Fanfic #249 De Anno Luctus by silverbird6(MarvelXPercyJackson)

This fanfic is a fusion between Marvel and Percy Jackson focusing on the everyone dealing with the snap. I really like this fic because it has interesting character analysis and great world building.

Synopsis: For once, Percy's live isn't a Greek tragedy because of his godly relatives. No, this time it was aliens. In a world where superheroes and demigods coexist, the gods are not as all-knowing as they might think and demigods and mortals alike must rise to the challenges of a new, more dangerous world.

Rated: M

words: 42k

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31213661/chapters/7714799

Here's the first chapter:

Day 1- The Beginning of the End

The world ended the day after finals.

If he'd had his choice, Percy would have spent his last days with Annabeth on vacation or visiting friends. But the universe clearly didn't care to accommodate him, so what became their last days was filled with finals stress, Red-Bull fueled nights, and the silence of the New Rome public library.

Someone old and probably wise once said to live each day as if it was your last. Unfortunately, Percy didn't get the memo.

On the day everything changed, he woke up at 4:50 in the morning to Annabeth pounding on his dormitory door.

"Percy? Get up, time to run".

Percy groaned and hid his head under his pillow. "We just had finals yesterday, give me one morning of peace!"

"Perseus Jackson, let me in!"

Knowing that no matter how much he protested Annabeth wouldn't leave, Percy dragged himself out of bed and over to the door before she somehow pried the thing off its hinges. He barely got out of the way before she barreled through the open doorway, still twisting her sun-kissed hair into a ponytail and looking far too chipper for this time of the morning.

"You know what they say. It takes an average of 66 days to create a habit and physical fitness starts to decline after only three days of inactivity, so we can't take a break!"

"Annabeth, I'm asking for one morning" Percy griped, attempting to fall back into bed. Annabeth grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pushed him toward the sink in his room.

"Brush your teeth, Seaweed Brain, and put on your shoes. We'll take it easy, I promise".

Percy did as he was told, though he made sure to grouse about it the whole time. It was not only easier to just listen to Annabeth, but on some level, she was probably right. He always felt better when he ran in the morning. Plus, the legion would still be out running drills. Since he didn't have classes, he could probably join them; he needed to keep up his finely honed skill of killing things that wanted to kill him.

Percy spat toothpaste into the sink and moved over to his closet, pulling out socks and his running shoes.

"I was thinking we could take the New Rome route this morning, then end on the Fields of Mars so we can watch the legion drill," Annabeth chattered behind him as he tied his shoelaces, "Then we can come back and get an iced coffee and..."

She cut off suddenly. Percy glanced back, assuming she'd gotten sidetracked. It wasn't uncommon for her to get distracted by another thought in the middle of a conversation. Instead, he saw her standing there, slack faced.

"Annabeth?"

When asked about it later, he couldn't describe the experience. One moment she was there, ready to plan the day as aggressively as she planned war games, and the next she was disintegrating into thin air.

He reached forward and ashes fell through his fingers, the black dust gathering into a small mound where his girlfriend once stood. His mind went blank, taking a full minute to process before he stood up in a rush.

"Annabeth!" he called, just in case this was some elaborate prank by a schoolmate. He wouldn't put it past some of the New Rome University demigods. But there was no reply.

Maybe this was an underworld thing. Maybe one of the gods had transported her or accidentally smited her? Maybe...

Percy pushed aside his door, launching himself across the hall to pound on his classmate's door. Bryce had mentioned after their marine science final yesterday that he'd be in town through the weekend. But there was no answer.

Percy took the stairs at a run, skipping a flight all together as he barreled through the doors and out into the cool morning air, sunlight just starting to peek over the horizon. He tore through the streets and down the hill on autopilot, ignoring the commotion of legionnaires forming up outside the barracks. He skidded to a stop in front of a small duplex built to house the legion's two Praetors and banged on the door.

"Frank!" he hollered, pounding harder, "Frank wake up! Get down here!"

He heard the door next to Frank's slam open, an awake but grumpy Reyna standing with her arms crossed on the porch in athletic gear.

