For we once so loved the world by HowlingDarkness95
Chapter 22
If anyone were to have flown overhead over the Pacific Ocean just off the coast of Malibu, California, they would have been puzzled at the appearance of a random piece of ice floating on the ocean. Scientists would probably have been called in to examine this extraordinary phenomenon, wondering how an icy platform could have been formed when the weather was nowhere near cold enough to freeze the water.
It was a good thing then, that people - or rather, mortals - didn't usually fly over this section of the ocean, and if they did, the Mist would come in handy in diverting their attention to something else.
That being said, if one such as say, Apollo, were to fly overhead, he would probably have seen two figures on said floating platform. One of which was his very own cousin. He would then probably laugh and try to snap pictures if he could to give to his brother and anyone who cared.
Percy stifled his sigh, tilting his head up to glare at the sun shining cheerily in his face. He scowled, he could almost picture Apollo laughing as he peered over his Maserati, seeing the mortal-turned-demigod with another guy. Percy blinked, looking down at the trickster god in his arms, a stray thought coming to the forefront of his mind, does Loki know Apollo? I mean, I know he knows Hermes but... the two of them are as close as you can get, so if he knew Hermes, he'd probably know Apollo as well right?
Percy shrugged, remaining where he was even though he felt like his legs were falling asleep. He didn't want the god to think that he did this because he pitied him or something. He truly did understand how it felt, even if it was comparatively short, and he could only imagine how it felt for the god, whose lifespan was so much longer than Percy's.
He felt the god shift slightly, but pretended that he didn't notice. He took his time just listening to the waves as they crashed against each other. He had spent so long away from the ocean that he'd actually forgotten how soothing the smell and the sounds were. He longed to dive into the depths of the ocean like he did last night, but he held back his urge, knowing that he would get the chance to do so later.
Loki shifted some more and pulled away from him, turning his head to the side in embarrassment. What am I doing? Sniffling into another's embrace like a child would to his mother? He scowled, annoyed that he had let such a lapse in judgment occur. He said stiffly, "I apologize for inconveniencing you. I will endeavor to refrain from committing such actions in the future."
He pulled away from Percy completely, not looking at him. Just as he had gathered his magic, Percy gripped his arm and pulled him back, turning him around to face him. "Say it to my face then." He challenged.
Loki's eyes widened, while Percy just tilted his chin up. He glared at the god, "Don't give me that bullshit Loki. There's no shame in crying, there's no shame in expressing your hurts. You've been hurt by people, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. Everyone has been hurt before." Percy released his grip on Loki's arm, placing his hand on the other's shoulder. "Look at me." He commanded, making the god lift red rimmed eyes to him.
Percy tried to convey his thoughts through his eyes, "We all have been hurt by people. It's the same with everyone else. There's no black and white in such things, you are hurt, maybe your," he hesitated here, "maybe even your brother has been hurt."
Loki growled and tried to pull away but Percy didn't let him go, "Listen!" he shouted, "It's a two sided thing! I agree, your brother hurt you, yes, but he's hurt too. You both need to talk it out, you need to sit down and have a proper conversation to clear the air. You need to listen to each other! Leaving it hanging like that, it's like waiting for all the misunderstandings in the world to happen simultaneously."
Loki snarled, "I have tried to talk to him, in case it slipped your mind, but look how well that ended up!"
Percy shook his head, "Talk. Not yell. Don't let the anger take control of the conversation. And listen. Don't just hear what your brother says, listen to what he's actually saying, try to see from his point of view."
The god sneered, shrugging off the hand on his shoulder, "Why should I be the one to talk to him? Why should I be the one to start this when it should be the other way around?" he demanded.
Percy looked at him sadly, "Sometimes, it has to start with you. The first step is always the hardest, but in the end, it's more than worth it."
"Is it?" Loki hissed, his eyes bright.
Percy smiled, "Isn't it?"
Loki had no words for that.
Percy just grinned, "Come on, we better start heading back now, if they find the both of us gone..."
