Yes, I changed my name to Mr. Invincible. Don't be alarmed… Anyway, I got over the whole anime stage and decided L Lawliet 1979 wouldn't cut it anymore. To those wondering, no, I was not born in 1979. As for Mr. Invincible, my name means invincible and Mr. Invincible sounds better than Ms. Invincible.

Di Angelo paused for a minute before answering, saying one word, "Why?"

Percy was already losing his patience. He was running out of time, and this subordinate couldn't just put him on line, "Because I want to talk to him. So, stop being an a-hole and get him on the damn phone."

"He's busy," the other man said abruptly.

"Look man, I know we have some issues and all, but this is important. Get the man on the phone."

"Jackson, I don't know who you think you are, but he's busy. He doesn't have time to talk to you."

"To hell with it. I am here because of him. The least he can do is to oblige my request. Is that too much to ask for?"

"Yeah, actually, it is," Nico Di Angelo put down the phone before Percy could get another word in. In his frustration, Percy threw down the phone on the hard concrete of the training facility's entrance. He watched as the screen cracked on his phone, a thin line appearing diagonally across the fragile screen. For good measure, he kicked the ground around it, covering the phone with the dry dust.

On second thought, he shouldn't leave that there. Leaning down to pick it up, he collected the parts, rubbing the phone on his shirt to rid it of dust. Nico di Angelo always caught him at the worse times. Maybe that's why they were so hostile. The two could never see eye to eye. Nico was a loyal man, no doubt, to the boss, but Percy was there only for personal reasons.

The two, in all honesty, had never even seen each other face to face, the sole communication being limited to telephone conversations. Needless to say, most ended up like this or worse where one hung up on the other irritably.

As Percy turned around, he came face to face with his Captain. She was standing there with her arms crossed and her foot tapping impatiently. Annabeth held out a hand, raising an eyebrow.

Percy made a show of being reluctant as he placed the now broken phone in her hand. Annabeth slipped it into her pocket as she rounded on Percy, "So Jackson, how'd you get it in here?"

He gave her a puzzled glance, showing in his own surprise, "Honestly M'am, I have no idea."

"I'm sure you are well aware of military rules. The same apply for all armed forces. You seem intent on every single rule we enforce here."

"Well, you better tighten up the security here. I entered the base and handed them my letter from my previous superior. Almost immediately, they saluted me, ushering me in without another search. I was surprised, but didn't bother questioning them."

Annabeth sighed in exasperation, rubbing her temples as though she had a headache, "Fine, fine. I'll go speak to the guards. Might I ask who the caller was?"

Percy glanced at her curiously, suddenly suspicious, "How long have you been here?"

She returned his glance with an equally suspicious one, "Long enough to see you smash the phone on the ground. You looked rather ticked."

He wasn't sure whether she was remotely telling the truth or not, but he went with it, "It was nothing."

"Private Jackson, if it was nothing, I wouldn't have expected you to lose your calm so easily, swearing and all."

"I—" Percy began quickly searching through his head for a viable excuse, one which wouldn't land him under any more issues, "Ah, it was family matter…"

Annabeth Chase, too, wasn't sure whether her private was lying to her. The deep green eyes betrayed nothing on the subject as she began to pursue it, "Oh? Something wrong?"

"No M'am…" Percy took a deep breath, preparing to fabricate a plausible lie, "It's my mother. She was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, and today, she had to undergo treatment again. We thought that they had successfully removed the malignant tumor last time, but it seems as though that weren't the case."

Annabeth was at loss for words, not for once doubting the word of the marine, "I apologize for being so hasty, Mr. Jackson. I was not aware of your familial situation."

"It's no matter, but the new treatment costs far exceed what I can afford," Percy continued, playing along with the scenario further.

"I…"

"It's alright. You couldn't have known anyway. If there's nothing else…" Percy stopped, allowing Annabeth a chance to speak.

"No, no. It's fine. I'll see you later at the barracks. I have to discuss expectations for tomorrow's training. I do expect to see you there, Jackson," Annabeth returned to her previous manner of addressing him, her eyebrows slightly lilted.

"Of course Captain Chase," Percy replied, bowing almost mockingly.

Percy turned back in direction of his barrack, swearing as he upbraided himself for being caught. Now Annabeth had his phone. The phone was programmed such that no messages or calls could be recorded, at least for a layman. But the U.S. Marines were not something to be reckoned with. They could easily decode the program in seconds. He felt slightly reassured knowing it was new phone that had only been used for contacting Nico two or three times.

