Welcome back for another update of Blade of Olympus. It has been too long but here we are. Now I hope you are as happy to be getting back into this as I am. Some potent threats toward our intrepid hero Xiphos are developing and soon we will be seeing the stakes for his role with Young Justice to increase accordingly.
Along with that I hope to begin pursuing the more original aspect of this story, got a slight teaser of that in chapter two but the consequences will start being felt in this chapter.
Now let's see here.
A review by GoldenKingofUnlimitedBlades said: oh my~ Diana... how greek (and olympian) of you to target your younger brother...same goes for you percy~ xD
My response to that is…what happens when demigods blessed by practically all of Olympus have kids? Lel
Actually I must be honest. I recently felt an urge to redo this as a single pairing story. I'm not so no worries but expect more Percy fics…feel the need for that and more single or at the least small pairing sets. That really has nothing to do with this story though so let us get on with it, right?
If you wanted to chat with me or other fanfiction writers and readers I have a couple links to discord servers below. Along with that you can get access to trying to commission several people for a story there. Also if you wanted to support me and get access to early updates as well as some exclusive content just look me up on that Patron site Helghywrites
Link→ /7x4YFstKcz
Link→ /auc4PQjVtz
Equal Footing
Watchtower
August 2
The members of the League all settled into seats in the central conference and briefing room of the Watchtower. It was rare that they were called in for an emergency session under these circumstances. Typically they had to do a rough briefing over communicators or something like that while racing into positions to fight some threat or rescue people after some major disaster.
Times like this were far worse because it made them all feel like their hands were tied. Especially when the emergency was occurring so close to home for one of their members.
Diana looked on edge though you likely could only tell if you knew her as well as her comrades in the Justice League did or her family back in Themyscira. Beside her Batman looked to be on edge as well, though even the League members had trouble deciding if that was just his normal self or if he was in fact concerned over the development that Wonder Woman was bringing before all of them.
"What's going on, Diana? Something back at home? The Gates of Tartarus?" Superman asked with genuine worry in his voice. The thought of the multitude of magical horrors held within Tartarus escape was a frightening one even for the Man of Steel.
"Thankfully that isn't the case though a horrible crime has occurred at home." Diana said before pausing as she thought over how to proceed.
"My sister has escaped her confinement. She has decided to continue her crusade against the Sons of Themyscira. Even worse than her last attempt to wipe them out she instead targeted the male children still living with their mothers and sisters on the main island. Donna and her followers murdered them in their sleep before fleeing the island." She explained pulling gasps of shock from her fellow heroes.
She stiffened slightly when she felt Bruce place a hand on her shoulder. She could appreciate the sign of camaraderie but at the moment she didn't want to be near the dark night. Not after he had so easily and readily come to his plan to stop Donna and her accomplices. As politely as possible she brushed his hand off of her shoulder.
Batman frowned slightly but turned to the situation at hand. He knew he would receive some backlash but Diana's own mother had agreed with the expected goal of Donna or at least her next target. He saw it as the opportunity to stop a mad woman with the same abilities as one of their most powerful members before she could turn her focus to widespread attacks.
"This is the villain we are dealing with." Batman said as a screen displayed the image of Donna.
"So sister as in not just an Amazon but literally sister." Flash commented.
"Yes…she was formed out of magical clay on the island and given life to act as my childhood playmate and a decoy in the event it was needed. However she was essentially like a twin sister and my mother took her in and raised her as such. Sadly she is obsessed with the identity of the ancient Amazonians. A few decades ago she 'cleansed' our island in her words by massacring the original settlement of the Sons of Themyscira on an isolated part of the island. She and her ring leaders were imprisoned by myself and my mother after she even killed our brother Jason, the leader of the Sons." Diana explained. She kept a strong front up but practically all of them could see the red tinge to her normally perfect eyes.
"She has attempted to finish what she started. No males below the age of twelve are left alive between the settled islands of Themyscira. Now we suspect from the report Diana received from her mother Queen Hippolyta, that Donna will be seeking the next youngest male among the Amazonian people. Diana's partner and younger brother Xiphos, or Perseus Prince." Batman said changing the image to show Percy in two pictures. One in civilian attire and the other in his uniform as Xiphos.
"So she is coming after him. We need to set up some kind of protection detail. Or maybe pull him from his team temporarily to have Diana with him like they had been the last few years." Black Canary suggested.
"I had said the same thing. Bruce seems to…disagree." Diana practically growled letting her professional demeanor slip for a moment.
Batman didn't so much as sigh as he took the conversation over once more.
