V
Percy tried not to let his agitation show but it was hard to. His annoyance seemed to show as even his escort started to shift uncomfortably away from him.
The Son of Poseidon was right but also wrong in so many ways. He had taken a gamble with the government agent before and thought nothing much of him in that regard. Simply another government agent that had a keen eye for trouble.
He underestimated him.
This…Fury was a person of importance here, or at least someone high enough on the proverbial food chain that he could influence the actions of a being that held divine gifts.
That Percy had caught his attention was enough to set him on edge. He was only comforted by with the knowledge that Fury had no idea who he really was and hadn't made any connection to him.
The Mist truly was a gift.
However, that didn't explain the fact that the mortals could see his powers and who he actually was. He would need to tread carefully and get this over with as soon as possible. The longer he lingered the more they would question.
And curious mortals only ended up on the wrong end of the Master Bolt.
While his indifference to their deaths wouldn't cause him to lose any sleep if they did it to themselves, he wouldn't allow himself become the cause for their inquiries.
Especially since he was only here at the behest of the Olympian Council and not of his own volition.
Regardless, he was still annoyed as the group walked the steel and white lit halls of the aircraft carrier.
Percy had to hand credit where it was due, this marvel of engineering was something that even astonished him. He didn't let it show as his threat of destroying it had to be genuine and one he would carry out without hesitation.
Not that the marine animals nearby had shared his sentiments. They were rather angry at the metal contraption for disturbing their home. Percy had simply let them know to keep their distance.
The fish and other nearby aquatic life didn't need to be told twice as they all swam away as fast as they could.
They continued their walk and his irritation grew.
He could have been there already but he had to play the part as it beat slaughtering his way to wherever this Loki was. It fell in line with the fact that he didn't want any more attention on himself than he already did.
Idle demigods were not to be trifled with. ADHD combined with their hardwired instincts to do something was a dangerous combination to be in the presence of.
This wasn't the usual odd task that he be given. Hunting down stray monsters, treating and visiting the freed Titans and Titaness to ensure that they weren't getting any ideas of insurrection, and even the occasional remnant of Gaea's armies that had managed to survive the initial purges in the aftermath of the war.
But he had finally had something to work for and protect. A family.
And like an idiot, he jumped when the Olympians wanted something done.
Logic be damned, he should've just denied Artemis when she had first appeared in that cab or when she made herself known upon the hill only hours prior.
Annabeth wouldn't have wanted this and he hated himself for it.
Had Annabeth been there, she would've wanted him to deny them given their sacrifices. She would have found some way to avoid this.
Had Annabeth been there, he would be relaxing with her and his family.
Had Annabeth been there, he would not have been so lost.
Percy took a measured breath to calm himself. He could feel the rage within him. The turmoil of the seas around himself. He willed it to calm, he would not allow his emotions get the better of him, not now at least. Not when he was so close to finishing his task.
The Son of Poseidon did not want to kill thousands of mortals just because he was having a lapse in judgment and focus. No, he was above the Olympians in that regard.
He took satisfaction in the thunder that rumbled in anger at the thought.
Percy glanced towards Thor. When the man had identified himself, it all clicked together. The Norse Pantheon.
But why did he feel this incessant need to kill Thor? It was a frightening urge. One that was begging the Son of Poseidon to prove himself better than the Son of Odin. To destroy him so utterly and completely that only the ash of his bones would remain.
Percy hadn't felt that since Gaea.
And she had a first hand account of exactly how that felt.
His mind snapped back to the present. His momentary lapses being engulfed with such thoughts were becoming all too common since the end of the war.
"So… A man with a goatee, a red suit of armor and a glowing…thing in his chest began, tentatively. As if he would lash out at the merest of sounds but was attempting to fill the overwhelming silence as they walked through the corridors of the aircraft carrier and delved ever deeper into its bowels. "What's your name?"
Everyone around that was escorting him and Thor seemed to take a little more interest in their surroundings.
Percy ignored his question but he did see the glancing glare sent by Thor to the red armored man.
