Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Talking"

"Thinking"

"Yelling"

Sally Jackson was very, very happy right now. Her day had started out pretty shitty, the washing machines in the basement of her apartment building had broken down, and then in her rush to catch her bus in time a cabbie drove through a puddle right in front of her, soaking her jeans, and then a customer at the diner she worked at decided to be a total ass. In short her day had Not. Gone. Well.

Which lead to her blowing off all of her responsibilities and going to her favorite beach, Montauk, and walking along the shore line until she felt ready to deal with other people again.

"She sells seashells down by the sea shore." A smooth male voice interrupted Sally's walk.

"Tell me, where are your wares?" He was handsome, as in not just good looking but handsome with a capital HOT. The man with beautiful sea green eyes smiled. At her!

"U-um, I don't, um I mean uh, sell a-anything, not, not really." She was stuttering like a schoolgirl with a crush, how mortifying! The man with his dreamy green eyes, and tacky aloha print shirt, laughed.

"Would you like to take a walk with me?" He held out a large, sun tanned hand and smiled, even bigger than before. Sally slipped her hand into his.

"Yes."

3 months later Sally went back to the beach where she met him for the first time and told him she was pregnant. The look of horror that overtook his face made her stomach plummet in despair.

"Wh-what's wrong? I thought you'd be happy! You always look so natural when you play with the children on the beach! What's wrong!?" Sally was becoming frantic, how could he look so happy playing with other children but horrified at having his own?

"But, but what if he's NOT supposed to have children with ME!" One look into his sorrow filled face and she knew, "Is there another woman?", the flinch only made her heart break faster,"... I'm the other woman...aren't I?" Sally's knees buckled and she would have fallen if he hadn't caught her and gently lowered her to the sand.

"Please Sally don't, don't think like that I meant it and I'll mean it until the end of creation when I say; I Love You, but please, please ju-just hear me out." He had finally found his voice, looking in the eyes to emphasize the truth of his words. Taking her continued silence as permission he started talking, "First of all, I never meant for this to happen, I never meant to fall in love with you, and I certainly never meant to get you pregnant, but never, NEVER doubt for even a second I'm not happy about this baby. Okay?" He asked. Sally meekly nodded, wiping tears from her eyes.

"I believe you but, if you never meant to meet me or have a child, why did you stay? And who's the woman you're really supposed to be having this baby with?" He winced again, a grimace twisting his handsome features.

"Well, that's a little harder to explain. You know how I told you that my name wasn't my real name, and that if I told you my real name we'd both get in HUGE trouble?" Sally nodded, "Well, the thing is I'm married, but the marriage was for purely political reasons. She's bossy, and such a harpy! I cant stand her constant sour attitude! She's nothing like you Sal, you're wonderful, and sweet, and so nice. I'm sure if it was allowed and I could take you to meet my family and my brothers, they would all just love you, even my oldest brother! And he's a real cold fish." He rolled his eyes.

"But what in the world could possibly so dangerous about your family that requires you to lie to me?" Sally paused,"... You're not part of the Mafia are you?" She tilted her head, tears forgotten in the face of such a revelation.

He chuckled, "No, angelfish, neither me or my family are part of the Mafia. It's much worse." He mumbled.

"What was that? Did you say something?"

"Nothing my sweet water-lily." He gave a nervous chuckle, hoping that she hadn't heard him properly. To distract her, he shifted their position in the sand, settling against a nearby piece of driftwood. Sally narrowed her eyes at him, letting him readjust them as he wished, she was sure he'd said something.

"Now that we're a little more comfortable. Do you have anything else going on today? 'Cause this explanation is going to take a while."

Chapter Text

“Talking”

“Thinking”

Chapter 2 : The Pen With Identity Issues

“Now die Honey!” Miss. Dodds shrieked, leathery wings propelling her towards Persephone like a rocket. Suddenly out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mr. Brunner wheel himself into the room.

“What Ho! Percy!” He shouted tossing the pen he always carried at her.

“Percy? Percy! What the hell gives him the right to call me Percy? We don’t fuckin’ know each other like that!” She thought even as her hand automatically shot out to close around the pen. But the second her hand came into contact with the pen it changed, unfolding into a sword. Persephone brought the pen-sword up to block Miss. Dodds’s newly revealed claws.

She looked back to the door, but Mr. Brunner was gone.

“You think we wouldn’t find you eventually Halfling! Even if you don’t stink of your traitorous father, once I got close enough I didn’t even have to smell you! I COULD TASTE IT!” The winged woman clawed at her, desperate to have the almost forgotten taste of bastard flesh on her tongue once again. Her sisters would be so envious when she told them of this feast!

Persephone parried each of the Furies strikes, showing an ease with the sword that Ms. Dodds hadn’t thought to expect.

“If you think I have anything to do with thunder thighs temper tantrum you’re so wrong it’s not even funny!” Penny swiped at one of the furies wings, managing to score a long cut down the left, sending the woman screaming across the museum to clutch at her injured limb, bearing her fangs at the mortal as gold ichor seeped from her claws.

Penny grinned right back, a feral light in her currently glacier blue eyes, eyes that much like the water they mimicked held no warmth, only the promise of a cold, slow death. The choker around her neck made of three rows of sea glass colored beads melted, flowing down into her hand and freezing into the shape of another sword. She let her lips pull back even more, her smile now less like a smile and more like a hungry showing of teeth.

“I think I like the idea of you dying instead of me,” She twirled her new swords and smirked, “Honey.”

Furious the Fury tore her hand away from her wing and took to the air again. A whip of fire appearing in hand to tear the demigoddess apart. Penny dodged to the side, metal sword darting out to tangle the whip around it, and then she pulled hard. Yanking Miss Dodds down to her level, she raised her ice sword and stabbed it into the right wing then pulled her to side as hard as she could. Penny ripped the wing apart. The Fury dropped to ground and suddenly demigoddess and monster were on even footing.

“Now that you’re done fluttering around my head, how’s about we really fight? … Alecto.” Burning eyes met glacier cool and Miss Dodds, now reveled to be Alecto, could only feel shock and (though she would never admit it) fear.

“You know what you are!” This couldn’t be! The little bitch wasn’t supposed to be aware of her true parentage. She wasn’t supposed to fight back! This was meant to be an easy mission; infiltrate the school, find the stinking bastard child, get her alone long enough to kill her, and be back on Olympus with her sisters by next week!

“I’m can not be defeated by some skinny bastard child!” Alecto thought as she twisted her wrist, producing a second fire-whip, shifting on her feet, she calmed her racing thoughts and focused her hellish eyes on the girl child. Watching as the fury calmed herself, Penny felt the golden blood within her begin to boil; she always liked fighting more than talking it out, it was faster.

“Looks like it’s time to stop playin’ with my food.” Tightening the grip on her swords, Penny flexed her knees, “Track is about to pay off.” She eyed the other woman’s feet and hands.

They burst into motion at the same time, colliding in the middle with a meaty thud! Penny shoved her shoulder into Alecto’s chest, metal sword primed to stab her in the stomach. Alecto circled her arm down between them and then pushed, trying to get the distance to use her whips properly, but Penny stayed close. She swung her ice-sword down from her left shoulder to right hip hard, nearly catching Alecto in the neck; following through with her metal sword, scored her a small but deep cut to ribs of her opponent. Knowing the only way beat someone as experienced as Alecto was at beating demigods; Penny pressed her advantage. She brought her arm back down on Alecto’s neck, forcing her to bend backwards leaving her stomach unprotected, Penny thrust her ice-sword forward and up!

