Sorry if this is a little shorter. I tried to make it longer but was finding this chapter a bit more difficult to write than I usually do. It still met the minimum for the length I like to make my chapters though so hopefully it's ok. Hope you all enjoy!
Their whispers filled the air, making it so they were the only sounds that could be heard.
Half the time, Percy couldn't really make out what they were saying, with their voices overlapping each other in an attempt to have all his attention.
In the earlier stages, when the voices had just begun, he tried to cover his ears and block out their words. He would shut his eyes and yell out at them to stop talking. Nothing ever worked, though, and the voices never ceased.
A few hours ago, was it a few hours? Or maybe it was only a few minutes, or a few days! Oh Gods, please say it wasn't days.
Time was a fickle thing recently, with days and even second's blending into one. However long ago, Percy remembered seeing people.
He was pretty sure they were real too. In fact, they looked familiar.
There were shapes surrounding him, attacking him. Monsters, things from Tartarus. Wait, was he in Tartarus?
No, he couldn't be, not again. Though nothing made sense anymore. How could he tell what was real and what wasn't?
The shadows were trying to hurt him, hold him down so they could kill him. Then one came right up close to him. He struggled, screamed even though know sound came out. Then he heard something. The shadow was calling to him. It sounded different to the voices he was used to. What was it saying?...Percy?
He was confused before he remembered. That's my name. And the shadow...That's Jason! He watched as the shape morphed into a face. Jason's face.
He felt himself still, seeing the concern and fear in his friends face. They spoke for a few moments, Percy even felt himself chuckle slightly, then everything went dark once more.
The next thing that came to his mind was another encounter. He felt strong emotions in this one; anger, hurt, even amusement, though it didn't feel to be a result of something funny. The question was, who was there...
The Avengers. Yes, now he remembered. He didn't recall them entering whatever room he was in. He didn't even remember going into a new room. Though he was sure they were talking to him. And yet, he had no idea what they had said. The last thing he remembered them saying, was something about Jason.
"...Jason...he's your friend."
Then, nothing. He couldn't remember anything before those words, and nothing after them. Like it didn't even happen.
...
A soft, distant beeping was what Percy heard as he awoke, getting louder as he was pulled from unconsciousness.
He started to open his eyes, shutting them and groaning at the blinding light above. He tried moving his hand to shield his eyes, but winced at the ache that covered his entire body. He felt something attached to his hand that prevented it from moving, so he let it drop back onto the surface he lay on.
He could tell he was on a bed, and he must have been in some kind of hospital, judging from the smell of antiseptic.
All of his senses seemed to go into overdrive, creating a headache right behind his eyes. He grimaced at the pounding it created, and took deep breaths to help ease the pain.
After it subsided, he attempted opening his eyes once more. The light was still bright, but he was able to get used to it, so it didn't feel as intense as it had before.
He slowly turned his head to try and get an idea of his exact location. He saw that what he had felt on his arm was a needle that was hooked up to what looked like an IV. There was a heart monitor beside his bed, and various other machines beside multiple other beds throughout the room, which appeared empty except for him, and one other person.
"Jason?" he croaked, voice strained as his gaze found the figure across the room.
He spun round, and his eyes widened. "Percy! You're awake!" he exclaimed, dashing over to his side and throwing his arms around him.
The surprise of the impact knocked the wind out of Percy's lungs, and he had to raise his voice so it would be loud enough for Jason to hear. "Jason, I can't...breath," he managed, and Jason quickly let go with a grimace.
"Sorry," he said, but his expression changed to a wide grin. "I just, I'm so happy to see you. Alive!" he exclaimed, pulling up a chair that he must have been sitting in previously right up beside the bed.
"Um, thanks? But you're going to have to explain that last statement," Percy said, feeling confused as his brain caught up with what Jason had said.
Jason frowned, looking at him. "Percy," he asked after a moment's hesitation, "what's the last thing you remember?"
Percy thought for a moment before replying. "I remember us coming back from the beach, and then going to bed." He paused, brow furrowing. "That's it really. I remember snippets of things here and there, but none of them really make any sense."
He looked up when Jason didn't respond. "What? What is it?" Percy asked, getting worried.
"Percy," started Jason slowly, "That was days ago."
Percy stared at him, waiting for Jason to laugh and say he was kidding. When he didn't, his eyes went wide. "What? But-but how? It doesn't feel like any time at all has passed."
Jason looked at him sadly. "Do you remember the next night after we got back to the tower?"
Percy frowned as he tried to remember. He nearly choked when it came to him. "I was sick," he whispered, staring at his hands, lost in thought. "The plague. I got the plague."
Jason nodded. "You had had it for a while by that stage, but it only really started to show from then on. You got more..." he trailed off, choosing his words.
Percy looked up at him expectantly. "Violent," finished Jason. "Violent, how?" asked Percy, warily.
