Percy bit back a groan, the absolute last thing he wanted to do was have a conversation with the Bat. But he also had dealt enough with capes, to know better than to try and avoid a conversation. So instead of telling the Bat where Percy thought he could shove his utility belt, he just told the strange redhead to give her statement to his partner, who Percy had seen rush back into the building, a rifle tucked in her arms, but had relaxed at seeing Percy's dismissive wave.

After the girl left, Percy turned to look at the Bat,

"What do you want?" He asked gruffly. If the man was at all turned away by the tone of Percy's voice, he didn't show it, instead he stepped in close,

"I don't trust you,"

Percy snorted, "That makes two of us pal,"

The Bat didn't budge, "What are you doing here?"

"My fucking job, what're you doing?" Percy shot back

The Bat didn't respond, just continued to glare at Percy, who was in no mood to deal with whatever the Bat was trying to pull. All of Percy's patience and goodwill for the day had evaporated when those clowns had ambushed him and Selina.

Wait…

He turned, suddenly realizing that he hadn't seen Selina since they'd charged out of the kill-box.

She was gone.

"Son of a bitch," he swore quietly under his breath,

"What did you want with Selina Kyle?" the man demanded, but Percy ignored him again. He wasn't going to put up with the third-degree from some lunatic dressed like a bat. Instead, he just turned away, and began walking back to the hall he had shot the guy with Ten of Clubs mask.

If nothing else, then the potential isolation would also allow him to screw around with the Bat's brain using the mist again.

He also was really hoping he hadn't killed the man in the Ten of Clubs mask; he didn't know how things worked in Gotham, but following a deadly shoot, was always a lengthy investigation, that usually required Percy be taken off of any active cases while the Internal Affairs Bureau investigated what had happened. They were already running on thin ice with the investigation as it was, and Percy didn't want to lose out on the new potential lead he had just come across.

He also counted himself lucky, that he always carried with him a registered off-duty weapon. Something he had taken to doing at Roger's insistence when he was still a rookie.

He strode into the empty hall, the billowing of a fabric behind him, telling Percy that the Bat was following him into the hallway.

Stepping into the hall, it didn't take Percy long to find his man. He was tied up on the ground, next to the unconscious form of a man in a Jack of Hearts mask. There was no sign of blood on the ground, which was good. Percy reached down, and checked for a pulse. It was there, firm and strong, then he checked where he had shot the man, two clean holes in the jacket he had been wearing. Fingering the holes, he felt the firm shell of a ballistics vest, and Percy unconsciously let out a sigh of relief.

He hadn't killed the man, clearly, he'd just been stunned enough by the impact of the shells, that one of the capes had been able to take advantage and knock him unconscious, before tying him up. There would likely be a brief investigation, but Percy somehow doubted he'd be too tied up by things. The Royal Flush Gang was rather infamous after all.

There was a hand on his shoulder and Percy spun, making a conscious effort not to deck the owner of the hand. The Bat was still staring him down, and Percy just growled,

"Get the fuck out of my face," Percy growled,

"Not before you explain why there's a demigod running loose in my city," the man growled back.

Percy's blood froze. His eyes widening, as a crack of thunder cracked loudly overhead. Percy took an abrupt step back, unconsciously channeling his power as he prepared for a fight, and his thoughts raced.

How the hell had the Bat found out about that, the number of people who knew what he was, and where he was could be counted on one hand. And Wonder Woman could not be counted on that list.

Percy also mentally berated himself, he knew the Bat's reputation as 'World's Greatest Detective', he knew that the man wouldn't miss the way that sentence would have affected Percy. There was no point in trying to deny the accusation, the only option left was damage control.

"Who the hell told you that?" he snarled,

"I have my sources," the man shot back, and that only served to put Percy more on edge, "Now answer me, what are you doing in Gotham,"

"I already told you," Percy spat, "My job. What? You think I came here to start shit?" Percy scoffed, "Don't flatter yourself, you're not that important. I'm just trying to live my life. What, that a crime these days?"

"It is if you're a natural danger to those around you," The Bat riposted,

Percy made an indignant noise, "Please, the only person here who's a danger to this city is you. How many lunatics come to Gotham just for the opportunity to take a shot at you? Besides, let's not act like you haven't done your research, if you know what I am, then that means you've done some digging, I'm fucking clean. Spotless goddamn record Bat, ask the boy scout if you're so uncertain."

He was getting mad. Who was this bastard to come at him, and start throwing around accusations, and posture? Percy had worked his ass off to get where he was, had sacrificed everything for a chance at normality.

He briefly contemplated wiping the bastard's memory, using the mist to alter his understanding of things. But he didn't want to risk it. Even if Percy was successful in wiping his memory of what he knew of Percy, it didn't change the fact that he had found out from someone, what Percy was. Without knowing the original source of the information, he couldn't take care of the entirety of the problem, and if that someone found out what Percy had done to the Bat, and reversed it, he would find himself in a lot more trouble.

Illegal vigilante or not, it didn't change the fact that capes had power. They had influence. The Bat's relationship with the commissioner was proof enough of that. But that also didn't mean Percy was going to let himself get kowtowed or bullied by some punk in a costume.

