Not Always the Hero; Rewritten // (Percy Jackson x Peter Parker)

investorgators, but nothing to do with gators or vests

It's okay to be saved once in a while too.

Percy went back to the scene of the explosion the next day. He wanted to figure out why the Cyclops had caused such a big explosion in such a populated area, and in turn, why he was so hostile. It wasn't the most unusual thing ever, but Percy did kind of expect most Cyclopses to be on his father's side and therefore not harmful to civilians or himself. Unsurprisingly, during the Second Giant War there had been some enemy Cyclopses, but Percy had been pretty sure they, all the ones actively working for Gaea, had been turned back into dust for the time being on that fateful day on Half-Blood Hill.

Of course monsters reformed and came back from Tartarus, but since the closing of the Doors of Death, monsters have been respawning slower than they usually did. Bob and Damasen's sacrifice was not in vain. Percy didn't think he would ever be over the events of Tartarus. They'd shown him the kind of person he was deep down inside and it scared him. He didn't have time to worry about that though, Percy shook his head and pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind as he ducked under some caution tape and slipped past a construction worker.

The hole in the wall had gotten bigger. It was about a two story tall chasm now. Chunks of brick and concrete littered the ground before Percy. He slipped inside, unsheathing Riptide for a bit of extra light. He shouldn't have needed the faintly glowing sword in the middle of the day, but oddly enough, this particular building that had been semi-destroyed had no windows on the ground floor. There was a partially destroyed staircase that went up the the second and presumably third floors of the building, but Percy didn't feel like doing any insane parkour to try and get up it. Besides, the door leading to the basement merely existed and filled Percy with a horrible sense of dread.

That sense of dread told him everything he needed to know. Percy moved slowly, being as quiet as he could on the rubble. He wasn't quite sure what his suspicions were, but he had a feeling they would be confirmed by going down into the basement. Regardless, he continued until he actually touched the door handle with his left hand. He took a deep breath and braced his right hand holding Anaklusmos against the door as he turned the door handle, just so he could open the door as quietly as possible. No need to warn whatever was potentially down there of his presence at all if he could help it.

Sadly, Percy realized that meant he had to cap Riptide for the time being. With the door now open, he fished the pen cap out of his pocket and touched it to the tip of the sword. A moment later he was holding an unassuming ballpoint pen. The pen stayed in his hand.

Right before he took a step, a cold breeze blew from the basement and caused the demigod a visceral reaction. His body shook involuntarily and his grip on his pen tightened. The air held something foreboding, something Percy was not excited to meet. He descended though, a weirdly long descent, better him than some poor construction worker. At the very least, he could clearly see through the Mist whereas a normal mortal could not. At the very most, he had a Celestial Bronze weapon specifically made for felling monsters. He would be fine.

The air tasted too fresh. It was basically a bunker in the middle of the largest, densely crowded city in America, it should not have felt in the slightest 'fresh'. However, at first glance, it looked like a fairly normal basement in New York City. Percy didn't take just one glance though. He started a thorough sweep of the bottom floor. There were only a handful of rooms and each one was unlocked. They all seemed to be full of old office supplies and dust. Which only made Percy realize that he never actually checked what kind of building it was that the Cyclops had destroyed, that he was in.

It was too late now. He could figure that out at a later date and maybe even investigate the upper floors too. For now though, there was one room left and Percy was having some premonitions about it. Does it count as a premonition if you're almost certain it's leading to bad news? Percy wasn't sure. It didn't matter though. He went for the last door handle and slowly twisted it open.