Hi everyone! Just wanted to address a question I got. My updating schedule is usually weekly, with me posting updates usually on Saturdays. This can vary however to be sometimes on a Friday or a Sunday, depending on how busy I am or how long a chapter takes me to write. This schedule should continue as planned but don't hate me if I'm a few days late on a chapter! Sometimes, like all writers, I have a blank or just can not for whatever reason think of what to write, which does slow me down. Aside from that though updates are usually pretty consistent. Anyways, that's all. Hope you like the chapter!
Edit: Many thanks to Demigod2020PJFAN for pointing out a mistake I made in the PJO logic of this chapter. Not sure if it makes sense but hey, fixed now!
"Leo are we there yet?" asked Calypso, sounding exhausted.
They had been flying for quite some time now, and they were both pretty tired. But Leo couldn't rest until he figured out what was going on.
"Almost," he called through the noise of the wind. "I think," he muttered under his breath.
"Do you even know where you're going?" shouted Calypso.
"Of course, sunshine. When have you ever doubted me?" he said with a smirk.
He didn't. Not really, anyway. All he had to go on for directions was a super unhelpfully vague vision from his even more unhelpfully vague father. Honestly, the guy is MIA for his entire life then decides to show up out of the blue to provide the most backward explanation possible before disappearing in a blast of light.
'You are the key.' What did that even mean?
His attention snapped back into focus by the sound of Festus creaking.
"A city?" repeated Leo. "Where?" asked Calypso, frowning as she leaned over the dragon to get a better look. "All I can see is cloud."
Without warning, they began catapulting downwards, releasing a scream from Calypso. Leo squinted his eyes as they broke through the clouds and the city of New York appeared before them.
"Wow," whispered Calypso, her eyes wide as she took it all. "Mortals really can create some amazing things."
"Yeah," agreed Leo. His eyes narrowed in on a familiar building with a large 'A' on it. "And the one we want is right up ahead."
She looked in the direction he pointed in. She gasped. "It's so tall. Although, it looks a bit damaged."
Leo frowned but realised quickly what she meant as they got closer to the tower. It looked as though the entire top of the building had been blown off, and there looked to be flying objects hovering around the roof.
"What are those things?" asked Calypso, looking at them curiously. "Helicopters," answered Leo. He glanced behind him when Calypso didn't respond, finding her tilting her head at him in confusion.
"They're like big metal machines that can fly and take you to different places," he explained. She looked fascinated, and seemed eager to ask more when something whizzed passed Leo's ear at the speed of a bullet.
Wait, that was a bullet!
More came, accompanied by yelling and shouting from the top of the tower they were headed for.
"What's happening?" shouted Calypso, ducking for cover behind Leo. "We're under attack!" yelled Leo, grunting as he tried to guide Festus through the raining fire of bullets.
"You okay, buddy?" he asked.
Creak!
"Yeah, okay, stupid question," he muttered.
"I thought you knew what you were doing when you wanted to come here!" yelled Calypso as they twisted through the air to avoid the ongoing assault.
"I never know what I'm doing! But it's sweet of you to think so highly of me," he replied, shooting her a grin as he said so. She punched him in the shoulder, glaring at him.
"Ow," said Leo, shooting her a look. "Focus! I did not finally escape after spending all those years on that island only to be shot down from the sky because you don't know how to fly!" she yelled at him.
"Hey! I do to know how to fly! As a matter of fact, I-" he was cut short by a loud bang from underneath them.
Leo cursed under his breath. "Festus!" he called.
Click, click, creak!
Leo grunted as he desperately tried to keep Festus steady. He attempted to change course and go past the building, but their attackers followed them still, raining down fire on them wherever they flew.
Even if Festus was immune to the bullets, that didn't mean his passengers were.
They kept having to duck down and take cover, but seeing as Festus only had a temporary repair job before they left, meaning his systems were still not in the best condition, that meant...
"We're going down!" he shouted just as he finally lost control and they plummeted towards the top of the tower.
...
For the second time in a too short space of time, Leo made yet another ungraceful landing.
Festus roared out just as they crashed into the building, both occupants tumbling off and rolling across the floor.
Leo groaned. I need to stop landing like this.
He was lying on his front, with his head looking to the side. As he blinked the fuzziness out of his eyes, he noticed a body lying across from him, unconscious.
"Calypso?" he muttered. She was breathing from what he could tell, but was definitely out cold.
"Move in. Slowly," he heard someone say from above him.
As he slowly lifted his head up to find who had spoken, his swimming vision coming into focus, he found multiple guns all trained on him.
"Well, isn't this a warm welcome," he said, looking about him.
"Don't move!" shouted one of the people standing around him. "Raise your hands where we can see them."
