Third Person POV.
As the raging hellhound charged at the heroes, Wally grabbed hold of Dr. Roquette and sped her away, while Artemis and Kaldur dodged to the left and right. The only one who didn't move was Percy.
Instead of dodging the attack, he held his shield up just in time to shove it into Mrs. O'Leary's open mouth, keeping her from biting down on his arm. However, he had to shoot out his cape strands behind him, to give him support against his pets overwhelming force. He gritted his teeth as he did so and called out, "Kid Flash! You're on guard duty! Make sure Roquette finishes that program!"
"Hold on!" Wally replied, "We're not glossing over what you just said. That thing is your dog?!"
"Yes, I'm quite curious about that as well." Everyone looked at the front door to see the female assassin standing in the front door, with the other two standing outside. "We just call it Project Baskerville, or "The Shadow-Hound". How do you know of it?"
Percy glared at her as Mrs. O'Leary pushed him back gradually, putting grooves in the floor where his cape strands tried to stop his movement, "Her name is Mrs. O'Leary. Now I suggest you tell me what the hell you did to her!"
The assassin shrugged, "Beats me, I'm just taking her for a walk. But the boss' will be very interested about this information. You however, should focus on the matter at hand."
Percy gritted his teeth again as he looked into Mrs. O'Leary's eyes, wild, hateful, and desperate. She was doing her very best to crush his shield in her Jaws, but Tyson's handiwork was working wonders, though Percy knew it wouldn't last forever. "Aqualad, take spider-creep and Captain Hook. Artemis, you focus on her." He nodded to the assassin, who almost looked pleased at this, or at least as pleased as she could look without facial expressions.
Percy could practically feel Artemis questioning this, "Why does he—"
"Just do it!" He snapped.
"Now now, don't be grouchy." The assassin drawled, before shooting her arms out again, throwing another barrage of knives and shurikens, causing Percy to wonder just where she was keeping them.
The struggling god just shouted, "Kid!" he couldn't turn my head far enough back to see what happened, but he felt a gust of wind, and Wally responded a second later, "We're good."
"Well you can't blame a girl for trying." Cheshire sighed, "Are you coming Blondie?"
In response, Artemis charged forward from Percy's right, while Kaldur charged from the left, bypassing the door and jumping straight through the café window to do battle with the two assassins. Artemis was quickly caught up in a game of cat and mouse as she and Cheshire chased each other around the building, with Artemis desperately trying to get a shot in on the agile assassin, and Cheshire relying on sporadic close quarters attacks, which Artemis barely fended off before the chase began again.
Kaldur was having different issues. Some in his position would have questioned Percy's order to set him up against two opponents, but he did not, choosing instead to trust in his leader and fight with all he had. That being said, it was still quite tedious, having to keep track of the man swinging his hook on a chain, and the alarmingly agile spider themed villain's red web attacks.
Percy, for his part, was now focusing on pushing Mrs. O'Leary away from Roquette, with the help of some water he from his pack. Behind him Wally asked awkwardly, "Dude… are you sure you don't want me to help?"
He groaned in response as the massive hound actually began to slide backwards, growling all though way. Wally whistled, "Guess not."
"Hey! Don't look at them, focus on protecting me!" Roquette snapped as she typed away furiously. Wally might have snapped back, before he saw the various beads of sweat travelling down her forehead.
Percy wanted to scream out as he strained his muscles to the max, pushing back Mrs. O'Leary, but that was when the hellhound decided she had had enough.
Without warning, she jerked her head to the side, taking Percy by surprise and flinging him towards the wall. Unfortunately, it couldn't stand up to the force and he ended up groaning in a pile of bricks in a nearby alleyway.
He sat up just in time to see O'Leary stalking towards Wally and Roquette, neither of whom seemed to know what to do about it. He stood up quickly and called out on instinct, "STOP!"
To Percy's, and the other twos surprise, she did. He thought about celebrating, before she turned to look back at him, slowly, and with a low growl in her throat.
He gulped, "Good dog?"
Apparently, she didn't agree and charged at him again. Percy sighed sadly before shaking his head and charging at her as well. Just before they met, he used his (ugh you know what I'll stop beating around the bush)he used his tentacles to launch himself upwards, straight at the creature's face. He then wrapped them around her snout, clamping it shut, and swinging his body around to straddle her back, "Mrs. O'Leary! I know you're in there! Come on it's me! Percy!"
In response, she just growled and struggled to open her mouth. Robin and M'gann had assured him that the material in his tentacles would be versatile enough to block bullets and lift up to several hundred thousand tons, theoretically, which is why he deadpanned as the tentacles began to tear and snap. "Really?
The hellhound broke its bonds in an instant, leaving Percy with several tentacles now at half the size they used to be. She then crouched down before jumping straight up, driving Percy's body through the ceiling and flying off her back on the roof.
He landed on the roof with a grunt, before wondering aloud, "Were you always this strong."
He then heard the clashing of weapons, and looked over to see Artemis and Cheshire having it out on the other side of the roof. How they got up there he wasn't sure. He casually called out, "You good?"
Artemis looked like she was about to answer as she dodged a Sai strike, but Cheshire answered for her, "I'm pretty okay at the moment. But it's sweet of you to ask. Don't you have more pressing things to deal with."
Percy looked over at the hole he was thrown out of, half expecting Mrs. O'Leary to leap out on cue. However, when he looked down, she was no longer there.
He began to worry that she went back to Wally and the doctor, but his fears were calmed when Mrs. O'Leary came flying out of the shadow of one of the edges of the roof, grabbing Percy in her massive jaws midair before disappearing in another shadow. This actually made the two women stop fighting and look at what happened, Artemis in shock, and Cheshire in slight disappointment, "Well that was anticlimactic."
"Perseus!" Artemis called out helplessly, only to be brought back to reality as Cheshire struck again, "It's useless, no one that monster takes ever comes back."
Artemis took that information in with horror, considering Robin and M'gann were taken too, before they were interrupted again. Mrs. O'Leary popped out of the Shadows on the edge of the roof, with Percy clinging to her side, "You can't—" the disappeared into the shadowy alley below, before popping up across the street, "Get rid—" They went back into the shadows before popping up in between where Kaldur was fending off the two male assassins. "OF ME THAT EASILY!" they then went back in.
