AN: Hey all, here I am again with my next chapter. I was originally going to update my PJ/GoT stroy, the Last King, but my muse has still not recovered from the shoddy Season 8. So sorry but you might need to wait for a week or two on that update. This story though, and several others, are all goign well. They're enjoyable to write and have a good following with lots of supporters. So thanks for that. With that in mind I hope you continue to enjoy the story and leave reviews and what not. I may not get around to answering all of the reviews, in part due to just how many stories I have on my plate at the moment, but I read everyone and appreciate them all the same. Even those that are negative.

So yes, thanks for all the support. Hope you continue to enjoy the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the DC universe.

( - )

(Last Time)

"Then what should we call you dude, we can't just call you Percy, you have to have some kind of alias if you're a superhero!" Kid Flash butted in loudly, his words drawing the rest of the team's attention.

Percy paused as he heard that, his eyes narrowing. He had considered the whole alias thing before, and he knew it was about time that he picked one, after all heroes had secret identities and hero names and costumes for a reason.

"Alright then. You can just call me Riptide." Percy finally replied, smiling slightly as he saw all of them blink in surprise. "It's short, sweet and rolls off the tongue, plus it pays homage to my heritage."

"Riptide?" Aqualad echoed a slight frown on his face.

"Hmm, I like it!" Miss Martian cut in cheerily, even as the now visible Bioship land on the ground just in front of them.

( - )

Chapter 11

( - )

(Ten Months Ago, on the island of Themyscira)

A loud, roar of anger and frustration erupted from the Gates of Tartarus, even as a bloodied hand exploded from out of the shadows. The distinctly human looking appendage gripping onto the edge of the gate, even as the figure it belonged to heaved himself through the gap he had created.

"For Blood and Honour, for Death and Glory, for the Gods!" Pyrrha shouted, her emerald green eyes narrowing, as she saw the figure continue to emerge, the ground below her trembling ominously, with rocks beginning to fall from the cavernous roof overhead, even as a cold, cruel wind seemed to swirl around the chamber.

"Unleash hell!" Pyrrha continued, letting loose a battle cry as she did so, her fellow warriors doing the same as they saw that the figure had finally pull himself loose from the gates of Tartarus, the great black, hell-forged metal gates slamming shut behind him with a deafening boom.

"Charge!"

( - )

Almost immediately, a storm of arrows flew through the air, passing in between Pyrrha and the other Amazonians as they charged the denizen of Tartarus. Rushing on mass in the hopes of either forcing it back into the Pits, or if that couldn't be achieved, killing it, before it could taint the mortal plane with its evil.

With all fifty of the guardians acting in perfect sync, as they acted as one, Pyrrha leading from the front, her burnished, bronze armour gleaming in the dimly lit cavern as she held her shield out in front of her, her spear held at the ready by her side. Also by her side, were twenty nine other similarly armoured and armed Amazonians, all of them charging on mass at the shadow enshrouded figure, even as twenty arrows shot passed them with devastating power and accuracy.

With a barely coherent roar the blood encrusted, demonic figure reacted, a pale blade, which looked to be made out of bone, whipping around as he slashed three of the arrows aside, even as he just about avoided the rest. With him loping forwards, moving oddly as he roared his own challenge. A pair of glowing green eyes burning from his shadowed form, even as the caverns shook once more, rubble falling from the roof, as all those present felt a sudden surge of power emanating from the blood encrusted figure.

"Shield wall!" Pyrrha shouted, coming to a halt and thrusting her round shield forward, her spear still held at the ready, even as the other guardians came to a halt next to her, overlapping their shields as they made an all but impenetrable wall of enchanted steel.

"Get out of my way!" The figure bellowed, furious waves of power rolling off of his figure now, even as he slashed out with his sword, batting away or avoiding the rain of arrows that continuously fell upon him.

"Advance!" Pyrrha ordered, ignoring the monster's shout. Her spear held at the ready even as she pushed forward, the rest of her sisters doing the same. The wall moving forward as one, as they began trying to shunt the escaped monster backwards, encircling him and limiting his movement as they forced him between them and the gate.

In response to their actions, the figure let loose another roar, thrusting his free hand forward as he did so, ignoring the two arrows that managed to clip him as he stopped defending himself for a moment. One of them hitting him in the shoulder, and bouncing off, whilst the other struck him in the leg and sank deeply into the meat of his thigh.

Unfortunately, the advancing Amazonian's were not able to take advantage of the opening the arrow would have created, as instead they were all forced backwards, as with another bellow of anger the figure slammed his foot on the ground and thrust his hand forward.

At the exact moment that he did this, the earth beneath him exploded. Spires of stone erupting forth in a wave which expanded outwards from him, the earth beneath him cracking and the rest of the cave shaking, even as water began to force itself up through the cracks, as the man accessed a deep water aquifer far below the surface.

"Stand fast!" Pyrrha roared, bracing herself against her shield as they shoved forward once more, the wall of enchanted steel meeting the wave of earthen spires. With them coming out the better for it as the spikes shattered against steel.

Still it bought the figure time, even as it sent the advancing Amazons into disarray and completely devastated the battlefield.

"Break formation and charge!" Pyrrha shouted, darting forwards now as she leapt across the shattered ground, her shield and spear at the ready. The rest of her sisters doing the same, as they moved as a well-oiled machine, all thirty of them closing the last few metres between themselves and their opponent.

( - )

Exhausted, Percy Jackson, could only growl as he saw the armoured, warrior women charge. His sea green eyes following their movements, even as he surrounded himself with water. The filth, blood and gold dust slewing off of his body as the water cleansed and revitalised him. Giving him a temporary boost in power and energy, even as it jolted him back to the here and now, giving his mind some much needed clarity.

