It wasn't a date.
Percy scowled at herself in the mirror. It wasn't.
It couldn't be a date, because that would mess everything up. She wanted it to be, Percy could admit that much, but it couldn't be because then all that stuff Annabeth had said about not making obligations to anyone would come crashing down.
Percy wanted it to be a date, but even now, as she stood in her bathroom, adjusting her stupid knit sweater so it tucked properly around her waist, she couldn't help but think: If Nightwing had asked first, would she have accepted? She ignored the unhelpful voice in her head that answered with an instant 'yes'.
She should just not go to the food drive at all. That would be the smart thing to do. Eliminate any possibility of the maybe-date completely, but she had promised Dick she would come. And she wanted to see him. So, for better or for worse, she was going to go, and hopefully be on time.
Percy made a face in the mirror.
"It's not a date," she told herself, more firmly.
Because if this was a date, then it had to be the worst date in the history of all dates. Visiting Dick at a city event that he was working security at? Yeah right. Any child of Aphrodite would hit her over the head for being delusional enough to believe that that was, in any way, romantic. It was just one of those sayings people used after making plans.
You're not going there for Dick, she reminded herself, you're going there to do charity work, help collect supplies and maybe regard the mayor in pretend awe so that the publicity pictures turned out nicely.
Percy took one more long look in the mirror. Hair up or hair down?
Nope, she thought to herself, who cares? Not her, not Dick, and definitely not the mayor.
LINEBREAK
Percy would have been on time, but once she saw all the publicity and commotion gathered around city hall, spilling out of the building and onto the street, she had to take a small detour to hide her suit in a nearby alley. She'd only be out of the house for a couple of hours, but Nightwing had recently shared that he took his everywhere, and paranoia, as she was coming to find, was extremely contagious.
By the time she stuffed the duffel behind a dumpster and circled back, it was noon. Standing in the line for a security check took another fifteen minutes because of all the bags of food that had to be thoroughly checked and when she finally made headway to the area Dick had told her to meet him at, she was almost half an hour late.
When she saw him, Dick was conversing with another officer. He bid the other man goodbye, turning and when he caught sight of her, he smiled impossibly wide. Percy nearly pinched herself as he beckoned her over, and though she should have turned on her heel and fled, she did no such thing.
"Haven't seen you in a while," he teased, when she got close.
It had been two days.
"Too long," Percy agreed, and was rewarded by his eyes crinkling in amusement.
"You know," he started, "I was thinking, Damian also has a cat, and maybe—"
She couldn't help it, she laughed. "Stella has been bugging me about a play date. Cat or no cat, she's already talked me through exactly how she's going to break into your family's house."
Her plan consisted mostly of using Mrs. O'Leary as a transportation vessel—30 stealth points—and then letting Damian pet the hellhound to stop him from getting mad—20 distraction points. Dick's brother had told them all about how much he loved animals, and Estelle had been playing too much Mythomagic with Nico recently.
"Really?" Dick looked surprised. She must have looked confused at his reaction, because he opened his mouth to explain, "I know sometimes Dami can be... an acquired taste."
"What are you talking about?" she furrowed her brow, "He's adorable."
Dick gaped at her for just one second, before shutting his mouth and nodding furiously in agreement. "He is. Okay, I'll tell him—when's Stella free?"
"Kindergarten lets out at three pm on the weekdays," Percy listed, ignoring the voice in her head that asked if this was appropriate not-date conversation, "And Sunday is always family day."
He tapped his chin, thoughtfully. His smile had turned softer at some point, but she hadn't noticed the change until it was staring at her in the face, making her chest feel warm.
"Dami has odder hours, but I'll ask him about it," Dick said, then frowned slightly, "I do have one question though, but I get if it's personal."
Percy nodded at him to continue, hoping that it was.
"Your cousin, Jason, is he...okay?" That's not what she was expecting him to say, and her eyebrows raised instinctively. "I'm sorry, Tim has a problem with the internet, and he saw the articles."
"I wonder what he said about my articles," Percy snickered, "But nah, he's fine. His mom was pretty troubled, and left him in the woods as a baby, but some, uh, people, found him and took him in. He's good now, but I think sometimes, it feels like he was raised by wolves."
Percy should really stop talking now, but something about Dick made her want to spill everything. At first, his reactions were just funny to watch, but now, she wanted him to know more about her.
Dick pinched the bridge of his nose, his lips wavering like he didn't know whether to laugh or be concerned. Percy ducked her head to the side, trying to catch his eyes around his hand.
"Was it something I said?" she laughed.
"You told me you thought the only way to get out of capture the flag was if you were too injured to continue," he retorted, settling his expression on a disbelieving smile, "And he was the one raised by wolves?"
