Percy nodded at the by now familiar sight of the bartender, getting a small nod of acknowledgement back.

Walking across the tavern, he walked back into the lounge area Aspro seemed to hang out in. It had barely been ten minutes since he'd left, and so Percy should have found himself utterly unsurprised to walk into Aspro balls deep in the girl that had been on his lap.

Percy frowned. Looks like he was waiting for a bit.

Turning around, he walked out the door and to the bar to wait.

Settling himself on a stool, he called over the bartender. "Just make me a drink. Something with alcohol." he requested. He had an image to erase from his mind.

The bartender just chuckled and shook his head, something about alcoholics getting younger and younger. Percy didn't bother to point out that this was the second time he'd so much as tasted alcohol in his life.

He sat the suitcase down by his stool, keeping a foot on top of it to make sure that nobody got any ideas, and then allowed himself to relax, at least a little.

"Hey."

Percy blinked, turning to where the voice greeted him, only to see a narcoleptic man in a red coat.

Percy almost leaped out of his seat. What the hell? Since when did God show up at a bar?

Forcing himself to calm down, Percy took a sip of his drink, feeling the bitter liquid pass down his throat.

"Oum, right?"

The being smiled softly. "Right."

Percy sighed. It seemed that this conversation was gonna be pulling teeth.

"So…" Percy trailed off, hopeless on where to start. What do you even talk about with an omnipotent, or close to omnipotent being.

"How's your time been here so far?" asked Oum.

Percy shrugged. As good a topic as any. "Well, this place specifically doesn't seem to be doing so well. Already committed a crime technically, I think. I am curious, though, does that bother you? Are you one of those gods that demands everyone is virtuous, or one of the gods that couldn't care either way?" Percy looked at him curiously. It was genuinely something he wanted to know. Getting into the psyche of someone that had created a universe was not an opportunity you got often.

To his dismay, Percy's only response was a small smile.

"I'm glad to know you're fitting in so well." he replied, and Percy honestly couldn't tell if it was sarcastic or not. This was too confusing for him.

Percy shook his head. If he was going to be talking to God as if he was a human might as well go all in. "Whatever. What sort of things do you do for fun? Blow up solar systems? Create new species…?" Percy let his voice trail off, watching Oum with a close eye.

"Watching TV and movies. Hanging out with friends. Dancing. Working. Stuff like that."

"You have friends?!" Percy winced. "Okay, didn't mean it to come out like that. But I just… Didn't expect you to have people you could really talk with."

Oum shrugged back. "That's fair. I don't entirely expect you to understand, but you did come from another universe, so I thought I'd sate my curiosity."

"Fair enough. I'm not even gonna try and understand what it's like to be omnipotent."

"I'm not omnipotent, necessarily. I determine broad strokes, specifics at certain times sure, but not here. I didn't create anyone that you've interacted with specifically, they just kind of… filled themselves in."

Percy turned to look at him. "So… you didn't create everything? Then who did?"

"Oh no, I did create everyone, don't get me wrong. I created this universe and everyone in it, it's just that I didn't do everything manually. I decided that a lot of people lived in Mistral, and Windpath is a city which has a lot of criminals and smugglers and it all just… happened. None of this was predetermined or designed, least of all you. It's just its overall contribution in the grand scheme of things that matters, which is… incredibly limited."

Percy leaned back as much as he could on his stool without falling. "So all of this is just a footnote? A throwaway city that you thought of once and so it exists? I mean, I guess I could expect that from God, but it's still a bit weird to think about."

Oum nodded. "It's what makes you so interesting. You're the only thing in this universe I didn't create. You're the one person I can interact with in this universe whose actions I can justify interfering in, and whose thoughts and actions I don't determine myself."

"So if all of this, this entire city with hundreds of thousands of souls, many of them suffering, is just an afterthought, what is so important that Windpath just doesn't matter? What's the point of you making all this? If you're not focusing on Windpath, what are you focusing on?"

Oum just smiled slightly. "Maybe I'll tell you eventually. For now, you have a date with your boss. Good luck."

Percy blinked, and he was gone.

Turning his attention to the door that led to the back room, Percy saw a man in a black suit waving him in moments later.

Setting down his drink with a few lien, he bent over to pick up the suitcase and made his way towards the meeting place.

Walking in, he noticed the girl from before was gone and tried to ignore the smell.

There were a few other men in suits there as well, presumably goons. One of which he was likely about to become. Or maybe he already was one?

"Kid," Aspro greeted. "Well, whaddaya have for me?"

Percy just walked up to the coffee table and lightly set the suitcase down, turning it on its side and opening it, revealing the rather large amounts of red dust within, if Aspro's reaction was any hint.

