Dinah looked up from where she was working at the computer terminal, when she heard the Zeta-Tube announce Zatara's arrival. She watched as her fellow den-mother stepped out of the large tunnel and approached the the computer beside the exit.

"Thought you were running an errand," She said, as she walked away from the computer.

"I did, and I still am," Zatara said as he keyed a command into the keyboard.

"Where are the children?" He asked,

"Movie night," Dinah said, and Zatara grunted,

"Hopefully they do not come to look, that would be an…uncomfortable conversation," He muttered He looked up and frowned, before pointing at her face,

"Evig yranac reh ksam." He intoned, and Dinah felt something tingle around her, before she suddenly felt a familiar cloth cover her cheeks. Reaching up with a curious hand, she felt the familiar sensation of her cloth mask.

"Thanks?" She asked,

"You will want that," Zatara reassured her, before hitting enter on the keyboard, and the Zeta-Tube roared to life.

"Access Granted. Perseus Jackson. A-O-7. Authorization. Zatara. One-One."

Dinah felt her heart fall through her chest as she stared at Zatara, but she didn't have time to demand an explanation. Schooling her features, she watched as the light died down, and the familiar form of Percy Jackson staggered into the Mountain. He looked around him, and checked the tunnel behind him, before turning back and looking up and around the mountain. He let out a low whistle,

"Sure beats that apartment back in Vegas," He said to Zatara, who chuckled good naturally,

"I happened to like that apartment," The man said back, and then Percy's eyes met Dinah's and she fought to keep her features schooled. She was indeed very grateful that Zatara had given her the mask.

"Zatara," She asked, subtly activating her voice modulator, "Care to explain why we have a Gotham City detective in the cave?"

"Good to see you again too Canary," Percy said cheekily. "I missed those heavily modified, synthesized tones of yours."

Well, he certainly seemed to have gotten some of his swagger back, Dinah thought to herself as she examined the man more closely. He certainly looked better too. He still had the bags under his eyes, but he no longer looked like he was spoiling for a fight from anyone willing to throw down.

"Percy here is running an investigation which requires my…unique brand of expertise." Zatara said smoothly. Before turning to Percy, "We missed you at the funeral by the way,"

"Funeral?" Percy asked, "What happened?" Zatara just stared at him for a moment, before a look of deep regret washed over his face,

"Gods above Percy. I'm so sorry, I though you'd heard. Kent is dead," Zatara explained. Percy's eyes widened in shock, before a look of pain washed over his features.

"How," He demanded, his voice somewhat croaky. "Klarion," Zatara explained, and then Percy's entire demeanor shifted. He went from mournful to apocalyptically furious within a blink of an eye,

"That little shit," Percy growled, "I thought I told him to stay off this fucking plane."

"Apparently he did not heed your threat," Zatara said with a deep sigh, "He broke into the Tower with the help Abra Kadabra in an attempt to steal the helmet."

"He didn't get it, did he?" Percy asked quickly and Zatara raised his hand and calmly rested it on Percy's shoulder,

"Relax, my friend. The helmet is safe. The Witch-Boy will not be getting his claws on it any time soon."

"I'm sorry," Dinah interrupted, "But how the hell do you two know each, and better yet, how do you," She pointed at Percy, "Know Kent Nelson?"

Percy and Zatara shared a glance, "We…worked together for a time. With a few others. It is…a long story. Longer than we have the time to tell unfortunately," Zatara transitioned smoothly and looked at Percy, "There is something which I must collect from storage. I shall be right back." He said, before striding out of the room, leaving Percy and Canary alone in the cave, and Dinah alone with her thoughts to consider how in the hell Percy and Zatara knew each other. The way it sounded, was that the two worked with Kent Nelson on something, likely something to deal with the supernatural.

"So-" Percy began to say but was interrupted. There was a blur of movement, and Dinah couldn't cover her groan as she watched Wally come flying into the room.

"Hey! Who's here? Canary, what's with the mask? What's going on? Is it a mission? Is it-?" He stopped abruptly when he spotted Percy. His eyes went wide and his body went slightly slack as he stared.

"Let me guess," Percy said, "Flash-junior, or whatever, right?"

