They returned to the department with their new information and set about finishing up the days work. They made their way through the rest of the financial statements, only to come up with absolutely nothing at all. They knew that their suspect wore a pig-mask, which was tugging something at the back of Percy's brain but he couldn't figure out what it was. They eventually grew too frustrated and called it quits for the day.

Percy went home and changed into some more comfortable street clothes. While he was changing, he reached out to some old contacts and he got word of some of the old demigods in town. Some of the people who would be in the know. Percy had a rough plan of attack. Meg was a daughter of Demeter, a woodland goddess. Meg would have a natural, communal link with nature, and by extension, dryads. She would have gone to them for help. The only problem was that dryads were wood nymphs. Tree spirits. Which meant they needed trees. Something in short supply in a city like Gotham. So Percy was going to head to a bar; a bar where he knew that the bartender was a demigod like him.

Percy pushed open the door to the bar, and was welcomed with the sights, sounds, and smells of cheap whisky, cheaper times, and cigarette smoke. Percy eyed the large Black man behind the bar, it had been years since Percy had seen him, but Percy recognized him. Approaching the bar, Percy sat down, the bartender was busy cleaning a pair of glasses, it was slow inside, being a Wednesday and all,

"What's your poison?" He asked dryly, not looking up from his task,

Percy arched an eyebrow and spoke low, so his voice would be nearly lost under the music,

"Got any nectar and ambrosia?" He asked, and the bartender nearly dropped his glass. He looked up, meeting Percy's smiling face,

"Prefect…" He whispered out,

"Not anymore Steph," Percy said, "Retired, like you," He reached out, and gripped the man's around the elbow. Steph gripped Percy back, just as tight. Stephan Gilmore had been in the Second. A few years older than Percy. He'd been a corpsman, as a son of Apollo, and had saved Percy's life on more than one occasion.

"Gods be good. Prefect-I mean Percy, what are you doing here?" He asked, then leaned forward, "You're not working again…are you?"

Percy chuckled, "No, I'm not. Not like that anyway. Got a runaway. Found three of her friends outside my apartment the other day. Their friend ran away from camp, Greek, daughter of Demeter, you familiar?"

"Yeah, I know the one," Steph nodded, "So you're looking for tree nymphs then?" And Percy nodded, "Makes sense," Steph said, nodding to himself, "Best bet would be Gotham City Park. It ain't the forest by any means, but that would be the only place for like fifty miles that a nymph would post up." He looked thoughtful for a second, then tapped the bar, "Let me go make a quick call, I'll be right back." Percy gave him a thankful grin and made himself comfortable.

Someone sat down beside him, and Percy did his best to ignore them. But he had the feeling that they were watching him so he looked up, and was surprised to meet the furious gaze of Sarah Rosthein.

"Counselor," Percy greeted, putting on his fakest smile, "What can I do for you?"

"You have a lot of nerve," Rosthein said, her body literally shaking in rage,

"For what, exactly?" Percy asked, though he had a feeling he knew where this was going,

"For killing Romanji like that?" She shouted, slamming her fist on the bar. The few onlookers looked up at the commotion, but went back to their drinks. Percy arched an eyebrow,

"Why the fuck would I kill the only good link we had between Falcone and St. Cloud?" Percy asked sarcastically.

"Because just like the rest of your corrupt department, you work for that rat bastard," She seethed, and Percy just scoffed,

"Believe it or not, I'm not on the fucking take." He sighed and scratched behind his ear, "Though judging by the looks of the rest of my department, that ain't going to mean too much."

"You know, it's guys like you that are the whole reason I went to law school," She snarled,

"Guys like me?" Percy asked,

"Arrogant, corrupt, bastards. Murderers hiding behind a badge. Cowards who get a sliver of fucking power and authority, and think they can abuse everyone else as a result," She looked as though she were about to leap at him.

