AN: Hey all, so here is the next chapter I hope you all enjoy it. Also thanks for all the support so far, I really appreciate it, plus in answer to some of the reviews in the last chapter. Yes, I do know that the gods in the PJ verse don't have DNA. Haha. Still, thanks for the support and the interest, I do appreciate it.
With that mind here is the next chapter, I hope you all enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the DC verse.
( - )
(Last Time)
"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?
( - )
Chapter 15
( - )
(With Percy and the team)
The Bio-ship stayed in its stealthy, camouflage mode as it silently landed on the outskirts of Salem. With it landing in the middle of a large, quiet, empty field. With the only indication of the ship's presence being the slight indentation in the long grass beneath it as it settled down, and a platform open up at the back, allowing its passengers to disembark.
Also immediately after the craft had landed, the team, consisting of Percy, Artemis, M'gann and Wally, all quickly descended the ramp and then spread out across the surrounding area. With Wally speeding off in a blur, and M'gann taking to the air, all of them searching the surrounding field as they tried to find the Tower of Fate, which, according to their coordinates should be right around where they had stopped.
Pausing mid-step as he made to cross the road that lay just adjacent to the park, a scowl slowly began to spread across Percy's face as he looked this way and that, looking in vain for any sign of this 'mystic' tower as he did so.
He knew they were in the right area, and that the tower should be somewhere close by. They had followed the coordinates they had been given to the letter after all, and Red Tornado didn't seem like the type of guy/ android, to make a mistake, or to mess about.
The Tower of Fate should be somewhere close!
As Percy looked around, the other members of his teams also joined him in his search, a frown furrowing all of their faces as they tried to find their objective.
Crossing back over the road, Percy began to slowly walk around the perimeter of the park at a leisurely pace, his head flicking this way and that as he tried to find some anomaly or some sign of the tower. They weren't in a rush or anything, but at the same time he didn't really care all that much for wasting his time wandering around some field in Salem.
Thinking about the man they were here to see, Percy's lips curved upwards into a smile as a thought occurred to him. Kent Nelson, or Doctor Fate as he was also known. He was supposed to be some kind of sorcerer, or at least that was what he had been told, and, working off of what he knew about magic, and what he had experienced of it thus far in his life. He knew for a fact that it was not only real, but also as tricky as all hell too. On top of that he knew that it could be used to hide something very big, very easily.
The 'Mist' an insanely powerful, illusion based magic which hid the Divine world from the mortal world was one very good example of this.
With that in mind Percy closed his eyes, spreading his senses out through the moisture in the air as he did so.
If the coordinates were right, then the tower should be right in front of him, and if it should be right in front of him, but not visible, then that meant that it was either; invisible, or being that it was being hidden by some kind of mystical illusion.
"Hey Percy, what're you doing?" Wally called out, as the red haired teen headed back to where the ship was, both M'gann and Artemis following after him. None of them having been successful in their search for the Tower of Fate.
"Concentrating." Percy replied softly, raising his hand and pulling on the divine energy that flowed through him, a slight tugging sensation forming in his gut as he did so.
In response to his actions the air around him began to visibly swirl, even as water rose up from the dewy grass, and was pulled out of nearby trees and shrubbery, the air all around the park shimmering now as the amount of water in the air rapidly increased, even as it began to shifting and flow through the air, all heading for the dark haired Demigod's stationary form.
"Err dude…?" Kid Flash pressed nervously, looking this way and that as he felt and saw what was going on all around him.
"Just leave him to it, Wally." Artemis shot back, folding her arms and waiting patiently for Percy to finish what he was doing. "I mean come on, it's Percy. He knows what he's doing."
"Yeah, but I just want to know what that is." Kid Flash shot back truculently.
"Patience." Percy spoke again, his other hand rising now, even as he spread the water he had gathered through the air and then began to condense it, even as he pulled in water from farther away. His range extending to two hundred metres in all directions, including up and down.
His Demigod powers were a form of magic, and from his experience magic tended to work on magic, or at least react with other magic.
Opening his eyes suddenly, Percy flicked his hands out and a wave of water filled air shot out from him like a shock wave, the water continuing on for a hundred metres all around him, save for in one spot where it splashed against a giant, invisible tower like object. The wave of watery air swirling all around it revealing its outline for just a few moments, before it flowed around and passed it. The structure vanishing from site once again, the moment the mystical water flowed passed it.
"It's invisible!" Wally cried out, seeing what all the others had seen as he did so.
"What do you think? Highly advanced micro-electric phase shifting technology?" Artemis suggested, looking sideways at Kid Flash as she did so, a slight smirk on her face as she saw the dumbstruck expression on his face.
Wally turned to look at Artemis in surprise as he heard that, his green eyes widening, no doubt because he didn't think that the blonde archer was tech savvy enough to come to the conclusion that she had. "Totally…"
Only for his eyes to then flick to the side when he saw M'gann walking passed him.
"Not! Clearly it is mystic powers at work," Wally then continued, changing his answer as he sent the disinterested Martian a smile, not missing Artemis's scowl, even as he turned to look at the other redhead, a smile spreading across his face for a moment, only for it to dim when the redhead walked passed him without even glancing at him, her attention instead on their stoic leader.
"It must be hidden under an illusion of some sort." M'gann mused, looking to Percy for confirmation.
"I think so, yeah. But it is only invisible, not intangible, or at least not when using magic." Percy replied, ignoring Wally's scoff as he instead released his control of the water around him. With him pausing long enough to catch his breath after the exertion that amount of control had required, after which he started walking towards where the building had been, pulling out the large, golden key that Red Tornado had given him as he did so.
