Finding Home

Chapter 15 - Meeting the Team

We walked through the portal, coming out in Elysium. A young woman with magenta hair and green skin was slashing at a dummy with dual swords. She was screaming in fury. "Stupid, no good, son of a flerken! Loved me? Loved me?"

I raised an eyebrow, but ultimately decided that I didn't want to ask. I examined her stance, nodding in approval. She wielded her blades expertly. Already, I could tell she was a fighter. A quick scan told me she was courageous, loyal, kind but fierce, and selfless. Perfect.

Loki looked at me in a silent question. Well? What do you think?

I nodded at him and walked towards the woman. "Gamora?"

She spun towards me, bringing her swords around and striking. She aimed for my throat, a killing blow.

I raised my hand and the blades stopped, frozen in the air, surrounded by a silver glow. "I am not here to hurt you," I promised.

She glared at me, but nodded. I released my control and she lowered her blades. "Who are you?"

"Percy," I said.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"I have come with an offer," I said, gesturing for her to sit. "Have you heard of Team Omega?"

She nodded. "Of course. You cannot travel the universe without hearing rumors of the mysterious team that roams, helping civilizations in need."

"Well, it's real," I said bluntly.

She accepted the information easily. "Alright, but that does not explain why you are here."

"I am here to offer you a position."

She blinked in surprise. "You are aware that my father is trying to destroy half of all life, right?"

I scowled. "He has already succeeded, but the sins of the father are not those of the child."

"I've killed people."

"Every member of the team has killed."

"I told him where to find the soul stone."

"Under duress. He was torturing your sister. She told me all about it. Stop finding excuses. If I have invited you, it means I have found you to be worthy to join. If you do not want to join, that is acceptable," I told her.

She shook her head. "No, I would like to accept."

I nodded. "Wonderful. We will have the ceremony tonight." I clapped my hands together and created another portal. "Right this way. We must speak to Hades before we leave."

They followed me through the portal, which led us to Hades's palace. He looked up from the book he was reading and smiled when he saw me. "What brings you to my home, Nephew?" he asked. He saw the two behind me and sighed. "Not a social call, I presume?"

I shook my head. "Sorry, Uncle. I am here to request the release of Loki and Gamora to join Team Omega."

"Of course," he agreed easily. "Let me get the paperwork for you." He walked out, only to come back a while later with a large stack of papers. "Sorry it took me so long. I had to retrieve Loki's paperwork from the Norse realm. She's a stickler, but even she wouldn't deny you."

"Thank you," I said, sighing as I began to fill them out. It took me 45 minutes before I was finished.

"Oh, and dinner is on Sunday, as usual. I know you will be busy for the next few months, but do try to come. It will be good for you to take a break from work," Hades reminded me after I had handed him back the papers.

I nodded and clapped my hands to create another portal, this time to the common rooms. "I will see you then."

The three of us walked through to see the whole team sitting on the couch, arguing loudly. I sighed; this was not a good first impression for Loki. Wait, what? I thought, my eyes widening slightly. Where did that come from? I mean Loki and Gamora. Yup. Definitely. That's what I mean.

I finally snapped out of my thoughts and whistled, the high-pitched sound slicing through their argument like a knife. All sound ceased as they turned to face us.

"What is this about?" I demanded.

"We were trying to find a solution to get everyone back," Nico explained.

"Then why all the yelling?"

"We can't find one that will work and everyone is a little on edge."

I frowned. "As much as I want everyone back, this should not be our top priority right now," I said. "Our top priority should be to coordinate with Carol to help as many people as we can. Where are we on that?"

"Well, you were only gone for a couple of days so we have only been able to organize a relief unit and get a couple galaxies back up and running," Luke answered. "Bianca's charity has been so busy that she has been too swamped to help and Sarah has no free time with Tartarus gone, but the rest of us split into groups and got as much done as we could."

"That's strange. I was gone for a day in Terra's time, if I factor in the time difference in the Underworld. It should have been much longer here."

"It seems that when the Titan used the stones, he somehow changed the time difference," Jack said.

I nodded thoughtfully. "Interesting. Where's Jamie?"

"Oh, he's in his room. You should talk to him soon. He needs to know that they aren't coming back for a while, if ever," Ethan said. It was blunt, but he was right. There was no guarantee that we would ever get them back.

I sighed. "I will. Now, we will hold the ceremony to officially accept Gamora and Loki onto our team in time. For now, please introduce yourselves and help them settle in," I said. "And, please, for once, just behave." I directed a pointed look at Leo and Sam, ignoring their indignant expressions. I knew Travis and Connor could and would behave during a time like this. They might crack jokes, but they wouldn't cause too much trouble.

"Don't worry, Percy," Sarah said. "I'll keep them out of trouble."

A small, half-smile formed on my face and I nodded in gratitude. "Thank you, Sarah."

After some quick introductions, Zoe showed Gamora to her new room. The two quickly became friends as they discussed the pros and cons of different forms of combat.

I saw Silena glancing back and forth between Loki and me and I furrowed my brow in confusion. Why was she smiling like that? She elbowed Luke and Piper and began a whispered conversation with him that I didn't bother to listen in on. They were whispering for a reason, and I respect my team's privacy.

Their eyes widened and he glanced over at me before Luke whispered back. Silena thought for a moment before replying. He nodded and walked to where I stood next to Loki. "I can get Loki settled in, if you want," he offered.

"No, it's fine," I said, waving my hand dismissively. I didn't know what they were planning, but when those three got together, it always meant trouble. I didn't want Loki to get caught up in it. "I can do it."

A look of surprise flitted across his face, but I could tell it was intentional. Strange. It would make sense for him to be surprised. I had never volunteered to show a rookie around before. I always left it to the others while I caught up on the paperwork that I had put off for the mission. So, why was he not, and why was he pretending to be? He quickly "got over" his fake shock and shrugged. "Okay." He walked back over to his partners with a smug grin, like I had done exactly what they wanted.

That made me suspicious, but I dismissed it. I turned to Loki with a small smile. "Come on, I'll show you to your quarters and then I can give you a tour." 

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Okay, so... embarrassing thing... I pre-wrote this, right? I totally forgot to add this chapter. I had it written and everything and I still forgot! I feel like an idiot. Anyway, sorry to anyone who was confused about this.