Percy sighed, something he seemed to be doing a lot lately. Being the genius he is, he managed to give himself a heart-attack when he tried to recall how much time had passed before he had to go back to Olympus. Did his Dad include the same day he was calling as one of the three days? If so, that meant he only had until tomorrow instead of the two days like he was thinking. He had to force that track of thought out of his head. If he worked his situation correctly, he could make it back to Olympus within six hours and have time to spare. But first, he had to sit through the annoying explanation that consisted of his life story and the Greek world. The whole league looked like a bunch of ADHD kids as they were in constant motion during the lengthy process; drumming fingers, tapping feet, anything they could think of to move a part of their body while still being respectful as they listened.
Percy didn't like to recall his whole life as if it was a story book, so he tried his best to block out the sound of Lady Diana's voice. Doing this one task would have been easier, had it not been for Arthur and Khaldur staring at him as if he was going to perform some wonderful magic trick that ended all hunger and pain. Percy had tried to remove them from the floor to sit with him on the couch, but apparently, they weren't 'worthy' enough to sit next to a demigod. Percy had scoffed at that, what stories had these two atlantians heard? He was a person that was hard to anger, and he wasn't angry per-say, but highly annoyed was a little bit of an understatement. He wanted to be treated like a normal person, not like a hero or a god or some savior that swept in to the rescue whenever the world went to hell in a hand basket. Heroism was something he wasn't fond of, but he could respect the people around him for their selfless acts of helping the mortals whenever they were in danger. Percy had his share of adventures and saving the world, all he wanted now was a sense of normalcy in his life; but he's a demigod, a child of the Big Three and probably the most wanted demigod in greek history... point is, normal wasn't a word he could see ever applying to him and he was certain of that.
"...-nd he fell in to tartarus to save her; the place is also known to most people as Hell..."
Yeah, Percy decided that was the worst possible moment to tune into the conversation. Just when he thought it couldn't get any worse than having to listen to the gruesome recount of his time in tartarus, something started happening that was worse than anything Percy could think of: that look started. Percy already couldn't stand being the center of attention, it was well-known throughout both Camps and Olympus, but those looks were worse than Kronos torture: looks of pity and sympathy. It was a small amount at first and he diverted his attention to his pen once more taking in every small detail engraved into the smooth surface. He tried giving the dam thing back to his father and he had...only to find the writing utensil in his pocket after he would leave to go back to camp. When confronted on the matter, his dad would only give a irritating grin and shrug. Percy had tried everything to get the pen to stay with Poseidon, even cutting himself to leave behind his blood on the magical pen in hopes that it would be tricked, but it was all pointless. Maybe the Fates cursed the thing to follow him to his grave, it sure seemed like they loved to screw with his life. He loved riptide and had a lot of adventures, but.. bad memories, more often than not, overpowered any of the good events. The thought was a little idiotic, but he figured if he got rid of the pen that was there from the start, maybe he could sleep a full night without being haunted.
Khaldur swallowed thickly as he felt his legs start to fall asleep but, for some reason, he felt that if he would move, it would completely disrupt the story Wonder Woman was going through. He discretely glanced over to the sea-green eyed demigod. He had heard several stories of the man during his time in Atlantis, especially from his King. However, all those stories only glorified the heroic parts, not the unimaginable trials the raven-haired boy went through to do the actual saving. Khaldur never gave thought to what level of suffering the son of Poseidon went through, too blind-sighted of all the great accomplishments that reshaped Atlantis, Olympus, and just about everyone's lives. The guilt of accusing the man of terrorism ate at his mind, he hadn't thought of the 'mist' that helped shield the mythological world from the humans.
Monsters wasn't that big of a deal to Atlantians, demigods were the big deal; the glory that came with killing a child of a Olympian was a lot greater than taking the life of a unknown Atlantian. Besides, a huge majority of monsters resides in land and very few Atlantians leave the ocean; actually, only Khaldur and the King himself. No matter how long he saved people as Aqualad, he knew he wouldn't even come close to the suffering Perseus had went through.
"...Gaea allowed all the monsters in Tartarus to escape to fight so Percy joined the two camps..."
No matter how much Percy attempted to block out Diana's voice, fragments still managed to break through his careful concentration. He furrowed his eyebrows, holding back a sigh as he realized it would probably be half an hour before Lady Diana finished her 'explanation' that was basically the entire story of his life.
"...He defeated the primordial when he saw..."
"...of the Seven passed aw-"
Percy bit his tongue. It may have been a couple of years since the war with Gaea but it didn't mean the scars or the losses were any less painful. Percy bared every death, from his many quests to the wars fought, on his shoulders and what a burden it presented him. Apollo had scolded him in front of the Olympus council for taking the blame for all the deaths, it had caused quite the awkward moment and that was about around the time when it seemed every god made it their mission to be the 'best' family member possible.
"...This is why he needs to return back to Olympus before things get ugly." After what seemed like an eternity, Percy heard what sounded like a conclusion to the whole story.
