Chapter Twelve: The Big Reveal
Percy P.O.V.
A safe house? Not so much.
Percy was expecting an old S.H.I.E.L.D. building, complete with cameras, burly security guards, and lots of high tech weapons. Not a farmhouse.
The quinjet landed on the grassy fields, ruffling the grasses beneath it. Percy and Annabeth looked at each other quizzically, but made no comment. Clint walked towards the house and the rest of the team followed.
"What is this place?" Thor asked. "A safe house?" Tony wondered, looking around. "Let's hope," Clint replied. "Hi. Company. Sorry I didn't call ahead." Standing in the house was a heavily pregnant middle aged woman. Clint kissed her.
Tony leaned over to Thor. "This is an agent of some kind."
"Gentleman, this is Laura." Clint introduced her. Laura Barton looked at them awkwardly. "I know all your names." Her eyes passed over Percy and Annabeth but didn't say anything.
Suddenly two kids ran over and hugged Clint. "Daddy!" The girl squealed, and hugged him. Percy was getting more confused by the minute, but Annabeth was smiling. Tony looked shocked. "These are… smaller agents."
"Did you bring Auntie Nat?" The little girl asked. Natasha smiled. "Well, why don't you hug her and find out?"
"Sorry for barging in." Steve said. "Yeah, we would've called ahead but we were busy not knowing you existed." Tony said. Clint shrugged. "Yeah, well, Fury helped me set this up when I joined. He kept it off S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files. I'd like to keep it that way. Figure it's a good place to lay low." Annabeth walked over to the couch and sat down. Percy joined her.
Seeing all those little kids, Percy was fully hit by the magnitude of what was happening. If Ultron succeeded in whatever world-destroying plan that he was doing, people could die. His mom, Paul, his little sister that was only a year old, Annabeth, everyone at Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter. That was certainly something worth fighting for.
Percy was suddenly grateful that he'd joined the Avengers, which was certainly the first time that happened. Would he have been alerted to this crisis if he hadn't? Probably not. It wasn't Percy's style to sit around while the big people saved the world.
"Thor." Steve was looking at Thor. He'd just walked out the front door. "I saw something in that dream. I need answers. I won't find them here." He flew out the door with his hammer. "That was dramatic," Percy said coolly, imitating Ultron. Annabeth laughed.
"Hey, Percy." Steve called over to him. "What?"
"We're chopping some wood for Laura. Want to help?" Percy rose from the couch. "Sure."
Tony P.O.V.
Tony was starting to get seriously ticked off. At one person, mainly, though Percy and Annabeth were a close second. "Thor didn't say where he was going for answers?" He asked stiffly, trying to keep the anger out of his voice.
It didn't seem to help, because Percy chopped some wood more viciously and shuffled away from Tony slightly. Steve didn't seem to be any better. "Yeah, sometimes my teammates don't tell me things." Steve glanced over almost subconsciously in Percy's direction. "I was kind of hoping Thor would be the exception."
Tony chose to ignore that not-so-subtle hint. "Yeah, give him time. We don't know what the Maximoff kid showed him." Steve shook his head. "'Earth's Mightiest Heroes'. Pulled us apart like cotton candy."
"Yeah, well you seemed to have come away all right." Tony commented. "Is that a problem?" Steve looked at him. Tony shrugged. "I don't trust a guy without a dark side. Call me old fashioned."
"Well, let's just say you haven't seen it yet." Steve replied. The tension was so thick; you could cut it with a knife. Tony almost felt bad for Percy, standing there while the two of them sniped. He couldn't blame him for not saying anything. "You know Ultron is trying to tear us apart, yeah?" Tony asked.
Percy snorted. "Well, that wouldn't be too hard." It seemed that he didn't mean to say it out loud. Steve pretended to not hear him. "Well, I guess you'd know. Whether you'd tell us is a bit of a question." Tony glared at him. "Banner, Annabeth and I were doing research."
"Research that would affect the whole team." Steve glared at him. Tony glared right back. "That would end the team. Isn't that the mission? Isn't that the 'why' we fight, so we can end the fight, so we can go home?"
"Every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die. Every time." All pretenses were dropped now. Who knows where the argument would've led, if Laura Barton hadn't interrupted them. "Um, I'm sorry Mr. Stark. Uh, Clint said you wouldn't mind but, our tractor, it doesn't seem to want to start at all. I thought maybe you could…"
"Yeah, I'll give her a kick." Tony walked over to the barn but turned to Steve. "Don't take from my pile."
Tony tried to ignore all of the anger that was churning inside him. Didn't they understand that he was only trying to do good? Didn't they understand that Ultron could be useful? But no. They all only thought of the bad guy. Ultron was the bad guy; therefore he had to be eliminated. "Hello dear," Tony ran his hands over the tractor. "Tell me everything. What ails you?"
"Do me a favor." Tony jumped and spun around. "Try not to bring it to life." Nick Fury was standing in the barn and walked out of the shadows. "Ah, Mrs. Barton you little minx. I get it, Maria Hill called you, right? Was she ever not working for you?"