"Oh, no," Percy quipped, grinning back, "We both were."
"Stop flirting, Grayson," a woman suddenly snapped, coming around the corner on her way to her sectioned area and seeing them standing so close. It was his police partner, Percy realized, recognizing her from that night in the alley. Dick put two fingers up to indicate that he had heard and would comply but didn't turn his head away from Percy. "It's almost one thirty," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Oh man, I'm on the clock," Dick pouted, an adorable contrast with his flashy event uniform, "I gotta conduct my sweep soon."
"Go, do your job," Percy laughed, ears pink, even though she very much did not mean her words.
"I'll meet up with you in the auditorium after the speech," he promised.
Percy gave him a look that promised consequences if he broke his, and waved goodbye.
As she walked down the hallway, she felt better and worse at the same time. Dick never said anything about it being a date, but it sure read as one. Screw the Aphrodite cabin and their idea of romance, Dick was doing just fine.
That was literally the problem, Percy's brain pointed out, because so was Nightwing. She pulled out her communicator during off hours to text him way too many times for just a superhero partnership.
Arriving at the double doors, she pushed them and those thoughts aside and entered the auditorium. The city hall's main event room was massive, a thin elevated section of floor with a podium lining one end. The audience area was open and filled with a crowd of donors and volunteers and press members. A line of empty labeled buckets for sorting the supplies took up the front of the stage, supervised by people in purple shirts and nametags, though they didn't seem to be accepting donations just yet.
After a few minutes, the mayor was marched in, across the stage and to the podium, escorted by two officers and a familiar, ornately dressed man that instantly made Percy scowl to herself, from her place in the back of the room.
"Good afternoon Bludhaven!" the mayor spoke into the microphone, with a jolly smile, "Before I begin, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Chief Redhorn and the truly great work he and the police department do for this city. His officers are keeping us safe today, so please, give them a round of applause."
The room sounded with scattered clapping, not loud enough to be genuine, but not soft enough to be awkward. I'm clapping for Dick, Percy reasoned, not that guy.
The mayor began his speech, starting with the purpose of the food drive, and slowly delving into statistics about the city's goal to support its citizens in their time of need. Percy had to admit that the man was passionate about helping and was able to hold the audience at rapt attention.
Too bad Percy's ADHD did not allow her to follow the crowd. She was listening, mostly, but her eyes flitted across the room, back and forth, at entrances and exits, at any movement that she noticed. So when Redhorn began to slowly inch from his space at the far end of the stage, Percy caught it immediately. The man slipped out an open doorway, and he could have just been exiting as he was meant to, but something in Percy's gut didn't like the way he had eyed the stage before he left.
Percy stepped back, quietly opening the door behind her to not disturb the mayor and crept down the hall Redhorn had emerged into. She peeked around the corner.
The man reached into his pocket, pulled out a small phone, and placed it against his ear.
"The speech is going as expected," he said lowly, "Proceed with the current timeline."
He paused, face hardening under his gaudy police hat, to listen to what the other end had to say.
He could just be conversing with his officers, making sure everyone was in place at their posts, she reasoned, watching Redhorn say 'yes' into the speaker before placing the phone back into his pants.
But if he was speaking to his team, why wouldn't he use the radio that sat right above his pocket, attached to the belt?
Percy held her breath, watching Redhorn scan his surroundings, before leaving again. He didn't go back into the auditorium, and instead headed directly for a door she knew led out to the streets.
It was all beyond suspicious, she concluded. She needed to find Dick.
LINEBREAK
Normally, events like these were kind of boring. Dick would show up, listen to the supervising officer give them any last-minute announcements, and then set off to his assigned area, where he would walk the halls for an hour, radio in his status every set interval, then switch to a different section of the building and repeat the whole process again. There was not a single shred of excitement.
Today, he had something to look forward to, that kept him occupied enough that sweeping the north end of the city hall wasn't as mind-numbing as usual. Despite how hesitant she had seemed a few days ago, Percy had looked genuinely happy to have come. The brief time they had before he was on the clock didn't feel like enough, none of their interactions really did, but the promise of meeting her in the auditorium later was motivation enough to get through this shift. Maybe he would ask her to get ice cream after.
Perseus liked rocky road, his brain pointed out, thinking about the picture of the soupy brown liquid she had messaged him after their gym bust, along with several frowny faces. The pint had only been half-eaten, she had whined over text. Dick had brought a new one to the docks the next night.
Okay so not ice cream, he decided, jaw tightening, maybe coffee.
"This is Soltis, west exit is clear. Out."
