Hello everyone! So sorry for the delay. The struggle with this chapter was unreal. I started writing then realised I had to change things to make future plans work, and this happened so often and really slowed the writing process. My updates may be a bit all over the place for the next few chapters as I didn't want to leave this update any longer and decided to give you all a mid week one. So the next few will be coming but probably not in time for this weekend. Just wanted to make that clear. Also Happy belated St Paddy's day! Hope you all had fun!
"What are you looking at?" asked Piper who had materialised beside him, making Will jump.
"It's a sample from an infected hosts blood stream," explained Will, going back to look through the microscope.
"Really? What does it look like?" she asked, leaning in closer as though she would be able to see from that distance.
"See for yourself," Will said, backing away and gesturing to the apparatus.
Piper stepped forward and leaned in to get a closer look.
"As we said, anytime our blood is looked at with regular equipment, it comes up as an anomaly. Even with our more 'magical' tools, it is still not completely clear; but if you set it to just the right focus," began Will, twisting the knob on the device. "Do you see that weird, dark purple looking shape?"
"The one that looks like something from outer space? Yeah, I see it," said Piper, still looking into the instrument.
"That's it," said Will.
Piper pulled back and looked up at him, tilting her head. "What?"
"The virus. That's it," he said, nodding his head at the device.
Piper's eyes widened and she jerked her head back to the gadget to look through it again before quickly stepping away.
"That's the plague?!" she exclaimed. "Yep," agreed Will.
Piper made a sound of disbelief, staring in wonder at what lay before her. "That's how you were able to test us? You were actually able to see it?"
Will nodded, but he had a solemn look on his face. Piper frowned.
"What's wrong? You know what to look for now when people start showing symptoms. This is a good thing, right?" she asked.
Will's pause seriously put her on edge. Finally, he sighed and nodded back over to the sample.
"Look again," he said. Piper hesitated for a moment, but did as she was told.
She pressed her eyes against the microscope once again, peering at the dark splodge.
"What do you see?" asked Will. Piper squinted her eyes, trying to find he was talking about.
She watched the dark spots float slowly floating about in the blood smear. Wait, spots? As in plural?
Her breath caught in her throat. There was more than one. There were 2. 4. 8.
They were multiplying so fast, until there was virtually no blood left. Only darkness. Only death.
She slowly looked up and made eye-contact with Will. He stared back at her, and they held each other's gaze for a moment in the silence, before he looked away, not able to hold it any longer.
"This is how it spreads so fast; why it's so unpredictable," explained Will.
Piper swallowed thickly. "How are we getting out of this?"
Will, couldn't meet her eyes. "I don't know, Piper. I don't know."
...
His heart was pounding loudly in his ears as he ran through the hallways, jumping downstairs and slamming open doors as he came to them.
Everything was in slow motion, but also happening so suddenly.
Percy can't be sick. He can't!
Jason couldn't believe it. He refused to believe it. And yet, here he was, trying to put as much distance between himself and Percy as possible.
He didn't even think about how bad it looked to everyone around. The Avengers were probably thinking he was making a run for it, trying to escape. He vaguely remembers hearing voices shouting after him as he sprinted away from Percy's room. Percy.
Oh gods, he probably hates me! I just left him back there! Ran away from him like he was some disgusting monster!
Jason could feel tears forming in his eyes, but he blinked them away. He couldn't let anyone see him like this. They would start to ask questions. Well, more questions than usual. More specific, like, 'what is wrong with you? Why did you leave your friend when he's sick? What are you so scared of?'
Everything. Jason was scared of everything, and he was not doing a very good job of hiding it.
He burst into the lounge area, frantically looking around. No one was there.
He dashed around looking for some reflective surface. Finally, his eyes landed on a glass tiling at the bar.
He ran over and looked at his reflection.
He was panting and sweating slightly from the run down; his eyes were wide with panic and fear. But he looked healthy. His skin had its natural glow, cheeks a light flush.
All in all, he looked okay. He didn't seem sick. But looks can be deceiving.
I could still have it. It could still be on me.
In his state of alarm, he turned and scanned the room, his eyes landing on the fireplace and he ran over. It was a live fire, but could be turned on and off at any stage.
He absent-mindedly heard footsteps hurrying down the hallway and people entering the room, but he ignored them and stepped in front of the flames.
"Jason?" someone said, but again, he didn't acknowledge them.
He pulled off his hoodie and frantically tossed it in the fire. He then made to removing his shirt too. He had to burn anything that might be contaminated before it's too late.
"Jason stop!" Someone had appeared beside him and tugged him away from the blaze. Jason immediately resisted the grip, trying desperately to remove his arm from their grasp.
No. They can't touch me.
"Let me go!" cried Jason, grunting in his effort to escape. Usually, he could release a grip without having to break a sweat, but this person was strong. Really strong, and they were not giving up.