Batman glared, his default setting apparently, "I'll be watching you closely. If you slip up, I will be there to take you down hard,"

That was where Percy drew the line. This guy thought he could throw down with him? Percy was not an overly arrogant man, but he knew his strengths, he knew where he ranked in the pecking order. And some guy in fancy armor, with some special gadgets was still not on his level.

"You can try," Percy spat, not backing down from the glare. They stayed like that for some time, just glaring at one another, and neither willing to back down or give an inch.

Finally, the bat changed topics, "Where are you on the St. Cloud investigation?" he demanded,

Percy stared at the man in utter incredulity, unable to comprehend the arrogance of someone to simply assume, that Percy would bring him in on the investigation, "Blow it out your ass, how about that?" Percy said,

If the man was annoyed by the rude and rather petulant comment, he didn't show it.

"You're not going to get anywhere on that encryption without help," The man added, and Percy shouldn't have been surprised that he already knew about that. Percy didn't put it past the Bat to have some kind of virus or whatever the hell in the GCPD database, that kept him appraised of all new evidence and discoveries.

"Guess we'll find out, won't we?" Percy shot back Deciding that he was done with the conversation he pushed past the man, and back into the waiting gallery. A pair of uniformed patrolies were walking into the hall as Percy left, as they made to wrangle up the two unconscious members of the gang still in the hall.

While Percy and Batman had been away, the hall had been taken over by the GCPD, crime techs, SWAT teams, detectives, and regular patrol officers were mingling about, taking care of whatever individual tasks had been assigned to them.

Percy strode hotly through the mess, of cops, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder,

Percy spun, ready to actually deck the Bat if it was him again, but his tense posture stooped, when he saw that it was actually his boss,

Percy immediately straightened, years of military training taking over in the presence of a superior.

"Sir," Percy said,

Gordon quirked a brow at him, his pipe tucked into the corner of his mouth, "I take it you finally met him?" The Commissioner asked, in leu of a proper greeting,

"Permission to speak freely sir?" Percy asked, feeling exhausted all of a sudden,

Gordon rolled his eyes, "You ain't in the teams anymore son, speak your mind,"

"How the hell do you put up with that asshole?" Percy asked,

Gordon chuckled, taking his pipe out of his mouth to stamp the tobacco together more firmly, "Been asking myself the same question for years, I take it he wanted in on the St. Cloud investigation?"

Percy nodded,

"What'd you tell him?" Gordon asked,

"That he could take his request and blow it out his ass, sir,"

There was a pause, where Gordon just stared at Percy for a minute, and then the man laughed. A deep, rough, and full-bellied laugh. Loud and large enough to actually draw attention from some of the other cops in the vicinity.

It took a few moments, but Gordon was finally able to compose himself.

"Oh, good lord," He said, pulling his glasses away from his face to wipe a tear from his eye, "Oh son, thank you, I needed that."

"Erm," Percy was uncertain how to respond, "You're welcome, sir?"

Gordon pulled himself a bit more together, "Ten years I've been working with that man, and not once have I met someone besides Bullock with the balls to say that to his face."

Percy rubbed sheepishly behind one ear, "Gonna be honest sir, I was expecting you to be a bit more…I don't know,"

"Pissed?" Gordon supplied, reaching into his coat pocket and procuring a new handful of tobacco, with practiced ease, he scooped up a pinch of the plant, and deposited into his pipe. With the flick of his wrist, he lit a match Percy hadn't even seen him draw, and lit the new round.

"Son, I have been working with that man for a long time. And I won't lie, he's done good things for this city, has stopped a lot of bad shit that our department would not be equipped or ready to handle. That being said, the man is an asshole, and more than a bit of a bully, don't think I'm not aware that he's hacked into our database. Stolen evidence from lockup, and who knows what else. I might support the son of a bitch, but it's out of professional courtesy to see Gotham cleaned up as much as possible."

Percy nodded, feeling a bit stunned. He'd heard rumors of the relationship between the Gotham police commissioner and the Bat, but Percy had always assumed things in Gotham worked like how they had in Metropolis. He was more than relieved to see that Gordon had a real head on his shoulders.

"Can I assume," Gordon said, grabbing Percy's attention, "That your case is what brought you into this mess tonight?"

Percy nodded, remembering the newfound information he'd come into,

"Yes sir, one of my contacts put me onto a lead here at the auction tonight. We've had several big cracks today but uh…" Percy took a quick glance around the room, and Gordon seemed to get the idea.

The man nodded, looking towards the other side of the room, where Montoya was giving a statement to some members of the IAB,

"Montoya," He called out, grabbing the woman's attention, he gestured her over, and the woman was relieved from the Internal Affairs officers, before lightly jogging over,

"What's up Jim?" she asked, and Percy arched a brow at the casual address of the police commissioner. Gordon gestured with his head for the two to follow him, before he turned on his heel. Taking the cue, Percy and Montoya followed Gordon out of the room.

They took a turn out a seemingly random door, as Gordon led the two detectives into an innocuous room away from the gathering of cops. It was one of the many empty office rooms in the museum. Gordon perched himself against a desk at the far end of the room, as Montoya closed the door behind her.

