The jet touched down smoothly on the ground. Percy had never felt such relief.
The others stood up and ventured over to the back of the plane where the hanger door would let them out. Jason and Percy however were still 'strapped' in, and by strapped they meant locked.
"Ahem?" coughed Percy. They turned back towards them, staring at them for a moment, not understanding what they wanted, then Clint's eyes brightened.
"Oh yeah! Whoops, sorry," he laughed, walking over to them and undoing the over-the-top security measures that were in place.
As soon as they were semi-free (they still had the cuffs on after all) they too headed to the back of the jet, Fury and his agents promptly surrounding them.
After a moment's pause, the door opened and lowered to the ground.
Warm tropical air rushed their faces. Bright sunshine streamed in, and they could already feel the heat of its rays from inside. At that moment though, all Percy cared about was getting off this death trap and back onto solid ground.
He sprinted out of the plane and fell on the ground. "Sweet, sweet land. Oh, how I've missed you," he sighed, feeling the surface beneath him like it was a lifeline.
He heard someone cough behind him and looked up, seeing multiple faces looking down at him. Jason looked at him with a suppressed smile on his face.
"What? You all didn't have to deal with the stress I had to on the longest plane ride ever. Don't judge me," huffed Percy.
"It was only 45 minutes," said Natasha. "Felt like an eternity," exasperated Percy. Jason then tapped him on the shoulder as he looked at where they had landed. It was at this point Percy noticed his surroundings, and his eyes widened exceptionally.
Percy and Jason stood on the most tropical looking beach they had ever seen. It stretched for miles, with palm trees littering across the shimmering sand covering the ground. The water sparkled in the distance, lapping against the shore. There was even a large sandbar a short distance away with enough drinks to last many months, with hammocks nearby attached between the trees.
Okay. This is absolutely worth how much they hyped this up.
The boys stared in awe and wonder, soaking everything in. Since their kidnapping, they hadn't been able to get outside that much, so their excitement was understandable. You can't keep two ADHD demigods inside for days on end and expect them not go stir-crazy!
"Welcome to Stark Island!" said Tony, raising his hands up in the air as he spoke.
Percy and Jason whipped their heads towards him. "This is your island?" exclaimed Jason. "You bet it is. The entire thing. I am pretty rich, you know."
That explained the extravagant sandbar, then.
"Wow," said Jason, taking everything in. "We, well it was my idea really," said Clint, ever the humble, "thought it would be a good idea to have a... change of atmosphere, if you would."
"Okay, I'll admit it, this is an awesome surprise," confessed Jason. Clint smiled. "Told you."
"Yeah, yeah, you know everything, and have great ideas," Tony said sarcastically. "But I've just had a great idea, and that is getting a drink and relaxing on this beach for the rest of the day," he said as he began departing from the group.
"Sounds good to me," agreed Natasha, following behind him, along with the others.
Percy and Jason stepped forward to follow, but were stopped by a bag being thrown at them. They caught it with ease despite the surprise and looked around to see Steve looking at them.
"There's some stuff in there that you might find more appropriate wear for the beach," he said, nodding at the bags before venturing after the rest of their group.
Percy and Jason glanced at each other before opening the bags to find towels, a change of clothes, swimwear, basically anything one might need for a day on the sand or in the water.
Percy grinned. "Race you to the water," he said, before making a break for the waves crashing against the shoreline.
"Hey no fair!" Jason called, before running after him with a smirk of his own.
...
Sadly, they did not get far. Fury got them before they'd even made it 20 feet.
"Woah their, kid," he said, grabbing onto the two by the scruff of their necks.
"Oh come on!" groaned Percy. "Did you really think we were going to let you two wander freely around? And near the world's largest supply of water?" asked Fury, raising an eyebrow, looking at Percy when he said this last part.
"Yes?" asked Percy, innocently. Fury stared at him with a deadpan expression, finding no humour in Percy's response.