Gripping his Drakonbone sword tightly, Percy grit his teeth as the dozens of striking, beautiful, bronze armoured women charged towards him. This is not what he had been expecting to face after escaping Tartarus.

Lifting his sword, Percy met the charge head on, the water surrounding his limbs lending him strength as he batted aside a spear thrust, from a long, red-haired beauty. With him moving with the momentum of his swing as he then kicked another armoured woman aside, and then clashed blades with three more.

Swinging his sword around, Percy quickly began to shape the water now cloaking him, extending the length of his sword as he lashed out, a dome like shield slowly expanding around his body. The water almost sentient in how it batted and blasted the attacking women away, even whilst weathering an ongoing hail arrows. The arrows striking much harder than he had expected as they almost pierced his watery shield on multiple occasions.

"Box him in, and then surround him!" The redhead shouted out again, her fellow warriors reacting to her words in an instant, as they spread around Percy using their shields to defend themselves from tendrils and blasts of water and ice, even as those with spears jabbed at him. Whilst those with swords, axes and maces darted forwards the moment they saw a gap, their fellow warriors covering them as they did so.

Snarling internally at this, Percy could feel his strength flagging. He had already been weakened when he escaped Tartarus, and although the water had alleviated some of his fatigue, it was not a permanent fix.

No, the only thing that would sort that out was sleep, rest and sustenance.

Swinging his sword around, Percy once more found himself clashing with the redhead. His eyes nearly glowing in the gloom as his sword met her spear, both weapons clashing furiously as he pushed forwards, denying her the distance she required to fully utilise her weapon.

This woman was the leader, Percy had picked up on that much.

With that in mind he also deemed it possible, that by bringing her down, he could send the rest into disarray. It was his only hope, after all as they were at the moment, he was struggling. Not only because he was tired, but also because these women, whoever they were, were disciplined, skilled, highly trained and experienced.

More than that though, they were also supernaturally strong, agile and durable.

The few blows he had managed to land had been shaken off with relative ease. A kick which he knew should have broken ribs, regardless of their armoured breastplate, did no more than wind these women.

Now Percy knew he wasn't the strongest out there, he knew many others both gods, Titans, giants and monsters that were many, many times stronger than him. But at the same time he did know he was significantly stronger than a normal mortal, in fact he was many times stronger than even the strongest human was at their peak.

As such he knew he should be able to cleave through his attackers.

Only that wasn't happening, these women were able to at least match him, even if they weren't able to overpower him.

Letting loose an almost feral growl, Percy decided on a different tact.

Thrusting his hand out, he expanded the dome like shield around him, solidifying the water as he forced his attackers away. All of which gave him the space he needed to concentrate on his next attack.

Unfortunately, this was something the warrior women seemed to notice, because as he did this, they noticeably renewed their assault with increasing ferocity. With his watery shield starting to buckle in response to the onslaught, as the fifty or so women bombarded it, attacking it with their weapons as they tried to force their way through his defences, so as to engage him directly.

Grunting at this, Percy's concertation began to break as he struggled to both maintain the barrier and focus on what he wanted to do next.

Gritting his teeth, Percy flexed his hand, manipulating the shield as he drew on more water from the aquifers below him, thickening the shield, even as he forced spikes of water to explode forth from it in all directions.

His action garnering a wave of shouts and curses in response, as the spikes drove the woman back, some of them even drawing blood. Though none of them reaped a life, as the women once again proved their skill and agility as they reacted quickly to the sudden change in the barrier.

Not that this bothered Percy too unduly though, instead he took the time this bought him, and used it to his advantage as he closed his eyes and drew on this father's Doman of Earthquakes.

The earth below him was constantly in motion as the tectonic plates far, far below bumped and ground against one another. All of which created energy, as the earth shifted and moved, in response. Energy which Percy could manipulate to create his own earthquakes if he chose to, or, as he was doing right now, absorb it into his body and use as he pleased.

And that was exactly what Percy did now, his eyes closing as he absorbed the energy from the earth, causing the ground below him to cease moving for several seconds as he redirected the energy into himself. Which in turn caused the ground beneath him to quake and crack, even as aftershocks shot through the entire island as the land in this one spot ceased to move, even as the rest of the earth continued to vibrate and shift.

All around Percy, the Amazonians stumbled as the ground beneath them cracked and began to shake, the rest of the cavern shaking even more as the roof over their heads began to crumble.

Beyond the cavern, buildings on Themyscira collapsed or cracked, even as the cliffs along the coast broke apart and fell into the frothing, angry sea, the mountains on the island also crumbled, with scree sliding down the sides in tsunamis of rubble and rock.

( - )

"What!" Pyrrha shouted out, struggling to stay on her feet as the cavern shook, and more rubble fell from the roof. "He's trying to bring down the MOUNTAIN!"

"Press forwards, we have to stop him!" Another Amazonian shouted, their iron resolve and discipline breaking slightly, as the ancient warriors steadied themselves and charged forward, fighting with renewed ferocity against their foe.

All of them were now aware that the being they fought was beyond any single one of them. But not against the combined might of the guardians, women that had dedicated their lives to guarding the Gates of Tartarus. With some of them having spent centuries and even millennia honing their skills, and training, pushing themselves to their limits and beyond to safeguard the mortal world from the eldritch monsters of myth and legend that dwelled in the depths of the Pit.

"Attack as one sisters, remember your training!" Pyrrha shouted, regaining control, even as yet more aftershocks exploded outwards from the man's now glowing form. The redhead's green eyes narrowing, as she saw what she was facing off with clearly for the first time.

The being, for this could be no mortal, had the looks of an average man, though his build was impressive, and his long, shaggy, matted black hair, fur coat and numerous scars gave him a distinctly feral look.

The most distinctive thing about the man though were his eyes, which even now she could see were glowing a fiery, phosphorescent green. With the rest of his body also starting to glow from within, a bronze light emanating from seemingly within his body, even as his shaking hands raised into the air, his bone sword held up so the point was facing the earth.

