HAPPY NEW YEAR! Let's start it off with some angst and teamwork and explosions, shall we? I'm splitting this chapter into 2 parts, because it ended up being so long. You'll get the other one within a week ;)
Enjoy!
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IT WAS A WHIRLWIND of Tony pushing the information he'd found at them- coordinates and floorplans and entry codes- to organizing the kids' transport back to the team and the resultant introductions. Coulson's head was spinning, from the unexpected revelation of a certain superhero's identity to the continued grief over the unknown situations his agents were in.
He drove them to the base in near silence, no one interested in conversation. Not even the Leo kid uttered a peep. The director could only assume the true gravity of the situation had fallen upon them; or at the very least, a bitter grudge agaisnt him they were more than justified to have. He met Malcolm's eyes once in the rear view mirror.
The startling gray mirrored Annabeth's. Coulson, with a start, realized that the trait must have come from their mother.
Their mother, Athena. The goddess.
The black S.H.I.E.L.D. van careened slightly into the next lane until he refocused on the road.
The guards stationed along the base entryways raised eyebrows as the teenagers trailed him towards the main conference room. It must have been a sight; the director leading a group of high school kids as though they were on a field trip. They all unknowingly marched past the elevator Percy had had a breakdown in, past the lab and the interrogation room that had pushed this mess far past a reasonable, easy clean up.
Coulson could tell the rest of the team was uncomfortable with their stand-ins; a pyrotechnic sixteen year old with a sense of humor worse than Hunter's, a scowling emo, an angsty magician with bangs and uptight twenty something blonde. The hacker, Mary-Kate, had been sent back to report to their friends (by her own volition- spunky as she was, she was also smart. She wasn't strictly needed for any role, so there was no point in risking her life). The four remaining were still every bit as determined as they had been in their initial declaration that they were joining the mission.
May had already pulled him aside to question his judgment, as though he hadn't done the same a thousand times over. He explained to her what they could do, their own commitment to fight, but he could tell by her expression she didn't agree with his decision to let them stay. Why would she? He'd already proven he couldn't handle two demigods, much less five more.
But he was the director. The man in charge. So even if Bobbi and Hunter were watching him warily as he proposed the plan, even if Fitz fidgeted with his hands while Lincoln stood far off in the corner glaring at the tops of his dirty trainers, they had to listen. They had to, for better or worse.
He avoided their judging stares as he spoke. "If we can get in, preferably to wherever they have Skye, Mack, and the kids locked up, Leo can start a fire or explosion that will force Ward to evacuate. He'll have to move them, making them much more vulnerable. We wait for them to move to the exits before ambushing them for extraction."
"We're going to ambush Hydra at their own place?" Hunter raised a brow. "Sounds like a bloody nightmare to me."
Malcolm frowned. "This place is highly secure, right? How are you getting all of us in, and all of us out? Nico can't-"
"I can take everyone in. I'm not sure about out; it's been a while since I've tried more than two people. It might take a lot out of me."
Coulson nodded slowly at the two, thinking. "We can reanalyze the intel we have to find the weakest points of entry, but yes- a direct transfer in might be necessary. And, look-I'm not saying it's going to be easy. It won't. We don't know what condition they're going to be in, how many agents are stationed where... Stark said the plans are outdated by at least two years. It's more than likely HYDRA has put it under construction to eliminate threats like... well, us."
Hunter snorted. "The wankers redecorated, just for us. I reckon your mate Stark couldn't give us where Daisy and them are sitting either, eh? It's just guesswork for us."
Coulson swallowed. "That's why we smoke them out. We start on the lowest level we can figure. We can have a teams move ahead to the exits- there are two main one's that we can see. One is a massive warehouse area with garage doors. Weapons shipments go in and out through there, along with their vehicles; we assume HYDRA will evacuate with them this way-"
"We assume," Bobbi cut him off with a frown. "Coulson, all due respect, we can't march into a Hydra base on an assumption. Especially not when we're assuming Ward is behind this. He knows we're coming."
Harriet tentatively raised a hand. "Who's Ward?"
The entire room seemed to bristle at the innocent question. Fitz bit down hard on his cheek. Everyone looked down, says for Hunter. His murderous expression said everything she needed to know, but if the message enemy hadn't been clear enough the Brit kindly added: "A bastard. Traitor. A no good son of a bitch-"
"An old agent gone rogue," Coulson cut off his ramblings. "A highly ranked Hydra officer. And he left with a few personal vendettas agaisnt me and one of my best agents, who he currently has."
"This guy," Bobbi turned a tablet towards the demigods. Ward's confident portrait glowed from the device. Harriet thought he didn't look so bad- more like a disgruntled Hollywood action star, if anything- but the strong reactions from the room made her more than wary.
Harriet brushed back some hair from her face with a hard swallow. "Nice. Thanks. Sorry, back to the plan."
"We can have teams at both exit points, to eliminate the possibility of them sneaking past us. With photostatic veils and mock uniforms, we should be able to get in undetected. Once everyone's in place, Leo can start the fire. Whoever's with him can help push forward from the initial location and help thin out the security."
