A/N: I know this is late, but it's pretty long. Also, instead of just the hospital scene, I decided to do Percy flat lining, too, since so many people requested it. I hope you enjoy! Some news at the bottom, if you want to read it.
If you want to read this chapter from Percy's POV, it's Chapter 30 in The Art of Finding Yourself.
Disclaimer: Rick and Marvel aren't usually late on their updates, so I definitely don't own Percy Jackson or the Avengers. Although, Spider-Man could come out a little sooner than they have it to make me happy…
The Side Effects of Percy Jackson
"How in the world are we supposed to treat him?" Clint asked in exasperation. He knew he was really worried underneath it all, but he couldn't help it. Percy was dying on the stupid operation table, and Clint wasn't even sure if they could help the kid.
"We definitely can't use the ambrosia and nectar stuff," Bruce said, smoothly attaching Percy to a cannula and a breathing machine to assist Percy. Bruce began to cut off Percy's shirt with silver scissors. Clint watched as they glinted in the light. "We can do water for sure, and I can do what I can for him like I would normally. I need to scan him first."
Suddenly, Clint was really, really glad for the new medical technology Bruce and Tony had made last summer to make it easier to do a full body scan without actually giving the patient an x-ray or something like that. It was quicker and much more efficient, which was two things they needed right now.
Bruce attached more instruments to Percy and suddenly, a slow, steady beat started sounding through the room. Bruce shook his head. "His heart rate's too slow. Way too slow. His blood pressure dangerously low, too." He sighed, and Clint thought he looked older than usual rubbing his eyes under his glasses. "It's better to act now when we're halfway sure than to wait until we're positive and it be too late. Thor, Steve, get some water. A lot of it. Tony, get out the bandages. Natasha and Clint, help me stop the bleeding for now and grab some disinfectant and anything else he'll need. You know what kind; you've had enough experience. And do it quickly."
Everyone rushed around in a flurry of movement, grabbing this and that in an odd dance around each other. Clint tried not to look at how still Percy looked or how pale or how his bags under his eyes stuck out a dark plum color or how he wasn't supposed to look so bruised and battered. He didn't notice what he was grabbing, but he knew whatever it was, it was the right thing. It was by instinct he grabbed it. Bruce had been spot on when he had said he and Tasha had experience: it came with the job.
Clint brought the supplies over to the table Bruce had set up right next to Percy and carefully set them down. Bruce was washing his hands with a special disinfectant soap, and when he was done, he gestured to the sink with his head. "You guys wash up. I'll get to work."
Just as Clint, Natasha, and Tony were finishing up, Steve and Thor came back with the water. They set down the four huge buckets next to Percy's bed and went and washed up, too.
"Hey, Clint, hand me that antibiotic over there," Bruce said. "And back up a little, guys. Steve, you might want to tell Fury."
Steve pulled out his phone and started towards the door. "I'm sure he already knows," he said, a touch of bitterness layered in his tone.
Clint quietly agreed with Steve and reached over to grab the correct spray only to knock it over as soon as he touched it in his surprise. He whipped his head back around and felt his breath stop. A shrill, constant noise was filling the air in the room. Bruce cursed fluently, and Clint wasn't sure if it was English or Arabic. "He's flat lining!" Bruce exclaimed. Steve stuffed the phone back in his pocket and hurriedly grabbed the water as the others rushed nearer to the bed. Clint kept slightly out of the way as Steve carefully poured water over Percy.
The team watched anxiously for a few moments. "It's not doing anything," Natasha said, her voice strained.
"I'm going to have to shock him," Bruce said grimly. "Watch out."
Clint backed away half in shock as Bruce prepped Percy. "Clear," Bruce murmured. Clint blinked in shock.
"Come on, kid," Steve said quietly, like a prayer.
The team let out a collective breath as Steve's prayer seemed to be answered. They heard the regular beating of the heart again, faint and slow, but still there.