"It's Kid Flash!" Wally shouted, his face turning slightly red,

"Kid!" Dinah said loudly, cutting him off before he could get too wound up, "Forget something?" She asked, gesturing to his face. Wally's face paled as his non-bandaged arm went up to his unconcealed face, and then he darted from the room. Heaving a weary sigh, she opened the comms to the entire mountain,

"Kid's, we have a guest. Anyone with a cover, put your mask on until I give you the all clear," She announced, her words reverberating around the Cave. She just hoped that they wouldn't come looking, though she somewhat doubted that. Still, if they did, better that they were covered. It would not end well if Artemis showed up and Percy recognized her. It would become uncomfortable for a number of reasons.

"So the rumors are true then," Percy scoffed, "League's resorting to child soldiers to fight its battles now, huh?" He asked, looking slightly disgusted. Dinah shifted uncomfortably. She had her own problems with the sidekicks…partners. She loved Roy like a little brother, but Dinah was deeply uncomfortable with exposing children to the life. It was…wrong. They weren't mentally mature enough to deal with the ramifications of what was going on. She only had to look at Robin and Kid Flash to see that. To them, it was all just a game. All in fun. They got to be heroes, fight villains, live the dream of every little kid on the planet. But they didn't realize how much the league hid from them. Even Batman shielded his protege from the real horrors of the world. It was wrong, but at the same time, Dinah knew something about the kids, they wouldn't stop just because the League didn't approve. So in her mind, it was better that they be working under supervision, than working on their own.

Still, she could understand Percy's point of view. Especially given what Diana had told her about the life of Demigods. She was sure Percy was drawing an awful lot of parallels between the partners and the demigods.

"It's…complicated," She said, and Percy snorted,

"I bet it is," He muttered sarcastically, as he turned to examine the room,

"I always heard rumors that ya'll had secret hideouts…a little different to have those rumors confirmed." He said to himself, before he turned around. The sound of footsteps approached the hall and the kids all emerged from the media room, looking curious.

"Gods be good they're breeding," Percy muttered to himself, there was a loud crash as something heavy fell to the floor. Kaldur had dropped the glass he was carrying and was staring at Percy, a look of awe and adoration on his face. Dinah watched as Percy's eyes flashed to the gills on Kaldur's neck and he groaned softly,

"Oh for fuck's sake," He muttered.

Kaldur dropped to the ground in a prostrated bow, his friends all looking at him in confusion,

"Your grace," He said reverently, "I did not know-I had no idea you were-" "Oh for the love of-" Percy said in exasperation, "Fucking Atlanteans. Stand up kid, you're embarrassing yourself,"

"But your grace-" Kaldur tried to say,

"I'm not any kind of grace kid, now stand up for the love of the gods." Percy said, sounding increasingly annoyed,

"Um Kaldur," Said M'gann, "Why are you bowing to him like that?"

"Better question," Said Robin, glaring in Percy's direction, "Why is there a Gotham City detective in the secret," He stressed the word, "Cave?"

"He is no mere police officer," Kaldur said, still on the ground, "He is the true-born son of-"

"Enough!" Percy roared, and the air around them grew incredibly heavy for a minute, and the kids all fell back into a defensive posture. Conner took a step and positioned himself by Kaldur, who had flinched at Percy's outburst.

"Name's have power kid." Percy said sternly, "Don't use them so flippantly," He strode over slowly, and crouched down beside the prostrating Atlantean, "You look familiar," Percy said for a second, "Kaldur'ahm, right?" Percy asked,

"Yes, your-erm-yes sir," Kaldur said, "We-we met…many years ago. You-you came to Atlantis for-"

"Right," Percy said quickly, grabbing Kaldur by the arm and hefting him off the ground, "Forgot about that,"

"Still doesn't explain why you're here," Robin demanded, and Percy turned to the kid,

"I'm tracking someone down who's gotten into it with some things she shouldn't have, and now I need to find her. Zatara is helping me out," Percy said, knowing that the kids wouldn't leave him alone without some sort of explanation,

"And what's this person in danger from?" Asked Wally, as he raced back in, his costume on.