Loki nodded stiffly, holding a hand out to the demigod. Percy grabbed it without hesitation and green magic swirled to life around them and they disappeared with a flash.
As soon as they left, the ice melted, leaving no trace of the platform and no evidence that anything had ever happened on the surface of the pacific.
Percy and Loki popped back into existence in Loki's room, the former peeking his head out and listening for any signs that their absence was realized. He grinned and stepped back into the room when he realized that the avengers were as oblivious as ever. He shifted, "JARV? Please don't tell anyone about what happened."
There was a moment of silence, then – "I will not inform sir of what happened, but neither will I stop him from looking for evidence if he finds out."
Percy looked at Loki, who looked away, frowning slightly, "Fair enough." The god tilted his head at Percy, "You should return to your room."
Percy nodded, he looked at the room, "Wow, you seem to have a fetish for destroying you room."
When the god whirled around with a glare on his face, Percy just laughed and darted out of the room quickly, escaping the god's attempt at grabbing him.
Left alone in the room, Loki smiled to himself.
Percy grinned and walked down the hallway, quickly descending the stairs to the lab. He had left before the avengers could discuss about what they were each going to do, and he figured that Tony would be his best bet. After all, despite the man's annoying tendencies, he was actually a great person to talk to. Surprisingly easier than Clint or Natasha, the latter intimidated him even though he had worked with her before. He peered through the glass, spying Bruce beside the person he was looking for, even better, he grinned to himself.
He slid over to the two scientists, peering over their shoulders to look at what had captured their attention so wholly. He raised an eyebrow at all the various graphs, equations and information on the tablet that they were looking at. Normal language was hard enough for him, what with his dyslexia and all, but equations? That was a disaster waiting to happen. Besides, he thought, it's not like I actually understand anything on that thing anyway...
"You know, if a chitauri snuck down into the lab, you guys would probably be dead before you knew."
It never ceased to be a source of entertainment for him to watch the two scientists jump a foot in the air when someone – usually him – snuck up on them.
Tony sent a playful glare at Percy's way, "What the hell kid! I swear, you guys are trying to make me get a heart attack!"
Percy just grinned, "You totally deserved it, serves you right for not paying attention to your surroundings."
Bruce shook his head slightly, smiling, "I guess we did, anything we can do to help you?"
Percy nodded to the tablet, "What're you guys doing? And what's the plan? I kind of left before Steve could discuss further."
Tony turned back to boring holes in the tablet, but Percy wasn't offended, he knew that that was how the genius operated. True enough, he spoke up, "We," he said, gesturing to himself and Bruce, "Are supposed to study the different frequencies that we obtained from the three gems that we've made contact with so far and see if we can't find the one that the chitauri are searching for."
Percy cocked his head to one side, his face betraying his confusion, "So it's confirmed that there's another one on Earth? I thought it was just speculation?"
Bruce picked up the story this time, "Yeah it still is speculation," he nodded, "but Steve figured that the chitauri attacks on the bases weren't random like we thought it was, so we're investing time and effort in this. It's not confirmed, but there's a very high chance that they are searching for a gem on Earth."
"And considering how the remaining gems are Soul and Reality..." Tony trailed off.
Percy grimaced, "Yeah, I get it, neither are good if they're used against us. So if you guys are searching for it, then what are the rest doing?"
"Well, Nat and Clint are on SHIELD-watch."
Percy stared blankly at Tony, "What...?"
Tony rolled his eyes, "Y'know, their keeping an eye out for SHIELD and anything that suggests that the chitauri are gonna move into the open."
Percy pursed his lips, "You could have just said that from the start..."
Bruce smiled and continued, "But we think that they're gonna stay under the radar for now, if they reveal themselves too early, or reveal how extensive their connections are, then they may not be able to find their gem as easily."
Percy frowned, "But SHIELD has the most updated firewall, they won't be able to hack in without alerting Hill. Or...whoever it is that is impersonating her."
Tony grinned smugly, puffing up like a bird, pointing to himself, "That's what I'm here for, JARVIS is already creating a virus that will slip through their firewall without anyone knowing otherwise. Once it's complete, we'll break in and viola! All of SHIELD's information is ours!" he exclaimed, spreading his arms wide.
