Chapter 17: Civil War Preview

Percy grunted as he stretched his arm around his back. He... couldn't get.... that strap! After a few minutes of futile struggling, he let his arms flop to his side, letting his breastplate hang loose. He glared at the armored campers a few meters away who were sniggering slightly as they watched him struggle.

He jumped when he heard a voice behind him. "Need a hand?" Percy spun and saw Steve standing behind him.

Percy scratched the back of his neck. "If you wouldn't mind?" he said sheepishly. He could feel his face warming in embarrassment as he turned, allowing the super-soldier to reach the strap that had been causing him trouble. After a few seconds of fumbling, Steve managed to tighten the strap, so Percy's armor actually fit him. While he worked, Percy looked at the rapidly darkening sky with a full moon. It was a good night for capture the flag.

Percy turned back to Steve. "Thanks," he grinned, "you're a lifesaver."

Steve raised an eyebrow. "Six years of experience and you can't get your own armor on," he said in a teasing voice.

Percy's grinned slipped off his face as his heart dropped. "Yeah. Annabeth usually helps me with..."

Steve's face grew sad. "Oh. Sorry about that."

Percy took a deep breath. "It's alright." His face hardened. "She's not gone. We'll get her back." He turned and started walking towards the crowd of armored demigods before turning his head back slightly. "Whatever it takes."

He was so focused on Chiron's arrival that he missed Steve's muttered response. "That's what I'm afraid of."

"Campers!" Chiron called, and the conversations slowly died as the attention moved to the elderly centaur. "Thank you for participating in this last-minute capture-the-flag. Though there are fewer of you, the rules remain the same. The woods are all free-game, the creek is the boundary. On the red team, the Poseidon, Dionysus, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hecate, Iris, Hebe, and Nemesis cabins will be joined by Captain Rogers and Mr. Barton. On the blue team, the Demeter, Ares, Hephaestus, Athena, Hades, Hypnos, Nike, and Tyche cabins will be joined by Mr. Stark and Ms. Romanoff. The Apollo cabin and Dr. Banner will be standing by on medical and I will act as referee. No guards within 10 feet of the flag and it must be visible. Red team take the north forest, blue team takes the south. Good luck heroes!"

Percy nodded. Seemed fair. The numbers were pretty evenly distributed. The Ares/Athena/Hades combination was going to be brutal. Though if the Apollo cabin was sitting out and they had Barton...

Percy felt a slight nudge and turned to see Steve and Clint standing next to him. "So," Cap asked, "who calls the shots on these things?"

Percy shrugged. "Well, Athena's cabin is on the other team and they're the master strategists. So I guess, me?" Percy winced. This was Annabeth's job. She was the one that came up with the detailed strategy. He sighed and grabbed the red flag and started marching of to the north words. His team followed him, and they headed towards Zeus' Fist. He started mulling things over in his head. Once they reached the rocks he climbed up and faced his team. "Alright, listen up. I'm only going to say this once. Hermes and Hebe are on flag defense. Dionysus, Iris, and Nemesis are our attack team." Hopefully they could overwhelm their defenses with numbers if not skill. "Aphrodite..." he turned to them and saw them ready to fight. Piper'd really turned the cabin around. "I want you guys on border patrol. Try to keep anyone from coming through. Hecate cabin- I want you guys evenly distributed across the teams. Lou Ellen, you're in charge of the assignments." The Hecate counselor nodded her approval. "Trip 'em up, keep them confused with the Mist. If you're with the attacking team, try to keep yourselves concealed as long as possible. Defense team: watch out for Nico. Will may be limiting his shadow travel but we all know that won't stop him." That drew a few chuckles from the crowd. "Steve and Clint..."

He turned to the mortals. "You guys prefer offense of defense?" he asked curiously.

Steve shrugged. "I usually do whatever's necessary."

"I specialize in stealth," Clint said.

