Hello my lovely followers and readers. Welcome to my wonderful challenge. TWELVE DAYS OF CONSECUTIVE UPDATES. This the special Day One update, which is insanely long (7702 words/ 21 pages) 

Tomorrow I'll have another update for you, and then the next day, all the way to Christmas guys! Not all will be one shots so check out my other stories as well, you'll like what you find, I promise. Also check out Jaz and Twila because they are doing this too!

Now....to the story.

Impervious

"Please! PLEASE STOP!"

The ten year old boy strained against the ropes. "STOP!" His voice was ragged, torn with pain. His wrists were chafed and bloody, his clothes were in tatters, but he couldn't care less. "DON'T TOUCH ME!"

He screamed until his ears bled. But they kept coming. They kept sending people down.

They kept sending them to their deaths.

"LEAVE ME ALONE! Please....please..."

The doors clanged open, the strict sound of metal on metal and the scrape of concrete. The boy screamed again with words no one ever listened to. It was always the same.

The same promise, the same knife, the same, the same, the same.

The faces changed. Skin tones, ears, noses, they all change, but the eyes are the same. Always that disbelief. Always that sudden greed, the feeling of hope, that desperate motion before they die.

"Please don't touch me..."

They always fall for it. Always. He tries to tell them, but they never listen. It's the promise. A life for a life.

This time it is a guy. He was big and burly but still barely an adult. His had the build of a blacksmith, with smears of ash across his forehead. He must have been dragged straight from the forges. His face was terrified as the guards shove him into the room. The boy in the chair shook, his wrists yanked but the ropes hold as they always do. The metal gate slams close. The boy heard it so often the merciless noise that dug into his brain.

"Here's the deal," the guard said over the boy's screams. "You kill the kid and you'll be pardoned for every crime you've been condemned for. You walk away free. Just kill the boy. If in ten minutes he's not dead, we kill you both."

"I just took a medicine!" the young man yelled, "She was dying!" he slams his hand on the bars. "This isn't fair!"

"Those are your options." the guard stepped back.

The boy in the chair strained away but he couldn't go anywhere. "Please! Don't touch me!"

The other man turned around. His eyes are firmly on the ground. His shoulders were tense. "She's pregnant," he whispered, "I promised I'd be there for her."

"Please don't..." the boy begged, "DON'T TOUCH ME!"

"I'm sorry," the man walked forward, his steps indefinite. He was shaking, the younger boy noticed through his tears. The man picked up the blade from the floor where it had been lying since the last man. The blade was shining, the silver reflection that had yet to be damaged. The man held it like he knew how many other hands had held it like this. "I'll make it quick and painless. I'm so so sorry."

"NO! NO STOP!"

The boy screamed as the blade whipped across his neck. The motion so fast, so quick that he almost missed it. The blade clattered to the floor. The boy let out another scream and he looked up just in time to see the man fall to the floor clutching his own neck.

"DON'T TOUCH ME! DON'T TOUCH ME!! PLEASE...." the boy screamed.

The guards unlocked the metal gate. They removed the body, but the scarlet blood from the man's spit throat joined the other discolorations on the floor.

"Please, just leave me alone...." the boy with green eyes sobbed.

***

2000 years later...

"Miss Chase-"

A hand gripped the phone tighter, "Zoë, it is two in the morning. I went to bed an hour ago. So help me if this is not the apocalypse happening right here right now, I will---"

"The council wants to see you."

Her breath caught in her throat. "t-they, what?"

"Thirty minutes Miss Chase. At the checkpoint." There was a click and Annabeth knew her caller had hung up.

She felt sick, suddenly. Despite her exhaustion, Annabeth Chase, a vivacious young woman of eighteen, threw herself into the bathroom. Her stomach have up everything she had eaten yesterday, which came down to two pieces of toast. Her mouth burned and she coughed the rest of it out.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. It was all she could do to think. To focus. In the mirror her reflection looked like a ghost. Her skin was the color of paste, her blond hair tangled, and her grey eyes were brewing panic.

The council wanted to see her.

Annabeth let out a harsh sob as she yanked her hairbrush through her hair.

No one ever came back from a meeting with the council the same. Rarely did people ever come back at all.

She took ten minutes to get ready. Another five to drive to the check off point. Even at the godly hour that it was, there was already a black sedan waiting for her at the clearing. She parked just opposite of it, and it took her a minute to unclench her white knuckled hands from the steering wheel.

She opened the car door and shakily climbed out. The lights of the other car flared to life. Annabeth swallowed hard. She reached out for the door and let herself in.

She didn't know the driver. She never did. The driver's seat was cut off from the back by a bullet proof, one way glass wall. The seats were comfy, but Annabeth still thought they'd be horrible to die in. She chanted a Greek prayer that she might just be able to see her brother just one more time. In front of her was a tv screen.

The screen flickered with a voice activator.

"Please identify yourself."

