Thanks for the feedback + support, gonna make this a Percy/Diana pairing, although I don't know how fast/slow the pairing will come. I'll just try to make it natural. Also, gonna switch the crossover from Young Justice to Justice League.

I just wanna say that in this story, not everything is going to be true to canon. I don't know what fucking year Diana was conceived or anything like that, so just think of this as an AU but with the basic details of the gods existing, JL being canon, etc. Also, I purposefully have Antiope alive in this story cause it'll be more fun, at least I think. Idk, whatever. Fuck it.

Last thing, wanna make it clear that these are semi-disconnected oneshots. It's not going to be a full-fluid story with no time between chapters. There's going to be time gaps and unexplained events/development. Just wanna make that explicit.

Enjoy

Lond

(verb)

To instantly have a strong, affectionate connection with a group of people; connection can be platonic/familial.

"So we're bouncing the apple between the three of us, when out of nowhere Grover just eats it, core and all. He just looked at us like nothing was wrong!"

The little girl sitting next to him bursts out in a fit of giggles, her hand covering her stomach as if it hurt for her to laugh. Honestly, it probably did. She had been laughing at his stories for the past 30 minutes during dinner.

Diana blew a strand of hair out of her face in mock exasperation, but Percy could only smile.

Donna was just… a gem.

She was too innocent for the true evils that lurked in the shadows of the world. Percy honestly wanted to just wrap her up in a blanket and keep her away from the terrors of the universe.

To be completely honest, that's kinda what the Amazons were already doing. He understood why Diana had wanted to keep her on Themyscira, even if it was slightly counterproductive to have her grow up around a bunch of ass-kicking warriors.

"None of these are actually funny, you know." Diana whispered to him with a grin. "Don't want Donna inflating your ego any more than it already is."

"You love them too, don't lie." Percy smirked back. Diana just rolled her eyes fondly. Percy looked to the other Amazons nearest them and saw that many of them were smiling and laughing as well. Even Hippolyta (who had insisted he not use her title as Queen) was smiling widely. Donna's positive attitude and never-ending energy was simply too contagious for anyone to dislike her.

Ever since Percy had first met Donna and the young girl had instantly taken a liking to him, Hippolyta had insisted he sit at the head of the main table with her, Donna, Diana, Antiope, and a few others.

It was honestly astounding how quickly he had come to like and care for a number of the Amazons he had met, a great case being Antiope, who was the sister of Hippolyta and aunt of Diana. He had initially thought they would be more hostile, similar to the Hunters of Artemis, but as soon as word had spread about his accomplishments and - more importantly - his character, it felt like he had been welcomed as one of their own.

"You've told us so many stories of your quests with your friends," Hippolyta looked at him. Although he now knew her to be extremely kind and almost affectionate to some of the Amazons, he was still unnerved whenever she stared at him. "But none of your ventures as a warrior. Why not regale us with some of your greatest battles? I'm sure many of us would be entertained."

Percy didn't even have to look back at the rest of the Pavilion to know that literally everyone was cheering for Percy to give them something, anything.

Ever since he had washed up on the island, he had been… reluctant, to say the least, to tell them of his battles. He didn't hesitate to tell them about his friends, his family.

But… for some reason, he just couldn't tell them about his fight against Hyperion. Or his battle with Gaea. Or his number of encounters with hellhounds and giants and dracanae.

He didn't know what it was.

Actually, scratch that, he knew exactly what it was.

He wanted to get away from that part of his life. Of course he would cherish the memories of the friends and family he made along the way, but the battles themselves… The life as a teenage son of one of the Big Three - and especially as a subject of two consecutive Great Prophecies - wasn't one he looked back on and was satisfied with.

Some might be envious of his adventures, but… he didn't see them as adventures. They were actions of survival. He did everything to help himself and his friends survive the threats that the mythological world presented to them. He quested for the lightning bolt in an attempt to save his mother. He led his peers to defend Mount Olympus because New York, his home, was in the center of it. He fought the Giants because his friends needed him.

