"Steve, wake up!" An iron hand slapped Steve repeatedly across the face. Confused and slightly annoyed, Steve grabbed his awakener by the arm and shoved him aside. Bucky knelt next to him, his eyes were slightly pink and the rest of him looked like he had been through a combine. On his right, Steve noted a very lost looking Percy Jackson, who was stumbling around the field. He looked as disheveled as Bucky, only he had accumulated about twice the straw in his hair compared to Bucky. The wheat stalks had left a thin scratch across the top of his forehead. Other than those immediate observances, the three of them were in pretty decent shape, considering their circumstances.
"What happened?" Steve asked, his head pounding as he positioned himself upright. The field itself was rather itchy, which surprised Steve. He had always imagined fields of wheat to be softy, wispy, almost like nature's bed; on the contrary, it poked into whatever part of your body dare rest upon it.
"Well, from what I remember, you made me jump out of a truck." Bucky shot him a condescending glare. His face then lit up and he jovially continued, "that and some sort of sleep gas bomb went off, putting us all to sleep. Although next time, give me a chance to fully wake up before I am forced out of a moving vehicle."
"Hey, you're alive," Steve pointed out. "You may have died if not for my act of kindness."
Bucky shrugged and offered an arm to Steve, Steve accepted and grunted as he was hoisted to his feet. He flashed a gratuitous look at Bucky, whom in return nudged him playfully.
"Percy?" Steve called out to the Son of Poseidon, whom was currently fixated on a smoke column rising from a mile away.
"There. Banner said the location was a mile away," Percy cleared his throat, his voice was serious. "We have to move now, if Leo and Tony were in there,"
"Don't allow yourself to think like that," Steve ordered. He picked up his shield which lay a few metres away and strapped it to his back. "Whatever is holding them hostage, it won't have them for long."
"Peerrrcccyyyyyy!" A loudening wail rose from across the field. Steve locked his eyes on two targets, making rapid pace through the swirling wheat. A smile cracked on his face. They were alive! However, before he could begin to concoct ideas on to how their survivable was feasible, Steve realized the reason why the cry had been less of a joyous yelp and more of an ear curdling shriek. Right on their tails was a hideous monster, something only fates could describe.
"Oh gods," Percy's voice lacked its usual confident tone. He uncapped Riptide and rushed towards Leo and Tony.
"Wait, Percy!" Steve cried in defiance. "It could be a trap!"
"Yeah, I know!" Percy returned the call. Steve motioned to Bucky to follow him, and they followed after the headstrong demigod.
Percy had been in a lot of battles before. He had faced empousi, Titans, amazons, even a god and won. He had the pleasure of sending them all to Tartarus, and then dueling some of them again when he himself had been dragged into Tartarus by Arachne with Annabeth. Out of all the monsters he had faced, there was one he had yet to defeat; the mother of all monsters. Echidna. He had met her once before on his first quest in St. Louis on the Arch, however he had been so badly injured he jumped off the arch into the river below. Now, years later, he had the chance to take her on.
The rustling in the field behind him told him that Steve and Bucky had chosen to follow his lead, a decision which may or may not prove to be unwise on their behalf; after all, he hadn't invited them to rush into bloody combat. Ideally, this would be over in a few moments, but you never knew with monsters. Most of them were stupid, a few slashes to the neck and Riptide would turn them to sparkly monster dust, but some were clever; Echidna, Percy gathered, wasn't a stupid snake-mutant.
"Percy! Turn around man!" Leo screamed at him, the snake woman about fifty feet behind him and closing. Leo's leg was mangled, making it hard for him to move swiftly through the thick wheat. Tony stayed slightly ahead of Leo, checking over his shoulder frequently to make sure his brother was okay. The normally composed Avenger looked distraught. It made Percy wonder what had shaken both of them up so incredibly much? Was there more than just Echidna on their tail?
"Keep running, I'll keep her distracted!" Percy argued, forging past Leo and pointing Riptide challengingly at Echidna. Steve and Bucky caught up with Percy and formed a position. Steve raised his shield, ready to block any attack that the mother of monsters would cast; Bucky withdrew a knife and tucked it neatly between his thumb and forefingers. They looked pretty impressive.