Percy rolled his shoulders, feeling the tension pull at his muscles and the scars tighten uncomfortably; If only he could remove everyone's pity filled stares just as easily. "Lady Diana, we could have saved everyone the trouble and gave them the basics; I'm a demigod and I have a dumbass overpowered family."
Wally gave a weak chuckle at how casually the older man talked about his life. The room was filled with a melancholy atmosphere, not unlike the one that fell across the camps after the wars. Between the older adults staring at him as if he would suddenly combust and the younger heros looking like they had just got smacked in the face by Hades underwear, Percy decided this was possibly the worse situation he could ever get into. He could handle fighting titans, gods, anything but standing under gazes that looked at him as if he already had one foot in the grave.
The thunderous boom that seemed to rattle the walls had everyone flinching as Percy gave a roll of his eyes. He crossed his arms, the corner of his lips turning downward, "You know its true, Drama Queen." Lady Diana looked like she was ready to have a heart attack as he glanced nervously at the ceiling, as if Zeus was going to phase through the drywall. Percy had taken to calling his Uncle by his newly given title of 'Drama Queen' because there wasn't another name that fitted the god so perfectly. Well, there was another name he could use... but it would be highly inappropriate and it wasn't something he could just walk around yelling anywhere.
"My Lord, I don't think it is... wise to call Zeus any names..." Lady Diana seemed to be trying to pick her words carefully.
"I have been calling him that for years. Pretty sure he is use to it by now."
Robin crossed his arms feeling a little out of place now that he knew the truth about the man. "I'm sorry for accusing you of such a crime. I should have-..." Robin was going to continue and ramble on about how he should've assessed the situation more, but before he could get any further, Percy let out a laugh that had Robin blinking; he hasn't said anything funny, had he?
"Don't apologize." Percy slipped his pen into his pants pocket with a boyish from that made most of the people taken back. "As you now know, I've had worse situations than being held in a room full of mortals. Besides, you were all acting in defense of the public and I am grateful for that. It's nice to know there is people out there other than just us demigods fighting."
Boy-blue, Percy still hasn't listened closely enough to find out the new-comers names, frowned as he shifted his weight, his blue eyes narrowing. "It sounds like to me, y'all have everything under control with the Greek world. But crime in our cities is always increasing yo-"
Percy waved his hand dismissively in the air. "Don't put words in my mouth, boy-blue." He straightened his back out feeling a glorious 'pop' echo throughout his body with a groan. "The fact is that crime is never going to be eradicated completely. There is always going to be wars, deaths in vain, and sin; it doesn't matter how much you save, arrest, or even kill people. Only thing you can do is over come one obstacle at a time until you can't do anymore."
Percy grimaced, he got a little off topic and a little too deep. He blamed his ADHD, "While us demigods are strong enough to fight off our ancestors, we don't live for long. I'm currently the oldest out of all the demigods, which is a miracle seeing as the last oldest demigod was fifteen. The Fates grow bored of manipulating our destiny rather quickly and cut our strings when they see fit. The only reason they have kept me alive is so they can see what will break me and what lengths I will go through in order to see my family safe. It won't be too much longer until they decide to clear their board of players, I just happen to be one of them."
Connor sneered and Boy-blue gave him a warning glance. "So they use you like pawns? Stop aiding them! Why help them when they are just going to kill you off early? If you know your kind doesn't live long, why waste your time doing their dirty work?!" Connor seemed to be getting a little too worked up about the situation and Percy took notice of his controlled breathing patterns, probably a attempt to calm himself. Percy hadn't realized how dark the conversation had turned, but it was too late to change the subject now as everyone was looking at him expectantly. Maybe if he didn't run his motor-mouth before thinking things through, he could have ended the whole ordeal and left for Olympus by now. Dam, he just kept digging his grave further.
"If we didn't do the dirty jobs, thousands of people would die. We may not get to live like everyone else, but we make the most of what we have. I don't mind dying a early death because I'll get to be with my family in Elysium. I don't hold it against the Fates for giving us a short life span, because most of the time, due to how... traumatic our lives end up, some demigods get a little demented and being half god, without all the restrictions of being a full-fledged god, we are considered more dangerous to the Greek world."
Arrow frowned, "I understand what you mean, but that doesn't make it okay for these 'Fates' to kill off every demigod just because they are paranoid. And they shouldn't treat you like weapons."
Percy gave a simple shrug of his shoulders. "The Olympians have been around for several millennias, so they are quite set in their ways." He paused then added, "Although, they have rare moments of integrating certain changes into their ruling that change with the centuries. The oldest Olympians wasn't raised with the type of parents that believe in loving their kids, mostly just training for battle; that includes my father. Despite trying their best not to, they ended up adopting the notion that their demigod children didn't need the loving relationship nor any visits. When Hercules was born, it changed a lot for the future generations for demigods; he is one of the reasons that laws were put up that no god is allowed to involve themselves with their demigod children. That's usually why so many of us die. A lot of children don't know of their bloodline and it makes it easier for monsters to pick them off one by one."
