Alright, we're back with Chapter Four. Not much I can say beforehand except once again, I haven't read through the sequel series with the Romans in an official capacity. Enjoy the violence.
A red portal burst into existence somewhere in the middle of the ocean, with Percy flying out soon after, far from any mortal who could see him. Not like any mortal would be out there considering how big and violent the waves were along with the night sky. Whoever the Lantern was, they were no doubt in conflict with his father.
"Now, where exactly is this Lantern?" Percy spoke to himself as he entered the water and began swimming straight down. For a few moments it was relatively quiet, save the occasional sea creature speaking of his return. Light was soon nonexistent for most, Percy's own bioluminescence as well as his heritage and the abilities his ring gave him allowing him to see clearly. Soon enough, he saw the signs of conflict below him, streaks of yellow and red zipping around, along with a few of the Trench somehow thrown in the mix attacking anyone and anything. Percy ground his teeth.
"Fucking shitting me. Two of them. Of course." he swore to himself. One Lantern he might be able to stand against, with help of course, but two? Percy looked at the streak of yellow, his eyes narrowing and his left shoulder tingling in phantom pain as he saw her disfigured mouth.
"Let's take care of her first." Percy thought to himself as he selected his target, who was engaged with Triton.
Said minor god was not having a good time. He and father were enjoying the rare moment of peace and quiet and went on a swim together and talked. Granted father hasn't quite been the same that bastard demigod Percy left but he wasn't one To pass up the opportunity.
At least until out of nowhere these two strange humanoids just appeared out of nowhere fighting each other to the death, along with a small swarm of seemingly mindless fish men, unlike any he had ever seen before. Ones that mindlessly attacked anything that wasn't them. He and his father attempted to intervene and put a stop to them but all this did was bring their ire on them.
The one he was fighting was admittedly unnerving to look at. Tan skin was complemented by wild brown hair that hung down right above her rear. Primarily black armor that hugged her muscular yet curvy frame clashed with the glowing yellow additions on it. The yellow additions were on her upper body, resembling a flower, her forearms, waist, down the outside of her legs along with boots.
What was so unnerving was her face. Pure black eyes with white pupils bored into his with a manic energy, her disfigured mouth in an unsettling permanent grin. Lips practically torn off, her teeth filed down into points and misshapen.
He'd hate to admit it, but whoever this being was had him on the backpedal. Every time he made an attempt to strike her, she either dodged it at a speed that outclassed him, even in the water, or countered it in a lazy manner. All while she had that disturbing, permanent grin on her face, her pure black eyes boring into his.
While she was unharmed, he had numerous cuts all over his body, leaking ichor, while his armor was dented or broken in numerous areas. A wicked looking blade magically manifested out of the strange yellow light she was bathed in, forcing him to raise his trident in a defensive manner.
Before she could attack him, a red blur shot at her from above her. In the blink of an eye, she was sent rocketing into the seabed below. A massive shockwave erupted on impact, making the ground shake and sediment fly everywhere. In her place was a figure Triton, while thankful for the assistance, was one he wasn't happy to see either.
"Where the Hades have you been brother?" Triton asked, shooting a glare at his half brother. To his surprise, Percy didn't take the bait.
"Triton, you can have your stupid, pointless temper tantrum about my existence and attempt to fight me later, but right now there's bigger concerns at the moment." Percy said, grabbing the head of one of the fish-like creatures that rushed him without looking and crushing it in a shower of gore. Triton snorted.
"Tch. Hopefully Father will be in a better mood now that you're here." He said, bringing a smile to Percy's face, making the minor god nervous when he saw the shark-like teeth he possessed.
"Oh yeah, I owe him a few good punches." Percy said, cracking his knuckles before shooting off into the fray, zipping around and killing anything that crossed his path in a glowing red blur.
Swimming after his half brother, Triton couldn't help but wince at the carnage Percy left behind. The weird fish men were torn to shreds, ripped apart, everything was done in a disturbingly brutal fashion. What was concerning was how easily he did it. Triton quickly caught up to Percy, just in time for him to grab a fish man and tear it in half at the waist with his bare hands effortlessly. One tried to sneak up behind him but the strange capes he had struck out like a viper, wrapping around its upper body and breaking its neck.
"So what are you doing here?" Triton asked as he gutted another fish man that attempted to ambush him. Percy pointed at the yellow being he recently slammed into. He then pointed off into the distance where another red light was moving around in a set area, no doubt battling against Poseidon.
"I'm here for them, and I need your help with that." Percy declared, making the minor god raise an eyebrow in disbelief.
"What makes you think you can do anything when even Father is struggling with this?" Triton asked as he motioned to the red light. Sure enough, said light suddenly rushed forward and created a shockwave, no doubt slamming into the God of the Sea. Percy rolled his eyes.