"Hold together!" Steve commanded.
"Dude, do you ever take a break from being a soldier?" Percy groaned.
Steve blinked as if he didn't understand the question. Bucky rolled his eyes and responded for him. "In short, no."
"Time to relax a little," Percy commented, tensing his legs for a sprint.
"Percy," Bucky asked, caution ebbing his words. "What the heck are you doing?"
"No idea!" Percy beamed confidently, jumping out of formation and slashing his sword at Echidna who loomed over him. Echidna weaved around his attack and continued past the small blockade, in a slightly different direction than the others.
Percy's gaze transformed from aggressive to bewildered. He looked at the others in disbelief. Bucky shrugged his shoulders, and Steve, while obviously upset by the fighting tactics Percy had decided upon, silently agreed something wasn't right.
They turned and saw Leo and Tony heading towards the very edge of the field, into a shallow culvert. Echidna moved in the opposite direction, but keeping within a few feet of the boys.
"What is she doing?" Bucky covered his eyes to block out the sunlight streaming in from the east. The snake-woman stopped when she was about equal distance between Percy's group and Leo and Tony. She then let lose a shrill noise that seemingly shook the tips of the wheat.
All eyes on her. The woman grew larger and larger until she stood about twenty feet in the air. Her black tongue whipped in and out of her mouth, the noise it made sounded like paper being ripped which was amplified by a microphone.
"Gentlemen," she hissed, her tail whipping through the wheat. The smell which penetrated Percy's senses smelled horrendous, like rotting eggs and paint mixed together and then left in the sun only to be forgotten. In other words, she reeked. "You may be wondering why I have assembled you here."
"Can we cut the sob story monologue that leads into you attacking us? I've had a rough day and frankly, I just want a drink," Tony whined.
Echidna seemed to consider this for a second, but then continued. "I can comply with some, as you don't need to know me; all you need to know is my son. Percy Jackson, I believe you were the one to last send him to Tartarus," the final words out of her sentence came out with vengeance and pure malice.
Percy's face remained calm, disturbingly calm. He stepped forth and mockingly bowed at the gigantic monstrosity.
"I will take credit for that."
"You play a dangerous game Jackson," she chided. "He was not only a villain of gargantuan glory, but also the head of a monstrous cause. You would know it better as H.Y.D.R.A."
Bucky stiffened and locked his sight to his shoes. Echidna looked over at him and smiled sweetly.
"Why, what have we here? James Buchanan Barnes, the elite assassin. Had you forgotten of the great part you had to play in shaping the earth as it is? We are so grateful for your work."
Bucky glared at her, his jaw was stern, shoulders square as if he wanted to punch this oversized earthworm right in the gut.
"Hydra killed James Buchanan Barnes," he shouted. "All that was left was an empty fool, influenced by a toxic institution." His breathing steadied as he stared down the beast.
"My dear, you forget that you too are of legend. The Winter Soldier, my son spoke frequently of you and your…accomplishments. I'm afraid you are mistaken as to where the toxin in your life flows from. The only thing poisonous in your life is these pathetic beings you call friends. I would have you dead before you would ever join ranks with any of them again. However, you are not what I am after today."
Steve raised his arm to throw his shield, but Percy forced him to put it down.
"What do you want Echidna?" Percy demanded, keeping his arm across Steve to prevent the Avenger from eliminating whatever leads the beast could give them.
Slime oozing from her tail began to take effect on the grass, steam rose from the grains and they fell limp in a sickly green sludge. She leaned over Percy, extending her arm as a power symbol.
"The Avengers were annoying enough when they were in New York, then they went to Sokovia, then Washington. I think it's time I uproot the true birthplace of the Avengers; past, present and future. However, I can't do it alone." Her sinister gaze passed over each demigod in the field. If Percy had ever wished for a rematch against a monster in the past, it would be her.
