Somehow, Percy had become the official liaison between Camp Half-Blood and the Avengers, and he had absolutely no idea how. Weren't two of them half-bloods with direct access to camp themselves?
But ever since that first meeting, Natasha would come by the apartment every so often, pick him up, and drive him to the compound, making idle chatter on the way there. And then at the compound, they'd talk about camp and how preparations were going, and usually they'd train too, improving Percy's hand-to-hand or pitting him against an Avenger, sword and shield against the Iron Man armor or Cap's shield. By this point, it was starting to be kind of fun.
"I hear you and the daughter of Zeus had quite a showdown last winter," Natasha said over her shoulder as she pulled away from his apartment. Percy snickered into his arm.
"Yeah, that was fun," he said with amusement. "It's probably better that we don't fight so much now though. I think we scared some of the younger campers."
Actually, he was pretty sure they'd scared all the campers, and some of the Hunters too. But that was where it stopped being funny. His smile faded.
"It's good for people to remember their heritage," Natasha said. "If people forget how powerful the children of the Big Three can be, then it'll be a nasty wake-up call the next time one does come around."
"I guess," Percy said dubiously.
"Anyway," Natasha continued lightly, somehow managing to evade traffic in the middle of the day in New York. "The reason I mention it is that we finally got that visitor we've been waiting for. Thor came back to Earth last night, and he brought Bruce. I thought it would be best if we made a point of introducing you early on."
"Is it?" Percy asked, skeptical. "How come?"
"Why not?" Natasha countered. "More likely than not, you'll be front-and-center when Kronos makes his play for Olympus, and that's the reason we called Thor back. It'll be good to establish familiarity."
"Okayyy..." Percy mumbled, leaning on the window to look outside it. "Gods don't usually like me though."
"Thor's not your usual god," Natasha said. Percy suppressed the urge to scoff and pressed his forehead against the cool glass.
A while later, they finally reached the Avengers compound outside the city, and Percy followed Natasha inside. They found the rest of the Avengers in the kitchen, most of them seated around the large central island, with plates of food already set out. Looked like brunch, pancakes and bacon and egg sandwiches. Steve and Wanda were working together at the counter; Wanda was cutting up fruit and tossing it into a bowl of fruit salad, and Steve was making more pancakes. Bucky wasn't here; Percy had only met the man twice so far, because he wasn't fond of bustling activity.
"I brought the new kid," Natasha announced, nudging Percy forward.
"Oh," Bruce said, as soon as he set eyes on Percy. "He really is a kid. I thought you were joking."
Percy flushed, but Thor grinned broadly, swinging around to hold out a hand for Percy to shake. "Ah, you've brought another of our Greek cousins! A son of the sea, unless I'm much mistaken."
Hesitantly, Percy reached out and shook Thor's hand, firming up his grip when Thor squeezed playfully. "Hi. You don't feel like a god."
Percy immediately turned red. He hadn't meant to blurt that out. Fortunately, Thor didn't take offense, only laughed.
"I imagine not, if you are more used to the divine presence of the Greeks! Nay, I have many centuries yet before I reach that level of power, and many heroic deeds to do before I earn it. But you, cousin – I can see your father's blood is strong in you, and I'm told your trials have been many already. What monsters have you slain?"
Percy fidgeted, all eyes on him. "Um, probably nothing that would be that interesting to you," he mumbled, tapping his toes against the stool's footrest.
"Nonsense," Thor said firmly, though his smile was a little gentler now. "There are few in any realm that will ever experience such trials as those the Greeks cast upon their children. I am certain your quests have been arduous and honorable."
"Um," Percy repeated, and glanced around. Most of the others were engaged with each other or their food, but Vision looked interested, and Bruce and Clint both seemed to be paying attention too. How had he ended up in this situation? "Well, my first monster – the first real fight anyway – was the Minotaur. The new campers really like that story."
"It's the first one anyone at camp tells you if you ask about Percy," Clint told Thor with a grin. "I should know, since that's what happened to me."
Percy blushed, but he found himself smiling too. "So I got, like, really unlucky with my journey to camp," he explained to Thor. "No one even told me I was a demigod until a few days after I got there, that's how bad it was. The Minotaur chased us all the way from Montauk to the edge of camp."