Next he pulled out the lien in his pockets. He could have just given him 700, but honestly Percy had no use for extra money at this point, and he decided that getting in his boss's good graces was better than a thousand lien. At least, he hoped so.

The lien spilled over the table in a disorganized mess, and Aspro looked at it with raised eyebrows.

"Damn, kid. I said to get 700, not… however much this is."

"Brown's shop was feeling very cooperative. The owner made it very clear that he would be glad to fork over his proper payment in the future. He even offered me his gun and as much dust as I could carry. Lended me a suitcase to carry it all, too."

Aspro leaned back on his couch. "Well shit kid. By now you probably know that you were more or less supposed to fail to get money out of him. Don't get me wrong, I didn't want you to fail, but the Alpikos family isn't exactly rolling in dough right now, I need the best of the best, I can't afford to pay second rate thugs."

Percy shrugged. "I figured. He gave me the option to back out. I gave him the same."

Aspro laughed. "I like it, kid. One successful shakedown is hardly enough to prove yourself, but it's a good start. Brunnis here will be your direct boss. You do what he says and you get paid."

Percy nodded to the man he referred to, and he nodded back. He was one of the men in the black suits, but he had a brown tie where the other run of the mill grunts had charcoal.

"Now get outta my face. Brunnis, get him set up with a suit and everything. I have hopes for this one."

Nodding, Brunnis walked towards another door at the back of the room without looking back. Percy followed him.

Brunnis only spoke when they were through the door well into another room.

"As you heard, I'm Brunnis. Call me Bruce, or boss while we're on a job. I know you haven't exactly been told what you've been doing yet, so allow me to explain." the man explained, his voice deep.

They walked up some stairs towards the back of this room, arriving in another lounge area. This one was more casual, with a few couches and cushioned chairs speckled around the room, a few tables to hold drinks or food.

"This is our break room, essentially. We don't have nine to five jobs, so this is where most people spend time after and before jobs, just to hang out. We don't have anything tonight, though. You already took care of that, so everyone's been given the day off."

Percy nodded, taking a seat opposite Bruce when he sat down. "You said we'll be doing jobs, right? What kind of jobs?"

"I forgot you have no idea what you're getting into. That's usually how it is. People don't often choose this career, they join up because they have no other options. Orphans, homeless, stupid. Better people than us would have just starved to death and been done with it. Unfortunately for Windpath, we're not better people."

Percy winced at how probably correct that was. He really had turned to crime a bit too easily, thinking back. But he had people to get back to, hypothetically impossible or not. He would find a way.

Deep down though, Percy knew he just wanted to live. He would sacrifice his life for a friend at the drop of a hat, but he didn't have friends here. However he tried to justify his actions, he knew it was probably the morally better decision to just keel over and die, but he didn't want to — he'd survived too much to get here. To hell if an unemployment figure would be what got him.

"We'll do racketeering, escorting the boss, guarding convoys, usually drugs. We almost never steal or mug or anything like that, at least not directly. The gangs run the city, and it wouldn't be profitable if everyone was just getting stolen from all the time. Aspro can do whatever the hell he wants in his territory, but if murder or muggings get too rampant or anything, it's a one way ticket to having the other gangs moving in on your territory."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "This sounds incredibly complicated for a gang."

Bruce shrugged. "Nothing gets too influential without politics getting in the way eventually. If this system didn't exist, gangs would just be constantly shooting each other in the streets, and nobody wants that. It's a delicate set of checks and balances that relies on other gangs getting involved if one gets too aggressive. Think of it like international politics on a super small scale," he explained.

Percy wasn't entirely sure he understood, but went along with it anyway. "Sure. At least I don't have to murder anyone outright. Don't think I could bring myself to do that."

Bruce frowned. "You might have to. Don't let feelings get in the way of the job, kid. It's nasty work, and if you don't hate it you're a psycho, but it's a part of the job."

Percy didn't respond.

"Whatever. Tell me what you can about you. You know how to fight? You smart?"

Percy gave a noncommittal grunt. "I can fight. Been taught since I was a kid. I come from a small village that was recently wiped out by the… The Grimm," Percy recalled the thing everyone seemed to blame his fake village's demise on. "I know how to read and write and all that, and I know basic math and science, but no history or geography. Honestly, I just learned today that we're in Mistral." Percy said, remembering what Oum had told him.

Bruce winced. "Okay, that's pretty bad. You don't seem stupid though, and the work you'll be doin' is hardly intellectual, so you should be fine. You're the new guy, so just stick with me. Mostly, you just stand around and look tough. If we get in a fight, it won't be against the cops or another gang, unless we're really fucked. Just use your gun, and you'll be alright."

