Lost Hero

Secrets

When Percy returned home, she ended up looking around for a good place to hide a 2000-year-old stollen vase. She ended up chucking it in the back of her closet and coating it in a thick layer of ice and then piling clothes on it to hide it, praying that it wouldn't melt until she found a way to deal with it. 

Downstairs, the team and Bruce were shitting bricks. They had watched the museum robbed right in front of their eyes. The whole team and even Bruce were impressed. In and out in under thirty seconds with nothing left behind but a note (that part Bruce had to get from the commissioner via text).

"Do you think it was the same girl whos new in town? I thought her deal was stopping criminals with questionable methods, not robbing museums," Dick asks, looking at Bruce. 

"I have no clue, but that's what you guys are here for, to track her down. I want her caught and brought in. Be ready with a containment collar, she has powers but we aren't sure what they are exactly. We do know that if she's the one who robbed the bank then she would have the ability to manipulate water. Witnesses reported that a ball of water broke the window and then turned into smoke, although we know that it was only water and there were no chemical agents present," Bruce rattles off, voice tense. 

"Why does everyone look freaked out?" Percy asks, causing everyone to jump. 

"Percy!" Megan says, a little too cheerful and a little too loud. 

"Yes, that was my name last time I checked," Percy says, her tone dry and unamused. 

"Of course, I knew that. You're already back," Megan says, looking at her oddly. 

"Yeah, I just went upstairs to dump my bag and change," She says, pointing down at her leggings and baggy sweatshirt she now wore. The team could see the scars on her neck more clearly now that she didn't have a high collar to block them. 

She seemed completely relaxed now, the tenseness from before gone. The team notices the change and they look at each other, confused. Percy was just happy. She was there and back within ten minutes. Looking at those in the room, she saw no amount of suspicion, at least no more than she saw when she first walked in when she got back. 

But as the team looked at her closer, they noticed details they didn't see before. They saw how thin she was, how her skin was dull, and her hair was split and cracked. They saw the bags under her eyes and how she seemed to have tiny bits of gray streaked throughout her hair with there being one large, prominent streak. She looked worn down and tired, and even though Dick had told them she was only nineteen, she looked much much older, lines creasing her face even though she was quite young. They felt bad for her and she looked like she could use a break. 

"Why don't you watch a movie with us? Alfred's making popcorn," 

Surprisingly, it's Artemis who's inviting her. The team was surprised, it wasn't like Artemis to do anything like that, and certainly not after losing Wally. She naturally had a suspicion of people, it made sense, her being Sportsmasters' daughter. But the look she was giving Percy at that moment made perfect sense to Dick. Artemis was identifying with Percy because she saw that Percy's lost someone, just like her. 

Percy hesitates a moment before relenting. Kaldur immediately moved aside, making room for her to sit next to him. She slowly lowered herself to the couch, stiff as a board. She was obviously uncomfortable with the situation, although she didn't look like she was about to run, which was a good sign. 

Once the movie started, Percy slowly starts to relax, leaning more and more into Kaldur and the couch. The team watched as the on edge woman slowly started to fall asleep, soon starting to snore slightly. They all smile, looking at her. She looks so soft right now, practically curled up in Kaldurs lap. For the first time since they saw her, her face was clear of worry. 

*****************************

Percy woke with a start, still curled up on Kaldur. He wakes as well, face flushed red while looking down at his princess. They were alone, the rest of the team sneaking out of the room while she was asleep. The only ones left were Kaldur and Percy, the TV still playing some kind of TV show. They were afraid the silence would wake Percy and didn't want to risk disrupting her sleep, it looked like she needed it. 

"Highness, please forgive me, I didn't mean-" Kaldur stumbles through his words, trying to explain why exactly he had his arms wrapped around her. 

"Kaldur, it's fine. I'm just Percy here and it isn't my choice to be whatever my father insists I am. I'm no more royal than you are, not really," She says, sitting up and moving away from him, blushing when she realizes she fell asleep on him. 

"But your father-"

"-Isn't here. Kaldur, I know that it's your way of showing respect, but I would rather you just call and think of me as Percy," 

Listening from beyond the doorway, Dick is frozen. Highness? Royal? What the hell were they talking about? Percy seemed like any old girl, well at least any old girl who has been in a war and has PTSD. But Dick did know one thing for certain, Percy wasn't who she claimed to be and he didn't know what to do with that.