Percy took the silent cue to begin, "Alright," Percy began, "First things first, we've identified the shooter," Percy reached into his pocket, and withdrew his phone, pulling out a picture of their bad guy, he passed the device over to Gordon, "Name's Alberto Romanji, he's a known gun-for-hire. Connected to at least five shoots all over the country."

"Gets worse though," Montoya chimed in, "Romanji's got connections to the Falcone's,"

Gordon swore under his breathe, handing the phone back to Percy, "Please tell me you have nothing linking the two to this mess,"

Percy nodded his head, and Montoya shot him a look, he'd forgotten that he hadn't had a chance to brief her on what he'd found.

"It's loose sir, but I might have a connection, just a matter of how much you want to yank on the thread," Percy said, giving the man an out if he wanted it. It wasn't that Percy didn't want Christian Falcone to face justice if he did in fact order a hit on Silver, but Percy understood the difficulty of prosecuting a mafia family. Even if they found solid proof that connected Falcone to the buy, nothing short of the man confessing to the crime audibly, would get a conviction. Mafia families were powerful, especially so for the son of a boss. Percy had experienced it first hand in New York. He'd grown up in a rough part of town, one that was owned by the Irish. The first thing they did as a family, was buy off the district judges, Percy couldn't remember a single member of the mob being convicted in his time in the Big Apple.

Gordon looked conflicted for a moment, before he sighed loudly, and took a large pull from his pipe, gesturing for Percy to go on.

"You were right earlier; I came here on a lead from an old friend. Apparently, Selina Kyle is a friend of the St. Cloud's," Gordon groaned, and rubbed at the bridge of his nose, Percy paused but the man just waved Percy to continue.

"Well, before the attack here, she told me that Christian Falcone had been persistently threatening the St. Cloud's. Selina didn't know what he was threatening them with, or why, but she knew that whatever was going on was rattling Falcone. I have a feeling that it has something to do with this."

Percy scrolled on his phone, pulling up the photo of the bracelet.

"We found that bracelet in the alley where Silver was shot. According to forensics, that jewel isn't an ordinary jewel, but some kind of crypto-lock or something. I get the impression that whatever is hiding behind that encryption, is why Falcone was threatening the St. Clouds,"

Gordon nodded, taking a long look at the photo, "Any luck in cracking the encryption?"

Percy shook his head, "No sir, Dr. Parker says that we don't have the tech available to crack whatever is on it. He says there are only a handful of people in the entire country capable of cracking it, and most are already working for the Feds,"

Gordon snorted, "Figures," he grumbled,

Percy paused, considering for a moment whether he wanted to let his superior know what the vigilante had said. On the one hand, if they were serious about going after Falcone, then it was likely that only the Bat would have the necessary tech capable of breaking through the encryption. On the other hand, Percy's pride refused to bring in a cape into their investigation. It wasn't so much that Percy had too big of an ego to ask for help, between his time in his world, and his time in the teams, he had long learned that there was no harm in asking for help. Rather, Percy did not like having to rely on capes, to do his job. It set a bad precedent, made it harder for him to do his job, and gave more power to capes, who already, in Percy's opinion, had enough power.

"How serious are you about going after Falcone?" Percy asked, and Gordon looked up at him, his eyes narrowing slightly,

"If you got something that might be able to put the bastard away, or something we can use later in a grand indictment, you'd best share it son," Gordon said sternly, and Percy sighed,

"The Bat," Percy said simply, "It shouldn't be a surprise that he knows about the bracelet. When he cornered me, it was talk about it, all but told me we'd need to hand it over in order for it to be broken in." Percy said,

"It's a good call," Montoya said quickly, and Percy flinched slightly, he had known she would be on board with the plan, but it still stung, "If there's anyone who can break through into whatever's behind that, it's him,

Gordon let out a slow breath, and arched a brow, "Sounds like you don't want to do that though," he said to Percy,

Percy eyed his partner, she didn't look too pleased by his hesitance to answer, but Percy tore his eyes away from her. "I…I don't know sir. I have problems, ethical problems, with turning over evidence to a vigilante. I also don't like the idea of him high-jacking our investigation,"

Montoya rolled her eyes, "Metro," she said disparagingly, "If this is about the Bat stealing your glory-"

"It has nothing to do with glory!" Percy shot back hotly, "But it has everything to do with the kind of message it sends to people, when we have to rely on capes to do our jobs for us!"

"Do our-are you kidding me? He's making our job easier! What are you talking about?"

"All right enough!" Gordon cut across, "We have a hitman on the run, and a dead fourteen-year-old girl, I won't have my two detectives wasting time arguing like children." The commissioner said, sounding more like a scolding father than a commanding officer, "Jackson," he barked, "I'm giving you until you collar Romanji. If you can't either figure out a way into that bracelet on your own, or find me something equally concrete on Falcone, we're turning it over to Batman for separate analysis. Understood?"

Percy ground his teeth together, but nodded,

Gordon nodded, "I'll get to work on getting a warrant out for Romanji, if we have any luck, we'll have him by breakfast tomorrow morning. Have a good night detectives,"

With that, the commissioner of the GCPD strode out of the room. Nothing was said between the two detectives for a few tense moments. The air heavy with tension. It was their first major disagreement as a team, and neither was really sure how to deal with it. Montoya pushed herself off the wall she'd been leaning against, and moved to leave the door, brushing by him as she did so.