Annabeth forced herself to speak. "I am... A-annabeth Chase. Eighteen years old. American. Level Shamrock. Code 4737."

The car was silent for a full minute. Annabeth pressed her palms into the leather seat. The compartment seemed to shrink with her inside it. She was sure whoever was on the other side could hear her heart beating.

"Identity confirmed. Hello Annabeth Chase."

Annabeth let out a nervous breath that was suppose to be a response back. It came out more hysterical than she meant.

"You are in the presence of the entire council. I am Athena. Do you know why you have been called here?"

"No," Annabeth breathed, "ma'am."

"Good."

Another voice took over, a male one with a faint accent Annabeth couldn't place. "You have been called here for the Intangible Initiative. Have your ever heard of the Intangible Initiative?"

She froze. "No Sir."

There was a longer pause. "Miss Chase." the first voice said again, "Are you lying?"

Annabeth wished for the millionth time she was anywhere but in this car. Her palms were clammy, her breath was getting shallower by the second. She imagined that she looked as sick as she felt. Every part of her brain screamed at her to lie. But the word that came out was the opposite.

"Yes," Annabeth spit the word as if it was poison, "Once."

"When."

"My first official week. My training officer was Thalia Grace. She got a call in the middle of one of our fight sessions. She repeated one word: "intangible". She did not say another thing afterwards, but I assumed."

"It says nothing on your file about having an eidetic memory." Another voice mentioned, "That event took place six years ago."

Annabeth felt cold. "I don't. It was the first time I ever saw her look afraid."

"And the last time you saw her." Yet another voice mentioned.

Annabeth didn't even breathe. It was true. That was the last she had seen of the girl, and it was the last time she had ever worked with another person. It was the last time she had trusted another person. The look on Thalia's face that day was enough to make Annabeth hate herself.

Hate herself for believing that maybe Thalia was innocent. That maybe the girl who had taught her everything she knew, and then turned around and backstabbed Olympus, had done it for a reason. Annabeth hated that she wanted to believe Thalia hadn't killed her brother without a reason.

"The Intangible Initiative is a level Gold clearance. As of right now, Annabeth Chase, you have been promoted. Welcome to Level Gold." The man's voice was back.

Annabeth figured that when she got this high in the system there would be balloons and cake. Right now she would settle for just a chance to see her only living sibling again. She didn't want to be Gold. She never even wanted to be Shamrock. She had gone through six years of Hell to get this far, and all she wanted was out.

"Thank you sir." She said instead.

A slot opened up underneath the black TV screen. A file slipped out and it took Annabeth two tries to removed her hands from the seat and take it.

"This is everything we have on the Intangible Initiative. I'm sure you will find it most intriguing Miss Chase."

Annabeth opened it. One the very first page was a paper clipped picture of a boy with stunning green eyes. There was something about them that unnerved Annabeth more than sitting in that car had. He had unruly raven hair, and solemn cheeks. In the photo he looked to be about her age, just out of highschool, probably with a diploma and no plan for the future. He wasn't smiling, but Annabeth imagined he had a very nice smile. That is if he didn't already look like he had died.

"This is Perseus Achilles Jackson." A voice said. Annabeth wasn't sure if it was one she had heard already or not. "He's the first documented Mutant ever. He is also Olympus's biggest threat. He runs an underground organization that takes mutants off the streets, out of homes, from workplaces and turns them into World Class Criminals."

"He needs to be detained," another spoke. "He's government property. Do you understand Miss Chase?"

"I do, sir." Annabeth said.

"I'm sure then I don't need to tell you that what he is doing is building an army. An army of the most dangerous people in the world. If he rages war, not a single country will survive it. The entire earth will be in ruins and this Son of a Bitch will be the cause of it."

Annabeth nodded, unable to speak.

"Good. Bring him back alive. There is one other thing you need to know," The first voice, Athena, said. "You are not the first Agent to be put on this job. Perseus has been corrupting and destroying this Initiative since it was first founded. We've lost many good agents to this maniac. Make sure you do not become another."

It was a command. Annabeth found her throat so dry she could barely nod. The sickness in her stomach made her want to kill herself.

"Good Luck, Miss Chase. Our ride is done."

Annabeth hadn't even realized they had been moving. The car's windows were an inky black but she had thought it was just the night around them. Now she realized it was black glass. The door unlocked and Annabeth stumbled out. The street was deserted and the sun was hours from anywhere near being up. Still Annabeth would've recognized this street blindfolded.

She clutched the folder to her chest and stared at the apartment building. The car pulled away from the curb, even without the door being closed. Annabeth couldn't tear her eyes from the brick building.

She ran up the steps. Annabeth didn't realize she was crying until the sob broke her chest. She fumbled for her key, wiping tears away with the back of her hand. She opened the metal gate and closed it with minimal sound. Then she tore up the wooden staircase, reaching for her other key. She stumbled into the wall twice but she barely noticed. The other rooms past by in a blur.

The door was just like all the others: thick wooden and painted an ugly olive green. The lock was different, a steel deadbolt and thick tumblers. Olympus promised it was unhackable. Annabeth pretended most nights she believed that. She only had one family member left, everything she made went towards protecting this one apartment.

She struggled to get the second key in the lock, missing the hole twice. When she finally unlocked the door, Annabeth took a deep breath. It smelled like burned grilled cheese, which was probably what he had eaten for dinner.

She almost let herself relax.

That is until she heard the tv. The faint noise of some early morning rerun show that rang in another room. Annabeth was suddenly aware of the darkness of the apartment. Her brain shifted into a battle mode, and her hand immediately went to her hip.

Click.

"I wouldn't if I were you."

Annabeth tensed feeling the solid weight of a gun in her back. Her fingers froze just inches from own hidden weapon. The voice was male, but in the darkness of the room Annabeth was keenly aware the intruder could have been anyone. Gender wasn't really going to matter if she was one twitch away from seeing Bobby again.

Annabeth steadily retracted her fingers. Her calm was a facade, but he didn't need to know that. She could feel through her shirt the steady grip that her attacker had on his weapon.

"Fantastic," the voice must have been smirking, "Now just place that file on the floor."

Annabeth closed her eyes, she reached her hand with the file for the Intangible Initiative. And she dropped it.

Before it even hit the ground, Annabeth Chase had twisted around disclosing the gun from the small of her back, and broke her attacker's grip on his weapon. The silver metal flashed as it flung across the wooden floor boards. Annabeth whipped her own gun from its holster on her waist and clicked the safety off. She was on him in a second, less than a second; she had pinned him to the floor with her knee on his gun hand and elbow across his throat, and gun barrel shoved just above his ear.

He was older than her, that much she could tell. He was still in the shadowy darkness, but Annabeth found herself grow cold at deep stare of his icy blue eyes. A scar ran down his right cheek from his eyebrow to his chin. Despite the change of situation, he was still smiling.

"Who the Hell are you and why are you here?" She demanded. He only chuckled.

"Did you learn that move from Thalia?" He mused, "Well there's only one problem with that."

Annabeth wasn't sure what had happened. Maybe she had tensed at the sound of her training officer's name and lost concentration for a millisecond. The next thing she knew, a searing pain ran up her side. She was tossed off of him and thrown across the room. Her gun slid under the door to Matthew's room.

The guy grinned his cheesy grin, "I taught Thalia everything she knows."

Annabeth trembled a cold rage so strong she couldn't imagine it. Thalia, the girl who had killed Bobby, the girl who she had trusted with her life, had trained with this man. The desire to kill him brutally sent fire raging in her veins.

"If you so much as touched a strand of Matthew's hair, I will make sure you don't see morning first light, Bastard," She snarled.

Her threat seemed to just assume him more, "Oh I like you. Got that fire in your eyes. Anyone ever tell you you have beautiful grey eyes?"

"Fuck off!" She leapt at him, slipping her knife from her hidden sheath in her boot. It felt just right for turning his insides out.She had fought with it since she was seven and no one, not even Thalia, could beat her.

The blade sliced the air, missing him by a margin thinner than a piece of paper. He let a look of surprise flash on his face, and dropped a curse as he danced just out of the way.

Another motion and a another missed closer and closer, forcing him to make impossible moves. He was fast, but Annabeth was faster. She dug under his guard forcing him to the left to avoid her blade, then she drove her elbow in a swift uppercut. His head jerked up, slamming against the wall.

The action should've dazed him but when she went to finish him, he wasn't there. Her knife cut through the wall and the blond haired, blue eyed son of a bitch caught her wrist turning it so painfully her hand released the weapon. Annabeth cut off her scream, and blinked back tears at the shooting agony.

The man firmly planted his foot in her stomach and Annabeth was sent sprawling into the living room. The TV flashed with a couple scenes and a sudden bout of music as Annabeth hit the coffee table painfully.

She forced her gasping body off it on instinct. Her chest heaved, trying to inhale as the intruder slammed her own knife into the wooden grooves barely a second later. Still she forced her legs up catching his feet from under him. The sound of his body hitting the ground made her happier than it should have.

He cursed as Annabeth reached for her blade, "Motherfucke-"

"Luke, please watch your language," a voice behind them said, "There are children here."

Annabeth couldn't breathe, and it had nothing to do with her injuries. Her hand gripped the handle of her knife but she couldn't bring herself to pull it out. Sitting on the couch right beside them was her worst nightmare.

Thalia Grace was perched on the sofa, legs crossed, and hair dyed the same color as the teal fabric. She casually raised the remote and turned off the TV as if nothing was vaguely interesting about the situation. She smiled directly at Annabeth with something close to a shark's. Her black painted nails stroked the messy hair of ten year old Matthew Chase, who was completely unconscious in her lap.

"Good Morning, Annie," she said.

Luke sat up cursing still, but he made no move after her now that Thalia had spoken up.

"Get away from him," Annabeth choked out.

Thalia's fingertips paused in their movement. She looked somewhat confused. But whatever misunderstanding she had thought was gone in a sudden look of... pity? Annabeth's nails dug into the handle, and she prayed that the older girl's hands didn't move again. Leave him alone, leave him alone, Oh Gods please leave him alone.

"I don't think so." Thalia uncrossed her legs. Matthew snored deeply, but didn't wake. Annabeth guessed they had drugged him. "You see, I've actually become quite attached to the little monster. He's the only one who likes my grilled cheese."

Luke let out a groan, "Maybe if you didn't fucking burn them to Fucking Hell, I would eat them!"

Annabeth's arm tensed and she resisted the urge to yank her dagger out of the table further. Thalia noticed as snorted and her free hand sparked with blue light between her fingers.

"How about we go for a ride, Annie?" She suggested, in a way that meant it was not a suggestion. "Matt and Luke can come and I promise it will be loads of fun." She looked at her hand, as if debating the polish, "who knows, you might even learn a thing or two about the Intangible Initiative."

"How do you know about that?" Annabeth asked.

Luke snorted rather loudly. Thalia smiled, but it was more condescending than anything else. The blond boy placed a hand on Annabeth's shoulder, making her flinch. He leaned in close, closer than Annabeth really ever wanted a guy. His breath tickled her ear. "Who do you think was put on that before you, Miss Chase?"

Annabeth opened her mouth, but she wasn't sure what she was going to say. Thalia flicked a finger in her direction. The last thing Annabeth remember was a lot of pain, bright blue light, and then everything went black.

***

She woke up in a car.

"Son of a bi--" she spat as sudden awareness came to her.

"Language! Why is it that both of you have such Fucking terrible language in the presence of kids?" Thalia's spirited voice hypocritically rang out.

Annabeth felt as if all of her nerves were on fire. She was sitting passenger seat in a tiny little car that barely sat four. Thalia was calmly driving. The sun was out, probably somewhere around ten-ish in the morning. They were far away from the city, which made Annabeth more disoriented than she wanted to admit.

"Annabeth! Luke keeps cheating!" Matthew's voice complained. Annabeth twisted in her seat sharply to see her younger brother throwing playing cards at the guy who had tried to kill her last night. (How had her life gotten to a point where that was not a surprising thing??) Luke was sitting directly behind her with an obviously fake look of offense.

"I am not!" he protested.

Thalia grabbed a coffee from the cup holder, "Luke, he's ten."

"Why do you always side with him?"

"Were you cheating?"

Luke grumbled something and turned back to Matthew. "Fine, we'll play something other than go fish now."

Matthew seemed to light up at the idea. "Okay! SlapJack! Annabeth do you want to play with us?"

Annabeth had to be dreaming. She had to be.

Luke bumped the back of her seat, "Nah man, your sister had a late night. Let her rest a bit longer." There was an undertone in his voice that was eerily cold. Matthew didn't seem to notice as he set up for a two person game.

Annabeth reached for her gun holster only to find, not surprisingly, that it was empty. As was her boot sheath. She hadn't expected to get her weapons back anyhow, but she had to check. She was in a car the size of a mini fridge, with two highly trained assassins, one of whom had already killed her other brother. She had no weapons, Thalia could electrocute her with a thought, and even if she somehow knocked out Thalia, Luke was mostly armed, Matthew was in the backseat with him and a car crash would most likely kill all of them.

"Oh will you relax?" Thalia told her. "Have some hot chocolate. It's probably cool now, but any chocolate helps with...you know." Static flashed between her fingers as she lead their tiny car through some random cars.

Annabeth looked at her murderously. Thalia shot her an unimpressed glance. "Suit yourself."

"How did you get in?" Annabeth asked. In the back the sounds of Luke and Matt flipping cards and talking made her nervous for reasons she couldn't explain. Why was Matthew so okay around them? Thalia had killed Bobby, and she looked the same now as she had six years ago. Did Matthew often just go out with strangers on a trip?

Thalia grinned, obviously pleased with herself. "You, Dummy, let us in." Thalia pressed a hand on the center piece where a couple sheets of paper left. Annabeth looked through them realizing sickly what had happened.

"You filed for his Nanny," she said.

Thalia thumbed back to Luke, "Actually, he did. My name never would have gotten through the red tape. Luke however...what's it been two years? And Annie you've barely been to see him. It's lucky Luke wasn't sent to kill him."

Annabeth flinched so hard she crumpled the papers. "Are you taking us somewhere to kill him?" Behind her Luke yelled jokingly about Matthew slapping him.

"Honestly Annie--"

"It's Annabeth." She sniped, "Are you taking us somewhere to kill my other brother, Thalia?"

"That is not my original intention, no." Thalia sighed and sipped her coffee. "If you are thinking about trying to take control of this car by some brainiac way, my suggestion is: don't." She placed her cup down and switched lanes to go faster.