"Do you want my help or not?" He asked as he crossed his arms. Triton grumbled as he saw Percy's point.
"Tch, fine. What's the plan?" the minor god conceded.
"Just help father, while I take care of Karu-Sil." Percy ordered, revealing to Triton that Percy had history with the yellow one. At that moment, the apparent Karu-Sil rocketed out of her point of impact, no worse for wear. Locking eyes with Percy, she gave an animalistic scream as she shot towards the demigod, an action he mirrored. Triton Couldn't help but back off slightly when the two of them made contact, the shockwave showing off the power the two had.
"This better work." Triton muttered to himself as he went to help his father. While he'd never say it, he really was hopeful Percy could turn the tide.
Behind him, Percy and Karu-Sil were both trying and failing to get the upper hand, both of them evenly matched in different ways. Karu-Sil's experience and sheer power over Percy was balanced by said demigods' capabilities being tremendously boosted in the water.
Any other time he'd be soundly thrashed by the intergalactic criminal.
Percy threw a punch across the Yellow Lanterns face, one she narrowly dodged. Surprised at the boost in speed, she was free to be punched in her stomach, one that actually made her flinch. Shaking off her shock, she grabbed the next punch sent her way with minor difficulty. Squeezing it as hard as she could and feeling bones and joints pop, she threw her own fist into Percy's chest, grinning as she felt his ribs crack before he was sent flying head over heels backwards.
Steadying himself, he felt his bones begin to heal, throwing up a hasty shield with his ring as Karu-Sil brought a jagged sword down on him. Muscles strained as a small shockwave shot out, Percy struggling to stay level. Karu-Sil leaned in closer.
Karu-Sil: Voice of Mortal Kombat 11 Mileena
"You're such a thorn in my side, human. I'll enjoy tearing you asunder." She hissed in her scratchy, animalistic voice. Percy narrowed his eyes.
"I've heard that one before. Try something new." Percy taunted with a grin, making his foe growl at his attitude. Percy's little jab was quickly regretted as a sharp spider leg impaled itself in his thigh. Yeah, he deserved that one. Once his blood burned through the construct, he willed it to shoot out and onto Karu-Sil. As she backed off, Percy shot forward and grabbed her by the hair and launched his fist in a blur at her eye, feeling the eye socket fracture on impact.
He didn't let up, sending a few more punches into her face, small shockwaves on each impact as her face cracked more and more. Seeing him wind up another big punch, Karu-Sil thrust her hand into his midsection, creating serrated blades on her fingers. Like a hot knife through butter, the knives dug into his torso, tearing apart his liver and kidney like tissue paper.
He couldn't hold back his screams of anguish, the water around him churning violently as the son of the sea suffered. Gritting his teeth hard enough they cracked, Percy began stabbing and clawing at the arm impaled in him wildly, numerous holes littering it as her blood poured out. Karu-Sil quickly pulled her wounded arm out, giving it a quick once over. She narrowed her eyes as her arm continued to bleed. She'd live through that. Her hand was in a much worse state.
Percy's blood burnt it badly, the fear made construct useless against the red lantern properties. Skin was gone while muscles twitched and quivered, even some bone exposed in some places. It wasn't a total waste. Blood poured out of his torso in copious amounts, quickly staining the sea, being in contact with water boosting his regeneration the only reason why he wasn't bleeding to death.
They both needed a new plan for dealing with the other in this instance.
Swimming through the depths, Triton made his way to his father, as well as getting a look at who he was fighting and he was terrifying.
He was a fairly muscular humanoid of about 6'4, but not overly so, a primarily skintight black suit with red on his boots, forearms and torso similar to Percy's showing off his formidable frame, one larger than Poseidons but just smaller than Ares.
What was so unnerving was his head. For all intents and purposes, it resembled a burnt demonic horse, cow or goat skull, something that especially enraged the god he was facing. Skin and hair was nonexistent, showing only burnt flesh and sharpened teeth in the front and back of his jaw. Glowing yellow eyes shone from his sockets while massive curved horns jutted out of the back of his skull like a demonic goat while his nasal cavity leaked red energy constantly.
The red being grabbed Poseidon by the throat with one hand, the other holding back his trident with minor difficulty. A cruel grin creeped across his disfigured face and without warning he slammed his face into the sea gods, a large shockwave erupting as Poseidon was forced back a good distance, ichor leaking from his nose and mouth. Before the red being could continue overpowering the god, Triton shot at him from behind, forcing him off his father. While it wasn't as far or impactful as what Percy did to Karu-Sil, it got this one off Poseidon.
