Would anyone mind if I changed Superboy's first name from Conner to something else? I don't feel that the name is particularly important now, since in the show it was given by M'gann as part of their relationship progression I guess, but I know it's his name in the comics too, but I have a really neat Idea, so unless you convince me otherwise it'll be something else. His last name will still be Kent though.

Percy POV

Since I had arrived in the new universe, I had gotten into the habit of not sleeping anymore. I knew that it wasn't healthy, but every time I drifted off, it was like I was relieving those years, that day. But after a week or so I realized that I wasn't feeling any bad effects whatsoever. I was confused about this but decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth, Once I learned I had Ichor running through my veins, I decided to chalk it up to that.

Now unfortunately, I had somehow found myself back in the realm of Hypnos, with no idea how I got there. I didn't take the time to try and remember, as I was too busy clinging to my sanity as all the horrific images for my past flashed around me over and over again.

That's why I let out a sigh of relief as I awoke, covered in sweat. Sweat was never much of a problem for me, I could dissipate it with no problem, though the smell sometimes remained.

This thought ran through my brain as I looked around to see that I was back in my room in Mount Justice, alone.

I swung my legs off the bed and threw off my blanket, revealing that I had slept entirely naked.

This was confusing, because even when I did sleep, I always wore a pair of briefs at least. I strained to remember what had happened before I went to sleep… and then I did.

I half-hazardly threw on a pair of shorts and T-Shirt and rushed out of the room. I ran full speed through the Mountain, not seeing anyone until I reached the living room, where I was met with the sight of Superboy, wearing similar attire and holding a bowl of cereal as he watched TV. He looked up at me with an eyebrow raised as I pounded into the room, "Morning."

I looked at him in confusion "But we were… it was night, in Massachusetts!"

He shrugged, "It was."

I leaned against the door frame for support as I tried to figure out what's happening, "Did I pass out?"

"Something like that."

I felt my eye begin to twitch, "Mind actually explaining to me what happened instead of those annoying ass answers?"

He actually seemed to consider it for a moment before shrugging again, "Sure."

The last thing I remembered was being furious at Nabu for imprisoning me, and attacking the others. Superboy filled me on what happened after I exploded.

"Wow…" I found myself taking a seat next to the clone as I mulled over what he had told me. I was relieved to learn that the Helmet was placed somewhere in the mountain for safe keeping, but mostly I was just bewildered, "I can honestly say I never became water before."

"Fits with your whole "son of Poseidon" thing." Superboy commented, "You found out about the earthquakes recently, it isn't hard to believe there's more to be discovered."

I shook my head in disbelief, "Okay sure but actually becoming water then reverting? How does that even make sense? Even with magic I have trouble wrapping my head around it!"

Superboy had an amused expression as he continued to watch TV next to me. I then looked over at the kitchen and saw the time on the microwave, it said it was 4 in the morning.

I raised an eyebrow, "Geeze, no wonder no one else is up." I glanced at Superboy in curiosity, "Why are you?"

"I only sleep about 5 hours at a time," He answered simply, "Sometimes not at all. I guess it has to do with my Kryptonian DNA, though I bet Superman doesn't have to sleep at all…"

I sighed as he ate his cereal angrily, "You really need to stop comparing yourself to him."

He froze mid bite and looked at me, "My name is Superboy. How can I not?"

I shrugged, "Get a new name then. Choose one for yourself."

He blinked, apparently having not considered that. After a moment he asked, "But… how do I choose?"

"I don't know, choose something that sounds good? Bottom line it's either that or being called Superboy for the rest of your life, and I'm guessing you don't want that."

He nodded slowly, "Okay."

I clapped him on the shoulder as I stood up, "Now then, did Mrs. O'Leary wake up yet?"

He shook his head, "We left her to sleep in the hanger for the time being, though I think Tyson was talking about making her her own room or something. He's down in that water cave he made by the way, working on bringing your ship in.

I winced at that, "At this hour? I get that you don't sleep but I know for a fact that he's near impossible to wake up sometimes."

"He was too worried I guess, waiting for Mrs. O'Leary and you to wake up, so he wanted to do something "Useful". You gonna go see them?"

I nodded, "I'll see Tyson first, let him know I'm alright, then he and I can go check on the dog. You want to come with?"

He waved his hand, "I'll pass. You guys tend to get a little too mushy for my taste."

I chuckled, "There's nothing wrong with a little brotherly love. You should get used to it, I'm pretty sure Tyson thinks of you as part of the family by now."

This caused the boy of steel to start, "What? But I— "

"Dude don't question it, the big guy has a big heart, that's all that can really be said."

Superboy didn't argue with that and I left to go find the aforementioned cyclops.

I made my way down through the forge area to the long tunnel that led to his new installment. I was more than grateful that he thought to do this for me. having a sea entrance will be useful in more ways than getting my ship in and out. I also knew that he was working very hard lately, almost too hard. Any outsider looking in might get the wrong idea and think I'm treating him like a slave or something, but the only reason I don't tell him to slow down is that I know it's his way of coping. Sooner or later he will have to take a breather and confront his emotions, but when that day comes, I don't have the faintest idea how I will be able to help him.

I emerged from the tunnel to see the enormous cavern, now complete with a sunken pirate ship on the far-right side of the cave. As of now there were only outcroppings of rock allowing me to walk along the sides of the room. Sooner or later some kind of docks will have to be built.

The frigate that we found was just as torn up as when we found it. It had massive holes in its hull so only the masts were out of the water, which was fine with me. I really wanted to go and take a good look at it, but Tyson came first. Unfortunately, he was nowhere to be seen, until a loud noise caught my attention.

I turned to the left and tensed up as I saw a boulder being rolled away. It reminded me a little too much of Polyphemus' home, but I forced myself to relax when Tyson stepped out. I made my way over to him as he rolled it shut.

"Hey Tyson!" I called to him, causing him to jump five feet into the air, literally, before slowly turning to look at me like a deer in headlights. "Brother? You're awake!"

I gave him a small smile, "Yeah… what's in there?"

He looked at me in confusion so I gestured to the closed hole in the wall, "Oh that? Uh… it's nothing important. Just… somewhere I go to be alone!"

I raised an eyebrow at that. He was already alone way more than I'd like, with the missions, and all the time he spends in the forge, but I trusted him enough not to worry about it, "Alright… hey thanks for bringing the ship in! I really appreciate it."

He waved me off, a noticeable look of relief on his face, "It was nothing! Just let me know when you're ready to start working on it!"

I winced, having not been looking forward to the next sentence, "Actually big guy, I was wanting to work on this one alone."

