Being a god meant that you didn't sleep much. Which also meant that Percy had to find other things to do. During his middle of the night shower, Percy's thoughts drifted like they tended to do.
How was Kat? Tony had told him that she was fine... But that didn't stop the twinge of guilt he felt. She was going to have to live forever because of him.
His thoughts drifted from Kat specifically to the visions he'd had of her. Percy thought more in depth about what he'd seen. Then he realized that the visions weren't in order as he'd seen them. The biggest giveaway was that in some her hair was dyed, and in others it wasn't.
Then something startled Percy. How had he not noticed that before? The man that Steve had been smiling at? He had a metal arm. That is not a normal thing to have.
Who was metal arm dude? Steve obviously knew him, and for some reason Percy didn't understand, the guy seemed almost familiar to him as well. Percy was sure he didn't know the guy, but he couldn't shake that feeling.
After Percy got out of the shower and dressed, he opened up his laptop. Two things allowed him to do this without worry: The first being that his godly aura kept monsters away, the second being that Leo and Tony had developed something that stopped monsters from finding demigods by their technology use.
Percy looked up info for Steve. There wasn't much about him in the present time, but there was a good deal from back in the day. Percy mentally shrugged and looked at that anyway.
The Howling Commandos. Percy blinked. And he looked again. And he blinked. That was metal arm dude, standing next to Steve, in WWII. Without a metal arm. He showed up in more photos, and Percy found out his name was James Buchanan 'Bucky' Barnes.
Bucky Barnes was a dead man. But Percy had seen a vision of him in the future. Which meant that he wasn't dead. People had thought Steve was dead, yet here he was, kicking ass.
Percy got as much information as his brain could comprehend.
~~~~~~
Kat's dream was different. She was in some woods that she didn't recognize. It was very green and healthy looking, though, so there was that.
"Percy! Per-rcy!" A voice called out. It had an odd, bleating quality. "Per-rcy!"
Kat knew that voice. Her head tilted. Where did she know that... "Grover?"
"Per-rcy!"
"Grover!" Kat shouted, and took off running towards where she'd heard it. "Grover!"
"Percy!"
They almost ran into each other. Kat grinned wildly. "G-man!"
"Percy?" Grover asked, very confused.
Kat did that thing where you're like 'yes! uh, wait, no.' "Not quite."
"Not quite?"
"Oh, you don't know." Kat realized.
"What don't I know?" Grover asked.
"Oh boy. What's the last news you got of Percy?" Kat asked.
"There was a rumour that he was a god, but he wouldn't have let that happen, so..." Grover trailed off.
"Okay. Okay, that's a... Yeah." Kat frowned.
"Um, who are you? I was trying to use my empathy link with Percy, so I don't know how I got here." Grover asked.
"Oh. Okay, sit down." Kat said, and took a seat herself. Grover hesitantly sat too.
"So?" Grover asked.
"To answer 'who am I' I have to explain why you're here instead of with Percy 'cause it's the same thing." Kat said.
Grover frowned.
"First of all, that rumour is true." Kat said.
"What?" Grover spluttered. "But he wouldn't have-"
"He didn't!" Kat said. "The gods just did it without his permission. Sneaky bastards did it when he was about to die, so he wasn't aware of what happened for a while."
"Wow... Wait, don't talk about the gods like that!" Grover exclaimed, eyes wide.
Kat laughed. "Oh. It's fine. I can curse at them all I want."
"They'll smite you!"
She snorted. "They'll wish." Grover had genuine fear in his eyes. Kat cleared her throat. "Anyway, they made him a god. After he found out he was pretty mad. And then when they broke their oath, he went to Olympus to confront them."
"Oh no."
"Zeus got pissed at him."
"Oh no oh no."
"They got in a fight."
"oh no oh no nononono."
"Percy kicked his ass."
"Oh n- What?"
"Percy beat Zeus, and is now the King of the Gods." Kat said, smirking slightly.
"What? He... Oh my gods. Then, the cabins... Oh, that makes sense..."
