AN: Hey guys! Yeah, totally forgot to put an Author's Note in the first chapter, but oh well. I got on this afternoon to see if anyone had read my fic and, OH MY GOSH! There were three review, six favs and nine follows! You guys are amazing! I don't have a beta for this, so any mistakes you see is totally my fault. Please feel free to point out anything that seems off to me in a review. I also haven't seen the Iron Man movies, so I'm just going off the Avengers for Tony's personality, so he may seem a little ooc.

Disclaimer: I totally don't own PJO or Avengers. Otherwise, they would've met by now. And Percy and Annabeth would probably be engaged.

Tony let out a long, exasperated sigh. "Let me get this straight. You told me I could help you choose the kids we fostered, then went and offered to foster two complete strangers? Where do I get a say in this? It's my tower!" he complained.

"But Tony, they were going to be separated if I didn't do something. And the older one was so heartbroken already, I just couldn't leave him to be separated from his friend," Pepper replied.

Tony groaned. "And now I have two irresponsible teens running around my mansion," he summed up.

"You'll be fine," she promised him. "I'll take care of them and-" she leaned forward and began to whisper in his ear.

A small smile appeared on his face. "Uh huh, yeah, hmmm... Sure, they can stay," he agreed, surprisingly cheerful after his outbursts moments ago.

"That was so not what he was saying just now," Nico muttered. His cousin simply sat in a chair next to him, turning his pen over in his hands. The olive-skinned boy sighed sadly, watching his long-time hero. He brightened considerably when an idea struck him. "Hey, Pepper, can I borrow your phone to call someone?" he asked. She glanced over at him with a smile. She pulled it out of her pocket.

"Sure," she told him. He flashed her a smile as he began to dial. He walked a little ways away.

"Oh, and is it okay if Percy and I go out later?"

Tony choked for a second, getting the darker meaning, rather than the real one. "What?" he asked, shocked.

"Percy and I, you know, like go out for pizza or something. Maybe I can..." Nico glanced over at his depressed cousin. "Get him to loosen up."

Pepper glared at Tony for a second, before replying, "Go ahead. We should come with you, you know, to get to know you guys better." A panicked look crossed Nico's face for a second.

"Um, that might not be the best idea. I was going to invite a couple friends to come with us. You know, just some people we know."

"Why would it be a bad idea?" Tony asked.

"They're kinda... over powering. And cold if they don't know you. And rowdy, and reckless sometimes, and immature, and-"

"We get it, you want to have a fun night out with your friends without adults," Pepper told him. "Just go and try and cheer Percy up." He gave her a small smile, before turning his attention to someone on the phone.

"Annabeth? Yeah, it's me, Nico. I'm calling about Percy. I was thinking maybe if we assembled some friends we could snap him out of his funk. You know, the old gang. Grover, you, me, Thals, Rachel. Yeah, I'll meet you at camp later tonight. Of course I'll drag him to see Chiron. The old man might help cheer him up. Yeah, I'll I.M. Thals and Grover. Do you want to take care of Rachel or should I? Okay, will do. Bye." Tony frowned, not completely understanding the conversation he was specifically trying to listen to.

"Well, I'm off to my lab," he announced, leaving the room. Nico waved distractedly in farewell as he dialed another number. "Jarvis, did you record the last phone call Nico made?"

"Yes, sir. Would you like me to play it for you?" the A.I.'s voice responded almost instantly.

"Later, make sure you record what he does. I'll look at it later tonight. I have some research to do," Stark murmured the last part as he headed off to his computer. Pulling up the screen, it showed a S.H.I.E.L.D insignia. "Let's see if you've updated you systems or not, shall we?"

Pepper had to resist a laugh as Nico seemed to get more and more anxious the later in the afternoon it got. He had certain sense of confidence, yet still seemed somewhat apprehensive. Pepper set a hand on his shoulder. He was still making calls. "I'm sure Percy is gonna love your plans," she told him.

Nico groaned in response. "No, he'll just have to put up with them. He'll know instantly that it's to get him out of the dumps." He paused to consider a thought. "And it'll probably work-"

Pepper grinned. "That's good right?"

"For as long as we're out. Once our friends leave and we stop partying and all that, he'll go back to his depressed funk," Nico finished.

Pepper sighed. "Anything you can think of that would get him out of this for a while?"