"None of your business," Percy said,

"I think I'd like to know too," Dinah said, speaking up for the first time in a while.

"And I think I'd like you all to leave me alone," Percy shot back,

"You got some brass ones on you, coming here and demanding help from one of our own without even telling us what he's helping you with," Artemis said, and Percy just stared at her. Artemis had forgotten to use her voice modulator, and Percy clearly recognized the voice,

"I know you?" He asked, and Artemis shifted uncomfortably,

"I'm a hero, of course you do," She said back hotly,

"I believe we deserve to know why you need help from the League, detective." Dinah said, diverting the conversation before Artemis blew her own cover. Percy turned and stared at her for a moment. Finally he sighed,

"Fine, suppose I owe you anyway. Still think you shouldn't have stopped me, but fair is fair." He said, "Vampires have kidnapped my niece."

Wally snorted, "Vampires? Seriously? We let this nut-job into the cave,"

"They're real kid." Percy said, "Nasty mother-fuckers too. Nothing like what you see in the books and tv. They ain't pretty. They look more like heroine addicts at the end of a week-long bender."

"And what do these 'vampires' want with your niece?" Wally asked sarcastically,

"Wally!" Dinah chided, "Kid Flash putting his foot in his mouth aside, your niece is only fourteen, what could they want with her."

"They want to use her as a blood bag." Percy said, and the rest of the team just stared at him, "T-they…what?" M'gann asked, looking a little sick,

"They want to use her as a blood bag," Percy repeated, before turning to look at Dinah, "Our blood…it's different. Vampire's love it more than anything. Kid was probably broadcasting what she was for miles, or something and they swooped in and snatched her. Probably have her hanging around someplace and taking their turns draining her slowly. It can take weeks if they're careful about it."

"That's-that's…." M'gann whispered,

"That's reality," Percy said,

"Ok this is stupid," Wally said, throwing his hands in the air, "There is no such thing as vampires!"

"You're pretty close-minded, ain't ya?" Percy asked,

"There has been no scientific data proving the existence of anything like human vampirism," Wally said hotly,

Percy just chuckled, and pointed at the kid, "Denial's not just river in Egypt kid," He said, "But it doesn't matter anyway. Soon enough, Gio will have the coordinates for me and I'll be out of your hair,"

"Your gr-Percy," Kaldur corrected, stepping towards him, "Please, allow me to aid you in your quest. It would be my genuine honor."

"Absolutely not," Percy and Dinah said at the same time. Percy shot Dinah a curious look,

"Vampires?" She asked, ignoring his curiosity

"Would have figured you for a skeptic," Percy observed,

"You work this job long enough, and you tend to have a more open mind than most," She said, before addressing the kids, "But we don't know what these things can do, and I'm not sending you after something you aren't prepared,"

"More importantly," Percy said, "You can't kill them, you're not equipped for it."

"K-kill them?" Wally asked, looking aghast,

"Oh don't give me that look," Percy said with a roll of his eyes, "They're already undead. They don't have a heartbeat. Besides, they literally revel in the death of others."

"What do you mean we're not equipped for it?" Artemis demanded, "Just need a wooden stake right?"

"You weren't listening earlier," Percy said, "These things ain't like the stories. A wooden stake through the heart? That ain't gonna cut it."

Dinah sidled up to his side, noting as she did so that Conner was looking at her intently, she just hoped the boy would continue playing the stoic. He'd been silent so far.

"What does kill them?" She asked in an undertone, and Percy turned so that his back was facing away from her,

"Divine metals," Percy whispered, "I got some things that'll turn 'em to dust."

"What are divine metals?" Conner asked and Dinah's face squished as she swore under her breath as Percy arched an eyebrow,

"Super hearing?" He said, turning to the speaker, and his eyes narrowed when they landed on Conner's face and as he saw the shield on his chest,

"Didn't know the boy scout had a kid running around." Percy said, crossing his arms. Dinah did not think she liked where this was going.

"He doesn't," Conner said tersely,

"Could have fooled me," Percy shot back, "You're his spitting image. You're what, sixteen? How did Big Blue hide you for all these years?"

