Alexa problems (PJO/Avengers crossover)

Chapter 26: A Long Story

This chapter is not the most interesting, but it is very important, so push through! The next chapters are going to be great! 

The minute after I texted Tony I regretted it. So I did the one thing I always did when I was in trouble, call on someone much smarter than me. Unfortunately, Annabeth was busy at school and I had been so busy I had forgotten to tell about all this and that would take a lot of explaining to do. Something I did not have time for. I glanced at the Big House regretfully, I guess I did have a little explaining to do.

When I knocked on the doorframe to the living room Chiron was standing with his back turned, focused on something in front of him. His normally pristine hair was a tousled mess, like he had run his hands through it too many times. I felt bad for interrupting him, but I had a feeling he would be more stressed if I didn't tell him.

At the sound of my arrival he didn't look up, instead waved me inside,

"What is it, Percy?"

"I have to tell you something," I said sheepishly, and Chiron turned to look at me. "Something about Tony Stark."

Chiron looked me in my eyes before sighing.

"Why don't you sit down, I have a feeling this is going to be a long story."

"...And so I told him he was in danger and to come here." I finished, "He is going to be here in," I checked my watch, " 30 minutes"

I looked up a Chiron. He was staring at me in disbelief. I gave him another sheepish smile and he ran his hands slowly down his face, stopping over his eyes. He looked so old in that moment, like his centuries had caught up to him. He seemed weary, and bone-tired. Guilt fell like a stone in the pit of my stomach, Chiron had so much on his plate already, and I messed up the one job he gave me. I started to apologize, but he began speaking before I could.

"I'm so sorry, Percy," Chiron said, "I hope you can forgive me."

I just stared at him blankly. "What?"

"I should have told you the full story a long time ago. It's high time you heard the long story behind the super soldier serum.

"It all started with a Demi-god named Abraham Erskine. He came to camp a couple of years before the beginning of World War 2. He was a brilliant child of Athena and one of the kindest people I have ever met. He loved it at camp, but a couple years after he came he stopped receiving letters from his friends and family, at the time the Nazi regime was rising, and we feared the worst. There was nothing he could do. If he went back to Germany, he would be prosecuted for being Jewish as well, and we had no clue where his family might be.

"Instead, he became obsessed with creating a way to make mortals more like demigods, more endurant, stronger, faster reflexes. He believed if he could make soldiers like demigods the Allies would win. He stayed at camp for many years, not wanting to risk being killed by monsters before he finished his work.

"Abe only left camp once he was done with the serum to select the first person to take it, someone who would never give it over to the Nazis. He was able to give the serum to who you now know as Captain America. But the scent of demigods only grows as they get older and monsters soon killed him afterwards, destroying the remaining samples of the serum in the process."

"So why do you think Tony might start killing demigods?" I interrupted, confused.

"Because no matter how hard Abe tried, he couldn't make the serum perfect. The closest he got included ambrosia in the serum, which burns up any mortal. So he went in search of far descendants of demigods to administer the serum to. Unfortunately, there are not many out there, due to the many dangers you know well, and by the time he found Mr. Rodger he was able to overlook his setbacks."

Chiron smile at remembering Abe fell, face darkening as he continued,

"When Howard Stark tried replicating the serum after Abe died he analyzed Mr. Rodger's blood. In it he found an unknown substance, Steve Rogers' godly DNA. Howard consulted one of Abe's journals, the only one Abe brought with him, and found rambling about finding someone with demigod blood for the last part of the serum.

"Howard Stark threw himself into the project, researching as much as he could about demigods and where he could find them to harvest their blood. He would hire clear-sighted mortals and monsters to go take their blood, by any means necessary.

"I do believe he thought he was doing the right thing. He thought if he could build an army of super soldiers, then millions of American soldiers wouldn't die, but by using blood instead of ambrosia he made something else. It made the user prone to depression and anger as well as making their mind weaker.

When I found out what was happening I called on a friend in the government to handle the matter. Demigods aren't supposed to interfere with mortal matters but I knew I had to do something."

"Woah, woah, woah," I interrupted Chiron once more, putting up my hands to stop him. "The government knows about us?"

"Of course," Chiron answered, " Only the ones at the very top know, after all there is enough clear sighted mortals for people to get suspicious. For the most part we don't interact. They alert us if there is a monster that had started to terrorize mortals and we send somebody to kill it. I can tell them to release a demigod from a prison that they have been wrongfully sentenced to because of the Mist, but when Howard started making the serum we knew this was a job for both of us.

"I told Peggy Carter, the head of the organization theater oversees godly affairs, the situation and she sent agents to apprehend Howard. Unfortunately, Ms. Carter was good friends with Howard and let him go after destroying the serum, taking his notebooks into Shield custody, and making him vow to never do it again."

"So," I said, trying to fit the pieces in place. I had not gotten enough sleep to be processing information like this, "the government thinks that Tony is going to start murdering demigods because he murdered some guy who was most definitely not a demigod?"

"No, we suspected Mr. Stark long before that incident. A couple of weeks ago we got word from Shield spies working with Mr.Stark saying that he was texting a demigod. He even went so far as to spy on the demigod through their Alexa. It is unknown who the demigod is but they discussed being attacked by a Hydra, showing that it was a demigod."

My brain snapped back to what Chiron was saying, my gaze coming off of the fly crawling on the wall behind Chiron. A demigod that was texting Tony Stark a couple of weeks ago. My mind went back to three weeks ago when my Alexa had sounded weird. I groaned, flopping back on the couch, staring desolately at the ceiling.

Of course, it was just my luck that I started all of this. I opened my mouth to explain to Chiron, but he must of taken my exasperation as a sign to continue.

"Then Mr.Stark started researching his father's journals and prying into the super solider serum. He is very close to finding out about demigod blood. He has already asked about it." Chiron hesitated then. He looked gravely into my eyes. I felt like screaming. There was no way this could be worse, hadn't the gods put me through enough. At this point I was ready to join Annabeth's cousin as an einherji, minus the death thing, and join another mythology. I was sick of the Greek one.

"Mr. Stark also hired someone to spy on you. After he did that I called you to watch him. We don't know who the person is, but we have reason to believe they go to school with you. Is there anyone who has been acting suspicious or different?"

I froze, someone had started acting very differently very suddenly. Some one who claimed to be a demigod despite knowing nothing about being one, seeing any monsters, and being above the normal age for new demigods. Someone who said he worked for Tony Stark. Someone I had just given access to Camp Half-blood.

"Well, schist..." I swore, drawing out the words.

It, in fact, could get worse. Because that same person had just heard theater Tony was in danger and was rushing off to do who knows what.

"Chiron, I have a long story to tell-"

I was interrupted by the sound of repulsors. Tony Stark had arrived. 

Also what are your guys' opinions on the new Percy Jackson show? I love it!