"The Team has only just selected Perseus as it's leader and begun training under his guidance. He naturally falls into the role and I honestly think he is the best choice. Besides rather than a single member of the League he has an entire team that he is consistently working with to back him up should Donna come for him." Batman said getting several slow nods.
"That isn't the reasoning you initially shared with me. Bruce." Diana said sharply.
"You're right but it is true. The secondary function of leaving him with his team allows us to better control when she attempts to attack him. We will be able to respond better to support the team than if Perseus is alone or with a singular protector." Bruce further explained.
"Hold on, cutting through the surprising amount of politician style words, you want to use Diana's little brother as bait?" Superman asked as he figured out the man's plan.
"That's right." Wonder Woman said bitterly.
"As much as she is making her annoyance at the situation known, you surely all notice that Wonder Woman hasn't tried to push her and Canary's original idea. It is best to leave Percy with his team as well as to keep the knowledge about Donna to ourselves." Batman said.
"What? That's just setting the kids up for failure!" Flash said rising to his feet.
"No, we can't allow them to change their demeanor. We will have Canary and Tornado both begin pushing them into scenarios in training that mirror the situation and prepare them for the Amazonian attack. It is safer for them that way. Donna according both to Diana and Queen Hippolyta has been extensively trained in raid style tactics for centuries and is essentially a copy of Diana if slightly weaker and more aggressive." Batman said.
"Slightly weaker…but you are like a demigoddess right? Don't most of your abilities come from blessings from the Olympian gods or something? She doesn't still have those blessings..right?" Flash asked.
Diana sighed. "The gods can be very fickle at the best of times but for the last five years or so we have had practically zero contact at all. We had thought they would contact us over this at least but they have yet to respond according to my mother and we can't understand why her abilities beyond the normal Amazonian remain."
"Maybe the gods support her?" Green Arrow asked.
"Then why do myself and Percy still have our abilities?" Diana asked.
"Maybe they want a show?" Green Lantern asked not exactly comfortable with the existence of the Greek Gods…some of the myths were just evil in regards to them.
Diana frowned but couldn't argue with that point. Vile as it was, it was a distinct possibility.
"Be prepared to respond to Mount Justice at a moment's notice if need be. Canary, Tornado stay behind so we can discuss these changes to the team training we will begin to implement." Batman said, getting nods from the other two heroes.
"It may be somewhat difficult to inject these into the training regimen of the team." Red Tornado said as most of the heroes filed out of the room.
"Why?" Batman asked.
"Simply put, while Canary has been handling individual training when the availability is presented, I have been relegated to operations support and a babysitter for the members of the Team. Team training is coordinated and controlled almost entirely by Percy." Tornado explained.
"Really? How did that happen?" Diana asked in surprise.
"I am unsure. Perseus simply began holding the sessions with his team. A few, primarily Kid Flash seemed discontent initially but Perseus has relegated such conversations for after or before the sessions he leads. Since then they have continued his recurring sessions without complaint."
"Interesting…maybe we can make a more subtle suggestion." Batman hummed in thought.
Diana stared at them as they discussed their plans for a moment before heading out. She was going to return to Themyscira to speak with her mother and try to get some idea on how Donna managed to get supporters within her own guards.
She had lost a lot of pride in her people for falling back into such brutal acts. Especially with her former sister. It had been Diana's hope to one day change Donna's mind and end her obsession for their old ways. It only seemed to be getting worse though.
She wasn't going to sit back and worry over her little brother though. Diana was going to take an active stance and hope she could hunt her sister's group of traitors down before they ever got near to striking against Percy.
It would be easier with a little support from the gods though. At least she knew they hadn't completely turned their back as her and Percy's powers remained.
Mount Justice August 2
Steadily over the last several days the team had begun to draw in closer and closer. The leading factor in that had been Percy as he worked hard to build the team into something to be proud of. Despite some complaints from both Wally and Megan initially for separate reasons, the majority of the group was just happy to have real hardcore training.
Megan wanted a little more time dedicated to socializing between all of them but for Wally he just felt like his summer break was evaporating in front of him as he surrendered school work to evidently pick up some brutal physical and mental training alongside the others. By the end of the first week both had stopped complaining. Percy had picked up a brutal slave driver style of training somewhere and that simply urged him to make the training all the more harsh whenever they whined.
"You guys are making some really impressive headway." Black Canary called out as the scenario in the training room died down.
"Yeah we have. Great work today guys. Especially you Miss Martian, extending your cloaking ability to Robin must have taken a lot out of you but it could be really useful." Percy complimented Megan while patting Robin on the shoulder and handing him one of his birdarangs that Percy had picked up after the training scenario ended.