Echidna lifted her chubby arms and pointed at the burning silo which glowed in the light of dawn. The earth around it began to fall in, almost bubbling around something that was rising. A large sphere rose out of the ground to reveal something swimming in a murky liquid. The object pressed against the film, stretching itself out, as if discovering it was trapped inside something that needed to be destroyed in order to be free.
Percy caught his breath, he had only seen something like this in one other place; Tartarus. Monsters were born again in a sense after they were killed, not a pleasant experience. If whatever was in that bubble managed to escape before the bubble was destroyed, it would be angry, and because it would be angry, they were as good as dead.
Percy watched, feeling defeated as Echidna slithered back to the bubble and encircled it in a protective stance. Any dream of destroying the bubble had successfully been foiled by the snake. The monster kicked furiously at the membrane, earth continued to fall into the growing pit. Teeth were now visibly grasping at the walls, tearing into the sides with vigor. To Percy's horror, it broke through. Liquid splashed out, covering Echidna in disgusting fluids, but she seemed to joyful to realize how repulsive that truly was. The monster unraveled itself to reveal its true size. It stood up, standing upright the body itself was a bit shorter than Percy, but the four heads which extended at least six feet from the body made up for it's short torso. It let out a fearsome roar and snapped its jaws angrily at the demigods, fire emitting from it's snake-like mouth.
"Camp Half-Blood will burn," she screamed giddily, clapping her hands together, tossing her stringy hair back and for like a small child. "And you won't have the chance to defend it, ah, such a beautiful day it is." She shrunk herself to the size she was prior to her son's rebirthing and mounted his back. She whispered into his ears in some foreign tongue, unknown to Percy. The Hydra hissed menacingly in reply and moved swiftly through the wheat as dawn melted into early morning.
The five men stood in the field, shaking and stunned. After a few moments of silence, it was Leo who finally whipped out a communicator.
"Where did you get that?" Percy asked, stepping over to his injured friend's side.
"Found it on our way out of the silos basement."
"I didn't know silos had basements."
"They don't, it was her lair."
"Was it cool?"
"Not really. Just a lot of scrap metal and gross monster stuff that I had no desire to find out what it was."
"Camp in danger, everyone going to die! Ring any bells?" Tony urged, moving over to them.
"Right!" Leo pulled a screwdriver out of his tool belt and adjusted a screw so the frequency adjuster would move. He then wiggled the knob until the static cleared and the channel was open.
"Bruce?" Leo asked.
"Oh, hey, you're alive!" Bruce's voice sounded relieved.
"Yeah, but you might not be for much longer, Echidna and the Hydra are on their way till camp." Leo reported.
Silence for a moment, then a stuttering Bruce responded. "How-how long have we got?"
"Judging by the speed of that thing, despite it's stubby legs, maximum of eight hours before monster momma begins to break down the borders of the camp," Tony thought aloud.
"Five hours," Bucky mumbled. The others turned to the ex-assassin whom was staring at the wheat.
"I'm sorry, but there is no way my calculations are incorrect," Tony defended himself proudly.
"The Hydra is an aquatic monster. Echidna was leading him south but I would guarantee that she will redirect him to the sea. Once he is on his home turf, the guy will move. Five hours, or less."
No one bothered to argue with him, if anyone knew Hydra's, well Bucky would defiantly have the vast knowledge the others lacked from personal experience.
"Did you ever meet any legitimate Hydra's when you were, you know," Leo asked curiously.
"No, but the Winter Soldiers were trained as individual heads of the Hydra. Some specialized as aquatic, marine soldiers; others were unparalleled in flight. I was apart of the ground and stealth unit," he explained grimly.
Steve put an encouraging arm around his friend and mumbled something which Bucky nodded in response to.
"Thanks Buck, at least we know what we're up against. Bruce, you still there?" Steve called.
"Yeah, Sam just arrived too."
"Percy, you know the camp the best, you give the orders," Steve decided. No one objected to the position which was offered to experienced camper.
Percy nodded in agreement and took the radio from Leo. A slightly mischievous smile crept across his lips as Percy raised the radio to his lips.
"Bruce, are you feeling angry?"
