Chapter Text
Percy made it back to Gotham with two weeks to spare before school only to find out that Tim had been in a bad car accident while staying with friends in Jump City. Dad had flown him back to Gotham and Dr. Thompkins was taking care of him back at the manor, but that meant that Percy was suddenly stuck with an overly anxious father and a bored-out-of-his-mind brother. Luckily, Dick and Babs were both willing to take Percy out for the occasional outing in the city, but even they seemed strangely anxious.
At least it wasn’t all bad surprises. Apparently his Dad had taken in another ward named Cassandra. She was really quiet, as if she was consciously trying not to exert her presence at all. For some reason, it reminded Percy of some of the campers he knew, the ones who went home during the school year–going too far trying your hardest to pretend to be normal. Cass also seemed to sense that Percy wasn’t all that comfortable with extra attention, so they bonded over their shared desire to hide in the corner at Galas.
When Bruce asked where Percy wanted to go to school this year, he asked for a while to think about it. Every time he had gone to school outside of Gotham, bad things had happened. More monsters and more problems than he usually dealt with at home. Once he casually asked Annabeth if there was anyone at camp from Gotham, and she had been adamant there wasn’t.
“Gotham’s a cursed city Percy. Even monsters avoid it. You’d think that would make it safer but when I was on the run with Luke–” She pursed her lips. “–I’ve been there in the past. We passed through New Jersey on our way to camp with Grover, but there’s just something about it that’s so…” She waved her hand slightly as if to communicate some kind of dissonance. “The mist doesn’t work the same way there. Sometimes it’s too weak, but often it’s too strong. Satyrs like Grover can’t get a good read on kids there anyway. Honestly, if a demigod can survive in Gotham, it’s better to leave them there.”
Considering that Percy hadn’t vanished under mysterious circumstances yet, it didn’t seem like a bad idea for him to stick around in Gotham this year. Not to mention, after spending all summer with Tyson, he was feeling kind of homesick for his family. Going to Gotham Prep meant seeing his Dad and Alfred and Babs and Tim and Dick (and Cass apparently) all the time. Honestly, it would be worth all the extra attention he got from people for being a Wayne. He would just have to hope that no one at camp was particularly interested in reading tabloid newspapers from New Jersey.
His Dad seemed relieved that Percy was asking to stay in Gotham this year. The paperwork was done in less than an hour and Percy Wayne was officially returning to the public eye. Of course, Percy was still a little apprehensive about being compared to the rest of his family, but winning a one-on-one fight against the God of War did wonders for his self-esteem.
The empathy link he shared with Grover was a godsend when he was trapped in the manor with nothing better to do. During the day, Percy would feel the occasional funny thought from Grover, sometimes as clear as a voice in his head and other times they were just a feeling, but it was nice to know that Grover was still out there thinking about him. Eventually, Percy got pretty good at sending thoughts and feelings himself, and even if the messages were sporadic, it was always entertaining.
Of course, Gotham itself was anything but boring. Even if the Joker hadn’t made an appearance for several months, the other rogues didn’t get the memo about backing off. After two whole summers of demigod training, Percy was having a much harder time not doing anything dumb during rogue attacks. It helped that his family was almost always out of the way when bad things went down–it seemed like Percy was the only one who was unlucky enough to find himself in these situations.
Every once in a while, he would have a chance to sneak away from his family to the old family cemetery. Towards the very back, there was a sprinkler that was broken in just the right way to make mist. He’d sometimes call Tyson, but mostly he’d call Annabeth.
She was attending some girls only design school up in New York with Thalia, and she was clearly very excited to have Thalia back. Honestly, Percy was a little jealous of how close they seemed, but he understood how she felt. If he got Jason back, he would probably never leave his brother alone either.
Things were actually going pretty good for Percy–until things got weird that December.
Somehow, his dad had gotten shot. Alfred woke him up to tell him the news that very night. Percy shot out of bed, heart pounding, as Alfred quickly explained that his father was fine and that Dr.Thompkins said he would make a full recovery with a week or two of bedrest. Percy followed Alfred to his Dad’s bedroom to check on him, heart pounding in his head. When he finally saw his Dad, laying in bed looking pale and disoriented, Percy let himself relax.