Percy snorted, and swiveled back to face the bar, "The irony of that statement is unbelievable," But she ignored him,

"How long did you wait before shooting him, huh? Was I even out of the fucking building? Did you beat him first? Play with your food a little?' She was winding up for a long one, Percy could tell, so he decided he was done. He could take being called a lot, but he wasn't about to be called a murderer.

"Yeah, all right, I'm just going to stop you there." Percy said, swiveling back to look at her, "Whatever narrative you've created in your own head about what happened, keep it, that's fine. But don't go throwing out accusations about me. Especially when I was nowhere near the precinct when he was murdered," He rested one arm on the bar and leaned a little closer,

"I was halfway across the fucking city. Fighting those fucking plants and trying not choke to death on Joker gas." Rosthein winced and leaned back a little,

"A cop shot him, yeah. And IA ran an investigation and shock of fucking shocks nothing came up. Decided he'd died as a result of a "Stray shot," accidentally fired during the surprise of the attack. So yeah, the department has been cleared. And there's not a damn thing we can do about it, and I'm not fucking happy about it. Piece of human trash or not, Romanji had a right to a trial and he didn't get it. He got a bullet, not because he deserved it, but because he was going to turn on Falcone. That's not justice. So don't come in here, preaching to me from that white fucking horse, and accusing me of killing a man in cold blood. There's a lot of trash in the department, but me and Montoya? We're clean." He leaned forward so he was right in her face,

"So don't you ever, ever, talk to me like I don't give a damn. Like I'm one of them. Because I'm sure as hades not." Steph returned from the back room, and arched a brow at Percy and Rosthein. Percy ignored it, and swiveled back to the bad and leaned forward. Steph leaned in and whispered into his ear,

"Just got confirmation, there's a group of them in the Park. Look for the tallest oak in the center. They'll find you." Percy nodded, and dropped a hundred on the table.

"Thanks brother," Percy said, clapping the man around the elbow, "I'll stop back around, soon."

"You too sir," Steph nodded, and without another glance backwards at Rosthein, Percy exited the bar.

"Detective!" Percy ignored Rosthein as she called out, "Detective Jackson, please wait!" The sound of heels on concrete caught up with Percy and he felt as Rosthein appeared beside him,

"Look, I'm sorry." She apologized, "That-that was out of line. I shouldn't have-"

Percy stopped, Rosthein stopped too as Percy rounded on her, "Look, I get it. The guy you represent ends up dead in a cell with a bullet in his brain, and the only people with the keys to the cage are cops. I get it. I'm pissed too. So apology accepted."

"That's it?" Rosthein asked,

"I don't have the time or energy to waste on something like this right now." Percy said, his tone heavy and exhausted, "I got an active kidnapping case and my niece has runaway from home."

"Oh…" She said, looking slightly thrown off, "Um best of luck…then."

Percy gave her a smile and left.

The park was empty, being as late as it was. It was the first time Percy had been to the little faux woodland are since his arrival to the city. It made him miss the actual woods. Percy had always loved the outdoors, which he knew made him odd considering his youth was spent in one of the biggest cities on the planet. But he had always felt at peace there, there was just something about being away from civilization that relaxed him. Nothing but the great outdoors and whatever gear he had with him.

He looked around as he wandered down the trail. He reached the crest of a small hill, when he spied his destination. At the edge of a trail was a large oak. It looked rather out of place in the otherwise completely fabricated forest. It was large, and healthy. Its bark a deep and rich brown, and its leaves a vibrant green.

Percy stepped off the path and approached the tree. He placed a hand against it's bark, and focused. It was lousy with divine energy; there was so much raw power emanating from the mighty oak that Percy was impressed he hadn't noticed its presence in the city before.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" A voice asked. Percy removed his hand from the tree, and turned to look. A woman, a beautiful woman, maybe around Percy's age, with skin as green as fresh grass, and glowing violet eyes stepped out from behind the tree. She was dressed in some sort of make-shift gown of sticks, and grass. She placed a loving hand against the bark of the tree.

