Nico di Angelo and the Avengers

Chapter Thirteen: The Scarlett Letter

He did not know who he was-- besides the basics, that is, but even then, there were holes where there should not be. (who was he to question it?)
His name is Will Solace. He is a son of Apollo, and a mortal named _____ Solace. He has a boyfriend named ____ __ ______, who is a son of _____. He's better at healing than he is singing. He recently befriended ___ ________. (what does it matter who you are? you serve a higher purpose, now)
He would feel like _____, if he had the freedom to feel how he wanted to in the first place. (watch your tone, soldier)
He was Menoetius's pawn. (you say that like it's a bad thing)
"Solace," a voice said, close to his ear. (sloppy. pay more attention to your surroundings)
    Will turned around, hand flying to the knife on his belt. But then he saw who it was that spoke, and relaxed, hand falling back to his side. "Soldier," he greeted. "What is it you need?"
    The Soldier glanced around the room surreptitiously. "There's not much time, Will. I need you to listen very carefully. Soon, there will be a... lapse... in your control--"
    "Impossible," Will interjected, brows furrowed. "Menoetius--"
    "--Isn't all powerful." The Soldier insisted. "There have always been lapses. They've gotten longer, now that you... look, it doesn't matter." The Soldier shoved something into Will's hand; an envelope, scarlet red, with black ink scrawled over it. A message from Menoetius, perhaps? But why would The Soldier have it, if what he claimed was true? Unless this act was a ruse... a test... (something is off)
    Will's brow furrowed. "I don't--"
    "When it happens to you," Bucky said in low, insistent tones, "slip this letter into the mail pile. The Harpies won't question it, they'll take care of the rest. You have to--"
    "Soldier--"
    "Bucky," he said firmly. "Call me Bucky. I promise you, you'll understand--"
    But Bucky didn't get to explain what, exactly, Will was supposed to understand. Instead, he shuddered, then tensed, a hard look across his face. His eyes went wide in fear. And then... he changed. It was small, at first, just a straightening of the back, his posture going rigid. His fists clenched and unclenched, the metal arm whirring as the plates shifted. But most horrifying was what Will saw on Bucky's face. The hard look crumbled, the fear spreading across it, and then... It was odd; it was as though The Soldier crept slowly around the perimeter of his face, almost like a mask, almost as if it was... protecting Bucky. It was an odd thought. Soon, all that remained of Bucky was the fear in his eyes, which looked at Will pleadingly.
Then Bucky blinked, and even those went blank.
"Wh--" Bucky (except it wasn't Bucky anymore, not really) blinked, looking around in confusion. "What am I doing here?"
"You--" And suddenly Will realized that he didn't hear that voice which compelled him to obey, didn't feel compelled to serve, to be a good soldier. He didn't feel compelled to tell Bucky the truth. He worked carefully to make sure his face was blank, and ever so carefully shoved the envelope into his back pocket. "You wanted to see if I had changed the Harpy bedding." He wrinkled his nose. "It's disgusting in there."
Bucky nodded in agreement, though he still looked confused, and not altogether convinced. But he left it, trusting Will to be a good little soldier.
Well then, Will thought, I guess I won't remember what happens in the next few minutes...
It wasn't a happy thought.
"SOLDIER!" Bellowed a loud, (very unfortunately) familiar voice. Menoetius barged into the room, eyes stormy and angry. His eyes fell onto Bucky, who snapped to attention, Will mimicking his actions. A pleased smile stretched across his face. It was horrifying. "Ah, good. You're back."
"Sir?" Bucky questioned.
Menoetius waved a hand in dismissal. "Don't worry about it. Now report to your station!"
Bucky nodded in affirmation, and stalked past the Titan. Will saw him pause, and shake his head, before continuing on.
And now Will was alone with Menoetius. His hand itched to draw his bow, to shoot the bastard in the face— or perhaps to take out his knife and gouge the Titan's eyes out... But, no. He couldn't. Not if he wanted to deliver whatever was in the envelope, not if he wanted to get off this cursed island. Not if he wanted to see Nico again. So he stayed standing in rapt attention, his body taut as a bowstring.
"Son of Apollo," Menoetius turned his questioning glare onto Will, "Did The Soldier say anything to you?"
Will noticed now, the ichor bleeding through the side Menoetius's tunic, and remembered, suddenly, that one of Bucky's many knives was missing from his belt. Will fought back the urge to smile, and crafted yet another lie. "Yes, sir. I was on my way to clean the Harpy bedding when The Soldier stopped me. He said something about getting off the Island? Of hiding?" Will forced a confused frown on his face. "I'm not quite sure what he was talking about," he admitted. "Is he functioning properly?"
Will hated talking about Bucky as though he was nothing more than a senseless weapon, but it seemed to be the right thing to say. Because though suspicion still gleamed faintly in Menoetius's eyes, he simply nodded.
"The Soldier is fine. He simply... Well. It's none of your business. Carry on, Son of Apollo." And with that, Menoetius turned on his heel, stomping out of the room.
Will sighed in relief, before sprinting to the Mailroom, and soon the building loomed above him. It was really more of a glorified shack, a wide hole in the middle, letters amassing in piles. The Harpies would swoop down in the morning, take them into their talons, and simply deliver them without question. It was no wonder Bucky chose to communicate through mail; it was ridiculously simple, and no one would think to question it.
In all honesty, Will was surprised there even was a Mailroom. What would one Titan and a horde of monsters even write about, and to whom would they send it? Where would they send it? But apparently, monsters would mail letters to their families or friends in Tartarus, assuring them that, yes, everything was more than okay, and, yes, the world would be dominated, the gods overthrown, and they could all feast on the Mortals soon. Kiss the kids goodnight for me, tell them to follow in daddy's footsteps and wreak terror and havoc upon the mortal world.
As for Menoetius... well, he was almost constantly mailing his Titan family, asking for their support— practically begging them to join, to share with him the glory of toppling Olympus and living freely as kings and queens once again. He... wasn't exactly successful, much to his chagrin. (I'll join you after you take out the gods, it builds character if you do it alone, they'd say, or, Oh, uh, I'd love to but I'm super busy right now. Maybe later?, or the occasional, New Postal Address, who dis?)
Will shook his head and went back to the task at hand. It would be easy-- ridiculously easy-- for Will to slip the letter in and go. The Monsters thought him obedient, wouldn't think he would do anything to sabotage their mission, and so the few Harpies that passed by paid him no mind.
But he wanted to know what was in the letter. Make sure the information was accurate and, more importantly, make sure it wasn't a trap. After all, you could never be too careful on an island filled with monsters, run by an angry Titan who mind-controls people as a means to his end. So Will pulled the letter-- written on scarlet paper as well-- out of the envelope, reading it over quickly (or as quickly as he could with his dyslexia-- fortunately for him, Bucky kept the letter short).

