DISCLAIMER: I do not own Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus, all rights to Rick Riordan! I also don't own The Avengers either, so rights go to Marvel or whatever.

Demigods were shoving each other, trying to get closer to the porch. The air was thick and ripe with tension and emotion. Nico caught glimpse of Percy standing over them, clutching Annabeth's wrist and trying to get everyone to calm down. Chiron was shouting and stamping his hooves, warning them to stand down or face his wrath.

Someone threw a rock, which was followed by four more. Captain America's SHIELD had been returned to him after his talk with Chiron, and he now held it in front of him. One of the stones struck his knee, ripping the fabric of his pants and leaving a trail of blood. The rocks continued to grow larger as the mob became angrier. Shouts rose up among them, most of which Nico couldn't even make out.

"This is all your fault!"

"We don't need you here!"

"Traitor! Spy!"

Jason grabbed Nico's elbow and tugged him away from the crowd as stray projectiles flew at them. Unfortunately, in his haste the son of Jupiter had reached for Nico's bad arm, and the son of Hades jerked away as the pain flared. His vision went black for a millisecond, but it was long enough for him to bump into Clarisse.

"Get out of the way, Death Breath!" Nico didn't know how she'd learned the old nickname Leo had given him, but it stung. He was on his back, lying in the grass in the next moment. He wasn't sure how he'd gotten there, but his cheeks burned with anger. He lurched to his feet, ignoring the fiery pain erupting from beneath the bandage on his arm. Suddenly, Jason was by his side, leading him out of the crowd. This time he held onto Nico's good arm, and the son of Hades let him. Usually, he would shy from physical contact and insist he would be fine on his own, but he was grateful for Jason's leadership in that instant.

The broke through the outer rim of the mob and tried to catch their breath. They seemed a little quieter now that Annabeth was screaming at them and Chiron had ushered Rogers back into the Big House. But it was still chaos.

Nico blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision. His arm burned, and he shivered as memories of the bloodied glass reared its ugly head. He swayed on his feet, leaning on Jason for support. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the Hephaestus campers punch Will—who was trying to play peacekeeper— in the jaw.

And suddenly, it was all too much for Nico. Jason tried to retain his hold on the son of Hades, but Nico shook him off. He skirted the back of the group and took several steps back. He could see Percy and Annabeth's panicked expressions, Chiron's angry one.

He knew it was a bad idea, that he would probably pass out afterwards, but he had no other choice. His dark eyes fell closed and he held his hands out, summoning every inch of darkness in the late afternoon landscape. The sky over Camp Half-Blood clouded instantly, blackness surrounding every camper and wood nymph. The demigods fell silent. Nico's legs trembled.

His eyes snapped open and he shouted, louder than he ever would have thought possible in his condition. "Listen up, everyone! This is stupid! Look at yourselves, throwing rocks at your own heroes, your own teacher." The group turned, obviously afraid of Nico di Angelo. "We need him! Can't you see it? This is war, fellow demigods. And I hate to say it, but we're going to lose this one."

He paused for affect.

"The only way we could ever have a chance is with him." Nico pointed to Steve Rogers, who was standing just inside the door to the Big House. Thankfully, nobody threw anything this time. "It's your choice. You can either die defending your home—but because you were too stupid to get help when you needed it, or you can let him help us and protect this camp." His voice was quieter, but it held passion. Ferocity. Anger.

Annabeth remained silent this time, obviously shaken. It wasn't like her to be unable to calm a crowd and help them see logic. Her and Percy's nerves had become frayed since leaving Tartarus. They had a much smaller tolerance level for chaos and panic. Nico could see the frustration and fear in both of their eyes.

Chiron spoke up. "Thank you, Mr. di Angelo." The group faced him now. Jason caught Nico as he stumbled. The son of Jupiter helped him sit in the grass and motioned for Will Solace to join them.

"Make your decision, demigods," Chiron continued. "Will you let Captain America stay and help us save Camp Half-Blood, or will you turn your only source of hope away?"

It was quiet again, and everyone seemed to be thinking about what to do next.

