Lex gets a crash course in what her mother called 'different' gods.
I'm so sick of dreaming.
Even though she wasn't entirely sure that's what this was the initial thought that went through Lex's head as her eyes snapped open. She'd only just sat down on her bed, legs crossed. Her laptop had been open to her research paper with only three out of twelve pages finished. But as she sat there, preparing two ibuprofen for the impending headache that came with writing and settled in, she'd simply blinked.
And now, as her eyes opened, she was standing in a room that most certainly wasn't hers.
There was quite a bit to notice. For one thing, the room was massive. It had gray, solid concrete walls that stretched about fifty feet above her. The SHIELD banners on the far wall told her exactly where she was; one of their research facilities. She was guessing the basement. It was also filled with all sorts of high-tech equipment, stainless steel and wires and screens. People with bags under their eyes and wrinkled clothing were running every which way, ID cards dangling from their shirts. The air around them was thick with tension.
But they weren't the thing that was drawing Lex in.
It was the blue glow.
A cube, electric blue. The longer the blonde stared at it, the more she realized it was the same shade she'd seen in her dream two weeks prior. The cube was glowing and throbbing, the energy coming off of it in pulses.
"Director!"
It was the only word clear enough for her to hear. Director Fury was walking into the room, exchanging words with a white-haired man in a plaid shirt and slacks. The sight made her giggle a little; he had the exact same fashion sense as Steve. None of them seemed to notice her presence, and she couldn't draw her attention away long enough to wonder why.
She couldn't hear what they were saying. Their voices were low, muffled. Like she was underwater. But her attention wasn't on them anyway. The blue cube was drawing her in, she couldn't take her eyes off of it. As she got closer, she noticed how warm it was. Not hot, like she expected it to be, with how much energy it was giving off. But warm, pleasant. Like a bath on a cold day.
Touch it.
The voice should have made her jump. It wasn't her own, or her mothers. In fact, she'd never heard it before. But it was powerful, causing her bones to vibrate. The voice spoke again, bouncing around in her skull.
Touch it, Elexis. It calls to you. Touch it, touch it…
She couldn't help herself anymore. As she reached for it, electric blue spirals responded. They met her hands halfway, wrapping around her fingers and seeming to draw them closer. She heard cries of alarm from behind, feeling the panic in the room become more palpable. But she wasn't paying attention. The cube was calling to her, she wanted- no, needed, to take it in her hands.
If Lex had been in any way within her right mind, she would have noticed how her hands looked all wrong. They were see-through, almost like a ghost. Hazy and unfocused. But she didn't notice those things. She didn't feel the eyes watching her, the hunger behind them, directed towards her. All she could focus on was how desperately she wanted to grasp the glowing blue cube in front of her.
Her fingers finally enclosed around the cube, and a burst of warmth shot through her. A bolt of blue drowned out her vision, and there were muffled shouts of shock from around the room.
And then her eyes shot open.
She was still on her bed. Her laptop open in front of her, the cursor still blinking at her halfway through page four. Her hands were braced on her knees, back erect, head in a neutral position. She could still feel the warmth on her fingertips, still feel the bolt of energy that raced through her body. Her skin was still tingling, like after you've been doused in scalding water. She could still feel the power from the cube.
And one word was echoing through her mind.
Tesseract.
It had been about two weeks since the incident with the Scythian Dracnae. Steve had been… shockingly calm about the whole thing. It might have been because, after her unfortunate fainting incident and the surprise visit from her mother, she hadn't told him anything else about the Olympians. She also hadn't spoken about the other demigods, or Half-Blood Hill. While she wanted to believe her uncle was a great man, there were other people at stake here. Other half-bloods, their families, anybody involved with the Greek world.
And she wouldn't risk them like that.
