A/N. REVIEWS!
"Cool plot for a PJO fic, and I hope Grover returns in the epilogue" -CriticalBand-Aid
Well Mr. Aid, one, thank you. Two, I guess you'll see if your hopes come true.
And that's the review. Onto the chapter!
6 Months Later
Over the last six months, crime in New York has been slowly declining. All thanks to Sea Storm and his partner Silver Shadow. The two have worked to catch criminals who dare harm innocents.
But that is not the main point of our story today. Our story comes from a theory sent in, along with a video. As we can see in this video taken a couple of days ago, it seems apparent that Sea Storm and Silver Shadow are a couple.
Is this true? We don't have any confirmation. But wouldn't it be fun if they were? The two superheroes who protect the city, actually together.
This is Barbara Winters, with Channel 6 News.
LINE BREAK
Percy watched as the man aimed his rifle at the young girl. Another man opened a storage container, many other young girls huddling together in it.
"Иди туда, сука!" The man with the rifle yelled.
Percy didn't understand Russian, but if there was one word he knew, it was suka. Bitch. He felt Zoë tense next to him, her arm reaching for an arrow on her back. Percy held up a hand to stop her.
"We have to wait. We can bust this whole thing, but we need the information on the higher ups."
Zoë relented. He turned to her. Her mask only covered her nose downwards, so he could see every emotion in her eyes. She designed it like that. Something about criminals seeing the eyes of the one to bring them in.
The silver of her suit and bow reflected the moonlight. How the Russians didn't see her, he had no idea. Maybe she kept the light out of their eyes or something, he wasn't sure. He didn't know how a lot of the powers Artemis had given her worked.
Zoë had woken up one morning, glowing silver. Upon being asked about it, she said, "I followed the stag." Nothing else. No expansion, no words of note, just that sentence, then using her bow and arrow, aiming to hit toast as it flew out of the toaster.
Percy turned back to the ongoing child trafficking operation. The man who opened the shipping container closed it once the girl was inside. He locked it, before the two walked off.
The two Russians walked a little bit away, before the one with no gun pulled out a Nokia phone and put it up to his ear.
"Alright, Zoë. I think they could do with the pleasant smell of a fart. Then, stick 'em."
She grinned, not that Percy could tell with her mask. She reached behind her and picked out an arrow. It had a little gas vial on the tip of it. Inside, a green gas swirled. She notched the arrow, aimed, and fired.
The arrow soared, landing on the ground between the two Russians. The glass vial shattered, releasing the gas. The Russians smelt the air around them, before puking. The guy with the phone dropped it. Percy took the time to get down from their perch, run along some other shipping containers, and jump down to the child traffickers.
As he reached the ground, another arrow flew, striking the ground near the Russians. This arrow let loose a substance that grew rapidly, entrapping the two Russian's legs. Percy scooped up the Nokia, and put it to his ear.
"Vladimir. What is the situation? You better answer me you sack of shit!" A voice over the phone said.
"I'm sorry, Vladimir is currently in a sticky situation. Can I get a name to pass along with a message?" Percy said.
"Who is this?"
"You might've heard of me on the news, name's-"
"SEA STORM!"
"That's right. Now tell me what I want to know and maybe your guys down here at the docks will come out alive."
"I'm ain't telling you nothing!"
"Well, that's a shame. You know, it would be bad for business if you lose this shipment that you have down here."
"Keep 'em. We can always get more."
"And we'll always be there to stop you. You're only prolonging your inevitable demise. There will be less pain involved if you just tell me what I want to know."
Zoë was coming up to him now, her bow slung over her shoulder. She kept a hand lingering near her leg, where she had a knife sheathed. She was silent, not making a single sound.
"Matvey? Got an address?"
Percy listened in for a few seconds before hanging up. He called 911. "Hey, I've got some kids that were victims of a child trafficking ring, I think. I also have two people working it here." Percy paused. "The docks near the Hudson." Again. "You too, ma'am."
He dropped the phone, turning to Zoë. "Feel like visiting Carnegie Hill?"
"Why there?" Zoë asked.
Percy started to walk to the shipping container that held the girls."Matvey. He's apparently the ringleader for all of this. We take him down, the entire operation scrambles, giving us an opportunity to hunt all these guys down. His residence, where he should be staying tonight, is in Carnegie Hill."