He didn't see his quests and actions as glorious, far from it actually. All he wanted was for his friends and family to survive. He thought he had succeeded after the Second Giant War.

But as it turned out, he had failed in the one thing he truly wanted to succeed in.

And therein lied the central reason for his hesitance.

He was a fucking failure, no matter what his titles or quests said.

"Maybe another time." Percy eventually said softly. A chorus of groans sounded from behind them, but Percy didn't pay them mind. He knew they weren't truly that upset at him.

Hippolyta looked at him for a moment more before she nodded in understanding. The Queen probably didn't know the full extent to why he didn't want to tell any particular tales, but she understood that he didn't want to for a reason, and she would respect that reason.

"Well then at least give us the pleasure of going through the Gauntlet." Hippolyta smiled. Damn her. "Diana's told me how impressive you are with that sword of yours."

"Please, Percy!" Donna immediately begged.

Percy side-eyed Diana, who had the audacity to show her both rows of her pearly whites. The demons had plotted against him. Hippolyta had to know that he would practically be forced to say yes after turning down the initial request. And he just didn't have an ounce of willpower when it came to Donna.

"Fine." Percy relented. At that, the somber mood of the dining Pavilion once again rose in excitement. "When will this be?"

The Gauntlet was something Diana had been talking to him about since they had first begun sparring. It was a test to whoever on the island was willing, one where a challenger would fight as many consecutive warriors as possible. All fights were until disarmament or a potentially lethal blow. Supposedly, Diana held the record at 17 fighters in a row. The stamina and skill needed to do so… Percy wasn't sure he could get close.

Diana and Hippolyta had tried plenty of times to get him to partake in it, but it seemed like he was finally going to challenge some of the best warriors of Themyscira. Fun.

"We shall begin at dusk tomorrow. We usually commence at noon, but for this special occasion, a grander setting is required. I expect much from you, Savior of Olympus." Hippolyta smiled. "But one more thing. You may not use your control over water to give yourself an unfair advantage. This is strictly a test of your endurance and competency as a combatant."

Percy held back a scoff.

As if he could use his hydrokinetic skills even if he wanted to. Ever since that first night, he had gone back to the beach each and every twilight without fail. For some reason, his control over water was still akin to someone who's connection to Poseidon's bloodline was so diluted it was as if they were just a regular mortal.

It frustrated him to no end to know that he had some level of manipulation over water, but not even close to his level. Yeah, he wanted to get away from his life of constant survival as a demigod, but he didn't want to get that far away. His powers were a part of him, always had been. He'd always been a natural at controlling the less… volatile aspects of his demigod powers.

For him to be incompetent at the simple act of creating a bubble of water was just not desirable in the slightest.

"Fair enough." Percy shrugged. He smirked, feigning cockiness. "Should probably spare a few fighters, though. I'm sure Diana'll want to have a crack at it again after I beat her record."

Diana just smiled.

"We'll see about that."

Slash.

Jab.

Dodge.

Roll.

Slice.

Parry.

Stab.

Percy wasn't sure how he was doing it.

He was through 16 going on 17. Every opponent blended together. Even though everyone he fought was a formidable warrior, there was one consistency between them all. Everyone had the same fighting style. Although their choice of weapon differed (from spears to one-handed swords to maces to knives to everything in between), they all fought similarly. From their footwork to their mindset to their overall technique.

He didn't blame them. They were all raised in the same place, trained by the same people. Of course they would fight similarly. On a battlefield, it wouldn't make them any less threatening.

But for this type of event.

Percy was feasting on them like a hellhound would a pack of rabbits. Most of the fights lasted less than 10 minutes if not 5, but even then, Percy could tell that his body wouldn't last forever.

Have you ever fought consecutive battles while you get maybe a couple seconds of rest but your opponents are all fresh out of the oven? It ain't fun, Percy'll tell you that. Sure, his skill might surpass theirs, but his body was slowly getting drained of its energy. As the night had gone on, the longer his fights had gone. The harder it became to finish his opponents quickly. His movements were more sluggish, his thought processes slower.