"I'm-I'm glad to see you made it out in one piece tonight," she said,

Percy nodded, squeezing her arm gently, "Me too Monty, I'll see you in the morning," she nodded and with that, she strode out of the room. Percy was relieved, that simply because they disagreed on the Bat, and on capes, it didn't seem like it would be completely deconstruct of their partnership.

But what the hell did he do now?

Percy sighed, clenching his phone tight in his hand, and gently banged his head against the rear wall.

BREAK

Percy had been right in his earlier assessment. Things in Gotham were done very differently. When 'Super Criminals'-criminals who usually possessed superior abilities or technologies so regular law enforcement had difficulties-were involved, it was almost always considered a good shoot. He only had to speak to the IAB agents for five minutes before he was walking out of the station. With standing orders not to leave the city for the next week as the investigation was concluded.

Percy wasn't worried, so long as he wasn't relieved of duty, he was happy.

He was lost in thoughts of what he should do about the bracelet. So much so, that he didn't notice when a dainty hand pulled on the cuff of his shirt.

Startled, he turned to look at the offender, and almost sighed when he recognized the redheaded woman from before. The one who was either a demigod, or a clear-sighted mortal.

"Hey there," He said, his voice coming out weary as he ran a tired hand through his hair, "Sorry, was kind of out of it,"

She giggled, her red locks bouncing with her, "I could tell, you're kind of spacey." Percy didn't know how to respond to that, and she clearly didn't know how to proceed. Deciding to take the lead, Percy jerked his head,

"C'mon, I know a place where we won't be overheard." She nodded, and followed his lead. He led her away from the groups of onlookers, using the mist to make the pair of them look as nondescript as possible,

"How do you do that?" The woman asked,

"Do what?" Percy asked, before adding, "Also, what's your name again? Sorry, I feel like I know you but I can't place you,"

She waved off his concern, "Don't worry about it, we only met once and you were a little preoccupied with the whole, you know, invading army of monsters. I'm Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Pleased to meet you again, Percy Jackson,"

Percy stopped, turning to look at the woman wide eyed. He knew that name, he remembered why she had looked so familiar, he swore under breath, "By the stone, you're the damned Oracle," He breathed out.

"Guilty," She admitted, with a tilt of her head, "But you never answered my question. I've never seen someone manipulate the mist like you can, how do you do that?"

Percy, his head still spinning as he realized he was with one of the most valuable persons in their world, found it difficult to answer,

"Oh, uh, learned it from some daughters of Hekate. They specialize in mist magic, and I had a…sabbatical after the first war. Seemed smart to know how to protect and hide myself from…curious mortals." He turned, leading her into an unassuming alleyway,

"Oh, that makes sense I guess. Wait, what were you doing on sabbatical? I thought you guys, like, never took a break?"

"Didn't really have a choice in the matter," Percy murmured, taking a quick scan to ensure the alley was abandoned, before grabbing Rachel from around the elbow, "Hold still, this is going to feel weird," Then, with a burst of will, the pair disappeared, reappearing in his apartment, on the other end of town.

"Woah," Rachel said, stumbling slightly, so Percy had to reach out and steady her. "That was…different,"

"Vapor travel," Percy supplied, "You get used to it after a while,"

"Don't think I want to," Rachel grumbled, as she turned to survey their new accommodations.

Spartan. That was the best way to describe the apartment. Plain walls, no decorations, and minimal furniture. It was a cold, and depressingly empty space,

"Don't believe much in homemaking, do you, big guy?" She joked, as she sunk into a nearby chair at the small dinner table by the kitchen.

"Got everything I need," Percy said simply, as he rummaged through a cabinet, "I need a drink, anything I can make for you?" he asked,

"Something strong please, I want to forget tonight," Percy chuckled, and pulled a pair of glasses, and a bottle of rum from a cabinet. He poured each glass about two fingers worth, before handing a glass to Rachel.

"Would have thought, after spending so much time around Greeks, you would be accustomed to a little barbarity,"

She gave him a dry look,

"Cute,"

Percy smirked over the rim of his glass, before adopting a more serious expression, "So, what can I do for you Rachel, you made it sound important,"

Rachel took a pull from her glass, her face pinching slightly at the strong liquor. Shaking her head, she managed to respond, "Compared to what happened in there, I guess it's not that important." She said shyly,

Percy took a sip from his own glass, reveling in the slight burn of the rum as it washed down his throat, "If it has you of all people interested, it has my attention,"

Rachel shifted in her seat, her cheeks darkening slightly, whether from the comment or the rum, Percy didn't know.

"I guess, I don't really know the reason I wanted to talk to you. Mostly just cause you're-you're kind of a mystery, you know that?" When he didn't respond, she continued, "I mean, you almost single handily hold back…her, army, and then you just disappear off the face of the earth. I guess, what I'm trying to say is I'm just curious as to what happened. Both for me, but also, well, Helen's a good friend. And she's never really been the same since you disappeared."

