Legend Of The Blue Bird-Percy Jackson Batman Crossover-The Olympian Heroes book5

12. Annabeth

Smoke poured into the room faster than I'd expected. Jaime activated Blue Beetle so I figured at least he'd stay conscious? I looked around the room while pulling my shirt over my face. The door was most likely locked and Megan, probably reading my thoughts checked before shaking her head.
I looked around some more, plant, door, white board, camera. My eyes strayed from the camera to the wood paneling on the side back up to the camera and...nothing. It was getting a little difficult to hold my breath.
'Any ideas?' La'gaan asked
'I'm trying' I said
'I'll blast the door' Jaime said 'get some airflow'
'And a fight' I reminded him. 'Wait till someone can't handle it'
I looked towards the camera again nearby it was a sprinkler from a fire system lodged in the roof panels. Roof panels!
'I'm so stupid' I thought out loud (can you think out loud without speaking? That seemed like the best way of describing it). 'La'gaan help me up into the ceiling.'
Without asking questions the Atlantian boosted me up and I slid the panels away 'Raquel and La'gaan come with me, Jaime and Megan blast the door ten seconds after we're up'
'But the fight?' Jaime offered
'We'll be coming from behind'
I slid my way towards the hallway as Raquel made her way up as well. Once she was up she breathed a breath of the fresh air before holding it again as the smoke was making it way up.
Being in the roof was just how you'd expect it, dark crammed and rather hot. Crawled over to the wall that separated us from the hallway and cursed. Of course there'd be a wall! For a daughter of Athena I wasn't really thinking today.
I glanced back to see La'gaans hands as he pulled himself up. We had a few seconds and I needed to break this wall.
I shifted around so instead of my head being towards the wall it was my feet and began kicking. My first few kicks didn't have any give. Who constructed this wall and why did they need to be good at their job? I had about five seconds left when I finally found a spot that had some give. I kicked furiously and Raquel joined in. From below I heard the blast but I felt it even more than I heard it. The whole wall in front of me shook and the tiles below me shifted. 'Oh no' I thought just in time for the ceiling tiles to give out and send the three of us down to the floor.
"So much for that" La'gaan said out loud.
"I know" I said jumping to my feet ready for a fight. The smoke had cleared enough for us to breath safely and I could see much better but the room was empty. No sign of any attackers. Just Megan, Jaime, La'gaan, Raquel, and I.
"Um well this is very anticlimactic" Raquel said
"No one attacked" Megan said "I checked the hall and there's nothing"
"What?" I asked "I'd expect them to... so we could just walk out?"
"I doubt it" Jaime said "Beetle is picking up heat signatures from somewhere. It's towards the direction of the door but I'm not sure how close."
I twisted my beads. We could check and get out of here but something felt wrong. Like a trap within a trap. Why would they let us leave that easily after going to the trouble of catching us? The answer is: they wouldn't. So either this was part of their plan or something went wrong in their plan.
"I'll go see if we have a clear path" I offered reaching for my hat in my back pocket. "Be back in a second. And if I'm not uh...yeah I'm not too sure"
'Great plan Annabeth you're really killing it today' I thought
"Wait I can-" before Megan could finish I slipped out the door and slipped my hat on. The hallway was quiet except for a few voices at the end of it. I crept that way and peaked out towards the door to the outside. Nothing there was no one. That didn't mean there was no one waiting outside.
I glanced back down the way I came. The wreckage from Jaime's blast was on full display. Dust and pieces of door covered the hall and walls some had broken the glass of doors across the way as well. In the corner was another camera so between that one and the one in the room they had to know what we did.
I crossed the hall further, going closer to the voices at the end. I couldn't make out much just hear the hum of them even as I got closer.
A door stood at the end, with surprisingly no guards. I put my ear to it.
"We did what you asked now give us the money" a voice said. I couldn't tell if I knew them or not
"And the girl" another chimed in
"We could use a little more help" a man answered and this time I recognized him as Lex Luthor.
"Then pay us and offer more." The first man said "I won't lose more men for your foolish mission"
"You have plenty of extra"
I heard someone answer but couldn't make out any words and leaned closer. Putting my ear on the door.
"We'll double your pay. As soon as we get to the target."
"The target you could already be to. I've been patient with you and your foolish goals Luthor. But now you're just dragging it on. Whether that's your own desire or just incapability to do the simplest tasks I'm not sure."
"In case you've forgotten, my partner has more then enough means to remove you and your assassins from the picture. We're being kind by paying you."
The assassins were a part of this I knew it! Al Ghul had set us up to walk us into this trap. And if they did then dick and Jason were definitely in trouble in Canada. And maybe Babs back at home. Hades we need to get out of here.
I turned and crept as quickly as I could back to the room where my comrades awaited and slipped off my hat.
"We need to go." I said a headache growing "it's a set up. Nightwing and Red Hood are in trouble."
"We already knew it was a set up." Raquel reminded me
"Yes but this is all a set up! Not just us here but Nightwing and probably Oracle and canary and everyone" I repeated "we need to go"
"Wait" Megan said "I'm ninety percent sure this is a set up to, us escaping. It's what they want."
"Definitely" I agreed "but we either leave or sit here"
"If there's a fight waiting i'd rather have a chance to win than to just not try" La'gaan said
"I agree" Jaime shifted from foot to foot anxious for a fight. I assumed Jaime was more anxious and beetle was more excited.
"The way was clear" I offered but I didn't want a fight I didn't have my weapons and wasn't in the mood to fight hand to hand, so I hoped it really was clear "straight to the front door all we need to do is walk out."
"So definitely a set up?"
I nodded
"You hero's take too long to make a decision" Luthors voice blasted into the room from a speaker i couldn't see "it's obviously a set up!"
"What's your goal here" I asked shifting to try to find where the speaker was before deciding it was probably from the camera that was still somehow okay through the blast.
"I'll hand it to you, all of you have lasted longer than I thought" he said "Mr rayes You have two options. Your companions should be beginning to feel the effects of Nitrous oxide."
Laughing gas. I cursed "cover your noses"
"It's too late. Its been coming in since the door was blasted off, I don't appreciate that it was expensive."
"What are our options" Megan asked
Luthor was right I was feeling the gas slowly but surely. I realized my headache from before had been from it. Now everything seemed to feel floaty and distant. I blinked hard and pinched my arm to try to keep me awake. Raquel Megan and La'agan didn't look much better. Interesting note that laughing gas would work on an Atlantean and Martian.
"You can surrender and see the safety of the other four or we can kill them."
"Jaime they won't kill us." I said shaking my head but I could tell I was about to pass out "just....remember where..."
"What will it be Reyes..."
I never heard anyones answer as I slipped into unconsciousness.