"Anyway, he fought Tartarus-"
"Oh my gods!"
"With help, and he won. Tartarus is gone."
"Oh."
"But-"
"Oh no."
"The Fates-"
"Oh, crap-"
"Split his soul in half."
Grover was silently staring at her. "What?"
"The Fates split his soul in half."
"Is he okay?" Grover asked, highly concerned.
"Oh, he's fine. I got the short stick." Kat said casually.
"You...?"
"Yep, I'm the other half of Percy's soul." Kat said.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
They were quiet for maybe thirty seconds. "So, you're Percy too?"
"Kind of, not really?" Kat said. "My name's Katha. You can call me Kat."
"Kat." Grover said. "So you and Percy are like, twins, clones?"
"Yep, pretty much."
"Well this explains the headaches recently." Grover said absently.
Kat winced. "Sorry 'bout that."
"No, it's fine. I was just really worried." Grover said.
"Still sorry, though." Kat said.
"So now we have two Percy-s?" Grover raised an eyebrow.
"Essentially." Kat shrugged.
"Wow. This is crazy."
"Don't I know. If I think about Percy too much I'll actually go insane."
"What? Why?" Grover asked, alarmed.
"'Cause I have all his memories and stuff. Identity crisis and all that. Luckily I have magic stuff done in my head so that won't happen as long as I take it easy."
"Every time I think you've peaked in your glory, something crazier happens." Grover said, shaking his head.
"I'm not Percy though."
Grover gave her an odd look. Then his expression changed to a more alarmed one. "Uh, you're disappearing."
Kat looked down. "Oh, probably waking up. That's actually a good thing, I think."
"Sleep is great, though." Grover said. "And we were talking."
"Well, considering I was in a coma recently, somebody's probably worried." Kat said, and the woods faded away.
~~~~~~
Kat opened her eyes. She was still on the couch, but a throw blanket had been placed over her. She managed to shove it off without getting tangled up and falling.
"She lives!" Clint said.
Kat looked over at him. "Apparently."
"I'm glad you're up." Clint said softer.
Kat glanced around, and saw that it was dark out. "What time is it?"
"8:32," Clint glanced at the clock. "Kids went to bed a little while ago."
"Oh." Kat said.
"Are you up for a bit of a trip?" Clint asked.
"What kind of trip?" Kat narrowed her eyes.
"A reward. For pranking Loki." Clint said.
"Okay. I'm interested." Kat said.
"Great. Go put on some exercise clothes and we'll leave." Clint said, a small grin on his face.
Tennies, workout leggings that Natasha had picked, and a T-shirt later, Kat was downstairs. In the car, Kat's knee was bouncing. "Where are we going?"
"It's a surprise."
"I don't know if I trust that."
Clint laughed. "In the backseat, grab the cooler."
Kat had to weirdly twist to reach it successfully. When she got settled back into her seat, she opened it to find her half-eaten tub of ice cream, two spoons, as well as some nectar and ambrosia.
"You are sharing some of that ice cream with me. I managed to hide it from the kids." Clint said.
"Why do I have to share?" Kat asked, nearly pouting.
"Security toll."
"Fiiiiine." Kat grumbled, and they got into the ice cream.
"How long until we get there?" Kat asked.
"Um, about forty minutes now."
"Forty minutes?"
"Yep. Don't forget to eat actual food, too."
"I won't."
~~~~~~
"Woah. What is this place?" Kat asked as she stepped out of the car.
"It's a gym run by a retired agent." Clint smirked. "It's got a lot of the things agents use to train."
"You brought me to a secret training center?" Kat asked.
"Yeah, kinda." Clint nodded.
"Awesome." Kat grinned.
"Back door's this way." Clint gestured.
Once inside, Kat had no idea where to start. There was so much to do. And there were a few people in, even at 9 pm.
"This way." Clint said, and she followed him over. This section was a bit different from the others.
"What're we doing?" Kat asked.
"I'm gonna teach you." Clint said with a grin.
They had the gymnastics area to themselves, and Clint began to teach her.