They reached the shipping container. "So tonight it ends? Finally?"
"The chase is up. From here, it shouldn't be so hard." Percy confirmed. He took Riptide in pen form and placed it in between the shackles of the lock. He opened the pen, and the sword expanded, cutting the lock in the process. Zoë opened the door.
The girls scrambled towards the back of the container, used to the fear that came with the opened door. Zoë looked at the girls, becoming angry. Percy placed a hand on her shoulder, before whispering comforting words in her ear.
Percy stepped forward. "You girls want to go back home?"
LINE BREAK
The couple looked around the room. The house was nice, no doubt about it. It was ironic, one of the dirtiest men in New York had a super clean house. They crept through the house, not knowing who exactly was home. Matvey wasn't at the house yet, but they didn't know if he had servants or something of the sort.
They opened a door, leading to an extravagant bedroom. There was a king sized bed, the back pushed up against the wall. On the opposite wall, there was a painting, depicting a woman who looked to be made of Earth. It was positioned in a way, where if you laid on the bed you would look at the painting.
The walls were painted peach. Furniture was pushed against each wall, and a tv mounted to the wall. There was a window that showed the rest of the neighborhood, overlooking it, since the house was on a hill.
Percy walked over to the bed. "This looks nice."
Zoë followed him. Unlike Percy, she had fingerless gloves, allowing her more grip on her bow string. She felt the blankets. "It's soft. Is this plush?"
"As a blanket?"
"That's what it feels like."
"Interesting." He paused. "We should get this for our bed."
"We would ruin it on the first night of having it." Zoë joked.
Percy climbed into the bed. "This mattress is nice." He bounced on it. "It's kind of springy."
"Let me feel." She climbed into the bed next to him. "Oh damn."
Percy took off his mask. "We gotta decorate our room. It's so plain." He looked over to his girlfriend.
She pulled her mask down. "Yeah, we really do. But we don't have the money."
"If we can strike a deal with Mr. Adams, then maybe we will."
"Who knows what he would want in return?"
He put a hand on her thigh, before leaning over. He rested his head on her shoulder. "Who knew living on our own would be so difficult?"
She sighed. "Not me, that's for sure."
They were silent, enjoying the moment. The moment that was interrupted by thunderous footsteps. Percy and Zoë put their masks on. Zoë drew an arrow and pulled her bowstring taut, aiming at the door. Percy pulled out his pen that turned into a trident, but kept it capped.
The door opened to reveal the owner of the house. Matvey. He was a tall man, with bulging muscles. He was bald, and had eyes that held cruelty. He wore a white suit, with golden cufflinks.
Zoë let loose her arrow. It flew through the air, and as soon as it came close to him he knocked it aside. Percy uncapped the pen, turning it into its trident. He jumped at Matvey, swinging his trident at Matvey.
The trident knocked him aside since he was distracted by another arrow. Percy turned the trident, pointing it at Matvey's neck. Zoë notched another arrow, aiming for Matvey's family jewels.
Percy spun the trident, hitting Matvey in the head, knocking him out. He capped the trident, and picked up Matvey.
"Let's get this guy to the police station. I bet they'll want to question him."
They flew on water through the city, landing at the police station. They dropped off Matvey before taking off again. Percy carried Zoë in his arms bridal style as they flew.
He landed on top of their apartment building before letting her down. They snuck into their apartment before taking off their suits.
"I'm gonna take a shower." Zoë said.
"I'll wash the suits for tomorrow." He said, gathering them.
He took them down to the laundromat across the street, covering the suits in other dirty clothes. Percy put their suits in the washing machine and put in the required change. He watched as they tumbled in the soapy water. Zoë came down about thirty minutes later, hair still wet.
"I'll take them out, you go take a shower."
"Thanks."
Percy knew Zoë would be safe, she had a knife on her at all times after all, but he still worried for her. This was New York, and she was a relatively young looking girl, alone at night. He just hoped he didn't come back to the laundromat and see a guy cut up.