Percy nodded thoughtfully. "Steve, you're with me on creek patrol. You're watching my back. Clint, you're going for the blue flag. Go wide while the rest of the attack is drawing their fighters to the front. I'll do my best to keep as many of them away from the creek as possible." He turned back to the rest of the team. "Keep your eyes and ears open. Stark can fly, and he'll take advantage of that. Do what you can to get him down if he comes on the offensive. Natasha will be using stealth. Stay sharp. Athena always has a plan." Percy grimaced as he remembered Annabeth saying those exact words before his first capture-the-flag. "Everyone clear?" The group nodded seriously. "Alright let's go kick some butt!" The campers all cheered and headed off to their posts as counselors dictated who went where.

Percy exhaled in relief once everyone's eyes were off him. He climbed back down the rocks and stood next to Steve and Clint. "Man, I hope this plan works. Annabeth's always the leader in these situations. I'm just the guy who leads the attack."

Steve clapped his hand onto the teen's shoulder. "You did great kid."

Clint nodded in agreement. "It's a good plan. And I appreciate your faith in my stealth skills."

Percy winced. "I'm still not sure about that. I was seriously considering having you stick back here and defend the flag. I'm still counting on you to take out as many enemy campers as possible." Then Percy's eyes widened as another thought occurred to him. He spun and faced Clint. "And keep your eyes peeled. This is where we keep monsters to train. If you hear anything that doesn't sound human, either hide or run. Good rule of thumb is to aim for the eyes. They're almost always a weak spot. There shouldn't be many in the area but be careful." Percy wracked his brain for any other warnings. He could look after Steve, but Clint would be on his own. He came up with nothing. Percy started walking towards the creek with the two adults. He answered a few questions about the possible monsters they might run into (the Myrmekes freaked Steve out- apparently giant ants didn't sit well with him) and which campers to watch out for.

Once they reached the creek. They waited for a few minutes and then the conch sounded. Percy nodded at Clint and the SHIELD agent slipped across the creek and disappeared into the dark. Percy turned to Steve. "Alright, here's what I need you to do. I'm going to be focusing on slowing the blue team down. I need you to make sure nobody interrupts me. It'll probably be Clarisse." Off to the left, they heard the sound of their allies charging across the creek into enemy territory.

"Why?" Steve asked in confusion.

"Because I always beat her, and she hates it," Percy answered, a duh expression on his face.

Steve shook his head and elaborated. "I meant why do I need to protect you. How are you going to slow them down?"

Percy grinned. "We're standing right next to a creek Steve."

Steve's mouth formed a perfect oh as Percy stepped into the creek. He closed his eyes and raised his hands slightly, willing the water to obey him. He felt the sudden surge of energy and grinned slightly. He let the water wash away his worries about Annabeth and Tartarus and he let himself relax as his focused on it. He bent the water to his will and focused on sensing what was in the water. He'd been working hard with Annabeth on exploring the limits of his powers ever since the war with Gaia, and it showed. He knew right when the last of his team passed over into the blue territory downstream and if he concentrated, and he knew right when a blue team member stepped into the creek upstream. He grinned and waited patiently as several more entered the water before suddenly changing the currents from slow to rapid level and managed to sweep the campers off their feet and onto the shore.

Percy winced slightly as he felt the tug on his gut as he released the power. This is so much easier in the ocean, he thought wistfully, but he forced himself to continue concentrating on allowing no one to cross the creek. He was doing his best to give Clint enough time to find the blue flag before the blue team used their superior battle strategy and skills to reach his. He knew it wouldn't do much to stop Nico or Tony, but he was greatly lowering their odds for success. Not even Nico could take on a fifth of the camp on his own, and Stark wouldn't be wiling to risk hurting campers. He had to use that to his advantage. The longer he stalled, the higher their chances of winning.

Percy grinned as he imagined the looks on the camper's faces. He'd been keeping his training between him, Annabeth, and Chiron, so his more diversified powers were going to be a bit of a shock. He wished he could get a picture.

Suddenly he heard crashing in the bushes as six Ares and Athena campers came running out of the woods in front of him. He recognized Malcolm at the front. The son of Athena leveled his sword at him.

"Get Percy out of the water!" he yelled. "It's our only chance!" Percy couldn't move as they race towards him. He was focusing on controlling the water's speed and movement. Suddenly a bronze-and-silver blur rushed past his face and slammed into the two closest campers. The shield (thankfully without it's razor-sharp edge) rebounded right back to Steve, who caught it with ease.

