When Annabeth finally got out of the bath, her fingers had gone all crinkly from being in the water for too long. Percy was beaming, dry the second he heaved himself out of the bath, reaching for her and kissing her again, his powers making all the water return to the bath where it had come from. Annabeth found that she liked kissing Percy; she hadn't kissed anyone for a while, and Percy didn't kiss her like she was breakable, which she very much enjoyed.
"Night Owl? Typhoon? Where are you both?" A voice called, and Annabeth pulled away, her feathers appearing automatically. Percy pulled the mask over his face and Leo poked his head around the door. He caught sight of them both and grinned.
"What are you guys doing?" He asked.
"I could ask the same about you and Calypso man; heard you two flirt all the way through your interviews" Percy replied, and Annabeth frowned.
"Interviews? Someone let you be interviewed?" She asked, and Leo puffed out his chest.
"you're looking at the new face of the team! Answering questions, making us look good for the media…"
"Gods help us" Annabeth muttered, and Percy snickered.
"As long as you make me look the best, I'm cool with it. What are you doing here?" He asked.
"Everyone is here. We still need to do something about Luke and Thalia; you've only been passed out two days you know"
"Okay, we're coming" Percy said, and Leo nodded, leading the way. Annabeth followed alongside Percy and he laced their fingers together, as if it was the most natural of things to do. She smiled to herself.
Everyone was in the next room, sat on the couches hidden behind all the floaty drapes (Annabeth thought it was a nice look, but why did they need so many?) and they joined them, sitting in the space between Red Woman and Blue Spark. Red took one look at Percy and Annabeth's joined hands and had a moment of flailing, waving her hands and looking ecstatic.
"I knew it!" She cried "I called this! You all owe me ten bucks!"
"You bet on us?" Annabeth asked, looking to Percy, who just looked a little confused. Thankfully it was a cute look on him, as she knew he was confused a lot.
"Nah, we were…making predictions" Centurion said "Which meant that Oracle wasn't allowed to play"
"I know what you two did in that bath- saw it months ago" She said, and the group turned to grin at the pair. Annabeth scowled.
"Thank you Rachel" She said, and the redhead blew her a kiss.
"What did you do in the bath?!" Red demanded.
"Red, I don't think you want to know- Night Owl is blushing a little too much, don't you think?" Shifter grinned.
"Hey, I blush really easily!" She said defensively, crossing her arms. Percy chuckled next to her.
"Its not so bad Wise Girl; they're just jealous because they didn't get any today" He said, looking mischievous.
"But we didn't- oh" She said, smiling in return "Yes, they're all jealous"
Red's jaw had dropped and Centurion was fanning herself with her hand, like an old lady who heard something inappropriate. Annabeth giggled.
"My Gods. Night Owl is laughing. Typhoon what the hell did you do to her?" Blue Spark asked. Percy patted his shoulder.
"How about you and Red figure it out?" He asked, and Annabeth turned to smirk at Red woman, who was watching Blue with wide eyes.
"Yeah, maybe you'll make purple" She added, and the group snickered like children, whilst Blue Spark stuttered and Red just stared at Annabeth with an open mouth.
"Who are you and what have you done with Night Owl?" She asked.
"Nothing; if anything, she's only just come back" Annabeth told her.
"Right; lets get down to business- first things first if you two have done anything in that bath I'll make you scrub it" Praetor announced, sitting herself down on a couch and looking sternly at Annabeth and Percy, who tried not to burst into giggles. Wow, Annabeth, giggling, had the world gone mad? She had forgotten how childish she could be when she wanted.
"Now, Leo has told the public to keep away from Luke and Thalia, so hopefully we won't have any problems with injured civilians. Night Owl we've found Kronos' old base, on the other side of the city in the hills; he called it mount Othrys- my troops will march there" Praetor continued, and Annabeth nodded.
"Right. Taking out Kronos' base could weaken his power- so his hold on Luke will loosen and we can separate them"
"Wait, Kronos has Luke?" Blue Spark asked.
"He's possessing him somehow, he talked through him that day we were in the infirmary. Thalia said that if Luke doesn't wake Kronos, he'll take his body instead" Percy explained.
"Right, but I'm not sure Luke could handle that. Luke has no traces of powers in him, Kronos could kill him- we have to stop them before that happens. We need a surprise, powerful attack. Give them everything we've got. The hunters are tracking down Thalia to try and separate them, Nico has been keeping an eye on their movements for days-they're closing in on them as we speak" Annabeth said, and Red Woman nodded.
"Right, so we separate them- but what if Thalia doesn't want to leave Luke? What then?" She asked. Annabeth set her jaw.
"Then we fight her too. They've been doing some serious magic- Venti that have been gone for years? They've raised them. Monsters? They recruited them. Luke said, even with no powers magic was easy; we don't know what they have up their sleeves"
"I think we should make a storm" Percy said suddenly, and all eyes turned to him. He never made suggestions, since he joined the team he just went with what Annabeth and the others planned.
