Percy POV

"While I can't say it went too smoothly, I believe we all enjoyed your time on our Island Perseus.

I smiled and nodded to Hippolyta, who was seeing us off as we prepared to leave. Behind her were Hestia and an Anxious Diana. Behind me was Blackjack and the Bioship, where everyone was ready to go, as well as Kara, who hadn't said much since the fight. I was fine with that.

"Is there anything I can do to convince you otherwise Percy?" Diana blurted out for the umpteenth time. "This will only end badly I assure you."

I waved her off. "It'll be fine. I mean look she's already quieter!" To my surprise, no one laughed.

"What will you do when her cousin finds out?" Diana asked, causing me to sweat a bit.

"I'll… burn that bridge when I come to it. I'm sure once he finds out I have her best interests in mind he'll understand."

Diana sighed, "I pray you're right. There is another matter however." She lowered her voice, "Your sword cut her. That means you have a potential weapon against superman."

I blinked, "Yeah, and?"

She rolled her eyes, "Do you know how many people would kill for a weapon like that? I'm afraid… I'm going to have to bring it up at the next League meeting."

I chuckled dryly, "You can bring it up all you want, but you aren't taking Riptide from me."

"Percy—"

"Goodbye Diana." I left the heroine to sigh in disappoint mean an walked to where Hestia was waiting for her trademarked warm smile, "Well, it was a pleasure meeting you my lady."

The goddess raised an eyebrow. ""My Lady"? I thought you were done bowing to the gods."

I smirked, "I am, but from what I've seen you deserve it just as much as the other Hestia. Though I am curious. I expected to be brought to Olympus, the gods of my world loved towering over people to show how powerful they are. Where is it these days if you don't mind me asking?"

She blinked, "What do you mean?

"Well our Olympus is located over the Empire State Building in New York. Is yours still in Greece or…"

Hestia hesitated, "In your terms, I would say Olympus is its own dimension, one we gods reside in. As for why I didn't bring you, it is quite difficult for any but us to go there, and the situation on Olympus is… Delicate at the moment."

I tensed, "Like possible-war-between-the-gods-that-could-destroy-the-world delicate?"

Her eyes widened, "Forgive me, I should have considered your history. Rest easy, the world is safe. In fact, Zeus wished to congratulate you himself, you and your brother that is."

I raised an eyebrow, "So I had the favor of Zeus himself and you couldn't tell the Ama—you know what it doesn't matter. Why does he want to congratulate me?"

"Apparently you saved his daughter from a rather revolting mortal. He would be here himself, but the king of the gods walking on earth rarely goes well, and Poseidon still hasn't made up his mind about you—"

"Wait a minute slow down!" I exclaimed, "Daughter? I don't remember saving Diana recently… please tell me there aren't hundreds of Demigods out there I don't know about."

Hestia put a hand on my shoulder, "Relax, that is not the case. The gods of this world are significantly more… reserved than yours, but it seems Zeus will be Zeus, no matter what Universe he's in. The child is safe. She won't face the dangers you have, and when the time comes, you will likely meet her again."

I sighed, muttering my irritation at Zeus before nodding, "As long as she's safe I guess."

"Indeed." The goddess then turned Serious, lowering her voice a bit, "Remember what I said young hero, you must not let these people know of your "ordeal" with Gaea, it won't go well I assure you."

I nodded, "I'll keep it to myself, I promise."

She nodded to me, before speaking louder, "It was a pleasure to meet you young hero, I hope to do so again. Who knows, maybe we gods may have need of you."

I winced, the very thought making me want to throw up, "Just… no fetch quests please.'

Hestia chuckled, "Of course, we are not so petty. Most of the time…"

I bid farewell to her and made towards Blackjack, only to find Hippolyta already there, stroking his mane. "This is quite the beautiful creature, tell me is it the same Pegasus from the myth."

I narrowed my eyes, "No. his name is Blackjack." What are you doing? Why are you letting her pet you? I reached out to Blackjack telepathically.

Sorry boss, but she's really good! You should take pointers.

I already give you donuts dude, don't push it

Our mental conversation was cut short as Hippolyta asked, "Have you ever considered breeding him?"

I nearly choked on my own spit while Blackjack froze on the spot. "N-no! No I haven't."

Hippolyta looked at me In surprise, "Is there a reason why not? If he can create offspring like him… well there could be an entire world of possibilities."

Wow, okay, color me creeped out…

"It's alright buddy," I patted his neck before looking back at the queen, "The thing is I can talk to him, he has personality, he's my friend. Do you think you could force your friend to mate with some random person?"

Her eyes widened," I didn't mean… I'm deeply sorry Percy, I didn't realize—"

"I know, I wasn't making you feel bad, just painting the picture. So yeah, I won't be doing anything like that, though I'm sure Blackjack will find a nice mare one day, and when that day comes, he'll tell me, right pal?" I looked at the pegasus for confirmation, only to see him shifting and flicking his tail nervously

Uh… yeah about that boss…

My eyes widened in horror for a moment before I turned towards black jack in anger, "Seriously? When?"

What da you think I do when I'm out and about man? Graze all day?

I sighed loudly, causing the amazons to look at me with concern "What seems to be the problem?" Hestia asked.

I mentally asked him where and when and was astounded at the response. I threw my hands in the air in exasperation," Looks like I have several soon-to-be-very-surprised farmers to visit and apologize to. Seriously Blackjack, what were you thinking?

Thinking really didn't have anything to do with it boss. It's not my fault the mares ere are so dazzled by me.

"Yeah well you still took advantage of it. Gods…you know what you're flying home alone now."

Blackjack literally snorted at that, You think you can make the trip in that weird thing without me? You'll be puking your guts out!

My eye twitched at the increasingly annoying creature, "Yeah well it'll be better than me strangling your neck midflight won't it?"

The pegasus snorted once more before galloping way into the air, drawing the eyes of every amazon around us without a doubt, the showoff.

I bid my final farewells to the amazons and climbed aboard M'gann's ship, surprising the occupants, which included a still-silent Kara.

"Where is Blackjack going?" Tyson asked.

