Sorry if you thought this was abandoned. I was on holiday and couldn't update! I got back yesterday and started school again today so I decided to take a shot at updating. Sorry if it's bad (it will be short, but hey, an updates an update, right?)

Percy, Steve and Hogun left DOA before Charon could blow a gasket. Outside the street was silent. A calm before a storm. Steve was looking grim, face covered in grime, shield looking rather depressing due to all the paint that had been scratched off it. Percy gripped his sword and gazed around, listening hard, trying to pinpoint a sound of some sort to let him know where the others were. Except he couldn't hear anything. The city was silent.

"You don't think they just gave up, do you?" Steve asked in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"It is the calm before the battle," Hogun spoke for the first time, his voice wise and accented; a mixture of Asgardian and what sounded slightly like some form of Asian dialect, "Prince Thor likes to reserve his strength before unleashing his fury."

"That's cheery," Percy commented as he swung his sword in anticipation.

"Hogun did not earn his title of Hogun the Grim for nothing," Fandral appeared on the scene, walking in the ruined street as if it was a grand ballroom, looking like he had not a care in the world. Following behind him was Sif and Volstagg, looking battle worn but not ready to look up. Clint followed behind, cleaning off his arrows and returning them to his quiver. Up above, Iron Man appeared, suit dented and scratched.

"It's dead out there," Thor landed with a crash on the pavement, "they're all gone."

"They're rallying," Tony said as he removed his helmet to reveal his sweaty face, "Jarvis is picking up a large group of about three hundred life forms at a car park five blocks away. Obviously trying to reorganise."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Sif questioned, eyes alight from the joy of battle, "let us go and face them."

"I don't think they're rallying," Steve said suddenly, removing his cowl and ruffling his hair, "I think they're waiting for something."

"Steve's right," Clint put his last arrow back in his quiver, "those things are stupid, they're not smart enough to rally, they seem to be the kind to take orders and think of nothing else. They must be waiting for their leader or a single of some sort."

"We need to secure this area," Percy fiddled with his ear piece for a moment, "we need to get the National Guard to surround this place to a three mile radius-"

"We can't have them as first defence. They have no effect on those monsters. They'll die," Steve argued against the son of Poseidon.

"Put them on the roofs. Their guns will slow them down and we'll have Warriors Three to lead them," Clint rubbed dry blood off his face, "catch strays that try to attack them."

"I see no problem with that," Sif agreed after a moments contemplation.

"We get Fury to bring the Hellicarrier up above. Get some twinjets in the air, get some good guns there, to watch the inner circle of defence," Percy continued to explain, "and then we guard here, catch whatever survives, or whatever is uninjured enough to keep going. Our guns might not kill them, but they slow them down."

"I don't have a problem with that," Tony played with a clip on the side of his leg, obviously adjusting something with the suit.

"I'll call it in," Clint walked a little away while the Warriors Three and Sif began to head out to command the Guard.

"We got Nico, Natasha and Bruce down below," Percy caught everyone up, "the absolute last line of defence."

Above them there was a slight shudder in the sunlight. Percy gazed upwards to see the barely visible outline of the Hellicarrier. If he didn't know what to look for, he wouldn't have seen it. The piercing sound of jets taking off shattered the quiet of the day.

"We might need that last line," Tony put his helmet back on, "looks like the head of this whole mess has arrived. The monsters are surging."

"Get ready," Percy ordered, "Thor, Tony up the air and relay everything you see-"

A loud explosion cut him off. Two blocks away a plane had exploded in the sky. No one saw a parachute deploy. Gazes were exchanged before one dared to speak.

"I'll take the roof," Clint readjusted his grip on the bow, "Tony takes the sky. Thor, stay down here with Percy."

Clint and Tony took off. Clint took up purchase on the corner of a roof while Tony hovered in the air, relaying what he could see down. The monsters had hit the first line of defence. The soldiers were gunning down all they could but at least three quarters made it through undamaged.

"It will be an honour to fight besides you again, Agent Jackson," Thor said as he began to charge up his hammer, "let's hope we live to fight together a many more years."

"Hey, keep your head up, you're beginning to sound like Hogun," Percy joked lightly as he gained a ready stance. Turning his head slightly he smiled at Thor, "besides, I have someone worth surviving for now; and I'm not going to let her down.

-This is a Line Break-

If Natasha wasn't so close to a battlefield she would've taken a moment to appreciate the area. It was certainly gorgeous, filled with parks, old fashioned houses, little quaint cottages, and marvellous modern homes that marvelled that of Starks Malibu home. Everything seemed so peaceful. If she listened hard enough she could even hear birds. No one was in sight. It was a ghost town; no pun intended.

Her pace increased up until the point where she was running as fast as her body would allow her through the haven. Her chest rose and fell and her feet smacked hard against the ground. Keeping her eyes and ears keen she tried to spot anyone at all. When she rounded the corner around what seemed to an old playground, she was suddenly hit by a large amount of slightly see through people; a familiar voice filling her ears.

"-we don't know who, or what's out there, or what they want. But I know this much; they can't come and take this all away from us-"

"Coulson?" Natasha questioned.

The suited man turned around, a beaming smile spreading across his face. Dressed in his SHIELD suit Natasha never would've guessed he was dead. He looked as alive as any other man, except for the pale hue that covered him head to toe.

"Agent Romanoff, just in time," he said, laugh lines around his eyes crinkling, "Romanoff, meet our fighters, fighter, meet Romanoff."

A couple of the ghosts waved. As Natasha looked at them, she realised none could've been over twenty-five. Some were dressed in modern clothes; Jeans, movie t-shirts, and sundresses, while others had earlier period clothes more akin to that of the forties. None the less, all looked ready to fight.

"This is nothing I was ever trained for," was all she could manage to say.

"Yes, well, it's not something you'll find in the SHIELD standard handbook," Coulson replied, "but don't worry. These ones have been trained for it."

Demigods. They all had to be demigods; Natasha realised. Percy had once told her about the wars the gods had been involved in. The Second World War between the sons of the Big Three. Then the Second Titan War. These must've been the causalities.

"I'm looking someone called Charles Beckondorf," Natasha stood next to Coulson, pushing down the joy she felt inside, keeping her face stoic.

A man stepped forward. He seemed to be about college age, tall, hulking and intimidating. Is Natasha had to fight him she knew he certainly wouldn't go down without a fight.

"Call me Beckondorf, ma'am," he said with a smile that could melt a girls heart, "did Percy send for you?"

"It was Nico Di Angelo," Natasha said instead before turning to Coulson, "we've got Hel attacking up above, trying to get water from the Styx. Hulks handling the mess to the east. We need as many fighters on the banks as we can manage."

"We're up to it, miss, don't you worry," a rather beautiful girl walked up and gripped Beckondorf's arm, "and afterwards you can tell me how you get your hair to stay like that. It's such a gorgeous colour as well."

"Later, Ms Beauregard, we have greater things to attend to," Coulson shook his head as if he had been expecting a comment like that, "you heard Agent Romanoff. Spread out and hit the banks, no mercy."

"Yes, sir," she responded immediately.

"Move out," Natasha said with a wave as she turned around.

She fell back a little bit, planning on talking about some form of strategy with Coulson, but it seemed Beauregard was still puzzled by the colour of her hair and felt the need to touch a lock as she passed.

"Such a nice colour,"

Wooh…yeah don't worry I haven't forgotten about Nico.