Percy shot up with a gasp, pain shooting up from his stomach. "Holy Hephaestus!" he yelped. His hands flew to his midsection. The god glanced down, relieved to see no golden ichor bleeding through his black 'I can't adult today' shirt.

"Percy!" Percy looked back up to see Steve striding towards him. "You're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Like I was pincushion for the Hunters' target practice," Percy groaned out, rubbing his stomach. It seemed Tartarus couldn't physically hurt him yet, at least not to any major extent. But he pressed down with his thumb on his lower chest and couldnt help the hiss of pain that escaped from his lips.

"Percy?" The Greek lifted his eyes back up to Steve's worried face.

"I'm fine."

Steve frowned, unconvinced.

"Really," Percy tried to convince the super soldier.

At Steve's skeptical look, Percy lifted his shirt up and glanced down. "See, it's fine—" He was interrupted by both his and Steve's identical sharp intake of breath.

"Yeah... that's not fine," Percy chuckled nervously, running a trembling hand through his rowdy hair.

"Percy..."

His abdomen was a myriad of bruises, or maybe it was one giant contusion—Percy really couldn't tell. At least, Percy assumed it was bruised. Instead of the bluish-red he was he expecting, his stomach was different shades of brown, almost blackish purple in parts of the middle area. Even with Percy's tanned skin, the discoloring definitely stood out.

"What—what happen?"

Percy stayed silent for a minute. "Tartarus stabbed me," he admitted finally.

"What?!" came the alarmed, but expected, reply.

Bruce took that wonderful second to walk in.

The doctor glanced from Steve's upset expression to Percy's bruised stomach. "I leave for five minutes," Bruce muttered dryly.

Percy grinned sheepishly at him. "How long have I been out?"

"Almost an hour," Steve answered as Bruce walked towards the pair.

"Let me see that," Bruce demanded, quickly assuming doctor mode.

Steve looked skyward. "JARVIS, please tell everyone Percy's awake."

Of course, Mr. Rogers, the AI replied smoothly.

Percy sighed but kept his shirt up. Bruce examined his stomach, slowly running his fingers over the discolored area. He prodded gently, erecting periodic hisses from Percy.

"Why are they brown?" Bruce asked.

Percy shrugged, but then immediately regretted the sudden movement. "Beats me."

Bruce stayed silent for a second before perking up. "Your blood. Its yellow, not red."

Percy nodded. At this point, he was just going with the flow.

Bruce poked and prodded a bit more, before finally pulling back and speaking again.

"Well, the bad news is that I'm pretty sure you broke some of your ribs. The good news is that it doesn't look like your ribs punctured any major blood vessels or organs."

"How do you know?"

"Because you'd be dead by now."

"...Oh."

Bruce smiled. "I'm just kidding, Percy."

"Come on, doc." Percy complained.

Bruce's smile diminished a little. "I wasn't kidding about your injuries, though. Normally I'd do an MRI and a CT Scan, but you're a god, so..."

Percy nodded. "Yeah, I can just use some ambrosia and nectar." Percy moved to swing his legs over the bed.

"Uh, uh, uh." Bruce started, placing his hands on Percy's chest to stop the god. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Um... getting up?"

From the look on Bruce's face, that wasn't the right answer.

"Oi, Sleeping Beauty." Tony strode into the lab with Natasha and Clint, interrupting the upcoming tirade from Bruce.

Percy gave Tony a grateful smile.

Tony continued, "You seem to have a bad habit of passing out in my in my Tower, Percy."

Percy's smile turned into a scowl, and he huffed.

Tony's eyes flickered to Percy's lifted shirt, and he whistled. "Ouch."

"That... looks like it hurts," Clint muttered with a raised eyebrow.

Percy grimaced. "Really? I never would have guessed." Sarcasm dripped off his words.

Clint rolled his eyes at the boy's cynicism. "Hardy, har, har."

Thor and Loki walked into the room, Steve following less than a minute behind.

"Ah, young Perseus. Glad to see you alert," Thor greeted rambunctiously.

"I feel like a giant walking bruise," Percy groaned out.

Bruce, who'd walked off to a different part of the med bay, returned to Percy's side.