Megan blushed and grinned brightly at the Amazonian boy. "I have been working in some of my free time to try and expand my powers like you suggested. So far that's about the most I can do. I have to have physical contact to cloak another person."
"That's still an improvement and in only about a week. That is great. Like I said everyone is making progress and before too long I imagine we will be pretty much unstoppable when we are working together. Make sure you all get plenty of rest and to eat. We have another group run to town and back in the morning." Percy said, getting a groan from everyone except Powergirl who giggled a bit. She didn't mind the run even if Percy had managed to get Batman to give Powergirl a pair of bracelets that essentially disrupted her abilities enough to let her actually get something productive from their training.
As the teens dispersed to individual shower rooms attached to their dorms, Percy moved to talk with Canary. She had been helping him organize the training for the Team and usually if she wanted to talk it was definitely worth listening. Though he was a bit anxious to get in the shower back in his dorm. Nothing quite topped off a good day like a bit of cool water to enjoy. His mother had told him that was probably something to do with his father.
"You are running them through the wringer." Canary said as she took a seat and smiled at the boy before her.
"Heh, I am going to take that as approval." Percy said as he sat across from her.
"Definitely. I'm especially happy to see the progress in teamwork. It took three moves between you and Powergirl to knock the simulated version of Killer Croc. That's a heck of a feat."
"Maybe. I kinda think the real thing would be a lot different though and we were set up in a city street, not the sewers or a swamp or something more likely to fight him in."
"That's smart. Definitely true as well." She said before.
After a moment of silence with Percy easily catching on to the fact that Canary had something to discuss, the blonde finally began her somewhat mentally practiced spiel.
"I spoke with some other members of the League earlier today." She began.
"Diana said you were all having some kind of big meeting but wouldn't say what it was about."
"A few things really, but one thing came up concerning the Team actually." Dinah said.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Partially because of how well your work with the Team has gone so far we want to start incorporating more scenarios in the training you do together. I'll be taking less patrols to better work with each of you individually as well as in a group class when I can. Besides that however we want one major focus for you guys in your team."
"What focus?" Percy asked with interest.
"Well, all of you are either related to or proteges of one of the members of the League. Just like with our secret identity. That means you're going to be targeted individually at times. Unlike with our families and loved ones you guys have all been seen with us in costume plenty of times. Except for Megan and Karen but even then Karen will likely be hunted by whoever was really backing CADMUS sooner rather than later."
"Makes sense. So a new program is fed into the scenario creator or what?" Percy asked.
"Pretty much. Every week for the rest of the summer we want to input several scenarios with a specific member being targeted. They won't be removed from the system after though so 'target' scenarios will remain in the system from here on out and you might randomly catch them from here on out." Canary explained.
"Sounds good to me. Are we doing Karen first then? Would make since since she is the most likely to be endangered by whoever it was that planned to turn her into a weapon." Percy deduced.
"Ah close, she gets the second set. The man in charge gets the honor of a target first."
"Lucky me." He chuckled, getting a plastic smile from the blonde.
"Alright that was really all I wanted to talk about. Also I wanted to give you a heads up about Diana. She is headed back to Themyscira for a couple days. Evidently to speak with the Queen." Canary watched the boy and almost frowned at the ever so tiny slip showing his pain at being unable to return to the main island of Themyscira. She couldn't really help him there but at least she hoped this was enough to help him begin prepping for a possible attack by Donna without telling him exactly what was going on.
Unfortunately for her, Percy was just a little too perceptive. He truly had no idea what was going on but something was wrong and it involved his sister and home. He really couldn't do anything about it at the moment though.
"I hope she knows to tell mother hi from me. I kinda miss her." Percy said softly.
"Maybe she can come to the mountain to visit sometime? I'll talk to your sister and some of the other Leaguers to see what we can do another time. For now go get cleaned up. You smell strong enough that I can pick it up over here."
Percy snorted but nodded and rose out of his seat to head toward his dorm. "Thanks, by the way."
Canary smiled at him as he left before frowning once he was gone and running a hand through her hair in frustration. She didn't like this situation and was very much in line with Diana's position in regards to at least telling the kids what was coming instead of using them as uninformed bait. Sadly Batman, as always, made too many good points and so, here she was lying to one of her charges by omission.
"I feel like I need a shower now too." She muttered darkly before heading off toward the zeta tube.
August 3
The next day saw the Team in training once again though the inclusion of the new scenario had gotten them on edge. For once it wasn't Wally that was mouthing off.
Powergirl had attempted to meet Supergirl the night before. She had gone with Superman to some town or farm or something in Kansas of all places. Evidently Supergirl refused to even show up and give Karen a chance.