The voice crackled over his radio and into his ear through the earpiece, snapping Dick out of those thoughts. He really should be focusing a little more.
Dick turned the corner, stepping into the next hallway, eyes scanning the entrances and exits. His gaze met another officer, one of the newer recruits, and nodded at him before continuing on. It was weird for him to be put on a high-profile event like this. Dick himself didn't get the clearance until he had had at least a year of experience.
"Hellerman. North corridor is clear. Out."
Dick sighed. He needed to finish the sweep and stop getting caught up in mental tangents. Glancing down at his watch to see how many minutes he had left to cover his area, the clock read 1:51. Nine minutes. Okay, he could do this.
Dick froze.
1:51
That was the time Hellerman had radioed the team. It was also the second time on the list they had found at Blockbuster's hideout. Soltis had checked in a few minutes ago too, could it have been at 1:43, the first time on that list? With slowly dawning horror, Dick realized his assigned radio interval was every thirty minutes, starting at 2 pm. The third time.
It wasn't a coincidence.
Blockbuster was here. Whatever he was planning, it was happening right now.
Every muscle in Dick's body tensed, and he whirled around for any indication of what was going down, but everything was quiet. There were no signs of danger, nothing out of place except—
Down the hall he heard rapid footsteps, sprinting in his direction.
Dick drew his weapon immediately, as they came closer, waiting around the corner. At the last second, he lunged, and found himself pointing a gun at Percy.
"Thank the gods I found you," she said, slightly out of breath, and he dropped the gun instantly.
"What's wrong?" he demanded, "Are you hurt? Did—"
"No, no, I'm fine. But I saw your chief—"
"Redhorn?" Dick asked.
She nodded, furiously. "He was talking to someone, outside the auditorium, saying something about proceeding with the current timeline? It could be nothing, but he was on the phone, not the radio. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but he gives me the creeps—"
"You're not being paranoid," Dick interrupted, pulling her out of the open and back to his side of the corner, "Something's happening."
Dick frantically scanned his surroundings again, but again, not a single thing was out of place. The doors that were supposed to be closed were closed, the hallways quiet, the windows free of movement. The only other person in view was Percy, who stood next to his side, watching him think.
Those numbers were given to Blockbuster's goons for a reason. And based on what Percy had told him, Redhorn had to be the reason the villain had them in the first place.
Dick inhaled sharply. Nothing seemed wrong to him, because it wasn't 2 pm yet. He checked the clock. Five minutes left. Soltis and Hellerman had radioed in all clears, so they hadn't seen anything wrong either. They weren't meant to be heard from until the next time in their interval.
"Come with me," Dick said, and Percy followed instantly, as the two of them ran through the building, towards the back.
They reached the west exit quickly, pulling up short before the door. Percy pointed down to the floor, eyes wide, and he looked to see a spray of gravel, tracking in from the street outside.
I'll keep watch here, she mouthed silently.
Dick nodded, pulling his gun out again and positioning his hand over the door handle. Another time, if he hadn't been hyper-focused on the situation at hand, he would've stopped to marvel at how natural it felt to have Percy here, flitting her eyes around the hall to make sure the coast was clear enough for him to turn his back on it. Instead, Dick narrowed his eyes and pushed open the exit.
The smell hit him first, and he nearly gagged.
He turned his head, not wanting to look and already having a sinking feeling as to the source, and sight make him close his eyes briefly.
"Dick?" he heard, in a hissed whisper, "What's out there?"
Dick spurred into action, whirling around to keep Percy back inside, to keep her from seeing it, but it was too late. The second she laid eyes on the fallen officer, on the bloodied mess of his abdomen, the seared, gaping hole through his stomach, her face contorted. He tried to push her back inside, but she continued to stare.
It wasn't the shocked and utterly horrified look he expected on civilians who had seen something traumatizing. She looked angry.
"Come on," he said, gently, finally successfully turning her away from the scene, "You need to get out of here."
She snapped out of it, and straight up glared at him. It was the first time he had seen her like that, and the force of it startled him.
"So do you!"
"This is my job, Percy," he urged, trying to convince her to leave, "I'll take care of it."
She stood her ground, crossing her arms. "I'm not letting you end up like him."
He might have persuaded her to leave at the Wayne gala, but this time, her feet refused to budge. She had seen Soltis's body, and she knew exactly how high the stakes were. He paused for a few seconds, but Percy's intensity didn't fade in the slightest.
"Okay," he relented, making a decision, "You get out of here right now, and I'll be right behind you." Percy narrowed her eyes, and Dick pursed his lips, knowing he was going to have to give her more. "I'm going to contact Nightwing and brief him on the situation."