"Because I'm his clone, not his son," Conner snapped, and Dinah groaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Of course, why not just let slip one of the single biggest secrets the League was hiding to a complete unknown. Though Dinah could hardly fault the boy, he was still learning the tricks of the trade.

Percy for his part just stood there. Slightly slack-jawed and staring at Conner.

"Gods above kid," Percy said finally after a second, "Thats…well that kind of fucking sucks. He know about you?"

Conner snorted, "Sure. Dumped me off here and then took off. Refuses to even see me, let alone talk to me."

Percy snorted, "Dead-beat dads, that's something I understand," "He's not my father, he just donated to my DNA." Conner shot back hotly, and M'gann placed a soothing hand on his shoulder,

"Wow," Percy said, looking slightly surprised,

"What?" Conner demanded,

"Nothing…just…nostalgia." Percy said, "So, what? You have his powers or something?"

"Some of them," Conner admitted, "But not others."

"And he's not teaching you how to use them?" Percy asked incredulously, looking at Dinah accusingly,

"Don't look at her like that!" Conner said hotly, taking a step forward. "I don't need him, Canary's been more helpful than he ever could,"

"I'm not questioning her abilities or her willingness to teach you," Percy said, "But how is she supposed to teach you how to control your power. You got his strength right?" He nodded, "How well is someone without super-strength supposed to teach you how to limit your punch so you don't break someone's neck with one punch? How to fight while minimizing the collateral damage around you, any of it!" Percy paused, "Well, I guess as far as collateral damage is concerned Supes won't be of much help there either,"

Connor's eyes narrowed in thought for a second, but Dinah was somewhat thankful. She'd been trying to figure out a way to bridge the gap between her and Conner in terms of controlling his strength. Kaldur did what he could, but even he didn't really know how to explain it.

"You're a walking nuke, kid." Percy said, "It's not meant as an insult, but you need to be aware of the facts. You got strength and power but no clue how to use it properly, and the one person who should be teaching you how to use it, so you don't accidentally destroy a building or level a city, is running away like a godsdamned coward."

Percy seemed to come to a decision as he fished in his pocket for a moment. He grabbed a phone and pulled it out. He clicked a few commands into the phone, and they could hear it ring for a moment, Dinah could tell that he was making some kind of a video call. Part of her thought she ought to be stopping this, but she was far too curious about what he was about to do.

There was a click as the call connected, and a familiar voice spoke from the phone, and Dinah felt her stomach drop.

"Percy Jackson as I live and breath." Lois Lane said over the phone,

"He Lois, how ya been?" He asked, a small smile working onto his face,

"Busy as hell. You?" She asked,

"Same. Gotham has been hectic," He said,

"So I hear. By the way, I got a bone to pick with you. A couple weeks ago, you call Jimmy and not me. What's up with that Manhattan?" She said, and from the tone of her voice, she sounded genuinely agitated,

"I did call you Lois," Percy said, arching an eyebrow, "Four times. But you were busy chasing down capes,"

"Oh," Lois said, sounding slightly embarrassed, "Right, sorry about that Percy, I just-"

Percy just waved her off, "I get it Lois, relax. Unfortunately, I didn't just call you to catch up though,"

"Uh oh," Lois said teasingly, "That's your serious voice, ok what's up?"

"Did you know that Superman has a clone?" He asked bluntly, and Dinah could feel a migraine coming on. There was utter silence for a few seconds before Lois finally spoke up,

"Percy…" She said slowly, "That's not funny,"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Percy asked, "I'm completely serious. I'm running a job with Zatara, and he took me to a…lair? I think this is a lair, hey Canary, is this a lair?" Dinah just groaned,

"Percy, focus," Lois said, snapping her fingers,

"I'm going to go with lair. So I'm in this lair right, and there's all these kids belonging to the capes. Well one of them looks like the spitting image of your Boy Scout. Same voice too. Turns out, kid's a clone."

"I don't believe you," Lois said flatly, and Percy just shrugged. Deciding that this might actually work out in her favor, Dinah walked over to the phone and snagged it out of Percy's hand,

"Hey!" He said indignantly, but Dinah ignored him,

"Hey there Lois," She said, and Lois's eyes widened,

"Canary," She said in surprise, then her eyes narrowed, "This is true then…isn't it?"

