Project Demigod (a Percico fanfic)

Chapter 39: Our Last Bedtime Story

Here it is, as promised! Now the first thing you'll probably notice is that this chapter is significantly shorter than my previous ones! Only about 8,200 words! I was going to have this one be mixed with the next one, but it was way too long and I felt that this part needed to be by itself. In here we're going to take a look into Leo's past, and finally learn the secret of Maria di Angelo, Nico's mother.

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"One breath... One breath for all... So tender."

"How... did your mom survive?

If the children from the INNOCENCE program died instantly from the gene... why didn't she...

...and... why didn't you?"

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"S-Sir?... C-Can you... Can you tell me about... m-my mother?

I'm... I-I'm not afraid or angry... n-not anymore. I promise...

Story time... M-Make it story time."

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Okay, Leo Valdez, do your thing. You're good at bedtime stories.

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So here is one, from 24 years ago.

Before touchscreens, functioning prototype heat sensors, and badass weapons... there were simpler firearms, telephones, and spies who still existed and did all the dangerous stunts.

There were the real people that celebrities played out every in spy cliché on screen and on paper.

And among them, there was a girl, doing the real thing.

Maria was a twenty-five-year old woman, strong, fast, and brave. She was fierce and fearless and proudly worked for the company as a covert agent engaged in the duty of espionage.

She was also the kind of girl who'd staple your most private parts to your forehead if you messed with her.

Best suited to environmental instigation and protection, Maria was the best field agent in the company's first generation of spies. It was once a government-funded agency that only worked in system operations, but after one very wealthy man decided he had a mission to buy, take over, and revamp the place, it gave people like Maria the chance to fight for people beyond simple law enforcement and desk administration. In her time, she saved many dignitaries, and looked out for her partners like a born leader and a true warrior.

Her greatest witness protection mission however, ended up having her fall for the target she was protecting.

But back then, Maria didn't anticipate any kind of emotional entanglements. She was usually too busy looking after her team and turning down dates this way and that. So when she grabbed her folder and headed out for her month-long assignment to the tiny little island, she'd been sure that nothing eventful passed nightly stakeouts and profiling her involved parties would happen.