Fury then took out what looked to be two metal bracelets. "These," he said, holding them up, "are power disrupter's. They're like your restraints, but more, convenient, you might say. I was going to leave the cuffs on you, but I received many complaints about how it would 'ruin the fun' and other nonsense."
"So," he began. Fury then took off their shackles and quickly replaced them with the bracelets, snapping them on.
"Now you can run around, play in the water, whatever it is kids your age do, and we can track you and not have to worry about any, accidents," he explained, looking at them pointedly.
"We are not little kids-" argued Percy, but was interrupted and ignored.
"If you do attempt to escape or use your powers," continued Fury, acting like Percy hadn't said anything, "you will be stunned so we can retrieve you. And trust me, if you try to run, you won't get very far. Understood?"
Percy and Jason glared at him in response. "Good," said Fury. He and his agents, a few of them anyway, then headed back towards the jet. They didn't take off, however, but clearly had no intention of joining the Avengers on the beach. Percy and Jason were fine with that.
"Now, where were we?" asked Percy, once they had gone, minus the couple agents who had remained a short distance away to keep an eye on them. "Oh yeah! I was destroying you in a race!" he said, before promptly dashing at full speed towards the water.
"Are you kidding me?" called Jason in frustration. "Get back here, Jackson!"
...
The day was surprisingly fun.
Jason and Percy had literal wars in the sea, attacking each other in a brotherly but still vicious manner. Percy didn't obliterate Jason as easily or quickly as he usually would have, seeing as they were both currently powerless, but he still had an advantage, with him basically being connected to the ocean and all its inhabitants.
At one point, a shark swam nearby, but seemed to recognise Percy, as it swam about him in a playful manner. Percy then decided to act like the troublesome child he was, and sent the shark up to Tony who had also got in the water nearby.
A yell rang throughout the island, drawing laughter from both boys. Percy made sure the shark didn't actually hurt Tony, of course, but the scare it gave him was absolutely hilarious.
Later on, when everyone was out of the water, they all ventured up to the sandbar, Tony insisting it was necessary to help him recover after almost getting eaten.
Jason knew how Percy felt about alcohol though, and so was wary about how he might react to multiple adults having drinks around him. He seemed fine though, for the time being.
"Want one?" Tony asked Percy and Jason. Natasha shot him a look. "Stark, they're kids. You are not giving them anything," she said warningly.
"Oh, come on. The whole point of this day was to get everyone to relax and loosen up a bit," he argued, lifting bottles of different alcoholic beverages off the shelves behind him. He set out cocktail, beer and shot glasses, everyone taking their choice.
"Tony, they're underage," said Steve, looking at him firmly.
"To be fair, technically none of you actually know what age I am," Jason pointed out.
They raised an eyebrow at him. "Just saying, I could be 25 for all you know," he said, shrugging.
"See? He's on my side. What about you, Jackson?" he asked, turning to Percy.
He grimaced. "Don't really have any interest in drinking," he admitted. "What? Not even when you're older?" asked Tony, shocked. Percy shrugged, shaking his head. "Nah," he responded simply.
"Not a bad decision. Drinking can be really dangerous, and have really bad effects on people," said Clint, leaning on the pub table.
"Yeah, you got that right," muttered Percy. Jason shot him a concerned look, knowing full well what he was thinking.
The others for the most part didn't seem to notice, not passing any remarks, as Tony had started pouring out everyone's drink. He placed a couple Cokes in front of Jason and Percy, Percy looking thankful that they had moved on from the previous topic.
Everyone seemed happy and relaxed, even Natasha, banter and laughter being passed between the group. Music was playing in the background, accompanying the free and easy nature that had now been established between them.
The sky was now dark, the stars out, but torches with fire flickering at the top of them kept the area bright and creating a comfortable atmosphere. Warm coloured LED lights hung from the roof, adding an extra twinkle to the lighting.