He asked about what happened, and his dad hesitantly explained that it was a drive-by shooting. He had been working late at the company, and he was shot just as he was getting in the car. Alfred sent Percy back to his room so “Master Bruce can have some alone time to process everything that’s happened tonight.” For some reason, Tim and Cass were nowhere to be found.
The next morning, Dick appeared at the manor, suitcase in hand, and said he was going to be staying with them at the manor until Bruce recovered from his injury. Percy was happy that his brother was planning to stay with them until Christmas, but the whole thing was overshadowed by the heaviness in his chest.
He hated feeling like he couldn’t help when the people he cared about were hurting.
“Don’t worry Master Percy, Master Bruce will be back to normal soon. Master Richard’s presence here is simply an extra measure to make sure your Father doesn’t feel overly anxious in his recovery. It’s the only way I could convince him to stay in bed.” Alfred sighed. “You know how protective he gets when he is stressed–Master Richard is going to make sure you and your siblings don’t ‘disappear’ for no reason during his recovery.”
Christmas break started and his Dad was still recovering, forcibly spending most of his time resting in bed. Percy couldn’t help but feel restless. Dick being there to distract him was helping some, but he would often disappear to wander the mansion for some unknown reason. Cass told him that there was nothing to worry about, and Percy wanted to believe her, but Tim hadn’t said more than a few words to Percy since their Dad was shot–he was “taking a walk” for hours every day.
His family’s odd behavior left Percy feeling like he was a bystander at an emergency he couldn’t see. Eventually, even Percy started feeling a strange sense of urgency pressing against him, but it didn’t take long for him to discover that wasn’t because his dad was hurt–it was because of his empathy link with Grover.
Grover had been investigating some boarding school in Maine when he sent an SOS to camp, asking for Percy and Annabeth to come as backup to help him extract whatever kid he found. Right after that, his formal communications stopped and his messages through the empathy links got more and more sporadic and anxious.
Percy iris messaged Chiron the next day, and a plan was hatched. Percy had learned how to manipulate the mist his first summer at camp, and with the enchanted pamphlet from Chiron, he was able to convince almost everyone in the manor not to worry about his disappearance. He packed a bag with everything he would need for the quest, and some extra cash for a train ticket to Metropolis where he would meet up with Annabeth and Thalia, as well as Argus, who was driving the van that would take them to Maine.
But unfortunately for Percy, Dick chose the exact moment he was sneaking out the window to come check on him.
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Percy grabbed his backpack off the bed, after triple checking that he had everything he needed, and slung it over his shoulder. He checked his watch, wincing as he realized that he only had an hour to get to the train station in Bristol on foot. He’d be cutting it close.
He got one leg onto the windowsill when he heard a knock. He whipped around, jumping back inside the room, as Dick opened the door.
“Hey Flounder, I just wanted to check up on you. Tim said you were… busy, but she didn’t tell me what you were up to and I just wanted to see-” Dick stopped halfway through his sentence as Percy stumbled to his feet trying desperately to seem like he wasn’t about to climb out the open window and run off for the weekend. Dick was, clearly, not convinced.
“Percy. Where are you going?” Percy flinched at his flat tone. He knew that Dick was a detective with the BHPD, but now he felt like he was seriously being questioned.
Percy tried to calm his beating heart, focusing on trying to draw the Mist into the room as much as possible. “I’m going to see a friend. I’ll be back soon. Please, don’t worry, okay?” His voice was shaky, and he felt the Mist on his tongue like an invisible puff of smoke.
Dick’s brow furrowed, but he shook his head, voice stern. “That’s not an answer Percy. I need to know where you are going.”
Percy felt his heart rate spike again. Dick couldn’t be shrugging off the Mist, but if he was still being affected, then he should believe Percy saying he was going to visit a friend. Why would that be such a big deal?
“You don’t understand Dick, I have to go.” Percy pleaded. “Like, right now. But I’ll be back, okay?”
“No.” Dick shook his head again, arms folded. “You don’t need to go anywhere. Not without saying where you’re going. You can’t just go out on your own without backup.”
“Backup?” Percy repeated. Dick’s refusal to let him leave despite the Mist’s interference was becoming ridiculous. He had no reason to be worried about Percy–it wasn’t like he knew about Percy’s demigod status anyway. Why did he care so much about knowing where Percy was going? “It’s just a quick trip to see my friend. I promise, I’ll be back.”