She was pretty upset when she returned and that set off a chain of events that led to them utterly failing the first scenario of the day. Percy had tried to take it easy and get everyone hyped up for the second scenario.
Powergirl had surprised by telling him to shut up and start the program. Percy had hesitated then. They all had. Karen was typically pretty blunt when speaking but rarely outright rude or mean.
"Karen, if you want we could take a break for a little while." Megan tried to say to her friend.
"I don't need a break. I need training evidently since being able to take a warhead to the face and keep fighting isn't good enough." Powergirl hissed.
"Powergirl, most of our real opponents have ways of working around our base abilities so we have to figure out ways around them." Kaldur pointed out.
"You think I don't know that? I am a living breathing reminder of that. A literal sentient memory of someone else's fucking mistake." She snapped.
"Karen, calm down." Percy said softly. "You are far more than that and you know it. We all know it."
She rolled her eyes causing him to sigh lightly.
"Look, these new scenarios are important. Over the next few weeks we will be getting more as we each take the role of the target. You especially have a target on your back. Your abilities already make you a target but on top of that we still don't really know how CADMUS got their hands on Supergirl's DNA or who supplied them and backed their operation. They could be waiting for a chance to attack you at any moment." Percy explained.
He stopped as clearly his words were having the opposite effect on his comrade. Instead of calming down and seeing the reasoning and logic he was using she locked on to the reminder that she was the unwanted clone of a 'real' hero.
"I don't know why you are harping on me when you are half assing it just as much." She bit out.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Percy demanded.
Robin was the one to uncomfortably shift beside the Amazonian Prince and offer his two cents.
"Ever since you found out something was going on on Themyscira you have been kind of distracted. Not that you are slacking off but you clearly have things on your mind dude." Robin pointed out.
Percy sighed again. It was true. He wasn't sure exactly how he knew, but he just had a really bad feeling about something going on. He couldn't do anything about it though.
"You're right but I can't return to Themyscira. It is forbidden for a reason. I can trust in my sister to handle whatever is happening there though so I am trying to focus on what I can improve and that means training with all of you." Percy replied.
"So that's it? Something big enough that Wonder Woman had to go handle it happens to your home and you just don't care?" Wally finally chimed in.
"It's not that I don't care…what don't you get about it being forbidden?" Percy snapped a bit harsher than intended.
"Doesn't it bother you that I could just go choose to live with them and they would accept me with open arms but you were born and raised there, are literally in the royal family and will never be allowed back onto the island?" Powergirl asked.
Percy frowned at her. He could see what she was doing. Attention had drifted from her issue with Supergirl and her feelings onto Percy and his problems and she wanted it to stay that way. He couldn't really blame her, he supposed. He really wanted the conversation to shift back to badgering the Kryptonian clone.
"Fine, you know what training is cut short today. Everybody try to blow of some steam. I'm going out." He said pivoting and place and taking off toward his dorm while flying a bit faster than he normally did within the cave.
"Wow…I kinda feel like a dick but we got him to cut this crap short so free day right?" Wally asked getting Robin and Kaldur to both sigh while Megan and Karen brushed past them toward their own dorms.
"You know, Percy really cares and just wants to help right. That was pretty mean." Miss Martian said to her friend telepathically getting a sigh from the blonde in return.
"You're missing the point, Megan. We all have stuff we don't want dragged out in front of the whole team. If Percy had waited till it was just me and him or maybe the three of us that would have gone a lot different." Powergirl explained.
"Maybe but bringing up the fact he can never go home was really messed up. I know you are hurting because of what happened with Superman and Supergirl but taking it out on Percy or us is wrong and you know better." Megan said before cutting the connection and flying into her dorm room silently.
Powergirl frowned deeply before turning and leaning her forehead on the cold metal of her door. She was angry at herself now. Percy and Megan were arguably the two people she was closest to in the world and she was trying to push them away because of something she considered pretty stupid herself.
She was by no means dumb. Still trying to get a handle on all of her emotions, sure but she wasn't stupid. She knew digging at Percy's own painful issues was shitty behavior but she had done it anyway. She felt bad enough for effectively getting stood up and sent home by Superman.
Now she had sent Percy off to who knew where.
Sadly the best course of action was probably to let things die down for the moment and apologize when she could.
When Percy left Mount Justice he hadn't been sure where he was going. An impromptu patrol of the coastline as far as he could fly at a relaxed pace seemed like a decent idea and he drifted further and further south as he went.
Growing up on Themyscira he had always felt a pull toward the coastlines. Or toward the sea really. Even here in New England he felt that comforting sensation the simple scent of seawater gave him.
