Percy didn't know what to think.
To be honest, at first she felt proud- then nervous, being that they were to freeze to death if it didn't work.
"Well? What is it?" Thor asked excitedly. Percy tried to gulp down her fear and answer, barely getting out.
"Well, you see, me and my friend this one time needed to send a signal up to the people on our flying boat-"
"A flying what?" Natasha interrupted.
"It's a normal thing where we come from," Thor responded.
"-and we had to get a message up, right? So we flashed a light-"
"-using Morse code," Natasha finished, a look of awe and hope flashing across her stony expression. Then, looking back towards her fallen best friend, she seemed to deflate once more. "How would that even work? It's far too cloudy up here for them to ever notice, and even then they'd have to see us at the exact right time." She seemed to give up whatever trust she had, her face falling back into a depressive state.
Percy felt like someone had dropped a small stone in her stomach. Despite the uneasy feeling, though, she put on a brave face.
"There has to be something we're missing."
Natasha steadied her eyes onto the demigoddess in an almost analytical, intimidating way, but seemed a bit reassured on the girl's confidence.
"What if I were to help?"
The two heroes retrained their eyes on their third person in their company, who was standing looking outside the window, his back facing them. The deep colors from the cabin combined with the bright white snow seemed to illuminate his red-draped figure, giving him a soft glow. Percy felt her breath catch despite the tense moment, before looking back at her other friend.
"And how would that be?" Natasha asked, now interested.
"Well, what I know is that they'd probably be near us around up. And while I'm too tired to fly around and search, if we could send a signal, with let's say," he turned around his axe grasped firmly in his right hand. "Lightning."
Natasha looked between the two of them, who had their eyes trained on one another one might disappear in a blink of an eye. Without success, she tried not to take too much notice at the small smile tugging at her lips, matching the one her friends also wore.
***
Tony trained his eyes on the sky in front of him, trying to ignore the pain in his side and the somber mood that draped the room.
Despite the stone being such a small weight, it felt like cement in his pocket. He sighed heavily for the thousandth time in that moment, retraining his eyes on the path ahead.
"Are we going to talk about this, Tony?" He turned around to see his friend leaning against the char next to him, his eyes barely different in color from the icy blue sky ahead of him.
Tony stared ahead, his eye unwavering from where they were trained before. "What is there to talk about, Rogers?" Without looking, he could already feel the exhausted stare from the super soldier's direction. "We just lost our only chance of defeating this, literal, person of darkness. And to top it off, we have to just pray that the team got back in time to defend the city."
Steve settled into the seat beside his friend. "With Nat? I have no doubt they beat him to submission already." Tony chuckled softly, yet held no humor in his tone. "Truth is, there's gotta be another way. When I was a young kid from Brooklyn-"
"I swear to God Captain America if this is another one of your old man stories-"
Steve smiled. "You really know me, huh?" Tony said nothing, which Steve huffed in understanding at. "Listen. I know that the odds are kinda against us right now, especially without the stone. But there's always another way- just like there was with Ultron. And not to mention Loki, too."
"And what if you're wrong? And we all go down?"
"Then at least we can say we did it all together. Besides, what more do we have to lose?"
Tony tilted his vision to his old friend, who had his eyes rimmed with emotion. Though he himself was filled with doubt, he clenched his jaw and trained his gaze forwards harder, a new determination in his eyes.
"Right now we just gotta get this baby home." He tossed the broken stone to Steve, who caught it in surprise. "But first, I gotta get out of this storm zone. Can't get home if we're crashed somewhere in the middle of nowhere."
Bruce, who had been quiet for most of the conversation before, stood up suddenly and rushed over to his friends.
"I know that face, Banner. What's going on?"
He looked in awe at the quickly darkening sky, which had started to fill rapidly with storm clouds. "The sky was blue 5 seconds ago, which means Erebus caught up with us, or..." He looked as far down as his vision would allow him, catching enough of a clear view to get an understanding. And suddenly, without warning, pull Tony's hand off the wheel.
"What the hell, Banner? Obviously-" Tony's breath caught on himself as he looked down where Bruce had redirected the plane. A small, circular clearing was being held where thunder started to rage about everywhere else.
Steve stared in awe, the moved quickly over to the controls. "Do we have any idea where Natasha's crew went? Whether or not they arrived?" He asked excitedly, his eyebrows knitting together in concern. "Because either Erebus defeated them in New York..."
Tony looked up at his friend, realization dawning on him all to quickly. "...or they never got there in the first place."
***
"On the table! Now!"
Thor carried Clint over into the ship, his brow already lined thickly with sweat despite the frigid temperatures. He threw the archer onto the medical table with one swing, stepping back to take in what was happening. After about an hour of trying to ignite a storm in the jet's view, alongside Percy trying to redirect the storm clouds so they'd be in sight, they had finally caught the view of their teammates.
"Bruce-" Tony started.
"On it." The scientist answered, running back to the table at a quick pace. Percy, who had barely shrugged onto the plane, forced herself upright to try and help.
"Signs of vitals? Any clear point of impact?" Tony asked, holding a finger under the archer's nose.
"From what I can tell, a broken rib and arm."
Percy held her hand over the man's still body, only to be stopped by Thor.
"Stop, Persephone. You've done enough already. Clinton is in good hands now," the god said, trying to reassure the clearly emotional demigoddess. Despite his wishes, though, she laid a hand on his head anyways.
"What happened, anyways?" Tony asked Natasha. She still looked shaken, but responded well enough.
"I don't know. One second he was fine- resting, looked well- but then he took a turn for the worse. I don't know what happened-" Steve rested a hand on her shoulder, pulling her eyes into his. She took a deep breath, her eyes unable to move from her stoic friend's body.
Meanwhile, Percy tried to redirect some of her strength back into her friend's body, all the while trying to stay conscious. When she tried again without luck, she dug into her emergency pack frantically, able to say anything while rifling through her belongings quickly.
Her hands closed around the small bottle of nectar, and she stared at the motionless body of Clint before making her decision. While it was something risky, she knew it had to be done. While the Avengers were all scurrying around trying to solve their dying friend's life, she slipped outside into the cold.
***
"Quite an idea, daughter of Poseidon. You realize that, yes?"
Percy started at the being, trying not to be intimidated. She had fought worse. Well, not really, but considering her past luckiness she decided then and there she would never think of anything as more or less, as it was a universal truth that it would come back to bite her in the ass.
"I know you have use for me, yes? Concerning your friend's life?" Nyx said. Percy put her bravest face on and turned her chin up to the goddess of night.
"Well, to be honest, it wasn't you who I expected to come. But yeah, I guess."
She smiled coldly. Percy gulped.
"Look. I know your husband is taking over the world and everything, but something tells me you're not completely on board. And I know this is a stretch, but-"
"Well you're right about that. It certainly is a stretch, Persephone Jackson." Percy shivered at how cold her voice sounded. And while she was technically unconscious, she could still feel shivers down her spine.
"Listen. Let's say there was no more. No more humans, no more gods, nada. That would mean nobody to worship you, correct?" Nyx paused in thought.
"You're forgetting who I am. Have I ever lost a battle? Think of the hot water you'll be in if you lose."
Nyx looked enraged, but settled down after a moment of consideration. "Listen, sea spawn. If I were to help you, Erebus and I would need something in return. Let's say, a life for a life."
Percy looked confused, but nodded.
"I could point you in the direction of someone who would be able to help, in exchange for insurance."
Percy nodded again, a bit more certain.
"And one more thing."
"What do you need?" Percy said quickly, starting to feel her freezing body being shaken awake.
"Well to be blunt," she said, a cold smile spreading on her lips. "Your soul."