Hello all! Thank you so much for the support! This chapter is dedicated to my in real life friend SweetGabby124 ! Big thanks to her for encouraging me and not punching me (or killing me) when I let her read some parts of chapters later on in the story that I had written up already. Ps the picture is the one I drew of the 'assassin sandwich' that people wanted to see from a few chapters earlier.
Enjoy! -Tug
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Percy stopped the group before they opened the doors and entered the base. "I just want all of you to know that we are a bit early- Fury, the Director of S.H.E.I.L.D., has a meeting with a few important people that he has to finish up- and those things tend to drag on for a while. Another order of business that I have to address is that people won't recognize you or go out of their way to talk to you. They all have their own things that they have to attend to and it is not in their business to inquire about things, or people, that are clearly above their pay grade. On the other hand, seeing as I am a higher ranking agent and not a guest, I will have many people come up to me or ask for help. I kindly offer my help to those who need it because even if we are a spy agency, we are very close to one another. Many hours stuck in the same compound and on missions forces us to build close relationships. Hopefully you won't mind taking a few pit stops if something comes up. If you do, Captain Rogers here would be happy to escort you to the empty meeting room for you to wait in."
The assembled people shook their heads, not wanting to be cooped up in one room for too long. Percy smiled at their assent, turned around, and unlocked the doors to enter the base. The inside was mainly grays, silvers, and blacks, while navy blues of the agent's uniforms and the electric blues of screens broke up the monochromatic color scheme. An agent immediately made a beeline for Percy, handing her off three tablets before heading off in the opposite direction just as quickly. Percy handed off one to Bucky and the other to Steve while keeping the last one for herself.
A few taps here and there allowed Percy to figure out what she needed to accomplish. "This way if you will." Percy opened up the doors to the training room, where there were roughly two dozen new agents
Suddenly Percy was tackled by a red blurred figure. "DOCTORRRRR!" Percy quickly corrected her stance in order to not stumble and fall over.
"Hey Harkness. Why are you here and terrorizing the newbies? I know that it can be quite amusing but it would be so painful to have to fill out all of that paperwork. So what's really wrong Red? I heard about what had happened. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine baby girl. I just have an eternal playback of either 'Papa Can You Hear Me?' or maybe one from Celine Dion- I'm not sure what it is but I feel like it was made for me. ANYways, I wanted to check on you sugar bear."
"I know you are bullshitting me Wade." Percy crossed her arms, glaring slightly at the Merc with a Mouth.
Trying one last time to distract the woman in front of him, Wade looked over her shoulder and gasped. "OH! Its them! The Guardians of the whatever!" Shifting along the line of people. "And the Wizard!. And- oh. The Assholes! No one likes you! You don't even go here! Go awAY!"
Glancing back once again, Percy still glaring. "Ugh, fine. The voices and my skin. Plus my Ness. Death is such a nice lady but I still miss my Vanessa. And then the purple Cable just had to come in. He just has a discount arm with some cheap bedazzling! Like seriously could the executives not afford something with more umph? Oh well, I guess that to get the pretty orange one he threw his chair off the cliff- ooh I know the heartbreak that he goes through. Maybe he just wants all the chairs to himself and that is why he wants to go all psycho murderer on us. Anyways, I'm getting off topic, or maybe the writer just wants to put in some bad jokes in there in hopes that people would still read this." The Guardians exchanged glances at the marathon of words that was just spilling out of the man's mouth. "Ooooooo- marathon, I like it. Still. you aren't originally in this universe so you are more quiet and I just need that. Please, pretty please, with some extra murder on top for you favorite X-Man?"
Percy smiled slightly, used to Wade's antics- if anything it was slightly endearing to her. And that was why she was assigned to deal with the man whenever he was around or just needed to be dealt with. "Only for you Wade, plus you were only a trainee- for a short time at that." Deadpool huffed. "You can go up into my room and take a nap there Red. I do have a mission to do and I have to babysit. Now shoo and don't harm anyone in any way, shape, or form. You got that? Otherwise I'll be overseeing you fill out the paperwork that I'm assigned because of you."
