The Hidden Son (Percy Jackson / Marvel's Agents of SHIELD Crossover)

15. Everyone Does Cardio For Like, A Whole Chapter

IT WAS DARK for about two and a half seconds before the generator kicked in, bathing the walls in the deep red of the emergency lights. It was so quiet in that moment that the near-silent buzz in the air was almost deafening. They looked at each other. Percy's mind raced. Every possible worst case scenario ran through his head, faster and increasingly, horrifically suckish with each new idea. They built up on each other like a crescendo. A bad, bad crescendo. Something's in the building. Something's outside the building and coming in. Two somethings. Three. Dead. Dead. Dead. We'll all be dead in seconds.

        He looked at the faces of the other people around the table. They, too, looked at least a little expectant, waiting.

         Their unspoken questions were answered when the alarm sounded. It was much louder than Fitz's proximity alarm, to say the least. If he were describing it, say, at 1:48 am in his dark bedroom on a school night, he might say it was an incessant, unyielding scream that grated on their eardrums and rattled the glasses in the cupboard ever so slightly.

There was a collective moment where everyone just stood there silently, like they were all thinking, it's way too early for this. Percy sighed deeply, but he followed the rest of the group as they filed out into the hallway.

"I don't know what's going on, but we need to fan out. Protect the base from all sides," Coulson ordered, his voice quiet. Or maybe the alarms were just loud.

Next to him, Percy felt Annabeth nod. As horrible as it sounded, he agreed—it would be better to cover more ground. Like capture the flag.

Coulson pointed at Annabeth as if he'd caught her doing something she wasn't supposed to. "Not you," he said, gesturing to her injured leg.

Annabeth rolled her eyes but didn't protest. She knew.

Coulson looked down the hall where Mack was recovering, probably worried out of his mind. "Stand guard. Protect him."

Annabeth went to move past them, but Percy grabbed her arm. She looked up at him, and before he could say anything, she reached up and planted a kiss on his forehead. He felt the warmth spread through his body for a moment, but it was quickly extinguished by the cold fear running through his veins. He pressed his forehead to hers.

"We'll be okay," she said, but she didn't sound like she believed it.

"Stay there," he begged. "Please."

She pulled away. "Cross my heart."

And she left.

He let out a shaky breath. Coulson split them into three groups, and they were off. He didn't know where he was going. He just followed close behind Yo-yo (that couldn't be her real name, could it? No, probably a nickname.) and hoped they were heading in the right direction. Was he, really? Maybe he was hoping they were heading in the wrong direction. Then he wouldn't have to deal with whatever the hell was going on now.

          No, he told himself. If he wasn't heading in the right direction. . .that meant the others were. He didn't want that on his conscience. It was heavy enough as it was.

          Yo-yo rounded a corner and they were suddenly faced with a set of doors. Percy's mind raced. Anything, anyone could be out there, and they were none the wiser.

          Yo-yo placed her palm on the reader. There was a tiny flash of blue, and the doors shuddered open. They were greeted with a blast of cold air. The bright white of the sun reflecting off snow blinded Percy for a second, but his eyes adjusted. In front of him was nothing and no one.