"See, already this is more interesting than what any of the other kids told me," Clint said, and Percy actually rolled his eyes.
"About the only lucky break I got that whole night was that it was raining," Percy continued instead of replying. "It was just me, my mom, and my friend Grover on the way there, and Grover got knocked out when the car got struck by lightning, so then it was just me and Mom."
"Excuse me, you can't leave that there," Rhodey said incredulously, which made Percy jump, because he didn't think he'd been paying attention. "When the car got struck by lightning? Cars keep you safe in lightning. Metal frame."
"Not if Zeus really, really hates you," Percy deadpanned. "Anyway, Mom gave me a tutorial on bullfighting, which works great on bulls and not so great on a Minotaur with hands to grab you with. So it worked the first time and only the first time, and..." He hesitated, then decided to skip over the whole Mom-napping thing. He didn't like talking about it, and it didn't have a lot to do with the Minotaur itself anyway. "And the second time I kind of had to do something else."
He gestured vaguely. Thor's eyes were still bright with interest, like he had nothing better to do than listen to Percy talk about an old fight, and it made Percy smile despite himself.
"I jumped straight up and landed on its shoulders," Percy said, with a little more confidence. "I'm lucky I didn't fall right off, honestly. Anyway, I didn't have a weapon, but its horns were right in front of me, so I just... grabbed one and snapped it off."
"With your bare hands?" Rhodey demanded.
"A mighty and valiant feat of strength!" Thor enthused.
"Can you do that?" Bruce whispered to Clint.
"Fuck no," Clint snorted. "That's some Big Three bullshit."
"Holy shit," Bruce said.
"I cannot emphasize enough how much it fucking sucked," Percy said. "I probably couldn't have done it if I hadn't been so upset. Anyway, then I did fall off, and the next time it got close I stabbed it with the horn. And then I dragged Grover over the border and passed out at the bottom of the hill."
Thor clapped him on the back, making Percy wince. "I see you are not only a mighty warrior, but a humble one as well! That is a skill I myself have yet to master." He grinned. "You must have more tales of grander still fights since then! Please, a feast is best accompanied by tales of battle and glory," he added, when Percy moved to protest.
"I'm interested too," Steve threw over his shoulder. "Demigods keep to themselves so much, I don't get to hear a lot about what goes on there."
"Well, you shoulda asked, Cap," Clint said with a grin, but he nodded at Percy too. Percy flushed, but soon gave way under the encouragement.
There were other fights that he was genuinely proud of, so he shared those without much more prodding. He'd done a great job against Antaeus, figuring out how to get around his earth-based healing power, and the Nemean Lion had been an uncharacteristic stroke of genius too. He was working his way through the challenge at Geryon's ranch when a plate of blue pancakes landed in front of him.
He blinked at them, startled, and then looked up to meet Wanda's eyes with confusion.
"I wanted to apologize for acting in anger when last we met," she said, curt but calm. "I was still grieving, and not myself. I did not expect to find so deep a wound."
Percy flinched. "Oh. Uh. Did you see that?" Wanda nodded. "Sorry, um-" He shook himself, trying to discard the reminder and focus on the conversation. Blue pancakes. "It's okay. Most people kinda assume my life was easy before I found out I was a half-blood. Less complicated that way, I guess."
"Why are they blue?" Bruce asked, accidentally cutting through the building tension. He was squinting at Percy's plate. "Is this a joke I'm not getting?"
Despite himself, a flicker of a smile passed over Percy's face, but he was startled when a few of the Avengers grinned too.
"You're going to love this," Tony told Bruce seriously, grinning wide. "Percy's mom has been building up one hell of a fundraising movement. Blue Food Project, does donation drives for domestic violence charities and women's shelters."
"They do bake sales and art exhibitions, mostly," Clint put in, surprisingly enthusiastic. "And people are loving it, I haven't seen people talk this much about helping abuse victims in, like, ever."
"I was gonna back it myself, but somehow the Dare family heir beat me to it," Tony added. "Not to say I won't pitch in anyway, but Sally isn't ready to make it much bigger just yet."
"What is this 'domestic violence'?" Thor inserted, brow furrowed, and Sam took over that explanation.
