The Star Maiden (A Percy Jackson & Supergirl Crossover)

Chapter 8

"Do you know what was a great idea?" Winn said suddenly, his voice reverberating sharply around the silent room. Barry and Kara looked up from their various devices.

"What?" Kara asked when it became clear that Winn wasn't going to continue until he was prompted.

"Monotheism, now that was a real step in the right direction." Winn gazed at his computer screen forlornly. "I mean, I knew there was a lot of gods, but I had no idea how many there actually were."

"Yeah, Jason started a movement to make sure all the minor gods were honored and he realized really quickly that would become a full-time job," Percy said with a wry chuckle. He was the only one who wasn't searching the internet for gods who might have a reason to do something like this. Kara hoped it was because he was still tired and not because he had given up hope.

The rest of them were writing any gods or goddesses they thought might be the cause on a whiteboard in the front of the room. Winn and Barry had supplied most of the names since they knew Percy's history the best.

"Percy, do any of those names seem like a fit?" Kara asked, trying to get him involved. Percy squinted up at the board for a second before shaking his head.

"I don't know...I can't-"

"Percy's brain is hardwired for ancient Greek, so he has trouble reading English." Barry jumped in to explain.

"Oh, I didn't realize." Kara felt bad for pushing, but Percy seemed unperturbed.

"No worries, I don't think I would be of much help even if I could read the names. I have been going through every god and goddess that I know of and I really don't know which one would've done this. I think it has to be some kind of test or mission. It certainly isn't punishment because sending me into a world with actual superheroes is awesome, not torture." Percy looked around the room apologetically, "So I don't think we are going to be able to figure it out. It could be any god with any test."

"What do we do then? Do we just wait for this test?" Winn asked.

"And hope that I can pass it," Percy said with a huff. He stood up, suddenly filled with a nervous energy. "I just...I need some air." He said and walked quickly out of the room, leaving a surprised Kara, Barry, and Winn in his wake. The three looked at each other, unsure if they should follow him or let him be.

"I'll go," Kara said after a moment. She would leave Percy alone if he asked, but she wanted to check on him to make sure he wasn't panicking again. "You guys see if Alex and J'onn have anything on Siobhan." As focused as Kara was on helping Percy get home, she couldn't forget the current threat to her city.

"We'll find her." Winn assured her, "And tell Percy that we won't stop until we figure out how to get him back to his Earth."

"Okay" Kara sent a grateful smile to her friends and then headed out into the main room. As soon as J'onn saw her he pointed up to the balcony. Kara nodded and went in the direction of his gesture. Kara could see Percy through the glass doors. He was standing very still, his back was to her, his hands on the railing, and he was staring out at the unfamiliar city. He didn't acknowledge her as she stepped out onto the balcony and moved to stand next to him. "This is where I like to come when I am feeling overwhelmed. No matter what is happening, I know I can come out here and look out on the city and life down there will be the same as always. The normalcy of the hustle and bustle helps keep me grounded. I remind myself that I do all that I do so that they can keep living their lives, blissfully unaware of how many times they have been in danger."

"I should've known I couldn't live a quiet, normal life. Every time I think I am out, I get pulled back in. I just wanted to be a normal college kid who went to classes and parties and hung out with my girlfriend. I wanted my worst fear to be that one day Annabeth would wake up and see that she is crazy far out of my league." Percy spoke softly, still looking out at the city.

"Percy, I know how it feels to want to be normal. From what I've heard, you never really managed to have a normal life. I spent most of my life trying to fit in, to be normal. I resisted my powers and my destiny because I was afraid it would change everything. And it did, but I wouldn't take it back for one second. Even knowing all the pain and sacrifices I would have to make, I would still choose to be Supergirl, do you know why?"

"Why?" Percy asked, finally turning to look at her.

"Because she is a part of me. Because when I was trying to be normal I was denying a huge part of who I was. I love being Kara and I love my life as Kara, but Supergirl is a part of me."

"But you said yourself that you got to live most of your life normally. I had monsters hunting me before I even knew they existed. I got kicked out of school after school for various reasons, but they all had to do with me being a demigod. My life was never normal." Percy looked angry and Kara couldn't blame him. He was right, Kara's life had been messy and complicated, but no matter how bad things got, she had memories of her time on Krypton and her time growing up with the Danvers family to hold onto.

"Percy, I-" Kara was cut off by Alex hurrying out onto the balcony.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but it's the Silver Banshee," Alex said and then spun on her heel and headed back inside. Kara and Percy both started to follow her, but before they reached the door Kara took Percy's arm.

"We will get you home, I promise. And once you are there, if a normal life is what you want, then I say you fight like hell to get it." Kara saw a look of surprise cross Percy's face followed by something that looked like relief.

"Thanks, Kara." He said so quietly she barely heard it.

"But in the meantime, we have a Banshee to catch." Kara gave him a bright smile and opened the door. She gestured for Percy to go first, but he didn't move.

"I don't know if I should help you," Percy said, not meeting her eyes. Kara let the door fall closed in surprise.

"What?"

"What I mean is I don't know how much help I will be. After what happened here, I clearly don't have full control of my powers and I wasn't much use last time and now you have The Flash..." Percy trailed off. Kara put her hands on Percy's shoulders reassuringly.

"Percy, you don't have to fight with us if you don't want to. We would never force you to. But you shouldn't doubt your strength. From what I have seen you have a lot of it, and I'm not just talking about the strength of your powers." Kara hoped that she was saying the right things. Percy was a very resilient young man, but he had been through a lot recently and she wouldn't blame him for sitting this one out.

"I'll do what I can to help." Percy looked up at her and she saw the strength she had been talking about reflected in those green eyes. "Besides, maybe helping you catch the Banshee is my test."

"Kara!" Kara heard Winn's voice crackle through her earpiece. "We found Siobhan, and she's not alone."

"We've got to go," Kara pulled Percy through the doors so they could find out what Winn was talking about.