Catch Me If I Fall (PJO/Avengers Crossover)

48

"No..." Percy croaked and yelled out in agony as the blade was removed and he fell to the floor. "You won't get away with this!"

"Oh, Perseus," Ultron made that dry, robotic sound that was similar to that of laughing. "I already have. And, when I have full certainty you are gone, I can get rid of the rest of the gods- ensuring that, truly, the only living things in this world will be... me."

And, with that, Percy was left alone, the remaining bots leaving him squirming on the floor in the worst pain he had ever been in. He needed to get up, he needed to keep fighting, he needed to make sure this didn't happen...

"Percy! Percy, can you hear me?" He could hear Natasha, and he could feel her shake him gently yet firmly until he was fully conscious again. Percy took a gasp of air before wincing in pain. Natasha spoke into her earpiece. "Percy is down. I need someone to come keep an eye on him and eventually bring him to the helicarrier."

"I... I'm f-fine," he rasped, wincing in pain.

"You're not," Natasha wiped some sweat from his forehead, then jerked away. His body temperature was so hot she could hardly touch him. "You've done enough already, Percy. Just try to rest for now, alright?" She paused for a moment to listen in to her earpiece. "Clint is gonna come and keep an eye on you and defend you from anything trying to hurt you. He'll be over in a moment, hang in there."

Percy groaned, thinking about what Ultron had said, and utterly refused to rest. He couldn't die- he wouldn't die. He needed to see Loki again. The last time they'd seen each other didn't even begin to compensate for a proper goodbye. He needed to apologise, he needed Loki to know that everything he'd said that day was wrong, and he still loved him dearly. And he needed to see his mom and Paul and Estelle, and Chiron, everyone at the two camps... there were too many people he needed to say goodbye to, too many wrongs he needed to put right. Soon enough, as Nat had told him, Clint was looking over him. 

"Oh my God, what happened?" He seemed worried at the sight of the wound, and when Percy looked down he understood why. It was a literal hole in his body, seeing as the blade had gone right through him, and gushing golden ichor. Veins were protruding from it, but, instead of being golden and hardly noticeable, they were a deep, horrible purple, which Percy figured was the poisons making their way into his system. He shuddered, before realising every movement he made, no matter how small, hurt and wincing.

"Stabbed," he rasped, before wincing again and pressing his hands to the wound. He hated feeling so weak. "Thor. Need Thor."

"Sure," Clint nodded. "Look, Fury has sent airships to get the civilians and ourselves to safety once the city is secure; as soon as these ships get close enough, I'm going to carry you over there and find Thor for you. Deal?"

"D-deal-" Percy struggled greatly to get that one word out, and, even then, it ended with him coughing violently. He'd never felt this injured in years. Not since...

No. Percy wasn't going to think about that place. He wasn't going to have his mind flash between images of that cavern, or have him believe he was still there. Instead, he focused on Clint, who had stood up and was fighting against a few more of Ultron's bodies. Then he looked at something Percy couldn't see, and knelt down beside him. 

"Okay, those are the ships. Can you stand?"

Percy tried to reply but found he was too weak. Upon any movement, he yelled out in pain. 

"God, Percy, you're hot to the touch," Clint recoiled away in surprise.

"Sorry," he rasped.

"No, don't be, it's fine, come on- ah," he hissed in pain as he got Percy by below the armpits, supporting him and helping him half-walk, half-get-dragged to the ship, easing him into a chair. "Right, you wait here, I'll get Thor for you."