"All right, yeah-yeah, ready for it? Ok it's Lincoln-November-One-Five-Seven-Whisky-Yankee. All right, wonderful, thanks,"
Percy ended the call and stuffed his phone into the cupholder. Turning on his blinker he made his turn and parked. He could see Montoya perched at the corner of the entrance. Grabbing his phone and the carrying tray of coffee, he got out of his car and made his way over to his waiting partner. Pulling Montoya's coffee free of the tray, he handed it over to her.
"God bless you, Metro." Montoya said, "You didn't happen to grab-" Percy shoved her three packets of sugar into her hand before she could get the sentence out. She muttered a "Thank you" under her breath as she dumped the sugar into the cup.
"We get lucky?" She asked, as she took a deep pull of her coffee,
"Oh, we got lucky," Percy said, pulling his own cup free, and throwing the tray into a nearby trash can. "Got a full plate, make and model. As well as surveillance with our guy pulling the body out."
"How useful is it?" Montoya asked, as she opened the door to the gate and stepped inside.
"Not at all," Percy said, "Guy was wearing a hoodie, stayed out of the light the entire time. Camera's were pretty shit too. Never got a look at his face, and only got a look of him pulling Kirkpatrick out of the building on the date in question,"
"Figures," Montoya huffed, "Still, at least we got the car. You put out a BOLO?"
"Just called it in as I was pulling in," Percy nodded, "You wanna take lead on this?"
"I took the last one, you can have her." Montoya said, and Percy grunted as he took another sip.
They climbed the three flights of stairs and found the apartment they needed. They'd canvas the victim's apartment at another date, both he and Montoya were far too exhausted to conduct any kind of a sweep. Besides, after three empty apartments neither of them were really in the mood to search a fourth.
Percy hammered on the door three times. There was a slight pause, before the door opened, and a woman who Percy pegged as being just shy of thirty peered around the doorframe.
"Hello?" She asked, and Percy and Montoya flashed their identification.
"GCPD, are you Ms. Aguilar?" Percy asked,
She nodded, then glanced at Montoya, "You're here about Markus," It wasn't a question. "You guys are new though. Last one's I talked to were both men,"
"Command decided they wanted some fresh on this one," Percy lied smoothly, "We've read up on what you told the previous detectives, and I don't suppose anything's changed since then?"
"Unfortunately not, detective." Aguilar said with a shrug,
"I figured as much; do you mind if I ask you some questions about Markus?" Percy asked,
Aguilar nodded, and Percy opened his notebook,
"How well did you know him?" Percy asked,
"Decently well I guess," Aguilar shrugged, "We used to go to the same gym three times a week. He's, um, been trying to stay in shape, he has a triathlon in a few weeks."
"Did he have anyone new in his life? Had he started seeing someone?" Percy asked,
"No. He was far too busy training or working for any kind of romance."
"Wonder what that's like," Montoya muttered sarcastically, but Percy ignored her,
"He never complained about anyone at work? Never seemed too concerned about anyone she thought was following her or anything?" Percy pried.
"Not that he ever admitted to me," Aguilar said, "Got the odd comment from the particularly overconfident housewife. But it was never anything outlandish."
"You don't remember ever seeing anything of note before he disappeared?" Percy asked, "Any strange cars you didn't recognize? Or people hanging around that you'd never seen before?"
Aguilar frowned for a moment, crossing her arms over her chest as she thought over the question.
"Well there was a car hanging around for a while, must have been like a week or so before Markus disappeared." Aguilar said,
"What did it look like?" Percy asked,
"Black? I think? Black sedan sort of deal, looked like an old cop car or something. It was parked out on the street for a week or so. Never really paid much attention to it. Figured it was a cop or something," Aguilar explained,
"You didn't report it?" Montoya asked, "Or mention it to the previous detectives?"
"I didn't think about it, and they never asked." Aguilar said, slightly defensively. "And report it? In this town? You're joking right?" Neither Percy or Montoya had anything to say about that, so Percy pressed on,
"Did you ever happen to get a look at the guy who was driving it?" Percy asked,
"White guy?" Aguilar said, but it was more of a question than a statement, "Maybe mid-thirties? I don't know, he was pretty unremarkable."
