Heroes of New York (NYH Rewrite)

Surveillance

Rosewood Cemetary, New York City

The graveyard was nearly empty, containing only a small group of mourners and a lone teenage boy. Percy Jackson stood silently in front of a small, grey tombstone. Buried here was the hero of the Giant War. This noble halfblood had made the ultimate sacrifice, facing death in order to deliver the final blow it took to defeat Gaea and win the war. This was a sacrifice that would never be forgotten.

Percy stood there, in the cold November wind, staring at that small gravestone. He bowed his head. He felt terrible. . .

S.H.I.E.L.D Surveillance Helicopter

"Are you sure this is the right kid?" Bruce Banner asked. The Avengers were watching the teen through the surveillance feed provided by the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents disguised as mourners in the graveyard. The target was standing in front of a small tombstone, his head lowered.

"Yes," Nick Fury replied. "Get ready to meet him."

Tony furrowed his brows. "Doesn't that seem a little. . . cruel? To confront him at a gravesite? He's probably grieving or something."

"Were you paying attention to the briefing at all?" Steve asked.

". . . Should I have been?"

The Captain just stared at Tony. "We're not confronting this kid in a graveyard! That's disrespectful!"

"Oh. Where, then?"

"We'll fill you in later." Natasha nodded at Fury to continue.

Fury cleared his throat, "We believe this kid is an inhuman. No matter how he acts, no matter what he looks like, he's still a danger to the world. Do not let the emotions you see cloud your judgement."

Bruce frowned and shifted uncomfortably. "I get that we aren't meeting him inside the graveyard, but isn't it still rude to do this now? I mean, he'll have just left a grave site, and he looks like he's really grieving!"

Fury shook his head. "If my sources are correct, this kid could do some serious damage. We don't know who's  side he's on, and we don't know what will set him off. We're waiting until he leaves, but that's all we can offer. The longer we wait to apprehend the target, the greater the risk to public safety."

Bruce sighed, "Yeah, I get it. It's just weird. He looks so normal."

The group turned their attention back to the video feed where the target still stood, his head bowed.

Rosewood Cemetary

Percy sighed. He'd tried so hard, but no matter what he did, this feeling just wouldn't go away. It weighed heavy on his shoulders whenever he thought about it. He felt so shameful. . .

Because no matter how hard he tried, Percy just couldn't make himself feel any sort of respect for Octavian. Sure, the guy had blown up Gaea (and himself) and probably saved the world. But he'd also led the attack on Camp Half Blood. He almost destroyed the camp, which was Percy's second home. He tried to kill Percy's friends. He did kill Leo!

Even thinking about the descendent of Apollo made Percy's blood boil. The two boys had never gotten along. Octavian's death just made Percy's emotions. . . complicated.

Everyone acted like Octavian was a hero. Well, he was. But try as he might, Percy was unable to feel anything but disgust towards the former auger. He felt terrible, even guilty, but he just couldn't change his emotions.

Percy stared at he grave for a while, then snorted. The teen wasn't trying to be rude. . . but Octavian was one jerk he couldn't forgive.

The Son of Posiden checked his watch, then sighed. It was getting late. He had to get home and study for an upcoming math test, though the very thought made him shudder.

Percy glanced at the tombstone one last time before he left. Maybe he'd come back in a few weeks and see if his feelings had changed at all.

S.H.I.E.L.D Surveillance Helicopter

"The kid's on the move."

Fury nodded to the team. It was time.

~~~

A/N For the record: I did NOT kill off Leo! Percy was thinking about when Octavian killed him in BOO (before he saved Calypso). I just wanted to make that clear so the Leo fangirls didn't kill me.

I'm having a lot of fun rewriting this. I hope it's more realistic and less cliche than the original, though I'd appreciate any advice you guys have!

Thanks for reading! See you soon!

~CB