Percy let out a satisfied breath as he placed the glass down on the bar. The rum burned pleasantly in the back of his throat, and he felt a hint of warmth spread across his cheeks. Montoya had dragged him to a cop bar, O'Malley's, in celebration of their closure of the case. While they certainly had more questions, and the future seemed to get continually murkier, they were still flush with the thrill that came with the closure of any case.

"So, Metro," Montoya began as she swirled around the Moscow Mule in her hand, "You've been in town for about a month, so now you have to answer the important question."

"And that is?" Percy chuckled,

"Which is better." Montoya said simply, "Gotham or Metropolis,"

"That's a trap," Percy said with a laugh, swiveling in his stool so he was addressing his partner squarely,

"Yup," Montoya said with a grin, "So tell me what I want to hear," Percy laughed, and shook his head.

"It's got its problems, but I think I'm liking Gotham better by the day." He said, as he signaled for the bartender to refill his glass. "Metropolis was definitely cleaner. Didn't have the organized crime issues we have here, but Gotham feels more…familiar, I guess. Reminds me of New York honestly. The people here seem like real people, with real problems. Metropolis wasn't like that. The stereotypes of Metropolites? Fairly accurate. You wouldn't believe the number of people we tracked down that truly thought there was nothing illegal about tax evasion."

Montoya snorted into her glass, "You get a lot of white collar over there?"

Percy nodded, "There was the odd robbery-homicide type deal, but for the most part I dealt with things like corporate fraud, tax evasion, embezzlement, money laundering. Things like that."

"Isn't white collar usually the Bureau's beat?" Montoya asked, and Percy snorted,

"You think the feds wanna touch Metropolis? Home of Superman? Absolutely not. They stay as far away as possible. They have an office, but I don't think I interacted with them more than a handful of times my entire time in the city."

Montoya narrowed her eyes, "Why would they back off just cause Supes is in town?"

"Politics," Percy said simply, and when Montoya just looked confused, Percy explained, "Whether I like it or not, Superman means a hell of a lot, to a lot of people. And regardless of the fact that the man's a bit of an idiot, he does a lot to keep the city, hell the entire planet, safe. The way it was explained to me, was that the Bureau backs off so that Big Blue's image stays powerful. If there were a bunch of federal investigations going on in the city, it would make the Boy Scout look like he's not doing a very good job. If people don't think he's doing a good job, they might try and pull some shit, which makes the city more dangerous." Percy took a long pull of his drink,

"The thing you have to understand is this, Metropolis might as well be the Silicon Valley of the East Coast. There are twenty-five Fortune Five Hundred's that are headquartered in the city. It's a fucking golden goose of tax revenue, and the standard of living is higher per capita, than anywhere else in the country. The city draws enough attention from heavy hitters just because Big Blue is there. The thought is that the Bureau doesn't want to make it a stomping ground for other shit on top of it. Might drive business away, drive down the housing markets, keep people from investing in the city."

"Wait" Montoya said slowly, with a small shake of her head, "That seems real contradictory. Didn't you tell me there are bunkers in the city for when Supes fights some heavy hitter. How is that any better?"

Percy let out a derisive snort, "Because it's more socially acceptable for the city to be ruined by some freak of nature, than it is for it to be ruined by a bunch of powerless monkey's in suits. Alien invasion destroys half the city? That's fine, who could predict that?" He asked sarcastically, "But a bunch of corporate execs stealing the pensions and retirement funds from their day laborers? Well how is Superman supposed to punch that?" Percy downed the rest of his drink, and placed his glass back down on the table in a clatter.

"Jesus," Montoya muttered, "I think I'm starting to get why you hate him so much. He doesn't do anything to stop it?"

"How could he?" Percy asked, "To his credit, the man is busy. Between Metropolis, the Justice League, and dealing with literally any kind of natural disaster anywhere on the planet, the man does have a lot on his plate. Besides, he doesn't know how the legal system works. I told you, he used to just drop people off at the precinct, say 'lock 'em up,' and then fly off. Can you really picture him spending hours and hours behind a desk, meticulously combing through financial statements to put together a case?"