I felt a pang in my chest as his excited look turned to one of hurt. "Oh… you don't want my help?"

I waved my hands, "It's not that at all man! I know with your help I could get it done in a single day! But I was actually looking forward to taking my time with it you know?"

Tyson looked down, "I… okay. If that's what you want…"

I put a hand on his shoulder, "Don't be like that man. I know you only want to help but you've done more than enough. Maybe you can work on some other project in the meantime, something just for yourself," I noticed a thoughtful look in his eye, "Also, I may be okay with rebuilding the ship to its former glory, but once I'm done, I'm probably going to want to give it a few "upgrades", if you catch my meaning. Will you help me again then?"

He still seemed a bit put out, but cheered up a little as I added that last bit, "Okay."

I threw an arm around his shoulder and started leading him to the entrance, "That's the spirit! Now come on, I want to go check on Mrs. O'Leary."

With that Tyson was back to his cheerful self and happily walked with me back to the hanger above. As we walked, he talked animatedly about all that had happened after I passed out. I had already heard it all from Superboy, but I was more than happy to listen.

We stepped out of the elevator slowly, looking all around for the Hellhound, as she was not laying in them idle of the room like she was supposed to have been.

"Looks like she woke up." I commented, While Tyson nodded in agreement. "But where did she go?"

Though neither of us said it, we were both thinking the same fears: that she had shadow traveled away to gods knows where, or worse, back to the people that had captured her.

Our fears were extinguished however, when I suddenly found myself making friends with the floor, while a heavy weight kept me pinned to the ground, and something very large sniffed the back of my head happily. I laughed wearily, "Please tell me that's her."

Tyson sighed, "Tsk, Mrs. O'Leary you know you're too heavy to be jumping on people!" He quickly pushed her off of me so I could get up and turn to her.

I couldn't help but smile at the familiar loving eyes of my favorite canine. The rage in her eyes were now gone, returning her to normal look, give or take a few white bits in her fur. I eagerly began to pet her, "Hey there girl! Where have you been?"

Tyson answered for her, "She came from the ceiling, I think she was clinging to it with her claws."

I raised an eyebrow. I didn't think her claws were strong enough for that, but didn't question it as her tongue rolled out as I vigorously scratched her favorite spot between her shoulders, "Silly girl! What were you doing on the ceiling huh?"

She responded by giving my front a good lick, drenching me in her saliva that for the life of me I couldn't will away. "Gross! Geeze… I guess some things never change… it would be a little easier if you were normal sized though."

It was something I mused about every time I was with her. Of course, I was mostly joking, but unlike every other time when she just looked at me blankly, I noticed a shine in her pupils, a golden shine.

Next thing I knew, the enormous hound was gradually getting smaller. She went from towering over me to eye level in a matter of moments, while Tyson and I stared in amazement.

She only stopped when she was a couple inches taller than my waistline, near the size of regular dog. Once she was done she barked up at me happily and jumped up, putting her front paws on my chest to balance as she tried to lick my face.

I barely managed to snap out of my stupor to block the love attack before looking at Tyson, "Has she done this before when I wasn't around?" He shook his head, so I turned my attention to the now loose belt-like object that hung around her neck. It was a strip of black cloth, with ruby encrusted devices all around I . "Is this the thing that Raven gave her?"

As I crouched down to examine it, while also fending off the incessant licks from Mrs. O'Leary, he answered, "Yeah. I don't know exactly how it works, except that it's magic and it's keeping her alive. Do you think it has something to do with the shrinking?"

I hummed in thought as I examined the belt, "Maybe, honestly I have no idea. we'll just have to wait till Raven wakes up and ask her, after I say thank you of course. Is she in a guest room?"

Tyson nodded. "Yeah… she's really nice but…"

I looked at him in confusion, "But what?"

"She has a bad smell. Like a mix between Nico and a monster." I frowned at this. Tyson's nose was never wrong. He continued, "But Nico is nice, and so are Mrs. O'Leary and I, so she could be too right?"

"Of course." I told him, but I filed the information away all the same. A common trick of monsters is to start out nice so they can catch you off guard. I'd never heard of one going to this extent, but after the years I'd decided paranoia is better than being dead.

As I stood up, much to Mrs. O'Leary's displeasure, Tyson commented, "I hope she's not stuck like this. Maybe she can grow back? Mrs. O'Leary! Grow back?"

The hellhound only looked at him in confusion as he tried several different wordings to convey that he wanted her to return to her normal size. Eventually he just gave up and decided to wait for Raven.

In the meantime, we decided to head back downstairs and have breakfast with Superboy. Seeing as she could fit in the elevator now, we elected to take the hellhound with us. I was surprised when she ran inside on my first call, usually it takes a lot of persuasion to make her do anything, unless she senses that the situation is serious. She did have the attention span of a dog after all.

Superboy's expression upon seeing the shrunken down hound was comical, but he quickly regained his cool and listened to our explanation. Since it was his first time meeting her while he was awake, he was a bit cautious, letting her sniff his hand before she tackled him to the ground and began licking her face. Just the fact that she was able to knock him over was proof that she retained some of her strength even in her current form.

The rest of the morning was like that, playing with Mrs. O'Leary and telling Superboy stories about her, like the time Nico found her burying one of his summons, and the time she ate through the Ares cabin wall, since they were dumb enough to paint it with actual animal blood.

It was quite the interesting conversation, especially considering we got him to laugh, and even smile for more than five second intervals. He also took a quick liking to Mrs. O'Leary, especially since he didn't have to hold back as much when playing with her, A sentiment shared by Tyson.

We had long since finished our breakfast and were having a good time in the living room when M'gann finally made an appearance, looking slightly disheveled and yawning slightly, "You're all up already? Why do—OH!" She cut off in surprise when Mrs. O'Leary bounded up to her and began to sniff her with eagerness and curiosity. The Martian looked down at her blankly for a few moments before her it finally clicked, "Wait, is this… But she was huge!"

I chuckled at her reaction while Tyson explained the situation to her. at the end she had a look of confusion that matched what I was feeling, "So she just shrank? Out of the blue? She's never done it before?"

"That about sums it up," I responded. "To be honest I'm pretty much past the shock and awe of it all. It's hardly the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me."

Nobody could argue against that, so the room was silent for a few moments aside form Mrs. O'Leary whining pitifully at M'gann until she pet her, making full use of her smaller size to look even cuter. As she cautiously petted the hell beast, M'gann asked, "So what are you going to do? This obviously isn't normal."

