A/N And another yet to come. I still have some more contract killers to come and get their rear end handed to them by Percy. Also, with this chapter I crossed the 50k threshold and finished Nanowrimo 2019 in less than two weeks. Don't mean I am ending this story. I still have plot to settle and I am not even half-way there.

Djberneman: That's exactly what Percy pointed out. Batman is an idealist. He sometimes cares for his vendetta more than people. Throughout the years there were many iterations of Batman. I love the TAS Batman, but for example I hate the whole Jason Todd story. After season 3 of YJ I am more willing to consider this the later version of Bat and that is how I am gonna portray him.

CRUDEN: Like I mentioned at the end, it is not over yet. Contract is still open. See for yourself :)


Watchtower
September 5th, 22:16

Whole league gathered. Every member was present in person. They've already managed to deal with main fallout of the covert operation. Doctor's Sandsmark testimony was huge help and also caused in-detail investigation of Bialya by the UN. As of now, there was another problem: Neptune. This matter caused way more stir. After reading the raport on the whole event, League divided into two camps. One supported his actions and stood up for him. The other agreed with Batman and stated that killing is wrong no matter what. Previous meeting ended prematurely when they were called to natural crisis on Cuba. Now that this was all sorted, they could return to their debate.

"This is outrageous. He saved that woman!" John Stuart protested. "We cannot punish him for stopping execution."

"He killed Psimon. That's not how it works and you know it. He crossed the line." Superman protested.

"And so did I back in my army days." Protested Captain Atom.

"That was different. You had no choice. He could do something." Batman countered.

"He acted on instincts. You know his history. He is war veteran. He had to kill to survive. He fought for his life for six years." Wonder Woman justified.

"Exactly our point." Flash interrupted her. "He is not fit to be a hero."

"Let me finish. He is trained to kill, but he only resorts to it as last solution, when he knows that everything else is futile." Diana ended.

"That is not excuse. John is also trained soldier, but he don't kill." Captain marvel interjected.

"It's been years since I left the military. He came here straight after war. After I returned I had rehabilitation, I had help. What did we really give him? More military training, and then sent him on mission. It was wrong. We made a mistake. We pushed him into this life, only to withdraw our support. He is now alone God knows where."

"It was his choice to become a hero." Batman said in emotionless voice. Deep down he felt some regret, but he wouldn't admit it. He was still right in his mind. Percy crossed the line and instead of apologizing or showing remorse, he defended his actions.

"Oh really?" Aquaman sent Bat an irritated glare. "Forgive me, but I disagree. He did not look for trouble. We brought him to public attention and placed a target on his back. If we let him go, he would settle down and live a simple life. And even after we captured him, you didn't give him any real choice. You practically coerced him into fighting your battle. He wanted to join the league. He aspired to be like us. Instead, you put him into your 'secret team'." Aquaman raged at batman. Everyone (including himself) were surprised by this. Orin was actually one of three people who knew fully well about Percy's past (other two being Batman and Wonder Woman). At first he thought of him as some weirdo, then as a pretender to his throne, but after he learned full story he felt sympathy toward the kid. His visit in Atlantis only confirmed it. He didn't want spotlight. He did what was right and cared for people. During the attack he rushed head on to save others. Percy was a hero like no other in this world.

Batman wanted to say something, but decided to stay silent. Instead, Hawkwoman spoke. "What happened can't unhappen. We should focus on what to do next. Right now he is missing and we have no idea where to look for him."

Green Arrow rose his hand. "Actually, I found something on him on dark web. It's not good." He pressed some buttons and an article on Perseus appeared. It contained everything League had on him in their files and a bounty: 10 000 000 US$. "I think we have a big problem."