"A storm? What do you mean?" Centurion asked, tilting her head.
"I mean a huge storm; one that magic can't stop. Blue Spark, Inferno, me- it would disorientate the monsters and everyone they rallied, we'll have lightning and torrential rain and Leo and Blue can work together to make flaming tornadoes"
"That's…a pretty good idea Seaweed Brain" Annabeth told him, impressed. He smiled smugly.
"I have those sometimes" He replied.
"Okay, so a storm. I can shift into different monsters and attack from behind enemy lines" Shifter suggested, turning into a telkhine to prove his point.
"If we draw them out into the empty lot just outside the city, its full of underground tunnels; I can collapse them and trap the monsters" Centurion added.
"These are great ideas, but how are we gonna get them to the lot?" Leo asked.
"Leave that to me; I'm a master at persuasion" Red grinned, and Annabeth nodded.
"When are we doing this?" Praetor asked "It should be simultaneous attacks"
"Tomorrow, noon" Annabeth said "They've been causing chaos for long enough, and they probably think Typhoon is still knocked out. Leo, you got an interview today?"
"Tonight, actually; the ten o clock news wants, well, news"
"Right; tell them that Typhoon is in a coma. Tell them that I am badly injured and that Tyson is missing- should be enough to convince them they have a good chance of winning if we challenge them"
"Where is Tyson?" Blue Spark asked.
"Playing with the pegasi- they quite enjoy his company" Praetor told him. Percy chuckled.
"Typical. There's a fight brewing and he's playing with the ponies"
"Let him be, at least he's not breaking the busts of Roman emperors" Praetor said "My troops will march at nightfall to reach Mount Othrys in time; I suggest you all get a good night's sleep"
She glanced at Centurion, Shifter, Percy and Annabeth suspiciously, and the group giggled like children once more. Praetor left, probably glad to be done with them, and Annabeth heard her barking orders at her legionnaires.
"Right. So that's all planned out, and we have a few hours to kill- what do you guys wanna do?" Shifter asked, looking around at the group. Annabeth did the same, noticing that everyone looked comfortable; lounging on the couches, not up and chasing bad guys or worrying about an injured teammate for once.
"We should just…talk" Annabeth suggested.
"You, talk?" Leo asked.
"Yes, I do in fact use my vocal chords once in a while, Valdez. It beats wasting our energy when we could use it tomorrow"
The group nodded in agreement, shuffling around to get more comfortable on the couches or on each other in certain cases, like shifter and centurion; Shifter turned into a black panther and lay on the floor and Centurion leaned against him like a cushion. Annabeth threw her legs across Percy's and rested her head on his shoulder, liking that it was suddenly so easy to do and she didn't have to over think it.
"You know, sometimes I wonder whether I like being a hero you know" Centurion said to the ceiling "I mean, sure you're famous, and you keep people safe, but your real life suffers. It's a little empty because you're always busy, and people assume you're boring and you can't tell them that you're not because it would blow your cover"
"It does suck sometimes" Annabeth agreed "But you just have to find something- or someone- that'll make it suck a little less"
"I know who Shifter really is. And he knows me too" Centurion said softly, running a hand through Shifter's soft black fur. He purred and she smiled.
"And you all know me" Leo grinned, sat with Rachel lay across him.
"I think we all know each other" Annabeth said, and the team looked to her curiously.
"What do you mean?" Red asked.
"Well, I found out Leo's identity, and Typhoon's, and Rachel's- we all work together. In the museum"
A look of realisation dawned on the group's faces, and Annabeth knew her suspicions were right.
"Oh my Gods. Chiron hired us all without us knowing to keep an eye on us" Blue said, and Annabeth nodded.
"Guys; should we…exchange identities? If we all already know each other, there's no real harm in it, right?" Centurion asked.
"Yeah, and now I'm real curious, since you guys know me and I don't know you" Leo added.
"Right, okay. I'll go first then, shall I?" Centurion said, and pulled off her expensive looking helmet, revealing curly hair and gold eyes.
"Hazel!" Red cried, and Hazel smiled.
"Yup, I'm Hazel, ergo Centurion. Shifter, you wanna go next?" She asked. The panther turned human again and pulled down his hood.
"Frank Zhang. Well I'll be. Though the minute I saw Hazel I knew it would be you" Blue said with a grin. Frank smiled and put an arm around Hazel's shoulders. Red turned to Percy.
"Do me a favour, would you?" She asked, and he raised his hand, a wave of water appearing out of no-where and washing the paint from her face. Annabeth beamed.
"Piper! I was hoping it was you" She said, and Piper grinned. Blue looked a little dazed.
"Hang on, let me guess; Jason? Is that you under there?" Annabeth asked, and Blue pulled off his mask- and there sat Jason, his short blonde hair sticking up from being in his mask, but Annabeth could tell that Piper didn't seem to mind.
