XXII
n hindsight, it was probably more of a detriment to their pride and and his training when he agreed to this. It was also a testament to their Asgardian heritage and physiology that they could withstand that much punishment.
They simply could not compete against him when he was using his powers. The fight, if one could even call it that, lasted only a handful of seconds.
And he wasn't even fully trying.
He leaned on a simple training staff that he was using as a pole to support himself to gaze about the scene. He wasn't wearing his golden armor and instead a simple leather armor adorned his body. This was unlike the other two who were adorned in there signature armors.
Calypso was going to join them until he agreed to fight them using only his powers. Then she wisely excused herself from the session.
Sif had been thrown into the dirt, carving a thick and deep trench from when she had been flicked away by a tendril of saltwater from the ocean. She had fared considerably better than Jane at least. She collapsed a couple of the tendrils before finally being tossed like a ragdoll into the other end of the beach.
Jane was sprawled in the sandy beach panting heavily and steam rising from her fallen form with her wings and armor covered in soot. He had bolted her out of the sky and then subsequently bolted her again when she had tried to recover.
It didn't help that the water was near freezing with it being near the Winter Solstice.
Which reminded him, with the year up and his instruction that he lay low after the Battle of New York having ended, his time to go back to physically checking up on the peaceful Titans was about to return.
And the first one on the list was Khione up in Alaska.
It was sort of a compromise on the Olympians part. She was banished from Olympus and taken off the wider council. Boreas had insisted that she be placed under permanent detainment or even executed for her attempted coup but given her immortality, the subsequent freeing of the peaceful Titanomachy, it was determined that she simply be exiled temporarily.
And then Percy was saddled with checking up on her as well.
She was probably the most difficult to placate. From what he was told, Jason, Leo and Piper had a run in with the Ice Goddess when they were on a quest to save the Queen of Olympus. One thing led to another and Khione had sided with Gaea and abducted Hera.
On that fact alone, the goddess should have been cast down at best.
But for some reason, Hera gave her mercy. Why? He didn't know. The Queen had told him that Khione would serve as a better ally than a corpse. A bit morbid and callous for who it had come from but it got the point across.
It was lucky for Khione that she had proved to be little more than a passing nuisance in the Gigantomachy and didn't matter at all in the grand scheme of things even if she had believed herself to be. Had she been a primary instigator in the war, Percy and many on the Council would have struck her down regardless of the Queen's wishes, the same as all the other immortals that had been in league with the Earth Mother.
He shook the thought away. He maybe had another day or two before he had to actually leave. The meetings with Khione tended to take longer given her role in the war. Percy determined that despite Hera's decree that he would wouldn't leave a single stone, or rather icicle unturned.
It also didn't help matters that he had powers over ice as well however unrefined they were. She had developed an uncomfortable interest in him on that fact alone.
He shivered and cringed internally at the memory before pulling himself from those thoughts. For a Goddess that had lived for who knows how long, she was absolutely terrible at flirting. Being something of a brick in that regard.
It was at that moment did Sif, looking as if someone dumped a truckload of sand on her, came stumbling towards him padding as much of the grains away from her body as possible. Jane was still sprawled on the dirt and Percy, feeling only a slight semblance of remorse because they did ask for it, dug his staff into the sand beside him before maneuvering to help the woman up.
Also to ensure he didn't permanently injure her, though he doubted it from the shuffling of her form and the batting of her Valkyrie Wings as she attempted to also divest herself from pit of soot and sand. Electricity continued to lance and arc about her feathers and her body spasmed slightly before he knelt down and pulled the excess electricity from her.
The tendrils of lightning arced about her and into his hand before he dissipated the eldritch energy from his own body with another flick of his hand. It lanced off and melted some the snow at their feet and glassed a small patch of the sand beneath it.
She seemed to sigh in contentment at the action, relieved at not having the energy of not one but two bolts of lightning coursing through her any longer.
He still hefted her up by her spaulder easily, forcing her to stand. She attempted to hunch herself over in exhaustion but Percy knew better and made her raise her arms above her head and to stretch out her wings as well. "How many times do I have to tell you to keep your back straight?" He reprimanded.
She scowled but did as she was told, raising her arms to prevent herself from hunching over, she ruffled and puffed out her wings in response as well as a cascade of sand fell out from within them.
It was still an alien feeling at seeing her have such natural control over them. The only other experience he had with someone like this was Thanatos and the God of Death was quite expressive with his avian appendages.
Whenever Jane got riled up during their training, her feathered cuirass and even her wings would puff up in anger and annoyance much like birds.
He often equated Jane to a pigeon or a chicken because of it much to her dismay. Still, it had the intended effect of ensuring she at least kept some measure of control over her emotions when they trained.
"That was not…expected, Perseus." Sif said with a slight glare at him, though the venom was lost and there was mirth in her voice. It also helped that she didn't look all that intimidating with all the sand and melting snow that caked her armored form.
"Hardly anyone expects to be flung like that." Its why he did it. Sif had gotten used to the tendrils striking at her like serpents because that was the case when she practiced against them and how he often used them. He figured it was time to break himself of that habit.
"Did you have to smite me twice?" Jane grumbled as she attempted to dust off some of the sticking sand as well.
"You got back up, so yes." Was his simple retort.
She grumbled more under her breath and continued to clean herself from the soot and sand. He checked his watch. It was near evening. They still had time for a couple more bouts but he wouldn't be using his powers anymore. It was evident that they still weren't used to them and he would have to Jane into it further while Sif would remain training with the tendrils at the moment.