After waking up in the medbay with the mysterious bracelet that her mother had gifted her gone from her wrist and Steve sitting by her side with a concerned-mother look, things had faded into a somewhat normal routine. Training every morning before the SHIELD agents began their own training rounds, then a shower and breakfast with Steve. The morning/afternoon period was usually spent on schoolwork, cooped up in the library with her glasses as she forced herself through her paper and other large books of information. The research paper was due in just over a week, and she still wasn't any closer to being done. It was supposed to be on the impact of mythology and folklore in modern architecture and medicine, and Lex knew there was a lot. Most people didn't realize it, but folklore and myths themselves actually influenced quite a bit.
But as she stared at the blinking cursor, she found herself feeling strangely empty.
The morning after her dream/not dream/out-body-experience, Lex was laying in bed. The alarm clock read 5:18 a.m., and she knew that it was pointless to try and fall asleep now. She needed to be up in just under an hour and closing her eyes now would just leave her crankier than she already was when the blaring, annoying alarm pulled her back to the waking world.
Instead, she stood up and grabbed her bag of supplies, heading towards the gym. But as she approached, two familiar voices made her stop. As they got closer, she stationed herself right outside the door and pressed her ear closer to hear the last part of the conversation.
"Anything we should know about the Tesseract?" Fury. The word sent a shiver down her spine.
Steve spoke, his own voice grim. "You should have left it in the ocean."
She stepped back just as Steve came through the door. He faltered at the sight of his niece, one hand holding a gym bag and the other hoisting an entire punching bag over his shoulder. However, his face was only focused on her, eyebrows creasing in concern.
"Lex, are you alright?"
I should tell him about my dream. She wanted to. Desperately, right then and there, she wanted to confide in him. But at the sight of Fury standing behind him in the gym, she bit her lip and shook her head.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just couldn't sleep; thought I'd pop down here and get some early training in."
Steve smiled softly. "You just missed me. Fury's sending me on a mission."
Her eyebrows raised. "What mission? Where are you going?"
Steve opened his mouth, and judging by the expression on his face, he was about to tell her not to worry about it and focus on her schoolwork. But Fury's next words shocked them both.
"I've actually got a debriefing file for you as well, Hager. You'll be joining him."
Roughly three hours later, Lex and Steve sat side-by-side on a jet that was speeding towards an unknown location. On the jet with them, aside from the piolets, was an agent named Phil Coulson.
Steve had been voicing his disapproval over Lex joining this mission non-stop since Fury had told them she'd be tagging along. Elexis couldn't say she was too pleased about it herself; she wasn't a SHEILD agent, and she didn't want to be. But she was a demigod, and after being cooped up for the better part of a month, she was desperate for some activity. Some adventure. Hades, she was desperate for anything.
Sitting next to her great-uncle, Agent Coulson was telling them about some other people they'd be meeting.
From what she understood, the mission was recovering the Tesseract. The one who had taken it was called Loki. Yes, as in the Norse god of mischief. The information had caused Lex to freeze, recalling her mother's voice.
"You will fight battles among mortals and gods. Different gods, but gods all the same."
Doing her best to hide the reaction, she'd listened to the rest of the report. Loki had stolen the Tesseract with a strange scepter that also glowed a godly blue. Using the scepter, he'd managed to take over the minds of Agent Barton, Agent Romanoff's partner, and another man. Dr. Erik Selvig. The report had droned on about how SHIELD wanted to use the Tesseract for sustainable energy, but something dark stirred in Lex's stomach.
Even gods got drunk with power. Mortals possessing a something even close to celestial and all-powerful like this Tesseract just sounded like a bad idea.
But then again, that wasn't her call to make. Not yet at least. As of right now, she was on this jet listening to Agent Coulson and trying to decipher her true meaning in this grand scheme of Fury's.
"So," Steve spoke up as Coulson stood by them, holding a tablet. "This Dr. Banner was trying to replicate the serum they used on me?"
"A lot of people were." Coulson explained. "You were the worlds first superhero. Banner thought gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskin's original formula."
Lex couldn't look away from the screen. This wasn't a man; at least, not like she'd seen. He was huge, almost the size of an adolescent cyclops, and completely green. He was ripping through cars, buildings, and full-grown Red Wood trees like they were made of paper. Her heart clenched, though, when she thought about a smart, kind man being the one to suffer through that.
