Percy

He stood stiffly in front of the entire Olympian Council. No matter that he'd been in that exact same position three times before, it didn't remove the overwhelming sense of divine power in the room. Or the utter terror he felt.

What had changed, was that for once, the Olympian's were not voting on whether or not they should kill him. Although what they were deciding on wasn't all that much better. His plans for the future didn't exactly include being their glorified messenger to the mortal world.

"Since when has Olympus needed a champion among mortals? Until now we've kept ourselves hidden and separate. From what I hear, you didn't even allow us to interfere when New York was attacked this past spring." Percy asked tiredly. Not that the ban had stopped the campers from interfering. New York is their home, none of them were going to stand by and let it get invaded. Annabeth had lead a small group of demigods to fight the alien invasion. It had been made up of a few of Camp Half Blood's most seasoned demigods who weren't year rounders. People who theoretically might not have heard about the order against interference. Plausible deniability wasn't a very good excuse when it came to gods, but it was better than outright disobedience.

Zeus glowered down at him, lightning snapping and crackling in his beard. The smell of ozone filled the air, but Percy refused to back down. If the Lord of the Sky killed him now, all that would accomplish would be to incite a civil war among the gods, and probably a revolt from both demigod factions. Percy was too involved in their world now for the King of Olympus to arbitrarily kill him now. He'd been used too often, that he wasn't just a pawn anymore. Percy was a player in the game, one that not even the King of Olympus could dismiss. Not without consequences.

"It has been many millennia since we last had chaos such as this. Chaos on a level that Olympus cannot ignore. It's not like the usual petty mortal wars and squabbles. These are problems that could shake all of earth, in ways that are..." The god paused uncomfortably, "...outside of our divine reach. The Ancient Laws are clear. We must send a champion." Percy had a feeling that if it weren't for the Ancient Laws, Zeus would have been more than happy to ignore the problem until he couldn't anymore; just like he did with Kronos and Gaea.

The council was nodding along, although a few of the gods and goddesses that liked Percy shot him sympathetic glances. He heaved a heavy sigh. The demigod wasn't even surprised at this point.

'So much for retirement.' Percy kept the sardonic thought to himself. He might be plenty disrespectful to the gods, but he wasn't completely stupid. Most of the time.

"And I suppose this champion just has to be me? Even though I'm supposed to be retired?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. The smell of ozone in the room intensified, Zeus's glower growing darker at his tone. The demigod knew he was skirting the line between acceptable disrespect, and the type he was liable to get killed for. The goddess of wisdom leaned forward in her seat slightly, carefully unlacing her fingers from their place in her lap, and gripping the armrests of her throne. Athena's grey eyes bored into him as she answered his question. Percy tried to resist the urge to fidget. He failed, his feet shuffling from side to side.

"For the sake of the Mist, and in the interest of protecting both the camps and Olympus; you are the wisest choice. You have already made these mortal heroes your allies, and have gained their trust. You are an experienced leader, a seasoned warrior. You have the greatest chance at success, the greatest chance to minimize any potential casualties. You are the greatest hero of this generation. Who better to send as champion?" The goddess of wisdom asked, her almost neutral tone of voice taking him y surprise. It was the most tolerant the goddess had ever been towards Percy. Ever.

He had a feeling that saving Annabeth, again, had helped move him from scum, to vaguely respectable. Percy resisted the urge to smirk. One day Athena would decide she didn't want to blast him for loving her daughter.

On the other hand, he also knew what the goddess of strategy was doing.

Percy pursed his lips before sighing in resignation. Athena knew exactly where to hit his fatal flaw where it counted the most. He would do anything to protect the camps, and if the goddess of wisdom and strategy thought he was the best choice to do so, then who was he to say no? Besides, between him the the goddess, they both knew his protests were mostly token. He would never dump that kind of responsibility on another demigod.

"Fine. I'll be your champion. But I'm still not joining the Avengers. I'll be a uh... umm... a... a consultant, or... something." A few of the gods chuckled and Athena inclined her head slightly, conceding to his terms. The rest of the council looked to Zeus for the final decision.