Percy blinked in shock, unfolding her arms.
"You know Nightwing?"
"Yes," Dick insisted, "Now please, go."
He watched her clench her jaw, but finally concede, shooting him one last warning glare and running out of the alley. After he was sure she had gone, and that he had no other audience members, Dick stripped off his police uniform, revealing the Nightwing suit underneath. He secured the mask onto his face and un-collapsed his escrima sticks, sticking them to his back. His fingers flew over his wrist, typing out a quick emergency text to Perseus.
The response came almost instantly, saying that she would be on the scene in under two minutes, and the relief he felt was palpable. Dick walked back to his fallen colleague, draping his police uniform over Soltis's body. Giving the man one last sorrowful look, he stepped back through the west entrance.
LINEBREAK
Percy found Nightwing standing just a few feet away when she entered through the same exit where she and Dick had seen the police officer's body.
"Blockbuster?" she confirmed, knowing exactly what had caused that type of damage to a person.
Nightwing nodded gravely.
"Remember those numbers we saw? They're check-in times for security. His goons are hitting the officers right after they radio in, so they can get as close to the auditorium as possible without alerting the rest of the team. There are two casualties so far."
Two? Percy's heart thundered.
"The officer who called me had the two o'clock check-in. I sent him away for now so he missed it, but the two officers before him were killed," he continued.
Percy's slowly devolving thoughts cleared at that confirmation, finally about to focus on the hero before her.
"And the person who gave him that list was—"
"Redhorn," he finished her thought, "The police chief. That's why he put all those new or non-corrupt officers on the detail. He wanted them off the force."
Percy's face contorted in rage, remembering again what she had seen outside. "Has he ever heard of firing someone?" She let out an angry, humorless laugh. "He didn't have to lead them to slaughter!"
Nightwing ran a hand across his face, nodding to show he agreed.
"But why strike here?" Percy asked, then realized, "Oh. The mayor."
"Classic take over the city scheme," Nightwing scowled, "I radioed the other officers to leave their posts, and try to get all the civilians out of there quietly to avoid confrontation."
"Let's go help them," Percy said, setting her jaw, before they raced toward the auditorium.
LINEBREAK
There were no civilians left in the room when Perseus kicked in the double doors and led them inside. There was, however, a line of officers against the wall, pointing their weapons straight out, at the small army of masked men, armed with sleek grey guns and containers of swirling purple liquid. A few, but not all, instantly adjusted their aim, capturing them in their line of fire, but they didn't pull the trigger, instead remaining at a silent standstill.
Dick still did not see Blockbuster.
Rohrbach was standing ahead of the others, face set in grim determination. She glanced at them briefly, acknowledging their presence, but staying quiet. This wasn't the time nor place for her to try to go after vigilantes. A few of his colleagues behind her looked scared out of their minds, only having a few months or weeks of experience on the force. How dare Redhorn, Dick glared.
"What are they waiting for?" Perseus whispered.
The wall behind the goons suddenly burst open, fragmenting and sending chunks of concrete spraying out.
A large, hulking figure emerged from the rubble, with his fist outstretched. Twelve feet tall, sickly beige skin, and an enormous stature draped in a dark, pinstriped suit. In his other hand, he held a loose grip around the squirming mayor.
"Oh," he heard Perseus say faintly, "That's Blockbuster."
"Nightwing," the villain greeted smoothly, with a dark smirk, then glanced to the side, "And sidekick. You tried your best, but this one couldn't escape fast enough."
He squeezed the mayor a little tighter. Perseus huffed, but didn't protest, not allowing Blockbuster the pleasure of riling them up.
"Roland," Dick mocked, because liked the way the large man's lips twitched in anger every time he used his real name, then hardened his voice, "Let him go."
Smirk falling, Blockbuster waved his hands, signaling to his army to open fire.
The next few minutes were a complete blur of movement, and it was all Dick could do to not get hit by one of the deadly beams shooting around the room. He launched himself at the nearest goon, ripping the gun out of his hand and throwing the man at another. He lost track of Perseus, but in a brief moment of rest, he saw her, sword drawn, attacking the legs of anyone she could get her hands on.
He also caught a glimpse of Rohrbach, shooting goons down valiantly, but none of his other colleagues. Thankfully, his momentary panic was quelled by the open door on the other side of the room and the lack of fallen uniformed officers. His police partner must have ushered them out.
Dick fought as hard as he could, but he knew they couldn't keep this up. Blockbuster's army had clearly trained with the guns, and they fired in short, controlled spurts, not afraid to tap into its power.
