Percy stared out into the black nothingness around him. He waved his hand in front of his face but could only barely see its outline. He looked around but only darkness stared back. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Riptide, uncapping the pen to allow the sword to spring out, illuminating the darkness with its ethereal glow. But all it did was create a halo of light around him. It didn't reveal anything in the complete blackness surrounding him.
He moved to call out but stopped himself. One thing you learned as a demigod, don't go around announcing your presence. You didn't know what was waiting in the darkness to snap you up.
Was this a dream? It had to be. He couldn't remember how he got here but it felt like a dream. Didn't it?
He walked forward, keeping his senses on high alert for anything coming his way. But as far as he could tell, there really was nothing.
If this was a dream, he'd have to stack it as mediocre so far. At least it wasn't a full-on demigod dream showing him dangerous visions of past, present, and future events that usually left him in cold sweats. This seemed to just be a weird, dark dream.
How wrong he was.
"Percy?"
He spun at the sound of the voice, trying to see where it had come from. "Hello?" he called out, deciding to risk it this time. "Who's out there?"
"Percy?" the voice came again.
He moved closer to where he thought he had heard it but all he could see was more darkness.
"Percy?"
"Where are you?" he called out. "Who are you? What do you want?" He turned around desperately, trying to see anything in the endless darkness. "Hello? Where are yo-AH!" He yelped as he stumbled over something, barely managing to recover. He brought Riptide up to see what it was and gasped in horror. "Bianca?"
Bianca di Angelo's body lay on the dark ground, her eyes staring up at nothing.
"Oh gods," he muttered.
"You failed me, Percy" He jerked up, eyes wide as he looked for the voice's source. It sounded just like Bianca. "You promised to keep me safe. You promised to protect me."
"No, I-I did my best," he stumbled. He looked back down at Bianca's body but her lips weren't moving. "I was going to go in but you…you beat me to it."
"You tell yourself that, but you know it isn't true. You failed Percy. You failed me. You failed my brother."
"No, no, I tried," he muttered, stumbling back. As he did, he saw something else. He turned to look at it and gasped again as he saw another body. This time, it was Zoë Nightshade.
"Thou art a coward, Percy Jackson," he heard her voice say, even though her lips didn't move. Just like with Bianca. "Thou failed to stop my father and I paid the price for thy mistake."
"No, that's-that's not what happened," he muttered. Atlas had been too powerful. Percy hadn't stood a chance against him. Only Artemis had. But maybe…maybe if he'd been stronger…
He saw more bodies now. Castor, the son of Dionysius, and Lee Fletcher, son of Apollo. Both having died in the Battle of the Labyrinth. Their words echoed in his head. If he had stopped Kronos, gotten to Daedalus sooner. Figured out how to move through the maze sooner, it wouldn't have happened.
"Percy?"
Percy turned and recoiled in shock. It was Charles Beckendorf, half his face blown-off.
"Why didn't you save me Percy?" he asked. "Why did you leave me to die?"
"That…I wanted to…Beckendorf…"
"You could have saved us all." He turned again and saw Silena Beauregard, drakon venom dripping down her face. "Why didn't you?"
He had to get out of here. He couldn't do this anymore. He couldn't face them. But they didn't stop coming. He saw all the faces, everyone who died in the Battle of Manhattan. All his friends he had failed. The enemy demigods he hadn't been able to save. Michael Yew, Ethan Nakamura, even Leneus the satyr.
"I didn't have to die, Percy," Luke Castellan's voice rose over his corpse. "You could have saved me. You could have stopped it all."
"No, you…you sacrificed yourself," Percy protested weakly. "You made your choice."
"You never wanted to help me. You only ever saw the bad. You could have stopped me, shown me the way. But you chose not to. You failed."
"Shut up!" Percy yelled, running as fast as he could away from them all. But more kept coming. He saw all the Roman and Greek demigods who had died fighting Gaea's forces. He had tried to bring them together in New Rome but he had failed, leading them to fight each other. Maybe if he hadn't…they wouldn't have died.
"You abandoned me."
Percy stifled a sob at the voice, Bob's massive form appearing out of the darkness.
"Bob came to help. Bob came to help his friend. But you were never his friend. Bob gave his life for you. But he didn't have to."
"No, Bob. I wanted to stay," Percy said, tears running down his cheeks. "I wanted to stay and let you go. But you told me to go instead."
