AN: Guess who's back? And I probably should have already picked a hiding place before posting this, in case someone gets mad at me for the cliffhanger... This is what happens when you sorta imitate a famous author... Cliffhangers left and right... Anywho, I finally updated after, like, a year and a day or something. I hope this super long chapter and all the background information that is included here helps you get over your anger with me.
A year and three days... That's a long time to have writer's block/busyness. For those of you wondering, while I am sorry you are upset I didn't post for so long, I'm not really sorry I didn't post... No offence to anyone, but I do have a life outside of fanfiction and it is a very hectic one. The fact that some of you don't approve of my unscheduled-and-unplanned-time-off-due-to-life doesn't really bother me. I have friends who approve of my just fine. Your approval is appreciated, but not required.
Flames are not my problem. I have a major sweet tooth and your flames will be used to roast marshmellows and bake brownies. I really don't care.
Disclaimer: I don't own either of these, we know this. How about we just get to the story already?!
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40 Hours Before Thor's Arrival
Natasha paced her room frustratedly. It did not add up. She groaned in frustration as she turned to stare at a board on the wall of her room. It held a picture of one of The Half-Blood's mysterious letters, a picture of the strange black feather, and a picture of her partner, Clint Barton.
"It just doesn't add up," she complained to the board. "The letters are obviously warnings, but we don't have Perseus. Why do they think we do? And what is that strange feather from? It is way too big for any bird. And what about Clint? Why doesn't he even care? He isn't helping us identify the feather, he won't help us track down this 'Half-Blood.' How did he know that... Hermes? What was that coin he had?"
She stopped talking and sat on the edge of her bed. She chewed her bottom lip as she thought. She had two options. She could got to Fury and tell him what she had heard between Clint and Hermes, or she could keep it to herself. If she went to Fury now, they could confront Clint and see what he knew. If she did not, the searchers might be missing a key piece of information. But this was Clint Barton she was thinking of. She groaned. She had survived Budapest next to him. They had survived Loki, a little banged up but no worse for wear. She had saved his butt more times than she could count, and he had returned the favor just as often.
Natasha heaved a heavy sigh. "I already made a choice on this one," she told herself. With that in mind, she stood and headed for the door. This was one mystery that needed to be solved. And by the Asguardian gods, she was going to make sure it was solved.
"First stop," she thought, "Clint's room."
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36 Hours Before Thor's Arrival
Percy groaned as he blinked himself awake. He sat up gently, looking around. He lay on a soft bed in a huge cave.
He opened his mouth to ask where he was. Then he remembered. He remembered Loki, Eris and Apate. He remembered the strange cave where they seemed to live. He remembered a fight between Loki and a robot.
He tried to think back, just before that. It was vague. He remembered a dark-skinned man with an eye-patch, Nico's escape, the gun shot and his fall. He remembered an argument with Pepper and Tony.
Percy remembered a feeling of unsettling fear in his mind when he probed farther back. Something that terrified him. As he reached out for it, more recent memories came to mind.
"My name is Loki."
"I'll do it. I'll help you take down Fury."
"I'm Norse."
Percy frowned. "What happened?" he grumbled, rubbing his head. It felt as if he had been tackled by Mrs. O'Leary and conked his head. He looked around. He was in the same strange cave as before.
His mind nagged at him, insisting there was something he needed to remember. Something important. Very, very important. Something about Loki and his helpers, Eris and Apate. Something bad.
He raked his brain, trying to remember. He remembered the foster home, with Tony and Pepper. He remembered the night at the beach with his friends. The pizza place, the cyclops, the argument. He remembered falling. Something rescued him…
"What was it?" he wondered, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Falling, and then flying…
"Blackjack!" he cried, eyes shooting open.
"He's here," a woman's voice said off to his side.
"Where is he?" the boy demanded, pushing himself off the bed. Looking over, he realized it was Apate.
"It's not wise for you to get up just yet," she argued, trying to gently push him back towards the bed. He brushed her aside.
"Where's Blackjack?" he demanded once more.