"It didn't really go his way, did it?" Steve asked rhetorically, his face somber. Coulson shook his head sadly.
"Not so much. When he's not that… thing, though, guy's like a Stephen Hawking."
Steve turned to Lex with a confused expression, and she smiled a little.
"He's a genius."
Her uncle seemed satisfied with the answer and turned back to the tablet. Coulson was quiet for a while, then spoke again, his tone different.
"I must say: It's an honor to meet you, officially."
Steve smiled politely in gratitude as Coulson continued. "I've sort of met you, I mean. I watched you while you were sleeping."
Steve's polite smile slipped off his face, and he looked a little startled as Lex bit her lip and bowed her head. Laughing in this poor guy's face would only make him more embarrassed. She could feel the admiration coming off him in waves towards her great-uncle.
As he spoke, his eyes widened and he stumble over his words again. "I mean, I was- I was present while you were unconscious on the ice- you know, it's really just a huge honor to have you on board…"
Steve stood up, pacing to the front of the jet and watching the expanse of the ocean speeding underneath them as Coulson fought to gain some dignity back and Lex stifled her laughter in her seat to the best of her abilities. Steven interrupted, sounding a bit more serious.
"Well, I hope I'm the man for the job."
"Oh, you are." Coulson reassured him quickly, "Absolutely. Um, we've made some modifications to the uniform." He smiled bashfully. "I had a little design input." He finished proudly.
"The uniform?" Steve repeated, looking confused. "Aren't the stars and stripes a little… old-fashioned?"
Coulson's face turned somber. "With all that's happened, all the things that are about to come to light? People could use a little old-fashioned."
The jet reached its destination; a humongous ship in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. As Lex exited the aircraft with Steve and Coulson, an unwelcome face approached them.
"Captain Rogers, you remember Agent Romanoff." Coulson gestured to the two of them. Steve, the picture of politeness and chivalry, simply nodded.
"Ma'am."
"Captain." Agent Romanoff greeted him, then turned to Lex. "Ms. Hager."
Maybe it wasn't the most mature move, but Lex didn't respond. Instead, she simply looked away and wandered off, not wanting to be a part of the conversation. She heard Steve speak.
"She's still a little…"
"It's ok." Agent Romanoff's response surprised her. "She managed to surprise me. That's something not a lot of people can say."
Walking out further, Lex stopped by the edge of the ship as the activity teemed around her. Agents and uniformed air traffic coordinators were bustling around her. A sea breeze caressed her nose, and a sharp pang hit her chest.
The last time she'd been on a sea trip was when she, Annabeth, Percy, and Percy's cyclops half-brother Tyson had to go hunt down the Golden Fleece, as well as their friend, Grover. It had been one hell of an adventure, and she couldn't help how homesick she felt at the thought of her friends. She wished she could see them again; she wished they were here.
A small rumble underneath her caused the blonde to pause, steadying herself.
What was that?
"Elexis!" Steve's voice pulled her out of her confusion to see him and a man with dark hair in a suit walking towards them. A jolt of recognition hit her, realizing this was Dr. Bruce Banner. Agent Romanoff followed them.
Steve placed a hand on her shoulder, standing close as the waves underneath them began to churn. At first, the trio was extremely confused. But as the waves lowered and she saw the propellers, Lex couldn't stop the smile that tugged onto her lips.
"Now that is cool."
As Agent Romanoff led them inside, Steve spoke up.
"Dr. Banner, I don't think you've met my niece, Elexis."
The man turned to her, his brown eyes bashful as he nodded. "Hi."
"Hello." She greeted politely, smiling. It was hard not to; the man was so soft-spoken. It was a bit refreshing.
A set of glass doors opened, and Lex had to fight from letting her jaw hit the floor.
They were in a room completely surrounded by screens. It felt like a beehive, surrounded by the activity and a multitude of voices, hard at work. They were standing on a type of balcony that overlooked the lower floor of computers and SHIELD employees. Directly in front of them was a wall completely made of windows. The sight of the clouds in front of her made Lex's stomach a bit queasy.
