A/N: This all started out as a prompt where Clint and the team gets to meet Thalia and the Hunt, but I figured that it wouldn't be too believable just out of the blue, so this bonding thing happened instead between Percy and Thalia. Thanks for the prompt, TheRose13, and I'm sorry for screwing it up, but oh well…

Disclaimer: I'm not a cute old guy like Stan Lee or ole Uncle Rick, so I guess I don't own Percy Jackson or the Avengers.


Bull's-eye

"A whole pack of them?" Clint asked. "Just girls who run around killing monsters with bows and arrows. Led by a goddess."

Percy sighed. "It's a group. They're part of the Hunt. But yeah, they do. And they will kick your butt if you breathe on them since you're a male, probably."

Percy had told Clint about Artemis and the Hunt, which Percy was now kind of regretting. Clint was really interested in the thought of girls kicking monsters' butts with a bow and arrow as their main source of weaponry. He kept turning to Tony and smiling smugly, saying, "See, Tony? The bow and arrow isn't just used by me. We've got another fine example of people using them and being amazing, too. You're so wrong about everything about the bow, Tony, see it isn't an archaic weapon…"

And so on. Percy had heard it all too much.

Clint just kept grinning the entire time, and Percy knew—just knew—that he was going to have to introduce Clint to more of the girls than just Thalia. Eventually, anyway, unless he could find a better solution. Percy knew this was easier said than done because of the small problem of Clint being a man. Percy couldn't help but hope that the whole bow-wielding thing would gain him a few extra brownie points, though. And the fact that he would probably be completely enamored by the group of girls for being so awesome with bows and arrows wow maybe one of them could give me a tip. Or so Clint said. Percy still wasn't sure about the whole tip thing because from Percy's viewpoint, it already looked like Clint knew what he was doing with a bow.

"Yes, Clint, we get it," Natasha cut Clint off mid-ramble, much to the relief of Tony. "Girls. Bows. Female empowerment. They kick butt. We understand."

Clint frowned. "Was that sarcasm? That was sarcasm."

Natasha rolled her eyes, and Percy hurriedly started talking before she could begin talking again. If Natasha started talking again, who knew what would happen? Percy didn't even want to think of that particular chain of events. "I don't really understand why this fascinates you that much, Clint. The entire Apollo cabin uses bows and arrows, too. And the Apollo cabin won't turn you into an antelope for looking at them, either."

"The Apollo cabin seems to be the wisest choice, Clinton," Thor said seriously. "Artemis is indeed known for her detestation of men and for her tendencies of turning men into wild animals to hunt."

"She sounds so awesome!" Clint exclaimed. "She kind of reminds me of Tasha already."

They all simultaneously turned towards Natasha, who raised an eyebrow. "You're right, Clint," she deadpanned. "I would turn you into an antelope if I had the chance. Hunting you down does sound like a great idea right now."

Percy shuddered at the thought of Artemis and Natasha working together. "I bet Artemis would actually like you a lot, Natasha." She shrugged, like having a goddess like you wasn't all that big of a deal.

"How did you get Artemis to like you if you're a guy, anyway, Percy?" Tony asked curiously.

Percy considered the question. "I'm not really sure, actually. She didn't like me at first, for sure. And then I guess she sort of tolerated me after I took the sky from her and then watched her first in command Zoë die. Then after the first time I helped save the world and all that, she kind of tolerated me more. Then she gradually didn't hate me some more after saving the world again. And now she kind of likes me. I think." Percy paused. "You know, I still don't really know. Maybe I'm just an acquired taste or something."

"Well, that, and you don't treat other people badly, either," Steve pointed out.

Percy shuffled his feet uncomfortably at the attention. "Who knows? She's a goddess. I don't even know what girls are thinking. I definitely don't know what goddesses think."

"Any other hunting groups I should know about?" Clint asked. "Like, with bows, I mean."

"If there are more, I haven't heard of them," Percy said. "You've met Thalia. That's what they're like, except they hate boys more."

"Is not Thalia Grace Lady Artemis' first in command?" Thor questioned.

"Right," Percy agreed.

"Why does not Thalia Grace make a visit to the tower to inform Clinton of the Hunt?" Thor suggested.

