Hey guys! This is the latest chapter for Rebirth! As I said before, this will take place in the same universe as FWOSLtW. This takes place in between the first story and the sequel I'm planning to write. Clearly, it also takes place after CACW. Only thing different is that in this universe, Thanos is already dead, as those of you who have read FWOSLtW already know, so after CACW is about where it's compliant with canon MCU.
Anyway, Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! :)
Disclaimer: Nope... Still don't own PJO or Marvel... :((((
Percy was immensely grateful that Tony never brought up the issue ever again. It was embarrassing enough that he'd had the outburst in front of the guy. Percy continued arranging Tony's timetable, unashamedly avoiding the scientist for one whole day before he told himself to suck it up. Tony had just thrown a fit – as he always did – when Percy informed him of his three o'clock and grudgingly went up to change when the demigod didn't budge. As he passed, the genius clapped a hand on Percy's shoulder – and that was that. That one small gesture eased the tightly wound ball of anxiety in his chest. When the billionaire swaggered out again, Percy gave him a small, grateful smile.
They both had issues, Tony still wasn't dealing with them, and Percy took his frustration out in the gym. The tower still had the training room that Tony had set up for the Avengers, and Percy often trained there. Whenever there wasn't any SI related things for Tony to do, and Percy managed to drag him away from the lab, the demigod finagled Tony into sparring with him. Of course, the latter grumbled and whined and tried to run away, but Percy just calmly pointed out that since the suit was now out of commission, he would need to know how to fight to defend himself at the very least.
"I know how to fight you know." Tony said mulishly, "I went head to head with the Winter Soldier."
"For about three seconds yes." Percy deadpanned, crossing his arms over his chest. "That wasn't fighting him, it was disarming him. Useful, yes. But not enough." The teen scowled, ignoring the heart-in-his-throat feeling he got when he saw Barnes shoot Tony at point blank range. "If Widow and 13 hadn't been there, you'd be dead."
Tony pouted, "I did boxing before."
"Not. Enough." The ex-agent ground out, "I'm teaching you how to fight, and that's that."
So the sparring session commenced, three times a week, neatly slotted into Tony's already full schedule.
Tony didn't want to admit it, but Percy was a good tutor. He started on the basic stances, trying to get the muscle memory instilled in him before moving on to the various forms of attack and defense. The kid taught him how to use his height and weight to his advantage. A prime example that Percy liked to bring up was Black Widow. She was small, but fast, and used her opponent's weight to her own advantage. Tony wasn't as small as she was – nor as flexible – but he was still a good deal shorter than most people – a fact that Percy pointed out gleefully – and he learned how to deflect strikes rather than block them. Without the armor, his strength was diminished, and against people like the super soldiers, he wouldn't stand for very long if he kept absorbing their strikes.
Not that Tony thought he'd last at all against them but well, if it helped Percy sleep at night…
Five weeks later
"Say," Tony began, causing Percy to look up from his Starkpad curiously, "What were you doing in Korea back then?"
Percy frowned slightly, "…Why?"
Tony shrugged, swiping his finger across the screen, reading intently. "Just curious I suppose, why would you need to do an undercover op halfway across the globe?"
Percy stared at Tony suspiciously, abandoning his Starkpad, "Tony, what do you know?"
Honey brown orbs flicked up to him, "How many heads of HYDRA have you cut off?"
"…I'm going to assume you mean the organization and not the literal hydra." Percy said finally, after several minutes of silence.
The genius shrugged and returned his attention to the tablet. Percy leaned forward and plucked the tablet from Tony's hands, stalling the man's protest. A HYDRA file stood proudly on the screen.
"Last I checked, HYDRA wasn't exactly part of the Accords." Percy said, casting a stern look at Tony, who shrugged unrepentantly.
"I decided to go through the stuff that Widow uploaded onto the Web, since apparently, I managed to miss the entire file about my parents' deaths the first time around."
Percy flicked his eyes downwards, skimming through the file that Tony had opened, the words jumbling up in his vision. "HYDRA isn't gone." The hydrokinetic teen murmured, prompting a round of cursing from the man opposite him.
"What does that even mean?" Tony demanded, "Didn't HYDRA fall when SHIELD did?"
