Sorry about the wait, guys. My life's just been hectic at the moment, and I've been going through some stuff... But hey, you're not here for authors notes or me complaining about things, so on with the chapter. Sorry again, everyone.
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Tony had spent the past sixteen hours searching for Perseus Jackson. He had scoured the streets of Manhattan, scanned every single building he had come across, he had even resorted to hacking into street cameras to find any hint of the fugitive. And what did that accomplish?
Nothing.
Zilch.
Nada.
A big, fat, disappointing bowl of nothing cereal.
"FRIDAY, scan the perimeter for any-"
"Again, sir?" Came her voice, sounding almost... Concerned? He couldn't tell. Probably because he hadn't really been paying attention to that, his eyes flickering around and thoughts far away. Or perhaps even because he needed some sleep.
Woah.
Sleep?
Pfft, what's sleep?
"Yes, again." He responded, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. He had to try again. After all, Perseus couldn't have vanished without a trace. He had to be somewhere. But then again, he'd never seen anyone actually do that before. Even Reindeer Games wasn't able to teleport like that.... Was he? Well if he was, he had never witnessed it.
"There are no signs of anyone who matches Perseus in the vicinity." She answered after a few moments. The same responses as earlier. Just great. He pushed himself to fly faster, the sounds of his repulsors surprisingly quiet to his ears. Probably because he had been hearing it for hours on end now.
"Alright, then-"
"Mr. Stark!"
"Jesus fu-" Tony just managed to catch himself in time, already able to hear Pepper admonishing him for almost swearing in front of the red and blue hero that had seemingly appeared out of thin air. "Kid, what are you doing here?" He asked, glancing at him momentarily. He was swinging around like a Christmas themed monkey next to him, somehow managing to keep up with him with every web that he shot.
"Well, I just saw you in the neighborhood and I thought you might be on some kind of superhero business so I thought you might need some help with whatever you're doing." His young, chirpy voice answered, not at all phased by the fact that he was practically dangling fifty meters in the air without a metal suit to protect him like he had. Just some webs that he had made himself. Sometimes it dumbfounded Tony just how talented this high-schooler was. It also dumbfounded him how he could just spout off a sentence like that without even taking a breath in between. "You do need some help, right? I mean-I'm sure you don't, but I could help anyway! Like I did in Germany, Mr. Stark!"
God he's so peppy. How can someone be so cheerful about everything?
"Uh... Look, kid," Tony started off, mentally looking for a way to let the kid down gently. "I'm looking for someone dangerous. Reeeeaaaally dangerous. And it doesn't involve you. So why don't you just go back home and spend the rest of the day with your hot aunt?" He looked back towards him again, practically able to see the pout through his mask.
"But Mr. Stark, I can help!" He protested. "Who are we up against? Or what?"
"Underoos, this isn't your problem."
"But... But you're in Queens now! So that does make it my problem!" He argued, before adding on a bit softer, "Uhm... Technically speaking..."
Another heavy sigh escaped his lips. So determined. So stubborn. So... So Tony Stark, unfortunately. He didn't know if it pleased him or horrified him that the kid was similar to himself in quite a few ways. "All right." He muttered on an exhale, sounding more like a sigh than actual words. "All right, fine." It was likely that Perseus wasn't even going to come back here, so Peter wouldn't be able to get hurt in any way. Why not bring him along on this pointless, or more specifically, safe mission? "Just... Keep your buggy eyes peeled for a male with dark hair and tanned skin. Looks about eighteen, nineteen-ish. Got a major attitude problem and looks like he would kill someone in five seconds flat. He might be with a girl, but I don't know what she looks like." He hadn't been able to get a look at her, his body had been blocking her out of view. He could see Peter nod out of the edge of his peripheral vision.
"Why are we looking for him? And who is he?" Came the all too eager response.
"A bad guy, that's all you need to know." He fell silent for a few moments, eyes skimming over the information that FRIDAY had deemed noteworthy and had pulled up for him. "Oh, and if you see him, do not engage. Understood?" There was silence for a while after that, which immediately made his stress shoot up like a rocket. "You understand, kid?" He prompted, turning his head to watch him. He was sure his disapproving frown was visible through the metal viser, because the young superhero seemed to shrink down slightly.
"...yeah, I understand, Mr. Stark."
• • •
Percy never could get used to the feeling of vapour-travelling, as he had decided to call it. The sensation of being somewhere one moment and gone the next, your whole body dissolving into thin air, leaving only a cold, empty feeling where your limbs and body parts should be. It was... Unnatural, to say the least. And more often than not, it caused his body to ache with a ghostly pain. But he had made do with it for decades already. One more time wouldn't hurt him. It would however tire him out.