"That is more of the Bat's schtick." Montoya agreed. Her phone chimed and she took a look at it. She waved to the bartender and signaled for him to close her tab,

"Booty call?" Percy asked cheekily,

"Fuck off," She said, though her cheeks did darken slightly, and she escaped his teasing glance as she signed her name at the bottom of her receipt.

"Seems like you'll be doing that soon enough," Percy teased, and she just flashed a rude hand gesture, and Percy laughed.

"I want to meet her," Percy called out as she strode out of the bar,

"See you on Monday Metro," Montoya called out, ignoring the comment. Chuckling, Percy turned to the rest of his drink. He was just bringing the glass to his lips when there was a small jolt that ran through his body. It was the signal from the rune he had placed in the apartment. With a sigh, Percy downed the rest of his glass, and threw down some cash for the drinks and tip, and headed out the door. It was a short walk to his car from the bar, and Percy took the time to burn the remnants of the alcohol from his body. As much as he had been enjoying the buzz, he wasn't about to drive like it.

Getting into his car, he started the engine and pulled out onto the street. He was maybe a block, before his body jolted again. And again. And again. Percy's eyes went wide, that wasn't good. There were now multiple bodies in the apartment. With a snarl, Percy hit the lights and sirens inside his vehicle, and floored it. The engine roared and snarled as he weaved in and out of traffic. It was dangerous and erratic, but Percy didn't care at the moment, there was something going down at the apartment, and he needed to get there. Part of him rationalized that he should pull over and simply mist-travel. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. It was selfish, but Percy already pushed the limits of what he allowed himself to do, and he wasn't going to push it any further. Percy didn't count his use of the mist. That was something any demi-god could do, and wasn't something he'd inherited from his father, and didn't fall into the category of powers he refused to use.

There was a squawk from the radio on his dash, "10-15 at Royal Oak, any available units acknowledge,"

Percy's heart plummeted, that was Meg's sister's apartment complex.

"Unit 97, en route to 10-15 at Royal Oak." said someone over the radio.

Pressing down on the, throttle, Percy hopped up onto the curb to get around a group of cars stopped at a red light. It took him another five minutes but he came up on the apartment gate. Night was fast approaching, and the moon was rising into the sky, so Percy could clearly see the flashing red and blue lights dancing in the night. Slowing down, Percy pulled into the gate. Looking into the gate, Percy felt his throat constrict. Sitting in the gate guards chair, was the man Percy had spoken to the previous evening. His face was contorted in a look of horror, and fresh blood was still pooling down his front.

Percy pulled into the lot, and started to get out of his car. As he did so, one of the officers who was the first responder stepped toward him, from where he had been inspecting the guard house.

"Detective," he started to say, but Percy stopped him. Percy gripped the mist, and threw down an enormous, multi-layered enchantment down over the entire complex. The officer stopped in his tracks as a slightly glazed look appeared on his face. Percy had essentially put an enormous warding over the apartment complex. Everyone inside would stop where they were, and wouldn't remember anything about Percy being in the complex. Any cameras would stop working, and nobody would be able to enter or exit the area if Percy didn't want them to.

Running past the officer, Percy passed a second officer on the staircase to the building and tore up to the floor of Meg's sister's apartment. The door to the apartment had been kicked in, and Percy drew his weapon as he moved into the apartment. He cleared the apartment quickly, and came back into the living room. It looked like there had been a fight of some sort. The windows had been smashed, one of the chairs had been tipped over, and cushion's were strewn across the floor. There was a claw mark on one the walls, as though a particularly large animal had taken a swipe, and there was a pool of fresh blood by the overturned coffee table.

"Fuck me," Percy breathed out. This was…very not good. He quickly scanned for a moment looking for a trace of the blood. Expanding his senses, he found a trail of blood leading out of the window. Percy ran to it, and tried to see where it went. He didn't have to look too far. Looking straight down, Percy could see a body laying on the ground. Vaulting out of the window, Percy landed in a crouch beside the body.

Leaning down, Percy inspected it. It was a young man, maybe in his early twenties, and fairly good looking. Or at least he had been. Meg must have gotten a few good shots in, because one of his cheeks looked like it had been broken. The man's mouth drew Percy's attention. Leaning down, Percy opened its mouth and swore. The man had a set of very large, and very sharp teeth. Looking at the man's eyes, Percy noted that they were blood red.