He settled down on his bunk, taking the lower berth. Percy placed his hands on either side of him, struggling to keep himself in control. His bunkmates filtered in as each marine finished his shower at the training center. There were low murmurs of complaints as the men flopped onto their beds.

These men were quite clearly not used to being in the armed forces. They were weaklings. Percy scoffed at their lackadaisical attitude. The men were about his age, but they had never experienced the same thrill of serving their country. They were still teens at heart, but Percy knew that would change in a matter of days. Once they were sent on their first field missions, everything turned over. He could hear the man above already snoring in deep slumber. Percy thought condescendingly, 'these men are America's saviors.'

He heard a knock on the barracks as the men stood up attention. Noting his bunkmate wasn't still up yet, he jabbed the other man hard in the arm, waking him up successfully.

Annabeth walked passed each section of the barracks to repeat the same set of instructions over and over. Her voice had gone hoarse by the time she neared Percy's section. She could have used a megaphone, but at the time, she hadn't seen its use.

"Section 10," she began as she stood in front of Percy and berth mates, "You will be under the special supervision of Major Luke Castellan tomorrow to be informed of your field assignments. He expects to see you all there at 5:30 AM sharp." As the other men groaned loudly in denial, Annabeth continued, "No excuses!"

The other marines nodded sullenly, returning back to their bunks. Percy turned to leave when Annabeth caught a hold of his arm, "Jackson, if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to you. I'll be waiting outside."

Percy nodded in acquiescence as he took out a windbreaker, zipping it up over his t-shirt and jeans. He followed the woman outside, noting that she too had changed. Her hair was tied up in a high bun still, but her appearance had changed completely from when he saw her an hour ago. She was wearing a gray blouse to compliment her eyes, a pair of black cargo pants to go with it. Annabeth looked at him expectantly as he cleared his throat. "You look nice," he offered.

Annabeth gave him an amused look, "Complimenting me, Jackson? What a nice change, but drop the formalities."

"M'am?"

"The whole M'am thing is starting to irritate me. Captain is fine, but not now. I came to talk, not as your commanding officer, but as fellow empathizer."

Telling from the bemused look on his face, Annabeth chuckled lightly, "Don't worry. I was referring to our conversation earlier… About your mother."

"Oh," Percy was beginning to feel all the discomfort crop up again as she broached the subject. She really didn't have to talk about it now, did she?

She continued, looking out at the falling dusk, "I know how it feels, you know. I lost my own mom to cancer at the age of seven."

Percy didn't know how to reply. Should he be empathetic or just sit there quietly and listen?

Annabeth didn't seem to care as she continued, "I grew up with my unsupportive father. He was a ruthless man, attempting to squelch the few things I did enjoy as a child."

He wasn't quite sure where this was heading, but he just sat there, letting her tell her story.

"With an unsupportive father, school was tough. I was pinned as a geek, nerd. I was called out on being an outcast. In fact, I preferred not being noticed," She laughed bitterly, "At times, I wished I could disappear. Disappearing as easy as just wearing a magical cap to become invisible. I had two friends in school. One died in an accident within a few years of meeting her. What I felt was an improvement in life was snatched away in her death. Her boyfriend, my other friend, was in his own shell that he struggled with."

Percy was astounded to see the tears beginning to trickle down her cheeks as she spoke. Annabeth blushed fiercely as she tried to wipe them away. Without his knowing, he grabbed her hand comfortably, giving it a quick squeeze.

He felt her shudder slightly at the touch, as though she was not used to this type of human interaction, "It'll be alright, Captain."

"Jackson, I don't want anyone to go through the same experience I did."

"Captain…"

"Annabeth."

"What?"

"Call me Annabeth."

"Annabeth, I know how it is. I grew up with a distant father. In fact, I didn't meet him until I was twelve. My mother was my sole support," Percy felt horrible for lying. It wasn't as though his mother was actually terminally ill.

The last few ebbs of her tears were still there. He knew that the mention of his mother had reminded of her own past, rubbing salt over an open wound that was still clearly fresh in her mind. Percy leaned across, using his thumb to rub away the last few lingering tears, repeating again, "It'll be fine."

Longest chapter yet.

I thought I might throw in some Percabeth. The story was lacking. Review for quicker updates. I'll try to update by Friday if I survive classes next week. Remember, more faves, reviews, follows = happier me = uploading chapters quicker = more Percabeth.

~TJ