Chapter 2: Super Spies are Super Lame!

Percy and Annabeth were walking back from the library (Annabeth dragged Percy in, Percy dragged Annabeth out) when they first noticed the change. Percy swept Annabeth into his arms and kissed her, before pulling away to whisper, "We're being followed," with a smile on his face, trying not to show that something was wrong.

Annabeth rolled her eyes but played along. "Obviously Seaweed Brain. I noticed it five minutes ago. You think it's a threat?" She playfully bumped him and kept walking.

"I don't think so. I'm not sensing a monster in the nearby area. I think it's mortal." He let his confusion show on his face. Why would a mortal be following us? He wondered. As far as mortals knew, he was just a normal teenager that had just finished high school, not some hero that has to go on annual world-saving field trips. Nope, perfectly normal teenager on a perfectly normal walk with his completely normal girlfriend. It's not like they'd just been attacked by empousai. It was just two telkhines, and they were easily dealt with.

They continued walking back to Percy's apartment while cautiously surveying their surroundings. Finally, after a few turns, Percy wrapped his arm around Annabeth and pointed at a billboard advertising a Broadway show across the street, and quietly said "Red-headed woman, light blue jacket, in front of that sandwich shop."

Annabeth looked curiously at the billboard while carefully searching the foot traffic below it in her peripheral vision. Sure enough, a woman stood outside said sandwich shop, looking around disinterestedly while eating a sandwich and talking into her phone, twenty feel below the billboard, and to the right.

"Are you sure?" Annabeth questioned, still looking at the board.

"Positive, I've seen her a few times since we left the library, though she almost fooled me by switching the jacket. She's good."

Annabeth quickly analyzed the situation. "Alright, let's take the scenic route through Central. We can confront her there."

Percy grinned. "And that is why you make always the plans, Wise Girl." He pecked her quickly on the lips.

Annabeth grinned. "Somebody has to in this relationship. You would have just led her back to camp."

Percy grimaced, knowing she was probably right. "Come on," he muttered and then started walking to the nearby Central Park.

Annabeth grinned victoriously before jogging after him, knowing she'd won tat exchange. She looped her arm through his before leading him towards a seemingly random trail head that she happened to know (thanks to the Second Titan War) led to a seldom-used meadow with a small stream just in case. It never hurt to be prepared after all.

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Natasha carefully watched the young couple while calmly eating her sandwich.

"They just headed off towards the park," she told Clint who was mindlessly chatting while she reluctantly tailed the young man.

"I thought they were going back to his apartment? Have you been made?" Clint asked, suddenly all business.

"No, I don't think so. They seem to just want a change in scenery. Try to stay close by though. Just in case."

She could practically see Clint's grin as he replied. "No problem Nat! You really should have come sit with me though. Those two lovebirds have barely changed their routine for the past month that SHIELD's been watching them. You should relax."

She rolled her eyes, turned around, and glared at him through the sandwich shop glass. "I'll relax when this mission's over. It may be a stupid assignment that any green agent could do, but it's still an assignment." She hung up and started to covertly follow the tall, mysterious, dark-haired teen and his blonde girlfriend.

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Clint was still grinning as he stood up and stretched. He watched Natasha stroll into the park after once again switching her outfit and throwing her hair up to make sure she wasn't recognized.

Clint walked out to where his motorcycle was parked by the curb, started it, and drove to the edge of the park where Nat had entered in case of the unlikely event that she needed help.

Nearly twenty minutes passed before Clint was startled by Natasha's loud voice shouting in his ear. "Clint, get your sorry butt in here!"

Clint nearly fell off his bike in surprise. "Nat? What's going on?!" he shouted into his mouthpiece.

"This kid is…." Nat's voice was suddenly cut off and the only thing Clint could hear was static.

Clint disconnected and immediately shot along the path Natasha had took. After startling several joggers and a sharp left turn down a clearly unused path that Clint's GPS indicated Nat had taken, he was startled by a scene of massive destruction in a small clearing. The place was completely swamped, and signs of more water damage were evident across the clearing. Clint arrived and momentarily just stared at the flooding around him.

