Percy was roused from his sleep to the sound of sizzling bacon, and the smell of breakfast. Groaning, he was slightly confused, and more than a little groggy, he sat up on the couch he had fallen asleep on and glanced back towards the Kitchen. Natasha was behind the stove, a scooping the pile of bacon from the skillet onto a plate. "Are you actually cooking something right now?" he asked, a little incredulous. In all the time he had known her he had never once seen her cook anything more than field rations much less real people food.
At the sound of his voice she turned around, and raised a carefully, and finely plucked brow, "One of my many talents, there are others but if I told you, I'd have to kill you." He couldn't quite stop the scoff that escaped him. Femme fetal his foot, "Does that actually work on anyone?" "You'd be surprised what a little intrigue and some fluttering lashes can do to a man." A loose chuckle fell from his lips, and he slouched back on the couch for moment, covering his eyes with his forearm. "For some reason I doubt that, kind of like I doubt you really need suspense and mystery to seduce a man."
She tossed a coy smile over her shoulder as she doctored her coffee, Girl's gotta have her fun somehow" she finished with her coffee and turned to address Percy's limp form on the couch, "Speaking of which, you and Carol were looking awfully cozy last night, something going on there? Do we need to have a talk? I know these things are scary for someone so inexperienced but I can assure you that these feelings are perfectly natural for a boy your age."
He deadpanned, "Hilarious. Truly." She smirked in response, proud of her little joke, "Thank you. Seriously though, tell me everything." He let out a small sigh, first his mother and now his teammates; he was getting a little tired of everyone taking interest in his love life. "Nothing so interesting I promise." He took a moment before standing up, stretching his arms across his body as he woke himself up a bit more. "Look I'm not really interested in anything serious at the moment, and I'd certainly rather not muss things up with Carol if I can avoid it. I like what we have, it's casual and comfortable. I need that right now."
She didn't look entirely pleased with his response. She pursed her lips and her nostrils flared slightly. "That's all well and good but how will you know if you never take the risk?" there was a tightness to her voice that he'd never really heard before. He turned and addressed her fully now, "It's not about taking risks Nat, it's about stability. Things are hectic and crazy enough without complicating my already complicated personal life. Having something easy and stable and safe right now is enough to remind me how and why I do what I do. If at some point things slow down, maybe something happens. But I'm happy with where things stand at this point."
He walked out of the room as we finished his little speech, going into his room to gather a clean ensemble, he was still in the clothes he was wearing the night before. Gathering a clean shirt, a long sleeved white baseball shirt, faded blue jeans, a fresh pair of briefs, and some socks. He took the fresh clothing and placed it in the bathroom for after his shower. He walked back out into the living room to collect his phone when Natasha's voice cut through the apartment again.
"No." Her voice brought him out of his reverie for a moment, "No? what do you mean 'no', how is that not clear?" he thought he had made himself rather clear there, and even if he hadn't, why did this even matter so much. "No' meaning there's more to it than just that, I know you a Jackson and I know that an active work life is not what's keeping you from pursuing happiness" He was starting to get a little upset now, it was his life, his decisions, what was going on here, " Why do you even care who I do or do not date in the first place? More importantly, why is it so important that I date at all, I mean gods above Nat, it's not that important."
"People are just worried about you Percy, this life, the things we do and see, its hell, and everyone needs someone or something to get away from it all. It'll keep you sane. It's easy to get consumed by this life and the reminder of what and for whom you're doing it for helps." This was the most he had ever heard her open up before, and couldn't exactly hide his surprise at it. It still didn't change how he felt however, "I have everything I need for the moment Nat. I got you, Clint, my family, and friends. I don't need anything more than that right now; and I'm not worried about getting consumed by this, what I am worried about, however, is that the delicious breakfast you made is getting cold and I don't want to waste the one time you actually cooked, on some philosophical debate."