“H-How did y-ou kn-ow?” Gasping around the sword thrust into her chest flooding her body with ice, Alecto had to know how this demi-shrimp bested her, one of the Goddess of Vengeance!

“You want to know how I bested you, is that it?” The Goddess’s wide eyes told Penny all she needed to know. Ignoring the gold liquid pouring down her arm, she noticed Alecto’s feet were already turning to dust.

“I’ve done my research pretty bird.” The last thing Alecto saw before crumpling to dust to await reanimation in The Pit was Persephone Jackson’s terrifying, blood stained grin.

Penny took a second to look around her. The ichor on her cloths and the ground was already disappearing, and their fight had done little damage to the Greek exhibit. She studied the pen-sword, ‘Nicely made and sturdy, function over form is always something I can get behind.” Writing on the blade near the pommel caught her attention. ‘Riptide, huh? You must be a remnant of one of my half cousins’

“Well Riptide, I do believe you’ve fought well here today. I hope to work with you in the future.” In response the pen-sword warmed in her small hand, and shrunk back into a pen with a click.

She turned towards the entrance the Greek Exhibit, stuffing the pen-sword in her jean’s pocket.

“That was fun while it lasted.”

Chapter Text

Brushing golden dust off her shoulders, Penny exited the Greek exhibit and headed towards the gift shop: it was time to do damage control. Stepping into the small shop, Penny noticed the themed knick-knacks and other touristy things. Spotting the shirts she picked one out in Nancy Bobofit’s size with the ugliest print she could find and quickly bought it. As she was making her way out of the museum and over to where her class was waiting to go back to the school she was stopped by Mr. Brunner.

“Ah, Ms. Jackson, I see you have made it out of your punishment with limbs intact, though next time I must ask you to bring your own writing utensil.” His wise brown eyes stared into her own shifting sea colored orbs. Penny gave him a nervous smile, more than ready to pretend as long as necessary.

“Yea-yeah Mr. Brunner I’ll remember that next time.” As she walked away he called out to her again.

“Ms. Jackson, my pen?” The wheelchair-bound man held out his hand for the shape-shifting pen. Mentally Penny sighed, she’d been hoping he’d keep up the charade and not even mention the pen to keep her from questioning whatever lie they’d come up with. Too bad, the pen-sword was nice, but not as nice as her ice. Digging the pen out her pocket, she tossed it to the man.

“Sorry Mr. Brunner, I forgot about it up until just now. If you hadn’t reminded me I would have walked right off with it. There you go Mr. B” Keeping the disappointment from her eyes Penny turned back toward the fountain, she’d really wanted that pen. Coming upon Grover, who looked, even more, nervous than usual, and a soaking wet Nancy, she glared at the both of them.

“Grover, the next time you try to sit next to me ever I’ll be the one to dump your ass in the fountain. We clear?” Her ice colored glare and threatening smile made the twitchy boy shudder with fear. The look alone told Grover she would do it in a heartbeat, never mind his crutches, he sighed out loud when Penny turned all of her formidable attention to Nancy next.

“And you! Boboshit! What the hell do you think you’re doing acting like the jackass you are in a public place? Last I checked one of my Ground Rules was to ‘Keep all bullying to school grounds and out of sight of teachers’ wasn’t it?” Getting a meek nod out of the redhead Penny continued chewing the uppity bitch out, “The next time I catch you doin’ that shit I’ll hold you under!” Shoving the gift shop bag into Nancy’s chest she turned to get on the bus, “And change your clothes bitch, you’re a mess.”

Taking a seat on the bus, she realized They had already pulled the switch and Mrs. Dodds was now Mrs. Kerr and every kid on the trip excluding Grover believed the lie. The boy was a terrible liar, but that just made the game more fun for her; watching him slip up and then reaching in to keep him from drowning was something entertaining to do when she wasn’t selling contraband or collecting protection money from weaklings.

School continued even as the weather of New York got worse and worse as the months went on, or rather as she continued to live. Tornados, lightning storms, wildfires, and hurricanes all threatened to wipe New York off the face of the planet, and end of the year exams loomed even closer. But Penny wasn’t bothered, she continued with her usual illegal activities’ regardless of the crap weather, after all, a smart business woman wouldn’t let a little rain get her down. She controlled the Yancy Academy underground. Candy, test answers, doctor’s notes, cigarettes, and pills, even alcohol, you name it she could get it. For a price of course. Anyone who tried to cut in on her profit was quickly and ruthlessly crushed under her heel until they agreed to either work for her or never sell again or were expelled because a teacher got an ‘anonymous’ tip.

In class Penny kept her grades in the high B low A range, perfect to please her mother and go unnoticed for being ‘too smart’, having too much attention focused on her would lead to people finding out about her less than legal activities. Despite having problems with ADHD when she was younger, and being transferred to Yancy for their learning program geared toward ADHD, taking pills during the day made other kids way too curious, in her opinion, and plus they made Penny feel slow, like her mind was swimming through syrup. Penny worked with her mom to find an exercise slash meditation regimen that allowed her to go without Adderall, meaning she could leave Yancy if she wanted to, but she didn’t, she’d put too much work into her network at the school and besides, Yancy was better off with Penny in charge. Everyone had to score above a certain grade average if they wanted to buy from her, and bullying wasn’t allowed unless she approved of it (she only gave approval if it was someone who needed a major attitude transplant or Grover), the upperclassmen were to help all the freshman with classes and things, and anyone who needed help with tutoring could get it whenever they needed it (minus those who were just lazy and bought answers).

Penny was hard at work, studying for Mr. Brunner’s Greek final when she felt the need to take a walk. Penny sometimes got ‘feelings’ that would lead either to trouble that turned good in the end or something good that lead to trouble that turned good. No matter what happened she always listened to her feelings, her gut never lead her wrong. She got up and wandered the halls following where her tummy lead until she came to Mr. Brunner’s office, the light was on and two voices came through the cracked door, both were familiar.

“……worried …. Penny doesn’t believe…. might find out before she’s ready”

“Don’t worry Grover, Ms. Jackson believes the Mist, and even if she doesn’t, her peers will quickly convince her it was all imagination.”

So Brenner and Grover were in on whatever was up with that feathered freak! Penny remembered the bird brain squawking at her about ‘paying for her crimes’ and ‘not being able to run any longer’ if the higher-ups were worried about her getting to big for her britches they would’ve just zapped her a long time ago so it couldn’t be about her living long enough to reach 14. Why was Thunder-thighs so rattled?

“But! The Solstice is coming up fast and no one can find his token! What if they blame Percy? She hasn’t done anything wrong! …… this week.” Grover’s’ eternally nervous voice, trembled oddly around his words, like he was holding back a cough or something.

