of all the people to see in the cave, i did not expect red arrow.
green arrow briefs the team about sportsmaster being spotted coming from a new orleans airport. he assigns the mission as purely recon. the only members we have today are artemis, aqualad, kid flash, red arrow, and me. surely there is no way that combination of people won't get along!
right off the bat, kid and artemis pleasantly surprise me. kid offers her an apology of sorts, confirming that he does in fact see her as a legitimate superhero, warming my heart.
finally, we arrive. from the trees, we watch sportsmaster undock a boat and speed off. i slow the boat just enough to avoid detection.
he heads north. red arrow tells us to pursue, but maintain discreet distance.
while red rides a jet ski, aqualad and i go submarine. after calling in a favor, i hitch a ride from a hippocampus named shimmer. we trail sportsmaster until he stops, maintaining position as red moves in for a closer look.
red and artemis get caught up with cheshire cat as sportsmaster catches a package from the train speeding past. into our earpiece, i attempt to grab the arrows' attention, only for red arrow to yell at me to butt out. i glance at kaldur, who heaves a sigh and shrugs.
if i get yelled at, i get yelled at.
before i can move to apprehend sportsmaster, he dumps a bucket of something in the water, but i'm too far too identify it. i will the water to slow his boat, but to no avail.
i lean over the edge of the water, peering down at the naiads, each donning a beautiful and very obviously new pearl necklace. he bribed the fucking naiads.
"you guys are the worst, you know that? we're saving lives here." they respond with gurgles, to which i huff at the lost cause. i love my father's domain, but by the gods these girls can be shallow.
frustrated, i rejoin my teammates. red and aqualad run after sportsmaster, leaving kf and artemis to fend off cheshire, who disappears as kid helps artemis to her feet.
we meet up with everyone else and discuss the villains, landing on the conclusion that they'll have to rendezvous eventually. luckily, artemis planted trackers on the swords and the train, much our relief.
all we can do now is follow our original plan. i stay in the bioship with artemis, making small talk with her until we're up.
when artemis drops through the window of the old warehouse, i remain on the roof as lookout. my cover is almost blown when i nearly shriek at the sight of sportsmaster on the opposite end of the roof. his back is turned to me as he watches red arrow.
the warehouse door explodes without warning, launching the arrows into combat with cheshire and sportsmaster. it takes every ounce of self-control i have to remain in the shadows. i dehydrate our combatants as best i can without being detected.
the battle is cut short as sportsmaster and cheshire escape. red arrow and wally rip artemis a new one on the route home, but she just takes blow after blow without a word, very uncharacteristically.
once we're dismissed from our debrief, i pull artemis aside. "look, i don't know your personal history that well but whatever you're hiding, you need to either come clean or do something to get them off your back. i promise, whatever it is, you cannot let it eat you up like this."
she scoffs. "yeah, and say what? 'oh, my dad and sister are actual real life fucking villains'?" her eyes widen at the confession, not having meant to share so much. "fuck. please keep that between us, it would ruin me if that got out."
i laugh. "girl, please. i am no stranger to family issues. my relatives try to kill me all the damn time. but i promise, unless you get them off your back or just tell them the truth, there's no end to the berating. you deserve better than than. anyone does, but especially you."
she gives me a tight-lipped smile, and we part ways.
---
being a demigod is basically the worst of both worlds.
not only do i get to fight for my life every waking moment, but i also get to experience the tribulations of being a human teenager.
a poke to my cheek pulls me from my trance. "what's up with you, seaweed brain? you've been staring at dick for a while, it's weird."
i huff, not even pretending to protest. there he is, across the courtyard, chatting with the absolute most gorgeous girls in this high school. i pick at my sandwich. "i don't know. i just feel off."
"is it maybe your newfound love for dick? because you've been boring a hole in those girls' backs since they approached him."
"whatever. i just need to get through today, this week's gone on way too long."
annabeth opens her mouth to agree, but is cut off by dick's cheery greeting. "hey, guys! sorry i'm late to lunch, some of the girls on the cheer squad were asking about bruce. are you guys free tonight? bruce is out on business and i wanted to have a movie night."
annabeth cuts off my answer. "i am absolutely swamped with homework right now, but percy is totally free! she'll be over at 7."
"awesome, see you then!"
as he walks out of earshot, i squint at annabeth. "i can handle myself, you know."
"true! i can handle you more efficiently, though."
i hate when she's right.
---
when dick told me alfred was superhuman, i didn't expect him to be so kind. yes, it was a little weird that he opened the door before i even knocked, but he welcomes me warmly. "good evening, miss. master dick is in the living room, dinner shall be ready within the hour."
i thank him and make my way through the mansion. i am no stranger to bruce wayne's wealth, but it's hard to grasp that real-life people live in this absolute artwork of a building.
dick sits in the living room, reading a book in the quiet. "whatcha reading?" i call as i jump onto the couch beside him, startling him.
"hey! im reading the hunger games."
i gasp. "i love that book! peeta or gale?"
"gale, obviously."
"are you fucking serious? gale's such a joke!"
"yeah, but he and katniss were made for each other. they know all of each other's secrets, and they're best friends. that's, like, half of dating as a concept. plus, he's a hot dude."
"okay the hot part is fair. but being friends doesn't mean you're gonna automatically date! me and annabeth have been friends for years and i don't want to date her. peeta loves katniss so much more than gale ever could, and he's not half as selfish!"
as dick begins to counter, alfred announces that dinner is ready. the conversation is momentarily forgotten as dick grabs my hand and pulls me to the kitchen.
with alfred's permission, we bring our plates of pizza to the manor's home theater. he pulls up the hunger games movies, which we marathon with laser focus.
by the end of the first movie, we're already talking over the characters and launch into a full-fledged debate about friendship and love itself.
"i like peeta so much because he doesn't force katniss into anything. he's just a child still, and he falls in love with katniss, but he doesn't make her do anything that wouldn't be essential to them surviving the games. without peeta, katniss would be nothing. that's the perfect relationship, everyone needs that balance."
dick's eyebrows furrow in thought. "huh. i guess you're right. i think i liked gale because i like the idea of falling in love with a friend."
"i understand that. you're right, though. friendship is step number one. from there it's just a matter of whoever's brave enough to make the next step." it doesn't take the world's greatest detective to understand what i'm hinting at.
dick nods, catching my drift. the movie drones on, long forgotten as dick leans in and captures me in a kiss. i lean back against the couch we're on, only breaking away to catch my breath. "see what you get when you're team peeta?" i ask, raising my eyebrows. he lets out a hearty laugh, forehead dropping to my shoulder. he sits back in his seat on the couch.
we finish the movie in a content silence, leaving our feelings unsaid and understood.
