AN: Way more Percabeth in this chapter. I just couldn't help myself.
Also, the events will make way more sense if you've watched the recent episodes of Agents of SHIELD-if you haven't I've tried to explain things so that it at least makes a little sense.
Plus, the Avengers will be introduced soon!
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 2
Percy waited for the little green light to indicate he could enter his hotel room. It wasn't just any hotel either-it was a safe haven for demigods. All over the world, demigods had created sanctuaries for any demigod, young or old, to stay for however long they wished. Annabeth and himself had set up there while they were on vacation.
He pushed open the door, beckoning the others in. Coulson, Hunter and Fitz walked in, mouths agape at the sight in front of them. The room had a full kitchen, a living room, and a complete armory and gym.
"This... could work." Coulson muttered, mostly to himself.
Percy laughed. "Yeah, I thought it might. Make yourselves at home."
Percy could tell that Hunter and Fitz were slightly uncomfortable with the whole situation, but Coulson immediately adjusted, choosing to trust his two new companions. He sat himself down on the couch before pulling out a little black box from his pocket. Percy had no idea what could possibly be important about it.
Then Coulson opened it. Suddenly, the air filled with blue holograms, displaying files and photos, all pertaining to SHIELD. Percy could practically feel the excitement radiating off of Annabeth.
"It's just like Daedalus's laptop!" Which, by the way, had been recovered by the Gods and was currently on the kitchen counter.
Coulson smiled when he saw Annabeth's face. "It's our toolbox. It has all of SHIELD's secrets within." He shuffled through some files, swiping his hand back and forth, up and down, until he located exactly what he wanted.
"Alright. I think it's time we go over the plan."
Hunter couldn't focus on the plan. It's not like he really cared that much; he trusted whatever Coulson would plan, and he was still pissed at Bobbi and Mack for what they did.
He also couldn't stop staring at the girl. She looked so much like Bobbi, it kind of scared him. Her eyes were a slightly different color, but she had the same intimidating stare that Bobbi had-and it looked like she could fight just as well, maybe even better. Hunter thought that maybe this could be an advantage to them...
He hadn't even realized that she had noticed his gaze.
"Hunter? Are you even listening?" Coulson asked. Hunter shook out of his stupor.
"Huh? Sorry, it's just... Doesn't she look like Bobbi?"
All eyes turned toward Annabeth, who had a confused and slightly shocked look plastered on her face. "Um... Who's Bobbi?"
"She was a member of my team, however, it turned out that she was actually a part of the Other SHIELD."
Annabeth's eyes turned toward Hunter. "And I'm guessing she was something a bit more to you?"
Hunter was kind of shocked that she was able to figure that out just from a couple of words.
"Er... ex-wife. ...It's complicated." Hunter diverted his eyes from the others.
"You do look quite similar... " Coulson started, his eyes glazing over. Hunter recognized it as his 'I have a plan' face.
Hunter realized that the chances of Coulson snapping out of it soon were quite low, and he needed something to distract him. "Hey, you guys wanna show us what you got?" he said, nodding his head toward the training area. Identical grins spread across their face as they leapt up and sprinted towards the weapons. He shrugged at Fitz, unsure of what to expect, but we walked over anyways.
They both grabbed weapons, and began to circle each other in the middle of the mat. Their weapons were down, but they were both positioned in defensive stances, ready to strike at any given moment. Suddenly, Percy lashed forward wicked fast, slashing a sword directly at Annabeth's stomach. Hunter could barely see the movement, until Annabeth had already blocked his sword and made a strike of her own. The two fighters moved with fluidity, fighting against each other but looking as if they were one. They worked off of each other, seemingly anticipating each others moves. Hunter could barely comprehend what was happening, they moved so quickly. Judging by the look on Fitz's face, he wasn't doing much better. And just like that, the whole thing was over. Percy and Annabeth each had a sword at the other's neck.
"Well Wise Girl, I guess it's a tie." Percy remarked.
"I guess so." She replied. However, neither moved an inch.
Just then, Coulson walked over. "As impressive as that was, we need to get the plan moving. And fast."
The plan was good. Annabeth wasn't quite sure of all the elements, mostly due to her inexperience with SHIELD and its operatives, but she could sense that there was a high success rate. While it wasn't the best thought-out plan, as it relied heavily on unpredictable variables. Like this Ward person-he didn't seem like the most trustworthy person, if Fitz's reaction was anything to go by. However, Annabeth figured she should leave the planning to the experts for once-this wasn't in her field of knowledge. She gladly threw in her thoughts every once in a while, and they were well received by the team.
