Teacher, Not Hero (femPercy Jackson X YJ)

Sixty-One: Alone We Fall, Together We Rise

A/N: So. Been a while huh? i started this fic when i was 14, not even out of 8th grade. Last month, i graduated high school. This fic has been a hard labor of love, pride, and joy. (I mean, aside from this one, i literally wrote every chapter on my phone. Younger me was wild for that) We've had our ups and downs and to those of you still reading, whether from the first chapter or 5 minutes ago, your dedication to me and this story has been unparalleled. The love you've shown for my work has inspired me beyond words. The greatest gift I have ever given to myself was posting that first chapter; because it gave me all of you. Now, I know I left you hanging, and honestly I wasn't feeling this fic anymore, but after everything it's done for me, for my writing, for who I am, I figured it deserved an ending. If you like my work, come find my on ao3 (though, none of what I have there would be as good as it is without this). So. without further ado, (only a couple years late), i present to you: the end. Thanks for reading. 

3rd P.O.V: 

Percy's day had started off well enough. She'd had a nice breakfast, she'd called her mom, and went for a run on the beach. It was probably the most peaceful morning she'd had in a while to be honest, with the Slade incident and running around trying to figure out who the Light's mysterious "new partner" was. 

It had been nice to see John. He was some one that had been there for her, in his own abstract way when she was growing up. They had run into each other now and then over the years. Other demigods had too; it wasn't overly uncommon that the occult and the mythological crossed paths.

Despite her peaceful morning, Percy couldn't help but feel a sense of dread brewing inside her chest, knocking against her ribs and hollowing her heart, making her feel heavy and cold. She couldn't help but think this was simply the calm before the storm of a lifetime.  

She was worried about the kids. She'd put in months of work with them and they had improved, but she couldn't help the slight curl of fear at the back of her mind as she thought about the future. Hero work was dangerous business and the threats where only getting bolder and bigger every day. She wasn't going to be around forever; Demigods rarely live past 20. 

She thought a lot about Bruce, about Clark, about Diana. These were the adults that were responsible for the next generation. They were supposed to be leading the world into a better, brighter future. But people like Lex Luthor controlled the western economy. People like Queen Bee controlled the politics and policy of foreign countries. Meta-human trafficking was on the rise, as was crime. New, darker, bolder threats were emerging from the corners of the galaxy. Power hungry warlords and vicious alien races seeking invasion were popping up more and more. And above all, Percy sensed disturbance on Mount Olympus. 

The Justice League had failed to inspire her confidence that they could handle such matters. They had hundreds of members yet little cohesion across sectors. Batman didn't trust anyone and therefore no one trusted him. Diana was too proud to truly learn the ways of men. Superman was unsure of his place within the world. The three very pillars of their League crumbled and worse, those pillars let their subordinates see them fall. There was merit behind a humble leader, a leader who accepted their faults and didn't hide behind bravado and falsehoods. But leaders who were so openly distrusting and dishonest, disconnected and apathetic, displaced and confused...

It was a breading ground for instability. 

There was a reason Camp Halfblood had a select number of counselors that acted as generals during times of war. They were children, yes, but they were leaders first. 

And leaders do not mourn their losses until the battle's won and bodies counted. 

As Percy thought about the young heroes in her charge, she wondered if they would be ready to take up their mentor's mantles when the time came. If they would be ready to lead when they had to. If they could make the calls and the sacrifices for justice that their mentor's had already proven they could not. Justice was a hungry, bloody thing; insatiable. She didn't want her kids to fall into any disillusions about what justice was. About what it cost. 

Her train of thought was interrupted by a soft shuffling noise to her left. She didn't turn her head, nor did she look in the direction of the noise, but she tuned back into her surroundings, letting her worried musings of the future fade to the back of her mind. The kids were all meant to still be asleep or at home, they'd had a late, last minute mission last night and had come home in the wee hours of the morning. Percy suspected they wouldn't be up for at least another few hours. 

She felt a slight rush of air from her right and stood, shoulders tense, hand gripping Riptide in her pocket. She felt around for movement in the air, displacement of water, blood. 

She came up empty. Like someone had locked her in a blank room. She couldn't even feel the furniture. Carefully, she drew Riptide from her pocket, uncapping the sword and letting it grow to its full length; all three feet of deadly bronze. 

She felt a tug on her hair and brought her sword down in a broad arc, intending to brutally slash anything in her vicinity. She came up empty. She let out a low breath, a noise that was almost a laugh. Maybe she was finally loosing it. Maybe she had  lost it because there was nothing there. 

She heard a clattering noise off to her left and snapped her head in that direction, eyes narrowing and sword raised. She went to slide her foot forward to give herself more leverage but something stopped her. For a brief moment, panic swelled within her. She was being dragged back after all, her feet sinking into the floor, unable to move, unable to run- 

She looked down. 

There, on the floor, was a sight she never thought she'd see. A challenge, issues so many months ago... 

A light cackle filled the air, child like and down right creepy in any other context. There, resting on the tip of her sword, were two familiar cords of black fabric. 

Percy's laugh started small, a tiny, fragile thing. As she continued to stare at the sight in front of her, that laugh built in her chest, knocking against her ribs and filling her chest with a warmth she had so dearly missed. Soon enough, she was doubled over, clutching her stomach as tears began to leak from her eyes. (She couldn't tell you the last time she just laughed.) 

Light giggles soon joined her, the faces of her kids inching into the room, smiles wide on their faces. 

"Does this mean we pass?" Wally asked excitedly, nearly buzzing with anticipation. Percy took in a gulp of air, trying to regain her composure but failing miserably. She looked back down at her feet, proudly taped down to the floor with bright, glittery, baby blue duct tape. She looked a little in front of her at her shoelaces resting innocently on the floor, having fallen from their perch on her sword. Percy looked at the faces of her kids; Wally, Robin, M'gahn, Artemis, Kaldur, Connor. They were a little weird, a little wired, and a little naïve, and they still had a long way to go. But as she looked at their bright faces, shining with hard won pride, she found her chest to be full of love, and her view of the future bright. 

"Y'know, Wally, I think it means you do." Loud cheers rang out from her kids, their joy of success contagious and she found herself laughing again, feeling lighter than she had since she crossed that border into camp at 12. 

Dangerous things might be on the horizon. Dangerous men, dangerous gods. Challenges unforeseen. Losses unforetold. But as she looked at the faces of her smiling kids, she found something she hadn't had in a long time. 

Hope for better. 

She didn't know what lay ahead of them. All she knew was that when the time came, they would face them. Together.