Right now, they were supposed to be training to take down a bigger opponents with him being that opponent. Now they just had to do it while tired.
He willed the staff that was embedded into the sand to dissipate into a mist of water before it reformed in his hand.
Percy was still for but a moment as the two Asgardians continued to collect themselves.
Before he went on the offensive.
Sif, with her all her years of training was able to react in time to defend herself, bringing up her newly named sword Sylfang to bear to bat away the length of wood back into the opposite direction.
Percy easily flowed into the next strike but this time at Jane who had stood stunned at the sudden attack but was able to catch her footing easily enough to bring one of wings to block the blow. Good. He continued to move, the staff's edge glancing off the seemingly steel-like wings.
While she oft complained of never getting anywhere with her training, even in the past couple months since they had begun, Percy had seen a notable improvement. It was a given that she wouldn't see it since she was facing him, an amateur against an expert?
It was no contest who was going to win every time. But Percy could see how well she was adapting as she quickly took off into the air with a gust of wind while willing Undrjarn into a longer spear, more of a lance really into life. She was no longer hacking and slashing nor was she constantly off-balance, instead she began playing to her strengths which came in the form of her flight.
Sif had also improved as well from when he had first fought her and oddly reminded him of Artemis' fighting style with the sword techniques of Reyna as she weaved into and out of his reach. She no longer attempted to face him pound for pound, knowing she would be hopelessly outmatched if she did so. Instead, she used her flexibility and speed to her advantage and continued to improve on both.
He could match Sif in her speed, of course, but that would be delving into the territory of mock combat and summoning a storm and so far, Percy had determined that Jane was not ready for that.
Plus, it would get damn cold fast. He may have to deal with Khione in the next couple days and have a natural resistance against the biting weather but he would rather not subject himself to freezing temperatures until it was absolutely necessary.
He downed Sif first given she was closest to him, using the staff to sweep her legs from underneath her when she began moving into his reach once again. The Asgardian attempted to get up but was quickly thrown further into the beach when Jane had tried to use the supposed opening to strike at him.
The bait working as intended as Jane lunged forward, only for him to easily sidestep her and for her to be caught by the collar of her feathered breastplate and thrown into Sif who had just barely gotten to her feet.
The two tumbled further into the sand and snow, Undrjarn dissipating in a flurry of silver embers while Sylfang returned into its hilt. They weren't all that accustomed to fighting with each other. Sif was prone to only focusing on her immediate area and had gotten in the habit of fighting by herself. In contrast, Jane was still getting used to fighting with her Undrjarn, her wings and with her strength as an Asgardian.
Percy planted the staff back into the ground and leaned onto the support, resuming his previous spectating stance as the two Asgardians fumbled to untangle themselves, Jane's wings proving to more of a detriment until she finally receded them into herself once again as Sif tossed the smaller woman aside and further into the beach so she could get up first.
Jane growled her annoyance and brought up a clump of sand and snow at Sif, hitting the back of the Asgardian woman's helmeted head who only had time to sit upwards before Jane threw the sand/snowball. Jane began to stand while dusting herself off of what she could of snow and sand.
Sif stilled for a moment and Percy could only internally palm his face as Sif's sapphire eyes narrowed dangerously underneath the two narrowed slits in her helm for her eyes.
He watched as Sif brought up a fistful of whatever was in front of her, turn and toss it square into the face of Jane who stumbled slightly in surprise at the force it was sent with.
And as Jane took the scant second to wipe her face clean, Sif sent another handful of snow and sand into the chestplate of Jane with enough force to knock her back another step.
What followed was two up-armored Asgardians that had the strength to stop a speeding car dead in its tracks and the equipment around them to settle this in a friendly spar, resort to a snow and sand ball fight on a freezing New York beach in the middle of December.
Percy wanted nothing more than to collapse on the ground at the absurdity of it all. Instead he watched in disbelief. He allowed it to continue, if by the slight laughing and angry shouts of Jane and Sif had respectively, it had turned away from outright anger and annoyance and into a playful bit of fun between the two often arguing women.
They won't think its all that fun when they have to clean their armor. Percy mused as he eased himself onto the cold ground and turned his attention away from the two Asgardians to gaze out into the serene ocean before him, feeling no need to intervene.
They deserve a reprieve from getting their asses handed to them the past couple months.
Waves lapped lightly at the shoreline, melting the closer ice and snow and dragging and adding to its already monstrous depths. The sea foam forming a barrier between the blue and, pale and tan mixture of snow and sand that was beyond the reach of the waves.
Tight and grey clouds hung over the Atlantic as if an impending storm was on the horizon as the mortal weathermen had predicted, but Percy could tell that it was simply a deluge of clouds skirting around the coast seeking other places to let loose its laden contents.
He even saw a pod of dolphins breach the surface of the ocean. Percy could hear their greetings from here and he couldn't help but smile slightly at their formal if a bit crude and roguish retorts as they continued onwards down the coast.
The snow and sand altercation drowning out from his mind as he found himself lost further in his thoughts.
The past few months since Jane's little excursion had been…calm, for lack of a better term. Between training Jane, Sif and Calypso, taking Estelle to school whenever Sally asked and searching for information on whatever could have caused the animosity between the Olympians and Asgardians, his life was decidedly uneventful.
Chiron was still away on whatever assignment that had been given him and Allison was away at Camp Half-Blood for Christmas.
