As it turns out, Percy would be seeing Jennifer Walters again, much sooner than he was expecting. While Percy was taking his dip in the Potomac Steve and Tony engaged Barnes. It did not go well; Tony was actively trying to kill the man but Steve was staunchly opposed to the idea. Between equally fighting Barnes and Stark, Steve got more than a little beat to hell. Still he had somehow managed to swap the targeting blades with far fewer seconds to spare than anyone was comfortable with.
But during the crash Steve somehow managed to fall out of the carrier. It took them over an hour but between the chopper, Rhodes, and Tony they had managed to find their wayward Captain, lying motionless on the banks of the Potomac. It was…weird seeing Tony during all of this. On the one hand, the man seemed as though he had wanted to hate Steve. Hate the man for trying to hide what had happened to his parents. But he and Percy had been talking. It was really all there was to do while Steve was in surgery, and Percy had managed to help Tony see Steve's side of things. While Percy certainly didn't think Tony would be ok having Barnes around anytime soon, he was willing to bury the hatchet with Steve, which was all that Percy could really ask for.
Speaking of Barnes, he had managed to disappear. Somewhere between Steve falling into the river, and then miraculously reappearing on the shore, something Percy found immensely suspicious, the Winter Soldier had simply vanished. There were no tracks, no leads, nothing. It was as if the man had managed to disappear into thin air. It was more than a little frustrating, but at the end of the day, it only really mattered that Steve recovered. He had been flitting in and out of consciousness for several days.
Ok, so consciousness was perhaps a little liberal, his eyes would flutter occasionally and he would mutter something incoherent but it had been encouraging.
Or at least it had been until Natasha notified him that he was being called in to testify and defend his actions against a security tribunal. As the only high-profile active SHIELD agents to take part in the attack, as well as their public presence as members of the Avengers initiative; Percy, Natasha, and Steve were all being called in to answer for individually dismantling the greatest intelligence and security apparatus in the United States. Given the only other experience Percy had in a courtroom, he was greatly not looking forward to it.
Natasha had seemed more than confident enough, although if he were perfectly honest, Percy could rarely tell with the woman. Sometimes he could read her like a book, but ever since they pulled Steve off that embankment, she had been even more closed off than usual. She never stayed in the same room as him, and barely spent any time whatsoever in Steve's recovery room.
It had been concerning to Percy, but he trusted her. If she was being flightier than usual, she must have had her reasons. Part of which could be explained by the fact that she had dumped her entire file onto the internet, along with most of the SHIELD documents at her disposal. Percy knew he had nothing to really be worried about, nothing about his more, familial jobs, ever made it into the written or digital record archives, he and Fury had made sure of that personally, but still. It did feel weird having his entire mission history with the organization out in the open. He had yet to really read any of it however, far too preoccupied with Steve's recovery and wrangling Tony to consider the problem.
But now, here he was, two nights before the hearings were set to begin, sweating his ass off. The hearings had been postponed in the hopes that Steve would have recovered enough to testify, however the man was still asleep, so the tribunal had decided to hell with it, and were set to begin the hearings. Which is what had brought Jennifer Walters back into his fold. He had given her a call, and she had rushed over to his hotel as soon as she could. They had spent days going over their strategy for the meeting. Percy felt pretty comfortable with what they were going to do but again, given his record with the law, Percy was hesitant. But with Natasha and Jennifer on his side, Percy was confident that he would get through this in one piece.
BREAK
Natasha closed the door behind her before locking it and she turned to face the other person in the room. Jennifer was bent over a small table in the hotel room, writing into a notebook. Next to the notebook was a small recorder, Jennifer had an earbud in one ear and was listening to what was on the recording.
Natasha waited for the woman to finish what was on the tape before saying anything. Jennifer looked up in shock, one hand going up to cover her mouth in surprise. Natasha closed her eyes, knowing exactly what the other woman had just heard. With a shaky hand, the other woman turned off the recorder and set down her pen.
"This…this is going to destroy him." Jennifer muttered, more to herself than to Natasha.
Natasha just nodded her head, "It will," was her simple reply, "But we have to worry about the bigger picture here. This council is going to be grilling us over whether or not we believe that SHIELD needs to be resurrected, whether what we did was right." Natasha swallowed thickly, unable to meet the other woman's gaze, "This should be evidence enough to the whole world, exactly who and what SHIELD was." she took a shuddering breath,
"And why it needs to die."
