Leo grabbed the rag- once white but now stained black with grease and dirt- off the workbench behind him, wiping it once over his brow to mop up the sweat that had formed there. He cursed when he realized it had only made a bigger mess, staining his skin with inky oil. That sure wouldn't help his current acne problem. The demigod sighed, frowning at his distorted reflection in the chrome plate of the engine he had been slaving over for the past few days.

It'd only exploded twice so far. In theory, the next test had about a 30% chance of not blowing up in his face.

Literally.

Forgetting his messy face, he scrambled across the bunker towards a spare worktable, filing through spare sheets of metal and plywood to find the small black screwdriver hiding underneath. He grinned, twisting it in his fingers. "Just where I left it," he murmured to himself, praising his organization skills, before slinking back over to his project.

(A/N haha I guess you could call Festus Leo's... pet project ;P)

He began humming to the tune of a song he had heard blasting from the volleyball courts in passing an hour prior as he continued his work. His hands moved smoothly; it was second nature to him. Everything was going well until the door of Bunker 9 slammed open, plowing through the pile of scraps Leo had created.

He pursed his lips at the loud ringing of metal hitting the floor.

"Sorry," a timid voice called out. Leo shrugged without turning around, narrowing his eyes at his work as he wedged the screwdriver through a small crack in an attempt to break a segment free. "Don't worry about it," he said passively, "I was a bit too generous with the grease on the hinges, anyhow."

The force of the screwdriver caused a small section of metal to fly across the room. It clanked noisily against the wall.

He grinned in triumph. He wiped his hands down the front of his jeans, smearing them with grease but caring very little- it wasn't like they weren't stained already. He turned to face his visitor, who happened to be a camper who he was pretty sure was named Natalia.

Although, her name could also be Amy... or Jaime? Felicia?

"Are you here to witness one of the greatest inventions of all times?" he bolstered, rounding the table with the intent to delay trying to use her name at all costs.

The short blonde blinked in confusion. The new camper wasn't quite yet used to Valdez's antics. "Um, no," she stuttered. "Chiron said he wanted to talk to you."

Leo frowned. That was never good. The last time Chiron wanted to talk to him ended with an hour-long lecture on why he shouldn't try to see how large the bonfire could get at night. As though he didn't realize that screaming campers and scorched benches were not necessarily ideal.

Then again, he had done it twice and was planning on trying for a third... that was the saying though, right? Third times a charm?

The curly haired Latino suddenly realized he hadn't ever answered the girl standing in front of him.

"Lo siento... Do you know why? Where am I supposed to go?"

She shifted her weight between her feet awkwardly, seeming antsy. "The Big House, I think. And he didn't really say...um, I'm gonna be late for climbing wall-"

Natalia/Amy/Jaime/ Maybe Felicia gave a half-hearted wave goodbye and skirted out before Leo had a chance to respond, leaving him alone with his work in progress. He slumped his shoulders forward, muttering to himself as he prepared to leave. Was it a coincidence that big house was slang for prison?

He continued to gripe and groan as he made the walk up towards the large plantation style home on the hill, only breaking his frustrated façade to wink at the ladies that walked by.

None of them acknowledged him.

Now frustrated and depressed, Leo ran up the front steps of the building, noting the alarming creaking of the old wood. He'd have to work on that later. Before he could talk himself out of it, he pushed open the front door and hustled inside- and straight into Mr. D.

Mr. D, who happened to be holding a bottle of wine.

The god dropped the merlot as his porky frame stumbled backwards, the glass shattering the second it met the ground. Red wine splashed up onto the both of them, staining the god's newest horrific patterned shirt and adding to the mess of Leo's top.

"Di immortals," Mr. D cursed, his hands spread as he surveyed the chaos before slowly lifting his head to make eye contact with the demigod.

Leo smiled cheekily in response to his furious expression.

"Mr. Valdoso, let me ask you this- do you want to be dolphin for the rest of your miserable life?"

The son of Hephaestus opened his mouth to comment, but not before Chiron poked his head out from the rec room to investigate the cause of commotion. He glanced around momentarily to get a sense of the situation before sighing in disappointment. "Dionysus, your probation-"

The god waved him off. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. My probation, whatever. Let's just get started with this stupid thing."

With that, he scooted around the centaur and disappeared through the open door, leaving Leo and Chiron alone.