Percy's face felt hot again. He'd known, sort of, that word would get around to them – they were keeping tabs on him, after all, and he'd helped out with a couple of bake sales since that first one – but he hadn't thought they'd be interested.
Rhodey caught Percy's eye and gave him a small grin.
"I don't think I've ever seen Tony so excited about a charity," he told Percy. "Usually he allocates a percentage of his profits and lets Pepper handle the specifics of where it goes."
Percy gave in and covered his face. "It's just a silly story," he mumbled.
"It's not silly," Rhodey said. "It's sweet. It takes a strong person to find happiness in such a simple thing when your life is so dark." He reached over to squeeze Percy's forearm, brief and reassuring. "It gave a lot of people a lot of hope. That's no small thing."
Percy smiled behind his hands, embarrassed. "Yeah. Mom's the most amazing person in the whole world."
Bruce cleared his throat. "I'm still confused," he said, though he looked a little softer now. Percy shrugged when everyone looked at him, face on fire.
"Mom explained it better than I could," he deferred.
"Does this mean I can show him the article?" Tony asked. "I've been dying to show him the article."
"I mean, sure?" Percy said uncertainly, and then dug into the pancakes to distract himself. Tony conjured a tablet from somewhere and showed it to Bruce, who read through what Percy assumed was Ben's article on Sally.
Steve and Wanda joined them at the island shortly before Bruce finished, and Percy reached out belatedly to grab some fruit salad and some bacon.
"She really put it all out there, huh?" Bruce said once he was done, a little softer than before. He pushed the tablet back to Tony. "Are you really comfortable with having this be so public?"
Percy shrugged and fidgeted, but when Steve started to look concerned, he gave in.
"Like I said to Mom, most of the stuff he actually did is still private, so it's not like we're that exposed," he explained, tapping his fork against the plate. "I mean, it doesn't even say in either article that he-" He cut himself off, flushing. They didn't even say that he hit us. "Anyway. The only weird thing is when people like, bring it up out of context. Especially in the context of demigod stuff."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Steve said, frowning. "We didn't even ask, did we?"
Percy shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "It's fine. Mom would be really happy that you're so excited about it. She wasn't sure if it was the right thing at first, making something out of the attention."
"She did an incredible thing," Bruce said firmly, and Percy smiled.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "Hopefully after, um, after this summer I'll be able to help out more. Right now I'm helping out more to relax than to actually build it up."
"That's plenty," Sam said, though he was also frowning. "How sure are we that the fight is gonna be this summer?"
"Completely," Clint said. "Kronos has his vessel, and he's actively recruiting; we've had more runaways from camp this year than in the last ten put together, and even Tony and I have gotten dreams from him. A couple kids have been having dreams of his activity, too – he's been breaking monsters out of Tartarus and Titans out of their prisons, but none of them are attacking. He's biding his time."
"We've already started talking to the UN about it," Tony added. "I think we'll get all the legalities worked out in time. It's the reveal of the Greek world that'll really take time to smooth out – I've already got a few meetings with the president arranged to talk about everything, which, man, is not gonna be fun."
Percy's stomach turned at the thought. He was so glad that he was just a camper.
"And, of course, Percy turns sixteen this summer," Clint finished, nodding at Percy, who dropped his gaze abruptly. His appetite disappeared. "There's too many signs pointing to it to brush off. It's gonna be then."
"If I didn't turn sixteen this summer," Percy said without thinking, staring at his plate, "do you think it would still happen?"
The silence that came after his question was stifling, though it took Percy a few seconds to notice it. He blinked and looked up, confused, to find most of the Avengers looking at him with an array of worried and disturbed expressions. He slouched, uncomfortable.
"It was just a question," he mumbled.
"Percy," Rhodey said carefully, "are you thinking about doing something?"
"No-ooo," Percy muttered, kicking the island wall. His stomach turned violently, thinking of the Styx river. "I've just been wondering. I mean- the gods might've had a point, is all. About it being dangerous for me to exist."
"Oh," Tony said, with sudden comprehension that made Percy flinch. "Percy, no one died. You nearly died, we thought you were dead for weeks. I'm not surprised you scared yourself, but that's a good thing. Means you'll be careful in the future."
"Half a million people were evacuated," Percy said without looking up. "Two hundred got hospitalized. And Typhon is stirring now too."
"Uh, what?" Bruce questioned warily.