"Take him, now!" Pyrrha snapped, flipping her spear up and hurling it at him, even as she saw the water dome around him had dispersed, the shockwaves tearing it apart, just as it tore apart the earth below.

Her spear though never even got close to him, nor did any of her sister's attacks. As at that exact moment, the man brought his sword down and slammed it into the earth. After which Pyrrha knew nothing but pain, as a literal wall of force blew outwards from him. The wall striking all of the charging Amazonians head on and blasting them away from him. Even as the wall expanded outwards, blowing the surrounding cavern to pieces and sending the remnants hurtling in every direction.

( - )

With a last roar, Percy released all of the energy from his body, the wave of seismic energy he unleashed blowing his attackers away, just as it blew apart the surrounding cavern.

Gasping out a breath a few seconds later, Percy wrenched his sword out of the ground and looked up, his eyes closing in glorious rapture as he felt the sunlight streaming down upon him, bathing him in its warm embrace for the first time in nearly a century.

When he opened his tired eyes a few moments later though, ignoring the groans of his attackers as they struggled to get up, the rapturous smile soon left his face as his gaze locked on the shadowed figure that drifted down from overhead.

It was a beautiful, statuesque woman, one that was wielding a gleaming silver sword in one hand, and what looked like a glowing, golden rope in the other.

Focusing in on her, Percy could see that the woman also had thick, waist length, black hair that floated about behind her in the wind, and cold, piercing blue eyes. Eyes which were currently fixed on Percy with unnerving intensity, and barely concealed rage.

"When will this end." Percy growled, staggering upwards as he did so, his body aching in a hundred different places as he raised his sword and prepared to fight. "Well then, come on witch! Come taste the wrath of the Poseidon's most powerful son!"

( - )

(With Percy, in the present)

Waking up in his bed, his body bathed in sweat, a low groan left Percy's lips as he wearily pushed himself up. His back cracking slightly as he shifted this way and that. Peeling his bedsheets off of him and smacking his lips as he began to get up.

He had not had a good night's sleep.

Pushing himself up, Percy paused only long enough to down the glass of water from his bedside table, after which he allowed himself to fall to the floor, catching himself on his hands as he then did one hundred press-ups in quick succession. With this then being followed by one hundred sit-ups, and then one hundred pull-ups as he did his earlier morning, warm up routine.

After that he then grabbed a shower from his on-suite, delighting in the cool, refreshing water cascading down his back. Allowing himself to get wet as he scrubbed the sweat off of his body, and luxuriated in the strength he could feel suffusing his body from being in contact with the water. It may not be as good as seawater, but it was a damn sight better than nothing.

Following on from that he got dressed in a baggy T-shirt, a pair of board shorts and some flip-flops, the rest of his kit all resting either on the weapons racks in his room, or on one of the faceless, wooden mannequins he had in the corners.

Stretching his arms and rolling his shoulders as he left his room, and headed for the kitchen, Percy pushed aside the memories that had assailed him in his dream last night. His memories of his first few minutes on this world.

Suffice to say he had not received a warm welcome from the Amazonians.

But that was all in the past. In the present, his stomach growled, demanding sustenance. Which was something that he was more than happy to oblige as he wandered into the kitchen, giving both M'gann and Superboy a nod and a standard 'morning'. Before he then got himself a bowl of cereal and sat himself down at the kitchen counter.

Both M'gann and Superboy greeting him in turn as he did so, both of them looking just as tired as Percy. Though considering their mission to deliver Amazo's remains had been just the previous day, maybe their tiredness wasn't unexpected. Plus after the mission Batman had given them his standard debrief, with the Dark Knight bitching and moaning at them about their performance for over an hour, despite them having successfully accomplished the goal of the mission.

Superboy in particular had gotten an earful from the Dark Knight, especially after Robin had reported how he had allowed his emotions to get the best of him and stormed off, which in turn had led to him falling into a trap. Which the others had all in turn been dragged into, after they went to help the clone.

Percy and Aqualad too had come under fire for this fuck up as well. Aqualad because he had been given a temporary leadership positon over Team B, a positon he had failed to live up to when the unstable clone had run off. Though Batman at least acknowledged that the screw up wasn't all Aqualad's fault, hence why Superboy had gotten such an earful. So much so, that he had ended up training late into the night under Black Canary's watchful eye, as he tried to blow off steam.

As well as Aqualad and Superboy, Batman had also tried to grill Percy too. Both about his leadership, and about how he had put Aqualad in charge of the overly emotional clone instead of keeping Superboy near him. On top of that, he had also laid into Percy about the damage that had been done to Amazo, which was as such an extent that the scientist at Star Labs would struggle to get anything from the remains.

This in turn had then led to Batman once again attempting to interrogate Percy about his abilities and origins.

Suffice to say Percy hadn't responded to Batman's attempted interrogation well. First off by fiercely defending his strategy, and then pointing out that they had had to adapt to unforeseen circumstances, and yet had still pulled off the mission. After which he had then basically told Batman to fuck off when he had had a go at him over Amazo's condition and his abilities.

Though of course, he didn't literally tell the Dark Knight to fuck off, at least not yet.

Instead he had just said, that he put the safety of the team first, and thus neutralised the android as swiftly and as efficiently as he was able. After which he had just ignored Batman's questions about his abilities, by just walking off and leaving the Dark Knight hanging.

Yeah, he doubted Batman was going to be too chuffed about that.

"How did you sleep?" M'gann asked Percy tiredly, eyeing her dark haired leader as she saw him fill up a large bowl with frosted shreddies.

"Fitfully." Percy replied easily, pouring milk onto his cereal, before he started digging into his breakfast. "What about you two? Have you been up long?"