"Triton, what are you doing here?" Poseidon exclaimed as he looked at his son. While he was grateful for the assistance, he knew his son wasn't faring any better than he was with his opponent. While he wouldn't say it, he too was grateful for the assistance, as evident by the fact his armor was cracked or broken in numerous areas. Even in his own domain he was getting his ass handed to him.
"I was sent to assist you for the time being. Percy has a plan." Triton said, shocking the sea god as his proclamation, as well as drawing the attention of the red one.
"Percy is back? Where is he?" Poseidon asked in a mixture of emotions. Joy that his son was alive and worried about where he was. He was unintentionally answered when a decent sized explosion of red and yellow erupted some distance away, bathing the three beings in said light, even in the darkness of the deep sea.
"So what's the plan?" Poseidon asked as he swam besides his eldest son, both of them readying their tridents as the red being calmly made his way towards them
"Simply distract this one while Percy handles the other one. As of now, focus on staying alive." Triton said as the father and son duo watched the red one stop in front of them.
Skallox: Voiced by Jeffory Dean Morgan
"So the runt is here as well?" the red one mused and by Hades even his voice was unnerving. Shrugging off his discomfort, Poseidon glared at him, the waters churning around him.
"Don't you dare talk about my son like that!" he growled, flaring his godly power. To his dismay, the red one began chuckling at him, sending shivers down their spines.
"Why not? It's true. The weakest Red Lantern my universe has ever seen. Although considering he came from such a pathetic excuse of a god such as yourself, it makes sense." the red one revealed with a cruel grin, confusing the two gods at his statement, but for Poseidon he had enough. He came into his home, assaulted him, insulted him and his son. He had his pride and it had enough
"You dare call an Olympian weak!?" Olympian shouted, his power fully on display and to his dismay, his foe was unflinching. As if it didn't even register to him.
"I've met and fought mortals capable of single handedly conquering this planet. Even against gods far more powerful than you." he said as he cracked his knuckles, making the two gods glance at each other. While such a statement was normally ludicrous, even to a god, they weren't exactly dismissing such an insane claim by this point.
"And this one sided ass kicking you've been receiving supports my claim." the red one said, digging the metaphorical knife even deeper.
"Don't you dare underestimate me or my son." Poseidon declared, both he and Triton rushed their unmoving opponent at a speed that almost none could keep up with, especially in the water. Thrusting their tridents in sync, they blinked when they struck nothing but water. Looking around, they swam back in surprise when their quarry was right behind them, no less unbothered than before.
"Hehe, I've kicked your son's pathetic ass over a dozen times. Tell me, what will you do against Skallox!" the now revealed Skallox declared before he practically teleported in front of Triton in a burst of speed, lazily digging his fist into his gut and forcing him to cough up some ichor.
Poseidon tried to stab him from the side but Skallox lazily tilted his body away, not even looking, dodging the strike in a truly insulting manner. As Poseidon glared into his opponents eyes, fear and uncertainty started to creep into him.
As the two gods 'dealt' with Skallox, Percy and Karu-Sil were engaged in their own bout. Neither one was keen on letting any space build between them, their 'rivalry' making them fight each other to a detrimental degree.
Percy grit his teeth hard enough they began to bleed as Karu-Sil stabbed his open leg wound again, tearing it open a little more. In retaliation, Percy grabbed her by her disfigured mouth, his clawed fingers digging into the more vulnerable flesh. As her blood coated his fingers, he dragged her down into the seabed, dragging her along it and kicking up dirt and rock. After a hundred meters or so, he pulled her up, only to slam her into a small cliff, which cracked under the force.
"So, any reason why your ugly mug is here?" Percy taunted as he slammed her head against the rock again. He would've done it again, but he was forced to pull his claws out of her jaw to grab her arm that was intent on impaling his skull with a constructed dagger
"Why would I tell you earthling? Karu-Sil got out, her further disfigured mouth slurring her speech, chunks of dangling flesh flapping in the water. She upped the pressure in her arm, Percy struggling to hold it back.
"Considering it's my planet I'd have a right to know. Also, fuck you." Percy said, hissing as he couldn't hold her weapon back anymore, forcing him to let it impale him in the left shoulder. Deciding to return the favor, his head rushed forward and in a move that caught her off guard, his jaws latched onto her left shoulder. Sharp teeth cut through effortlessly and in an animalistic move, Percy bit through and savagely tore off a large chunk of her flesh before spitting it out.
The same respective shoulder that Karu-Sil took a bite of from a while back. Now he was just returning the favor.
Karu-Sil screamed, as her one arm continued to be mutilated. First Percy's blood burning her hand, his stabbing and now her shoulder. While he was in just as bad of shape as him, she wasn't sure she could come out of this without any more severe injuries she couldn't heal from.
