So, what did you guys think of the casting choices for the PJO Disney+ show? I think they're perfect and how I envisioned the characters in the book. Now it's just a matter of if they can act or not. If you don't like them, remember Neither you nor I own Percy Jackson or Persona

KER-THUNK

Joker's grappling hook latched onto the water tower on the nearest building before him as he flung himself through the air. As he approached the water tower he disengaged his hook, flipped in the air, and allowed his hands to grace the metal roof, with his legs in the air. Before he could lose his momentum, he cocked his legs back parallel to his torso in a V-shape and flung himself forward once again as if he were the hero Spider-Man from the recently released movie.

He twirled, flipped, and tumbled his way through the blues and goldens in the early hours of the morning in the Manhattan skyline. He would look behind him every so often to make sure the other two figures could keep up with him as they used the last of the night's shades and the glare of the incoming dawn to obscure their presence from any random passer-by that happened to mill the high rooftop.

The blue-haired boy in the fox kabuki mask, outlaw attire, and white platform boots, carefully treaded in his leader's wake. He walked the thin ropes of both clotheslines and powerlines alike with startling agility that would make any tightrope walker blush. His light feather step left them undisturbed as if he were never there. He insisted on hitting the exact middle of anything he landed on, whether they be buildings, towers, or even pigeon coops. The skyline was his canvas and the jumps: his brush. For gaps too big, he used his ice to make a temporary bridge from one side to the other for both himself and his compatriot traveling alongside him.

In stark comparison to the teen who took his time. The brunette in the iron mask and apocalyptic gear focused on spartan functionality. Each move is calculated to get as much lift and distance as possible, to put her at an advantage for her next jump. Occasionally cracks would form under her high combat boots from the sheer power of her push-off. Her form while falling imitated a cobra ready to strike. Which actually came in handy more than once

Joker had noted that like himself, Fox and Queen also enjoyed the thrills of the high-flying parkouring as he did. It was more of a shared trait among the whole team, to be honest. The freedom it brought was addicting, no one could touch them up there. They were free to be who they were, and it was reflected in their movements.

With Morgana absent on the current task, Queen could have driven them to Manhattan via her persona Anat, which could transform into a motorcycle at will. Yet, they were not in a hurry, and the fun that was traversing the rooftops was seldom passed up. Even if it came with the occasional Stymphalian bird attack. Which were annoying, as they seemed to be the pigeons of the mythical world, but in the end served as target practice for moving opponents.

They finally landed on a building next to 83rd street across from the museum, slid down the walls next to the alley, and changed back to normal civilian clothes. Yusuke, sketchbook in hand, immediately began to dart from the alleyway, in his haste neglecting to check the street in front of him. Ren had foreseen this, reached out, and snagged the collar of the black-button-up shirt he was wearing, stopping his rush and pulling him back. Just in time too, as a school bus passed by to close for comfort in front of them on the clogged New York Street.

"Must you rush every time we visit a place like this?" asked Makoto, rubbing her hand against her face.

"I'm sorry Makoto, but you know as an artist, I must follow my muse when it calls me, come hell or high water," Ren noticed his eyes never left the building as he talked to them.

Ren's eyebrow raised "Yeah it definitely was going to be hell that time" He looked at Makoto who rolled her eyes at his joke, though a small smile was on her face. He turned his head back around to Yusuke to only discover the teen had already made his way across the street and was sizing up the building in his familiar "viewing" posture. Ren and Makoto could only shrug their shoulders and shake their heads at each other as they began picking their way across the street too.

By the time they got to Yusuke, he was busy sketching away the exterior of the museum. As they got closer Ren noticed the bus that almost hit Yusuke earlier was now pouring out kids a little way away. He found it interesting that despite almost killing someone, nobody seemed phased in the slightest. He figured it was a common occurrence in New York City. With one last glance, he turned back towards Yusuke.

"Ah, this museum might as well be the unrecognized jewel of historical culture on this side of the globe," Yusuke's pen blurred as he drew on his pad. Ren found it impressive as he watched the sketch come to life, banners and people included as he peered over the taller boy's shoulder.

"We should get moving, the museum is massive, there's so much to cover and it's almost 9 already. Need I mention the potential monster attacks?" Makoto sounded in equal parts awe and uncertainty.

Ren got the same feeling that she did. He had been with both Yusuke and Makoto to Ueno back in Tokyo, but that was a collection of museums. More akin to the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. The Metropolitan was a singular museum all by itself, mighty and intimidating. As if to say, "look at me" It was meant to draw attention. Ren thought it was very fitting for the combined vibe and spirit of New York and its citizens.

Having finished his sketch, he closed his book, and with one last longing look, Yusuke joined Ren and Makoto in walking up the stairs. As they walked up the stairs, they noticed the school group had crowded near the entrance. They began to pick their way through the herd of 11 and 12-year-olds. Most of them seemed to care little as the three older teens pushed past. One redheaded little girl with freckles attempted to pickpocket Ren as he went by, but he deflected her hand in a casual motion so as to not draw attention and met her shocked expression with a smile through his false glasses.