Percy gave him a deadpan stare.
Tony sighed dramatically, dropping his arms and turning around, "Well, I've done it so many times I could break into SHIELD's system in my sleep. They have serious security issues."
Percy rolled his eyes at the other's antics, "What about Steve and Thor?"
Tony shrugged, swiping his finger across the screen, bringing up another set of data that he scrutinized, "They're on patrol-duty, seeing as how both of them have no clue about modern technology."
Bruce face-palmed, "Don't be so mean Tony." He chided, "They're going out to check if there are any stray chitauri. Basically," he said, wincing slightly, "It's to give them something to do."
Percy suppressed a smile; it wouldn't do to laugh at the expense of others after all. "Right, you guys need any help? If not I'm gonna go find Matthias, I need to get a list of potential hideouts first."
Bruce shrugged apologetically, "I don't think we'll be needing much help, sorry. But he's with Steve now, in the gym, with the boxing ring."
Percy raised an eyebrow at Tony, "You still have that thing?"
"Yeah I do – wait, how do you even know that I had one?"
Percy smirked, "Nat."
Tony scowled and flapped his hand at him, "Shoo. Go away, go bother someone else."
Percy's grin just grew and he waved cheekily at them, darting out of the lab in search for said gym and said agent.
Time skip - several months later
It felt somewhat nostalgic to him, the way the avengers all bid him goodbye and good luck as he and Matthias left for their mission. It reminded him of how the campers back home – back in Camp Half-Blood would grin and wave at him as he left on a mission for the gods. Or how the Stolls would clap him on the back and wish him all the best and "don't get killed cause we have a whole load of pranks for when you get back". He felt that Natasha was a little like Clarisse, equally deadly, but without the anger tantrum, though both were intimidating as hell - not that he was going to tell either of them that. He liked his parts where they were, thank you very much. Tony was too much like both Stoll brothers combined, while Steve was like the human version of Chiron, always looking out for every team mate, even him.
He just grinned and told them that he'd be back soon enough, ignoring Tony's wails as he got into one of the many cars that Tony had lent – been forced to lend – him. it was practically the same ritual, and he'd gone back to camp safely – in a manner of speaking, so why did he feel that things were headed for the worse now?
He shook his head lightly, No, he thought, I can't think about such things now. How many times did I go on a mission that would almost result in certain death and came back worse for wear but in one piece? He looked at the avengers, their faces lined with exhaustion, Steve's most of all. It was hard enough fighting against an extra-terrestrial force, but a head on assault would be easier to deal with than guerilla warfare. They had to balance the aliens' presence, the probable betrayal of SHIELD and still keep the hope ignited in the public. Sitting around and not knowing if the creatures were going to attack them was taking its toll. How can I entertain such thoughts when they're fighting as hard as they can?
He bit his lip, revving the engine and shooting off as soon as Matthias buckled up, the speed pushing both boys into the seat. He remained silent, his eyes focusing on the road even as his mind drifted away. The avengers didn't know it, but if they failed, the demi-gods would fight, as they did when Kronos and Gaia threatened the world.
It was a guarantee that they would fight, but if he knew Zeus, then the campers would have to remain in the shadows, they couldn't afford for the public to know of their existence. He scowled inwardly, Zeus had to change that rule, or else this planet would be gone. Of course, if it came down to it, Percy was going to fight. No way in Tartarus would he stand by and watch the chitauri burn his home. He'd already lost his mother and by default his life because of them, there was no way he would let them run rampant. Even if he died fighting against them, he would die knowing that he fought. The mortals didn't need the gods, they needed the Avengers. And Percy would be damned if he let anything happen to them. He didn't know when, but they'd become his second family, and he would not allow anyone to rip his family apart a second time.
"Eh, don't you think you're going a bit too fast?"
His gaze slid to the boy next to him, who was gripping his seatbelt tightly, he smirked, "Where's the fun in that? We have a sports car, no way am I going slow!"
