Prologue:
Let's begin this story, where all stories must. This story is about a hero, who died a hero's death. Not the most memorable of deaths, but certainly, in his case, one of the most honourable. This hero was part of many prophecies, and fought for what he believed in, whether the gods liked it or not. This hero was one of the most powerful of his time. Many strived to be him, others simply wished to be his friend. Anyone with him on their army or team would be guaranteed automatic win.
This is the world of Percy Jackson. Now, dearest reader, let us find out more about his family and friends.
17th January. 1300 Hours. Battle of Loki.
His once windswept hair fell stuck to his tanned skin, his glowing skin fading with every breath. His, usually powerful and deep, sea green eyes lost their spark, draining their life every time he inhaled his last few breaths of air.
"You cannot die, Perseus. I won't let you!" pleaded the God of Thunder. He watched as his demi-god friend's life slipped away from him. Rain and tears mixed together on the cheeks of Thor.
"Thor-" he struggled to speak, "Please. Le- Let me- Go…" the God of Thunder held the hero's wrist, looking for the remains of a pulse. It was there. Barely.
"Please… Stay. I can get Apollo-" Thor would have continued rambling, but the boy interrupted him.
Percy hesitated between each word, trying to have the strength to continue. "Not- Enough time. Please… Finish thi- this fight…" Thor's vision blurred as he realised what his dear friend had implied.
Thor held his friend's hand for dear life, but still saw Percy's life slip before his very eyes like grains of sand through his fingers. His young friend's eyes slowly drifted closed and his grip on Thor loosened. Rain poured down on the Son of Poseidon. Satyrs and Dryads came out from their hiding places to mourn for the dead hero. Some Dryads came closer to grieve for their warrior. If the enemy realised what truly happened, they'd win. Thor refused to believe it, but Percy was one of the few mortals (sort of) who didn't judge him to be some daft god or puny imbecile from the Royal line of Asgard.
"I will forever remember you, hero of Olympus." he spoke, finally letting the pain of his loss seep into his voice. Slowly, he stood. His so-called brother had done this; he had killed his one true godly friend. He had ordered for those creatures to attack Earth. He will regret harming Thor's family and friends. Messing with Asgard is one thing, messing with the Hero of Olympus and his life is asking for murder. Thor stepped away from his deceased friend, letting all the dryads finally realise who was dead.
Thor spun his hammer around in an arc and let it pull him into the darkened skies. He watched as the portal opened, letting in the feared monsters. Iron Man flew through the mess and blasted every being that he could while people swarmed below. Loki walked onto the ledge of Stark Towers, watching and enjoying every minute of the war he brought upon the Earth while his dark green cloak billowed in the winds. Thor landed on the lower part of the ledge and spoke to his brother, "Loki!" Loki finally turned to the god of thunder, "Turn off the Tessaract or I'll destroy it!" Thor's eyes narrowed at the black haired God, mad about his dead friend.
"You can't. There is no stopping it; there is only… the War!" Loki gestured his sceptre at Thor, prepared to blow him to smithereens.
Thor's jaw clenched and the grip on the hammer grew tighter, "So be it." He spoke. Loki jumped off the ledge, raising his weapon for a fatal blow. Thor dodged the strike and slammed Mjǫlnir into the shaft. Loki swung at Thor's head but the god dropped down to the ground and jumped back up. This continued for a while with spells and elements clashing against weapons. Police swarmed the streets, trying to get everybody to safer ground. Tony worked together with Natasha and Clint to get rid of more of the feral creatures. Once they were destroyed Natasha and Clint flew their jet over to the terrace of Stark Towers where Loki and Thor were fighting to the death. After attempting to harm the jet (and pretty much combusting it), Thor tackled Loki to prevent further damage. He'd already lost Percy, he couldn't lose anyone else. Thor fought with renewed energy, punching Loki in the ribcage repeatedly.