"I'm gonna try it." Kat announced.
Clint had gone over to the side for water. "Go for it."
"Okay. Okay." Kat mumbled to herself. You can do this.
She pushed off the ground, and did a cartwheel. After landing on her feet, she jumped up and down. "I did it! I did it! Did you see?" She chirps, hands raised in victory.
"Very good! You're gonna have to do that again before I believe it wasn't beginner's luck, though." Clint said.
Kat set her shoulders, looked at Clint, and did a second successful cartwheel. "What's next?" Kat grinned at him.
They spent the next three hours there, before Clint called it quits. He had to drive them home, after all. On the way back, they stopped for a quick drive-thru burger.
"I can't believe you learned all that in three hours." Clint shook his head.
"You could say I'm a god." Kat said, the smirk audible in her voice.
Clint nearly choked on his bite of burger. Once he'd recovered from his laughter, he gained a thoughtful look. "You seem to be much more okay with being a god than Percy was."
Kat was quiet. "I think I am. More okay. Maybe we are different after all."
"Maybe you are." Clint said.
~~~~~~
A few says later, Kat found herself walking through the trees, deep in thought.
"What brings you here?" Loki inquired from ahead.
"Just thinking." Kat shrugged.
"About?"
"My brother."
"Ah." Loki nodded. "Brothers are difficult."
"Thanks, that gives me a load of confidence." Kat said sarcastically. "I feel really reassured."
"Because it is my job to pamper your ego." Loki replied.
Kat sighed, and the conversation came to a standstill. A few minutes passed before Kat spoke again. "When do you think I'll be ready to meet him?"
"When you think you are. I know your mind. But it is yours. Do you think you are ready to meet him?" Loki replied.
"Well... Maybe. But I don't want to. Not yet." Kat paused. "It's just, what if he hates me?"
"I think that instead of worrying if he'll hate you, he might hate himself."
"What?" Kat asked, looking at him with wide eyes.
"For him, this is a burden. A curse. He might see this as if he cursed you." Loki explained.
"But it isn't a curse for me."
"I guess you will just have to tell him that, won't you?"
"Thanks, Loki." Kat said sincerely, and dashed off toward the house.
She dug through her things, searching for a particular piece. Once she held the drachma in her hand, she got nervous. What if she went crazy?
Fuck it. Kat walked into the bathroom, and focused on making a mist. Once she had a rainbow, she tossed in the drachma. "Oh Fleecey, do me a solid. Show me Percy Jackson, at Sally Jackson-Blofis' apartment."
The image cleared, and it showed her twin sitting at a table with papers in front of him, and a laptop off to the side. He was chewing on the cap of a normal pen. Kat took a breath. He hadn't noticed her yet, maybe she should hang up...
"Uh, yo." She said.
Percy's head snapped up, and they stared at each other for a few seconds. The pen fell out of his mouth. "Kat!" He exclaimed.
"Uh, yeah. That's... That's me." Kat said, smartly.
"I didn't think I'd see you so soon!" Percy said.
"Yeah, well, I'm a bit impulsive." Kat shrugged.
Percy laughed. "We are impulsive. How are you?"
"I'm... Alright. It's really weird though, the whole no-sleeping thing." Kat said.
"Yeah. You have to find so many more things to do. It's like everything's done, all the time." Percy shook his head.
"And you're in the city! There's always stuff for you to do!" Kat said. "I live on a farm in the middle of nowhere!"
Percy winced. "Ouch. What do you do?"
"Well, I exercise a lot. Cooper tried to tell me that I was lazy one day. I told him that I was up all night exercising. He didn't believe me." Kat said.
"Cooper?" Percy asked.
"Uncle Clint's nephew." Kat shared.
"Oh." Percy cocked his head to the side. "Anyway. How'd you fix that?"
"I did a hundred push-ups with him sitting on my back." Kat smirked.
Percy laughed. "What'd he think of that?"
"He's my minion now." Kat grinned. "How have you been?"