Percy nodded. That honestly didn't sound too bad. It looked like most of this stuff was just intimidation anyway.

"If you do see a bunch of other guys dressed like me on the street, don't bother em'. My team is the only enforcement squad that the boss has, so if you see another one it belongs to another gang, and we don't want to start anything. The boss is rich and powerful by the standards of normal people, but compared to the other gangs, he's on his back foot, and by a lot. He controls one of the two entrances to the city, and a few rackets. He also controls the rights to a few blocks for selling drugs, but with how much the producers are charging nowadays he's barely making a profit. So don't start anything, because odds are we can't finish it."

Percy nodded. Well, he'd joined the losing side in a war between criminals. Just his luck.

"And between me and you," Bruce leaned forward. "The western entrance gets a lot of profit. It's the only reason the boss is still considered up there with the big boys. Sooner or later someone's gonna decide they can take what's ours, or the other bosses will get sick of us and decide to take the gate for themselves and split the profit. When that happens, you get outta here. You find some bigshot gang to work for and sell them your experience here. You don't go down with a sinking ship, that's rule number one. Loyalty is rewarded, as long as you don't die. That's the way of the jungle out here. You're strong and people follow you, but if you start going down people find other places to get paid. Don't be an idiot."

Percy nodded at the lesson. This wasn't quite as great a situation as he had hoped, but it would do for now. He could only hope Aspro's situation lasted longer than not.

"But who knows," Bruce continued. "Gang politics is sporadic at the best of times. Maybe next week The Red Claw will go down, and boss can get some more territory. It's looking bad right now, but opportunities happen. It's not impossible for the boss to expand things, and if that does happen, us who were here before will end up on top. Think of it as incentive for things to go well for the gang."

"What's pay like?" Percy asked. Not because he really cared as long as he had a place to stay and could eat fine, but he figured it was what a normal person would ask in his place.

He shrugged. "Not horrible. Quite a bit above what the average person is making here considering the state of things, but it's still not much more than what you need to live comfortably. I make more, but I'm the chief enforcer. Maybe if we expand you get more, but for now you get grunt salary. That includes a room here, if you want to sacrifice some of your salary for it. Honestly it's worth it if you don't mind the cramped place, you won't find a better price."

"Got it, I think I'll do that. What now, then? Do I just sit around or?..."

"When you're not specifically on a job, a lot of our time is spent guarding the boss. Since it's your first night, me and you are technically on the job right now while I 'train' you. But considering the job is pretty self explanatory for the most part, that's just explaining the general situation around here. Tomorrow we'll get you a suit. I know where to find you, but if you're out and about I still need a way to contact you. Got a scroll?"

He shook his head. Did he mean like a piece of parchment that you unfurled? Whatever it was, Percy didn't have one.

"Alright, we'll go ahead and get you one tomorrow while we're out. Just don't leave your room until then, I'll collect you tomorrow morning. But for tonight," he grabbed a large glass of an orange liquid Percy assumed was some kind of liquor. "Can I interest you in a drink?"

He smiled slightly. "Sure."

Two weeks later and he discovered the job was pretty boring. He mostly stood around, intimidated people, and was basically just along for the ride.

Bruce was very surprised to know that he could drive, and was apparently pretty good at it compared to most people in the poor city of Windpath, and so he had netted the job as the driver. He drove the van that the little goon squad he was in took almost everywhere. That gave him the luxurious position of sitting in the car half the time whenever things were happening, in case they needed to make a quick getaway. Personally, he was pretty sure Bruce was just letting him off easy, considering they really didn't need the seventh person when six would do just fine in intimidating the old lady who owned the local bookstore into paying up their dues.

When he acted as Aspro's guard it was just as boring. He got to run in with a couple of the apparent big deals of the area and even some important merchants from other settlements, but obviously did none of the talking.

It had only been two weeks and he was already tired of the place. Sure it beat actually doing stuff like mugging or stealing or murdering or… basically anything, but it still felt like he was wasting his time. It may sound arrogant, but he was used to fighting gods in his off time. Sitting around as a glorified piece of furniture felt like he was wasting his time.

"Yo Percy."

He looked up. At the moment he was sitting in the lounge upstairs looking at his scroll. It was most of what he had been doing in his freetime whenever he wasn't drinking or training, and honestly he found the use of electronics without instantly attracting every hellhound in a hundred mile radius pretty refreshing. He mostly used his scroll to just find information anyone else here would know. Where he was, what other countries there were, where other cities were located and a general history of the world he had found himself in.

