Agent Flame Wave

Gods and Councillors

Athena serenely flipped through a fat book on thermodynamics. Percy thought he glimpsed some familiar diagrams.

'Athena, may I ask what convinced the Olympian gods of my innocence?'

She stared at him uncomprehendingly for a moment. 'What?'

Percy gave him a look which clearly said what he meant. You kicked me out then begged me in.

'Oh,' she muttered. 'There have been some reports in your favour.'

Poseidon made a muffled scoffing sound then screwed his mouth shut. He had gone alarmingly green, and looked like were he to open his mouth the contents of his stomach could come crashing out.

Percy had assured to throw him out of the jet if he threw up inside it.

'What reports?' he pressed.

Clint, who had been very pointedly ignoring everything up to that point, curiously turned his head towards Athena. Percy suddenly remembered he has never told the Avengers or anyone at SHIELD about his exile.

'Nothing important,' Athena insisted. 'Just bits and pieces. But putting them together, they seemed to go slant on you. And we realized they didn't seem like something you'd do.'

Poseidon looked like he was barely restraining himself from cheerfully murdering her.

She changed the topic. 'There has been another prophecy.'

'I know.' Too late, he realized he wasn't supposed to.

Clint looked at him full of suspicion. Even Poseidon was sharing that look. Hermes didn't seem to hear anything for the past minutes. He was fiddling with an ancient phone.

Athena frowned. 'How did –'

Hermes yelped. Long, slim, slithering bodies exploded from the device in his hands. Clint scooted his chair backwards. On the table, two snakes unfurled their heads but their bodies remained bound together.

'Nice place,' George commented. 'But no rats.'

'Oh help!' Martha squealed. 'Percy Jackson! It's been ages since we last met. Look at you, all tall and handsome now. You did grow into your hair. Didn't I tell you he would, George?'

Percy was so surprised for a moment that he could not open his mouth to tell Martha that he had, in fact, got a haircut.

She noticed Clint. 'Oh double help! And you've got a handsome friend too!'

Clint blinked.

Percy glared at Hermes. He shrugged, 'They insisted.'

'Pretty lights,' George squirmed towards the button on the control panel.

'Don't touch that,' Percy half snapped.

'Agent Jackson,' Athena said.

George turned his head towards the accelerator.

'No! Not that either.'

'Jackson!'

'What?' he exclaimed annoyed.

'Look out will you? That's camp right there!'

He turned just in time to pull the lever. The jet halted with a jerk, hanging suspended mid-air over the lake of Camp Half Blood.

Camp Demigod, he reminded himself. Suddenly he realized what he'll have to face. A mixture of anger and nervousness filled him. He concentrated on the anger. I'm here on a mission, he reminded himself. After that, I'm never coming back here.