Life was…normal.
Which was why he was so on edge for the pass few days. The check-in on Khione notwithstanding, there was nothing that should have had him looking over his shoulder in his own home. Even during his little pseudo-break after the Battle of New York had him quietly hunting down monster bands across the North-Eastern Seaboard and Canada so that the Hunters could focus on the Midwest and South.
Now though, everything was quiet. Eerily so. He felt as if he were standing at a cliff's edge and was looking down the abyss that awaited.
But unlike where many would assume the abyss to be something malevolent in nature, this one was…unassuming. Neutral even.
It unsettled but calmed him for some reason as weird as it may be.
He shook the feeling away, hoping against hope that it was nothing and just his ADHD and nerves acting up. He should enjoy this downtime while he had it as there was no telling if he would get anymore in the near future.
"Perseus?" He recognized the voice of Sif and he glanced to his side to see a tired Jane slouched on the ground away from them, tired and looking utterly spent of energy. Sif was only a little better in that regard and was only breathing heavily but took a measure of control in her posture. "I took the liberty of running Jane through drills, if that is alright?"
He didn't even realize the time as the day seemed to be closing the evening. He would've been concerned about the passage of time, if not for the fact, that it was an often enough occurrence when he found himself sitting against the shoreline of Long Island. He wasn't as concerned as he probably should've been whenever it did happen.
It was still a bit awkward whenever Jane or Sif had caught him doing so.
It was getting dark out with the sun receding over his shoulder and Appalachians.
He checked his watch, it was close to seven in the evening. He was sat there for close to two hours.
Percy internally shook himself of those thoughts and nodded to Sif. "Its fine." He allowed a light smile to play on his features as he looked to them both and the spoke aloud so Jane could hear him. "You both are going to have a hell of a time cleaning your armor."
Sif cringed as she began padding away as much of the sticking beach sand away from her person and Jane audibly groaned in both regret and displeasure at his statement.
It was their own fault for getting in a snowball war on a beach of all places. He stood and easily shook himself free of the pervading sand.
Perks of being a Son of Poseidon.
Sif actually glared at him when he did so as she always did, a glint of envy in her eyes at the display. The Asgardian scoffed and turned on her heel as she left without another word.
He smirked slightly before turning to help Jane up, who was still catching her breath in her seated position.
"Come on you." He hefted her easily from her seated position. It was clear that Sif did a number on her when he was spaced out. "What'd you do this time?"
She scowled as she stretched out her sore muscles. They began their journey back to the estate. "I think she's still mad that I have wings and she doesn't." Percy could hear the smile on her face despite her exhausted state and the slight edge in her tone.
He hummed in response and they continued onwards in a comfortable silence. "Hey, you think you can get rid of this sand?" She asked suddenly.
"Nope." He popped the word. He probably could if he tried but since it was actually her first time on beach training, he wasn't going to. Best to let her get used to cleaning her armor. As it was, he did the same for Sif and Calypso whenever the two did train with him as well. He wasn't playing favorites in that regard.
She frowned as they continued onward and Percy tossed the staff into the training yard while Jane peeled away from him to go use the pool showers so as to not track sand into the house.
He took in a moment to admire the Christmas decorations. The few nymphs that lived on the grounds really outdoing themselves just as they did the year prior. Meters upon meters of evergreen and pine vines trailed and edged the house with lines of muted yet sparkling and iridescent lights of the rainbow shining upon the house.
Percy had allowed a soft blanket of snow to fall upon the property, where he would usually just force most precipitation to skirt around the immediate property around the house.
But Estelle had wanted to build snowmen and have her own snow fights with a few of her friends from school.
He could never say no to her.
He wasn't all that concerned with allowing mortals onto the property, especially if they were innocent kids. The handful of nymphs and dryads were shy and timid already and knew not to be seen out and about with mortals around.
Not like they would they would see them anyways with the Mist and all. At most, if they even did see a scurrying nature spirit, they would appear as a flurry of leaves if they were particularly unlucky.
And all the other residents of the estate were sure to block off passage to the Eastern Wing whenever they were around.
It was…peaceful.
Percy continued onwards into the house, divesting himself easily of leather gear by willing into a sea spray where it would appear on one of the several mannequins in the training yard.
Afterwards, he prepared himself for the rest of the night by showering and changing into more comfortable clothing and then plopping himself down in front of the TV where Estelle was reading a small children's book beside on one of the larger recliners.
His recliner to be specific. He scowled slightly but thought nothing of it. It also happened to be her favorite seat in the living room as well and it was on a first come, first serve basis even though more often than not he found himself on another seat by the time his little sister arrived.
Pretty soon, they were joined by Jane who sighed in relief as she sat down on one of the free recliners and opened one of her own larger books. Something about space on the front of it but it didn't matter much to him. Most of it went over his head anyway whenever she tried to explain what her work was to him. All he knew was that she was an astronomer and an astrophysicist and that Astro meant space.
The smell of food began wafting into the interior of the room and Percy's stomach audibly grumbled at the thought of it.
To distract himself from the thoughts of invading the kitchen too early and earning the ire of his mother and Calypso, he switched on the TV.
Superimposed on a dark blue banner in large bold white lettering, STARK ISSUES THREAT AGAINST MANDARIN
The anchor began speaking as a feed from a massive and lavish white mansion along a cliff's edge was sat. It looked to be evening there with several helicopters loitering about. 'Here in Malibu, California, Billionaire and Avenger Anthony Stark, otherwise known as Iron Man, has issued a threat against the infamous terrorist known as the Mandarin. Sources state that a particularly close individual that was close to Mr. Stark was caught in the blast of last night's attack on the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. After an ensuing confrontation by reporters in front of the hospital, Mr. Stark gave out his previously private home address in an open challenge to the Mandarin!"
