Jason held eye contact with Leo until the door slid shut and he was left alone with the remaining Avengers.
He could tell their eyes were on him, but he refused to look away from where Leo had disappeared.
Eventually, they continued their own private discussions, more than likely about him and Leo, as Jason sat in silence, left to his own thoughts.
Thank the Gods Leo didn't have the Roman mark on his arm. That would definitely not have looked good. And yet they still won't let him go. What right do they have to keep him here? To keep any of us here?
He could feel himself getting angry, and tried with great effort to push it back down, taking a calming breath.
This isn't how he'd usually react, and the disease was definitely contributing if not the sole cause for his emotions, but he felt there was a part of him that was truly enraged at what was happening to them. What the Avengers and that stupid eye-patch guy were doing to them.
He grunted, shoving his scrunched-up face into his hands.
"Your feelings are valid, Jason."
Jason opened his eyes, his head shooting up in search for who had spoken. Only, no one was there.
He squinted, looking round the room. Bruce was still running tests, while the rest of them were standing off to the side, not seeming to have noticed that anyone had spoken.
"They've kept you here, stopped you from going to your friends. It's their fault, and they deserve to be punished."
"Who's there?" muttered Jason. No response. "Who's there?" he said a little louder, narrowing his eyes, desperately searching for who was speaking, who was saying these things, who-
A hand landed on his shoulder and he whipped his head round to find Steve looking down at him with concern.
"You okay Jason?" he asked, frowning. Jason blinked, realising the rest of them had formed a semi-circle round him.
"Yes, why?" he asked, tilting his head up at them.
They glanced at each other. "You were talking, as though you were speaking to someone," explained Clint, squinting his eyes at him.
"What? Oh yes, someone was talking to me," said Jason, not understanding their wariness. "Why are you all looking at me like that? Or are you just trying to keep up the joke?"
They didn't say anything, instead looking at him, bewildered. "Jason, no one's playing a joke on you," said Steve, slowly after a minute.
It was Jason's turn to be confused. He laughed nervously. "What? Nah, you're messing with me," he said, trying to brush off the unease creeping in.
They continued to look at him, concerned. "No, we're not," assured Natasha, eyebrows knitted.
Jason stared at them. "Then, who was speaking?"
"No one was, Jason. I think," Steve said, hesitating. "I think you imagined it."
That created an anger in Jason that he didn't understand, and didn't know where it came from, but this time he didn't try and smother it.
He shrugged his hand off his shoulder. "I'm not crazy," he gritted out.
"No one is saying you are. Hearing things that aren't really there is just a part of the disease," said Natasha, softly.
He hated that tone. It sounded so, condescending. As if he were a child who needed to be handled carefully.
"Stop talking to me like that," he hissed out. "Jason, we're not trying to upset you-" started Clint but Jason wasn't having it. He stood up suddenly, knocking the chair he was sitting on to the floor.
He marched right up to Clint, inches away from his face. "When have any of you ever cared about upsetting us. I mean, if the holding us hostage wasn't enough, how about the keeping us weakened with these cuffs, treating us like we're little kids who don't know how to handle ourselves-"
Before he could say or do anything else, he felt a hand grabbing his arm and pulling him back. He was about to retort when Steve forced him to face him with a dark look.
"Jason, stop. This isn't you," he said, and Jason could practically feel the fury draining out of him, comprehending what he had been saying. Steve must have seen it, as his own face softened. "I understand you're angry, but this? This is not the kind of person you are."
"He's right."
They all turned to face Bruce, who had now risen from his chair and had a knowing look on his face.
"It's the disease, which I think we will not have to worry about for much longer," he said, leaning casually against the table behind him.
Everyone's eyes grew wide. "Are you saying..." asked Jason, filled with hope but the fear of disappointment not letting him finish.
Bruce nodded though, pushing out the fear. "I am," he confirmed. "I think we have a cure."
...
Leo followed Tony, who was muttering incoherent things about kids thinking they're smarter than him, down a few hallways, making some turns at corners as they went, all of which Leo memorised to ensure he at least had a vague idea of the building so he wouldn't get caught out.
They soon arrived at what must have been Tony's engineering facility. The man entered a number on the keypad outside the door, which Leo made sure to observe carefully, allowing them to enter.
Tony pushed open the door and gestured dramatically into the room, which Leo had to admit, was impressive.
It was filled with the most high-tech equipment Leo had ever seen, some of which he hadn't even heard of before.