"Artificial Intelligence. You never even hesitated." Great, now there was another guy who was against him. "Look, it's been a really long day, like Eugene 'O Neill long, so how about we skip to the part where you're useful?"
Fury glared at him. "Look me in the eye and tell me you're going to shut it down."
"You're not the director of me."
"I'm not the director of anybody. I'm just an old man who cares very much about you." Tony sighed. "And I'm the man who killed the Avengers. I saw it. I didn't tell the team, how could I? I saw them all dead Nick, I felt it. The whole world, too. It's because of me. I wasn't ready. I didn't do all I could."
"That Maximoff girl, she's working on you. Playing on your fears." Tony shook his head. "I wasn't tricked, I was shown. It wasn't a nightmare, it was my legacy. The end of the path I started us on." That was the real fear. The real reason he was angry with Steve. The things he said hurt him because Tony feared they were true.
"You've come up with some pretty impressive inventions, Tony. War isn't one of them." Fury said. "I watched my friends die. You'd think that would be the worst part, right? Nope."
"The worst part was that you didn't."
. . .
They were all sitting on couches, doing their separate things. Percy and Annabeth, as usual, were sitting in the corner muttering. Suddenly Tony couldn't stand it anymore. "That's it!" Everyone looked up, startled. Annabeth looked at Percy, who gave her a questioning look. She raised an eyebrow at Percy and he sighed. It was almost as if they could tell what Tony was angry about.
He stood up. "I am sick and tired of you two standing in the corner muttering all the time. I am tired of you avoiding us. If we're taking down Ultron, we've got to be straight with each other. We deserve some answers. Now."
(Percy)
Percy and Annabeth looked at each other. "I don't suppose you'll take no for an answer?" Percy asked hesitantly. This time it was Steve who spoke. "No." Annabeth looked at him in surprise. Steve continued, "For once, Tony is right. Tell us now."
Percy looked at Annabeth nervously. "Well, we do have permission." Annabeth gave Tony an appraising look. "Do you think they're ready? They can't see through the Mi-the you-know-what."
Percy shrugged, and they stared at each other, having a silent conversation.
You tell them.
No, you.
You're the one who wanted to in the first place.
You're better at explaining things.
Fine!
Percy grinned sheepishly. Annabeth rolled her eyes at him. "Prepare," Percy began. "To have your minds blown." Tony snorted. "We've seen some impossible things, kid. Lay it on us." Annabeth glared at Percy. "Seaweed Brain, you're backing me up." Percy shrugged. "Whatever you say, Wise Girl."
"All right, get to the point!" Tony said impatiently. "All right, all right!" Annabeth said. "I'm not gonna sugar-coat it, so you guys better keep up. I'm explaining this once." She took a breath. "The Greek Gods are real."
Dead silence. Bruce looked at Percy apprehensively. "Are you sure her brain didn't get damaged by The Maximoff girl?" Percy smirked. "Nah, dude. I wish she were lying. I know it's hard to believe. Now shut up and listen."
"Do you know anything about Greek mythology?" Annabeth asked. Everyone said various negative answers, but Tony nodded. He was looking at them intently. "I think I've got an idea about what they're talking about."
"You do?" Annabeth asked, surprised. Tony nodded. "Did some research. Half-Blood is a synonym for demigod, right? And I heard you two speaking Ancient Greek on the plane." Percy glanced at Annabeth. She looked astonished, but managed to keep her emotions under control. "Well, okay. So yeah. I'll try to explain this in the simplest way possible. The Greek gods are real and, unfortunately, very alive. Sorta like the Norse gods, except actually immortal and live on top of the Empire State Building instead of space."
Steve's jaw dropped. "On top of the…. How in the-"Clint interrupted them. "Oh, you two better not be gods. No way." Thunder rumbled, Zeus undoubtedly telling them to take care with their words. "No," Annabeth said patiently. "Percy turned that down. Anyway-"
"You turned down godhood?" Natasha asked, looking like even the master assassin was having trouble hiding her shock. "The next person who interrupts me," Annabeth said impatiently. "Gets a knife up the nose." Everyone shut their mouth, Natasha looking slightly abashed.
Percy laughed. "You know, I think the orientation video would have been better." Annabeth glared at him. "Sorry," He muttered.
"Before we say more," Annabeth continued. "You'll need to make an oath to not tell anyone. If you'd like Zeus to shoot you out of the sky, be my guest, don't do it." Steve nodded solemnly. "We won't tell anyone." Percy looked at Annabeth, exasperated.
She returned the look. Mortals didn't really understand the concept of an unbreakable oath. "That's not how it works." Percy said. "You've got to understand, breaking a promise on the River Styx is not smart. There are things worse than death. You'll most likely die, and/or punishing everyone else in your life by breaking it."
Everyone nodded, though they all looked slightly apprehensive. Annabeth told them what to say, making sure to leave a loophole so that the mortals wouldn't be punished. They all repeated the words, and thunder boomed outside the house again, Zeus grudgingly letting the oath pass.