The super-soldier grinned at the teens who were staring at him as if they had just noticed his arrival. "Hey, kids," Steve said casually, as if he was meeting them outside of class as he strolled into the water before stopping next to Percy. "How about you come fight someone who can actually fight back."

PSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSP

One of the Ares' kids growled in frustration and rushed the mortal with one of his brothers, sword-blades flashing. Steve just managed to get his shield up in time as the camper swung. He deflected the first blade off to the side easily before grabbing the second boy's wrist and squeezing, forcing him to drop his sword. Steve punched the kid, driving the wind out of him before shoving him down into the river, trusting Percy to get him out. He turned just in time to dodge a streak of light as it arced down on him. He stumbled away slightly. He lifted his shield a second later and a heavy thud slammed into it. Steve was surprised at the sheer strength in the boy's swing. Not very many people could deliver a blow like that, and as he continued to the block the heavy blows, he risked a glance at Percy. The boy's eyes were still slightly unfocused, but he could see the intense concentration it must be taking to control so much water. He was starting to see sweat dripping down the teen's face, and he knew that he couldn't hold it for much longer. He turned back to the son of Ares in time to once again raise his shield to black a blow. He pulled out a dagger that Malcolm had given to him last minute and managed to parry the next blow before using his shield to push the boy back. He watched as the boy tumbled to the ground and was quickly whisked away by the current, pulled downstream to the opposite shore with his companion. The strong current, however, didn't affect Steve at all, and the soldier remembered Percy and spun.

By the time Steve had turned back around Percy had engaged another camper. The other three closed in, preventing him from focusing on the water and pushing him towards the bank. Steve jumped in and in after a minute of quick fighting the campers were thrown back onto their side of the creek and their weapons were swept downstream. Percy was bent over, hands on his knees, panting. Steve placed his hand on the teen's back, concerned that the boy was so tired after the quick fight. "You alright, Percy?" he asked.

"Yeah," Percy gasped, sounding like he'd just sprinted a mile. "It's just... been a while... I'm used to working with saltwater. It's easier for me to control. Just give me a minute to catch... my breath..."

Percy wasn't kidding. As Steve watched, he could see the strength return to the teen's body and he straightened, watching the breathing slow. Five minutes later Percy was standing straight, not looking quite refreshed but still much better than he had. He nodded at Steve and started walking through the water in the directions the six had come from. Steve followed and questioned him about his fast recovery.

Percy grinned. "Water always heals me, or gives me an energy boost," Percy explained. "The longer I'm in contact, the better. If I come out too early... well let's say you'd probably never see me again. Will would have me locked up in the infirmary faster than you can say 'Hades' underwear'."

Steve raised his eyebrow. It wasn't the first time he'd heard the god of the Underworld's name in a similar way. He wondered how Hades felt about all of these demigods using his name to swear.

Suddenly, they could hear fighting coming from up ahead. Steve locked eyes with Percy and they immediately started sprinting upstream. They rounded a bend to see at least a dozen demigods from both teams fighting on the red team's side, including Clarisse and Travis. As they drew closer, Steve could see Natasha among them. The SHIELD agent as well as four of her teammates were battling the seven red demigods. Natasha had already incapacitated several of them, and they were laying on the ground groaning. She was clearly using her superior speed to her advantage, and the red flag was fluttering around her waist. She parried swords and spears with her knife and then struck at weak points in her opponents armor with her fists, aiming for nerve clusters and throats. As Steve watched, Hermes kid fell to the ground unconscious. Steve winced in sympathy and headed right for her. He had to get the flag out of her hands. Off to the side he heard Percy call out to Clarisse.

"Yo Clarisse! You wanna go?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Steve saw Clarisse snarl. "You're on, Jackson." He heard the loud sounds of metal hitting metal and then he was exchanging blows with Nat. She'd sheathed her knife, so it was hand-to-hand. They were both pretty evenly matched. So much time sparring over the past year that Natasha knew Steve's fighting style, and vice versa. It took a few minutes before Natasha finally managed to sneak a punch into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him and leaving him gasping on his back.