Annabeth contemplated how this was going to work as they sat in the jet, the newly introduced Peterson piloting. Annabeth thought of how interested Leo would be to see the man's arm. She turned her thoughts back to the plan: they were going to use a man called Bakshi to infiltrate into HYDRA. HYDRA was a name she recognized-she remembered learning of the organization that existed during WWII, and she heard of their reemergence earlier this year. She quickly realized how crucial it was to take them down.
The next part of the plan was to take out the final heads of HYDRA-and hopefully, it seemed, combine with the Other SHIELD.
For some reason, she trusted Coulson, more than she normally would a stranger. There was just something about him that emanated hope. She felt she would be safe with him. She supposed that was why she was going along with the plan so easily. Normally she would never have gone along with a plan that relied on someone else entirely, but there wasn't much she could do.
Annabeth felt slightly ashamed of that. Never in her life had she been so underprepared, so inexperienced to not even be able to give reliable input. She knew what once she had worked with SHIELD for a while she would be able to contribute more, but at the moment she felt hopelessly useless.
At that moment, Percy squeezed her hand, sensing her unease. She looked up and smiled at him, glad to have him there.
"It's okay, we're new at this. Everything's gonna go great." Percy could read her so well.
Ward quickly realized that two people were following him and Kara. He didn't recognize them from SHIELD or HYDRA though, and that worried him. They could be anyone-perhaps they were sent to kill him. He couldn't have that. He couldn't leave Kara on her own-she deserved better than that. Than him.
He ushered Kara back to the car, and headed to their (borrowed) house.
"You head on inside. I've got one more errand to run, I'll be back soon." He watched as she walked back into the house-he was sure she was aware of the eyes watching them in the car down the street.
As he zoomed off, he noticed the blonde woman get out of the car, before it started following him. He knew Kara could hold her own, but he couldn't help but feel a nagging sensation in the pit of his stomach. Ignoring it, he headed to a small flower shop, and picked up a plant he had been eyeing for a while. Ward just hoped Kara would like it. He was also hoping that the man would have followed him inside. No dice. Ward sighed dejectedly-he hadn't had a good fight in a while. He got back in the car, plant in hand, and revved the engine.
Then, he heard the very familiar sound of a gun being cocked. He froze.
"Hello again, Ward." A smooth voice said, "I'd suggest you start driving. I'll give you directions on the way."
So they were a part of SHIELD.
Percy couldn't stand the silence. It was terrible for his ADHD mind. The tension between the members on the plane was obvious-whatever happened between Ward and the others, it must've been horrible. Percy couldn't imagine what could elicit the glare coming of off Fitz-actually scratch that, he himself had given similar glares to Hera and the like. Still, Percy had a hard time believing Ward kidnapped them and put them in a 99% fatal situation.
Although, he could be wrong. It wouldn't have been the first time.
"So, uh, how are you Fitz?" Oh man. Ward definitely should not have said that. Did this guy have a death wish?
Fitz jumped out of his seat and lunged at the man, only to be instantly pulled back by Percy and Hunter.
"Dude, chill, it's not worth it. I don't know what he did, but it's never worth it." Percy said quietly, trying to calm him down.
Fitz shrugged him off and sat back down, an angry frown etched onto his face.
It was evident he didn't want to talk about it.
Coulson took initiative then, once again explaining the plan, just to fill the awkward silence.
Percy returned to his seat, and interlocked his hand with Annabeth's. He was so deliriously happy to be with her, it didn't even matter that they never got a break. He supposed that would just be his life-always dangerous, always busy. As long as she was there, it didn't matter.
Plus, being a spy would be super cool.
He spent the rest of the plane trip thinking of how useful being the savior of Olympus-twice-was. He was allowed to fly now, as Zeus wouldn't dare strike him out of the sky. He still had a slight fear of flying, but he supposed that was just ingrained into his DNA. It had become a much more bearable experience, however. He rubbed his thumb over Annabeth's knuckles, drawing circles on her skin as the plane descended to ground. It was decided that Percy and Annabeth would remain on the plane (in invisibility mode-Percy couldn't get over how cool that was) while the others went to get Bakshi.
As the others walked down the landing dock, Percy unbuckled himself to stretch his legs. He walked length of the short plane, wishing the plane was longer. He was tired of sitting in such a small space. Annabeth soon joined him, and they paced in silence.
"You know, I think this could be good for us." Annabeth said.
Percy looked down at her. (He was still proud of the fact that he had gotten taller than her.) "You think?"
"Yeah. I mean, this allows us to practice fighting and help people, without having to kill monsters. Honestly, it's not like we were ever going to have a normal life, so this seems like a perfect choice of profession."
Well, he couldn't disagree with that reasoning. Although he couldn't disagree with anything Annabeth said. Mostly.
"Yeah, this seems like a perfect fit." Percy smiled, his eyes soaking in her calm and collected face.