"I blew up Mount Saint Helens a few months ago," Percy explained. His eyes stung, and he scowled, spearing some watermelon on his fork. "I didn't mean to. I was panicking 'cause I was on fire. But it erupted. I didn't know I could do that."
"Such shows of power are the stuff of legend and song!" Thor encouraged him, through a mouthful of pancake. "It proves that you are mighty. Your enemies will surely fear you."
Percy popped the chunk of watermelon into his mouth to avoid replying. His enemies already feared him. It was his friends that he was worried about.
"I didn't know you were on fire," Natasha said, glancing up at him. She didn't look bothered. But she could have been pretending.
"Telekhines were throwing lava at me," Percy muttered, resisting the urge to rub his chest at the memory. "Dad's power makes me hard to burn, I guess, but you know what it definitely doesn't make me? Lava-proof."
"I think you can be forgiven for panicking a little under those circumstances," Wanda said, shooting him a rare, fleeting smile. Percy didn't reply.
"Do you know what you did exactly that made it erupt?" Bruce asked. Percy nodded.
"I summoned water," he said. "I guess you shouldn't do that inside an active volcano."
"Then don't do that again," Bruce said gently. "Don't even put yourself in that situation again. Stay out of active volcanoes, maybe find out where else you can't safely summon water, and make sure you don't go there. It'll be fine."
For the first time, some of the weight lifted off Percy's shoulders. "Okay. I'll talk to Annabeth about it, I guess. She'd probably know."
Bruce flashed him a smile and raised his glass of orange juice, expression wry. "To destructive powers that save your life, eh?"
Of course. The Hulk.
Percy returned the gesture, managing a small smile of his own.
"Don't mind me. I'm not looking for an appointment. I'm just here to speak with my son."
"You're not Mrs. Nelson," Karen said, voice sharp and suspicious.
"An astute observation. No, dear, I'm here to speak to Matthew."
Matt dropped his screen reader, and Percy shut off his StarkPad immediately, glancing up at the door with a frown. Sally had covered her mouth with one fist, and Foggy had sat bolt upright.
Percy didn't recognize the goddess that walked in. She looked punk and arrogant, spiked collar, platform boots, and all. Her eyes glittered with amusement, and locked on Matt before the door even shut behind her.
"Matthew Murdock," she said thoughtfully, examining him. "I should have kept an eye on you. You've managed to accomplish a lot even without my help, I see."
"I like to think so," Matt said, slow and careful. He was stiff as a board from head to toe, and very, very pale. "Did you need something?"
"Right to the point," she chuckled. She sat down, a chair appearing behind her exactly as she needed it, and Percy caught Foggy staring incredulously. "Did you like my gift?"
"...Your gift?"
The goddess smiled, reached up, and tapped her temple. "Your enhanced senses, of course. A fair trade for your eyesight, I should think."
"That was you?" Matt already seemed disconcerted and upset, his knee bouncing anxiously while his hand gripped his cane tightly. Percy felt a twinge of sympathy. Meeting your godly parent was never like what you thought it was gonna be. Usually, it was much, much worse.
"Well, it certainly wasn't that ragtag mix of mortal chemicals," she said with humor. "Aren't you going to say thank you?" Matt did not. "Well, that's fine. What you've been doing with them is tribute enough."
"Who are you?" Matt demanded, shifting his grip as if in preparation to get up and swing his cane. "What tribute?"
"I'm Nemesis, of course," she said impatiently. "You're smarter than this, child. Goddess of revenge, justice, balance... you'd be surprised how many of my children become lawyers, though most of them work prosecution, I believe." She smiled. "But your work as the Devil of Hell's Kitchen more than makes up for that little discrepancy."
Karen squeaked, hand flying to her mouth.
Nemesis, Foggy mouthed, staring wide-eyed at the goddess. Sally was holding his hand tightly, keeping him still.
"My lady," Percy interrupted, keeping his voice carefully neutral, "did you come to ask a favor?"
Nemesis glanced over at him, amusement still glimmering in her eyes.
"Of you? Certainly not. Kronos has been courting you personally for more than two years now. If he has not parted you from your precious gods, I doubt that I will." She returned her eyes to Matt, who was frozen stiff. "But I thought Matthew might be interested."