"Fucking vampires Meg, really?" Percy hissed under his breath, he had gotten lazy, and had stopped carrying his non-mortal weapons on him. He hadn't thought he'd ever need them again, given his lack of a scent, and self-imposed exile from the divine world. Reaching into his pocket, Percy pulled out a matchbook. Lighting one of the matches, he tossed it on the body. As though it had been covered in gasoline, the entire body combusted at once. It burned for a few seconds, before there was nothing left but a pile of ashes. Stowing the matches, Percy hopped up and back into the apartment to ponder his next move.

Vampires were a nasty breed. More like a meth addict than a teenage wet dream, they truly were the monsters portrayed in the ancient scripts. There was little that modern folklore got correct about them. Only the matter of sunlight was really consistent. Apart from that however, they were every bit the soulless monsters they were originally depicted as. They worked in covens, sometimes as large as twenty members, to find sources of food. While they were hunters of the highest caliber, it was perhaps better to describe them as scavengers. They scoured the sleeping world for blood-rich targets. When they found a suitable target, they kidnapped their victim, and would take turns draining their victim of blood. Savoring their target for weeks in some instances, before all blood had been drained from the poor bastard.

It was likely why they had targeted Meg. While Vampires weren't monsters of their world per se, they could still tell the difference between a mortal and a demigod. To a vampire the blood of a demigod might as well have been their own personal nectar of the gods. Percy figured that they must have made Meg and her friends the second they made it into the city. Percy put the pieces together, Vampires might have been disgusting leeches, but they weren't stupid. They would have instinctually known that they wouldn't have fared well in a fair fight against a demigod. So they would have waited and watched, seeing if they would have found an opening. Against four armed demigods, they didn't stand a chance, but against one, overconfident and unsuspecting kid? That they could have handled. They would have bided their time, tracked her to where she was stuck indoors, where it was harder to maneuver, and jumped her.

Vampires were weak to divine metals, and fire. While Percy was no son of Vulcan, he still had plenty that would work to his benefit for destroying the foul beasts. But he would need to get back to his apartment first, and gather supplies, and that was only if he could determine where they had even disappeared to. He could have perhaps determined where they were, but it would have taken time, and for every second he delayed, it was another second that Meg was being drained.

He was getting desperate enough that he was even considering using his powers more fully. But the only thing coming to his mind was to attempt a form of water divination, something he didn't have much practice in, and quite frankly, didn't think would even work. Divination was Apollo's realm, and Percy didn't want to go diving headlong into another's domain like that. It was only asking for trouble. Swearing again, Percy came to a decision that he most certainly did not like. He was going to have to call in a favor. A favor from someone very particular. With his plan in mind, Percy took a few moments to scavenge the apartment. After looking for a few moments, he found what he was looking for. On the ground, beside the overturned chair, were three locks of hair. They were the same color as Meg's and that would be enough.

Going to the kitchen, Percy scavenged for a second before he found a plastic bag. Putting the hair in the bag, Percy strode from the apartment. Getting in his car, he peeled out of the parking lot, undoing his mist-magic as he left. Pulling his phone free, he dialed up the number to a man he hadn't spoken to in years. He picked up after two rings,

"Hello?"

"Gio," Percy greeted, "Long time, no speak,"

"Percy," Said the man, sounding genuinely pleased, "It's been too long. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Percy stopped at stop sign, and had to wait as a couple crossed the street,

"I hate to be that guy, Gio." He said, "But I need a favor."

"But of course," Gio said quickly, "What's happening?"

"Not over the phone," Percy said quickly, "It's…it's a family thing,"

There was a pause on the other end of the line, "You're in Gotham, yes?"

"Yeah, I am," Percy said,

"Meet me at the corner of 4th and 12th in thirty minutes. We'll talk," Gio said,

"Perfect, need to grab something anyways. Thanks again Gio," Percy said, and ended the call.

