AN: So hey everyone, here I am back again with another update! The last chapter was pretty well received, even though some were not too pleased that a portion of it was taken up with a spar between the teens. To which all I can say was that I deemed it important, both because it allowed me portray the teams abilities, as well as how their relationship was developing.
On top of which some important things went off in that section, something which only a couple of people seemed to pick up on.
Still, aside from that, the chapter was well received, and the support for this story, as always was phenomenal, so genuinely, thanks a lot for that. All the reviews and comments, even the critical ones, really do help!
Thanks a lot for reading, hope you enjoy and review!
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the DC universe.
( - )
(Last Time)
Once again Percy shook his head in amusement. Yes Wally was slowly but surely growing up and maturing, but it was an ongoing process and as such he could still act pretty juvenile at times.
Red Tornado ignored him, and instead handed Percy a golden key. "Take this, use it to unlock the Tower of Fate. You will need to take a leap of faith."
"Right," Percy nodded, not all too enthusiastic about the upcoming errand. After all, it didn't take an entire team to check up on an old man.
In fact a part of him was tempted to delegate the task to one of the others. That or he might just take one or two of the others with him on this errand, and then leave the rest back here so that they could continue their training whilst they waited for a real mission to come up.
( - )
Chapter 14
( - )
(With Percy, Nine months ago, on the Island of Themyscira)
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 Diana, Princess of Themyscira)
"Arrogant man!" Diana hissed, her blue eyed gaze, glacial, as she glared down at the ragged looking, sweat covered, gore stained man in front of her. Her curling in disgust as she saw the bloody sword of bone he had in one hand. "Vile savage, I will hurl you back into the depths of Tartarus where you belong!"
She was incensed, angrier than she could ever remember being before, even in all her many centuries of life. This man, or monster, or whatever he was. He had broken out of Tartarus beaten and broken the Guardians of the Gate, many of whom were even now groaning in pain, or were scattered motionless around him.
This animal had attacked her sisters, invaded her island, and looking around she could see that he had also despoiled the land as well.
Already, a large part of the mountain around him had been turned to rubble, and in the distance her sharp eyes could see cracks running through the earth, and the ruins of the many temples and buildings that dotted the immediate area.
Now Diana had seen a lot of destruction in her time, especially since she had left the island of Themyscira and begun to explore and protect the world of man, all under the guise of Wonder Woman.
She had seen cities laid to waste, innocents killed and terrorised. She had faced off against insane criminals, mutated villains, and foul monsters, both eldritch, demonic beings, and mortals.
But even so, never before had she been so angered, as she was now. Then again the reason for that might be obvious, as never before had she seen so many of her sisters, women she loved and had known for centuries, hurt like this. Nor had she ever seen such destruction wrought on her homeland.
Yes, she had never before been this angry, but that because, never before had it been personal!
Looking up at her, Diana soon found herself looking into a pair of tired, yet furious, phosphorous green eyes.
The man in question, who looked notably younger than she expected, snarling at the sight of her, his lip curling to reveal his teeth, even as he raised his barbaric sword in challenge.
"Well then, come on witch! Come taste the wrath of Poseidon's most powerful son!"
A Demigod then, Diana thought, her mind whirling as she instinctively took up the man's challenge. Swooping down from the air like a bullet, her sword in one hand and her golden lasso, the Lasso of Truth, in the other.
She had thought that the last of the male Demigods had died out millennia. After all the majority of the gods had long since left this world, departing to the higher plains, many, many years ago. In fact the only ones she knew of that still occasionally interacted with the mortal world was Ares, and he had been banished, and imprisoned in the Pit millennia ago. Artemis, the virgin goddess, who appeared once in a while. And her own father, Zeus, but even he had only descended to this world twice in the last four hundred years.
Which of course made her question the veracity of the man's words. He could be lying and attempting to intimidate her, without realising that she was a Demigod, as too were three other Amazons on this island.
That or this could be a fallen Demigod, born during the Age of the Gods like two of her other fellow Amazons. A cursed child. One who committed crimes that were so obscene, and so cruel, that he had been banished to the Eternal Pit. Banished to suffer through unending torment as a punishment for the crimes he committed whilst he had been on the mortal world.