However, Ren considered himself an observer of detail when it came to people, and he noticed three rather odd reactions among the group. The first was a boy wearing a Rasta cap over curly dark hair, he also had a slight gait to his stance. He was standing next to another boy Ren guessed had ADHD based on the fact he could not stay still. Even more so than the others, and that's saying something for middle schoolers. Everything about that boy was moving in some fashion, hands, eyes, feet, you name it. Ren would have pegged him as a troublemaker as ironic as that was. He was currently staring at the redhead who had tried to pick-pocket him earlier. When they went past the two pre-teens the Rasta cap boy took a deep breath….and looked confused. His eyes darted to the three and his face lit up in confusion, worry, and despair all in a split second before he schooled his face back into a neutral expression. It all happened in an instant but for someone as experienced as Ren, it was slow as Ryuji took his turn in tycoon.

The other two odd expressions were from the teachers that accompanied them, who were waiting close to the door. The first one was a man in a wheelchair. He had thinning hair and was wearing a tweed jacket. When they walked past he gave them a stern look and his hand dropped almost instinctively, to his hip. If Ren didn't know any better, he'd say he was attempting to grab a weapon, the motion was too trained to be anything but. He put that thought out of his mind as he gazed at the woman next to him.

Compared to the other two she was a bright red crimson flag. She was a short lady with straw-colored hair in a ponytail and wearing a leather jacket, she already looked vicious, to begin with as she loosely eyed the hyperactive boy. As soon as Makoto got close, she turned towards them, her face contorted into a frown, and she let out an almost palatable bloodlust as if she was a lioness guarding her prey. Having dealt with undercover agents before, the three had enough sense to not react to her as Makoto reached for the door handle and ushered them inside.

Ren mentally went over the profile of the three and filed that information for later as Makoto paid for their tickets and Yusuke squirmed to get past the turnstile as fast as he could.

As soon as he and Makoto made it through, he felt her tug on his sleeve. "Ren, I know you felt that. That teacher…She's not normal,"

Ren pushed up his glasses before he addressed her "It's not only her, the other teacher too. A student reacted funny to us as well,"

She tilted her head, "You mean that one who tried to pickpocket you? Don't think I didn't see that, Ren. I had half a mind to report her"

He let out a soft chuckle "Let her be Makoto, she's at least 100 years too early before she can pickpocket me." His eyes flashed in apprehension, "But no, it wasn't her, it was the boy with the Rasta cap. He took a deep breath, then looked in our direction. He might be a monster. Something to keep an eye on if we bump into them again. Anyways, we got bigger problems here,"

Ren gestured towards Yusuke, who was dashing between the directions various exhibits were located in the great hall, unable to decide which way he wanted to go first. What was concerning was his borderline maniacal laughing in pure adoration as he did so, also the fact the tail from his thief costume had manifested on the back of his slacks and was wagging happily. The nearby security guard next to the gift shop was looking at him, though his expression was unreadable from the sunglasses on his face, the hand that rested on his walkie said all Ren needed to know.

Makoto let out a defeated sigh at the scene and looked downwards resigned to the situation. "Fine, let's go deal with that,"

They then walked up to Yusuke on either side of him and crowded close enough to hide his tail, then they each grabbed one arm and started to drag him to the nearest exhibit hall.

"C'mon let's go Inari," Ren said to Yusuke and shot him a sardonic smile

"Unhand me, what is the meaning of this? And why are you calling me Inari right now?"

"Well, your tail is out. Also, the security guards are eyeing us now, so it's best to get moving before we get detained" Makoto pointed out to him

Yusuke's eyes then lit up in realization at Makoto's statement, then glanced behind him at his backside "Oh!? My deepest apologies, perhaps I got a tad too excited" He then willed the tail of his costume away. Makoto and Ren released him, and he stumbled and fell into stride with the two, taking his place in the middle. "Where are we going now? I wasn't paying attention" The bluenette looked around with a gleam in his eye, as they passed by the auditorium.

Ren pointed his thumb to the sarcophagus they had passed by, "Egyptian exhibit, it's one of the biggest wings of the museum. It's only really surpassed by the one in Cairo" he supplied.

Yusuke's face relit up in glee "Ah, excellent! I wanted to see Ptolemaic Era Egyptian art. So simple and yet detailed,"

They walked into the major part of the wing, it opened up into a wide rectangular room with old papyrus, statuettes of gods, and images of hieroglyphs in almost every inch they could see. Off in the distance was a reflecting pool and past that was what appeared to be a temple. Ren knew it was the temple of Dendur from the pamphlet he had read the day before.

Yusuke walked over to an offering tablet containing a multitude of hieroglyphs as if he was a starving man in a desert. Ren and Makoto looked at each other and then followed after him.

Ren looked at Yusuke as he swarmed over the exhibit's sketchbook and pencil in hand checking it from each angle, to make sure his drawing, each stroke of the hieroglyph was perfect, a childish joy to his motions. He then looked to Makoto who was examining the description. It was one of the things he admired about her, even though they didn't have to worry about school now, she still gave it 110% in studying myths and legends. Definitely came in handy whenever a new monster popped up, which Futaba then added to her ongoing bestiary.

Ren could look at the duo all day long, as they went from exhibit to exhibit, but something else interesting was happening off across the reflecting pool.

