Annabeth Chase and the Avengers

Chapter 17

Annabeth

"PERCY!" Annabeth screamed in anguish as the compound crashed around her. Torpedos flew, exploding the concrete, but Annabeth couldn't care less. Percy had fallen, down, down, down, into the pit without her.

She scrambled down into the pit as quickly as she could, until she reached the bottom.

Water poured down into the tunnels, sewers, Annabeth suspected, and she heard a voice, "I can't breathe, I can't breathe!"

Annabeth rushed toward the voice, and saw Rocket trapped under a three ton chunk of concrete.

Hulk was straining holding up a large chunk of concrete, and Rhodey lay next to a large stream of flowing water in his suit. Sparks flew from the suit, and Rhodey emerged from the damaged suit. He let out a groan and dragged himself towards Hulk, Rocket, and Annabeth.

"Rocket, Rhodey, Annabeth! Get out of here!" Hulk shouted.

"Help!" Rocket shouted. "I can't breathe!" 

Rhodey and Annabeth grabbed a pipe, and Annabeth's calculating gaze found a single point. "There!" She pointed. "Lift there, and we'll be able to lift it easily!"

Rhodey stuck his pipe under the point Annabeth had pointed to, and Annabeth helped lift the slab of concrete long enough for Rocket to wriggle out. 

"Have you seen Percy?!" Annabeth shouted above the pouring torrents of water.

"Rhodey! Annabeth!" Hulk shouted in warning, just as a tsunami of water overcame them, and Annabeth's vision turned black.

-*-

Third person view

Above ground, Thanos had arrived. 

A beam of light shone down onto a spot in the middle of the wreckage that had once been known as the Avengers compound.

Thanos appeared, in full battle armor, with a dual-bladed sword in his hand. Nebula stalked up to the Mad Titan. "Daughter." He acknowledged.

"Yes, Father." Nebula replied.

"So this is the future." Thanos mused, staring at the fire and destruction around them. "Well done."

"Thank you Father." Nebula tore off the bronze plate she had gotten from her future self. "They suspected nothing." 

"Go. Find the Stones, bring them to me." Thanos said, embedding his sword within the Earth, before sitting down. 

"What will you do?" Nebula questioned.

"Wait." Was Thanos' only reply as Nebula stalked off, like a lioncat on the hunt. 

-*-

Third person view

Nat was alone. Buried several hundred feet under the ground. She had a flashlight on her, and she trekked through the sewers, pushing through the wreckage. Stumbling upon a large rock, she frowned. Pushing aside smaller rocks, she found the Gauntlet.

She moved to pick it up, when she heard stones clatter behind her.

She drew her pistol, and aimed it at the source of the noise.

It was Percy.

Nat sighed in relief. 

"Thank the gods!" Percy exclaimed. "You're the first person I've seen, and I've been wandering for at least fifteen minutes!"