BREAK
"Do you solemnly swear that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, under pains and penalties of perjury?"
"I do."
"You may be seated agent." Percy did as he was told, trying not to blink too much as the flashes of far too many cameras began going off. He tried to take a deep breath, but when he inhaled, it was shaky and uneven. Jennifer patted him comfortingly on the leg, he gave her a shaky smile and looked around the courtroom. He caught the eyes of Tony and Rhodey, standing off to one side, both looking a little battered but no worse for wear. Tony gave him a cheeky thumbs up and a wink, clearly taking delight in Percy's discomfort, while Rhodey just gave him an easy smile and a nod.
"Mr. Jackson, we have heard ad nauseum, from miss Romanoff on her rationale behind the attacks on the strongest intelligence apparatus available to our country, however we have yet to hear from you. Would you care to explain, for this tribunal, how you came to the decision to not only destroy three state of the art Helicarriers, but actively promote destroying the greatest asset this country has in the fight for national security?" asked some intelligence chief Percy had never heard of before.
Sitting up straighter in his chair, Percy cleared his throat before speaking. He hated public speaking, throw him in front of a hundred angry militia-men or a pit of pissed of monsters before this particular brand of hell.
"I was finishing up an investigation into a series of child abductions in Alberta-"
"Canada?" asked another member of the tribunal, "You were operating on foreign soil without express authority from either the United States or Canadian governments?"
Percy's eyes darted over to the other speaker, a four-star general, "You'll find sir that, when it came to SHIELD, territorial boundaries and country borders were little more than names and lines on a map." Turning his attention back to the intelligent chief, Percy continued,
"Like I was saying, I was finishing up my investigation, I was on location with a clean-up crew when I get a message from Natasha, erm Agent Romanoff. She alerted me to the fact that she and Steve, um Captain Rogers, were on the run and that Director Fury had been killed. She also implied that SHIELD had been compromised."
"And you had no reason to believe that Agent Romanoff was misleading you? That she herself had not been compromised?" asked the intelligence chief,
Percy raised an eyebrow, "You're joking right?" The deadpan expressions on the faces of the tribunal said otherwise, Percy scoffed and raised his hands up in exasperation. "Alright, couple things wrong with that. First of all, nobody 'sides maybe Clint, knows Natasha better than I do. She trained me, was one of my handlers, and we've been partners since my first days with SHIELD. I trust that woman with my life, my family's life, and with the lives of not just every American but every life on this planet."
Percy leaned forward on the table, his expression cold as ice, "You can disrespect me, you can disrespect my profession. But don't you dare disrespect her, or anyone else, who have gotten their hands dirty in the name of freedom just because you're so far disconnected from reality now that you have no goddamn idea what needs to be done." Percy leaned back in chair, crossing his arms over his chest,
"I remember this one time; we had this job in Kosovo. Diplomat's daughter got kidnapped by some radical extremists who wanted to restore the 'old ways' you know? So we get in, track them down to this old monastery on the outskirts of the small village on the border." Percy licked his lips as he remembered,
"It was my first operation; I was nineteen at the time. I was all piss and vinegar; thought I was some real hot shit ya know? Natasha wanted to go in soft, pick em apart, get the girl all quiet and leave before they even knew we were there. But me? nah I didn't want any of that. I have all these powers, all this strength; a couple of thugs with gear from the mid-eighties that probably didn't work right, what could be the problem for someone like me?" Percy chuckled sardonically,
"So, while Natasha sneaks in through the roof, I decided, 'to hell with it', and I broke down the front door. I was right to an extent; I tore through those bastards like they were butter. I broke through them one at a time until the only ones left were the little ring leaders. They holed themselves up in this small cellar in the basement, used to be where the monks did their transcribing or some shit, I don't know, but what I did know was that they had the girl, and they were shouting at me. Didn't understand what they were saying so I just yell back, 'hey, you guys are better off just giving up now,' or some cocky crock like that."
Percy was shivering a little now, and his voice was breaking, "Before I can do anything, I hear the shooting start, so I bust down the door, and see Nat, motionless on the floor, the girl under her, she had three slugs in her back. I…took care of the rest. The bad guys panicked, decided their best course was to kill the girl, go out like martyrs ya know? Well Natasha knew what I had done and had made it just in time. Took the shots for that little girl."
