They had begun cleaning the place up, and Jason was still salty about it.

They spent a long while cleaning the blue from the walls, as it somehow managed to get everywhere and pointedly refused to come off.

Once that was done, they moved on to the mound of dishes, with their backs facing the doorway. Agents were in the hallway outside, but the room they were in was empty. Percy glanced round to double check no one was there. This was the one time they had been left alone together and would probably be the only chance they had to talk.

"I think we're clear," said Percy, turning back to the bubbly water. "I can't believe this," sighed Jason, scrubbing at one of the many bits of equipment Percy had used. Honestly, waffles weren't that hard to make, how did he use almost every dish and utensil in the kitchen?

"Me neither; how could we not have known?" Percy said, exasperated. Jason sighed. "So many have been killed already, and we weren't there to help," said Jason, frustration leaking into his tone. He slammed the bowl he was washing into the water, causing it to splash up at them.

"Sorry," he muttered. "Don't worry about it," said Percy with a slight grin as he dried them both off. His face fell immediately after, though, and he had a pained expression on his face.

Jason hesitated for a moment, then asked, "You knew him, didn't you?"

Percy looked over to him. "What?"

"The kid Apollo mentioned. The one who was the first to get infected. You knew him," explained Jason. Percy paused, then sighed.

"His name was Johnny. I only met him literally as I was leaving a few days ago. But he was so young, and had only just arrived at camp. Yet he still got dragged right into the middle of all this."

Jason glanced at him, seeing the faraway look he had. He placed a hand on his arm.

"I'm sorry, Perce. I really am. That's awful," Jason said, comfortingly. "Yeah, it is," he replied, still staring into the depths of the water.

"What are we going to do though?" asked Jason, trying to take Percy's mind off the subject.

"I don't know, but we have to think-" Percy began, but was cut off by a sudden hacking that engulfed him. Jason frowned. "Hey man, are you okay?" he asked, reaching out to him.

Percy brushed him away, breathing normally again. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Something just caught in my throat."

"You weren't eating anything," said Jason, peering at him wearily. Percy recovered himself and looked at Jason. He gave a nervous laugh. "What?"

Jason stared at him. "No, I know what you're thinking, and no. Absolutely not," said Percy firmly, turning back to the dishes.

"Percy, you said you met Johnny right before you were leaving. That was also around the time Apollo said he started showing symptoms," said Jason, slowly.

"Jason, you're being dramatic. I was with him for like, 2 minutes. It was just a cough. I was a little choked up thinking of Johnny, that was all," said Percy, still focusing on the dishes.

"Are you sure? You do look a little pale..." stated Jason, concerned.

"Jase," said Percy seriously, turning to face him. "I'm fine. Honestly, you don't have to worry."

Jason continued to peer at him for another minute, taking in his friends' sincere expression. He sighed. "Okay. But if you feel or notice anything, tell me, deal?" he asked.

"Deal," replied Percy, grinning as he said so.

Before Jason could think about continuing this discussion, the Avengers returned and came into the kitchen.

"Looks good, guys. You're doing a really good job," commented Steve as he surveyed the area. "And you're getting through those dishes really quickly," added Bruce, watching the fast growing pile freshly washed equipment.

"Well, we usually have to use lava for washing up, which takes forever. So after using that, regular cleaning is nothing," said Percy, casually.

Jason shot him a look, which Percy returned with a confused one, before glancing over at the Avengers who were staring at them, clearly perturbed.

"I'm kidding, jeez," laughed Percy. He heard Bruce sigh a little in relief, though they all still looked at them weirdly.

"Okay, well, moving on from that," said Clint, a smile stretched across his face as his look of scepticism changed to one of excitement. "We have a surprise for you guys."

Jason and Percy exchanged a look, frowning suspiciously.

"What kind of surprise?" asked Jason, cautiously. The last time someone said that to him, he had been thrown into the war games at Camp Jupiter for the first time. When Mr.D had said that to Percy, he had been on dish duty for a month. And those were the ones that didn't involve monsters or when they were on quests. Overall, they weren't that fond of 'surprises.'

"You'll see," Clint said, mysteriously, as he backed out of the room, the others following suit.

"Be ready in an hour," said Steve as he left. "For what? What is happening?" called Percy, perplexed at what was going on.