‘I promise, I’ll be back. We have a party to plan!’
Oh.
Percy locked eyes with his brother and knew immediately that Dick was not going to let this go. His hands were clenched in shaking fists by his side. His lip was pursed in frustration. He looked primed to tackle Percy to the ground if he tried to make a break for it.
He was scared.
Scared that Percy would disappear like Jason did.
Scared that he would lose a brother without any explanation, when he had a chance to stop them.
Scared like Percy would be if he caught Tim sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night.
Percy knew he couldn’t get rid of that fear because Dick also lost a brother to a midnight adventure gone terribly wrong… but he had to try. Grover needed him–he could just tell. Annabeth and Thalia would be waiting for him at the train station in three hours. If something happened, and he wasn’t there to help, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself. Dick may be worried, but there was a real danger threatening his friends. He had to go.
“I’m sorry Dick. I really am.” Percy slowly stepped away from the window and towards his desk, trying to keep his movements relaxed. Dick didn’t move, he just stared at him with a worried gaze.
“What’s going on Flounder?” Dick asked gently. “You’ve gotta tell me if there’s something going on that B or Alfred don’t know about, because if you’re in trouble, you need to tell us.”
Percy’s hand froze on the handle for his desk drawer, feeling a wave of guilt crash into his chest. He hated that he was keeping a secret like this from his family, but he hated the idea of getting them involved even more. He pulled open the drawer and removed the camp pamphlet from inside. The scent of grapes and wood filled flickered at the corner of his senses as he turned back to his older brother.
“I’m going to be fine.” The words slid out of his mouth like a thick puff of smoke, carrying the heavy weight of the Mist and the pamphlet’s spell.
Dick’s eyes glazed over slightly as his shoulders relaxed.
Percy looked away, feeling tears prick up in his eyes. He grabbed his backpack from the floor, slinging it over his shoulders, and set the pamphlet on his desk.
“I’ll be back. Just remember, I’ll be back.” He tried his best to imbue the spell with a sense of calm, but instead it felt like an urgent command.
"It'll only be a week. I’ll be back before Christmas.” Hopefully it would be less than a three day trip, but the worst case scenario was always more likely for Percy. “If I don’t come back by then, I left you a letter in the fish book Dad gave me right after he adopted me.”
He had written that letter before leaving for camp at the start of last summer when he went to save Grover. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to soothe Percy’s conscious.
“I’m- I’m really sorry about this Dick. I wish I could explain, but…”
He couldn’t take any chances with his family. Not when they had no reason to get caught up in his messes.
Dick didn’t move from his spot in the doorway as Percy turned to climb out the window. Percy didn’t look back, wiping his eyes as he tossed his bag into a bush and jumped for the pool.
He’d be back by Christmas. Probably.
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(Cut - Chapter Seven)
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Percy didn’t go to dinner after what happened at the Big House. He felt so frustrated and useless that he didn’t feel like eating. Unfortunately, Grover and Chiron came looking for him pretty much immediately and Percy didn’t have the shield of mealtime to avoid the conversation.
“Percy, I’m so sorry!” Grover said, sitting down next to Percy on his bunk. “I didn’t know they’d— that you’d—” Grover took a gulping breath, his fingers digging into the sheets as he began to sniffle. “You should be coming.”
“It’s okay,” Percy lied, biting into his cheek. “Really. It’s fine.”
Grover’s lower lip trembled. “I wasn’t thinking. I was so focused on helping Artemis that I…” He sniffled again, eyes lowered. “I promise, I’ll look for Annabeth. If she’s out there, I’ll find her.”
Percy nodded and tried to pretend that it didn’t feel like acid was eating him from the inside out.
“Grover,” Chiron’s voice called from the doorway, “perhaps you’d let me have a word with Percy?”
“Sure,” he sniffled.
Chiron waited.
“Oh,” Grover said, standing up. “You mean alone.” Grover gave Percy a miserable glance. “See? Nobody needs a goat.”
If trotting could sound dejected, then Grover’s sad shuffle was the saddest sound Percy had ever heard from hooves.
“Percy,” Chiron sighed, kneeling on the floor in front of Percy. “I don’t pretend to understand prophecies.”