Dinah nodded, "Cadmus," She said by way of explanation and Lois swore, "He didn't tell you did he?"

"You think?" Lois asked sarcastically,

"Let me talk to him," She said , and Dinah nodded, before walking over to Conner and handing the confused looking teen the phone, "Jesus," Lois said, "You really are his spitting image aren't you?"

"I guess…" Conner said uncertainly, "Are-are you really Superman's boss?"

Lois smirked, "Kid, I got his ass in a sling."

Patting Conner on the shoulder so that he could speak to the woman, Dinah walked over to Percy, who was watching the interaction.

"Pretty nice for a guy who claims to hate Capes," She observed, and Percy just grunted,

"Kid didn't choose to be born, or made," He said softly, watching as the other kids started talking in hushed tones, as they let Conner speak to Lois. "He comes into the world against his will, with all of these powers and abilities, and the one person who should be there to help him sort out the bullshit, abandons him at the first chance. Guess you can say that I understand that."

Dinah averted her gaze.

"Besides, it's clear that the kid is going to be out there doing this superhero bullshit regardless of what I want. Not like anyone would prosecute y'all anyways for endangering kids like this," Percy said caustically, and Dinah flinched, "So I'd rather the walking weapon know how to use his abilities, and didn't accidentally kill someone."

Dinah was saved from responding as Zatara came striding back into the hall. He was carrying a bundle in his arms, and Dinah could make out what looked like a bunch of leaves and other herbs, a small mortar and some chalk. He stopped and stared at the gathering in slight annoyance,

"Making friends, Percy?" He asked,

"You know me," Percy said, stepping away from Dinah, "It's what I do best," He strode over to follow Zatara as he placed the bundle he was carrying down on the computer terminal. "Thaumaturgy?" Percy asked,

"Yes," Zatara said easily, "You have made it easier since you have a sample of hair, but I assume you are looking for a precise location?"

Percy nodded,

"I figured as much, that makes this a little more difficult. If they were casting magic, I would be able to detect it and focus in on it. But unfortunately, the minute amount of magic in your nieces blood makes this…complicated. We have to go a bit more…"old school," with the magic." Percy snorted and stepped away and grabbed the mortar and started pounding the vegetation into powder as Zatara got to work.

Zatara pulled out a piece of chalk and began etching a sigil into the floor, he then took the mortar from Percy and placed it in the center.

"What is the girl's name?" Zatara asked, as he placed the photo and hair into the bowl,

"Megara Smith," Percy said, and Zatara nodded, then he swiped his hand over a control panel, and a large geographical map of Gotham appeared in front of them.

"Hohs su eht noitacol fo aragem htims!" The magician intoned, as he lit a match and threw it into the mortar. There was a flash of blinding light, and then the map suddenly beeped. A dot had appeared.

"Of course it's the fucking Narrows," Percy sighed. Dinah couldn't help but agree. Gotham City as a whole was poor, but the Narrows were a slum in a slum. It was similar to Skid Row in L.A. A horrifying collection of all of Gotham's homeless, collected in one location. It was home to the violent, mentally unstable, and the hopeless.

"Do you require assistance?" Zatara asked, and Percy shook his head as he reached into his coat and withdrew a small package. Unfolding it on the computer terminal, Dinah watched in interest as a pair of beautifully restored, 18th century revolvers, fell out of the wrapping. Zatara's eyes widened.

"Are those…"

"Jonah's, yeah." Percy said, with a small smile as he tucked the pistols into the holsters on his shoulder and hip. "Before he died, he sent them to the post office in New York, to be delivered to me when we came back. Delivery guy said they'd been waiting there for years." He said with a laugh, one shared by Zatara. Dinah could only feel bewildered, as she clearly missed out on what the hell they were supposedly talking about. "All right," Percy said, taking another look at the map, "I know where that is, I'll call you when it's done. Thanks again for this Gio," He said, clapping Zatara on the back.