"Did you see where the door was?" Artemis asked, watching Percy carefully as he withdrew the golden key, only for him to thrust it forwards suddenly.
A part of the golden key disappearing into some kind of invisible hole, but only for a moment, before, with a single turn to the right and an unlocking sound, the Tower of Fate suddenly materialized in front of the team.
"Yes," Percy finally said, stowing the key back in the pocket of his tan coloured coat, even as he looked up at the colossal, ancient looking stone tower that was now sitting solidly, and clearly visible, in front of him. "My water flowed all around the base of the tower, into every crack and crevice. It's not perfect, but it did give me a, I don't know, I suppose you could call it a mental picture, of what it looked like."
"Sweet," Artemis muttered, following Percy into the tower as he stepped through the now open doors, both M'gann and Kid Flash following after him.
( - )
(Not too far away)
As the team entered the tower, not that far away in a nearby tree line, the air shimmered, only for it to reveal a tied up Kent Nelson and two other individuals. One of whom looked to be a pale skinned, gothic looking teenaged boy, who oddly enough was holding a red eyed, orange furred cat in his hands.
"How interesting." The boy mused, in a cold, high pitched voice, his beady black eyes narrowing as he watched the small group of heroes enter the tower.
"Interesting, Klarion?" The other man, Abra Kadabra, asked, the other wizard keeping his foot on the bound Kent Nelson as he did so, his wand held tightly in his hands as he looked up at the now revealed Tower of Fate.
"Yes, interesting. That boy, he is Perseus Jackson." Klarion replied, his voice holding a slightly whiny note to it, so much so that just the sound of it made Abra have to hide a wince of annoyance.
"And?" Abra asked calmly, flicking his wand at Kent and causing him to hover in the air, even as the two mages were swallowed up by a red portal, only to then reappear soundlessly at the entrance to the Tower of Fate.
"He's not human, or at least barely human." Klarion clarified, his beady black eyes gleaming with fascination as he and his minion walked up the steps of the tower, before using magic to force the closed, but unlocked door open. "He has the stench of the Divine about him."
"A Demigod?" Abra muttered, his brow furrowing in consternation as he came to the basic conclusion of what a human with divinity in him could be, even as he hid his awe at the Lord of Chaos' strength as he forcibly opened the doors to the now revealed tower.
"Maybe, but also maybe something more…, something new… something unique" Klarion muttered, his face twisted up into a look of hunger. "I'll be very interested to find out when we catch up to them. I can't wait to rip him to pieces and see what makes him tick…"
Behind him Abra shivered as he heard the other man's words, and his tone of voice. Klarion the Witchboy may act like a whiny, childish, petulant buffoon, but that was all it was, an act. He was a Lord of Chaos, a creature roe alien to humans than even actual aliens. Things like human emotions, inhibitions and morality, they meant nothing to him.
In fact Abra knew without a shadow of a doubt that Klarion was so bereft of emotion, that he wouldn't care if the entire world was consumed in fire and destroyed. In fact the only thing he might care about was that he was losing some of his toys- his playthings. But even that concern would be fleeting, after all Klarion was a higher being, he had multiple world and existences to play around in.
( - )
(With Percy and the team)
Almost immediately after the team entered the Tower of Fate the doors behind them swung shut with a loud bang! Only for them to then completely vanish from sight the instant they did so, leaving nothing but a blank stretch of wall where they had once been.
"Hey where did the door go?" Kid Flash shouted, darting back to the now blank stretch of wall, desperately feeling around the wall as he did so. Searching for where the door was, and hoping against hope as he scrabbled at the plain looking stone wall, that the doors were just invisible, or were being hidden by an 'illusion'.
Unfortunately though the stone wall seemed to just be that, a stone wall.
"Where's it gone? It's not here!" Wally cried out nervously.
"Magic." Artemis shrugged, a slight smirk playing around her mouth now.
"This isn't a joke!" Wally shot back nervously.
Artemis's smile widened at this, however before she could say any more, a holographic image of Kent Nelson appeared in front of the team, distracting all four of them from their current issue, or at least Wally, who was the only one of the four that was freaking out.
"You have entered with a key, but the Tower doesn't recognise you. Please state your reason for visiting?" The image of Nelson said bluntly, his tone slightly frail but still holding a distinct not of firmness to it when he demanded that they reveal their reason for being here.
Silence followed this statement, as the four looked at one another. Wally visibly relaxing a bit now that he realised that this wasn't a trap, and that they weren't in any imminent danger.
With the speedster relaxing enough to regain some of his former bluster, as before the others could say anything Wally stepped forward, and once again, desperately, tried to impress M'gann. "We are true believers come here to seek out Doctor Fate!"
"Fuck's sake Wally…" Percy muttered, even as M'gann rolled her eyes and Artemis groaned in irritation.
Kent Nelson's image however merely smiled in amusement, before vanishing.
After which, only moments later, the ground underneath the team broke away to reveal an empty cavern below them, down which they all suddenly fell, all four of them momentarily hurtling down towards the bottom of the cavern. Which even from here they could tell and feel was just a pool of bubbling magma, something capable of burning them to death in an instant.
"M'gann!" Percy shouted, with Martian reading his thoughts in an instant, the Martian taking to the air even as she used her Telekinesis to latch onto Wally, Percy and Artemis.
Though only for a moment, as seconds later Artemis drew a handheld crossbow from her hip and fired it at the cavern wall. The arrow embedding into the wall and locking in place as M'gann caught onto her actions and slowly released her grip, allowing the green themed archer to land feet first on the cavern wall, easily held in place by her arrow and the metallic rope leading off of it and back to Artemis's crossbow.