"About an hour." M'gann shrugged, brightening up now. "Pretty well rested too. Or at least better than Superboy."

Superboy grunted at that, looking up from his breakfast as he did so, the dark bags under his eyes standing out, even as he gave Percy a nod and then went back to eating.

"He was up until nearly midnight training." M'gann continued, sending Superboy a smile as she did so. "He's really started to get into it."

"That's good, technique is important. It helps you bring the out best in your natural abilities." Percy nodded.

Superboy grunted again at that, before swallowing and looking up. "You're right, and Black Canary said as much. If I ever want to match up to Superman, I'll need to refine my fighting style, work in some martial arts so I can make up for my deficiencies."

Percy nodded at that, a slight smile playing around his face. The clone was slowly but surely wising up, it was gradual, and it would take time. But he definitely had potential, all he needed to do was get a bit more training, and continue to grow as a person, and improve his attitude. Once that was done, Percy was pretty sure he would become a damn, good hero.

M'gann smiled as she saw this. Looking between the two quiet, but still affable, dark haired teens in contentment, before she went back to eating her breakfast.

With the three of them whiling away the next half an hour or so chatting about their plans for the rest of the morning. With their afternoon having already been planned out for them, as the others were all set to arrive at around lunchtime in order to take part in 'team bonding' trip to the beach. An outing that M'gann had planned the previous day, after having noticed that there was a little bit of friction in the team at the moment.

That being said, M'gann had already set aside some of her time this morning to put together a picnic for their trip to the beach, after which she said wanted to read a few of her new books so that she would be prepared for the upcoming school year.

With both M'gann and Superboy having been enrolled in the local high school by Batman, so as to help them both better mix in with humanity. Plus it would also allow them to have a life outside of the team.

The Dark Knight had also suggested the same for Percy, only for that idea to be swiftly shot down by the Demigod in question. Much to Batman's displeasure, though against Percy's will, and Diana's support, there wasn't much he could say.

Superboy meanwhile had already decided what he would be doing for the first half of the day, before the rest of the team arrived. As was becoming typical, he had decided he would do some training. Apparently Black Canary had really had an impact on him, and had already sent through a new regime for him to try out earlier this morning.

As for Percy, he personally wanted to head to the beach now, after all it had been a while since he had last been for a swim in the sea.

Despite that desire though, he grudgingly agreed to spar with Superboy first. After all the clone wasn't the only one who needed to improve his skill in hand to hand combat.

( - )

(A little while later)

There was a slight smile on M'gann's face as she leant against the kitchen counter, her attention only partially on the cookies she had in the oven. With the rest of her attention instead being focused on the two dark haired teens fighting it out in the centre of Mount Justice's main chamber.

Both of them fighting full on, pushing themselves to their limits as they went back and forth, their faces and bodies beaded with sweat as they punched, jabbed and kicked at one another.

Already Percy had pulled his shirt off, leaving him in just his shorts as he danced around on his bare feet. His arms up and in a guarded positon, and his fists clenched as he darted around the clone, unleashing brutal jabs and punches whenever he found an opening in Superboy's guard.

Superboy meanwhile had adopted a somewhat similar approach, with his arms having been raised so as to defend his head and ribs, all the while leaving him at the ready to unleash devastatingly powerful punches whenever he got the chance. Unlike Percy however, Superboy had chosen a different strategy for the spar, as he weathered the older teen's assault, relying on his durability and defences to tire the older teen out as he looked for an opening.

So far their latest bout, the fourth one of the day, had been going on for about ten minutes, and already they were both covered in bruises and red welts. Both of them breathing heavily as they weaved around one another, Percy's tanned, muscled arms darting out to land jabs, only for Superboy to shift around and either avoid them, or block them with his forearms.

M'gann smiled as she saw this. They were getting better, both of them learning from one another as they progressed.

Already Percy had learned not to try and wrestle or grapple with the clone, as despite his strength, he was neither strong enough, nor durable enough to take Superboy down. Even with Percy's superior technique, Superboy's sheer strength overwhelmed him ninety nine percent of the time.

With that in mind, Percy had instead relied on his boxing, with him also landing the occasional knee, elbow or kick at the clone too, but only when he found a gap, and knew he could land a strike and then get away before the stronger boy could catch him.

Superboy meanwhile had learned not to jsut take Percy's punches head on, but to instead defend himself, as whilst not using his powers, Percy's blows still packed enough of a punch to disorientate him if he landed a well-placed one. The blow to his chin, followed up by Percy's sweeping his leg behind Superboy's legs and barging him off of his feet and onto his arse, was proof enough of that.

Suffice to say that initial loss of the first bout had spurred Superboy on in the three later ones, just as it had forced him to adjust his strategy when fighting the older, and more experienced hero.

Focusing in on the latest bout, M'gann watched as Superboy suddenly sprung forwards, suddenly going from the defensive to the offensive. His brow furrowed as he lashed out with rapid right and left hooks, each one carrying enough force to put an average man down for the count.

In response Percy back stepped, a scowl on his face as he avoided the wild swings. His reflexes were exceptional as he weaved in between Superboy's assault, his eyes never leaving the boy's face as he reacted on instinct.

"Stop dodging!" Superboy growled, bulling forwards once more, forcing Percy to veer off and avoid him. The older teen unleashing a rapid punch into his ribs as he did so.

"That would be a bit counterproductive wouldn't it?" Percy replied glibly, his voice slightly more haggard than usual as he eyed Superboy cautiously.

Superboy didn't reply to that, as he instead eyed Percy warily.

Narrowing his eyes at this, Percy weaved left and right, his feet moving quickly as he made a sudden feint to the right, which in turn made Superboy lunge left. Only for Percy to then dart forwards, changing tact as he got in close and landed a knee in Superboy's gut. The force of the blow making Superboy grunt and lean forward, but nothing more.

