Suspected Terrorists

《37》

Hey guys, sorry again about last week.
Hope you can forgive me. ♡

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Piper

"...to call Cally," I suddenly registered Leo say.

I glanced at him with a blank expression. "Hm?"

Leo rolled his eyes. "I said: I think I'm going to call Cally," he repeated. "It looks like we're going to be here a while and I need her to feed Festus."

"Is that all you need to tell her?" I teased  with a knowing smirk.

Leo blushed but otherwise ignored her comment. "Also that Nyssa might have to take a look at his toe."

I wiggled my eyebrows then mimed a person kissing.

Leo went even redder. "Shut up Piper," he scolded. "Anyway, let me know what happens." Before my reply, he'd already rushed off to the Gardens of Bacchus.

"I didn't even say anything," I defended to deaf ears.

I then turned my ears to the important conversation that was happening. "...Gwen," I heard Reyna say. "Check on Dakota. He's been watching Jason for a while and I don't want Jason getting out while we deal with this crap."

My face fell at the mention of Jason. The boy I loved who was currently inhabited by an evil primordial.

"Sure thing," Gwen answered before leaving.

Things became quiet as the strange looking jet switched off its engine. It lowered a backdoor so that the occupants could exit. I held my breath, waiting to see if they would be friend or foe.

A group of people I vaguely recognised exited the jet and marched toward us. They were dressed in strangely coloured outfits, plus, one of them had red skin. There was also a grey version of Iron-Man, an American patriot...it then clicked. These guys were the Avengers. I recognised one: Captain America. The others looked vaguely familiar but I couldn't place them. I named them: Grey Iron-Man, Jetpack, Red Guy and the girl: Red Leathers.

Ahead of me, Hazel gasped which I found weird, seeing as she probably wouldn't recognise the Avengers.

"I know you," she remarked. Then her eyes widened even more. "And you!" She pointed at the red-haired secret agent.

"Hazel, how do you know them?" I questioned.

"They were in my dream," she explained.

Frank frowned. "When? What dream?"

Hazel gulped and looked down at her feet. "It didn't really make sense to be honest. But when I was poisoned, Tartarus was taunting me. He told me to-"

"Tartarus?" Inturrupted Red Leathers in some European accent. "As in, Greek hell?"

"Yeah," answered Clint for us.

"He told me to join him or I'd suffer," Hazel continued. Frank looked at her worried, then placed a protective arm around her. I felt my shoulder, the place where my own protective boyfriend's arm should be, and sighed. It was beginning to really hit me how much I missed Jason.

"But the second part of my dream was about them," Hazel explained, pointing toward Captain America and the secret agent. "You were talking about...uh...a wall? Then something about creating a team from these guys." She gestured to the group behind them. "And then Tartarus said that even if we team up we won't beat him..." Hazel paused. Everyone was looking at her with wide eyes. She shied away from the attention by cuddling closer to Frank.

Red Leathers stepped forward toward Hazel. "I think he spoke to me too."

Hazel eased herself from Frank and eyed the European curiously. "He did?"

"How about I show you, if you show me?" She suggested.

"What? Mind reading?" I questioned.

Frank immediately pulled Hazel back and glared at the woman.

She shrugged, like Frank was the least intimidating thing she'd seen. "Only when Tartarus spoke to you. Then I'll show you mine," she reassured.

Frank and Hazel looked at each other, as though they were having a silent discussion. Suddenly Reyna put her arm on Frank's shoulder as if to say, This is Hazel's decision. And we need to work with the mortals.

Frank sighed, but let go of Hazel. She smiled reassuringly, shining her golden eyes at him, then nodded to Red Leathers. She placed her fingers, decorated in rings, to Hazel's temples and closed her eyes. Hazel closed her own. Red light seemed to eminate from the woman's fingers and dance between them, weaving like strands of glowing red silk.

Suddenly, both pairs of eyes, golden and deep chestnut, snapped open. The two jumped away from each other and panted heavily.

Frank rushed to Hazel's side, but she waved him off and regained her posture. "That's him."

Red Leathers nodded absent mindedly, her thoughts elsewhere. She looked at Hazel intently, a sense of awe and slight sadness seemed to show in her eyes, though it was difficult to discern.

"Sooo, does someone want to fill us in?" Asked Jetpack.

"Clint?" Captain America questioned.

"About that?" Clint gestured to the girls. "No clue. The rest? These guys are...well..." he glanced at Reyna. "Do you wanna...?"

Reyna sighed and opened her mouth to reply, but just then someone began to shout from on top of the hill. I glanced back to see Gwen, carrying what looked like a sack in her arms.

But as she got closer, the object became clearer. My heart began to beat a mile a minute. In Gwen's arms, still and lifeless, lay Dakota. The guard last posted to watch Tartarus...Jason.

Gwen's face was sticky with tears and her throat hoarse from shouting and sobbing. She lay Dakota's body in front of the pale-faced Praetors. "H-he was stabbed," she sobbed. "With im-imp...imperial gold. A-and Jason is...is gone."

I think that Reyna, Frank and Hazel tried to comfort Gwen whilst the mortals debated whether to freak out or help, but I wasn't really sure. After hearing Gwen, I tuned out everything else. My heart was crushed into a tiny rock. My eyes flooded. I stumbled away. I suddenly couldn't breathe. Choking and sobbing, I ran. My tears blinded me as I tripped and stumbled, but I never stopped moving.

Eventually I ended up in a garden. In the centre was a large fountain that spewed streams of clear water, creating rainbows in the sunlight. Dotted around were little statues and bushes of various flowers and fruits. After a momentary blank, I realised where I was.

I called out, "Leo?" There was no reply. I frowned. He should've been there. But the garden appeared to be empty. I noticed something shiny on the ground, beside the fountain. I walked over and picked up a metal shard, like it had broken off of something.

From my position, crouched on the ground, I could see a different angle of the fountain, along with something I hadn't noticed before: a scorch mark. My eyes widened, and I stroked the blacked spot. The stone was warm to my touch, recent.

My tears threatened to spill over once again, but I held them back, instead a released a single choked whimper, "Leo?"

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Nooooo! Leeeeooooooooooo!

Anyway, hope you guys liked this chapter!

~Gingerbreadhalfblood