Deadpool nodded, gave Percy one last hug and a big kiss on the cheek before he skipped off in the the opposite direction, not caring of the scared glances that he was getting from many an agent. Once gone from sight Percy turned around.
"That was Deadpool, which is obviously his codename. He's more of a gray character, an anti-hero if you will. He is known to see through the alleged 'fourth' wall and is a bit hyper because of it. He's a sweetie if you are on his good side, otherwise he will annoy the shit out of you until you wish he was dead. He's been going through a bit of a tough time right now and I expect that none of you, even the newbies behind me, will say nothing about what just happened. I won't be held responsible if you find a new hole or two in your body."
Everyone nodded, the newbies looking just a bit paler than normal. The group departed once more, Percy keeping a running commentary. Groot at some point even took her hand once more, looking at the agent with awe once more.
There was a sudden, loud yell that could be heard all across the base.
"WHO THE FUCK HURT THE DOG? THAT IS SOME STEVEN MOFFAT LEVEL SHIT AND WHOEVER DID IT IS GONNA TAKE A REICHENBACH FALL FROM A BUILDING SO FAR UP, THAT YOU WON'T COME BACK BEFORE SHERLOCK SEASON 13!"
Deadpool came running in with Dallie in his arms. The poor pup was okay now, her tail wagging, but she was still a bit drugged up.
Once Wade arrived, his eyes zeroed in on the demigod trio, the eyes on his mask squinting just a bit. "You. You motherfu-!" The merc launched himself at the three, only for Percy to hold him back.
"Hey Wade, I know you're angry. I know. You can't kill the kids behind me because-"
"I don't care if we need them! I don't care that they are from a different universe! I will kill them for hurting my nugget! It was the blonde one wasn't it. Little miss goody two shoes. Imma erase her from every fucking goddamn universe!" The red clad man calmed suddenly at Dallie's bark and Percy's glare. "Ugh fiiiiiiine. I promise no maiming... or killing... or any harm. But those fuckwits should know- if you mess with the nugget or this fucking ray of sunshine in human form, I swear on my Vanessa, I will kill you with a fucking zamboni." After gently placing the dog on the floor, Deadpool sashayed away, twirling his katanas around.
The demigods seemed pale, yet anger boiled in Annabeth's eyes. Mrs. O'Leary growled once at the adult demigod to shut her up before looking up and wagging her tail as Percy pet her head. On the other hand, Peter's eyes widened. "Is thaT A PUPPY? OH MY GOD CAN I HOLD IT?"
Smiling once more Percy nodded quickly saying that the dog was a she and was named Dallie.
A message pinged up on all three of the group's data pads. "The debrief for you all will have to be short. A war is about to break out and we have to do damage control. Agent Coulson will bring you all to the Avengers Tower after the meeting. And yes Quill you can keep holding my dog."
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What happens when two super soldiers, one high ranking agent, and three young adults that no one likes walks into a room with highly skilled heroes and fighters?
The three young adults almost get their heads shot off as the two super soldiers and the agent automatically duck as Tony's gauntlet accidentally misfires as he is working on it.
Three disgruntled and slightly singed demigods later, the assembled heroes all settle down and begrudgingly start to answer the demigod's questions as Natasha and Loki help Percy get dressed for her mission. The group, besides Hawkeye, didn't know how to answer the demigod's questions without giving too much away. Besides, Hawkeye was liable to just stab them with an arrow without checking if it was an exploding one beforehand.
The doors quickly opened, Percy wanting to hurry so that they wouldn't have three corpses to hide. With Loki working his actual magic, along with her gift from her grandmother, getting ready was quick.
She now had straight blonde hair, brown eyes, and her skin supported what looked like an awful spray tan. Her lips were blood red and her eyes were covered in a smoky eye and heavy application of mascara and false lashes. Her black mini dress and matching heels showed off skin and long legs. Her wrist had been hidden by a thick enchantment from Loki, a fake soul-mark displayed on her right collarbone.
Walking over to the couch, Tony pulled the woman into his lap, Loki sitting next to the man and pulling Percy's legs onto his lap.