Tears were pricking at the corner of his eyes, "It took twelve hours of surgery, she died for about five minutes. But the little girl made it out with nothing more than a few bruises and a hell of a scare. Natasha Romanoff was willing to give her life for some little girl that she didn't know, and got shot because of my screw-up." He looked each member of the tribunal square in the eye in turn, "Does that sound like someone who is compromised to you?" Percy took a few shuddering breaths as he wiped anxiously at his eyes.
"When Natasha tells me something is the way that it is, I believe her. Because there is no one who is more dedicated to the job, to the protection of freedom than her." Percy cracked his neck as he tried to collect his thoughts, "Where was I?" he asked and Jennifer muttered softly,
"You were about to describe meeting up with Romanoff and Captain Rogers,"
"Right," Percy said, "Yeah, um, so I-I hightailed it to the coordinates Natasha gave me. It was some old military base, decommissioned decades ago. While we were there, we discovered a sub-basement. It used to be a SHIELD OPS center. In the basement we found this…. recording…by an old HYDRA scientist, Armin Zola. He informed us that HYDRA had been infiltrating SHIELD for more than fifty years."
"And you decided to trust a known HYDRA agent, telling you that SHIELD was taken over and being run by an organization that died decades ago?" Asked another member of the tribunal incredulously,
"Why would he have any reason to lie?" Percy asked, "And given the fact that Steve Rogers had been put on the top of SHIELD's most wanted list, well, forgive me if I felt like something was wrong with that picture.
Percy snorted derisively, "Anyways, we got our hands on a SHIELD analyst, the now deceased Jasper Sitwell, and he told us what HYDRA was planning to do with those carriers. No need for us to go over that again I think Natasha covered it all far more eloquently than I ever could," Percy said easily, "But yeah, one thing led to another and bang, three dead Helicarriers and one dead intelligence agency."
"That still does not explain why you would be so willing to destroy the organization," said the intelligence chief, "This is the same group that brought you in, saved your life and gave you a fresh start, and you just so willingly turn your back against it? Both of you? Both you and Agent Romanoff were offered new leases on life by SHIELD and you repay it but destroying the agency? I hate to tell you this folk's but that explanation just isn't good enough. Why should we believe that, for the good of this country, SHIELD not only deserved to die, but should stay that way?"
"Then how about something a little more concrete?" Natasha spoke up suddenly, turning to look at Jennifer who nodded in return and stood up with a large bag in her hands. Walking over to a large audio system in the corner, Jennifer pulled out a thumb drive and inserted it into the machine.
"These audio files were taken on May 2nd, 2007." Jennifer said tonelessly, and Percy's blood froze. That was the day before he was arrested, but…that had to be a coincidence, right? Jennifer hit play on a small tablet in her hands.
There was pause, then the sound of a door opening and closing. Before a very familiar voice began speaking,
"You wished to speak with me Director?" Phil Coulson was asking,
"Yes. I wanted an update on our Operation Hurricane" came Nicky Fury's answering voice,
"Of course, sir. We're all set and ready to go. Files have been forwarded to the Bureau and they're ready to pick Jackson up in the morning."
Percy felt his stomach drop. His throat closed up, and he couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. "What is this?" he asked sharply, but no one replied and the tapes kept playing.
"Excellent; I want you to triple check, make sure they have everything they need. I want this to move through quickly, the longer the trial takes the more people are going to start asking uncomfortable questions."
"Understood sir. How long are we planning on keeping him there?"
"Year or two at least. Depends on how things go, but I want him to be desperate when we make our play. Desperation leads to compliance. We need this kid on our side; to be his saving grace. His loyalty is paramount, and the only way to ensure that is to make sure he feels absolutely hopeless before we move on him."
The tape stopped, and Percy's vision began to swim a little. He was having difficulty hearing and almost missed what Jennifer said next, "This next recording took place on January 12th, 2008,"
Coulson spoke first again, "Sir, there has been a development with Operation Hurricane,"
"What is it?"
"There was a riot at Sing-Sing. An inmate attempted to stab Mr. Jackson with a shiv, and Jackson crushed his windpipe. The inmate is dead and Jackson is being moved into isolation. We might want to consider accelerating the schedule."