"Away from me," I grumbled, "Apparently he has been having some "fun" with the mares in Rhode Island, which means I'm probably going to have several awkward conversations with farmers, and somehow come up with enough money to buy their mares."

The team looked at me silently for a few moments, blank faced, before all of them, save for Kara and Raven burst into laughter.

"It's not funny!" I shouted as I sat in a chair M'gann formed for me.

"I mean… it really is though." Artemis managed to get out.

"Wait!" M'gann suddenly stopped laughing, "You mean… baby pegasus….es?"

"Pegasi," I corrected, "And since I doubt Blackjack used protection, I'd wager yes."

The squeal that came from the Martian next was loud enough to make everyone on the ship cover their ears in pain, except for Tyson, who seemed just as excited, "I'll have to make stables! Just until their old enough! I've never made stables before! I could make an automated feeder, an automatic waste remover, an automatic groomer—"

"How about we automatically stop talking about this for now." I cut him off with an apologetic look. I shifted in my seat, "It's a long flight back home. Who knows? Maybe I won't get sick anymore."

Later

I was wrong, I was so very very wrong.

I dry heaved for the tenth time, (the irony of which was not lost on me) as we soared over the Atlantic Ocean.

Kaldur patted me on the back, "Hang in there, it's not that much farther."

My stomach said otherwise, "Screw it, I'm jumping out, I can swim the rest of the way!"

"There's an entire continent between you and the cave!" Robin exclaimed

"Not if I swim the other way!"

M'gann floated out of her seat and put her hands on my shoulders, "Percy… I know it's hard… but you're going to have to fly like this again someday. You can't always circumnavigate the earth through the ocean."

I clutched my stomach as it continued to do somersaults, "Watch me…"

M'gann sighed before brightening up, "Oh! Why don't we open your presents!"

I blinked, looking up at her, "What? I thought we left those at the cave."

M'gann shot towards one of the walls of the ship, where a compartment shifted open, revealing the assortment of presents my friends brought to my party. "I stashed them here just in case. Maybe opening them will take your mind off throwing up?"

I felt some bile rise up in my throat at her words. Superboy scoffed, "Probably not the best choice of words."

"I'm good I'm good…" I assured them, "Alright let's do it. So… who wants to go—"

"Oh! I'll go first!" Wally exclaimed, before zipping over to the compartment and grabbing one of the colorfully wrapped boxes.

To say I was surprised was an understatement "Uh… are you sure?"

He looked back at me, "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

I wasn't sure how to phrase it other than: I figured you were still butthurt over the humiliation I brought upon you. so I just said, "Uh… I don't know never mind.

He shrugged, "Okay, catch." He tossed me a shoebox sized present, which I caught easily, before giving him a look, "I assume it's not fragile then huh?"

He only smirked as I ripped the paper off to reveal… oh, it is a shoebox.

I raised an eyebrow at him, but he only shrugged, "I'm a speedster, I know shoes."

I opened the box to reveal a pair of sleek navy blue sneakers, designs on the sides of black wings outlined in gold thread. At first it reminded me a little too much of the shoes Luke gave me on my first quest, the ones that were meant to drag me to Tartarus.

After a moment of looking at them though, I couldn't help but find myself liking the look of them, wings and all. "These are… actually pretty great Wally, where did you get them?"

"The Flash has a shoe guy,," He said, as if it were a normal thing to say, "I had it custom ordered. He usually makes shoes for speedsters, so they're friction resistant, and heat resistant as well. It cost a bit extra for the shot notice… but not too much, he's used to sort deadlines"

I blinked, "Wow I... I…"

"Wasn't expecting something so amazing?" Wally smirked.

"Yeah pretty much."

He chuckled, followed shortly by the others, before the speedster sobered a little "Yeah well, I did dump you in lava so…"

I just smiled and held out my hand, "As long as you promise not to do it again, I'd say we're good."

He chuckled as he grasped my hand, "Yeah yeah I promise.

Time seemed to fly faster ten. Up next was Artemis, who presented me with some canisters that she claimed contained flash frozen water, that would melt the instant they were thrown against something. Apparently, she had Green Arrow make it. She explained it could be used to get water near the enemy before they could react, as well as supply him with lots of extra water in case he didn't have any around him. She also got me a speedo… I didn't say anything about the speedo.

M'gann got me… a skin-tight body suit, for a moment I worried she had gotten bad advice from Artemis, but she quickly explained that it was programmable fabric, like what she wore. That surprised me for a moment. For some reason I thought she just shapeshifted clothing onto herself, but that would mean she was always naked. Apparently, she can program it with several outfits before linking it to me so I can change it whenever I want.

Superboy gave me… a helmet? It looked like it was supposed to a Greek helmet, but It was weirdly deformed.

"It's not done!" he quickly explained, while avoiding eye contact with everyone. "Tyson has been teaching me how to forge, and when I heard it was your birthday I thought I could make you something since I don't have any money. But I ran out of time, so I have to finish it later. sorry I couldn't get you something good."

I looked at him in sheer shock. "You made this?"

"…Yeah."

"Dude this is awesome! I've tried forging, the Hephaestus cabin spent months trying to teach me, but I couldn't even hammer a sword straight!"

Superboy was taken aback, and I could tell he had no idea where to go from here, so I helped him out and said, "It was a great present man, thank you."

He nodded, "Um, your welcome.

Apparently, Robin was in league with Artemis, as he presented me with my own bronze colored utility belt, complete with many holsters for the ice capsules, it also had various other pouches for anything I could come up with later on, and the belt buckle had a strange symbol on it. It was a simple Greek sword like Riptide, but with a pair of wings sprouting on either side of it at the hilt. When I questioned what it was supposed to be he simply responded with: "It's your symbol."

I raised an eyebrow, immediately thinking of the god's symbols of power, but something told me that wasn't Rob ins intention, "Meaning?"

Wally spoke up, "Superman has the big S on his chest, Wonder Woman has the W, Aquaman has the A on his belt—"

"Shouldn't it be a P then?"

"And Batman has the Bat symbol." Robin stated irritated, "It's less about what it is, than having something people can connect to you. People feel safe and hopeful when they see the S. Criminals wet their pants when they see the Bat. \

"Men get excited when they see the W…" Artemis murmured, earning a snicker from Wally.

