Chapter 4
Location: New York City, New York
Date: 5/4/2012
Time: 10:43
Subject: Percy Jackson
In all honesty, Percy expected that digging his way through an alien warships stomach was going to hurt more. He was surprised that it was merely a dislocated shoulder. His hand was already broken and bleeding from taking on a previous alien in the first place. Apparently, there were more people in the costume crew as well. As far as he could tell, the big blond guy wearing a red curtain was from the same place as Antlers. Percy sighed, he had to learn these guys' names.
Right now, they were welcoming some guy on a motorcycle. He kept looking at Percy funny. They all did. He supposed that it must be strange to have a nineteen-year-old guy turn up and help fight an alien army. But then again, the fact that there was an alien army was sort of weird in itself. They kept having weird conversations with someone, someone who wasn't there. Either the costumes had an invisible guy, or they had earpieces. Percy decided that it was the latter. And, if he felt like being really smart, he'd worked out that the person must be Tony Stark, as he'd seen Iron Man flying around earlier, fighting the invaders. Perhaps Percy wasn't stupid after all.
As soon as he'd come to that conclusion, there was a deafening crash as one of the giant space-worm-warship things crashed through the side of a building as it followed Iron Man.
"I don't see how that's a party." Red said. Percy disagreed, this was going to be fun.
The motorbike guy started walking towards the crashing ship.
"Dr Banner," Spangles said, "Now might be a really good time to get angry."
"That's my secret, Captain," the guy replied, "I'm always angry." And then the guy turned, morphing into a giant green dude.
"Cool." Percy muttered.
The green guy punched the warship on the nose, and the whole 'team' ducked for cover.
"Who's the kid?" Stark asked. Percy angled a glare at him. He wasn't a kid.
"He said his name was Percy Jackson." The arrow guy said. Percy gave him what he hoped was a friendly smile. He'd remembered his name.
"Guys." Red warned, looking up at the wormhole. A whole armada of warships were flying out, a fleet of alien ships ready to kill them.
"Call it Captain." Stark said.
Spangles issued his orders.
Percy was confused. "What do you want me to do?" He asked the Captain.
The captain stared at him as if he'd forgotten he was there. "You stay here on the ground with us." Percy nodded. He could do that.
The fight continued, each member working together in harmony. Percy was an angel of vengeance, tearing through the enemies with a combination of practiced skill and overwhelming rage. His dagger sliced through the aliens, steadily ripping them apart. The steel was wearing though, nicks and scratches etched down the length of the blade. Percy didn't notice. He just kept fighting.
Time passed, the battle raged on. Stark grabbed the nuclear missile, lifting it up into the wormhole. Percy fought on. The aliens collapsed simultaneously as the nuke hit its target. Steve issued the order. Red closed the portal. Stark passed through it, plummeting towards the ground. He wasn't slowing down.
Percy prepared himself to catch Iron Man, feeling the familiar pull in the gut as he summoned the water. He hadn't displayed his power over water yet, and he'd rather not, but if it was necessary to save Stark then he would. The blonde guy was whirring his hammer, preparing to fly up to catch Stark. They didn't have to. The green monster leapt through the air, grabbing Tony as he fell, and landed, cradling him on his chest. With a grunt, he shrugged the armoured man off him. Blondie ripped off the front of Iron Man's helmet. He wasn't breathing. They sat back, the weight of the loss settling on their consciousness'. The green guy roared and Tony awoke with a gasp.
"What the hell?" He cried. "What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me?"
Percy grinned at him, "Well, you seemed to enjoy it." Horror filled Starks face, and Percy smirked, a lopsided smile tugging at his lips.
Stark sighed in relief. "What really happened?"
"We won." Spangles said.
Stark sighed, "Alright, yay, alright, good job guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. You ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is but I want to try it."
"We're not finished yet." Blondie said.
"We'll then shawarma after."
"Hey, Blondie," Percy said, the hammer guy looked at him, "Is Antlers at Stark Tower?"
"Blondie." He replied, "Blondie!"
"What?" Percy asked indignantly, "I don't know your name."
They shook their heads in exasperation. Percy bared his teeth in a grin.
The top floor of Stark Tower was wrecked. The windows were shattered and there were craters in the floor. Percy decided that it was a good thing that Tony Stark was a billionaire. Loki turned to face them.
"If it's all the same to you, I'll have that drink now."
"Sure," Percy said, striding forward and seizing one of the bottles that was still on the bar. He smashed it over Loki's head, feeling a surge of satisfaction as the man collapsed on the ground. "Here's your drink."