"Percy, what on earth are you doing?"

Reyna. Good, Reyna had been around the block a few times. She was calm too, able to mentally handle the questions that needed to be asked right now. Like why Annabeth was now a pile of dust on his dorm floor. Percy turned away from Frank's door and grabbed Reyna's arm, startling her.

"Reyna, I need your help. Please!"

Reyna maneuvered him over to a bench and sat him down gently, as if she was handling an explosive. "What on earth is wrong?"

"Annabeth" Percy tried to stand back up again, but Reyna's firm hand pushed him down, "She's gone!"

"Gone?" Reyna asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "You mean she left for home without telling you?"

Percy shook his head violently, "No! I mean, she came over to run this morning and we were talking about our plans for the day and then I look over at her and she's just standing there and then she dissolves into black dust and she's gone !"

His voice broke on the last word, and he dropped his head between his legs. The treeline in front of him was shaky and too bright and nothing made sense anymore. Something was very very wrong.

Reyna clearly thought so too as she gaped at him for a solid minute, then stood up and rapped smartly on Frank's door, "Frank, get your podex down here right now!"

When no response was given, she kicked down the door. Percy ran in after her, ignoring her demands to stick together and took the stairs two at a time until he was standing in the doorframe of the bathroom, where Frank would have been getting ready for the day. He stopped on a dime when he saw a familiar pile of black dust sitting on the floor by the sink, water still running.

"Reyna!" he called. He could hear her cursing as she took the steps two at a time. She skidded around the corner and stared at the dust on the floor.

"Is that what..."

"Yes," Percy said, eyes not moving from the floor. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved that Annabeth hadn't been smited by a bitter Hera or horrified that Frank was gone too. He was leaning toward horrified, but he truthfully wasn't feeling much of anything right now.

That feeling intensified as the noise outside the barracks grew into shouting. Reyna turned on her heel and ran back down the stairs. Percy stared at what remained of Frank a moment longer, then turned off the stink and stumbled down the stairs.

The scene awaiting him was a nightmare. Nearly every legionnaire had been out of the barracks and assembling in the yard, waiting for the roll call. Instead of five neat blocks of 24, the campers were in disarray. He saw Dakota holding a handful of black dust, looking around as though someone would jump out at any minute with a hidden camera. He saw people screaming, crying, running away and frozen in place.

And on the ground, 60 piles of black dust. Half of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata was missing.

"Percy!"

Hazel came running up from the fifth cohort, and he had never been more happy to see the daughter of Hades. He met her part way across the yard and immediately accepted her hug.

"Oh I'm so glad you're okay!" she cried, giving him one last hug before pulling away. "I saw Reyna run out, but I was going to go check on..."

She trailed off as Percy shook his head. "I just checked...I'm so sorry Hazel".

"No" she gasped, pushing past him into the praetor's house. Percy bowed his head, flinching when he heard her cries of distress from the upper bathroom. She emerged only a few minutes later, the mason jar that usually held flowers in Frank's entryway filled with black ash.

"Annabeth?" she asked softly, already knowing the answer. Percy just shook his head. She sat down heavily in the grass next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

They stayed that way as the sun finally rose over the horizon, illuminating the horrors of the day.

"We have to consult the gods." Dakota insisted, voice carrying over the steady murmurs of the remaining Centurions. They were sitting on the lawn between the Legion barracks and New Rome. Three adult representatives from New Rome had joined them, as pale and shaky as everyone else. The rest of the legion was armed and patrolling the borders, in case this was a precursor to an attack. Percy had disagreed with the decision at first; shell-shocked kids with weapons weren't a great mix. Percy wasn't sure he'd even trust himself with a sword right now. It felt like he was floating through the day, like part of him had been turned to dust with Annabeth. But Reyna was right; there was a very good chance that this was an attack against their camp, and they had to be prepared to defend themselves if necessary.

"What if they did this?" A citizen of New Rome spoke up, "Who else has the power to eliminate half our numbers in one fell swoop?"