That though was all Percy needed, as after two straight losses, he was in the mood for another win. Which is why, as he felt Superboy react, his two, steel like arms suddenly grabbing Percy around the waist, he forcefully raised his right elbow and slammed it down on the back of Superboy's neck as hard as he could.

"Gah!" Superboy cursed, losing his footing and his grip on Percy's waist as he felt the blow on the base of his skull.

Gritting his teeth, Percy wrapped both of his arms around the clone's waist, and then thrust his leg out and threw him over his hip and onto the ground.

"Ooph!" Superboy gasped, not unduly hurt by the throw, but somewhat disorientated all the same.

"Got you!" Percy growled, darting forwards now and grabbing one of Superboy's arms as the clone struggled to get up. Percy's own arm muscles bulging as he twisted the clone's arm behind his back, locking it in place, even as he rammed his knee into Superboy's spine, pinning him to the ground.

"Argh, shit!" Superboy cursed, picking up on some of Percy's own foul language as he struggled to find the leverage and room to break free of the arm lock, and of the weight forcing him down to the ground.

"Do you yield?!" Percy grunted, sweat pouring down his forehead as he struggled to keep the Kryptonian clone down.

"No!" Superboy growled.

Percy had to hold back a sigh at this. This was how the clone had won the last bout, he had refused to yield and had instead tired Percy out as he continued to struggle, until at last he had broken free and landed a luck blow to the Demigod's head.

It was annoying, and also somewhat of novel experience to him, but the Kryptonian's strength, stamina and durability were all superior to Percy's, which meant if it came down to a battle of attrition that he would lose.

With that in mind, Percy raised his free hand and began whaling on the back of Superboy's head. Using his own enhanced strength to smash the clone's skull into the ground, and rattle his brain.

"Yield!" Percy grunted, hissing in pain as he saw how the clone's invulnerable skin had made the knuckles of his free hand bloody and bruised. Fortunately they were injuries he could heal up quite swiftly if he used his Demigod abilities, but unfortunately he had decided not to use his abilities in the spar. Instead he was just using his natural strength, durability, agility, skill and ingenuity to win.

"No!" Superboy retorted, his tone noticeably feebler now.

"Yield, you wanker!" Percy cursed, falling back on a fun new insults he'd decided to try out.

"Gah, fine!" Superboy growled out reluctantly, turning his head to the side so he could get the words out clearly. "I yield!"

"Good." Percy nodded, satisfaction clear in his tone as he released Superboy's arm and pushed himself back to his feet, ignoring the sudden chill that came over him as the cool air within the mountain rushed over his sweat drenched form.

"Are you two done now?" M'gann asked cheerfully, taking to the air as she floated over the kitchen counter and towards her two teammates.

"No, I can go again!" Superboy replied, raising his clenched fist and sending Percy a challenging glare as he did so.

"Yes, I think I'm done." Percy spoke up at the exact same time, answering M'gann's question as he rolled his shoulder and headed for the kitchen.

"Wait what! You're done already!" Superboy asked, an incredulously look on his face as he saw Percy make it to the kitchen sink, after which got himself a glass of water.

"Yep," Percy replied simply, taking a sip of his water with a satisfied smile. His smile remaining in place as he then up ended the glass over his head, water splashing down onto his head, before it then ran down the rest of his face and body. "It's time for the beach!"

"Oh yeah you're right!" M'gann nodded, pulling out her phone as she prepared to send Kaldur, Wally, and Robin another message in order to chivvy them along.

"Ok I sent them all a message. They should all be here soon, so let's go get our swimsuits on!" With that said, M'gann closed her eyes for a moment, her clothes beginning to recede as she did so, before they then formed into a yellow bikini top with matching shorts. "How do I look?" She then asked, striking a pose with her hands on her hips.

"Nice." Superboy nodded, retaining enough tact to compliment a pretty girl when she asked, even if he was still visibly disappointed about not getting another spar out of Percy.

"You look good." Percy nodded, a slight smile on his face.

"Thanks," M'gann replied, her cheeks going a little pink at the compliments, even as she then quickly turned away and started putting together the last few bits for the picnic, including the recently baked, and now cooling cookies she had just pulled out of the oven.

Smiling slightly at the younger girl's shyness, Percy clapped Superboy on the shoulder once, before he turned around and headed for his room, pausing only long enough to grab his T-shirt as he went to get his swim shorts on. "Good session today Superboy."

"Yeah, you too." Superboy nodded after a moment, smiling slightly himself, before he then went to get his own kit on.

A few minutes later found the three of them, now all in their swimsuits, waiting for the others in front of the Zeta Tubes. With Superboy having put on a pair of plain black swim shorts, whilst Percy's were a bit more of a flashy blue colour, with tacky white floral patterns.

"Recognised Robin, B01."

"Recognised Aqualad, B02."

After a couple of minutes of idle chit chat, the machines tinny voice, and dual beams of light, announced Robin and Aqualad's arrival.

"Yo," Robin waved as he strode into the main chamber of Mount Justice, wearing his civilian clothes as oppose to his usual, caped costume. Noticeably though he still wore a pair of black sunglasses which covered up his eyes and a part of his upper face, just like his mask usually did.

"Hello," Kaldur said as he walked in, smiling to the other three in greeting, before he focused in on M'gann. "I am sorry M'gann, I am not sure if he told you, but Wally won't be able to make it today."

Laughter erupted from Robin as Kaldur said that. "School started for him today," Robin snorted, a few gleeful chuckles escaping his mouth at the thought of his friend suffering. "He was so bummed out when he found out we were going to the beach without him."

Percy rolled his eyes at this childish reaction, though his lips did admittedly quirk upwards at the thought of how the speedster was going to react, it probably would be pretty amusing.

