A/N: Okay, so this is a little later in the night than I usually update, but it's still Monday where I am. Sorry if it isn't Monday on your side! I hope you enjoy this chapter, even if I think it wasn't my best…

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the Avengers. *sigh*

Chapter Twenty Five

The fight was just a little bit worse than I expected.

I expected the demigods to be little busy, but nothing so terrible that the odds were four monsters to one demigod or anything. Measures weren't quite that drastic, but they certainly weren't favorable, either. Blackjack hadn't been exaggerating when he'd told me that there had been one hundred to two hundred monsters.

It wasn't necessarily the amount of monsters still left that made me uneasy, but the amount of damage. Trees were missing some limbs, the ground was uprooted in many places, and various pieces of armor and monster bits were left on the ground.

I squinted down at the ground to see what fights I could still see from the height I had told Blackjack to hover at. There were a few skirmishes on the outside, but there was still one main fight near the beach, which made me feel a little better. Water was always an advantage for me.

Blackjack swooped down to land by Thalia's tree. Peleus raised his large head and snuffled pitifully. I dismounted from Blackjack and walked over to him.

"Hey, big guy," I said. "You probably want to go fight, right?" Peleus laid his head back down on the ground and jerked his head towards the fight. I smiled. "Yeah, yeah, I'm going."

"Blackjack, circle around to see if anyone needs help. If they do, land next to them and get someone's attention to put them on your back," I told him.

You want me to bring them to the Big House, boss? he asked.

"Yeah. There should be someone there, so you'll be fine. I'll see you later."

I patted him on the back once and didn't stay to watch him take off. I jogged around to the beach and observed the fight. It looked like the monsters were mutants. I felt vaguely sick at the thought of monster babies, but shook it off. I could worry about what I kind of monster I was getting rid of later. It was time for a serious plan now.

I ran down to the water. I manipulated the water into about two dozen ice picks, trying not to let them melt any. I grabbed one and felt the tip of it. A small dot of blood appeared on my finger. I nodded in satisfaction and, with no small amount of effort, levitated them into the air.

The next step would be a little harder. I targeted all the monsters in the fight. I saw them all in my head and concentrated hard. I cleared everything from my mind, and I let them fly. I heard the whistling noises as the ice picks took flight.

I prayed to the gods I wouldn't miss.

I opened my eyes a few seconds later when I heard swish-thunks and yells. I sighed in relief when I realized they were yells of triumph. There were a few monsters left, but they were quickly dealt with now that the odds had been evened out a little. I jogged over to the demigods there, searching their faces for someone I might recognize. I saw a familiar stance of a body and immediately latched my attention onto him.

"Leo!" I exclaimed. "Where are the others?"

Leo yanked off his helmet and grinned at me despite the serious situation. "Clarisse broke her foot shoving some rookie out of the way, Jason and Pipes had to go put out a fire near the trees, and Travis and Conner and the others were dealing with the small fights everywhere else last I heard."

I nodded. Clarisse's ankle would be just fine with a little ambrosia and nectar, and the others wouldn't have any major injuries. There was just one person missing from the group. "Where's Annabeth?"

Leo frowned like he was just now remembering he didn't tell me anything about her. "Well, she gave us some minor orders and then she took some of the youngest campers to safety. Then I saw her again, and she told me to keep fighting and that she had something else to do, but I couldn't hear her over the fighting." Leo rubbed some sweat out of his eyes. "Sorry, Percy."

Even though I was a little worried, I figured Annabeth had just gotten lost in the chaos and would show up sooner or later. "How about we finish off the rest of the monsters and then gather around for a little talk?" I suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea," Leo said. I started towards the Big House, and he followed me. The group that was fighting with him spread out to different sections that needed help. The fights went quickly, if they could even be called fights. I ducked, bobbed, and weaved when needed, but it was really child's play compared to what Leo and me were used to. We made a good team, surprisingly: fire and water were a dangerous match.

"Your left, Leo," I warned as I ducked a swipe from a mutant telekhine. I wasn't exactly sure it had been mixed with, but whatever it was, it must have been one of the rejects. Its body was disproportionate to its head, and his feet were a watermelon's size. It would have been funny if it hadn't been trying to kill me. I shrugged as I stuck the thing in its stomach and it disintegrated. Maybe it would have a better time the Underworld and find a female telekhine that was equally as disproportionate to her body, too.

"Thanks," Leo said as he jabbed the dracaena in the heart with a sword. We looked around cautiously when nothing else came at us and realized that there was only one monster left: a wounded empousa that looked pretty intent on crawling toward me and slicing my head off.

I walked forward and avoided her sharp talons, kicking away a few objects that could be considered lethal to demigods. I looked at her hard, frowning at the way she hissed at me. "Didn't your mother ever tell you it was rude to stare?" she snapped.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you it was rude to destroy someone's home and try to kill them?" I asked, just as icy as her.

She smiled sardonically. "My mother isn't someone you'd want to meet. She isn't really the cuddling type." She sat up straight, or as straight as she could with two injured legs and a huge gash in her stomach. I was surprised she wasn't back in Tartarus yet. Most monsters would have turned to sand by now.

