Lost Hero

Return

Percy was gone when they all woke up the next morning. Her room was exactly as it had been when she was first given it. Her entire presence was erased from the manor. The only thing that indicated she had been there was the stack of cash and a simple note reading I'm sorry.

"Are you happy now Bruce? She's gone. You know, she was the best thing to happen to the team. Did you see how they improved with her training?" Dick asks.

"She nearly got you all killed and she lied to everyone," Bruce says, his voice level.

"She saved my life! That bull creature was going to shatter every bone in my body and she took the hit instead!" Dick yells, angry.

"Well it's too late now," Bruce says, going back to his breakfast.

Dick grabs a piece of toast before storming out of the kitchen. He knew that if he stayed, he would most likely do something he would regret which mainly involved his fist and Bruce's face. 

"Bruce, I know she hurt you, I know you trusted her and she broke that, but you've taken it too far. How would you feel if you were kicked out of the manor?" Alfred asks, voice stern.

"It's different, the manor has been in my family for generations and it's actually my home," Bruce says and the tray of tea clanks when Alfred sets it down harshly.

"And you made it her home! You invited her into this house, you gave her a room, you welcomed her, made her comfortable here. You gave a broken girl safety and you just ripped that away from her!" Alfred yells, angrier than Bruce has ever seen him.

"Alfred..." Bruce says, voice soft.

"I'm taking a few days off, I'm sure you'll manage," Alfred says, walking out of the kitchen.

Bruce was left sitting in an empty kitchen, staring at his mug of coffee. Where did he go wrong? She lied to them, she attracted monsters to them. And somehow, he bought her lies. He believed her full-heartedly. And he was made a fool.

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

It had been three weeks since Percy's disappearance and nearly everyone had given up on her. The team was furious with Bruce. Alfred and Dick had yet to return to the manor, attempting to track Percy. But they had no clue where to even start. Sure, they had a larger file on her now, but they had no clue where she could have gone. They had tracked her mother, half-sister, and stepfather down as they weren't dead after all, but they either honestly didn't know where to find Percy or they weren't helping. It was fair, they had chased her off. Even Bruce was regretting his decision.

But it all changed one day, Percy flashing into the cave. Slung over her two shoulders were two bodies. The team stared at her in shock, before the bright red hair caught their eyes.

"Wally!" Artemis yells, barreling at Percy.

Percy doesn't get a chance to set Wally down, Artemis ripping him out of her grip. Dick was ecstatic to see Wally, however impossible, but he was worried about Percy. She was barely standing, covered in blood and grime. There wasn't any part of her body that was clean. He carefully takes the other body from her and she collapses, being caught by Kaldur.

"Percy?" He questions, turning her face to him.

Her eyes were closed and she was barely breathing, he could hear the rattle in her chest as she labored for breath.

"Percy! Wake up!" Kaldur yells, shaking her.

She doesn't respond, not even a flicker of her eyes.

"Guys! Percy needs help!" Dick yells, turning back to the team that was crowding around a very confused Wally.

"Is she okay? She saved us," Wally says, looking at the girl.

"No, she isn't responding," Dick says, watching as Kaldur picks her up and starts running to the med bay.

The next few minutes are a mad panic, the team running around, trying to help Wally and the unconscious body which ends up being a young Latino-looking boy. When they finally hooked Percy up to the monitors, it doesn't look good. No one had ever seen someone like this who survived.

"How is she?" A voice croaks and they turn to the second boy Percy brought them, he's lying on the table next to her, as white as a ghost.

"Not good, we don't know how to treat her," Artemis says, still refusing to look away from Wally as if her looking at him would keep him there.

"She saved us, she jumped and she saved us," Wally is muttering, looking at Percy.

"What are you talking about?" Kaldur snaps, on edge.

"We were in hell and she saved us," The Latino boy says, sitting up. 

"She went back there?" Kaldur asks and the team almost recoils in the way he radiates pure rage. 

"I don't know how she ended up there, but she was there," Wally says, looking at her. 

"Do you have ambrosia? Nectar?" The Latino asks and the team looks at him in confusion. 

"The water bottle!" Kaldur yells, pointing to the laboratory fridge where the spare blood and the water bottle Lady Artemis had given them were stored. 

Dick runs across the room, nearly tearing the door off the fridge before seizing the water bottle and running back to Percy. Kaldur props her head up and opens her mouth, allowing Dick to force-feed her the liquid, reminiscent of the night Percy saved Dicks life. And now it seemed as if she had saved Wally. Why was Percy always the one to save others? 

"How is she?" A male voice asks and the team turns to look behind them, uneasy. 

Standing behind them, looking at Percy in concern was a strange-looking man. With black hair, a neatly trimmed black beard, a deep tan, and sea-green eyes that were surrounded by sun-crinkles, he looked oddly familiar to Percy. His hands were scarred like an old-time fisherman's, showing that he was no stranger to manual labor. He wore leather sandals, khaki Bermuda shorts, and a Tommy Bahama shirt with coconuts and parrots all over it. 

"Lord Poseidon," Kaldur says, nodding his head in respect but his attention was on Percy. 

"How is my daughter?" He asks sharply, looking at everyone. Their minds reel, according to Percy, her father was Poseidon, god of the seas. This couldn't be him, could it?

"Poseidon, they are doing their best. Can you get Will here?" It's the Latino boy who speaks. 

"Of course Leo, and it's good to see you back. I can't even imagine how happy Percy must be," Poseidon says, waving his hand. 

In an instant, two things happen. One, all the blood and grime are removed from Percy and her clothes are swapped out for a hospital gown. Second, two boys appear next to Poseidon. Dick recognizes one of the boys as Nico, the scary guy who popped into the house after Percy moved in. The other was a blonde, happy-looking guy, the total opposite of Nico. They both are startled when they catch sight of the Latino, whose name appears to be Leo, but their startled looks turn to ones of excitement. But when they both catch sight of Percy, their faces darken. 

"What happened?" The blonde asks, striding forward. 

"She was down in the pit. They gave her some nectar but she needs you, Will," Poseidon says, seeming somewhat defeated. 

"The pit? What do you mean she was in the pit?" Nico asks, the shadows in the room seeming to bend towards him. It properly freaked the team out. 

"She saved us, we were trapped and she saved us!" Wally yells and the team notices his shaking, not from his powers but from what he experienced. 

"I'm going to need everyone to give me some space. It was hard enough bringing her back the first time, this is going to take time. Leo, and the redhead who was in there with her, stay, you need medical attention as well, everyone else out," The blonde orders. It was clear his word was law, everyone filing out. 

And while especially Kaldur and Dick would have preferred to stay with Percy, they knew better than to go against the blonde and trusted him to take care of them. Artemis took some persuasion, but when she saw even Poseidon leaving, she followed. Everyone went and sat in either the living room or kitchen, waiting.