"Hey, stop it!" they yelled. The person then grabbed both his upper arms, forcing him to look directly forward. He looked into the eyes of Steve, filled with worry and concern.
Jason glanced around them, finding Natasha only a few feet away, tensed and ready should anything happen. Clint was in a similar position, and Tony not far behind him, his right hand armoured up. Jason could see the glow of his palm.
He turned his gaze back to Steve. He was shaking a bit, and could still feel himself taking too quick, panicked breaths.
"Jason, what is going on?" asked Steve, voice calmer than before. "I-I can't. You have to let go. Please," pleaded Jason. He struggled again in Steve's arms, but the man wouldn't let up.
"Not until you explain what is going on," said Steve, firmly. Jason couldn't wait, though. He had to get away from them. If he's sick too, he could infect them!
He didn't know how this plague worked, but he could try his best to stop himself from developing it. But Percy. Oh gods, Percy.
Jason could feel himself on the brink of tears again. This can't be happening. It can't!
Apollo said this disease was deadly. He said no one survived. No one. That means Percy...
A tear managed to leak its way down Jason's face. He sucked in a breath and looked away. He didn't want them to see him cry.
He felt Steve's grip loosen on his arms, but not completely fall away. "Jason," he said, slowly. Jason breathed in slowly through his nose to compose himself.
Steve continued to peer at him, patiently waiting for him to respond.
"I was just... worried. About Percy. When I saw he was sick, how awful he looked. I freaked out. That's all," Jason finally said, voice still a little shaky.
Steve frowned. He didn't believe him. And he was guessing none of the others did either.
"That's definitely not all," said Clint, looking at him sceptacly. But Jason didn't know what to say. He couldn't exactly tell them, "Well, you see, I just found out that there is a plague killing off all the people I know while I can't do anything to stop it, and now my friend has said plague. Oh, and did I mention that there's no cure? So he is going to die?" Yeah, that's not what he was going to say.
Yet, telling the truth might be the only option right now. These mortals were far more advanced and powerful than regular ones. They might be able to aid them.
But would he really risk exposing the mythological world for the slim chance that they might be able to help?
"Jason," Steve said quietly in an attempt to get through Jason's overwhelming thoughts. It didn't work.
Confliction attacked Jason inside of him, and the panic that he had somewhat managed to contain swelled up once again.
"No," he said lowly. "Jason please," tried Natasha, a strained look on her face. But the fear was clawing its way back into Jason's mind, destroying any idea of confession Jason had.
"No!" he yelled. Jason then yanked himself away from Steve, who had been taken off guard by Jason's lurch from quiet and contemplative to loud and terrified.
He sprinted out of the room, back in the direction of the bedrooms. He heard no one attempting to follow.
Once he made it inside his room (for once thankful that it locked automatically) he leaned against the door, taking deep breaths.
His earlier panic had resumed in full force, resulting in his immediate dash to the bathroom and to the shower.
All rational thinking had left him, but he was sure of one thing.
He would make sure this plague did not take him too.
...
Ever since they had taken Percy and Jason, the Avengers were continuously perplexed by everything they said and that happened, but this moment definitely took the cake.
First, they had walked into a very sick young teenager who had been fine health wise not long before. Then the friend of said teenager had freaked out in a very bizarre way, backing away from him like he had the plague and running as far as he could. Finally, they had walked in on the most obscure scene that they most definitely had not been expecting.
As soon as Jason had fled Percy's room, everyone but Bruce, who had stayed behind to look after Percy, chased after him.
They had been expecting to see to make a break for it, but instead they walked in on him tossing his clothes on the fire.
When they tried to pull him away, he lashed out, resisting as much as he could. To put it plainly, the kid seemed terrified.
They let him go when he ran off the second time, Tony's cameras telling them that he had gone to his room, leaving the group alone together.
"What on earth just happened?" asked Clint. Steve shook his head. "I have no idea," he confessed.
Bruce then appeared, walking up to the group with his hands in his pockets. "How's the kid?" asked Tony.
"Not very good, but from his symptoms it just looks like the flu. He should recover," explained Bruce.
They all nodded except Natasha. "Then why did Jason freak out like that?" she asked.
"Yeah. From how he reacted, I expected Percy to have something way worse," said Tony.
"So did I," agreed Clint.
Bruce shook his head. "He has an abnormally high fever, and is experiencing nausea and vomiting, but those are normal flu symptoms. So, I have no clue why Jason reacted that way," he admitted.
"There must be a reason for it," Steve thought out loud. "It looked like Jason knew what was wrong with Percy. Like it was something worth panicking for."
They all thought for a moment.
"We should ask them about it," decided Natasha. "Yeah, because that went so well the last time," scoffed Tony.