"Okay… don't you think I should have had some say in this?" I asked, more amused than anything.

There was an awkward moment, where they all looked a bit nervous. Finally, Tyson said, "We all gave some input on the design. It was super last minute, so it can use some work… do you not like it?"

I sighed, "Relax guys, it looks awesome!"

That lots of relieved sighs. With some further prodding, I found out that the belt was actually forged by Tyson, but the design and internal tech was provided by Robin. Apparently, he and Batman's belts had lots of secrets to them, that he promised to show me later.

Finally, after Robin, was Kaldur, whose present took up most of the compartment at first, I wondered if it was a television or something, but it seemed too big for even that.

I opened the package to reveal a regular box, that I then opened to find it full of bubble wrap. Only after I got rid of that (with lots of compulsory popping) did I see the true e majesty of Kaldur's gift.

It was a wheel. More specifically, a steering wheel. More specifically, a steering wheel meant for a ship like what I had down in the Cove. Only, it wasn't any simple helm, it was made of beautifully preserved dark blue wood, and decorated with pearls, shells, and blue sapphires. Finally, the handle that rested at the top to indicate when the rudder was straight, had a miniature trident pointing up.

I gazed at the beautiful workmanship before me, along with all the other passengers aboard the ship, before looking up at Kaldur, "Where the hell did you get something like this?"

The Atlantean was smiling proudly, "From the Atlantean treasury. Granted, it is partly a gift from King Arthur, who you know as Aquaman, as well as an invitation."

I looked at him in surprise, "An invitation… to Atlantis?"

He nodded excitedly, "In a week's time! The king and queen will be hosting an intimate dinner and would like you to attend. It is only natural that they would want to get better acquainted with the son of the god of their kingdom."

I took a moment to process, "Yeah I guess that makes sense… will you be there."

"Of course."

I sighed in relief, "Okay then I'm in. and…. I'm assuming you picked out the helm for me?"

He smiled, "I thought you might like to use it for your ship."

I couldn't help but walk over to him and pull him into a bro hug, "It's beautiful man, I'll definitely use it."

He chuckled, "I'm glad. Oh! I should show you, there is a secret feature," He grabbed the trident handle and twisted it to the right, causing it to loosen and pop off, "It is meant as a backup weapon, in case you're boarded. I doubt you will run into such difficulties, but it might come in handy… one day."

I smiled, before hearing M'gann squeal excitedly, "I knew it would work?"

I glanced at her in confusion, "What's working?"

"You're not getting airsick!"

At her words I found myself realizing that I was standing up. In a moving vehicle, several hundred feet up in the air.

"It… was working."

M'gann winced, before rushing to help me sit down. "Right… sorry."

As I sat down, I noticed Artemis approaching Kara, who was stock still in her seat, watching all the interactions with a mixture of interest and trepidation. "Hey, you know you're not a prisoner right?"

The Kryptonian looked at her in alarm, "What?"

"You've been sitting back here silently the whole trip. It's kind of creepy, you can talk to us you know, you probably should…"

Kara hesitated, before saying, "I figured you were all... mad at me?"

"Artemis smirked, "Really? Why would you think that?"

"Because… uh…"

Robin popped over "Because you acted like a huge jerk who thinks their race is better than anyone else, then tried to fight our leader and got your ass kicked?"

Kara's face turned beet red while Artemis smacked the thirteen-year-old, "Quit it!"

However, the girl stuttered out, "y-y-yeah, because of that,"

the two looked at her in surprise, before Kaldur leaned over form his seat, "I do believe that Perseus has already forgiven you for that, and we are inclined to follow his lead"

Kara looked over at me in surprise, before snapping back as she saw me watching her, I decided I had eavesdropped enough and turned my full focus back to not throwing up, but not before hearing her say, "Are you sure?"

Later

BY some miracle I survived the trip back. I only tried to jump into the ocean below a few times before we started flying over solid ground. I was less inclined to jump out then

As soon as the ship landed in the mountain hanger, I was the fist to run out and throw myself down on the ground, pressing my face against it, not caring how dirty it was as I groaned in exhaustion, "I'm never flying again."

"I wouldn't be so sure, I might send you flying by the end of the day."

I looked up to see a pair of red boots, attached a scowling Superman standing over me, glaring intensely. I held up a finger, "One second." I then vomited all over his shoes.

The hero stepped back in disgust, as I looked up to see batman pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head in exasperation. Superman scowled and moved forward, only for Batman to put a hand in front of him, somehow stopping the immensely stronger being.

I WIPED MY MOUTH BEFORE LOOKING UP AT THE GUY, "Sorry about that, I can wash it out though just get me some water…"

"Why didn't you just ride your horse back like usual?" Batman asked in annoyance.

"We're having an argument. Long story. And I'll only say this one: he's a pegasus."

"I don't care if it's a gosh darn donkey!" Superman exclaimed, making me have to physically hold myself back form bursting into laughter as the rest of the team emerged from the ship cautiously. Kara froze up when she saw Big Blue, K-I mean… superman?"

"Kara!" The older Kryptonian shot past me towards the girl, wrapping her in a hug before examining her like a worried mother, "What happened? Did he hurt you?"

I looked over at Batman, "I guess word travels fast?"

He narrowed his eyes at me, "Diana called ahead. Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused?"

"…A lot?"

He scoffed, "You've made Superman angry."

Now it was my turn to narrow my eyes, "You do realize a lot of what went down was his fault right?"

Before Batman could answer Superman yelled, "WHO DID THIS?"

I turned to see him looking at the thin scar Kara was sporting on her neck. I had to admit, to be a scar already, those Amazonian healers knew what they were doing. Nevertheless, I shrugged said, "That would be me."

Before I could react, I found my back in pain and my body pinned against the hanger wall, held up by my neck by a furious Superman, "Who do you think you are. First you move her without my permission and now you hurt her?"

I sneered at him, "Who hurt her more? You're the one that let her get imprisoned on that island."

"Kal please—" Kara called out in destress but the older Kryptonian wasn't having it

"Not now Kara!" he snapped, but before he could talk again, a hand latched itself to the arm holding mine. He turned slowly to see a glaring Superboy.