It seemed today was Ren's lucky day for attracting all sorts of weird things. With his powers, he learned he had a stronger presence than his comrades when left unchecked, and thus had a higher chance of encountering weirdness. Currently, he was looking at a big man and his child standing near the Temple of Dendur. The man looked to be middle-aged while the son looked a tad bit younger than the ones he'd seen outside. They both had bronze, tanned skin, the father was bald with a goatee while the son had dark curly hair. Both were dressed in 3-piece suits. The man was huge and exuded a heavy presence. Even across the pool, Ren felt he was looking at a leader or a king. Satanael hummed in response to Ren's mind. The Shining One, also known for his heavenly presence

The man was intently studying the engravings on the temple. The kid was nose deep in a book that said "Egyptian Myth for Kids ' completely unaware of his father's actions. The man was holding what looked like a boomerang as he swung it in the air a couple of times. A blue hieroglyph appeared on a pillar and then vanished, it looked almost like a spine. He then held out his boomerang and it... vanished into thin air, only to be replaced by a…scroll from the looks of it and an old-fashioned quill.

Ren looked toward his two teammates to try and confirm they were seeing the same thing he was, but they were blissfully unaware having moved on to the next exhibit, some statuettes of Anubis (as if they hadn't seen enough of those in Futaba's palace)

He went back to studying the man who was scribbling away on his scroll. Ren also noticed his clothes flickered between the suit and brown robes, unlike his own which engulfed him in fire, his flickered in fog as it billowed around him in almost a protective veil.

"Wait fog…The mist! He must be using some application of the mist. That's why the kid or no one else notices"

As soon as Ren put the pieces together, the man turned around and looked directly at him. Brown eyes met silver, there was no escaping it Ren was caught in full view, and he had a feeling that the man knew he saw everything unobscured.

The man narrowed his eyes and started to open his mouth to speak, but sharply turned his head to the hallway leading past the exhibit. He turned back around and jotted something down on his scroll. After he finished, he waved his hand and the objects disappeared, he stooped down to his son and mumbled something. The boy then latched onto his father's hand and they beelined towards the entrance hall. Before he left the wing altogether, he turned back towards Ren one last time, gave a curt nod, and sent a hard glare toward the auditorium on the upper level. Ren followed his gaze and saw the school from earlier was exiting the building. More specifically his gaze was on the teachers.

"Strike two…. Whatever is pretending to be human in that class is extremely dangerous,"

The man returned his gaze to Ren and held his finger to his lips in a gesture, then took a long way around to the great hall, avoiding the class.

Ren was contemplating what had happened when he felt a tap on his shoulder and he met with the ruby crimson eyes of Makoto who had an eyebrow raised, "Ren? I only saw the last little bit but, what was that?"

Ren ran his fingers through his hair "I'll tell you in a bit, let's just say no rest for the weary"

"O-okay, well anyways I think it's about time we start heading to the Greco-Roman exhibit"

Ren nodded in agreement and then they walked over to get Yusuke who had to be dragged away, who was complaining about not being able to see the temple

"I must get a closer look at a marvel made during ancient times using the golden ratio, this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity"

Ren was struggling a bit to move him since Yusuke was getting harder to forcefully move when he was completely opposed, thanks to no longer being malnourished. Even Makoto was straining a bit, this was not the beanpole they knew back in Tokyo. "C'mon Yusuke, I don't think that's a safe idea right now,"

"But why must we move to the Greco-Roman exhibit now? What about the American section? The medieval wing? Modern and contemporary art calls my name leader!"

"It's almost 11:30 already Yusuke, I love art and history as much as the next person but if we go to every single piece there won't be enough time in the day to find the info we really need. We can always come back, it's only 25 dollars, right now the war is more important!"

At Makoto's words, Yusuke stopped resisting and stood ramrod straight. He waved his bangs out of his eyes and then bowed

"I deeply apologize once again, leader, vice-leader. My appreciation for art and culture has almost jeopardized the mission, I would never be able to forgive myself if I allowed the arrogance of selfish gods to cause the death and suffering of innocents"

Ren stuffed his hands in his pockets "It's okay Yusuke, you are always so hard on yourself. Don't worry I get it. We're in a new country in a new world so similar yet different from our own, it's only natural to want to learn. Tell you what? How about in the future we go somewhere like Times Square and people watch like we used to in Shibuya?"

Yusuke's face softened at Ren's monologue, he closed his eyes, and a smile began to creep on his face. "I shall enjoy doing something like that. Now let us go onwards toward the Greco-Roman exhibit!" With that, he walked forward leaving the other two behind.

Makoto then walked next to Ren and bumped him with her hip. "You're a pretty effective leader, You always know how to motivate him when he gets into one of his moods"

"It was nothing. I've had experience talking him out of it, it's something anybody could have done," He said and shrugged his shoulders.

She leaned into his side and looked up at him with those ruby orbs, "I don't think so, Yusuke is arguably the most stubborn of us all, especially when he's in a slump or a mood. But if you say so Ren-Ren,"

Ren knew what was going to be asked next. The nickname, and the fact she was intentionally trying to use her eyes to her advantage. It seemed like she was taking lessons from Ann, and Ren was almost ashamed to say they were working.

