_Annabeth Chase_
_10:30 PM. Long Island, New York_
"I'm going on patrol." I told Piper. "I'll be back around…2am, maybe later."
"Have fun." Piper said, waving me off.
I opened the window, climbing onto and out, then flying towards Manhattan. After Percy and I fixed our dorms, it was already late and we still have school tomorrow. Unfortunately, New York is known as the City that Never Sleeps, which means that, as a superhero, I must be on patrol in the middle of the night.
I landed on the same rooftop I always do, walking over to where Hurricane was standing, looking out into the city. I stood in front of him, catching his gaze. He smirked down at me, and in response, I scowled. "You sir have no right to call me a bimbo." I stated.
"Are we still on that?" Hurricane asked, exasperated. "Look, I apologize."
"You should be sorry. Do you even know what a bimbo is?"
"An attractive but empty headed person, typically a female." Hurricane stated with a smirk. "Yeah, I know stuff."
"You know degrading stuff." I snapped. "What on earth made you think I was empty headed?"
"Look, I was upset and that's the first thing I thought of. You aren't a bimbo, and I'm sorry. Well, you are attractive. Anyway, you aren't stupid or whatever. Your very smart, Wise Girl."
"Wise Girl?"
"You don't like that nickname either?" Hurricane asked. "Do you just like, hate nicknames?"
"I don't hate nicknames, just the ones you give me." I stated.
"Let's go visit Leo." Hurricane suggested.
"What? We're on patrol. Plus, I'm pretty sure visiting hours are over."
"We're superheroes, it'd be rude to deny us service." Hurricane said.
"You can't just go around waving the superhero card! That's not how it works!" I exclaimed.
"Well Wise Girl, I'm going to visit Leo. You can stay here and look at a crime-less city." Hurricane said, jumping over the edge. I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose before leaping over the edge of the building, feeling a strong wind pick me up.
I focused my vision, finding the scattered form of Hurricane. I went up higher, crossing over a few buildings to be in front of him. I jumped down in front of the hospital, smirking triumphantly as Hurricane materialized next to me, rubbing his arm.
"Damn, I hate you." Hurricane said. I shrugged, turning on my heals and skipping to the door.
"Don't wait up." I said, going into the hospital. I went up to the front desk, where a tired, old lady was sitting, tapping away on her computer. She looked up at me through her thin-rimmed glasses, did a double take before gasping.
"Arenge' you that super girl?" she—her name tag said Gretel—asked. I nodded, feeling Hurricane coming up behind me.
"We're here to see Leo Valdez." I said. "He came in yesterday from a fire and it was our doing and all that, so we wanted to check on him."
"Well, visiting hours are over sweethearts." Gretel said. "But, since it is two Superheroes asking, I'll go ask my supervisor. Just wait right here."
She got up, disappearing in the back. I turned to Hurricane, who had a dazed expression on his face. "And I thought you were hot when you acted rude, but damn, you being polite just set off the bar."
"Shut it, Seaweed Brain."
"Oh, Seaweed Brain. How long did that take you?" Hurricane teased.
"Two seconds, although I'm always thinking how much seaweed is in your brain."
"Ouch…why's it gotta be seaweed?"
"Your Hurricane…Hurricanes come from the sea…" I explained.
"Oh…you were being a smart-ass." Hurricane said with a smirk.
I curtsied. "Why thank you."
"Okay, I think I like it Bette when your rude to me." Hurricane said.
"Are you kidding? It's not up to you how I act." I stated.
"But you being rude is more fun," he whined.
"Then I'll be polite." I concluded.
"But you being polite is really hot. Not as hot as when you best the crap outta bad guys, but still pretty hot."
"Shut it, you hormonal teenager."
"I can't help it!" Hurricane exclaimed, faking anger and making me laugh.
"Oh you two are so cute." I turned around, seeing Gretel smiling at us from her computer. I felt my face get hot as I looked down at my shoes. "Mr. Valdez is in the Recovery Ward on Floor 3, room 3-117. Now don't be long."
I walked quickly to the stairs, taking them two at a time to the third floor. "Why…the hell…would you…take..the stairs…if you can….fly?" Hurricane panted, trying to keep up with me.
I shrugged, pausing between floors so he could catch up. He got next to me, taking a few deep breaths. "You're a superhero, don't you workout?" I asked incredulously.
"I don't run up three flights of stairs a day!" he exclaimed.
"We're between two and three," I pointed out, then started up the stairs. "Keep up, Seaweed Brain."
I heard him groan, then start to follow me again. I pushed open the third floor door, skipping down the hallway to 3-117, waiting at the door for Hurricane. He jogged slowly to me, giving me a scowl. "I hate you." I shrugged happily, grabbing the handle. At the same time, Hurricane went for it, so now his larger hand was over my much, much smaller hand.
"Ow!" I exclaimed at the same time as Hurricane, feeling a shock run through my hand. I pulled my hand back, looking up at Hurricane.
"Why'd you shook me?" we asked simultaneously. "Me? I didn't shock you. You shocked me!"
"Stop talking at the same time as me." Again with unison.
