AN: So managed to finally motivate myself enough to get this chapter out. I was meaning to do it a while ago, but kept getting distracted. I'll admit I've found myself getting into Star Wars and RWBY again recently, been reading some stuff into it, and as is often the case having ideas. Some of which are terrible, others of which are potentially interesting. Not that I let that distract me from my many, many other stories of course :D
Either way here is the next chapter. I am glad the previous chapter, which was more relaxed and easy going after an active and chaotic few chapters went over well. It's nice just to take a break and develop the characters and their interactions a little more. It doesn't always need to be so miserable.
That said welcome to the next arc, which I have been having some ideas about for a while. Hope you all enjoy the chapter and leave a review. If you have any questions feel free to PM me, or if you fancy a chat or whatever I am part of a discord group now, the details are on my bio.
Thanks for reading.
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or DC, if I did I would have done a whole lot of stuff differently. Starting with shut downing the DC live action extended universe, and investing more in the good stuff, the animated films and series. That and I wouldn't have done those dreadful PJO films, and would have instead pushed for a PJO series told in the style and art form of the castlevania series. But that's just me.
( - )
(Last Time)
It was the first time she had ever seen him blush, and it was kind of cute.
The others blinked at that for a moment, before Robin broke the silence.
"Huh, you had a mum?" Robin asked, feigning surprise in his voice. "I just thought you popped out of a hole in the ground, fully grown and already pissed off…?"
Percy sent him a flat look at that, his lips twitching slightly as if he was fighting a smile.
The rest of them however had no such restraint, and instead just started laughing.
It looked like it was going to be a good day, Barbara thought, as her team continued to laugh and joke about around her.
She just hoped that her upcoming first mission with the team, later this evening, would go just as well.
( - )
Chapter 19
( - )
(With Percy, months earlier on the Island of Themyscira)
The moment he woke up, he was almost blinded by the sunlight streaming in overhead.
After years of nothing but gloom and darkness, even the smallest beam of sunlight was enough to almost burn his retinas and cause pain to lance through his head and his brain as it tried to comprehend the all but forgotten signals that were being transmitted from his eyes.
Blinking his eyes again, Percy tried to bring his hands up to rub them with the palms of his hands, both to try and ease the blinding pain and to work out some of the gritty gunk that seemed to have formed at the corners of them whilst he was asleep/ unconscious.
Unfortunately the clank of chains and the sudden irritating feeling of metal rubbing against his wrist as he felt his hands forcibly being stopped, soon alerted him to the fact that all was not right.
Blinking again and then squinting around, it took him a few minutes to just work out what in the Hades was happening.
He was lying on a small, wooden bed with a simple yet still comfortable mattress beneath him and warm woollen sheets atop his partially naked body. Added to that he was also in a brightly lit, and unfamiliar, stone chamber with large glassless windows, a vaulted ceiling and what looked like tapestries and ancient weapons adorning the walls as decoration.
This was either a dream, he thought to himself, a very weird one considering the rune inscribed manacles he could see around his wrists, or it was actually happening.
Personally he hoped for the latter, because if it were the former then that just meant that he was still stuck in Tartarus, and if he were being honest with himself, Percy knew that he would rather be the captive of some unknown on the surface, than stuck in Tartarus alone and surrounded by; monsters who wanted vengeance and would stop at nothing to kill him, monsters who were sort of his friend but would still probably kill him if given half the chance, and finally monstrous ex-lovers that may or may not kill him depending on how they are feeling about him on any given day.
His mind automatically went to his most predominant former lovers; Lamia, Medusa and Eris, at that last thought.
It had been a long, lonely century/ few centuries- he honestly wasn't sure, in the Pit and he had had needs just like many others had. He had desired companionship and the comfort of the flesh just as some of the other humans turned monsters, more often than not due to divine trickery, still did.
Of course it never worked out in the end. After all, Medusa and Lamia for all their compatibility with him both sexually and personality wise, were still monsters, whilst he was a demigod. As such it was merely instinctual for them to want to eat him, and not always in the fun way. Just as it was natural for him to have the urge to kill them in return.
Those feelings, on both their parts, were hardly conducive when it came to establishing a long-term, loving relationship. That and there was also the fact that they were both pretty evil at this point in time.
Suffice to say, his relationship with the two of them over the last century had been… turbulent to say the least, and constantly off and on again with him flitting from one to the other, depending on how each of them were feeling, that or he had been on the run from one or both of them.
They had very much been taboo, circumstantial love/ hate relationships that realistically had no chance of ever working out. Again partly because of just how insane and just plain evil they were. Lamia was literally a baby eating monster after all, and Medusa's idea of interior design often involved turning living, sentient beings into statues.
As for his relationship with Eris, well the dark goddess of Discord was just insane, sadistic and completely bat shit, not the kind of woman you wanted to take home to meet your family.
Still, she had been a hell of a lot of fun though all the same.
Percy smiled faintly to himself at that, his muddled thoughts whirling around his head as he tried to make sense of his new and blessedly unfamiliar surroundings, even as he tried to remember the events that had preceded his waking up here.
