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

22. Annabeth

It seemed that giving me two terrible options ran in the family. After the cave was found empty and three of the four assassins and Shiva brought to escort me were shot (good man Alfred) Talia resorted to using the old butler as leverage.  Unfortunately shiva was left unscathed.
"It's at the school!" I didn't wait for her to even get the first hit "In my locker I swear it is!"
Then I was given a choice. The bats were moving too quickly (her words) and they needed a distraction. Either it was to be me, or Alfred. In the end she didn't even let me voice my opinion. She probably would've chosen the opposite person I said anyway.
"Let me talk to him." I demanded
Talia looked me up and down and then turned her attention to Shiva "go find the locker. I'll take care of things here."
"Let me-"
"Chase," Talia turned back to me, voice wavering for the first time this captivity. "I believe you just volunteered."
"I would've chosen me anyway." I told Talia as she strapped the vest to my chest.
Now I stood in a smoking town center with a literally ticking bomb strapped on my chest. Somehow, Talia decided it would be even more effective if I wore my Paladin regalia so I was decked head to toe in my gray suit and laurel wreath emblem. My mask was on, covering most my face but unlike normal, my hood was down. I was near passing out by the time I was pulled onto the sidewalk in front of the main city building and now I only kept my feet because of the threat I'd been left with "If I see you even as much as twitch then this whole square will go sky high."
Surprisingly, despite the masked vigilante who stood absolutely frozen amidst them, civilians were milling around and jerking into me like I wasn't even there.
The smoky air and screams and nearby fires didn't help either.
"Annabeth!?" I heard a cry and barely dared to hope it was who I thought it was. I didn't think turning around would be a good idea considering my situation. Then in an instant all thoughts of remaining ridged was forgotten. Cass whipped around to the front side of me and somehow the familiar sight of my friend in the Batgirl suit took every ounce of strength I had left out of me.
"Cassie" my voice was barely more than a sob as I fell, letting my knees collapse and falling forward, almost into the girl.
"Annabeth." She sounded relieved as she crouched beside me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders "are you okay?" She asked then, turning slightly away from me she added "Oracle. I found her."
Was I okay? If it had been anyone other than Cass I would've probably hit them. I'd been captured, starved, beaten, and now I had a bomb strapped to my chest. Oh gods "no!" I shoved Cass off me "Cass-batgirl! You need to get out of here. Get people out of here."
"I'm going to get you-"
"No!" I stepped back as she stepped towards me, arms outstretched as if I was a spooked Pegasus. "It's a bomb."
"What?"
"The vest." I answered and the fact I wore anything out of the ordinary seemed to dawn on her "It's a bomb."

Cass set to evacuating the whole square in her way of few words, simply saying "bomb!" And then waving people back. She assured me Batman and the rest of the hero's were on their way as soon as the other bomb sites were cleared though I didn't want to see Bruce, somehow he'd blame me for all this. Soon I caught a flicker of red and blue I took to be Jason and Dick. I hoped it wasn't Percy though I couldn't decide if I'd rather have my friend far away and safe, or selfishly right here beside me.
I winced as I heard a beep from the vest, a countdown I assumed. It had been going off every five minutes or so, every five minutes I was closer to being blown into more pieces than Kronos.
Then I caught another flash of blue. This one was obviously not Nightwing. His blue would've been darker, less prominent. This was Percy. He had his Robin suit on, blue gray and gold mostly. His hair was sticking up, swept by wind as usual but now I spotted ash and soot all over him and he was pushing against the crowd, heading right for me.
"Annabeth!" He hissed probably forgetting there were citizens around and our identities should probably stay intact.
"You need to go." I told him but choked on the last two words as he surged forward and wrapped me in a hug. "Robin. Percy!" I hissed
"We're going to get you out of this" he said crouching to better see the mechanism his hand drifted to the buckle "I'm assuming it's set to trigger if I undo this?"
I nodded silently "You need to go, evacuate the square once it's evacuated we can disarm the bomb and-"
"We have plenty of people on that." He looked up at me, and even behind the mask I saw a question there.
Numbly I shook my head "Luke is behind it. That's why you need to go. Shiva is heading for the school, my locker-"
"Tim is already on his way" Percy cut me off "We figured out right before Oracle called us."
My throat tightened and I felt as if I was being strangled "Tim?! Against Shiva?!"