"Stop it." And again.
"I'm not doing it, that's you!" and again.
He opened his mouth at the same time as I did again, but before he could talk I slapped his cheek. "Ow!" Hurricane yelled, bringing his hand to his cheek. "Why did you hit me?" I shrugged, reaching for the door.
"God, it stings." Hurricane whined.
I rolled my eyes, pushing open the door and walking over to the bed in the center. Leo sat up, eyes wide as coins as he recognized me. His eyes traveled to my side, which meant that Hurricane had come in. "Holy cow, superheroes! In my hospital room!"
"Hey dude," Hurricane said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "You feeling good?"
"Well, besides the fact that all my friends didn't come to visit me in the hospital and I killed my mother, I'm just fine." Leo said with a smile.
"Leo, I'm sorry I couldn't come visit." I said. "I got held up, moving in and what not. I swear, I really did want to come. All of us did. But you know the stupid rules about moving in."
"What?" Leo asked, staring at me in horror.
"Okay, this is gonna sound crazy but—Hurricane, could you give us a minute? I need to talk to Leo alone."
Hurricane shrugged, walking to the door. He left, shutting the door tightly behind him. I turned back to Leo, seeing his eyes studying me. "Alright chica, spill your beans." Leo said, crossing his arms.
"You gotta swear to keep quite, alright?"
"My lips are sealed." Leo said, then effectively 'locked his lips.' "Also, I thought you were a brunette?"
I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and letting my appearance transform. I heard Leo gasp, then put his hand over his mouth. I opened my eyes, seeing his eyes even bigger then before. "Fuck! Annabeth!" Leo whisper exclaimed. "Holy shit! I'm best friends with a superhero."
"You do realize that I am not your best friend, right?" I asked, laughing lightly.
"Shut up, I hate you. How come you never told me?"
"Kinda defeats the purpose of secret identity." I said, shrugging.
"Am I the last to find out? You always do this!" Leo exclaimed.
"No, no one else knows except you, Piper, and Ms. Jackson." I whispered.
"Why does Ms. Jackson know? How come Percy doesn't? How does Piper know?"
"I didn't tell anyone, you're the first person I told. Piper caught me last year, and I guess Ms. Jackson has known since…forever." I said.
"I have so many questions. When'd you get your powers? How do you make your eyes change? Are you dating Hurricane? You know how passed Percy'll be when he finds out that I knew before him?"
"Okay, ask me later." I said, changing back to Grey Shadow.
"How do you know Hurricane didn't hear us? You have a superpower for that, don't you?"
I nodded, getting off the bed and walking to the door. "I can make it so that no one can hear us." I opened the door, watch Hurricane stumble backwards. I watched him turn back to me, rubbing his neck nervously.
"Everything good?" Hurricane asked. I nodded, heading back to Leo.
"Not a word," I said to Leo, who nodded happily.
"What'd she tell you?" Hurricane asked.
"Not your business." Leo said, making me laugh.
"Okay, so let's be serious now." Hurricane said. "How on earth did the fire not kill you? It's absolutely impossible for any normal human being to survive that long without any type of burns."
"Oh...that." Leo said nervously, his smile also nervous and the tip of his nose sparking a flame.
"Woah!" I exclaimed, sliding off the bed and tumbling into Hurricane, who stumbled to keep me from hitting the ground.
"Why the heck is your nose on fire?" Hurricane asked in shock.
"Oops," Leo said, crossing his eyes to look at his nose. "I don't know what happened, I've just been—it's been happening since the fire. I didn't show the doctor, or the nurses. I was…well I wanted to keep it to myself. Please tell me what's wrong with me?"
"Do you remember anything before the fire? Anything different that might have happened?" I asked, pulling myself away from Hurricane.
Leo concentrated hard, his eyebrows furrowing. "Sorry chica, I'm drawing a blank."
"You remember nothing?" Hurricane asked disbelievingly. "What's the last thing you remember before being in the hospital?"
"Uh…I was at school…yeah school. It was the last day, I went to my Jason's for nachos and video games. Then I was walking home…that's it."
"We gotta go." I told Hurricane. "We aren't supposed to be here, and the doctor's coming. We'll talk later, Leo."
"And remember, we were never here." Hurricane said, opening the room window. I saluted Leo, then dived out the window, Hurricane behind me.
I made my way to midtown, where we usually wait on patrol. When I landed (which was rather rough, I landed on my butt) I saw Hurricane sitting near the edge, watching me amusingly. I huffed, getting up and dusting the imaginary dirt off my bottom. "So, are we gonna talk about Leo? Or are we just gonna ignore everything that happened in the last twenty minutes?"
"When'd you get your powers?" I asked.
"Huh?"
"When did you get your powers?" I repeated slower.
"Uh…like…as far as I remember. Like around when I was 8." Hurricane said.
"Okay, what do remember before that?" I asked.
"Nothing much." Hurricane said, furrowing his brows. "I know I had a dad, I don't remember him. Or anything…huh. I never really thought about it."
"So what's your farthest memory?" I asked.