“Yeah, well, maybe that’s because they make no sense.” Percy said. “I’d take a riddle at gun point over a prophecy any day…”
Chiron frowned, gazing into the saltwater spring in the corner of Percy’s cabin. “Thalia would not have been my first choice to go on this quest. She acts without thinking. She is too sure of herself.”
“Would you have chosen me?”
“Frankly, no,” he chuckled. “You and Thalia are much alike.”
“Thanks. Really.”
Chiron smiled. “The difference is that you are less sure of yourself than Thalia. That could be good or bad. But the one thing I can say is: both of you together would be a dangerous thing.”
“Dangerous for us or for whatever's in our way?” Percy joked.
“Perhaps it is for the best,” Chiron continued with a stern look, “that you return home to your family for the holidays. If we need you, we can call.”
“Not really,” Percy grumbled. “Not when I can only check in with Camp if I sneak away.”
“Would you really want to expose your mortal family to the dangers of the Godly world?”
“Of course not! It just– it sucks to have to keep secrets all the time.” Percy pulled riptide out his pocket, uncapping it to emphasize his point. Chiron, however, seemed distracted by Riptide's appearance.
“It’s no wonder Zoë doesn’t want you along. Not while you’re carrying that particular weapon.”
Percy didn’t understand what he was talking about at first. Then he remembered what Chiton had told him a long time ago, when he first gave Percy the sword: ‘It has a long and tragic history, which we need not go into.’
Percy opened his mouth to ask about the sword, but Chiron stood up, stretching his legs. “I will tell Argus to drive you back out to Metropolis tomorrow morning, Percy. You should pack your things and get some rest. And, for what it’s worth… I almost volunteered for this quest myself. I would have gone, if not for the last line.”
“One shall perish by a parent’s hand. Yeah.” Percy didn’t need to ask. Chiron’s father was Kronos. The line would practically spell doom for Chiron considering how little Kronos cared for his children. Chiron probably understood more of the prophecy than he let on. In fact, he reacted strangely when the prophecy was given. “Chiron,” Percy asked, “You know what the Titan’s curse is, don’t you?”
Chiron’s expression darkened. He made a claw over his heart and pushed it outward as if to ward off some unseen evil. “Let us hope the prophecy does not mean what I think. Now, good night Percy. Your time will come. I am convinced of that. There is no need to rush.”
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Percy couldn’t sleep that night. Despite his best efforts, he found himself tossing and turning in his sheets, unable to shake the heavy, restless feeling in his chest. His body buzzed with energy, like he was in the middle of a fight. Eventually, he gave up on sleeping and climbed out of his bed. He walked over to the saltwater spring, dipping his legs into the water. Immediately, his head cleared and his stress washed out of his body.
‘You are less sure of yourself than Thalia. That could be good or bad.’
Percy sighed, letting his head fall into his hands. Every part of him was screaming that he needed to go look for Annabeth. He needed to be a part of this quest. If he had been less hesitant in the meeting, would he have been able to convince the hunters that he deserved to go along? Would he have accepted their refusal?
It was pointless to speculate, but Percy still felt like a loser for giving up on going with them. And even worse, he would be going back home tomorrow and he would need to pretend he wasn't dying inside, worried about Annabeth and the quest.
“Percy, people like us who have nothing of our own need to take what we can get, and fight to keep it until the very end.”
Percy blushed as Selina handed him back the photo of Annabeth she swiped from his wallet when he wasn’t looking.
“She’s cute. I can’t wait to meet her when you bring her around here some day.” Selina winked. “But that’ll only happen if you cling to that girl and never let go. Even if you are. Just. Friends.” She mimicked Percy’s earlier protest with a smirk, letting the word ‘friends’ hang between them.
Percy let his head fall into his hands, tempted to start banging it against the wall. Rationally, he knew he should just go back home. Dick had been really freaked out about Percy sneaking out. If there was even a small chance that the mist wasn’t going to cover for him well enough, then he should go back as soon as possible to minimize the risk.
But…
What about Annabeth? His family might freak out, but at least they’d be safe–probably safer than they were with Percy around–but Annabeth was out there, and Percy couldn’t risk losing her if he could do something about it.
Percy’s turmoil didn’t last long however, when Blackjack decided to interrupt his brooding.