"Where are you taking us?"

The question amused her. "I promised you info on Intangible, right? Trust that I'm taking you to answers."

The vague information was making Annabeth want to take the cold hot chocolate and pour it down Thalia's front. She didn't want her brother part of this. She didn't want Matthew anywhere near her work. And Thalia sitting there confident and calm, as if not a day had past since their last training session, was as frustrating as it was sickening.

"The last time I trusted you, my brother ended up with a bullet in his chest." Annabeth said in a low and frigid voice.

Thalia jumped with some sort of shock. The steering wheel jerked under her grip. "Shit!" the older girl swerved back into their lane missing a barreling red SUV by centimeters.

Annabeth gripped the door handle, barely daring to breathe. The sudden motion had knocked the card game in the back into a frenzy. While Matthew struggled to pick up the cards, Luke leaned forward. He was just close enough for her to remember earlier that morning and his cryptic words. "Did you know that there are over two hundred uncatalogued mutants in every state?"

He gave Thalia a dark look and went back to helping Matthew sort cards.

Annabeth squeezed her seat belt. The black haired girl had white knuckles on the steering wheel, and a sudden stiffness in her body language. She was mouthing curses galore in another language, but Annabeth recognized the motions.

"Fucking Hell, I knew it was bad--"

"Bad?" Annabeth snapped.

Thalia crossed a couple lanes without her turn signal, earning several irritated honks. She sped the parking lot of a rest stop, parking across two parking spots.

"You know what? I'm starving!" She said placing the car in park. "Luke, Matt, why don't you guys grab us brunch?"

"But we ate earlier," Matthew pointed out.

"Your sister didn't." Thalia tossed a couple dollar bills in the back, which Luke snagged midair. "Plus you can get a Slurpee. I'd say you earned it for letting your sister sleep all morning."

Matthew got stars in his eyes, "A Slurpee? You mean it? You guys never let me have sugar in the morning!" He practically fell out of the car in his excitement. Luke hesitated, glancing between the girls before sitting and following him out. Annabeth felt her chest constrict as they walked off, Luke with one hand in his pocket, the other on Matthew's shoulder.

"Listen to me, and listen well," Thalia said in a starkly different tone. The light and calm was gone and she had an ugly look on her face. Her eyes sparked with her electricity, and static made her short black locks rise. Annabeth was all too aware that she could fry her in an instant.

"I did not kill, Bobby." Thalia said, "I did not hurt your brother."

Annabeth dug her nails into her own skin until she was sure she was drawing blood. "Do I look like a Fucking idiot? It's one thing to have killed him and brag, but it's something completely different to lie to my face! I saw you! I saw him! I saw his body hit the floor!" Her throat started to close up, as the memory flashed before her mind's eye. "I watched him die under your gun, Thalia Grace! I had to....I had to lower him....I promised to keep him safe! I trusted you with his life!"

"Why the Fuck would I kill him? Really Annabeth, what was in it for me?"

Annabeth stared at her, but she didn't have an answer. Olympus had informed her that it had been for information on her computer. Annabeth couldn't, she didn't believe that. Back then she had been a mere level Orchid, which had been two levels underneath Thalia. There was nothing Annabeth had had that Thalia hadn't already seen.

For six years, Annabeth hadn't had a better idea of why she would've broken into her apartment and killed her brother. Olympus offered no other reason, no other communication. Thalia had disappeared, and with her electric power, she took Annabeth's trust.

"They were four years old, Annie. I couldn't have killed them." Thalia said, and for a second she sounded as if she was the one being held hostage. "And you didn't even see it yourself." She looked forward where Luke and Matthew were coming back with cheap gas station food and a small Slurpee.

"You saw it on video tape." Thalia told her, "Are you really going to trust a video from a camera you didn't even know was in your house?"

Before Annabeth could reply, Luke and Matthew climbed back in. They were both smiling stupidly. Luke offered Annabeth a 7-Eleven bag. "Here you go! I think it's a breakfast burrito, but I'm not sure. It was the only thing that even looked vaguely edible."

Annabeth took it, her eyes skimming over her happily obviously brother. "thanks," she said flatly.

Luke took the liberty to tussle her hair, "Don't say I never did anything for you!"

"Fuc--"

Thalia raised a hand at her, a smirk playing on her lips suddenly, "Language, Chase!"

Annabeth flipped her the middle finger, for lack of a more violent response. When she was fourteen she had gotten her arm crushed in a car crash. At fifteen she had stumbled onto a ritual human sacrifice of twenty people. A month ago she'd been pushed into a pit of spiders bigger than her head. After all of those scenarios Annabeth had thrown up a good amount. But now she felt more sick than ever before.

Thalia, who may have killed her brother, who had turned her from a scared twelve year old with a dagger into an agent trying to protect her family, who was taking her somewhere undisclosed for answers to questions Annabeth didn't even have yet, was sitting there making her doubt herself with just four words.