M'gann wrapped her arms around herself, the way Percy spoke was depressing in her opinion. She was certainly glad that she wasn't born as a demigod, because that type of life seemed like too much trouble to deal with.
"So that man on the phone yesterday, that was Poseidon?"
It was the first time Batman had spoke since Diana had the argument about Percy being a terrorist. Diana only frowned as it looked like Percy's tragic backstory was nothing but a speck of dust to the dark knight; heartless much?
Aquaman immediately trained his attention between Percy and Batman. All his time spent ruling Atlantis, he had never even got to speak to Poseidon; aside from reports that were seldom ever replied to by a nameless merman in the original Atlantis that served as Poseidon's home. It was astonishing to him that he actually got the pleasure of meeting Prince Perseus, Arthur would like to imagine it was like meeting a younger version of Poseidon.
Lady Diana raised an eyebrow. Batman got to talk to Poseidon on the phone? They had phones on Olympus? While Diana didn't particularly like the god of the sea, he was more tolerated than the other males in Olympus, but it wasn't by much.
Percy nodded as he stood up from the couch, dusting off his ripped jeans like it might help their current condition. He supposed he should escape before he spouted off something else that caused another fifteen minute conversation that usually led to another drawn out discussion that Percy couldn't afford at the moment. He had to get to Olympus as soon as possible cause the sixth sense that had helped keep him alive all these years was going haywire. He doubted his luck couldn't get much worse, but he didn't want to jinx himself cause that seemed to be a habit. Slipping his hands in his pockets, he grasped the cold metal of riptide. He was about to excuse himself and carry out the usual process of saying goodbye when meeting new people, but his muscles tensed as it suddenly felt like he had the Minotaur breathing down his neck. "Close your eyes." The words didn't come out fast enough for his liking. He could caught a glimpse of the confused looks around the room before the area in front of him encased itself in light.
Normally time was never an issue to the gods, they had been alive for centuries and hopefully would be for future. Time appeared as a slug to all the Olympians within the throne room as they awaited the return of the one and only seaweed brain. Poseidon knew from the way his son spoke that it was mortals holding his son captive, but it did nothing to ease his nerves. While mortals posed no threat to gods, it was a different case when it came to demigods. The technology the world had created in this day and age was powerful enough to kill a mortal demigod within seconds; and that's what worried Poseidon. He regretted not gifting his son immortality when everyone was attempting to bless the green-eyed teen two years ago.
"Why did we have to give him three days again?" Apollo's question was a innocent one, but it apparently was enough to cause half the room to give him some of the dirtiest glares they could muster.
"Yes, because giving him thirty minutes would have so much better." The sarcasm that dripped from Ares words were mostly directed at Hermes who had made the suggestion earlier. Ares was all for going right at this moment for his little cousin, but there was evidently a issue with that idea according to Zeus and Poseidon, not that the war god seen one himself. So what if the raven haired boy was being held by humans? They were gods! They could handle a few arrogantly foolish mortals who thought they had any business with Percy.
"I must agree with Apollo." Surprisingly, that came from Athena as she straightened herself out in her throne. "Word travels fast in the Greek world, what if our enemies have already caught wind of young Perseus being held by mortals?"
Poseidon wanted to curse in that moment as a whole new list of fears entered his mind due to his niece; she wasn't wrong. It had gone unspoken, but the agreement to not allow anymore demigod children suffer when the gods could help had been put in place since the last war. It was the gods turn to protect their children and they had a lot of time to make up for it. It the hustle of hunting down every demigod outside of camp grounds and putting aside time for the kids in said camps, the entire council had dedicated themselves to hovering over Percy Jackson like a new mother would for her infant. The boy had already been put through hell and back, quite literally and figuratively, and it was a unspoken goal to make sure the hero had a peaceful life that wasn't as dangerous as it normally would be. Thirteen Olympian gods and goddesses, due to Percy asking for Hades throne to be placed with the council, looking after one demigod shouldn't prove that difficult; oh, how wrong they were.
Poseidon stood up from his throne with a scowl. "Artemis, take the hunt and find any traces of my boy." The goddess of the hunt didn't protest as she quickly flashed out of the throne room. Zeus would have yelled at his older brother for ordering others around, that was his job, but he knew when to hold his tongue and now happened to be one of those moments. Hermes stood up as he brushed a hand through his hair, "I will see if I can help any." Just like that, he had disappeared completely and Hera didn't doubt that it was due to the tense silence that had fallen over the room since yesterday.
"Uncle, maybe you could go around the small kingdoms in your domain and see if there is any tips they can give. He did make rounds with Tyson a few weeks ago."
Poseidon doubted that could help at all, but he wasn't going to just sit around and wait for his son to get himself into any trouble.