Percy Jackson meets the Avengers [VERY SLOW UPDATES]

Chapter 12 (Unedited)

Tony's POV

Even though I knew that Steve and Natasha had been unharmed the whole time they had been with the group of teens, I couldn't help but feel anxious as I watched my live feed momentarily cut out. When the feed came back online, I couldn't help but be shocked at the clear image of the alleyway. Clint had volunteered to hang around by the alley, whilst I offered support over comms, and at that moment I saw him appear from the darkness. 

"Nico, you good for one last trip?" I heard Will quietly say in the distance. Curious as to what was happening I spoke quietly into the comms. "Steve, can you turn to face Will and Nico I want to see what's going on." Steve obliged within seconds, and I was shocked to see Nico being held upright by Will, seemingly passed out. I was about to tell Steve to offer them the opportunity to travel back to the Tower with us, when Will sighed and reached into Nico's jean pocket. He pulled out what looked like a dog whistle, and gave a short blow. The remarkable normalcy of this act momentarily froze my brain, and it seemed that there had been a similar effect on the rest of the team, who were standing stationary and silent next to them.  

Finally Clint hesitantly started speaking. "Are you guy's alright?" Will responded by shifting Nico, so that he was carrying him completely, as if he weighed nothing. "We're alright thank you. Nico doesn't have enough energy to get us home, so I called a friend. They'll be here in a minute, and then we will be out of your hair." His polite words were short and to the point, leaving everyone else confused about who on earth he had called. Presumably he had meant that he had sent a message through the dog whistle but unless they were friends with a teleporting dog I didn't see what use that would be.

Seconds later I was forced to eat my words. From the shadows of the alley had emerged exactly that - a dog. Whilst to me the dog looked like only slightly larger than your average poodle, the sudden intake of breath from Natasha prompted the thought that I wasn't seeing exactly what was there. "Natasha, what exactly does this dog look like to you? Because right now I'm seeing an overgrown poodle, but I need to know whether its actually a monster out to get you, and if you need reinforcements."

Before I could get a response, Will let a genuine smile spread across his face. "Mrs O'Leary," He called, gesturing to the dog. My anxiety levels immediately lowered, trusting that if Will was happy to see Mrs O'Leary then she must not be a threat. Even as I thought this I wondered when I had become so trusting of pretty much a complete stranger. I couldn't tell whether Will had heard our discussion, or maybe just understood that what were seeing was yet another strange thing to us, but he began to speak. "This is Mrs O'Leary. Technically she's Percy's, but Nico's taken care of her a lot over the last few years, so they pretty much co-own her. She's probably the worlds only tame hellhound, so if you see any other hellhounds don't assume that they're as friendly as she is. She is technically a monster, but over the years we have found a few monsters that are not inherently evil. She'll get us back to camp, using a similar manner of travel to Nico, but I would suggest leaving now. Monsters are attracted to de... our scent, but also to the signal that shadow travel gives off. They're attracted to the travel signal less, but with three trips around the same place in quick succession, with our signal could be enough to attract a few lesser monsters." 

With that Will chucked Nico so that his body hung over Mrs O'Leary. I was about to complain, sure that even his slender frame would be too much for the tiny dog, but to my shock, my view of Mrs O'Leary began to flicker. Her size suddenly appeared to be 10 times bigger than what I had seen previously, with Nico dwarfed by her appearance. The image only lasted a split second before it flickered back to what I had initially seen, though more blurry than before. "Mrs O'Leary seems to be struggling to control the mist, so the three of us need to leave before anyone sees us." As he was speaking, Will climbed onto Mrs O'Leary's back, her form once more flickering between her real size and what her disguised form must be. "If you encounter some monsters, make sure to contact Percy or Annabeth. But if you can't get through, because their phones are off or whatever, try 07653653422. It'll get you through to our camp counsellor, who will be able to pass a message onto Nico and I, and we'll be able to get through to the others hopefully. I hope you don't have to ever contact us like that, but we've all learnt the hard way, that things aren't always sunshine and rainbows. Also backup plans are key, not having them can cost not only your life, but also the lives of those around you."