She pursed her lips, studying him. "Outside," she answered finally, "Come, follow me. I'll show you where." She turned and walked out, slow enough for him to keep up but fast enough to get where ever they were going quickly. Her black hair billowed softly behind her.
As soon as they exited the cave, bright sunlight flooded his eyes, making him cover them. He didn't even have time to glance at the outside world before fire filled his eyes.
"Ow!" he groaned.
"Are you- Oh," the goddess smiled softly, immediately understanding his problem. "I fear there is nothing I can do to ease your pain," she told him, chuckling slightly.
"What kind of healing goddess can't take away pain?" he grumbled quietly. He stumbled over some sticks, tracking her only by her voice and the sound of her gentle footsteps.
She raised an eyebrow. "A disrespected one," she replied, eyes flashing. Her face took on a darker shadow.
He didn't see her as he moved his hand down, eyes squinted against the harsh sunlight. He gave an apologetic and sheepish smile. "Sorry."
She didn't reply, but simply kept walking.
He took the chance to look around at his surroundings. He seemed to be in the middle of a forest. The sun was high in the sky, and Percy guessed it to be about noon, maybe a little later.
"Your steed is staying in the clearing ahead," the woman told him.
His hand clenched down at his side. He tucked it behind his back, ever so slightly. He bit his lip to resist the urge to race towards his old friend.
"Blackjack?" he called to the Pegasus. He received a groan as the only response.
"Is he okay?" the demigod asked her.
"Your Pegasus is fine," Apate answered, continuing to walk. "He is simply sleeping at this moment."
Percy frowned silently. Blackjack always answered his calls, whether he was tired or not. There was something wrong here. But try as he might, he could not seem to put his finger on it. His only option seemed to be 'wait and see.' If he was lucky, he would find out before it was too late. An unpleasant gut feeling reminded him of his parentage. He prayed to any and all gods listening that he would be one of the fortunate few.
Unheard by him, two female voices chorused, "Little demigod, if only you knew."
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30 Hours Before Thor's Arrival
Rachel sighed worriedly. Her fiery red hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She wore jean shorts covered in paint and marker doodles. Her shirt was the standard Camp tee. She sat on a stool in front of a painting, carefully adding details in short and precise movements. A cup of water and a set of paints sat on a table close by.
"Percy," she said softly, "Where are you? We need you, desperately." The paintbrush in her hand lifted off the canvas, stopping its smooth stroke. The painting displayed a scene of absolute carnage. Two armies clashed, both of them had members that flew, ran, and rode. Armored figures clashed, slashing and stabbing at each other. Rain curved into weapons. Beams of light were turned into burning lasers. Shadows curved and choked unfortunate figures. Trees bent over, grabbing soldiers in their branches. Roots and plants of all kinds wrapped around legs of warriors on both sides. Fire balls and giant rocks flew from both armies. Lightning struck. An ancient town went up in smoke and flames in the background.
"Rachel," Annabeth's voice called. "I'm coming in." The curtain over the front of the cave was pulled to the side as she entered. She looked ready for battle. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She wore light armor and her knife was buckled at her waist, along with a sword. The tip of her Yankees' cap hung out of her back pocket.
"The campers want you to make an appearance at tonight's campfire," she informed her friend.
"Yes, I know," the painter agreed.
"Will you?" she wondered. "You've refused to talk to anyone at camp about anything since Percy vanished."
"That's not true. I've talked to you. I've talked to Nico and Jason."
"Well, yeah, but only to tell us to stop asking for prophecies! Or to just talk regularly."
"It wasn't the right time for a prophecy. But I suppose I'll appear for you tonight. I have a feeling I'm supposed to," came the explanation. Her voice was soft and melancholy, as if she were disappointed. She closed the lids to her paints silently, still holding her brush.
"I know you don't agree with getting Percy back through violence, but this is the only way," Annabeth cried frustratedly. "Believe me, I don't want war! That's why I gave Jason three days. That's why we're attacking tomorrow night, instead of just after midnight tonight. But S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't listen to anything else!"
"I didn't say anything," Rachel replied, looking her friend in the eyes. Disappointed green eyes met desperate gray. They simply stared at each other for a moment, neither willing to break the dense and heavy silence that had fallen between them.