I was spared the opportunity of replying to that when Jason and Piper ran up to me. They had matching frantic expressions. "What happened?" I asked immediately.

Jason shook his head. "Percy, we can't find Annabeth."

"We looked everywhere," Piper said almost desperately. "Asked everyone. No one's seen her."

Everything froze, and I couldn't breathe for a moment. Annabeth was gone? This couldn't be happening. Not again. I had only had her back for three months. That wasn't nearly long enough to get back those months we had already lost. My brain couldn't process what was happening. It was stuck on a loop of Annabeth Annabeth Annabeth Annabeth Annabeth.

That was when I heard the laughing from somewhere behind me. I whipped back around to face the empousa. She was doubled over laughing. "What's so funny?" I growled.

"You," she gasped out. "You think we're just attacking your camp for no reason? We had a purpose. We needed to get something." She smiled mockingly at me. "And now we have it."

"Yeah?" I asked with a dawning sense of horror. "And what was that?"

"Your little girlfriend."

I stalked over to her and grabbed the front of her shirt, roughly pulling her forward to face me. "Why do you need her?" I asked her harshly. I shook her when she didn't answer me. "Why did you take her?"

"Coeus already has your blood," she said. "All he needs now is you. And what better way to get you than bait? All you heroes are so predictable," she spat. "It's a wonder you're still alive with how stupid you are."

"Where is she?" I demanded. "Where are you taking her?"

"I'm just a grunt," she grinned. "I don't know all the juicy details."

I turned my body completely so that the others couldn't see me and leaned down further into her personal space. I smiled hollowly at her. "You listen to me. If she dies, I will make sure to find every last one of you who were in on this in Tartarus and make sure you never get out," I said very quietly so only she could hear me. "Have fun in the Underworld. Tell Hades I said hi," I said cheerfully before turning back to the team, not taking any satisfaction in her terrified expression.

"We need to have a senior campers meeting," I told them, clearing my face of any emotions. I ignored their worried expressions and tried not to dwell on anything but the situation right now. Because if I even let myself think about her for one second—

Back to the situation.

"Gather all the senior campers up," I said. "I need to talk to Chiron for a second. We can all meet in front of the Big House."

I turned away to the Big House before they could tell me anything or ask what to do with the empousa. I walked quickly to the Big House, barely even stopping to give a polite knock on the door to Chiron's office before I opened it. He glanced up from his desk where he was reading a paper. He was ducked down in his horse form, his bow and arrows slung over his shoulder.

"Hello, Percy," he said tiredly. He stepped closer to me when he saw my face. "What's wrong?" he asked, laying a hand on my shoulder concernedly.

"Chiron," I said, my voice sounding oddly empty. "Chiron, they took Annabeth."

He stared at me in surprise for a moment before shuffling me over to the couch. "Coeus took her as bait," I continued on numbly, "so that he could get me." I sat down hard and looked up at Chiron. "What am I supposed to do?"

"You continue to do what you were going to do before and let us handle finding Annabeth," Chiron said firmly. "You have enough on your plate. Let us help you."

"What if they hurt her?" I asked plaintively.

"I do not think they will hurt her, Percy. She is just there to hold over your head. They will not think of her, but of you and when you will get there."

"Are you sure?" I asked. "You guys don't need any help finding her?"

"We will be fine," Chiron assured me. "This is not our first missing camper, if you remember."

I smiled ruefully, but I felt a little better. Chiron and the others would do everything to find her. "I guess not." I snapped my fingers. "I need to call Tony real quick, hang on."

I clicked on Tony's contact and waited for a few minutes for him to pick up. "Hello?" I heard him say.

"Hey, Tony. Where are you guys right—" I paused for a second. "What's that noise?" It almost sounded like he had put a hair dryer on the phone and was trying to talk over it.

"I'm flying right now," Tony explained. "Me and the others minus the giant Hulk are just taking care of a few stragglers who thought it would be funny to terrorize some people on the streets." I heard a blast in the background and a muttered bullseye from Tony.

"Okay, that's good. After you're done you can just go back to the tower, and I'll meet you there later. Listen, if you see a group of monsters with Annabeth in it, try and get her back, please," I said, my voice strained.

I heard a pause from the other line and the wind noises suddenly stopped. "What happened?" Tony asked.

"They, uh, they took her during the fight at camp." I swallowed unsuccessfully past the lump in my throat. "Coeus took her as bait to get to me."

"Percy…" Tony trailed off. I heard him sigh. "I'm sorry, buddy. We'll keep an eye out for her. We can talk later about what we'll do since we're both busy." The noise started up again as Tony lifted off the ground. "We'll find her, Perce," he said before hanging up.

I groaned and turned back to Chiron, who had his eyebrows raised. "The team's taking care of some monsters that were threatening some mortals. There's going to be a senior campers meeting in about five minutes if you want to sit it on it," I offered.

Chiron inclined his head. "I will attend it, but I don't think I have any contributions to the meeting if that's what you need."