His tone left little room for debate, and thankfully Natasha dropped it for the moment, choosing instead to focus on finishing her own preparations for the day. Grabbing a cup of coffee, and doing his best not to simply gulp it down in one, he settled in to enjoy his breakfast. He was just opening his mouth to thank her when she cut him off, "It's the ex being back, isn't it? She's got you all turned around and being around your old crowd has got you feeling all topsy-turvey. So don't you stop bull-shitting me and yourself tell me what's really going on. Still got feelings for this other girl?" He slammed his head on the countertop and groaned loudly.
"Di Immortales" he groaned out, his hands covering the top of his head as he attempted to melt into the countertop. "See! You've even slipped into some of your older habits, now fess up Jackson!" He sat up, exasperatedly throwing his hands in the air as he did so, "Alright, alright already. So maybe seeing Annabeth again has brought some things back to the surface that I thought I had sufficiently managed to bury. But it has nothing to do Carol or myself. Regardless of how I'm feeling, the days of Annabeth an myself are over and there's nothing that will change that." She looked at him rather sympathetically
"She ended things huh?" he looked over at her, confused, "What?" "I said that she was the one to cut things off not you." He paused and thought for a moment, "In a way…but I guess it was both of us" "What happened" he propped an arm up so it was resting against his cheek as Natasha hopped up and sat on the edge of the counter nearest the stove. "I told you what happened during the war right?" She nodded in affirmation; she and Clint were among the privileged few to know the extent of Percy's life pre-SHIELD, "Well, things were a bit more complicated after the fact than I would like to admit."
"PTSD?" She asked, "A little, but that wasn't the issue." His issues after coming out of the pit had been settled, he had to remember to stop by and see Hank again sometime, thank him. "I wanted out, after everything that had happened, all the needless death, destruction, harm, I just didn't want any part of that life anymore. Annabeth understood, but she couldn't bring herself to leave, she may have patched things up with her normal family, but that just wasn't who she was or what she wanted. I understood that, it hurt like hell at the time but I understood it."
"Did she understand what you wanted" she asked, not sympathetically but understanding, "Of course, she was always a rationale person, an endearing and obnoxious quality I'll tell ya, but she understood my position and was supportive enough, but we both realized that occasionally you need to do what's best for you. We were both in pretty bad places after the pit and well, it can really change your perspective on things. At the end of the day we both just decided that we needed to go our separate ways, forge our own path and if the fates decided it should be so, then maybe we'd make a go of it again. Of course she was the one to suggest it, she always was the smart one of the two of us, but I was all for it and honestly, I think it was for the best. I certainly think I'm a better man for it, and I'd like to think she doesn't regret the decision either ya know?"
Natasha was looking rather surprised after his revelation, "Never thought I'd get so much out of you Perce" she said honestly, to which he shrugged. Truth be told, he felt a bit better after their talk, it was the first time he'd ever really openly discussed what had happened with anyone and felt lighter for it. "Well. You know, new year, new me." He said with his cheesiest smile. "And moments gone, well done Perce, ten out of ten." He laughed as the corners of her lips turned up slightly.
"Alright, as fun as this has been I gotta go, have a meeting in an hour, good luck with your case" she hopped off and picked up the small black carrying bag that Percy hadn't noticed sitting on the countertop. "Thanks you too, and Nat-" "Yeah?" "Thanks" he said, very seriously "That's the first time I've really talked about it since it happened and…that helped so thank you." She gave him another real smile "Always glad to be of service." And she left.
Shortly after Natasha's departure, he showered and changed. Throwing on a shoulder holster and snapping his pistol into place before tossing on his heavy peacoat, he swept out into the crisp morning air. It was only a ten minute walk between his apartment and the small coffee shop that worked as the front for SHIELD operations in Manhattan. He said a brief hello to the agent behind the counter, which by the way, seemed like the most tremendous waste of SHIELD resources but hey, who was he to judge.
He turned into the crammed and dusty closet that was labeled the managers office, and punched the key pad on the landline that sat on the old warped wooden desk in the middle of the room. A slot opened up at the base with an identification scanner. After confirming his I.D. the far wall retracted opening the way towards the innards of the complex.
To be honest, the entire ordeal was so cliché fifties spy thriller that he couldn't exactly repress the groan every time he was forced to go through with it. But it was all in the name of maintaining a semi-covert operation which he could respect. Walking into the elevator at the end of the newly revealed hallway, with the wall closing behind him once more, he hit the button for the sub-level three, where he and Coulson operated, and waited patiently for the elevator to descend.