"Sup." he greeted his fellow henchman. And yeah, it was a bit weird that he was literally a henchman now. Those movies never really got behind the scenes as to the life of those grunts the superhero always beat up.

"Me and Jeremy are heading down for some drinks. Wanna join us?" his co-worker asked.

He shrugged, might as well. As he had mentioned before, it was basically the only thing to do around here except for research very basic facts about this world or work out for the entire day. So basically, for everyone except for him it was the only thing to do around here.

"Sure, I'll be right down." he said, and goon number six walked away. He still hadn't bothered learning any of his fellow cronie's names. He was pretty sure Jeremy was the bald one, but he tried not to get attached to any of them. The second a better opportunity came, or a less morally ambiguous one, he would take it.

That being said, he still just couldn't quite imagine myself working as some accountant or sales clerk. It just wasn't him.

Now granted, being a criminal wasn't exactly up his alley either, but at least he was using his skills in some way, even if that was just when things went wrong. Working a nine to five job just felt wrong.

Picking himself up, he headed downstairs. He had his black suit on with his charcoal tie, and some sunglasses to wear when they were on a job, to at least give the front of concealing their identity, not that the police would ever do anything. If they saw a shaking down right in front of them, they were more likely to walk away than do something.

He took solace in the fact that they hadn't made him cut his hair into a stereotypical minion cut or something. It was his same windswept hair it had always been, and nobody had ever tried to change that.

Percy walked through the empty backrooms — the boss wasn't there at the moment — and out into the diner part of the tavern.

It was bustling as always, and Percy had soon come to realize that it was the most popular one for many blocks around. Aspro may be weak compared to other bosses, but his base of operations being here meant it was still head and shoulders above anywhere else in terms of protection. Nobody would be starting anything here, unless they wanted to draw the wrath of the gang that ran the place. In a city filled with crime and corrupt cops, it was the best you could get as far as protection went.

This was why Percy was particularly surprised to see someone looking like they were about to get in a fight with Jeremy and… Matt, was it?

"All I'm sayin' is to let the lady make her own decision, dumbass."

Percy walked towards the fight at the bar, noting that there was indeed a girl —one of the barmaids— cowering behind the stranger. He had on a white shirt with a red cape behind him, and he looked positively bored with the situation.

"Hey, hey, let's all calm down, what's the big deal?" Percy walked up to the group, noting that they were gathering quite a few eyes. He rested a hand on either of his fellow goon's shoulders, attempting to calm down the situation before it could escalate.

Matt — he was pretty sure now — was the one to respond. "Asshole's sticking his nose where it doesn't belong. Now get out of here before we throw you out," he threatened.

Percy shrugged. "Looks to me like you got denied, dude. Let it go. You win some you lose some. Find someone else."

Jeremy shook his head. "It's not about that. Jackass stood up to the Alpikos, in our own tavern. We can't let that slide."

Percy sighed. "Let's take this outside, at least. Boss wouldn't want his furniture damaged." If he couldn't stop the incident from happening, he might as well mitigate the damage or risk to anyone around.

The stranger shrugged. "Sure, as long as I can come back to my drink after."

Percy smiled slightly. This one had a sense of humor. He had gotten far too used to the boring life the gang had forced on him. Someone joking in the face of three gangsters reminded him a bit of his own adventures, and he let out a small chuckle.

The stranger began walking out, Matt and Jeremy following after. Percy shook his head. Here he was hoping for a nice relaxing night.

Percy was the last to walk out of the door and follow the three to a small alleyway by the tavern.

"Alright jackass, we're gonna make you pay for-"

Matt was cut off as he was thrown into a wall, knocking him out cold. It wouldn't be enough to kill him, but he'd be out for a while.

Percy's eyes widened, and he braced himself, even as Jeremy suffered a punch to the jaw that had him crumpling to the pavement.

The guy didn't seem to be phased by the two who hadn't even gotten a punch off.

"Alright kid, are you gonna let me get back to my drink, or are you gonna join dumb and dumber?"

Percy narrowed his eyes and fell into an unarmed stance. He wasn't exactly going to pull his sword on an unarmed civilian. Despite how handily he'd handled dumb and dumber, as he had so aptly named them, it wasn't exactly saying much.

"Sorry man. If it were up to me you and I would get a drink together, but the boss has an image to uphold, and that means I can't let you knock two of his guys out and then walk away."

The man shrugged. "Alright kid, your funeral. Name's Qrow, by the way. I would say nice to meet you, but…"

Percy smiled tightly. "Percy. And same."

The next moment, he dodged a fist. It was fast, faster than any other mortal he had seen throw a punch, but still slow for him.