It had just been another day, week, year, he honestly didn't know considering there was no night or day in the Pit, that and the fact that time worked differently. But either way it had just been another period of time in the Pit, and he had just been wandering around.
He often did that, both to acquire sustenance from the River of Fire as and when he needed it, and to basically explore more of the Pit and maybe get a good fight out of it too.
Aside from creepy and possibly lethal sex, fighting strong and mainly psychotic enemies was about the only other source of enjoyment and entertainment he was able to have down there in the bowels of the under-underworld.
Either way, he had been wandering about doing nothing in particular, aside from getting into a few scraps with passing monsters, that and swearing and cursing at fate and Tartarus himself, another common pastime of his, when he had suddenly, and without warning, come across the Doors of Death.
The ever moving, ever shifting doorway, and one of the few entrances and exits to Tartarus in existence, the set of doors that, Thanatos, the God of Death, oversaw and managed.
Suffice to say he had been both shocked and overjoyed at the unexpected sight of the doorway. After all it was the same set of doors that he had first begun searching for with his long deceased ex-girlfriend, Annabeth, more than a century or so, at least, earlier.
From there he remembered rushing for the doors before they warped away, and reappeared elsewhere in the never-ending Pit, as they often did, sometimes almost as soon as they appeared.
He remembered lashing out with his sword and cutting down several other monsters that had also seen the doors as he rushed towards them. Any sense of compassion or comradery he might have had for his fellow monsters stuck down in the Pit, vanishing as he, like them, fought tooth and nail to get to, and then get through, the Doors of Death first.
Percy tried to sit up in his bed as that memory hit him, his eyes snapping open as he suddenly stared out of the glassless window, his hungry green eyed gaze feasting upon the open, slightly cloudy blue sky he could just about see through the window, like a drowning man might feast on air.
It had been so long since he had seen the sky, the real sky that is, he had almost forgotten what it looked like.
A sudden cool sea breeze blew in through the window, and Percy let out a gasp of both shock and ecstasy as he felt the fresh, salty air envelope him, filling his lungs and ruffling his hair.
It caressed him like a loving mother might a son she had not seen in many years.
A shiver of delight ran through his body as he began to take several deep breaths of air, even as he strained against his rune inscribed restraints, desperately trying to sit up as he did so, just so he could get one single glimpse of the sea.
He could just about sense it. He could tell it was there, just out of sight.
Unfortunately though, it was also just out of reach.
With a sigh of disappointment and exhaustion Percy collapsed back into his bed. The flesh around his wrists now red and irritated from where they had rubbed against the metal manacles.
Scowling down at his bonds, Percy once again tried to think back about what had happened after he had reached the Doors of Death, and how he had come to be in this… troubling situation.
Closing his eyes again, he thought back.
He remembered that he had managed to make it to the doorway and then force his way through the doors.
It had been agonisingly painful, both physically and spiritually. Even now he could still feel the phantom pain of passing through that vast archway.
It had felt like he was tearing himself apart. Like his body had suddenly been brutally disassembled, both then being hastily, and almost contemptuously reassembled moments later, even as he forced open the doors a crack and physically dragged his body through the gap.
Despite that though he had succeeded, he had dragged himself free and then what…?
Percy's mind blanked for a moment at that, before suddenly it clicked.
He had been attacked.
A host of armed and armoured women had attempted to force him back into Tartarus, and he in response had reacted as any sane person would to such a threat, with insane levels of violence.
Furrowing his brow Percy winced as he remembered the fight that had followed. The women had been skilled with their chosen weapons; be they bows, swords, maces or spears, almost preternaturally, and had obviously been highly trained and practised in both individual fighting and group formations.
They had been both dangerous and deadly, and in any other situation, he himself might have struggled to get past them all. Or at least he would have in the state he fought them.
Despite this though, and despite their obvious skill and viciousness, he had managed to tear through them with almost vindictive ease. Desperation and rage had lent him strength. It had allowed him to dig deep and grasp his reserves of power and unleash them in a spectacular fashion.
He had won.
Percy frowned again at that thought, after all it wasn't consistent with his current situation. If he had won, then why was he a captive?
Closing his eyes, Percy continued to think back to what had happened, pushing aside his pain and rage as he tried to find clarity on the actual event itself.
He had won against the corps of armoured women, but the latecomer, the dark haired, armoured women with the lasso and sword, the one that could fly, the one was able to hit almost as hard as titan. The daughter of Zeus. She, he had not beaten.
Instead after a vicious struggle, she had come out the victor.
Which of course answered the question of why he was now chained up like a prisoner.
What it didn't answer however, was why he was still up here on the surface, as opposed to back in Tartarus crying and raging over having his only chance of freedom stolen from him?
From what he could recall both the woman who had beaten him, and the squad of warrior maidens he had defeated, had all threatened exactly that. In fact he recalled the words 'cast you back into the hell from whence you came' being used, or at least some iteration of those campy, shakespearean-esque words.