"Do you think you could describe him to a sketch artist?" Percy asked,
"Maybe?" Aguilar said and Percy wrote down on a note,
"I'll have someone get in touch with you later today to set up an appointment." Percy said, "And thank you for the help," He handed her his business card, "If you remember anything else or see something strange, please get in touch."
"So do you think we're actually going to get anything useful out of that?" Montoya asked as they made their way back to the cars,
"A little optimism couldn't kill you, could it?" Percy asked,
"I'm being realistic," Montoya shot back, "We aren't going to be lucky enough to catch him on something lucky like that,"
"Capone was caught-"
"Because of tax-evasion, I know Metro, I was in the academy once too. What I'm saying is think about what we've learned and all it implies. This guy is smart enough to stake out his victims. Learn their routines, figure out when the best opportunity to strike is, and to take them out quickly, quietly, and without alerting anyone to their presence. Sooner or later, he has to figure out that we're on to him, and ditch his car. And that description?" Montoya shook her head, "This is getting depressing."
Percy crossed his arms. It was hard to disagree with that. They probably couldn't even use whatever artist depiction they get from the artist. Percy was certain that it would end up being painfully generic and they would be inundated with so many calls their entire system would be overloaded.
"Still, we need to play every card we have." He said.
"You're right," Montoya conceded, "But I'm starting to feel like I'm at a loss at how to continue. I know we need to move on to the last apartment, but is it even going to be worth it? Are we even going to learn anything?"
"I don't know," Percy admitted,
"But we have to try."
BREAK
They didn't learn anything new from the fifth apartment. The only remarkable thing about Alexander Peters was that he was a professional bodybuilder. Just like all the others, he didn't have any close relatives or significant others. They were at a complete loss. So they made their way back to the precinct, and holed themselves back up in their conference room.
"Ok, let's talk our way through this," Percy said, as he set down a fifth cup of coffee down in front of Montoya.
"Alright, let's start with the victims. What's he doing kidnapping them? He's butchering these people. Cutting them apart and stitching them back together again. Why? What's he trying to accomplish?"
"He's practicing?" Montoya said, "You saw yourself, he's getting better. His technique is getting more refined. The question is why? Why is he getting better? What's he trying to accomplish?"
"He's trying to cleanse them," Came a new voice from the door. Montoya and Percy both jumped. They had been so enraptured in their work they hadn't heard the door open. Commissioner Gordon was standing there, along with another man. He was somewhere around his late forties or early fifties and around five-foot-nine, with a long lanky body. He had a well-trimmed beard, and a shiny bald head. His dark, rounded spectacles seemed to gleam in the fluorescent light.
"Detectives," Gordon greeted, "Allow me to introduce Doctor Hugo Strange. Head psychologist, lead therapist, and newly appointed warden at Belle Reve Penitentiary. I'm borrowing him to assist on your case."
It was becoming increasingly commonplace for psychological experts to be brought in on criminal investigations. They were unquestionably useful tools in the creation of criminal profiles. When detectives understood who they were trying to hunt, it was easier to figure out their movements and patters. Further, it was just as useful to profile the victims. If they could determine why someone was being targeted, they potentially stop it from happening again.
"A pleasure detectives," Strange said, as he took a step forward and extended a hand. Percy shared a look with Montoya, before shrugging and heading over and gripping Strange's hand. The man had a firm grip, and he gave Percy a toothy smile.
"I've heard great things about you detective, Amanda Waller had nothing but good things to say,"
Percy beamed, letting go of the man's hand, "How is she? Haven't seen Amanda in years,"
"Well enough, I'm happy to say. She resigned from the warden position after that nasty situation with the attempted break-out. Last I heard she's back working for the Defense Department" Strange said, and Percy laughed.
"That sounds about right for her. Never one to stay down for too long," Percy said,
"And detective Montoya, a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance. Your record speaks for itself." Strange applauded, shaking her hand as well.
"Now that we're all introduced," Gordon said, "I've taken the liberty of bringing the good doctor up to speed on your investigation. He's here to offer a professional opinion and input on our bad guy. The sooner we figure this bastard out, the sooner we're going to get to finding him." And with that, Gordon shut the door.
"What was that you were saying, Doctor?" Montoya asked, "He's trying to cleanse our victims?"
