three years later
for my entire life, i've been trying to find home. no one seems to like me--in fact, i have yet to find one place in the world where i'm not bombarded by quest after quest, mission after mission, danger after danger. i still have yet to find that place.
but for now, camp suffices.
i've been at camp for a while now. i re-integrated within the first week; you'd have never known i'd left in the first place. the hunters visit often, mostly trying to recruit me, but i decline every time. i love seeing annabeth, and i am so grateful i see her more now. but i could never swear love off.
or rather, i could never swear him off.
chiron calls me to his office first thing after breakfast. the hydra has been spotted in gotham. leo is going, but requested i come with him. the break from heroism has been relaxing, but the quest comes as an odd relief of sorts. the second he mentions a quest, my hands itch to uncap riptide.
i meet leo by thalia's old pine tree. "ready, shark girl?" he calls, toolbelt hanging off his waist.
"as i'll ever be, lava boy."
blackjack carries us to gotham, straight to the docks. he drops us behind a shipping container, out of sight of the hydra. the gesture is futile, though, as the hydra is already engaged in battle. my mouth sours as i recognize a beam of purple energy striking one of the heads, only for two more to grow back.
"round up!" i shout at the top of my lungs. the heroes stop mid-battle, rushing to where leo and i stand atop a container. my heart lurches as they get closer; zatanna, m'gann, robin, and a couple kids i don't recognize gather around me. the hydra licks its wounds, but goes back to picking fish out of the harbor.
"percy? is that really you?" m'gann squeals, but she keeps her distance like she doesn't believe her eyes.
i give her a tight-lipped smile. "yep. listen up, that is a hydra. the myth is true; if you cut off one head, two grow back in its place. this is a chop and burn. cutters are me, m'gann, robin. burners are leo and zatanna. the rest of you, keep it in one spot. if the hydra gets to the water, i don't think i can keep it still enough that we can finish the job. get to it."
my leadership surprises even me as we handle the hydra like a well-oiled machine. leo and i, having the most experience with monsters of the sort, clean up the majority of the heads, while the heroes cover the remaining few. once the yellow dust settles, i whistle for blackjack.
"percy, wait! please, just talk to me," i hand my bag to leo, telling him to wait up a couple minutes. i walk towards robin, who runs to me frantically. "please, can you just give me a minute?"
"better make it quick," i say curtly. in the three years we'd been apart, he had sprouted into quite the young adult. it takes an embarrassing amount of willpower to keep my eyes from wandering to his biceps.
"i assume you saw zatanna kiss me. i need you to know it wasn't me, and it wasn't her. i don't know how i can get you to understand that. this might not make sense, but the day after you left, some lady appeared in the cave and said it was supposed to be me and zatanna."
alarms sound in the back of my mind. where have i heard of that happening before?
wait a minute. "what did she look like?"
"i know it sounds insane, but she looked different to me and zatanna. she looked like zee's mom to her, but she looked like an adult version of you in my eyes."
"when she spoke, did you feel like you couldn't look away from her? or did you feel like you had to impress her?"
his head tilts. "how did you know that?"
