The pair stood in silence for a moment, basking in one others presence. And then finally Percy broke the silence.
"Hi, Mum." He gave her a sad smile full of emotions. It had been so long- too long since they had last seen each other.
Percy jolted as he watched his mother break down in front of him. A sob escaped her mouth, tears running down her face and dripping onto the carpet. Percy felt incredibly guilty. He drew her close into a big hug, attempting to soothe her. His thumb rubbed circles on her back and whispered comforting things to her.
"I'm here now." He mumbled softly. Sally came to her senses and broke out of her son's hold.
"You idiot." She muttered. "Two years and no word at all. I understand that you were with your father but-"
Percy bowed his head in shame. Sally pushed his fist against his chest, a lame attempt at a punch. "You can't do that to me." She said. Sally would not meet his eyes, not yet, for she knew her anger would drop the moment she did.
"I know, and I'm really sorry. I should've done something, IM'd you or something. Maybe even a postcard." It was a lame attempt to lighten the mood, but finally she looked up at her eldest child.
He eyes were so much like his father's, but they looked so much more fragile than the last time she saw them. He wouldn't talk much about what had happened, and that hurt her, but she could understand. Sally hated the fact that she couldn't keep him out of it. Even more so when she saw the tip of a scar peeking out from above his shirt collar.
She knew there were more beneath the material.
His skin lost some of its tan, due to being underwater for so long and his hair needed a bit of a trim in her opinion, for it brushed over his eyes a little.
Sally sighed, he anger already dissipating. "Come in, Percy."
~~~~
Hamish sighed as the door creaked loudly upon opening. He'd already known the moment they left that they'd get caught, but keeping an eye on Lyla was more important. Especially when the person she was chasing was the most needed piece of the puzzle.
Lyla however, thought she could get away with sneaking out. That's why recoiled so much when their leader stood in the center of the room, foot tapping angrily.
"Where have you two been!?" She demanded, voice full of anger.
"Sorry, Boss." Lyla said in a small voice, grinding her foot into the ground and avoiding eye contact.
Each and every one of this group respected their leader. The six kids that made the group other than her were all grateful for her existence. They'd all been street kids or lived in places with neglected childhoods. She had found them and picked them up. She was largely called 'Boss'. Few didn't. In fact, not a single one knew her actual name. When she introduced herself the girl had called herself 'Adamantine'.
Not a single person believed that was her true name. Whenever somebody brought it up, she said, "Adamantine is a rare, supposedly unbreakable element mentioned frequently in Greek mythology. I think it suits me perfectly right now. My resolve will not break. We will save this world."
"I didn't ask for an apology, I asked what you were doing." Both Lyla and Hamish knew she knew. She was just like that, as if she were Athena herself.
"I was gathering information." Lyla said boldly, raising her head.
"Oh really now. And would this 'gathering information' include attacking Percy Jackson?" Lyla flinched.
"Adamantine, if I may interrupt-"
"You may not." Hamish stood down. He and Elizabeth were the only two to call her by the name she'd introduced herself with.
"So what?" Lyla blurted. She knew that she was needed and it made her cocky. "He didn't get hurt."
"So what?" Adamantine's voice was cold and level. "So what? So what if he did get hurt? So what if my entire plan was destroyed because he got hurt? So what if I found somebody to replace you?" Lyla's eyes widened.
"But- you need me." It was true, that Lyla was the most needed person to carry out phase one of their plan.
"You are not the only one with the abilities I need." Her hard eyes bore into Hamish. "And what were you doing?" Her voice was softer. He was aware she already knew why he had gone as well. But he also knew it wasn't good enough.
"To make sure she didn't cause any harm."
"You should've stopped her full-stop." Hamish admitted defeat immediately. He knew he couldn't win. Anybody may have called him a coward, but the term 'coward' was just another term for 'careful'. He would make no unnecessary moves.
"Lyla. I'll see you in Room 18." Lyla jerked and gasped. Hamish clenched his fists but said nothing.
A coward he was indeed.
~~~~
A small smile grew on Percy's face as he noticed a little girl sitting in the corner, playing with toys until sudden sadness and guilt crashed down on him. He was her brother, but he was never there.
The smile was gone, and Sally noticed that.
"Come, sit." She patted the space next to her on the couch. Percy sat.
At the sound of her mother's voice, Estelle looked up, regarding the pair with innocent looks. A wide grin spread across her face as she wobbled to her feet and ran over to them. Percy welcomed his half sister, she eyed him cautiously for a moment before allowing him to pick her up. He pulled Estelle onto his lap where she began fiddling with his hands. Sally smiled warmly at the sight of her children.
"So what brings you here?" Sally almost regretted asking when she saw the happy expression on his face drop.
"I've been given a... quest."
"Again!?" Estelle looked up, startled.
"This quest- well, the details, I'm not supposed to discuss. Anyhow, it's not something for younger ears." Estelle pouted. Sally had made sure that Estelle didn't forget about her older brother while she was growing up and now she wanted to know more about him.
"I see."
"Mummy says you're a solder." Estelle said. It had been a while since Percy had heard her voice. He smiled down at her. He understood what she was trying to say, but it was entertaining nonetheless.
"I guess you could call me a soldier." He ruffled her hair. She squealed and pushed the demigod's hands away. She was almost five by now.