"You kind of lost it and attacked me and everyone else in the tower with your powers," he explained, grimacing slightly.
"I did what?" asked Percy, shocked. Jason snorted. "Yeah, and let's just say I am so glad we're friends and not enemies. But now I at least know I can beat you in a fight," he said casually, leaning back in his chair.
"Oh, is that a challenge, Grace?" retorted Percy, grinning at him. "That fight wouldn't have counted anyway. I was sick and not at my full strength," he pouted.
"You seemed pretty strong to me. Plus, I was sick to. Maybe not the full extent. But still," countered Jason.
Percy froze, acknowledging what Jason had said. "You... you were sick?" asked Percy. Jason's easy demeaner dropped as he realised what Percy was thinking. "Wait no, that's not what I-"
"I made you sick," realised Percy, shame welling up inside him. "Jason, I'm so sorry. I-"
"Hey," Jason interrupted, looking him straight in the eyes. "Don't blame yourself for this. You didn't know. This is not your fault. It's Gaia's. She's the one to blame."
Percy still felt guilty but swallowed and nodded. "And besides," continued Jason, a smile growing on his face. "We don't have to worry about the virus anymore."
Percy frowned, lifting his head up to look at him, frowning at Jason in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Jason grinned widely, scooting closer to him. "We have a cure," he said, excitedly.
If Percy had water in his mouth, he would have spat it out. "A cure?" he exclaimed, exhilarated but shocked at the same time. He could feel his strength returning to him, and that must have been why. A cure.
"How?" he asked in disbelief. Jason scratched his neck. "It's kind of a long story," he admitted. "But you're definitely going to be happy with this. " He smiled even wider if that was possible. "Leo's alive," he whispered.
"Leo's alive?!" Percy repeated, nearing a shout as he pushed himself up on his arms. Exactly how long was I out?
"I know, it's crazy," agreed Jason. He then explained everything to Percy that he had missed: how Jason had to release some information about what was going on at camp when they both became sick, how Leo was alive because he took the Physicians cure, saw his father and came to find them, and they subsequently used his blood for a cure.
Percy was stunned to say the least. According to Jason, he had actually seen Leo, and yet he didn't remember anything of the sort. He didn't remember how he had apparently lashed out while hallucinating, or how he started acting like he had been possessed by Kronos while attacking everyone.
He sat there, trying to take it all in. "But Leo is alive?" clarified Percy after Jason had finished speaking. "He is on the run now, but yes," assured Jason. "And we actually have a working cure?" pressed Percy, finally sitting up fully and feeling almost exactly like his old self again. Jason nodded. "That is correct, my friend," he said, philosophically. Dude can't help the drama, just like his dad.
Percy felt excitement and relief well up inside him. Leo's alive! He couldn't believe it. Leo was alive and they had a cure!
"That's... that's amazing, man," said Percy, huffing a laugh. Then a thought occurred to him. "Hey, where are our captors?" he asked.
"I'm presuming they're either listening in on us somehow or off trying to figure out how to fix the place after your little meltdown," guessed Jason. Percy shot him a look at that last statement but continued nonetheless. "How much do they know exactly?" he asked.
Jason thought for a moment. "Not much, honestly. I had to tell them about the virus obviously, but they barely know more than that. Believe me though, they've tried to find out more, and they don't give up easily, But I've managed to keep them out of the loop."
Percy groaned. "How likely is it that we're going to get away with all this without giving up who and what we are?" he asked, slowly, looking to Jason.
Jason scrunched up his face and opened his mouth to reply when the door down the room suddenly opened. Bruce, Steve, Natasha, Tony and Clint all walked in, their faces stony as they stared at the two, unimpressed.
"I'm going to say slim to none," replied Jason, grimacing as he looked over at the newcomers.
Percy sighed dramatically. "Well, this should be fun."
...
Bruce had banished everyone from the medical facility while he checked on Percy, meaning Jason was left alone with the rest of the Avengers. Yippee.
They headed down to a room Jason hadn't been in before. It was similar to the room at the top of the tower they all usually spent most of their time in, with a large floor to ceiling window that lead out onto a balcony, sofas and armchairs with a coffee table in the middle, and of course, because it was Tony, a bar on one side of the room.
The difference was that is was slightly smaller, and the roof also wasn't as high as it was in the other room, but that made it feel somewhat cosier, which Jason liked.
As they all entered and spread out, Jason found himself wandering aimlessly around. He glanced occasionally over at the others, finding Clint and Natasha engaged in a hushed conversation, while Steve appeared to be scolding Tony, who had now made his way over to the bar, about drinking this early in the day.
It was mid-afternoon, which was fairly early, but Jason still heard Tony argue about how 'being attacked in the middle of the night by a super-powered teenager, getting yelled at by Fury, having another super-powered teenager show up out of the blue and miraculously providing a cure which they had been stressing about for the last few days, only to then disappear in a blast of fire and wind while a girl rode off on a dragon right before Jason and Percy had been cured, all within a few hours of each other, definitely qualified for a drink, no matter what time of day it was.'