He took his shower, taking about ten minutes. He dried off, put on sport shorts and a t-shirt, before heading to the laundromat. Luckily, there was no man laying on the floor, missing his dick, though Zoë was flipping the knife in her hand. And there was a man cowering, doing his laundry in the furthest possible washing machine he could.
"Trouble?" Percy asked.
She shrugged. "I stopped him before he could even get a word out."
He smiled a tiny bit, before sitting next to her. The dryer went off half an hour later. She must've switched them when he was in the shower. He took the clothes out, and put them back in the basket. They walked out of the laundromat, back to their apartment.
Their apartment. It was still strange for Percy to call this place home. It had also been a weird ride to get it. First, he had to sign some emancipation papers, which required his "guardians" signature. Since Gabe was dead, Percy found the military school forms that the asshole got when Percy first moved in, and forged the signature he found on it onto the emancipation papers. Then they had to find an apartment that would allow two 16 looking kids to be tenants. Finally, they found a building, and had to sign the long and boring paperwork. But eventually, they had an apartment to themselves. It was tough to pay for, but they made do with their jobs.
They walked into their apartment, and Percy put the basket of clothes in the living room area. Zoë went to the kitchen area, looking in the pantry. She pulled out a Cosmic Brownie, snacking on it. She sat on the counter.
Percy walked to her, standing in between her legs, hugging her close.
"I think we did good tonight." He said.
"Yeah. Took down the kingpin of a ring, and soon the rest will fall."
"It seems like we've moved from superheroes to vigilantes."
"I don't think we were ever fully technical superheroes in the first place. That would imply that we worked with law enforcement."
"That didn't go so well."
She snorted. "No shit."
He kissed her neck as she finished the brownie.
"Percy, we have to go to bed. The meeting tomorrow." She reminded him.
They didn't get much sleep that night.
LINE BREAK
Percy woke up the next morning with the nude body of his girlfriend laying on him. He laid there, not wanting to wake Zoë. It wasn't until the Sun showed its yellow face that she woke up. She always woke up with the Sun, unless she had stayed up to see it. Call it an old habit from her time as a Hesperide.
Her eyes opened to see her lover beneath her. She smiled as she leaned up, giving him some room.
"Good morning." She said.
"Good morning Sunshine."
"It's your turn to wash the sheets." She smiled sweetly.
Percy nodded. "I'll do it after the meeting."
"Oh shit. What time is it at?"
"Two."
"Oh good. We're not late."
"It's six in the morning. We are fine." He reassured her.
It was eight hours later when they found themselves in the Mayor's office wearing their suits. They sat in seats before the desk, waiting for the mayor to walk in and begin the meeting.
The mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, walked into the room. Percy and Zoë stood up. They held out hands for mayor Adams to shake. He shook them both.
"I have to say, it is an honor to meet you both." Adams said. There was something off in his smile.
"Is it?" Zoë asked.
"Oh yes. You have been the only thing keeping up with crime in this city." The mayor said, sitting on his side of the desk. Percy and Zoë sat too.
"I'm sure we aren't the only thing." Percy said.
"No, your two are. With all the corrupt precincts, it's safe to say the NYPD is effectively useless these days."
"All of them are corrupt?" Zoë asked suspiciously.
"I'm afraid so. But enough about that. Why did you two want to meet with me today?"
"Uh, we wanted to see about maybe a paycheck. For everything, you know."
Adam's eyes widened. "It's funny that you should mention that. I was planning on calling you two in to see about that. I have been putting together an offer." Mayor Adams reached into a drawer and pulled out a contract. He slid it over to the superheroes.
They stared at it, looking over it. It stated that a bank account would be opened in which they would receive their payment. There was also a list of clauses beneath it.
"Can we have a minute? To look it over?" Percy asked.
"Of course."
They took the contract and walked over to a corner.
"I don't like points 1 and 4. What about you?" Percy whispered to Zoë.
"I agree, they are just asking for trouble. I don't think he trusts us completely. Those points definitely seem like they're trying to control us."
"So what do we do?"
"I think we see if we can negotiate it, see what we can do."
"What if he doesn't budge on them? Government people don't tend to react well when you tell them no."
Zoë thought for a minute. "I don't suppose we can threaten him could we?"
"No. We don't do that."
"Then I guess we just have to be persistent."