"Okay…If you don't want to answer that then maybe you can answer why you and Shakespeare want to break each other's necks? Oh, I'm Tony Stark by the way. You may know me as Iron Man."
Percy and Thor shared a glaring glance with each other but again they said nothing.
He didn't know if Thor knew and he wasn't exactly sure himself but an educated guess involved something ancient.
Figures.
Its always something ancient.
The self-identified Tony Stark continued to remain unfazed by his unwillingness to answer any of his questions. "Why are you after Loki?"
Percy halted in his tracks, causing everyone to stumble in their steps. He threw a look at the armored man, something that made Tony, clearly uneasy. His voice took on its metallic tinge, curtesy of the Mist, to mask his voice as he was sure that Fury would recognize his voice considering he only met him the day before. "Do you always talk this much?"
"Only every other Thursday." He said, in a forced smile and an awkward chuckle.
Percy didn't get whatever joke the man had just said and continued to walk.
They finally ended the rather long journey to whatever cell they put him. Though the entrance was flanked by two guys in tactical gear and automatic rifles. One of the agents made to open the door when Percy merely waved his hand as the door slid open seamlessly, startling them all.
Perks of being the Son of Poseidon.
Whatever advantages this…SHIELD may have thought they had was lost the moment they set their vessel in the ocean. Not only could he simply drown them if he needed to, but he had absolute control over the entire ship. It was only made easier the moment he had stepped onto the deck.
He didn't even need to wave his hand and could have willed it to occur but a small display would make it known that he was not in the mood to be toyed with.
"We'll be…out here when you're done." The spangled man spoke up, his red-white and blue shield being tossed onto his back.
Percy and Thor entered the room and the door slid and locked shut at his urging.
In the center was a glass chamber with walkways arrayed around it. Large steel clamps held tight to the cell.
Inside the cell, was a…snake in green and gold robes. He looked pale. Unnaturally so with slicked black hair that shined against the luminescent bars that edged the room they were in. Oily and sharp eyes flicking every which way, while a devilish smirk threatened to escape the confines of his own demented face. He looked entirely disheveled as if he hadn't taken care of himself. His eyes were a bright iridescent blue that danced with mocking mirth.
It made his blood boil just by looking at him.
Percy didn't know he could hate someone so much just based on their looks.
"Bring me another visitor, dear brother?" His smirk didn't lighten in the slightest. "I don't think I have ever had the pleasure of meeting the attack dog of Olympus."
Percy resisted the urge draw his weapons and instead cleared his mind for a moment. 'Artemis. Apollo.'
There was a thrum and wave of energy as two pillars flashed into being beside them. One as bright as sun and another of solid silver moonlight. The twin Olympians materialized.
There was a primal growl that emanated from the Son of Odin. "Lady Artemis, Lord Apollo." The two addressed deities inclined their heads in greeting to Prince of Asgard but the sneers on their faces could not be any clearer.
"Asgardians." Artemis scoffed. "I had my suspicions."
"Perseus Jackson and Olympians." Loki greeted with an ornate and mocking bow. "I did not think I warranted such a welcome. Allow me to introduce myself, Loki, God of Mischief and Deceit at your service."
"Perseus, if this foul creature speaks out of turn again, bring me his tongue." Artemis narrowed her eyes and spat in venom at Loki. Apollo put a placating hand on his sister's shoulder but it did not stop Percy's movement.
Percy hadn't even thought about drawing the dagger at the small of his back, as it was already in his grip, only halfway out of its sheathe when Thor put an alarmed grip on his shoulder.
"Loki, trespassing as he is, is still of Asgard. Any attack on him and there will be war." Thor growled out looking to the three.
Percy hated politics.
Apollo, the ever reasonable one, spoke up. Though his voice may have been of peace the look of warning was apparent. "We are merely here to question him. Nothing more."
The Sun God was one he held no true grievance against as all he ever did was help him. That still didn't mean he treated him as an Olympian. If there ever was a child on the Council it was Apollo. Actually that was false. Dionysius was more petulant when he didn't get his way.