Lord Zeus, please allow safe passage to me and the mortals in this aircraft.
It would appear the king of the gods was in a calm mood, however, on that day. There was nothing but clear sky's ahead of them.
As she looked around, she saw Steve reach into his wallet, handing Fury a ten-dollar bill before standing next to her. She smirked a little.
"A little overwhelming, gramps?"
Steve responded to the teasing in kind, chuckling. "That's why I've got you as my guide, isn't it?"
She smiled as Dr. Banner walked closer to them, causing her and Steve to hear the last part of his conversation with Fury.
"Where exactly are you with finding the Tesseract?"
Fury pointed at Coulson, who gestured to the busy team in front of the screens all around them. "We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cellphones, laptops; if it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."
"That's still not gonna find them in time." Romanoff spoke up, and Lex paused when she saw her next to a screen with a picture of Agent Barton on the screen.
"You have to narrow your field." Banner agreed, then turned back to Fury. "How many spectrometers do you have access to?"
"How many do you need?"
"Call every lab you have. Tell them to put the spectrometers up on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm and basic cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places."
Steve turned to Lex, his face blank, but she only shook her head as if to say, Sorry, but I'm just as lost.
"You have a place for me to work?" Dr. Banner finished, and Fury nodded at Romanoff.
"Agent Romanoff."
The redhead walked past Dr. Banner, speaking as he followed. "You're gonna love it, Doc. We got all the toys."
As the two walked off, Lex tilted her head at the way the two walked next to each other. She could tell they weren't well-acquainted, but the way Dr. Banner's eyes followed Agent Romanoff and seeing how Agent Romanoff waited for Dr. Banner to walk by her side, instead of walking ahead of him like she did with most, was indicative. The child of love inside of her couldn't help but be curious.
They hadn't been in the air long before they got a hit. While Coulson was nervously bragging about his near-mint Captain America trading cards to Steve and Lex was egging him on with malicious glee at Steve's embarrassment, an agent spoke up right as an alarm went off.
"We've got a hit!" He called out. "69% match. Wait, crossmatch; 79%. Stuttgart, Germany. 28 Konigstrasse. He's not exactly hiding."
And the agent was right. The god of mischief wasn't hiding. Several cameras captured him in full view, walking into large and lavish building, dressed smartly in a suit and scarf with a fancy coat over it. He looked like any other mortal man, but Lex knew better.
She'd seen gods before.
"Captain, Hager."
Both blondes turned to Fury. He leveled them with a critical expression.
"You're up."
Despite multiple protests from Steve, Lex would be joining this mission. And she had some motivation this time, as well. As she left to use whatever spare uniforms and weapons SHIELD had available, she and Fury had a little chat.
"You're not going to take this off before I get thrown into a fight again?" She'd asked irritably, showing the shiny silver cuff on her wrist. Fury turned to her, eye narrowed.
"I can't take that off until I'm sure you can be trusted around my crew. If you do well in this fight, and show that you're an ally, then we can talk about it."
A scowl adorned Lex's face, but she only walked off. As much as she hated it, fighting Fury on his stupid, controlling attitude, fighting would get her nowhere. She wanted this cuff off, and fast. It felt like not having one of her limbs.
SHIELD mostly had uniforms similar to Agent Romanoff's, but Lex wasn't interested in those. They weren't fashionable, and hardly realistic for a warrior in the grand scheme of things. Instead, she'd chosen some of their bottoms with multiple pockets and straps and switched out the top for something she already had. A pragmatic, long-sleeve blue shirt that was thin enough to be breathable but sturdy enough to last her through a fight. Tying her hair up into a high ponytail, she strapped on her steel-toed boots and her rings before joining her uncle as they boarded the aircraft.
Steve, of course, could not hide his worried expression. "Just stay close to me." He told her firmly, and Lex felt a flare of indignation.
