Read and Review please! The more you review, the more you inspire me to write, and I love reading them! Constructive criticism is appreciated, as this is the first story and I'm just learning as I go. 

Percy and Annabeth emerged from the East River completely dry, as per usual. Percy's powers as a son of Poseidon really came in handy when you needed to make a quick escape. Percy had taken them as far north as he dared up the East River before it emptied into Long Island Sound. Then they carefully came ashore when they were sure no one was watching. As soon as they were clear, they started jogging in the direction of Half-Blood Hill. They did have to cut through a part of Queens, but that was unavoidable.

Annabeth cursed as she saw the number of security cameras around them. "If anyone is looking for us they'll find us in two seconds thanks to all these cameras! There's just no avoiding them!"

Percy quickly glanced around as well. "Well we can't help it. This is the fastest way to camp. How far out do you think we are?"

Annabeth quickly answered. "A few more hours. We won't make it before sunset that's for sure. Probably around nine or ten." She grimaced, clearly unhappy at how long it would take them, but Camp was on the other side of Long Island and there was no getting around that.

Percy grunted, and increased his pace. Annabeth matched him, and they kept running casually through Queens, praying to the gods that they would make it in time.

STSTSTSTSTSTSTSTSTSTSTS

"Sir!" Fury turned towards the agent who had called him, breaking off his conversation with Agent Barton, Stark, and Steve Rogers. Natasha and Bruce still in the infirmary, finishing up. They were still at Avengers Tower, which was now the permanent home of several S.H.I.E.L.D agents that were currently searching for any glimpse of Perseus Jackson and Annabeth Chase. "We've got 'em!"

Fury raced over, closely followed by the Avengers. "Where?"

"Northern Brooklyn, heading east. Just two hours ago." The agent pulled up a security camera outside a bank, close to the edge o. They all saw the two teenagers jogging casually down the busy street, heading towards the rest of Long Island.

"Where are they going?" Stark wondered. "There's nothing out there besides some farms and residential areas."

"I don't care where they're going, where are they now?"

The agent glanced back at her screen. "Based on their current path, they're most likely headed for the opposite side of the island." She looked back at Fury. "There aren't as many cameras out there, so we can't get their exact location yet, but now that we have a smaller range, we should have them in a few minutes."

Fury nodded and walked away with the Avengers, leaving the agent to continue her work.

"So, Director," Tony began, returning to the topic they'd been discussing, "how are we going to handle these kids."

Fury sighed. "I have no choice but to send in the Avengers. They attacked and injured Romanoff, something we can't overlook, and now that we know for sure that Jackson has the ability to manipulate water, we have to deal with this. If they could take down Romanoff that easily, I'm not taking any risks." He gestured at the three of them. "As soon as we have their location, I'm sending the whole team out. I want them both, but Jackson is priority."

"I don't care what you do as long as I get in a few hits." Natasha said as she strolled in with Dr. Banner.

"Good to see you up and about Natasha." Steve said, nodding his head towards her like a true gentleman. "You sure you're up for this?"

"No teenager gets to knock me unconscious and not pay the price." She said fiercely. "So, who's coming?"

"The four of you." Fury turned to Banner, "Sorry Doctor but I don't exactly feel like filling out more paperwork to explain damages and Thor hasn't been seen since New York." Bruce nodded. He'd expected this, and to be honest he was actually grateful.

"And yet you still want Stark to come," Clint said wonderingly.

Tony glared at him. "Just you wait Hawkeye, these taunts are going to come back to haunt you."

"Sure, Tony. Keep telling yourself that." Clint winked. Steve prepared to jump in as interference when the inevitable fight broke out when a shout of victory came from the other side of the room. "Found them!" The same agent from earlier manipulated the screen so it was projected on the wall. "Live feed in a suburb 20 miles due east from the border of Brooklyn. Bottom left of the screen."

They all stared at the glowing projection. Sure enough, there they were, one tall boy with dark hair closely shadowed by a blonde girl, cutting across the street and heading out of the camera's range.

The agent sighed. "We got lucky. Another minute and we would have lost them. Facial recognition is having problems with them for some reason. If an agent downstairs hadn't glimpsed them, we'd still be looking."

Steve turned to his teammates. "Suit up, we're leaving in two minutes." Tony pressed a button on his watch and a dozen compartments popped out the wall. One glance showed that they held each Avengers' battle gear.

He ignored their shocked looks. "I have extras stashed around just in case." He pushed another button. A moment later he was assaulted by flying pieces of metal that quickly molded to his body, completely encasing him in the Iron Man suit. "Hurry up, slowpokes!" He called, before flying out the window and into the night sky towards Long Island for reconnaissance before the rest of the team got there. The rest quickly changed and raced to the Quin-Jet on the balcony before flying off in pursuit.

"Now I want a nice clean extraction." Fury directed over their intercoms. "Clint, use your tranquilizer arrows, Natasha, darts. Stark, please don't kill them."