Finally, the oracle stood from her stool, setting her paintbrush in the cup of water nearby. "We have a campfire to go to," she told her friend. "We don't want to keep the other campers waiting."
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Rahne sat quietly by the fire, listening to the campers sing songs. Her blonde hair was as bright as sunshine. Bright blue eyes gleamed with pain in the firelight. Her orange shirt was form fitting. The right sleeve had been rolled up and tied with a white ribbon. Her jean capris were rolled at the bottom edges, and her belt, including the tops of her knife and sword sheaths, were covered by a white scarf, decorated with spaced lines of glittering silver sequins. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail, a lock framing the right side of her face. Her skin was deeply tanned, completing the look. She only stood to five foot, three and three quarter inches.
She watched as her brothers and sisters led the silly campfire songs. At least, normally they were silly. Tonight, they seemed serious. The words were as ridiculous as ever, some song about taking a hellhound to prom or something, but it all seemed so tense. As the song ended, her brother Will softly motioned her to join them.
At the age of fourteen, about a year ago, she would have been up on stage from the beginning, ready to dance and sing and laugh with her brothers and sisters. Now, she shook her head glumly. She mumbled the silly words without any real emotion to them. Her head and heart hurt too much to dance or laugh. There was an empty hole in her heart. One that could not be filled. And it was all their fault. All that mattered, was that tomorrow night, it all ended. Tomorrow night they would finally get to strike back at S.H.I.E.L.D. for all the pain they had caused.
The songs ended and the Apollo cabin members sat back down. Will slid in beside her and rubbed her back softly, giving her a tight smile.
"Cheer up," he whispered. "Tomorrow, they pay for what happened to her."
"They could never pay enough," she grumbled angrily. "She was worth thousands of them."
"I know," he replied quietly.
A hush fell over the entire crowd as Rachel Dare, the oracle, stepped forward. She stood silently before them.
Finally, she asked, "Are you all sure of fighting?"
A soft, but firm "yes" came from nearly all the campers. Rahne's lips pulled into the smallest of smiles as she noticed that the Ares campers might have just maybe answered a little bit louder than most.
"Then I wish you luck," she told them. "May many of you return alive. I wish I could say all, but I know just a little too much."
Rahne saw Annabeth step forward. "Rachel, do you have any guidance for us? Any advice?"
"Other than don't go? I believe I do." Suddenly, she collapsed. Annabeth caught her as another camper, she thought it was Conner Stoll, ran forward to help. Travis brought forth a stool.
Once she was set firmly upon the seat, Rachel's eyes opened, glowing a disturbing green. Green smoke billowed from her mouth, coiling like a snake around the base of her stool. A rasping voice that seemed to shout and hiss softly at the same time echoed through the camp. It was a horrible voice, one that made Rahne's skin crawl. Fear and anticipation mingled together to prick her heart as she listened to the words. They hung heavy in the air like a curse.
"A war long forgotten brought back to life,
The caged will rise up out of the strife.
The angry and determined to battle shall rise,
Aboard the ships that fly through the skies.
The sea and shadow with parents unite,
Lest the world fall to the Trickster's might."
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Elsewhere
The loud bell used to awaken the prisoners was wasted on Raquel. The fifteen year old sat in her cage, staring at the world around her with blue-gray eyes. She took in the sight of several of her friends starting to awake as guards banged on their cell doors and the bell rang again and again. Her golden hair was braided in a fishtail over her left shoulder. Her white shirt was missing its sleeves. Her white pants were dusty from sitting on the dirty bench in her cage. Her skin was a pale yet warm color, as if it had once been tan but had not seen the sun in many months. As she stood, she came to nearly five foot, four inches.
It took a few moments, but once everyone in her cell block was awake, a guard stood forward. He pointed at her cage and then at the one to her left. "Bring thirty three and thirty four. Congratulations, you get to start off today's training."