Percy's eyes dropped to his belt where he fiddled around "He can get in and out pretty silently. Plus he knows your locker code."
"Percy that's not-"
He reached forward and tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear, using his free hand to situate an earpiece into it. "There, now you can hear what's going on."
"You can't let Tim do it alone." I frowned at Percy, tears threatening to fall. Tim would get killed in a heartbeat, no matter how good with a sword he was, his celestial bronze would do nothing. Percy needed to go help or someone needed to go. Frankly, as selfish as I felt, I couldn't bring myself to ask Percy to leave. I didn't want to be alone and I knew he wouldn't listen to me anyway so I took a shaky breath. "Oracle? Can batgirl hear me?"
"Loud and clear." Babs said "how are you feeling?"
"Been better." My voice cracked and a sob threatened to break free "Batgirl, I need you to go to school. There's a laptop in my locker. Shiva is after it but I can't let her get it back to the assassins."
"But-"
"Please Cass." I had no clue what state Bruce was in but if he was anything like when I broke him out he wouldn't stand a chance against Shiva. And as much as I hated the thought of my friend going against her mother, especially with the fight to the death in queue, she's the only one I trusted enough to get it and protect my brother. "But don't do anything stupid."
"I'll be right back." Cass sighed but I didn't see her grapple away, between the milling people and the fact I was still almost frozen in place left me completely oblivious to behind me.
I was however aware of Percy turning. It seemed he noticed something and was going to be leaving me, maybe to help Cass I reached forward and grabbed his gloved hand "Where are you going?"
Percy's attention turned back to me and he smiled grimly, giving my hand a squeeze "I'm staying right here Wise Girl. I survived a volcano eruption. You think a little bomb will stop me?"
The last explosion he'd survived I'd kissed him right before. And then I'd left him to his own devices. Here he was refusing to leave me. Loyal to a fault I remembered, his fatal flaw. But right then I didn't care, I even wanted to kiss him again. I decided against that however, I was shaking and on the verge of passing out, I barely had enough strength to hold his hand.
"Promise me." I said "If it starts getting close, any sign of it going off, you run."
Percy looked at me as if I'd asked him to kill his own mother "It's not going to go off."
"Promise." I hissed
Percy frowned "Tell me about your designs."
"Percy-"
"Annabeth." He snapped "Tell me about your designs, the ones you made for Olympus."
I gulped "I've been thinking about Nico. I wrote up a plan to build him a cabin at camp when this is all over."
Percy nodded "that's a good idea."
We both knew the young demigod was unsure about any of us, but he was still one of us and the fact he had nowhere to stay on the off chance he did come to visit was rather unfair. Camp was supposed to be a safe haven for demigods, not for half of us and throw the rest in the Hermes cabin.
"I want to design it after the underworld." I continued shakily "Like how yours is the sea."
Percy nodded again "pretty dark then?"
"Yes. But maybe lit by Greek fire or endless torches. I think Beckendorf could help us figure it out."
"What about others?" Percy asked, I knew he meant the minor gods and goddesses. Many of who did not have cabins at camp but still many kids cramped in Hermes. And another many kids who left to join Luke for that exact reason, like Ethan Nakamura. and now I knew we were verging into dangerous territory but hades! I was about to die, the gods could deal with it for a few extra moments.
"I think they'd get some too. Maybe a fountain for Iris like in your cabin." I couldn't think very clearly "Or trophy cases for Nike. Maybe something so they can design themselves. I wish I could rearrange my cabin."
"I think it's for the best you guys can't." Percy argued "I've seen it, if you and Malcolm had your way, beds would be done away with in the Athena cabin."
The thought of my cabin made my eyes grow hot with tears again. It was true, most our cabin was filled with books and maps and weapons. Only a small portion was meant for beds, beds that we shoved all against one another and in the corner of the room. "Not like that. Like paint or two-in-one furniture." I shook my head "I don't know."
Another beep from my vest set me jumping "Keep talking." Percy said "Tell me more."
I gulped and tried to think of anything, any design I remembered making, any changes I made to Daedalus's but now I just drew a blank. "I-I don't know."
"You said paint." Percy picked up "We could all paint our cabins right?"
I nodded "But-but I mean something easier. Like I don't know."
"Magic paint?" He asked
"Sure." I choked "magic paint. Percy I need you to promise me-"
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Please." Now the tears did escape "You can just give up everything for me."
