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

20. Annabeth

Psa: This chapter deals with mentions of torture, murder, and death. It's a little heavier than most of my story.

I lay my head back, hoping for any kind of comfort as Talia paced in front of me demanding to know where Bruce went. Silence hadn't gotten me further than a black eye and what I suspected was a broken wrist but I kept my mouth shut long enough to frustrate Shiva to call Talia. Talia who'd maimed and tortured me before, she knew how to get to me.
"How did you escape?" Talia asked switching gears
I thought of camp. Some place comfortable where I could relax, someplace where I would be safe. I could practically see it, if only I had the ability to teleport.
My head was yanked up sharply making me wince as the hair was pulled closer to Talia. My retrained arms screamed in protest as they pulled against the back of the chair.
"If you don't start answering," she hissed "I'll be forced to cause permanent damage. And none of us want that."
"You'll do it after I answer either way" I groaned, breaking my silence of what felt like five minutes. I was hoping I'd lasted longer than an hour, judging by the assassin's frustration it had to be at least that long.
Talia smiled at my words, even if they weren't what she wanted to hear they were a win in her eyes. "You remember last time don't you Paladin?" She spat my alter ego like a curse. I fell back as she dropped my head. "We can pick up where we left off, or we can answer my questions."
"Go to Tartarus." I mumbled and much to my dismay, her smile widened.

My first experience with fear gas was eight months after I dawned the mask. Still with Barbara walking and crusading as Batgirl. Bruce and Percy were gone, at a justice league meeting or something similar I couldn't remember with the fog in my head. Batgirl and I tracked Dr. Cane as far as city hall when the fear gas was dispensed. I remember seeing the walls come to life in a storm of legs as spiders crawled around me. Spiders that were a figment of my imagination.
Today, my reaction of similar only this time I didn't have Barbara to pull me from my fear. It was my second dose of the gas on the day and by the time the effects wore off enough for me to differentiate real life and hallucinations my throat was raw and I was positive my wrists were bleeding from struggling against my restraints. Talia seemed to get a kick out of my pain as she and Shiva alternated their repeating questions. The latter didn't seem to enjoy or detest my torture, she was indifferent.
I'd already shouted my answers in a phase of my fear, though I didn't know if my answers were the truth. I didn't even remember what I told them.
"We will ask again," Talia said, crouching in front of me "Where did Mr. Wayne go?"
"If I knew." I could barely hear myself "I would've already told you."
"Then give us your best guess." She amended
"My best guess." I had to focus on my words instead of the blurry image of the woman in front of me "Is that he's on his way back here, with the rest of my team ready to break me out and-"
Talia tsked "now now, he didn't come for you last time. Though a good start would be National city."
I couldn't bring myself to care I had probably given up Bruce's exact plan. All I cared about was avoiding more fear gas.
"Shiva." Talia said "Use whatever you need to. Just keep her conscious."
And with one more sickening smile she left the room, likely to get a team on their way to National City.

The hours blurred with each new pain inducing tactic Shiva tried. And soon enough I did lose consciousness. When I slowly woke up Shiva was still in the dim room with me, only now she had a chair of her own and was watching me with a furrowed brow.
"I can understand why my daughter chooses to ally herself with you." She said simply
"The daughter you abandoned?" I asked with a gravelly voice
"Hm" Shiva hummed "her reasoning for helping the insignificant instead of herself is questionable, but I cannot deny the bravery of her comrades, like yourself."
She had to be playing at something. In my little experience with Lady Shiva she was never this talkative and certainly not this complimentary. After spending the last few hours or days or months or however long I had been here (though logically I knew it couldn't have been longer than a day) torturing me turning to complements didn't seem very effective.
"Then why fight her?" I asked "Somewhere you must feel a semblance of love for her, otherwise you wouldn't care about her friends."
Shiva seemed to consider this, her eyes slid to the corner of the room before settling back on me "I am proud. In the same way one would be proud of teaching a puppy a new trick, nothing more."
"So you'd kill a puppy?" I asked
"The puppy has a chance to fight back." She answered smiling, but the smile was cold.
"She won't." I said "she won't kill you."
Shiva leaned into me "It wouldn't be that hard. She's done it before, it's easier the second time. I'd assume you would know that."
I'd killed plenty of monsters, almost killing a few criminals but maintaining Batman's rule all but once. I knew that eventually Bruce's line would have to be crossed, the Titan war would not let me make it out unscathed. But that felt different to me, it was necessary in a way killing criminals would never be.
"I wouldn't know." I mumbled I'd only killed once after all
Shiva considered this then decided to change the subject "I do not know what you are, you handle the fear gas as if you were a full grown man getting the smallest dose, that shouldn't be possible."
"You'll find the same dexterity in Ra's" I offered up my half-blood brother "Give it a try with him."
Shiva coughed out a laugh "Well, I can give it a try once I find your limit. Unless you want to give me what I want first?"
I didn't answer, just focused on breathing, I had made it this far, I wouldn't give up now.