Chapter 7

When Percy and Calypso arrived in the science lab, things were not looking good. It was immediately clear to those of divine blood that the one-eyed Director was in the hot seat. Captain Rogers was fuming over a weapon that was now laid out on the table, and clearly Stark was cutting off the man's every argument about the lies he was attempting to feed. Natasha had walked in moments before them, and she was eyeing Dr. Banner nervously, "You want to think about removing yourself from this environment Doctor?"

The man was clearly unhappy when he snapped back with, "I was in Calcutta. I was pretty well removed."

"Loki is manipulating you." The woman countered passively.

"And you've been doing what exactly?" Banner challenged.

"You didn't come here because I batted my eyelashes at you."

"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy." The man returned as he motioned towards a computer screen that dangled from the ceiling, "I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."

Percy frowned at the insinuation. He thought they were fighting for the good guys, but it suddenly seemed more like the lesser of two evils. Calypso gripped his arm tightly as the tension in the room increased while Fury raised a finger towards Thor, "Because of him!"

The Norseman looked surprised by the accusation, "Me?"

"Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned." Fury explained.

This made the frown deepen on Percy's face, "Weapons such as this would not kill the divine. At best you are just going to piss them off. Maybe with some good shots you could incinerate their mortal forms, but the moment they go god mode you would be incinerated. No weapon is going to change that. I don't speak for all the pantheons, but I can assure it's a lost cause against mine."

Thor took the challenge to this, "You say it as if you are better than us?"

Percy shook his head immediately, "Not better, but different. I don't know how it would work on your people, but do you really think these weapons would kill you?"

The God of Thunder frowned at the question, "I doubt it."

Fury continued over the side conversation, "The world is filling up with people who can't be matched. That can't be controlled."

"Like you controlled the Cube?" Steve accused.

"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew the attention of Loki and his allies. It is a signal to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war." Thor interjected.

This made everyone's stomachs twist a little. Captain Rogers asked first, "A higher form?"

Before anyone else could answer Calypso broke her silence, "Yes. As the mortals of this world become more and more powerful, ancient things will begin to stir. Odinson is right. Your work with a weapon of this caliber is firing a giant flare into the air for every nasty thing that has stirred in thousands of years to come back and play."

Percy nodded, "There are things in all the pantheons that are very capable of world ending destruction. Toying with power like this is tossing down a challenge card."

"They forced our hand. We had to come up with something." Fury defended.

The room dissolved into arguments, but Calypso was the first to notice that the scepter in the back of the room was clearly acting up. The magic was familiar to her. Like the Siren's call. She noticed Dr. Banner was getting increasingly closer to the weapon as well, and her heart seized up as she spurred forward pulling Percy through the arguing group towards the weapon. All eyes went to them as Calypso's eyes glowed blue, and she forced her hands forward breaking the enchantment that had fallen over the room.

Everyone blinked several times, while Calypso sighed feeling the tension begin to lift, "Loki has a bigger bag of tricks than I expected. This weapon seems to have a mind of its own, and it is stirring the room into a frenzy." She then turned to face the room, "Dr. Banner. Agent Romanoff says you are Loki's target. We should get you somewhere safe until this blows over."

Before Percy and Calypso could convince the man to follow, however, a computer started beeping and Banner quickly made his way over to it and began typing, "We found it."

Everyone looked excited by the news, and Tony immediately announced, "I can get there fastest."

Thor looked ready to argue, but the look on Banner's face stopped him, "Oh my God."

Percy felt the eruption before he saw it. Without hesitation he wrapped his arms around Calypso and dove to the corner when a blast of heat erupted out of the middle of the room, throwing everyone back. Percy and Calypso hit the floor in a heap, but the Curse of Achilles provided the protection for the son of Poesidon, while the daughter of Atlas had her landing softened by her paramour. Percy groaned, "I may be invincible, but that still hurts."

The girl jumped to her feet, "We need to get to our weapons."

Percy reached into his pocket pulling out Riptide, "We are in serious need of a weapon upgrade. Our stuff isn't going to hurt the mortals."