“Calm yourself Mr. Underwood, Ms. Jackson will come to no harm, her Father will not allow it, and the morals by which They are governed will not let her be prosecuted unjustly.” Mr. Brenner’s voice, as steady as ever, seemed to be coming for an unusually high place to Penny’s ears, like he was tall instead of wheel-chair bound. Shifting her feet under her in a crouch, Penny tried to scoot closer to the door to listen better when her sneaker caught on the tile beneath her and gave off a small squeak. In the room all activity stopped and there was only the sound of the harsh wind outside the school. Then there was suddenly movement. Penny moved at the same time, quickly darting into an adjacent classroom, slipping passed the thankfully open door, Penny spun around the corner and into the shadows at the same time as an odd sounding walk reached the door the Mr. Brenner’s office.

Light spilled into the hallway, giving definition to a strange shadow. The figure at the door was oddly tall for a man, Penny was sure only a basketball player could ever be that tall, and as the figure moved further into the hallway, the oddly paced walk reached her ears again; it was almost like, horse hoofs against concrete. Penny held her breath waiting to be discovered or ignored. Grover’s voice broke the tension.

“What is it? A-a.. creature?” The quite, yet terrified whisper was accompanied by a cutoff warble.

The figure scanned the hallway once more with well-measured sweeps of the head before speaking in Mr. Brenner’s voice, “No Grover it was nothing, we need to cut this meeting short, speaking about this like this in such a place is simply asking for trouble.”

Soon the sounds of Mr. Brenner’s chair and Grover’s uneven walk told Penny she was in the clear, but she waited until she had counted to 100 twice in her head before she dared do more than breathe through her nose. Once she was sure the coast was clear Penny straightened out of her crouch and took a steadying breath, “So this Solstice thing is the up-and-coming event to the higher ups and something mucho importunate is missing? Well, that makes things very interesting” With a smirk firmly in place, Penny headed back to her dorm room.

Chapter Text

Exams loomed over the school the next day, mimicking the heavy rain clouds outside; terrible in their soul-crushing mission to drag students grade averages into Tartarus, screaming all the while.

But Penny saw no reason why she had to be worried, she had studied well all year and kept up with both her homework and the extra study sessions teachers forced on them, so she felt more than ready.

Grover, on the other hand, was becoming more and more nervous by the hour, he didn’t even eat as much as he usually did at breakfast. Penny got what some might consider a sick amount of amusement watching the boy fall apart at the seams during exam season. The sound he made when their first exam was announced made people in the hallway laugh.

Penny set her pencil down and sighed as she stretched out her back, she much preferred movement to being still.

As Mr. Brunner took up the tests to be graded one of the Samanthas leaned across the aisle to mutter at her, “Hey Pen, how do you think you did?”

“Eh, I shot for something in the 70 to 80 range. But I’m really feeling a 78 today Manny.” She hummed back, her Caribbean blue eyes wandering the ceiling as the class began to mill around the gym now that they were done. Do to certain students (e.i. Penny and the Sams) tendency to try and steal tests to either sell or cheat or both, tests were taken one grade at a time in the gym and they weren’t allowed to leave until they were graded that day. Thankfully the Ninth grade class of Yaxley High wasn’t large so it didn’t take more than two hours.

‘Manny’ glared at her, “Jack I’ve told you a thousand times not to call me that, Manny is a little Mexican boys name, I’m female and Asian.” The other girl deadpanned at her.

“There are 4 of you Samanthas’ running ‘round, I thought we already worked out who would answer to which nickname? Manny is perfectly cute. Just be glad you didn’t get stuck with Samwise like Samantha W.” Penny reasoned even as her gaze landed on the door right before Brunner wheeled himself in, graded tests on his lap.

“Please students, settle down, I have your grades right here and after you’ve gotten yours, you are free to return to your dorms to pack for the end of the semester or do as you wish for the rest of the day. With-in reason, of course.” The graying man cautioned, eyeing those in the class that had bad reps, Penny in particular. She smirked back before focusing back out the window, following the lazy circles an eagle was making just below some really mean looking storm clouds.

“Issac Pinkus…, David Carter…, Samantha Joo…, Curtis Dale…, Aiden Jennings…, Blake Hobbs…, Penelope Jackson.” Standing at the sound of her name, Penny made her way to the front to get her test from Brunner.

“Ms. Jackson I must say I didn’t expect this, even of you,” Her teacher spoke, something in his voice as he handed the paper over. “Few are awarded an opportunity like this.”

“I'm sorry but what opportunity? What did I get on the exams?” Penny flipped the scantron over…. what?

“Um, Mr. Brunner there must be something wrong. Are you sure you didn’t put someone else's grade on my scantron?” Mr. Brunner’s words and the confusion in her voice got the attention of everyone in the classroom. What did the Little Queen of Yaxley get on her final exam that would make her respond like that?

She didn't fail, did she? …. Nah Penny was smarter than most adults, the day she failed a test and it wasn't on purpose was the day pigs started doing cartwheels in the sky.

“Congratulations Ms. Jackson, due to your truly impressive test scores this semester, you’ve been invited to a very prestigious private academy on a full scholarship. I must say this is an incredible opportunity, Ms. Jackson, I do hope you take the chance that’s being offered to you. And may I add, that I am proud to have been one of the minds which helped you gain and hone the knowledge that helped you achieve this accomplishment.” Brunner handed her a fancy looking envelope and patted her head like she was a good pet who’d pleased her owner.

Penny only remembered Brunner was more than capable of beating her skinny ass at the last possible second. Her Mother would be very upset if all their hard work was ruined simply because Penny couldn't control her temper. But the temptation to stab the old man was immense.

“.... Thanks, Mr. Brunner.” She gritted out, “I’m so very, uh, pleased to be offered such an honor. I guess I have some really good news for my Mom when I get home huh?” Her tone was too cold and her posture too stiff to be ‘thanking’ anyone but it was too late to fix anything. Hopefully, the old man would take the stiffness for shock instead of the ice-cold anger it really was. Penny turned and moved woodenly from the room. She needed to find Mandy and the rest of her girls. Now.

Whap! Whap! Whap! Crunch! The upperclassmen's nose broke like spun glass under Penny’s gloved fist.

“Augh! Pwease I pwomise I won’t eber sell ecstasy to widdle schoowers eber again!” She wailed, fat tears sliding down her ugly, blood-soaked face. Penny stopped her assault and sat up from the lean she’d briefly adopted to better pummel the older girl’s face in, panting. Breaking someone’s face sure was a workout!

“Damn right you won’t you ugly cerdo. Selling to fucking children! Even the real drug dealers don't do that kinda fucked-up shit!” She spat, pulling on the girl’s oily bottle blonde hair. The bitch squealed like a stuck pig.

Samantha M., otherwise known as ‘Mandy’, grinned at the sound, “She’s like one of those toys I had when I was little. Pull the cord and noise comes out.” She laughed.

“The fat piggy goes oink oink oink!” Three quick yanks filled the air with more of the pig-like noises. Penny and Mandy laughed, and the girl began to cry even harder, huge body shaking sobs. None of the other 5 girls in the bathroom cared enough to even twitch a finger to help the sobbing girl.

Samantha C., otherwise know as: Jekyll, was a chemist, with award after award for first place in science competitions and an uncle making rocket fuel for NASA. Cooking up some of the low tier drugs like ecstasy, LSD, and codeine was child's’ play for her. One of her moms is a radical political activist responsible for more than a few protests turned riots, and her other mom helped run the third largest counterfeit purse ring in the US. Both were relatively high on the FBI’s watch list but thankfully had yet to make the wanted list.