"All in favor of letting him stay, raise your hand." Percy's voice was raw, but he held his hand high. Annabeth followed suit. And slowly, one by one, the other demigods did the same.

~*~PAGE BREAK

Frank was trying not to panic. Was Hazel all right? Was she hurt? How were they going to escape? He swallowed thickly, his movements tiny.

"I should've seen this coming sooner. What have you done with Rogers?" Fury demanded.

"What do you think we did, kidnap Captain America? Unlikely." He forced as much bravado as he could into his voice.

The director's eyes were as narrow as he glared at Frank. This guy didn't play around. "You don't expect me to believe that lie, do you?"

Frank figured Fury saw some truth in his words, but just wasn't ready to admit it yet. "Of course not. I was just buying some time." Before he'd even finished the sentence, his fingers morphed into claws, his arm turning thick and muscular. His body transformed into a grizzly bear's just as the gunshot splintered the wall behind him. Frank snarled and launched himself at Fury. He wasn't ready to kill the man; that was something he couldn't bring himself to do. But at least he could knock him out and go find Hazel.

Fury was yelling into a device on his desk, firing his gun rapidly at Frank. The demigod-turned-grizzly dodged the bullets and swiped his massive paw at the man's face. Fury was out cold before he hit the ground. Unfortunately for Frank, the doors slid open and six armed guards rushed into the room, three on their knees with massive guns and the others standing behind them.

He threw himself at the guards, trying to ignore the cracking, exploding guns and the bullets peppering the office behind him. Fury had crumpled into a heap behind the desk—which was good because he'd have been shot dead by now if he hadn't. He barreled past the soldiers and charged down the hallway, searching for Hazel. Where was she?

He turned a corner, scattering agents and followed by angry screams and gunfire. And suddenly, there she was. Her curls looked like gold in the glow of the fluorescent lights. Her eyes were alight with fear, but she was fighting. She brandished her spatha—which had been previously disguised—at the three soldiers surrounding her. A trickle of blood ran down her the side of her head.

Frank smashed into the guards before they even had a chance to realize he was there. He sent them scattering like bowling pins and morphed back into his regular old self again. He stayed that way just long enough to make sure Hazel was okay and tell her to follow him. Then he transformed into a lion and plowed through anyone who stood in their way.

They stopped in a long hallway lined with windows. Frank turned human again, staring out. They were at least ten stories up. On both ends of the hallway, shouts erupted and agents lined the entrances. The barrels of their guns were all aimed at the two demigods. Hazel grabbed Frank's wrist, and for a moment their was dead silence. Then Frank turned into a giant eagle, grabbing Hazel in his claws and shielding her with his wings. He spiraled out the window, shattered glass raining down behind them.

~*~PAGE BREAK

"All right, so here's the plan." Annabeth traced the border of camp Half-Blood with her finger. She flattened the edges of the map beneath her other hand. "One half of the Legion will start the attack from their left flank."

"Whose left? Ours or theirs?" Connor asked. He stuffed another cracker in his mouth.

"Ours." Annabeth glanced up at him, unblinking, then looked back down. "Then, when they're distracted, we'll attack from Half-Blood Hill. That's when the other half of the Legion will cut off their right flank. We'll need more volunteers to ride the pegasi and direct the air assault." She looked up, locking gazes with Steve Rogers. "We'll need you on the ground with us. Can you handle that?"

Rogers nodded evenly. He looked determined.

"There's still a lot of them," Clarisse put in. "What if we set up traps and stuff like we did last summer?"

"Yeah." Percy was nodding thoughtfully. "Those would have worked, too, if you guys hadn't put them on the wrong hill." He glared at the Stolls.

Travis shrugged.

"That's where the Demeter and Hecate cabins can help out." Annabeth glanced around the room at the cabin leaders. "The Hecate campers can enhance the traps, and the Demeter campers can disguise them a little better." She paused. "Plus, there's less chance they'll be put in the wrong spot that way."

Don't worry guys, I won't abandon this story XD

Arrow :D