"Let us out!" shouted Percy, banging on the door. He and Jason had been shoved back into their rooms, much against their will, he might add. He was getting really sick of being pushed around and locked up in rooms. Plus, with what Apollo had just told them, they didn't have time to waste sitting around while these mortals discussed whether or not they were terrorists. They had to help the others!
"Do you hear me? I said, let us-" he began before the door opened just as he let his weight fall onto it, causing him to topple to the floor.
He looked up and saw Jason and the Avengers staring at him, Jason pursing his lips in an attempt not to laugh.
Percy pulled himself up and dusted himself off with a completely neutral expression, trying to act as if he didn't just face plant the floor. The others were not buying it.
"You good there?" asked Tony, raising an eyebrow at him. "Yep, perfectly fine," replied Percy, not looking at him. He could feel the grin on Tony's face, he didn't have to look at it too. He did see Jason's smirk though.
"You sure? Cause it kind of looked like you just head butted the floor-" started Jason, a growing smile on his face suggesting how he was not about to let this opportunity of making fun of Percy go.
"Yes I am completely sure, thank you Jason," Percy interrupted, glaring at him. Jason opened his mouth in an attempt to continue the mockery. "Unless you want me tell everyone about the history of your 'bordering on non-platonic' love of staplers?"
Jason's grin fell instantly, his eye's narrowing at Percy. "You wouldn't."
It was Percy's turn to grin. "Oh, I would." The Avengers looked between the two, confused, except for Tony, who also looked excitedly curious. "Okay now I need to know," said Tony.
The pair stared at each other for another 10 seconds before Jason finally conceded. "Fine, you win." Percy smiled triumphantly.
"Well then, now that that's sorted, shall we head on down?" asked Bruce, still lost on the whole interaction. They all nodded and proceeded onwards, but Tony was still curious.
"So what did happen?" he asked Percy when the both of them were at the back. Percy smirked and opened his mouth about to speak.
"Don't you dare, Jackson! I have dirt on you too!" called Jason from up ahead. Percy's smirk dropped and he grimaced. "That's true actually. Sorry Stark, maybe next time," he said as they all made it to the lounge area. Tony huffed in response, disappointed.
Once there, Steve gestured for Percy and Jason to sit on the sofa. This can't be good.
"I'm sorry for what happened earlier," Steve began. "For the threatening interrogation from the pirate guy or for locking us in our rooms for an hour immediately after?" asked Jason, bitterly.
"Both. It wasn't right for Fury to go at you two like that, or to grab you, Percy. We spoke with him afterwards in a more civil manner," responded Steve, diplomatically.
That reminded Percy. "Did you say his name was Fury?" he asked in an attempt at nonchalance.
Steve frowned. "Yes... why?" Percy narrowed his eyes. "He's never mentioned anyone by the name of Mrs Dodds, has he?" he asked. They looked at each other before Clint responded, "Uh, no. Why?"
"Just asking," Percy said, brushing past it. Steve still looked confused but carried on. "Anyway, we do apologise. It was unprofessional. But mostly, it wasn't right, and we hope we can all move on from it."
The two looked at each other for a moment, before Jason sighed. "It's fine, I guess. It was a pretty weird morning."
"You can say that again," Clint said passively. "I still don't understand what that thing was," muttered Tony, loud enough to be heard. Percy smirked. "What, you weren't scared by that thing, were you?" he asked.
Tony snapped his head towards him. "Course not, was just weird is all," he said defensively.
Clint snorted. "Yeah, cause you totally weren't shrieking at all during the fight," he said, grinning. "For your information, I was simply startled by the blasts of fire that kept appearing from every angle, Clint," said Tony , glaring at him. "And at least I wasn't the one who kept getting tossed about like a rag dole."
"It got me once! One time!" retorted Clint. "All right kids, settle down, you're setting a bad example for the boys," Natasha said, rolling her eyes.
The two continued to bicker, though, Steve and Natasha jumping in at different stages to keep it from escalating. Bruce was sitting next to Percy, watching his team squabble.
"Are they always like this?" asked Jason, watching the group with fascination. "Occasionally. Steve and Natasha are usually pretty calm and collected. Tony is usually the one to get things going, for better or worse, and Clint is serious when he needs to be, and mature quite a bit of the rest of the time. He does have a fun side, though, which comes out in cases like this, or in relaxed situations," explained Bruce.