Yes, that too was a possibility, and it would certainly explain his barbaric appearance, and how he was powerful enough to defeat the Guardians of the Gate, all of whom, Diana knew for certain, were strong, skilled, experienced and deadly warriors.
All of these thoughts occurred to Diana in the few moments it took for her to shoot down from the sky and engage the enemy. Her form shifting through the air with ease as she weaved in between two crescent like blades of water and a spear of ice, even as she final joined combat with him.
Her sword whipping out, with it being little more than a silver blur as she lashed out at the juncture between his neck and shoulder.
Only for the man to react in an instant with inhuman reflexes, his bone like blade shooting up to deflect her sword. His sudden, and unexpected actions, jarring her arm, and knocking her off guard for but a single moment.
Though it was a moment that he was able to take advantage of! With his free, dirty hand clasping around her neck at the exact same moment that he deflected her blade, only for him to twist, using her own momentum as he twirled around and slammed her head first into the ground.
Unfortunately for him though, Diana's skin was harder than the rock he sent her smashing into. Which is why the earth below her cratered, even as he released her, and she counterattacked in the same moment. The force of the blow barely winding her as she used her hands to brace herself on the floor and kicked out at him.
One of her booted feet colliding with his chest as she did so. The force of the backwards kick knocking him clear off of his feet, and sending him hurtling back over twelve feet. His body then smashing into, and through, a pile of rubble before he rolled and made it to his feet.
And he was just in time too, for the moment he made it to his feet, he had to defend himself. His blade little more than a blur as Diana rushed him with her own. The two of the trading scores of deadly blows, so fast, that to a mortal they would look like little more than blurs.
"You will pay for what you've done to my homeland!" Diana snarled, her blue eyes flashing with controlled rage as she danced forwards, her blade slashing through the air as she moved with inhuman grace. Her form as perfect as it was dangerous. Though considering that it was one she had practiced and honed for centuries, then maybe that wasn't a surprise.
"I was defending myself you crazy bitch!" The man snarled back, his own form just as dangerous as her own, if not quite as elegant. No, it was far too brutal and efficient for it to be called beautiful. Effective though, that was one word that fit his style to a tee.
"You invaded this island and brutalised my sisters, and now you dare to say it was self-defence! Truly you are a vile, disgusting creature! And for your crimes, monster, I will hurl you back into the Pit form whence you came!" Diana replied furiously, leaping up and using her ability to fly to her advantage as she shot forwards, her manoeuvrability and speed increasing as she started whipping around him, attacking him from above and from all sides.
"I will die before I go back down there!" The dark haired man replied just as furiously, the air around him suddenly going very, very cold, so much so that Diana's breath quickly became visible and her limbs began to feel numb, even as frost began to coat her sword and armour.
Gritting her teeth at this, Diana had to fly backwards pretty sharpish when razor sharp shards of ice formed in the air in front of him, the shards themselves being created out of blood, sweat and the moisture in the air.
Within seconds, dozens, of foot long shards of ice had formed all around the man, before a moment later his cold green eyes met hers, and the shards shot towards her like speeding bullets.
"Or rather you will die before I go back there, witch! For you should know, I am Perseus Jackson, The Son of Poseidon, The Slayer of Titans and Giants, the Bane of Monsters, and Hero of Olympus! For more than a century I have walked through the Pit, and in that time I have fought and killed monster so ancient, and so powerful, that their very existence has been deliberately lost to time! It will take more than some vile, evil witch to force me back down there!"
Diana's eyes widened at the man's wild raving, her eyes locking with his, even as she took note of the barely contained insanity that dwelled within those cold, green orbs.
Unfortunately she only had a moment to ponder on his words, before she had to fly, her body shooting backwards and her arms shooting forwards as she had to rapidly dodge and deflect the scores of ice shards that were flying at her. With her having to loop the Lasso of Truth back onto her belt as she focused entirely on dodging and deflecting the now named, Perseus's, attacks.
Following this up, the Son of Poseidon raised his hand and thrust it forwards, the air in front of him visibly vibrating, even as a sudden wave of energy seem to pass through it, the waving having emanated from the dirty, golden dust encrusted, palm of his hand.