"Have a little faith Director, seriously it was only one time." Stark was zeroing in on the suburb where they had spotted the teens. From there he flew east, following the path they had been sticking to all day, before he finally spotted two heat signatures in the darkness, both sprinting, towards the beach which was two miles away, across a stream, a few hills, and a few strawberry fields.

"I've got eyes on the targets. How close are you guys?"

"Give us two minutes Tony," Steve replied. "Stall them if you can."

"Shouldn't be too hard," Tony muttered and quickly dove right in front of the running couple, startling them to a stop. As he rose from his crouched position and angled his palms at them, readying his repulsor rays, he could see the slight surprise on their faces that was quickly hidden by impassiveness and determination.

"Ahhhh, kids these days, huh? Always messing around, getting addicted, and attacking the Avengers. Honestly, you kids should have just called it a day." Tony shook his head with mock disappointment. "Honestly, I just wanted to enjoy my Friday."

"So did I," Jackson muttered, but before Stark could challenge him on that, the blonde girl, Annabeth stepped in.

"Who are you? Why are you following us?" she challenged, "Why can't you guys just leave us alone?" Perseus cut in, "And what the heck are the Avengers?"

Tony went completely still, clearly in shock. "You're telling me that you've never even heard of the Avengers?" his tone was incredulous, like someone had just told him he couldn't have any ice cream. "Have you been living under a rock?

The boy grimaced. "That's a nice way of putting it." His face hardened. "Now are you going to let us pass or are we going to force our way past." Tony could tell from his tone and his eyes that this kid wasn't bluffing. "Hey guys, you seeing this?" he muttered into his com.

"Yeah we've got you." Natasha said, "This kid is hard core. We're in position around you. If the kids even move, they'll be so shot full of tranquilizers they'll be out for a month."

"Finally, you guys are actually on time for a fight." Tony rolled his eyes. "Jarvis, break it down for me."

"Yes sir." Jarvis' cool voice replied. "Based on their body language, they are accustomed to fighting hand-to-hand, as well as with weapons though they don't appear to have any at the moment. Might I suggest keeping your distance while giving Agents Romanoff and Barton a clear line of fire." A quick scan of the surrounding forest and the sky revealed the locations of Tony's three teammates. Clint was hanging out of the back of the Quin-Jet, Natasha was sitting in a tree to his left, and Steve was tensed in the trees opposite, ready to race to his side if he needed it. Tony turned his attention back to the teenagers. "How about this, kids. You two come with me and we can talk this out, and nobody has to get hurt."

Jackson laughed. He freaking laughed. "Yeah, somehow I don't think that's how it's going to down. You're really confident aren't you, you and your three teammates." He grinned and stared pointedly at each of the Avenger's positions. "Not bad, but I've definitely seen better." Suddenly, the kid charged him, and Tony had to take off quickly to avoid getting tackled.

"Rogers get in there now!" Fury's voice barked in his ear. "Barton, Romanoff, permission to engage targets."

STSTSTSTSTSTSTSTSTSTSTS

They immediately started firing while Steve charged Percy. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Annabeth dodging the arrows and darts, which were nearly invisible in the darkness, while charging Natasha's position. Jackson was dodging Tony's repulsor beams, and Steve rushed him from behind. But Jackson somehow sensed him coming, spun around, and quickly engaged him. Even with his shield, the kid was finding ways to slip past his guard and land some small, but still very painful, hits.

One particularly hard punch had him stumbling back, looking at him in awe as Tony restarted his attack, since he'd had to stop once Steve had engaged the kid. This guy was amazing! He'd never fought anyone who could go toe-to-toe with him like that. Steve stared as Jackson expertly evaded Tony's fire, like he'd been training for his entire life to fight.

Suddenly, a short scream cut through the sounds of the battle in front of him.

Steve spun and saw the blonde girl fall to her knees, while pulling an arrow out of her arm, and he saw a line of blood making its way down her arm. He grinned. They finally got her. She'd be knocked out in t a few moments. "Certainly took you guys long enough. I thought you were expert marksman?" he said into his commlink.

"Says the super soldier who just got pummeled by a teenager." Natasha replied. "We're moving in to restrain her. Give me cover Cl..." Suddenly an anguished cry came from behind him, cutting the rest of Natasha's sentence off.

"Annabeth!" Steve turned and saw Percy staring at her with a terrified expression on his face. Suddenly he yelled in pain. During that small distraction, Tony had finally managed to hit Jackson in the shoulder.

"Ha! Finally!" Stark slowly lowered himself to the ground. "Alright, now here's how this is going to go. You're going to surrender to us and Ms. Chase over there won't get hurt anymore." Natasha had just left the trees, heading in Annabeth's direction.

For a moment, it seemed that the boy would agree, but then he looked at Annabeth again, and something in his eyes snapped and pure rage filled his face. "You will not touch her!" He yelled and closed his eyes, stretched his uninjured hand out.