"Of course, my friend," Zatara said happily, beaming widely. "And please, do not be a stranger any longer. Zatanna misses you," Percy smiled softly, "I'll visit," He promised, and headed over to Conner to grab his phone. She watched as they had a short exchange, followed a brief conversation with Lois, before Percy hung and tucked his phone away. He reproached,

"I need to be quick about this, which unfortunately means I need to mist-travel." Percy said with a grimace. "Where are we?" He asked,

"Happy Harbor, Rhode Island," Zatara said, and Percy snorted,

"Explains why I feel so good," He muttered, "All right, Gio, I'm off. Canary, always a pleasure. Don't take this the wrong way, but I hope we don't see each other again," He said, and Dinah ignored the way her chest constricted at the blasé comment. So she opted not to say anything. The air grew heavy, and it looked for a moment as though Percy was about to leave, when a voice called out,

"Detective, wait," Dinah blinked in confusion, as she saw Batman appear from the shadows of the cave, and approach. Percy's entire demeanor changed, he was no longer standing loose and aloof, but he was tense, and his jaw was clenched,

"Listen pal," Percy began, looking righteously angry, "If this is another bullshit 'stay off my turf,' threat, you can shove it-"

"Approach from the west." Batman said, ignoring Percy. Percy blinked,

"What?" He asked, "Approach from the West," Batman repeated, pointing to the map that was till up. His finger traced along a street, "Specifically West Boulevard. The homeless population there is far more docile. Approach form the east and you'll have to walk straight through a neighborhood of highly mentally unstable individuals." He then brought up an image of the building Meg was in, "This building was closed six years ago for rot. The third and fourth floors are structurally unstable, you'll want to keep away from the support pillars here and here," He said, pointing at the pillars in question. "And the wind is coming in an easterly direction, you'll be approaching against the wind, carrying your scent, your mortal one anyway, away from the building."

Percy blinked, then approached the table and inspected what the Dark Knight was advising,

"Looks like there's a sub-basement too," Percy commented to himself,

"Entrance only from the interior of the building. Likely guarded. Going to have to take that quiet or else risk them gutting her before I get there." Batman nodded his agreement, "Likely positions are going to be along the eastward windows, they face the bulk of the traffic up and down the street." he waved a hand at the map, and it rotated, showing that it was abutting Gotham Bay. Sliding his hand again, the picture shifted again, "There is also a storm drain abutting the building here. Entrance from the sea should put you right on top of them before they even know what's happening." Percy nodded to himself, before straightening up.

"Uh, thanks," He said uncomfortably, Batman just nodded and extended a hand in his direction,

"I saw what you did on the Valentin case. That was good work. Well done detective," Percy looked so confused, that Dinah would have laughed if she hadn't been sharing the feeling. What in the hell was this?

Percy slowly gripped the other man in a shake, but quickly released it,

"Thanks…" Percy said, uncertainly, "Just glad the bastard is behind bars." He looked like he had no idea what was going on. Shaking his head like a dog, Percy took a step back, and then disappeared in a flurry of mist and water vapor.

"Uh Batman," Dinah said, staring at where Percy just disappeared, because apparently he could teleport now. "What the hell was that?"

"What was what?" Batman said, as he turned around to the computer monitor and pulled up a live feed of the building Percy was about to storm.

"That," She said, gesturing vaguely at where Percy had been, "You've been having me tail him for weeks now. You gave him the whole, 'stay out of my city' speech, you've been trying to find dirt on him since he arrived, and now you're suddenly playing nice? I'm sorry but am I missing something?"

"I wanted to see how he'd react," Batman said simply as he typed commands into the computer,

"What?" Dinah asked, sharing an exasperated look with Zatara,

"Back at the auction. I wanted to gauge his reaction. I acted especially hostile and abrasive because I wanted to see what he would do. I did as I did now, for the same reason, and to keep him off balance. He know's we're watching him, and if he's just been feigning cooperation this whole time, I want to know." Batman said breezily,

"I can assure you, Batman, that Percy Jackson is a good man. He means your city no harm. He only wishes to live as normal a life as possible." Zatara said, coming to his friend's defense,

"We'll talk about your relationship with detective Jackson later." Batman said, and Zatara narrowed his eyes, "But right now, I'm not worried about him going dark. I spoke with Diana, as well as Jason Blood. Both have spoken to me at length about his moral compass. I do not believe that he means Gotham harm,"

"But?" Dinah said,

"But he's still a son of the Earth-Shaker." Batman said, "His powers are tied to his emotions. He gets too angry, too emotional, and he could sink Gotham into the sea even if he doesn't mean to. He needs to be monitored. I have other reasons for watching him, but that's the only one you need right now."