"What are you thinking?" She was staring at him just as deeply.
"I'm thinking I want a blueberry smoothie. And you're perfect." He really did want a blueberry smoothie, specifically one made by his mom.
Thoughts of delicious blends of fruit left him as Annabeth leaned upwards, and gently pushed her lips against his. He instantly responded, his hand moving to her head, her hair wrapped around his fingers. He pulled her close, his other hand reaching to the small of her back. He could feel Annabeth's hands clenching the back of his t-shirt as the kiss intensified. He wished he never had to move. The two were oblivious to the world around them.
Which is why they didn't notice when the others returned to the jet.
"I told you two to watch the plane. If we were HYDRA, you'd be dead already." Coulson didn't even bat an eyelash.
The two quickly broke apart, but stayed tightly embraced. Percy grinned. "You left two seventeen year-olds alone, what did you expect?"
At that, Annabeth smirked. "Percy may be oblivious, but I heard the dock go down, and I could tell it was you from Mr. Peterson's step."
"Hey!" Percy exclaimed, although he was quite used to comments like these. He didn't mind really, because he knew Annabeth was only joking. Although, he really hadn't noticed anyone walking in.
Annabeth just laughed and moved away from Percy back towards her seat.
"Hiring minors now, Coulson?" Ward said.
"Don't underestimate them, Ward. Either one of them could easily take you down."
Ward looked skeptical, but judging from his lack of response, he decided the best thing to do was shut up. Percy agreed.
Phase 2 of the plan proved to be more difficult. With Peterson and Bakshi gone undercover with List, a HYDRA leader, things became more difficult. Once they had discovered that List was tracking some super-human who apparently had the power of teleportation, they immediately set course to find the man. Annabeth was utterly confused, as was Percy, until Fitz brought them up to speed. Apparently, there had been some sort of alien object that gave people with certain genetic traits superpowers-an agent, Skye, was one of them and had recently been taken to an unknown location by this teleporter. It was in their hopes that the teleporter would lead them to Skye as well.
List (unknowingly) led them to what looked like an abandoned office building. It obviously hadn't been used in years, but it's foundations were good and with some remodeling, Annabeth could picture it as a bustling place of business. She was quickly brought back to the situation by a loud bang on a floor above. Without waiting for orders, Percy and Annabeth reverted to their war-mode and ran toward the sound. They had both been given guns, due to the fact that their own weapons would be useless against any member of HYDRA. She could hear the others running behind her, going off in different directions in search of Peterson and the teleporter.
Any HYDRA member they saw was instantly shot. Annabeth almost felt bad about it, but she had to realize that this was for the greater good. These mortals hadn't been influenced by any greater power like the ones that Kronos had controlled-these mortals had chosen a life of evil. They had to be stopped.
After spanned a few floors, they reached the site of the struggle. At the end of the hallway, Annabeth saw Peterson being electrocuted by an unfamiliar man-although he didn't look like HYDRA. Just then, a girl rounded the corner.
"NO!" Skye, Annabeth assumed, quickly ran forward, but before she could get there, another man appeared out of no where in a flash of purple light. He quickly wrapped his arms around Skye's middle. "Wait, not yet-" Skye's words were cut off as the strange man with no eyes disappeared once more.
Annabeth and Percy rushed forward, Percy towards the new guy and Annabeth to Peterson. She helped him up from where he lay on the ground.
"Who are you?" Percy had pinned the man to the wall.
"I'm just here to protect Skye!" He shouted, flustered.
Percy's eyes changed, and he let him go.
It looked like Percy was about to say something to the guy, but the sound gunshots distracted him.
He turned towards Annabeth, and motioned her forward. They took off sprinting towards the sound. She assumed the other two would follow.
She reached Coulson and Ward on one of the top floors.
"Come on. HYDRA's got the lower floors covered. There's no way out but up."
Annabeth turned around, looking for Peterson and the man, but they weren't there.
"Wait, where's Peterson?" Annabeth asked frantically. She wasn't one to leave a team member behind, and neither was Percy.
"Fitz informed me he was taken by HYDRA moments after you left them."
Annabeth's stunned look must have told Coulson what she was thinking.
"Don't worry. We'll get them back, I promise."
Coulson was able to get them up into the air quickly, and they were lucky that HYDRA didn't follow. However, he didn't travel far. He flew the jet some distance away before circling back.
"Um.. Coulson? Where are we going?" Annabeth asked as the plane started turning.
"We're going back. HYDRA will have cleared out by now."
Coulson knew his plan was risky, but it was a risk he knew he needed to take. He didn't have much of a choice at this point.
"But... why?" Fitz asked.
"The Other SHIELD will most definitely be on their way to canvas the area. I'm going to turn myself in."