Honestly, that sounded fair enough to Jason, who smirked as Steve was left dumbfounded at how to respond to that.
Hearing Tony recite all that though, refreshed Jason on everything that had just happened, and the reality of it all came crashing down on him again.
He walked over to the two men, Steve now holding a glass of his own having apparently found some reason in Tony's statement and given into the 'if you can't beat em, join em' way of thinking.
"Is it alright if I go outside for a few minutes? I need a break to clear my head," explained Jason, gesturing over to the balcony.
Steve looked over and seemed to think for a moment before nodding. "Yeah that's alright," agreed Steve.
Jason thanked him and began walking off when he heard Tony say, "You want a drink too, kid?"
He heard a slap and an 'ow!'. "Tony! Stop offering kids drinks!" admonished Steve. "I was kidding!" defended Tony.
Jason smiled as he walked out onto the quiet of the outside, closing the door behind him.
The light that indicated the power was working on his bracelet again had turned back on, meaning there was no chance of Jason being able to fly out of here. Which he wouldn't do anyway, seeing as he would be leaving Percy behind.
He leaned against the glass barrier on the edge of the balcony and looked out at the city, listening to the wind whirl past him and the distant sounds of the people of New York. Horns blared, yells rang through the streets, he could even hear children squealing with joy from a nearby park.
This was the calmest he had been since... he couldn't remember actually.
Right before they had been taken, they had been in the war against Gaia; right before that, they had been on the Argo 2 trying to stop said war. And before that, he had had amnesia and forgotten who he was.
Jason huffed out a laugh at the craziness that was his life. He would never have a normal life, no demigod would. This was normal for them. But listening to the city, watching it from above, it let him imagine what it would be like to live amongst them, oblivious to the mythological world and the dangers within. Without the worries or stress the life of a demigod brought.
He stood there for a while, enjoying the peace and pretending he didn't live the dangerous life he did. The life of a demigod.
But he did live that life, and because he lived that life, peace and tranquillity could never last forever.
A sudden pain shot through his skull. He gasped and grabbed onto his head as his vision went white. A ringing pierced through his mind, and it took all his energy to prevent himself from screaming.
And then, just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. The pain vanished. The city came back into view, though it looked like the sun was shining through the buildings as though the heavens were opening up, creating a dream like effect. The sounds from before had ceased, leaving it deathly quiet.
"Jason," a voice boomed in his mind. He froze. He knew that voice, and if the person was speaking to him directly, even speaking to him at all, there was something important to say.
"Zeus," said Jason. His father's form appeared in front of him, though he did not radiant his usual godly aura.
The King of the Gods looked old and withered, even tired, though he looked down on his son in a way that contradicted what one might think was going on with him were they to see.
"Jason," greeted Zeus with a nod of his head. "What's going on?" asked Jason hesitantly. Zeus eyed him for a moment. "You and Jackson need to return to Camp Half-Blood as soon as possible," he said after a moment.
Jason frowned. He knew they had to return to camp, but Apollo had specifically told them not to. Even if they were cured now, he thought the Gods would have said it was too dangerous for just the two of them to go in. Something must have happened. Things must be even worse than we thought! "W-what? Why? What's happened?" he asked, suddenly scared.
Zeus looked at him with what Jason thought might be sadness, or even...concern? Usually his father's main display of emotion surrounded anger, which was usually directed at the other gods, mainly his siblings, or Percy. This set Jason on high alert.
"The number of infected has become too high. Camp Half-Blood will not be able to contain them much longer," explained Zeus.
"We have a cure," blurted out Jason, his fear spiking at the God's words. "That will help. It can save them all, right?"
Zeus' expression did not encourage him. "Jason," he said lowly. "The cure will help, but not in time if you do not leave this place."
"But, how can we? They won't let us leave, and our powers-"
"Jason," Zeus cut him off, silencing Jason as he stared at the God. "They are the ones in danger," he said, gravely.
Jason frowned, confused at how the mortals could possibly be in danger. "What-"
"I don't have much time," interrupted Zeus, his form beginning to flicker, just like Apollo's had when he last spoke with Jason and Percy. "I risked much sending this form to talk to you, and I'm afraid it will not last much longer."
Zeus looked him in the eyes, his gaze unwavering and sending a chill down Jason's spine. "If you do not return to Camp, these mortals, and the entire world, will be in danger."
Jason opened his mouth to speak but Zeus stopped him in his tracks. "Son," he said, freezing Jason in place. "You both are the last hope for the Gods, and the world. If you do not do this, our existence and all of life itself, could cease to exist."
His form flickered till he was almost completely gone. Jason stared deep into his father's eyes as he disappeared, hearing his last words before he vanished from sight.
"Do and say what you must."