The first day back at school was always annoying. Now add a monster attack on the first day back that somehow ended up in you getting expelled before first period was even over and yeah, Percy was having the best day ever. It wasn't his fault – was it ever – that the monsters attacked, but when the dust settled, and the Mist took hold, it look like he was responsible for setting fire to the brand new sports building that had finally been completed during the summer. The police had been called, and it was all a big mess and the only reason he currently wasn't sitting in a jail cell is because neither his Mom or Paul could be reached, so the call was diverted to the next on the list of adult contacts.

Which was Tony Stark. Yeah, Percy didn't get it either.

All things considered, it wasn't a bad jail cell. He'd been in worse. Least this one didn't smell like someone had relieved themselves against a corner and no-one bothered to clean it up. Still that dried blood smell though, but that was normal. Couldn't miss it walking past the Ares Cabin.

"Nemo, we're going."

"Still not a fish."

He was bundled into a limo before the press could pounce – Tony drew a crowd wherever he went and actually thinking on it, that must suck so much. Like, what if he just wanted to slob out, or go get pizza or just be … not Tony for a day? Well, not not Tony but not the Tony who was the head-line maker and stuff. Could you be not not you? Was there a not not Percy? Not not Percy must have a far smaller record, he figured. On the other hand, not not Percy would suck at sword play. And not not Percy wouldn't be chilling out in the back of one of Tony Stark's personal limos, with a can of coke, on the way to Avengers Tower while the man in question was texting his Mum about what the hell was meant to happen next.

If they decided no school, Percy could live with that.

At the Tower, they were greeted by Pepper who gave Percy a sympathetic smile, patting his shoulder, before handing a file over to Tony. 'Cause apparently she had already been texted and told what the hell was going on, and since she was like the Super-Woman of things Percy found to be incredibly boring, she had already made a list of possible schools that would take in the kid who had the record. Seriously, next time he was at Camp, Percy was bugging Chiron until he got the lessons on how to control the Mist – again with the police record getting too long for his liking.

"Nemo, you wanna take a look at this, or we waiting till your Mom shows up?" Percy rolled his eyes, shrugging. Honestly, he wasn't really bothered about the whole school thing. It's not like they'd find a place that wouldn't kick him out if there was a monster attack. The only thing that bugged him about it all was the look on his Mom's face when she was called to yet another meeting, to be told again how much of a failure he was, and how his behaviour was going to end him up some place far worse than just being expelled. He didn't like the fact that he kept making that look appear on his Mom's face.

Steve got it, when he told him. Nodded and told Percy that it was a thing, that he was always in his fair share of fights as well. That kind of confused him, cause wasn't Steve meant to have been this little stick boy before he got all juiced up and turned into mega hero man to save the world and inspire truth, justice, and the American Way? Steve just laughed at said that being small didn't mean that he had to take crap from any bully who thought he was an easy mark. Percy got that. Bullies just sucked. He fully maintained that Mark Chadwick hurt himself when Percy caught him scamming some kid. That it happened by walking into his fist... well, that as just a coincidence.

When his Mom did show up, she was in a room with Tony for a while. Tony wouldn't hit on his Mom, right? Objectively, Percy knew she was good looking, and Tony was meant to be all play boy guy – wait, wasn't play boy some kind of bunny thing? A bunny with a collar, or something. No wait, was that...? That wasn't the point. Anyway, Pepper was in the room with them, so his Mom was safe from Tony and his play boy bunny collar ways. There was probably a picture out there on the net with Tony wearing bunny ears, actually, and they were probably the same colours as the suit because everything's got to match to soothe the Stark's ego.

They really were taking a while.

"Nemo, we might have worked it out."

He wished they had taken longer.