Steve-- it read in a rushed hand--
I'm on San Salvador Island. There's a small mass of land in the middle of Storr's Lake— that's where I'm being held.
    I think you know who has me. Hard to believe, right?
    Menoetius is... doing to me what HYDRA did, but, like HYDRA, it isn't permanent. Isn't complete.
    There's a shit ton of monsters. And there's a Titaness in a cage. If anyone told me a hundred years ago this is where I'd end up... Well.
    Take care of Nico for me. I know he's with you. Can't have my favorite cousin following in your reckless footsteps.
    Steve, I— and here two endings were crossed out: love you and miss you, they said, barely legible under the quick scratches— will see you soon. Sorry you have to save me again.

                            --Bucky
Will sighed. "Gods. Poor Bucky."
But he didn't linger on his pity long, instead grabbing a pen from a nearby table and quickly scrawling a message below Bucky's in Ancient Greek. He sealed it quickly, stamping it shut with wax, and then, after a moment's thought, changed the address on the back. Stark Tower would probably be empty by now, or at least empty of Nico. And Will didn't trust that the Harpies wouldn't just attack the Avengers anyway, seeing as Menoetius kept posters of them tacked up in the Main Hall, the words "ENEMIES" written in bold text below. No, there was a much better place to send it.
Farm Road 3.141, it now read.
Long Island, New York, 11954.
He threw the letter atop the pile, and, as he left the Mailroom, he changed.

~*~

Haha. This sucks, man.

SORRY ITS BEEN SO LONG! If I'm completely honest the reason why is like. Really dumb and makes me feel super stupid sjfnsnfn. I've had this chap written for a. WHILE. I was working on the chapter after this, cos I like to have another chapter written... and then I remembered the reason WHY i liked to write that way was that, should I run into writer's block, I'd still have a chapter  to post. *facepalms* I am boo boo the fool.

So anyway. Here's this!

BUCKY IS NICO'S COUSIN AND GODS IM SO HAPPY TO FINALLY REVEAL THAT COS I WAS TIRED OF TRYNA KEEP THE DRAMA WKFKJSJF. THE TIMELINE IS BASICALLY THAT OF FAMILIAL (ANOTHER STORY I HAVE) BUT P MUCH WINIFRED BARNES WAS THE MUCH OLDER HALF SISTER OF MARIA DI ANGELO, AND BUCKY IS NICOS MUCH OLDER COUSIN.

YEE HAW. Hopefully the next chapter won't take too long but  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I'm working on a shitton of stories, y'all. And college starts again next week. Oof. Why must I punish myself like this?