Cheshire stared along with Artemis, who smirked, "You were saying?"
Cheshire scoffed while striking at her again, "No one likes a braggart."
Meanwhile, after a slight interruption by his screaming leader on the back of a raging hellhound, Kaldur resumed fighting against the two assassins.
He was currently watching them both carefully with his water swords. They were watching him with caution as well, having learned by now that he was no laughing matter. Kaldur had maintained a steady calm demeanor in the face of two enemies, as he had experienced far worse odds during his time in the Atlantean military.
Black Spider tried getting it close with a flying leap, only for Kaldur to change his right sword into a water whip and send it to the assassin's leg. Once he had a good grip, he spun the assassin around, using his momentum against him, before letting him go to fly at Hook.
As they crashed into one another, Kaldur smirked slightly and drew reverted his whip to the blade once more, charging towards them once again, fueled with both adrenaline, and the confidence he gained from Percy's trust in him to handle this.
In the café, Wally stood awkwardly around Roquette as she neared completion. After a few moments he said, "Sooo… how are you— "
"Shut up." She said simply.
"Got it."
Percy, having shadow traveled before, was confident that he could stay attached to Mrs. O'Leary's hide, as they went at breakneck speed through the shadow realm. Popping up in random places in the street, as well as random countries in between. However, he soon realized that his prior experience only involved one trip, after which the Hellhound would become too tired to continue. He hadn't thought about it at the time, but her performance during the battle with the Giants was unbelievable, and incredibly difficulty if he had to guess. However now he sensed no hesitation as his pet shot in and out of the shadow dimension, and the constant speed was starting to make his head spin.
Then, after what felt like hours of the worst roller coaster ever, he noticed something new on her neck. It was colored black to blend in with the majority of her fur, so he hadn't noticed it until now. It was some sort of collar, but it looked like it had buttons and dials, and was way too bulky to be a regular collar. His eyes widened.
"I really hope this works!" He shouted to no one in particular. As the ride continued with Mrs. O'Leary trying to shake him off, as they were passing through what looked like France, he pulled Riptide out of his pocket once again. He had dropped it earlier, having no intention of using it on his dog, but now it had a use.
He slid the blade under the collar as gently as he could, however with the high speeds and wind shear, he couldn't help but nick her a few times by accident, which didn't help her mood.
Be it luck or some form of divine intervention, (He was hoping for the former) he managed to slice through the collar just as we emerged back in the street in front of the internet café. As soon as the collar came off, Mrs. O'Leary seemed to fall immediately limp and crashed down onto the street, throwing him off her back.
He landed with grunt in front of Kaldur. It took him a moment to clear his head enough to see that he had both male assassins knocked out and tied up behind him as he rushed to Percy's side, "Perseus! Are you alright?"
Percy rolled over and got up, "Yep perfectly fine, good job on these guys."
He looked back at them then at Percy, "Well… you were the one who convinced me I could do it."
Percy looked at him in confusion, "You had doubts? You were up against a gymnast with alarming fluid discharge and a low budget amputee, I knew the outcome before it even started. Have more confidence man."
He nodded to Percy, "Of course."
Percy then walked over to where Mrs. O'Leary was now out cold. Kaldur asked, "How did you defeat it?"
Percy held up the collar, that was still in his hand, "I think she was being controlled by this, as soon as I got it off her she stopped moving."
"What do you think that means?" Kaldur asked.
Percy stared at Mrs. O'Leary, as she let out a rumbling snore. "I don't have a fucking clue."
Meanwhile, Artemis was still fighting hard against her enemy. Unfortunately, she hadn't made much progress, as Cheshire was just as fast as herself, if not faster, and despite her ranged advantage, she either couldn't land a shot on the agile opponent, or was forced into close combat.
Eventually she ended up giving up on shooting and tried to pour all her focus into the next up-close encounter, this was a mistake.
As soon as Cheshire unleashed her "random" attack, (she had been expecting it) Artemis attacked first, intending to catch her off guard by lashing out with her bow instead of preparing for defense. Instead of surprising her however, Cheshire seemed to expect this, and in a single fluid motion, snatched her bow away from her and flung her towards one of the roofs vents, sending pain coursing through her body.
She shook it off however and got up, reaching for her quiver to use an arrow as a last resort weapon, only to just realize that she felt lighter. She looked towards Cheshire to see her waving a small knife in the air, while tossing the bow behind her, next to where the quiver fell after the strap was cut.
Artemis gritted her teeth and got her hands up, ready for a fist fight, causing to Cheshire to giggle. "You really think you can win? Even now?"
Artemis shrugged, "I haven't lost yet."
"I haven't started fighting yet."
Artemis wasn't sure to say back, and before she could decide, Cheshire suddenly tensed up. Out of seemingly nowhere, Artemis found Cheshire's foot driven into her midsection, causing spittle to fly out of her mouth and her to double over. Before she could fall forward, she felt Cheshire move behind her and press a knife to her throat. The reason for this turned out to be a slightly beaten and battered Perseus standing across the roof from there.
"How did you defeat the Shadowhound?" Cheshire asked curiously. In response, he tossed forward the control collar, "I swear to the gods that if is some kind of shock collar you will regret it. And she is a hellhound. My hellhound."
Artemis was still confused about that, and could tell that Cheshire was too, as she clutched Artemis a little tighter, as if hiding behind her, "I told you I'm just following orders. I didn't put the collar on the dog, but I know it's meant to control, not torment."
Percy nodded thoughtfully, "Okay then… you going to let her go?" He gestured to Artemis.
"Are you going to let me go?" Cheshire shot back."
"No." Percy admitted simply.
"Then that's a no from me as well. And don't think about using any of those abilities of yours. This mask isn't just for show, it will alert me to any funny business. I won't hesitate to kill her. "
Percy raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't have any reason to believe she was lying. He nodded in understanding. He then casually walked casually towards where Artemis' bow and arrow lay.
Cheshire pressed the knife closer to Artemis' neck, "Stop! What are you doing?"