"Can that happen?" Clint asked excitedly. "I swear I'll drop it after this. Really."

"I don't know," Percy said reluctantly. "They're pretty busy. I don't even know if she's in town. Besides, Thalia isn't just gonna tell you all the Hunt's deep, dark secrets. Especially since you're a guy."

"Well, then she can just come over here and shoot her bow," Tony said. Percy figured he was grasping at straws for ways to shut Clint up about this. "We have an awesome range anyway."

"Maybe…" Percy thought about it. Thalia would probably actually like shooting in the range downstairs. Tony wasn't kidding when he said it was awesome. It would be good practice for her. "Alright, I'll ask her. Don't get your hopes up, though."

Clint beamed. "This is going to be great!" Natasha rolled her eyes again and walked out of the room.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"This is actually great timing," Thalia said on the other side of the IM. "We've got a lull in activity over here and everyone's bored. I'd love to come kill some time at the tower." She suddenly smirked. "You think I could beat that archer? What's his name—Clint?"

Percy shook his head, teasing her. "Oh, I don't know. He's pretty good. And I guess you're okay, too. I don't think your honor could take losing to a man though. Right, Pinecone Face?"

"Shut up," she retorted, which was ruined slightly by her grin. "Tell you what. If I beat Clint, you buy dinner. If I lose, I'll buy dinner."

"Same burger joint?" Percy asked.

"Is there any other?"

"Okay," Percy agreed readily. "When are you coming?"

"Is three hours okay?" She bit her lip and frowned. "Actually maybe three and a half, I've still gotta convince Artemis."

"That's fine," Percy said. Then he paused. "Wait, it's going to take you an extra half hour to convince Artemis?"

"Probably."

Percy shook his head. "Well, I'll see you then. Make sure you bring your money for when you lose." Percy laughed as he cut the connection before Thalia could say something. This was going to be great.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"I still can't believe how big this place is," Thalia said as she walked into the building three and a half hours later, true to her word. "There's so much stuff in it."

"Tell me about it," Percy said as he walked her to the elevator. "I'm almost had a heart attack when they showed me my room. And everything else."

When they finally got to the gym floor, the rest of the team was already there, no doubt waiting for the showdown.

They all grinned at Thalia when she walked in with Percy. "You guys remember the wonderful Lady Thalia, of course," Percy told them. "Thals, you remember everyone, too, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Duh. I'm not stupid. I've met them like three times already, Percy."

Percy tried to contain a smile. "Thals, it's okay if you're nervous about losing. I understand. I'll even forgive you for taking it out on me."

Thalia glared at Percy. "I'm gonna spar with you later. Just wait."

"I'll kick your butt," Percy countered with an easy grin. "But you should probably shoot against Clint first because I don't want to deal with him pouting for the next three weeks."

"Suit yourself," she said shrugging. She got her bow ready for shooting and made sure her arrows were in order. "Just know your time is coming. Very soon."

"I'm trembling," Percy said, his voice flat. Thalia shook her head and stepped up to the normal target to shoot some warm-ups, each one managing to find the center of the rings. "We'll start in ten minutes, guys."

Ten minutes of warm-ups passed pretty quickly. When Percy called time, Tony hauled himself up from his position leaned against the wall and went to turn on "the good stuff."

"You get one try," Tony explained. "And Thalia, no need to worry about the home court advantage with Clint because I entered in a new program he's never tried. I've been meaning to get him to test it, but I forgot until now. It's completely safe, of course. You can tell me whenever you're ready. All you have to do is shoot as many of the targets as you can. They're going to appear everywhere except in that corner where we'll be sitting. And I should warn you: you might want to avoid the flying projectiles that come at you, and watch your step at the end." Tony nodded toward the back corner where they would be sitting. Percy could see the excited glint in his eyes from here.

Thalia rolled her neck. "I'm ready," she said with an easy confidence. She bent her knees slightly. "There's twenty-four arrows for twenty-four targets, right?"

"Right," Tony confirmed. "Okay, I'm starting…now."