"You bastard!" She screamed as she kicked him off her. Her shoulder bleeding from the large hole in it, as well as the rest of her arm continuously becoming more of a liability, as well as Percy's growing advantage in the water, she had to leave for now. Slamming a hammer construct into the cracked cliff behind her, it began crumbling down onto them, grabbing an especially large chunk the size of a semi truck, she hurled it at Percy who barely dodged, more rocks falling down around them.
"You bitch!" Percy cried as he rushed after her. To his fear, she quickly opened her own portal and made her way through it, no doubt trying to escape. Not wanting to lose this opportunity, Percy pushed himself as hard as he could after her, feeling his body bruise as he smashed through rocks to reach the portal.
He just barely managed to grab her just as the portal closed.
Back near Artemis and the Hunters camp, things weren't faring any better. Annabeth eventually returned, her eyes red and puffy, no doubt from crying her heart out. Many of the hunters tried to console her but she politely rebuffed them as she made a beeline for her tent. Thalia and Zoe were the only ones who ignored her wishes and went after her.
Artemis was being tended to by Apollo, no one else allowed even near her tent as the god looked over his sister. Said goddess was borderline catatonic, the occasional moan or twitch the only indication she was still alive. Apollo despite his knowledge had never encountered anything like this, let alone his big sister and he was freaking out.
The somber mood over the camp was postponed when a neon yellow glow washed over everything, the source being a portal of sorts a good distance away. Too far away to see who was there. Zoe however knew what it meant.
"Shit! Not here." She thought in panic as she started emptying her pistols of ammo in a panic, simultaneously making green and blue colored ones to replace them. Once those were done she began her mad dash to the source of the light
Thalia and Phoebe followed suit, Apollo and Artemis still unavailable. Running through the trees with ease, the two hunters and Zoe quickly hit the deck when a red blur flew over them, smashing through a few trees. Looking behind them, their eyes widened when they saw Percy, bleeding profusely through a few large holes in his body, especially the one that had some of his guts hanging out. Looking back from where he was thrown from, all the hunters took a few steps back in fear. Zoe was the only one who remained steadfast, having been in a Yellow Lanterns presence before, although she too was scared at Karu-Sil's presence.
"I'm not well versed on human history but even I'm aware bows and arrows are well out of date." Karu-Sil mused as she looked at the silver hunters and their primitive weaponry in disdain. Annoyed by the injured aliens' dismissal, the hunters let loose their arrows, all of them bouncing off the yellow shield she generated in a lazy manner. Staring at them unimpressed, Karu-Sil's eyes widened when a gunshot rang through, her shield cracking as one of Zoe's colored bullets hit.
Not letting up, Zoe kept firing her pistols with practiced skin and precision, keeping up with the alien. Every construct Karu-Sil made to attack Zoe was met head on by her own bullets, both of them canceling each other out. Spikes shattered into dust, shields bent and buckled. Perfectly countering each other for the time being.
At least until Zoe ran out of ammo. Hearing her guns click, Zoe narrowly dodged out of the way of a spike sent her way. Phoebe and Thalia tried to attack again, this time the latter channeling some of her lightning powers but to her dismay those seemingly had no effect either, save a minor twitch. Seeing movement out of the corner of her eye, and Karu-Sil distracted by Phoebe and Thalia, Zoe thought of a new plan.
Taking her moment of breathing room, she made a single, larger bullet before pulling out a larger handgun. Taking aim, she steadied herself.
"Get down!" Zoe ordered and without thinking the two hunters hit the dirt. The instant she saw them begin dropping down, Zoe fired her miniature cannon in a near deafening boom. The fired bullet raced towards the intergalactic criminal practically in slow motion, impacting and exploding in a hellish inferno that would level a few cabins at camp instantly.
Phoebe and Thalia's ears were ringing, their bodies shaking from the force of the explosive despite being a distance away. They hoped that would've been enough but to their despair, they saw the yellow alien race out of the smoke and fire unharmed, reaching Zoe at a speed even Artemis would struggle with. Karu-Sil effortlessly lifted Zoe off the ground by her shirt, the former demi-titan strangely calm despite her failed attack.
"Was that really your plan human?" Karu-Sil taunted, manifesting a wicked looking drill that began inching its way to Zoe's face. She got a shit eating grin as her answer.
The back of Karu-Sil's head flared up in pain as Percy punched it, making her drop Zoe. Stumbling forward, she was met with a boot to the side of her face, a tooth flying out as she was sent into a tree of her own. Racing after her, Percy roughly grabbed her by a leg, slamming her into the ground before swinging her into another tree like a baseball bat.
Dazed, Karu-Sil could barely defend herself as Percy assaulted her. Ribs cracked and blood vessels popped as Percy let his rage flow forth. Thalia and Phoebe could only watch in awe and horror as Percy, one of the nicest boys they knew, inflicted a beat down that would leave Ares blushing.
