Fatal Flaw (a Percy Jackson AU)

Hypocritical Fools

Percy
They came, again: the Titans. They came with their signs and though we couldn't physically hear their jeering voices, we heard them in our heads. Their words hurt more than any bruise or cut could. Their words cut into my soul like a dagger digging through butter.
   One of the signs was in red and said: Kill the Crazies. Another read: Only the Best Shall Live. Many of the Titans were clad in black shirts with the slogan "Survival of the Fittest" in a deep crimson hue. Hate and contempt were etched into their features. What sculptor would etch such spiteful and malevolent statues.
   Suddenly, Piper gasped behind me. I turned to see her normally tanned skin look pale and her multicolored eyes were shattered stained glass windows. She looked faint and her aura changed from peaceful and calming to a deep pounding beat of fear. It was like I could hear the drums of her pain playing on and on.
   I knew Piper hated the attention, but I couldn't avert my eyes. Something in her fear resonated to me. There was some secret to be either hidden or discovered and it had to do with the people outside of the hospital.

Piper
I felt a gasp escape my lips as I saw him. Kronos-the bane of my nightmares- was standing outside of the hospital. He wanted to purge society of those he inflicted pain on. He wanted to cleanse the world of us who were labeled as "undesirables", but I knew that was just a ploy. Kronos and the Titans wanted a scapegoat to blame, so they could feel better.
When anything bad happened, we were to blame. The term "mentally ill" is a large umbrella of those suffering from different problems which range from mild to severe, but we're always grouped together. We are always lumped into a group that everyone blames. If a massacre of any kind occurs, we get blamed. Never mind that not all criminals are mentally ill and most of the mentally ill aren't criminals. We are always used to inspire fear.
Politicians use us to get their agenda's across. Every time that a shooting takes place, they blame the mentally ill. They act as if every problem is our fault. They shun us for the pain they have caused and deny any responsibility for the consequences that their actions spurred.
   "Piper, what's wrong," Jason asked.
    It was all too much after hiding the fact from my dad for a year. After having to act nonchalant around the guy who took advantage of you, I couldn't hold it in anymore. All my emotions had reached a pressure point after being bottled up for so long and they exploded.
   I started crying like I had never cried. Tears flooded the plains of my face and dripped onto my clothes. I put my head into my hands to try to stifle the sounds of my fitful sobs. I realized that Jason was enveloping me in a warm embrace. It was all too much. I felt ripped down, naked, bruised, and cut-like all my secrets were out in the open. It was exactly how I felt after what happened. Some secrets shouldn't stay secrets.
   I drew my hands from my face and looked up into Jason's eyes. I feared that he would show disgust or rejection, but I couldn't live with the secret anymore. "What happened?" Jason asked softly.
   I looked up at him and told him the blunt truth. It wasn't pretty; it was brutally honest, but when is pain anything but ugly? "Jason," I whispered," Kronos raped me."
   His eyes grew big like a deer startled by a car. He drew back slightly and my fear of rejection increased. Then, he wrapped his arms around me and gave me a hug. Sometimes, words cannot convey what a simple act of solidarity and live can.