Though to be fair to Apollo, Percy hardly treated any of the Olympians as Olympians anymore. There were only a few that he willingly showed deference to nowadays and he could count them on one hand.
"Perseus, if you would be so inclined?" The Sun God gestured with his free hand, though still kept a placating hand on the shoulder of his twin sister. Perseus nodded and stepped closer to the glass chamber.
Loki's smile only grew wider.
"What are your plans?"
"My we have barely met, God-Killer." Loki mocked with a wave of his that conjured an ornated wooden chair to seat himself upon. "And already you question me as if I am a prisoner of yours. You are too late, of course, as it seems that the humans may have gotten to me first."
Percy shrugged. Loki would not be here unless he wanted to be here. That basic conjuration was evident of the fact that if he wanted to escape he would, or he would've escaped during his fight with Thor and his mortal friends. Maybe it was because of Thor's presence that he thought it a fruitless endeavor to attempt an escape.
He internally shrugged. it wasn't his problem.
If it was he would've already killed him. Still, he had to get information from him.
"Are we supposed to be impressed at their ingenuity or at your inability?" The Son of Poseidon spoke as he clasped his hands behind his back. His voice calm and collected.
"Well, humans are, for lack of a better term, fickle and are prone to believe what you show them." The Asgardian bobbed his head as he considered his words. "They believe the sky is blue because it is blue. Or that the grass is green because it is green. Just as they believe this…charade of control. This freedom of choice that you Olympians have veiled them with."
"You mean to rule the Earth?"
It didn't look like his type of…modus operandi. To be so blatant about it, didn't suit a proclaimed God of Mischief and Deceit.
Loki smile widened as he nodded. "I mean to free them. To free them from life's greatest lie, the song of independence."
Percy looked to the Olympians. Apollo gestured for him to continue with his free hand while his other kept a stable grip on his sister who looked ready to gut Loki. Thor was conflicted as he looked at both Loki and Percy with narrowed and warring glances.
"That did not work out so well for the last two who tried." The Son of Poseidon noted, his voice even as he continued to look to Loki. "That is not counting all the immortals that fell alongside them."
Loki's smirk twitched and that was all Percy needed from him.
Seeds of doubt, sprinkled in the lunacy of a being that was still mortal despite claims to the contrary.
The God of Mischief and Deceit did not look so sure now.
Percy spun on his heel and began to walk back to the trio.
"You think you can stop this?" Loki shot to his feet.
The Son of Poseidon stopped and looked over his shoulder. "I don't need to. The humans already did."
Apollo nodded, seemingly satisfied. "We have what we need. You will take him away, Asgardian?" He looked to Thor who nodded, albeit begrudgingly. It was clear the Prince of Asgard was growing tired of their continued presence.
"After I retrieve the Tesseract, I will return to Asgard with Loki where he will face trial."
Apollo inclined his head to both Percy and Thor before flashing away in a pillar of sunlight. Artemis was about to lunge from her position but was quickly intercepted by Percy, who put an arm across her upper chest restraining her from shoulder to shoulder. "I've told you this before and I will no doubt tell you again. Olympus cannot afford another war." The Huntress looked to him. A silver gaze connecting with a sea green one. "Let it go."
She nodded hesitantly and slowly pulled from his grasp. "My lieutenant wishes to see you again."
"I'll make some time." Percy nodded and with that she disappeared in a pillar of silver moonlight. Percy exchanged a glare with Thor for no other reason than that they could.
"My, my caught the eye of the maiden goddess." Loki remarked, having pushed away his doubts for the time being. Percy looked to the Trickster God. "Or is she really a maiden?"
Percy hadn't even thought about it. One moment he was a good few meters away from Loki who was still encased in the glass chamber and the next he had caught the Asgardian in a choking grasp and shoved him roughly against the reinforced steel.
The metal clamps loosened ever so slightly at the impact and the chamber shuddered at the motion.
"What are you really doing here?" The poisonous green eyes were glowing with unbridled rage. He may not treat Artemis as an Olympian, but he would not let such words go unpunished.
