--------------Percy's POV: ---------------
I'd gotten up extra early today, the morning streetlights peeking in through the blinds had been only part of why I'd gotten up.
The memories of the night before had woken me up, the faces plaguing my thoughts. I tried to think about them last night, but as soon as I hit the bed I was out, the sweet feeling of sleep pulling me in.
Then the dreams. Recently, for the first time in months I had dreams that I could actually place. They'd started after my first vision and for the most part I'd dream of the camp I'd seen, though not much else, occasionally I'd get an odd dream of soaring through the air, a feeling of panic often included in that bundle as a hand reached out for me, and yet, every single time, no matter how early I tried to grab the hand, I'd fall, my fingers barely touching the other's before I was too far gone and an ear piercing screech would pierce through my eardrums.
I'd had the dream often, the feeling of falling down accompanying me even when I woke up.
I hated it.
But tonight, tonight was weird.
I'd appeared on the edge of a creek in what looked to be the woods. I knew I had to be close to the camp as the familiar scent of strawberries was strong, accompanied by the ever-present warm breeze. My hand was extended out towards the cool water, and for some reason I knew there was a family of fishes swimming right beneath the dark waters, the moon reflection only being useful to show myself.
I hovered over the water, my legs resting in the cold water.
As I let my hand hover a small tug in my gut alerted me to a sudden surgence in the water, a sphere of water about the size of a cantaloupe hovered out of the water, floating midair and for a second I thought I was dreaming again, hallucinating even until the cool water ran over my hand, turning into what looked to be a dog that ran up my arm and I knew, I wasn't hallucinating, the cool water was very clear as it sent shivers up my spine from its cool touch.
"Hey Percy" I turned quickly to see the Asian guy from before, a small smile on his face.
"Hey Frank," My voice was quiet, and Frank's smile seemed to fade slightly. He pushed his way through the bushes, taking a seat beside me, though he didn't put his legs in the water.
We sat in silence for a while, the sounds of the woods rustling around us filling the empty air.
"So, I heard that you, Jason, and Hazel got a mission." The dog running up and down my arm stopped, laying down before dripping into nothing. I could almost feel Frank's worried gaze.
"Yeah." I replied, the cool water suddenly feeling much colder.
"I know it's rough, but I've never known you to be so... upset, is everything alright?" He asked, leaning forwards to get into my gaze.
I took a deep breath, turning to face him. "Yeah, I'm all good. I just have a bad feeling." I was right, something seemed to spark up like an uneasy shaking.
Frank tried to hide his monetary fear but didn't do too well. "Like-"
"Yeah" I replied, turning back to the water. "Don't worry. I don't plan on letting Hazel or Jason get hurt." Frank didn't say anything, rather he pulled me into a hug.
"Come home too, okay?"
"My priority is Jason and Hazel. You all have kids; I'm not going to deprive another child of parents if I can help it."
An awkward silence passed along the both of us, and Frank's grip on my shoulder tightened as if he also gained that bad feeling as well.
"Just please promise me you'll try." I nodded, closing my eyes before I dissolved reappearing somewhere in the air with the girl with curly hair. Clouds surrounded us like a curtain, and I could see the blonde-haired kid from before riding a cloud horse somewhere off besides me. I looked down at what we were riding to find a black horse with wings. I looked around confused before a sudden jolt caught me off guard, the horse we were on letting out a yell.
"Boss we're under attack!!" Not even thinking about why the horse was talking, I looked around, seeing something flying around us.
"Jason what's out there!?" The girl in front of me yelled, turning to look at Jason now coming closer besides us.
"I don't know! Be careful!" he yelled back, dodging a claw from out of nowhere. The horse we were on swerved to the right, dodging an awful cawing noise. Then it hit me.
This is what happened before I fell. The sudden thought distracted me long enough for a bird claw to grab the girl in front of me, pulling her off the horse as she let out a yell. Without thinking I jumped, pushing myself off the horse and grabbing onto the bird which seemed to be too much as it let who I assume to be Hazel go. She began to fall but I grabbed her, obviously using the last of the bird thing's strength to keep us up as I tossed her back onto the horse, she managed to just barely grab on as I began to stop midair. She barely looked back by the time I had begun to fall. It was slow at first as we made eye contact and then I picked up speed, the bird beside me cawing desperately as it tumbled.
I could barely hear my name being yelled out as I passed through the cloud, the momentary coolness abruptly stopping as I continued to plummet, the sounds of the wind in my ears making my eardrums rumble painfully. Like the dream, a hand shot through the cloud, and as I reached for it, a moment of hope, our fingertips touched but I was too far gone as I continued to plummet.