Natasha shot him a look but continued. "Didn't you hear what Percy said to Jason?"
They all exchanged a look. "I have it," she recited. Their eyes widened simultaneously. "What do you think 'it' is?" she asked.
...
Things were getting weirder and weirder.
When asked, Jarvis told Tony that Jason had spent the last 2 hours showering, refusing to leave his room and backing away when anyone tried to enter.
On top of that, Percy had gotten extremely weak and delirious. They had decided it was best to move him to the medical bay, where there was a window so people could look in but not enter the contaminated room. They presumed he wouldn't be there for long, just until his symptoms reduced, but to Bruce's surprise, they seemed to only be getting worse.
Bruce had been checking on him and had attempted to bring his fever down.
"Is Jason okay?" he asked Bruce weakly, eyes half open. "He's worried for you. Caused a bit of a commotion earlier, but other than that he's fine. It's you I'm more concerned about right now," replied Bruce, placing the cool cloth on Percy's forehead.
"I can send for him if you'd like to see him-"
"No," Percy cut him off. Bruce sighed. "I understand that you may still be mad at him, but he's your friend, and having a friend around might be comforting right now."
Percy shook his, grimacing as he did, regretting the motion. Bad idea.
"No," he said firmly. "Bruce." The man looked to see Percy staring right into his eyes. "You have to promise me to keep him as far from me as possible," he ordered, leaving no room for argument.
Bruce sighed, standing up from the bed. "Get some rest, Percy," he said, heading for the door.
"Bruce," called Percy, causing the man to stop and turn his head to the boy. "Promise me," he pleaded.
Bruce frowned, not liking how desperate Percy sounded, but he finally nodded. "I promise," he agreed.
Percy relaxed. "Thank you," he whispered, before falling over to sleep.
Bruce walked out, quietly closing the door and turning to the waiting Avengers who had been watching through the window.
"Well?" asked Clint. Bruce shook his head in contemplation, gazing at the sleeping boy in the next room as he sadly replied. "I just don't know."
...
"Look out!"
"Everybody get back!"
"Will, watch out!"
Jason watched in paralysed shock at the horrific scene before him.
Will was pushing someone that looked to be attacking him off of himself. People were frantically running in all directions, chased by attackers like the one ambushing Will. There was yelling, screaming. And Jason couldn't move!
He whipped his head around, trying to take in everything that was going on, but there was just too much.
Camp was in chaos.
He saw Piper run past him with Nico, not acknowledging his presence. He shouted out to her, longing to speak to her, help her, be with her. Alas, his voice did not come.
He was instead forced to watch in frozen horror as his friends tried to manage whatever the Tartarus was going on here.
Suddenly, the scene changed.
He was still at camp, but now he and the others were in the Big House. No chaos now, but there was still a deep and unforgiving tension in the air.
Will was speaking, but what was he saying? Everything was muffled. His voice came in and out of focus, allowing Jason to only catch a few words here and there.
"Plague... stages... fever... hallucinations, agony... Tartarus..."
The scene then changed again before Jason could fully comprehend what had been said. It flipped back outside, beside the infirmary.
Yells and crashing sounded, drawing more panic from Jason.
The image rushed forward, showing all his friends huddled together. Jason strained to hear the conversation, their voices sounding far away.
"... becoming violent...the more powerful the demigod, the more dangerous they are...they could infect the world..."
They disappeared, but their voices remained. A new visual appeared before him. At first, Jason saw nothing, only darkness. Then it came.
A dark, alien-like shape, morphing unnaturally. And was it was getting bigger.
"What is it?" he heard Piper say. "That's the virus," was Will's reply. The shape came closer, growing ever still.
Jason's heart began to race. The particle seemed to extend all around him; engulfing him; suffocating him.
Jason's eyes sprang open.
He gasped for air, looking around for any sign of danger. Any sign of the plague.
He leaned back against the wall when there was nothing there, realising then that he was in the floor and must have fallen asleep there.
He groaned. Demigod dreams sucked. They usually consisted of past near-death experiences, near or actual death experiences to come, or visions with a hidden meaning.
These could be really annoying, not giving the entirety of information needed to make sense of what a demigod was being shown. Sometimes though, they could be partially helpful, giving demigods warnings, important information, or even messages.
Right now though, Jason didn't know what to make of it.
The visions he saw. He didn't want to believe they were true, or were going to be true. And the plague. It was so haunting, destroying all his senses.
He saw and heard so much. Too much. But now he knew more.
He knew what the disease looked like. Not that he would actually be able to check for it, but knowing was still something. Better than being stuck in oblivion.
Stages of the plague he now knew. I can watch Percy; see how far he's gone. See how long he has.
Jason shook his head, ridding his thoughts of things he would not let happen.
Percy would not die from this.
He will not die.