"If the gods were involved, we should seek amends immediately for whatever we did to wrong them" Another centurion offered.

"I agree we should reach out to Olympus to determine what happened," Jason began, pacing back and forth, "But I was in discussions with Persephone just last night about an honorary garden, and nothing seemed amiss. And I'd like to think that at least one of our parents would have reached out and warned us".

"Has anyone checked with Camp Half Blood?" Hazel asked.

The whole group turned to look at Percy. He stared at them for a moment without comprehending, then realized what they were saying. Why hadn't Percy thought of that already? He'd been so focused on Annabeth and Frank and the legion that he hadn't even thought of all his friends that were at Camp Half Blood, not to mention his family back in New York. What if this wasn't a localized disaster?

He stood suddenly, startling a centurion sitting beside him, and created a filmy mist from the morning dew. "Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow" his voice cracked, "Accept my offering. Show me Grover at Camp Half Blood".

Percy thanked the gods for small miracles as the call went through, revealing Grover slumped over a dining hall table. Percy's heart sank as he saw the chaos in the background.

"G-man?" Percy called hesitantly. Grover jumped up and saw Percy hanging in the mist.

"Percy!" Grover bleated, getting much closer than necessary to the Iris message, "Thank the gods!"

"What's going on, Grover?" Percy demanded, "Are people disappearing over there too?"

"It's not so much disappearing as poofing into dust" he cried, "Juniper is okay, thank goodness, but about half of the other dryads' trees are just gone! Like they've been burned to a crisp! And same with the campers!"

Percy's heart was going to beat right out of his chest, "Chiron? Piper? Leo? Calypso? Will? Nico?" He could hear his voice rising with every name.

"Bahh! Nico's here, but the rest of them are just gone! Mr. D was on Olympus for a council meeting and hasn't returned yet. What about Camp Jupiter?"

"Frank, Annabeth, half the camp. It's more of the same" Percy scrunched up his forehead in a pitiful attempt to stave off his building headache, "Do you have any information about the cause?"

Grover nodded, "Nyssa rigged the Big House TV to get more information. No one seems to know anything except that the Avengers were missing when this happened".

"The Avengers?" Reyna asked, stepping behind Percy so Grover could see her, "What's going on? Is this impacting the mortal world as well?"

Grover sighed, rubbing his horns, "Reyna, Percy, man, this has happened everywhere. I'm not kidding. New York, California, Europe, China, everywhere ".

Reyna stepped back as if shot, stumbling over to a clear patch of ground where she finally allowed herself to collapse. Percy stared at her for a minute, wishing he'd never woken up this morning. But he couldn't lose it anymore than he already had. He was a demigod and he had a camp to organize. He could think on his feet. He ignored the voice in his head telling him to just give up and turned to Grover, "Send Nico here. I'll come soon to check in".

"Percy..."

"Just do it, Grover!" he snapped, the rage that had been growing deep in his core emerging suddenly, "I need him here, now!"

Grover looked at him, concerned and hurt. Percy took a deep breath and muttered, "Sorry G-Man. Keep safe, yeah?" He cut the connection and turned back towards the assembled group, "Call a Senate meeting. We need to make some decisions. Now".

Day 2- The Deliberations

It was 3 in the morning, and the Senate had been in session for 13 hours.

As if it wasn't enough that half of the world was gone. Now, they couldn't even agree amongst themselves.

"We need to officially close the borders" Reyna was arguing for the fifth time. "I don't care, we all have family outside the camp that we want to check on. But we're going to have to make do with phone calls and Iris messages for now. Who knows which gods and goddesses disappeared? What if Death was dusted? What if they all were? Monsters could be roaming the Earth unchecked".

"What if none of them were?" Nico countered, crossing his arms. He'd arrived a few hours ago and looked dead on his feet, his eyes sunken deep into his skull, "They're gods, can they even be dusted?"

"Even the animals were halved according to the news" Hazel countered, "I don't think we can assume that they are exempt, especially with Olympus being closed".

