Chapter One
Location Unknown
"Do it," a voice rumbled.
In the darkness, Hecate approached the man.
"Yes, you are the one. You are a noble, powerful warrior, and we need your help. You do not know us, and I fear that, for now, you will not know until the appropriate time. But know that I have blessed you. You will have knowledge beyond what you previously could comprehend, and for a little while, you shall be trained; but you will learn quickly, and you will be mighty. Go now, you are blessed."
As Mack Bolan lay asleep in his bed, his dreams returned to their usual pattern of reminding him of the ghosts of those he lost; he would not remember those words until later the next day. He didn't know it yet, but he was about to be plunged into not one, but two worlds, both of which were previously hidden from him. The Executioner's war everlasting was about to take on a new direction.
Stony Man Farm, Virginia
"Morning, Barb," a gruff voice said.
"Hal, it's good to see you, as always, Barbra Price replied. "You want coffee?"
"Did Aaron make it?"
"Thankfully, no. I did."
"Well then, I'll accept the offer; I'll take it black, if you don't mind."
The Stony Man mission controller smiled and walked over to the pot of coffee. She poured a generous amount of the steaming liquid into a mug and, to Hal Brognola's grateful acknowledgement, handed the steaming brew to her friend.
"Do we have anything new today?" She asked.
"Surprisingly, no. As I'm sure you're aware, Able Team just finished up their mission in Arizona, Phoenix Force made it back in one piece from Africa, and Striker just got back from a mission in Sudan. Last I heard, he's been on R and R in New York for a change."
"That's because there aren't any ski slopes open," Pryce quipped.
Able Team and Phoenix Force referred to eight commandos specifically stationed and operating out of Stony Man Farm. The Farm, as a collective unit, served as the covert line of defense against anyone who sought to destroy America. Home to a total of nine of the world's finest commandos and a technically savvy intelligence team, only two people outside of the Farm's personnel knew of its existence; the President of the United States, and Hal Brognola, who was the head of the Sensitive Operations Group and a high-ranking official of the Justice Department. Brognola, when he was not at the Farm located in the Blueridge Mountains of Virginia, was usually found at Justice Department headquarters in Washington D.C. sitting at his desk behind an ever-growing mountain of paperwork or at the White House serving as a liaison between the Sensitive Operations Group and the President himself.
Striker was the code name for Mack Bolan, AKA the Executioner. He was a battle-hardened warrior who worked at arm's length with the SOG, but he was so much of a patriot that he fought a never-ending war against foreign and domestic terrorists. Bolan and the rest of Stony Man were unknown entities to the rest of the world, and very few enemies survived after an encounter with any one of the Farm's commandos. This whole endeavor, they all knew, was a thankless job, but if it was the price for freedom, then they would pay it until their last breath.
"Well, I think I'll check up on the tech crew," Price said after a few minutes. "Able and Phoenix will be arriving soon, and if nothing pressing is going on, I think it's time they get some R and R, too. You look like you could use a day off as well, Hal."
"You know I could, Barb, but days off are few and far between."
Camp Half-Blood, Long Island, New York
Percy Jackson sat cross-legged by the lake, listening to the sounds of camp and the forest. He smiled, as he was really enjoying the fact that for once in his life, he wasn't faced with a threatening situation. There were no monsters out to get him, and it had been like that following the demigod victory in the war against Gaea and the giants. That had been a particularly nasty war, and the gouges in the earth served as a stark reminder of the brutal fight almost two months later. For a few weeks, the entire camp was doing all it could to repair the damage and try to gain closure of those they had lost. Leo Valdez was remembered by all those who knew and fought alongside him for his sacrifice, but he didn't have to be remembered long, because just a few days prior, he showed up on his mechanical dragon, Festus.
Leo also had brought Calypso, and Percy thought of his own encounter with her on Ogygia, where she had been isolated for the past three thousand years after the first Titan War. He had promised, and failed, to rescue her, but Leo had pulled through. Percy, if he was being honest, thought that there would be a lot of tension between the three of them, but as soon as Calypso saw him, she made it clear that there were no hard feelings.
"Percy," a familiar voice called. "Chiron wants to talk to you!"
Percy rose, wondering just what was going on. If Chiron wanted a meeting, that usually meant there would be a quest to follow. Thanking Annabeth, they walked side by side into the Big House.
"Hello," said an unfamiliar voice.
Percy looked up, startled, and was staring right into the smiling face of an elderly man with a long beard. His eyes were twinkling, and he wore purple robes.
"Ah, where are my manners? My name is Professor Albus Dumbledore; I am the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please, do not worry, because Chiron is on his way. I already know Ms. Chase, but what is your name, young man?"
Percy was thoroughly confused, so much so that he failed to respond until Annabeth kicked him.
"Um, my name is Percy Jackson, and I'm a son of Poseidon."