"Um...I was in the hospital. I don't know why though…I don't really remember it all to well. Why?" Hurricane asked.
"Think about it: Leo can light his nose and who knows what else on fire, but he doesn't remember anything about what happened before. We're lucky he even remembers his name. You are a superhero, but you can't remember anything before you were eight. There has to be some kind of connection."
"Just…keep your guard up for anyone with missing memories." I said.
"Do you have missing memories?" Hurricane asked.
"Yeah," I said.
"What do you remember?"
"I remember school." I said. I sat down next to him, looking out into the city. "My parents died, sometime before I turned eight. I don't remember anything before being eight. I know I had parents, everyone had parents. I'm pretty sure they loved me. But…I don't remember them."
"Oh." Hurricane said quietly.
~Sleepless Saviors~
"Piper!" I exclaimed, jumping on her bed. She groaned, pulling her blanket up above her head. "Come on time for school!" I exclaimed, shaking her.
"Stop it!" Piper yelled, pushing me with all her force. I landed on the floor, springing back up and going back to my side of the room.
"How the hell do you stay up until two in the freakin' morning every night, yet you are so excited?" Piper asked, throwing her blanket off.
"I love the first day of school." I said. "New classes, new teachers, watching the freshman struggle. It's all so amazing."
"Well Smart Ass, some of us dread it, and try to sleep through it." Piper said. "Hey, that should be your superhero name. Smart Ass, kicking ass since 93."
"First, it has to be something parents won't be upset about." I said. "Two, I haven't even had super powers since I was born."
"Then when'd you get them?" Piper asked, looking at me curiously.
I shrugged, laying my uniform on the bed. "Probably when I was eight. Now, no more talking about Grey Shadow. It's time for school!"
Piper groaned again, crawling back into her nest. "Come on, you are no longer a freshie. And I am a junior. Let's do this!"
At school, they let us do whatever we want with our uniform as long as we stick to the clothes they say. First day is first impression for new kids. Rooming with Piper, you pick up a few tips on breaking the rules without breaking the rules. The stupid mandatory tie (red with green on it) is now a cute headband. The stupid white button up was…well it's still a shirt. I need to wear something! And the stupid plaid skirt (red and green) is just a skirt, cause I still need to cover my butt. There were stupid, white, knee-high socks. All it said was we had to wear the socks provided, so I cut and sewed, making a fingerless glove that barely went to my elbow, and the other sock was embedded in the headband.
And the rest was just close-toed brown, black, or navy shoes. Today, I wore black biker boots, putting my school books in a messenger bag Mrs. Jackson gave me. We (Piper, Hazel, and I) met with the guys outside, since they lived in the building next to us. The boys don't have as much freedom with their uniforms as we do. The uniform section of the handbook specifies where their clothes have to be. I'm pretty sure they're gonna do that for the girls once I leave. Mostly because I'm always arguing their rules.
"Excuse me." I turned around, seeing a girl who looked a few years younger then me rushing over. "Can you help me find my class please?"
"Are you new?" Piper asked, and the girl nodded.
"Here's a little tip for walkers; campus is a mile and a half away, so always have a way of getting around." I said. "You can borrow my bike today, mostly because I know you're in my building and if you steal it I can track you down."
"Thank you." the girl said gratefully.
"No problem. I'm Annabeth. These are some of my friends, Hazel, Piper, Percy, Jason, Leo, and Frank."
"I'm Sagittarius."
"Nah, Ima go with Sage." Percy said. "Long names are a lot of work."
"His name is Perseus, but we call him Percy." Piper said.
I went to the bike rack, unchaining my bike and handing it to Sage. I gave her the helmet, then went to Percy. "Give me a spare helmet, riding with you." I said.
"I thought you hated my motorcycle?" Percy asked as he strapped on his helmet on.
"How else am I supposed to get to school?"
"And if that rumor starts again?"
"All that matters is that you and I know the truth. I don't care what those skanks think." Percy shrugged, handing me his other helmet.
"See you guys at school." Percy said, climbing on. I climbed on behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist.
While I am on the torture machine Percy calls a 'motorcycle', I'll tell you about how Sage looks familiar. Her hair was in a messy fish-tail braid, sandy blonde in color (sound like an old person). She did seem nervous, her blue eyes shifting constantly. She wore her uniform in a standard way, with everything in the proper place.
Okay, now back to Percy's death machine:
"Please slow down!" I shouted in his ear. He laughed, reviving the engine.
"I'm trying to get to school, only another minute!"
Percy came to a screeching halt, pulling into the motorcycle parking lot. Why we had it when is beyond me, because, as far as I knew, only Percy owned a motorcycle.
A/N: So, I was just sitting at home, doing some homework (hate homework, so much work) when I got a review. That was when I realized it was Tuesday, and I was supposed to be updating! I started this one in November, too, like the last one. So I scanned through it, now let's discuss.
What happened to Leo? Well, I know what happened. You don't know. What do you think though? Getting good, huh? What about Sage? I like her. Notice anything, hmm? Really wanna know what you guys think, next update on Friday! Read and review!
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo