What did you do this time, Kelp-head?!

Dick's POV

"Why are you here, Pinecone Face?" Percy asked the hunter girl as she turned and swang at another monster, this time an empousa. She brought her blade up in a deadly arc and the monster vaporized with a hiss.

The girl Thalia snorted and fit another arrow onto her string. "Why you're welcome, dummy! Considering I just saved your butt, really no trouble at all."

Nightwing was thoroughly confused but he stayed focused on the matter at hand. He punched and kicked, occasionally electrocuting one of the gons with his stick. Then a big roar startled him and he spared a glance behind him. What he saw made his eyes pop.

Was that...was that a nine-headed snake he saw?

"Oh great!" Percy groaned out loud. "Why him of all monsters? Where is Clarisse when you need her?!"

The monster growled at her and opened its huge jaws. Nightwing's eyes widened.

"Riptide RUN!" He wanted to rush to her and push her out of the way, but Thalia beat him to it and pushed Percy down with her as the giant monster let loose a wave of acid.

"What the fudge was that?" Kid Flash asked as he zipped by.

"A hydra," Kaldur answered as he kept himself battling the rest of Bane's men, who for some reason didn't seem to notice the huge dragon-like creature.

"What do we do?" Asked Artemis, readying her arrow at the monster who seems only interested in Percy and her friend.

Percy glared at the hydra, her sword at the ready. "Nothing! Me and Pinecone Face will handle it, while the rest of you get Bane. I got some questions that the bastard has to answer."

Bane smiled coldly at her remark. "Oh, child, did you really think it would be that easy? That hydra may be able to keep you and that daughter of Zeus busy but I got some gifts for all your other friends." From the dark corners of the warehouse, came forth more men carrying alien-weapons.

"Oh, gracious..." muttered Superboy.

Percy's POV

I hate my life...

Percy thought as she ducked and rolled out of the reach of the hydra's acid. She didn't dare cut off the hydra's one of many heads. Instead, she ducked behind one of the huge storage boxes and tried to come up with a plan to defeat it while catching her breath. Thalia joined her. Beyond their temporary cover, the hydra roared loudly.

"You really did it this time, Kelp-Head!" Thalia yelled at Percy through the noise. Percy looked at her cousin weirdly like she had grown a second head.

"Seriously? How is this MY FAULT?!" she asked incredulously.

"Every time we encountered a monster, it's usually because they smelled YOUR scent!"

"You're a child of the big three TOO!"

"I'm a hunter of Artemis! My scent is not as strong as yours!"

"I didn't ask to have a strong scent! You think I wanted that?!"

"Well, SUCKS TO BE YOU!"

Nightwing scrambled over and ducked down beside Percy, "Ladies, can we please fight now and save the good-old reunion later?!"

"FINE!"

"The usual tactic?" Thalia asked as she readied her bow.

"Yeah! Let's wing it!" Percy answered as she raised riptide.

"Fake it till you make it!"

They charged. Thalia shot an arrow at the nine-headed beast, purposely aiming for places that wouldn't leave serious damage. The hydra roared in irritation.

Percy jumped without thinking and cut off one of its heads. Immediately, two more heads popped out to replace the lost head.

"Shoot, I forgot..." Percy muttered.

"Περσεφόνη, εγκεφαλικά!" Thalia yelled. (Persephone, you sea-weed brain!)

"Συγγνώμη!" (I'm sorry!)

Percy barrow-rolled to avoid the hydra's snapping jaw. She joined Thalia as the young huntress of Artemis fired arrows after arrows to keep the hydra from advancing forward.

"Any ideas of how we are going to defeat it?" she asked. Percy glanced around them desperately. She saw the others having their own battles against the gons and their alien weapons. She saw Nightwing chasing down Bane. She glanced sideways and looked toward the place where the sea and the sky meets. Lighting flicked in the distance, hinting that a storm will take over tonight. An idea came to her, a very risky idea.

"I got one," Percy answered her cousin. "We are going to need our powers for this."

"Why?"

"Just trust me." Percy leveled her sword and fired it like a javelin towards the hydra. It sailed through the air and lodged itself in one of the hydra's heads. No heads were cut off but it made the creature mad.

"What kind of plan is that?" Thalia asked.

"That's part of the plan," Percy grabbed Thalia's arm, and together they ran for the docks. "We need to lead it towards the waters."

"Why? So you can drown it?"

"That's part of the plan, I need you to get ready to blast it."

"With lighting?"

"Yes, of course! What else are you going to blast it with? Your dumb remarks?" Thalia gave her a stinky look.

"You're lucky we got a hydra at hand, Kelp-head! Or else I might blast you!"

"Love you too, cousin!"

Being a demigod means that you are constantly chased by monsters. This means that running basically takes up 70% of your regular daily life, so naturally, demigods are gold-metal sprinters. Percy and Thalia ran at their fastest towards the sea. The daughter of Poseidon is a crazy plan at heart.

They stopped just in front of the waters and watched as the huge hydra rushed towards them.

"When I say go, blast it with all of your strength," Percy said calmly to her cousin.

"Ready..." Percy raised her hands as the monster drawn near. She counted silently in her heart.

3

2

1

Percy thrust her hands upward and the sea behind her exploded. A wave of water crashed into the hydra, knocking it off its feet. Percy made a ball gesture with her hands and the water contracted into a sphere, trapping the monster inside it. The beast roared and tried to break free. Percy gritted her teeth as she struggled to maintain her power. It's never good these days when she used too much of her powers. The curse will soon affect her.

"Thalia, NOW!" She shouted to her cousin.

A bolt of lightning arced out of the sky and blasted at the sphere of water. The hydra wailed in pain. Thalia increased her power and with a huge explosion the creature burst into dust. The water subsided, carrying what is the remain of the monster with it as it withdrew into the sea.

Percy dropped onto the floor, feeling drained. Her vision began to blur and she fought hard to stay conscious.

"You alright, Percy?" Thalia asked. Percy didn't worry if other's might overhear. They are far from the warehouse and far from the fight with Bane.

She shocked her head no. "Not...not really..." She admitted it. Thalia bent down beside her and handed her a piece of ambrosia.

"Here, eat."

"Thanks." Percy took the piece of godly food and chewed on it slowly. It didn't have much effect, but at least Percy wasn't as tired as before.

"Now, tell me what is wrong with you." Thalia folded her arms and stared at Percy with harsh eyes. Percy looked away, not daring to meet her cousin's demanding eyes.

"Percy..." Thalia warned. "Tell me what's wrong. You are far more powerful than this, I know it. What happened? That moment just now shouldn't have drained you!"

Percy sighed. Nothing escaped Thalia. "I had a curse planted on me."

"W-what? By whom?"

"Tartarus." Thalia's eyes widened but soon she realized the truth. She knows Percy too well.

"He wants you to suffer from memories, from your powers. He is destroying you from the inside out." Percy nodded, her face paled from the memories.

"Is there any cure?"

"No...not that I know of..."

Thalia must have seen how it pained her. She stood and held out a hand to Percy.

"Come on, let's get back to your team. I need to have a talk with that mortal mutant about how did he manage to find himself a dozen monsters and a hydra."

"Thalia, don't-"

"I know," Thalia gave her a pained smile. "You don't want others to find out about your curse. I promised to keep the secret from them, but you should know-

Secrets don't stay hidden for long, one way or another, they will reveal themselves..."