"Alright. If it ends in failure, it's on you."
She lightly slapped his arm. "You don't say that to your girlfriend." She joked.
Percy laughed.
They walked back to the desk and took a seat.
"We would like to get rid of points one and four." Percy said.
"Why?"
"Because it doesn't seem like a good idea. To reveal our identities, and to have you control our every action."
"It's just a safety precaution."
"A safety precaution? We aren't tools." Zoë argued.
The mayor sighed. "We can get rid of clause one. As for four, how about we compromise?"
"How?"
"If I give you an assignment, then you have to do it. How, is up to you."
"Would we be allowed to do whatever we want when not on assignment? Protecting people, I mean. Like, you won't force us to stop doing patrols?" Percy asked.
"I will not stop you there."
"That's it?"
"That's it. Unless you prove to cause more harm than good, in which clause four will be in effect, immediately."
Zoë started to grit her teeth. Percy placed a hand on her shoulder. He was feeling angry too, but he couldn't let it show. To have done so much, and not even be given the benefit of the doubt? It was an insult to them.
"Give us another moment please." Percy said sweetly, the venom in his words hidden.
He and Zoë went back to the corner.
"Well?" he asked.
"It's better. But it is clear he doesn't trust us."
"I know. But I also think this is the best we're going to get."
"Then let's sign it and get out of here."
They signed the papers, using their aliases, not their actual names. They left, happy that they would get paid, and hoping that there wasn't something bigger in the horizon.
LINE BREAK
Percy put in his two week notice, two weeks ago. Joe decided that a going away party was best to send Percy off on his last as a waiter. There was a cake with "Good Luck Percy!" written in icing on it.
He said goodbye to all of his coworkers, before exiting the diner. Zoë was waiting for him outside.
"Well?" She asked. "How was it?"
"Kinda sad actually. But I'm glad I'm not waiting tables anymore."
"Yeah, instead we beat up people, and we have a small chance of death."
"So much better than dealing with assholes with no public decency."
Zoë laughed.
They started to make their way home, waking through the streets of New York. They passed multiple buildings and businesses. There was one that caught his eye. In the window of a bookstore, was a poster. And on that poster, showing new releases, was his mom's book.
He grabbed Zoë's hand, and pointed to the poster. They walked into the book store, and wandered around, looking for the book. There it was, under the Young Adult section.
"It's so weird seeing it out in public. So readily available." Percy murmured. He reached out and grabbed one of the books. "It's so real."
Zoë grabbed one and flipped through the pages. "Holy shit. This is weird."
"It's like holding a child."
"We spent so much time on this, and here it is."
After getting over the fact that their creation was out in the world, they went home.
LINE BREAK
The last day of school. It was monumental. And it was going well, until Mr. Brunner asked to see Percy and Zoë after school. That was weird. They were both pretty sure that they passed his classes with high enough scores to get credits for the class. Why else would a teacher ask to see them?
Actually, why would a teacher ask to see Zoë? If it was for grades, it would make sense for Percy. He usually had below C's. So for both of them? It was definitely weird.
Also, Grover was missing. He hadn't messaged them about missing school, so they were left to speculate. The whole day felt weird.
So they went through their day, worried for the end of their day. But no matter if they dreaded it, ran from it, it came all the same. The last bell rang, and they went to Mr. Brunner's room.
Mr. Brunner was waiting for them. He told them to follow him as he wheeled out of the school. There was a white van, with 'DELPHI STRAWBERRY SERVICE' written on the side. The back opened up.
"I want to show you two something." He said. A ramp came down from the back of the van, allowing him access.
"This has to be a trap." Percy whispered to Zoë.
Zoë, on the other hand, seemed to be clicking puzzle pieces together. She still seemed confused, but less so than Percy. "I say we get in. Find out what's going on. I think I know what's happening."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
They got in the van, following Mr. Brunner. The van drove all the way to Long Island, near the coast. They got out at what looked like a strawberry farm. Lined up with what the vans said.
They walked up the hill, where a large pine tree stood, as if defending the farm. They reached the top of the hill, and Percy let out a breath.