"Put. Him. Down."

Superman scoffed, "You really want to do this boy?"

Kal!" Batman called out angrily, as apparently that was Superman's name, "Calm down!"

'Kal' didn't listen, still staring at Superboy, who still refused to budge his hand. By the way his muscles were shaking, I figured he was trying to move Superman's hand away but was no match from his DNA donors strength.

Superman apparently had enough, as he used his other hand to grab Superboy and throw him away with ease. That got me angry on its own, but then, a bark sounded as Mrs. O'Leary launched herself through the air at Superman, trying to save me, bless her heart. She was met with a similar treatment, as superman grabbed her neck midair and through her with ease, causing her to yelp on impact with the ground. That was the last straw. Because I could understand why superman would want to hurt me/

But no one hurts my dog.

I yelled in rage. Before turning liquid again, slipping out of his grasp and sliding around him so I could form behind him, my hands gripping him so I could sing him around and slam him into the wall causing a small crater.

Apparently, Tyson had the same idea as me, as in the next instant he was doing his damn hardest to pin Superman to the wall, despite his struggling. If it were a test of pure strength Tyson would likely win against anyone, but Superman was far more coordinated, and quickly used Tyson's force against him and slipped out the way to pin him to the wall instead, shoving his head into the wall and making the crater even larger.

Needless to say, this put the Cyclops in a bit of a daze, enough that Superman found it safe to let him go and turn back to me, still glaring. I returned the favor, while charging my fists ups with earthquake energy. It looks like I was finally going to see what this new power can do to another person. "Bring it Boy Scout."

The Kryptonian snarled at me, launching at me with a fist raised as I did the same.

Just before we collided however, there was a gust of air as Kara appeared between us ,arms outstretched to stop our collision, "Enough!"

Both of us stumbled to a stop, if only to avoid hitting her, before she turned to Superman, "It was an accident Kal! It was a spar!"

Superman barely registered her words, "Get out of the way Kara, you aren't capable of handling this."

Kara's eyes widened at him as if she could barely comprehend his words, while I felt a new flare of anger flow through me, ''Yeah? How do you figure? I've known girls half her age and twice as capable as you! so tell us 'Kal' why can't she handle this?"

"Percy you're not helping!" Kara snapped. I might have protested, but I noticed she had a significantly softer tone with me.

Superman seemed to notice this too, and looked ready to yell again, when Batman called out, "Everyone calm down NOW! Before I make you!"

I looked over at the hero, and my teammates next to them. All of them looked incredibly tense and scared but looked ready to jump in at any moment to help. Seeing that helped me push some of the anger out of me, though I wasn't sure exactly how Batman would stop superman, but I figured it had something to do with the green glow coming from the pouch he was opening.

Superman sighed angrily but stepped back a bit, "Fine. Explain, quickly."

Thankfully, Robin was the one to speak up before I did, as I likely wouldn't have been able to keep my anger in check. He explained the trip to Themyscira, the trials, and how every other person that tried to touch my sword had passed right through it, up until Kara. Superman seemed to calm down a little bit at that.

"You still shouldn't have taken her off the island." Superman said at the end.

"Why? Because I don't have your 'permission'?" Kara snapped.

Superman put a hand on his forehead in exasperation, "It's more complicated than that Kara. You're still new to this earth, to your powers, and… you still need time to heal after…"

Kara scoffed, "After I watched my entire life get destroyed? It's been four months Kal! I don't think it's getting any better than this!"

"That's not true." I murmured, but murmuring did nothing against super hearing.

Kara's eyes softened significantly, "That's right. If anyone knows anything about what I'm going through it's you isn't it?"

Before I could say anything about that, Superman sighed, "Kara, no. Perseus is not like you he's…"

"He's what?" Kara asked while in my mind I also asked, "Yeah! What?"

"He's a killer." Superman spoke with an edge in his voice, "The day he came to this word he took someone's head off."

Kara looked at me in shock, "What?"

I rolled my eyes, "He was trying to kill Wally, Kaldur, and Superboy, and was also a mindless beast. I did what I was trained to do. What do you think we knock out monsters in my world?"

"Enough." Superman stated, "Kara, I'm sorry I left you on the island, it wasn't my idea. if you want I can take you back to the fortress."

Kara still didn't say anything, looking at me strangely, before turning aback to superman, who suddenly grew angry again, "You would stay with him instead? After everything I told you? we're family Kara!"

Oh, is that what was happening?

"Family would have told me if I had another family member!" Kara hissed, gesturing to Superboy, who was now at Tyson's side, making sure he was alright.

Superman faltered, "He's… he's not—"

"Is abandoning your family members becoming a thing now?"

Superman looked shocked, "I didn't abandon him! He had Batman and the team he didn't need me!"

"Of course I needed you!" Superboy yelled, unable to contain himself any longer "I was brought into the world looking like this, and the only one who had any sort of connection to me wouldn't give me the time of day. I still haven't fully gained control of my powers! Id don't even have a name, everyone just calls me Superboy do you have any idea how humiliating that is?"

For once Superman had no response, looking like a gaping fish. I noticed Kara looking at me with the same strange look, so I decided to speak up, "I'd just like to remind you that I brought you here as a punishment for putting a fist through my chest." That made her look away, "But even so, I'm willing to let you make your own choice to leave if you want, because the idea that you have to choose between him or me pisses me off, you can go off and do whatever you want. I know from experience that teenagers can make their way in the world, and with your power you should have no trouble."

Kara's strange look came back, before shifting into something I identified as: decisiveness. She turned to superman. "I'm staying here Kal."

Of course, it didn't end then and there. Superman argued with her for almost an hour, but Kara was not budging, and there was no longer any one to back superman up.

Reluctantly, the Man of Steel left the cave without his cousin, promising her he would check in on her as often as he could, before leaving, allowing M'gann to lead her to a room to set up in.

Before I went to my own room, Batman approached me one more time, making me groan, "What now?"