Percy visibly winced at the mention of his sister. Their first meeting had not gone well. What with him returning from his year long quest, or banishment depending on the person you asked, only to find that she had been appointed praetor in Jason's absence over him.

Percy was not an egotistical man by nature, but he was proud. He had fought hard, to rise through the ranks, had fought tooth and nail. Battled through the prejudice, the sabotage, and the isolation, to prove that a son of Neptune was not the omen of ill-will that his kinsmen thought.

He had not expected praetorship after the first war. He knew his place in the rankings, and his father above, Percy knew Jason and...and Reyna deserved the positions. But to find out, that his half-sister, who was not even of Roman blood, had ascended in Jason's place, above him.

Anger could not do justice, to the true scope of his feelings.

It had been a stab in the back for everything he had worked so hard for. Fought so hard for.

An outsider, a daughter of his father's Greek half. He had been incensed.

Helen, bless her heart, had understood his feelings. Had understood his anger. She was a little pixie that one. And before long, she had managed to worm her way into his life and heart. All in a matter of days. He cared for his sister, truly he did. She was the only living, semi-mortal family he had left, but he didn't know her. Not really, which was why he hadn't felt too bad for when he'd done what he had.

Still…

"How's she doing?" he asked, his voice soft as he finished off his glass, and poured himself another,

"Well," Rachel said, her voice equally soft, with a happy lilt to it, "She and Annabeth are expecting their first. They're using a donor," she supplied, at seeing Percy's confused look, "Annabeth nearly had a heart attack when Helen said she wanted to name him Percy,"

He choked on his drink, "W-what?" he asked, befuddled. They were family, and he cared for the woman, but to want to name her child after him? That was…

"I'm screwing with you," Rachel said, laughing at the expression on his face, and only laughing harder when it morphed into a scowl.

"But I wasn't earlier," Rachel continued, getting more subdued after she'd calmed down. "She was devastated after you disappeared, spent weeks trying to find you, before Annabeth finally talked her down."

"Annabeth, she's the blonde one, right? The one that hates me?" Percy asked, no longer scowling as he swirled his drink in his glass,

"She doesn't-"

Percy cut her off with a look, and Rachel deflated slightly,

"Ok," She admitted, "She definitely hates you,"

Percy snorted, and took another sip,

"But yeah, she managed to convince Helen that if you didn't want to be found, you wouldn't be. Eventually, everyone just gave up, assumed you were dead or something,"

Percy refilled her glass as she tapped a finger against her chin in thought, "Though, now that I think about it, Jason wasn't nearly as broken up about things as I'd expected him to be, I mean you two were pretty close, right?"

Percy averted his eyes, which was answer enough, "Holy shit," Rachel breathed out, "He knew, didn't he? He knew and didn't say anything!"

"Because I asked him not to!" Percy jumped in, quick to defend the honor of the first real friend he'd ever had. He sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose, he knew it was asking too much to hope that this would have stayed buried forever, but there were worse things he supposed,

"Then what happened?" Rachel demanded,

"Ok," He said after a minute, "Ok, you want to know what happened?" Rachel nodded enthusiastically,

Percy let out a slow breath, as he thought on the events that had haunted his dreams for years, "I'm sure you remember the final battle, remember-remember how bad it got?"

Rachel nodded,

"Well after…after what happened, happened. I wasn't-I was in a really bad place, ok? An entire cohort…just…and it was all my-"

He gripped the counter top, as he tried to maintain his breathing, flashes of the battle, the bodies, the screaming, flashing through his memory. He had been so successful in ignoring the event, in leaving the past buried, that the wounds felt as fresh as they ever had.

"It was bad, let's just say that," He finally managed to say, after he was able to compose himself a little, "When the dust settled, and the battle was over, I was summoned to Olympus with the seven the, um, the hunter, what the hell was her name? Shit, I should remember her, she was Jason's damn sister"

"Thalia," Rachel supplied helpfully,

"Right," Percy said, with a snap of his fingers, "Thalia and-and the other…Reyna was there too. Anyways, the god's the offered us godhood, for what we did during the war. We all refused, none of us wanted to be gods, so Jupiter offered us something else, a boon. I can't remember what the other's got, but when it came to me…I wanted to make my request in private. So, Lord Jupiter ordered the others out of the room."

Percy's hand clenched tight around his glass, memories of the day swimming in his vision, "What was Helen's life at camp like?" He asked, seemingly out of the blue, which startled Rachel, but she answered regardless,

"As good as anybody's I guess," she said slowly, "She was the camp's leader for years. Everything went through her. Not quite the systemic hierarchy of you guys, but she was in charge, well liked, respected."

Percy nodded slowly as she talked, having expected the answers, "Yeah, that's what I figured," Percy downed the rest of his rum, contemplated pouring more, but pushed it away, "It was the opposite for me. Children of Neptune, they're not well liked in Roman society, we're seen as bad omens. Our power is tied to our emotion, and when we get emotional…the earth tends to shake."

He took a shaky breath, "I spent my entire childhood, trying to prove myself different. Trying to prove I was someone who could be relied on, could be trusted. Then…what happened, happened. I was done, I was tired, and I just couldn't be there anymore."