I woke up alone cold and in a cell. It was more of a concrete box than anything. I felt for my hat and dagger but both were gone. Slowly I looked up and around my surroundings. Definitely just a concrete box. I could see the hinges on one side so at least I knew there was a door. On the door was also a small slit that I assumed was used for food. Other than that there was nothing. Just a small concrete box. I'd been in cells before but this was by far the smallest. Great.
"Hello" I called but I got no answer "I know someone is outside my door"
Correction: I guessed someone was outside my door. For all I knew I was in the middle of an abandoned warehouse and they left me here to die. I rubbed my arms. Wherever I was it was freezing.
"It's cold" I said "I could use a blanket"
Still no response.
I leaned towards the slit and peaked my head through only to be greeted by a pair of eyes back.
"Ah Hades!" I jumped back "well good to know you're there I guess"
Whoever it was didn't respond. As I sat back down in the back of my cell.
"You know" I said "this isn't the first time I've been kept in a place like this, it happens a lot more often than I'd like to admit."
Still nothing. If he wouldn't talk, I'd take the percy approach: talk until I annoy them to death.
"Most the time they at least handcuff me or something. I'm kinda offended."
"You're in a concrete cell, we don't need to handcuff you" whoever was out there finally spoke in the most sure, condescending voice I had ever heard. Probably an assassin then. She sounded like she was older so I guessed they couldn't have been new.
"Ah that's what the last guy thought" I said "he's in prison now. You sound like you've been an assassin for a while, what got you stuck on guard duty?"
No answer
"A sore subject then"
"Actually I wanted to be here."
"You wanted to be here standing watch on a teenage girl who's locked in a concrete cell?" I asked "yeah my idea of a fun Friday night too."
"It's not Friday."
I frowned so I'd been out for at least a day. Or maybe she was lying.
I peaked out the slit again when I got no response. This time instead of eyes I saw a pair of legs and boots and when I looked up I could make out black hair but I couldn't see her face.
Black hair, brown eyes. Could be just about anyone at this point.
"Ran out of things to talk about?" She asked
"'The concrete in this cell is very concretey' doesn't really make for good conversation." I answered
The woman scoffed and I wondered if it was to hide a laugh. Percy would be so proud.
"You're much different than last time" she said
"So we've met?"
"Yes and this is very out of character. I've kept tabs on you" she answered
That's not scary at all. The assassins keeping tabs on me? Okay I'd expect that but one random assassin? Mildly concerning.
"I'm that high on the radar? I'm honored to have tabs kept on me"
"Don't be too flattered" she droned "only enough to know the easiest way to remove you as an obstacle."
Hmmm if it wasn't Ra's or Talia there was really only one other assassin I'd known or at least come into contact with. Recently I guess.
"Shiva" I said "good to see you again"
Shiva was working with the assassins again? This couldn't be good. I'd met her once or twice before. Once when she'd come to the manor to tell me about her and Cass's 'battle to the death'. Didn't end up happening. At least not yet but as far as I knew Cass still owed her. For some reason Shiva was obsessed with it not sure why.
"Why are you with the assassins? I thought you were done"
"I got backed into a corner and was offered a lot of money."
The usual motive for assassins.
"So you're a mercenary now?"
"I was always a mercenary." She answered "you think I'm in it just to kill people?"
"I mean I'd assume" I said "that's what assassins tend to do."
"Typically for money." She sighed
"Don't try to offer me any" i could see where this was going "I don't want it."
"That's all I needed to know." And with that I saw her feet move out of my view and heard her fade from earshot.
Shiva and Cain back working with the assassins and with each other? Arthur brown and crock also with the assassins? And the fact the assassins were now working for Luthor and whoever his partner was. Plus Talia Al Ghul had a baby. This had been the weirdest week of my life.
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Hey haha I know it's been ages since I updated and I'm so sorry! I'm trying to get back into the grove of it and finish this book for you guys! I hope you enjoy let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions I'm always open!