Loki coughed in his grasped and he squeezed ever so slightly before letting go. The Trickster fell to his knees and massaged his neck. "I think its time for a regime change."
His words lost the attempted grandiosity as he coughed again and gasped for air.
"You truly are delusional if you think I will even let you cause half the death they did." Percy snarled. Thor looked conflicted. He probably thought Loki's words deserved the attack.
"I'm done here. Get him off Earth as soon as you can."
Thor nodded as Percy willed himself into a mist of salt-water that dispersed on an unseen wind.
Percy appeared in a small clearing a little ways from the Hunter Camp. It had taken him a couple hours to find it but he had figured that Artemis would know that he wouldn't travel half the country to simply speak with Reyna.
So using simple deduction he eliminated everything west of the Appalachians and everything south of DC. He narrowed it even further to New York due to her appearance in the cab a day prior. She would have been in a Council meeting and would have wanted her Hunters kept close by.
He also didn't think she would return to Camp Half Blood after only a couple months.
That set the only logical place for them to be as Central Park. It was easily defensible, provided excellent cover with the use of minor wards so no mortal would accidentally stumble into their camp, it was near Olympus relatively speaking and the nature spirits there were always welcome to the Maiden Goddess' presence.
It also helped that the Hunters still had mortal tendencies. Namely junk food.
He didn't want to startle them however. Which is why he appeared a little ways from their camp. While many were veterans from the Giant War, there were only a scant few that knew the horrors that the previous generation of Hunters had been subjected to upon the battlefield.
He and Reyna were part of that handful of mortals that knew what exactly happened to them.
The Hunters, as elite as they are, were often used as a small but effective strike force to take out weaker immortals or the nastier monsters that stalked the ranks of Gaea's armies.
When their threat became apparent to the Giant King, Porphyrion, several dozen Earthborn had been summoned in their camp and began a merciless massacre.
Of the forty seven handmaidens of Artemis, only six survived well enough to be considered even worth attempting to save.
Thalia was not among that number and was how he had been entrusted with Aegis.
Artemis had lost a considerable amount of strength and had been driven to near madness from the slaughter. She had only begun to recover but was still prone to brash decisions, lapses in judgement and mood swings that made even splitting aspects seem tame in comparison.
Her episode regarding Loki was only one of many. Not that Percy could blame her for it. If anyone had a reason to hate 'foul creatures', as she so eloquently put it, it was Artemis.
And it was only on both Reyna's and his orders that the event be covered up. Such a blow to morale would have been devastating considering it was so early in the war as well.
It was also one of the catalysts that would lead to Percy's and Reyna's elevation to near-absolute authority regarding the war against Gaea and the beginning of the Olympians seclusion from the eye of the armies as a whole to only appear when they were needed.
Regardless, to suddenly appear in their camp would only invite him to become little more than a pincushion as they were more inclined to shoot first and never ask questions afterwards.
That didn't stop him from being by being greeted by a singular bow with an arrow nocked however.
In hindsight, it probably would have been better to walk in from outside the Central Park grounds.
"Percy?" A familiar voice called, it was tinged in a slight Latin tone. He sighed in relief. Percy did not want to be held responsible with whatever may have happened had an arrow been loosed.
While he recognized the voice it was the glossy black hair done in a single braid and the silver tiara upon crowned upon her head did he really know who he was talking to. His hands, that had shot up in the universal sign of surrender, lowered and walked forwards, a slight smile on his face at the sight of his friend.
She rushed forwards and engulfed him a bear hug and a chaste kiss on his scarred cheek. He returned the hug but felt uncomfortable at the show of affection. Memories of Annabeth flooded his mind but he pushed them away. It was common greeting from the former Praetor that never went beyond that.
"Hi, Reyna." He spoke as they walked along side by side. It was odd seeing her in that tiara. Such embellishments were not something that the Daughter of Bellona ever wanted and was an aspect that they both shared.