Checking his surroundings once again, as if to be sure, Percy once again came to the same conclusion as he before. Unless this was a dream of some sort, or a very realistic illusion, he was free from the Tartarus.
That was the good news.
The bad news however, was that he both didn't know why he was not back in the Pit, like they had threatened him. That and there was also the fact that he was also currently a prisoner.
He needed answers.
"So you're awake I see." A hard female voice suddenly rang out, and knocked him out of his thoughts as it did so.
Almost at once Percy's eyes shot over to the source of the voice the moment he heard it, only for him to freeze slightly at the sight of the speaker.
As if summoned by his thoughts of her, it was the raven haired woman he had fought at the Doors of Death, behind whom he could see half a dozen other familiar looking armoured women.
None of whom looked happy to see him.
( - )
(In the present, with Percy)
As he woke up, he was almost blinded by the sunlight streaming down from overhead.
Only for the sudden pain to go away as he blinked his eyes a few times and raised his free hand to shadow his eyes, and shield them from the cruel rays of the sun.
It was odd, Percy thought deliriously to himself as he let out a couple of dry, raspy breaths. He would have thought that after years of nothing but gloom and darkness down in Tartarus, even the smallest beam of sunlight would have been enough to almost burn his retinas and cause pain to lance through his head.
Strangely though there was no such reaction, aside from the normal reaction any mortal would have after getting the sun in their eyes
Scowling in confusion, Percy pushed himself to his feet, or at least he attempted to, as in the end he only managed to make about a foot or so before the ground beneath his hands gave way and he landed back on the ground face first.
"Ooph," Percy grunted, spitting out a mouthful of sand, before with another sigh he finally made it to his feet. His booted feet slipping slightly in the sand, even as he stood up and looked round in confusion.
This was not Tartarus that much was obvious.
Instead, he was surrounded by a sea of sand, with vast hills of the stuff looming out of the sea in every direction.
It looked as barren and empty as Tartarus often did, but the climate was wrong and so too was the texture of the earth. For one it was normal looking sand, and not reddish bedrock covered in pockmarks, spikes, pustules and fleshy rock-like growths. Furthermore the air itself was not boiling hot and corrosive, and did not seem to almost melt him from the inside out like the air in Tartarus did.
Blinking slightly and shaking his head as to clear it of the fogginess that seemed to have enveloped his mind, Percy looked up at the sky in confusion.
The sky was a pale blue and completely cloudless.
It was definitely not red and horrifyingly alive like in Tartarus.
On top of which, he could see the blazing ball of fire in the sky overhead too, the sun, its intense rays beaming down on him and causing him to feel almost unpleasantly hot and sticky, especially with there being no wind to speak of, that and with him also wearing black armour that was currently hot to the touch, and which just seemed to be absorbing more heat by the second.
"Where's my coat?" Percy muttered to himself in confusion, looking down at the segmented, moulded black armour he was wearing. It was not made of Divine metal that much was obvious, but nor did it seem to be made of iron or steel either, he wasn't an expert in metallurgy but he could at least tell that much. At the same time he could also tell that the craftsmanship that had gone into the compact, full-body armour must have been masterful.
Still, Percy frowned, masterful craftsmanship and unfamiliar metal aside, the armour was probably nothing compared to his literally indestructible Nemean Lion skin jacket. Which of course begged the question of why he was wearing this poor replacement, and not his priceless coat.
That, and also why was he wearing black, the colour had never suited him, and in terrain like this it made him stick out like a sore thumb.
Shaking his head at this, Percy's hand moved instinctively down to his hip for a moment, only for it to come to rest on the painfully familiar hilt of his Drakonbone sword.
He still had his sword at least. The blade that had served him well for over a century against all manner of monsters and eldritch abominations. That, and it was also his last physical reminder of Annabeth before she died. The blade was priceless, not because it was irreplaceable, as it wasn't, but because of the sentimental value it held to him.
Letting out a sigh of relief at this, Percy then began to search around for his other keepsakes. His Camp Half Blood necklace, and the broken hilt of Anaklusmos.
To most, these items would probably seem like trash, but to him they were relics of his history and reminders of things that had once been. They were a part of his origin story.
Finding the two items, both of which were hanging safely around his neck, and currently covered by his armour- which by the way was not too difficult to take off and put back on again, Percy let out another sigh of relief and began to assess his current situation.
As far as he was aware he wasn't in any immediate danger. The landscape was quite open, which meant that he should be able to see any land or air based threats coming. On top of which, the air was still and it was quiet, which meant he would also be able to hear trouble coming too.
Continuing to survey his surroundings, Percy couldn't help but grumble to himself about the dry air and the sandy ground. Both of these things inhibited his extrasensory abilities.
With only a small amount of moisture within the air, he could no longer push his sense through it, and with the loose sand beneath his feet nor could he feel the vibration through the earth that would allow him to pinpoint incoming threats.
He was at a disadvantage.
Grumbling to himself again at that realisation, and at the unpleasantly hot and sticky armour he was wearing, Percy unsheathed his sword and started forward.