This wasn't a strawberry farm. Strawberry farm's didn't have an arena, or forges. Strawberry farms didn't have climbing towers that spilled lava. There was a big farmhouse on another hill, painted sky blue. An amphitheater sat carved into another hill. An archery range sat next to the arena. Woods surrounded the east part of the camp, while a beach sat at the northern part. In the middle of the place, sat 12 cabins, arranged in a U.
"Welcome… to Camp Half Blood," Mr. Brunner announced. He got out of the wheelchair, revealing that from the waist down he was a white horse.
"Mr. Brunner, you're-" Percy struggled to get the words out.
"A centaur. My name is actually Chiron. But I fear Zoë already knew that."
She nodded. "You're losing your touch, old man."
Chiron nodded. "I feared as much. Luckily, it doesn't matter anymore. Now, come, follow me."
He led them to the woods, where 12 seats sat in a U, similar to the cabins. A hearth sat in the middle. Symbols were engraved on each one, all of them glowing.
"Wait over there. I will call the council to order." Chiron said. He blew a conch shell 2 times.
Slowly people started to fill the seats.
In the seat engraved with a lightning bolt, sat a girl who looked like she invented punk. Her blue eyes contrasted with her black clothes and hair. Her pale face was sprinkled with freckles.
In the seat engraved with a peacock feather, sat a boy who looked like a prep boy. He had cropped blond hair, and blue eyes like the girl.
In the seat engraved with a sickle, sat a girl with grass green eyes and black hair.
In the seat engraved with a bloody sword, sat a huge muscular girl, who had rage in her eyes.
In the seat engraved with an owl, sat a blond girl with grey eyes.
In the seat engraved with the Sun, sat a blond boy with blue eyes. He wore a medical lab coat.
In the seat engraved with a hammer, sat the latino elf that Percy saw in his dream. The one named Leo.
In the seat engraved with a dove, sat the girl that Percy had seen in his dreams.
In the seat engraved with a caduceus, sat 2 boys, who looked like twins.
In the seat with a wine glass, sat a boy with curly black hair.
Chiron stood in the center. "It is with joy that I bring you here today. In case you haven't seen it, the symbols for Hestia, Poseidon, and Artemis glow."
The punk girl in the lightning seat raised her hand. "Shouldn't we call Nico here?"
"Already did. He should be here any minute." Chiron said.
The shadows collected by a tree, as a small pale boy emerged from the shadows. His hair was as black as night, as were his eyes. He was the only one wearing a chiton. He raised his hand, and a seat rose up next to the 2 boys. This seat had a skull engraved into it. He took his seat.
"As I was saying. Today, we welcome the final two members of the council."
The girl in the sickle seat spoke up. "Isn't there three spots open though?"
"I'll get there." Chiron paused. "Katie is right. One person has the blessings of two gods to take their spots. This is unusual, but it is their will. First, we will have the replacement for Artemis come up."
He turned to Zoë. "Come up, my dear."
Zoë stepped up to the center.
"This is Zoë Nightshade. She is the new Goddess of the Moon, Maidens, Animals, Wilderness, and Childbirth. Go, and take your seat."
Zoë walked over to the chair engraved with the moon. She sat between the blond girl in the owl seat, and the Cherokee girl in the dove seat.
"Next is the replacement for Poseidon, and Hestia."
He turned to Percy. "Come up my boy."
Percy walked up.
"This is Percy Jackson. He is the new God of the Sea, Earthquakes, Horses, Hearth, Fire, Family, and Hope. Go, and take your seat."
The seat with a wave gained another engraving. The Hearth etched itself into the seat. Percy sat in the seat, between the punk girl and the girl in the seat with a bloody sword.
"That is all for this meeting. Be sure to include the new Gods in your discussions. Meeting adjourned."
Instantly everyone started to move around. The boy in the sun seat went to Nico, fussing over him. The boy in the peacock feather seat went to the Cherokee girl. So on and so forth.
Percy and Zoë were approached by the two boys who sat on the caduceus seat.
"Hi. I'm Travis-"
"And I'm Conner."
"Stoll." They said together.
"Oh boy." Zoë groaned.
"Have you seen your cabins?" Travis asked.
"Cabins?" Percy asked.
"Yeah. Everyone has their own cabin. Correspondent to the God you replaced. That satyr has been working tirelessly all day." Connor said.