The aforementioned news was playing on mute via a small TV Leo had left in Camp Jupiter last time he'd been here. They kept it on the San Francisco local news just in case something else was coming, but so far, the anchors kept alternating between delivering bad news about the disappearances, reading reports about aliens, and trying not to hyperventilate on camera with varying degrees of success.

Jason had tried to reach out to the Olympians before the Roman senators had assembled yesterday to no avail. Percy was concerned. Nothing good ever happened when Olympus shut itself down.

"At least we know Iris messages still work" Dakota muttered, "Look, we just need to make a decision. Because I haven't slept in 24 hours now and if we don't get a break, I'm going to stab one of you through the eye with my gladius".

Percy snorted. He knew the feeling.

"Are we ready to vote?" Jason asked, looking back and forth between the senators.

"On what?" Reyna muttered, but nodded when Jason turned his glare on her.

"No" Percy spoke for the first time since he'd helped Reyna open the session, drawing the ire of every senator in the building. "We can vote on the camp as a whole. But I'm leaving".

"You can't just do whatever you want" Reyna argued, "We have to be united right now. We can't afford not to be!"

"Exactly. Camp Half Blood has been left without leaders. Chiron's gone, Mr. D's either dusted or on Olympus, and you saw, the campers are panicking. My mom still isn't picking up the phone and I have a two year old sister who could be sitting alone in their apartment. I'll stop by there and make sure she's okay, then stay at camp for a while, take a census, and get everyone settled. Then we can make plans to search for the missing from both camps. A coordinated effort". Percy met Reyna's eyes, trying to convey the urgency of their situation. He wasn't trying to be a deviant. He was trying to get them organized and united, like she wanted. She hesitated for a moment, then nodded once in understanding.

"Alright. Anyone who wants to leave can leave by 5pm today, though we are strongly advising against it unless you're an experienced quester. We'll shut down the Camp borders for a week. And I mean shut down. No shadow traveling, riding, flying, driving, or walking across the border until we can get things situated here. Then we'll reevaluate". Reyna turned to Percy again, "I'd like to get updates from you via Iris message".

Percy nodded, "Of course. And I'll be back to help once I'm sure Camp Half Blood is okay. Just don't give away my dorm while I'm gone" he joked, but it fell flat.

Reyna turned to the Senate, "All in favor of the proposed plan of action?"

Percy wasn't sure if it was the merits of his plan or the promise of the end of the session that caused it, but the motion passed with a unanimous vote.

Jason sighed with relief as everyone filed out of the senate house, tripping on poorly-wrapped togas. That left just their small group: Jason, Percy, Reyna, Hazel, and Nico.

"Would you mind giving me a lift to New York?" Percy asked Nico, "I can try to catch Blackjack from there, but I want to check on Estelle as soon as possible.

Nico nodded in agreement, "I'm not sure I'll stay here anyways. I've got to see what's going on in the Underworld, visit my father and get some answers. If he's dusted...well let's just hope for the sake of the remaining world that he's not".

Hazel nodded, "I'll stay here, both as a senator and as an emergency shadow travel escape if we need one".

Reyna snorted rather unbecomingly, "Senator my podex. You're acting Praetor, as of right now. I need someone else sensible to help me now that Frank is...well, missing".

Hazel paled a bit but nodded, "Anything I can do to help".

"You might be sorry you offered that" Reyna muttered before turning to Jason, "I'd like you here as well if possible, to help coordinate New Rome and to communicate with any gods or goddesses that might show up to enlighten us".

Jason nodded, "I'll be here. Just a heads up, if we haven't heard anything by the end of the week, I'm going to petition the senate to send a delegation to Olympus. We can't afford to be cut-off right now".

"Agreed" Reyna stretched, then started towards the door, "Good luck, Percy and Nico. Come back alive, you hear me?"

"Yes ma'am" Percy and Nico answered in unison. They headed towards Percy's dorm, both flinching when the harsh morning sun hit them.

"I need a quick nap, then we can get going," Nico said, extending his stride to keep up with Percy, "I know this is time sensitive, but it won't do us any good if I accidentally drop us in a volcano".

