Jinero: Too much speculation involved for me to give anywhere close to an educated guess.

Echo Five: Well, when you stop making money and then do something incredibly stupid like the Wonder Woman 1984 comic, there are gonna be consequences.

Guest 1: You'll have to keep reading.

Guest 2: Yep.

Camp Half-Blood

Morning

The next morning, Oliver was in The Big House. Chiron was examining the bow and quiver from Artemis after Oliver had told him about them appearing outside his cabin.

"These are the weapons of The Hunters of Artemis. You will always hit your mark with this bow. And with these silver arrows, you will be able to kill almost any monster, as your regular arrows will simply pass through them," Chiron explained as he handed the bow back to Oliver.

"So this is Artemis' way of helping me out?" Oliver asked sarcastically and Chiron was silent for a moment.

"Do not judge her too harshly Oliver. It is the ancient laws that state the gods cannot interfere in the paths of their mortal children," Chiron said patently.

Yet Artemis could break her vows to have him, Oliver thought bitterly. But he took a deep breath; trying some of the breathing exercises Shado had taught him over a decade ago to clear his mind. He didn't come to see Chiron to lash out at him, after all.

"Last night, before my…gift arrived, I had a dream," Oliver said and Chiron looked at him sharply. "It felt real."

"It may have been. Demigods have been known to experience visions as dreams. What did you see?" Chiron inquired and his patient voice made Oliver feel a whole lot less ridiculous.

"I saw a man. He was attacked by this huge dog with red eyes," Oliver said.

"A Hellhound. It is the child of Cerberus, guard dog of The Underworld. They are often hunters of demigods and mortals," Chiron explained and Oliver nodded.

"The man, he was saved by…someone. I didn't see who, but they used the same arrows as these," Oliver said, gesturing to the quiver of silver arrows. "What does it mean?"

"It is difficult to say," Chiron said after a moment. "The arrows suggest it was one of your mother's Hunters. Why you would see it, I do not know. Perhaps your dreams will become clear in time. For now, it is time for your quest to begin."

Oliver nodded slowly, knowing Chiron was right. Whether he was ready or not, it was time for his quest, for his final mission, to begin.

They exited The Big House and walked through the camp, making their way towards Half-Blood Hill. Percy and Annabeth were already there, saying goodbye to some of their friends from camp. As they saw Chiron and Oliver approach, the campers wondered off, glancing back at Percy and Annabeth, like they were trying to remember this moment in case the worst happened.

Percy and Annabeth were dressed in civilian clothes; both wore jeans and T shirts, Percy a dark green while Annabeth had on a dark grey shirt. Good, no need to draw attention with their Camp Half-Blood shirts, Oliver mused as he and Chiron reached them. They also had duffle bags with them. Obviously, this wasn't their first quest.

"You two ready?" Oliver asked but he could see from their eyes that they were.

"As we'll ever be," Percy said as Annabeth nodded silently.

"Look out for each other," Chiron said grimly and they all looked over at him. "I fear that all of you will have a role to play in the great prophecy. What, I do not know. Be careful, all of you."

It was this warning that went through Oliver's mind as he drove away from Camp Half-Blood in the rental car Chiron had procured for them. Annabeth and Percy said in the backseat as Oliver drove. It was silent for a moment until Percy reached forward, turning on the radio.

"I hate tense silences," Percy shrugged as he looked for a station.

Oliver's lips twitched as Percy leaned back after finding a rock station he seemed to like. Annabeth looked at her boyfriend in a mix of exasperation and fondness as he sat back in his seat.

He liked Percy, Oliver decided. In truth, Percy was pretty much what he had always imagined Barry had been like as a teenager, albeit a lot more sarcastic. Annabeth, in truth, reminded him of a less jaded version of Sara when she had returned to Starling City after The Undertaking.

"So, where to first?" Percy asked after a few moments.

"Let's start with west," Oliver said and Annabeth nodded in agreement.

"According to the prophecy, we need to head west. Hopefully, that should give us some clue on where to start," Annabeth said and Oliver could practically see the gears tuning in her head as she tried to figure out their first step.

"If I know The Monitor, he'll show up to give us a clue soon enough," Oliver mused.

No sooner had Oliver finished speaking when there was a flash of light that blinded the trio. When it faded, they were in a place Oliver had been only twice before. Gone was the road, instead they stood on silver platform surrounded by the blackness of space, stars all around them. And a few feet from their car stood The Monitor.