"Uh, can you take us there?"
"YEAH!" They shouted together.
The brothers took them to the cabin area. Along the way they learned that Travis and Conner were, in fact, NOT twins. That was kind of awkward. They were also the replacement of Hermes.
They reached the giant U made of cabins. "You're cabin 3, and you're 8." They pointed them to their cabins.
Percy went into his cabin. It was clean. There was a fountain in the middle, with a bed in the back. There were posters of things he liked. He found that weird.
"Like it?" A voice came from behind.
Percy turned around. "G-MAN! I didn't know you were here." Then he glanced down. "You're a satyr."
"That I am, Perce, that I am."
"So, what's going on with you?"
Grover shrugged. "I've been chilling. Spent today getting you and Zoë's cabins ready. Have you seen the beach?"
"Dude, I just got here like, 20 minutes ago."
"Come on."
Grover walked out of the cabin, Percy following. They walked down to the beach. Percy was impressed with the beach.
"This is nice."
"We have all of eternity to enjoy it." Grover said.
"Don't satyrs die? Sorry."
"I won't. At least, not until you do. Our lives are, well, kind of intertwined."
"What do you mean?"
"I am your, well, let's go with… assistant. Immortality comes with the job."
Zoë walked up behind them. "What's happening?"
"Apparently, Grover is immortal with us."
"That's good. Looks like the gang's together forever."
Percy looked at his friends. Initially, he had been against the idea of immortality. But with them by his side, he was sure that it wouldn't be so bad.
"You guys ready to make the world a better place?"
FINAL THOUGHTS
Well, it's the end, once again. But before I get into my thoughts, I would like to thank Zaeng_ for her help throughout this entire story. She's done a lot for this story. She saw the ugly chapters and helped make them beautiful. So here are her thoughts.
[Transcribed from a voice recording] "Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, it's been really fun to help you [Me, RandomRandomness12] work on this in general. It's been really fun just interacting, like, even the little interactions I've had *laugh* in the comments just have been really fun and overall and like, just a really positive experience. And um… yeah, it's, been, it's made me happy. *Laughs* It's made me laugh, and it's, it's really wholesome overall. Uh yeah, just the ending, it's really wholesome. It's not like, heart wrenching, it's, cause that can kind of be an acquired taste for a lot of people, like some people don't really like the negative endings, so I'm kind of glad that you know, it ended off in the little way it did. It's, it's not making people furious. It's not controversial. *Laughs* That's, That's kind of a good thing cause, I kinda don't wanna witness a whole dumpster fire of people being upset *Laughs*. It would've been funny, but I know it would've made a lot of people upset if it wasn't what they agreed with, you know, that kind of thing?"
God, that was so wholesome to listen to. Seriously, her voice was so genuine you guys, like she genuinely enjoyed being a part of this. And I am personally glad she was a part of this. She made this so much better, and I think I'm a better writer because of it. So for real, give her some praise, she really fucking deserves it and more.
Now, onto the story itself.
Perseus the Disgraced Archangel is definitely my most popular work. No doubt about that. 248K+ views. The story with the second most views is We Are Venom with 78K+. While it may be my most popular, I wouldn't say it's my best. Because since then, I've grown as a writer. I can see it when I look back at the first arc of PtDA. I cringe slightly looking at them. But since this is the most recent thing, I think this is the best. Of course in the future, it will be dethroned.
That last line of the story is important too. I think it captures Percy as a person. He just wants to make the world a better place. It's what makes him decide to become a superhero. He could've hid like the others, but he didn't. Then Zoë followed his example. And I think that captures Percy's essence. He wants to do good, and he inspires people to do the same.
This story, as I mentioned in chapter 1, was inspired by Spider-Man. Literally, (And maybe some of you remember this), I was watching Spider-Man 2 on a charter bus on a band trip, and I had my laptop with me, so I started typing.
Originally, this story was a lot smaller. There were 5 plot points, and that was it. But I kept getting more ideas, and I kept writing them down. Then I ended up with the outline I have now.
I really like this story, and I hope it gets the attention it deserves. Because, really, I think it's some of my best.
Anyways, I'll see you guys in RotDA.
Thoughts?