The camera feed zoomed in, and they watched as Percy appeared out of an alleyway, and jumped into the harbor,

"Whatever his reasons for being in Gotham, when that man loses control, people die."

BREAK

Percy pulled himself out of the sea, and climbed onto the bank behind the building. One of the perks of his heritage meant that he never had to worry about wet clothing. Crouching behind a door at the back of the building, Percy opened his senses. Both Zatara and Batman had been right. He could see at least nine bodies in the basement. One was tied up, and unmoving. Judging by the erratic beating of their heart, they were petrified. That confirmed that Meg was here, or at least that someone was here, either way, Percy would be moving in. He then checked the top of the stairs leading to the basement and could see two others stationed there. They didn't appear to be carrying weapons, which wasn't a surprise. Vampires had all the natural weapons they'd ever need, most didn't concern themselves with mortal weaponry.

Pulling out his lockpicks, Percy reached out to the mist, and layered a ward over the door, blocking it from making any noise. He then cast another layer over himself, cancelling out his human scent, and silencing his footsteps. Picking the lock on the door, Percy pushed it open as he drew one of the revolvers from his hip holster. Thumbing one of the runes on the grip, the gun vibrated with energy for a minute, before it fell still. The weapon wouldn't make any noise now until Percy turned off the rune.

He then reached out to his father's domain. Cloaking himself in water water molecules, Percy could use them to refract natural light away from him, essentially making him invisible. It wan't true invisibility, but it worked well enough.

Stepping out from around his cover, one of the vamps was leaning against a support pillar, looking thoroughly bored. The other was picking at his teeth with a long pointed finger. Percy had to fight back a gag, the smell of dried blood and body odor was so strong, Percy wouldn't have been surprised, if they couldn't have smelled him even if Percy had been standing right behind them. Not wanting the bodies to drop and alert the others, Percy reached down and grabbed a small pebble on the ground. Taking aim, Percy tossed it behind the second man, and it smack against the far wall.

Both vamps looked up, their fangs coming free from their lips. The vamp near Percy gestured to the other to check it out. The second one snarled, but complied, as it stalked off towards the source of the noise. The second its back was turned, Percy crept up to the second. Placing the barrel of his revolver behind the monster's head, Percy pulled the trigger. There was a flash of light but no sound, as the monster exploded into golden dust. Not hesitating, Percy took off to the second leech. It was peering out a far window, trying to find whatever the source of the noise had been. Pulling the trigger a second time, there was another flash and Percy had to brush the dust off of him as flecks of gold landed on his shoulders.

Turning away, Percy scooted down the stairs, his revolver held out in front of him. Peeking around the corner, Percy looked into the room. Three of the vampires were perched on boxes in one corner playing cards. Two others were lounging in a pair of beach chairs watching tv on an ancient looking tube. The sixth was laying down in a worn and lumpy-looking bed, reading from a worn text. Turning his attention, to Meg, Percy felt a swell of anger burble in his chest. Meg was chained to a support pillar in the middle of the room, one of her eyes was yellowish-purple and swelling badly. Her lip was split and bleeding, and her nose looked like it was broken. Her arms were chained above her, and her shoulder was twisted, Percy guessed that it was dislocated.

Percy's eyes landed on the puncture wounds on her neck, her skin, normally fairly pale in complexion, was nearly chalk-white. Percy released a breath from his nose, Vampires always had a hard time controlling themselves around demigods. When they got their fangs in, it was difficult for them to stop, they must have drained her damn near empty. Percy waved a hand, and cast a mist-magic spell. Simulating a false smell somewhere upstairs, all heads immediately turned in the direction of the stairs.

"You two," The one on the bed, a woman with raggedy black hair that was a ratted tangle snarled, "Go check that out."