Percy scowled while Jane looked up from her book to the TV in interest. Estelle was, thankfully, too focused on her own reading to notice what was going on, her eyes scrunched in concentration as she mouthed the words on the pages to herself.
Sif entered the room at that time, a small towel in her hand as she dried the remnants of her wet hair.
All he had gotten from Stark back on the vessel that they had met on was that he was egotistic and self-centered. It didn't surprise Percy that it took the injury of one of his friends to become involved but Percy figured that he was much the same way. He wouldn't lift a finger until someone close to him had been attacked but the Son of Poseidon figured he was lucky in that regard and that he kept a very close eye on those that were under his direct protection.
Much moreso now that SHIELD and the trio team of Avengers were definitely looking for him and the other Asgardians now.
He didn't like the idea but the small pearl bracelet that Estelle wore was, in actuality, an emergency misting jewel that when crushed would bring her directly back to the estate. Barring Tartarus, there was no place that could keep his little sister from being able to come home. Even his mom had one, after his insistence.
But then again, he wouldn't be as stupid to give a known enemy the exact address to his home.
"What is that?" Jane narrowed her eyes at the television and then stood up in surprise. He was pulled from his thoughts at the action and he directed his attention to the TV at her next words. "Is that a missile?"
It was, in fact, a missile streaming straight towards the pale cliff-side mansion.
Percy immediately changed the channel. Mostly, for Estelle's sake.
He sighed and shook his head and slumped back into his seat. "Why do mortals have to be so stupid?" The demigod muttered.
"It is in their nature." Sif commented off-handedly.
"I used to be mortal too." They both looked to Jane who simply shrugged and looked to her book and mumbling. "Just saying." A couple of minutes passed by before Percy was about to speak but then he felt a nudging.
"I-" He was cut off when he felt a whisper scratch at his mind. 'Help…drowning…please…'
The Son of Poseidon's head visibly twitched and cringed at the sensation, unused to it as he was and only experiencing it once before when Thor had…called for him. Sif and Jane looked to him curiously as the unnatural action.
He stood up growling in annoyance, startling both Sif and Jane and causing Estelle to look up in surprise. "I'll be back in a moment." He began dissipating in a mist and willing himself to the exact location of where the mortal was.
If the Iron Man wasn't dead already…
Then he was certainly about to be.
Tony Stark had several regrets in life as he clung to the skeletal steel framing of the mansion that was currently, exploding, crumbling and cascading into the sea below the cliff.
The first and foremost being that he should have taken Pepper and left his mansion immediately after giving the Mandarin and thus the world's press his home address.
The second thing was that the House Party Protocol should have been activated the moment he had threatened the Mandarin. Barring the fallout from the reveal of the dozens and dozens of suits he had built in his many sleepless and nightmare fueled nights, he figured that having the Iron Legion would have prevented any attack if not outright dissuaded it entirely.
The third and last thing he thought of was why he had decided that using the prototype Mark 42 was a good idea. Sure, it had incredible modular capabilities and the many of the internal attributes of his other suits but it was still a prototype.
One that was entirely untested bar the couple times he had used it to test said modular capabilities. It was absent of most of its offensive capabilities besides its repulsors and had only a scant bit of flight power. It barely had enough to keep him aloft for a second or two at most.
People did say, 'Hindsight was twenty twenty.'
Something Tony thought that he should and would streamline if he ever lived.
Considering the circumstances, it was becoming an increasingly unlikely outcome.
The billionaire took a deep breath and braced himself to meet the oncoming rush of both water and gravity as JARVIS continued to desperately bring the suit's systems online as fast as the virtual intelligence was capable of.
And then he hit the foaming and splashing ocean below, feeling as if the surface itself was concrete before being pulled into the whirlpool, abyss and vacuum of concrete, wires, rebar and water.
In retrospect, holding onto what was dragging him further into the depths of the ocean was probably a bad idea but his instincts had long since overridden most of his logical senses.
He began moving upwards and peeled himself away from the steel beam he was previously clinging to, igniting the scant bits of repulsor power that was available to him to send himself upwards.
But it was for too little, too late as a thick electrical cord that was flailing about as it sunk further lashed and whipped around his neck and torso as if it were some sort of lasso intent on pulling him with it into the watery and dark coffin.
He grunted and felt himself gasp for more air at the sudden action.
Tony felt the suit begin to fill with with seawater, his helmet beginning to flood with the liquid as he was further strangled to the seabed and encased into a tomb of debris from his own house. Concrete and rebar drowning as he was in the depths of the ocean.
JARVIS' own protocols forbidding him from detaching the suit to assist him as it would only further compromise its own integrity and that of its user and his creator. The less said that without the suit he would've already been strangled or simply crush underneath the massive amount of weight that was raining down up on him the better.
His thoughts ran with every conceivable plan that he could come up with to save him from his own hubris. Then a single thought occurred to him as his mind turned to the a certain golden warrior and his seemingly affinity with water as if he were a being of it.
'Names have power.' Tony's own mocking words back on the helicarrier bit and mocked him in his mind as if they were placed on a billboard for all to see. A clear warning to where his current line of thinking was taking him.
