Adapting to Time and Fate
Chapter 2
Alright folks, it's another chapter. I'm thinking this story will be around 15 to 20 chapters if I go on the current plan. Kind of depends on school (I am in college now, sophomore) and I write fiction like this when I'm kind of in a jam with my school work to help me focus a bit. Such as now, I'm missing one of my text books and its ticking me off as I knew I put it on my desk…..ugh the memory of someone with a chemical imbalance of serotonin and dopamine.
-Starting Small-
It had been two weeks since that dream Percy received from Chaos. Two solid weeks of trying to figure out how this whole adapting thing worked. Percy looked at his girlfriend expectantly to see what she had seen. She had been collecting "data" on what was happening to him.
Annabeth took a breath and gave him a small smile. "Well, from what myself, Clarisse, and Will saw, we can say that there are differences in your body. First of all, you have a healing factor. The healing time between scratches and bruises started out normal two weeks ago, but by the third spar of the first day, you had partly healed cuts and no bruises. The second day, nothing was left after practice. It didn't matter how deep the cut it was healed within minutes, seconds for smaller ones."
Percy nodded, he too had noticed that.
"Furthermore you have an increase in your pain tolerance. I'm willing to bet you could get decked by Clarisse and shrug it off, not to mention have your broken jaw healed within an hour as of yesterday, in which you broke three bones falling off the climbing wall and were back up and climbing it again before Will came back with ambrosia. You did not fall unconscious from the pain like most would have," Annabeth continued on. She had to admit, it was astonishing how the physical powers of this domain played out. Within a month, Percy could be as indestructible as he was with the Curse of Achilles.
"Is that all?" Percy looked impressed, but a bit underwhelming. If he was meant to save the world by bracing the power that was coming, it would be a hard pressed if not impossible battle at this rate.
"No, that's not all. You have also managed to gain twenty pounds in muscle, your endurance is now tenfold what it was, your reflexes are fast enough to not just dodge but catch arrows from six archers at the same time, and Clarisse also mentioned that during hand to hand combat against you, she told me, quote on quote, 'He lifter me over his damn head and then threw me ten feet'," Annabeth finished. She looked up from her journal and gave him a look of admiration, with a shot of annoyance, likely at his treatment of Clarisse.
"Huh, well, I suppose this is a good start, but how the heck am I supposed to fight something that is capable of destroying an entire universe with the energy it radiates from its body," Percy asked with a disappointed edge.
Annabeth stepped closer to him and took his hand. Percy looked her in her beautiful grey, intelligent eyes. "One step at a time Seaweed Brain, that's how. It will get gradual. To be honest, soon here, you may want to start fighting things bigger and stronger than you are. Maybe beat the Minotaur in hand to hand combat. I'm will to bet you could take him now in an arm wrestling competition," she laughed.
Percy chuckled with her. Using the hand that was joined to his, he pulled her closer and spun her around so he could hold her close from behind. She laughed a little harder before nuzzling into the embrace. Ever since Tartarus, she couldn't help but feel safe with him.
Annabeth had to fight off the memories of the place but then something came out of it, an idea so insane, it might just work. Her eyes snapped open and she jerked upright.
Percy, with his new reflexes, managed to dodge her head as she shot upward. He looked at her suspiciously and almost felt hurt at the jumping up. At least until she turned around to him with that gleam in her eyes. The gleam of pure mad genius.
"Alright, what will I be doing," Percy asked with a slight grin on his face.
"Oh nothing much. You remember when you controlled the poisons in Tar….down there," Annabeth asked with a slight shudder.
"Yeah, I suppose so, not my happiest memory though," Percy answered, also with his own shiver at the thought of Tartarus.
"What if you could control other liquids?" Annabeth continued with her trail of thought.
Percy cocked an eyebrow, where was she going with this? "Well, I suppose it would have to have water right?"
"Maybe not, what if you could control something that is only on the fringe of your father's domains? Like say the ground."
"It would have to be liquid…,"Percy answered as realization dawned on him.
"Let's see with your new access to a domain if your powers can also adapt. It's not like you haven't controlled lava before," Annabeth smiled.
"Hey, that was an accident, and it was to save you and prolong Kronos," Percy answer with narrowed eyes but he was also poorly concealing a smirk.
Annabeth rolled her eyes, this boy, she swore by Hades.
Percy got to his feet and began to walk for the door, throwing out a, "You coming or not?" over his shoulder. Annabeth shook her head. Only Percy. She then walked after him as he walked to the molten lave section of the climbing wall.