Karu-Sil got her bearings back soon enough, barely managing to catch a fist thrown at her, her already burnt and cut up arm actually struggling against Percy for once. At least until he broke his hand away and grabbed her hand. Squeezing, her already burned hand easily gave way, her hand crushed with ease, blood leaking out and making her hiss.
Percy's other hand shot forward and grabbed her at the elbow, claws digging into the shredded flesh. Karu-Sil's eyes widened before she let out a blood curdling scream as Percy brought her forearm down against his knee, giving it a clean break.
Hearing the scream, Annabeth and a few other hunters, along with Apollo rushed over, the blonde teen bringing her hands to her mouth in horror when she saw the state of Percy. The audience of the two Lanterns watched both in horror and morbid fascination as they fought each other.
Pulling her broken arm away, Karu-Sil made a makeshift cast with her ring, gritting her teeth as bones snapped roughly back into place. Shoving Percy back, she made a haphazard looking sword and quickly stabbed him in his wounded torso, easily shredding through his guts and popping out his backside as boiling blood gushed forth. Like an animal Percy clawed at her chest, four thin gashes lining her chest.
Panting and feeling blood loss hitting him, Percy really had to end this quickly. Grabbing her by the jaw, he bit onto her uninjured hand when she tried to swipe at his face, blood pooling his mouth as his fingers stabbed into her jaw. Once he felt he was secure, he shot up into the sky with her in tow, his audience watching them vanish from view in seconds.
The full view of the Earth quickly filled Percy's vision, the inky blackness of space giving him a soft calm feeling. Once he felt gravity lose its hold on them, he went right back down. Fire swarmed around them as Karu-Sil struggled wildly, forming all kinds of blades and weapons, trying to stab and dislodge Percy, fear creeping into her heart as she saw the ground race towards her faster and faster, Percy full intent on making sure she took the brunt of the impact.
Back on the ground, Apollo and the hunters saw a glowing ball of fire in the sky, quickly increasing in size. Immediately everyone rushed away, knowing exactly what it was. Not a second too soon as Percy and Karu-Sil slammed right back down into the earth. The ground shook for well over a few hundred feet, likely more, huge amounts of dust and debris flying everywhere from the point of impact. Shielding their eyes and coughing, everyone waited with bated breaths For what would come next.
After a tense minute, the dust settled, revealing Percy was the one who was conscious, albeit barely. The holes on his body were slightly cauterized, although this came at the cost of a few new wounds being made from impact, steam coming off his body. Thankfully at his feet, Karu-Sil was breathing softly, unmoving and no doubt knocked out.
"Okay, thank fuck you're done." Percy muttered, blood being spit out as he gave the unconscious alien a harsh kick to her midsection. Limping out of the crater, one of his arms clutching his midsection to keep his organs inside, he paid no mind to his audience, not even Annabeth who was at the front of the crowd.
"Percy!" the blonde teen called out when she saw Percy begin to heave and gasp for breath. Worrying for him, she was about to rush for him but Zoe firmly held her back to her and the others confusion.
"Stand back for a sec." She said in a sympathetic tone as everyone looked at her in confusion. A few seconds later Percy bent over and to everyone's horror began vomiting up WAY too much blood, with what had to be gallons of it pooling and glowing slightly at his feet. Annabeth had tears pool in her eyes as she clung onto Zoe's shoulder and began sobbing again.
"Oh Hades that is not right at all!" Apollo cried in shock, recoiling at what was frankly an impossible amount of blood be thrown up. Numerous hunters jumped back when they saw a few twigs burst into flames when the blood made contact with it. Percy's breathing began to even out, wiping the blood off his lips and mouth.
"Just, give me a sec-AH! You bitch!" Percy got out before he was cut by a yellow spider leg cut through his chest, right where his heart was. Receiving a harsh kick to the back and off the leg, Percy stumbled to the ground, barely remaining on his knees as he turned and glared at Karu-Sil.
"I'm not through with you Jackson!" She hissed, her mutilated arm broken in several places, a limp in one of her legs and blood trickling out of her broken jaw. Creating a portal, the alien limped through it, ignoring the arrows that failed to do anything to her. Seeing the portal close, Percy collapsed, laying in the pool of his blood as exhaustion caught up with him.
"Just, give me a second to regenerate a little, I'm fine." Percy asked softly, hearing a few of them try and come over. He rolled his eyes when he heard Apollo yell in pain, no doubt stepping in his blood.
It burned as hot as plasma, even a god of his world would be injured considering what else it hurt.
Pushing through the burning pain, Apollo grabbed the demigod that saved all their asses and dragged him aside and began looking over him.