Annabeth to a bite of her burrito, but it almost came back up as soon as she swallowed it. She drained her tepid hot chocolate. As far at last meals were concerned Annabeth figured it could've been worse.

"Get some more sleep, Annie." Thalia said pulling back onto the road, "We've still got a couple hours left."

***

The destination was a mall complex. It stumped Annabeth on the why, but since their conversation earlier, she hadn't managed to make another full sentence without feeling sick to her stomach. Matthew had fallen asleep somewhere around twelve, with blue lips and was snoring when Thalia pulled into a parking spot.

Luke had kicked his feet up on the other half of the backseat and was playing a game on his phone. By his finicky finger movements, Annabeth guessed it was Tetris.

"Finally," Luke sighed, "Next time I drive."

"Over my dead body, Castellan." Thalia said while unbuckling.

"It's not even your car!"

"You're right. That's why you always pay for gas."

Luke pouted and nudged Matthew with his foot. Thalia turned to Annabeth, all trace of her amusement gone again. Annabeth wondered if she had a switch for her emotions, just turning them on and off whenever.

"I'm sure I don't have to explain the rules, right?" she asked, "No running, no drama, and if you even think about arming yourself Matthew gets the punishment."

Annabeth gritted her teeth, "Oh yes, that totally convinces me you didn't have a role in Bobby's murder."

For what it's worth Luke snorted. Thalia on the other hand merely frowned. If anything she looked disappointed in the younger girl. "Just don't do anything stupid, Annie. I may not hurt kids, but Luke back there has no morals whatsoever."

"Absolutely none!" he agreed happily. He showed off Annabeth's knife from his pocket flicking it dangerously close to Matthew's snoring form.

"Alright!" Annabeth hissed, "I get it!"

Matthew's form shuddered and then he blinked his eyes open. In a flash the knife was gone and Luke had a hand on his shoulder, smiling kindly. His turn of emotions made Annabeth more sick than Thalia's. He was the Trojan horse, and Annabeth did not like how much her brother trusted him.

Maybe Annabeth was just mad that this was totally and completely her fault. If she'd been around more she could've picked Luke out as a lying bastard. If she'd been around, she might not have even hired Luke the Nanny. If she had been around, maybe Annabeth wouldn't have to be dealing with only one brother.

"Well!" Thalia opened her door, "We have a reservation!"

Although Annabeth didn't have a gun directly to her back like the night before, she looked at the outdoor mall, feeling like death was right behind her. Luke engaged Matthew in conversation about Star Wars. Annabeth slowed her walk so she could at least be near him. Thalia watched her with dark eyes that completely contrasted her fake brilliant smile.

"Where to?" Annabeth asked her as they melded into a crowd of people.

Lightning flashed in the older girl's eyes, but for once it looked pleasant rather than dangerous. "Hestia's. It's a family diner. I think you'd like it under other circumstances."

Annabeth twisted out of the way as a couple strolled between her and Matthew. Annabeth watched them for a moment as they passed almost obvious to the four of them completely. They couldn't have been older than her, and the exuberant looks on their faces made Annabeth feel hollow.

She tried to do something good with her life, tried to save people, do right, and this was how she ended up: One brother, possibly backstabbed by the girl she considered a sister, possibly going crazy, going to lunch in a mall will two people who were armed but didn't seem to want to kill her yet.

"Whoa! Is that a game store?" Matthew broke off his own rant. He grabbed Luke's hand, "Can we go? Can we go, Luke, please?"

"Maybe later, Matt, right now we're going to meet a friend of Thalia and mine." Luke ruffled his hair, making it even more messy than before, "It'll be fun, I promise."

Somehow Annabeth doubted that. She glanced at Thalia, "Friend?"

Thalia threw an arm over her shoulder sending a short static shock on her arm. "Do you really want me to spoil the surprise?"

"Is the surprise going to kill me or my brother?"

"Oh look here we are!" She pointed towards a quaint little shop that looked out of place between the Victoria's Secret bra shop and the laser arcade. In fact, if she hadn't pointed it out, Annabeth didn't think she would've seen it at all.

Luke lead the way greeting the hostess with over enthusiastic charm. "Hey, Katie, how's work?"

The hostess, a girl with dirt brown hair, green eyes, and freckles, turned her smile a complete 180. "I need those body stashing locations again. And if you don't see Travis for a couple of days, don't mention it to the police."

Luke laughed, and Matthew laughed because he laughed. The girl looked over the party, raising an eyebrow at the ten year old. "Reservation? Do you want crayons for the kid?"

Matthew frowned at being called a kid. Thalia didn't miss a beat, "I'd absolutely love some crayons, Katie."

Somehow that made getting crayons cool.

They were seated at a conventional table by the window. Outside people roamed around carrying bags and wallets and genuinely looking happy. Luke and Matthew sat on one side, Thalia and Annabeth on the other. Thalia swapped her crayons with Matthew, and eyed the blue and green with a deep interest. Annabeth didn't doubt that with a single elongated shock she could melt them both.