"You failed Bob," the voice continued. "You failed Damasen." The red giant's form appeared next to Bob's. "You failed us, leaving us to endless torment."
"I didn't want to." Percy grabbed his head, closing his eyes tightly. When would this end? How many more would he have to see?
"Why didn't you help, Percy?"
"No…" he gasped, recognizing the voice. "No, not you. Please, not you."
But it was no good. He couldn't help but open his eyes and watch as Jason Grace's body appeared, a gaping hole in his chest from where Caligula had stabbed him. Percy stared at the body of his friend, mouth opened and closing listlessly.
"You could have helped," Jason's voice said. "Apollo asked you, but you said no. You wanted to live a normal life. You wanted out. Because of that, I died. If you had been there, you could have stopped it. You could have saved me."
"Jason…I'm so sorry."
"You failed me, Percy. My death is on your hands."
"No, I…I…"
"I died because of you."
The other voices came back. Bianca's, Luke's, Beckendorf's, Bob's, Jason's, all overlapping each other, converging into one voice.
"We died because of you! We died because of you!"
"Stop. Please stop."
"We died because of you! We died because of you!"
"No, it wasn't me. I tried, I…I did…it wasn't…"
"WE DIED BECAUSE OF YOU! WE DIED BECAUSE OF YOU!"
"STOP!" he yelled out and the darkness shattered.
"Ah!" he cried, waking up with a start, breathing hard. He was covered in cold sweat and his heart was beating at least three miles a minute. He stared at his bedroom, trying to calm himself but all he could see were the faces. The blank eyes staring at nothing, the voices screaming at him.
Percy slowly got out of bed and walked out onto the balcony, letting the cool night air wash over him. He stared down at the moonlace plant Calypso had given him years ago, its silvery, bio-luminescent light like a torch against the night. It was now a full-grown plant under his mother's care. Whenever he was here and had a nightmare, he looked at it, feeling the soft light calm him. He was back home for the Christmas holidays, arriving yesterday morning.
"Gods," he muttered, rubbing his face. His heartrate had gone down and he wasn't breathing as hard now. But those visions still haunted him. He'd had the same nightmare several times now, always those faces looming out of the darkness, reminding him of those he had lost. Those he had failed to save.
"You did everything you could," he reminded himself. But he couldn't shake the feeling that that wasn't true. When he thought back to those moments, he wondered how he could have done things differently. How he could have saved them all.
He looked out over the city, seeing the spread of buildings stretching out to the horizon. It had been a year and a half since the Battle of New York, a year and a half since aliens had invaded their world and tried to conquer it, devastating the city and killing hundreds. Since then, the city had cleaned up nicely but you could still see the scars if you looked. Every now and then, Percy saw people glance towards the sky, wondering if they would see another portal opening up above them. Sometimes he did as well.
It had also been a year and a half since he'd heard from any of the others. He had followed the news last year, learning of Tony Stark's supposed death as well as the president's capture before Stark returned on Christmas day (like it was something out of a Disney film). And then, last month, there had been some sort of invasion in London that Thor was involved in. Both times, Percy had learned afterwards. He didn't really spend time listening to mortal news but after the second incident he guessed he should start doing it, just in case.
Percy glanced back towards his bed, wondering if he should try sleeping again. But the sun would be up soon and he felt wide awake after that dream. He groaned aloud, rubbing his eyes. Maybe he should talk to Annabeth about them but he didn't want her to worry. They had been through enough already and she would just overanalyze his dream to see what it meant and stress about him. He didn't want that. After everything they had been through, they were finally enjoying a peaceful life. And he had a feeling if he told her, he would disrupt that. So he wouldn't tell her. At least, not until after Christmas. He wanted to enjoy the holidays first with her and his family without worrying them.
He nodded. That was the plan then. Enjoy a carefree, calm Christmas with absolutely no major crises.
He looked back at the bed, wondering for a second, but then shook his head. Instead, he got dressed and made his way to the kitchen. After that nightmare, there was no way he was going back to sleep. Might as well make himself useful and whip up some breakfast. That would help get his mind off things.
He pulled out the flour, eggs, butter, and other ingredients, placing the blue food coloring bottle in the center. It wouldn't be a Jackson family breakfast without it. It wouldn't be any kind of meal without it, in his opinion. Though the blue steaks had been a bit weird to look at.