The bird beside me grabbed onto me, seemingly wanting to avenge its own oncoming death but I kicked it away, sending it rocketing in another direction as it let out another horrific screech. I looked up, trying to look for any form of help or salvation, nothing. I could see shadows moving up in the cloud, there must have been more of those things.
I briefly looked down to see the land rapidly approaching. I turned back up to the sky to now see the black horse darting in my direction, Hazel looked frantic as she held on tight, but they weren't going to make it. I could feel the nearing land almost like a death instinct. Even as I fell I could help but tear up. Maybe I should've accepted death but something about this felt so stupid. My tears left my face, racing up as I tried my best to smile. If I was gonna die it wasn't going to be sad, I couldn't do this to Hazel.
"PERCY!!" She yelled, extending her hand out to get to me but at this distance she wouldn't be able to swoop up fast enough and we'd all die.
I took as deep a breath as I could manage as I cupped my hands around my mouth.
"UP BLACKJACK!! SWERVE UP!!" The horse looked at me sadly momentarily before pulling swiftly up, Hazel's screams of protest fading into the air as I shut my eyes tight.
I didn't want to see her face as I died. If only I'd been over an ocean or river. Like before.
Before?
The thoughts distracted me as my body felt like and in an instant the world around me went dark, a cool feeling surrounding my body as my consciousness left me.
I got up with a start, the sweat that drenched me was evident on my skin, the lights from the street peering into my eyes and giving me some sense of reality.
My ears still hurt, and my eyes still stung from crying, I didn't even know if all the liquids on my face were from crying or from the sweat. My limbs felt numb and heavy, like I'd run a marathon ten times over.
It felt real.
They felt real.
The fear
Felt
Real.
I turned to push myself out of bed, but as soon as my legs made contact with the ground my shaking became apparent, the weakness continuing.
Should I call out?
The thought briefly flashed through my mind as I turned to the clock.
The blue numbers glowed a heavy blue, contrasting with the brightness of the sky in my dreams. 3:16 am.
I had a few hours to pull myself together.
I forced myself to stand, ignoring the bad feeling in my gut as I trudged into the bathroom, turning on the water as I allowed the pattering of the water drops against the flooring to soothe me. I leaned against the sink trying to forget the fear that had instilled itself so deeply into my core and yet it wouldn't leave. I pushed back the fresh round of tears as I got ready to take a shower, allowing myself a moment of not thinking of anything, just letting my mind go blank as I sat in the water.
By the time I ended up leaving and finishing getting ready it was 4:29, still way too early to even leave.
I shook myself from the thought and placed myself on the couch, turning on the tv as I scrolled through the various channels. I would've skipped the news as usual, but something caught my eyes. I quickly scrolled back, stopping on the bright red tag line that rolled to the side as it unveiled new information, but that's not what I was worried about.
"-The meta-humans are back at it again, at 12:46 last night meta-humans broke into the water sanitation facility, in some footage we have recovered from the scene we watched as the young justice league accompanied by Nightwing stopped the metal-bending assailant!" The lady continued to talk but I zoned out as I watched the group fight a small group of meta-humans, the people merely held out their hands in order to manipulate the world around them.
I looked down at my own hands as the places where the water dog had touched suddenly seemed to cool again. My breathing picked up as the feeling of dread became worse, my shoulders tensed like I'd never felt before, even when fighting. My mouth became dry as I stared at my hand, my shaking becoming worse.
Was I a...meta-human?
The thought crossed my mind so fast I felt like I got whiplash. Immediately I stood up, grabbing my phone off the coffee table as I began to look up at a water bending meta-human.
Meta-humans were bad, they attacked people mercilessly. What if I did that? What if during one of the fights I got hit and suddenly lost my memory. My breathing hastened as I tried to take in deeper breaths and yet suddenly it felt as if the room had been sucked clean of all the breathable air.
As my fingers stumbled their way around the keyboard, I finally managed to look up what I'd been searching for before a vast array of items popped up, each with their own breaking news headline. I clicked on the first one to find a boy, immediately I clicked off.
And soon I found myself in an endless hole as I searched more and more through the various headlines of water bending meta-humans who could've possibly been me. I barely looked over the people if they didn't have similar traits to me. Blonde hair? Out, boy, out. It was a stressful search until the phone paused in my hand.
"Water meta-human causing trouble in Greece!!" Underneath the headline showed a picture of me, while my face was mostly covered up, my tattoo and black and white hair were evident as a mass of water surrounded me.
My heart dropped, a burning sensation running up and down my body as it felt like someone had squeezed my heart as hard as they could.