Tony was never an religious person. He, after all, used to be in the business of weapons development and contracting. The Big Guy upstairs, if He even existed, probably would have a few choice words for him irrespective of his life of debauchery.
The helmet continued to fill but he could still breath and he calmed himself as much as he could while on the verge of death. His suit quite literally being the only thing that was keeping him alive at the moment and not be crushed by tons and tons of concrete and rebar.
Thor's own remark that beings of power would sooner kill those that summoned them or drew their attention.
Tony determined that if he was going to die regardless, then he would definitely take the gamble that this golden warrior would save him rather than kill him. At the very least, the tech savant knew that the guy was still around due to his little appearance in New York to pick up one of Thor's friends.
The only problem is that he didn't know the being's name.
Tony figured Golden Warrior would do for the time being.
He just hoped that he didn't care that we wasn't kneeling, being tied down by a mess of thick cabling and rebar as it were. He also hoped he didn't need to speak whatever language the golden guy spoke either.
Otherwise, Tony figured he should just get ready to meet his end.
The water began to flood his helmet even more and he took one last strangling breath before it covered his mouth and nose.
And so Tony thought hard, focusing his singular thoughts on the golden warrior from the helicarrier.
Help….drowning….please...
There was a moment where nothing happened and Tony could see a blurry scene through the seawater in his eyes and the visor of his helmet of debris continuing to rain down upon him and the seafloor.
Then he felt himself begin to black out, his vision growing heavy as hazy black spots began to fill it and an encompassing darkness began to edge the scene before him.
Tony fought to stay conscious.
Then the water vibrated. As if an shockwave seemed to wash over everything. The falling debris stilling in the rippling and bubbling seawater as if they were being hung and suspended in the environment. Everything seemed to still, there were no pillars of bubbles that denoted escaping air, nor the debris seemed to continue to crash around him.
It was serene.
Then Tony saw the golden armored warrior seemingly appear from the darkness and into his vision, walking in the open water as if it were just air. Glowing, prismatic sea green eyes that burned like stars, glaring at him with absolute hatred.
The tech savant could only think of one thing.
Fear.
That same primal fear that Tony had felt when he had first encountered the warrior in the Ardennes and then also on the helicarrier. It gripped him. Even encased in his suit as he was, the fear seemed to strangle him more than the lack of air or the cords that held him in place on the seafloor.
The being summoned a sword. It was not that black leaf-shaped blade that he had seen before when he had reviewed the footage of the Battle of New York. Instead, it had a sheen and mirror-like quality that seemed glint the sea green glow that his eyes were making.
The golden warrior raised the blade and Tony's vision almost blacked out at the sudden onset of water that entered his body when he opened his mouth to shout and yell in fear.
It was only for a moment though as the water seemed to begin to retreat from his suit, being drained from himself and completely divesting itself from his person. His suit began to reboot and the dual chest-lights that were on the nape of the suit's neck flickered on.
Tony took several deep breathes of air.
He didn't speak, fearful already as he was that he being was simply going to kill him.
But he wouldn't spend his final moments begging for his life.
Tony Stark didn't do it in Afghanistan. He didn't do it when Vanko had him and Rhodey on the ropes.
And he didn't do it when Loki had tossed him out of Stark Tower.
The being brought the sword down and hacked at the surrounding cords that held him down that had encased him into a watery tomb, the metal blade easily digging into the thick electrical wiring causing sparks and arcs of electricity to lance out at him.
The golden warrior was entirely unfazed by it however and raised his hand and Tony felt the water churn about him as it began to respond to the being's commands. The stone that encased him was raised ever so slightly and a current pushed him towards the warrior.
Tired and injured as he was and given the suit's own sorry and damaged state, Tony wasn't able to resist all the much when the warrior grabbed Mark 42 by the collar.
Tony felt them both shoot upwards and out of the water, rising on a pillar of water and into the open sky, that same sense of vertigo overtaking him as it did when he had used the Mark I and he didn't have inertia dampeners to negate the feeling.
Damn this suit. The first chance he got, he would let JARVIS crunch the numbers and do all the necessary calibrations to get his armor into top speed. He wouldn't be caught off-guard again.
But first he had to survive this encounter and try to convince whoever this was that he wanted no trouble at all and was simply trying to live and had quite literally through a dart blindly into the darkness.
Tony was both elated and horrified when he saw Pepper. Never mind the fact that Maya Hansen was still there, openly gaping at the sight of the two. Elated because she survived the attack. Horrified at what this person might do to her.
The tech savant took in the sight further. His mansion, a ruin and crumbled mess. Only the foundations remained but even they were on the verge of breaking while ash covered walls, the ones still standing that is, were covered in large caliber holes from the heavy machine guns that the helicopters had been using.
Soot and concrete was torn up and pervaded the remaining grounds.
He was tossed like a ragdoll at their feet before he could take in anymore and Tony stumbled to adjust himself as more of the suit's systems began to blink and whir to life.
He pushed passed his exhaustion and brought himself to a knee and armored and gauntleted knuckle propping himself up in the position that had been dubbed the iconic 'Iron Man Landing,'
The being stood upon a swirling spire of water a good twenty foot above them, sword in hand and looking down at them in disdain.
Dark and heavy clouds began forming even further above them, blue arcs of lightning dancing and flicking from each and every cloud and a slight drizzle began to rain down upon them.
Tony prepared himself for the fight for his life.
The warrior didn't seem to be in a talking mood. Much less than the last time they had previously met.