Percy shrugged, "I may lose a teammate but her equipment could still be useful."
That had both girls speechless. "What!?" Artemis exclaimed, and Cheshire didn't bother to stop her.
Percy looked up with an eyebrow raised, "What? You're captured, if she's smart she'll take you with her as leverage and kill you when she loses us. You're pretty much dead weight now."
Artemis couldn't believe what she was hearing. After spending some time with him, she had been convinced that Percy was a caring, compassionate, individual, but now she feared his true nature was turning out to be just like the gods he claimed to hate.
To her surprise, the first person to speak about this was not her, but her captor, "Seriously? You're giving up on her? Just like that?"
Percy chuckled at that, "What do you care? You're the one threatening to kill her." As he did so, he gave the bowstring a few tests pulls before moving on to the quiver.
Cheshire seemed unsure of what to say to that, but before she could decide, Percy exclaimed, "Okay time out!"
He pulled out one of Artemis' earliest trick arrows, before she became Green Arrow's official sidekick. She felt her cheeks burn slightly as he held up the arrow with a miniature boxing glove on it, "What in Uncle Hades name is this? Seriously is this a cartoon?"
Artemis finally snapped, "I forgot to take it out alright! Now will you stop the jack ass charade and save me already?"
The roof was silent for a moment as Percy stared at her blankly, before he shrugged and said, "Yeah alright.
Before Cheshire and Artemis could react, he had the arrow nocked and aimed directly at her, and released.
Time seemed to slow down for the three, not in the Kronos way, but the oh my god that's a dramatic moment way. Artemis' face was curling up into a smile as her image of her leader was restored. Cheshire was backing the two of them up as a reflex. The arrow… was gradually getting more and more off target.
The arrow flew several feet to the right of the two girls as they watched it fly past. After a few moments of silence, Cheshire couldn't help but let out a giggle, which turned into a chuckle, which escalated into a full-on laugh, "Wow."
Percy did not give up however and kept drawing and shooting arrows from the quiver, unleashing a barrage of assorted arrows, all flying right past Cheshire and Artemis.
Said archer was watching the display with soul crushing disappointment. Of course he said he couldn't shoot his arrow to save his life, but she didn't think he was this bad.
Percy cursed as he missed again, "Curse you Apollo!"
"Are you done?" Cheshire asked curiously, "Cause to me it feels like you're done."
He shook his head and continued to fly though Artemis' arrow supply, "Na, think I'll keep trying. "
"You're more likely to hit her than me." Cheshire reasoned, "And have you forgotten that I'm pressing a knife to her neck?"
He chuckled, "Well sure but you're not going to stab her."
Artemis looked at him in disbelief, honestly not sure what to think about him anymore, while Cheshire tilted her head, "Oh? And what makes you think that? I'm a professional assassin dear, I kill people for a living."
"That's it actually," He stated as he unleashed another dozen arrows as the two. Artemis was now getting nervous as a few went inches from her face. She desperately wanted to cry out for him to stop, as it was getting embarrassing to watch, and the best he would likely do would be to put an arrow in her instead of her captor. But she kept quiet as he continued, "You're a trained assassin, you should know by now that the best place to stab someone in the neck is about three inches left and half an inch above where you have it now."
At this Artemis felt Cheshire tense behind her, though she wasn't thrilled that Percy was giving her tips on how to more efficiently kill her. Cheshire shot back, albeit the slightest bit shakily, "And how would you know that? Don't' you heroes have a thing against killing?"
He didn't even flinch, instead choosing to stare right back at her with a smirk, "Yeah they do. I don't really get it. Don't take me siding with them as lack of experience however, I've killed before. Never mortals, but monsters, other demigods…even gods. That and a separate, much less pleasant experience has gotten me very familiar with anatomy. At least, in terms of where to cut to cause pain, death, and in rare cases emergency amputation. Mostly the death and pain parts however. The way you're holding that knife, if you do strike like that there's a good chance she might survive if she gets help in time. You're just putting on a display. A bluff.
Cheshire stared at him silently, before responding, "I think you're the one that's bluffing."
Percy raised an eyebrow in amusement, "You can "think" all you want, but I know. What I don't know however is why. I mean it's been established that you're an assassin, you shouldn't have any problem with killing her."
"But it's totally fine that she does!" Artemis stated sternly and meaningfully towards Percy, who just ignored her.
"The only reason I could think of is if she means something to you. but who could mean something to a professional killer? A daughter?" Cheshire shifted, "A sister?"
"This is starting to get on my nerves." Cheshire growled out,
Percy smirked knowingly, "Translation: I just struck one. So, Artemis, what is your sister's name?"
Artemis blinked at the sudden question, but as she thought about it, her eyes began to widen. "Her name is… Jade— "
"Enough!" Cheshire shouted, "I'm bored of this, we're leaving, whether you like it or not!" She then yanked Artemis backwards, making their way to the edge of the roof, when she suddenly stopped. Artemis wasn't sure why until she saw Cheshire's mask clatter on the ground next to her, with a green arrow sticking out of the edge.
Artemis looked back at Percy to see a frightening expression on his face, made more frightening by a bright green glow coming from his eyes, he already had another arrow knocked. As our eyes met he shouted, "Now!"
Thankfully she got what he meant, and shot her head back to meet the face of her shocked captor, sending the assassin stumbling back in a daze. Artemis dashed forward a few feet before turning to see her face, and sure enough, she was met with the face of her estranged older sister, now with the addition of a small gash in her cheek where the arrow went through the mask. As soon as she was out of the way, Percy expertly fired off his arrow, which turned into a bola that wrapped around Jades arms, pressing them tight to her body. For added measure he shot out a tendril of water to wrap around her entire body, immobilizing her completely.
Artemis stared at her sister for a few more moments, before turning to Percy, "What happened to "can't shoot to save my life"?"
He shrugged as he handed her back the bow and quiver, "Not sure. I didn't plan that at all."
Artemis' eyes widened, "What? then what the hell was your plan?"
He waved his hand and another tendril of water burst out of a vent behind Jade, "I was planning to keep her distracted while I snuck this behind her. Unfortunately, she lost interest too soon, and I… reacted I guess."
