AN: Hello ya'll! I'm back! Wow, a new update only three days after the last one... Most of them have started getting farther between, four or five days... Yay! Happy Fourth of July! Happy Birthday America! Anyway, I hope this does a little to ease your burning curiosity. Saphira Nograd and "Guest" (You didn't give another name), you're gonna hate me at the end of this chap. Oh well. It'll be a good hate... Hopefully. I totally realized that I haven't been responding to any of the reviews except for the occasional *Gasp* "the was the best thing I've heard" or when my muses encourage me to. So, although I will probably fail, I am going to try to answer some reviews at the end of this chap.

Percy sat on his bed, staring out the window to his room. The view was amazing. He could see the water from where he sat. But he didn't really see it. His eyes may have been staring at it, but his brain never comprehended what they saw.

How could you?' he asked himself again and again. 'Your mom is dead and you're walking around smiling, laughing and having a good time.'

Annabeth's voice echoed in his head, 'Sally would want you to have fun, to move on. Don't forget her, but don't mope about it all day long. Don't hold yourself back about it.' A small part of his brain hissed that it was the dreams, the dreams were making him think this way. The dreams were making him so depressed. After all, he hadn't felt guilty about Bianca's death since The Battle of the Labyrinth, as the camp had dubbed it. He hadn't felt guilty about Bekendorf since talking with Annabeth after his death. So why now? After all he'd been through, he chose now to start blaming himself.

'Idiot,' he heard Thalia grumble in his head. Part of him knew that if she were here, she'd stuff a few arrows in uncomfortable places and tell him to stop moping.

Percy ignored the sound of the door opening and closing softly. Someone, probably Nico, sat down on the bed behind him.

"Why are we even here?" Percy asked. When Nico didn't answer, he continued, "I mean, why couldn't we have gone and lived at camp, like Thalia did? I know lots a' kids at camp who don't have their mortal parent, so why couldn't we go live there?" He heard a sigh from behind him.

"I dunno Percy," his cousin answered.

"Why are you even here? Shouldn't you have Shadow-traveled away by now?" He turned to look at the son of Hades. "Shouldn't you have gone to stay with your dad?" The younger boy just stared at him darkly for a minute.

"And shouldn't you have jumped out that window, called for your trusty stead, and flown back to camp by now? Because I haven't yet, that's why I'm still here," he answered. Percy sighed looking down at his lap. He chuckled drily, not hint of fun or amusement in his voice.

"It's funny, we can fight monsters and save the world again and again, and yet," He glanced out the window. "We can't do something as simple as run away from people who don't even know us."

"Well, if we ran away, I wouldn't be getting free pizza tonight," Nico tried. Although he'd intended it to be light and kinda funny, it came out dark and gloomy. Percy laughed anyway. The sound eased all worries and misgivings from the son of Hades's mind. It filled him with a warmth were there had only been avoid since his cousin had become so down. For a moment, he felt like he could have flown as high as Jason. Then he squashed the idea. Zeus would strike him down with lightning.

Then, with a spark on inspiration, Nico's eyes lit up.

"Hey," he said, tapping Percy's arm. "What if we went down to my dad's house and visited the new guests?" For a moment, he didn't understand. Then, his face broke out into a grin.

"Really? You don't think Uncle H would be too mad? Or at least, wouldn't make so we can't se them... can he even do that?"

"Percy, my dad's always mad. And no, he can't make it so you can't see a spirit. They die, and go to the underworld. Or maybe we should try Charon's place, since they might not have gone to the underworld..." He face-palmed, his rambling cutting off suddenly. "Of course! I'll just summon them!" Percy looked ecstatic as he listened to his cousin.

"When? When are we gonna do it? Technically you do it... whatever, when is it gonna happen?" he asked excitedly. Nico thought for a second.

"Tonight... I could do it tonight. Do you know anywhere that has a hole?" he asked.

"There's a park downtown with an abandoned pool, will that be enough?" Percy replied.

The son of Hades nodded slowly. "Yeah, it should be. We'll need some money so I can buy the offerings-" he was interrupted by snickers.

"Yes, we'll give Happy Meals to the dead," the son of Poseidon snickered. His cousin glared at him.

"Yes, we will. Deal with it. Now, back on track, we'll need money for the offerings, a way to be sure no one sees-"

"I'll just do that thing with the Mist. It usually works."

