Percy Jackson: Paranoia

Prologue

Percy had never felt so powerful before.

Camp Half-Blood had its fair share of insects. For whatever reason, the weather barrier that kept the rain away never extended to the numerous mosquitos and flies that roamed Long Island. They were a constant annoyance to the campers, but the gods couldn't really be bothered about something unnecessary, like their children's comfort.

However, they made for a convenient way for Percy to train in some skills that were less suited to the straw dummies provided in camp. Currently, he was sitting on his bunk bed as he stared down a fruit fly, still buzzing as it clung weakly to a tiny chunk of strawberry pulp he had laid on the floor. His gaze pierced through the insect as he took a deep breath and concentrated.

He searched for the familiar tug in his gut as he narrowed his eyes, zeroing in on the fly like a hunter. And then he felt it. It felt like a new liquid being introduced to his stomach, a crawling intensity just underneath his diaphragm. It had a much thicker consistency than water, and moved sluggishly, kind of like a recently swallowed milkshake. 

Then he reached for it, and pulled it in towards himself, hard. The reaction was instantaneous; the fly gave a small twich before stilling and imploding in a burst of yellowish-green blood, its head crushing in on itself. Percy's lips quirked upwards as he picked it up by the wing with his thumb and index finger, like one would lift a used tissue, and tossed it into the growing pile of dead flies in the corner of his room. 

It felt absolutely intoxicating. A heady rush of dopamine went straight to Percy's brain as he stared at his handiwork. He was lightheaded, giddy with delight. He was so powerful. Impossibly so. He felt as if he could take on the entire world right then, with his newfound prowess. He had never been high before, but if he were to guess, this was how it felt.

Percy hated feeling helpless. He absolutely despised the feeling, yet he had been forced to be helpless for the three long days he had spent in Tartarus. He had been so powerless that he couldn't even protect the one he loved most despite his proximity to her, so powerless that he had to be saved again and again by a reformed Titan with no memories. It was like he was paralyzed, too weak and impotent to even defend himself, let alone anyone else. He was helpless against the arai, against Nyx, against Tartarus. He had vowed, one day on the Argo II, that he would work so hard that he would never have to feel helpless again.

Annabeth had been so scared when he first learned he could control blood. He still vividly remembered that incident. He was absolutely drunk on power back then. It felt wonderful, like pure, unadulterated power  was coursing through his veins. It should have felt wrong, right? Just the very nature of the power made it seem like something that should be forbidden, records of it locked up in some deep dark cell, never to be discussed or brought to light again. Annabeth had been so scared of it... but why did it feel so right?

Annabeth had departed on a week-long quest not too long ago. Apparently it was to retrieve a demigod with particularly potent parentage who was attracting a large amount of monsters. Chiron had assured him that it wouldn't be too dangerous, but Percy still had a graphic memory of the last quest Annabeth had gone on by herself... and what happened after that.

With a long sigh, Percy rose from his seat on his bed, shooting one last glance at the heap of insect bodies, all horribly deformed and splattered with hemolymph. 

'Huh, I guess it's not that pretty after I'm done controlling their blood...' Percy mused. He stepped over the pile, closing his cabin door with a resounding thud. He squinted slightly at the particularly bright sun that day, then let the light wash over him. He breathed in deeply, closing his eyes and smiling at the peaceful ambience; the burbling of the creek and the chirping of songbirds (well, as peaceful as it could be with the battlecries and screams coming from the Ares cabin directly opposite to him). It was kind of  weird that no one knew what was going on in his cabin except him. Perks of not having a roommate, he supposed.