madness and ecstasy // leo valdez

-Harry Houdini is actually an iguana-

 Annabeth looked up from her laptop and squinted at the alert she'd just gotten, telling her that  she wasn't allowed to drive on 'Bridge Road' because two aquarium transport trucks had driven off the bridge and exploded in mid-air. 

"Why do I know that's Percy?" She asked herself, and then sprinted out of the dining room and up to the deck, only after plugging her laptop into its charge carefully. 

The others followed her, putting down their assorted tasks, assuming they were under attack, which would usually be correct. The five of them stood at the banister and watched as four figures wobbled up the gang plank unsteadily and exhausted.

Coach came up first, grinning and swaying, a large bruise already forming on his forehead. A grumpy looking bulldog trotted up next, and Percy, who was covered in nicks and scratches. 

"Whatever sea creature you freed; you can't keep it. I know we should-" Annabeth started, and then frowned when Percy smirked. 

He turned to Teqi, who was trudging up the gangplank. "Sorry dude, we have to take you back to the aquarium." 

Teqi shouted something angrily at him, but it was muffled quite a lot by the band of metal over her mouth. She stuck the finger up at him, but the chain attached to the metal around her wrist yanked on the one around her neck. She held a huge whale shark teddy in her other hand, and spotted her friends. 

Jason sparked angrily, his eye twitching, and Piper ran to Teqi, tugging at the chains with clear shiny nails and glaring around at the monsters that weren't there. "What the fuck? Who did this!" 

Teqi waved her off casually, but when she moved her hand, the chains tugged on her neck again and they all heard the pop . 

"Followed!" Frank yelled now that he wasn't a panting bulldog. Percy slumped down, leaning against the railing with a low groan, and took the water bottle that Annabeth tossed him. 

"Followed by what?" Jason asked, his hand tight Teqi's shoulder.

"I don't know!" Frank panted, little drops of blood scattering his arms from where he had tugged glass shards out. He only squinted at them all, his other eye large and purple and incredibly bruised. "Whales? Sea monsters? Maybe Kate and Porky!"

"That makes absolutely no sense. Leo, you'd better get us out of here." Annabeth huffed, handing a water bottle to Teqi as well, but the chained up girl raised her eyebrow, and at that point Annabeth realised the metal mask couldn't come off. 

"Who put these on you?"

Leo ran to Teqi, smoke billowing from his arms and flames sparking around his fists, the ones on fire, of course. He grabbed onto the chains, hands burning through them instantly, but the metal cuffs didn't come off. 

Jason stepped back and waved at bit of the smoke out of his face, but Leo was still muttering Spanish curse words and glaring over his shoulder to the gangplank, which Festus brought up as soon as Leo yelled something up at the golden figurehead. 

Leo wiped the fire off quickly and held Teqi's hands, covering them with soot instantly, not that she seemed to mind. "What- are you okay querida? Why are you smiling?"

"We need to leave!" Frank yelled again, looking out over the docks they were tied to. Leo shot a glare at him, stammered for a moment, and then pushed Teqi lightly into Pipers arms, who grabbed her instantly like a little kid protecting their favourite doll. He let go of her hands reluctantly, and put his sandwich between his teeth, then ran for the helm.