-So Cool, Its Hot-
Percy looked at the molten liquid and felt a bit nervous. If this thing got out of hand, well, Annabeth could get hurt, he might heal from it, but he rather doubted that she could survive getting molten liquid splattered on her. He was however thankful that the climbing wall had been vacated for the next hour.
Annabeth walked over to him and smiled. "You can do this Percy, just focus on the liquid part of liquid rock, and let's hope it works."
Percy nodded then looked at her. "You might want to back up a ways just in case, if this thing backfires, well, I can heal incredibly fast and can resist lava, and I don't want you to get hurt."
Annabeth nodded then with a sweet smile, kissed Percy on the cheek. "I'll be a few yards away then, just don't die without me."
Percy had a wide smile on his face as he promised her that he wasn't going to die today.
Annabeth walked back a few yards for safety and then Percy turned his attention to the lava.
'Okay, you can do this, just concentrate,' Percy thought to himself. He reached his hand up at the lave and focused on moving it, much like how he would with water. He felt his stomach turn like it does when he accesses his powers, just far more painful, that is if he didn't have such a high pain tolerance. A chunk of lava slowly lifted, however, the farther up it got, the harder it was to command it. Percy was sweating in no time and eventually had to let the lava drop.
He panted as he felt his muscles quiver with the exertion of his strength. Annabeth ran over to him, with that excited look in her eyes with a touch of smug satisfaction.
"Well, you were right, I can do it, but it's extremely hard right now," Percy said in between his gasps for breath.
Annabeth nodded in understanding. "Its hard right now, but try again after you've recovered."
Percy nodded as he felt his heart rate settle. He really needed a drink of water…..and then maybe dunking himself in some water.
He walked over to the mess hall got a few drinks of water while Annabeth kept people off the climbing wall. Percy came back ten minutes later feeling better and with several water bottles, just so he didn't have to walk back over later.
The two took their places again and Percy once more began to bend the lava to his will. This time, Percy noticed a difference. It was easier. Way easier in fact, almost too easy. He split the lave ball into three smaller chunks and began to spin them in a circle for a minute. He hardly felt a thing during the entire process, so he decided to make it a bit harder. He pulled up another much larger chunk of lava. It was harder, but only a bit.
Percy began to do exercises that he usually did with water. Stretch it from one single to a distant object (a rock, trees are flammable) and recall the line, creating hollow domes, and finally solidifying the lava. The second Percy solidified the lava his stomach lurch and the strain went tenfold from what it had been. The rock levitated for a second then dropped.
Percy was panting by the time the rock dropped though. The rock had been too far out of the boundaries of his abilities for him to adapt to it.
Annabeth walked over to him holding on of the bottles of water. Percy gave her a grateful look as she handed it to him.
"Well, it looked like it was easier for you," Annabeth commented.
"Much, up till I turned it into a solid at least. I can control Ice as well as water, but its slightly harder. It took me a bit to learn how to use ice, but I did eventually get the hang of it. Which kind gives me an idea," Percy replied as a thoughtful face appeared on his face.
He looked at what had been lava and thrust out his hand palm first. The rock liquefied back into lava, the result he had been looking for. Percy then transferred the lava back to the climbing wall.
"It would appear I no longer need to be near a water source to use my abilities," Percy said with a smirk.
Annabeth laughed, then stretched over and kissed his check. "Come on Seaweed Brain, you need a shower and then it should be time to eat."
He laughed as she tugged his arm till he was walking with her to his cabin. They entered the cabin and Annabeth let go of his hand and walked into the bathroom. Percy looked at her in confusion as she turned around and smirked at him.
"You coming or not?" Annabeth asked with that dangerous smirk on her face.
Percy blushed at the implications of her statement, but offered little hesitation or resistance as he joined her in the bathroom.
-Chapter end-
Okay, I'll take it like a man, I'm an asshole for that. However, I just couldn't help it. I did say that there was going to be mentions of sexual activity, although, don't think that their going that far yet. So, let's be clear, this is going to be a Percy/Annabeth story. Probably. I'm still debating on it a bit, but I am rather loath to break them apart or to kill Annabeth off, she's one of my favorite characters of all time. I suppose time will tell. Either way, I know what I want out of this story and so far, this is only the first couple of steps.
What did you guys think of Percy's new ability? Like it? I have to tell you, it took me a while to find something that wasn't cliché beyond all belief and fit in his ability range. I have yet to see lava or molten rock used, so I figured, why not, but tell me what you think of it. If you have any suggestions, review and I shall see.
Till next time, review, follow, and favorite!
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