"They're definitely relaxed now. Guess you guys don't think we're all that dangerous anymore, huh?" asked Percy, casually.
Bruce smiled and turned to look at him. "I mean you did take down a giant lizard monster, so I would definitely not want to get on your bad side," he commented. Percy snorted. "True. We were pretty awesome."
Bruce smirked and was about to say something else, but was interrupted by a gasp. "Percy what happened?" he asked, moving closer to him. Percy looked at him confused for a moment, before he followed his gaze and realized what caught him off guard.
"Oh, it's nothing, don't worry about it," Percy said, trying to brush him off. But Bruce was persistent and lifted the sleeve of Percy's t-shirt to look at the burn that marked his shoulder. At this point, the others had ceased their conversation and were now looking over to see what was going on, standing up and walking over when they realised.
"It looks painful, doesn't it hurt?" Bruce asked, concern lacing his voice. Jason got up at this stage and walked over beside Bruce. "Geez, Perc, when did that happen?" he asked grimacing at it.
"When do you think?" Percy responded, raising an eyebrow at him. Jason rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."
"Rolled out onto the road right in front of it, didn't notice the head right beside me," Percy shrugged, not really bothered by it. He had gotten way worse injuries than this, so had Jason, which is why neither of them were overly worried about this one. The Avengers were by the looks of it, though.
"Percy, why wouldn't you say anything?" asked Steve, obviously concerned. "Let's get you to the med bay," said Bruce, hauling Percy to his feet. "I'm fine, honestly. I heal pretty quickly. Plus, I've had way worse than this," Percy tried, but Bruce wasn't having any of it.
"It could get way worse if untreated, so no more complaints," said Bruce, leaving no room for argument. They noticed the agents positioned in the room step forward to come with them, causing Steve and Clint to walk forward instead.
"We'll go with them," Clint told them. They nodded and stepped back.
"I don't need babysitters, or any help," complained Percy. "Yes, you do, for both of those things, because a) you can't be left alone, and b) you're injured," stated Steve, folding his arms, as if baiting Percy to argue with him.
Percy looked back at Jason for help, but all he got was a shrug. "You heard him, bro." Percy shot him a look of betrayal, which Jason returned with a grin, before Percy was forced into the lift, Steve and Clint right behind him.
…...
"Please sit down on the examination table over there," Bruce said, pointing in the direction of the table as he went over to get his equipment and lab coat.
He turned back round to see Percy very begrudgingly sitting down, muttering under his breath.
"Good. Now, I will need you to remove your shirt so I can get a better look at your injury," said Bruce, walking over to him.
Percy's eyes widened slightly. "What? Can't you just look at it with my shirt on?" he asked, sounding nervous. Bruce gave him a sad but encouraging smile. "I'm afraid not. We don't know how big it is or how much damage has been done. It is better if I can fully see what we're dealing with."
Percy gave a strained expression before sighing and beginning to take his hoodie off. "Fine," he said. "I thought you said you were a physicist?"
Bruce huffed a laugh. "I am. But seeing as we don't always have medical staff on hand at the tower, and these guys can't go more than 5 minutes without getting into a fight," he said, gesturing over at Clint who was fiddling with one of his arrows and Steve who was spinning his shield in his hands, "I'm the best chance they have at not dying."
Percy smiled a little at that, but still looked weary. Bruce realised why a moment later, when Percy lifted his shirt and Bruce gasped.
The kid had scars. Quite a few of them. Some were healed over well and not very noticeable; others not so much. A few looked as though they hadn't been treated properly or fast enough after getting them. And they looked painful. Really painful.
"Percy," said Bruce, almost a whisper. He walked around him, taking them all in, horror growing on his face. "What happened? Where did you get all these?"
Percy wouldn't make eye-contact with him, instead focusing his attention on the floor. Steve and Clint stepped forward, a similar look of shock on their faces. "Percy," Steve said, reaching out to the boy.
Percy jerked away from him. "It's nothing, just some old injuries," he said vaguely. "Those aren't just some old injuries," Clint said still staring at the marks coating his skin. "They look deliberate. Like someone did them intentionally."