"Our power comes from these trees, you know?" She asked, though Percy was certain she didn't expect an answer, "They are infused with our own power. A bond unbreakable, and unchangeable. Once we bind ourselves to our chosen tree, we can never be too far removed."

"And if the tree dies, so do you," Percy finished, and the woman turned and smiled at him.

"Precisely," She said, "So, what can I do for the…legendary Perseus Jackson."

"Just Percy, please," He said with a smile, "And you are?"

"Déntro," She said,

"Fitting," Percy said, and she smiled at him, "I'm looking for someone,"

"Megara," Déntro said, "I suspected someone would be along in search for her," She looked him up and down, "Never did I suspect that it would be you. You certainly do meet the legends."

"Glad to meet the standard," Percy said, "Meg, she's going to do something stupid. I figured she came to you for help,"

"She did, and you are correct," Déntro said, "She came to us for aid in her personal quest. But we turned her away. We have been hurt by humanity to be sure, but it is not in our nature to seek out vengeance."

"Even though so many of you have died because of our deforestation?" Percy asked,

"They know not what they do," Déntro said simply, "It is simply their way. They march towards progress regardless of our wishes. Besides, we will be reunited one day," Well that was one way to look at things Percy supposed.

"What did she want? I gathered that she's trying to break Ivy out of Arkham but even she can't be so stupid as to think that'll be possible without help," Percy explained,

"She wished for our help in rescuing that false prophet of the earth," Déntro nodded, "But when we refused help. She said she'd be fine on her own. Said it had to be easy enough to find what she needed in Gotham."

"And what did she need?" Percy asked,

"Acacia powder, bay leaves, and calendula flowers," Déntro recited easily.

Percy swore. He recognized those herbs, and more specifically, he knew what they could be made into, "She's not trying to recruit Ivy, the damn fool is trying to control her!"

Déntro nodded at Percy, "She intends to grind the herbs into a dust of compulsion."

"Forces the intended victim into a trance where they bow to your every whim. Great, that's just…great." Percy finished. He groaned, and scratched behind his ear, "Don't suppose you know anywhere in town where someone could get all this crap?"

"Unfortunately, I do not." Déntro said, looking genuinely remorseful at not being able to assist Percy. Percy gave her a small smile,

"Thank you, Déntro, you've been very helpful." Percy said,

"Of course, lord Prefect," Déntro said. "Always a pleasure. Please come back and visit me again sometime," She blinked impishly at him, "I would love to lay with you,"

Percy just blinked at her. It was definitely the most forward come on he'd ever received.

"Yeah…sure," He said, and with that he turned left the small park. Twenty minutes later he arrived back in his apartment. He collapsed into his chair with a groan. He really wished that he had any kind of a network established in Gotham. Back in Metropolis, he knew where all the grim and ghoulies worked. Every legit magic shop, every water nymph masquerading as an oceanographer, he knew them all. But he had to start over, had to start making connections with people and figure out who the players in town were. But that would be for another day. He figured that if he didn't know where to get the supplies, chances were good that Meg had even less of an idea, which meant he had some time. He needed to figure out where she was camping out.

He opened his contacts list, and hit dial. Jason picked up after the third ring,

"Percy," He greeted, "What's up?"

"Making some progress on Meg, but I've hit a bit of a wall." Percy said,

"How can I help?" Jason asked,

"Need some more info on Meg. She got any mortal family?" Percy asked,

"No idea." Jason admitted and Percy sighed, "Ok…" Percy said slowly, "How about a last name? I can figure it out from there. Her father is mortal so he should be somewhere,"

"Smith," Jason said, And Percy screwed his eyes shut. Of course it would be the most milk-toast, white boy, bullshit name out there. It was going to be a nightmare wading through that mess to find out anything. Hopefully he'd get lucky and the son of a bitch actually went through with registering Meg's birth.

"All right," Percy said in exhaustion, "Thanks, I'll call you when I have her." There was a pause and Percy thought Jason was working up to saying something, but he must have decided against it.