Honestly speaking, he had no idea where he was, aside from on earth- which in itself was a blessing, especially considering he had been expecting Tartarus when he awoke.
Still, despite this realisation, he couldn't help but feel underwhelmed.
He had somehow escaped Tartarus, but he didn't feel excited about it. Instead he felt like that was something he should have expected, or should have already known.
Pausing mid step at this realisation, Percy's eyes automatically narrowed.
Someone had messed with his mind, or at least with his memories.
He had experienced this kind of thing before, both pre-Tartarus, and during his time in the Pit. Illusions, mind-raping, memory tampering, he had experienced it all enough before to know it was happening to him again now.
Exactly which one of the three it was, he wasn't sure.
He had never really developed a good counter to mental attacks, it was one of his more glaring weaknesses.
What he had developed however, was an immensely strong will and an organised mind that would allow him to detect when someone was messing with his head. Which in turn would allow him to at least be aware that something was wrong, and maybe, if he was lucky it would also allow him to find a way to break whatever mental mind fuckery was going on.
It wasn't perfect by any means, but it was the best he could do.
Clicking his tongue at this, Percy's hand gripped his sword tighter even as he continued to walk forward.
The last clear memories he had were of finding the Doors of Death and slipping through. Beyond that everything was foggy, aside from a few stray emotions of relief and joy, and the occasional blurred image that quickly flashed through his mind, but was always just out of reach when he attempted to lock on it.
Pausing, he closed his eyes and tried to focus on some of those memories. His face scrunching up as he tried to literally will himself to remember everything that he had been forced to forget.
Again, he could see images, scraps of memory flashing by.
This time however he was able to make out bits and pieces about them.
In one of the images there was a beautiful raven haired, blue eyed woman.
In another there was a mischievously grinning blond haired child.
Following on from that he could picture a fiery red haired woman in armour.
After which he could then see another red haired woman, only this one seemed to have green skin.
Frowning, and ignoring his growing headache, Percy focused on these small, disconnected memories and the feeling these images brought with them. They were feelings of contentment and happiness. Feelings that were slightly alien to his currently befuddled mind, but were still welcome nonetheless. More than that however, the images were also getting slightly clearer the more he focused on them.
Bringing up his free hand, Percy began to massage his temples with his hand, drawing what little water he could from the parched air as he then used the thin film of water he had summoned to try and soothe his growing headache.
He could now see other images flitting through his mind, such as a; human sized and shaped banana with red hair, a young looking kid that was cosplaying as a superhero, a dull looking, dark skinned teen with white hair and glowing arms, a heavily built looking teen with an annoyingly square jaw and red 'S' on his black shirt, and finally a statuesque blonde woman, in a green outfit with a bow.
His vague memories of these individuals, whoever they were, seemed to be more along the lines of amusement. The kind of amusement one would have when humouring a particularly excitable pet dog.
No, that wasn't fair. They were fond feelings he could tell that much, though at the same time he could feel slight frustration and irritation too at the thought of them.
Frowning, at this realisation, he couldn't help but be confused about what he was learning from his newly revived, fractured, memories. How could he both like these people, and be immensely frustrated and irritated by them at the same time? Surely such a thing was contradictory?
At least with the first set of strangers he remembered, they had brought up nothing but good feelings within him.
Honestly, he wasn't sure.
With that thought in mind he released his grip on his recovering mind and opened his eyes, even as he then began to trudge through the sand, aimlessly wandering and looking for any signs of life.
As he did this however, his mind did also bring up more blurred memories, unprompted this time, which engendered slightly more bitter feelings within him. A man with a bat fetish of some kind, a petulantly screaming, pale skinned, dark haired brat, and also for some reason, a Mexican wrestler…
Shaking his head in confusion, Percy ignored the sudden lancing pain in his head and once again tried to focus upon the blurred memories that brought up more pleasant and positive feelings within him, even as he attempted to dispel or find a way around the mental attack he had apparently been hit with.
He didn't know what was going on, or who had attacked him, or even where he was. But he was going to get to the bottom of it sooner rather than later.
Or at least that was what Percy told himself, even as he crested the brow of a sandy hill and spotted an unconscious, red haired figure lying in the sand a few hundred metres away.
"Great…" Percy muttered to himself, even as he began to half walk and half slide down the mound of sand and towards the unconscious figure in front of him.
( - )
(Elsewhere in the desert, with M'gann)
Letting out a groan, M'gann sat up, her head spinning as she tried her best to sort out her thoughts, and to alleviate the throbbing pain she could feel in the back of her head.
Letting out another groan, and a slight hiss of pain this time, she brought both her hands to her head and concentrated.
Her mind was jumbled and disorganised, a far cry from how it usually was.
Taking a few moments to centre herself, and a couple of deep breaths to calm herself down, she eventually brought her mind under control enough for her to finally get her bearings and survey her surroundings, only for her brow to furrow in confusion as she realised that she had no idea where on Mars she was.
Quickly flying up into the air and off of the sand covered ground, her feet now hovering a foot or so off the ground, M'gann quickly looked around and recognised that she was in a desert, and judging by the fact the sand was a golden yellowish colour, and not red, it was not a desert on Mars either.