Samantha J. aka Manny was the tallest of all the Samanthas’, Asian, and a genius when it came to knife work. Her dad owned a sushi shop and she was studying under him to take over when she was grown. But in the meantime, she was truly graceful with a tonto in her delicate hand. Penny had seen her gut both people and fish like it was nothing and the slashes she left behind were always beautifully done.

Samantha W. aka Samwise, or Wise if you didn’t want to get punched in the face, was the numbers geek of the group. She was the mathletes prize problem solver and the spoiled rotten apple of her parent’s eye. Wise’s dad was a high paid attorney at a prodigious law firm and her mom was a high roller gambler who placed regularly in the professional poker circuit. She kept track of all the money that moved through their hands: protection money, bribes (taken and given), and debts. If they made money off it, Wise knew who owed who, how much, where it was, and where it was going.

Finally, was Penny’s lovely Left Hand. Samantha M. aka Mandy, with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a slender figure she looked the part of some innocent marshmallow brained stupid little girl. This image was almost purposefully reinforced by her unironic love of pink. Shown in her pink crop top, black skirt and skull choker. But Mandy’s own ruthless and uncaring personality, and of course her tendency to be extremely sadistic made her a demon with an angel’s face. Penny really admired how unforgiving she could be.

Wise’s phone buzzed three times in quick succession with a text, “Hey update on the new alcohol shipment Boss,” Penny cocked her head to show she was listening but didn’t turn from where she had started drawing on the older girl’s face with a marker Manny had handed her with the quite request to write ‘piggy’ on her forehead, “We got vodka, rum, whiskey, tequila, gin, beer, wine, and even some soju.” She listed off.

“Did they put plum wine on the list like I asked?” Mandy asked hopping up from her perch on the sink to look over Wise’s shoulder.

“Yeah they did, I made sure this time,” Wise answered.

“Cool,” Mandy smirked. Wise rolled her eyes at the typical dispassionate response and went back to texting her mafia connections.

Penny was drawn away from her very important face graffiti by the school bell.

“Wrap it up please dear leader?” Jekyll barely looked up from the scientific article she had her nose buried in.

Penny tsked but conceded the point with a huff (she did have a few more things to pack) and leaned over to cup the back of the girl’s neck almost tenderly, the dumb blonde made a brainless huh noise and barely had time to process the fist she had raised before three quick punches to the face knocked her out. Penny heaved herself to her feet, ugh she was too old to be kneeling on the ground and stepped from over the girl’s unconscious body and started stripping off her black leather gloves.

“Wise?” Penny leaned over the counter and grabbed a paper towel to wipe at the little spots of blood on her face and unzipped her windbreaker after wiping it off too. Making sure her little kingdom was running smoothly sure was rough on her wardrobe. The other girl hummed an affirmative to the wordless order as her fingers flew over the keys of her expensive-as-fuck smartphone.

“All set big bad!” She chirped, riotous curls bouncing as she hopped down from the counter, Penny loved when she wore her hair natural.

“Well ladies, you have fancy ass cars and homes to get back and I have a sweltering city bus to catch.” She stuffed her gloves in the back pocket of her jeans and all five walked out of the bathroom leaving the girl behind to be found exactly 8 minutes from now when an ‘anonymous’ tipper would tell the school nurse someone had been found ‘passed out’ in the top floor girl’s bathroom in the East wing. And if the dumb bimbo’s bag full of ecstasy just so happened to be laying right next to her with its contents spilled across the floor, well Penny was just being business minded and eliminating her competition. And there was nothing wrong with that.  

Chapter Text

They had been on a bus heading for the city for about two hours before smoke poured forth from the engine like smog, greasy black and smelling like battery acid. Penny thanked the ocean for the respite from Grover’s unsubtle attempts to get her to trust the rose-colored glasses he was trying to sell her and immediately scrambled off the bus.

As Penny bounced up and off the fart-filled air of the bus she noticed a roadside stand on the other side of the road. Grover, making an anxious high pitch whining noise, made frantic grabs for Penny to keep her from approaching the small stand and the three knitting old ladies that were manning the counter. She whipped around and grabbed his flailing arm, “Give me your wallet.” She ordered. He made a little meep noise and started to stutter something undoubtedly pathetic, but Penny let go of his wrist only to grab his shoulder and dig her oval-shaped manicure into bone. “Give. Me. Your wallet. Now.” She used the hand carving four little bruising crescents into his shoulder to make the ever-so-slightly taller boy bend enough that she could look down her strong Grecian nose at him with storm-grey eyes.

He pulled his wallet out and gave it to her with shaking hands.

Penny crossed the street to the three little old ladies and their fruit stand with a smirk, even if Grover was easy prey it was still fun to make him quake in his hooves. As she stepped into space on the roadside that could be considered ‘theirs’ the old ladies eyes all snapped up to lock onto her; all three had one sighted eye and one blind eye, each a different color. Penny just calmly pursued their wares unwillingly given wallet in hand. They had fruit, pressed juice, and honey, and all of it looked ripe and fresh and practically perfect. Fruit lovely enough to tempt a god.

She grinned a bit and picked out two fat, sweet looking oranges, one juicy looking apple, a little hand embroidered bag of dates, one package of blueberries, and (just because she was a little shit at heart) a heavy pomegranate. She brought her bounty over to where the three were sitting gently rocking and embroidering flowers onto a pair of socks big enough to fit a giant. The one with the piercing gold eye and the antique bronze bird wing scissors was the only one to stop rocking and lean forward even as the other two kept at their delicate work.

The one with a gunmetal-grey eye would tell the other what flower went where and hand over a needle already strung with a different thread, and the next sister with a jewel green eye would punch the needle in and out of the sock with a precision born from the ease of practice. Penny stood while a flower was finished up, a tiny Black-eyed Susan, when the final leaf was stitched into place the green-eyed sister gave her hoop over to the gold-eyed one. The gold-eyed one looked straight at Penny as she positioned her beak sharp scissors on the thread she meant to cut, and SNIP went the winged blades.

Penny refused to flinch when something primal in her head, the same little lizard brain instinct that drove her to the cold sea year after year, whimpered. She instead made careful eye contact with all three before she bowed her head, dug all of Grover’s money out of his wallet, handed it to the green-eyed one and accepted the embroidered cloth bag from the grey-eyed one and make her way back to the bus right before the bus driver cussed at the engine one last time, pulled the slightly cooked corpse of a small animal out of the hood and shut it with a triumphant grin.

Grover looked like he’d either puke, shit his pants, or do both when she climbed back on the bus.

“D-di-did th-they c-c-cu-cut a-an-anyth-thing? Di-did they P-Penny?” He began twisting his wrists and knotting his fingers, looking so anxious the two college kids across from them moved seats in case he decided to do a real-life Exorcist. Penny smirked and threw his empty wallet in his face just to watch him fumble it then dug out the apple from her new bag.

“They sure did yeti-legs.” She sunk her teeth into it right as he processed her sentence and let out a not-at-all quiet bleat of fear. Now the college kids were looking at them like they’d escaped a mental hospital. Penny just smiled to herself and ate her godly fruit as Grover fretted and cussed under his breath the rest of the bus drive.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Penny stepped off the bus and into the familiar smoggy New York air with a sigh, she loved the green of upstate New York, but the city was her bread and butter. She’d sharpened her teeth into fangs on its nervous breakdown streets and hoped they’d keep shaping her into someone terrifying.