Leo squinted at them. "Well, which is it? Don't move or put my hands up? Cause raising my hands involves movement so-"
"Quiet!" another yelled out at him, all of them slowly stepping closer to him.
Rude. I'm a very funny person, they should be honoured to be getting my comedic genius for free, especially after shooting at me and my dragon! Oh, and sunshine of course.
Just as he was about to make another very witty comment, doors Leo hadn't noticed with all the commotion burst open across the room.
Entering through them was a very unhappy looking man with an eye-patch (is he a pirate? That's so cool!) and-
Is that the Avengers?!
...
After hearing the yelling and even more firing of gunshots, the Avengers and Fury dashed back to see what was going on.
What they found was not at all what they expected.
The agents were surrounding what appeared to be a young teenage boy with curly hair who was lying on the floor, a girl laying across from him, and, is that a metal dragon?
Jason was still kneeling on the ground where they had left him, craning his neck to try and see what was happening.
"What is going on in here?" yelled Fury.
A few agents ran up to him. "Sir, we were apprehending the prisoners as you ordered, when suddenly we picked up on a fast-approaching object heading our way. It didn't slow down, so we opened fire. These were the occupants who were on said object," the agent finished, gesturing towards the kids.
Fury squinted at them, the Avengers all looking between him and the newcomers.
He then pushed past the agents and stormed up to them, the others following behind, wanting to see for themselves who these people were.
"Identify yourself," Fury demanded once he had reached them, folding his arms as he spoke.
As they got closer, they saw that the boy looked to be covered in what looked like soot. He was in pretty casual clothing, but it appeared to be ripped, even singed in parts, as though it had been burned. As though he were in a fight.
He had a tool belt around his waist with many different compartments, and he had a grin on his face that said he was not at all intimidated by the number of guns trained on him or the angry director looming above. Not yet anyway.
"Why don't you 'identify yourself' first?" he said, mocking the tone Fury had used.
Fury glared down at him and signalled the agents to ready their guns. "Seeing as I'm the one with power here, I suggest you do as I say," he warned.
Steve frowned at him and was about to step forward when Natasha put a hand out in front to stop him. "Not yet," she muttered.
The boy stared at them for a moment, seemingly debating his options.
"Hey, will someone please tell me what's going on?" asked Jason, who was looking annoyed at being completely oblivious to the situation that was taking place.
Clint was about to reply when the curly haired boy's eyes widened. "Jason?" he called out.
There was a moment of confusion as both the Avengers and Shield members looked between the two, but the expression on Jason's face was one of pure shock.
"Leo?" he called back, hesitantly.
The boy, Leo apparently, sucked in a breath and made to move towards the source of Jason's voice but was stopped by the agents surrounding him.
Jason on the other hand sprang to his feet and started to dash forward, only to be grabbed almost instantly.
"Let me go!" he yelled at the men holding him.
"Jason!" Leo shouted before trying to break through the barricade surrounding him to no avail.
"What is going on?" asked Tony, perplexed, looking between the boys and confused agents.
"That's exactly what I'm wondering," muttered Clint. He stepped towards Fury. "I think you should let them go to each other."
Fury snapped his head to the agent. "What?" he asked in disbelief.
"In all this time we've had Percy and Jason in custody, we've gotten nowhere. Now this random boy who clearly knows Jason appears out of the blue and you don't what to see what happens?" said Clint, raising an eyebrow.
Fury looked unconvinced.
Clint sighed. "Look, if Jason knows him, then odds are he is also a part of this camp. We can use this to our advantage."
He stepped out to be in front of the director so he would have his full attention. "Pull your agents out. Let them reunite or whatever. From the looks of it, they seem relieved to see each other. With you gone, they're more likely to give a more genuine reaction. Us, along with the agents who supervised here already, will be watching them."
Fury appeared to be thinking it over, watching the boys continue to struggle and fight to be released.
"Plus, I think we need to get people off this roof. I don't know how much more weight it can hold, and you need to start getting together troops for your... mission," continued Clint, looking at the man knowingly.
Fury looked at him, mulling it over before eventually sighing. "Fine. I suppose there's nothing more we can learn from him right now anyway. But we will be coming for them soon for an interrogation for this newcomer as well as the current children in our custody."
He turned to face the boys and the agents holding them.
"It's okay," he called out. "You can let them through."
The agents looked at him, confused for a moment, before releasing their hold on the two teenagers, both of whom looked surprised as well.
"Medics, I need you to start looking throughout the building for anyone who was injured, either last night or from that explosion. The rest of you, move out," he ordered, heading back the way he came.
They immediately went into action, some following Fury, others heading back to the helicopter, and the last either going to help the injured. Some venturing over to the girl lying on the floor, or staying posted in the room at the exits but also over Percy, who was now kneeling on the ground with his head hung forward and his hands in cuffs behind his back.