Matthias just widened his eyes while Percy laughed out loud and the car shot forward. He blamed it on Apollo, ever since his cousin had brought him out on that one ride in his Maserati, he'd been addicted to the exhilaration that came with speeding, even if his mum didn't approve of it at all - if the stern gaze and the slight shake of her head were any indication.
Percy couldn't help but let out a childish laugh as he urged the car to go faster, the scenery practically becoming a blur outside. His passenger on the other hand, was giving him an unimpressed look and doing his best impression of a lizard. "Since when did you have a closet speeding fetish?"
Percy grinned, "I don't!" he replied. He turned to look at the other boy, "It's not a closet speeding fetish!"
Matthias yelped and grabbed onto his seatbelt tighter, "Keep your eyes on the road for god's sake!"
Percy rolled his eyes, adjusting his grip on the wheel, "Please," he smirked, "Don't you trust me?"
"I don't trust anyone with their eyes off the road!" The other agent snapped, his hands gripping the seat tightly.
Percy shook his head mockingly, "Come on! This is a Lamborghini Elemento! There is no way I'm passing up an opportunity to take it out for a sweet ride."
"Yeah yeah yeah, you want to have a ride, I get it, but can you slow the hell down?"
Percy huffed, "It's a sports car, it's meant to go fast. Besides, we'll reach the base in no time at this speed."
Matthias just glared at him, although Percy didn't see it because as per his passenger's wishes, he was keeping his eyes on the road. "The base is in another state." He said flatly.
Percy shrugged, "As I said, we'll get there in no time."
The other boy sighed and tried to relax, if they were going to travel at this speed for the whole journey, he didn't want to be as stiff as a board by the time they actually reached the base.
"You do realize that we're not gonna be able to find the director on the first try?"
Percy remained silent for awhile, focusing on the way the cars around him were falling behind. "Of course I know that. If we had that kind of luck, we wouldn't be in this situation."
The two occupants of the car fell silent, the humming of the engine the only noise that permeated the air. "I'm sorry, you know."
Percy raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Matthias bit his lip, "About the attack thing. I'm really sorry –"
"Forget it." Percy cut in, "You said you were forced right?"
"Y-yeah, but still –"
"You were on the opposite side of the fight, I'm not blaming you for that." Percy looked at him, "What matters is that you're willing to help us now."
Matthias looked down, guilt pooling in his stomach but he said nothing, looking out the window, thoughts swirling in his head.
When they were a distance away from the base, Percy cut the engine, not wanting to drive all the way into it, he didn't want to give them away after all. He reached into the inner pocket of his leather jacket and brought out his handgun, the very same one that he'd used on Matthias' comrades back at Stark's Tower. He weighed it in his hand for awhile, before handing it over to his passenger.
Matthias stared at him, a gobsmacked expression on his face. "Wha-why would you-why are you trusting me with this?" He whispered.
Percy leveled him with a stare, "We're on this mission together, whether you and I like it or not. I cannot go on a mission having to keep an eye out for both my enemy and my ally." He nodded to the gun, "I'm trusting you to watch my back when I can't."
Matthias stared at him, his brown eyes reflecting his gratitude at being trusted with a weapon. Percy nodded in response, reaching under his seat for his sword. Despite the jeers and mockery that his fellow agents had directed at him at the sight of such a medieval weapon when they first worked with him, they quickly learned to shut their mouth when they were subjected to a first hand witness of his prowess with a sword. After all, he did train under the best swordsman in the last 300 years.* They all swore never to antagonize him or make fun of his choice of weapon ever again after that particular display. The two of them got out of the car, each holding their respective weapons as they quietly made their way to the enemy base. Using his newly released powers, powers he'd had for the better part of his life but been suppressed for three years, he extended it out, covering the base. He tried to sense for any life forms, the water in their bodies acting like pips on his internal radar, but came up with nothing. All the while, his expression on the outside never changed.