Washington DC
September 6th, 12:36

Percy arrived at the airport two hours ago. After examining the phone Luthor gave him he came to conclusion that this is some custom-made model. Of course he run it through every anti-malware program he could find, but he somehow doubted if it was bugged normal software would find anything. Luthor was smart. Percy had to give it to him that at least he was honest. This phone was equipped with tons of useful apps and contacts. Percy already set up a meeting with investment agency to do something with his money. He also booked a first-class flight to Jump City, California. This city was quite big, but did not have any superhero on it's own. Because of close proximity to Star City and Coast City, Green Arrow or Green Lantern usually dealt with major super criminals, eventually other leaguers took care of it, but they had no superhero on their own. Percy decided to operate from there. He found a list of major cities with superheroes 'assigned' to them. some people really need to get themselves a life. On the list there was also list of major cities with high annual crime rate. Percy analyzed it and after carefully taking everything into consideration he decided that Jump City was best for him. It had also two major benefits when compared to other cities on the list. It was right next to ocean, which doesn't need to be explain. The other pro was that since it was west coast, it meant that Batman was as far away as possible. No Dark Knight next door. Green Arrow and Green Lantern were both cool as far as their short-spanned relation went.

Percy smartly left his bag in the taxi to summon it after he passed the security. Better not to explain why he carries armored outfit and utility belt. Kinda weak to have your secret identity revealed during waiting for departure. Right now Percy was dressed in a suit and carrying only his laptop. The suit was practically required in first class and laptop was so that he had something to do while waiting. After getting bored with learning programming, Percy summoned his bag. He wanted to finally read the manual for his new belt, but just then he heard shooting. He turned, only to see a group of at least ten heavily armed thugs enter the departure hall. Leading them was a very muscular tall man in luchador mask and some green tube coming from his hand to the back of his head. He was wearing brown cargo pants and a sleeveless black muscle shirt that was tucked in his pants. His belt had a fairly large buckle. He wore black gloves and black boots. What got Percy's attention was the fact that the man had no weapon whatsoever. And I hoped for uneventful day. Percy quickly run to the bathroom while the terrorists shouted something that escaped his attention. He didn't have time to get to toilets and dress up. Time was of the essence, so he only put on his gauntlets, new belt and domino mask. He felt an urge to open one of the pockets in the belt, so he did. From inside, he pulled pair of red googles/glasses. Curious, Percy put them on over his mask. Immediately, they expanded forming full face cover and kind of a hood, leaving his hair to flair like with KF, but his mouth was covered by hard mask that had voice modulator. Neptune smiled behind the mask. Easily one of the best gifts his father ever got him. He summoned his trident and sneaked through the shadows back to the main area.

"I will ask you for the last time. Where is Perseus Jackson?!" The luchador screamed at the people. Most of them cowered in fear. Percy stepped into the light and created mini earth-quake to attract attention. Wow. Too much time near Zeus.

"You looking for someone?" Neptune asked. Of course he was met with several series from machine guns, but he swiftly dodged it or deflected with his trident. He then used water in his gauntlet to form several ice spikes and shoot them at the assailants. Each spike hit the barrel, jamming their weapons. This gave Neptune a chance to close the distance. He punched one of the guys and sent him flying away. He crashed into the nearby cafe and did not stand. People cheered at that, only to be quickly silenced by sound of repeatedly fired hand gun. He looked down on his chest and saw his suit tore in multiple places. Few flattened bullets fell on the floor. One of the other attackers looked at this and started running. Neptune focused and suddenly water burst from nearby hydrant hitting him in the chest and froze, immobilizing him and effectively taking him out of the fight. Water was still pumping, so Neptune created a wave that swept through and froze every single attacker still standing, including pseudo-wrestler. He turned to see the one he threw at the cafe holding gun to the head of small girl.

"N-Now Y-you surr..." He didn't finish as knife hit him (with the hilt, not sharp part) right into the back of his head, sending him unconscious. Behind was standing a woman in dark gray jumper, dark green baseball hat and military trousers. What got Neptune's attention was characteristic mask of a Cheshire Cat.

Percy wanted to initiate conversation, but was interrupted by the sound of breaking ice. The pseudo-wrestler's muscles were now twice the size and his veins were visible. "Nobody imprisons Bane!" He shouted before charging at Neptune.