"…Sounds good Percy, good luck," Percy ended the call, and was about to stand up and get ready for bed when his phone started ringing. Checking the I.D. he let out a frustrated groan when Montoya's name flashed across the screen. Accepting the call, Percy pulled the phone to his ear as he stood up and began retrieving his things. There was only one reason Montoya would be calling him so late.

"Let me guess, you're calling because Bruce Wayne just gave us both ten mil, and you're off to the Cayman's to live a life of luxury?" He joked, as he put the phone on speaker and began pulling his work clothes back on. Montoya snorted into the mic, and Percy thought he could hear her car's turn signal. She must have been already on the road,

"Yeah, and I'm running off with Ms. Universe," Montoya shot back, then her tone grew tense, "We got another one."

"Another body?" Percy asked, pausing halfway through buttoning his shirt,

"Yeah, patrol found it bout ten minutes ago. Called it in, and it made its way back up to Jim, who just called me." She explained.

"Where?" Percy asked, as he finished buttoning his shirt, and throwing on his discarded tie.

"The Pier, under the boardwalk." Montoya recited,

"Got it, be there in ten." Percy said. He threw his coat on, and slammed his pistol into his holster. He ended the call and left his apartment. It was going to be a long night.

BREAK

Percy let out a snarl as his fist connected with the heavy bag. He'd been at it for the better part of a twenty minutes, and was finally starting to break a sweat. The magically enchanted weights around his wrist and his back were doing their job, and Percy willed their resistance to increase again. His body shivered for a moment as divine magic swam over him. The weight increased again and it took a second for his body to adjust. Shuffling his feet, Percy adjusted his stance, and dealt another series of quick blows at the bag. His arms, shoulders, and his back were starting ache, but it just drove him harder. He ducked, drove two quick jabs into the bag, shifted to the left, mimed ducking out of the way of another strike, and hammered the bag with another haymaker. He then repeated the exercise for another fifteen minutes.

His chest heaving, and his shirt sticking to him, Percy finally stopped his exercise, and perched himself down on a bench in the corner of the room. The night had not gone well, and Percy couldn't close his eyes without seeing the body…or what was left of it. The pattern had been broken, the body they found had been butchered. The tell-tale markings were there; there were stitching's around the arms and the legs and there had been a mask on his face. Emphasis on the word had. The mask he had been wearing had shattered. Or been cut off. Or something. That didn't really matter to Percy, because he was too preoccupied with the fact that the man's head had literally been cleaved in two.

They'd tried to canvass the apartment, interview the man's neighbors, but nothing. Nobody saw or heard anything. Like all of the other scenes they'd visited, there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. And Percy was ready to throw something through a window. They were no closer to finding this son of a bitch, and they now had four bodies on their hands. He rubbed at his eyes, he was getting exhausted. He hadn't gotten more than three hours of sleep pretty much all week, and he was starting to feel it. It was getting harder to concentrate.

"I can't decide if you're pissed, or just need to use the restroom," A familiar voice called out. Percy looked up, it took a second for his vision to clear and Dinah's face came into focus. She wasn't alone either, that kid from the Academy, Artemis, was there.

"You look like shit," Artemis snorted, crossing her arms. Dinah shot the girl a look, before turning a concerned look on Percy,

"Shouldn't you be in school?" He asked, and she arched an eyebrow,

"At six in the morning?" She asked, "Didn't know you took scholastic achievement so seriously?" Percy hadn't realized how early it was. He had an arrangement with Ted. Percy knew the passcode to get into the building, and in exchange, Ted got an extra grand from Percy.

"Artemis," Dinah chided before Percy could retort,

"She'd got a point though. Percy, you look exhausted, when was the last time you slept?" She asked.

