Chapter 1

The Doors of Death shined in the cave's darkness, and their power seemed to emit an unearthly feeling… go figure, huh, since you know it wasn't Earth. The admittedly impressive legions of monsters were a harrowing sight. Percy had seemingly waited for eternity for this moment. To be here, he had finally had the chance to leave this hellish place. He would be damned if anything as simple as monsters would stop him. Last time, Tartarus themselves had to block his path, but now it appears that only low-tier monsters stood in his wake. He pushed forward, knowing that he would fight the entirety of hell to see her once more. But, it appeared his determination was unnecessary since the doors swung open without his intervention. The legions waiting around them pushed forward, and Percy rushed out of hiding to join them. The monsters seemed to pay him no mind as he made his way to the doors; Percy was not one to question a gift, so he followed the army.

Percy emerged through the doors as monsters pooled out into the street. 'The surrounding city would have been a sight of beauty due to its towering… towers, but currently, the massive assortment of monsters pouring in may have diminished the overall look', Percy thought. These monsters did not seem like anything special, but the horde appeared never-ending as many off-brand gorgons piled out of the doors of death. However, not even these heavy conditions could shower on Percy's metaphorical parade.

'He had made it,' mentally exclaimed Percy. ' To hell and back, I can't wait to see her. He was home.' These thoughts were put on hold as the gorgons started puffing into gold dust in front of him.

" What in Hades?" Percy spoke as he looked at the man doing said slaying. It was a man in a blue one-piece, presumably spandex, with a pair of substantial external red underwear on his person, slaying the monsters with red beams of light from HIS EYES. Percy stepped forward, grasping his shield made of celestial bronze and brandishing his self-made drakon bone sword. The flying man may have looked goofy; however, he gave off the same presence as the sun chariot itself. The Flying Man wasn't the only one destroying monsters as he switched his gaze to a dark flying mass.

This next man seemed like anything but one. He gave off an alarming aura, appearing more demonic than the gorgons he fought by flailing his cape about and seemingly throwing explosions willy-nilly. Percy probably would have paid attention to that more if not for what he saw next.

She came roaring into view and reminded Percy of home. This woman, clad in armor, swung a sword like a god and reminded Percy that he should probably be doing the same. Percy moved forward until she landed right in front of him and swung her blade.

Percy moved his shield fast to block the blow, and he buckled under her strength. He grabbed his sword and slashed back as he danced backward to clear space. She easily, quickly slid under the blade to continue her assault, but Percy angled his blade back to him to cut her off. This caused her to jump back and look at him surprisingly. Percy was shocked; she was the fastest thing he had ever seen, but he was more confused about how he had managed to block her attack. He felt weird, like he was lighter, similar to when he was in the water.

" You fight well. Tell me why you have opened the doors of Tartarus for your legion, and I will ensure the league treats you fairly," she stated.

" Excuse me. My LEGION? I don't legion; I never have legioned. . . technically that isn't true. I may have once legioned. But it wasn't these monsters."

" Don't lie; it is beneath you. They don't engage you. They have steered clear of you since you have emerged from the doors. And, they have attacked everything that wasn't themselves or you."

"Well. . . ." Percy was stumped. He didn't understand how to explain that he had built something of a reputation for himself so far in Tartarus and that these low-level monsters wouldn't have the courage to approach him on their own, so he decided to do what he did best instead. He leaped forward at the nearest monster and lopped their head clean off with his blade. The woman before him quirked an eyebrow at his actions and shook her head, clearly unamused by his actions. His chest tightened at the sight—Annabeth—the reason for him being able to brave the most dangerous of pits wasn't here.

"None of them are here," muttered Percy. His brain started to short-circuit, but luckily, a monster swung at him, and his body took over. He couldn't think, not now, think later. He simply became what Tartarus had made him good at, a husk of a man capable of one thing: killing monsters. Percy became a whirlwind of activity, cutting through the monsters at a pace no demigod could hope to match, yet this woman did. She was there right behind him: providing cover where he faltered, backing off where he shined, and covering his instinctual rage. Soon, the monsters turned tail and decided to flee to the protection of Tartarus, probably regrouping in an effort to field a stronger army. The flying man, the black mass, and a man with a golden helm gathered near us.

"Wonder Woman, what is the situation," demanded the man dressed as a bat?

"Oh, Batman, he is not a friend of the current enemy, but I can't confirm if he is a friend of ours. However, the important issue is the doors. They remain open."

"She is right; these are some of the weakest monsters in Tartarus. The main priority is to close those doors asap," Percy chimed in. The Batman swiveled his head quickly, 'maybe he should be called Owlman,' mused Percy. The Batman seemed to analyze him in a second. He seemed to stop for a second and processed the surroundings. Percy could almost feel the light bulb go off in Batman's head, which made his chest feel empty: to see someone think.

" Dr. Fate, are you capable of closing the doors?" Batman questioned this as he turned to the golden helmet.

" I can probably put up a barrier to discourage unholy beings, but fully closing them. . . that would be beyond me," intoned with a double-layered voice Dr. Fate.

" Can we just physically close them, Diana?" This question came from the man with visible underwear.

" No, Superman. I can't think of anyone in the Justice League that could, not even you. These doors, while appearing normal, are not physical concepts. I may be able to interact with them via my lasso," stated Wonderwoman while gesturing to her hip, which had a shining gold rope. How did that escape my sight the first time? Percy felt a familiar tug in his gut that seemed to harmonize with the rope. He felt a pull to it, almost as if the rope was ensnaring him without touching him. He snapped out of it and decided to peer at the doors. He could feel that they had remained open too long, and something horrible was about to pour… LIGHT.

There was a beam of light from the sky, and the blinding beam dissipated to reveal a familiar face.

"Percy, it is you?"

"Dad?"

AN: Probably should have made this longer. But, I felt like that was a good stopping point and I retain artistic integrity over whether to use longer chapters or smaller chapters. Honestly, I don't know enough about DC to attempt this, but it was something I thought about, so I wrote it. Can't commit to an update schedule, but I'll try to get a chapter out next month. Thanks for reading, and I appreciate any feedback (also let me know if I should have included the word Dad or not; I debated over that heavily). (Ps. if anyone has any good dc storylines to look into then I'd appreciate any recs) (PS. also I kind of have like 3 pjo stories ideas that I can't decide which to commit to, I might put out another one here or try to get some chapters down on this one)