"Oh thank the Gods, now you two can finally get your act together and hook up" Percy said, and Piper raised an eyebrow.
"You can't say much Typhoon, but thanks for the support. Who are you by the way?" She replied. He pulled off his mask, running a hand through his hair, and Jason clapped his shoulder, grinning widely.
"Thank the Gods, I thought you were one of the Stoll brothers"
Percy laughed, and everyone turned their attention to Annabeth. She looked to Percy, who nodded and grinned, and she let the feathers go.
"Hang on; how didn't we guess that? Smart, troubled, cranky, liked the newbie- pft, obviously Annabeth" Piper said, and Annabeth smiled.
"Its because you're not as smart as me" She said. Piper pulled a face.
"So, we got duped by our boss, and not one of us caught on. I must admit, Chiron is one sneaky dude" Leo said, though he didn't look mad about it at all.
"Well he had to be sneaky to fool Annabeth; she's like a daughter to him, she'd be first to catch on" Hazel chuckled.
"To be honest, I'm glad he hired us all; I feel closer to all of you guys now I know who you really are, and you're not just some random strangers" Percy reasoned.
"Maybe that was his plan all along" Rachel said in amusement. Annabeth wondered if she'd foreseen this moment and knew who they were all along. It wouldn't surprise her.
Leo left not long after to pick up Calypso (Annabeth reluctantly handed Piper ten bucks) and prepare for his interview, and Rachel went to find Tyson and stop him from causing mass destruction to priceless Roman artefacts, leaving all the couples together on the couches. Annabeth never imagined she'd be in that group, she assumed that she'd find an empty room somewhere and read latin texts, or take notes on the arhitecture of the building- it was truly stunning, completely true to ancient Roman structures except for the indoor plumbing and lighting. She kind of wanted to study the beams that ringed the courtyard, the mosaics on the floors, the busts of famous Roman leaders- but then she was comfortable on the couch, leaning against Percy and looking at it all from there. She didn't want to go and fight tomorrow; she wanted to stay in this beautiful house with her friends, design more villas with bigger baths, large terraces overlooking Olympus. That was the problem with letting Old Annabeth come back; she was the one that was distracted enough to not notice her mother needing help until it was too late.
"Wise Girl, did you hear me?" Percy's voice brought her back to earth, pulling her from her thoughts.
"What?" She asked.
"I asked if you wanted to go outside- you look troubled" He said. She nodded and they got up, wandering out into the courtyard with the fountain. Annabeth hadn't even noticed that night had fallen. Praetor and her troops were gone, marching off to Othrys to destroy Kronos' seat of power. Stars scattered the sky above, and Annabeth could make out all the constellations that her father had taught her when she was little and they didn't fight all the time. She joined Percy and sat on the edge of the fountain, looking up at the little lights that looked a lot smaller than what they were.
"Talk to me Annabeth, what's up?" Percy asked.
"Its just- Your Mom said that I should let go, and I know I should. But now I have, I feel like I'm turning back into the person that watched my Mom die. I'm just turning back into her again"
"Annabeth, you learned from that. You're not gonna be her again. Trust me, you're stronger, and you're braver, and you're better than that girl; but you're Annabeth too. Which means some of her is still there" Percy told her, and Annabeth tore her eyes away from the stars to look at him instead. He had all this faith in her, so much hope for the world and she wondered how he did that. He just believed that everything would always be alright.
"I missed being Annabeth" She admitted, and Percy chuckled.
"Well good; and I'll make sure she doesn't leave again, how's that?"
"That's good. We should sleep now- we have a busy day tomorrow"
Percy nodded and took one long look at the stars before he got up, pulling her with him and heading up the stairs.
"I'm guessing I'm in the room I woke up in" He assumed, and Annabeth nodded.
"I'm next door. It's a pretty big bed, much comfier too…"
"Is that an invitation wise girl?" Percy asked, and she nodded.
"I sleep better with you there" She admitted.
"Well then, I'm in. I didn't like that room anyway"
Annabeth laughed and opened the door to her room, which was much comfier, with a bigger bed since she wasn't out cold and chose a good room when she arrived. She changed into the pyjamas Praetor had brought to her, and Percy just took his suit off, not even bothering to throw anything else on, and they curled up together under the sheets. Annabeth could smell the sea, and the roses from the oil in Percy's hair, and she fell asleep with no weight on her shoulders and a smile on her face. Tomorrow could come if it wished, and bring with it all the chaos of a war. But tonight, Annabeth would sleep peacefully, under Percy's arm, warm and uncaring of the world.
Hey look I'm updating, from a new laptop so I don't have any excuses anymore! I've just started college, so if I don't update for a few days longer than usual it's probably because i'm crying because making new friends is very hard for an awkward turtleduck like me :') Anyways, enough about me, enjoy the chapter, and leave a review to make my day!