"I know," I answered, "But she's fine at the moment. For now, there's not much we can do besides wait for Raven to wake up, even then we don't know if she'll have the answer."

"The answer to what?" A familiar voice asked, causing us all to look at the doorway, where Raven stood, clad in the same cloak as yesterday, but with the hood pulled down, revealing her shoulder length black hair framing her pale face. Again, my mind flashed back to Nico, if she were a couple pounds more underweight she could have been related. I ignored the thought and greeted her, "Good morning."

She eyed me for a moment before answering, "Morning… whose dog is—"She stopped mid-sentence When Mrs. O'Leary turned away from M'gann and looked at her happily, revealing the magical belt swinging from her neck like a chain necklace. "…Oh."

I laughed lightly, "Yeah, sorry to ask this when you just woke up, but do you have any idea what happened?"

Instead of answering right away she approached Mrs. O'Leary slowly, kneeling on the ground in front of the couch, extending her hand for her to smell. Surprisingly, the hellhound took her time approaching, in contrast to her running leaps at all the other.

As she did this Raven explained, "I've actually been up for about an hour. I like to take some time each morning for meditation. I would have been done sooner but I…. was distracted."

I couldn't help but smirk as I realized what she was really going to say, "Were we too loud?"

She tensed, "Sorry. I shouldn't have said anything, I'm a guest after all."

I shook my head, "No need for apologies, we should have been more conscientious. I still need to think of a way to thank you for all you've done, but until I do…"

She took the hint, "Right. How did she get like this in the first place?"

I explained what happened to her, making sure to be as detailed as possible, as I didn't know what would or wouldn't be useful, while she listened patiently. Once I was finished see spoke, "So she shrunk down when you suggested it?"

I shrugged, "I guess? It was more of a joke than anything but here we are. Tyson tried telling her to grow back but she didn't seem to understand."

"Why didn't you try?" She asked simply?

It caught me off guard for a moment, but I quickly came up with the answer, "Technically she's my dog, but most of the time she was taken care of by someone else, either a friend at camp, or Tyson. I figured as long as she's been with him, if she won't listen to him why would she listen to me?"

Raven nodded, "I see. Well, maybe you should give it a try. I have an idea of what his might be, but I can't confirm it u less you do."

I was a bit confused, but decided to roll with it and stood up, facing Mrs. O'Leary, and feeling very silly as I told her, "grow back to your original size."

Sure enough, the hellhound gave a happy bark and started growing larger and larger. I was so busy watching this in awe, that I almost forgot that we were still in the living room. I realized after a few moment, right before Raven stated, "maybe we should have done this somewhere else."

I began to panic. Her full size would likely not fit in this room. At the least she would knock some things over, at the worst she could damage the celling and herself, and potentially bring about a collapse. Without thinking I called out, "Stop!"

As soon as the word left my mouth, her growth came to a halt, leaving her slightly larger than a horse. Everyone in the room let out a collective sigh of relief.

"So, she does it when I tell her to?" I surmised.

"Seems that way," Raven answered, "I'm assuming someone explained to you what was making her so hyperactive."

I nodded with a slight shiver. I had been doing my best to not think about the possibility of another god either selling his ichor or running the League OF Shadows. The idea that I clumsily bled all over the place without realizing it was much more appealing. Raven seemed to realize what I was thinking, "This convinces me that it is in fact your ichor that was injected into her. the magical properties of your blood seems to have formed some sort of connection between the two of you, the effects of which include being able to change her size with a single command. Of course, having no experience with gods and monsters like her, I can't explain exactly why this is, or what else it could entail. It might take weeks of research just to get a complete understanding of what Mrs. O'Leary is…"

I listened intently as she spoke, and at the end I was more or less relaxed. I tested her theory more by telling the hellhound to return to dog size, which she complied to immediately, somehow faster than the first time. I then felt the belt around her neck with interest, before turning to Raven, "And this? I doubt a magic draining device is a common trinket you can get anywhere. May I ask where you got it?"

From the look of apprehension on her face, I thought she was going to say no. in the end she just said, "I acquired it through less than savory means… nothing illegal, just unpleasant...but don't worry, I can get another one, eventually."

I frowned, "Thanks, but if you had to go through "less than savory means", would you prefer if I help you get a new one?"

A hint of pink appeared on her face before she shook her head, "No I… I'll be fine. Thank you though."

I shrugged but still frowned as I sat down, while Mrs. O'Leary went off to explore the new space of the cave. "Okay then. Though, I still need to thank you somehow. So far all I've done is ask more of you. I don't suppose there's anything in particular you would want?"

Raven shook her head, "Honestly, no, and there is no need for thanks. I actually planning on heading out soon. I feel like I've abused your hospitality more than enough."

I frowned even deeper at that, and M'gann voiced what I was thinking. "That's not true! You really haven't been any trouble!"

Raven shifted her feet, "Even so, I prefer not staying in the same place for long periods of time. I get… nervous. I don't mean to be rude…"

"No I think I get it." I answered before anyone could speak up. "But before you go, Tyson and I were actually planning on going on patrol in Manhattan today— "

Tyson looked at me in confusion, "We we-?" his mouth was covered by Superboy, who seemed to be on the same page as me.

"—Would you like to come with us? We could at least treat you to a meal before you head off, and who knows, maybe I'll think of something better while we're out there. What do you say?"

Raven looked like she wanted to say No way! But also seemed to polite to do so. It was sort of amusing watching her internal battle, before she gave a weak attempt at a smile, "Okay."

I smiled widely, "Great, just give us a few moments to get ready and we'll get going."

She nodded reluctantly, as I got up and pulled a confused Tyson towards our room to get ready. Before we left though, M'gann spoke up, "Wait! What about Mrs. O'Leary?"

I turned to her, "She's well behaved, she'll just explore the cave or hang out with one of you while we're gone. If there are any… accidents, I'll take responsibility— "

"I'm not worried about that!" M'gann exclaimed, "What if one of the leaguers come while you're gone?"

I blinked, "Batman knows about Mrs. O'Leary…"

"But he doesn't know about Raven." Superboy spoke up, causing my eyes to widen, "We kind of never got around to telling him. I doubt Robin told him either. when He learns we brought an unknown into the cave, he won't be happy. No offense." He added that last part for Raven, who just shrugged in indifference.

I rubbed my temples in annoyance, "Alright… if he does show up before I get back just say it was my idea."

"But you were unconscious when we brought her in," M'gann said hesitantly, he'll want to know the full story…"

"Plus you've taken the heat for us more than enough times by now." Superboy said with determination, "If he or anyone else shows up, I'll take responsibility."

M'gann frowned at that, "W-well in that case I will too."

I sighed as the two then began a small argument about who would take the "blame" Until I finally said, "Guys! Just do it together. Besides I doubt either of you will get in trouble, Batman's really not that much of a hard ass."

That was met with several looks of "are you sure", as apparently, I was the only one that thought that. Even Raven had a skeptical look. Eventually I just gave up and left the room without a word, dragging Tyson with me.

When we left the room, He whispered, "I didn't know we were patrolling today…"

I chuckled softly, "We weren't. But if she just leaves there's a good chance we'll never see her again, and I have a suspicion I want to confirm before that happens. Do you trust me?"

He seemed offended by the question, "Always brother!"

We quickly got dressed in our alter egos. I was pleased to find that M'gann was kind enough to repair my tentacles, specifically the ones that got ripped in my fight with Mrs. O'Leary. Tyson once again pulled on his home-made jump suit attire. I've considered asking him if he wanted a more… professional looking suit, but decided against it. He only wears the suit to fit the "superhero" theme, as the cloth covering his face did little to distract from his singular eyeball, and he was practically indestructible to anything other than my sword.

We exited our room to find Raven waiting for us in the hall. I gave her a questioning look, to which she answered, "M'gann was awkward, and Superboy was quieter than me."

I sighed, "Fair enough. We were planning on taking the teleporter to Manhattan and using our own means from there. You ready?"

She nodded quickly and followed us to the teleporter room. As we walked I could feel her eyes boring into my back. Without warning I looked back at her only for her eyes to snap forward like nothing happened. I restrained a smirk before turning back forward. "So, have you ever been on patrol before?"

"Not really," she responded, "I help if I happen upon someone needing it, but usually trouble finds me first."

Tyson chuckled, "That sounds like Percy!"

I smiled back at her, "Just follow our lead then, and let me know when you're ready for lunch… wait did you eat breakfast?"

She nodded, "I had something in my room. I'm fine for now."

"Alright then." I turned to look forward, "Let's get started."

Later

Patrol went even better than I thought it did. As soon as we arrived in Manhattan, we briefed Raven about Tyson's super senses and let him lead us towards the bad guys. I had left Blackjack behind this time, choosing instead to either walk, run, or traverse with my tentacles, which I could use to launch and crawl my way around the city at speeds that astounded even me, though I quickly noticed that it creeped out any civilians that saw it, and I couldn't blame them. I decided to save it for chasing the bad guys if I could.

Raven eventually offered to lift Tyson and I up with her shadow constructs, and started flying us to our destinations. It was much more efficient, though I had to struggle to keep my breakfast down, as being in the air without blackjack was still a bit of an ordeal for me.

We made quick work of any criminals we came across, though I was a bit more cautious when up against gunmen. Technically I'm pretty sure gods can't get hurt by bullets, but with all the uncertainty surrounding my deification, I wasn't going to chance it, and risk leaving more ichor around for anyone to find. I made good use of my shield and tentacles, which proved their bullet proof nature. They were also useful for cocooning any victims to keep them safe during the fight from any stray bullets.

Raven made all the fights much quicker, with her ability to take on several people at once with her constructs. I was a little worried at first about what she would do against bullets, but I soon stopped as she dodged most with her agile flying and blocking the rest with smaller tendrils of shadow emerging from her cloak.

We went on like this for several hours, managing to help dozens of people across the city. Some thanked us, a few even recognizing me from TV and thanking me by name, though most were still cautious of Raven, and most had no idea what to think of Raven.

There was one encounter that stuck with me. We were flying over the upper East side when Tyson suddenly called out, "STOP! Go down!"

Raven was startled at first but complied, setting us down on the sidewalk, where Tyson bolted forward. I followed his trajectory to see a middle aged man and a small blonde girl, looking to be around 8 or 9. I wasn't sure what the issue was, but didn't have time to figure it out as Tyson slammed into the man from the side, grabbing him by the throat and holding him by the throat away from the girl.

Raven and I looked at each other in alarm before bolting forwards as well.

"T! Slow down, what's going on."

We arrived next to the girl who looked to be trembling, as my brother held the terrified man aloft, with a look of hatred I'd hope never to see on Tyson's face again. In response to my question he growled out, "He's not her father."

I looked at him blankly, "Okay, I'm assuming you got that from the smell?" he nodded, "That doesn't mean anything! He could just be a family friend!" Tyson didn't move however.

I was about to say more when he spat out, "She's not the first, I can smell… others."

I was uncertain what he meant at first, before realization threatened to turn my insides out. I forced myself not to vomit as I heard Raven speak softly, "Perseus…"

I turned to see her awkwardly comforting the girl, who had a steady stream of tears and snot coming down her face, "I-I was looking for my m-mom! He said h-he would hurt me if I c-called for help!" As the girl sobbed loudly, Raven looked very out of place as she hesitantly put a hand on her shoulder. She went stiff as the girl took it as an invitation to bury her face in her shoulder, holding her close for comfort.

I turned back to see Tyson trembling with rage as he started at the man in his grasp. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know what he was thinking, "T, put him down."

Tyson snapped his eyes towards me in anger, "But he— "

"I know!" I snapped back, "I want to as well, but we do, we'll lose the trust of the league, and you'll be even more feared than you already are. Do you want that?"

Tyson still looked angry, but I could see the gears turning in his head. eventually he gave a furious roar and gave the man a light tap, putting him out like a light, before dropping him on the ground in disgust.

He turned back to me as I walked up to him. He had his eyes closed and was taking deep breaths to calm down, while I patted him on the shoulder for his self-control. His eyes opened however when he felt the blonde girl tackle him in a hug.

He looked down in shock as he she craned her neck to say, "Thank you! I was so scared!"

I had to snap in front of his face to get him out of his shock. He shook his head and smile down at her, "It was nothing! Just don't hesitate to call for help if someone's close okay? Even if he says he'll hurt you."

She sniffed pitifully, "Okay…"

I knelt down next to her, "Hey, why don't we take you to the police so we can find your mom. is that okay?"

The girl nodded, so I gave her a smile, "Okay, before we go, can you tell me you name?"

She seemed hesitant, looking up at Tyson for some reason for reassurance. He wasn't sure what to do so settled on giving her a smile and a thumb up. She looked back at me and said, "My name is… Cassie."

Cassie refused to leave Tyson's side the entire way to the police station. This caused some issue when the officers saw Tyson walk in with a little girl by his side, but I managed to calm the situation before it got out of hand. That combined with Cassie's testimony was enough to warrant several apologies to Tyson, who of course forgave them instantly.