There were many machines and creations about the room; some completed, some still in progress.
Leo couldn't resist. He immediately sped walked over to one of the tables and began examining everything in great detail.
"Woah, this is sick!" said Leo in awe.
Tony walked up behind him, smirking. "Yeah, it is," he agreed, folding his arms.
Leo was glad he didn't have to pretend to find all this stuff as cool as it was, as it helped cover up his true plans.
He casually looked across the table, as well as about the room, for anything that might help in getting Festus back on his feet. Literally.
His tool belt obviously would provide the essentials, but just in case he saw something that would make the repair process a whole lot easier. Or that he just found exceptionally cool and wanted to snag.
He did notice a few things that looked interesting, and decided he better focus Tony's attention elsewhere.
"Hey, is that your suit?" asked Leo, pointing across the room at what appeared to be a Iron Man suit under construction.
As Tony, looked over to where he was pointing, Leo slipped a few things that were laying on the table into his tool belt.
"One of them, yes," said Tony, walking over to the suit. Leo followed behind, grabbing different objects lying around the room he thought looked like they might be useful and shoving them into his pockets.
Some of this stuff looked really advanced, almost alien like, which very much intrigued Leo. He wasn't even sure exactly what it was he was taking, but hey, it looked cool and that's all that mattered.
"I like to have a few on stand by, but I actually now have them programmed to all be controlled at the same time," explained Tony, stopping in front of the suit and looking at it proudly. "Impressed yet?" he asked, glancing at him expectantly.
Leo stood beside him. He was impressed, obviously, but this gave him an idea.
"Yes, definitely," admitted Leo, drawing a smirk from Tony as he looked at his suit. "Although..." continued Leo.
Tony's head whipped to him, frowning. "Although what?" he asked.
"It would probably be better to use nano tech armour. It would make you less vulnerable, the suit more durable, and then you could also make your suit more seamless and rid it of the spaces which, let's face it, can be easily exploited if anyone wished to try and destroy your suit from the inside," explained Leo as if it were obvious.
Tony was silent, staring wide eyed at his suit as if he were seeing it for the first time.
"Oh my God how did I not think of that," muttered Tony, running over to one of the tables which looked to have blueprints and various metal armour parts lying around. He pulled different holograms that laid out the suits interior.
"And nanotech! That's... that's genius!" he exclaimed, huffing a laugh. He looked to Leo for a moment. "You are a genius, kid," he said smirking, before becoming immensely absorbed in his work.
"Yeah, well, it has been said," agreed Leo, though Tony wasn't listening anymore, seemingly completely cut off from the outside world, which is exactly what Leo wanted.
Being careful to not draw his attention, Leo quickly and quietly headed to the door, punched in the code, and slipped out of the room, grinning all the while.
I haven't lost my touch.
...
Once the door silently closed behind him, he hurried down the corridor.
He slowed at corners, taking care to check if anyone was there before running across to the next hallway.
Where are you Calypso?
Just as his worry that he would be caught before he could find her creeped in, he skidded to a stop outside a door way.
It was labelled 'Medical Bay'. They had said they were going to take care of her when they took her away, and seeing as she was unconscious and probably injured when they landed, this had to be where they were keeping her.
Checking left and right to make sure no one was watching him, he pressed the entry button and watched the door slide open.
Thankfully, no one was inside, or at least not that he could see.
Still, he made sure to stay low and hide behind a table should anyone walk in.
He scanned the room, taking in his surroundings. The room was brightly lit (some of the power must have come back on) and looked very futuristic, although its condition was another thing. It looked like it had been through a hurricane, with beds knocked over, equipment destroyed, and when Leo placed his hand on the floor, it came back wet.
He noticed water dripping all around the room. Maybe there really was a hurricane here.
As he continued to look around, his gaze finally stopped on a bed at the end of the room, the only one sitting up right.
Calypso.
Double checking the coast was clear, he dashed down towards her.
There was a drip hooked up to her arm, and she appeared to be sleeping. Surprisingly though, she seemed fine, with no obvious injuries.
"Calypso?" said Leo. She remained still. "Sunshine, please wake up," he hissed, shaking her shoulder lightly.
Her brow furrowed and she groaned, stirring. Her eyes fluttered open. "Leo?" she muttered, voice a little hoarse.
"In the flesh," he confirmed, smiling at her whilst carefully removing the needle from her arm. It was then that he noticed the shackles round her wrists.
He glared at them but quickly took out a small screwdriver from his belt and began to pick the lock on them.