He and Wanda reappeared in between a thick grove of trees, his hand shooting out to lean against the rough bark of one of them automatically, allowing him to support his shaky legs for a few moments while he tried to regain feeling in his limbs. Pins and needles stabbed along his body, causing him to grimace and flex one of his feet back and forth a few times. A phantom pain tingled through his fingers and up his arms. He shifted his weight slightly, moving his other foot in the same movements, trying his best to get the unpleasant feeling to leave as soon as possible.
"Oh god."
Percy turned his head slightly, feeling very faintly amused to see Wanda on all fours, looking sick to her stomach. "You get used to it." He commented lightly, receiving a drawn out groan in return almost right away.
"Doubtful." She said. He couldn't help the tiny smile that tugged at his lips. Her reaction was understandable. It might not have been her first time, but even so, vapour-travel took a while to get used to. Hell, the first time he had done it had been worse-
A choked sob escaped his mouth, eyes squeezed shut and sweat dripping from his face. His head tilted back slightly, greedily gasping for air on his spot on the floor. His knees ached from being on them for so long, body swaying from side to side with an imaginary breeze. "Pl-Please..." He begged in a harsh whisper, voice broken and pathetic even to his own ears. "I-I can't... I can't do th-this... Please..."
"Do it." A voice said. The voice that had become so bitterly familiar. A voice that made him want to curl up and die. Even more so than he already did. A hand grabbed his hair tightly and forced his head further backwards, his eyes opening again and filling with tears at the sharp sting. "Now. Or you will suffer more. Understood, soldat?"
He swallowed thickly, but his mouth was too dry for it to help at all. "Un-Understood." He jerked forward slightly when the General pushed his head forward again. Dear god, he wanted all of this to end. He couldn't... He couldn't handle this anymore. He couldn't...
"Do it."
He hunched forward, curling in on himself and shutting his eyes once again. He could feel the straining tug in his gut, building up and churning inside of him. He focused hard on the feeling of his power growing.
But then... It started dwindling. He could feel his hold over his power slipping away from him again, a distraught noise escaping his throat as he struggled desperately to keep control. A shaky exhale burst through his lips and he shook his head, ignoring the tears that now trickled down his cheeks. "I can't..." He whispered again. "I-I can't..."
"Do it!"
He whimpered, holding his head in his hands. He... He was so close... But he couldn't quite get it. "I..."
"DO IT!"
A tidal wave of cold and the ethereal feeling of emptiness washed over him in an instant, and the next thing he knew, he was on all fours on the other side of the room, having just emptied the contents of his stomach out onto the floor. His arms shook, struggling to keep himself upright. Strangled sobs could be heard in the otherwise silent room, his head hanging low and a foul taste on his tongue.
"Good. Now do it again."
"Percy?"
Percy blinked a few times, looking towards the source of the voice. Wanda was staring up at him, her lips set in a line, but her eyes looking almost concerned. She still looked pale, but not as sickly as before.
He felt almost stunned at the sudden memory that had flashed through his mind. His hand automatically reached up, wiping at his nose before he could even feel anything. They seemed to be coming quicker and quicker... but he didn't understand why. Perhaps it was just time that was allowing him to regain things from his past? He shook his head, reaching a hand out in a silent offer to assist Wanda. Now wasn't the time to delve into those thoughts. He had to drop her off first. Then he could go on his merry way again and spend some time investigating the cause. He helped her to her unsteady feet, ignoring the questioning look she was giving him. "I'll take you to the place we bumped into each other, then we can part ways. Is that fine?"
Wanda raked her dark eyes over him for a few seconds, probably still curious about why he had gone silent like that for a while. She seemed to let it go for the moment however and nodded. "Yes. That's all right." She said.
He rubbed at his nose. "Good. Then let's go." He turned on his heel and started walking, weaving his way through the multiple trees, shoes crunching on the orange-brown leaves scattered over the ground.
They walked in silence for quite some time, the air between them awkward and tense, but neither one of them willing to break the strained silence. Percy kept a wary lookout at the sky, feeling his fingers itch with the need to move, to let his anxious feelings out somehow. He had the right to be paranoid. After all, this was the city Tony Stark had found him not even twenty four hours ago. A glance up at the sky, before looking down again. How had he found him? Then again, how had anyone found him? He knew that he had remained on the down low after the last... Altercation, between him and the agency, but had someone trailed him? And if so, who? A look up into the air, green eyes darting around, then looking down again. Surely he would've noticed if he'd been followed though, right? Or were his skills just that rusty? He hoped that wasn't true. His gaze shifted upwards once again to cast a searching look around.