The two watching tv growled, but they stood up from their chairs and slunk out of the room and up the stairs. Percy waited, forcing himself not to act as the two passed him up the stairs. Percy waited it out, seeing what the reaction was going to be, if the two upstairs called in that their friends were missing, either they'd send more up to take a look, or they'd start getting ready to leave.

There were a few beats where nothing happened, before a voice called out down the stairs,

"Keith and David aren't here!" One of them called down, and the woman on the bed rose to her feet, judging her to be the boss, Percy watched her intently. "Search the building! Find them! They probably fucked off somewhere upstairs." She ordered, her words coming out slightly slurred because of her fangs. Before she sat back down on the bed. Content that she wasn't going to go anywhere, Percy turned and head up the stairs.

Vampire's didn't have real blood pumping through their veins, but they did have the blood of Meg in their system, making them easy to spot. one was heading up to the third floor, and the other was heading outside to check the front entrance. Taking the isolated man upstairs first, Percy quickly met the man on the stairs. Leveling his revolver on the man, Percy pulled the trigger and he exploded in a puff of dust. Seeing the other man was nearby, wandering around the front of the building, Percy walked over to a nearby broken window, and hopped out. Percy landed on the ground right in front of him. Before the creature could do more than blink in surprise at the sudden thud in front of him. Percy had grabbed him around the front of the shirt, and had shoved his revolver into the man's forehead. Another quick pull of the trigger, and there were four dead vamps.

Switching the revolver to his left hand, Percy pulled the second revolver free and marched back into the building. Coming to the bottom of the stairs, Percy leveled one of the weapons on the vamp in the bed, the one Percy thought was the head leech, and the other revolver on a vamp pacing nervously in front of Meg. With a simultaneous pull of both triggers, there was a dual flash of light, and gold dust covered much of the room. Meg's eyes widened in surprise, as some flecks of gold landed on her shoulders and in her hair. Percy turned, looking for the last vampire, only to stumble back as something large and heavy slammed into his mid-section. All of the wind left Percy's lungs, as he was thrown to the concrete ground. His head smacked off the concrete, and his vision went black for a second as his ears started ringing. He felt as both revolvers went skittering out of his hands as he fell. Blinking the stars and darkness away, Percy quickly raised his hands in front of himself, blocking the incoming clawed hand that intended to rip his throat wide open.

Blocking the attack, Percy clamped his hands around the monster's wrists and using his superior strength, Percy spread the monster's wide across his body and Percy placed a foot on its chest and kicked. With keening screech, it flew through the air, colliding with the far wall. Vampire's were fast though, and as soon as Percy was on his feet, the monster had recovered and was swinging a clawed hand at him. Percy ducked under the swipe, sliding behind the vampire. Wrapping his arms around its chest, he heaved. Lifting the monster into the air, Percy leaned back and twisted, driving his momentum forward and threw it into the ground. It cried out again in pain, and Percy straddled its back. He reached into his pocket and tried to grab onto his switchblade comb but he wasn't fast enough. The monster pushed up from the ground and Percy tumbled from its back. Rolling back to his feet, Percy stepped out of the way as it lunged for him. Percy grabbed the arm as it drove past him, and he threw the vampire into the wall. Swinging viscously, Percy stunned the vampire with two devastating haymakers to its temples. But it recovered far too quickly, and Percy had to duck as it lunged for him. Percy hip tossed the monster to the ground. Grabbing the switchblade comb from his pocket, he hit the button on the side and the Sword of Mars reappeared in his hand. The vampire roared in fury and charged again, but Percy sidestepped, driving down with his sword as he did so. Percy felt the weapon tear right through the neck of the monster, which exploded into gold dust.

Breathing heavily, Percy extended his senses and made sure that there was no one else in the building. Once he was satisfied, he turned his attention back to Meg, who was staring at him in wide-eyed amazement.

"Hey kid," Percy said, hitting the button on his sword and stowing the comb in his pocket,

"Let's get you home,"

AN: Well that was a lot of fun! Next chapter? Even more fun, with a heavy, heavy dose of character development for Percy. It's been a long time coming, but it's kind of what a lot of the themes of this arc have been building towards. Can't wait for ya'll to read it! 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!