"You call suddenly becoming a master archer "reacting"?" Artemis asked in disbelief
"As interesting as this is," Jade spoke up in annoyance, "I wonder if Artemis can deal with you bringing me in, and telling you everything I know, considering all the things I know about her."
Artemis flinched at this, but before she could say anything Percy spoke first, "If anyone has a problem with something that happened in her past then they'll have to deal with me." he then looked over at Artemis with a small smile, "We've all done things in our pasts that we're not proud of."
Artemis stared at him for a few more moments before nodding numbly. He then clapped his hands together, "Alright then, let's get you down to the other two and see how Roquette is doing
Turns out the doctor had finished the program during the fight, and had been waiting for the heroes to finish with Wally, who was still on guard, despite the reason for her termination becoming moot. They rounded up the subdued assassins outside the café where they could see them before gathering around the doctor inside. Mrs. O'Leary meanwhile kept snoring in the middle of the street.
Superboy was in a similar state, laid out on the café floor, oblivious to all that had transpired. With everything finally settled down, there was only one thing left to deal with.
"What happened to Robin and M'gann?" Wally asked as soon as Percy walked in.
Percy sighed, though he expected this, "I don't know where they are, but I have a good feeling that their still alive.
"A good feeling?" Wally asked incredulously, "What good is a feeling it a time like this?"
"Kid," Kaldur spoke up gently, "Have some faith, he did bring the creature down after all. Though I must ask, how did you know of the creature beforehand?"
"Do you have an idea of what happened to M'gann and Robin?" Artemis asked.
"I do." He answered firmly, "I think she shadow traveled them somewhere far away and left without them."
"Shadow travel?" Wally asked.
"Basically teleportation." He responded, "She can travel through shadows to go anywhere in the world.
"So for all we know they could have been let go above an active volcano?" Wally asked frantically.
Percy stared at him, "I could really do without your negativity dude."
"Though I do agree that it was unnecessary to bring up that image,' Kaldur said cautiously, "He has a point, they could be in danger."
"I don't they are to be honest. I just went through fifteen different places with her when she was trying to shake me off, it seemed to mostly consist of countries halfway across the world… I think she's just taking her victims somewhere else."
As if on cue, they all heard a phone ring in the back of the internet café. They all looked at each other before moving back through the café, while Kaldur stayed behind to keep an eye on the prisoners.
Percy picked up the phone and simply asked, "Hello?"
"Perseus?! Is that you?" Came a familiar voice.
"Robin?" Percy asked, while looking at the others with an I told you so look, "Where are you?"
"Well… as hard as it is to believe… we're in China."
Percy wasn't the least bit surprised by this, "You said we, who's with you?"
"Hello!" M'gann's voice came over the line, "After that thing grabbed us we both ended up in the middle of nowhere, but I managed to fly us to a nearby city. It'll take a few hours before we reach the nearest teleporter. How is everything there? Robin said you finished the program, and that it saved WayneTech data."
Percy smiled, "Good to know. We had some trouble but we managed to subdue the assassins and Mrs. O'Leary, with Roquette in one piece, Superboy's still out but he should be fine, I think."
"Mrs. O'Leary?" Robin asked.
"Right sorry, she's the thing that sent you China, she's my dog from my old universe.
"…what?" they both asked
"Long story. Anyways I should probably let Wally talk to you, as he is tapping my shoulder at a hundred miles a minute, here he is," He gave the phone back to the anxious speedster, and made his way back to where Kaldur was waiting. "So what now? This is my first official "villain" take down, so I assume we have to do a little more than call the cops to come get them."
Kaldur nodded, "I contacted to League and reported our success. They will send somebody to come retrieve them.
Percy nodded tot him and made his way outside, loosely aware of Artemis following him, but not before scooping up the torn off pieces of his tentacles.
As he walked out the door, his eyes locked on to Jade, "No."
Before the girl could even look up, he had sent a tendril of water to surround her again, causing her to groan in annoyance, "What gives? Are you really that scared of me? or are you maybe into this sort of thing…"
Percy once again ignored her and willed the water to untie her bonds, bringing the rope into view to see that she had almost completely cut through the rope. He then had the water force her hands into view to reveal that she had been doing it with her own nails, which had some sort of sharpened metal nail extensions. Jade simply smirked as she had been caught, "What? Selina isn't the only cat allowed to have claws."
Percy rolled his eyes and approached with the tentacle piece, using it to tie her up instead. When he was done he backed up and examined his work, before nodding in satisfaction.
He went to go check on Mrs. O'Leary again, when he heard Jade say, "I hope you're ready little sis, when I start talking, I wonder how your little friends will start to see you."
Percy looked back at Artemis and noticed the look of doubt on her face. He rolled his eyes and walked back to take her hand. "Come with me.
Artemis' face grew red as she felt herself get pulled by her leader towards the gigantic mastiff creature.
He crouched down in front of her head, examining the new white markings on her fur. Artemis stood a few feet away, still unsure of a creature, until Percy looked back at her, "She's a sleep, come closer."
Usually, if she were commanded to do something like that by any other guy, she would have physically expressed her thoughts on the matter, but with Percy, she could practically feel the lack of ill will in his words, and did as she was told.
Once she was crouched down he gestured to the dog, "Meet Mrs. O'Leary."
Artemis tentatively touched the creatures nose, causing it to scrunch up and sniff, sending a gust of wind into the girl's face, blowing her hair back behind her.
She shook her head and sighed, "What is this about?"
Percy leaned back and allowed himself to sit down as he stroked Mrs. O'Leary's fur. "When I was 15, I led an army of demigods into a war."
Artemis raised an eyebrow at this, but kept quiet, waiting for him to continue, "One of the missions in this war was for me and one of my friends to sneak on an enemy ship and destroy it. long story short, we did. We killed every monster… and demigod on that ship, my friend included."
Artemis winced, "I'm sorry— "
"I know, that's not the point," He said, "The demigods we… I helped to kill, were all my age, some younger, some a little older. For demigods 16 is considered basically adulthood, but in truth, they were just kids, who had to grow up way too fast. Kids whose lives I took way too soon, because they were led astray by someone who promised them peace."