Percy shrugged, "I dunno," He said heavily, leaning back in his seat, "Slept for like two hours a couple of days ago,"

Dinah sighed before turning a look on Artemis, "Give us a minute, go get changed." Artemis shot the older woman a look before slinking off to the women's locker room. Dinah hefted her bag off her shoulder and sat down on the bench next to him,

"I'm about to get a lecture, aren't I?" Percy asked, leaning back and resting his back against the wall,

"That depends," Dinah said, leaning back as well and craning her neck to look at him, "You need one?" Percy snorted but didn't say anything, "Didn't think so," She said and crossed her arms. "So, we can either do this the easy way, or we can do it the hard way. Your choice,"

"Normally I'd say the hard way," Percy said around a jaw-breaking yawn, "But I'm too damn tired." He let out a heavy breath, and shot her a look, "This falls under client confidentiality, right?"

"You'd need to be my client first," Dinah laughed, "But if you're asking me not to say anything, you know I won't."

Percy gave her a small smile, "Yeah, I know." He took another steadying breath, "It's this investigation I'm working. I've got four bodies, one more probably on its way. We've got no credible leads. No witnesses. Nothing. We have nothing, and people are dying, and I'm stuck with my thumb up my ass just waiting for the next fucking body to drop."

Dinah didn't say anything for a moment, she just sat there and processed what he was saying. When he was done, she calmly placed a hand on his knee and gave it a squeeze. Percy almost didn't even notice the gesture,

"And to make matters worse, now my fucking niece has run away from home, and she's planning to do something stupid, and I can't find her either." Percy was so focused on himself that he didn't notice the way that Dinah's eyes widened and her body tensed for a second, before she managed to get control of herself. "And I haven't been sleeping because I'm running two active cases and have nothing to show for any of it…I just…sometimes I think…" He trailed off. He hadn't told anyone about that before, but things with Dinah were always a bit different. He didn't know when their relationship had developed into what it was, but somewhere along the line Percy and Dinah had taken their impromptu meetings at Ted's to have an off the books counseling session.

"You're questioning whether or not you're really cut out for any of this," Dinah said gently, "You don't think you're really made out to be doing what you're doing." She glanced down at Percy's hand, which was subconsciously rubbing at his branding on his forearm.

"You're a soldier," Dinah continued in a soft voice, "It's what you've always been. What you were raised to be. Maybe it was your parents, maybe it was something else, but you always thought you were supposed to fight. So you joined up, did your duty, and you fought. But things…things went south. Something happened, and you were discharged. Your duty was taken away, your sense of purpose was lost. You were a little aimless. So you found something to fill the void. You want to help people, you need to. It helps make it easier. The losses. The aimlessness. But you-you also have a deep-rooted sense of justice. You have this…pathological need for people to face justice, to right wrongs. Maybe it's part of why you thought you were meant to be a solider. It's often said that there is no greater honor or justice than serving your nation."

Percy just stared at Dinah as she spoke, his eyes wide. It was…uncanny how well she seemed to know him. How well she seemed to be able to pick his brain and understand what he was feeling and why he did what he did. Dinah continued speaking, either oblivious, or uncaring of Percy's internal thoughts,

"So that's why you decided to be a cop. If you can't fight, then you have to protect and serve, right? Well, you don't things by half, so when you tried to become a detective, you decided you were going to be the best damn detective you possibly could be. You probably graduated with honors, near top of your class. Top rankings coming out of the academy. You rose through the rankings quickly, and got your position as a detective faster than anyone. You do your job, and you do your job well. You try, you give a real damn. Which should be evident because if you didn't then you wouldn't be having this little chat with me," Percy smirked a little and she smiled back at him,

"So is there a point here that I'm missing, or are you just trying to flex a little,"

"Column A, column B." Dinah said with a chuckle, "What I'm saying Percy, is you got your head stuck up your ass,"

"Pardon?" He asked, confused,

"Whether you're even consciously aware that this is how you're thinking, you think that in order to do something, you have to be…preordained or something in order to do it. That your career has to come from some sort of-of higher calling. It doesn't Percy. You choose. No one else. This is your life. You call the shots, no one else. And no one else is deciding what you can or can't do but you. Right now, things suck. And that sucks but well, that's life. Sometimes it just sucks and you have to deal with that. It doesn't mean you aren't good at your job, and it doesn't mean that you aren't where you belong."