We left shortly after, though Cassie didn't seem happy about it, and decided it was a good time to get lunch.

When Raven asked where we were going to eat, I simply smirked at her and gave Tyson a nod. He instantly drew in a huge breath through his nostrils, before pointing where we needed to go.

I had a few favorite places in my New York, but seeing as this was an entirely different one, I decided to rely on Tyson to find a good place, and boy did it pay off. He led us to a small restaurant, tucked neatly between two larger buildings. It was called Puzzles, for reasons I could not figure out, but it housed by far the best burger I had ever eaten.

So there we were, quite the odd sight, a trio of superheroes quietly eating in a small diner. The employees were nervous at first, but eventually came down after I had paid for our meal with money Batman had allotted me.

Tyson was happily munching on a huge burger filled with every meat imaginable, per his request, while Raven was silently eating her fries, having not touched her much smaller cheeseburger.

I had been busy basking in the glory of my own burger, which happened to be the restaurants special, and included a patty, bacon, white cheddar, garlic sauce, lettuce tomatoes, and a slew of other ingredients I couldn't name but loved dearly. It was only when I was halfway through that I noticed Raven's lack of appetite, "Are you okay?"

She seemed to have been deep in thought, because she jumped at my words, "Oh! Uh, yeah sorry. I was distracted." She then started to eat her burger, and by the looks of it seemed surprised by how much she enjoyed the taste, though she still seemed to be taking her time to swallow each time.

"You don't have to eat it if you don't want to," I told her, "I won't be offended."

She tensed, "No! I'll eat it, I don't have a problem with it I'm just… having trouble stomaching anything after…"

I quickly realized she was talking about Cassie and slapped myself mentally for not remembering that not everyone could get over stuff like that as fast as me, or have a stomach as strong as Tyson's. I decided to change the subject, as well as bring up what I wanted to from the start, "So, I'm guessing you'll be going home after this?"

She looked at me in confusion for a moment before her eyes widened, "Right! Yes, I will be going home."

I raised an eyebrow but continued on, "And if you don't mind me asking, whereabouts do you live exactly?"

She eyed me cautiously, "Why do you want to know?"

I kept my poker face strong, "As grateful as I am for what you did with Mrs. O'Leary, I think we can both agree the belt is a temporary solution. If something happens I may need to come to you for help, or vice versa. It would make things a lot easier if I had a general idea of where to look."

She stared at me for several moments, no doubt formulating her next words very carefully, "I… live around… California."

I tried my best to hold it in, but I failed. I snorted loudly, "Really? That's the best you could come up with?"

Raven slumped in her seat, a look almost akin to pouting on her face, "How did you know?"

I smirked, "How did I know what?"

She gave me a sharp look but played along, "That I was homeless."

"Simple. I've met dozens of homeless kids over the years. A lot of demigods end up on the streets for one reason or another. You remind me of them. You have the same… aura if you will."

Now it was her turn to raise an eyebrow, "I thought I was the mystic one here."

Tyson nearly spewed his hamburger all over us trying to contain his laughter, and I couldn't help but chuckle myself, "I never said I was psychic, that's why I wanted to be sure. You know you don't have to be alone, I'm sure I could convince the League to let you stay at Mount Justice."

Just like that the walls were back up and she was sitting stiffer than before. "That's a bad idea."

"Why?"

She allowed her stoic nature to drop just enough to give me a dark look. "Something bad happens when I stay in one place for too long."

I leaned back. "Welcome to the club sister. In my world monsters can sniff demigod blood from a mile away, they kept finding me. I can't even tell you how many schools I've been expelled from, how many monuments have been destroyed because of it. Trouble follows you, I know the feeling. And Tyson here knows what it's like to be on your own."

Raven looked over at the cyclops, who was frozen mid chew as we were suddenly looking at him. I coughed meaningfully, and he shut his mouth and swallowed before nodding, "R-right! Before I found Percy, I was living in a cardboard box. Mean monsters bullied me all the time… but then I found Percy and my life got way better!"

I nodded as Raven's eyes were a bit softer, but not by much, "And between you and me: I think M'gann would appreciate having another girl around. Not that she feels threatened by us… I think… but being the only girl in a cave full of guys has to get lonely at some point."

Raven sighed, "I get what you're saying, and I appreciate the offer but— "

"Tell you what." I cut her off, "When "trouble" does come, and I do believe it will, think of how much easier it will be to deal with a group of super powered friends backing you up."

She looked away slightly, "Or it will just get you hurt."

I sighed in annoyance, "Raven we're heroes, getting hurt is an occupational hazard. This could be your best chance at having a place to be comfortable, or at least comfortabler, I don't know where you've been sleeping— "

"Motels."

"More comfortable! Plus you'd have a chance to study Mrs. O'Leary— "

I had a whole list after that, but judging by the light in her eye I didn't need it. "Oh, looks like that got your attention. You could study Mrs. O'Leary, Tyson, even me, to a point."

Raven huffed, "If… if I come back, it will only be on a trial basis. If I decide it's a bad idea, I will leave, and you won't stop me, agreed?"

I smiled and held out my hand, "Agreed."

She hesitantly took my hand and we sealed the deal with handshake.

Before we released our grips, a waitress slowly approached our table, eyeing Tyson warily, before gathering her courage and speaking up, "E-excuse me? Perseus, is it?"

I looked at her as I let go of Raven, "Yes?"

She gulped, "I-I was wondering if you would mind taking a picture with us to hang up in the store, and maybe on our website. If—I mean when you gain more popularity as a hero, it will really help our business. Of course, I totally understand if you don't want— "

I chuckled, "It's fine, we can do that. Right T?"

Tyson nodded eagerly and smiled at the waitress, "This is my new favorite restaurant! I'd be happy to help out!"

She smiled nervously, "G-Great! This way then."

I smirked at Raven one more time before getting up with Tyson to take a picture with the owner under their store sign.

Tyson gave his signature toothy grin while I gave a smile of my own. The two of us stood on either side of the owner, towering over her with our height, and giving a thumb up.

Before the camera flashed, I glanced back one more time at Raven, still sitting at our table inside the store, watching us closely. She looked away when our eyes met, but for some reason, I couldn't help but smile a bit wider.

Third Person POV

The next few weeks were fairly uneventful. Batman did not put up as much of a fight as many thought he would when Percy requested that Raven be provided lodging in Mount Justice. Before he said anything, he demanded as much information about her as possible, and was less than pleased when she refused to explain her origin, or why she could do the thing she could, but reluctantly let it go when Percy promised to take responsibility for her.