"Now will you tell me what was that about earlier? You explicitly said, 'I don't think that's a safe idea' So what happened, Ren?" she said in a sweet, almost sickly sweet voice.

"Alright, alright, you win," He moved a hand in front of her eyes. "Just put those things away,"

She softly laughed and moved his hand away with both her own, but didn't let it go "You know I can't, especially when they work so well in interrogating you,"

He huffed in mock exasperation "Fine." but then his eyes gained an edge to them that wouldn't look out of place on a soldier heading to battle. It was his Joker mask coming to the surface. Makoto noticed this and a grimace appeared on her own face "Does this have to do with that man you were staring at?"

Ren turned and looked back at the Egyptian exhibit they had come from. "Yeah, he was studying the Temple of Dendur, he had some kind of weird boomerang and made a blue hieroglyph appear on the temple, he also was obscuring his appearance using the mist. That wasn't the concerning part surprisingly. He saw me and was about to confront me but then he sensed something and took off,"

She furrowed her brow as he continued to speak. She separated herself from Ren's side, adjusted her hairband, smoothed her hair, and took half a step forward. "That's why he was glaring at the school group, correct? One of those teachers may be more dangerous than we thought."

He raised his chin up "Exactly what I was thinking, it was a good thing you suggested we move when you did. I want to stick close to them if something happens and maybe throw them off if three powerful "demigods" are also in the vicinity"

Just then Yusuke called from down the hall "If you two are done flirting I suggest we get moving"

The two smiled and briskly walked off to join their third companion while also filling him in on the situation at hand.

The Greek and Roman Art wing opened to a huge square room with a high skylight. Classically designed pillars ringed the room while all the statues were pedestaled within. It looked like someone had picked up a villa in Italy and moved it there. It was reminiscent of the first area of Maderame's palace. By the straight-mouthed poker face, Yusuke was sporting, it seemed he had made the connection too.

The class from earlier was there too and they were gathered around a stele with a sphinx on top. Meanwhile, their group had split up to cover more ground. Makoto had gone over to a bust of Caligula, and Yusuke went to a cubiculum. Ren himself had decided to look at a statue of Dionysus, near enough to the class to eavesdrop but far enough to not attract suspicion.

He had sprayed himself with some stealthonol from his bag to be safe in case someone caught onto his smell. He also slowed his breathing and erased his presence as much as he could. To the ordinary person, he was now a background character, they wouldn't pay attention to him unless they knew he was there, to begin with. An invaluable skill every Phantom Thief had picked up over time, combined with stealthonol he was next to untraceable unless someone directly had their eyes on him, and he took a secret enjoyment in that fact.

"It's amazing how the persona and shadow versions of Dionysis look exactly like this statue…. Except colored. I wonder if the actual version of him in this world looks like this too?" Ren thought to himself as he looked at the statuette of the Greek wine god.

"Do not forget we are influenced by the current human cognition" Satanael informed Ren

"Yeah, speaking of that, there's something about this world that's changing us? I thought it was a fluke, but my hair has been changing from blonde to black" Ren could feel the love goddess grabbing her hair

"Don't forget about the fact I was able to actively alter the field yesterday. A feat while not impossible in our world, it would have been extraordinarily difficult to pull off. We are becoming more and more real Trickster." Baal rightfully pointed out. It also made Ren question if he had these auxiliary powers back in their world.

"What do you mean?" Ren questioned the last part of his statement

"What he means is, think of us as one of those gacha games you like to play, Hee-ho. Most of us are just common draws as you would say. That's why you'll see multiple of us in an encounter, Ho-hee. Occasionally you'll pull a rare, like the teddy-bear toter and the two bugs, or a unique one like the big boss and the brooding shield lady over there Hee-Hee-Ho. But in the end, we're all just shadows molded into the figure we are, Hee-Ho." The strutting imp explained.

"Well, I like to think I'm one of a kind, you shit-stained snowman," The blonde girl fired at him.

"..."

"O-okay, I'll take that as a segway to my point, Ho-Ho-Hee. Anyways, as our now only blondie touched upon, we are becoming the real deals, as real as it gets for us anyway." The imp finished

"Something to think about. And to maybe experiment with our talents outside of battle?" The flute player advised.

Ren was about to ponder over the conversation that was had but he heard a booming voice come from the school group

"Mr. Jackson? Did you have a comment?"

It was the voice of the wheelchair teacher, and it seemed someone was in trouble, from the looks of it was the fidgety boy from earlier. He squeaked out a "No, Sir '' before the chair-bound teacher made him explain the art on the stele.

He listened as the kid explained and abridged the story of the Titanomachy. Then his teacher ironed out the fine kinks. Ren thought if he lived through that, being eaten by his father, then a brutal war he'd be closer with his siblings. Not trying to wage war on each other. Even if the weapon in question was powerful enough to destroy mountains. Ren could probably do that too if he wanted.

"Then again time changes people…" He thought of his own younger sister who immediately cut contact as soon as he moved to Tokyo to save face.

