[Friend of a Friend] PJO x Marvel

[11. What Would Annabeth Do]

  Percy couldn't help but watch Strange's every move, this one man knew the magic trick to winning and he wouldn't tell anyone. Percy wasn't stupid, he knew why. You never reveal the truth when you know that the truth involves sacrifice. Who was it? Well, that wasn't something Percy was very sure of, no certain person there was given any special attention from the eyes of Strange, in fact, Strange was very good at giving poker faces. That said a lot, given that Percy grew up with a man who dealt with a serious gambling addiction and often had buddies over to play poker.

  "How many times did I die?"

  Strange looked over at him, his eyes dark and full of despair. "Not all of them. Only some."

  "So, I'm not part of the 50% of life that dies. Instead I get to sit here and watch everyone I care about turn to dust." Percy chuckled, "That's even worse than dying."

  "Turn to dust?" Strange seemed almost confused, and Percy knew exactly why.

  "You have the power of seeing the future, but for us greeks, we get prophecies instead. Little riddles that give us hints to what is to come. I had hoped I'd never live to see this one, after all, my friend Rachel did say it was unlikely I would. But it all makes sense now."

  "How so?"

  "I couldn't tell you, I just remember a line about watching the ones you love turn into dust. Well, that doesn't matter much. I'm the only greek here, so unless somehow my friends and girlfriend show up, there's not much i can do." Percy looked over at Stark, who sat with the others by the ship. "It's Stark, isn't it?"

  No response was given. That was enough of an answer for him. "Personally, I'm a big fan of defying the odds. They may not be in our favor, but that's just part of the game."

  "It amazes me how you're still alive with that kind of mindset."

  "As I said, I like to defy the odds. I've been close to death more times than I can count, and yet here I am. Mostly thanks to my girlfriend though, and she isn't here." Percy had quite the separation anxiety when it came to Annabeth. But, it usually wasn't this extreme. He felt as thought his entire body would implode if he went another minute without her. "Any way you can power up some magic portals?"

  "I don't have much strength left at the moment, sorry to disappoint. But I'm not going to waste any I do have on bringing your girlfriend here. There are more important matters at hand."

  "So you don't want the assistance of multiple powerful demigods? That's fine. I'm sure your one possible chance of success will end just great, and none of us will die today! You're so right."

  Strange scoffed, "You can't deny the reality, I've seen every single scenario, and only one will succeed and none involve your little friends. There's no point wasting energy when I could be focusing on what I am certain will work."

  This was the part where Percy wanted to take off his sock and shove it down the wizard's throat. He wasn't going to, he had some self-control after all. He had better ideas in mind anyways.

  "Your logic here confuses me, have you ever tried defying the future? Even just a little?"

  "The future is still in our hands, but we cannot possibly create more. That part of the future is sealed, fated. The time stone allowed me to see every single possibility, it's a look into the multiverse. Seeing every decision and the result that it will lead to, all of that information I see is the only possible outcome in this situation." Strange rubbed his beard and glanced over at Stark, "Unfortunately the only chance we have isn't quite the one everyone may want, but it's all we have. I did entertain your idea of inviting your little friends, quite a few times actually, but none of it ever worked out. Just inviting more people to the slaughter."