"Indeed." Strange said, "Your man, he's-he's sick. In the clinical sense to be sure, but also metaphorically. He's sick of humanity being…impure. Imperfect. By pulling them apart and putting them back together again. He's trying to purify them. Cleanse them of their-their imperfections." He began pacing as he spoke,
"You noticed, perhaps, that the, ahem, suspect, he appeared to have been practicing, yes? Using his first victims as experiments."
"Kirkpatrick looked like Frankenstein's monster, but by the time he got to Henry, he had gotten…better." Just saying it made Percy feel sick.
"Indeed," Strange nodded, "If I had to guess, I would wager that he is honing his technique, trying to…perfect it. Determine the best way in which to craft the perfect human."
"Then what?" Montoya asked, "So he perfects his-his formula or technique or whatever the hell it is. Then what? What does he do then? Does he stop?"
"No," Strange said decidedly, "He's far too invested. This desire, it's all consuming, and encompasses his every moment. Every thought, dream, vision. It's all he wants. No, he won't stop. It's hard to say right now what his endgame is, but rest assured that he isn't going to stop just because he hones his skill. He views the entire human race as imperfect. As flawed."
"So what?" Montoya said, "Is he going to try and do this to the entire world?"
Strange just shrugged, "Like I said, I'm working on limited information. This is all I have at the moment, I apologize,"
"Don't worry about it Doctor," Percy reassured, as he reached into his pocket to grab his suddenly buzzing phone, "That was plenty helpful." He hit the answer button and put the phone to his ear, "Jackson," he answered,
"Detective Jackson, this is Dr. Henderson, we've yet to be formally introduced," Said a woman's voice over the other end of the line,
"Dr., pleasure to meet you," Percy said, "What's up?"
"I was going back over the files from your autopsy and found something we missed the first time around." The medical examiner explained, "We were too preoccupied with determining the identities of the bodies to see it the first time. But there were trace remnants of something in the victims' systems. Are you able to meet me down at the Coroner's office?"
Percy checked his watch, rush hour was a few hours ago, it shouldn't take too long to get downtown. He began gathering his things, and gestured for Montoya to do the same. She did so without hesitation.
"We'll leave now, we can be there in twenty minutes." Percy said,
"See you in a bit detective," There was a click and the line went dead, and Percy shoved his phone back into his pocket.
"Medical Examiner's office," Percy explained to Montoya, "They found something in the victims that they missed the first time."
"Let's go then," Montoya said, shoving her gun back into its holster. "Doc, help yourself to the files, we'll let you know with what we find,"
Percy gave the good doctor a nod, and they headed out of the precinct. Traffic was light, so they made it to the Coroner's office in only fifteen minutes. They were directed down to the morgue, where Dr. Henderson was waiting for them.
"Thanks for getting here so quick detectives." She said in way of greeting,
"Blues and twos the whole way here, made it a little faster." Percy said, "Whatcha got for us?"
Henderson opened a file in her hand, and handed it over to Percy. He budged over so Montoya could get a good look as well. Henderson spoke as they looked,
"Like I said on the phone, we missed it the first time around. At first blush, it doesn't look like anything out of the normal. But I had a funny feeling so I ran some tests. Turns out that that, is a very potent hallucinogen. Something similar to LSD only a hell of a lot more powerful. More potent. I checked the other files too, and the other victims also had trace amounts of this crap in their systems."
"It didn't disperse?" Montoya asked, "You know, filter out of their system?"
"We ran the tests soon after we found the bodies. I suspect by now that it's gone, but it was still there in small doses when we ran the tests." Henderson explained,
"Why would he be drugging them?" Montoya asked,
"No idea," Percy muttered, "Pain suppressant maybe? Drug 'em up, make 'em nice and docile so they don't fight it when he starts pulling them apart? Could it do that?" He asked Henderson,
"It's possible," She shrugged, "The strength of the hallucinogen would potentially powerful enough to leave the user…catatonic."
"This can work," Montoya said, "If he did this with the first three…"
"He's probably doing it with the others," Percy finished. "You got a hook up in Narcotics?"
"I know a guy," Montoya nodded, "Let's run with the drug angle. We track down the supplier, we might be able to track down the bastard doing this."
