literature

Clash of Two Worlds

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Nerida Roods stood calmly at the edge of the ocean; she could sense its power. Many bracelets jangled on her left wrist, countered by a single, thick one on her right hand. She could hear the sea’s steady heartbeat, and prayed that she would one day be able to do this again. Who knew when the next she would be able to peacefully stand by the ocean and relax? Things were changing, and no one knew how the world around them was going to end up.

Not Rachel, not Annabeth, and not even her brother. She played with the many bracelets on her left arm, feeling the slight heat emitted from the eight thinner ones, and the comforting weight of the thicker one, which was slightly thinner than it mate the resided on her right hand. Both were gifts from her father, for her brave actions during the Titian War.

Even thinking about the battles made fear and grief war inside her. So many lost, to both the Titians and the bloody battles. She’d done her best, but still the people around her had fallen. She’d grieved. And she trained. She’d get better, she’d better protect those she loved, those who were bound to her by circumstance.

It seemed that her skills were going to be tested, and tested soon, against some angry Romans.

Oh Percy, she thought wryly, you make trouble wherever you go.

She wished her father would send her a sign, something that would tell her what the future held, and how to avoid the coming war. But, like many of the other gods, he was slightly busy fighting himself. He’d gone a little schizophrenic and now his Greek and Roman halves were fighting against each other, each wanting to stand for either side, for different beliefs.

She knew no help would come from the ocean any more than it would come from Olympus. Unless you counted Hera, the goddess who deserved a slap upside the head and a boot in the ass. But, she thought with satisfaction, she’s probably gone schizo too. Nothing less than she deserved, erasing two boy’s memories and switching them in the dead of night, leaving everyone concerned as to their whereabouts.

Percy’d taken off before, but never alone. He’d always taken Annabeth or someone with him. So when they’d woken up and found him missing and his usual partners oblivious she’d known instantly that something had to be wrong. She hadn’t expected goddess-napping though.

That was a new low, even for Hera.

Juno, whatever.

And now to top it all off, with the Argo II on its way across the country and heading for Greece and Rome, the Romans were on their way to attack Camp Half-Blood.

And if a bunch of angry Romans weren’t bad enough, monsters had started to stir again. They’d settled a bit after Kronos’s defeat, but they were getting agitated and awoken again by Gaea. The earth witch had sent some of her most gruesome children after the half-bloods of America. Drakons and dragons, giants and evil Cyclopes, hellhounds and empousa, and so many, many more. She rubbed absently at the healing scratch given by a griffon. Even the Laistrygonians had started to travel further and further south, looking for juicy half-bloods.

Hera may have deserved a slap, but Gaea deserved a punch in the gut, a black eye and so much more. The sea roared, waves crashed harder. She heard some tourists gasp and released her anger. As a child of Poseidon, the sea reacted to her. She’d always been called the calm before the storm.

Her temper was sharp, and unforgiving. Anyone in her path was in danger, much like the sea just before a storm. You never quite knew when the calm would break, and the storm would unleash all its fury. She’d gotten a good handle on her temper over the years, the incidents of exploding water fixtures had forced her to control herself. Not always easy, her father had said before that the sea did not like to be restrained. Neither did she. Rules chafed her, orders grated her, and she hated being told what she could and couldn’t do.

Much like the sea, she preferred to live by her own rules.

It wasn’t always possible, but she tried not to let people drown when she got mad. Chiron told her that wasn’t the best thing. And the not the best example to be set by a child of the Big Three. She’d sulkily agreed, even though Drew had deserved it. She’d spoken ill of the dead, and that was a line that didn’t budge for Nerida.

Unless the dead were monsters, mass murderers, or long dead idiots, you didn’t speak ill of them. She was contradictory, and moody. She liked it that way. And when Percy had found out they shared a godly parent, he’d learned to live with her moods. They were close, and he was her rock. He was the steady sea. The nice sea. The sea that allowed you to swim in it and enjoy its wonders.

That was Percy.

She was between that. Like she’d said before, the calm before the storm. She wasn’t ruthless, but neither could she be called kind by those who ticked her off. She took great care of the wounded though. Both wounds of the heart and flesh. She had a soft side, even if she didn’t show it most of time. Few people realized just how kind and softhearted she could be.

Percy knew, but he also knew she’d shove him into the sea and send him to Mexico before he could say Hola! She played with the bracelets again, her hand drifting up the eighth one. It was thin, and cold. So very cold. The eight bracelets were the life lines of eight demigods. Jason, Piper, Leo, Frank, Hazel, Annabeth, Percy and Nico. Nico’s had gone cold and thin a few days ago, around the time Hazel had discovered that he’d been taken by Gaea.

Nico was alive, but only just.

The others were okay, but she didn’t know the challenges they faced as they raced towards Rome and Greece. She never knew when one of the bracelets might suddenly go cold as ice, and crumble to dust as whichever demigod they represented died.