He had initially thought about just not having armor at all, but had scratched that pretty quickly purely because he knew he was bound to get little nicks, scrapes, and bruises. The Amazonian barracks somehow had a golden breastplate and helmet that fit him despite the fact that they had a grand total of zero males on the island.

He did end up scrapping the helmet because even during the wars, he never liked using one. Helmets were uncomfortable and at times disrupted his vision. Plus, if he got hit in the head, he was probably done for anyways.

He was tempted to try to use his powers to soak up his sweat into his body and refresh himself (how slight that rejuvenation would be, Percy had no idea), but he decided not to because of a combination of the banning of the use of his powers and his current incompetence in his hydrokinetic abilities.

The Gauntlet had begun after the sun set, but impossibly it looked like the sky was even darker than when they had commenced. Torches that were placed equidistant from each other lined the edge of the arena and combined with the light of the moon and the stars, was enough to give the sandy fighting circle a dramatic sort of lighting. The rows of seats went up a numerous amount of steps, and boy were the seats filled. Percy wouldn't doubt it if the whole island was watching.

"Is that all you got?" Percy shouted after smacking his 17th foe in the head with the flat of his blade, effectively crumpling her to the ground into unconsciousness. He raised his arms and faced the royalty of Themyscira. He couldn't see them clearly in the darkness of the night, but he knew for a fact that Hippolyta, Diana, Antiope, and Donna were seated on the top row at the head of the colosseum, a pair of dim torches on either side of them doing their best to illuminate their frames.

His confident demeanor was probably undermined by his heaving chest, dirty hair, and aching limbs. His arms were so sore he had to flop them down to his sides immediately after his dramatic display.

His beating heart was pulsing in his ears, but all he could pay attention to was the fact that one of them was standing up. Percy could only furrow his brows and squint at them before said figure leapt up into the air and allowed the night's natural darkness to conceal their aerial shape. The woman's hair went flying above her head and her body rose so high that she concealed the crescent moon for a moment.

He felt a literal chill go down his spine, enough to make Percy shiver for a moment before he readied himself. Aching limbs or not, he would do his best to beat Diana's record, if only to spite her.

And then the woman began to fall, her unusual armor shining in the reflections of the torchlight.

Percy was torn between smiling and groaning. Apparently he didn't need water to feel rejuvenated. All he needed was a spike of motivation.

Diana landed gracefully on both feet, a puff of sand rippling upon contact.

"Defending your title?" Percy smirked, twirling his sword in a tight spiral.

"Apparently so." Diana grinned wolfishly back at him.

Donna had told him about Diana's old costume, which in his opinion was just a tiny bit impractical. Diana agreed, which is why she had gotten a new set forged and created for her. He and Donna had literally begged to see her superhero suit on multiple occasions, but Diana had just smiled and told them to be patient every time.

Apparently, now was the time.

Her costume/armor was… better, to say the least.

A blood red breastplate topped with a golden eagle and gold shoulder pads was connected to a short, navy blue skirt lined with silver. Red, knee-high boots with gold tips and linings were connected to black tights that covered the rest of her legs. Her infamous golden cuffs covered the majority of her forearms and, similar to her legs, black spandex stretched to cover any exposed skin on her arms.

The Golden Lasso of Hestia rested at her belt, glowing in all its glory. A gleaming, golden sword and a bronze shield sat in each hand.

Percy knew that the armor was made to be more patriotic and relatable to the American public, but he could still admit that it was an enviable set of armor. Well, enviable if Percy could fit into said armor. You know what, you get what he means. Whatever.

"You sure you wanna do this?" Percy asked, pushing all thoughts but his opponent and her fighting tendencies to the back of his mind. They had sparred many times, and so they were extremely familiar with each other's fighting styles.

This would not be an easy fight by any definition.

"I should be asking you the same thing." Diana shrugged. She cracked her neck and began to pace around him in a circle, which was more than a little intimidating. "It would be understandable if you backed out. You have to be exhausted after all that."

Percy chuckled. "No chance in Hades I'm passing up this fight. Unlike our spars, I'm not gonna hold back."

