TIMELINE
-PJO
-Avengers
-HOO
-This story
Chapter 1:
It all started when Rachel Elizabeth Dare had convinced me to go outside. Annabeth and I had been cooped up in my cabin for a couple days (I know, I know — nothing happened - I swear!). We needed comfort from each other, as the Tartarus and Gaea flashbacks had been consuming our days and nights. Aside from the nightmares, and general terribleness - it was quite peaceful though, with no one to bother us. That is until Rachel came knocking.
"It's not healthy to be cooped up for too long. You guys need fresh air pronto." She demanded, and long story short - there I was walking with Annabeth along Manhattan. Nearby, the Stark towers were visible, but Annabeth was unusually quiet. Normally, she would have been rambling about the architecture - something I would have pretended to understand. But she was tired, and I was tired - physically, mentally, and emotionally. So we walked in comfortable silence, her hand enclosed in mine. The day was beautiful - the sun shining brightly, and a cool breeze in the air. Everything seemed as perfect as it could possibly be under the circumstances.
"Stark! Tony Stark! Over here Tony Stark!" Paparazzi swarmed around a dark haired man with sunglasses. He just waved good-naturedly, and flashed a dazzling smile that would blind even Apollo.
"Ah the papparzo, no time today guys. Excuse me, excuse me." He slipped into a dark car, and then just as soon as he had appeared, he was gone. Most of the paparazzi left while muttering dejectedly, but a couple decided to stick around just in case he came back.
"Tony Stark - Leo would have been -", I cut off in the middle of my sentence. The war had been only two months ago. Leo's absence still loomed heavily on the camp, and our lives. It still hurt everyday not hearing his stupid jokes. Annabeth squeezed my hand.
"Leo would have been so excited." She finished for me. As I casually pulled her into a hug, she tensed.
"Monster. On your 11 o'clock." She pulled her drakon bone sword out of her bag, as I whirled around and uncapped riptide. The monster looked to be some sort of nasty-looking hellhound-telekhine mix. I mean really, talk about a face only your mother could love.
Annabeth and I lunged to opposite sides as the monster bounded forward. Annabeth dive-rolled underneath the monster as I vaulted over it, us both stabbing it at the same time. Gold monster dust rained down on us. As I was shaking it out of my hair, I heard the shutter of a camera.
"Click click." Too late I realised that the paparazzi were still there. Before I could react, Annabeth was grabbing my hand and pulling me around the corner, down the street, and into the nearest alley.
"Crap!" Annabeth hissed. They had gotten photographs of us, and who knew what the mist had made us look like. With our luck, the headlines of the New York Times tomorrow would read "TWO KIDS KILL INNOCENT DOG" or something like that.
"I thought they would have left by then. I mean really… don't they have anything better to do with their lives?" I muttered.
"We need to get back to camp. Now." Annabeth told me. She quickly ducked her head out of the entrance of the alley, scanning for any photographers.
"All clear." I handed Annabeth my jacket, and she pulled the hoodie over her head.
"We can go to see my mom. She lives near here anyway." I looked over at Annabeth as she nodded solemnly. Leave it to Tony Stark to ruin our day, and possibly put us on the Government's watch list, all by stepping out of Stark Towers.