"Speak of the devil," Oliver muttered.

Percy and Annabeth, to their credit, did not seem nearly as freaked out by this turn of events as he had expected. But he supposed, being demigods, they were used to this sort of thing.

"Let me guess, The Monitor?" Percy said although he sounded pretty sure it was him already.

"Yeah, that's him," Oliver said dryly. "Might as well see what he wants."

Percy and Annabeth offered no arguments, so the three of them got out of the car.

"Well done Oliver. You have completed your first step," Mar Novu said, sounding pleased as he turned to address Percy and Annabeth. "Percy Jackson. Son of Poseidon, leader of Camp Half-Blood. Some would call you the greatest hero since Hercules."

"Don't compare me to him," Percy almost snapped and Novu smiled.

"I see you know the man Hercules truly was. Good, it will teach you not to follow in his footsteps," Novu said before turning to Annabeth. "Annabeth Chase. Daughter of Athena, architect of Olympus. The smartest demigod in centuries. Since your half-brother, Daedalus in fact."

"Is there a point to this?" Annabeth asked, scowling at the mention of Daedalus.

"Each of you will have a role to play in the coming battle," Novu said as if he hadn't been interrupted. "But for now, there is work to be done."

"Did you know?" Oliver suddenly demanded, making Novu pause. "Did you know that I was…"

"Yes, I knew," Novu admitted. "But does it matter?"

Oliver guessed not, in the grand scheme of things. Still, it was infuriating that Novu had knowingly sent him in blind. But Oliver would table this, for now. Because Novu was right, there was work to be done.

"You have done as I said, united with the sea's son and wisdom's daughter," Novu said, breaking Oliver out of his thoughts. "Now, you must hunt the beast."

"The beast? What beast?" Percy asked confused and Novu smiled.

"You have already slain it Percy Jackson. Five years ago, on your quest to save Artemis," Novu said.

Oliver raised an eyebrow; sure there was a story there. He idly wondered what Artemis had to do with it as he saw Percy's eyes light up in recognition.

"Ae you insane? You want us to go after the Nemean Lion? I had Thalia, Grover and Zoe helping me! We only beat it by luck!" Percy exclaimed in shock.

"It was not luck, it was strategy," Novu disagreed with a twitch of his lips, like he was fighting a smile. "An unorthodox strategy, but an effective one, none the less. You are a very unique demigod Percy Jackson. It will greatly benefit the quest."

Oliver searched his brief recollection of conversations he and Laurel had had about Greek mythology during their college years. The Nemean Lion was one of the beasts Hercules had fought, this he remembered. But there was something that made it hard to kill that Oliver just couldn't remember what, to his frustration.

"Why do we need to go after the Nemean Lion?" Annabeth demanded, breaking Oliver out of his thoughts.

"It's skin will prove most useful in the coming Crisis," Novu said simply but did not elaborate.

"Is he always like this?" Percy asked annoyed as he turned to Oliver.

"Pretty much," Olivier admitted.

"Do you doubt your commitment to this mission?" Novu demanded and Oliver straightened.

"You know I don't," Oliver said angrily.

"Good. Then you will go after the beast. Once you have defeated it, I will appear before you once more," Mar Novu promised.

Before either of them could speak another word, they were blinded by a flash of light. When it faded, the three of them were on the side of the road, the car still running behind them.

"Well, that was new," Percy muttered.

"Seaweed Brain, look at where we are," Annabeth said and Percy could hear the alarm in her voice.

And Oliver saw it as well. Gone was the long road they had been on before. They were still on a road, but it was different. Cornfields were all around them and he could see a windmill in the distance. They definitely weren't in New York anymore.

"Where are we?" Percy asked as he got a good look at his surroundings. "This doesn't look like Long Island."

"Because it's not," Annabeth said, pointing a few feet behind the car.

Oliver and Percy followed her finger. Not far from the car was a road sign. It read 'Welcome to Kansas' in white letters on the green sign.

"Kansas…we're in Kansas," Percy said dumbfounded. "How-"

"The Monitor," Oliver said gruffly, putting it together. "He sent us here…because the lion is here. He's really not giving us any choice. We have to hunt the Nemean Lion."

Originally, this chapter was longer but that just felt like a great stopping point. Not sure this was my best work, but I hope you guys enjoyed it anyway.