"Are you looking for something?" There it was. Finally. The silence broken. He looked at Wanda, raising an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" He asked coolly, looking forward once again, just in time to swerve around a man hurrying past them, talking angrily in his phone. Percy shook his head, both amused and irritated by the oblivious pedestrians around them.
Wanda gestured at the sky. "You keep looking up for no reason. You're acting... Suspicious. Paranoid." She told him.
He grimaced slightly at that. "Let's just say... I'm kinda expecting someone to show up at any minute." He said. He could almost laugh at how cryptic he sounded, even to himself.
"From the sky?" She asked dubiously.
"Well hey, you never know where someone might pop up from." He shrugged, a small smile ghosting over his expression.
She made a quiet noise of disagreement. "I don't know about you, but I usually do know."
"Oh har har." Percy responded sarcastically, some tension bleeding out of his shoulders at the light banter between them. It was... nice, to say the least. He hadn't actually had companionship like this since... Well, since a long time. Probably since Nico Di Angelo.
Nico...
He blinked away the surfacing memories that came with the name. Damn, he really needed to stop thinking about things like that. Reminiscing was always a bad idea. It led to bad habits. Sloppy work. Getting caught. And he couldn't allow that.
He wondered how Nico was doing now... No. Bad Percy.
"We're here."
He looked around, recognizing the area faintly. He looked down the street, cringing slightly. He'd been running for his life down this road not too long ago, Tony Stark hot on his heels like a banshee straight out of hell. Jeez, yet another thing to consider. Why on earth was Stark, of all people, after him? Was SHIELD so desperate that they had to send in a superhero? Or perhaps Hydra had more control than he had previously thought. He hoped not though. Because that could only mean more trouble for him in the future.
"I assume you know your way back to... wherever it is you were going before I ran into you?" He asked, not exactly sure what to do now that they had to go their separate ways. After all, they barely knew a thing about each other. That may have been for the best though.
"I do." She said, her hands in her pockets and her dark eyes watching him rather curiously.
"Okay, good." He ran his tongue over his lips, silence settling between them like a blanket once again. "Wanda, listen-"
"I won't tell them about you."
Percy paused at that, unable to help his expression from shifting into one of surprise. "You... Won't?"
She smiled gently. "We all have our secrets. Our... fears. You're running from something. Or someone. I can tell. And I won't give you away." His eyebrows creased together in a slightly confused frown.
"Even after I kidnapped you?" He clarified doubtfully. Maybe... Maybe he'd read her wrong when he first met her. She laughed in response, features lighting up. He realized absently that this was probably the first time he'd seen her laugh. He blinked a few times. Wow. What a sentimental thought. Especially with someone he barely knew. And a hero at that. It's just... She reminded him of someone. And he just couldn't figure out who. Maybe it was something about her smile...
"Even after you kidnapped me." She confirmed.
"Ah," He couldn't help but smile slightly in return. Hers was quite contagious, in fact. "Well in that case, I believe I owe you."
"No, you really-"
"Miss Maximoff? Err, I mean, Miss Scarlet Witch... ma'am?" Percy couldn't help but stiffen at the sudden voice, eyes darting up to find the culprit. What he found instead was a small figure crouched precariously on the bars of a fire escape, decked out in a red and blue costume of sorts, big white eyes staring at the two of them. He glanced towards Wanda questioningly, but she had gone still and solemn in a matter of moments.
"It's... You." She said, almost hesitantly. He could see her fingers automatically twitch and her stance change minutely. As if she was preparing for a fight. Percy took a step back, ready to either spring to her aid or flee from the scene. Two of the three options when faced with a threat, he had been taught.
"Yeah, I'm-I was in Germany. With Mr. Stark!" Now that he heard him again, the male sounded younger than he had previously thought. Young enough to still be a kid, in fact. Wait, Stark?
"I remember." She eased herself back a bit slowly, not taking her eyes off of the boy. "You're... Spider-Man, aren't you?"
Spider-Man? Percy frowned. Who on earth is Spider-Man?
"Yeah, that's me! But... What are you doing-" He trailed off, and Percy could feel his gaze burning into him as his attention shifted. "-here..." Percy stared back, feeling more and more uneasy by the moment at the intensity the kid was staring at him with. "Hang on... Something's not right..." He murmured, still not taking his eyes off of the other male. "You're... You're him, aren't you?"
Percy's eyes flickered towards Wanda for the briefest of seconds, before the two of them simultaneously turned and started running.
"H-Hey, wait!" He called after them, but neither of them listened-or responded.
Footsteps pounding and the familiar feeling of adrenaline coursing through his veins, they fled side by side, evenly paced with each other for the time being.