Artemis looked away, "So you're trying to make me feel better by telling me the worst thing you've done?"
Percy actually snorted, causing her to look back and see a dry smile on his face, "Oh please, I've done way worse things than that. Truth is I barely think about it anymore. Do you know why?"
Artemis only looked at him until he said, "Because it's in the past. And I don't mean that anything you did in the past should be excused, but that no matter what you did in your past, willingly or not, it's who you're striving to be now that really matters. Understand?"
Artemis nodded slowly, prompting him to stand up and offer her a hand up, "Also, you're definitely not alone in the family drama department. The majority of the people I've fought are related to me in some shape or form."
Artemis whistled, "That sounds awkward."
He chuckled, "Oh yeah, family reunions are hell… hehe." Artemis looked at him strangely as he snickered at his own inside joke, before they made their way back towards the cafe. Unbeknownst to them, Jade was watching the exchange closely, and noticed the look of relief on her sister's face as they walked back.
She couldn't help but smile.
Percy POV
I sighed as flew back to the cave on Blackjack. Beside me floated Mrs. O'Leary on a bed of water, still out cold. The day had been long, and confusing, and it wasn't helping that he was being interrogated about it by Blackjack.
How did they get her? how did she even get here?
"I don't know," I growled out for the hundredth time, "I'm just as lost as you dude."
"I highly doubt that. What happened to her fur by the way? Not saying the contrast doesn't work, but I can't imagine why anyone would want to ruin a good thing. You know the saying, once you go black— "
"Oh, look we're here!" I interrupted him as we flew down towards the hangar opening in Mount Justice. He simply snorted in annoyance.
Landed in a trot beside M'gann's ship, allowing me to jump off and tend to Mrs. O'Leary as I gently set her on the ground. As I did so I heard the elevator ding, and turned to see Wally, Artemis, and Kaldur, along with Batman, Green Arrow, and Black Canary. Robin and M'gann were still making their way through China.
They all approached me cautiously, except for Batman, who walked ahead at his usual pace with no trace of worry.
He stood above me while I knelt next to her, petting her gently. The others stopped a couple yards away as he asked, "So this is your dog?"
I snorted, "Yep."
"I'm sorry," Green Arrow spoke up, "But how in god's name is that a dog?"
"She's a Hellhound," Batman spoke up, moments before I was going to, "A monster from your underworld, correct?"
I nodded to him, "Hellhounds are creatures of darkness, created by Nyx herself. Everyone one of them I've encountered have wanted nothing more than to rip me to shreds and devour me, except for her. Also, she's one of the largest I've ever seen."
"So, you domesticated her somehow?" Black Canary asked, only for me to shake my head.
"She was actually passed down to me. Daedalus was the one who trained her, how though I have no idea." I looked at the others and saw that that just opened up a whole round of questions, for those who hadn't seen inside my head, so I quickly added, "It's a long story. Are the assassins taken care of?"
"They've been taken to a proper facility to be interrogated." Batman explained. "You all did good work detaining them."
"Wait a second, you can't just change the subject just like that!" Green Arrow protested. "We still have a lot of questions, like why your dog was working for assassins! How do we know she won't attack when she wakes up?"
I rolled my eyes at him, "Honestly? I'm not sure. But she went unconscious as soon as I took off some kind of electronic collar. I'm not sure if it's possible, but I think she was being mind-controlled by it."
"It's definitely possible," Wally said thoughtfully, "Probable too."
"But it cannot hurt to be cautious," Kaldur added. "She was obviously not in her right mind when she attacked us, it might be wise to detain her until she wakes up."
I smiled at him, "I see where you're coming from Kaldur, but no. I know her, she'll be fine."
Not everyone seemed convinced, but no one pressed the subject. Instead Black Canary asked, "Should we try to move her somewhere more comfortable then?"
I nodded, "Soon, but not until..." I trailed off as the elevator dinged again, "That."
Superboy, now conscious, came out with Tyson, with a hand covering his eye. The confused Cyclops wondered aloud, "Are we there yet?"
Superboy rolled his eyes, obviously having heard this several times, before looking at me, "I brought him, what now?"
I smiled widely, "Let him see."
Superboy nodded and uncovered Tyson's eye, letting him look around in confusion for a moment before his eye snapped to where Mrs. O'Leary.
He stared at her in shock for a moment, while I quickly stood up and silently moved everyone out of the way so he had a clear path to her, ignoring their questioning glances. They soon understood when he bolted towards her, growing in size as he did so, so that her size matched his. He threw himself down next to her to look over her worriedly, with slight tears of joy forming in his eye, before he wrapped the sleeping hellhound in a warm embrace, crying gently, "I missed you!"
I gave him a few minutes to hold her before he finally looked up, "How did you find her? I didn't know she came with us "
I nodded, "Neither did I. unfortunately she was being used by some bad people— "
"WHAT?!" He shouted, causing everyone in the room to flinch, "Who? They should be taught what happens when you steal other people's dogs!"
I chuckled darkly and nodded, "Don't worry I agree, but first let's just focus on making sure she's okay."
He nodded in agreement and went back to fussing over her while I looked at Batman. "You don't plan on stopping me, do you?"
The Dark Knight hummed in thought, "The League of Shadows is a powerful organization, known to cause trouble for even the most powerful members of the Justice League. I can work on finding you missions concerning them, but to take them head on would not go well. There's a reason none of us has been able to fully defeat them so far."
I nodded, trying my best not to snort as I knew what "the reason" was. However, those thoughts left when I looked to see Tyson with a scared look on his face as he held his ear next to Mrs. O'Leary's chest. "Tyson? What's wrong?"
He looked up at me with concern. "Why isn't she waking up?"
I shrugged, "When I took her collar off she just fell asleep, I assumed she was exhausted."
He shook his head, "If she was really asleep her heart wouldn't be beating so fast."
I raised an eyebrow and went to see what he was talking about. I pressed my ear to Mrs. O'Leary's chest, and sure enough, her heart was beating abnormally fast, as if she was filled with adrenaline, despite the fact that she was completely limp.