Then his eyes fell on the still form at the base of one of the trees on the edge of the clearing. "NAT!" he yelled, sprinting over to her while simultaneously stringing his bow, automatically nocking an arrow, and searching the rest of the clearing for any possible threats.

Everything was still, and, aside from the splashes coming from the grass as he ran across the clearing, quiet. When he reached Natasha, he knelt and checked her pulse. Relief filled him when he found it, and he quickly checked over her bodies for large injuries. Besides the large knot on her head and a few nasty-looking bruises she seemed fine. Her breathing was regular, and no limbs were sticking out at weird angles.

He stood, and once again surveyed the clearing before calling Fury. "Director, Agent Romanoff's been compromised. I just found her in a small clearing, on the south side of Central Park. I'm calling for a pick-up." He paused for a moment listening to Fury begin his tirade of questions. "Yes, I believe it was Jackson, she was tailing him. No, I didn't see how. I was unable to pursue due to Romanoff's condition. I wasn't about to leave her defenseless." Clint winced as Fury shouted even louder. "What did you expect me to do? She's freaking unconscious! When will our transport be here?" He paused listening to Fury's reluctant response. "Alright, I'll come report to you as soon as I land."

A few minutes later a helicopter with the SHIELD emblem emblazoned on its side landed in the center of the clearing. A team of paramedics rushed out and pulled Natasha onto a gurney before wheeling her onto the chopper, followed quickly by Clint. Because the chopper was in a hurry to leave to get Agent Romanoff back to base and to avoid making a scene, no one noticed the slim, dark figures at the edge of the clearing that slipped away once the helicopter was out of sight.

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Far below, in the darkest parts of the Underworld, Tartarus was preparing for war.

He had truly been preparing for the past two millennia, but the recent defeat of the Titans, the Giants, and Gaea, as well as the escape of those two puny demigods from him, one of the oldest primordials in the world, had caused him to accelerate his plans. Monsters were regenerating faster than ever, training and preparing to be unleashed in the mortal world, and he was personally supervising them as they pushed against the boundaries he had set, causing the monsters near him to shiver uneasily, while casting nervous glances at him. After those demigods had escaped, he had found himself taking physical form more often, enjoying the feeling of terror it inspired in those around him. He laughed maniacally as he watched monsters disappear into the normal world.

However, Tartarus had to be careful. He was still only allowing the barest trickle of monsters to pass into the physical world. He chuckled soundlessly. The calm before the storm. Those demigods had no idea what was coming for them. And the first ones to feel his wrath would be the spawn of Poseidon and Athena.

Besides, the timing had never been more perfect. With the arrival of the Norse gods (Tartarus snorted, if they could even be called gods) had opened the eyes of billions of mortals around the Earth, severely weakening the Mist. So now, when he opened the floodgates and allowed his monsters to pour out of the pit, it would complete shred the veil over the eyes of mortals, forcing demigods into the spotlight and turning them against them.

Now all he was waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Whispers had reached even Tartarus about the events that day, the first conflict between mortals and demigods in centuries. The entire earth had felt the shudders in the Mist when it occurred. Tartarus knew that to use this to his full advantage, he had to be patient, allow the mortals' fear of the unknown to grow, before he began his attack.

He closed his eyes, imagining the carnage that would follow.

Ah, Perseus Jackson, he thought. Not even the gods will be able to save you.

A/N: Hi guys! Thank you so much for those of you who have already followed this story and added it to your favorites. This is my first story, so I'm super nervous and excited to see how it turns out. I hope you enjoy this chapter! I figured I'd get it done as soon as possible so I could keep your interest, but I am a college student so don't expect daily updates! Please review and let me know what you think of the plot so far! I would really appreciate feedback and suggestions (but no promises on me using those suggestions!). I'm just rolling with the story, seeing where my imagination takes me. I'm as excited as you guys are to see how this turns out. Hope you enjoy the ride, cause I'm pretty sure it's going to be a bumpy one.

See you next chapter!

stiltsrosko OUT!