Steve was taken aback by the boy's outburst and backed up a few steps. Suddenly, water came out of nowhere and slammed into Tony, Steve and Natasha, pushing them back to the edge of the trees. After regaining his feet, he saw all three of his teammates, even Clint who had been in the jet, laying next to him on the grass. He looked around and saw a wall of water blocking them off from Percy and Annabeth.

He could just barely see the young man bending over Annabeth a few meters away, before attempting to lift her, before screaming in pain and settling her back on the ground. He looked around, desperation all over his face. He locked eyes with Steve, and he was shocked by the amount of hate and anger rolling off the kid in waves. Percy broke the eye contact, and slowly summoned the water from the wall towards him. Steve could tell it was weakening the barrier, but then he saw Perseus make a small cushion underneath the girl with care. As he stood, he started manipulating the water, so it held Annabeth in front of him, but before he could start moving, he once again fell to the ground.

That's when Steve noticed the dart sticking out of his leg. He looked at Natasha and could see that she had forced her arm and the gun through the liquid barrier separating them. She grinned triumphantly. "Director Fury, we've got them." She spoke into her comm. "Both are slightly injured and hit with tranquilizers. Send in Retrieval."

"Wait! He's getting up!" Tony pointed at Percy, who was desperately trying to stagger to his feet, but he kept falling back down. Annabeth was clearly already out cold.

"That's not possible." Natasha whispered. But there it was. The Avengers watched as the barrier continued to weaken. Percy seemed to realize he wouldn't be able to stand up and reached his arm out to Annabeth. At first Steve thought he was trying to reach her, but then he realized that he was really just pushing her away as fast as he could. Sending her towards the hills in the distance.

At this point the barrier separating them was almost completely gone, and Steve could hear the Retrieval Team's Jet approaching quickly from the west. As soon as he could, Steve burst through the now thin wall and ran over to the now collapsed boy. You could tell just by looking at him that he was exhausted, but his hand was still stretched out towards the girl, who you could just barely see in the distance, disappearing behind a large hill with a giant pine tree on top. As soon as she was out of sight, Jackson's hand dropped to the ground with an air of finality, as if he was accepting his fate.

Steve knelt next to him. The boy glared up at him, but Steve could see the pain in his eyes, not just physical, though Steve could see the damage that Tony's weapon had done, but emotional as well. He carefully rolled the boy onto his back. He was once  again shocked by his youth. The kid couldn't have been older than eighteen. "You love her, don't you?" Steve asked quietly.

His glare intensified and now determination replaced the pain in his eyes. "You'll never touch her. Not so long as I'm breathing."

Suddenly a swift punch nailed Perseus in his temple and his eyes immediately shut, and his tense body went limp in Steve's arms.

Steve looked up at Natasha in shock. "Man, that felt good. Revenge does tend to make one feel better."

Steve glared at her. "Was that really necessary? He was already tranquilized."

Natasha shrugged. "Fury promised me a punch." She then grinned evilly. "Now he'll know how I felt this afternoon. I still have a little bit of a headache you know."

Steve shook his head and then stood up, allowing the Retrieval team to swarm the boy's now unconscious body. They cuffed his arms behind him, gagged him, and then quickly dragged him into the waiting Quin-Jet. The Avengers boarded their own and set off for home. Tomorrow, one way or another, they would be getting some answers from the young Perseus.

The team engaged in their usual banter on the way back to the Tower. Tony had chosen to join them so he could make fun of the two super spies who hadn't been able to hit one teenager, but Steve was silent for the whole trip. He couldn't help thinking about the boy's actions. It was clear now that he'd been holding back for the entire fight until Annabeth had gotten hurt. It confused Steve. He could have ended the fight in less than a minute if he'd wanted to, but he'd held back.

"...ap? Earth to Cap! Anybody home?" Tony's voice jolted him out of his thoughts and back into the conversation. "You good, old man? Is your age starting to catch up with you?" Tony grinned.

Steve rolled his eyes. "I'm just thinking about Jackson. Doesn't it seem strange to you guys that even though he could have ended the fight in a few seconds, he chose to let it drag out?" He questioned.

Tony shrugged. "He probably didn't want to reveal his powers, which were, by the way, awesome! I wonder how he did it. It couldn't have been mechanical, Jarvis would have detected it a mile away. But I have been looking into..." Steve tuned Tony out and returned to thinking about Perseus. Stark's explanation make sense, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he was wrong. It was something about his face when he'd asked the boy about Annabeth. That hadn't been the face of a killer or a terrorist, that was the face of someone who just wanted to protect someone he'd loved. Steve had seen the same face on soldiers nearly eighty years ago. Men who would do anything to keep the people they cared about from getting hurt. He couldn't get the image out of his head.

As he was thinking, a chill set into his bones. Steve couldn't help wondering if they'd made a huge mistake.