Hawkeye, the Black Widow and Captain America landed in one piece after having one of the wings on fire, and ran out to join the battle. They soon stopped running as they noticed the main problem. The Portal. A creature the size of a Drakon emerged from the glowing blue hole. Screaming of people, combined with the screeching of the impenetrable skin filled their ears as they gawked at the creature. "Stark, you seeing this?" said the Captain through the Com-Link.
The billionaire responded in awe, "Seeing. Still working on believing…Where's Banner? He shown up yet?"
"Banner?" asked Steve, wondering why the billionaire wanted to include the Hulk in the little game of fun.
Tony responded "Just keep me posted." Then he spoke to his minicomputer, "JARVIS find me a soft spot." The computer scanned the giant monster, while Thor had his hammer on Loki's throat.
"Look at this! Look around you! You think this madness will end with your rule?!" Thor's voice echoed over the wind, breaking Loki out of the trance he had gotten when looking at the chaos below him.
"It's too late." Loki panted, trying to catch his breath, "It's too late to stop it."
Thor refused to take that as an answer, "No. We can. Together."
Taking the chance Thor had unwillingly given Loki, he thrust a silver dagger into the side of Thor. The thunder god dropped to his knees in pain.
"The sentiment." muttered Loki to himself, grinning like a madman. Thor's body screamed in pain while he shot up at Loki and grabbed his wrists then kicked him into the glass panelling behind him. Thor then pulled Loki into a wrestling lift, holding Loki above his head he dropped the ex-prince of Asgard onto the cold stone ground. Loki used this as his escape and rolled off the side of the building, letting one of his minion's catch him below as Thor watched.
The rest of the fight went as a blur to the newly formed Avengers. Monsters got hit, buildings turned to rubble, lightning struck the aliens flooding the streets and airways, and Hulk became a spider-monkey on steroids.
The council, in all their black and white glory, commissioned a missile to blow the Manhattan area to dust. Director Fury destroyed one of the birds but another got away and dropped the missile that would blow the area up. Tony shortly discovered this and sent the missile into the portal just as Natasha was about to close it. After waiting about 3 minutes for the Red and Gold suit to plummet out of the worm-hole, Natasha pushed the remains of Loki's sceptre into the energy sphere which prevented anyone from touching the Tessaract. Tony landed on the hard concrete and the scream of Hulk stopped Thanatos from visiting a billionaire.
That was a day of sheer damn destruction and pain. For Iron Man; well, he died and was brought back. Captain America; he had to protect the Tessaract. Black Widow; she almost lost her long time love. Hulk; he gave into the 'Other Guy' once again. Thor; he lost his friend, and his brother. Hawkeye; he ran out of arrows.
The Hero of Olympus, Bane of Monsters, Bearer of the Titan's Curse, Holder of the Curse of Achilles, Face of Demigods (and more) was dead.
20th February. 0900 Hours. Stark Tower.
Thor walked through the hall of SHEILD's hellicarrier. He wasn't wearing his usual red cloak and chest plate, no; he was wearing a dark mortal shirt and dark mortal trousers. His blonde hair lay on his shoulders just as it always did, but now it was slightly neater than usual.
His head was down as though he was going to do something his father wouldn't approve of. In some ways he was – he was attending the funeral of Perseus Jackson. His friend, the friend whom he watched die before his very eyes. He became as clear as glass and sank into the ground, just as Gaea wanted to do to him before she was lulled back to sleep by the Seven.
"Where are you going all spiffy, Goldilocks?" asked the only Tony Stark.
"I'm going to a funeral." Responded Thor. This surprised Tony. He never expected him to dress like that, let alone go to a mortal funeral.
"For who?" the Iron Man asked, letting his inquisitive side shine.
"My friend. He died during the battle of Loki." Thor's feet shuffled in nervousness, he was going to be late if Tony kept this up.
"Which friend? None of us died. Since when did you have friends on Earth anyway?" Thor rolled his eyes at Tony and responded as calmly as possible.
"I'm sorry. If I do not go soon, I will be late. Goodbye." Thor walked past the flabbergasted Tony.