"Percy. You have a hole in your chest. You got stabbed in the heart!" Apollo said in a panic as he looked over the demigod. Internally he was beyond confused at Zoe and Percy's nonchalant reaction to an attack that would kill almost anything. Percy gave a heartless chuckle that sent a small shiver down Apollo's spine.
"There is no more heart to stab." Percy revealed in a dead tone, something that made Annabeth's heart break.
As Percy's terrible situation was digested by those unaware, something or someone else wasn't having the best of circumstances either.
The black visor of Zero crackled to life, a sign the face it hid was waking up. Shaking the cobwebs out of his head, the mysterious behemoth took note of his situation, particularly the fact he was falling through some clouds.
"Just my luck. Again. Every time it's orbital re-entry." Zero thought to himself as he exited the cloud he was in. It was pitch black out and with his superior eyesight looking at the nearest point of civilization, he knew he was about a mile from Las Vegas.
Checking to see that his backpack was still on him, Zero angled himself a bit aways from the city, intent on avoiding attention. Sure enough, about a minute later, Zero crashed landed in the harsh desert sand, dust kicking up everywhere in a large area, with not a single soul to witness him perform the iconic superhero landing. Patting himself down, Zero began his trek to the city, unbothered by his orbital reentry and activating his holographic disguise.
Making his way through the city of sin, Zero felt a shiver go down his spine. Fuck this place was gross. Thankfully, nobody paid him any attention, just another face in the drunken crowd. As Zero contemplated his next course of action, he saw something out of the corner of his eyes.
A certain lotus flower of a casino entrance.
"Mmmmmm, Percy is gonna have a field day if he's here in this dimension." Zero thought to himself as he ducked into an alley. Pulling a device out of his backpack, he fiddled with it for a few seconds before it lit up. Sticking it on a wall, he made sure it was cloaked and invisible before moving on. Time dilation was always an annoyance. Walking through the lotus, he gave a nod and smile to the receptionist before heading to the bar.
He may be a 17 year old, law abiding citizen but god damn he needed something after the last few hours. Nothing a fake ID and some hacking couldn't fix.
Inside the casino bar, a white woman appearing to be in her late 20's or early 30's was sitting alone, hunched over, brown eyes slightly wet with tears. Long silky brown hair cascaded down to her lower back, contrasting with the bright blue and green dress that hugged her curvy body like a second skin.
A larger than average, plush backside and hips hung over the stool she sat only just a bit, the bottom cheeks a couple inches bigger than her head, while thick curvy legs scrunched up a little with her heels dangling. Large round breasts slightly smaller than her head rested on the table, a decent amount of cleavage on display and complimented by a few peacock feathers woven into the dress.
One would call her a perfect MILF as it were.
"Another." Hera ordered, with the barkeeper immediately giving her another refill. The Queen of the Gods swirled the drink in its glass as she stared at it in sorrow, a teardrop landing in it.
"Not even a day. Not even one damn day and he's cheating again. Why do I even bother?" Hera thought to herself as she downed her drink in one go. Normally she'd roll her eyes and yell at him and he'd stop for a while. That lasted four hours and that truly, genuinely hurt more than all the other times combined. He at least used to try and look like he gave damn.
As a goddess she couldn't get drunk off of mortal alcohol, but considering 'he' was on Olympus, she couldn't drown her sorrows on the godly wine. The symbolism of the act would have to suffice.
"Are you alright miss?" an absolutely beautiful male voice asked behind her, making her jump in her seat in surprise. How did he sneak up on her? Turning around she did a double take at his appearance.
He was very tall, standing at an intimidating 6'6 with a muscular build that could give Ares or Hercules a run for their money. His skin was surprisingly pale, barely any color to it, contrasting the black polo shirt and gray khakis he wore, which was odd as his face was incredibly handsome, making her think he was a son of Apollo or even Aphrodite. Platinum blonde hair that had to be dyed that was a little longer than average and reached his shoulders made her think he could've been an Athena child, while red eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses again made her think of Ares. Hera shook off her shock.
"I'm fine sir, thank you." She said in a tone that would've convinced anyone else. He didn't buy it if his sympathetic face was any indication. Downing her drink again didn't help.
"Do you want to talk about it? That usually helps in my experience." the mysterious man said as he sat beside her, ordering a simple beer. Hera shook her head.
"No offense, but I don't think you have the faintest idea of what I'm going through." She said a little too harshly to the mortal, trying to get him off her back. What could he do for her? The mortal opted an obviously exaggerated thinking pose.
"Zeus cheated on you again for whatever number time I'm guessing. Right Hera?" He said casually, making her blink at just how spot on he was.
"How did you know who I am?" she asked sharply, narrowing the eyes at the mortal who addressed her so casually. He quickly downed his beer, grimacing at it before shaking it off.
