Percy Jackson and the Avengers

Part 29

Clint P.O.V

I ran off after him. I felt a prickle of sympathy for the poor kid, but my steel heart made no throb for empathy. I wandered towards his room but was abruptly halted by a sound coming from the meeting room. I stepped into the room to find that the TV there was on and an ugly, scarred and scared face staring back at the screen.

"I don't understand what this is, but it will warn you Perseus, I'm coming and nothing can stop me this time, not Gaia, not YOU! I'm coming for you, I'll kill you just as I did your precious soul mate." The ugly face disappeared off the screen and never came back.

I stood staring, pondering whether or not I had imagined that or not. Obviously, it was directed at Percy, I started to question the boy's capability. I mean to piss off someone THAT scary is something big. I watched the black screen, just waiting for no apparent reason. When I finally turned around I saw a man in a black suit his hand was facing, I think, shaking so much that only glimpse of it was applied. His face was covered so I couldn't identify him even if I wanted to. He held his hand close to my heart and bent down so close his breath fluttered upon my neck. I stood frozen.

A crash was heard and the man stopped short and then disappeared. My breathing was rapidly increasing as I slid to the ground clutching my heart in a fist. I stayed only a second before recovering and placing again a steel mask over my darkened expression of fear. I raced toward the sound which turned out to be Percy bedroom, the door was knocked in and Tony sat over an unconscious Percy.

"What the heck happened?" My voice came free as only a whisper when in my head I was screaming for vengeance. Something happened, and I think that fazzing man had something to do with it. I pondered about telling Tony about the whole ordeal but decided it was best to keep it inside for a while. Instead, I stepped closer to Tony. I placed my hand on his shoulder startling him slightly.

"Tony, what happened?" I asked softly.

"What happened?" Tony muttered. "Percy almost died, because I was too slow. I couldn't help him. He saw his friends but apparently not the one he was hoping to." I helped Tony up then carried the incredibly light teen over to his temporary bed and placed him on the soft mattress. I stood back a moment, watching his chest rise and fall. Full of life whether that be good or bad.

"At least you saved the poor boy that's more than I can say myself." I countered strongly." At least he's still alive, he did go adrift but he returned instead of giving in. That's a strong point in of itself." Tony just walked out. He wanted nothing more than to stay and care for the traumatized Percy but knew not where to begin. I stared at his face, chiseled, sunken, and bone. He looked starved but also fit.

I leaned down, my lips brushed his ear slightly. I breathed out my words, letting them ricochet off his perfect skin and warm my face. "Who are you? What can you be?" I pressed a mocking kiss to his cheek then pulled the covers of his bed up to his chin then turned and left.

As I stepped over the threshold of his door I thought of all the things I went through, the bombings, the wounds, and battles. I couldn't picture a child of mine, nor anyone else's near any of that. If that is what had happened to the boy, I don't know what he could be dreaming about. My hand drifted absently to my shoulder, I had been shot, stabbed and burnt there. My right shoulder is my greatest prize and curse.

As good as it is to bring a reminder of all the death you have prevented and all the battles one has survived it is also a consent pain and reminder that you have killed to get those scars and seen all around you be shot down.

I stumbled, I reached out, grasping a nearby doorway for support. My vision started to black out. "No, no not now!" I growled to myself. I collapsed in a heap of pain and suffering, my limbs curled into a ball, wrapped around my legs and torso as shots rang through my mind. I saw the men around me, people I knew, people who came for poker every Friday night. They dropped dead beside me, in front of me, all around me. 

The dead, blank look fell over their faces, I saw my own reflection in their milky eyes. The brown, blue, and green lost forever. The worse of it, I turned and raised my bow. Spotting sport I let the arrow free, whistling through the air like a well-crafted wave of music. I held my breath and listened, unshaken, as the thump of a body fell to the floor. I didn't care. It happened so easily now. 

I sat, expressionless as I pulled back the string again, to my ear. Breathed in and as I exhaled I released the arrow. The mechanical feather grazed me slightly as it sped toward the appointed target. A strange fear flourished in my chest as a smile formed on my face. My lips moving in an unfamiliar pattern. 

Another platoon of enemy erupted from the surrounding trees, not seeing me as I hid in the trees like a hawk. I pulled the string back and let it whistle through the air, smiling as I heard the satisfying thump of the body. Over and over till no man but myself stood to live.

Suddenly I brought back to the land of the living by a frantic voice screaming, a hand shaking me violently. My eyes fluttered open and there I lay. Sprawled out on the ground, Wendy sat above me screaming my name.

I sat up suddenly letting her release a soft shriek from her abdomen from surprise. "Clint! You frightened me, I was afraid you were gone." Her thick German accent blanketing her words. "What happened?" I didn't want to burden her with my messes, esspeshaly after recently, losing her brother, twin brother no less. So instead of confessing, I shook my head.

"It was nothing, just walked into the wall," I answered sheepishly. I wasn't exactly lying but I wasn't telling the entire truth. Wanda helped me up and started down the hall.

"As long as you are alright, as am I." Her soft crimson smile reassured me, she had boughten my statement. Little did I know, someone knew the truth, they stood there watching, observing, understanding. They wanted nothing more than to see me safe, but they needed out.

Percy hadn't awoken still, it was after dinner on the second day and the time ticked still. Tony sat tinkering as Natasha and Bruce washed the dishes and Steve stood by the window. He stared down below at the ants of people, and the honking of cars and the shouts of the pedestrians below. After a while, he looked up. He walked over to the table where Tony and I sat alone. Wanda went to finish the dishes.

"WE need to talk." Steve demand "I sleep nearest to the boy, I was changing when I heard his voice. He was crying."

"Ya, he also screams in the night and cries out names and pain." Tony declared, sorrow dripping from his words. I kept quiet. I was deep in thought as I stared out into the abyss of my memories. 

My mind swirled around, swimming in endless pools of thoughts. My mind was all muddled and confused. I held my breath as images started to flash in front of my eyes. I pushed my emotions into the back of my mind and focused instead on what was to be done about the boy.

"When was his last medical exam? That could give us the answers we need to treat him," I suggested. Bruce nodded and opened his mouth to speak when an earth shattering scream shattered our focus and out of sheer concern we raced to the origin of the sound. Inconsequently it was Percy's room. Steve opened the door wildly and raced into the room Percy knelt in the middle of the room blood soaked his shirt and tears splattered onto the floor rapidly. My breath hitched when he lifted his head. His eyes were not his own. The Percy who had entered the tower had a playful gleam in his eyes...that was gone now, all that remained were the shattered fragment of who the boy used to be.

A sob erupted behind me. Wanda, who was usually emotionless buried her head in Visions chest who had shown up only hours earlier to converse on the problematic boy who had been dragged into the tower. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Wanda grasp her chest and stagger back. Bruce had frozen at the door not daring to step closer. The only one who was still standing and in action was Steve, Tony, and myself. Percy fell to the ground in a bloodied heap. Tony caught his head and then proceeded to place a hand on his chest concealing a flinch of empathy as Percy cried out in his sleeping state. Steve noticed that Bruce was frozen and knew he would not come out of it easily.

"Bring him to the medical bay I'll get there and prepare a place for him." Steve declared and raced off. I turned to Tony.