Despite the glaring lack of obvious life forms and the indication that the base was all but deserted, Percy still kept his guard up. In his years as a demigod and as a SHIELD agent, the one thing that both parties had in common was the lesson to never ever let your guard down. They came to a stop at the door, before Percy twisted and kicked it right off it's hinges, the clattering noise echoing off the deserted compound.
Matthias made a noise in the back of his throat, staring at the destroyed door, "You just alerted every single thing on this base to our presence. What the hell happened to subtlety?" He asked incredulously.
Percy just smirked and walked in, his sword angled to the ground, "There's no one here."
They walked further into the base turning back and forth even though Percy had already confirmed that there was nobody on the base. Their footsteps echoed loudly in the hallway, making them cringe inwardly at the way they were giving away their position. Both of them were SHIELD agents, and they had been trained in stealth as they were field agents. Their trainer would have been so disappointed in them.
"Where are the data bases normally kept?"
Matthias cocked his head and bit his lip, "Usually? The basement. Or near the back of the base, depending on whether or not there are prisoners."
Percy looked at him askance, "You keep a lot of prisoners?"
Matthias scowled, "No, but when we do, it doesn't makes sense to keep them near the database where they could have easy access to it should hey escape right?"
Percy hummed in response, striding across the base as if he owned it. The two of them found the database quickly enough, and with a quick glance around, and a sweep of his senses, he told Matthias to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.
Meanwhile, he pulled out the thumb-drive that Tony had given to him before they left and plugged it into one of the ports. He stared at the screen as it lit up and the files began decrypting almost immediately. Being as technologically stunted as he was, the effects of not using any form of electronics until he joined SHIELD due to the fear of monsters tracking him, he wouldn't have known how to decrypt the files or save them. Matthias probably knew how, but they weren't going to trust him to not ruin the files that they needed just yet. So Tony had come up with the idea of the drive, containing a decryption algorithm that would work on the protected files while initiating a download at the same time. It was ingenious of course, but he wasn't going to tell Tony that, no need to boost the man's ego any more than was necessary.
Percy eyed the progressing bar that told him how long it was till the download reached completion, and he couldn't help but tap his fingers rapidly, impatience and paranoia warring within him. He risked a glance at Matthias, who was fidgeting on the spot, even f he was keeping an eye out for any potential enemies. Percy moved to another screen, longing to read the information that was on them to pass the time, but knowing that his dyslexia would make that near impossible. He glanced back at the computer where the drive was inserted into and saw the bar reach seventy-five percent. He sighed inwardly, moving around and idly playing with the controls and buttons on the console. He knew he shouldn't but well, ADHD.
It was only reflexes honed from years of fighting that saved him when he threw himself to the side. A blade slamming into the console where his head had been less than a second ago. Matthias dropped to the ground as well, his own instincts forcing him to roll away when a blast of energy licked his heels. He cursed, sparing a glance at Percy, who had also rolled away to find cover and ducked another blast, vaulting over the database and landing in the midst of coils of wire. He spent a few seconds behind the makeshift cover before clicking the safety off the gun, firing three bullets rapidly. The doombot that had landed right in front of the console crumpled to the ground, three holes smoking in its body. He hissed and ducked down again when another bot fired at his head. The defected agent snarled and leapt at the doombots, twisting out of the way of its haphazard attacks. He leapt onto the bot, a knife sliding into his hand as he severed its head from its metallic body. His brown eyes darkened as he took in the numerous bots in front of him. The younger boy hoped that Percy could handle himself until they met up again.
Percy was indeed handling himself quite fine. After his instincts had saved him from being impaled onto the console, he had quickly rolled and swiped at the bot's – legs? He shook his head, clearing them of nonsensical thoughts. With a wave of his hand, he encased the console and the drive in ice. He wasn't coming all the way out here just to have some random wave of robots destroy the base and the information. Besides, he thought, if destroying the information was their primary concern, the base would have been wiped out before he had even gotten here. No, this was planned, probably to take him out. He eyed the numerous glinting metal bodies in front of him and grinned, leaping into the fray.