As she was pulled from her cell, she caught a glance of her neighbors. Several of them did not even watch, too used to the daily ritual to care, but two in particular watched her carefully. One was a boy with hair so black it was almost blue. His pale blue eyes were worried as he watched her be dragged off. His skin was pale with just the tiniest hints of olive undertones. His features were smooth and nearly flawless, as if they had been carved from wood. He had a swimmer's build, tall and solid. He stood nearly five foot ten inches. He too wore a white t-shirt and white pants. He looked to be nearly seventeen.
The other one who watched her was a boy about the age of sixteen. He had silver eyes and honey blonde hair pulled back into a low ponytail at the nape of his neck. He was about her height, maybe an inch taller. His build was on the heavier side. His stomach, once slightly rounded, was thin and lean. His skin was deeply tanned, despite not having seen the sun in nearly six months. Rectangular glasses rested on his nose. He was clothed in the white shirt and pants that every other captive wore.
"Stay safe," she heard him whisper.
"Drew, keep Luce outta trouble while I'm gone," she called back to them as the guards dragged her from the room. The boy with glasses, Luce, pouted while Drew, his neighbor, saluted. Neither one of them took their eyes off of her until she was out of sight.
Once she could no longer see them, she turned her attention to her companion, the boy the guards had called 'Thirty four.' She recognized him as Mark, the son of Ares.
His brown eyes were furious as they pulled him along next to her. His brown hair was matted and greasy. He stood much taller than her, nearly reaching six feet. His build was huge and stocky. He was solid and muscular. His chocolate skin was complimented by the white outfit he wore.
After walking for what seemed like forever, they were finally separated. Raquel was shoved through a doorway into an arena. The grate slammed shut behind her. From another part of the arena, Mark was shoved in too. A bulky guard armed with a knife on his hip, a staff in his hands and a gun on his thigh stood in the middle of the arena. He was at least six foot, if not taller. His uniform covered his whole body, including his face. His eyes were covered by a type of goggle.
A voice rang from the speakers. "Your goal is to defeat your opponent while sustaining minimal damage yourself. No moves barred, powers accepted. Begin your battle."
The guard in the middle of the arena turned to face them with a grin, cracking his neck. "Hail H.Y.D.R.A.," he told them gleefully.
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Back With The Half-Bloods
No one made a sound as Annabeth paced the room anxiously. Will sat there polishing his bowstring, keeping one eye on the pacing architect. Clovis was asleep, his head buried in a pillow on the ping-pong table. Pollux sat quietly looking around the room, occasionally sipping a cup of something and literally twiddling his thumbs. Clarisse seemed bored as she lounged in a chair. Piper was staring distrustfully at the can of cheese whip and the crackers that Leo and the Stoll brothers were quickly inhaling. Katie Gardener and Lou Ellen had divided their attention two ways. Katie was trying to shape a small tree in a potter, while glancing up to hear what the Athenian camper had to say. Lou Ellen was torn between reading a book written in ancient Greek and listening like she was supposed to. Only Nico, Malcolm, Thalia and Jason were giving Annabeth their undivided attention.
"It… It was 'A war long forgotten brought back to life,' well half-bloods used to go to war with each other... No, that can't be it. I know! In ancient times, half-bloods where war heroes! Leaders that led uprisings and armies. Maybe, maybe the war the prophecy talks about is the half-bloods rising against S.H.I.E.L.D. But the caged... Who are the caged?" Annabeth wondered.
"Percy," Nico replied with a frown. "S.H.I.E.L.D. captured Percy, so maybe the prophecy is talking about his escape."
"Of course," Thalia replied, slapping her hand to her forehead. " 'The angry and determined to battle shall rise,' well, we're definitely angry and very determined."
" 'The ships that fly through the skies' must be the Argo II, but…" Jason trailed off.
"What other ship flies?" Leo demanded, suddenly interested in the conversation. "The Argo II was supposed to be unique!"
Piper cuffed him upside the head. "It is unique, Repair Boy," she rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, but-"
"No, Jason's right," Annabeth interrupted, ignoring the conversation between Leo and Piper. "What other ship can fly?"
"Didn't S.H.I.E.L.D. have some kind of giant base that could fly?" Travis wondered.