"Hey!" yelled the boy as he saw the medics heading over to the unconscious girls form. "It's okay," called Steve, drawing the boys gaze over to him. "They're just going to check to make sure she's okay. You'll be able to see her soon," he explained as the medics began transferring he girl onto a stretcher.
The boy looked wary, but didn't move to follow as they took her out of the room.
Now the only ones left were the Avengers and the three boys, two of which had been watching the commotion around them, but now had locked their eyes on the other.
...
This was unbelievable. Leo was there. Standing right in front of him. Alive.
He took a hesitant step forward, a smile forming on his face as he looked at his friend. "Leo?" he asked.
Leo, who seemed to reflect Jason's own expression, stared at him as a smile grew on his own face. "Yeah, man, it's me."
Jason felt a sob coming up his throat. He couldn't believe it, quickly moving forward.
He froze. He couldn't believe it, because it couldn't be possible.
He took a step back, hating as the smile slid off Leo's face.
"Who are you?" he asked, warily. Leo looked confused. "Jason, it's me," he said, tilting his head at him.
"Tell me something only you would know, then. To prove you really are Leo," said Jason, narrowing his eyes at him.
"Something only I would know," he repeated, thinking. He clicked his fingers and smiled. "Oh! Remember when we were going on the school trip to The Grand Canyon? And I changed our dear Coach Hedge's microphone to sound like Darth Vader?"
Jason's eyes widened. "It is you," he whispered, speed walking forward.
Leo spread his arms in preparation for a hug. What he got instead was the feeling of something painfully hitting his face.
His head swung to the side, and he blinked in shock.
He looked back to see Jason standing in front of him, staring at him, eyes narrowed.
"Did you just slap me?" questioned Leo in disbelief. Jason raised his eyebrows and gave a look that said "Duh."
"You slapped me!" Leo said in shock.
"Leo what the hell?" Jason asked, exasperated. "We thought you were dead!"
From the corner of his eye, he could see the Avengers watching this interaction, utterly bewildered and not at all knowing what to do or how to react.
"Oh yeah, that," said Leo, rubbing his cheek. "Uh, surprise?" he said, smiling nervously.
Jason's face kept changing between relief that his friend was alive, shock that he was here, and anger that he had gave himself up in the most heroic yet awful way.
Leo had taken a few nervous steps back to give Jason some room. "Look Jason, I'm really sorry-" He stopped speaking and froze, his eyes glued on something behind Jason.
Jason came back to his senses enough to turn around just as Leo started walking towards... oh no.
"Leo no! Wait!" shouted Jason, but it was too late. "Is that..." started Leo as he came closer.
He stopped in front of the hunched figure. "Percy? Is that you?"
Just as Jason started to dash over to save his friend, Percy snapped his head up, snarling, and lunged at Leo, making the most animalistic noises.
Leo yelped in surprise as Percy landed on him, his teeth bared and nails digging into Leo's skin.
The agents appeared, having shaken themselves from their shock, and grabbed the boy, pulling him off.
Leo stared wide-eyed in surprise, fear coursing through him. He was panting as he stumbled back and onto his feet.
Jason and the Avengers materialised beside him, the adults subconsciously putting a barrier between the two boys and their savage friend.
"What's wrong with him?" asked Leo, still looking at Percy as he jerked and lashed about on the floor. One of the agents took out a small, black device and shoved it into Percy's back, who then started shaking and jittering before collapsing onto the floor.
"Hey, what are you doing?" yelled Leo, glaring at the agents who were now picking Percy up off the floor. "Let him go!"
Natasha stepped in front of him and looked sternly at the agents. "Don't hurt him," she ordered. The agents had a moment of fear wash over their faces before quickly nodding and taking Percy away.
"Hey!" Leo shouted after them. He then turned to Jason. "Jason, we can't just let them take Percy! Jason?" Leo frowned as he looked at him. "Jason are you okay?"
"No, no, no," muttered Jason under his breath, looking on the verge of tears as he looked at Leo's arms where Percy had pierced his skin. Not much, but enough to draw spots of blood.
"Hey, man, what's wrong?" asked Leo, turning to his friend in concern. He tried reaching an arm out to him but Jason jerked away.
"No!" he yelled, backing away from him. He saw the Avengers frowning at him, but they quickly realised the reason for Jason's panic, looking between the two with pity.
"Oh no," Clint said under his breath, looking at Leo sadly.
Leo simply stood there, completely confused. "Okay, what is going on?"
"Kid-" started Natasha, struggling to find the words. Luckily, she didn't have to, as Jason then ran up and threw his arms around Leo.
Leo stood in surprise only for a moment before wrapping his own arms around him.