Continuing to observe her surroundings for a moment, M'gann then looked down at the unfamiliar garb she was wearing. Her mind was still racing as she tried to work out what on Mars was going on as she saw she was wearing a blue cloak, and a black skin-tight full bodysuit, reminiscent of the clothing her uncle, J'onn sometimes wore when he came to visit her and her family.
'Where am I?' She thought, 'and why am I in this form… and this looks like Uncle J'onn's outfit! Could I be…'
"Hello Megan! I'm on earth! But how did I get here? And why does my head hurt so much?" M'gann suddenly said, her eyes widening as her mind reshuffled itself enough to give her more clarity on her current situation, a wide smile breaking across her face as she turned around and began to drink in the sights around her.
She was on earth. That explained her altered physical form at least. She also was brought here by her uncle, she could remember him first suggesting the possibility to her of a new life, away from discrimination and cruelty she had faced on Mars. A place where she could start again and find happiness.
M'gann smiled excitedly at that for a moment, only for her smile to dim slightly as she once again looked around.
She wasn't surrounded by friends, or by anything that usually came to mind when she thought of earth. Instead she was by herself in the middle of what looked like a desert.
"What's going on?" M'gann muttered to herself, her brown eyes narrowing as she looked around and tried to see a sign of anyone else, or at least of a nearby settlement she could fly to so she could at least work out where on earth she was, and maybe so she could get in contact with her uncle.
"Could this be… a dream?" M'gann muttered to herself, even as she started to fly forwards, her mind spreading out in all directions as she attempted to lock onto nearby minds.
Her control over telepathy, she noticed as she continued to sweep over the simplistic animalistic minds of the… well animals that must call the desert home, was also much better than she remembered it being.
She could cast her mind further than she ever could before. On top of that she could glean more from surface readings than she was ever able to when she had been on Mars.
She wasn't entirely sure of how she ended up in the desert, but somehow and in some way, a part of her knew it must have something to do with why her telepathy had developed and advanced so much.
In fact it had improved so much that she had already recognised that her mind had been tampered with, and had already unconsciously started to undo the damage done, and unbury her suppressed memories.
Unfortunately, it was as she was thinking this however, that she felt an unfamiliar mind entered her range.
This mind she could instantly tell was angry, furious even. More than that, it also seemed more animalistic than intelligent, like it was running on pure instinct and natural aggression.
Taking to the air the moment she felt this mind and flying several metres higher, M'gann was thankfully alert enough not to be surprised by the sudden boom that sounded out as a dark shape hit the sandy ground below her.
Waving her hand through the air, and telekinetically blowing the sand clear, M'gann's brown eyes widened as the cloud of sand revealed not a large animal like she had first expected based on the mind, but instead a teenaged human male, or at least it looked human.
Eyeing the admittedly handsome, dark haired, blue eyed teen suspiciously for a moment, it only took M'gann a few moments to notice the red 'S' symbol on his ripped and partially torn black shirt.
"I've seen that symbol before… are you… are you Superman?" M'gann asked carefully, pitching her voice so the boy could hear it, even as she kept a careful distance from the feral looking humanoid.
The symbol was reminiscent of Superman's, she knew that. But the boy looked too young to be the famous hero, on top of that her uncle had said that Superman was a smart, well-mannered, cultured and friendly man.
The savage boy below her was none of those things.
Letting out a growl in answer to her question, the blue eyed teen glared up at her for a moment, before, without word, ripping the symbol off of his shirt and throwing it to the ground, before yelling at the top of his lungs and then pouncing at her.
Letting out a squeak of shock, M'gann almost instinctively lashed out with a wall of telekinetic force in response, accidentally swatting the feral teen several dozen metres away, even as she ascended higher and higher into the sky. Far higher than the feral teen could apparently jump, as, after a few attempts to grab her the boy let out another howl of anger and leapt away. Departing the scene almost as fast as he had arrived on it.
"What was that?" M'gann muttered to herself, her eyes following the teen's path as she continued to leapfrog his way off and into the distance.
There was something both familiar and unfamiliar about the teen. She could picture his face, and knew that she knew him. At the same time though his actions and personality didn't fit with the picture of the teen she had drawn up in her mind.
Shaking her head in confusion at these contrasting images she had in her mind, M'gann's eyes instead lit up slightly as she saw three other figures far below, some half a mile or so from where she had awoken.
There were three of them that she could see.
They were small barely visible figures, and far out of telepathic range, but they were there nonetheless. Perhaps more importantly than that though, they were also just standing around civilly and weren't going wild like the feral teen.
Smiling to herself at this, M'gann quickly began to fly through the air and towards the trio.
However as she did this she made sure to maintain her current altitude so she could get above them first, unseen, and try to pick up on their minds and intentions first, before she went down there to meet them.
The plan at first seemed silly and overly paranoid when she first thought of it, but as she continued to untangle her mind, it made more and more sense.
Caution was good when in an unfamiliar situation.