"So that's how it's gonna be?" Diana asked with a smile and a glint of determination in her eyes. "Suit yourself."

Immediately, Percy's brain began screaming "DANGER DANGER DANGER DANGER". He forced down a gulp and tried to push down any fear in his mind.

"Oh," Percy twirled his sword once more before preparing himself in a stance. "This is about to be fun."

He was drenched in his own sweat. It was taking all his willpower not to absorb the salty water back into his body, but deny that impulse he did.

His fight with Diana was dragging on way too long for his liking. He had hoped to end the fight quickly as to avoid his lack of endurance, but sadly, Diana knew exactly how she needed to play this.

"I hate you, you know that?" Percy practically muttered as he paced back and forth, Diana mirroring his movements.

"You love me." Diana said quickly. She wasn't quite as tired as Percy, but he could tell by her slightly labored breath that by no means was she taking a stroll through the park. Percy couldn't do this much longer. Not while Diana had so much energy compared to him.

He needed to end this. He had been patient so far, but Diana was too smart to let him rest too much, and so she had gone on the offensive enough to get him on the move but not enough to open herself up to an attack.

One thing he had noticed, however, is that when he stood in relatively the same place for an extended amount of time, she would always stab at his midsection with her long reach.

She had been quick the first couple times, but with hope that her actions would be fractionally slower, maybe Percy could work with that.

And so work with that he did.

Percy made to stand in place, albeit with his sword raised on guard and his weight on his toes. For a few moments, Diana paced in front of him.

And then, she struck.

Like a cobra rearing its head, Diana jabbed out with her sword. A lesser fighter who either wasn't expecting it or wasn't able to detect her slightly telegraphed attack would've been stabbed through their midsection. But Percy knew what was coming 30 seconds before it happened.

Reaching as deep into his inventory of sword maneuvers as one could go, Percy quickly lashed out with his sword, twisting Riptide around Diana's weapon and swiftly flicking it across the arena.

There weren't many times Percy thanked Luke for his past actions, but at that moment he found himself wondering if spirits of the Underworld received burnt offerings.

The crowd was silent, with only the clatter of her weapon against the earth floor and their heavy breathing loud enough for Percy to detect.

Armed only with her shield, Diana did the singular thing she could do.

She charged forward, her head ducking under her shield at the last moment.

Now, if Percy was less lucid, less distracted from his momentary victory, he probably would've easily sidestepped out of the way and countered with whatever force necessary.

But that's not what happened because he was tired and his arms felt like taffy and he didn't want to fucking move. The best he could do was move Anaklusmos out of Diana's path so it didn't bounce off the shield and he didn't accidentally skewer himself.

Still, he took the brunt of the blow which knocked him off his feet, grunting out because of the wind getting knocked out of him. Somehow, he was able to hug the shield and twist them in midair so that Percy was able to land on top of Diana with most of his weight.

Again, the only noises Percy registered were their labored breaths. Diana's chest was heaving and her face was slightly flushed from the quick jolt of adrenaline. Percy was probably no different.

"That was fun." Diana breathed out. Percy nodded before a wide smile spread across his soot-covered face.

"I like your costume," he commented.

"Armor," Diana clarified. "But thanks." Percy's smile transformed into a smirk as his adrenaline lowered and the beat of his heart began to slow down.

"I win."

Percy pressed the tip of his sword less than an inch further into the side of her neck. Not enough to draw blood or cause discomfort, but enough to let her know that it was there. Diana tensed for a moment before she sighed.

"I suppose," she responded. Percy paused for a moment and then quickly bounced up with a grin, his joints and limbs protesting loudlyas he offered Diana his hand and pulled her up after him.

And out of nowhere, his ears almost exploded from the eruption of cheers. Percy would've thought that most of Themyscira would've been upset at the pride of their island being beaten, but it seemed like they understood the nature of this competition was friendly. He looked toward the head of the arena to see Hippolyta smiling and Donna bouncing up and down in excitement.

"So I guess I beat your record." Percy said offhandedly. Diana rolled her eyes and lightly punched him in the shoulder.

