He woke up in a dark room, his arms chained somewhere above him. His head felt groggy, and he tried to shake it to clear it up, only to regret that action as the room spun around him and his stomach threatened to rebel. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself to get his stomach under control. When he opened his eyes again, he was relieved to find that his nausea had subsided. He glanced around the room-cell- that he was in, there was barely any light, and from what he could make out, there was nobody else in the cell with him. He shook the chains binding him experimentally, grimacing when he found them strong and secure. He hissed, extending his senses to search for any presence of water around him. Whoever his captor was, he or she was good. There was barely any water save the dampness on the walls that would not be of any use in the event of an escape. He tried to catalogue his injuries, his head was a little fuzzy, probably a concussion, he thought, his arms were sore from being strung up, his side burned a little, and he did not know if it was because the wound was shallow or because his concussion diminished the pain. He was startled out of his cataloguing when the door creaked open. Dirty amber splashed against the wall in front of him, and he realized that the door was behind him. The room's newest addition walked in, footsteps echoing in the hollow cell. The tension in the room rose several notches and he couldn't take the suspense any longer, "Who are you?" he spat, "and what do you want from me?"

When no reply came, he was beginning to think that his captor had decided to toy with his mind, making him believe that there was someone else with him...

He froze when he felt a finger caress the back of his neck, the touch gentle and intimate, a parody of the action of a lover. His breath hitched, nonono, this is not happening, he thought desperately. The finger trailed downwards, stroking his back as another hand came to close around his throat, the cold spreading throughout his body, causing him to shiver. The presence of a warm breath against his ear caused him to flinch, but he was held in place by the hands that held him against the other, their bodies pressed together. "What I want Perseus Jackson," A voice whispered in his ear, causing his eyes to open in shock and horror, "is revenge." The hands gripped him tightly and yanked his head to the side. Malicious golden eyes gleamed in the dark, and he felt his heart stop in fear. "No..." he whispered, "This isn't happening..." The man chuckled, the sinister sound reverberating in his ear, "Oh I promise you son of Poseidon," the man hissed, baring his teeth in a mock smile, "This is very real. Your precious gods have left you for dead. They abandoned you to die! To rot in this hell hole." The man took delight in the harsh breathing of the prisoner, placing a hand on his chest in a mocking gesture of comfort. He grinned even more as the boy flinched at the contact. He pressed his hands against the boy's chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart and pressed his mouth to his ear, "Welcome to hell, hero."

Percy screamed.

He jerked out of bed, heart thumping furiously as the aftermath of his dream echoed in his mind. He could still hear the taunting laugh of the Titan Lord as he toyed with him. Percy gritted his teeth, banishing the memory from his mind, he did not need Tartarus to haunt him now, not when he had work to do. He glanced up at the ceiling, "JARVIS? What time is it?"

It is currently half past seven in the morning agent Jackson, the AI replied, there is breakfast in the kitchen if you are amenable to the idea.

Percy nodded and voiced his thanks, padding over to the bathroom to wash up. He stared at his own reflection n the mirror, grimacing at how unkempt his hair was. He spotted dark circles under his eyes and scowled at his haggard look. He hadn't been sleeping well the past few nights, and he couldn't pin point the reason why. He hadn't taken any missions that would have triggered a memory in him, nor had anything happened in the tower to illicit such a memory. He undressed, stepping into the shower, letting the warm water calm his nerves. He had been living in the tower for several weeks now, and true to his word, Thor had not called him by his title at all, choosing to use his full name instead.

He had stayed up late many nights to allow Stark and Banner to study his newfound bracelet-wristband damn it!-and they made more progress than the SHIELD scientists. Perhaps it was due to Stark's eccentric way of thinking, but they had felt firsthand the effects of threatening Percy. Well, not verbally, but if anyone came to him with the intention to threaten, they were slammed backwards by a wave of power. In the few weeks that he had been staying with the avengers, he had learnt how to harness that power. He realized that it was semi-sentient and that it responded to his thoughts at times.

Obviously, Fury was well, furious, at this development, claiming that it was 'an unknown artifact' who's 'properties have not yet been determined' and that it was 'dangerous to use'. Percy had just rolled his eyes, the thing was already stuck on his hand and it was already dangerous from the moment he touched it. It hadn't harmed him yet, no sign of any radiation poisoning whatsoever, so he was going to assume that it wouldn't harm in the future either. Besides, it wasn't like he was going to turn down a potential weapon. He needed the extra boost, if only to compensate for his weakened state now...

He shook his head, willing himself dry after he was done with his shower. When he wasn't in the lab or in the gym, he was training Stark in hand to hand combat. Despite his lack of prowess in hand to hand, Stark had been fighting in the suit long enough that he had gained some form of instinctual movements that allowed him to dodge. His past dabbles in boxing had also lent its usefulness in his training, although it wasn't much. All in all, Percy could conclude that Stark wasn't as unfit or untrained as he thought he was, just that if he went up against any professionals like Barton or Romanov, he wouldn't stand a chance. Then again, he mused, not many would stand a chance against SHIELD's finest.