Using your abilities to their fullest, was also important, don't hold back unless you absolutely have too.
Looking after yourself and others should be of paramount importance.
She could almost feel the warmth suffusing her body as these words, fresh from a recently reclaimed memory, rang out in her head, the words were spoken by a calm, strong male voice. One that brought with it feelings of joy, happiness and safety.
Focusing on these feelings, and words, M'gann continued forwards for a moment, before coming to a stop far above the trio. Her mind already spreading out as it locked onto the minds of three figures below.
All three of them were nervous and confused.
But thankfully they weren't angry or aggressive.
Narrowing her eyes, M'gann continued to focus even as she began to descend.
Two of them were recognised heroes- even if she did not recognise them personally, Kid Flash and Robin.
The other meanwhile was a self-titled vigilante- Artemis.
All three of them felt like good, if slightly secretive or cynical, people.
Robin came across a bit cocky and arrogant, but with a good heart and well-meaning intentions.
Kid Flash seemed to be lacking in common sense, and seemed more socially inept than even her. But again he had a good heart, and a wry sense of humour.
Artemis however felt a bit cagey, like someone with a secret. M'gann didn't want to dig too far, as a part of her seemed to know that such a thing would be a breach of privacy. But at the same time, she seemed like a kind girl.
None of them were perfect and they all had their flaws, but at the same time they also still felt like good people.
On top of which all of them were missing memories too, and had woken up her in the exact same situation she had. More than that though, their minds also felt unusually familiar, almost like she had been in contact with them like this several times before.
Nodding to herself at this realisation, M'gann continued her descent until she came to a stop just above and in front of the trio.
All three of them noticed her at once, as they leapt back. Artemis and Robin both drawing their weapons, a bow and a retractable bo staff respectively, even as Kid Flash let out a yelp of surprise and fell backwards and onto his behind in shock.
"Hi there, I'm Megan. Did all of you randomly wake up in the desert missing several months of memories?" M'gann said bluntly, both introducing herself and highlighting the similarities of their problems at the same time.
Was it slightly manipulative? Probably.
Did the sudden confidence and self-assurance she currently felt as she introduced herself, feel natural? Not at all.
Did it still feel right despite this? Surprisingly yes.
( - )
(Elsewhere in the desert, with Batgirl)
"Well this is a fine mess you've gotten yourself into Barbara, a fine mess indeed." Barbara Gordon grumbled to herself as she slid down the side of a sand dune.
This was not how she had thought her day would go.
In fact the last thing she remembered was going to bed early back in Gotham, after having dinner and watching TV with her dad, and then spending most of the evening revising for an exam she had at school the next day.
Only for her to then wake up in the middle of a desert! Maybe Nevada, maybe the Sahara, she honestly had no idea, and if that wasn't bad enough, she also had awoken apparently in cosplay as the Batman.
Barbara let out a frustrated sigh at that.
Sure she had had a slight crush on the Batman when she was younger, and she had even been thinking recently about trying to do something similar, like costuming up and going out and catching bad guys. Kind of like what her dad did, only less legal and more effective.
Not that her dad wasn't effective, because he was, but more because he was, as he admitted himself, constantly getting handicapped by bureaucracy, politics and the entrenched corruption of the American legal system and judiciary. The kind of things a masked vigilante never had to worry about.
Pulling off her black mask and wiping the sweat off her brow, Barbara couldn't help but look at the mask in her hand in confusion.
The black mask, or was it a cowl, looked really well made. It was of a far higher quality than anything she could have expected to pick up in a costume store or online.
Furthermore, she thought looking down at the yellow belt that fit snugly around her hips, the belt and all the equipment in it; a compact hand held grappling thing, a high tech looking handheld computer device thing, bat shaped ninja throwing star… things. They all looked legit, like the real deal.
Frowning to herself at that, Barbara pulled the mask back on, ignoring how hot and sweaty it felt to have it on, and then brushed her slightly damp red hair back over her shoulders, ignoring the gritty feeling off all the sand in her difficult to maintain mane of hair as she did so. She would definitely need a nice long soak in a bath when she got home, if she got home.
Still, she continued to think to herself, the costume she was wearing felt legit, and her body felt far stronger and more muscled than she remembered it being.
Not that she used to be fat or anything. Twelve years of gymnastic competitions and the associated training, and weekly training for both the volleyball team she was a part of and the soccer team she had joined earlier this year, meant she had always been very fit and in good shape.
At the same time though, she now had muscles where she didn't use too. That and she had fully formed curves that only yesterday she was only on the cusp of developing.
It made no sense.
Then again neither did the fact that she woke up in a desert, not in her bed, dressed up like a girl version of the Batman, only a lot sexier, or at least in her very humble opinion.
Barbara let out a snort of laughter at that random thought, even as she slid down another sand dune.
"Wait, what is that?" Barbara muttered to herself, as she tried to stop herself sliding further down the dune. Her green eyes narrowed as she raised her hand to shade her eyes from the sun, even as she squinted over at a small, dark box like object she could see a couple of hundred metres away, and the still, unmoving figure lying on the ground next to the box.