Not wanting to endanger the people behind him, he instead faced him head on. Both Bane and Neptune locked and tried pushing one another. The former was surprised that this no one would be able to match his strength, but Venom clouded his mind too much and he couldn't make sense of it. Instead, Bane raged more and tried throwing Neptune away. Instead, he ended up being tossed instead. He crushed through security checkpoint and landed there, leaving large crater. Hero then boosted his jump with condensed earth-quake and planned on landing on Bane. The villain caught him before he managed to land and threw him on the ground next to him, deepening the crater. He then stomped, hoping to crash enemy's spine, but before he did it, Neptune was already on his feet. One swift kick sent Bane few feet away. Tired with the wrestling match Percy summoned his trident and pointed it at his enemy. The top crackled with electricity and large discharge hit Bane.

"Huh? Since when can it do that?" There was no time to answer the question, because Bane pumped more Venom into himself and with newfound strength tried to smash Neptune. Hero got distracted and did not notice it fast enough. Without time to avoid the punch, he responded with an attack on his own. When their fists met and made contact huge impact wave went in all direction, rising dust all around them and causing all the windows to break. Percy used this occasion to quickly dance behind Bane and tear the Venom pipe from his back. He then shot another discharge of electricity at what ought to have been his weak spot. Bane immediately fell unconscious.

Using the fact that dust was still in the air, Percy sneaked out and took of his 'super suit'. He then blended into the crowd and tried looking for Cheshire. Suddenly, someone pulled him out and behind the counter of one of the stores. "Must you always make a scene? You attract enough attention with your pretty face and great body."

"Nice to see you too Cheshire." For the first time he actually had a chance to take a closer look at her face. She has thick black hair (now pulled back into a ponytail to easier fit under the hat) and gray eyes, as well as olive-colored skin. "Are you planning on trying to kill me again? We already settled through best of three that I am better than you."

"Need I remind you that I accepted the contract on saving your skin? I didn't get pay so I had to protect my investment and earn my twenty million dollars." She cut him.

"After you disappeared from where I sent you I assumed you stood me up. Sorry not sorry."

"I had to get to some doctor to fix my leg." Percy suddenly remembered about her leg. He looked down to see it bandaged, but without anything that would indicate that it was broken. Back in his world he would assume ambrosia, but here? He decided to drop the question now as he saw police lights outside. "We should get moving else you plan on spending few hours explaining what could they want with you."

Percy silently nodded and followed her outside through broken window in the back. They got into one of the hangars. Inside was a private jet. He looked around, still half expecting an ambush, but he boarded the plane with her. Inside looked actually really comfy. He sat in one of two chairs while Cheshire went to the cockpit and told pilot to start. When she returned, she sat in front of him and started playing with his Sai.

When they were in the air, Percy started conversation. "You already know my name. I think it is only fair that I knew yours."

She chuckled. "Yeah. No. That is not how it works. Tell me. Are you new to this gig? Because surely you should know that I don't need to tell you anything." That was intended to be lighthearted joke, but to Percy it came as a complain. He frowned.

"Sorry, but usually my enemies sent a group of powerful monsters that I had to kill to survive next day, so to answer your question: Yes, I am new to trained killers thing." This actually surprised Jade. After seeing him fight, she expected him to hate killing like other heroes. That was the reason she only knocked this guy in the airport unconscious, or she would risk loosing her payment. Even the 'Bialya incident'. She was sure this was modified recording and probably Psimon forced him to do this or it was some accident that Queen Bee used to cause disturbance. She noticed he is working on his computer on something. There was also the fact that he said monsters.

"What type of monsters are we talking about?"

Percy hesitated. Every ounce of logic told him that she is not to be trusted, but his gut was telling him otherwise. And Percy being himself decided to listen to intuition not logic. He still decided to play a little bit and maybe get some information. "Do you know who I really am? I mean as far as genetics go."

"Well, by the display of power I would assume either some meta-human, Atlantean or alien. So which one?"

"None." He grinned. "Three guess and you are out. Sorry. Such a pretty face." He teased her a bit before continuing. "I guess the closest would be a hybrid of all three. You know Greek myths? I come from different world... dimension if you wish but that is not my favorite word. In my world, they are actual beings. Whole pack: Gods, Titans, monsters, Primordials. All of this is real."