As he started mixing up the batter, he heard the sound of soft footsteps behind him. After years of hard training, it had become second nature to tune into sounds like that. Still, he wasn't worried as he knew exactly who it was, continuing to turn the large spoon in hand until he felt a jab in his lower back, ironically close to where his Achilles spot had been years ago.
"Reach for da sky," a voice said.
"Well," Percy replied. "I would, but then I would have to drop this batter for delicious pancakes. But, if you're fine with that, alright." He made a motion as if he was going to drop the bowl.
There was a little squeal and a small figure rushed out, trying to save the bowl. In an instant, Percy leaned over and picked her up with one arm, holding the batter bowl easily in his other hand.
"Well, look at what we have here," he commented, taking in the pouting face of his little sister. "A little troublemaker, huh? What are you doing up, little miss?"
"You're up," she replied.
Percy bobbed his head a little. "Yeah, that's true. But I'm adult, I get to be up early. You, on the other hand, better have a good reason for being up."
"You were making noise."
Percy pursed his lips, glancing at all the stuff he put out and the bowl in his hand. He had tried to be quiet, but he guessed he had been a little loud. "Alright, well I guess that's a pretty good reason. Very well, you're not in too much trouble. But you'd better head on back to bed."
"Not tired. And want pancakes."
"Well the pancakes aren't ready yet. And as for not being tired, well…" He honestly didn't have an answer for that one. He wasn't that tired of himself. Besides, Estelle was giving him those eyes, the ones that made his insides squirm and his resolve dissolve.
"Fine, you can stay," he sighed and she giggled, clapping in delight. "Why don't you take a seat while I finish making the batter, huh?"
"Ok."
He put her down and started mixing again, making sure to add the blue food coloring, before smearing a little butter across the pan. When the griddle was hot enough, he poured a fair amount on top. Even small activities like this helped him forget his nightmares, especially seeing Estelle laugh like that. After a couple of minutes, he expertly flipped the pancakes, waiting another couple of minutes before flipping them again onto the plate. "Perfect," he smiled, taking the blue treats in. He walked over to the table, placing the plate in front of Estelle. "There you are, my lady," he said, bowing a little and causing her to giggle again. "Would you like some syrup to go with that?"
"Yes please."
"Coming right up." He grabbed the syrup bottle and handed it over, watching as she proceeded to drown her pancakes in a torrent of syrup. "You want some pancakes with that syrup?" he asked sarcastically, shaking his head.
"Oh you're one to talk." Percy turned to see his mom walking up, tying her robes. "What are you two doing up so early?"
"Pancakes," Estelle replied around a mouthful of the food.
"I can see that. But why so early?"
"Percy couldn't sleep."
His mom frowned at that, looking his way but he had already turned away, preparing the next batch of pancakes. When he looked back at them, there was a smile plastered across his face. "So, who's next?"
His mom was still frowning at him, but she gratefully accepted the plate. Soon, Paul joined them as well, turning it into a proper family breakfast. Percy even managed to slip some syrup into his orange juice (he had started to like it after the accident on the Argo II).
"So what's the plan for today?" he asked, finding himself looking forward to whatever it could be.
"Well, we were planning on checking out the Christmas market. Maybe go see Santa."
"Santa! Santa!"
"I think Estelle's all for that plan," Paul laughed.
"Then maybe some ice skating at Rockefeller Center," his mom added. "You should check in with Annabeth, see if she and her family want to come."
Percy smiled, thinking of that, the two of them hanging out together, wandering the Christmas market with all its delicious offerings, skating together like any normal couple would. Sounded perfect to him. It sounded like a great day.
So of course, that's when everything went wrong.
There was a loud knocking at the door, causing all of them to jump slightly. "Who could that be?" his mom wondered, walking over to answer it. With each step she took, Percy's heart filled with more dread. Because, somehow, he knew what would be waiting on the other side of that door.
She opened it and there were two black-suited agents waiting there. "Mrs. Blofis, I presume?" one of them said.
"Uh…yes? What's this about?"
"We're here on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D. for Percy Jackson."
Percy sighed and stood up from the table, walking over as well. "What's going on?" he asked.
The agents turned to him. "I'm sorry Mr. Jackson, but Director Fury has asked you to come in."
"For what?"
"A certain situation that may require your assistance."
Percy closed his eyes. It was happening again. His life was going well and now he had to be thrust back into the thick of things, into the danger and destruction. He could already see all his plans today getting cancelled.