Scowling at this, Diana flew upwards, flying far above the ground, even as the wave of energy smashed into a nearby, recently formed cliff face. The force of the wave shattered the rock to dust and splinters, and blowing a fifty foot cliff apart in seconds.
"An airborne earthquake. Incredible control over ice and water. This may indeed be a Son of Poseidon." Diana muttered to herself, swooping down again as she did so, her blade flashing around as she cut through two more crescent like blades of water, even as she had to twirl to the side to avoid another wave of seismic energy.
This foe was far stronger than she first thought, and far stranger too.
Continuing forwards, Diana barely batted an eye as the now named Perseus stamped his foot onto the ground, the action causing innumerably spikes of rock and earth to erupt from out of the ground around her.
No, instead she bulled through them, relying on both her flight and god given durability and super strength, as she instead closed in on the visibly surprised looking Son of Poseidon.
"Prepare yourself Sea Spawn!" Diana snapped, the air around her exploding in dust and shards of rock as she got within ten feet of the tall, dark haired man, her silver sword gleaming as the sun caught it, even as she thrust it forward, the tip aim at the man's chest. "For you fight Diana, Princess of Themyscira, the Bane of Ares, and the Daughter of Zeus!"
Perseus's eyes widened a fraction, both at her words and her sudden proximity. But only for a moment though, before his face set into a scowl. The air around him suddenly thickening, slowing her charge, even as her skin began to tingle, and her armour, bracelets and sword began to slowly, but visibly corrode.
With this being something that immediately threw her for a loop. After all she had had no idea that such a thing was even possible. Her armour was made out of Amazonian steel and leather, and was far harder and as such was more resilient than armour made out of any normal, mortal materials.
More than that though, the closer she got to Perseus, the faster her magic armour and clothing began to break apart, as well as the more intense the tingling feeling on her skin became.
Looking down, she could see her previously, tanned, flawless, olive coloured skin had begun turning red, almost as if it were being burnt.
Honestly, it almost felt like she was suddenly wading through an acid bath, and yes, Diana unfortunately had experience of just such a thing. Only the acid here felt far stronger than anything she had heard of before, after all it would have to be if it was not only able to affect her weapons and armour, but also her inhumanly durable body.
"I do not want to kill you, Daughter of Zeus." Perseus suddenly said, looking up now, even as the rubble and rocks around him began to break apart and dissolve. His eyes notably glowing green now, even as they showed a hint of pity, and sadness in them. "But I have suffered too long in the depths of Tartarus, I refuse to return there!"
That, more than anything, struck a chord in Diana. He honestly looked, and sounded remorseful. This was not something she expected from an insane, monster that had been sent to Tartarus.
"I'll make it quick." Perseus continued resolutely, his sword falling down by his side, even as he raised his hand in the air, the air around him becoming even thicker and more acidic as he did so.
"So will I!" Diana replied, parts of her skin now very red and raw, and her armour, gauntlets and sword covered in a layer of rust. Blood spattering forth from her lips as she spoke, only for it dissolve into nothingness the moment it left her mouth. At the moment it genuinely felt as if her insides were started to dissolve.
"Wha…?! Perseus replied, his head tilting to one side in confusion. Only for him to be interrupted before he could finish the sentence, as Diana's muscles visibly tensed and bulged, before then she shot forwards, cleaving through the thick, dense acid like it wasn't even there, even as she closed in on Perseus, her fist pulled back, and a snarl on her face.
Raising his sword, Perseus's blade shattered hers as she lashed out at him with it. Only for her to duck under his quick counterattack, her movements far faster than his as she released the hilt of her blade and got within his personal space. Her other hand clenching into a fist as she did so, before with a loud war cry she drove it into his gut.
Gold flecked, crimson blood sprayed out of his mouth in response, even as Diana saw him fold over, and felt several of his ribs break. The thick, mist of acid around him dispersing within moments, even as she followed through with her punch. Her fist lifting him into the air, before she took a step forward and smashed the taller, brawny man into the ground. The earth beneath him cratering as she did so.
"Gah!" Perseus spat, more blood spraying from his lips and spattering Diana's face. His sword falling from his hands and clattering onto the ground as he did so.
