Just Observing (Fem. Percy X Young Justice)

17

"For now I must stay under the man who made me, but when he dies I'll be as powerful as he. They will watch and listen to what I say and some of their money to me they'll pay. Who am I?" Anxiety said. She never looked at me, well, she's looked in my direction just never really at me. She sat on the edge of a water fountain. 

It would almost be a picturesque scene if I hadn't just followed her through a death trap of a maze and the pile of skulls in the corner. 

"A princess." 

Anxiety blinked. "You got that fast. Was my riddle not hard enough?"

"Mars is a monarchy." 

"Oh." 

She finally looked at me. Yellow eyes seemed to gleam. Wind swirled, lifting up her hair. "There is more to us than the sum of our parts. Each of us have our flaws and our strengths, and they get in the way when we're like this. Despite what you guys might think about Percy, she'd kill for you guys." She sighed and leaned back. "Loyalty is the least fun of us."

I leaned back in the air, letting my feet come off the ground. "She seems-"

"We might say that Deception is the least trustworthy, but Loyalty is ruthless. For all of Anger's rage, there's twice of much of that laying within Loyalty. Everyone has something they can die from. Some might hold grudges, some have their pride, Loyalty would throw the world into a fire to protect the people closest. The only reason we haven't gotten killed," Anxiety muttered, "is that the people we're closest too have been on the winning side."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I'm the smart one. You tell me." Anxiety waved her hand. "Exit's that way, have fun with Loyalty."

I swallowed and looked down the dark corridor. With all of the traps I'd nearly gotten speared by, there was no telling what was down there. Nevertheless, I had no choice. I walked down the path, having learned my lesson from the first time I flew.

"How's Mrs O'Leary?" A voice that was not Anxiety's asked. I turned, but it was too late, the scenery shifted. 

Graves.

Graves stretched out for as far as I could see. Writing, Greek, was on them, but without Kaldur nearby I couldn't read them. However, I didn't need psychically granted literacy in order to notice the letters repeat. The same tombstones, over and over. Sometimes symbols would be etched on them, sometimes not. That was the only difference. Doves, lyres, hammers, owls, and other things. The pitter patter of falling dirt hit my ears, and I turned. 

"Loyalty?" I asked. She didn't stop. She tossed another shovelful of dirt over her shoulder. "What are you doing?" 

"Digging my own grave."

"I don't think that's supposed to be taken literally."

"I've already woven my own shroud, might as well have all my bases covered." She huffed a sigh and clambered out of the grave. "Should have died last year, but no I had to hand a knife to a guy so he could fucking kill himself." Loyalty wiped her face, leaving a streak of dirt across her olive skin. "I didn't want to do this. Any of this." The shovel hit the ground. 

I stood there, staring at her as she ran her hands through her hair. Mumbled words fell from her lips with so much vitriol I was sure they were curses. 

"Percy."

"Shut up, Annabeth," Loyalty hissed. "You said we'd make it through. You promised."

I couldn't see who she was talking to, all Annabeth seemed to be was a voice in the wind. A specter haunting this empty graveyard and Percy's mind as a result. The grass around us withered. The earth trembled. An earthquake? Is this real or just in her mind? A tombstone cracked and toppled over. Dust burst up in a cloud. Everything went still. 

"I'm as a child, a lamb, and a simpleton at once," said Loyalty, voice far too measured. "All are born with me, yet few possess me at their moment of death. What am I?" Glowing green eyes focused on me. So many years were held in her gaze, it was that of someone who'd seen things they shouldn't have. And it shouldn't have been a surprise.

She admitted to helping someone commit suicide. 

No matter how hard I tried to focus, my mind kept coming back to that. Why? Why would she do something like that? Why wouldn't she try to get them help? There had to be so many other options, so why did she help go with the worst one possible? 

"I was fourteen when I watched my cousin die. She was younger than me, and all she asked of me was to take care of her little brother. And I couldn't even do that right."

"No offense, but it's kinda hard to-"

"Thought you might like a hint." 

I blinked. A hint? What could that mean? I mean, no one should have to watch someone close to them die so young it's-

"Innocence," I said. 

Loyalty grinned and tilted her head back. "Correct." 

Black surrounded me. Shadows moved. I struggled in mid-air as I fell, but I couldn't stop myself. Wind scorched my skin. I gasped and shot up. Deep breaths, Megan. As my breathing slowed, I looked around. The copies were gone. One Percy sat rubbing her eyes.  

"Well, that was fucking horrible," Percy said. "Gods, I need to go chug three bottles of water and then crawl under my bed to sleep for two weeks. And you know, regret a whole lot of things." 

I frowned and watched her as she walked away. Is she not going to acknowledge any of that? I floated in the air, the skin of my arms crawling like hundreds of ants were marching over it. As much as I knew I should keep this to myself, I couldn't. I needed to tell Canary.

Have a chapter, I'm just gonna go feed my animals and then probably disappear for another half a year

See yah