"Yeah, they discovered it during the Chituari invasion," Connor added.
"But," Will replied, "It was absolutely scrapped. The Hulk went tearing through it and smashed it from the inside out."
"They could have rebuilt it," Malcolm pointed out. "I mean, even if it was totally wrecked, at least they had built one once before. And they have tons of construction workers and mechanics at their fingertips. After all, we built the Argo II in less than six months."
"Yeah, but we had Leo and the other Hephaestus kids working on it," Katie pointed out.
"But surely they have a child of Hephaestus working on construction somewhere, right? I mean, they can't all be here, can they? And what about Roman kids? Maybe they have children of Vulcan helping too," Jason suggested.
"Still," Annabeth mumbled. "Maybe we should check. Leo, if we got you in front of a computer at the base, do you think you could find out if they have a flying war base?"
He grinned at her. "Leo Valdez, bad boy supreme here. If anyone can do it, I can."
"Okay, so the war is between the half-bloods and S.H.I.E.L.D., Percy is 'the caged,' the half-bloods are both angry and determined, and the flying ships are the Argo II and maybe a flying base S.H.I.E.L.D. is building," Annabeth summed up.
"But what about the line 'the sea and shadow with parents unite, lest the world fall to the Trickster's might?' " Jason wondered.
"Well, the sea and shadow probably refer to Percy and Nico," Malcolm said. "Poseidon rules the sea, and Hades the underworld."
"And they have to unite with Poseidon and Hades, since those are their parents," Thalia continued.
"But what about this 'Trickster?" Lou Ellen wondered. "Who is he supposed to be?"
"Maybe he's Nick Fury," Piper suggested. "I mean, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s claim is that it is protecting the U.S., but instead it's attacking American citizens. He's tricking the public."
Jason frowned. "I feel like there's something we're missing."
"How can there be?" Katie wondered. "The prophecy had to apply to the fight with S.H.I.E.L.D. somehow, I mean Rachel gave it in response to the question 'do you have any guidance?' It was pretty straight forward."
"That's what I'm saying!" he argued. "Since when is a prophecy straight forward?"
"He's got us there," Thalia agreed. "I mean, just think about the first great prophecy. We thought that the cursed blade would reap Percy's soul, but instead it killed Luke."
"And my prophecy when I headed into the Labyrinth. It stated that a child of Athena would take a final breath. I thought it meant me, but it meant Daedalus."
"Jason has a point. We've never had a 'straight forward' prophecy," Lou Ellen piped up.
"My father has always loved poetry and riddles. It makes sense that his oracle would never say anything straight out," Will added.
"Then what are we supposed to do?" Nico demanded. "Sit here and wait for Percy to magically free himself?"
Thalia and Annabeth smiled ruefully. "It wouldn't be the first time," the daughter of Athena replied. "But no, we won't leave Seaweed brain on his own. We're going to help him. We'll attack like planned."
"But something's wrong!" Jason insisted. "I have a feeling-"
"Ahh, you're just nervous about fighting mortals," Clarisse shrugged. "Besides, we're just fighting a select group."
"Well," the son of Zeus replied, "What are we gonna do about the mist?"
"What about the mist?" Piper wondered.
"It can't keep us hidden forever, can it? I mean, if we attack mortals, wouldn't it just give out or something?"
Malcolm shrugged. "Shouldn't it have given out during one of the wars in the past two years? Believe me, Hermes will come up with some story for the press. A gang attack or something. Besides, it's not like we're telling them we're demigods or half-bloods. We're just a group of kids who want our friend back. And we'll fight for him if we have to."
"Relax Jason," Annabeth advised. "They'll probably think we're a rogue organization, like H.Y.D.R.A. or something. It'll be fine. We get in, get Percy, knock a couple skulls, and get out."
Clarisse frowned. "No, we declared war. That means, we go in, bust everyone's skull, then get out, leaving the building in pieces."
The Athena campers rolled their eyes. "If the Ares kids have C4 with them, then feel free to bring the building down," Annabeth agreed sarcastically.