"Is there any chance you could come back when you actually need my assistance?" he tried.
"I'm sorry, but no. Time is of the essence and lives are on the line. We need you to come with us now."
Percy had expected that answer. And after everything, he honestly couldn't say no to them no matter how much he wanted to. It wasn't who he was. Hopefully it would turn out to be nothing and he could come right back home. But he focused on what the agent said: 'lives were on the line.' There was no way he could just stand by from that.
"Give me five minutes," he said, turning towards his room but paused. "Oh, and we may need to make another stop first."
"So who is this Bill anyway? I would like to meet the owner of this fine establishment."
"Oh, no, honey, the restaurant is just called Bill's. I don't think there's an actual Bill who runs it. Or maybe there is, I don't know, but they wouldn't be here."
"Ah, understood."
Jane didn't think he understood, judging from his expression, but he quickly got over it. They walked inside the restaurant and Jane let the nice, warm atmosphere envelop her. This was nice. Just her getting out of her study, going on a date with her boyfriend like any ordinary couple.
Then again, her boyfriend was the God of Thunder, so ordinary was a pretty fine stretch for them.
"Ah, your finest table, if you please!" Thor called out.
"Sir, if you'll just wai…" the waiter at the front desk stopped midsentence, getting a good look at the latest customer. "Wait, are…are you…Thor?"
"Yes, tis I!" Thor beamed. "I have heard good things about your fine establishment and wish to dine here with this fine lady with me." He gestured dramatically to her and she didn't know what else to do other than wave awkwardly.
"Wow," the waiter mumbled. "This is…this is…wow."
Thor's smiled dropped a smidge. "So…the table?"
"Right! Yes, of course! A million apologies. No! A billion! Here, there are plenty of available tables, though the one in the corner there is probably the best in the winter. Right this way!"
"Ah, thank you, good sir."
Jane sighed a little. Well, she supposed this was how normal things would get when she dated the Norse god of thunder. And honestly it wasn't that bad. At least he wasn't too braggy and full of himself like her last boyfriend, Donald Blake.
Besides, the two of them didn't have too many moments like these so she tried to treasure them all.
The waiter led to them to a corner booth next to a heating system which, in the cold weather, was pretty toasty and actually rather comfortable. "This is perfect, thank you," she told him.
"Of course, whatever you need," he said eagerly. "Oh, um, is it alright if I get a selfie?"
Thor tilted his head. "A…selkie? Why on earth would you want one of those? You live far from the ocean and they are sea creatures after all…"
"Uh, honey," Jane stopped him. "Not a selkie, a selfie. It's a picture. He wants a picture with you."
"Ah, I see. My apologies, good sir, yes a picture would be fine."
The waiter, who had been staring at him in confusion, perked up again. "Oh my, thank you so much."
"I can take it if you want," Jane offered.
"Oh, thank you so much." The waiter eagerly handed the phone over before standing next to Thor with a wide grin on his face while Thor just smiled, holding his hammer up in front of him. Jane couldn't help but smirk as she took the picture. She took a few more just in case the waiter wasn't satisfied with the first one before handing it back.
"Thank you," he repeated. "I'll treasure this picture forever. I'll…um, get you your menus now."
"That was nice of you," Jane said as the man hustled off.
Thor shrugged. "I must admit, it is something I am familiar with being the crown prince of Asgard, but it is not something I am terribly comfortable with. I used to revel in the people's applause, but now…" he seemed to wilt as he said that.
Jane knew what he meant. He had told her how he had rescinded the throne, basically turned his back on his heritage. He had promised it hadn't been for her, which she'd been grateful for, but for the fact that he didn't want to be changed by the throne. He told her that seeing who his father had become against the Dark Elves had scared him and he didn't want that to happen to him. She could tell there was something else bothering him but hadn't pushed it.
He had confessed he didn't like people praising him and fawning over him that much because it reminded him a little of how his people had obeyed his father's rule without question, even his own when he had been more arrogant and hot-headed. He wanted to earn people's trust and praise. Though, in Jane's opinion, he had more than deserved it after saving the world twice now.
"Don't worry about it," she told him.
"There are people staring at us," he replied. She looked around and saw that he was right. Some of the people from other tables were now looking at them. Some were doing it outright with gaping stares while others were more secretive, hiding behind their booths or even their menus like Darcy had done on Jane and Thor's first date.