"Yeah, whatever." Diana shrugged. Percy knew she didn't actually care too much about the record. She definitely wanted to protect it, but it just wasn't in Diana's personality to think it was the end of the world for Percy to beat it.

"Am I still going?" Percy asked. Again, she shrugged.

"If my mother wants you to, I guess. Do you want to?"

"I don't think I'm gonna be able to move for a month." Percy laughed. "If she wants me to, I will, but I'll probably lose within the next three fights." Thankfully, Hippolyta found some mercy within her.

"Congratulations, Perseus." Hippolyta said with a booming voice and a wide smile. Percy cringed at his legal name. He should really just not tell people about the long form of Percy. "Finally, Diana's record is beaten. Now that she's sufficiently humbled, I think we can call it a night. Some of us have tasks that need to be accomplished tomorrow. A medic will see to you before you leave, Perseus."

"Thank you, Queen Hippolyta." Percy bowed and smirked mockingly. Eh, it was payback for her using his formal name. A reasonable reaction, in his opinion.

Hippolyta rose from her throne and went to guide Donna out of the arena without a word, although even from across the colosseum he could tell from the upturn in her lips that she was amused. Percy waved goodbye to Donna, who no doubt would come find him later.

"Whew." Percy capped Riptide, twirled the bronze pen, and stashed it in his pocket. He gestured to the side of the arena where a group of medics were tending to a number of Amazons that occupied a row of beds."Shall we?"

"You didn't even hit me at all." Diana rolled her eyes, but started toward the healers nonetheless.

"You tell yourself that." Percy reached over to ruffle Diana's hair, but she was too quick and batted his hand away before he could get close.

The medics got to work as soon as he sat down on a bed. Granted, Diana got a similar response and he understood why they were doing it, but it was still a little annoying.

All of this would be so much easier if Themyscira had ambrosia and/or nectar. For some reason that Percy couldn't determine, Themyscira had zero contact whatsoever with the gods. Had been that way for centuries. He didn't know how, didn't know why. Would he have contact with the gods once he left? There were many questions he had, but sadly not many ways to answer them unless he went straight to the gods (which, again, might not even be possible).

"Tell me again," Diana said as Percy's medic began to examine the bruise on his right forearm. "Why don't you want to join the Justice League?"

"I don't think sword-fighting's a good enough resumé to get me in there." Percy scoffed.

"Trust me, my word and recommendation is more than enough to get you at least a probationary beginning in the League." Diana smiled at him encouragingly. "You'd be a great fit. A lot of the people there would love you."

"Except for the guy with the bat fetish." Percy grumbled. Diana laughed at that. She had told him about some of the Leaguers she interacted the most with, and "The Batman" was by far the oddest of those described to him (and that included a guy who could create anything with a green ring and a girl who dressed like a hawk).

To Percy, Batman - at least in the way Diana described the man - was similar to Nico, just without the endearing qualities of his cousin and the excuse of being a child of Hades.

"Okay, first of all, not saying I want to join, but if I did, I would have to wait until I can get control over my stupid fucking powers," Percy allowed some of the frustration he felt to leak into his words. It really was annoying just how little progress he was making even with nightly practice on his control. "And second of all, I just don't want to be a part of a team again so soon. I don't know… I kinda want to try to live a normal life, at least for a little while."

And he did. He wanted to give a normal life a go. He and Annabeth had planned to go to college, be normal teenagers, be normal people. Or at least try.

And they never got the chance.

He wanted to try, at the very least, for Annabeth.

"I understand, Percy." Diana said. She didn't know the full extent of his former life and his whole reasons, but if Diana was anything, she was empathetic. "I do. But just know that if you ever change your mind, you absolutely have a spot with your name on it."

"Thank you." Percy said as his medic gave him a thumbs up and walked off to tend to some other patients. Thankfully, he apparently didn't have too many injuries. Just a couple bruises and minor cuts and some general soreness. "We'll see what happens, I guess."

"Of course." Diana said, her own medic finishing up with her. She smiled widely and hopped off her bed to clap him on the back. "Now come on. Donna probably wants to rub it in my face that I lost."