Zeus huffed, the deep frown never leaving his face but the god said nothing. It was as close to acceptance of Athena's plan as he was ever going to get. Percy took it as the win it was and beat a hasty retreat, bowing first to his father, then to the rest of the Olympians. Zeus muttered something about impudent demigods not giving him the respect owed him as the King of Olympus, before dismissing Percy with a lazy flick of his hand.

Exiting the throne room, Percy strolled slowly down the side of the mountain. There were some days he wondered what it would have been like had he accepted the original offer of godhood. He didn't regret his choice to stay mortal, but some days he wondered what would be different if he had become a god. What would his life be like if Olympus would have been made his home, or even his father's palace in Atlantis. Would he have been accepted by his father's people? Would he have made new friends with other minor gods? Percy shook his head, clearing his mind of the useless thoughts. He wasn't a god, and he was happier for it. He knew it deep inside himself that he would have hated being an immortal deity. There were too many things in the mortal world that he wanted that becoming a god would have prevented him from having or doing.

Percy walked through the wide pathways, gazing across the half way completed projects in the distance, and the gleaning columns and arches and temples that dotted the main road. Annabeth had gone back to drawing up plans for the home of the gods while she recovered in bed. With Olympus finally reopened, it's official architect was finally going to be allowed back to work. Meaning, for the time being at least, the two of them would finish out their senior year in New York.

But after that, who knew what else?

Percy still dreamed of college in New Rome for them, but he also knew that he was a New Yorker, and that he wouldn't be able to give up his city. Not the one he'd sacrificed so much for. The city he fought and bled and nearly died in. The city that he'd lost friends and comrades to, the city where he'd battled monsters not even his worst nightmares could have conjured up until he'd fought them. Where he'd grown up with his mom, with the smell of her blue cookies sometimes covering up Smelly Gabe's cigars, where Grand Central Station gleamed in the light, Sweet on America hidden inside the polished marble building. New York City was in his bones, and it was where his family is. As Hestia might say, it's where his hearth is.

Besides, his new friends were here. The Avengers were a weird, dysfunctional group, but something about them worked. They'd saved the world. And that was a pretty exclusive club to be a part of. A handful of demigods, a pair of magicians, and five of the weirdest mortals to have walked the planet since the golden age of Greece. Plus a Norse semi-god, and Percy had a good feeling about a couple of the einherji up in Boston were probably going to join up soon enough.

They all had a ton of help, hundreds of people who had backed them all up, and without them, they undoubtedly all would have failed. But at the end of the day, it had been him and Annabeth with Luke that day. It had been Leo and Festus alone, against Gaea. It had been Carter and Sadie in the demon place against Apophis. Six strangers, who barely even liked each other, against an alien army they never could have believed existed until they fought it in the streets of Manhattan.

No, life was never going to be as boring as he wanted it to be. Percy knew he was going to be fighting until the day he died. In fact, he'd probably die fighting. And even if he could have it any other way, he wouldn't. Because it shouldn't have to be up to anyone else.

There were still two more parts to that prophecy, and until then; he and Annabeth would stick around New York. Check in with the Avengers, keep an eye out for monsters and an ear out for trouble. He had Nico to watch Tartarus, Thalia to watch out for the mortal world and Grover to watch the wild places. Percy himself, had the mythological world in check, and he had Annabeth to keep him in check.

But who knows? Maybe for once he'd get lucky, and the rest of the prophecy wouldn't get fulfilled for another eighty years.

...

Aw, who was he kidding? With his luck, he's not even going to last until next summer.

Notes:

AHHH! It's finally here! The end of this story is almost here. There will be one last chapter and then this rollercoaster of a story will finally be over. Sorry that it took me so long to post this chapter.

Thank you so much to everyone who has stuck by this story, everyone who followed and favorited and reviewed. I really do love hearing from you guys, so please don't stop reviewing.

I'm in the process of moving (again) so the final chapter might take a little while, but I hope what you've got here will be good enough in the meantime.

Cheers,

Hartley

PS: I've started a couple drafts for some Percy surprise family fics in a couple of different universes. If you have a preference on what you'd like to see, let me know! I'm hoping to maybe start rolling that next story out in the next couple of months