Percy
I'm still not sure why I agreed to join this 'elite team', but I guess the gods wanted them as allies. They will only be useful in killing mortal threats, so I was wondering what the gods were anticipating. I had to update someone on the status of my quest, so I flashed out, releasing the five captives. Instead of going straight to Stark tower, I flashed over to my dad's palace.
I had visited my dad's palace a lot after the giant war, but it's splendor always impressed me. The walls were a marbled mix of pearls, white coral, and blue stone that seemed to give off their own light. The ceiling opened up into a dome that made it feel as if you were inside a giant pearl, which I know from experience. This room was the first to be rebuilt after the war, and Poseidon had remodeled it to be deceptively more open. Deceptively, because it was actually 13.5 times more secure. But you'd never know it by the large marble archways that opened straight into a huge reef filled with temples and the houses of merpeople.
I knew that that further into the throne room, the white marble floors rose up in three tiers to show off the extra-large fisherman's chair. But today, I couldn't see the throne, or the marble tiers.
They were filled with a large circle of assorted mermen, dolphins, and minor sea gods who surrounded the throne.
The sound of me Traveling in was covered by my dad's booming voice echoing through the water.
"If there is anything I learned in the last war, it-" he paused and seemed to listen. "Who's there?"
The whole group whirled around and looked at me. Their assorted spears, knives and teeth were instantly pointed at my chest until they got a look at my face. Then they relaxed and a few of them bowed. I've got to say, a dolphin bowing is one of the weirdest things I'll ever see. I nodded to them respectfully.
Poseidon pushed through the circle. His stern expression disappeared when he realized it was me.
"Percy! Sorry about that, I didn't know you were visiting," greeted Poseidon.
"Is this a war council?" I asked, frowning.
"No. Not yet anyways. We were just discussing ...movements."
"Oh." I left the subject alone. He would tell me when he was ready, if the Great Prophesy was any indication.
"Well, I just wanted to update you on those people I was supposed to meet," I said.
"How did it go?"
"They're really weird, but not too dangerous. I could beat them, but they could cause some serious damage to camp," I noticed that the group of sea creatures had slowly dissolved away. "I'm going to meet their leader now, so I should probably leave."
"Yes, of course. I'll pass on this information, thank you son. Nice job on beating them, but be careful. Something just isn't right in the sea...."
I nodded with apprehension. I started summoning the energy to flash out.
"Good luck, Percy."
"Bye, Dad."
I reappeared in the lobby of Stark Tower, a place Annabeth had once pointed out to me. 'Substandard to the classical architecture, but pretty good for any modern mind,' she had said.
Sure, that.
The lobby was simple, but you could tell that everything was top notch, and very high security. My days at private schools had taught me all about security cameras, and these ones rivaled a military reform school. The room had simple black couches and a tiled floor. There were two, large, wooden desks, but only one was occupied.
The secretary at the desk gave a startled yelp at my appearance. I gave her my name and said I was waiting for the Superhero Team or whatever. She shakily nodded in understanding and said she'd tell the 'director' that I was here.
I wasn't sure if I should thank her or run.
I sat on the edge of a plush chair, still wound up from my visit with Poseidon. As I walked in he seemed to be comparing something to Giant war. Now that I think about it, it could have also been the Titan war since the Giant war barely affected his kingdom.
In either case, he must feel that these 'movements' were something to worry about.
It's been two years since the Giant war and I guess my relaxation time has run out.
I was startled out of my thoughts when a voice sounded behind me.
"Hey, we thought you ditched."
I whirled around and saw the superheroes. I was fairly sure the question had come from the robot man, still missing his mask and gloves. I hadn't realized that I had clutched Riptide, but judging by the palpable tension, they had. Besides the robot man, the entire team had slightly white faces and they seemed apprehensive, though I wasn't as good as Annabeth when it comes to reading people.
I snapped out of it and pocketed Riptide. I was a bit embarrassed at my reaction, but glad that my reflexes were in shape. They asked me a me a question, I gave a dumb response, and a minute later we were riding up in large elevator.
The ride was even more awkward than you're imagining it. Six people in very close quarters riding up to the 77th floor. It felt longer than the ride to Olympus. At least there was no elevator music. I looked around at the others and rocked back and forth on my feet. I don't remember taking it out, but I realized I was spinning Riptide in my fingers, causing the Redhead to go white in the face. Oops.
The elevator finally dinged and the doors opened, causing all six of us to sigh.
"At least it wasn't 12 minutes," I muttered at the floor. I've had an aversion to elevators ever since the Pit.
That got me some weird looks, but I ignored them. "Where to now?" I asked.