Almost at once, Barbara leapt into action.
Literally in fact as she pushed off the ground and began to dash down the sandy mound and towards the dark grey, rectangular box, and the possibly dead, possibly unconscious, figure next to it.
It was almost instinctive really.
She saw someone in need of help, and so that is exactly what she went to do.
Continuing on at a brisk pace, Barbara ate up the few hundred metres in barely a couple of minutes, it would have been faster if not for the terrain, before she then slid to a stop next to the unmoving, dark skinned, white haired teen on the ground.
"Hey, are you alright?" Barbara said, her hands moving as she checked his neck for a pulse.
Thankfully he had one.
"W-water…" The admittedly handsome, white haired teen rasped in response. His eyes still shut, even as his painfully chapped lips moved.
"R-right." Barbara nodded, quickly looking down at her belt to see if it had a handy supply of water in it- it did not, before then looking over at the rectangular box, which she now saw was not a box, but instead a case of some kind, one which was currently open and was full of equipment.
The equipment within including what looked like some spare bat-themed throwing stars, a couple of batons… maybe she wasn't quite sure, a pair of grappling devices like the one on her belt, high tech binoculars, an axe and a shield for some reason, a couple of sheaves of arrows and a green bow, and finally what looked like some ration packs and supplies. There were other things of course, but the moment she recognised the rations for what they were, they were all she focussed on.
"Water, water, water…" Barbara muttered to herself as she ignored the rest of the stuff in the metre and a half tall, high tech case, and instead knelt down and began pulling out the silver boxes with the word 'ration packs' stamped across them.
By this point her hands were almost shaking as she pulled the lid off one, and then grabbed a bottle of water from inside.
"Wat…" The teen rasped again, his eyes flickering as he tried to open them, only for his voice to trail off into a painful rasp.
By this point Barbara noticed, as she uncapped the bottle of water and knelt down beside the teens head, sheltering him from the sun, the teen looked beyond dehydrated. He looked on the verge of death, his skin was dry and looked to be cracking in place, the whites of his eyes that she could just about see as he tried to open them again, were bloodshot and had a slight yellowish tinge to them.
Literally everything about him screamed, dehydrated and on the verge of death.
"Here, water. Drink." Barbara said softly, kneeling at his side now as she began to pour some of the cool water down his dry throat.
The teen didn't manage to get any words out, but he did manage slightly more than a rasp this time as he tried to lift his head.
"No, no stay down." Barbara said, gently pushing him down as she continued to slowly let him drink. She had already used half a bottle.
Thankfully though there was more water in the box she had opened, and if even those weren't enough to fully hydrate the teen, then there were three other boxes she could delve into.
After which, once she'd gotten the stranger at least stable, she could then see if she could use the computer like thing she could see in the case to call for help.
Though just how she would be able to explain this to her dad, she had no idea.
( - )
(Elsewhere in the desert, with Percy)
Coming to a stop next to the red haired figure, Percy couldn't help but frown down at the admittedly attractive and lithe redhead in confusion.
She was not familiar.
Or least he hadn't been able to dig out any images of her from his slowly recovering memory.
Which of course meant one of two things. Either, he had never met her before and she was a complete stranger. Or he had met her before and she hadn't done anything memorable enough for him to even slightly remember her yet, that or he hadn't known her long enough to have established any particular opinion or feelings on her in general.
Either way that at least meant that she was not an enemy, or at least not an immediate threat. After all if she was one, then he would have at least remembered her. That and he would have at least felt some irritation or anger bubbling up within him at the sight of her, as opposed to what he was feeling now, which was simple curiosity.
Kneeling down beside her prone form, Percy quickly took in the bronze and green outfit she was wearing. It looked distinctly sea based, especially with the scale and wave patterns he could see on it. It was the kind of thing he could picture his father's soldiers in Atlantis wearing to battle.
Reaching out with his hand at that thought, Percy cupped her cheek with one hand and raised her head slightly so he could better see her cute, slightly freckled face.
In response the young woman let out a groan of discomfort, her noticeably chapped and dry lips moving slightly as she tried to say something, her eyelids also flickering as she tried to open them too, only for her to fail to summon up the strength to do so.
Her reaction though, was not something Percy was focussing on at the moment. Instead it was his own reaction that Percy dwelled on, as he suddenly sensed an odd sort of kinship with the girl.
It wasn't anything blatant or familial, like the kind of thing you would feel when interacting with a sibling or a family member.
But he still felt an odd connection to the girl, or rather he felt like the two of them shared a connection to the same thing, the sea.
More than that however, he could also almost feel what she was calling out for, what she was trying to say.
"You're thirsty aren't you?" Percy muttered as he reached out and began to drag together as much moisture from the parched air as he was able to, even as he tried to reach down, deep beneath the sand, and to where he could feel water dwelled.
There wasn't much of it, and it took him a while to do, but after about ten minutes of exertion, he had pulled together enough water to help the girl out, even as he pushed it into her body.
