Tower of Secrets

Percy Jackson

I wanted to kill a monster. I really wanted to kill a monster. I was itching to kill a monster

After they almost all saw my scars, I needed a good monster fight to get my mind off of it. After I left, I took Estelle to where Jarvis said her room was and played with her for a while. After a few minutes, Peter joined me, wisely not mentioning the incident.

Eventually, the whole gang was in there and Estelle loved the attention. Gods, she was so bubbly and happy. Realizing she was in good hands, I left to grab her duffle bag full of supplies from where I had left it in the kitchen.

When I came back, I regretted wanting to fight monsters.

"Percy," my old enemy greeted, "we miss you in Tartarus." I glanced around the nursery and noticed everyone at the mercy of the group of empousa that had crashed the party. These particular monsters had a donkey leg and a metal leg and flaming hair. Kelli was still in a torn Goode High School cheerleading uniform from the first time she attacked me.

"Okay, you've got my attention. Let the mortals go," I ordered.

"Give one of them Riptide," she snarled. "I'm smart enough to know that the best swordsman in several thousand years can handle himself against a couple of monsters when armed. Forgive me for wanting to stand a chance at killing you."

I laughed. "Okay, I don't need Riptide to send you to the Pit."

"Don't be so sure, hero," Kelli cackled. I shrugged and uncapped Riptide before handing it off to a terrified Peter.

"Now let them go," I smirked. Kelli nodded and they rushed to the doorway, stopping in the hallway so that they could watch. There were six monsters in total. It would be tough, but I could manage. They all charged at once and I slid out from between Kelli's legs. "Ouch! That's gotta hurt!"

"You're gonna pay, little hero!" one of Kelli's lackies snarled.

I laughed. "Sure I will. Just like you're about to break out doing the chicken dance."

"You won't survive for long, lightning bringer!"

"Ugh, don't even get me started on that quest." They charged and I turned, running to the wall. "You really need a new attack plan!" I hollered as I let my momentum carry me up a few steps before flipping back behind them. I jogged back to the doorway while the monsters scrambled to their feet and I held out my hand for my sword. Peter obliged to my silent request. "Enough playing around. It's time for you to go to Tartarus. Don't worry, I my experience the weather down there is pretty nice this time of year."

"Yes, you of all halfbloods would know what the weather is like down there this time of year. Way to rub it in," Kelli mocked. I rolled my eyes and charged, stabbing her in the gut and turning her to dust.

"Who's next?" I challenged. They grinned and the battle raged on. A few minutes later, I was cover in gold dust and had a lovely scratch on my back to show for the accomplishment. "I'm gonna grab a drink of water. Pretend this never happened," I announced as I left the room, leaving a group of very confused mortals in my wake. Wanda decided to follow me.

"So, they gave you your scars?"

"Some of them, yes," I replied, annoyed that she brought the subject up.

"Why don't you use elevators?" she asked as I veered towards the stairs.

"I don't like them," I replied. "Why are you so curious?"

"We're all curious," was all she said before turning back towards the others.

Of course they were.

I found a bottle of water in the kitchen before heading back to my room for a shower. I turned the water on and undressed, stepping in and letting the water wash over my marked body. I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes.

How long would I be able to hide who I was? What would happen when they found out? Would they still want me? Gods, did they even want me now?

I knew that I was kind of forced upon them, almost like I was a last minute add on. I knew I didn't really belong.

Monsters were going to attack left and right solely due to my scent as a powerful demigod. It wasn't safe for them to live with me. It wasn't safe for anyone to live with me.

Aggravated by the thought, the plumbing burst. I groaned and turned the water off, seeing as I wasn't covered from head to toe in monster remains. I changed into one of my spare Camp Halfblood t-shirts and a pair of pants rather quickly. I used the mist created by the plumbing and threw a golden drachma in.

"Fleecy, do me a solid and show me Annabeth Chase at her house," I recited. She seemed startled when my image suddenly popped up in front of her. "Hey, Wise Girl."

"Seaweed Brain," she greeted. "School's gonna start in a couple of days, are you ready?"

"Actually," I sighed, "I saved a mortal from a monster--still not sure how he saw it--and he took it upon himself to kidnap me and force me to train to work for the government as some sort of agent."

Annabeth laughed that wonderful laugh of hers. "Only you, Seaweed Brain. Only you."

"They know something's up with me. When I went back with Ms. Romanoff to grab Estelle, a monster was there. A few hours later, Kelli was in the tower with some friends. I took care of them, but both times I had an audience," I ranted. "On top of that, I had to get an extensive physical like an hour ago. They saw some more scars than they think I should have."

"Is there anything else?" Annabeth asked.

I smiled sheepishly. "And I just broke the plumbing in my room."

Annabeth laughed again. "Of course you did. I'll contact Chiron and some of the gods to se what they think. For now, try not to do anything suspicious." I heard footsteps from her side. "I gotta go. Love you!"

"Love you!" I waved before she swiped her hand through the connection and disappeared from view. I looked at the ceiling. "Jarvis? You there?"

"Yes, Mr. Jackson. I am always here."

"That's a little creepy, but tell Mr. Stark that my plumbing broke."