Percy meanwhile, in an effort to lighten her load, pulled out his sword and with a controlled blast of vibrational energy from one hand projected himself across the gap, only for him to then drive his sword into the cavern wall with a single lance like thrust, locking himself in place too, even as he looked down at the bubbling magma below.
"You alright M'gann?" Percy asked, noticing as he did so the sweat beading M'gann forehead as she moved Wally over to where Artemis was hanging, the archer nodding as she noticed the Martian's actions even as she grabbed a hold of the struggling speedster and held him up.
"Fine," M'gann replied, floating over to Percy as she did so. With him reaching out and catching her as she began to lose height, pulling her body close to his as he remained latched to the wall. "Extreme heat and fire, it is a Martian's greatest weakness."
"Ah, shit." Percy nodded, pulling her in closer as he once again looked down at the bubbling lava below them.
"Great job Wally." Artemis muttered as she heard what M'gann said.
"What? How is this my fault?" Wally shot back, clutching on tightly to Artemis, even as she pulled out a dagger and lodged it into a slight crack in the wall for extra support.
"Enough, let's just focus on the problem at hand, and the issue of getting out of this mess!" Percy bit out, his voice sharp, even as he began to run through his options.
Before he could do anything however, M'gann spoke up.
"Hello Megan!" M'gann said, slapping the side of her head with her hand. "We never truly answered the question."
Percy cocked an eyebrow at that. Would something as simple as that really work?
"We have come here on a mission from Red Tornado… we're here to find Kent Nelson and the Helmet of Fate." M'gann called out, before anyone could say anything else, taking the initiative when she saw that none of the others seemed to have any immediate ideas.
In response to her words a platform suddenly formed over the magma, cutting off all the heat in an instant.
Seeing this Percy released his hold on M'gann allowing her to take to the air again as the air rapidly cooled, even as he leapt down and landed on the platform with a loud thump.
It made sense in his mind that he would be the first to test the waters, so to speak. With his minor heat resistance he wouldn't be killed instantly by the lava if this all turned out to be a ruse. In fact he should be able to last about thirty seconds or if he fell in the lava before it became too much and he would need to get out in order to avoid death. More than enough time to test out the platform, and hop out again if needed.
Luckily however it was not needed, and he did not need to put his heat resistance to the test.
"It's fine!" Percy called up to the others a few moments later, looking up and watching the other three rapidly descend using M'gann's Telekinesis as he did so.
"This is weird, the platform should be hot, but feel it, it is cool to the touch." Artemis muttered, her brow furrowing as she knelt down and gingerly touched the metal beneath her with her bare fingers.
Wally ignoring this, and instead sidled over to M'gann. "Great thinking back there Megalicious."
"Enough!" Artemis suddenly snapped, in a tone reminiscent of their leader's favourite way of commanding silence and order. The blonde archer placing a hand on Wally's chest and slamming him forcibly up against the cavern wall, even as she got into his face again. "This impress Megan at all costs thing you've got going on, it needs to stop!"
"What I do is none of your business!" Wally snapped back, his brow furrowing now.
"It is when you almost get us all fried! Lying about being a true believer." Artemis retorted fiercely.
Percy rolled his eyes as he heard the two of them argue, seriously these two bickered more than he and Annabeth did back in the day. The two of them just needed to fuck and get it over with. It had worked for him and his long since deceased girlfriend after all.
A twinge of pain lanced through Percy's chest at that thought. It had been well over a hundred years and her loss, and the guilt he had felt over it had long since stopped hurting. But still, he shouldn't be so casual when thinking about her.
Gritting his teeth, Percy forced his thoughts of his long since dead lover out of his mind, and instead back on the matter at hand, even as Wally and Artemis continued to bicker. He would not say anything, instead he would just let things play out.
The two of them needed to clear the air ether way, after all those two were the only members of the team that didn't, if not like one another, at least get along. Anything else that came from that would be up to them. He just hoped their future romance was not as doomed as all of his own had been.
A few moments later the red haired speedster pushed off the wall and got into Artemis's face. "Well I'm sorry if you are all caught up in this bullshit, but I don't believe! Magic is the true lie. It is all a bunch of smoke and mirrors. Everything can be explained through science!"
Percy frowned at that, maybe letting them continue to argue was not productive. Or at least not while they were on a mission. Plus, the whole magic not being real thing, that Wally was on at the moment. That was something that should be nipped in the bud sooner rather than later, especially with how many magic using foes the League have, and how many magic using villains there were out there in the world.
"Wally…," Percy said patiently, raising one hand even as he focused on releasing lightning from his hand. His control over Electrokinesis may be considerably weaker than his control over water and earth, but it was a damn sight flashier than the other elements.
"That's not magic, that's just a super power" Wally shot back at Percy, a scowl on his. "All that can be explained through science."
Percy cocked an eyebrow at that. "I was born with my abilities, just like a lot of other magic users are. So yeah, I can tell you right now; I am not a mutant or a Metahuman, nor am I an alien or an Amazon or an Atlantean. My powers are based on a form of magic, and are a part of; not just my body, but my soul!"
"Bullshit!" Wally replied with a scowl.
Artemis scowled as she heard him instantly dismiss Percy's words, "You know you are pretty close minded for a guy who can break the sound barrier in his sneakers."
"Again! That is science. I recreated Flash's laboratory experiment and voila here I am," Wally retorted, his tone tinged with frustration now.