He ignored my attitude, "While I do not agree with how Superman handled this situation, he has a slight point. Diana and I agreed to bring Kara to the island for her safety and the safety of the world around her. She has been thrust into this world and her powers are incredibly hard for her to control. Not only that, but there are many people who will undoubtedly be after her after she reveals herself to the world. Are you certain you can handle all that?"

I scoffed, "Of course I'm not certain." He raised an eyebrow in surprise, "But I'm certain that I have enough deaths on my conscious, enough people who I've failed. I'll do everything in my power to make sure the list doesn't grow.

He seemed to want to say more to me, but decided against it, letting me go on my way.

The days after that fell back into a routine. There were no big missions, so I took to patrolling Manhattan, a couple hours during the day and a couple more hours during the night. I was always accompanied by Tyson, and occasionally one of the other team members, Superboy being the most frequent.

When I wasn't patrolling, I was at home, working my ship, which was nearing completion each and every day, as well as spending time with my teammates when the opportunity arose.

Above all the most interesting interactions were with Kara. interesting not because she was a good conversationalist, but because she was so hilariously bad at it. I suppose it wasn't her fault, being raised on an entirely different planet. I could tell that she wanted to talk to me about that, as apparently, she thought I understood and could give her advice on how to deal with it. Understand I did, but I wasn't sure I was the best one to ask for coping mechanisms.

There was the occasional blip in the routine as well, like when I approached Batman about Blackjack's "exploits" with the mares around the mountain. I think his stern façade actually fell way for a moment into pure bafflement, but he quickly reined himself in quickly, and asked me for the names of the farms, which I had thankfully asked Blackjack about, before saying he would "Take care of it".

And of course, there was the even that transpired a few days after we got back. The weapon that Tyson and Raven had provided for me, had still been "forming up" until then, when an excited Tyson dragged me down to the forget.

"Is it ready?" I asked, not bothering to hide my excitement as I was practically carried down the stairs. I always knew to expect the best from his work, even though this technically wasn't his work.

"You'll see!" he responded giddily.

We entered the forge to see Raven waiting for us, standing just in front of where the mound of Tiber metal Tyson gathered was, so I couldn't see the result. It was pretty impressive with her stature. I looked at her excitedly, "Well? How did it turn out?"

Her expression was as neutral as always. "See for yourself."

She stepped aside to reveal…

"Oh."

It was a three pronged trident, just like dad used. It stood up from a base of metal, shining with the dark colors of the Tiber metal. The prongs were all barbed, though I noticed the two on the sides were both edged like a blade, possibly so I could do some sort of swing attack I guess.

"Do you not like it?" Raven asked, as I could practically feel Tyson starting to deflate.

"No no!" I exclaimed, "It's not that I just… well I expected it to be a sword."

Not a moment later did the trident suddenly start shrinking down., the prongs melding with one another as the trident shortened and shifted until a sword took it's place.

It was about a foot longer than Riptide, though it still retained the basic shape. The only other major difference was the dark grey color and the guard. Instead of it being a simple flat piece of metal to keep the enemy's blade from slicing my hand, it appeared as two wings spreading out from the blade, incredibly similar to the image Robin and the others came up with.

I stared at it in awe, no one saying awkward before I stepped forward to touch it. That's when the real interesting stuff happened. As soon as my hand touched the hilt, I felt something inside me click, and the blade exploded with color.

The blade turned from dark grey, to a deep golden color, several shades darker than the imperial golden weapons I'd seen. A stripe of sea green ran down the flat of the blade on both sides, where it met the grip which was also sea green. The winged guard on the other hand, darkened to pitch black, which I had to chuckle at.

The pommel was pretty basic, metal and round so I could knock people out with it. It seemed to be attacked to the metal it was standing on, though it gave way as soon as I gave it a pull. I had expected the extra length to cause some awkwardness in the handling, but I was reminded of the first time I held Riptide with how well balanced it was.

"How does it feel?" I was broken out of my awe by Tyson. I turned to see Raven and him watching me intensely.

"I-It's great!" I said hesitantly, before looking at Raven, "How did it change like that? Is it magic like Riptide?"

Raven frowned, "I haven't had a chance to examine Riptide," I winced, remembering my repetitive refusal, "But I doubt it's exactly "like" Riptide. By all rights, this is your weapon, linked to you by your ichor. You commanded Mrs., O'Leary to change size and work, it makes sense that you can command this to change shape."

I bit down the remark that nothing about this "made sense" to me. I looked back at the sword and tentatively said, "Trident?"

Again, it instantly changed, growing longer in my hand and forming back into the trident, conveniently so that my hand was at the standard grip position. The formerly grey trident now had a similar color scheme to the sword, minus the black wings.

I gave it a few test jabs, finding it just as finely weighted. Tit was a fairly new experience, as I'd never felt a perfectly weighted. Trident in my hands. It made me think I might be able to get used to using it. The extra range would definitely be useful.

Of course, I wouldn't be using the majority of the time. I couldn't just kill every criminal I came across, especially the mortals. I'm on thin enough ice with Superman as it is, what with me 'stealing his cousin'. I would need to store it somewhere, similar to Riptide.

And just like that, it shrunk once again, this time not even requiring a word on my part. It grew smaller and smaller, until finally it took the form of a ballpoint pen, similar to Riptide's pen form, if not in color.

I considered leaving it like that for old times' sake, but then remembered all those times I didn't' have pockets, for one reason nor another. So, I concentrated again, and once gain it began to shift.

Once it was finished, it had taken the form of a necklace, a thin, flexible but strong ribbon of metal with a miniature version of the sword form, and apparently my new logo.

I put it around my neck and went to wrap Tyson in a hug, one which he returned gladly, before turning to Raven, who looked tense, until I offered up a hand for her to shake. She took it with a flicker of relief. "This really was an amazing gift Raven, I can't thank you enough."

She shrugged, "It's no big deal. Tyson did most of the work."

I smiled, "Maybe, but you must have done a lot of research before attempting this, I know you're not one to experiment recklessly." The look on her face confirmed it, it had caught her. "So when's your birthday?"

She tensed up. "I… don't celebrate my birthday. You shouldn't worry about it."

I frowned, making a mental not to find out why and what her birthdate was later, but for now just smiling and nodding, "Alright.