Natasha grinned in triumph and sprinted to the creek, leaping across without touching the water. Steve got up as fast as he could, but she was too fast. Her teammates cheered as she cleared the creek and brought her hand to her waist, searching for the flag.

The smile dropped from her face as she realized it wasn't there. Steve heard laughing behind him and turned to see Travis laughing with the red flag dangling from his hands. "Looking for this?" he called.

Steve had never seen so much shock on Natasha's face. She was usually so good about hiding her emotions. "But... I... how?" she stammered.

Percy came up beside Steve laughing. Looking back, Steve could see a groaning, soaking-wet Clarisse on the ground. "Son of Hermes, god of thieves," Percy reminded Natasha. "Travis definitely takes after his father in that regard." We readied ourselves to defend Travis when commotion downstream distracted us.

Twenty feet away, Clint came crashing out of the woods and across the creek with Tony in pursuit. With the blue flag in hand, he crossed the stream and the red team erupted in cheers. Tony landed, and his visor flipped up. He looked towards the team apologetically. "Sorry guys. He slipped by me."

Chiron came cantering towards them, blowing the conch. "Red team wins!" he called, and the cheers increased in volume. Apollo cabin came close behind with Bruce in tow, and immediately started attending to the injured campers. It seemed like they'd been giving him a crash course in demigod medicine because he went straight to work. Steve nodded. He always hated people who said that Bruce was dangerous. His medicinal and technological genius had saved all their lives more than once. He never passed up an opportunity to learn how he could help others, even if those others were half-deity and medicine was magic lemon bars.

The Avengers were all unharmed, though Clint claimed to have had a near-death experience with one of those giant ants. Once Bruce was no longer needed, they left, eager to get out of the dark woods. Percy caught up to them as they passed through the strawberry fields. Clint finally broke the silence, turning to Natasha. "So we're still friends, right? I mean, we did beat you guys..." he teased.

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Barely, I didn't even get to hit you. I didn't even get Steve that hard."

Steve raised his eyebrow. The giant bruise forming on his stomach said otherwise.

Everyone laughed at his expression. The next few minutes were spent in silence as they continued towards the Big House. Percy broke the silence next, killing the mood almost instantly. "We should leave soon," he said, and Steve could see the determination on his face. "You guys are doing well with your new stuff, so tomorrow we might work on some Monster Fighting 101 than leave. Sound good to you guys?"

Steve nodded. They'd already stayed longer than they probably should have. They hadn't been given a time limit, but there was a lot at stake. Steve could see Percy's growing fear and grief the longer Annabeth Chase was gone. He made fewer jokes, smiled a lot less. And from what the demigod had told him about his dreams... it was safe to say they needed to get her back. Steve was just worried what they'd have to sacrifice in order to do that.

PSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSPSP

Thorn shivered as he entered Koios' war room. The icy titan didn't even look up from where he was studying maps of Camp Half-Blood and Mt. Tamalpais.

"Report." The command was given in a bored tone, as if nothing the manticore could possibly say could hold anything of interest. Thorn felt his spines bristle slightly at the intended insult, but he forced himself to bow his head respectfully.

"Lord Koios. Our scouts report that no one has left of entered Camp Half-Blood since Jackson returned. No pegasi have left, no one left by foot, and hellhounds have been monitoring the shadows. We also have harpies patrolling over the sea. We'll know the moment he leaves."

Koios nodded thoughtfully. "I'm honestly surprised. I'd expected the demigods to make a move by now. I was half-expecting Perseus to come immediately after you showed him the sword. Something's changed." The Titan finally looked up and met Thorn's eyes. "Increase forces and begin stationing monsters along the fastest route. I want him, and his forces attacked no matter where they go. Dismissed"

Thorn bowed reluctantly and exited the building that served as Koios' command center. He sent the hunting parties as ordered and then headed over to Chase's cell. Hopefully she'd scream this time. If he did well, maybe Lord Tartarus would allow him to get a piece of Jackson once they had him. The boy had felt his poison before, and Thorn was certain it wouldn't be the last time.

"Bringwhomever you want, demigod," he snarled softly as he approached the darkbuilding. "Soon, you will kneel."