He then noticed the crowd had dispersed with the calls of the teacher for lunch. However, the male teacher and the fidgety boy were left behind. Ren focused on his ears and without the dull roar of the other middle schoolers drowning everything out, he could hear the conversation clearly, his hands clenched as he listened in.

"You must learn the answer to my question,"

"About the Titans?"

"About real life. And how your studies apply to it."

"Oh." The boy said in a mix of frustration and nervousness

"What you learn from me," he said, "is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson."

The kid was confused, but the connotation of what the teacher said was not lost on Ren. With that, the two also headed towards the entrance of the museum to have lunch

"Well, you couldn't get more obvious than that. With the teacher's behavior earlier, that kid is almost 100% guaranteed a demigod,"

He then used his foot to tap out the message "come here" to his two teammates. Another skill they picked up out of necessity in the metaverse since silence was golden with a heavy shadow presence.

The three made it look like they bumped into each other while studying the same piece to allow them to have their conversation inconspicuously, using Japanese in case someone was listening in.

"The kid who just left is most likely a demigod" Ren informed the two

"Any idea who his parent is? And what are the two teachers?" Makoto followed up

Yusuke held up his hand and his brow creased while he paused for a moment. "Susanoo says the kid left the distinct smell of seaweed and ocean water in the air. He doesn't doubt it, he can sense it as a sea god himself. That boy is the son of a sea god"

Makoto raised her hand to her mouth, while Ren's eyebrows raised almost to his hairline. "Y-you don't think he's-" she breathed out, making the connections between the cyclops and Pomona's story.

"The culprit? Unlikely, given he's only twelve. Then the teacher was dropping one hint after another, and it went over his head." Ren touched his forehead in thought. "I really think the kid is being framed and he doesn't even know what's going on" He surmised

"It does make sense. From the legend I've read, Zeus was always extremely distrustful of his brothers since their power rivaled if not equaled his own."

Yusuke added on to Makoto's statement "Then there was the myth I read where Poseidon was part of the rebellion against Zeus. Zeus punished him by stripping him of his divinity, casting him off of Olympus, and forcing him to work for a king as a mortal for some time."

"With that track record, most likely anybody could have stolen the bolt and he would place the blame on Poseidon. The kid is essentially a forced player in a rigged game, he doesn't even know what is happening. The person who stole the bolt was counting on that happening" His fist was clenched, and they were shaking in barely contained rage

Makoto and Yusuke looked sadly at Ren after he uttered those last few words, knowing firsthand how he had been through the same experience, and fought by his side to free him.

Yusuke turned his head as he noticed something odd was happening with the other patrons of the museum. "... Guys,"

"I want to help him, something that big could crush him once he finds out what's going on"

"Guys?"

"We will Ren, we'll find a way,"

"Leaders!?" Yusuke raised his voice in a hushed whisper.

"Yes?"

"What is it Yusuke"

"Why are all the other patrons leaving like they've been hit by a brain jack spell?"

Ren and Makoto turned towards the entrance and sure enough, it seemed as if every person in the wing was now heading towards the grand hall, even the security guards were leaving the area in a peculiar fashion. All in a hunched-over walk.

Ren immediately felt the familiar comfortable burn wash over him as he transformed into his metaverse outfit. The other two followed suit seeing his lead.

"Why have we transformed, Joker?" Fox asked, fiddling with his zipper.

"If an area is being cleared it's one of two things, either it's closing time which is unlikely given it's almost one, or-"

"It's being used for something" Queen finished having already adopted a fighting stance, brass knuckles raised. Just then they heard the clop-clop of heels on tile from down the hall, accompanied by the squeaky sounds of sneakers

"Hide!" Joker issued his order, and each of the thieves picked a pillar to hide behind, seamlessly blending into the shadow cast by the midday sun.

The female teacher entered the wing, an expression on her face that looked as if she was the cat that caught the canary. She was accompanied by the boy Percy, who looked resigned to his fate. She ushered him over to the big marble frieze of the Greek gods

Joker knew this couldn't be anything good and switched his mask to the gold hoarder: Fafnir. In his mind, the image of a giant metal dragon appeared, and he focused on the money he had in his wallet. He couldn't exactly anchor it in reality as that would expose him but this would be enough to cast a spell.

"You've been giving us problems, honey," she growled out. Joker motioned for the others to stay put while he moved closer

"Yes, ma'am," Percy replied, his head hanging low, eyes facing the ground. Using the shadows Joker moved to a pillar that was in the teacher's 5:30 position, but it also allowed him to rotate in case Percy looked up. Now all he needed was the perfect moment to fire his spell

"Did you really think you would get away with it?" Somewhere in a deep corner of his mind, Joker hoped she was referring to some classroom mischief. That hope was dashed when he heard the thunder boom outside with much too auspicious timing for it to be a coincidence.

"We are not fools, Percy Jackson, it was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."

"So, she was a flunky sent by Zeus. Assholes like her who don't stop and question anything really make my blood boil. But I guess you stop doing the thinking for yourself when you've been doing things for millennia,"

"Well?" She said it as if she already knew the answer and was waiting for a confirmation.

"Ma'am, I don't..." Percy seemed to be finally catching on as he started to back away.