He finished brushing his teeth and changed into a fresh set of shirt and track pants, concealing his dagger in his clothes. Percy took the lift up to the 93rd floor, walking to the kitchen to start his breakfast. He was greeted instead by Steve who was making pancakes. Steve looked up at him and smiled warmly, "Morning, would you like some?" he said, gesturing to the pancakes he was making. Percy nodded to him, "Yes please." Steve served his own pancakes, and then set about making a new batch of pancakes, adding the blue food coloring to the mix.

The avengers had had strange reactions to Percy's weird fetish for blue food, Tony going so far as to tease him about having an obsession with the color blue, while Thor just cocked his head to the side and asked if all Midgardians had such weird quirks. Natasha and Bruce had kept quiet respectfully while Clint had laughed with Tony. When Steve asked him, he replied that it had been an inside joke between him and his mum. That shut Tony and Clint off quickly, both of who were quick to apologize. He had waved them off, claiming that it was a weird fetish anyway.

Nevertheless, he was touched by their efforts to include him into their ragtag group, calling for blue food if it was possible, and adding blue coloring to the food if it was cooked. He didn't know what surprised him more, that they seemed so domestic-not that he was going to say that in front of them, or god forbid, Natasha, he liked to still be able to reproduce thank you very much-or that they could cook. Well, some of them could cook. Clint and Tony just burned the kitchen down. They had a roster, and those who could cook would take turns making breakfast, lunch or dinner. It was usually Natasha, Steve or Bruce, sometimes Percy, if it came to breakfast, since his knowledge of cooking extended as far as pancakes and omelettes.

He thanked Steve when he served his pancakes, and the both of them sat down, eating quietly. "So," Steve began, "what are you going to do today?" Percy chewed thoughtfully, "I think Stark and Banner mentioned that they wanted to continue studying the gem, they've already ran practically every scan they know of, so I think they're going to try having me use it. So my whole day would probably be spent in the lab."

Steve frowned, "Is that safe though? Considering the last time..."

Percy fell silent, his eyes clouded over, "We'll just have to hope that nothing happens."

Steve sighed, "Do me a favor will you? Drag them both out of the lab when it's dinner time. Tony is bad enough, but Bruce can be as bad too."

Percy smirked and saluted, watching the Captain roll his eyes, "Yes sir!"

He finished up his breakfast and placed them in the sink, heading down to the lab to find Stark. The door to the lab slid open as JARVIS allowed him entrance. He found Stark and Banner hunched over the table, the former gesturing wildly to the screens while the latter fiddled with...something on the table, Percy squinted, trying to see what it was but their bodies were blocking. He called out to them, but the loud music drowned his voice. He rolled his eyes at their obliviousness, the Minotaur could have come barreling down at them and they wouldn't have noticed anyway.

He walked over and tapped them both on the shoulder, smirking when Tony jumped a foot in the air. "Holy crap! Kid!" he exclaimed, holding a hand to his chest dramatically, "Don't ever do that again. Seriously, I felt my heart stop for a moment!"

Bruce smiled, cleaning his glasses, he hadn't had that severe a reaction and he was well practiced in dealing with surprises. "You're here to continue the study?"

Tony raised an eyebrow, "Thought that was tomorrow?"

Percy stared at him, "It is tomorrow Stark." He said slowly. Tony and Bruce blinked slowly, "Oh." Bruce said.

Percy looked at them, "Do you want to continue this another time...?" Tony jumped up immediately, "No! We're good, just a little shocked, but that's what true love for science is isn't it? So passionate about our love that we-"

Percy face-palmed, "Stark! Shut up!"

Tony just grinned at his annoyance, "Come on, let's try out some new stuff."

"Like what?" Percy said, cocking his head to one side.

Bruce took over, "We want you to try using the gem while we set up scanners, we can observe the energy patterns that the gem emits."

"Do you want me to use it as in, like a defense or like an offense?"

Tony frowned thoughtfully, "Both, it may be different each time, so we can track the energy signature and observe the patterns." Percy nodded at their suggestion, glad that he was wearing suitable clothing. They moved to the training room, where Tony had created robots controlled by JARVIS to stimulate a fight and to test reflexes. There were several levels, from easy all the way to impossible. Only the assassins had ever tried the last level, and even then, they came out bruised in more places than he'd ever seen before. Thor and the Hulk would probably be the only one who could come out unscathed, Thor because of his superior Asgardian physiological makeup and the Hulk because well, he was naturally indestructible anyway.