Montoya checked her watch, "Patton is probably at the bar right now, I'll go check in with him, catch you in the morning?"
Percy nodded, and after thanking the Medical Examiner, they left the office.
BREAK
Percy sighed as he finished tying the bags up. He hefted the bag out of the can, and walked out of his apartment. He was exhausted, he had been half tempted to wander into the nearest bar, and get so drunk he couldn't remember what city he was in. But he needed to be fresh in the morning, so he had resigned himself to a quiet evening in, and an early bedtime.
He hefted the trash into the garbage bin, breathing through his mouth to mask the stench. He turned around, intent on climbing the stairs back to his apartment, when the sound of movement from the alleyway caught his attention. He turned to look, but didn't see anything. Probably a stray cat, he reasoned to himself, and turned his back, only to stop again when he heard the sound of voices. He grimaced, cursing his inability to keep to himself, and drew his reserve weapon from the holster at his hip.
In spite of being home for the evening, a demigod didn't live as long as he had without a healthy sense of paranoia. Raising the gun level, he took a few cautious steps towards the alley, positioning himself against the wall, and listened to the voices.
"…got to get him to a hospital!"
"And tell them what? 'Hey, sorry, but our friend here was mauled by a dog from what you perceive as hell, think you can clean him up a bit?' You're insane!"
"Well what are we supposed to do then? Meg had all the nectar and the ambrosia! And I don't know how to make a tourniquet!"
Nectar and the ambrosia? Percy rolled his eyes, and cursed under his breath. Of all the things to fall into his lap, a couple of lost demigods were the last thing he wanted to deal with. He almost just walked away then and there. He didn't even know why they were there, they shouldn't be anywhere near the city. He'd made a deal to prevent exactly that. He'd worked so hard to distance himself from that world, and he emphatically wanted nothing to do with walking back into it.
But he also couldn't bring himself to let a kid just bleed out on his doorstep. He may want nothing to do with the gods anymore, but the kids were innocents in their games, and didn't deserve to die because of their selfishness. Holstering his weapon, he stepped out into the alley.
He couldn't help but internally scoff at the kids. Whatever they were training demigods with these days clearly wasn't up to the usual standard, these kids didn't have any situational awareness.
He turned the next corner and saw them. Gods above they looked young. Couldn't have been more than fourteen. The first was a fiery haired youth who looked like he was right on the cusp of a growth spurt. His feet and arms looked too long for his body, giving him an unusually lopsided appearance. The other was a dark-skinned girl, she was about a head shorter than her compatriot, and a bit on the heavier side. they were hunched over the body of another boy. He had dark hair and a boyish face, and was bleeding profusely from a nasty looking gash on his side. It looked like he had been mauled by a particularly large dog.
"Move," Percy ordered, making the two teens jump. The boy scampered to the side, and the girl tried to draw a dagger from her pocket. Her movements were shaky and unpracticed, and Percy shot a hand out and stopped her. He deftly twisted her arm so he could get a better look at her forearm, and was unsurprised to see that there was no mark.
"Graeca," He scoffed, and let her hand drop. She scrambled away from him, huddling against the far wall.
"Who are you?" She demanded, and Percy had to give her some credit. She at least had some courage.
"Former legionnaire," Percy said, kneeling down beside the boy. Reaching out a hand he pressed his palm against the boy's bleeding side. With a small burst of his power, he commanded the blood to spot pooling. "First cohort," He clarified,
"You're Roman," The boy breathed, and Percy nodded. Scooping the boy into his arms he began walking out of the alley, but stopped and sighed when the girl tried to bar his path. She had retrieved her dagger, and was holding it in a defensive stance. She was clearly a novice, but at least she was trying.
"We're just supposed to trust you on your word?" She demanded, and Percy rolled his eyes.
"I swear on the Styx I'm former Legion and I don't mean you or your friends any harm," He said in utter exasperation. There was a clap of thunder overhead, and the girl's eyes widened, and her arms dropped to her side. Percy ignored her and pushed past.
"Hurry up, they can tell when one of you has been weakened. Don't want any more of 'em to show up." Percy called out as he cast a minor illusion over them with the mist, keeping their presence away from the prying eyes of mortals.