"Your time is up," she snarled, and Joker's awaited opening came. She began to transform, her jacket transforming into a red toga with a large green batwing on her right side, her teeth sharpened into fangs and her fingernails elongated to the point you could call them claws.

"Now!" As the teacher was transforming, Joker motioned his fingers into a gun shape and fired three multi-colored balls of light at her back. The three balls, one green, one orange, and one blue all mixed with a black that made them look sickly, orbited each other as they flew straight to the teacher turned monster. Though Makoto could also cast the same spell her accuracy was iffy. Neither the teacher nor the student noticed as the Debilitate spell sank into her body like butter on toast, as she rose up into the air.

Joker summoned his dagger and prepared to engage, but suddenly the wheelchair teacher rode into the room holding a pen of all things as if it was the solution to all the world's problems. He quickly tossed it to the boy, who caught it just as the bat-lady lunged at him. The boy dodged it by a hair's breadth, and the bat lady looked at him with surprise written on her face, and Joker mentally thanked Fafnir for casting the spell.

To both the Thieves' surprise and Percy's, when he uncapped the pen, it elongated into a 3-foot-long gleaming bronze sword. Percy instinctively swung the sword and it cleaved through her like a hot knife through butter. From the face the former math teacher was making, things were not going according to plan. She promptly exploded into dust showering Percy and the nearby exhibits.

The boy fell onto his butt and the sword clanged out of his hand. Joker and the other thieves watched as the disabled teacher used the mist to coil it around Percy and then used it to cloak his presence and leave the room. Meanwhile, the sword had transformed back into a pen while the boy was still dazed on his butt as if he was hit with a Makajama spell.

Ren took this as his cue to go back to his civilian clothes and exit the wing, skirting the outside ring so the boy wouldn't see him. If he'd snap out of his funk, to begin with, Ren was tempted to try and use Me Patra or Amrita Shower on him because he was so far out of it, and sell the fact he had just fallen down but decided it was for the better if he saw no one was around him when he came too. It'd help him realize what happened wasn't a dream. In order to break them, he needed to know he had chains to begin with. It was the same tactic he used to break his teammates out of Maruki's reality, give them a nudge and let them poke holes in the reality around them.

He felt Makoto and Yusuke fall into stride behind him as he left the wing.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to leave him like that?" Makoto spared a glance behind them at the wing they left behind.

"If he sees someone around him, he might play it off as he spaced out or something. If he sees nobody, he's likely to question it. In fact," Ren switched personas to the fly lord and cast a spell on the now returning patrons, Makoto then joined in upon seeing which spell was being cast. They were coated in a light blue light with thin wisps coming off them. After being hit with Makajamon the patrons and security guards shied away from that area of the museum once more.

"We're done here. Now, we need to go contact Futaba, I want to look more into the kid. The teacher too if she can,"

"Got it, Ren, though let's wait until we can get somewhere secluded" Makoto agreed.

Once they exited the great hall, it seemed the day wasn't done with them quite yet with the scene they were witnessing. The mist was coiled around the class, freezing them in place except for the rasta-capped boy and the teacher. They stood near the fountain, and while everyone else was frozen a woman rose up from the water, settling on the surface wearing a blue chiton. The chiton shimmered and turned into a blue pencil skirt and blouse combination and her glossy black curls turned blonde. The teacher lent a hand to help her out of the fountain and then she went and sat on the stairs in a cluster of students as if she had been there the whole time. Then the class unfroze, and lunch continued.

"I'm starting to think I prefer Maderame's palace over this,"

Before they could react further, a blur rushed past them and almost knocked Yusuke over.

"Sorry," the burr, who was revealed to be Percy spat out before he ran over to the Rasta-capped boy and drew the attention of both him and the teacher.

"...Well, he recovered fast..." Makoto breathed out as she caught Yusuke by his collar once again.

"No doubt trying to convince them of what happened, just look at their faces," Indeed Yusuke referred to the currently blank and confused faces they were now sporting. Pretty impressive if Ren had to say so himself, he hadn't seen an acting job like that done since they fooled Akechi.

They took the opening Percy had inadvertently created and left the museum. Though as they were leaving Ren felt a pair of eyes on him, when he turned, he spotted the teacher, who now had an umbrella over his wheelchair, reading a novel.

There was nothing Ren could do now without exposing himself, so he let it go as they crossed 5th avenue and back into the alley.

In the safety of the alley, Makoto guarded one exit and Yusuke guarded the other facing the museum as he sketched the bus just in case.

Ren pulled out his phone. Amazingly, his smartphone still worked in 2006. However, it was ill-advised to do anything but to call Futaba with it. Futaba had found out that whenever they used a piece of communicative technological equipment such as a computer, phone, or even a radio, they unconsciously let forth a burst of energy along with their voice in some cases that would be carried by the various electromagnetic waves, which monsters were then able to track. It was akin to putting a pie on a window sill and the smell carrying to the neighborhood.

Futaba had circumvented this by having her laptop sync with her persona Prometheus to send forth multiple bursts and copies of her voice in different parts of the city to confuse the monsters. An old technique used to bounce signals to make them untraceable. Monster VPN she called it. On the off chance, the monsters happened upon the hideout in a lucky guess…Well, that's what they had the monster duty crew for.

