Percy sat, hugging his knees, on the sandy beach of Montauk. Wind ruffled his already unruly black hair. Billowing clouds puttered across the evening sky, which was a gorgeous pink hue. Waves lapped slowly against the bank, the sluggish motions matching Percy's despondent state. Flashes of memories flickered through his mind. His mom splashing in the water with him at age three. His mom finding seashells with him at age five. His mom playing catch with him at age eight. His mom roasting marshmallows with him at age ten. And then that fateful night at age twelve before everything started.
"I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud."
"You don't realize how important you are."
"I thought you'd finally be safe."
"You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes."
"I—I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean saying good-bye to you for good."
Percy held back a sob. His mom didn't know how right she was.
Except it would be her leaving him, without even saying good-bye.
If only Percy could find Zeus' master bolt and travel to the Underworld to get her back. Things were so much simpler back then.
Percy stared at the sky nostalgically. He blinked. One of the clouds shifted, looking almost like a horse bursting majestically through the white smoke. Percy felt a sudden pang of sadness when it reminded him of Blackjack. It'd been awhile since hed seen the playful, black pega—
Percy stiffened. Something was coming. Something powerful.
Something... godly.
The presence felt a little off from the other gods he'd met. But Percy didn't have much time to think about that. He was already up, wiping his tear-stained face with one hand and grabbing Riptide from his pocket with the other.
Something crashed into the ground in front of him. A sand cloud puffed up. Percy coughed, eyes watering. He waved his hand in front of his face to clear the air and pulled his shirt over his mouth.
The cloudy air dissipated. Percy realized it was someone, not something, and the person had landed on his feet, not crashed into the ground.
Percy stared at the blond-haired, cape-wearing, hammer-wielding god in front of him... at least, Percy assumed it was a hammer.
"Uh, mister flying hammer-cape dude. Wanna tell me why you crash-landed on the beach?"
In retrospect, Percy probably shouldn't have talked to a god that way. But he was over bowing to gods and their every whim. Plus, Percy couldn't help but admit that somewhere in his heart—somewhere very, very deep—he was hoping to make the god angry enough to smite him, so he could join his family and friends in the Underworld.
"Perseus Jackson!" The mysterious god boomed gleefully, dust settling around his knee-high boots.
Percy's face hardened in an instant. His carefree, happy-go-lucky attitude morphed into a serious, grim-faced mood. He leveled his sword in front of him. "If you wanna kill me, then get in line, buddy."
The god raised his hands in the universal 'I mean you no harm' gesture. He let his hammer drop to the ground with a loud thud and kicked up a considerable amount of sand. Percy quickly decided that he would not be trying to pick that weapon up in the considerable future. "Wait, Son of Jack. I am not here to harm you. I only wish to talk."
Percy blinked. "Okay, first off Blondie, my dad's name isn't Jack. Second off, in my vast experience with gods, if they want to talk, they want something from me. Or they want to kill me. And third off... okay, so I don't have a third off. But, like, what's up with your outfit? You look like a more muscular version of Superman. If Superman was blond. And wore armor. And carried a giant, two-sided hammer... that is a hammer, right?"
The man looked thrown off by Percy's little speech. "Son of Jack—"
"Percy."
"Perseus—"
"That's not—you know what, I give up," Percy muttered.
"—I know of your heroic deeds with the Greeks." The god paused, watching him with a sorrowful look. "I—I heard about how the Second Giant War ended. I am deeply sorry, Perseus."
Percy's throat began to close. He squeezed his eyes shut. Flashes of screams and roars flickered in the dark spots. Red splattered across his vision. His breathing quickened.
No. Not yet. Not now. Not here.
Boxes. Put them in boxes.
Percy forced the images into boxes his brain spawned and slammed the lids shut. He shoved the boxes to the deepest depths of his mind and forced his breathing to slow.
There you go, Percy. In and out. In and out.
Percy opened his eyes to see the god looking at him in concern. "Are you unwell, young half-blood?"
"N-no." Percy's voice shook slightly. He forced it to steady. "I'm fine." Percy cleared his throat. "Just peachy."
The god stayed silent for a moment. It was obvious to him that the boy was not fine or 'peachy.' But if the demigod did not want to talk, then Thor would not make him. "Right. To the reason I am here. I came on behalf of a mortal agency called S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Never heard of them."
"Well, they've certainly heard of you. They believe you to be a terrorist."
Percy sighed, feeling some major déjà vu. "This is started to seem awfully familiar." The son of Poseidon lowered his sword, pointing the tip at the ground. It seemed this was going to take awhile.
The god nodded, not surprised by Percy's statement. "My friends approached you earlier today."
"Stalked," Percy corrected. "They stalked me earlier today. And then tried to attack me when I wouldn't go with them."
"Ah, apologies." The god grimaced. "The mortals know not of the Greek pantheon and your brave actions."
Percy frowned, annoyed that the god kept referencing his 'heroics.' The heroes were the ones who sacrificed their lives. Percy was just the only one left alive to praise. "But you do?" The god kept referencing the Greeks as if he wasn't one. Maybe he was Roman? Or some other pantheon?
"Yes. Perhaps I should introduce myself. I am Thor Odinson of Asgard."
Percy blinked. Asgard? He'd never heard of that.
"As I mentioned before, my friends think you a criminal. I convinced them to let me come talk to you this time."
"And I'm sure they're watching or listening to us right now, huh? Comms or tiny video cameras or something. I've seen enough spy movies to know that much."
The waves lapped against the sandy beach, almost like they agreed.
Thor nodded. "They gave me one of those tiny listening devices; I think they called it a bug." The god shook his head. "It clearly isn't an insect, though, so I'm not sure why it is named that. Midgardians are strange creatures." He grinned at Percy. "But fear not, little demigod. The bug decided to fly away when I journeyed over here."
The mischievous look in the god's eyes surprised Percy. Thor didn't seem like a very playful person. "Oh. Well, thanks. I think."
"Do not worry. I will keep your secret. But you must come with me to the Avengers, so we can prove your innocence."
Percy eyed the guy in front of him warily. It would be nice to clear his name and get the government off his back, but... "How do I know you guys aren't gonna just kidnap me or kill me or something?"
"The head of S.H.I.E.L.D. has promised not to harm you." Thor hesitated. "But be warned, Perseus. This man... I am not sure how trustworthy he is."
Percy sighed. "Of course. Why would the head of a government organization be trustworthy? Government and honesty, a complete paradox."
Percy rubbed his temples. He weighed his options carefully. Go with a random, weirdly dressed stranger—who also happened to be a god that was friends with his stalker-attackers and seemed to know a lot about him—or stay on the run from the government.
Wasn't that hard of a choice.
"Fine," Percy said to the superhero-god. He blew out a breath and forced a grin. "Take me to your leader."