He was aware that the kids were following him as they climbed the stairs into his apartment, they were distrusting but Percy ignored them. Pushing in the door to his apartment, Percy deposited the kid on the sofa, and strode from the room. He walked into his bedroom, and opened his closet. At the bottom of the closet was an old pelican case and an even older looking antique trunk, hefting the pelican case up, he carried it back into the living room.
"What's that?" The boy asked, "And why do you have a gun?"
"And you still haven't told up who you are!" The girl said, but in spite of their bravado, the allowed Percy to do his work and Percy continued to ignore them and opened up the case. He pulled out several pictures, his old dress uniform, a battle-scarred American flag, and an ancient looking knife. Percy then removed the false bottom to the case, and withdrew one of the many flasks of nectar stored inside. Percy then took the nectar, and opened the wounded boys mouth. Tipping the flask back, the golden liquid flowed down into the boys mouth. Percy only poured a small amount before stopping the stream.
Stepping back, Percy inspected the wound on the boy's side, as it began to stitch itself back together again. Nodding in satisfaction, Percy strode from the room and into the bathroom off of the kitchen. Rummaging around in the medicine cabinet, Percy grabbed some pain medication, then he walked into the kitchen and filled a glass of water. With his tasks done, Percy walked back into the living room, and set the pain medication and the water on the small table next to the sofa.
The kid's friends took cautious steps forward and began inspecting the wound and the boy, making sure that Percy hadn't done anything untoward. Percy left them to their task, and busied himself with repacking his case. Once the contents were back where they belonged, Percy picked the case back up, and stored it back in its place at the bottom of his closet. Walking back into the living room, Percy glared at the kids,
"Sit," He ordered. Whether sensing his power, or out of sheer fear, they obeyed. Each perched themselves in a chair beside the sofa. Percy glared at them, looking each one in the eye. When they met his gaze, each of the kids quickly averted their own.
"This is a safe place," Percy began, "Me and my home are protected. No monsters will be able to find you while you are here,"
"How?" Asked the girl, but Percy didn't answer her,
"Now then, who are you?" Percy demanded,
"Who are you?" The girl demanded,
Percy rolled his eyes. They were going to be difficult about this. This had to be karma, he knew it. He had been just as much of a pain in the ass when he had been their day. Percy decided he'd expedite things a bit. Walking to the kitchen, he deftly flicked on the stove, and opened the refrigerator. Pulling out a box of pizza, Percy pulled the slices out, placed them on a cooking tray, and slid them into the oven. Setting a timer on his phone, Percy walked back into the room. He was unsurprised to see the kids there, they knew they were better off with Percy than on their own.
They sat in silence for several minutes. Percy just staring at them, and them ducking their heads and avoiding his eyes. The timer on Percy's phone went off, and Percy strode out of the room. Putting on oven mitts, Percy pulled the pizza out of the oven; he grabbed a pair of plates and slid the pizza onto them. Kicking open the fridge again, he grabbed two cans of soda, then the pizza, and strode into the room.
"Here, eat." Percy said, handing the plates and soda to the kids. They took them with some apprehension. Eyeing the plates distrustfully. Percy rolled his eyes, "If I wanted to kill you, I'd have shot you. Easier than luring you here and poisoning you." He strolled from his living room, and grabbed his tin of chew from the kitchen. He strolled back into the living room, and plopped himself down in the remaining chair. Throwing a large lip into his mouth. Percy leaned back in his chair,
"So, where were we?" He asked, "Right, you were telling me why you were here," But they remained silent, so Percy started, "Ok, I'll start. My name is Percy, now you go,"
The two looked at each other, before the girl spoke, "We're here on a quest,"
Percy let out a laugh, "Ok, guess I should have clarified a few things first. Number one, I'm a detective, knowing when someone is lying to me is part of the job. So don't bullshit me. Number two, you are Greeks, which means that you fall under Chiron's purview, and he and I have a deal. No demigods in my city, so…let's try this again. Why are you here?"
"You made a deal with Chiron? Wait why aren't demigods allowed in Gotham?" Asked the girl,
"Not important, now answer the damn question. Who are you, and why are you here?"