"So," Annabeth began. "Percy and I are demigods, or half-bloods," She nodded at Tony. "Half mortal half god, we're basically the Olympian's clean-up crew. Tony, you say you've read the myths. What's the most common thing that gods do in them? Run around having kids with mortals. The thing is that's never stopped. All the things that Percy's file said were him trying to avoid monsters. Monsters seek out demigods, attack them, and kill them. We have to be fast and fierce and skilled to kill them before they do the same to us. There are only two known safe havens for demigods, Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter. They have protected boundaries, so we can train without monsters attacking us every other day."
Annabeth paused for a breath. This gave the Avengers time to process this information. "And how old are these demigods?" Bruce asked quietly. Percy looked at him sadly. "I'm the oldest living demigod in existence right now. I'm pretty sure you guys are smart enough to figure that out."
Steve looked slightly sick. Natasha raised her hand. Percy nearly laughed at the sight of the deadly assassin raising her hand like she was still at school. "What?" Annabeth asked, nodding at her. "Well, if all these monsters are so dangerous, how come we've never noticed them before?"
Annabeth looked at Percy. "You spend more time with Hazel. You answer this one." Percy shrugged. "The Mist. It's basically the gods' damage control. Mortal minds are weak-"
"Hey!" Tony objected.
"-So whenever supernatural things interact with the mortal world, the Mist is formed. It creates illusions, and makes things look normal, at least to a point that humans can understand." Percy continued like there had been no interruption. Tony still looked offended. "You know, I've just thought of something," Bruce announced.
"When we were capturing Percy, you made a wave come up. I've never really processed that until now. It's like the memory just slid away." Annabeth gave him an approving nod. "So when that horse was banging its head against your cell…" Natasha said slowly. "The Mist. That's right." Percy confirmed.
Annabeth started to stand up. "Well, that's the basics, the need-to-know information. If anything else comes up, we'll inform you." Percy put a hand on her elbow, pulling her down. "Wait. If we're telling them this, we might as well tell them everything that happened."
Annabeth looked at him stonily. "You can. I'm not. I've already gone through it once. Not happening again." She walked off out into the yard.
There was an awkward silence. Percy looked at them nervously. "All right. Hi. I'm a son of Poseidon. Annabeth's a daughter of Athena. You all were wondering how she's so smart. Part of it is her. Part of it is her mother's the goddess of wisdom. Around eighty years ago, the Big Three-that's Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades- made an oath to not have any more demigod children. They were too powerful, and affecting the course of history too much. That was the fake excuse. In reality, another prophecy had been spoken. It talked about one day a half-blood born of Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades would reach sixteen years old. Then they would make a choice to either save Olympus or destroy it. It was right after World War II that it happened."
"Well, around twenty years ago, Zeus broke the oath. Thalia Grace, daughter of Beryl Grace was born. She nearly made it to Camp with Annabeth, who was around seven at the time, and another camper named Luke. Long story short, Thalia got turned into a pine tree." Percy ignored all of the Avengers shocked faces. "But that's okay, because pretty soon Poseidon broke the oath as well, and had me. Eventually, Thalia got turned back into a person. Now she's immortal and leading Artemis's followers. Finally, everything escalated into an all-out war. The Titan Kronos attacked Olympus in New York. That was about two years ago. We saved it, everything's fine now. Well, now really. Almost half of our army died."
"Army?" Steve asked. Percy gave a grim nod. "Well, we defeated Kronos. You'd think that would be enough for one lifetime, right? Of course not. A year ago, another prophecy was spoken. Gaia was rising. She would've destroyed us all. Luckily, the seven greatest demigods of the age went on a quest to stop her. Annabeth, Jason, Leo, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Nico, and I."
Tony made a noise of understanding. "That's right." Percy nodded at him. "They're demigods too. Jason's a son of Jupiter. Leo's a son of Hephaestus. Piper's a daughter of Aphrodite. Frank's a son of Mars. Hazel's a daughter of Pluto. Nico's a son of Hades. We won't get into the whole difference between the Greek and Roman gods too much. That makes even my brain hurt. Anyway, that's basically it. As you can see, Gaia did not destroy the world. Neither did Kronos. Me and Annabeth were about to settle down for a good long while. No monsters to fight, just going to college and trying not to die."
Percy stopped when he saw all the Avenger's guilty expressions. "And that's where we come in." Steve said glumly. "And that's where you come in." Percy echoed. "Now, we find out, Ultron wants to destroy the world too, and unravel everything we've worked for. So you can see why we're a bit ticked off. And with that, I take my leave. I need some sleep before we kill Ultron." Percy gave them a fake bow, and walked out of the room.
(Steve)
A demigod. A demigod. A literal child of the Greek gods, who were supposedly myths until this day. Steve could see why they wanted to keep this a secret. Who would believe them if they told anyone?
It also explained how they fought so well. If Ancient Greek monsters attacked them every other day, that would make you pretty good at fighting. But they were so young! No child should have to experience that burden. No teenager should have to worry about anything bigger than GPA scores.
The rest of the team looked in various degrees of shock as well. Natasha and Clint both were white. Tony looked guilty, Bruce was massaging his forehead.
Nick Fury walked in. "I've got information on Ultron-"He saw their faces. "What did I miss?"
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