"Well, since we are all here let's get going!" M'gann said unperturbed by Wally's absence, he hadn't mentioned previously when she first suggested the plan that he couldn't make it, but still he might make it later, depending on how long they stayed at the beach that is.

( - )

(Sometime later)

"It is such a beautiful day," M'gann smiled, her warm hazel eyes gleaming in excitement as she looked out at the peaceful sea, and the quiet beach, delighting in the feeling of the warm sunlight as it shone down upon her.

The rest of the group smiled too as they all lounged around in the sand, relaxing in the summer sun, and just enjoying a nice peaceful day out. All of the previous tensions and difficulties fading away, as they all just unwound.

Looking around with a grin, Robin raised his hand for attention. "Wait a moment, let's take a second to remember our fallen comrade." With that said, he lowered his head in dramatic fashion.

M'gann nodded in agreement as she heard Robin, though noticeably her smile didn't fade. "Yes, poor Wally."

"Yes, poor Wally, now let's go have fun!" Kaldur said, his tone initially solemn, before becoming quite cheerful as both he and Percy headed for the sea. The rest of them meanwhile just doing their own thing, with M'gann and Robin building sandcastles, whilst Superboy just lounged about in the sun.

Diving into the water, Percy delighted in the strength he could feel suffusing his limbs, even as he shot through the water like a torpedo. With Kaldur swimming rapidly alongside him for a time, both of them racing as they shot through the depths of the water. Navigating the murky deeps with ease.

"I have to say, seeing the way you move in the water it lends credence to my theory that you're an Atlantean, or have at least some Atlantean heritage." Kaldur said after a couple of minutes of swimming, as both of them floated just a foot off of the seabed, a couple of hundred metres off of the coast.

Percy sent Kaldur an amused look at that comment. He was feeling in a much better mood than he had been in a while now, the familiar comfort the sea gave him putting him at ease as he gently began to swim again.

"Well, I wouldn't say I was an Atlantean like you Kaldur. At the same time though, I do have a blood connection to Atlantis and the sea." Percy shrugged, looking at Kaldur speculatively now, pondering whether he should just tell the younger boy his heritage as he did so.

It wouldn't be like he was giving away his whole backstory after all, though at the same time he didn't quite trust Kaldur. A part of him suspected that the Atlantean would tell Aquaman, Robin and Kid Flash anything Percy told him, which meant that the information would then get back to Batman one way or another.

This in turn would lead to Batman once again trying to interrogate him and force information out of him so he could create safeguards to deal with him should he go rogue, which would definitely alienate Percy.

Diana had already warned him of Batman and his paranoia.

On top of that he knew that most of the rest of the team were keeping secrets, he could sense that much, so therefore why should he give up his secrets if no one else was willing too? Hell, Robin didn't even show his face to them, despite them being a team.

Kaldur, ignorant of Percy's inner thoughts, just frowned in confusion as he heard Percy's contradictory comment. "I don't understand?"

Percy also frowned as he heard this, tilting his head to the side in thought, before with a sigh he shrugged. "I would have thought it was clear. I am not like you Kaldur, you are a part of Atlantis as it is now. Me however, I am apart of Atlantis as it was, back when it first sank beneath the waves in ancient times, and when it was ruled over by the original King, the god of the sea."

"Poseidon?" Kaldur said immediately, his expression intense as he heard Percy open up for the first time since he had met him. His blue eyes locking on the amused smile on his face for a moment, before they trailed down to the ancient Roman 'SPQR' tattoo on his arm, the one which had a trident running through it. "Or Neptune as I suppose you could call him."

The slight smirk that spread across Percy's face, was all Kaldur needed to see to know he was on the right track.

"But Lord Neptune ascended from the mortal plane millennia ago." Kaldur said his brow furrowed in confusion as he eyed Percy curiously, before a few moments later a look of realisation spread across his face. "You're a member of an Atlantean sect that never acknowledged any of the other Kings after Neptune, aren't you!? I didn't think any of those sects remained!"

Percy blinked in surprise as he digested Kaldur's words, before after a few moments he began to laugh.

"What?" Kaldur asked with a frown.

"Sorry, it's just I'm surprised at the conclusion you jumped too." Percy replied, still chuckling slightly as the two of them began to swim to the surface.

"So if that is not the case, what is the truth?" Kaldur asked, a trace of irritation in his tone now.

"That I am not entirely human, in fact barely a sliver of me is human. Nor am I an Atlantean, nor am I an alien, and I am certainly not an Amazonian." Percy grinned, laying yet more clues as he decided he would let them work it out on their own. After all if he bluntly told them, the chances were that they wouldn't believe him. If they discovered on their own though, then that way they were more likely to believe. That and it was more entertaining this way.

With that thought in mind, Percy didn't answer any more of Kaldur''s questions, as he instead breached the surface a few minutes later and then began swimming for the beach, his stomach rumbling as he saw M'gann had started setting out her beachside picnic.

( - )

(Later that day)

It was later on that day, when the sun had started to set that the group returned to Mount Justice. With all of them then quickly stripping out of their swimming suits and gearing up in their mission clothes as they then met up in the main chamber of Mount Justice, all of them waiting for the recent team meeting that Batman had called for, only half an hour earlier, to begin.

"Good you're here." Batman said bluntly, looking to Percy as he was the last one to arrive, with him having taken a while longer to get ready, as he had had to pull on the black, armoured suit that had been made for him, for covert operations. Though this time he had just done away with the constrictive helmet, though he kept his Drakonbone sword sheathed at his side.

"Yep, what's the meeting about?" Percy replied, nodding to the others as he saw that they were all in their costumes too. Which made sense as by the sounds of it they had been called together for another mission, after all why else would they have been gathered here, and on such short notice too.

"In a minute," Said Batman, "We're waiting on one other, and she should be here soon."

