Thunder Bolt and I were walking together to the party. All day it had been constant. People in danger, in need of rescuing because they were stupid enough to always get themselves into trouble. Fourteen rescues today and all but one could've been prevented if people just had a little bit of common sense. It was fair to say I was worn out and had no desire to go to the party if it wasn't for the fact that these meetings were few and far between. "Your personal badge codes please." called out the robotic bouncer.

"Identity 49aW230h1." replied the blue-eyed boy next to me before I gave my own code, "Identity 53bF574j2." We waited for a count of five seconds and the familiar beep and green light signaled the opening door.

Inside music was blaring and it was hard to hear anything above the booming baseline and loud shouting. "Pipes really out did herself this time." Jason pointed out although I could easily tell the same myself. Beauty Queen's parties were some of the only times where superheroes could actually interact and socialise with each other without the eyes of the press getting in the way. "There's a lot more of us as well." I add as we both begin to manoevure our way through the maze of dancing bodies. Eventually we make it to what looks like a basement door situated at the very back of the party. I wait as the door mechanically opens after scanning our codes once again. Inside it's not dark and gloomy like one would expect any basement to be but instead is filled to the brim with expensive furniture and bright lights. "Oh there you two are! You know we were beginning to think you weren't coming!" called out a light melodic voice as a brown-haired girl rushed to embrace us.

"Well Pipes, this one here was determined to stay at home and vegetate. I swear he prefers his second identity as a moody emo kid over his superhero one." chuckled Jason as he picked up some fruit from an array of food choices laid out on an unnecessarily long banquet table. Here, in the privacy of Piper's home, we were allowed to talk to one another like the friends we are but also without having to worry about keeping our real identities safe. "Well Jas', it's not as if I'm going to be doing anything other than sitting here and vegetating here instead." I say opting for the more unhealthy items out of the multiple food choices.

"True, true." he replies with his hands up in a mock sign of surrender. I roll my eyes and venture deeper into the vast room. At the centre there's a ring of chairs with all our closest friends on. Jason and I take our places at the only two vacant seats and gradually tune into the conversation. "Me and Frank would definitely whip your asses in a 2 vs 2 fight." bellowed out Clarisse as if the person she was talking to was on the other side of the street and not sitting only a few centimeters away from her.

"No way! Hazel and I would beat you in three seconds flat!"

"That's only if you used your powers and not in a hand to hand fight!"

"Super strength and stamina are your powers! You two would be using them in any hand combat fight anyway!" retorted Reyna coming close to the edge of her seat. Meanwhile, Hazel and Frank took barely any notice of the argument whilst snuggled together on their own seat which was conveniently as far away from the two arguing girls as possible. A quick scan of the circle showed me which of my friends had managed to make it to the party. There was Travis and Conner annoying an already very agitated Katie; Austin strumming his ukulele; as well as Jake, Dakota, Malcolm, Chris, Pollux and Lou Ellen talking enthusiastically with each other and Leo sat on the floor fidgeting with different scraps of metal. There were many superheroes at the party but the ones in this room shared a tighter bond and it was nice to escape the loud music from next door. "Oi punk! Tell your friend that me and Frank would definitely pulverise them if it came to a fight between us four." Clarisse bellowed to me in a bid to win the argument. I rolled my eyes while Jason besides me groaned, "Please don't even mention the prospect of another fight, I'm so worn out from today." he said as he plopped into the plush chair.

"Yeah," agreed Reyna forgetting all about her debate, "I couldn't catch a break all day." There was a chorus of agreement as the rest of the group tuned into their conversation. "For once working with the Stolls wasn't literal hell, if they weren't there then I would've had my hands full." added Katie whilst the twins nodded along, having not heard the first part of her sentence. "It was like everybody decided that today would be perfect to do a bunch of stupid things," observed Malcolm as he looked to the ceiling deep in thought. "I wonder if there is any kind of connection." He mused out loud before getting out his tablet and reviewing some of the footage from today.

"Well, people are becoming increasingly stupid. That's a connection for ya. There was this one guy who created a whole elaborate crime scene just so that I would turn up for him to ask me out on a date." Piper claimed as her pretty features contorted in disgust. A few of the other girls in the group nodded their heads recalling times it had happened to them whilst Frank drew Hazel a little closer to him. Even though it was subtle it made my heart warm slightly, Hazel was like a sister to me and to see her boyfriend being so protective of her reassured me that allowing Frank to live after touching her was the right choice. (Not that I could actually kill him, Jason and Reyna kept mentioning something about that being illegal - even for superheroes...) It also made me wonder what it would be like if that was me comforting the boy who I loved. Not that that could ever happen. Even someone as perfect as Jason couldn't find a way to charm the oblivious pearl. "...they actually think they can do those sort of things!" Reyna shouted loudly in anger bringing me out of my head. "Who, what?" I ask.

"Oh Clarisse was just telling us about one of her rescues today." Hazel answers, "Sometimes men can be so vile."

"Yeah but the punks at the cafe ended up running away pissing their pants." War Princess added seeming to take comfort in the thought.

"Still they had way too much fun before you arrived." Noted Malcolm as his tablet replayed different videos of the scene they must be discussing." I still was a bit confused about what the rest of the group was talking about and by the look on Jason's face, so was he. Malcolm wasn't too far away from us so I decided to peer over his shoulder. As soon as my eyes landed on the screen I felt anger take over, shadows crawled up the walls as the room darkened drastically. Jason seemed irritated too at the men but was also confused as to why I reacted so much. Just as he was about to question me I could see his eyes flicker in recognition. I watched as he studied the atrocious scene but also noticed the familiar mop of black messy hair from the body sandwiched between the two brutes. "How dare they!" Jason growled whilst a storm brewed in the background.

"They shouldn't have touched him - we will make them feel pain they never even thought possible." I threatened as my eyes aligned with ThunderBolt in a rare moment of agreement ; Percy needs to know of our feelings. Even if I have to share the raven I would do it, only with us by his side will he ever be completely safe.

"Um guys, you're powers are gonna wreck the house!" Dakota shouted loudly trying to be heard over the cackling thunder and howling ghouls. A quick glance around showed all our friends suited up and in defensive positions, even Leo with his hammer at the ready. Immediately we regained control of our powers - never would we hurt the people we loved. "S-sorry." I panted.

"S'alright," Hazel said gently, "The boy, does he mean something to you, something to both of you?" I looked back to Jason as he nodded his head.

"He does, he just doesn't know it." answered Jas'.

"Well it sounds to me like you have somewhere more important than here to be." Piper smiled as she took mine and Jason's hand. "Go get him..." she whispered quietly so that only the two of us could here. We didn't need telling twice. Like lightning the two of us raced back into the party and through the dancing crowd and out onto the streets. Percy's address was imprinted permanently into our brains so all we could do was pray that the boy of our dreams was okay. But then again, after that, who would be?

******

A/N - I'd love to hear comments with any advice you might have or just general views. Peace x