He raised his sword and Tony readied his own repulsors.
And then the warrior cocked his head to them.
No. Not to them. Something behind them.
Tony turned his head ever so slightly as Pepper and Maya both looked in the direction that the two were.
A vibrant orange and gold sparking ring forming and swirling as a golden robed and hooded woman with a bronze and golden amulet on her neck as the only other adornment she had, stepped out, her hands readied at her sides. She gestured and sent the portal towards them that simply placed the trio a couple meters behind her and out into the driveway and beside Hansen's car.
The newcomer woman now stood before the golden warrior and in between the two parties.
"Apollyon." The woman intoned in Latin and the eyes of the warrior seemed to glow violently.
Tony mind lurched. When he had been researching acronyms for the ULTRON Initiative, Apollyon had been one of the ones he considered before quickly discarding. The implications had uneased and unnerved him at the time when he had been toying around with he word.
The pressure around him seemed to grow exponentially and that primal fear from before had gripped his heart.
He summoned someone that had the literal name of Destroyer.
Percy cocked his head in annoyance and confusion at the appearance of the woman.
She knew who he was.
If that wasn't concrete proof that she was a demigoddess then the distinct…presence was. A little thing that he picked up while scouring the Atlantic North-East of monsters as he often came across other children of the gods.
All immortal children had a tendency to exude a…presence about them. A certain awareness or even aura that made them stand out among others. It was often what enabled monsters to pick out particularly good meals as Grover had put it once.
But she wasn't Greek. She was Roman, the Latin she spoke a clear indicator of her heritage. Her little portal magic only cemented who her immortal parent was.
A Daughter of Trivia.
That wasn't all though. He had a sense of familiarity with her. As if he knew her but he couldn't quite place where from as he never seen any daughters of the Magic Goddess that dressed like a monk.
That didn't particularly matter at the moment however. He had a bone to pick with the mortal that had the gall to call for him as if he were some sort of errand boy.
And he would rather not have to go through one of his kin to kill the person that had done so.
He spoke in ancient Greek. "Step aside, girl. I'm not here to fight you." The rain began to patter upon them further but an unseen shield protected the woman from the descending water.
He began descending down conjured watery steps and onto the ruin foundation of what was once Stark's home, keeping a close eye on the woman in case she began weaving her magic. If this would turn into a fight, Percy would need to end it quickly and permanently.
Magic users were fickle like that.
And since she knew who he was and openly confronting him as she was, it wouldn't surprise him if she had a couple failsafes in store just in case things began to turn sour.
As it was, the woman was either incredibly arrogant in her abilities to match him or sure enough in her own victory that she would face him head on. If it was the former, which he seriously doubted, then this fight was already over. If it was the latter…he would need to be as careful as possible.
"I cannot do that, Apollyon." She continued to speak in ancient Latin though he couldn't quite place the accent. It was a something of a mixture of English but had a…barbaric lilt to it as well. Luckily, demigods, both Roman and Greek were able to understand both sides of the aisle, so to speak.
She is Roman. There was no doubt about that. Not anymore. Not many called him…that…quite so openly. The only ones that had a tendency to do so were, in fact, Romans. More for the fact that it carried a semblance of fearful respect from his altercation with Gaea in the war than it did as any sort of lauded title.
The Romans were…something else.
Given the confined area they were standing in, he would not be able to simply maneuver around her either.
Percy would have to go through her to get to Stark.
He should've just left him to drown and was regretting his decision to kill the bastard himself.
No matter, Percy would ensure the mortal died for bringing him here.
If that meant subduing this demigoddess then so be it.
But first it was time to determine why she found a need to defend the mortal.
"Why are you here?" Percy took a step to the left. The constant drizzle continuing to beat down upon them. The three mortals were still there which was good. Rooted in fear or entranced by what was going on, whatever it was he wouldn't have to chase Stark to kill him.
The demigoddess moved to intercept him and he ceased his movement. He had to take this extremely carefully. He didn't want to kill her, considering who she was but with his rising annoyance it was becoming increasingly hard to keep his patience in check.
The mortal called upon him.
And the mortal would face the consequences of his actions.
"To protect Anthony Stark." The woman said. Not that it needed to be. It was evident why she was here. He would have to be more specific. Why was she preventing him, the Sword of Olympus, from carrying this out? "Turn back, Apollyon."
He was her superior in every way.
She held no dominion over him and Percy was growing increasingly incensed. The winds began to howl louder as they built up in their ferocity.
"Who are you?" He leveled his blade at her. The uru metal glinting from the arcs of lightning that danced about above them. The rainwater that hit the blade causing a steam to rise from wherever it impacted, the roiling energies within the enchanted metal singing a baleful song, begging to be used. "I think its rude that you know who I am."
She hesitated. The first sign that she was uncomfortable with the situation. Though she didn't respond verbally, not immediately at least, she did have the decency to peel the cowling hood from her head.
He cocked his head. The sense of familiarity growing but he still couldn't place where they could have met. He figured it was during the war as that was quite possibly the only place they could have done so as it was the only time that he had direct contact with any of Trivia's children.
Then it clicked as she snapped her fingers and a puff of that orangish-gold colored mist erupted in a cocoon around her form before she flicked it. The shimmering cocoon cascaded as if it were the rain as well.