Grover tried hopping into her cab after she’d hailed one with a whistle that could be heard a mile away, but Penny pinned him to the sidewalk with a glare like a laser sight, “And who’s cab do you think you’re getting in?” She sneered. Grover began to stutter something along the lines of ‘keep you safe’ and possibly ‘you could die’ or some bullshit. Penny shut the door in his face and offered the cabbie an extra 20 to get her to her mother’s apartment quick. The tires screeched as the cabbie put her foot down.

When the cab pulled up outside the apartments, she hauled out her duffle and suitcase and made her way up the stairs. As she bumped the door open Penny was greeted by the unpleasant smell of cigar smoke and the even more unpleasant laughter of her ‘stepfather’ Gabe Ugliano aka ‘The Pig’.

Gabe leaned back from the poker game he was only winning because his lackeys had to lose. “Back again you frigid little bitch? Finally, gonna be sweet to me or do I need to convince you again?” He leered, teeth clamped down on a cigar that absolutely stunk, and lifts one pudgy hand to motion her closer. Penny set her stuff down and stepped closer to the disgusting Pig. When he tried to grab her ass, she struck snake quick and grabbed his thumb to bend his whole arm back, flicked a stiletto out of her jacket and put it to his throat. Releasing a startled ah! Gabe froze under her glacier white glare.

“Why is it that every year before I leave for school I have you trained up nice and pretty into something almost resembling human and then I come back and you’re a shit eating pig again?” She gently petted the flat of her switchblade on his ugly, patchy scraggly scruff-wannabe-beard creating a soft scraping sound. Penny took a moment to enjoy the rare fear in his face, he knew the only reason he hadn’t turned up face down in an alley with his throat open and castrated, with his lungs full of seawater was because Sally was the more merciful of the two Jackson girls.  “It’s almost like you like being treated like a misbehaving dog by a teenage girl.” Penny tapped the blade on his bulbous nose and smiled at the squeak she got. “Now then, unless you want me to break another of your ribs you will not. Touch. Me. Or my mother ever.” A tap to the corner of his right eye emphases her point. “Clear?” He sniveled and nodded, and Penny let him go so he could slump over the table shaken and went to her room.

Once inside she let go of the tension in her jaw but kept what was in her back for when she finally laid eyes on her mother again. The fountain filled with sea water on her dresser filled the room with the scent of salt and the soft musical noise of a brook. Penny tossed her stuff on the bed and went over to the little fountain to stick her fingers in the water and feel the sugar fine sand on the bottom. She let out a sigh like a world-weary dog and let the water soothe her. By the three faces of Hekate, she needed a nap.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“-by, Querida, Cariña. Wake up, I want to talk to you.” Penny woke with a gasp pulling salt air into her lungs, her dream was a hazy impression of something absolutely catastrophic and she reached desperately to grasp the wispy edges of it. A slightly rough hand traced her check, the sent of candy reached her nose, and she finally sighed out the tension in her spine.

“Mama.” Penny turned and cuddled into her Mama’s lap breathing in her sweet scent and finally truly relaxing for the first time in months. In the back of her mind was always the lingering worry that her lovely Mama would be hurt either by a monster or by Pig Gabe.

“You worry too much Nina, you’ll have a back like an old spinster before you hit 50.” Sally Jackson was the most beautiful woman to ever live. She had wild brown curls that Penny had proudly inherited, a lovely strong nose, soft light brown lips, beautiful brown eyes, and a full hourglass figure. She worked two jobs, one at the candy station in Grand Central Station and the other writing articles for both print and online newspapers. Sally made blue cookies, and muffins, and whatever else she could get enough food coloring into just because it made Penny happy. She was kind and smart and funny and pretty and all the good soft things Penny couldn’t understand or even really want to be. Sally handled all the nice and Penny had all the naughty well in hand and they both liked it that way.

Sally tapped at the top of Penny’s head to get her attention and then started finger combing her riotous curls, it never got entirely straight no matter how high Penny turn up her flatiron. “Querida, how was your year? What did you score on your finals? How are the girls? Did they like the cookies I sent?” She fired off her first round without hesitation and with perfect aim. Penny almost picked her head up to begin scowling as her spine started stiffening back up but a few well places scratches settled her back down.

“Well, I expanded my candy sales to two other schools, and got the girls moving on squashing any possible rejections, I scored in the low 80’s on my final, the girls loved the care package you sent and Mandy send her thanks for the cute new knit crop top it fits perfect, and …something, else happened Madre.” Sally brushed the hair from her daughter’s face and saw a rare emotion being reflected back at her from peaceful sea-glass eyes. Fear.

Sally framed her daughter’s face to focus her attention, “Mi corazón, there is truly nothing that would ever make me turn from you. And you know this, so why such doubt Nina? Do you not remember your Mama loves you?”

“No, no. I know you love me, Mama! I know that before I know my own name sometimes. I just didn’t want to make you sad. You know I hate doing that.” Penny curled tighter into Sally tucking her face into her warm stomach and memorizing her beautiful sent.

“I know you don’t honey but I have a right to be sad for or even because of you okay? You feeling too scared to talk to me makes me sad, so just bite the bullet and tell me, Darling.”

“They rigged my finals, Mama. I know I aimed for a low B and my test came back with a perfect A-plus. They have awarded me a transfer to an exclusive private school here in the city. Our time may be running out Mama, I …. saw the Three Wise Ones on my way home and the Winged Woman that was sent to kill me finally attacked at the beginning of the semester.” Penny confided. Sally hummed.

“You knew no matter how unlike them you smelled or how good you were at staying under their radar you’d be found and brought into their circle. It’s time to show them that the Jackson girls aren’t fucking around Dear.”

Chapter Text

Penny and Sally’s alone time was ruined by Shitty-Gabe throwing the door open, but not stepping in. Good, she put a lot of work into beating him until he finally understood what off-limits meant, her stuff, her room, and most importantly: her mother. The last time Shitty-Gabe tried touching Sally in a way Penny considered inappropriate she gave him food poisoning so bad it sent him to the hospital. And she made sure he knew it was her.

He gave a weak sneer at finding her curled in her mom’s lap like a small child but the sluggishly bleeding cut on his neck kept him in check. “Sally I’m hungry and there’s nothing good in the damn fridge.” He whined like a toddler.

Penny started to reply with something that was no doubt cutting but Sally smoothed a hand over her daughter’s curls and soothed her anger with ease. “If you’ll give me just a moment, I’ll be right there Gabe. The chili I was making should be perfect by now, so I’ll plate you up some of that and then I’m making plenty of tamales and that dip that you like so much.” Penny scoffed at the ugly man-baby and wrapped her arms around Sally’s waist as a clear sign that it would not be ‘just a moment’ and he would have to wait as long as she wished. Or else.

Gabe sneered, gruffed something about “getting a damn move on woman” and backed out of the room like the coward he was.

“Darling you don’t have to so mean to him, he’s not as bad as you think he is I swear.” Sally patted her daughter’s cheek trying to soothe her anger, Penny huffed and glared at the wall separating her room from the living room and Gabe himself.

“He’s ‘not so bad’ because he finally learned the lessons, I spent hours beating, I mean, teaching him.”