"Something's wrong with her!" I concluded.
"Should we take her to a vet or something?" Artemis asked helplessly.
I shook my head as I looked at the spot on the back of her neck where I nicked her with Riptide, the wound was spilling a bit of monster dust. "That won't work. She may look like a dog but I doubt that anything they could do would work."
Batman walked forward and scraped some of the dust up with his finger, inspecting it closely, "Is this here blood?"
I wasn't sure how to answer, "Whenever a monster like her gets killed, they instantly explode into that stuff, before they start to reform in Tartarus. They leave behind a dust pile ,with no bones or organs in the mix."
Batman nodded and continued to examine it. It might have been my imagination, but for a moment I thought it was glowing slightly.
"Perhaps we should consult a master of the mystic arts." Kaldur spoke up. "Perhaps they could shed better light."
I was uncertain, "I doubt they've ever seen something like her, she's from another universe after all."
Kaldur nodded, "True, but my understanding of magic is that it is much like science. When one becomes knowledgeable in all its concepts, they can use them to explain something previously unknown."
"Unfortunately, we only know a few individuals with that level of knowledge, who have not been corrupted by the power that comes with it," Batman explained, "Zatanna is currently occupied with the demon problem and Constantine is off the grid, again."
I deadpanned, "You only named two people…"
"I told you we only know a few. There's one more I can think of who might be able to help, but he's been out of the game for years now, it'll take a while to track him down. Unless you'd rather wait until Zatara returns— "
"No!" Tyson exclaimed, causing everyone to look at him in surprise. He soon realized his rudeness and blushed, "Sorry, it's just… I want to know what's wrong, as soon as possible."
"All right then," Batman stated, before turning around and heading back to the elevator, "I'll begin the search. In the meantime, try to relax, you did good work today."
Most of the teens beamed at the praise, but I had other things on my mind and turned to Tyson, "Can you take care of her for now?"
He nodded firmly, "I'll try singing to her, that's worked to calm her down before."
I blinked, momentarily stuck on the thought of hearing Tyson sing for the first time. It was enough to make me consider staying, but I quickly shook myself out of it and rushed to catch Batman in the elevator. He didn't say a word as I joined him right before the doors closed.
Now, regular elevator rides between two people are awkward enough. It only gets worse when one is dressed up like a bat while remaining unflinchingly serious about it.
After a moment I spoke up first, "Did you know about Artemis?"
"What about her?"
I rolled my eyes, taking that as a definite yes, but deciding to play along, "How about the fact that one of the assassins we apprehended turned out to be her sister?"
Batman was silent for a good minute, probably deciding what to say, before answering, "She had an unfortunate childhood. Both her parents were assassins for hire, and she was raised accordingly, along with her sister. It was a miracle she chose the good side, obviously there were other paths she could have taken."
I nodded, "Yeah…. So, the whole "Green Arrow's niece" ting was a lie?"
"Oh no, that part is true."
I looked at him in disbelief, "Was that supposed to be a joke?"
He looked at me in confusion, before apparently realizing I had called his bluff. He smirked, "impressive. There are very few people who can detect when I'm lying. I've even managed to fool Superman from time to time."
I shrugged, "Yeah well, monsters like to sneak up on me a lot in human form. It pays to be able to see the bullshit. Anyways, enough changing the subject. Were you ever going to tell us?"
"Probably not." He answered simply, "We didn't think it was necessary information in the long run, and Artemis herself never seemed comfortable discussing it. Is that a problem?"
I shrugged as the doors opened to the main floor, and followed him out, "I guess not. We're all entitled to secrets, but when Cheshire tried to use it as leverage against her, and by the look on her face, it might have worked. Those types of secrets are dangerous to keep."
Batman was thoughtful about this as we made our way to the briefing room, "You're right. However, in the end it will be her choice. Robin already knows by the way, he researches everyone, a habit I drilled into him."
I snorted, not all surprised by that, "How long do you think it will be before you find your "magic master"?"
"Couple hours," he answered, "Depends on if he wants to be found or not. "
He typed some coordinates into the teleporter, while I sighed loudly, "Five drachmas say he'll not."
Batman flashed me one more smirk, "If so, I'll just have to find him anyways." With that final promise, he teleported off to wherever he goes to lurk alone.
That left me with several options, all of which began stripping off my armor and taking a nice warm shower before anything else.
Like most people, I often had some of my best ideas in the shower, of course it helped that all of my thoughts were much clearer under the downpour. I found myself wondering just how Mrs. O'Leary made it to our world. For one thing, the fates never mentioned even sending Tyson with me when I came here. Though it stands to reason that if he was here, Mrs. O'Leary wasn't so hard to believe, as she was also in the vicinity. It made me wonder if anything else could have made it through. So far we had all appeared in different places in the world…
I shoved the thought down. as amazing as it would be, Ella was dead before the fates did whatever they did, so I assumed she and dad were already beginning their reformation in Tartarus.
Speaking of which, I was still uncertain if there was a Tartarus in this dimension. Though in a way I guess Tartarus was its own dimension… just thinking about it all made my head hurt, though the water helped soothe the headache.
I got so wrapped up in my thoughts that hours passed by before I realized it. I quickly turned the water off and got out of the shower, wrapping a towel around my waist as I went to get dressed. I was wondering if Robin and M'gann were back yet, when my answer came in the form of M'gann opening the door suddenly with an excited look on her face, "Percy, you have to come—"she froze when she realized the state I was in, bare chested, water glistening off me, as I hadn't willed it to disperse yet, and my scars in plain view.
Her green cheeks gradually turned scarlet before she slammed the door, "SORRY!"
I sighed and willed the water to disperse so I could get dressed. Once I was done I opened the door to find the Martian girl still beside herself with embarrassment. I asked with mild annoyance, "Why didn't you knock?"
She winced, "I know I should have, I was just excited and forgot myself for a moment. On Mars we know instantly if it's okay to open or not so we don't bother with announcing ourselves. I'm really sorry!"
I felt my annoyance slip away, "It's alright, I forgive you. just don't let it happen again." I then chuckled, "Imagine if it was Tyson you walked in on instead of me."
