"Where did this come from?" Winter asked as he looked around at the ship.
"I summoned it." Percy replied.
"You... Summoned it." Winter repeated.
"Yeah. Um, let's get comfortable, we might be talking for a while." Percy said.
He led them down below deck and into a sitting room. Once they had all taken a seat, Winter looked expectantly at Percy. Percy took a deep breath, and began recounting a tale. He told of primordials, titans, giants, gods, monsters, and demigods.
"Why did you tell me a bedtime story?" Winter asked when Percy finished.
"Because it's all real." Percy said.
"Of course it is." Winter deadpanned.
Percy grinned.
"So where do you stand in that mess?" Winter asked.
"That is a simple question with a complicated answer... Short story, I was born a demigod son of Poseidon, but was recently made a god." Percy replied.
"You're a god?" Winter blinked.
"Yep." Percy sighed.
Winter narrowed his eyes. "If you're a god, then how long ago was 'recently'?"
Percy laughed. "I'm seventeen. Total."
"Wait, you're still a kid?" Winter questioned, feeling slightly protective.
"Brother, I've been in just as many wars as you." Percy countered. "Childhood innocence is long gone in this one."
Winter tilted his head. There were so many things about that sentence that he wanted to ask about.
Percy shifted in his seat. "Steve should be the one to talk to you about your life before HYDRA... Anything you can tell us about them off the top of your head?"
Winter thought for a moment. "I was assigned to train a new agent. In the dream I had, they were going to use him to replace me. Whenever he got bled, his blood was... Flecked with gold. My superior called him a gold-blood."
Percy went stiff. "A gold-blood? What was his name?"
"Tarus."
Percy cursed. Like actual curses, not foul language. Winter was impressed with his imagination.
"Percy, I don't understand a word of what you're saying, but stop." Steve said. "It's not helping."
Winter frowned. Why wouldn't Steve understand? Was Percy speaking one of the languages Winter knew but Steve didn't? Winter tried to figure out which language it was, but couldn't find the answer.
Percy turned to him. "Did you understand what I was saying just now?"
Winter chuckled. "You are much more creative and violent than you look."
"I don't know if I should feel offended or complimented." Percy said. "{Shit}. This is bad. Anything else that's really important?"
Winter thought for a second. "HYDRA has spies in SHIELD."
"{For the love of-} How many?" Percy blurted.
"I don't know the exact number." Winter said.
"An estimate, Buck, anything will do. Ten, twenty, a hundred-" Steve said.
"Anyone." Winter replied, an odd feeling in his chest when Steve called him 'Buck'.
"What do you mean, anyone?" Steve asked.
"From what I've overheard, HYDRA is planning on overtaking SHIELD from within. Nearly half your force is HYDRA." Winter said.
Percy cursed again while Steve's eyes widened. Percy faced the both of them with restrained frustration. "Steve, I don't need to tell you to take care of him. Winter, you... Should get some fresh air. Sit above deck for a while. If you need food, kitchen's stocked."
"Where are you going?" Steve demanded.
"Into the monster's den. We've got an infestation." Percy replied.
"You can't go in there alone-"
"I absolutely can." Percy replied flatly. A belt, sheath, and slightly glowing sword appeared at his hip. "You two are staying here where it's safe. I'm gonna be pissed if either of you disappear, so don't."
"What are you going to do?" Steve demanded.
"Well," Percy said. "You'll see soon."
Then he vanished into mist, leaving Winter and Steve alone.
~~~~~~
He reformed tucked away in a parking lot. With barely a twitch of his fingers, he manipulated the Mist to seem as though he hadn't just teleported there. He took long strides over to his motorcycle, and swiftly hopped on before taking off to the SHIELD base.
He weaved through traffic in ways that were probably very much illegal, but no-one was injured, so he didn't care in the slightest. The guard at the entrance to the base picked up that Percy was not in a good mood and let him through without chit-chat.
Agents shied away from him as he marched through the base. He found his STRIKE teammates at their usual table in the cafeteria. They turned at the whispers he was causing, and were surprised to see their friend so angry. He looked like he was marching to murder someone.
