Abluvion (PJ & DC Crossover) - Rewritten Version Of The Fallen Hero Of Olympus

Chapter Eight

"Ah, I see you've gotten yourself lost, Master Perseus."

     Percy snapped his head in the direction of the voice, startled. "Alfred!", he let out a huff as he tried to calm his wildly beating heart. "You scared me."

     "It seems I do that quite often.", Alfred said with an amused expression.

     Percy let out a shaky breath with his eyes closed before opening them, managing to calm himself. He stood straighter as he met Alfred's eyes. "Scare people?", Percy asked.

     The butler nodded in response with a small smile. "Where are you running off to? Maybe I can be of some assistance."

     "I— um...", Percy looked down at his hands as he fumbled with the hem of his shirt. "I wanted to go out... but I don't know the way to the front door.", by the end of his explanation, he met Alfred's eyes again.

     Alfred chuckled lightly as he walked past Percy. "Come now, Master Perseus. I will show you the way.", he continued down the corridor, Percy on his tail.

     It was a silent walk. More awkward to Percy though and relaxing to Alfred.

     Percy never liked silence. When he was silent, his mind wasn't. His mind always managed to put him down and shun him. It was like his mind was a second person. He was the opposite of his mind. His mind acted like it was on Prednisone, filled with energy when he actually was nothing but exhausted. In the silence, it allowed his mind to roam around the closed-off doors that held nothing but pain and sorrow. He tried so hard to keep those doors locked. Locked till his own death.

     Alfred watched the teen from the corner of his eyes as he walked with concern etched onto his face. The boy held many emotions in his eyes, so much, so it seemed his body was shutting down. He watched the way Percy's shoulders slumped tiredly and the way his eyes drooped with exhaustion. Alfred wanted to say something. Something to convince the boy to a much-needed sleep, but he couldn't. He couldn't just force the boy to sleep. He would let this slide once, just this once.

     "Here.", Alfred said, stopping suddenly which made Percy bump into him.

     Percy tensed as he stepped back a few feet. "Sorry, Alfred...", he looked up at the butler sheepishly.

     "No worries, Master Perseus.", Alfred nodded as Percy approached the front door. "Please return before five. It is best you do not stay out when it is dark.", Alfred paused for a moment until he smiled warmly. "And please be careful."

     Percy couldn't help but return the butler's smile with a small one. "I will, thank you, Alfred."

     "It is my pleasure, Master Perseus."

Percy exited through the front door, closing it behind him and leaving a worried butler.

***

     The green-eyed boy walked through the city's sickened streets. The ground was littered with garbage that drifted in the occasional wind that made his raven hair tousle. Homeless people roamed the streets and alleyways periodically. He hadn't run into any crime, which to him, was shocking. He thought he'd run into trouble the moment he stepped out of the mansion.

"Please! Don't shoot! Take it all!", a man's pleads were heard. "I have a family!"

"That's what they all say.", a distorted voice replied.

Never mind.

By the distressed tone of the man, Percy ran for it, entering a convenience store just one block down. There at the cashier, a man no older than 45 had his hands raised in surrender while a man with a black mask pointed a pistol at the cashier. The cashier had blue eyes and medium-length black hair that was dyed red on the tips. The burglar was fat, yup, he was meaty. Almost like Gabe. Percy shuddered at the thought of someone similar to Gabe but quickly forced the thought down. He was unable to see the burglar's face due to the mask but could make out brown eyes.

"Hey! Let him go!", Percy shouted.

The burglar pointed the gun at Percy. "I'm not afraid to shoot, boy."

Percy drew his trusty ballpoint pen from his jean's back pocket slowly. "And I'm not afraid to fight you.", was his intelligent response.

     The green-eyed boy pulled the ballpoint pen in front of him and held it as he stood in a defensive stance.

     A laugh echoed throughout the store as the burglar looked Percy up and down as if he were an idiot. "A pen? Really? What are you going to do with that?"

     "Please, don't hurt him! Just take the money and leave! He's just a child!", the cashier begged as he glanced between Percy and the burglar.

     "No, you leave the money here.", Percy commanded with venom dripping from his voice.

     "And you're going to make me?", the burglar chuckled in disbelief. "You're not a very smart kid. I'll give you a chance. Turn around and walk out of here before I blow a hole in your skull."

     Percy scoffed incredulity as he uncapped the ballpoint pen, making it elongate with a metallic 'shrink' as the pen turned into a shimmering bronze sword. It was three feet long with a double-edged blade, a flat hilt with gold studs, and a leather-wrapped grip. Percy held it tightly as he stared the burglar down with cold eyes.

     Of course, the sword wouldn't work on the burglar. The burglar was mortal after all. Percy just thought he'd use Riptide to scare him off. He knew it looked kind of dumb to have a close-range weapon against a far range weapon, but no one knew what he could do. And no one would know what was coming.

     "That pen—? A sword—?", the burglar faltered with shock noticeable in his eyes.

     Percy's eyes widened. The mortal was clear-sighted? Why of all things? It doesn't matter, he had something to do.

     The demigod raised his sword up as he widened his stance. He leaned on his right leg with a scowl, getting ready to feint an attack.

     The burglar composed himself as he quickly pulled the trigger, the loud gunshot ringing through the store.

     With a metal clang, a grunt of pain sounded right after and with the startled scream of a passerby and a surprised gasp from the cashier.

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Song: Kerli - Better