He was barely two steps out of the elevator before he was approached by a fellow agent, "Agent Jackson, Agent Coulson told me to send you to him the second you got in." he had to give SHIELD credit, they were nothing if not efficient. "Did he say what it was about?" he asked, walking towards his office with the lower-tier agent following behind him. "No sir, only that you needed to see him as soon as you came in" said the young agent, as they entered Percy's office and he shed his coat. "Alright, thank you" he said curtly, nodding the young man out the door as he did so.
He grabbed a file that was sitting on his desk before striding in quickly towards Coulson's office. He didn't even bother knocking as he marched in and asked "I assume you got something for me?" Coulson, to his credit, wasn't even fazed by Percy's entrance, "Yes, we pulled O'Malley and Donohugh's bank records, Donohugh is clear but O'Malley has been receiving consistent checks for several thousand dollars for the last several months. We also pulled his credit statements and he's been spending more than a man with his salary should be able to."
Percy paused and though over what Coulson just told him, "Think we should pull him?" he asked, honestly. "Your call. You're the lead on this one remember?" Percy scoffed a little at that, "I'm not asking you to make my decision for me, I'm asking for your opinion because I trust it and value your judgment" which was the truth, being the senior agent, as well as the man to first train Percy, there weren't many others on the planet that Percy trusted. Coulson regarded him for a moment, then nodded in approval, "Not yet, it's still too soon and we don't have any real leverage over him. Give me today and I'll have something a bit more concrete, we don't want him wriggling away from us and we also want to make sure that he gets us everything we need."
Percy smiled slightly, pleased with the advice, "Alright, we'll wait then, get me whatever you think will convince him to talk. Was there anything else?" "Yes actually" he started, "We got the data back on the man with the Tiara; Derik Vandervort: thirty years old, born in Holland, Michigan, unmarried, mother died when he was seventeen, identity of the father is unknown." Percy frowned, he was worried about that, "I have a very strong suspicion that his father's identity isn't as unknown as we might like to think."
Coulson looked up; taken aback, "You think he's one of yours" it was more of a statement than it was a question. "I would be much more surprised if he wasn't if I'm completely honest." He said, raking a hand through his ragged hair. He bit back a groan as he realized that he would need to confront some individuals he would have rather left alone. To be fair though, he thought, he did promise to keep them appraised. "I'll make some calls, see if I can't get a handle on this, but if I'm right, then I made the right call in not giving that tiara back." He finally said.
Coulson looked concerned at that, "I was going to ask you about that as well" he said casually. Percy frowned and considered it, leaning up against the sidewall of the office. "I figured you would, if I'm right about the identity of the father of Vandervort, then this wouldn't have been the first time he had tried something like this. It might be the spark to another conflict, one that I am very much looking to avoid if I can help it." Coulson looked a little incredulous at that, "You think they'd really go to war over a tiara?" Percy scoffed,
"People go to war over far less than a simple tiara, and gods are even more fickle add to the mix that, that isn't even just a simple tiara. It's the very symbol of her power and authority, without it, she is considerably less powerful and extremely vulnerable. It's not a surprise that she's been trying to keep quiet about it." "Do you think Vandervort knew what he had? And what does any of this have to do with the missing drugs?" Coulson asked.
"I have a few prevailing theories: the first, is that Vandervort's father, if I'm right which I'm confident I am, is looking to reconsolidate his own power by sparking a new war. However, that doesn't explain who killed Vandervort and his men or why. Hunters sure as hell don't use bullets and they certainly would have found the tiara had it been them so that's likely not an option. The other possibility is that Vandervort and his boys were looking for a quick score, we are all well aware of the going market rates for mystical objects of vague importance. But that also seems iffy. My best guess? We have a pissed off and resourceful demigod running around. It certainly wouldn't be the first time and I doubt it would be the last. It would explain why there are so many connections to other demigods. But here's what I don't understand, why do they keep killing demigods. In my experience, rampaging demigods look to minimize the damage caused to the others if at all possible, they look to recruit them instead of killing them, so why do they keep killing them?"