"We need to move quicker," Tony said, grabbing a needle and thread before turning to Bruce. I've got steady hands. Clean the wound, and I'll stitch the bad one. You can check the ribs. They look busted." Bruce nodded.
"You guys are in charge of keeping him wet. Let me know it it's working whatsoever," Bruce said. Steve left to get towels and rags, and Clint stepped closer to peer down at the scratches on him that were still oozing blood slightly. His eyes widened when he saw them slowly beginning to close up and heal. "Small abrasions closing up as we speak," he reported.
"That's good," Bruce said as he checked Percy's ribs while Tony sewed up the long gash that wasn't healing on Percy's arm. "God, there's gotta be at least four broken ribs with another couple fractured or cracked. I wouldn't be surprised if one of them punctured a lung or something."
"What of his internal organs?" Thor asked, squinting at an area near Percy's heart. "After taking on so much energy and then using it, Percy is sure to have damage or overheating within him."
"What do you mean 'taking on so much energy,' Thor?" Natasha asked, swiveling her head slowly to look at Thor. "How do you know he took energy from something?"
Thor frowned. "His face shows signs of monumental strain. If Percy was only using his own power, he would never have charred Coeus' body in such a way. No, he had to absorb power from Coeus and then give it back forcefully to Coeus," Thor said, moving his hands in a violent shoving motion, starting from his chest and moving outward.
"I can't imagine the strain done to his heart and muscles," Bruce muttered. "Get some more water on him."
The silence went on for quite some time. Tony finished off his neat stitches with a tidy knot and snipped off the extra thread. He mumbled something about needing to improve his StarkStitches before setting the thread down on the table. Clint placed another wet towel next to Percy's ribs. The ribs weren't as swollen as earlier and looked a shade lighter, but Clint thought it still looked like someone had run over him with a bulldozer. Percy looked impossibly pale, and Clint watched with a tinge of sadness as Natasha absently brushed a stray piece of hair off Percy's face. This poor kid didn't deserve to die, and Clint couldn't help but think how unfair it was to have his life taken away from him just as he was beginning to learn to live again.
Suddenly, Bruce cursed violently again. "He's flat lining again!" He scrambled around to the other side of the bed and grabbed a syringe. "It's the internal damage that's slowly killing him, so I'm going to need to just insert water into his circulatory system. This is the only thing I can think of that might work faster than absorption, and I don't want to shock him yet. His body's been through enough trauma. Natasha, get over here. I need help. Clint, prep the paddles."
Clint made sure the paddles were in order while Tasha and Bruce carefully injected six syringes full of water into different parts of Percy's body. "Come on, buddy," Clint said to Percy. "Stop it." Clint wished Percy could hear him.
Bruce waited a moment before sighing. "Okay, give them to me," Bruce said, holding out his hands. His face was lined with worry. Clint wondered if he was having a hard time controlling the Other Guy. "Clear," Bruce said again. Clint watched in something like horrified fascination as Percy was shocked. Bruce checked for a reading and bit his lip. "I need to shock him again."
"Aren't you—Didn't you say that wasn't a good idea?" Tony asked, his voice a touch higher than usual. Obvious signs of stress, increased breaths and heart rate, eyes wide, and—but no, Clint thought, now was not the time for his instincts to kick in. It must have been one of his nervous tics.
"Well, right now I'm just trying to get him to breathe again," Bruce answered calmly. "Clear." Bruce checked the readings again. "Come on, Percy. You're stronger than this." Steve opened his mouth, then closed it after a few seconds. Maybe he had wanted to say something captainly, or maybe he wanted to call in more doctors for help. "Clear," Bruce said forcefully, eyes flashing a light green color—unconsciously?, Clint speculated—and finally, finally they got a few beeps. The team closed their eyes for a moment collectively with a whispered, "Thank God," from Steve.