He wasn't so fond of water as to wish to live in it like Kaldur and the atlanteans did. Keeping it in sight and occasionally flying low enough to run his hands through a swelling wave did make him feel better though. He didn't mean the boost to his abilities either.
Like wrapping up in his mother's arms when he was small almost. It made his sorrows and annoyances feel so much smaller.
Unfortunately in a cruel twist of irony. The comforting feeling the sea brought him today recalled the memories of a similar time back home on Themyscira. He ached from that.
Karen had been awfully cruel in pushing his thoughts about home back into his face. If he hadn't had the blessing for wisdom keeping his head somewhat level he would have been furious with her. He knew she was lashing out at him because of her own pain but just because he didn't want to attack her or understood why she said what she did didn't mean he wasn't feeling angee and sadness creep up through his chest.
Running a hand through another swelling wave near the shoreline he couldn't stifle the huff of agitation as the feeling of peace it initially gave him faded and became muted as his mind swirled with the resentment that he couldn't properly direct.
"It's been so long…" He muttered as he banked up and began climbing in elevation.
He remembered flying side by side with Diana any opportunity that he could back home. Again memories of his childhood flooded his mind and he felt the bittersweet sense of them settling within his head.
At least he could fly over these shores with her whenever she returned. Just never again over the pristine beaches of Paradise.
Forcing the spiral of gradually more depressing thoughts out of his mind he turned his attention to his surroundings. He didn't exactly have super hearing on the level of Powergirl let alone Superman or Supergirl but he and his sister were both given many blessings among which were incredibly enhanced senses.
So while he had no doubt Karen would have heard them much sooner Percy only now picked up the familiar high pitch of a distant Canary Cry. He picked up his speed and was into the small town a short ways from Gotham proper in mere moments.
Unfortunately it wasn't fast enough to join in with Black Canary and Green Arrow before they had finished handling a small group of drug smugglers and their buyers.
"Xiphos?" Arrow asked in surprise before waving. "Been a minute kid, what are you doing here?"
"Well since I live in an actual hole in the ground it's nice to get out and just fly for a while. No reason not to be ready for any small timers that unlucky enough to be a long my path." He said, explaining why he was kitted up in his heroic uniform.
Canary stared at him even as she gave him a weak smile and a wave. She knew well enough that something was bothering him but pressuring him about it wouldn't do anyone any good. At least not until they were in a more private relaxed setting back at the cave.
Unfortunately for her, Oliver wasn't exactly privy to everything regarding the team. He remembered that Wonder Woman was meeting with the Amazons and that Percy was likely being tracked down by a murderer with the same abilities as his mentor.
He did not recall the fact that they were using him to lure her out.
"You really shouldn't be heading anywhere alone right now kid. Maybe you should tag along with Dinah and I for our rounds after we finish up here." Arrow said only for him to freeze up as his mind caught up with what he had said.
"What do you mean by that?" Percy asked as he finally landed on the ground beside them with narrowed eyes.
"What he means is, you really should either be with your team or with Wonder Woman. Since she is back home for now we expected you to be with the team." Canary explained.
"Uh-huh. Well I have done plenty of patrols alone in the past while she was busy with her diplomatic duties. No different today than then right?" Percy asked though by now it was clear he was suspicious of what was going on.
"Uh, sure. Still wouldn't you rather work with us, maybe learn something new that your sister doesn't do?" Green Arrow attempted to deflect and lead the conversation away from the topic.
Percy wasn't about to try and brow beat his superiors. Sure he wasn't technically a part of the League but the Team served as a sort of intern program for the bigger organization as far as he was concerned. Plus he wasn't about to try and threaten a couple of heroes anyway. Even if he was completely confident he could take them both.
"I guess." He nodded before helping to finish rounding up the smugglers the couple had defeated and setting them up as a nice present for the local police to nab later.
As he expected the patrol with the two heroes wound up being pretty dull. It seemed like they were avoiding going after petty crimes and acting as if an ambush was waiting for them around pretty much any corner. Similar to how the team and he had acted during the scenario earlier in the day.
"Not a lot of experience protecting a high value target either, huh? Usually stuff like hunting down criminals or going into some sort of barricaded situation right?" Percy asked, eyeing them both intently.
"What?" Arrow asked in surprise while Canary turned toward him.
"What are you talking about Xiphos?" She asked in a nearly perfect fashion, making the demigod briefly doubt himself.
Only briefly though.
"I just noticed the similarity. My team gets a new set of scenarios centered around protecting a member of the team while on a mission. I just so happen to be the first one we start training to protect." Percy crossed his arms and stared back at them.