"Why-Why is he after you?" She panted between breaths, not even pausing to look at him.
He glanced over his shoulder, a soft groan escaping his lips. The so called 'Spider-Man' was swinging on some kind of... web along the street, soaring overhead like a trapeze artist of sorts. 'You have got to be kidding me.' "You think I know?" He bit back, turning his attention forward again. "All I wanted was to get out of this damn city-" Something hard slammed into his leg, causing him to lose his balance and crash forward, slamming into the ground hard, his breath bursting from his chest with an audible gasp.
"Percy!"
He gritted his teeth and pushed himself up a bit, feeling way too winded for his liking. He looked down to see a mess of white... stuff sticking to his ankle. It looked like the shit Spider-Man had been using to swing around on. Speaking of, out of the corner of his eye, he could see a blur of red and blue barreling down the opposite end of the street again.
Then there was a hand in front of him, grabbing his shoulder and forcefully lifting him to his feet. "Come on, Percy!" Without a single word, he started sprinting again, wincing at the breathless feeling in his chest.
"Who the... Who the hell is that?" He practically wheezed out, legs still pumping as they ran.
"I've only seen him once before, but I think he works with Tony Stark."
Tony Stark. Again with Tony Stark. Well, that would explain why he's after him then.
"Well, whoever he is, we've-" He sucked in a deep but shaky breath. "-we've gotta lose him." A faint tug in his gut warned him and he dodged to the side, another blast of webbing just missing him by a few inches and causing him to let out a string of curses under his breath. He could see the spider hero come swinging in towards them through his peripheral view. "If we can-"
"Duck!"
Instinctively he ducked at the commanding voice that rang out, just in time for a small cluster of circular objects to come flying over his head and smash right into Spider-Man's chest, sending him flying backwards and onto the roof of a parked car with a bang, immediately setting off a painfully loud, screeching alarm.
Percy's eyes snapped forward again and he came to an abrupt stop, his heart sinking at the sight of a familiar man, his arm outstretched and aimed towards where the hero had gone down. He instantly knew who he was. Who wouldn't? You'd need to be living under a rock not to know that the man in front of him was Captain America.
His arm dropped down, and he realized that whatever had been shot at Spider-Man had come from the gauntlet type weapon around his wrist. He automatically took a step back, not taking his eyes off of him. Even when Wanda started walking towards him.
"Thank god I found you." Steve's face softened at the sight of her. His eyes shifted towards him after a few seconds, something in his eyes betraying his confusion, even if his face remained impassive. "Who is this?"
He couldn't help but squirm slightly under the powerful gaze of Steven Rogers, taking another step back. He could feel his blue eyes seeming to pick apart every single aspect of him. In fact, he wouldn't be at all surprised if he was doing exactly that. Stripping him down to see through his very being.
"I'm... No one really. I'm not important, but I've gotta... Yep, I've really gotta go now." He was being suspicious. Terribly suspicious. He knew it. He absolutely knew it, and he wanted to cringe. But he really had to go before this escalated more. Even if that meant just sprinting away before the other super soldier could catch up to him.
"Wait!" Oh god, not again. He turned his head slightly to see Spider-Man getting to his feet again, the devices that had been used to incapacitate him seeming to have worn off. He froze at the sight of the two Avengers together though. Well, ex-Avengers. "Oh... Hey-Hey Mr. America, sir."
Steve's eyes traveled to the other superhero at the sound of his voice however, seeming to relax slightly, as if he were relieved to see the kid. "Hey." Percy took another step back, keeping his eyes fixed on the biggest threat to him at the moment-Steve.
A soft, mechanical whirring noise caught his attention however, and his stomach dropped at the all too familiar sound. "Oh no..." He murmured. Steve seemed to hear it too, as he tensed up again and looked towards the sky, his expression hardening and his stance changing into a more defensive one within seconds.
'Aaaaaaand there goes my hopes for escape...'
He turned to the sound, a slightly distressed groan escaping his lips almost immediately. He knew it. Tony Stark, in all his metal glory, landed on the street next to the spider themed hero. His mask tilted to look from Spider-Man, to Percy, and then finally to Wanda and Steve.
"Well, isn't this day just going swell!" Tony said, sarcasm dripping from his words venomously.
"What do you want, Stark?" Steve asked, his tone guarded yet stern as he took a step forward, angling his body in front of Wanda's protectively. Possibly without even realizing it.
"Oh, besides a pony?" He snarked, glancing towards Spider-Man momentarily as he jumped off of the car to stand beside him. "I'm not here for you anyway, Captain."
Percy stiffened as Tony turned his head to look at him, raising up an arm to point.
"I'm here for him."