"James Donovan, son of Hephaestus." The boy said,
"Jamie!" Hissed the girl, glaring at him,
"He's a cop!" James shot back, "And in case you missed it, we let David get mauled by a hellhound. And this guy healed him. Gave us food! Besides we still don't know where she is!"
"Where who is?" Percy asked,
"…Meg," Said the girl softly, then pointed to herself, "My name is Terri, daughter of Athena. That's David, son of Hecate."
"All right," Percy said slowly, lifting up an empty water bottle, and spit a wad of new into it, "Who is Meg, and for the umpteenth time, why are you here?"
Terri shifted uncomfortably, "Meg's a daughter of Demeter. She's…kind of into environmentalism."
Percy snorted, "Seems like a bit of an understatement where they're concerned,"
"Yeah but, like, she's really into it. Like humanity should be punished for what it's done to the natural world." James explained,
"You ever hear of Poison Ivy?" Terri asked, and Percy groaned, leaning back into his chair and covering is eyes.
"Of-fucking-course." He muttered, "Stupid, fucking, tree-huggers."
"Yeah," Terri said simply, "She wanted more than anything to meet her, so she snuck out of camp. We knew what she was planning so we followed her. We know that it was stupid, but this is…it's Gotham. We all hear the stories right? Going here by herself, demigod or not, was not something we could let happen. We figured that if she at least had some backup then maybe things would be ok,"
"But she gave you the slip," Percy said, "This is great, just great. I got a rogue demigod loose in my city, hell bent on meeting one of the most dangerous women on the planet, all because she's a godsdamned fangirl."
The kids, shrank into their seats, and Percy popped out of his chair and began pacing. A million different thoughts were racing through his mind. Scenario after scenario. Each worse than the last. Terri's voice tore him away from his thoughts,
"So, what do we do?" She asked, and Percy rounded on her,
"We?" He asked, incredulous, "We are not doing anything," He made up his mind, and grabbed his phone.
"Is that a phone?" Terri asked, looking suddenly panicked, "Wait what are you doing, don't you know that-"
Percy ignored her and pulled up his contact list, and dialed a number he hadn't used in years. A male voice answered after a few rings,
"Percy? Hey man, listen I'm happy you're reaching out, we really need to catch up but now isn't a good-"
"You're missing four of your kids right now, right?" Percy asked, cutting over the voice. The line was silent for a moment,
"How did you know that?" The man asked,
"Because I have three of them in my living room." Percy said, "The fourth, a daughter of Demeter called Meg, she's missing, somewhere here in Gotham."
"Wait, Gotham? I thought you were in Metropolis?"
"Circumstances changed," Percy said in way of an answer, "I'll text you my address, come and get your kids, I'll find Meg."
The line was still for a few moments, "Why don't I help you. It'll be just like-"
"I'll handle it, come get your kids." Percy said sharply.
"…Ok Percy. Piper and I will be there in the morning."
"Bring a picture of Meg for me," Without another word, Percy ended the call, and turned to the kids, "You're staying here tonight. Your ride is coming in the morning, you'll get on it, head back to your camp, and you'll let me find your friend."
"You can't do that!" Terri shouted, getting to her feet, "She's our friend! We have to find her, we have to-"
"Enough," Percy commanded, and flared his divinity a bit. The room suddenly felt heavier, and the kids shrank back into their chairs, as they stared at Percy, eyes wide. Percy's patience had finally snapped. He was stretching himself thin, between the serial killer and now this little debacle, he was done playing nice. He strode over to Terri, and leaned over her, his hands resting on the arms of the chair,
"You have done enough. Instead of telling people who know what they're doing, you acted impulsively. You have snuck out of camp. You have endangered not only your life, but the lives of your friends as well. Now I have to clean up the mess you made. You don't get a choice in the matter."
"But we're trained, we can fight! We've been on quests before we-"
"Trained?" Percy laughed, standing up straight and crossing his arms, "Oh so that must be why your boy here got mauled by a hellhound. Because he was so well trained." He said sarcastically, "Also explains how I was able to sneak up and disarm you. Because you're so well trained and experienced."
Terri glared at him,
"You're untrained, inexperienced, and worse still, you're Greek," Percy said. Terri leapt out of her chair, drawing her dagger and pointing it under Percy's chin. The blade was poking into his skin slightly, but not enough to draw blood. He just arched an eyebrow at her.