"You must be hanging around Batman's kid too much. You sound pretty paranoid." Oliver argued.
"Right, that's why you are acting exactly like we did during the scenario and why my sister just so happens to return to Themyscira for an unplanned visit not once but twice in as many days?" He asked with a bit of bite in his voice.
Canary and Arrow exchanged looks only for both of them to step back as he flew between them and slowly rotated to lock eyes with both of them for a little bit.
"I know something is going on. Don't you think if something has happened to my home that I deserve to know about it?" He insisted, causing the heroes to begin wavering in their silence.
"Kid…it's not that we don't think you deserve to know…" Arrow began awkwardly.
"It's that you suspect I can't handle it then?" Percy supplied.
"Perseus," Dinah used his full name bringing him up short and drawing his attention to her fully.
"It isn't that we don't think you can handle it. It was a strategic decision made by our…de facto leader. One that not everyone agrees with." She continued.
"Strategic. So there definitely is something going on and it's bad enough that the League of all people are treating it like a battle before whatever is worrying you is even present. Something that concerns Them- The Gates! The Gates of Tartarus are open!" Percy shouted as he prepared to shoot into the sky and damn the laws so that he could join his people in fighting the forces of Tartarus.
"No wait, that's not what happened! The Gates are closed still. Your other sister broke free and killed all the boys on the main island of Themyscira!" Canary said stopping him from charging back to his home and possibly into death. She knew that the laws regarding men had eased thanks to Diana but death was still a possible punishment for a male coming to the island willfully.
"What? The only elder sister I have is Diana. What do you mean by other sister?" He demanded. The tempered way he was prodding for questions earlier was gone, replaced by a far more frightening visage of a demigod demanding answers.
"Just calm down Percy. We'll tell you everything we know but you need to relax, okay?" Canary tried to calm him down.
"Yeah kid you're starting to make the water do some freaky stuff!" Arrow added in looking at the suddenly choppy and violent waters smashing into the beach nearby.
Both heroes had never seen Diana do anything like that before. It wasn't so bad, not like a full blown storm but the fact that his emotions were affecting the world around them at all was a bit terrifying.
Thankfully Percy heard them and slowly regained control of himself.
"Sorry I guess I'm a bit volatile today." Percy said as he settled back down onto the ground.
"Volatile…sure." Arrow said as he gave the teenager plenty of room.
"Percy I really didn't want to keep this from you but they are pretty sure this Donna woman is going to hunt you. She has the same strength and years of experience as Diana too." Canary admitted.
"So the team and I are just…bait?" Percy asked quietly. His faith in his seniors in the league was being shaken like never before.
"It sounds bad but we'll honestly part of the reason we are outside of the city busting people up is because we have all been spread out around Happy Harbor. We are trying to lure Donna out but we aren't about to leave you all high and dry." Canary explained.
Percy frowned slightly but nodded. However he was bothered by the fact his sister had returned to Themyscira. That was when the weight of what he had learned truly sank in. This Donna…apparently his sister had murdered all of the males on Themyscira.
The only males on the main island were children younger than twelve.
"She murdered children. She has to be stopped so I can understand the strategy I guess. I'm pretty pissed that we weren't going to be told though."
"Blame that on the Bat. He also was pretty cruel with the way he was talking to your sister when he fleshed out the plan." Oliver said getting a glare from Dinah for throwing Batman under the bus.
"It's true." He said with a shrug.
"Batman continues to impress me." Percy scoffed sarcastically. He really did not like the man around Diana. It always ended up with her upset in some way…and now evidently with him as bait for another sister he hadn't known about.
"I plan on telling the team you know. I won't keep this from them." Percy said seriously as he made sure to look into the eyes of both heroes.
"Good, they should know." Canary said simply.
Arrow didn't look to really agree but he didn't get a chance to voice his opinion on the matter before an alert for some type of metahuman or alien attacking nearby interrupted him.
"Well, looks like we have something to do, you're kinda stuck with us Kid. I know I am not going to be the one to explain why we let you wander off on your own to your sister." Arrow chuckled.
Percy rolled his eyes but followed after them.
Before long the three of them found themselves passing an overturned police cruiser though no police officers were actually around. Further down the street in the playground of a long abandoned school a hulking brute towered over the fleeing officers who had clearly already run out of ammunition.
Without missing a beat or bothering with waiting for Canary or Arrow to give instructions, Percy shot forward and slammed into the back of the being attacking the police officers. The thrumming sound of an odd metallic skin echoed around the area as the giant was launched off of its feet and sent skidding across the grass to tear up a trough of the earth. It didn't stay down and the possible cyborg quickly righted itself and pulled itself free of the ground.