He began pacing as he spoke, marching around the small office unconsciously. Coulson looked torn between amused and confused, and equally just as frustrated. "Ok so we have a pile of dead demigods, a mole, several dead agents, and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of essentially demigod super steroids running around somewhere, and no real leads. Is that everything?" Coulson surmised, agitated at their lack of progress.
Percy frowned a little, "A little on the nose but yes." Coulson sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose in agitation, "Do we have literally any idea where to go from here?" "Yes, unfortunately. But, things are not as bad as we think, I think. I need to clarify some things on my end of things, I have some people who kind of specialize in mysteries and I promised I'd keep some of my people appraised of what's going on. If you can get the rest of that dirt, we can begin pressing on Donohugh, if we can get a name, business, literally anything, we'll have something to move off of."
Coulson nodded a little "Agreed, I'll have something before the end of the day, don't expect to go home again anytime soon." Percy smirked, "Wasn't planning on it."
The walk towards Annabeth's small architecture firm was short but startlingly cold, it was looking like it was going to be a mass freeze in the big apple. It took around fifteen minutes before he reached the small business complex that housed Annabeth's blossoming firm. He walked up the seven flights of stairs, silently cursing the bastard who chose not to install an elevator, before reaching his destination and turning toward the small wooden door with "Parthenon Architecture" on the door.
He opened the door and strode into the small office, and truly he meant small. As it consisted of two small cramped rooms, the first one, a white walled room, with just a small white desk and a few small white hard backed chairs laying against the near wall. Percy put on his most charming smile and approached the young women seated behind the desk.
"Hi there, can you please tell Miss Chase that there is a Percy Jackson here to see her" he said in what he was told was his most pleasing tone. She started a bit, and looked taken aback as he addressed her. She shook it off admirably enough however. "I'm sorry sir, do you have an appointment?" "Nope", he said popping the "P" as he did so "So why don't you just go on and tell Annabeth that I'm here."
She was looking uncomfortable now, which he understood, he was a strange man who just burst into her office demanding to speak with her boss, he would be pretty uncomfortable too in her place, "I can't do that if you don't have an appointment" he wasn't phased though, "Oh well that's no problem, I'll just go see here myself." He stated as he began to make his way past her desk towards the door behind the desk.
"Wait-what no, you can't! Hey, wait!" she said, standing up and looking to try and block Percy as he strode past, but he wasn't deterred by her. He pushed his way towards the door and thrust it open to see Annabeth pouring over the blueprints to something he couldn't quite make out. She looked up, annoyed at the sudden intrusion, her face reaching an understanding though as she just who it was that had barged into her office.
"Really, seaweed brain? Can you please not harass my poor secretary; Rebecca, it's fine, cancel my next appointment please." He smirked as the Rebecca the secretary retreated back into the room behind them. If the reception room, if it can even be called that, was cramped then Annabeth's office was a closet. With literally enough room for a small desk and chair, the only other notable feature of the room was the large window looking out over the street behind them.
"White walls, white furniture, white clothes, man wise girl this place really speaks to you. Boring." He smirked, Annabeth looked like she was trying to smother a grin. "Gee thanks Percy. What are you doing here, some of us have work to do." "Ouch, that hurts." Then he turned serious, his brow furrowing as he said in a hushed tone. "How secure are we here." She looked a little startled by his sudden change of disposition but rolled with it, "Very."
He nodded, running a hand through his hair, "I'm here about my case. His name is Derik Vandervort, he's from Holland Michigan, would have been around for a while when you first got to camp. Recognize him." He pulled a file that he brought with him out of his coat and took a picture from the inside, showing it to Annabeth. She studied it for a moment, a look of concentration on her face before nodding.
"Yeah, he was your typical Ares kid, a little more subdued than most but just as brutal and proficient in the field. Why, what happened?" "Found him and about 10 others dead in a warehouse just outside the city. He was involved in a robbery of a SHIELD caravan with several hundred thousands worth of our drug. You're sure he's a son of Ares?" She looked a little startled but composed herself, "That's awful, but yes, I'm sure. Why does that matter so much?" he began pleading with her, "You can't say anything. Annabeth I'm serious about this. Thalia, Piper, Grover, nobody. I need your word on this Annabeth, I need an oath."