On one hand, it was good to know that they were alive. On the other, it was a slow torture knowing she’d know the instant they died. It must be how Nico felt. He was a son of Hades, and could sense the death of those close to him. How horrible it must be, to know that if someone you loved died you’d know exactly when and what their fate was in the Underworld.

But she was also sure that she’d go slowly and not so quietly insane without this small connection to her brother and his girlfriend, who she’d come to think of as a sister. The others too, had a place in her heart. Leo with his infectious laugh and skill with machines, Jason with his quiet confidence and leadership skills, and Piper with her pretty voice and quick way with a knife.

She hadn’t known Frank or Hazel long, but the short time they’d known each other, she’d found Frank sweet nature, clumsiness and skill in battle to be both endearing and contradictory. Hazel was old fashioned in a good way, and had herself a fierce and cuss happy horse she adored.

Annabeth had become her sister true, but she’d also become her best friend. Annabeth held her back when she lost control of her temper, and was usually able to contain her with a few quick, totally logical and slightly annoying voice of reason. She and Annabeth had some…issues when they’d first met.

Yeah, issues.

They were both headstrong and independent girls and often-butted heads over stupid things. They’d overcome that when Nerida had found out she was Percy’s sister. Annabeth, who’d become Percy’s girlfriend not long after, had decided they’d better get along or pull Percy in half with meaningless bickering.

Oh, that had burned her at first, because she’d been right. Percy would be in the middle of every argument, and that just wasn’t fair.

He may have been invulnerable at the time, but two bickering woman around him would have killed him for sure. Especially when those two women were a highly volatile daughter of Poseidon and a smart tongued daughter of Athena. They’d have ripped the camp to shreds if they’d gotten into a serious fight.

So they’d decided if they couldn’t be friends they’d tolerate each other and if they had to fight they’d go into the woods to do it. Instead of tolerating each other however, they’d discovered they’d liked each other and had somehow managed to become friends. Much to Percy’s and the camps relief. So for four glorious months, Annabeth and Percy had dated, and Annabeth and Nerida had been best friends.

It had worked, she’d liked the rhythm, and she’d so rarely liked the rhythm of her life. Then Percy had vanished. He’d disappeared as she’d lain in the next bunk over, and she hadn’t heard a thing.

That still burned in her gut.

Even knowing a goddess had snatched Percy during the night, she’d still hadn’t been able to do anything. Hear anything. It grated.

And now Nico was missing. The son of Hades was gone and hanging on by a thread. Her feelings on the boy were…Mixed. When he’d first come to camp, a naïve boy of ten, they’d had a connection. At the time she hadn’t known her godly parent, and neither had Nico.

They’d been months apart in age, and had connected well. She’d become a substitute sister for him. She may have been closing in on her eleventh birthday that year, but she was more mature than others her age. She had to be. And she’d comforted Nico as best she could while his sister was on the mission. She’d prayed that his sister would be okay. She hadn’t wanted anyone to die on the mission. But for Nico’s sake, she’d hoped Bianca would be okay.

When they came back and she’d found out that Bianca was dead she’d tried to find Nico. But Percy had found him first, and Nico had run off. She’d tried to help find him, but no luck. She’d missed him terribly and worried about him nightly. But had promised that she wouldn’t tell Chiron that Nico was the son of Hades.

She knew how bad that could be. He’d be in danger if the Titians had found out. And she’d wanted that young, sweet boy to be okay. When he’d come back after the battle of the labyrinth, he’d changed no doubt but when she got him alone she found some of that sweet boy again. And so the connection stayed. She and Nico had stayed friends even as he came and went from Camp.

But then he’d started acting slightly different. A boy with a secret. She recognized that and knew if he was keeping a secret it had to be for a good reason. But still, he’d known where Percy was. He’d known Percy’d end up there sometime and had said nothing. She tried hard to see his side of it. His father had probably ordered him not to tell about the Roman Camp. She could see why.

Romans were easily angered.

At the time, she wondered if she’d known it would be the last time she’d hang out with Nico before Gaea took him. It had been a week and a half before Leo and the rest were set to leave for the Roman Camp, and she’d insisted on him wearing the bracelet so she’d know what was going on.

She’d been a part of the search team, so she’d assumed maybe they’d meet in ‘Frisco, but he’d gone to find the Doors of Death after finding Percy at the Roman Camp. And had vanished into the depths of the Underworld, and if her dreams were correct, into Tartarus.

She touched a hand to the bracelet again, praying for his safety. It had moved away from the others. Taking a life of its own. It was no on her upper arm, representing the many miles between Nico and the others.

Life wasn’t fair. Neither was death.

