A Son From Lands Unknown (PJO x Male Reader)

Escaping Washington, D.C.

Much to (Y/N)'s chagrin, Zoe did not allow him to drive. However, the fact that he didn't have to focus on the road left him plenty of time to talk to the other members of the quest. He had his arm around Thalia, who was still nursing the migraine from hitting the spacecraft head-first. Thinking about what he had in terms of weapons, as well as those of the other people on the quest, he realized he was missing something in his arsenal.

"Hey, Zoe, do you or Bianca have a spare bow?" (Y/N) asked. "Tentazione's nice and all, but it isn't exactly great when regular people are around. Too loud, catches too much attention."

"No, we do not," Zoe said, "and we would not give you it even if we did. Our bow is a symbol of our devotion to Lady Artemis. To allow a boy such as thee to touch one would be a disgrace."

"Alright, jeez. Sorry I asked," (Y/N) said, putting his hands up in mock surrender. If there was a side window in the back of the van, he would see they were starting to cross over the Potomac. However, he also heard the sound of a helicopter, and he had a sneaking suspicion it wasn't the local news reporting on traffic.

"They know the van," Percy said. "We have to ditch it."

Zoe swerved into the fast lane, but the chopper was still gaining on them.

"Maybe the military will shoot it down?" Grover asked optimistically.

"They probably think it's one of theirs," (Y/N) said. "How is the General using mortals, anyway?"

"Mercenaries," Zoe said bitterly. "It is distasteful, but many mortals will fight for any cause as long as they are paid."

"But don't these mortals see who they're working for?" Percy asked. "Don't they notice all the monsters around them?"

Zoe shook her head. "I do not know how much they see through the Mist. I doubt it would matter to them if they knew the truth. Sometimes mortals can be more horrible than monsters."

"Well if it wasn't for the deal my dad made with Hades all those years ago, I'd say I'm seeing them again soon," (Y/N) sighed. The helicopter kept coming, making a lot better time than the van was.

Thalia closed her eyes and prayed hard. "Hey, Dad. A lightning bolt would be nice about now. Please?"

But the sky remained gray and snowy. No sign of a helpful thunderstorm.

"There!" Bianca said. "That parking lot!"

"We'll be trapped," Zoe argued.

"Trust me."

Zoe shot across two lanes of traffic and into a mall parking lot on the south bank of the river. The group ditched the van and followed Bianca down some steps.

"Subway entrance," Bianca said. "Let's go south. Alexandria."

"Anything," Thalia agreed.

The group bought tickets and went through the turnstiles (though (Y/N) decided to hop the fare), looking behind them for any signs of pursuit. A few minutes later, they were safely aboard a southbound train, riding away from D.C. As the train came above ground, they could see the helicopter circling the parking lot, but it didn't come after them.

Grover let out a sigh. "Nice job, Bianca, thinking of the subway."

Bianca looked pleased. "Yeah, well. I saw that station when Nico and I came through last summer. I remember being really surprised to see it because it wasn't here when we used to live in D.C."

Grover frowned. "New? But that station looked really old."

"I guess," Bianca said. "But trust me, when we lived here as little kids, there was no subway.