"Steve, you've seen me fight. You know I can handle myself-"
"I'm not questioning you." He cut off her argument, his face pinched with concern. "But this is a whole new enemy. I'm only asking that you be careful."
She smirked at him as they flew through the air, nearing their destination. "Steve, 'careful' is my middle name."
However, the look on her uncles' face expressed he wasn't sure he agreed.
As they neared the gala, Steve and Lex would be dropped off to attempt a surprise attack. Seeing Steve in his Captain America uniform was… different. Lex couldn't help but feel small when she walked next to him, like a child wearing their parents' shoes.
As they approached, Lex saw the group of people pouring out of the building. Steve's hand came down on her shoulder.
"Wait."
She turned back to him in disbelief. "Wait?" She repeated.
"Look how many people there are. If we go in blazing, they'll get caught in the crossfire. We need to distract him, draw as many away as possible before we start fighting."
As the crowd grew, Lex knew he was right. A god fighting a demigod and a super soldier with this many people around was just asking for trouble, and so she nodded. "Alright. What's your plan?"
"Is not this simpler?"
Lex could hear every word coming out of the god's mouth perfectly as she crept from the side of the building, fingering her rings in agitation. The crowd was kneeling before him as he walked among them, standing tall. The glowing blue staff in his hands was pulsating energy, and just like the Tesseract, Lex could have sworn she felt it's warmth. It was a bit weaker though, not as enticing as the Tesseract had been in her dream.
"Is this not your natural state?" Loki continued, "It's the unspoken truth of humanity that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity."
As he spoke, Lex noticed something with a start. Four other figures dressed exactly the same and identical staffs were standing guard around the kneeling crowd. They flickered occasionally, and Lex pressed further into the shadows. Who knew what they could see.
Where's a child of Hades when you need one?
"…in the end, you will always kneel."
Lex's heart jumped to her throat as a lone figure rose from the ground. He was old, too old to be standing up to a god wielding a weapon that could probably incinerate him. But the old man stood, with unwavering eyes and chin held high. In an accented voice, he spoke.
"Not to men like you."
Loki chuckled derisively, "There are no men like me."
The man's face remained hard. "There are always men like you."
Even with his back to her, Lex saw Loki twitch, and she knew the old man had hit a nerve. She looked around anxiously.
Anytime, now, Steve!
"Look to your elder, people." Loki announced, leveling his staff at the man. Lex's eyes widened as she started forward, picking up pace.
"Let him be your example."
Lex was racing towards them, ready to rip off one ring and hurl the dagger at Loki's back, when Steve quite literally dropped from the sky.
The blast from the god's staff hit the red, white, and blue shield and ricocheted, knocking Loki to the ground. He growled lowly, and now was when Lex acted.
Crouching in front of the first group of civilians, she motioned for them to leave, placing a finger to her lips. Luckily, they were all too scared to argue. They simply stood, helping each other and sneaking off as quietly as Steve spoke.
"You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everyone, we ended up disagreeing."
"The soldier," Loki growled mockingly as Lex motioned for another group to sneak off, "a man out of time."
Steve glared as he walked forward. "I'm not the one who's out of time."
The large jet came down to hovering height, previously obscured by the clouds and night sky, as a large gun descended from its underbelly.
"Loki," Romanoff's voice came over a loudspeaker, "drop the weapon and stand down."
Several things happened in rapid succession. First, a young man attempting to sneak to safety tripped, noisily landing on the ground. As he did, one of Loki's doubles turned. The real Loki turned to shoot at the noise, and Lex launched herself forward.
Before the blast could hit her or the young man, Agapi and Polemos were in her hands and slashing downwards. The blast of energy hit her daggers, and she threw them apart, allowing the damage to dissipate around her.
The sudden action caused mass panic; the rest of the crowd got up and ran off screaming. Using the distraction to his advantage, Steve rushed Loki and hit in the face with the edge of his shield. Lex shouted over the confusion, her voice firm despite the restriction on her wrist.
"Run! Get out of the area, now, everybody!"
The people did as they were told, no questions, but a shout of pain caused Lex to whirl around.