"We have to go, okay? We have to get out of here," he said quickly to her, the first cuff coming off.
"Where are your friends?" she asked, sounding more coherent and awake now, rubbing her now free wrists.
Leo stepped back, offering her a hand which she accepted. "They're not coming," he said, gravely.
"Why not?" she asked, confused. "There's a whole lot more going on than we thought," he said, beginning to give her a brief explanation of what he had learnt as she steadied herself on her feet.
She listened in shock, not at all expecting what she heard. "So, you might possess a cure for all this?" she asked, still taken aback.
Leo nodded, allowing a smirk to cross his face. "You seem surprised. I always told you I was exceptional," he said, raising an eyebrow at her.
She looked at him with a deadpan expression. Leo coughed, becoming somewhat serious again. "Yes, that's right," he said.
She nodded in understanding. "Well then, we better get moving before anyone spots us," she said, gesturing to the door.
"Don't worry, babe, subtlety is my specialty," said Leo with a wink, drawing an eyeroll from Calypso.
They dashed to the end of the room, just about to reach the exit when the door opened. On the other side stood a woman in a doctors coat, frozen as she spotted them.
They all stared at each other for a long moment before she glanced at a big red button on the wall beside her. Leo lunged forward to stop her but it was too late. She slammed her fist against the button and alarms began to blare out in the building.
"Come on!" he yelled at Calypso, who ran forward after him. The woman threw herself out of the way as they charged passed, emergency lights flashing down the hallways after them.
...
Bruce was showing him the procedure he had been doing to test different samples and see how effective they were on the virus, but Jason was only half listening.
This could be it. He could inches away from a cure that would save the demigod race.
His heart was pounding with excitement as he watched Bruce lay out test tubes, each containing samples of the supposed cure.
"I've tested it on blood samples containing the virus, and look," ushered Bruce, gesturing for Jason to move forward.
He did so and looked through the microscope.
Before him lay a smear of blood that was contaminated by the virus. Bruce then used a syringe to add his trial version of the cure. As the two mixed, there was a near instant reaction. The viral cells seemed to vanish right before his eyes, leaving only a healthy sample of blood.
Jason pulled back, his eyes wide. "It works," he whispered. "Apparently so, yes, but we haven't had live trials yet, so..."
Jason zoned out. It works. It works!
Just as a smile began to grow on his face, a wailing siren drew him back to reality.
His head whipped up, confused. The Avengers frowned, Natasha putting a hand to her ear. "What's going on?" she asked into her com.
A beat of silence before her eyes narrowed and she looked to Jason, frowning in suspicion.
That's when Jason realised. Leo.
"Our newcomer friend has been spotted breaking his friend out of the medical bay," she explained, already on the move towards the door.
Everyone shot Jason a look, who tried his best to look surprised, but couldn't completed contain his grin.
As she quickly explained the run down of what was going on, Jason moved so he was hidden behind a large machine. Taking a deep breath, he gripped his hands and began to move them around, attempting to pull the air. Just as he feared nothing would happen, a whoosh of wind moved in the direction of his hand, confirming his theory.
Whatever is powering this bracelet must not be working yet, or even better, completely fried.
"He's probably headed to the roof," he heard Clint say as he walked beside Natasha. Jason quickly moved back into the open to follow them. Natasha nodded. "Let's go," she said, already out the door.
They were all so caught up in Leo's escape attempt they didn't notice Jason grabbing one of the vials containing the potential cure and following behind them.
Now or never, Leo.
...
They sprawled themselves against a wall as a group of agents ran past, one of them shouting orders.
"Okay, so not off to a great start," admitted Leo as they quicky continued on.
"Subtlety is your specialty?" asked Calypso, raising an unimpressed eyebrow at him.
"Okay so maybe not one of my best strengths," admitted Leo, dashing round another corner with Calypso right beside him.
He ran through the rough map of the building he had drawn up in his mind, taking a left and then a right. He launched himself up flights of stairs, seeing the door at the end of the corridor and feeling the cool breeze of outside, confirming his estimation that this was the entrance to the roof they flew in on.
They threw open the doors.
It was still a wreck, but luckily it seemed everyone had vacated the area.
Leo quickly looked around the room before his eyes narrowed in on Festus. There was equipment set up beside him, probably scientists or engineers trying to figure what he was, but no one was present now, thankfully. There was tape up to prevent anyone from going near him, understandable since the mortals had no idea what he was, but Leo brushed it aside as he ran to his friend.