Percy's lips turned down, "Supposedly, that's the public version. HYDRA went underground when SHIELD fell, but they went under too fast."
"Too fast?"
Percy nodded, looking back up, "They disappeared overnight Tony. Disregarding the fractions of the organization that was left when the three Helicarriers fell, and when the Triskelion was taken, the rest of HYDRA disappeared."
Tony frowned thoughtfully, a hand reaching out for the tablet Percy had taken from him, "I thought Pierce was killed as well?"
"Yeah, but they don't call themselves HYDRA for no reason, even if their logo suggests otherwise. All high ranking HYDRA members vanished when the files were uploaded. Every HYDRA operative we've managed to catch are the goons, and none of them are speaking."
Tony leaned back, "You're saying that they just moved underground – well," he amended, "more underground than they already were."
"I'm saying that we don't have any intel on what they're doing now." Percy sighed harshly, running a hand through his messy hair, "Korea was a lead, but all I found were goons. Every known high ranking member of HYDRA are either dead or missing. We can't find them, we don't have eyes on them, and we don't know what HYDRA is doing."
Tony looked down at his tablet, "I can see why that's a problem."
He looked back at Percy, "Why did you come with me if you were needed?"
"There's nothing I can do without intel from my boss. Besides," Percy shrugged, "I'm better off helping you." The demigod levelled Tony with a look, "You're still considered an Avenger, and you're alone."
Tony's jaw clenched, he had never considered himself easy pickings, but he could see where Percy was coming from. Politcally, Percy couldn't do much against Ross and his cronies, but that was Tony's playground – he'd grown up learning how to play the crowd after all. If they decided to come for him though – whoever 'they' were in this case – Tony was literally the last Avenger. Rhodey was with the military and Vision was off with Wanda (as if he didn't know where the ragtag Avengers were). It made him glad for the decision to come to the Tower, considering the fact that it was run by FRIDAY and had defense systems that would deter – if not stall – any rogues long enough for him to run (fight).
"Do you want to be an Avenger?" Tony blurted out.
"I – what?" Percy sputtered, his eyes growing wide.
Tony winced, "Sorry. That came out of nowhere. I mean – do you want to? You don't need to – no obligations whatsoever, it's a casual question – you don't have to say yes if you don't want to. I wont fire you, I promise." the genius rambled, lapsing into silence.
Percy stared unblinkingly at Tony for several long moments then looked away, "I – I don't know." He confessed, "Are you planning on reviving the Avengers?"
Tony swallowed, "You were right. I can't – I can't stop being Iron Man. I don't want to stop being Iron Man. And the world needs the Avengers."
"You're planning on bringing the rest back?" Percy asked quietly.
Tony drummed his fingers on the tablet's screen, "You mean Cap and the rest? I don't know. I don't know if they'll ever be allowed back into the Avengers Initiative, but well, there're a few candidates in mind."
"And the Accords? Its not exactly comprehensive right now, there're still a lot of things to amend."
"I was thinking of individual contracts." Tony said, "The Accords would be amended in each contract, to suit the terms and conditions of each person. Otherwise we could draw up extra terms for the rest of our lives and we still won't be done."
Percy nodded. "It's a good idea." He agreed, "But I don't – I don't know if I can be an Avenger." He said softly, "I don't know if I want to be one." Percy looked down at his own tablet, "I like doing this, organizing things for you, being your personal assistant… I've been fighting for as long as I can remember Tony," he said, flicking his eyes to meet Tony's gaze, "I don't know if I want to go back into that life just yet."
Tony nodded, slightly disappointed but understanding Percy's reasons. "Well, just know that the offer is on the table."
The other teen nodded, and the two of them returned to perusing the Accords.
Things didn't change much, other than the fact that Tony began working on his Iron Man suit once again. He tweaked the suit here and there, prolonged pestering of T'challa had allowed him to get his hands on some Vibranium. Not enough to make a whole suit – but enough to create a new arc reactor. Tony placed the vibranium arc reactor in Rhodey's suit, upgrading War Machine's functions and uploading FRIDAY into the suit's interface. He also installed a backup reactor in the suit, one that would help power the suit if the main reactor was shut down (or blown off). Tony should have done that a long time ago, if he did, then maybe Rhodey wouldn't be relearning how to walk.