What he left out was the feeling of utter betrayal he'd felt from his countrymen, when his half-sister had been raised. He hadn't wanted the position. Had made it clear in the Senate, that the seat should remain vacant, in honor of Jason, until he was found.

Like with all things, he'd been ignored.

He might have been able to deal with it. Might have been able to pass over yet another spit in the face. If only it hadn't been for her. And he didn't blame Helen. She hadn't asked for it, hadn't wanted the responsibility, and had given up the position the second she was able to. No, Percy's problem lay with the ones he'd given everything to protect. The one's who'd been so ungrateful, so hateful, and so prejudiced.

In the end, he'd simply gotten too tired to be a soldier of Rome any longer.

"…So I took the cowards way out. When it came to my request, I requested an out. I wanted out of the life. To be left alone, to be free to live my life. So they took my scent from me." He continued,

"Oh my god…" Rachel breathed, "They can do that?"

Percy shook his head, "Not normally, breaks a lot of rules, but…in those circumstances, an exception was made. They removed my scent, and I left. I wrote Jason, as far as I know, he's the only one aware of what I did. Where I went. I wrote him a letter of resignation, telling him my plans, what I had done. I couldn't do it in person, I was too much of a coward to face him, to see his shame, and disappointment. But I let him know my plans, where I would be, and that I would be in contact with him eventually. After that…" Percy shrugged,

"I travelled for a bit, wanted to see some more of the planet I'd fought so hard to protect, but…I got restless. Battle is in my blood, it's why I exist, I was wandering downtown Detroit when I got stopped by a recruiter, next thing I know, I'm on a bus to Coronado. I was in the teams for a few years, had an op go south and got honorably discharged, and then used my government grant to go to school. Got my degree in criminal justice, became a cop, moved to Metropolis, became a detective, and moved here a few days ago."

It felt, weird, talking about it like he had. It wasn't exactly a secret, more, his past was just that, his past. Percy wanted to be his own person, not tied down by the baggage of the world he'd left behind. He still kept in occasional contact with his friends from before, they'd been surprisingly understanding, but they'd grown apart. And talking about it all, with a woman he hardly knew, it was easier than he'd expected. Percy had always found it easier to speak with someone he didn't know, he felt less like he was being judged for it, because they had no baseline for who he was.

And moreover, it felt strangely cathartic to speak to Rachel about his past. Like he was finally putting to bed some of the demons in his closet. As though saying the words was the final nail in the coffin of moving past his personal history. At least, he hoped it was.

"Wow," Rachel finally said, "That's…that's a lot to process."

Percy nodded, he understood,

"So now, what, you're just a cop?"

"I'm just a cop," Percy confirmed, "Working cases, busting bad guys, and getting shot at. Life hasn't changed that much for me if I'm honest, just the monsters I hunt these days, have less pointy teeth," He emphasized his point by tapping at his teeth in an exaggerated manner, Rachel laughed, then grew subdued again,

"You should really call your sister. She'd want to know you're still alive,"

Percy wasn't so sure, "I don't want to butt into her life, Rachel. She's come a long way since I entered her life, and I wasn't even in it for all that long."

"You really don't know her that well, do you?" Rachel chided,

"Pretty sure that's I what I said,"

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Don't be an ass, because I do know her well. Helen, she didn't have a great childhood, even by half-blood standards. Finding out she had a brother? It meant the world to her. She was devastated by your disappearance. She deserves to know,"

"You say that like you're not going to immediately tell her regardless of what I do,"

She smirked, "Glad to see that detective rank isn't just being handed out, you're right, I am. But that doesn't mean that I'm wrong," She stood up, gathering her things, "Thanks for the drink Percy, and-and thanks for telling me, I know you didn't need to, but I appreciate it."

"Not sure why I did it myself," Percy admitted, "But, it feels…good to actually talk about it for once. You're welcome Rachel, and for the record, I'll think about talking to Helena."

"Good boy," Rachel said with a smile, and made to leave the apartment, only to stop and turn around, a confused look on her face,

"Um Percy?"

"Yeah?"

"How do I get to the third street from here?"

"Oh, right, shit hang on,"

BREAK

Dinah pushed the door open to Ted's gym. She needed to decompress after the mess at the museum. It was a habit she'd gotten into years ago. When an operation went pear-shaped, she needed to have some way to vent her frustrations.

And she had a lot to vent at the moment.

The fighting had gone from bad to worse. She should have listened to her instincts when they told her to evacuate Percy and Selina from the vault. They'd been caught right in the middle of the fighting. Though she had been impressed with the way that Percy had been able to handle himself. Knowing what he was, it shouldn't have been a surprise, but still, seeing the way he took charge of the situation immediately was impressive. He had been calm, resolved, and reacted without hesitation.

That being said, it had been sheer dumb luck that no one had gotten hurt. She didn't know what Batman had been thinking. It was impossible, even for him, to think through all of the possible scenarios a battle could go, and plan accordingly. What was it he had said to the kids following Santa Prisca? No strategy survives first contact with the enemy? Bastard should have listened to his own advice. Not only had civilians gotten caught in the crossfire, but one of them had even gotten taken hostage!