Bruce knelt down in front of Percy, though he still avoided looking at him. "Percy, did someone hurt you?" No reply. "Percy, please."
Percy finally looked up at him, a dark look on his face. His knuckles were white as they clenched the table. "I've been in a few fights, is all. Some didn't go so well. A couple, not many," he said looking at them pointedly, "I got from training." Steve and Clint were still about to say something at that, though. They had guessed the training they went through was intense, but these scars looked savage. But Percy continued, so they held off for now. They were appalled by what they heard.
"And some..." he trailed off, clearly hesitant.
Steve stepped up beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. This time Percy didn't flinch away.
"Let's just say me and my first stepdad didn't have the best relationship," he finished, coldly. Bruce's eyes widened, as did the others. "He hurt you?" asked Clint. "More my mum, but, yeah," responded Percy.
They all looked at each other. Clint looked like he was ready to throttle someone, Steve like he was about to break something. Bruce couldn't blame either of them. In fact, he felt the same. And that was Bruce talking, not Hulk. It was taking all his strength and focus not to go green.
"Thank you for telling us Percy. We're going to help you, alright? Bruce said sincerely. Percy looked at him, and after a moment of searching his expression for any sign of untruthfulness, he nodded.
He could tell how much the conversation must have bothered Percy, and knew he probably wanted to move on from all this, so he stood up and motioned for the others to step back.
"Let's check out your burn, yeah?" asked Bruce softly, offering the boy a soft smile. He peered at him for a moment before nodding, staying silent.
Bruce went over to get the supplies needed and looked over the burn to see the damage. It was a pretty bad. The skin was peeling off and bubbling, and would definitely take a while to fully heal. How the kid was not finding it painful was beyond him.
He took a few minutes to cool it down, then decided on the right substance to help heal it. Before he could apply the cream though, Percy stopped him.
"No, it's okay, I can do it," he said. Bruce hesitated but handed him the cream. Percy didn't take it, though. Instead, he got up and headed over to the nearby sink. He turned on the water, and raised his hand up... pulling the water towards him!
He formed a ball of water in the air, then brought it down on his shoulder. He winced a little but allowed the water to spread over the burn. It looked to be almost glowing slightly.
After a few moments he lifted it off again and let it fall down the drain, leaving a healed shoulder. Percy turned back towards them, walking over to get his shirt. Bruce, wide-eyed, hurried over to take a look.
"Did you just... how did you-?" stammered Clint, with a look of bewilderment on his face. Steve was frowning and his mouth was hanging open, as if he wanted to ask something but didn't know how.
Percy shrugged. "You knew I had powers. Well, one of those powers is a healing ability," he explained casually, like this was perfectly normal.
"So, you can just, control the water to make it heal you and do what you want?" asked Clint. "Pretty much," he replied, shrugging.
Bruce stepped back from him, an expression of disbelief coating his face. "That is amazing! How does it work? Is it only fresh water or also sea? Can make your own water-" Bruce started rapping off lots of questions, fascinated by this power. How did it work? Where and why did Percy get it?
They had discussed the theory of him and Jason having been experiments done on them that resulted in these powers, but if that was the case, how had the organisation done it? How many others were affected by it? And what else did they intend to do with it? That last questioned seriously worried Bruce.
"Woah, slow down there," said Percy, interrupting Bruce's rambling. "Sorry," said Bruce. "But really, how does it work?"
Percy looked at himself. "I couldn't tell you the inner workings of it, but I sort of just... feel the water. I think what I want it to do, and it does it."
"Amazing," whispered Bruce. "Told you I was fine," Percy said, before heading to the door. "So this mean we're done?" he asked.
Bruce was still stuck on the display of powers he'd just witnessed, and didn't immediately comprehend what he had said. "You want to leave right after you just... controlled the water like that? Percy, you have to let me study it. Or could you at least explain it to me-"
"Bruce," interjected Percy. Bruce stopped talking and looked at him. "I really want a break after all that, if it's okay," he said. Bruce realised then that Percy actually looked rather pale, bits of sweat coating his forehead. The kid must be exhausted from the day, and from all he had just told them.
Bruce smiled kindly at him. "My apologies. Yes, of course," he said. Percy nodded his thanks.