"If we told, you, it wouldn't be a surprise," said Tony, who was the last one to leave. "And make sure you finish cleaning up," he added before vanishing through the doorway.

The two boys looked at each other, a similar look of defeat on each of their faces.

"Awe Styx," they said simultaneously.

…...

When the two had finally finished tidying up the kitchen, and Jason had finally stopped nagging Percy about using fewer cooking contraptions, they were escorted out onto the large balcony area/helicopter pad thing outside the lounge space, where the Avengers and Fury were waiting for them.

Once there, agents took out 2 pairs of cuffs. The pair groaned.

"You have got to be kidding me," said Jason. "They're basically apart of us now," whined Percy, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Are they really necessary, Fury? They're not exactly going to be able to go anywhere while on a plane," tried Steve.

Fury ignored the two. "You're lucky I'm even allowing this to happen. Don't push it," he stated annoyedly, watching carefully as the restraints were attached and the power disrupter was engaged.

Percy whipped his head round to them, suddenly acknowledging what had been said.

"Wait, did you say we're going on a plane? Like, in the sky?" he asked, nervously. "That is generally where you find planes, so yes," said Tony, with a raised eyebrow.

Percy could feel panic rising up in him, his eyes frantically looking between the sky and the waiting jet that would take them there. He could feel his breathing quicken slightly.

"Woah, you okay there Percy?" asked Bruce, frowning. He took a step towards him, but Percy took one back, shutting his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Yeah, no I'm fine. It's just, isn't there any other kind of transport we can use to get there? Like a boat or something?" he asked, trying to edge the worry out of his voice.

Fury scoffed. "Yeah, you would love that, wouldn't you?" he said lowly. Steve shot him a look before walking up to Percy and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"It's the fastest way to get to where we're going. Don't worry, it's perfectly safe," he assured, offering him a comforting smile. It did little to calm Percy's nerves.

Jason bumped his shoulder and nodded at him in support, though he too looked a little antsy.

"If we're going, we better go now," Tony called from beside the jet. The engines had now started, meaning no more talking could be done from outside over the noise.

Agents pushed Jason and Percy forward to get them moving, ignoring the worry that was obvious on Percy's face. Percy was less compliant, dragging his feet a little, which only resulted in the agents digging there guns into his back. "Get moving," he said to Percy.

They piled into the jet and strapped in, Percy and Jason more tightly than the others, an Percy doubted it was for their safety.

With no chance of escape now, Percy stared out the window he was beside as the plane lifted off the ground and shot into the sky, nausea beginning to creep in.

…...

He figured maybe his nerves would calm down after a while of being in the atmosphere. They did not.

He clenched his fists tightly, causing his knuckles to turn white and shut his eyes until spots danced in front of them anytime there was even the slightest bit of turbulence.

He could tell everyone was looking at him weirdly; possibly with concern, but Percy couldn't bring himself to make eye-contact withany of them.

"Are you okay, kid?" asked Tony who was sat across from him, a frown on his face. "Never better," Percy replied, finally prying his eyes open as the plane settled into a somewhat calm flight. "Just, not really a fan of flying."

"Bad experience?" asked Clint. "Let's just say the sky and me don't really mix well," responded Percy, peering up.

Jason scoffed quietly from beside him, drawing a few curious looks from the Avengers, but Percy didn't elaborate. The plane suddenly gave another jerk and Percy gasped, clenching the arms of his seat so hard he thought the material would rip. "Tartarus," he swore under his breath.

"Hey," Jason said, leaning over to him and speaking quietly. "It's okay, Perce. He's not going to shoot you down with me here. Plus, with everything going on, I think he will cut you some slack."

Percy looked at him doubtfully. "Yeah, your old man's a real merciful guy," he muttered. "And he's my biggest fan," he added, sarcastically.

"Well maybe don't test his limits by mocking him," murmured Jason, raising an eyebrow at him.

They noticed Clint scrunch up his nose and forehead, obviously listening in but not understanding the conversation. The others were probably doing the same.

"It'll be fine," Jason continued. "He wouldn't shoot down a plane with me in it just because he has a grudge against you. I'm sure it will be a nice, calm flight," he said reassuringly.

At that moment, Natasha entered the passenger section of the plane from the cockpit.