Not just the conventional way, through the mouth though, but also through the pores of her skin. With him rapidly circulating the water through her body as quickly as he could pull it together, rapidly speeding up the process of rehydration.
In response to which he could see the colour returning to the girl's sunburnt skin, and her eye beginning to flicker open, even as she let out a no longer raspy cough, and instead took a deep breath of air.
Smiling at this, Percy pushed himself to his feet and looked down at his fellow child of the sea.
It had been a long time since he could remember coming across another like him, or at least one that wasn't a monster.
Who knows, perhaps this girl even came from Atlantis herself. Maybe his father had sent her after finally realising that he, Percy, had escaped from Tartarus, however long ago it was that he escaped. In fact for all he knew this girl might be a legacy of his father's, or maybe even another one of his children. Maybe this was a quest, and he was the goal?
Though personally Percy doubted that, the girl didn't feel like a divine being, nor did she give off the same scent as a demigod. On top of which he felt no familial kinship with her.
That said, it was still possible she was a legacy, or if not that then maybe an Atlantean retainer of his fathers, after all it had to be more than a coincidence that a child of the sea ended up running across another child of the sea, in the middle of a desert. Especially after one child of the sea, i.e. him, had been attacked by some kind of telepathic attack.
Yes, this had to be some kind of rescue party, a pretty shit rescue party considering he was the one doing the rescuing, but a rescue party all the same.
"W-who?" A soft, female voice rang out from below him.
"So you're awake I see." Percy smiled as she looked down at the bleary looking redhead below him, even as he reached out and offered her a hand up.
"W-what?" The girl gasped out, her eyes widening all of a sudden as she looked around her in shock. "W-where am I? This isn't Atlantis? Who are you?"
"Easy there," Percy smiled, as he continued to offer his hand to the girl. "It seems that you, like me, have lost some of your memories. Probably in the same mental attack."
"Mental attack?" The girl asked, a suspicious glint entering her blue eyes as she frowned at his offered hand. "And what do you mean missing memories? Who are you?"
"You certainly have lots of questions." Percy smiled in amusement. "But out of all of them, there is only one that I can actually answer. My name is Perseus Jackson, but you can call me Percy, I'm the son of Poseidon! Now it's your turn, what's your name?"
"T-Tula…" The now named Tula said weakly, her blue eyes now wide as she absentmindedly accepted his hand and allowed him to pull her up and onto her feet. "M-my name is T-Tula…"
( - )
AN: So what did you all think? I'll admit I was a bit unsure about this chapter at the beginning. I wanted to focus on the characters who I know would act differently. Percy obviously, Tula and Batgirl, neither of whom were there in canon, and M'gann of course, who due to Percy's influence is more at ease with herself, and has spent more time working on her telepathy. After all she and Percy often communicate that way, as it is something familiar for her, and something that Percy isn't overtly against. You can only be screwed over by mindreading lunatics so many times before you get inured to it, and instead begin to adapt and build up your defenses in your own way. Though of course this connection has had a bit of a negative impact, which some of the more observant might have noticed when comparing canon.
The others meanwhile, Superboy, Robin, Aqualad and Artemis, although they have developed slightly differently to canon, probably Superboy more so than the others, him and Robin who has chilled out a bit more. They obviously would not act all that differently considering the memory wiping shenanigans at hand, which is why I didn't really cover them, as it would basically be a rehash of canon, expect with maybe some slightly different dialogue.
The others though are more interesting as they would act differently considering the circumstances.
Either way I hope you enjoyed the chapter despite it being a bit long. We got some more of Percy's backstory, and a different slightly shellshock perspective of his time in Tartarus from him a slightly out of it Percy. On top of that I get to play around with Barbara's character, as that is what she and Tula are, I really don't like the stories that just add one dimensional female characters in just for pairing purposes, and nothing more, just a small pet peeve of mine.
On top of that we got to see what a lot of you have been crying out for, for around 19 chapters now. I bet none of you saw it coming out this way though :D but then again I personally think it makes sense. As although M'gann and Artemis might be peripherally aware that Percy is more than human and is keeping things secert, both of them have secrets themselves, so wouldn't want to intrude. That and Percy and M'gann's current relationship is special to her, and not something she would want to endanger. The others don't have such dangerous secrets and might be more willing to pry, but at the same time it is not on top of Aqualad or Kid Flash's to do list, they have other things that interest them far more, or that take up their time. I.e. hot girls, I was a teenage lad myself once. As for Robin, well he is Batman junior and wants to know everyone's secrets, which of course means that a petty or in this case mischievous person would never want to give him the satisfaction. Either way it might be unexpected, but in my mind this makes sense.
But anyway, my rambling aside, I hope you enjoy the chapter. Not sure when the next will come out, but hopefully I'll be wrapping up this arc, and then bringing in some more DC stuff to play around with, after all I've been hankering to drag this aspect of DC into the fray for a while, but haven't been able to do so as much as I wanted in a way I'm happy with.
Thanks for reading, and please leave a review. If you have any question PM me etc.
Other than that have a good rest of the year and stay safe, catch you later.
Greed720.