"From what I've heard and deduced, I'm what you call a clear sighted mortal apparently. Your features are similar to the numerous depictions of you across multiple sources. The peacock motif and the fact there's some sort of aura around you." he explained with ease and with more detail than she was expecting. Hera rolled her eyes.
"Why do you want to help me?" she asked skeptically. Why would anyone want to help her?
"You looked like you needed help." He said simply, somewhat confused. She shook her head at his naive nature.
"Look, I appreciate your offer- Hera trailed off, realizing he never even introduced himself. The man blushed at his mistake.
"Orion Prince. A pleasure to meet you." he said politely, extending his hand for a shake, in which Hera merely stared at it in confusion and disgust. She scoffed.
"Look, Orion, I appreciate your offer but I'm fine. Excuse me." She said as calmly as possible before leaving the casino. Walking down the street to keep her mind off 'him' she manipulated the Mist around her, intent on having mortals steer clear and leave her be.
"Stupid mortal. Who does he think he is? I'm a goddess! I don't need help from him. What can he even do?" Hera raged to herself mentally, appalled at the audacity of the mortal who thought he could help her.
"Well, well, well, look who it is?" a disgusting slimy voice sounded from behind Hera, making her stop in her tracks and her eyes widen.
"Porphyrion." She stated, turning around to look at the bane of her husband, who was leaning casually against a wall, spear next to him. He wasn't supposed to be back.
To her surprise, he was mostly mortal sized, standing at seven feet tall exactly, yet that was the only major change of his physical appearance. His green hair was styled into dreadlocks, a contrast to his lima bean colored skin but matching the small beard he was now sporting. His outfit blended into the mortal city for the most part, dark green military pants hiding his dragon legs while his upper body was garbed in a simple long sleeved shirt.
"What's wrong Hera? Your darling husband cheated on you again?" He asked in an all knowing tone, pushing himself off the wall as he made his way to the queen of Olympus. Despite her power, she couldn't help but take a few steps back
"You know, I'd never cheat on you. Just you and me." He declared in a blend of sincerity and hatred, pure white eyes roaming her body hungrily.
"Just so you can rape me every day." Hera thought in disgust as she glanced around. To her annoyance, mortals were still surrounding them, meaning her options of fighting back were limited, as she could feel the Mist working hard around the two immortals.
"In fact, let us start right now!" Porphyrion declared, quickly rushing forward and grabbing Hera by her neck in one hand and effortlessly lifting her up. Slamming her into the wall and cracking it, he shrugged off the kicks and punches assaulting him, his regeneration fixing the wounds easily.
"I've waited so long for this." He declared darkly as he applied more pressure to her neck, the goddess feeling ichor leak into her mouth, no doubt many things breaking. His free hand went lower, the goddess squirming even more frantically as she felt it touch her womanhood. Just as the clothes he grabbed began to tear, a voice rang out, one Hera was surprised to hear.
"Get away from her!" Orion shouted. Porphyrion turned his head only to receive a punch to the face. To both immortals' absolute shock, the giant was sent head over heels a few meters away.
"Orion?" she choked out as she slumped to the ground, her throat and neck still partially crushed. How? How was this mortal this strong?
"Are you okay Hera?" Orion inquired softly, bending down to inspect the injured goddess. He couldn't get a good look before Porphyrion got up, his broken jaw snapping back into place with a loud crack.
"Oh, you won't leave your husband for me but you will for this mortal?" the giant hissed, making Orion shoot up in outrage.
"Excuse me? I'll let you know I have a girlfriend already." Orion said as he stood in front of Hera protectively when he saw the giant start to walk over.
"I don't know who you are, but this doesn't concern you." Porphyrion stated as he cracked his neck. Orion huffed.
"As far as I'm concerned, it does concern me." Orion retorted as he stepped forward, intent on meeting the giant head on. Porphyrion shook his head at such an action.
"Brave, but foolish. I don't know if you know who I am, but I'll only say this once." The giant declared as he and Orion stood a foot away from each other, red eyes staring unflinching into white.
"Give me the goddess mortal and I'll let you live." Porphyrion offered generously, gesturing to Hera, who was watching the exchange behind the mortal, who stared at the giant with no fear. Nobody expected his response in a million years.
"Give me head." the mortal taunted, narrowing his eyes as he stared down the Bane of Zeus. Porphyrion could only blink in disbelief.
"You didn't just say that." He got out, unsure of whether or not he heard things correctly. Sure enough, he did.
"I absolutely did, what are you gonna do about it?" He continued, planting his fists on hips. Even began tapping his foot impatiently.
Porphyrion couldn't help himself and began laughing at the audacity of the mortal in front of him. Rearing back a fist, he sent it flying at the mortal fool, intent on ending him there.