The time they spent together after the war was proof of that. After the war and the debacle in the Olympian Council, the handful of Hunters that remained which only amounted to eight of them had stayed at Camp Half-Blood while the issue with dealing with the remnants of Gaea's armies was sorted.
The two had grown close. Well, closer. They had already spent a fair deal of time together during the war running the army but where they were simply cordial with each other then, they were almost inseparable now.
They were the only two to understand what the other went through, to a degree. He still did not speak of his time in Tartarus, he didn't speak of that to anyone even though it was an open secret that he and Annabeth had traversed those hellish planes to close the Doors of Death.
They conversed.
Nothing of note really. She spoke of the newer hunters and their most recent hunts. On how the monsters were slowly disbanding as there was none to lead them. Still, scarce pockets remained but those were now few and far between and they would be dealing with those for the next couple years at the most.
Percy was content to only let her speak. Something she had to have noticed but didn't comment on.
It wasn't like he had anything notable to talk about. He was mostly just training with Calypso. Something that hadn't changed since the last time they spoke. He did mention that he now had a sister and at her widened eyes, he quickly corrected himself. "A half-sister. Fully mortal."
She breathed a sigh of relief. "I was worried there for a moment."
"Trust me, if my dad had another kid, I'd be as worried as you were." Percy chuckled, this time there was humor than all the dry and mirthless laughs he would usually offer.
"I would like to meet her." She said while tucking an errant strand of her hair under her tiara.
He nodded but didn't say anything more as they entered the clearing where the Hunter Camp was situated. Their numbers were only up to fourteen of them. Unless there were more that he couldn't see which was a likely case.
Most were just lounging around, fletching or sharpening arrows or snacking on large pretzels. The others shooting arrows at targets.
A couple of wolves stalked by throwing a curious glance to the Son of Poseidon before moving off soon enough to the perimeter.
The few that did notice the two merely glanced at them absentmindedly, returning to whatever they were doing before whipping their heads back to them so fast, he was sure a few had whiplash.
He chuckled lightly at that but didn't say anything at their rather comical reactions to them.
Being among the Hunters was probably one of the few times and places he could well and truly relax, though while he heard hushed whispers of the veteran hunters telling the newer ones who he was, there were couple frowns directed his way as well.
He kept up his small smile though. He would've had preferred Sword of Olympus or Son of Poseidon to Apollyon or God-Killer but there wasn't much he could do in regards to that.
It left a sour taste in his mouth when Loki had said it and the mockeries left an even bitte taste when those he considered his friends referred to him as such.
Percy and Reyna spoke for some time, simply enjoying one another's presence while he spoke of his most recent mission, though leaving out details such as his conversations with Artemis and the interrogation of Loki. The young hunter at their side chiming in every now and then with questions of her own. Though she didn't look particularly enthused by his presence, she was nice enough to share a piece of the pretzel she had.
The Son of Poseidon felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and the moment they did, Percy had thrown himself on top of Reyna and the hunter, a cascade of explosions rocketed around them, throwing a couple more hunters off their feet and sending the rest scattering for cover.
Percy's gaze snapped to the skies. Already, the Hunters had returned fire with lethal accuracy, as several aliens had fallen with arrows in either their heads or bodies.
He threw himself to the side as Reyna barked commands as she dragged the younger hunter to her feet, whipping her glittering cloak up as she did so while Percy raised Aegis when more of those alien crafts strafed the camp.
Blue streaks of light impact the bronze shield and he was able to see and be glad that Reyna's invulnerable cloak lived up to its attributes as several beams of that blue light impacted against her.
The next moment he was dragging his lightning spear from the confines of its enchanted sheathe, whipping it about like a rope, lightning arcing angrily off of it, before thrusting it towards a trio of approaching chariots.
Boom.
The bolt of lightning leapt from one chariot to another, making them erupt in a trio of fiery explosions.
Percy was not done.
No sooner had he sent forth the bolt, he wound up the spear and threw it, impaling the pair of aliens that were upon a trailing craft. If that didn't kill them then the arrows that followed the spear did. The craft swerved and the one behind it, crashed into it causing another ball of flame to erupt in the sky.
