i might have the worst timing ever.
i walk into the cave right as black canary screams. the supercycle picks me up, towing me away right as dr. fate, captain marvel, and icon arrive.
red tornado explains the situation; essentially, the world's strongest entities are controlled by starotech. the cure has been found, but needs to be manually installed. by us, the teenage goonsquad.
i've fought gods before and won. how hard can this be, right?
as per usual, i eat my words almost immediately. my assignment is to fight each leaguer as a distraction while the others place the cure, a smaller injection device, on the the respective leaguer's neck.
on aqualad's command, we silently slip through the halls. thanks to tornado's cover, vandal savage should have no idea we're here, much less slowly chipping away at his arsenal.
one by one, we take down each member of the league. i take a heavy beating pretty much every time, but with the help of aqualad's water-bearers, i'm back on my feet after each hit. eventually, i hold a doorhandle for dear life as aqualad opens the watchtower doors, closing them just in time for the remaining leaguers to slam into them, knocking them unconscious. with that, we plant the last of our curotech devices in their necks.
we find s uperboy and robin fighting their mentors just as they plant the cure on their necks, returning them to their real selves. the group of us rush to the main room of the watchtower just as klarion and vandal savage disappear in a spark of red light.
red tornado congratulates us and wishes us a happy new year, as the clock strikes midnight.
wally picks artemis up and plants a kiss on her lips, the two of them giddier than i'd seen before. one by one, everyone gets their new year's kiss.
someone clears their throat behind me. i turn around to an awkward, bashful robin. the blush on his cheeks reaches his ears.
"hey, nice work out there. looked nice. do you wanna maybe—"
"shut up, wonder boy." i grab his cheeks and crash my lips into his, both of us smiling into the kiss. my hands rest on his shoulders, with his snaking around me waist. when we pull apart for air, he has the biggest, wildest grin on his face. i laugh and peck his cheek. we walk to the lounge together, hand-in-hand.
so here we are, watching christmas movies (even though christmas passed) and eating popcorn. right now we're not a team; we're just a group of tired friends enjoying ourselves. i nearly nod off in robin's arms, wishing this moment would never end.
but it feels incomplete. the guilt of being so close yet so distant to the people i call my family finally hits its breaking point, and i clear my throat.
i don't give myself another moment to second guess myself as i stand in front of my friends, all their eyes on me. "guys, it's time."
artemis squeals, and wally frowns next to her. "what's going on?"
arty swats his arm. "shut up, let her talk!"
i giggle at her antics. "thank you artemis. well, i wasn't really planning on telling you guys my secret identity, because i thought it would make your lives harder. it will, but now i know that there is no one i'd rather have my back when life does get harder. i trust you all, and i hope we can be friends in real life now, despite what certain news outlets have said about me in recent years."
the looks of confusion melt into surprise as i remove my sunglasses. "hi, i'm percy."
rob passes through the stages of grief in the blink of an eye. "but--you're--how the fuck did i not know?" he explodes. but he isn't mad; he's more shocked than anything. "oh my god, this is humiliating! i told you so much about our date!"
i smile sheepishly. "yeah, sorry about that. you don't know how many times i wanted to tell you, truly."
wally's jaw remains on the floor. "dude, you're a criminal! didn't you blow up mount st. helen?"
i laugh. "yeah, that was on a quest. i promise, i didn't do that myself."
"so is athena annabeth then?" robin deduces.
"yup. my father is poseidon, her mother is athena. the names are a little on the nose, but i hope you guys understand why we were so secretive about it. and now that you all know, more monsters are going to target you guys, but i've already talked to wonder woman, and she's restocking our armories with celestial bronze as we speak."
kaldur marvels at me. "how could we not understand? you are percy jackson. i cannot tell you how grateful i am for the sacrifices you have made for my world. thank you for everything."
my cheeks redden under his praise. "oh, stop it. none of that hero stuff. i'm just glad you guys know. let's just watch this dam movie." i sit back down, embarrassed by the attention. when i snuggle back up to robin's side, i lower my voice. "i really am sorry i lied to you that i didn't know you."
he squeezes my shoulders, placing a kiss to my temple. "don't worry about that. trust me, i understand the secret identity thing more than most."
as we watch "it's a wonderful life" and the night drones on, the rest of our teammates file out, leaving just the two of us. for a while, we sit there, happy in each other's company.
"i have to go to the bathroom real quick. keep my spot warm," i say, to which he responds with a sweet smile.
in the bathroom, i splash water on my face to keep my nerves at bay. the giddiness in me is barely contained. after a few deep breaths, i manage to get my heartrate under control.
my stomach sinks the second i head back to the lounge. zatanna kissing robin is all it takes for me to turn on my heel and walk straight towards the zeta tubes without glancing back.
rage clouds my judgement as i lay on my bed. what the fuck is wrong with him? i finally built up the confidence to trust him, to trust the team, and how does he react? by kissing my fucking teammate.
an hour later, and i still cannot sleep. my mind is reeling. a part of me wants to believe that zatanna put a spell on him. but i've had some deep conversations with zatanna where she told me bringing back the dead and making someone fall in love with her are two lines she would not cross. i've never done her wrong, and i've never given her reason to hate me. why would she do this now, of all times?
it takes hours to fall asleep.
---
the next morning, the first thing i do is whistle for blackjack.
did someone call for a devilishly handsome pegasus? I chuckle as Blackjack goes on about how good looking he is.
"alright, i get it. we're going to camp, blackjack."
what about the hero thing, boss?
"it, uh, didn't work out." the trip is silent. when we arrive at camp, he trots off to the stables, and i make my way to the big house.
"hey, mr. d. miss me?" i call, strolling in. i wince as i realize i walked right into a crowded counselor meeting. "yikes. my bad, guys."
almost immediately, they swarm me with welcomes and questions of how i am and where i was. after a brief rundown of the hero stuff (and only the hero stuff, they don't need to know my drama just yet), i make a beeline for my cabin.
my bag was packed for an overnight stay to clear my mind. but as the night progresses, i can't help but feel that pang of nostalgia growing stronger and stronger. the campfire does me in; as the fire rages in the pit and the campers sing our songs, my willpower slips.
maybe one more night won't hurt.
