worry too much about the state of your job. As far as I'm concerned anything that happened within the walls of that hell-house was justifiable by the exigent circumstances at hand."

Percy didn't think it was the right decision to tell him that Percy hadn't been particularly worried about his job, but he nodded his thanks all the same.

"And my apologies for the third-degree," said Dent, as he began to pace a meandering circle around the office, "But given the current state of things…well I couldn't be too careful."

"Careful about what, if you don't mind my asking," said Percy hesitantly,

"Given your department-excuse me-former department, what do you think?" Said Dent sarcastically, "In case you hadn't noticed detective, Gotham is sitting on the brink of all-out war. The Falcone family is fracturing and even as we speak, they're beginning to kill each other right left and center." He casually flipped the coin into the air, and fluidly caught it in his other hand and began the flipping all over again,

"Gordon might trust you, but I haven't worked long enough with you to get a good read on you. Sorry if that offends you,"

Percy wasn't quite sure what to make of the man, so he opted not to respond.

"The problem," continued Dent, "Is that you received a call from a known associate of Christian Falcone, and not an hour later you ended up in the middle of a full-scale riot. I just wanted to make sure that you were clean in all of this."

"That's outta line Harvey," growled Gordon, "In case you forgot, but Jackson was a victim in that whole mess as much as I was. As anyone."

"You're blinded by your loyalty to your men, Jim," said Dent casually, "One of your strongest qualities to be sure, but it also works to your detriment. If you could step back and look at things from my perspective, then you would be just as suspicious as I am."

"Suspicious of what, exactly?" Asked Percy, his eyes narrowing dangerously. He did not exactly appreciate what Dent was implying,

"That you're working for Falcone," said Dent casually, and Percy could get at least applaud the man for his candor.

"You think I would willingly throw myself into that shit-show?" Asked Percy, unsure whether he should punch the man or laugh at him,

"No, but it would be an awfully convenient way for Falcone to get rid of someone once he'd outlived his usefulness,"

"Harvey!" Snarled Gordon, "What the hell are you trying to prove here?"

"Nothing," shrugged Dent, "Because I don't think he's working with Falcone,"

"Then what the fuck was that?" Demanded Percy, all sense of professionalism and decorum thrown to the wayside,

"I just wanted to check and see if your story checked out. As far as I'm concerned, it does. Congratulations detective, you can check yourself off the list."

"How the fuck did you ever get elected?" Percy grumbled, as he slouched back down into his chair,

"Teeth whitening strips and plenty of charisma," smiled Dent broadly, and Percy shared a look with Montoya,

"Now that that's over," said Dent, "We can get to the other reason I wanted to talk to you Jackson-"

However Dent was cut off by the abrupt ringing of Gordon's office phone. Sighing, Gordon reached out and answered it,

"Lacy, I'm busy right now-wait what?"

Percy didn't like the way his eyes went wide, and he was already rising from his chair with Montoya.

"Nothing is ever easy in this fucking town," grumbled Montoya as she checked her service pistol.

"Tell them to tape it off immediately!" Roared Gordon, "I want the press kept away and civilian and officer contact kept to a minimum. Tell them to let nobody but Detectives Montoya and Jackson onto the scene and that's a direct order from me!"

Gordon slammed the phone back down on the hook and looked up at Percy and Montoya, eyes blazing,

"You'll have to wait Harvey, we have something urgent."

"What happened now," sighed Dent,

"Winston," said Gordon, "His car just crashed into an apartment building on Fifth and Broadway, he's been shot."

BREAK

The scene was already a mess of civilians and officers by the time that Percy and Montoya arrived. Winston's car, a large truck, had been embedded into the wall of a nearby apartment building. Part of the structure had collapsed and was laying atop the hood, as debris continued to fall in a clatter on the misshapen metal. The car had driven over a fire hydrant, and water was spraying onto the street. A couple of pedestrians were out of their cars and speaking to uniformed officers, the front and rear bumpers of one of the cars had been dented. Percy assumed that Winston's car had run through a red light and smashed headlong into the other vehicle, which had stopped and gotten rear-ended.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," snarled Montoya, and Percy tore his gaze away from the wreckage to follow Montoya's gaze. His own eyes narrowed as he took in the forms of Cavello and Wise, speaking animatedly with a uniformed officer that was barring their entrance to the scene.