"Hey buddy, how you doing?" asked Leo, stroking his metal.
Groan, creak, groan.
"Will he be okay?" asked Calypso, looking over his shoulder.
Leo quickly looked at Festus' diagnostics system, listening to his creaks.
"Yeah, he'll be fine once he gets all fixed up," decided Leo, taking out the tools from his belt and other things he had swiped from Tony's lab.
"I'll get him up and running enough to get you to Camp at the very least," said Leo, making quick work of the damage he could fix with what little he had.
He was so focused on what he was doing he must have missed Calypso speak, because she was shaking his shoulder and repeating his name.
He looked up at her, waiting for her to speak. "What do you mean take me to camp?" she asked, frowning.
"I don't know if Festus will have enough energy to carry us both, but I don't want to risk it. Plus, someone needs to make sure you can get away, and I make an excellent distraction," he said grinning at her. "You can go on ahead to Camp, and I'll make my way there," he explained, going back to work.
"Leo," she whispered, the worry in her voice making him stop completely and turn to face her. Seeing the distraught look on her face, he stood up and grabbed her hands. "I'll be right behind you, okay? I promise," he said, sincerely.
She looked into his eyes for a moment before nodding. Leo grinned at her, but it quickly slipped away when he heard shouting that sounded way too close for his comfort.
He hurriedly crouched down again. "Festus? Feel any better?" he asked.
Click, click!
"Great," said Leo, smiling as Festus powered up properly. He turned to Calypso. "Are you ready?"
She nodded. "I'm ready," she said, just as the doors to the room slammed open. "Don't move!" someone shouted.
Leo quickly kissed Calypso on the cheek before walking up to the incoming troupes, raising his hands.
"Are we really gonna play this game again, guys? I thought it was made obvious that none of you can give clear instructions," called Leo, a smirk making its way onto his face. He could see in his peripheral vision Calypso climbing onto Festus
"Silence! Don't move or we will open fire," shouted another agent. As they got closer, he saw the door swing open again, and Jason and the Avengers ran in, their eyes locking on Leo instantly.
The two boys' eyes came together, and Jason, who must have noticed Calypso as well, nodded.
Leo grinned, evilly. "Open fire? As you wish," he said, before slamming his fists forward and sending surges of fire at the surrounding agents.
They all yelled out and jumped out of the way. Steve and Natasha ran towards him, but Leo sent a series of fire balls in their direction, forcing them to jump out of the way.
He glanced over to see Calypso safely on Festus who was now up and running towards the edge of the building.
The agents seemed to take his brief distraction as an opportunity to fire at him though, as bullets quickly rained down, resulting in him jumping behind fallen debris for cover.
Since they couldn't reach him now, though, they changed targets and began firing at Calypso.
Just as Leo was ready to jump out and help though, grunts could be heard and the assault lessened. His eyes narrowed in on Jason, who was taking out agent after agent.
After knocking another one to the floor, and looking exceptionally weak as he did so, he turned to face Leo.
After a quick silent conversation, they both nodded.
Leo breathed in deeply, then moved his hands in a circular motion around him, creating a ring of fire that separated him and the edge of the building Calypso was escaping from the agents and the Avengers. He glanced over and saw Festus taking off and quickly fading from view.
Some agents tried to jump over the fire, but Leo just raised it higher.
"Well guys, this has been fun, but alas, I must go. See ya!" yelled Leo before running directly to the edge of the building.
He heard the footsteps running after him, and glanced back to see Natasha, Clint and Steve had all managed to parkour over the fire and were going at full speed after him, gaining far too quickly.
"Don't worry, he has no where to go! And it's not like he's going to jump!" he heard Tony yell.
Leo closed his eyes as he neared the end of the building, silently praying to the Gods. Please say I'm right about this.
He heard the stumbling of feet behind him and the woosh of growing wind. And before he could change his mind, he leapt off the building. "Oh my God he actually jumped!" he heard Tony shout.
Fear began to well up inside Leo, the world slowing down as nothing happened, but just as gravity started to kick in, the winds moved unnaturally around him keeping him level.
He felt himself be turned round as something flew through the air towards him, glinting in the sunlight.
He caught it just as he was sped through the air away from the tower. It was a vial with some sort of liquid in it.
Then he realised. The cure.
He strained his neck to look back, just getting a glimpse of Jason standing on the edge of the tower, grinning at him as he flew away, his heart crumbling as he left his friends behind.