"Damn. Alright, let him sweat it out for a few more months. Maybe some time in isolation will actually help us here. What's the latest from Skivorski?"
"Samson tells us that Jackson has been having reoccurring nightmares, that the boy has been having difficulty dealing with the fact that he's been used his whole life."
"Has the Doc been feeding him what we wanted?"
"He has. Samson informed me that Jackson has been very receptive to the idea that he needs to forge a new path away from his…family. He believes that, given a little more time, Percy Jackson will leap at the opportunity to make something new of himself."
"Good, I want him out in four months."
"Understood, sir."
Percy was vaguely aware that he was shaking, he could feel someone place a hand on his shoulder and someone was saying something but he couldn't hear anything. He couldn't understand what was happening, it had to be some kind of a joke, a trick. Something. He refused to believe that he had allowed this to happen. He would have known, would have been able to tell if they had been using him. He would have seen the signs, he would have!
"The last recording takes place on May 14th, 2008."
Once again, Coulson led off the proceedings,
"Sir,"
"What have you got for me Phil,"
"Made contact a few days ago, he was very receptive. I believe that it will only be a matter of time before-" Coulson was cut off by the ring of a phone. It only rang once before Coulson picked it up, "Glad to see you've accepted our offer Mr. Jackson. There's a car waiting for you outside, we look forward to working with you." There was the sound of Coulson ending the call and replacing his phone.
"Job is done sir,"
"Excellent work. Romanoff, Barton, you ready?"
Percy's vision cleared for a moment and he cut a look across the room to Natasha. His breathing was coming in short and shallow gasps as he tried to catch her eyes but she refused to meet his gaze. Choosing instead to look resolutely ahead, her face a stoic mask.
Natasha and Clint's voices filled the chamber,
"We're ready for him sir,"
"Don't worry, a few months with us and this kid'll be a force to be reckoned with."
"That is the idea here agents. Now, you are aware of what needs to be done here, correct,"
"We do sir,"
"This kid's psyche is on the verge of breaking, he's been used his entire life. Had his life dictated on the orders of others, he is going to have a very difficult time adjusting to the agency. I need the two of you to be more than just his handler's and partners, you understand?"
"You want us to befriend him?"
"More than that?"
"Would you like me to seduce him?"
"Nothing so obscene. We need Percy Jackson to believe in SHIELD. To trust SHIELD. And on the flip side we need Percy Jackson's undying loyalty and support; we don't get that if he doesn't have people in here to call his own. I need you to be his friends. His support structure, his family. He needs to turn to you before he goes to anyone else. You understand me?"
"Completely sir,"
"What happens if we can't completely flip him?"
"Then we terminate the arrangement. Permanently."
The recording ended.
The room fell silent, save for the rapid clicks and flashes of camera's going off. But Percy didn't notice, he was still staring at Natasha, unblinking. Unbelieving. He felt sick, and he started to shake a little more uncontrollably. It had all been just another lie? He had spent the last six years of his life dedicated to a lie? No that couldn't be the case. He knew that couldn't be true. Natasha was his friend, Clint too. More than that, they were his family, they had been there with him since the beginning. They wouldn't do this to him. They couldn't do this to him. He knew better.
But as he stared at Natasha, and she refused to meet her gaze, his heart shattered. "Nat…" he rasped, his voice hoarse as he felt tears begin to form in the corners of his eyes, "Nat, what is this? This-this is a joke right? Y-you're just messing with me again?" she still didn't meet his eyes. "You…you wouldn't do this to me, c'mon Nat, p-please…" he was begging now, "Tell me that this is wrong, t-that you a-and Clint…you wouldn't lie to me like this right?"
She still didn't answer him, and something in Percy snapped, he jumped to his feet, slamming his fists on top of the table. The table shattered, splitting in half at the force of the impact. "Goddammit Natasha! Answer me! Was it all a lie! Did you use me, was my entire life a lie!" He was shouting, subconsciously aware that what was happening was being broadcast live on national television but far from caring at this point.
"Answer me!"
