Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had been a normal day at Camp Half-blood when, suddenly, Chiron heard a Thunder bang and saw Lord Zeus before himself.

"What can I do for you, Lord Zeus?", said Chiron

Zeus laughed while talking to his Half-brother. " I was able to get a new champion, after so long!"

Chiron looked suspiciously at Zeus.

" You are sure? You have a new qualified champion and not a new child?"

Zeus thought to himself:" I told him I have a champion and not a new Demigod, did he not listen right?"

" Yes, I have a new champion. Not a new child."

Chiron was happy Zeus had not again broken the Vow and had brought them all a suitable champion.

" Okay please bring the champion here."

Zeus put his hands out and summoned little Billy Batson and showed him to Chiron, Lion King style.

" Behold my new champion."

"You told me he was not a child!"

Billy started to look around the camp after Zeus placed him on the ground.

" No he is not my child, so I made no Demigod. But i made him my champion."

Chapter Text

Hera was walking to Zeus temple, he said he wanted to spend a bit of time with his champion. She was just to make sure he really did it as she heard what her husband was teaching the poor boy.
"William. Peeking is a man's romance." Zeus instructed.
Zeus will teach the boy all he needs for a 2 Zeus in the world, he can already see it. Just as he felt something behind him and saw his Queen with her staff in her hand smiling at him like he was one of his bastards.
"William would you go to Hermes? Zeus and I need to talk alone for a short time."

Chapter Text

Clarisse stared at Chiron, disbelief etched across her face. "So Zeus has this great and powerful Champion, all this time. That he shares with other Gods." She crossed her arms, frustration simmering out.

Chiron nodded, his wise and old eyes looked at the Demigods. "Yeah."

Annabeth, who had just been let in on the secret, exploded with indignation. "Then why the Hades would the 'great champion' not help us in the second Titanomachy?" Her voice rose, where the demigods gathered.

A disinterested Mr. D sipping nonchalantly a diet coke. "One of his patrons is Atlas," he explained, a hint of amusement in his tone. "So he stayed out of it. By Zeus' command and loyalty to his patrons. But now, in the Gigantmachy, he can at least help."

Zeus didn't see the need to use Billy in the War. As he already knew they would win... But he wasn't sure as Typhoon escaped but all ended well in the end.

Chiron placed a reassuring hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "While not a demigod, he is... how do we put it? A Divine human? Mortal God? Not quite sure about the term. But he can join the others. While the demigods and their parents take down the giants."

Dionysus chimed in with a grin. "And no fear for the second War. Father and we plan to finish it before it starts. Billy will take care of the Armies."

Percy unsure about all of this:" So... We don't fight a 2 war?"

Dionysus:" No Peter Johnson, you don't. I just told you they will do to alone. You wait here in the camp, or if you are outside you could meet a Monster of the army who escaped. But the War will have nothing to do with you all."

Percy had a smile like most other Demigods:" That is the best news I ever heard. Sweet."

---

Olympus

Meanwhile, in Olympus, the 12 Olympians  and the 3 Fates convened.

Zeus, sitting on his throne, leaned forward with renewed vigor. "So I send Billy to take care of the army, and we kill the Giants with Diana's help?" His voice boomed, filled with authority, but asked to make sure.

He is kind of surprised they even want to do it that way and not send their own kids for fame or so.

The rest of the gods nodded in unison, murmuring their agreement. "Yes. We accepted your idea after all," they affirmed, a sense of unity resonating among them.

Poseidon was very happy about all of this. His adorable son, could finally take a break from battle. They would finish this war before it starts.

"Well, good to know," Zeus said, a smirk crossing his lips. He reveled in the thought: his daughter would help crush the giants, just like Heracles had done before her, and his champion would handle the armies.

Apollo leaned back, a mischievous glint in his eye. "And once it's done, I'll have a new pranking war against Billy with Hermes and Ares." His voice dripped with excitement and competition.

Hermes grinned. "Bring it."

Chapter Text

In the grand hall of Olympus, the Winter Solstice Council was in session, with the recent victory against Kronos and his forces, a mixture of triumph and exhaustion settling over the gods and demigods alike. 

Zeus, King of the Gods, held court.

"We have prevailed," Zeus declared, his gaze sweeping over the assembled pantheon and their mortal offspring. "The Titan Lord is banished, his threat nullified."

A collective sigh of relief rippled through the demigods. Percy Jackson, leaning against his girlfriend Annabeth Chase, felt the familiar thrum of unease. Something in Zeus’s tone, too calm, too… patient, given his usual fiery temperament.

Then, without a word of warning, Zeus’s hand shot out. In his grasp, the Master Bolt, as he pulled his arm back, muscles coiling, and hurled it.

A collective gasp. Demigods ducked, and gods braced for impact. But the bolt didn't strike them. It arced through the vast hall, out of the open-air ceiling, and vanished into the ethereal expanse above Olympus. Confusion warred with lingering fear on every face. 

Had he lost his mind? Was this some new, terrifying display of power?

Silence reigned, broken only by the crackle of residual energy in the air. A faint, distant thunder echoed.

Zeus's eye twitched. His jaw clenched. He took a deep, shuddering breath, the air around him crackling with a sudden surge of annoyance.

Another blinding flash. Another launch of the Master Bolt, a more furious arc this time, followed by another faint, almost unheard distant boom. 

