The Hard Way (A Female Percy Jackson/ Young Justice Crossover)

15

A/N Sorry for the wait, I've had a terrible month and I'm in a really bad head space right now, so I'm just going to leave it at that. Anyway, for this chapter, I want to put a disclaimer that I do not condone the illegal and/or underage consumption of illicit substances. I have also not experienced many of the substances that will be mentioned in this story, so much of these descriptions are coming from thorough research and discussions with people who have actually experienced them. Please feel free to comment any thoughts or questions you have. Reaching out to me is always the best inspiration for me to write, and I love responding to everyone's questions, concerns, and criticisms, so don't hesitate to let me know what you think!

Percy sat on the suspension bridge that stretched between Star City and the small island county just off its coast. Well, she sat on the small ledge between the structure and the open air. It would be so easy to slip down with the rain into the waters below. Father could fish her out and stand her back in the battle. No... she really didn't want that.

The rain had started soft while the sun still sat against the horizon. As it sank lower, the raindrops grew heavier. She kept thinking about falling; she had done it before, and she knew she would do it again.

Cars whizzed by, faster than she could comprehend. Gripping a bar of the rail, she twisted to admire the structure holding her. Y'all silver towers topped with golden stars hung the suspension cables. She had seen the longer and more famous Golden Gate Bridge, but she thought she might like this one better. It had character.

But no matter where she found herself, there was no better place to watch the sunset than over the sea.

Resolidifying consciously on the median strip in the center of Star Bridge had been unnerving. She could still feel the vibration in her molecules from having disassembled and reassembled herself, even as she raced across the moving street.

Crossing was easier than colliding with the bridge railing on the other side. Breathlessly, she nearly toppled over the waist high beam that stood above open ocean. Instead she was struck by the beauty of the sky. It was simply gorgeous, mirrored by its glittering watery reflection, so she hopped the rail and sat front and center to watch it. .

The humidity should have told her it would rain, but she hadn't noticed it before the first few splashes knocked the metal beam and bars beneath and beside her.

Her fingers found the vial strung over her chest. Violated, she told herself, that's how you feel. First her body, which Khione had been drugging without her knowledge. Then the team had delved into her mind... Her most precious memories and secrets, torn apart like wrapping paper. She couldn't even tell where they had been, or what they had touched and saw. The final nail in the coffin, she woke to her brother digging a knife into the tender spot on the back of her neck where the muscles met skull. It was a pain worse than Styx and she tried to yank herself away, but Diana and some other League member held her firm against the examination table. In a frenzy, she ran the moment they released her. And scrambling for the exit, she found herself vapor travelling, without losing consciousness for the first time ever.

All her tongue wanted to say was what her heart and brain were screaming through her nerves. Don't touch me... Yet everyone insisted on interfering, trying to "Help her" by touching things and changing things. But none of them had proven trustworthy in protecting her. Not like Annabeth could... had always.

"I can't..." she didn't even know what she was talking about or who she was talking to, but the wind caught her words and squirreled them into the sky. "I don't know how to do it without you." Go on? "You were always the strong one and I don't..."