Hunter opened his mouth. Again. "So Leo's there, torches some people, and we do what? Take down the hundreds of guards Ward has around them and jus' waltz out?"
The demigod went pale, sitting up. He'd been abnormally quiet, along with the rest of his friends; most likely reasonably overwhelmed with their baptism by fire into the world of superheroes and secret agents. "Woah, woah, más lento, I don't plan on torching anybody. I'll set off the smoke alarms and torch equipment, but I don't want to kill anyone."
May looked pointedly at Coulson, expression hard. She didn't need to say anything to communicate her point. These kids aren't ready for a mission against Hydra.
Coulson swallowed. He was worried they weren't, either.
"Was that your plan? To just murder people?" Leo panicked. When no one answered immediately, he threw his head back in disgust. "Ay, dios mio-"
"We don't- we don't murder," the other Leo butt in. Fitz wrung his hands together nervously, looking almost as young as the high school kids. "But they're... they're-"
"They're trying to kill us, and they'll try to kill you," May said bluntly. "If you want to be a part of this, you have to understand that. If you don't, you're dead."
A heavy silence fell over the group. "Well," Malcolm interrupted. "We don't have time to just sit here. Let me tell you what I was thinking."
Hours of debate and strategizing later, the demigods and agents had finally come together to form a relatively solid extraction plan. They loaded the demigods up with spare tactical gear and weapons that barely fit, reminding them all of how wrong the situation was. Even the oldest, Malcolm, had to stress the belt around his waist to keep the dark cargo pants up around his smaller frame. They were so young, and it was Coulson's fault they were here.
The man tried not to think of everything that could go wrong as they went over the steps in the multi-faceted excursion. He tried to ignore the anger written into Lincoln's face, a loose bomb he wished he could turn away from this mission for the sake of reliability. He couldn't afford to, though- they needed the manpower.
The hum of the engine was low as they flew towards the base Stark had found, only a few hours or so away in upstate New York (at alarming proximity to the Avengers Compound, they learned- but that was a battle for another day. This was a rescue mission, not the fire-in-the-hole destroy-the-enemy kind).
Coulson wasn't necessarily religious. Especially not since being stabbed through the chest by a Nordic God of mischief and looking into the eyes of a few prebuscent demigods. Still, the man found himself praying in desperation to a God he didn't believe in. Please, he found himself staring up at the moon watching them as they barreled towards the enemy base in darkness. Please, don't let us be marching towards our graves.
...
"Again," Ward waved invitingly to the large pool of water.
Percy blinked back stars. The man had been pushing him for the past two hours to observe everything he could about his abilities. At this point he figured it was just a matter of stamina, given the pyscho wanted nothing more for him to lift and spin it into an indoor cyclone.
The demigod wanted nothing more than to fire the water into the bastard's face, but he couldn't. He couldn't risk Annabeth's safety. They'd made it clear any hesitation or refusal to follow orders would not only get him beat, but her. A chill ran through him as he remembered what had happened when he hadn't gotten out of bed fast enough; his ribs still ached, but that was nothing to the memory of the yelp that left Annabeth's lips when they kicked her.
No. There would be no point in getting out and escaping if she wasn't right there by his side. Even if he could go home and see his mom and family again. Annabeth was everything. He wouldn't be able to live himself if she got hurt- or worse- because of him. More so than she already had.
So he shakily rose to his feet, biting back some choice words. He had no energy left for this. They'd fed him nothing but gross earthy protein drinks, and he hadn't slept more than a few hours the past two nights in the cursed Hydra base. He had night terrors to thank for that. In the beginning he'd assumed that the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents would come back for them, but he was starting to lose hope. Yeah, it'd only been two days- three days, four?, but enough time for him to consider that he and Annabeth weren't worth the risk for Coulson. They'd known the team for what, a week, if that? Their friends might be looking, but hell, he hadn't even known there was a government agency after him- much less a terrorist one. There was a one in a billionth chance they'd be found. And at the rate his time here had been going? He wasn't sure he'd ever have the energy to escape, much less plan how.
He supposed that was the point.
His thoughts were ripped from him when Ward grunted in impatience. "It'd be smart not to make me wait," he snapped.
Oh, fuck off , Percy thought miserably, taking a step back to keep his balance. Did the guy realize his intimidating tactics were no better than his teachers'? He'd heard the same line thousands of times in class. Usually it came paired with some form of a snotty "Mr. Jackson, Perseus Jackson, or I'll-See-You-After-Class Jackson," but that was besides the point.
A man stepped forward with some sort of weapon. Percy was too tired to decipher what- num-chuk? taser? knife?-but at the very least was reminded to focus. He closed his eyes and waited for the pull in his stomach to grip the water in front of him.
It hurt to even lift it above his head, but he managed.
For a few seconds, that was. Angry shouts filled the room when the sheet splashed down onto the floors, but Percy was too busy blacking out to care.
He wasn't unconscious for long, unfortunately. The water that now flooded the ground had his eyes opening immediately to the dark concrete ceiling of the room. With a grunted he pushed himself back into a sitting position, feeling grateful that he'd somehow avoided cracking his head against the concrete. Head cracking equals concussion equals bad his brain supplied deliriously. Equals Will mad. Equals Annabeth sad.