She still couldn't remember clearly what had happened. She remembered Robin making some kind of a move on the one holding him, and she and Batman had knocked out the two Flush members, but it was hazy. Like she had been drinking and had been fading in and out of consciousness.

She needed to punch something, and she was thankful that Ted had been willing to keep the gym open after hours.

The lights were still on, and she was mildly surprised to hear the sound of a bag already being worked. She supposed it was Ted putting in some after-hours work. Can take the fighter out of the ring, but you can't take the fight out of the fighter.

However, as she rounded the corner, she was even more surprised to see that it wasn't Ted punching the heavy bag, but was Percy. His back was to her, and he was punching the bag with the ferocity of a man with as much pent up frustration and anger as she herself was feeling. She sat back for a bit, simply content to watch the man work. He had a fluidity to his strokes, a calm assurance that was only present in the most experienced of fighters. Each blow, carefully directed, and containing power, and precision.

His back, thinly covered by a compression tee, flexed as punched. Taut and firm muscles tensing and relaxing, as they unleashed powerful blow after blow.

Her face flushed slightly, when she realized that she had been staring, and decided it was time to make her presence known.

She coughed, and had to hold back a chuckle as the man nearly jumped a foot in the air. He must have been pretty deep in his own headspace; she hadn't exactly been quiet in her approach. He turned, those bright green eyes shining, and his face covered in a thin sheen of sweat.

"Sorry," she said, not quite able to stifle her chuckles, "Didn't mean to startle you,"

Percy relaxed, and Dinah was thankful that she had remembered to put her wig on before heading out of the house. It seemed silly, wearing her wig out when she knew she was likely going to be alone in the gym, but she'd had enough experiences out of costume, to necessitate the minor inconvenience of the itchy wig.

"Sorry, didn't notice you come in," he said, his cheeks darkening slightly as he awkwardly scratched behind his ear. "Was kind of," he gestured vaguely in the air, "Out of it," he finished lamely.

"I can tell," Dinah laughed, though not rudely, "Looks like you got a lot on your mind,"

"Understatement," Percy muttered,

Dinah, who had decided she likely wasn't going to get much of a workout in, threw her bag on the ground, and perched herself on top of it. "Helps if you talk about it, at least, in my experience," she said kindly, idly flicking a strand of her wig out of her eyes,

Percy snorted, before turning and reloading in front of the bag, hopping lightly on the balls of his feet as he jabbed, "Unless you're a licensed shrink, I'm pretty sure you don't want to get within thirty miles of the mess that's in my head right now."

"Good thing I am," She responded cheekily,

She wasn't sure why she was pressing the matter. In all honesty, she shouldn't have even been talking to Percy. Batman, after the mess at the museum, had told her to keep close tabs on the man, usually that meant tailing from a distance, not letting him know he was being investigated. But when opportunity knocks and all that right?

Percy stopped his punching, turning a bewildered look in her direction,

"Seriously?" he asked,

"Seriously," she said with a laugh,

Percy smirked at her, "Well now I definitely don't want to say anything," he responded with a laugh of his own,

"Don't be an asshole," she laughed right back, "Tell you what, because I'm such a caring person, first session is free, no charge, so what do you say? Let me shrink your head a bit?"

He actually paused, and looked like he was genuinely contemplating the question, which she took as a good sign.

He sighed, and rested his head against the bag, "Wouldn't be the first dumb decision I made tonight," He murmured, though she was pretty sure the comment wasn't made for her,

"This have to do with the attack at the museum tonight?" she prompted gently,

He scoffed, "Heard about that huh?"

She shrugged, "Word travels fast, were you there?"

Percy nodded, and she smiled,

"Glad to see you're ok," which was the truth. She knew he was more than capable of taking care of himself, but she never liked the idea of non-capes getting caught in the crossfire of their fights.

"Thanks, I appreciate that," He said with a gentle smile of his own,

"So, what's going on?" Dinah asked again, shifting slightly in her makeshift chair,

Percy sighed, running a hand through his sweaty hair.

"It doesn't really have to do with the attack tonight. Not the first time I've been shot at, won't be the last either. So that's not the problem. The problem is, I-I ran into someone from my childhood tonight. Dredged up a lot of memories I thought that I'd buried.

"Bad memories?" She probed,

Percy shrugged, and made an iffy gesture with his hand, "Yes and no, more like…conflicting. She's-she's a friend of my sister. My half-sister."

"I didn't know you had a sister," Total lie, one she felt uncomfortably guilty with,

Percy snorted, "For nearly eighteen years, neither did I. Then she just popped into my life. Only knew he her for a few months. But…some stuff happened, some bad stuff. And I kind of…just disappeared. Haven't talked to her since. According to Rachel," Dinah assumed that was the person he'd run into tonight, "She took my disappearance, poorly. I guess she didn't have a great childhood either. And according to Rachel, she was beyond excited to have another relative in her life, Rachel told me to get back in touch with her, but…I don't know."

"Why is that?" Dinah prompted,

Percy shifted uncomfortably, "I-I don't know. I guess it's just…I left that part of my life behind. Finally managed to start paving my own way you know? It feels like I'm finally in charge of my own destiny, and then this happens, and suddenly I feel like it's all about to come crashing back down."