The fist was stopped a foot away from his face, wind whipping around the trio.
Porphyrion and Hera blinked in disbelief at how effortlessly the mortal caught the fist, seemingly unbothered. Unnerved, the giant tried again with his free hand, only to meet the same result. Porphyrion applied pressure, trying to push him back, but to his growing fear, Orion pushed back and the giant was the one to slowly inch backwards, his feet digging into the asphalt.
Realizing brute force wasn't working, Porphyrion quickly tried to pull away but to his surprise, the mortal had a firm grip on him and his hands barely budged. The giant hissed, blinking away the growing pain when Orion started to squeeze on his fists, his joints popping under the pressure.
Despite his efforts, Porphyrion couldn't resist and he fell to his knees, panting as his hands broke like glass. Before it felt like they'd turn into jelly, the mortal stopped, allowing him to catch his breath.
Orion leaned down, looking Porphyrion in the eyes. The giant wouldn't admit, but there was a 'wrongness' to his eyes that unnerved him.
"Leave." Orion ordered sternly, Giving another quick squeeze to make his request clear. Forcing out a nod, his fists were immediately released. Inching his way to his spear, Porphyrion kept an eye on the mortal, taking note he was staying in between himself and a now fully healed Hera, one who was ready to fight back at a second's notice.
Growling, the giant grabbed his spear and slammed it into the ground, teleporting himself out of there. This wasn't over, committing that freakish mortal to memory.
Seeing that he wasn't coming back, Hera went to look at Orion, who was still somewhat defensive. She'd never admit it but she was for once glad for a mortal getting involved.
"Thank you for assisting me Orion." Hera got out, expecting him to puff up in pride. To her surprise he waved her off, his humbleness all too similar to that son of Poseidon that was sent on that mission around a year ago.
"Wasn't an issue at all Hera, I just happened to be there when it happened." Orion admitted casually and it was true, as his little hidden device was quite literally across the street in that alleyway.
"Well, at least let me reward you in some way? Hera offered, not wanting to be in debt if she could help it.
"Which way to New York?" Orion asked politely, making her blink in confusion.
"That way." She said slowly, pointing to her side and the direction the mortal requested. Orion smiled.
"Thanks a bunch Hera. If we meet again, hopefully it's under better circumstances." Orion said cheerfully before moving on. Crossing the street, the large mortal grabbed a backpack he clearly had stuffed away before walking.
"You don't want me to take you there?" Hera called out, earning a polite shake of his head.
"I've got a lot on my mind, too much free time and walking never killed anyone!" He called back, giving her an energetic wave before turning his back on her and disappearing into the masses
"What an enigma." Hera thought to herself with a barely noticeable smirk, intrigued by this mortal.
AN: And that's Chapter Four. Hinted towards Percy's year in the DC Universe and some of the faces he's met there.
Also established the threat Karu-Sil and Skallox in comparison to the Olympians, and to an extent the other DC characters in relation to PJO. Flashback to last chapter where Lobo no diffed Ares and Athena
Strength between DC and PJO was something I admittedly struggled on. Eventually settled on certain PJO characters, mainly the gods can at least hold their own against certain DC characters that will be featured, save certain individuals, but will ultimately be outclassed at the end of the day and in all out fight, PJO will lose against the DC characters selected do to a variety of factors.
You see it in this chapter. Two Lanterns of different emotions and power within their factions, are able to hold advantage against a Minor God and Olympian in their own domain. Also going to be dabbling with some aspects on their end as well in regards to PJO.
Percy and the Karu-Sil fight was fun to write. The sheer hatred they have for each other, coupled with Percy's abilities allowed for a pretty brutal and bloody fight. More of Percy's backstory within the DC universe will be revealed soon
Zero, aka Orion Prince has officially crash landed into PJO as well introducing his own side plot as it were, before meeting back up with Percy and Co.
I'm not going to give too many spoilers on him, all I'll say is he agrees with Lex Luthor on some topics, only he actually delivers as he has both the brains and brawn to follow through, as evident by working around the Lotus Hotel and Casino's time manipulation, and bringing Porphyrion to his knees with ease.
Very pro humanity type guy and he'll be turning Olympus on its head with his mannerisms and behavior, what he and by extent humanity can do and that'll create conflict there as well.
Hera is also gonna be a recurring character on his side of things, as he's gonna help her with her issues. For me, Hera is a character that is as deserving of pity as she does scorn. Goddess of marriage trapped in the loosest, most disrespectful, if not downright insulting one imaginable. Can't help but feel bad for her.
Anyway, I don't have any chapter previews this time unfortunately, sorry
Although, Antithesis 4 is next to come out hopefully so there's that. See ya