Her previous form was an illusion, clouded in a concentrated layer of Veil Magic. Instead of golden robes, she wore a form-fitting leather and chainmail cuirass over a flowing but simple and functional dark golden dress with dark black boots. Silver bracers covered her arms that were etched with intricate designs. That bronze amulet still adorned her chest and a simple wooden handle that was attached to her hip.
But it was her more facial features that changed the most. Instead of the sharp near hawkish that she had previously sported, they grew softer but still had the angular and regal look that Romans were more known for but also the slightly gaunt look that the Children of the Magic Goddess had a tendency to adopt given their preference for solitude.
Her head was now adorned in a platinum blonde colored hair that was done in a simple ponytail but also had a braided circlet that crowned her head. The marked traits of a child of the Magic Goddess were there. Unnatural colored hair. Obsidian and void dark eyes.
He recognized her immediately after her transition. Not her choice of attire but her features. If there was any other living demigod on this Earth that actually gave him pause other than Reyna, it was probably the woman standing before him.
"Morgana Le Fey." He inclined his head slightly. The last they met was the day before the final battle in the war. She responded with a sharp nod. Percy had honestly thought her dead but in hindsight it was probably a given that killing a two thousand year old demigoddess sorceress would be rather difficult.
If the Son of Poseidon wasn't on edge beforehand, he definitely was now.
"I'm going to ask again. Turn back." She hardened her resolve and readied her stance.
"Why are you here? You of all people should know that going against me is not something that is just done off-handedly."
She visibly cringed at his words. He had definitely struck a nerve there, meaning that there was something bigger at hand here. Something she was trying to hide.
Still, his entire being desired to kill Stark. Regardless of what may happen, the mortal called for him.
And he would get what he called for.
"You interfere with Fate too much.." She conceded, a low growl emanating from her as she did so. His eyes widened ever so slightly. "Where you walk, Fate becomes muddled at best and obscured at worst."
His eyes then narrowed. Thoughts of the meeting on Olympus a year ago flooding his mind. The implications of her words making him reach a disturbing conclusion rather fast. Somehow, she knew that he wasn't bound by the Three Spinners any longer. For now, Stark would live.
Because if she knew, then she couldn't be left alive. Not with the risk she posed with having that information. Taking it to a certain Olympian and he would have to contend with the King of Olympus and that was something he very much wanted to avoid.
It was time to throw down. "And how exactly does this involve you?" Percy maneuvered before the woman, standing a good five meters away across from her, with his back to the cliffside and where the ocean lay below.
Her own stupidity for confronting him in his own domain but for all he knew she would have planned for that already. He wouldn't put it past the sorceress to have done so. Even so, he was already calling upon tendrils of water to rise from its surface and begin to slowly snake the cliffside, never rising to enter her vision but ready to strike and make themselves known when he called upon them to do their work.
She seemed to know exactly what he was doing as she began to ready herself as well, drawing the hilt that was attached to her waist where her a blade of her own formed into life. It looked very much like a spatha as well but instead of metal the blade was formed of that orange and golden mist which also casted a luminescent glow about her and the area around her.
She then leveled the magic blade at him while bringing another hand into a pinching gesture that then erupted into what looked to be an asian hand fan upon which she rested the orangish blade atop it.
"I have seen many timelines in which I die. However, all those outcomes became distorted the moment you interfered in New York. When I looked again, all timelines lead to this exact point. Beyond appearing here, I can see no further. So either I die here or you do."
She doesn't know exactly know what was going on. Which was a relief but her words incensed him. She could have just not showed up and then they wouldn't have to flip a coin to see who was going to walk away standing.
She spoke once again as he breathed deeply to clear his headspace. "Just as you have been charged to protect this world. So have I. If that means I must kill you to do so, then so be it."
But he digressed. Percy had quite frankly heard enough at that point. If she was set on seeing this play out, then Percy would be sure to be the one that went home at the end of the day.
"Let's agree to disagree." Percy bit out. He curled his wrist, willing Aegis to come forth.
Only it didn't. He chanced a glance towards his wrist. Several small and dull arcane symbols were wrapped around his charm bracelet. Wards. He growled and mentally berated himself for allowing her to get the upper hand already.
She had been casting spells this entire time, just as he had feared. Luckily, he still had Tempest and given its own innate magics and enchantments it was doubtful that Morgana had not at the very least attempted to divest him of all his weaponry.
Still, he attacked. Not willing to give the sorceress any other moment of opportunity, he darted forward alongside a pair of sharp spires of ocean water that flanked him.
She was not idle either. That conjured fan slashed towards him sending three slashes of magic towards him. The two spires collapsed in on themselves but being replaced by more just as they did.
The bolt of magic directed at him was dissipated against his sword as he slashed upwards, falling like so many dying sparks and embers to the ground.
Percy had easily closed the distance between the two and, flowing from his first upwards strike into a two handed downwards slash against Morgana who brought her conjured blade up to meet him. The resulting clash of blades created a shockwave at the amount of force that was brought to bear, causing a couple of the remaining walls to crumble and topple over.
But Morgana, like all other Children of the Magic Goddess, could not match raw strength as Percy pressed the metal downwards further onto her, both of the blades coming dangerously close to digging into her shoulder as she was pressed further into the ground.
She knew this and quickly receded and bent backwards as Percy slashed at her neck. The Son of Poseidon though brough his foot upwards and kicked her abdomen with enough force that any mortal would've died from the shattering of bones.
She, however, while not as durable as the more war-oriented demigods, was still a demigoddess and a powerful one at that. Instead she simply went sailing backwards, and flipped over in the air to land on her feet at a crouch.