"So Agent. I was wondering what your mission was? Its okay if you can't tell me- I was just curious." Cole asked. His voice was shaky and unsure, ready to be yelled at once more by the formidable agent before him. Annabeth tried to shush him but the child of Hermes wouldn't let the bullheaded children of war dictate who he was to other people.
Smiling gently, Percy answered. "It's not going to be top secret so it's okay to tell you. There is a mutant named Jordan Thompson who has the power to mimic a soul mark in order to lure people out and kill them. The man doesn't have an actual soulmate and was driven to anger when his power was to just mimic one. He thus started to target women, going to clubs and bars to see if they had a soul mark. Once he was sure of their words, he said them, and used his power to mimic what the woman said to him. On the promise of completing their bond, he lured them away to kill them. He has only gotten to three women, but that is still too many when you think of the repercussions, so SHIELD is planting me and a few other agents in a bar that two of the victims were in, and once one of us is taken, SHIELD, posing as simple police officers will storm the place and get him. Its going to be public so it won't expose SHIELD more than it already is."
"Oh." Was the only word that Cole said- he was sure that there was more to it but if Agent didn't say anything else, then he wouldn't bug for more.
And then Annabeth had to open her mouth. "I thought that pretending to have a soulmate was a federal offense?"
"You would know about that, wouldn't you darling?" Tony said, arms wrapped around Percy's waist. "You have practice in that field don't you? As much as it is a federal offense, would you rather we try to attack the club and have the man escape, leading him to kill countless others?" Annabeth simply blinked. "That is what I thought. JAR, get to hacking their cameras. I want to see everything, just in case we need to drop in."
Using the information that Percy gave over their shared mental link, Tony typed out a few things on his phone so that JARVIS wouldn't be hindered.
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The club was pulsing, lights flashing. Percy sat at the bar, an agent next to her pretending to harass her. Their target was one of the bartenders and they were hoping to catch the eye of. Agent Smith leaned in, pretending to be drunk.
"Come on darling. I'm sure your soulmate wouldn't mind."
Suddenly Jordan leaned in. "I heard you need a knight in shining armor, darling."
"Oh my god you're my soulmate!" Percy shrieked, playing up on her ditzy character.
"That just adds an extra incentive. Buzz off asshole." The agent raised his hands in surrender before staggering off in his fake drunken haze. "I'm Jordan. What's your name sugar plum?"
Percy giggled and fluttered her eyelashes. "Stacy. Can I see your mark?"
Jordan unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt, showing the words placed on his collarbone. It was, of course, the words that Percy said to him. Percy let her fingers travel over the black letters lightly, intentionally adding a slight shake to the appendages. Jordan easily caught her hand and started to lead her out past the bar and towards the dance floor.
"I want to know so much more about you darling." Jordan kissed her knuckles before starting to dance to the thumping music. Percy danced carelessly and the two started talking, Percy faking giggles to seem more interested. Quickly though, they could see Jordan get impatient. He left her alone for a mere moment, whispering that he would get them both a drink before kissing behind her ear.
Tony quickly switched to another camera, getting a better shot. There was another SHIELD agent at the bar, pretending to be drunk out of his mind. They watched as Jordan made them both a drink, subtly slipping something in one of them. The camera switched back to Percy's once more, letting them watch as Jordan gave their friend the drugged drink. Almost immediately Percy staggered into Jordan's strong chest, giggling slightly.
"It will be fine," Natasha spoke out, "She was been trained to resist these drugs. It looks like a heavy dosage so there might be some after effects, but otherwise, she will remain largely unhindered." Shoulders smoothed and tensions recoiled slightly.
"Let's get you somewhere where you can cool down Stacy. You seemed to have drunk a bit too much. I'll just take you to the back and you can lay down." Pushing through the crowd of people, Jordan quickly unlocked the staff door and led the blonde Percy into the back room.
The room inside was a dark red and it was dingy. There was a rusty bed frame in the back corner with a threadbare mattress. As soon as the door closed, Jordan's demeanor changed immediately. They could see his fake soul mark melt away as his face turned into a viscous snarl. The mutant lifted his hand and backhanded Percy, grabbing her hair as soon as she met the ground and pulling her towards the bed.