"Whatever you think I did, I probably didn't do it," Leo blurted out, nervous with the centaur's heavy gaze. "I mean, I might have done it, but it's probably not as bad as you think and I'll-"

Chiron shook his head tiredly. "No, child... here, why don't you come in." He rolled back into the rec room, with Leo following nervously behind, not knowing what to expect.

He didn't know whether to be relieved or more worried at the apparent head counselor meeting that seemed to be happening. He seemed to be the last one there- glancing around the room, he noted Clovis snoring peacefully in the hammock in the corner of the room, Connor and Travis (back from school for the summer) talking quietly at the head of the ping-pong table, Lou Ellen tapped a pencil absentmindedly on her chair, among the rest. Although, Percy and Annabeth appeared to be absent- that was mildly concerning, but he didn't think much of it. Percy was probably at his mom's helping with the new baby, and he figured Annabeth had sent Malcolm to replace her, as he was slouched in a plastic fold-up chair that looked ready to snap. The kid had bags under his eyes and looked like he might tip over any second from exhaustion.

"You hear the news yet?" Katie said quietly, her freckled face sad.

He shook his head in confusion, taking the empty seat next to her. "What, did they cancel dinner or something? Did Peleus barf again?" Gods, dragon puke was the WORST- forget the corrosive acid and flames, the stench itself was like a middle school boy's locker room on steroids, combined with old socks and dead fish-

"Percy and Annabeth are missing," Sherman Yang answered for her, shifting uncomfortably in his spot on the floor.

Leo's face dropped. His fingers froze, the small block of wood he had been fiddling with coming to a rest between them. Correction to his previous thought, that their absence wasn't alarming: it was alarming.

"From the meeting?" he said hopefully, glancing at Katie helplessly. She slowly shook her head no, the deep-set frown on her features speaking more than words ever could.

"They're missing?" he asked, dumbfounded, glancing sporadically around the rec room, praying for someone to jump and announce it was all a poorly planned prank.

Clarisse scowled. "No, you idiot, it's a funny joke because it was so hilarious last time they were gone-. Yes, they're missing!"

The son of Hephaestus crossed his arms, pushing back from the table. He fought down the urge to vomit- the last time Percy went missing, it was at the hands of a goddess. At the forefront of a war, a war to put a cranky Mother Earth back to sleep with a good whack on the head. "Wasn't Jason and Piper with them?"

Malcolm ran a shaky hand through his blonde hair. "Yeah, they said Percy told them he was taking Annabeth somewhere, and-"

"Well, he took his car right? Can't you find the plates, I can-"

"Chiron said Paul called, it was at that beach they always go to, that public park," the son of Athena cut him off with a sigh.

Clarisse scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "Can't that punk just use the beach here? What's wrong with it, anyways?"

Travis and Connor smirked simultaneously, glancing mischievously at each other. They knew exactly why Percy didn't take Annabeth on dates around camp anymore. "Why" may or may not include firecrackers, exploding picnic baskets, firecrackers in exploding picnic baskets, dissolving swim shorts... the list went on.

Leo caught their eye and, if he hadn't been feeling such an impending sense of doom, most likely would have had to stifle a laugh at the memories. The disappearing swim shorts prank had been hilarious- mortifying for their poor señor seawater, but hilarious none the less. For now, he tried to figure out where the Hades his friends were. That son of a beach owed him a hamburger, after all.

"Have you checked his house? Or his old apartment, or-"

"We're not idiots, you fucking twat, yes. I went this morning," Clarisse snapped, shooting daggers at him. "And his step-dad called, remember? Pretty sure he would have mentioned if they were there."

Chiron pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing heavily. "Clarisse, please. And Leo, allow me to explain what I know," he declared solemnly, his eyes scanning the room before he spoke again. His face was sullen as he recalled the revelations of the past few days... that Percy's car was towed, their two heroes were missing, that they had been kidnapped. Kidnapped by S.H.I.E.L.D.

Leo's jaw dropped to the floor. "S.H.I.E.L.D.? Like, Tony Stark/Iron Man S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

The room erupted in chatter. Chiron struggled to regain control, stamping his hooves in frustration.

Everyone jumped over each other, trying to get their question answered first. I thought S.H.I.E.L.D. was dissolved? Aren't they supposed to be the good guys? Are they at the Avengers compound?

Mr. D cleared his throat loudly, slamming his can of Coke down onto the battered ping pong table with a loud thud, causing everyone to jump. He rolled his eyes at the sudden silence. "Calm down," he grouched, scanning the room with wide eyes, "Unless you all would like to be porpoises."

Lou Ellen ignored his warning. "I don't understand, what would they want with them anyway?"