"Looks like there's a bit of bad weather up ahead," she said, leaning on one of the chairs. Percy shot Jason a look, which Jason returned with a nervous smile.

"How bad?" asked Clint.

"There are some dark clouds, so possibly thunder, maybe lightning, and rain. It's only for a short distance though, and I might be able to get us above the clouds to avoid the worst of it. There'll be some bad turbulence, though," she explained, before heading back to the flight deck.

Percy kicked Jason while glaring at him. "Ow, what?" he asked incredulously.

"You totally jinxed us," Percy said, sending him a death glare. Jason rolled his eyes and was saved from responding as the plane began to aggressively shake around them.

"Are we sure it's just bad weather and not Thor? That was the cause the last time we had a flight like this," said Tony, looking up at the dark sky through the window.

"Thor is away back to Asgard, taking Loki to a prison there, since apparently ours 'barely meet mortal standards' and 'would not be able to contain a god'," replied Clint, using air quotes as he spoke.

Percy and Jason glanced at each other with an identical look of confusion.

"Whose Thor?" asked Jason. "Did you say gods?" added Percy.

"Thor is apart if our team. He is from another realm, as he calls them, and is 'The God of Thunder'," explained Steve. "Loki is his brother who, as Thor told us, is 'The God of Mischief.' We had a battle against Loki recently, and Thor insisted on taking him back to their home planet to stand trial."

"Just tell him all other classified information, why don't you," interjected Fury, glaring at Steve.

"I think I've heard of him," murmured Percy. "You've heard of him and not the rest of us?" exclaimed Tony.

"No, not from the media or whatever you guys are on," said Percy shaking his head. "Thor's a Norse God, right?"

"I believe so," said Steve frowning. "How do you know that?"

"Oh, I find all that old mythology stuff interesting, and Thor is a pretty well known, old mythological name," explained Percy, brushing it off.

"Hang on," began Bruce, turning to Jason, "isn't Jason a name from some ancient mythology as well?"

Jason's eyes broadened slightly. "Oh, uh, is it? I didn't know. I mean, a lot of people have the name Jason so," he said, in an attempt at oblivion.

"And the same with your name actually," continued Bruce, turning to Percy. He was frowning now, deep in thought.

Percy's panic spiked, but he swallowed. "Sorry?"

"Perseus was a name of a... Greek hero! Yes, it's Greek mythology those names are derived from." Bruce huffed a laugh. "What are the odds both of you have names of historical figures from Ancient Greek mythology?"

Percy and Jason looked at each other, gulping down their worry. The silence that ensued went on for longer than what would have been appropriate, drawing concerned looks from the Avengers as they looked at the boys.

"You two good there? You've gone all quiet," Clint asked slowly.

Jason blinked. "What? Oh, yes sorry." he turned to Bruce with an attempt at a grin. "Yeah, that is pretty funny. Weird coincidence. Never thought of that before."

Percy could sense the beginning of a rambling and lightly kicked Jason in the leg, making him shut up.

They continued to peer at them strangely, but before they could interrogate them about their weird behaviour, Natasha reappeared in the doorway.

"We're here," she said briefly, before disappearing again.

Everyone turned to look out the window to see the breath-taking view that lay before them, and Percy immediately grew excited at what he saw.

...

"Stephen, no! Stop!"

Piper and Nico glanced at each other before running towards the source of the shouting. It was coming from the infirmary. Travis, Conor and Clarisse were already outside.

"What's going on?" asked Piper, brow furrowed as her eyes locked on the doorway leading inside. Conor answered her. "We don't know. But we heard screaming and-"

A crash sounded, followed by someone crying out. Will.

Travis rushed forward, but Conor grabbed his arm. "Travis, no. We can't go in."

"But we can't just leave him in there!" cried Travis. Piper felt the same, and she could tell Nico did as well from the anxious look on his face, but if they went in, they may not be able to come back out.

Another yell rang out, along with the sound of something (or someone) falling to the ground.

"We can't leave him," Travis said firmly, before dashing inside, the others calling after him.

There was silence for an agonisingly long minute. Everyone held their breath. Nico stepped forward, about to head in after them, when Travis emerged outside, Will's arm swung over his shoulders. He was bleeding.

They ran up to him. "Will! Are you okay?" asked Nico in a panic.