Ren dialed Futaba's number, and she picked up before the second ring as always. He put her on speaker so the other two could listen in

"Already looked it up," It seemed she still had that bug on his phone. At least it saved him the trouble of explaining to her.

"Percy Jackson, 12 years old, 6th grade at Yancy Academy, has been kicked out of every school he's been to. That must be some kinda record! Think you can beat it Ryuji?" Ren heard the faint "Shadup, we ain't even in school anymore" in the background

"Mother: Sally Jackson, she works at Sweet on America in Grand Central Station. And that's where the normal stops, as you already guessed"

"Tell me, Futaba,"

"His father is unlisted, and the only quote she'd give is that he was 'lost at sea'. Then her parents died mysteriously in a plane crash. Huh, imagine that, given who the kid's dad is. It also says here she married recently,"

"What about the teachers?" His question was met with the sound of furious typing on the other end

"Well, that's the thing, I see both a Conner Brunner and an Alexis Dodds but neither has any background info or records. It's like they, for the most part, didn't exist before they got the job at the school. Even odder they both didn't start at the beginning of the year, they transferred a little after Percy enrolled, Conner a semester after. This reeks of a cover-up, also a pretty shoddy job. They most likely just put in the basic info and let the mist do the rest due to that thing with monsters and technology."

"I don't think Brunner is a monster, he was looking out for Percy. He's probably some other kind of race. Let's leave him be. What about the Rasta-capped boy? Did you find anything on him?"

"I trust your judgment, leader. And, I was getting to him. There isn't a thing on him either except his name Grover Underwood…but he did show up earlier than the teachers,"

"My guess is that he found Percy first and called in Brunner based on how he was acting earlier."

"Okay then, what's our next move?"

He pushed up his glasses "We find the culprit of course"

"And how would you propose we do that" Makoto finally chimed in

"I'm spit balling here, but I think another demigod stole the bolt. That's the main reason Percy is getting the blame here rather than Poseidon taking the thing himself, also you guys read the myths? Thievery isn't the sea god's style, he's more for direct confrontations. Like a New Yorker"

"That doesn't narrow it down, there could be hundreds of demigods all over the country" Futaba pointed out

"I doubt that, we all know what kind of strength it takes to survive on your own out here. I'm guessing demigods who are aware of themselves live in a big group, we just need to find out where this group is"

"Again, how Ren?" This time it was Morgana who replied. He must have been listening to the conversation the whole time.

"I say we ask Sally. There's no way she's not aware of who her 'baby daddy' is. So, she probably knows of a safe place to send him just in case, and that's our prime group of suspects"

Makoto tilted her head "I doubt she'll straight up tell you, Ren."

"You said she works at Sweet on America, right?"

"Oh, I get it Mwehehe, there happens to be a couple of openings, Ren."

"Guess it's time I finally got a job" He cracked his neck and popped his shoulder, "Oracle can you help me put in an application?"

"Already, on it Joker"

Chiron sat in his darkened lamp-lit temporary office grading papers and finishing up Kerr the naiads entry work. He never preferred the modern fluorescent bulbs of today's age, much rather preferring the softer natural light of an old-fashioned lamp. It had the added bonus of making his currently exposed horse half harder to see should someone barge in the office.

To say the day had gone poorly was an understatement for Chiron. Shit-show was the more likely term that came to mind. As he marked yet another F, he went over what exactly went wrong that day

The boy was inattentive as usual, he had so much potential as what was almost confirmed as a child of Poseidon, but he let his emotions rule him when it came to his friends. A fatal flaw that could be spotted a mile away. Even worse with the outcome of the museum trip, he was now becoming aware of who he was. Which meant his scent would get stronger by the day which would lead to more monster attacks he and Grover would have to take care of secretly. The kindly one did him no favors by accelerating that process.

He knew for a while now that his teaching counterpart was a monster in disguise, but for it to be a kindly one was the worst possible outcome. It meant the lord of the underworld was aware of what Perseus was as well, and that did not bode well for his chances of not ending up as a tree as his predecessor did.

It didn't help matters that the boy's mother vehemently refused to send him to Camp Half-Blood. Frankly, it was foolish, they both knew she was only delaying the inevitable. Chiron knew that a mother's love for her child was strong and the desire to be close, but if she didn't learn to let go it would only lead to both of their deaths and a nature-breaking war. He could only pray to the gods above that she would eventually make the right choice.

He filed the papers into the drawer and backed his lower half into his magical wheelchair. After he was safely confined, he rubbed his temple and wheeled himself over to the cabinet where he pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniels and a glass and pulled out a cube of ice from his mini-fridge next to it. He needed it for what he was going to have to think about next.

By far the most problematic issue at hand was the three demigods he saw at the museum. They were powerful, that was for sure. Grover confided in him in good faith that he had to refrain from soiling himself at their mere presence. Chiron himself could tell they were well trained by the way they walked. They made no wasted movement, and they exuded a heavy presence, one he reacted instinctively too, it had been ages since that had happened. He wasn't sure it would be able to take all three of them on. The thought made his hand itch, which he soothed with another sip from the glass of whiskey.

