Natasha's Secret

Chapter 26 - Sargent Barnes

"Should we chase after him-" Percy started, but was cut off by Frank.

"No, we can't take him on unprepared, just let him go,"

Steve's eyes were wide, almost like he had seen a ghost, "That was Bucky. How is Bucky alive? I saw him die, how-?"

"You mean Sargent Banes?" Annabeth asked, putting her dagger away and placing her hand on Steve's shoulder.

"I saw him die, I saw him fall, I couldn't save him, how is he alive?" Steve sounded close to a panic attack.

Annabeth put her hands on his shoulders and crouched in front of him, "Steve, breath. Breath with me, in and out,"

Steve's eyes were wide with panic, and Frank didn't look much better.

"So, that was the Winter Soldier-"

"No, that was Bucky Barnes," Steve interrupted Rachel, his voice shaking.

Rachel gave him a sympathetic glance, "Steve, I don't think that that is the man you remember, and I don't think he remembers you. For now, he's the Winter Soldier,"

"Frank, what do you know about him?" Jason asked,

Frank still looked a little shaken, but better than Steve, "He is HYDRA's best weapon, the only reason I was told to look after him was because they needed him for a mission and they couldn't afford to put him back in the ice,"

"The ice?" Bruce asked, looking confused.

"The first time I saw him, he was in this tube, and he was frozen. They told me that he was frozen when he wasn't needed, but he was kept out of the ice for so long because he was needed for... something," Frank looked almost lost, eyes far away.

"What would they need him for?" Tony questioned, actually looking worried for the blonde super-soldier sitting next to him.

Frank got quiet, staring into nothing, "I remember them talking about training, they said that they wanted more soldiers and that the Asset was in charge of training,"

After a moment of silence, Nico said what they were all thinking.

"Wouldn't demigods who have trained since childhood be the perfect army?"

"So our friends could be like Sargent Barnes? Mindless soldiers, who follow HYDRA's every command? Reyna? Hazel? Leo-?"

"Stop," Annabeth cut off Piper, her hands shaking slightly as she ran her fingers through her hair.

They all sat there silently, comprehending what Piper had just said.

"This might just be the hardest quest we've ever had," Jason sighed, pushing his glasses up on his nose.

"We need to find out where they are, and what they're planning on doing with our friends," Percy said, anger clear in his voice.

"Where could they have a space big enough to keep all the demigods without any mortals figuring out what's happening?" Will asked.

"I've been all around the world, and I only know one place big enough to train a whole army of demigods that is still around society without anyone noticing," Nico said quietly, drawing all eyes towards him, "Only Camp Jupiter has big enough space, and it already has all of the training equipment and barracks,"

"Well, it looks like we're going to have a walk down memory lane, and it won't be a pleasant stroll," Annabeth said, eyes darkening and making everyone realize how serious this was.

Annabeth was right about that, this wouldn't be a pleasant stroll for anyone involved.

~

Tony got his plane ready to fly to San Fransico and most of the group stayed silent for the rest of their stay in DC.

Annabeth stayed next to Percy for almost the entire time, feeling his arms around her shoulders and trying to stay calm.

"I was getting over it," she mumbled, pressing closer to Percy, "I was moving on, making new friends, letting their memories rest,"

"I know," Percy muttered, pressing a kiss to her temple, "but think about it this way: when we get out of this, Luke and our little poppy seed will have so many people looking out for them. I know that you don't like that fact that Luke could be in dangerous situations, but think about how far our friends would go to protect him,

"Our little poppy seed will be the same, they will be protected and loved. If we rescue our friends, then think about how many more people will be looking out for them,"

Annabeth smiled a little, sighing and leaning into Percy's chest.

"This might just be more difficult than Tartarus, considering we have to fight our friends," Annabeth said, sounding like she didn't want to think about it.

Both of them sat there for a while, not sure what to talk about.

"I just remembered how weird my cravings were with Luke," Annabeth suddenly blurted out, making Percy laugh.

"You were so obsessed with peanut butter, you almost had it with every meal,"

Annabeth giggled, "I have a strange feeling that this is going to be one demanding baby," she mumbled, rubbing her belly which still didn't give any indication of the baby in her uterus.

"This will be fun," Percy sighed, a sarcastic smile on his face.

Annabeth rubbed her forehead, already feeling the toll this whole thing would have on her body, both mentally and physically.

"What are we going to do?" She asked, knowing that Percy didn't have an answer to give her.

"Whatever we do, we're going to do it together," Percy said, tightening his arms around her.

"We'll always do it together," she said.