"I understand". And Percy did. No matter how much he wanted to get moving and check on his family and friends, he knew that they had to be smart about this. So naps for both of them.

But while Nico snored on his bed, he found himself sitting awake by a jar filled with Annabeth's ashes, wishing he'd been the one to disappear.

Nico and Percy materialized in the hallway outside Sally and Paul's apartment. He reached in his pocket, searching for the key.

"Thanks Nico" Percy whispered, hesitant to break the eerie silence in the hall. He wondered if he should say something about Will, but he definitely didn't want to talk about Annabeth, so he settled with an awkward, "I don't want to keep you from checking on your father".

Nico crossed his arms and glared at him, "I'll wait here and take you to Camp Half Blood. I'm not a complete jerk, you know?"

"I just thought you had to..." Nico continued to stare at him like he was an idiot. Percy relented, "Fine. Thank you".

He finally got his key free, and unlocked the door, knocking twice in the way he always did when visiting from college.

"Mom? Paul?"

Silence. The apartment looked exactly the same as it always did: windows open to let any bit of sunshine that could peek through the surrounding buildings, Estelle's toys all over the floor, and a pile of books on every flat surface.

"They could be out at the store? It looks like it's getting hectic out there" Nico was at the living room window, staring down at the street. Percy joined him.

The busy New York Street below held about half the people it usually did, but everyone looked frantic. Percy could see the cars backed up on the road as far as the eye could see, about half of them wrecked or burnt out from collisions when drivers were dusted. It had been 8 am on the East Coast; commute hour. Percy just prayed that Paul had already been at work.

Nico turned on the news. It had been less than 48 hours since the Blip, as the news outlets were calling it. The New York evening reporters looked haggard and were pleading with citizens to stay inside their homes and only buy enough supplies to last a week, so that everyone could get their share. Percy knew that wouldn't work, and so did most shop owners, who were closing their stores to prevent a stampede. Which of course was only making people more panicked.

Percy knew the feeling. Neither of his parents were in the apartment, there was an ominous black pile of dust in the kitchen, and there was no sign of Estelle. He'd have to check with the neighbors to make sure no one stopped by and picked her up, but he had a pit in his stomach that said they were all gone.

"Anything?" Nico asked, even though he probably already knew the answer.

"No. I'll need to check next door and with Paul's coworkers, make sure he wasn't at work when this all happened..." Percy trailed off, staring at the open kitchen cupboard. A chair had been dragged across the floor, leaving black marks in its wake and shoved against the kitchen counter. Percy moved closer, noticing the top shelf had been disrupted.

That was where his mom kept the cookies.

"Estelle?" Percy yelled, pushing away from the kitchen and toward the bedrooms, "Stella!"

He heard a thump from her bedroom and he ran faster, careening around the corner and flinging the door open. The bedroom lights were all off and he didn't see his sister anywhere, but there was light peeking through the slits of the closet door. Slowly, the closet door inched open, until two hazel eyes and a shock of dark hair peered around the doorframe.

"Stella!"

She blinked, then slowly edged around the door, "Percy?"

Percy let out something akin to a desperate laugh, "Yeah, kid. It's me!"

All of a sudden, he was holding his squiggling sister, who promptly buried her face in his chest and cried.

"Shh, shh, I've got you" Percy wrapped his arms around her, blocking out the sights and sounds of the apartment, "I'm here now. I'm so sorry Stella, I'm here now".

They sat like that for a while, Nico an awkward shadow at his back. Finally, he pulled away, wiping the tears from her red face, "There we are. Glad we got that out, right?"

She giggled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. Percy picked her up, noticing she was still in her PJs and had cookie crumbs all over her face. He settled her on his hip and walked to the bathroom, wet a washcloth, and wiped her clean. "There we are. I have a friend I'd like you to meet" He waved to Nico, who tried to make an escape. Percy just beckoned more insistently until the son of Hades walked towards them.

"Do you remember my friend Nico? He goes to camp with me?"