Diana ignored this though, as she instead slammed her knee into Perseus's midriff. Her other hand grasping the golden coloured, darker golden fur lined, leather jacket he wore, as she pulled him up, ignoring how oddly metallic it felt as she did so.
Meeting her gaze, Perseus, despite looking dazed, managed to still land a wild punch to her head. The force of the blow as it hit her face causing her to turn her head to the side, even as she heard the bones in his hand break.
"Nice try!" Diana replied, pushing back her surprise at how physical weak he seemed to be, or at least for a Demigod. Sure he was far, far stronger than a mortal, but he was seemingly nowhere near as strong she herself, or some of the other members of the Justice League, like Superman and Captain Marvel.
Ignoring that for now though, Diana instead responded with her own punch. Her fist colliding with his head, even as she used her other hand to pull him forward, adding to the power of her punch as she connected and knocked him unconscious with a single, brutal blow.
Releasing her grip on him, Diana, allowed him to fall to the fall with a crump, even as she staggered to her feet. But only for a moment, before a wave of fatigue hit her and forced her to fall to one knee, as the consequences of the fast, brutal fight, and the amount of energy she had used in it, quickly caught up with her.
Still, despite this, she managed to stagger to her feet, even as she un-looped her Lasso of Truth and began to tie Perseus up with it. The man had some very pointed questions to answer!
( - )
(With Percy, on the Bioship)
Opening his eyes as he awoke, Percy ended up blinking them blearily a couple of times as he looked around. It appeared he had fallen asleep in the middle of their trip to Salem, Massachusetts.
Sitting up in his chair, Percy rubbed the sleep out of his eyes absentmindedly, even as he pushed back the amused smile that wanted to spread across his face as he remembered what he had been dreaming about.
His first, and very fractious, meeting with Diana.
"Oh Percy, you're awake?" M'gann said cheerfully from beside him, making him look up at the red haired alien, even as he looked around at the other two members of the team that he had brought with him. "I hope it wasn't Artemis and Wally's bickering that woke you?"
Percy cocked an eyebrow at that. Only for his question to be answered moments later as he tuned into the duo's conversation.
"So Wally, when did you start believing in magic again?" Artemis asked, a smirk on face as she looked up from the arrow she was absently playing around with to instead look at the read haired speedster.
"Well as I told you before, I have always been into the mystic arts." Wally replied, kicking back in his chair and sending a smirk over at M'gann, even as he continued to lie through his teeth. "I mean didn't you know? Before becoming Kid Flash, I seriously considered a career in magic!"
Percy held back the desire to roll his eyes at that, even as he met M'gann's hazel eyes.
'He does remember that you can hear his surface thoughts and feelings, and thus know he is lying, doesn't he?' Percy thought to the Martian, shifting on the oddly, squishy chair beneath him as he tried to make himself comfortable.
M'gann giggled in his head as she heard that. 'No, he forgot that you requested that the three of you were linked up to me before you left. No wait, that's not true. He hasn't forgotten, he just hasn't realised what I can and cannot hear, with only this loose connection.'
"Hmm," Percy hummed, catching the arguing duos' attention as he did so, both of them looking up at him in surprise as he rubbed the back of his neck, massaging it even as he twisted his head to one side, and the bones let out some quiet cracks.
"Percy, when did you wake up?" Wally said cheerfully, sitting straighter in his seat at the sight of his captain, the team leader, being once again, wide awake.
"Just now." Percy grunted, a wry smile playing across his face.
"We didn't wake you did we?" Artemis then asked, a guilty look playing across her face as she met his gaze.
"It doesn't matter, we should be nearly there anyway." Percy replied easily, before he turned back to Wally. "Oh and Wally, do remember that our minds are all connected. We can tell when you are lying."
"Err…" Wally replied, his eyes widening as he looked from the smirking Artemis, to the amused Percy, and then over at the disinterested M'gann. "Oh…"
"Ha, idiot." Artemis chortled, her hand rising as she covered her mouth and stifled her laughter.
"Hn, like you remembered." Wally shot back feebly.
"Enough," Percy cut in, his lips quirking upwards in amusement, even as he quelled their arguing. "We're almost there, both of you get ready."