With the return of his powers, he could do more without being tired out as easily. When his powers had been suppressed by Hecate, he had to content with his limited powers, training himself to make the most out of it. As a result, with the return of the full extent of his powers, he had become stronger, being able to turn water into ice with a mere thought, instead of having to concentrate so deeply like he did in the past.
It was this that allowed him to draw the water from the air and turn them into a liquid state, fighting with both his sword and his element. The bots didn't stand a chance when he splashed them with water and froze them from the inside out. He smirked and brought his sword up, parrying the bladed arm of one of the bots. In the next second, that same bot was sliced into pieces and the demigod-mortal had moved on to another target. Each doombot that charged at him ended up in the same way, frozen from the inside out or laying in pieces on the floor.
He fought this way, the multitude of opponents not bothering him in the slightest, he had fought harder and tougher battles than this one after all, but his concern lay in his companion. It wouldn't sit well on his conscience – whatever that was left of it – to let a boy, never mind the fact that he could be considered one as well, die because of his ineptitude. Percy heard the occasional gunshots from the other side of the hall, and slowly made his way there, ducking under plasma blasts and blades alike, cutting a path through the metallic wave. He stopped when his back hit the other, both whirling around immediately, their weapons at each other's throats.
Percy slashed upwards, missing Matthias' ear by a hairsbreadth while the younger boy brought his gun and fired off a shot beside Percy's head. Two doom bots fell to the ground simultaneously. Percy grinned and grabbed Matthias and pulled him back, the two of them bumping against the console. He risked a glance backwards, seeing the download reach ninety-five percent. He scowled and turned back to Matthias, whispering, "How good is your aim?"
Matthias swallowed one hand aiming the gun at a random bot in front of him, the other holding his knife just below the gun. "Not bad, why?"
Percy noticed the addition of a knife but didn't comment as he pointed up, "I need you to activate the sprinkler system."
Percy didn't know how, but the other boy managed to give him an incredulous look without even needing to turn around, "You do realize that requires fire."
"Yeah, either that or you shoot the thing itself."
"I know I said I wasn't a bad shot," he fired at one of the bots while Percy slashed at another, "But asking me to hit a target that is barely wider than the bullet is insane!"
Percy pulled them both to the ground, avoiding another blast and stabbing the bot through the head, the water solidifying into a dagger which he used to separate it into several parts. "I'll cover you."
Matthias hissed in frustration and hopped onto the top of the console, concentrating, trying to ignore his instincts telling him that he was way too open.
Percy, true to his word, was covering his partner, quite well too. He fought like a madman, whirling and twisting back and forth, the robotic movements of the doombots unable to land a hit on the fluid movement of one Percy Jackson. He heard several gunshots before he felt the water burst from the ceiling. He could have brought down the entire sprinkler system of course, but he didn't want to give away how much he was capable of.
The moment the sprinkler system activated, drenching the doombots, Percy grinned and dissipated his ice blade. He concentrated and the water swirled around the bots. He placed his hand, palm-up, and the water froze, immobilizing the doombots. He clenched his hand and the ice crushed each and every doombots, their crumpled bodies falling to the ground with a loud clang.
Behind him, Matthias' eyes widened in awe, his jaw dropping, "That – that – how?"
Percy smirked and turned to the console. He melted the ice, letting the water flow away. The computer screen displayed a notice that said 'Download Complete'. Percy reached out and pulled the drive from its port, placing it carefully into one of the inner pockets in his jacket before taking out a circular device and attaching it to the console. He tilted his head, "Let's go. This is gonna blow."
The two of them walked out of the base quickly, having gotten what they had come here for. It only took one look and a sense for Percy to know that this base wasn't the main base, but still relatively important, probably because of its secluded location, you wouldn't find the base if you weren't looking for it, although he was more than slightly puzzled at why the information wasn't destroyed by the base's inhabitants. As they quickly got out, both drenched but for different reasons, Percy bending down to rip the mask of one of the doombots out, they never noticed the camera in the corner, swiveling after them, it's blinking red light hidden by the shadows.
The base blew apart shortly after that.
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