I turned back to Tyson, "Ready for Patrol brother?"

Tyson gave a confident thumb up, and went to get his suit. Raven was making her way upstairs when I asked, "Want to come with?"

She looked surprised for some reason. In fact she always does when I invite her, I can't imagine why, we've patrolled together before. She gave a small nod before heading upstairs, presumably to get her "costume".

About a week after that was when we got the mission to go after Clayface.

Downtown Gotham

The team was silent was they stalked their prey. They were currently spread out through a superstore, where they had chased the infamous shapeshifter.

I was walking down the cell phone section, trying hard not to get distracted. What can I say? I don't have to worry about monsters anymore, I'm in the market.

I was about to check in over the telepathic line when I heard a loud scream across the store, signaling that someone had found the target.

I rushed over there as fast as I could, calling out mentally, "Who was that? What's going on?"

The response came from Kara, "It's… it's me. he jumped me, I'm trying to get out but—"

"Don't struggle!" I called back "Just hold tight!"

"I could try freeze breath?"

"And he could shove his mud down your throat and suffocate you! don't provoke him, I have a plan, so just bear with it for now." I ended the connection

"Di immortales…" I cursed under my breath. We learned earlier that physical strength meant nothing to the mud creature, any grip you broke out of was quickly replaced with more mud. Luckily, I had enough time to think of a different approach in the time we've been chasing him.

"Aqualad, be ready on my signal."

"Yes Perseus"

It was then that I spotted the rest of the team. They were trying and failing to dodge the mud blasts coming from one of the aisles. Many of them were covered in mud that apparently was no longer part of the creature, though I was not convinced.

I looked down the aisle to see Kara indeed captured by the disgusting monster. Clayface looked pretty cramped in the aisle but didn't seem to mind. Kara was dressed in her temporary uniform, which was a plain full Body blue jumpsuit, courtesy of Tyson. She had a bit of mud over her mouth, so she could only let out muffled yells, though she looked much calmer when I came into view.

I signaled for the others to back up and cease their attacks, which they did, leaving me as the closest to the monster, who was snarling at me. "Give it up Clayface, I don't want to hurt you."

He laughed, before speaking in a deep raspy voice, "Like you could! Do you have any idea who I am new guy?"

I sighed, though I expected this. "Fine then." I reached into my new utility belt, and pulled out a handful of small blue capsules, which I then chucked at him at alarming speeds. Despite this, eh simply created a hole in his body that they all flew through harmlessly.

He laughed a bit more genuinely now, "Is that the best you can do?"

I simply smiled back, "Not really, but it's good enough for you." I then reached my power out to the capsules

Simultaneously, they all hit the ground and exploded into water. They were the flash frozen capsules that Artemis provided me with. When I willed them to melt, which took some practice, they turned into an alarming amount of water for their size. When I asked, she and the other nerds on the team went into a longwinded speech on ice and water density that went straight over my head. the point is, when they exploded, they turned into enough water to completely encircle the large monster in a thin layer, which quickly began closing in.

Clayface panicked for a moment before smiling at me again, "I think you ought to stop that, before I snap tis pretty little girls' neck."

I rolled my eyes as a few of my teammates chuckled at the thought. There was no way Clayface had the strength to do so, but I didn't say that. Instead I willed my tentacles to shoot out in front of me, plunging into the water barrier with no resistance, and cutting Kara out of Clayface before he had time to react, before I pulled her out and set her down gently by my side where she coughed up mud. I then willed a stream of water to reach out from the barrier to me. I looked back at Kaldur, "You're up."

The Atlantean gave a silent nod and walked towards the stream, He put his hand in it and activated his eel tattoos, sending an electric current through the entire construct, which made the clay. Creature scream in agony, before falling unconscious.

I hummed, "Alright then, who wants smoothies?"

We called in the League to get Clayface into containment, then made our way back to the cave, after stopping for smoothies first.

Now we stood in front of Batman and Red Tornado, giving a report on our mission.

Kaldur was the one who gave it, as he was the most well-spoken. Once he was finished, Batman nodded. "I see… I must say, I'm impressed. I expected Clayface to give you more tro—" He stopped at the sound of me trying to get the last bit of my blueberry smoothie through my straw. I was the only one who hadn't finished their smoothie yet.

luckily realized everyone was staring, and stopped abruptly. "My bad, continue."

"As I was saying, you all handled yourselves quite—I'm trying to praise you1' He exclaimed the last part as I began making the noise again

I stopped again, with barely contained laughter impeding my speech., "s-s-sorry! I couldn't resist!"

Batman walked up to me and snatched the smoothie out of my hand, before tossing it over his shoulder, where a trash can stood about thirty feet behind him. It landed in the trashcan perfectly.

I pouted a bit as he walked away, "The only concern I have would be… Kara."

I felt the Kryptonian stiffen up at the end of the line, "You acted recklessly, and neglected your sense of situational awareness. Such a mistake should be near impossible for a Kryptonian but Clayface still snuck up on you. It was a mistake on my part to send you on a mission so soon."

Kara hung her head in shame while the others shifted uncomfortably. While they had a rocky start, they all couldn't deny that the Kryptonian girl had a winning personality, when it wasn't buried under anger and sorrow.

"I disagree." I spoke up, causing her to look up at me in shock, though she was the only one.

Batman looked at me calmly, "Your reasoning?"

"I went on my first quest across the US with only a few months training. I survived, because I had dependable, and experienced friends to help watch out for me. She is older, more experienced, and more mature. As long as she has all of us with her, she can afford to make a few mistakes in the beginning."

Batman nodded, "Well said." he turned to Kara, "Very well then, you will continue to go on missions. Make sure you learn from your mistakes."

Kara took a moment to process what just happened, before standing up straight and nodding, "Yes sir!"

With that Batman took his leave, leaving the team with some downtime.

As we broke out of our line, I noticed Wally talking animatedly with Artemis about some upcoming party he was having. She only smiled and nodded as he went a mile a minute as they walked out of the room. I wondered if Aphrodite was as active in this Universe as she was in mine.

I was about to head down to the forge to check up with Tyson, but when I turned towards the door, I found Kara in front of me. "How did you do that?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Sorry?"