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(Cut - Chapter 14)
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Percy ducked into the crowd at the bottom of the dam, trying to seem inconspicuous. The thudding of his heart made it hard to keep his walking at a normal pace, and the urge to break out into a sprint was growing exponentially–but it was pointless. There was no where to run to, the skeleton soldiers were blocking the only way back up to the top of the dam. Percy could only hope Thalia, Grover and Zoë were safe.
Keeping his eyes on the tunnel he’d come from, Percy backed his way towards the little hallway on the other side of the balcony. If he was right, and the tour guide had been Athena, then there must be another way out of this situation–
Chhhh!
Percy froze and whipped around, Riptide uncapped, and slashed at the source of the noise, assuming that it was a skeleton soldier that had snuck up behind him.
Instead, Rachel Elizabeth Dare stared at him with tissue in hand, having not been cut in half by Riptide.
“Oh my god, Percy!” She gasped, dropping her Kleenex. “Did you just try to kill me? What the he–”
“Shhhhhh.” Percy covered her mouth, glancing around hoping that no one heard her shout. Rachel, however, did not appreciate Percy trying to shut her up.
“Oh you did not just shush me,” Rachel whispered, pulling Percy’s hand off her mouth. “There’d better be a good explanation for you trying to stab me, Wayne.”
“Shhhhhhh!” Percy winced at her use of his legal last name, checking to make sure no one was listening. Rachel didn’t seem bothered by his anxiety, but her suspicion grew with every response.
“What are you even doing here, Percy? You’re acting really strange.” Rachel’s eyes narrowed, glancing around the crowd. “Where is your family? Don’t tell me you’re here on your own. You and I both know you would be in huge trouble. Plus, I thought you were staying in Gotham for the holidays. My family is coming to the New Years Gala… and what are you wearing? Is that lion fur?”
Percy was lost for words, and he glanced down at the Neaman lion fur. It still looked like a brown coat to him, but somehow Rachel had seen the actual lion fur. However, those questions had to take a back seat. The skeletons were coming. It was only a matter of time before they spotted him, and he couldn’t let Rachel get caught up in the crossfire, but she wasn’t going to let him go without an explanation.
Taking a gamble, Percy called on the mist. He felt an itch in the back of his throat and a cloud in his mouth as he stared Rachel in the eyes and commanded, “You don’t recognize me, and you never saw a boy with a sword.”
Rachel scoffed. “Of course I recognize you, Percy. It’s not like you’re in disguise or anything. Also, why do you have a sword?”
Well, that was a bad sign. The mist had done absolutely nothing to convince or even confuse Rachel. It was like she was immune or something.
“Because it’s my sword, and I’m kinda in trouble.” Percy grumbled.
“No kidding. If I snuck out and went on a secret road trip, my parents would kill me. Your dad may be a bit ditzy sometimes, but he’s not actually irresponsible. Then again, if he lets you have a sword…” Rachel’s face paled as her voice suddenly dropped off, her gaze falling on something behind Percy. “Bathroom!”
“What?”
Rachel grabbed Percy’s shoulders. “Bathroom! Behind me! Now!”
Percy didn’t argue, darting into the boy’s bathroom without looking back. It was only after he was inside that he realized that he ditched Rachel outside, alone, with whatever she saw that scared her so much. Percy reached for the door handle to grab Rachel, when he heard the hissing and scritch-ing of the skeleton soldiers.
Percy gripped Riptide, prepared to jump out and try to defend Rachel when she suddenly started talking rapidfire.
“Oh my god! Did you see that kid? It’s about time you got here. He tried to kill me! With. A. Sword! I can’t believe you security guys let a crazy kid with a sword into a national landmark! I mean, seriously! He ran off towards the turbine thingies. I think I saw him go over the side or something. Maybe he fell…”
Percy held his breath as he heard the skeletons clatter excitedly. Then, they walked away, their hissing growing faint.
Rachel opened the door, looking pale. “All clear, but you’d better hurry.”
Percy glanced around the corner. The three skeleton security guards were running towards the other end of the balcony near the turbines, meaning the way to the elevator was clear.
Percy let out a shaky breath. “I owe you one, Rachel.”
“You owe me an explanation." Rachel countered. “And you can bet I am cashing it in as soon as feasibly possible.”
Right. It wasn’t like she was going to forget that he stabbed her. That was going to be an awkward conversation…
“Just… stay away from the skeletons, okay?”