He heard Stark's, "We're good to go kid!" and JARVIS' "Difficulty level set to difficult agent Jackson." But he kept his eyes closed. He breathed in and out rhythmically, hearing the whirring of the machinery but not reacting to it. Time slowed, he concentrated on the well of power at his hand, feeling more than seeing the power unravel itself, until all he could hear was his calm breathing. Tony and Bruce were hidden behind a screen, and they watched in awe as Percy stood stock still, the red bracelet coiled around his right wrist like a snake began to glow, casting blood red illusions on the boy. It unraveled, and liquefied, coiling and twisting impossibly. It curled around his half open palm and extended further and further, until it became a three foot long sword. They both shivered at the sinister quality of the sword while Percy continued standing there silently. He had shifted his grip on the sword, but his eyes remained close. Seeing the robots get into position surrounding the SHIELD agent, Tony said, "JARVIS, fire it up."

Percy continued breathing lightly, sensing the robots surrounding him, when he heard Stark give the command to start, his eyes snapped open, revealing bright green eyes ringed with blood red.

He ducked under the first swing, whirling around and slashing at the bot's midsection, cleaving it into half, following through with the momentum and slicing another robot's arm. He punched the robot with his left hand, taking of its head with his right. He stabbed forward, punching through a robot with ease, dragging up the sword through the robot, cleaving it in half. He turned just in time to block a swing, the metal arm slamming against his sword with a loud clang. He gritted his teeth, knowing that his own strength was outmatched by a robot's. With a little concentration, the sword shifted to a dagger. With the sudden absence of an opposing force, the robot tilted forward, allowing Percy to slam his dagger into its body repeatedly, causing it to become a tangled mess of wires and metal. He changed his grip to a reverse grip and slashed at another bot. He stepped on a crouching robot and jumped over a whole group of them. He landed and rolled, turning to slash the legs of another bot, blocking another's downward swing with his dagger and kicking it back into another robot.

He did a roundhouse kick, knocking one of the machines down and stabbed it in its throat, severing its head from its body. He dashed forward under the robot's guard and slashed upwards, slicing its head into half. He felt a robot behind him and turned, but it smacked him in the side before he could attack it. He was flung into another robot, and he wound his hand around its neck and twisted, the head bent to one side. He threw the body away and jumped backwards, landing lightly on his feet. There were but a handful of bots left and he grinned at them, feeling the adrenaline course through his veins. He crouched, his muscles tensing and leapt forward, slashing and stabbing at the robots, alternating between Greek and Roman style. He was a whirlwind in the training room, and it wasn't long before he stood alone amongst a pile of scrap metal and wires. He breathed heavily, looking around at the destruction with satisfaction. He looked up at where Stark and Banner were staring back at him in shock. He smirked at their faces, wishing he had a camera with him, "That enough for you?"

Tony stared at the kid in wonder, "Uh, that should be enough yeah." He managed to spit out, mind still boggled by the fierce display of power and speed. Percy nodded, moving to the exit when the alarm blared throughout the tower. He whirled around, eyes wide and breathed, "Chitauri." At the same time, JARVIS' voice resounded, "Sir, a portal has opened above the tower. Numerous Chitauri, though no fliers yet. They're entering the tower sir."

Tony cursed, "Not again! JARVIS, deploy the Mark VII!"

Percy ran out of the training room, rushing to the highest floor. He heard Stark scramble to get into his suit. He burst out into the living room, ducking instinctively as Mjolnir flew above his head. He turned to glare at Thor, who just shrugged apologetically and called his hammer back to his hand. The assassins were already there and fighting back the chitauri. He snarled, twisting his wrist and slammed the dagger into a chitauri creeping up behind him, the short blade elongating to a sword once more. He jumped into the fray, hacking and slashing at any and all chitauri, their bodies dropping like flies. Tony and Thor took care of the ones outside on the roof, while the captain, the assassins and Percy took care of the ones in the tower. Bruce stayed in the infirmary, deciding that the Hulk was not needed in this fight. They had almost cleared the living room when Iron Man slammed into the balcony, suit sparking.

The four of them turned in shock, as a chitauri appeared in the living room. It was holding a staff, a long golden staff with an azure orb of energy occupying the claw-like protrusion at the end of the staff. It thrust its staff towards the four of them, a wave of power slamming them backwards. It raised a hand, flicking its wrist, binding the three avengers to where they lay. Percy snarled, getting up on his feet, but the chitauri was faster, slamming him backwards into the wall. He crumpled into a heap on the ground, his head pounding loudly, drowning out all other noises. He tried to get up, sensing the chitauri draw closer to him, but it forced him down with another wave of power, immobilizing him. The butt of the staff slammed into his wrist, just below where the gem was coiled around, having been forced back into a dormant state as Percy's concentration was disrupted. He gasped in pain as the staff pierced through his wrist, crushing bone and flesh. In his blurry vision, he saw the chitauri crouch over him, over the pounding in his ear; he heard vaguely the shouts of the avengers. He stared up into soulless pits, feeling a clawed hand grip the side of his head. "Foolish human mortal." It hissed, gripping his head even tighter, causing Percy to gasp out in pain. He lay immobile on the floor.

Percy heard the alien mutter something under its breath and struggled to get free, some animalistic instinct urging him to flee.

The chitauri finished its incantation, growling gutturally.

Percy's world exploded in a haze of fire and searing pain.