Finally, Natasha looked at him. And for the first time since Percy met her, he watched the Black Widow break. Tears were staining her high cheeks, the light mascara she had been wearing was beginning to run. "Yes," she whispered, and had it been any other moment, the sheer brokenness of her voice would have worried Percy. But now, it only served to enrage him. The entire room began to rumble a little, as Percy's rage and heartbreak cause him to lose a semblance of control over his power.
"You…you…you-I don't even know what you are," Percy whispered, his voice shaking in rage and sorrow, "I trusted you. I TRUSTED YOU!" he roared, and someone grabbed onto his shoulder and tried to settle him down, but Percy was too far gone, "I TRUSTED YOU WITH MY LIFE. MY HOME. MY FAMILY!" And then something further seemed to snap within the man, and he collapsed into his chair, "Oh my god, I trusted you with my family." He had let her into his home, had allowed her and Clint to meet his family, the woman had held his baby sister for god's sake. He had trusted them with the most important people in his life.
Natasha was saying something to the panel, but Percy wasn't listening to her anymore. "I-I need to leave, I need to-to…" Percy was rambling, he couldn't think any more. Emotionally, he was unable to understand what was happening to him, what he had done to deserve this. Another pair of arms grabbed onto Percy's free shoulder and pulled him to his feet, but Percy was no longer seeing or hearing, lost to the world in his grief.
"Easy there buddy we got ya" Tony was saying to him, as he and Rhodey pulled Percy to his feet,
"Make a lane people," Rhodey was saying, his voice taking the tone of the full bird Colonel that he was, "Make a lane we're done here."
"Colonel Rhodes, where do you think you're taking Agent Jackson!" demanded an Air Force General,
Rhodey's response was cut off by the firm voice of the intelligence chief, "It's fine Joseph, I believe we've all heard enough for the day. We'll adjourn, Agent Jackson is free to go."
Tony and Rhodey hadn't even been listening, too busy trying to get Percy free from the throngs of photographers and news correspondents. Rhodey left his place from Percy's side and stepped in front of him, acting as a makeshift bodyguard as he kept the press at bay while he pushed the groups way through the horde into the hallway. As soon as Rhodey had left, Jennifer took his place, placing a soothing hand on his lower back as she tried to help push him forward.
"Goddamn vultures," Tony muttered under his breath as he helped guide Percy. "Don't worry Aquaman, I got ya. Not going anywhere here."
As they made their way out of the building they were bombarded on the steps of the building. Reporters and photographers swarmed them on all sides and a million questions were all being asked at once,
"Mr. Sentinel, Mr. Sentinel, how will these revelations affect your work with the Avengers?"
"Can you confirm that you're secretly an alien pretending to be human?"
"Is it true that you and the Black Widow have been dating? Has your entire relationship been a lie?"
It was too much, it was all too much. Percy's head was spinning, he wanted to throw up, or punch something, or curl up and cry. He didn't know what he wanted; he didn't know who he was. Without SHIELD, just who was he? Where would he find direction? For his entire adult life, he thought he'd known just who was giving the orders, who the good guys and the bad guys were. And then, in the span of less than a week, everything had crumbled.
He had thought he'd been taking control of his life back when he signed on. He thought, that for the first time in his life, he had been the one dictating his life. But it had been a lie. The training, the friends, everything. Could he even trust Steve, or Tony? He tried to shake himself of the notion, there's no way that Steve would have known, and even if he had, he wouldn't have gone along with it. Right?
Percy didn't know; and that hurt more than anything. These people had been his friends, and now he didn't know if there was anyone left he could trust.
He shook his head to himself, that wasn't true. He still had his family; still had Logan, and Ororo, and Jean. Unless they had been in on it? His head hurt. His vision was swimming. There was too much happening. Too much noise; he was being over-stimulated and-
"Alright that's enough!" Jennifer shouted at Percy's side, "My client will not be answering any questions at this time! Any RELEVANT questions can be directed to my office! Now shut up and make room! My client has suffered enough today and I will not tolerate him being harassed!"
"Happy!" Tony shouted loudly into a mic on his lapel and a large black town car roared up to the curb, Happy Hogan jumped out the driver side with the engine running and hurriedly opened the back door. Percy was gently pushed inside, followed by Jennifer, Tony and Rhodey."
Happy slammed the door shut, climbed back into the driver's seat, and tore off down the road.