“Not like I wanted to talk to them, Wayne. Why were they looking for you?”
Percy winced. “Talk later. I gotta go!” Without looking back, Percy ran for the exit. Hopefully he had enough time to come up with a good excuse by New Years.
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(Cut - Chapter 19)
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Percy watched as his biological father disappeared into the throngs of the party, feeling strange like he always did after talking with Poseidon. He turned to continue searching the crowd for Annabeth, when he heard another voice.
“Your father takes a great risk, you know.” The grey eyed woman looked so much like Annabeth that he almost mistook the Goddess for his friend.
“Athena.” Percy masked his resentment with the civility his dad taught him to weaponize in uncomfortable social situations, but it was hard to not feel upset with how quickly Athena had written him off in the council.
“Do not attempt to mask your judgment, half-blood. Your acting is not as good as you think it is–” Athena smiled dryly, slightly amused, “–and neither is your judgment. Wise counsel is not always popular, but I spoke the truth. You are dangerous.”
“So wisdom is never taking risks?”
She nodded. “I concede the point. You may perhaps be useful. And yet… your fatal flaw may destroy us as well as yourself.”
Percy frowned. He remembered talking about fatal flaws with Annabeth a year ago when they were sailing through the sea of monsters. Apparently, every hero had one. Hers was pride–she believed she could do anything… like holding up the world, for instance. Or saving Luke. But Percy had no idea what his fatal flaw would be. Short attention span? Bad jokes?
Athena gave Percy an almost pitying look. (Whether it was about his flaw or if she sensed his stupidity, he wasn’t sure.) “Kronos knows your flaw, even if you do not. He knows how to study his enemies. He overlooked Zeus once, he will not make the same mistake again. Think, Percy. How has he manipulated you? First he offered to bring back your mother from the underworld. Then he took your best friend Grover. Now my daughter, Annabeth, was used against you.” She paused, disapproving. “In each case, your loved ones have been used to lure you into Kronos’s traps.”
Percy felt cold. It… was really obvious with a little bit of hindsight. That didn’t make it easy to swallow.
“Your fatal flaw is personal loyalty, Percy. You do not know when it is time to cut your losses. To save a friend, you would sacrifice the world. If you truly are the hero of the prophecy, that is very, very dangerous.”
Percy balled his fists. “That’s not a flaw. Just because I want to help my friends—”
“The most dangerous flaw are those which are good in moderation,” Athena countered. “Evil is easy to fight. Lack of wisdom… that is very hard indeed.”
Percy wanted to argue, but found himself unable to respond. Athena was truly as wise as her mantle implied. Then, at her next words, he found himself frozen like a deer in the headlights.
“Do you really think Kronos will not drag your mortal family into this war? He is not above using innocent people as tools. I sincerely doubt he will let this weakness of yours go unchecked. Be wise, Percy. Do not leave yourself vulnerable or you may do something you regret.”
It had never occurred to Percy that Kronos would somehow find his family and use them against him. It wasn’t… impossible. Suddenly, he was very grateful that he had been too shy to expose his “secret identity” at camp. Luke should, in theory, have no idea who his adoptive family was. Neither should any of his spies. But that didn’t mean there was no way to find out who they were, and that meant they were vulnerable.
“I hope the Council’s decisions prove wise,” Athena continued, without pausing to let Percy recover from the shock of her previous inquiry. “But I will be watching, Percy Jackson. I do not approve of your friendship with my daughter. I do not think it wise for either of you. And should you begin to waver in your loyalties…”
Percy may have been stunned, but he didn’t miss Athena’s cold gray stare, and he realized what a terrible enemy Athena would make, ten times worse than Ares or Dionysus or maybe even his father. Athena would never give up. If she made a plan to destroy Percy, it wouldn’t fail.
“Percy!” Annabeth’s voice cut through his stupor as she appeared from the crowd. She stopped short as she saw who Percy was talking to. “Oh… Mom.”
“I will leave you,” Athena said, with one last withering look. “For now.” She turned and strode through the crowds, which parted before her as if she were carrying Aegis.
“Was she giving you a hard time?” Annabeth asked.
“No,” Percy responded. “It’s… fine. She just gave me some advice. That’s all.”
“Oh. Well, my mom’s advice is usually pretty good.” Annabeth mused.
“That’s exactly what worries me.” Percy sighed.