Chapter Thirteen~The Cradle

Bruce's POV

"Helen!"

"Bruce? What is it?"

"I need you to get the cradle ready. Thor's on his way now to get it. It's an emergency!"

"Bruce, I think you need to calm down. The cradle is on its way."

"Thank you so much Dr. Cho," I said as I hung up.

Tony was already sprinting for the infirmary. Most of the Avengers just stood stunned, not knowing what to do.

I scanned the Half-Blood faces in front of me. "You. Come with me," I said, pointing at Piper. "And you," I said to Jason.

"What do you need us for?" Piper asked as we ran to the Big House. "I need you for Annabeth. This might not work and we don't want to get hopes up."

"And me?" Jason asked as we stepping I got the living area. "We are going to need to use your lightning powers."

I came around the corner sharply and ran right into Tony who was frozen in front of the door. "Jesus!" He cried. He ran a hand across his face and I saw that his eyes were red. No wonder, his nephew just died.

Tony took a deep breathe and pushed the door open. What I saw was heartbreaking. Percy lay still and gray on the bed and Annabeth leaned over him sobbing.

Piper ran forward and wrapped Annabeth in a hug, trying not to look at her dead friend. Jason stiffened behind me and I looked to see him cover his mouth with his hands.

I just pushed forward and stood beside Tony, examining the body in silence. Tony laid the Fleece on his nephew just to be sure, but nothing was happening. He was really dead.

A big crash sounded from behind me and I looked to see Thor crashing through the door, somehow carrying the very big and very heavy cradle aloft.

"Yes!" Tony shouted. "Bring it over here Thor."

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Unknown POV

The gods of Olympus stood in the Throne Room of their beautiful mountain that was usually full of life. But it wasn't so today. The gods stood watching the events unfold at Camp Half-Blood.

Poseidon paced restlessly, tears in his eyes while Athena tried to calm him down, for the seas were raging.

Zeus sat atop his own throne grumbling. He had to admit, he would miss the son of Poseidon. He had his uses. And it wouldn't pay to have an angry Poseidon around. The skies were grumbling right along with him.

Aphrodite had just about lost it, for Percy and Annabeth had been her favorite story...er, couple in centuries.

Hermes was indeed upset, for he had been fond of the demigod. Dionysus shrugged but deep down he too was saddened at the death of Percy Jackson. Yes, he did know the demigod's real name. He just didn't like to get too attached to heroes so he made up names for them. Apparently the tactic wasn't working as well as he'd hoped.

Hestia sat by her dying fire. She just couldn't seem to coax the fire into being bigger and stronger and more hopeful. Her hearth did reflect the home, after all. And the home was definitely not hopeful at the moment, and neither was she.

Ares didn't much care. The punk had been on his nerves for some time now. But seeing how upset Aphrodite was, he tried to show some compassion.

To put it simply, the gods usually didn't care so much. About their children and other Half-Bloods. It just wasn't in their nature. They weren't supposed to. But I guess that's why Perseus Jackson caught us all off guard. Because suddenly we couldn't help but care.

I definitely didn't care for him when we first met. Him and Annabeth had insulted me. Insulted my pride and I wasn't about to let that go. So I didn't feel much remorse talking his memory and bringing him to Camp Jupiter, but he showed compassion. When he jumped into Tartarus for his love, I couldn't help but admire him.

But no...it was more than that. I longed for something like that. For someone who would do such a thing as fall into to hell to save me. But I do not have such a thing. Now, I can't complain aloud, but just between you and me, Zeus is dreadful.

I try to put on a submissive face and follow his rules, but he is thickheaded and angry. Rather than jumping into Tartarus with me, he tied me up and left me to hang over Chaos, on many occasions at that. Demigods don't normally enjoy my company because I don't like Half-Bloods, but that is not true.

I may act with contempt towards demigods, but that is only because cannot bear any of my own. I must remain faithful to Zeus, no matter how horrible of a husband he may be.

I turned my attention to Zeus. "So?" I asked him. He looked deep in thought. Poseidon jogged over. "Please, brother, I'm begging you. They need him. Hades is in agreement as well. Please."

Zeus growled in annoyance. "Fine. It will be done."

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Tony's POV

"Help me," I grunted as Jason ran over and helped me lift a limp Percy into the cradle. Bruce plugged things in and typed commands to power it up.

We laid him down gently and put the cover on the cradle. It hissed as it sealed. I grabbed the Golden Fleece and laid it gently across the top. Bruce laid sensors on the fleece to help convert its energy and healing property into the cradle.

"Okay, we might need the both of you, but let's start with Jason," I said to both Jason and Thor, "It might work better if someone he was close to was doing it." I explained. Jason just stared blankly. "Lighting. To jump start the process..."

"Ahh," he nodded along. He ran over and pushed open the window on the far wall so the lighting hopefully had a clear path to the cradle. Annabeth sat back and watched in silence, her eyes red from crying. Piper was holding her in a side hug while rubbing her back.

I looked nervously at the demigods in the room. "Um...gods of Olympus, please help us to restore Perseus Jackson's life and his health. Here is an offering," I set my favorite watch on the bed along with some pop tarts. Hey, I mean, Thor loves them.

Jason came forward and set a bag full of Drachmas that he got from Chiron's office on the bed and offered a silent prayer to top it off. As I watched, the offering disappeared and I assumed the gods accepted the offering.

Looking around, I saw that both Piper and Annabeth had their eyes squeezed shut, praying. I walked to the window and glanced in the direction of the dining pavilion. Each and every demigod was praying.

"Please," I whispered and then made eye contact with Jason. He nodded and stood on top of the cradle, not unlike when Thor brought Vision to life, and roared. The molecules in the air seemed to split with tension. I covered my ears with my hands, but they had already popped.