She grabbed Percy by the wrist and he looked at her. Her eyes met his, and if he didn't know better, he would say she was staring right through him. But she was right. He knew it. It was why he'd left the world of the gods years ago. To live his life, to be his own man, and for once in his entire life have some godsdamned personal autonomy. Just because he was having difficulties and facing a little struggle sure as the gods did not mean that he should just pack it in and call it quits.

"You're right. Thanks Dinah," He said appreciatively, "I-I really needed to hear that,"

"What are friends for Percy?" She said, smiling back at him. They stayed like that for a moment, before Percy's phone started to ring. Pulling it out, Percy saw that it was Hugo Strange. Wondering what the good doctor would want so early Percy gave Dinah a meaningful look. Taking her cue, she patted Percy on the leg, and headed out to the locker room to change. Answering the call, Percy pulled the phone to his ear,

"Morning doc," He greeted,

"Good morning, detective," Strange said, "I hope I did not wake you,"

"You're good sir," Percy said, playing with a water bottle, "Just getting a workout in. I take it you have something?"

"I do indeed. I believe you would call it a 'break,' in the case." Strange chuckled, "I believe I know what our killer does for a living. I would prefer to talk in person. When can you be at the station?"

Percy checked the time, and weighed how long it would take him to shower, change, and get down to the precinct. "Thirty minutes give or take," He finally said,

"Excellent, that will give me some time to alert detective Montoya and prepare everything. I look forward to speaking with you."

"See you then, doc," Percy said, and hung up. He got up, and went to the men's locker room. After a quick shower, he changed into his work clothes and headed out. Someone whistled as he walked out. Turning, he arched an eyebrow as he stared over at where the girl, Artemis, was wrapping tape around her fists.

"Look at you, you clean up nice for a pig," She snarked. Percy snorted and exchanged a look with Dinah who just rolled her eyes. Percy looked back over to Artemis,

"You can talk shit after you learn how to not telegraph a punch." He said, and Artemis spluttered as Dinah laughed. Giving his friend one last wave, Percy turned around and marched out of the gym. Nodding at Ted as he headed out.

Percy had to blink as he stepped out into the street, the sun was rising high into the sky and it was damn near blinding. Raising a hand to his face, his vision began to clear as he turned and made to head to his car, but stopped when someone grabbed him around the arm.

BREAK

Dinah sighed as she changed. Percy Jackson was an enigma she couldn't quite figure out. Well, that wasn't entirely true she supposed. Her impromptu psych evaluation of him had been true enough. She'd gotten all of that from the brief talks she'd had with Diana and what she'd found on the internet. But he still confused her. All that power, and all that strength, and he was content to live a normal life. She could understand his desire for personal autonomy, if her life had been dictated by higher beings she'd crave independence herself, but it was clear he felt a strong urge to protect, to fight for justice. So why didn't he use his powers to help the greater good? It just didn't make sense to her.

Dinah sighed and pushed thoughts of Percy out of her head as she stepped out of the locker room, she glanced around the room, but she didn't see the man occupying her thoughts anywhere. She just Artemis who was fishing her tape out of her bag. She was having a bit of an internal debate. Percy had just unintentionally admitted to her that there was a rogue demigod loose in the city. Part of her was telling her that she needed to report it to Batman, Gotham was his city and he was…territorial. If there was a rogue superhuman roaming around the city, he really did deserve to know. But she also was rather certain that Percy was more than capable of finding the kid before she could do anything too foolish.

"You and detective hot pants done making eyes at each other?" Artemis asked, snapping Dinah out of her trance. Dinah just glared at the girl. For weeks now, Dinah had been trying to help the girl out. Get her adjusted to working on the right side of things and offer her someone she could rely on. But the damn girl was as stubborn as Oliver could be, which was more annoying since they weren't even related.