"She?" Aqualad asked, looking around at the gathered group of heroes in confusion.

At the exact moment that he said this, the Zeta Tubes activated and Red Tornado and Green Arrow walked in, the machine announcing them as it did so.

Following along behind them, there was one other. An unfamiliar girl who had; long blonde hair which had been pulled back in a ponytail, grey eyes, and looked to be in her mid to late teens.

With the girl in question also wearing costume, one which consisted of a green top with a full-headed, green mask, which in turn matched the green combat trousers she was wearing, and her heavy combat boots.

Across her back Percy also quickly noticed that she carried a quiver and a folded up compound bow.

"Team, meet your newest member," Batman said as the new girl came closer, Red Tornado and Green Arrow moving over to stand beside the Dark Knight as he did so, "Artemis."

"Hi," The girl greeted confidently, giving a half wave as her sharp eyes roved over the other teens, before eventually coming to rest on Percy, her grey eyes narrowing slightly as she saw the odd look of bemused surprise flicker across his face. "What's up?"

"Hey," Percy greeted after a couple of moments of silence, taking a step forwards as he did so, "Artemis. Like the Greek Goddess of the Hunt right, an interesting choice of alias for a bow wielding heroine."

Artemis's eyes narrowed a fraction at his words, her gaze locking with his as she ponder on his words, before, after a few moments, she smiled. "Thanks, and you are?"

"Riptide, your new leader I suppose." Percy replied, extending his hand to Artemis as he did so, his sea green eyes still twinkling.

"Good to meet you." Artemis nodded, taking the offered hand and smiling at the warm welcome.

Seeing Percy's actions, the rest of the team made to move forward so that they could greet Artemis too. However before they could, the Zeta Tube once again activated, even as Wally ran into the room, letting loose a cry of victory as he did so. The red-haired teen, noticeably bare-chested, and wearing a pair of swimming shorts, and carrying several different pieces of beach paraphernalia.

"The Wall-Man is here!" Wally crowed as he strode into the room, oblivious of all else, "Now let's get this party star-" he made to continued, only for him to then trip over the beach umbrella he was carrying and fall to the ground with a grunt. Batman, Green Arrow and Red Tornado all looking down on him with the rest of the team as he came to land right in the centre of the group.

"-ted?" Wally trailed off sheepishly, as he finally became aware of his surroundings.

"Wall-Man, huh?" Artemis said with a smirk, releasing Percy's hand as she instead looked down on the red-haired speedster in amusement. "Love the uniform. What exactly are your powers?"

Hearing that, Wally stood up with a scowl and brushed himself off, his eyes fixed on the pretty, yet unfamiliar girl mocking him. "Uh, who's this?"

Aqualad took a step forward, about to say something, only for Artemis to beat him to the punch. "Artemis, your new teammate."

"Kid Flash, never heard of you." Wally replied quickly, his green eyes flicking around at the rest of his team as if to make sure that what the girl was saying was true.

Hearing this, and seeing the curiousity on the rest of the team's face, Green Arrow took this as his moment to speak as he stepped forward and put a hand on Artemis's shoulder. "She's my new protégé."

"What happened to your old one?" Percy asked with a frown, something niggling at the back of his mind as he asked this question. He was pretty sure someone had mentioned Green Arrows old sidekick before.

"Recognised Speedy, B04."

Coincidently, it was at the exact moment that Percy asked that question, that the Zeta Tubes activated once more and Speedy stepped out. The redhead wearing a new red and black getup with combat pants as oppose to his old yellow and red costume.

"For starters, I don't go by Speedy anymore," The redhead growled, as he walked forward his brow noticeably furrowed behind his mask as he gazed around at all those present, "Call me Red Arrow."

"Roy," Green Arrow said, releasing Artemis as he instead took a step towards his old protégé, "You look..."

"Replaceable?" Red Arrow interrupted bluntly.

"It's not like that, you told me you were going solo." Green Arrow shot back, his voice strong despite a guilty look flashing across his face at the accusation.

"So why waste time finding a sub? Can she even use that bow?" Red Arrow retorted aggressively, ignoring the others as he instead focused in on Green Arrow and Artemis.

Hearing the challenge in his voice, Artemis stepped forward and stood in front of Red Arrow. "Yes, she can!"

"Who are you?" Wally once again asked, looking between his friend, Red Arrow, and the new girl.

"I'm his niece," Artemis replied swiftly, jerking her thumb at Green Arrow as she did so.

"She is not your replacement… Red Arrow," Kaldur finally spoke up, his tone calm, "We have always wanted you on our team, and we have no quota for archers."

"And if we did, you know who we'd chose," Wally interjected with a pointed look at Artemis.

"Hn, whatever baywatch," Artemis bit out, folding her arms and glaring at Wally as she did so, "I'm here to stay."

"Red Arrow," Percy finally spoke up, his voice cutting through the tension and getting the group's attention as he took a step forward. His lips quirking up in amusement as he fought down his desire to mock 'Red Arrow' for his derivative name and costume, especially when he was trying to make himself out as being independent, and not a sidekick or a hero in training

"Ah, yes, the killer" Red Arrow sneered, his lip curling upwards as he eyed Percy disdainfully. "I've heard about you, Riptide, isn't it? A rookie like the Ms. Martian and Superboy, only one that's more dangerous, and who has no control over themselves and their power."

If he was trying to provoke him, he failed, instead the Percy just sent the boy and amused look. His eyes flashing over to Robin for a moment, before returning to Red Arrow.

"I wonder which ignorant, immature child told you that." Percy said dryly, fighting down a smirk as he saw Robin flinch, and then scowl. "But I think the fact that I was made leader should make it quite clear. I am not out of control, nor am I incompetent. You though, well the jury's still out on you. As far as I can see, you're nothing but an egotistical, spoiled little child, one that is throwing his toys out of his pram and crying when he doesn't get his own way."