"And where do you sit in this? You can't expect me to believe you are an actual Greek god? Although that would explain your divine body shape." She purred at the end. Sure. Another earth... why not?

Percy was mostly unfazed by her attempts at flirt during battle, but now it was getting to him. Back when he was with Annabeth he didn't really notice other girls and since he came here he hadn't really spend time with women. Amazons don't count because they were like Hunters of Artemis given their own country to run. Maybe except Donna. "I am a demigod, son of Poseidon."

Jade chuckled. "So you are a fish Jesus?"

"Why everyone keep using this joke? Seriously. Can't you people be more creative? Yes."

"And the monsters?" At that Percy pulled out a Greek Mythology Bestiary he got at some point when he came to this world. He handed it to her open on index. She looked at list of black lines where names should be. "Is this some kind of a joke?"

"I crossed out the names of every monster I already faced and survived." She looked on the list again and had hard times finding monsters that weren't crossed out.

"How is it even possible? Not even Hercules thought everything." Her attitude changed from halfhearted to dead serious. If this was true then this man in front of her was some kind of freaking death machine.

"Heracles." Percy took great pleasure in correcting this mistake. "Is overrated. As for how, I had six years of near constant fighting for my life. My enemies were getting creative with what monsters they pulled. Except beef head. He crawled back every two years or so. Also, two wars really do wonders on your kill-count."

WARS? As in plural? Cheshire couldn't believe what she heard. "Wait a moment! Wars? You are younger than me. Wars as in more than one?"

"Yes." Percy watched with a bit of amusement how she lost all her cool and now questioned every word of his. He already killed the logical side of him that was saying not to trust her, but it still rang in the back of his head. "Second Titan war and Second Giant war. After that I came here to escape this constant battle, but well... I met you" He smiled, but instead of his usual cheerful grin came a melancholic smile. Deep down he still missed everyone he left behind and still mourned those who died in both wars. The memories did not belong to the happiest, but he cherished them as they were only ones of his friends. Cheshire wondered for a moment whether to push or not. Finally, she decided to drop the subject. She was about to change the subject when Percy finally finished clicking on his laptop. "So Jade. Now that you know about me maybe you tell me a bit about yourself?"

She was dumbfounded and couldn't speak. It took a moment before she managed to regain control over her tongue. "How did you find out?"

He grinned. "I didn't. I just found a file on assassin that matched your description. You just confirmed it." Deep down, he was proud of his detective work.

"Smart, Good-looking and Rich? Now be careful or soon you will have to hire me to stop the girls from tearing you apart." She joked.

"Now I know your name. Care to tell more?" Percy packed his laptop and now looked at Cheshire.

"Only if you go first. With whole life story, not just some slips. You seem like a really interesting person. Thought about writing an autobiography?"

"Nah. I am not good writer. And nope. No more bedtime stories from me." He yawned and faked going to sleep. Cheshire returned to playing with the sai, albeit disappointed. This demigod really sparked her interest.


The trip was mostly uneventful after Percy faked going to sleep and actually fell into it. Cheshire decided not to wake him up until they were closing Jump City. They landed in private hangar and left for the city center. It was around 5 PM by the time they were standing in front of the airport.

"Now what?" She asked. "You've plan on doing something interesting?" Last sentence was underlain with slight flirt.

"I must go get myself new clothes and check in some hotel. Then probably I will go swimming to unload."

"So that is how it's called nowadays." She smiled. Before Percy came with some witty comeback she continued. "No clubbing? Casino? I am disappointed. Rich guys usually have an interesting night life."

"Well, probably I will spend most of the night creating myself false backstory and forging documents. If I am to blend into this city, I will need to make myself believable."

"Boring. Call me when someone attacks you." Cheshire wanted to disappear, but Percy grabbed her shoulder.

"Nunu. You decided to serve as my bodyguard so you will stay close enough to actually help." Truthfully, Percy did not want to leave her unsupervised. He trusted her to some extend, but this voice in the back of his head was really persistent.

"Fine. But I am not wearing a suit. And you get me some nice dress."

"Why the dress?"

"Isn't it obvious? I am dragging you to some club against your will. If I am stuck with you I will at least enjoy it."