I expected her to laugh, if only slightly, instead her blush only deepened, something I took note of but didn't bring up, "So what did you want to tell me?"
Her eyes brightened, "I wanted to show you! Come on!"
I shrugged and followed her through the halls, before she led me down the steps to the forge. I was confused, as usually she avoids that place like the plague, due to the heat, but now it seemed the heat was gone, replaced with the coolness of the rest of the cave.
We stopped at the end of the steps, where Robin, Kaldur, Superboy, and Artemis sat as well, looking in the forge silently. It wasn't until I heard it that I understood.
I walked down to see Tyson sitting next to Mrs. O'Leary in the forge. How he got her down there was beyond me, but I've learned not to question him. The lava pit was covered up, and he was petting the hellhound slowly, still in his large form so he could better handle her. As he did so, he was softly singing to her in a weird language I didn't recognize, but felt familiar with for some reason.
I realized with a start that he was singing in the language of the old time. The one that Kampe spoke, and that Tyson instinctively understood somehow. That was not what had everyone enthralled however, instead it was the fact that he was singing so beautifully.
Tyson usually spoke in a deep baritone voice, that didn't always match up with his childlike innocence, but now he had shifted up a few octaves to sound more pleasant, and could likely go even higher if he wished. I shouldn't have been surprised by this, as I had seen him perfectly imitate a wide variety of voices with creepy accuracy. The fact that he had perfect control of his voice in any given situation was fitting.
"What language is that?" Superboy asked, "I don't recognize it."
"You wouldn't." I explained, "It's the Ancient tongue, the language used by Gaea and her children at the beginning of earths creation. It's rarely used nowadays, but all Cyclopes know it from birth."
"It's beautiful…" M'gann stated, as she stared wistfully at my brother. I raised an eyebrow at this, but again decided to shelve it for another time.
I listened for another few moments, before asking, "Why are you hiding by the way?"
"We didn't want to disturb him, or make him stop." Artemis explained.
"But he knows you're here." I stated, gaining confused looks.
"What do you mean? He hasn't acknowledged us." Wally stated cockily.
I hummed with interest before whispering, "Hey Tyson!"
He stopped singing and looked back at me, "Yes?"
The others practically fell forward in embarrassment as I walked forward, "How is she?"
He looked at her sadly, "I've managed to slow her heart rate down with my singing, but it starts back up as soon as I stop. I'm afraid… if her heart keeps up that pace for too long with no rest, it might give out from the stress. I'm honestly surprised she's lasted this long…" He then continued singing while I looked at Mrs. O'Leary with concern. At least I know why he didn't acknowledge the others now.
"Batman said he would find someone to help soon. Until then, are you sure you can keep this up? You look kind of tired."
He looked at me with determination, "I'll be fine. I wouldn't be able to sleep anyways with her like this, although…. It's a little embarrassing with the others staring at me like that."
I nodded in understanding, "Alright then. I'll leave you to her, and I'll make sure the others don't bother you."
He blushed, "Sorry…
"Don't be, and I'm sure you know this, but they're only watching cause they like your singing. You don't need to feel embarrassed."
He nodded, though the blush didn't leave, so I only patted him on the back, as high up as I could reach in his giant form and walked back to the others.
"Shows over," I stated, shooing them up the stairs, "Come on."
"Oh, come on!" Wally and Artemis whined in unison, before looking at each other with amused looks.
I shook my head, "Let him be alone for now." They reluctantly wandered back up the stairs, I even saw something akin to a pout on Kaldur's face. M'gann was the last one to leave.
"Are you sure he's okay all alone?" She asked.
I smiled, "He has Mrs. O'Leary. He'll be fine."
The Martian girl finally relented and floated up the stairs.
I joined them to find Batman standing in front of them, with a look on his face that I didn't like. "Come with me."
We followed him to the briefing room where a picture of an old man with a cane was shown. "This is Kent Nelson, otherwise known as Doctor Fate."
"Of course," Kaldur muttered, "He was earths sorcerer supreme…"
"He was." Batman agreed, "Back in the days of the Justice Society of America. He eventually retired, and has been living a normal life, or at least as normal as a 106-year-old magician can get."
"And you think he will be able to figure out what's wrong with Mrs. O'Leary?" I asked.
"I do." Batman replied, "Unfortunately he is currently missing."
I groaned, "So we're back to square one?"
"Not necessarily. Kent may just be holed up in his tower of Fate, his base of operations it's happened before, but the only way to know for sure is to go look." He drew a strange golden key from his pocket, "This key will grant access to the tower. I need you all to go and check on him. Of course, we need him from Mrs. O'Leary, but it is also important to know if he or the tower has been compromised. The tower guards the Helmet of Fate, and if it falls into the wrong hands— "
"Let me guess: disastrous consequences? Possibly world ending?" I interrupted. This was beginning to sound a little too much like another fetch quest for my liking."
Batman wasn't fazed by my attitude however, "All of those things and more. I know you all just finished one mission, so you have the option to rest before going."
I shook my head, "I can't wait that long, Tyson said her condition is already iffy," I looked around at the others, "I will be going, but I understand if you guys stay back and rest. I mean— "
"Nonsense." Kaldur interrupted, "Respectfully, nonsense. you're are leader, our teammate, as well as our friend. We won't let you go alone. Right?" he was met by a chorus of agreement.
"She might have sent M'gann and I to china," Robin laughed, "But if she's important to you she's important to us too."
Wally laughed "Yeah and besides, everyone knows sleep is for the weak." I held in a snort at the irony in that comment.
I smiled warmly at them. "Thank you." I looked back at the Bat, "Where is the tower?"
Later, Salem Massachusetts
As we walked through the quiet town of Salem in our civvies, I couldn't help but shiver. I don't get cold easy, having survived the frigid depths of the ocean, but something about this town just didn't sit right with me.
I wasn't sure what it was until Artemis spoke up, "Anyone else super creeped out?"
"Oh thank god, I'm not the only one" Wally sighed, "Do you think it's always like this?"
"Perhaps it's just our imaginations?" Kaldur suggested.