Percy groaned. "I've been trying to catch up on what school I missed."
Kat made a 'yuck' sound. "I do not envy you."
"Yeah. Other than that, I visit the gym, surprise some of the guys there. Morning jogs with Steve became a thing a couple days ago. So that's nice but also kind of awkward." Percy said, scratching the back of his neck.
"Why are they awkward?" Kat asked, her head tilting.
"Well, do you remember the visions?" Percy asked.
"I might get a headache and pass out if I try, but they're in here somewhere." Kat replied.
"Okay, never mind then. So I think Steve's best friend from WWII is alive." Percy said.
"Woah. Wouldn't that make him really fucking old, though?" Kat blurted.
"Exactly!" Percy said. "But according to history, this guy died in WWII."
Kat frowned. "Something isn't adding up."
"Yeah." Percy said.
They got quiet.
"Um. So, Percy?" Kat asked, hesitantly.
"Yeah?" Percy replied.
"I've been thinking."
"Never good for us, as people like to say." Percy smiled for a second.
"Yeah, I know." Kat rolled her eyes. "But, this is kind of really important."
"Okay. What is it?" Percy said, his eyes gaining a serious look.
"We're going to live for a long time." Kat said, and Percy's eyes darkened.
"I'm sorry." He said.
"Percy, I'm okay with it."
Percy scowled. "You are?"
"Yeah. I am." Kat nodded.
"Oh."
"But back to what I was saying. We're going to be around for a long time, and Mom's already been kidnapped before." Kat said.
Percy's eyes widened. "If we become known, she'll be in danger."
"But not if we aren't known as her kids." Kat said sadly.
"So we have to make up a fake last name, huh?" Percy said.
Neither of them were under the illusion that they would be able to stay out of hero work, or away from SHIELD.
"A fake last name, or a fake backstory. Our name can be real, just not the one we're used to." Kat said.
"Stark." Percy said.
Kat nodded. "I don't think the world would be surprised if Tony Stark suddenly found out he had a couple kids."
Percy snorted. "Yeah, I don't think anyone would be."
They were quiet for a little while. "We'll still be Jacksons." They both looked at each other in surprise, having said it in unison. Then they laughed.
The laughter faded. Kat sighed. "Do you think he'd agree to it?"
Percy nodded. "He probably would."
They grew quiet again. Then Kat blurted. "Oh! Grover's been looking for you."
Percy looked at her in surprise. "Grover's been looking for me?"
"Yeah. He contacted me via empathy link. He was lucky I'd just passed out. Nothing to worry about though, I'm fine." Kat added the latter sentiment after seeing Percy's alarmed look.
"The empathy link." Percy said, realizing.
"Yeah. He's been worried recently. I told him the basics of what happened, but you should probably still talk to him." Kat said.
Percy opened his mouth to speak, but a door opening somewhere grabbed his attention. "Sorry, that call was dragging on." A familiar voice said. The twins would have recognized it anywhere. "Oh."
She slipped into view of the Iris message, and Kat's heart stuttered. "Hi Kat." Annabeth smiled.
"Hi." Kat managed not to squeak.
"I didn't know you could talk to us yet." Annabeth said.
"It's a new development." Kat said.
"How are you?" Annabeth asked.
"I'm good. I'm good." Kat said. "You?"
"Well, it's been a bit hectic with school, and work, and planning the wedding, but it's good." Annabeth said. Percy leaned over and pecked a kiss to her cheek.
Kat felt like someone had pulled a rug out from under her. "That's great. I uh, I have to cut this early. Getting a headache." Kat lied.
Annabeth frowned in concern. "Okay. We'll talk to you later."
"Bye Kat." Percy smiled.
"Bye Percy." Kat faked a smile. "Annabeth." She added, and the mist dissipated.
A hand covered her mouth to hold back the sob that tried to escape.
A/N
Oooh. Long chapter. Drama. What do you think's going on?
Also, because I'm updating this on technically the same day as the last chapter, make sure you didn't skip it! Otherwise you'll miss the prank on Loki.