Lunging in at the opening, Percy saw the man's eyes widen, presumably not expecting him to dodge, and he blocked the fist that was heading for his face.

Percy pulled it back before he could grab it and made to kick the guy — Qrow — in the torso, but he moved out of the way easily, grabbing Percy's leg and making to flip him onto his back.

Percy used the momentum to slide into a roll, his suit getting in the way of much of his mobility, but it was still enough to be on his feet by the time Qrow was on him.

Percy went on full autopilot mode, the heat of the fistfight turning his actions automatic, pressed to his absolute limit in order to survive. Or in this case, stay conscious.

Percy briefly noted with shock that he was actually losing. He was being beaten back… by a mortal. Now, this wasn't necessarily the craziest thing possible. He was sure back home that a martial arts master could still beat the hell out of him no matter how strong, fast or tough he was, assuming he wasn't going to use his powers, of course. After all, Percy had rarely trained hand to hand. Some wrestling, sure, but almost all of his training was with Riptide.

His powers were out — he wasn't going to reveal that he was some anomaly over a fist fight where the worst thing that could happen would be him ending up unconscious — so that left his other weapons. His gun would be really nice right about now, but he had left it in his room, not really thinking he would need it.

That left one option to leave here the winner.

Cursing, Percy fell back, creating some space and reaching into his pocket before flicking off the cap of his pen. From what he had seen so far that kind of technology wasn't unheard of here, at the least. It was a little absurd for a pen to unfold into a three foot long, very solid sword, but nothing that couldn't be forgiven in the heat of battle.

"Oh, that's how you wanna play it, huh? Okay then." Qrow muttered to himself, reaching behind his back and pulling out a giant greatsword that had Percy's eyes widening.

Okay, maybe the guy wasn't as unarmed, or as civilian as he had thought. On the bright side, he didn't just pull a sword on an unarmed civilian. On the not so bright side, he still had to fight. He was confident now, though. He hadn't been beaten with a sword since he fought Kronos, and that was a titan. Against a mortal, the odds were ridiculously skewed in his favor.

…

Right?

Taking the initiative, Percy pushed towards him, intercepting the blade on the way. It was a beast, and probably weighed more than he did. It also had a bunch of gears, which likely meant it had a ton of nasty surprises he would need to look out for.

They clashed swords for a while, Qrow and Percy wearing the exact same expression on their faces.

Why the hell haven't I won already!?

Percy growled, fending off assault after assault from the man. He needed to take him seriously. It was a few minutes in that Percy noticed a hole in his defense.

There!

Percy probed it cautiously, well aware that it could be a trap. His eyes lit as his sword struck the glancing blow. It didn't have much power behind it, considering Percy was still being cautious, but it still landed… and did nothing.

What the Hades?

He was sure he had hit. It had absolutely struck skin, but there was no blood.

Riptide had cut through people in this world before, he had been sure of it. It was one of the first things he had tested, a small cut to an opponent during a spar. The opponent had vowed never to fight him again, but it was more than enough to prove Riptide could affect people here.

So why hadn't he cut through Qrow's hip?

His distraction cost him slightly. A narrow cut was scored on his left arm, the blood pouring out of his arm onto his fancy suit. It hurt, but nothing that would bleed him out, so he ignored it.

Another minute in and this fight was the longest he had perhaps ever had, unless you counted his fight against Hyperion. Percy didn't, considering half of that fight was waiting for Hyperion to come attack him after he had been blown across the Hudson with that weird ass repulse power the titans had.

Sweat was beginning to bead across his forehead again, and he noticed it was the same for Qrow. He was far from tiring, but he was getting there. He needed to end this fight soon.

There!

Another opening. This one was similar to the last, and because of last time, Percy knew it to be an actual weakness in his style, and not a trap.

Lunging for the opening, his sword just barely touched Qrow's hip, before he was on his back staring at the sky, with the tip of a giant metal sword tickling his throat.

Percy resisted the urge to swallow, sure that the sword would draw blood if his neck moved a millimeter. He had been tricked. The first time he had been allowed to get away with probing the opening to lure him into a sense of false security. He had been played.

Percy released his sword, tossing it a few feet away. He knew any other action might be liable to get him killed.

"So... " he spoke cautiously, making sure not to move so much that the sword might cut him. "How about that drink?"

AN Written 3/15/23 (as chapter 65 is being posted)

Hey everyone, I'm going back and touching up the story, and this is the earliest chapter I've done so far. Since I find a lot of my earlier writing... rough, just wanted to let you know it gets better with time - while this is by no means my first story, there's 3 years of growth as a writer between this and where I am now both in plot and prose :)

Whether you stick around or not, hope you have a great rest of your day!