Sally sighed at her daughter but didn’t try and reprimand her further, Penny had learned hard lessons far sooner than she ever expected or wanted her too. It seemed to be the fate of children like her: to learn of the careless and cruel way humans and those that looked like them lived their lives. She most regretted letting that cruelty turn her daughter ice cold and seemingly heartless, cruel to hide a little girl that used to care so freely but now guarded her heart like Fort Knox. But still, Penny cared, Gabe’s terror of his stepdaughter was the sweaty proof of it, her best friends the Samantha’s’ were proof of it, even Grover so very, very scared and awed by her was proof of the way she cared.

An iron-clad guiding hand that sometimes gripped harshly or backed away to let lessons be learned. But the God's help any who tried to harm those Penny had claimed because she wouldn’t have any. And now with this attack at school, Sally knew Penny would be claimed soon. They would come for her in droves and both mother and daughter would rather die than see the other harmed, so Penny had to go to them. Had to give in and be ruled but Sally just knew that wouldn’t last for long or even start at all depending on who tried telling Penny what to do. Her baby had too much of the sea in her to be ruled by anyone who wasn’t either just as free or stronger than her. She shifted to get up and motioned her baby into action.

“Come on baby come help me cook, just help me prep, and then you can pack for our trip in the morning. Aren’t you excited about Montauk?” Sally asked. Penny smiled and followed her mother out of the room half happy to leave for their favorite beach in the morning and half disgusted to have to cook for the piece of shit she was forced to call her stepfather.

“Si Mama, though why do we have cook for that ugly shi-”

“Penny!”

“Sorry, Mama.” Penny ducked her head and shut her mouth, but Sally still saw the vicious look she gave Gabe and his card buddies as they entered the living room/kitchen. A hum snapped Penny out of making the trio of grown men sweat in fear and stepped into the kitchen to start cooking enough food to feed a pig for the weekend. The two Jacksons began to cook in perfect concert.

Hours later with the fridge full of bean dip and tamales and the pig full of her mom’s perfect chili and brown rice Penny and Sally stepped out of the kitchen. Sally waited until Gabe had eaten his fill and was too lethargic from the meal to remind him about their trip and ask to borrow his car.

“Trip, what?” He grunted eyes drooping as he lounged fat and content in his post-binge eating haze, “No you can’t take my fucking car. Like hell that little demon is getting near my ride again! Do you know how much it cost to repair it after what she did? Hell no! Now go the fuck away.” Shitty-Gabe snapped out and settled deeper in his knock-off La-Z-Boy almost defiantly.

In the kitchen washing dishes and more importantly in full hearing range of his bullshit. Penny could feel her eye twitch as her nonexistent patience with Shitty-Pig Gabe crumbled like spun glass. She turned from the sink and took a step towards him as the pipes in the sink and walls began to rattle like snakes. Her wet hands didn’t drip. Sally, ever the gentler of the two, swooped in to save her useless Husband’s life. Smoothing small hands rough with years of a life of hard work down his chest she cooed and fluttered her beautiful brown eyes at him.

“Now, now.” She pets his flabby chest. “You know I punished Penny for that, and she hasn’t even looked twice at your car since.” One hand begins to scratch Gabe’s patchy, food-filled beard and the human stink bomb melts into it. “It’s just for the weekend and we made enough food for you to eat well for a whole week, Gabey-baby.” Sally pressed three slow kisses to the pig’s cheek, and he hums and chuckles at the cutesy nickname. “I’ll only be gone for a bit and then I’ll be back, and we can still get lots of alone time you know?” She breaths brushes her nose over his cheek and lowers her voice to lightly breathy. “Penny runs around most of the day and night with her little friends anyway Gabey, we still get to be alone Papi.” A kiss to the neck dealt the final blow.

“Alright, alright, you can take the car. But drive slowly, and she doesn’t get in the front, and no eating inside, and wipe your feet before you get in, and don’t get sand in my floorboards.”

“Yes, yes, of course, we’ll take great care of her just you watch. Now we’re off to bed and we’ll be gone when you get up.”

“It’d be even better if one of you never came back” He utters in response but Penny, with her sharp ears, hears him all the same and sneers at Gabe as Sally walks to the room she shares with the pig. Penny makes like she’s going for the knife she keeps on her and he flinches. She laughs cruelly at him but goes to her room and takes her silently threatening air with her. The click of the lock on her door sliding home is final. Gabe finally takes a full breath and relaxes in his chair to fall asleep watching tv.

Hours later Gabe is firmly asleep and snoring with his chair reclined back. Penny’s door swings open silently thanks to her regularly oiling it for this specific purpose. Well sneaking out, not what she was about to do to Shitty-Gabe. Her bare feet made no noise on the old carpet and any noise she could have made was being drowned out by the sheer volume of Shitty-Gabe’s loud ass snoring. Maybe Penny shouldn’t have broken his nose that one time, the deviated septum she gave him was coming back to haunt her in the form of window-rattling snores. She glided up to the pig in his chair and began to glare at him, according to Mandy she could let out a very scary evil aura at will when she glared hard enough, and she certainly hated Shitty-Gabe enough.

Her stare drilling holes in Shitty-Gabe’s ugly face she put one hand on his nose and the other over his mouth and pressed. It took a second of his air being cut off for him to snap awake, when his wide panicked eyes landed on her he tried to struggle but Penny could move like a water moccasin when she wanted too and was on top of him with both hands around his throat before he could try and throw her off. She took a hand away to get a knife out and before he could try and get enough air to cry out, she was tapping it against his face near his eye and pressing a finger to her lips to shush him. Then one hand came back down and started cutting off his air.

“Listen to me Piggy, I won’t be back from a trip I’m about to take for a while so we’re going to go over The Rules now instead of later like we usually do okay?” She asked in a falsely sweet voice like she was talking to a child. He nodded weakly and Penny could feel the way he was trembling with fear under her, it’d be hilarious if he pissed himself in fear of her. Again. She grinned and let him have a little more air as a reward.

“Good Piggy. Now, remember, you don’t ever, ever, try and have sex with my mother. Ever. Right?” He nodded. “My girls will be by to check on this shithole and more importantly on you and how you’re behaving, you’ll let them in and be polite about every time, no matter the time right?” A nod. “You’re not going to take Mama’s money to try and gamble and I made sure all your usual bookies know how much money you don’t have on you and told them that you’re to be disciplined if you come around with more than you have access too. So, Mama’s money is hers, right?” A wince and a nod. “You don’t go in my room under any circumstances, not even if this whole death trap goes up in smoke. Right?” A rule the pig already knew well so he nodded easily. And now for the Final Rule. “And we don’t ever tell Sally about this do we?” A whimper this time. “Alright, Shitty Gabe Pig you made it through all the rules and so you get to live one more charmed day on this mortal coil, now what do we say?” She kept the knife on his face but lifted her hand, so he took his first full breath in 5 minutes, the pig gasped like he did everything: pathetically. Shitty Gabe sputtered for a second, but Penny got tired of hearing his bullshit, so she pressed the knife down to remind him he was only still walking because Sally Jackson was a saint that forbid her from permanently harming him. For now.

“T-th-thank yo-ou f-for let-t-ting Piggy li-live.” He sobbed out not even enough will to glare at her like he was earlier, now he just bowed his head and thanked God he was still alive. Pathetic.