The enormity of what was just asked seemed to hit her at once, and she looked briefly alarmed and more than a little worried. "Gods Percy, is it really that bad?" he frowned, dispassionate "We're talking war, Annabeth, it's warranted." She rubbed her eyes, looking suddenly tired and years older than she was, "Gods above, alright fine I swear upon the river Styx that I will not divulge what was discussed here today with Percy Jackson to any person, god or creature."
Percy felt the relief begin to flow through him, not that he didn't explicitly trust Annabeth, but with the sensitivity of what they were dealing with, it was better to err on the side of caution. "Thank you, really." He said, sincerely, "Now will you tell me what the Hades is going on here?" He didn't say anything, instead opting to pull out the tiara. Her mouth opened, then closed, them opened it again, "Is that, what I think it is?" she asked tentatively.
"Yes."
"Percy…where did you get that." "Vandervort was holding it, he had stolen it, how, I'm not sure, but he was bringing it to someone." That caused her to pause slightly, "You think it was his father?" he shrugged, "It certainly crossed my mind." Annabeth frowned, thinking hard, "Well it certainly wouldn't be the first time, but he wasn't even in control of his actions last time he pulled something like this. Do you really think he'd go so far as to insight war? It just doesn't make any sense? What does he serve to gain from that? And what does any of that have to do with you and your people? None of this is making sense."
"I have a thought." "Call the press." He ignored her, "What if we're looking at a similar situation, what if someone is manipulating things, trying to tear them apart from the inside? It's what Cronus was trying to do." She looked contemplative, "That would make sense but where do you come into all of this, if what you told us the other night is true then only demigods benefit from the drugs then…"
"Demigods are the ones behind all of this, yes." She looked conflicted, "I want to say that I don't believe you but…experience says otherwise. But Percy I have another question, why come to me? You could have just called about Vandervort but you didn't, why?" Percy paused; it wasn't something he was incredibly comfortable answering. How did he tell her that he needed to confirm that there was nothing left so he could begin moving on.
He sighed and proceeded though, despite his own reservations "I value your insight, and I…I don't know, I guess I just needed to see you again, reaffirm some things you know? I've been doing a lot of thinking lately and just wanted to make sure I had my head straight on everything. I just.-" he was cut off as time slowed briefly. Annabeth's shoulder exploded into a shower of gore as something tore through his chest. He stumbled back, his focus was only on Annabeth's slumping body, he jerked again and felt like sharp hot needles of pain shoot through him as two more rounds buried themselves into his chest.
He fell, his breathing ragged and his body shuddering in agonizing pain with every harsh shuttering breathe. As he looked towards Annabeth he caught sight of something on the opposite rooftop, his vision was fading fast but he was able to make out what looked like a man with long dark hair, and a face mask moving slowly away from the ledge of the building opposite, but that wasn't the most striking thing Percy noticed. Perhaps it was a trick of the light or perhaps he was experiencing hallucination brought on by the pain and blood loss, but it looked almost like the man's left arm was shinning silver in the winter sun, almost metallic like. He had more pressing concerns however and gathered just enough strength, as darkness creeped into the corners of his eyes to begin slowly crawling over to where Annabeth had fallen. He had almost reached her when the darkness fully consumed his vision, and with a shaky breathe he shouted,
"Annabeth!"
AN: Hey all sorry for the late update but life finds a way to get in the way. Thought I'd address some of the questions I'd been getting. The Avengers are coming, slowly, as should be clear by now the events of what I'm considering this arc of the story are taking place just before and during Iron Man 2, meaning that big things will be coming and they'll be coming soon so I beg patience of you, I promise that it'll be worth it! I have big plans for this story, I also wanted to apologize for the lack of action in the last few chapters but the next one will be big I promise; and I want to thank everyone for all of the support. I never expected the reception that this got so thanks everyone for your continued love and support!
-Lil DB