"You always this hostile to people who just want to help you?" She asked, and Artemis just stared at her incredulously, "What?" Dinah asked.

"Nothing," Artemis said wearily, as she went back to patching herself up. Dinah just shook her head as she climbed into the ring.

"Look at you, you clean up nice for a pig," Artemis said, and Dinah looked up. Percy had just come out of the men's locker room. He looked good in a suit. Then the weight of what Artemis just said hit her and she groaned. She met Percy's gaze and she rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"You can talk shit after you learn how to not telegraph a punch." He said, and Artemis spluttered. Dinah didn't even bother to stop herself from laughing. Percy gave her a wave as he headed out the door.

"Don't start what you can't finish, kiddo." Dinah said behind her laughter. Artemis just glared at her, though the effect was immensely diminished by the slight flush to her cheeks. "All right, enough sulking, get in here and let's get started." Artemis grumbled, but did as she was bade and climbed into the ring. But before they could get started, Ted called out to Dinah.

"Hey, little-bird, got something you might want to see."

Sighing, Dinah started climbing out of the ring, "Start stretching," She called out to Artemis as she wandered over to Ted. "What's up?" She asked as she came level with the desk. In answer, Ted just pointed out the window by the door. Dinah turned, and her brow furrowed. She watched as a man was approaching Percy. He looked vaguely familiar. Blinking in a rapid sequence, Dinah brought her league database up. Scanning the man's face, she winced, as it came up as Marcus Wise. He was on the league's database, Batman had him down as one of the many corrupt detectives in the GCPD.

Percy must have been surprised, because he suddenly spun on the man. He caught Wise's hand and twisted it off of him, before grabbing the man from around the scruff of his shirt. Percy seemed to suddenly recognize the man because his eyes narrowed and he released his grip on Wise. Dinah tapped the communications bud in her ear, and blinked another sequence into her lenses. She was now picking up the audio from the interaction.

"Guess they don't call you Wise cause you're intelligent." Percy was saying, "You should know better than to just suddenly grab a man. Now, what do you want Wise, I'm due for a meeting."

Wise actually looked a little shaken by the interaction, but shook it off well enough. His stunned expression morphed into a scowl.

"Has Montoya talked to you?" He asked,

"Every day. Funny how that works, given that she's my partner and all." Percy snarked,

"You giving me lip boy?" Wise asked, stepping closer,

"The tough guy act would work better if you didn't look like you were about to piss yourself thirty seconds ago."

Wise snarled at him, but took a step back, and shoved a finger in his chest. "We got a way of doing things around here, hotshot. A way that works so everyone lives a little better. You catch what I'm saying?"

Percy looked like he genuinely couldn't think of a response to that, "You got some brass ones on you pal. Saying that shit to me."

Wise shrugged, "Only ones not on board are you, Montoya, and a couple of the patrols. But we'll get them to see reason sooner or later."

"Yeah, well best of luck with that pal," Percy said, "I'm not buying whatever bullshit you're selling."

"You would do well to listen to your superiors punk," Wise spat, "Either you get with the program, or you get taken off the board."

Percy paused and stared at him, "Are you threatening me?" He asked, and to Dinah's infinite apprehension, he sounded incredibly amused by the mere notion.

"Not a threat," Wise said with a shake of his head, "Just telling you how the game is played around here."

"Well maybe I don't feel like playing," Percy snarled, "So tell me, who're you grabbing ankles for? Marone? The Cartel? Falcone?" Percy must have seen something that Dinah hadn't because his eyes narrowed, "Ah, that makes sense. So were you the one to cap Romanji?" Again, Percy must have some way of knowing when the man was apprehensive, "Well then."

Percy stepped closer still, and Wise took a step back, but Percy kept advancing on the man until he was backed up to the wall of Ted's gym. Dinah unconsciously tensed her muscles, and she prepared to jump in just in case Percy went too far.