Tony soon lifted his watch to his wrist and spoke "JARVIS, tell Director Fury about this little shindig. I'm sure he'd love to know."
-(O)-
20th February. 1000 Hours. Private Cemetery of the Gods.
Thor walked up to the podium that was placed behind the shroud of Percy Jackson. "Hello friends and family of Perseus Thor Jackson. I am here to say the eulogy for my noble friend. I'll try to keep this short as I know many of you have ADHD and will not be able to stay still for long." many of the demigods smirked at the god of thunder, "Percy was one of my few friends here on Earth, he was a hero to many of the people around you.
"When Percy was born on the 18th of August, he already showed promise on being my legacy. I visited Sally not long after and told her he was to be my heir. She made his middle name Thor to remember that promise, as he was already destined for great things. When he turned 12 he was already very loyal and determined. He proved that on his very first quest for the bolt. He then went to save Grover and Clarisse by travelling through the Sea of Monsters – or as the mortals know it; The Bermuda Triangle. He took the weight of the sky on his shoulders at the age of 14 and defeated Atlas. He fought in the Battle of the Labyrinth, and in the Second Titan War. He also helped in my fight against Loki. I will forever miss you, Perseus. We all will." with that the son of Odin went and sat down on his seat- not without hugging the distraught Annabeth Chase and Sally Blofis, though.
Sally soon stepped up and said her few words about her son. "Percy, we will all be forever in your debt. Hope you make it to Elysium, or knowing you, rebirth." She finished, her blue eyes were sparkling with tears as she walked down the aisle to hug Annabeth and Paul. It was now Annabeth's turn.
"Percy 'Seaweed Brain' Jackson was an amazing idiot. He fought for what he believed in and saved hundreds of lives in the seventeen years he was alive. Percy, if you're watching this, I love you. Never forget that." She and Sally stepped in front of the sea-green shroud and placed the flaming torch on the casket, letting the wafting smoke fly into the atmosphere.
-(O)-
20th February. 1100 Hours. S.H.I.E.L.D Hideaway.
The ever elusive Director Fury watched the event below with a stoic face. Tears fell down splotchy red cheeks of reception guests, and hugs were almost constantly happening as people attempted to console others in the vicinity. Despite being trained to never show emotions, the eye-patch wearing agent couldn't help but feel sorry for the family and friends of the kid they were mourning.
The wind hit his face in a douse of harsh winds, causing his one good eye to squint slightly against the drying of his eye.
A teenager, clad in dark jeans and a dark blue hoodie – a too big hoodie at that – playing with the hem of her sleeve, looked deeply troubled as she hugged another woman. The woman had greying brown hair and loving blue eyes, filled with loyalty and compassion. Tears filled the blue eyes of the woman as she held the blonde lovingly to her chest, arms wrapped tightly around her waist. She held her like a mother would her child.
"It was such a lovely speech, Annabeth. Percy would have loved it."
Fury watched as another tear travelled down Annabeth's cheek, smiling almost invisibly as the older woman rubbed her thumb against the blonde's cheekbone.
Such love within two women pulled at the nearly non-existent heart strings of the Director. His dark brown eye continued to watch the duo. The blonde had her hair out, falling over the large hoodie with the name 'JACKSON', as curls caressed the small of her lower black in an array of messy ringlets.
She must have been the girlfriend of the kid they had just buried and then burnt a shroud in remembrance. But, the question remained, who was the kid?
-(O)-
20th February. Time Unknown. Location Unknown.
They grinned happily, watching as the funeral of Percy Jackson went on. A black leather jacket concealed their shadowed face, protecting their recognisable features from the outside world. The sword remained hidden behind the longer edge of the jacket, hiding the metallic glow that would otherwise illuminate the large branch within the tree of which they were crouched.
Their outfit, entirely made of black, ultimately hid their appearance of any sights.
Their eyes showed no emotion at all and their angular jaw was clenched tightly. This is it. The Great Percy Jackson was dead.
Let the games begin…