Beneath the Pain - Percy Jackson and the Avengers Crossover

NEW CHAPTER 1 | PREVIEW

IMPORTANT!!!
ONLY READ IF YOU HAVE ALREADY READ THE PREVIOUS (although horrible) CHAPTERS AS READING THIS BEFORE READING CHAPTER 2 WILL CAUSE CONFUSION.

This is only a preview of chapter 1, and if I'm being honest, I might end up editing things here and there in this chapter when I finally post all of it. But I guess you guys deserve to see some sort of update.

Hope this gives you a good enough taste of what's to come!

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Percy's POV

After travelling for months, slaying monsters, going through the literal definition of hell, nose-bleeding the Earth alive and seeing a guy who you thought was dead arrive with a girl you never thought you'd see again, you'd think you'd need a break. Hey, turns out, I'm able to get one.

For maybe a couple weeks or so.

Most of the monsters who fought for Gaia are either waiting to reform in Tartarus or in hiding across the world. If some are unlucky, they'll come across a few demigods and be turned to dust before they could even say, "Wasn't me!" If I was needed, someone would call me for sure, but everyone agreed the least I deserved was a rest. How often have I managed to rest without the weight of a prophecy on my shoulders, whether I knew about it or not?

Dam, I jinxed that, didn't I? But why would a demigod be assigned three Great Prophecies anyway? You'd have to be messed up to do that.

I jinxed that too. Dam it.

I thanked Argus, our hundred-eyed security guard, for delivering me back home, a place I'd been waiting to see after so long. But I want to see my mom the most. I haven't seen her since Hera - the worst person in existence - decided to wipe my memory and swap me with Jason, and I could imagine her worrying. The thought of seeing her again warmed my heart. It's impossible not to love my mom. And if you didn't, then you're just crazy.

I took a deep inhale and allowed myself to smile genuinely, my hand on one strap of my backpack containing the few items I packed as I climbed the stairs to the apartment. The feel of the new apartment building really signified a change in my life. But when I thought of change, a familiar unnerving feeling settled in my gut. Out of habit, I checked to see if Riptide was in my pocket.

A couple of steps further and my feet landed on our apartment's floor. All was simple in this apartment building, only the occasional door decorations or "Home" doormats giving character to any of the apartments. However, one small thing stuck out of place.

Mom's apartment door was open. No one would leave their apartment door open like that unless they weren't totally worried someone would barge in.

It seems like bad guys don't rest either, do they?

I crept closer to the door and small specks of yellow liquid tainted the door. Upon closer inspection, the liquid glittered in the sunlight. Ichor. A regular monster couldn't have bled ichor; mortal weapons would've passed through. They couldn't have been injured by a demigod weapon either since even the smallest slice would end with them collapsing into dust. Someone or something had been here. So, if my mom and Paul were forced to use the Celestial bronze weapons I left for their self-defence, then...

As I inched the door open, a sight I never thought or hoped to see was met before my very eyes. The apartment was a mess of broken glass, shards of plates and mugs, and upturned or knocked-over furniture with each of its objects broken or littered across the floor. This was only half the problem, and if not, less than half of what worried me. Because no matter where I looked, whether it was at the walls, floor or ceiling, I was met with a red substance I was all too familiar with.