When Clarisse glanced at Leo, who grinned in reply, the blonde revised her statement. "And if there is absolutely no one within three miles of you. S.H.I.E.L.D. agent or otherwise. Seriously Clarisse, now that would attract attention. The kind we don't want. If you guys wanna bash some extra heads, fine, but don't blow up the building. It'll set fires and destroy the whole block. Then, the press will start digging. Even with Hermes on the job, Chiron would never let us live it down."
"Speaking of which," Jason stepped in, "What does Chiron think of attacking S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Most of the campers rolled their eyes. "Are you that scared of fighting, Grace?" Clarisse grumbled. "You don't have to come. Stay at camp, go visit the legion or something."
"But-" he started.
"But nothing Jason," Nico cut him off. "You may not care about our cousin, but I do."
A chorus of agreements echoed that remark. The son of Zeus sighed, leaning back against the wall.
"Now, anything else?" Clarisse asked, glancing around. "No? Then it's settled. We attack S.H.I.E.L.D.'s New York headquarters tomorrow."
Annabeth watched as she grabbed Jason by the arm and towed him outside.
"I really don't envy him the wrestling match she's probably gonna force on him," she chuckled as Piper hurried after them.
"Yeah well, we need to talk," Thalia told her, pulling her up the stairs and into another room. The daughter of Athena frowned as her immortal friend closed the door.
"What," she wondered, "Could be so important the other counselors can't hear it?"
"It's the gods," Thalia said. "They can't find him."
"What?"
"Lady A and I talked to both Hermes and Apollo, but it's like he vanished into thin air. Artemis was headed to talk to Iris when you asked me to come here. I haven't heard back from her."
"But… How could mortals hide him?" Annabeth questioned.
"I don't know, but it gets worse."
"How?"
"Lady Artemis doesn't want her hunters slain in a war that is not the gods concern," Thalia explained angrily. "She was mad at me for coming to help, but she let me because Percy is my cousin."
"What do you mean, 'not the gods' concern?' " the daughter of Athena demanded.
"The gods claim that if S.H.I.E.L.D. really has Percy, then they can get him back. They won't aid you in a war against mortals."
"But, Athena and Poseidon can't be okay with this!" Annabeth cried.
"They aren't... Well, Poseidon isn't. Neither is Hermes, Apollo or Ares, though he seems to be okay with helping for no other reason than the fighting that will occur. But Athena insists that not helping is the safest course of action. And somehow she's convinced everyone else. Hades doesn't want even more dead to crowd his 'already crowded' domain. He claims Thanatos is still struggling to catch all of the escaped dead after the Doors of Death fiasco. And most of the other gods are tired of wars. We've fought two of them in the past year. They're pretty well drained," the daughter of Zeus admitted.
"But, after everything he's done! After everything we've all done!" she complained.
"They claim that unless something else, something more pressing, happens, they won't reconsider. And it would have to be big. Like, Egyptian gods suddenly rising from the dead to declare war kind of big," Thalia answered.
"Don't give the Fates ideas," Annabeth grumbled. "They have too many of those on their own."
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With The H.Y.D.R.A. Half-Bloods
Raquel huffed as she shoved herself off the ground and to her knees. Her side burned. The stupid staff hurt like crazy. She studied her opponent. He was fighting with Mark. The big son of Ares wasn't bad at fighting, but he had no strategy. At all. 'Oh what I wouldn't give to have Luce or Drew as my partner,' she thought huffily. The gun on their opponent's thigh caught her attention once again.
"It's not a bow," she mumbled, frowning, "But it'll work in a pinch." She stood and ran back towards the fight. When Mark went flying once again, she dashed over to his side and yanked him to his feet.
"What the Hades?" he growled in annoyance.
"It's time we stopped playing their game and started our own," she said briefly. "Do you think you can get it gun away from him?"
"His gun? Why? It's the stupid staff that's beating us!"
"Just do it," she demanded.
"Fine," he grumbled. "You attack him front side, and I'll slip around behind him. See if you can get that stupid staff out of the way."
"I'll do what I can," she said, eyeing the rather distinct size difference between herself and her opponent. Against all her self-preservation instincts, she walked towards the large, armed man.