"Yeah... No." Percy protested. He was tempted to agree, but he wanted to secure his identity before anything got out. "Maybe tomorrow once I am done with the formalities of creating fake life for myself. Nice try though."

Jade wanted to add more, but she relented. They went to one of this fancy hotels and Percy rented the royal suite of course. Receptionist looked at them curiously, but said nothing. The apartment was pretty large, but smaller than what Percy had at Luthor Plaza in Washington. Entering through the doors, you got into large living room. On the left there was a really large couch in front of which was glass coffee table. On the wall in front of it was large TV. On the other side there was a table with four chairs. There were also two doors. One led to quite large bathroom. Outside of usual conveniences that come with such place it had both shower chamber and bath with massage function. Percy was tempted to immediately jump in there and lock the doors for hours, but he stopped himself and instead went to see the sleeping room. It was also larger than normal, with large king-sized bed, a fireplace with two armchairs in front and really fluffy rug.

Jade looked at Percy and sighted. "Guess I am sleeping on the couch."

It took him a moment to understand what she meant. "No. I am sleeping at the couch. You get the bed." This legitimately surprised her.

"Huh?"

"Well, A: I can manage and it's not like I won't have this for probably the rest of my life. One night won't make a difference. and B: If I had really forced you to sleep on the couch, my mother would drill her way into this dimension to scold me. Her glare could rival that of Medusa and I do not wish to join my step-father as a garden statue." Jade wondered what he meant by garden statue, but decided not to ask. Percy took one more look at the bed and hesitantly added. "Or maybe we can both sleep at this bed. It's so large that if we cut it in half each of the halves could hold two people."

"Fine by me. Now wake me up if something interesting starts to happen. Or if you get bored." She added with a smile.

Percy sat on the couch and spent next few hours creating a fake persona for himself. Luthor gave him an idea and documents provided by Hermes helped. After actually looking through the documents for the first time Percy couldn't stop himself from laughing. He didn't bother before because he simply thought that Hermes summoned his own documents, but now he found a set of report cards from private school in United Kingdom. There was also his birth act, which stated that he was born to Sally and Paul Jackson. There were also other documents like his health documentation (obviously fake because he stopped seeing mortal doctors after he first visited Camp Half-Blood). He didn't really care, but he noticed that documents magically changed the date of birth to match his actual age, instead of the bonus three years Hermes gave him. Probably he used mist and it faded soon after he got here. After finishing with the documents, Percy got to work. Creating false identity for not one person, but whole family wasn't that easy. He looked into this Triton Security that allegedly belonged to his late father. The company was strange. It did provide security for many important buildings, but that's where information ended. There was no contact number, no email address, not even a physical location. Percy also noticed that name Paul Jackson figures as founder. Huh? someone's doing my job for me. He abandoned this and focused on establishing his story. His parents life was their private and nobody's else. After middle-school his father sent him to private boarding school in England. Percy stayed there until he finished the education. He planned on going to Oxford, but his father death got him back to the states. There, he inherited the company he had no idea how to run, so he sold majority of the shares to Luthor and was satisfied with small package that ensured he still had some voice. He bought this package that night, but nobody needed to know.

After that was all done, Percy undressed and took a quick shower before going to sleep. His nightwear consisted of just underpants, but he was too tired to actually care. Jade was already asleep and it's not like she would look under the blanket. He was asleep before his head even hit the pillow.


Next morning Percy walk up to a shock of hair blocking his vision. He felt something... someone warm hugging him. And he was hugging back. He tried sitting up or at least separating, but Jade stopped him and murmured.

"It's too early. Let me sleep some more." She was completely unfazed by this situation. Percy finally forced himself out and moved away. "Ugh. But you were such a nice heater..."

Percy felt his cheeks turn red. "How did we even end up like this? I remember falling asleep on completely other side of the bed."