"Yeah, yeah…" Wally sighed, rolling his eyes. "I mean, who knows how dangerous playing babysitter duty to some old guy will be?"
"Wally, show some respect to your elders. Kent Nelson is a former hero, and a powerful mage, he is someone that should be revered, not mocked!" M'gann spoke up sternly, her voice still soft, even if it held a firmness to it that was not normally there.
Turns out M'gann was more theologically minded that she appeared. She seemed to hold sorcerers and mages, or the priest like equivalent on Mars, in very high esteem. So much so that she would actually argue with one of her teammates to ensure that they got the respect they deserved. Which was especially surprising as normally the gentle, good natured Martian got on with everyone, and was almost too friendly.
"Uh, sorry." Wally replied lamely, a hint of guilt passing through the mental bond as he looked away from M'gann and instead stared out of the ship's window.
"Why did we bring him again?" Artemis cut in, looking to Percy as she did so, and ignoring Kid Flash's offend 'oi!' as she did so. "I mean wouldn't Aqualad have been a better choice? He was talking about Atlantean magic and stuff, that and he's not as much of an ass as Wally!"
"Easy there Artemis, remember he is your teammate and so you should be getting along." Percy replied, his lip quirking upwards for a moment, before he paused and sent the duo a speculative look. "As for why I picked you, well the reasoning was obvious, or at least it was to me. Wally, I picked because of his lack of belief, which is something I want to change before it becomes a detriment on a mission. Meeting Kent Nelson should hopefully go some way to opening Wally's eyes to just how big the universe is, and how unexplainable too."
"Yeah, sure, I'll believe it when I see something that can't be explained by science." Wally drawled, rolling his eyes at Percy's comment, though he did notice the amused gleam in Percy's eyes. "Or mutation or genetics!" He then tagged on, much to Percy's continued amusement.
"We'll see." Percy replied, before looking away and over at Artemis. "As for you Artemis, you I have brought along because I want to improve the relationship between you and Wally. So far everyone in the team has started getting along, which in turn has improved our teamwork and synchronicity. The exception being the two of you!"
Artemis scowled at that, but didn't object, instead she turned and met Kid Flash's gaze. A truculent expression on her face, and a petulant one on his at the reminder of how abrasive they found one another.
"Should you really be telling us this if you want us to work it out? Shouldn't it, I don't know, be like a secret of something?" Artemis then asked, tearing her gaze form Wally as she instead met Percy's amused eyes.
"Subtlety was never my forte, nor do I like deliberately deceiving people, or at least for no reason." Percy shrugged, before his smile widened. "I am stubborn though, and am not going to stop until the two of you can at least get along with each other, or at least well enough to work together."
Both Artemis and Wally let out dual sighs at that, and rolled their eyes. Only for them to catch one another's gazes, and notice the similarity of their actions, after which they both resolutely looked away from one another.
"And what about me?" M'gann chipped in, a look of interest on her face as she looked to Percy.
"You I brought along, partly because you are so interested in magic, and partly because you are an incredibly useful member of the team, and I think that this mission can benefit from your presence." Percy replied just as bluntly.
His words causing M'gann's cheeks to heat up as she looked away in embarrassment. Artemis to sigh, though the reason behind this was not obvious. And then finally, it caused Wally to grumble to himself about Percy being 'a smooth bastard'.
Ignoring their reactions though, Percy instead looked away and out of the window, his gaze fixed on the distant town of Salem as the invisible craft whizzed closer and closer to it.
"Superboy, Kaldur and Robin however, although very capable, I didn't bring along, as the mission did not necessitate the full power of the team. Instead they've got the day off to do whatever they want." Percy continued, absentmindedly toying with the hilt of his Drakon bone sword as he did so.
"Yeah, well I heard Robin is heading back to Gotham to go on patrol there with some newbie. Apparently Bats has picked up a new sidekick whilst Robin was gone, some chick who is calling herself, Batgirl, original eh?" Wally chuckled, rolling his eyes at the derivative name.
"This coming from Kid Flash?" Artemis chipped in sarcastically.
"Hey, it's not the same!" Kid Flash tried feebly.