Chiron began to answer, but Malcolm beat him to it. "It's the whole inhuman thing, right?"

"Inhumans? What the hell are Inhumans?"

Leo sat dazed as he watched the group argue. Mr. D rolled his eyes and chugged the rest of his coke. Chiron looked somewhere between flipping the table tennis table and crying.

"EVERYBODY. SHUT. THE. HADES. UP."

The room quieted, warily eyeing Clarisse. They were all upset, confused, and frustrated, but terrified of being gutted with whatever Clarisse could lay her hands on first- whether that be her spear or the pencil balancing haphazardly at the end of the table. The corners of her lips rose in a tight-lipped, highly annoyed smile. "Chiron, take it away."

Leo found it funny that the counselors had listened to the daughter of Ares much better than they had Dionysus.

The old centaur exhaled slowly. "You all are quite aware that Greek mythology is not quite, ah, mythology. Nor are the Egyptian legends."

Travis whistled slowly. "By golly gee, I would have never known!" he exclaimed, slapping his hands against his cheeks. "What a shock! Connor!" he exclaimed with wild eyes, shaking his brother's shoulder, "The Greek gods are among us!"

Connor stared blankly ahead, his blue eyes trained on a random spot on the floor. "I had no idea," he deadpanned.

Katie sent Travis a disapproving look, shutting him up immediately. He looked guilty for his interruption. Leo felt for him. He knew what it was like to displace all of his problems and anxieties into sarcasm and humor.

Across the table, Dionysus snorted, flicking his fingers together. A cherry coke materialized out of the air. "Oh no," he cried out dramatically, opening the can with a flick of his wrist. The gentle hiss of carbonation filled the air. "Please, tell me more. I'm oh-so-very-intrigued by this 'Greek gods are real' concept."

Chiron patiently started again. "Norse mythology is present, as well. And, ah, Inhumans are somewhat the demigods of that nature, maintaining their powers throughout generations."

Leo held out his hand. He'd done well so far, keeping his comments to himself, but he'd had it. Three levels of mythology? What the flying frick!? How did that even work?

"Whoa whoa whoa- so you're telling me, there's a Thor and a Zeus? What, do they take turns with the magic lightning stick?"

Leo wasn't the only one with a question- the entire room, once again, became a cacophony of voices climbing over each other.

The son of Hephaestus leaned back in his chair, breaking all rules about four legs on the ground, and tried to ward off the headache that had slammed into him at full force. He resisted the urge to hyperventilate. Everything at once was suddenly overwhelming. The denial that his friends had been kidnapped was gone- the realization that S.H.I.E.L.D. was the reason why was terrifying, however cool, and everyone- well, everyone except for Malcolm- was screaming. It was too much.

Not to mention, he still didn't remember that girl's name from earlier, and that was driving him nuts.

Chiron slammed his hoof against the splintering wood of the rec room, the banging echoing off the walls and once again bringing an uneasy silence to the room.

"I'd appreciate your respect, demigods," he necessitated with an aura of authority. The counselors all looked embarrassed at being reprimanded, shifting uncomfortably in their seats. Travis folded his hands in front of him, as Connor adjusted his posture. Lou Ellen was beet red. Malcolm continued to look like he had just been hit by a bus.

Leo figured he had been working on this issue with Chiron privately.

A second thought passed him quickly: why hadn't Chiron told him about Percy and Annabeth's disappearance as soon as it had happened?

"Inhumans, as I was saying, are powered humans, derived from Norse mythology. Powered. Powered, like..."

"Like Percy," Leo finished. "So wait, is S.H.I.E.L.D. just taking these inhuman people off the road? Why haven't we heard about this at all?"

"It's on the news," Malcolm sighed. "We just don't watch it. But S.H.I.E.L.D. is trying to contain these people under the radar- the majority of them are untrained, unlike us, and don't know how to contain their powers, therefore they're inherently dangerous."

Leo exhaled quickly out his nose. They were all inherently dangerous. Hell, he started on fire when he felt like it.

Epic, but dangerous all the same.

"And then you have the ATCU- some new government organization, they're supposed to replace S.H.I.E.L.D. after the whole Hydra disaster. S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't supposed to exist. They're trying to get to the Inhumans as well. That's all over the news, they've made a huge publicity stunt out of it."

Clarisse frowned. "It's weird that we've never really talked about all this shit before. Why the hell have we never talked about how fucking weird the world is?"

The whole room found themselves nodding along to that statement, despite the profanity.

