Ghost King Meets Batman

Two Nuclear Bombs Meet

[Picture by Violet Exorcist. Let them know what you think! I'm super grateful to everyone who has sent in art! It does a lot to inspire me!]

[Edited July 25, 2022]

To recap:

"They're staring at me. That ghost kid called me Greggus. My name isn't Greg."

"Graecus." She corrected him. "Once you're here a while you'll start to understand Latin." Percy seemed to feel conflicted about that idea and Hazel couldn't blame him. He hadn't exactly been given a welcome party. She hoped that they would have good news from the auguries and Percy would be able to stay. She had a feeling that Percy was important-- it wasn't every demigod who got blessed by a goddess, after all. She wondered what Nico would make of him.

Hazel's POV

"Is that bad?" Percy asked. Frank cleared his throat.

"Maybe not. You've got that type of complexion, the dark hair and all. Maybe they think you're actually Greek. Is your family from there?" Frank asked, kicking a stone that was in the path. Percy just shook his head.

"Don't know. Like I said, my memory is gone." Hazel felt a twinge of empathy for him. She may not have lost her memories in the Underworld, but they did get a little mixed up. She sometimes had trouble looking at things from her past chronologically. She couldn't tell when things happened relative to everything else. The daughter of Pluto was trying to sort them all out, but she wasn't making much progress on her own. She needed to sit down with Nico and talk everything out with him but he was so rarely in one place long enough to get into it. The odd blackout here and there would sometimes offer clarity, but sometimes they only served to confuse her more and they often left her breathless and trembling.

"Or maybe..." Frank hesitated.

"What?" Percy asked.

"Probably nothing," Frank said. Hazel gave him a look and he seemed to be asking her if he should tell him. Hazel knew where his thoughts had gone, and she hoped that he wasn't about to suggest what she thought he was. The last thing they needed was to bring up an old conspiracy.

"Romans and Greeks have an old rivalry. Sometimes Romans use graecus as an insult for someone who's an outsider-an enemy. I wouldn't worry about it." Frank tried to pass it off as nothing but Hazel could tell that Percy wasn't buying it. He eyed Frank for a moment before letting the subject drop.

The trio stopped at the center of camp, where two wide stone-paved roads met at a T. A street sign labeled the road to the main gates as via praetoria. The other road, cutting across the middle of camp, was labeled via principalis. Under those markers were hand-painted signs like Berkeley 5 miles; NEW ROME 1 MILE; OLD ROME 7280 MILES; HADES 2310 MILES (pointing straight down); RENO 208 MILES, AND CERTAIN DEATH: YOU ARE HERE! Percy eyed the sign for a moment before surveying the city. She was curious to hear what he thought of the cities but he kept his thought to himself and she didn't feel like it was her place to ask.

In front of them, you could see the entire city stretching out. There were people participating in recreational activities in the park, the village full of people and their families milling about, and the barracks. The barracks were clearly marked as each dorm had a different collection of banners out front displaying Roman numerals and various animals-eagle, bear, wolf, horse, and something that looked like a hamster. She knew that she should really know what it was, but everyone else seemed to just know already and she was too embarrassed to ask.

Merchants and artisans had shops all along the Via Praetoria where they advertised food, armor, weapons, coffee, gladiator equipment, and toga rentals. At one corner of the crossroads stood the most impressive building-a two-story wedge of white marble with a columned portico like an old-fashioned bank. Roman guards stood out front. Over the doorway hung a big purple banner with the gold letters SPQR embroidered inside a laurel wreath.