"I have no idea. You were staying up late. I woke around three in the morning and saw us like this. You don't see me complaining though." Jade sat up as well. She was wearing a loose nightgown and her black hair was a mess. "Probably you had some nightmare. Or really happy dream" Percy turned even more red on that last comment. He stood up and went to get a shower. Cold water hit him and immediately all problems seemed to disappear. His mind cleared and he had a chance to think clearly. He thought about all that happened throughout last few days and smiled. Finally, he cleaned himself and stood up. Not wanting to waste time on toweling, he willed himself dry. Water immediately fell from him like he was venomous. Percy put on new pair of trunks and a bathrobe.

When he stepped out, Jade was already waiting. "So? What is the plan for today boss?" The word was underlain with so much sarcasm that probably deaf would hear it. Percy only smiled.

"Well, I have several meetings planned. First I am getting new wardrobe. There is a tailor in this city that Luthor praised in one of the notes. I set up a meeting at ten fifteen." Percy pulled his phone and looked at calendar. "Then I have an appointment with real estate agent."

"And his name?" Jade asked curious. When Percy gave it, she grinned. "I see. The Secret Master. He and his crew specialize in... certain field of real estate. Shadows, Luthor, even some super heroes. One hundred percent secrecy is guaranteed."

"And nobody ever tried to get the information by force? I mean there are many powerful telepaths out there. Also, if he is that powerful why is he estate agent?" Percy was curious. Of course he wondered how can there be so many secret passages and rooms in different buildings. It took more than few people to build an apartment with secret room.

"The Secret Master is a meta-human. He can make people forget secrets. I have no idea how it works, but he just causes his workers to forget the secrets they learned during the work. Even he forgets all of them. Also, he never asks any unneeded questions. As for why he is estate agent... you will know once he sends you a bill." Jade was serious when speaking about him. Everyone was. This man was very influential.

"Ok then. Anyway, after that I have another appointment with an investment company to secure my fortune. Then I am technically free, so I will work on..." He wanted to say something but she cut him off.

"Great. So we are going to a club. I heard that there is this place called Lotus which is great." Jade was surprised when Percy cringed.

"Yeah... No. I will look for something better. Is that really necessary? You can go to the club without me."

"But who will pay for my fun then?" She joked before disappearing in the bathroom.

Percy planned on taking his suit with him, but he dropped the idea and instead just packed the belt into his laptop bag. He then put on his more casual clothes and got ready to leave, but Cheshire was still not ready. It was still early and Percy had more than an hour before this Tailor appointment of his, so he put up the news.

"And now we return to the crash of flight W16-16." This sparked his interest. The designation sounded so familiar. "The plane was supposed to travel from Washington DC to Jump City, but soon after it left the airport in the capital it exploded. The reasons of it are unknown, but authorities do not exclude the possibility of sabotage or bombing. Search for survivors is still in progress, but Agent Carwall said not to have high hopes. The explosion and the fall left machine in state that it would need to be miracle for anyone NOT to become puddle of burning goo." Another voice spoke "Yeah. Thank you Vicky. That was quite... descriptive. Government is yet to give official statement regarding the..."

Percy turned the TV off. This was supposed to be his flight. Someone detonated the plane he was supposed to be in. If Cheshire haven't snatched him, he would most likely be one of this puddles. Jade, who as it turned out already finished and sneaked at him when he was distracted looked at him with a bit of pity. For some weird and unknown reason in this short time he grew on her. She enjoyed teasing him and how he could go from careless to embarrassed in just a matter of seconds. He was also kind and loyal... Wait. What bullshit is that? He is just a guy paying me to protect him.

"Someone bombed the plane in attempt to get me. If it wasn't for you, I would already be dead. Thank you. You did save my life." Percy smiled at her.

"That was Detonator, an assassin working for the league of shadows."

"Aren't you working for them as well?" Percy asked. His hand instinctively went to the pocket in which he kept riptide. It's been almost two months since trident became his primary weapon, but old habits die hard.

"I do. But it doesn't work that way. Unless there is a mission given, I am free to accept other contracts as well. And since it's not League that put a bounty on your head, I am free to stop the assassinations. As long as you will pay me at least." She grinned.

"Yeah. You win. I will fund your club escapade tonight."


Undisclosed location
September 7th, 12:16

Ra's and Luthor were sitting in a plane. They were on their way to Taipei.

