Hey guys! Welcome to my new story, which as of this AN is yet to be named. There's a lot of Percy X Avengers stories, and a lot are hurt/comfort. This will not be that. Percy in this story will be an aged veteran, one who has suffered a great tragedy that has left him scarred.

Similar to Ben Affleck's Batman. Percy is ruthless, cold, cunning, and calculating. This is not going to be some story where Percy seeks the Avengers for comfort. This is a darker Percy that is out for revenge and also to keep his end of a promise.

WARNING: The opening chapter can be considered rated M for rather…..dark and mature themes, but after this chapter I will do my best to keep it T. I need to set the tone for Percy, and this chapter will do.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers nor PJO, or any related material.

"Rookie Mistake"

-00-

It was a cold and rainy night in New York. The majority of its citizens had gone in doors for shelter or for sleep. This particular Friday would see no raging parties.

For Karen Johnson however, it was a very important night.

"I can't believe you're not more exited! Your very first hunt!" Her good friend Jessica exclaimed. The other girls all nodded in agreement, hugging the side of the sidewalk. Numerous alleyways passed by on their right, each one holding its own stories and nightmares.

"Look, I really appreciate what you guys have done but I just don't think I'm ready for this." Karen said, but her various friends giggled.

"Karen, honey, you're an empousa! You need to begin sometime!" This time her older sister, Hannah spoke. The rest of the girls nodded once more, making Karen feel very peer-pressured.

"The coven hasn't been together like this for so long! But this special occasion is worth it. So enjoy yourself hun!" Her sister smiled reassuringly, gesturing around.

"There are plenty of meals just waiting to be snatched up! All you need to do is pick one and we will handle the rest!" Karen felt a knot in her stomach, but nodded. She didn't want to be responsible for someone's death. She was too nice- in fact, she was a vegetarian. Though each time she tried to talk with her sister, Hannah would become rather aggressive, claiming "no sister of mine will be a vegetarian!"

Why can't we just go home and talk about hairstyles?

Karen was a newborn, compared to her fellow Empousa, and had been raised by the coven mother in a rather normal upbringing. These days, sending out newborn empousa on the streets was suicide. The Gods were never stronger, and demi-gods so frequent that a few years ago they faced threat of extinction.

Atleast on the surface world.

"Oh! Look at that cutie!" A younger boy was walking towards them, hands in pockets, listening to his IPod. His head shook to the music and his attractive face glanced up briefly to make sure no one was going to bump into him.

"He's the one! Quick, Ashley!" Jessica almost shrieked in excitement. But while the coven was advancing on their prey, Karen felt a wave of power wash over her.

Turning to the street, she saw a hooded figure looking right at her across the busy intersection. His all black outfit unsettled her, as did his glowing green eyes.

Her skin itched and her body seemed to freeze up as she made eye contact. A large tour bus slowly drove by, and when it finally passed her, the man was gone.

But the aura only seemed to intensify.

Warning bells were ringing in her head, but before she could act, Jessica popped up next to her, a wide smile lighting up her face, before she dragged Karen down the next alley.

"He smells sweet, so make sure to save some for me! I bet he'll be delicious!" Jessica exclaimed, her wide smile displaying sharp fangs. Her form flickered into her natural from for a second flaming hair, pale face, red eyes, and one bronze leg and one donkey leg, before she returned to normal. "The smell is just getting me so exited!"

Karen nervously grinned back, letting herself be drawn into the dark alleyway. The rest of the coven was giggling, surrounding what she assumed was the boy. He was thrown up against the wall, held up by some invisible force. He was already bleeding from various cuts and scratched down his arms and face, and his face was one of pure terror.

"I've encased him in an audio removal spell, so he won't be making a single peep." Hannah said, checking her nails absentmindedly. Karen felt her stomach twist at the thought of eating this boy, but from the hungry looks the coven was sending him, it looked like he'd be eaten either way.

I can't do this….he looks so young…

Karen raced to find some excuse to not eat him, coming up with the best thing she could think of.

"Can't we find a bigger one? He doesn't have much meat on him." The other Empousa seemed to actually consider this, however her hopes were dashed when Hannah grinned wolfishly.

"Well I guess he can just be our appetizer." Her fang enlarged and she snarled in delight, approaching the now silently screaming boy.

Then she stopped.

She sniffed the air, looking back towards the street. Now several other members of the coven were also sniffing the air, some with alarmed looks.

"Demi-god." Jessica growled. Some of the Empousa looked angry, while others looked terrified.

Karen was one of the terrified.

"Can we just go?"