He stopped a few paces away from them. "Are you busy?" He asked in the most serious tone they'd ever heard him use.
"No." Myers answered for the three of them.
"Good. Come with me." He said, and turned around the way he had come.
The three of them had to jog a few paces to keep up with his long strides. "What happened?" Woods asked.
Percy continued on, and Myers had to run to get in front of him. "Yo, what happened?"
Percy had to stop to avoid them. "I'll tell you in a minute. There's someone I have to talk to first. And I can't talk to you much right now because I'm trying to focus."
He went back to his mission without another wood. The STRIKE team exchanged looks before following after him. Something was obviously incredibly wrong to incite this reaction from him.
Eventually, Percy stopped at a desk. The agent at the desk looked up at him. "Maelstrom. What can I do for you?"
"I need to speak to the director." Percy said with all the authority of Captain America or Black Widow.
"Well, you have to apply for an appointment-"
"Now." Percy said in almost a growl, it was so low.
"You don't have a high enough clearance for that-"
"I bet you have the ability to call him for emergencies. This is an emergency. So you pick up that phone and tell him that Perseus Achilles Stark needs to speak with him."
The agent leaned away from Percy. "There's no guarantee that he'll actually be able to speak with you, he might be in a meeting-"
"Call him. Or I'll just go straight to his office and break down the door." Percy growled.
The agent snorted. "Your funeral." And picked up the phone.
Percy's keen hearing picked up the conversation.
"Sir, you have an agent that wants to speak with you."
"Well, tell 'em to fuck off, I'm busy."
The agent gave a look to Percy, as if to say 'I told you so'. He glared in response. "Sir, It's Maelstrom-"
"Oh, hell." Percy heard the director curse. "What did he say he wants to talk about?"
"Didn't mention anything other than it was an emergency. Did threaten to break down your office door, though."
"Motherfucker." He said, and hung up.
The agent at the desk chuckled at Percy. "Don't think you're as powerful as you think you are, kid."
Percy didn't reply and walked a few paces to stand roughly fifty feet in front of the elevator door, his arms crossed and feet shoulder-width apart.
"What are you doing?" Myers hissed at him. "You could get suspended for this! Or janitorial duty!"
"You better hope the director comes down here to talk to you-" Woods began.
"He'll come." Percy said, as if it was the truth, and the only truth.
"How can ye be so sure?" O'Brien asked.
"Because he's scared of me." Percy replied.
"The director's not scared of anyone." Woods retorted.
"If that was the case before, it's not anymore." Percy said.
After a moment more of them staring at Percy, the elevator doors slid open revealing Nick Fury. The agent at the desk gaped.
"Stay here." Percy said the three before meeting Fury halfway.
"Pirate." Percy greeted.
"Agent Stark." Fury replied.
Percy twisted his fingers in front of him.
"What did you just do?" Fury questioned him.
"Manipulated the Mist. No one can hear our conversation now."
"But they can still see?"
"Yes."
Fury huffed. "What is so important?"
"Were you aware that HYDRA agents stormed Steve's apartment building earlier?"
Fury froze for a moment. "What?"
"HYDRA. After our morning jog, we went to Steve's apartment. There we found the Winter Soldier. He's secure now, moving on. Anyway, Winter noticed a sniper was targeting us, and we had just enough of a warning to escape. Not by... average means. When our location was secure, we asked for more information."
Fury managed to keep track of what Percy was saying. "As disconcerting as that is, I don't see why the two of you couldn't just bring in the soldier and report it-"
"Were you aware that SHIELD has been infiltrated?" Percy interrupted him.
Fury froze for a second again. "I'm aware that there are likely breaches in the system."
"No. Winter told us that half of SHIELD's force is HYDRA." Percy said. "HYDRA plans to take SHIELD out from the inside."
Fury paled a shade. "Is this information trustworthy?"
"Yes."
"Fuck." Fury cursed.
"There's another issue. Winter informed us of the presence of another enhanced soldier, intended to replace him. I have reason to believe this new soldier to have been enhanced by something from my pantheon."
