Somewhere in or near New York, an apartment
Dragon opened the door to the sixth floor apartment. Percy was bleeding from a stab injury on his stomach, supported between an exhausted Bruce and a blood splattered Annabeth. Steve and Thor were awkwardly trailing them.
"You'd better come in," said Dragon. She led them into a small, cluttered kitchen. A five year old girl poked her head around a chair.
"Jenna, you'd better tell our friend we have visitors. He should stay out, I'll handle this." The little girl nodded and scampered off. Percy sat in the chair, and Dragon handed him several squares of ambrosia. "Here. Eat, you'll feel better." She got him to lie down in the kitchen table, taking off the makeshift bandages and pushing his shirt up to clean the injury. "It should have stitches, but you'll be okay with the bandages and ambrosia as long as you're careful."
Bruce stared at her. "You have a kid? And you know first aid?"
Dragon laughed. "Gods, no. I'm ace. Jenna's an orphaned demigod, and her powers have already started to manifest. I picked her up off the streets, like the others. State orphanages don't work for demigods real well, and she was too young for camp or the Noctes. She's leaving in about a week for camp anyway. The first aid, I learnt mostly in Korea and Vietnam, but I've been keeping up to date. Around the Noctes, you have to."
"What about Jason?" challenged Percy, referring to her statements about Jenna. "He was only two, and he did okay."
"He was a powerful kid. I can't protect them all - his powers had already begun to manifest."
Cutting off the conversation abruptly, a tall, dark haired man came sprinting into the room holding a Celestial Bronze dagger and yelling a challenge. He stopped abruptly when he saw the occupants, dropping the weapon and raising his arms.
"Loki," hissed Bruce. Steve pulled his shield off his back and levelled it at their enemy. Thor pulled his hammer.
"Stop!" yelled Dragon, placing her short frame protectively in front of the newcomer. She seemed almost ridiculously small compared to the angry heroes and the god she was shielding. "He means no harm. Everyone deserves a second chance, you know my feelings on this."
Steve glared at her. "This is not the time for Radical Pacifism, Dragon. This man is a deadly enemy and a threat to the world, and he needs to be taken down."
Dragon, not moving, asked "How much is my life worth to you, brother?" Steve glanced away. "Step aside, Dragon - this god cannot be allowed to be free."
"No. I owe him my life."
FLASHBACK - ONE MONTH EARLIER
Rain cascaded down on the bridge. Dragon stood a single pace from the edge. Soon it would be over.
A tall, dark haired man with black eyes appeared behind her between flashes of lightning. His voice held the promise of everything you had ever wanted.
"Why?" He asked. The girl spun to face him.
"What do you mean?"
The man frowned. "Life is too precious to be discarded. What have you done that you can't live past?"
She looked at him. "I have killed, and killed, and killed. No matter how many lives I save, I can't redeem myself. I am no longer worth saving. I am a monster."
"I have also killed many. I didn't want to, but I don't suppose that matters. I was angry at my brother, resentful, and I have paid the price - controlled by one I trusted, forced to kill."
He looked at her, with his dark eyes that seemed to see her soul. She had only met one other person with eyes like that - an eight year old boy, and he was dead. "Nico. Nico di Angelo."
"What?" said the man, and she realised she had spoken aloud.
"A boy I used to know - a very long time ago. He disappeared, presumed dead. Your eyes..."
"I get that a lot. My eyes are the colour of the eyes you most want to see."
Dragon nodded. It was probably true she wanted to see Nico more than Steve. Nico would perhaps understand. Steve would only try to stop her. She smiled. "I wish I could see him again, just once. To apologise for everything I've done."
The man looked at her. "What is your name?"
"Dragon. I am Dragon."
"Can I be redeemed, Dragon?"
The girl nodded. "Yes. Or at least, you have forever in which to try."
She had recognised him as a god in the moment which she met him, and there was only one god he could be - Loki, lord of mischief and illusion.
She turned away from him, taking two slow, deliberate paces off the rooftop - only for the man to catch her and pull her back.
"I need your help, Dragon. And I think perhaps you need mine."
RETURN TO PRESENT TIME
Dragon gasped, her eyes flickering to glowing turquoise blue. The flashback had weakened her control.
"Loki - the handcuffs-"
The wanted criminal flashed out, returning seconds later with handcuffs, which he snapped around her wrists. Thor went to attack him, but Steve put out a hand to stop him. "No - she's dangerous." Her eyes flickered again, before turning to a glowing red, and she stood, perfectly calmly.
She looked at the god. "Thor - help me - your brother has attacked me - forced me to lie for him. Please." She held out her cuffed wrists, eyes liquid and beautiful despite their strangeness. Thor reached out to break the chains, but Steve stopped him.
"No. This isn't Dragon; this is the Midnight Assassin - the murderer that hides inside the girl I know, a result of the torture from HYDRA. Thor, you need to take her back to Avengers tower - now. Do not release her; do not allow her to escape. We will join you as soon as possible."
Thor flashed out with the girl, and Loki offered his arm to Percy. "I will take your friend back - he can't walk that far." Bruce nodded, but the glare he offered the deity suggested he had a long way to go to earn their trust, despite Dragon's account.
At the tower
Thor and the girl appeared in a flash of light. The girl stumbled to the ground, calling out "Natasha, help me - Loki is posing as Thor and he's attacked me!" Natasha sprinted into the room, her new Celestial bronze dagger destroying the cuffs easily, only for the girl to attack her.
She easily took down the older assassin, throwing her through several walls, and was about to kill her when she crumpled, collapsing against the rubble of a destroyed wall, her eyes flickering again between turquoise and red.
Thor yelled, "She's lost control - we need to restrain her until she's safe again."
The girl curled up in the foetal position, shaking with supressed power. "Thor, do it now! I can't hold on much lo-" her words were cut off by a scream.
Thor grabbed her arm, flashed into a locked cell and then flashed out, without Dragon, to check on Natasha.
Half an hour later, Steve and Bruce had returned to the tower. Annabeth wordlessly led Steve to where his sister was, and he sighed in relief.
He opened the door, walked into the cell and rested his hand on her arm, handing her a small silver object. They were silent and stationary in that position for several minutes. He stood easily, offering a hand to help her stand, which she ignored.
She brushed past Annabeth, heading up to the top of the tower, walking into the infirmary. She moved to Natasha's bedside.
"Are you okay?"
The older assassin smiled shakily. "Three fractured ribs and a bruised ego. I'll live."
Dragon made eye contact. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry."
She left the building, the Avengers recoiling slightly as she walked past. She was used to it. They didn't even know her whole story and already they hated her.
YOU ARE READING
Heroes and Dragons - An Avengers/PJO crossover
FanfictionPercy Jackson x Avengers fanfic Steve Rogers hasn't had an easy run of it. But just when he thinks he might be able to settle down into his new life with the Avengers, a ghost from the past wanders into his life. Well, she's dragged in against her w...