"If I leave you Cass will kill me anyway." Percy argued "Then Thalia will come to the underworld and do it again. I'm not going to leave you." His hand tightened around mine. "What else Annabeth. Tell me more."
I took a shaky breath but couldn't seem to hold back the tears, so through the sobs I told him more of my architecture ideas, I told him about some of Daedalus's inventions. I told him how I wanted to go to college. Maybe a degree in architecture design. Somewhere like Cornell, not too far from camp.
Two more beeps passed before I fell silent with no prompting from my friend to continue.
"I'm sorry." Percy murmured finally "I tried to get you out. I've been going crazy!"
"You couldn't have." I sighed
"And then Bruce told me Kronos was involved and I couldn't even fathom...I let him get you again."
"You didn't let anyone anything." I disagreed "But Percy. I think I figured out why the hero's went missing. Kronos needs them out of the way, Luthor has the means, Ra's has the manpower. Kronos is preparing for his attack on Olympus."
"So he took someone like Superman out the equation." Percy realized
"Exactly." I said grateful to have my mind working again "and there's another thing. Luke is still in there-"
"Not this again-"
"No Percy listen to me!" I snapped grabbing his other hand and pulling him to face me directly "Luke knows I am Paladin. He's known for a while. But Kronos, or at least when Kronos is taking over, doesn't. Luke is keeping it from him he still-" beep
"He still cares! Somewhere he's still the old Luke."
"The old Luke that tried to kill me." Percy reminded me "And you, and Thalia's tree, and Grover-"
"The old Luke that saved all of us too." I protested "Gods Percy can we please stop talking and get this bomb deactivated!"
Percy blinked at my sudden change from trying to push him away and worried the explosive was going to detonate to ready to get it off. "I don't...I'm not the best at that. If i clip the wrong one then it will-"
"If you don't it will go off anyway." I said
"What if they're watching and set it off remotely?"
"Then why would they wait until the square was mostly clear?" I asked "Babs. Can you run him through it?"
"Are you sure you don't want someone else?" Percy and Barbara asked at the same time.
I gave Percy's hands one last squeeze "No one else. As long as you're calling the shots O."
"Let me see what I can do." She agreed "Robin give me a three-sixty visual."
Percy nodded and began making his way slowly around me, crouching at points, moving closer or further at others.
"Annabeth." Barbara reminded me "If this goes wrong then you both...well. It could go wrong."
"I know." I said ignoring Percy's questioning look "And if it does I'm gonna miss you, all of you. Tell my dad what happened. Not the bomb part, but maybe the rest of it. Tell him it was for a reason. I'm sure my mom already knows, if she cares at all."
As if the mention of my mother gave her reason to help I heard a soft whisper in my mind, not for the first time "Water Annabeth, water."
"Water." I repeated, head spinning along with another beep from the vest followed quickly by another, and another and another 'water annabeth.'
"Percy!" I didn't care I was shouting his identity to the world, everyone seemed to preoccupied anyway. "Cover the vest! Water!" The beeping continued like an alarm clock. I wished it was so I could wake up from this nightmare. "Cover the vest!" I repeated even as I recognized Percy pulling water towards us. "Oracle what line do we cut!?" He demanded, working the water around my torso. I felt the cold liquid hit me as it worked its way behind the vest, giving me cushion from the explosion too, at least I hoped.
"Left one first." I heard a snip, beep "the one around back. No the one next to it!" Snip beep
"Percy." I took a breath "Please don't let all this be for nothing. The prophesy-"
"Stop you're going to be fine!" Beep snip beep.
"I love you!" I choked but I couldn't tell if I was talking to Percy or Barbara or gods knows who was on the line so I added "All of you!"
"On top!" Beep beep snip beep
"One more Percy! Left shoulder!" Beep beep beep beep I squeezed my eyes shut and whispered one last prayer. "Gods let them be okay!"
Beep beep beep. Barely three second between them now. I could hear Barbara shouting but I wasn't sure what it was. Beep beep beep. Snip.
Everything seemed to stop for a second then Percy, his lopsided grin returning stepped in front and reached for the buckle at my collarbone. "See wise girl. I told you it'd be okay." The vest slipped off my arms and I slumped forward into Percy.
"Percy water." I said again "I think it has a failsafe inst-" Without my adrenaline holding me up anymore I could barely hear the swimming voices of my friends. I could barely hear the final beep and what had to have been an explosion and then for what felt like the hundredth time that week, I passed out.
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