Then there was the fight against the kindly one. Young Perseus could not have defeated her in one blow, nor should she have been that slow. She was one of Hades' enforcers for a reason and the fiercest one Alecto to boot. Was it a mere coincidence they left soon after the attack? What exactly were their powers?

Connected to that was their parentage. He was almost certain that the blue-haired boy was related to the Shinto pantheon; he had seen enough of them during the World War eras. He walked as if he was accomplished with the blade, so he suspected his parent had to be between Hachimon, Take-Mikazuchi, and Susanoo. Grover said he smelled like paint, seaweed, ocean water, and oddly enough ice, so Susanoo was the only appropriate choice.

The girl smelled like sand, marshes, and…. copper. Grover had no idea what to make of this combination, but Chiron had been alive for eons: he had seen it all and then some. She did not give off the feeling of pure magic that the Egyptian magicians did. Rather she had rough calluses on her hands and subtle muscle in her arms, thighs, and legs that emphasized close combat he observed, something Egyptian magicians were not known for. So, Chiron knew she had to be a Mesopotamian demigoddess. Which one he did not know, as their domains overlapped one another more often than not. The thought made him feel his eons of years pile on him as he sipped his drink.

The Mesopotamians were considered to have faded long ago. He had not seen a demigod of their pantheon since the Greco-Persian wars. The fact that one was walking around now would cause an uproar.

The frizzy haired boy was the most mysterious of all. Neither Grover nor himself could get a beat on him. Grover said his smell kept changing every couple of seconds. Nothing about the way the boy carried himself made sense to Chiron. He had light fingers befitting a child of Hermes, showing how he stopped Ms. Bobofit's pickpocketing attempt with little effort. However, his presence was the most imposing of all, instead of the skittishness his children were known for. It was more fitting for a child of the elder gods. And his eyes…. The silver-gray that saw through everything and seemed to be planning and analyzing his every move, was fit for a child of Athena or dare he say Artemis.

Three demigods of different pantheons moving in a group? Nothing good could come of it, the divine strived to prevent cooperation among each other if they could help it. The potential for the accidental mixing of magic was high. It also begged the question of if the respective gods were trying to gain a foothold in the western hemisphere. He knew the Shinto Kami had some influence in the western states, particularly Washington, but they wouldn't dare come this far east into the Greek territory.

He looked at the scroll on his desk along with the drachmas next to it. He should send word to the Olympians right away, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. The gods had enough problems on their plate with the Zeus-Poseidon schism going on. No need to add an unknown 3rd party to the mix. He could only pray they had nothing to do with Zeus' missing master bolt or it may truly be the end of the world as they know it.

Makoto's notes

#3

Kaguya

Joker tends to wax philosophy and poetic lines when he has this persona equipped. It's entertaining and refreshing to hear how deep his thoughts run, compared to his normal stoic self. Fox and Noir get along well with Joker while he's in this state, often shooting poetry lines back at him. Though I get a feeling of forlornness from him. It makes me think about how me and my sister were before we infiltrated her palace. Or when Morgana left the team. Even when we thought Ryuji was dead after we left Shido's palace.

His battle style while he has this persona active focuses on wide sweeping slashes and counterattacks intent on keeping the opponent away, while he pelts them with magic from a distance.

The persona specializes in light and healing magic, its signature move is "Shining Arrows" where it rains down a barrage of blessed bolts on a group of enemies. The sheer amount used has even me, Fox, and Mona struggling to avoid every hit when he uses it in training sessions. Even the bolts in Skull's Ziodyne aren't as tightly condensed as this skill is. Although Violet walked through it as if she was taking a shower. Crow went noticeably pale when he witnessed this skill for the first time.

AN:

There's chapter 3, so what did you think? First and foremost, thank you for all your reviews, likes, and follows. It's what makes me excited to keep writing more.

I didn't expect the museum chapter to be this long, but I went over my outline to try and flesh it out to help the pacing. I also added another step to my editing process. I ported it to Hemmingway. Boy, I didn't realize how much I rely on -ly words, "suddenly" being the biggest. It was almost distracting having it be highlighted in your face like that. I hope that the new editing step makes for a smoother reading experience for you guys, Again, I'm not perfect, I'm a one-man band right now which leads into my next point

Next, I'm looking for betas. A line-by-line proofreader and a critiquer to help me keep everything straight. DM me if you're interested, looking for long term people, if not, please simply leave a comment telling me your thought, the only way I'm going to get better is if I know what I'm doing wrong

As for the actual chapter itself, that was a Julius Kane cameo, he's one of my favorite mortal characters in the Riordan verse along with Hondo in the storm chaser series. It's mentioned that he and carter globe trotted after the mom died and the Met has one of the biggest collections of Egyptian artifacts, so it was a no brainer to have a scene with him

You may have noticed that Alecto more matches her counterpart in Hades. It's the first real liberty I'm taking. I find her cannon description to be pretty boring and atypical, and the Hades, one keeps her (and her sisters) different from Arai should they appear

Also, I'm sorry if you may get spammed with updates from me editing the previous chapters. I did make a small mistake the story starts in 2006, not 2005…. Whoops. Also, I want to go back and put longer ANs explaining some of the scenes of the story.

Until next time Takamura out