Percy turned the car around, ignoring the honks of the agitated drivers as he did so, and took off towards his apartment. He got there in ten minutes, and ran into his bedroom. Throwing open the closet Percy grabbed the old trunk next to his pelican case. It was one of the few gifts that Percy had kept from his youth. Given to Percy as a present for rescuing his son from a rather nasty situation in Baton Rouge by Mercury, it was no ordinary trunk. It was enchanted.

Opening the trunk, Percy unclipped the ladder attached to the inside, and let it fall to the inner contents. Percy climbed into the trunk, and used the ladder to lower himself deep into the contents of the trunk. The inside couldn't have contrasted more from the outward appearance of the trunk. Inside the trunk was akin to a bunker. It was enormous, around the size of a studio apartment. Stone-lined walls were lit with braziers, magically enchanted to always be lit. Along one wall was a vast array of weapons and equipment. Most were placed in racks propped along the wall, a large workshop was pressed up to the edge of the room. There were tools for repair and maintenance in holders. On the table was a press, and other equipment used in making bullets. Under the table was a collection of munitions boxes. Beside the table was a large collection of herbs and vegetation, along with a cauldron. Used for brewing and crafting potions or powders Percy had once used in his line of work.

On the opposite side of the room was a simple bed with a small foot-locker at its head and a dresser. The bunker acted not only as a makeshift armory, but also as a hideout, should Percy need someplace secluded to retreat to. At the end of the room, was a large display mannequin. The mannequin was dressed in a lavish, and ornate set of armor. Different from those typically worn by the Centurions of the Legion, Percy's was not made of Imperial Gold, it was Meteoric Iron. Stolen form the Egyptians centuries ago by Marc Antony, it was far more durable than Imperial Gold, and was a dark, blackish grey. An enormous wolf sigil was carved into the chest piece, and on each forearm bracer.

The armor had been a gift, given to him by Lupa as recompense for his being "promotion." Percy had cherished the armor; it was exactly what he had wanted at a time where he only saw himself as a weapon of the gods. Death incarnate and the deadliest of swords to be pointed at the enemies of Rome.

In a large display beside the mannequin, was a beautiful gladius. Made of a mix of Imperial Gold and Mortal Steel, it was as deadly to man as it was to Monster. The Sword of Mars had a history as bloody and brutal a sword of its type deserved. Given to Attila the Hun by Mars centuries previously, it had carved a brutal and bloody path through the steppes and Rome itself. Mars had originally given the weapon to the hun as a measure against his own people. Mars had grown sick of the games of politics being played by the Romans, and felt that they needed to remember their roots as a militaristic power. It had been Mars' hope that the death and destruction caused by the sword would spur the Empire to return to whence it once had. He had been wrong. At Attila's death, Mars stole the sword back, and had held onto it ever since.

It had been the other gift to Percy, given to him by Mars himself for Percy's promotion to the reinstated office of Praetorian Prefect, an office that had only been reinstated to curb Neptune's wrath for the obvious disrespect to his son. Percy had been consistently passed over for promotion for years, spending years as little more than a grunt in the fifth cohort. At the start of the first war, Percy had been raised to the Primus Pilus, and following his feats in the war, the office had been recreated. The Praetorian Prefect, once the commander of the Praetorian Guard, was precisely the type of position belonging to a man who had dedicated himself to the protection of Rome and the destruction of its enemies. A position with wide latitude, it had given Percy the authority to wage a bloody war across the country against the monsters seeking their destruction. It was a position Percy had held until his resignation. Percy didn't pay any mind to the armor, and walked straight to the foot-locker. Flipping the hatch and opening the locker, Percy pushed aside a few pictures, and grabbed the small wrapped package at the bottom. Unwrapping the package, it was a pair of Single Action Army Cavalry Revolvers. They were as beautiful as when Percy had received them. The silver steel barrels were engraved with a vine-like etching of runes, that stretched all the way across the cylinders, to the cylinder release. The grips were made of a rich Willow, and stained a rich brown. Rewrapping the revolvers, Percy walked over to his workshop. Grabbing one of the munitions boxes under the table, Percy hefted it onto the table, and flipped open the latch. Grabbing a handful of Imperial Gold bullets from the innards, Percy then reached across the table, and grabbed four speed loaders. Percy took his time loading each speed loader, before placing them in his pockets.