Steve was on one knee, fist planted on the ground, as Loki pressed the butt of his staff against the back of Steve's neck.
"Kneel."
As Lex rushed forward, Steve acted. "Not today!" He grunted, throwing the staff off and coming up for a well-placed round-house kick to Loki's face.
As the god was forcibly turned her way, Lex let out a battle cry and slashed forward. The god just barely miss the blow, being forced backwards as the young demigod in front of him went on the attack. With his staff and her daggers, the blows between them seemed to almost vibrate the ground as they clashed together.
Unfortunately for her, she dove a little too far forward for a slash to Loki's thigh. He dodged, and she stumbled. Quick on his feet, Loki spun and brough the scepter down hard towards her chest.
But Lex had been trained by the best. She brought up Love and War and crossed them, catching the weapon right before the tip could go through her sternum.
As Loki pressed the scepter down harder, forcing her to slide one foot back as her back bent closer to the ground, his eyes roamed over her, and then widened before amusement and glee danced across his face.
"Well, well, well," he taunted, "what have we here?"
With a shout, Lex threw out her foot and got him in the stomach. He grunted, stumbling back, and she went in for a slash to his abdomen. But he used his arm and looped it through hers, bending it back behind her and pressing her against him.
"A little dove." He jeered, and Lex winced back in disgust as his face got closer to his.
A sharp whistling noise met their ears, and then Loki was knocked away from Lex by a red, white, and blue flash to the face. Lex fell backwards without the support and rolled back up to the standing, holding her knives at the ready as Steve's shield flew back to his arm. Loki got to his feet, snarling as Steve glared.
"Hands off." The hero warned lowly. Loki looked between the two, then snickered.
"Ah yes. I see it, now. The bond of family." He sneered in disgust, "How touching."
He lunged for Steve, who went on the defense. Soon, it as Lex and Steve teamed up against Loki, but it wasn't much of a fair fight. He had a pretty powerful weapon on his side, and Lex was finding it hard to keep up with it when each blow to her own daggers sent energy and distracting warmth across her body. She did her best to ignore it, fighting harder.
But Loki was good. Very good. As Elexis went to slash at the back of his knees, (a mean trick she'd actually learned from Luke himself) he turned, planting the staff on the ground. Lex's blow met the staff handle and before she could react, Loki's foot planted in her chest. She was knocked harshly into the ground groaning in pain.
"Elexis!" She heard Steve shout, but then a loud clang and a grunt, followed by a loud thud told her he was no longer nearby. As she opened her eyes, pushing past the screaming in her ribcage and pressing her elbows into the ground, a flash of gold made her freeze.
Loki stood above her, the point of his scepter at her throat. She tilted her head back, feeling the heat from the celestial weapon, trying to avoid the scrape of it on her skin as her chest heaved. Loki smiled as his eyes danced with a sadistic sense of victory.
"With you by my side," he breathed excitedly, "he will be unstoppable."
The tip of the scepter traced down her throat, ghosting over her skin before stopping right above the swell of her breasts. But before it could touch her, they both froze.
Was that… AC/DC?
In the moment of distraction, a sharp blast sent Loki flying. Lex jumped unintentionally, then watched in disbelief, breathing ragged, as a man clad in a gold and scarlet iron suit lowered onto the ground. Iron Man stuck his hand out, pointed at the god now lying against the cracked, cement stairs.
"Make your move, reindeer games."
Steve had gotten to his feet, strapping his shield back on as he and Iron Man stood side-by-side in front of the god. With his hands up, Loki's armor dissipated in a golden shimmer, leaving him in a gold and green coat instead.
"Smart move."
Lex turned her head, still on her elbows, eyes focusing in on the scepter beside her. As she faced it, something hot ran through her, starting at her chest and moving throughout her body.
For the barest second, she could have sworn she saw the slightest trace of gold in the thrum of light.
Next: A conversation between Elexis and Loki gets too personal for her liking, and Lex begins to wonder what her role is in this new quest.