Percy Jackson: Genderbent

Chapter 20

Perci's POV:

The first thing I saw when I woke up was the city lights reflecting off the river. The second thing I saw is a dirty river moving sluggishly through the city. Being a child of Poseidon, I had to feel kind of sad and mad at the people who made the river dirty. Then, I remembered there was supposed to be a river god in the river. I winced. I didn't think anyone would be too happy having to live in that river. Then I looked at my companions, and I burst out laughing. 

Leo was wearing dark brown khakis with suspenders and a clean white polo shirt. He also wore his tool belt; he didn't go anywhere without it. His usually untameable curly hair was slicked back, so you were able to see his whole face without the hair bouncing into his eyes. Nico wore a leather jacket with a clean grey shirt that had no buttons or collars. He had on dark skinny jeans and black converse. Jason was wearing a white shirt, one of those business jackets, and some grey khakis. I suddenly remembered that these were the same clothes they had been wearing when attacked by the Aphrodite cabin. Aphrodite must have helped with the wardrobe choice. I thought to myself. Overall, they looked nice, but hilarious. 

Their eyes snapped open, and their hands went to their weapons. Or, in Leo's case, he lit on fire. Or he lit his hands on fire. It would have been hilarious if he'd actually lit on fire. Anyway, they looked around wildly, their weapons out. When all they saw was a laughing daughter of Poseidon, they scowled. I was unsettled when their scowls turned into bugged out eyes and dropped open mouths. "What?" I said after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence. 

"Look at yourself, princess." Leo finally said, trying (and failing) to regain his usual sarcastic tone. I looked down at myself and gasped. I was wearing a sea green sundress that went down below my knees. Around the waist, the fabric changed and became different. There were several layers of rather thin fabric, and when I held one of those pieces away from the dress, I could see the floor below it. There were a few layers of it, so no one could see some more... private parts. A breeze blew, and the bottom of the skirt danced around, the various blues and greens blending together until it looked like the waves moving in the ocean on a clear day. Below that, I had black combat heels. By that, I mean combat boots with high heels. I moved my hand, and I noticed the bracelet was still there. But the color of the heart had changed to match the outfit, and the color of my eyes. I ran a hand through my hair, and found it was in a complicated braid I wasn't familiar with. I think it was called a waterfall braid. 

The table was glass and see through, so I looked at my reflection there. There was a blue streak that seemed to jump out from my black hair, and was woven into the braid. The rest of my black hair seemed more wavy than usual as it cascaded down my shoulders. "Wha - what?" I stuttered at my reflection. Then I regained my composure. "Before you say anything about my appearance, it would probably be wise to look at yours, Valdez." I smirked. They all looked down at their reflections and the sound of various gasps and "what?!" sounded around the riverside café. 

After the initial shock, we grew serious. "Okay, guys. We need to find Aphrodite's magic girdle by the time 'the sun sets.' At least, that's what Cleta said. She also said I should be able to find something out from the river god here. But first, where are we?" I asked, looking at them. They shrugged, and we looked around. "Puis-je vous aider?" A timid voice said from behind me, and I jumped. I jerked around to see a timid waitress holding a tray. She didn't look to be much older than us, dressed in one of those frilly waitress uniforms. I looked at the others, and they didn't seem to understand what she said either. "Vous ne parle pas français?" she asked again, and nodded again at our response. "Puedo ayudarle?" She said, and I looked helplessly at the others again. Leo's expression cleared up, and he gave a smile that seemed to say eureka! "What?" I asked, and he grinned at me. "She's speaking Spanish! I'm fluent, you know." He smirked. I rolled my eyes.