The Life of an Olympian

17 | Peter

A/N: In honor of 1k views, I'm doing a double update! Make sure you've read the previous chapter!

Peter's POV

919 words

We landed the jet in a field near the Brady Creek Reservoir in Brady, Texas. It was about as close to the middle as we could get while still remaining unseen. When we stepped out of the jet, we found ourselves standing in a wheat field. For some reason, the other three teenagers acted nervous to be in a wheat field. I found that a little odd. It wasn't like we'd be attacked by grains or something.

Anyway, let me start by saying how awesome it was to not be the only teenager on the team! I mean I'd been around Mr. Jackson, but it was not the same as being with regular kids around my age. Ok, sorta regular kids that are a little older than me. But still! Hardly a difference!

We walked further down the reservoir upon Sage's suggestion. They sounded so confident I immediately trust their judgment.

I shouldn't have.

We were attacked almost immediately. Two problems: (1) we had no idea who our attackers were and (2) we had no way of defeating whatever attacked us.

Not even the demigods' special weapons would work. It was like we were fighting something that didn't exist.

"Tony!" Mr. Rodgers called out over our coms. "Can you kill them?"

"No! Every time I think I've hit them, only dirt flies back into my face."

"My shield is passing straight through. I thought Alex said Vibranium would work!"

"It should work!" we heard Alex say. "It absorbs, stores, and releases kinetic energy. It should work for the same reasons that Tony's repulsor works. The metal itself won't hurt but the energy released would."

"Then why isn't it working?!" Mr. Barton shouted.

"We don't know!" Cleo said in defense. "Not even our weapons are working. This isn't normal."

"None of this shit is normal, kid!" Mr. Stark bellowed.

"Let's group together, fighting independently isn't helping," I suggested.

Everyone agreed and convened at the water's edge. Alex said he had that side covered so we just had to focus on the other three. Easier said than done.

Suddenly, Mr. Stark started screaming and firing his repulsor. He abandoned his post and shot at the ground in a seemingly random fashion.

Then the scene shifted.

I was no longer in a wheat field. I was in the middle of a bunch of aliens. It reminded me so much of the Chitauri and Razaeri invasions. I wasn't an Avenger then—actually, I wasn't an Avenger at this point either—so I didn't have the nice upgrade from Mr. Stark at the time. I felt so hopeless when I saw families running for their lives. I tried to save as many as I could but a few just ran off into the chaos. I wasn't sure what became of them. I could only hope they got out safely. That was how I felt as I saw buildings crumbling around me, people shrieking in terror, aliens attacking mercilessly. It was maddening.

Maddening?

Madness...

LADY MANEA!

As soon as I figured it out, I was back in the wheat field. But that scene wasn't any better.

Alex was curled up on the ground in a fetal position begging someone to stop. Cleo was flailing her arms about as if she was blind. Captain America was punching the air. Iron Man was still shooting at the ground—it was a wonder how he managed to keep away from everyone else running around. Hawkeye kept shooting a tree complaining that it wouldn't die. And Bruce rocked back and forth trying to stay calm.

The only other people unaffected were Sage, Thor, and Natasha. I ran over to them.

"This is Lady Manea's doing, right?"

"Yeah, how'd you release your mind?" Sage asked me.

"I don't know. Like I was going mad, right, and then realized I was going mad, which like kicked me out of the simulation produced by my own head?"

I thought I sounded crazy but Sage only nodded like they understood.

"That's what Natasha said."

"I was back in the Red Room," she explained. "Only, I knew the people I saw were dead. It was easy for me to break loose because of it. I didn't fall for her trap."

"Lady Manea's power cannot work on me. I am of a different pantheon. However, it goes both ways. I cannot harm her directly. I am afraid I cannot do much," Thor confessed.

"I never went under her spell either," Sage said. "I think it's because my father has power over insanity. I might have some too. It would take more power to force me into insanity."

I was about to suggest they try using their powers to help the others, but before I could, everyone came back around.

Just as we were walking towards each other, we were thrust into yet another landscape (mindscape?).

This one was a wood. Tall trees covered any light from the sun. Creepy noises surrounded me. Shadows toyed with my mind. Unseen creatures set my nerves on end. I tried running but ended up coming full circle, right back to where I started. Nothing I did led me to another person. I was trapped in my own head. Knowing it was all in my brain didn't help this time. If anything, it made the whole situation worse. I was going insane. Adrenaline coursed through my veins uncontrollably. Screams echoed through the forest. My screams joined them eventually. There was no escaping my own mind.

Then the world went black.