Project Percy (Kotlc Meets Percy Jackson)

Chapter 21

A highly embellished version of the Great Cape Destruction spread throughout the school faster than the white fires back home, and Percy knew that Travis and Connor - the Stoll brothers, as most people called them - had something to do with it. Even his mentors had heard.

In alchemy, Lady Jacinta joked that she'd have to watch his every move, lest he burn down the school. Sir Frank commented when he passed Percy by that he hadn't laughed this hard since the Great Gulon Incident. Sir Vetran had to cancel their multispecial studies lecture because he snorted lushberry juice all over his clothes.

Once again, Percy could feel everyone watching him as he wandered the halls, except this time they wanted to know him. Kids invited him to sit with them during lunch. They introduced themselves during orientation, between classes. They complimented his eyes.

Percy couldn't believe it. Overnight he'd somehow become...popular.

Poseidon was relieved when he told him. The more he belonged at Foxfire, the harder it would be for Mars to get him expelled.

But he refused to take anything for granted. He still sat with Annabeth, Piper, Jason, and Thalia during lunch. Leo joined him after his detention was over, but he spent the whole time glaring at Annabeth. Travis and Connor joined them a few days later, but they were responsible for Percy's popularity, so they were allowed.

Plus, his sessions were next to impossible. Lady Alecto didn't fail him, but she made him work on the opposite side of the room, which turned out to be a wise decision. Fires and explosions were a regular occurrence. The problem was, Percy didn't just have to learn, he had to unlearn a whole lifetime of human knowledge, where it was impossible to bottle rainbows or catch wind in jars.

He had the same problem in Phys. Ed. Levitating was supposed to be impossible. He had to unlearn a whole lifetime of chemistry knowledge, where things like the alkahest didn't exist. He constantly had to remind himself not to trust his instincts, because they were all wrong.

Which was why his hydrokinesis lessons became the highlight of the week. Kym returned to Cerulean Stables a week after the Great Cape Destruction, and she was willing to help him out with his hydrokinesis. She taught him how to block the water's call and shut it out completely. She showed him how to create mist and how to pull water from the moisture in the air. She even said that some Hydrokinetics - like her, she mentioned - could talk to aquatic animals, which sounded awesome.

For the first time in his life, he didn't mind being a Hydrokinetic. It was actually pretty cool, and no one could deny his talent. Even Mars wouldn't be able to.

Too bad he had to keep it a secret. It would have been fun to shut Clarisse up whenever she teased Percy about needing remedial studies. Clarisse still hadn't manifested, so it would kill her to know Percy was a Hydrokinetic being trained by the greatest Hydrokinetic ever. But he'd have to be patient. Clarisse would know the truth eventually.

He came home to total bedlam. Poseidon and Sally were trying to get a kelpie in a pen, and Kym and the gnomes were chasing a pack of velociraptors away from the pens. Yup. Dinosaurs were real. And covered in neon feathers.

"Hey," Kym called. "Can you go get the verminion in one of those pens?"

"Uh...sure."

"Thanks!"

Percy crept towards the purple mound of fur, hoping the verminion was as timid as it looked. A twig snapped under his foot.

Hisssssssss!

The creature uncurled, revealing a giant rodent face with glassy black eyes, pointy fangs, and bulging cheeks. He'd always thought hamsters were cute, but this was Hamsterzilla, and it looked ready to trample him like a Japanese city.