Jason and Percy chatted with the others, and felt as though they were getting on well with them. Far better than Jason would have thought, what with everything that had happened between them. He sincerely hoped that they would let them go soon, so they could figure out a way to get back to their friends.
After a few more hours, everyone was tired, and decided to head back to the tower. The flight wasn't as awful for Percy as the previous one, seeing as he was pretty tired and didn't have the energy to worry.
When they finally arrived back at the tower, everyone was beat, ready to head for bed. They ventured upstairs, and Jason noticed Percy looked a little apprehensive, and he thought he knew why.
"You have a nightmare last night?" asked Jason, quietly. Even though no one could understand them, he didn't want to draw they're attention any more than they would by speaking loudly.
Percy paused before slowly nodding. Jason sighed. "Tartarus?" Another silence, then Percy nodded again.
"I thought I would be over this by now, but they seem to only be getting worse," muttered Percy, clearly disheartened.
"Dude, you've barely been out of there. You can't expect to just walk out of literal Tartarus and not have any trauma," exclaimed Jason.
"I know, it's just-" he hesitated, struggling on how to say it.. "It felt so real. I could feel everything. The heat, the glass shards of sand. It was so painful. And, I think..." he trailed of, thinking.
"Think, what?" asked Jason. "I think I actually had the injuries I got in my dream when I woke up, or at least the marks of them."
Jason looked at him confused before Percy subtly showed him his hand, which indeed had some faded red scarring on them.
Jason frowned and was about to question him when they were interrupted by Tony.
"Well kids, this has been fun. But it's your bedtime, now," he said, condescendingly.
"Aren't you all going to bed as well?" asked Percy, raising an eyebrow at him. "Doesn't matter what we're doing now. But you both need your 9 hours of sleep. You're growing boys, after all," Tony said with a cheesy grin on his face.
"Well, aren't you considerate," deadpanned Jason. "It has been said," Tony sighed happily.
"We'll see you both in the morning," said Steve, nodding at them as they stepped into their rooms.
"Night," said Jason. "Peace," Percy said, before both their doors shut closed.
...
Jason slowly got himself ready for bed, using the time to think.
They needed to get out of here, get back to the camps, and find a way to save their friends. Save everyone.
That was easier said than done, though. With them being watched at every second of the day, detained and their powers neutralised, Jason couldn't think of how they could possibly escape.
As Jason was brushing his teeth, a thought suddenly occurred to him. He immediately dismissed it though. It's a stupid idea. And would absolutely have terrible consequences.
And yet, he couldn't think of another option.
Jason scoffed, shaking his head to remove the thoughts.
He climbed into bed, but he didn't try to fall asleep. Instead, he simply sat there. Thinking.
It was probably best to sleep on it. And besides, he had to pitch his thoughts to Percy, to hear his thoughts on the matter.
He didn't know how well he would take the suggestion, if he would laugh at him or think he was crazy. Or both.
But Jason couldn't completely get the idea out of his head.
Sighing, he finally turned out his light and lay down to sleep, clearing his head of everything except for the whisper of the thought still sitting in the back of his mind.
We should tell them.
...
The next morning came far too quickly in Tony's opinion. And just when he was in the middle of a dream!
He groggily got up, thinking of the designs and projects he wanted to work on today.
He got himself ready for the day and headed down to grab his morning coffee.
Just as he made it to the end of the hallway, a shout rang down the corridor, along with the sound of thumping and objects falling over.
Tony groaned. It's too early for this.
Still, he made his way to the source of the commotion, wanting to make sure none of his stuff got broken.
Why did I agree to let my very-prone-to-damage colleagues and 2 teenagers into my very expensive building?
...
When Jason woke up that morning, he was informed by J.A.R.V.I.S that Percy, Clint and Steve were already up, so he was able to be released into the tower, walked down by agents who went up to collect him.
He entered the kitchen to find Percy leaning against the bar table eating cereal and Clint sitting on the sofa, on his phone, Steve next to him.