The inside of the car was silent, save for the deep shuddering breaths of Percy as he tried to avoid a full meltdown. Tony put a reassuring hand on Percy shoulder, squeezing it tightly, "You can let go Percy, you're safe in here."
Percy just closed his eyes, and allowed the tears to run freely down his face.
BREAK
"Why'd you do it?" he asked before he could stop himself. She had been just about to leave the graveyard; leave him, Sam, everything, but he couldn't let her go without hearing it for himself. When Steve had first woken up, he had been confused, then the press had managed to find his room and they started asking if Percy was leaving the Avengers and he was even more confused.
Then Sam showed him the clips on YouTube. He had been hurt, angry, and mournful and far too many other emotions that Steve didn't have the vocabulary to describe. The anger he had felt for what had been done to his friend, his comrade, burned hotly. Doubly so because he had just been allowing himself to trust her, to believe that she had been honest with him, that she had truly meant those things she had said to him in that bedroom in D.C.
Apparently, the Black Widow had fooled him now too.
"Why'd you do it Nat?" he asked again, a little more forcefully this time. She had stopped at his first inquiry, but she hadn't turned to face him. She didn't the second time either; Steve was doubtful that she could look him in the eye and give him an honest answer.
He wasn't sure he wanted one.
She didn't have to ask what he was talking about; she knew he wasn't asking about Bucky's files, she owed him that much. No, she knew he was asking about Percy. He could tell in the way her back tightened, before her shoulders drooped, and her hands clenched. A small part of him was pleased to see that she was so clearly remorseful over her actions, but the cynical part of his brain wasn't convinced this wasn't another act.
"Percy was-is too powerful to be running around unchecked and untrained. As he was, he was little more than a child with some serious issues. Issues, that if left unresolved could have ended very, very poorly for a lot of innocent people."
She was quiet for a second, but Steve let her collect her thoughts, he wanted an honest and complete answer from her, "Percy wasn't the same when he came out of the pit. I've seen the records. He still isn't really the same. He probably hasn't told you much about what happened down there, or about his life before, but it wasn't pretty."
She was right. Percy had rarely if ever spoken about his life before SHIELD, but from he had told Steve, it hadn't been pretty. He had only heard Percy refer to the "pit" as he called it, in passing. But he had asked Thor about it, and the Thunderer had kindly filled him in on the basics.
Steve hadn't slept so well that night.
"We needed to bring him in, get him at least check out and get a full psych evaluation done. But Fury saw more, he saw pure and untapped potential. A lump of dirty coal ready to be turned into a diamond. He showed me and Clint some footage on the kid, we agreed. It was why we agreed to the job in the first place."
She paused again, and he shoulder's started to shake a little. Steve felt the need to approach her, but refrained, she composed herself and continued, "I had only been with SHIELD for a few years. Clint and Fury were the only people left on the planet that I trusted, and even then, only barely. Of course I agreed, it was an easy assignment, and it wasn't like I was expecting to get attached." She let out a strangled hack that could have been a laugh or a sob, Steve couldn't tell.
"But nothing is ever simple when it comes to Percy Jackson. He has this…obnoxious ability to wiggle his way into your life, and ingrain himself there. It wasn't long before both Clint and I were compromised. We liked the little shit too much. We saw too much of ourselves in him. But we couldn't let Fury know, if he did…well…we were scared of what would have happened to him. We didn't want him ending up with the wrong people. Especially knowing now what we do, about HYDRA…" she trailed off, taking in a sniffling breath.
"Do I regret what I did? I do. I probably will for the rest of my life. Percy was one of my best friends. One of the few people I could truly let in. And I was lying to him the entire time I knew him. But I would do it again in a second. Because it's better that it was us, than it was anyone else. And even if he never speaks to me again, I'll take solace in the fact that what Clint and I taught him has kept him alive, and will continue to keep him alive. That's all I can ask for…It's all I've wanted out of him." And then, without another word, she left the graveyard, leaving Sam and Steve alone to their thoughts.
BREAK
Three days.
That's how long she had been living in the small beach-house at Montauk.
Three days since she had discovered the man she had loved, in the telekinetic arms of another.
Three days since she had thrown his body from the third story of the mansion.
Jean had been angry, and hurt, and too confused to stay at the mansion. She had needed to go away, to hide somewhere the others didn't know about. That was what had led her here. Sally had opened the door with open arms and a comforting smile. Percy was right; she truly was one of the kindest women Jean had ever met.
