Teacher, Not Hero (femPercy Jackson X YJ)

Twenty-Seven: Equivalent to Hellspawn

3rd P.O.V:

Black Canary stared at the manila folder in front of her. Batman had called her in to preform a psych evaluation on Percy Jackson; the young woman who Diana had called into train the Team. Ever since the Dark Knight had found out her name, he had been collecting a small file on her; School and medical records, family history, internet activity etc. While Batman probably needed his own evaluation for stalking a teenage girl, the contents of the folder were just vague enough that they left the hero confused and curious.

From what she could tell, Percy Jackson had been a fairly normal kid; if you set aside certain incidents. Diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia, it was not surprising that the young woman had not done exceedingly well in school. With behavior incidents from ages 4 to 15, Percy had been labeled a 'problem child'. The young woman had had several incidents which were suspicious but could easily be interpreted as wrong place wrong time scenarios. It was the fact that there were so many of these incidents that raised a red flag. At some point, it has to stop being marked as coincidence.

Another thing that fed Canary's interest was how after about 15, Percy simply didn't have a school record. It was impossible that she graduated early, due to her grades and she didn't transfer to a different district. The summer after sophomore year, the girl simply dropped off the face of the earth. No school, internet activity, transportation fares, travel activity, nothing. It was as if she died.

There was no history of any formal training or military involvement in Percy's life and she didn't even have connections to anyone who was a metahuman. It almost seemed like Diana had just picked her off of the street and said "Do you wanna train a bunch of children to be superheroes?" However, based on her performance, it was clear she was not some random person. Diana had specifically picked Percy, despite her lack of hero experience. Well, recorded hero experience. From the way she reacted to the intruder incident and how she handled the Team in training, it was clear Percy did have experience, it just didn't show on any record.

The only time when Dinah could clearly see Percy receiving any kind of training was when she dropped off the grid. Although, there was potential in the summer camp she supposedly attended every summer since she was twelve. The camp was listed as "Delphi Strawberry Farm". Dinah did not see how Percy would learn to fight at a strawberry farm nor did she see how it connected Percy to Diana.

Black Canary had yet to meet Percy Jackson. Batman said she was the equivalent to hellspawn. Of course, he also said that about Robin the first few weeks of adopting him. The Dark Knight had requested the psych evaluation because he didn't trust Percy. He also said he found her training methods to be "barbaric, cruel, and unnecessary". While Dinah hadn't seen Percy's training in action, she had noticed a difference in the Team when she trained with them. For whatever reason, they almost seemed to be sharper, their reflexes almost instantaneous. Not to mention, they came at her with more ferocity and far less hesitation than they did before. How Percy had managed to create such change in just a few days of training, Canary didn't know but was dying to find out. 

A light knock on the door jarred the Canary from her thoughts. She cleared her throat and straightened the papers on her desk before folding her hands in front of her.

"Come in," she said in her calm, therapist voice. The door opened to reveal a young woman who had to be Percy Jackson. Batman, in all his glory, had not provided a picture of the girl and Dinah, having never met her, had been working off a mental impression. The figure who now stood before her was not who she was expecting to say the least.

Percy Jackson was a small framed ravenette with piercing sea green eyes. She wasn't incredibly tall, and had a slightly rounded face while still sporting a sharp jawline. She had on a pair of black leggings and steal-toed combat boots. A black turtle neck covered her arms and neck while an army green vest zipped up to her collar bone. Her hair was cut incredibly short and was uneven in most places, as if it had been hastily shaven off. However, despite her fairly small frame, Canary could see she was sturdy and unquestionably strong. She didn't doubt that if paired against Percy in a fight, the younger woman would have the strength advantage.

"Black Canary, I presume." Her voice was rougher than Dinah had assumed. It held a certain deepness to it that almost seemed out of place with Percy's delicate features yet it fit her perfectly at the same time. Dinah cleared her throat once more.

"Yes. Please, have a seat," she gestured to the chair in front of her. Percy sat stiffly, not relaxing in the slightest. Before Dinah could begin to explain anything, Percy cut her off with a statement she had not been expecting.

"So which one of them tattle-tailed?" This made Canary stop short.

"I'm sorry?" She managed after a pause of confusion.

"Tattled. Which one of the Kiddies told on me?" Again, Dinah did not know how to respond to the question.

"Percy, what do you think this meeting is about?"

"I think someone wants me to have a psychological evaluation. As much as I hate the idea, I know I'm going to have to to satisfy whoever put you up to it. I understand that you, Black Canary, are just the middle man here. I want to know who put you up to this." The ravenette explained this casually, as if being someone thinking she was insane was a natural, everyday occurrence. The idea only gave the blonde woman a greater edge of curiosity.

"Batman was who requested the evaluation. He seems to question your teaching methods." The green eyed teen sighed.

"I figured it was him. The only other one who would have the balls to is Artemis and I doubt she would considering we have a private spar later today." Dinah paused at her phrasing, but chose to overlook it.

"Well since you know why you're here, perhaps we can skip formalities?" Canary asked. Small talk was always her least favorite part of these meetings but if Percy already knew, there was no point beating around the bush. Percy shrugged.

"Excellent. Perhaps I could ask you a few questions about your training technique, as it is the main source of Batman's concerns. I too am curious about your methods. I am the other trainer for the Team and I must say, you yield impressive results." Percy looked incredibly bored but seemed to perk up at the mention of her results.

"So you're the other trainer?" Dinah nodded.

"You're too soft on them you know," Percy stated. Canary didn't know how to process this. At first, she was insulted. Yet, she decided to take it more as constructive criticism. After all, Percy was the one who produced such progress; not her.

"How so?" Percy leaned forward slightly.

"You pull your punches. Every time you fight them, you have them treat it like a sparing match. I don't know your skill level but I would expect that with all of them against you, with a coordinated attack, you would have to go all out. Am I wrong?" Canary considered this a moment. With a well planned assault, she would probably have to face them at full strength if she wanted to ensure her victory. Percy seemed to read her thoughts because she continued.

"So go all out. Fight them as an enemy, not an instructor. The reason they are getting stronger is because they are now thinking in terms of battle. They equivalate every spar as a real fight."

"And how did you manage to get them to fight like that? With that mindset?" Dinah was generally interested now, psych eval on hold.

"I make them aim to kill me." Percy's words barely registered. Aim to kill? Is that why they suddenly seemed so much more ferocious, dangerous? Why they reacted quicker? Why they lacked in hesitation? Now Batman's concerns didn't seem as pointless as before.

"And do you aim to kill them? In training, that is?" Dinah questioned, praying to god that she didn't get the answer she thought she would. To her surprise, Percy let out a laugh.

"Oh gods no. If I aimed to kill them, they would be dead. No no no. I fight them at about 25%." What? 25%? With the whole Team, aiming to kill her, she fought all of them back at 25% and won?? What kind of fighter was Percy Jackson? Dinah cleared her throat for the third time.

"I think we should continue your psych eval."