Estelle nodded, thumb in her mouth, and looked shyly at Nico. Nico awkwardly wiggled his fingers at her, "Hey".

Percy took a deep breath. If Estelle was here on her own, it had to mean Sally and Paul were Blipped. Because if they weren't, nothing could have stopped them from getting back to her.

"Alright, baby girl. We've gotta get out of here". Percy took stock of the apartment, "Nico, go pack up the food in the kitchen the best you can. My mom has bins of books in the closet that she was planning to take on tour. Empty them out and use them to transport the food. Might as well not leave it to go to waste. I'll pack up anything of value that my parents might want later, and then get Ms. Stella's stuff packed up".

Nico nodded and headed to the kitchen, grateful for a task that didn't involve a toddler. Percy wandered the house, grabbing his mom's purse, Paul's wallet (he must have been just leaving the house, as it was sitting right by the door instead of in the bedroom), and their fire-proof box with important documents and his grandmother's remaining jewelry. He also snagged his mom's favorite blanket, Paul's alma mater sweatshirt, a couple photo albums, and a copy of his mom's book, throwing them all into one bin.

He then moved on to Estelle's room and, with a great deal of convincing and cookie bribes, set her on the task of getting dressed and determining which stuffed animals to take. He wanted to take all of her things, but that wasn't realistic, and they could always come back for extras if needed (provided Nico was around to give him a lift). So he stuffed as much as he could into his parent's two suitcases, then filled a backpack with books and games to keep his sister occupied.

Nearly an hour after their arrival, they were ready, standing by the door with three bins, two suitcases, and a little sister. Percy and Nico carefully transported everything to the basement of the apartment building, where Paul's Prius awaited.

"Can you shadow travel a car?" Percy asked Nico. He would just drive to Camp, but the roads were all officially closed and even if he wanted to, he didn't think he could maneuver them through the traffic.

"I once transported the Athena Parthenos across the Atlantic Ocean" Nico griped, opening the trunk and violently shoving the bins inside, "I think I can get a car from here to camp".

Percy very kindly didn't mention that the aforementioned trip had resulted in a lot of falling and passing out, and instead set about getting his sister situated in the car.

"Where are we going?" Stella asked, nervously rubbing the corner of her blanket.

"We're going to camp, the one I went to during the summer, remember?"

She nodded, eyes fluttering shut. Percy was pretty certain she'd be asleep by the time they hit camp.

Nico jumped into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut behind him. "Okay Percy, jump in and we'll get going".

Percy slid into the driver's seat and buckled up, "So how does this work?"

"Just hold on and try to breathe normally," Nico instructed, closing his eyes. The shadows in the parking garage became thicker and darker, closing in around the car. Suddenly, the world spun, seeming to squeeze the car through a tube that they were slightly too big for, until they landed on the road right outside Camp Half Blood.

"I want to do that again!" Estelle chirped from the backseat, suddenly very awake. "It's like the spinny cups!"

Nico smiled, then quickly hid it and sniffed pretentiously, "At least someone appreciates me".

Percy started the car and drove up the hill, stopping right outside the border. "Alright, Nico, can you walk in there and invite Estelle? That way we can cross the border and get started on..." he trailed off, his eye catching on Thalia's tree to the left. "Umm, Nico?

"What?" Nico looked in that direction as well, "Oh...that's not good".

They stared at the completely unprotected tree, which was already starting to drop needles. Peleus and the Fleece were nowhere to be seen. Percy climbed out of the car slowly, pausing to grab his sister from the back seat and settle her on his hip. Nico walked out to his right, keeping an eye on the road behind them as Percy reached out to touch Thalia's tree.

Suddenly, Percy felt the tip of a spear at the base of his throat. He shifted Stella behind him and raised his free hand. Nico tensed beside him, one hand on his sword.

Clarisse appeared from behind the tree on the other end of the spear. She sighed when she saw it was them and removed the spear from Percy's throat, "I'll only say this once, but thank goodness you're here Prissy. You too, Death Breath. We've got a major problem".