"No! How could we pass up the perfect meal! Half-blood's taste so delicious!" One of the older girls stated. Ashley, however sent a glare towards the girl.

"And if you were smart you'd also detect the slight sea-breeze. The power of this half-blood is a bit above ours. I agree with Karen, we should leave." The coven then descended into bickering, as they all disagreed on what to do. Hannah, though, sat silent, hungrily staring at the boy.

Hannah….don't…..Karen begged, looking between the others and her sister.

"Well at the very least I'll have myself a snack!" Just as Hannah lunged, the aura from before exploded around them, as well as any kind of piping or plumbing.

Massive jets of water shot out at each girl, slamming the monsters into the walls. Hannah was caught mid-jump by one, and then whipped into a wall by another. As the coven recovered, dazed, Karen could see the silhouette of the hooded man from before, blocking the light into the alley.

"It's him. Let's make this quick!" Jessica snarled. The Empousa all flickered into their natural forms, with varying degrees of animal's legs, colored hair, and metal leg. One even sent a blast of fire at the demi-god, but he waved a hand and water rose to his defense.

"A son of Poseidon? Even better! I bet he'll taste like salmon!" The nearest Empousa charged forward, but the demi-god seemed to vanish from sight, appearing behind the monster. He kicked her into the wall, and as she bounced back he grabbed her head from behind and snapped her neck.

Karen gagged as the girl collapsed like a noddle, her body slowly turning to dust. The sky darkened overhead, and it began to rain.

I don't remember seeing a report of rain tonight…..

The demi-gods hand reached into his pocket, and he pulled out a bronze pen. Most of the coven recoiled at the sight, realization dawning as the pen elongated into a leaf-shaped bronze sword.

The hood, which bathed the man's face in shadows, inched back enough where his glowing green eyes seemed to illuminate his face.

Several scars crisscrossed his handsome features, and jet black hair neatly cropped to his eyebrows blended in with the hood. His tan skin betrayed his parentage, as Karen felt fear swallow her whole.

It's him…..the reaper. She'd heard stories of this demi-god. He was a god in a mortals' body, having defeated Kronos and helped send Gaea to sleep. His power was vast, skills unmatched by nothing.

Nothing except his rage.

Several other Empousa charged forward, claws extending. But the half-blood swiftly dodged all the attacks with ease, cutting down the most experienced coven members like nothing.

Jessica lunged from the side, but he smacked her violently with his sword hilt. Ashley tried next, but Karen only watched in horror as he yanked her by the hair and repeatedly bashed her head into the wall, until she became limp.

"You…..you….bastard!" Jessica screamed, clutching her nose in her hands. The man chuckled darkly, before yanking Jessica on her knees. He held her head down with a heavy hand, while the other remained free.

At this point, the only three left were Karen, who was hiding in the back of the alley, Hannah, who was slowly getting up, stunned, and Jessica, who had tears of pain brimming behind her eyes.

"There has been an increase in monster activity. Your numbers are also increasing rapidly, especially in the New York area. Who is organizing you?" The man robotically said, as if he'd just asked for a bottle of water.

Jessica laughed, spitting in his face. The demi-god cocked his head to the side, slowly raising a hand to pull the hood off.

His features now fully in view, he slowly wiped the spit off. The sky rumbled as lightning flashed several times in the distance. The rain and wind both picked up, and Karen noticed his eyes glowing brighter now, as the storm increased.

"I won't ask again. Who is in control?" Jessica glared hatefully at the man, refusing to answer. Karen, paralyzed in fear, began to panic as Hannah stumbled up.

"You think you're some hot shit don't you?" She slurred, grabbing her head with one hand. The man smirked, flicking a hand. Water shot at Hannah from the ground, pinning her to the wall. It then froze, trapping her on the wall next to the young boy, who had at some point passed out.

"I'll get to you soon enough." The man's eyes swept across the alley, and Karen could feel the intensity of his gaze as it landed on her. "What do we have here?" He mused. Karen shrieked as she felt herself yanked forward, a tendril of water dragging her towards the wall with Hannah. It slammed her into the stone, causing Karen's vision to blacken and yellow dots flash across the darkness. Dazed, she barely noticed the water freezing her to the wall as well.

"I guess I'll just have to cut off your friend's limbs, one by one, until you answer." The man stated, before turning to Karen.

"I'll start with you." He said, a sickly sweet smile flashing on his face. Jessica's eyes widened as he turned his back, but as she moved to lunge at him, she felt herself restricted.

He had frozen her legs in place.