Dick reached into his belt, pulling out a set of metal wingdings. He didn't use these often anymore, but maybe they could come in handy today. He flicked his hand, the projectile leaving his fingers and finding its target. Fifteen feet away, the container on a man's gun shattered, purple ammunition spilling out onto the floor. He grinned.
"Aim for the cartridges!" he yelled, over all the commotion.
He didn't know if Perseus heard it, but in the few seconds that followed, he heard the consequent breaking of glass, and the onslaught of beams in his face lessened slightly. He looked over, to see Rohrbach following the instruction as well, rapidly discharging her gun like hitting targets at a carnival game.
Perseus, true to the meaning of her chosen name, was leaving destruction in her wake, sword sheathed, cutting down enemies with her knives only to immediately throw them across the room with deadly accuracy. Every time Dick glanced over, they were somehow back in her hand, slicing across limbs. Slowly, they stopped having to dodge so much, and started to focus on offense.
Across the room, Blockbuster growled, and Dick immediately flipped over his current opponent, launching himself towards the stage. Blockbuster tried to swat him into the wall, but Dick grabbed and held on to the outstretched hand, taking one of his escrima sticks out to shock the villain on the shoulder.
The voltage ran down Blockbuster's arm, causing him to drop the mayor, finally, but he recovered quickly, and this time, his blow made contact. Dick fell to the ground with a painful thud, twisting his body to minimize the damage.
"Move!" he yelled to the mayor, who scrambled off the stage.
Blockbuster lunged after him, but Dick picked himself up, jumping up and kicking the villain in the face to distract him. He made contact, hearing a satisfying groan, but then Blockbuster plucked him out of the air, wrapping his fingers around Dick's torso and trapping his arms.
"Every time," the villain seethed, "You show up, like a damn cockroach."
He bent down, grabbing a fallen gun with his other hand, the cartridge still intact, and straightened. He leveled it against Dick's head, but then smirked, pointing it across the room, and pulled the trigger.
Dick followed the aim of fire, directly to Perseus, who was reaching down to help Rohrbach up.
"Sef!" he yelled, desperately.
She turned, and faster than what was humanly possible, unsheathed her sword. The beam hit the bronze side of her blade, bouncing off and flying back the way it came. Blockbuster stumbled backward to avoid the hit, dropping Dick and crashing into the wall behind.
LINEBREAK
Percy sprinted towards the cloud of debris that Blockbuster's body had created.
"Wing!" she called out, pushing chunks of concrete aside.
"I'm here, I'm here," he assured, picking himself up and dusting himself off. He pressed his sides and winced. "That was a neat trick."
She sighed in relief and smiled sheepishly. "Thanks, I'm glad it didn't melt my sword."
"You mean you didn't know if it would work?" he exclaimed.
She shrugged, having enough faith in celestial bronze to justify taking that risk, then looked past the other hero, and froze.
"Where's Blockbuster?"
Nightwing whirled around, stepping through the hole, which lead back out into the city. A large van, big enough to hold the giant of a villain, kicked into gear and sped down the street, tires squealing.
"Fuck," Nightwing swore, "If he gets away today, he's going to try again soon."
Percy knew exactly why. The number of people that had attacked them wasn't incredibly large, and Blockbuster had to have more guns than the goons held today. He could regroup, come up with another plan, and strike again. They were able to break the cartridges today, but he could enforce them with metal the next time around. More people could die. And then there was Kai, still sitting alone in a hospital bed, waiting for someone to let him know he could rejoin the world.
"We're going after him," Percy decided, though it was clear the other hero was thinking the same thing, "And we're ending this today."
LINEBREAK
Dick tightened his grip on the handlebars, pulling back on the right throttle to increase the speed. Blockbuster's van was ripping across the highway, out of the city, and the further they followed, the more Dick's suspicions of where he was heading solidified.
Behind him, Perseus gripped his waist gingerly, carefully maneuvering around the bruises like she knew exactly where they were by just the way he had held himself while running to the motorcycle.
Dick swerved around yet another car, passing it to stay a little closer to the van.
"He's taking the next exit," Perseus said, into his ear, so he could hear it around all the wind.
"Then I know where he's going," he turned slightly to respond, before facing the road again.
He picked up speed once more, racing past another stream of vehicles, and drove for another minute, before taking the same exit Blockbuster had. He kept them behind bigger cars and trucks, so they remained out of view.
Perseus pointed to a large hangar, rectangular with a slanted roof, and Dick pulled his cycle behind it, slowing it to a stop. They dismounted, and crept along the side, to the front. Blockbuster had had too much of a head start. The enormous military-grade cargo plane was very slowly taxing down the airfield runway, the ramp just beginning to close. Dick shared a glance with Perseus, before they both began to sprint towards it.