Clint reopened his eyes and saw Bruce checking Percy's stats. Bruce smiled slightly. "I think the water dosage thing worked a little. His readings are much better. Well," Bruce said, grimacing slightly, "maybe not much better, but out of the woods for now. I wonder why he relapsed." He pushed his slipping glasses up.
"I don't know, but it scared the crap outta me," Tony said, placing a hand over his reactor. His face did look much paler than usual. "So now what?"
"Well, I don't want to inject him with anything else since his condition might deteriorate again, so I think we'll let him be," Bruce explained. "We'll just keep him surrounded by wet towels for now."
"I hope he will not be in a great deal of pain," Thor said, his booming voice a little quieter than usual—so a normal inside voice, basically—and Clint couldn't help but think that Percy had an effect on people: he made them do things they didn't usually do. Whether it be speaking quieter than usual in a room or trusting a person you had just met while you didn't trust someone you'd known for years. It was interesting, and Clint didn't mind reflecting a little deeper than usual for a change. He wasn't just a mindless assassin, which was a mistake that a few unfortunate people had made in the past.
"Could we maybe give him some mild pain killers to take the edge off it?" Steve asked hesitantly. "I don't know much about medicine, but that couldn't hurt him too much, could it?"
Bruce considered it. "I don't think it could have a really adverse affect on him. I'll give him a medium dose."
"So what are we supposed to do now?" Tony asked, lifting his hands and waving them around in a motion that just gave Clint a headache on top of things.
Natasha dragged a chair near the bed and slumped gracefully into it, her curly red locks bouncing with her movements. "Your favorite thing, Tony." She grinned tiredly, but her voice still managed to have a touch of sarcasm layered in it. "We wait."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Clint woke up to the quiet murmuring of voices.
He hadn't meant to fall asleep, but a quick peek through almost-closed eyes told him that the others had fallen prey to fatigue, too. The entire team was sprawled out in chairs on the right side of Percy's bed. They had been staying up for forever watching Percy and making sure he was okay, and they were all exhausted. Then Clint remembered where he was and the reason he had woken up in the first place and calmed his breathing again. Some instinct told him that if he remained quiet and still, something would happen that definitely wouldn't if he was awake. He shifted slightly in the padded chair to where he could see the hospital bed. A bleary-eyed Percy was alert and talking to Fury, of all people.
"She's going to be really mad at you when she realizes that I woke up and she wasn't there," Percy was saying. Clint wondered who he was talking about. Annabeth, maybe? Most likely, he answered himself. They had sent her off on a nap three hours ago and still hadn't gone to get her. Clint silently agreed with Percy; she would be furious.
"That's why we aren't telling anyone you're awake. Banner would have my head, as would the other Avengers." Clint saw Fury give his signature smirk and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Fury was getting old if he couldn't tell Clint was awake. "You're like the little brother they never had. They're quite protective of you."
Clint's eyes darted over to Tasha's form as she stirred slightly. Her eyes opened slowly and looked at him. He blinked his eyes once, slowly, and she blinked twice, quicker than Clint's slow one. Translation: stay quiet and we might hear something good, with her answering okay.
"What about Coeus? Is he gone?" Percy asked.
"Thanks to you," Fury said. "I'm not sure what you did, kid, but I'm pretty sure he's going to be gone for quite some time." Fury checked his watch, and Clint thought he seemed a touch impressed. "You know, I'm surprised you managed to stay awake this long. You're probably exhausted."
"Will power," Percy said, yawning widely. The bags under his eyes were still rather prominent and his hair was a rat's nest, but he was alive and as well as could be expected. "Thanks for giving me those keys, by the way. I could've gotten out, but it was easier that way."
Fury raised an eyebrow. "Well, I don't know about you, but I certainly couldn't save the world," he said dryly. "But, of course, that seems to be your specialty."
"It's all in the genes," Percy said, his words slurring with his drowsiness. His eyes slipped shut. Fury took the water cup Clint hadn't noticed before out of Percy's hand and set it down on the table. He pulled the covers up to cover Percy more snugly and rested a hand on Percy's shoulder.