"Right enough." Percy spoke out, his voice sharp as both teens instantly went silent and looked at him. "Before, I'll admit I let you argue as I wanted you to work out your issues, but obviously that is not going to happen, not here and now anyway. Despite that though, Wally, I am telling you here and now that magic is real! As are gods and cosmic beings! They are real, deal with it!"
Wally opened his mouth to object, only for Percy to cut him off.
"And as proof," Percy continued, kneeling down and grabbing the panel beneath them as he did so.
"Wait, the backdraft from the lava will roast us alive!" Wally shouted, reaching out to stop Percy, only for him to continue lifting the panel and opening it fully.
The moment he did so, instead of a backdraft of heat like Wally had warned of, there was instead a cold breeze followed by a few flakes of snow hitting the team.
"It is snow," M'gann muttered, a slight smile on her face.
"Do you ever get tired of being wrong?" Artemis smirked, looking sideways at Wally.
Percy though kept his mouth shut, and instead just leapt through the hole, the rest of the team following after him one by one, only for them all to end up in a brand new place, one that is completely covered in snow. With their being snow in every direction as far as the eye can see.
Seeing this Artemis sent a cocky smirk at Wally.
In response to which Wally scowled, before he shrugged and attempted to explain the situation with his sicence. "Ever heard of string theory? This is a pocket dimension."
Artemis rolled her eyes.
Percy however paused, his mind racing as he suddenly began to think of the possibilities of magic and how, once he found a talented mage to help him, he could use it to his advantage. He may have no real talent for other forms of magic, those that weren't related to his Demigod abilities. He had tried to learn in Tartarus, but to no avail. But that didn't mean he that he couldn't find and work with some neutral or League mages.
Turning back to the hole that they had just jumped through, Percy watched silently as the hole between the two places closed up a moment later, leaving them trapped in this new snowy realm. As he watched this, a slight tingle of worry passed through him as he then turned and looked around.
He had already been displaced one, he didn't want it to happen again, not after he had finally settled into this new world.
"Hey, what is that?" M'gann suddenly spoke up, pointing straight ahead of them.
Following her gaze, Percy, quickly noticed the black cane with a golden handle hovering in the air some ten or so feet in front of them.
How had he not noticed that before?
"Ooo maybe it is Nelson's wand," Wally spoke up sarcastically.
Artemis though ignored him, as she instead ran forward and reached out to grab the cane.
Before she could however Wally sped forward too.
"Wait!" Percy called out, calling on his powers as he tried to stop them. Grabbing onto a Symbol of Power, or a wizards wand, or whatever that cane was, in his mind, it didn't seem like an especially smart idea.
As he called out though, the snow around him exploding forward, the two teens reached the cane both of them grabbing onto it at the exact same time.
"I got it," Artemis and Wally both said at exactly the same time, only for them to then struggle with one another. "I can't let go."
After which, seemingly in response to their words the cane lifted the two struggling teens into the air, only to then, in a burst of magic, vanish along with the two that were gripping onto it.
"Idiots." Percy cursed, shaking his head as the duo disappeared. "Maybe I should have made them hash out their problems back in the cavern."
M'gann, from beside Percy just looked to him, not too worried about the fate of their teammates, after all Kent Nelson was supposed to be their ally. "Hey Percy, do you think Wally will believe in magic after that?"
"Wally uses science to understand things that are out of his control. To admit that magic exists would be to let go of that control. Give him time and I am sure he will come around eventually," Percy replied after a few moments, he didn't know much about science, but he did know that, despite what Wally said, it didn't have an answer for everything. After all just look at him, he was a Demigod, he would be impressed if science could explain his existence.
"I hope so," M'gann muttered, only to be distracted as she saw Percy suddenly point straight ahead. Her hazel eyes shifting over to look at what he was pointing at, only for her to see that, on top of one of the snow banks, there was a doorway.
"Come on, let's head there." Percy muttered, leading the way, with M'gann following after him as he headed for the doorway. "Hn, I didn't see this mission becoming so troublesome. It makes me wonder what everyone else is doing with their day off?"
( - )
(With Kaldur in Atlantis)
Swimming through the coral hallways of the underwater citadel, Kaldur, couldn't help but scowl to himself as he swam towards his destination.
His visit to Atlantis, his home, was not like he had expected it would be.
When he first arrived back at the underwater city, he had genuinely been in two minds about whether or not he wanted to stay here permanently, or go back to Mount Justice and the team.
A part of him, the homesick part of him, had long been considering returning to his home in, Posidenous, in order to finish his magical training at the institute, especially after seeing what his team leader, the mysterious Perseus Jackson was capable of.
Another part of him however wanted to remain with the team, after all was it not always said that experience was the true teacher? Plus he had settled into the team well, built up bonds with all of the members, and was honing his craft in battle and through training. He was actually happy there, and loved what he was doing. Did he really want to give that up?
Still, despite this when he had arrived back in the city of his birth just hours previously, he had still been conflicted about whether to stay here or go back.
Though admittedly most of that conflict had been due to his desire to return home, in order to be with, Tula, the girl he loved.
Far more so in fact than it was to continue his learning at the academy. After all looking at it objectively once he arrived back in Atlantis, he had found that he was content with the experience he was gaining on the team thus far, plus he had found an untapped resource in the form of Percy. From whom he hoped might be able to get a bit of training in using water magic, once he had found a way to convince him to help him out of course.
Still, as he had found out only hours after his return, it was too late as far as him and Tula went. The beautiful redhead had already coupled up with their best friend, the last member of their trio, Garth.
Garth, the same person that his king had once thought also worthy of taking on the title of Aqualad.