Jason went up to Percy. "Morning," he said. Percy grunted in response. "Where'd you get the bowl?" asked Jason. Percy didn't reply, instead pointing at one of the cupboards, not saying anything.
Jason frowned but walked over to the direction he gestured in. "You okay?" he asked, glancing at him.
"Fine," replied Percy, still not looking at him.
"You sure? You seem a little... tense," he said, a bit concerned.
Percy sighed in response, even rolling his eyes a little. "I said I'm fine, Jason. Can we move on?" he said, snappily.
"You two okay over there?" called Steve from where he was sitting. "Yeah, we're fine," replied Jason.
He went over to stand beside Percy, and quietly started eating his cereal. The silence dredged on, tension established in the air. Just when Jason thought it wouldn't end, a small, black device was shoved in his face.
He blinked before realising it was a phone and jerked back slightly.
"I just remembered I didn't get to finish showing you that video game yesterday. What with the whole monster attack and everything," said Clint who was now standing beside Jason, holding the phone.
"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that, but um-" Jason stammered a little.
"You looked excited about it yesterday, but whenever I got it up to show you, you seemed a little resistant," continued Clint, tilting his head at him.
"Oh, right. Yeah, I'm just, not really into phones and computers and all that. I don't even have one. I find them kind of confusing," admitted Jason.
In all honesty, he had liked the sound of the game when Clint described it, but he didn't realise it was a video game. On a phone. Phones and demigods don't really mix well, but since he had already shown his interest in the game, backing out had been a little difficult.
"How can a teenager not have a phone?!" questioned Clint, astonishment clear in his voice.
Jason shrugged, not knowing what to say.
Clint shook his head. "Well, once you play it, you'll realise what you're missing out on," he said, pressing the button to turn on the device.
The screen stayed dark. Clint frowned, pressing it again. "Shoot, must be dead. I'll go grab the charger, be right back!" he called, already out the door.
Jason turned back to his cereal. "What was that all about?" asked Percy.
"He was showing me some game yesterday," said Jason. "Before the whole Hydra incident. Actually, that reminds me. Something I meant to say to you about it," he began.
Percy turned to him. "Yeah?"
"I think I might have been the reason behind the attack. Clint gave me his phone right before we had breakfast while the game was still running, and I had to hit a few buttons to try and turn it off. I'm really sorry," said Jason honestly.
Silence. Jason looked round to see Percy staring at him, with, was that anger?
"You used a phone?" asked Percy slowly. "Well, yeah. But it was accident, I couldn't help it," explained Jason.
Percy stood up straight from the bar, knocking down the bar stool behind him, looking at Jason annoyedly.
"How could you do that? That's a stupid mistake," Percy said, angrily. Jason frowned. Percy did not get angry like this, especially at something like this.
"Percy I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" he began.
"Sorry? You got us attacked! And from playing a video game?!" yelled Percy.
Steve had stood up from his seat, and he and Clint, who returned by this point, were looking between each other and the two teens, confused.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-" Jason was cut off from something knocking him back a few steps. He looked to see Percy glaring daggers at him. He shoved him. Percy had shoved him.
"Dude what the-" Jason began but was again interrupted by Percy coming up an inch away from him, pushing him hard in the shoulder, but Jason held his ground this time.
"Hey!" called Steve, who had come up beside the two, pushing them apart. "That's enough!"
Percy continued to glare at Jason, fire in his eyes Jason had only seen him reserve for the worst of the worst. Clint came up beside Percy encase he tried something.
Tony also entered at this point, frowning at the scene before him. "What's going on?" he asked. Everyone stayed silent, not answering him.
After a long pause, Percy broke eye-contact and shoved past Jason, knocking him in the shoulder.
"Whatever," he growled, before heading out the door.
Jason rubbed his shoulder, staring after him.
"What on earth happened?" asked Clint, looking at where Percy had disappeared.
Jason shook his head, bewildered. "I have no idea."