"The way you talked to Batman! You changed his mind! How did you do that?!"

She really seemed surprised by it, making me wonder just what happened between her and batman before now, "Words?"

She narrowed her eyes at my smartass answer, "It's like… he trusts you. but he doesn't trust anyone! I heard him say so himself!"

I shrugged, "I'm not sure "trust" is the right word… but when you see into another person's head, and everything that's ever happened to them, I guess you get a good read on the person?"

She didn't response, instead looking even more perplexed.

I sighed, before moving past her, "Look I need to check on Tyson."

I was immediately aware of her following me, though she said nothing. Feeling awkward, I spoke up, "So how is your costume design going?"

She looked broken out of deep thought before waving it off, "Okay I guess, I'm taking ideas from my favorite fashion trend ion Krypton… how did you do it?"

I looked back at her, "I told you, I just talked to the guy—"

"No, I mean how did you get over losing your world?"

I stopped, frozen still in the hallway. I felt her bump into me at the sudden stop, but I didn't care. I as too busy clenching my fists as tightly as I could, restraining myself from throttling her neck. It's not her fault, she just doesn't understand.

"What makes you think I "got over it"?" I said as calmly as could.

"Aren't you? I can't go a full hour without thinking about it, but you… you're happy, you laugh you have fun—"

"What does that have to do with it?" I asked, allowing bit of edge in my voice, still not turning to face her. thankfully this time I think she got the message.

"Even if you're not "over" it, you're leagues better than I am, and you've had way less time to deal! All I want to know is—"

I whirled around to look at her, fully aware of the dangerous glow in my eyes, "What the trick is? What coping mechanism do I use?" She nodded nervously.

I took a deep breath, reigning myself in before I said, "There isn't one Kara. I wish I could help you, I really do, but I'm not as well off as you think I am."

"But… then how are you—"

"Happy? Simple: I'm not. Sure, I can have fun, I can laugh I can enjoy myself at times, but there will always be a centuries worth of anger, rage, sorrow, and loss, underneath. What I do is hide it underneath because why should anyone else have to bear that with me?"

She stared at me in horror, so I sighed and put a hand on her shoulder, "That's me Kara. I've had over a century to get used to that mind set, purely for lack of other options. You on the other hand, should see Black Canary. I personally have stopped seeing her, but Tyson tells me she's been helping him a lot. I think she can do the same for you."

With that I left her in the hallway and headed towards the forge, but not before passing Raven's room.

Her door was cracked open, out of which those deep blue eyes were staring right at me,. I them I saw a flicker of…. Concern? Anger? Sadness? I honestly couldn't tell with her. before I could ask, the door was shut in my face.

I shook my head and headed down through the forge area into the cove, where Tyson waited, along with Kaldur, and of course, my ship.

She was finally seaworthy, and I intended on taking her to Atlantis as her first Voyage. Or at least over it.

She was a fairly standard frigate when found her, but now she was glorious. Polished wood painted blue, bright white sails ready to be deployed, and a spotless deck you could eat food off of. (though you probably shouldn't)

Aside from the Helm gifted by Kaldur, it wasn't anything fancy. There was no flag, no figurehead, and the captain's quarters were decorated just like the guest rooms in the mountain, i.e. very plainly. All of the fancy stuff would come after, when Tyson went insane upgrading it, but at the moment, it was just a plain old frigate, with the words Wise Girl painted on the side in grey. And that was just the way I liked it.

I found Tyson talking to Kaldur as he loaded some equipment below deck. There was a few generators and some minifridges as well as microwaves everything I needed to survive really.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Kaldur asked him, "I assure you there will be no trouble if you—"

"I'm sure." Tyson stated chirpily.

"Sure of what?" I asked as I walked across the gangplank. Kaldur looked up in surprise, "Percy! Well… Tyson was telling me…"

"I think I'm going to sit this trip out." Tyson explained."

I raised an eyebrow, "Really? I thought you would have been excited?"

"I am! I definitely want to visit eventually! But… I was wanting to finish up on a project and…"

"And what?" I asked, curiously.

"…M'gann said she was going to teach me and Superboy how to cook tomorrow."

I resisted the urge to break out into laughter. That was enough of an answer for me. I didn't bother mentioning that he could ask for her to teach him another time, or anything really. I honestly had no idea if Tyson was actually developing feelings for the Martian girl, but if he was, I didn't want to risk embarrassing him about it.

After Tyson set up the electronics and went about his business, Kaldur asked me again, "Are you sure this is necessary Percy? I don't doubt that your ship can make the trip with your assistance, but Atlantis has a teleporter. Wouldn't you rather use that and enjoy your first voyage with friends?"

I gave him a funny look, "Dude, you are my best friend."

Despite the look on shock on his face it was true. Of all the people on the team who I was not related to, he was my closest companion. It may have had something to do with our similar powers at the beginning, but I soon found myself impressed by his strong sense of loyalty that rivaled my own. Despite his calm demeaner he did know how to have fun, and besides being more knowledgeable than I, he was also clever enough to give good insight when I formed strategies for the team. And of course, he treats me like an equal instead of groveling like some might say he should have due to my godhood.

I put a hand on his shoulder, "Seriously man, if I had to spend a long period of time with any one person in this universe, it would be—"

"Tyson." He stated with a knowing smirk.

"Well who wouldn't! but you have a firm hold on second place"

He smiled and bowed his head, "I am honored then. So, shall we leave soon? I know you said you could get us to the coordinates quickly, but Atlantis is in the middle of the Ocean, a 2000-mile trip. Most ships from the Wise Girl's time period would take around three weeks, and the dinner is tomorrow night."

I waved him off, "It'll be fine. I'll just will a fast current underneath us towards Atlantis. Worst case scenario I'll swim us there directly, but I have faith in my element. But yeah we should probably get ready to head out."

He nodded, "In that case I shall go gather some clothes and say goodbye to the others.

Once everything was packed up, the team had gathered in the cove to see us off. Aqualad and I stood near the Stern waving goodbye as Superboy and Tyson gave us a sendoff, literally. The two literally pushed the ship out of the cove towards the open ocean.