Only when Garth was offered the chance alongside Kaldur, he had politely rejected the offer. Instead the other teen had wanted to remain in Atlantis and hone his control over magic at the academy, just like Tula had chosen to do. The both of them having become disciples/ apprentices of the kingdom's greatest sorceress, possibly one of the world's greatest sorceresses, or at least in terms of water based magic, Queen Mera.
Kaldur paused at that thought.
Mera, Aquaman's beautiful Queen. She was without a doubt powerful, in fact her control over the sea and water in general was probably beyond Aquaman's own, even if her strength and physical power paled in comparison to her husbands.
But still, despite that, was she truly the strongest in the world?
As he had told his friends, and Mera herself, when he had first returned. There existed another powerful water user, Perseus Jackson. A being whose origins and abilities befuddled the three of them, just as he had Kaldur and his king, Aquaman. A being whose control over water was so fine, and whose power was so considerable, that he might even be stronger than Queen Mera herself.
His mere existence and the power he possessed had certainly caught both Mera and Tula's interest, even despite Aquaman's less than stellar opinion of him.
Apparently the King of Atlantis, when he had returned home after meeting Perseus for the first time, had been quite vocal about Perseus's lack of respect, and all round attitude.
No that her husband's words seemed to bother Mera, in fact the Queen seemed more interested in Percy because of her husband's slight animosity towards him, than she would have been otherwise, especially after Kaldur had told them all he knew about his powers and what he had guessed of his origins.
Before Kaldur could dwell any more on his thoughts, he was distracted by a familiar voice calling out to him.
"Kaldur!" Garth suddenly called out, the tall, dark haired teen swimming over to him, even as he emerged from the corridor and began to enter the academy.
"Garth," Kaldur nodded. His visit home had been brief, but it had been good all the same, and despite what he had found out only hours previously, Kaldur held no ill feelings for his friend.
"I thought you were heading off?" Garth asked, floating in the water just in front of Kaldur, even as Mera and Tula swam out of the academy and approached them, the two redheaded, ethereal beauties, catching both Kaldur and Garth's attention as they swam over.
"My Queen,… Tula." Kaldur bowed, his tone slightly more strained when he said Tula's name than when he addressed the Queen.
He might have decided to be the bigger man and respect their choice to pursue a relationship, but that didn't mean he was anywhere close to being over her, or at least not yet.
"Kaldur you came," Mera smiled, her full lips parting to reveal a flash of her white teeth as she glided through the water towards him, her gossamer dress floating eerily along behind her, along with her waist length red hair, her golden crown glinting slightly in the light cast from nearby underwater lanterns.
"As you commanded, my Queen." Kaldur replied respectfully, meeting her lovely green eyes with his own as he did so.
As he did so he couldn't help but notice that her eyes were sea green, very, almost eerily similar to the colour of Percy's eyes.
"Please Kaldur, there is no need to stand on ceremony." Mera replied gently, her smile softening even as she gestured Tula over to her.
The lithe young red head, oddly enough carrying a large satchel on her back, and wearing, not her tight yellow and green shorts, and cropped shirt like she was wearing before when he first saw her in the midst of training.
But instead she was wearing a bronze coloured, tightly fitting, scaled suit that covered her legs, and chest, but kept her arms, hands and feet bare. On top of which she wore; a pair of glinting, green, scaled bracers on her forearms, similar coloured greaves on her shins, and a finally a bronze coloured, crown like helmet that covered her head, but which left her face open.
It was a set of custom Atlantean armour, similar to that which was worn by the Royal Guard, but with less armour on the shoulders and chest, and noticeably lighter, and more streamline. It was a set of armour that was clearly crafted for speed and manoeuvrability, sacrificing some protection to allow for increased swiftness and agility.
"Tula?" Kaldur asked, his brow furrowing as Tula sent him a smile, her lips curling upwards. The sight of the smile making him flush pink.
He might have accepted that they would never be together, but his feelings for her had not diminished in the slightest, a part of him doubted that they ever would.
"Tula what are you wearing?" Garth tagged on, his own brow furrowing in confusion as he floated closer to his girlfriend.
"My costume," Tula replied, her voice as melodic as ever, even as she let out a slight laugh, no doubt at the confused expressions on both his and Garth's faces.
"I had my personal tailors make the adjustments." Mera added on, her own amusement evident, both in her voice and on her face.
"I, I don't understand?" Kaldur muttered, looking from the grinning Tula to the smirking Mera. "What is happening?"
"Yeah, I don't get it either?" Garth tagged on, a completely flummoxed look on his own face.
"I'm sorry Garth, I know I should have talked with you. But this all happened so quickly, I spoke to Queen Mera and with her permission and help I've spent the last few hours getting ready!" Tula replied, her smile diming slightly.
"Getting prepared for what?" Garth asked, a look of hurt on his face now as Tula swam over to him and took his hands in her own.
"I'm going to the surface with Kaldur, Garth. Queen Mera has agreed to talk to the King about it. I'm going to join the team." Tula said simply, her smile fading as she gripped Garth's hands tighter.
"W-what does this mean? W-why?" Garth asked, echoing Kaldur's own thoughts as he gazed lost into his girlfriend's eyes.
"We're still together, it means nothing for our relationship." Tula hurriedly assured Garth, even as Mera silently floated behind her supportively. "But I want to do this. I have pushed my training here in Atlantis as far as I feel that I can. Now I want to start gaining experience of actually putting it into practice, like Kaldur has."
Kaldur nodded at that, still confused and taken aback by what was happening, but agreeing in principle with the point she was trying to make.
"I also need space to grow and become my own person." Tula added on when she saw Garth open his mouth to speak. "My feelings for you haven't changed. But I saw the way Kaldur has changed since being on the surface, and realised that although he has changed and grown as a person, I haven't, not really."