Matt's breath was slow and even. It was hard to read his expression from behind his glasses, but it didn't look friendly. He set his cane across his knees. "I'm not sure what would make you think that."
"Don't take me for a fool, child," Nemesis said dismissively, waving her hand. "You have been to Camp Half-Blood, and you've known Perseus for some time now. That's plenty of time to see the cruelty of the gods. I would have thought you, of all people, would be interested in seeking retribution."
Percy thumbed Riptide's cap, keeping wary eyes on the goddess in front of him.
Matt smiled without looking in her direction. "I think there are other ways than to collapse western civilization. I've been told about Kronos and his ilk."
"Western civilization has its own crimes to answer for," Nemesis said. "You know it, boy. Why, the chemical company that blinded you is a prime example of the sheer, reckless disregard it has for justice. We could build something better. It is time to balance the scales again."
Matt was quiet for a little while longer this time, and Percy found himself holding his breath, resisting the urge to tap Riptide anxiously.
"I think you should go, my lady," he said at last, voice soft and inoffensive. "It is clear we don't see eye to eye." He smiled mirthlessly. "If you'll, ah, pardon the pun."
"Are you certain?" Nemesis pressed, crossing one leg over the other. "Kronos' army swells with the forgotten and neglected children of the gods. They've earned their chance at vengeance, and you've proven yourself an excellent agent of it. Or perhaps you would do it for your mother. The minor gods have long languished under the rule of Olympus."
"He said no," Percy said icily, breaking into the conversation without remorse. He met Nemesis' eyes unflinchingly when she turned to look at him, and turned his hand over to expose the pen, thumb pressed against the cap. He thought he saw a flash of wariness before she turned away again.
"I did," Matt agreed quietly. Nemesis shrugged.
"Oh well," she said flippantly. She got to her feet, and her chair vanished again. "No real loss, I suppose. But it will be a shame to have one of my children with me and the other under the thumb of the Olympians."
With that passing jab, she waved over her shoulder and walked back out the door. The second it closed behind her, the hallway started to glow, and then cut out, and Percy knew that she was gone.
He slouched in his seat and scowled.
"Gods," he muttered, with more open scorn than he'd ever meant to let Sally hear from him. Sally was still staring at the door, lips pressed tightly together, looking unhappy but unsurprised. "Sorry, Matt. At least you know who your mother is now, I guess."
Matt had leaned over, slumping with his head in his hands. "I... suppose I do."
Foggy was also staring at the door. "Did she just- did your mom just show up, ask you to join Satan, and then leave?"
"Essentially," Matt said, and leaned back in his chair with a sigh. "I don't know what I was expecting." But he couldn't quite hide his disappointment. "Percy, do you know...?"
"Ethan Nakamura," Percy said, before he could finish the question. "Closer to my age than yours. He pledged himself to Kronos last summer." He tugged on his bead necklace absently. "His mom took one of his eyes too. I guess she has a thing."
"Man," Foggy said, disgust and indignation creeping into his expression. "I can't believe it was less awful when you thought you were an orphan."
Something about the tension in the room released, and Matt chuckled.
"I suppose, for all intents and purposes, I still am," he said wryly.
"I told you most gods make shitty parents," Percy said, unable to resist. "Are you even planning on getting involved at all?"
"I don't see why not," said Matt, sounding surprised. "What, did you think I was going to stay out of it? You're involved, and if nothing else, that makes it my business by proxy." He smiled a little. "Maybe multiple proxies."
"Wh- Matt, you're ridiculous," Foggy said, but he was smiling, too, looking oddly pleased.
"Percy," Sally said softly, cutting across the levity. "What did she mean, Kronos is courting you?"
Percy winced. "It's not a big deal," he tried to assure her. "I've been having dreams, I guess. They're more or less the same as the conversation Nemesis just had with Matt." He waved his hand vaguely, and then scowled. "Kronos would just love for me to be with him instead of against him. Depending on the prophecy, that could be the last thing he needs." He jerked his head irritably. "As if."
"You've been having nightmares," Sally said, with typical Mom-like perceptiveness. Percy winced, eyes unfocusing as his mind was drawn back to the Styx – dark, inky water closing over his head to blot out the light, an acrid taste filling his mouth.
"Those are about something else," he said.