"Exactly my point," He said, "In less than a second, you just proved everything I just said as correct,"
"Awful confident for a man with a knife to his throat," She shot back, and Percy rolled his eyes. In a smooth motion, he grabbed her hand and twisted it. Terri yelped in pain, and dropped the knife. Percy's other hand caught the other knife. With a sweep of his leg, Terri fell to the floor, and Percy followed in a smooth motion, planting his knee in her stomach.
"Point one," Percy said, raising a single finger, "That was pitiful. Your weight was far too forward in your stance, and you were completely off balance. Point two," He raised a second finger, "Never put your weapon that close to someone else when they're not restrained and you're not ready to actually kill them. It makes it easier for your enemy to disarm you. Point three," He raised a third finger, "You're a Greek, which means your emotions guide you. Not saying that's a good or bad thing, but it does mean that you act on impulse. I can't have that. Not here. Not in this city."
Percy stood up, tossing the knife down to the girl.
"You aren't in camp anymore, this is the real world. And in the real world, you have to worry about mortal, and monster. And in this city, they can be pretty interchangeable. You want your friend back, then you butt out. Let the professionals take care of this."
"But she's our friend," Said James softly, "We can't-we can't just do nothing." Terri just nodded in agreement, bringing her knees up to her chest, and wrapping her hands around them, her dagger laid forgotten on the ground. Percy crossed his arms. He could understand their desires. He had felt the same once upon a time. And unlike the kids in front of him, he hadn't had backup waiting in the wings.
Sighing Percy knelt down, "I understand guys, really I do. But here's what you need to understand. There is no one, and I mean no one in this city, more qualified to find your girl, than me."
Terri snorted, "Even Batman?"
Percy met her eyes evenly, "Especially Batman." Terri looked at him. Really looked at him. As though she were scrutinizing him. It was a look he remembered another daughter of Athena giving him a long time ago. Then, she nodded,
"What do you need to know?" She finally asked,
"You're holding back on me." Percy said, as he strode over and sat back down in his chair, "It's common knowledge that Ivy is locked back up in Arkham. What's Meg's plan for that? She's not planning on breaking her out is she?" Percy joked, then, upon seeing the serious expressions on their faces, he sat up straight, "Is she?"
"She is," James confirmed, "She thinks that by breaking her out, the two can, um…avenge Mother Earth,"
"Avenge…" Percy repeated slowly, "Mother Earth." The teens nodded, "What. In the name of the gods. Have they been teaching you kids?" He ground out with clenched teeth,
"Not-not that mother earth!" James was quick to amend. "Like the general mother earth. Nature, and-and stuff. She wants to punish humanity and thinks that it's her calling or something to get Ivy to help her."
"And I don't suppose she shared how she was planning on doing this?" Percy asked in exasperation,
"No," James said, "She wouldn't tell us. Only that a mortal prison was no match for a demigod."
That was a stupid amount of confidence for a fourteen-year old. But then again, who was he to judge.
"This is getting fucking stupid," Percy groaned, rubbing at his face. He was half-tempted to just throw them out of the apartment, let them deal with this nonsense on their own. But a rogue demigod running loose in his city, trying to set free one of the most dangerous women on the planet, and Percy didn't need the Bat on his ass anymore than the cape already was.
"All right," Percy said, leaning forward. "I need you tell me everything you know about Meg. And I need you tell me now."
AN: Alright, chapter 14 down, and now the plot thickens! We see Percy slowly get dragged back into the life, which can only be disastrous for him if we're honest. I have some fun things in store for where this is going, so I hope you're excited for it. I'll be honest, as I wrote it, things got a little weirder than I planned, but I'm ultimately happy with the direction it went in. Thanks, like always, for the love and support this story is getting, I love the feedback and please, feel free to tell me what you thought, any theories you might have on where things are going, or anything else! If you like this but haven't read any of my other stories, please give them a look, I think you'll enjoy them. Got a chapter of Our Protector done today, so if you're waiting for that to be updated, worry not, it's next up in the update rotation when all of the One-Seven chapters are uploaded! Thanks again for all the love and support! Stay safe, stay healthy, and I'll see you next week.
Love,
LilDB