"Fascinating!" Dumbledore exclaimed.
"Yeah, you could say that," Leo quipped, strolling into the room followed by Nico, Hazel, Piper, Frank, Will, Calypso, and Jason.
"Oh my! Who are you, friends? I'm Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
"I think we can all introduce ourselves in a moment," Chiron said as he entered the Big House. "Let me just get settled in, and why don't all of you go ahead and take a seat?"
Once everyone was seated, Chiron allowed everyone to introduce themselves with just their names. He made it clear that there would be no time for sarcasm, and promptly looked at Leo, causing him to put on a mock distraught look for a moment.
"Excellent! Now that we all at least no each other's names, let me just say that my friend Professor Dumbledore here needs help. Professor, would you care to explain?"
"Certainly! Thank you, Chiron. Well, I know you all must have questions, and a lot of them, I presume. I am a wizard, or put more simply, I know how to use magic. You all are familiar with Hecate, the goddess of magic, among other things. We wizards are the result of her blessing long ago; we are born with the power to do magic. With that being said, there is a very dark and powerful wizard—"
Dumbledore was abruptly cut off by the door flying open and Rachel Dare loudly proclaiming that something was happening. All the demigods and Calypso immediately went for weapons, and even Dumbledore's wand was out in a flash, before anyone could order him to stand down. They all ran outside, where they could see far off that there was quite a battle raging. It was too far to tell who was fighting, but the fact that it was so close to the camp was a cause for the demigods, followed by Dumbledore, to sprint to the fight. Chiron tried to hold back the elderly man, but he gave up when the Hogwarts professor turned back, shook his head, and continued running.
The fight was taking place two miles out from camp, and as Percy was in the lead, he was the first to see an army of monsters and hooded figures battling a lone Caucasian man. The man, from what Percy could see, stood six foot three, and it looked like he was completely unarmed. Dumbledore was first to attack, sending a flash of red light at one of the hooded figures. Instantly, several of the figures and a good chunk of monsters turned their attention to the group. Several flashes of green light flew in their direction, as monsters began jeering at the demigods.
"Take those monsters," Dumbledore barked. "I'll take care of the Death Eaters. I need someone to keep an eye on that man at all times; I think he's a muggle."
With that, Percy, Leo, Jason, Annabeth, Calypso, Piper, Frank, and Hazel plunged head-on into the fray, their swords and daggers flashing. Nico and Will charged into the battle at an angle, watching the man as he too, was busy fighting. Nico kept one eye on him as he began slashing monsters with his stygian iron sword, turning them into dust. The man was battling two of the hooded figures in close quarters combat. The dude was good, blocking punches with ease as if he did this sort of thing for a living. It was looking like no matter how hard his two attackers tried, the man was better. He blocked everything they threw at him and dodged the flashes of green light with a fluidity Nico had never seen in combat. In desperation, one of the man's opponents waved their wand, conjuring up a knife out of thin air and hurling it at the guy's throat. Both Nico and Will, still slashing at the monsters in their way, made a beeline for him, knowing that it was probably too late to save him. That was, until, as he dodged the oncoming weapon, he caught it.
The two demigods watched as the action around them began to settle, with Dumbledore finishing the last of the wizards. The Caucasian man, now holding the knife, dropped into a fighting stance and waited, spotting the Demigods out of the corner of his eye. As one of the figures raised a wand, the man sliced it in half before anything could happen. He tackled the wizard and as the other one sent a flash of green light in his direction, he used the disarmed wizard as a shield. The green light struck the wizard, who crumpled, the mask falling off to reveal the face of a man with blond hair. Dumbledore knocked the final wizard out, and Nico looked around him to see his friends with looks of confusion on their faces. The man walked up to the group, his hands held up in a show of peace.
"Thank you for saving me," he said in a deep, authoritative voice.
"It's not a problem," Dumbledore stated. "May I ask your name?"
"I'm Matthew Cooper," Bolan replied. "Pleased to meet you."
"You as well," Dumbledore said, shaking the man's hand. "My name is Albus Dumbledore, and I think we should head back to camp."
"But he won't get past the barrier," Percy said.
"Oh, but I think he will," a new voice interjected, causing everyone except Bolan and Dumbledore to jump.
Everyone turned, noticing that Hecate was standing a few feet to the left of the Executioner. The demigods went to their knees, and Bolan was about to follow suit simply out of respect, but she spoke.
"As you were, young demigods; I need to keep this brief, so Chiron and Albus will fill you in on what's actually happening. I have blessed this man," she pointed at Bolan, "and I want all of you to train him. Albus, please, when you are training the demigods, train him as well. Oh, and Calypso? You need to get back to Olympus."
There was a small pop, and Hecate was gone. For a few moments, no one moved, that was until Dumbledore broke the shocked silence.
"Well, friends, I think it's time we continue our conversation!"