I let my phone drop as I stood up, trying my best to keep myself calm, I just needed out. I needed to be outside. With a quick swipe I grabbed my phone, deleting my search history as I ran out the doors, barely managing to lock my door behind me as I raced down the stairs, my blood pumping in my ears and making everything feel worse.
When I reached the cold outside, I could feel my shaking, maybe it was from the cold since I left my jacket inside, or maybe it was from shock. I didn't care. I needed out. I needed to not be still. To move.
I forced myself to start walking, shoving my phone in my pockets as I let the cold force my hairs on end, the cool breath sending a new violent shiver down my neck as a car passed by. I passed shop after shop, most of their lights off aside from the odd club or midnight cafe.
People would occasionally look over at me, though that was probably because of the fact that I was in a tank top in the middle of the cold, my scars on full display.
Scars.
I wonder what awful things I had to do to receive those. Some of these looked personal.
I shoved my hands in my pockets in a last-ditch effort to keep my skin out of sight. I kept my eyes focused solely in front of me, trained on the new street in front of me.
I walked and walked, the feeling of a heavy weight on my shoulders staying put.
Stubborn bastard.
"Percy?" I looked up to see Dick looking over at me confused, Tim by his side carrying a similarly worried expression. I blinked a few times, turning away to keep walking. "Percy!" The two ran over besides me, standing in front of me as their concern was now tenfold.
"Percy, is everything okay?" Tim asked, grabbing my shoulders as he got in front of me. I stared at him, not really feeling like talking. "Are you okay? Can you hear me?"
What if they found out? Would I still be able to work for Bruce?
Tim seemed to take my silence as a cue for him to look back to Dick for help.
Dick got in front of me instead and gave me a half smile. "Hey Perc, you wanna go inside?" He stepped back to show that we were in front of the manor. I guess I must've subconsciously made my way here.
I nodded, deciding I'd rather be inside than out here. Dick gave me a smile as he walked me inside, Tim falling into line on my other side. I could hear they were talking to me, but no words seemed to be going through, almost like it was just a melody.
When we stepped inside, Alfred looked at us, only briefly glancing at us before he walked over calmly, Dick and Tim separating away from me.
"Percy" Alfred set a hand on my shoulder, his calming look calming me slightly. "Would you like to lay down? Do you need something to eat?" I shook my head, the need to move and leave from here starting up again.
"Right, well how about you just come with me?" I nodded, deciding I'd rather not be too much of a burden. It's the least I could do now.
Alfred guided me through the manor until we appeared in front of the room I was given.
"Go ahead inside and relax. I'll be back to talk with you in a minute alright? I'll bring food as well." I pursed my lips but did as told as I sat on the edge of the bed. I stared down at my feet, tapping them against the floor to an odd rhythm that changed on a whim.
I sat there for a while, hearing various people passing in front of the door. They must be getting breakfast.
My thought was cut short as Damien busted into the room, his face a mixture of anger and concern. "Percy?" I could see Dick behind him, trying to lure him back out but Damien wasn't listening.
He marched up to me and let out a short sigh. "Are you okay?" I nodded, looking back to my feet. Damien wasn't satisfied. "Do you want to read?" I didn't dare look up.
My chest was heavy, and maybe it was the asking of such a nice thing to someone who didn't even know if they were a super villain or not, but the overwhelming situation led to the tears that were going to inevitably spill as the warm liquid rolled down my cheeks and my breathing became rushed again. Damien looked back to Dick who walked inside quickly.
"I-I'm sorry-" Damien tried, sounding uncomfortable and that only seemed to make things worse as my chest heaved harder and larger tears came out.
"I'm sorry!" I cried, letting my head hand as I brought my hands up to my face, trying to keep any semblance of confidentiality.
"Percy!" Dick called, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Percy what're you apologizing for? Is everything okay??" He asked, pulling me into a hug to which I was sobbing too hard to deny, my chest heaved in a painful manner and the squeezing of my heart tightened.
"I didn't know" I choked out through my inconsistent breathing.
Dick just hushed me as he tried to keep me from continuing but it just seemed to spill out as the fear and guilt spilt out. Dick stopped momentarily, seeming to look back.
"Percy we'll be outside, okay? If you need something we're here for you" Dick stood up, Damien giving me one more look before they left, Bruce's figure blocking them as he leaned down in front of me, the door shutting behind him.
Bruce grabbed my hands, rubbing his thumb over the back of them. "Percy, is everything okay?" His cool eyes held heavy concern, looking at me intently as he waited for me to answer.
I just shook my head, lowering my head again. Bruce pulled me into a tight hug, the warmth from his arms felt good against my still cool skin, providing some sort of comfort as I continued to let out my feelings, my face felt like it was drenched.