Panic set in for her now as she watched the monster caress Karen's face, her whimpers growing louder. He drew out a wickedly sharp knife from his boot, with the silver metal gleaming dangerously.

That's not the regular silver…..

Adamantium. It even looked like it was mixed with Stygian Iron and possibly Celestial Bronze.

"So you aren't going to kill me?" Jessica demanded.

"No, I'm still going to kill you. But I think by killing your friends before you, it'd make you want to talk." The man said, eyes fixated on Karen's face. The young empousa tried to pull her head away, but between the brick wall and the ice, she was unable to. The demi-gods eyes bore into hers, as if searching for something.

"She's young. How old is she?"

"Why do you care?" Jessica snapped back. The man frowned, before suddenly slamming the knife into Karen's shoulder. She yelled in pain, before she started to sob, as fear, pain, and desperation overtook her. Hannah growled from her spot a few meters over, and Jessica fumed.

"Stop it! She hasn't even killed anyone in her life! She's a new-born for Hecate's sake! Let her go!"

"Who is leading the monsters?" The demi-god countered. Jessica huffed, staring down at the ground furiously. The man hmped, before moving on to Hannah. Leaning down, he softly spoke. "If you don't tell me who is organizing the monsters, I will slowly rip off your friends head, letting her feel all the pain in the world." Hannah glared at the man, eyes alit.

"Fuck off." The man grinned as he slowly stalked back to Karen, whose eyes had glazed over. He slowly bent down to her, hands reaching to her skull.

"This is going to hurt. A lot. Just know that it's nothing compared to what your kind has done to me." He whispered, before he began to squeeze. Karen began to scream in pain again, as the man crushed her skull.

"Stop!"

"Why!" The other Empousa's shouts did nothing to deter the man, as just as Karen thought she was going to die, she heard Hannah beg.

"OK! I'll tell you anything, please, just let her go." Her older sister cried out, tears in her own eyes. The man immediately stopped, grinning triumphantly. Jessica, however, was livid. "Hannah! What are you-"She was cut off as the man impaled her through the chest with his sword. Jessica gasped, before the collapsed to the ground, turning into dust.

Tears poured down Karen's cheeks, as the nightmare continued. The man stalked back to Hannah, eyes glinting.

"Who is organizing the monsters?" He asked softly, a sharp contrast to the actions he had just committed. Hannah's bottom lip trembled, though Karen didn't know if it was from fear or from fury.

"There is a power struggle in Tartarus. The increase in monsters is because we are trying to escape. It's getting to the point where thousands are fading- dead for good." The man quirked an eyebrow up, seemingly intrigued. But he frowned once more, hand rubbing his chin.

"But you still haven't answered my question. Who is in charge? Who is organizing? I need names." He pressed his sword close to Hannah's throat, drawing a bit of golden blood.

Hannah gasped, struggling to breathe.

"I….don't…..know. We left….before…..they got us….been on our-….own for several years." The man withdrew his blade, still frowning.

"So what you're saying is that you don't know and therefore are useless?"

"It could be anyone- Kronos, Hyperion, even Tartarus himself. There's been talks of some new hot-shot field commander who is probably the guy running things on the surface world. Most of us try to avoid them, but if we're found we are either forced to join or killed- hey wait!" Hannah began to panic as the man sighed, and brought his blade back to her throat.

"Yes?"

"I've told you all I know. Won't you let me live?" She looked pleadingly at the man, eyes imploring. He seemed to be entranced, before sighing.

"Oh, all right." He moved to stand, and Hannah smiled in relief. But Karen then noticed something wrong.

Her smile turned to a grimace, and then a look of agony as she looked up. The man had stabbed her though the stomach, gutting her like a fish.

"Now you can find out what's happening." The man said, before yanking the knife out and slamming it through her skull. Karen gaped, new tears leaking out as her sister died before her. The wind blew the golden dust by her, and Karen could almost make her Hannah's face, smiling comfortably.

It'll be alright.

The man walked back to Karen, wiping his blades clean as he did so. Karen looked straight ahead, refusing to acknowledge her killer-to-be.

"So you're a newborn?"

"…"

"You know, when you're in a conversation the polite thing to do is talk." Karen met the man's eyes, tear streaks down her cheeks shining. The rain and wind had battered her hair, and she was thoroughly soaked and miserable.

And ready for her end.

"Just kill me." Karen whispered, closing her eyes.

She just wanted this nightmare to end.

"No." Hey eyes shot open, meeting the green gaze before her. The storm had died down, however the sky was still black with clouds. His eyes, which had been a glowing green a minute ago, were now normal. He capped his sword, turning it into a pen, and walked to the boy still on the way.