"How is the hunt going?" Luthor asked. Even if the question might have seemed vague for outsiders, they both perfectly knew which hunt businessman referred to.

Great One frowned. "It is harder than we assumed. No one was able to do anything to him." Ra's displayed several videos of Percy fighting KGBeast, Shiva and later on Bane. "At first we assumed that his powers are what makes him a threat. It was almost a grave mistake. He is skilled and cunning. He held himself against Lady Shiva and matched Bane in hand to hand combat. He also outsmarted Mr. Knyazyev by luring him into a trap. Not to mention that he did not board the plane that he bought ticket for."

"He is smart, I give him that. Hiring one of the assassins as his bodyguard..." Luthor looked at video of Cheshire knocking down one of the Bane's thugs.

"Yes. He offered her a contract with double of what she would get for killing him." Ra's looked a bit irritated.

"Isn't she one of your operatives? Just order her to kill him in his sleep." Luthor suggested without even slightest worry.

"I can't. She already accepted a contract to protect him. If she betrayed him now it would put the whole league in bad light."

"But she took a contract to kill him before that."

"It is an open contract that doesn't require registration. We posted a flyer that we want his head. He actually gave her a paper version which she signed. It means that she is bound by it."

"Then there is problem of incoming summit. We already slipped the info to the deep web that she is going to assassinate me. What now?"

"Simple: we replace her with someone else. It was just a rumor after all" Demon's head grinned evilly. "It's not like they are always one hundred percent true."


Jump City
September 7th, 16:33

The meeting with The Secret Master was less impressive than Percy expected. He gave him specifications on what type of apartment he wanted and what 'special amenities' were required. Percy decided on two level penthouse. Lower level contained large living area, kitchen separated from the rest with glass, soundproof walls, master bedroom, giant bathroom, one guestroom and his office. And there was cinema room. Not some cheep flat-screen TV with two armchairs, but actual Cinema with rows of chairs and everything. From the living area you could walk out to large balcony. It could easily park two cars outside. Form balcony stairs led up to helicopter platform. Percy did not own any, but maybe he will need it later. In the living area there were also two pairs of stair leading to the second level. Upstairs Percy asked for library, large gym, swimming pool, several more guestrooms and a separate storage room. In the office on the lower level and in the library (which was directly above it) on the upper level there was a hidden elevator that could take you several floors below. Percy bought whole two floors and had it rearranged to suit for his HQ. There, he had several stands for his suit(s), a powerful computer with several monitors, an archery range, sparring room, a separate room for his trophies, a holding cell and a lab. There was also a secret passage to vault designed similarly to the one he saw on Themyscira, but instead of going into old dungeon you went into high-tech, highly-secured secret chamber where he could safely place the equipment that is too dangerous. Back in the apartment Percy also had few additional secret compartments to be hidden in key places to later stock them with what he might need in case of attack. There was also high-speed elevator that could take him to private underground garage or to water tunnel leading out into the bay. Whole place was to be 'reinforced and secured better than atomic bunker under white house'. Secret Master listened to all the demands and said that everything will be ready in two weeks. This really surprised Percy. He half-expected the guy to laugh at him saying that this is impossible or tell him that it will take few months. Instead, he was supposed to wire half the (horrendous) payment up front as soon as they signed the deal and be ready to move in to the new fully furnished home in two weeks. Looking at the bill Percy understood why this guy chose to be estate agent. The price had eight zeros.

Cheshire was not present during this whole ordeal. Percy did not trust her that much to reveal all the secrets of his future home and base. She waited outside in the rented car. When he was done with all that Percy changed into his elegant suit and they drove to investment agency. Even after buying the apartment, Percy had way too much money to just let it lay in bank. Investing some would be what any normal person would do, so that is what he wanted to do. They were both riding the elevator to the upper level. Percy made Cheshire put on a suit and she looked like professional bodyguard, gun included. After they walked into the office they were greeted by a man wearing gray suit and red tie. Percy noticed red straps under his jacket. They exchanged pleasantries and Percy sat down in the chair in front of large desk.