"Hey, Big Foot, does your momma still pick out your clothes? I bet you're so ugly she does it so she won't have to look at you." It sounded lame, even to her. Apparently, it sounded lame to him too. He gave a soft huff of amusement.
"What's wrong, half-bloods? You aren't half-witts are you? We've been fighting for half an hour and you've yet to even knock me over. Pathetic."
She grit her teeth and ignored him. After all, it was simple battle etiquette to insult each other. Unfortunately, her teammate wasn't as resistant to taunts. He roared angrily and charged.
"Mark!" she shouted in annoyance. Pushing strands of blonde hair from her face, she charged too. The one thing the son of Ares had done right, was get behind the man. The problem was, that meant Raquel had to jump onto the H.Y.D.R.A. agent's back or risk getting squashed by the two hulks battling it out. She went with the former option. She saw him reaching for his knife and slammed her elbow in the back of his neck. He stumbled forward and Mark slugged him in the stomach. Her left hand scrambled for the gun as she wrapped her legs around the agent's waist and clung to him with one hand. He grabbed her by the right arm, just as she freed the weapon from its holster. With both hands, he flung her over his shoulder and into her male counterpart. The gun flew from her hand and across the arena. Both of them went rolling.
Looking up, she saw him swinging the staff at her head and rolled out of the way, swiping out with her legs trying to catch his. He jumped as he aimed another strike. Mark kicked out and knocked him back. Both teens scrambled to their feet.
Looking around, she spotted the gun and ran for it. She stumbled slightly, her whole body shaking with adrenaline. It had yet to matter how many life threatening situations they put her in, she shook and trembled every time. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mark attacking the man once again. She dove for the weapon and turned, her shoulder slamming into the wall just behind the weapon.
"Move!" she shouted, finger on the trigger. The instant her friend was out of the way, she pulled back. The noise echoed through the small area. BANG! BANG! BANG! Three shots in a row slammed into the agent's upper torso. Both half-bloods slouched with relief as he fell to the ground. The grates to the arena opened.
"Exit quickly. You will be escorted back to your cells," the speakers instructed.
Meeting Mark's eyes, she muttered what she knew they were both thinking. "When in the Hades is the Calvary coming?
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13 Hours Before Thor's Arrival
Clarisse couldn't help but feel jittery. 'Finally, finally, finally, finally!' she thought. 'I finally get to strike back!'
"Clarisse! Wait up," a voice from behind her called. Turning, she noticed it was McLean.
"What do you want?" she wondered.
"Where did you and Jason disappear to last night?" she wondered. "I looked for him after you two left, but I couldn't find him."
The Ares camper grinned. "We had to go bust some heads and get a message across," she replied.
Piper frowned, probably wondering what that was supposed to mean. But eventually she shrugged. "Come on, Annabeth's called a meeting about tonight's attack."
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12 ½ Hours Before Thor's Arrival
"Status report!" barked Nick Fury as he stormed onto the bridge of the Helicarrier.
"The Helicarrier is fine and still headed towards New York. However, sir, Agents Barton, Romanov, and Hill are waiting in your office, sir," a young agent told him. Her calculating, gray eyes were visible behind her glasses and her honey blonde hair was pulled back into a bun.
"Very well, Agent Breckt. Prepare to assemble the Avengers. I have a feeling we'll be needing them," he instructed.
She shifted, visibly uncomfortable with the idea. "Yes, sir," she replied.
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AN: And CUT! Alrighty, now that we finally got that posted, I feel much better. Okay, what I will apologize for is not posting this a few days ago when I finished it. I kept finally getting free time at like, midnight. but by then, our internet was down, so I could write but I couldn't read or post anything online. It was terrible. Anywho, I'm really happy to finally have this posted and finally be able to set up the rest of the story line, which I think I have planned out better this time, instead of just jumping in head first. Yay! I feel kinda bad about switching from my beautiful line breaks to simple xs, but I couldn't remember how to do the line breaks... I know, it's sad. Okie, well now I bid you all adieu. Please remember to read and review, cause really, your reviews are the reason this chapter got written.
-RADyo