Dinah nodded, "You're worried about losing the autonomy you've finally found for yourself. That by pulling on that thread, you're welcoming back all the things you'd been trying to get away from. You're on your own, a grown man with his own life, and career, and new relationships, and here comes someone you barely know, barging back into your life, telling you to reopen a chapter of your history you're trying to leave behind. It's more than understandable to feel uneasy." Dinah counseled,

"I guess the question is then," she shifted, placing one fist under her chin, "Is whether you want a relationship with this woman you barely know. Do you want to potentially reopen your heart to a part of your life you've tried leaving behind, and dredging up past memories in favor of a new relationship, or do you want to take the leap of faith, and trust that now that you're older, wiser, and more experienced, you can handle whatever gets thrown your way."

Percy groaned, sliding down the bag, and sitting on the floor, pulling his knees up to his chin,

"Emotions are bullshit," he sighed into his kneecaps,

Dinah chuckled, "I don't disagree, but you didn't answer my question."

Percy looked up at her, his sea-green eyes seemed to shine in the dim light of the room, "I-I don't really know. I've never really had a family before. Mom died when I was young, and I was thrown into the system before my-my caretaker found me. I didn't really have anyone I could rely on for the longest time, only ever had two good friends until I joined the teams. I don't know what I'd do with a family." He looked back up at her, his eyes glistening with uncertainty,

"What would you do?"

Dinah shifted, as she pondered the question, "I'd…I think I'd reach out honestly." She said, meeting his gaze, "We only have one life to live, and if I found I had family, that wanted to be a part of my life, that wanted to know me, care for me, and love me, I think I'd just have trust that they really feel that way."

"Even if that meant throwing yourself back into a world you'd been so desperately trying to avoid?"

Dinah knew he was referring to the gods. Knew that he was worried about being caught back up in whatever life he'd had before. Diana hadn't been super forthcoming with the details, but she had an inkling that whatever his life had been like, it hadn't been pretty. Hadn't been safe, or nurturing. That he desperately wanted to avoid going back to that.

"I do," she said softly, "I'd give anything to have my mom back, to have any real family again. It's comforting you know? Having someone who loves you unconditionally, who simply wants to be part of your life, hear the good, bad, and the ugly. No one wants to have to try and face the world alone, and when you have people like that, it makes even the impossible seem a bit more manageable."

Percy didn't say anything for a moment, just stared at the floor, "So you think I should run with this," It wasn't really a question,

Dinah nodded, "I do," she said gently, "You're allowed to let people in Percy. Especially if they want to be in your life. In spite of the risks, I think the benefits outweigh everything else."

And she meant it. She wasn't sure why she was helping him like she was, or why he was opening up to a total stranger, but she wasn't going to question it. Percy Jackson was a mystery, the deeper she dug, the more she unraveled, the more she wanted to know.

Percy groaned, and rubbed tiredly at his eyes, but when he looked back at her, he was smiling, "Thanks," he said softly, "I know we don't really know each other that well, but I really appreciate the help,"

She smiled back, "Hey, you were willing to help out Artemis, consider this my repayment." Then she smirked at him, "Even if you did interrupt my workout,"

Percy laughed, "Sorry about that," he said,

"Well," she drawled, standing up and stretching her arms over her head, not missing the way Percy's eyes seemed to linger for a moment on her taught abdominals, "I know a way you can make it up to me,"

"Oh?" Percy responded, meeting her eyes,

"Yeah," she grinned, "If you're tired of doing it by yourself, you could always go a few rounds with me," She turned, grabbing her bag to head into the locker room, before calling over her shoulder, her grin widening at his expression, "For the record, I was talking about sparring,"

Percy shook off his expression,

"That'd be nice too,"

AN: AND WE'RE BACK! Alright folks, thanks for being patient with me on this one, I know how much you've been looking forward to it. Couple of announcements, for those who haven't read The Last Argonaut, first, check it out, I love that story, but two, I'm approaching my writing differently. From now on, I'll be focusing on one story specifically, and working through an "arc" usually about 4-5 chapters I'd say, before moving onto to my next piece. Chapters, upon completion, will be released once a day until they are gone. So you have that to look forward to. Now, onto another announcement, to my fans of Son of a Sailor. It's not abandoned, but consider it on a hiatus for further notice. I was honestly never that serious about it, it was just an idea I had stuck In my head that I needed to write. I never expected the kind of following it got, so I need time to focus on putting something together for it, and I can't do that and Our Protector at the same time. Too many conflicting plots around the same characters for my tiny brain. I will come back to it at some point. Just, probably not any time soon unfortunately.

As for this chapter! Percy's heritage finally revealed, yes he is Roman. I think I dropped enough hints throughout the story to make it obvious, so I hope this wasn't too much of a shock to you. Things have gone very different, I've taken liberties with canon and the mist because I can to make the story I want to make. But please, tell me what you thought, let me know how you're liking the story, and I can't wait for what's to come. I think the last chapter of this arc has some of my best writing I've ever done, so get excited! As always, thanks so much for all the love and support, you guys are incredible! Stay safe, love you all, and see you tomorrow!

Love,

LilDB