"Analyzing subject: Xiphos." The machine stated as it stared coldly toward Percy.
"What the hell?" He wondered aloud.
Before it could do anything else an explosive arrow slammed into it's face and knocked it backward but, much like with Percy's attack it was primarily unharmed. Again it stared down the heroes attacking it.
"Analyzing subject: Green Arrow, Analyzing subject: Black Canary." It said in the same robotic voice before being cut off as Black Canary let off an ear splitting screech.
"Analyzing, Accessing: Black Canary." The machine drolled mechanically before opening its jaw and matching Canary's blast of power effortlessly.
"It can copy us!" Percy said before kicking of the ground and barreling into the machine
"Analyzing, Accessing: Xiphos." It said before reversing the attack Percy had attempted and forcing him into a stranglehold like a lifetime martial artist.
"It's not just our abilities." Arrow said as he let loose a shot with an overcharged stunner head on it into the shoulder joint of the android.
Thankfully, while the arrow did absolutely no permanent damage to the machine it gave Percy the opportunity to free himself from it's grasp and rejoin his temporary teammates.
"We have to stop it before the others arrive, if it starts collecting the League's powers it could be a real problem!" Canary said as she began to call off their reinforcements.
"Accessing: Black Canary" The Machine spoke before blasting Canary with her own power and knocking the communicator free of her hands.
With a jump forward it smashed the device to pieces and began pursuing Green Arrow as he tried to do the same and call off their back up. Sadly just like with Canary the use of the machine's Canary cry was enough to interrupt his attempt and allow the behemoth to approach it.
"Not so fast, big guy!" Percy shouted as he drew his new blade from his belt and brought it down against the back of the machine causing it to stumble and scoring at least a small; cut across it's back.
"It isn't invulnerable but I had to put a hell of a lot behind that swing." Percy told the other two as he grabbed the communicator to let the rest of the league know not to come. Unfortunately he was too late for two of the most stand up members of the organization.
Both Flash and Superman hit the machine at the same time sending it spiraling across the ever more damaged playground. It wasn't enough to destroy it however and more frighteningly they could all here it's monotone voice as it slowly stood back up.
"Analyzing subject: Superman, Analyzing subject: Flash." It turned to stare at the heroes again before noticing the communicator in Percy's hand.
"Xiphos call off the others, we'll buy you time!" Canary said before letting loose a Canary cry toward the machine.
"Accessing: Flash" It said simply before easily avoiding her attack and making a beeline for Percy only to be stopped by the real deal.
"Dunno what you are doing here kid but do what you gotta do" Flash said before exchanging a rapid flurry of attacks with the machine.
"Accessing: Superman." It replied before tanking the blows from Flash with almost no problem.
"That's worrisome." Superman said before blasting the machine with his heat vision. He kept the attack going until the android was in a rather sizable crater.
The group gasped though as the machine slowly began to stand again repeating the words that were really beginning to get on Percy's nerves already.
"Analyzing: Superman." It then turned to fully see them before shooting up toward Superman with a newfound ability of flight and tackling it to the ground.
"What the hell are we supposed to do here?" Arrow wondered aloud as Superman slammed the machine back into the ground but failed to truly stop it.
"The only thing that has done any damage so far is Percy's sword." Canary said, causing the heroes to all glance at him as he finished his call on the communicator.
"Yeah, I called off the others but they are nearby if things go too badly. My sword damaged it but I was using more strength than I have against anything besides sparring with my sister." He said as he tossed the communicator back toward Arrow only for it to be blasted to pieces by a series of heat blasts from the machine's eyes.
"I don't think it had anything to do with the strength of the strike. Superman's heat vision or that attack from him slamming it into the ground earlier would have destroyed it if that was the case." Canary explained as they watched Superman and the machine go toe to toe for a little bit.
"So what is it then?" Superman asked between punches to the face from the robot clearly unhappy with the situation.
"It analyzed Xiphos but didn't seem to really take anything." Arrow replied, trying to give some support to Superman with more EMP style arrows, unfortunately it had learned from earlier and easily avoided or destroyed the weapons.
"It took the fighting style I learned from home. It perfectly countered my attack earlier and put me in a hold." Percy replied before he realized what that meant.
"So it can somehow copy powers and like training?" Flash asked.
"Not all powers. Just natural ones like a metahuman ability or something." Percy said before diving into the widening crater to help Superman, sword held up and ready to destroy the android.
"Xiphos?" Superman said in some worry as the teen joined him in the fight.