"Hmm Wally, I'm not sure this new girl, as you call her, would like being referred to as a sidekick, I mean you didn't, did you?" M'gann added in.
"Hey come on, what is this, gang up on Wally day?" Wally replied, noticeably sidestepping the comment as he did so.
"Well anyway, I'm sure both Robin and Batgirl will benefit from this day together on patrol." Percy interrupted, ending the ensuing bickering as he instead smiled. "Who knows, this new girl could one day end up joining the team?"
"Hey, that's an idea! I hope she's cute too!" Wally suddenly nodded, changing his tone as he instead started to smirk.
"Urgh, creep." Artemis sighed.
"Wally, do you know what the other two are doing?" Percy cut in quickly, preventing Wally from retorting, or Artemis from continuing to antagonise the speedster as he did so.
"Ermm, well Kaldur said he was heading back to Atlantis to check in on his friends; Tula and Garth, oh and to see Aquaman too I suppose." Wally replied, sending Artemis the stink eye one last time before he then sent Percy a speculative look. "Bet it's nice down there, have you ever been to Atlantis, Percy?"
"Stop fishing, Wally." Percy sighed, deliberately not answering, though at this point he was more doing so as he knew it would irritate Wally. Petty, but it amused him.
"Was that a pun?" Artemis grinned.
"It was not on porpoise." Percy shot back, flashing her a grin of his own, even as Wally let out a groan.
"Puns are the lowest form of comedy!" Wally grumbled, a betrayed look on his face as he looked at Percy. "I expected better from you man!"
In response Percy sent him a smirk.
"So what about Supes?" Artemis suddenly asked, a slight smile on her face now.
"No idea," Wally replied honestly.
"He told me that he was heading to Metropolis to try and force a meeting Superman." M'gann spoke up, catching all three of their attentions as she did so.
"Really?" Wally asked, an uncomfortable expression on his face. They all knew that the clone, and Superman had a… complex relationship.
"Yes, and Wonder Woman is helping to facilitate the meeting." M'gann tagged on, a smile on her face at the thought of Superboy finally getting the break he deserved.
"She is, when did that happen?" Percy asked, a surprised look on his face.
"The other day," M'gann shrugged, "She popped into the cave looking for you, so she could take you out for a; 'coffee and a catch up'. But you weren't around at the time, so she instead just spoke to Superboy and me for a while. Then one thing led to another, and when she heard how Superman had been acting, she promised Superboy she would try and help him out."
"Hey, that was nice of her! She really is as great as they say!" Artemis said, figurative stars in her eyes at the thought of Wonder Woman, who in the eyes of the world was the epitome of the ultimate Heroine, and an icon and a role model to billions.
"Yeah Percy, you're mum is awesome!" Wally tagged on.
"Nice try Wally, but she's not my mother." Percy shot back dryly, before he turned to Artemis and shrugged. "She's alright, though she can be a bit too meddling at times…"
"Still, hopefully things work out and Superboy and Superman can finally start building a relationship." M'gann chipped in, getting a grunt of assent from Percy as she did so.
"Well anyway, on that note, we are here," M'gann then continued, catching the attention of the others as she slowed the craft down, and began to make it descend, near to where the Tower of Fate was supposedly located.
( - )
(Elsewhere)
Appearing on the Watchtower with a flash of light, Dinah Lance strolled across the Watchtower's cavernous atrium, her footsteps measured and self-assured as she passed by Hawkwoman and Green Lantern, both of whom were talking. With Dinah only stopping to give the duo a smile and a nod, before she passed the two friends by and then entered the observation hub.
The moment she did so, Dinah paused and looked around.
No matter how many times she saw this place she couldn't help but be impressed. Both by the technology it boasted, and by the amount of data and information that passed through these walls.
The entire room was filled with machinery and screens, many of which were even now showing ongoing catastrophes around the world that members of the Justice League had been deployed too. Of course the screens could also show other things, the Watchtower had the capabilities to hack into every single CCTV system and web camera, or online camera or speaker system in the world.
The place was basically a spy's wet dream, and probably a larger version of Batman's lair.