He also spent time brainstorming how to include Rhodey's prosthetics in the suit. It would be too heavy if Rhodey wore the prosthetics into the suit, but without the prosthetics, Rhodey wouldn't be able to land properly.
That particular issue nagged at Tony's brain for weeks until his friend made an offhanded comment.
"Why not just incorporate the prosthetics as part of the armor?" Rhodey shrugged, the comment dropping from his lips in the middle of Tony's rant.
The genius paused, then darted forward to crush Rhodey in a hug with a "You're a genius honey bear!" before running off to his lab. He'd incorporated a gauntlet into his watch, he was sure he could incorporate the leg armor into the prosthetics.
Perhaps not the whole thing, Tony frowned to himself, drawing up schematics, maybe part of the leg armor? He hummed thoughtfully, a hand pinching the hologram and throwing it away, dragging another schematic in front him. He flicked his wrists, enlarging the blueprint. Tony picked at it until he was satisfied, and began creating.
He created the new suit with his old one in mind. Back when Loki had invaded New York, Tony had JARVIS disassemble his suit through the floor, the different pieces of armor disengaging from each other into smaller pieces. He incorporated that technology and combined it with the one he used to create his watch and watched as the magic happened. He made Rhodey a new set of prosthetics, lightweight carbon fiber which was able to lock in with the suit, strengthening the hold on Rhodey's legs – giving him more support – without the added weight and bulkiness of armor over the prosthetics.
It was a long and tiring few weeks, but Rhodey's face when he took War Machine out for a spin was the best thanks he could ever receive. That was counting the bone-crushing hug that Rhodey gave him when he finally landed – slightly wobbly, but on his feet nonetheless.
Percy had waited for them in the tower, but the bright grin on his face just added to the joy that they felt in that moment. Rhodey had been near tears – so was Tony, but he was claiming that it was the wind – and the three of them decided to celebrate. There were a lot more flight tests to be done to improve the stability of the suit, but for now, Tony was satisfied with seeing his friend able to fly again.
"You've outdone yourself this time round Tones." Rhodey grinned, downing a shot, his other hand reaching out for a slice of pizza before his glass even hit the table.
Tony snorted, placing a hand over his heart dramatically, "You wound me sugar, are you saying that every other tech I've created isn't fantastic?"
Percy rolled his eyes, biting into his own slice of pizza, "Don't go fishing for compliments Tony, your ego is already too big."
Rhodey snorted, "I'm surprised that the tower hasn't collapsed under the weight of his ego." The colonel jabbed.
Tony fell backwards on the couch, "Ugh, you guys. Behave Rhodey, or I'll take back the suit." He warned, waving a threatening hand at his best friend.
An explosion threw all of them to the side.
"FRIDAY?" Tony sat up, "FRIDAY what's wrong –"
"Boss," FRIDAY's voice interrupted, a tinge of panic in her voice, "I am detecting intrusions in my system – attempting to override –" she fizzled into static and silence.
The tower trembled on its foundations, their glasses and plates shattering into shards on the ground. Percy got to his feet, remaining in a half crouch to maintain his balance as the building shook with the force of the explosions. He formed a sword of ice in his hand, cursing internally at leaving his own weapons back in his room.
"Tony we have aerial incoming!" Percy hollered, raising a hand up. With a tug in his gut, water burst from the ceiling – he apologized mentally for destroying Tony's piping system again – and formed a sheet of ice that came up just in time to block the projectile. Percy kept reinforcing the ice, adding layer after layer to hold the explosion at bay.
"FRIDAY deploy suits now!" Tony shouted, ducking as pieces of the ceiling dropped, smaller – but equally deadly – explosions rocketing through the building.
A burst of static was all they heard, but the walls began retracting, revealing the suits.
"How likely is it that this is one of your experiments?" Rhodey yelled, careening backwards when the elevator door blasted outwards, a swarm of men dressed in black surging forward. The War Machine armor was already locking itself onto him, setting his nerves ablaze with the prospect of a fight.