He had to catch the android before it could swing a Superman powered punch toward the boy's head. He didn't question it further though as Percy slid beneath both Superman and the android's arms to jam his blade up into it's vulnerable chest and rip it out the side. The strength of the machine fell away almost immediately and the android slipped backwards away from both Percy and Superman.
It wasn't allowed to get far though as Superman held it in place and Percy tore it apart with his blessed blade.
"I rarely do this but thank the gods." Percy grumbled as the machine crumbled before him and Superman.
"Yeah… tell them thanks from me too. I was starting to feel a bit worried when it scanned Supes." Arrow pointed out.
Percy simply nodded while staring at the broken machine. This wasn't really how he thought today would go but right now it did feel pretty nice getting a literal pat on the back from four members of the Justice League.
It didn't take long before some workers from STAR Labs arrived along with several other members of the League, most notably the evident first among equals, Batman. To say that he was displeased that Percy was not with the rest of his team at the moment was an understatement, however he was also pleased that the machine they managed to learn was called Amazo was taken down so quickly due in no small part to the magical or perhaps divine nature of his weapon being something that couldn't actually be copied.
"You will return to the rest of the team with Canary and Manhunter. We'll set up the transport of Amazo and find out whatever else we can from it." He stated gruffly though it came out more as a command.
"This thing will be a gold mine for the folks back at the labs…although I think I am more worried about the fact that this is one of Professor Ivo's. If he is still around then he slipped through the net of the entire League and the government." Flash said with a serious frown.
"Hmm, either way you cut team training short today so Canary and you will be organizing individual progress tests when you return to the cave." Batman said before turning and walking off to speak with some of the STAR lab workers loading the busted android.
Percy glared at the man's back before scoffing.
"It's like the bat wants the kid to hate him. I mean seriously." Arrow said.
"I don't know what's going on with him but I'll talk to XIphos." Canary said as she walked past her partner and toward Percy who turned to face her with a bland look.
"I can hear you. You know that right?" Percy asked,
"Yeah we know, but you also know getting twisted up over Batman being…Batman isn't going to really do anything for you." She replied as they both began making their way toward the nearest Zeta Tube location.
"I won't be the one trying to stir anything up. I know he feels the need to throw his weight around since he bankrolls everything. That doesn't mean I have to like him. He's kind of a dick." Percy said, causing the blonde woman to simply chuckle.
"He has his moments. I fear there are things in Gotham that have recently had him on edge for the last few months. It may be part of the cause of his heightened tension and more abrasive personality." Martian Manhunter said as he drifted into a place beside them.
"Not all that much of a difference but I can tell he is a bit worse than usual. Are you coming with us to the cave J'onn?" Canary asked.
"Yes. I wish to see how well M'gann is settling in. She has told me nothing but positive things over the communicator but I still wish to see her when I have a chance." He said smoothly.
"She'll be happy to see you. She seems to fit right in as far as I can tell, and for the most part she and Karen, err Powergirl have become like best friends." Percy said, getting a small smile from the Martian.
"I am happy to hear that. Please continue to take care of my niece, young Prince." J'onn happily said.
"Please just call me Percy or something…not really a prince out here in man's world." Percy chuckled awkwardly while ignoring the whisper of a reminder about the horrible thing that had happened back on Themyscira.
"I had meant in regards to your surname. A play on words. Still I will be happy to call you simply, Percy." J'onn said before being scanned into the Zeta tube.
"Right." Percy said uncomfortably.
"You'll get used to him. You seem pretty close to both Megan and Karen so I'm sure you'll be seeing more of J'onn and probably Clark soon." Canary said before following J'onn.
Percy nodded though he wondered about that. Powergirl and Superman weren't exactly close and this was the second time he had ever said more than simply greetings to Martian Manhunter.
As he stepped into the transporter he failed to notice the figure monitoring him from the supposedly abandoned school nearby. Taking note of another transport to wherever he was using as a base.
Phew done and done! I hope you enjoyed. Got some fun stuff coming next chapter, obviously a little bit of dealing with the canon episode that happens around this time, it will be short I promise you and not take all of next chapter.
We got to see Percy playing with the big boys. Even helping to turn what was a hard fought battle for the League in canon into something much more manageable, though it was a bit more by luck and chance than outright skill. That being said, being held down by Superman while being chopped up by a demigod with a magic sword should be enough to even make a heartless machine hesitant.
Anyway I wanted to give a huge shoutout and thank you to two of my Patron supporters: Mark and Willmissq. You guys and my other s are a huge help to me and I am incredibly thankful for the support that you offer me.
Till Next Time