The American Flag started walking down a white hallway to our right and the Redhead gestured for me to follow them. The hallway ended in standard metal double doors, which the Flag pushed through with ease. I was the second-to-last to file in and I resisted the urge to stop and observe the room. From a quick glance I saw a large semi-circle conference table that was occupied by two men. The room had the same white walls as the hallway we just exited.
The men at the table were what caught my attention. One of them looked absolutely normal. He was about 30 years old, and was wearing a simple grey dress shirt. He had slightly curly brown hair, but I couldn't see his eyes from here. The other man was one of the weirdest mortals I've ever seen. He was dark-skinned, bald, and had an eye patch on his right eye. He was wearing a long, black coat, which was visible as he stood up to greet us.
"How did the mission go?" asked the eye-patched man. His voice carried a lot of authority and the team definitely regarded him as their leader. I had somehow ended up tucked behind the large man with the hammer, so EyePatchy hadn't seen me yet.
The Redhead, who was more like Redface now, spoke up, "We have Perseus."
"What happened, Natasha?" asked the normal-looking man, still sitting down.
"We were beaten very badly by him," chuckled the hammer guy in front of me. I was now positive that I had not ended up behind him by accident. There was a confused silence and the man in front of me moved aside. EyePatchy looked like he was about to blow a gasket. I waved sheepishly.
"Hi," I greeted. The normal-looking man's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline.
"You beat all of my agents, and still agreed to come with them? Or did they manage to detain you?" asked EyePatchy. I'm pretty sure he was the 'director' person the secretary mentioned.
"Um, I agreed to come with them. It seems you need help saving the world?"
"I'm Nick Fury. So, what do you know of our organization?"
I knew his question was important, but I barely heard it over my mental screams when I heard his name. All monsters had weird last names, and I knew a certain monster that specialized in government-type people.
"Alecto?"
Everyone, including EyePatchy- erm, Nick Fury, looked confused. I guess not.
"Never mind" I muttered, a bit embarrassed.
"Okay then, what do you know of our organization?" repeated Nick, looking suspicious.
"Nothing," I answered honestly.
"We are called S.H.E.I.L.D. and we protect the world from supernatural national and international threats. The people who brought you in are called the Avengers, but I'm sure you know that. They are our elite team of superheroes who deal with massive threats." Nick seemed to be reciting this, and it reminded me of how Annabeth told new demigods about camp.
"Okay," I said, taking it in. "Not the weirdest thing I've ever heard. I'm Percy Jackson, but you obviously know that. I will join you guys. But I'm tired of making up names for you so, could you introduce yourself and maybe your powers?"
"Of course. I'm Nick Fury, director of S.H.E.I.L.D. and I'm just a spy."
"Natasha Romanoff. I'm known as the Black Widow. Superspy." That explains the catsuit. Sort of.
"Clint Barton, Hawkeye. Superspy and bowman." That came from the man with the bow, obviously. I should introduce him to Frank. Maybe later.
"Tony Stark. I'm IronMan and a billionaire." I cocked my head, he sounded vaguely familiar, and very arrogant. RobotMan actually wasn't far off and I was proud of coming up with it.
Next was the man with the large hammer, "I am Thor. I'm the god of thunder from Asgard." My jaw hit the floor. No. Freaking. Way. You have got to be kidding me.
"You're WHAT?" I shouted. "No, no, no, no, no!" I was so worked up I almost flashed out of the room. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. When I opened them I saw Natasha's hand on her waist, no doubt on her gun, and Nick was mirroring her.
"I'm OK, just finish introducing yourselves." I gestured for the last two men to go.
"I'm Steve Rodgers, also known as Captain America." That explains the suit! I'm strangely relieved that he has a reason to dress like a flag.
"I'm Bruce Banner," said the man still sitting at the table. "I'm the Hulk." He said it with just a bit of disgust.
"Cool, so now it's my turn. The reason I freaked out about Thor is, he's not the only god in the room."
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This is the least reviewing I've ever done, but also the longest chapter I've ever written. Please tell me if there are any mistakes!! I'm writing this on my new laptop, which is soooooo much easier to write on! I wrote the beginning of this book completely on my iPod.
Thank you all so much for your votes and comments, you rock!! I don't respond to most of you, sorry, but I'll always check out any books you've written.
Someone commented on how I always end with 'Happy Reading', and I wanted you to know the reason behind it. I was reading a book for school about how pop culture has caused a bunch of bad things in our culture. In the book, the author condemned fanfiction as our way of inserting ourselves into pop culture and trying to make ourselves seem more important. I say 'Happy Reading' because I want to remind you that I write just for the love of reading, and, of course, for the feels. (It's kind of me bitch-slapping that author)
Please comment and vote!!! Happy Reading!!!! <3