"So, I get why they'd take Percy- but why Annabeth?"

Malcolm hummed in amusement at Sherman's question. "Your really think Annabeth would let them take Percy without a fight?"

"I don't understand how they managed to take the both of them in the first place- they were at the beach!"

"Yeah, what the hell?"

Chiron surveyed the room helplessly. "From talking with Percy... well, they're government agents, children. They don't have, ah, inhuman powers, so to say. But they're trained in capturing powered people. They have their methods of subduing their targets." The centaur said the words impassively, but the words were sour on his tongue. Sally's pained expression when he briefed her on his conversation with him, her tears when they couldn't get another I.M. through, were all but fresh in his mind.

"In short, they shot them," Clarisse sneered. Commotion erupted around Leo. He couldn't move. His mind swarmed with thoughts.

This had been his fault. He had said the stupid truth to freak Percy out in the first place, gods he was an idiot. He hadn't been thinking. Was he ever thinking? Percy tried to distract them all from his horrible mistake by leaving, and now he'd been shot? Kidnapped, by one of the most elusive forces in the world?

Good job, he bitterly congratulated himself. He knew Piper and Percy constantly tried to remind him of his worth in the seven, but in times like this...

Gods, they'd be so much better off without the seventh wheel. It just threw everything off balance.

Chiron eventually steered the conversation away from theoreticals to what he had wanted to discuss initially.

"Two things, demigods. Do not address this outside of this room. The safety and privacy of this camp depends solely on the mutual ignorance of these two entities. If other campers recognize S.H.I.E.L.D. and its doings as the cause of Annabeth and Percy's disappearance..."

He trailed off. Every person in that room knew a demigod's tendency to want to be the hero. How many times had Percy and Annabeth snuck off on their own quests? They couldn't afford any campers pulling stunts such as those. The vivid images of uniformed agents flooding the camp barriers were frightening enough in their minds.

"Secondly. We need a plan of action. Our two heroes are okay as of now, but I haven't been able to successfully send any more I.M.s to them. All we know is that they're in a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility. Percy has injured his wrist- he did not seem to be in anguish about any other wounds. Annabeth appeared to be unharmed."

The room sat in silence for a minute, as everyone weighed the possibilities and searched their minds for a decent idea. Leo was the first to speak.

"Would that information, like, where the facility and all that other stuff be in some sort of S.H.I.E.L.D. database? Like, with the whole Hydra fallout in D.C., when all of that information and documentation was released? Or the CIA, FBI, IMF..."

"The IMF isn't real, you idiot," Clarisse snapped.

Leo shrugged. "Everything's real, apparently," he retorted. And honestly- he wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Tom Cruise dropped from the roof at this point.

Malcolm furrowed his eyebrows, deep in thought. "That's a good point, though. Mary Kate in the Athena cabin is a prodigy when it comes to coding and hacking- remember when she reprogrammed Google to redirect everyone to Bing for an hour? It's a worth a shot to see if she could get in."

Connor stifled a laugh. "Travis, why did we never think of that?"

Travis frowned. "We're not smart enough to hack google?"

"You too aren't smart enough to spell your own names," Clarisse snapped.

"T-R-A-"

"Do you really think she could get into S.H.I.E.L.D.? That's many, many levels harder than Google," Leo continued the conversation with Malcolm.

Malcolm tapped his finger on the table. "I don't know. Your cabin probably knows more about this than I do. But if she could, I know she'd at least need a S.H.I.E.L.D. server to get in."

Lou Ellen spoke up for the first time in a while. "Where are you going to find one of those?"

Mr. D harrumphed from his spot next to Chiron, a shallow grin resting on his face. "Should I tell them?" he asked Chiron ominously.

Chiron closed his eyes and nodded, pleased yet concerned with his demigods' work. Meddling with the government was something he thought he wouldn't have to worry about in this century... or the next, to be honest. 

The god traced the rim of his soda. "Well, listen here you poor, ignorant half-bloods- you don't know the half of a good party. Many mortals don't. One, however-"

Leo knew where this was going. Oh, gods, he knew where this was going, and his adrenaline spiked. This better go where he hoped. He wished his first visit would 't be on these terms, but if Mr. D was about to say what he thought-

"Mr. D," Chiron interrupted his tales of booze with urgency. The god rolled his eyes.

"Stark Tower, Avengers Tower, whatever it's called now," the patterned shirt waved his hand dismissively. "There's your database."

LOVE YOU ALL!

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