"Glad I stocked up," Bruce said as he handed Percy a baggie and a bottle of the god food.

He popped a piece of ambrosia into his mouth, the flavor of his mom's cookies bursting on his tastebuds, and followed it with a swig of nectar. He held back a moan. Barely.

The discoloring faded slowly, making his scars more prominent. He hissed as he felt bones pop into place and cracks mend.

"Percy... what happened?"

He opened his eyes to see the team looking at him worriedly, all traces of mirth vanishing.

He licked his lips nervously. "Tartarus," he cleared his throat. "He, uh, he got to me."

The heroes exchanged worried glances.

"I thought we had more time," Steve protested pointlessly.

Percy lifted a shoulder. "I thought we did, too."

"Perseus, you don't have much longer until he can forcibly take your mind," Loki spoke up, his dark forest eyes unreadable.

Percy sighed.

"Way to be a Debbie Downer, Reindeer Games," Tony muttered.

Loki looked confused at the American slang but didn't comment on it. "The signs are already manifesting."

"Signs?" Natasha asked.

Loki nodded and clasped his hands in front of him. "I'm sure all of you noticed his eyes."

Percy glanced around at the grimaces and frowns with a confused look. "My... eyes?"

Bruce blew out a breath and put a hand on his shoulder. "They were black, Percy."

"...black?"

"Yeah. Totally black. And the veins near your eyes were darker, too. Like something from a horror movie. Pretty creepy if you ask me," Tony joked, trying to lighten the mood. "And then you said a few random words in some weird language. Greek, I'm assuming."

"He's coming," Loki supplied helpfully, obviously having heard Percy's earlier words.

Clint sighed. "That's not ominous at all."

Percy rubbed circles in his palm. He didn't remember saying anything, much less something in Greek. He definitely didn't remember his eyes turning black... not that he would know if they did.

Percy stifled a yawn.

Loki noticed and frowned. "The strain from your connection is taking a toll on your body, even as a god. You should rest."

Percy nodded, resisting the urge to yawn again.

The team filed out without much protest, patting him on the shoulder or giving him a few words of encouragement.

Loki shifted, apparently intending to stay a few minutes longer. Percy sent him a curious look but didn't protest.

Thor hesitated near the door, uncertain if Percy would welcome Loki's intrusion.

Tony popped his head back in. "Come on, Goldilocks. I bought those strawberry PB & J Pop-tarts you wanted."

Thor left without a backwards glance.

Percy made a face, eliciting a chuckle from Tony. Tony inclined his head towards Loki, a warning in his gaze. Loki looked surprised at the man's sudden trust, or well, at least lack of killing intent. The billionaire exited with a slight smile at Percy.

Percy shifted his pillow so he could still be upright and look at Loki but also have something to lean on. Loki watched him for a second. "He's going to kill you."

Percy blew out a breath. "Getting straight to the point, huh?" Not that he was surprised. Loki had never been one to beat around the bush, unless he was trying to anger someone.

Loki lifted a shoulder. "We have no time for games or feelings. Tartarus will be able to get to you soon. And when he manages that, he'll kill you."

Percy raised a hand to interrupt Loki, feeling like a kid asking a teacher a question. "I thought the whole point was to draw energy from me or whatever. He can't do that if I'm dead."

Loki sighed. "Not quite. He's drawn enough power from you. Your death will send a large wave of energy that will break the last bindings keeping him imprisoned."

"That's not good," Percy muttered.

Loki grimaced. "It gets worse."

"Of course it does."

"There is a good chance that breaking the connection will kill you." Loki explained gravely, "especially if you're already weak from fighting him."

Percy sighed. "So basically I'm screwed if I dont, and I'm screwed if I do." He rubbed his forehead. Why was there always a good chance of death?

Percy shifted, grimacing when pain flickered through his stomach. Loki noticed and frowned. The prince placed his hand on Percy's abdomen after asking permission. Percy couldn't hold back a hiss when Loki pressed in slightly.

Loki sighed. "Can you lift your shirt again?"

Percy did as he asked. The Greek glanced down and blinked, surprised. His stomach looked completely healed.

