Chapter Text
Percy Jackson, everyone knew who he was. The disappointment, the fraud, the impostor. Everyone in Gotham knew who he was, what he had done, the shame he brought upon the Wayne family.
Percy Jackson spent the beginning of his childhood in Crime Alley in a shitty two bedroom apartment with his mother, a goddess of a woman named Sally Jackson, and his step-father, a monster of a man named Gabe Ugliano. When Percy was 9 years old both his mother and step-father were found dead in their apartment, a knife had been plunged into Sally’s chest and Gabe had hit his head on the table with a bookcase on top of him. Percy was nowhere to be found.
The police could only guess what happened, Gabe attacked Sally for some reason (although a man like that doesn’t need much reason to begin with), he killed her and then, most likely, went after Percy. In an attempt to get away Percy knocked over the bookshelf and killed Gabe.
The next night, Commissioner Gordan stood on the roof of the Police Precinct, coat wrapped around him and silently cursing Batman for making him wait up on the roof in the cold.
Commissioner Gordon gave the file of the missing boy to Batman, (only after he had emerged dramatically from the shadows) and went back inside, intending to get caught up on the mountain of paperwork that was on his desk.
It didn’t take long for the Dark Knight to find the boy. He was hiding under a bridge right on the edge of the water. It took a few minutes for Percy to let Batman near, he kept on asking Batman if he was ‘one of the monsters’ .
After everything the boy had gone through, the death of his mother and the undoubtedly horrible people he had mostly likely met on the streets, Batman wasn’t surprised about the boy's reaction.
Bruce Wayne was Batman looking at a young boy, so much like him, hiding under a bridge, holding back tears asking if he's a monster, if he's there to kill him. Bruce Wayne knew that this boy needed him, just like how he needed Alfred and how Dick and Jason needed him. So when Percy dropped the scrap of metal and let Bruce near him, he didn’t hesitate to wrap the boy in his arms, whispering that everything will be okay.
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Jason Todd had been with Bruce for just about 6 months, and he had been Robin for 2 weeks when he met Percy. Commissioner Gordon gave them the case and Batman immediately started looking for the kid. He found him not long after getting the case. The night he found the kid, Bruce came home, not exactly shaken but something was wrong. Jason could tell. So could Alfred if the sullen look on his face was anything to go by. When Jason asked Bruce dismissed him, saying he was just tired. Jason called bullshit, the old man was always tired. After a few days, Bruce still had that not-shaken-but-defiantly-something look on his face.
After dinner, just before patrol, Bruce called Jason into his office. After a few tense moments of Bruce opening and closing his mouth, obliviously not knowing what to say. He finally spoke.
“Jason, I just want to let you know that I’m taking Percy in as his foster placement” Bruce sat behind his desk with his hands folded neatly on top of some paperwork.
“Who?” Jason couldn’t think of anyone he could be talking about. What kind of a name is Percy anyway?
“The boy from the missing persons case, Percy Jackson, he doesn’t have anyone and I would like to give him a safe home” Bruce explained, Jason remembered the boy and how out of it Bruce had looked when he came home from dropping him off with Gordon.
“You should probably call Dick then, don’t want him to freak out again like how he did when he found out about me” Bruce winced at the memory of the screaming match he and Dick had. He was furious that Bruce had given Robin to another kid, and that he had taken in another kid without telling him first.
“Yes, I probably should.” Bruce looked at Jason “You’re okay with this then?” Jason nodded, the idea of another kid in the manor, it excited him. Someone he could talk to and hang out with that wasn’t Bruce or Alfred. Don’t get him wrong, he loves them both to death, it’s just that it would be nice to talk to another kid anytime he wanted. Plus Jason had always wanted a little brother.
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Once Percy was adopted, he had immediately taken the media by storm. Everyone loved the sarcastic child. He wasn’t afraid to call out anyone who was being an asshole. He was happy, Percy had finally gotten to know what it would be like to have a father who loved him and had two awesome older brothers and a grandfather.
His life was perfect.
Until he turned twelve that is. The official story is that he and two other, unnamed kids, got kidnapped and taken on a cross country road trip. Bruce Wayne had issued statement after statement about his son, all while looking for him as Batman, with the help of Nightwing and Robin. Eventually, Percy was returned to his family, he gave them the same story he gave the police. The family of detectives didn’t believe him. No matter how many times they asked, prodded, and borderline interrogated him. He always gave the same shitty excuses.
One night in the beginning of summer, after a screaming match between Percy and Bruce, Percy grabbed a bag and left. Jason found his bed empty the next morning. Again they looked for him and again, they couldn’t find him.
This pattern of disappearing every summer and coming back with more and more scars continued for years.
Jason Todd died, Tim Drake gained a home, Percy was declared missing. Percy was sighted a few more times, a train in Alaska, an aquarium in Atlanta, Rome. He vanished before his family could get any leads.
Shortly after his last sighting in Rome, Percy Jackson was declared dead.
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Percy Jackson, everyone knew who he was. Hero of Olympus, Son of Poseidon, Titanalslayer, Godsasser, One of the Prophised Seven, Wanderer of Tatarus. Percy Jackson was considered one of the greatest heroes of the age, and he was dead.
When Annabeth Chase walked out of that elevator alone, it was one of the most heartbreaking sites in the world. Blood, sweat, dirt, monster dust covered her from head to toe. She could barely stand upright, her body was shaking uncontrollably. Annabeth couldn’t tell you what happened after she came out of that elevator. All she knows is that while she was unconscious, Hazel, Leo, Hecate and the others defeated the giant Clytius and cut the chains to the Doors of Death.
When people asked what happened to Percy, all she could do was look down and shake her head, trying her best to hold back sobs.
After the defeat of Gaea and people began to talk about funeral preparations, Annabeth pulled Chiron aside.
“I think they should know what happened to him,” she said, her eyes locked on Chiron's face. “His family, they should be here, or at least know”
“I think you may be right,” Chiron sighed and looked out of the window of the Big House. He turned back to Annabeth and signed deeply. “Who will tell them?” He asked.
“I will”
Chiron watched her for a moment before slowly nodding. “Very well, I will call Argus to take you”