Travis carefully lowered Will down. He was panting, and clutching his arm where crimson leaked out.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. It's not deep," said Will. He took out some sort of sterile material, wiped the cut, then pressed a piece of cloth to the wound. Will hissed a little at the contact, but kept the pressure on.

"What happened?" asked Piper, concern evident in her tone. She moved his hand off the material and placed her own on instead.

"I don't know," Will started. "I was doing the usual. Checking on everyone; their vitals, symptoms. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Well, what we see as the ordinary now," he clarified.

Travis had a hand on his shoulder to ensure he didn't fall over. "So what happened?" he asked.

Will furrowed his eyebrows. "I got round to Stephen, who was one of Johnny's friends, and another one of the first cases," he explained. "He's lasted the longest so far. As almost everyone else has..." he trailed off, not finishing his statement. He didn't have to. They all knew what he meant.

"Anyway," continued Will, "I got round to him, but he was asleep. I went ahead and was checking his breathing, when all of a sudden, his eyes sprang open and he grabbed onto my arm. Really tightly."

They all exchanged a glance as Will carried on. "I tried to get him to release me, assuming I had just scared him, but he wouldn't let go. Then, he jumped me."

Everyone's eyes widened. "What?" asked Nico, shocked.

"That's not even the worst part," said Will, gravelly. "He started lashing out, grabbing anything he could and attacking me, becoming more and more aggressive. He had turned almost... savage."

Will shook his head. "And the look in his eyes," he whispered. "It's like he wasn't even there, but he was at the same time. As if he didn't know what he was doing, but knew he wanted to hurt me all the same."

Silence. They were all speechless, no one knowing what to say. Finally, Piper swallowed. "Has... has this happened before?" she asked, hesitantly.

"No," answered Will. "But..."

"But, what?" asked Conor, worry lacing into his voice.

Will took a deep breath. "I think it might happen again."

The stillness that ensued was intangible. Piper slowly sat down, her eyes staring into nothingness.

"I think," began Will, hesitating. "I think, the disease is mutating."

Travis' eyes somehow went even wider. "Mutating?" he asked.

"Yes. I think it's, changing; having new effects... developing new symptoms," he explained. "And one of these new symptoms is what, homicidal rage?" asked Clarisse, her tone implying light-heartedness, as she clearly couldn't believe what Will was saying.

Will looked up at her and her face fell. "Yes, exactly that," he said.

They all stood there, consumed in their shock.

"But why?" asked Travis, almost a whisper. "Why has it changed? And why now?"

They all turned to Will. "When Stephen started attacking," explained Will, "he didn't just try to hurt me. He tried to hurt everyone else as well. He even managed to grab some of them before I stopped him; but even then, he left bruises from how tight his grip was, and where his nails dug into their skin. He even tried reaching for the needle's sitting nearby... and stabbing them."

Piper sucked in a breath. "Oh my gods," she muttered.

"I thought the same as you, Travis," continued Will. "'Why has this only happened now?' And I think I know. Because we managed to mostly contain the plague, with a few people having already left camp, and others staying away from the infected, we stopped it from spreading to the outside world."

Will paused, closing his eyes for a moment, before looking up at them all.

"Gaia wouldn't have liked that. So when we think we've made one step forward, she's already two steps ahead, resulting in her developing the illness. Victims are now becoming violent, dangerous," Will said darkly.

"So, what, she just wanted to add another stage of the disease to make everything that much harder?" asked Clarisse.

"No, she added it to ensure... that there were no survivors."

The air seemed to tighten around them, any sense of hope that may have formed in the last few days collapsing. The sky appeared to darken above them, blocking any light from entering, and preventing any sense of faith it may have brought.

"She didn't like that Roman and Greek demigods came together to defeat her, and she knew once that happened she wouldn't be able to turn us against each other willingly. But if we have no control, no awareness of what we're doing, with only one thought: to attack..." began Will.

"She's making it so that, if the plague doesn't kill us, we'll kill each other," whispered Nico, his hands gripping his hair.

"So that the infected can escape camp, and infect the world," connected Piper, panic engulfing her voice.

"Killing all demigods, and all mortals, means the Gods, and our world, will cease to exist," said Clarisse, faintly.

"If a powerful, plague ridden demigod is released into the world," Will said quietly, "civilisation is doomed. No one is safe."