She nodded, but added as she took off in a wobbly run, "True, but we can still cut through their weapons, and knock them out. That will have to be enough for now."

On coms, Percy heard Fury call for a status report, and an unknown agent answered back, "External detonation. Number three engine is down. Somebody needs to get outside and fix that engine."

Stark immediately called back, "I'm on it."

Fury then called for Romanoff, but she didn't answer. By the time Percy and Calypso made it to their rooms and gathered up their armor and weapons, things had truly dissolved into chaos. Reports were that the Hulk was on the rampage, Stark was not having luck repairing the engine, and the rest of the team was fighting off a hostile force that had clearly come to steal the scepter. Calypso grabbed Percy by the arm, "You go take care of the Hulk. I will go secure the scepter."

Percy gave the girl a tight nod, but pulled her into a searing kiss, "Stay safe Caly."

She nodded back at him saying, "The water is near I can feel it. Use it if you have too."

This made the boy grin, but shook his head as he ran down the hall, following sounds of destruction from nearby. When he made it into an airplane hangar it was just in time to see Thor smash the Hulk with his hammer, sending him flying backwards into a nearby plane. Percy ran to the man's side, "We need to get him off this ship or he is going to rip this place apart. Can he survive a fall at this height?"

Thor grunted, "I do not know. Banner is not our enemy though, and I do not wish to see him dead."

The massive green creature shrieked at the duo as it cleared the debris, and hurled a piece of the broken plane at them as they scattered out of the way. Percy knew his sword would do nothing to the angry beast, so instead he hit the watch on his arm watching it spring to a full sized bronze shield. He turned to Thor as the Hulk stomped towards them, "You hit it with the hammer, and I will keep him away from you. We either knock him off the ship through that window or people are going to die. We can only hope he will survive it."

Thor nodded gravely as the creature screamed again, charging at the man wielding the hammer. Percy rushed to intercept by smashing his shield into the creature's face as hard as he could, and then dodged under a massive hand that tried to smack him away. Knowing that any clean hit would send him flying, he felt his adrenaline spike as he dodged a double overhead strike that went swerving past him, breaking the metal floor below him on impact. Thor, however, was not idle and the hammer knocked the beast full force in the chest towards a window nearby. The massive green creature fell backwards just short of the window, making the hammer fall behind him. The Hulk jumped to his feet and attempted to grab the fallen hammer, but clearly struggled immensely as the muscles across his body strained in effort. At this time, Percy knew their options were limited. He heard Fury call for a jet to take action against the beast, but Percy called back over coms, "Don't bother. Thor and I have this covered. We are going to get him off this plane one way or another."

Thor nodded at him as he took his side, "I agree. This creature is no match for us both."

With that the man surged forward, shoulder checking Hulk even closer towards the window. Without hesitation Percy ran forward, bumping the stunned beast into the window, causing the massive pane to crack under pressure. Faster than anticipated, the creature smacked Thor hard across the face, knocking the man back. It roared in triumph as it prepared to pursue his fallen enemy, before Percy threw everything out the window and tackled the creature through the fractured glass.

Thor shouted in desperation, but it was too late. Percy and the Hulk were falling and the green monster was flailing around, and even kicked Percy hard to give them some separation in the air. Percy steeled his nerves as he dove towards the Earth, and focused on falling in the direction of the water. Aiming his dive perfectly, he began reaching for the water below to geyser up and smooth his landing. With ease he was able to do so, and after the longest free fall of his life, he impacted the water hard. His father's domain protected him though, and broke the surface after only a moment, pushing himself to stand on top of the water. He reached for his ear, "Does anyone copy? The Hulk has been removed from the ship."