"Alright, so all we need is money to buy the offerings." Nico glanced at the clock and spouted some words that made Percy elbow him.

"Nico! Language!" the older boy hissed. The son of Hades rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, just get ready to go. It's almost time for me to go get Annabeth and Grover." Nico was on his way over to his side of the room, when a misty image appeared. Thalia smirked at them.

"Annie called and said you wanted me in New York tonight, what time and where? I'm sure Lady A could get me there... maybe," she muttered the last word, but they still heard it.

"Thals!" Percy hissed. "You can't be Iming us here!"

"Why not?" she asked, a cocky smirk on her face.

"They could see you!" the son of Poseidon replied.

"They recorded the conversation in alley!" Nico added darkly.

Thalia paled. "Oh, gods, no! What happened? How much do they know?"

Percy glanced at Nico, who glared at them both. "Not much thanks to me, but I was freaking interrogated! They wanted to know about your dads, and about Percy's family, and Tony's practically figured it out!"

"WHAT?!" both older teens shouted in surprise.

"Keep it down! He guessed who Thalia's dad was! He was 'Well, the only Z that could be Uncle Z in this is him'," he hissed angrily. "It's only a matter of time before he guesses everything!" The cousins looked at each other worriedly.

"I have to tell Lady A, we need to stop this. According to Annabeth, after talking with her and all that, Tony is teamed up with an organization called S.H.I.E.L.D, and they're bad news. They peek into everyone's business, and more than one of us have fallen due to them."

"What do you mean 'due to them'?" Percy asked.

"They don't stay out of people business, Percy. They've had a bunch of people arrested or killed because they wouldn't come peacefully, or they didn't know that much about them or whatever. Just, don't let Tony figure anything else out, and stay away from anyone who maybe working with them, got it?" The boys nodded mutely.

"Oh, meet us at the Pizza Hut near Stark Tower in an hour. See you then," Percy called, instantly slashing his hand through the image when a knock sounded on the door. He ran over and opened it, revealing Pepper in jean shorts, a white t-shirt, and flip-flops.

"When did you guys plan to meet up with your friends?" she asked.

"In an hour-ish," Percy replied. Nico slipped out the door.

"Where are you going?" Pepper asked.

"He has to go meet up with some of our friends and bring them to the Pizza Hut... assuming he doesn't get lost," the last part was muttered, and she didn't seem to notice. He grabbed the nearby teal t-shirt and slipped into it. His orange one went to the other side of the room. No sense giving them a further lead than he needed to. Pepper smiled at him, and he smiled back, slightly nervous. But Nico's promise to see his parents was in the back of his mind, and, with that knowledge, he could smile and be happy, at least for tonight.

"So, tell me about your friends," she encouraged. As they walked off, Percy began to tell her bare minimum about his friends, while including small things.

"Well, Thalia's like my sister. She's not always the friendliest, just warning you. Although, buying food would make her like you better. She's hard to describe. I guess you'll just have to meet her. And Grover has been my best friend since I was twelve..." he continued on and on, just telling little things.

Unknown Pov:

I watched them walk off, none of them noticing me. My red hair tickled my nose, but I remained still until they were gone from sight. Then I fixed my hair out of my face. I had purposely chosen the darkest corner. My comm was in my hand. 'Oh, I'm definitely going to have to call Director Fury,' I thought with a sigh. I wasn't sure what the two boys were up to, but it didn't bode well with me. Nothing good could come of it.

"I guess I have an engagement to get to tonight," I muttered as I slipped into their room and set up a camera. It was small, and put in the darkest shadow I could find that still covered the whole room, so I doubted anyone would see it.

Excitement rushed through my veins. Now, I was on the job, and no matter how hard they had tried, and probably would try, to keep anyone from knowing about something, they'd both just given me a lead and peaked my curiosity. This night certainly seemed to be working in the Widow's favor.

To say Percy was nervous would have been an understatement. Before him stood several of his closest friends, Thalia, Nico, Annabeth, Grover and Rachel, in front of his foster mom, Pepper. Percy felt like he had just introduced two nuclear bombs and was waiting for the inevitable explosion. He couldn't help but fell unsurprised when Annabeth stepped forward and held out her hand.

"So you're Pepper? It's nice to finally meet you!" she said. The woman blinked, staring at the blonde girl in front of her. A smile crossed her face in reply to the one the teen was sending her.