She’d learned that the hard way. She touched the pendent around her neck, a seashell her father had given her mother before he’d left for good, before she’d been born. It was her small token from the sea, no matter how far from it she was.

She heard the screams before she heard the snarls of the monster. She closed her eyes and cursed. Of course, she couldn’t have five minutes of peace. She was on the pier, looking over the New York Harbor, and now a monster of some type decided it wanted to play.

She was in no mood to play.

The sea’s heartbeat increased, water sprayed onto the pier. A not so subtle warning. The monster kept coming. A small one, from the sound of it. A small dragon probably. Dragons had ego issues sometimes.  

Sighing, she touched a finger to her right bracelet, which quickly became a perfectly balanced Celestial Bronze sword, a wicked sharp implement of monster death. She twisted out the path of the charging monsters and brought her sword down as it past. It disintegrated into monster dust. Really, it was too easy sometimes. But it shouldn't have of attacked her with so many around. But such was life.

Now to get out of here before too many people started asking questions. She heard helicopters and wondered how they’d gotten here so fast. The cops and the ambulance sirens were still a long way off.

She kept walking, her head down, and her hood up. She heard someone moving towards the crowd, shouting something over the overlapping conversations of the awed onlookers.

“Stop!” Someone said. With her luck, he was after her. She sped up dodging through people and using the New York City version of getting through people.

Push, shove, curse, and ask questions later.

The next thing she knew someone grabbed her. She struggled and broke free, surprising her captor with her strength. She ran for it. Dodging people, buildings, horses-who helped by freaking out and blocking her pursuers-and the occasional bag lady. She ran until she didn’t hear anyone, and then slipped into an alley, wondering how she was going to get back to Camp. She’d have to slip into the ocean when no one was looking and hope the sea monsters left her alone while she traveled to camp. She was plotting her course when the hairs on the back of her neck rose.

“You’re good.” Nerida said shaking her head. It was the same people as before.

“You surprised me before,” A man said. “It won’t happen again.”

“I don’t see why you’re harassing a girl, but I’ll call the cops.” She said without fear. If she had to, she’d beat him up and be on her way.

“We have some questions for you.” Another voice said, from in front of her. A woman this time. She rolled her eyes for form, but she was getting concerned. Who were these people?

“I’m a minor. You need either a lawyer or my parents present to question me,” She said. They had cop voices. They had to be cops.

“We’ll contact them later.” A third voice said. “We have questions that we think you might have answers for. Come quietly, please.”

“Sure, just ignore my rights.” She said sarcastically. “Listen buster, I don’t go anywhere with strangers. I don’t care if you’re the president of the United States of America, I’m not coming with you. There’s no way your cops, so buzz off.”

“We are cops.” The first male said. The one who’d tried to grab her.

“Oh, right.” She said. “I’ve met NYC cops, they wouldn’t have followed me this far. I don’t want to answer any questions. I have no idea what I could answer. Go away, before I get the real cops over here.”

“We are cops.” The second male said. “I’m Agent Coulson, with S.H.I.E.L.D.” Her heart sunk into her stomach.

Did she forget to mention? Not only do they have crazy gods, a war about to break out, but S.H.I.E.L.D was a real thing here. And, based on rumors in the demigod community, they’d begun to figure out that Asgardians were not the only gods around them.  

S.H.I.E.L.D was based on science though. There was no way they’d believe in the gods, or the implications of them being real. Implications like the fact that 90%  of their ‘science’ was wrong.

“Great.” She muttered. “What the heck could S.H.I.E.L.D. want with me? Getting bored spying on every country in the world?” A hand clamped down on her shoulder.

“Come along.” The unidentified male said. She knew they were telling the truth. They were Super Spies. She could tell by their voices.

And now she’d get to be questioned by them.

May the gods help her.
Ohhh I LOVE this crossover. Its been bouncing around in my head for a while. What would happen if Percy Jackson's world smashed into S.H.I.E.L.D's?

Oh I know, its not a usual crossover, but come on! Imagine Coulson's face if he found this out. If they found out that compared to the Asgardians the Olympians had hidden for three thousand years and change, and had a direct influence on most things in history? Ohhh. Its so juicy and cool.

And I couldn't help but make a child of Poseidon, sorry, I love the sea. She's the sea before the storm. She's got a SERIOUS temper to her, which will show more in the next chapter. She's not gunna be a good person to interview, she's so sarcastic. I'm pawing through the series, getting monster names, Greek sayings, Latin phrases, and trying not to give in an use Google Translate because its probably going to be wrong.

Enjoy!

I do not own The Percy Jackson series or Marvel. I'm simply using their characters for my own amusement. So stick your copy rights up your butt.

Next: akela-nakamura.deviantart.com/…
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Elias-Hale's avatar
This is awesome!! Chapter one has me instantly hooked! (Much like most of your writing.) Will be absolutely tearing through the rest of this story! :D