Loki didn't seem to share in his excitement, though. "You heal faster as a god, and the ambrosia and nectar work quicker. But you probably still have some internal damage." Loki extended his hand. "May I?"

At Percy's nod, Loki placed his hands on Percy's stomach. Percy couldn't help but suck in, inhaling harshly at the abrupt coldness. "Di immortales, Loki! Did you dunk your hands in an ice bath or something?"

Loki's lips twitched. "Something like that." He focused. "Yes, it still seems that you are still healing internally. But it's more than that. There must be some phantom pain lingering." Loki focused harder. Coldness spread from the Asgardian's hand. After Percy got over the abrupt shock from the iciness, it actually felt good. Loki removed his hand after a second. "That should be better. But you should still rest."

Percy nodded and pulled his shirt back down.

Loki stepped back. "We need to talk about your final encounter with Tartarus. I will fight with you, but besides that, you will have no help."

Percy opened his mouth.

"I'm helping you," Loki said firmly, leaving no room for argument.

Percy slowly shut his mouth, looking a little unhappy. Though, if he was honest with himself, he was glad for the companionship. He would be terrified to fight Tartarus alone.

Even with Loki, Percy had trouble suppressing his shudder of fear.

"But that's not the only problem. Tartarus will try to destroy your body while we fight him. Both of us will be helpless against any monsters he sends. You must ask your half-blood friends for help. And I'm sure the mortals will want to help as well, so they will require weapons able to kill your Greek monsters."

Percy frowned. He hated involving anyone else. "I thought none of the demis could help me?"

Loki shook his head. "Only in the actual fight against Tartarus. They can still protect our bodies. That being said, we will need to move locations. Monsters attacking in the middle of a city is not a good idea."

Percy nodded. They didn't need another Manhattan repeat.

"It will need to be a large area away from mortals, but one that's easily defendable."

"Okay. Well, why not Camp Half-blood, or even Camp Jupiter? They have barriers against monsters. It would make this whole thing a lot easier."

Loki shook his head. "The barriers won't hold up against Tartarus. If you were inside one of the barriers during the fight, Tartarus will use your connection to rip it down as easily as Fenrir can rip through flesh. Even on the slim chance he doesn't, just the backlash from the dark energy could cripple the barrier's magic."

"Fenrir?"

"A giant, demonic wolf."

"Oh."

"According to legend, Fenrir will devour the sun and swallow Odin during Ragnarök."

"Great. No offense, Loki, but your metaphors could really use some work."

Loki shrugged. "Well according to Midgardian myth, Fenrir is my son." He shook his head. "Midgardians concoct the weirdest stories."

"...I'm not going to even comment on that." Percy blew out a breath and rubbed his forehead. "Back to our problem... I can't think of anything off the top of my head, but I'm sure there' s a few places like what you just described. We should probably ask the Avengers. They may have a compound like that."

Loki tilted his head in agreement. "I will discuss it with them. Get some rest, Perseus."

Percy nodded and laid back against the pillows. Loki exited the room after making sure Percy was settled.

Percy shifted, trying to calm his thoughts. But the leader in him wouldn't be quieted. He wasn't much one for planning—that had always been Annabeth's job—but his mind still raced trying to make sure everything would be in place.

Loki had been right about the Avengers needing weapons. Percy knew they wouldn't let the half-bloods fight alone. Thor was fine with Mjolnir. Bruce was good with Hulk's fist. Tony was probably fine with his repulsors, but Percy would have to check on that. Natasha, Clint, and Steve, however, did need weapons. Clint's would be the easiest, as they could just give him a bunch of celestial bronze arrows. Hopefully the Hunters had some to spare. For Steve, they could probably just put a light coating or lining of a magical metal on the edges of his shield. Natasha could use celestial bronze daggers.

Percy also needed to talk to Thalia about bringing the Hunters. He hated putting more lives on the line, but it was their job to destroy monsters, so Percy had a feeling they wouldn't be too hard to convince. Plus, if he defeated Tartarus, Artemis could go back to the Hunt.

Unfortunately, he probably needed to IM Nico and got some of the older campers to help. He really didn't want to drag any of them into this; they'd already been through so much

But he had no choice.

With that dreary thought, Percy finally drifted off to the dark realm of Morpheus.