"I heard this was a place of great suffering for magic users," M'gann spoke up, "Why would Dr. Fate set up here?"
"Well think about it." Robin spoke up, "Fate would probably prefer that people not hate magic users. What better way to do that than to win over the heart of the hatred itself?"
I shook my head, "What are you talking about? What happened here?"
Everyone stopped and looked at me, "You never heard of the Salem witch trials?" Artemis asked, more out of confusion than rudeness.
As a matter of fact, I had, but it had been so long that I had forgotten all about it. I made an O look with my face, "Oh right… sorry, it's been a while since my last history class."
They all just accepted it and we move don. We were heading to a certain park in the middle of the city. When we arrived, I was expecting to see the so called "Tower of Fate", but instead was met with an empty lot of grass."
I blinked as we all stared at the definite lack of a tower. "So… are we in the wrong place or…"
"No… this is the right place," Robin assured us, looking at the address on his phone. I guess it is a magic base."
"So, what… we have to say some kind of incantation?" Wally asked skeptically.
"Perhaps not,' Kaldur stated, asking me for the key. I gave it to him and he walked forward, "Perhaps it simply requires a show of faith."
We all watched as he walked forward with the key in front of him, as if he were about to unlock a door. I wasn't sure what he was thinking, until the end of the key disappeared.
Suddenly, an enormous stone tower appeared in front of us, with the key inside the door lock.
"Okay, magic tower it is…." Robin muttered.
"Please!" Wally explained, "So it was in camouflage mode, that doesn't mean it's magic."
I rolled my eyes, "Don't tell me you're on the whole "No such thing as magic" thing again are you?"
M'gann frowned, "Even on mars we have a healthy respect of our sorcerers and priestesses, do you really believe it's all a lie?"
Wally stiffened, before rubbing his head, "Well… no! I just like to be skeptical, so the fakes won't make the authentics look bad you know?"
"Smooth." Robin chuckled, earning an elbow to the ribs form the speedster.
I shook my head at their antics, and followed Kaldur into the building.
There was a collective gasp as we entered, as the pace inside revealed itself to be several times larger than what Wesaw outside. Above us sprawled several layers of stairs going in every and any direction with no thought to logic. "Still worried it's not real magic?" Artemis quipped, earning a dirty look from Wally.
We entered the lavish room, only for the door to disappear behind us. "Uh… is that supposed to happen?" Superboy asked.
Before we could answer, a holographic image of Kent appeared in front of us, "Greetings, you have entered with a key, but the tower does not recognize you. Please state your purpose and intent."
I was about to answer when Wally beat me to it. "We are true believers, here to find Doctor Fate." I could actually hear the fakeness in his voice.
The hologram smiled and I sighed in exasperation. "Great. Now you've set off the trap."
"What trap?" M'gann asked. a moment later the floor beneath us disappeared, letting us fall into a pit of boiling lava. As we fell I cried out, "THAT ONE!"
M'gann quickly caught Robin and did her best to hold him aloft, but I could tell the heat was already getting to her, so she struggled with even that. Kaldur was caught by Artemis, who happened to have some kind of grappling device handy. Robin performed a similar stunt while Superboy managed to grab the side of the wall and dig his fingers in to slow his descent. I was not so lucky.
Since I was standing more in the middle, I wasn't close enough to any of the walls to grab on. I let out one more curse as I plunged straight into the lava pit.
Now, I had experienced lava before, back at Mt. St. Helens, when the Telkhines threw it at me, as well as the following explosion, but being submerged in it was an entirely different story. Somehow it still wasn't the most pain I'd ever felt, but it was up there. I knew instantly that I wouldn't last long, even with my natural resistance.
Luckily, I was only in for a moment before a strong hand grabbed me and pulled me out. I cried out as Superboy hoisted me out of the molten rock, wincing as his own feet dipped into the pit. "it's alright! He's alive… somehow."
"We need to get out of here fast!" Kaldur explained, "M'gann and I's physiologies cannot withstand such heat."
I opened my mouth to suggest something, ignoring the pain that came with even a movement as small as that, but it seemed I didn't have to, as I suddenly felt myself being hoisted into the air. I looked down to see what appeared to be solid darkness wrapped around my waist, as well as the waists of all my other teammates.
I was unceremoniously dumped on the ground at the top of the pit, but didn't care as I relished the escape from the heat. I found myself on my hands and knees as I struggled to catch my breath, before I became aware of a pair of black shoes in front of my face.
I slowly looked up to see our savior, and found myself staring as I realized that it was the same cloaked figure I saw under the bridge in Metropolis.
Most of her body was covered in the purple cloak, save her shoes. The cloak was held together by a round, gold clasp with a red crystal in it. From my view, I had a pretty clear view of her face. It was astonishingly pale, a lot like Nico, but unlike him, her cheeks weren't sunken. She seemed to have an almost healthy glow about her. judging by her face I'd say she was around 16-17. I couldn't see her hair, but she had dark blue eyes, framed by an elegant facial structure, and they were staring straight at me.
As if all of this wasn't weird enough however, as she stared at me, her face seemed locked in a look of despair, as a steady stream of tears that rolled down her cheeks.
I found myself staring for several moments, before a cool breeze alerted me to something even more alarming: the lava had burned my clothes, leaving me stark naked.
Chapter 8!
Well there you go, if you haven't guessed who she is from the description I'm sure someone will say it in the reviews. I thought it would be nice to introduce her now, both because the timing seemed right and also it's my birthday today!
As you can probably guess, things are going to start to deviate more and more from the young justice storyline, aside from just adding Percy. I will be adding more characters like this in the future, as well as switching up pairings to suit my wishes. I'll also try to add some of my own missions here and there, but it's honestly much easier to follow the series loosely, and ultimately less likely to confuse. I won't ruin this fic just to prove something to myself, or anyone else for that matter.
The Raven/Percy pairing will be underway… eventually. Of course he won't hook up with a girl he just met, especially since he's still so emotionally unstable. In the meantime, many women will take an interest in him in a much less emotional sense, and try as heh might, the godly side of him might not always be able to resist…
Anyways love you all. Bye.