"Is this because of us? Have things been moving too fast?" Garth asked worriedly, clutching onto Tula's hands like a life line. His tone and the emotion in his voice, were making Kaldur feel uncomfortable. It made him feel like he was a voyeur, looking in on a conversation he really shouldn't be privy too.
"No, I care for you, Garth, and I am happy that we are together." Tula pressed reassuringly. "I know it's selfish, but I want to do this, for me. I want to fight villains, and meet this Perseus and see whether what Kaldur said is true, and if it is I want to learn from him. You know my dream, Garth, I want to be the strongest water mage in the world, stronger even than Queen Mera!"
Mera smiled as she heard that, her lips curving up in amusement as Tula bluntly declared her dream to one day surpass her.
"I know that, but still!" Garth complained.
"Please Garth, I know this will be difficult, and it might put a strain on things, but I want to do it!" Tula pressed, leaning forwards and placing a light kiss on Garth's cheek as she did so.
Kaldur looked away at this, a surge of jealously rising up within him.
"Ok," Garth said after a few moments. "Ok."
Tula's smile upon hearing his acceptance was truly beautiful.
"Are you okay with this Kaldur?" Mera then asked, drawing attention back to Kaldur, even as Tula looked away from Garth and over to him.
"Yes, fine," Kaldur nodded, not sure else what he could say. He loved Tula and wanted her to be with him, and he couldn't deny his Queen when she asked something of him. At the same time though a part of him sank at the realisation that he would be so close to Tula, but that they would still not be together. She had made her commitment to remain with Garth quite clear just now.
"And the rest of your team?" Mera pressed, "I know my husband is confident that he can sort this out with Batman and the others, but would your team accept, Tula, joining them?"
"I don't see why not, they are a good group, and Perseus, despite being a bit… abrasive at times, is a good man. They will be fine with it." Kaldur nodded, thinking on what the others would say as he did so.
Already he was dreading what Wally and Robin would say. They were his oldest friends and knew of his feelings. On top of which they were both childish, and would remorselessly tease him.
He was already regretting not denying Tula here and now.
Looking up at the delighted expression Tula's face, and the smile on Mera's, though, that sudden thought fled him.
It was pointless, he would never have been able to deny either Mera or Tula, even if he had wanted too.
"Great, then let's head up to the surface! I've always wanted to know what it is like living up there!" Tula smiled, releasing Garth's hands as she instead floated over to him.
'Urgh, I wonder how every else's day off has gone?' Kaldur thought to himself, even as he found himself smiling in spite of himself, in response to Tula's excited grin.
( - )
(With Robin)
"Wow I'm impressed, you're pretty good for a newbie!" Robin called out, a grin on his face as he swung off of a tall building, released his grapple and landed with a flip, silently, on another building, his gaze shifting to watch the red haired, blue eyed girl with him do the same.
The girl in question was two years old than him, and noticeably taller than him too, with distinct curves to her body that leant her form a maturity that he knew he his body lacked. Barbara Gordon at fifteen looked like a woman on the cusp of entering her prime. Robin meanwhile at thirteen, still looked like just a boy, a fit and athletic boy, but a child all the same.
It was annoying.
Still though Barbara had impressed him quite a lot so far, even with her only having been taught the basics by Batman, and given a rudimentary course in hand to hand fighting and using the many gadgets that were available to them.
The girl was a quick study.
No doubt she had her background in competitive gymnastics to thank for that, just as Robin had his own gymnastics background to thank for why he, despite his age, had managed to become so good.
On top of that the redhead sure looked the part too. Wearing a black cowl, and black body suit, with a distinctive yellow utility belt, and the symbol of the Batman on her chest, she definitely suited the superhero name she had chosen, Batgirl. It might be a direct rip-off of Batman's whole thing, but she still pulled it off.
Robin's lips twitched upwards at that thought. Not everyone could be like him and forge their own path, just look at Kid Flash and Aqualad, both of them were like Batgirl, and were clearly just copying off of their mentors.
Robin chuckled to himself as he remembered the two older teen's expressions when he had teased them about their choice of superhero names.
It was pretty funny at the time.
That said it did make him wonder, what if he had called himself; Batboy, of Kid Bat, or Batlad?
Honestly, he was pretty sure he would have died from shame and embarrassment if he had.
Luckily though he was not like the others. He had truly gone his own way, and started forging his own path as a hero, as Robin.
"Thanks," Barbara replied as she landed next to him, not even stumbling as they both landed in a similar crouched positon on the side of the building, the two of them now overlooking a dark, dingy alleyway below. "You're not too bad either, for a kid."
Barbara grinned as she said that, her smile obvious as her cowl only hid the upper portion of her face, leaving the lower part open.
Robin, in response, merely rolled his eyes at her words "You shouldn't underestimate me just because I'm young, newbie."
In the past Robin might have blown up at Barbara for talking down to him like that, or for making a joke about him not being competent due to his age.
Nowadays however he just shrugged off the remark, and let it pass for what it was, a joke, a bit of banter.
He had received far worse from his teammates, on top of which he had seen just where he stacked up with the best heroes of his generation. He had nothing to be ashamed of, and certainly didn't need to get all defensive about some off the cuff remark from a newbie.
"Easy there tiger," Barb laughed, standing up from her crouched position, her black cape whipping about behind her.
"Keep your mind in the here and now, a moment's inattention out on the streets could prove to be deadly." Robin replied quickly, his eyes narrowing as he too stood up and surveyed their surroundings. Noticeably he was about six inches shorter than the older girl.