Tony's own suit was likewise forming over his body. "My experiments are never this destructive!" Tony called back, raising a gauntlet covered hand. The faceplate slammed down, the suit's eyes glowing with the rage that Tony felt "And I would never destroy my Tower." He growled, firing at the intruders.
They scattered, and Percy dropped the ice just in time for the red and gold clad hero to blast out, a grey and silver blur streaking by right after. Percy turned his attention to the swarm of men, glaring at the crest they wore proudly on their uniforms. His knuckles turned white with the way his fingers were clenched around the hilt of his sword.
"Hail HYDRA." They intoned as one, raising their guns, making Percy scowl when he recognized them as Phase 2 weapons.
Percy sneered, "That's an octopus you idiots." Then he attacked.
He dropped to the floor when they fired, avoiding the blasts of energy. The demigod swept a hand, the ice melting into water which slammed into the HYDRA goons. The front row was sent crashing into the back, making them bowl over like a domino. Percy used the opening to dash towards them, a hand at slipping under the weapon, slamming the gun upwards into one of the agents' face. He spun and elbowed another agent in the face, the sound of bone crunching drowned out by the scream of pain when Percy kicked him between the legs.
One HYDRA agent jammed the barrel of the gun in his back, but Percy twisted, hissing when the blast burned his side. He slammed the butt of his sword in the chest, finishing him off with a roundhouse kick to the same area, sending him flying into the other agents behind him. Percy ducked under another gun and slashed upwards, slicing the gun perfectly into half, turning with the momentum that allowed him to cleave another gun into half, his blade cutting deep into the HYDRA agent's vest.
The one good thing about the goons were that they all carried Phase 2 weapons – they were bulky as hell. This made it easy for Percy to slip between the soldiers and take them out. Tendrils of water formed from his fingertips, rapping around the necks of several men. He tugged at the liquid rope, sending them crashing against each other. A sweep of his hand threw the agents backwards, a clench of his fists crushed others in a watery grave, a hand splayed out buried shards of ice in their bodies. Percy whirled around them, knocking their guns off target, the screams of the HYDRA agents ringing in his ears as their own comrades killed them.
A hand wound around Percy's neck, jerking him backwards into a huge, muscular chest. Before he could buck free, several other arms grabbed hold of his and pinned him downwards. Percy thrashed in their grip, his legs kicking out at any and everything that was in his way. At least five agents held him down, and in between the chaos, Percy caught a glimpse of them setting up a machine on the platform outside of the common area. The whine of repulsor jets told him that the machine was meant for Tony – and that alone made him fight harder. Percy snarled and dug deep inside him, feeling for the well of power in his being.
Time slowed down.
He felt the painful tug in his gut, reaching deep for a power he had never dared to try before. Around him, the HYDRA agents brought out chains, intending to tie him down. Percy's vision was swamped in a blue haze. He felt the water that ran through their veins, that was present in their blood and in their whole body. He felt the liquid around him and pulled.
The men collapsed as one, their organs torn from the inside out, but Percy ignored all of that, lurching upright. He ignored the black spots that dance din his vision, lunging towards the machine. He screamed a warning to Tony who barely dodged the blast when the machine came to life – the HYDRA agents aiming for the armor clad hero. Percy reached the men at the same time that Tony was distracted another aerial assault. The ex-agent flung a hand out at the two HYDRA agents, twin shards of ice buried in their throats. He formed another sword in his hand, slicing the machine in half. Percy blinked rapidly, trying to clear the spots from his vision, the ground lurching under his feet as he stumbled, dizziness assaulting him. He spun around, feeling a presence behind him. Unsteady and disoriented as he was, he didn't block when the agent fired.
The blast slammed into Percy's chest, the force of it sending him backwards – right over the edge of the platform.
...I'm sorry?
Tbh, I wrote that last line while listening to FOB's Just One Yesterday - somehow that translated into angst and sadness. Please don't kill me for the cliffie *cringes*. Either way, I really hope you enhoyed this chapter! Or not, depending on how you guys are feeling right about now. XD
Anyway, I've been wanting to include that octopus comment for awhile now, it's pretty hilarious everytime I see HYDRA's logo.
Anyway, please do leave a review on your way out! :)