Raven was a bit annoyed when she learned this, not wanting to cause unnecessary trouble, but the others made it clear that it was pretty common thing for Percy, and to not worry about it too much.

The team as a whole took their new member in with open arms. M'gann especially was thrilled to have another female in the cave, though Raven didn't share her enthusiasm when the Martian started rambling about all the fun they will have trying clothes, talking about boys, and a slew of other girl-bonding clichés that sounded like they came from a cheesy sitcom.

Artemis was happy as well, also claiming that it was good to have another girl on the team, though she wasn't as eager to get to know the new teammate as M'gann was. Raven was completely fine with that.

Kaldur was eager to discuss sorcery with the girl, wondering who her master was. He was fascinated when she revealed she was mostly self-taught, with some input from various teachers she's met in her travels. She made it clear that while she knew a lot, she didn't have a lot of practice with applying all that she's learned, instead collecting information about techniques and spells in a journal she kept so she could refer to it if the situation required it. Raven was more than happy to get into long conversations with Kaldur about the mystic arts, but under no circumstances allowed him, or any other person access to her journal.

Wally was probably the least friendly to her. he wasn't outright rude to her, but he made it very clear that he didn't trust her. this might have had something to do with the embarrassment he experienced upon his first encounter with her, though the embarrassment was Percy's doing. Ever since then he hadn't flirted with M'gann, Raven, or Artemis. He barely even cracked jokes anymore.

Robin was friendlier than Wally, and actively tried to connect with her, but anyone who looked close enough could tell he was watching her closely, though that was no surprise from the mentee of the most paranoid hero in the League. Superboy and her had some sort of unspoken understanding, after five minutes of staring at each other blankly. They had no issue with each other.

Tyson was happy to have her around, though they rarely conversed or hung out. Anyone could see that his was not from any ill will, but because of the vast difference between their personalities and interests. The one who was most happy to have her there though, had to Mrs. O'Leary.

The hellhound had practically claimed her as her mother, spending half of her time with the gloomy girl, and the other half with Percy and Tyson, who couldn't help but be a little put out by this, but didn't really mind. With her new size changing ability, the hellhound had a much easier time of pouncing and licking on whomever she pleased, which was quite distracting. Raven took it better than most, but then again, she didn't really complain about anything, or praise much.

Raven made sure to use her time with the Hellhound to study her physiology. So far, she hasn't learned anything mind blowing, to the others at least, but occasionally one could come across her writing frantically in her journal about a new aspect of the creature that adopted her. She seemed especially interested in investigating her shadow travel ability.

Speaking of which, ever since they found her, the hellhound had displayed a new degree of endurance when it came to shadow traveling, now able to take dozens of trips without getting tired, something that caused no shortage of chaos. Raven quickly deduced that this was because of the ichor in her. She was also kind enough to place a spell on the belt regulating her power output, so that it would shrink and grow with the hellhound so it wouldn't hang loosely when she was in her smaller size.

Percy also submitted to some experiments with Raven, which really consisted of him ordering Mrs. O'Leary around, to see how their connection worked. She did every action he told her too, save for flying in the air, and biting his hand, much to his surprise, and delight, both because it showed her devotion to him, and that he wasn't completely mind controlling her, which had left a bad taste in his mouth. He also gave her a sample of ichor like he did Robin and Wally, which she received with a look of awe, which made him a bit uncomfortable.

Aside from the occasional patrol in Manhattan, and passing each other in the halls, that was about all the time Percy spent with Raven, or anyone else for the most part. There were meals together, and the occasional planned hang out, but usually Percy was in the lower cave, working on his ship. He was happy to find that he had instinctual knowledge of ship building, and rarely needed help from anyone, except for Tyson for the occasional tool he was missing.

This had become the hobby he never knew he wanted. Working the ship, refining the eroded wood, replacing the parts beyond repair, and building new pieces where they were missing, all came to be very relaxing for the team leader, and he found himself doing it every chance he got.

Of course, that came up to a couple hours every morning and afternoon. Since he wasn't as crazy skilled with building as Tyson, he had only made it about halfway complete in the last few weeks. Most of his days aside from the ship was spent patrolling Manhattan, sometimes with Tyson, sometimes not. He didn't really have a talent for investigating and taking down the "big operations" like batman and Robin did, which was fine for now, as he was just starting out. He made up for it by the sheer number of crimes he intervened in, getting around the city with speed and efficiency on Blackjack.

The pegasus had met Raven as well, but quickly decided he wasn't as big a fan as Mrs. O'Leary. She creeps me out! Was his constant excuse, though it wasn't that big an issue.

There hadn't been many team missions aside from the occasional gang bust. So life fell into a sort of lull for everyone, that is, until August 17th came around.

"A birthday party?" Robin asked, "For who?"

"For Percy of course!" The Martian exclaimed, surprising most of the teens surrounding her. they were currently seated in the living room, the entire team except for Tyson and Percy. There was a collective sigh of exasperation from those who didn't reside in the cave, as they were dressed in their costumes, since M'gann summoned them saying that it was super urgent. They of course expected some form of danger, not this.

"You know you could of just said that in the text." Artemis huffed in annoyance, "We would have come."

"Eh," Robin said, "I might have found something better to do. No offense."

M'gann gestured to Robin as she looked at Artemis, "See! I had no choice. You all are a bunch of workaholics!"

"Not true!" Wally protested, "We're just busy. Anyways, how do you even know it's his birthday?"

"Didn't she look into his head at some point," Raven spoke up, causing a few to flinch, as her presence tended to blend in to the background noise.

Wally hummed, "Oh yeah."

"Then how do you know he even wants a party?" Robin asked.

M'gann looked at him in disbelief, "Who in their right mind wouldn't want a party?"

Superboy raised his hand, but M'gann waved him off, "You don't have a say, you haven't had a chance to experience one yet."

"Are you certain of what age he is turning?" Kaldur asked.

M'gann had a moment of hesitation before she answered, "17. He turns 17 tomorrow. So, I think we should all throw him a party!"

The way she said, "I think" made it clear to everyone in the room that she meant "I declare", leaving no room for argument. Of course, none of them really had a problem with it, and agreed, causing the Martian to squeal in excitement."

"Why isn't Tyson here?" Superboy wondered aloud, "I'm guessing he knows about it."

M'gann nodded, "We already made a plan for him to keep Percy out of the way while we set everything up. He also told me to say that gifts aren't really important to Percy, so don't feel pressured to get him one. But of course, we all are going to get him one, anyways right?"