"…We got the call from dispatch ourselves, now get the hell out of our way before I report you!" Wise was all but screaming, but the older officer held his ground and did not budge from his spot. He spotted Percy and Montoya walking in his direction, and grimaced at them,

"Detectives," he called out as they approached, "Scene has been left untouched so far. CSI is on the way but they're probably going to be another twenty minutes."

"Middle of rush-hour, not a surprise," said Montoya in annoyance, before turning to the other detectives, "Cavello, Wise, what the fuck are you two doing here?"

"We got the call from dispatch!" Snarled Cavello, "We were here first but this old fuck won't let us in." Cavello's hand twitched dangerously towards the grip of his service pistol and Percy took a menacing step forward, a cloudy expression on his face,

"Funny thing about that," said Percy, his voice even, "We just came from the Commissioner's office, and we know for a fact that you weren't ordered here. We were. Think we might want to let the Commissioner know about this, Montoya?"

"I think you make an excellent point Metro," growled Montoya, "I think he'd just love to hear more about this."

Cavello looked like he was about to take a swing at Montoya, but Wise shot an arm out and stopped Cavello before he could do something stupid. With a withering glare, in their direction, Wise and Cavello made their way away.

"Assholes," grumbled Montoya, "Thanks for that Pierce,"

"No problem Renee," said Pierce, tipping the brim of his cap at her, "Not all of us are shitheads."

"You're definitely one of the good ones old man," teased Montoya, as she ducked under the tape and walked into the crime scene,

"Little pixie," grunted Pierce, sharing a commiserating look with Percy as he walked under the tape as well.

The scene was even worse as Percy and Montoya got closer. Bits and pieces of the car were strewn across the road, and Percy was forced to step over the shattered front bumper on his way to the car. The interior of the car was a disaster, as dust and debris from the accident had blown inside and had coated everything in a thin sheen of pale mauve.

Winston was laying prone over the middle dash, and blood was continually dripping onto the passenger chair he was bent over. Pulling a pair of gloves and face-shield on, Percy opened the door to the car and inspected the body, taking care not to move or alter the position of the body in any way. There was a small hole in the back of his head, but the horror truly began and ended with his face. Or what little remained.

"Jesus fuck," muttered Montoya as she leaned through the passenger door.

A high caliber had to have been used, because Winston no longer had what could reasonably be called a face. Instead, it was little more than a mess of blood, muscle, bone, and brain matter.

"Any sign of the bullet on your end?" Percy asked, leaning away from the body. Montoya did a quick, cursory scan of the floor but found nothing.

"Chances that we can find anything once we move the car," Percy asked,

"About the same as winning the damn Powerball," said Montoya.

"Think it was someone in the car?" He asked,

"Maybe?" Said Montoya, though she sounded about as skeptical as Percy felt, "But aside from using a miniature cannon, I have no idea what the fuck kind of weapon could of done something like that." She gestured vaguely to the front of Winston, and Percy had to agree.

"Long-range weaponry more like it," Percy suggested, "And in the middle of fucking downtown, no shortage of potential nests." He glanced back at the car, and noticed something more concerning however, was that none of the windows on the car were down and none of them had been shattered. The driver-side window had been cracked slightly, but there was no way that any one could have threaded the needle like that. Looking down into the car again, Percy noticed that there were no glass fragments on the floor, only dust and a still smoking cigarette butt.

"What the hell," he muttered,

"What?" Asked Montoya,

"Look at the windows," he said, gesturing around the car, "None of them are broken, not even so much as a hole in them from the shot."