"You did good, son," Fury said quietly. "You did good." After a few moments, Percy fell into a deeper sleep, and his body became completely relaxed. Fury stepped away from the bed and turned for the door. He got about halfway there before Clint had to say something. He couldn't help himself.
"That was sweet," Clint said cheekily, smiling.
Fury stopped and turned around. He looked at him hard, not even jumping at the sound of Clint's voice. "Do you want to disappear, Barton?"
"No, sir."
"Then shut your mouth." Fury turned back around with a swish of his coat and was out the door in seconds.
"Everyone's gone soft around here," Clint snorted softly. Yet another effect of being around Percy, although maybe it wasn't such a bad one.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Of course, when Percy woke up for real, the team was overjoyed. His muscles had completely healed with the time he was out (how that happened, Clint wasn't sure, but he really wanted Percy's auto-healing power), and he looked less like a zombie newly risen and more like a normal demigod. Of course, he was still drained and didn't even attempt to get out of bed, but progress was progress.
They exchanged stories on what happened, and Clint wasn't exactly sure what to think of Percy's story. It was stupid beyond belief, which might have been one of the reasons it worked, and incredibly inventive at the same time. Percy must have been really strong to push all that power backinto Coeus let alone taking it from him in the first place. Of course, one thing Clint knew about Percy was that he was pretty stubborn when he wanted to be, and if he set his mind on something, like defeating a titan, he would do it, or die trying. Which, thankfully, didn't end up happening this time.
After that, Tony melodramatically reenacted Percy's adventure of being a hamster that Annabeth had so graciously told them earlier. Clint stayed clutching his sides from laughing too hard, and even Tasha cracked up on some. The performance ended with two more encores from Annabeth with Percy's face remaining a deep purple color the whole time. Clint wished he had taken a picture.
Percy and Annabeth regaled them with their adventure of a labyrinth that was under the crust of the earth that had collapsed a while ago. Clint snickered when Percy suggested that perhaps Annabeth had been a touch jealous of some girl named Rachel, and man, did it really get interesting then. Clint had never really gotten to see Percy bantering with his girlfriend, but it was something, for sure. He could tell it was all in good fun, though, but that didn't stop the team from giggling like ten-year-olds at a sleepover. It mainly consisted of Percy, with his teasing remarks, accusing Annabeth of seeming green with envy and Annabeth, with her snarky retorts, accusing him of lying and being oblivious. They finally finished, so Natasha and Clint told them of some non-top-secret missions that were interesting enough.
It didn't go on for long, however, since by what seemed to the thousandth time Percy's head lolled on his chest, Bruce shooed them all out of the room, scooping up Argos and taking him with him. Clint and the others bid Percy goodnight and walked out. Tony stopped them all just outside the door as it closed. "Wait for it," he said in answer to their questioning looks. He held up a finger and leaned in closer to the door. They all did the same.
"Scoot over," they heard Annabeth whisper from inside the room, and Clint grinned. They pulled away, Tony smiling smugly, to give them privacy.
"That was really sweet," Tasha said, a certain Look in her eyes that only came around when something Percy did something or something happened to Percy that was "sweet." Clint noticed it had just started making itself known about three days after Percy had come to live with them. Another effect of being around Percy.
Being around Percy made you realize just how many side effects he had, but Clint knew he didn't mind too much. It made the team all the better for it.
A/N: So, as you can see, I took a few liberties with the medical scene. Luckily, this is fanfiction, so it doesn't have to be entirely accurate! **I was maybe thinking of doing a little missing scene drabble from the hospital for the next chapter (only like 1,000 words or less and then the Blackjack one hopefully on time in about 9 days from now). The Blackjack one will be on time! Promise. Let me know what you think of that and this chapter! Also, if you get updates or something from The Art of Finding Yourself, I'm just fixing the grammar in the chapters. My grammar was atrocious… Thanks for reading! :)
