𝐍𝐘𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐀 || 𝐡𝐩 𝐱 𝐩𝐣𝐨

017

Irene liked to think she enjoyed being in the air. The numerous times she'd rode her broom at Hogwarts she had no problem being perched hundreds of feet in the sky and looking down at the scenery, or racing at dangerous speeds towards the golden snitch for a game of Quidditch.

At this very moment, however, Irene never wanted to fly again. She finally understood why Percy refused to ever fly on a broom with her.

There were some lighthearted chuckles, with the exception of Thalia who looked like she wanted to be sick all over the Great Hall's floor.

She didn't open her eyes the entire way down, and the wind whipped her hair back and forth as they descended toward the water. The wind ripped the breath from their lungs and everything passed in a blur of colors.

A few other people also didn't seem quite as enthused with the visual being presented.

As the two made contact with the water, the screen was briefly covered in a whiteout of bubbles that prevented anyone from seeing what happened. They sank through the murky water as the bubbles cleared.

Surprisingly, their impact with the water hadn't hurt at all. The two teens sank soundlessly through the murky water to the bottom of the river. A catfish swam off at the disturbance, and clouds of silt and trash swirled up around them.

"Oh that's disgusting," Artemis scoffed, raising an eyebrow at Poseidon in an almost condescending manner. "Can't you do anything about it?"

"Not my domain," The god said with his eyes narrowing at her. "I have a hard enough time keeping the entire ocean clean as is, I'm sure your forests aren't fairing much better thanks to the mortals."

As Irene held onto Percy, she realized she didn't feel wet at all. Her clothing, and Percy's, were perfectly dry despite sitting at the bottom of the Mississippi River. And then she realized that they were breathing, both with no need to hold their breath in the murky water.

"Let's never do that again, by the way," Irene said quietly, not looking away from the screen though she could practically feel Percy's offended face.

"No underwater dates?"

Both were a bit surprised at the powers but chose not to question it. Percy stood up and helped Irene to her feet, never once letting go of her hand. They stood thigh-deep in mud, and Percy silently thanked his father for the fact that they weren't dead.

"Certainly better than the other possibilities," Apollo muttered, flicking Percy in the forehead for his carelessness.

Irene silently tapped Percy's shoulder and pointed ahead of them. Percy looked and saw his sword buried in the mud not two meters in front of them. Floating ominously above the sword, a woman with green eyes and long billowing hair.

"Mom?" Percy asked. "What?" Irene realized she was only able to hear Percy's side of the conversation pretty quickly, and when the ghostly woman faded from view Percy went forward and grabbed his sword. He was clearly having some sort of internal crisis that Irene chose not to question him about.

He capped the sword and stuck the ballpoint pen in his pocket. With a tight hold on Irene's hand, the two swam to the surface.

They surfaced next to a McDonald's, and the sound of sirens could be heard near the arch. Police Helicopters circled overhead, and a little girl pointed at the two teens who had emerged from the water, whose mother paid no mind to her.

"I'll be honest, I really wanted to go get a hamburger," Percy mumbled.

Percy pulled her to her feet with a quick once over to ensure she was okay, which she rolled her eyes at before he dragged them through the crowd of onlookers to see what was going on and listen to the news reporter. Uniformed police officers were everywhere, and Irene quickly began leading Percy away from the scene as his "crimes" were being aired live on television. Wonderful.

"I feel that even if we tried hard enough, we may never be able to beat the record amount of crimes this young lad has committed," Fred said seriously, shaking his head in genuine disappointment.

"I feel that you're correct, brother." George sighed, chin resting in the palm of his hand.

A familiar voice bleated behind them, calling their attention away from the rapidly gathering crowd.

"Perrr-cy!" The dark-haired boy was tackled into a hug by the satyr, which Irene quickly sidestepped so she wouldn't be grabbed as well. "I'd thought you'd gone to Hades the hard way! Are you two alright?"

"Why couldn't Hades just summon them to the Underworld? It's not like he didn't know they were looking for him?" Draco questioned Irene who shrugged.

"More entertaining to watch them struggle and fail." The god of the dead said seriously.

"Let's move losers, before someone recognizes us," Irene huffed, leading the two through the crowd and remaining unnoticed by anyone.

"Percy Jackson. That's right, Dan. Channel Twelve has learned that the boy who may have caused this explosion fits the description of a young man wanted by authorities for a serious New Jersey bus accident three days ago, and is believed to be traveling West. For our viewers at home, here is a picture of Percy Jackson."

The trio ducked around the news van and slipped into a nearby alley, the chaos of the crowd and reporters fading away as they fled the scene of the crime. Somehow, they made it back to the Amtrak station without getting caught and were back on their train before it left for Denver. The train trundled off West as darkness fell, with police lights lighting up the St Louis skyline behind it.

"Another day wasted, good job guys," Clarisse scoffed, arms crossed over her chest and a sarcastic smile on her face.