Percy Jackson and the Forgotten Heroes

16 - I blow up a wall

Peter's P.O.V

"What's that noise?"

I was sat on the rooftop of an abandoned building in New Jersey, next to what looked like a deserted warehouse except with highly trained security guards patrolling the perimeter.

The Hulk, stood nearby, responded "Wanda's distraction."

The alarm continued to blare loudly as the guards abandoned their posts to deal with the intrusion. There were flashes of red at the furthest side of the warehouse, followed by shouts and gunshots that gradually quietened as Wanda drew them away from the warehouse.

I silently swung down in front of the doors, and the Hulk loudly jumped after me.

As we burst through the doors, a myriad of security guards and scientists leapt to their feet. There was a metal door at the other end of the room, like one you'd find on a submarine, with a keypad guarding it. Whatever was behind that door had to be important.

3 teenagers exploded from it. One was Owen Nakamura, who quickly drew his sword then cursed "Stupid mortals" and threw it to the side. The second, timidly hiding at the back, was Lauren, this time not guarded by her pet Beast. The third person was a girl I didn't recognise, but who seemed strangely familiar.

Without missing a beat, Hulk grabbed a desk that some people were cowering behind and threw it at the new appearances. The girl dodged out of the way in time, getting knocked onto her back, but the other 2 were pinned beneath it. Alive, but trapped for now.

Hulk took one step towards them when a green blur came smashing through a window and tackled him to the ground. When it landed, I saw that it was Beast, Lauren's protector.

As he and Hulk dueled, the girl came for me. When she flipped back onto her feet, I realised where I knew her from. She had been that figure watching us, when I fought the Chimera. She hadn't even reached me when I shot a web, trapping her arms to her sides.

I turned to help the Hulk, locked in a fist fight with Beast, but he called out to me "I've got this! Go find MJ!"

Reluctantly, I sprinted across the warehouse floor toward the door that the 3 of them had come from. Just as I reached it, it slammed shut. I slammed my fist against the door but it did nothing.

"Karen?" I asked the voice in my suit "Can you open the door."

"Negative." She responded "Suggestion: web grenade."

"What? You can do that?" There was a crash behind me as part of the ceiling collapsed from where the Hulk had thrown Beast and I realised now probably wasn't the time to be having this conversation "Yeah, do that."

I took a few cautious steps backwards and fired a web. The second it hit the wall, the whole thing exploded.

I glanced behind me. The Hulk was winning his fight against Beast while everyone else scrambled to find a weapon to defend themselves with or a window to escape through. The girl was struggling against the webs holding her, edging towards a splintered metal beam to cut them, and I decided it would probably be a good idea to run.

I sprinted through the newly created hole in the wall, leaping over the rubble, and found myself in a maze of identical, pristine white hallways. I didn't even understand how this could all fit inside the warehouse - it was like it was bigger on the inside or something. I ran at complete random, turning on instinct more than knowing where I was going. I was about to barrel past a corridor when the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I skidded to a halt and turned to see a figure limping towards me. As they got closer, I realised that it was MJ. She was bruised and bloody, but alive.

"Peter!" She called out.

"MJ!" I sprinted towards her "What happened, are you okay, did they hurt you?"

"Peter, listen," She gripped my shoulders, seemingly mostly to stop herself collapsing "It's a trap - they're not Hydra, and Percy's not working for them. I overheard them talking. They framed Percy, and they have a spy at Camp Half-Blood. They're trying to turn us against each other and right now we're poised to destroy each other. That's just what they want."

It was a lot to comprehend, but I understood 2 things: MJ was alive. And we had to stop their plan.

"Okay, we - we have to find the others and we have to tell them."

We carefully made our way back where I'd come from, but when we arrived in the entrance hall, it was completely empty. It was like no one had ever been there, but I knew that couldn't be true.

"The Hulk must have led them away or - or something." I fumbled lamely.

"You called the Avengers?!"

"I didn't know what else to do! I was so worried about you! I didn't want to lose you..."

"But that's exactly what they wanted you to do..."

"We have to warn them somehow." I insisted. One glance at MJ told me she was in no state to swing halfway across New York with me, even if she was willing to do it again. It would take a miracle to save us now.

"There's no way we'll get to them in time. We've played right into their hands..."