Karen watched in fascination as the man held up his hand. Water flew to it with glee, encasing his tanned skin entirely in water. Then the water began to glow an eerie blue-green. Placing his hand on the boy, the man muttered some incarnations, and Karen was speechless as the wounds on the boy faded.

Snapping his fingers sharply, the man whispered in the boys ears. The kid's eyes opened, and he calmly walked out of the alleyway, as if a massacre hadn't just occurred.

"Who are you?" Karen questioned, wanting to curl up as the man took powerful steps to her.

"My name is Percy Jackson. And you're coming with me." And that was the last thing the young woman heard before her world darkened.

-00-

Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham! Smash!

The poor punching bag was punched in two, as Steve Rodgers breathed heavily. The super soldier often found himself at the gym, breaking the punching bags like paper.

New York had changed him. It had changed all of them. But now Steve was fully aware of just how much had changed. How the threats, which used to be solely human, had become so much more.

His phone began to ring, with the Frank Sinatra's voice filling the old, empty gym.

Steve took a quick sip of his water, brushing his blonde hair out of his eyes as he answered. "This is Steve."

"Rodgers? This is Stark. There's an incident in progress on 3rd avenue, near the Upper East Side. There may be some aliens still left. Be there ASAP. Capiche?"

"And of all people you ask me?"

"You think I wanna hang with you by myself, gramps? No, Ms. Scarlet Letter here- ow! Sorry, Natasha here couldn't bear the thought of spending more than a few minutes alone with yours truly. I think it's just because she can't handle my- OW! NATASHA!"

Steve grinned slightly at the sound of Natasha punching Tony, and his sequential complaining.

"I'm on my way Tony."

-00-

"This the place?" Steve asked, now fully dressed in his Captain America uniform. His notorious shield was strapped to his back, while Tony was encased in his normal armor and Natasha was wearing her classic black jumpsuit, along with all the 'toys' she had with it.

The three Avengers were outside an abandoned warehouse, standing behind several police officers.

The first responders had arrived on reports of trespassing, but were attacked by an unknown force. They claimed it was more aliens, as they bullets did nothing. "Good thing we're here now." Tony said, internally gagging at the sight of some of the wounded cops.

Well, I guess the Chitauri do like using their hands sometimes, instead of those annoying plasma guns or whatever those things are.

"Let's see what we got." Tony confidently said, walking to the main entrance. Steve and Natasha sighed at his brashness, before following suit.

Tony turned on his suit lights once he entered the completely dark building, glancing around. "Why would anyone want to trespass here?" Natasha frowned in thought, hands on her utility belt. "Supposedly this warehouse has been around since World War 2, and according to SHIELD Intel there may have been something buried here during the war, locked away and forgotten. I guess whoever left it here finally remembered." She turned on the lights to reveal an old and dusty storage building. She began to walk around, making noise in the process.

However, Steve's enhanced hearing could still pick up more.

"Stay quiet. Do you hear that?" Steve hushed them, cocking his head as his ears caught some sound. It was a distant scratching, that seemed to escalate in volume rapidly once they quieted.

"Below us! Jarvis can you identify the targets?" Tony flew into the air, and Natasha jumped onto a nearby crate. Steve readied his shield, glancing down below him.

"Unidentifiable lifeforms approaching."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean Jarvis?" Tony yelled, as the ground below them exploded. Dozens of skeletons crawled out, screeching. Steve noticed in sick fascination that they appeared to have transparent skin, and the majority were wearing camouflage pants and army jackets, with a grey undershirt.

"I thought they said aliens!"

"So did I!" Tony yelled back, sending several blasts at the skeleton warriors. His shots ripped them apart, but to Tony's horror the skeletons stitched themselves back together, with the only effect being them madder.

Natasha fired off rounds from her handguns, but the bullets went right through the undead.

That left Steve.

He was bashing them with his shield, which had some effect as a few stayed down and others were slower to get up. But their sheer numbers +soon overcame the Avengers, and Steve began to worry when he saw Natasha thrown around like nothing and Tony being dragged to the ground, armor yanked apart.

"Jarvis! Find me a weak spot!"

"Sir, the skeletons appear to re-attach their limbs when blown off. I suggest using the new pyro-laser."

Tony kicked a few skeletons off, before targeting all the undead around him. Flames exploded from the suit, lighting up the skeletons and burning a few of the closer ones to ash. However, the majority of them remained undeterred by being set on fire and continued their relentless assault, except now with a new kick.