"No need to be so serious, this is just a training run isn't it?" Barb shot back easily.
"Banter between team members is fine, but you shouldn't let it distract you. This might be a training run, but this is also Gotham. The city is filled with crime and criminals, even on a good night there are probably dozens of crimes being committed as we speak." Robin replied.
He joked around with the others, and knew that a bit of banter between teammates was good. At the same time though he also knew how dangerous the streets of Gotham could be, and as such he wanted to impress onto Barbara, just how dangerous things were for a cape when on patrol.
She might be a lifelong citizen of Gotham, after all he already knew that she was Police Commissioner Gordon's daughter, but that didn't mean that she was fully aware of just how dangerous the streets were, especially when you were deliberately getting involved and trying to stop crime as it happened.
Before Barbara could reply the sound of shouting and cursing quickly issued forth from a nearby alleyway, the sound soon being followed by the crack of gun fire, and the sound of screaming and shouting.
"Come on, I'll take the lead, you act as my support!" Robin said instantly, turning on his heel and sprinting across the rooftop, Batgirl already on his tail as the two of them reacted to the outbreak of fighting in an instant.
Pulling out his grapple gun Robin leapt off of the building and shot his grabble over at a nearby building, even as he swung down into the alley below. His movements swift and silent as he swooped down from the rooftops like an overgrown bat.
Moments later he collided feet first with an armed gun man, his reinforced boots smacking into the gun man's skull with a dull crack, even as he released his grabble and flipped, his extendable pole already in hand as he brought it down on another gun wielding man's head. The force of the blow knocking him down, even as Robin rolled and spun, tripping two other thugs over as he did so.
Following this up Batgirl arrived, a pair of black metal tonfa in her hands as she spun down and smacked down two more thugs. With her then following this up with a brutal flurry of head and body shots, until the two went down, and stayed down groaning and moaning in pain. "You alright?"
"Don't get distracted!" Robin replied, throwing out two bird-a-rangs, forcing another thug to lift his arms to protect his face, his actions leaving him open for a strong, brutal blow to his ribs from Robin's staff.
"I'm not," Barb grinned, twirling her tonfa in hand as she smacked the last of the group around, landing five blows on the guy before a final one to the side of the head took him down.
"Looks like a gang shootout." Robin said, ignoring Batgirl's last words now as he instead pulled some black zip ties from his belt and began disarming and tying up the thugs. Ignoring the different gang colours they wore as he instead tied them to on another regardless of allegiance. "So no victims. That said keep an eye out for more, Batgirl."
"On it," Batgirl nodded, twirling her tonfa again, as she began surveying the surrounding, grimy alleyway. "So is this what it is usually like?"
"Most of the time," Robin nodded. "Thugs like these are easy to take down, they're untrained and unprepared. They are dangerous in large numbers, but for the most part they rely on fear and intimidation, not skill, to rule their patches. It only becomes troublesome when they have powers. Trust me, it's never this easy when you're against powered individuals, when you fight them, you need to fight smart."
Barbara nodded at that. "So do you have a lot of experience fighting against powered people?"
"Some, I've getting more and more since I joined the team though; both fighting villains and training with my teammates." Robin nodded, finishing up what he was doing, before he stood up and began to gather up his gear.
"So do you like it then, you know being on your junior Justice League team?" Barbara asked, her question genuine, even if she couldn't help but tease the young teen at the same time.
Ignoring the provocation, Robin instead just twirled his staff in his hand and then retracted it in a single fluid move. "Joining the team, it was the best decision I ever made."
Thinking of the team now, he couldn't help but wonder how the rest of them were spending their day?
( - )
(With Superboy)
With a loud grunt Superboy twisted his entire body and flung his arm out, the manhole cover he was holding hurtling through the air like a bullet, only for it to smash into the chest of a giant, red-haired woman, the force of the blow nearly knocking the villainess, Giganta, off of her feet.
"You little brat!" The giant, hundred foot tall woman roared, even as she reached out and tried to swipe at him with her massive hand.
"Good shot, Superboy!" Wonder Woman called out, even as the dark haired woman swooped down and wrapped her golden lasso around Giganta's legs, using the opportunity Superboy's distraction had created to do so.
"Thanks!" Superboy shouted, dodging back as Giganta's massive hand mauled the tarmac road in front of him, her monstrous strength tearing anything that got in her way to pieces as she tried to grab at him.
Dancing back a few more steps, Superboy then turned ripped a bollard from the nearby pavement, his eyes narrowing as he took aim and hurled it like a shot but, right at the woman's head.
His actions causing Giganta to let out another roar of frustration, even as she reared back to avoid the projectile before it struck in her in the face.
Seeing this Wonder Woman grabbed her lasso and pulled it with all her considerable might, pulling Giganta's legs out from under her and sending her falling to the floor as she did so.
"Finish her Superboy!" Wonder Woman called, her fierce blue eyes locking with Superboy's for a moment.
Seeing the gaze and hearing the order, Superboy leapt off of the road, the asphalt cracking beneath him as he leapt nearly thirty feet in the air, his fist reared back as he used the technique Black Canary had beaten into his head, to land a single, massive superpowered punch into the giant woman's face.
"Ah!" Giganta bellowed, twisting to the side now as her fall was interrupted by thunderous brain shaking blow to the side of her head.
As she fell the giant woman began to rapidly diminish in size, but not before her body had already smashed into the front of an apartment block, blowing out the wall of one of the apartments.
"My baby!" A loud voice screamed out almost hysterically a few moments later.
Looking up Superboy caught sight of a child of about five, even as he clung onto the remains of his apartment wall, his mother visibly trying to get to him, despite the bloody cut on her forehead.