There were mixed responses, some saying "of course" while others like Superboy brought up that they only had a day's notice for this. Their thoughts were quelled by a very uncharacteristic glare from M'gann, that shut them up quickly.

M'gann smiled and clasped her hands, "Perfect! I'll bake the cake, Superboy and Raven will do decorations," she ignored the protests, "And the rest of you will bring food and show up at 10 sharp. Agreed?"

Everyone agreed, whether they wanted to or not, and they split up to get to work.

The next day, Percy woke up to a smiling Tyson looking down at him. Now, him being used to this, he simply yawned and said, "Morning Tyson."

"Good morning!" Tyson exclaimed cheerfully. "Do you want to come to the forge with me?"

Percy raised an eyebrow before sitting up to look at the Cyclops, "You know I don't mind, but what for? I doubt you'd need my help with anything."

Tyson didn't even blink. "Normally I wouldn't, but this is different! Come on!"

Without even giving him time to put on a shirt, Tyson lifted Percy up and carried him out of the room, much to the gods surprise. "Tyson!? What are you doing, put me down!"

Tyson ignored his protests and continued his mission without a word. He rushed through the halls and brought his older brother down to the forge. Only when they were down there did he release him, setting him down carefully, which only worsened Percy's mood, as he felt like he was being handled like a porcelain doll or something.

Still a bit asleep, he swatted away Tyson's hands away and growled out, "Dude what's your problem! I can walk on my own!"

Tyson smiled apologetically, "Sorry, I was just excited to give you your present. Happy birthday!"

Percy blinked, "What?"

Tyson beamed, "It's your Birthday brother! August 18th!"

Percy seemed confused for a second before realization struck, "Oh yeah… I totally forgot."

Tyson patted him on the shoulder, "That's alright, I remembered for you. Now come on, let me show you the present."

He turned Percy around towards the forging area. While he did so, Percy sighed, "Dude you didn't have to do any—"He stopped when he saw what, and who, was standing behind him.

The lava pit was currently open, and sticking out of it was a hunk of metal that I recognized as the Tiber metal, it was currently glowing with heat, and standing next to the pit, was Raven. Raven was dressed in more casual clothing, as she often did around the Mountain, trading in her cloak and leotard for skinny jeans and a black tank top that had a weird skull with makeup design, that reminded Percy of Thalia's death to Barbie shirt a little too much. She greeted him with a simple, "Hey."

Percy walked forward cautiously, "Hey… what is all this?"

"Tyson's idea mostly," She answered, before her eyes flicked up and down, "No shirt?"

Percy felt his face heat up before he looked over at Tyson with a glare, "Apparently not."

Tyson chuckled nervously, "Sorry. I'll go get you one while you do this."

Percy raised an eyebrow and was about to ask what "this" is, but Tyson was already taking off, "Hey wait! What are we—and he's gone." Percy sighed again before turning back to Raven, mind explaining what's going on?"

"A birthday gift," she stated, "From me and Tyson, if it works that is. This is actually an experiment, but when I brought it up Tyson insisted that we do it. If it doesn't work I'll probably just get you a gift card or something and he'll…"

"Go crazy trying to make something else.?" I guessed, earning a nod from her. I rubbed my forehead, "Yeah that figures. So, I'm guessing it has something to do with the giant metal hunk sticking out of the lava."

She nodded as I walked forward, "It was really a last-minute idea, as most of—well I didn't know it was your birthday today until yesterday, so I was looking for gift ideas. Tyson mentioned you were wanting a new weapon that could… touch mortals."

I raised an eyebrow, "And? I figured he'd just forge one when he was ready."

"He said that was his plan, but that he couldn't decide on what to make. Apparently, a copy of your current sword would be too easy or something. So I suggested we try this."

I rolled my eyes, "And this is?"

She held out a hand, indicating that I should give her mine. I reluctantly did so, only to regret it as she produced a needle and stabbed into my hand, withdrawing an ichor covered blade.

I swore loudly in ancient Greek, more out of surprise than pain, before glaring at he, "What was that for?"

"This." She then flicked the needle at the metal, causing specs of ichor to fly onto the glowing hunk, before sizzling and disappearing into it."

I looked on in confusion, "What was that supposed to accomplish?"

She shrugged, "It's just a theory I was working on. More of an idea really. Seeing the connection your ichor formed between you and Mrs. O'Leary. I wondered if connections like that could be made with other things, inanimate or otherwise. This will be the first test to see. Also, Tyson worked pretty hard gathering this much of the metal into one piece, just thought you should know."

Percy filed that away for later, but couldn't help but ask. "So, for all we know nothing could happen?" Percy asked, before realizing Raven was no longer listening, instead she was staring at the metal in fascination, "What is it?"

She looked at him, "There's definitely a reaction, but it's strange, almost like… hold on."

She closed her eyes her body went limp, forcing Percy to have to catch her before she hit the ground, as her shadowy raven form flew out of her and inspected the rock. Percy regarded the spectral form in annoyance, "Could have warned me."

The bird like form answered, "Sorry, I was in a hurry, thanks for catching me though."

Percy rolled his eyes and set her body down , "What are you doing anyway?"

"The ichor is trying to make a connection, but it's unfocused, wild even. It needs help. I think if I…" a tendril of shadow extended form the avian form, and reached into the hunk of metal, before another tendril extended towards Percy, reaching into his chest without warning, and startling him greatly, though he felt nothing.

"Hey! What are you doing?" He exclaimed.

"Trying… to make the connection." Raven replied, though her voice sounded strained.

Percy noticed this, "Are you alright."

"I'm fine, it's just a strange sensation, both the connection flowing through me and… the enormous amount of power coming from the Ichor in your body. I just don't understand why you can't use all that power, it's such a waste."

Percy wasn't sure what to say to that, but luckily, he didn't have to, "Done." Raven declared before rescinding her tendrils and returning to her body.:

She sat up and shook her head a bit, before looking to Percy. "It's done."

He looked at her in disbelief, "The "connection" you mean? No offense but what will being connected to a hunk of rock do for me?"

Before she could respond a large crack forced him to look at said hunk of rock. Before their eyes the metal was breaking, shifting, cracking, and changing. Raven allowed herself a smirk as she answered, "That. Your ichor is forcing the metal to take a shape most suited to you. either that or it's about to explode."

"What?!" Percy exclaimed

"Kidding." Raven stated calmly, once again keeping her stoic face firm, "You should lighten up. It's your birthday after all." She then started to walk towards the stairway.