He could tell how much Percy wanted to leave, and he knew how much that discussion had taken out of him, so Bruce collected himself and smiled kindly at him. "You can go, but the agents will take you back to the others. I need to speak to Steve and Clint."
Percy looked at the two before nodding and heading out the door. Clint went after him to say to the agents, but quickly returned. Once he was back, the three were silent for a moment.
"What do you think, Bruce?" Clint finally asked. Bruce sighed and rubbed his head. "That was incredible. Do you know how helpful that kind of power would be? But I can't imagine what the operation they work for had intended when they did this to them," he said, shaking his head.
"Healing doesn't really seem like a power they would want him to have for fighting," commented Clint. "Maybe it makes it so he can fight longer and harder; face stronger and more powerful opponents without needed time to recover," supplied Steve, clearly not liking the thought.
"What about mental recovery? I'm guessing the healing is only physical. The toll this must have taken on his mind; constant fighting, possibly experiments. Ever since they were kids," said Clint, a strained look on his face.
"If this is all they've ever done, they probably don't know any better; assume this is the norm," said Steve.
Clint's face suddenly lit up. "Wait! So, after everything that happened this morning, things are probably really tense, right? And they most likely are not very trusting of us at the moment, right?" he said, excitedly. They both nodded at him.
He grinned. "Well, I have an idea that might lighten things up a bit, and Fury is not going to like it."
...
Percy came back and sat down beside Jason. Ever since he and the others had left, Tony had pulled out some gadget device that Jason was going to even try and understand and started flicking across a hologram that appeared above it. Natasha had been commenting on how he didn't need any more weapons in his suit as he added in more features to the holographic image of the armour.
When Percy returned, Jason noticed he didn't even had a bandage on his shoulder. In fact, it was perfectly healed.
Jason looked at Percy, waiting for an explanation. He already guessed what he had done, but he wanted Percy to say it.
After a minute of pointedly ignoring Jason's stare, Percy gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine, I used my powers to heal it," he muttered. Jason thumped him in the arm. "Ow," said Percy rubbing the spot. "Rude," he pouted.
"Really doing a good job of keeping a low profile on the whole 'having godly powers' thing," Jason said, rolling his eyes. "Oh, like you kept a low profile when you flew down from the top of the building earlier?" retorted Percy.
"That was completely different! We needed to get down fast, so unless you wanted to take the stairs, flying was the best option," countered Jason. "They already knew about our powers anyway, no real point in hiding them," said Percy.
They suddenly realised that the room had gone quiet. Looking up, they made eye-contact with the two sitting across from them, looking at them weirdly.
"What did you just say?" asked Tony. "Nothing," they both way too quickly replied simultaneously. Natasha narrowed her eyes at them. "What language is that?" she asked wearily.
Percy and Jason looked at each other. "Uh..."
At this point, Steve, Clint and Bruce entered the room, saving them from answering. "Can we talk to you guys for a second?" asked Clint, looking at Natasha and Tony. "Percy and Jason, the agents will take you to you rooms for a bit," said Steve. They nodded and stood up quickly, eager to avoid the previous conversation relapsing, but were stopped from leaving the room by Tony.
"Oh no, you two are going to clean up the mess you made in my kitchen," he said.
"Hey, I didn't make that big a mess," said Percy, folding his arms. Tony got up and walked over to the kitchen, gesturing inside. They all followed and peered in, eyes going wide.
The walls had splatters of blue waffle batter on them, there were still bits of smoke coming from the waffle irons, and dirty dishes lay astray all over the place.
"Oh, okay, I see why this may be considered not super tidy," resigned Percy. "How on earth did you make this much mess?" Jason asked amazed. "I think I forgot to turn off the electric whisk at one stage," muttered Percy in response.
"Well, you two better get started," said Tony, walking away. Jason snapped round. "Wait what? Why do I have to?" he asked, not at all loving this idea. "He's your friend, so he's your responsibility," Tony called.
Jason turned back in dismay to look at the chaos. Percy put an arm around his shoulders, tapping them as he said, "Tough luck, mate," before walking into the kitchen. Jason stood there in shock, glaring after him.
Oh, you are so dead, Jackson.