Bruce just sat there with me, not saying much else besides small comforting sentences.
Soon I felt myself slow down as the warmth seemed to break through. My eyes begun to droop as Bruce continued holding on tight.
"Thank you" I mumbled as my eyes shut, the world around me going dark like in my dream, except now, now I was warm.
—----------------Bruce's POV:--------------------
Percy seemed to calm, her crying lessening until she mumbled something. As she did so her grip loosened and her head lolled against my chest, her breathing calming down until it was normal again. I took a deep breath as I tried to make as subtle of movements that I possibly could.
I'm not sure what was going on, Alfred had gotten me and then Tim looked panicked and before I knew it, I'd found Percy crying.
I gently laid Percy down, covering her with the blanket as I stood up to leave. As I reached the door, I looked back to see she'd turned away from the door, her breathing still seeming steady. I let out a brief sigh as I left the room. Dick immediately stopped me, with Damein and Tim right behind him.
"Is she-"
"Shhh" I replied, waving for them to follow me as we made our way down the hall and into the main room.
Dick pursed his lips as I nodded. "Is she okay?" I let out a short sigh.
"I'm not sure. She cried herself to sleep." Damien looked off to the side, furrowing his brows slightly.
"Did she say anything? Was she hurt?" Tim asked, stepping up as he tried to keep his voice level.
"Not that I know of, she was just letting it out."
A moment of silence crossed over us.
"Uh? Group meeting?" The boys turned to see Cassandra standing in the doorway with a confused look on her face.
No one spoke up.
"Percy was crying, and we don't know why" Damien said and for a moment I watched as Cassandra's face blanked, her pause so slight it was hard to even notice. Her jaw tightened as she walked over and joined us, lowering her ice cream pint.
"Did she say why?" She asked, Damien seemed to be onto something as his nose scrunched in anger.
"You're not nearly as worried as we are. Do you know something?" he asked, walking in front of her.
"Dami-" Tim tried but was cut off by a stern look.
"No, I don't, but I'm trying to find out what's wrong." She replied, looking to me for any sort of help.
"She didn't say anything. I'd recommend letting her rest and have her sent to my office when she wakes up." Everyone seemed to come to the general consensus that this was fine as they uneasily split apart.
The detective in me was curious. What could've caused such a meltdown.
Before I knew what I was doing I was already heading towards the bat cave.
—------------Percy's POV:---------------
I woke up with the sun beating on my face and a heavy feeling under my eyes. My whole chest hurt as if I'd been sat on by that Pegasus.
I pushed myself into a sitting position, taking in a deep breath as the morning's events replayed in my mind. Another boulder of guilt crashed on my shoulders at the thought of sending Dick, Tim, and Damien off with no explanation. Even Bruce.
"gods." I placed a hand on my forehead as I pulled my legs up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them as I buried my head in the crevice between my knees and chest.
I allowed my eyes to adjust to the darkness as I stared at the few glimpses of light that peeked through the spots where the darkness didn't completely take over.
I was a mess.
I took a deep breath as I pushed myself out of bed, grabbing the hoodie that I'd kept in the room for when I visited next time.
I left the room, looking around before I walked down the hallways. I had one destination in mind.
As I found my way through the mansion, I was a bit surprised to find it was empty. I hadn't caught sight of anyone yet.
I thanked everyone for the good fortune as I turned into the library.
I walked to the bookshelf I'd looked for before as I pulled out the book with the strange writing on the front. I stared at the book intently, the names now starting to come together. Leo was the one at the party I think, and Annabeth was the blonde besides me. I opened the book as I took a seat on the floor, looking over the book with narrowed eyes.
The fact I could read this was surprising in itself but to see that the people who'd accompanied me had been so educated in the topic of Greek mythology, or rather, it was mythology until my name popped up. I could feel myself freeze as two pictures of me were displayed, one was poorly drawn but very obviously drawn to make me look cool and the other was an accurate picture of me, my hand had water surrounding me like a curtain. They were both great but the feeling in my gut spun and twisted uncomfortably.
"Percy Jackson, Daughter of Poseidon and one of the main 7. Participated and led the resistance against two wars, both of which resulted in the victories of camp half-blood and co.: underneath it was quickly written Romans as well!). There was a lot more underneath my name. I read it all, analyzing every word like it was my only salvation, which I kinda suppose it was.
As I continued to flip through more and more familiar faces made themselves know, Annabeth and Leo being only a few, soon being accompanied by Frank, Jason, Hazel, and the girl who'd had the choppy hair was named Piper. As I glanced over them, I couldn't help but be curious.
Surely Bruce wouldn't miss one book.
I shoved the book in my hoodie before standing up and turning to leave.
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