Immediately, a few targets started popping up from the ceiling and the walls, moving in different speeds. Thalia shot down three before she had to duck a tennis ball that came flying at her. She rolled and came up neatly before shooting down another two. She threw herself to the side to avoid a plastic chair that came out of the side of the wall. She shot another target down from the floor. Thalia got up again and shot another four moving at different high speeds before finally missing a target when she was hit by flying shoe and a grapefruit at the same time. She shook herself once before shooting two different targets down at the same time by knocking two arrows on her bow.

When Thalia had four more targets left, large platforms started rising from the floor. She jumped off of one and flipped, taking out another target. She bounded onto another and shot two other targets that moved at least as fast as a car on the interstate. Her last target was shot by getting a running start and leaping off, seeming to fly before drawing back her arm and releasing her last arrow. Percy watched with his eyebrows raised as the arrow struck dead in the center of the target. Bull's-eye. Thalia turned to the team, breathing hard.

"I remember my first time I did that," Percy said airily. "I just managed to get all the targets, but it was a close thing."

"Oh, whatever, Percy," Thalia panted, laughing. "The day you hit a target and not Chiron is the day I'm a satyr."

Clint shook his head in admiration. "That was great! Do all of you shoot that well?"

"Most of us," Thalia said. "We practice a lot." She turned to Tony. "This is a really cool range. It's way better than just standing still and shooting. I love it."

Tony practically preened. "Well, I've got to keep Clint occupied somehow or else who knows what would happen. I'm glad you like it. You're welcome to practice on it whenever you want." Thalia thanked him and went and stood next to Percy as Clint got ready.

Tony started the simulation. It progressed in pretty much the same was as Thalia's did. There were a few differences though, Percy noticed. Whereas Thalia was all grace and movements that blended into each other, Clint was more forceful and not as graceful. They both used their surroundings to meet their goals, however. He ended up missing one, too (he got hit by the plastic chair and an orange, which promptly exploded on him). He smiled ruefully as he wiped orange guts off of his face.

"Looks like you two are evenly matched," Percy observed. He turned to Thalia. "You still have to buy me a burger."

"What?" she exclaimed. "I didn't lose!"

Percy smirked. "Well, you didn't win, either. We agreed if you won, I'd pay for the burger. You didn't win. You pay for the burger."

Thalia opened her mouth to argue more but Tony cut her off. "Well, it's a good thing I got everyone burgers already so you two can stop whining."

Thalia and Percy both looked at each other. "Fair enough," she said.

Thalia ended up staying a little later than she was going to since she and Percy were entertaining the team with stories of them working together and fighting. The team laughed a lot and so did Thalia and Percy. They argued good-naturedly the entire time, of course.

"I totally won that fight in the clearing!" Thalia declared. "You just won't accept it."

"Lies!" Percy denied loudly. "I totally would've soaked you with the entire pond if the Oracle hadn't walked over and interrupted!"

"I would have fried you!"

"I would have drowned you first!"

Natasha cut them off. "It would have been a stalemate because you're both too powerful."

"I could totally beat Pinecone Face in a real fight," Percy bragged, giggling.

"I would jab my spear through you, Seaweed Brain," Thalia crowed, joining in with Percy's giggles as the team, unknown to them, smiled fondly at the scene.

And so on. Percy lost track of time laughing with Thalia.

Needless to say, Clint was okay with not knowing everything about the Hunt after that night, and Percy had a great time catching up with Thalia. Percy walked her to the door and gave her a big hug before she left. "I missed you," she said, smiling softly. "Stay safe, okay? I don't want to have to kick your butt for dying. Again."

"Same for you," he countered, pulling on a lock of her hair. "See you later. Tell Artemis and Rose I said hi."

"Will do. Later, Percy. We'll spar later, so you better be ready."

"I suppose I just might have to be against your greatness."

"Boys these days," Thalia muttered without any bite.

Percy's laughter followed her out of the building.


A/N: Yeah, so it ended up really fluffy and I'm still not sure what happened while I was writing it. But still, I hope you guys enjoyed it! I'll either do a Prank War next chapter (featuring the magnificent Stolls) or the Breakdown Chapter (Ch. 14 or 15 of The Art of Finding Yourself). It depends on my finicky muse. Also, be looking for a new one-shot I'll have out very soon, which is the reason for the lateness on this chapter. It'll be called "Claustrophobia." Let me know what you thought! Thanks for reading and stay awesome. :)