Once we were out of the cove and on the ocean, I felt a swell inside me that felt overwhelmingly right. It was the same feeling I had all those years ago on the Queen Anne's Revenge though back I didn't realize it. It didn't compare to being in the ocean, but it was pretty darn close.

I was broken out of my thought as I noticed Kaldur by the mizzen mast, climbing up to release the sails. I chuckled, "Don't bother with that man."

He looked down at me in curiously. "What?"

I smirked and snapped y fingers. In an instant, rope flew, sails lowered, and turned into the wind as I took the helm. The sudden change elicited a low yelp from the Atlantean as he hopped down from the mast to watch in awe. I only began turning the helm in the right direction smugly.

What followed was good times galore. I had a small part of my brain focusing on moving water under the ship forward at all times, going to the stern to readjust the wheel occasionally, mostly for the feeling of captaining the ship.

Aside from that it was just me and Kaldur, talking, laughing, exchanging stories and tips. He told me of his time growing up in Atlantis, while I gave the details of my time at Camp half blood. It felt good to actually tell someone about my past instead of having it ripped from my head.

We passed a few ships along the way, many of which were concerned when they saw a 18th century ship passing their modern ones at over three times the speed.

After a while our conversation shifted into sea life. I admitted that while I could befriend any I met, I was not as knowledgeable in all the types of sea life as I probably should be.

Kaldur seemed horrified by this, as apparently most Atlanteans knew nearly all types of sea life by name. he then spent a few hours naming all the ones I "absolutely had to know", lest I embarrass myself.

That continued until sundown. Normally such a lecture would bore me half to death, but I found myself paying full attention with no problem and retaining everything I was told. I guess it's easier when your very biology is attuned to what you're being taught.

After a while though he stopped talking and settled for leaning on the railing near the bow. I had gone down to hat up some food below deck, and when I came back, I saw a new look on his face that I didn't often see on my right hand: uncertainty.

"Dude, why the long face?" I asked, before tossing him a water bottle. He caught it easily before taking the plate of food I handed him gratefully.

Once he was settled again, he said, "I've been thinking Percy… maybe… I should stay in Atlantis."

A piece of half chewed hot pocket fell out of my open mouth, "What? Why? Wait—what brought his on?"

He sighed heavily, "I don't know I just… sometimes I feel like I'm redundant. You can do almost everything I can and more. Not that I'm angry at you for that, I admire you for it, truly! But at the moment I don't see how I am useful to you other than another pair of hands. If I stay in Atlantis, I could continue my studies in Atlantean sorcery. I'll likely never catch up to you but as I am now I—"

"Kaldur." I interrupted him, "You are not "another pair of hands". You're my right-hand man, the most responsible one on the team, who I can count on to lead them if I am ever unable. You're my advisor, my friend, I couldn't do this without you. so, what if your powers aren't as great as mine? I can't do that static electricity thing you do, and you saw how useful that was with Clayface!"

"I'm sure you could learn that easi—"

"Oh, don't worry I intend to. But even then, I'll still need you."

The Atlantean looked at me for a moment, as if trying to detect a lie, before looking aback at the ocean sadly. I sensed there was another reason he was feeling this way.

Sure enough, "There's something else… someone else."

Now I leaned heavily on the rail as well, "Oh. Who is she then? Or he, I don't judge."

He chuckled, "She… Tula was my colleague back at the Conservatory, as well as my lifelong friend. Before I left with King Arthur… I am certain I felt something between us."

I nodded thoughtfully, "Okay… so you're going to give up your life, your friends here on the surface for a girl?" I made sure to put it in a teasing manner.

It backfired when he gave me a pointed look, "I do believe this is what the surface world calls "pot calling the kettle black"."

I chuckled dryly, remembering all the things I gave up, everything I went through for the sake of a girl. "Yeah well look where that got me."

"With us." He stated, "I know you don't regret it."

I smiled at him, "See? You know me best. Look man, I'm not going to tell you that you can't stay or anything, I wouldn't dream of it. However, I want you to know that if you leave the team, you'll be depriving us of a valuable member, that believe it or not, we could never replace."

He smiled sadly at the ocean. "I will keep that in mind."

I stood up off the railing and stretched, "Well it's going to be a long night. There's a hammock below deck if you need to sleep. Atlanteans do sleep right?"

He got up, "Indeed we do. I should probably get some rest for tomorrow. We will be before royalty after all. Will you rest as well?"

I shrugged, "Maybe later." aka never but he didn't need to know that.

The next day.

"I'm surprised the ship actually made it, such speeds could have torn it a apart." Kaldur commented from beneath the waves

"Are you doubting my craftsmanship?" I asked from the ship.

"Well—"

"Don't answer that."

Is this a safe area?" I called out to Kaldur.

He popped up from the water, "Yes, it should be safe. Go ahead."

I nodded and heaved the heavy anchor into the water, letting it fall through the water until it hit the bottom.

I did ad double check below deck to make sure everything was turned off and the boat wasn't set on fire, before jumping overboard myself.

We then began swimming downwards. Already I could see a faint glimmer of light below us, but only after we were a couple thousand more leagues down, did they begin to separate into the most beautiful sight I'd ever seen, and that included Aphrodite.

The city was enormous, under several large domes to accommodate the terrain. The domes appeared to be glass but h ad a feeling they were something a little bit more magical.

The city was illuminated by bright lights, far more brilliantly than new York could ever be . some parts of the buildings themselves glowed as well., and there was no color off limits. Every shade of the rainbow made up the sprawling cityscape, and yet somehow didn't look gaudy.

I suddenly realized. Was no longer moving, instead staring at the sight before me in utter awe. I heard Kaldur chuckle behind me before saying, "Welcome to Atlantis"

Chapter 13

Next chapter will be the rest of the downtime event, including the events of the other team members affected by the presence of Percy and Tyson

Let me know what you think of the presents. Some of the m might not be realistic for one reason or another, but hey it's a fanfic, who cares? I. certainly don't… much.

Sorry this was so late. I was planning on uploading like three days ago, but i couldn't access my computer for reasons. After that I got caught up with Spiderman ps4 which I've since finished. It was great, 10/10, already hoping for a sequal.