"Allow me to set the record straight. I don't have any family. Don't even really have friends. I got no one for you to threaten me with. So don't even try. You want to try and intimidate me, you come at me yourself. Go ahead and roll those dice, see what happens. But I promise, you had better bring enough guys to cover your scrawny ass. I don't give a damn if it's Falcone. The Mayor. Even the fucking Queen of England. You threaten me again." He grabbed the man around the lapels,

"And they will never find your body. And that is a threat. You can take that back to Falcone."

Right when Dinah was ready to intervene, she heard Percy release his grip on the man.

"Get the fuck out of my sight." Percy snarled, and the Dinah watched as Percy walked back into view, and he disappeared again down the street. Dinah saw Wise stumble off the wall. He watched Percy's retreating back for a moment, before he hurriedly got out his phone and dialed a number. Someone picked up after the third ring, but Dinah could only hear Wise's end of the conversation.

"Sir, it's Wise. Yeah, I just talked to him. He's not going to get on board. No sir, I think it's a lost cause. Said he'd-he'd kill me if I threatened him again." There was a long pause as Wise listened to the other end, "Yes sir. I'll gather some guys and we'll get it done tonight. Very good sir." Then the call ended, and Wise made his way up the street.

"Oh, that's not good," Dinah muttered.

"What did the cowboy do now?" Ted grumbled,

"Pretty sure he just got a hit ordered on him," Dinah muttered, as she blinked through her contact lenses and brought up Batman's communicator. It buzzed once before he answered,

"Go," Came the gruff voice on the other end.

"Just watched our new detective have a little run-in with Marcus Wise." Dinah said at once, not bothering with preamble.

"What happened?" Batman asked,

"Wise tried to get him on board with something. I'm guessing with whoever's payroll he happens to be on. Percy seemed pretty sure it was Falcone. Either way, Wise tried to threaten him."

"I'm guessing that didn't go well for Wise," Batman said sardonically, and Dinah arched an eyebrow at the unexpected levity from the Dark Knight.

"You'd guess right," Dinah said, "Percy threatened to kill him if he did it again."

Batman huffed, "Wise called Falcone then," he stated,

"Pretty sure he ordered a hit on Percy," Dinah confirmed, "Want me to keep an eye on our wayward godling?"

"Do it." He confirmed and Dinah nodded to herself before hesitating somewhat. She was still fighting with herself whether she should tell him about the rogue demigod running around in Gotham. Unfortunately, the decision was made for her.

"What is it?" Batman demanded, and Dinah fought off a sigh,

"Percy and I were talking, before he left Ted's. He mentioned that his niece, had runaway from home. That he was trying to find her when he wasn't working some other case. Which reminds me, is there a serial killer running rampant in Gotham right now?"

"Jackson and Montoya are on it, get anything else from him about this rogue demigod?" He asked, deflecting with as much subtlety as a brick through a window. Dinah rolled her eyes, and Ted snickered.

"No, he didn't. Get probe too far without showing my hand."

Batman sighed into the mic, "I'll check with Diana. See if she's heard anything. For now just stay on Jackson. We know he can defend himself but I don't want him adding to the bodies."

"Understood," Dinah said, "But seriously, what's this about a serial kill-" the line went to static.

Dinah just gaped.

"Dick,"

AN: The plot doth thickens! I don't have a whole lot to say on the chapter, overall I'm pretty happy with it so I'll just leave it at that. Got some interesting stuff in store for all of you and I'm really interested to see what you think. It's a direction I'd like to explore in more depth, but I want to see what your reactions are first, so get excited for that! Also small change of plans, totally lost all desire to write Protector for the time being, I'll get back to it eventually, but not right now. So I'm writing for Half-Blood instead, so that'll probably be the next one to get written. Might actually try and even get the whole story finished so I can put the whole thing up for all of you. I have everything planned out for the most part, so I think that's what I'm going to try and do. Anyhoo, that's all I got for ya, so I'll leave it here. Thanks again for all the love and support folks, ya'll have been incredible. Stay safe, stay healthy, and I hope you a great start to the week.