Perseus got there a second before he did, climbing over the edge, and holding a hand out for Dick. He jumped, grabbing it, and she pulled him over, into the plane, just before the ramp raised too high to reach. Together, they slid quietly down to the cargo area.
They crouched down behind the large wooden crates that no doubt held the rest of Blockbuster's guns, facing each other. Perseus held her head in her hands.
"I'm so fucked," she whispered, "I can't be here."
Dick felt the plane gain momentum and heard the whistling of the air along the wings. He remembered one of the first conversations he had had with her, on the docks, about how much she hated flying, and winced.
"A private plane can't go that high," he tried to assure her, "Twelve to fifteen thousand feet, that's it."
She peered at him incredulously through her fingers, before dragging them down her face. "Oh really, that's it?" she mocked.
The wheels picked up off the runway and the plane wobbled slightly, making Percy grimace, before lifting into the air. Dick hadn't known the aversion was that bad. He reached out and gripped her wrists, moving them back down.
"You're gonna be fine," he said, soothingly, "I've seen what you can do. We're going up to the main area, kicking Blockbuster's ass, and then I'm gonna land this thing. You can do this."
He leaned forward, placing his forehead against hers. He felt Perseus take a deep breath and nod. When she pulled away, her face was set, determined.
"Okay," she said, "Okay, let's get him. For Kai."
LINEBREAK
Percy had no idea how high they were, just knew that the pit in her stomach would not go away, that is, until they crept up to the body of the plane, quietly taking out two guards along the way, and heard the pilot, from somewhere in the hidden cockpit call out, "Three thousand feet and climbing, sir."
If this is how she felt and they weren't even halfway to the maximum height, she was on the direct path to puke her guts out. It was never this bad when she was in the air if she had something solid beneath her feet, that connected her directly to the ground, like at the St. Louis arch. But being in a physical airplane, with nothing underneath but air and wind and sky, was a completely different story. Even if Zeus only threw a small tantrum, only let out a few cracks of thunder instead of a full storm, it didn't change the fact that her body itself knew it should not be flying in a plane.
As the aircraft hit a small bout of turbulence, she used the grounding feeling of Nightwing standing close to pull herself together. She couldn't dwell on this. Zeus might gripe and groan later, or send more wind pockets to shake the plane, but he wouldn't incur Poseidon's wrath by actually killing her. By this point, they had to be past all that. Hopefully.
"Took these from the Wingcycle," Nightwing said lowly, reaching into his belt, producing two small objects, and handing her one, "Tranquilizers, if we can get close enough. We'll need both to subdue him."
Percy wrapped her fingers around the cylinder, with the needle pointed down, and nodded. Nightwing had been right. Once she had seen the twelve-foot villain come out from the wall, it was obvious who he was. Blockbuster, whatever he was now, hardly looked human after the serum Nightwing had told her about. His face was stretched out, pulled tight against the enlarged skull, and although he wore regular clothes that had to be custom-made, they did little to hide how sinister he looked.
"Seven thousand feet and climbing, sir."
Blockbuster grunted in response, from around the corner.
"When we get down," Percy whispered, "I'm going to literally kiss the ground, and you're not going to judge me."
Nightwing grinned at her, placing a dramatic hand over his chest. Even now, she felt her heart beat rapidly.
"I would never," he promised.
LINEBREAK
The timing was off.
Nightwing's needle pierced through his bicep a second before hers, and Blockbuster snarled at the surprise attack. His other arm flailed, hitting Percy in the torso and sending her flying into the side of the plane. She watched in horror as her half of the tranquilizer fell, crushed underneath Blockbuster's stamping feet.
But she wasn't allowed to worry about that for long, because as Nightwing danced out of the way, Blockbuster roared, picking up his gun. He aimed at the other hero and fired, but suddenly the half dose of sedative hit his blood and he wobbled, unable to control himself.
The single-shot beam turned into a constant one, searing across the plane. It missed Nightwing, instead slicing messily into a section of the hull. For better or for worse, Blockbuster regained his bearings, the tranquilizer dissipating. He shut the gun off instantly. The metal of the plane groaned, but thankfully, it had only been on long enough to weaken, not enough to pierce through.
Percy attacked with her sword this time, not having the time to dwell on the failed plan. She leaped up, slicing across his arm, and when Blockbuster turned to her, Nightwing took advantage, bringing his electric-charged sticks down on his shoulder.
They traded blows, pushing and pulling, darting in when the other held the villain's attention. But just like at city hall, they couldn't keep doing this forever. Short of killing him, Percy could only try to wear him down, but everything she and Nightwing did, just made Blockbuster angrier. They were at thirteen thousand feet now, the pilot shakily announcing it from the cockpit, trying to keep control of the plane as the three of them knocked it back and forth. Percy could feel her body screaming in protest, slowing down, begging to be placed back on solid ground.