"Tony, was that a flamethrower?"

"Yes, yes it was."

"I don't think it worked."

"Thanks Captain Obvious! I didn't notice- Look out!" Natasha just barely ducked under a wickedly sharp sword, and she rapidly backpedaled as more skeletons charged her. Tony was trying to fly around and spread them apart, but his plans were futile.

There were too many.

While his teammates struggled, Steve was smashing skulls and other various bones in with his shield. While his hand-to-hand combat was ineffective, his shield combat on the other hand was. So he went with a basic shield attack, swinging and slamming his way through. As he got closer to the hole they came from, the skeletons began to panic.

Something glowed from the hole, and Steve slid under the swipes of several undead warriors, sliding in. It was only a few meters deep, and in it was a glowing case, bejeweled heavily.

"What the…." Steve muttered, as he smashed several skeletons to bits. The black case was made of some sort of metal, but Steve had never seen it before. As he reached down to touch it, he heard Tony yell.

"Wait! I don't think that's a-"Steve touched the lid, and suddenly a wave of energy sent him flying back and out of the hole. Tony's suit was powered down and he dropped like a sack of potatoes to the ground. The lights all shut off at once, blinding the three once more.

The only good thing was that the skeleton army stopped trying to kill them.

With one massive screech, the undead dived into the holy. They glowed a brilliant light before vanishing, leaving nothing behind.

Steve coughed, wiping the dirt from his mouth. The lights flickered back on, and Tony was soon back up. "How about….we DON'T touch alien things again!" He exclaimed, holding his head. Steve glowered back, standing up too.

"Those things were not alien. I may have been frozen for over 60 years but I know that's not what an alien looks like. Not in today's world." Steve shot back. Natasha glanced between the two, hands on her hips.

"Steve's right Tony, I don't think those were alien. However, touching the case was likely not the best move."

"Damn right it wasn't! I had Jarvis run a scan of it and- well Jarvis, you tell them!"

"The metal was of unknown origin, though it was bearing similar traits to the Captains shield. But I detected a rather….explosive mix in the anatomy of its chemical make-up that signaled that it could possibly be reactive to organic material. As such, touching it would induce a reaction quite….electric."

"Thank you, Jarvis." Steve sighed, dropping his chin to his chest as he pondered what to do.

"Do we report this to Fury?"

"Considering he has all the information we could need, yes I think we should." Natasha answered. Tony nodded in agreement. "I second that motion. Now let's get out of here, my suit is filling with dust and last time I sneezed in here things went wrong."

-00-

The trio was back at the Avengers tower, resting and lounging around as they waited for Fury. It had been two days since the incident, and things were mostly calm. It was early Saturday morning, and with Pepper out working the three Avengers had the place to themselves, so they decided to set up their meeting with Fury at Tony's.

Because when you own an entire tower, why not?

As if on cue, the man with one eye walked into the kitchen, shrugging off his black trench coat.

"I got the report from Jarvis. You're certain this wasn't the Chitauri?" Nick asked, grabbing himself some coffee. Tony got up and grabbed an apple, nodding.

"This was different. They were almost something out of a story or fairytale. Un-killable skeletons, who are immune to pretty much everything? Wish we had Thor, he could clear this whole thing up. He probably knows what these things were anyways. Hey Jarvis, anything in Norse mythology about undead skeletons?"

"Not that I can find sir. However, what we saw does parallel specific legends in Greek mythology." Everyone froze, looking at each other in astonishment. Except for Fury.

Steve noticed the lack of surprise on Nick's face, as did Natasha. Nodding to her, Steve stood up from his place on Tony's couch.

"Fury…..is there something we should know?" Natasha stood up as well, and Nick was soon faced with the inquiring glances from all three of the present avengers. Fury sighed reluctantly, taking a sip of his coffee. "I don't know. No. Because I don't even know what the hell is happening. But that case you found? That may be a key. If there are any similar incidents, I want the Avengers on it. I don't care what else is going on. Are we clear?"

"Aye eye captain!" Tony saluted. Nick glared at Tony, before grabbing the coffee and his jacket, and leaving. "I'm taking this mug." The super-agent then vanished into the elevator, not a trace of him left behind.

"Jarvis, compile a list of the files SHIED has on Greek mythology related incidents. Cross-reference that with news reports."

"Would you like a specific time-range sir?"

"Yeah, since Humanity invented the wheel. I want to know what he's not telling us, and why." Natasha rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her juice.

"Flashback to the Heli-carrier." She muttered, smirking to herself.

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