"I must say it's no small surprise to host such a young man. To be honest initially I thought that it is some kind of a joke, but everything checked out." Inside Percy breathed a sight of relief. His fake backstory worked. This few articles he set were good enough. Probably if someone was too suspicious, he would discover that something isn't right and changing timestamps on articles is not that easy to trace. "I am honored that you chose our company."

"Yeah. Mr. Luthor advised me to contact you first. I don't really want to have to worry about anything. That is why I sold him the company. Running business? that's not me."

They continued the talk and finally, Percy struck a deal. He did not give all his money, but rather kept about a third or so. This way he did not have to worry about running out of funds and still had secured, steady source of income. When everything was signed and he and Cheshire were about to leave window broke and Percy was pulled with some sticky rope. He was hanging twenty levels above ground and he was not enjoying it. He looked up to see a man wearing a purple spandex costume. His mask had shades of purple, with the back portion being dark purple and the front portion being regular purple. It also sported a spider emblem that took up most of his forehead and then intersected with his golden eye pieces. The torso of the suit was dark purple, along with his hands, knees, elbow, inner elbow and parts of his feet, while the remainder of the costume was purple. Around his wrist he had two dull gray bracelets from which the line Percy was right now hanging on extended.

"Sorry to interrupt this meeting, but someone is paying quite a money for your head. I guess you must be going so I will stop holding you back now." Black spider joked and he released the rope. Luckily, Cheshire caught it just in time. Now Percy was hanging only 19 levels above the ground. Great. My chances of survival just tripled. Percy thought to himself before starting to climb.

Cheshire still tired lifting the rope and getting Percy up faster. She turned to the dumbfound businessman and screamed at him. "Don't just stand there! Go fetch some help!" Once he was gone, Percy looked relieved and looked at black spider grinning.

"Dude. Seriously? What does a guy have to do to have one day without assassinations attempt?" Black spider looked completely surprised by this change of attitude. Gone was lazy, scared billionaire teen and in his place was someone else. This... whoever it was suddenly launched himself and landed back in the office. Percy then pulled one of his gauntlets and put it on. He used the water stored in there to create a tendril and pull black spider inside. He was too surprised to react before he landed inside. Cheshire then quickly knocked the lights out of him. Percy quickly gathered the water and hid the gauntlet just as security arrived.

"Take this man away. I am late for next appointment already." He told them, already leaving.

"But sir. You will need to give statement to the police or he will be released."

"Tell them to contact my lawyer." Percy shouted, already stepping into the elevator. Once the doors closed, Cheshire looked at him amused.

"But you don't have a lawyer."

"Exactly." Percy grinned widely.


Mount Justice
September 7th, 12:45

Since Percy left, the Team got divided. Artemis, Kaldur and to some extend Conner supported his decision while the rest was outraged by his actions. Of course this led to very poor performance during training sessions and ever-increasing tension. Finally, Megan snapped.

"Enough! We can't go like this anymore. Can't we just return to how it was before? I miss Percy but what happened happened and we can't change the past. I can't watch this team fall apart because of one fight Percy had with Batman."

Kaldur nodded. "I agree, but it's not that simple to just let go. Batman really went overboard. Percy did what he had to do."

Megan shook her head. "We are not having this discussion. Boys. Shake each other hands and apologize for your behavior. This goes to both groups." She flew to Artemis and extended her hand. "Friends?"

Artemis instead hugged her. "Friends."

Robin and Wally were reluctant to do the same, but Kaldur stepped up and apologized first. Only Conner was still unconvinced. Through this short time that Percy spent with them the two really bonded. They had this silent understanding and mutual respect between them. He believed that they could become like brothers if given time. Megan noticed his hesitation and flew to him.

"Sorry for how it turned. I know you and Percy had this... weird male bond. I hoped you could get past that for now. He is not dead. He just left. Conner. Please." She extended her hand to him, but he instead hugged her tightly.

"For you." They both blushed.


A/N Finally done. Ugh. This chapter was really bad to write. I suck at this type of flirt and relationship as whole. I am not a romance type so forgive me if it was cringy. Next chapter will have more fighting and finally close the assassin's arc. I am slowly running out of the possible characters that would try to kill Percy.