Nightwing placed a powerful kick to Blockbuster's head, and the villain stumbled for a second. Percy raised her sword, it being her turn to strike, but suddenly, the metal hull creaked. The continued pressure against the side where it had been hit with the gun was slowly chipping away at the wall, and when it shook, Percy hesitated.
That was her mistake.
Blockbuster pulled the trigger on the gun, and this time, she couldn't reflect it, in fear of cutting up the aircraft more. She dodged, but it wasn't fast enough. The beam grazed her side as she jumped, sending her tumbling to the floor, sword clattering somewhere too far to reach.
Nightwing screamed her name, and tried to run to her, but Blockbuster used the opportunity to smack him away, placing himself between the two of them.
"Oh, that's not good," she mumbled, trying to sit up.
The best she could was prop herself up against something. She looked down.
Her suit had taken most of the damage, and Percy promised herself that she would give Leo anything he wanted, if she made it off this damn plane. But even he could only do so much. Beneath the shredded fabric, her skin had been broken through, almost mangled, oozing blood down her side.
"It's not—not as bad as it looks," she coughed out, hoping that it would reach Nightwing.
She blinked vaguely across the plane, looking for him. Blockbuster was slowly cornering him. He was in a similar state as her, sans the hole in her stomach, scrambling backward. He reached up for his escrima sticks but they had been lost somewhere lost in the fall.
With Blockbuster approaching him, he looked frantically at her in worry. Percy lifted her arm and gave him a weak thumbs up, but it just made him more distraught. Maybe she shouldn't have used the hand covered in her blood.
Percy had to do something. Blockbuster kept advancing on Nightwing, taunting him, though she could barely hear any of it over the ringing in her ears. She couldn't let the villain hurt him. She wouldn't. He meant too much.
She had to do something, she thought desperately, but what?
There was one thing.
The thought came to her, watching Blockbuster grin madly at his prey. Blockbuster, as monstrous as he was, was once human. She could feel it, the mortality running through his blood. It was made of water, after all.
Percy had never controlled anyone before like that. She didn't even know if she could use the blood to direct their movements. Theoretically, it could work. She felt the water inside him, the way it flowed. Maybe she could pin Blockbuster to the ground, maybe. There was a larger chance that once she gained control, she'd squeeze too hard. But she couldn't let him hurt Nightwing.
She closed her eyes, feeling out for the water in his body.
"Stay awake," Nightwing pleaded, from across the room, "Sef, please, come on, just open your eyes."
Percy instantly snapped out of it.
Her partner was a mess, bruises spotting his chin and no doubt covering the rest of his body. But even now, he only looked at her, lips forming words that started to get lost when the plane shook again. Blockbuster had turned, but chuckled at the sight of her, thinking she was halfway to unconsciousness, and faced Nightwing again.
No.
Last time, she thought she didn't have a choice. She would never get the chance to redo what happened in Tartarus, but this time, if there was no other way, she would make one.
LINEBREAK
Everything hurt. Every part of his body ached. He would be on house arrest for eternity after this stunt, Dick thought miserably, but he couldn't even laugh at his joke.
Not when Perseus was on the other side of the plane, bleeding out. She was all alone, propped up against the side of the wall, clutching her stomach, and he couldn't get to her. Dick ignored the shooting pain in his limbs to stand, trying to skirt around Blockbuster, but the man plucked up Dick like a rag doll, tossing him back to the ground in front of him.
"She's finished, Nightwing," the monster chuckled, "But don't worry, you'll follow her soon enough."
Dick felt the taste of blood in his mouth.
"And then I'm going to use the rest of my guns down there and take your city. Bludhaven is on its last leg anyways," he continued, taking a step closer, "The police chief practically handed me the mayor and set up all his good little officers to die. There's nothing left for you to protect."
His escrima sticks were god knows where. He was bruised up, bone-tired, and Perseus was somewhere off to the side trying to stand up. Dick could see her, jaw clenched, placing her hands on the ground to push herself up. Even now, as blood dripped down her leg, spilling out in dangerous amounts, she tried to reach him.
"Yes, there is," Dick gritted his teeth, trying to keep Blockbuster from seeing her.
The villain rolled his eyes, taking another step closer. He lifted the gun again, lazily pointing it at Dick, but his pointer finger was perfectly in place.
"You've taken up enough of my time," he sneered, "I have places to be. The mayor has dinner with his family, every Friday, and today, I've been invited."
