A Lofty Choice

Chapter 19

Hydra stood at the ready.  They slowly started moving in.   There was no one there.  They looked around suspiciously, but there were just trees. 

There were twelves operatives in total.  They were not expecting many kids.  They wanted Percy Jackson.   They would use him as leverage for Natasha. 

When they got this information and heard about Leo and Percy they got excited.  They were expecting at least ten kids.  

Of course they were underestimating by a lot.  They thought Percy was the exception not the majority.

Arrows flew through the air out of the trees.   The hydra operatives standing by did not spot anyone so when arrows flew they moved but arrows were faster then their instincts. They were aimed at non fatal spots with a drug concocted with a sedative.

They went down groaning at the pain. Even with the protective gear they were unable to escape. Apollo's kids were good archers and they could not escape.

It is taking a while for the sedatives to kick in, and they were already grunting and picking themselves off the floor.

That's when the second ground team moved in. Several kids delivered blows to the already beaten up operatives. They had no chance of winning and it was evident when the last man's eyes rolled back into unconsciousness.

There was a round of applause and shout of victory. The campers tied the Hydra agents up.

Percy wondered how the heck they got here so fast. Even Natasha was not here. He figured it was the gods help. When they were particularly annoyed with them they sent people to their kids to finish them up or deal with them.

When Natasha and Tony arrived they were surprised to see the Hydra agents tied up with kids talking with their weapons out.  

Percy waved.  "Hey mom, we found Hydra agents!" He smiled at her looking sheepish. Natasha stared at that expression liking the look on the face, but wishing that it was for a different situation like a cute girl or something. Well, he was her son. It could not be helped.

Natasha looked at the mess in front of her before sighing.  She turned to Tony who shook his head.  "I don't want to deal with this."

"Wow kid we leave you alone for a little while and you go and make a big mess," Tony whooped.  

"Now is not the time," Natasha said.  

"I wonder where he got his messy habits from...".  Tony was cut off when a punch was aimed at his gut.   He went down clutching his stomach.  

"I said not now," Natasha said.   She had gone through the motion of losing her kid again and he had to irritate her.

Tony was struggling to breathe cause the wind was knocked out of him.   "At least...I have the guts...to put it out there."   Because he got punched in the gut Tony decided to make a pun.

Natasha grimaced her hands twitching to punch him again.   Tony reached out a hand to Percy.   Percy did not move to help Tony, but Natasha ended up stopping because she calmed down enough.  

Percy turned back to the campers.  "Campers return to camp!   There are going to be outsiders coming!"

The kids in the trees jumped down making Tony yelp and Natasha raise an eyebrow. 

Natasha gave him a look asking him to explain.  Percy turned his face away. 

"Brat," she muttered.   Natasha ended up pulling up her phone smiling while she dialed.   Honestly she looked mildly annoyed earlier so when she put on a look that screamed happiness it began to creep Percy out.

In the end Nick Fury came with a specialized team.  It was clear that there was a SHEILD breach, and they wanted to interrogate who exactly they were.

Nick looked furious and looked at Percy dead in the eyes.   "Explain."

"No," Percy said.  He was going to forget ever being in this location anyway.  They all were except for Natasha, but if she opened her mouth I am sure the gods will revoke the right to that memory.  

"Fine, I expect a full on interrogation later."

"I am so excited," Percy said, sarcastically.  

"Teenagers," Fury muttered.  

"It's Natasha's kid of course he would be..."

"Tony do you feel any pain in your stomach," Natasha asked, innocently.  

Tony growled out.  "I am not helping you two next time!"

"Dude you did not come for me."

A light came alive in Tony's eyes and he remember his main objective.   "Leo where are you baby?!"

He started running towards the trees.  

Percy turned to Natasha.   "Couldn't you have stopped him?"

"If I would have he would have annoyed me for weeks whining how he wasn't able to come."

"Don't blame me if he gets an arrow.   There are still kids in the trees."

Natasha raised an eyebrow at Percy and smiled at the corner.   "He did run off on his own."

A minute later they heard a yelp and the cry of Tony.   "Daddy is coming to save you!   Hang in there Leo baby!"

"You creep!   Leo has no parents!"  The campers were shouting. 

Percy and Natasha silently cheered on the campers hearing his shouts of protests.  

In the end Tony was battered up with a few bruises and cuts.   He dramatically sighed in the backseat of the car.  Natasha was driving.   "Those kids were animals." 

Percy would have felt slightly bad if he didn't make that remark.    He sighed dramatically looking up at the sky.   Poor Leo, maybe the gods could erase the stalkers memory.