"Where are you going?" Percy asked, "I mean, thank you, this seems pretty cool and all, but shouldn't we see this through?"

She shrugged, "It could take, hours, minutes, even days before it sorts itself out, there's no way to tell. I think we'd be better suited to go find something else to do in the meantime. Maybe there's something to do upstairs?"

Percy could only stare at her and her dead giveaway that there was another surprise waiting for him upstairs. If she realized her blunder she didn't show it, only staring at him blankly. Eventually he sighed and said, "Okay."

While all this was happening, Tyson had gone up to check on the others, who were setting up the decorations in the common area. There was an unspoken consensus that the theme was blue, so there were blue balloons, blue streamers, and a chocolate cake with blue icing on the kitchen table that M'gann putting the finishing touches to. She had gotten a package of number shaped candles, and had placed them so it said 17.

Superboy was arranging the presents the others had brought in, on orders from M'gann, while the others sort wandered around awkwardly, looking for ways to help, and picking at the blue cookies M'gann set out when she wasn't looking. They were all in civilian clothing, though some were dressed nicer than others, (Artemis). Mrs. O'Leary for her part was doing a good job of restraining herself form snacking on the food strewn about, instead making up for it by forcing everyone to pet her in her small form, while she eyed the food hungrily.

Overall it was pretty impressive that they had all managed get presents on such short notice. The size of the packages ranged from hand sized to not being able to fit on the table.

When Tyson arrived, he took a moment to admire the pile of presents that had been accumulated, "Guys! I told you just showing up would be enough…"

Wally snorted, "We know, but that's not how birthdays work around here! If he doesn't like the presents he can just re gift them, but I'm feeling pretty confident about mine."

"As am I." Kaldur smiled, "This should be a most enjoyable day for Percy."

Tyson was gradually building up excitement as he looked over what had been put together, before his eye landed on the cake, "M'gann? Why does it say 17?"

M'gann who had been cleaning up in the kitchen, froze at his words, while the others were confused. "I thought that was his age today…" Robin wondered aloud, while the others nodded in agreement.

Tyson looked confused as well before he realized, "M'gann didn't tell you?"

"Tell us what?" Artemis asked, with a bit of concern in her voice, meanwhile M'gann hadn't moved or even turned to look at the others while Tyson explained.

"There is a place in our universe called Tartarus. it's where gods and monsters go to reform their bodies after they're destroyed. It's not a nice place. Time there is different, a few moments can seem like months there. Percy spent about two weeks there physically, but mentally— "

"So, wait," Wally interrupted, the horrific realization that was creeping into everyone's hearts, making itself evident in his tone, "How old is he then?"

Tyson hesitated for a moment, apparently counting in his head and fingers, before walking over to the bag of number candles and drawing out a five. He then adjusted the two on the cake so it read: 157.

The others looked at the number in silence, struggling to process that their leader who only looked a couple years older than them was over a century old. Eventually Kaldur realized something, "M'gann, you must have known this, why did you…" He trailed off as he saw her form trembling.

Tyson rushed over to her and put his hands on her shoulders worriedly as she burst in to tears. She turned to the others with tears streaming and looked like she wanted to something, but Tyson spoke first, "Percy's time in Tartarus mostly consisted of… pain. I only know what he's told me, but M'gann was in his head, so you saw right?" M'gann looked up at the Cyclops in confusion, but nodded when she saw his caring expression. She broke down once more and latched on to him in an embrace.

Many of the others were both disturbed and confused at this point. Tyson looked at them and explained, "I think she didn't want to remind him of that time." He then looked down at her, "I appreciate the thought, I hadn't even considered it, but brother has always faced things head on. I don't think he will feel any better from avoiding it."

M'gann sniffed miserably as she tried to pull herself together. Artemis rushed forward and threw an arm around her leading her away to comfort her, but not before M'gann gave Tyson one more look of apology, which he answered with a forgiving smile."

While she was led out of the room, the guys all looked at her stunned. When she was gone they all had similar thoughts, which Robin voiced, "Was… was what Percy went through really that bad?"

Tyson's eyes darkened, "You've seen his scars. From what I can tell, those only tell a fraction of the story."

That put everyone in a somber mood, made worse by the fact that they'd never seen Tyson get so serious before. They stayed silent for a few moments, before Tyson perked up, his eyes shining again as if the previous conversation never happened, "He's coming! Places! SB can you go see if M'gann is okay?"

Percy finished putting on his shirt before exiting his room where Raven was waiting for him. "Alright. Let's go." She nodded and led him through the halls. After a few moments Percy spoke up again, "By the way, this is totally going to be a surprise part, right?"

Raven looked at him blankly, giving nothing away, "Whatever do you mean?"

He only chuckled until he followed her. as they walked through the doors to the living room, they were greeted by all of their teammates jumping up and yelling, "Happy birthday Percy!"

Though he was expecting it, seeing it for real still brought a smile to his face. He couldn't help it his last few dozen birthdays had been celebrated by extra special torture. He looked around the room, admiring the decorations, and noticed the cake, and the appropriate number adorning it. He simply nodded and turned to the others, "Guys! You shouldn't ha—M'gann? Are you okay?"

He had noticed that her eyes were a bit red, like she'd been crying. When he called her out, she stiffened but smiled widely, "I'm fine! I've just been cooking all day is all."

Percy wasn't entirely convinced, but judging from the looks on everyone else's faces, he decided not to push it, "Okay… well since it's all here, let's get this party started!"

There was a chorus of cheers at that, and Wally went and turned on some music to keep the mood festive. Percy's first prerogative was to get some of the cookies sitting on the table. He had almost taken a bite of one when a sound made everyone tense up.

"RECOGNIZED: WONDERWOMAN."

Percy looked at the others, wondering if this was maybe part of the celebration, but quickly discerned that it wasn't. he sighed loudly and led the way towards the teleporter room, where they found the demigoddess waiting a bit impatiently, dressed in her signature armor. When she saw Percy, she straightened up and regarded him sternly, "Perseus Jackson, it is time to bring you before the gods."

There were a variety of expressions adorning the team, some shocked, some angered, some just confused, but Percy simply had a look of annoyance as he groaned loudly, "Fucking… alright let me just wrap up those cookies to go."

Chapter 10!

Next time: Percy meets the gods of the DC universe. Who just HAD to interrupt his birthday party! Fucking deities am I right?

Unfortunately I'm taking a break from this to write some chapters for Grimm Royalty, which is a RWBY fic, so if you like that show you might want to give it a look. I'll probably be back to this in around a month or so. Maybe sooner maybe later.