Dick had no weapons. His ribs screamed. There was nowhere to run. He didn't know if he could dodge the shot.
Blockbuster tightened his finger around the trigger.
Dick readied himself anyways.
Suddenly, like a battering ram, Perseus charged at the villain. With strength Dick had no idea she possessed, she rushed him from the side, knocking him off balance. Together, they forcefully stumbled into the side of the plane.
Blockbuster hit the spot weakened earlier by his own gun. The metal shrieked loudly as it fell apart into the sky, breaking open a hole in the side of the plane that, in one loud inhale, sucked Blockbuster and Perseus out into the sky.
Everything suddenly went silent.
The wind ripped through the plane, making the metal shudder and groan, but Dick couldn't even hear the sound of his own breathing. It felt like he was thrust underwater, pressure choking his ears and chest. His vision swam as he stared, uncomprehendingly, out the hole.
It had all happened so fast, like he had imagined it, like it was just a worst-case scenario that had flashed through his mind. But this was reality, and in two brief seconds, it was all over.
The wave behind his head roared and crashed down. All of a sudden, everything was loud, too loud, the hull of the plane screaming in protest against the damage. Dick stumbled, blinking, reaching out with his arms. The wind whipped across his face as he crawled to the hole, clutching the wall, but it was far too late.
Maybe Perseus had somehow been spared, and was hanging to something, waiting for him to pull her back in. She was strong, it was possible, it had to be. Dick looked frantically out the rupture, but it was all white, clouds dancing between the spots in his vision. She wasn't there.
Perseus was gone, whistling down below, miles back, taking Blockbuster with her. Thirteen thousand feet. There was no surviving that kind of fall.
The plane tipped precariously in the air, careening forward and nearly taking Dick with it, but he gripped onto a fixture at the last second. His training kicked in, taking over his muscles and straining them against the dangerous conditions to move. Dick's brain pleaded to keep looking, that maybe Perseus would appear through the haze somehow, someway, but his body crawled to the cockpit on its own accord.
Tears blurred his vision, coating the inside of his mask. Dick moved like a madman, snarling, and grabbed the back of the panicking pilot's shirt. He threw him to the side without a second thought and took his seat.
Perseus was gone.
She was gone, lost somewhere in the abyss down below. The chances of even finding her body were close to zero.
The tears came faster, collecting at the bottom of the domino and seeping through. He wanted to yell, to throw something, to scream about how unfair it was. He wanted to jump out of the plane and hope to catch up with Perseus, to see her one last time. Instead, with shaking hands that ached to hit the monster responsible for all of this, Dick gripped the throttle, nearly snapping it under the pressure. Fuck his training for forcing him to prioritize his safety.
Clenching his jaw so hard his teeth ground into each other, Dick pulled back on the stick to begin the emergency landing.
LINEBREAK
Percy understood why Nightwing liked flying so much. Feeling the wind through each of her fingers, all that open space in every direction, it felt freeing. If she wasn't a child of Poseidon whose stomach dropped in anxiety at just the thought of being suspended in air, if Zeus didn't want to kill her for entering his domain, if she wasn't hurtling at rapid speeds toward her doom, Percy might have agreed with him.
Blockbuster roared from a few feet away, tumbling all over himself, struggling to keep a handle on his bearings.
"You stupid girl, now we're both dead!" he screamed, so loud that Percy could understand it even over the wind whipping through her hair.
She didn't respond.
Thirteen thousand feet.
She had never fallen from this height before.
It was different from all the other times. Jumping from the arch and the glacier in Alaska, she had closed her eyes tight. Descending into Tartarus, it had been too dark to see the bottom, and she had been too terrified to do anything but clutch onto Annabeth.
This time, she wasn't scared. Percy looked down at the dark, glittering surface. Her stomach was on fire, but she clenched it, trying to urge the condensation in the clouds to slow them down. She felt particles pull on her skin, not enough to cushion, but maybe enough to keep her from going splat.
If she survived this, she would break a personal record, Percy thought to herself, with a humorless laugh. Nightwing better not have been lying about knowing how to land a plane.
She looked over to Blockbuster, who was now shutting his eyes tightly, letting go control of his flailing limbs, as if he was waiting for death.
She glanced down. They were close enough to see the push and pull of the ocean, breathing in and out like a living entity. Percy inhaled, matching its rhythm, then exhaled. She flicked her wrist, feeling the tug in her bleeding gut once more. The water beneath her opened up, a swirling mess of teeth and tongue.
Percy took one last deep breath, and let the sea swallow her whole.
A.N.
so
anyways
ILL FIX IT SOON I PROMISE
some of it at least
would love to hear your thoughts! <3