"Yes, it's nice to meet you too. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name," she hesitated, as if waiting for the girl to be upset, but the blonde just shrugged, the smile never leaving her face.

"I'm Annabeth-" she began.

"She's Percy's girlfriend," Nico explained, rolling his eyes in annoyance. He obviously wanted this over as soon as possible.

He'd assumed they would get pizza then do introductions, but no. Pepper thought it would be better if everyone knew each other before they sat down to food. So there they stood, right outside the pizza place, smelling the wondrous scents, and being unable to so much as nibble at it. Pepper glanced at Percy who was staring pointedly at the ground. His expression was faced away from her, so she couldn't see it. But a part of her guessed that Percy wasn't comfortable with telling her that just yet. The girl with black hair groaned.

"Great," she muttered. "Now that she knows they'll be each others faces all evening!"

Nico groaned in response. "Oh, shut it Pinecone Face!" he grumbled.

The girl tensed at the name. "Watch it Death Breath!" she growled. Percy pushed in between them, one arm held out toward each teen.

"Hey! You both promised!" he hissed urgently. They both turned on him, their mouths open to tell him to drop it when the blonde, Annabeth shoved in between.

"I remember people being a little more tolerant of your agreements when you introduced us to other groups," she reminded them. "There were quite a few hunters the boys wouldn't have minded maiming, and you," She turned to Nico, "You should know better." Annabeth motioned for Percy to step back and he did. She whispered something urgently to the younger boy. His eyes went down cast and guilt flashed across his face.

"Sorry," he mumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking a few steps away to lean against the wall to the Pizza Hut.

"Anyway," Annabeth said, turning around to face Pepper. "You obviously know Nico and Percy, but this is Thalia," She waved a hand at the girl Nico had call 'Pinecone Face'. "Grover," Once more, she waved her hand, this time pointing to the only boy Pepper didn't know. "And Rachel." The redhead waved slightly.

"Now can we go inside and eat?" Nico grumbled. Percy and Thalia were quick to voice their agreement. Grover was just a heartbeat behind them. Pepper couldn't help but chuckle. The Percy she'd seen since knocking on the boys' bedroom door was nothing like the Percy she'd fostered, and she rather thought she liked this version better. His smiling face and warm chuckle made her feel like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. If the boy she'd been slowly getting to know on the ride over was who he used to be... well, she had no doubt that he had fit in just fine with this crowd of mismatched kids.

"Alright," she agreed. "Now that we all know each others names, let's head inside." She chuckled once again as all but Annabeth and Rachel seemed to run for the door of the pizza place. The three girls followed behind the three cousins and the satyr. Annabeth chuckled as she hung back with Rachel.

"If the kids behave, this promises to be a very entertaining dinner," the oracle told her with a grin.

Tony sighed. He lay on the couch back at the tower. His talk with Natasha kept filling his mind.

"We need to talk," she had said. "It's about your sons... and a call from Bruce Banner." The second those words left her mouth, Tony could guess what she wanted to talk about. Mentally he hit himself upside the head for ever call Bruce. He should have known any mention of Loki would send him squealing to Fury. The talk replayed itself in his mind.

~Beginning~Of~Flashback~

"What's wrong?" Pepper asked. Natasha glanced at her, before facing Stark.

"Fury received a phone call from Bruce Banner less than twenty four hours ago. Banner was talking about a call received in the middle of the night from Stark. Supposedly, all Stark asked was for him to describe Loki to him, a basic description. S.H.I.E.L.D wants to know why you called him."

Tony's throat felt clogged. "Oh, well," he said, waving his hand flippantly. "Just a random curiosity. I'm not a very simple mind, and it's hard for me to sink to your level, so I merely called someone who could."

Natasha didn't look so convinced. "Why did you ask?" she demanded.

Tony shrugged, not looking very concerned. "I wanted to," was the reply.

The spy didn't look convinced. "Second, we need to talk about your choice of foster children," she continued. "As a billionaire who is technically a member of S.H.I.E.L.D, only because of the Avengers so don't get your hopes up," she told him coldly when his eyes lit up. "Still, you've had access to top secret information, and thus, you need to watch who you allow into you house unsupervised. Terrorists are not the kind of people you should give free roam of your house to."