“You’re welcome Piggy.” Then Penny was back in her room, but she didn’t get back into bed she had to make sure her Mama would be secure without her there to be a direct deterrent to anyone looking to screw over the ‘Little Queen’ while she was away. Penny climbed out on her fire escape and was scaling down the building and was out on the street with a skateboard under one arm before Gabe even began to think about trying to get his weak knees to carry him to his bedroom.

Penny pulled out her phone and dialed Mandy the blonde picking up before the second ring, the other girl was a severe insomniac and rarely slept. “I assume we’re going to see The Lady, Jack?” She asked.

“Too right Mandy, I’ll be leaving for a summer camp soon and I need to make arrangements now, so Mama and you girls are covered and supported while I’m out of contact. Meet me there?” Getting an affirmative Penny hung up and waved at the whores hanging out on the stoop of the apartment building their pimp used as a house, the girls waved back and called out compliments and blew kisses.

She’d beaten a bad john or two on request of the girls once or twice, they paid in cash and under the table because their pimp would cut their pay if they complained about a ‘customer’ too much. It was honestly a pleasure for Penny to blackmail a few white collars into forgetting where the building was. She called the rest of her girls and got positives from all of them before letting her board hit the street and soon, she was sailing down the street to her destination.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Mandy told her driver to pull over and stop a block away for her destination. He didn’t try and warn her that the neighborhood was “bad”, and she didn’t tell him where or when to pick her up. He knew his place and had accepted it a while ago thankfully. She hated it when pets were hard to train. Any other girl that was dressed visibly rich like she was in the projects would never walk much less get out of the car, but Mandy was different.

Every dealer and gangbanger and whore on their stoops and corners and alleys nodded in respect and warned others that were not so well informed not to step to “that rich lookin white bitch”. Good. She’d hurt anyone who tried to mug or pickpocket her and Jackson would do worse and most importantly they’d lose the respect and protection of the one who ran these streets. She came to a large 20 story apartment building, with two smaller 10 story buildings on its left and right; all three buildings were visibly in a better state of upkeep than those around it and more upscale looking.

As Mandy approached, her usual black Mary janes clicking along the concrete, the hobo set up in the shelter to the left of the wide short staircase looked up and pierced her with sharp brown eyes. She paused obediently. A blink and then the hobo grumbled and settled back down. Mandy refused to let the relived sigh in her mind out, but she did let some tension out of her hands if the ‘doorman’ decided she wasn’t welcome she’d go down fighting. She walked into the clean and well-lit lobby and across to the elevators noting with approval that the third one had been fixed finally. Jackson always got pouty on behalf of The Lady when things didn’t go her way and a pouty Jackson spelled trouble for anyone who stepped out of line.

Mandy stepped out of the blissfully silent elevator and into the hallway. The hallway wasn’t designed like a typical apartment building (besides the fact that a drug lord ran it) in that the ‘outer’ layer of one- and two-bedroom apartments were left but the ‘inner’ layer had all been gutted out. This continued up for the next five floors, the resulting hollow had been soundproofed to hell and back and turned into a sort of ultra-private club for The Lady’s close officers. The doorman this time was more obvious and dressed much nicer in a three-piece suit in all pitch black, the silver knuckle dusters on his hands glittered with only a hint of blood likely from someone that refused to fuck off when told.

He looked up as she neared and opened the door for her. A wall of sound and scent poured out as the three-foot-thick door was pulled free of the vacuum seal. The music of a four-piece ensemble, the sound of heels and shoes clicking and sliding, the smell of sweat and alcohol and perfume curled around her inviting her into the slick dark underbelly of a world few lived to tell about. But Mandy was determined to not only survive but thrive here. She stepped down into the room and took a moment to take in the dancers packed on the floor, it was tango night, and the band was playing to reach into the hearts of the crowd and pull them onto the floor.

Mandy circled the dancers on the floor, scanning all the familiar faces within. Several were high rollers of New York: city officials, council members, company presidents, other slightly lower-ranked drug dealers, or crime lords, and The Lady’s people. All on the floor spinning and grinding, drinking the night away while assured that whatever blackmail The Lady was most definitely gathering on them would only ever be used if they ever tried to do something insane like turn against Her or harm one of Her own. They knew to betray her was a slow and miserable death that no one had ever escaped from so they danced and drank and got high under her watch grateful that they still had her favor. As her gaze traveled up Mandy saw who she was looking for: Jackson in her favorite perch.

Penny was laid out across the top of a comfortable looking rose-pink velvet winged armchair like a knife-wielding cat. Sitting in the chair was a woman with blonde hair perfectly styled into an elegant bun wearing a baby blue pantsuit that complimented her flashing green eyes. She would have looked the part of some ice-cold power-grabbing business executive with the delicate string of black pearls around her throat and the thin gold rings adorning her dainty fingers if it weren’t for the burn scar that dominated more than half her face. The scarred and melted skin reached from one slightly twisted ear over her button nose to almost claim her right eye like it did her left. The scar made it almost hard to look her in her face without flinching, humans rarely liked to see the evidence of hardships and The Lady’s life was the definition of. Mandy knew that was why Jackson had given the other her hard-won loyalty and that loyalty was why Mandy too bowed her head to her. Anyone who could just boss an untamed mare like Jackson around was either powerful or truly kindhearted.

As Mandy approached Jackson’s head came around from where she’d been freaking some newbie out with her dead-eyed shark’s stare and brightened as it landed on her.

“Mandy! You’re not last like usual, Manny has yet to show but the others are here already.” Jackson slipped gracefully from her perch and wrapped Mandy in a half hug, half guiding arm to steer her to where the other girls were seated. Jackson was telling the truth, Wise and Jekyll were already seated with drinks in hand. Some older boys all hovering around them, no doubt knowing even being just a fuck buddy to one of The Lady’s girls could net them a better position in the underground pecking order. One turned to try and begin to flirt with Mandy, but another warned him away, no one tried flirting with Mandy after the way she’d rejected her last ‘suitor’, and no one looked at pineapples the same way again either.

“Wise, Jekyll.” She greeted the two in her slightly low scratchy voice. Jackson slipped away weaving through the crowd like water and then reappeared moments later two more drinks in her hands. One was handed off to Mandy and the other she kept as she sat. The girls sat and allowed the buzzards to entertain them and listen to good music until their final member showed up. Before Penny could finish her second drink Manny separated from the crowd and fell into line as they stood and followed the Lady up the stairs and to her private lounge.

Once the soundproof door was closed behind them and they were all settled into their preferred seats Penny spoke. “They’re finally making their move, not only has one of their buzzards attacked me in broad daylight during a school field trip, but I’ve also won a random drawing to attend an exclusive school further in New York.” She sneered. “I hate bowing for even a second to them but they’re too close. If they get wise of how much I know or what I know someone with more than two brain cells could get inconveniently nosy.” She sneered and tossed her drink back, tempted briefly to replace her cocktail with vodka shots, but she had to return home and be up and ready for her trip in seven hours.

The Lady hummed and some tension slipped from Penny’s shoulders, “Your people will be protected while you’re away and you’ve trained your girls well. You should have little to worry about while you show those fools just who you are.” She assured her protégé.