He then unwrapped the pistols and inspected them. Once he was content that they were still well-oiled and functioning properly, he meticulously loaded each cylinder. Before rewrapping the revolvers, and tucking them away. He then walked over to the armor display, and pulled the glades from its holder. Examining the blade for a second, Percy held back a sigh. It had been years since he had needed to use the weapon. Half of him didn't want to use it, but he wasn't seeing much of a choice. He was a firm believer in going into a situation with more armaments than he might need, and one never knew when a blade would come in handy. Pressing a small button on the side, the blade disappeared, and Percy was holding a switchblade comb, with a plastic handle. A thrum of excitement coursed through Percy as he held onto the weapon. It had been far too long since Percy had gone to war against the things that went bump in the night. He felt the long-familiar rush of the prospect of a fight flood through him, and his blood seemed to sing. Sighing, Percy stuffed the comb into his pocket, and checked the time. He needed to get moving. He quickly changed out of his work clothes into jeans, a Henley shirt, and comfortable shoes, and a durable coat. Throwing on a belt, shoulder and hip holster. Percy headed out.

BREAK

Percy pulled up on a small, family-owned diner. Pulling the car up to the curb, Percy put the vehicle into park and waited. He didn't have to wait too long. From the alley beside the diner walked a familiar man. He was dressed modestly, in fine looking black pants, and a starched white dress shirt. Over the shirt he wore a yellow vest complete with red bowtie, under a black sport coat. He scanned the area for a few moments before he spotted Percy's car. Grinning, Giovanni Zatara strode over to the car and opened the passenger door, before climbing in.

"Percy!" He greeted happily, extending a hand over the console, which Percy gripped tightly with a grin of his own.

"Good to see you Gio,"

"You as well, old friend," He said as he released Percy's hand, "Now, what can I help you with?" Percy reached into his pocket and pulled the photo of Meg and bag of hair and handed them over to Zatara.

"Demigod daughter of Demeter. She ran away from the camp and is in here in the city. I tracked her down to an apartment owned by her sister. But something's happened, I don't know how but she got in deep with a coven,"

Zatara hissed a curse in Italian under his breathe, "I can find her," He said easily, "But not here." He paused for a second as he seemed to consider something. He came to a decision and got out of the car, gesturing Percy to follow.

Rolling his eyes with the man's enigmatic behavior, Percy did as he was bade and followed the man out of the car. "I could…get into some trouble for where you are about to go," Zatara said, "But I trust that you will keep what you see to yourself,"

Percy arched an eyebrow but nodded, "You know I'm good for it Gio," he said. and Zatara nodded at him.

Percy followed Zatara as he walked back into the alley. They took a turn down a subsidiary alley until they were next to a worn-out looking phone booth. Zatara stepped into it, and turned to look at Percy.

"I have to go first, when I'm through, step into the booth and wait. I'll bring you through from there." Zatara explained, Percy just stared at him in curiosity before finally nodding. Zatara waved his hand over the receiver and Percy blinked in surprise as a holographic computer terminal appeared under his hands. Zatara pressed a command into the keyboard, and something clicked.

"Designation: One-One, Zatara" Said a female computerized voice, there was a brilliant flash of white-light and suddenly Zatara disappeared from sight.

Percy just stared at where his friend had disappeared. After blinking for a few moments, Percy took a cautious step forward and into the telephone booth. Heaving a heavy sigh, Percy ran a hand through his hair.

"Fucking capes."

AN: And here. We. Go. The next several chapters are going to be a lot of fun. We're going to be having a lot of action, world-building, and you're going to learn a lot about Percy's character, which is probably far overdue at this point. Not to mention, that Percy is about to be dropped headlong into the very confusing and nonsensical world of superheroes. Hope you guys liked the chapter, and hope you guys enjoy what's to come! Thanks again for all the love and support you all have shown, and I'm glad you're all enjoying the ride as much as I am. As always if you enjoyed this but haven't checked out my other work, give them a try you never know you might find something else you like. I'm also on discord now, you just have to copy the link that's in my profile bio if you want to come and hang out with us. Stay safe, stay healthy and have an awesome week!