Red Arrow's face flushed red at that, his jaw tightening as he took a step forward, his face contorting in anger.

"Enough." Batman said sternly, his voice causing all of them to pause as he looked around at them.

With Red Arrow looking to be on the verge of kicking off with Perseus. Whilst Percy just looked amused. Green Arrow, Aqualad, Miss Martian and Kid Flash all looking worried and conflicted as they saw the ongoing confrontation escalate. Whilst Robin just looked like he was on the verge of losing his cool too. Even as Artemis looked like she was on the verge of laughing.

"Fine," Percy sighed, meeting Batman's stern glare with his own amused eyes for a moment, rolling his eyes as he did so. "Okay then, why are you here? I take it you didn't just come to start a fight?"

"No," Red Arrow bit out, his dislike of Percy obviously warring with his reason for being here, "I did come for a reason, a reason named Doctor Sterling Roquette."

"Nano-robotics expert at Clayton University in Star City," Robin spoke up quickly, messing around with a nearby console as he then drew up a hologram screen filled with the doctor's personal records, "Vanished two weeks ago."

"Abducted two weeks ago," Red Arrow corrected him, "By the League of Shadows."

"Whoa!" Robin exclaimed, his previous anger and embarrassment fading, as he instead sent his old friend a look of surprise, "You want us to rescue her from the Shadows?"

"Hardcore!" Wally nodded with a grin, fist bumping the Boy Wonder as he did so.

"I've already rescued her," Red Arrow said dismissively, though Percy could spy a slight smirk on his face at the adulation he was receiving from the other two, "Only one problem. The Shadows coerced her into creating a weapon. Doc calls it the fog." Red Arrow brought up his own wrist computer and showed them a picture of a capsule. "It's comprised of millions of microscopic robots. Nano-tech infiltrators, capable of disintegrating anything in their path. It can melt anything, but its true purpose isn't destruction, it is theft. The infiltrators eat and store raw data from any computer system they come across and deliver its stolen Intel to the Shadow. They can get their hands on any information they want."

"Perfect for extortion, manipulation, power brokering," Artemis nodded in agreement, "Sounds like the Shadows alright."

"Like you know anything about the Shadows," Wally scoffed. To which Artemis just smiled knowingly, which in turn just caused Wally to glare at her incredulously. "Like seriously, who are you?!"

"Roquette's working on a virus to disable the fog," Red Arrow continued ignoring the byplay as he instead focused on the task at hand.

Robin rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he digested this information, the technical side of which went completely over Percy's head, though he did understand just what these 'Shadows' could do with this Intel. "But if the Shadows know she can do that…"

"They'll target her," Red Arrow nodded, "Right now she's off the grid. I stashed her at the local high school."

"Really?" Percy asked in amusement, the tone of his voice evident, "You could have brought her here, to a high security League building filled with superheroes. Or taken her back to your 'base', or even one of Green Arrow's safehouses. But no, instead you drop her off at a high school, a very large, exposed and public building, one which likely only has a few CCTV cameras as security, and you call others rookies..."

"I don't need to explain myself to you, Riptide." Red Arrow replied coldly, his eyes narrowing behind his mask at the mockery, "She's safe enough for now."

"Then let's keep her that way," Green Arrow offered as he walked towards Red Arrow.

"Together?" Red Arrow asked scornfully, "Wouldn't you rather want to take your new protégé?"

Batman put a hand on Green Arrow's shoulder and they shared a look. A clear, yet silent message passing between the two as Green Arrow nodded and sighed deeply.

"You brought this mission to the team," Batman spoke up next, looking down on Red Arrow sternly as he did so, "Which means it's their mission now too."

"Whatever," Red Arrow shrugged as he walked to the Zeta Tubes, "My job's done."

With that said he approached the Zeta Tube, with the computer once again recognising him as Speedy. "That's Red Arrow by the way," he snapped at the machine, "B-Zero-Four. Update." With that done he then stepped into the machine and disappeared in a flash of light.

"What a cunt," Percy said bluntly, folding his arms and ignoring the reprimanding looks he received from several of those around him. "You guys really want that guy, that guy! On the team?"

Artemis snorted with laughter as she heard that, even as Aqualad, Kid Flash and Robin scowled. Whilst Superboy and Miss Martian shared a bemused look.

"You wouldn't understand," Kaldur said with a sigh.

"I'm sure." Percy replied dryly, before he shook his head and looked to the team at large. "Alright enough talk, it looks like we have a new mission. Everyone get ready and meet at the Bioship! You've got five minutes!"

( - )

AN: So what did you all think? This chapter was more of a character building and developing one, though it did have some important points that it introduced, which will become clear as the story continues. Plus it introduced the character I love to hate, Red Arrow. I mean damn, but that character is an arsehole. Still he does get better in later seasons, so that's one good thing.

Other than that I hope you all continue to enjoy the story. I have given up on my Percy Jackson/ Attack on Titan idea, as honestly I watched the anime, and I don't like the way the story is going. Especially not this Marley thing. It annoys me. That being said I have been getting the urge recently to right a hetero Nico story, after all if other people can genderbend MCs and twist sexualities then so can I. Plus I've always wanted to explore the powers of a Child of Hades, plus put said child of Hades in some interesting scenarios, and have him have some interesting interactions. At present I am thinking a Nico in the Vampire Diaries verse crossover, just because that crossover sections is sparse and the world is diverse and full of potential. Though that being said, I don't think I will be starting anymore stories until I have cleared up my schedule somewhat. Hopefully be completing one or two of my stories.

But yes, anyway. Thanks a lot for reading and I hope you enjoyed the chapter and continue to enjoy the story.

Please do review.

Thanks for reading, and if you do have the time, please do read some of my other stories. There is a wide and idiverse selection.

Greed720.