A response followed, but his body was impacted by a colossal weight and he was resubmerged into the water. The Hulk was doing everything in his power to throttle the shocked son of Poseidon, and the young man had to quickly wield the water around him to throw the beast off, allowing his breathing to return to normal. The Curse of Achilles may have reinforced his windpipe from shattering, but his throat still burned as if he had swallowed water from the Styx itself. The Hulk was desperately fighting the current that was pushing him back at Percy's will, and when the green demon began fighting his way closer, the young man's eyes narrowed. He had seen the videos. The angrier this creature became, the stronger it would be. With an immense amount of focus and strength he had not reached for since his days of fighting Titans, he reached for his power in his gut and howled in exertion as the water began swirling around the Hulk violently. The behemoth fought tooth and nail, before suddenly realizing it's need for air as it attempted to escape, but instead Percy forced it to remain under water with him, Using every bit of the advantage his father's domain provided him, the green-eyed demigod bent the Hulk to his will as he watched the fighting become less and less. Eventually, the angry green eyes began to fade and Percy realized the monster's size was decreasing as it went limp.

Quickly releasing his power over the man behind the monster, he forced the two back above water and immediately reached for the excess water that was flooding the man's body, and drained it easily making the man cough and turn over violently. Banner then panicked when he realized they were floating on water, "What the hell is-"

"It's okay Doctor Banner. You are safe." Percy said easily as he held his hands out placatingly.

"What happened? Is everyone alright? What happened to the Helicarrier?" These questions were shot in a rapid fire manner as the man scrambled to hold onto his now massively over stretched pants.

Percy forced the waves to push them towards a nearby shoreline as he answered the question, "Everyone is fine. You caused some minor damage to the ship, but Thor and I managed to get you off. Everyone is fine. When we get to shore I will call for a pick up."

Banner looked around wildly, "How is this possible?"

The young man grinned, "My father is Poseidon, we are just above his domain now. Relax Doctor, you are safe."

"You defeated the Hulk...I thought that was impossible." The man said in bewilderment.

"Certainly not easy. The monster that fights inside you is powerful, but not invincible. You are not the first powerful thing I have had to drown to beat. Thankfully, I was able to remove the water from your lungs without having to do CPR, or anything else to resuscitate you." Percy said with a grin.

The man then bent down and touched the water below him, "This is amazing."

When the two reached the shoreline, Bruce immediately collapsed into the sand looking exhausted. Percy, however, got on radio, "Director Fury, I have Doctor Banner back to himself. We are on a beach at 39.9443 degrees north, and 74.0729 degrees west. Can you send for a pick up?"

"Jackson, glad to hear you are still in the land of the living. The team is scattered, but I will send for an immediate pickup." The voice of Director Fury answered after a moment of silence.

Percy nodded, and took a deep breath laying out in the sand. Silence passed between Banner and the son of Poseidon before the older man posed a question, "So the gods of Olympus...they are real?"

Percy sighed, "As real as you or me Doctor."

"Please, call me Bruce. You did a lot of good for my conscience and for the people on the helicarrier by getting me out of there the way you did. I think you have earned the right." Silence fell between the two for long awkward moments before Bruce broke it again, "What's it like? Being a son of an Olympian God?"

This made the Son of the Sea laugh a little, "Having the powers are cool, but the rest of it is definitely an occupational hazard."

At Bruce's questioning look, Percy delved into what it was like growing up. The monster fighting, camp, the war, and losing his best friend. In the end, he explained the coming catastrophe of what the world would be like if the mist fell.

If Bruce was bewildered by standing on water earlier, it was nothing like the look that sat upon his countenance now, "Monsters all over the world right in front of us and we don't see it. I don't believe it."

"Tell me Doctor, would you have believed in the gods of Asgard or Olympus if you hadn't seen the proof before your very eyes? Hang around me enough, and the monsters will come. Like I said, occupational hazard." The young man said in good humor.

"There must be some good sides to it all? I mean you are literally half god." Bruce questioned.

The Son of the Sea smiled widely at that question, "There is, and you have met her. Calypso. I was a hopeless teenager and had just survived a war that killed most of my friends when we first met. The mental scars ahead of me would've lasted a lifetime had I not been sent back to her. That's a different long story, but she has definitely been my shining light through all this."

Bruce didn't look at the young man, but he smiled slightly, "That's nice. Maybe what the Hulk needs is a girlfriend."

