This story is loosely adapted from Jason Aaron's Thor: God of Thunder. Fanfiction starts with the scene from The Trails of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle. The rest of the series after this scene is irrelevant. Events of Magnus Chase: The Sword of Summer have taken place but the next two books are irrelevant. Lastly, the war with Gaia ended a lot differently here.

Enjoy!

PROLOGUE

'Emperor Caligula, we found this one trying to sneak into your yacht,' a pandos said as he walked in with a boy in handcuffs. The Roman emperor looked at the boy with interest. 'Are you a spy?' he asked and the boy shook his head, indicating a no. 'Then what are you doing here?' The boy did not answer. 'I will not ask again,' Caligula said menacingly.

Then in one fluid motion, the boy broke his handcuffs, stabbed the pandos with his sword, and chucked the sword at Caligula. The emperor felt his breath get knocked out of him as the blunt sword embedded itself in Caligula's gut. By the time he pulled the sword out, his yacht was trashed and his troops slaughtered. Already healed, he stood up with a grunt when the assailant reappeared, albeit this time he was covered in blood and gore.

'It's you,' Caligula spat out, 'the most loyal attack dog of the gods.' He hefted his spear and charged, only for it to get knocked out of his hand. Grabbing him by his throat, the assailant slowly slid his sword between Caligula's ribs. As Caligula desperately tried and failed at saving himself, the assailant whispered into the emperor's ear: 'You don't seem to understand, Olympus isn't yours to conquer.'

Then he slashed his blade sideways, cleaving Caligula in half.

There was no coming back from this one.

APOLLO

'What the fuck are you doing here?' Percy growled as we walked into his apartment. Such kind of belligerence from my favorite demigod was quite disconcerting. Then again mortals lack the intellect to keep themselves balanced like us immortals. After a second of thought, I decided that won't smite Percy after I regained my godhood.

As usual, I was struck by his resemblance to his father, Poseidon. He had the same sea-green eyes, the same dark tousled hair, the same handsome features that could shift from humor to anger so easily. However, Percy Jackson did not favor his father's chosen garb of beach shorts and Hawaiian shirts. He was dressed in ragged jeans and a blue hoodie with the words AHS SWIM TEAM stitched across the front.

Meg inched back into the hallway, hiding behind me. I tried for a smile. 'Percy Jackson, my blessings upon you! I require assistance.'

Percy's eyes darted from me to Meg. 'Who's your friend?"

'This is Meg McCaffrey,' I said, 'a demigod who must be taken to Camp Half-Blood. She rescued me from street thugs.'

Percy frowned and then said, 'Come in.'

MEG

Percy is so cool.

His mom is even cooler. She dressed me up in her old clothes and when I walked into the living room, Apollo's eyes bugged as if he was staring at a ghost. Maybe he was just surprised I was looking clean. He made a choking noise and I pouted. 'Do I look bad?' I asked, Apollo sputtered but Percy cut in.

'I'll drive you two to Camp but after that, you're on your own. I don't want any part in that stuff, I've left it behind. I am not getting back in.' Percy looked away with a pained expression, Apollo frowned in disappointment.

'You mean to say that you don't want to partake in another deadly quest?' Apollo asked and Percy flashed him a look of annoyance.

'Sorry Apollo, I've had enough of this. I am out, like completely out. And I am not coming back ever. You guys owe me that much,' Percy said with an air of finality and got up from the couch.

Then the windows exploded. Three shiny blobs flew in, one of them passed right through Sally Jackson who collapsed and started coughing.

'MOM!' Percy drew his sword and charged the blobs but his sword passed through them. Undeterred, he swung again and then himself started wheezing. Apollo tried to ward off the second blob with a broom. I drew my blades as the last one materialized in front of me. It looked like a zombie with yellow eyes. 'Your guardian would be sooooo disappointed', he said in the most disgusting voice I'd ever heard. Anger swirled inside me and I ran at the ugly, determined to skewer it. But before I could Percy slashed his blade and beheaded it. I turned towards the third spirit only to see a pipe explode and nail the monster in the head. As it fell down Percy jumped at it and stabbed it between the shoulder blades.

As soon as the monster burst into dust, Percy ran towards his mother. He held her hand and started sobbing. Apollo walked up to Percy and put a hand on his shoulder. Percy shrugged off his hand. Not the one to give up, Apollo said, 'I can make this better.' Percy stopped crying and asked, 'How? She's dead, there's no bring her back.' Apollo replied confidently, 'Well, if you helped me get my godhood back I could-' before Apollo could finish, Percy punched him in his gut. As Apollo doubled over, Percy followed up with a punch to his nose, breaking it again. Apollo howled in pain, which goaded Percy on further. He grabbed Apollo by the hair and slammed his knee into the ex-god's face who fell to the ground. But Percy was relentless. He kicked Apollo, again and again, till he stopped moving. Only then could I gather the courage to intervene. 'Stop it!' I shouted. Without turning, he told me to leave. I refused, and Percy turned towards me. The look on his face made my courage evaporate.

The last thing I saw as I shut the door was Percy snapping Apollo's neck.

PERCY

I was dying. Those monsters had done something to me and I was dying, not that it mattered to me. Instead, I welcomed it. Who or what did I have to live for anyway? I felt the world slip away and my thoughts clear as I fell into the sweet embrace of death.

And then she came to me.

She looked exactly how I'd last seen her. Her blonde hair was in a ponytail, her clothes tattered and grungy. She was covered with grime and monster dust. Her eyes were shining in defiance and to me, she was the most beautiful girl in the world.

'Don't you dare die, Seaweed Brain!', she said and started to perform CPR on me, 'You've been through way too much to be killed by a plague spirit! You've got a lot of work to do!' 'No, I just want to join you Annabeth, I just want to be with you,' I said. To this, she frowned and sat down beside me.

'The gods took everything from us, Percy, they took everything from you. They're arrogant and selfish and they need to be put in their place. And only you can do that Percy, only you have the power.' I shook my head in confusion, 'They're our parents Annabeth. How can you say that about them, after we've done to protect them...' Annabeth cut in, 'And what did we get in return? More danger? More heartbreak? More death? You lost everything, your friends, your mom, your sister. You lost me.' I grabbed my face with her hands and said, 'I have to go now Percy, but you must promise me one thing.'

I started crying again as I held her again, 'What do you want me to do?' Annabeth kissed me and whispered in my ear: 'You have to avenge us.'

And as the world faded into blackness, I heard her say, 'I need you to avenge me.'