Disclaimer: I do not own any content recognisable as belonging to the MCU or the Percy Jackson universe. All rights go to the respective owners.

3 - Annabeth

Argus always seemed to arrive right when we needed him. He pulled up to the curb, and we piled exhaustedly into the back of the van, hauling Percy and Iron Man in behind us. Slumping to the floor, I was vaguely aware of Clarisse giving directions before the grumbling rhythm of the battered old vehicle lulled me to sleep. And, like a rookie, I thought the nightmare was over.

Spoiler alert: it wasn't.

I was above a city. I guessed it was somewhere in Europe, based on the architecture. Or, at least, it used to be a city. There was not a single building left standing. Massive slabs of stone cement had crashed onto the streets, flags had been ripped to shreds. Shattered glass and smashed up vehicles littered the roads and there was no living soul to be seen. The once beautiful, stained-glass windows of a church had been completely destroyed, reduced to tiny fragments of colour that glittered in the sunlight. Street signs had been ripped from the pavement, and a cable bridge had been completely torn in half.

I heard a voice speak in the back of my mind. All this destruction.

"It's horrible," I felt myself say. "What is it?"

The future.

"Why raze such a beautiful place to the ground?"

Down in the real world we're faced with ugly choices.

"You're telling me."

I'm on a mission for peace in our time. Join me.

"Who are you?" I heard the words leave my mouth. And then hundreds of voices in response.

We are here to help. They sounded almost robotic. The first voice spoke again.

I am Ultron.

And then another, deeper voice. I am inevitable.

When I woke up, Iron Man had gone. I wasn't too bothered, he was a bit of a prick, really. Not to mention incredibly inappropriate, no matter how hard he'd hit his head. Clarisse told me that they'd dropped him off somewhere, but I was still half asleep, so I didn't catch the last part of her sentence. I figured I'd just ask her later. Instead, I puzzled over what I had just seen. Who was Ultron? Nobody from Greek mythology, as far as I could tell, I'd have to do more research on it. The dream had made it clear that something, or someone was coming, and that they were inevitable. It seemed to have had something to do with the ruined city, too.

The sky was painted pink and orange as the sun set over Half-Blood Hill. We dragged ourselves out of the van and down the rocky path towards the Big House. In the rapidly fading light, I could just make out the silhouette of Chiron waiting for us on the porch. When we finally got down the hill, he didn't ask any questions, but helped us into the infirmary where Will and Delia, another Apollo kid, were waiting for us.

"What on Earth happened to you?"

Percy grinned. I thought it was cute, but it was the smirk that could earn him three months' worth of detention at the drop of a hat.

Letting the tension drop from my shoulders, I sighed. "You wouldn't believe us if we told you."

"Try me." Will handed me some fresh ambrosia and I sat down on the nearest bed, eating slowly. The taste of the cake Tyson made for Percy's last birthday filled my mouth. That was new.

Head spinning, I chewed in what I hoped was a thoughtful silence. I was vaguely aware of Nico's entry into the infirmary and Will's subsequent departure with him, but the only coherent thought that was running through my brain was Ultron. The future. How could something like that happen? And all those people, displaced… except there were no people. No bodies, either.

Somehow, I couldn't dismiss it as a figment of my imagination. It's the third most important lesson that every half-blood learns: that dreams are often an indication of reality, of what's to come. (The first two being never start a prank war with the Stoll brothers, and NEVER, under ANY circumstances, steal a garden gnome from the Demeter Cabin). Ultron had to be real, and his mission for peace had to be investigated, simple as that. The only question remaining was how.

The next morning, while Percy was still in the infirmary recovering from his earthquake, I began my search.

I had never heard the name before, which meant they were not likely to be a figure from Greek mythology, so the first thing I did upon booting up my laptop was type it into the search engine. Nothing.

I checked the Wi-Fi before rebooting the browser and typing it in again. Ultron. Still nothing.

Dogs. Hundreds of adorable pictures. So the internet was working.

City destroyed. About fifty different articles, but none of them were what I was looking for.

Peace. Inevitable. Peace mission. Freak destruction. Definitions, awful images, but no answers.

I typed Ultron one last time. As an afterthought, I added meaning onto the search. And there it was.

I clicked on the Latin translator, resigning that even if it didn't give me the answer I was looking for, I would at least have a starting point.

Franticly scanning the page, breath held in anticipation, I swept my mouse across to hover over the 'translate' button.

The door crashed open, and I jumped a foot into the air. Malcolm was doubled over in the doorway, panting heavily. He looked up at me in relief.

"Annabeth! Thank the gods you're back! We have a bit of a situation…"

My laptop was left forgotten on my bed, browser page still open, but the mouse was no longer hovering over the 'translate' button, because I'd pressed down on the trackpad in surprise. I didn't see the translation, all thoughts of Ultron had escaped my mind as my attention was incessantly diverted elsewhere, but if I had lingered for just a moment, I would have taken in the bold letters that flashed across the screen.

Ultron - Avenger

A/N: Wow, it's been a while. Sorry guys. I hope you enjoyed, I can't make any promises about the next chapter, other than saying that it might be on the shorter side, like this one.

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