3 Months Later
Perseus is in the arena, fighting furiously against his training automatons on their highest setting. His body was on autopilot: slash, parry, block, dodge, roll, thrust. While he is fighting, he is in deep thought. His power level has risen, and he has learned to command the winds with ease to fly at extremely high speeds. He is now 13, with a more muscular build, and stands at an impressive 5'7" at his age.
With a shout, Perseus sends out a shockwave from his body, shorting out the remaining automatons. Now he hardly breaks a sweat. Soft clapping is heard from behind him. Perseus turns around.
"Well done, Perseus. You're progressing incredibly." Sigrún says with a proud smile. However, instead of her usual clothing, she is wearing her Valkyrie armor, and has her wings out.
"Is it time for you to return?" Perseus asks a little sadly.
Sigrún nods, "Yes. And now for your final test, you must defeat me in combat. Use everything, don't hold back, Prince Perseus. But first, I have a final gift." She says solemnly.
Sigrún motions for Perseus to follow her into the armory, and inside is a set of magnificently crafted armor. It is made of leather and has Asgardian Steel scales protecting the arms and legs, six Asgardian Steel circles on the torso on top of the leather, and has a flowing electric blue cape coming from the shoulders."This armor was forged by Wayland and modeled after your father's armor. It will grow with you, and be a symbol of hope to your allies, and a symbol of fear to your enemies." Sigrún explains.
Perseus turns to her with a smile, "Thank you Sigrún. For everything." He says gratefully.
"Now, my prince, don your godly royal armor, and meet me in the back in the arena." Sigrún says quietly and leaves the armory.
Perseus just stands there admiring his armor for several moments. He shakes his head to clear his thoughts, and slowly puts it on. When he is done, he steps back and looks at himself in the mirror. It fits him perfectly, almost like a second skin. He can almost imagine his father staring back at him. He smiles to himself.
He heads to the arena and prepares himself. Sigrún is nowhere to be seen. His muscles are coiled, and he's ready for anything. He has a loose grip on his blade, and is looking around. His eyes dart around, always looking for a threat. Perseus hears a whistling noise coming from his left and he reacts immediately. He jumps backward and looks to his right. It's an arrow. He scowls in irritation and focuses on the air around him to determine Sigrún's position. He locks onto it and slowly makes his way there.
Sigrún figures out that he knows her position and spreads her wings to take to the sky. Perseus follows her up, and without any warning, he speeds towards her and gives a mighty slash with his blade. Sigrún barely had time to block, and when she did, she was sent flying head over heels for several meters. Sigrún steadies herself by giving her wings a couple flaps. However, before she could her spear at the ready, she was hit full force by Perseus who drove his shoulder into her gut. Her breath left her in a rush, and in that event, she lost concentration and fell to the ground.
Perseus followed her closely and landed just infront of her. "Do you yield, Sigrún?" He asks calmly.
Sigrún stands up and suddenly rushes him brandishing her spear for an attack. Perseus jumps back and keeps dodging and weaving as Sigrún sent attack after attack. He tries to create some distance while looking for an opening that he can exploit. However, Sigrún shield bashes him before he has a chance. Perseus stumbles back and shakes his head.
Perseus narrows his eyes and goes on the offensive, taking advantage of his godly speed to overwhelm his opponent. He even uses some of his strength. Slowly, Sigrún is forced back, and with a final cry Perseus catches her spear between the ground and his shield. With one slash of his massive blade, he cuts through the spear like butter. He kicks her and she flies back and lands hard on the ground. Not giving her a chance to recover, he holds his blade firmly against her throat.
"Do you yield, Sigrún?" Perseus demands with narrowed eyes, sweating slightly.
"I yield, Perseus. Well done." Sigrún says with pride.
Perseus steps back and offers an arm to help her up. She takes it and he pulls her to her feet. She pulls him into a hug.
"Be strong, Perseus. May the Nornír allow our paths to cross once more in the future." Sigrún whispers into his ear.
Perseus nods, "I will, Sigrún. I will bring honor and glory to Asgard." He replies with determination in his voice.
Sigrún nods and steps back, "Good. You will be the greatest hero and warrior the nine realms will ever see." She looks to the sky, "Heimdall! Open the Bifrost!"
Immediately after she says this, a rainbow colored beam comes from the sky and engulfs Sigrún. Perseus raises his arm in farewell, and when the pillar fades, Sigrún is gone and in her place is a circle of intertwining runes etched and burned into the ground.
One Week Later
It has been a week since Sigrún's departure back to Asgard, and Perseus is training nonstop. He is a literal whirlwind of destruction as a miniature tornado has formed around him as he hacked and slashed his robotic enemies.
Suddenly, his adoptive mother Sally called out to him, "Perseus, you have a guest!"
Perseus slowed to a stop and the tornado dissipated, "Alright, mom! I'll be up in a moment, just let me clean up!" He replied.
A few minutes later, Perseus is in the living room. Sitting across from him is Luke Castellan who is now sporting a scowl and a scar running down the right side of his eye, looking like he was cut with a dagger. It was also quite fresh, as it was still slightly red and agitated.
"So Luke, what brings you back to my home?" Perseus asked evenly.
"I was on my way back to camp from a quest. I was tasked with stealing an apple of immortality from the Garden of the Hesperides." Luke said bitterly.
Perseus nods, "What of Thalia and Annabeth?" He asks.
"A few weeks after we left here, we ran into a satyr named Grover who said he was tasked to take us to a place called Camp Half-Blood. Along the way, we took a few wrong turns and soon enough we were being chased across New York by a small army of monsters led by the three Furies themselves. Thalia... Thalia sacrificed herself so Annabeth and I could make it to camp. Zeus didn't even help her! He turned her into a tree. A tree!" Luke finished his tale angrily with a few tears trailing down his face.
Perseus kept his face stoic and emotionless, but his eyes told the story. His eyes were a swirling storm of lightning and thunder. "Peace, Luke. Thalia went out as a hero. She had a hero's death. While I am upset, I commend her bravery. To not let her death be in vain, train the next generation of demigods, and become a leader Luke. You are destined for greatness my friend." Perseus says firmly.
Luke nods in understanding, "I will, Percy. I will." He responds with a determined glint in his eyes. He stands up to leave and shakes Perseus's hand and walks out the door. This will be the last time that Perseus will hear from any of his Greek friends for five years.
AN: So, what do you guys think? In the next few chapters, it will be Percy's run-in with Artemis and the Hunters, as well as Percy's first true challenge. A fight with the fire Giant Surtúr to earn the shard of Mijolnír and begin piecing back the mighty hammer of Thor. I know that I want Percy to team up with Shazam in the future because I would think Black Adam has the arrogance to think he can keep a shard of a divine weapon.
Another thing: Would you guys and gals like to see Percy fight in the Mortal Kombat Tournament as a challenge? Let me know your thoughts and advice in the comments.
To those of you who want more frequent updates, remember that I started this for something to do in my free time. I am not obligated to have a set schedule, so please keep that in mind. Over the summer there may or may not be more frequent updates because I won't be in school, but I do have a life.
Thank all of you for reading this. Your encouragement gives me the motivation to write this, and I will see it through to the end.