Crack! Lighting splayed into the room, taking the whole window and most of the wall with it. But the lighting had a strange glow to it. And it felt...powerful.

It hit the cradle with a bang and electricity danced across the surface, somehow triggering the fleece. The Fleece started to glow golden and a golden light filled the inside of the cradle. Everyone unconsciously took a step back. I was definitely not expecting these results.

Jason was shaking and his lips were blue. "Hey, you okay?" I asked, patting his shoulder. "T-th-that was t-the M-master B-bolt," he stuttered. "Dad gave me the M-master Bolt."

I looked at the ceiling. "THANK YOU!" I yelled. I really don't know what the Master Bolt is, but it must be important.

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Nico's POV

I was an emotional wreck. I'd had mixed feelings about Percy for quite some time now and I didn't know how to feel. But I made the decision that I would consider him a friend, because after all, he is my cousin and I have a real boyfriend now. So yes, I am grieving.

But I'm also worried about Will(said boyfriend). He was just softly singing You are my sunshine under his breath when he started choking. Turns out he wasn't choking, but his voice had just randomly abandoned him.

He couldn't make any sound but a coarse whisper and I couldn't even understand that. He kept rubbing his neck and wincing. A couple times he coughed and it looked really painful. He made a pen and paper motion and I grabbed a pen and gave him the napkin to write on.

"It's the dam promise I made." He wrote. I looked at him, puzzled.

"That night at the camp fire. I promised on the River Styx that Percy would be alright. And now he's dead."

I stood up. "You idiot!" I was trying to figure out whether to slap him or kiss him when something caught my eye.

Death was walking in the direction of the Big House.

"Do you-do you see that?" I asked Will. He looked in the direction of where I was pointing and shook his head. I groaned and stomped over to Thanatos.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. "I'm here to return something that was wrongfully stollen." He spoke, flaring his wings. I noticed he was carrying something over his shoulder.

It was a body, of all things. Except it was transparent, like a ghost or a soul. Then it suddenly made sense. I nodded and waved my arm in the direction of the Big House. "He's in there," I said.

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Jason's POV

The cradle hummed and buzzed. We waited for about thirty more seconds and then Tony and Bruce powered it off and popped the top off.

Mist poured out and Percy still laid there, limp as a rag doll. But then the strangest thing happened. Little sparks of lightning danced across his fingers. Piper inched forward and said with authority, "Percy! Wake up!" We waited. Then suddenly he sat straight up with a gasp. I screamed and jumped back.

Percy sat there with his eyes wide open. Except they were a solid glittering gold color. He started breathing heavily and blinked a few times and his eyes were back to the usual sea green color.

Annabeth was the first one to move. "Percy!" She screamed and tackled him with a hug. He laughed happily and I couldn't help but smile. Annabeth and I helped Percy out of the cradle and sat him on his bed.

Bruce ran over with his clipboard. "How are you feeling, Percy?" He thought for a moment and lifted his shirt. We were all surprised to see that the sword wound was gone. All that remained was a scar. And it glowed golden. Come to think of it, all of his scars were a gold color. They weren't at all white or pink like they had been before. "Maybe it was just the Fleece's power," I whispered to myself.

"I feel fine," Percy stated. "Are you sure?" Annabeth asked, holding his hand in hers. "Yes. Like, 100% fine. Which is strange, because about an hour ago I felt 100% horrible."

"You're sure you're okay?" Annabeth grilled. Percy laughed, a real laugh, the first I'd heard from him in a long time. His lopsided smile was back in all its glory and his eyes shone with humor.

"Yes, I feel better than ever!" He exclaimed, kissing Annabeth. I looked away awkwardly and when Tony and Bruce looked at me I just shrugged helplessly.

Annabeth sighed and turned to Piper. "Could you go get Will please? I would like him to check for the rivers." Piper nodded and ran off. "Should I go tell everyone he's fine?" I asked her. She thought about it for a second and then nodded. I have her a thumbs up and ran out the door.

I arrived at the dining pavilion breathing heavily out of excitement. Everyone stared at me, waiting for the news. With a huge grin on my face, I announced. "He's alive. And he's fine. Good as new!"

Everyone started cheering. I went and sat down at the Poseidon table with my friends and we could finally talk about good things and feel happy. At least for now. Until the next world threatening villain shows up.

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Annabeth's POV

Will walked in the door in his doctors outfit. He smiled. "H-hi Percy," he coughed. He started coughing violently, but when it finally cleared up, he seemed to be able to talk fairly normally. He took out a needle and told Percy he was going to take a blood test to see if any of the rivers still remain in his system.

Percy nodded and Will told him to make a fist so he could find a vein. Will carefully inserted the needle into his arm and started to draw blood. He wasn't really paying attention to what he was doing. He was kind of listening to the conversation Percy and I were having, but he took out the needle and glanced at it.

He dropped it. Will gasped and I quickly looked up to see what the problem was. The needle had shattered on impact with the ground and golden liquid flowed out, staining the carpet.

"That can't be..." Will muttered in disbelief. He bent down and rubbed some of it between his fingers. He smelt it and licked it and held it to the sun. Finally satisfied, he looked at Percy in awe.

"What?" Percy asked, confused. I could only watch in silence.

"This is ichor," Will explained, seemingly more to himself then to us, "You're immortal, Percy."

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Ta-da! Hello dear readers! How was that for ya? I guess the gods made Percy immortal. Now how about that?

What do you think he's the god of?

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and have a wonderful day! Also, thanks to hi_im_lost for voting and commenting. As of right now, you are my number one reader, so good job! I really appreciate it.

Remember to vote and comment! Love you demigods!

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