"But Percy has no criminal record," Tony reminded her. "Believe me, I've checked. There's no criminal record on either of them. Therefore, they're fine."

"Well, Fury says they're not 'fine'," she told him. "He wants you to send them back into the system. Even as only acquaintance members of S.H.I.E.L.D, it doesn't do for a terrorist to have free run of your house."

"And I told you, they don't have criminal records, thus, they aren't terrorists!" he replied. "Plus, Captain Eyepatch doesn't decide who comes into my house and who doesn't. Neither Jackson nor di Angelo has done anything that dooms them in my book." A mischievous glint gleamed in his eyes as he smirked. "In fact, Jackson in particular I'm rather fond of," he admitted. "The kid has the coolest history. Now, if we're done here, I have work to do." Tony stood up and walked away, heading for the elevator. He motioned for the spy to climb in. She stood stiffly and left, giving a short farewell to both Pepper and Tony.

~End~Of~Flashback~

It would have been inaccurate to say that Natasha was displeased by the conversation. If a spy could look angry and irritated, Natasha did at that moment. Oh, how Tony had enjoyed doing that. Calling Fury 'Captain Eyepatch' had been the highlight of his day. But on to the important stuff, he needed some booze after such a tense meeting. Tony stood from his couch and walked over to his bar. Time for relaxation.

Okay, so I hope you guys liked it! I tried doing something a little different with the line breaks. Tell me if you like it or not, cause I can try just using / or xxx or something like that. Anyway, there is one little thing that I looked up today because it was bothering me... First, if you have ever reviewed this story, you get two major cookies of awesomeness for each review. Second, if you haven't reviewed this fanfic, and you've it or followed it, ya'll just confuse me. I've checked how many people have viewed the sixth chap of this fic. Over 675 people have gone all the way to the sixth chap. Only eight have reviewed. I'm am completely and utterly driven on by reviews people! I starve for them! (except when I eat food, I don't fell the hunger pains as bad then). But the point is, if you haven't reviewed this story at least once, yet you've read all the way up to chapter seven, or you've or followed it, what's the point? It makes me really sad when I check for new reviews the next day, and there are none. Now that I feel I have probably driven off all who will ever read this fic, let me respond to some of the reviews.

Guest reviews

BookFreak: I nearly died laughing when I saw your review. I was so happy, and thought you did that just like my dad would have! I'm glad you like it! I'm not sure if I like it as much as you do... Maybe I'm just being over critical of my work... But I'm glad you like it! Thanks for the encouragement!

Guest: I'm sorry you didn't get to see a lot of Pepper and the half-bloods. I got kinda worried about needing to have Tony talk about what happened with Natasha that I couldn't continue with their meeting. It was like some kinda magical, very temporary writer's block. Thanks for the review! It really helped me get motivated to write about the half-bloods.

Actual Users

letskilloctevian: Yeah, I feel bad for you guys... It made total sense to me because I knew who Tony called... Your review reminded me I need to mention that somewhere. Thanks for reminding me!

frejane: I hope he isn't too ooc. Probably a little, but I really did try to get him right after reading how you liked that he'd been more accurate in this one! Thanks for the encouragement I needed to try harder with Nico!

Glossette: I hope you did wait. Otherwise, you just might have to take Rachel's job... And that would be sad. Sad for me and Rach. Thanks for the compliment on my writing! (At least that's what I thought it was...)

Saphira Nograd: Sorry, seeing Natasha completely tear their secrets apart will have to wait for later... As will the meeting between Pepper and the half-bloods... I disappoint myself by making me wait... *sigh* I hope I didn't fail in writing one of your fav. avengers too badly. I'm not too good at writing her kind of personality. O.M.G. Your enthusiasm in your review was a kick in the bum that told me to get moving on this chap! I can't tell you how much I wanted to pick up the next book in Ranger's Apprentice Series, but I told myself to work on the chapter instead! Until I went to bed... I stayed up way too late to finish the book... But the chapter is here!

sweetchick621: Thanks! It was really encouraging to read your review and see that someone really liked my story!

Protagonist Of Life: I hope you feel better about the Happy coming back a little in this chapter. We'll see if this'll stick or not. Tony might wrench it away again :(

And thus come the end of the reviews... Sad, I know, I wish there were more too. So you know what you need to do? REVIEW! Till next time ya'll. I will stop writing before the AN's become longer than the chapter.

-RADyo