"Superboy, save the child!" Wonder Woman shouted, even as she shot down to neutralise the villainess before she could recover.
"On it!" Superboy shouted, leaping up with a single super powered bound. His body hurtling through the air as he clearly nearly thirty feet, his aim on point as he crashed into the wall just below the struggling kid.
"Caleb!" The mother screamed, almost falling from the wreckage of her apartment as she desperately tried to get to her child.
"He's fine!" Superboy called, clambering up and grabbing the kid, before he then continued up and into the apartment, the young kid safe and sound in his arms. "He's safe."
"My baby, my sweet Caleb! " The woman cried, taking the crying child from Superboy immediately and cradling him to her body.
"Superboy, Giganta, has been incapacitated and the authorities are almost here." Wonder Woman called out, flying up and touching down softly in the room, her blue eyes assessing the damaged wall, and shattered window.
The damage to the apartment was an unforeseen accident, and something that she had tried to avoid. Unfortunately though, when dealing with a foe like Giganta, and in a populated place too, collateral damage sometimes happened.
"Madam, are you and your child alright? Do either of you need any medical assistance?" Wonder Woman then asked, turning to the reunited mother and son as she did so.
"N-no, I think we're okay." The mother replied, stilling clutching her shell-shocked son to her. Her eyes were still visibly filled with tears even as she turned to look at Superboy. "Y-you saved him! If you hadn't been here, t-that monster w-would have killed him, killed us all!"
Superboy could only blink in surprise as he heard that. This day was not going how he thought it would go.
Originally he had left Mount Justice with Wonder Woman, the two of them heading over to Metropolis, where Superman was, and where Wonder Woman had agreed to sort out a meeting between the two of them.
Unfortunately however they had not had the chance to even meet with Superman yet.
Pretty much the moment they had arrived in Metropolis, they had been wrapped up in stopping an attempted heist by the villain, Giganta.
The villainess in question having broken into a laboratory, in her human form, only to be caught by the alarms, which had then led to her assuming her giant form in order to escape.
That had been half an hour ago, and they had only just managed to stop her between the two of them, a job made all the harder by the fact that they were in the middle of a city, and had to fight smart instead of going all out and engaging her in a straight up fight.
"I-It's fine," Superboy said uncertainly, looking away from the woman now, and instead meeting the wonder filled eyes of the shaken, but visibly recovering child.
"Thank you mister!" The child chirped up from within his mother's protective grasp.
"No problem…" Superboy replied, before uncertainly looking at the mother.
"Caleb, his name is Caleb." The woman replied, a teary smile now on her face as she held her son close.
"It's no problem, Caleb, I'm just glad you're safe." Superboy nodded, with Wonder Woman giving him a nod of approval as he did so.
( - )
(Sometime later)
"You did a good job back there," Wonder Woman said as the two of them stood on the rooftop of a nearby building a few minutes later, the two of them watching as Giganta was taken into custody and the authorities began to swarm the streets below. The mother and child from before noticeably now being looked after by paramedics.
"Thanks, Wonder Woman." Superboy nodded.
"Please, just call me Diana." Diana replied with a slight smile, glancing sideways at the younger boy as she did so. "Which reminds me, what should I call you? You can't go around being called Superboy all the time, not when you're heading to school in a month or so."
"I don't have a name, and I've not been registered for the school yet." Superboy replied, his tone somewhat glum as he looked away from the beautiful raven haired woman.
"Well that won't do, everyone needs a name." Diana said, a thoughtful look on her face. "So what would you like to be called?"
"I'm not sure?" Superboy replied with a shrug. "What do you think?"
Diana smiled slightly at that, her head tilting to the side and her blue eyes twinkling. "What about Caleb, the name of that child you saved. Caleb… hmm let's say, Kent, Caleb Kent? What do you think?"
Superboy blinked in surprise at that, his mouth opening for a moment, before he closed it, a slight smile spreading across his face as he looked back down at the busy street below. "Caleb Kent, I like it."
( - )
(Elsewhere)
Opening her bright, glowing violet eyes, a slight smiled played across the beautiful, dark haired woman's face.
A confrontation was about to happen, a showdown between a Son of the Sea, a Lord of Order and a Lord of Chaos.
She couldn't interfere in what was about to happen, nor would she even if she could.
No, all she could do for now was watch and wait.
Soon enough the confrontation would happen, and one of the beings involved would be victorious.
Personally, she already knew who she wanted to win.
Perseus Jackson. He was such an interesting being, one as far from human as she and her fellows were.
Unlike them though, he was a being of the old world, not the new. Or at least for now. In the future however, that was another thing.
Already in her dreams, she had seen what he may one day become.
Percy Jackson, he had the potential to be like one of them, even if he would never be one of them, or at least in the technical sense.
Despite that though the fact remained that he had the potential to become like them, and she for one was fascinated by him and would love to see whether he may indeed, one day, become a 'New God'.
( - )
AN: So what do you all think, I hope you enjoyed it? I will admit this chapter was a pretty difficult one to write, I reckon if I had wanted I could have stretched Kaldurs, Robins and Superboys points of view into an individual chapter each, but I will admit I did not want to do that, nor did I deem it necessary. That said I do hope you enjoy the chapter, it took a while and was pretty annoying to write. But it was important to at least show a bit, as it reveals some of the changes happening in the development in the rest of the team.
Other than that, thanks a lot for reading and please do leave a review.
If you have any questions feel free to PM me, I'm usually good at answer those. Also check out my other stories if you have the time.
Thanks for reading, and I'll catch you later.
Greed720.