She had known the woman for only a few years. It had taken that long for Percy to trust her with his greatest secret.
He treasured and protected his family more fiercely than anyone she had ever met. It was one of the many reasons she loved him.
And she did love him.
She didn't spend those three days idle. She spent them reflecting. Thinking and analyzing. It was the scientist in her, she couldn't help it. She simply had to approach these things in the same analytical way she had approached her medical degree.
And so after days of thinking, and coming to terms with it, she came clean to herself.
Then she came clean to Sally.
The woman, bless her heart, had simply smiled and told, "It certainly took you long enough sweetheart." Jean was pretty sure she loved her too. To be frank it wasn't that difficult.
This was how she had been spending her days. It was also how she had come to see what happened in New York. The first day she had been there, she watched with the family as Percy stopped the carriers over the Potomac. She had nearly cried in relief at seeing him alive. Feeling his presence through her abilities was one thing; seeing him alive and moving was another matter altogether.
She had been relieved, and more than a little pissed when she saw the fighting on tv. She distinctly remembered telling the man not to do anything stupid, or cause her any more worry, so what does he do? Worry the hell out of her. She was going to tear him a new one, and it was only Sally's insistence that they would do it together that stopped Jean from flying to D.C. and ripping Percy apart.
That was until now.
Considering that she was a friend to the family, Sally and Paul had insisted on watching the inquiry live on CSPAN. Jean had been interested to see where things went as well, so naturally she had tuned in.
The first few days had been fairly dull, a lot of question and answer and hyperbole. Nothing honestly that worth watching. Until the third, when Percy began to testify. He had looked good, dressed in that deep navy suit that made his pop in the most wonderful way. She and Sally had shared knowing giggles when he stumbled through the first few questions; he was nervous as hell, not the Jean could blame him, considering the last time he had been in a similar situation.
Then the tapes started. Jean didn't need her powers to know what Percy was feeling. He had always worn his heart on his sleeve. He'd always lain his feeling out on display for the world to see. And the pain, betrayal, and heartache, coupled with the matching emotions that Jean had been latching onto. It had almost been too much to bear.
And to be honest, Sally had not been helping much. In the scant few years she had known Sally Blofis, Jean had never seen the woman so much as raise her voice. And had it been under different circumstances, seeing the enraged mother, scream and rage at the image of Natasha Romanoff on the screen would have been hysterically funny.
But there was nobody in the house who felt like laughing.
Jean had felt and understood Sally's pain and hurt, and most of all her anger. Jean's first thought had been to break the mind of the Black Widow, to turn her brain inside out and tear her psyche down until she was little more than a drooling vegetable.
But Percy wouldn't want that.
And Percy needed something else right now.
Sally hadn't even questioned it when Jean abruptly rose from the couch, and made for the room, Percy's room, she had been staying in. Sally understood where Jean was going. And all she said to the woman before Jean left was, "Bring him home, and don't you pull that Danvers shit. Or so help me Poseidon himself won't be able to fix what I do to you."
The woman was terrifying.
But she needn't worry. Jean had no intention of leaving Percy alone.
He needed her. She didn't know how yet. But whatever he needed; she would be there to give to him.
No matter the cost.
AN: FINALLY! Y'ALL HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG I'VE BEEN SITTING ON THIS SHIT! For real though, I've been sitting on this reveal, literally since I began rewriting Sentinel. Remember when I said I had some stuff planned that folks wouldn't like, this is it. This was what I was trying to foreshadow btw, not the Jean/Percy stuff because I thought that was obvious. But this, this right here, I've been heavy handedly playing up Percy's loyalty and devotion to SHIELD and Natasha and Clint just to hammer home how fucked up this is going to make him. Ugh my god this felt good to get done. And because I'm an evil bastard, you get to wait and see what the blowback is from all of this on Percy's end. Going to try and get some work done on my other stories, namely SOS and HBP. So, this story is going on the backburner for a little bit, BUT I can promise you that what's to come is going to be great. Here's a hint. The next story arc involves a man without fear, and a very vengeful former marine. Thanks again for all the love and support, let me know what you thought, and check out some of my other stories if you haven't already.
Love,
LilDB