He didn't advance and instead several tendrils of water sprang from behind him and lanced towards the woman.
Morgana wasn't idle. She immediately conjured a large and bright luminescent orangish gold shield to protect herself from the spires of striking water. The spires struck true and began dissipating into embers as they pierced into and past the summoned construct.
Immediately, she waved her hand and the tendrils all erupted in waves of flame that took the form of serpents causing hissing steam and dark smoke to resound and be thrown into the air as the rain picked up in its intensity.
Percy, on the other hand, was preparing for such an outcome, knowing that she would attempt to use his own powers against him. So with wide gesture of his own, the water that had fallen from the clouds above and the droplets in the air, rose into the air as thick blanket around him. The rain stopped to form form the defense against the fire.
The leaping and weaving serpents of fire, dissipating into hot steam as they collided and dove into the blanket of water. The ones that she was controlling this her conjured sword and fan lanced towards him. But with the excess water in the air, he took the attack head on as much of the heat and thus the intensity of the fire was lost.
He could take the heat and advanced forwards towards the sorceress as the wave of fire washed over and around him. The heat was intense but he had endured far worse.
He stalked forward, cutting down bolts of orange magical energy as he did so. Morgana sending flurry after flurry of them towards him in an attempt to overwhelm him but all it did was slow him down ever so slightly.
She grasped at a still standing wall that began cracking and then sent it flying towards him. Percy sidestepped the chunk of wall easily and he got closer to the demigoddess.
She began another spell as she set aside her conjured blade and fan and gestured with her hand, circling them widely.
Percy was not having it.
Still a good couple meters away from her, he slashed downward, violently.
A roar of thunder and a bolt of lightning shot downwards from the sky. Morgana barely had time to react. The woman immediately abandoning her spell and instead thrusting her arms and hands upwards as the bolt struck a quickly conjured shield.
It held and Percy snarled in distaste. He slashed downwards again as he continued forward, calling forth another divine bolt of lightning against her. As if explosions and cannons were being fired the bolts rang and pierced the air. She thrust a hand towards him and summoned forth golems of concrete and rebar to slow him down.
The shield continued to hold and he called forth another bolt of lightning to keep her occupied as he continued to close the short distance but also weaving and cutting down the constructs that attempted smash him into a fine red paste against the foundations of Stark Mansion. They crumbled like so many puppets cut from their strings.
Percy closed the distance raised his sword and she looked up at him with wide eyes.
His senses tingled and that was the only warning he got as he was thrown backwards by a beam of light.
As focused as Percy was on Morgana and with the rain having stopped to deal with the fire serpents, he had forgotten about the mortal that had brought him here as he was thrown backwards and rolled to a stop.
The Son of Poseidon growled in annoyance and summoned forth the rain again, and the light drizzle began to pick up once again as his senses extended to the water and fog that began to wash over the area. He wouldn't be caught off guard again as he thrust an open palm towards the now flying armored man.
Tendrils of water lanced towards the Stark who weaved in and around them as he fired repulsor blasts to collapse them. But for every one that was destroyed, another took its place. Percy wouldn't have to worry about the Iron Man any longer, not unless he wished to drown again.
For now though, he would focus his attention on the bigger threat and that was Morgana.
During that time though she had taken the opportunity to begin weaving her hands before her, a thick and inscribed holographic sea green image flaring to life before her as a the bronze amulet began to open and shine green from within. He could see the blood trickling from her nose. Most likely from the exertion of having to protect against three divine bolts of lightning.
He heard a serene and melodious whisper edge his mind but didn't pay any attention to it as he looked to the glowing green amulet.
Instead, to prevent whatever spell that she was casting from being executed he brought his sword down again violently.
And she widened her eyes at the action knowing what was about to happen.
Another bolt of lightning shot downwards at her.
But instead of dispelling her current action, she thrust her had towards him mid-casting. He saw a wave of green energy rush towards him and he was thrown off his feet at the overwhelming force that hit him when it connected.
He saw the bolt of lightning connect but that was the last of it as he was sent over the cliff and into the surf below.
He heard that serene and melodious whisper again and then something pull him.
And then darkness overcame both his vision and mind.
'Knowing too much of your future is never a good thing.'
-Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief
You didn't think that Tony's perspective in Chapter 4 was just a coincidence now did you?
So this is the first official appearance of the Ancient One, who in this universe is Morgana Le Fey, a daughter of Trivia. and coincidentally the one that the Arthurian mythos is based off of. Hmm. Just as Daedalus and Icarus have their own mythos so does Avalon. But that will be explored in the future!
Before I get reviews saying 'Percy would have wiped the floor with the Ancient One/Morgana!' I did hint at the confrontation back in chapter 19 I believe, that Magic Users tend to give him much more difficulty when he fought them than others, if they were given ample enough time. And Morgana Le Fey, as stated is a two thousand year old sorceress and a powerful one at that. It also hinted in this chapter, that she had been preparing for this fight since his intervention in New York. A full year of preparation against someone that was…pulled for lack of a better term to the fight at a moment's notice.
Regardless, let me hear your thoughts on this first chapter. You didn't think it would be as simple as doing Iron Man 3 now did you? Maybe guess where I'm throwing Percy!
If you have any questions at all feel free to drop a comment! You can also find me on Discord, the Emerald Library! I am on there near daily talking about real-time progress of chapters as well having reference pictures that I work with to derive inspiration from!
You can find the link to that on my profile!