This was repeated four more times, each launch more furious than the last. By the sixth time, Percy Jackson was starting to put the pieces together. This wasn't a threat. This was… a recurring problem. Zeus wasn't displaying his power; he was striking something else outside of Olympus.

Finally, after the sixth instance, Zeus slammed his hand onto his throne, the sound echoing like a cannon shot. "ENOUGH!" he roared, his patience evidently having reached its absolute limit. With a blinding flash of golden light, he vanished.

---

The Olympian Council remained in stunned silence, the demigods whispering amongst themselves. Where had he gone? And who was he so clearly exasperated with?

Moments later, with another flash that rattled the very foundations of the hall, Zeus reappeared, but he wasn't alone. In his massive hand, dwarfed by his divine size, was a small, normal-looking boy. The boy, no older than ten or eleven, wore a bright red shirt with a stylized yellow lightning bolt emblazoned on it. He looked remarkably unconcerned, even slightly bored, despite being held aloft by the most powerful god in existence.

"William," Zeus boomed, his voice echoing off the halls, "what did I tell you about training your powers just for fun?" As he held up the boy by his shirt, his small feet dangling in the air.

Billy Batson actually looked bashful. "Not to do it while not on Olympus," he mumbled, his voice surprisingly clear for someone being held like a toy.

Zeus sighed, a sound that could have been a hurricane. "Yes. Now go to Hera. I have talked to the demigods about the war."

He lowered Billy, carefully setting him down next to Hera, who had a rare, genuinely warm smile on her face. Billy looked up at the queen of the gods with an easy familiarity.

"How are you, William?" Hera asked, her voice softer than they had ever heard it. She knelt slightly, her massive form still towering over the boy, but her expression was one of genuine affection. The rest of the gods looked on, not really surprised. Billy Batson, the Champion of Olympus, was a special case.

"Pretty good, actually," Billy replied, adjusting his shirt. "So you guys won the war?" Atlas complained already about it. Saying something about how he didn't even get to join the battle."

A ripple of amusement went through the demigods at the mention of Atlas complaining, and then they thought, why would he even complain to this boy? 

Hera, however, gave them a look, a subtle arch of her eyebrow. "Yes," she said, her gaze lingering on them, "they did work well." You would have done it much faster, but they did okay."

It wasn't meant as an insult, and surprisingly, the demigods didn’t take it as one. It was simply a fact, delivered with the confidence of someone who knew the full extent of the Champion’s powers. Percy, for his part, felt a strange mix of feelings. This kid, this William, could have ended the war faster? Why didn't they see him in the war then!?

"Well, I had to stay neutral," Billy said, shrugging his small shoulders. "Zeus's command."

"I know, I know," Hera replied, patting his head gently. "Now, let's finish this, and we can have a family dinner in my temple."

She led Billy away, her majestic robes swishing as they disappeared from view, leaving the demigods to stare after them, utterly bewildered.

---

Zeus cleared his throat, regaining the attention. "As I was saying," he began, his voice still tinged with residual annoyance, "the war is concluded. Rewards will be discussed and bestowed."

Percy, still reeling from the unexpected appearance of "William," found his thoughts drifting. Who was this kid? And how was he so familiar with the gods, especially Hera? He glanced at Annabeth, who was jotting furiously in a small notebook she’d pulled from her backpack, her brow furrowed in thought.

"What do you think that was all about?" Percy whispered to her.

Annabeth looked up, her gray eyes gleaming with intellectual curiosity. "I'm not entirely sure, but the implications are… immense. That boy, William, he's clearly incredibly powerful. And familiar with the Olympians in a way no demigod is. Did you hear Hera? "You would have done it much faster."

Before they could delve deeper, Zeus’s voice cut through the murmuring. "Perseus Jackson!"

Percy straightened, a sudden knot of anxiety forming in his stomach. This was it. The moment of truth.

"For your unparalleled bravery, your leadership, and your pivotal role in the defeat of Kronos," Zeus announced, his gaze piercing, "the gods offer you a reward. Immortality. You can become a god."

"Lord Zeus," Percy began, his voice surprisingly steady, "I appreciate the offer. Truly. But… I can't accept."

Another wave of gasps. The gods looked incredulous. Even Zeus’s brow furrowed in surprise.

"Are you certain, my son?" Poseidon asked, his voice laced with concern.

Percy asked for a Vow of the Styx, that the gods should claim their unclaimed children, and that minor gods should have their own cabins.

"Your request is… unusual," Zeus said slowly. "But your service has been extraordinary. Very well. The Olympians will make a solemn vow. All demigods shall be claimed by their divine parents, and the cabins will be built."

A wave of relief washed over Percy. He’d done it. He’d actually done it. He looked at Annabeth, and she gave him a small, proud smile.

+

Hours later, the official council meeting concluded, and a more relaxed atmosphere settled over Olympus. Demigods mingled, celebrating their survival and the promise of a better future.

As Zeus himself had left to join Hera, so the Olympians were mostly with the demigods and otherwise. 

And Percy finally had time to learn more about Zeus's champion and why he didn't help them. Not that he can be angry, the champion would be 7-9 years old, as they had the other huge battles. But the main battle? 

Zeus had forbidden Billy to be part of any battle of the Titanomachy, as that was a deal he made with Atlas.