"A strong drink over in Italy?" Nico wanted to suggest, but he didn't think she'd appreciate that very much. "I'm gonna take him to see a friend of ours. He has a talent for talking to... teens. He's pretty darn close to Percy. Maybe he can get him to relax." The phone in his hand rang. Glancing at the number, he flipped it open and put it to his ear. "Hey Rachel, did you do it? Sweet! That should help cheer him up!" There was a pause as he listened to Rachel say something. "I hadn't thought of that. Should I just call the whole thing off and just go for pizza or something? Okay, we'll try it. Yeah, okay. When are the reservations for? Gotcha, and Rachel? It really means a lot to us that you're doing this. Bye," he said as he closed the phone.

"So, what are your reservations?" Pepper asked.

"We're headed for the beach. Percy used to go there on vacation with his mom, and we're hoping that a few friends, a movie, pizza, music, and swimming will liven him up a bit."

"Swimming?"

"His favorite thing to do. You know, besides kissing his girlfriend and eating blue chocolate chip cookies." Nico smiled at the memories that surfaced. He remembered one time he had shadow-traveled into Percy's cabin and ended up running out, holding his eyes. He'd walked in on a full on make-out session. He remembered times when he and Percy had started wrestling, trying to be the first to get at Sally's cookies. Annabeth or Thalia usually fixed the problem. They grabbed the plate and walked off, leaving the boys to beg for the chocolate chip heaven.

"Tony has a pool if Percy wants to swim in it," Pepper said.

"Fresh water I'm assuming," Nico mumbled to himself, thinking. "That could help. I may just make him take you up on that offer." He glanced at the clock on the wall and hissed something Pepper couldn't understand. He took off, setting her phone down on a nearby counter. "I gotta go, I'll get Percy later," he called over his shoulder, racing for the elevator.

"What was that about?" Percy asked, his voice quiet and flat.

"Nico's going to do something I assume. So, what do you like to do?" Pepper asked, trying to get him to talk to her. He shrugged, sitting down on a nearby chair and staring at the pen in his hand.

"Stuff," she heard him mumble.

"Nico said you like swimming, is that true?"

"I guess."

"So, what school do you go to?" she asked. Percy didn't answer, he just sat there, staring off into space as he looked at his pen.

"Must be important to you," Pepper said quietly.

"Huh?" he wondered, his eyes flashing with confusion.

"Your pen. I said it must be important to you," she repeated. Percy shrugged, slipping the writing utensil into his pocket. Pepper sighed.

"I have work I have to do, but I'll be up in my office. It's on the next floor up. When you leave the elevator, it's the second door on the left, okay?" No response. She sighed once more and stood, slowly walking towards the elevator. Glancing back as the doors closed, she saw a tear streak down Percy's cheek as he clutched his pen in his hands. She had to refrain very hard from pressing the button to open the elevator door and run over to the crying boy. 'He doesn't trust you yet,' she told herself. 'He's overwhelmed with the move and everything. He'll be fine in a few days.' As much as she wanted to, she couldn't believe her own thoughts. Percy was broken, and no amount of time was going to fix that. She hoped his friends could set him on the mend, but something told her there was more to the problem than Percy and Nico were letting on. The look in his eyes was one she'd seen before, and it certainly didn't make her anymore confident in the ability of his friends to help him.

Nico came running into the building, taking a moment to remove the grin from his face. Everything was set. Everyone but Nico and Percy were at the cabin, even Mrs. O'Leary. He raced up the stairs, ignoring the elevator. He ran straight into the room Percy had been in earlier. He sighed, smiling ruefully when he saw his cousin. He was fast asleep, curled up in a chair. He frowned, noticing how Percy's eyebrows twitched. He saw a tear stain on his cheek. He noticed how the boy's breath was just a little too fast. Then his eyebrows pulled together completely. His breath sped up into gasping pants. When Nico set his hand on the boy's forehead, he felt sweat. His own breath began to speed up with worry. He shook Percy's arm.