"Just ignore them," Jane sighed. She supposed she would have to get used to this as well. She had fantasized about dating a celebrity when she had been younger, but now she realized the downsides to it all.
"So, how was your day?" Thor asked.
Jane held back a small laugh. On their first date, Thor had been confused on what to do so she had led the conversation, asking the usual questions. Now he made a note to hit every single one on their dates.
"It was good. I got a few more speaking invitations and some lectures."
"Good for you," Thor cheered her.
"Thank you." It was a bit strange going from a young scientist who had to scrounge around to pay for her equipment to now being considered one of the top scientists in the world thanks to her work on the Convergence. But hey, she wasn't complaining. She had a full lab now and all the money she needed to pay for it.
"Here you are," the waiter said, returning all of a sudden with two menus. "Would you like to hear the specials?"
"Ooh, yes please!"
As the waiter talked, Jane went through the menu herself. The choices seemed rather simple, but that always worked best for her. She and Thor had tried a fancy restaurant once and hadn't known what any of the food was. That had been a mistake in the end.
"…and lastly, we have the sea bass that is grilled and marinated in-"
"Sea bass?" Jane interrupted him. "Huh." She mulled it over for a second. "You know, I never did get to eat that sea bass with Richard. I'll take it."
"Very well. And for you, your…um…majesty?"
"Just Thor will suffice. And I think I will take three of your steaks."
"Very good…um…Thor, sir. And would you like anything to drink?"
"I think I'll take a glass of white wine."
"The finest ale you have!"
"Right away."
A few seconds after he left, Thor turned to Jane with a confused look. "So who's Richard?"
Jane opened her mouth to reply but then thought better of it. "Not important. So how was your day?"
"Oh, very productive. Darcy introduced me to this thing called, um, Netflick with all these wonderful stories on it."
Jane rolled her eyes. Of course Darcy would do that. Honestly, she was surprised it had taken this long.
Despite the stares from other diners, the two soon found themselves relaxed in each other's' company, just talking about nothing in particular. It sometimes astonished Jane that this man before her was the actual god of thunder, the one that had inspired myths and legends hundreds and hundreds of years ago. He was just so down to earth, so…human. He was still the godly figure when he went into battle. She saw him plenty of times on TV, most recently in capturing a rogue Jotunheim beast that had never been sent back home. And she was always inspired by them. But these moments right here were the ones that made her realize she was falling in love with him.
She suddenly blinked. Where had that come from?
"Jane, you alright?"
"Uh…yeah, why?" she asked, nervous all of a sudden.
"Your face just turned bright red. I was worried you had choked on something."
"No, no, I'm good," she told him hurriedly. "I just…uh…"
Out of nowhere, her phone rang.
"Oh thank god," she muttered softly, never having been more glad to hear that stupid ringtone. She grabbed it and frowned when she saw it was an unknown number. "Um, hello?"
"Dr. Foster? This is Maria Hill."
Jane instantly straightened up. "Oh, um, hi. How can I help?"
"Is Thor with you currently?"
"Uh, yes he is."
"Can you put him on?"
"Oh, sure." Jane handed the phone over. "It's for you," she said. "Maria Hill."
"Odd," he said as he took the phone, holding it up to his ear. "What is upwards, Maria Hill?"
Jane had to physically stop herself from laughing. "What is up, dear."
"Ah, my apologies. What is up?"
He listened carefully and Jane saw his expression darken and get more serious. His fingers twitched in the way she recognized as him reaching for his hammer. "Very well, I will be there soon."
She sighed, expecting this. Another mission of grave importance, another date ruined. The other side to dating a superhero.
"Sorry Jane, we will have to post…huh?" He listened to Hill again before turning, surprised, back to Jane. "They are asking for you as well."
Jane gaped for a second before having two feelings wash over her. One was relief that she actually got to spend time with her boyfriend on one of his missions. The other was fear. For the last time the two had been together like that, the Convergence had happened. So what did S.H.I.E.L.D. want that would bring them both in?
"We'll have to take those to go," she told the waiter returning with their food.
Well, welcome back everyone. I know this was just a tease instead of a full chapter but I'll present the rest soon. As you can see, Jane Foster will be playing a large role in this story as well cause I really liked her. What the role will be, you'll see soon. I'll save most of my notes til later, but thanks for reading!