Location: New York City, New York
Date: 5/4/2012
Time: 13:02
Subject: Percy Jackson
Percy Jackson didn't even notice his mangled hand until the adrenaline faded. And even then, he ignored it. The so-called 'Avengers' had invited him to go and get shawarma after the battle. They'd also introduced themselves, and insisted that he stopped calling them by the nicknames he had given them. It was all a bit confusing. Spangles was Steve Rogers or Captain America, Red was Natasha Romanoff or Black Widow, the arrow guy was Clint Barton or Hawkeye, the green guy was Dr Bruce Banner or the Hulk (not that he liked to be called that), Blondie was Thor, and of course, Tony Stark was Iron Man.
So that was how they ended up sitting in the rubble of a shawarma shop, eating silently, feeling exhausted. Percy didn't mind the silence, it gave him time to think, to plan ahead and decided what to do next. It was after they finished eating that the questions started.
"Who are you?"
"Where did you learn how to fight?"
"Why did you fight?"
"How does shattering your hand not affect you?"
"Can you even feel pain?"
It was only when Tony asked what he was that Percy snapped.
"An orphan." He growled, before getting up. He slid Natasha's knife across the table to her. "It was nice meeting you." And then he left.
Location: New York City, New York
Date: 6/4/2012
Time: 11:22
Subject: Thor
"You're sure they're going to punish him?" Percy asked Thor. "You'll make sure he suffers?"
Thor gazed at the teenager, his sea green eyes imploring him to hurt his brother. His eyes looked innocent, but Thor could see beyond that, could perceive the cold hatred and rage that now filled his heart. But even that was a front, a thick, sturdy wall to hide the pain and sadness underneath. Thor wondered what could have happened to make the black-haired teen to look like that, but then again, Thor thought, he did just lose his parents.
"I assure you Percy, son of Jack, Loki will pay for what he has done." The boy nodded, seeming to be deep in thought. He stood back as they opened the portal. It was time for Thor to go home.
Location: New York City, New York
Date: 6/4/2012
Time: 11:23
Subject: Percy Jackson
Percy watched until Thor and Loki disappeared with the Tesseract before walking away.
He didn't stop until he heard Stark call out behind him.
"Where are you going?" He called.
Percy turned and fixed the billionaire with an icy, wolf glare. "I have to bury my parents." Stark flinched. And then Percy was gone, taking long strides until eventually he was out of site.
Percy stayed in New York for two weeks after his parents' deaths. Two weeks after the Battle of New York. He couldn't leave, he had to organise their funerals. With one swift strike, the fates had left him dismantled, unhinged, and dead cold. He no longer smiled, he no longer laughed. His body had healed. He had healed the broken bones and skin with water the day after Thor left, adding scars to the carpet that already covered his body. It was the inside that water wouldn't heal, it was the inside that still hurt. Percy could feel himself growing different, he could feel himself changing. But there was no one to pull him back, to console him. And so, Percy sunk deep into a kingdom of coldness and solitude.
His first job after their death was clear. Organise the funeral, call a caterer, contact Sally and Paul Blofis' family and friends. Seventy-four people died in the invasion, and two of them was all he had left. Percy used what little money his mother and Paul had to pay for the funeral, to buy them garlands of flowers and ensure that their trip to the underworld would be peaceful.
The morning of the funeral, Percy dressed himself in a suit, put on a tie, bought a bouquet of flowers, and walked to the graveyard. When he arrived, people were already there, Annabeth was already there, holding the hand of the man Percy had seen in her house. It was all too much, it was all too painful. Leaving the flowers on ground, he scrambled up the trunk of a tree, settling himself on one of the large branches to watch the procession. He watched as the coffin was lowered into the ground, as the dirt was filled the hole, as people wiped their tears and left. But not a tear dripped from Percy's eye. Not a hint of emotion showed on his face. He was beyond it, what he felt went beyond grief, a part of him was missing, a chunk of his heart was residing in that coffin with the cold dead bodies of his loved ones. Somehow, Percy knew he would never get it back.
Location: San Francisco
Date: 6/4/2012
Time: 16:57
Subject: Annabeth Chase
Annabeth stared in shock at the footage of the alien attack. She had already contacted camp, making sure that everyone was alright. No one had been injured, thank the gods. She watched as the Avengers fought off the Chitauri, stared in shock as she saw a man in a ripped and bloodied t-shirt rip out an alien's heart. She recognised the unruly, raven, black hair, the stance of his shoulders, the way he fought. It was Percy Jackson, it couldn't be anyone else. But then she saw his eyes, his cold, lifeless eyes. They were uncaring, unrelenting, terrifying. It couldn't be Percy, Percy had never looked like that. Perhaps once in Tartarus, but whatever happened couldn't be worse than that. No, she told herself, it's not Percy, it's just someone who looks an awfully lot like him.
Two days later, Annabeth received a letter. A letter inviting her to the funeral of Sally and Paul Blofis. It was only then that she remembered their agreement, and how she had forgotten. Annabeth had to talk to Percy, she had to explain. And then she understood, that man was Percy Jackson, and it was the death of his parents that pushed him over the edge. Sighing, Annabeth packed her bags. She had a funeral to attend.