"There's no way you don't have it now, and I couldn't resist any longer," Jason muttered. "Jason, what are you talking about?" Leo pressed, pulling away from him to look him in the face.
His expression was one of complete anguish, but there seemed to also be a sense of acceptance in it. For what, Leo didn't know.
Jason opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. He turned to see Bruce looking at him, his eyebrows raised. "Jason? A word?"
Jason hesitated for a moment before sighing and nodding. He looked back to Leo. "I'll be right back," he said, giving him a small smile. Leo looked over to the Avengers for a moment, seemingly untrustingly, but eventually slowly nodded.
"Wait," he said, grabbing Jason's arm as he started to walk away. "Is Calypso really safe with these guys?" he asked, voice low and concerned. Jason frowned. "The girl you were with?" he clarified. Leo nodded. "Yeah, don't worry. She should be okay. Right?" he asked, looking to the group.
They nodded. "She will be okay. I'll make sure of it," said Natasha looking at Leo, who glanced between them before finally letting go of Jason's arm and letting them leave.
Jason was pretty beaten up from the fight, as well as being worn out from the plague growing inside him, so as he made to walk over, Steve noticed his struggle and offered him an arm.
Jason looked at it for a moment before allowing Steve to take some of his weight and walk over a short distance away where they would be out of earshot.
Once there, they turned and simply looked at him expectantly. Steve let go of his arm but stood nearby in case he lost balance and folded his arms. Natasha had an eyebrow raised, Clint was glancing over at Percy and Leo warily, keeping an eye on them, Bruce gave him a look that seemed to be an attempt at an encouraging smile, and Tony looked downright done with everything.
Jason sighed again. "Okay, what do you want to know?"
"Well first off, who is that boy?" asked Clint, nodding his head at Leo.
Jason glanced over to find him looking at the tower in amazement despite its current state. He turned back to them.
"He's a friend," he stated. They continued to look at him. "From camp," he finally continued.
"I knew it," said Clint with contained pride. "His name is Leo?" asked Steve.
"Yeah, that's right. And don't get any bad ideas," warned Jason, looking at Clint. "He may be from camp, but he is not dangerous. He is a good person and my best friend," he said, folding his arms.
"We didn't say anything," said Bruce, raising his hands in surrender. "You all gave a look," said Jason, narrowing his eyes at Clint specifically.
"I didn't give 'a look'!" defended Clint. "I was just making a passing comment."
"Okay enough," sighed Steve. He turned to Jason. "I thought you said your entire camp was basically infected and dying."
"Yeah..." agreed Jason, scratching the back of his neck. "So how is he here? If he is from this camp, shouldn't he be sick too?" inquired Steve, furrowing his brows at him.
Jason looked about himself, buying time by avoiding eye-contact to think of an answer.
What exactly am I supposed to say? 'Well actually I thought he was dead because he sacrificed himself to save the camp and blew up in the sky. No don't worry, that's just a normal occurance for us.'
"Jason," said Steve, bringing him out of his thoughts.
Jason grimaced. "It's, complicated," he finally said. "He wasn't there when the disease broke out, so he wouldn't have got infected. But now..."
"He probably is infected," finished Natasha, looking over at the young boy.
"He hasn't been exposed to you that long," said Bruce, looking hopeful. "There is a possibility that he hasn't contracted the virus-"
"I'm going to stop you right there," interrupted Jason, holding out his hand. "He may not have been exposed to me all that much, but he was exposed to Percy," he said.
Bruce looked between Jason and Leo with a pained expression. "Why don't we at least have him tested? Just to be sure," the man suggested.
"Bruce," started Jason, pinching the bridge of his nose and feeling exhausted that he had to have this discussion again.
"Please," pleaded Bruce, looking at him sincerely. Jason held his gaze for a moment before sighing. "Sure, why not," he said. He was too tired to argue.
Bruce nodded in thanks before gesturing over to Leo. "You can explain more to us on the way. Shall we?"
Jason nodded, beginning to limp back over to his friend. Leo saw him coming and ran forward to help. "Dude, what happened?" Leo asked, concerned. "It's a long story," admitted Jason, smiling at him.
Leo grinned. "You get in another fight again?" he asked before gasping. "Did you fight the Avengers?" He looked between Jason and the awkward looking group of superheroes before smirking at Jason. "Did you win?"
"Not exactly," replied Jason, his gaze turning pained. Before Leo could ask any more though, Steve let out a cough, drawing their attention to him.
"We should head down to the labs," he said, pointing his thumb in the vague direction of the stairway.
"The labs?" repeated Leo, suspiciously.
"Don't worry," assured Jason, beginning to head in the pointed direction. "I'll explain everything."
"I've only been gone a few days. How much could I have missed?" asked Leo, half jokingly.
Jason let out a laugh at that.
"Oh buddy, you have no idea."