"Alright, well, let's call it a night," Ward grimaced, glaring at his now soaked clothes. "Kid's useless right now."
Percy wanted to curse him, but only managed a weak cough in reply. Rough hands hauled him to his feet. The demigod was practically a rag doll, limbs numb and shaking with exertion. His ears rang loudly, blocking Ward's lecture on avoiding his shoulder. It was mostly healed, but direct trauma to it would call for more stitches and hours sitting in salt water waiting for muscle and skin to sew itself back together.
A doctor stepped forward. "Can we run some tests, first? Just to see how his vitals are holding. The data could be instrumental in determining-"
Ward waved his hand dismissively, shooting Percy a distasteful once over. "Do what you need to. Just don't draw too much blood, he needs to be strong enough for what we have planned tomorrow."
The demigod groaned in his captors arms. He hated the scientists almost more than he hated Ward. He'd never been a fan of the doctor, and the terrorist version was as bad as he'd expected. They poked and prodded and pried without any sense of empathy or personal space. In the sterile lights of the room he felt like their guinea pig- and he knew that feeling all too well. Small and helpless and doomed.
At least he wasn't trapped with Blackbeard and Co. this time.
He spaced out as they walked him through the halls towards the lab. Percy had about given up trying to figure out the layout of the place. They took him a different way each time, or at least it seemed that way.
The demigod wished he knew where they were holding Annabeth. Ward had said somewhere relatively nice, but it wasn't like he had much reason to trust the guy. The asshole had already found ways against his promise on the Styx; he could tell him to fly and claim disobedience when he couldn't do more than jump. He was smart, for sure, dangerously so. Percy wondered if maybe he should just give up trying to figure out how to get away. His parents would be upset, yeah, but they'd be safe. Annabeth would be safe. Camp would be safe. And he was just tired.
Of the demigod shit, and the torture shit. He was tired; he was guilty, of not doing more to prevent his situation. Percy hated being helpless; hated being stripped of his dignity as they tore the shirt off his chest to inspect every scar before reading his vitals. Hated the anxiety of not knowing where his girlfriend was, if she was okay. Ward, and this stupid white lab. Himself, a little, if he was being honest, for being this pathetic a few days into torture if you could even call it that.
He jumped at a prick in his arm. "Sorry," the doctor sneered. "Missed the vein," he supplied, before jabbing him again. And again. And again.
Percy let his head fall back against the cold table with a sigh.
He wasn't sure how long it had been before they were hoisting him back up. The room spun when he opened his eyes, catching sight of the bag of blood they'd just taken from him. The teen looked away with a disgusted grunt and focused instead on his socked feet that slid on the tile floors as they dragged him back to his cell.
He all but collapsed on the shoddy bed they'd given him, wiping a few tears from his cheeks that had fallen once his company had left with their jaunts. Sleep would be tortuous, he knew, but the demigod hoped it would bring some energy back to him so he could at least pretend to be the hero everyone always claimed he was. Some hero he was now, already debating throwing in the towel. Some great child of the Big 3.
Waste of space, brain boy-
He didn't get the chance to complete the thought. A piercing alarm shot a rush of adrenaline through him, and before he knew it his feet were beneath him. A thousands thoughts rushed through his head at once as they led him towards the main wall, drowning his previous grievances. The cold concrete chilled his skin.
Maybe he would've been reminded of Tartarus at one point, but his brain was too busy filtering through the current stimulus of his situation.
There was shouting. Running. Red lights flashed through the small barred window into the dark room. Something was happening. Had he been wrong? Was Coulson really coming to get them?
"Jackson!" A gruff voice called from the other side of the thick metal door. Percy pressed himself flat so he couldn't be seen. "Fire drill! We're moving you out!"
He frowned. Fire drill? That had to be bullshit. No villain worth their weight sacrificed the integrity of their evil lair for a fire drill, unless Ward really was more middle school teacher than militant. It had to be a cover up; if Percy wanted a chance to escape and find Annabeth, this was it.
Or at least that's what his sleep deprived head told him.
The doors beeped and began to slide open. In a moment of pure impulse, he stepped out and punched the first man as hard as he could in the liver. The man dropped immediately. The second agent moved fast, whipping out her gun. Percy kicked entirely on reflex; dumb luck connected the ball of his foot to the red head's thigh. She went down, giving him just enough time to burst out. His heart beat out of his chest as his hands clumsily scrambled to shut the door, cursing at the seconds it took to click shut.
"Shit," he glanced around the now empty hallway, blinking back dark spots. The alarm cut daggers into his head. Whoever had presumably come to their rescue had picked the worst possible time; he was barely standing, much less ready to fight. "Great job, Jackson. Now what?"
The sound of heavy footsteps from his left answered for him. People were coming, most likely for him. Definitely for him, who was he kidding? Praying his feet would work, Percy took off and ran right.
Right back into HYDRA's hands.
...
D
o anything fun this holiday? Big plans for 2021? I've missed you all!
The next chapter will be out within the week, so be looking forward to that! See you then!