"Nah, I don't think I need any of that unless you have something you want to say," I said. "I need to go." I stood up from my seat and turned to leave.

"She will be fine, Percy," Chiron said seriously, stopping me. "And you will also be fine. I trust you are doing better since your stay with the Avengers? I haven't been able to ask you with everything that's been happening."

I smiled. "Yeah, I'm actually doing much better." I looked down at my feet and absently scrubbed some dirt off my left shoe with the toe of my right shoe. "I managed to get a full nights' sleep the other night. The nightmares are getting a little less frequent and terrifying, the whole nine yards."

"That's great, Percy," Chiron replied warmly. "I knew you would find your way to the light while in darkness."

"Yeah, maybe the gods know what they're talking about sometimes." I smirked and then sobered up. "Hey, Chiron, can I ask you a question?"

"You can."

"Um, well, it's just that I have a weird feeling about this whole thing," I said carefully. I didn't want to get Chiron in trouble if he accidently answered some question about my fate. Not that I expected him to, but still. "I feel like there's only one way out of this whole mess."

Chiron sighed heavily and ran a hand over his face. "I'm afraid I can't help you on this, Percy. I hope you understand, but you must know I cannot advise you on this whatsoever without the Fates intervening." His tail flicked side to side. He must have been agitated, but it didn't look like it was with me.

I nodded. "Of course, Chiron. Can I ask you one more question? It's one you can answer."

"Go ahead."

"Is it ever possible to reverse the properties of water? Like, if water can do a certain thing, can you reverse that?"

Chiron looked at me searchingly. "I'm sure many things are possible for a son of the sea," he said vaguely, glancing cautiously at the sky.

"That's all I needed. Thanks, Chiron." I nodded my head at him with a small smile and walked out the office, avoiding looking at me and Annabeth's picture on the bulletin board.

So, if I could reverse the properties of water, maybe I could come up with some kind of plan to stop this whole mess, I thought. I wasn't exactly sure what, yet, but I could definitely have more options now than just "stop Coeus and stay alive."

When I walked back outside, all the senior campers and some other older campers were already outside, sitting on the grass. Clarisse had her ankle wrapped up still, and Jason was sipping some nectar to heal a cut on his arm, but besides that everyone was okay. I walked down the steps and sat down on the bottom one. The group settled down and watched me expectantly, some with worry.

"Okay, so, as most of you know, Annabeth has been taken by Coeus," I said, taking care of the most obvious problem first. I heard the door behind me open and close and felt the vibrations of Chiron coming toward me. "Chiron said that you guys will focus on getting her back so I can stop Coeus and not have to do two things at once."

"Of course we will," Piper said. She and Annabeth had gotten close since the war had ended, and she was probably hit pretty hard by this too. Everyone who knew Annabeth was. "You just concentrate on taking care of that stupid—" a colorful variety of curse words filled the air that made even Clarisse raise her eyebrows.

I chuckled a little when she was done. "Alright, Piper. Want me to tell him you said that, too?" I joked.

"Fine by me," she said, huffing. A few other campers smiled with her, and Jason tugged her to him and hugged her, grinning.

"And I also wanted to say good job on defending the camp," I complimented. "You guys don't suck nearly as much as I thought you did. I'm talking to you, Clarisse."

"Shut up, Prissy. If I didn't have my freaking ankle wrapped, I would kick your butt."

"I'm sure you would, Clarisse," I told her tolerantly, like I was speaking to a five-year0old who said his dad was Superman.

"Percy Jackson, I will—"

"Anything else, Percy?" Chiron asked amusedly over Clarisse.

"Like I told you all before, I think I'll need you to fight. It isn't set in stone, but just for the little skirmishes that pop and need to be taken care of before they cause real damage." I paused for a moment. "I'm going to leave you out of the big fight." I shushed their complaints. "Mostly because there isn't anything you could do about this fight. You're helping more if you take care of the mutant monsters, instead."

"By the way, how are they doing that, exactly?" Leo asked. "How are they mixing two different monsters?"

"Leo, I'm going to not answer that because I don't think anyone here wants to know how monster babies are made and nurtured," I said with a straight face.

Leo face turned a few shades greener than usual. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"Any more questions before I head back to the tower?" I asked. When no one said anything, I slapped my hands on my knees and stood up. "Okay, I guess I'll see you guys later. Feel free to keep me updated on what's happening. If you need any help on getting the camp back in order, I'll try and come when I have some free time. Just let me know."

"Will do," Jason said. "And in the meantime, Percy, stay safe. Alright?"

"I'll try," I promised. "Bye, guys." I whistled for Blackjack and climbed onto his back once he landed. I waved one more time to my friends and then took off.

"To Avengers' Tower, Blackjack," I said, patting him on the mane.

You got it, boss.

A/N: So, that's it. Like I said, not my best. So, I will try to update that one-shot sometime this week, in case you guys are looking for it. Also, thanks for the feedback on what your favorite chapter was! It was cool to see you guys' opinions. So! Any guesses on what's going to happen next? Did I throw you guys for a loop? Yeah, so see y'all Monday!