"Is that why you never come home?" Percy hesitated.
"Yeah. But I'll be able to come home lots soon." His sibling brightened at that prospect.
But he had something to do before then.
~~~~
It had been two days and Perseus had yet to return. The Avengers had met up to discuss a course of action.
"Does he have a phone?" Tony piped up.
"He wouldn't." Thor denied immediately.
"How would you know?" Natasha antagonised. After their last talk about Perseus the five of them were unable to get anything more out of the Norse god.
"I am aware of his circumstances." The god said evasively. Sadly, Thor was just as good at avoiding their questions.
"Dammit dude. Did you take lessons from Loki or something?" Clint muttered, frustrated. Thor did not reply.
"So how do we find him them?" Steve asked. He was still lacking in his knowledge of technology so he couldn't be much help in this department.
"We could ask Fury?" Bruce suggested. There was a lot of tension between the two, but Percy listened to Fury. Bruce wasn't sure he wanted to know why, given the glares the two constantly shared, but it was a thought. "Percy will listen to Fury, either willingly or unwillingly."
Natasha shrugged. She's also noticed the tension. "Fury could know."
"I could hack his file, see where he lives." Tony recommended.
"Isn't that classified?" Clint raised an eyebrow.
"You never know until you try." Nobody was surprised anymore at the computer riding out of a compartment in the table. It had become normal for the group.
Tony hacked into the database, he searched for a 'Perseus Jackson'. When he found the correct file he clicked to open it. As expected, the file was unobtainable.
CLASSIFIED.
Tony tried something different but was met with the same wall. A notification he hadn't noticed popped up to the side.
It told him how he couldn't access the file, but there were related searches he could enter. Probably the doing of JARVIS.
Paul Blofis
Gabe Ugliano
Sally Jackson
Estelle Blofis
Tony gathered the shared last name could be a good thing to look into. And so it was.
"Bingo." Tony announced. "We can try his mother's place."
"And how far away would that be, Stark?" Steve deadpanned. Where his father lived was confidential. How different would his mother be?
"Just downtown actually." Steve jolted.
"Really!?"
"Well then. I nominate Popsicle and Point Break." Tony said with a nod. He wanted to go, but figured that having a billionaire in the room might be too much considering how well he and Perseus got on.
"It's settled then. Let's go." Steve said, not complaining. Thor knew the guy, so maybe he knew Thor.
~~~~
Perseus knew Thor alright. So well that he slammed the door in their faces almost immediately.
Steve blinked slowly while Thor looked troubled. "That was welcoming." Steve snorted.
"It was not unexpected." Thor mused. "Given my aura anyway. Perseus does not have good experiences with my kind."
"Your kind?"
"Gods."
Perseus had regular encounters with gods? Plural?
The door opened again.
"I'm sorry for my son's behaviour. You are-" she broke off, processing who was on her doorstep. Her gaze lingered on Thor for a moment. "Well now I understand." Then she turned and yelled over her shoulder. "You could've been more polite about it."
Steve assumed this was Sally Jackson, Perseus' mother. Sally sighed heavily. "Come in."
"It's alright ma'am. We shouldn't be long. I assume Prince Perseus has told you about him joining the Avengers." Sally glared at her son over her shoulder who avoided her gaze guiltily.
"No. He hasn't." Percy sighed and stood up. This time when he came to the door there was a young girl clinging onto his leg.
"You can't take him again." The girl spoke up fiercely, surprising all four adults.
Again?
"Estelle, I do have to go back eventually." Percy kneeled before her, placing a consoling hand on her head.
"No." She stomped her foot stubbornly for good measure.
Percy didn't want to go. He wanted to stay and be with his family. He wanted to be apart of her life and he wanted to protect her. She wasn't a demigod, but with two clearsighted parents she was sure to have encounters. Even if she didn't he wanted to be there.
But he couldn't. Not yet.
"I promise to come by again okay?" Estelle shook her head in response. Sally picked her up and kissed her son on the cheek.
"Go do what you've got to do. But may the gods help me, if you die I'm resurrecting you and killing you again." Steve was surprised at how seriously Perseus seemed to take the threat.
"Yes ma'am." Percy saluted mockingly. But it carried a hint of seriousness. "I'll hold you to it."
Percy couldn't leave the Avengers yet.
For he couldn't yet afford to.
~~~~
Godsdammit. It is too early in the morning to be trying to write nice, happy stuff. I tried.
Question from @CloeTheTealSnake : Do you watch sub or dub?
Answer: Some people will have no idea what that means. It's for anime. Since anime is in Japanese, there are two ways for us people in other languages to understand what they're saying. 'Dub' refers to well, 'dub'... I think. Anyway, that's where voice actors have done a English or whatever your language voice over and you just watch it with English words instead of Japanese. There are no subtitles here.
Sub' refers to 'subtitles' which is where you watch the original Japanese version, but it has subtitles down the bottom. How do you read them and watch the show? The answer is simple.
I personally prefer to watch the subbed versions. The only anime that I've preferred the dub for was Servamp. As somebody learning Japanese, it's a good way to help learn and figure out sentence structures. Also, nobody else can figure out what the hell I'm watching or what they're saying, and that's always funny.
Peace,
BTSWD
Borntosingwithdrama