Katie was also their waitress and took their drinks quickly and before leaving them. She didn't leave any menus, and neither Luke nor Thalia seemed to mind it. The general conversation was the bickering between the two older kids which Annabeth was unsure if it was an act or real.

Katie came back with five drinks, two root beers for Thalia and Matthew, a chocolate milk for Luke, a water for Annabeth, and Katie left a single glass of some blue drink on the edge.

"He'll be here in a couple minutes," was her only explanation. She left without taking any orders.

Thalia and Luke played a game of "who can draw the most sexual looking thing without Matthew noticing" of which Annabeth couldn't look at without losing her composure. Luke was just beginning to show his true abilities when Annabeth grabbed the crayon from his hand. "You're both grounded!" she growled.

"Besides that's not even what a vagina looks like!" A voice said.

Annabeth looked up and paled. She wasn't sure what she was expecting. Maybe a big burly guy with a leather jacket, or whose appearance screamed "I'm a bad dude!" Maybe she even imagined that the mysterious friend was a connection to the Intangible Initiative.

She didn't think it would actually be Perseus Achilles Jackson.

Matthew looked at Thalia and Luke's drawing, "What's a vagina?"

"Nothing!" Annabeth was moderately surprised that the three other adults joined her in saying that.

Perseus took the last drink and drained it in one go. Luke snorted into his cup.

For someone who was avoiding the government and building an army of mutants, he looked underwhelming. He wore a second hand swim sweatshirt for a school Annabeth had never heard of, and blue jeans. He wore regular sneakers. He didn't look a day older than the picture in the file Annabeth had left at her apartment.

"You must be Matthew." Perseus said. His unnerving eyes settled on Matthew in a way Annabeth didn't like. "You remind me of my own brother, Tyson!"

Matthew shied away from him. "I have to use the bathroom."

"Go figure." the black haired boy said. Luke got up to let him out and Matthew scurried towards the sign that advertised the restrooms. Before he'd gotten too far Perseus took Luke's arm.

"Tell him you're going to get ice cream."

Luke glanced at Thalia then nodded, and left after the younger boy.

Annabeth's heart beat louder than it was suppose to, "Where is he taking my brother?"

The boy looked at her, "To the ice cream parlor. Do try to keep up, Miss Chase." He sat across from them sliding his cup between Luke's and Matthew's. Looking at Thalia he said, "I thought the gods were only putting the smartest people on my tail? How come she's on it?"

Annabeth felt her face heat up. There were a lot of things she could take, (broken arms, human sacrificing, being held hostage in a car for four hours) but she drew the line at her smarts. Her brain had gotten her through a lot, more than most mutants could handle. She could make a plan to accomplish most anything as long as she had a good motivation.

"I will snap your neck." The words tumbled from her mouth before she could even think about the consequences.

Perseus looked at her pitying if nothing else, "I'd love to see you try."

"Find us a better secluded area and have Luke stop threatening my brother and I'll give it my best shot."

He laughed. It was eerie with his dead green eyes, but Annabeth felt that he was genuinely amused. His posture was relaxed, but Annabeth stayed tense. She meant it. Every word.

"You have obviously not been on this job long. Have you even read my file?" He mused. His finger ran the rim of his cup around and around and around. "Thalia?"

"I didn't want to ruin the surprise." she said with that shark grin.

He didn't seem to mind, switching the conversation back to the blond girl, "So Miss Annabeth Chase." He seemed to be trying her name on his tongue, "You must not be the shapeshifter."

"Excuse me?"

"The Shapeshifter, the one who framed Thalia for your other brother's murder, the one who made Luke look like a jacks. The Fucking brat I wish they would just Fucking send after me already." He sighed ideally, almost longingly. It was like he wanted a super assassin after him.

"Well you're not them, and you don't look like you have real value, but Rachel informs that you will help me--"

"Stop right there." Annabeth said, "Why would I ever help you?"

"I'll pay you whatever you want." he said, rolling his eyes, "You name it I'll pay it." his voice monotone, as if money was a boring topic for him.

"With whose money?"

Perseus made a face, "They gave you the "government property" spiel didn't they? How low can they get? Miss Chase, look at me. Am I a living, breathing human being?"

"The answer is yes." Thalia supplied when Annabeth hesitated.

"Yes, I am. Therefore, as a living breathing human being, I can not be property of the government. Especially not one as stupid and corrupt as Olympus. Governments can't own people. People can't even own people! I've seen many-a-nation fall for that principle alone." Perseus placed his glass on the tray of a waiter walking by. The guy went to glare at him but seeing as it was the green eyed boy, he merely shook his head.

"I wonder how smart you'd really be if you started to think for yourself every once in awhile?" jabbed Perseus towards Annabeth.