"Percy, wake up Percy. Come on, get up!" he said, his voice raising pitch ever so slightly with worry. His friend began to shake, his body trembling. It took Nico a minute to realize Percy was crying in his sleep. Tears began to slip down his face. Fear coursed through the younger boy's body. He shook him insistently. "Percy, you have to wake up! NOW!" His cousin bolted up right, eyes wide and wild. When they fixed on Nico, he wrapped the boy in a hug.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I couldn't stop it. Couldn't stop her. I'm sorry, so, so sorry. I couldn't stop her." Nico's eyes widened.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, his throat drying out. Percy just kept repeating the words, over and over. He wouldn't stop. Nico tried to pull away, but his friend held him close. "Percy? Percy, let go. Let go of me, Percy." The son of the sea god took no notice of his words. He continued to try and pull out of the strong grip, but he couldn't. Fear gnawed at him. What was wrong with Percy? Why was he acting like this? Finally, he couldn't take it. Nico sank into the shadows, moving away from his cousin. Percy blinked, surprised, when he vanished. Terror filled his face.

"No, no, no, no!" he began. Nico blinked, shocked by the reaction. "No!" Tears began to streak down Percy's cheeks once again. He gripped his cousin's arm, slamming into him from behind.

"Percy, please! Calm down!" Nico begged him, fear in his eyes. Slowly, his cousin relaxed. Sadness filled his sea-green eyes when he saw his fear. He turned his face away from his cousin.

"I'm gonna take shower," he mumbled.

The son of Hades watched him leave, fear clawing at his stomach. Something had caused that. Percy didn't just go psycho. Something was going on, something Percy wasn't telling him. And Nico was going to find out, no matter what it took. Because seeing his cousin so broken, so desperate, so protective, it terrified him. That wasn't the Percy he knew at all. He sighed, watching the doors to the elevator close. "What happened to you?" he asked brokenly.

When Percy came out of his shower, both cousins made an attempt to act like nothing had happened.

"I have a surprise for you," Nico told him with a grin. Percy blinked.

"We're going to Montauk! Same cabin, same strip. Come on!" he grinned as he pulled him towards the door.

"When will you be back?" Pepper called after them.

"Late, maybe not even until tomorrow," was the casual response as the elevator doors closed and the two boys went down stairs. With a sigh, Pepper heaved herself off her chair and went in search of Tony.

She found him in his 'lab'. He was sitting at his computer, looking at something intently.

"What's wrong?" Pepper asked him. He glanced at her, before nodding at the screen. She glanced at it curiously. It looked like a S.H.I.E.L.D file. The name at the top of the screen read "Percy Jackson." She blinked.

"Look at this kid's file. It crazy!" Tony cried. Pepper skimmed through the file, her eyebrows creeping higher and higher on her face. He seemed to have been the subject of a nation-wide manhunt that lasted almost an entire summer at the age of twelve. During that time, according to the file, he had blown up the Saint Lewis Arch, been kidnapped and later seen on a beach, dueling with his kidnapper, supposedly with guns. The file claimed he had a step-father named Gabe Ugliano, who vanished mysteriously. He'd blown up a gym just a year later. Apparently, he had been seen racing into the Air and Space Museum just before it was trashed a few years back. He had wrecked a band room, then been seen jumping through the window to get away. He had been seen around Mt. Saint Helens just before the eruption. Photo's from the big "Manhattan Nap," as it had been dubbed, showed him completely awake and alert, running all over town. Just a few weeks ago he'd returned from being missing for over eight months. Towards the end of the eight months he'd wreck a Bargain Mart, stolen several vehicles, including a police car, and supposedly tried to kill two old ladies. He'd returned from being missing, and exactly one week later his mother and step-father died in a car accident. His father was unknown. He had ADHD and dyslexia.

Pepper's eyes were wide. "I don't believe it. I mean, there's no way he wouldn't be in jail! That can't be accurate!"

Tony shook his head. "And the other kid, Nico," He switched to a different screen. "He doesn't even have a file. The only Nico di Angelo on file has been missing for decades. If he were still alive, he'd be almost eighty years old. Yet somehow," Tony clicked on a picture of the 'older' Nico. It showed a young boy, younger than five, smiling up at a camera. He had black hair and dark eyes. He also had a slight olive skin tone.

"He looks just like him," Pepper breathed, looking at the picture with shock.

"There doesn't seem to be anything right about these two kids," Tony grumbled.

Hope you guys liked it! I wanted to be able to post another chapter today, after seeing how well the first one was received. I hope you guys review! It really excites me and makes me want to write more when I see your reviews. And before someone says it in a review, yes, I know, Percy is completely and utterly ooc. He's supposed to be. Next chapter should be them at the beach. And maybe a little more about Percy's dreams.