"What do you want me to do about that?"
"You? I think you'll be best here, trying to figure out who is friend and who is foe. What I want you to do, is let me have control over my own missions. I have to find this new soldier, Tarus. If my suspicions are true, then he could be a danger to everyone. I want to attack HYDRA without mercy. All I ask is for you to lend me a quinjet, those three agents behind me, and however many supplies we'll need on mission."
"You want your own mini-team?" Fury narrowed his eyes.
"Steve has to... He'll be occupied with the Winter Soldier for the foreseeable future. The only people I want on that team is myself, Agent Myers, Agent Woods, And Agent O'Brien."
"You don't need a pilot?" Fury questioned.
"Woods is qualified."
"I see." Fury said. "Don't tell anyone else about this, except your team."
"You're approving of my mission?"
"You will take your orders directly from me, no one else."
"When do I start?"
"I'll have the order signed when I get back to my office. Don't make me regret this." Fury said, and spun on his heels, leather coat swishing behind him.
Percy released the Mist, and walked back to his team.
"Well?" Myers asked, eyes intense.
Percy looked to Woods. "You can fly a quinjet, right?"
"Yeah." Woods said. "I wanted to be a pilot before the positions filled up."
"Congratulations."
"Wait, what?"
"You three are no longer under Rumlow; you're under me." Percy said.
"How the hell did you manage that?" Myers questioned.
"I have a mission, and I need a team to have my back. You three are the only ones I trust that are available for the position, let alone qualified." Percy explained.
"What mission?"
"Pack up your shit, I'll tell you on the quinjet." Percy replied.
~~~~~~
"Okay, spill." Myers said once they were in the air.
"Woods, you might want to put that on autopilot while you listen." Percy advised.
Woods raised an eyebrow, which was barely noticeable from behind his black hair that hung over his forehead. He did as Percy suggested. For the second time that day, Percy was about to tell someone(s) about his 'mythical' world.
"You guys have heard of the Greek gods, right?" At their confused nods, Percy cut to the chase. "Yeah, those assholes are real."
O'Brien sighed.
"Yeah, right." Woods said.
"I assume you want proof?" Percy said.
"Well, duh. Unless you can conjure up a god, I don't know how you'd do that." Woods said.
Percy burst into laughter.
"What's so funny?" O'Brien wondered.
"My bad luck is absolutely hilarious." Percy answered. "A couple months ago, I became a god."
"Oh, great. He's gone crazy." Myers blurted.
Percy stood straight, and vapour traveled to the other side of the quinjet. The three of them whipped around, wide eyed.
"Do I have your attention?" Percy asked. "I'm gonna assume that's a yes. I was born a son of Poseidon, Tony is actually my uncle on my mother's side. Tony being my father is a cover story to protect my Mom and all of her family. I was a demigod up until a couple months ago."
They blinked.
"You were a demigod, and now you're a god?" Myers asked.
Percy sighed, and drew Anaklusmos. He slid the blade across his palm, and then held it out for them to see the golden ichor drip from the cut. "Ichor, the golden blood of the gods."
"But we've seen you bleed red before." O'Brien said.
Sheathing Anaklusmos, he manipulated the Mist to make his blood appear red. They blinked in confusion. "I can manipulate the Mist, a type of magic that hides mythical from mortal." After a moment, he released the Mist. Then he rubbed a thumb over the cut, and it seemed to heal under the pressure, as if he were wiping it off.
"So, now that you believe in magic and that jazz, I can tell you what the mission is. There's a new soldier being trained, and I have to find him and take care of him before he becomes a problem. You are all here to watch my back." Percy said. "And unless you want out, we're waging war against HYDRA."
Percy didn't imagine the violent, determined, excited light in their eyes.
"Can we really do this on our own?" O'Brien asked.
"Oh, they don't stand a chance." Percy replied.
A/N
Three chapters in three days. You lucky folks.
Word count for We're Not Dead Yet has reached 53 thousand. If you're ever curious, I keep track in the story summary. Did anyone already know I did that?