Everyone that had not already scattered did so immediately as the craft careened to them into the ground beside them. The remaining alien chariots had veered off, apparently not liking their prospects against a group of people that had so thoroughly destroyed a squadron of them.
Percy pulled his spear from the two bodies and grimaced at the bluish and purple blood that dripped from its length like darkened poison.
Reyna immediately began issuing further commands to the hunters but Percy's mind was elsewhere.
He turned his gaze upwards towards the New York skyline where a glowing bluish black hole occupied a space in the normally light blue sky. It sat elevated even above the tall Empire State Building with these things were streaming out of.
A bright blue light, like a beacon, pulsing towards it from behind the building.
It all went together rather horribly.
Loki. Percy mentally growled.
The Son of Poseidon willed himself to turn into mist, a primal need to form as appear as close to the source of the beam as possible.
His hands began dissolving before his mind felt like it slammed face first into a solid wall of metal.
His hands formed again.
"What?" He asked himself as he stared at his still human hands.
Reyna stepped beside him. "This is not an attack for Olympus." She said as she looked to the skies above. The Daughter of Bellona examined the dead alien at their feet. All sense of reminiscing gone as her commanding persona took over.
She was right. These…aliens were firing indiscriminately and he could hear the screams of terror from the mortals from even here. This was not an attack for dominion in the Immortal Realm, but one against the Mortal World.
But he understood what she was getting at. The Hunt would be next to useless here unless the fighting moved from downtown closer to Central Park. They couldn't interfere since it involved mortals.
If it was only a handful then maybe but the whole city was under attack.
That left him, a demigod not bound by the laws that governed the Eternal Hunt.
And he would see his home protected.
And Loki dead.
"I'll go. Keep Central Park safe."
Reyna looked conflicted at the words. It was clear she wanted to go with him instead of being relegated to what amounted to as doing nothing.
But she nodded and without any further words, Percy began jogging towards the direction of the beam, water coalescing around him as he did so.
Private Jameson Philips of the New York National Guard stood by the Humvee, directing civilians with waves of his free arm while he held his long rifle against his chest.
Aliens…True Aliens…
He'd be lying if he said he wasn't scared shitless. After all, he was Army Reserve and had never expected to be deployed in the near future much less to his home state.
So when the base went into high alert, the only things that were running through his mind was his training.
And if he had turned off his computer.
Still, for all the training from Basic to Infantry School, none of it could prepare him for the guy that was stalking down the road as if he was on a mission.
Or the fact that he was wearing armor that seemed…well it seemed several thousand years too old for the era.
Or the fact that he seemed to be heading straight for the outer perimeter that Captain America had set up and that they had subsequently reinforced.
Civilians created a wide berth for the man to walk through, almost as if there was some sort of invisible barrier that forced them out of his way.
Philips moved to intercept him, standing in his path, his M4 at the ready but not raised. "Uh, sir! Halt!" He wasn't used to this. He knew everyone on base so being on duty was easy and the most contention he had ever had was at the college campus where he was arguing over the last slice of pizza at a party.
The sergeant had just said to make sure no knucklehead goes into Manhattan proper.
He never said that the knucklehead would look like someone that made Leonidas from 300 look like a preschooler.
The guy didn't even slow down as he continued towards him.
The Humvee's gunner and the other three perimeter sentries leveled their weapons at him.
"Halt!" Philips shouted, his voice no longer cracking as he gained more confidence seeing his buddies begin to back him up. "This is a restricted area!"
The guy didn't stop and Philips made to raise his rifle.
He felt something whoosh past him and blinked.
And blinked…
And blinked again…
Philips found his arm waving more civilians onwards out of the downtown area and into the subway tunnels nearby.
He blinked again. The Humvee gunner let out a burst of high-caliber rounds into the sky as chariots threatened to get close. Civilians began to scream but he and the other three sentries pushed them onwards out of the fighting.
Did I turn off my computer?
'The first virtue in a soldier is endurance of fatigue; courage is only the second virtue.'
-Napoleon Bonaparte