Penny nodded her head in true gratitude. The Lady was one of few on this bitch of an earth that Penny truly cared for and would do anything for without question. The Lady was a half-blood too. One of few to make it to adulthood and not get sucked into the trap of Mt Olympus forever or die gruesomely before they could turn 18.

Once upon a time The Lady’s name was Aimee Larson and she was one of the most beautiful daughters of Aphrodite to ever grace Camp Half-blood. Aimee was sent on one of the last missions to be handed down from the mountain before the Tree Incident brought all official quests to a stop. Her beauty ruined forever by Greek fire, she barely made it out alive, but her suffering didn’t end with a permanent scar. Aimee was cast out by her brothers and sisters of Aphrodite for ‘being too hideous to be one of them’. The rest of the camp was no better, looking down on her for failing her quest and not having the dignity to die in battle ‘like a true demi-god’ Aimee found herself with nowhere to go and no one to turn to in the Camp.

As a last resort, she prayed day and night for her Mother to answer her, comfort her, save her, and for days there was nothing. As she approached eighteen and wore ever darkening bruises into her knees from kneeling and praying Aimee realized it was not only her follow Children that had cast her aside. Her Mother, so beautiful, so cruel, had done the same. Once when she had been beautiful, she would receive visions of her Mother near nightly and had memories of dreaming being wrapped in Aphrodite’s warm embrace, whispers of how beautiful and dear to her Mother she was raining on her like a summer shower. But Aphrodite doesn’t care for ugly things. Aphrodite doesn’t care for her children, not truly. So, Aimee ran.

Aimee left Camp Half-blood in the night dodging the patrolling harpy’s and hiding from the searching nymphs. She found solace in the underbelly of New York and soon happened to meet other half-bloods, some half-god, or monster, or Roman, or some simply cast out and left to die. Soon Aimee had enough power to cast off the name her Mother gave her and became beautiful in her cruelty and ruthlessness. And then Aimee met a little half-blood running away from a cyclops one hot summer day in New York. The then younger and less fearsome Penelope had run right into Aimee’s territory followed by her monstrous tag along. The Lady didn’t allow monsters to prey on the people in her part of the city and when word reached her of a child in trouble, she sent her Doorman to deal with the problem and collect the girl. Penny had been under The Lady’s wing ever since. Honing her blades against the challenges set before her by the older half-blood and biding her time waiting for her chance to strike. Penny would help the Gods remember why they once feared their mortal children and deliver a message of revenge on behalf of her Lady with relish.

Sighing off any trepidation Penny wandered over to the floor to ceiling window that looked out over the whole club and signaled the bartenders to bring vodka shots up to them. The bartenders, all trained to keep an eye on upstairs to keep up with drink requests, soon had ice cold and expensive Russian vodka on the table minutes later. All six grabbed a glass and stood to toast.

“To the Gods! May they live long enough to regret my existence!” Penny cheered with a blood thirsty grin.

“Here, here!” The others echoed and slammed their shots back with ease.

Vodka burning pleasantly in her belly Penny sighed and stayed standing, “I’d love to stay and party girls, but I have a beach to hit in the morning so good night all!” Penny went around and gave her girls hugs, or in Mandy’s case a solemn nod, and a soft kiss to The Lady’s scarred cheek and left the club. The trip back home was quick and easy and soon Penny was back in her bed, letting the scent of seawater and the sound of waves sooth her to sleep.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

In the morning the Jackson girls were up with the sun, packing their bags into Gabe’s expensive gas guzzling Hot Rod Red Mustang. Sally had a simple duffle with clothes for the weekend, Penny however had a well stuffed backpack and a full-size suitcase with her. Soon as the trunk was packed up, they were in the front with Penny plugging her mp3 in while Sally gunned the engine. They shared matching wild grins as ‘Cherry Bomb’ started blaring through the stupid loud subwoofers Gabe spent Sally’s money having installed.

They sang along with the radio and ate bad junk food the whole four-hour trip. Tossing away the weary hold the roles they had to play in life put on them and just living even if it was only for a day. It was the happiest Penny had been in a long time. She almost felt like a normal girl on a road trip with her mom. Right before they hit the beach Sally and Penny made one last stop for smore supplies and hot dogs to roast over the fire. As they finally pulled into the parking lot of Montauk beach Penny was out of the car before Sally had even put it in park and racing down to the cold grey water. Her path down was marked by her tossed away clothes and by the time Penny splashed into the water she was in a sleeveless short legged wet suit.

The water was ice cold, but she didn’t feel it as she swam out away from the shore, like a caress a wave rolled over her back and pulled her away faster, out farther. Away from land and the worries and stress it brought her. She cut through the dark waters effortlessly the water nearly parting to clear a path but loath to leave her fully, so it followed in her wake nudging her feet urging her out to sea. More, further, deeper, home was waiting just for her.

She crested with the swell of a wave her head finally breaking the surface. Over the voiceless rejoicing of the sea a real voice reached her.

“-enny! Penny miha! Come back! Please!” She knew that voice. And yet, it meant nothing at all to the sea and so the waves and their joyful roaring sought to drown it out.

“Penelope!” Again, the voice echoed over the waves. She turned to look at the shore so far away from land by now she almost couldn’t make a small figure waving at her. “Penelope come back!” The voice sounded scared. Why? She should go back and try and help the person, they could be lost. She began swimming back to shore the sea upset at the notion of losing her pulled at her, fighting her. But she was of the sea and yet separate enough to command it and so shook off its hold and swam nearer the shore. As she got closer the person on shore waving so desperately became more visible and she was able to make out their face with her sharp vision. And once more a desperate and scared call reached her through the crashing waves, “Penny! My love come back!” The face was lovely a mass of chocolate curls surrounding a face with warm brown eyes that were so familiar it sparked a memory.

“Mom!” She gasped out. No! Penny gasped out. Like being shaken out of a dream Penny looked around and realized she’d almost swum away from her mother and her human life. The sea almost stealing her away into its secret depths like a woman discovered among sailors on a ship and thrown overboard, ropes tying her legs together. Arms and legs pumping Penny cut her way through the water again but this time back to shore, around her the sea made mournful noises that echoed in her heart. But Penny steeled herself against the cries and went back to land. One day after Sally Jackson had passed and if she hadn’t been struck down by an enemy she’d rightfully made, Penny would follow the call of the sea and never walk on land again but today wasn’t yet that day. 

As she threw herself onto the beach Penny was met by her Mother’s fearful brown eyes. Instantly the kind of guilt only her Mother could make her feel washed over her like the sea had only moments ago.

“I’m sorry mama. You always warn me to be wary and I still- ugh I just lost my head this time Mama. I’m sorry. For real.” Apologies poured from her mouth as Penny was swiftly taken into Sally’s arms the older woman ignoring how she got soaked in cold sea water.

“Oh, baby I was so worried! Please I know the call is strong, but I can’t lose you. Not yet. Not now. Please stay with me just a little longer, let me be selfish and keep you. Please stay.” Sally begged pulling her baby girl close to her chest. Penny fell silent and clutched her just as closely. The sea had nearly pulled her away from her mother and ruined her plans. The Jackson girls turned away from the sea, one ignoring the low mournful calls only she could hear, and the other how cruel it was to turn her daughter away from her birthright. Together they hastily gathered their stuff from the car before they bedded down for the night, the initial joy of being free from their usual lives ruined by their close call.