Speaking of Batman, the cowled Dark Knight in question was the only person present in the room at the moment. With the hero in question sitting in contemplative silence in his chair, his cold eyes fixed on the screen in front of him, even as it played through the surveillance footage from Mount Justice. Or rather the most recent sparring match that had taken place there just hours previously.
"Black Canary." Batman said bluntly as he paused the footage, right at the point at which Percy's body had become enshrouded in lightning. With the Dark Knight instead looking away and spinning in his chair as he turned to face Dinah. "What's the situation?"
"Percy, Artemis, Wally and Megan have all gone on a mission. Robin is off back to Gotham to check in on your newest protégé. Superboy is off to Metropolis and Kaldur down to Atlantis. The entire team are off on either missions or errands, and as such my services down there are no longer needed." Dinah shrugged, rattling off a report of the team's ongoing movements, and her own reason for coming back up to Watchtower, despite it being her turn to play den mother to the team.
"I am aware of those facts." Batman nodded stiffly, his eyes still boring into Dinah. "Do you have it?"
Dinah sighed as she heard that, a sudden flash of guilt flooding her, even as she nodded. "We got lucky."
With that said she stuck her hand into the pocket of her jacket and carefully pulled out a glass vial, within which a bloodied cotton swab was contained.
"Percy Jackson's blood." Dinah said, for no other reason than to remind herself that she was technically backstabbing one of the teens under her care by betraying his trust and giving a sample of his blood to Batman.
Handing the vial over, Dinah couldn't help but feel vile herself. When Batman had suggested trying to get a blood sample she had initially agreed, her concern over his methods, and the way in which he had killed Black Spider having proved enough to justify her decision.
Now though, with a clearer head, she felt positively rotten. Riptide, or Percy, was a fellow hero. A powerful young man that selflessly put his life on the line for others. Yet here she was stealing a sample of his blood and delivering it to Batman.
Never before had she felt like such a villain.
"Thank you." Batman said after a moment, not even looking at her now as he instead inspected the blood, the minute gold flecks within it no doubt catching the sharp man's attention. "I will run a scan. Hopefully it was not contaminated. I take it you got the sample from the blood he spat onto the floor during the spar."
"Yes." Dinah nodded glumly.
"Don't feel guilty. I am not looking to hurt the boy. I just want to know what he is, and what he is capable of so I can make contingencies, for if/ or when he goes off the rails." Batman spoke up, his harsh voice softer now, as he attempted to assuage some of Black Canary's guilt.
It didn't work.
"Right, well, just don't involve me in any more of your plans. I feel dirty enough already." Dinah replied, biting her lip now, as she saw the vial vanish into Batman's cloak.
Had she really just done the right thing?
( - )
AN: So what did you all think? I hope you enjoyed the chapter?
Honestly thought I had hoped that this chapter would have allowed me to finished the Tower of Fate arc, but it ended up being longer than I thought. Still the chapter was important, it sets up the beginning of Percy's relationship with Diana. Which as you might have noticed is a little complicated.
By the way I have decided to take some liberties with this earth's version of Diana/ Wonder Woman, as well as with the Greek Pantheon. It will be explained as the story progresses.
On top of that this chapter allowed me to setup four different points of view/ perspectives for the next chapter. Three of which will be minor, but very important, character development/ plot wise, all the same. I am sure everyone can guess which three I am talking about.
Plus the main pov for next chapter, Percy's, which will also be very important both plot wise/ character development wise as he ventures into the Tower of Fate. Suffice to say exciting times are ahead!
Then finally is the last part of the chapter. Which is also very important, and I'm sure you can work out why.
Other than that I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and leave a review.
As an extra I would also like to recommend two different television series to watch if you're interested. Both of them show different perspectives of heroes and are very, very interesting. I recommend them both, either for casual viewing, or for writers who fancy writing a superhero story, they seem to be all the rage at the moment.
Either way, one of the is a live action television series called 'The Boys', brilliant if somewhat brutal at times. I definitely recommend it as it has a very unique perspective of heroes.
The next is an animated series called, 'Tiger and Bunny', this one has a whole other perspective of heroes, which is also very interesting and unique.
Either way, those are my recommendations, I don't make many.
Other than that I hope you review, and check out my other stories if you have the time!
Thanks a lot for reading, see you later.
Greed720.