Percy sobbed. "Jordan- what, what are you doing? It hurts and everything is spinning."
Jordan snarled, tossing her on the bed. "I don't care! I'm not your stupid soulmate and I don't care about you! You're just another stupid person who flaunts what I don't have!" A heavy fist landed on Percy's face, sure to leave a black eye and bruise on her cheekbone.
A knock sounded on the door, Jordan growled. He stalked away, grabbing handcuffs and duct tape. Percy had started crying, arms shaking with the drug in her system as she tried to get away. Jordan threw her back into the center of the bed, clicked the handcuffs around her wrists and around one of the posts, quickly taking the duct tape and wrapping the tape around her head a few times. The knocking sounded again, more impatient than the first. "I'm coming! Just a second!" Jordan yelled out before hissing at Percy, squeezing her throat to convey his message. "Not one sound and I will make this quick. One sound and you will wish that you had never been born."
Percy nodded rapidly and Jordan darted to the door. The man cracked it open, and as soon as there was an inch, Percy began screaming from behind her gag. SHIELD agents disguised as police flooded the dingy room, quickly taking down Thompson and handcuffing him. Two more agents made their way to the bed, continuing up the charade. They let Percy go, carefully removing the duct tape to avoid as much damage as they could. It still hurt a bit with how tightly it was wound and it pulled her hair, but Percy didn't make a sound. Percy let her charade drop momentarily, winking cheekily at Thompson before returning to her character of the scared, drugged girl with make up running down her face. Thompson screamed in anger realizing that it was all a set up.
Percy was escorted out and was checked over my medics, a good samaritan lending her his coat. A few women immediately came over and took makeup wipes and some disinfectant from their purses, removing the ruined makeup and cleaning up the marks around her wrists. The medics quickly shooed them away, handing back the coat as a shock blanket was wrapped around Percy's shoulders before she was bundled into the ambulance.
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A mere twenty minutes passed and Percy arrived back safe in the Avengers Tower. Stepping through the elevator doors, Percy was immediately scooped up by Loki. The man sat on the ground, placing the agent in his lap. He placed his hands on each side of her head, magic quickly jumping through the air and to Percy's temples. The magic healed her bruising and smoothed out her breathing, eliminating all traces of the drug from her system.
Cole locked onto Percy's eyes. "I'm sorry for doubting you Agent. I see that I was wrong. You take care of the people in the world. We just hide away and only come out when there is a danger that mortals can't even see. I hope you can forgive me."
"Seeing your mistakes and working to get better is all that I could ask for." Percy said softly, allowing a moment of weakness show as she closed her eyes and rested her head on Loki's chest.
Unseen by the demigods, Natasha slipped a SHIELD card into Cole's hand. He would make a good agent one day if he so chose.
"Well," Percy said getting up once more. "I guess that right now is the prime time to take you all back to camp. It's getting late and it wouldn't be good if you stayed any later. I think that your camp might be missing you and you can report back what you saw."
By some unspoken agreement, Percy and Bucky got up and lead the demigods out of the building and into a car, driving away. Little did any in the car know that a few visitors were in Bunker Nine.
Little did the demigods know that the visitors would be in Cabin 3 when they arrived.
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Many figures quickly climbed into Bunker Nine at the behest of its panicked owner. A single letter lay in the center of a busy work table, the envelope white and pristine regardless of the oil and dirt surrounding it. Names written in neat, looping writing took up most of the space on the front, yet there was no postage on it.
Leo pulled up the video feed off the Bunker and quickly scanned through to see if there was any disturbances. There was one- about an hour and forty six minutes earlier. All it was was the feed going down for approximately two and a half seconds before rebooting, the letter the only change in the surroundings.
Shaky fingers opened up the envelope- the scan it was put under when first found indicated that it was safe- and inside was a neatly folded piece of paper. There was only one word written in the same elegant script as on the front.
'Soon.'
Taped securely next to it was a simple sand dollar.
That's all folks! Hope you liked it. Luckily I have planned a while ahead so I hopefully won't get bad writers block.
-Tug