Her cheeks flared again with anger and for some reason humiliation. She told herself that this was stupid. She was talking with the enemy, the target. His words were probably twisted, warped to make her forget why she was there. Athena had said they had lost many agents to this man.

And yet, Annabeth didn't think he was twisting any words. He spoke with a certain edge but what he was saying was all clear, aside from the insults to her brains. Annabeth glanced at Thalia who was merely swirling her straw in her rootbeer.

He had mentioned a shapeshifter, framing Thalia. Was it possible that it was the truth. Annabeth wanted it to be the truth. She wanted to believe that Thalia was innocent in this particular case.

"I'm interested in money." Annabeth said finally. Perseus didn't look surprised.

"Oh?" He said. The waiter dropped off a refilled glass for him, before hurrying off again. "How about this. I can offer you the one thing you got into Olympus for in the first place. Protection."

She must have failed at hiding her angry sickness because he leaned forward. Annabeth couldn't help but meet his gaze. There was a flicker of something in his eyes, only for a second, that Annabeth knew she could not have imagined.

"Luke seems quite fond of your brother." He mentioned, "Very Fond. I think he considers him his little brother. Luke is also very loyal to me, Miss Chase. Extremely loyal. Do you know that if I called him right now and told him to kill Matthew, he would do it? He might hate himself for weeks afterward, but he would do it. Your brother would be dead before you could even scream."

Annabeth's breath caught in her chest. He blinked, with a twitch of his lips that was almost a smile.

"But you see that could also work the other way, can't it? I can tell Luke to protect you brother with his life. And he will. And I can guarantee that little Matthew Chase will live to be a hundred and fifty. If I give the word Luke will be your brother's personal guardian angel." Perseus laid his hand flat on the table.

"So Annabeth," He said, "What will it be?"

"What do you even want?"

He smiled, "How old do you think I am?"

Annabeth would be lying if she said that hadn't thrown her for a loop. She looked at him clearly startled. "I don't know?"

"Guess."

"Eighteen?"

Thalia howled with laughter. Perseus smiled politely, as if she was a tiny child who didn't understand how the world worked. "You flatter me."

Annabeth was at a loss for words, "Twenty? Thirty? Oh god please don't say forty."

He beckoned her closer and for some reason she obeyed. He cupped a hand to her ear and his hot breath warmed her cheek. It was not unlike Luke, but for some reason it was... different in the feeling.

"Two Thousand four hundred and twenty seven," He whispered.

Annabeth reeled back and scowled, "That's impossible." He had to be joking, which Annabeth didn't think was entertaining.

He didn't look like he was joking. Those dead eyes...they suddenly made sense. "You see I have this gift." he said the word "gift" as if he really thought it was a curse. "When something happens to me, it happens to someone else."

Annabeth tried not to feel stupid, "I don't understand."

He rubbed his hands, "I guess not. I've never been one for words. They say a demonstration is better than a definition. For instance: If our dear Thalia Grace were to shock me..." He held out his palm to her.

Thalia looked at him then at Annabeth. Then she shrugged. She placed her hand in his and sent a pulse of blue electricity in his body. Percy didn't even move. He looked completely unphased by her attack. Annabeth didn't understand why until white hot pain flashed up her own arm.

She let out a yelp grabbing her left arm away from Thalia. The guy sitting across the isle cursed and stood up grabbing his arm, his left arm. Annabeth looked at her arm, but she there was no sign of anything that would make her hurt like that. Thalia rolled her left wrist flexing the muscle as if it was stiff.

"A warning next time, please, Percy!" The man said, shaking out his arm. "Geez! Ow!"

"My bad." Perseus said but he didn't sound sorry at all, "As you can see Miss Chase. When an action is taken against me, those within generally five feet feel the effect. I can't be hurt. I'm intangible." He grimaced at the word.

Annabeth looked at her arm.

"He's also Immortal." Thalia added. "He doesn't age any older than this."

Annabeth felt faint. Her brain was trying to tell her none of this was real, but she couldn't believe it was a lie. This Perseus guy had lived to see nations rise and fall. He'd outlived his family, his friends, normality. And despite everything, she couldn't help but think of how lonely it must be. Maybe that's why he was such a dick.

"Impervious." She said.

"Excuse me?"

"Not intangible. You're clearly tangible. I mean, you've got a body and I can..." She reached over and flicked his arm. She felt the pinch of pain in her corresponding arm. "Therefore instead of intangible. You should be called Impervious. It makes more sense."

"Oh yes, because that makes all the difference." He said snarkily. "Thank you Miss Chase."

She refused to feel annoyed. "So this is fun and dandy, but you haven't answer my question."

"I thought it would be obvious." He said, "Everyone here, Everyone in this complex is my follower. My dedicated army, if you want to use Olympus's terms. They all are trying to help me reach my one goal."

Annabeth swallowed hard, "And that is....what?"

There was a hint of madness in his eyes, and his words were as venomous as they were impossible.

"I want you, Annabeth Chase, to find a way to kill me."