"Then what the hell are we looking at here?" Asked Montoya, "Look at the position of the body, no way he gets shot in the back of the head and falls like that."

"No sign of a shot in the back of head-rest either," noted Percy, peering into the backseat of the truck. He checked the floor of the vehicle, and didn't find any signs that someone had been back there recently. Furthermore, there wasn't a shell casing back there either.

"Okay, so if it didn't come from the back seat, then it had to have been a long range shot," mused Percy, "But how in the hell?"

"You ever heard of a bullet that can phase in and out of reality like Martian Manhunter?" Groused Montoya,

"Afraid not," said Percy slowly, as he walked back to the driver-side of the car. Taking as much care as possible not to jostle the body, he poked his head into the driver well. Pulling his phone out, he flipped the flashlight on and scanned the underside of the steering wheel. There, just under the ignition was a small hole.

His heart racing, Percy called out to Montoya,

"Got something here!" He popped the hood release of the truck and raced around to the front. Montoya met him on the other side as he hopped up into the engine block.

"What the hell are you doing?" Asked Montoya,

"There's a hole under the ignition," explained Percy, as he shined his flashlight down into the engine.

"I'm hoping that…huh!" He said in confusion as he spotted a flash of something silver-gray tucked underneath a line of tubing.

"You find something?" Asked Montoya,

"Maybe? You got some an evidence bag on you?"

Montoya reached into her coat pocket and withdrew an evidence bag and she passed it into his hands. Reaching into his belt, Percy grabbed his multi-tool out of its holster and pulled the pliers out. Reaching down into the engine, he fumbled around for a few moments before he was able to to wrap the pliers around the object.

"Gotcha!" He cried out. To his surprise, he held a bullet up in his hand as Montoya brought her phone out and snapped a quick picture of the bullet. After dropping the bullet back into the bag and sealing it, he took a closer look at the bullet. It was definitely the right bullet, as it was stained bright red in the blood of Winston. It was unlike any bullet that he had ever seen before. Unlike the traditional copper-color of a lead bullet, but was instead a silver-grey. More curiously, however, he noticed that there was something odd about it. There were strange grooves and indentations on the silver, almost like they had been stenciled on with a chisel.

"What are you looking at?" Asked Montoya, stepping forward, "Bullets aren't supposed to look that,"

"No, no they aren't," said Percy curiously, "Moreover though, look at this." He pointed at the engravings,

"That mean anything?" She asked,

"No idea," said Percy softly, "I would normally say that doing that to the bullet would fuck it to the point of being unshootable, but I guess I'm wrong about that."

"I don't think that's a word,"

"Is now,"

"What the fuck are we dealing with here?" Asked Montoya,

"I got no idea," muttered Percy, still enraptured by the strange bullet. Sighing, he put the evidence bag into his coat pocket, and glanced around the scene, "Think we'll be lucky and grab anything from those cameras?" He asked, pointing at the camera's on the traffic-light over the intersection,

"With out luck," sighed Montoya, "I doubt it,"

"I don't think that we're getting anything more done tonight,"

"Probably not," agreed Montoya,

"Break until tomorrow then," said Percy with an aggrieved sigh, "I'll see you tomorrow Monty,"

"You too Metro," said Montoya as she left the intersection as the CSI van rolled up onto the curb beside the uniformed officers on the scene.

"And give Dinah a call!" Shouted Montoya as she walked away, "She's been worried sick! And ask her out already you pussy!"

Percy didn't get a chance to reply as Montoya disappeared around the corner and back towards her car. Rolling his eyes, Percy decided that she was probably right, at least about talking to Dinah. If nothing else, he owed her, as his friend, to let her know that he was doing okay.

But as he pulled out his phone, he felt the bullet in his pocket and pulled it out as well. He'd never seen anything like that before, and he couldn't help but shudder as a wave of apprehension washed over him.

This was going to get ugly. He knew it.

As always shoutout to Double0Sxvxn for being an awesome Beta and dealing with my bullshit and 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.

All My Love and see you next week,

LilDB