This made Percy snort, but the two exchanged no further words as a plane came circling above them. It was the same plane Agent Romanoff had piloted after leaving Stuttgart, but Percy still felt his insides clench at the thought of going back into the sky. A familiar blonde shield agent was standing in the plane's cargo area as Percy and Bruce took a seat. Percy looked over and greeted her, "Agent Carter right? What's going on up on the helicarrier?"

The agent nodded in confirmation of her name, and then answered his question, "It isn't pretty Mr. Jackson. The scepter has been lost. Thor was dropped out of the sky in the glass box, but preliminary reports are saying he survived. Agent Barton was taken back into custody, but Loki escaped with the scepter."

Percy frowned at this as the plane began to take off, "And what of Calypso? She was going after the scepter. She wouldn't have let it go without a fight."

Agent Carter showed no sign of emotion when she broke the news, "Ms. Atlas was captured by enemy forces. Loki and she were fighting when he managed to gain control of her with the scepter."

The weight of the news took a moment, took a moment to set in, and when it did it felt like a hammer to the young man's chest. Rage filled his senses, and the plane began to shake from sudden turbulence. He said nothing in response to the news, as scenarios ran through his mind. Her magic had been acting funny around the weapon, and clearly it was a warning to what Loki would be attempting. Percy feared their display in Stuttgart had gotten the man's attention. Getting Calypso back was his only concern at this point.

The silence going back to the helicarrier was tense. When the plane landed, Percy stormed off in the direction of the command center, and it took him no time at all to find the place had been all but abandoned. Stark had just stormed out of the room as a gathering of bloody Captain America trading cards were lying on the table. Steve looked up when they entered, and he immediately looked away at the look on Percy's face. The young man took a deep breath before saying, "Where did he take her?"

"We are looking into that now." Fury answered with a straight face.

Percy took a deep breath clenching his fists, "The scepter has been affecting her. I shouldn't have left her alone to deal with it. Loki could learn a lot from her, not to mention the fact that she is incredibly powerful, and it will not be easy to break an influence strong enough to ensnare her."

"Speaking of power, would you like to explain how you survived a fall from over 30,000 feet?" Fury asked accusingly.

"Other than the fact that I landed in the water, I have the Curse of Achilles. If you aren't familiar with the story of the Greek hero, his mother dunked him in the River Styx when he was a baby by the ankle. So when he came out he was completely invincible except for one mortal spot. Mine isn't my ankle, but Calypso knows exactly where it actually is, so we can bet Loki will as well. If he manages to hit me in that spot it would kill me instantly." Percy explained gravely.

Fury frowned at the information while Steve broke his silence, "You are invincible?"

"Except for one spot. Don't get me wrong I still experience pain. It takes a lot to make me feel it, but I still experience it. I just can't be killed by a normal bullet, stab wound, ectera ectera. Regardless of that fact, Loki will now know my weak point though, and we can bet he will try to find a way to get to it." Percy explained, "But that doesn't matter to me. My top priority is getting Calypso back."

Fury sighed, "Wherever your girl goes we can bet Loki will be nearby. When he have his coordinates we will notify what's left of our response team. I fear an invasion is imminent."

Percy took a deep breath and turned to begin walking towards his quarters as he called behind him, "Our worst fears are going to become a reality. If an invasion comes from the skies then the mist will fall, making the prophecy come true. We have to prepare for a disaster to be inevitable."

Fury called back to him before he reached the door, "Jackson. What was the last line of this prophecy again?"

Percy clenched his fist tightly making his knuckles turn white, "Avengers together prevent total demise."

"We can only hope that is true then." Fury said finally.

Shaking his head, the young man continued out of the room feeling the rage and anxiety still swirling through his body. His desperation to get Calypso back mounting every passing second.

(A/N) The next chapter will bring the Battle of New York. For Percy part 2. Not sure if anyone saw Calypso being taken as a possibility, but here we are, and our Titaness has been abducted.

This chapter was beta approved by Monaxia, and you can expect a new chapter coming to you on November 22nd. Until next time I welcome anyone to join my discord page, The Hunters Lounge, where I share what I am working on, and possible thoughts on future works, and even talk about current works, and how they are developed. If you have any interest in chatting with me then follow the link below, and delete the spaces. Cheers, and see you all in two weeks.

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